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[
"Johnny Unitas",
"1964 MVP season"
] | C_2ba58216460d43aa986fc0e897537239_0 | what team did unitas play for | 1 | what team did Johnny Unitas play for? | Johnny Unitas | The 1964 season would see the Colts return to the top of the Western Conference. After dropping their season opener to the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts ran off 10 straight victories to finish with a 12-2 record. The season was one of Unitas' best as he finished with 2,824 yards passing, a league-best 9.26 yards per pass attempt, 19 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the AP and UPI for a second time. However, the season would end on a disappointing note for the Colts as they were upset by the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, losing 27-0. Unitas resumed his torrid passing in 1965, as he threw for 2,530 yards, 23 touchdowns and finished with a league-high and career best 97.1 passer rating. But he was lost for the balance of the season due to a knee injury in a week 12 loss to the Bears. More postseason heartbreak would follow in 1965. The Colts and Packers finished in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and a one-game playoff was played in Green Bay to decide who would be the conference representative in the 1965 NFL Championship Game. The Colts lost in overtime 13-10 due in large part to a game-tying field goal by Don Chandler that many say was incorrectly ruled good. Backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo also suffered a season-ending injury the following week and it would be running back Tom Matte who filled in as the emergency QB for the regular-season finale and the playoff loss to the Packers. Unitas, healthy once more, threw for 2748 yards and 22 touchdowns in 1966 in a return to Pro Bowl form. However, he posted a league-high 24 interceptions. CANNOTANSWER | The Colts | John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 to 1973, he has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time.
Unitas set many NFL records and was named Most Valuable Player three times in 1959, 1964, and 1967, in addition to receiving 10 Pro Bowl and five first-team All-Pro honors. He helped lead the Colts to four championship titles; three pre-merger era in 1958, 1959, 1968, and one Super Bowl era in Super Bowl V. His first championship victory is regarded as one of the league's greatest games and credited with helping popularize the NFL. Between 1956 and 1960, he set the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass at 47, which held for 52 years.
Nicknamed "Johnny U" and the "Golden Arm", Unitas was considered the prototype of the modern era marquee quarterback. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Early life
John Constantine Unitas was born in Pittsburgh in 1933 to Francis J. Unitas and Helen Superfisky, both of Lithuanian descent; he grew up in the Mount Washington neighborhood in a Roman Catholic upbringing. When Unitas was five years old, his father died of cardiovascular renal disease complicated by pneumonia, leaving the young boy to be raised by his mother, who worked two jobs to support the family. His surname was a result of a phonetic transliteration of a common Lithuanian last name Jonaitis. Attending St. Justin's High School in Pittsburgh, Unitas played halfback and quarterback.
College career
In his younger years, Unitas dreamed about being part of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, but when he tried out for the team, coach Frank Leahy said that he was just too skinny and he would "get murdered" if he was put on the field.
Instead, he attended the University of Louisville. In his four-year career as a Louisville Cardinal, Unitas completed 245 passes for 3,139 yards and 27 touchdowns. Reportedly, the Unitas weighed on his first day of practice. His first start was in the fifth game of the 1951 season against St. Bonaventure, where he threw 11 consecutive passes and three touchdowns to give the Cardinals a 21–19 lead. Louisville ended up losing the game 22–21 on a disputed field goal, but found a new starting quarterback. Unitas completed 12 of 19 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns in a 35–28 victory over Houston. The team finished the season 5–5 overall and 4–1 with Unitas starting. He completed 46 of 99 passes for 602 yards and nine touchdowns (44).
By the 1952 season, the university decided to de-emphasize sports. The new president at Louisville, Dr. Philip Grant Davidson, reduced the amount of athletic aid, and tightened academic standards for athletes. As a result, 15 returning players could not meet the new standards and lost their scholarships. Unitas maintained his by taking on a new elective: square dancing. In 1952, coach Frank Camp switched the team to two-way football. Unitas not only played safety or linebacker on defense and quarterback on offense, but also returned kicks and punts on special teams. The Cardinals won their first game against Wayne State, and then Florida State in the second game. Unitas completed 16 of 21 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns. It was said that Unitas put on such a show at the Florida State game that he threw a pass under his legs for 15 yards. The rest of the season was a struggle for the Cardinals, who finished 3–5. Unitas completed 106 of 198 passes for 1,540 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The team won their first game in 1953, against Murray State, and lost the rest for a record of 1–7. One of the most memorable games of the season came in a 59–6 loss against Tennessee. Unitas completed 9 out of 19 passes for 73 yards, rushed 9 times for 52 yards, returned six kickoffs for 85 yards, one punt for three yards, and had 86 percent of the team's tackles. The only touchdown the team scored was in the fourth quarter when Unitas made a fake pitch to the running back and ran the ball 23 yards for a touchdown. Unitas was hurt later in the fourth quarter while trying to run the ball. On his way off the field, he received a standing ovation. When he got to the locker room he was so tired that his jersey and shoulder pads had to be cut off because he could not lift his arms. Louisville ended the season with a 20–13 loss to Eastern Kentucky. Unitas completed 49 of 95 passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns.
Unitas was elected captain for the 1954 season, but due to an early injury did not see much playing time. His first start was the third game of the season, against Florida State. Of the 34-man team, 21 were freshmen. The 1954 Cardinals went 3–6, with their last win at home against Morehead State. Unitas was slowed by so many injuries his senior year his 527 passing yards ended second to Jim Houser's 560.
Professional career
Pittsburgh Steelers
After his collegiate career, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL drafted Unitas in the ninth round. However, he was released before the season began as the odd man out among four quarterbacks trying to fill three spots. Steelers' head coach Walt Kiesling had made up his mind about Unitas; he thought he was not smart enough to quarterback an NFL team, and he was not given any snaps in practice with the Steelers. Among those edging out Unitas was Ted Marchibroda, future longtime NFL head coach. Out of pro football, Unitas—by this time married—worked in construction in Pittsburgh to support his family. On the weekends, he played quarterback, safety and punter on a local semi-professional team called the Bloomfield Rams for $6 a game.
Baltimore Colts
In 1956, Unitas joined the Baltimore Colts of the NFL under legendary coach Weeb Ewbank, after being asked at the last minute to join Bloomfield Rams lineman Jim Deglau, a Croatian steelworker with a life much like Unitas, at the latter's scheduled Colts tryout. The pair borrowed money from friends to pay for the gas to make the trip. Deglau later told a reporter after Unitas's death, "[His] uncle told him not to come. [He] was worried that if he came down and the Colts passed on him, it would look bad (to other NFL teams)." The Colts signed Unitas, much to the chagrin of the Cleveland Browns, who had hoped to claim the former Steeler quarterback.
Unitas made his NFL debut with an inauspicious "mop-up" appearance against Detroit, going 0–2 with one interception. Two weeks later, starting quarterback George Shaw suffered a broken leg against the Chicago Bears. In his first serious action, Unitas's initial pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Then he botched a hand-off on his next play, a fumble recovered by the Bears. Unitas rebounded quickly from that 58–27 loss, leading the Colts to an upset of Green Bay and their first win over Cleveland. He threw nine touchdown passes that year, including one in the season finale that started his record 47-game streak. His 55.6-percent completion mark was a rookie record.
In 1957, his first season as the Colts full-time starter at quarterback, Unitas finished first in the NFL in passing yards (2,550) and touchdown passes (24) as he helped lead the Colts to a 7–5 record, the first winning record in franchise history. At season's end, Unitas received the Jim Thorpe Trophy as the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA).
1958: "The Greatest Game Ever Played"
Unitas continued his prowess in 1958 passing for 2,007 yards and 19 touchdowns as the Colts won the Western Conference title. The Colts won the NFL championship under his leadership on December 28, 1958, by defeating the New York Giants 23–17 in sudden death overtime on a touchdown by fullback Alan Ameche. It was the first overtime game in NFL history, and is often referred to as the "greatest game ever played". The game, nationally televised by NBC, has been credited for sparking the rise in popularity of professional football during the 1960s.
1959 MVP season
In 1959, Unitas was named the NFL's MVP by the Associated Press (AP) for the first time, as well as United Press International's player of the year, after leading the NFL in passing yards (2,899), touchdown passes (32), and completions (193). He then led the Colts to a repeat championship, beating the Giants again 31–16 in the title game.
Beginning of the 1960s
As the 1960s began, the Colts' fortunes (and win totals) declined. Injuries to key players such as Alan Ameche, Raymond Berry, and Lenny Moore were a contributing factor. Unitas's streak of 47 straight games with at least one touchdown pass ended against the Los Angeles Rams in week 11 of the 1960 season. In spite of this, he topped the 3,000-yard passing mark for the first time and led the league in touchdown passes for the fourth consecutive season.
After three middle-of-the-pack seasons, Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom fired Weeb Ewbank and replaced him with Don Shula, who at the time was the youngest head coach in NFL history (33 years of age when he was hired). The Colts finished 8–6 in Shula's first season at the helm, good enough for only third place in the NFL's Western Conference, but they did end the season on a strong note by winning their final three games. The season was very successful for Unitas personally, as he led the NFL in passing yards with a career-best total of 3,481 and also led in completions with 237.
1964 MVP season
In the 1964 season the Colts returned to the top of the Western Conference. After dropping their season opener to the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts ran off 10 straight victories to finish with a 12–2 record. The season was one of Unitas's best as he finished with 2,824 yards passing, a league-best 9.26 yards per pass attempt, 19 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the AP and UPI for a second time. However, the season ended on a disappointing note for the Colts as they were upset by the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, losing 27–0.
Unitas resumed his torrid passing in 1965, throwing for 2,530 yards, 23 touchdowns and finishing with a league-high and career-best 97.1 passer rating. But he was lost for the balance of the season due to a knee injury in a week 12 loss to the Bears. Backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo also suffered a season-ending injury the following week, and running back Tom Matte filled in as the emergency quarterback for the regular season finale and in a playoff loss to the Packers. The Colts and Packers finished in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and a one-game playoff was played in Green Bay to decide who would be the conference representative in the 1965 NFL Championship Game. The Colts lost in overtime 13–10 due in large part to a game-tying field goal by Don Chandler that many say was incorrectly ruled good.
Unitas, healthy once more, threw for 2,748 yards and 22 touchdowns in 1966 in a return to Pro Bowl form. However, he posted a league-high 24 interceptions.
1967 MVP season
After once again finishing second in the Western Conference in 1966, the Colts rebounded to finish 11–1–2 in 1967 tying the Los Angeles Rams for the NFL's best record. In winning his third MVP award from the AP and UPI in 1967 (and his second from the NEA), Unitas had a league-high 58.5 completion percentage and passed for 3,428 yards and 20 touchdowns. He openly complained about having tennis elbow and he threw eight interceptions and only three touchdown passes in the final five games. Once again, the season ended in loss for the Colts, as they were shut out of the newly instituted four-team NFL playoff after losing the divisional tiebreaker to the Rams, a 34–10 rout in the regular season finale.
Super Bowls and final Colt years
In the final game of the 1968 preseason, the muscles in Unitas's arm were torn when he was hit by a member of the Dallas Cowboys defense. Unitas wrote in his autobiography that he felt his arm was initially injured by the use of the "night ball" that the NFL was testing for better TV visibility during night games. In a post-game interview the previous year, he noted having constant pain in his elbow for several years prior. He would spend most of the season sitting on the bench. The Colts still marched to a league-best 13–1 record behind backup quarterback and ultimate 1968 NFL MVP Earl Morrall. Although he was injured through most of the season, Unitas came off the bench to play in Super Bowl III, the famous game where Joe Namath guaranteed a New York Jets win despite conventional wisdom. Unitas's insertion was a desperation move in an attempt to retrieve dominance of the NFL over the upstart AFL. Although the Colts won an NFL Championship in 1968, they lost the Super Bowl to the AFL Champion New York Jets, thus becoming the first-ever NFL champions that were not also deemed world champions. Unitas helped put together the Colts' only score, a touchdown late in the game. Unitas also drove the Colts into scoring position following the touchdown and successful onside kick, but head coach Don Shula eschewed a field goal attempt, which (if successful) would have cut the Jets' lead to 16–10. Despite not playing until late in the third quarter, he still finished the game with more passing yards than the team's starter, Earl Morrall.
After an off-season of rehabilitation on his elbow, Unitas rebounded in 1969, passing for 2,342 yards and 12 touchdowns with 20 interceptions. But the Colts finished with a disappointing 8–5–1 record, and missed the playoffs.
In 1970, the NFL and AFL had merged into one league, and the Colts moved to the new American Football Conference, along with the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He threw for 2,213 yards and 14 touchdowns while leading the Colts to an 11–2–1 season. In their first rematch with the Jets, Unitas and Namath threw a combined nine interceptions in a 29–22 Colts win. Namath threw 62 passes and broke his hand on the final play of the game, ending his season.
Unitas threw for 390 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in AFC playoff victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Oakland Raiders. In Super Bowl V against the Dallas Cowboys, he was knocked out of the game with a rib injury in the second quarter, soon after throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass (setting a then-Super Bowl record) to John Mackey. However, he had also tossed two interceptions before his departure from the game. Earl Morrall came in to lead the team to a last-second, 16–13 victory.
In 1971, Unitas split playing time with Morrall, throwing only three touchdown passes. He started both playoff games, a win over the Cleveland Browns that sent the Colts to the AFC Championship game against the Miami Dolphins, which they lost by a score of 21–0. Unitas threw three interceptions in the game, one of which was returned for a touchdown by safety Dick Anderson.
The 1972 season saw the Colts declining. After losing the season opener, Unitas was involved in the second and final regular season head-to-head meeting with "Broadway" Joe Namath. The first was in 1970 (won by the Colts, 29–22). The last meeting took place on September 24, 1972 at Memorial Stadium. He threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, but Namath upstaged him again, bombing the Colts for 496 yards and six touchdowns in a 44–34 Jets victory – their first over Baltimore since the 1970 merger. After losing four of their first five games, the Colts fired head coach Don McCafferty, and benched Unitas.
One of the more memorable moments in football history came on Unitas's last game in a Colts uniform at Memorial Stadium, in a game against the Buffalo Bills. He was not the starter for this game, but the Colts were blowing the Bills out by a score of 28–0 behind Marty Domres; Unitas entered the game due to the fans chanting, "We want Unitas!!!", and a plan devised by head coach John Sandusky to convince Unitas that the starting quarterback was injured. Unitas came onto the field, and threw two passes, one of which was a long touchdown to wide receiver Eddie Hinton which would be his last pass as a Colt. The Colts won the game by the score of 35–7.
San Diego, retirement, and records
Unitas was traded from the Colts to the San Diego Chargers on January 20, 1973, in a transaction that originally had future considerations returning to Baltimore. The deal's only obstacle was the personal services contract he had signed with the Colts in 1970 which would've kept him employed within the organization on an annual salary of $30,000 over ten years once his career as an active player ended. The pact had been signed when the ballclub was owned by Carroll Rosenbloom who subsequently acquired the Los Angeles Rams on July 13, 1972, in a franchise swap with Robert Irsay. The deal was completed when the Chargers purchased that contract. Eager to sever all ties with the Colts, Unitas signed a new two-year contract with the Chargers on June 8, 1973. He succeeded John Hadl who had requested and was granted a trade to the Rams.
Unitas started the season with a 38–0 loss to the Washington Redskins. He threw for just 55 yards and 3 interceptions, and was sacked 8 times. His final victory as a starter came against the Buffalo Bills in week two. Unitas was 10–18 for 175 yards, two touchdown passes, and no interceptions in a 34–7 Chargers rout. Many were questioning his role as a starter after a loss to the Bengals in week three. Two weeks later, he threw two first-half interceptions, passed for only 19 yards, and went 2-for-9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was then replaced by rookie quarterback, future Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. After having posted a 1–3 record as a starter, Unitas retired in the preseason of 1974.
Unitas finished his 18 NFL seasons with 2,830 completions in 5,186 attempts for 40,239 yards and 290 touchdowns, with 253 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,777 yards and 13 touchdowns. Plagued by arm trouble in his later seasons, he threw more interceptions (64) than touchdowns (38) in 1968–1973. After averaging 215.8 yards per game in his first 12 seasons, his production fell to 124.4 in his final six. His passer rating plummeted from 82.9 to 60.4 for the same periods. Even so, Unitas set many passing records during his career. He was the first quarterback to throw for more than 40,000 yards, despite playing during an era when NFL teams played shorter seasons of 12 or 14 games (as opposed to today's 17-game seasons) and prior to modern passing-friendly rules implemented in 1978. His 32 touchdown passes in 1959 were a record at the time, making Unitas the first quarterback to hit the 30 touchdown mark in a season. His 47-game consecutive touchdown streak between 1956 and 1960 was a record considered by many to be unbreakable. The streak stood for 52 years before being broken by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in a game against the San Diego Chargers on October 7, 2012.
Post-playing days
After his playing days were finished, Unitas settled in Baltimore where he raised his family while also pursuing a career in broadcasting, doing color commentary for NFL games on CBS in the 1970s. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. After Robert Irsay moved the Colts franchise to Indianapolis in 1984, a move known to this day in Baltimore as "Bob Irsay's Midnight Ride," he was so outraged that he cut all ties to the relocated team (though his No. 19 jersey is still retired by the Colts), declaring himself strictly a Baltimore Colt for the remainder of his life. Some other prominent old-time Colts followed his lead, although many attended the 1975 team's reunion at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in 2009. A total of 39 Colts players from that 1975 team attended said reunion in Indianapolis, including Bert Jones and Lydell Mitchell. Unitas asked the Pro Football Hall of Fame on numerous occasions (including on Roy Firestone's Up Close) to remove his display unless it was listed as belonging to the Baltimore Colts. The Hall of Fame has never complied with the request. Unitas donated his Colts memorabilia to the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore; they are now on display in the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards.
Unitas was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
Unitas actively lobbied for another NFL team to come to Baltimore. After the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996 and changed their name to the Ravens, he and some of the other old-time Colts attended the Ravens' first game ever against the Raiders on Opening Day at Memorial Stadium. He was frequently seen on the Ravens' sidelines at home games (most prominently in 1998 when the now-Indianapolis Colts played the Ravens in Baltimore) and received a thunderous ovation every time he was pictured on each of the huge widescreens at M&T Bank Stadium. He was often seen on the 30-yard line on the Ravens side. When the NFL celebrated its first 50 years, Unitas was voted the league's best player. Retired Bears quarterback Sid Luckman said of Unitas, "He was better than me, better than Sammy Baugh, better than anyone."
Unitas lived most of the final years of his life severely hobbled. Due to an elbow injury suffered during his playing career, he had only very limited use of his right hand, and could not perform any physical activity more strenuous than golf due to his artificial knees.
NFL career statistics
Source:
In 1957, Unitas was named MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association.
Personal life
At the age of 21 on November 20, 1954, Unitas married his high school sweetheart Dorothy Hoelle; they lived in Towson and had five children before divorcing. Unitas's second wife was Sandra Lemon, whom he married on June 26, 1972; they had three children, lived in Baldwin, and remained married until his death.
Towson University, where Unitas was a major fund-raiser and which his children attended, named its football and lacrosse complex Johnny Unitas Stadium in recognition of both his football career and service to the university.
Toward the end of his life, Unitas brought media attention to the many permanent physical disabilities that he and his fellow players suffered during their careers before heavy padding and other safety features became popular. Unitas himself lost almost total use of his right hand, with the middle finger and thumb noticeably disfigured from being repeatedly broken during games.
On September 11, 2002, Unitas died from a heart attack while working out at the Kernan Physical Therapy Center (now The University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute) in Baltimore. His funeral was held at Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland. Between his death and October 4, 2002, 56,934 people signed an online petition urging the Baltimore Ravens to rename the Ravens' home stadium (owned by the State of Maryland) after Unitas. These requests were unsuccessful since the lucrative naming rights had already been leased by the Ravens to Buffalo-based M&T Bank. However, on October 20, 2002, the Ravens dedicated the front area of the stadium's main entrance as Unitas Plaza and unveiled a statue of Unitas as the centerpiece of the plaza.
Unitas is buried at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium, Maryland.
Legacy
Unitas held the record for most Pro Bowl appearances (10) by a quarterback until Brett Favre broke his record in 2009.
Unitas set the original standard for most wins as a starting quarterback with 118 regular season victories (since surpassed by multiple quarterbacks).
Unitas was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Unitas is 11th in all-time number of regular season games won by an NFL starting quarterback with 118 wins.
Unitas is 16th in all-time percentage of regular season games won by an NFL starting quarterback with a percentage of 64.5.
1987 American Football Association Semi Pro Hall of Fame
Unitas's no. 16 is the first number retired by the football program at the University of Louisville.
Unitas Tower, a dormitory at the University of Louisville, is named for Johnny Unitas.
A statue of Unitas sits in the north end zone of Cardinal Stadium at the University of Louisville. It is a tradition for each Cardinal player to touch the statue as he enters the field.
Since 1987, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award has been awarded to the top senior quarterback of the current year in college football. The award is presented annually in Louisville.
In 1999, he was ranked No. 5 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, behind only Joe Montana among quarterbacks.
In 2004, The Sporting News ranked Unitas No. 1 among the NFL's 50 Greatest Quarterbacks, with Joe Montana at No. 2.
In 1999, ESPN's Sportscentury: 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century ranked Unitas No. 32.
Just before his death, Johnny Unitas became the community liaison for athletics in Towson, Maryland. The football stadium at Towson University was renamed Johnny Unitas Stadium in 2002. Unitas died less than a week after throwing his last pass in the grand opening of the stadium.
Set the record for consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass at 47 games. This record was surpassed by Drew Brees in 2012.
Set the record for consecutive games with at least two touchdown passes at 12 games. This record was surpassed by Don Meredith, Peyton Manning (twice), Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, and Patrick Mahomes.
Set the record for most consecutive games with at least a 120 passer rating (4); this record was later matched by Kurt Warner
For the game following his death, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning asked to wear a pair of black cleats as a tribute to Johnny's signature black boots. The league denied his request and threatened Manning with a US$25,000 fine; Manning decided not to wear them. Despite the threatened fine, Chris Redman, a Louisville alum like Unitas, and then quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, decided to pay homage by wearing the signature cleats during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In 2013, a movie project was announced by The Baltimore Sun called Unitas We Stand, which will feature Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco as Unitas during the 1958 NFL Championship.
19th Street in Ocean City, Maryland is named "Johnny Unitas Way" in his honor.
Johnny Unitas Stadium on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Maryland, home of the Towson Tigers football and Towson Tigers men's lacrosse teams is named in his honor.
Unitas was posthumously inducted into the National Lithuanian American Hall of Fame on August 24, 2013.
See also
List of most consecutive starts by a National Football League quarterback
Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL)
Notes
References
Sources
Bolus, Jim, and Billy Reed. Cardinal Football. Champaign, IL: Sports Pub Inc., 1999.
Callahan, Tom. Johnny U: the life and times of John Unitas. New York: Crown Publishers, 2006.
Lazenby, Roland. Johnny Unitas: the best there ever was. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2002.
Schaap, Dick (1999). "Johnny Unitas: Sunday's Best". In ESPN SportsCentury. Michael MacCambridge, Editor. New York: ESPN-Hyperion Books. pp. 154–65.
Cavanaugh, Jack (2008), Giants Among Men. New York:Random House.
MacCambridge, Michael (2005), America's Game. New York:Anchor Books.
External links
1933 births
2002 deaths
American football quarterbacks
American people of Lithuanian descent
Baltimore Colts players
Burials at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens
Catholics from Maryland
Catholics from Pennsylvania
Louisville Cardinals football players
National Football League announcers
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners
National Football League players with retired numbers
People from Timonium, Maryland
People from Towson, Maryland
Pittsburgh Steelers players
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Western Conference Pro Bowl players | true | [
"The Gorinchemse Voetbalvereniging Unitas is a Dutch association football club from Gorinchem. It is among the oldest football clubs of the Netherlands and for most of the 20th century played in the highest leagues of amateur football. In 2018 the first team of GVV Unitas returned to the Hoofdklasse. They won promo... | [
"John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 to 1973, he has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL player... |
[
"Johnny Unitas",
"1964 MVP season",
"what team did unitas play for",
"The Colts",
"how many games did the colts win",
"the Colts ran off 10 straight victories to finish with a 12-2 record."
] | C_2ba58216460d43aa986fc0e897537239_0 | who did they play in the playoffs | 3 | who did the Colts play in the playoffs? | Johnny Unitas | The 1964 season would see the Colts return to the top of the Western Conference. After dropping their season opener to the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts ran off 10 straight victories to finish with a 12-2 record. The season was one of Unitas' best as he finished with 2,824 yards passing, a league-best 9.26 yards per pass attempt, 19 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the AP and UPI for a second time. However, the season would end on a disappointing note for the Colts as they were upset by the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, losing 27-0. Unitas resumed his torrid passing in 1965, as he threw for 2,530 yards, 23 touchdowns and finished with a league-high and career best 97.1 passer rating. But he was lost for the balance of the season due to a knee injury in a week 12 loss to the Bears. More postseason heartbreak would follow in 1965. The Colts and Packers finished in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and a one-game playoff was played in Green Bay to decide who would be the conference representative in the 1965 NFL Championship Game. The Colts lost in overtime 13-10 due in large part to a game-tying field goal by Don Chandler that many say was incorrectly ruled good. Backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo also suffered a season-ending injury the following week and it would be running back Tom Matte who filled in as the emergency QB for the regular-season finale and the playoff loss to the Packers. Unitas, healthy once more, threw for 2748 yards and 22 touchdowns in 1966 in a return to Pro Bowl form. However, he posted a league-high 24 interceptions. CANNOTANSWER | Cleveland Browns | John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 to 1973, he has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time.
Unitas set many NFL records and was named Most Valuable Player three times in 1959, 1964, and 1967, in addition to receiving 10 Pro Bowl and five first-team All-Pro honors. He helped lead the Colts to four championship titles; three pre-merger era in 1958, 1959, 1968, and one Super Bowl era in Super Bowl V. His first championship victory is regarded as one of the league's greatest games and credited with helping popularize the NFL. Between 1956 and 1960, he set the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass at 47, which held for 52 years.
Nicknamed "Johnny U" and the "Golden Arm", Unitas was considered the prototype of the modern era marquee quarterback. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Early life
John Constantine Unitas was born in Pittsburgh in 1933 to Francis J. Unitas and Helen Superfisky, both of Lithuanian descent; he grew up in the Mount Washington neighborhood in a Roman Catholic upbringing. When Unitas was five years old, his father died of cardiovascular renal disease complicated by pneumonia, leaving the young boy to be raised by his mother, who worked two jobs to support the family. His surname was a result of a phonetic transliteration of a common Lithuanian last name Jonaitis. Attending St. Justin's High School in Pittsburgh, Unitas played halfback and quarterback.
College career
In his younger years, Unitas dreamed about being part of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, but when he tried out for the team, coach Frank Leahy said that he was just too skinny and he would "get murdered" if he was put on the field.
Instead, he attended the University of Louisville. In his four-year career as a Louisville Cardinal, Unitas completed 245 passes for 3,139 yards and 27 touchdowns. Reportedly, the Unitas weighed on his first day of practice. His first start was in the fifth game of the 1951 season against St. Bonaventure, where he threw 11 consecutive passes and three touchdowns to give the Cardinals a 21–19 lead. Louisville ended up losing the game 22–21 on a disputed field goal, but found a new starting quarterback. Unitas completed 12 of 19 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns in a 35–28 victory over Houston. The team finished the season 5–5 overall and 4–1 with Unitas starting. He completed 46 of 99 passes for 602 yards and nine touchdowns (44).
By the 1952 season, the university decided to de-emphasize sports. The new president at Louisville, Dr. Philip Grant Davidson, reduced the amount of athletic aid, and tightened academic standards for athletes. As a result, 15 returning players could not meet the new standards and lost their scholarships. Unitas maintained his by taking on a new elective: square dancing. In 1952, coach Frank Camp switched the team to two-way football. Unitas not only played safety or linebacker on defense and quarterback on offense, but also returned kicks and punts on special teams. The Cardinals won their first game against Wayne State, and then Florida State in the second game. Unitas completed 16 of 21 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns. It was said that Unitas put on such a show at the Florida State game that he threw a pass under his legs for 15 yards. The rest of the season was a struggle for the Cardinals, who finished 3–5. Unitas completed 106 of 198 passes for 1,540 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The team won their first game in 1953, against Murray State, and lost the rest for a record of 1–7. One of the most memorable games of the season came in a 59–6 loss against Tennessee. Unitas completed 9 out of 19 passes for 73 yards, rushed 9 times for 52 yards, returned six kickoffs for 85 yards, one punt for three yards, and had 86 percent of the team's tackles. The only touchdown the team scored was in the fourth quarter when Unitas made a fake pitch to the running back and ran the ball 23 yards for a touchdown. Unitas was hurt later in the fourth quarter while trying to run the ball. On his way off the field, he received a standing ovation. When he got to the locker room he was so tired that his jersey and shoulder pads had to be cut off because he could not lift his arms. Louisville ended the season with a 20–13 loss to Eastern Kentucky. Unitas completed 49 of 95 passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns.
Unitas was elected captain for the 1954 season, but due to an early injury did not see much playing time. His first start was the third game of the season, against Florida State. Of the 34-man team, 21 were freshmen. The 1954 Cardinals went 3–6, with their last win at home against Morehead State. Unitas was slowed by so many injuries his senior year his 527 passing yards ended second to Jim Houser's 560.
Professional career
Pittsburgh Steelers
After his collegiate career, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL drafted Unitas in the ninth round. However, he was released before the season began as the odd man out among four quarterbacks trying to fill three spots. Steelers' head coach Walt Kiesling had made up his mind about Unitas; he thought he was not smart enough to quarterback an NFL team, and he was not given any snaps in practice with the Steelers. Among those edging out Unitas was Ted Marchibroda, future longtime NFL head coach. Out of pro football, Unitas—by this time married—worked in construction in Pittsburgh to support his family. On the weekends, he played quarterback, safety and punter on a local semi-professional team called the Bloomfield Rams for $6 a game.
Baltimore Colts
In 1956, Unitas joined the Baltimore Colts of the NFL under legendary coach Weeb Ewbank, after being asked at the last minute to join Bloomfield Rams lineman Jim Deglau, a Croatian steelworker with a life much like Unitas, at the latter's scheduled Colts tryout. The pair borrowed money from friends to pay for the gas to make the trip. Deglau later told a reporter after Unitas's death, "[His] uncle told him not to come. [He] was worried that if he came down and the Colts passed on him, it would look bad (to other NFL teams)." The Colts signed Unitas, much to the chagrin of the Cleveland Browns, who had hoped to claim the former Steeler quarterback.
Unitas made his NFL debut with an inauspicious "mop-up" appearance against Detroit, going 0–2 with one interception. Two weeks later, starting quarterback George Shaw suffered a broken leg against the Chicago Bears. In his first serious action, Unitas's initial pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Then he botched a hand-off on his next play, a fumble recovered by the Bears. Unitas rebounded quickly from that 58–27 loss, leading the Colts to an upset of Green Bay and their first win over Cleveland. He threw nine touchdown passes that year, including one in the season finale that started his record 47-game streak. His 55.6-percent completion mark was a rookie record.
In 1957, his first season as the Colts full-time starter at quarterback, Unitas finished first in the NFL in passing yards (2,550) and touchdown passes (24) as he helped lead the Colts to a 7–5 record, the first winning record in franchise history. At season's end, Unitas received the Jim Thorpe Trophy as the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA).
1958: "The Greatest Game Ever Played"
Unitas continued his prowess in 1958 passing for 2,007 yards and 19 touchdowns as the Colts won the Western Conference title. The Colts won the NFL championship under his leadership on December 28, 1958, by defeating the New York Giants 23–17 in sudden death overtime on a touchdown by fullback Alan Ameche. It was the first overtime game in NFL history, and is often referred to as the "greatest game ever played". The game, nationally televised by NBC, has been credited for sparking the rise in popularity of professional football during the 1960s.
1959 MVP season
In 1959, Unitas was named the NFL's MVP by the Associated Press (AP) for the first time, as well as United Press International's player of the year, after leading the NFL in passing yards (2,899), touchdown passes (32), and completions (193). He then led the Colts to a repeat championship, beating the Giants again 31–16 in the title game.
Beginning of the 1960s
As the 1960s began, the Colts' fortunes (and win totals) declined. Injuries to key players such as Alan Ameche, Raymond Berry, and Lenny Moore were a contributing factor. Unitas's streak of 47 straight games with at least one touchdown pass ended against the Los Angeles Rams in week 11 of the 1960 season. In spite of this, he topped the 3,000-yard passing mark for the first time and led the league in touchdown passes for the fourth consecutive season.
After three middle-of-the-pack seasons, Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom fired Weeb Ewbank and replaced him with Don Shula, who at the time was the youngest head coach in NFL history (33 years of age when he was hired). The Colts finished 8–6 in Shula's first season at the helm, good enough for only third place in the NFL's Western Conference, but they did end the season on a strong note by winning their final three games. The season was very successful for Unitas personally, as he led the NFL in passing yards with a career-best total of 3,481 and also led in completions with 237.
1964 MVP season
In the 1964 season the Colts returned to the top of the Western Conference. After dropping their season opener to the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts ran off 10 straight victories to finish with a 12–2 record. The season was one of Unitas's best as he finished with 2,824 yards passing, a league-best 9.26 yards per pass attempt, 19 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the AP and UPI for a second time. However, the season ended on a disappointing note for the Colts as they were upset by the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, losing 27–0.
Unitas resumed his torrid passing in 1965, throwing for 2,530 yards, 23 touchdowns and finishing with a league-high and career-best 97.1 passer rating. But he was lost for the balance of the season due to a knee injury in a week 12 loss to the Bears. Backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo also suffered a season-ending injury the following week, and running back Tom Matte filled in as the emergency quarterback for the regular season finale and in a playoff loss to the Packers. The Colts and Packers finished in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and a one-game playoff was played in Green Bay to decide who would be the conference representative in the 1965 NFL Championship Game. The Colts lost in overtime 13–10 due in large part to a game-tying field goal by Don Chandler that many say was incorrectly ruled good.
Unitas, healthy once more, threw for 2,748 yards and 22 touchdowns in 1966 in a return to Pro Bowl form. However, he posted a league-high 24 interceptions.
1967 MVP season
After once again finishing second in the Western Conference in 1966, the Colts rebounded to finish 11–1–2 in 1967 tying the Los Angeles Rams for the NFL's best record. In winning his third MVP award from the AP and UPI in 1967 (and his second from the NEA), Unitas had a league-high 58.5 completion percentage and passed for 3,428 yards and 20 touchdowns. He openly complained about having tennis elbow and he threw eight interceptions and only three touchdown passes in the final five games. Once again, the season ended in loss for the Colts, as they were shut out of the newly instituted four-team NFL playoff after losing the divisional tiebreaker to the Rams, a 34–10 rout in the regular season finale.
Super Bowls and final Colt years
In the final game of the 1968 preseason, the muscles in Unitas's arm were torn when he was hit by a member of the Dallas Cowboys defense. Unitas wrote in his autobiography that he felt his arm was initially injured by the use of the "night ball" that the NFL was testing for better TV visibility during night games. In a post-game interview the previous year, he noted having constant pain in his elbow for several years prior. He would spend most of the season sitting on the bench. The Colts still marched to a league-best 13–1 record behind backup quarterback and ultimate 1968 NFL MVP Earl Morrall. Although he was injured through most of the season, Unitas came off the bench to play in Super Bowl III, the famous game where Joe Namath guaranteed a New York Jets win despite conventional wisdom. Unitas's insertion was a desperation move in an attempt to retrieve dominance of the NFL over the upstart AFL. Although the Colts won an NFL Championship in 1968, they lost the Super Bowl to the AFL Champion New York Jets, thus becoming the first-ever NFL champions that were not also deemed world champions. Unitas helped put together the Colts' only score, a touchdown late in the game. Unitas also drove the Colts into scoring position following the touchdown and successful onside kick, but head coach Don Shula eschewed a field goal attempt, which (if successful) would have cut the Jets' lead to 16–10. Despite not playing until late in the third quarter, he still finished the game with more passing yards than the team's starter, Earl Morrall.
After an off-season of rehabilitation on his elbow, Unitas rebounded in 1969, passing for 2,342 yards and 12 touchdowns with 20 interceptions. But the Colts finished with a disappointing 8–5–1 record, and missed the playoffs.
In 1970, the NFL and AFL had merged into one league, and the Colts moved to the new American Football Conference, along with the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He threw for 2,213 yards and 14 touchdowns while leading the Colts to an 11–2–1 season. In their first rematch with the Jets, Unitas and Namath threw a combined nine interceptions in a 29–22 Colts win. Namath threw 62 passes and broke his hand on the final play of the game, ending his season.
Unitas threw for 390 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in AFC playoff victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Oakland Raiders. In Super Bowl V against the Dallas Cowboys, he was knocked out of the game with a rib injury in the second quarter, soon after throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass (setting a then-Super Bowl record) to John Mackey. However, he had also tossed two interceptions before his departure from the game. Earl Morrall came in to lead the team to a last-second, 16–13 victory.
In 1971, Unitas split playing time with Morrall, throwing only three touchdown passes. He started both playoff games, a win over the Cleveland Browns that sent the Colts to the AFC Championship game against the Miami Dolphins, which they lost by a score of 21–0. Unitas threw three interceptions in the game, one of which was returned for a touchdown by safety Dick Anderson.
The 1972 season saw the Colts declining. After losing the season opener, Unitas was involved in the second and final regular season head-to-head meeting with "Broadway" Joe Namath. The first was in 1970 (won by the Colts, 29–22). The last meeting took place on September 24, 1972 at Memorial Stadium. He threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, but Namath upstaged him again, bombing the Colts for 496 yards and six touchdowns in a 44–34 Jets victory – their first over Baltimore since the 1970 merger. After losing four of their first five games, the Colts fired head coach Don McCafferty, and benched Unitas.
One of the more memorable moments in football history came on Unitas's last game in a Colts uniform at Memorial Stadium, in a game against the Buffalo Bills. He was not the starter for this game, but the Colts were blowing the Bills out by a score of 28–0 behind Marty Domres; Unitas entered the game due to the fans chanting, "We want Unitas!!!", and a plan devised by head coach John Sandusky to convince Unitas that the starting quarterback was injured. Unitas came onto the field, and threw two passes, one of which was a long touchdown to wide receiver Eddie Hinton which would be his last pass as a Colt. The Colts won the game by the score of 35–7.
San Diego, retirement, and records
Unitas was traded from the Colts to the San Diego Chargers on January 20, 1973, in a transaction that originally had future considerations returning to Baltimore. The deal's only obstacle was the personal services contract he had signed with the Colts in 1970 which would've kept him employed within the organization on an annual salary of $30,000 over ten years once his career as an active player ended. The pact had been signed when the ballclub was owned by Carroll Rosenbloom who subsequently acquired the Los Angeles Rams on July 13, 1972, in a franchise swap with Robert Irsay. The deal was completed when the Chargers purchased that contract. Eager to sever all ties with the Colts, Unitas signed a new two-year contract with the Chargers on June 8, 1973. He succeeded John Hadl who had requested and was granted a trade to the Rams.
Unitas started the season with a 38–0 loss to the Washington Redskins. He threw for just 55 yards and 3 interceptions, and was sacked 8 times. His final victory as a starter came against the Buffalo Bills in week two. Unitas was 10–18 for 175 yards, two touchdown passes, and no interceptions in a 34–7 Chargers rout. Many were questioning his role as a starter after a loss to the Bengals in week three. Two weeks later, he threw two first-half interceptions, passed for only 19 yards, and went 2-for-9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was then replaced by rookie quarterback, future Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. After having posted a 1–3 record as a starter, Unitas retired in the preseason of 1974.
Unitas finished his 18 NFL seasons with 2,830 completions in 5,186 attempts for 40,239 yards and 290 touchdowns, with 253 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,777 yards and 13 touchdowns. Plagued by arm trouble in his later seasons, he threw more interceptions (64) than touchdowns (38) in 1968–1973. After averaging 215.8 yards per game in his first 12 seasons, his production fell to 124.4 in his final six. His passer rating plummeted from 82.9 to 60.4 for the same periods. Even so, Unitas set many passing records during his career. He was the first quarterback to throw for more than 40,000 yards, despite playing during an era when NFL teams played shorter seasons of 12 or 14 games (as opposed to today's 17-game seasons) and prior to modern passing-friendly rules implemented in 1978. His 32 touchdown passes in 1959 were a record at the time, making Unitas the first quarterback to hit the 30 touchdown mark in a season. His 47-game consecutive touchdown streak between 1956 and 1960 was a record considered by many to be unbreakable. The streak stood for 52 years before being broken by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in a game against the San Diego Chargers on October 7, 2012.
Post-playing days
After his playing days were finished, Unitas settled in Baltimore where he raised his family while also pursuing a career in broadcasting, doing color commentary for NFL games on CBS in the 1970s. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. After Robert Irsay moved the Colts franchise to Indianapolis in 1984, a move known to this day in Baltimore as "Bob Irsay's Midnight Ride," he was so outraged that he cut all ties to the relocated team (though his No. 19 jersey is still retired by the Colts), declaring himself strictly a Baltimore Colt for the remainder of his life. Some other prominent old-time Colts followed his lead, although many attended the 1975 team's reunion at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in 2009. A total of 39 Colts players from that 1975 team attended said reunion in Indianapolis, including Bert Jones and Lydell Mitchell. Unitas asked the Pro Football Hall of Fame on numerous occasions (including on Roy Firestone's Up Close) to remove his display unless it was listed as belonging to the Baltimore Colts. The Hall of Fame has never complied with the request. Unitas donated his Colts memorabilia to the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore; they are now on display in the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards.
Unitas was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
Unitas actively lobbied for another NFL team to come to Baltimore. After the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996 and changed their name to the Ravens, he and some of the other old-time Colts attended the Ravens' first game ever against the Raiders on Opening Day at Memorial Stadium. He was frequently seen on the Ravens' sidelines at home games (most prominently in 1998 when the now-Indianapolis Colts played the Ravens in Baltimore) and received a thunderous ovation every time he was pictured on each of the huge widescreens at M&T Bank Stadium. He was often seen on the 30-yard line on the Ravens side. When the NFL celebrated its first 50 years, Unitas was voted the league's best player. Retired Bears quarterback Sid Luckman said of Unitas, "He was better than me, better than Sammy Baugh, better than anyone."
Unitas lived most of the final years of his life severely hobbled. Due to an elbow injury suffered during his playing career, he had only very limited use of his right hand, and could not perform any physical activity more strenuous than golf due to his artificial knees.
NFL career statistics
Source:
In 1957, Unitas was named MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association.
Personal life
At the age of 21 on November 20, 1954, Unitas married his high school sweetheart Dorothy Hoelle; they lived in Towson and had five children before divorcing. Unitas's second wife was Sandra Lemon, whom he married on June 26, 1972; they had three children, lived in Baldwin, and remained married until his death.
Towson University, where Unitas was a major fund-raiser and which his children attended, named its football and lacrosse complex Johnny Unitas Stadium in recognition of both his football career and service to the university.
Toward the end of his life, Unitas brought media attention to the many permanent physical disabilities that he and his fellow players suffered during their careers before heavy padding and other safety features became popular. Unitas himself lost almost total use of his right hand, with the middle finger and thumb noticeably disfigured from being repeatedly broken during games.
On September 11, 2002, Unitas died from a heart attack while working out at the Kernan Physical Therapy Center (now The University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute) in Baltimore. His funeral was held at Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland. Between his death and October 4, 2002, 56,934 people signed an online petition urging the Baltimore Ravens to rename the Ravens' home stadium (owned by the State of Maryland) after Unitas. These requests were unsuccessful since the lucrative naming rights had already been leased by the Ravens to Buffalo-based M&T Bank. However, on October 20, 2002, the Ravens dedicated the front area of the stadium's main entrance as Unitas Plaza and unveiled a statue of Unitas as the centerpiece of the plaza.
Unitas is buried at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium, Maryland.
Legacy
Unitas held the record for most Pro Bowl appearances (10) by a quarterback until Brett Favre broke his record in 2009.
Unitas set the original standard for most wins as a starting quarterback with 118 regular season victories (since surpassed by multiple quarterbacks).
Unitas was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Unitas is 11th in all-time number of regular season games won by an NFL starting quarterback with 118 wins.
Unitas is 16th in all-time percentage of regular season games won by an NFL starting quarterback with a percentage of 64.5.
1987 American Football Association Semi Pro Hall of Fame
Unitas's no. 16 is the first number retired by the football program at the University of Louisville.
Unitas Tower, a dormitory at the University of Louisville, is named for Johnny Unitas.
A statue of Unitas sits in the north end zone of Cardinal Stadium at the University of Louisville. It is a tradition for each Cardinal player to touch the statue as he enters the field.
Since 1987, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award has been awarded to the top senior quarterback of the current year in college football. The award is presented annually in Louisville.
In 1999, he was ranked No. 5 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, behind only Joe Montana among quarterbacks.
In 2004, The Sporting News ranked Unitas No. 1 among the NFL's 50 Greatest Quarterbacks, with Joe Montana at No. 2.
In 1999, ESPN's Sportscentury: 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century ranked Unitas No. 32.
Just before his death, Johnny Unitas became the community liaison for athletics in Towson, Maryland. The football stadium at Towson University was renamed Johnny Unitas Stadium in 2002. Unitas died less than a week after throwing his last pass in the grand opening of the stadium.
Set the record for consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass at 47 games. This record was surpassed by Drew Brees in 2012.
Set the record for consecutive games with at least two touchdown passes at 12 games. This record was surpassed by Don Meredith, Peyton Manning (twice), Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, and Patrick Mahomes.
Set the record for most consecutive games with at least a 120 passer rating (4); this record was later matched by Kurt Warner
For the game following his death, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning asked to wear a pair of black cleats as a tribute to Johnny's signature black boots. The league denied his request and threatened Manning with a US$25,000 fine; Manning decided not to wear them. Despite the threatened fine, Chris Redman, a Louisville alum like Unitas, and then quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, decided to pay homage by wearing the signature cleats during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In 2013, a movie project was announced by The Baltimore Sun called Unitas We Stand, which will feature Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco as Unitas during the 1958 NFL Championship.
19th Street in Ocean City, Maryland is named "Johnny Unitas Way" in his honor.
Johnny Unitas Stadium on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Maryland, home of the Towson Tigers football and Towson Tigers men's lacrosse teams is named in his honor.
Unitas was posthumously inducted into the National Lithuanian American Hall of Fame on August 24, 2013.
See also
List of most consecutive starts by a National Football League quarterback
Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL)
Notes
References
Sources
Bolus, Jim, and Billy Reed. Cardinal Football. Champaign, IL: Sports Pub Inc., 1999.
Callahan, Tom. Johnny U: the life and times of John Unitas. New York: Crown Publishers, 2006.
Lazenby, Roland. Johnny Unitas: the best there ever was. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2002.
Schaap, Dick (1999). "Johnny Unitas: Sunday's Best". In ESPN SportsCentury. Michael MacCambridge, Editor. New York: ESPN-Hyperion Books. pp. 154–65.
Cavanaugh, Jack (2008), Giants Among Men. New York:Random House.
MacCambridge, Michael (2005), America's Game. New York:Anchor Books.
External links
1933 births
2002 deaths
American football quarterbacks
American people of Lithuanian descent
Baltimore Colts players
Burials at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens
Catholics from Maryland
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Louisville Cardinals football players
National Football League announcers
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners
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Western Conference Pro Bowl players | true | [
"The 2014 J.League Division 2 season was the 43rd season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 16th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season commenced on 2 March and ended on 23 November. Post-season promotion and relegation playoffs will be played until 7 December.\n\nClubs\nGamba Osaka ... | [
"John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 to 1973, he has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL player... |
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] | C_2ba58216460d43aa986fc0e897537239_0 | who did they play in the super bowl | 5 | who did the Colts play in the super bowl? | Johnny Unitas | The 1964 season would see the Colts return to the top of the Western Conference. After dropping their season opener to the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts ran off 10 straight victories to finish with a 12-2 record. The season was one of Unitas' best as he finished with 2,824 yards passing, a league-best 9.26 yards per pass attempt, 19 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the AP and UPI for a second time. However, the season would end on a disappointing note for the Colts as they were upset by the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, losing 27-0. Unitas resumed his torrid passing in 1965, as he threw for 2,530 yards, 23 touchdowns and finished with a league-high and career best 97.1 passer rating. But he was lost for the balance of the season due to a knee injury in a week 12 loss to the Bears. More postseason heartbreak would follow in 1965. The Colts and Packers finished in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and a one-game playoff was played in Green Bay to decide who would be the conference representative in the 1965 NFL Championship Game. The Colts lost in overtime 13-10 due in large part to a game-tying field goal by Don Chandler that many say was incorrectly ruled good. Backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo also suffered a season-ending injury the following week and it would be running back Tom Matte who filled in as the emergency QB for the regular-season finale and the playoff loss to the Packers. Unitas, healthy once more, threw for 2748 yards and 22 touchdowns in 1966 in a return to Pro Bowl form. However, he posted a league-high 24 interceptions. CANNOTANSWER | the Packers. | John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 to 1973, he has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time.
Unitas set many NFL records and was named Most Valuable Player three times in 1959, 1964, and 1967, in addition to receiving 10 Pro Bowl and five first-team All-Pro honors. He helped lead the Colts to four championship titles; three pre-merger era in 1958, 1959, 1968, and one Super Bowl era in Super Bowl V. His first championship victory is regarded as one of the league's greatest games and credited with helping popularize the NFL. Between 1956 and 1960, he set the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass at 47, which held for 52 years.
Nicknamed "Johnny U" and the "Golden Arm", Unitas was considered the prototype of the modern era marquee quarterback. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Early life
John Constantine Unitas was born in Pittsburgh in 1933 to Francis J. Unitas and Helen Superfisky, both of Lithuanian descent; he grew up in the Mount Washington neighborhood in a Roman Catholic upbringing. When Unitas was five years old, his father died of cardiovascular renal disease complicated by pneumonia, leaving the young boy to be raised by his mother, who worked two jobs to support the family. His surname was a result of a phonetic transliteration of a common Lithuanian last name Jonaitis. Attending St. Justin's High School in Pittsburgh, Unitas played halfback and quarterback.
College career
In his younger years, Unitas dreamed about being part of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, but when he tried out for the team, coach Frank Leahy said that he was just too skinny and he would "get murdered" if he was put on the field.
Instead, he attended the University of Louisville. In his four-year career as a Louisville Cardinal, Unitas completed 245 passes for 3,139 yards and 27 touchdowns. Reportedly, the Unitas weighed on his first day of practice. His first start was in the fifth game of the 1951 season against St. Bonaventure, where he threw 11 consecutive passes and three touchdowns to give the Cardinals a 21–19 lead. Louisville ended up losing the game 22–21 on a disputed field goal, but found a new starting quarterback. Unitas completed 12 of 19 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns in a 35–28 victory over Houston. The team finished the season 5–5 overall and 4–1 with Unitas starting. He completed 46 of 99 passes for 602 yards and nine touchdowns (44).
By the 1952 season, the university decided to de-emphasize sports. The new president at Louisville, Dr. Philip Grant Davidson, reduced the amount of athletic aid, and tightened academic standards for athletes. As a result, 15 returning players could not meet the new standards and lost their scholarships. Unitas maintained his by taking on a new elective: square dancing. In 1952, coach Frank Camp switched the team to two-way football. Unitas not only played safety or linebacker on defense and quarterback on offense, but also returned kicks and punts on special teams. The Cardinals won their first game against Wayne State, and then Florida State in the second game. Unitas completed 16 of 21 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns. It was said that Unitas put on such a show at the Florida State game that he threw a pass under his legs for 15 yards. The rest of the season was a struggle for the Cardinals, who finished 3–5. Unitas completed 106 of 198 passes for 1,540 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The team won their first game in 1953, against Murray State, and lost the rest for a record of 1–7. One of the most memorable games of the season came in a 59–6 loss against Tennessee. Unitas completed 9 out of 19 passes for 73 yards, rushed 9 times for 52 yards, returned six kickoffs for 85 yards, one punt for three yards, and had 86 percent of the team's tackles. The only touchdown the team scored was in the fourth quarter when Unitas made a fake pitch to the running back and ran the ball 23 yards for a touchdown. Unitas was hurt later in the fourth quarter while trying to run the ball. On his way off the field, he received a standing ovation. When he got to the locker room he was so tired that his jersey and shoulder pads had to be cut off because he could not lift his arms. Louisville ended the season with a 20–13 loss to Eastern Kentucky. Unitas completed 49 of 95 passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns.
Unitas was elected captain for the 1954 season, but due to an early injury did not see much playing time. His first start was the third game of the season, against Florida State. Of the 34-man team, 21 were freshmen. The 1954 Cardinals went 3–6, with their last win at home against Morehead State. Unitas was slowed by so many injuries his senior year his 527 passing yards ended second to Jim Houser's 560.
Professional career
Pittsburgh Steelers
After his collegiate career, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL drafted Unitas in the ninth round. However, he was released before the season began as the odd man out among four quarterbacks trying to fill three spots. Steelers' head coach Walt Kiesling had made up his mind about Unitas; he thought he was not smart enough to quarterback an NFL team, and he was not given any snaps in practice with the Steelers. Among those edging out Unitas was Ted Marchibroda, future longtime NFL head coach. Out of pro football, Unitas—by this time married—worked in construction in Pittsburgh to support his family. On the weekends, he played quarterback, safety and punter on a local semi-professional team called the Bloomfield Rams for $6 a game.
Baltimore Colts
In 1956, Unitas joined the Baltimore Colts of the NFL under legendary coach Weeb Ewbank, after being asked at the last minute to join Bloomfield Rams lineman Jim Deglau, a Croatian steelworker with a life much like Unitas, at the latter's scheduled Colts tryout. The pair borrowed money from friends to pay for the gas to make the trip. Deglau later told a reporter after Unitas's death, "[His] uncle told him not to come. [He] was worried that if he came down and the Colts passed on him, it would look bad (to other NFL teams)." The Colts signed Unitas, much to the chagrin of the Cleveland Browns, who had hoped to claim the former Steeler quarterback.
Unitas made his NFL debut with an inauspicious "mop-up" appearance against Detroit, going 0–2 with one interception. Two weeks later, starting quarterback George Shaw suffered a broken leg against the Chicago Bears. In his first serious action, Unitas's initial pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Then he botched a hand-off on his next play, a fumble recovered by the Bears. Unitas rebounded quickly from that 58–27 loss, leading the Colts to an upset of Green Bay and their first win over Cleveland. He threw nine touchdown passes that year, including one in the season finale that started his record 47-game streak. His 55.6-percent completion mark was a rookie record.
In 1957, his first season as the Colts full-time starter at quarterback, Unitas finished first in the NFL in passing yards (2,550) and touchdown passes (24) as he helped lead the Colts to a 7–5 record, the first winning record in franchise history. At season's end, Unitas received the Jim Thorpe Trophy as the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA).
1958: "The Greatest Game Ever Played"
Unitas continued his prowess in 1958 passing for 2,007 yards and 19 touchdowns as the Colts won the Western Conference title. The Colts won the NFL championship under his leadership on December 28, 1958, by defeating the New York Giants 23–17 in sudden death overtime on a touchdown by fullback Alan Ameche. It was the first overtime game in NFL history, and is often referred to as the "greatest game ever played". The game, nationally televised by NBC, has been credited for sparking the rise in popularity of professional football during the 1960s.
1959 MVP season
In 1959, Unitas was named the NFL's MVP by the Associated Press (AP) for the first time, as well as United Press International's player of the year, after leading the NFL in passing yards (2,899), touchdown passes (32), and completions (193). He then led the Colts to a repeat championship, beating the Giants again 31–16 in the title game.
Beginning of the 1960s
As the 1960s began, the Colts' fortunes (and win totals) declined. Injuries to key players such as Alan Ameche, Raymond Berry, and Lenny Moore were a contributing factor. Unitas's streak of 47 straight games with at least one touchdown pass ended against the Los Angeles Rams in week 11 of the 1960 season. In spite of this, he topped the 3,000-yard passing mark for the first time and led the league in touchdown passes for the fourth consecutive season.
After three middle-of-the-pack seasons, Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom fired Weeb Ewbank and replaced him with Don Shula, who at the time was the youngest head coach in NFL history (33 years of age when he was hired). The Colts finished 8–6 in Shula's first season at the helm, good enough for only third place in the NFL's Western Conference, but they did end the season on a strong note by winning their final three games. The season was very successful for Unitas personally, as he led the NFL in passing yards with a career-best total of 3,481 and also led in completions with 237.
1964 MVP season
In the 1964 season the Colts returned to the top of the Western Conference. After dropping their season opener to the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts ran off 10 straight victories to finish with a 12–2 record. The season was one of Unitas's best as he finished with 2,824 yards passing, a league-best 9.26 yards per pass attempt, 19 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the AP and UPI for a second time. However, the season ended on a disappointing note for the Colts as they were upset by the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, losing 27–0.
Unitas resumed his torrid passing in 1965, throwing for 2,530 yards, 23 touchdowns and finishing with a league-high and career-best 97.1 passer rating. But he was lost for the balance of the season due to a knee injury in a week 12 loss to the Bears. Backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo also suffered a season-ending injury the following week, and running back Tom Matte filled in as the emergency quarterback for the regular season finale and in a playoff loss to the Packers. The Colts and Packers finished in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and a one-game playoff was played in Green Bay to decide who would be the conference representative in the 1965 NFL Championship Game. The Colts lost in overtime 13–10 due in large part to a game-tying field goal by Don Chandler that many say was incorrectly ruled good.
Unitas, healthy once more, threw for 2,748 yards and 22 touchdowns in 1966 in a return to Pro Bowl form. However, he posted a league-high 24 interceptions.
1967 MVP season
After once again finishing second in the Western Conference in 1966, the Colts rebounded to finish 11–1–2 in 1967 tying the Los Angeles Rams for the NFL's best record. In winning his third MVP award from the AP and UPI in 1967 (and his second from the NEA), Unitas had a league-high 58.5 completion percentage and passed for 3,428 yards and 20 touchdowns. He openly complained about having tennis elbow and he threw eight interceptions and only three touchdown passes in the final five games. Once again, the season ended in loss for the Colts, as they were shut out of the newly instituted four-team NFL playoff after losing the divisional tiebreaker to the Rams, a 34–10 rout in the regular season finale.
Super Bowls and final Colt years
In the final game of the 1968 preseason, the muscles in Unitas's arm were torn when he was hit by a member of the Dallas Cowboys defense. Unitas wrote in his autobiography that he felt his arm was initially injured by the use of the "night ball" that the NFL was testing for better TV visibility during night games. In a post-game interview the previous year, he noted having constant pain in his elbow for several years prior. He would spend most of the season sitting on the bench. The Colts still marched to a league-best 13–1 record behind backup quarterback and ultimate 1968 NFL MVP Earl Morrall. Although he was injured through most of the season, Unitas came off the bench to play in Super Bowl III, the famous game where Joe Namath guaranteed a New York Jets win despite conventional wisdom. Unitas's insertion was a desperation move in an attempt to retrieve dominance of the NFL over the upstart AFL. Although the Colts won an NFL Championship in 1968, they lost the Super Bowl to the AFL Champion New York Jets, thus becoming the first-ever NFL champions that were not also deemed world champions. Unitas helped put together the Colts' only score, a touchdown late in the game. Unitas also drove the Colts into scoring position following the touchdown and successful onside kick, but head coach Don Shula eschewed a field goal attempt, which (if successful) would have cut the Jets' lead to 16–10. Despite not playing until late in the third quarter, he still finished the game with more passing yards than the team's starter, Earl Morrall.
After an off-season of rehabilitation on his elbow, Unitas rebounded in 1969, passing for 2,342 yards and 12 touchdowns with 20 interceptions. But the Colts finished with a disappointing 8–5–1 record, and missed the playoffs.
In 1970, the NFL and AFL had merged into one league, and the Colts moved to the new American Football Conference, along with the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He threw for 2,213 yards and 14 touchdowns while leading the Colts to an 11–2–1 season. In their first rematch with the Jets, Unitas and Namath threw a combined nine interceptions in a 29–22 Colts win. Namath threw 62 passes and broke his hand on the final play of the game, ending his season.
Unitas threw for 390 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in AFC playoff victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Oakland Raiders. In Super Bowl V against the Dallas Cowboys, he was knocked out of the game with a rib injury in the second quarter, soon after throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass (setting a then-Super Bowl record) to John Mackey. However, he had also tossed two interceptions before his departure from the game. Earl Morrall came in to lead the team to a last-second, 16–13 victory.
In 1971, Unitas split playing time with Morrall, throwing only three touchdown passes. He started both playoff games, a win over the Cleveland Browns that sent the Colts to the AFC Championship game against the Miami Dolphins, which they lost by a score of 21–0. Unitas threw three interceptions in the game, one of which was returned for a touchdown by safety Dick Anderson.
The 1972 season saw the Colts declining. After losing the season opener, Unitas was involved in the second and final regular season head-to-head meeting with "Broadway" Joe Namath. The first was in 1970 (won by the Colts, 29–22). The last meeting took place on September 24, 1972 at Memorial Stadium. He threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, but Namath upstaged him again, bombing the Colts for 496 yards and six touchdowns in a 44–34 Jets victory – their first over Baltimore since the 1970 merger. After losing four of their first five games, the Colts fired head coach Don McCafferty, and benched Unitas.
One of the more memorable moments in football history came on Unitas's last game in a Colts uniform at Memorial Stadium, in a game against the Buffalo Bills. He was not the starter for this game, but the Colts were blowing the Bills out by a score of 28–0 behind Marty Domres; Unitas entered the game due to the fans chanting, "We want Unitas!!!", and a plan devised by head coach John Sandusky to convince Unitas that the starting quarterback was injured. Unitas came onto the field, and threw two passes, one of which was a long touchdown to wide receiver Eddie Hinton which would be his last pass as a Colt. The Colts won the game by the score of 35–7.
San Diego, retirement, and records
Unitas was traded from the Colts to the San Diego Chargers on January 20, 1973, in a transaction that originally had future considerations returning to Baltimore. The deal's only obstacle was the personal services contract he had signed with the Colts in 1970 which would've kept him employed within the organization on an annual salary of $30,000 over ten years once his career as an active player ended. The pact had been signed when the ballclub was owned by Carroll Rosenbloom who subsequently acquired the Los Angeles Rams on July 13, 1972, in a franchise swap with Robert Irsay. The deal was completed when the Chargers purchased that contract. Eager to sever all ties with the Colts, Unitas signed a new two-year contract with the Chargers on June 8, 1973. He succeeded John Hadl who had requested and was granted a trade to the Rams.
Unitas started the season with a 38–0 loss to the Washington Redskins. He threw for just 55 yards and 3 interceptions, and was sacked 8 times. His final victory as a starter came against the Buffalo Bills in week two. Unitas was 10–18 for 175 yards, two touchdown passes, and no interceptions in a 34–7 Chargers rout. Many were questioning his role as a starter after a loss to the Bengals in week three. Two weeks later, he threw two first-half interceptions, passed for only 19 yards, and went 2-for-9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was then replaced by rookie quarterback, future Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. After having posted a 1–3 record as a starter, Unitas retired in the preseason of 1974.
Unitas finished his 18 NFL seasons with 2,830 completions in 5,186 attempts for 40,239 yards and 290 touchdowns, with 253 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,777 yards and 13 touchdowns. Plagued by arm trouble in his later seasons, he threw more interceptions (64) than touchdowns (38) in 1968–1973. After averaging 215.8 yards per game in his first 12 seasons, his production fell to 124.4 in his final six. His passer rating plummeted from 82.9 to 60.4 for the same periods. Even so, Unitas set many passing records during his career. He was the first quarterback to throw for more than 40,000 yards, despite playing during an era when NFL teams played shorter seasons of 12 or 14 games (as opposed to today's 17-game seasons) and prior to modern passing-friendly rules implemented in 1978. His 32 touchdown passes in 1959 were a record at the time, making Unitas the first quarterback to hit the 30 touchdown mark in a season. His 47-game consecutive touchdown streak between 1956 and 1960 was a record considered by many to be unbreakable. The streak stood for 52 years before being broken by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in a game against the San Diego Chargers on October 7, 2012.
Post-playing days
After his playing days were finished, Unitas settled in Baltimore where he raised his family while also pursuing a career in broadcasting, doing color commentary for NFL games on CBS in the 1970s. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. After Robert Irsay moved the Colts franchise to Indianapolis in 1984, a move known to this day in Baltimore as "Bob Irsay's Midnight Ride," he was so outraged that he cut all ties to the relocated team (though his No. 19 jersey is still retired by the Colts), declaring himself strictly a Baltimore Colt for the remainder of his life. Some other prominent old-time Colts followed his lead, although many attended the 1975 team's reunion at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in 2009. A total of 39 Colts players from that 1975 team attended said reunion in Indianapolis, including Bert Jones and Lydell Mitchell. Unitas asked the Pro Football Hall of Fame on numerous occasions (including on Roy Firestone's Up Close) to remove his display unless it was listed as belonging to the Baltimore Colts. The Hall of Fame has never complied with the request. Unitas donated his Colts memorabilia to the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore; they are now on display in the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards.
Unitas was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
Unitas actively lobbied for another NFL team to come to Baltimore. After the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996 and changed their name to the Ravens, he and some of the other old-time Colts attended the Ravens' first game ever against the Raiders on Opening Day at Memorial Stadium. He was frequently seen on the Ravens' sidelines at home games (most prominently in 1998 when the now-Indianapolis Colts played the Ravens in Baltimore) and received a thunderous ovation every time he was pictured on each of the huge widescreens at M&T Bank Stadium. He was often seen on the 30-yard line on the Ravens side. When the NFL celebrated its first 50 years, Unitas was voted the league's best player. Retired Bears quarterback Sid Luckman said of Unitas, "He was better than me, better than Sammy Baugh, better than anyone."
Unitas lived most of the final years of his life severely hobbled. Due to an elbow injury suffered during his playing career, he had only very limited use of his right hand, and could not perform any physical activity more strenuous than golf due to his artificial knees.
NFL career statistics
Source:
In 1957, Unitas was named MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association.
Personal life
At the age of 21 on November 20, 1954, Unitas married his high school sweetheart Dorothy Hoelle; they lived in Towson and had five children before divorcing. Unitas's second wife was Sandra Lemon, whom he married on June 26, 1972; they had three children, lived in Baldwin, and remained married until his death.
Towson University, where Unitas was a major fund-raiser and which his children attended, named its football and lacrosse complex Johnny Unitas Stadium in recognition of both his football career and service to the university.
Toward the end of his life, Unitas brought media attention to the many permanent physical disabilities that he and his fellow players suffered during their careers before heavy padding and other safety features became popular. Unitas himself lost almost total use of his right hand, with the middle finger and thumb noticeably disfigured from being repeatedly broken during games.
On September 11, 2002, Unitas died from a heart attack while working out at the Kernan Physical Therapy Center (now The University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute) in Baltimore. His funeral was held at Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland. Between his death and October 4, 2002, 56,934 people signed an online petition urging the Baltimore Ravens to rename the Ravens' home stadium (owned by the State of Maryland) after Unitas. These requests were unsuccessful since the lucrative naming rights had already been leased by the Ravens to Buffalo-based M&T Bank. However, on October 20, 2002, the Ravens dedicated the front area of the stadium's main entrance as Unitas Plaza and unveiled a statue of Unitas as the centerpiece of the plaza.
Unitas is buried at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium, Maryland.
Legacy
Unitas held the record for most Pro Bowl appearances (10) by a quarterback until Brett Favre broke his record in 2009.
Unitas set the original standard for most wins as a starting quarterback with 118 regular season victories (since surpassed by multiple quarterbacks).
Unitas was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Unitas is 11th in all-time number of regular season games won by an NFL starting quarterback with 118 wins.
Unitas is 16th in all-time percentage of regular season games won by an NFL starting quarterback with a percentage of 64.5.
1987 American Football Association Semi Pro Hall of Fame
Unitas's no. 16 is the first number retired by the football program at the University of Louisville.
Unitas Tower, a dormitory at the University of Louisville, is named for Johnny Unitas.
A statue of Unitas sits in the north end zone of Cardinal Stadium at the University of Louisville. It is a tradition for each Cardinal player to touch the statue as he enters the field.
Since 1987, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award has been awarded to the top senior quarterback of the current year in college football. The award is presented annually in Louisville.
In 1999, he was ranked No. 5 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, behind only Joe Montana among quarterbacks.
In 2004, The Sporting News ranked Unitas No. 1 among the NFL's 50 Greatest Quarterbacks, with Joe Montana at No. 2.
In 1999, ESPN's Sportscentury: 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century ranked Unitas No. 32.
Just before his death, Johnny Unitas became the community liaison for athletics in Towson, Maryland. The football stadium at Towson University was renamed Johnny Unitas Stadium in 2002. Unitas died less than a week after throwing his last pass in the grand opening of the stadium.
Set the record for consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass at 47 games. This record was surpassed by Drew Brees in 2012.
Set the record for consecutive games with at least two touchdown passes at 12 games. This record was surpassed by Don Meredith, Peyton Manning (twice), Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, and Patrick Mahomes.
Set the record for most consecutive games with at least a 120 passer rating (4); this record was later matched by Kurt Warner
For the game following his death, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning asked to wear a pair of black cleats as a tribute to Johnny's signature black boots. The league denied his request and threatened Manning with a US$25,000 fine; Manning decided not to wear them. Despite the threatened fine, Chris Redman, a Louisville alum like Unitas, and then quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, decided to pay homage by wearing the signature cleats during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In 2013, a movie project was announced by The Baltimore Sun called Unitas We Stand, which will feature Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco as Unitas during the 1958 NFL Championship.
19th Street in Ocean City, Maryland is named "Johnny Unitas Way" in his honor.
Johnny Unitas Stadium on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Maryland, home of the Towson Tigers football and Towson Tigers men's lacrosse teams is named in his honor.
Unitas was posthumously inducted into the National Lithuanian American Hall of Fame on August 24, 2013.
See also
List of most consecutive starts by a National Football League quarterback
Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL)
Notes
References
Sources
Bolus, Jim, and Billy Reed. Cardinal Football. Champaign, IL: Sports Pub Inc., 1999.
Callahan, Tom. Johnny U: the life and times of John Unitas. New York: Crown Publishers, 2006.
Lazenby, Roland. Johnny Unitas: the best there ever was. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2002.
Schaap, Dick (1999). "Johnny Unitas: Sunday's Best". In ESPN SportsCentury. Michael MacCambridge, Editor. New York: ESPN-Hyperion Books. pp. 154–65.
Cavanaugh, Jack (2008), Giants Among Men. New York:Random House.
MacCambridge, Michael (2005), America's Game. New York:Anchor Books.
External links
1933 births
2002 deaths
American football quarterbacks
American people of Lithuanian descent
Baltimore Colts players
Burials at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens
Catholics from Maryland
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National Football League announcers
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners
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Western Conference Pro Bowl players | true | [
"The 2011 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2010 season. It took place at 7:00 p.m. EST (2:00 p.m. local time) on Sunday, January 30, 2011 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The NFC won 55–41, despite leading 42-0.\n\nReturn to Hawaii\nIn 2010, the NFL's contract with Hawaii's Alo... | [
"John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 to 1973, he has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL player... |
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"... | C_2ba58216460d43aa986fc0e897537239_0 | what were unitas stats | 6 | what were Johnny Unitas stats? | Johnny Unitas | The 1964 season would see the Colts return to the top of the Western Conference. After dropping their season opener to the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts ran off 10 straight victories to finish with a 12-2 record. The season was one of Unitas' best as he finished with 2,824 yards passing, a league-best 9.26 yards per pass attempt, 19 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the AP and UPI for a second time. However, the season would end on a disappointing note for the Colts as they were upset by the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, losing 27-0. Unitas resumed his torrid passing in 1965, as he threw for 2,530 yards, 23 touchdowns and finished with a league-high and career best 97.1 passer rating. But he was lost for the balance of the season due to a knee injury in a week 12 loss to the Bears. More postseason heartbreak would follow in 1965. The Colts and Packers finished in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and a one-game playoff was played in Green Bay to decide who would be the conference representative in the 1965 NFL Championship Game. The Colts lost in overtime 13-10 due in large part to a game-tying field goal by Don Chandler that many say was incorrectly ruled good. Backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo also suffered a season-ending injury the following week and it would be running back Tom Matte who filled in as the emergency QB for the regular-season finale and the playoff loss to the Packers. Unitas, healthy once more, threw for 2748 yards and 22 touchdowns in 1966 in a return to Pro Bowl form. However, he posted a league-high 24 interceptions. CANNOTANSWER | Gary Cuozzo also suffered a season-ending injury the following | John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 to 1973, he has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time.
Unitas set many NFL records and was named Most Valuable Player three times in 1959, 1964, and 1967, in addition to receiving 10 Pro Bowl and five first-team All-Pro honors. He helped lead the Colts to four championship titles; three pre-merger era in 1958, 1959, 1968, and one Super Bowl era in Super Bowl V. His first championship victory is regarded as one of the league's greatest games and credited with helping popularize the NFL. Between 1956 and 1960, he set the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass at 47, which held for 52 years.
Nicknamed "Johnny U" and the "Golden Arm", Unitas was considered the prototype of the modern era marquee quarterback. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Early life
John Constantine Unitas was born in Pittsburgh in 1933 to Francis J. Unitas and Helen Superfisky, both of Lithuanian descent; he grew up in the Mount Washington neighborhood in a Roman Catholic upbringing. When Unitas was five years old, his father died of cardiovascular renal disease complicated by pneumonia, leaving the young boy to be raised by his mother, who worked two jobs to support the family. His surname was a result of a phonetic transliteration of a common Lithuanian last name Jonaitis. Attending St. Justin's High School in Pittsburgh, Unitas played halfback and quarterback.
College career
In his younger years, Unitas dreamed about being part of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, but when he tried out for the team, coach Frank Leahy said that he was just too skinny and he would "get murdered" if he was put on the field.
Instead, he attended the University of Louisville. In his four-year career as a Louisville Cardinal, Unitas completed 245 passes for 3,139 yards and 27 touchdowns. Reportedly, the Unitas weighed on his first day of practice. His first start was in the fifth game of the 1951 season against St. Bonaventure, where he threw 11 consecutive passes and three touchdowns to give the Cardinals a 21–19 lead. Louisville ended up losing the game 22–21 on a disputed field goal, but found a new starting quarterback. Unitas completed 12 of 19 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns in a 35–28 victory over Houston. The team finished the season 5–5 overall and 4–1 with Unitas starting. He completed 46 of 99 passes for 602 yards and nine touchdowns (44).
By the 1952 season, the university decided to de-emphasize sports. The new president at Louisville, Dr. Philip Grant Davidson, reduced the amount of athletic aid, and tightened academic standards for athletes. As a result, 15 returning players could not meet the new standards and lost their scholarships. Unitas maintained his by taking on a new elective: square dancing. In 1952, coach Frank Camp switched the team to two-way football. Unitas not only played safety or linebacker on defense and quarterback on offense, but also returned kicks and punts on special teams. The Cardinals won their first game against Wayne State, and then Florida State in the second game. Unitas completed 16 of 21 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns. It was said that Unitas put on such a show at the Florida State game that he threw a pass under his legs for 15 yards. The rest of the season was a struggle for the Cardinals, who finished 3–5. Unitas completed 106 of 198 passes for 1,540 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The team won their first game in 1953, against Murray State, and lost the rest for a record of 1–7. One of the most memorable games of the season came in a 59–6 loss against Tennessee. Unitas completed 9 out of 19 passes for 73 yards, rushed 9 times for 52 yards, returned six kickoffs for 85 yards, one punt for three yards, and had 86 percent of the team's tackles. The only touchdown the team scored was in the fourth quarter when Unitas made a fake pitch to the running back and ran the ball 23 yards for a touchdown. Unitas was hurt later in the fourth quarter while trying to run the ball. On his way off the field, he received a standing ovation. When he got to the locker room he was so tired that his jersey and shoulder pads had to be cut off because he could not lift his arms. Louisville ended the season with a 20–13 loss to Eastern Kentucky. Unitas completed 49 of 95 passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns.
Unitas was elected captain for the 1954 season, but due to an early injury did not see much playing time. His first start was the third game of the season, against Florida State. Of the 34-man team, 21 were freshmen. The 1954 Cardinals went 3–6, with their last win at home against Morehead State. Unitas was slowed by so many injuries his senior year his 527 passing yards ended second to Jim Houser's 560.
Professional career
Pittsburgh Steelers
After his collegiate career, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL drafted Unitas in the ninth round. However, he was released before the season began as the odd man out among four quarterbacks trying to fill three spots. Steelers' head coach Walt Kiesling had made up his mind about Unitas; he thought he was not smart enough to quarterback an NFL team, and he was not given any snaps in practice with the Steelers. Among those edging out Unitas was Ted Marchibroda, future longtime NFL head coach. Out of pro football, Unitas—by this time married—worked in construction in Pittsburgh to support his family. On the weekends, he played quarterback, safety and punter on a local semi-professional team called the Bloomfield Rams for $6 a game.
Baltimore Colts
In 1956, Unitas joined the Baltimore Colts of the NFL under legendary coach Weeb Ewbank, after being asked at the last minute to join Bloomfield Rams lineman Jim Deglau, a Croatian steelworker with a life much like Unitas, at the latter's scheduled Colts tryout. The pair borrowed money from friends to pay for the gas to make the trip. Deglau later told a reporter after Unitas's death, "[His] uncle told him not to come. [He] was worried that if he came down and the Colts passed on him, it would look bad (to other NFL teams)." The Colts signed Unitas, much to the chagrin of the Cleveland Browns, who had hoped to claim the former Steeler quarterback.
Unitas made his NFL debut with an inauspicious "mop-up" appearance against Detroit, going 0–2 with one interception. Two weeks later, starting quarterback George Shaw suffered a broken leg against the Chicago Bears. In his first serious action, Unitas's initial pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Then he botched a hand-off on his next play, a fumble recovered by the Bears. Unitas rebounded quickly from that 58–27 loss, leading the Colts to an upset of Green Bay and their first win over Cleveland. He threw nine touchdown passes that year, including one in the season finale that started his record 47-game streak. His 55.6-percent completion mark was a rookie record.
In 1957, his first season as the Colts full-time starter at quarterback, Unitas finished first in the NFL in passing yards (2,550) and touchdown passes (24) as he helped lead the Colts to a 7–5 record, the first winning record in franchise history. At season's end, Unitas received the Jim Thorpe Trophy as the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA).
1958: "The Greatest Game Ever Played"
Unitas continued his prowess in 1958 passing for 2,007 yards and 19 touchdowns as the Colts won the Western Conference title. The Colts won the NFL championship under his leadership on December 28, 1958, by defeating the New York Giants 23–17 in sudden death overtime on a touchdown by fullback Alan Ameche. It was the first overtime game in NFL history, and is often referred to as the "greatest game ever played". The game, nationally televised by NBC, has been credited for sparking the rise in popularity of professional football during the 1960s.
1959 MVP season
In 1959, Unitas was named the NFL's MVP by the Associated Press (AP) for the first time, as well as United Press International's player of the year, after leading the NFL in passing yards (2,899), touchdown passes (32), and completions (193). He then led the Colts to a repeat championship, beating the Giants again 31–16 in the title game.
Beginning of the 1960s
As the 1960s began, the Colts' fortunes (and win totals) declined. Injuries to key players such as Alan Ameche, Raymond Berry, and Lenny Moore were a contributing factor. Unitas's streak of 47 straight games with at least one touchdown pass ended against the Los Angeles Rams in week 11 of the 1960 season. In spite of this, he topped the 3,000-yard passing mark for the first time and led the league in touchdown passes for the fourth consecutive season.
After three middle-of-the-pack seasons, Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom fired Weeb Ewbank and replaced him with Don Shula, who at the time was the youngest head coach in NFL history (33 years of age when he was hired). The Colts finished 8–6 in Shula's first season at the helm, good enough for only third place in the NFL's Western Conference, but they did end the season on a strong note by winning their final three games. The season was very successful for Unitas personally, as he led the NFL in passing yards with a career-best total of 3,481 and also led in completions with 237.
1964 MVP season
In the 1964 season the Colts returned to the top of the Western Conference. After dropping their season opener to the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts ran off 10 straight victories to finish with a 12–2 record. The season was one of Unitas's best as he finished with 2,824 yards passing, a league-best 9.26 yards per pass attempt, 19 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the AP and UPI for a second time. However, the season ended on a disappointing note for the Colts as they were upset by the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, losing 27–0.
Unitas resumed his torrid passing in 1965, throwing for 2,530 yards, 23 touchdowns and finishing with a league-high and career-best 97.1 passer rating. But he was lost for the balance of the season due to a knee injury in a week 12 loss to the Bears. Backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo also suffered a season-ending injury the following week, and running back Tom Matte filled in as the emergency quarterback for the regular season finale and in a playoff loss to the Packers. The Colts and Packers finished in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and a one-game playoff was played in Green Bay to decide who would be the conference representative in the 1965 NFL Championship Game. The Colts lost in overtime 13–10 due in large part to a game-tying field goal by Don Chandler that many say was incorrectly ruled good.
Unitas, healthy once more, threw for 2,748 yards and 22 touchdowns in 1966 in a return to Pro Bowl form. However, he posted a league-high 24 interceptions.
1967 MVP season
After once again finishing second in the Western Conference in 1966, the Colts rebounded to finish 11–1–2 in 1967 tying the Los Angeles Rams for the NFL's best record. In winning his third MVP award from the AP and UPI in 1967 (and his second from the NEA), Unitas had a league-high 58.5 completion percentage and passed for 3,428 yards and 20 touchdowns. He openly complained about having tennis elbow and he threw eight interceptions and only three touchdown passes in the final five games. Once again, the season ended in loss for the Colts, as they were shut out of the newly instituted four-team NFL playoff after losing the divisional tiebreaker to the Rams, a 34–10 rout in the regular season finale.
Super Bowls and final Colt years
In the final game of the 1968 preseason, the muscles in Unitas's arm were torn when he was hit by a member of the Dallas Cowboys defense. Unitas wrote in his autobiography that he felt his arm was initially injured by the use of the "night ball" that the NFL was testing for better TV visibility during night games. In a post-game interview the previous year, he noted having constant pain in his elbow for several years prior. He would spend most of the season sitting on the bench. The Colts still marched to a league-best 13–1 record behind backup quarterback and ultimate 1968 NFL MVP Earl Morrall. Although he was injured through most of the season, Unitas came off the bench to play in Super Bowl III, the famous game where Joe Namath guaranteed a New York Jets win despite conventional wisdom. Unitas's insertion was a desperation move in an attempt to retrieve dominance of the NFL over the upstart AFL. Although the Colts won an NFL Championship in 1968, they lost the Super Bowl to the AFL Champion New York Jets, thus becoming the first-ever NFL champions that were not also deemed world champions. Unitas helped put together the Colts' only score, a touchdown late in the game. Unitas also drove the Colts into scoring position following the touchdown and successful onside kick, but head coach Don Shula eschewed a field goal attempt, which (if successful) would have cut the Jets' lead to 16–10. Despite not playing until late in the third quarter, he still finished the game with more passing yards than the team's starter, Earl Morrall.
After an off-season of rehabilitation on his elbow, Unitas rebounded in 1969, passing for 2,342 yards and 12 touchdowns with 20 interceptions. But the Colts finished with a disappointing 8–5–1 record, and missed the playoffs.
In 1970, the NFL and AFL had merged into one league, and the Colts moved to the new American Football Conference, along with the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He threw for 2,213 yards and 14 touchdowns while leading the Colts to an 11–2–1 season. In their first rematch with the Jets, Unitas and Namath threw a combined nine interceptions in a 29–22 Colts win. Namath threw 62 passes and broke his hand on the final play of the game, ending his season.
Unitas threw for 390 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in AFC playoff victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Oakland Raiders. In Super Bowl V against the Dallas Cowboys, he was knocked out of the game with a rib injury in the second quarter, soon after throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass (setting a then-Super Bowl record) to John Mackey. However, he had also tossed two interceptions before his departure from the game. Earl Morrall came in to lead the team to a last-second, 16–13 victory.
In 1971, Unitas split playing time with Morrall, throwing only three touchdown passes. He started both playoff games, a win over the Cleveland Browns that sent the Colts to the AFC Championship game against the Miami Dolphins, which they lost by a score of 21–0. Unitas threw three interceptions in the game, one of which was returned for a touchdown by safety Dick Anderson.
The 1972 season saw the Colts declining. After losing the season opener, Unitas was involved in the second and final regular season head-to-head meeting with "Broadway" Joe Namath. The first was in 1970 (won by the Colts, 29–22). The last meeting took place on September 24, 1972 at Memorial Stadium. He threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, but Namath upstaged him again, bombing the Colts for 496 yards and six touchdowns in a 44–34 Jets victory – their first over Baltimore since the 1970 merger. After losing four of their first five games, the Colts fired head coach Don McCafferty, and benched Unitas.
One of the more memorable moments in football history came on Unitas's last game in a Colts uniform at Memorial Stadium, in a game against the Buffalo Bills. He was not the starter for this game, but the Colts were blowing the Bills out by a score of 28–0 behind Marty Domres; Unitas entered the game due to the fans chanting, "We want Unitas!!!", and a plan devised by head coach John Sandusky to convince Unitas that the starting quarterback was injured. Unitas came onto the field, and threw two passes, one of which was a long touchdown to wide receiver Eddie Hinton which would be his last pass as a Colt. The Colts won the game by the score of 35–7.
San Diego, retirement, and records
Unitas was traded from the Colts to the San Diego Chargers on January 20, 1973, in a transaction that originally had future considerations returning to Baltimore. The deal's only obstacle was the personal services contract he had signed with the Colts in 1970 which would've kept him employed within the organization on an annual salary of $30,000 over ten years once his career as an active player ended. The pact had been signed when the ballclub was owned by Carroll Rosenbloom who subsequently acquired the Los Angeles Rams on July 13, 1972, in a franchise swap with Robert Irsay. The deal was completed when the Chargers purchased that contract. Eager to sever all ties with the Colts, Unitas signed a new two-year contract with the Chargers on June 8, 1973. He succeeded John Hadl who had requested and was granted a trade to the Rams.
Unitas started the season with a 38–0 loss to the Washington Redskins. He threw for just 55 yards and 3 interceptions, and was sacked 8 times. His final victory as a starter came against the Buffalo Bills in week two. Unitas was 10–18 for 175 yards, two touchdown passes, and no interceptions in a 34–7 Chargers rout. Many were questioning his role as a starter after a loss to the Bengals in week three. Two weeks later, he threw two first-half interceptions, passed for only 19 yards, and went 2-for-9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was then replaced by rookie quarterback, future Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. After having posted a 1–3 record as a starter, Unitas retired in the preseason of 1974.
Unitas finished his 18 NFL seasons with 2,830 completions in 5,186 attempts for 40,239 yards and 290 touchdowns, with 253 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,777 yards and 13 touchdowns. Plagued by arm trouble in his later seasons, he threw more interceptions (64) than touchdowns (38) in 1968–1973. After averaging 215.8 yards per game in his first 12 seasons, his production fell to 124.4 in his final six. His passer rating plummeted from 82.9 to 60.4 for the same periods. Even so, Unitas set many passing records during his career. He was the first quarterback to throw for more than 40,000 yards, despite playing during an era when NFL teams played shorter seasons of 12 or 14 games (as opposed to today's 17-game seasons) and prior to modern passing-friendly rules implemented in 1978. His 32 touchdown passes in 1959 were a record at the time, making Unitas the first quarterback to hit the 30 touchdown mark in a season. His 47-game consecutive touchdown streak between 1956 and 1960 was a record considered by many to be unbreakable. The streak stood for 52 years before being broken by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in a game against the San Diego Chargers on October 7, 2012.
Post-playing days
After his playing days were finished, Unitas settled in Baltimore where he raised his family while also pursuing a career in broadcasting, doing color commentary for NFL games on CBS in the 1970s. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. After Robert Irsay moved the Colts franchise to Indianapolis in 1984, a move known to this day in Baltimore as "Bob Irsay's Midnight Ride," he was so outraged that he cut all ties to the relocated team (though his No. 19 jersey is still retired by the Colts), declaring himself strictly a Baltimore Colt for the remainder of his life. Some other prominent old-time Colts followed his lead, although many attended the 1975 team's reunion at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in 2009. A total of 39 Colts players from that 1975 team attended said reunion in Indianapolis, including Bert Jones and Lydell Mitchell. Unitas asked the Pro Football Hall of Fame on numerous occasions (including on Roy Firestone's Up Close) to remove his display unless it was listed as belonging to the Baltimore Colts. The Hall of Fame has never complied with the request. Unitas donated his Colts memorabilia to the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore; they are now on display in the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards.
Unitas was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
Unitas actively lobbied for another NFL team to come to Baltimore. After the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996 and changed their name to the Ravens, he and some of the other old-time Colts attended the Ravens' first game ever against the Raiders on Opening Day at Memorial Stadium. He was frequently seen on the Ravens' sidelines at home games (most prominently in 1998 when the now-Indianapolis Colts played the Ravens in Baltimore) and received a thunderous ovation every time he was pictured on each of the huge widescreens at M&T Bank Stadium. He was often seen on the 30-yard line on the Ravens side. When the NFL celebrated its first 50 years, Unitas was voted the league's best player. Retired Bears quarterback Sid Luckman said of Unitas, "He was better than me, better than Sammy Baugh, better than anyone."
Unitas lived most of the final years of his life severely hobbled. Due to an elbow injury suffered during his playing career, he had only very limited use of his right hand, and could not perform any physical activity more strenuous than golf due to his artificial knees.
NFL career statistics
Source:
In 1957, Unitas was named MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association.
Personal life
At the age of 21 on November 20, 1954, Unitas married his high school sweetheart Dorothy Hoelle; they lived in Towson and had five children before divorcing. Unitas's second wife was Sandra Lemon, whom he married on June 26, 1972; they had three children, lived in Baldwin, and remained married until his death.
Towson University, where Unitas was a major fund-raiser and which his children attended, named its football and lacrosse complex Johnny Unitas Stadium in recognition of both his football career and service to the university.
Toward the end of his life, Unitas brought media attention to the many permanent physical disabilities that he and his fellow players suffered during their careers before heavy padding and other safety features became popular. Unitas himself lost almost total use of his right hand, with the middle finger and thumb noticeably disfigured from being repeatedly broken during games.
On September 11, 2002, Unitas died from a heart attack while working out at the Kernan Physical Therapy Center (now The University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute) in Baltimore. His funeral was held at Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland. Between his death and October 4, 2002, 56,934 people signed an online petition urging the Baltimore Ravens to rename the Ravens' home stadium (owned by the State of Maryland) after Unitas. These requests were unsuccessful since the lucrative naming rights had already been leased by the Ravens to Buffalo-based M&T Bank. However, on October 20, 2002, the Ravens dedicated the front area of the stadium's main entrance as Unitas Plaza and unveiled a statue of Unitas as the centerpiece of the plaza.
Unitas is buried at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium, Maryland.
Legacy
Unitas held the record for most Pro Bowl appearances (10) by a quarterback until Brett Favre broke his record in 2009.
Unitas set the original standard for most wins as a starting quarterback with 118 regular season victories (since surpassed by multiple quarterbacks).
Unitas was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Unitas is 11th in all-time number of regular season games won by an NFL starting quarterback with 118 wins.
Unitas is 16th in all-time percentage of regular season games won by an NFL starting quarterback with a percentage of 64.5.
1987 American Football Association Semi Pro Hall of Fame
Unitas's no. 16 is the first number retired by the football program at the University of Louisville.
Unitas Tower, a dormitory at the University of Louisville, is named for Johnny Unitas.
A statue of Unitas sits in the north end zone of Cardinal Stadium at the University of Louisville. It is a tradition for each Cardinal player to touch the statue as he enters the field.
Since 1987, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award has been awarded to the top senior quarterback of the current year in college football. The award is presented annually in Louisville.
In 1999, he was ranked No. 5 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, behind only Joe Montana among quarterbacks.
In 2004, The Sporting News ranked Unitas No. 1 among the NFL's 50 Greatest Quarterbacks, with Joe Montana at No. 2.
In 1999, ESPN's Sportscentury: 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century ranked Unitas No. 32.
Just before his death, Johnny Unitas became the community liaison for athletics in Towson, Maryland. The football stadium at Towson University was renamed Johnny Unitas Stadium in 2002. Unitas died less than a week after throwing his last pass in the grand opening of the stadium.
Set the record for consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass at 47 games. This record was surpassed by Drew Brees in 2012.
Set the record for consecutive games with at least two touchdown passes at 12 games. This record was surpassed by Don Meredith, Peyton Manning (twice), Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, and Patrick Mahomes.
Set the record for most consecutive games with at least a 120 passer rating (4); this record was later matched by Kurt Warner
For the game following his death, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning asked to wear a pair of black cleats as a tribute to Johnny's signature black boots. The league denied his request and threatened Manning with a US$25,000 fine; Manning decided not to wear them. Despite the threatened fine, Chris Redman, a Louisville alum like Unitas, and then quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, decided to pay homage by wearing the signature cleats during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In 2013, a movie project was announced by The Baltimore Sun called Unitas We Stand, which will feature Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco as Unitas during the 1958 NFL Championship.
19th Street in Ocean City, Maryland is named "Johnny Unitas Way" in his honor.
Johnny Unitas Stadium on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Maryland, home of the Towson Tigers football and Towson Tigers men's lacrosse teams is named in his honor.
Unitas was posthumously inducted into the National Lithuanian American Hall of Fame on August 24, 2013.
See also
List of most consecutive starts by a National Football League quarterback
Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL)
Notes
References
Sources
Bolus, Jim, and Billy Reed. Cardinal Football. Champaign, IL: Sports Pub Inc., 1999.
Callahan, Tom. Johnny U: the life and times of John Unitas. New York: Crown Publishers, 2006.
Lazenby, Roland. Johnny Unitas: the best there ever was. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2002.
Schaap, Dick (1999). "Johnny Unitas: Sunday's Best". In ESPN SportsCentury. Michael MacCambridge, Editor. New York: ESPN-Hyperion Books. pp. 154–65.
Cavanaugh, Jack (2008), Giants Among Men. New York:Random House.
MacCambridge, Michael (2005), America's Game. New York:Anchor Books.
External links
1933 births
2002 deaths
American football quarterbacks
American people of Lithuanian descent
Baltimore Colts players
Burials at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens
Catholics from Maryland
Catholics from Pennsylvania
Louisville Cardinals football players
National Football League announcers
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners
National Football League players with retired numbers
People from Timonium, Maryland
People from Towson, Maryland
Pittsburgh Steelers players
Players of American football from Baltimore
Players of American football from Pittsburgh
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Western Conference Pro Bowl players | true | [
"Unitas may refer to:\n\n 306 Unitas, a main belt asteroid \n UNITAS, a multi-lateral naval exercise in South and Central America\n Unitas Capital, a private equity firm, formerly known as CCMP Capital Asia\n Humani generis unitas, a planned encyclical of Pope Pius XI before his death on February 10, 1939, which co... | [
"John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 to 1973, he has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL player... |
[
"Mark Taylor (cricketer)",
"Early years"
] | C_ae269bdc0d524b599736eb69a322d5b1_1 | Where was he born? | 1 | Where was Mark Taylor born? | Mark Taylor (cricketer) | The second of three children born to bank manager Tony Taylor, and his wife Judy, Mark Taylor's early years were spent at Wagga Wagga, where his family relocated when he was eight. His father had a sporting background, playing first grade rugby in Newcastle. The young Taylor preferred Australian rules football and cricket. He learned to bat in the family garage, with his father throwing cork balls to him. Taylor idolised Arthur Morris, the left-handed opening batsmen from New South Wales who led the aggregates on the 1948 "Invincibles" tour of England. Taylor played for his primary school as an opening batsman, and made his first century at the age of thirteen for the Lake Albert club at Bolton Park in Wagga. His family then moved to the north shore of Sydney, where he joined Northern District in Sydney Grade Cricket. Completing his secondary education at Chatswood High School, he later obtained a degree in surveying at the University of New South Wales. Along with the Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, Taylor played in under-19 youth internationals for Australia against Sri Lanka in 1982-83. Taylor made his Sheffield Shield debut in 1985-86 when NSW was depleted by the defection of regular openers Steve Smith and John Dyson to a rebel tour of South Africa. Opening with fellow debutant Mark Waugh, he scored 12 and 56 not out against Tasmania. His first season was highlighted by home and away centuries against South Australia in a total of 937 runs at 49.31 average. He had a lean season in 1987-88, after which he spent the English summer with Greenmount, helping them to win their first Bolton League title by scoring more than 1,300 runs at an average of 70. He originally trained as a surveyor, and received a degree in surveying from the University of New South Wales in 1987. CANNOTANSWER | Taylor's early years were spent at Wagga Wagga, | Mark Anthony Taylor (born 27 October 1964) is a former Australian cricketer and currently a Cricket Australia director and Nine Network commentator.
He was Test opening batsman from 1988 to 1999, as well as captain from 1994 to 1999, succeeding Allan Border. His predominant fielding position was first slip. He was widely regarded as an instrumental component in Australia's rise to Test cricket dominance, and his captaincy was regarded as adventurous and highly effective. However, he was considered less than ideal for One-Day International cricket and was eventually dropped as one-day captain after a 0–3 drubbing at the hands of England in 1997.
He moved to Wagga Wagga in 1972 and played for Lake Albert Cricket Club. His debut was for New South Wales in 1985.
He retired from Test cricket on 2 February 1999. In 104 Test matches, he scored 7,525 runs with a batting average of 43.49, including 19 centuries and 40 fifties. He was also an excellent first slip – his 157 catches, at the time, a Test record (now held by Rahul Dravid). In contrast to his predecessor Allan Border, who acquired the nickname 'Captain Grumpy', Taylor won plaudits for his always cheerful and positive demeanour. His successor, Steve Waugh, further honed the Australian team built by Border and Taylor and went on to set numerous records for victories as captain. Having been named Australian of the Year in 1999, he is now a cricket commentator for the Nine Network, and former Director of Cricket Australia.
Early years
The second of three children born to bank manager Tony Taylor, and his wife Judy, Mark Taylor's early years were spent at Wagga Wagga, where his family relocated when he was eight. His father had a sporting background, playing first grade rugby in Newcastle. The young Taylor preferred Australian rules football and cricket. He learned to bat in the family garage, with his father throwing cork balls to him. Taylor idolised Arthur Morris, the left-handed opening batsmen from New South Wales who led the aggregates on the 1948 "Invincibles" tour of England.
Taylor played for his primary school as an opening batsman, and made his first century at the age of thirteen for the Lake Albert club at Bolton Park in Wagga. His family then moved to the north shore of Sydney, where he joined Northern District in Sydney Grade Cricket. Completing his secondary education at Chatswood High School, he later obtained a degree in surveying at the University of New South Wales in 1987. Along with the Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, Taylor played in under-19 youth internationals for Australia against Sri Lanka in 1982–83.
Taylor made his Sheffield Shield debut in 1985–86 when NSW was depleted by the defection of regular openers Steve Smith and John Dyson to a rebel tour of South Africa. Opening with fellow debutant Mark Waugh, he scored 12 and 56 not out against Tasmania. His first season was highlighted by home and away centuries against South Australia in a total of 937 runs at 49.31 average. He had a lean season in 1987–88, after which he spent the English summer with Greenmount, helping them to win their first Bolton League title by scoring more than 1,300 runs at an average of 70.
International career
Test career
Solid form for NSW in 1988–89 resulted in Taylor's selection for his Test debut in the Fourth Test against the West Indies at the SCG, replacing middle-order batsman Graeme Wood. For three years, the opening combination of Geoff Marsh and David Boon had been successful for Australia. However, team coach Bob Simpson wanted a left and right-handed opening combination, and stability added to the middle order. Therefore, the left-handed Taylor partnered the right-handed Marsh, while Boon batted at number three. Taylor's safe catching at slip was also a factor in his selection. He made 25 and 3 in a winning team, then was run out twice in the Fifth Test. A first-class aggregate of 1,241 runs (at 49.64 average) for the season earned him a place on the 1989 Ashes tour.
Record-breaking start
Beginning with a century at Headingley in his First Test against England, Taylor amassed 839 runs at 83.90 in the six Tests: the second best aggregate in an Ashes series in England, behind Don Bradman's 974 runs in 1930. He occupied the crease for a total of 38 hours, more than six full days of play. The highlight of his tour was the Fifth Test at Trent Bridge when he and Geoff Marsh became the first pair to bat throughout a day's play of Test cricket in England, amassing 301 runs. Taylor made 219 in a partnership of 329, an Ashes record. He finished with 71 and 48 in the Sixth Test to overtake Neil Harvey for the third-highest series aggregate in Test history and totalled 1,669 first-class runs for the tour. Australia won the series 4–0 to regain the Ashes. However, Taylor was overlooked for selection in the ODIs.
Returning to Australia, Taylor made 1,403 first-class runs at 70.15 during the 1989–90 season, and ended 1989 with 1,219 Test runs, thus becoming the first player to better one thousand Test runs in his debut calendar year, something only matched twice since by England opener Alastair Cook and Australian Adam Voges. In Taylor's first nine Tests, Australia passed 400 in the first innings. He scored centuries in successive Tests against Sri Lanka, and against Pakistan his scores were 52 and 101 at the MCG, 77 and 59 at the Adelaide Oval and an unbeaten 101 at Sydney. Australia won both series 1–0. In just over twelve months, he had amassed 1,618 runs at 70.35. This outstanding start to his career earned Taylor nomination as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1990. At the season's end, he demonstrated his leadership abilities for the first time. Standing in as NSW captain in place of the injured Geoff Lawson for the 1989–90 Sheffield Shield final in Sydney, Taylor scored 127 and 100. NSW won by 345 runs to secure its 40th title.
A year after his Test debut, Taylor was selected to make his ODI debut, which came on Boxing Day of 1989 against Sri Lanka. He made 11 as Australia won by 30 runs. He was selected for nine of Australia's ten ODIs for the season's triangular tournament, scoring 294 runs at 32.66 with two half-centuries. His highest score of 76 came as Australia defeated Pakistan by 69 runs to clinch the finals series in Sydney. The season ended with ODI tournaments in New Zealand and Sharjah. He played six of the eight matches, scoring 222 runs at 37.00 with two half-centuries, but was dropped for the final in New Zealand.
Inconsistent form
Taylor experienced a slump during the 1990–91 Ashes series. After making two-half centuries in the first two Tests, he failed to pass 20 in the last three and finished with 213 runs at 23.66 in a team that won 3–0. He found himself on the outer for the ODI triangular tournament, missing all eight of the preliminary matches before returning to score 41 and 71 as Australia won the finals 2–0.
His moderate form continued during the 1991 tour of the West Indies, where he was selected in only two of the five ODIs, scoring three and five. He ended the run with a rear-guard innings of 76 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Barbados. Despite his effort, Australia lost and the West Indies took an unassailable lead of 2–0. In the Fifth Test St. Johns, Antigua, Australia gained a consolation victory due mainly to Taylor's scores of 59 and 144 (out of a total of 265). This late rush of form boosted his average for the series to 49. In late 1991, before the Australian season started, Taylor was appointed to lead an Australia A side to tour Zimbabwe. The team was composed of younger Test players and other young players who were seeking to break into international cricket. The selectors were attempting to groom Taylor as a potential replacement for Border.
During the 1991–92 Australian season, Taylor batted consistently in a 4–0 series victory over India. He scored 94 and 35* in a ten-wicket win at Brisbane. He scored half-centuries in each of the next two Tests before striking 100 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Adelaide. It helped Australia to wipe out a first innings deficit of 80 and set up a winning target. His opening partner Marsh was dropped for the Fifth Test, so the selectors elevated Taylor to the vice-captaincy of the team. Over the next twelve months, a number of players were tried as Taylor's opening partner. Taylor struggled in his first match with new partner Wayne N. Phillips, scoring two and 16. Nevertheless, he had scored 422 runs at 46.89. Taylor continued to be overlooked by the selectors in the shorter version of the game, missing selection for all of the season's triangular tournament. He was selected for the squad for the 1992 Cricket World Cup held on home soil, and after Australia lost its first two matches, Taylor was recalled for his first ODI in 12 months. He made 13 as Australia beat India by one run, but scored his first ODI duck in the next match as England won by eight wickets. He was dropped for the remainder of the tournament.
On the 1992 tour of Sri Lanka, Taylor struggled in scoring 148 runs at 24.67. After scoring 42 and 43 in Australia's win in the First Test, Taylor failed to again pass 30. With new opening partner Tom Moody also struggling with 71 runs at 11.83, Australia frequently struggled at the top of their innings. He played in all three ODIs, scoring 138 runs at 46.00. His 94 in the first match was his highest score in ODIs to that point.
Against the West Indies in 1992–93, Taylor was now opening alongside David Boon with Moody having been dropped. Taylor was ineffective and failed to pass fifty in the first four Tests. After Australia failed by one run to win the Fourth Test and thus the series, Taylor was dropped for the deciding Test at Perth, having failed to make double figures in either innings. In his absence, Australia lost by an innings in three days and conceded the series 1–2. He had scored 170 runs at 24.29 for the series. However, he played all of Australia's ten ODIs, scoring 286 runs at 28.60 with two half-centuries.
Taylor and Slater
As a result of the innings defeat in Perth, Taylor was immediately recalled for the tour of New Zealand, where he scored 82 in the First Test at Christchurch to help Australia to an innings victory. He then scored 50 in the drawn Second Test and bowled for the first time at Test level, taking 0/15. He failed to pass 20 in the Third Test and ended the series with 148 runs at 37.00 as the home side squared the series. Australia then played five ODIs in New Zealand before starting the England tour with three more. Taylor played in all eight, scoring 307 runs at 38.38 with four half-centuries.
The problem of finding him a long-term partner was solved on the tour of England that followed. NSW batsman Michael Slater, who also grew up in Wagga Wagga, made his debut in the First Test of the 1993 Ashes series. In the First Test at Old Trafford, Taylor made 124 after an opening partnership of 128, as Australia managed only 289 after being sent in. Australia managed to scrape out a lead of 79, before going on to a 179-run win.
This was followed by a stand of 260 at Lord's in the Second Test, with Taylor making 111. In the process, he passed 1000 Test runs against England and the partnership broke the Ashes partnership record at Lord's, which had been set by Bill Woodfull and Don Bradman in 1930. The partnership laid the platform for Australia's total of 4/632, as the tourists proceeded to an innings victory.
His scoring was more sedate in the remaining Tests as Australia won 4–1, and he finished with 428 runs at 42.80. He passed 30 only once more, with 70 in the first innings of the Sixth Test at The Oval.
Against New Zealand in 1993–94, Taylor made 64 and 142 not out in the First Test at Perth, which ended in a draw. He then scored 27 and 53 as Australia won the next two Tests by an innings, totalling 286 runs at 95.33 in three Tests as Australia won 2–0. In the rain-affected Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Taylor played his 50th Test and celebrated with 170 against South Africa, the first Test between the two countries since 1970. This made him the first batsman to score centuries on Test debut against four countries. In addition, he passed 4,000 Test runs during the innings. Taylor had scored more than 1,000 Test runs for the calendar year, ending with 1106 runs Taylor scored 62 in the Third Test, his only other half-century for the series, which he ended with 304 runs at 60.80.
On the reciprocal tour of South Africa at the end of the season, Taylor missed a Test because of injury for the only time in his career. Matthew Hayden filled in for the First Test in Johannesburg, which Australia lost. On his return for the Second Test at Cape Town, he scored 70 and ended the series with 97 runs at 24.25. Both series were drawn 1–1.
Captaincy
After the retirement of Allan Border, Taylor was appointed captain.
Frequently omitted from the ODI team due to slow scoring, Taylor missed the finals of the ODI series in Australia against South Africa. On the tour of South Africa, he missed three consecutive ODIs when tour selectors and fellow players Ian Healy and Steve Waugh voted him off the team. In all, Taylor had only played in 11 of Australia's 19 ODIs for the season, scoring 281 runs at 25.55. Taylor requested an extended trial as opener for the ODI side to help consolidate his captaincy of both teams.
Taylor started his ODI captaincy with two tournaments in Sharjah and Sri Lanka. Australia missed the finals in both tournaments, winning three of their six matches. After scoring 68* to guide his team to a nine-wicket win in the first match against Sri Lanka in Sharjah, Taylor's form tapered off, scoring only 64 more runs to end the two tournaments with a total of 132 runs at 33.00.
His first task was a tour of Pakistan in 1994, where Australia had not won a Test since the 1959 tour. To make matters worse, Australia's first-choice pace pairing of Craig McDermott and Merv Hughes missed the tour due to injury. The First Test at Karachi was a personal disaster for Taylor as he scored a pair, the first player in Test history to do so on his captaincy debut. Paceman Glenn McGrath then broke down in the middle of the match. Australia was in the box seat with Pakistan needing 56 runs with one wicket in hand, but lost by one wicket after Ian Healy missed a stumping opportunity and the ball went for the winning runs. Recovering to score 69 in the Second Test at Rawalpindi, Taylor forced Pakistan to follow on after taking a 261-run lead. However, he dropped Pakistan captain Salim Malik when he was on 20. Malik went on to make 237 as Pakistan made 537 and saved the Test. Australia again took a first innings lead in the Third Test, but could not force a result, as Malik scored another second innings century to ensure safety and a 1–0 series win. Taylor ended the series with 106 runs at 26.50. Australia fared better in the ODI triangular tournament, winning five of their six matches. Taylor scored 56 in the final as Australia beat Pakistan by 64 runs to end the tournament with 193 runs at 32.16.
Beginning the 1994–95 season with 150 for NSW in a tour match against England, Taylor followed up with 59 in an opening stand of 97 as Australia made 426 in the first innings to take the initiative in the First Test in Brisbane. Australia amassed a 259-run first innings lead, but Taylor, mindful of the Test match at Rawalpindi, became the first Australian captain since 1977–78 to not enforce the follow-on. Although heavily criticised as a conservative decision, Australia still won the match by 184 runs, with Taylor adding 58 in the second innings. Having scored the first win of his Test captaincy, Taylor led his team to a 295-run win in the Second Test.
Taylor played his best cricket of the summer in the Third Test at Sydney. Last man out for 49 in a total of 116 in the first innings, he defied a pitch that had begun to seam and swing after a shower and cloud cover as Australia narrowly avoided the follow on. In the second innings, he made a bold attempt at chasing a world record target of 449 by scoring 113, but Australia played for a draw after Slater and Taylor fell following a double-century stand. Australia collapsed to 7/292 before hanging on in near-darkness. In the final two Tests, he scored half-centuries as Australia won 3–1. Australia dramatically lost the Fourth Test when England led by only 154 on the final day with four wickets in hand. Aggressive lower order batting saw Australia set 263 in just over two sessions, but a heavy collapse saw Australia eight wickets down with more than 2 hours to play. Almost two hours of resistance later, England took a 106-run win late in the day. However, Australia bounced back to win the Fifth Test by 329 runs, the largest margin of the series. Taylor's partnership with Slater yielded three century opening stands at an average of 76.60 for the series and Taylor's individual return was 471 runs at 47.10.
The southern hemisphere summer ended with a quadrangular tournament in New Zealand, where Australia won two of their three group matches to proceed to the final. Taylor scored 44 in a six-wicket triumph over New Zealand and totalled 165 runs at 41.25. His best score was 97 against the hosts in the preliminary round meant that he was still yet to post his first ODI century, five years after his debut.
Caribbean tour 1995
This victory was followed by the 1995 tour of the West Indies, where Australia had not won a Test series for 22 years. Australia lost the ODI series which preceded the Tests 1–4, with Taylor making 152 runs at 30.40. The difficulty of Australia's task was increased when fast bowlers Craig McDermott and Damien Fleming went home injured at the start of the tour. Australia fielded a pace attack of Glenn McGrath, Brendon Julian and Paul Reiffel who had played only 23 Tests between them. Despite this, Australia won by ten wickets in the first Test at Barbados, with Taylor contributing a half-century. After the Second Test was a rained-out draw, the West Indies beat Australia inside three days on a "green" Trinidad pitch in the Third Test. Australia regained the Frank Worrell Trophy with an innings victory in the Fourth Test at Jamaica, with Taylor taking the winning catch from the bowling of Shane Warne. Although he only managed 153 runs (at 25.50 average) for the series, Taylor held nine catches and his leadership was cited as a key factor in the result.
Controversy with Sri Lanka
This was followed by two and three-Test series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively in the 1995–96 Australian season. The Pakistan series began among a media circus when Salim Malik arrived with publicity focused on the bribery allegations which had surfaced a year earlier. Australia won the First Test in Brisbane by an innings in three and a half days, with Taylor contributing 69. In the Second Test at Bellerive Oval, Taylor scored 123 in the second innings to set up a winning total. In the Third Test in Sydney, he made 59 as Australia collapsed for 172 in the second innings and conceded the match. He ended the series with a healthy 338 runs at 67.60.
The subsequent Test and ODI series involving Sri Lanka were overshadowed by a series of spiteful clashes. The Tests were won 3–0 by the Australians with heavy margins of an innings, ten wickets and 148 runs respectively. Taylor's highlight being a 96 in the First Test at Perth as he compiled 159 runs at 39.75. He also made his 100th Test catch during the series. After accusations of ball tampering were levelled against the tourists in the First Test, leading spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled seven times in the Second Test, and during the ODI series, the Sri Lankans accused Taylor's men of cheating. The season hit a low point with the Sri Lankans which saw the teams refuse to shake hands at the end of the second final of the triangular series which Australia won 2–0. The match had included physical jostling between McGrath and Sanath Jayasuriya mid pitch, with the latter accusing McGrath of making racist attacks. Later in the match, stump microphones showed Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy alleging that portly Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga was feigning injury and calling for a runner because of his lack of physical fitness.
On the field, the ODI tournament saw Mark Waugh elevated to be Taylor's ODI opening partner after the axing of Slater midway through the season. In their first match together in Perth, the pair put on 190, with Taylor scoring 85. They put on another century stand in the second final, with Taylor scoring 82. Taylor scored heavily in the ODI tournament, with 423 runs at 42.30 with four half-centuries. Australia warmed up for the 1996 Cricket World Cup by winning five of their eight round-robin matches, and taking the finals 2–0, but many of the matches were closely contested. The finals were won by 18 and nine runs respectively, while three of the group matches were decided in the last over.
After the spiteful summer, a Tamil Tiger bombing in Colombo coupled with death threats to some members of the team forced Taylor to forfeit his team's scheduled World Cup match against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Taylor made six as Australia started their campaign with a 97-run win over Kenya. He then made 59 in a century stand with Waugh as Australia defeated co-hosts India in Mumbai. Taylor scored 34 in a nine-wicket win over Zimbabwe, before scoring nine in a defeat to the West Indies in the last group match. Australia finished second in their group and faced New Zealand in the quarter-finals. Taylor made only 10 as Australia chased 289 for victory, but made a surprise tactic by sending in Shane Warne as a pinch hitter. Warne made 24 from 15 balls in a partnership with Waugh, to allow Australia to take the momentum and take victory by six wickets. Taylor managed only one in the semi-final as Australia staggered to 8/207 against the West Indies. Australia appeared to be heading out of the tournament when the Caribbean team reached 2/165, but a sudden collapse saw Australia win by six runs in the last over.
Australia managed to reach the final, where they met Sri Lanka. Taylor scored 74, a record score by an Australian captain in the World Cup, but Sri Lanka comfortably triumphed on this occasion by seven wickets to claim the trophy.
Almost retired
After the World Cup, Bob Simpson was replaced as Australia's coach by Geoff Marsh, Taylor's former opening partner. Australia's first tournament after the World Cup was the Singer World Series in Sri Lanka. Taylor opted out of the tournament, and in his absence, Australia reached the final but lost by 50 runs to the hosts.
On a short tour to India, Taylor made his first ODI century at Bangalore, with 105 against India in his 98th match, having been out in the 90s on three previous occasions. Taylor performed strongly in the ODIs, with a total of 302 runs at 60.40. However, it was a disappointing tour for the team; the solitary Test in Delhi was lost, as were all five ODIs played during the Titan Cup.
In 1996–97, Australia confirmed its ascendancy over the West Indies with a 3–2 series win, but Taylor endured a poor season with the bat and failed to pass 50 in nine innings. His partnership with Slater was terminated when the latter was dropped, replaced by Matthew Elliott. Following an injury to Elliott, Matthew Hayden became Taylor's partner for three Tests.
Unable to recover form in the ODI series, Taylor's scratchy batting led to many poor starts for Australia. The team suffered five consecutive defeats, and missed the finals of the tournament for the first time in 17 years. Taylor managed only 143 runs at 17.88 with a highest score of 29.
The early 1997 tour to South Africa brought no upturn in Taylor's batting despite Australia's 2–1 victory in the series: he scored 80 runs at 16.00. His form was such that it influenced the selection of the team. For the Second Test at Port Elizabeth, played on a green pitch, Australia played Michael Bevan as a second spinner batting at number seven to reinforce the batting, instead of a third seamer to exploit the conditions. After scoring seven and 17 in the first two ODIs, Taylor dropped himself from the team for the remaining five matches.
The 1997 Ashes tour started poorly amid rumours that Taylor was on the verge of losing his place in the side. He batted ineffectively as Australia lost the one day series 0–3, scoring seven and 11, before dropping himself for the final match. In the First Test, Australia were dismissed for 118 in the first innings, with Taylor contributing seven: he had not managed to pass 50 in his last 21 Test innings. England amassed a big lead of 360 runs. With Australia facing a heavy defeat, media criticism of his position intensified. The Melbourne Age ran a competition for its readers to forecast how many runs he would make. Most respondents guessed less than 10 runs. The team's erstwhile coach, Bob Simpson, said that Taylor's retention in the team in spite of his poor form was fostering resentment among the players and destabilising the team.
Taylor started nervously in the second innings, but went on to score of 129, which saved his career, but not the match. His performance prompted personal congratulations from Prime Minister John Howard and the team's management allowed the media a rare opportunity to enter the dressing room and interview Taylor. During the period he refused offers by the manager to handle the media on his behalf. Australia went on to win the Third, Fourth and Fifth Tests and retain the Ashes 3–2. Although Taylor made single figures in the three Tests following his century, he contributed 76 and 45 in the series-clinching Test at Nottingham. Taylor ended the series with 317 runs at 31.7.
Dual teams
However, Taylor's ODI form was not to the satisfaction of the selectors. At the start of the 1997–98 season, a new selection policy was announced: the Test and ODI teams became separate entities, with specialists in each form of the game selected accordingly. Taylor was dropped from the ODI team, in favour of the aggressive Michael di Venuto. Tactically, ODI cricket was transformed by Sri Lanka's World Cup success, when it employed the highly aggressive opening pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana.
At this time, Taylor was a central figure in a pay dispute between the players and the ACB, with a strike action threatened by the players. Taylor continued as Test captain and led the team to a 2–0 win over New Zealand. The first two matches were won by 186 runs and an innings, while the Third Test ended with Australia one wicket from victory after almost two days' play was washed out.
Taylor scored a century (112 on the first day of the First Test, and an unbeaten 66 in the Third Test, compiling 214 runs at 53.50 for the series. This was followed by three Tests against South Africa. After South Africa withheld the Australian bowling on the final day to secure a draw in the Boxing Day Test, Australia took a 1–0 lead in the New Year's Test at Sydney with an innings victory. Taylor carried his bat for 169 in the first innings of the Third Test at Adelaide which helped Australia to draw the match and clinch the series.
On the 1998 tour of India, Elliott was dropped and Taylor reunited with Slater as the opening pair. Australia started well by taking a 71-run first-innings lead in the First Test at Chennai, but Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten 155 put Australia under pressure to save the match on the final day. They were unable to resist and lost by 179 runs. Australia was crushed by an innings and 219 runs in the Second Test at Calcutta, Australia first series loss in four years and the first time that Australia had lost by an innings for five years. Thus, a series victory in India, which Australia had not achieved since 1969–70, remained elusive. Australia won the Third Test in Bangalore by eight wickets, with Taylor scoring an unbeaten 102 in a second innings run chase.
Record equalled
Later in 1998, Taylor led his team to Pakistan, where a convincing win in the First Test at Rawalpindi by an innings and 99 runs was Australia's first Test victory in the country for 39 years. Taylor then attended a court hearing investigating the claims of match-fixing made during the 1994 tour. In the Second Test at Peshawar, Taylor played the longest innings of his career. He batted two days to amass 334 not out, equalling Sir Donald Bradman's Australian record set in 1930. In temperatures above 32 °C, Taylor survived two dropped catches before he had reached 25 and scored slowly on the first day. He shared a 206-run partnership with Justin Langer. The next day, he added 103 runs in a morning session extended from two to three hours. After the tea interval, he discarded his helmet in favour of a white sun hat, to deal with the extreme heat. He passed 311, eclipsing Bob Simpson's record score by an Australian captain. In the final over, Taylor equalled Bradman's Australian Test record when a shot to midwicket was barely stopped by Ijaz Ahmed, which reduced the scoring opportunity to a single run.
At the end of the day's play, Taylor was encouraged by the media, the public and his teammates to attempt to break Brian Lara's world record score of 375. An unusually large crowd turned out the following day in anticipation. However, Taylor declared the innings closed, opting to share the record with Bradman, and making the team's chances of winning the game paramount. He was widely praised for this decision. He made 92 in the second innings, giving him the second highest Test match aggregate after English batsmen Graham Gooch, who scored 333 and 123 for a total of 456 against India at Lord's on 26 July 1990. His fifteen hours batting in one Test was second only to Hanif Mohammad. The match ended in a draw, as did the Third Test, so Australia won the series and Taylor ended with 513 runs at 128.25 average.
Final season
Taylor's swansong was the 1998–99 Ashes series against England, which began with his 100th Test in the First Test in Brisbane. He scored 46 and a duck—his first in Australia—as England were saved when thunderstorms forced the abandonment of play on the final afternoon. Two half centuries in the next two Tests in Perth and Adelaide saw Australia win by seven wickets and 205 runs respectively, thereby retaining the series 2–0. After losing the Fourth Test by 12 runs after a dramatic final day collapse, Taylor headed to his home ground, the Sydney Cricket Ground, for what would be his final Test. Australia went on to win the Test by 98 runs and take the series 3–1. Taylor only scored two in both innings, but he broke Border's world record for the most Test catches. His catch in the first innings equalled Border's 156 and another in the second made him the sole owner of the record.
He also jointly holds the record in Test cricket (along with Ian Healy) of being the only cricketers to have been run out in both innings of a Test on two occasions.
Legacy
The improvement of the Australian team, begun during Border's tenure, continued under the captaincy of Taylor. After the defeat of the West Indies in 1995, Taylor's teams won home and away series against every Test team they played, with the exception of winning a series in India. Wisden wrote:
Taylor talked so well that he raised the standard of debate in Australia—and perhaps of cricket itself—in a way which was an example to all professional cricketers ... Border stopped Australia losing. Taylor made them into winners, the acknowledged if not official world champions of Test cricket.
Taylor made a concerted effort to decrease the amount of sledging committed by his team, a trait that brought criticism of Australian teams during other eras. In total, he captained the side in 50 Tests, winning 26 and losing 13, a success rate unmatched in the previous fifty years except for Don Bradman and Viv Richards.
Career best performances
Retirement
Taylor retired from professional cricket in early 1999 after the Ashes series. On Australia Day, he was named the Australian of the Year. He was awarded an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Centenary Medal in 2001. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2002 and made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2003. In 2011, he was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame by the CA.
He is now a commentator for Channel Nine for 21 years. Despite the network losing the TV rights in April 2018, Taylor re-signed for another three years to give his expert analysis on the Ashes 2019, 2019 Cricket World Cup & 2020 World Twenty20 and as a digital contributor.
He mainly commentates on One Day International and Test matches in Australia until the network's final year of cricket telecasts, so he can now spend more time with his family. He used to also appear on The Cricket Show with Simon O'Donnell, and is a spokesman for Fujitsu air-conditioners. He also commentates for radio.
Taylor is patron of the Mark Taylor Shield Cricket competition run for NSW Catholic Primary schools in and around the Sydney region. On 6 November 2011, Waitara Oval, the home of the Northern District Cricket Club, had its name formally changed to Mark Taylor Oval, to honour its former First Grade captain and life member.
In October 2015, The Primary Club of Australia announced that Mark Taylor had accepted the role of Twelfth Man and Patron following the passing of their former Patron, Richie Benaud OBE. He also became Director of Cricket Australia, who commissioned a replacement cap for Benaud, only for his ill health and subsequent passing to have the cap presented to his wife.
References
Further reading
External links
1964 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Wagga Wagga
Australia Test cricketers
Australia One Day International cricketers
Australia Test cricket captains
New South Wales cricketers
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Australian cricket commentators
People educated at Chatswood High School
Australian of the Year Award winners
Officers of the Order of Australia
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
Recipients of the Centenary Medal
Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
University of New South Wales alumni
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees
People from the Riverina
Chatswood, New South Wales
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"Mark Anthony Taylor (born 27 October 1964) is a former Australian cricketer and currently a Cricket Australia director and Nine Network commentator. He was Test opening batsman from 1988 to 1999, as well as captain from 1994 to 1999, succeeding Allan Border. His predominant fielding position was first slip.",
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"Mark Taylor (cricketer)",
"Early years",
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"Taylor's early years were spent at Wagga Wagga,"
] | C_ae269bdc0d524b599736eb69a322d5b1_1 | What did he do growing up? | 2 | What did Mark Taylor do growing up? | Mark Taylor (cricketer) | The second of three children born to bank manager Tony Taylor, and his wife Judy, Mark Taylor's early years were spent at Wagga Wagga, where his family relocated when he was eight. His father had a sporting background, playing first grade rugby in Newcastle. The young Taylor preferred Australian rules football and cricket. He learned to bat in the family garage, with his father throwing cork balls to him. Taylor idolised Arthur Morris, the left-handed opening batsmen from New South Wales who led the aggregates on the 1948 "Invincibles" tour of England. Taylor played for his primary school as an opening batsman, and made his first century at the age of thirteen for the Lake Albert club at Bolton Park in Wagga. His family then moved to the north shore of Sydney, where he joined Northern District in Sydney Grade Cricket. Completing his secondary education at Chatswood High School, he later obtained a degree in surveying at the University of New South Wales. Along with the Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, Taylor played in under-19 youth internationals for Australia against Sri Lanka in 1982-83. Taylor made his Sheffield Shield debut in 1985-86 when NSW was depleted by the defection of regular openers Steve Smith and John Dyson to a rebel tour of South Africa. Opening with fellow debutant Mark Waugh, he scored 12 and 56 not out against Tasmania. His first season was highlighted by home and away centuries against South Australia in a total of 937 runs at 49.31 average. He had a lean season in 1987-88, after which he spent the English summer with Greenmount, helping them to win their first Bolton League title by scoring more than 1,300 runs at an average of 70. He originally trained as a surveyor, and received a degree in surveying from the University of New South Wales in 1987. CANNOTANSWER | Taylor preferred Australian rules football and cricket. He learned to bat in the family garage, with his father throwing cork balls to him. | Mark Anthony Taylor (born 27 October 1964) is a former Australian cricketer and currently a Cricket Australia director and Nine Network commentator.
He was Test opening batsman from 1988 to 1999, as well as captain from 1994 to 1999, succeeding Allan Border. His predominant fielding position was first slip. He was widely regarded as an instrumental component in Australia's rise to Test cricket dominance, and his captaincy was regarded as adventurous and highly effective. However, he was considered less than ideal for One-Day International cricket and was eventually dropped as one-day captain after a 0–3 drubbing at the hands of England in 1997.
He moved to Wagga Wagga in 1972 and played for Lake Albert Cricket Club. His debut was for New South Wales in 1985.
He retired from Test cricket on 2 February 1999. In 104 Test matches, he scored 7,525 runs with a batting average of 43.49, including 19 centuries and 40 fifties. He was also an excellent first slip – his 157 catches, at the time, a Test record (now held by Rahul Dravid). In contrast to his predecessor Allan Border, who acquired the nickname 'Captain Grumpy', Taylor won plaudits for his always cheerful and positive demeanour. His successor, Steve Waugh, further honed the Australian team built by Border and Taylor and went on to set numerous records for victories as captain. Having been named Australian of the Year in 1999, he is now a cricket commentator for the Nine Network, and former Director of Cricket Australia.
Early years
The second of three children born to bank manager Tony Taylor, and his wife Judy, Mark Taylor's early years were spent at Wagga Wagga, where his family relocated when he was eight. His father had a sporting background, playing first grade rugby in Newcastle. The young Taylor preferred Australian rules football and cricket. He learned to bat in the family garage, with his father throwing cork balls to him. Taylor idolised Arthur Morris, the left-handed opening batsmen from New South Wales who led the aggregates on the 1948 "Invincibles" tour of England.
Taylor played for his primary school as an opening batsman, and made his first century at the age of thirteen for the Lake Albert club at Bolton Park in Wagga. His family then moved to the north shore of Sydney, where he joined Northern District in Sydney Grade Cricket. Completing his secondary education at Chatswood High School, he later obtained a degree in surveying at the University of New South Wales in 1987. Along with the Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, Taylor played in under-19 youth internationals for Australia against Sri Lanka in 1982–83.
Taylor made his Sheffield Shield debut in 1985–86 when NSW was depleted by the defection of regular openers Steve Smith and John Dyson to a rebel tour of South Africa. Opening with fellow debutant Mark Waugh, he scored 12 and 56 not out against Tasmania. His first season was highlighted by home and away centuries against South Australia in a total of 937 runs at 49.31 average. He had a lean season in 1987–88, after which he spent the English summer with Greenmount, helping them to win their first Bolton League title by scoring more than 1,300 runs at an average of 70.
International career
Test career
Solid form for NSW in 1988–89 resulted in Taylor's selection for his Test debut in the Fourth Test against the West Indies at the SCG, replacing middle-order batsman Graeme Wood. For three years, the opening combination of Geoff Marsh and David Boon had been successful for Australia. However, team coach Bob Simpson wanted a left and right-handed opening combination, and stability added to the middle order. Therefore, the left-handed Taylor partnered the right-handed Marsh, while Boon batted at number three. Taylor's safe catching at slip was also a factor in his selection. He made 25 and 3 in a winning team, then was run out twice in the Fifth Test. A first-class aggregate of 1,241 runs (at 49.64 average) for the season earned him a place on the 1989 Ashes tour.
Record-breaking start
Beginning with a century at Headingley in his First Test against England, Taylor amassed 839 runs at 83.90 in the six Tests: the second best aggregate in an Ashes series in England, behind Don Bradman's 974 runs in 1930. He occupied the crease for a total of 38 hours, more than six full days of play. The highlight of his tour was the Fifth Test at Trent Bridge when he and Geoff Marsh became the first pair to bat throughout a day's play of Test cricket in England, amassing 301 runs. Taylor made 219 in a partnership of 329, an Ashes record. He finished with 71 and 48 in the Sixth Test to overtake Neil Harvey for the third-highest series aggregate in Test history and totalled 1,669 first-class runs for the tour. Australia won the series 4–0 to regain the Ashes. However, Taylor was overlooked for selection in the ODIs.
Returning to Australia, Taylor made 1,403 first-class runs at 70.15 during the 1989–90 season, and ended 1989 with 1,219 Test runs, thus becoming the first player to better one thousand Test runs in his debut calendar year, something only matched twice since by England opener Alastair Cook and Australian Adam Voges. In Taylor's first nine Tests, Australia passed 400 in the first innings. He scored centuries in successive Tests against Sri Lanka, and against Pakistan his scores were 52 and 101 at the MCG, 77 and 59 at the Adelaide Oval and an unbeaten 101 at Sydney. Australia won both series 1–0. In just over twelve months, he had amassed 1,618 runs at 70.35. This outstanding start to his career earned Taylor nomination as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1990. At the season's end, he demonstrated his leadership abilities for the first time. Standing in as NSW captain in place of the injured Geoff Lawson for the 1989–90 Sheffield Shield final in Sydney, Taylor scored 127 and 100. NSW won by 345 runs to secure its 40th title.
A year after his Test debut, Taylor was selected to make his ODI debut, which came on Boxing Day of 1989 against Sri Lanka. He made 11 as Australia won by 30 runs. He was selected for nine of Australia's ten ODIs for the season's triangular tournament, scoring 294 runs at 32.66 with two half-centuries. His highest score of 76 came as Australia defeated Pakistan by 69 runs to clinch the finals series in Sydney. The season ended with ODI tournaments in New Zealand and Sharjah. He played six of the eight matches, scoring 222 runs at 37.00 with two half-centuries, but was dropped for the final in New Zealand.
Inconsistent form
Taylor experienced a slump during the 1990–91 Ashes series. After making two-half centuries in the first two Tests, he failed to pass 20 in the last three and finished with 213 runs at 23.66 in a team that won 3–0. He found himself on the outer for the ODI triangular tournament, missing all eight of the preliminary matches before returning to score 41 and 71 as Australia won the finals 2–0.
His moderate form continued during the 1991 tour of the West Indies, where he was selected in only two of the five ODIs, scoring three and five. He ended the run with a rear-guard innings of 76 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Barbados. Despite his effort, Australia lost and the West Indies took an unassailable lead of 2–0. In the Fifth Test St. Johns, Antigua, Australia gained a consolation victory due mainly to Taylor's scores of 59 and 144 (out of a total of 265). This late rush of form boosted his average for the series to 49. In late 1991, before the Australian season started, Taylor was appointed to lead an Australia A side to tour Zimbabwe. The team was composed of younger Test players and other young players who were seeking to break into international cricket. The selectors were attempting to groom Taylor as a potential replacement for Border.
During the 1991–92 Australian season, Taylor batted consistently in a 4–0 series victory over India. He scored 94 and 35* in a ten-wicket win at Brisbane. He scored half-centuries in each of the next two Tests before striking 100 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Adelaide. It helped Australia to wipe out a first innings deficit of 80 and set up a winning target. His opening partner Marsh was dropped for the Fifth Test, so the selectors elevated Taylor to the vice-captaincy of the team. Over the next twelve months, a number of players were tried as Taylor's opening partner. Taylor struggled in his first match with new partner Wayne N. Phillips, scoring two and 16. Nevertheless, he had scored 422 runs at 46.89. Taylor continued to be overlooked by the selectors in the shorter version of the game, missing selection for all of the season's triangular tournament. He was selected for the squad for the 1992 Cricket World Cup held on home soil, and after Australia lost its first two matches, Taylor was recalled for his first ODI in 12 months. He made 13 as Australia beat India by one run, but scored his first ODI duck in the next match as England won by eight wickets. He was dropped for the remainder of the tournament.
On the 1992 tour of Sri Lanka, Taylor struggled in scoring 148 runs at 24.67. After scoring 42 and 43 in Australia's win in the First Test, Taylor failed to again pass 30. With new opening partner Tom Moody also struggling with 71 runs at 11.83, Australia frequently struggled at the top of their innings. He played in all three ODIs, scoring 138 runs at 46.00. His 94 in the first match was his highest score in ODIs to that point.
Against the West Indies in 1992–93, Taylor was now opening alongside David Boon with Moody having been dropped. Taylor was ineffective and failed to pass fifty in the first four Tests. After Australia failed by one run to win the Fourth Test and thus the series, Taylor was dropped for the deciding Test at Perth, having failed to make double figures in either innings. In his absence, Australia lost by an innings in three days and conceded the series 1–2. He had scored 170 runs at 24.29 for the series. However, he played all of Australia's ten ODIs, scoring 286 runs at 28.60 with two half-centuries.
Taylor and Slater
As a result of the innings defeat in Perth, Taylor was immediately recalled for the tour of New Zealand, where he scored 82 in the First Test at Christchurch to help Australia to an innings victory. He then scored 50 in the drawn Second Test and bowled for the first time at Test level, taking 0/15. He failed to pass 20 in the Third Test and ended the series with 148 runs at 37.00 as the home side squared the series. Australia then played five ODIs in New Zealand before starting the England tour with three more. Taylor played in all eight, scoring 307 runs at 38.38 with four half-centuries.
The problem of finding him a long-term partner was solved on the tour of England that followed. NSW batsman Michael Slater, who also grew up in Wagga Wagga, made his debut in the First Test of the 1993 Ashes series. In the First Test at Old Trafford, Taylor made 124 after an opening partnership of 128, as Australia managed only 289 after being sent in. Australia managed to scrape out a lead of 79, before going on to a 179-run win.
This was followed by a stand of 260 at Lord's in the Second Test, with Taylor making 111. In the process, he passed 1000 Test runs against England and the partnership broke the Ashes partnership record at Lord's, which had been set by Bill Woodfull and Don Bradman in 1930. The partnership laid the platform for Australia's total of 4/632, as the tourists proceeded to an innings victory.
His scoring was more sedate in the remaining Tests as Australia won 4–1, and he finished with 428 runs at 42.80. He passed 30 only once more, with 70 in the first innings of the Sixth Test at The Oval.
Against New Zealand in 1993–94, Taylor made 64 and 142 not out in the First Test at Perth, which ended in a draw. He then scored 27 and 53 as Australia won the next two Tests by an innings, totalling 286 runs at 95.33 in three Tests as Australia won 2–0. In the rain-affected Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Taylor played his 50th Test and celebrated with 170 against South Africa, the first Test between the two countries since 1970. This made him the first batsman to score centuries on Test debut against four countries. In addition, he passed 4,000 Test runs during the innings. Taylor had scored more than 1,000 Test runs for the calendar year, ending with 1106 runs Taylor scored 62 in the Third Test, his only other half-century for the series, which he ended with 304 runs at 60.80.
On the reciprocal tour of South Africa at the end of the season, Taylor missed a Test because of injury for the only time in his career. Matthew Hayden filled in for the First Test in Johannesburg, which Australia lost. On his return for the Second Test at Cape Town, he scored 70 and ended the series with 97 runs at 24.25. Both series were drawn 1–1.
Captaincy
After the retirement of Allan Border, Taylor was appointed captain.
Frequently omitted from the ODI team due to slow scoring, Taylor missed the finals of the ODI series in Australia against South Africa. On the tour of South Africa, he missed three consecutive ODIs when tour selectors and fellow players Ian Healy and Steve Waugh voted him off the team. In all, Taylor had only played in 11 of Australia's 19 ODIs for the season, scoring 281 runs at 25.55. Taylor requested an extended trial as opener for the ODI side to help consolidate his captaincy of both teams.
Taylor started his ODI captaincy with two tournaments in Sharjah and Sri Lanka. Australia missed the finals in both tournaments, winning three of their six matches. After scoring 68* to guide his team to a nine-wicket win in the first match against Sri Lanka in Sharjah, Taylor's form tapered off, scoring only 64 more runs to end the two tournaments with a total of 132 runs at 33.00.
His first task was a tour of Pakistan in 1994, where Australia had not won a Test since the 1959 tour. To make matters worse, Australia's first-choice pace pairing of Craig McDermott and Merv Hughes missed the tour due to injury. The First Test at Karachi was a personal disaster for Taylor as he scored a pair, the first player in Test history to do so on his captaincy debut. Paceman Glenn McGrath then broke down in the middle of the match. Australia was in the box seat with Pakistan needing 56 runs with one wicket in hand, but lost by one wicket after Ian Healy missed a stumping opportunity and the ball went for the winning runs. Recovering to score 69 in the Second Test at Rawalpindi, Taylor forced Pakistan to follow on after taking a 261-run lead. However, he dropped Pakistan captain Salim Malik when he was on 20. Malik went on to make 237 as Pakistan made 537 and saved the Test. Australia again took a first innings lead in the Third Test, but could not force a result, as Malik scored another second innings century to ensure safety and a 1–0 series win. Taylor ended the series with 106 runs at 26.50. Australia fared better in the ODI triangular tournament, winning five of their six matches. Taylor scored 56 in the final as Australia beat Pakistan by 64 runs to end the tournament with 193 runs at 32.16.
Beginning the 1994–95 season with 150 for NSW in a tour match against England, Taylor followed up with 59 in an opening stand of 97 as Australia made 426 in the first innings to take the initiative in the First Test in Brisbane. Australia amassed a 259-run first innings lead, but Taylor, mindful of the Test match at Rawalpindi, became the first Australian captain since 1977–78 to not enforce the follow-on. Although heavily criticised as a conservative decision, Australia still won the match by 184 runs, with Taylor adding 58 in the second innings. Having scored the first win of his Test captaincy, Taylor led his team to a 295-run win in the Second Test.
Taylor played his best cricket of the summer in the Third Test at Sydney. Last man out for 49 in a total of 116 in the first innings, he defied a pitch that had begun to seam and swing after a shower and cloud cover as Australia narrowly avoided the follow on. In the second innings, he made a bold attempt at chasing a world record target of 449 by scoring 113, but Australia played for a draw after Slater and Taylor fell following a double-century stand. Australia collapsed to 7/292 before hanging on in near-darkness. In the final two Tests, he scored half-centuries as Australia won 3–1. Australia dramatically lost the Fourth Test when England led by only 154 on the final day with four wickets in hand. Aggressive lower order batting saw Australia set 263 in just over two sessions, but a heavy collapse saw Australia eight wickets down with more than 2 hours to play. Almost two hours of resistance later, England took a 106-run win late in the day. However, Australia bounced back to win the Fifth Test by 329 runs, the largest margin of the series. Taylor's partnership with Slater yielded three century opening stands at an average of 76.60 for the series and Taylor's individual return was 471 runs at 47.10.
The southern hemisphere summer ended with a quadrangular tournament in New Zealand, where Australia won two of their three group matches to proceed to the final. Taylor scored 44 in a six-wicket triumph over New Zealand and totalled 165 runs at 41.25. His best score was 97 against the hosts in the preliminary round meant that he was still yet to post his first ODI century, five years after his debut.
Caribbean tour 1995
This victory was followed by the 1995 tour of the West Indies, where Australia had not won a Test series for 22 years. Australia lost the ODI series which preceded the Tests 1–4, with Taylor making 152 runs at 30.40. The difficulty of Australia's task was increased when fast bowlers Craig McDermott and Damien Fleming went home injured at the start of the tour. Australia fielded a pace attack of Glenn McGrath, Brendon Julian and Paul Reiffel who had played only 23 Tests between them. Despite this, Australia won by ten wickets in the first Test at Barbados, with Taylor contributing a half-century. After the Second Test was a rained-out draw, the West Indies beat Australia inside three days on a "green" Trinidad pitch in the Third Test. Australia regained the Frank Worrell Trophy with an innings victory in the Fourth Test at Jamaica, with Taylor taking the winning catch from the bowling of Shane Warne. Although he only managed 153 runs (at 25.50 average) for the series, Taylor held nine catches and his leadership was cited as a key factor in the result.
Controversy with Sri Lanka
This was followed by two and three-Test series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively in the 1995–96 Australian season. The Pakistan series began among a media circus when Salim Malik arrived with publicity focused on the bribery allegations which had surfaced a year earlier. Australia won the First Test in Brisbane by an innings in three and a half days, with Taylor contributing 69. In the Second Test at Bellerive Oval, Taylor scored 123 in the second innings to set up a winning total. In the Third Test in Sydney, he made 59 as Australia collapsed for 172 in the second innings and conceded the match. He ended the series with a healthy 338 runs at 67.60.
The subsequent Test and ODI series involving Sri Lanka were overshadowed by a series of spiteful clashes. The Tests were won 3–0 by the Australians with heavy margins of an innings, ten wickets and 148 runs respectively. Taylor's highlight being a 96 in the First Test at Perth as he compiled 159 runs at 39.75. He also made his 100th Test catch during the series. After accusations of ball tampering were levelled against the tourists in the First Test, leading spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled seven times in the Second Test, and during the ODI series, the Sri Lankans accused Taylor's men of cheating. The season hit a low point with the Sri Lankans which saw the teams refuse to shake hands at the end of the second final of the triangular series which Australia won 2–0. The match had included physical jostling between McGrath and Sanath Jayasuriya mid pitch, with the latter accusing McGrath of making racist attacks. Later in the match, stump microphones showed Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy alleging that portly Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga was feigning injury and calling for a runner because of his lack of physical fitness.
On the field, the ODI tournament saw Mark Waugh elevated to be Taylor's ODI opening partner after the axing of Slater midway through the season. In their first match together in Perth, the pair put on 190, with Taylor scoring 85. They put on another century stand in the second final, with Taylor scoring 82. Taylor scored heavily in the ODI tournament, with 423 runs at 42.30 with four half-centuries. Australia warmed up for the 1996 Cricket World Cup by winning five of their eight round-robin matches, and taking the finals 2–0, but many of the matches were closely contested. The finals were won by 18 and nine runs respectively, while three of the group matches were decided in the last over.
After the spiteful summer, a Tamil Tiger bombing in Colombo coupled with death threats to some members of the team forced Taylor to forfeit his team's scheduled World Cup match against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Taylor made six as Australia started their campaign with a 97-run win over Kenya. He then made 59 in a century stand with Waugh as Australia defeated co-hosts India in Mumbai. Taylor scored 34 in a nine-wicket win over Zimbabwe, before scoring nine in a defeat to the West Indies in the last group match. Australia finished second in their group and faced New Zealand in the quarter-finals. Taylor made only 10 as Australia chased 289 for victory, but made a surprise tactic by sending in Shane Warne as a pinch hitter. Warne made 24 from 15 balls in a partnership with Waugh, to allow Australia to take the momentum and take victory by six wickets. Taylor managed only one in the semi-final as Australia staggered to 8/207 against the West Indies. Australia appeared to be heading out of the tournament when the Caribbean team reached 2/165, but a sudden collapse saw Australia win by six runs in the last over.
Australia managed to reach the final, where they met Sri Lanka. Taylor scored 74, a record score by an Australian captain in the World Cup, but Sri Lanka comfortably triumphed on this occasion by seven wickets to claim the trophy.
Almost retired
After the World Cup, Bob Simpson was replaced as Australia's coach by Geoff Marsh, Taylor's former opening partner. Australia's first tournament after the World Cup was the Singer World Series in Sri Lanka. Taylor opted out of the tournament, and in his absence, Australia reached the final but lost by 50 runs to the hosts.
On a short tour to India, Taylor made his first ODI century at Bangalore, with 105 against India in his 98th match, having been out in the 90s on three previous occasions. Taylor performed strongly in the ODIs, with a total of 302 runs at 60.40. However, it was a disappointing tour for the team; the solitary Test in Delhi was lost, as were all five ODIs played during the Titan Cup.
In 1996–97, Australia confirmed its ascendancy over the West Indies with a 3–2 series win, but Taylor endured a poor season with the bat and failed to pass 50 in nine innings. His partnership with Slater was terminated when the latter was dropped, replaced by Matthew Elliott. Following an injury to Elliott, Matthew Hayden became Taylor's partner for three Tests.
Unable to recover form in the ODI series, Taylor's scratchy batting led to many poor starts for Australia. The team suffered five consecutive defeats, and missed the finals of the tournament for the first time in 17 years. Taylor managed only 143 runs at 17.88 with a highest score of 29.
The early 1997 tour to South Africa brought no upturn in Taylor's batting despite Australia's 2–1 victory in the series: he scored 80 runs at 16.00. His form was such that it influenced the selection of the team. For the Second Test at Port Elizabeth, played on a green pitch, Australia played Michael Bevan as a second spinner batting at number seven to reinforce the batting, instead of a third seamer to exploit the conditions. After scoring seven and 17 in the first two ODIs, Taylor dropped himself from the team for the remaining five matches.
The 1997 Ashes tour started poorly amid rumours that Taylor was on the verge of losing his place in the side. He batted ineffectively as Australia lost the one day series 0–3, scoring seven and 11, before dropping himself for the final match. In the First Test, Australia were dismissed for 118 in the first innings, with Taylor contributing seven: he had not managed to pass 50 in his last 21 Test innings. England amassed a big lead of 360 runs. With Australia facing a heavy defeat, media criticism of his position intensified. The Melbourne Age ran a competition for its readers to forecast how many runs he would make. Most respondents guessed less than 10 runs. The team's erstwhile coach, Bob Simpson, said that Taylor's retention in the team in spite of his poor form was fostering resentment among the players and destabilising the team.
Taylor started nervously in the second innings, but went on to score of 129, which saved his career, but not the match. His performance prompted personal congratulations from Prime Minister John Howard and the team's management allowed the media a rare opportunity to enter the dressing room and interview Taylor. During the period he refused offers by the manager to handle the media on his behalf. Australia went on to win the Third, Fourth and Fifth Tests and retain the Ashes 3–2. Although Taylor made single figures in the three Tests following his century, he contributed 76 and 45 in the series-clinching Test at Nottingham. Taylor ended the series with 317 runs at 31.7.
Dual teams
However, Taylor's ODI form was not to the satisfaction of the selectors. At the start of the 1997–98 season, a new selection policy was announced: the Test and ODI teams became separate entities, with specialists in each form of the game selected accordingly. Taylor was dropped from the ODI team, in favour of the aggressive Michael di Venuto. Tactically, ODI cricket was transformed by Sri Lanka's World Cup success, when it employed the highly aggressive opening pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana.
At this time, Taylor was a central figure in a pay dispute between the players and the ACB, with a strike action threatened by the players. Taylor continued as Test captain and led the team to a 2–0 win over New Zealand. The first two matches were won by 186 runs and an innings, while the Third Test ended with Australia one wicket from victory after almost two days' play was washed out.
Taylor scored a century (112 on the first day of the First Test, and an unbeaten 66 in the Third Test, compiling 214 runs at 53.50 for the series. This was followed by three Tests against South Africa. After South Africa withheld the Australian bowling on the final day to secure a draw in the Boxing Day Test, Australia took a 1–0 lead in the New Year's Test at Sydney with an innings victory. Taylor carried his bat for 169 in the first innings of the Third Test at Adelaide which helped Australia to draw the match and clinch the series.
On the 1998 tour of India, Elliott was dropped and Taylor reunited with Slater as the opening pair. Australia started well by taking a 71-run first-innings lead in the First Test at Chennai, but Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten 155 put Australia under pressure to save the match on the final day. They were unable to resist and lost by 179 runs. Australia was crushed by an innings and 219 runs in the Second Test at Calcutta, Australia first series loss in four years and the first time that Australia had lost by an innings for five years. Thus, a series victory in India, which Australia had not achieved since 1969–70, remained elusive. Australia won the Third Test in Bangalore by eight wickets, with Taylor scoring an unbeaten 102 in a second innings run chase.
Record equalled
Later in 1998, Taylor led his team to Pakistan, where a convincing win in the First Test at Rawalpindi by an innings and 99 runs was Australia's first Test victory in the country for 39 years. Taylor then attended a court hearing investigating the claims of match-fixing made during the 1994 tour. In the Second Test at Peshawar, Taylor played the longest innings of his career. He batted two days to amass 334 not out, equalling Sir Donald Bradman's Australian record set in 1930. In temperatures above 32 °C, Taylor survived two dropped catches before he had reached 25 and scored slowly on the first day. He shared a 206-run partnership with Justin Langer. The next day, he added 103 runs in a morning session extended from two to three hours. After the tea interval, he discarded his helmet in favour of a white sun hat, to deal with the extreme heat. He passed 311, eclipsing Bob Simpson's record score by an Australian captain. In the final over, Taylor equalled Bradman's Australian Test record when a shot to midwicket was barely stopped by Ijaz Ahmed, which reduced the scoring opportunity to a single run.
At the end of the day's play, Taylor was encouraged by the media, the public and his teammates to attempt to break Brian Lara's world record score of 375. An unusually large crowd turned out the following day in anticipation. However, Taylor declared the innings closed, opting to share the record with Bradman, and making the team's chances of winning the game paramount. He was widely praised for this decision. He made 92 in the second innings, giving him the second highest Test match aggregate after English batsmen Graham Gooch, who scored 333 and 123 for a total of 456 against India at Lord's on 26 July 1990. His fifteen hours batting in one Test was second only to Hanif Mohammad. The match ended in a draw, as did the Third Test, so Australia won the series and Taylor ended with 513 runs at 128.25 average.
Final season
Taylor's swansong was the 1998–99 Ashes series against England, which began with his 100th Test in the First Test in Brisbane. He scored 46 and a duck—his first in Australia—as England were saved when thunderstorms forced the abandonment of play on the final afternoon. Two half centuries in the next two Tests in Perth and Adelaide saw Australia win by seven wickets and 205 runs respectively, thereby retaining the series 2–0. After losing the Fourth Test by 12 runs after a dramatic final day collapse, Taylor headed to his home ground, the Sydney Cricket Ground, for what would be his final Test. Australia went on to win the Test by 98 runs and take the series 3–1. Taylor only scored two in both innings, but he broke Border's world record for the most Test catches. His catch in the first innings equalled Border's 156 and another in the second made him the sole owner of the record.
He also jointly holds the record in Test cricket (along with Ian Healy) of being the only cricketers to have been run out in both innings of a Test on two occasions.
Legacy
The improvement of the Australian team, begun during Border's tenure, continued under the captaincy of Taylor. After the defeat of the West Indies in 1995, Taylor's teams won home and away series against every Test team they played, with the exception of winning a series in India. Wisden wrote:
Taylor talked so well that he raised the standard of debate in Australia—and perhaps of cricket itself—in a way which was an example to all professional cricketers ... Border stopped Australia losing. Taylor made them into winners, the acknowledged if not official world champions of Test cricket.
Taylor made a concerted effort to decrease the amount of sledging committed by his team, a trait that brought criticism of Australian teams during other eras. In total, he captained the side in 50 Tests, winning 26 and losing 13, a success rate unmatched in the previous fifty years except for Don Bradman and Viv Richards.
Career best performances
Retirement
Taylor retired from professional cricket in early 1999 after the Ashes series. On Australia Day, he was named the Australian of the Year. He was awarded an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Centenary Medal in 2001. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2002 and made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2003. In 2011, he was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame by the CA.
He is now a commentator for Channel Nine for 21 years. Despite the network losing the TV rights in April 2018, Taylor re-signed for another three years to give his expert analysis on the Ashes 2019, 2019 Cricket World Cup & 2020 World Twenty20 and as a digital contributor.
He mainly commentates on One Day International and Test matches in Australia until the network's final year of cricket telecasts, so he can now spend more time with his family. He used to also appear on The Cricket Show with Simon O'Donnell, and is a spokesman for Fujitsu air-conditioners. He also commentates for radio.
Taylor is patron of the Mark Taylor Shield Cricket competition run for NSW Catholic Primary schools in and around the Sydney region. On 6 November 2011, Waitara Oval, the home of the Northern District Cricket Club, had its name formally changed to Mark Taylor Oval, to honour its former First Grade captain and life member.
In October 2015, The Primary Club of Australia announced that Mark Taylor had accepted the role of Twelfth Man and Patron following the passing of their former Patron, Richie Benaud OBE. He also became Director of Cricket Australia, who commissioned a replacement cap for Benaud, only for his ill health and subsequent passing to have the cap presented to his wife.
References
Further reading
External links
1964 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Wagga Wagga
Australia Test cricketers
Australia One Day International cricketers
Australia Test cricket captains
New South Wales cricketers
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Australian cricket commentators
People educated at Chatswood High School
Australian of the Year Award winners
Officers of the Order of Australia
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
Recipients of the Centenary Medal
Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
University of New South Wales alumni
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees
People from the Riverina
Chatswood, New South Wales
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"Mark Anthony Taylor (born 27 October 1964) is a former Australian cricketer and currently a Cricket Australia director and Nine Network commentator. He was Test opening batsman from 1988 to 1999, as well as captain from 1994 to 1999, succeeding Allan Border. His predominant fielding position was first slip.",
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] | C_ae269bdc0d524b599736eb69a322d5b1_1 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 3 | Are there any other interesting aspects in addition to this article? | Mark Taylor (cricketer) | The second of three children born to bank manager Tony Taylor, and his wife Judy, Mark Taylor's early years were spent at Wagga Wagga, where his family relocated when he was eight. His father had a sporting background, playing first grade rugby in Newcastle. The young Taylor preferred Australian rules football and cricket. He learned to bat in the family garage, with his father throwing cork balls to him. Taylor idolised Arthur Morris, the left-handed opening batsmen from New South Wales who led the aggregates on the 1948 "Invincibles" tour of England. Taylor played for his primary school as an opening batsman, and made his first century at the age of thirteen for the Lake Albert club at Bolton Park in Wagga. His family then moved to the north shore of Sydney, where he joined Northern District in Sydney Grade Cricket. Completing his secondary education at Chatswood High School, he later obtained a degree in surveying at the University of New South Wales. Along with the Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, Taylor played in under-19 youth internationals for Australia against Sri Lanka in 1982-83. Taylor made his Sheffield Shield debut in 1985-86 when NSW was depleted by the defection of regular openers Steve Smith and John Dyson to a rebel tour of South Africa. Opening with fellow debutant Mark Waugh, he scored 12 and 56 not out against Tasmania. His first season was highlighted by home and away centuries against South Australia in a total of 937 runs at 49.31 average. He had a lean season in 1987-88, after which he spent the English summer with Greenmount, helping them to win their first Bolton League title by scoring more than 1,300 runs at an average of 70. He originally trained as a surveyor, and received a degree in surveying from the University of New South Wales in 1987. CANNOTANSWER | Taylor played for his primary school as an opening batsman, and made his first century at the age of thirteen for the Lake Albert club at Bolton Park in Wagga. | Mark Anthony Taylor (born 27 October 1964) is a former Australian cricketer and currently a Cricket Australia director and Nine Network commentator.
He was Test opening batsman from 1988 to 1999, as well as captain from 1994 to 1999, succeeding Allan Border. His predominant fielding position was first slip. He was widely regarded as an instrumental component in Australia's rise to Test cricket dominance, and his captaincy was regarded as adventurous and highly effective. However, he was considered less than ideal for One-Day International cricket and was eventually dropped as one-day captain after a 0–3 drubbing at the hands of England in 1997.
He moved to Wagga Wagga in 1972 and played for Lake Albert Cricket Club. His debut was for New South Wales in 1985.
He retired from Test cricket on 2 February 1999. In 104 Test matches, he scored 7,525 runs with a batting average of 43.49, including 19 centuries and 40 fifties. He was also an excellent first slip – his 157 catches, at the time, a Test record (now held by Rahul Dravid). In contrast to his predecessor Allan Border, who acquired the nickname 'Captain Grumpy', Taylor won plaudits for his always cheerful and positive demeanour. His successor, Steve Waugh, further honed the Australian team built by Border and Taylor and went on to set numerous records for victories as captain. Having been named Australian of the Year in 1999, he is now a cricket commentator for the Nine Network, and former Director of Cricket Australia.
Early years
The second of three children born to bank manager Tony Taylor, and his wife Judy, Mark Taylor's early years were spent at Wagga Wagga, where his family relocated when he was eight. His father had a sporting background, playing first grade rugby in Newcastle. The young Taylor preferred Australian rules football and cricket. He learned to bat in the family garage, with his father throwing cork balls to him. Taylor idolised Arthur Morris, the left-handed opening batsmen from New South Wales who led the aggregates on the 1948 "Invincibles" tour of England.
Taylor played for his primary school as an opening batsman, and made his first century at the age of thirteen for the Lake Albert club at Bolton Park in Wagga. His family then moved to the north shore of Sydney, where he joined Northern District in Sydney Grade Cricket. Completing his secondary education at Chatswood High School, he later obtained a degree in surveying at the University of New South Wales in 1987. Along with the Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, Taylor played in under-19 youth internationals for Australia against Sri Lanka in 1982–83.
Taylor made his Sheffield Shield debut in 1985–86 when NSW was depleted by the defection of regular openers Steve Smith and John Dyson to a rebel tour of South Africa. Opening with fellow debutant Mark Waugh, he scored 12 and 56 not out against Tasmania. His first season was highlighted by home and away centuries against South Australia in a total of 937 runs at 49.31 average. He had a lean season in 1987–88, after which he spent the English summer with Greenmount, helping them to win their first Bolton League title by scoring more than 1,300 runs at an average of 70.
International career
Test career
Solid form for NSW in 1988–89 resulted in Taylor's selection for his Test debut in the Fourth Test against the West Indies at the SCG, replacing middle-order batsman Graeme Wood. For three years, the opening combination of Geoff Marsh and David Boon had been successful for Australia. However, team coach Bob Simpson wanted a left and right-handed opening combination, and stability added to the middle order. Therefore, the left-handed Taylor partnered the right-handed Marsh, while Boon batted at number three. Taylor's safe catching at slip was also a factor in his selection. He made 25 and 3 in a winning team, then was run out twice in the Fifth Test. A first-class aggregate of 1,241 runs (at 49.64 average) for the season earned him a place on the 1989 Ashes tour.
Record-breaking start
Beginning with a century at Headingley in his First Test against England, Taylor amassed 839 runs at 83.90 in the six Tests: the second best aggregate in an Ashes series in England, behind Don Bradman's 974 runs in 1930. He occupied the crease for a total of 38 hours, more than six full days of play. The highlight of his tour was the Fifth Test at Trent Bridge when he and Geoff Marsh became the first pair to bat throughout a day's play of Test cricket in England, amassing 301 runs. Taylor made 219 in a partnership of 329, an Ashes record. He finished with 71 and 48 in the Sixth Test to overtake Neil Harvey for the third-highest series aggregate in Test history and totalled 1,669 first-class runs for the tour. Australia won the series 4–0 to regain the Ashes. However, Taylor was overlooked for selection in the ODIs.
Returning to Australia, Taylor made 1,403 first-class runs at 70.15 during the 1989–90 season, and ended 1989 with 1,219 Test runs, thus becoming the first player to better one thousand Test runs in his debut calendar year, something only matched twice since by England opener Alastair Cook and Australian Adam Voges. In Taylor's first nine Tests, Australia passed 400 in the first innings. He scored centuries in successive Tests against Sri Lanka, and against Pakistan his scores were 52 and 101 at the MCG, 77 and 59 at the Adelaide Oval and an unbeaten 101 at Sydney. Australia won both series 1–0. In just over twelve months, he had amassed 1,618 runs at 70.35. This outstanding start to his career earned Taylor nomination as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1990. At the season's end, he demonstrated his leadership abilities for the first time. Standing in as NSW captain in place of the injured Geoff Lawson for the 1989–90 Sheffield Shield final in Sydney, Taylor scored 127 and 100. NSW won by 345 runs to secure its 40th title.
A year after his Test debut, Taylor was selected to make his ODI debut, which came on Boxing Day of 1989 against Sri Lanka. He made 11 as Australia won by 30 runs. He was selected for nine of Australia's ten ODIs for the season's triangular tournament, scoring 294 runs at 32.66 with two half-centuries. His highest score of 76 came as Australia defeated Pakistan by 69 runs to clinch the finals series in Sydney. The season ended with ODI tournaments in New Zealand and Sharjah. He played six of the eight matches, scoring 222 runs at 37.00 with two half-centuries, but was dropped for the final in New Zealand.
Inconsistent form
Taylor experienced a slump during the 1990–91 Ashes series. After making two-half centuries in the first two Tests, he failed to pass 20 in the last three and finished with 213 runs at 23.66 in a team that won 3–0. He found himself on the outer for the ODI triangular tournament, missing all eight of the preliminary matches before returning to score 41 and 71 as Australia won the finals 2–0.
His moderate form continued during the 1991 tour of the West Indies, where he was selected in only two of the five ODIs, scoring three and five. He ended the run with a rear-guard innings of 76 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Barbados. Despite his effort, Australia lost and the West Indies took an unassailable lead of 2–0. In the Fifth Test St. Johns, Antigua, Australia gained a consolation victory due mainly to Taylor's scores of 59 and 144 (out of a total of 265). This late rush of form boosted his average for the series to 49. In late 1991, before the Australian season started, Taylor was appointed to lead an Australia A side to tour Zimbabwe. The team was composed of younger Test players and other young players who were seeking to break into international cricket. The selectors were attempting to groom Taylor as a potential replacement for Border.
During the 1991–92 Australian season, Taylor batted consistently in a 4–0 series victory over India. He scored 94 and 35* in a ten-wicket win at Brisbane. He scored half-centuries in each of the next two Tests before striking 100 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Adelaide. It helped Australia to wipe out a first innings deficit of 80 and set up a winning target. His opening partner Marsh was dropped for the Fifth Test, so the selectors elevated Taylor to the vice-captaincy of the team. Over the next twelve months, a number of players were tried as Taylor's opening partner. Taylor struggled in his first match with new partner Wayne N. Phillips, scoring two and 16. Nevertheless, he had scored 422 runs at 46.89. Taylor continued to be overlooked by the selectors in the shorter version of the game, missing selection for all of the season's triangular tournament. He was selected for the squad for the 1992 Cricket World Cup held on home soil, and after Australia lost its first two matches, Taylor was recalled for his first ODI in 12 months. He made 13 as Australia beat India by one run, but scored his first ODI duck in the next match as England won by eight wickets. He was dropped for the remainder of the tournament.
On the 1992 tour of Sri Lanka, Taylor struggled in scoring 148 runs at 24.67. After scoring 42 and 43 in Australia's win in the First Test, Taylor failed to again pass 30. With new opening partner Tom Moody also struggling with 71 runs at 11.83, Australia frequently struggled at the top of their innings. He played in all three ODIs, scoring 138 runs at 46.00. His 94 in the first match was his highest score in ODIs to that point.
Against the West Indies in 1992–93, Taylor was now opening alongside David Boon with Moody having been dropped. Taylor was ineffective and failed to pass fifty in the first four Tests. After Australia failed by one run to win the Fourth Test and thus the series, Taylor was dropped for the deciding Test at Perth, having failed to make double figures in either innings. In his absence, Australia lost by an innings in three days and conceded the series 1–2. He had scored 170 runs at 24.29 for the series. However, he played all of Australia's ten ODIs, scoring 286 runs at 28.60 with two half-centuries.
Taylor and Slater
As a result of the innings defeat in Perth, Taylor was immediately recalled for the tour of New Zealand, where he scored 82 in the First Test at Christchurch to help Australia to an innings victory. He then scored 50 in the drawn Second Test and bowled for the first time at Test level, taking 0/15. He failed to pass 20 in the Third Test and ended the series with 148 runs at 37.00 as the home side squared the series. Australia then played five ODIs in New Zealand before starting the England tour with three more. Taylor played in all eight, scoring 307 runs at 38.38 with four half-centuries.
The problem of finding him a long-term partner was solved on the tour of England that followed. NSW batsman Michael Slater, who also grew up in Wagga Wagga, made his debut in the First Test of the 1993 Ashes series. In the First Test at Old Trafford, Taylor made 124 after an opening partnership of 128, as Australia managed only 289 after being sent in. Australia managed to scrape out a lead of 79, before going on to a 179-run win.
This was followed by a stand of 260 at Lord's in the Second Test, with Taylor making 111. In the process, he passed 1000 Test runs against England and the partnership broke the Ashes partnership record at Lord's, which had been set by Bill Woodfull and Don Bradman in 1930. The partnership laid the platform for Australia's total of 4/632, as the tourists proceeded to an innings victory.
His scoring was more sedate in the remaining Tests as Australia won 4–1, and he finished with 428 runs at 42.80. He passed 30 only once more, with 70 in the first innings of the Sixth Test at The Oval.
Against New Zealand in 1993–94, Taylor made 64 and 142 not out in the First Test at Perth, which ended in a draw. He then scored 27 and 53 as Australia won the next two Tests by an innings, totalling 286 runs at 95.33 in three Tests as Australia won 2–0. In the rain-affected Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Taylor played his 50th Test and celebrated with 170 against South Africa, the first Test between the two countries since 1970. This made him the first batsman to score centuries on Test debut against four countries. In addition, he passed 4,000 Test runs during the innings. Taylor had scored more than 1,000 Test runs for the calendar year, ending with 1106 runs Taylor scored 62 in the Third Test, his only other half-century for the series, which he ended with 304 runs at 60.80.
On the reciprocal tour of South Africa at the end of the season, Taylor missed a Test because of injury for the only time in his career. Matthew Hayden filled in for the First Test in Johannesburg, which Australia lost. On his return for the Second Test at Cape Town, he scored 70 and ended the series with 97 runs at 24.25. Both series were drawn 1–1.
Captaincy
After the retirement of Allan Border, Taylor was appointed captain.
Frequently omitted from the ODI team due to slow scoring, Taylor missed the finals of the ODI series in Australia against South Africa. On the tour of South Africa, he missed three consecutive ODIs when tour selectors and fellow players Ian Healy and Steve Waugh voted him off the team. In all, Taylor had only played in 11 of Australia's 19 ODIs for the season, scoring 281 runs at 25.55. Taylor requested an extended trial as opener for the ODI side to help consolidate his captaincy of both teams.
Taylor started his ODI captaincy with two tournaments in Sharjah and Sri Lanka. Australia missed the finals in both tournaments, winning three of their six matches. After scoring 68* to guide his team to a nine-wicket win in the first match against Sri Lanka in Sharjah, Taylor's form tapered off, scoring only 64 more runs to end the two tournaments with a total of 132 runs at 33.00.
His first task was a tour of Pakistan in 1994, where Australia had not won a Test since the 1959 tour. To make matters worse, Australia's first-choice pace pairing of Craig McDermott and Merv Hughes missed the tour due to injury. The First Test at Karachi was a personal disaster for Taylor as he scored a pair, the first player in Test history to do so on his captaincy debut. Paceman Glenn McGrath then broke down in the middle of the match. Australia was in the box seat with Pakistan needing 56 runs with one wicket in hand, but lost by one wicket after Ian Healy missed a stumping opportunity and the ball went for the winning runs. Recovering to score 69 in the Second Test at Rawalpindi, Taylor forced Pakistan to follow on after taking a 261-run lead. However, he dropped Pakistan captain Salim Malik when he was on 20. Malik went on to make 237 as Pakistan made 537 and saved the Test. Australia again took a first innings lead in the Third Test, but could not force a result, as Malik scored another second innings century to ensure safety and a 1–0 series win. Taylor ended the series with 106 runs at 26.50. Australia fared better in the ODI triangular tournament, winning five of their six matches. Taylor scored 56 in the final as Australia beat Pakistan by 64 runs to end the tournament with 193 runs at 32.16.
Beginning the 1994–95 season with 150 for NSW in a tour match against England, Taylor followed up with 59 in an opening stand of 97 as Australia made 426 in the first innings to take the initiative in the First Test in Brisbane. Australia amassed a 259-run first innings lead, but Taylor, mindful of the Test match at Rawalpindi, became the first Australian captain since 1977–78 to not enforce the follow-on. Although heavily criticised as a conservative decision, Australia still won the match by 184 runs, with Taylor adding 58 in the second innings. Having scored the first win of his Test captaincy, Taylor led his team to a 295-run win in the Second Test.
Taylor played his best cricket of the summer in the Third Test at Sydney. Last man out for 49 in a total of 116 in the first innings, he defied a pitch that had begun to seam and swing after a shower and cloud cover as Australia narrowly avoided the follow on. In the second innings, he made a bold attempt at chasing a world record target of 449 by scoring 113, but Australia played for a draw after Slater and Taylor fell following a double-century stand. Australia collapsed to 7/292 before hanging on in near-darkness. In the final two Tests, he scored half-centuries as Australia won 3–1. Australia dramatically lost the Fourth Test when England led by only 154 on the final day with four wickets in hand. Aggressive lower order batting saw Australia set 263 in just over two sessions, but a heavy collapse saw Australia eight wickets down with more than 2 hours to play. Almost two hours of resistance later, England took a 106-run win late in the day. However, Australia bounced back to win the Fifth Test by 329 runs, the largest margin of the series. Taylor's partnership with Slater yielded three century opening stands at an average of 76.60 for the series and Taylor's individual return was 471 runs at 47.10.
The southern hemisphere summer ended with a quadrangular tournament in New Zealand, where Australia won two of their three group matches to proceed to the final. Taylor scored 44 in a six-wicket triumph over New Zealand and totalled 165 runs at 41.25. His best score was 97 against the hosts in the preliminary round meant that he was still yet to post his first ODI century, five years after his debut.
Caribbean tour 1995
This victory was followed by the 1995 tour of the West Indies, where Australia had not won a Test series for 22 years. Australia lost the ODI series which preceded the Tests 1–4, with Taylor making 152 runs at 30.40. The difficulty of Australia's task was increased when fast bowlers Craig McDermott and Damien Fleming went home injured at the start of the tour. Australia fielded a pace attack of Glenn McGrath, Brendon Julian and Paul Reiffel who had played only 23 Tests between them. Despite this, Australia won by ten wickets in the first Test at Barbados, with Taylor contributing a half-century. After the Second Test was a rained-out draw, the West Indies beat Australia inside three days on a "green" Trinidad pitch in the Third Test. Australia regained the Frank Worrell Trophy with an innings victory in the Fourth Test at Jamaica, with Taylor taking the winning catch from the bowling of Shane Warne. Although he only managed 153 runs (at 25.50 average) for the series, Taylor held nine catches and his leadership was cited as a key factor in the result.
Controversy with Sri Lanka
This was followed by two and three-Test series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively in the 1995–96 Australian season. The Pakistan series began among a media circus when Salim Malik arrived with publicity focused on the bribery allegations which had surfaced a year earlier. Australia won the First Test in Brisbane by an innings in three and a half days, with Taylor contributing 69. In the Second Test at Bellerive Oval, Taylor scored 123 in the second innings to set up a winning total. In the Third Test in Sydney, he made 59 as Australia collapsed for 172 in the second innings and conceded the match. He ended the series with a healthy 338 runs at 67.60.
The subsequent Test and ODI series involving Sri Lanka were overshadowed by a series of spiteful clashes. The Tests were won 3–0 by the Australians with heavy margins of an innings, ten wickets and 148 runs respectively. Taylor's highlight being a 96 in the First Test at Perth as he compiled 159 runs at 39.75. He also made his 100th Test catch during the series. After accusations of ball tampering were levelled against the tourists in the First Test, leading spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled seven times in the Second Test, and during the ODI series, the Sri Lankans accused Taylor's men of cheating. The season hit a low point with the Sri Lankans which saw the teams refuse to shake hands at the end of the second final of the triangular series which Australia won 2–0. The match had included physical jostling between McGrath and Sanath Jayasuriya mid pitch, with the latter accusing McGrath of making racist attacks. Later in the match, stump microphones showed Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy alleging that portly Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga was feigning injury and calling for a runner because of his lack of physical fitness.
On the field, the ODI tournament saw Mark Waugh elevated to be Taylor's ODI opening partner after the axing of Slater midway through the season. In their first match together in Perth, the pair put on 190, with Taylor scoring 85. They put on another century stand in the second final, with Taylor scoring 82. Taylor scored heavily in the ODI tournament, with 423 runs at 42.30 with four half-centuries. Australia warmed up for the 1996 Cricket World Cup by winning five of their eight round-robin matches, and taking the finals 2–0, but many of the matches were closely contested. The finals were won by 18 and nine runs respectively, while three of the group matches were decided in the last over.
After the spiteful summer, a Tamil Tiger bombing in Colombo coupled with death threats to some members of the team forced Taylor to forfeit his team's scheduled World Cup match against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Taylor made six as Australia started their campaign with a 97-run win over Kenya. He then made 59 in a century stand with Waugh as Australia defeated co-hosts India in Mumbai. Taylor scored 34 in a nine-wicket win over Zimbabwe, before scoring nine in a defeat to the West Indies in the last group match. Australia finished second in their group and faced New Zealand in the quarter-finals. Taylor made only 10 as Australia chased 289 for victory, but made a surprise tactic by sending in Shane Warne as a pinch hitter. Warne made 24 from 15 balls in a partnership with Waugh, to allow Australia to take the momentum and take victory by six wickets. Taylor managed only one in the semi-final as Australia staggered to 8/207 against the West Indies. Australia appeared to be heading out of the tournament when the Caribbean team reached 2/165, but a sudden collapse saw Australia win by six runs in the last over.
Australia managed to reach the final, where they met Sri Lanka. Taylor scored 74, a record score by an Australian captain in the World Cup, but Sri Lanka comfortably triumphed on this occasion by seven wickets to claim the trophy.
Almost retired
After the World Cup, Bob Simpson was replaced as Australia's coach by Geoff Marsh, Taylor's former opening partner. Australia's first tournament after the World Cup was the Singer World Series in Sri Lanka. Taylor opted out of the tournament, and in his absence, Australia reached the final but lost by 50 runs to the hosts.
On a short tour to India, Taylor made his first ODI century at Bangalore, with 105 against India in his 98th match, having been out in the 90s on three previous occasions. Taylor performed strongly in the ODIs, with a total of 302 runs at 60.40. However, it was a disappointing tour for the team; the solitary Test in Delhi was lost, as were all five ODIs played during the Titan Cup.
In 1996–97, Australia confirmed its ascendancy over the West Indies with a 3–2 series win, but Taylor endured a poor season with the bat and failed to pass 50 in nine innings. His partnership with Slater was terminated when the latter was dropped, replaced by Matthew Elliott. Following an injury to Elliott, Matthew Hayden became Taylor's partner for three Tests.
Unable to recover form in the ODI series, Taylor's scratchy batting led to many poor starts for Australia. The team suffered five consecutive defeats, and missed the finals of the tournament for the first time in 17 years. Taylor managed only 143 runs at 17.88 with a highest score of 29.
The early 1997 tour to South Africa brought no upturn in Taylor's batting despite Australia's 2–1 victory in the series: he scored 80 runs at 16.00. His form was such that it influenced the selection of the team. For the Second Test at Port Elizabeth, played on a green pitch, Australia played Michael Bevan as a second spinner batting at number seven to reinforce the batting, instead of a third seamer to exploit the conditions. After scoring seven and 17 in the first two ODIs, Taylor dropped himself from the team for the remaining five matches.
The 1997 Ashes tour started poorly amid rumours that Taylor was on the verge of losing his place in the side. He batted ineffectively as Australia lost the one day series 0–3, scoring seven and 11, before dropping himself for the final match. In the First Test, Australia were dismissed for 118 in the first innings, with Taylor contributing seven: he had not managed to pass 50 in his last 21 Test innings. England amassed a big lead of 360 runs. With Australia facing a heavy defeat, media criticism of his position intensified. The Melbourne Age ran a competition for its readers to forecast how many runs he would make. Most respondents guessed less than 10 runs. The team's erstwhile coach, Bob Simpson, said that Taylor's retention in the team in spite of his poor form was fostering resentment among the players and destabilising the team.
Taylor started nervously in the second innings, but went on to score of 129, which saved his career, but not the match. His performance prompted personal congratulations from Prime Minister John Howard and the team's management allowed the media a rare opportunity to enter the dressing room and interview Taylor. During the period he refused offers by the manager to handle the media on his behalf. Australia went on to win the Third, Fourth and Fifth Tests and retain the Ashes 3–2. Although Taylor made single figures in the three Tests following his century, he contributed 76 and 45 in the series-clinching Test at Nottingham. Taylor ended the series with 317 runs at 31.7.
Dual teams
However, Taylor's ODI form was not to the satisfaction of the selectors. At the start of the 1997–98 season, a new selection policy was announced: the Test and ODI teams became separate entities, with specialists in each form of the game selected accordingly. Taylor was dropped from the ODI team, in favour of the aggressive Michael di Venuto. Tactically, ODI cricket was transformed by Sri Lanka's World Cup success, when it employed the highly aggressive opening pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana.
At this time, Taylor was a central figure in a pay dispute between the players and the ACB, with a strike action threatened by the players. Taylor continued as Test captain and led the team to a 2–0 win over New Zealand. The first two matches were won by 186 runs and an innings, while the Third Test ended with Australia one wicket from victory after almost two days' play was washed out.
Taylor scored a century (112 on the first day of the First Test, and an unbeaten 66 in the Third Test, compiling 214 runs at 53.50 for the series. This was followed by three Tests against South Africa. After South Africa withheld the Australian bowling on the final day to secure a draw in the Boxing Day Test, Australia took a 1–0 lead in the New Year's Test at Sydney with an innings victory. Taylor carried his bat for 169 in the first innings of the Third Test at Adelaide which helped Australia to draw the match and clinch the series.
On the 1998 tour of India, Elliott was dropped and Taylor reunited with Slater as the opening pair. Australia started well by taking a 71-run first-innings lead in the First Test at Chennai, but Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten 155 put Australia under pressure to save the match on the final day. They were unable to resist and lost by 179 runs. Australia was crushed by an innings and 219 runs in the Second Test at Calcutta, Australia first series loss in four years and the first time that Australia had lost by an innings for five years. Thus, a series victory in India, which Australia had not achieved since 1969–70, remained elusive. Australia won the Third Test in Bangalore by eight wickets, with Taylor scoring an unbeaten 102 in a second innings run chase.
Record equalled
Later in 1998, Taylor led his team to Pakistan, where a convincing win in the First Test at Rawalpindi by an innings and 99 runs was Australia's first Test victory in the country for 39 years. Taylor then attended a court hearing investigating the claims of match-fixing made during the 1994 tour. In the Second Test at Peshawar, Taylor played the longest innings of his career. He batted two days to amass 334 not out, equalling Sir Donald Bradman's Australian record set in 1930. In temperatures above 32 °C, Taylor survived two dropped catches before he had reached 25 and scored slowly on the first day. He shared a 206-run partnership with Justin Langer. The next day, he added 103 runs in a morning session extended from two to three hours. After the tea interval, he discarded his helmet in favour of a white sun hat, to deal with the extreme heat. He passed 311, eclipsing Bob Simpson's record score by an Australian captain. In the final over, Taylor equalled Bradman's Australian Test record when a shot to midwicket was barely stopped by Ijaz Ahmed, which reduced the scoring opportunity to a single run.
At the end of the day's play, Taylor was encouraged by the media, the public and his teammates to attempt to break Brian Lara's world record score of 375. An unusually large crowd turned out the following day in anticipation. However, Taylor declared the innings closed, opting to share the record with Bradman, and making the team's chances of winning the game paramount. He was widely praised for this decision. He made 92 in the second innings, giving him the second highest Test match aggregate after English batsmen Graham Gooch, who scored 333 and 123 for a total of 456 against India at Lord's on 26 July 1990. His fifteen hours batting in one Test was second only to Hanif Mohammad. The match ended in a draw, as did the Third Test, so Australia won the series and Taylor ended with 513 runs at 128.25 average.
Final season
Taylor's swansong was the 1998–99 Ashes series against England, which began with his 100th Test in the First Test in Brisbane. He scored 46 and a duck—his first in Australia—as England were saved when thunderstorms forced the abandonment of play on the final afternoon. Two half centuries in the next two Tests in Perth and Adelaide saw Australia win by seven wickets and 205 runs respectively, thereby retaining the series 2–0. After losing the Fourth Test by 12 runs after a dramatic final day collapse, Taylor headed to his home ground, the Sydney Cricket Ground, for what would be his final Test. Australia went on to win the Test by 98 runs and take the series 3–1. Taylor only scored two in both innings, but he broke Border's world record for the most Test catches. His catch in the first innings equalled Border's 156 and another in the second made him the sole owner of the record.
He also jointly holds the record in Test cricket (along with Ian Healy) of being the only cricketers to have been run out in both innings of a Test on two occasions.
Legacy
The improvement of the Australian team, begun during Border's tenure, continued under the captaincy of Taylor. After the defeat of the West Indies in 1995, Taylor's teams won home and away series against every Test team they played, with the exception of winning a series in India. Wisden wrote:
Taylor talked so well that he raised the standard of debate in Australia—and perhaps of cricket itself—in a way which was an example to all professional cricketers ... Border stopped Australia losing. Taylor made them into winners, the acknowledged if not official world champions of Test cricket.
Taylor made a concerted effort to decrease the amount of sledging committed by his team, a trait that brought criticism of Australian teams during other eras. In total, he captained the side in 50 Tests, winning 26 and losing 13, a success rate unmatched in the previous fifty years except for Don Bradman and Viv Richards.
Career best performances
Retirement
Taylor retired from professional cricket in early 1999 after the Ashes series. On Australia Day, he was named the Australian of the Year. He was awarded an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Centenary Medal in 2001. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2002 and made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2003. In 2011, he was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame by the CA.
He is now a commentator for Channel Nine for 21 years. Despite the network losing the TV rights in April 2018, Taylor re-signed for another three years to give his expert analysis on the Ashes 2019, 2019 Cricket World Cup & 2020 World Twenty20 and as a digital contributor.
He mainly commentates on One Day International and Test matches in Australia until the network's final year of cricket telecasts, so he can now spend more time with his family. He used to also appear on The Cricket Show with Simon O'Donnell, and is a spokesman for Fujitsu air-conditioners. He also commentates for radio.
Taylor is patron of the Mark Taylor Shield Cricket competition run for NSW Catholic Primary schools in and around the Sydney region. On 6 November 2011, Waitara Oval, the home of the Northern District Cricket Club, had its name formally changed to Mark Taylor Oval, to honour its former First Grade captain and life member.
In October 2015, The Primary Club of Australia announced that Mark Taylor had accepted the role of Twelfth Man and Patron following the passing of their former Patron, Richie Benaud OBE. He also became Director of Cricket Australia, who commissioned a replacement cap for Benaud, only for his ill health and subsequent passing to have the cap presented to his wife.
References
Further reading
External links
1964 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Wagga Wagga
Australia Test cricketers
Australia One Day International cricketers
Australia Test cricket captains
New South Wales cricketers
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Australian cricket commentators
People educated at Chatswood High School
Australian of the Year Award winners
Officers of the Order of Australia
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
Recipients of the Centenary Medal
Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
University of New South Wales alumni
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees
People from the Riverina
Chatswood, New South Wales
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"Mark Anthony Taylor (born 27 October 1964) is a former Australian cricketer and currently a Cricket Australia director and Nine Network commentator. He was Test opening batsman from 1988 to 1999, as well as captain from 1994 to 1999, succeeding Allan Border. His predominant fielding position was first slip.",
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"Are there any o... | C_ae269bdc0d524b599736eb69a322d5b1_1 | Did he go to college? | 7 | Did Mark Taylor go to college? | Mark Taylor (cricketer) | The second of three children born to bank manager Tony Taylor, and his wife Judy, Mark Taylor's early years were spent at Wagga Wagga, where his family relocated when he was eight. His father had a sporting background, playing first grade rugby in Newcastle. The young Taylor preferred Australian rules football and cricket. He learned to bat in the family garage, with his father throwing cork balls to him. Taylor idolised Arthur Morris, the left-handed opening batsmen from New South Wales who led the aggregates on the 1948 "Invincibles" tour of England. Taylor played for his primary school as an opening batsman, and made his first century at the age of thirteen for the Lake Albert club at Bolton Park in Wagga. His family then moved to the north shore of Sydney, where he joined Northern District in Sydney Grade Cricket. Completing his secondary education at Chatswood High School, he later obtained a degree in surveying at the University of New South Wales. Along with the Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, Taylor played in under-19 youth internationals for Australia against Sri Lanka in 1982-83. Taylor made his Sheffield Shield debut in 1985-86 when NSW was depleted by the defection of regular openers Steve Smith and John Dyson to a rebel tour of South Africa. Opening with fellow debutant Mark Waugh, he scored 12 and 56 not out against Tasmania. His first season was highlighted by home and away centuries against South Australia in a total of 937 runs at 49.31 average. He had a lean season in 1987-88, after which he spent the English summer with Greenmount, helping them to win their first Bolton League title by scoring more than 1,300 runs at an average of 70. He originally trained as a surveyor, and received a degree in surveying from the University of New South Wales in 1987. CANNOTANSWER | University of New South Wales in 1987. | Mark Anthony Taylor (born 27 October 1964) is a former Australian cricketer and currently a Cricket Australia director and Nine Network commentator.
He was Test opening batsman from 1988 to 1999, as well as captain from 1994 to 1999, succeeding Allan Border. His predominant fielding position was first slip. He was widely regarded as an instrumental component in Australia's rise to Test cricket dominance, and his captaincy was regarded as adventurous and highly effective. However, he was considered less than ideal for One-Day International cricket and was eventually dropped as one-day captain after a 0–3 drubbing at the hands of England in 1997.
He moved to Wagga Wagga in 1972 and played for Lake Albert Cricket Club. His debut was for New South Wales in 1985.
He retired from Test cricket on 2 February 1999. In 104 Test matches, he scored 7,525 runs with a batting average of 43.49, including 19 centuries and 40 fifties. He was also an excellent first slip – his 157 catches, at the time, a Test record (now held by Rahul Dravid). In contrast to his predecessor Allan Border, who acquired the nickname 'Captain Grumpy', Taylor won plaudits for his always cheerful and positive demeanour. His successor, Steve Waugh, further honed the Australian team built by Border and Taylor and went on to set numerous records for victories as captain. Having been named Australian of the Year in 1999, he is now a cricket commentator for the Nine Network, and former Director of Cricket Australia.
Early years
The second of three children born to bank manager Tony Taylor, and his wife Judy, Mark Taylor's early years were spent at Wagga Wagga, where his family relocated when he was eight. His father had a sporting background, playing first grade rugby in Newcastle. The young Taylor preferred Australian rules football and cricket. He learned to bat in the family garage, with his father throwing cork balls to him. Taylor idolised Arthur Morris, the left-handed opening batsmen from New South Wales who led the aggregates on the 1948 "Invincibles" tour of England.
Taylor played for his primary school as an opening batsman, and made his first century at the age of thirteen for the Lake Albert club at Bolton Park in Wagga. His family then moved to the north shore of Sydney, where he joined Northern District in Sydney Grade Cricket. Completing his secondary education at Chatswood High School, he later obtained a degree in surveying at the University of New South Wales in 1987. Along with the Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, Taylor played in under-19 youth internationals for Australia against Sri Lanka in 1982–83.
Taylor made his Sheffield Shield debut in 1985–86 when NSW was depleted by the defection of regular openers Steve Smith and John Dyson to a rebel tour of South Africa. Opening with fellow debutant Mark Waugh, he scored 12 and 56 not out against Tasmania. His first season was highlighted by home and away centuries against South Australia in a total of 937 runs at 49.31 average. He had a lean season in 1987–88, after which he spent the English summer with Greenmount, helping them to win their first Bolton League title by scoring more than 1,300 runs at an average of 70.
International career
Test career
Solid form for NSW in 1988–89 resulted in Taylor's selection for his Test debut in the Fourth Test against the West Indies at the SCG, replacing middle-order batsman Graeme Wood. For three years, the opening combination of Geoff Marsh and David Boon had been successful for Australia. However, team coach Bob Simpson wanted a left and right-handed opening combination, and stability added to the middle order. Therefore, the left-handed Taylor partnered the right-handed Marsh, while Boon batted at number three. Taylor's safe catching at slip was also a factor in his selection. He made 25 and 3 in a winning team, then was run out twice in the Fifth Test. A first-class aggregate of 1,241 runs (at 49.64 average) for the season earned him a place on the 1989 Ashes tour.
Record-breaking start
Beginning with a century at Headingley in his First Test against England, Taylor amassed 839 runs at 83.90 in the six Tests: the second best aggregate in an Ashes series in England, behind Don Bradman's 974 runs in 1930. He occupied the crease for a total of 38 hours, more than six full days of play. The highlight of his tour was the Fifth Test at Trent Bridge when he and Geoff Marsh became the first pair to bat throughout a day's play of Test cricket in England, amassing 301 runs. Taylor made 219 in a partnership of 329, an Ashes record. He finished with 71 and 48 in the Sixth Test to overtake Neil Harvey for the third-highest series aggregate in Test history and totalled 1,669 first-class runs for the tour. Australia won the series 4–0 to regain the Ashes. However, Taylor was overlooked for selection in the ODIs.
Returning to Australia, Taylor made 1,403 first-class runs at 70.15 during the 1989–90 season, and ended 1989 with 1,219 Test runs, thus becoming the first player to better one thousand Test runs in his debut calendar year, something only matched twice since by England opener Alastair Cook and Australian Adam Voges. In Taylor's first nine Tests, Australia passed 400 in the first innings. He scored centuries in successive Tests against Sri Lanka, and against Pakistan his scores were 52 and 101 at the MCG, 77 and 59 at the Adelaide Oval and an unbeaten 101 at Sydney. Australia won both series 1–0. In just over twelve months, he had amassed 1,618 runs at 70.35. This outstanding start to his career earned Taylor nomination as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1990. At the season's end, he demonstrated his leadership abilities for the first time. Standing in as NSW captain in place of the injured Geoff Lawson for the 1989–90 Sheffield Shield final in Sydney, Taylor scored 127 and 100. NSW won by 345 runs to secure its 40th title.
A year after his Test debut, Taylor was selected to make his ODI debut, which came on Boxing Day of 1989 against Sri Lanka. He made 11 as Australia won by 30 runs. He was selected for nine of Australia's ten ODIs for the season's triangular tournament, scoring 294 runs at 32.66 with two half-centuries. His highest score of 76 came as Australia defeated Pakistan by 69 runs to clinch the finals series in Sydney. The season ended with ODI tournaments in New Zealand and Sharjah. He played six of the eight matches, scoring 222 runs at 37.00 with two half-centuries, but was dropped for the final in New Zealand.
Inconsistent form
Taylor experienced a slump during the 1990–91 Ashes series. After making two-half centuries in the first two Tests, he failed to pass 20 in the last three and finished with 213 runs at 23.66 in a team that won 3–0. He found himself on the outer for the ODI triangular tournament, missing all eight of the preliminary matches before returning to score 41 and 71 as Australia won the finals 2–0.
His moderate form continued during the 1991 tour of the West Indies, where he was selected in only two of the five ODIs, scoring three and five. He ended the run with a rear-guard innings of 76 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Barbados. Despite his effort, Australia lost and the West Indies took an unassailable lead of 2–0. In the Fifth Test St. Johns, Antigua, Australia gained a consolation victory due mainly to Taylor's scores of 59 and 144 (out of a total of 265). This late rush of form boosted his average for the series to 49. In late 1991, before the Australian season started, Taylor was appointed to lead an Australia A side to tour Zimbabwe. The team was composed of younger Test players and other young players who were seeking to break into international cricket. The selectors were attempting to groom Taylor as a potential replacement for Border.
During the 1991–92 Australian season, Taylor batted consistently in a 4–0 series victory over India. He scored 94 and 35* in a ten-wicket win at Brisbane. He scored half-centuries in each of the next two Tests before striking 100 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Adelaide. It helped Australia to wipe out a first innings deficit of 80 and set up a winning target. His opening partner Marsh was dropped for the Fifth Test, so the selectors elevated Taylor to the vice-captaincy of the team. Over the next twelve months, a number of players were tried as Taylor's opening partner. Taylor struggled in his first match with new partner Wayne N. Phillips, scoring two and 16. Nevertheless, he had scored 422 runs at 46.89. Taylor continued to be overlooked by the selectors in the shorter version of the game, missing selection for all of the season's triangular tournament. He was selected for the squad for the 1992 Cricket World Cup held on home soil, and after Australia lost its first two matches, Taylor was recalled for his first ODI in 12 months. He made 13 as Australia beat India by one run, but scored his first ODI duck in the next match as England won by eight wickets. He was dropped for the remainder of the tournament.
On the 1992 tour of Sri Lanka, Taylor struggled in scoring 148 runs at 24.67. After scoring 42 and 43 in Australia's win in the First Test, Taylor failed to again pass 30. With new opening partner Tom Moody also struggling with 71 runs at 11.83, Australia frequently struggled at the top of their innings. He played in all three ODIs, scoring 138 runs at 46.00. His 94 in the first match was his highest score in ODIs to that point.
Against the West Indies in 1992–93, Taylor was now opening alongside David Boon with Moody having been dropped. Taylor was ineffective and failed to pass fifty in the first four Tests. After Australia failed by one run to win the Fourth Test and thus the series, Taylor was dropped for the deciding Test at Perth, having failed to make double figures in either innings. In his absence, Australia lost by an innings in three days and conceded the series 1–2. He had scored 170 runs at 24.29 for the series. However, he played all of Australia's ten ODIs, scoring 286 runs at 28.60 with two half-centuries.
Taylor and Slater
As a result of the innings defeat in Perth, Taylor was immediately recalled for the tour of New Zealand, where he scored 82 in the First Test at Christchurch to help Australia to an innings victory. He then scored 50 in the drawn Second Test and bowled for the first time at Test level, taking 0/15. He failed to pass 20 in the Third Test and ended the series with 148 runs at 37.00 as the home side squared the series. Australia then played five ODIs in New Zealand before starting the England tour with three more. Taylor played in all eight, scoring 307 runs at 38.38 with four half-centuries.
The problem of finding him a long-term partner was solved on the tour of England that followed. NSW batsman Michael Slater, who also grew up in Wagga Wagga, made his debut in the First Test of the 1993 Ashes series. In the First Test at Old Trafford, Taylor made 124 after an opening partnership of 128, as Australia managed only 289 after being sent in. Australia managed to scrape out a lead of 79, before going on to a 179-run win.
This was followed by a stand of 260 at Lord's in the Second Test, with Taylor making 111. In the process, he passed 1000 Test runs against England and the partnership broke the Ashes partnership record at Lord's, which had been set by Bill Woodfull and Don Bradman in 1930. The partnership laid the platform for Australia's total of 4/632, as the tourists proceeded to an innings victory.
His scoring was more sedate in the remaining Tests as Australia won 4–1, and he finished with 428 runs at 42.80. He passed 30 only once more, with 70 in the first innings of the Sixth Test at The Oval.
Against New Zealand in 1993–94, Taylor made 64 and 142 not out in the First Test at Perth, which ended in a draw. He then scored 27 and 53 as Australia won the next two Tests by an innings, totalling 286 runs at 95.33 in three Tests as Australia won 2–0. In the rain-affected Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Taylor played his 50th Test and celebrated with 170 against South Africa, the first Test between the two countries since 1970. This made him the first batsman to score centuries on Test debut against four countries. In addition, he passed 4,000 Test runs during the innings. Taylor had scored more than 1,000 Test runs for the calendar year, ending with 1106 runs Taylor scored 62 in the Third Test, his only other half-century for the series, which he ended with 304 runs at 60.80.
On the reciprocal tour of South Africa at the end of the season, Taylor missed a Test because of injury for the only time in his career. Matthew Hayden filled in for the First Test in Johannesburg, which Australia lost. On his return for the Second Test at Cape Town, he scored 70 and ended the series with 97 runs at 24.25. Both series were drawn 1–1.
Captaincy
After the retirement of Allan Border, Taylor was appointed captain.
Frequently omitted from the ODI team due to slow scoring, Taylor missed the finals of the ODI series in Australia against South Africa. On the tour of South Africa, he missed three consecutive ODIs when tour selectors and fellow players Ian Healy and Steve Waugh voted him off the team. In all, Taylor had only played in 11 of Australia's 19 ODIs for the season, scoring 281 runs at 25.55. Taylor requested an extended trial as opener for the ODI side to help consolidate his captaincy of both teams.
Taylor started his ODI captaincy with two tournaments in Sharjah and Sri Lanka. Australia missed the finals in both tournaments, winning three of their six matches. After scoring 68* to guide his team to a nine-wicket win in the first match against Sri Lanka in Sharjah, Taylor's form tapered off, scoring only 64 more runs to end the two tournaments with a total of 132 runs at 33.00.
His first task was a tour of Pakistan in 1994, where Australia had not won a Test since the 1959 tour. To make matters worse, Australia's first-choice pace pairing of Craig McDermott and Merv Hughes missed the tour due to injury. The First Test at Karachi was a personal disaster for Taylor as he scored a pair, the first player in Test history to do so on his captaincy debut. Paceman Glenn McGrath then broke down in the middle of the match. Australia was in the box seat with Pakistan needing 56 runs with one wicket in hand, but lost by one wicket after Ian Healy missed a stumping opportunity and the ball went for the winning runs. Recovering to score 69 in the Second Test at Rawalpindi, Taylor forced Pakistan to follow on after taking a 261-run lead. However, he dropped Pakistan captain Salim Malik when he was on 20. Malik went on to make 237 as Pakistan made 537 and saved the Test. Australia again took a first innings lead in the Third Test, but could not force a result, as Malik scored another second innings century to ensure safety and a 1–0 series win. Taylor ended the series with 106 runs at 26.50. Australia fared better in the ODI triangular tournament, winning five of their six matches. Taylor scored 56 in the final as Australia beat Pakistan by 64 runs to end the tournament with 193 runs at 32.16.
Beginning the 1994–95 season with 150 for NSW in a tour match against England, Taylor followed up with 59 in an opening stand of 97 as Australia made 426 in the first innings to take the initiative in the First Test in Brisbane. Australia amassed a 259-run first innings lead, but Taylor, mindful of the Test match at Rawalpindi, became the first Australian captain since 1977–78 to not enforce the follow-on. Although heavily criticised as a conservative decision, Australia still won the match by 184 runs, with Taylor adding 58 in the second innings. Having scored the first win of his Test captaincy, Taylor led his team to a 295-run win in the Second Test.
Taylor played his best cricket of the summer in the Third Test at Sydney. Last man out for 49 in a total of 116 in the first innings, he defied a pitch that had begun to seam and swing after a shower and cloud cover as Australia narrowly avoided the follow on. In the second innings, he made a bold attempt at chasing a world record target of 449 by scoring 113, but Australia played for a draw after Slater and Taylor fell following a double-century stand. Australia collapsed to 7/292 before hanging on in near-darkness. In the final two Tests, he scored half-centuries as Australia won 3–1. Australia dramatically lost the Fourth Test when England led by only 154 on the final day with four wickets in hand. Aggressive lower order batting saw Australia set 263 in just over two sessions, but a heavy collapse saw Australia eight wickets down with more than 2 hours to play. Almost two hours of resistance later, England took a 106-run win late in the day. However, Australia bounced back to win the Fifth Test by 329 runs, the largest margin of the series. Taylor's partnership with Slater yielded three century opening stands at an average of 76.60 for the series and Taylor's individual return was 471 runs at 47.10.
The southern hemisphere summer ended with a quadrangular tournament in New Zealand, where Australia won two of their three group matches to proceed to the final. Taylor scored 44 in a six-wicket triumph over New Zealand and totalled 165 runs at 41.25. His best score was 97 against the hosts in the preliminary round meant that he was still yet to post his first ODI century, five years after his debut.
Caribbean tour 1995
This victory was followed by the 1995 tour of the West Indies, where Australia had not won a Test series for 22 years. Australia lost the ODI series which preceded the Tests 1–4, with Taylor making 152 runs at 30.40. The difficulty of Australia's task was increased when fast bowlers Craig McDermott and Damien Fleming went home injured at the start of the tour. Australia fielded a pace attack of Glenn McGrath, Brendon Julian and Paul Reiffel who had played only 23 Tests between them. Despite this, Australia won by ten wickets in the first Test at Barbados, with Taylor contributing a half-century. After the Second Test was a rained-out draw, the West Indies beat Australia inside three days on a "green" Trinidad pitch in the Third Test. Australia regained the Frank Worrell Trophy with an innings victory in the Fourth Test at Jamaica, with Taylor taking the winning catch from the bowling of Shane Warne. Although he only managed 153 runs (at 25.50 average) for the series, Taylor held nine catches and his leadership was cited as a key factor in the result.
Controversy with Sri Lanka
This was followed by two and three-Test series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively in the 1995–96 Australian season. The Pakistan series began among a media circus when Salim Malik arrived with publicity focused on the bribery allegations which had surfaced a year earlier. Australia won the First Test in Brisbane by an innings in three and a half days, with Taylor contributing 69. In the Second Test at Bellerive Oval, Taylor scored 123 in the second innings to set up a winning total. In the Third Test in Sydney, he made 59 as Australia collapsed for 172 in the second innings and conceded the match. He ended the series with a healthy 338 runs at 67.60.
The subsequent Test and ODI series involving Sri Lanka were overshadowed by a series of spiteful clashes. The Tests were won 3–0 by the Australians with heavy margins of an innings, ten wickets and 148 runs respectively. Taylor's highlight being a 96 in the First Test at Perth as he compiled 159 runs at 39.75. He also made his 100th Test catch during the series. After accusations of ball tampering were levelled against the tourists in the First Test, leading spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled seven times in the Second Test, and during the ODI series, the Sri Lankans accused Taylor's men of cheating. The season hit a low point with the Sri Lankans which saw the teams refuse to shake hands at the end of the second final of the triangular series which Australia won 2–0. The match had included physical jostling between McGrath and Sanath Jayasuriya mid pitch, with the latter accusing McGrath of making racist attacks. Later in the match, stump microphones showed Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy alleging that portly Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga was feigning injury and calling for a runner because of his lack of physical fitness.
On the field, the ODI tournament saw Mark Waugh elevated to be Taylor's ODI opening partner after the axing of Slater midway through the season. In their first match together in Perth, the pair put on 190, with Taylor scoring 85. They put on another century stand in the second final, with Taylor scoring 82. Taylor scored heavily in the ODI tournament, with 423 runs at 42.30 with four half-centuries. Australia warmed up for the 1996 Cricket World Cup by winning five of their eight round-robin matches, and taking the finals 2–0, but many of the matches were closely contested. The finals were won by 18 and nine runs respectively, while three of the group matches were decided in the last over.
After the spiteful summer, a Tamil Tiger bombing in Colombo coupled with death threats to some members of the team forced Taylor to forfeit his team's scheduled World Cup match against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Taylor made six as Australia started their campaign with a 97-run win over Kenya. He then made 59 in a century stand with Waugh as Australia defeated co-hosts India in Mumbai. Taylor scored 34 in a nine-wicket win over Zimbabwe, before scoring nine in a defeat to the West Indies in the last group match. Australia finished second in their group and faced New Zealand in the quarter-finals. Taylor made only 10 as Australia chased 289 for victory, but made a surprise tactic by sending in Shane Warne as a pinch hitter. Warne made 24 from 15 balls in a partnership with Waugh, to allow Australia to take the momentum and take victory by six wickets. Taylor managed only one in the semi-final as Australia staggered to 8/207 against the West Indies. Australia appeared to be heading out of the tournament when the Caribbean team reached 2/165, but a sudden collapse saw Australia win by six runs in the last over.
Australia managed to reach the final, where they met Sri Lanka. Taylor scored 74, a record score by an Australian captain in the World Cup, but Sri Lanka comfortably triumphed on this occasion by seven wickets to claim the trophy.
Almost retired
After the World Cup, Bob Simpson was replaced as Australia's coach by Geoff Marsh, Taylor's former opening partner. Australia's first tournament after the World Cup was the Singer World Series in Sri Lanka. Taylor opted out of the tournament, and in his absence, Australia reached the final but lost by 50 runs to the hosts.
On a short tour to India, Taylor made his first ODI century at Bangalore, with 105 against India in his 98th match, having been out in the 90s on three previous occasions. Taylor performed strongly in the ODIs, with a total of 302 runs at 60.40. However, it was a disappointing tour for the team; the solitary Test in Delhi was lost, as were all five ODIs played during the Titan Cup.
In 1996–97, Australia confirmed its ascendancy over the West Indies with a 3–2 series win, but Taylor endured a poor season with the bat and failed to pass 50 in nine innings. His partnership with Slater was terminated when the latter was dropped, replaced by Matthew Elliott. Following an injury to Elliott, Matthew Hayden became Taylor's partner for three Tests.
Unable to recover form in the ODI series, Taylor's scratchy batting led to many poor starts for Australia. The team suffered five consecutive defeats, and missed the finals of the tournament for the first time in 17 years. Taylor managed only 143 runs at 17.88 with a highest score of 29.
The early 1997 tour to South Africa brought no upturn in Taylor's batting despite Australia's 2–1 victory in the series: he scored 80 runs at 16.00. His form was such that it influenced the selection of the team. For the Second Test at Port Elizabeth, played on a green pitch, Australia played Michael Bevan as a second spinner batting at number seven to reinforce the batting, instead of a third seamer to exploit the conditions. After scoring seven and 17 in the first two ODIs, Taylor dropped himself from the team for the remaining five matches.
The 1997 Ashes tour started poorly amid rumours that Taylor was on the verge of losing his place in the side. He batted ineffectively as Australia lost the one day series 0–3, scoring seven and 11, before dropping himself for the final match. In the First Test, Australia were dismissed for 118 in the first innings, with Taylor contributing seven: he had not managed to pass 50 in his last 21 Test innings. England amassed a big lead of 360 runs. With Australia facing a heavy defeat, media criticism of his position intensified. The Melbourne Age ran a competition for its readers to forecast how many runs he would make. Most respondents guessed less than 10 runs. The team's erstwhile coach, Bob Simpson, said that Taylor's retention in the team in spite of his poor form was fostering resentment among the players and destabilising the team.
Taylor started nervously in the second innings, but went on to score of 129, which saved his career, but not the match. His performance prompted personal congratulations from Prime Minister John Howard and the team's management allowed the media a rare opportunity to enter the dressing room and interview Taylor. During the period he refused offers by the manager to handle the media on his behalf. Australia went on to win the Third, Fourth and Fifth Tests and retain the Ashes 3–2. Although Taylor made single figures in the three Tests following his century, he contributed 76 and 45 in the series-clinching Test at Nottingham. Taylor ended the series with 317 runs at 31.7.
Dual teams
However, Taylor's ODI form was not to the satisfaction of the selectors. At the start of the 1997–98 season, a new selection policy was announced: the Test and ODI teams became separate entities, with specialists in each form of the game selected accordingly. Taylor was dropped from the ODI team, in favour of the aggressive Michael di Venuto. Tactically, ODI cricket was transformed by Sri Lanka's World Cup success, when it employed the highly aggressive opening pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana.
At this time, Taylor was a central figure in a pay dispute between the players and the ACB, with a strike action threatened by the players. Taylor continued as Test captain and led the team to a 2–0 win over New Zealand. The first two matches were won by 186 runs and an innings, while the Third Test ended with Australia one wicket from victory after almost two days' play was washed out.
Taylor scored a century (112 on the first day of the First Test, and an unbeaten 66 in the Third Test, compiling 214 runs at 53.50 for the series. This was followed by three Tests against South Africa. After South Africa withheld the Australian bowling on the final day to secure a draw in the Boxing Day Test, Australia took a 1–0 lead in the New Year's Test at Sydney with an innings victory. Taylor carried his bat for 169 in the first innings of the Third Test at Adelaide which helped Australia to draw the match and clinch the series.
On the 1998 tour of India, Elliott was dropped and Taylor reunited with Slater as the opening pair. Australia started well by taking a 71-run first-innings lead in the First Test at Chennai, but Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten 155 put Australia under pressure to save the match on the final day. They were unable to resist and lost by 179 runs. Australia was crushed by an innings and 219 runs in the Second Test at Calcutta, Australia first series loss in four years and the first time that Australia had lost by an innings for five years. Thus, a series victory in India, which Australia had not achieved since 1969–70, remained elusive. Australia won the Third Test in Bangalore by eight wickets, with Taylor scoring an unbeaten 102 in a second innings run chase.
Record equalled
Later in 1998, Taylor led his team to Pakistan, where a convincing win in the First Test at Rawalpindi by an innings and 99 runs was Australia's first Test victory in the country for 39 years. Taylor then attended a court hearing investigating the claims of match-fixing made during the 1994 tour. In the Second Test at Peshawar, Taylor played the longest innings of his career. He batted two days to amass 334 not out, equalling Sir Donald Bradman's Australian record set in 1930. In temperatures above 32 °C, Taylor survived two dropped catches before he had reached 25 and scored slowly on the first day. He shared a 206-run partnership with Justin Langer. The next day, he added 103 runs in a morning session extended from two to three hours. After the tea interval, he discarded his helmet in favour of a white sun hat, to deal with the extreme heat. He passed 311, eclipsing Bob Simpson's record score by an Australian captain. In the final over, Taylor equalled Bradman's Australian Test record when a shot to midwicket was barely stopped by Ijaz Ahmed, which reduced the scoring opportunity to a single run.
At the end of the day's play, Taylor was encouraged by the media, the public and his teammates to attempt to break Brian Lara's world record score of 375. An unusually large crowd turned out the following day in anticipation. However, Taylor declared the innings closed, opting to share the record with Bradman, and making the team's chances of winning the game paramount. He was widely praised for this decision. He made 92 in the second innings, giving him the second highest Test match aggregate after English batsmen Graham Gooch, who scored 333 and 123 for a total of 456 against India at Lord's on 26 July 1990. His fifteen hours batting in one Test was second only to Hanif Mohammad. The match ended in a draw, as did the Third Test, so Australia won the series and Taylor ended with 513 runs at 128.25 average.
Final season
Taylor's swansong was the 1998–99 Ashes series against England, which began with his 100th Test in the First Test in Brisbane. He scored 46 and a duck—his first in Australia—as England were saved when thunderstorms forced the abandonment of play on the final afternoon. Two half centuries in the next two Tests in Perth and Adelaide saw Australia win by seven wickets and 205 runs respectively, thereby retaining the series 2–0. After losing the Fourth Test by 12 runs after a dramatic final day collapse, Taylor headed to his home ground, the Sydney Cricket Ground, for what would be his final Test. Australia went on to win the Test by 98 runs and take the series 3–1. Taylor only scored two in both innings, but he broke Border's world record for the most Test catches. His catch in the first innings equalled Border's 156 and another in the second made him the sole owner of the record.
He also jointly holds the record in Test cricket (along with Ian Healy) of being the only cricketers to have been run out in both innings of a Test on two occasions.
Legacy
The improvement of the Australian team, begun during Border's tenure, continued under the captaincy of Taylor. After the defeat of the West Indies in 1995, Taylor's teams won home and away series against every Test team they played, with the exception of winning a series in India. Wisden wrote:
Taylor talked so well that he raised the standard of debate in Australia—and perhaps of cricket itself—in a way which was an example to all professional cricketers ... Border stopped Australia losing. Taylor made them into winners, the acknowledged if not official world champions of Test cricket.
Taylor made a concerted effort to decrease the amount of sledging committed by his team, a trait that brought criticism of Australian teams during other eras. In total, he captained the side in 50 Tests, winning 26 and losing 13, a success rate unmatched in the previous fifty years except for Don Bradman and Viv Richards.
Career best performances
Retirement
Taylor retired from professional cricket in early 1999 after the Ashes series. On Australia Day, he was named the Australian of the Year. He was awarded an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Centenary Medal in 2001. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2002 and made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2003. In 2011, he was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame by the CA.
He is now a commentator for Channel Nine for 21 years. Despite the network losing the TV rights in April 2018, Taylor re-signed for another three years to give his expert analysis on the Ashes 2019, 2019 Cricket World Cup & 2020 World Twenty20 and as a digital contributor.
He mainly commentates on One Day International and Test matches in Australia until the network's final year of cricket telecasts, so he can now spend more time with his family. He used to also appear on The Cricket Show with Simon O'Donnell, and is a spokesman for Fujitsu air-conditioners. He also commentates for radio.
Taylor is patron of the Mark Taylor Shield Cricket competition run for NSW Catholic Primary schools in and around the Sydney region. On 6 November 2011, Waitara Oval, the home of the Northern District Cricket Club, had its name formally changed to Mark Taylor Oval, to honour its former First Grade captain and life member.
In October 2015, The Primary Club of Australia announced that Mark Taylor had accepted the role of Twelfth Man and Patron following the passing of their former Patron, Richie Benaud OBE. He also became Director of Cricket Australia, who commissioned a replacement cap for Benaud, only for his ill health and subsequent passing to have the cap presented to his wife.
References
Further reading
External links
1964 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Wagga Wagga
Australia Test cricketers
Australia One Day International cricketers
Australia Test cricket captains
New South Wales cricketers
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Australian cricket commentators
People educated at Chatswood High School
Australian of the Year Award winners
Officers of the Order of Australia
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
Recipients of the Centenary Medal
Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
University of New South Wales alumni
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees
People from the Riverina
Chatswood, New South Wales
Australian republicans | true | [
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"Mark Anthony Taylor (born 27 October 1964) is a former Australian cricketer and currently a Cricket Australia director and Nine Network commentator. He was Test opening batsman from 1988 to 1999, as well as captain from 1994 to 1999, succeeding Allan Border. His predominant fielding position was first slip.",
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[
"Gautam Gambhir",
"Indian Premier League"
] | C_c517b95f33a74cf5ac5b8cc32a6889b8_1 | Whe was the Indian premier league? | 1 | Who was Gautam Gambhir in Indian premier league? | Gautam Gambhir | Gambhir was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils franchise in the first player auction of the Indian Premier League for a price of US$725,000 a year. He became the second highest run-scorer of the inaugural season with 534 runs from 14 matches. He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils for IPL Season 2010. At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils to score more than 1000 runs in the IPL. In the 2011 IPL player auction, Gambhir was the most sought after player, fetching a bid of $2.4 million from The Kolkata Knight Riders, making him the highest paid cricketer in the history of IPL. He was then appointed as the skipper of the team. Under Gambhir's captaincy, the Kolkata Knight Riders qualified for the IPL playoffs and also made it to the Champions League Twenty20 for the first time. He eventually led the side to their first title in 2012 by defeating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets at their home ground in Chennai. Gambhir is the leading run-scorer of the Kolkata Knight Riders. During the same season, he scored 6 half-centuries out of a total of nine from his team and became only the second player to cross the 2000 runs mark in the history of the IPL and the second highest run scorer ever in the tournament. On 27 January 2018, In the 2018 IPL Auction, he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils for Rs2.8 crore, later Kolkata Knight Rider's CEO Venky Mysore revealed that Gambhir had asked the team not to retain him as he wanted to finish his IPL career where he started. CANNOTANSWER | He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils for IPL Season 2010. | Gautam Gambhir (; born 14 October 1981) is an Indian politician and former cricketer, who has played all formats of the game. He is a current member of the Lok Sabha since 2019. He received the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2019, the fourth highest civilian award in India.
As a cricketer, he was a left-handed opening batsman who played domestic cricket for Delhi, and captained Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Bangladesh in 2003, and played his first Test the following year against Australia. He captained the Indian team in six ODIs from late 2010 to late 2011 with India winning all six matches. He played an integral part in India's wins in the finals of both the 2007 World Twenty20 (75 runs from 54 balls) and the 2011 Cricket World Cup (97 from 122). Under Gambhir's captaincy, Kolkata Knight Riders won their first IPL title in 2012 and went on to win the title again in 2014.
Gambhir was the only Indian and one of four international cricketers to have scored hundreds in five consecutive Test matches. He is the only Indian batsman to have scored more than 300 runs in four consecutive Test series. As of April 2018, he is the sixth highest run-scorer for India in Twenty20 Internationals.
In October 2018, during the quarter-finals of the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored his 10,000th run in List A cricket. In December 2018, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. In 2019, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and won election to the Lok Sabha from East Delhi.
He was conferred the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award, in the year 2008 by the President of India. In 2009, he was the number one ranked batsman in ICC Test rankings. The same year, he was the recipient of the ICC Test Player of the Year award. He is currently the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL.
Early and personal life
Gambhir was born in New Delhi to Deepak Gambhir, who manages a textiles business, and Seema Gambhir, a housewife. Gambhir has a sister, Ekta, who is two years younger to him.His grandfather originally came from Multan to Delhi in 1947.Gambhir was adopted by his maternal grandparents eighteen days after his birth and lived with them ever since. Gambhir started playing cricket at the age of 10. He received his schooling from Modern School, New Delhi and graduated from Hindu College, University of Delhi. He stayed at his maternal uncle Pawan Gulati's residence in the '90s. Gambhir considers Gulati to be his mentor and would often call him up before important matches. Gambhir was coached by Sanjay Bharadwaj of Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy in Delhi, and Raju Tandon. Gambhir was selected for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore in 2000.
In October 2011, Gambhir married Natasha Jain, who belongs to a prominent business family. He currently resides in Delhi's Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood.
Indian Premier League
Gambhir was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils franchise in the first player auction of the Indian Premier League for a price of US$725,000 a year. He became the second highest run-scorer of the inaugural season with 534 runs from 14 matches. For his performances in 2008, he was named in the Cricinfo IPL XI. He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils for IPL Season 2010. At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils to score more than 1000 runs in the IPL.
In the 2011 IPL player auction, Gambhir was the most sought after player, fetching a bid of $2.4 million from The Kolkata Knight Riders, making him the highest paid cricketer in the history of IPL. He was then appointed as the skipper of the team. Under Gambhir's captaincy, the Kolkata Knight Riders qualified for the IPL playoffs and also made it to the Champions League Twenty20 for the first time. He eventually led the side to their first title in 2012 by defeating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets at their home ground in Chennai. For his performances in 2012, he was named as captain of the Cricinfo IPL XI. Gambhir is the leading run-scorer of the Kolkata Knight Riders. During the same season, he scored 6 half-centuries out of a total of nine from his team and became only the second player to cross the 2000 runs mark in the history of the IPL and the second highest run scorer ever in the tournament. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to their second title in 2014 by beating Kings XI Punjab by 3 wickets. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to the playoffs in the 2016 and 2017 season and was also the highest run-scorer. For his performances in the 2017 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.
On 27 January 2018, in the 2018 IPL Auction, he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils for ₹2.8 crore, and was appointed as the captain. Later Kolkata Knight Rider's CEO Venky Mysore revealed that Gambhir had asked the team not to retain him as he wanted to finish his IPL career where he started. On 25 April, Gambhir stepped down from captaincy citing poor performances of the team, and announced Shreyas Iyer as the new captain of the Delhi Daredevils.
In December 2021, Gambhir was announced the mentor of the new IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants.
International career
Early career
While Gambhir was out of the Test team, he played a number of One Day Internationals for India between 2005 and 2007. However, he was not selected for the 2007 World Cup as the selectors opted for a top-order of Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and Sachin Tendulkar. It affected him badly and Gambhir later said that "When I got dropped for the World Cup, there were times I didn't want to play anymore. I didn't want to practise. I couldn't motivate myself." With no other career options, Gambhir stuck with cricket. After India's first-round exit from the tournament, Gambhir was selected for the One Day International on India's 2007 tour of Bangladesh. Believing the series could be his last chance, Gambhir scored his second century on that tour and was subsequently selected for the One Day International on India's tour to Ireland in 2007. He scored an unbeaten 80 against Ireland in the first game of that tour and was awarded the man of the match award for that effort. In the post-match interview, he indicated that performing more consistently was a top priority for his career as he had done so in the past.
Gambhir was selected in India's squad for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, which India went on to win in South Africa, beating Pakistan in the final. Gambhir performed well in the shortest form of the game, ending the tournament as India's top run scorer, with 227 at an average of 37.83, including three half-centuries which included a crucial 75 runs off 54 balls against Pakistan in the final. He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' by Cricinfo for the 2007 T20I World Cup.
For his performances in 2007, he was named in the World T20I XI by Cricinfo.
Golden form
In 2008, Gambhir was forced to miss the Test series in Australia due to a shoulder injury. In the 2007–08 CB Series, he scored an unbeaten 102 at the Gabba against Sri Lanka in a match washed out due to rain. Three weeks later at Sydney, he scored a career-best 113 off 119 balls against Australia, in a high scoring match which India lost by 18 runs. He finished the CB series as the leading run-scorer with 440 runs.
In 2008 Gambhir finally solidified his place in the Indian Test team with a string of high scores. Opening the batting with Delhi teammate Virender Sehwag, he scored 858 runs at over 61 in seven matches as of December including a double century against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, in the same match, he was involved in controversy when he elbowed bowler Shane Watson while taking a run. Gambhir asserted it was accidental, but was banned for one Test. Gambhir scored 463 runs in the series, which despite missing the last match was more than any other player in the series.
He was the leading run-scorer in the Test series against England in December 2008 and against New Zealand in early 2009, meaning that he had achieved this feat in three consecutive series.
For his performances in 2008, he was named in the World Test XI and ODI XI by Cricinfo.
Gambhir played his first major Test series outside the sub-continent, having toured New Zealand in 2009. In the second Test match, he scored a match-saving 137 in the second innings. He stood more than five sessions in the middle and faced over 430 balls. This innings led Virender Sehwag, Gambhir's opening partner, close friend, and captain for the match, to call him 'The Second Wall' in reference to Rahul Dravid. He then scored 167 in the second innings of the Third Test to give India an unassailable lead, but rain helped the New Zealand batsmen to hang on for a draw. Gambhir, with 445 runs in six innings at an average of 89, helped India win 1–0 to script a series win in that country after 41 years.
Through ranks
He was named as the ICC Test Player of the Year for 2009, and was briefly ranked the No. 1 batsman in the ICC rankings in July; at the time India were not playing Tests and his points rating did not change, but other batsmen who were ranked higher lost points before regaining them.
He continued his run in the late-2009 Test series against Sri Lanka at home. He scored a century in the second innings of the First Test in Ahmedabad to force a draw after the visitors had taken a first innings lead of more than 300, and then combined in a double century opening partnership with Sehwag on the first day of the Second Test in Kanpur, scoring 167 himself and helping India to score more than 400 runs on the opening day. This set up their score of 642 and an innings victory. Following the match, Gambhir returned to the top of the ICC rankings. Gambhir withdrew from the Third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in order to attend his sister's wedding.
In the First Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong in January 2009, Gambhir hit a rapid 116 from 129 balls. It was his fifth century in as many Tests and made him the fourth player to achieve this feat. Only Don Bradman has managed six centuries in as many matches. In the 29th Test match against Bangladesh at Dhaka, he rewrote the history of IVA Richards by scoring most fifties plus runs in 11 consecutive matches. In this match, he scored 66 runs.
For his performances in 2009, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.
Brief captaincy
In 2010, Gambhir was appointed captain of the national team in the ODI series against New Zealand which was hosted by India. He scored an unbeaten 126 in the third match in Vadodara to help seal the series, guiding the hosts to victory in the run-chase. He eventually earned the Man-of-the-Series award for leading India to a 5–0 win. He then returned as captain of the side in India's match against the West Indies in December 2011.
Post-captaincy
In the final of the Cricket World Cup 2011, Gambhir scored a solid knock of 97 from 122 balls. Coming in to bat in the first over after the dismissal of Virender Sehwag, he anchored the Indian inning despite the early dismissal of both the openers. He had a good partnership first with Kohli, and then a match-winning partnership of 109 runs with MS Dhoni.
In 2011, India's batting line-up struggled in Tests, particularly away from home. Out of sixteen innings in away Tests, India passed 300 just twice and both the team's opening batsmen failed to score a century in the format in the whole of 2011. Between February 2010 and November 2011, Gambhir played in 14 Tests. From 25 innings he scored 704 runs at an average of 29.33. In the same period, only two opening batsmen who had played at least 15 innings had a worse average: Phillip Hughes of Australia and Imrul Kayes of Bangladesh. However, while he was struggling in Tests, Gambhir enjoyed a rich run of form in ODIs, averaging 56.90 from 23 matches. Gambhir opened the batting in all four of India's Test defeats against Australia in 2011–12. He scored 181 runs at an average of 22.62.
For his performances in 2012, he was named in the World ODI XI by the ICC.
On 12 February 2012, Gambhir scored 92 off 111 balls in an ODI match against Australia at the Adelaide Oval, to help India win their first match against the hosts at that venue. It was also India's highest successful run chase in Australia. For his effort, Gambhir won the Man of the Match award. On 14 February 2012, against Sri Lanka, Gambhir yet again missed out on an ODI hundred when he was dismissed run out for a fine 91 off 106 balls. This knock from Gambhir was instrumental in securing a thrilling tie in that match. In August 2012,
the Indian selection committee handed him back vice-captaincy of the T20 squad for the World Cup.
Comeback
After a big absence from international cricket, on 8 October 2016, Gambhir was recalled for the Test-Match series against New Zealand, after showing good form in domestic cricket.
Retirement
Gambhir announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on 3 December 2018, ahead of his final match for the Delhi cricket team against the Andhra cricket team in the Ranji Trophy on 6 December 2018. Gambhir went on to score 112 in his final innings, his 43rd century in first-class cricket. Gautam Gambhir began his new innings as a parliamentarian as he took oath as the Lok Sabha MP on 17 June 2019.
Gautam Gambhir Foundation
The Gautam Gambhir Foundation is the philanthropic initiative of Gautam Gambhir. It was started in 2014 and is based out of Delhi. He set up community kitchens in 2017 through the Foundation in Patel Nagar, Delhi, in a bid to make sure no one slept hungry in the city. The key project of the Foundation is to reach out to as many children of paramilitary martyrs as possible and empower them by supporting their entire educational needs. Apart from this, the GGF works with adolescent girls from underprivileged homes in generating awareness on nutrition, health and hygiene, and an effort to make Delhi green by planting trees the city to fight air pollution in the city.
Politics
On 22 March 2019, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad. He was the party's candidate from East Delhi in the 2019 Indian general election. After his opponent Atishi Marlena challenged him to a debate, Gambhir declined her challenge, saying he doesn't believe in "dharna and debates." Gautam won the elections by 695,109 votes against Atishi Marlena and Arvinder Singh Lovely.
Other work
Gambhir has started work at his constituency of East Delhi, installing CCTV cameras to tackle the issue of women's safety which has plagued Delhi in recent times. He is also the Brand Ambassador for Pinnacle Industries' Pinnacle Specialty Vehicles.
References
External links
Gautam Gambhir Foundation
Punjabi people
1981 births
Cricketers from Delhi
Living people
India One Day International cricketers
India Test cricketers
India Twenty20 International cricketers
North Zone cricketers
Delhi cricketers
Indian cricket captains
Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
Delhi Capitals cricketers
Essex cricketers
India Red cricketers
India Blue cricketers
Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers
17th Lok Sabha members
National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election
Indian sportsperson-politicians
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports | true | [
"Murugan Ashwin (born 8 September 1990) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Tamil Nadu.\n\nDomestic career\nAshwin made his List A debut on 11 December 2015 in the 2015–16 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He made his Twenty20 debut on 2 January 2016 in the 2015–16 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.\n\nIndian Premier League\nAshwin was ... | [
"Gautam Gambhir (; born 14 October 1981) is an Indian politician and former cricketer, who has played all formats of the game. He is a current member of the Lok Sabha since 2019. He received the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2019, the fourth highest civilian award in India.",
"He received the Padma S... |
[
"Gautam Gambhir",
"Indian Premier League",
"Whe was the Indian premier league?",
"He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils for IPL Season 2010."
] | C_c517b95f33a74cf5ac5b8cc32a6889b8_1 | what did he do as captain? | 2 | what did Gautam Gambhir do as captain? | Gautam Gambhir | Gambhir was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils franchise in the first player auction of the Indian Premier League for a price of US$725,000 a year. He became the second highest run-scorer of the inaugural season with 534 runs from 14 matches. He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils for IPL Season 2010. At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils to score more than 1000 runs in the IPL. In the 2011 IPL player auction, Gambhir was the most sought after player, fetching a bid of $2.4 million from The Kolkata Knight Riders, making him the highest paid cricketer in the history of IPL. He was then appointed as the skipper of the team. Under Gambhir's captaincy, the Kolkata Knight Riders qualified for the IPL playoffs and also made it to the Champions League Twenty20 for the first time. He eventually led the side to their first title in 2012 by defeating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets at their home ground in Chennai. Gambhir is the leading run-scorer of the Kolkata Knight Riders. During the same season, he scored 6 half-centuries out of a total of nine from his team and became only the second player to cross the 2000 runs mark in the history of the IPL and the second highest run scorer ever in the tournament. On 27 January 2018, In the 2018 IPL Auction, he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils for Rs2.8 crore, later Kolkata Knight Rider's CEO Venky Mysore revealed that Gambhir had asked the team not to retain him as he wanted to finish his IPL career where he started. CANNOTANSWER | At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils to score more than 1000 runs in the IPL. | Gautam Gambhir (; born 14 October 1981) is an Indian politician and former cricketer, who has played all formats of the game. He is a current member of the Lok Sabha since 2019. He received the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2019, the fourth highest civilian award in India.
As a cricketer, he was a left-handed opening batsman who played domestic cricket for Delhi, and captained Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Bangladesh in 2003, and played his first Test the following year against Australia. He captained the Indian team in six ODIs from late 2010 to late 2011 with India winning all six matches. He played an integral part in India's wins in the finals of both the 2007 World Twenty20 (75 runs from 54 balls) and the 2011 Cricket World Cup (97 from 122). Under Gambhir's captaincy, Kolkata Knight Riders won their first IPL title in 2012 and went on to win the title again in 2014.
Gambhir was the only Indian and one of four international cricketers to have scored hundreds in five consecutive Test matches. He is the only Indian batsman to have scored more than 300 runs in four consecutive Test series. As of April 2018, he is the sixth highest run-scorer for India in Twenty20 Internationals.
In October 2018, during the quarter-finals of the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored his 10,000th run in List A cricket. In December 2018, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. In 2019, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and won election to the Lok Sabha from East Delhi.
He was conferred the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award, in the year 2008 by the President of India. In 2009, he was the number one ranked batsman in ICC Test rankings. The same year, he was the recipient of the ICC Test Player of the Year award. He is currently the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL.
Early and personal life
Gambhir was born in New Delhi to Deepak Gambhir, who manages a textiles business, and Seema Gambhir, a housewife. Gambhir has a sister, Ekta, who is two years younger to him.His grandfather originally came from Multan to Delhi in 1947.Gambhir was adopted by his maternal grandparents eighteen days after his birth and lived with them ever since. Gambhir started playing cricket at the age of 10. He received his schooling from Modern School, New Delhi and graduated from Hindu College, University of Delhi. He stayed at his maternal uncle Pawan Gulati's residence in the '90s. Gambhir considers Gulati to be his mentor and would often call him up before important matches. Gambhir was coached by Sanjay Bharadwaj of Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy in Delhi, and Raju Tandon. Gambhir was selected for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore in 2000.
In October 2011, Gambhir married Natasha Jain, who belongs to a prominent business family. He currently resides in Delhi's Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood.
Indian Premier League
Gambhir was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils franchise in the first player auction of the Indian Premier League for a price of US$725,000 a year. He became the second highest run-scorer of the inaugural season with 534 runs from 14 matches. For his performances in 2008, he was named in the Cricinfo IPL XI. He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils for IPL Season 2010. At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils to score more than 1000 runs in the IPL.
In the 2011 IPL player auction, Gambhir was the most sought after player, fetching a bid of $2.4 million from The Kolkata Knight Riders, making him the highest paid cricketer in the history of IPL. He was then appointed as the skipper of the team. Under Gambhir's captaincy, the Kolkata Knight Riders qualified for the IPL playoffs and also made it to the Champions League Twenty20 for the first time. He eventually led the side to their first title in 2012 by defeating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets at their home ground in Chennai. For his performances in 2012, he was named as captain of the Cricinfo IPL XI. Gambhir is the leading run-scorer of the Kolkata Knight Riders. During the same season, he scored 6 half-centuries out of a total of nine from his team and became only the second player to cross the 2000 runs mark in the history of the IPL and the second highest run scorer ever in the tournament. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to their second title in 2014 by beating Kings XI Punjab by 3 wickets. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to the playoffs in the 2016 and 2017 season and was also the highest run-scorer. For his performances in the 2017 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.
On 27 January 2018, in the 2018 IPL Auction, he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils for ₹2.8 crore, and was appointed as the captain. Later Kolkata Knight Rider's CEO Venky Mysore revealed that Gambhir had asked the team not to retain him as he wanted to finish his IPL career where he started. On 25 April, Gambhir stepped down from captaincy citing poor performances of the team, and announced Shreyas Iyer as the new captain of the Delhi Daredevils.
In December 2021, Gambhir was announced the mentor of the new IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants.
International career
Early career
While Gambhir was out of the Test team, he played a number of One Day Internationals for India between 2005 and 2007. However, he was not selected for the 2007 World Cup as the selectors opted for a top-order of Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and Sachin Tendulkar. It affected him badly and Gambhir later said that "When I got dropped for the World Cup, there were times I didn't want to play anymore. I didn't want to practise. I couldn't motivate myself." With no other career options, Gambhir stuck with cricket. After India's first-round exit from the tournament, Gambhir was selected for the One Day International on India's 2007 tour of Bangladesh. Believing the series could be his last chance, Gambhir scored his second century on that tour and was subsequently selected for the One Day International on India's tour to Ireland in 2007. He scored an unbeaten 80 against Ireland in the first game of that tour and was awarded the man of the match award for that effort. In the post-match interview, he indicated that performing more consistently was a top priority for his career as he had done so in the past.
Gambhir was selected in India's squad for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, which India went on to win in South Africa, beating Pakistan in the final. Gambhir performed well in the shortest form of the game, ending the tournament as India's top run scorer, with 227 at an average of 37.83, including three half-centuries which included a crucial 75 runs off 54 balls against Pakistan in the final. He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' by Cricinfo for the 2007 T20I World Cup.
For his performances in 2007, he was named in the World T20I XI by Cricinfo.
Golden form
In 2008, Gambhir was forced to miss the Test series in Australia due to a shoulder injury. In the 2007–08 CB Series, he scored an unbeaten 102 at the Gabba against Sri Lanka in a match washed out due to rain. Three weeks later at Sydney, he scored a career-best 113 off 119 balls against Australia, in a high scoring match which India lost by 18 runs. He finished the CB series as the leading run-scorer with 440 runs.
In 2008 Gambhir finally solidified his place in the Indian Test team with a string of high scores. Opening the batting with Delhi teammate Virender Sehwag, he scored 858 runs at over 61 in seven matches as of December including a double century against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, in the same match, he was involved in controversy when he elbowed bowler Shane Watson while taking a run. Gambhir asserted it was accidental, but was banned for one Test. Gambhir scored 463 runs in the series, which despite missing the last match was more than any other player in the series.
He was the leading run-scorer in the Test series against England in December 2008 and against New Zealand in early 2009, meaning that he had achieved this feat in three consecutive series.
For his performances in 2008, he was named in the World Test XI and ODI XI by Cricinfo.
Gambhir played his first major Test series outside the sub-continent, having toured New Zealand in 2009. In the second Test match, he scored a match-saving 137 in the second innings. He stood more than five sessions in the middle and faced over 430 balls. This innings led Virender Sehwag, Gambhir's opening partner, close friend, and captain for the match, to call him 'The Second Wall' in reference to Rahul Dravid. He then scored 167 in the second innings of the Third Test to give India an unassailable lead, but rain helped the New Zealand batsmen to hang on for a draw. Gambhir, with 445 runs in six innings at an average of 89, helped India win 1–0 to script a series win in that country after 41 years.
Through ranks
He was named as the ICC Test Player of the Year for 2009, and was briefly ranked the No. 1 batsman in the ICC rankings in July; at the time India were not playing Tests and his points rating did not change, but other batsmen who were ranked higher lost points before regaining them.
He continued his run in the late-2009 Test series against Sri Lanka at home. He scored a century in the second innings of the First Test in Ahmedabad to force a draw after the visitors had taken a first innings lead of more than 300, and then combined in a double century opening partnership with Sehwag on the first day of the Second Test in Kanpur, scoring 167 himself and helping India to score more than 400 runs on the opening day. This set up their score of 642 and an innings victory. Following the match, Gambhir returned to the top of the ICC rankings. Gambhir withdrew from the Third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in order to attend his sister's wedding.
In the First Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong in January 2009, Gambhir hit a rapid 116 from 129 balls. It was his fifth century in as many Tests and made him the fourth player to achieve this feat. Only Don Bradman has managed six centuries in as many matches. In the 29th Test match against Bangladesh at Dhaka, he rewrote the history of IVA Richards by scoring most fifties plus runs in 11 consecutive matches. In this match, he scored 66 runs.
For his performances in 2009, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.
Brief captaincy
In 2010, Gambhir was appointed captain of the national team in the ODI series against New Zealand which was hosted by India. He scored an unbeaten 126 in the third match in Vadodara to help seal the series, guiding the hosts to victory in the run-chase. He eventually earned the Man-of-the-Series award for leading India to a 5–0 win. He then returned as captain of the side in India's match against the West Indies in December 2011.
Post-captaincy
In the final of the Cricket World Cup 2011, Gambhir scored a solid knock of 97 from 122 balls. Coming in to bat in the first over after the dismissal of Virender Sehwag, he anchored the Indian inning despite the early dismissal of both the openers. He had a good partnership first with Kohli, and then a match-winning partnership of 109 runs with MS Dhoni.
In 2011, India's batting line-up struggled in Tests, particularly away from home. Out of sixteen innings in away Tests, India passed 300 just twice and both the team's opening batsmen failed to score a century in the format in the whole of 2011. Between February 2010 and November 2011, Gambhir played in 14 Tests. From 25 innings he scored 704 runs at an average of 29.33. In the same period, only two opening batsmen who had played at least 15 innings had a worse average: Phillip Hughes of Australia and Imrul Kayes of Bangladesh. However, while he was struggling in Tests, Gambhir enjoyed a rich run of form in ODIs, averaging 56.90 from 23 matches. Gambhir opened the batting in all four of India's Test defeats against Australia in 2011–12. He scored 181 runs at an average of 22.62.
For his performances in 2012, he was named in the World ODI XI by the ICC.
On 12 February 2012, Gambhir scored 92 off 111 balls in an ODI match against Australia at the Adelaide Oval, to help India win their first match against the hosts at that venue. It was also India's highest successful run chase in Australia. For his effort, Gambhir won the Man of the Match award. On 14 February 2012, against Sri Lanka, Gambhir yet again missed out on an ODI hundred when he was dismissed run out for a fine 91 off 106 balls. This knock from Gambhir was instrumental in securing a thrilling tie in that match. In August 2012,
the Indian selection committee handed him back vice-captaincy of the T20 squad for the World Cup.
Comeback
After a big absence from international cricket, on 8 October 2016, Gambhir was recalled for the Test-Match series against New Zealand, after showing good form in domestic cricket.
Retirement
Gambhir announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on 3 December 2018, ahead of his final match for the Delhi cricket team against the Andhra cricket team in the Ranji Trophy on 6 December 2018. Gambhir went on to score 112 in his final innings, his 43rd century in first-class cricket. Gautam Gambhir began his new innings as a parliamentarian as he took oath as the Lok Sabha MP on 17 June 2019.
Gautam Gambhir Foundation
The Gautam Gambhir Foundation is the philanthropic initiative of Gautam Gambhir. It was started in 2014 and is based out of Delhi. He set up community kitchens in 2017 through the Foundation in Patel Nagar, Delhi, in a bid to make sure no one slept hungry in the city. The key project of the Foundation is to reach out to as many children of paramilitary martyrs as possible and empower them by supporting their entire educational needs. Apart from this, the GGF works with adolescent girls from underprivileged homes in generating awareness on nutrition, health and hygiene, and an effort to make Delhi green by planting trees the city to fight air pollution in the city.
Politics
On 22 March 2019, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad. He was the party's candidate from East Delhi in the 2019 Indian general election. After his opponent Atishi Marlena challenged him to a debate, Gambhir declined her challenge, saying he doesn't believe in "dharna and debates." Gautam won the elections by 695,109 votes against Atishi Marlena and Arvinder Singh Lovely.
Other work
Gambhir has started work at his constituency of East Delhi, installing CCTV cameras to tackle the issue of women's safety which has plagued Delhi in recent times. He is also the Brand Ambassador for Pinnacle Industries' Pinnacle Specialty Vehicles.
References
External links
Gautam Gambhir Foundation
Punjabi people
1981 births
Cricketers from Delhi
Living people
India One Day International cricketers
India Test cricketers
India Twenty20 International cricketers
North Zone cricketers
Delhi cricketers
Indian cricket captains
Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
Delhi Capitals cricketers
Essex cricketers
India Red cricketers
India Blue cricketers
Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers
17th Lok Sabha members
National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election
Indian sportsperson-politicians
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports | true | [
"What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? is a 1966 comedy DeLuxe Color film written by William Peter Blatty and directed by Blake Edwards for the Mirisch Company in Panavision. It stars James Coburn and Dick Shawn. Filming was at Lake Sherwood Ranch in Thousand Oaks, northwest of Hollywood. In what had been a cow pastu... | [
"Gautam Gambhir (; born 14 October 1981) is an Indian politician and former cricketer, who has played all formats of the game. He is a current member of the Lok Sabha since 2019. He received the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2019, the fourth highest civilian award in India.",
"He received the Padma S... |
[
"Gautam Gambhir",
"Indian Premier League",
"Whe was the Indian premier league?",
"He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils for IPL Season 2010.",
"what did he do as captain?",
"At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils to score more than 1000 runs i... | C_c517b95f33a74cf5ac5b8cc32a6889b8_1 | did he set any other records? | 3 | Did Gautam Gambhir set any other records besides scoring more than 1000 runs in the IPL? | Gautam Gambhir | Gambhir was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils franchise in the first player auction of the Indian Premier League for a price of US$725,000 a year. He became the second highest run-scorer of the inaugural season with 534 runs from 14 matches. He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils for IPL Season 2010. At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils to score more than 1000 runs in the IPL. In the 2011 IPL player auction, Gambhir was the most sought after player, fetching a bid of $2.4 million from The Kolkata Knight Riders, making him the highest paid cricketer in the history of IPL. He was then appointed as the skipper of the team. Under Gambhir's captaincy, the Kolkata Knight Riders qualified for the IPL playoffs and also made it to the Champions League Twenty20 for the first time. He eventually led the side to their first title in 2012 by defeating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets at their home ground in Chennai. Gambhir is the leading run-scorer of the Kolkata Knight Riders. During the same season, he scored 6 half-centuries out of a total of nine from his team and became only the second player to cross the 2000 runs mark in the history of the IPL and the second highest run scorer ever in the tournament. On 27 January 2018, In the 2018 IPL Auction, he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils for Rs2.8 crore, later Kolkata Knight Rider's CEO Venky Mysore revealed that Gambhir had asked the team not to retain him as he wanted to finish his IPL career where he started. CANNOTANSWER | Gambhir is the leading run-scorer of the Kolkata Knight Riders. | Gautam Gambhir (; born 14 October 1981) is an Indian politician and former cricketer, who has played all formats of the game. He is a current member of the Lok Sabha since 2019. He received the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2019, the fourth highest civilian award in India.
As a cricketer, he was a left-handed opening batsman who played domestic cricket for Delhi, and captained Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Bangladesh in 2003, and played his first Test the following year against Australia. He captained the Indian team in six ODIs from late 2010 to late 2011 with India winning all six matches. He played an integral part in India's wins in the finals of both the 2007 World Twenty20 (75 runs from 54 balls) and the 2011 Cricket World Cup (97 from 122). Under Gambhir's captaincy, Kolkata Knight Riders won their first IPL title in 2012 and went on to win the title again in 2014.
Gambhir was the only Indian and one of four international cricketers to have scored hundreds in five consecutive Test matches. He is the only Indian batsman to have scored more than 300 runs in four consecutive Test series. As of April 2018, he is the sixth highest run-scorer for India in Twenty20 Internationals.
In October 2018, during the quarter-finals of the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored his 10,000th run in List A cricket. In December 2018, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. In 2019, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and won election to the Lok Sabha from East Delhi.
He was conferred the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award, in the year 2008 by the President of India. In 2009, he was the number one ranked batsman in ICC Test rankings. The same year, he was the recipient of the ICC Test Player of the Year award. He is currently the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL.
Early and personal life
Gambhir was born in New Delhi to Deepak Gambhir, who manages a textiles business, and Seema Gambhir, a housewife. Gambhir has a sister, Ekta, who is two years younger to him.His grandfather originally came from Multan to Delhi in 1947.Gambhir was adopted by his maternal grandparents eighteen days after his birth and lived with them ever since. Gambhir started playing cricket at the age of 10. He received his schooling from Modern School, New Delhi and graduated from Hindu College, University of Delhi. He stayed at his maternal uncle Pawan Gulati's residence in the '90s. Gambhir considers Gulati to be his mentor and would often call him up before important matches. Gambhir was coached by Sanjay Bharadwaj of Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy in Delhi, and Raju Tandon. Gambhir was selected for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore in 2000.
In October 2011, Gambhir married Natasha Jain, who belongs to a prominent business family. He currently resides in Delhi's Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood.
Indian Premier League
Gambhir was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils franchise in the first player auction of the Indian Premier League for a price of US$725,000 a year. He became the second highest run-scorer of the inaugural season with 534 runs from 14 matches. For his performances in 2008, he was named in the Cricinfo IPL XI. He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils for IPL Season 2010. At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils to score more than 1000 runs in the IPL.
In the 2011 IPL player auction, Gambhir was the most sought after player, fetching a bid of $2.4 million from The Kolkata Knight Riders, making him the highest paid cricketer in the history of IPL. He was then appointed as the skipper of the team. Under Gambhir's captaincy, the Kolkata Knight Riders qualified for the IPL playoffs and also made it to the Champions League Twenty20 for the first time. He eventually led the side to their first title in 2012 by defeating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets at their home ground in Chennai. For his performances in 2012, he was named as captain of the Cricinfo IPL XI. Gambhir is the leading run-scorer of the Kolkata Knight Riders. During the same season, he scored 6 half-centuries out of a total of nine from his team and became only the second player to cross the 2000 runs mark in the history of the IPL and the second highest run scorer ever in the tournament. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to their second title in 2014 by beating Kings XI Punjab by 3 wickets. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to the playoffs in the 2016 and 2017 season and was also the highest run-scorer. For his performances in the 2017 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.
On 27 January 2018, in the 2018 IPL Auction, he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils for ₹2.8 crore, and was appointed as the captain. Later Kolkata Knight Rider's CEO Venky Mysore revealed that Gambhir had asked the team not to retain him as he wanted to finish his IPL career where he started. On 25 April, Gambhir stepped down from captaincy citing poor performances of the team, and announced Shreyas Iyer as the new captain of the Delhi Daredevils.
In December 2021, Gambhir was announced the mentor of the new IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants.
International career
Early career
While Gambhir was out of the Test team, he played a number of One Day Internationals for India between 2005 and 2007. However, he was not selected for the 2007 World Cup as the selectors opted for a top-order of Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and Sachin Tendulkar. It affected him badly and Gambhir later said that "When I got dropped for the World Cup, there were times I didn't want to play anymore. I didn't want to practise. I couldn't motivate myself." With no other career options, Gambhir stuck with cricket. After India's first-round exit from the tournament, Gambhir was selected for the One Day International on India's 2007 tour of Bangladesh. Believing the series could be his last chance, Gambhir scored his second century on that tour and was subsequently selected for the One Day International on India's tour to Ireland in 2007. He scored an unbeaten 80 against Ireland in the first game of that tour and was awarded the man of the match award for that effort. In the post-match interview, he indicated that performing more consistently was a top priority for his career as he had done so in the past.
Gambhir was selected in India's squad for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, which India went on to win in South Africa, beating Pakistan in the final. Gambhir performed well in the shortest form of the game, ending the tournament as India's top run scorer, with 227 at an average of 37.83, including three half-centuries which included a crucial 75 runs off 54 balls against Pakistan in the final. He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' by Cricinfo for the 2007 T20I World Cup.
For his performances in 2007, he was named in the World T20I XI by Cricinfo.
Golden form
In 2008, Gambhir was forced to miss the Test series in Australia due to a shoulder injury. In the 2007–08 CB Series, he scored an unbeaten 102 at the Gabba against Sri Lanka in a match washed out due to rain. Three weeks later at Sydney, he scored a career-best 113 off 119 balls against Australia, in a high scoring match which India lost by 18 runs. He finished the CB series as the leading run-scorer with 440 runs.
In 2008 Gambhir finally solidified his place in the Indian Test team with a string of high scores. Opening the batting with Delhi teammate Virender Sehwag, he scored 858 runs at over 61 in seven matches as of December including a double century against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, in the same match, he was involved in controversy when he elbowed bowler Shane Watson while taking a run. Gambhir asserted it was accidental, but was banned for one Test. Gambhir scored 463 runs in the series, which despite missing the last match was more than any other player in the series.
He was the leading run-scorer in the Test series against England in December 2008 and against New Zealand in early 2009, meaning that he had achieved this feat in three consecutive series.
For his performances in 2008, he was named in the World Test XI and ODI XI by Cricinfo.
Gambhir played his first major Test series outside the sub-continent, having toured New Zealand in 2009. In the second Test match, he scored a match-saving 137 in the second innings. He stood more than five sessions in the middle and faced over 430 balls. This innings led Virender Sehwag, Gambhir's opening partner, close friend, and captain for the match, to call him 'The Second Wall' in reference to Rahul Dravid. He then scored 167 in the second innings of the Third Test to give India an unassailable lead, but rain helped the New Zealand batsmen to hang on for a draw. Gambhir, with 445 runs in six innings at an average of 89, helped India win 1–0 to script a series win in that country after 41 years.
Through ranks
He was named as the ICC Test Player of the Year for 2009, and was briefly ranked the No. 1 batsman in the ICC rankings in July; at the time India were not playing Tests and his points rating did not change, but other batsmen who were ranked higher lost points before regaining them.
He continued his run in the late-2009 Test series against Sri Lanka at home. He scored a century in the second innings of the First Test in Ahmedabad to force a draw after the visitors had taken a first innings lead of more than 300, and then combined in a double century opening partnership with Sehwag on the first day of the Second Test in Kanpur, scoring 167 himself and helping India to score more than 400 runs on the opening day. This set up their score of 642 and an innings victory. Following the match, Gambhir returned to the top of the ICC rankings. Gambhir withdrew from the Third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in order to attend his sister's wedding.
In the First Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong in January 2009, Gambhir hit a rapid 116 from 129 balls. It was his fifth century in as many Tests and made him the fourth player to achieve this feat. Only Don Bradman has managed six centuries in as many matches. In the 29th Test match against Bangladesh at Dhaka, he rewrote the history of IVA Richards by scoring most fifties plus runs in 11 consecutive matches. In this match, he scored 66 runs.
For his performances in 2009, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.
Brief captaincy
In 2010, Gambhir was appointed captain of the national team in the ODI series against New Zealand which was hosted by India. He scored an unbeaten 126 in the third match in Vadodara to help seal the series, guiding the hosts to victory in the run-chase. He eventually earned the Man-of-the-Series award for leading India to a 5–0 win. He then returned as captain of the side in India's match against the West Indies in December 2011.
Post-captaincy
In the final of the Cricket World Cup 2011, Gambhir scored a solid knock of 97 from 122 balls. Coming in to bat in the first over after the dismissal of Virender Sehwag, he anchored the Indian inning despite the early dismissal of both the openers. He had a good partnership first with Kohli, and then a match-winning partnership of 109 runs with MS Dhoni.
In 2011, India's batting line-up struggled in Tests, particularly away from home. Out of sixteen innings in away Tests, India passed 300 just twice and both the team's opening batsmen failed to score a century in the format in the whole of 2011. Between February 2010 and November 2011, Gambhir played in 14 Tests. From 25 innings he scored 704 runs at an average of 29.33. In the same period, only two opening batsmen who had played at least 15 innings had a worse average: Phillip Hughes of Australia and Imrul Kayes of Bangladesh. However, while he was struggling in Tests, Gambhir enjoyed a rich run of form in ODIs, averaging 56.90 from 23 matches. Gambhir opened the batting in all four of India's Test defeats against Australia in 2011–12. He scored 181 runs at an average of 22.62.
For his performances in 2012, he was named in the World ODI XI by the ICC.
On 12 February 2012, Gambhir scored 92 off 111 balls in an ODI match against Australia at the Adelaide Oval, to help India win their first match against the hosts at that venue. It was also India's highest successful run chase in Australia. For his effort, Gambhir won the Man of the Match award. On 14 February 2012, against Sri Lanka, Gambhir yet again missed out on an ODI hundred when he was dismissed run out for a fine 91 off 106 balls. This knock from Gambhir was instrumental in securing a thrilling tie in that match. In August 2012,
the Indian selection committee handed him back vice-captaincy of the T20 squad for the World Cup.
Comeback
After a big absence from international cricket, on 8 October 2016, Gambhir was recalled for the Test-Match series against New Zealand, after showing good form in domestic cricket.
Retirement
Gambhir announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on 3 December 2018, ahead of his final match for the Delhi cricket team against the Andhra cricket team in the Ranji Trophy on 6 December 2018. Gambhir went on to score 112 in his final innings, his 43rd century in first-class cricket. Gautam Gambhir began his new innings as a parliamentarian as he took oath as the Lok Sabha MP on 17 June 2019.
Gautam Gambhir Foundation
The Gautam Gambhir Foundation is the philanthropic initiative of Gautam Gambhir. It was started in 2014 and is based out of Delhi. He set up community kitchens in 2017 through the Foundation in Patel Nagar, Delhi, in a bid to make sure no one slept hungry in the city. The key project of the Foundation is to reach out to as many children of paramilitary martyrs as possible and empower them by supporting their entire educational needs. Apart from this, the GGF works with adolescent girls from underprivileged homes in generating awareness on nutrition, health and hygiene, and an effort to make Delhi green by planting trees the city to fight air pollution in the city.
Politics
On 22 March 2019, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad. He was the party's candidate from East Delhi in the 2019 Indian general election. After his opponent Atishi Marlena challenged him to a debate, Gambhir declined her challenge, saying he doesn't believe in "dharna and debates." Gautam won the elections by 695,109 votes against Atishi Marlena and Arvinder Singh Lovely.
Other work
Gambhir has started work at his constituency of East Delhi, installing CCTV cameras to tackle the issue of women's safety which has plagued Delhi in recent times. He is also the Brand Ambassador for Pinnacle Industries' Pinnacle Specialty Vehicles.
References
External links
Gautam Gambhir Foundation
Punjabi people
1981 births
Cricketers from Delhi
Living people
India One Day International cricketers
India Test cricketers
India Twenty20 International cricketers
North Zone cricketers
Delhi cricketers
Indian cricket captains
Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
Delhi Capitals cricketers
Essex cricketers
India Red cricketers
India Blue cricketers
Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers
17th Lok Sabha members
National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election
Indian sportsperson-politicians
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports | true | [
"Manvel Mamoyan () is an Armenian fitness and bodybuilding trainer, fitness blogger, and three times Guinness World Records holder. He is also a multiple record holder of Armenian Book of Records (Dyutsaznagirk).\n\nBiography\n\nManvel was born on April 6, 1993 in Yerevan. Currently works as fitness and bodybuildin... | [
"Gautam Gambhir (; born 14 October 1981) is an Indian politician and former cricketer, who has played all formats of the game. He is a current member of the Lok Sabha since 2019. He received the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2019, the fourth highest civilian award in India.",
"He received the Padma S... |
[
"Gautam Gambhir",
"Indian Premier League",
"Whe was the Indian premier league?",
"He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils for IPL Season 2010.",
"what did he do as captain?",
"At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils to score more than 1000 runs i... | C_c517b95f33a74cf5ac5b8cc32a6889b8_1 | did he play for any other teams? | 6 | Did Gautam Gambhir play for any other teams other than Delhi Daredevils? | Gautam Gambhir | Gambhir was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils franchise in the first player auction of the Indian Premier League for a price of US$725,000 a year. He became the second highest run-scorer of the inaugural season with 534 runs from 14 matches. He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils for IPL Season 2010. At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils to score more than 1000 runs in the IPL. In the 2011 IPL player auction, Gambhir was the most sought after player, fetching a bid of $2.4 million from The Kolkata Knight Riders, making him the highest paid cricketer in the history of IPL. He was then appointed as the skipper of the team. Under Gambhir's captaincy, the Kolkata Knight Riders qualified for the IPL playoffs and also made it to the Champions League Twenty20 for the first time. He eventually led the side to their first title in 2012 by defeating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets at their home ground in Chennai. Gambhir is the leading run-scorer of the Kolkata Knight Riders. During the same season, he scored 6 half-centuries out of a total of nine from his team and became only the second player to cross the 2000 runs mark in the history of the IPL and the second highest run scorer ever in the tournament. On 27 January 2018, In the 2018 IPL Auction, he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils for Rs2.8 crore, later Kolkata Knight Rider's CEO Venky Mysore revealed that Gambhir had asked the team not to retain him as he wanted to finish his IPL career where he started. CANNOTANSWER | later Kolkata Knight Rider's CEO Venky Mysore revealed that Gambhir had asked the team not to retain him as he wanted to finish his IPL career where he started. | Gautam Gambhir (; born 14 October 1981) is an Indian politician and former cricketer, who has played all formats of the game. He is a current member of the Lok Sabha since 2019. He received the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2019, the fourth highest civilian award in India.
As a cricketer, he was a left-handed opening batsman who played domestic cricket for Delhi, and captained Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Bangladesh in 2003, and played his first Test the following year against Australia. He captained the Indian team in six ODIs from late 2010 to late 2011 with India winning all six matches. He played an integral part in India's wins in the finals of both the 2007 World Twenty20 (75 runs from 54 balls) and the 2011 Cricket World Cup (97 from 122). Under Gambhir's captaincy, Kolkata Knight Riders won their first IPL title in 2012 and went on to win the title again in 2014.
Gambhir was the only Indian and one of four international cricketers to have scored hundreds in five consecutive Test matches. He is the only Indian batsman to have scored more than 300 runs in four consecutive Test series. As of April 2018, he is the sixth highest run-scorer for India in Twenty20 Internationals.
In October 2018, during the quarter-finals of the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored his 10,000th run in List A cricket. In December 2018, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. In 2019, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and won election to the Lok Sabha from East Delhi.
He was conferred the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award, in the year 2008 by the President of India. In 2009, he was the number one ranked batsman in ICC Test rankings. The same year, he was the recipient of the ICC Test Player of the Year award. He is currently the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL.
Early and personal life
Gambhir was born in New Delhi to Deepak Gambhir, who manages a textiles business, and Seema Gambhir, a housewife. Gambhir has a sister, Ekta, who is two years younger to him.His grandfather originally came from Multan to Delhi in 1947.Gambhir was adopted by his maternal grandparents eighteen days after his birth and lived with them ever since. Gambhir started playing cricket at the age of 10. He received his schooling from Modern School, New Delhi and graduated from Hindu College, University of Delhi. He stayed at his maternal uncle Pawan Gulati's residence in the '90s. Gambhir considers Gulati to be his mentor and would often call him up before important matches. Gambhir was coached by Sanjay Bharadwaj of Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy in Delhi, and Raju Tandon. Gambhir was selected for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore in 2000.
In October 2011, Gambhir married Natasha Jain, who belongs to a prominent business family. He currently resides in Delhi's Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood.
Indian Premier League
Gambhir was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils franchise in the first player auction of the Indian Premier League for a price of US$725,000 a year. He became the second highest run-scorer of the inaugural season with 534 runs from 14 matches. For his performances in 2008, he was named in the Cricinfo IPL XI. He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils for IPL Season 2010. At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils to score more than 1000 runs in the IPL.
In the 2011 IPL player auction, Gambhir was the most sought after player, fetching a bid of $2.4 million from The Kolkata Knight Riders, making him the highest paid cricketer in the history of IPL. He was then appointed as the skipper of the team. Under Gambhir's captaincy, the Kolkata Knight Riders qualified for the IPL playoffs and also made it to the Champions League Twenty20 for the first time. He eventually led the side to their first title in 2012 by defeating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets at their home ground in Chennai. For his performances in 2012, he was named as captain of the Cricinfo IPL XI. Gambhir is the leading run-scorer of the Kolkata Knight Riders. During the same season, he scored 6 half-centuries out of a total of nine from his team and became only the second player to cross the 2000 runs mark in the history of the IPL and the second highest run scorer ever in the tournament. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to their second title in 2014 by beating Kings XI Punjab by 3 wickets. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to the playoffs in the 2016 and 2017 season and was also the highest run-scorer. For his performances in the 2017 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.
On 27 January 2018, in the 2018 IPL Auction, he was bought by the Delhi Daredevils for ₹2.8 crore, and was appointed as the captain. Later Kolkata Knight Rider's CEO Venky Mysore revealed that Gambhir had asked the team not to retain him as he wanted to finish his IPL career where he started. On 25 April, Gambhir stepped down from captaincy citing poor performances of the team, and announced Shreyas Iyer as the new captain of the Delhi Daredevils.
In December 2021, Gambhir was announced the mentor of the new IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants.
International career
Early career
While Gambhir was out of the Test team, he played a number of One Day Internationals for India between 2005 and 2007. However, he was not selected for the 2007 World Cup as the selectors opted for a top-order of Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and Sachin Tendulkar. It affected him badly and Gambhir later said that "When I got dropped for the World Cup, there were times I didn't want to play anymore. I didn't want to practise. I couldn't motivate myself." With no other career options, Gambhir stuck with cricket. After India's first-round exit from the tournament, Gambhir was selected for the One Day International on India's 2007 tour of Bangladesh. Believing the series could be his last chance, Gambhir scored his second century on that tour and was subsequently selected for the One Day International on India's tour to Ireland in 2007. He scored an unbeaten 80 against Ireland in the first game of that tour and was awarded the man of the match award for that effort. In the post-match interview, he indicated that performing more consistently was a top priority for his career as he had done so in the past.
Gambhir was selected in India's squad for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, which India went on to win in South Africa, beating Pakistan in the final. Gambhir performed well in the shortest form of the game, ending the tournament as India's top run scorer, with 227 at an average of 37.83, including three half-centuries which included a crucial 75 runs off 54 balls against Pakistan in the final. He was named in the 'Team of the Tournament' by Cricinfo for the 2007 T20I World Cup.
For his performances in 2007, he was named in the World T20I XI by Cricinfo.
Golden form
In 2008, Gambhir was forced to miss the Test series in Australia due to a shoulder injury. In the 2007–08 CB Series, he scored an unbeaten 102 at the Gabba against Sri Lanka in a match washed out due to rain. Three weeks later at Sydney, he scored a career-best 113 off 119 balls against Australia, in a high scoring match which India lost by 18 runs. He finished the CB series as the leading run-scorer with 440 runs.
In 2008 Gambhir finally solidified his place in the Indian Test team with a string of high scores. Opening the batting with Delhi teammate Virender Sehwag, he scored 858 runs at over 61 in seven matches as of December including a double century against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, in the same match, he was involved in controversy when he elbowed bowler Shane Watson while taking a run. Gambhir asserted it was accidental, but was banned for one Test. Gambhir scored 463 runs in the series, which despite missing the last match was more than any other player in the series.
He was the leading run-scorer in the Test series against England in December 2008 and against New Zealand in early 2009, meaning that he had achieved this feat in three consecutive series.
For his performances in 2008, he was named in the World Test XI and ODI XI by Cricinfo.
Gambhir played his first major Test series outside the sub-continent, having toured New Zealand in 2009. In the second Test match, he scored a match-saving 137 in the second innings. He stood more than five sessions in the middle and faced over 430 balls. This innings led Virender Sehwag, Gambhir's opening partner, close friend, and captain for the match, to call him 'The Second Wall' in reference to Rahul Dravid. He then scored 167 in the second innings of the Third Test to give India an unassailable lead, but rain helped the New Zealand batsmen to hang on for a draw. Gambhir, with 445 runs in six innings at an average of 89, helped India win 1–0 to script a series win in that country after 41 years.
Through ranks
He was named as the ICC Test Player of the Year for 2009, and was briefly ranked the No. 1 batsman in the ICC rankings in July; at the time India were not playing Tests and his points rating did not change, but other batsmen who were ranked higher lost points before regaining them.
He continued his run in the late-2009 Test series against Sri Lanka at home. He scored a century in the second innings of the First Test in Ahmedabad to force a draw after the visitors had taken a first innings lead of more than 300, and then combined in a double century opening partnership with Sehwag on the first day of the Second Test in Kanpur, scoring 167 himself and helping India to score more than 400 runs on the opening day. This set up their score of 642 and an innings victory. Following the match, Gambhir returned to the top of the ICC rankings. Gambhir withdrew from the Third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in order to attend his sister's wedding.
In the First Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong in January 2009, Gambhir hit a rapid 116 from 129 balls. It was his fifth century in as many Tests and made him the fourth player to achieve this feat. Only Don Bradman has managed six centuries in as many matches. In the 29th Test match against Bangladesh at Dhaka, he rewrote the history of IVA Richards by scoring most fifties plus runs in 11 consecutive matches. In this match, he scored 66 runs.
For his performances in 2009, he was named in the World Test XI by the ICC.
Brief captaincy
In 2010, Gambhir was appointed captain of the national team in the ODI series against New Zealand which was hosted by India. He scored an unbeaten 126 in the third match in Vadodara to help seal the series, guiding the hosts to victory in the run-chase. He eventually earned the Man-of-the-Series award for leading India to a 5–0 win. He then returned as captain of the side in India's match against the West Indies in December 2011.
Post-captaincy
In the final of the Cricket World Cup 2011, Gambhir scored a solid knock of 97 from 122 balls. Coming in to bat in the first over after the dismissal of Virender Sehwag, he anchored the Indian inning despite the early dismissal of both the openers. He had a good partnership first with Kohli, and then a match-winning partnership of 109 runs with MS Dhoni.
In 2011, India's batting line-up struggled in Tests, particularly away from home. Out of sixteen innings in away Tests, India passed 300 just twice and both the team's opening batsmen failed to score a century in the format in the whole of 2011. Between February 2010 and November 2011, Gambhir played in 14 Tests. From 25 innings he scored 704 runs at an average of 29.33. In the same period, only two opening batsmen who had played at least 15 innings had a worse average: Phillip Hughes of Australia and Imrul Kayes of Bangladesh. However, while he was struggling in Tests, Gambhir enjoyed a rich run of form in ODIs, averaging 56.90 from 23 matches. Gambhir opened the batting in all four of India's Test defeats against Australia in 2011–12. He scored 181 runs at an average of 22.62.
For his performances in 2012, he was named in the World ODI XI by the ICC.
On 12 February 2012, Gambhir scored 92 off 111 balls in an ODI match against Australia at the Adelaide Oval, to help India win their first match against the hosts at that venue. It was also India's highest successful run chase in Australia. For his effort, Gambhir won the Man of the Match award. On 14 February 2012, against Sri Lanka, Gambhir yet again missed out on an ODI hundred when he was dismissed run out for a fine 91 off 106 balls. This knock from Gambhir was instrumental in securing a thrilling tie in that match. In August 2012,
the Indian selection committee handed him back vice-captaincy of the T20 squad for the World Cup.
Comeback
After a big absence from international cricket, on 8 October 2016, Gambhir was recalled for the Test-Match series against New Zealand, after showing good form in domestic cricket.
Retirement
Gambhir announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on 3 December 2018, ahead of his final match for the Delhi cricket team against the Andhra cricket team in the Ranji Trophy on 6 December 2018. Gambhir went on to score 112 in his final innings, his 43rd century in first-class cricket. Gautam Gambhir began his new innings as a parliamentarian as he took oath as the Lok Sabha MP on 17 June 2019.
Gautam Gambhir Foundation
The Gautam Gambhir Foundation is the philanthropic initiative of Gautam Gambhir. It was started in 2014 and is based out of Delhi. He set up community kitchens in 2017 through the Foundation in Patel Nagar, Delhi, in a bid to make sure no one slept hungry in the city. The key project of the Foundation is to reach out to as many children of paramilitary martyrs as possible and empower them by supporting their entire educational needs. Apart from this, the GGF works with adolescent girls from underprivileged homes in generating awareness on nutrition, health and hygiene, and an effort to make Delhi green by planting trees the city to fight air pollution in the city.
Politics
On 22 March 2019, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad. He was the party's candidate from East Delhi in the 2019 Indian general election. After his opponent Atishi Marlena challenged him to a debate, Gambhir declined her challenge, saying he doesn't believe in "dharna and debates." Gautam won the elections by 695,109 votes against Atishi Marlena and Arvinder Singh Lovely.
Other work
Gambhir has started work at his constituency of East Delhi, installing CCTV cameras to tackle the issue of women's safety which has plagued Delhi in recent times. He is also the Brand Ambassador for Pinnacle Industries' Pinnacle Specialty Vehicles.
References
External links
Gautam Gambhir Foundation
Punjabi people
1981 births
Cricketers from Delhi
Living people
India One Day International cricketers
India Test cricketers
India Twenty20 International cricketers
North Zone cricketers
Delhi cricketers
Indian cricket captains
Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
Delhi Capitals cricketers
Essex cricketers
India Red cricketers
India Blue cricketers
Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers
17th Lok Sabha members
National Democratic Alliance candidates in the 2019 Indian general election
Indian sportsperson-politicians
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports | true | [
"Troy Warden Andrew (born December 12, 1979) is a former American football center who played one season for the Miami Dolphins in 2001.\n\nEarly life\nTroy Andrew was born in Tamuning, Guam on December 12, 1979. He went to high school at Klein (TX).\n\nCollege\nHe went to college at Duke.\n\nProfessional career\n\n... | [
"Gautam Gambhir (; born 14 October 1981) is an Indian politician and former cricketer, who has played all formats of the game. He is a current member of the Lok Sabha since 2019. He received the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2019, the fourth highest civilian award in India.",
"He received the Padma S... |
[
"Steve Young",
"Montana's backup: 1987-1990",
"Did Steve Young play any notable games while a backup?",
"Substituting for an injured Montana, early in the first quarter of a 1987 game against the Chicago Bears, he threw four touchdown passes in a 41-0",
"Did they win that game?",
"41-0 victory.",
"Did h... | C_52dfda507a2f476c98e838aa6c80d9e5_1 | Who were the 49ers playing in this game? | 4 | Who were the 49ers playing in the game with a score of 27-10? | Steve Young | Young played behind Montana his first several years, but shone as a backup. Substituting for an injured Montana, early in the first quarter of a 1987 game against the Chicago Bears, he threw four touchdown passes in a 41-0 victory. In their 1987 divisional playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, he replaced Montana in the second half after the team fell behind 27-10. The 49ers still lost the game, but Young had a fairly good performance with 12/17 completions for 158 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, while also leading San Francisco in rushing with 72 yards and a touchdown on six carries. On October 30, 1988, Young ran for a 49-yard, game-winning touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings. He started the game out with a 73-yard touchdown pass to John Taylor, after Montana went down with an injury. The play earned the 49ers a 24-21 victory and a bit of revenge on the Vikings for their previous season's playoff loss. In 1989, he displayed his potential to become the team's starter in the future. While Montana won the NFL MVP award and led the team to victory in Super Bowl XXIV, Young still had a good season, completing 69% of his passes for 1,001 yards and eight touchdowns, with only three interceptions. On October 22, 1989, he posted a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when he completed 11 of 12 passes for 188 yards and three touchdown passes in a 37-20 victory over the New England Patriots. In his four seasons as a backup, Young had thrown 23 touchdown passes and only six interceptions. He rushed for a career-high 102 yards on just eight carries vs. the New Orleans Saints on December 23, 1990, making him only the second 49ers quarterback to rush for at least 100 yards in a single game. The 49ers lost the game 13-10. CANNOTANSWER | Minnesota Vikings, | Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to his NFL career, he was a member of the Los Angeles Express in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons. Young played college football for Brigham Young University (BYU), setting school and NCAA records en route to being runner-up for the 1983 Heisman Trophy.
Young was named the AP's NFL Most Valuable Player in 1992 and 1994, and was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX. During his 1994 MVP campaign, he set a new NFL record for passer rating at 112.8. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Young was an extremely efficient passer – leading the league in passer rating a record six times, and completion percentage and yards per attempt five times. At the time of his retirement, he had the highest passer rating among NFL quarterbacks with at least 1,500 passing attempts (96.8). As of the end of the 2020 season, he is ranked tenth all-time in passer rating, and is ranked fourth highest amongst retired players, behind only Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Tony Romo. His 43 career rushing touchdowns are second among quarterbacks, while his 4,239 rushing yards ranks fifth all time.
Early years
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Young attended Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he played quarterback on its Cardinals football team. He earned 1978 All-FCIAC West Division First Team honors in his junior year, his first year as a starter. In his senior year he rushed for 13 touchdowns and earned All-FCIAC West Division First Team honors, and was named to the CIAC All-State team. In the rush-first option offense run by Greenwich he completed only 41 percent of his throws for 1,220 yards, but ran the ball 267 times for 1,928 yards. On Thanksgiving Day in November 1979, Greenwich lost to Darien High School, known for its "Tidal Wave Defense", 17–0. During his senior year, he was co-captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams. In basketball, he averaged 15 points a game. In baseball, he hit .384 and played center field when he wasn't pitching. He was 5–1 and threw a 3–0 no-hitter against New Canaan High School.
College football
Young was heavily recruited by the University of North Carolina. Coach Dick Crum was enamored by Young's running ability, and wanted him to run his option offense. Young instead chose BYU. Initially, he struggled at throwing the ball, and BYU's coaching staff considered switching him to defensive back because of his athleticism. However, he worked hard to improve his passing skills and eventually succeeded record-setting Jim McMahon as BYU's starting QB. Young's senior season (1983) was spectacular. He passed for 3,902 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season, and his 71.3% completion percentage set an NCAA single-season record. He also added 544 yards rushing. With Young at quarterback, BYU set an NCAA record by averaging 584.2 yards of total offense per game, with 370.5 of those yards coming from Young's passing and rushing. The Cougars finished the year with an impressive 11–1 record; Young was named a unanimous All-American and received the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, which recognizes the nation's best collegiate quarterback each year. He also finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy, behind Nebraska running back Mike Rozier. Young capped his college career by scoring the game-winning touchdown on a pass from the halfback in BYU's 21–17 victory over Missouri in the 1983 Holiday Bowl.
Young finished his college career with 592 pass completions for 7,733 yards and 56 touchdowns, along with 1,048 yards and 18 touchdowns rushing. He was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Professional football
USFL
Los Angeles Express
Young was selected by the Los Angeles Express in the first round (11th overall) of the 1984 USFL Draft. He signed a record ten-year, $40 million contract with the Express in He agreed to take his payment in the form of an annuity paid out over forty years to help the fledgling team.
It was taken for granted that Young would be the first pick in the 1984 NFL Draft, and that he would be selected by the Cincinnati Bengals, who were three years removed from the Super Bowl and had landed the No. 1 pick in a trade with the then-moribund Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, the Bengals still had Ken Anderson as their quarterback and planned to have Young sit behind Anderson for the 1984 season before possibly taking over in 1985. Young found that prospect unappealing, which opened the door for the Express. Express general manager Don Klosterman told Young that if he signed with the Express, his head coach would be John Hadl, a former All-Pro quarterback who had shepherded John Elway through his first year in the NFL. Klosterman also told Young that Hall of Fame coach Sid Gillman, who had been hired as a consultant, would tutor him on how to be a pro quarterback. Young was convinced, and signed with the Express.
At the time, it was another huge signing by the fledgling league, which had already succeeded in signing both the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, running back Mike Rozier of Nebraska; and the previous winner, Georgia running back Herschel Walker. After missing the first six games of his rookie season while taking some college classes in order to graduate on time, Young started the final twelve. He had a respectable year, highlighted by becoming the first pro football player ever to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 in a single game. Despite being surrounded with talent which included such future NFL players as Jojo Townsell, Mel Gray, and Kevin Nelson, and making the playoffs in Young's first season, the Express was never able to create a sustaining fan base in Los Angeles.
Late in the season, The New York Times published an investigation of owner J. William Oldenburg's finances that suggested Oldenburg was not as well off as he claimed. The FBI had been investigating Oldenburg since the middle of the season. A week after the Times article, Oldenburg stopped paying the Express' bills, forcing the league to draw on the team's emergency line of credit to keep it going through the playoffs. Houston Gamblers minority partner Jay Roulier stepped in to buy the team, only to be pushed out when it emerged that he too had misrepresented his net worth. The league took control of the team and cut expenditures to the bare minimum. The other teams made contributions to keep the Express going through the season – enough to meet payroll, but not much else.
Under the circumstances, the 1985 season rapidly became a fiasco. Before one game, the team bus driver refused to drive the Express to their final home game – which had been moved to Los Angeles Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley – unless he was paid up front in cash. Young contributed some money, as did the team trainer, and the driver took them to the game. In the season finale at Orlando, Young had to line up at tailback because a rash of injuries had left the Express without any healthy running backs. The owners had refused to allocate any money to allow the Express to replace injured players.
It was reported that Young had insured the contract and would still be paid until 2027. However, a 1985 Los Angeles Times article stated that he received a $1.4 million settlement on the annuity.
The league ceased operations in 1986 after losing most of its claims in an antitrust suit against the NFL, with its top talent absorbed by the NFL in a dispersal draft conducted in the aftermath.
NFL
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Young grew increasingly dissatisfied with the disarray surrounding the Express. Just a week before what proved to be the last USFL title game, Young gave the USFL an ultimatum – find a new owner for the Express, or allow him to buy out his contract and go to the NFL. Soon after the league decided to suspend the Express's operations for the 1986 season, Young bought out his Express contract and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had made him the first pick in a supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players a year earlier.
By this time, the Bucs were in the midst of what would be 12 consecutive 10-loss seasons. They posted identical 2–14 records in Young's two seasons with them, going 3–16 with him as a starter. Young threw for only 11 touchdowns with 21 interceptions while completing fewer than 55% of his passes.
San Francisco 49ers
The Buccaneers selected University of Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde first overall in the 1987 NFL Draft because Young was deemed a bust. Young was traded to the San Francisco 49ers on April 24, 1987 to serve as a backup to Joe Montana. 49ers coach Bill Walsh was impressed by Young's natural abilities, and believed his lackluster numbers were primarily due to the lack of talent around him in Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers received second and fourth round draft picks in the trade, which they used to draft Miami linebacker Winston Moss, and Arizona State wide receiver Bruce Hill, respectively.
Montana's backup: 1987–1990
Young played behind Montana for four years, but shone as a backup. Substituting for an injured Montana, early in the first quarter of a 1987 game against the Chicago Bears, he threw four touchdown passes in a 41–0 victory. In their 1987 divisional playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, he replaced Montana in the second half after the team fell behind 27–10. The 49ers still lost the game, but Young had a good performance, completing 12 of 17 pass attempts for 158 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, while also leading San Francisco in rushing with 72 yards and a touchdown on six carries. On October 30, 1988, Young ran for a 49-yard, game-winning touchdown against the Vikings. He started the game out with a 73-yard touchdown pass to John Taylor, after Montana went down with an injury. The play earned the 49ers a 24–21 victory and a bit of revenge on the Vikings for their previous season's playoff loss. The win turned out to be crucial, as without it the 49ers would have finished the season 9–7 and missed the playoffs, as two other teams in their division, the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, had 10–6 records. Instead, the 49ers won their division, earned the #2 playoff seed, and went on to win the Super Bowl.
In 1989, he displayed potential to become the team's starter in the future. While Montana won the NFL MVP award and led the team to victory in Super Bowl XXIV, Young still had a good season, completing 69% of his passes for 1,001 yards and eight touchdowns, with only three interceptions. On October 22, 1989, he posted a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when he completed 11 of 12 passes for 188 yards and three touchdown passes in a 37–20 victory over the New England Patriots.
He rushed for a career-high 102 yards on just eight carries against the New Orleans Saints on December 23, 1990, making him only the second 49ers quarterback to rush for at least 100 yards in a single game. The 49ers lost the game 13–10.
In his four seasons as a backup, Young threw 23 touchdown passes and only six interceptions.
1991 season
Following an injury to Montana's elbow in the 1990 NFC Championship Game, which forced him to miss the entire 1991 season, Young got his chance to lead the 49ers. He got off to a rough start. Midway through the season, the 49ers found themselves struggling with a 4–4 record. In the ninth game of the season, after throwing a franchise-record 97-yard touchdown pass to Taylor, Young suffered a knee injury and was replaced by backup quarterback Steve Bono. After a loss in that game and the next, Bono led the 49ers to five consecutive victories, playing so well that coach George Seifert decided to keep him in the starting lineup after Young had recovered. It wasn't until late in the 15th game of the season, after Bono went down with an injury of his own, that Young got to play again. Young then closed out the season by throwing for 338 yards and three touchdowns and also rushing for 63 yards and another touchdown in a 52–14 win over the Chicago Bears in a Monday Night Football game at Candlestick Park.
Young finished the season with an NFL best 101.8 passer rating. Despite missing five full games and most of a sixth, he still threw for 2,517 yards and 17 touchdowns with only 8 interceptions. But despite Young's strong season, the season for the team was widely regarded as a disappointment. The 49ers had slipped from a 14–2 record in the previous season to a 10–6 record in 1991. While 10 wins is usually enough to make the playoffs, this time it was not, and San Francisco ended up not playing in the postseason for the first time since 1982. It was thought by many that Young's days as the 49ers starter were numbered due to the impending return of Montana from the injury to his right elbow, and some observers said the 49ers should trade Young and keep Montana and Bono. However, the trade never happened.
1992 season: first MVP
By the start of the 1992 season, it appeared that Young's starting job was in serious peril. In addition to having to compete with Bono, Montana appeared to be close to recovering from his elbow tendon surgery. San Francisco came close to trading Young to the Los Angeles Raiders, but no deal was finalized and it turned out that Montana would not recover in time to start in the opening game. Montana would not return until the final game of the 1992 season, a Monday Night home game against the Detroit Lions. Montana played the entire second half of that final game and guided the 49ers to victory.
Young ended up as San Francisco's starting quarterback, but once again got off to a rough start. On the fifth play of the opening game at the Giants, he suffered a concussion and was replaced by Bono, who threw two touchdown passes while leading the 49ers to a 31–14 win. The following week, San Francisco lost 34–31 to the Buffalo Bills, despite a career-high 449 passing yards and three touchdowns from Young, in a game that for the first time in NFL history had zero punts from either team.
Young recovered and led the 49ers on a five-game winning streak, capped off by a 56–17 win over the Atlanta Falcons in which Young passed for 399 yards and three touchdowns. After missing most of the next game (a 24–14 loss to the Cardinals) with the flu, he led San Francisco to victory in all of their remaining games of the season, giving the team a 14–2 record. He went on to throw for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rush for 73 yards, in a 20–13 divisional playoff win over the Washington Redskins. The 49ers lost the NFC title game, however, 30–20 against the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys. Young threw for 313 yards, completing 71.4% of his passes while passing for one touchdown and rushing for another. He also threw two interceptions, but the final one came with the outcome of the game already decided.
Young finished the season with 3,465 passing yards and 537 rushing yards, along with an NFL-best 25 touchdown passes and 107.0 passer rating, earning him the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and his first selection to the Pro Bowl. He was the first quarterback ever to record a triple-digit rating in consecutive seasons. Many credit Young's turnaround to the mentoring of the 49ers' new offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, who worked with Young on combining his running skill with on-the-move passing decisions.
1993 season
Before the start of the 1993 season, team owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. announced that he wanted Montana to resume his role as starting quarterback for the 49ers. However, a rift in the locker room had developed, with players split on whom they wanted at quarterback. In the spring of 1993, at Montana's request, San Francisco traded Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs. Young was now the 49ers' undisputed starter, and would remain so for the rest of his career. But once again, he had a rough start to the season. Over the first four games of 1993, Young, who was hindered by a swollen thumb on his throwing hand, threw eight interceptions, more than he had thrown during the entire 1992 season. But after his thumb healed, Young went on an incredible streak over a span of seven games, throwing 16 touchdown passes with only 2 interceptions and a 122.2 passer rating. By the end of the year, Young set franchise records for most passing yards (4,023), and consecutive passes thrown without an interception (189), (later eclipsed by Alex Smith in 2012) while leading the NFL in touchdown passes (29) and passer rating (101.5). The team slipped to a 10–6 record, but advanced to the NFC championship game again by blowing out the New York Giants 44–3 in the divisional round. However, once again they were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys, this time 38–21.
1994 season: second MVP and Super Bowl run
After several key free agent signings including All-Pro cornerback Deion Sanders and NFL Draft selections, the 49ers looked to win their first Super Bowl since 1989. They started fast, beating the Los Angeles Raiders 44–14 on the strength of four touchdown passes from Young, one of four games during the regular season in which he had at least four. After a loss in a much-anticipated game to Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs, the 49ers won their next two games before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 40–8 at Candlestick Park, a game in which Young was eventually benched in the middle of an offensive series. Although head coach George Seifert later said he only pulled Young because he was getting manhandled by the Eagles' defense, Young had had enough of being scapegoated for 49er shortfalls and loudly (and visibly) lambasted Seifert over his decision while standing on the sideline during the game.
But the game was considered a turning point in the season; from there, Young led the team to 10 consecutive wins, by an average of 20 points, before losing the meaningless finale against the Vikings in which Young completed his first 12 of 13 attempts before going to the sidelines. They finished an NFL best 13–3, securing home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The 49ers had the number-one offense in the NFL, and were so dominant that Seifert often took Young out of games early if he felt that the 49ers had an insurmountable lead at the time.
After an easy 44–15 victory over the Chicago Bears in the divisional round of the playoffs, the 49ers jumped out to a 31–14 halftime lead over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game, holding on to win 38–28. Young threw for two touchdowns, while adding 47 yards and another touchdown on the ground. As a result, he went to his first Super Bowl as a starting quarterback. The 49ers were heavy favorites to become the first team with five Super Bowl victories.
On the strength of a six-touchdown performance that surpassed the previous Super Bowl record of five, owned by the man Young replaced, Joe Montana, Steve Young was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX, as the 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers, 49–26. Young also threw for 325 yards and rushed for 49 yards, making him the first player ever to finish a Super Bowl as the game's leader in both rushing and passing yards.
The victory capped off an incredible year for Young, who had one of the best seasons by a quarterback in NFL history. He threw for 3,969 yards, a then-franchise record 35 touchdown passes with only 10 interceptions, completed 70.3 percent of his passes – the highest completion percentage of the 1990s, third all-time, and at the time, the best completion percentage by any quarterback with more than 400 attempts (later eclipsed by Drew Brees in 2009). Additionally, Young broke Joe Montana's single-season mark with a then-record 112.8 passer rating, and also once again demonstrated his great scrambling ability, accumulating another 289 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground. For his record-breaking season performances, Young was awarded his second AP NFL MVP award, becoming the 7th player in NFL history to win both league and Super Bowl MVP honors in the same season.
Later years and injuries
In the three years following Super Bowl XXIX, the 49ers would be eliminated each year by Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, twice in San Francisco. In addition to the early playoff exits, Young suffered a series of injuries that forced him to miss several games from 1995 to 1997. Young entered the 1998 season at age 37 and some began to wonder if his skills would diminish because of his history of injuries and a general decline in his game due to age. However, he silenced all critics once again, putting up career numbers in passing yards (4,170) and passing touchdowns (36). The 49ers finally beat Favre and the Packers in an NFC wild card game that year, as Young threw the winning touchdown to wide receiver Terrell Owens with three seconds remaining to win the game 30–27. In reference to Dwight Clark's legendary catch against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1981 NFC championship game, Owens's grab was called "The Catch II". A week later, however, Garrison Hearst broke his ankle on the 49ers' first play from scrimmage. Without the threat of a running game, Young threw three interceptions (the last one a Hail Mary pass with under 30 seconds remaining in the game) and the 49ers were defeated by the Atlanta Falcons 20–18. Over that span of seasons from 1995 to 1998, Young led the NFL in passer rating twice (in 1996 and 1997), and led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes in 1998.
The 1999 season would turn out to be Young's last in the NFL. Young was plagued by concussions throughout his career. During a Week 3 Monday Night Football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Young was violently sacked by Cardinals cornerback Aeneas Williams on a blitz. Running back Lawrence Phillips was supposed to pick up Williams, but missed. Young was knocked out of the game with a concussion, and didn't return again for the rest of the season due to symptoms of post-concussion syndrome. The concussion he suffered against the Cardinals was reportedly his second in a season that was only three weeks old, and the seventh (at least) of his career. Following the season, the 49ers told him that he would be released if he did not retire. Although Young was offered a job as the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos (where his former offensive coordinator, Mike Shanahan, was the head coach), he retired because of his repeated concussions. In a 2013 Frontline interview, Young said that, partially based upon their own experiences, he and many retired players are increasingly concerned about repeated concussions and subconcussive hits. He is particularly concerned about certain positions that take frequent hits, such as running backs and linemen.
Career statistics and records
USFL career
NFL career
Records and legacy
Although Young did not become the 49ers' starter until his 8th NFL season, and he played a full season only three times (all consecutively) during his 15-year career, Young had a significant impact on the NFL. A two-time league MVP, he completed 2,667 of 4,149 passes for 33,124 yards and 232 touchdowns, with 107 interceptions, and 43 rushing touchdowns. His 96.8 career passer rating is the sixth highest in NFL history and second highest among retired players, behind Tony Romo; his 4,239 rushing yards are the fourth most ever gained by a quarterback, behind Michael Vick, Cam Newton, and Randall Cunningham. He was the NFL's top rated passer in six different seasons and led the league in touchdown passes four times. In 20 postseason games, he threw 20 touchdown passes with only 13 interceptions, and scored 8 touchdowns on the ground. In his stint with the San Francisco 49ers, Young passed for 29,907 yards, 221 touchdowns, and 86 interceptions, with a passer rating of 101.4, highest in franchise history. He was also sacked 290 times, also most in franchise history.
NFL records
Tenth highest passer rating, career, including active players – 96.8
Fourth highest passer rating, career, retired players only – 96.8
Eighth highest career completion percentage, retired players – 64.3%
Most times led the league in passer rating, career – 6 (tied w/ Sammy Baugh)
Most consecutive times led the league in passer rating – 4 (1991–94)
One of seven QBs to lead the league in touchdown passes 4 times (tied with Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Len Dawson)
Most passes attempted, playoff game – 65 vs. Green Bay, 1995
Most TD passes, playoff game – 6 (tied w/Daryle Lamonica & Tom Brady)
Most TD passes in one Super Bowl – 6
Most rushing yards by a QB, postseason career – 594
Most rushing touchdowns by a QB, postseason career – 8
49ers records
Highest completion percentage (20+ Atts) (Game): vs Detroit (10/20/91), 90.0
Most average yards per attempt (20+ Atts) (Game): vs Detroit (12/19/93), 15.39
Most touchdown passes (season): 36 (1998)
Best completion percentage (season): 70.3 (1994)
Best passer rating (season): 112.8 (1994)
Most 300-yard passing games (season): 7 (1998)
Best passer rating (career): 101.4
Most average yards per attempt (career): 8.20
Most consecutive games with a touchdown pass: 18, at Det. (10/9/94) to vs. StL (11/26/95) note: (DNP in 5 games in 1995)
Best completion percentage (career): 65.8
Most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (career): 43
In 1999, he was ranked No. 63 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Young was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on February 5, 2005; he was the first left-handed quarterback to be so honored. He was enshrined August 7, 2005. His induction speech was given by his father, LeGrande "Grit" Young.
The San Francisco 49ers had his No. 8 jersey retired during a halftime ceremony against the New England Patriots on October 5, 2008. He was the 11th player in team history to receive this honor. He is also the only 49er in team history to wear No. 8.
Post-football
Business career
In 1994, Young received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School.
In 2000, Young spoke at the Republican National Convention.
In 2007, Young co-founded Huntsman Gay Global Capital (HGGC), with billionaire industrialist Jon M. Huntsman and former Bain Capital executive Robert C. Gay. After being involved in business ventures with the private equity firm, he has continued to serve as a managing director.
In 2011, Young was one of several notable BYU athletes and coaches who appeared in the school's "Real Cougar" advertising campaign, which featured the individuals telling an actual cougar about being a "real cougar". In one of the ads, Young poked fun at himself:
Young: I love BYU so much I even got my law degree here.
Cougar: (growls)
Young: Lawyers... I know.
Acting career
Young has both performed dramatic roles and appeared as himself in a limited acting career. He appeared in one episode of Frasier and one episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (cast as Lois' former high school football quarterback boyfriend, Joe Maloy). He also made a guest appearance as himself in the Dharma & Greg episode "Are You Ready for Some Football?" encouraging Dharma, the team's Number One Fan. In 1995, Young appeared as himself in the Season 6, Episode 12 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. He also made cameo appearances in the LDS comedy The Singles Ward (2002) and in a season 5 episode of BYUtv's Studio C (2014). Young also made a guest appearance as himself in season 8 of the NBC comedy series Wings in the episode "Just Call Me Angel".
Young was originally offered a part in the 1998 movie There's Something About Mary, but turned the role down. He was replaced by Brett Favre.
Philanthropy
Young serves as a National Advisor to ASCEND: A Humanitarian Alliance. This non-profit organization plans expeditions to African and South American countries to provide life skills mentoring with sustainable solutions in education, enterprise, health and simple technology.
In 1993, Young founded a charitable foundation known as the Forever Young Foundation, which serves children facing significant physical, emotional, and financial challenges by providing academic, athletic, and therapeutic opportunities otherwise unavailable to them.
Young also serves as the national spokesman for an organization founded by former Save Darfur Coalition executive director and founder, David Rubenstein. He began his affiliation with the organization in 2009, when he became the honorary league commissioner for their charitable dodgeball tournaments held on college campuses nationwide.
Personal life
Young is a great-great-great-nephew of Brigham Young, second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for whom BYU is named. His father, LeGrande "Grit" Young, played football at BYU in the late 1950s. He led the school in scoring in 1955 and in rushing and total offense in 1959. Steve Young's younger brothers, Mike and Tom, both played quarterback at BYU after Steve, but neither received much playing time.
Young has been married to Barbara Graham since 2000. They have two sons and two daughters. According to A Football Life: As his playing career ended before his eldest child was born, he wrote his autobiography QB: My Life Behind the Spiral initially as a private memoir for his children.
See also
Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
List of NCAA major college football yearly passing leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders
List of NFL quarterbacks who have posted a perfect passer rating
References
External links
1961 births
All-American college football players
American color commentators
American football quarterbacks
American male television actors
American philanthropists
Brigham Young University alumni
BYU Cougars football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
Greenwich High School alumni
J. Reuben Clark Law School alumni
Latter Day Saints from California
Latter Day Saints from Connecticut
Latter Day Saints from Utah
Living people
Los Angeles Express players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners
National Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award winners
National Football League players with retired numbers
Players of American football from Connecticut
Players of American football from Salt Lake City
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Richards–Young family
San Francisco 49ers players
Sportspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut
Super Bowl MVPs
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Utah Republicans | true | [
"The 2005 San Francisco 49ers season was the 60th year for the team overall, and their 56th season in the NFL. They improved their two-win 2004 season by two games.\n\nFormer head coach Dennis Erickson had been fired just after the end of the 2004 season, and Mike Nolan (son of former Niners head coach Dick Nolan) ... | [
"Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.",
"He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to his NFL c... |
[
"Steve Young",
"Montana's backup: 1987-1990",
"Did Steve Young play any notable games while a backup?",
"Substituting for an injured Montana, early in the first quarter of a 1987 game against the Chicago Bears, he threw four touchdown passes in a 41-0",
"Did they win that game?",
"41-0 victory.",
"Did h... | C_52dfda507a2f476c98e838aa6c80d9e5_1 | When was this game being played? | 5 | When was the Minnesota Vikings game against Montana being played? | Steve Young | Young played behind Montana his first several years, but shone as a backup. Substituting for an injured Montana, early in the first quarter of a 1987 game against the Chicago Bears, he threw four touchdown passes in a 41-0 victory. In their 1987 divisional playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, he replaced Montana in the second half after the team fell behind 27-10. The 49ers still lost the game, but Young had a fairly good performance with 12/17 completions for 158 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, while also leading San Francisco in rushing with 72 yards and a touchdown on six carries. On October 30, 1988, Young ran for a 49-yard, game-winning touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings. He started the game out with a 73-yard touchdown pass to John Taylor, after Montana went down with an injury. The play earned the 49ers a 24-21 victory and a bit of revenge on the Vikings for their previous season's playoff loss. In 1989, he displayed his potential to become the team's starter in the future. While Montana won the NFL MVP award and led the team to victory in Super Bowl XXIV, Young still had a good season, completing 69% of his passes for 1,001 yards and eight touchdowns, with only three interceptions. On October 22, 1989, he posted a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when he completed 11 of 12 passes for 188 yards and three touchdown passes in a 37-20 victory over the New England Patriots. In his four seasons as a backup, Young had thrown 23 touchdown passes and only six interceptions. He rushed for a career-high 102 yards on just eight carries vs. the New Orleans Saints on December 23, 1990, making him only the second 49ers quarterback to rush for at least 100 yards in a single game. The 49ers lost the game 13-10. CANNOTANSWER | 1987 | Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to his NFL career, he was a member of the Los Angeles Express in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons. Young played college football for Brigham Young University (BYU), setting school and NCAA records en route to being runner-up for the 1983 Heisman Trophy.
Young was named the AP's NFL Most Valuable Player in 1992 and 1994, and was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX. During his 1994 MVP campaign, he set a new NFL record for passer rating at 112.8. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Young was an extremely efficient passer – leading the league in passer rating a record six times, and completion percentage and yards per attempt five times. At the time of his retirement, he had the highest passer rating among NFL quarterbacks with at least 1,500 passing attempts (96.8). As of the end of the 2020 season, he is ranked tenth all-time in passer rating, and is ranked fourth highest amongst retired players, behind only Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Tony Romo. His 43 career rushing touchdowns are second among quarterbacks, while his 4,239 rushing yards ranks fifth all time.
Early years
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Young attended Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he played quarterback on its Cardinals football team. He earned 1978 All-FCIAC West Division First Team honors in his junior year, his first year as a starter. In his senior year he rushed for 13 touchdowns and earned All-FCIAC West Division First Team honors, and was named to the CIAC All-State team. In the rush-first option offense run by Greenwich he completed only 41 percent of his throws for 1,220 yards, but ran the ball 267 times for 1,928 yards. On Thanksgiving Day in November 1979, Greenwich lost to Darien High School, known for its "Tidal Wave Defense", 17–0. During his senior year, he was co-captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams. In basketball, he averaged 15 points a game. In baseball, he hit .384 and played center field when he wasn't pitching. He was 5–1 and threw a 3–0 no-hitter against New Canaan High School.
College football
Young was heavily recruited by the University of North Carolina. Coach Dick Crum was enamored by Young's running ability, and wanted him to run his option offense. Young instead chose BYU. Initially, he struggled at throwing the ball, and BYU's coaching staff considered switching him to defensive back because of his athleticism. However, he worked hard to improve his passing skills and eventually succeeded record-setting Jim McMahon as BYU's starting QB. Young's senior season (1983) was spectacular. He passed for 3,902 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season, and his 71.3% completion percentage set an NCAA single-season record. He also added 544 yards rushing. With Young at quarterback, BYU set an NCAA record by averaging 584.2 yards of total offense per game, with 370.5 of those yards coming from Young's passing and rushing. The Cougars finished the year with an impressive 11–1 record; Young was named a unanimous All-American and received the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, which recognizes the nation's best collegiate quarterback each year. He also finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy, behind Nebraska running back Mike Rozier. Young capped his college career by scoring the game-winning touchdown on a pass from the halfback in BYU's 21–17 victory over Missouri in the 1983 Holiday Bowl.
Young finished his college career with 592 pass completions for 7,733 yards and 56 touchdowns, along with 1,048 yards and 18 touchdowns rushing. He was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Professional football
USFL
Los Angeles Express
Young was selected by the Los Angeles Express in the first round (11th overall) of the 1984 USFL Draft. He signed a record ten-year, $40 million contract with the Express in He agreed to take his payment in the form of an annuity paid out over forty years to help the fledgling team.
It was taken for granted that Young would be the first pick in the 1984 NFL Draft, and that he would be selected by the Cincinnati Bengals, who were three years removed from the Super Bowl and had landed the No. 1 pick in a trade with the then-moribund Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, the Bengals still had Ken Anderson as their quarterback and planned to have Young sit behind Anderson for the 1984 season before possibly taking over in 1985. Young found that prospect unappealing, which opened the door for the Express. Express general manager Don Klosterman told Young that if he signed with the Express, his head coach would be John Hadl, a former All-Pro quarterback who had shepherded John Elway through his first year in the NFL. Klosterman also told Young that Hall of Fame coach Sid Gillman, who had been hired as a consultant, would tutor him on how to be a pro quarterback. Young was convinced, and signed with the Express.
At the time, it was another huge signing by the fledgling league, which had already succeeded in signing both the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, running back Mike Rozier of Nebraska; and the previous winner, Georgia running back Herschel Walker. After missing the first six games of his rookie season while taking some college classes in order to graduate on time, Young started the final twelve. He had a respectable year, highlighted by becoming the first pro football player ever to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 in a single game. Despite being surrounded with talent which included such future NFL players as Jojo Townsell, Mel Gray, and Kevin Nelson, and making the playoffs in Young's first season, the Express was never able to create a sustaining fan base in Los Angeles.
Late in the season, The New York Times published an investigation of owner J. William Oldenburg's finances that suggested Oldenburg was not as well off as he claimed. The FBI had been investigating Oldenburg since the middle of the season. A week after the Times article, Oldenburg stopped paying the Express' bills, forcing the league to draw on the team's emergency line of credit to keep it going through the playoffs. Houston Gamblers minority partner Jay Roulier stepped in to buy the team, only to be pushed out when it emerged that he too had misrepresented his net worth. The league took control of the team and cut expenditures to the bare minimum. The other teams made contributions to keep the Express going through the season – enough to meet payroll, but not much else.
Under the circumstances, the 1985 season rapidly became a fiasco. Before one game, the team bus driver refused to drive the Express to their final home game – which had been moved to Los Angeles Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley – unless he was paid up front in cash. Young contributed some money, as did the team trainer, and the driver took them to the game. In the season finale at Orlando, Young had to line up at tailback because a rash of injuries had left the Express without any healthy running backs. The owners had refused to allocate any money to allow the Express to replace injured players.
It was reported that Young had insured the contract and would still be paid until 2027. However, a 1985 Los Angeles Times article stated that he received a $1.4 million settlement on the annuity.
The league ceased operations in 1986 after losing most of its claims in an antitrust suit against the NFL, with its top talent absorbed by the NFL in a dispersal draft conducted in the aftermath.
NFL
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Young grew increasingly dissatisfied with the disarray surrounding the Express. Just a week before what proved to be the last USFL title game, Young gave the USFL an ultimatum – find a new owner for the Express, or allow him to buy out his contract and go to the NFL. Soon after the league decided to suspend the Express's operations for the 1986 season, Young bought out his Express contract and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had made him the first pick in a supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players a year earlier.
By this time, the Bucs were in the midst of what would be 12 consecutive 10-loss seasons. They posted identical 2–14 records in Young's two seasons with them, going 3–16 with him as a starter. Young threw for only 11 touchdowns with 21 interceptions while completing fewer than 55% of his passes.
San Francisco 49ers
The Buccaneers selected University of Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde first overall in the 1987 NFL Draft because Young was deemed a bust. Young was traded to the San Francisco 49ers on April 24, 1987 to serve as a backup to Joe Montana. 49ers coach Bill Walsh was impressed by Young's natural abilities, and believed his lackluster numbers were primarily due to the lack of talent around him in Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers received second and fourth round draft picks in the trade, which they used to draft Miami linebacker Winston Moss, and Arizona State wide receiver Bruce Hill, respectively.
Montana's backup: 1987–1990
Young played behind Montana for four years, but shone as a backup. Substituting for an injured Montana, early in the first quarter of a 1987 game against the Chicago Bears, he threw four touchdown passes in a 41–0 victory. In their 1987 divisional playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, he replaced Montana in the second half after the team fell behind 27–10. The 49ers still lost the game, but Young had a good performance, completing 12 of 17 pass attempts for 158 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, while also leading San Francisco in rushing with 72 yards and a touchdown on six carries. On October 30, 1988, Young ran for a 49-yard, game-winning touchdown against the Vikings. He started the game out with a 73-yard touchdown pass to John Taylor, after Montana went down with an injury. The play earned the 49ers a 24–21 victory and a bit of revenge on the Vikings for their previous season's playoff loss. The win turned out to be crucial, as without it the 49ers would have finished the season 9–7 and missed the playoffs, as two other teams in their division, the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, had 10–6 records. Instead, the 49ers won their division, earned the #2 playoff seed, and went on to win the Super Bowl.
In 1989, he displayed potential to become the team's starter in the future. While Montana won the NFL MVP award and led the team to victory in Super Bowl XXIV, Young still had a good season, completing 69% of his passes for 1,001 yards and eight touchdowns, with only three interceptions. On October 22, 1989, he posted a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when he completed 11 of 12 passes for 188 yards and three touchdown passes in a 37–20 victory over the New England Patriots.
He rushed for a career-high 102 yards on just eight carries against the New Orleans Saints on December 23, 1990, making him only the second 49ers quarterback to rush for at least 100 yards in a single game. The 49ers lost the game 13–10.
In his four seasons as a backup, Young threw 23 touchdown passes and only six interceptions.
1991 season
Following an injury to Montana's elbow in the 1990 NFC Championship Game, which forced him to miss the entire 1991 season, Young got his chance to lead the 49ers. He got off to a rough start. Midway through the season, the 49ers found themselves struggling with a 4–4 record. In the ninth game of the season, after throwing a franchise-record 97-yard touchdown pass to Taylor, Young suffered a knee injury and was replaced by backup quarterback Steve Bono. After a loss in that game and the next, Bono led the 49ers to five consecutive victories, playing so well that coach George Seifert decided to keep him in the starting lineup after Young had recovered. It wasn't until late in the 15th game of the season, after Bono went down with an injury of his own, that Young got to play again. Young then closed out the season by throwing for 338 yards and three touchdowns and also rushing for 63 yards and another touchdown in a 52–14 win over the Chicago Bears in a Monday Night Football game at Candlestick Park.
Young finished the season with an NFL best 101.8 passer rating. Despite missing five full games and most of a sixth, he still threw for 2,517 yards and 17 touchdowns with only 8 interceptions. But despite Young's strong season, the season for the team was widely regarded as a disappointment. The 49ers had slipped from a 14–2 record in the previous season to a 10–6 record in 1991. While 10 wins is usually enough to make the playoffs, this time it was not, and San Francisco ended up not playing in the postseason for the first time since 1982. It was thought by many that Young's days as the 49ers starter were numbered due to the impending return of Montana from the injury to his right elbow, and some observers said the 49ers should trade Young and keep Montana and Bono. However, the trade never happened.
1992 season: first MVP
By the start of the 1992 season, it appeared that Young's starting job was in serious peril. In addition to having to compete with Bono, Montana appeared to be close to recovering from his elbow tendon surgery. San Francisco came close to trading Young to the Los Angeles Raiders, but no deal was finalized and it turned out that Montana would not recover in time to start in the opening game. Montana would not return until the final game of the 1992 season, a Monday Night home game against the Detroit Lions. Montana played the entire second half of that final game and guided the 49ers to victory.
Young ended up as San Francisco's starting quarterback, but once again got off to a rough start. On the fifth play of the opening game at the Giants, he suffered a concussion and was replaced by Bono, who threw two touchdown passes while leading the 49ers to a 31–14 win. The following week, San Francisco lost 34–31 to the Buffalo Bills, despite a career-high 449 passing yards and three touchdowns from Young, in a game that for the first time in NFL history had zero punts from either team.
Young recovered and led the 49ers on a five-game winning streak, capped off by a 56–17 win over the Atlanta Falcons in which Young passed for 399 yards and three touchdowns. After missing most of the next game (a 24–14 loss to the Cardinals) with the flu, he led San Francisco to victory in all of their remaining games of the season, giving the team a 14–2 record. He went on to throw for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rush for 73 yards, in a 20–13 divisional playoff win over the Washington Redskins. The 49ers lost the NFC title game, however, 30–20 against the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys. Young threw for 313 yards, completing 71.4% of his passes while passing for one touchdown and rushing for another. He also threw two interceptions, but the final one came with the outcome of the game already decided.
Young finished the season with 3,465 passing yards and 537 rushing yards, along with an NFL-best 25 touchdown passes and 107.0 passer rating, earning him the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and his first selection to the Pro Bowl. He was the first quarterback ever to record a triple-digit rating in consecutive seasons. Many credit Young's turnaround to the mentoring of the 49ers' new offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, who worked with Young on combining his running skill with on-the-move passing decisions.
1993 season
Before the start of the 1993 season, team owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. announced that he wanted Montana to resume his role as starting quarterback for the 49ers. However, a rift in the locker room had developed, with players split on whom they wanted at quarterback. In the spring of 1993, at Montana's request, San Francisco traded Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs. Young was now the 49ers' undisputed starter, and would remain so for the rest of his career. But once again, he had a rough start to the season. Over the first four games of 1993, Young, who was hindered by a swollen thumb on his throwing hand, threw eight interceptions, more than he had thrown during the entire 1992 season. But after his thumb healed, Young went on an incredible streak over a span of seven games, throwing 16 touchdown passes with only 2 interceptions and a 122.2 passer rating. By the end of the year, Young set franchise records for most passing yards (4,023), and consecutive passes thrown without an interception (189), (later eclipsed by Alex Smith in 2012) while leading the NFL in touchdown passes (29) and passer rating (101.5). The team slipped to a 10–6 record, but advanced to the NFC championship game again by blowing out the New York Giants 44–3 in the divisional round. However, once again they were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys, this time 38–21.
1994 season: second MVP and Super Bowl run
After several key free agent signings including All-Pro cornerback Deion Sanders and NFL Draft selections, the 49ers looked to win their first Super Bowl since 1989. They started fast, beating the Los Angeles Raiders 44–14 on the strength of four touchdown passes from Young, one of four games during the regular season in which he had at least four. After a loss in a much-anticipated game to Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs, the 49ers won their next two games before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 40–8 at Candlestick Park, a game in which Young was eventually benched in the middle of an offensive series. Although head coach George Seifert later said he only pulled Young because he was getting manhandled by the Eagles' defense, Young had had enough of being scapegoated for 49er shortfalls and loudly (and visibly) lambasted Seifert over his decision while standing on the sideline during the game.
But the game was considered a turning point in the season; from there, Young led the team to 10 consecutive wins, by an average of 20 points, before losing the meaningless finale against the Vikings in which Young completed his first 12 of 13 attempts before going to the sidelines. They finished an NFL best 13–3, securing home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The 49ers had the number-one offense in the NFL, and were so dominant that Seifert often took Young out of games early if he felt that the 49ers had an insurmountable lead at the time.
After an easy 44–15 victory over the Chicago Bears in the divisional round of the playoffs, the 49ers jumped out to a 31–14 halftime lead over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game, holding on to win 38–28. Young threw for two touchdowns, while adding 47 yards and another touchdown on the ground. As a result, he went to his first Super Bowl as a starting quarterback. The 49ers were heavy favorites to become the first team with five Super Bowl victories.
On the strength of a six-touchdown performance that surpassed the previous Super Bowl record of five, owned by the man Young replaced, Joe Montana, Steve Young was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX, as the 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers, 49–26. Young also threw for 325 yards and rushed for 49 yards, making him the first player ever to finish a Super Bowl as the game's leader in both rushing and passing yards.
The victory capped off an incredible year for Young, who had one of the best seasons by a quarterback in NFL history. He threw for 3,969 yards, a then-franchise record 35 touchdown passes with only 10 interceptions, completed 70.3 percent of his passes – the highest completion percentage of the 1990s, third all-time, and at the time, the best completion percentage by any quarterback with more than 400 attempts (later eclipsed by Drew Brees in 2009). Additionally, Young broke Joe Montana's single-season mark with a then-record 112.8 passer rating, and also once again demonstrated his great scrambling ability, accumulating another 289 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground. For his record-breaking season performances, Young was awarded his second AP NFL MVP award, becoming the 7th player in NFL history to win both league and Super Bowl MVP honors in the same season.
Later years and injuries
In the three years following Super Bowl XXIX, the 49ers would be eliminated each year by Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, twice in San Francisco. In addition to the early playoff exits, Young suffered a series of injuries that forced him to miss several games from 1995 to 1997. Young entered the 1998 season at age 37 and some began to wonder if his skills would diminish because of his history of injuries and a general decline in his game due to age. However, he silenced all critics once again, putting up career numbers in passing yards (4,170) and passing touchdowns (36). The 49ers finally beat Favre and the Packers in an NFC wild card game that year, as Young threw the winning touchdown to wide receiver Terrell Owens with three seconds remaining to win the game 30–27. In reference to Dwight Clark's legendary catch against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1981 NFC championship game, Owens's grab was called "The Catch II". A week later, however, Garrison Hearst broke his ankle on the 49ers' first play from scrimmage. Without the threat of a running game, Young threw three interceptions (the last one a Hail Mary pass with under 30 seconds remaining in the game) and the 49ers were defeated by the Atlanta Falcons 20–18. Over that span of seasons from 1995 to 1998, Young led the NFL in passer rating twice (in 1996 and 1997), and led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes in 1998.
The 1999 season would turn out to be Young's last in the NFL. Young was plagued by concussions throughout his career. During a Week 3 Monday Night Football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Young was violently sacked by Cardinals cornerback Aeneas Williams on a blitz. Running back Lawrence Phillips was supposed to pick up Williams, but missed. Young was knocked out of the game with a concussion, and didn't return again for the rest of the season due to symptoms of post-concussion syndrome. The concussion he suffered against the Cardinals was reportedly his second in a season that was only three weeks old, and the seventh (at least) of his career. Following the season, the 49ers told him that he would be released if he did not retire. Although Young was offered a job as the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos (where his former offensive coordinator, Mike Shanahan, was the head coach), he retired because of his repeated concussions. In a 2013 Frontline interview, Young said that, partially based upon their own experiences, he and many retired players are increasingly concerned about repeated concussions and subconcussive hits. He is particularly concerned about certain positions that take frequent hits, such as running backs and linemen.
Career statistics and records
USFL career
NFL career
Records and legacy
Although Young did not become the 49ers' starter until his 8th NFL season, and he played a full season only three times (all consecutively) during his 15-year career, Young had a significant impact on the NFL. A two-time league MVP, he completed 2,667 of 4,149 passes for 33,124 yards and 232 touchdowns, with 107 interceptions, and 43 rushing touchdowns. His 96.8 career passer rating is the sixth highest in NFL history and second highest among retired players, behind Tony Romo; his 4,239 rushing yards are the fourth most ever gained by a quarterback, behind Michael Vick, Cam Newton, and Randall Cunningham. He was the NFL's top rated passer in six different seasons and led the league in touchdown passes four times. In 20 postseason games, he threw 20 touchdown passes with only 13 interceptions, and scored 8 touchdowns on the ground. In his stint with the San Francisco 49ers, Young passed for 29,907 yards, 221 touchdowns, and 86 interceptions, with a passer rating of 101.4, highest in franchise history. He was also sacked 290 times, also most in franchise history.
NFL records
Tenth highest passer rating, career, including active players – 96.8
Fourth highest passer rating, career, retired players only – 96.8
Eighth highest career completion percentage, retired players – 64.3%
Most times led the league in passer rating, career – 6 (tied w/ Sammy Baugh)
Most consecutive times led the league in passer rating – 4 (1991–94)
One of seven QBs to lead the league in touchdown passes 4 times (tied with Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Len Dawson)
Most passes attempted, playoff game – 65 vs. Green Bay, 1995
Most TD passes, playoff game – 6 (tied w/Daryle Lamonica & Tom Brady)
Most TD passes in one Super Bowl – 6
Most rushing yards by a QB, postseason career – 594
Most rushing touchdowns by a QB, postseason career – 8
49ers records
Highest completion percentage (20+ Atts) (Game): vs Detroit (10/20/91), 90.0
Most average yards per attempt (20+ Atts) (Game): vs Detroit (12/19/93), 15.39
Most touchdown passes (season): 36 (1998)
Best completion percentage (season): 70.3 (1994)
Best passer rating (season): 112.8 (1994)
Most 300-yard passing games (season): 7 (1998)
Best passer rating (career): 101.4
Most average yards per attempt (career): 8.20
Most consecutive games with a touchdown pass: 18, at Det. (10/9/94) to vs. StL (11/26/95) note: (DNP in 5 games in 1995)
Best completion percentage (career): 65.8
Most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (career): 43
In 1999, he was ranked No. 63 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Young was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on February 5, 2005; he was the first left-handed quarterback to be so honored. He was enshrined August 7, 2005. His induction speech was given by his father, LeGrande "Grit" Young.
The San Francisco 49ers had his No. 8 jersey retired during a halftime ceremony against the New England Patriots on October 5, 2008. He was the 11th player in team history to receive this honor. He is also the only 49er in team history to wear No. 8.
Post-football
Business career
In 1994, Young received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School.
In 2000, Young spoke at the Republican National Convention.
In 2007, Young co-founded Huntsman Gay Global Capital (HGGC), with billionaire industrialist Jon M. Huntsman and former Bain Capital executive Robert C. Gay. After being involved in business ventures with the private equity firm, he has continued to serve as a managing director.
In 2011, Young was one of several notable BYU athletes and coaches who appeared in the school's "Real Cougar" advertising campaign, which featured the individuals telling an actual cougar about being a "real cougar". In one of the ads, Young poked fun at himself:
Young: I love BYU so much I even got my law degree here.
Cougar: (growls)
Young: Lawyers... I know.
Acting career
Young has both performed dramatic roles and appeared as himself in a limited acting career. He appeared in one episode of Frasier and one episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (cast as Lois' former high school football quarterback boyfriend, Joe Maloy). He also made a guest appearance as himself in the Dharma & Greg episode "Are You Ready for Some Football?" encouraging Dharma, the team's Number One Fan. In 1995, Young appeared as himself in the Season 6, Episode 12 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. He also made cameo appearances in the LDS comedy The Singles Ward (2002) and in a season 5 episode of BYUtv's Studio C (2014). Young also made a guest appearance as himself in season 8 of the NBC comedy series Wings in the episode "Just Call Me Angel".
Young was originally offered a part in the 1998 movie There's Something About Mary, but turned the role down. He was replaced by Brett Favre.
Philanthropy
Young serves as a National Advisor to ASCEND: A Humanitarian Alliance. This non-profit organization plans expeditions to African and South American countries to provide life skills mentoring with sustainable solutions in education, enterprise, health and simple technology.
In 1993, Young founded a charitable foundation known as the Forever Young Foundation, which serves children facing significant physical, emotional, and financial challenges by providing academic, athletic, and therapeutic opportunities otherwise unavailable to them.
Young also serves as the national spokesman for an organization founded by former Save Darfur Coalition executive director and founder, David Rubenstein. He began his affiliation with the organization in 2009, when he became the honorary league commissioner for their charitable dodgeball tournaments held on college campuses nationwide.
Personal life
Young is a great-great-great-nephew of Brigham Young, second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for whom BYU is named. His father, LeGrande "Grit" Young, played football at BYU in the late 1950s. He led the school in scoring in 1955 and in rushing and total offense in 1959. Steve Young's younger brothers, Mike and Tom, both played quarterback at BYU after Steve, but neither received much playing time.
Young has been married to Barbara Graham since 2000. They have two sons and two daughters. According to A Football Life: As his playing career ended before his eldest child was born, he wrote his autobiography QB: My Life Behind the Spiral initially as a private memoir for his children.
See also
Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
List of NCAA major college football yearly passing leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders
List of NFL quarterbacks who have posted a perfect passer rating
References
External links
1961 births
All-American college football players
American color commentators
American football quarterbacks
American male television actors
American philanthropists
Brigham Young University alumni
BYU Cougars football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
Greenwich High School alumni
J. Reuben Clark Law School alumni
Latter Day Saints from California
Latter Day Saints from Connecticut
Latter Day Saints from Utah
Living people
Los Angeles Express players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners
National Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award winners
National Football League players with retired numbers
Players of American football from Connecticut
Players of American football from Salt Lake City
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Richards–Young family
San Francisco 49ers players
Sportspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut
Super Bowl MVPs
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Utah Republicans | true | [
"The 2010 Champs Sports Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 28, 2010. The game matched up the West Virginia Mountaineers from the Big East Conference versus the NC State Wolfpack from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The game was scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Florida Citrus Bo... | [
"Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.",
"He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to his NFL c... |
[
"Steve Young",
"Montana's backup: 1987-1990",
"Did Steve Young play any notable games while a backup?",
"Substituting for an injured Montana, early in the first quarter of a 1987 game against the Chicago Bears, he threw four touchdown passes in a 41-0",
"Did they win that game?",
"41-0 victory.",
"Did h... | C_52dfda507a2f476c98e838aa6c80d9e5_1 | Did they ever get to the Super Bowl while Steve Young was there? | 8 | Did Minnesota Vikings ever get to the Super Bowl while Steve Young was there? | Steve Young | Young played behind Montana his first several years, but shone as a backup. Substituting for an injured Montana, early in the first quarter of a 1987 game against the Chicago Bears, he threw four touchdown passes in a 41-0 victory. In their 1987 divisional playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, he replaced Montana in the second half after the team fell behind 27-10. The 49ers still lost the game, but Young had a fairly good performance with 12/17 completions for 158 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, while also leading San Francisco in rushing with 72 yards and a touchdown on six carries. On October 30, 1988, Young ran for a 49-yard, game-winning touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings. He started the game out with a 73-yard touchdown pass to John Taylor, after Montana went down with an injury. The play earned the 49ers a 24-21 victory and a bit of revenge on the Vikings for their previous season's playoff loss. In 1989, he displayed his potential to become the team's starter in the future. While Montana won the NFL MVP award and led the team to victory in Super Bowl XXIV, Young still had a good season, completing 69% of his passes for 1,001 yards and eight touchdowns, with only three interceptions. On October 22, 1989, he posted a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when he completed 11 of 12 passes for 188 yards and three touchdown passes in a 37-20 victory over the New England Patriots. In his four seasons as a backup, Young had thrown 23 touchdown passes and only six interceptions. He rushed for a career-high 102 yards on just eight carries vs. the New Orleans Saints on December 23, 1990, making him only the second 49ers quarterback to rush for at least 100 yards in a single game. The 49ers lost the game 13-10. CANNOTANSWER | While Montana won the NFL MVP award and led the team to victory in Super Bowl XXIV, Young still had a good season, | Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to his NFL career, he was a member of the Los Angeles Express in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons. Young played college football for Brigham Young University (BYU), setting school and NCAA records en route to being runner-up for the 1983 Heisman Trophy.
Young was named the AP's NFL Most Valuable Player in 1992 and 1994, and was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX. During his 1994 MVP campaign, he set a new NFL record for passer rating at 112.8. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Young was an extremely efficient passer – leading the league in passer rating a record six times, and completion percentage and yards per attempt five times. At the time of his retirement, he had the highest passer rating among NFL quarterbacks with at least 1,500 passing attempts (96.8). As of the end of the 2020 season, he is ranked tenth all-time in passer rating, and is ranked fourth highest amongst retired players, behind only Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Tony Romo. His 43 career rushing touchdowns are second among quarterbacks, while his 4,239 rushing yards ranks fifth all time.
Early years
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Young attended Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he played quarterback on its Cardinals football team. He earned 1978 All-FCIAC West Division First Team honors in his junior year, his first year as a starter. In his senior year he rushed for 13 touchdowns and earned All-FCIAC West Division First Team honors, and was named to the CIAC All-State team. In the rush-first option offense run by Greenwich he completed only 41 percent of his throws for 1,220 yards, but ran the ball 267 times for 1,928 yards. On Thanksgiving Day in November 1979, Greenwich lost to Darien High School, known for its "Tidal Wave Defense", 17–0. During his senior year, he was co-captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams. In basketball, he averaged 15 points a game. In baseball, he hit .384 and played center field when he wasn't pitching. He was 5–1 and threw a 3–0 no-hitter against New Canaan High School.
College football
Young was heavily recruited by the University of North Carolina. Coach Dick Crum was enamored by Young's running ability, and wanted him to run his option offense. Young instead chose BYU. Initially, he struggled at throwing the ball, and BYU's coaching staff considered switching him to defensive back because of his athleticism. However, he worked hard to improve his passing skills and eventually succeeded record-setting Jim McMahon as BYU's starting QB. Young's senior season (1983) was spectacular. He passed for 3,902 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season, and his 71.3% completion percentage set an NCAA single-season record. He also added 544 yards rushing. With Young at quarterback, BYU set an NCAA record by averaging 584.2 yards of total offense per game, with 370.5 of those yards coming from Young's passing and rushing. The Cougars finished the year with an impressive 11–1 record; Young was named a unanimous All-American and received the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, which recognizes the nation's best collegiate quarterback each year. He also finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy, behind Nebraska running back Mike Rozier. Young capped his college career by scoring the game-winning touchdown on a pass from the halfback in BYU's 21–17 victory over Missouri in the 1983 Holiday Bowl.
Young finished his college career with 592 pass completions for 7,733 yards and 56 touchdowns, along with 1,048 yards and 18 touchdowns rushing. He was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Professional football
USFL
Los Angeles Express
Young was selected by the Los Angeles Express in the first round (11th overall) of the 1984 USFL Draft. He signed a record ten-year, $40 million contract with the Express in He agreed to take his payment in the form of an annuity paid out over forty years to help the fledgling team.
It was taken for granted that Young would be the first pick in the 1984 NFL Draft, and that he would be selected by the Cincinnati Bengals, who were three years removed from the Super Bowl and had landed the No. 1 pick in a trade with the then-moribund Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, the Bengals still had Ken Anderson as their quarterback and planned to have Young sit behind Anderson for the 1984 season before possibly taking over in 1985. Young found that prospect unappealing, which opened the door for the Express. Express general manager Don Klosterman told Young that if he signed with the Express, his head coach would be John Hadl, a former All-Pro quarterback who had shepherded John Elway through his first year in the NFL. Klosterman also told Young that Hall of Fame coach Sid Gillman, who had been hired as a consultant, would tutor him on how to be a pro quarterback. Young was convinced, and signed with the Express.
At the time, it was another huge signing by the fledgling league, which had already succeeded in signing both the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, running back Mike Rozier of Nebraska; and the previous winner, Georgia running back Herschel Walker. After missing the first six games of his rookie season while taking some college classes in order to graduate on time, Young started the final twelve. He had a respectable year, highlighted by becoming the first pro football player ever to pass for 300 yards and rush for 100 in a single game. Despite being surrounded with talent which included such future NFL players as Jojo Townsell, Mel Gray, and Kevin Nelson, and making the playoffs in Young's first season, the Express was never able to create a sustaining fan base in Los Angeles.
Late in the season, The New York Times published an investigation of owner J. William Oldenburg's finances that suggested Oldenburg was not as well off as he claimed. The FBI had been investigating Oldenburg since the middle of the season. A week after the Times article, Oldenburg stopped paying the Express' bills, forcing the league to draw on the team's emergency line of credit to keep it going through the playoffs. Houston Gamblers minority partner Jay Roulier stepped in to buy the team, only to be pushed out when it emerged that he too had misrepresented his net worth. The league took control of the team and cut expenditures to the bare minimum. The other teams made contributions to keep the Express going through the season – enough to meet payroll, but not much else.
Under the circumstances, the 1985 season rapidly became a fiasco. Before one game, the team bus driver refused to drive the Express to their final home game – which had been moved to Los Angeles Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley – unless he was paid up front in cash. Young contributed some money, as did the team trainer, and the driver took them to the game. In the season finale at Orlando, Young had to line up at tailback because a rash of injuries had left the Express without any healthy running backs. The owners had refused to allocate any money to allow the Express to replace injured players.
It was reported that Young had insured the contract and would still be paid until 2027. However, a 1985 Los Angeles Times article stated that he received a $1.4 million settlement on the annuity.
The league ceased operations in 1986 after losing most of its claims in an antitrust suit against the NFL, with its top talent absorbed by the NFL in a dispersal draft conducted in the aftermath.
NFL
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Young grew increasingly dissatisfied with the disarray surrounding the Express. Just a week before what proved to be the last USFL title game, Young gave the USFL an ultimatum – find a new owner for the Express, or allow him to buy out his contract and go to the NFL. Soon after the league decided to suspend the Express's operations for the 1986 season, Young bought out his Express contract and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had made him the first pick in a supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players a year earlier.
By this time, the Bucs were in the midst of what would be 12 consecutive 10-loss seasons. They posted identical 2–14 records in Young's two seasons with them, going 3–16 with him as a starter. Young threw for only 11 touchdowns with 21 interceptions while completing fewer than 55% of his passes.
San Francisco 49ers
The Buccaneers selected University of Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde first overall in the 1987 NFL Draft because Young was deemed a bust. Young was traded to the San Francisco 49ers on April 24, 1987 to serve as a backup to Joe Montana. 49ers coach Bill Walsh was impressed by Young's natural abilities, and believed his lackluster numbers were primarily due to the lack of talent around him in Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers received second and fourth round draft picks in the trade, which they used to draft Miami linebacker Winston Moss, and Arizona State wide receiver Bruce Hill, respectively.
Montana's backup: 1987–1990
Young played behind Montana for four years, but shone as a backup. Substituting for an injured Montana, early in the first quarter of a 1987 game against the Chicago Bears, he threw four touchdown passes in a 41–0 victory. In their 1987 divisional playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, he replaced Montana in the second half after the team fell behind 27–10. The 49ers still lost the game, but Young had a good performance, completing 12 of 17 pass attempts for 158 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, while also leading San Francisco in rushing with 72 yards and a touchdown on six carries. On October 30, 1988, Young ran for a 49-yard, game-winning touchdown against the Vikings. He started the game out with a 73-yard touchdown pass to John Taylor, after Montana went down with an injury. The play earned the 49ers a 24–21 victory and a bit of revenge on the Vikings for their previous season's playoff loss. The win turned out to be crucial, as without it the 49ers would have finished the season 9–7 and missed the playoffs, as two other teams in their division, the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, had 10–6 records. Instead, the 49ers won their division, earned the #2 playoff seed, and went on to win the Super Bowl.
In 1989, he displayed potential to become the team's starter in the future. While Montana won the NFL MVP award and led the team to victory in Super Bowl XXIV, Young still had a good season, completing 69% of his passes for 1,001 yards and eight touchdowns, with only three interceptions. On October 22, 1989, he posted a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when he completed 11 of 12 passes for 188 yards and three touchdown passes in a 37–20 victory over the New England Patriots.
He rushed for a career-high 102 yards on just eight carries against the New Orleans Saints on December 23, 1990, making him only the second 49ers quarterback to rush for at least 100 yards in a single game. The 49ers lost the game 13–10.
In his four seasons as a backup, Young threw 23 touchdown passes and only six interceptions.
1991 season
Following an injury to Montana's elbow in the 1990 NFC Championship Game, which forced him to miss the entire 1991 season, Young got his chance to lead the 49ers. He got off to a rough start. Midway through the season, the 49ers found themselves struggling with a 4–4 record. In the ninth game of the season, after throwing a franchise-record 97-yard touchdown pass to Taylor, Young suffered a knee injury and was replaced by backup quarterback Steve Bono. After a loss in that game and the next, Bono led the 49ers to five consecutive victories, playing so well that coach George Seifert decided to keep him in the starting lineup after Young had recovered. It wasn't until late in the 15th game of the season, after Bono went down with an injury of his own, that Young got to play again. Young then closed out the season by throwing for 338 yards and three touchdowns and also rushing for 63 yards and another touchdown in a 52–14 win over the Chicago Bears in a Monday Night Football game at Candlestick Park.
Young finished the season with an NFL best 101.8 passer rating. Despite missing five full games and most of a sixth, he still threw for 2,517 yards and 17 touchdowns with only 8 interceptions. But despite Young's strong season, the season for the team was widely regarded as a disappointment. The 49ers had slipped from a 14–2 record in the previous season to a 10–6 record in 1991. While 10 wins is usually enough to make the playoffs, this time it was not, and San Francisco ended up not playing in the postseason for the first time since 1982. It was thought by many that Young's days as the 49ers starter were numbered due to the impending return of Montana from the injury to his right elbow, and some observers said the 49ers should trade Young and keep Montana and Bono. However, the trade never happened.
1992 season: first MVP
By the start of the 1992 season, it appeared that Young's starting job was in serious peril. In addition to having to compete with Bono, Montana appeared to be close to recovering from his elbow tendon surgery. San Francisco came close to trading Young to the Los Angeles Raiders, but no deal was finalized and it turned out that Montana would not recover in time to start in the opening game. Montana would not return until the final game of the 1992 season, a Monday Night home game against the Detroit Lions. Montana played the entire second half of that final game and guided the 49ers to victory.
Young ended up as San Francisco's starting quarterback, but once again got off to a rough start. On the fifth play of the opening game at the Giants, he suffered a concussion and was replaced by Bono, who threw two touchdown passes while leading the 49ers to a 31–14 win. The following week, San Francisco lost 34–31 to the Buffalo Bills, despite a career-high 449 passing yards and three touchdowns from Young, in a game that for the first time in NFL history had zero punts from either team.
Young recovered and led the 49ers on a five-game winning streak, capped off by a 56–17 win over the Atlanta Falcons in which Young passed for 399 yards and three touchdowns. After missing most of the next game (a 24–14 loss to the Cardinals) with the flu, he led San Francisco to victory in all of their remaining games of the season, giving the team a 14–2 record. He went on to throw for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rush for 73 yards, in a 20–13 divisional playoff win over the Washington Redskins. The 49ers lost the NFC title game, however, 30–20 against the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys. Young threw for 313 yards, completing 71.4% of his passes while passing for one touchdown and rushing for another. He also threw two interceptions, but the final one came with the outcome of the game already decided.
Young finished the season with 3,465 passing yards and 537 rushing yards, along with an NFL-best 25 touchdown passes and 107.0 passer rating, earning him the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and his first selection to the Pro Bowl. He was the first quarterback ever to record a triple-digit rating in consecutive seasons. Many credit Young's turnaround to the mentoring of the 49ers' new offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, who worked with Young on combining his running skill with on-the-move passing decisions.
1993 season
Before the start of the 1993 season, team owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. announced that he wanted Montana to resume his role as starting quarterback for the 49ers. However, a rift in the locker room had developed, with players split on whom they wanted at quarterback. In the spring of 1993, at Montana's request, San Francisco traded Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs. Young was now the 49ers' undisputed starter, and would remain so for the rest of his career. But once again, he had a rough start to the season. Over the first four games of 1993, Young, who was hindered by a swollen thumb on his throwing hand, threw eight interceptions, more than he had thrown during the entire 1992 season. But after his thumb healed, Young went on an incredible streak over a span of seven games, throwing 16 touchdown passes with only 2 interceptions and a 122.2 passer rating. By the end of the year, Young set franchise records for most passing yards (4,023), and consecutive passes thrown without an interception (189), (later eclipsed by Alex Smith in 2012) while leading the NFL in touchdown passes (29) and passer rating (101.5). The team slipped to a 10–6 record, but advanced to the NFC championship game again by blowing out the New York Giants 44–3 in the divisional round. However, once again they were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys, this time 38–21.
1994 season: second MVP and Super Bowl run
After several key free agent signings including All-Pro cornerback Deion Sanders and NFL Draft selections, the 49ers looked to win their first Super Bowl since 1989. They started fast, beating the Los Angeles Raiders 44–14 on the strength of four touchdown passes from Young, one of four games during the regular season in which he had at least four. After a loss in a much-anticipated game to Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs, the 49ers won their next two games before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 40–8 at Candlestick Park, a game in which Young was eventually benched in the middle of an offensive series. Although head coach George Seifert later said he only pulled Young because he was getting manhandled by the Eagles' defense, Young had had enough of being scapegoated for 49er shortfalls and loudly (and visibly) lambasted Seifert over his decision while standing on the sideline during the game.
But the game was considered a turning point in the season; from there, Young led the team to 10 consecutive wins, by an average of 20 points, before losing the meaningless finale against the Vikings in which Young completed his first 12 of 13 attempts before going to the sidelines. They finished an NFL best 13–3, securing home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The 49ers had the number-one offense in the NFL, and were so dominant that Seifert often took Young out of games early if he felt that the 49ers had an insurmountable lead at the time.
After an easy 44–15 victory over the Chicago Bears in the divisional round of the playoffs, the 49ers jumped out to a 31–14 halftime lead over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game, holding on to win 38–28. Young threw for two touchdowns, while adding 47 yards and another touchdown on the ground. As a result, he went to his first Super Bowl as a starting quarterback. The 49ers were heavy favorites to become the first team with five Super Bowl victories.
On the strength of a six-touchdown performance that surpassed the previous Super Bowl record of five, owned by the man Young replaced, Joe Montana, Steve Young was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX, as the 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers, 49–26. Young also threw for 325 yards and rushed for 49 yards, making him the first player ever to finish a Super Bowl as the game's leader in both rushing and passing yards.
The victory capped off an incredible year for Young, who had one of the best seasons by a quarterback in NFL history. He threw for 3,969 yards, a then-franchise record 35 touchdown passes with only 10 interceptions, completed 70.3 percent of his passes – the highest completion percentage of the 1990s, third all-time, and at the time, the best completion percentage by any quarterback with more than 400 attempts (later eclipsed by Drew Brees in 2009). Additionally, Young broke Joe Montana's single-season mark with a then-record 112.8 passer rating, and also once again demonstrated his great scrambling ability, accumulating another 289 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground. For his record-breaking season performances, Young was awarded his second AP NFL MVP award, becoming the 7th player in NFL history to win both league and Super Bowl MVP honors in the same season.
Later years and injuries
In the three years following Super Bowl XXIX, the 49ers would be eliminated each year by Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, twice in San Francisco. In addition to the early playoff exits, Young suffered a series of injuries that forced him to miss several games from 1995 to 1997. Young entered the 1998 season at age 37 and some began to wonder if his skills would diminish because of his history of injuries and a general decline in his game due to age. However, he silenced all critics once again, putting up career numbers in passing yards (4,170) and passing touchdowns (36). The 49ers finally beat Favre and the Packers in an NFC wild card game that year, as Young threw the winning touchdown to wide receiver Terrell Owens with three seconds remaining to win the game 30–27. In reference to Dwight Clark's legendary catch against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1981 NFC championship game, Owens's grab was called "The Catch II". A week later, however, Garrison Hearst broke his ankle on the 49ers' first play from scrimmage. Without the threat of a running game, Young threw three interceptions (the last one a Hail Mary pass with under 30 seconds remaining in the game) and the 49ers were defeated by the Atlanta Falcons 20–18. Over that span of seasons from 1995 to 1998, Young led the NFL in passer rating twice (in 1996 and 1997), and led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes in 1998.
The 1999 season would turn out to be Young's last in the NFL. Young was plagued by concussions throughout his career. During a Week 3 Monday Night Football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Young was violently sacked by Cardinals cornerback Aeneas Williams on a blitz. Running back Lawrence Phillips was supposed to pick up Williams, but missed. Young was knocked out of the game with a concussion, and didn't return again for the rest of the season due to symptoms of post-concussion syndrome. The concussion he suffered against the Cardinals was reportedly his second in a season that was only three weeks old, and the seventh (at least) of his career. Following the season, the 49ers told him that he would be released if he did not retire. Although Young was offered a job as the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos (where his former offensive coordinator, Mike Shanahan, was the head coach), he retired because of his repeated concussions. In a 2013 Frontline interview, Young said that, partially based upon their own experiences, he and many retired players are increasingly concerned about repeated concussions and subconcussive hits. He is particularly concerned about certain positions that take frequent hits, such as running backs and linemen.
Career statistics and records
USFL career
NFL career
Records and legacy
Although Young did not become the 49ers' starter until his 8th NFL season, and he played a full season only three times (all consecutively) during his 15-year career, Young had a significant impact on the NFL. A two-time league MVP, he completed 2,667 of 4,149 passes for 33,124 yards and 232 touchdowns, with 107 interceptions, and 43 rushing touchdowns. His 96.8 career passer rating is the sixth highest in NFL history and second highest among retired players, behind Tony Romo; his 4,239 rushing yards are the fourth most ever gained by a quarterback, behind Michael Vick, Cam Newton, and Randall Cunningham. He was the NFL's top rated passer in six different seasons and led the league in touchdown passes four times. In 20 postseason games, he threw 20 touchdown passes with only 13 interceptions, and scored 8 touchdowns on the ground. In his stint with the San Francisco 49ers, Young passed for 29,907 yards, 221 touchdowns, and 86 interceptions, with a passer rating of 101.4, highest in franchise history. He was also sacked 290 times, also most in franchise history.
NFL records
Tenth highest passer rating, career, including active players – 96.8
Fourth highest passer rating, career, retired players only – 96.8
Eighth highest career completion percentage, retired players – 64.3%
Most times led the league in passer rating, career – 6 (tied w/ Sammy Baugh)
Most consecutive times led the league in passer rating – 4 (1991–94)
One of seven QBs to lead the league in touchdown passes 4 times (tied with Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Len Dawson)
Most passes attempted, playoff game – 65 vs. Green Bay, 1995
Most TD passes, playoff game – 6 (tied w/Daryle Lamonica & Tom Brady)
Most TD passes in one Super Bowl – 6
Most rushing yards by a QB, postseason career – 594
Most rushing touchdowns by a QB, postseason career – 8
49ers records
Highest completion percentage (20+ Atts) (Game): vs Detroit (10/20/91), 90.0
Most average yards per attempt (20+ Atts) (Game): vs Detroit (12/19/93), 15.39
Most touchdown passes (season): 36 (1998)
Best completion percentage (season): 70.3 (1994)
Best passer rating (season): 112.8 (1994)
Most 300-yard passing games (season): 7 (1998)
Best passer rating (career): 101.4
Most average yards per attempt (career): 8.20
Most consecutive games with a touchdown pass: 18, at Det. (10/9/94) to vs. StL (11/26/95) note: (DNP in 5 games in 1995)
Best completion percentage (career): 65.8
Most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (career): 43
In 1999, he was ranked No. 63 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Young was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on February 5, 2005; he was the first left-handed quarterback to be so honored. He was enshrined August 7, 2005. His induction speech was given by his father, LeGrande "Grit" Young.
The San Francisco 49ers had his No. 8 jersey retired during a halftime ceremony against the New England Patriots on October 5, 2008. He was the 11th player in team history to receive this honor. He is also the only 49er in team history to wear No. 8.
Post-football
Business career
In 1994, Young received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School.
In 2000, Young spoke at the Republican National Convention.
In 2007, Young co-founded Huntsman Gay Global Capital (HGGC), with billionaire industrialist Jon M. Huntsman and former Bain Capital executive Robert C. Gay. After being involved in business ventures with the private equity firm, he has continued to serve as a managing director.
In 2011, Young was one of several notable BYU athletes and coaches who appeared in the school's "Real Cougar" advertising campaign, which featured the individuals telling an actual cougar about being a "real cougar". In one of the ads, Young poked fun at himself:
Young: I love BYU so much I even got my law degree here.
Cougar: (growls)
Young: Lawyers... I know.
Acting career
Young has both performed dramatic roles and appeared as himself in a limited acting career. He appeared in one episode of Frasier and one episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (cast as Lois' former high school football quarterback boyfriend, Joe Maloy). He also made a guest appearance as himself in the Dharma & Greg episode "Are You Ready for Some Football?" encouraging Dharma, the team's Number One Fan. In 1995, Young appeared as himself in the Season 6, Episode 12 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. He also made cameo appearances in the LDS comedy The Singles Ward (2002) and in a season 5 episode of BYUtv's Studio C (2014). Young also made a guest appearance as himself in season 8 of the NBC comedy series Wings in the episode "Just Call Me Angel".
Young was originally offered a part in the 1998 movie There's Something About Mary, but turned the role down. He was replaced by Brett Favre.
Philanthropy
Young serves as a National Advisor to ASCEND: A Humanitarian Alliance. This non-profit organization plans expeditions to African and South American countries to provide life skills mentoring with sustainable solutions in education, enterprise, health and simple technology.
In 1993, Young founded a charitable foundation known as the Forever Young Foundation, which serves children facing significant physical, emotional, and financial challenges by providing academic, athletic, and therapeutic opportunities otherwise unavailable to them.
Young also serves as the national spokesman for an organization founded by former Save Darfur Coalition executive director and founder, David Rubenstein. He began his affiliation with the organization in 2009, when he became the honorary league commissioner for their charitable dodgeball tournaments held on college campuses nationwide.
Personal life
Young is a great-great-great-nephew of Brigham Young, second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for whom BYU is named. His father, LeGrande "Grit" Young, played football at BYU in the late 1950s. He led the school in scoring in 1955 and in rushing and total offense in 1959. Steve Young's younger brothers, Mike and Tom, both played quarterback at BYU after Steve, but neither received much playing time.
Young has been married to Barbara Graham since 2000. They have two sons and two daughters. According to A Football Life: As his playing career ended before his eldest child was born, he wrote his autobiography QB: My Life Behind the Spiral initially as a private memoir for his children.
See also
Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
List of NCAA major college football yearly passing leaders
List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders
List of NFL quarterbacks who have posted a perfect passer rating
References
External links
1961 births
All-American college football players
American color commentators
American football quarterbacks
American male television actors
American philanthropists
Brigham Young University alumni
BYU Cougars football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
Greenwich High School alumni
J. Reuben Clark Law School alumni
Latter Day Saints from California
Latter Day Saints from Connecticut
Latter Day Saints from Utah
Living people
Los Angeles Express players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners
National Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award winners
National Football League players with retired numbers
Players of American football from Connecticut
Players of American football from Salt Lake City
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Richards–Young family
San Francisco 49ers players
Sportspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut
Super Bowl MVPs
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Utah Republicans | true | [
"The 1994 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 45th in the National Football League, the 49th overall and their sixth under head coach George Seifert. This season was highlighted by a victory in Super Bowl XXIX. The championship made San Francisco the first team to win five Super Bowls. After losing to the Dallas... | [
"Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.",
"He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to his NFL c... |
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"Foo Fighters",
"The Colour and the Shape (1996-1997)"
] | C_44cfa9f1a9614dc1970959a59917acbd_1 | What is the colour and the shape | 1 | What is "The colour and the shape" | Foo Fighters | After touring through the spring of 1996, Foo Fighters entered Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, Washington, with producer Gil Norton to record its second album. While Grohl once again wrote all the songs, the rest of the band collaborated on the arrangements. With the sessions nearly complete, Grohl took the rough mixes with him to Los Angeles, intending to finish up his vocal and guitar parts. While there, Grohl realized that he was not happy with how the mixes were turning out, and changed William Goldsmith's "drum tracks with his own for all but two songs." During the L.A. sessions, Grohl had played drums on the songs. Unhappy with Goldsmith's drumming, Grohl removed it from the recordings and re-recorded the drum tracks. As Goldsmith was about to come down to L.A. to find out why he wasn't being called upon to re-record his parts, he called Mendel from Seattle inquiring if he should make the trip. Grohl then called Goldsmith saying, "Dude, don't come down here, I'm recording some of the drum tracks". Shocked by this, Goldsmith met up with Mendel in Seattle and repeated Grohl's claim to be re-recording "some" of the tracks. Mendel asked, "Is that what he told you?"; Goldsmith affirmed it, and Mendel stated, "No, man, he did them all". Grohl explained that he'd wanted the drums to sound a certain way on the album. He wanted Goldsmith to play for the tour even though it would not be his drumming but Grohl's on the album. Feeling betrayed, Goldsmith left the band. In need of a replacement for Goldsmith, Grohl contacted Alanis Morissette's touring drummer Taylor Hawkins to see if he could recommend anybody. Grohl was surprised when Hawkins volunteered his own services as drummer. Hawkins made his debut with the group in time for the release of its second album, The Colour and the Shape, in May 1997. The album included the singles "Monkey Wrench", "Everlong", "My Hero", and "Walking After You" Pat Smear announced to the rest of the group that he wanted to leave the band claiming exhaustion and burnout but agreed to stay with the band until a replacement could be found for him. Four months later in September 1997 at the MTV Video Music Awards, Smear simultaneously announced to the public his departure from the band and introduced his replacement, Grohl's former Scream bandmate Franz Stahl. Stahl toured with the band for the next few months, and appeared on two tracks that the band recorded for movie soundtracks, a re-recording of "Walking After You" for The X-Files and "A320" for Godzilla. A B-side from the "My Hero" single, "Dear Lover", appeared in the horror film Scream 2. The tour for The Colour and the Shape album included a main stage performance at the 1998 Glastonbury Festival and culminated with a performance at the 1998 Reading Festival, both in England. CANNOTANSWER | second album. | Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in 1994 in Seattle, Washington. The band was founded by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of Nirvana after the suicide of Kurt Cobain. The group took its name from foo fighter, a nickname coined by Allied aircraft pilots for UFOs and other aerial phenomena. Over the course of their career, Foo Fighters have won 12 Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Album four times. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, their first year of eligibility.
Prior to the release of Foo Fighters' 1995 debut album Foo Fighters, which featured Grohl as the only official member, Grohl recruited bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both formerly of Sunny Day Real Estate, as well as Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear. The band began with performances in Portland, Oregon. Goldsmith quit during the recording of their second album The Colour and the Shape (1997); most of the drum parts were re-recorded by Grohl. Smear departed soon afterward but appeared as a guest with the band frequently from 2005; he rejoined in 2010.
Smear and Goldsmith were replaced by Franz Stahl and Taylor Hawkins; Stahl was fired before the recording of the group's third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999). The band briefly continued as a trio until Chris Shiflett joined on guitar after the completion of There Is Nothing Left to Lose. Foo Fighters released their fourth album, One by One, in 2002. It was followed with the two-disc In Your Honor (2005), which was split between acoustic songs and heavier material. Foo Fighters released their sixth album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, in 2007.
For Foo Fighters' seventh studio album, Wasting Light (2011), produced by Butch Vig, Smear returned as a full member. Sonic Highways (2014) was released as the soundtrack to the television miniseries directed by Grohl. Concrete and Gold (2017) was the second Foo Fighters album to reach number one in the United States and their first studio album to feature longtime session and touring keyboardist Rami Jaffee as a full member. In 2021, the band released their tenth album, Medicine at Midnight.
History
Background and first demos (1990–1994)
In 1990, Dave Grohl joined the grunge band Nirvana as drummer. During tours, he took a guitar with him and wrote songs, but was too intimidated to share them with the band; he was "in awe" of the songs written by frontman Kurt Cobain. Grohl occasionally booked studio time to record demos and covers, issuing an album of demos, Pocketwatch, under the pseudonym Late! in 1992.
Nirvana disbanded after the death of Cobain in 1994. Grohl received offers to work with various artists; press rumors indicated he might join Pearl Jam, and he almost accepted a position as drummer in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Grohl later said: "I was supposed to just join another band and be a drummer the rest of my life. I thought that I would rather do what no one expected me to do." Grohl instead entered Robert Lang Studios in October 1994 to record 15 of his own songs. With the exception of a guitar part on "X-Static", played by Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs, Grohl played every instrument and sang every vocal. He completed an album's worth of material in five days and handed out cassette copies of the sessions to his friends for feedback.
Grohl hoped to stay anonymous and release the recordings in a limited run under the name Foo Fighters, taken from foo fighter, a World War II term for unidentified flying objects. He hoped the name would lead listeners to assume the music was made by several people. He said later: "Had I actually considered this to be a career, I probably would have called it something else, because it's the stupidest fucking band name in the world." The demo tape circulated in the industry, creating interest among record labels.
Formation and debut album (1994–1995)
Grohl formed a band to support the album. He spoke to Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic about joining the group, but they decided against it; Grohl said it would have felt "really natural" for them to work together, but would have been "weird" for the others and place more pressure on Grohl. Instead, Grohl recruited bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both of the recently disbanded Seattle group Sunny Day Real Estate. Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear joined as second guitarist. Grohl licensed the album to Capitol Records, releasing it on his new label, Roswell Records.
Foo Fighters made their live public debut on February 23, 1995, at the Jambalaya Club in Arcata, California, followed by performances at Satyricon in Portland on March 3 and the Velvet Elvis in Seattle on March 4. The show on March 3 had been part of a benefit gig for the investigation of the rape and murder of Gits singer Mia Zapata. Grohl refused to do interviews or tour large venues to promote the album. Foo Fighters undertook their first major tour in the spring of 1995, opening for Mike Watt. The band's first single, "This Is a Call", was released in June 1995, and its debut album Foo Fighters was released the next month. "I'll Stick Around," "For All the Cows," and "Big Me" were released as subsequent singles. The band spent the following months on tour, including their first appearance at the Reading Festival in England in August.
The Colour and the Shape (1996–1997)
After touring through the spring of 1996, Foo Fighters entered Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, Washington, with producer Gil Norton to record its second album. While Grohl once again wrote all the songs, the rest of the band collaborated on the arrangements. With the sessions nearly complete, Grohl took the rough mixes to Los Angeles, intending to finish his vocal and guitar parts. While there, Grohl realized that he was not happy with the drumming and replaced most of Goldsmith's drum tracks with his own. Though Grohl hoped that Goldsmith would still play on the tour, Goldsmith felt betrayed and left the band.
In need of a replacement for Goldsmith, Grohl contacted Alanis Morissette's touring drummer Taylor Hawkins for a recommendation. Grohl was surprised when Hawkins volunteered himself. Hawkins made his debut with the group in time for the release of its second album, The Colour and the Shape, in May 1997. The album included the singles "Monkey Wrench", "Everlong", "My Hero", and "Walking After You".
Smear left Foo Fighters in 1997, citing exhaustion and burnout, and was replaced by Grohl's former Scream bandmate Franz Stahl. Stahl toured with Foo Fighters for the next few months and appeared on two tracks recorded for movie soundtracks, a re-recording of "Walking After You" for The X-Files and A320 for Godzilla. A B-side from the "My Hero" single, "Dear Lover," appeared in the horror film Scream 2. The tour for The Colour and the Shape album in 1998 included performances at Glastonbury Festival (on the main stage) and the Reading Festival.
There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1998–2001)
In 1998, Foo Fighters traveled to Grohl's home state of Virginia to write their third album. However, Grohl and Stahl were unable to co-operate as songwriters; Grohl told Kerrang! in 1999, "in those few weeks it just seemed like the three of us were moving in one direction and Franz wasn't." Grohl was distraught over the decision to fire Stahl as the two had been friends since childhood. Shortly after that, Mendel called Grohl to say he was quitting to reunite with Sunny Day Real Estate, only to reverse his decision the next day. The remaining trio of Grohl, Mendel, and Hawkins spent several months recording the band's third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose, in Grohl's home studio. The album spawned several singles, including "Learn to Fly", the band's first to reach the US Billboard Hot 100. Other singles included "Stacked Actors," "Generator," "Next Year," and "Breakout."
Before the release of the album, Capitol Records president Gary Gersh was forced out of the label. Given Grohl's history with Gersh, Foo Fighters' contract had included a "key man clause" that allowed them to leave the label upon Gersh's departure. They left Capitol and signed with RCA, who later acquired the rights to the band's Capitol albums.
After recording There Is Nothing Left to Lose was completed, the band auditioned a number of potential guitarists and settled on Chris Shiflett, who performed with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and California punk band No Use for a Name. Shiflett initially joined as a touring guitarist but achieved full-time status prior to the recording of the group's fourth album.
In January 2000, Nate Mendel led a benefit concert in Hollywood for AIDS denialist group Alive & Well AIDS Alternatives with a speech by founder Christine Maggiore and free copies of her self-published book, What If Everything You Thought You Knew About AIDS Was Wrong? Additionally, the band's official website featured a section devoted to Alive & Well. Sandra Thurman, then director of the Office of National AIDS Policy stated this was "extraordinarily irresponsible behavior" because "there is no doubt about the link between HIV and AIDS in the respected scientific community." Links and references to Alive & Well were removed from the band's website by March 2003.
Around 2001, Foo Fighters established a relationship with rock band Queen as the band (particularly Grohl and Hawkins) were fans. In March of that year, Grohl and Hawkins inducted them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and joined them to perform the 1976 classic, Tie Your Mother Down, with Hawkins playing drums alongside Roger Taylor. Guitarist Brian May added a guitar track to Foo Fighters' second cover of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar," which appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Mission: Impossible 2. In 2002, guitarist May contributed guitar work to Tired of You and an outtake called Knucklehead. The bands have performed together on several occasions since, including VH1 Rock Honors and Foo Fighters' headlining concert in Hyde Park.
One by One (2001–2004)
Near the end of 2001, the band reconvened to record its fourth album. After spending four months in a Los Angeles studio, the album "just didn't sound right" and the band had no confidence it would sell very well. With the album not reaching their expectations amid much infighting, Grohl spent some time helping Queens of the Stone Age complete their 2002 album Songs for the Deaf. Once that album was finished and touring had started for both Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, the band was on the verge of breaking up entirely. Grohl reunited with Hawkins, Shiflett, and Mendel to play the Coachella Festival, alternating days with Queens of the Stone Age. Hawkins and Grohl talked about resuming work on One by One and after a very satisfying performance the following day, they agreed to stay together. The group re-recorded nearly all of the album (save Tired of You) in a ten-day stretch at Grohl's home studio in Alexandria, Virginia, the following month. The original version of One by One, referred to by the band as Million Dollar Demos, has never been released in its entirety although seven tracks were leaked online in 2012 and 2015.
The album was released in October 2002 under the title One by One. Singles from the album included "All My Life," "Times Like These," "Low," and "Have It All." The tour for the album included a headline performance at the 2002 Reading and Leeds Festivals.
For most of its history, the band chose to stay away from the political realm. However, in 2004, upon learning that George W. Bush's presidential campaign was using "Times Like These" at rallies, Grohl decided to lend his public support to John Kerry's campaign, saying, "There's no way of stopping the president playing your songs, so I went out and played it for John Kerry's people instead, where I thought the message would kinda make more sense." Grohl attended several Kerry rallies and occasionally performed solo acoustic sets. The entire band joined Grohl for a performance in Arizona coinciding with one of the presidential debates.
In Your Honor (2005–2006)
Having spent a year and a half touring behind One by One, Grohl did not want to rush into recording another Foo Fighters record. Initially Grohl intended to write acoustic material by himself but eventually the project involved the entire band. To record its fifth album, the band shifted to Los Angeles and built a recording studio, dubbed Studio 606 West. Grohl insisted that the album be divided into two discs–one full of rock songs, the other featuring acoustic tracks. In Your Honor was released in June 2005. The album's singles included Best of You, DOA, Resolve, and No Way Back/Cold Day in the Sun.
During September and October 2005, the band toured with Weezer on what was billed as the Foozer Tour. Foo Fighters played a headline performance at the 2005 Reading and Leeds Festivals. On June 17, 2006, Foo Fighters performed their largest non-festival headlining concert to date at London's Hyde Park. Motörhead's Lemmy joined the band on stage to sing Shake Your Blood from Dave Grohl's Probot album. As a surprise performance, Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen appeared to play part of We Will Rock You as a lead in to Tie Your Mother Down.
In further support of In Your Honor, the band organized a short acoustic tour for the summer of 2006. Members who had performed with them in late 2005 appeared, such as Pat Smear, Petra Haden on violin and backing vocals, Drew Hester on percussion, and Rami Jaffee of The Wallflowers on keyboard and piano. While much of the setlist focused on In Your Honors acoustic half, the band also used the opportunity to play lesser-known songs, such as Ain't It The Life, Floaty, and See You. The band also performed Marigold, a Pocketwatch-era song that was best known as a Nirvana B side.
In November 2006, the band released their first ever live CD, Skin and Bones, featuring fifteen performances captured over a three-night stint in Los Angeles.
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace and Greatest Hits (2007–2009)
For the follow-up to In Your Honor, the band recruited The Colour and the Shape producer Gil Norton. Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace was released on September 25, 2007. The album's first single, The Pretender, was issued to radio in early August. In mid-to-late 2007 The Pretender topped Billboard's Modern Rock chart for a record 19 weeks. The second single, Long Road to Ruin, was released in December 2007, supported by a music video directed by longtime collaborator Jesse Peretz (formerly of the Lemonheads). Other singles included Let It Die and Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running).
In October 2007, Foo Fighters started their world tour in support of the album. The band performed shows throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, including headlining the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore on August 9. At the European MTV Music Awards in 2007, Pat Smear confirmed his return to the band.
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace was nominated for five Grammy Awards in 2008. Foo Fighters went home with Best Rock Album and Best Hard Rock Performance (for The Pretender). The album was also nominated for Album of the Year, while The Pretender was also nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rock Song.
On June 7, 2008, the band played Wembley Stadium, London, and was joined by Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin to play Rock and Roll (with Grohl on drums and Hawkins on vocals) and Ramble On (sung by Grohl, drums by Hawkins). As Page and Jones left the stage before a final encore of Best Of You, an ecstatic Grohl shouted "Welcome to the greatest fucking day of my whole entire life!". Throughout the tour for Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Foo Fighters had been writing and practicing new songs at sound checks. After Foo Fighters had completed this tour in September 2008, they recorded 13 new songs in studio 606, shortly after announcing a hiatus from touring (which would last until January 2011). These sessions likely lasted from late 2008 – early 2009. While the members of Foo Fighters had initially planned for their new album (composed of songs from this recording session) to have come out in 2009 with almost no touring support, they ultimately decided to shelve most of the songs from these sessions. Three of these songs were later released — Wheels and Word Forward (on their 2009 compilation album, Greatest Hits); and a newly recorded version of Rope (which ended up making the final cut of Wasting Light).
In order to promote their greatest hits album, Foo Fighters performed an online show at studio 606 in October 2009 during which the band took fan requests.
Wasting Light (2010–2012)
In August 2010, the band began recording their seventh studio album with producer Butch Vig, who had previously produced the two new tracks for the band's Greatest Hits album. The album was recorded in Dave Grohl's garage using only analog equipment. The album won five Grammys and was nominated for six. The recording was analog to tape and used no computers, not even to mix or master. Vig said in an interview with MTV that the album was entirely analog until post-mastering. Pat Smear was present in many photos posted by Grohl on Twitter and a press release in December confirmed Smear played on every track on the album and was considered a core member of the band once again.
The first single from Wasting Light, Rope, was released to radio in February 2011. On April 16, 2011, Foo Fighters released an album of covers, Medium Rare, as a limited-edition vinyl for Record Store Day. The promotion for the album has been highly praised for its originality. Wasting Light debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the band's first album to do so. Other singles for the album included Walk, Arlandria, These Days, and Bridge Burning.
Alongside Wasting Lights release, Foo Fighters released a rockumentary, directed by Academy Award-winner James Moll. The film, titled Back and Forth, chronicles the band's career. Then current and past members, and producer Butch Vig, tell the story of the band through interviews. After debuting on March 15, 2011, at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, it was released on DVD three months later.
On May 21, 2011, Foo Fighters headlined the middle day of the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama. On June 4, 2011, they played a surprise set at the 2011 KROQ Weenie Roast. They also headlined two sold-out shows at the Milton Keynes National Bowl on July 2 and 3, joined on stage by artists such as Alice Cooper, Seasick Steve, and John Paul Jones. They headlined the final night at the 20th anniversary of Lollapalooza in Chicago's Grant Park on August 7, 2011, performing part of their set in a driving rainstorm.
In September 2011 before a show in Kansas City, the band performed a parody song in front of a protest by the Westboro Baptist Church. It mocked the church's opposition to homosexuality and was performed in the same faux-trucker garb that was seen in the band's Hot Buns promotional video.
It was announced on September 28, 2011, that Foo Fighters would be performing during the closing ceremony of Blizzard Entertainment's annual video game convention, BlizzCon.
On August 27, 2012, Foo Fighters ended their European tour with a headline performance at Reading and Leeds Festival. On September 5, the band performed a show at the Fillmore in Charlotte, North Carolina, as a benefit for Rock the Vote. The show, which occurred at the same time as the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, was announced only two weeks prior. Tickets to the 2000-person capacity venue sold out in under 60 seconds, setting a record for the site. The band set another personal record during the show itself, being the longest that the band had played to date at just under 3.5 hours with a setlist of 36 songs. On September 21, the band headlined the Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. The following evening, they headlined the DeLuna Festival in Pensacola Beach, Florida. On September 29, the band performed at the Global Citizens' Festival before embarking on a break.
Sonic Highways (2013–2015)
Despite initially announcing a break after supporting Wasting Light, Grohl stated in January 2013 that the band had started writing material for an eighth studio album. On February 20, 2013, at the Brit Awards, Grohl said he was resuming work on the album the following day.
On September 6, 2013, Shiflett posted a photo to his Instagram account that indicated 13 songs were being recorded and later described it as "pretty fucking fun". Rami Jaffee has recorded parts for three songs, one of which was In the Way. Butch Vig, who worked with the band on Wasting Light, confirmed via Twitter in late August 2013 that he was producing the album. The band confirmed that it would end its hiatus by playing two shows in Mexico City on December 11 and 13. On October 31, a video appeared on the official Foo Fighters YouTube channel showing a motorcyclist, later revealed to be Erik Estrada, delivering each of the band members an invitation to play in Mexico.
On January 16, 2014, a picture was posted to Foo Fighters' Facebook page with several master tapes labeled LP 8. On May 15, it was announced that the album would be released in November and that the Foo Fighters would commemorate the album and their 20th anniversary with an HBO TV series directed by Grohl titled Sonic Highways. Eight songs were written and recorded in eight studios in eight different American cities with video capturing the history and feel of each town. On July 30, Butch Vig revealed that the Foo Fighters had finished recording and mixing the album and that it was slated to be released a month after the premiere of the TV show.
In June 2014, the band agreed to play a show in Richmond, Virginia, that was entirely crowd-funded by fans on the website Tilt.com. The show took place on September 17 before 1,500 fans. The band played 23 songs over the course of two and a half hours. Foo Fighters announced their tour would include performances in Cape Town on December 10 and Johannesburg on December 13. The band played three performances under the alias The Holy Shits in September 2014; the first at the Concorde 2 club in Brighton, England, where Grohl invited lead singer Jay Apperley of the tribute band UK Foo Fighters on stage to sing, followed by the House of Vans and the Islington Assembly Hall. On September 14, 2014, the band performed at the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games, their first official show in England since closing Reading Festival in 2012. They closed out the 2014 VooDoo Music and Arts Festival in New Orleans on November 2, 2014, in a two and a half hour performance that included an appearance from New Orleans native Trombone Shorty, who played This is a Call with the band.
On August 8, the band released a short clip of their latest work, titled 8. On August 11, the band announced that the new album would be titled Sonic Highways and released on November 10, 2014. An international tour, dubbed the Sonic Highways World Tour, followed with performances in South Africa in December and South America in January 2015. It continued to Australia and New Zealand in February and March.
On May 20, 2015, the Foo Fighters were the final musical act to perform on Late Show with David Letterman, continuing their long association with the host as he wrapped up his 33-year career in late night television. The show ended with a montage of Letterman highlights while the Foo Fighters played "Everlong", which Letterman said had significant meaning for him after his open-heart surgery in 2000. The band postponed their international tour to make the appearance; the tour resumed on May 24, with a performance at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Norwich, England.
On June 12, Grohl fell from the stage in Gothenburg, Sweden, during the group's second song, breaking his leg. The band continued playing while Grohl received medical attention, who then returned to the stage to finish the last two hours of the band's set from a chair while a medic tended to his leg. After the concert, Grohl was flown to London for surgery, requiring six metal pins to stabilize the fracture. As a result of the injury, the band canceled its remaining European tour dates.
In July, one thousand Italian fans held the Rockin' 1000 gathering in Cesena, Italy, performing Learn to Fly and asking Foo Fighters to come play in the town. The performance video went viral and impressed Grohl, resulting in the band appearing in Cesena on November 3.
Saint Cecilia EP and Concrete and Gold (2015–2019)
The Foo Fighters planned to follow their international tour with a North American tour to promote Sonic Highways, beginning with a special Fourth of July event in Washington, D.C., that would commemorate the band's 20th anniversary. The all-day event was to be held at Washington's RFK Stadium featuring performances by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Heart, LL Cool J, Gary Clark Jr., and Buddy Guy. Dave Grohl's injury initially led to speculation that the band would drop out of the event but they later confirmed they would perform; however, the injury did prevent them from headlining the 2015 Glastonbury Festival. The band performed for 48,000 people with Grohl in a custom-built moving throne which he claimed to have designed himself while on painkillers.
Beginning with the show on July 4, the Foo Fighters re-branded the North American tour as the Broken Leg Tour. The band continued to use the name at later North American performances. Prior to their August 21 concert at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri, the band rickrolled protesting members of the Westboro Baptist Church, as they had also done in 2011.
On November 23, 2015, a surprise release following a month-long countdown clock on the Foo Fighters' website revealed the free EP Saint Cecilia, including a single of the same name. Alongside its release, Grohl announced that the band would be going on an indefinite hiatus. In response to growing rumors of the band breaking up, the band released a mockumentary video in March 2016 portraying Grohl leaving the band to pursue an electronic music career and Nick Lachey (formerly of 98 Degrees) becoming the group's new singer, ending with: "For the millionth time, we're not breaking up. And nobody's going fucking solo!" In May 2016, Shiflett stated that the band still had no particular plans for reforming but assured that it would happen eventually.
Grohl announced that the band would spend much of 2017 recording their ninth studio album. On June 1, 2017, their new single "Run" was released. Run topped the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart the following month. The band confirmed touring keyboardist Rami Jaffee was officially the sixth member of the group. On June 20, 2017, the band announced that their new album, Concrete and Gold, would be released in September. On August 23, 2017, The Sky Is a Neighborhood was released as the second single and topped the Mainstream Rock chart. The Line was released in promotion of the album and later as the third single in 2018. Concrete and Gold was officially released on September 15, 2017, produced by Greg Kurstin. The album is noted as deriving influence from Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Beatles. Concrete and Gold also features Justin Timberlake on vocals for Make It Right, Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men on backing vocals for the song Concrete and Gold, and Paul McCartney on the drums for Sunday Rain. The band began touring in June 2017, including headlining the Glastonbury Festival 2017. The tour in support of Concrete and Gold was extended to October 2018.
Medicine at Midnight and induction into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2019–present)
In October 2019, the band announced that they were recording their tenth studio album based on demos by Grohl. In November 2019, the band began releasing a series of EPs under the umbrella name of the Foo Files, largely consisting of previously released B sides and live performances. By February 2020, Grohl announced that the new album was complete but by May, it was delayed indefinitely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, "We've kind of shelved it for now to figure out exactly when it's going to happen."
Starting in November 2020, promotion for the album ramped up. Its title, Medicine at Midnight, and release date, February 5, 2021, were announced. The band released three singles ahead of the album: "Shame Shame", "No Son of Mine", and "Waiting on a War". In January, the band performed at the US Presidential Inauguration of Joe Biden.
On February 10, 2021, Foo Fighters were announced as one of the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees in their first year of eligibility as their debut album had been released 25 years prior. On May 12, 2021, Foo Fighters were announced as one of 6 performer inductees.
For Record Store Day on July 17, 2021, the Foo Fighters released an album of disco covers, Hail Satin, under the name Dee Gees. The album contains four Bee Gees covers, a cover of Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing", plus five live versions of Medicine at Midnight tracks.
On December 2, 2021, a video was uploaded to the band's YouTube, which announced Studio 666, a rock and roll comedy horror film starring the members of the band. The trailer was released on January 11, 2022, and has a release date of February 25.
Musical style and legacy
Foo Fighters have been described as grunge, alternative rock, post-grunge, and hard rock. They were initially compared to Grohl's previous group, Nirvana. Grohl acknowledged that Kurt Cobain was an influence on his songwriting: "Through Kurt, I saw the beauty of minimalism and the importance of music that's stripped down." Foo Fighters also used the technique of shifting between quiet verses and loud choruses, which Grohl said was influenced by the members of Nirvana "liking The Knack, Bay City Rollers, Beatles, and ABBA as much as we liked Flipper and Black Flag, I suppose."
Writing and recording songs for their first album by himself, Grohl intended for the guitar riffs to be as rhythmic as possible. He approached the guitar in a similar manner to his drumming, assigning various drum parts to strings on the instrument. This allowed him to piece together songs easily; he said, "I could hear the song in my head before it was finished." Once Grohl assembled a full band, the members assisted in song arrangements. Pitchfork described Grohl and the band as "his generation's answer to Tom Petty—a consistent hit machine pumping out working-class rock."
The band members meld melodic and heavy elements. Grohl noted in 1997, "We all love music, whether it's the Beatles or Queen or punk rock. I think the lure of punk rock was the energy and immediacy; the need to thrash stuff around. But at the same time, we're all suckers for a beautiful melody, you know? So it is just natural." Grohl said in 2005, "I love being in a rock band, but I don't know if I necessarily wanna be in an alternative rock band from the 1990s for the rest of my life." Grohl noted that the band's acoustic tour was an attempt to broaden the group's sound.
Band membersCurrent members Dave Grohl – lead vocals, guitar (1994–present)
Pat Smear – guitar (1995–1997, 2010–present; session/touring member 2005–2010), backing vocals (1995–1997)
Chris Shiflett – guitar, backing vocals (1999–present)
Nate Mendel – bass (1995–present)
Taylor Hawkins – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1997–present)
Rami Jaffee – keyboard, piano (2017–present; session/touring member 2005–2017)Former members Franz Stahl – guitar, backing vocals (1997–1999)
William Goldsmith – drums, percussion (1995–1997)
Timeline
DiscographyStudio albums'''
Foo Fighters (1995)
The Colour and the Shape (1997)
There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999)
One by One (2002)
In Your Honor (2005)
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007)
Wasting Light (2011)
Sonic Highways (2014)
Concrete and Gold (2017)
Medicine at Midnight (2021)
Awards and nominations
Foo Fighters first received a Grammy Award for their music video for Learn to Fly in 2000, and they have won ten others. These include four Grammys in the Best Rock Album category for There Is Nothing Left to Lose, One by One, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace and Wasting Light, and three awards for Best Hard Rock Performance for the songs All My Life, The Pretender and White Limo. The band also received three Kerrang! Awards. At the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, the band won Best Rock Video for Walk. They won the Radio Contraband Major Label Artist of the Year in 2011 and 2014. The band won Song of the Year for Something From Nothing and Album of the Year for Sonic Highways both in 2014.
On February 12, 2012, the band performed at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards playing Walk along with the remix version of Rope, featuring deadmau5. The band was nominated for six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Best Rock Performance, Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Album and Best Long Form Music Video (for Back and Forth''). They won five of the six, losing only to Adele in the Album of the Year category.
In 2021, Foo Fighters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in their first year of eligibility.
In 2021, the band was announced as recipients of the first-ever global icon award at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards.
References
External links
Alternative rock groups from Washington (state)
American post-grunge musical groups
Grunge musical groups
Brit Award winners
Grammy Award winners
Hard rock musical groups from Washington (state)
Kerrang! Awards winners
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups from Seattle
NME Awards winners
Nirvana (band)
RCA Records artists
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Late Show with David Letterman
1994 establishments in Washington (state) | true | [
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"Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in 1994 in Seattle, Washington. The band was founded by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of Nirvana after the suicide of Kurt Cobain. The group took its name from foo fighter, a nickname coined by Allied aircraft pilots f... |
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"Foo Fighters",
"The Colour and the Shape (1996-1997)",
"What is the colour and the shape",
"second album."
] | C_44cfa9f1a9614dc1970959a59917acbd_1 | What singles did the album have? | 2 | What singles did the album "The colour and the shape" have? | Foo Fighters | After touring through the spring of 1996, Foo Fighters entered Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, Washington, with producer Gil Norton to record its second album. While Grohl once again wrote all the songs, the rest of the band collaborated on the arrangements. With the sessions nearly complete, Grohl took the rough mixes with him to Los Angeles, intending to finish up his vocal and guitar parts. While there, Grohl realized that he was not happy with how the mixes were turning out, and changed William Goldsmith's "drum tracks with his own for all but two songs." During the L.A. sessions, Grohl had played drums on the songs. Unhappy with Goldsmith's drumming, Grohl removed it from the recordings and re-recorded the drum tracks. As Goldsmith was about to come down to L.A. to find out why he wasn't being called upon to re-record his parts, he called Mendel from Seattle inquiring if he should make the trip. Grohl then called Goldsmith saying, "Dude, don't come down here, I'm recording some of the drum tracks". Shocked by this, Goldsmith met up with Mendel in Seattle and repeated Grohl's claim to be re-recording "some" of the tracks. Mendel asked, "Is that what he told you?"; Goldsmith affirmed it, and Mendel stated, "No, man, he did them all". Grohl explained that he'd wanted the drums to sound a certain way on the album. He wanted Goldsmith to play for the tour even though it would not be his drumming but Grohl's on the album. Feeling betrayed, Goldsmith left the band. In need of a replacement for Goldsmith, Grohl contacted Alanis Morissette's touring drummer Taylor Hawkins to see if he could recommend anybody. Grohl was surprised when Hawkins volunteered his own services as drummer. Hawkins made his debut with the group in time for the release of its second album, The Colour and the Shape, in May 1997. The album included the singles "Monkey Wrench", "Everlong", "My Hero", and "Walking After You" Pat Smear announced to the rest of the group that he wanted to leave the band claiming exhaustion and burnout but agreed to stay with the band until a replacement could be found for him. Four months later in September 1997 at the MTV Video Music Awards, Smear simultaneously announced to the public his departure from the band and introduced his replacement, Grohl's former Scream bandmate Franz Stahl. Stahl toured with the band for the next few months, and appeared on two tracks that the band recorded for movie soundtracks, a re-recording of "Walking After You" for The X-Files and "A320" for Godzilla. A B-side from the "My Hero" single, "Dear Lover", appeared in the horror film Scream 2. The tour for The Colour and the Shape album included a main stage performance at the 1998 Glastonbury Festival and culminated with a performance at the 1998 Reading Festival, both in England. CANNOTANSWER | The album included the singles "Monkey Wrench", "Everlong", "My Hero", and "Walking After You" | Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in 1994 in Seattle, Washington. The band was founded by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of Nirvana after the suicide of Kurt Cobain. The group took its name from foo fighter, a nickname coined by Allied aircraft pilots for UFOs and other aerial phenomena. Over the course of their career, Foo Fighters have won 12 Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Album four times. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, their first year of eligibility.
Prior to the release of Foo Fighters' 1995 debut album Foo Fighters, which featured Grohl as the only official member, Grohl recruited bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both formerly of Sunny Day Real Estate, as well as Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear. The band began with performances in Portland, Oregon. Goldsmith quit during the recording of their second album The Colour and the Shape (1997); most of the drum parts were re-recorded by Grohl. Smear departed soon afterward but appeared as a guest with the band frequently from 2005; he rejoined in 2010.
Smear and Goldsmith were replaced by Franz Stahl and Taylor Hawkins; Stahl was fired before the recording of the group's third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999). The band briefly continued as a trio until Chris Shiflett joined on guitar after the completion of There Is Nothing Left to Lose. Foo Fighters released their fourth album, One by One, in 2002. It was followed with the two-disc In Your Honor (2005), which was split between acoustic songs and heavier material. Foo Fighters released their sixth album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, in 2007.
For Foo Fighters' seventh studio album, Wasting Light (2011), produced by Butch Vig, Smear returned as a full member. Sonic Highways (2014) was released as the soundtrack to the television miniseries directed by Grohl. Concrete and Gold (2017) was the second Foo Fighters album to reach number one in the United States and their first studio album to feature longtime session and touring keyboardist Rami Jaffee as a full member. In 2021, the band released their tenth album, Medicine at Midnight.
History
Background and first demos (1990–1994)
In 1990, Dave Grohl joined the grunge band Nirvana as drummer. During tours, he took a guitar with him and wrote songs, but was too intimidated to share them with the band; he was "in awe" of the songs written by frontman Kurt Cobain. Grohl occasionally booked studio time to record demos and covers, issuing an album of demos, Pocketwatch, under the pseudonym Late! in 1992.
Nirvana disbanded after the death of Cobain in 1994. Grohl received offers to work with various artists; press rumors indicated he might join Pearl Jam, and he almost accepted a position as drummer in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Grohl later said: "I was supposed to just join another band and be a drummer the rest of my life. I thought that I would rather do what no one expected me to do." Grohl instead entered Robert Lang Studios in October 1994 to record 15 of his own songs. With the exception of a guitar part on "X-Static", played by Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs, Grohl played every instrument and sang every vocal. He completed an album's worth of material in five days and handed out cassette copies of the sessions to his friends for feedback.
Grohl hoped to stay anonymous and release the recordings in a limited run under the name Foo Fighters, taken from foo fighter, a World War II term for unidentified flying objects. He hoped the name would lead listeners to assume the music was made by several people. He said later: "Had I actually considered this to be a career, I probably would have called it something else, because it's the stupidest fucking band name in the world." The demo tape circulated in the industry, creating interest among record labels.
Formation and debut album (1994–1995)
Grohl formed a band to support the album. He spoke to Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic about joining the group, but they decided against it; Grohl said it would have felt "really natural" for them to work together, but would have been "weird" for the others and place more pressure on Grohl. Instead, Grohl recruited bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both of the recently disbanded Seattle group Sunny Day Real Estate. Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear joined as second guitarist. Grohl licensed the album to Capitol Records, releasing it on his new label, Roswell Records.
Foo Fighters made their live public debut on February 23, 1995, at the Jambalaya Club in Arcata, California, followed by performances at Satyricon in Portland on March 3 and the Velvet Elvis in Seattle on March 4. The show on March 3 had been part of a benefit gig for the investigation of the rape and murder of Gits singer Mia Zapata. Grohl refused to do interviews or tour large venues to promote the album. Foo Fighters undertook their first major tour in the spring of 1995, opening for Mike Watt. The band's first single, "This Is a Call", was released in June 1995, and its debut album Foo Fighters was released the next month. "I'll Stick Around," "For All the Cows," and "Big Me" were released as subsequent singles. The band spent the following months on tour, including their first appearance at the Reading Festival in England in August.
The Colour and the Shape (1996–1997)
After touring through the spring of 1996, Foo Fighters entered Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, Washington, with producer Gil Norton to record its second album. While Grohl once again wrote all the songs, the rest of the band collaborated on the arrangements. With the sessions nearly complete, Grohl took the rough mixes to Los Angeles, intending to finish his vocal and guitar parts. While there, Grohl realized that he was not happy with the drumming and replaced most of Goldsmith's drum tracks with his own. Though Grohl hoped that Goldsmith would still play on the tour, Goldsmith felt betrayed and left the band.
In need of a replacement for Goldsmith, Grohl contacted Alanis Morissette's touring drummer Taylor Hawkins for a recommendation. Grohl was surprised when Hawkins volunteered himself. Hawkins made his debut with the group in time for the release of its second album, The Colour and the Shape, in May 1997. The album included the singles "Monkey Wrench", "Everlong", "My Hero", and "Walking After You".
Smear left Foo Fighters in 1997, citing exhaustion and burnout, and was replaced by Grohl's former Scream bandmate Franz Stahl. Stahl toured with Foo Fighters for the next few months and appeared on two tracks recorded for movie soundtracks, a re-recording of "Walking After You" for The X-Files and A320 for Godzilla. A B-side from the "My Hero" single, "Dear Lover," appeared in the horror film Scream 2. The tour for The Colour and the Shape album in 1998 included performances at Glastonbury Festival (on the main stage) and the Reading Festival.
There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1998–2001)
In 1998, Foo Fighters traveled to Grohl's home state of Virginia to write their third album. However, Grohl and Stahl were unable to co-operate as songwriters; Grohl told Kerrang! in 1999, "in those few weeks it just seemed like the three of us were moving in one direction and Franz wasn't." Grohl was distraught over the decision to fire Stahl as the two had been friends since childhood. Shortly after that, Mendel called Grohl to say he was quitting to reunite with Sunny Day Real Estate, only to reverse his decision the next day. The remaining trio of Grohl, Mendel, and Hawkins spent several months recording the band's third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose, in Grohl's home studio. The album spawned several singles, including "Learn to Fly", the band's first to reach the US Billboard Hot 100. Other singles included "Stacked Actors," "Generator," "Next Year," and "Breakout."
Before the release of the album, Capitol Records president Gary Gersh was forced out of the label. Given Grohl's history with Gersh, Foo Fighters' contract had included a "key man clause" that allowed them to leave the label upon Gersh's departure. They left Capitol and signed with RCA, who later acquired the rights to the band's Capitol albums.
After recording There Is Nothing Left to Lose was completed, the band auditioned a number of potential guitarists and settled on Chris Shiflett, who performed with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and California punk band No Use for a Name. Shiflett initially joined as a touring guitarist but achieved full-time status prior to the recording of the group's fourth album.
In January 2000, Nate Mendel led a benefit concert in Hollywood for AIDS denialist group Alive & Well AIDS Alternatives with a speech by founder Christine Maggiore and free copies of her self-published book, What If Everything You Thought You Knew About AIDS Was Wrong? Additionally, the band's official website featured a section devoted to Alive & Well. Sandra Thurman, then director of the Office of National AIDS Policy stated this was "extraordinarily irresponsible behavior" because "there is no doubt about the link between HIV and AIDS in the respected scientific community." Links and references to Alive & Well were removed from the band's website by March 2003.
Around 2001, Foo Fighters established a relationship with rock band Queen as the band (particularly Grohl and Hawkins) were fans. In March of that year, Grohl and Hawkins inducted them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and joined them to perform the 1976 classic, Tie Your Mother Down, with Hawkins playing drums alongside Roger Taylor. Guitarist Brian May added a guitar track to Foo Fighters' second cover of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar," which appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Mission: Impossible 2. In 2002, guitarist May contributed guitar work to Tired of You and an outtake called Knucklehead. The bands have performed together on several occasions since, including VH1 Rock Honors and Foo Fighters' headlining concert in Hyde Park.
One by One (2001–2004)
Near the end of 2001, the band reconvened to record its fourth album. After spending four months in a Los Angeles studio, the album "just didn't sound right" and the band had no confidence it would sell very well. With the album not reaching their expectations amid much infighting, Grohl spent some time helping Queens of the Stone Age complete their 2002 album Songs for the Deaf. Once that album was finished and touring had started for both Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, the band was on the verge of breaking up entirely. Grohl reunited with Hawkins, Shiflett, and Mendel to play the Coachella Festival, alternating days with Queens of the Stone Age. Hawkins and Grohl talked about resuming work on One by One and after a very satisfying performance the following day, they agreed to stay together. The group re-recorded nearly all of the album (save Tired of You) in a ten-day stretch at Grohl's home studio in Alexandria, Virginia, the following month. The original version of One by One, referred to by the band as Million Dollar Demos, has never been released in its entirety although seven tracks were leaked online in 2012 and 2015.
The album was released in October 2002 under the title One by One. Singles from the album included "All My Life," "Times Like These," "Low," and "Have It All." The tour for the album included a headline performance at the 2002 Reading and Leeds Festivals.
For most of its history, the band chose to stay away from the political realm. However, in 2004, upon learning that George W. Bush's presidential campaign was using "Times Like These" at rallies, Grohl decided to lend his public support to John Kerry's campaign, saying, "There's no way of stopping the president playing your songs, so I went out and played it for John Kerry's people instead, where I thought the message would kinda make more sense." Grohl attended several Kerry rallies and occasionally performed solo acoustic sets. The entire band joined Grohl for a performance in Arizona coinciding with one of the presidential debates.
In Your Honor (2005–2006)
Having spent a year and a half touring behind One by One, Grohl did not want to rush into recording another Foo Fighters record. Initially Grohl intended to write acoustic material by himself but eventually the project involved the entire band. To record its fifth album, the band shifted to Los Angeles and built a recording studio, dubbed Studio 606 West. Grohl insisted that the album be divided into two discs–one full of rock songs, the other featuring acoustic tracks. In Your Honor was released in June 2005. The album's singles included Best of You, DOA, Resolve, and No Way Back/Cold Day in the Sun.
During September and October 2005, the band toured with Weezer on what was billed as the Foozer Tour. Foo Fighters played a headline performance at the 2005 Reading and Leeds Festivals. On June 17, 2006, Foo Fighters performed their largest non-festival headlining concert to date at London's Hyde Park. Motörhead's Lemmy joined the band on stage to sing Shake Your Blood from Dave Grohl's Probot album. As a surprise performance, Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen appeared to play part of We Will Rock You as a lead in to Tie Your Mother Down.
In further support of In Your Honor, the band organized a short acoustic tour for the summer of 2006. Members who had performed with them in late 2005 appeared, such as Pat Smear, Petra Haden on violin and backing vocals, Drew Hester on percussion, and Rami Jaffee of The Wallflowers on keyboard and piano. While much of the setlist focused on In Your Honors acoustic half, the band also used the opportunity to play lesser-known songs, such as Ain't It The Life, Floaty, and See You. The band also performed Marigold, a Pocketwatch-era song that was best known as a Nirvana B side.
In November 2006, the band released their first ever live CD, Skin and Bones, featuring fifteen performances captured over a three-night stint in Los Angeles.
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace and Greatest Hits (2007–2009)
For the follow-up to In Your Honor, the band recruited The Colour and the Shape producer Gil Norton. Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace was released on September 25, 2007. The album's first single, The Pretender, was issued to radio in early August. In mid-to-late 2007 The Pretender topped Billboard's Modern Rock chart for a record 19 weeks. The second single, Long Road to Ruin, was released in December 2007, supported by a music video directed by longtime collaborator Jesse Peretz (formerly of the Lemonheads). Other singles included Let It Die and Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running).
In October 2007, Foo Fighters started their world tour in support of the album. The band performed shows throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, including headlining the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore on August 9. At the European MTV Music Awards in 2007, Pat Smear confirmed his return to the band.
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace was nominated for five Grammy Awards in 2008. Foo Fighters went home with Best Rock Album and Best Hard Rock Performance (for The Pretender). The album was also nominated for Album of the Year, while The Pretender was also nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rock Song.
On June 7, 2008, the band played Wembley Stadium, London, and was joined by Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin to play Rock and Roll (with Grohl on drums and Hawkins on vocals) and Ramble On (sung by Grohl, drums by Hawkins). As Page and Jones left the stage before a final encore of Best Of You, an ecstatic Grohl shouted "Welcome to the greatest fucking day of my whole entire life!". Throughout the tour for Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Foo Fighters had been writing and practicing new songs at sound checks. After Foo Fighters had completed this tour in September 2008, they recorded 13 new songs in studio 606, shortly after announcing a hiatus from touring (which would last until January 2011). These sessions likely lasted from late 2008 – early 2009. While the members of Foo Fighters had initially planned for their new album (composed of songs from this recording session) to have come out in 2009 with almost no touring support, they ultimately decided to shelve most of the songs from these sessions. Three of these songs were later released — Wheels and Word Forward (on their 2009 compilation album, Greatest Hits); and a newly recorded version of Rope (which ended up making the final cut of Wasting Light).
In order to promote their greatest hits album, Foo Fighters performed an online show at studio 606 in October 2009 during which the band took fan requests.
Wasting Light (2010–2012)
In August 2010, the band began recording their seventh studio album with producer Butch Vig, who had previously produced the two new tracks for the band's Greatest Hits album. The album was recorded in Dave Grohl's garage using only analog equipment. The album won five Grammys and was nominated for six. The recording was analog to tape and used no computers, not even to mix or master. Vig said in an interview with MTV that the album was entirely analog until post-mastering. Pat Smear was present in many photos posted by Grohl on Twitter and a press release in December confirmed Smear played on every track on the album and was considered a core member of the band once again.
The first single from Wasting Light, Rope, was released to radio in February 2011. On April 16, 2011, Foo Fighters released an album of covers, Medium Rare, as a limited-edition vinyl for Record Store Day. The promotion for the album has been highly praised for its originality. Wasting Light debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the band's first album to do so. Other singles for the album included Walk, Arlandria, These Days, and Bridge Burning.
Alongside Wasting Lights release, Foo Fighters released a rockumentary, directed by Academy Award-winner James Moll. The film, titled Back and Forth, chronicles the band's career. Then current and past members, and producer Butch Vig, tell the story of the band through interviews. After debuting on March 15, 2011, at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, it was released on DVD three months later.
On May 21, 2011, Foo Fighters headlined the middle day of the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama. On June 4, 2011, they played a surprise set at the 2011 KROQ Weenie Roast. They also headlined two sold-out shows at the Milton Keynes National Bowl on July 2 and 3, joined on stage by artists such as Alice Cooper, Seasick Steve, and John Paul Jones. They headlined the final night at the 20th anniversary of Lollapalooza in Chicago's Grant Park on August 7, 2011, performing part of their set in a driving rainstorm.
In September 2011 before a show in Kansas City, the band performed a parody song in front of a protest by the Westboro Baptist Church. It mocked the church's opposition to homosexuality and was performed in the same faux-trucker garb that was seen in the band's Hot Buns promotional video.
It was announced on September 28, 2011, that Foo Fighters would be performing during the closing ceremony of Blizzard Entertainment's annual video game convention, BlizzCon.
On August 27, 2012, Foo Fighters ended their European tour with a headline performance at Reading and Leeds Festival. On September 5, the band performed a show at the Fillmore in Charlotte, North Carolina, as a benefit for Rock the Vote. The show, which occurred at the same time as the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, was announced only two weeks prior. Tickets to the 2000-person capacity venue sold out in under 60 seconds, setting a record for the site. The band set another personal record during the show itself, being the longest that the band had played to date at just under 3.5 hours with a setlist of 36 songs. On September 21, the band headlined the Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. The following evening, they headlined the DeLuna Festival in Pensacola Beach, Florida. On September 29, the band performed at the Global Citizens' Festival before embarking on a break.
Sonic Highways (2013–2015)
Despite initially announcing a break after supporting Wasting Light, Grohl stated in January 2013 that the band had started writing material for an eighth studio album. On February 20, 2013, at the Brit Awards, Grohl said he was resuming work on the album the following day.
On September 6, 2013, Shiflett posted a photo to his Instagram account that indicated 13 songs were being recorded and later described it as "pretty fucking fun". Rami Jaffee has recorded parts for three songs, one of which was In the Way. Butch Vig, who worked with the band on Wasting Light, confirmed via Twitter in late August 2013 that he was producing the album. The band confirmed that it would end its hiatus by playing two shows in Mexico City on December 11 and 13. On October 31, a video appeared on the official Foo Fighters YouTube channel showing a motorcyclist, later revealed to be Erik Estrada, delivering each of the band members an invitation to play in Mexico.
On January 16, 2014, a picture was posted to Foo Fighters' Facebook page with several master tapes labeled LP 8. On May 15, it was announced that the album would be released in November and that the Foo Fighters would commemorate the album and their 20th anniversary with an HBO TV series directed by Grohl titled Sonic Highways. Eight songs were written and recorded in eight studios in eight different American cities with video capturing the history and feel of each town. On July 30, Butch Vig revealed that the Foo Fighters had finished recording and mixing the album and that it was slated to be released a month after the premiere of the TV show.
In June 2014, the band agreed to play a show in Richmond, Virginia, that was entirely crowd-funded by fans on the website Tilt.com. The show took place on September 17 before 1,500 fans. The band played 23 songs over the course of two and a half hours. Foo Fighters announced their tour would include performances in Cape Town on December 10 and Johannesburg on December 13. The band played three performances under the alias The Holy Shits in September 2014; the first at the Concorde 2 club in Brighton, England, where Grohl invited lead singer Jay Apperley of the tribute band UK Foo Fighters on stage to sing, followed by the House of Vans and the Islington Assembly Hall. On September 14, 2014, the band performed at the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games, their first official show in England since closing Reading Festival in 2012. They closed out the 2014 VooDoo Music and Arts Festival in New Orleans on November 2, 2014, in a two and a half hour performance that included an appearance from New Orleans native Trombone Shorty, who played This is a Call with the band.
On August 8, the band released a short clip of their latest work, titled 8. On August 11, the band announced that the new album would be titled Sonic Highways and released on November 10, 2014. An international tour, dubbed the Sonic Highways World Tour, followed with performances in South Africa in December and South America in January 2015. It continued to Australia and New Zealand in February and March.
On May 20, 2015, the Foo Fighters were the final musical act to perform on Late Show with David Letterman, continuing their long association with the host as he wrapped up his 33-year career in late night television. The show ended with a montage of Letterman highlights while the Foo Fighters played "Everlong", which Letterman said had significant meaning for him after his open-heart surgery in 2000. The band postponed their international tour to make the appearance; the tour resumed on May 24, with a performance at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Norwich, England.
On June 12, Grohl fell from the stage in Gothenburg, Sweden, during the group's second song, breaking his leg. The band continued playing while Grohl received medical attention, who then returned to the stage to finish the last two hours of the band's set from a chair while a medic tended to his leg. After the concert, Grohl was flown to London for surgery, requiring six metal pins to stabilize the fracture. As a result of the injury, the band canceled its remaining European tour dates.
In July, one thousand Italian fans held the Rockin' 1000 gathering in Cesena, Italy, performing Learn to Fly and asking Foo Fighters to come play in the town. The performance video went viral and impressed Grohl, resulting in the band appearing in Cesena on November 3.
Saint Cecilia EP and Concrete and Gold (2015–2019)
The Foo Fighters planned to follow their international tour with a North American tour to promote Sonic Highways, beginning with a special Fourth of July event in Washington, D.C., that would commemorate the band's 20th anniversary. The all-day event was to be held at Washington's RFK Stadium featuring performances by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Heart, LL Cool J, Gary Clark Jr., and Buddy Guy. Dave Grohl's injury initially led to speculation that the band would drop out of the event but they later confirmed they would perform; however, the injury did prevent them from headlining the 2015 Glastonbury Festival. The band performed for 48,000 people with Grohl in a custom-built moving throne which he claimed to have designed himself while on painkillers.
Beginning with the show on July 4, the Foo Fighters re-branded the North American tour as the Broken Leg Tour. The band continued to use the name at later North American performances. Prior to their August 21 concert at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri, the band rickrolled protesting members of the Westboro Baptist Church, as they had also done in 2011.
On November 23, 2015, a surprise release following a month-long countdown clock on the Foo Fighters' website revealed the free EP Saint Cecilia, including a single of the same name. Alongside its release, Grohl announced that the band would be going on an indefinite hiatus. In response to growing rumors of the band breaking up, the band released a mockumentary video in March 2016 portraying Grohl leaving the band to pursue an electronic music career and Nick Lachey (formerly of 98 Degrees) becoming the group's new singer, ending with: "For the millionth time, we're not breaking up. And nobody's going fucking solo!" In May 2016, Shiflett stated that the band still had no particular plans for reforming but assured that it would happen eventually.
Grohl announced that the band would spend much of 2017 recording their ninth studio album. On June 1, 2017, their new single "Run" was released. Run topped the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart the following month. The band confirmed touring keyboardist Rami Jaffee was officially the sixth member of the group. On June 20, 2017, the band announced that their new album, Concrete and Gold, would be released in September. On August 23, 2017, The Sky Is a Neighborhood was released as the second single and topped the Mainstream Rock chart. The Line was released in promotion of the album and later as the third single in 2018. Concrete and Gold was officially released on September 15, 2017, produced by Greg Kurstin. The album is noted as deriving influence from Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Beatles. Concrete and Gold also features Justin Timberlake on vocals for Make It Right, Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men on backing vocals for the song Concrete and Gold, and Paul McCartney on the drums for Sunday Rain. The band began touring in June 2017, including headlining the Glastonbury Festival 2017. The tour in support of Concrete and Gold was extended to October 2018.
Medicine at Midnight and induction into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2019–present)
In October 2019, the band announced that they were recording their tenth studio album based on demos by Grohl. In November 2019, the band began releasing a series of EPs under the umbrella name of the Foo Files, largely consisting of previously released B sides and live performances. By February 2020, Grohl announced that the new album was complete but by May, it was delayed indefinitely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, "We've kind of shelved it for now to figure out exactly when it's going to happen."
Starting in November 2020, promotion for the album ramped up. Its title, Medicine at Midnight, and release date, February 5, 2021, were announced. The band released three singles ahead of the album: "Shame Shame", "No Son of Mine", and "Waiting on a War". In January, the band performed at the US Presidential Inauguration of Joe Biden.
On February 10, 2021, Foo Fighters were announced as one of the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees in their first year of eligibility as their debut album had been released 25 years prior. On May 12, 2021, Foo Fighters were announced as one of 6 performer inductees.
For Record Store Day on July 17, 2021, the Foo Fighters released an album of disco covers, Hail Satin, under the name Dee Gees. The album contains four Bee Gees covers, a cover of Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing", plus five live versions of Medicine at Midnight tracks.
On December 2, 2021, a video was uploaded to the band's YouTube, which announced Studio 666, a rock and roll comedy horror film starring the members of the band. The trailer was released on January 11, 2022, and has a release date of February 25.
Musical style and legacy
Foo Fighters have been described as grunge, alternative rock, post-grunge, and hard rock. They were initially compared to Grohl's previous group, Nirvana. Grohl acknowledged that Kurt Cobain was an influence on his songwriting: "Through Kurt, I saw the beauty of minimalism and the importance of music that's stripped down." Foo Fighters also used the technique of shifting between quiet verses and loud choruses, which Grohl said was influenced by the members of Nirvana "liking The Knack, Bay City Rollers, Beatles, and ABBA as much as we liked Flipper and Black Flag, I suppose."
Writing and recording songs for their first album by himself, Grohl intended for the guitar riffs to be as rhythmic as possible. He approached the guitar in a similar manner to his drumming, assigning various drum parts to strings on the instrument. This allowed him to piece together songs easily; he said, "I could hear the song in my head before it was finished." Once Grohl assembled a full band, the members assisted in song arrangements. Pitchfork described Grohl and the band as "his generation's answer to Tom Petty—a consistent hit machine pumping out working-class rock."
The band members meld melodic and heavy elements. Grohl noted in 1997, "We all love music, whether it's the Beatles or Queen or punk rock. I think the lure of punk rock was the energy and immediacy; the need to thrash stuff around. But at the same time, we're all suckers for a beautiful melody, you know? So it is just natural." Grohl said in 2005, "I love being in a rock band, but I don't know if I necessarily wanna be in an alternative rock band from the 1990s for the rest of my life." Grohl noted that the band's acoustic tour was an attempt to broaden the group's sound.
Band membersCurrent members Dave Grohl – lead vocals, guitar (1994–present)
Pat Smear – guitar (1995–1997, 2010–present; session/touring member 2005–2010), backing vocals (1995–1997)
Chris Shiflett – guitar, backing vocals (1999–present)
Nate Mendel – bass (1995–present)
Taylor Hawkins – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1997–present)
Rami Jaffee – keyboard, piano (2017–present; session/touring member 2005–2017)Former members Franz Stahl – guitar, backing vocals (1997–1999)
William Goldsmith – drums, percussion (1995–1997)
Timeline
DiscographyStudio albums'''
Foo Fighters (1995)
The Colour and the Shape (1997)
There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999)
One by One (2002)
In Your Honor (2005)
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007)
Wasting Light (2011)
Sonic Highways (2014)
Concrete and Gold (2017)
Medicine at Midnight (2021)
Awards and nominations
Foo Fighters first received a Grammy Award for their music video for Learn to Fly in 2000, and they have won ten others. These include four Grammys in the Best Rock Album category for There Is Nothing Left to Lose, One by One, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace and Wasting Light, and three awards for Best Hard Rock Performance for the songs All My Life, The Pretender and White Limo. The band also received three Kerrang! Awards. At the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, the band won Best Rock Video for Walk. They won the Radio Contraband Major Label Artist of the Year in 2011 and 2014. The band won Song of the Year for Something From Nothing and Album of the Year for Sonic Highways both in 2014.
On February 12, 2012, the band performed at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards playing Walk along with the remix version of Rope, featuring deadmau5. The band was nominated for six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Best Rock Performance, Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Album and Best Long Form Music Video (for Back and Forth''). They won five of the six, losing only to Adele in the Album of the Year category.
In 2021, Foo Fighters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in their first year of eligibility.
In 2021, the band was announced as recipients of the first-ever global icon award at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards.
References
External links
Alternative rock groups from Washington (state)
American post-grunge musical groups
Grunge musical groups
Brit Award winners
Grammy Award winners
Hard rock musical groups from Washington (state)
Kerrang! Awards winners
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups from Seattle
NME Awards winners
Nirvana (band)
RCA Records artists
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Late Show with David Letterman
1994 establishments in Washington (state) | true | [
"What You Need is the tenth studio album by American contemporary R&B singer Stacy Lattisaw, released October 17, 1989 via Motown Records. It did not chart on the Billboard 200, but it peaked at #16 on the Billboard R&B chart. It was also Lattisaw's final album before she retired from the music industry.\n\nFour si... | [
"Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in 1994 in Seattle, Washington. The band was founded by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of Nirvana after the suicide of Kurt Cobain. The group took its name from foo fighter, a nickname coined by Allied aircraft pilots f... |
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"Bobby Robson",
"International playing career"
] | C_f615186a82b8421aacb4ca18fca24b42_0 | Where did Robson play internationally? | 1 | Where did Robson play internationally? | Bobby Robson | During his first spell at Fulham, Robson participated in two ambassadorial Football Association tours in the West Indies in 1955 and South Africa in 1956. However, it was during his time at West Bromwich Albion that he graduated to the full England squad, with his first call-up in 1956. His manager, Vic Buckingham, advocated the "push and run" approach to the game, a precursor to "total football", and playing this, Robson graduated to the full England squad in 1956, It was also at West Brom when Robson met future England international and assistant coach Don Howe. Robson went on to make 20 appearances for the England national team, making his debut in a November 1957 victory against France, scoring twice in a 4-0 victory. Although he made a successful debut, he was dropped for England's next match, against Scotland, in favour of Bobby Charlton. However, Robson was selected for the 1958 FIFA World Cup squad, ahead of Nat Lofthouse and Stanley Matthews, but returned from host nation Sweden disappointed after England were defeated by the Soviet Union in a group play-off match. Following the World Cup, Robson became an established member of the England squad, enjoying considerable success in a period between October 1960 and March 1961 when he played in six England victories, including scoring a goal in the record 9-3 defeat of Scotland at Wembley Stadium. He was selected for the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile, but an injury to his ankle sustained in a pre-tournament friendly against a Chilean club side ruled him out of most of the tournament. As Robson recalled, "I never played for England again... my international career was unfulfilled." His place in the England team was taken by Bobby Moore. CANNOTANSWER | Robson participated in two ambassadorial Football Association tours in the West Indies in 1955 and South Africa in 1956. | Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town.
Robson's professional playing career as an inside forward spanned nearly 20 years, during which he played for three clubs: Fulham, West Bromwich Albion, and, briefly, Vancouver Royals. He also made 20 appearances for England, scoring four goals. After his playing career, he found success as both a club and international manager, winning league championships in both the Netherlands and Portugal, earning trophies in England and Spain, and taking England to the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, which remained the national team's best run in a World Cup since 1966 until they reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup. His last management role was as a mentor to the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team, while his final official club job was at boyhood club Newcastle United, whom he left in 2004. He held several managerial positions outside of England, most notably one year at Barcelona in 1996–97, as well as stints at PSV, Sporting CP and Porto.
Robson was created a Knight Bachelor in 2002, was inducted as a member of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003, and was the honorary president of Ipswich Town F.C. From 1991 onwards, he suffered recurrent medical problems with cancer, and in March 2008, put his name and efforts into the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, a cancer research charity which has so far raised over £12 million (March 2018). In August 2008, his lung cancer was confirmed to be terminal; he said, "My condition is described as static and has not altered since my last bout of chemotherapy... I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go sometime and I have enjoyed every minute." He died just under a year later.
Early life
Bobby Robson was born in Sacriston, County Durham, the fourth of five sons of Philip and Lilian Robson (née Watt). When he was a few months old, Robson's family moved to the nearby village of Langley Park where his father was a coal miner. Their two-bedroom house had no bath and an outside toilet. As a boy, he was often taken by his father to watch Newcastle United play at St James' Park on Saturday afternoons, requiring a 34-mile round trip. Robson described Jackie Milburn and Len Shackleton as his childhood heroes. Both played for Newcastle in the inside-forward position, the position Robson would later assume during his playing career.
Robson attended Langley Park primary school and then Waterhouses secondary modern school, after failing his eleven-plus but the headmaster did not allow the school football team to join a league. Instead, he began to play for Langley Park Juniors on Saturday mornings at age 11, and by the time he was 15, he was representing the club at under-18 level. Robson played football whenever he possibly could but left school aged 15 to start work as an electrician's apprentice for the National Coal Board in the Langley Park colliery. In May 1950, Bill Dodgin, the manager of Fulham, made a personal visit to the Robson household to offer Bobby a professional contract. Despite being offered a contract by nearby Middlesbrough, the offer made by Dodgin was too attractive to turn down, so he signed for Fulham and moved to London, playing as a wing half and inside forward. Robson had also interested his beloved Newcastle, but he opted to join Fulham as, in his opinion, "Newcastle made no appreciable effort to secure [my] signature." He also thought he stood a better chance of breaking into the first team at Fulham. Robson suffered from partial deafness in one ear, which rendered him ineligible to be called up for national service.
Playing career
Club playing career
Although Robson had signed professionally, his father insisted he continue to work as an electrician. He spent the day working at the Festival of Britain site and trained three nights a week at Fulham. Eventually, this took its toll on Robson and he gave up his trade for full-time professional football.
In 1950, Robson made his first-team debut for Fulham, recently promoted to the First Division, in a match against Sheffield Wednesday. He came to regard Fulham as "a nice club, a social club...", but "never... a serious, championship-challenging club". Indeed, he and Fulham were relegated from the top-flight in the 1951–52 season, but he made his return to the First Division, four years later, when he signed for Vic Buckingham's West Bromwich Albion in March 1956. The transfer fee of £25,000 was a club record for West Brom at the time.
He made his West Brom debut in a 4–0 home defeat to Manchester City on 10 March 1956. In 1957–58, he was the club's top league goalscorer; his tally of 24 goals included four in a 5–1 win against Burnley. Often playing as a midfielder, he went on to play 257 matches and score 61 goals for West Brom, and he captained the team for the 1960–61 and 1961–62 seasons. However, in August 1962, he returned to Fulham after a disagreement with West Brom vice-chairman Jim Gaunt over his salary. The ongoing dispute over both minimum and maximum wages in the game, instigated by Robson's teammate Jimmy Hill and the Professional Footballers' Association, combined with the birth of Robson's second son, prompted Robson to demand a higher salary. Gaunt refused to negotiate Robson's contract, so Robson placed a transfer request and was sold to Fulham for £20,000 in a deal which doubled his salary. Soon after Robson joined Fulham, the club sold Alan Mullery and Rodney Marsh, meaning Robson's chances of securing any significant honour there were substantially reduced. Robson himself stated, "In all my time as a footballer, I didn't win a thing."
Despite press reports of interest from Arsenal, and the offer of a player-manager role by Southend United, Robson left Fulham in 1967 and accepted a three-year deal with Canada's Vancouver Royals. He was to be player-manager in their inaugural 1968 season in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and believed it "was a chance too good to miss". He began scouting and holding tryout camps for the new team in the Fall of 1967. The position proved difficult; a long-distance joint-ownership agreement gave the Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskás control over the San Francisco section of the squad, while Robson took care of the Vancouver squad. Robson was dissatisfied by this situation and when, in January 1968, Fulham offered him a contract as their manager, he accepted the position at Craven Cottage.
International playing career
During his first spell at Fulham, Robson participated in two ambassadorial Football Association tours in the West Indies in 1955 and South Africa in 1956. However, it was during his time at West Bromwich Albion that he graduated to the full England squad, with his first call-up in 1956. His manager, Vic Buckingham, advocated the "push and run" approach to the game, a precursor to "total football", and playing this, Robson graduated to the full England squad in 1956, It was also at West Brom when Robson met future England international and assistant coach Don Howe.
Robson went on to make 20 appearances for the England national team, making his debut in a November 1957 victory against France, scoring twice in a 4–0 victory. Although he made a successful debut, he was dropped for England's next match, against Scotland, in favour of Bobby Charlton. However, Robson was selected for the 1958 FIFA World Cup squad, ahead of Nat Lofthouse and Stanley Matthews, but returned from host nation Sweden disappointed after England were defeated by the Soviet Union in a group play-off match.
Following the World Cup, Robson became an established member of the England squad, enjoying considerable success in a period between October 1960 and March 1961 when he played in six England victories, including scoring a goal in the record 9–3 defeat of Scotland at Wembley Stadium. He was selected for the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile, but an injury to his ankle sustained in a pre-tournament friendly against a Chilean club side ruled him out of most of the tournament. As Robson recalled, "I never played for England again... my international career was unfulfilled." His place in the England team was taken by Bobby Moore.
Managerial career
Early club management
In 1959, the then England manager and the Football Association (FA) director of coaching, Walter Winterbottom, suggested to Robson that he take a coaching course at Lilleshall. He obtained coaching qualifications during his second spell at Fulham, and coached Oxford University A.F.C. Robson made his debut as a manager in January 1968 at his former club Fulham, against Macclesfield Town, then in the Cheshire County League, in the third round of the FA Cup. Fulham were struggling with 16 points from 24 matches. Despite the acquisition of the young Malcolm Macdonald, Robson could not save the club from relegation to the Second Division, and he left them in November with the club sitting eighth in the Second Division. He discovered he had been sacked not from the club itself, but from the headline "Robson sacked" on an Evening Standard placard outside Putney station.
He moved on to Ipswich Town in 1969 and it was there that he established his reputation as a successful manager, supported by the club chairman John Cobbold and then later by his brother Patrick Cobbold. He won the vacant job at the Suffolk club after a chance encounter with Town director Murray Sangster while scouting at Portman Road for Chelsea manager Dave Sexton. After four mediocre seasons, Robson led Ipswich to fourth place in the First Division and success in the Texaco Cup in the 1972–73 season. In the following nine seasons, Ipswich finished lower than sixth place in the First Division only once, in the 1977–78 season. However, that season was a success with a 1–0 victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup final. His reign at Ipswich lasted 13 years, during which time the club twice finished as League runners-up, and made regular appearances in European competitions, capturing the UEFA Cup in 1981 with a 5–4 aggregate victory over Dutch side AZ 67 Alkmaar. About that team, Robson said: "We played with two strikers, no wingers, Eric Gates sitting off the front two, two semi-wide midfield players in Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen and Johnny Wark sitting in the holding role". During his 13-year tenure, he brought in only 14 players from other clubs, most notably Allan Hunter, Bryan Hamilton and Paul Mariner, relying instead on players developed through Ipswich's youth programmes, including Terry Butcher, George Burley, John Wark, Mick Mills, Colin Viljoen, Alan Brazil, Trevor Whymark, Brian Talbot, Kevin Beattie and Eric Gates, who all went on to play international football. His imports included Dutch players Frans Thijssen and Arnold Mühren. Robson was not a tactical genius but he showed a talent for developing new players, with his good interpersonal skills, caring attitude, hard work and enthusiasm helping them to achieve their best.
In 2002, in recognition of his achievements with the club, a life-size statue of Robson was unveiled opposite the Cobbold Stand of Ipswich Town's ground, Portman Road. On 7 July 2006, Robson was named as honorary president of Ipswich Town Football Club, the first since Lady Blanche Cobbold who had died in 1987.
England manager
Robson's achievements with Ipswich earned him a job offer from the Football Association for the position of national coach, and he declined an offer of a ten-year contract extension and increased salary from Ipswich director Patrick Cobbold. On 7 July 1982, two days after England were knocked out of the 1982 World Cup, he succeeded Ron Greenwood as coach of the England national team, selecting former West Bromwich Albion teammate Don Howe as his chief coach.
Robson's first match in charge saw immediate controversy, as he dropped Kevin Keegan for the match against Denmark. On 21 September 1983, Robson suffered his only loss in the 28 qualifying matches he was to undertake as England manager. The defeat, again to Denmark, ultimately led to England's failure to qualify for the 1984 European Championships and resulted in Robson offering to resign in favour of Brian Clough. The resignation was rejected by FA chairman Bert Millichip (primarily down to his and the FA's disdain for Clough), and Robson went on to lead the England team to qualify for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
England began the competition poorly and captain Bryan Robson was injured with a recurrence of a dislocated shoulder. Bobby Robson changed the team's tactics for the final match of the first round, selecting Peter Beardsley ahead of Mark Hateley as a striking partner for Gary Lineker. The team won its next two matches, against Poland and Paraguay, 3–0, and qualified for the quarter-finals. England were defeated in the last eight by Argentina with a brace of goals from Diego Maradona, the infamous "Hand of God" goal and the "Goal of the Century" he scored five minutes later. Robson was unimpressed by Maradona's claim of divine intervention:
Robson's England dropped only one point in qualifying for Euro 1988, which included an 8–0 victory over Turkey. However, this was followed by failure at the tournament itself, held in West Germany, where England were eliminated in the group stage. They finished bottom of their group, succumbing to defeats against the Republic of Ireland, the eventual winners, the Netherlands, and the eventual runners-up, the Soviet Union. Robson was vilified by the British press, and after a draw in a friendly with Saudi Arabia, one newspaper demanded, "In the name of Allah, go." Again Robson submitted his resignation, and again it was rejected by Millichip (again Brian Clough is often cited as a reason).
Robson led England without conceding a goal through the six-match qualification for the 1990 World Cup where they were one of six seeded teams. Again they were placed in a group with the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland, with Egypt the fourth side. As in the 1986 World Cup, Robson was denied the service of his captain, Bryan Robson, who suffered an achilles tendon injury which prevented him playing in the latter stages of the tournament. England topped their qualifying group, accumulating four points from their three matches. However, their progress was not without controversy. England changed formation from their traditional 4–4–2 to 5–3–2 incorporating a sweeper, with some sources suggesting this was due to player revolt after the 1–1 draw in the first match with the Republic of Ireland. Robson denied this claim:
This was followed by victories over Belgium and Cameroon in the knock-out stages, to set up a semi-final with West Germany. England lost the match on a penalty shoot-out, after the score had been tied at 1–1 following extra time. Robson said afterwards, "[N]ot a day goes by when [he] does not think about the semi-final and other choices [he] might have made." Robson was the second coach, after Alf Ramsey, to take England to a World Cup semi-final, and the first coach to do so on foreign soil, an achievement not equalled until Gareth Southgate's team reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
Robson's final game in charge of England was the third-place play off against hosts Italy, which England lost 2-1.
Continental management
Before the 1990 World Cup, the FA told Robson it would not renew his contract as England manager, so he moved on to the Netherlands to coach PSV Eindhoven, succeeding manager Guus Hiddink, who had left the team after leading them to the 1987–88 European Cup victory and four consecutive Eredivisie titles. PSV sought a manager capable of instilling discipline into a fractious squad, much as Hiddink had done previously. Robson described the move as "a culture shock" but felt "a sense of adventure". News of Robson's new position in the Netherlands became public before the start of the 1990 World Cup, leading to tabloid stories impugning Robson's patriotism; he sued Today for calling him a traitor.
The Dutch penchant for tactical debate surprised Robson. In an interview with Voetbal International, he lamented, "An English pro accepts the manager's decision. After every match here, the substitutes come and visit me." Another of his challenges at PSV was handling the Brazilian international Romário. Robson became frustrated with the Brazilian's work ethic, although admitted "in some matches he would be scintillating". Robson arranged showdown talks with Romário, with Frank Arnesen, Robson's assistant, acting as a translator. The talks proved unsuccessful, with Romário unwilling to change his lifestyle. Despite this, PSV won the Eredivisie in both the 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons. However, the team did not make the progress expected by the board in European competitions and Robson was informed he would be leaving the club at the end of the 1991–92 season.
Robson moved to Sporting CP in July 1992, where his Portuguese interpreter was a young José Mourinho, future Porto, Chelsea, Internazionale, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Roma manager. Robson guided the club to a third-place finish in his first season in charge while admitting the club was in "a terrible state". He described the club's president as a "loose cannon" who frequently signed players without Robson's consent. Robson was sacked in December 1993 with the club sitting at the top of the league table. Club president Sousa Cintra cited the club's early exit from the UEFA Cup, at the hands of Casino Salzburg, as the reason for his dismissal.
Sporting CP's rivals Porto quickly hired Robson, with Mourinho appointed as his assistant manager. Living in the same apartment block at the time was another future Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager, the young André Villas-Boas, who, aged 16, introduced himself to Robson. Robson subsequently appointed Villas-Boas to work in the Porto observation department and helped him gain his UEFA "C" coaching badge in Scotland, despite him technically being ineligible as he was aged 17. Porto were in a poor state when Robson arrived and the average attendance had dwindled to 10,000. The club promptly went on to beat Robson's former club, Sporting CP, in the Taça de Portugal final, following that achievement with successive League titles in the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons.
Such was the impact of Robson at Porto, he became known to the locals as "Bobby Five-O" in honour of the number of matches Porto won 5–0, and he signed a new contract with the club in 1995. Suffering from malignant melanoma and missing the first few months of the 1995–96 season, Robson still successfully led Porto in defence of their league title.
A phone call during the summer of 1996 from Barcelona vice-president Joan Gaspart to discuss Luís Figo resulted in an offer of employment with the Spanish club. Robson took over in July 1996, where again his assistant was Mourinho; Robson had made Mourinho's move with him to the Camp Nou a condition of his employment. One of the key decisions Robson made during his brief tenure at Barcelona was the US$19.5 million signing of Ronaldo, who was influential in a season when Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España and European Cup Winners' Cup. Robson himself was voted European Manager of the Year for 1996–97, while Ronaldo stated, "as a trainer without doubt [Robson] is one of the greatest in the world".
The 1997–98 season saw Robson moved "upstairs" to the general manager position, with Louis van Gaal taking over as manager, but Robson stayed in this position for only one season before returning to manage PSV on a short-term deal for the 1998–99 season. PSV missed out on the league title, finishing third behind Feyenoord and Willem II, but Robson still led the club to victory in the Johan Cruyff Shield and also qualification for the UEFA Champions League on the last day of the season.
Return to England
After Robson's contract expired, he returned to England to take up a position in the Football Association's technical department, but following the resignation of Ruud Gullit at Newcastle United, Robson moved to St James' Park in September 1999. Robson was disappointed with the club's opening salary offer, stating, "[I]t was miles below the going rate," but negotiated a one-year, £1 million deal.
In Robson's first home match in charge, bottom-placed Newcastle faced second bottom Sheffield Wednesday, thrashing them 8–0. In his first season in charge, 1999–2000, Robson led the club to an 11th-place finish, with 14 wins from his 32 matches in charge. In late 2000, following the resignation of ex-Magpies boss Kevin Keegan as England manager, the FA asked Newcastle club chairman Freddy Shepherd to permit Robson to take over in a part-time caretaker capacity, but the request was refused. Robson guided Newcastle from bottom of the Premier League to a fourth-place finish in the 2001–02 season. The following season, Newcastle finished third, ensuring qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the second consecutive year.
However, Robson was unable to guide Newcastle through the Champions League qualifying rounds, and the club was dropped to participate in the UEFA Cup for the 2003–04 season. At the end of the 2003–04 season, Newcastle finished fifth in the table, five points short of the Champions League qualifying fourth place but reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup before losing to Marseille.
Robson held the Newcastle post until 30 August 2004, when he was dismissed by Freddy Shepherd, after a poor start to the Premier League season and alleged discontent in the dressing room. Robson's dismissal followed publication of his off the record observation of his disappointment that only 5,000 fans stayed to see the traditional lap of honour made by the players at St James' Park at the end of the previous season. However, he remains held in the highest esteem by the fans; he was granted the Freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne on 2 March 2005.
Robson's autobiography, entitled Bobby Robson: Farewell but not Goodbye was released in 2005. The title is based on one of his quotes upon leaving the England job in 1990: "I'm here to say goodbye—maybe not goodbye but farewell." In the book, Robson was critical of Shepherd, claiming that while manager he was denied information regarding the players' contracts and transfer negotiations. He also criticised Shepherd and the club's deputy chairman Douglas Hall, for their focus on the first team and St James' Park, causing them to neglect less glamorous issues, such as the training ground, youth development and talent scouts. The club's training ground was later blamed by Graeme Souness, Robson's successor, for a series of injuries to first team players.
Football consultant for Republic of Ireland and retirement
On 7 June 2005, Robson declined the invitation to become director of football of Heart of Midlothian because he wanted to stay in the Newcastle area. On 13 January 2006, Steve Staunton was appointed manager of the Republic of Ireland national team, with Robson named in a support role as "international football consultant". Robson stepped down from his role of consultant on 17 November 2007 following the nation's final match in their unsuccessful qualifying campaign for Euro 2008. Robson was a former vice president of the League Managers Association, a non-executive role.
Life outside football
Personal life
Robson met Elsie Gray on a trip back to his parents' home in Langley Park. Gray was a student nurse, and later a teacher. They were married on 25 June 1955 with Fulham teammate Tom Wilson as Robson's best man.
After 1991, Robson was repeatedly diagnosed as suffering from cancer. He had several operations and in 2006 was operated on for a brain tumour. This, on occasion, affected his work; while at Porto, for example, Robson suffered from malignant melanoma, which resulted in his missing the first few months of the 1995–96 season.
On 17 October 2006, it was revealed that Robson had been given the all-clear and was set to see out his contract as consultant to the Irish team. Robson revealed on 7 May 2007 he had been diagnosed with cancer for the fifth time. On 17 May 2008, Robson was the guest of honour at the 2008 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium when Portsmouth defeated Cardiff City 1–0. He presented the trophy to the victorious captain, Sol Campbell.
Other activities
Robson made a number of product endorsements, including an appearance in Carlsberg's "Best Pub Side" television commercial. He also acted as a pundit for ITV during the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
Bobby Robson Foundation
Robson defeated bowel cancer in 1992, a malignant melanoma in 1995, and a tumour in his right lung and a brain tumour, both in 2006. Treatment of these conditions had left him partially paralysed due to a stroke caused by the brain tumour, and also with a partially prosthetic upper jaw after the melanoma was surgically removed. His fifth diagnosis of cancer in 2007, consisting of cancerous nodules in both lungs, was diagnosed as terminal in February 2007, and as of December 2008, was being controlled through bouts of chemotherapy. After these experiences, and following his fifth diagnosis with cancer, Robson devoted the remaining years of his life to helping fight the disease. On 25 March 2008, he launched the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. The Foundation raised over £1 million, which funded equipment for the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre, in the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, and would go on to fund other cancer projects in the North East of England.
In aid of the Foundation, Robson's 1990 World Cup semi-final 4–3 loss after penalties against West Germany was replayed on 26 July 2009 as the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match at St James' Park, featuring players from the original 1990 World Cup squads and other special guests. Robson was given a guard of honour before the match, which finished 3–2 to the England side.
At the time of Robson's death, the Foundation had raised £1.6 million. Donations totalling £156,000 were received by the Foundation in the 18 days following his death, and on 15 October 2009, it was announced the Foundation had raised over £2 million, and that at the request of Robson's family, Alan Shearer would take over Robson's role as the Foundation's patron. It passed the £2.5 million mark in September 2010. Three other patrons were added in 2010, Steve Gibson, Mick Mills and Niall Quinn.
Death
On 31 July 2009, Robson died of lung cancer at his home in County Durham, aged 76, after a long battle with the disease. After the news of his death, leading figures from the world of football and politics paid tribute to him. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson called him a "great friend, a wonderful individual and tremendous football man". UEFA president Michel Platini said, "He will be remembered not only for his playing career and his outstanding managerial career at both club and international level, but also because he was a truly warm and passionate human being." Gary Lineker said, "It is a sad day and a great loss. He was a wonderful man and will be deeply missed by everybody in the country. I never played for a more enthusiastic man. He gave so much to the game." Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair described Robson as a "real Geordie gentleman". According to the then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Robson "epitomised everything that is great about football in this country". His friend, the broadcaster Michael Parkinson, said, "Robson will be remembered long after the present lot are old bones. By his decency, his humour, his love of the game's traditions and origins and confusion at what it had become, he made present day football look what it is – shabby by comparison. I can think of no more fitting epitaph."
Robson's funeral, a private family ceremony, took place on 5 August 2009. The location remained undisclosed at the request of his family until the funeral had taken place. It was later revealed to be Esh, County Durham. A thanksgiving service for Robson was held on 21 September 2009 at Durham Cathedral. One thousand invited guests attended the service, which was also broadcast live on national television, and to Newcastle United's St James' Park, Ipswich Town's Portman Road ground and Fulham's Craven Cottage.
Robson was survived by his wife and their three sons: Andrew, Paul and Mark.
Achievements
Robson was awarded a number of honours for his contributions to football. In 1990, at the end of his eight-year reign as England manager, he was appointed a CBE in 1991 and in 2002, he was knighted; both awards were for services to football.
In 2002 (during his time as Newcastle manager), the 69-year-old Robson was awarded the freedom of Newcastle upon Tyne and the UEFA President's Award for "services to football". He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003 in recognition of his impact as a manager. Following his time as Newcastle United manager in 2005, Robson was made an Honorary Freeman of Newcastle, which, in his autobiography, he described as being "the proudest moment of my life". Robson also won the 1992 Football Writers' Association Tribute Award for an outstanding contribution to the national game, and the 2001 British Sports Writers' Association Pat Besford Trophy for Outstanding Achievement. In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Sports Coach UK Awards, and was also awarded the Eircom International Personality of the Year in 2006. On 9 December 2007, Robson was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year show in recognition of "his contribution as both player and manager in a career spanning more than half a century".
On 5 May 2008, during the 30th anniversary celebrations of Ipswich Town's 1978 FA Cup win, Robson was granted the Freedom of Ipswich by the Lady Mayor. On 8 December 2008, he earned another such accolade when he was given the Freedom of the City of Durham. In March 2009, UEFA awarded Robson the Emerald UEFA Order of Merit award, awarded to "individuals who have dedicated their talents to the good of the game". The award was presented to Robson at St James' Park on 26 July 2009, prior to the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match, and just five days before his death.
Posthumous honours
In December 2009, Robson was posthumously awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award, for the "gentlemanly qualities he showed throughout his career as a player and coach". All English football league matches held a one minute's applause in his memory at the beginning of the 2009–10 season.
The Football League gave Newcastle United and Ipswich Town special dispensation to wear special commemorative kits for their Championship match on 26 September 2009 at Portman Road, in aid of Sir Bobby's Foundation. At half-time during this match, the North Stand of Portman Road was renamed the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.
The first anniversary of Robson's death on 31 July 2010 was marked with a ceremony and pre-season friendly match at Newcastle's St James' Park, between two of his former clubs Newcastle United and PSV Eindhoven, involving Robson's PSV captain Stan Valckx presenting a PSV shirt to the club.
In July 2010, plans were unveiled for a memorial garden to Robson to be built in Newcastle. It was to be created by the city council in partnership with the regeneration company NE1Ltd, and located on Gallowgate street close to the Newcastle United stadium St James' Park. Work began on the site in November 2010, which was completed by Spring 2011. The garden covers 400 square meters, and features a tiered seating area and sculpted stone plinths reflecting aspects of his life and work. The area also hosts 400 square metre memorial garden to Sir Bobby Robson.
With a keen interest in cricket as well as football, Robson was to have replaced Mike Gatting as president of the Lord's Taverners charity and cricket club in 2007, but this was prevented by his ill-health. After his death, the club held a dinner in his honour, as "The best President we never had".
In March 2011, the East Coast train operating company named one of its Class 91 electric locomotives Sir Bobby Robson, unveiled at Newcastle station by his widow Elsie and Alan Shearer. Similarly, in December 2011, the Port of Tyne Authority named its new work boat the Sir Bobby Robson. On 6 May 2012, a statue of Robson created by sculptor Tom Maley was unveiled at St James' Park before a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Manchester City. On 16 July 2013, marking the 150th anniversary celebrations of the FA, the FA designated 10 August as the Sir Bobby Robson National Football Day, celebrated as a day to celebrate the national game. In 2018, Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager, a feature-length British film about Robson's career and cancer diagnosis, was released to critical acclaim.
In September 2020 the Sir Bobby Robson School opened in Ipswich. The school will serve children aged 8–16 with social, emotional and mental health needs.
Career statistics
Club
International
Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Robson goal.
Managerial statistics
Honours
Manager
Ipswich Town
UEFA Cup: 1980–81
FA Cup: 1977–78
National Fives Tournament: 1977
Texaco Cup: 1972–73
PSV Eindhoven
Eredivisie: 1990–91, 1991–92
Johan Cruyff Shield: 1998
Porto
Primeira Divisão: 1994–95, 1995–96
Taça de Portugal: 1993–94
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1993, 1994
Barcelona
Copa del Rey: 1996–97
Supercopa de España: 1996
European Cup Winners' Cup: 1996–97
Individual
FWA Tribute Award: 1992
European Manager of the Year: 1996–97
Premier League Manager of the Month: February 2000, August 2000, December 2001, February 2002, January 2003, October 2003
UEFA President's Award: 2002
English Football Hall of Fame Inductee: 2003
PFA Merit Award: 2003
FAI International Football Awards – International Personality: 2006
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2007
FIFA Fair Play Award: 2009
FIFA Order of Merit: 2009
UEFA Order of Merit: 2009
Ipswich Town Hall of Fame: Inductee 2009
See also
List of longest managerial reigns in association football
Bibliography
References
Sources
(Career statistics)
Further reading
External links
The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation
1933 births
2009 deaths
1986 FIFA World Cup managers
1990 FIFA World Cup managers
1958 FIFA World Cup players
1962 FIFA World Cup players
Deaths from cancer in England
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Deaths from lung cancer
English expatriate footballers
English expatriate sportspeople in Canada
English Football Hall of Fame inductees
English football managers
English expatriate football managers
English footballers
England international footballers
England national football team managers
Eredivisie managers
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
Expatriate football managers in the Netherlands
Expatriate football managers in Portugal
Expatriate football managers in Spain
FC Barcelona managers
FC Porto managers
Association football people awarded knighthoods
Fulham F.C. players
Fulham F.C. managers
Ipswich Town F.C. managers
Knights Bachelor
La Liga managers
Newcastle United F.C. managers
People from Sacriston
Primeira Liga managers
English Football League managers
Premier League managers
PSV Eindhoven managers
Sporting CP managers
UEFA Cup winning managers
UEFA Euro 1988 managers
United Soccer Association players
Vancouver Royals players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
English expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
English expatriate sportspeople in Spain
English Football League players
English Football League representative players
Association football forwards
BBC Sports Personality Lifetime Achievement Award recipients
Deaf association football players
Deaf people from England
People from Langley Park, County Durham | true | [
"Alexander Lawrie Robson (February 7, 1898 – January 27, 1974) was a Scottish-Canadian professional golfer.\n\nRobson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Having moved to Canada, he had a successful tournament career, highlighted by winning the Canadian PGA Championship in 1932, and finishing as runner-up in the Canadi... | [
"Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town.",
"His career included periods playing for and later managing the... |
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"Bobby Robson",
"International playing career",
"Where did Robson play internationally?",
"Robson participated in two ambassadorial Football Association tours in the West Indies in 1955 and South Africa in 1956."
] | C_f615186a82b8421aacb4ca18fca24b42_0 | Where else did he play after 1956? | 2 | Other than playing in South Africa in 1956, where else did Robson play after 1956? | Bobby Robson | During his first spell at Fulham, Robson participated in two ambassadorial Football Association tours in the West Indies in 1955 and South Africa in 1956. However, it was during his time at West Bromwich Albion that he graduated to the full England squad, with his first call-up in 1956. His manager, Vic Buckingham, advocated the "push and run" approach to the game, a precursor to "total football", and playing this, Robson graduated to the full England squad in 1956, It was also at West Brom when Robson met future England international and assistant coach Don Howe. Robson went on to make 20 appearances for the England national team, making his debut in a November 1957 victory against France, scoring twice in a 4-0 victory. Although he made a successful debut, he was dropped for England's next match, against Scotland, in favour of Bobby Charlton. However, Robson was selected for the 1958 FIFA World Cup squad, ahead of Nat Lofthouse and Stanley Matthews, but returned from host nation Sweden disappointed after England were defeated by the Soviet Union in a group play-off match. Following the World Cup, Robson became an established member of the England squad, enjoying considerable success in a period between October 1960 and March 1961 when he played in six England victories, including scoring a goal in the record 9-3 defeat of Scotland at Wembley Stadium. He was selected for the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile, but an injury to his ankle sustained in a pre-tournament friendly against a Chilean club side ruled him out of most of the tournament. As Robson recalled, "I never played for England again... my international career was unfulfilled." His place in the England team was taken by Bobby Moore. CANNOTANSWER | his debut in a November 1957 victory against France, | Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town.
Robson's professional playing career as an inside forward spanned nearly 20 years, during which he played for three clubs: Fulham, West Bromwich Albion, and, briefly, Vancouver Royals. He also made 20 appearances for England, scoring four goals. After his playing career, he found success as both a club and international manager, winning league championships in both the Netherlands and Portugal, earning trophies in England and Spain, and taking England to the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, which remained the national team's best run in a World Cup since 1966 until they reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup. His last management role was as a mentor to the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team, while his final official club job was at boyhood club Newcastle United, whom he left in 2004. He held several managerial positions outside of England, most notably one year at Barcelona in 1996–97, as well as stints at PSV, Sporting CP and Porto.
Robson was created a Knight Bachelor in 2002, was inducted as a member of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003, and was the honorary president of Ipswich Town F.C. From 1991 onwards, he suffered recurrent medical problems with cancer, and in March 2008, put his name and efforts into the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, a cancer research charity which has so far raised over £12 million (March 2018). In August 2008, his lung cancer was confirmed to be terminal; he said, "My condition is described as static and has not altered since my last bout of chemotherapy... I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go sometime and I have enjoyed every minute." He died just under a year later.
Early life
Bobby Robson was born in Sacriston, County Durham, the fourth of five sons of Philip and Lilian Robson (née Watt). When he was a few months old, Robson's family moved to the nearby village of Langley Park where his father was a coal miner. Their two-bedroom house had no bath and an outside toilet. As a boy, he was often taken by his father to watch Newcastle United play at St James' Park on Saturday afternoons, requiring a 34-mile round trip. Robson described Jackie Milburn and Len Shackleton as his childhood heroes. Both played for Newcastle in the inside-forward position, the position Robson would later assume during his playing career.
Robson attended Langley Park primary school and then Waterhouses secondary modern school, after failing his eleven-plus but the headmaster did not allow the school football team to join a league. Instead, he began to play for Langley Park Juniors on Saturday mornings at age 11, and by the time he was 15, he was representing the club at under-18 level. Robson played football whenever he possibly could but left school aged 15 to start work as an electrician's apprentice for the National Coal Board in the Langley Park colliery. In May 1950, Bill Dodgin, the manager of Fulham, made a personal visit to the Robson household to offer Bobby a professional contract. Despite being offered a contract by nearby Middlesbrough, the offer made by Dodgin was too attractive to turn down, so he signed for Fulham and moved to London, playing as a wing half and inside forward. Robson had also interested his beloved Newcastle, but he opted to join Fulham as, in his opinion, "Newcastle made no appreciable effort to secure [my] signature." He also thought he stood a better chance of breaking into the first team at Fulham. Robson suffered from partial deafness in one ear, which rendered him ineligible to be called up for national service.
Playing career
Club playing career
Although Robson had signed professionally, his father insisted he continue to work as an electrician. He spent the day working at the Festival of Britain site and trained three nights a week at Fulham. Eventually, this took its toll on Robson and he gave up his trade for full-time professional football.
In 1950, Robson made his first-team debut for Fulham, recently promoted to the First Division, in a match against Sheffield Wednesday. He came to regard Fulham as "a nice club, a social club...", but "never... a serious, championship-challenging club". Indeed, he and Fulham were relegated from the top-flight in the 1951–52 season, but he made his return to the First Division, four years later, when he signed for Vic Buckingham's West Bromwich Albion in March 1956. The transfer fee of £25,000 was a club record for West Brom at the time.
He made his West Brom debut in a 4–0 home defeat to Manchester City on 10 March 1956. In 1957–58, he was the club's top league goalscorer; his tally of 24 goals included four in a 5–1 win against Burnley. Often playing as a midfielder, he went on to play 257 matches and score 61 goals for West Brom, and he captained the team for the 1960–61 and 1961–62 seasons. However, in August 1962, he returned to Fulham after a disagreement with West Brom vice-chairman Jim Gaunt over his salary. The ongoing dispute over both minimum and maximum wages in the game, instigated by Robson's teammate Jimmy Hill and the Professional Footballers' Association, combined with the birth of Robson's second son, prompted Robson to demand a higher salary. Gaunt refused to negotiate Robson's contract, so Robson placed a transfer request and was sold to Fulham for £20,000 in a deal which doubled his salary. Soon after Robson joined Fulham, the club sold Alan Mullery and Rodney Marsh, meaning Robson's chances of securing any significant honour there were substantially reduced. Robson himself stated, "In all my time as a footballer, I didn't win a thing."
Despite press reports of interest from Arsenal, and the offer of a player-manager role by Southend United, Robson left Fulham in 1967 and accepted a three-year deal with Canada's Vancouver Royals. He was to be player-manager in their inaugural 1968 season in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and believed it "was a chance too good to miss". He began scouting and holding tryout camps for the new team in the Fall of 1967. The position proved difficult; a long-distance joint-ownership agreement gave the Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskás control over the San Francisco section of the squad, while Robson took care of the Vancouver squad. Robson was dissatisfied by this situation and when, in January 1968, Fulham offered him a contract as their manager, he accepted the position at Craven Cottage.
International playing career
During his first spell at Fulham, Robson participated in two ambassadorial Football Association tours in the West Indies in 1955 and South Africa in 1956. However, it was during his time at West Bromwich Albion that he graduated to the full England squad, with his first call-up in 1956. His manager, Vic Buckingham, advocated the "push and run" approach to the game, a precursor to "total football", and playing this, Robson graduated to the full England squad in 1956, It was also at West Brom when Robson met future England international and assistant coach Don Howe.
Robson went on to make 20 appearances for the England national team, making his debut in a November 1957 victory against France, scoring twice in a 4–0 victory. Although he made a successful debut, he was dropped for England's next match, against Scotland, in favour of Bobby Charlton. However, Robson was selected for the 1958 FIFA World Cup squad, ahead of Nat Lofthouse and Stanley Matthews, but returned from host nation Sweden disappointed after England were defeated by the Soviet Union in a group play-off match.
Following the World Cup, Robson became an established member of the England squad, enjoying considerable success in a period between October 1960 and March 1961 when he played in six England victories, including scoring a goal in the record 9–3 defeat of Scotland at Wembley Stadium. He was selected for the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile, but an injury to his ankle sustained in a pre-tournament friendly against a Chilean club side ruled him out of most of the tournament. As Robson recalled, "I never played for England again... my international career was unfulfilled." His place in the England team was taken by Bobby Moore.
Managerial career
Early club management
In 1959, the then England manager and the Football Association (FA) director of coaching, Walter Winterbottom, suggested to Robson that he take a coaching course at Lilleshall. He obtained coaching qualifications during his second spell at Fulham, and coached Oxford University A.F.C. Robson made his debut as a manager in January 1968 at his former club Fulham, against Macclesfield Town, then in the Cheshire County League, in the third round of the FA Cup. Fulham were struggling with 16 points from 24 matches. Despite the acquisition of the young Malcolm Macdonald, Robson could not save the club from relegation to the Second Division, and he left them in November with the club sitting eighth in the Second Division. He discovered he had been sacked not from the club itself, but from the headline "Robson sacked" on an Evening Standard placard outside Putney station.
He moved on to Ipswich Town in 1969 and it was there that he established his reputation as a successful manager, supported by the club chairman John Cobbold and then later by his brother Patrick Cobbold. He won the vacant job at the Suffolk club after a chance encounter with Town director Murray Sangster while scouting at Portman Road for Chelsea manager Dave Sexton. After four mediocre seasons, Robson led Ipswich to fourth place in the First Division and success in the Texaco Cup in the 1972–73 season. In the following nine seasons, Ipswich finished lower than sixth place in the First Division only once, in the 1977–78 season. However, that season was a success with a 1–0 victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup final. His reign at Ipswich lasted 13 years, during which time the club twice finished as League runners-up, and made regular appearances in European competitions, capturing the UEFA Cup in 1981 with a 5–4 aggregate victory over Dutch side AZ 67 Alkmaar. About that team, Robson said: "We played with two strikers, no wingers, Eric Gates sitting off the front two, two semi-wide midfield players in Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen and Johnny Wark sitting in the holding role". During his 13-year tenure, he brought in only 14 players from other clubs, most notably Allan Hunter, Bryan Hamilton and Paul Mariner, relying instead on players developed through Ipswich's youth programmes, including Terry Butcher, George Burley, John Wark, Mick Mills, Colin Viljoen, Alan Brazil, Trevor Whymark, Brian Talbot, Kevin Beattie and Eric Gates, who all went on to play international football. His imports included Dutch players Frans Thijssen and Arnold Mühren. Robson was not a tactical genius but he showed a talent for developing new players, with his good interpersonal skills, caring attitude, hard work and enthusiasm helping them to achieve their best.
In 2002, in recognition of his achievements with the club, a life-size statue of Robson was unveiled opposite the Cobbold Stand of Ipswich Town's ground, Portman Road. On 7 July 2006, Robson was named as honorary president of Ipswich Town Football Club, the first since Lady Blanche Cobbold who had died in 1987.
England manager
Robson's achievements with Ipswich earned him a job offer from the Football Association for the position of national coach, and he declined an offer of a ten-year contract extension and increased salary from Ipswich director Patrick Cobbold. On 7 July 1982, two days after England were knocked out of the 1982 World Cup, he succeeded Ron Greenwood as coach of the England national team, selecting former West Bromwich Albion teammate Don Howe as his chief coach.
Robson's first match in charge saw immediate controversy, as he dropped Kevin Keegan for the match against Denmark. On 21 September 1983, Robson suffered his only loss in the 28 qualifying matches he was to undertake as England manager. The defeat, again to Denmark, ultimately led to England's failure to qualify for the 1984 European Championships and resulted in Robson offering to resign in favour of Brian Clough. The resignation was rejected by FA chairman Bert Millichip (primarily down to his and the FA's disdain for Clough), and Robson went on to lead the England team to qualify for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
England began the competition poorly and captain Bryan Robson was injured with a recurrence of a dislocated shoulder. Bobby Robson changed the team's tactics for the final match of the first round, selecting Peter Beardsley ahead of Mark Hateley as a striking partner for Gary Lineker. The team won its next two matches, against Poland and Paraguay, 3–0, and qualified for the quarter-finals. England were defeated in the last eight by Argentina with a brace of goals from Diego Maradona, the infamous "Hand of God" goal and the "Goal of the Century" he scored five minutes later. Robson was unimpressed by Maradona's claim of divine intervention:
Robson's England dropped only one point in qualifying for Euro 1988, which included an 8–0 victory over Turkey. However, this was followed by failure at the tournament itself, held in West Germany, where England were eliminated in the group stage. They finished bottom of their group, succumbing to defeats against the Republic of Ireland, the eventual winners, the Netherlands, and the eventual runners-up, the Soviet Union. Robson was vilified by the British press, and after a draw in a friendly with Saudi Arabia, one newspaper demanded, "In the name of Allah, go." Again Robson submitted his resignation, and again it was rejected by Millichip (again Brian Clough is often cited as a reason).
Robson led England without conceding a goal through the six-match qualification for the 1990 World Cup where they were one of six seeded teams. Again they were placed in a group with the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland, with Egypt the fourth side. As in the 1986 World Cup, Robson was denied the service of his captain, Bryan Robson, who suffered an achilles tendon injury which prevented him playing in the latter stages of the tournament. England topped their qualifying group, accumulating four points from their three matches. However, their progress was not without controversy. England changed formation from their traditional 4–4–2 to 5–3–2 incorporating a sweeper, with some sources suggesting this was due to player revolt after the 1–1 draw in the first match with the Republic of Ireland. Robson denied this claim:
This was followed by victories over Belgium and Cameroon in the knock-out stages, to set up a semi-final with West Germany. England lost the match on a penalty shoot-out, after the score had been tied at 1–1 following extra time. Robson said afterwards, "[N]ot a day goes by when [he] does not think about the semi-final and other choices [he] might have made." Robson was the second coach, after Alf Ramsey, to take England to a World Cup semi-final, and the first coach to do so on foreign soil, an achievement not equalled until Gareth Southgate's team reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
Robson's final game in charge of England was the third-place play off against hosts Italy, which England lost 2-1.
Continental management
Before the 1990 World Cup, the FA told Robson it would not renew his contract as England manager, so he moved on to the Netherlands to coach PSV Eindhoven, succeeding manager Guus Hiddink, who had left the team after leading them to the 1987–88 European Cup victory and four consecutive Eredivisie titles. PSV sought a manager capable of instilling discipline into a fractious squad, much as Hiddink had done previously. Robson described the move as "a culture shock" but felt "a sense of adventure". News of Robson's new position in the Netherlands became public before the start of the 1990 World Cup, leading to tabloid stories impugning Robson's patriotism; he sued Today for calling him a traitor.
The Dutch penchant for tactical debate surprised Robson. In an interview with Voetbal International, he lamented, "An English pro accepts the manager's decision. After every match here, the substitutes come and visit me." Another of his challenges at PSV was handling the Brazilian international Romário. Robson became frustrated with the Brazilian's work ethic, although admitted "in some matches he would be scintillating". Robson arranged showdown talks with Romário, with Frank Arnesen, Robson's assistant, acting as a translator. The talks proved unsuccessful, with Romário unwilling to change his lifestyle. Despite this, PSV won the Eredivisie in both the 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons. However, the team did not make the progress expected by the board in European competitions and Robson was informed he would be leaving the club at the end of the 1991–92 season.
Robson moved to Sporting CP in July 1992, where his Portuguese interpreter was a young José Mourinho, future Porto, Chelsea, Internazionale, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Roma manager. Robson guided the club to a third-place finish in his first season in charge while admitting the club was in "a terrible state". He described the club's president as a "loose cannon" who frequently signed players without Robson's consent. Robson was sacked in December 1993 with the club sitting at the top of the league table. Club president Sousa Cintra cited the club's early exit from the UEFA Cup, at the hands of Casino Salzburg, as the reason for his dismissal.
Sporting CP's rivals Porto quickly hired Robson, with Mourinho appointed as his assistant manager. Living in the same apartment block at the time was another future Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager, the young André Villas-Boas, who, aged 16, introduced himself to Robson. Robson subsequently appointed Villas-Boas to work in the Porto observation department and helped him gain his UEFA "C" coaching badge in Scotland, despite him technically being ineligible as he was aged 17. Porto were in a poor state when Robson arrived and the average attendance had dwindled to 10,000. The club promptly went on to beat Robson's former club, Sporting CP, in the Taça de Portugal final, following that achievement with successive League titles in the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons.
Such was the impact of Robson at Porto, he became known to the locals as "Bobby Five-O" in honour of the number of matches Porto won 5–0, and he signed a new contract with the club in 1995. Suffering from malignant melanoma and missing the first few months of the 1995–96 season, Robson still successfully led Porto in defence of their league title.
A phone call during the summer of 1996 from Barcelona vice-president Joan Gaspart to discuss Luís Figo resulted in an offer of employment with the Spanish club. Robson took over in July 1996, where again his assistant was Mourinho; Robson had made Mourinho's move with him to the Camp Nou a condition of his employment. One of the key decisions Robson made during his brief tenure at Barcelona was the US$19.5 million signing of Ronaldo, who was influential in a season when Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España and European Cup Winners' Cup. Robson himself was voted European Manager of the Year for 1996–97, while Ronaldo stated, "as a trainer without doubt [Robson] is one of the greatest in the world".
The 1997–98 season saw Robson moved "upstairs" to the general manager position, with Louis van Gaal taking over as manager, but Robson stayed in this position for only one season before returning to manage PSV on a short-term deal for the 1998–99 season. PSV missed out on the league title, finishing third behind Feyenoord and Willem II, but Robson still led the club to victory in the Johan Cruyff Shield and also qualification for the UEFA Champions League on the last day of the season.
Return to England
After Robson's contract expired, he returned to England to take up a position in the Football Association's technical department, but following the resignation of Ruud Gullit at Newcastle United, Robson moved to St James' Park in September 1999. Robson was disappointed with the club's opening salary offer, stating, "[I]t was miles below the going rate," but negotiated a one-year, £1 million deal.
In Robson's first home match in charge, bottom-placed Newcastle faced second bottom Sheffield Wednesday, thrashing them 8–0. In his first season in charge, 1999–2000, Robson led the club to an 11th-place finish, with 14 wins from his 32 matches in charge. In late 2000, following the resignation of ex-Magpies boss Kevin Keegan as England manager, the FA asked Newcastle club chairman Freddy Shepherd to permit Robson to take over in a part-time caretaker capacity, but the request was refused. Robson guided Newcastle from bottom of the Premier League to a fourth-place finish in the 2001–02 season. The following season, Newcastle finished third, ensuring qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the second consecutive year.
However, Robson was unable to guide Newcastle through the Champions League qualifying rounds, and the club was dropped to participate in the UEFA Cup for the 2003–04 season. At the end of the 2003–04 season, Newcastle finished fifth in the table, five points short of the Champions League qualifying fourth place but reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup before losing to Marseille.
Robson held the Newcastle post until 30 August 2004, when he was dismissed by Freddy Shepherd, after a poor start to the Premier League season and alleged discontent in the dressing room. Robson's dismissal followed publication of his off the record observation of his disappointment that only 5,000 fans stayed to see the traditional lap of honour made by the players at St James' Park at the end of the previous season. However, he remains held in the highest esteem by the fans; he was granted the Freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne on 2 March 2005.
Robson's autobiography, entitled Bobby Robson: Farewell but not Goodbye was released in 2005. The title is based on one of his quotes upon leaving the England job in 1990: "I'm here to say goodbye—maybe not goodbye but farewell." In the book, Robson was critical of Shepherd, claiming that while manager he was denied information regarding the players' contracts and transfer negotiations. He also criticised Shepherd and the club's deputy chairman Douglas Hall, for their focus on the first team and St James' Park, causing them to neglect less glamorous issues, such as the training ground, youth development and talent scouts. The club's training ground was later blamed by Graeme Souness, Robson's successor, for a series of injuries to first team players.
Football consultant for Republic of Ireland and retirement
On 7 June 2005, Robson declined the invitation to become director of football of Heart of Midlothian because he wanted to stay in the Newcastle area. On 13 January 2006, Steve Staunton was appointed manager of the Republic of Ireland national team, with Robson named in a support role as "international football consultant". Robson stepped down from his role of consultant on 17 November 2007 following the nation's final match in their unsuccessful qualifying campaign for Euro 2008. Robson was a former vice president of the League Managers Association, a non-executive role.
Life outside football
Personal life
Robson met Elsie Gray on a trip back to his parents' home in Langley Park. Gray was a student nurse, and later a teacher. They were married on 25 June 1955 with Fulham teammate Tom Wilson as Robson's best man.
After 1991, Robson was repeatedly diagnosed as suffering from cancer. He had several operations and in 2006 was operated on for a brain tumour. This, on occasion, affected his work; while at Porto, for example, Robson suffered from malignant melanoma, which resulted in his missing the first few months of the 1995–96 season.
On 17 October 2006, it was revealed that Robson had been given the all-clear and was set to see out his contract as consultant to the Irish team. Robson revealed on 7 May 2007 he had been diagnosed with cancer for the fifth time. On 17 May 2008, Robson was the guest of honour at the 2008 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium when Portsmouth defeated Cardiff City 1–0. He presented the trophy to the victorious captain, Sol Campbell.
Other activities
Robson made a number of product endorsements, including an appearance in Carlsberg's "Best Pub Side" television commercial. He also acted as a pundit for ITV during the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
Bobby Robson Foundation
Robson defeated bowel cancer in 1992, a malignant melanoma in 1995, and a tumour in his right lung and a brain tumour, both in 2006. Treatment of these conditions had left him partially paralysed due to a stroke caused by the brain tumour, and also with a partially prosthetic upper jaw after the melanoma was surgically removed. His fifth diagnosis of cancer in 2007, consisting of cancerous nodules in both lungs, was diagnosed as terminal in February 2007, and as of December 2008, was being controlled through bouts of chemotherapy. After these experiences, and following his fifth diagnosis with cancer, Robson devoted the remaining years of his life to helping fight the disease. On 25 March 2008, he launched the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. The Foundation raised over £1 million, which funded equipment for the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre, in the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, and would go on to fund other cancer projects in the North East of England.
In aid of the Foundation, Robson's 1990 World Cup semi-final 4–3 loss after penalties against West Germany was replayed on 26 July 2009 as the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match at St James' Park, featuring players from the original 1990 World Cup squads and other special guests. Robson was given a guard of honour before the match, which finished 3–2 to the England side.
At the time of Robson's death, the Foundation had raised £1.6 million. Donations totalling £156,000 were received by the Foundation in the 18 days following his death, and on 15 October 2009, it was announced the Foundation had raised over £2 million, and that at the request of Robson's family, Alan Shearer would take over Robson's role as the Foundation's patron. It passed the £2.5 million mark in September 2010. Three other patrons were added in 2010, Steve Gibson, Mick Mills and Niall Quinn.
Death
On 31 July 2009, Robson died of lung cancer at his home in County Durham, aged 76, after a long battle with the disease. After the news of his death, leading figures from the world of football and politics paid tribute to him. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson called him a "great friend, a wonderful individual and tremendous football man". UEFA president Michel Platini said, "He will be remembered not only for his playing career and his outstanding managerial career at both club and international level, but also because he was a truly warm and passionate human being." Gary Lineker said, "It is a sad day and a great loss. He was a wonderful man and will be deeply missed by everybody in the country. I never played for a more enthusiastic man. He gave so much to the game." Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair described Robson as a "real Geordie gentleman". According to the then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Robson "epitomised everything that is great about football in this country". His friend, the broadcaster Michael Parkinson, said, "Robson will be remembered long after the present lot are old bones. By his decency, his humour, his love of the game's traditions and origins and confusion at what it had become, he made present day football look what it is – shabby by comparison. I can think of no more fitting epitaph."
Robson's funeral, a private family ceremony, took place on 5 August 2009. The location remained undisclosed at the request of his family until the funeral had taken place. It was later revealed to be Esh, County Durham. A thanksgiving service for Robson was held on 21 September 2009 at Durham Cathedral. One thousand invited guests attended the service, which was also broadcast live on national television, and to Newcastle United's St James' Park, Ipswich Town's Portman Road ground and Fulham's Craven Cottage.
Robson was survived by his wife and their three sons: Andrew, Paul and Mark.
Achievements
Robson was awarded a number of honours for his contributions to football. In 1990, at the end of his eight-year reign as England manager, he was appointed a CBE in 1991 and in 2002, he was knighted; both awards were for services to football.
In 2002 (during his time as Newcastle manager), the 69-year-old Robson was awarded the freedom of Newcastle upon Tyne and the UEFA President's Award for "services to football". He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003 in recognition of his impact as a manager. Following his time as Newcastle United manager in 2005, Robson was made an Honorary Freeman of Newcastle, which, in his autobiography, he described as being "the proudest moment of my life". Robson also won the 1992 Football Writers' Association Tribute Award for an outstanding contribution to the national game, and the 2001 British Sports Writers' Association Pat Besford Trophy for Outstanding Achievement. In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Sports Coach UK Awards, and was also awarded the Eircom International Personality of the Year in 2006. On 9 December 2007, Robson was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year show in recognition of "his contribution as both player and manager in a career spanning more than half a century".
On 5 May 2008, during the 30th anniversary celebrations of Ipswich Town's 1978 FA Cup win, Robson was granted the Freedom of Ipswich by the Lady Mayor. On 8 December 2008, he earned another such accolade when he was given the Freedom of the City of Durham. In March 2009, UEFA awarded Robson the Emerald UEFA Order of Merit award, awarded to "individuals who have dedicated their talents to the good of the game". The award was presented to Robson at St James' Park on 26 July 2009, prior to the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match, and just five days before his death.
Posthumous honours
In December 2009, Robson was posthumously awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award, for the "gentlemanly qualities he showed throughout his career as a player and coach". All English football league matches held a one minute's applause in his memory at the beginning of the 2009–10 season.
The Football League gave Newcastle United and Ipswich Town special dispensation to wear special commemorative kits for their Championship match on 26 September 2009 at Portman Road, in aid of Sir Bobby's Foundation. At half-time during this match, the North Stand of Portman Road was renamed the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.
The first anniversary of Robson's death on 31 July 2010 was marked with a ceremony and pre-season friendly match at Newcastle's St James' Park, between two of his former clubs Newcastle United and PSV Eindhoven, involving Robson's PSV captain Stan Valckx presenting a PSV shirt to the club.
In July 2010, plans were unveiled for a memorial garden to Robson to be built in Newcastle. It was to be created by the city council in partnership with the regeneration company NE1Ltd, and located on Gallowgate street close to the Newcastle United stadium St James' Park. Work began on the site in November 2010, which was completed by Spring 2011. The garden covers 400 square meters, and features a tiered seating area and sculpted stone plinths reflecting aspects of his life and work. The area also hosts 400 square metre memorial garden to Sir Bobby Robson.
With a keen interest in cricket as well as football, Robson was to have replaced Mike Gatting as president of the Lord's Taverners charity and cricket club in 2007, but this was prevented by his ill-health. After his death, the club held a dinner in his honour, as "The best President we never had".
In March 2011, the East Coast train operating company named one of its Class 91 electric locomotives Sir Bobby Robson, unveiled at Newcastle station by his widow Elsie and Alan Shearer. Similarly, in December 2011, the Port of Tyne Authority named its new work boat the Sir Bobby Robson. On 6 May 2012, a statue of Robson created by sculptor Tom Maley was unveiled at St James' Park before a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Manchester City. On 16 July 2013, marking the 150th anniversary celebrations of the FA, the FA designated 10 August as the Sir Bobby Robson National Football Day, celebrated as a day to celebrate the national game. In 2018, Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager, a feature-length British film about Robson's career and cancer diagnosis, was released to critical acclaim.
In September 2020 the Sir Bobby Robson School opened in Ipswich. The school will serve children aged 8–16 with social, emotional and mental health needs.
Career statistics
Club
International
Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Robson goal.
Managerial statistics
Honours
Manager
Ipswich Town
UEFA Cup: 1980–81
FA Cup: 1977–78
National Fives Tournament: 1977
Texaco Cup: 1972–73
PSV Eindhoven
Eredivisie: 1990–91, 1991–92
Johan Cruyff Shield: 1998
Porto
Primeira Divisão: 1994–95, 1995–96
Taça de Portugal: 1993–94
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1993, 1994
Barcelona
Copa del Rey: 1996–97
Supercopa de España: 1996
European Cup Winners' Cup: 1996–97
Individual
FWA Tribute Award: 1992
European Manager of the Year: 1996–97
Premier League Manager of the Month: February 2000, August 2000, December 2001, February 2002, January 2003, October 2003
UEFA President's Award: 2002
English Football Hall of Fame Inductee: 2003
PFA Merit Award: 2003
FAI International Football Awards – International Personality: 2006
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2007
FIFA Fair Play Award: 2009
FIFA Order of Merit: 2009
UEFA Order of Merit: 2009
Ipswich Town Hall of Fame: Inductee 2009
See also
List of longest managerial reigns in association football
Bibliography
References
Sources
(Career statistics)
Further reading
External links
The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation
1933 births
2009 deaths
1986 FIFA World Cup managers
1990 FIFA World Cup managers
1958 FIFA World Cup players
1962 FIFA World Cup players
Deaths from cancer in England
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Deaths from lung cancer
English expatriate footballers
English expatriate sportspeople in Canada
English Football Hall of Fame inductees
English football managers
English expatriate football managers
English footballers
England international footballers
England national football team managers
Eredivisie managers
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
Expatriate football managers in the Netherlands
Expatriate football managers in Portugal
Expatriate football managers in Spain
FC Barcelona managers
FC Porto managers
Association football people awarded knighthoods
Fulham F.C. players
Fulham F.C. managers
Ipswich Town F.C. managers
Knights Bachelor
La Liga managers
Newcastle United F.C. managers
People from Sacriston
Primeira Liga managers
English Football League managers
Premier League managers
PSV Eindhoven managers
Sporting CP managers
UEFA Cup winning managers
UEFA Euro 1988 managers
United Soccer Association players
Vancouver Royals players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
English expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
English expatriate sportspeople in Spain
English Football League players
English Football League representative players
Association football forwards
BBC Sports Personality Lifetime Achievement Award recipients
Deaf association football players
Deaf people from England
People from Langley Park, County Durham | true | [
"Robert Else (17 November 1876 – 16 September 1955) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Derbyshire in 1901 and 1903.\n\nElse was born at Lea, Holloway, Derbyshire, the son of John Else and his wife Henrietta Lowe. His father was a bobbin maker and in 1881 they were all living with his grandparents a... | [
"Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town.",
"His career included periods playing for and later managing the... |
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"Bobby Robson",
"International playing career",
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"Robson participated in two ambassadorial Football Association tours in the West Indies in 1955 and South Africa in 1956.",
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"his debut in a November 1957 victory against France,"... | C_f615186a82b8421aacb4ca18fca24b42_0 | Who was he playing for in 1957? | 3 | Who was Robson playing for in 1957? | Bobby Robson | During his first spell at Fulham, Robson participated in two ambassadorial Football Association tours in the West Indies in 1955 and South Africa in 1956. However, it was during his time at West Bromwich Albion that he graduated to the full England squad, with his first call-up in 1956. His manager, Vic Buckingham, advocated the "push and run" approach to the game, a precursor to "total football", and playing this, Robson graduated to the full England squad in 1956, It was also at West Brom when Robson met future England international and assistant coach Don Howe. Robson went on to make 20 appearances for the England national team, making his debut in a November 1957 victory against France, scoring twice in a 4-0 victory. Although he made a successful debut, he was dropped for England's next match, against Scotland, in favour of Bobby Charlton. However, Robson was selected for the 1958 FIFA World Cup squad, ahead of Nat Lofthouse and Stanley Matthews, but returned from host nation Sweden disappointed after England were defeated by the Soviet Union in a group play-off match. Following the World Cup, Robson became an established member of the England squad, enjoying considerable success in a period between October 1960 and March 1961 when he played in six England victories, including scoring a goal in the record 9-3 defeat of Scotland at Wembley Stadium. He was selected for the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile, but an injury to his ankle sustained in a pre-tournament friendly against a Chilean club side ruled him out of most of the tournament. As Robson recalled, "I never played for England again... my international career was unfulfilled." His place in the England team was taken by Bobby Moore. CANNOTANSWER | the England national team, | Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town.
Robson's professional playing career as an inside forward spanned nearly 20 years, during which he played for three clubs: Fulham, West Bromwich Albion, and, briefly, Vancouver Royals. He also made 20 appearances for England, scoring four goals. After his playing career, he found success as both a club and international manager, winning league championships in both the Netherlands and Portugal, earning trophies in England and Spain, and taking England to the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, which remained the national team's best run in a World Cup since 1966 until they reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup. His last management role was as a mentor to the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team, while his final official club job was at boyhood club Newcastle United, whom he left in 2004. He held several managerial positions outside of England, most notably one year at Barcelona in 1996–97, as well as stints at PSV, Sporting CP and Porto.
Robson was created a Knight Bachelor in 2002, was inducted as a member of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003, and was the honorary president of Ipswich Town F.C. From 1991 onwards, he suffered recurrent medical problems with cancer, and in March 2008, put his name and efforts into the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, a cancer research charity which has so far raised over £12 million (March 2018). In August 2008, his lung cancer was confirmed to be terminal; he said, "My condition is described as static and has not altered since my last bout of chemotherapy... I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go sometime and I have enjoyed every minute." He died just under a year later.
Early life
Bobby Robson was born in Sacriston, County Durham, the fourth of five sons of Philip and Lilian Robson (née Watt). When he was a few months old, Robson's family moved to the nearby village of Langley Park where his father was a coal miner. Their two-bedroom house had no bath and an outside toilet. As a boy, he was often taken by his father to watch Newcastle United play at St James' Park on Saturday afternoons, requiring a 34-mile round trip. Robson described Jackie Milburn and Len Shackleton as his childhood heroes. Both played for Newcastle in the inside-forward position, the position Robson would later assume during his playing career.
Robson attended Langley Park primary school and then Waterhouses secondary modern school, after failing his eleven-plus but the headmaster did not allow the school football team to join a league. Instead, he began to play for Langley Park Juniors on Saturday mornings at age 11, and by the time he was 15, he was representing the club at under-18 level. Robson played football whenever he possibly could but left school aged 15 to start work as an electrician's apprentice for the National Coal Board in the Langley Park colliery. In May 1950, Bill Dodgin, the manager of Fulham, made a personal visit to the Robson household to offer Bobby a professional contract. Despite being offered a contract by nearby Middlesbrough, the offer made by Dodgin was too attractive to turn down, so he signed for Fulham and moved to London, playing as a wing half and inside forward. Robson had also interested his beloved Newcastle, but he opted to join Fulham as, in his opinion, "Newcastle made no appreciable effort to secure [my] signature." He also thought he stood a better chance of breaking into the first team at Fulham. Robson suffered from partial deafness in one ear, which rendered him ineligible to be called up for national service.
Playing career
Club playing career
Although Robson had signed professionally, his father insisted he continue to work as an electrician. He spent the day working at the Festival of Britain site and trained three nights a week at Fulham. Eventually, this took its toll on Robson and he gave up his trade for full-time professional football.
In 1950, Robson made his first-team debut for Fulham, recently promoted to the First Division, in a match against Sheffield Wednesday. He came to regard Fulham as "a nice club, a social club...", but "never... a serious, championship-challenging club". Indeed, he and Fulham were relegated from the top-flight in the 1951–52 season, but he made his return to the First Division, four years later, when he signed for Vic Buckingham's West Bromwich Albion in March 1956. The transfer fee of £25,000 was a club record for West Brom at the time.
He made his West Brom debut in a 4–0 home defeat to Manchester City on 10 March 1956. In 1957–58, he was the club's top league goalscorer; his tally of 24 goals included four in a 5–1 win against Burnley. Often playing as a midfielder, he went on to play 257 matches and score 61 goals for West Brom, and he captained the team for the 1960–61 and 1961–62 seasons. However, in August 1962, he returned to Fulham after a disagreement with West Brom vice-chairman Jim Gaunt over his salary. The ongoing dispute over both minimum and maximum wages in the game, instigated by Robson's teammate Jimmy Hill and the Professional Footballers' Association, combined with the birth of Robson's second son, prompted Robson to demand a higher salary. Gaunt refused to negotiate Robson's contract, so Robson placed a transfer request and was sold to Fulham for £20,000 in a deal which doubled his salary. Soon after Robson joined Fulham, the club sold Alan Mullery and Rodney Marsh, meaning Robson's chances of securing any significant honour there were substantially reduced. Robson himself stated, "In all my time as a footballer, I didn't win a thing."
Despite press reports of interest from Arsenal, and the offer of a player-manager role by Southend United, Robson left Fulham in 1967 and accepted a three-year deal with Canada's Vancouver Royals. He was to be player-manager in their inaugural 1968 season in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and believed it "was a chance too good to miss". He began scouting and holding tryout camps for the new team in the Fall of 1967. The position proved difficult; a long-distance joint-ownership agreement gave the Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskás control over the San Francisco section of the squad, while Robson took care of the Vancouver squad. Robson was dissatisfied by this situation and when, in January 1968, Fulham offered him a contract as their manager, he accepted the position at Craven Cottage.
International playing career
During his first spell at Fulham, Robson participated in two ambassadorial Football Association tours in the West Indies in 1955 and South Africa in 1956. However, it was during his time at West Bromwich Albion that he graduated to the full England squad, with his first call-up in 1956. His manager, Vic Buckingham, advocated the "push and run" approach to the game, a precursor to "total football", and playing this, Robson graduated to the full England squad in 1956, It was also at West Brom when Robson met future England international and assistant coach Don Howe.
Robson went on to make 20 appearances for the England national team, making his debut in a November 1957 victory against France, scoring twice in a 4–0 victory. Although he made a successful debut, he was dropped for England's next match, against Scotland, in favour of Bobby Charlton. However, Robson was selected for the 1958 FIFA World Cup squad, ahead of Nat Lofthouse and Stanley Matthews, but returned from host nation Sweden disappointed after England were defeated by the Soviet Union in a group play-off match.
Following the World Cup, Robson became an established member of the England squad, enjoying considerable success in a period between October 1960 and March 1961 when he played in six England victories, including scoring a goal in the record 9–3 defeat of Scotland at Wembley Stadium. He was selected for the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile, but an injury to his ankle sustained in a pre-tournament friendly against a Chilean club side ruled him out of most of the tournament. As Robson recalled, "I never played for England again... my international career was unfulfilled." His place in the England team was taken by Bobby Moore.
Managerial career
Early club management
In 1959, the then England manager and the Football Association (FA) director of coaching, Walter Winterbottom, suggested to Robson that he take a coaching course at Lilleshall. He obtained coaching qualifications during his second spell at Fulham, and coached Oxford University A.F.C. Robson made his debut as a manager in January 1968 at his former club Fulham, against Macclesfield Town, then in the Cheshire County League, in the third round of the FA Cup. Fulham were struggling with 16 points from 24 matches. Despite the acquisition of the young Malcolm Macdonald, Robson could not save the club from relegation to the Second Division, and he left them in November with the club sitting eighth in the Second Division. He discovered he had been sacked not from the club itself, but from the headline "Robson sacked" on an Evening Standard placard outside Putney station.
He moved on to Ipswich Town in 1969 and it was there that he established his reputation as a successful manager, supported by the club chairman John Cobbold and then later by his brother Patrick Cobbold. He won the vacant job at the Suffolk club after a chance encounter with Town director Murray Sangster while scouting at Portman Road for Chelsea manager Dave Sexton. After four mediocre seasons, Robson led Ipswich to fourth place in the First Division and success in the Texaco Cup in the 1972–73 season. In the following nine seasons, Ipswich finished lower than sixth place in the First Division only once, in the 1977–78 season. However, that season was a success with a 1–0 victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup final. His reign at Ipswich lasted 13 years, during which time the club twice finished as League runners-up, and made regular appearances in European competitions, capturing the UEFA Cup in 1981 with a 5–4 aggregate victory over Dutch side AZ 67 Alkmaar. About that team, Robson said: "We played with two strikers, no wingers, Eric Gates sitting off the front two, two semi-wide midfield players in Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen and Johnny Wark sitting in the holding role". During his 13-year tenure, he brought in only 14 players from other clubs, most notably Allan Hunter, Bryan Hamilton and Paul Mariner, relying instead on players developed through Ipswich's youth programmes, including Terry Butcher, George Burley, John Wark, Mick Mills, Colin Viljoen, Alan Brazil, Trevor Whymark, Brian Talbot, Kevin Beattie and Eric Gates, who all went on to play international football. His imports included Dutch players Frans Thijssen and Arnold Mühren. Robson was not a tactical genius but he showed a talent for developing new players, with his good interpersonal skills, caring attitude, hard work and enthusiasm helping them to achieve their best.
In 2002, in recognition of his achievements with the club, a life-size statue of Robson was unveiled opposite the Cobbold Stand of Ipswich Town's ground, Portman Road. On 7 July 2006, Robson was named as honorary president of Ipswich Town Football Club, the first since Lady Blanche Cobbold who had died in 1987.
England manager
Robson's achievements with Ipswich earned him a job offer from the Football Association for the position of national coach, and he declined an offer of a ten-year contract extension and increased salary from Ipswich director Patrick Cobbold. On 7 July 1982, two days after England were knocked out of the 1982 World Cup, he succeeded Ron Greenwood as coach of the England national team, selecting former West Bromwich Albion teammate Don Howe as his chief coach.
Robson's first match in charge saw immediate controversy, as he dropped Kevin Keegan for the match against Denmark. On 21 September 1983, Robson suffered his only loss in the 28 qualifying matches he was to undertake as England manager. The defeat, again to Denmark, ultimately led to England's failure to qualify for the 1984 European Championships and resulted in Robson offering to resign in favour of Brian Clough. The resignation was rejected by FA chairman Bert Millichip (primarily down to his and the FA's disdain for Clough), and Robson went on to lead the England team to qualify for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
England began the competition poorly and captain Bryan Robson was injured with a recurrence of a dislocated shoulder. Bobby Robson changed the team's tactics for the final match of the first round, selecting Peter Beardsley ahead of Mark Hateley as a striking partner for Gary Lineker. The team won its next two matches, against Poland and Paraguay, 3–0, and qualified for the quarter-finals. England were defeated in the last eight by Argentina with a brace of goals from Diego Maradona, the infamous "Hand of God" goal and the "Goal of the Century" he scored five minutes later. Robson was unimpressed by Maradona's claim of divine intervention:
Robson's England dropped only one point in qualifying for Euro 1988, which included an 8–0 victory over Turkey. However, this was followed by failure at the tournament itself, held in West Germany, where England were eliminated in the group stage. They finished bottom of their group, succumbing to defeats against the Republic of Ireland, the eventual winners, the Netherlands, and the eventual runners-up, the Soviet Union. Robson was vilified by the British press, and after a draw in a friendly with Saudi Arabia, one newspaper demanded, "In the name of Allah, go." Again Robson submitted his resignation, and again it was rejected by Millichip (again Brian Clough is often cited as a reason).
Robson led England without conceding a goal through the six-match qualification for the 1990 World Cup where they were one of six seeded teams. Again they were placed in a group with the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland, with Egypt the fourth side. As in the 1986 World Cup, Robson was denied the service of his captain, Bryan Robson, who suffered an achilles tendon injury which prevented him playing in the latter stages of the tournament. England topped their qualifying group, accumulating four points from their three matches. However, their progress was not without controversy. England changed formation from their traditional 4–4–2 to 5–3–2 incorporating a sweeper, with some sources suggesting this was due to player revolt after the 1–1 draw in the first match with the Republic of Ireland. Robson denied this claim:
This was followed by victories over Belgium and Cameroon in the knock-out stages, to set up a semi-final with West Germany. England lost the match on a penalty shoot-out, after the score had been tied at 1–1 following extra time. Robson said afterwards, "[N]ot a day goes by when [he] does not think about the semi-final and other choices [he] might have made." Robson was the second coach, after Alf Ramsey, to take England to a World Cup semi-final, and the first coach to do so on foreign soil, an achievement not equalled until Gareth Southgate's team reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
Robson's final game in charge of England was the third-place play off against hosts Italy, which England lost 2-1.
Continental management
Before the 1990 World Cup, the FA told Robson it would not renew his contract as England manager, so he moved on to the Netherlands to coach PSV Eindhoven, succeeding manager Guus Hiddink, who had left the team after leading them to the 1987–88 European Cup victory and four consecutive Eredivisie titles. PSV sought a manager capable of instilling discipline into a fractious squad, much as Hiddink had done previously. Robson described the move as "a culture shock" but felt "a sense of adventure". News of Robson's new position in the Netherlands became public before the start of the 1990 World Cup, leading to tabloid stories impugning Robson's patriotism; he sued Today for calling him a traitor.
The Dutch penchant for tactical debate surprised Robson. In an interview with Voetbal International, he lamented, "An English pro accepts the manager's decision. After every match here, the substitutes come and visit me." Another of his challenges at PSV was handling the Brazilian international Romário. Robson became frustrated with the Brazilian's work ethic, although admitted "in some matches he would be scintillating". Robson arranged showdown talks with Romário, with Frank Arnesen, Robson's assistant, acting as a translator. The talks proved unsuccessful, with Romário unwilling to change his lifestyle. Despite this, PSV won the Eredivisie in both the 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons. However, the team did not make the progress expected by the board in European competitions and Robson was informed he would be leaving the club at the end of the 1991–92 season.
Robson moved to Sporting CP in July 1992, where his Portuguese interpreter was a young José Mourinho, future Porto, Chelsea, Internazionale, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Roma manager. Robson guided the club to a third-place finish in his first season in charge while admitting the club was in "a terrible state". He described the club's president as a "loose cannon" who frequently signed players without Robson's consent. Robson was sacked in December 1993 with the club sitting at the top of the league table. Club president Sousa Cintra cited the club's early exit from the UEFA Cup, at the hands of Casino Salzburg, as the reason for his dismissal.
Sporting CP's rivals Porto quickly hired Robson, with Mourinho appointed as his assistant manager. Living in the same apartment block at the time was another future Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager, the young André Villas-Boas, who, aged 16, introduced himself to Robson. Robson subsequently appointed Villas-Boas to work in the Porto observation department and helped him gain his UEFA "C" coaching badge in Scotland, despite him technically being ineligible as he was aged 17. Porto were in a poor state when Robson arrived and the average attendance had dwindled to 10,000. The club promptly went on to beat Robson's former club, Sporting CP, in the Taça de Portugal final, following that achievement with successive League titles in the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons.
Such was the impact of Robson at Porto, he became known to the locals as "Bobby Five-O" in honour of the number of matches Porto won 5–0, and he signed a new contract with the club in 1995. Suffering from malignant melanoma and missing the first few months of the 1995–96 season, Robson still successfully led Porto in defence of their league title.
A phone call during the summer of 1996 from Barcelona vice-president Joan Gaspart to discuss Luís Figo resulted in an offer of employment with the Spanish club. Robson took over in July 1996, where again his assistant was Mourinho; Robson had made Mourinho's move with him to the Camp Nou a condition of his employment. One of the key decisions Robson made during his brief tenure at Barcelona was the US$19.5 million signing of Ronaldo, who was influential in a season when Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España and European Cup Winners' Cup. Robson himself was voted European Manager of the Year for 1996–97, while Ronaldo stated, "as a trainer without doubt [Robson] is one of the greatest in the world".
The 1997–98 season saw Robson moved "upstairs" to the general manager position, with Louis van Gaal taking over as manager, but Robson stayed in this position for only one season before returning to manage PSV on a short-term deal for the 1998–99 season. PSV missed out on the league title, finishing third behind Feyenoord and Willem II, but Robson still led the club to victory in the Johan Cruyff Shield and also qualification for the UEFA Champions League on the last day of the season.
Return to England
After Robson's contract expired, he returned to England to take up a position in the Football Association's technical department, but following the resignation of Ruud Gullit at Newcastle United, Robson moved to St James' Park in September 1999. Robson was disappointed with the club's opening salary offer, stating, "[I]t was miles below the going rate," but negotiated a one-year, £1 million deal.
In Robson's first home match in charge, bottom-placed Newcastle faced second bottom Sheffield Wednesday, thrashing them 8–0. In his first season in charge, 1999–2000, Robson led the club to an 11th-place finish, with 14 wins from his 32 matches in charge. In late 2000, following the resignation of ex-Magpies boss Kevin Keegan as England manager, the FA asked Newcastle club chairman Freddy Shepherd to permit Robson to take over in a part-time caretaker capacity, but the request was refused. Robson guided Newcastle from bottom of the Premier League to a fourth-place finish in the 2001–02 season. The following season, Newcastle finished third, ensuring qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the second consecutive year.
However, Robson was unable to guide Newcastle through the Champions League qualifying rounds, and the club was dropped to participate in the UEFA Cup for the 2003–04 season. At the end of the 2003–04 season, Newcastle finished fifth in the table, five points short of the Champions League qualifying fourth place but reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup before losing to Marseille.
Robson held the Newcastle post until 30 August 2004, when he was dismissed by Freddy Shepherd, after a poor start to the Premier League season and alleged discontent in the dressing room. Robson's dismissal followed publication of his off the record observation of his disappointment that only 5,000 fans stayed to see the traditional lap of honour made by the players at St James' Park at the end of the previous season. However, he remains held in the highest esteem by the fans; he was granted the Freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne on 2 March 2005.
Robson's autobiography, entitled Bobby Robson: Farewell but not Goodbye was released in 2005. The title is based on one of his quotes upon leaving the England job in 1990: "I'm here to say goodbye—maybe not goodbye but farewell." In the book, Robson was critical of Shepherd, claiming that while manager he was denied information regarding the players' contracts and transfer negotiations. He also criticised Shepherd and the club's deputy chairman Douglas Hall, for their focus on the first team and St James' Park, causing them to neglect less glamorous issues, such as the training ground, youth development and talent scouts. The club's training ground was later blamed by Graeme Souness, Robson's successor, for a series of injuries to first team players.
Football consultant for Republic of Ireland and retirement
On 7 June 2005, Robson declined the invitation to become director of football of Heart of Midlothian because he wanted to stay in the Newcastle area. On 13 January 2006, Steve Staunton was appointed manager of the Republic of Ireland national team, with Robson named in a support role as "international football consultant". Robson stepped down from his role of consultant on 17 November 2007 following the nation's final match in their unsuccessful qualifying campaign for Euro 2008. Robson was a former vice president of the League Managers Association, a non-executive role.
Life outside football
Personal life
Robson met Elsie Gray on a trip back to his parents' home in Langley Park. Gray was a student nurse, and later a teacher. They were married on 25 June 1955 with Fulham teammate Tom Wilson as Robson's best man.
After 1991, Robson was repeatedly diagnosed as suffering from cancer. He had several operations and in 2006 was operated on for a brain tumour. This, on occasion, affected his work; while at Porto, for example, Robson suffered from malignant melanoma, which resulted in his missing the first few months of the 1995–96 season.
On 17 October 2006, it was revealed that Robson had been given the all-clear and was set to see out his contract as consultant to the Irish team. Robson revealed on 7 May 2007 he had been diagnosed with cancer for the fifth time. On 17 May 2008, Robson was the guest of honour at the 2008 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium when Portsmouth defeated Cardiff City 1–0. He presented the trophy to the victorious captain, Sol Campbell.
Other activities
Robson made a number of product endorsements, including an appearance in Carlsberg's "Best Pub Side" television commercial. He also acted as a pundit for ITV during the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
Bobby Robson Foundation
Robson defeated bowel cancer in 1992, a malignant melanoma in 1995, and a tumour in his right lung and a brain tumour, both in 2006. Treatment of these conditions had left him partially paralysed due to a stroke caused by the brain tumour, and also with a partially prosthetic upper jaw after the melanoma was surgically removed. His fifth diagnosis of cancer in 2007, consisting of cancerous nodules in both lungs, was diagnosed as terminal in February 2007, and as of December 2008, was being controlled through bouts of chemotherapy. After these experiences, and following his fifth diagnosis with cancer, Robson devoted the remaining years of his life to helping fight the disease. On 25 March 2008, he launched the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. The Foundation raised over £1 million, which funded equipment for the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre, in the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, and would go on to fund other cancer projects in the North East of England.
In aid of the Foundation, Robson's 1990 World Cup semi-final 4–3 loss after penalties against West Germany was replayed on 26 July 2009 as the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match at St James' Park, featuring players from the original 1990 World Cup squads and other special guests. Robson was given a guard of honour before the match, which finished 3–2 to the England side.
At the time of Robson's death, the Foundation had raised £1.6 million. Donations totalling £156,000 were received by the Foundation in the 18 days following his death, and on 15 October 2009, it was announced the Foundation had raised over £2 million, and that at the request of Robson's family, Alan Shearer would take over Robson's role as the Foundation's patron. It passed the £2.5 million mark in September 2010. Three other patrons were added in 2010, Steve Gibson, Mick Mills and Niall Quinn.
Death
On 31 July 2009, Robson died of lung cancer at his home in County Durham, aged 76, after a long battle with the disease. After the news of his death, leading figures from the world of football and politics paid tribute to him. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson called him a "great friend, a wonderful individual and tremendous football man". UEFA president Michel Platini said, "He will be remembered not only for his playing career and his outstanding managerial career at both club and international level, but also because he was a truly warm and passionate human being." Gary Lineker said, "It is a sad day and a great loss. He was a wonderful man and will be deeply missed by everybody in the country. I never played for a more enthusiastic man. He gave so much to the game." Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair described Robson as a "real Geordie gentleman". According to the then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Robson "epitomised everything that is great about football in this country". His friend, the broadcaster Michael Parkinson, said, "Robson will be remembered long after the present lot are old bones. By his decency, his humour, his love of the game's traditions and origins and confusion at what it had become, he made present day football look what it is – shabby by comparison. I can think of no more fitting epitaph."
Robson's funeral, a private family ceremony, took place on 5 August 2009. The location remained undisclosed at the request of his family until the funeral had taken place. It was later revealed to be Esh, County Durham. A thanksgiving service for Robson was held on 21 September 2009 at Durham Cathedral. One thousand invited guests attended the service, which was also broadcast live on national television, and to Newcastle United's St James' Park, Ipswich Town's Portman Road ground and Fulham's Craven Cottage.
Robson was survived by his wife and their three sons: Andrew, Paul and Mark.
Achievements
Robson was awarded a number of honours for his contributions to football. In 1990, at the end of his eight-year reign as England manager, he was appointed a CBE in 1991 and in 2002, he was knighted; both awards were for services to football.
In 2002 (during his time as Newcastle manager), the 69-year-old Robson was awarded the freedom of Newcastle upon Tyne and the UEFA President's Award for "services to football". He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003 in recognition of his impact as a manager. Following his time as Newcastle United manager in 2005, Robson was made an Honorary Freeman of Newcastle, which, in his autobiography, he described as being "the proudest moment of my life". Robson also won the 1992 Football Writers' Association Tribute Award for an outstanding contribution to the national game, and the 2001 British Sports Writers' Association Pat Besford Trophy for Outstanding Achievement. In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Sports Coach UK Awards, and was also awarded the Eircom International Personality of the Year in 2006. On 9 December 2007, Robson was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year show in recognition of "his contribution as both player and manager in a career spanning more than half a century".
On 5 May 2008, during the 30th anniversary celebrations of Ipswich Town's 1978 FA Cup win, Robson was granted the Freedom of Ipswich by the Lady Mayor. On 8 December 2008, he earned another such accolade when he was given the Freedom of the City of Durham. In March 2009, UEFA awarded Robson the Emerald UEFA Order of Merit award, awarded to "individuals who have dedicated their talents to the good of the game". The award was presented to Robson at St James' Park on 26 July 2009, prior to the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match, and just five days before his death.
Posthumous honours
In December 2009, Robson was posthumously awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award, for the "gentlemanly qualities he showed throughout his career as a player and coach". All English football league matches held a one minute's applause in his memory at the beginning of the 2009–10 season.
The Football League gave Newcastle United and Ipswich Town special dispensation to wear special commemorative kits for their Championship match on 26 September 2009 at Portman Road, in aid of Sir Bobby's Foundation. At half-time during this match, the North Stand of Portman Road was renamed the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.
The first anniversary of Robson's death on 31 July 2010 was marked with a ceremony and pre-season friendly match at Newcastle's St James' Park, between two of his former clubs Newcastle United and PSV Eindhoven, involving Robson's PSV captain Stan Valckx presenting a PSV shirt to the club.
In July 2010, plans were unveiled for a memorial garden to Robson to be built in Newcastle. It was to be created by the city council in partnership with the regeneration company NE1Ltd, and located on Gallowgate street close to the Newcastle United stadium St James' Park. Work began on the site in November 2010, which was completed by Spring 2011. The garden covers 400 square meters, and features a tiered seating area and sculpted stone plinths reflecting aspects of his life and work. The area also hosts 400 square metre memorial garden to Sir Bobby Robson.
With a keen interest in cricket as well as football, Robson was to have replaced Mike Gatting as president of the Lord's Taverners charity and cricket club in 2007, but this was prevented by his ill-health. After his death, the club held a dinner in his honour, as "The best President we never had".
In March 2011, the East Coast train operating company named one of its Class 91 electric locomotives Sir Bobby Robson, unveiled at Newcastle station by his widow Elsie and Alan Shearer. Similarly, in December 2011, the Port of Tyne Authority named its new work boat the Sir Bobby Robson. On 6 May 2012, a statue of Robson created by sculptor Tom Maley was unveiled at St James' Park before a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Manchester City. On 16 July 2013, marking the 150th anniversary celebrations of the FA, the FA designated 10 August as the Sir Bobby Robson National Football Day, celebrated as a day to celebrate the national game. In 2018, Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager, a feature-length British film about Robson's career and cancer diagnosis, was released to critical acclaim.
In September 2020 the Sir Bobby Robson School opened in Ipswich. The school will serve children aged 8–16 with social, emotional and mental health needs.
Career statistics
Club
International
Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Robson goal.
Managerial statistics
Honours
Manager
Ipswich Town
UEFA Cup: 1980–81
FA Cup: 1977–78
National Fives Tournament: 1977
Texaco Cup: 1972–73
PSV Eindhoven
Eredivisie: 1990–91, 1991–92
Johan Cruyff Shield: 1998
Porto
Primeira Divisão: 1994–95, 1995–96
Taça de Portugal: 1993–94
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1993, 1994
Barcelona
Copa del Rey: 1996–97
Supercopa de España: 1996
European Cup Winners' Cup: 1996–97
Individual
FWA Tribute Award: 1992
European Manager of the Year: 1996–97
Premier League Manager of the Month: February 2000, August 2000, December 2001, February 2002, January 2003, October 2003
UEFA President's Award: 2002
English Football Hall of Fame Inductee: 2003
PFA Merit Award: 2003
FAI International Football Awards – International Personality: 2006
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2007
FIFA Fair Play Award: 2009
FIFA Order of Merit: 2009
UEFA Order of Merit: 2009
Ipswich Town Hall of Fame: Inductee 2009
See also
List of longest managerial reigns in association football
Bibliography
References
Sources
(Career statistics)
Further reading
External links
The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation
1933 births
2009 deaths
1986 FIFA World Cup managers
1990 FIFA World Cup managers
1958 FIFA World Cup players
1962 FIFA World Cup players
Deaths from cancer in England
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Deaths from lung cancer
English expatriate footballers
English expatriate sportspeople in Canada
English Football Hall of Fame inductees
English football managers
English expatriate football managers
English footballers
England international footballers
England national football team managers
Eredivisie managers
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
Expatriate football managers in the Netherlands
Expatriate football managers in Portugal
Expatriate football managers in Spain
FC Barcelona managers
FC Porto managers
Association football people awarded knighthoods
Fulham F.C. players
Fulham F.C. managers
Ipswich Town F.C. managers
Knights Bachelor
La Liga managers
Newcastle United F.C. managers
People from Sacriston
Primeira Liga managers
English Football League managers
Premier League managers
PSV Eindhoven managers
Sporting CP managers
UEFA Cup winning managers
UEFA Euro 1988 managers
United Soccer Association players
Vancouver Royals players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
English expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
English expatriate sportspeople in Spain
English Football League players
English Football League representative players
Association football forwards
BBC Sports Personality Lifetime Achievement Award recipients
Deaf association football players
Deaf people from England
People from Langley Park, County Durham | true | [
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"Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town.",
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"his debut in a November 1957 victory against France,"... | C_f615186a82b8421aacb4ca18fca24b42_0 | Which team did he play for longest? | 4 | Which team did Robson play for longest? | Bobby Robson | During his first spell at Fulham, Robson participated in two ambassadorial Football Association tours in the West Indies in 1955 and South Africa in 1956. However, it was during his time at West Bromwich Albion that he graduated to the full England squad, with his first call-up in 1956. His manager, Vic Buckingham, advocated the "push and run" approach to the game, a precursor to "total football", and playing this, Robson graduated to the full England squad in 1956, It was also at West Brom when Robson met future England international and assistant coach Don Howe. Robson went on to make 20 appearances for the England national team, making his debut in a November 1957 victory against France, scoring twice in a 4-0 victory. Although he made a successful debut, he was dropped for England's next match, against Scotland, in favour of Bobby Charlton. However, Robson was selected for the 1958 FIFA World Cup squad, ahead of Nat Lofthouse and Stanley Matthews, but returned from host nation Sweden disappointed after England were defeated by the Soviet Union in a group play-off match. Following the World Cup, Robson became an established member of the England squad, enjoying considerable success in a period between October 1960 and March 1961 when he played in six England victories, including scoring a goal in the record 9-3 defeat of Scotland at Wembley Stadium. He was selected for the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile, but an injury to his ankle sustained in a pre-tournament friendly against a Chilean club side ruled him out of most of the tournament. As Robson recalled, "I never played for England again... my international career was unfulfilled." His place in the England team was taken by Bobby Moore. CANNOTANSWER | England | Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town.
Robson's professional playing career as an inside forward spanned nearly 20 years, during which he played for three clubs: Fulham, West Bromwich Albion, and, briefly, Vancouver Royals. He also made 20 appearances for England, scoring four goals. After his playing career, he found success as both a club and international manager, winning league championships in both the Netherlands and Portugal, earning trophies in England and Spain, and taking England to the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, which remained the national team's best run in a World Cup since 1966 until they reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup. His last management role was as a mentor to the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team, while his final official club job was at boyhood club Newcastle United, whom he left in 2004. He held several managerial positions outside of England, most notably one year at Barcelona in 1996–97, as well as stints at PSV, Sporting CP and Porto.
Robson was created a Knight Bachelor in 2002, was inducted as a member of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003, and was the honorary president of Ipswich Town F.C. From 1991 onwards, he suffered recurrent medical problems with cancer, and in March 2008, put his name and efforts into the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, a cancer research charity which has so far raised over £12 million (March 2018). In August 2008, his lung cancer was confirmed to be terminal; he said, "My condition is described as static and has not altered since my last bout of chemotherapy... I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go sometime and I have enjoyed every minute." He died just under a year later.
Early life
Bobby Robson was born in Sacriston, County Durham, the fourth of five sons of Philip and Lilian Robson (née Watt). When he was a few months old, Robson's family moved to the nearby village of Langley Park where his father was a coal miner. Their two-bedroom house had no bath and an outside toilet. As a boy, he was often taken by his father to watch Newcastle United play at St James' Park on Saturday afternoons, requiring a 34-mile round trip. Robson described Jackie Milburn and Len Shackleton as his childhood heroes. Both played for Newcastle in the inside-forward position, the position Robson would later assume during his playing career.
Robson attended Langley Park primary school and then Waterhouses secondary modern school, after failing his eleven-plus but the headmaster did not allow the school football team to join a league. Instead, he began to play for Langley Park Juniors on Saturday mornings at age 11, and by the time he was 15, he was representing the club at under-18 level. Robson played football whenever he possibly could but left school aged 15 to start work as an electrician's apprentice for the National Coal Board in the Langley Park colliery. In May 1950, Bill Dodgin, the manager of Fulham, made a personal visit to the Robson household to offer Bobby a professional contract. Despite being offered a contract by nearby Middlesbrough, the offer made by Dodgin was too attractive to turn down, so he signed for Fulham and moved to London, playing as a wing half and inside forward. Robson had also interested his beloved Newcastle, but he opted to join Fulham as, in his opinion, "Newcastle made no appreciable effort to secure [my] signature." He also thought he stood a better chance of breaking into the first team at Fulham. Robson suffered from partial deafness in one ear, which rendered him ineligible to be called up for national service.
Playing career
Club playing career
Although Robson had signed professionally, his father insisted he continue to work as an electrician. He spent the day working at the Festival of Britain site and trained three nights a week at Fulham. Eventually, this took its toll on Robson and he gave up his trade for full-time professional football.
In 1950, Robson made his first-team debut for Fulham, recently promoted to the First Division, in a match against Sheffield Wednesday. He came to regard Fulham as "a nice club, a social club...", but "never... a serious, championship-challenging club". Indeed, he and Fulham were relegated from the top-flight in the 1951–52 season, but he made his return to the First Division, four years later, when he signed for Vic Buckingham's West Bromwich Albion in March 1956. The transfer fee of £25,000 was a club record for West Brom at the time.
He made his West Brom debut in a 4–0 home defeat to Manchester City on 10 March 1956. In 1957–58, he was the club's top league goalscorer; his tally of 24 goals included four in a 5–1 win against Burnley. Often playing as a midfielder, he went on to play 257 matches and score 61 goals for West Brom, and he captained the team for the 1960–61 and 1961–62 seasons. However, in August 1962, he returned to Fulham after a disagreement with West Brom vice-chairman Jim Gaunt over his salary. The ongoing dispute over both minimum and maximum wages in the game, instigated by Robson's teammate Jimmy Hill and the Professional Footballers' Association, combined with the birth of Robson's second son, prompted Robson to demand a higher salary. Gaunt refused to negotiate Robson's contract, so Robson placed a transfer request and was sold to Fulham for £20,000 in a deal which doubled his salary. Soon after Robson joined Fulham, the club sold Alan Mullery and Rodney Marsh, meaning Robson's chances of securing any significant honour there were substantially reduced. Robson himself stated, "In all my time as a footballer, I didn't win a thing."
Despite press reports of interest from Arsenal, and the offer of a player-manager role by Southend United, Robson left Fulham in 1967 and accepted a three-year deal with Canada's Vancouver Royals. He was to be player-manager in their inaugural 1968 season in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and believed it "was a chance too good to miss". He began scouting and holding tryout camps for the new team in the Fall of 1967. The position proved difficult; a long-distance joint-ownership agreement gave the Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskás control over the San Francisco section of the squad, while Robson took care of the Vancouver squad. Robson was dissatisfied by this situation and when, in January 1968, Fulham offered him a contract as their manager, he accepted the position at Craven Cottage.
International playing career
During his first spell at Fulham, Robson participated in two ambassadorial Football Association tours in the West Indies in 1955 and South Africa in 1956. However, it was during his time at West Bromwich Albion that he graduated to the full England squad, with his first call-up in 1956. His manager, Vic Buckingham, advocated the "push and run" approach to the game, a precursor to "total football", and playing this, Robson graduated to the full England squad in 1956, It was also at West Brom when Robson met future England international and assistant coach Don Howe.
Robson went on to make 20 appearances for the England national team, making his debut in a November 1957 victory against France, scoring twice in a 4–0 victory. Although he made a successful debut, he was dropped for England's next match, against Scotland, in favour of Bobby Charlton. However, Robson was selected for the 1958 FIFA World Cup squad, ahead of Nat Lofthouse and Stanley Matthews, but returned from host nation Sweden disappointed after England were defeated by the Soviet Union in a group play-off match.
Following the World Cup, Robson became an established member of the England squad, enjoying considerable success in a period between October 1960 and March 1961 when he played in six England victories, including scoring a goal in the record 9–3 defeat of Scotland at Wembley Stadium. He was selected for the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile, but an injury to his ankle sustained in a pre-tournament friendly against a Chilean club side ruled him out of most of the tournament. As Robson recalled, "I never played for England again... my international career was unfulfilled." His place in the England team was taken by Bobby Moore.
Managerial career
Early club management
In 1959, the then England manager and the Football Association (FA) director of coaching, Walter Winterbottom, suggested to Robson that he take a coaching course at Lilleshall. He obtained coaching qualifications during his second spell at Fulham, and coached Oxford University A.F.C. Robson made his debut as a manager in January 1968 at his former club Fulham, against Macclesfield Town, then in the Cheshire County League, in the third round of the FA Cup. Fulham were struggling with 16 points from 24 matches. Despite the acquisition of the young Malcolm Macdonald, Robson could not save the club from relegation to the Second Division, and he left them in November with the club sitting eighth in the Second Division. He discovered he had been sacked not from the club itself, but from the headline "Robson sacked" on an Evening Standard placard outside Putney station.
He moved on to Ipswich Town in 1969 and it was there that he established his reputation as a successful manager, supported by the club chairman John Cobbold and then later by his brother Patrick Cobbold. He won the vacant job at the Suffolk club after a chance encounter with Town director Murray Sangster while scouting at Portman Road for Chelsea manager Dave Sexton. After four mediocre seasons, Robson led Ipswich to fourth place in the First Division and success in the Texaco Cup in the 1972–73 season. In the following nine seasons, Ipswich finished lower than sixth place in the First Division only once, in the 1977–78 season. However, that season was a success with a 1–0 victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup final. His reign at Ipswich lasted 13 years, during which time the club twice finished as League runners-up, and made regular appearances in European competitions, capturing the UEFA Cup in 1981 with a 5–4 aggregate victory over Dutch side AZ 67 Alkmaar. About that team, Robson said: "We played with two strikers, no wingers, Eric Gates sitting off the front two, two semi-wide midfield players in Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen and Johnny Wark sitting in the holding role". During his 13-year tenure, he brought in only 14 players from other clubs, most notably Allan Hunter, Bryan Hamilton and Paul Mariner, relying instead on players developed through Ipswich's youth programmes, including Terry Butcher, George Burley, John Wark, Mick Mills, Colin Viljoen, Alan Brazil, Trevor Whymark, Brian Talbot, Kevin Beattie and Eric Gates, who all went on to play international football. His imports included Dutch players Frans Thijssen and Arnold Mühren. Robson was not a tactical genius but he showed a talent for developing new players, with his good interpersonal skills, caring attitude, hard work and enthusiasm helping them to achieve their best.
In 2002, in recognition of his achievements with the club, a life-size statue of Robson was unveiled opposite the Cobbold Stand of Ipswich Town's ground, Portman Road. On 7 July 2006, Robson was named as honorary president of Ipswich Town Football Club, the first since Lady Blanche Cobbold who had died in 1987.
England manager
Robson's achievements with Ipswich earned him a job offer from the Football Association for the position of national coach, and he declined an offer of a ten-year contract extension and increased salary from Ipswich director Patrick Cobbold. On 7 July 1982, two days after England were knocked out of the 1982 World Cup, he succeeded Ron Greenwood as coach of the England national team, selecting former West Bromwich Albion teammate Don Howe as his chief coach.
Robson's first match in charge saw immediate controversy, as he dropped Kevin Keegan for the match against Denmark. On 21 September 1983, Robson suffered his only loss in the 28 qualifying matches he was to undertake as England manager. The defeat, again to Denmark, ultimately led to England's failure to qualify for the 1984 European Championships and resulted in Robson offering to resign in favour of Brian Clough. The resignation was rejected by FA chairman Bert Millichip (primarily down to his and the FA's disdain for Clough), and Robson went on to lead the England team to qualify for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
England began the competition poorly and captain Bryan Robson was injured with a recurrence of a dislocated shoulder. Bobby Robson changed the team's tactics for the final match of the first round, selecting Peter Beardsley ahead of Mark Hateley as a striking partner for Gary Lineker. The team won its next two matches, against Poland and Paraguay, 3–0, and qualified for the quarter-finals. England were defeated in the last eight by Argentina with a brace of goals from Diego Maradona, the infamous "Hand of God" goal and the "Goal of the Century" he scored five minutes later. Robson was unimpressed by Maradona's claim of divine intervention:
Robson's England dropped only one point in qualifying for Euro 1988, which included an 8–0 victory over Turkey. However, this was followed by failure at the tournament itself, held in West Germany, where England were eliminated in the group stage. They finished bottom of their group, succumbing to defeats against the Republic of Ireland, the eventual winners, the Netherlands, and the eventual runners-up, the Soviet Union. Robson was vilified by the British press, and after a draw in a friendly with Saudi Arabia, one newspaper demanded, "In the name of Allah, go." Again Robson submitted his resignation, and again it was rejected by Millichip (again Brian Clough is often cited as a reason).
Robson led England without conceding a goal through the six-match qualification for the 1990 World Cup where they were one of six seeded teams. Again they were placed in a group with the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland, with Egypt the fourth side. As in the 1986 World Cup, Robson was denied the service of his captain, Bryan Robson, who suffered an achilles tendon injury which prevented him playing in the latter stages of the tournament. England topped their qualifying group, accumulating four points from their three matches. However, their progress was not without controversy. England changed formation from their traditional 4–4–2 to 5–3–2 incorporating a sweeper, with some sources suggesting this was due to player revolt after the 1–1 draw in the first match with the Republic of Ireland. Robson denied this claim:
This was followed by victories over Belgium and Cameroon in the knock-out stages, to set up a semi-final with West Germany. England lost the match on a penalty shoot-out, after the score had been tied at 1–1 following extra time. Robson said afterwards, "[N]ot a day goes by when [he] does not think about the semi-final and other choices [he] might have made." Robson was the second coach, after Alf Ramsey, to take England to a World Cup semi-final, and the first coach to do so on foreign soil, an achievement not equalled until Gareth Southgate's team reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
Robson's final game in charge of England was the third-place play off against hosts Italy, which England lost 2-1.
Continental management
Before the 1990 World Cup, the FA told Robson it would not renew his contract as England manager, so he moved on to the Netherlands to coach PSV Eindhoven, succeeding manager Guus Hiddink, who had left the team after leading them to the 1987–88 European Cup victory and four consecutive Eredivisie titles. PSV sought a manager capable of instilling discipline into a fractious squad, much as Hiddink had done previously. Robson described the move as "a culture shock" but felt "a sense of adventure". News of Robson's new position in the Netherlands became public before the start of the 1990 World Cup, leading to tabloid stories impugning Robson's patriotism; he sued Today for calling him a traitor.
The Dutch penchant for tactical debate surprised Robson. In an interview with Voetbal International, he lamented, "An English pro accepts the manager's decision. After every match here, the substitutes come and visit me." Another of his challenges at PSV was handling the Brazilian international Romário. Robson became frustrated with the Brazilian's work ethic, although admitted "in some matches he would be scintillating". Robson arranged showdown talks with Romário, with Frank Arnesen, Robson's assistant, acting as a translator. The talks proved unsuccessful, with Romário unwilling to change his lifestyle. Despite this, PSV won the Eredivisie in both the 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons. However, the team did not make the progress expected by the board in European competitions and Robson was informed he would be leaving the club at the end of the 1991–92 season.
Robson moved to Sporting CP in July 1992, where his Portuguese interpreter was a young José Mourinho, future Porto, Chelsea, Internazionale, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Roma manager. Robson guided the club to a third-place finish in his first season in charge while admitting the club was in "a terrible state". He described the club's president as a "loose cannon" who frequently signed players without Robson's consent. Robson was sacked in December 1993 with the club sitting at the top of the league table. Club president Sousa Cintra cited the club's early exit from the UEFA Cup, at the hands of Casino Salzburg, as the reason for his dismissal.
Sporting CP's rivals Porto quickly hired Robson, with Mourinho appointed as his assistant manager. Living in the same apartment block at the time was another future Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager, the young André Villas-Boas, who, aged 16, introduced himself to Robson. Robson subsequently appointed Villas-Boas to work in the Porto observation department and helped him gain his UEFA "C" coaching badge in Scotland, despite him technically being ineligible as he was aged 17. Porto were in a poor state when Robson arrived and the average attendance had dwindled to 10,000. The club promptly went on to beat Robson's former club, Sporting CP, in the Taça de Portugal final, following that achievement with successive League titles in the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons.
Such was the impact of Robson at Porto, he became known to the locals as "Bobby Five-O" in honour of the number of matches Porto won 5–0, and he signed a new contract with the club in 1995. Suffering from malignant melanoma and missing the first few months of the 1995–96 season, Robson still successfully led Porto in defence of their league title.
A phone call during the summer of 1996 from Barcelona vice-president Joan Gaspart to discuss Luís Figo resulted in an offer of employment with the Spanish club. Robson took over in July 1996, where again his assistant was Mourinho; Robson had made Mourinho's move with him to the Camp Nou a condition of his employment. One of the key decisions Robson made during his brief tenure at Barcelona was the US$19.5 million signing of Ronaldo, who was influential in a season when Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España and European Cup Winners' Cup. Robson himself was voted European Manager of the Year for 1996–97, while Ronaldo stated, "as a trainer without doubt [Robson] is one of the greatest in the world".
The 1997–98 season saw Robson moved "upstairs" to the general manager position, with Louis van Gaal taking over as manager, but Robson stayed in this position for only one season before returning to manage PSV on a short-term deal for the 1998–99 season. PSV missed out on the league title, finishing third behind Feyenoord and Willem II, but Robson still led the club to victory in the Johan Cruyff Shield and also qualification for the UEFA Champions League on the last day of the season.
Return to England
After Robson's contract expired, he returned to England to take up a position in the Football Association's technical department, but following the resignation of Ruud Gullit at Newcastle United, Robson moved to St James' Park in September 1999. Robson was disappointed with the club's opening salary offer, stating, "[I]t was miles below the going rate," but negotiated a one-year, £1 million deal.
In Robson's first home match in charge, bottom-placed Newcastle faced second bottom Sheffield Wednesday, thrashing them 8–0. In his first season in charge, 1999–2000, Robson led the club to an 11th-place finish, with 14 wins from his 32 matches in charge. In late 2000, following the resignation of ex-Magpies boss Kevin Keegan as England manager, the FA asked Newcastle club chairman Freddy Shepherd to permit Robson to take over in a part-time caretaker capacity, but the request was refused. Robson guided Newcastle from bottom of the Premier League to a fourth-place finish in the 2001–02 season. The following season, Newcastle finished third, ensuring qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the second consecutive year.
However, Robson was unable to guide Newcastle through the Champions League qualifying rounds, and the club was dropped to participate in the UEFA Cup for the 2003–04 season. At the end of the 2003–04 season, Newcastle finished fifth in the table, five points short of the Champions League qualifying fourth place but reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup before losing to Marseille.
Robson held the Newcastle post until 30 August 2004, when he was dismissed by Freddy Shepherd, after a poor start to the Premier League season and alleged discontent in the dressing room. Robson's dismissal followed publication of his off the record observation of his disappointment that only 5,000 fans stayed to see the traditional lap of honour made by the players at St James' Park at the end of the previous season. However, he remains held in the highest esteem by the fans; he was granted the Freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne on 2 March 2005.
Robson's autobiography, entitled Bobby Robson: Farewell but not Goodbye was released in 2005. The title is based on one of his quotes upon leaving the England job in 1990: "I'm here to say goodbye—maybe not goodbye but farewell." In the book, Robson was critical of Shepherd, claiming that while manager he was denied information regarding the players' contracts and transfer negotiations. He also criticised Shepherd and the club's deputy chairman Douglas Hall, for their focus on the first team and St James' Park, causing them to neglect less glamorous issues, such as the training ground, youth development and talent scouts. The club's training ground was later blamed by Graeme Souness, Robson's successor, for a series of injuries to first team players.
Football consultant for Republic of Ireland and retirement
On 7 June 2005, Robson declined the invitation to become director of football of Heart of Midlothian because he wanted to stay in the Newcastle area. On 13 January 2006, Steve Staunton was appointed manager of the Republic of Ireland national team, with Robson named in a support role as "international football consultant". Robson stepped down from his role of consultant on 17 November 2007 following the nation's final match in their unsuccessful qualifying campaign for Euro 2008. Robson was a former vice president of the League Managers Association, a non-executive role.
Life outside football
Personal life
Robson met Elsie Gray on a trip back to his parents' home in Langley Park. Gray was a student nurse, and later a teacher. They were married on 25 June 1955 with Fulham teammate Tom Wilson as Robson's best man.
After 1991, Robson was repeatedly diagnosed as suffering from cancer. He had several operations and in 2006 was operated on for a brain tumour. This, on occasion, affected his work; while at Porto, for example, Robson suffered from malignant melanoma, which resulted in his missing the first few months of the 1995–96 season.
On 17 October 2006, it was revealed that Robson had been given the all-clear and was set to see out his contract as consultant to the Irish team. Robson revealed on 7 May 2007 he had been diagnosed with cancer for the fifth time. On 17 May 2008, Robson was the guest of honour at the 2008 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium when Portsmouth defeated Cardiff City 1–0. He presented the trophy to the victorious captain, Sol Campbell.
Other activities
Robson made a number of product endorsements, including an appearance in Carlsberg's "Best Pub Side" television commercial. He also acted as a pundit for ITV during the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
Bobby Robson Foundation
Robson defeated bowel cancer in 1992, a malignant melanoma in 1995, and a tumour in his right lung and a brain tumour, both in 2006. Treatment of these conditions had left him partially paralysed due to a stroke caused by the brain tumour, and also with a partially prosthetic upper jaw after the melanoma was surgically removed. His fifth diagnosis of cancer in 2007, consisting of cancerous nodules in both lungs, was diagnosed as terminal in February 2007, and as of December 2008, was being controlled through bouts of chemotherapy. After these experiences, and following his fifth diagnosis with cancer, Robson devoted the remaining years of his life to helping fight the disease. On 25 March 2008, he launched the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. The Foundation raised over £1 million, which funded equipment for the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre, in the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, and would go on to fund other cancer projects in the North East of England.
In aid of the Foundation, Robson's 1990 World Cup semi-final 4–3 loss after penalties against West Germany was replayed on 26 July 2009 as the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match at St James' Park, featuring players from the original 1990 World Cup squads and other special guests. Robson was given a guard of honour before the match, which finished 3–2 to the England side.
At the time of Robson's death, the Foundation had raised £1.6 million. Donations totalling £156,000 were received by the Foundation in the 18 days following his death, and on 15 October 2009, it was announced the Foundation had raised over £2 million, and that at the request of Robson's family, Alan Shearer would take over Robson's role as the Foundation's patron. It passed the £2.5 million mark in September 2010. Three other patrons were added in 2010, Steve Gibson, Mick Mills and Niall Quinn.
Death
On 31 July 2009, Robson died of lung cancer at his home in County Durham, aged 76, after a long battle with the disease. After the news of his death, leading figures from the world of football and politics paid tribute to him. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson called him a "great friend, a wonderful individual and tremendous football man". UEFA president Michel Platini said, "He will be remembered not only for his playing career and his outstanding managerial career at both club and international level, but also because he was a truly warm and passionate human being." Gary Lineker said, "It is a sad day and a great loss. He was a wonderful man and will be deeply missed by everybody in the country. I never played for a more enthusiastic man. He gave so much to the game." Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair described Robson as a "real Geordie gentleman". According to the then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Robson "epitomised everything that is great about football in this country". His friend, the broadcaster Michael Parkinson, said, "Robson will be remembered long after the present lot are old bones. By his decency, his humour, his love of the game's traditions and origins and confusion at what it had become, he made present day football look what it is – shabby by comparison. I can think of no more fitting epitaph."
Robson's funeral, a private family ceremony, took place on 5 August 2009. The location remained undisclosed at the request of his family until the funeral had taken place. It was later revealed to be Esh, County Durham. A thanksgiving service for Robson was held on 21 September 2009 at Durham Cathedral. One thousand invited guests attended the service, which was also broadcast live on national television, and to Newcastle United's St James' Park, Ipswich Town's Portman Road ground and Fulham's Craven Cottage.
Robson was survived by his wife and their three sons: Andrew, Paul and Mark.
Achievements
Robson was awarded a number of honours for his contributions to football. In 1990, at the end of his eight-year reign as England manager, he was appointed a CBE in 1991 and in 2002, he was knighted; both awards were for services to football.
In 2002 (during his time as Newcastle manager), the 69-year-old Robson was awarded the freedom of Newcastle upon Tyne and the UEFA President's Award for "services to football". He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003 in recognition of his impact as a manager. Following his time as Newcastle United manager in 2005, Robson was made an Honorary Freeman of Newcastle, which, in his autobiography, he described as being "the proudest moment of my life". Robson also won the 1992 Football Writers' Association Tribute Award for an outstanding contribution to the national game, and the 2001 British Sports Writers' Association Pat Besford Trophy for Outstanding Achievement. In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Sports Coach UK Awards, and was also awarded the Eircom International Personality of the Year in 2006. On 9 December 2007, Robson was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year show in recognition of "his contribution as both player and manager in a career spanning more than half a century".
On 5 May 2008, during the 30th anniversary celebrations of Ipswich Town's 1978 FA Cup win, Robson was granted the Freedom of Ipswich by the Lady Mayor. On 8 December 2008, he earned another such accolade when he was given the Freedom of the City of Durham. In March 2009, UEFA awarded Robson the Emerald UEFA Order of Merit award, awarded to "individuals who have dedicated their talents to the good of the game". The award was presented to Robson at St James' Park on 26 July 2009, prior to the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match, and just five days before his death.
Posthumous honours
In December 2009, Robson was posthumously awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award, for the "gentlemanly qualities he showed throughout his career as a player and coach". All English football league matches held a one minute's applause in his memory at the beginning of the 2009–10 season.
The Football League gave Newcastle United and Ipswich Town special dispensation to wear special commemorative kits for their Championship match on 26 September 2009 at Portman Road, in aid of Sir Bobby's Foundation. At half-time during this match, the North Stand of Portman Road was renamed the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.
The first anniversary of Robson's death on 31 July 2010 was marked with a ceremony and pre-season friendly match at Newcastle's St James' Park, between two of his former clubs Newcastle United and PSV Eindhoven, involving Robson's PSV captain Stan Valckx presenting a PSV shirt to the club.
In July 2010, plans were unveiled for a memorial garden to Robson to be built in Newcastle. It was to be created by the city council in partnership with the regeneration company NE1Ltd, and located on Gallowgate street close to the Newcastle United stadium St James' Park. Work began on the site in November 2010, which was completed by Spring 2011. The garden covers 400 square meters, and features a tiered seating area and sculpted stone plinths reflecting aspects of his life and work. The area also hosts 400 square metre memorial garden to Sir Bobby Robson.
With a keen interest in cricket as well as football, Robson was to have replaced Mike Gatting as president of the Lord's Taverners charity and cricket club in 2007, but this was prevented by his ill-health. After his death, the club held a dinner in his honour, as "The best President we never had".
In March 2011, the East Coast train operating company named one of its Class 91 electric locomotives Sir Bobby Robson, unveiled at Newcastle station by his widow Elsie and Alan Shearer. Similarly, in December 2011, the Port of Tyne Authority named its new work boat the Sir Bobby Robson. On 6 May 2012, a statue of Robson created by sculptor Tom Maley was unveiled at St James' Park before a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Manchester City. On 16 July 2013, marking the 150th anniversary celebrations of the FA, the FA designated 10 August as the Sir Bobby Robson National Football Day, celebrated as a day to celebrate the national game. In 2018, Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager, a feature-length British film about Robson's career and cancer diagnosis, was released to critical acclaim.
In September 2020 the Sir Bobby Robson School opened in Ipswich. The school will serve children aged 8–16 with social, emotional and mental health needs.
Career statistics
Club
International
Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Robson goal.
Managerial statistics
Honours
Manager
Ipswich Town
UEFA Cup: 1980–81
FA Cup: 1977–78
National Fives Tournament: 1977
Texaco Cup: 1972–73
PSV Eindhoven
Eredivisie: 1990–91, 1991–92
Johan Cruyff Shield: 1998
Porto
Primeira Divisão: 1994–95, 1995–96
Taça de Portugal: 1993–94
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1993, 1994
Barcelona
Copa del Rey: 1996–97
Supercopa de España: 1996
European Cup Winners' Cup: 1996–97
Individual
FWA Tribute Award: 1992
European Manager of the Year: 1996–97
Premier League Manager of the Month: February 2000, August 2000, December 2001, February 2002, January 2003, October 2003
UEFA President's Award: 2002
English Football Hall of Fame Inductee: 2003
PFA Merit Award: 2003
FAI International Football Awards – International Personality: 2006
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2007
FIFA Fair Play Award: 2009
FIFA Order of Merit: 2009
UEFA Order of Merit: 2009
Ipswich Town Hall of Fame: Inductee 2009
See also
List of longest managerial reigns in association football
Bibliography
References
Sources
(Career statistics)
Further reading
External links
The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation
1933 births
2009 deaths
1986 FIFA World Cup managers
1990 FIFA World Cup managers
1958 FIFA World Cup players
1962 FIFA World Cup players
Deaths from cancer in England
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Deaths from lung cancer
English expatriate footballers
English expatriate sportspeople in Canada
English Football Hall of Fame inductees
English football managers
English expatriate football managers
English footballers
England international footballers
England national football team managers
Eredivisie managers
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
Expatriate football managers in the Netherlands
Expatriate football managers in Portugal
Expatriate football managers in Spain
FC Barcelona managers
FC Porto managers
Association football people awarded knighthoods
Fulham F.C. players
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Knights Bachelor
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People from Sacriston
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English Football League managers
Premier League managers
PSV Eindhoven managers
Sporting CP managers
UEFA Cup winning managers
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People from Langley Park, County Durham | true | [
"The Labour Day Classic (, branded as Mark's Labour Day Weekend for sponsorship reasons) is a week of the Canadian Football League (CFL) schedule played over the Labour Day weekend (which includes the first Monday in September). Labour Day weekend, roughly 12 or 13 weeks into the CFL season, is known for its matchu... | [
"Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town.",
"His career included periods playing for and later managing the... |
[
"Odissi",
"Medieval era"
] | C_c50f120990f34e0cb4e97ecfbab870af_1 | Was Odissi an acceptable form of dancing during the Medieval era? | 1 | Was Odissi an acceptable form of dancing during the Medieval era? | Odissi | The Buddhist, Jain and Hindu archaeological sites in Odisha state, particularly the Assia range of hills show inscriptions and carvings of dances that are dated to the 6th to 9th century CE. Important sites include the Ranigumpha in Udaygiri, and various caves and temples at Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Alatgiri sites. The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses, with Haruka, Vajravarahi, and Marichi in Odissi-like postures. Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Maharis (Hindu temple dancers) and dance halls architecture (nata-mandap) were in vogue at least by the 9th century CE. According to Kapila Vatsyayan, the Kalpasutra of Jainism, in its manuscripts discovered in Gujarat, includes classical Indian dance poses - such as the Samapada, the Tribhangi and the Chuaka of Odissi. This, states Vatsyayan, suggests that Odissi was admired or at least well known in distant parts of India, far from Odisha in the medieval era, to be included in the margins of an important Jain text. However, the Jain manuscripts use the dance poses as decorative art in the margins and cover, but do not describe or discuss the dance. Hindu dance texts such as the Abhinaya Chandrika and Abhinaya Darpana provide a detailed description of the movements of the feet, hands, the standing postures, the movement and the dance repertoire. It includes illustrations of the Karanas mentioned in NatyaShastra. Similarly, the illustrated Hindu text on temple architecture from Odisha, the Shilpaprakasha, deals with Odia architecture and sculpture, and includes Odissi postures. Actual sculptures that have survived into the modern era and panel reliefs in Odia temples, dated to be from the 10th to 14th century, show Odissi dance. This is evidenced in Jagannath temple in Puri, as well as other temples of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Vedic deities such as Surya (Sun) in Odisha. There are several sculptures of dancers and musicians in Konark Sun Temple and Brahmeswara Temple in Bhubaneswar. The composition of the poetic texts by 8th century Shankaracharya and particularly of divine love inspired Gitagovinda by 12th century Jayadeva influenced the focus and growth of modern Odissi. Odissi was performed in the temples by the dancers called Maharis, who played out these spiritual poems and underlying religious plays, after training and perfecting their art of dance starting from an early age, and who were revered as auspicious to religious services. CANNOTANSWER | The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses, | Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in older literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of Vaishnavism. Odissi performances have also expressed ideas of other traditions such as those related to Hindu gods Shiva and Surya, as well as Hindu goddesses (Shaktism).
The theoretical foundations of Odissi trace to the ancient Sanskrit text Natya Shastra, its existence in antiquity evidenced by the dance poses in the sculptures of Odissi Hindu temples, and archeological sites related to Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism and Jainism. It was suppressed under the British Rule. The suppression was protested by the Indians, followed by its revival, reconstruction and expansion since India gained independence from the colonial rule.
Odissi is traditionally a dance-drama genre of performance art, where the artist(s) and musicians play out a story, a spiritual message or devotional poem from the Hindu texts, using symbolic costumes, body movement, abhinaya (expressions) and mudras (gestures and sign language) set out in ancient Sanskrit literature. Classical Odia literature & the Gitagovinda set to traditional Odissi music are used for the abhinaya. Odissi is learnt and performed as a composite of basic dance motif called the Bhangas (symmetric body bends, stance). It involves lower (footwork), mid (torso) and upper (hand and head) as three sources of perfecting expression and audience engagement with geometric symmetry and rhythmic musical resonance. An Odissi performance repertoire includes invocation, nritta (pure dance), nritya (expressive dance), natya (dance drama) and moksha (dance climax connoting freedom of the soul and spiritual release).
Traditional Odissi exists in two major styles, the first perfected by women and focussed on solemn, spiritual temple dance (maharis); the second perfected by boys dressed as girls (gotipuas) which diversified to include athletic and acrobatic moves, and were performed from festive occasions in temples to general folksy entertainment. Modern Odissi productions by Indian artists have presented a diverse range of experimental ideas, culture fusion, themes and plays.
Odissi was the only Indian dance form present in Michael Jackson's 1991 hit single Black or White.
History
The foundations of Odissi are found in Natya Shastra, the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of performance arts. The basic dance units described in Natyashastra, all 108 of them, are identical to those in Odissi.
Natya Shastra is attributed to the ancient scholar Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters. The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures – all of which are part of Indian classical dances. Dance and performance arts, states this ancient text, are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues and the essence of scriptures. The Natya Shastra refers to four vrittis (methods of expressive delivery) in vogue – Avanti, Dakshinatya, Panchali and Odra-Magadhi; of these, the Odra refers to Odisha.
More direct historical evidence of dance and music as an ancient performance art are found in archaeological sites such as caves and in temple carvings of Bhubaneswar, Konark and Puri. The Manchapuri cave in Udayagiri shows carvings of dance and musicians, and this has been dated to the time of Jain king Kharavela in the first or second century BCE. The Hathigumpha inscriptions, also dated to the same ruler, mention music and dance:
<blockquote style="background-color:none;margin-right:5em;margin-left:0em;border-left:solid 6px #FFE0BB;padding:1.0em">
(he [the king]) versed in the science of the Gandharvas (i.e., music), entertains the capital with the exhibition of dapa, dancing, singing and instrumental music and by causing to be held festivities and assemblies (samajas)...</p>
— Hathigumpha inscription, Line 5, ~ 2nd–1st century BCE
</blockquote>
The musical tradition of Odisha also has ancient roots. Archeologists have reported the discovery of 20-key, carefully shaped polished basalt lithophone in Sankarjang, the highlands of Odisha, which is dated to about 1000 BCE.
Medieval era
The Hindu, Jain and Buddhist archaeological sites in Odisha state, particularly the Assia range of hills show inscriptions and carvings of dances that are dated to the 6th to 9th century CE. Important sites include the Ranigumpha in Udaygiri, and various caves and temples at Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Alatgiri sites. The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses, with Haruka, Vajravarahi, and Marichi in Odissi-like postures. Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Maharis (Hindu temple dancers) and dance halls architecture (nata-mandap) were in vogue at least by the 9th century CE.
According to Kapila Vatsyayan, the Kalpasutra of Jainism, in its manuscripts discovered in Gujarat, includes classical Indian dance poses – such as the Samapada, the Tribhangi and the Chuaka of Odissi. This, states Vatsyayan, suggests that Odissi was admired or at least well known in distant parts of India, far from Odisha in the medieval era, to be included in the margins of an important Jain text. However, the Jain manuscripts use the dance poses as decorative art in the margins and cover, but do not describe or discuss the dance. Hindu dance texts such as the Abhinaya Chandrika and Abhinaya Darpana provide a detailed description of the movements of the feet, hands, the standing postures, the movement and the dance repertoire. It includes illustrations of the Karanãs mentioned in NãtyaShãstra. Similarly, the illustrated Hindu text on temple architecture from Odisha, the Shilpaprakãsha, deals with Odia architecture and sculpture, and includes Odissi postures.
Actual sculptures that have survived into the modern era and panel reliefs in Odia temples, dated to be from the 10th to 14th century, show Odissi dance. This is evidenced in Jagannatha temple in Puri, as well as other temples of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Vedic deities such as Surya (Sun) in Odisha. There are several sculptures of dancers and musicians in Konark Sun Temple and Brahmeswara Temple in Bhubaneswar.
The composition of the poetic texts by 8th century Shankaracharya and particularly of divine love inspired Gitagovinda by 12th century Jayadeva influenced the focus and growth of modern Odissi. Odissi was performed in the temples by the dancers called Maharis, who played out these spiritual poems and underlying religious plays, after training and perfecting their art of dance starting from an early age, and who were revered as auspicious to religious services.
Mughal and British period
After 12th-century, Odia temples, monasteries and nearby institutions such as the Puspagiri in eastern Indian subcontinent came under waves of attacks and ransacking by Muslim armies, a turmoil that impacted all arts and eroded the freedoms previously enjoyed by performance artists. The official records of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq's invasion in Odisha (13601361 CE), for example, describe the destruction of the Jagannath temple as well as numerous other temples, defacing of dancing statues, and ruining of dance halls. This led to a broad decline in Odissi and other religious arts, but there were some benevolent rulers in this period who supported arts particularly through performances at courts. During the Sultanate and Mughal era of India, the temple dancers were moved to entertain the Sultan's family and courts. They became associated with concubinage to the nobility.
The Odissi dance likely expanded in the 17th century, states Alexandra Carter, under King Ramachandradeva's patronage. This expansion integrated martial arts (akhanda) and athletics into Odissi dance, by engaging boys and youth called Gotipuas, as a means to physically train the young for the military and to resist foreign invasions. According to Ragini Devi, historical evidence suggests that the Gotipuas tradition was known and nurtured in the 14th century, by Raja of Khordha.
During the British Raj, the officials of the colonial government ridiculed the temple traditions, while Christian missionaries launched a sustained attack on the moral outrage of sensuousness of Odissi and other Hindu temple dance arts. In 1872, a British civil servant named William Hunter watched a performance at the Jagannatha temple in Puri, then wrote, "Indecent ceremonies disgraced the ritual, and dancing girls with rolling eyes put the modest worshipper to the blush...", and then attacked them as idol-worshipping prostitutes who expressed their devotion with "airy gyrations".
Christian missionaries launched the "anti-dance movement" in 1892, to ban all such dance forms. The dancers were frequently stigmatized as prostitutes by Europeans during the colonial era. In 1910, the British colonial government in India banned temple dancing, and the dance artists were reduced to abject poverty from the lack of any financial support for performance arts, combined with stereotyping stigma.
Post-independence
The temple dance ban and the cultural discrimination during the colonial rule marshaled a movement by Hindus to question the stereotypes and to revive the regional arts of India, including Odissi. Due to these efforts, the classical Indian dances witnessed a period of renaissance and reconstruction, which gained momentum particularly after Indians gained their freedom from colonialism.
Odissi, along with several other major Indian dances gained recognition after efforts by many scholars and performers in the 1950s, particularly by Kavichandra Kalicharan Pattanayak, an Oriya poet, dramatist and researcher. Pattanayak is also credited with naming the dance form as "Odissi".
Repertoire
Odissi, in the classical and medieval period has been, a team dance founded on Hindu texts. This drama-dance involved women (Maharis) enacting a spiritual poem or a religious story either in the inner sanctum of a Hindu temple, or in the Natamandira attached to the temple. The Odissi performing Maharis combined pure dance with expression, to play out and communicate the underlying text through abhinaya (gestures). The performance art evolved to include another aspect, wherein teams of boys – dressed as girls – called Gotipuas expanded the Odissi repertoire, such as by adding acrobatics and athletic moves, and they performed both near the temples and open fairs for general folksy entertainment. In the Indian tradition, many of the accomplished gotipuas became the gurus (teachers) in their adulthood. Modern Odissi is a diversified performance art, men have joined the women, and its reconstruction since the 1950s have added new plays and aspects of other Indian dances.
Love is a universal theme and one of the paradigmatic values in Indian religions. This theme is expressed through sensuous love poems and metaphors of sexual union in Krishna-related literature, and as longing eros (Shringara) in its dance arts such as in Odissi, from the early times. Hinduism, states Judith Hanna, encourages the artist to "strive to suggest, reveal or re-create the infinite, divine self", and art is considered as "the supreme means of realizing the Universal Being". Physical intimacy is not something considered as a reason for shame, rather considered a form of celebration and worship, where the saint is the lover and the lover is the saint. This aspect of Odissi dancing has been subdued in the modern post-colonial reconstructions, states Alexandra Carter, and the emphasis has expanded to "expressions of personal artistic excellence as ritualized spiritual articulations".
The traditional Odissi repertoire, like all classical Indian dances, includes Nritta (pure dance, solo), Nritya (dance with emotions, solo) and Natya (dramatic dance, group). These three performance aspects of Odissi are described and illustrated in the foundational Hindu texts, particularly the Natya Shastra, Abhinaya Darpana and the 16th-century Abhinaya Chandrika by Maheshwara Mahapatra of Odisha.
The Nritta performance is abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of the dance. The viewer is presented with pure movement in Nritta, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, range and pattern. This part of the repertoire has no interpretative aspect, no telling of story. It is a technical performance, and aims to engage the senses (prakriti) of the audience.
The Nritya is slower and expressive aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings, storyline particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions. In a nritya, the dance-acting expands to include silent expression of words through the sign language of gestures and body motion set to musical notes. This part of a repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.
The Natyam is a play, typically a team performance, but can be acted out by a solo performer where the dancer uses certain standardized body movements to indicate a new character in the underlying story. A Natya incorporates the elements of a Nritya.
The Mokshya is a climatic pure dance of Odissi, aiming to highlight the liberation of soul and serenity in the spiritual.
Odissi dance can be accompanied by both northern Indian (Hindustani) and southern Indian (Carnatic) music, though mainly, recitals are in Odia and Sanskrit language in the Odissi music tradition.
Sequence
Traditional Odissi repertoire sequence starts with an invocation called Mangalacharana. A shloka (hymn) in praise of a God or Goddess is sung, such as to Jagannath (an avatar of Vishnu), the meaning of which is expressed through dance. Mangalacharana is followed by Pushpanjali (offering of flowers) and Bhumi Pranam (salutation to mother earth). The invocation also includes Trikhandi Pranam or the three-fold salutation – to the Devas (gods), to the Gurus (teachers) and to the Lokas or Rasikas (fellow dancers and audience).
The next sequential step in an Odissi performance is Batu, also known as Battu Nrutya or Sthayee Nrutya or Batuka Bhairava. It is a fast pace, pure dance (nritta) performed in the honor of Shiva. There is no song or recitation accompanying this part of the dance, just rhythmic music. This pure dance sequence in Odissi builds up to a Pallavi which is often slow, graceful & lyrical movements of the eyes, neck, torso & feet & slowly builds in a crescendo to climax in a fast tempo at the end.
The nritya follows next, and consists of Abhinaya, or an expressional dance which is an enactment of a song or poetry. The dancer(s) communicate the story in a sign language, using mudras (hand gestures), bhavas (enacting mood, emotions), eye and body movement. The dance is fluid, graceful and sensual. Abhinaya in Odissi is performed to verses recited in Sanskrit or Odia language. Most common are Abhinayas on Oriya songs or Sanskrit Ashthapadis or Sanskrit stutis like Dasavatar Stotram (depicting the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu) or Ardhanari Stotram (half man, half woman form of the divine). Many regionally performed Abhinaya compositions are based on the Radha-Krishna theme. The Astapadis of the Radha-Krishna love poem Gita Govinda written by Jayadeva are usually performed in Odisha, as part of the dance repertoire.
The natya part, or dance drama, is next in sequence. Usually Hindu mythologies, epics and legendary dramas are chosen as themes.
A distinctive part of the Odissi tradition is the inclusion of Moksha (or Mokshya) finale in the performance sequence. This the concluding item of a recital. Moksha in Hindu traditions means “spiritual liberation”. This dance movement traditionally attempts to convey a sense of spiritual release and soul liberation, soaring into the realm of pure aesthetics. Movement and pose merge in a fast pace pure dance climax.
Basic moves and mudras
The basic unit of Odissi are called bhangas. These are made up of eight belis, or body positions and movements, combined in many varieties. Motion is uthas (rising or up), baithas (sitting or down) or sthankas (standing). The gaits or movement on the dance floor is called chaalis, with movement tempo linked to emotions according to the classical Sanskrit texts. Thus, for example, burhas or quick pace suggest excitement, while a slow confused pace suggests dejection. For aesthetics, movement is centered on a core, a point in space or floor, and each dancer has her imaginary square of space, with spins and expression held within it. The foot movement or pada bhedas too have basic dance units, and Odissi has six of these, in contrast to four found in most classical Indian dances.
The three primary dance positions in Odissi are:
Samabhanga – the square position, with weight equally placed on the two legs, spine straight, arms raised up with elbows bent.
Abhanga – the body weight shifts from side to side, due to deep leg bends, while the feet and knees are turned outwards, and one hip extending sideways.
Tribhanga – is an S-shaped three-fold bending of body, with torso deflecting in one direction while the head and hips deflecting in the opposite direction of torso. Further, the hands and legs frame the body into a composite of two squares (rectangle), providing an aesthetic frame of reference. This is described in the ancient Sanskrit texts, and forms of it are found in other Hindu dance arts, but tribhanga postures developed most in and are distinctive to Odissi, and they are found in historic Hindu temple reliefs.
Mudras or Hastas are hand gestures which are used to express the meaning of a given act. Like all classical dances of India, the aim of Odissi is in part to convey emotions, mood and inner feelings in the story by appropriate hand and facial gestures. There are 63 Hastas in modern Odissi dance, and these have the same names or structure as those in the pan-Indian Hindu texts, but most closely matching those in the Abhinaya Chandrika. These are subdivided into three, according to the traditional texts:
Asamyukta Hasta – Single hand Mudras – 28 Prakar (gestures, for instance to communicate a salute, prayer, embrace, energy, bond, swing, carriage, shell, arrow, holding a thing, wheel, and so on.)
Samyukta Hasta – Double hand Mudras – 24 Prakar (gestures, for instance to indicate a flag, flower, type of bird or animal, moon, action like grasping, and so on.)
Nrutya Hasta – “Pure Dance” Mudras
The Mudra system is derived from the "Abhinaya Darpana" by Nandikeshavara and the ancient Natya Shastra of Bharata Muni.
Costumes
The Odissi dancers are colorfully dressed with makeup and jewellery. The Saree worn by Odissi dancers are brightly coloured, and usually of local silk (Pattasari). It is worn with pleats, or may have a pleat tailor stitched in front, to allow maximum flexibility during the footwork. These sarees have traditional prints of Odisha with regional designs and embellishments, and may be the Sambalpuri Saree and Bomkai Saree.
The jewellery includes silver pieces, a metal favored in regional tradition. The hair is tied up, and typically drawn into an elaborate bun resembling a Hindu temple spire, and decorated with Seenthi. Their hairstyle may contain a moon shaped crest of white flowers, or a reed crown called Mukoot with peacock feathers (symbolism for Lord Krishna). The dancers forehead is marked with Tikka, and adorned with various jewelry such as the Allaka (head piece on which the tikka hangs). The eyes are ringed with Kajal (black eyeliner).
Ear covers called Kapa or ear rings decorate the sides of the head, while necklace adorns the neck. The dancer wears a pair of armlets also called Bahichudi or Bajuband, on the upper arm. The wrist is covered with Kankana (bangles). At the waist they wear an elaborate belt which ties down one end of the Sari. The ankles are decorated with a leather piece on top of which are bells (ghungroo). The dancer's palms and soles may be painted with red coloured dye called the Alta.
Modern Odissi male performers wear dhoti – a broadcloth tied around waist, pleated for movement, and tucked between legs; usually extends to knee or lower. Upper body is bare chested, and a long thin folded translucent sheet wrapping over one shoulder and usually tucked below a wide belt.
Music and instruments
Odissi dance is accompanied by the traditional classical music of the state of Odisha, Odissi music. The primary Odissi ragas are Kalyana, Nata, Shree Gowda, Baradi, Panchama, Dhanashri, Karnata, Bhairavee and Shokabaradi.
Odissi dance, states Ragini Devi, is a form of "visualized music", wherein the Ragas and Raginis, respectively the primary and secondary musical modes, are integrated by the musicians and interpreted through the dancer. Each note is a means, has a purpose and with a mood in classical Indian music, which Odissi accompanies to express sentiments in a song through Parija. This is true whether the performance is formal, or less formal as in Nartana and Natangi used during festive occasions and the folksy celebration of life.
An Odissi troupe comes with musicians and musical instruments. The orchestra consists of various regional musical instruments, such as the Mardala (barrel drum), harmonium, flute, sitar, violin, cymbals held in fingers and others.
Styles
The Odissi tradition existed in three schools: Mahari, Nartaki, and Gotipua:
Maharis were Oriya devadasis or temple girls, their name deriving from Maha (great) and Nari (girl), or Mahri (chosen) particularly those at the temple of Jagganath at Puri. Early Maharis performed Nritta (pure dance) and Abhinaya (interpretation of poetry) dedicated to various Hindu gods and goddesses, as well as Puranic mythologies and Vedic legends. Later, Maharis especially performed dance sequences based on the lyrics of Jayadev's Gita Govinda. This style is more sensuous and closer to the classical Sanskrit texts on dance, music and performance arts.
Gotipuas were boys dressed up as girls and taught the dance by the Maharis. This style included martial arts, athletics and acrobatics. Gotipuas danced to these compositions outside the temples and fairgrounds as folksy entertainment.
Nartaki dance took place in the royal courts, where it was prevalent before the British period.
Schools, training and recognition
Odissi maestros and performers
Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pankaj Charan Das, Deba Prasad Das and Raghunath Dutta were the four major gurus who revived Odissi in the late forties and early fifties. Sanjukta Panigrahi was a leading disciple of Kelucharan Mohapatra who popularized Odissi by performing in India and abroad. In the mid-sixties, three other disciples of Kelucharan Mohapatra, Kumkum Mohanty and Sonal Mansingh, were known for their performances in India and abroad. Laximipriya Mohapatra performed a piece of Odissi abhinaya in the Annapurna Theatre in Cuttack in 1948, a show upheld as the first classical Odissi dance performance after its contemporary revival. Guru Mayadhar Raut played a pivotal role in giving Odissi dance its classical status. He introduced Mudra Vinyoga in 1955 and Sancharibhava in the Odissi dance items, and portrayed Shringara Rasa in Gita Govinda Ashthapadis. His notable compositions include Pashyati Dishi Dishi and Priya Charu Shile, composed in 1961.
Schools
IIT Bhubaneswar
Odissi has been included in Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar's BTech syllabus since 2015 as the first Indian national technical institute to introduce any classical dance in syllabus.
In Guinness World records
Guinness World Records has acknowledged the feat of the largest congregation of Odissi dancers in a single event. 555 Odissi dancers performed at the event hosted on 23 December 2011, in the Kalinga stadium, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The dancers performed the Mangalacharan, Battu, Pallavi, Abhinay and Mokshya dance items from the Odissi repertoire.
More than 1000 Odissi dancers performed at the World Cultural Festival 12 March 2016. This is till date the largest congregation of Odissi dancers in a single event.
Odissi Centre at Oxford University
An Odissi dance centre has been opened from January 2016, at the University of Oxford. Known as Oxford Odissi Centre, it is an initiative of the Odissi dancer and choreographer Baisali Mohanty who is also a post-graduate scholar at the University of Oxford.
Beside holding regular Odissi dance classes at its institution, the Oxford Odissi Centre also conducts Odissi dance workshops at other academic institutions in the United Kingdom.
See also
Indian classical dance
Ghungroo
Odissi music
Gotipua
References
Bibliography
Odissi : What, Why and How… Evolution, Revival and Technique, by Madhumita Raut. Published by B. R. Rhythms, Delhi, 2007. .
Odissi Yaatra: The Journey of Guru Mayadhar Raut, by Aadya Kaktikar (ed. Madhumita Raut). Published by B. R. Rhythms, Delhi, 2010. .
Odissi Dance, by Dhirendranath Patnaik. Published by Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1971.
Odissi – The Dance Divine, by Ranjana Gauhar and Dushyant Parasher. Published by Niyogi Books, 2007. .
Odissi, Indian Classical Dance Art: Odisi Nritya, by Sunil Kothari, Avinash Pasricha. Marg Publications, 1990. .
Perspectives on Odissi Theatre, by Ramesh Prasad Panigrahi, Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi. Published by Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1998.
Abhinaya-chandrika and Odissi dance, by Maheshwar Mahapatra, Alekha Chandra Sarangi, Sushama Kulshreshthaa, Maya Das. Published by Eastern Book Linkers, 2001. .
Rethinking Odissi, by Dinanath Pathy. Published by Harman Pub. House, 2007. .
, Table of Contents
External links
Odissi solo performance: Nitisha Nanda, Arabhi Pallav, New Delhi 2013
Odissi group dance: Megh Pallavi, Vancouver 2014
Maryam Shakiba – Odissi Dance – Manglacharan Ganesh Vandana Pushkar 2014
Odissi links at the Open Directory
Odissi schools, Classical Indian Dance Portal
The annotated Odissi Dance Archive on Pad.ma
History of Odissi and Geeta Govinda JN Dhar, Orissa Review
Bharat Bhavan, a Kerala-based Department of Culture information website.
Arts of Odisha
Odia culture
Jayadeva
Classical dance genres of India
Hindu temple dance
Odissi dancers
Odissi music
Artforms based on Odissi music | true | [
"Laxmipriya Mohapatra (born 1928 - died 20 March 2021) was an Indian classical dancer, performing Odissi dance on stage and in films. Along with her husband, Kelucharan Mohapatra, she is credited with reviving Odissi dance in India, in the 1940s and 50s.\n\nCareer \nMohapatra was born in Khurda, Odisha, and was tau... | [
"Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in older literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of... |
[
"Odissi",
"Medieval era",
"Was Odissi an acceptable form of dancing during the Medieval era?",
"The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses,"
] | C_c50f120990f34e0cb4e97ecfbab870af_1 | Was Odissi popular form of dancing during the Medieval era? | 2 | Was Odissi a popular form of dancing during the Medieval era? | Odissi | The Buddhist, Jain and Hindu archaeological sites in Odisha state, particularly the Assia range of hills show inscriptions and carvings of dances that are dated to the 6th to 9th century CE. Important sites include the Ranigumpha in Udaygiri, and various caves and temples at Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Alatgiri sites. The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses, with Haruka, Vajravarahi, and Marichi in Odissi-like postures. Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Maharis (Hindu temple dancers) and dance halls architecture (nata-mandap) were in vogue at least by the 9th century CE. According to Kapila Vatsyayan, the Kalpasutra of Jainism, in its manuscripts discovered in Gujarat, includes classical Indian dance poses - such as the Samapada, the Tribhangi and the Chuaka of Odissi. This, states Vatsyayan, suggests that Odissi was admired or at least well known in distant parts of India, far from Odisha in the medieval era, to be included in the margins of an important Jain text. However, the Jain manuscripts use the dance poses as decorative art in the margins and cover, but do not describe or discuss the dance. Hindu dance texts such as the Abhinaya Chandrika and Abhinaya Darpana provide a detailed description of the movements of the feet, hands, the standing postures, the movement and the dance repertoire. It includes illustrations of the Karanas mentioned in NatyaShastra. Similarly, the illustrated Hindu text on temple architecture from Odisha, the Shilpaprakasha, deals with Odia architecture and sculpture, and includes Odissi postures. Actual sculptures that have survived into the modern era and panel reliefs in Odia temples, dated to be from the 10th to 14th century, show Odissi dance. This is evidenced in Jagannath temple in Puri, as well as other temples of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Vedic deities such as Surya (Sun) in Odisha. There are several sculptures of dancers and musicians in Konark Sun Temple and Brahmeswara Temple in Bhubaneswar. The composition of the poetic texts by 8th century Shankaracharya and particularly of divine love inspired Gitagovinda by 12th century Jayadeva influenced the focus and growth of modern Odissi. Odissi was performed in the temples by the dancers called Maharis, who played out these spiritual poems and underlying religious plays, after training and perfecting their art of dance starting from an early age, and who were revered as auspicious to religious services. CANNOTANSWER | Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Maharis (Hindu temple dancers) and dance halls architecture (nata-mandap) were in vogue | Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in older literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of Vaishnavism. Odissi performances have also expressed ideas of other traditions such as those related to Hindu gods Shiva and Surya, as well as Hindu goddesses (Shaktism).
The theoretical foundations of Odissi trace to the ancient Sanskrit text Natya Shastra, its existence in antiquity evidenced by the dance poses in the sculptures of Odissi Hindu temples, and archeological sites related to Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism and Jainism. It was suppressed under the British Rule. The suppression was protested by the Indians, followed by its revival, reconstruction and expansion since India gained independence from the colonial rule.
Odissi is traditionally a dance-drama genre of performance art, where the artist(s) and musicians play out a story, a spiritual message or devotional poem from the Hindu texts, using symbolic costumes, body movement, abhinaya (expressions) and mudras (gestures and sign language) set out in ancient Sanskrit literature. Classical Odia literature & the Gitagovinda set to traditional Odissi music are used for the abhinaya. Odissi is learnt and performed as a composite of basic dance motif called the Bhangas (symmetric body bends, stance). It involves lower (footwork), mid (torso) and upper (hand and head) as three sources of perfecting expression and audience engagement with geometric symmetry and rhythmic musical resonance. An Odissi performance repertoire includes invocation, nritta (pure dance), nritya (expressive dance), natya (dance drama) and moksha (dance climax connoting freedom of the soul and spiritual release).
Traditional Odissi exists in two major styles, the first perfected by women and focussed on solemn, spiritual temple dance (maharis); the second perfected by boys dressed as girls (gotipuas) which diversified to include athletic and acrobatic moves, and were performed from festive occasions in temples to general folksy entertainment. Modern Odissi productions by Indian artists have presented a diverse range of experimental ideas, culture fusion, themes and plays.
Odissi was the only Indian dance form present in Michael Jackson's 1991 hit single Black or White.
History
The foundations of Odissi are found in Natya Shastra, the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of performance arts. The basic dance units described in Natyashastra, all 108 of them, are identical to those in Odissi.
Natya Shastra is attributed to the ancient scholar Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters. The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures – all of which are part of Indian classical dances. Dance and performance arts, states this ancient text, are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues and the essence of scriptures. The Natya Shastra refers to four vrittis (methods of expressive delivery) in vogue – Avanti, Dakshinatya, Panchali and Odra-Magadhi; of these, the Odra refers to Odisha.
More direct historical evidence of dance and music as an ancient performance art are found in archaeological sites such as caves and in temple carvings of Bhubaneswar, Konark and Puri. The Manchapuri cave in Udayagiri shows carvings of dance and musicians, and this has been dated to the time of Jain king Kharavela in the first or second century BCE. The Hathigumpha inscriptions, also dated to the same ruler, mention music and dance:
<blockquote style="background-color:none;margin-right:5em;margin-left:0em;border-left:solid 6px #FFE0BB;padding:1.0em">
(he [the king]) versed in the science of the Gandharvas (i.e., music), entertains the capital with the exhibition of dapa, dancing, singing and instrumental music and by causing to be held festivities and assemblies (samajas)...</p>
— Hathigumpha inscription, Line 5, ~ 2nd–1st century BCE
</blockquote>
The musical tradition of Odisha also has ancient roots. Archeologists have reported the discovery of 20-key, carefully shaped polished basalt lithophone in Sankarjang, the highlands of Odisha, which is dated to about 1000 BCE.
Medieval era
The Hindu, Jain and Buddhist archaeological sites in Odisha state, particularly the Assia range of hills show inscriptions and carvings of dances that are dated to the 6th to 9th century CE. Important sites include the Ranigumpha in Udaygiri, and various caves and temples at Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Alatgiri sites. The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses, with Haruka, Vajravarahi, and Marichi in Odissi-like postures. Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Maharis (Hindu temple dancers) and dance halls architecture (nata-mandap) were in vogue at least by the 9th century CE.
According to Kapila Vatsyayan, the Kalpasutra of Jainism, in its manuscripts discovered in Gujarat, includes classical Indian dance poses – such as the Samapada, the Tribhangi and the Chuaka of Odissi. This, states Vatsyayan, suggests that Odissi was admired or at least well known in distant parts of India, far from Odisha in the medieval era, to be included in the margins of an important Jain text. However, the Jain manuscripts use the dance poses as decorative art in the margins and cover, but do not describe or discuss the dance. Hindu dance texts such as the Abhinaya Chandrika and Abhinaya Darpana provide a detailed description of the movements of the feet, hands, the standing postures, the movement and the dance repertoire. It includes illustrations of the Karanãs mentioned in NãtyaShãstra. Similarly, the illustrated Hindu text on temple architecture from Odisha, the Shilpaprakãsha, deals with Odia architecture and sculpture, and includes Odissi postures.
Actual sculptures that have survived into the modern era and panel reliefs in Odia temples, dated to be from the 10th to 14th century, show Odissi dance. This is evidenced in Jagannatha temple in Puri, as well as other temples of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Vedic deities such as Surya (Sun) in Odisha. There are several sculptures of dancers and musicians in Konark Sun Temple and Brahmeswara Temple in Bhubaneswar.
The composition of the poetic texts by 8th century Shankaracharya and particularly of divine love inspired Gitagovinda by 12th century Jayadeva influenced the focus and growth of modern Odissi. Odissi was performed in the temples by the dancers called Maharis, who played out these spiritual poems and underlying religious plays, after training and perfecting their art of dance starting from an early age, and who were revered as auspicious to religious services.
Mughal and British period
After 12th-century, Odia temples, monasteries and nearby institutions such as the Puspagiri in eastern Indian subcontinent came under waves of attacks and ransacking by Muslim armies, a turmoil that impacted all arts and eroded the freedoms previously enjoyed by performance artists. The official records of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq's invasion in Odisha (13601361 CE), for example, describe the destruction of the Jagannath temple as well as numerous other temples, defacing of dancing statues, and ruining of dance halls. This led to a broad decline in Odissi and other religious arts, but there were some benevolent rulers in this period who supported arts particularly through performances at courts. During the Sultanate and Mughal era of India, the temple dancers were moved to entertain the Sultan's family and courts. They became associated with concubinage to the nobility.
The Odissi dance likely expanded in the 17th century, states Alexandra Carter, under King Ramachandradeva's patronage. This expansion integrated martial arts (akhanda) and athletics into Odissi dance, by engaging boys and youth called Gotipuas, as a means to physically train the young for the military and to resist foreign invasions. According to Ragini Devi, historical evidence suggests that the Gotipuas tradition was known and nurtured in the 14th century, by Raja of Khordha.
During the British Raj, the officials of the colonial government ridiculed the temple traditions, while Christian missionaries launched a sustained attack on the moral outrage of sensuousness of Odissi and other Hindu temple dance arts. In 1872, a British civil servant named William Hunter watched a performance at the Jagannatha temple in Puri, then wrote, "Indecent ceremonies disgraced the ritual, and dancing girls with rolling eyes put the modest worshipper to the blush...", and then attacked them as idol-worshipping prostitutes who expressed their devotion with "airy gyrations".
Christian missionaries launched the "anti-dance movement" in 1892, to ban all such dance forms. The dancers were frequently stigmatized as prostitutes by Europeans during the colonial era. In 1910, the British colonial government in India banned temple dancing, and the dance artists were reduced to abject poverty from the lack of any financial support for performance arts, combined with stereotyping stigma.
Post-independence
The temple dance ban and the cultural discrimination during the colonial rule marshaled a movement by Hindus to question the stereotypes and to revive the regional arts of India, including Odissi. Due to these efforts, the classical Indian dances witnessed a period of renaissance and reconstruction, which gained momentum particularly after Indians gained their freedom from colonialism.
Odissi, along with several other major Indian dances gained recognition after efforts by many scholars and performers in the 1950s, particularly by Kavichandra Kalicharan Pattanayak, an Oriya poet, dramatist and researcher. Pattanayak is also credited with naming the dance form as "Odissi".
Repertoire
Odissi, in the classical and medieval period has been, a team dance founded on Hindu texts. This drama-dance involved women (Maharis) enacting a spiritual poem or a religious story either in the inner sanctum of a Hindu temple, or in the Natamandira attached to the temple. The Odissi performing Maharis combined pure dance with expression, to play out and communicate the underlying text through abhinaya (gestures). The performance art evolved to include another aspect, wherein teams of boys – dressed as girls – called Gotipuas expanded the Odissi repertoire, such as by adding acrobatics and athletic moves, and they performed both near the temples and open fairs for general folksy entertainment. In the Indian tradition, many of the accomplished gotipuas became the gurus (teachers) in their adulthood. Modern Odissi is a diversified performance art, men have joined the women, and its reconstruction since the 1950s have added new plays and aspects of other Indian dances.
Love is a universal theme and one of the paradigmatic values in Indian religions. This theme is expressed through sensuous love poems and metaphors of sexual union in Krishna-related literature, and as longing eros (Shringara) in its dance arts such as in Odissi, from the early times. Hinduism, states Judith Hanna, encourages the artist to "strive to suggest, reveal or re-create the infinite, divine self", and art is considered as "the supreme means of realizing the Universal Being". Physical intimacy is not something considered as a reason for shame, rather considered a form of celebration and worship, where the saint is the lover and the lover is the saint. This aspect of Odissi dancing has been subdued in the modern post-colonial reconstructions, states Alexandra Carter, and the emphasis has expanded to "expressions of personal artistic excellence as ritualized spiritual articulations".
The traditional Odissi repertoire, like all classical Indian dances, includes Nritta (pure dance, solo), Nritya (dance with emotions, solo) and Natya (dramatic dance, group). These three performance aspects of Odissi are described and illustrated in the foundational Hindu texts, particularly the Natya Shastra, Abhinaya Darpana and the 16th-century Abhinaya Chandrika by Maheshwara Mahapatra of Odisha.
The Nritta performance is abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of the dance. The viewer is presented with pure movement in Nritta, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, range and pattern. This part of the repertoire has no interpretative aspect, no telling of story. It is a technical performance, and aims to engage the senses (prakriti) of the audience.
The Nritya is slower and expressive aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings, storyline particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions. In a nritya, the dance-acting expands to include silent expression of words through the sign language of gestures and body motion set to musical notes. This part of a repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.
The Natyam is a play, typically a team performance, but can be acted out by a solo performer where the dancer uses certain standardized body movements to indicate a new character in the underlying story. A Natya incorporates the elements of a Nritya.
The Mokshya is a climatic pure dance of Odissi, aiming to highlight the liberation of soul and serenity in the spiritual.
Odissi dance can be accompanied by both northern Indian (Hindustani) and southern Indian (Carnatic) music, though mainly, recitals are in Odia and Sanskrit language in the Odissi music tradition.
Sequence
Traditional Odissi repertoire sequence starts with an invocation called Mangalacharana. A shloka (hymn) in praise of a God or Goddess is sung, such as to Jagannath (an avatar of Vishnu), the meaning of which is expressed through dance. Mangalacharana is followed by Pushpanjali (offering of flowers) and Bhumi Pranam (salutation to mother earth). The invocation also includes Trikhandi Pranam or the three-fold salutation – to the Devas (gods), to the Gurus (teachers) and to the Lokas or Rasikas (fellow dancers and audience).
The next sequential step in an Odissi performance is Batu, also known as Battu Nrutya or Sthayee Nrutya or Batuka Bhairava. It is a fast pace, pure dance (nritta) performed in the honor of Shiva. There is no song or recitation accompanying this part of the dance, just rhythmic music. This pure dance sequence in Odissi builds up to a Pallavi which is often slow, graceful & lyrical movements of the eyes, neck, torso & feet & slowly builds in a crescendo to climax in a fast tempo at the end.
The nritya follows next, and consists of Abhinaya, or an expressional dance which is an enactment of a song or poetry. The dancer(s) communicate the story in a sign language, using mudras (hand gestures), bhavas (enacting mood, emotions), eye and body movement. The dance is fluid, graceful and sensual. Abhinaya in Odissi is performed to verses recited in Sanskrit or Odia language. Most common are Abhinayas on Oriya songs or Sanskrit Ashthapadis or Sanskrit stutis like Dasavatar Stotram (depicting the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu) or Ardhanari Stotram (half man, half woman form of the divine). Many regionally performed Abhinaya compositions are based on the Radha-Krishna theme. The Astapadis of the Radha-Krishna love poem Gita Govinda written by Jayadeva are usually performed in Odisha, as part of the dance repertoire.
The natya part, or dance drama, is next in sequence. Usually Hindu mythologies, epics and legendary dramas are chosen as themes.
A distinctive part of the Odissi tradition is the inclusion of Moksha (or Mokshya) finale in the performance sequence. This the concluding item of a recital. Moksha in Hindu traditions means “spiritual liberation”. This dance movement traditionally attempts to convey a sense of spiritual release and soul liberation, soaring into the realm of pure aesthetics. Movement and pose merge in a fast pace pure dance climax.
Basic moves and mudras
The basic unit of Odissi are called bhangas. These are made up of eight belis, or body positions and movements, combined in many varieties. Motion is uthas (rising or up), baithas (sitting or down) or sthankas (standing). The gaits or movement on the dance floor is called chaalis, with movement tempo linked to emotions according to the classical Sanskrit texts. Thus, for example, burhas or quick pace suggest excitement, while a slow confused pace suggests dejection. For aesthetics, movement is centered on a core, a point in space or floor, and each dancer has her imaginary square of space, with spins and expression held within it. The foot movement or pada bhedas too have basic dance units, and Odissi has six of these, in contrast to four found in most classical Indian dances.
The three primary dance positions in Odissi are:
Samabhanga – the square position, with weight equally placed on the two legs, spine straight, arms raised up with elbows bent.
Abhanga – the body weight shifts from side to side, due to deep leg bends, while the feet and knees are turned outwards, and one hip extending sideways.
Tribhanga – is an S-shaped three-fold bending of body, with torso deflecting in one direction while the head and hips deflecting in the opposite direction of torso. Further, the hands and legs frame the body into a composite of two squares (rectangle), providing an aesthetic frame of reference. This is described in the ancient Sanskrit texts, and forms of it are found in other Hindu dance arts, but tribhanga postures developed most in and are distinctive to Odissi, and they are found in historic Hindu temple reliefs.
Mudras or Hastas are hand gestures which are used to express the meaning of a given act. Like all classical dances of India, the aim of Odissi is in part to convey emotions, mood and inner feelings in the story by appropriate hand and facial gestures. There are 63 Hastas in modern Odissi dance, and these have the same names or structure as those in the pan-Indian Hindu texts, but most closely matching those in the Abhinaya Chandrika. These are subdivided into three, according to the traditional texts:
Asamyukta Hasta – Single hand Mudras – 28 Prakar (gestures, for instance to communicate a salute, prayer, embrace, energy, bond, swing, carriage, shell, arrow, holding a thing, wheel, and so on.)
Samyukta Hasta – Double hand Mudras – 24 Prakar (gestures, for instance to indicate a flag, flower, type of bird or animal, moon, action like grasping, and so on.)
Nrutya Hasta – “Pure Dance” Mudras
The Mudra system is derived from the "Abhinaya Darpana" by Nandikeshavara and the ancient Natya Shastra of Bharata Muni.
Costumes
The Odissi dancers are colorfully dressed with makeup and jewellery. The Saree worn by Odissi dancers are brightly coloured, and usually of local silk (Pattasari). It is worn with pleats, or may have a pleat tailor stitched in front, to allow maximum flexibility during the footwork. These sarees have traditional prints of Odisha with regional designs and embellishments, and may be the Sambalpuri Saree and Bomkai Saree.
The jewellery includes silver pieces, a metal favored in regional tradition. The hair is tied up, and typically drawn into an elaborate bun resembling a Hindu temple spire, and decorated with Seenthi. Their hairstyle may contain a moon shaped crest of white flowers, or a reed crown called Mukoot with peacock feathers (symbolism for Lord Krishna). The dancers forehead is marked with Tikka, and adorned with various jewelry such as the Allaka (head piece on which the tikka hangs). The eyes are ringed with Kajal (black eyeliner).
Ear covers called Kapa or ear rings decorate the sides of the head, while necklace adorns the neck. The dancer wears a pair of armlets also called Bahichudi or Bajuband, on the upper arm. The wrist is covered with Kankana (bangles). At the waist they wear an elaborate belt which ties down one end of the Sari. The ankles are decorated with a leather piece on top of which are bells (ghungroo). The dancer's palms and soles may be painted with red coloured dye called the Alta.
Modern Odissi male performers wear dhoti – a broadcloth tied around waist, pleated for movement, and tucked between legs; usually extends to knee or lower. Upper body is bare chested, and a long thin folded translucent sheet wrapping over one shoulder and usually tucked below a wide belt.
Music and instruments
Odissi dance is accompanied by the traditional classical music of the state of Odisha, Odissi music. The primary Odissi ragas are Kalyana, Nata, Shree Gowda, Baradi, Panchama, Dhanashri, Karnata, Bhairavee and Shokabaradi.
Odissi dance, states Ragini Devi, is a form of "visualized music", wherein the Ragas and Raginis, respectively the primary and secondary musical modes, are integrated by the musicians and interpreted through the dancer. Each note is a means, has a purpose and with a mood in classical Indian music, which Odissi accompanies to express sentiments in a song through Parija. This is true whether the performance is formal, or less formal as in Nartana and Natangi used during festive occasions and the folksy celebration of life.
An Odissi troupe comes with musicians and musical instruments. The orchestra consists of various regional musical instruments, such as the Mardala (barrel drum), harmonium, flute, sitar, violin, cymbals held in fingers and others.
Styles
The Odissi tradition existed in three schools: Mahari, Nartaki, and Gotipua:
Maharis were Oriya devadasis or temple girls, their name deriving from Maha (great) and Nari (girl), or Mahri (chosen) particularly those at the temple of Jagganath at Puri. Early Maharis performed Nritta (pure dance) and Abhinaya (interpretation of poetry) dedicated to various Hindu gods and goddesses, as well as Puranic mythologies and Vedic legends. Later, Maharis especially performed dance sequences based on the lyrics of Jayadev's Gita Govinda. This style is more sensuous and closer to the classical Sanskrit texts on dance, music and performance arts.
Gotipuas were boys dressed up as girls and taught the dance by the Maharis. This style included martial arts, athletics and acrobatics. Gotipuas danced to these compositions outside the temples and fairgrounds as folksy entertainment.
Nartaki dance took place in the royal courts, where it was prevalent before the British period.
Schools, training and recognition
Odissi maestros and performers
Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pankaj Charan Das, Deba Prasad Das and Raghunath Dutta were the four major gurus who revived Odissi in the late forties and early fifties. Sanjukta Panigrahi was a leading disciple of Kelucharan Mohapatra who popularized Odissi by performing in India and abroad. In the mid-sixties, three other disciples of Kelucharan Mohapatra, Kumkum Mohanty and Sonal Mansingh, were known for their performances in India and abroad. Laximipriya Mohapatra performed a piece of Odissi abhinaya in the Annapurna Theatre in Cuttack in 1948, a show upheld as the first classical Odissi dance performance after its contemporary revival. Guru Mayadhar Raut played a pivotal role in giving Odissi dance its classical status. He introduced Mudra Vinyoga in 1955 and Sancharibhava in the Odissi dance items, and portrayed Shringara Rasa in Gita Govinda Ashthapadis. His notable compositions include Pashyati Dishi Dishi and Priya Charu Shile, composed in 1961.
Schools
IIT Bhubaneswar
Odissi has been included in Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar's BTech syllabus since 2015 as the first Indian national technical institute to introduce any classical dance in syllabus.
In Guinness World records
Guinness World Records has acknowledged the feat of the largest congregation of Odissi dancers in a single event. 555 Odissi dancers performed at the event hosted on 23 December 2011, in the Kalinga stadium, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The dancers performed the Mangalacharan, Battu, Pallavi, Abhinay and Mokshya dance items from the Odissi repertoire.
More than 1000 Odissi dancers performed at the World Cultural Festival 12 March 2016. This is till date the largest congregation of Odissi dancers in a single event.
Odissi Centre at Oxford University
An Odissi dance centre has been opened from January 2016, at the University of Oxford. Known as Oxford Odissi Centre, it is an initiative of the Odissi dancer and choreographer Baisali Mohanty who is also a post-graduate scholar at the University of Oxford.
Beside holding regular Odissi dance classes at its institution, the Oxford Odissi Centre also conducts Odissi dance workshops at other academic institutions in the United Kingdom.
See also
Indian classical dance
Ghungroo
Odissi music
Gotipua
References
Bibliography
Odissi : What, Why and How… Evolution, Revival and Technique, by Madhumita Raut. Published by B. R. Rhythms, Delhi, 2007. .
Odissi Yaatra: The Journey of Guru Mayadhar Raut, by Aadya Kaktikar (ed. Madhumita Raut). Published by B. R. Rhythms, Delhi, 2010. .
Odissi Dance, by Dhirendranath Patnaik. Published by Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1971.
Odissi – The Dance Divine, by Ranjana Gauhar and Dushyant Parasher. Published by Niyogi Books, 2007. .
Odissi, Indian Classical Dance Art: Odisi Nritya, by Sunil Kothari, Avinash Pasricha. Marg Publications, 1990. .
Perspectives on Odissi Theatre, by Ramesh Prasad Panigrahi, Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi. Published by Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1998.
Abhinaya-chandrika and Odissi dance, by Maheshwar Mahapatra, Alekha Chandra Sarangi, Sushama Kulshreshthaa, Maya Das. Published by Eastern Book Linkers, 2001. .
Rethinking Odissi, by Dinanath Pathy. Published by Harman Pub. House, 2007. .
, Table of Contents
External links
Odissi solo performance: Nitisha Nanda, Arabhi Pallav, New Delhi 2013
Odissi group dance: Megh Pallavi, Vancouver 2014
Maryam Shakiba – Odissi Dance – Manglacharan Ganesh Vandana Pushkar 2014
Odissi links at the Open Directory
Odissi schools, Classical Indian Dance Portal
The annotated Odissi Dance Archive on Pad.ma
History of Odissi and Geeta Govinda JN Dhar, Orissa Review
Bharat Bhavan, a Kerala-based Department of Culture information website.
Arts of Odisha
Odia culture
Jayadeva
Classical dance genres of India
Hindu temple dance
Odissi dancers
Odissi music
Artforms based on Odissi music | true | [
"Laxmipriya Mohapatra (born 1928 - died 20 March 2021) was an Indian classical dancer, performing Odissi dance on stage and in films. Along with her husband, Kelucharan Mohapatra, she is credited with reviving Odissi dance in India, in the 1940s and 50s.\n\nCareer \nMohapatra was born in Khurda, Odisha, and was tau... | [
"Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in older literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of... |
[
"Odissi",
"Medieval era",
"Was Odissi an acceptable form of dancing during the Medieval era?",
"The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses,",
"Was Odissi popular form of dancing during the Medieval era?",
"Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Mah... | C_c50f120990f34e0cb4e97ecfbab870af_1 | Is there anything significant about Odissi dancing in the Medieval era? | 4 | Is there anything significant about Odissi dancing in the Medieval era? | Odissi | The Buddhist, Jain and Hindu archaeological sites in Odisha state, particularly the Assia range of hills show inscriptions and carvings of dances that are dated to the 6th to 9th century CE. Important sites include the Ranigumpha in Udaygiri, and various caves and temples at Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Alatgiri sites. The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses, with Haruka, Vajravarahi, and Marichi in Odissi-like postures. Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Maharis (Hindu temple dancers) and dance halls architecture (nata-mandap) were in vogue at least by the 9th century CE. According to Kapila Vatsyayan, the Kalpasutra of Jainism, in its manuscripts discovered in Gujarat, includes classical Indian dance poses - such as the Samapada, the Tribhangi and the Chuaka of Odissi. This, states Vatsyayan, suggests that Odissi was admired or at least well known in distant parts of India, far from Odisha in the medieval era, to be included in the margins of an important Jain text. However, the Jain manuscripts use the dance poses as decorative art in the margins and cover, but do not describe or discuss the dance. Hindu dance texts such as the Abhinaya Chandrika and Abhinaya Darpana provide a detailed description of the movements of the feet, hands, the standing postures, the movement and the dance repertoire. It includes illustrations of the Karanas mentioned in NatyaShastra. Similarly, the illustrated Hindu text on temple architecture from Odisha, the Shilpaprakasha, deals with Odia architecture and sculpture, and includes Odissi postures. Actual sculptures that have survived into the modern era and panel reliefs in Odia temples, dated to be from the 10th to 14th century, show Odissi dance. This is evidenced in Jagannath temple in Puri, as well as other temples of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Vedic deities such as Surya (Sun) in Odisha. There are several sculptures of dancers and musicians in Konark Sun Temple and Brahmeswara Temple in Bhubaneswar. The composition of the poetic texts by 8th century Shankaracharya and particularly of divine love inspired Gitagovinda by 12th century Jayadeva influenced the focus and growth of modern Odissi. Odissi was performed in the temples by the dancers called Maharis, who played out these spiritual poems and underlying religious plays, after training and perfecting their art of dance starting from an early age, and who were revered as auspicious to religious services. CANNOTANSWER | Odissi was admired or at least well known in distant parts of India, far from Odisha in the medieval era, | Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in older literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of Vaishnavism. Odissi performances have also expressed ideas of other traditions such as those related to Hindu gods Shiva and Surya, as well as Hindu goddesses (Shaktism).
The theoretical foundations of Odissi trace to the ancient Sanskrit text Natya Shastra, its existence in antiquity evidenced by the dance poses in the sculptures of Odissi Hindu temples, and archeological sites related to Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism and Jainism. It was suppressed under the British Rule. The suppression was protested by the Indians, followed by its revival, reconstruction and expansion since India gained independence from the colonial rule.
Odissi is traditionally a dance-drama genre of performance art, where the artist(s) and musicians play out a story, a spiritual message or devotional poem from the Hindu texts, using symbolic costumes, body movement, abhinaya (expressions) and mudras (gestures and sign language) set out in ancient Sanskrit literature. Classical Odia literature & the Gitagovinda set to traditional Odissi music are used for the abhinaya. Odissi is learnt and performed as a composite of basic dance motif called the Bhangas (symmetric body bends, stance). It involves lower (footwork), mid (torso) and upper (hand and head) as three sources of perfecting expression and audience engagement with geometric symmetry and rhythmic musical resonance. An Odissi performance repertoire includes invocation, nritta (pure dance), nritya (expressive dance), natya (dance drama) and moksha (dance climax connoting freedom of the soul and spiritual release).
Traditional Odissi exists in two major styles, the first perfected by women and focussed on solemn, spiritual temple dance (maharis); the second perfected by boys dressed as girls (gotipuas) which diversified to include athletic and acrobatic moves, and were performed from festive occasions in temples to general folksy entertainment. Modern Odissi productions by Indian artists have presented a diverse range of experimental ideas, culture fusion, themes and plays.
Odissi was the only Indian dance form present in Michael Jackson's 1991 hit single Black or White.
History
The foundations of Odissi are found in Natya Shastra, the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of performance arts. The basic dance units described in Natyashastra, all 108 of them, are identical to those in Odissi.
Natya Shastra is attributed to the ancient scholar Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters. The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures – all of which are part of Indian classical dances. Dance and performance arts, states this ancient text, are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues and the essence of scriptures. The Natya Shastra refers to four vrittis (methods of expressive delivery) in vogue – Avanti, Dakshinatya, Panchali and Odra-Magadhi; of these, the Odra refers to Odisha.
More direct historical evidence of dance and music as an ancient performance art are found in archaeological sites such as caves and in temple carvings of Bhubaneswar, Konark and Puri. The Manchapuri cave in Udayagiri shows carvings of dance and musicians, and this has been dated to the time of Jain king Kharavela in the first or second century BCE. The Hathigumpha inscriptions, also dated to the same ruler, mention music and dance:
<blockquote style="background-color:none;margin-right:5em;margin-left:0em;border-left:solid 6px #FFE0BB;padding:1.0em">
(he [the king]) versed in the science of the Gandharvas (i.e., music), entertains the capital with the exhibition of dapa, dancing, singing and instrumental music and by causing to be held festivities and assemblies (samajas)...</p>
— Hathigumpha inscription, Line 5, ~ 2nd–1st century BCE
</blockquote>
The musical tradition of Odisha also has ancient roots. Archeologists have reported the discovery of 20-key, carefully shaped polished basalt lithophone in Sankarjang, the highlands of Odisha, which is dated to about 1000 BCE.
Medieval era
The Hindu, Jain and Buddhist archaeological sites in Odisha state, particularly the Assia range of hills show inscriptions and carvings of dances that are dated to the 6th to 9th century CE. Important sites include the Ranigumpha in Udaygiri, and various caves and temples at Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Alatgiri sites. The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses, with Haruka, Vajravarahi, and Marichi in Odissi-like postures. Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Maharis (Hindu temple dancers) and dance halls architecture (nata-mandap) were in vogue at least by the 9th century CE.
According to Kapila Vatsyayan, the Kalpasutra of Jainism, in its manuscripts discovered in Gujarat, includes classical Indian dance poses – such as the Samapada, the Tribhangi and the Chuaka of Odissi. This, states Vatsyayan, suggests that Odissi was admired or at least well known in distant parts of India, far from Odisha in the medieval era, to be included in the margins of an important Jain text. However, the Jain manuscripts use the dance poses as decorative art in the margins and cover, but do not describe or discuss the dance. Hindu dance texts such as the Abhinaya Chandrika and Abhinaya Darpana provide a detailed description of the movements of the feet, hands, the standing postures, the movement and the dance repertoire. It includes illustrations of the Karanãs mentioned in NãtyaShãstra. Similarly, the illustrated Hindu text on temple architecture from Odisha, the Shilpaprakãsha, deals with Odia architecture and sculpture, and includes Odissi postures.
Actual sculptures that have survived into the modern era and panel reliefs in Odia temples, dated to be from the 10th to 14th century, show Odissi dance. This is evidenced in Jagannatha temple in Puri, as well as other temples of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Vedic deities such as Surya (Sun) in Odisha. There are several sculptures of dancers and musicians in Konark Sun Temple and Brahmeswara Temple in Bhubaneswar.
The composition of the poetic texts by 8th century Shankaracharya and particularly of divine love inspired Gitagovinda by 12th century Jayadeva influenced the focus and growth of modern Odissi. Odissi was performed in the temples by the dancers called Maharis, who played out these spiritual poems and underlying religious plays, after training and perfecting their art of dance starting from an early age, and who were revered as auspicious to religious services.
Mughal and British period
After 12th-century, Odia temples, monasteries and nearby institutions such as the Puspagiri in eastern Indian subcontinent came under waves of attacks and ransacking by Muslim armies, a turmoil that impacted all arts and eroded the freedoms previously enjoyed by performance artists. The official records of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq's invasion in Odisha (13601361 CE), for example, describe the destruction of the Jagannath temple as well as numerous other temples, defacing of dancing statues, and ruining of dance halls. This led to a broad decline in Odissi and other religious arts, but there were some benevolent rulers in this period who supported arts particularly through performances at courts. During the Sultanate and Mughal era of India, the temple dancers were moved to entertain the Sultan's family and courts. They became associated with concubinage to the nobility.
The Odissi dance likely expanded in the 17th century, states Alexandra Carter, under King Ramachandradeva's patronage. This expansion integrated martial arts (akhanda) and athletics into Odissi dance, by engaging boys and youth called Gotipuas, as a means to physically train the young for the military and to resist foreign invasions. According to Ragini Devi, historical evidence suggests that the Gotipuas tradition was known and nurtured in the 14th century, by Raja of Khordha.
During the British Raj, the officials of the colonial government ridiculed the temple traditions, while Christian missionaries launched a sustained attack on the moral outrage of sensuousness of Odissi and other Hindu temple dance arts. In 1872, a British civil servant named William Hunter watched a performance at the Jagannatha temple in Puri, then wrote, "Indecent ceremonies disgraced the ritual, and dancing girls with rolling eyes put the modest worshipper to the blush...", and then attacked them as idol-worshipping prostitutes who expressed their devotion with "airy gyrations".
Christian missionaries launched the "anti-dance movement" in 1892, to ban all such dance forms. The dancers were frequently stigmatized as prostitutes by Europeans during the colonial era. In 1910, the British colonial government in India banned temple dancing, and the dance artists were reduced to abject poverty from the lack of any financial support for performance arts, combined with stereotyping stigma.
Post-independence
The temple dance ban and the cultural discrimination during the colonial rule marshaled a movement by Hindus to question the stereotypes and to revive the regional arts of India, including Odissi. Due to these efforts, the classical Indian dances witnessed a period of renaissance and reconstruction, which gained momentum particularly after Indians gained their freedom from colonialism.
Odissi, along with several other major Indian dances gained recognition after efforts by many scholars and performers in the 1950s, particularly by Kavichandra Kalicharan Pattanayak, an Oriya poet, dramatist and researcher. Pattanayak is also credited with naming the dance form as "Odissi".
Repertoire
Odissi, in the classical and medieval period has been, a team dance founded on Hindu texts. This drama-dance involved women (Maharis) enacting a spiritual poem or a religious story either in the inner sanctum of a Hindu temple, or in the Natamandira attached to the temple. The Odissi performing Maharis combined pure dance with expression, to play out and communicate the underlying text through abhinaya (gestures). The performance art evolved to include another aspect, wherein teams of boys – dressed as girls – called Gotipuas expanded the Odissi repertoire, such as by adding acrobatics and athletic moves, and they performed both near the temples and open fairs for general folksy entertainment. In the Indian tradition, many of the accomplished gotipuas became the gurus (teachers) in their adulthood. Modern Odissi is a diversified performance art, men have joined the women, and its reconstruction since the 1950s have added new plays and aspects of other Indian dances.
Love is a universal theme and one of the paradigmatic values in Indian religions. This theme is expressed through sensuous love poems and metaphors of sexual union in Krishna-related literature, and as longing eros (Shringara) in its dance arts such as in Odissi, from the early times. Hinduism, states Judith Hanna, encourages the artist to "strive to suggest, reveal or re-create the infinite, divine self", and art is considered as "the supreme means of realizing the Universal Being". Physical intimacy is not something considered as a reason for shame, rather considered a form of celebration and worship, where the saint is the lover and the lover is the saint. This aspect of Odissi dancing has been subdued in the modern post-colonial reconstructions, states Alexandra Carter, and the emphasis has expanded to "expressions of personal artistic excellence as ritualized spiritual articulations".
The traditional Odissi repertoire, like all classical Indian dances, includes Nritta (pure dance, solo), Nritya (dance with emotions, solo) and Natya (dramatic dance, group). These three performance aspects of Odissi are described and illustrated in the foundational Hindu texts, particularly the Natya Shastra, Abhinaya Darpana and the 16th-century Abhinaya Chandrika by Maheshwara Mahapatra of Odisha.
The Nritta performance is abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of the dance. The viewer is presented with pure movement in Nritta, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, range and pattern. This part of the repertoire has no interpretative aspect, no telling of story. It is a technical performance, and aims to engage the senses (prakriti) of the audience.
The Nritya is slower and expressive aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings, storyline particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions. In a nritya, the dance-acting expands to include silent expression of words through the sign language of gestures and body motion set to musical notes. This part of a repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.
The Natyam is a play, typically a team performance, but can be acted out by a solo performer where the dancer uses certain standardized body movements to indicate a new character in the underlying story. A Natya incorporates the elements of a Nritya.
The Mokshya is a climatic pure dance of Odissi, aiming to highlight the liberation of soul and serenity in the spiritual.
Odissi dance can be accompanied by both northern Indian (Hindustani) and southern Indian (Carnatic) music, though mainly, recitals are in Odia and Sanskrit language in the Odissi music tradition.
Sequence
Traditional Odissi repertoire sequence starts with an invocation called Mangalacharana. A shloka (hymn) in praise of a God or Goddess is sung, such as to Jagannath (an avatar of Vishnu), the meaning of which is expressed through dance. Mangalacharana is followed by Pushpanjali (offering of flowers) and Bhumi Pranam (salutation to mother earth). The invocation also includes Trikhandi Pranam or the three-fold salutation – to the Devas (gods), to the Gurus (teachers) and to the Lokas or Rasikas (fellow dancers and audience).
The next sequential step in an Odissi performance is Batu, also known as Battu Nrutya or Sthayee Nrutya or Batuka Bhairava. It is a fast pace, pure dance (nritta) performed in the honor of Shiva. There is no song or recitation accompanying this part of the dance, just rhythmic music. This pure dance sequence in Odissi builds up to a Pallavi which is often slow, graceful & lyrical movements of the eyes, neck, torso & feet & slowly builds in a crescendo to climax in a fast tempo at the end.
The nritya follows next, and consists of Abhinaya, or an expressional dance which is an enactment of a song or poetry. The dancer(s) communicate the story in a sign language, using mudras (hand gestures), bhavas (enacting mood, emotions), eye and body movement. The dance is fluid, graceful and sensual. Abhinaya in Odissi is performed to verses recited in Sanskrit or Odia language. Most common are Abhinayas on Oriya songs or Sanskrit Ashthapadis or Sanskrit stutis like Dasavatar Stotram (depicting the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu) or Ardhanari Stotram (half man, half woman form of the divine). Many regionally performed Abhinaya compositions are based on the Radha-Krishna theme. The Astapadis of the Radha-Krishna love poem Gita Govinda written by Jayadeva are usually performed in Odisha, as part of the dance repertoire.
The natya part, or dance drama, is next in sequence. Usually Hindu mythologies, epics and legendary dramas are chosen as themes.
A distinctive part of the Odissi tradition is the inclusion of Moksha (or Mokshya) finale in the performance sequence. This the concluding item of a recital. Moksha in Hindu traditions means “spiritual liberation”. This dance movement traditionally attempts to convey a sense of spiritual release and soul liberation, soaring into the realm of pure aesthetics. Movement and pose merge in a fast pace pure dance climax.
Basic moves and mudras
The basic unit of Odissi are called bhangas. These are made up of eight belis, or body positions and movements, combined in many varieties. Motion is uthas (rising or up), baithas (sitting or down) or sthankas (standing). The gaits or movement on the dance floor is called chaalis, with movement tempo linked to emotions according to the classical Sanskrit texts. Thus, for example, burhas or quick pace suggest excitement, while a slow confused pace suggests dejection. For aesthetics, movement is centered on a core, a point in space or floor, and each dancer has her imaginary square of space, with spins and expression held within it. The foot movement or pada bhedas too have basic dance units, and Odissi has six of these, in contrast to four found in most classical Indian dances.
The three primary dance positions in Odissi are:
Samabhanga – the square position, with weight equally placed on the two legs, spine straight, arms raised up with elbows bent.
Abhanga – the body weight shifts from side to side, due to deep leg bends, while the feet and knees are turned outwards, and one hip extending sideways.
Tribhanga – is an S-shaped three-fold bending of body, with torso deflecting in one direction while the head and hips deflecting in the opposite direction of torso. Further, the hands and legs frame the body into a composite of two squares (rectangle), providing an aesthetic frame of reference. This is described in the ancient Sanskrit texts, and forms of it are found in other Hindu dance arts, but tribhanga postures developed most in and are distinctive to Odissi, and they are found in historic Hindu temple reliefs.
Mudras or Hastas are hand gestures which are used to express the meaning of a given act. Like all classical dances of India, the aim of Odissi is in part to convey emotions, mood and inner feelings in the story by appropriate hand and facial gestures. There are 63 Hastas in modern Odissi dance, and these have the same names or structure as those in the pan-Indian Hindu texts, but most closely matching those in the Abhinaya Chandrika. These are subdivided into three, according to the traditional texts:
Asamyukta Hasta – Single hand Mudras – 28 Prakar (gestures, for instance to communicate a salute, prayer, embrace, energy, bond, swing, carriage, shell, arrow, holding a thing, wheel, and so on.)
Samyukta Hasta – Double hand Mudras – 24 Prakar (gestures, for instance to indicate a flag, flower, type of bird or animal, moon, action like grasping, and so on.)
Nrutya Hasta – “Pure Dance” Mudras
The Mudra system is derived from the "Abhinaya Darpana" by Nandikeshavara and the ancient Natya Shastra of Bharata Muni.
Costumes
The Odissi dancers are colorfully dressed with makeup and jewellery. The Saree worn by Odissi dancers are brightly coloured, and usually of local silk (Pattasari). It is worn with pleats, or may have a pleat tailor stitched in front, to allow maximum flexibility during the footwork. These sarees have traditional prints of Odisha with regional designs and embellishments, and may be the Sambalpuri Saree and Bomkai Saree.
The jewellery includes silver pieces, a metal favored in regional tradition. The hair is tied up, and typically drawn into an elaborate bun resembling a Hindu temple spire, and decorated with Seenthi. Their hairstyle may contain a moon shaped crest of white flowers, or a reed crown called Mukoot with peacock feathers (symbolism for Lord Krishna). The dancers forehead is marked with Tikka, and adorned with various jewelry such as the Allaka (head piece on which the tikka hangs). The eyes are ringed with Kajal (black eyeliner).
Ear covers called Kapa or ear rings decorate the sides of the head, while necklace adorns the neck. The dancer wears a pair of armlets also called Bahichudi or Bajuband, on the upper arm. The wrist is covered with Kankana (bangles). At the waist they wear an elaborate belt which ties down one end of the Sari. The ankles are decorated with a leather piece on top of which are bells (ghungroo). The dancer's palms and soles may be painted with red coloured dye called the Alta.
Modern Odissi male performers wear dhoti – a broadcloth tied around waist, pleated for movement, and tucked between legs; usually extends to knee or lower. Upper body is bare chested, and a long thin folded translucent sheet wrapping over one shoulder and usually tucked below a wide belt.
Music and instruments
Odissi dance is accompanied by the traditional classical music of the state of Odisha, Odissi music. The primary Odissi ragas are Kalyana, Nata, Shree Gowda, Baradi, Panchama, Dhanashri, Karnata, Bhairavee and Shokabaradi.
Odissi dance, states Ragini Devi, is a form of "visualized music", wherein the Ragas and Raginis, respectively the primary and secondary musical modes, are integrated by the musicians and interpreted through the dancer. Each note is a means, has a purpose and with a mood in classical Indian music, which Odissi accompanies to express sentiments in a song through Parija. This is true whether the performance is formal, or less formal as in Nartana and Natangi used during festive occasions and the folksy celebration of life.
An Odissi troupe comes with musicians and musical instruments. The orchestra consists of various regional musical instruments, such as the Mardala (barrel drum), harmonium, flute, sitar, violin, cymbals held in fingers and others.
Styles
The Odissi tradition existed in three schools: Mahari, Nartaki, and Gotipua:
Maharis were Oriya devadasis or temple girls, their name deriving from Maha (great) and Nari (girl), or Mahri (chosen) particularly those at the temple of Jagganath at Puri. Early Maharis performed Nritta (pure dance) and Abhinaya (interpretation of poetry) dedicated to various Hindu gods and goddesses, as well as Puranic mythologies and Vedic legends. Later, Maharis especially performed dance sequences based on the lyrics of Jayadev's Gita Govinda. This style is more sensuous and closer to the classical Sanskrit texts on dance, music and performance arts.
Gotipuas were boys dressed up as girls and taught the dance by the Maharis. This style included martial arts, athletics and acrobatics. Gotipuas danced to these compositions outside the temples and fairgrounds as folksy entertainment.
Nartaki dance took place in the royal courts, where it was prevalent before the British period.
Schools, training and recognition
Odissi maestros and performers
Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pankaj Charan Das, Deba Prasad Das and Raghunath Dutta were the four major gurus who revived Odissi in the late forties and early fifties. Sanjukta Panigrahi was a leading disciple of Kelucharan Mohapatra who popularized Odissi by performing in India and abroad. In the mid-sixties, three other disciples of Kelucharan Mohapatra, Kumkum Mohanty and Sonal Mansingh, were known for their performances in India and abroad. Laximipriya Mohapatra performed a piece of Odissi abhinaya in the Annapurna Theatre in Cuttack in 1948, a show upheld as the first classical Odissi dance performance after its contemporary revival. Guru Mayadhar Raut played a pivotal role in giving Odissi dance its classical status. He introduced Mudra Vinyoga in 1955 and Sancharibhava in the Odissi dance items, and portrayed Shringara Rasa in Gita Govinda Ashthapadis. His notable compositions include Pashyati Dishi Dishi and Priya Charu Shile, composed in 1961.
Schools
IIT Bhubaneswar
Odissi has been included in Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar's BTech syllabus since 2015 as the first Indian national technical institute to introduce any classical dance in syllabus.
In Guinness World records
Guinness World Records has acknowledged the feat of the largest congregation of Odissi dancers in a single event. 555 Odissi dancers performed at the event hosted on 23 December 2011, in the Kalinga stadium, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The dancers performed the Mangalacharan, Battu, Pallavi, Abhinay and Mokshya dance items from the Odissi repertoire.
More than 1000 Odissi dancers performed at the World Cultural Festival 12 March 2016. This is till date the largest congregation of Odissi dancers in a single event.
Odissi Centre at Oxford University
An Odissi dance centre has been opened from January 2016, at the University of Oxford. Known as Oxford Odissi Centre, it is an initiative of the Odissi dancer and choreographer Baisali Mohanty who is also a post-graduate scholar at the University of Oxford.
Beside holding regular Odissi dance classes at its institution, the Oxford Odissi Centre also conducts Odissi dance workshops at other academic institutions in the United Kingdom.
See also
Indian classical dance
Ghungroo
Odissi music
Gotipua
References
Bibliography
Odissi : What, Why and How… Evolution, Revival and Technique, by Madhumita Raut. Published by B. R. Rhythms, Delhi, 2007. .
Odissi Yaatra: The Journey of Guru Mayadhar Raut, by Aadya Kaktikar (ed. Madhumita Raut). Published by B. R. Rhythms, Delhi, 2010. .
Odissi Dance, by Dhirendranath Patnaik. Published by Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1971.
Odissi – The Dance Divine, by Ranjana Gauhar and Dushyant Parasher. Published by Niyogi Books, 2007. .
Odissi, Indian Classical Dance Art: Odisi Nritya, by Sunil Kothari, Avinash Pasricha. Marg Publications, 1990. .
Perspectives on Odissi Theatre, by Ramesh Prasad Panigrahi, Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi. Published by Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1998.
Abhinaya-chandrika and Odissi dance, by Maheshwar Mahapatra, Alekha Chandra Sarangi, Sushama Kulshreshthaa, Maya Das. Published by Eastern Book Linkers, 2001. .
Rethinking Odissi, by Dinanath Pathy. Published by Harman Pub. House, 2007. .
, Table of Contents
External links
Odissi solo performance: Nitisha Nanda, Arabhi Pallav, New Delhi 2013
Odissi group dance: Megh Pallavi, Vancouver 2014
Maryam Shakiba – Odissi Dance – Manglacharan Ganesh Vandana Pushkar 2014
Odissi links at the Open Directory
Odissi schools, Classical Indian Dance Portal
The annotated Odissi Dance Archive on Pad.ma
History of Odissi and Geeta Govinda JN Dhar, Orissa Review
Bharat Bhavan, a Kerala-based Department of Culture information website.
Arts of Odisha
Odia culture
Jayadeva
Classical dance genres of India
Hindu temple dance
Odissi dancers
Odissi music
Artforms based on Odissi music | true | [
"Sujata Mohapatra (born 27 June 1968) is an Indian classical dancer and teacher of Odissi dancing style.\n\nEarly life and background\nSujata Mohapatra was born in Balasore in 1968. She started learning Odissi at an early age from Guru Sudhakar Sahu.\n\nSujata Mohapatra came to Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, in 1987 to fur... | [
"Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in older literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of... |
[
"Odissi",
"Medieval era",
"Was Odissi an acceptable form of dancing during the Medieval era?",
"The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses,",
"Was Odissi popular form of dancing during the Medieval era?",
"Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Mah... | C_c50f120990f34e0cb4e97ecfbab870af_1 | Were there anyone in the Medieval who did not like this form of dancing? | 6 | Was there anyone in the Medieval era who did not like the Odissi form of dancing? | Odissi | The Buddhist, Jain and Hindu archaeological sites in Odisha state, particularly the Assia range of hills show inscriptions and carvings of dances that are dated to the 6th to 9th century CE. Important sites include the Ranigumpha in Udaygiri, and various caves and temples at Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Alatgiri sites. The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses, with Haruka, Vajravarahi, and Marichi in Odissi-like postures. Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Maharis (Hindu temple dancers) and dance halls architecture (nata-mandap) were in vogue at least by the 9th century CE. According to Kapila Vatsyayan, the Kalpasutra of Jainism, in its manuscripts discovered in Gujarat, includes classical Indian dance poses - such as the Samapada, the Tribhangi and the Chuaka of Odissi. This, states Vatsyayan, suggests that Odissi was admired or at least well known in distant parts of India, far from Odisha in the medieval era, to be included in the margins of an important Jain text. However, the Jain manuscripts use the dance poses as decorative art in the margins and cover, but do not describe or discuss the dance. Hindu dance texts such as the Abhinaya Chandrika and Abhinaya Darpana provide a detailed description of the movements of the feet, hands, the standing postures, the movement and the dance repertoire. It includes illustrations of the Karanas mentioned in NatyaShastra. Similarly, the illustrated Hindu text on temple architecture from Odisha, the Shilpaprakasha, deals with Odia architecture and sculpture, and includes Odissi postures. Actual sculptures that have survived into the modern era and panel reliefs in Odia temples, dated to be from the 10th to 14th century, show Odissi dance. This is evidenced in Jagannath temple in Puri, as well as other temples of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Vedic deities such as Surya (Sun) in Odisha. There are several sculptures of dancers and musicians in Konark Sun Temple and Brahmeswara Temple in Bhubaneswar. The composition of the poetic texts by 8th century Shankaracharya and particularly of divine love inspired Gitagovinda by 12th century Jayadeva influenced the focus and growth of modern Odissi. Odissi was performed in the temples by the dancers called Maharis, who played out these spiritual poems and underlying religious plays, after training and perfecting their art of dance starting from an early age, and who were revered as auspicious to religious services. CANNOTANSWER | were revered as auspicious to religious services. | Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in older literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of Vaishnavism. Odissi performances have also expressed ideas of other traditions such as those related to Hindu gods Shiva and Surya, as well as Hindu goddesses (Shaktism).
The theoretical foundations of Odissi trace to the ancient Sanskrit text Natya Shastra, its existence in antiquity evidenced by the dance poses in the sculptures of Odissi Hindu temples, and archeological sites related to Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism and Jainism. It was suppressed under the British Rule. The suppression was protested by the Indians, followed by its revival, reconstruction and expansion since India gained independence from the colonial rule.
Odissi is traditionally a dance-drama genre of performance art, where the artist(s) and musicians play out a story, a spiritual message or devotional poem from the Hindu texts, using symbolic costumes, body movement, abhinaya (expressions) and mudras (gestures and sign language) set out in ancient Sanskrit literature. Classical Odia literature & the Gitagovinda set to traditional Odissi music are used for the abhinaya. Odissi is learnt and performed as a composite of basic dance motif called the Bhangas (symmetric body bends, stance). It involves lower (footwork), mid (torso) and upper (hand and head) as three sources of perfecting expression and audience engagement with geometric symmetry and rhythmic musical resonance. An Odissi performance repertoire includes invocation, nritta (pure dance), nritya (expressive dance), natya (dance drama) and moksha (dance climax connoting freedom of the soul and spiritual release).
Traditional Odissi exists in two major styles, the first perfected by women and focussed on solemn, spiritual temple dance (maharis); the second perfected by boys dressed as girls (gotipuas) which diversified to include athletic and acrobatic moves, and were performed from festive occasions in temples to general folksy entertainment. Modern Odissi productions by Indian artists have presented a diverse range of experimental ideas, culture fusion, themes and plays.
Odissi was the only Indian dance form present in Michael Jackson's 1991 hit single Black or White.
History
The foundations of Odissi are found in Natya Shastra, the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of performance arts. The basic dance units described in Natyashastra, all 108 of them, are identical to those in Odissi.
Natya Shastra is attributed to the ancient scholar Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters. The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures – all of which are part of Indian classical dances. Dance and performance arts, states this ancient text, are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues and the essence of scriptures. The Natya Shastra refers to four vrittis (methods of expressive delivery) in vogue – Avanti, Dakshinatya, Panchali and Odra-Magadhi; of these, the Odra refers to Odisha.
More direct historical evidence of dance and music as an ancient performance art are found in archaeological sites such as caves and in temple carvings of Bhubaneswar, Konark and Puri. The Manchapuri cave in Udayagiri shows carvings of dance and musicians, and this has been dated to the time of Jain king Kharavela in the first or second century BCE. The Hathigumpha inscriptions, also dated to the same ruler, mention music and dance:
<blockquote style="background-color:none;margin-right:5em;margin-left:0em;border-left:solid 6px #FFE0BB;padding:1.0em">
(he [the king]) versed in the science of the Gandharvas (i.e., music), entertains the capital with the exhibition of dapa, dancing, singing and instrumental music and by causing to be held festivities and assemblies (samajas)...</p>
— Hathigumpha inscription, Line 5, ~ 2nd–1st century BCE
</blockquote>
The musical tradition of Odisha also has ancient roots. Archeologists have reported the discovery of 20-key, carefully shaped polished basalt lithophone in Sankarjang, the highlands of Odisha, which is dated to about 1000 BCE.
Medieval era
The Hindu, Jain and Buddhist archaeological sites in Odisha state, particularly the Assia range of hills show inscriptions and carvings of dances that are dated to the 6th to 9th century CE. Important sites include the Ranigumpha in Udaygiri, and various caves and temples at Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Alatgiri sites. The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses, with Haruka, Vajravarahi, and Marichi in Odissi-like postures. Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Maharis (Hindu temple dancers) and dance halls architecture (nata-mandap) were in vogue at least by the 9th century CE.
According to Kapila Vatsyayan, the Kalpasutra of Jainism, in its manuscripts discovered in Gujarat, includes classical Indian dance poses – such as the Samapada, the Tribhangi and the Chuaka of Odissi. This, states Vatsyayan, suggests that Odissi was admired or at least well known in distant parts of India, far from Odisha in the medieval era, to be included in the margins of an important Jain text. However, the Jain manuscripts use the dance poses as decorative art in the margins and cover, but do not describe or discuss the dance. Hindu dance texts such as the Abhinaya Chandrika and Abhinaya Darpana provide a detailed description of the movements of the feet, hands, the standing postures, the movement and the dance repertoire. It includes illustrations of the Karanãs mentioned in NãtyaShãstra. Similarly, the illustrated Hindu text on temple architecture from Odisha, the Shilpaprakãsha, deals with Odia architecture and sculpture, and includes Odissi postures.
Actual sculptures that have survived into the modern era and panel reliefs in Odia temples, dated to be from the 10th to 14th century, show Odissi dance. This is evidenced in Jagannatha temple in Puri, as well as other temples of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Vedic deities such as Surya (Sun) in Odisha. There are several sculptures of dancers and musicians in Konark Sun Temple and Brahmeswara Temple in Bhubaneswar.
The composition of the poetic texts by 8th century Shankaracharya and particularly of divine love inspired Gitagovinda by 12th century Jayadeva influenced the focus and growth of modern Odissi. Odissi was performed in the temples by the dancers called Maharis, who played out these spiritual poems and underlying religious plays, after training and perfecting their art of dance starting from an early age, and who were revered as auspicious to religious services.
Mughal and British period
After 12th-century, Odia temples, monasteries and nearby institutions such as the Puspagiri in eastern Indian subcontinent came under waves of attacks and ransacking by Muslim armies, a turmoil that impacted all arts and eroded the freedoms previously enjoyed by performance artists. The official records of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq's invasion in Odisha (13601361 CE), for example, describe the destruction of the Jagannath temple as well as numerous other temples, defacing of dancing statues, and ruining of dance halls. This led to a broad decline in Odissi and other religious arts, but there were some benevolent rulers in this period who supported arts particularly through performances at courts. During the Sultanate and Mughal era of India, the temple dancers were moved to entertain the Sultan's family and courts. They became associated with concubinage to the nobility.
The Odissi dance likely expanded in the 17th century, states Alexandra Carter, under King Ramachandradeva's patronage. This expansion integrated martial arts (akhanda) and athletics into Odissi dance, by engaging boys and youth called Gotipuas, as a means to physically train the young for the military and to resist foreign invasions. According to Ragini Devi, historical evidence suggests that the Gotipuas tradition was known and nurtured in the 14th century, by Raja of Khordha.
During the British Raj, the officials of the colonial government ridiculed the temple traditions, while Christian missionaries launched a sustained attack on the moral outrage of sensuousness of Odissi and other Hindu temple dance arts. In 1872, a British civil servant named William Hunter watched a performance at the Jagannatha temple in Puri, then wrote, "Indecent ceremonies disgraced the ritual, and dancing girls with rolling eyes put the modest worshipper to the blush...", and then attacked them as idol-worshipping prostitutes who expressed their devotion with "airy gyrations".
Christian missionaries launched the "anti-dance movement" in 1892, to ban all such dance forms. The dancers were frequently stigmatized as prostitutes by Europeans during the colonial era. In 1910, the British colonial government in India banned temple dancing, and the dance artists were reduced to abject poverty from the lack of any financial support for performance arts, combined with stereotyping stigma.
Post-independence
The temple dance ban and the cultural discrimination during the colonial rule marshaled a movement by Hindus to question the stereotypes and to revive the regional arts of India, including Odissi. Due to these efforts, the classical Indian dances witnessed a period of renaissance and reconstruction, which gained momentum particularly after Indians gained their freedom from colonialism.
Odissi, along with several other major Indian dances gained recognition after efforts by many scholars and performers in the 1950s, particularly by Kavichandra Kalicharan Pattanayak, an Oriya poet, dramatist and researcher. Pattanayak is also credited with naming the dance form as "Odissi".
Repertoire
Odissi, in the classical and medieval period has been, a team dance founded on Hindu texts. This drama-dance involved women (Maharis) enacting a spiritual poem or a religious story either in the inner sanctum of a Hindu temple, or in the Natamandira attached to the temple. The Odissi performing Maharis combined pure dance with expression, to play out and communicate the underlying text through abhinaya (gestures). The performance art evolved to include another aspect, wherein teams of boys – dressed as girls – called Gotipuas expanded the Odissi repertoire, such as by adding acrobatics and athletic moves, and they performed both near the temples and open fairs for general folksy entertainment. In the Indian tradition, many of the accomplished gotipuas became the gurus (teachers) in their adulthood. Modern Odissi is a diversified performance art, men have joined the women, and its reconstruction since the 1950s have added new plays and aspects of other Indian dances.
Love is a universal theme and one of the paradigmatic values in Indian religions. This theme is expressed through sensuous love poems and metaphors of sexual union in Krishna-related literature, and as longing eros (Shringara) in its dance arts such as in Odissi, from the early times. Hinduism, states Judith Hanna, encourages the artist to "strive to suggest, reveal or re-create the infinite, divine self", and art is considered as "the supreme means of realizing the Universal Being". Physical intimacy is not something considered as a reason for shame, rather considered a form of celebration and worship, where the saint is the lover and the lover is the saint. This aspect of Odissi dancing has been subdued in the modern post-colonial reconstructions, states Alexandra Carter, and the emphasis has expanded to "expressions of personal artistic excellence as ritualized spiritual articulations".
The traditional Odissi repertoire, like all classical Indian dances, includes Nritta (pure dance, solo), Nritya (dance with emotions, solo) and Natya (dramatic dance, group). These three performance aspects of Odissi are described and illustrated in the foundational Hindu texts, particularly the Natya Shastra, Abhinaya Darpana and the 16th-century Abhinaya Chandrika by Maheshwara Mahapatra of Odisha.
The Nritta performance is abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of the dance. The viewer is presented with pure movement in Nritta, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, range and pattern. This part of the repertoire has no interpretative aspect, no telling of story. It is a technical performance, and aims to engage the senses (prakriti) of the audience.
The Nritya is slower and expressive aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings, storyline particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions. In a nritya, the dance-acting expands to include silent expression of words through the sign language of gestures and body motion set to musical notes. This part of a repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.
The Natyam is a play, typically a team performance, but can be acted out by a solo performer where the dancer uses certain standardized body movements to indicate a new character in the underlying story. A Natya incorporates the elements of a Nritya.
The Mokshya is a climatic pure dance of Odissi, aiming to highlight the liberation of soul and serenity in the spiritual.
Odissi dance can be accompanied by both northern Indian (Hindustani) and southern Indian (Carnatic) music, though mainly, recitals are in Odia and Sanskrit language in the Odissi music tradition.
Sequence
Traditional Odissi repertoire sequence starts with an invocation called Mangalacharana. A shloka (hymn) in praise of a God or Goddess is sung, such as to Jagannath (an avatar of Vishnu), the meaning of which is expressed through dance. Mangalacharana is followed by Pushpanjali (offering of flowers) and Bhumi Pranam (salutation to mother earth). The invocation also includes Trikhandi Pranam or the three-fold salutation – to the Devas (gods), to the Gurus (teachers) and to the Lokas or Rasikas (fellow dancers and audience).
The next sequential step in an Odissi performance is Batu, also known as Battu Nrutya or Sthayee Nrutya or Batuka Bhairava. It is a fast pace, pure dance (nritta) performed in the honor of Shiva. There is no song or recitation accompanying this part of the dance, just rhythmic music. This pure dance sequence in Odissi builds up to a Pallavi which is often slow, graceful & lyrical movements of the eyes, neck, torso & feet & slowly builds in a crescendo to climax in a fast tempo at the end.
The nritya follows next, and consists of Abhinaya, or an expressional dance which is an enactment of a song or poetry. The dancer(s) communicate the story in a sign language, using mudras (hand gestures), bhavas (enacting mood, emotions), eye and body movement. The dance is fluid, graceful and sensual. Abhinaya in Odissi is performed to verses recited in Sanskrit or Odia language. Most common are Abhinayas on Oriya songs or Sanskrit Ashthapadis or Sanskrit stutis like Dasavatar Stotram (depicting the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu) or Ardhanari Stotram (half man, half woman form of the divine). Many regionally performed Abhinaya compositions are based on the Radha-Krishna theme. The Astapadis of the Radha-Krishna love poem Gita Govinda written by Jayadeva are usually performed in Odisha, as part of the dance repertoire.
The natya part, or dance drama, is next in sequence. Usually Hindu mythologies, epics and legendary dramas are chosen as themes.
A distinctive part of the Odissi tradition is the inclusion of Moksha (or Mokshya) finale in the performance sequence. This the concluding item of a recital. Moksha in Hindu traditions means “spiritual liberation”. This dance movement traditionally attempts to convey a sense of spiritual release and soul liberation, soaring into the realm of pure aesthetics. Movement and pose merge in a fast pace pure dance climax.
Basic moves and mudras
The basic unit of Odissi are called bhangas. These are made up of eight belis, or body positions and movements, combined in many varieties. Motion is uthas (rising or up), baithas (sitting or down) or sthankas (standing). The gaits or movement on the dance floor is called chaalis, with movement tempo linked to emotions according to the classical Sanskrit texts. Thus, for example, burhas or quick pace suggest excitement, while a slow confused pace suggests dejection. For aesthetics, movement is centered on a core, a point in space or floor, and each dancer has her imaginary square of space, with spins and expression held within it. The foot movement or pada bhedas too have basic dance units, and Odissi has six of these, in contrast to four found in most classical Indian dances.
The three primary dance positions in Odissi are:
Samabhanga – the square position, with weight equally placed on the two legs, spine straight, arms raised up with elbows bent.
Abhanga – the body weight shifts from side to side, due to deep leg bends, while the feet and knees are turned outwards, and one hip extending sideways.
Tribhanga – is an S-shaped three-fold bending of body, with torso deflecting in one direction while the head and hips deflecting in the opposite direction of torso. Further, the hands and legs frame the body into a composite of two squares (rectangle), providing an aesthetic frame of reference. This is described in the ancient Sanskrit texts, and forms of it are found in other Hindu dance arts, but tribhanga postures developed most in and are distinctive to Odissi, and they are found in historic Hindu temple reliefs.
Mudras or Hastas are hand gestures which are used to express the meaning of a given act. Like all classical dances of India, the aim of Odissi is in part to convey emotions, mood and inner feelings in the story by appropriate hand and facial gestures. There are 63 Hastas in modern Odissi dance, and these have the same names or structure as those in the pan-Indian Hindu texts, but most closely matching those in the Abhinaya Chandrika. These are subdivided into three, according to the traditional texts:
Asamyukta Hasta – Single hand Mudras – 28 Prakar (gestures, for instance to communicate a salute, prayer, embrace, energy, bond, swing, carriage, shell, arrow, holding a thing, wheel, and so on.)
Samyukta Hasta – Double hand Mudras – 24 Prakar (gestures, for instance to indicate a flag, flower, type of bird or animal, moon, action like grasping, and so on.)
Nrutya Hasta – “Pure Dance” Mudras
The Mudra system is derived from the "Abhinaya Darpana" by Nandikeshavara and the ancient Natya Shastra of Bharata Muni.
Costumes
The Odissi dancers are colorfully dressed with makeup and jewellery. The Saree worn by Odissi dancers are brightly coloured, and usually of local silk (Pattasari). It is worn with pleats, or may have a pleat tailor stitched in front, to allow maximum flexibility during the footwork. These sarees have traditional prints of Odisha with regional designs and embellishments, and may be the Sambalpuri Saree and Bomkai Saree.
The jewellery includes silver pieces, a metal favored in regional tradition. The hair is tied up, and typically drawn into an elaborate bun resembling a Hindu temple spire, and decorated with Seenthi. Their hairstyle may contain a moon shaped crest of white flowers, or a reed crown called Mukoot with peacock feathers (symbolism for Lord Krishna). The dancers forehead is marked with Tikka, and adorned with various jewelry such as the Allaka (head piece on which the tikka hangs). The eyes are ringed with Kajal (black eyeliner).
Ear covers called Kapa or ear rings decorate the sides of the head, while necklace adorns the neck. The dancer wears a pair of armlets also called Bahichudi or Bajuband, on the upper arm. The wrist is covered with Kankana (bangles). At the waist they wear an elaborate belt which ties down one end of the Sari. The ankles are decorated with a leather piece on top of which are bells (ghungroo). The dancer's palms and soles may be painted with red coloured dye called the Alta.
Modern Odissi male performers wear dhoti – a broadcloth tied around waist, pleated for movement, and tucked between legs; usually extends to knee or lower. Upper body is bare chested, and a long thin folded translucent sheet wrapping over one shoulder and usually tucked below a wide belt.
Music and instruments
Odissi dance is accompanied by the traditional classical music of the state of Odisha, Odissi music. The primary Odissi ragas are Kalyana, Nata, Shree Gowda, Baradi, Panchama, Dhanashri, Karnata, Bhairavee and Shokabaradi.
Odissi dance, states Ragini Devi, is a form of "visualized music", wherein the Ragas and Raginis, respectively the primary and secondary musical modes, are integrated by the musicians and interpreted through the dancer. Each note is a means, has a purpose and with a mood in classical Indian music, which Odissi accompanies to express sentiments in a song through Parija. This is true whether the performance is formal, or less formal as in Nartana and Natangi used during festive occasions and the folksy celebration of life.
An Odissi troupe comes with musicians and musical instruments. The orchestra consists of various regional musical instruments, such as the Mardala (barrel drum), harmonium, flute, sitar, violin, cymbals held in fingers and others.
Styles
The Odissi tradition existed in three schools: Mahari, Nartaki, and Gotipua:
Maharis were Oriya devadasis or temple girls, their name deriving from Maha (great) and Nari (girl), or Mahri (chosen) particularly those at the temple of Jagganath at Puri. Early Maharis performed Nritta (pure dance) and Abhinaya (interpretation of poetry) dedicated to various Hindu gods and goddesses, as well as Puranic mythologies and Vedic legends. Later, Maharis especially performed dance sequences based on the lyrics of Jayadev's Gita Govinda. This style is more sensuous and closer to the classical Sanskrit texts on dance, music and performance arts.
Gotipuas were boys dressed up as girls and taught the dance by the Maharis. This style included martial arts, athletics and acrobatics. Gotipuas danced to these compositions outside the temples and fairgrounds as folksy entertainment.
Nartaki dance took place in the royal courts, where it was prevalent before the British period.
Schools, training and recognition
Odissi maestros and performers
Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pankaj Charan Das, Deba Prasad Das and Raghunath Dutta were the four major gurus who revived Odissi in the late forties and early fifties. Sanjukta Panigrahi was a leading disciple of Kelucharan Mohapatra who popularized Odissi by performing in India and abroad. In the mid-sixties, three other disciples of Kelucharan Mohapatra, Kumkum Mohanty and Sonal Mansingh, were known for their performances in India and abroad. Laximipriya Mohapatra performed a piece of Odissi abhinaya in the Annapurna Theatre in Cuttack in 1948, a show upheld as the first classical Odissi dance performance after its contemporary revival. Guru Mayadhar Raut played a pivotal role in giving Odissi dance its classical status. He introduced Mudra Vinyoga in 1955 and Sancharibhava in the Odissi dance items, and portrayed Shringara Rasa in Gita Govinda Ashthapadis. His notable compositions include Pashyati Dishi Dishi and Priya Charu Shile, composed in 1961.
Schools
IIT Bhubaneswar
Odissi has been included in Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar's BTech syllabus since 2015 as the first Indian national technical institute to introduce any classical dance in syllabus.
In Guinness World records
Guinness World Records has acknowledged the feat of the largest congregation of Odissi dancers in a single event. 555 Odissi dancers performed at the event hosted on 23 December 2011, in the Kalinga stadium, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The dancers performed the Mangalacharan, Battu, Pallavi, Abhinay and Mokshya dance items from the Odissi repertoire.
More than 1000 Odissi dancers performed at the World Cultural Festival 12 March 2016. This is till date the largest congregation of Odissi dancers in a single event.
Odissi Centre at Oxford University
An Odissi dance centre has been opened from January 2016, at the University of Oxford. Known as Oxford Odissi Centre, it is an initiative of the Odissi dancer and choreographer Baisali Mohanty who is also a post-graduate scholar at the University of Oxford.
Beside holding regular Odissi dance classes at its institution, the Oxford Odissi Centre also conducts Odissi dance workshops at other academic institutions in the United Kingdom.
See also
Indian classical dance
Ghungroo
Odissi music
Gotipua
References
Bibliography
Odissi : What, Why and How… Evolution, Revival and Technique, by Madhumita Raut. Published by B. R. Rhythms, Delhi, 2007. .
Odissi Yaatra: The Journey of Guru Mayadhar Raut, by Aadya Kaktikar (ed. Madhumita Raut). Published by B. R. Rhythms, Delhi, 2010. .
Odissi Dance, by Dhirendranath Patnaik. Published by Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1971.
Odissi – The Dance Divine, by Ranjana Gauhar and Dushyant Parasher. Published by Niyogi Books, 2007. .
Odissi, Indian Classical Dance Art: Odisi Nritya, by Sunil Kothari, Avinash Pasricha. Marg Publications, 1990. .
Perspectives on Odissi Theatre, by Ramesh Prasad Panigrahi, Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi. Published by Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1998.
Abhinaya-chandrika and Odissi dance, by Maheshwar Mahapatra, Alekha Chandra Sarangi, Sushama Kulshreshthaa, Maya Das. Published by Eastern Book Linkers, 2001. .
Rethinking Odissi, by Dinanath Pathy. Published by Harman Pub. House, 2007. .
, Table of Contents
External links
Odissi solo performance: Nitisha Nanda, Arabhi Pallav, New Delhi 2013
Odissi group dance: Megh Pallavi, Vancouver 2014
Maryam Shakiba – Odissi Dance – Manglacharan Ganesh Vandana Pushkar 2014
Odissi links at the Open Directory
Odissi schools, Classical Indian Dance Portal
The annotated Odissi Dance Archive on Pad.ma
History of Odissi and Geeta Govinda JN Dhar, Orissa Review
Bharat Bhavan, a Kerala-based Department of Culture information website.
Arts of Odisha
Odia culture
Jayadeva
Classical dance genres of India
Hindu temple dance
Odissi dancers
Odissi music
Artforms based on Odissi music | true | [
"The dancing plague of 1518, or dance epidemic of 1518, was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, Alsace (modern-day France), in the Holy Roman Empire from July 1518 to September 1518. Somewhere between 50 and 400 people took to dancing for days.\n\nEvents \nThe outbreak began in July 1518 when a wom... | [
"Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in older literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of... |
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"Odissi",
"Medieval era",
"Was Odissi an acceptable form of dancing during the Medieval era?",
"The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses,",
"Was Odissi popular form of dancing during the Medieval era?",
"Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Mah... | C_c50f120990f34e0cb4e97ecfbab870af_1 | In what arenas were you able to witness the Odissi performers in the Medieval era? | 7 | In what arenas were you able to witness the Odissi performers in the Medieval era? | Odissi | The Buddhist, Jain and Hindu archaeological sites in Odisha state, particularly the Assia range of hills show inscriptions and carvings of dances that are dated to the 6th to 9th century CE. Important sites include the Ranigumpha in Udaygiri, and various caves and temples at Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Alatgiri sites. The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses, with Haruka, Vajravarahi, and Marichi in Odissi-like postures. Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Maharis (Hindu temple dancers) and dance halls architecture (nata-mandap) were in vogue at least by the 9th century CE. According to Kapila Vatsyayan, the Kalpasutra of Jainism, in its manuscripts discovered in Gujarat, includes classical Indian dance poses - such as the Samapada, the Tribhangi and the Chuaka of Odissi. This, states Vatsyayan, suggests that Odissi was admired or at least well known in distant parts of India, far from Odisha in the medieval era, to be included in the margins of an important Jain text. However, the Jain manuscripts use the dance poses as decorative art in the margins and cover, but do not describe or discuss the dance. Hindu dance texts such as the Abhinaya Chandrika and Abhinaya Darpana provide a detailed description of the movements of the feet, hands, the standing postures, the movement and the dance repertoire. It includes illustrations of the Karanas mentioned in NatyaShastra. Similarly, the illustrated Hindu text on temple architecture from Odisha, the Shilpaprakasha, deals with Odia architecture and sculpture, and includes Odissi postures. Actual sculptures that have survived into the modern era and panel reliefs in Odia temples, dated to be from the 10th to 14th century, show Odissi dance. This is evidenced in Jagannath temple in Puri, as well as other temples of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Vedic deities such as Surya (Sun) in Odisha. There are several sculptures of dancers and musicians in Konark Sun Temple and Brahmeswara Temple in Bhubaneswar. The composition of the poetic texts by 8th century Shankaracharya and particularly of divine love inspired Gitagovinda by 12th century Jayadeva influenced the focus and growth of modern Odissi. Odissi was performed in the temples by the dancers called Maharis, who played out these spiritual poems and underlying religious plays, after training and perfecting their art of dance starting from an early age, and who were revered as auspicious to religious services. CANNOTANSWER | Odissi was performed in the temples by the dancers called Maharis, | Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in older literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of Vaishnavism. Odissi performances have also expressed ideas of other traditions such as those related to Hindu gods Shiva and Surya, as well as Hindu goddesses (Shaktism).
The theoretical foundations of Odissi trace to the ancient Sanskrit text Natya Shastra, its existence in antiquity evidenced by the dance poses in the sculptures of Odissi Hindu temples, and archeological sites related to Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism and Jainism. It was suppressed under the British Rule. The suppression was protested by the Indians, followed by its revival, reconstruction and expansion since India gained independence from the colonial rule.
Odissi is traditionally a dance-drama genre of performance art, where the artist(s) and musicians play out a story, a spiritual message or devotional poem from the Hindu texts, using symbolic costumes, body movement, abhinaya (expressions) and mudras (gestures and sign language) set out in ancient Sanskrit literature. Classical Odia literature & the Gitagovinda set to traditional Odissi music are used for the abhinaya. Odissi is learnt and performed as a composite of basic dance motif called the Bhangas (symmetric body bends, stance). It involves lower (footwork), mid (torso) and upper (hand and head) as three sources of perfecting expression and audience engagement with geometric symmetry and rhythmic musical resonance. An Odissi performance repertoire includes invocation, nritta (pure dance), nritya (expressive dance), natya (dance drama) and moksha (dance climax connoting freedom of the soul and spiritual release).
Traditional Odissi exists in two major styles, the first perfected by women and focussed on solemn, spiritual temple dance (maharis); the second perfected by boys dressed as girls (gotipuas) which diversified to include athletic and acrobatic moves, and were performed from festive occasions in temples to general folksy entertainment. Modern Odissi productions by Indian artists have presented a diverse range of experimental ideas, culture fusion, themes and plays.
Odissi was the only Indian dance form present in Michael Jackson's 1991 hit single Black or White.
History
The foundations of Odissi are found in Natya Shastra, the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of performance arts. The basic dance units described in Natyashastra, all 108 of them, are identical to those in Odissi.
Natya Shastra is attributed to the ancient scholar Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters. The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures – all of which are part of Indian classical dances. Dance and performance arts, states this ancient text, are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues and the essence of scriptures. The Natya Shastra refers to four vrittis (methods of expressive delivery) in vogue – Avanti, Dakshinatya, Panchali and Odra-Magadhi; of these, the Odra refers to Odisha.
More direct historical evidence of dance and music as an ancient performance art are found in archaeological sites such as caves and in temple carvings of Bhubaneswar, Konark and Puri. The Manchapuri cave in Udayagiri shows carvings of dance and musicians, and this has been dated to the time of Jain king Kharavela in the first or second century BCE. The Hathigumpha inscriptions, also dated to the same ruler, mention music and dance:
<blockquote style="background-color:none;margin-right:5em;margin-left:0em;border-left:solid 6px #FFE0BB;padding:1.0em">
(he [the king]) versed in the science of the Gandharvas (i.e., music), entertains the capital with the exhibition of dapa, dancing, singing and instrumental music and by causing to be held festivities and assemblies (samajas)...</p>
— Hathigumpha inscription, Line 5, ~ 2nd–1st century BCE
</blockquote>
The musical tradition of Odisha also has ancient roots. Archeologists have reported the discovery of 20-key, carefully shaped polished basalt lithophone in Sankarjang, the highlands of Odisha, which is dated to about 1000 BCE.
Medieval era
The Hindu, Jain and Buddhist archaeological sites in Odisha state, particularly the Assia range of hills show inscriptions and carvings of dances that are dated to the 6th to 9th century CE. Important sites include the Ranigumpha in Udaygiri, and various caves and temples at Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Alatgiri sites. The Buddhist icons, for example, are depicted as dancing gods and goddesses, with Haruka, Vajravarahi, and Marichi in Odissi-like postures. Historical evidence, states Alexandra Carter, shows that Odissi Maharis (Hindu temple dancers) and dance halls architecture (nata-mandap) were in vogue at least by the 9th century CE.
According to Kapila Vatsyayan, the Kalpasutra of Jainism, in its manuscripts discovered in Gujarat, includes classical Indian dance poses – such as the Samapada, the Tribhangi and the Chuaka of Odissi. This, states Vatsyayan, suggests that Odissi was admired or at least well known in distant parts of India, far from Odisha in the medieval era, to be included in the margins of an important Jain text. However, the Jain manuscripts use the dance poses as decorative art in the margins and cover, but do not describe or discuss the dance. Hindu dance texts such as the Abhinaya Chandrika and Abhinaya Darpana provide a detailed description of the movements of the feet, hands, the standing postures, the movement and the dance repertoire. It includes illustrations of the Karanãs mentioned in NãtyaShãstra. Similarly, the illustrated Hindu text on temple architecture from Odisha, the Shilpaprakãsha, deals with Odia architecture and sculpture, and includes Odissi postures.
Actual sculptures that have survived into the modern era and panel reliefs in Odia temples, dated to be from the 10th to 14th century, show Odissi dance. This is evidenced in Jagannatha temple in Puri, as well as other temples of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Vedic deities such as Surya (Sun) in Odisha. There are several sculptures of dancers and musicians in Konark Sun Temple and Brahmeswara Temple in Bhubaneswar.
The composition of the poetic texts by 8th century Shankaracharya and particularly of divine love inspired Gitagovinda by 12th century Jayadeva influenced the focus and growth of modern Odissi. Odissi was performed in the temples by the dancers called Maharis, who played out these spiritual poems and underlying religious plays, after training and perfecting their art of dance starting from an early age, and who were revered as auspicious to religious services.
Mughal and British period
After 12th-century, Odia temples, monasteries and nearby institutions such as the Puspagiri in eastern Indian subcontinent came under waves of attacks and ransacking by Muslim armies, a turmoil that impacted all arts and eroded the freedoms previously enjoyed by performance artists. The official records of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq's invasion in Odisha (13601361 CE), for example, describe the destruction of the Jagannath temple as well as numerous other temples, defacing of dancing statues, and ruining of dance halls. This led to a broad decline in Odissi and other religious arts, but there were some benevolent rulers in this period who supported arts particularly through performances at courts. During the Sultanate and Mughal era of India, the temple dancers were moved to entertain the Sultan's family and courts. They became associated with concubinage to the nobility.
The Odissi dance likely expanded in the 17th century, states Alexandra Carter, under King Ramachandradeva's patronage. This expansion integrated martial arts (akhanda) and athletics into Odissi dance, by engaging boys and youth called Gotipuas, as a means to physically train the young for the military and to resist foreign invasions. According to Ragini Devi, historical evidence suggests that the Gotipuas tradition was known and nurtured in the 14th century, by Raja of Khordha.
During the British Raj, the officials of the colonial government ridiculed the temple traditions, while Christian missionaries launched a sustained attack on the moral outrage of sensuousness of Odissi and other Hindu temple dance arts. In 1872, a British civil servant named William Hunter watched a performance at the Jagannatha temple in Puri, then wrote, "Indecent ceremonies disgraced the ritual, and dancing girls with rolling eyes put the modest worshipper to the blush...", and then attacked them as idol-worshipping prostitutes who expressed their devotion with "airy gyrations".
Christian missionaries launched the "anti-dance movement" in 1892, to ban all such dance forms. The dancers were frequently stigmatized as prostitutes by Europeans during the colonial era. In 1910, the British colonial government in India banned temple dancing, and the dance artists were reduced to abject poverty from the lack of any financial support for performance arts, combined with stereotyping stigma.
Post-independence
The temple dance ban and the cultural discrimination during the colonial rule marshaled a movement by Hindus to question the stereotypes and to revive the regional arts of India, including Odissi. Due to these efforts, the classical Indian dances witnessed a period of renaissance and reconstruction, which gained momentum particularly after Indians gained their freedom from colonialism.
Odissi, along with several other major Indian dances gained recognition after efforts by many scholars and performers in the 1950s, particularly by Kavichandra Kalicharan Pattanayak, an Oriya poet, dramatist and researcher. Pattanayak is also credited with naming the dance form as "Odissi".
Repertoire
Odissi, in the classical and medieval period has been, a team dance founded on Hindu texts. This drama-dance involved women (Maharis) enacting a spiritual poem or a religious story either in the inner sanctum of a Hindu temple, or in the Natamandira attached to the temple. The Odissi performing Maharis combined pure dance with expression, to play out and communicate the underlying text through abhinaya (gestures). The performance art evolved to include another aspect, wherein teams of boys – dressed as girls – called Gotipuas expanded the Odissi repertoire, such as by adding acrobatics and athletic moves, and they performed both near the temples and open fairs for general folksy entertainment. In the Indian tradition, many of the accomplished gotipuas became the gurus (teachers) in their adulthood. Modern Odissi is a diversified performance art, men have joined the women, and its reconstruction since the 1950s have added new plays and aspects of other Indian dances.
Love is a universal theme and one of the paradigmatic values in Indian religions. This theme is expressed through sensuous love poems and metaphors of sexual union in Krishna-related literature, and as longing eros (Shringara) in its dance arts such as in Odissi, from the early times. Hinduism, states Judith Hanna, encourages the artist to "strive to suggest, reveal or re-create the infinite, divine self", and art is considered as "the supreme means of realizing the Universal Being". Physical intimacy is not something considered as a reason for shame, rather considered a form of celebration and worship, where the saint is the lover and the lover is the saint. This aspect of Odissi dancing has been subdued in the modern post-colonial reconstructions, states Alexandra Carter, and the emphasis has expanded to "expressions of personal artistic excellence as ritualized spiritual articulations".
The traditional Odissi repertoire, like all classical Indian dances, includes Nritta (pure dance, solo), Nritya (dance with emotions, solo) and Natya (dramatic dance, group). These three performance aspects of Odissi are described and illustrated in the foundational Hindu texts, particularly the Natya Shastra, Abhinaya Darpana and the 16th-century Abhinaya Chandrika by Maheshwara Mahapatra of Odisha.
The Nritta performance is abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of the dance. The viewer is presented with pure movement in Nritta, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, range and pattern. This part of the repertoire has no interpretative aspect, no telling of story. It is a technical performance, and aims to engage the senses (prakriti) of the audience.
The Nritya is slower and expressive aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings, storyline particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions. In a nritya, the dance-acting expands to include silent expression of words through the sign language of gestures and body motion set to musical notes. This part of a repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.
The Natyam is a play, typically a team performance, but can be acted out by a solo performer where the dancer uses certain standardized body movements to indicate a new character in the underlying story. A Natya incorporates the elements of a Nritya.
The Mokshya is a climatic pure dance of Odissi, aiming to highlight the liberation of soul and serenity in the spiritual.
Odissi dance can be accompanied by both northern Indian (Hindustani) and southern Indian (Carnatic) music, though mainly, recitals are in Odia and Sanskrit language in the Odissi music tradition.
Sequence
Traditional Odissi repertoire sequence starts with an invocation called Mangalacharana. A shloka (hymn) in praise of a God or Goddess is sung, such as to Jagannath (an avatar of Vishnu), the meaning of which is expressed through dance. Mangalacharana is followed by Pushpanjali (offering of flowers) and Bhumi Pranam (salutation to mother earth). The invocation also includes Trikhandi Pranam or the three-fold salutation – to the Devas (gods), to the Gurus (teachers) and to the Lokas or Rasikas (fellow dancers and audience).
The next sequential step in an Odissi performance is Batu, also known as Battu Nrutya or Sthayee Nrutya or Batuka Bhairava. It is a fast pace, pure dance (nritta) performed in the honor of Shiva. There is no song or recitation accompanying this part of the dance, just rhythmic music. This pure dance sequence in Odissi builds up to a Pallavi which is often slow, graceful & lyrical movements of the eyes, neck, torso & feet & slowly builds in a crescendo to climax in a fast tempo at the end.
The nritya follows next, and consists of Abhinaya, or an expressional dance which is an enactment of a song or poetry. The dancer(s) communicate the story in a sign language, using mudras (hand gestures), bhavas (enacting mood, emotions), eye and body movement. The dance is fluid, graceful and sensual. Abhinaya in Odissi is performed to verses recited in Sanskrit or Odia language. Most common are Abhinayas on Oriya songs or Sanskrit Ashthapadis or Sanskrit stutis like Dasavatar Stotram (depicting the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu) or Ardhanari Stotram (half man, half woman form of the divine). Many regionally performed Abhinaya compositions are based on the Radha-Krishna theme. The Astapadis of the Radha-Krishna love poem Gita Govinda written by Jayadeva are usually performed in Odisha, as part of the dance repertoire.
The natya part, or dance drama, is next in sequence. Usually Hindu mythologies, epics and legendary dramas are chosen as themes.
A distinctive part of the Odissi tradition is the inclusion of Moksha (or Mokshya) finale in the performance sequence. This the concluding item of a recital. Moksha in Hindu traditions means “spiritual liberation”. This dance movement traditionally attempts to convey a sense of spiritual release and soul liberation, soaring into the realm of pure aesthetics. Movement and pose merge in a fast pace pure dance climax.
Basic moves and mudras
The basic unit of Odissi are called bhangas. These are made up of eight belis, or body positions and movements, combined in many varieties. Motion is uthas (rising or up), baithas (sitting or down) or sthankas (standing). The gaits or movement on the dance floor is called chaalis, with movement tempo linked to emotions according to the classical Sanskrit texts. Thus, for example, burhas or quick pace suggest excitement, while a slow confused pace suggests dejection. For aesthetics, movement is centered on a core, a point in space or floor, and each dancer has her imaginary square of space, with spins and expression held within it. The foot movement or pada bhedas too have basic dance units, and Odissi has six of these, in contrast to four found in most classical Indian dances.
The three primary dance positions in Odissi are:
Samabhanga – the square position, with weight equally placed on the two legs, spine straight, arms raised up with elbows bent.
Abhanga – the body weight shifts from side to side, due to deep leg bends, while the feet and knees are turned outwards, and one hip extending sideways.
Tribhanga – is an S-shaped three-fold bending of body, with torso deflecting in one direction while the head and hips deflecting in the opposite direction of torso. Further, the hands and legs frame the body into a composite of two squares (rectangle), providing an aesthetic frame of reference. This is described in the ancient Sanskrit texts, and forms of it are found in other Hindu dance arts, but tribhanga postures developed most in and are distinctive to Odissi, and they are found in historic Hindu temple reliefs.
Mudras or Hastas are hand gestures which are used to express the meaning of a given act. Like all classical dances of India, the aim of Odissi is in part to convey emotions, mood and inner feelings in the story by appropriate hand and facial gestures. There are 63 Hastas in modern Odissi dance, and these have the same names or structure as those in the pan-Indian Hindu texts, but most closely matching those in the Abhinaya Chandrika. These are subdivided into three, according to the traditional texts:
Asamyukta Hasta – Single hand Mudras – 28 Prakar (gestures, for instance to communicate a salute, prayer, embrace, energy, bond, swing, carriage, shell, arrow, holding a thing, wheel, and so on.)
Samyukta Hasta – Double hand Mudras – 24 Prakar (gestures, for instance to indicate a flag, flower, type of bird or animal, moon, action like grasping, and so on.)
Nrutya Hasta – “Pure Dance” Mudras
The Mudra system is derived from the "Abhinaya Darpana" by Nandikeshavara and the ancient Natya Shastra of Bharata Muni.
Costumes
The Odissi dancers are colorfully dressed with makeup and jewellery. The Saree worn by Odissi dancers are brightly coloured, and usually of local silk (Pattasari). It is worn with pleats, or may have a pleat tailor stitched in front, to allow maximum flexibility during the footwork. These sarees have traditional prints of Odisha with regional designs and embellishments, and may be the Sambalpuri Saree and Bomkai Saree.
The jewellery includes silver pieces, a metal favored in regional tradition. The hair is tied up, and typically drawn into an elaborate bun resembling a Hindu temple spire, and decorated with Seenthi. Their hairstyle may contain a moon shaped crest of white flowers, or a reed crown called Mukoot with peacock feathers (symbolism for Lord Krishna). The dancers forehead is marked with Tikka, and adorned with various jewelry such as the Allaka (head piece on which the tikka hangs). The eyes are ringed with Kajal (black eyeliner).
Ear covers called Kapa or ear rings decorate the sides of the head, while necklace adorns the neck. The dancer wears a pair of armlets also called Bahichudi or Bajuband, on the upper arm. The wrist is covered with Kankana (bangles). At the waist they wear an elaborate belt which ties down one end of the Sari. The ankles are decorated with a leather piece on top of which are bells (ghungroo). The dancer's palms and soles may be painted with red coloured dye called the Alta.
Modern Odissi male performers wear dhoti – a broadcloth tied around waist, pleated for movement, and tucked between legs; usually extends to knee or lower. Upper body is bare chested, and a long thin folded translucent sheet wrapping over one shoulder and usually tucked below a wide belt.
Music and instruments
Odissi dance is accompanied by the traditional classical music of the state of Odisha, Odissi music. The primary Odissi ragas are Kalyana, Nata, Shree Gowda, Baradi, Panchama, Dhanashri, Karnata, Bhairavee and Shokabaradi.
Odissi dance, states Ragini Devi, is a form of "visualized music", wherein the Ragas and Raginis, respectively the primary and secondary musical modes, are integrated by the musicians and interpreted through the dancer. Each note is a means, has a purpose and with a mood in classical Indian music, which Odissi accompanies to express sentiments in a song through Parija. This is true whether the performance is formal, or less formal as in Nartana and Natangi used during festive occasions and the folksy celebration of life.
An Odissi troupe comes with musicians and musical instruments. The orchestra consists of various regional musical instruments, such as the Mardala (barrel drum), harmonium, flute, sitar, violin, cymbals held in fingers and others.
Styles
The Odissi tradition existed in three schools: Mahari, Nartaki, and Gotipua:
Maharis were Oriya devadasis or temple girls, their name deriving from Maha (great) and Nari (girl), or Mahri (chosen) particularly those at the temple of Jagganath at Puri. Early Maharis performed Nritta (pure dance) and Abhinaya (interpretation of poetry) dedicated to various Hindu gods and goddesses, as well as Puranic mythologies and Vedic legends. Later, Maharis especially performed dance sequences based on the lyrics of Jayadev's Gita Govinda. This style is more sensuous and closer to the classical Sanskrit texts on dance, music and performance arts.
Gotipuas were boys dressed up as girls and taught the dance by the Maharis. This style included martial arts, athletics and acrobatics. Gotipuas danced to these compositions outside the temples and fairgrounds as folksy entertainment.
Nartaki dance took place in the royal courts, where it was prevalent before the British period.
Schools, training and recognition
Odissi maestros and performers
Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pankaj Charan Das, Deba Prasad Das and Raghunath Dutta were the four major gurus who revived Odissi in the late forties and early fifties. Sanjukta Panigrahi was a leading disciple of Kelucharan Mohapatra who popularized Odissi by performing in India and abroad. In the mid-sixties, three other disciples of Kelucharan Mohapatra, Kumkum Mohanty and Sonal Mansingh, were known for their performances in India and abroad. Laximipriya Mohapatra performed a piece of Odissi abhinaya in the Annapurna Theatre in Cuttack in 1948, a show upheld as the first classical Odissi dance performance after its contemporary revival. Guru Mayadhar Raut played a pivotal role in giving Odissi dance its classical status. He introduced Mudra Vinyoga in 1955 and Sancharibhava in the Odissi dance items, and portrayed Shringara Rasa in Gita Govinda Ashthapadis. His notable compositions include Pashyati Dishi Dishi and Priya Charu Shile, composed in 1961.
Schools
IIT Bhubaneswar
Odissi has been included in Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar's BTech syllabus since 2015 as the first Indian national technical institute to introduce any classical dance in syllabus.
In Guinness World records
Guinness World Records has acknowledged the feat of the largest congregation of Odissi dancers in a single event. 555 Odissi dancers performed at the event hosted on 23 December 2011, in the Kalinga stadium, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The dancers performed the Mangalacharan, Battu, Pallavi, Abhinay and Mokshya dance items from the Odissi repertoire.
More than 1000 Odissi dancers performed at the World Cultural Festival 12 March 2016. This is till date the largest congregation of Odissi dancers in a single event.
Odissi Centre at Oxford University
An Odissi dance centre has been opened from January 2016, at the University of Oxford. Known as Oxford Odissi Centre, it is an initiative of the Odissi dancer and choreographer Baisali Mohanty who is also a post-graduate scholar at the University of Oxford.
Beside holding regular Odissi dance classes at its institution, the Oxford Odissi Centre also conducts Odissi dance workshops at other academic institutions in the United Kingdom.
See also
Indian classical dance
Ghungroo
Odissi music
Gotipua
References
Bibliography
Odissi : What, Why and How… Evolution, Revival and Technique, by Madhumita Raut. Published by B. R. Rhythms, Delhi, 2007. .
Odissi Yaatra: The Journey of Guru Mayadhar Raut, by Aadya Kaktikar (ed. Madhumita Raut). Published by B. R. Rhythms, Delhi, 2010. .
Odissi Dance, by Dhirendranath Patnaik. Published by Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1971.
Odissi – The Dance Divine, by Ranjana Gauhar and Dushyant Parasher. Published by Niyogi Books, 2007. .
Odissi, Indian Classical Dance Art: Odisi Nritya, by Sunil Kothari, Avinash Pasricha. Marg Publications, 1990. .
Perspectives on Odissi Theatre, by Ramesh Prasad Panigrahi, Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi. Published by Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1998.
Abhinaya-chandrika and Odissi dance, by Maheshwar Mahapatra, Alekha Chandra Sarangi, Sushama Kulshreshthaa, Maya Das. Published by Eastern Book Linkers, 2001. .
Rethinking Odissi, by Dinanath Pathy. Published by Harman Pub. House, 2007. .
, Table of Contents
External links
Odissi solo performance: Nitisha Nanda, Arabhi Pallav, New Delhi 2013
Odissi group dance: Megh Pallavi, Vancouver 2014
Maryam Shakiba – Odissi Dance – Manglacharan Ganesh Vandana Pushkar 2014
Odissi links at the Open Directory
Odissi schools, Classical Indian Dance Portal
The annotated Odissi Dance Archive on Pad.ma
History of Odissi and Geeta Govinda JN Dhar, Orissa Review
Bharat Bhavan, a Kerala-based Department of Culture information website.
Arts of Odisha
Odia culture
Jayadeva
Classical dance genres of India
Hindu temple dance
Odissi dancers
Odissi music
Artforms based on Odissi music | true | [
"Laxmipriya Mohapatra (born 1928 - died 20 March 2021) was an Indian classical dancer, performing Odissi dance on stage and in films. Along with her husband, Kelucharan Mohapatra, she is credited with reviving Odissi dance in India, in the 1940s and 50s.\n\nCareer \nMohapatra was born in Khurda, Odisha, and was tau... | [
"Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in older literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of... |
[
"Enya",
"2008-present: And Winter Came... and Dark Sky Island"
] | C_ca2198202da140e28165132567967682_1 | Can you provide me with a little information on And Winter Came..and Dark Sky Island? | 1 | Can you provide me with a little information on And Winter Came..and Dark Sky Island by Enya? | Enya | Enya continued to write music with a winter and Christmas theme for her seventh studio album, And Winter Came.... Initially she intended to make an album of seasonal songs and hymns set for a release in late 2007, but decided to produce a winter-themed album instead. The track "My! My! Time Flies!", a tribute to the late Irish guitarist Jimmy Faulkner, incorporates a guitar solo performed by Pat Farrell, the first use of a guitar on an Enya album since "I Want Tomorrow" from Enya. Upon its release in November 2008, And Winter Came... reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 8 in the US and sold almost 3.5 million copies worldwide by 2011. After promoting And Winter Came..., Enya took an extended break from writing and recording music. She spent her time resting, visiting family in Australia, and renovating her new home in the south of France. In March 2009, her first four studio albums were reissued in Japan in the Super High Material CD format with bonus tracks. Her second compilation album and DVD, The Very Best of Enya, was released in November 2009 and features songs from 1987 to 2008, including a previously unreleased version of "Aniron". In 2013, "Only Time" was used in an advertisement by Volvo Trucks starring Jean-Claude Van Damme who does the splits while suspended between two lorries. The video went viral, leading to numerous parodies of the commercial uploaded to YouTube also using "Only Time". The attention resulted in the song peaking at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In 2012, Enya returned to the studio to record her eighth album, Dark Sky Island. Its name references the island of Sark, where it became the first island to be designated a dark-sky preserve, and a series of poems on islands by Roma Ryan. The new album was promoted with the premiere in October 2015 of its lead single, "Echoes in Rain", on Ken Bruce's radio show and with the release in the same month of the single as a digital download. Upon its release on 20 November 2015, Dark Sky Island went to No. 4 in the UK, Enya's highest charting studio album there since Shepherd Moons went to No. 1, and to No. 8 in the US. A Deluxe Edition features three additional songs. Enya completed a promotional tour of the UK and Europe, the US and Japan. During her visit to Japan, Enya performed "Orinoco Flow" and "Echoes in Rain" at the Universal Studios Japan Christmas show in Osaka. In December 2016, Enya appeared on the Raidio Teilifis Eireann Christmas special Christmas Carols from Cork, marking her first appearance on Irish television in a decade. She sang "Adeste Fideles" and "Oiche Chiuin" as well as her own carol composition "The Spirit of Christmas Past". CANNOTANSWER | seventh studio album, And Winter Came.... | Enya Patricia Brennan ( ; born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician, known for pioneering modern Celtic and New-age music. Regarded as the "Queen of New Age", Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and second-best-selling overall behind U2. Born into a musical family and raised in the Irish-speaking area of Gweedore, County Donegal, Enya began her music career when she joined her family's Celtic folk band Clannad in 1980 on keyboards and backing vocals. She left the group in 1982 with their manager and producer Nicky Ryan to pursue a solo career, with Ryan's wife Roma Ryan as her lyricist. Enya developed her sound over the following four years with multitracked vocals and keyboards with elements of new age, Celtic, classical, church, world, pop, and Irish folk. Thus far, she has sung in ten languages, most notably English, Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge), Latin, and Welsh.
Enya's first projects as a solo artist included soundtrack work for The Frog Prince (1984) and the 1987 BBC documentary series The Celts, which was released as her debut album, Enya (1987). She signed with Warner Music UK, which granted her artistic freedom and minimal interference from the label. The commercial and critical success of Watermark (1988) propelled her to worldwide fame, helped by the UK number one and international hit single "Orinoco Flow". This was followed by the multi-million-selling albums Shepherd Moons (1991), The Memory of Trees (1995), and A Day Without Rain (2000). Sales of the latter and its lead single, "Only Time", surged in the United States following its use in the media coverage of the September 11 attacks. Following Amarantine (2005) and And Winter Came... (2008), Enya took a four-year career hiatus before she resumed in 2012 and released her eighth studio album, Dark Sky Island (2015).
Enya's discography has sold 26.5 million certified albums in the United States and an estimated 75 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. A Day Without Rain (2000) remains the best-selling new-age album, with an estimated 16 million copies sold worldwide. Enya has won numerous awards, including seven World Music Awards, four Grammy Awards for Best New Age Album, and an Ivor Novello Award. She was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for "May It Be", written for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Early life
Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin was born on 17 May 1961 in Dore, a settlement in the parish of Gweedore, in County Donegal. It is a Gaeltacht region where Irish is the primary language. Her name is anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan, where Enya is the phonetic spelling of how "Eithne" is pronounced in her native Ulster dialect of Irish; "Ní Bhraonáin" translates to "daughter of Brennan". The sixth of nine children, Enya was born into a Roman Catholic family of musicians. Her father, Leo Brennan, was the leader of the Slieve Foy Band, an Irish showband, and ran Leo's Tavern in Meenaleck. Her mother, Máire Brennan (née Duggan), who has distant Spanish roots whose ancestors settled on Tory Island, was an amateur musician who played in Leo's band and taught music at Gweedore Community School. Enya's maternal grandfather Aodh was the headmaster of the primary school in Dore, and her grandmother was a teacher there. Aodh was also the founder of the Gweedore Theatre company.
Enya described her upbringing as "very quiet and happy." At age three, she took part in her first singing competition at the annual Feis Ceoil music festival. She took part in pantomimes at Gweedore Theatre and sang with her siblings in her mother's choir at St Mary's church in Derrybeg. She learned English at primary school and began piano lessons at age four. "I had to do school work and then travel to a neighbouring town for piano lessons, and then more school work. I ... remember my brothers and sisters playing outside ... and I would be inside playing the piano. This one big book of scales, practising them over and over." When Enya turned eleven, her grandfather paid for her education at a strict convent boarding school in Milford run by nuns of the Loreto order, where she developed a taste for classical music, art, Latin and watercolour painting. She said: "It was devastating to be torn away from such a large family, but it was good for my music." Enya left the school at 17 and studied classical music in college for one year, with the aim of becoming "a piano teacher sort of person. I never thought of myself composing or being on stage."
Career
1980–1985: Clannad and early solo career
In 1970, several members of Enya's family formed Clannad, a Celtic folk band who later acquired Nicky Ryan as their manager, sound engineer, and producer, and his future wife, Roma Ryan, as tour manager and administrator. In 1980, after her year at college, Enya decided against pursuing music at university and accepted Ryan's invitation to join the group as he wanted to expand their sound with an additional vocalist and introducing keyboards. Enya performed an uncredited role their sixth studio album, Crann Úll (1980), with a line-up of siblings Máire, Pól, and Ciarán Brennan, and twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. She became an official member by the time their follow-up, Fuaim (1981), was released, and is photographed with the band on the front cover. Nicky maintained it was never his intention to make Enya a permanent member, and saw she was "fiercely independent ... intent on playing her own music. She was just not sure of how to go about it". This sparked discussions between the two on layering vocal tracks to create a "choir of one", a concept inspired by the Wall of Sound technique by producer Phil Spector that interested them both.
During a Clannad tour in 1982, Nicky called for a band meeting to address internal issues that had arisen. He added, "It was short and only required a vote, I was a minority of one and lost. Roma and I were out. This left the question of what happened with Enya. I decided to stand back and say nothing". Enya chose to leave with the Ryans and pursue a solo career as she felt confined in the group, and disliked being "somebody in the background". This caused some friction between the two parties at first, but they settled their differences. Nicky suggested to Enya that either she return to Gweedore "with no particular definite future", or live with him and Roma in Artane, Dublin "and see what happens, musically", which she accepted. After their bank denied them a loan, Enya sold her saxophone and gave piano lessons for income and the Ryans used what they could afford from their savings to build a recording facility in a shed in their garden. They named it Aigle Studio, after the French word for "eagle", and rented it out to musicians to help recoup the costs. The trio formed a musical partnership, with Nicky as Enya's producer and arranger and Roma her lyricist, and established their music company, Aigle Music. In the following two years, Enya developed her technique and composition by listening to recordings of her reciting pieces of classical music, and repeated the process until she started to improvise sections and develop her own arrangements. Her first composition was "An Taibhse Uaighneach", Irish for "The Lonely Ghost". During this time Enya played the synthesiser on Ceol Aduaidh (1983) by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy, and performed with the duo and Mhaonaigh's brother Gearóid in their short lived group, Ragairne.
Enya's first solo endeavour arrived in 1983 when she recorded two piano instrumentals, "An Ghaoth Ón Ghrian", Irish for "The Solar Wind", and "Miss Clare Remembers", at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin which were released on Touch Travel (1984), a limited release cassette of music from various artists on the Touch label. She is credited as Eithne Ní Bhraonáin on its liner notes. After several months of preparation, Enya's first live solo performance took place on 23 September 1983 at the National Stadium in Dublin, which was televised for RTÉ's music show Festival Folk. Niall Morris, a musician who worked with her during this time, recalled she "was so nervous she could barely get on stage, and she cowered behind the piano until the gig was over."
Morris assisted Enya in the production of a demo tape, playing additional keyboards to her compositions, which Roma thought would suit accompanying visuals and sent it to various film producers. Among them was David Puttnam, who liked the tape and offered Enya to compose the soundtrack to his upcoming romantic comedy film, The Frog Prince (1984). Enya scored nine pieces for the film but they were later rearranged and orchestrated against her wishes by Richard Myhill, except for two that she sang on, "The Frog Prince" and "Dreams"; the words to the latter were penned by Charlie McGettigan. Film editor Jim Clark said the rearrangements were necessary as Enya found it difficult to compose to picture. Released in 1985, the album is the first commercial release that credits her as Enya, after Nicky Ryan thought "Eithne" would be too difficult for non-Irish people to pronounce correctly and suggested the phonetic spelling of her name. Enya looked back on the film as a good career move, but a disappointing one as "we weren't part of it at the end". She then sang on three tracks on Ordinary Man (1985) by Christy Moore.
1985–1989: The Celts and Watermark
In 1985, producer Tony McAuley asked Enya to contribute a track for a six-part BBC television documentary series The Celts. She had already written a Celtic-influenced song named "The March of the Celts", and submitted it to the project. Each episode was to feature a different composer at first, but director David Richardson liked her track so much, he had Enya score the entire series. Enya recorded 72 minutes of music at Aigle Studio and the BBC studios in Wood Lane, London without recording to picture, though she was required to portray certain themes and ideas that the producers wanted. Unlike The Frog Prince, she worked with little interference which granted her freedom to establish her sound that she would adopt throughout her future career, signified by layered vocals, keyboard-oriented music, and percussion with elements of Celtic, classical, church and folk music.
In March 1987, two months before The Celts aired, a 40-minute selection of Enya's score was released as her debut solo album, Enya, by BBC Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. The latter promoted it with a new-age imprint on the packaging, which Nicky later thought was "a cowardly thing for them to do". The album gained enough public attention to reach number 8 on the Irish Albums Chart and number 69 on the UK Albums Chart. "I Want Tomorrow" was released as Enya's first single. "Boadicea" was sampled by The Fugees on their 1996 song "Ready or Not"; the group neither sought permission nor gave credit, and Enya took legal action. The group subsequently gave her credit and paid a fee worth around $3 million. Later in 1987, Enya appeared on Sinéad O'Connor's debut album The Lion and the Cobra, reciting Psalm 91 in Irish on "Never Get Old".
Several weeks after the release of Enya, Enya secured a recording contract with Warner Music UK after Rob Dickins, the label's chairman and a fan of Clannad, took a liking to Enya and found himself playing it "every night before I went to bed". He then met Enya and the Ryans at a chance meeting at the Irish Recorded Music Association award ceremony in Dublin, and learned Enya had entered negotiations with a rival label. Dickins seized the opportunity and signed her to Warner Music with a deal worth £75,000, granting her wish to write and record with artistic freedom, minimal interference from the label, and without set deadlines to finish albums. Dickins said: "Sometimes you sign an act to make money, and sometimes you sign an act to make music. This was clearly the latter ... I just wanted to be involved with this music." Enya then left Atlantic and signed with the Warner-led Geffen Records to handle her American distribution.
With the green-light to produce a new studio album, Enya recorded Watermark from June 1987 to April 1988. It was initially recorded in analogue at Aigle Studio before Dickins requested to have it re-recorded digitally at Orinoco Studios in Bermondsey, London. Watermark was released in September 1988 and became an unexpected hit, reaching number 5 in the United Kingdom and number 25 on the Billboard 200 in the United States following its release there in January 1989. Its lead single, "Orinoco Flow", was the last song written for the album. It was not intended to be a single at first, but Enya and the Ryans chose it after Dickins asked for a single from them several times as a joke, knowing Enya's music was not made for the Top 40 chart. Dickins and engineer Ross Cullum are referenced in the songs' lyrics. "Orinoco Flow" became an international top 10 hit and was number one in the United Kingdom for three weeks. The new-found success propelled Enya to international fame and she received endorsement deals and offers to use her music in television commercials. She spent one year travelling worldwide to promote the album which increased her exposure through interviews, appearances, and live performances. By 1996, Watermark had sold in excess of 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom and 4 million in the United States.
1989–1997: Shepherd Moons and The Memory of Trees
After promoting Watermark, Enya purchased new recording equipment and started work on her next album, Shepherd Moons. She found the success of Watermark caused a considerable amount of pressure when it came to writing new songs, adding, "I kept thinking, 'Would this have gone on Watermark? Is it as good?' Eventually I had to forget about this and start on a blank canvas and just really go with what felt right." Enya wrote songs based on several ideas, including entries from her diary, the Blitz in London, and her grandparents. Shepherd Moons was released in November 1991, her first album released under Warner-led Reprise Records in the United States. It became a greater commercial success than Watermark, reaching number one in the UK for one week and number 17 in the United States. "Caribbean Blue", its lead single, charted at number thirteen in the United Kingdom. By 1997, the album had reached multi-platinum certification for selling in excess of 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom and 5 million in the United States.
In 1991, Warner Music released a collection of five Enya music videos as Moonshadows for home video. In 1993, Enya won her first Grammy Award for Best New Age Album for Shepherd Moons. Soon after, Enya and Nicky entered discussions with Industrial Light & Magic, founded by George Lucas, regarding an elaborate stage lighting system for a proposed concert tour, but nothing came out of the meetings. In November 1992, Warner had obtained the rights to Enya and re-released the album as The Celts with new artwork. It surpassed its initial sale performance, reaching number 10 in the United Kingdom and reached platinum certification in the United States in 1996 for one million copies shipped.
After travelling worldwide to promote Shepherd Moons, Enya started to write and record her fourth album, The Memory of Trees. The album was released in November 1995. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number nine in the United States, where it sold over 3 million copies. Its lead single, "Anywhere Is", reached number seven in the United Kingdom. The second, "On My Way Home", reached number twenty-six in the same country. In late 1994, Enya put out an extended play of Christmas music titled The Christmas EP. Enya was offered to compose the score for Titanic, but declined. A recording of her singing "Oíche Chiúin", an Irish-language version of "Silent Night", appeared on the charity album A Very Special Christmas 3, released in benefit of the Special Olympics in October 1997.
In early 1997, Enya began to select tracks for her first compilation album, "trying to select the obvious ones, the hits, and others." She chose to work on the collection following the promotional tour for The Memory of Trees as she felt it was the right time in her career, and that her contract with WEA required her to release a "best of" album. The set, named Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya, features two new tracks, "Paint the Sky with Stars" and "Only If...". Released in November 1997, the album was a worldwide commercial success, reaching No. 4 in the UK and No. 30 in the US, where it went on to sell over 4 million copies. "Only If..." was released as a single in 1997. Enya described the album as "like a musical diary ... each melody has a little story and I live through that whole story from the beginning ... your mind goes back to that day and what you were thinking."
1998–2007: A Day Without Rain and Amarantine
Enya started work on her fifth studio album, titled A Day Without Rain, in mid-1998. In a departure from her previous albums she incorporated the use of a string section into her compositions, something that was not a conscious decision at first, but Enya and Nicky Ryan agreed it complemented the songs that were being written. The album was released in November 2000, and reached number 6 in the United Kingdom and an initial peak of number 17 in the United States. In the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, sales of the album and its lead single, "Only Time", surged after the song was widely used during radio and television coverage of the events, leading to its description as "a post-September 11 anthem". The exposure caused A Day Without Rain to outperform its original chart performance to peak at number 2 on the Billboard 200, and the release of a maxi single containing the original and a pop remix of "Only Time" in November 2001. Enya donated its proceeds in aid of the International Association of Firefighters. The song topped the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and went to number 10 on the Hot 100 singles, Enya's highest charting US single to date. A second single, "Wild Child", was released in December 2001. A Day Without Rain remains Enya's biggest seller, with 7 million copies sold in the US and the most sold new-age album of all time with an estimated 13 million copies sold worldwide.
In 2001, Enya agreed to write and perform on two tracks for the soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) at the request of director Peter Jackson. Its composer Howard Shore "imagined her voice" as he wrote the film's score, making an uncommon exception to include another artist in one of his soundtracks. After flying to New Zealand to observe the filming and to watch a rough cut of the film, Enya returned to Ireland and composed "Aníron (Theme for Aragorn and Arwen)" with lyrics by Roma in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Elvish language Sindarin, and "May It Be", sung in English and another Tolkien language, Quenya. Shore then based his orchestrations around Enya's recorded vocals and themes to create "a seamless sound". In 2002, Enya released "May It Be" as a single which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. She performed the song live at the 74th Academy Awards ceremony with an orchestra in March 2002, and later cited the moment as a career highlight.
Enya undertook additional studio projects in 2001 and 2002. The first was work on the soundtrack to the Japanese romantic film Calmi Cuori Appassionati (2001) which was subsequently released as Themes from Calmi Cuori Appassionati (2001). The album is formed of tracks spanning her career from Enya to A Day Without Rain with two B-sides. The album went to number 2 in Japan, and became Enya's second to sell one million copies in the country. November 2002 saw the release of Only Time – The Collection, a box set of 51 tracks recorded through her career which received a limited release of 200,000 copies.
In September 2003, Enya returned to Aigle Studio to start work on her sixth studio album, Amarantine. Roma said the title means "everlasting". The album marks the first instance of Enya singing in Loxian, a fictional language created by Roma that came about when Enya was working on "Water Shows the Hidden Heart". After numerous attempts to sing the song in English, Irish and Latin, Roma suggested a new language based on some of the sounds Enya would sing along to when developing her songs. It was a success, and Enya sang "Less Than a Pearl" and "The River Sings" in the same way. Roma worked on the language further, creating a "culture and history" behind it surrounding the Loxian people who are of another planet, questioning the existence of life on another. "Sumiregusa (Wild Violet)" is sung in Japanese. Amarantine was a global success, reaching number 6 on the Billboard 200 and number 8 in the UK. It has sold over 1 million certified copies in the US, a considerable drop in sales in comparison to her previous albums. Enya dedicated the album to BBC producer Tony McAuley, who had commissioned Enya to write the soundtrack to The Celts, following his death in 2003. The lead single, "Amarantine", was released in December 2005. A Christmas Special Edition was released in 2006, followed by a Deluxe Edition.
In 2006, Enya released Sounds of the Season: The Enya Holiday Collection, a Christmas-themed EP released exclusively in the US following an exclusive partnership with the NBC network and the Target department store chain. It includes two new songs, "Christmas Secrets" and "The Magic of the Night".
In June 2007, Enya received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland, Galway. A month later, she received one from the University of Ulster.
2008–present: And Winter Came..., Dark Sky Island, and future
Enya continued to write music with a winter and Christmas theme for her seventh studio album, And Winter Came.... Initially she intended to make an album of seasonal songs and hymns set for a release in late 2007, but decided to produce a winter-themed album instead. The track "My! My! Time Flies!", a tribute to the late Irish guitarist Jimmy Faulkner, incorporates a guitar solo performed by Pat Farrell, the first use of a guitar on an Enya album since "I Want Tomorrow" from Enya. The lyrics also include atypical pop-culture references, such as to The Beatles' famous photo shoot for the cover of Abbey Road. Upon its release in November 2008, And Winter Came... reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 8 in the US and sold almost 3.5 million copies worldwide by 2011.
After promoting And Winter Came..., Enya took an extended break from writing and recording music. She spent her time resting, visiting family in Australia, and renovating her new home in the south of France. In March 2009, her first four studio albums were reissued in Japan in the Super High Material CD format with bonus tracks. Her second compilation album, The Very Best of Enya, was released in November 2009 and features songs from 1987 to 2008, including a previously unreleased version of "Aníron" and a DVD compiling most of her music videos to date. In 2013, "Only Time" was used in the "Epic Split" advertisement by Volvo Trucks starring Jean-Claude Van Damme who does the splits while suspended between two lorries. The video went viral, leading to numerous parodies of the commercial uploaded to YouTube also using "Only Time". The attention resulted in the song peaking at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
In 2012, Enya returned to the studio to record her eighth album, Dark Sky Island. Its name refers to the island of Sark, which became the first island to be designated a dark-sky preserve, and a series of poems on islands by Roma Ryan. Upon its release on 20 November 2015, Dark Sky Island went to No. 4 in the UK, Enya's highest charting studio album there since Shepherd Moons went to No. 1, and to No. 8 in the US. A Deluxe Edition features three additional songs. Enya completed a promotional tour of the UK and Europe, the US and Japan. During her visit to Japan, Enya performed "Orinoco Flow" and "Echoes in Rain" at the Universal Studios Japan Christmas show in Osaka. In December 2016, Enya appeared on the Irish television show Christmas Carols from Cork, marking her first Irish television appearance in over seven years. She sang "Adeste Fideles", "Oiche Chiúin", and "The Spirit of Christmas Past".
On 4 November 2021, a Shepherd Moons "watch party" video was uploaded to Enya's official YouTube channel to commemorate the album's 30th anniversary. In his introductory message, Nicky Ryan said that Roma, Enya, and he used the downtime from the COVID-19 pandemic to renovate Aigle Studio, and install new recording equipment and instruments. When this is complete, Enya will begin working on new music.
Musical style
Enya's vocal range is mezzo-soprano. She has cited her musical foundations as "the classics", church music, and "Irish reels and jigs" with a particular interest in Sergei Rachmaninoff, a favourite composer of hers. She has an autographed picture of him in her home. Since 1982, she has recorded her music with Nicky Ryan as producer and arranger and his wife Roma Ryan as lyricist. While in Clannad, Enya chose to work with Nicky as the two shared an interest in vocal harmonies, and Ryan, influenced by The Beach Boys and the "Wall of Sound" technique that Phil Spector pioneered, wanted to explore the idea of "the multivocals" for which her music became known. According to Enya, "Angeles" from Shepherd Moons has roughly 500 vocals recorded individually and layered. Enya performs all vocals and the majority of instruments in her songs apart from musicians to play percussion, guitar, uilleann pipes, cornet, and double bass. Her early works including Watermark feature numerous keyboards, including the Yamaha KX88 Master, Yamaha DX7, Oberheim Matrix, Akai S900, Roland D-50, and Roland Juno-60, the latter a particular favourite of hers.
Numerous critics and reviewers classify Enya's albums as new age music and she has won four Grammy Awards in the category. However, Enya does not classify her music as part of the genre. When asked what genre she would classify her music, her reply was "Enya". Nicky Ryan commented on the new age comments: "Initially it was fine, but it's really not new age. Enya plays a whole lot of instruments, not just keyboards. Her melodies are strong and she sings a lot. So I can't see a comparison." The music video to "Caribbean Blue" and the art work to The Memory of Trees feature adapted works from artist Maxfield Parrish.
Enya has sung in ten languages in her career, including English, Irish, Latin, Welsh, Spanish, French and Japanese. She has recorded music influenced by works from fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien, including the instrumental "Lothlórien" from Shepherd Moons. For The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, she sang "May It Be" in English and Tolkien's fictional language Quenya, and sang "Aníron" in another of Tolkien's fictional languages, Sindarin. Her albums Amarantine and Dark Sky Island include songs sung in Loxian, a fictional language created by Roma, that has no official syntax. Its vocabulary was formed by Enya singing the song's notes to which Roma wrote their phonetic spelling.
Enya adopted a composing and songwriting method that has deviated little throughout her career. At the start of the recording process for an album she enters the studio, forgetting about her previous success, fame, and songs of hers that became hits. "If I did that", she said, "I'd have to call it a day". She then develops ideas on the piano, keeping note of any arrangement that can be worked on further. During her time writing, Enya works a five-day week, takes weekends off, and does not work on her music at home. With Irish as her first language, Enya initially records her songs in Irish as she can express "feeling much more directly" than English. After a period of time, Enya presents her ideas to Nicky to discuss what pieces work best, while Roma works in parallel to devise a lyric to the songs. Enya considered "Fallen Embers" from A Day Without Rain a perfect time when the lyrics reflect as to how she felt while writing the song. In 2008, she newly discovered her tendency to write "two or three songs" during the winter months, work on the arrangements and lyrics the following spring and summer, and then work on the next couple of songs when autumn arrives.
Live performances
Enya says that Warner Music and she "did not see eye to eye" initially as the label imagined her performing on stage "with a piano ... maybe two or three synthesiser players and that's it". Enya also explained that the time put into her studio albums causes her to "run overtime", leaving little time to plan for other such projects. She also expressed the difficulty in recreating her studio-oriented sound for the stage. In 1996, Ryan said Enya had received an offer worth almost £500,000 to perform a concert in Japan. In 2016, Enya spoke about the prospect of a live concert when she revealed talks with the Ryans during her three-year break after And Winter Came... (2008) to perform a show at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City that would be simulcast to cinemas worldwide. Before such an event could happen, Nicky suggested that she enter a studio and record "all the hits" live with an orchestra and choir to see how they would sound.
Enya has sung with live and lip synching vocals on various talk and music shows, events, and ceremonies throughout her career, usually during her worldwide press tours for each album. In December 1995, she performed "Anywhere Is" at a Christmas concert at Vatican City with Pope John Paul II in attendance, who met and thanked her for performing. In April 1996, Enya performed the same song during her surprise appearance at the fiftieth birthday celebration for Carl XVI Gustaf, the King of Sweden and a fan of Enya's. In 1997, Enya participated in a live Christmas Eve broadcast in London and flew to County Donegal afterwards to join her family for their annual midnight Mass choral performance, in which she participates each year. In March 2002, she performed "May It Be" with an orchestra at the year's Academy Awards ceremony. Enya and her sisters performed as part of the local choir Cor Mhuire in July 2005 at St. Mary's church in Gweedore during the annual Earagail Arts Festival.
Personal life
Since the 1980s, Enya has attracted the attention of several stalkers. In 1996, an Italian man who was seen in Dublin wearing a photograph of Enya around his neck stabbed himself outside her parents' pub after being ejected from the premises.
In 1991, a minor planet first discovered in 1978, 6433 Enya, was named after her. In 2017, a newly discovered species of fish, Leporinus enyae, found in the Orinoco River drainage area, was also named after her.
Enya is known for keeping a private lifestyle, saying: "The music is what sells. Not me, or what I stand for ... that's the way I've always wanted it". She is not married and is a surrogate aunt to the Ryans' two daughters. In 1991, she said: "I'm afraid of marriage because I'm afraid someone might want me because of who I am instead of because they loved me... I wouldn't go rushing into anything unexpected, but I do think a great deal about this". A relationship she had with one man ended in 1997, around the time when she considered taking time out of music to have a family but found she was putting pressure on herself over the matter and "gone the route I wanted to go". She declares herself as "more spiritual than religious... I derive from religion what I enjoy."
In 1997, Enya bought a Victorian Grade A listed castellated mansion in Killiney, County Dublin for IR£2.5 million at auction. Formerly known as Victoria Castle and Ayesha Castle, she renamed it Manderley Castle after the house from the novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. In all, she spent seven years renovating her property and also installing considerable security measures. In 2005, Enya spent around £250,000 on security improvements, covering gaps in the castle's outer wall and installing bollards and iron railings. In October of that year, two people broke into the home; one attacked and tied up one of her housekeepers and left with several of Enya's items after she had raised the alarm in her safe room. In 2009, during her three-year break from music, Enya purchased a home in southern France.
In 2006, Enya ranked third in a list of the wealthiest Irish entertainers with an estimated fortune of £75 million, and was number 95 in the Sunday Times Rich List of the richest 250 Irish people. In the 2016 edition, which listed its top 50 Music Millionaires of Britain and Ireland, she emerged as the richest female singer with a fortune of £91 million and ranked number 28 overall.
Awards and nominations
Billboard Music Awards
|-
| rowspan=4|2001
| rowspan=2|Enya
| Top Billboard 200 Artist - Female
|
|-
| Top New Age Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|A Day Without Rain
| Top Internet Album
|
|-
| rowspan=2|Top New Age Album
|
|-
| rowspan=3|2002
|
|-
| rowspan=2|Enya
| Top New Age Artist
|
|-
| Top Adult Contemporary Artist
|
Grammy Awards
|-
| rowspan=2|1990
| rowspan=2|"Orinoco Flow"
| Best New Age Performance
|
|-
| Best Music Video
|
|-
| 1993
| Shepherd Moons
| rowspan=3|Best New Age Album
|
|-
| 1997
| The Memory of Trees
|
|-
| 2002
| A Day Without Rain
|
|-
| 2003
| "May It Be"
| Best Song Written for Visual Media
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2007
| "Drifting"
| Best Pop Instrumental Performance
|
|-
| Amarantine
| rowspan=2|Best New Age Album
|
|-
| 2017
| Dark Sky Island
|
IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
!Ref.
|-
| 2001
| A Day Without Rain
| Top 10 Best Sales Foreign Albums
|
|
Japan Gold Disc Awards
|-
| 1990
| Enya
| New Artist of the Year
|
|-
| 1998
| Paint the Sky with Stars
| Best 3 Albums
|
|-
| 2001
| A Day Without Rain
| International Pop Album of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| Themes from Calmi Cuori Appassionati
| Best 3 Albums
|
|-
| 2006
| Amarantine
| International Album of the Year
|
World Music Awards
|-
| rowspan="2"|2001
| rowspan="7"| Enya
| World's Best Selling Irish Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=2|World's Best Selling New Age Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|2002
|
|-
| World's Best Selling Female Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|World's Best Selling Irish Artist
|
|-
| 2003
|
|-
| 2006
|
Žebřík Music Awards
!Ref.
|-
| 1993
| rowspan=3|Enya
| rowspan=3|Best International Female
|
|
|-
| 1997
|
|
|-
| 2005
|
|
Other Awards
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|1989
|rowspan="3"|Enya
| Brit Award for Best International Artist
|
|-
| Brit Award for Best International Female
|
|-
| IRMA Award for Best Female Irish Artist
|
|-
!scope="row"|1990
| "Orinoco Flow"
| BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|1992
|rowspan="3"|Enya
|rowspan="2"|Brit Award for Best International Solo Artist
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|1993
|
|-
| IRMA Award for Best Female Irish Artist
|
|-
| "Book of Days"
| Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=1|1998
| Enya, Nicky Ryan, and Roma Ryan
| Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|2001
| rowspan="4"| "May It Be"
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2001
| Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2002
| Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2002
| Academy Award for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="4"|2002
| rowspan="2"| Enya
| American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist
|
|-
| Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
|
|-
| rowspan=3|"Only Time"
| ECHO Award for Best Single of the Year (International)
|
|-
| BDSCertified Spin Awards – 300,000 Spins
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="1"|2003
| rowspan="1"|BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|2004
| rowspan=4|"I Don't Wanna Know"
| Vibe Award for R&B Song of the Year
|
|-
| MOBO Award for Best Single
|
|-
| MOBO Award for Best Ringtone
|
|-
!scope="row"|2005
| BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|2016
| Dark Sky Island
| ECHO Award for Best Female of the Year (International)
|
|-
|}
Discography
Studio albums
Enya (1987) (reissued in 1992 as The Celts)
Watermark (1988)
Shepherd Moons (1991)
The Memory of Trees (1995)
A Day Without Rain (2000)
Amarantine (2005)
And Winter Came... (2008)
Dark Sky Island (2015)
See also
Honorific nicknames in popular music
List of ambient music artists
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of best-selling music artists
List of highest-certified music artists in the United States
References
Sources
External links
1961 births
20th-century Irish women singers
21st-century Irish women singers
Celtic fusion musicians
Clannad members
Grammy Award winners
Irish women composers
Irish folk singers
Irish-language singers
Irish mezzo-sopranos
Irish pianists
Irish pop singers
Irish women singer-songwriters
Ivor Novello Award winners
Latin-language singers
Living people
Musicians from County Donegal
New-age musicians
People from Dalkey
People from Gweedore
Warner Music Group artists
Women in electronic music
World Music Awards winners
People from Killiney
20th-century women composers
21st-century women composers | true | [
"Dark Sky Island is the eighth studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released on 20 November 2015 by Warner Bros. Records. After the release of her previous album, And Winter Came... (2008), Enya was unsure of her next career move so she decided to take a break from music, which lasted three ... | [
"Enya Patricia Brennan ( ; born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician, known for pioneering modern Celtic and New-age music. Regarded as the \"Queen of New Age\", Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and second-best-selling overall behind U2.",
"Regarded as the \"Queen of New ... |
[
"Enya",
"2008-present: And Winter Came... and Dark Sky Island",
"Can you provide me with a little information on And Winter Came..and Dark Sky Island?",
"seventh studio album, And Winter Came...."
] | C_ca2198202da140e28165132567967682_1 | Is this the name of a music group? | 2 | Is Enya the name of a music group? | Enya | Enya continued to write music with a winter and Christmas theme for her seventh studio album, And Winter Came.... Initially she intended to make an album of seasonal songs and hymns set for a release in late 2007, but decided to produce a winter-themed album instead. The track "My! My! Time Flies!", a tribute to the late Irish guitarist Jimmy Faulkner, incorporates a guitar solo performed by Pat Farrell, the first use of a guitar on an Enya album since "I Want Tomorrow" from Enya. Upon its release in November 2008, And Winter Came... reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 8 in the US and sold almost 3.5 million copies worldwide by 2011. After promoting And Winter Came..., Enya took an extended break from writing and recording music. She spent her time resting, visiting family in Australia, and renovating her new home in the south of France. In March 2009, her first four studio albums were reissued in Japan in the Super High Material CD format with bonus tracks. Her second compilation album and DVD, The Very Best of Enya, was released in November 2009 and features songs from 1987 to 2008, including a previously unreleased version of "Aniron". In 2013, "Only Time" was used in an advertisement by Volvo Trucks starring Jean-Claude Van Damme who does the splits while suspended between two lorries. The video went viral, leading to numerous parodies of the commercial uploaded to YouTube also using "Only Time". The attention resulted in the song peaking at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In 2012, Enya returned to the studio to record her eighth album, Dark Sky Island. Its name references the island of Sark, where it became the first island to be designated a dark-sky preserve, and a series of poems on islands by Roma Ryan. The new album was promoted with the premiere in October 2015 of its lead single, "Echoes in Rain", on Ken Bruce's radio show and with the release in the same month of the single as a digital download. Upon its release on 20 November 2015, Dark Sky Island went to No. 4 in the UK, Enya's highest charting studio album there since Shepherd Moons went to No. 1, and to No. 8 in the US. A Deluxe Edition features three additional songs. Enya completed a promotional tour of the UK and Europe, the US and Japan. During her visit to Japan, Enya performed "Orinoco Flow" and "Echoes in Rain" at the Universal Studios Japan Christmas show in Osaka. In December 2016, Enya appeared on the Raidio Teilifis Eireann Christmas special Christmas Carols from Cork, marking her first appearance on Irish television in a decade. She sang "Adeste Fideles" and "Oiche Chiuin" as well as her own carol composition "The Spirit of Christmas Past". CANNOTANSWER | seventh studio album, | Enya Patricia Brennan ( ; born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician, known for pioneering modern Celtic and New-age music. Regarded as the "Queen of New Age", Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and second-best-selling overall behind U2. Born into a musical family and raised in the Irish-speaking area of Gweedore, County Donegal, Enya began her music career when she joined her family's Celtic folk band Clannad in 1980 on keyboards and backing vocals. She left the group in 1982 with their manager and producer Nicky Ryan to pursue a solo career, with Ryan's wife Roma Ryan as her lyricist. Enya developed her sound over the following four years with multitracked vocals and keyboards with elements of new age, Celtic, classical, church, world, pop, and Irish folk. Thus far, she has sung in ten languages, most notably English, Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge), Latin, and Welsh.
Enya's first projects as a solo artist included soundtrack work for The Frog Prince (1984) and the 1987 BBC documentary series The Celts, which was released as her debut album, Enya (1987). She signed with Warner Music UK, which granted her artistic freedom and minimal interference from the label. The commercial and critical success of Watermark (1988) propelled her to worldwide fame, helped by the UK number one and international hit single "Orinoco Flow". This was followed by the multi-million-selling albums Shepherd Moons (1991), The Memory of Trees (1995), and A Day Without Rain (2000). Sales of the latter and its lead single, "Only Time", surged in the United States following its use in the media coverage of the September 11 attacks. Following Amarantine (2005) and And Winter Came... (2008), Enya took a four-year career hiatus before she resumed in 2012 and released her eighth studio album, Dark Sky Island (2015).
Enya's discography has sold 26.5 million certified albums in the United States and an estimated 75 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. A Day Without Rain (2000) remains the best-selling new-age album, with an estimated 16 million copies sold worldwide. Enya has won numerous awards, including seven World Music Awards, four Grammy Awards for Best New Age Album, and an Ivor Novello Award. She was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for "May It Be", written for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Early life
Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin was born on 17 May 1961 in Dore, a settlement in the parish of Gweedore, in County Donegal. It is a Gaeltacht region where Irish is the primary language. Her name is anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan, where Enya is the phonetic spelling of how "Eithne" is pronounced in her native Ulster dialect of Irish; "Ní Bhraonáin" translates to "daughter of Brennan". The sixth of nine children, Enya was born into a Roman Catholic family of musicians. Her father, Leo Brennan, was the leader of the Slieve Foy Band, an Irish showband, and ran Leo's Tavern in Meenaleck. Her mother, Máire Brennan (née Duggan), who has distant Spanish roots whose ancestors settled on Tory Island, was an amateur musician who played in Leo's band and taught music at Gweedore Community School. Enya's maternal grandfather Aodh was the headmaster of the primary school in Dore, and her grandmother was a teacher there. Aodh was also the founder of the Gweedore Theatre company.
Enya described her upbringing as "very quiet and happy." At age three, she took part in her first singing competition at the annual Feis Ceoil music festival. She took part in pantomimes at Gweedore Theatre and sang with her siblings in her mother's choir at St Mary's church in Derrybeg. She learned English at primary school and began piano lessons at age four. "I had to do school work and then travel to a neighbouring town for piano lessons, and then more school work. I ... remember my brothers and sisters playing outside ... and I would be inside playing the piano. This one big book of scales, practising them over and over." When Enya turned eleven, her grandfather paid for her education at a strict convent boarding school in Milford run by nuns of the Loreto order, where she developed a taste for classical music, art, Latin and watercolour painting. She said: "It was devastating to be torn away from such a large family, but it was good for my music." Enya left the school at 17 and studied classical music in college for one year, with the aim of becoming "a piano teacher sort of person. I never thought of myself composing or being on stage."
Career
1980–1985: Clannad and early solo career
In 1970, several members of Enya's family formed Clannad, a Celtic folk band who later acquired Nicky Ryan as their manager, sound engineer, and producer, and his future wife, Roma Ryan, as tour manager and administrator. In 1980, after her year at college, Enya decided against pursuing music at university and accepted Ryan's invitation to join the group as he wanted to expand their sound with an additional vocalist and introducing keyboards. Enya performed an uncredited role their sixth studio album, Crann Úll (1980), with a line-up of siblings Máire, Pól, and Ciarán Brennan, and twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. She became an official member by the time their follow-up, Fuaim (1981), was released, and is photographed with the band on the front cover. Nicky maintained it was never his intention to make Enya a permanent member, and saw she was "fiercely independent ... intent on playing her own music. She was just not sure of how to go about it". This sparked discussions between the two on layering vocal tracks to create a "choir of one", a concept inspired by the Wall of Sound technique by producer Phil Spector that interested them both.
During a Clannad tour in 1982, Nicky called for a band meeting to address internal issues that had arisen. He added, "It was short and only required a vote, I was a minority of one and lost. Roma and I were out. This left the question of what happened with Enya. I decided to stand back and say nothing". Enya chose to leave with the Ryans and pursue a solo career as she felt confined in the group, and disliked being "somebody in the background". This caused some friction between the two parties at first, but they settled their differences. Nicky suggested to Enya that either she return to Gweedore "with no particular definite future", or live with him and Roma in Artane, Dublin "and see what happens, musically", which she accepted. After their bank denied them a loan, Enya sold her saxophone and gave piano lessons for income and the Ryans used what they could afford from their savings to build a recording facility in a shed in their garden. They named it Aigle Studio, after the French word for "eagle", and rented it out to musicians to help recoup the costs. The trio formed a musical partnership, with Nicky as Enya's producer and arranger and Roma her lyricist, and established their music company, Aigle Music. In the following two years, Enya developed her technique and composition by listening to recordings of her reciting pieces of classical music, and repeated the process until she started to improvise sections and develop her own arrangements. Her first composition was "An Taibhse Uaighneach", Irish for "The Lonely Ghost". During this time Enya played the synthesiser on Ceol Aduaidh (1983) by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy, and performed with the duo and Mhaonaigh's brother Gearóid in their short lived group, Ragairne.
Enya's first solo endeavour arrived in 1983 when she recorded two piano instrumentals, "An Ghaoth Ón Ghrian", Irish for "The Solar Wind", and "Miss Clare Remembers", at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin which were released on Touch Travel (1984), a limited release cassette of music from various artists on the Touch label. She is credited as Eithne Ní Bhraonáin on its liner notes. After several months of preparation, Enya's first live solo performance took place on 23 September 1983 at the National Stadium in Dublin, which was televised for RTÉ's music show Festival Folk. Niall Morris, a musician who worked with her during this time, recalled she "was so nervous she could barely get on stage, and she cowered behind the piano until the gig was over."
Morris assisted Enya in the production of a demo tape, playing additional keyboards to her compositions, which Roma thought would suit accompanying visuals and sent it to various film producers. Among them was David Puttnam, who liked the tape and offered Enya to compose the soundtrack to his upcoming romantic comedy film, The Frog Prince (1984). Enya scored nine pieces for the film but they were later rearranged and orchestrated against her wishes by Richard Myhill, except for two that she sang on, "The Frog Prince" and "Dreams"; the words to the latter were penned by Charlie McGettigan. Film editor Jim Clark said the rearrangements were necessary as Enya found it difficult to compose to picture. Released in 1985, the album is the first commercial release that credits her as Enya, after Nicky Ryan thought "Eithne" would be too difficult for non-Irish people to pronounce correctly and suggested the phonetic spelling of her name. Enya looked back on the film as a good career move, but a disappointing one as "we weren't part of it at the end". She then sang on three tracks on Ordinary Man (1985) by Christy Moore.
1985–1989: The Celts and Watermark
In 1985, producer Tony McAuley asked Enya to contribute a track for a six-part BBC television documentary series The Celts. She had already written a Celtic-influenced song named "The March of the Celts", and submitted it to the project. Each episode was to feature a different composer at first, but director David Richardson liked her track so much, he had Enya score the entire series. Enya recorded 72 minutes of music at Aigle Studio and the BBC studios in Wood Lane, London without recording to picture, though she was required to portray certain themes and ideas that the producers wanted. Unlike The Frog Prince, she worked with little interference which granted her freedom to establish her sound that she would adopt throughout her future career, signified by layered vocals, keyboard-oriented music, and percussion with elements of Celtic, classical, church and folk music.
In March 1987, two months before The Celts aired, a 40-minute selection of Enya's score was released as her debut solo album, Enya, by BBC Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. The latter promoted it with a new-age imprint on the packaging, which Nicky later thought was "a cowardly thing for them to do". The album gained enough public attention to reach number 8 on the Irish Albums Chart and number 69 on the UK Albums Chart. "I Want Tomorrow" was released as Enya's first single. "Boadicea" was sampled by The Fugees on their 1996 song "Ready or Not"; the group neither sought permission nor gave credit, and Enya took legal action. The group subsequently gave her credit and paid a fee worth around $3 million. Later in 1987, Enya appeared on Sinéad O'Connor's debut album The Lion and the Cobra, reciting Psalm 91 in Irish on "Never Get Old".
Several weeks after the release of Enya, Enya secured a recording contract with Warner Music UK after Rob Dickins, the label's chairman and a fan of Clannad, took a liking to Enya and found himself playing it "every night before I went to bed". He then met Enya and the Ryans at a chance meeting at the Irish Recorded Music Association award ceremony in Dublin, and learned Enya had entered negotiations with a rival label. Dickins seized the opportunity and signed her to Warner Music with a deal worth £75,000, granting her wish to write and record with artistic freedom, minimal interference from the label, and without set deadlines to finish albums. Dickins said: "Sometimes you sign an act to make money, and sometimes you sign an act to make music. This was clearly the latter ... I just wanted to be involved with this music." Enya then left Atlantic and signed with the Warner-led Geffen Records to handle her American distribution.
With the green-light to produce a new studio album, Enya recorded Watermark from June 1987 to April 1988. It was initially recorded in analogue at Aigle Studio before Dickins requested to have it re-recorded digitally at Orinoco Studios in Bermondsey, London. Watermark was released in September 1988 and became an unexpected hit, reaching number 5 in the United Kingdom and number 25 on the Billboard 200 in the United States following its release there in January 1989. Its lead single, "Orinoco Flow", was the last song written for the album. It was not intended to be a single at first, but Enya and the Ryans chose it after Dickins asked for a single from them several times as a joke, knowing Enya's music was not made for the Top 40 chart. Dickins and engineer Ross Cullum are referenced in the songs' lyrics. "Orinoco Flow" became an international top 10 hit and was number one in the United Kingdom for three weeks. The new-found success propelled Enya to international fame and she received endorsement deals and offers to use her music in television commercials. She spent one year travelling worldwide to promote the album which increased her exposure through interviews, appearances, and live performances. By 1996, Watermark had sold in excess of 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom and 4 million in the United States.
1989–1997: Shepherd Moons and The Memory of Trees
After promoting Watermark, Enya purchased new recording equipment and started work on her next album, Shepherd Moons. She found the success of Watermark caused a considerable amount of pressure when it came to writing new songs, adding, "I kept thinking, 'Would this have gone on Watermark? Is it as good?' Eventually I had to forget about this and start on a blank canvas and just really go with what felt right." Enya wrote songs based on several ideas, including entries from her diary, the Blitz in London, and her grandparents. Shepherd Moons was released in November 1991, her first album released under Warner-led Reprise Records in the United States. It became a greater commercial success than Watermark, reaching number one in the UK for one week and number 17 in the United States. "Caribbean Blue", its lead single, charted at number thirteen in the United Kingdom. By 1997, the album had reached multi-platinum certification for selling in excess of 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom and 5 million in the United States.
In 1991, Warner Music released a collection of five Enya music videos as Moonshadows for home video. In 1993, Enya won her first Grammy Award for Best New Age Album for Shepherd Moons. Soon after, Enya and Nicky entered discussions with Industrial Light & Magic, founded by George Lucas, regarding an elaborate stage lighting system for a proposed concert tour, but nothing came out of the meetings. In November 1992, Warner had obtained the rights to Enya and re-released the album as The Celts with new artwork. It surpassed its initial sale performance, reaching number 10 in the United Kingdom and reached platinum certification in the United States in 1996 for one million copies shipped.
After travelling worldwide to promote Shepherd Moons, Enya started to write and record her fourth album, The Memory of Trees. The album was released in November 1995. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number nine in the United States, where it sold over 3 million copies. Its lead single, "Anywhere Is", reached number seven in the United Kingdom. The second, "On My Way Home", reached number twenty-six in the same country. In late 1994, Enya put out an extended play of Christmas music titled The Christmas EP. Enya was offered to compose the score for Titanic, but declined. A recording of her singing "Oíche Chiúin", an Irish-language version of "Silent Night", appeared on the charity album A Very Special Christmas 3, released in benefit of the Special Olympics in October 1997.
In early 1997, Enya began to select tracks for her first compilation album, "trying to select the obvious ones, the hits, and others." She chose to work on the collection following the promotional tour for The Memory of Trees as she felt it was the right time in her career, and that her contract with WEA required her to release a "best of" album. The set, named Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya, features two new tracks, "Paint the Sky with Stars" and "Only If...". Released in November 1997, the album was a worldwide commercial success, reaching No. 4 in the UK and No. 30 in the US, where it went on to sell over 4 million copies. "Only If..." was released as a single in 1997. Enya described the album as "like a musical diary ... each melody has a little story and I live through that whole story from the beginning ... your mind goes back to that day and what you were thinking."
1998–2007: A Day Without Rain and Amarantine
Enya started work on her fifth studio album, titled A Day Without Rain, in mid-1998. In a departure from her previous albums she incorporated the use of a string section into her compositions, something that was not a conscious decision at first, but Enya and Nicky Ryan agreed it complemented the songs that were being written. The album was released in November 2000, and reached number 6 in the United Kingdom and an initial peak of number 17 in the United States. In the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, sales of the album and its lead single, "Only Time", surged after the song was widely used during radio and television coverage of the events, leading to its description as "a post-September 11 anthem". The exposure caused A Day Without Rain to outperform its original chart performance to peak at number 2 on the Billboard 200, and the release of a maxi single containing the original and a pop remix of "Only Time" in November 2001. Enya donated its proceeds in aid of the International Association of Firefighters. The song topped the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and went to number 10 on the Hot 100 singles, Enya's highest charting US single to date. A second single, "Wild Child", was released in December 2001. A Day Without Rain remains Enya's biggest seller, with 7 million copies sold in the US and the most sold new-age album of all time with an estimated 13 million copies sold worldwide.
In 2001, Enya agreed to write and perform on two tracks for the soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) at the request of director Peter Jackson. Its composer Howard Shore "imagined her voice" as he wrote the film's score, making an uncommon exception to include another artist in one of his soundtracks. After flying to New Zealand to observe the filming and to watch a rough cut of the film, Enya returned to Ireland and composed "Aníron (Theme for Aragorn and Arwen)" with lyrics by Roma in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Elvish language Sindarin, and "May It Be", sung in English and another Tolkien language, Quenya. Shore then based his orchestrations around Enya's recorded vocals and themes to create "a seamless sound". In 2002, Enya released "May It Be" as a single which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. She performed the song live at the 74th Academy Awards ceremony with an orchestra in March 2002, and later cited the moment as a career highlight.
Enya undertook additional studio projects in 2001 and 2002. The first was work on the soundtrack to the Japanese romantic film Calmi Cuori Appassionati (2001) which was subsequently released as Themes from Calmi Cuori Appassionati (2001). The album is formed of tracks spanning her career from Enya to A Day Without Rain with two B-sides. The album went to number 2 in Japan, and became Enya's second to sell one million copies in the country. November 2002 saw the release of Only Time – The Collection, a box set of 51 tracks recorded through her career which received a limited release of 200,000 copies.
In September 2003, Enya returned to Aigle Studio to start work on her sixth studio album, Amarantine. Roma said the title means "everlasting". The album marks the first instance of Enya singing in Loxian, a fictional language created by Roma that came about when Enya was working on "Water Shows the Hidden Heart". After numerous attempts to sing the song in English, Irish and Latin, Roma suggested a new language based on some of the sounds Enya would sing along to when developing her songs. It was a success, and Enya sang "Less Than a Pearl" and "The River Sings" in the same way. Roma worked on the language further, creating a "culture and history" behind it surrounding the Loxian people who are of another planet, questioning the existence of life on another. "Sumiregusa (Wild Violet)" is sung in Japanese. Amarantine was a global success, reaching number 6 on the Billboard 200 and number 8 in the UK. It has sold over 1 million certified copies in the US, a considerable drop in sales in comparison to her previous albums. Enya dedicated the album to BBC producer Tony McAuley, who had commissioned Enya to write the soundtrack to The Celts, following his death in 2003. The lead single, "Amarantine", was released in December 2005. A Christmas Special Edition was released in 2006, followed by a Deluxe Edition.
In 2006, Enya released Sounds of the Season: The Enya Holiday Collection, a Christmas-themed EP released exclusively in the US following an exclusive partnership with the NBC network and the Target department store chain. It includes two new songs, "Christmas Secrets" and "The Magic of the Night".
In June 2007, Enya received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland, Galway. A month later, she received one from the University of Ulster.
2008–present: And Winter Came..., Dark Sky Island, and future
Enya continued to write music with a winter and Christmas theme for her seventh studio album, And Winter Came.... Initially she intended to make an album of seasonal songs and hymns set for a release in late 2007, but decided to produce a winter-themed album instead. The track "My! My! Time Flies!", a tribute to the late Irish guitarist Jimmy Faulkner, incorporates a guitar solo performed by Pat Farrell, the first use of a guitar on an Enya album since "I Want Tomorrow" from Enya. The lyrics also include atypical pop-culture references, such as to The Beatles' famous photo shoot for the cover of Abbey Road. Upon its release in November 2008, And Winter Came... reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 8 in the US and sold almost 3.5 million copies worldwide by 2011.
After promoting And Winter Came..., Enya took an extended break from writing and recording music. She spent her time resting, visiting family in Australia, and renovating her new home in the south of France. In March 2009, her first four studio albums were reissued in Japan in the Super High Material CD format with bonus tracks. Her second compilation album, The Very Best of Enya, was released in November 2009 and features songs from 1987 to 2008, including a previously unreleased version of "Aníron" and a DVD compiling most of her music videos to date. In 2013, "Only Time" was used in the "Epic Split" advertisement by Volvo Trucks starring Jean-Claude Van Damme who does the splits while suspended between two lorries. The video went viral, leading to numerous parodies of the commercial uploaded to YouTube also using "Only Time". The attention resulted in the song peaking at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
In 2012, Enya returned to the studio to record her eighth album, Dark Sky Island. Its name refers to the island of Sark, which became the first island to be designated a dark-sky preserve, and a series of poems on islands by Roma Ryan. Upon its release on 20 November 2015, Dark Sky Island went to No. 4 in the UK, Enya's highest charting studio album there since Shepherd Moons went to No. 1, and to No. 8 in the US. A Deluxe Edition features three additional songs. Enya completed a promotional tour of the UK and Europe, the US and Japan. During her visit to Japan, Enya performed "Orinoco Flow" and "Echoes in Rain" at the Universal Studios Japan Christmas show in Osaka. In December 2016, Enya appeared on the Irish television show Christmas Carols from Cork, marking her first Irish television appearance in over seven years. She sang "Adeste Fideles", "Oiche Chiúin", and "The Spirit of Christmas Past".
On 4 November 2021, a Shepherd Moons "watch party" video was uploaded to Enya's official YouTube channel to commemorate the album's 30th anniversary. In his introductory message, Nicky Ryan said that Roma, Enya, and he used the downtime from the COVID-19 pandemic to renovate Aigle Studio, and install new recording equipment and instruments. When this is complete, Enya will begin working on new music.
Musical style
Enya's vocal range is mezzo-soprano. She has cited her musical foundations as "the classics", church music, and "Irish reels and jigs" with a particular interest in Sergei Rachmaninoff, a favourite composer of hers. She has an autographed picture of him in her home. Since 1982, she has recorded her music with Nicky Ryan as producer and arranger and his wife Roma Ryan as lyricist. While in Clannad, Enya chose to work with Nicky as the two shared an interest in vocal harmonies, and Ryan, influenced by The Beach Boys and the "Wall of Sound" technique that Phil Spector pioneered, wanted to explore the idea of "the multivocals" for which her music became known. According to Enya, "Angeles" from Shepherd Moons has roughly 500 vocals recorded individually and layered. Enya performs all vocals and the majority of instruments in her songs apart from musicians to play percussion, guitar, uilleann pipes, cornet, and double bass. Her early works including Watermark feature numerous keyboards, including the Yamaha KX88 Master, Yamaha DX7, Oberheim Matrix, Akai S900, Roland D-50, and Roland Juno-60, the latter a particular favourite of hers.
Numerous critics and reviewers classify Enya's albums as new age music and she has won four Grammy Awards in the category. However, Enya does not classify her music as part of the genre. When asked what genre she would classify her music, her reply was "Enya". Nicky Ryan commented on the new age comments: "Initially it was fine, but it's really not new age. Enya plays a whole lot of instruments, not just keyboards. Her melodies are strong and she sings a lot. So I can't see a comparison." The music video to "Caribbean Blue" and the art work to The Memory of Trees feature adapted works from artist Maxfield Parrish.
Enya has sung in ten languages in her career, including English, Irish, Latin, Welsh, Spanish, French and Japanese. She has recorded music influenced by works from fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien, including the instrumental "Lothlórien" from Shepherd Moons. For The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, she sang "May It Be" in English and Tolkien's fictional language Quenya, and sang "Aníron" in another of Tolkien's fictional languages, Sindarin. Her albums Amarantine and Dark Sky Island include songs sung in Loxian, a fictional language created by Roma, that has no official syntax. Its vocabulary was formed by Enya singing the song's notes to which Roma wrote their phonetic spelling.
Enya adopted a composing and songwriting method that has deviated little throughout her career. At the start of the recording process for an album she enters the studio, forgetting about her previous success, fame, and songs of hers that became hits. "If I did that", she said, "I'd have to call it a day". She then develops ideas on the piano, keeping note of any arrangement that can be worked on further. During her time writing, Enya works a five-day week, takes weekends off, and does not work on her music at home. With Irish as her first language, Enya initially records her songs in Irish as she can express "feeling much more directly" than English. After a period of time, Enya presents her ideas to Nicky to discuss what pieces work best, while Roma works in parallel to devise a lyric to the songs. Enya considered "Fallen Embers" from A Day Without Rain a perfect time when the lyrics reflect as to how she felt while writing the song. In 2008, she newly discovered her tendency to write "two or three songs" during the winter months, work on the arrangements and lyrics the following spring and summer, and then work on the next couple of songs when autumn arrives.
Live performances
Enya says that Warner Music and she "did not see eye to eye" initially as the label imagined her performing on stage "with a piano ... maybe two or three synthesiser players and that's it". Enya also explained that the time put into her studio albums causes her to "run overtime", leaving little time to plan for other such projects. She also expressed the difficulty in recreating her studio-oriented sound for the stage. In 1996, Ryan said Enya had received an offer worth almost £500,000 to perform a concert in Japan. In 2016, Enya spoke about the prospect of a live concert when she revealed talks with the Ryans during her three-year break after And Winter Came... (2008) to perform a show at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City that would be simulcast to cinemas worldwide. Before such an event could happen, Nicky suggested that she enter a studio and record "all the hits" live with an orchestra and choir to see how they would sound.
Enya has sung with live and lip synching vocals on various talk and music shows, events, and ceremonies throughout her career, usually during her worldwide press tours for each album. In December 1995, she performed "Anywhere Is" at a Christmas concert at Vatican City with Pope John Paul II in attendance, who met and thanked her for performing. In April 1996, Enya performed the same song during her surprise appearance at the fiftieth birthday celebration for Carl XVI Gustaf, the King of Sweden and a fan of Enya's. In 1997, Enya participated in a live Christmas Eve broadcast in London and flew to County Donegal afterwards to join her family for their annual midnight Mass choral performance, in which she participates each year. In March 2002, she performed "May It Be" with an orchestra at the year's Academy Awards ceremony. Enya and her sisters performed as part of the local choir Cor Mhuire in July 2005 at St. Mary's church in Gweedore during the annual Earagail Arts Festival.
Personal life
Since the 1980s, Enya has attracted the attention of several stalkers. In 1996, an Italian man who was seen in Dublin wearing a photograph of Enya around his neck stabbed himself outside her parents' pub after being ejected from the premises.
In 1991, a minor planet first discovered in 1978, 6433 Enya, was named after her. In 2017, a newly discovered species of fish, Leporinus enyae, found in the Orinoco River drainage area, was also named after her.
Enya is known for keeping a private lifestyle, saying: "The music is what sells. Not me, or what I stand for ... that's the way I've always wanted it". She is not married and is a surrogate aunt to the Ryans' two daughters. In 1991, she said: "I'm afraid of marriage because I'm afraid someone might want me because of who I am instead of because they loved me... I wouldn't go rushing into anything unexpected, but I do think a great deal about this". A relationship she had with one man ended in 1997, around the time when she considered taking time out of music to have a family but found she was putting pressure on herself over the matter and "gone the route I wanted to go". She declares herself as "more spiritual than religious... I derive from religion what I enjoy."
In 1997, Enya bought a Victorian Grade A listed castellated mansion in Killiney, County Dublin for IR£2.5 million at auction. Formerly known as Victoria Castle and Ayesha Castle, she renamed it Manderley Castle after the house from the novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. In all, she spent seven years renovating her property and also installing considerable security measures. In 2005, Enya spent around £250,000 on security improvements, covering gaps in the castle's outer wall and installing bollards and iron railings. In October of that year, two people broke into the home; one attacked and tied up one of her housekeepers and left with several of Enya's items after she had raised the alarm in her safe room. In 2009, during her three-year break from music, Enya purchased a home in southern France.
In 2006, Enya ranked third in a list of the wealthiest Irish entertainers with an estimated fortune of £75 million, and was number 95 in the Sunday Times Rich List of the richest 250 Irish people. In the 2016 edition, which listed its top 50 Music Millionaires of Britain and Ireland, she emerged as the richest female singer with a fortune of £91 million and ranked number 28 overall.
Awards and nominations
Billboard Music Awards
|-
| rowspan=4|2001
| rowspan=2|Enya
| Top Billboard 200 Artist - Female
|
|-
| Top New Age Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|A Day Without Rain
| Top Internet Album
|
|-
| rowspan=2|Top New Age Album
|
|-
| rowspan=3|2002
|
|-
| rowspan=2|Enya
| Top New Age Artist
|
|-
| Top Adult Contemporary Artist
|
Grammy Awards
|-
| rowspan=2|1990
| rowspan=2|"Orinoco Flow"
| Best New Age Performance
|
|-
| Best Music Video
|
|-
| 1993
| Shepherd Moons
| rowspan=3|Best New Age Album
|
|-
| 1997
| The Memory of Trees
|
|-
| 2002
| A Day Without Rain
|
|-
| 2003
| "May It Be"
| Best Song Written for Visual Media
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2007
| "Drifting"
| Best Pop Instrumental Performance
|
|-
| Amarantine
| rowspan=2|Best New Age Album
|
|-
| 2017
| Dark Sky Island
|
IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
!Ref.
|-
| 2001
| A Day Without Rain
| Top 10 Best Sales Foreign Albums
|
|
Japan Gold Disc Awards
|-
| 1990
| Enya
| New Artist of the Year
|
|-
| 1998
| Paint the Sky with Stars
| Best 3 Albums
|
|-
| 2001
| A Day Without Rain
| International Pop Album of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| Themes from Calmi Cuori Appassionati
| Best 3 Albums
|
|-
| 2006
| Amarantine
| International Album of the Year
|
World Music Awards
|-
| rowspan="2"|2001
| rowspan="7"| Enya
| World's Best Selling Irish Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=2|World's Best Selling New Age Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|2002
|
|-
| World's Best Selling Female Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|World's Best Selling Irish Artist
|
|-
| 2003
|
|-
| 2006
|
Žebřík Music Awards
!Ref.
|-
| 1993
| rowspan=3|Enya
| rowspan=3|Best International Female
|
|
|-
| 1997
|
|
|-
| 2005
|
|
Other Awards
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|1989
|rowspan="3"|Enya
| Brit Award for Best International Artist
|
|-
| Brit Award for Best International Female
|
|-
| IRMA Award for Best Female Irish Artist
|
|-
!scope="row"|1990
| "Orinoco Flow"
| BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|1992
|rowspan="3"|Enya
|rowspan="2"|Brit Award for Best International Solo Artist
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|1993
|
|-
| IRMA Award for Best Female Irish Artist
|
|-
| "Book of Days"
| Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=1|1998
| Enya, Nicky Ryan, and Roma Ryan
| Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|2001
| rowspan="4"| "May It Be"
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2001
| Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2002
| Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2002
| Academy Award for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="4"|2002
| rowspan="2"| Enya
| American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist
|
|-
| Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
|
|-
| rowspan=3|"Only Time"
| ECHO Award for Best Single of the Year (International)
|
|-
| BDSCertified Spin Awards – 300,000 Spins
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="1"|2003
| rowspan="1"|BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|2004
| rowspan=4|"I Don't Wanna Know"
| Vibe Award for R&B Song of the Year
|
|-
| MOBO Award for Best Single
|
|-
| MOBO Award for Best Ringtone
|
|-
!scope="row"|2005
| BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|2016
| Dark Sky Island
| ECHO Award for Best Female of the Year (International)
|
|-
|}
Discography
Studio albums
Enya (1987) (reissued in 1992 as The Celts)
Watermark (1988)
Shepherd Moons (1991)
The Memory of Trees (1995)
A Day Without Rain (2000)
Amarantine (2005)
And Winter Came... (2008)
Dark Sky Island (2015)
See also
Honorific nicknames in popular music
List of ambient music artists
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of best-selling music artists
List of highest-certified music artists in the United States
References
Sources
External links
1961 births
20th-century Irish women singers
21st-century Irish women singers
Celtic fusion musicians
Clannad members
Grammy Award winners
Irish women composers
Irish folk singers
Irish-language singers
Irish mezzo-sopranos
Irish pianists
Irish pop singers
Irish women singer-songwriters
Ivor Novello Award winners
Latin-language singers
Living people
Musicians from County Donegal
New-age musicians
People from Dalkey
People from Gweedore
Warner Music Group artists
Women in electronic music
World Music Awards winners
People from Killiney
20th-century women composers
21st-century women composers | true | [
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"Enya Patricia Brennan ( ; born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician, known for pioneering modern Celtic and New-age music. Regarded as the \"Queen of New Age\", Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and second-best-selling overall behind U2.",
"Regarded as the \"Queen of New ... |
[
"Enya",
"2008-present: And Winter Came... and Dark Sky Island",
"Can you provide me with a little information on And Winter Came..and Dark Sky Island?",
"seventh studio album, And Winter Came....",
"Is this the name of a music group?",
"seventh studio album,"
] | C_ca2198202da140e28165132567967682_1 | What was all involved in the making of this album? | 3 | What was all involved in the making of the album And Winter Came... and Dark Sky Island? | Enya | Enya continued to write music with a winter and Christmas theme for her seventh studio album, And Winter Came.... Initially she intended to make an album of seasonal songs and hymns set for a release in late 2007, but decided to produce a winter-themed album instead. The track "My! My! Time Flies!", a tribute to the late Irish guitarist Jimmy Faulkner, incorporates a guitar solo performed by Pat Farrell, the first use of a guitar on an Enya album since "I Want Tomorrow" from Enya. Upon its release in November 2008, And Winter Came... reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 8 in the US and sold almost 3.5 million copies worldwide by 2011. After promoting And Winter Came..., Enya took an extended break from writing and recording music. She spent her time resting, visiting family in Australia, and renovating her new home in the south of France. In March 2009, her first four studio albums were reissued in Japan in the Super High Material CD format with bonus tracks. Her second compilation album and DVD, The Very Best of Enya, was released in November 2009 and features songs from 1987 to 2008, including a previously unreleased version of "Aniron". In 2013, "Only Time" was used in an advertisement by Volvo Trucks starring Jean-Claude Van Damme who does the splits while suspended between two lorries. The video went viral, leading to numerous parodies of the commercial uploaded to YouTube also using "Only Time". The attention resulted in the song peaking at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In 2012, Enya returned to the studio to record her eighth album, Dark Sky Island. Its name references the island of Sark, where it became the first island to be designated a dark-sky preserve, and a series of poems on islands by Roma Ryan. The new album was promoted with the premiere in October 2015 of its lead single, "Echoes in Rain", on Ken Bruce's radio show and with the release in the same month of the single as a digital download. Upon its release on 20 November 2015, Dark Sky Island went to No. 4 in the UK, Enya's highest charting studio album there since Shepherd Moons went to No. 1, and to No. 8 in the US. A Deluxe Edition features three additional songs. Enya completed a promotional tour of the UK and Europe, the US and Japan. During her visit to Japan, Enya performed "Orinoco Flow" and "Echoes in Rain" at the Universal Studios Japan Christmas show in Osaka. In December 2016, Enya appeared on the Raidio Teilifis Eireann Christmas special Christmas Carols from Cork, marking her first appearance on Irish television in a decade. She sang "Adeste Fideles" and "Oiche Chiuin" as well as her own carol composition "The Spirit of Christmas Past". CANNOTANSWER | Initially she intended to make an album of seasonal songs and hymns set for a release in late 2007, but decided to produce a winter-themed album instead. | Enya Patricia Brennan ( ; born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician, known for pioneering modern Celtic and New-age music. Regarded as the "Queen of New Age", Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and second-best-selling overall behind U2. Born into a musical family and raised in the Irish-speaking area of Gweedore, County Donegal, Enya began her music career when she joined her family's Celtic folk band Clannad in 1980 on keyboards and backing vocals. She left the group in 1982 with their manager and producer Nicky Ryan to pursue a solo career, with Ryan's wife Roma Ryan as her lyricist. Enya developed her sound over the following four years with multitracked vocals and keyboards with elements of new age, Celtic, classical, church, world, pop, and Irish folk. Thus far, she has sung in ten languages, most notably English, Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge), Latin, and Welsh.
Enya's first projects as a solo artist included soundtrack work for The Frog Prince (1984) and the 1987 BBC documentary series The Celts, which was released as her debut album, Enya (1987). She signed with Warner Music UK, which granted her artistic freedom and minimal interference from the label. The commercial and critical success of Watermark (1988) propelled her to worldwide fame, helped by the UK number one and international hit single "Orinoco Flow". This was followed by the multi-million-selling albums Shepherd Moons (1991), The Memory of Trees (1995), and A Day Without Rain (2000). Sales of the latter and its lead single, "Only Time", surged in the United States following its use in the media coverage of the September 11 attacks. Following Amarantine (2005) and And Winter Came... (2008), Enya took a four-year career hiatus before she resumed in 2012 and released her eighth studio album, Dark Sky Island (2015).
Enya's discography has sold 26.5 million certified albums in the United States and an estimated 75 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. A Day Without Rain (2000) remains the best-selling new-age album, with an estimated 16 million copies sold worldwide. Enya has won numerous awards, including seven World Music Awards, four Grammy Awards for Best New Age Album, and an Ivor Novello Award. She was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for "May It Be", written for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Early life
Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin was born on 17 May 1961 in Dore, a settlement in the parish of Gweedore, in County Donegal. It is a Gaeltacht region where Irish is the primary language. Her name is anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan, where Enya is the phonetic spelling of how "Eithne" is pronounced in her native Ulster dialect of Irish; "Ní Bhraonáin" translates to "daughter of Brennan". The sixth of nine children, Enya was born into a Roman Catholic family of musicians. Her father, Leo Brennan, was the leader of the Slieve Foy Band, an Irish showband, and ran Leo's Tavern in Meenaleck. Her mother, Máire Brennan (née Duggan), who has distant Spanish roots whose ancestors settled on Tory Island, was an amateur musician who played in Leo's band and taught music at Gweedore Community School. Enya's maternal grandfather Aodh was the headmaster of the primary school in Dore, and her grandmother was a teacher there. Aodh was also the founder of the Gweedore Theatre company.
Enya described her upbringing as "very quiet and happy." At age three, she took part in her first singing competition at the annual Feis Ceoil music festival. She took part in pantomimes at Gweedore Theatre and sang with her siblings in her mother's choir at St Mary's church in Derrybeg. She learned English at primary school and began piano lessons at age four. "I had to do school work and then travel to a neighbouring town for piano lessons, and then more school work. I ... remember my brothers and sisters playing outside ... and I would be inside playing the piano. This one big book of scales, practising them over and over." When Enya turned eleven, her grandfather paid for her education at a strict convent boarding school in Milford run by nuns of the Loreto order, where she developed a taste for classical music, art, Latin and watercolour painting. She said: "It was devastating to be torn away from such a large family, but it was good for my music." Enya left the school at 17 and studied classical music in college for one year, with the aim of becoming "a piano teacher sort of person. I never thought of myself composing or being on stage."
Career
1980–1985: Clannad and early solo career
In 1970, several members of Enya's family formed Clannad, a Celtic folk band who later acquired Nicky Ryan as their manager, sound engineer, and producer, and his future wife, Roma Ryan, as tour manager and administrator. In 1980, after her year at college, Enya decided against pursuing music at university and accepted Ryan's invitation to join the group as he wanted to expand their sound with an additional vocalist and introducing keyboards. Enya performed an uncredited role their sixth studio album, Crann Úll (1980), with a line-up of siblings Máire, Pól, and Ciarán Brennan, and twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. She became an official member by the time their follow-up, Fuaim (1981), was released, and is photographed with the band on the front cover. Nicky maintained it was never his intention to make Enya a permanent member, and saw she was "fiercely independent ... intent on playing her own music. She was just not sure of how to go about it". This sparked discussions between the two on layering vocal tracks to create a "choir of one", a concept inspired by the Wall of Sound technique by producer Phil Spector that interested them both.
During a Clannad tour in 1982, Nicky called for a band meeting to address internal issues that had arisen. He added, "It was short and only required a vote, I was a minority of one and lost. Roma and I were out. This left the question of what happened with Enya. I decided to stand back and say nothing". Enya chose to leave with the Ryans and pursue a solo career as she felt confined in the group, and disliked being "somebody in the background". This caused some friction between the two parties at first, but they settled their differences. Nicky suggested to Enya that either she return to Gweedore "with no particular definite future", or live with him and Roma in Artane, Dublin "and see what happens, musically", which she accepted. After their bank denied them a loan, Enya sold her saxophone and gave piano lessons for income and the Ryans used what they could afford from their savings to build a recording facility in a shed in their garden. They named it Aigle Studio, after the French word for "eagle", and rented it out to musicians to help recoup the costs. The trio formed a musical partnership, with Nicky as Enya's producer and arranger and Roma her lyricist, and established their music company, Aigle Music. In the following two years, Enya developed her technique and composition by listening to recordings of her reciting pieces of classical music, and repeated the process until she started to improvise sections and develop her own arrangements. Her first composition was "An Taibhse Uaighneach", Irish for "The Lonely Ghost". During this time Enya played the synthesiser on Ceol Aduaidh (1983) by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy, and performed with the duo and Mhaonaigh's brother Gearóid in their short lived group, Ragairne.
Enya's first solo endeavour arrived in 1983 when she recorded two piano instrumentals, "An Ghaoth Ón Ghrian", Irish for "The Solar Wind", and "Miss Clare Remembers", at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin which were released on Touch Travel (1984), a limited release cassette of music from various artists on the Touch label. She is credited as Eithne Ní Bhraonáin on its liner notes. After several months of preparation, Enya's first live solo performance took place on 23 September 1983 at the National Stadium in Dublin, which was televised for RTÉ's music show Festival Folk. Niall Morris, a musician who worked with her during this time, recalled she "was so nervous she could barely get on stage, and she cowered behind the piano until the gig was over."
Morris assisted Enya in the production of a demo tape, playing additional keyboards to her compositions, which Roma thought would suit accompanying visuals and sent it to various film producers. Among them was David Puttnam, who liked the tape and offered Enya to compose the soundtrack to his upcoming romantic comedy film, The Frog Prince (1984). Enya scored nine pieces for the film but they were later rearranged and orchestrated against her wishes by Richard Myhill, except for two that she sang on, "The Frog Prince" and "Dreams"; the words to the latter were penned by Charlie McGettigan. Film editor Jim Clark said the rearrangements were necessary as Enya found it difficult to compose to picture. Released in 1985, the album is the first commercial release that credits her as Enya, after Nicky Ryan thought "Eithne" would be too difficult for non-Irish people to pronounce correctly and suggested the phonetic spelling of her name. Enya looked back on the film as a good career move, but a disappointing one as "we weren't part of it at the end". She then sang on three tracks on Ordinary Man (1985) by Christy Moore.
1985–1989: The Celts and Watermark
In 1985, producer Tony McAuley asked Enya to contribute a track for a six-part BBC television documentary series The Celts. She had already written a Celtic-influenced song named "The March of the Celts", and submitted it to the project. Each episode was to feature a different composer at first, but director David Richardson liked her track so much, he had Enya score the entire series. Enya recorded 72 minutes of music at Aigle Studio and the BBC studios in Wood Lane, London without recording to picture, though she was required to portray certain themes and ideas that the producers wanted. Unlike The Frog Prince, she worked with little interference which granted her freedom to establish her sound that she would adopt throughout her future career, signified by layered vocals, keyboard-oriented music, and percussion with elements of Celtic, classical, church and folk music.
In March 1987, two months before The Celts aired, a 40-minute selection of Enya's score was released as her debut solo album, Enya, by BBC Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. The latter promoted it with a new-age imprint on the packaging, which Nicky later thought was "a cowardly thing for them to do". The album gained enough public attention to reach number 8 on the Irish Albums Chart and number 69 on the UK Albums Chart. "I Want Tomorrow" was released as Enya's first single. "Boadicea" was sampled by The Fugees on their 1996 song "Ready or Not"; the group neither sought permission nor gave credit, and Enya took legal action. The group subsequently gave her credit and paid a fee worth around $3 million. Later in 1987, Enya appeared on Sinéad O'Connor's debut album The Lion and the Cobra, reciting Psalm 91 in Irish on "Never Get Old".
Several weeks after the release of Enya, Enya secured a recording contract with Warner Music UK after Rob Dickins, the label's chairman and a fan of Clannad, took a liking to Enya and found himself playing it "every night before I went to bed". He then met Enya and the Ryans at a chance meeting at the Irish Recorded Music Association award ceremony in Dublin, and learned Enya had entered negotiations with a rival label. Dickins seized the opportunity and signed her to Warner Music with a deal worth £75,000, granting her wish to write and record with artistic freedom, minimal interference from the label, and without set deadlines to finish albums. Dickins said: "Sometimes you sign an act to make money, and sometimes you sign an act to make music. This was clearly the latter ... I just wanted to be involved with this music." Enya then left Atlantic and signed with the Warner-led Geffen Records to handle her American distribution.
With the green-light to produce a new studio album, Enya recorded Watermark from June 1987 to April 1988. It was initially recorded in analogue at Aigle Studio before Dickins requested to have it re-recorded digitally at Orinoco Studios in Bermondsey, London. Watermark was released in September 1988 and became an unexpected hit, reaching number 5 in the United Kingdom and number 25 on the Billboard 200 in the United States following its release there in January 1989. Its lead single, "Orinoco Flow", was the last song written for the album. It was not intended to be a single at first, but Enya and the Ryans chose it after Dickins asked for a single from them several times as a joke, knowing Enya's music was not made for the Top 40 chart. Dickins and engineer Ross Cullum are referenced in the songs' lyrics. "Orinoco Flow" became an international top 10 hit and was number one in the United Kingdom for three weeks. The new-found success propelled Enya to international fame and she received endorsement deals and offers to use her music in television commercials. She spent one year travelling worldwide to promote the album which increased her exposure through interviews, appearances, and live performances. By 1996, Watermark had sold in excess of 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom and 4 million in the United States.
1989–1997: Shepherd Moons and The Memory of Trees
After promoting Watermark, Enya purchased new recording equipment and started work on her next album, Shepherd Moons. She found the success of Watermark caused a considerable amount of pressure when it came to writing new songs, adding, "I kept thinking, 'Would this have gone on Watermark? Is it as good?' Eventually I had to forget about this and start on a blank canvas and just really go with what felt right." Enya wrote songs based on several ideas, including entries from her diary, the Blitz in London, and her grandparents. Shepherd Moons was released in November 1991, her first album released under Warner-led Reprise Records in the United States. It became a greater commercial success than Watermark, reaching number one in the UK for one week and number 17 in the United States. "Caribbean Blue", its lead single, charted at number thirteen in the United Kingdom. By 1997, the album had reached multi-platinum certification for selling in excess of 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom and 5 million in the United States.
In 1991, Warner Music released a collection of five Enya music videos as Moonshadows for home video. In 1993, Enya won her first Grammy Award for Best New Age Album for Shepherd Moons. Soon after, Enya and Nicky entered discussions with Industrial Light & Magic, founded by George Lucas, regarding an elaborate stage lighting system for a proposed concert tour, but nothing came out of the meetings. In November 1992, Warner had obtained the rights to Enya and re-released the album as The Celts with new artwork. It surpassed its initial sale performance, reaching number 10 in the United Kingdom and reached platinum certification in the United States in 1996 for one million copies shipped.
After travelling worldwide to promote Shepherd Moons, Enya started to write and record her fourth album, The Memory of Trees. The album was released in November 1995. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number nine in the United States, where it sold over 3 million copies. Its lead single, "Anywhere Is", reached number seven in the United Kingdom. The second, "On My Way Home", reached number twenty-six in the same country. In late 1994, Enya put out an extended play of Christmas music titled The Christmas EP. Enya was offered to compose the score for Titanic, but declined. A recording of her singing "Oíche Chiúin", an Irish-language version of "Silent Night", appeared on the charity album A Very Special Christmas 3, released in benefit of the Special Olympics in October 1997.
In early 1997, Enya began to select tracks for her first compilation album, "trying to select the obvious ones, the hits, and others." She chose to work on the collection following the promotional tour for The Memory of Trees as she felt it was the right time in her career, and that her contract with WEA required her to release a "best of" album. The set, named Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya, features two new tracks, "Paint the Sky with Stars" and "Only If...". Released in November 1997, the album was a worldwide commercial success, reaching No. 4 in the UK and No. 30 in the US, where it went on to sell over 4 million copies. "Only If..." was released as a single in 1997. Enya described the album as "like a musical diary ... each melody has a little story and I live through that whole story from the beginning ... your mind goes back to that day and what you were thinking."
1998–2007: A Day Without Rain and Amarantine
Enya started work on her fifth studio album, titled A Day Without Rain, in mid-1998. In a departure from her previous albums she incorporated the use of a string section into her compositions, something that was not a conscious decision at first, but Enya and Nicky Ryan agreed it complemented the songs that were being written. The album was released in November 2000, and reached number 6 in the United Kingdom and an initial peak of number 17 in the United States. In the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, sales of the album and its lead single, "Only Time", surged after the song was widely used during radio and television coverage of the events, leading to its description as "a post-September 11 anthem". The exposure caused A Day Without Rain to outperform its original chart performance to peak at number 2 on the Billboard 200, and the release of a maxi single containing the original and a pop remix of "Only Time" in November 2001. Enya donated its proceeds in aid of the International Association of Firefighters. The song topped the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and went to number 10 on the Hot 100 singles, Enya's highest charting US single to date. A second single, "Wild Child", was released in December 2001. A Day Without Rain remains Enya's biggest seller, with 7 million copies sold in the US and the most sold new-age album of all time with an estimated 13 million copies sold worldwide.
In 2001, Enya agreed to write and perform on two tracks for the soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) at the request of director Peter Jackson. Its composer Howard Shore "imagined her voice" as he wrote the film's score, making an uncommon exception to include another artist in one of his soundtracks. After flying to New Zealand to observe the filming and to watch a rough cut of the film, Enya returned to Ireland and composed "Aníron (Theme for Aragorn and Arwen)" with lyrics by Roma in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Elvish language Sindarin, and "May It Be", sung in English and another Tolkien language, Quenya. Shore then based his orchestrations around Enya's recorded vocals and themes to create "a seamless sound". In 2002, Enya released "May It Be" as a single which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. She performed the song live at the 74th Academy Awards ceremony with an orchestra in March 2002, and later cited the moment as a career highlight.
Enya undertook additional studio projects in 2001 and 2002. The first was work on the soundtrack to the Japanese romantic film Calmi Cuori Appassionati (2001) which was subsequently released as Themes from Calmi Cuori Appassionati (2001). The album is formed of tracks spanning her career from Enya to A Day Without Rain with two B-sides. The album went to number 2 in Japan, and became Enya's second to sell one million copies in the country. November 2002 saw the release of Only Time – The Collection, a box set of 51 tracks recorded through her career which received a limited release of 200,000 copies.
In September 2003, Enya returned to Aigle Studio to start work on her sixth studio album, Amarantine. Roma said the title means "everlasting". The album marks the first instance of Enya singing in Loxian, a fictional language created by Roma that came about when Enya was working on "Water Shows the Hidden Heart". After numerous attempts to sing the song in English, Irish and Latin, Roma suggested a new language based on some of the sounds Enya would sing along to when developing her songs. It was a success, and Enya sang "Less Than a Pearl" and "The River Sings" in the same way. Roma worked on the language further, creating a "culture and history" behind it surrounding the Loxian people who are of another planet, questioning the existence of life on another. "Sumiregusa (Wild Violet)" is sung in Japanese. Amarantine was a global success, reaching number 6 on the Billboard 200 and number 8 in the UK. It has sold over 1 million certified copies in the US, a considerable drop in sales in comparison to her previous albums. Enya dedicated the album to BBC producer Tony McAuley, who had commissioned Enya to write the soundtrack to The Celts, following his death in 2003. The lead single, "Amarantine", was released in December 2005. A Christmas Special Edition was released in 2006, followed by a Deluxe Edition.
In 2006, Enya released Sounds of the Season: The Enya Holiday Collection, a Christmas-themed EP released exclusively in the US following an exclusive partnership with the NBC network and the Target department store chain. It includes two new songs, "Christmas Secrets" and "The Magic of the Night".
In June 2007, Enya received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland, Galway. A month later, she received one from the University of Ulster.
2008–present: And Winter Came..., Dark Sky Island, and future
Enya continued to write music with a winter and Christmas theme for her seventh studio album, And Winter Came.... Initially she intended to make an album of seasonal songs and hymns set for a release in late 2007, but decided to produce a winter-themed album instead. The track "My! My! Time Flies!", a tribute to the late Irish guitarist Jimmy Faulkner, incorporates a guitar solo performed by Pat Farrell, the first use of a guitar on an Enya album since "I Want Tomorrow" from Enya. The lyrics also include atypical pop-culture references, such as to The Beatles' famous photo shoot for the cover of Abbey Road. Upon its release in November 2008, And Winter Came... reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 8 in the US and sold almost 3.5 million copies worldwide by 2011.
After promoting And Winter Came..., Enya took an extended break from writing and recording music. She spent her time resting, visiting family in Australia, and renovating her new home in the south of France. In March 2009, her first four studio albums were reissued in Japan in the Super High Material CD format with bonus tracks. Her second compilation album, The Very Best of Enya, was released in November 2009 and features songs from 1987 to 2008, including a previously unreleased version of "Aníron" and a DVD compiling most of her music videos to date. In 2013, "Only Time" was used in the "Epic Split" advertisement by Volvo Trucks starring Jean-Claude Van Damme who does the splits while suspended between two lorries. The video went viral, leading to numerous parodies of the commercial uploaded to YouTube also using "Only Time". The attention resulted in the song peaking at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
In 2012, Enya returned to the studio to record her eighth album, Dark Sky Island. Its name refers to the island of Sark, which became the first island to be designated a dark-sky preserve, and a series of poems on islands by Roma Ryan. Upon its release on 20 November 2015, Dark Sky Island went to No. 4 in the UK, Enya's highest charting studio album there since Shepherd Moons went to No. 1, and to No. 8 in the US. A Deluxe Edition features three additional songs. Enya completed a promotional tour of the UK and Europe, the US and Japan. During her visit to Japan, Enya performed "Orinoco Flow" and "Echoes in Rain" at the Universal Studios Japan Christmas show in Osaka. In December 2016, Enya appeared on the Irish television show Christmas Carols from Cork, marking her first Irish television appearance in over seven years. She sang "Adeste Fideles", "Oiche Chiúin", and "The Spirit of Christmas Past".
On 4 November 2021, a Shepherd Moons "watch party" video was uploaded to Enya's official YouTube channel to commemorate the album's 30th anniversary. In his introductory message, Nicky Ryan said that Roma, Enya, and he used the downtime from the COVID-19 pandemic to renovate Aigle Studio, and install new recording equipment and instruments. When this is complete, Enya will begin working on new music.
Musical style
Enya's vocal range is mezzo-soprano. She has cited her musical foundations as "the classics", church music, and "Irish reels and jigs" with a particular interest in Sergei Rachmaninoff, a favourite composer of hers. She has an autographed picture of him in her home. Since 1982, she has recorded her music with Nicky Ryan as producer and arranger and his wife Roma Ryan as lyricist. While in Clannad, Enya chose to work with Nicky as the two shared an interest in vocal harmonies, and Ryan, influenced by The Beach Boys and the "Wall of Sound" technique that Phil Spector pioneered, wanted to explore the idea of "the multivocals" for which her music became known. According to Enya, "Angeles" from Shepherd Moons has roughly 500 vocals recorded individually and layered. Enya performs all vocals and the majority of instruments in her songs apart from musicians to play percussion, guitar, uilleann pipes, cornet, and double bass. Her early works including Watermark feature numerous keyboards, including the Yamaha KX88 Master, Yamaha DX7, Oberheim Matrix, Akai S900, Roland D-50, and Roland Juno-60, the latter a particular favourite of hers.
Numerous critics and reviewers classify Enya's albums as new age music and she has won four Grammy Awards in the category. However, Enya does not classify her music as part of the genre. When asked what genre she would classify her music, her reply was "Enya". Nicky Ryan commented on the new age comments: "Initially it was fine, but it's really not new age. Enya plays a whole lot of instruments, not just keyboards. Her melodies are strong and she sings a lot. So I can't see a comparison." The music video to "Caribbean Blue" and the art work to The Memory of Trees feature adapted works from artist Maxfield Parrish.
Enya has sung in ten languages in her career, including English, Irish, Latin, Welsh, Spanish, French and Japanese. She has recorded music influenced by works from fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien, including the instrumental "Lothlórien" from Shepherd Moons. For The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, she sang "May It Be" in English and Tolkien's fictional language Quenya, and sang "Aníron" in another of Tolkien's fictional languages, Sindarin. Her albums Amarantine and Dark Sky Island include songs sung in Loxian, a fictional language created by Roma, that has no official syntax. Its vocabulary was formed by Enya singing the song's notes to which Roma wrote their phonetic spelling.
Enya adopted a composing and songwriting method that has deviated little throughout her career. At the start of the recording process for an album she enters the studio, forgetting about her previous success, fame, and songs of hers that became hits. "If I did that", she said, "I'd have to call it a day". She then develops ideas on the piano, keeping note of any arrangement that can be worked on further. During her time writing, Enya works a five-day week, takes weekends off, and does not work on her music at home. With Irish as her first language, Enya initially records her songs in Irish as she can express "feeling much more directly" than English. After a period of time, Enya presents her ideas to Nicky to discuss what pieces work best, while Roma works in parallel to devise a lyric to the songs. Enya considered "Fallen Embers" from A Day Without Rain a perfect time when the lyrics reflect as to how she felt while writing the song. In 2008, she newly discovered her tendency to write "two or three songs" during the winter months, work on the arrangements and lyrics the following spring and summer, and then work on the next couple of songs when autumn arrives.
Live performances
Enya says that Warner Music and she "did not see eye to eye" initially as the label imagined her performing on stage "with a piano ... maybe two or three synthesiser players and that's it". Enya also explained that the time put into her studio albums causes her to "run overtime", leaving little time to plan for other such projects. She also expressed the difficulty in recreating her studio-oriented sound for the stage. In 1996, Ryan said Enya had received an offer worth almost £500,000 to perform a concert in Japan. In 2016, Enya spoke about the prospect of a live concert when she revealed talks with the Ryans during her three-year break after And Winter Came... (2008) to perform a show at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City that would be simulcast to cinemas worldwide. Before such an event could happen, Nicky suggested that she enter a studio and record "all the hits" live with an orchestra and choir to see how they would sound.
Enya has sung with live and lip synching vocals on various talk and music shows, events, and ceremonies throughout her career, usually during her worldwide press tours for each album. In December 1995, she performed "Anywhere Is" at a Christmas concert at Vatican City with Pope John Paul II in attendance, who met and thanked her for performing. In April 1996, Enya performed the same song during her surprise appearance at the fiftieth birthday celebration for Carl XVI Gustaf, the King of Sweden and a fan of Enya's. In 1997, Enya participated in a live Christmas Eve broadcast in London and flew to County Donegal afterwards to join her family for their annual midnight Mass choral performance, in which she participates each year. In March 2002, she performed "May It Be" with an orchestra at the year's Academy Awards ceremony. Enya and her sisters performed as part of the local choir Cor Mhuire in July 2005 at St. Mary's church in Gweedore during the annual Earagail Arts Festival.
Personal life
Since the 1980s, Enya has attracted the attention of several stalkers. In 1996, an Italian man who was seen in Dublin wearing a photograph of Enya around his neck stabbed himself outside her parents' pub after being ejected from the premises.
In 1991, a minor planet first discovered in 1978, 6433 Enya, was named after her. In 2017, a newly discovered species of fish, Leporinus enyae, found in the Orinoco River drainage area, was also named after her.
Enya is known for keeping a private lifestyle, saying: "The music is what sells. Not me, or what I stand for ... that's the way I've always wanted it". She is not married and is a surrogate aunt to the Ryans' two daughters. In 1991, she said: "I'm afraid of marriage because I'm afraid someone might want me because of who I am instead of because they loved me... I wouldn't go rushing into anything unexpected, but I do think a great deal about this". A relationship she had with one man ended in 1997, around the time when she considered taking time out of music to have a family but found she was putting pressure on herself over the matter and "gone the route I wanted to go". She declares herself as "more spiritual than religious... I derive from religion what I enjoy."
In 1997, Enya bought a Victorian Grade A listed castellated mansion in Killiney, County Dublin for IR£2.5 million at auction. Formerly known as Victoria Castle and Ayesha Castle, she renamed it Manderley Castle after the house from the novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. In all, she spent seven years renovating her property and also installing considerable security measures. In 2005, Enya spent around £250,000 on security improvements, covering gaps in the castle's outer wall and installing bollards and iron railings. In October of that year, two people broke into the home; one attacked and tied up one of her housekeepers and left with several of Enya's items after she had raised the alarm in her safe room. In 2009, during her three-year break from music, Enya purchased a home in southern France.
In 2006, Enya ranked third in a list of the wealthiest Irish entertainers with an estimated fortune of £75 million, and was number 95 in the Sunday Times Rich List of the richest 250 Irish people. In the 2016 edition, which listed its top 50 Music Millionaires of Britain and Ireland, she emerged as the richest female singer with a fortune of £91 million and ranked number 28 overall.
Awards and nominations
Billboard Music Awards
|-
| rowspan=4|2001
| rowspan=2|Enya
| Top Billboard 200 Artist - Female
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|-
| Top New Age Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|A Day Without Rain
| Top Internet Album
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|-
| rowspan=2|Top New Age Album
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|-
| rowspan=3|2002
|
|-
| rowspan=2|Enya
| Top New Age Artist
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|-
| Top Adult Contemporary Artist
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Grammy Awards
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| rowspan=2|1990
| rowspan=2|"Orinoco Flow"
| Best New Age Performance
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|-
| Best Music Video
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| 1993
| Shepherd Moons
| rowspan=3|Best New Age Album
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|-
| 1997
| The Memory of Trees
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|-
| 2002
| A Day Without Rain
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|-
| 2003
| "May It Be"
| Best Song Written for Visual Media
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2007
| "Drifting"
| Best Pop Instrumental Performance
|
|-
| Amarantine
| rowspan=2|Best New Age Album
|
|-
| 2017
| Dark Sky Island
|
IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
!Ref.
|-
| 2001
| A Day Without Rain
| Top 10 Best Sales Foreign Albums
|
|
Japan Gold Disc Awards
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| 1990
| Enya
| New Artist of the Year
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|-
| 1998
| Paint the Sky with Stars
| Best 3 Albums
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|-
| 2001
| A Day Without Rain
| International Pop Album of the Year
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|-
| 2002
| Themes from Calmi Cuori Appassionati
| Best 3 Albums
|
|-
| 2006
| Amarantine
| International Album of the Year
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World Music Awards
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| rowspan="2"|2001
| rowspan="7"| Enya
| World's Best Selling Irish Artist
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|-
| rowspan=2|World's Best Selling New Age Artist
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|-
| rowspan=3|2002
|
|-
| World's Best Selling Female Artist
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|-
| rowspan=3|World's Best Selling Irish Artist
|
|-
| 2003
|
|-
| 2006
|
Žebřík Music Awards
!Ref.
|-
| 1993
| rowspan=3|Enya
| rowspan=3|Best International Female
|
|
|-
| 1997
|
|
|-
| 2005
|
|
Other Awards
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|1989
|rowspan="3"|Enya
| Brit Award for Best International Artist
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|-
| Brit Award for Best International Female
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| IRMA Award for Best Female Irish Artist
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|-
!scope="row"|1990
| "Orinoco Flow"
| BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
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|-
!scope="row"|1992
|rowspan="3"|Enya
|rowspan="2"|Brit Award for Best International Solo Artist
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|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|1993
|
|-
| IRMA Award for Best Female Irish Artist
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| "Book of Days"
| Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song
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|-
!scope="row" rowspan=1|1998
| Enya, Nicky Ryan, and Roma Ryan
| Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement
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|-
!scope="row"|2001
| rowspan="4"| "May It Be"
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song
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|-
!scope="row"|2001
| Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2002
| Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2002
| Academy Award for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="4"|2002
| rowspan="2"| Enya
| American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist
|
|-
| Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
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|-
| rowspan=3|"Only Time"
| ECHO Award for Best Single of the Year (International)
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|-
| BDSCertified Spin Awards – 300,000 Spins
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|-
!scope="row" rowspan="1"|2003
| rowspan="1"|BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|2004
| rowspan=4|"I Don't Wanna Know"
| Vibe Award for R&B Song of the Year
|
|-
| MOBO Award for Best Single
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|-
| MOBO Award for Best Ringtone
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|-
!scope="row"|2005
| BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|2016
| Dark Sky Island
| ECHO Award for Best Female of the Year (International)
|
|-
|}
Discography
Studio albums
Enya (1987) (reissued in 1992 as The Celts)
Watermark (1988)
Shepherd Moons (1991)
The Memory of Trees (1995)
A Day Without Rain (2000)
Amarantine (2005)
And Winter Came... (2008)
Dark Sky Island (2015)
See also
Honorific nicknames in popular music
List of ambient music artists
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of best-selling music artists
List of highest-certified music artists in the United States
References
Sources
External links
1961 births
20th-century Irish women singers
21st-century Irish women singers
Celtic fusion musicians
Clannad members
Grammy Award winners
Irish women composers
Irish folk singers
Irish-language singers
Irish mezzo-sopranos
Irish pianists
Irish pop singers
Irish women singer-songwriters
Ivor Novello Award winners
Latin-language singers
Living people
Musicians from County Donegal
New-age musicians
People from Dalkey
People from Gweedore
Warner Music Group artists
Women in electronic music
World Music Awards winners
People from Killiney
20th-century women composers
21st-century women composers | true | [
"Myriam is the second studio album by Myriam. On her website it is also called \"Myriam: Lo que Soy, lo que Pretendo y lo que Fui\" (Myriam: What I Am, What I Pretend and What I Was) making reference to the lyrics of the album's first single \"Hasta El Limite\". It includes eleven songs with the collaboration of Ti... | [
"Enya Patricia Brennan ( ; born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician, known for pioneering modern Celtic and New-age music. Regarded as the \"Queen of New Age\", Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and second-best-selling overall behind U2.",
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"2008-present: And Winter Came... and Dark Sky Island",
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"What was all involved in the making of thi... | C_ca2198202da140e28165132567967682_1 | What did she do after this success? | 5 | What did Enya do after her winter-themed album became a success? | Enya | Enya continued to write music with a winter and Christmas theme for her seventh studio album, And Winter Came.... Initially she intended to make an album of seasonal songs and hymns set for a release in late 2007, but decided to produce a winter-themed album instead. The track "My! My! Time Flies!", a tribute to the late Irish guitarist Jimmy Faulkner, incorporates a guitar solo performed by Pat Farrell, the first use of a guitar on an Enya album since "I Want Tomorrow" from Enya. Upon its release in November 2008, And Winter Came... reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 8 in the US and sold almost 3.5 million copies worldwide by 2011. After promoting And Winter Came..., Enya took an extended break from writing and recording music. She spent her time resting, visiting family in Australia, and renovating her new home in the south of France. In March 2009, her first four studio albums were reissued in Japan in the Super High Material CD format with bonus tracks. Her second compilation album and DVD, The Very Best of Enya, was released in November 2009 and features songs from 1987 to 2008, including a previously unreleased version of "Aniron". In 2013, "Only Time" was used in an advertisement by Volvo Trucks starring Jean-Claude Van Damme who does the splits while suspended between two lorries. The video went viral, leading to numerous parodies of the commercial uploaded to YouTube also using "Only Time". The attention resulted in the song peaking at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In 2012, Enya returned to the studio to record her eighth album, Dark Sky Island. Its name references the island of Sark, where it became the first island to be designated a dark-sky preserve, and a series of poems on islands by Roma Ryan. The new album was promoted with the premiere in October 2015 of its lead single, "Echoes in Rain", on Ken Bruce's radio show and with the release in the same month of the single as a digital download. Upon its release on 20 November 2015, Dark Sky Island went to No. 4 in the UK, Enya's highest charting studio album there since Shepherd Moons went to No. 1, and to No. 8 in the US. A Deluxe Edition features three additional songs. Enya completed a promotional tour of the UK and Europe, the US and Japan. During her visit to Japan, Enya performed "Orinoco Flow" and "Echoes in Rain" at the Universal Studios Japan Christmas show in Osaka. In December 2016, Enya appeared on the Raidio Teilifis Eireann Christmas special Christmas Carols from Cork, marking her first appearance on Irish television in a decade. She sang "Adeste Fideles" and "Oiche Chiuin" as well as her own carol composition "The Spirit of Christmas Past". CANNOTANSWER | After promoting And Winter Came..., Enya took an extended break from writing and recording music. | Enya Patricia Brennan ( ; born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician, known for pioneering modern Celtic and New-age music. Regarded as the "Queen of New Age", Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and second-best-selling overall behind U2. Born into a musical family and raised in the Irish-speaking area of Gweedore, County Donegal, Enya began her music career when she joined her family's Celtic folk band Clannad in 1980 on keyboards and backing vocals. She left the group in 1982 with their manager and producer Nicky Ryan to pursue a solo career, with Ryan's wife Roma Ryan as her lyricist. Enya developed her sound over the following four years with multitracked vocals and keyboards with elements of new age, Celtic, classical, church, world, pop, and Irish folk. Thus far, she has sung in ten languages, most notably English, Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge), Latin, and Welsh.
Enya's first projects as a solo artist included soundtrack work for The Frog Prince (1984) and the 1987 BBC documentary series The Celts, which was released as her debut album, Enya (1987). She signed with Warner Music UK, which granted her artistic freedom and minimal interference from the label. The commercial and critical success of Watermark (1988) propelled her to worldwide fame, helped by the UK number one and international hit single "Orinoco Flow". This was followed by the multi-million-selling albums Shepherd Moons (1991), The Memory of Trees (1995), and A Day Without Rain (2000). Sales of the latter and its lead single, "Only Time", surged in the United States following its use in the media coverage of the September 11 attacks. Following Amarantine (2005) and And Winter Came... (2008), Enya took a four-year career hiatus before she resumed in 2012 and released her eighth studio album, Dark Sky Island (2015).
Enya's discography has sold 26.5 million certified albums in the United States and an estimated 75 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. A Day Without Rain (2000) remains the best-selling new-age album, with an estimated 16 million copies sold worldwide. Enya has won numerous awards, including seven World Music Awards, four Grammy Awards for Best New Age Album, and an Ivor Novello Award. She was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for "May It Be", written for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Early life
Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin was born on 17 May 1961 in Dore, a settlement in the parish of Gweedore, in County Donegal. It is a Gaeltacht region where Irish is the primary language. Her name is anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan, where Enya is the phonetic spelling of how "Eithne" is pronounced in her native Ulster dialect of Irish; "Ní Bhraonáin" translates to "daughter of Brennan". The sixth of nine children, Enya was born into a Roman Catholic family of musicians. Her father, Leo Brennan, was the leader of the Slieve Foy Band, an Irish showband, and ran Leo's Tavern in Meenaleck. Her mother, Máire Brennan (née Duggan), who has distant Spanish roots whose ancestors settled on Tory Island, was an amateur musician who played in Leo's band and taught music at Gweedore Community School. Enya's maternal grandfather Aodh was the headmaster of the primary school in Dore, and her grandmother was a teacher there. Aodh was also the founder of the Gweedore Theatre company.
Enya described her upbringing as "very quiet and happy." At age three, she took part in her first singing competition at the annual Feis Ceoil music festival. She took part in pantomimes at Gweedore Theatre and sang with her siblings in her mother's choir at St Mary's church in Derrybeg. She learned English at primary school and began piano lessons at age four. "I had to do school work and then travel to a neighbouring town for piano lessons, and then more school work. I ... remember my brothers and sisters playing outside ... and I would be inside playing the piano. This one big book of scales, practising them over and over." When Enya turned eleven, her grandfather paid for her education at a strict convent boarding school in Milford run by nuns of the Loreto order, where she developed a taste for classical music, art, Latin and watercolour painting. She said: "It was devastating to be torn away from such a large family, but it was good for my music." Enya left the school at 17 and studied classical music in college for one year, with the aim of becoming "a piano teacher sort of person. I never thought of myself composing or being on stage."
Career
1980–1985: Clannad and early solo career
In 1970, several members of Enya's family formed Clannad, a Celtic folk band who later acquired Nicky Ryan as their manager, sound engineer, and producer, and his future wife, Roma Ryan, as tour manager and administrator. In 1980, after her year at college, Enya decided against pursuing music at university and accepted Ryan's invitation to join the group as he wanted to expand their sound with an additional vocalist and introducing keyboards. Enya performed an uncredited role their sixth studio album, Crann Úll (1980), with a line-up of siblings Máire, Pól, and Ciarán Brennan, and twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. She became an official member by the time their follow-up, Fuaim (1981), was released, and is photographed with the band on the front cover. Nicky maintained it was never his intention to make Enya a permanent member, and saw she was "fiercely independent ... intent on playing her own music. She was just not sure of how to go about it". This sparked discussions between the two on layering vocal tracks to create a "choir of one", a concept inspired by the Wall of Sound technique by producer Phil Spector that interested them both.
During a Clannad tour in 1982, Nicky called for a band meeting to address internal issues that had arisen. He added, "It was short and only required a vote, I was a minority of one and lost. Roma and I were out. This left the question of what happened with Enya. I decided to stand back and say nothing". Enya chose to leave with the Ryans and pursue a solo career as she felt confined in the group, and disliked being "somebody in the background". This caused some friction between the two parties at first, but they settled their differences. Nicky suggested to Enya that either she return to Gweedore "with no particular definite future", or live with him and Roma in Artane, Dublin "and see what happens, musically", which she accepted. After their bank denied them a loan, Enya sold her saxophone and gave piano lessons for income and the Ryans used what they could afford from their savings to build a recording facility in a shed in their garden. They named it Aigle Studio, after the French word for "eagle", and rented it out to musicians to help recoup the costs. The trio formed a musical partnership, with Nicky as Enya's producer and arranger and Roma her lyricist, and established their music company, Aigle Music. In the following two years, Enya developed her technique and composition by listening to recordings of her reciting pieces of classical music, and repeated the process until she started to improvise sections and develop her own arrangements. Her first composition was "An Taibhse Uaighneach", Irish for "The Lonely Ghost". During this time Enya played the synthesiser on Ceol Aduaidh (1983) by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy, and performed with the duo and Mhaonaigh's brother Gearóid in their short lived group, Ragairne.
Enya's first solo endeavour arrived in 1983 when she recorded two piano instrumentals, "An Ghaoth Ón Ghrian", Irish for "The Solar Wind", and "Miss Clare Remembers", at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin which were released on Touch Travel (1984), a limited release cassette of music from various artists on the Touch label. She is credited as Eithne Ní Bhraonáin on its liner notes. After several months of preparation, Enya's first live solo performance took place on 23 September 1983 at the National Stadium in Dublin, which was televised for RTÉ's music show Festival Folk. Niall Morris, a musician who worked with her during this time, recalled she "was so nervous she could barely get on stage, and she cowered behind the piano until the gig was over."
Morris assisted Enya in the production of a demo tape, playing additional keyboards to her compositions, which Roma thought would suit accompanying visuals and sent it to various film producers. Among them was David Puttnam, who liked the tape and offered Enya to compose the soundtrack to his upcoming romantic comedy film, The Frog Prince (1984). Enya scored nine pieces for the film but they were later rearranged and orchestrated against her wishes by Richard Myhill, except for two that she sang on, "The Frog Prince" and "Dreams"; the words to the latter were penned by Charlie McGettigan. Film editor Jim Clark said the rearrangements were necessary as Enya found it difficult to compose to picture. Released in 1985, the album is the first commercial release that credits her as Enya, after Nicky Ryan thought "Eithne" would be too difficult for non-Irish people to pronounce correctly and suggested the phonetic spelling of her name. Enya looked back on the film as a good career move, but a disappointing one as "we weren't part of it at the end". She then sang on three tracks on Ordinary Man (1985) by Christy Moore.
1985–1989: The Celts and Watermark
In 1985, producer Tony McAuley asked Enya to contribute a track for a six-part BBC television documentary series The Celts. She had already written a Celtic-influenced song named "The March of the Celts", and submitted it to the project. Each episode was to feature a different composer at first, but director David Richardson liked her track so much, he had Enya score the entire series. Enya recorded 72 minutes of music at Aigle Studio and the BBC studios in Wood Lane, London without recording to picture, though she was required to portray certain themes and ideas that the producers wanted. Unlike The Frog Prince, she worked with little interference which granted her freedom to establish her sound that she would adopt throughout her future career, signified by layered vocals, keyboard-oriented music, and percussion with elements of Celtic, classical, church and folk music.
In March 1987, two months before The Celts aired, a 40-minute selection of Enya's score was released as her debut solo album, Enya, by BBC Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. The latter promoted it with a new-age imprint on the packaging, which Nicky later thought was "a cowardly thing for them to do". The album gained enough public attention to reach number 8 on the Irish Albums Chart and number 69 on the UK Albums Chart. "I Want Tomorrow" was released as Enya's first single. "Boadicea" was sampled by The Fugees on their 1996 song "Ready or Not"; the group neither sought permission nor gave credit, and Enya took legal action. The group subsequently gave her credit and paid a fee worth around $3 million. Later in 1987, Enya appeared on Sinéad O'Connor's debut album The Lion and the Cobra, reciting Psalm 91 in Irish on "Never Get Old".
Several weeks after the release of Enya, Enya secured a recording contract with Warner Music UK after Rob Dickins, the label's chairman and a fan of Clannad, took a liking to Enya and found himself playing it "every night before I went to bed". He then met Enya and the Ryans at a chance meeting at the Irish Recorded Music Association award ceremony in Dublin, and learned Enya had entered negotiations with a rival label. Dickins seized the opportunity and signed her to Warner Music with a deal worth £75,000, granting her wish to write and record with artistic freedom, minimal interference from the label, and without set deadlines to finish albums. Dickins said: "Sometimes you sign an act to make money, and sometimes you sign an act to make music. This was clearly the latter ... I just wanted to be involved with this music." Enya then left Atlantic and signed with the Warner-led Geffen Records to handle her American distribution.
With the green-light to produce a new studio album, Enya recorded Watermark from June 1987 to April 1988. It was initially recorded in analogue at Aigle Studio before Dickins requested to have it re-recorded digitally at Orinoco Studios in Bermondsey, London. Watermark was released in September 1988 and became an unexpected hit, reaching number 5 in the United Kingdom and number 25 on the Billboard 200 in the United States following its release there in January 1989. Its lead single, "Orinoco Flow", was the last song written for the album. It was not intended to be a single at first, but Enya and the Ryans chose it after Dickins asked for a single from them several times as a joke, knowing Enya's music was not made for the Top 40 chart. Dickins and engineer Ross Cullum are referenced in the songs' lyrics. "Orinoco Flow" became an international top 10 hit and was number one in the United Kingdom for three weeks. The new-found success propelled Enya to international fame and she received endorsement deals and offers to use her music in television commercials. She spent one year travelling worldwide to promote the album which increased her exposure through interviews, appearances, and live performances. By 1996, Watermark had sold in excess of 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom and 4 million in the United States.
1989–1997: Shepherd Moons and The Memory of Trees
After promoting Watermark, Enya purchased new recording equipment and started work on her next album, Shepherd Moons. She found the success of Watermark caused a considerable amount of pressure when it came to writing new songs, adding, "I kept thinking, 'Would this have gone on Watermark? Is it as good?' Eventually I had to forget about this and start on a blank canvas and just really go with what felt right." Enya wrote songs based on several ideas, including entries from her diary, the Blitz in London, and her grandparents. Shepherd Moons was released in November 1991, her first album released under Warner-led Reprise Records in the United States. It became a greater commercial success than Watermark, reaching number one in the UK for one week and number 17 in the United States. "Caribbean Blue", its lead single, charted at number thirteen in the United Kingdom. By 1997, the album had reached multi-platinum certification for selling in excess of 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom and 5 million in the United States.
In 1991, Warner Music released a collection of five Enya music videos as Moonshadows for home video. In 1993, Enya won her first Grammy Award for Best New Age Album for Shepherd Moons. Soon after, Enya and Nicky entered discussions with Industrial Light & Magic, founded by George Lucas, regarding an elaborate stage lighting system for a proposed concert tour, but nothing came out of the meetings. In November 1992, Warner had obtained the rights to Enya and re-released the album as The Celts with new artwork. It surpassed its initial sale performance, reaching number 10 in the United Kingdom and reached platinum certification in the United States in 1996 for one million copies shipped.
After travelling worldwide to promote Shepherd Moons, Enya started to write and record her fourth album, The Memory of Trees. The album was released in November 1995. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number nine in the United States, where it sold over 3 million copies. Its lead single, "Anywhere Is", reached number seven in the United Kingdom. The second, "On My Way Home", reached number twenty-six in the same country. In late 1994, Enya put out an extended play of Christmas music titled The Christmas EP. Enya was offered to compose the score for Titanic, but declined. A recording of her singing "Oíche Chiúin", an Irish-language version of "Silent Night", appeared on the charity album A Very Special Christmas 3, released in benefit of the Special Olympics in October 1997.
In early 1997, Enya began to select tracks for her first compilation album, "trying to select the obvious ones, the hits, and others." She chose to work on the collection following the promotional tour for The Memory of Trees as she felt it was the right time in her career, and that her contract with WEA required her to release a "best of" album. The set, named Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya, features two new tracks, "Paint the Sky with Stars" and "Only If...". Released in November 1997, the album was a worldwide commercial success, reaching No. 4 in the UK and No. 30 in the US, where it went on to sell over 4 million copies. "Only If..." was released as a single in 1997. Enya described the album as "like a musical diary ... each melody has a little story and I live through that whole story from the beginning ... your mind goes back to that day and what you were thinking."
1998–2007: A Day Without Rain and Amarantine
Enya started work on her fifth studio album, titled A Day Without Rain, in mid-1998. In a departure from her previous albums she incorporated the use of a string section into her compositions, something that was not a conscious decision at first, but Enya and Nicky Ryan agreed it complemented the songs that were being written. The album was released in November 2000, and reached number 6 in the United Kingdom and an initial peak of number 17 in the United States. In the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, sales of the album and its lead single, "Only Time", surged after the song was widely used during radio and television coverage of the events, leading to its description as "a post-September 11 anthem". The exposure caused A Day Without Rain to outperform its original chart performance to peak at number 2 on the Billboard 200, and the release of a maxi single containing the original and a pop remix of "Only Time" in November 2001. Enya donated its proceeds in aid of the International Association of Firefighters. The song topped the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and went to number 10 on the Hot 100 singles, Enya's highest charting US single to date. A second single, "Wild Child", was released in December 2001. A Day Without Rain remains Enya's biggest seller, with 7 million copies sold in the US and the most sold new-age album of all time with an estimated 13 million copies sold worldwide.
In 2001, Enya agreed to write and perform on two tracks for the soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) at the request of director Peter Jackson. Its composer Howard Shore "imagined her voice" as he wrote the film's score, making an uncommon exception to include another artist in one of his soundtracks. After flying to New Zealand to observe the filming and to watch a rough cut of the film, Enya returned to Ireland and composed "Aníron (Theme for Aragorn and Arwen)" with lyrics by Roma in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Elvish language Sindarin, and "May It Be", sung in English and another Tolkien language, Quenya. Shore then based his orchestrations around Enya's recorded vocals and themes to create "a seamless sound". In 2002, Enya released "May It Be" as a single which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. She performed the song live at the 74th Academy Awards ceremony with an orchestra in March 2002, and later cited the moment as a career highlight.
Enya undertook additional studio projects in 2001 and 2002. The first was work on the soundtrack to the Japanese romantic film Calmi Cuori Appassionati (2001) which was subsequently released as Themes from Calmi Cuori Appassionati (2001). The album is formed of tracks spanning her career from Enya to A Day Without Rain with two B-sides. The album went to number 2 in Japan, and became Enya's second to sell one million copies in the country. November 2002 saw the release of Only Time – The Collection, a box set of 51 tracks recorded through her career which received a limited release of 200,000 copies.
In September 2003, Enya returned to Aigle Studio to start work on her sixth studio album, Amarantine. Roma said the title means "everlasting". The album marks the first instance of Enya singing in Loxian, a fictional language created by Roma that came about when Enya was working on "Water Shows the Hidden Heart". After numerous attempts to sing the song in English, Irish and Latin, Roma suggested a new language based on some of the sounds Enya would sing along to when developing her songs. It was a success, and Enya sang "Less Than a Pearl" and "The River Sings" in the same way. Roma worked on the language further, creating a "culture and history" behind it surrounding the Loxian people who are of another planet, questioning the existence of life on another. "Sumiregusa (Wild Violet)" is sung in Japanese. Amarantine was a global success, reaching number 6 on the Billboard 200 and number 8 in the UK. It has sold over 1 million certified copies in the US, a considerable drop in sales in comparison to her previous albums. Enya dedicated the album to BBC producer Tony McAuley, who had commissioned Enya to write the soundtrack to The Celts, following his death in 2003. The lead single, "Amarantine", was released in December 2005. A Christmas Special Edition was released in 2006, followed by a Deluxe Edition.
In 2006, Enya released Sounds of the Season: The Enya Holiday Collection, a Christmas-themed EP released exclusively in the US following an exclusive partnership with the NBC network and the Target department store chain. It includes two new songs, "Christmas Secrets" and "The Magic of the Night".
In June 2007, Enya received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland, Galway. A month later, she received one from the University of Ulster.
2008–present: And Winter Came..., Dark Sky Island, and future
Enya continued to write music with a winter and Christmas theme for her seventh studio album, And Winter Came.... Initially she intended to make an album of seasonal songs and hymns set for a release in late 2007, but decided to produce a winter-themed album instead. The track "My! My! Time Flies!", a tribute to the late Irish guitarist Jimmy Faulkner, incorporates a guitar solo performed by Pat Farrell, the first use of a guitar on an Enya album since "I Want Tomorrow" from Enya. The lyrics also include atypical pop-culture references, such as to The Beatles' famous photo shoot for the cover of Abbey Road. Upon its release in November 2008, And Winter Came... reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 8 in the US and sold almost 3.5 million copies worldwide by 2011.
After promoting And Winter Came..., Enya took an extended break from writing and recording music. She spent her time resting, visiting family in Australia, and renovating her new home in the south of France. In March 2009, her first four studio albums were reissued in Japan in the Super High Material CD format with bonus tracks. Her second compilation album, The Very Best of Enya, was released in November 2009 and features songs from 1987 to 2008, including a previously unreleased version of "Aníron" and a DVD compiling most of her music videos to date. In 2013, "Only Time" was used in the "Epic Split" advertisement by Volvo Trucks starring Jean-Claude Van Damme who does the splits while suspended between two lorries. The video went viral, leading to numerous parodies of the commercial uploaded to YouTube also using "Only Time". The attention resulted in the song peaking at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
In 2012, Enya returned to the studio to record her eighth album, Dark Sky Island. Its name refers to the island of Sark, which became the first island to be designated a dark-sky preserve, and a series of poems on islands by Roma Ryan. Upon its release on 20 November 2015, Dark Sky Island went to No. 4 in the UK, Enya's highest charting studio album there since Shepherd Moons went to No. 1, and to No. 8 in the US. A Deluxe Edition features three additional songs. Enya completed a promotional tour of the UK and Europe, the US and Japan. During her visit to Japan, Enya performed "Orinoco Flow" and "Echoes in Rain" at the Universal Studios Japan Christmas show in Osaka. In December 2016, Enya appeared on the Irish television show Christmas Carols from Cork, marking her first Irish television appearance in over seven years. She sang "Adeste Fideles", "Oiche Chiúin", and "The Spirit of Christmas Past".
On 4 November 2021, a Shepherd Moons "watch party" video was uploaded to Enya's official YouTube channel to commemorate the album's 30th anniversary. In his introductory message, Nicky Ryan said that Roma, Enya, and he used the downtime from the COVID-19 pandemic to renovate Aigle Studio, and install new recording equipment and instruments. When this is complete, Enya will begin working on new music.
Musical style
Enya's vocal range is mezzo-soprano. She has cited her musical foundations as "the classics", church music, and "Irish reels and jigs" with a particular interest in Sergei Rachmaninoff, a favourite composer of hers. She has an autographed picture of him in her home. Since 1982, she has recorded her music with Nicky Ryan as producer and arranger and his wife Roma Ryan as lyricist. While in Clannad, Enya chose to work with Nicky as the two shared an interest in vocal harmonies, and Ryan, influenced by The Beach Boys and the "Wall of Sound" technique that Phil Spector pioneered, wanted to explore the idea of "the multivocals" for which her music became known. According to Enya, "Angeles" from Shepherd Moons has roughly 500 vocals recorded individually and layered. Enya performs all vocals and the majority of instruments in her songs apart from musicians to play percussion, guitar, uilleann pipes, cornet, and double bass. Her early works including Watermark feature numerous keyboards, including the Yamaha KX88 Master, Yamaha DX7, Oberheim Matrix, Akai S900, Roland D-50, and Roland Juno-60, the latter a particular favourite of hers.
Numerous critics and reviewers classify Enya's albums as new age music and she has won four Grammy Awards in the category. However, Enya does not classify her music as part of the genre. When asked what genre she would classify her music, her reply was "Enya". Nicky Ryan commented on the new age comments: "Initially it was fine, but it's really not new age. Enya plays a whole lot of instruments, not just keyboards. Her melodies are strong and she sings a lot. So I can't see a comparison." The music video to "Caribbean Blue" and the art work to The Memory of Trees feature adapted works from artist Maxfield Parrish.
Enya has sung in ten languages in her career, including English, Irish, Latin, Welsh, Spanish, French and Japanese. She has recorded music influenced by works from fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien, including the instrumental "Lothlórien" from Shepherd Moons. For The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, she sang "May It Be" in English and Tolkien's fictional language Quenya, and sang "Aníron" in another of Tolkien's fictional languages, Sindarin. Her albums Amarantine and Dark Sky Island include songs sung in Loxian, a fictional language created by Roma, that has no official syntax. Its vocabulary was formed by Enya singing the song's notes to which Roma wrote their phonetic spelling.
Enya adopted a composing and songwriting method that has deviated little throughout her career. At the start of the recording process for an album she enters the studio, forgetting about her previous success, fame, and songs of hers that became hits. "If I did that", she said, "I'd have to call it a day". She then develops ideas on the piano, keeping note of any arrangement that can be worked on further. During her time writing, Enya works a five-day week, takes weekends off, and does not work on her music at home. With Irish as her first language, Enya initially records her songs in Irish as she can express "feeling much more directly" than English. After a period of time, Enya presents her ideas to Nicky to discuss what pieces work best, while Roma works in parallel to devise a lyric to the songs. Enya considered "Fallen Embers" from A Day Without Rain a perfect time when the lyrics reflect as to how she felt while writing the song. In 2008, she newly discovered her tendency to write "two or three songs" during the winter months, work on the arrangements and lyrics the following spring and summer, and then work on the next couple of songs when autumn arrives.
Live performances
Enya says that Warner Music and she "did not see eye to eye" initially as the label imagined her performing on stage "with a piano ... maybe two or three synthesiser players and that's it". Enya also explained that the time put into her studio albums causes her to "run overtime", leaving little time to plan for other such projects. She also expressed the difficulty in recreating her studio-oriented sound for the stage. In 1996, Ryan said Enya had received an offer worth almost £500,000 to perform a concert in Japan. In 2016, Enya spoke about the prospect of a live concert when she revealed talks with the Ryans during her three-year break after And Winter Came... (2008) to perform a show at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City that would be simulcast to cinemas worldwide. Before such an event could happen, Nicky suggested that she enter a studio and record "all the hits" live with an orchestra and choir to see how they would sound.
Enya has sung with live and lip synching vocals on various talk and music shows, events, and ceremonies throughout her career, usually during her worldwide press tours for each album. In December 1995, she performed "Anywhere Is" at a Christmas concert at Vatican City with Pope John Paul II in attendance, who met and thanked her for performing. In April 1996, Enya performed the same song during her surprise appearance at the fiftieth birthday celebration for Carl XVI Gustaf, the King of Sweden and a fan of Enya's. In 1997, Enya participated in a live Christmas Eve broadcast in London and flew to County Donegal afterwards to join her family for their annual midnight Mass choral performance, in which she participates each year. In March 2002, she performed "May It Be" with an orchestra at the year's Academy Awards ceremony. Enya and her sisters performed as part of the local choir Cor Mhuire in July 2005 at St. Mary's church in Gweedore during the annual Earagail Arts Festival.
Personal life
Since the 1980s, Enya has attracted the attention of several stalkers. In 1996, an Italian man who was seen in Dublin wearing a photograph of Enya around his neck stabbed himself outside her parents' pub after being ejected from the premises.
In 1991, a minor planet first discovered in 1978, 6433 Enya, was named after her. In 2017, a newly discovered species of fish, Leporinus enyae, found in the Orinoco River drainage area, was also named after her.
Enya is known for keeping a private lifestyle, saying: "The music is what sells. Not me, or what I stand for ... that's the way I've always wanted it". She is not married and is a surrogate aunt to the Ryans' two daughters. In 1991, she said: "I'm afraid of marriage because I'm afraid someone might want me because of who I am instead of because they loved me... I wouldn't go rushing into anything unexpected, but I do think a great deal about this". A relationship she had with one man ended in 1997, around the time when she considered taking time out of music to have a family but found she was putting pressure on herself over the matter and "gone the route I wanted to go". She declares herself as "more spiritual than religious... I derive from religion what I enjoy."
In 1997, Enya bought a Victorian Grade A listed castellated mansion in Killiney, County Dublin for IR£2.5 million at auction. Formerly known as Victoria Castle and Ayesha Castle, she renamed it Manderley Castle after the house from the novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. In all, she spent seven years renovating her property and also installing considerable security measures. In 2005, Enya spent around £250,000 on security improvements, covering gaps in the castle's outer wall and installing bollards and iron railings. In October of that year, two people broke into the home; one attacked and tied up one of her housekeepers and left with several of Enya's items after she had raised the alarm in her safe room. In 2009, during her three-year break from music, Enya purchased a home in southern France.
In 2006, Enya ranked third in a list of the wealthiest Irish entertainers with an estimated fortune of £75 million, and was number 95 in the Sunday Times Rich List of the richest 250 Irish people. In the 2016 edition, which listed its top 50 Music Millionaires of Britain and Ireland, she emerged as the richest female singer with a fortune of £91 million and ranked number 28 overall.
Awards and nominations
Billboard Music Awards
|-
| rowspan=4|2001
| rowspan=2|Enya
| Top Billboard 200 Artist - Female
|
|-
| Top New Age Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|A Day Without Rain
| Top Internet Album
|
|-
| rowspan=2|Top New Age Album
|
|-
| rowspan=3|2002
|
|-
| rowspan=2|Enya
| Top New Age Artist
|
|-
| Top Adult Contemporary Artist
|
Grammy Awards
|-
| rowspan=2|1990
| rowspan=2|"Orinoco Flow"
| Best New Age Performance
|
|-
| Best Music Video
|
|-
| 1993
| Shepherd Moons
| rowspan=3|Best New Age Album
|
|-
| 1997
| The Memory of Trees
|
|-
| 2002
| A Day Without Rain
|
|-
| 2003
| "May It Be"
| Best Song Written for Visual Media
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2007
| "Drifting"
| Best Pop Instrumental Performance
|
|-
| Amarantine
| rowspan=2|Best New Age Album
|
|-
| 2017
| Dark Sky Island
|
IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
!Ref.
|-
| 2001
| A Day Without Rain
| Top 10 Best Sales Foreign Albums
|
|
Japan Gold Disc Awards
|-
| 1990
| Enya
| New Artist of the Year
|
|-
| 1998
| Paint the Sky with Stars
| Best 3 Albums
|
|-
| 2001
| A Day Without Rain
| International Pop Album of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| Themes from Calmi Cuori Appassionati
| Best 3 Albums
|
|-
| 2006
| Amarantine
| International Album of the Year
|
World Music Awards
|-
| rowspan="2"|2001
| rowspan="7"| Enya
| World's Best Selling Irish Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=2|World's Best Selling New Age Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|2002
|
|-
| World's Best Selling Female Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|World's Best Selling Irish Artist
|
|-
| 2003
|
|-
| 2006
|
Žebřík Music Awards
!Ref.
|-
| 1993
| rowspan=3|Enya
| rowspan=3|Best International Female
|
|
|-
| 1997
|
|
|-
| 2005
|
|
Other Awards
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|1989
|rowspan="3"|Enya
| Brit Award for Best International Artist
|
|-
| Brit Award for Best International Female
|
|-
| IRMA Award for Best Female Irish Artist
|
|-
!scope="row"|1990
| "Orinoco Flow"
| BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|1992
|rowspan="3"|Enya
|rowspan="2"|Brit Award for Best International Solo Artist
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|1993
|
|-
| IRMA Award for Best Female Irish Artist
|
|-
| "Book of Days"
| Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=1|1998
| Enya, Nicky Ryan, and Roma Ryan
| Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|2001
| rowspan="4"| "May It Be"
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2001
| Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2002
| Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2002
| Academy Award for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="4"|2002
| rowspan="2"| Enya
| American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist
|
|-
| Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
|
|-
| rowspan=3|"Only Time"
| ECHO Award for Best Single of the Year (International)
|
|-
| BDSCertified Spin Awards – 300,000 Spins
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="1"|2003
| rowspan="1"|BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|2004
| rowspan=4|"I Don't Wanna Know"
| Vibe Award for R&B Song of the Year
|
|-
| MOBO Award for Best Single
|
|-
| MOBO Award for Best Ringtone
|
|-
!scope="row"|2005
| BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|2016
| Dark Sky Island
| ECHO Award for Best Female of the Year (International)
|
|-
|}
Discography
Studio albums
Enya (1987) (reissued in 1992 as The Celts)
Watermark (1988)
Shepherd Moons (1991)
The Memory of Trees (1995)
A Day Without Rain (2000)
Amarantine (2005)
And Winter Came... (2008)
Dark Sky Island (2015)
See also
Honorific nicknames in popular music
List of ambient music artists
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of best-selling music artists
List of highest-certified music artists in the United States
References
Sources
External links
1961 births
20th-century Irish women singers
21st-century Irish women singers
Celtic fusion musicians
Clannad members
Grammy Award winners
Irish women composers
Irish folk singers
Irish-language singers
Irish mezzo-sopranos
Irish pianists
Irish pop singers
Irish women singer-songwriters
Ivor Novello Award winners
Latin-language singers
Living people
Musicians from County Donegal
New-age musicians
People from Dalkey
People from Gweedore
Warner Music Group artists
Women in electronic music
World Music Awards winners
People from Killiney
20th-century women composers
21st-century women composers | true | [
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"Enya Patricia Brennan ( ; born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician, known for pioneering modern Celtic and New-age music. Regarded as the \"Queen of New Age\", Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and second-best-selling overall behind U2.",
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"What was all involved in the making of thi... | C_ca2198202da140e28165132567967682_1 | What did she focus on during her break? | 6 | What did Enya focus on during her break after promoting And Winter Came...? | Enya | Enya continued to write music with a winter and Christmas theme for her seventh studio album, And Winter Came.... Initially she intended to make an album of seasonal songs and hymns set for a release in late 2007, but decided to produce a winter-themed album instead. The track "My! My! Time Flies!", a tribute to the late Irish guitarist Jimmy Faulkner, incorporates a guitar solo performed by Pat Farrell, the first use of a guitar on an Enya album since "I Want Tomorrow" from Enya. Upon its release in November 2008, And Winter Came... reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 8 in the US and sold almost 3.5 million copies worldwide by 2011. After promoting And Winter Came..., Enya took an extended break from writing and recording music. She spent her time resting, visiting family in Australia, and renovating her new home in the south of France. In March 2009, her first four studio albums were reissued in Japan in the Super High Material CD format with bonus tracks. Her second compilation album and DVD, The Very Best of Enya, was released in November 2009 and features songs from 1987 to 2008, including a previously unreleased version of "Aniron". In 2013, "Only Time" was used in an advertisement by Volvo Trucks starring Jean-Claude Van Damme who does the splits while suspended between two lorries. The video went viral, leading to numerous parodies of the commercial uploaded to YouTube also using "Only Time". The attention resulted in the song peaking at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In 2012, Enya returned to the studio to record her eighth album, Dark Sky Island. Its name references the island of Sark, where it became the first island to be designated a dark-sky preserve, and a series of poems on islands by Roma Ryan. The new album was promoted with the premiere in October 2015 of its lead single, "Echoes in Rain", on Ken Bruce's radio show and with the release in the same month of the single as a digital download. Upon its release on 20 November 2015, Dark Sky Island went to No. 4 in the UK, Enya's highest charting studio album there since Shepherd Moons went to No. 1, and to No. 8 in the US. A Deluxe Edition features three additional songs. Enya completed a promotional tour of the UK and Europe, the US and Japan. During her visit to Japan, Enya performed "Orinoco Flow" and "Echoes in Rain" at the Universal Studios Japan Christmas show in Osaka. In December 2016, Enya appeared on the Raidio Teilifis Eireann Christmas special Christmas Carols from Cork, marking her first appearance on Irish television in a decade. She sang "Adeste Fideles" and "Oiche Chiuin" as well as her own carol composition "The Spirit of Christmas Past". CANNOTANSWER | She spent her time resting, visiting family in Australia, and renovating her new home in the south of France. | Enya Patricia Brennan ( ; born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician, known for pioneering modern Celtic and New-age music. Regarded as the "Queen of New Age", Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and second-best-selling overall behind U2. Born into a musical family and raised in the Irish-speaking area of Gweedore, County Donegal, Enya began her music career when she joined her family's Celtic folk band Clannad in 1980 on keyboards and backing vocals. She left the group in 1982 with their manager and producer Nicky Ryan to pursue a solo career, with Ryan's wife Roma Ryan as her lyricist. Enya developed her sound over the following four years with multitracked vocals and keyboards with elements of new age, Celtic, classical, church, world, pop, and Irish folk. Thus far, she has sung in ten languages, most notably English, Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge), Latin, and Welsh.
Enya's first projects as a solo artist included soundtrack work for The Frog Prince (1984) and the 1987 BBC documentary series The Celts, which was released as her debut album, Enya (1987). She signed with Warner Music UK, which granted her artistic freedom and minimal interference from the label. The commercial and critical success of Watermark (1988) propelled her to worldwide fame, helped by the UK number one and international hit single "Orinoco Flow". This was followed by the multi-million-selling albums Shepherd Moons (1991), The Memory of Trees (1995), and A Day Without Rain (2000). Sales of the latter and its lead single, "Only Time", surged in the United States following its use in the media coverage of the September 11 attacks. Following Amarantine (2005) and And Winter Came... (2008), Enya took a four-year career hiatus before she resumed in 2012 and released her eighth studio album, Dark Sky Island (2015).
Enya's discography has sold 26.5 million certified albums in the United States and an estimated 75 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. A Day Without Rain (2000) remains the best-selling new-age album, with an estimated 16 million copies sold worldwide. Enya has won numerous awards, including seven World Music Awards, four Grammy Awards for Best New Age Album, and an Ivor Novello Award. She was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for "May It Be", written for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
Early life
Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin was born on 17 May 1961 in Dore, a settlement in the parish of Gweedore, in County Donegal. It is a Gaeltacht region where Irish is the primary language. Her name is anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan, where Enya is the phonetic spelling of how "Eithne" is pronounced in her native Ulster dialect of Irish; "Ní Bhraonáin" translates to "daughter of Brennan". The sixth of nine children, Enya was born into a Roman Catholic family of musicians. Her father, Leo Brennan, was the leader of the Slieve Foy Band, an Irish showband, and ran Leo's Tavern in Meenaleck. Her mother, Máire Brennan (née Duggan), who has distant Spanish roots whose ancestors settled on Tory Island, was an amateur musician who played in Leo's band and taught music at Gweedore Community School. Enya's maternal grandfather Aodh was the headmaster of the primary school in Dore, and her grandmother was a teacher there. Aodh was also the founder of the Gweedore Theatre company.
Enya described her upbringing as "very quiet and happy." At age three, she took part in her first singing competition at the annual Feis Ceoil music festival. She took part in pantomimes at Gweedore Theatre and sang with her siblings in her mother's choir at St Mary's church in Derrybeg. She learned English at primary school and began piano lessons at age four. "I had to do school work and then travel to a neighbouring town for piano lessons, and then more school work. I ... remember my brothers and sisters playing outside ... and I would be inside playing the piano. This one big book of scales, practising them over and over." When Enya turned eleven, her grandfather paid for her education at a strict convent boarding school in Milford run by nuns of the Loreto order, where she developed a taste for classical music, art, Latin and watercolour painting. She said: "It was devastating to be torn away from such a large family, but it was good for my music." Enya left the school at 17 and studied classical music in college for one year, with the aim of becoming "a piano teacher sort of person. I never thought of myself composing or being on stage."
Career
1980–1985: Clannad and early solo career
In 1970, several members of Enya's family formed Clannad, a Celtic folk band who later acquired Nicky Ryan as their manager, sound engineer, and producer, and his future wife, Roma Ryan, as tour manager and administrator. In 1980, after her year at college, Enya decided against pursuing music at university and accepted Ryan's invitation to join the group as he wanted to expand their sound with an additional vocalist and introducing keyboards. Enya performed an uncredited role their sixth studio album, Crann Úll (1980), with a line-up of siblings Máire, Pól, and Ciarán Brennan, and twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. She became an official member by the time their follow-up, Fuaim (1981), was released, and is photographed with the band on the front cover. Nicky maintained it was never his intention to make Enya a permanent member, and saw she was "fiercely independent ... intent on playing her own music. She was just not sure of how to go about it". This sparked discussions between the two on layering vocal tracks to create a "choir of one", a concept inspired by the Wall of Sound technique by producer Phil Spector that interested them both.
During a Clannad tour in 1982, Nicky called for a band meeting to address internal issues that had arisen. He added, "It was short and only required a vote, I was a minority of one and lost. Roma and I were out. This left the question of what happened with Enya. I decided to stand back and say nothing". Enya chose to leave with the Ryans and pursue a solo career as she felt confined in the group, and disliked being "somebody in the background". This caused some friction between the two parties at first, but they settled their differences. Nicky suggested to Enya that either she return to Gweedore "with no particular definite future", or live with him and Roma in Artane, Dublin "and see what happens, musically", which she accepted. After their bank denied them a loan, Enya sold her saxophone and gave piano lessons for income and the Ryans used what they could afford from their savings to build a recording facility in a shed in their garden. They named it Aigle Studio, after the French word for "eagle", and rented it out to musicians to help recoup the costs. The trio formed a musical partnership, with Nicky as Enya's producer and arranger and Roma her lyricist, and established their music company, Aigle Music. In the following two years, Enya developed her technique and composition by listening to recordings of her reciting pieces of classical music, and repeated the process until she started to improvise sections and develop her own arrangements. Her first composition was "An Taibhse Uaighneach", Irish for "The Lonely Ghost". During this time Enya played the synthesiser on Ceol Aduaidh (1983) by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy, and performed with the duo and Mhaonaigh's brother Gearóid in their short lived group, Ragairne.
Enya's first solo endeavour arrived in 1983 when she recorded two piano instrumentals, "An Ghaoth Ón Ghrian", Irish for "The Solar Wind", and "Miss Clare Remembers", at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin which were released on Touch Travel (1984), a limited release cassette of music from various artists on the Touch label. She is credited as Eithne Ní Bhraonáin on its liner notes. After several months of preparation, Enya's first live solo performance took place on 23 September 1983 at the National Stadium in Dublin, which was televised for RTÉ's music show Festival Folk. Niall Morris, a musician who worked with her during this time, recalled she "was so nervous she could barely get on stage, and she cowered behind the piano until the gig was over."
Morris assisted Enya in the production of a demo tape, playing additional keyboards to her compositions, which Roma thought would suit accompanying visuals and sent it to various film producers. Among them was David Puttnam, who liked the tape and offered Enya to compose the soundtrack to his upcoming romantic comedy film, The Frog Prince (1984). Enya scored nine pieces for the film but they were later rearranged and orchestrated against her wishes by Richard Myhill, except for two that she sang on, "The Frog Prince" and "Dreams"; the words to the latter were penned by Charlie McGettigan. Film editor Jim Clark said the rearrangements were necessary as Enya found it difficult to compose to picture. Released in 1985, the album is the first commercial release that credits her as Enya, after Nicky Ryan thought "Eithne" would be too difficult for non-Irish people to pronounce correctly and suggested the phonetic spelling of her name. Enya looked back on the film as a good career move, but a disappointing one as "we weren't part of it at the end". She then sang on three tracks on Ordinary Man (1985) by Christy Moore.
1985–1989: The Celts and Watermark
In 1985, producer Tony McAuley asked Enya to contribute a track for a six-part BBC television documentary series The Celts. She had already written a Celtic-influenced song named "The March of the Celts", and submitted it to the project. Each episode was to feature a different composer at first, but director David Richardson liked her track so much, he had Enya score the entire series. Enya recorded 72 minutes of music at Aigle Studio and the BBC studios in Wood Lane, London without recording to picture, though she was required to portray certain themes and ideas that the producers wanted. Unlike The Frog Prince, she worked with little interference which granted her freedom to establish her sound that she would adopt throughout her future career, signified by layered vocals, keyboard-oriented music, and percussion with elements of Celtic, classical, church and folk music.
In March 1987, two months before The Celts aired, a 40-minute selection of Enya's score was released as her debut solo album, Enya, by BBC Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. The latter promoted it with a new-age imprint on the packaging, which Nicky later thought was "a cowardly thing for them to do". The album gained enough public attention to reach number 8 on the Irish Albums Chart and number 69 on the UK Albums Chart. "I Want Tomorrow" was released as Enya's first single. "Boadicea" was sampled by The Fugees on their 1996 song "Ready or Not"; the group neither sought permission nor gave credit, and Enya took legal action. The group subsequently gave her credit and paid a fee worth around $3 million. Later in 1987, Enya appeared on Sinéad O'Connor's debut album The Lion and the Cobra, reciting Psalm 91 in Irish on "Never Get Old".
Several weeks after the release of Enya, Enya secured a recording contract with Warner Music UK after Rob Dickins, the label's chairman and a fan of Clannad, took a liking to Enya and found himself playing it "every night before I went to bed". He then met Enya and the Ryans at a chance meeting at the Irish Recorded Music Association award ceremony in Dublin, and learned Enya had entered negotiations with a rival label. Dickins seized the opportunity and signed her to Warner Music with a deal worth £75,000, granting her wish to write and record with artistic freedom, minimal interference from the label, and without set deadlines to finish albums. Dickins said: "Sometimes you sign an act to make money, and sometimes you sign an act to make music. This was clearly the latter ... I just wanted to be involved with this music." Enya then left Atlantic and signed with the Warner-led Geffen Records to handle her American distribution.
With the green-light to produce a new studio album, Enya recorded Watermark from June 1987 to April 1988. It was initially recorded in analogue at Aigle Studio before Dickins requested to have it re-recorded digitally at Orinoco Studios in Bermondsey, London. Watermark was released in September 1988 and became an unexpected hit, reaching number 5 in the United Kingdom and number 25 on the Billboard 200 in the United States following its release there in January 1989. Its lead single, "Orinoco Flow", was the last song written for the album. It was not intended to be a single at first, but Enya and the Ryans chose it after Dickins asked for a single from them several times as a joke, knowing Enya's music was not made for the Top 40 chart. Dickins and engineer Ross Cullum are referenced in the songs' lyrics. "Orinoco Flow" became an international top 10 hit and was number one in the United Kingdom for three weeks. The new-found success propelled Enya to international fame and she received endorsement deals and offers to use her music in television commercials. She spent one year travelling worldwide to promote the album which increased her exposure through interviews, appearances, and live performances. By 1996, Watermark had sold in excess of 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom and 4 million in the United States.
1989–1997: Shepherd Moons and The Memory of Trees
After promoting Watermark, Enya purchased new recording equipment and started work on her next album, Shepherd Moons. She found the success of Watermark caused a considerable amount of pressure when it came to writing new songs, adding, "I kept thinking, 'Would this have gone on Watermark? Is it as good?' Eventually I had to forget about this and start on a blank canvas and just really go with what felt right." Enya wrote songs based on several ideas, including entries from her diary, the Blitz in London, and her grandparents. Shepherd Moons was released in November 1991, her first album released under Warner-led Reprise Records in the United States. It became a greater commercial success than Watermark, reaching number one in the UK for one week and number 17 in the United States. "Caribbean Blue", its lead single, charted at number thirteen in the United Kingdom. By 1997, the album had reached multi-platinum certification for selling in excess of 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom and 5 million in the United States.
In 1991, Warner Music released a collection of five Enya music videos as Moonshadows for home video. In 1993, Enya won her first Grammy Award for Best New Age Album for Shepherd Moons. Soon after, Enya and Nicky entered discussions with Industrial Light & Magic, founded by George Lucas, regarding an elaborate stage lighting system for a proposed concert tour, but nothing came out of the meetings. In November 1992, Warner had obtained the rights to Enya and re-released the album as The Celts with new artwork. It surpassed its initial sale performance, reaching number 10 in the United Kingdom and reached platinum certification in the United States in 1996 for one million copies shipped.
After travelling worldwide to promote Shepherd Moons, Enya started to write and record her fourth album, The Memory of Trees. The album was released in November 1995. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number nine in the United States, where it sold over 3 million copies. Its lead single, "Anywhere Is", reached number seven in the United Kingdom. The second, "On My Way Home", reached number twenty-six in the same country. In late 1994, Enya put out an extended play of Christmas music titled The Christmas EP. Enya was offered to compose the score for Titanic, but declined. A recording of her singing "Oíche Chiúin", an Irish-language version of "Silent Night", appeared on the charity album A Very Special Christmas 3, released in benefit of the Special Olympics in October 1997.
In early 1997, Enya began to select tracks for her first compilation album, "trying to select the obvious ones, the hits, and others." She chose to work on the collection following the promotional tour for The Memory of Trees as she felt it was the right time in her career, and that her contract with WEA required her to release a "best of" album. The set, named Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya, features two new tracks, "Paint the Sky with Stars" and "Only If...". Released in November 1997, the album was a worldwide commercial success, reaching No. 4 in the UK and No. 30 in the US, where it went on to sell over 4 million copies. "Only If..." was released as a single in 1997. Enya described the album as "like a musical diary ... each melody has a little story and I live through that whole story from the beginning ... your mind goes back to that day and what you were thinking."
1998–2007: A Day Without Rain and Amarantine
Enya started work on her fifth studio album, titled A Day Without Rain, in mid-1998. In a departure from her previous albums she incorporated the use of a string section into her compositions, something that was not a conscious decision at first, but Enya and Nicky Ryan agreed it complemented the songs that were being written. The album was released in November 2000, and reached number 6 in the United Kingdom and an initial peak of number 17 in the United States. In the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, sales of the album and its lead single, "Only Time", surged after the song was widely used during radio and television coverage of the events, leading to its description as "a post-September 11 anthem". The exposure caused A Day Without Rain to outperform its original chart performance to peak at number 2 on the Billboard 200, and the release of a maxi single containing the original and a pop remix of "Only Time" in November 2001. Enya donated its proceeds in aid of the International Association of Firefighters. The song topped the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and went to number 10 on the Hot 100 singles, Enya's highest charting US single to date. A second single, "Wild Child", was released in December 2001. A Day Without Rain remains Enya's biggest seller, with 7 million copies sold in the US and the most sold new-age album of all time with an estimated 13 million copies sold worldwide.
In 2001, Enya agreed to write and perform on two tracks for the soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) at the request of director Peter Jackson. Its composer Howard Shore "imagined her voice" as he wrote the film's score, making an uncommon exception to include another artist in one of his soundtracks. After flying to New Zealand to observe the filming and to watch a rough cut of the film, Enya returned to Ireland and composed "Aníron (Theme for Aragorn and Arwen)" with lyrics by Roma in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Elvish language Sindarin, and "May It Be", sung in English and another Tolkien language, Quenya. Shore then based his orchestrations around Enya's recorded vocals and themes to create "a seamless sound". In 2002, Enya released "May It Be" as a single which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. She performed the song live at the 74th Academy Awards ceremony with an orchestra in March 2002, and later cited the moment as a career highlight.
Enya undertook additional studio projects in 2001 and 2002. The first was work on the soundtrack to the Japanese romantic film Calmi Cuori Appassionati (2001) which was subsequently released as Themes from Calmi Cuori Appassionati (2001). The album is formed of tracks spanning her career from Enya to A Day Without Rain with two B-sides. The album went to number 2 in Japan, and became Enya's second to sell one million copies in the country. November 2002 saw the release of Only Time – The Collection, a box set of 51 tracks recorded through her career which received a limited release of 200,000 copies.
In September 2003, Enya returned to Aigle Studio to start work on her sixth studio album, Amarantine. Roma said the title means "everlasting". The album marks the first instance of Enya singing in Loxian, a fictional language created by Roma that came about when Enya was working on "Water Shows the Hidden Heart". After numerous attempts to sing the song in English, Irish and Latin, Roma suggested a new language based on some of the sounds Enya would sing along to when developing her songs. It was a success, and Enya sang "Less Than a Pearl" and "The River Sings" in the same way. Roma worked on the language further, creating a "culture and history" behind it surrounding the Loxian people who are of another planet, questioning the existence of life on another. "Sumiregusa (Wild Violet)" is sung in Japanese. Amarantine was a global success, reaching number 6 on the Billboard 200 and number 8 in the UK. It has sold over 1 million certified copies in the US, a considerable drop in sales in comparison to her previous albums. Enya dedicated the album to BBC producer Tony McAuley, who had commissioned Enya to write the soundtrack to The Celts, following his death in 2003. The lead single, "Amarantine", was released in December 2005. A Christmas Special Edition was released in 2006, followed by a Deluxe Edition.
In 2006, Enya released Sounds of the Season: The Enya Holiday Collection, a Christmas-themed EP released exclusively in the US following an exclusive partnership with the NBC network and the Target department store chain. It includes two new songs, "Christmas Secrets" and "The Magic of the Night".
In June 2007, Enya received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland, Galway. A month later, she received one from the University of Ulster.
2008–present: And Winter Came..., Dark Sky Island, and future
Enya continued to write music with a winter and Christmas theme for her seventh studio album, And Winter Came.... Initially she intended to make an album of seasonal songs and hymns set for a release in late 2007, but decided to produce a winter-themed album instead. The track "My! My! Time Flies!", a tribute to the late Irish guitarist Jimmy Faulkner, incorporates a guitar solo performed by Pat Farrell, the first use of a guitar on an Enya album since "I Want Tomorrow" from Enya. The lyrics also include atypical pop-culture references, such as to The Beatles' famous photo shoot for the cover of Abbey Road. Upon its release in November 2008, And Winter Came... reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 8 in the US and sold almost 3.5 million copies worldwide by 2011.
After promoting And Winter Came..., Enya took an extended break from writing and recording music. She spent her time resting, visiting family in Australia, and renovating her new home in the south of France. In March 2009, her first four studio albums were reissued in Japan in the Super High Material CD format with bonus tracks. Her second compilation album, The Very Best of Enya, was released in November 2009 and features songs from 1987 to 2008, including a previously unreleased version of "Aníron" and a DVD compiling most of her music videos to date. In 2013, "Only Time" was used in the "Epic Split" advertisement by Volvo Trucks starring Jean-Claude Van Damme who does the splits while suspended between two lorries. The video went viral, leading to numerous parodies of the commercial uploaded to YouTube also using "Only Time". The attention resulted in the song peaking at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
In 2012, Enya returned to the studio to record her eighth album, Dark Sky Island. Its name refers to the island of Sark, which became the first island to be designated a dark-sky preserve, and a series of poems on islands by Roma Ryan. Upon its release on 20 November 2015, Dark Sky Island went to No. 4 in the UK, Enya's highest charting studio album there since Shepherd Moons went to No. 1, and to No. 8 in the US. A Deluxe Edition features three additional songs. Enya completed a promotional tour of the UK and Europe, the US and Japan. During her visit to Japan, Enya performed "Orinoco Flow" and "Echoes in Rain" at the Universal Studios Japan Christmas show in Osaka. In December 2016, Enya appeared on the Irish television show Christmas Carols from Cork, marking her first Irish television appearance in over seven years. She sang "Adeste Fideles", "Oiche Chiúin", and "The Spirit of Christmas Past".
On 4 November 2021, a Shepherd Moons "watch party" video was uploaded to Enya's official YouTube channel to commemorate the album's 30th anniversary. In his introductory message, Nicky Ryan said that Roma, Enya, and he used the downtime from the COVID-19 pandemic to renovate Aigle Studio, and install new recording equipment and instruments. When this is complete, Enya will begin working on new music.
Musical style
Enya's vocal range is mezzo-soprano. She has cited her musical foundations as "the classics", church music, and "Irish reels and jigs" with a particular interest in Sergei Rachmaninoff, a favourite composer of hers. She has an autographed picture of him in her home. Since 1982, she has recorded her music with Nicky Ryan as producer and arranger and his wife Roma Ryan as lyricist. While in Clannad, Enya chose to work with Nicky as the two shared an interest in vocal harmonies, and Ryan, influenced by The Beach Boys and the "Wall of Sound" technique that Phil Spector pioneered, wanted to explore the idea of "the multivocals" for which her music became known. According to Enya, "Angeles" from Shepherd Moons has roughly 500 vocals recorded individually and layered. Enya performs all vocals and the majority of instruments in her songs apart from musicians to play percussion, guitar, uilleann pipes, cornet, and double bass. Her early works including Watermark feature numerous keyboards, including the Yamaha KX88 Master, Yamaha DX7, Oberheim Matrix, Akai S900, Roland D-50, and Roland Juno-60, the latter a particular favourite of hers.
Numerous critics and reviewers classify Enya's albums as new age music and she has won four Grammy Awards in the category. However, Enya does not classify her music as part of the genre. When asked what genre she would classify her music, her reply was "Enya". Nicky Ryan commented on the new age comments: "Initially it was fine, but it's really not new age. Enya plays a whole lot of instruments, not just keyboards. Her melodies are strong and she sings a lot. So I can't see a comparison." The music video to "Caribbean Blue" and the art work to The Memory of Trees feature adapted works from artist Maxfield Parrish.
Enya has sung in ten languages in her career, including English, Irish, Latin, Welsh, Spanish, French and Japanese. She has recorded music influenced by works from fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien, including the instrumental "Lothlórien" from Shepherd Moons. For The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, she sang "May It Be" in English and Tolkien's fictional language Quenya, and sang "Aníron" in another of Tolkien's fictional languages, Sindarin. Her albums Amarantine and Dark Sky Island include songs sung in Loxian, a fictional language created by Roma, that has no official syntax. Its vocabulary was formed by Enya singing the song's notes to which Roma wrote their phonetic spelling.
Enya adopted a composing and songwriting method that has deviated little throughout her career. At the start of the recording process for an album she enters the studio, forgetting about her previous success, fame, and songs of hers that became hits. "If I did that", she said, "I'd have to call it a day". She then develops ideas on the piano, keeping note of any arrangement that can be worked on further. During her time writing, Enya works a five-day week, takes weekends off, and does not work on her music at home. With Irish as her first language, Enya initially records her songs in Irish as she can express "feeling much more directly" than English. After a period of time, Enya presents her ideas to Nicky to discuss what pieces work best, while Roma works in parallel to devise a lyric to the songs. Enya considered "Fallen Embers" from A Day Without Rain a perfect time when the lyrics reflect as to how she felt while writing the song. In 2008, she newly discovered her tendency to write "two or three songs" during the winter months, work on the arrangements and lyrics the following spring and summer, and then work on the next couple of songs when autumn arrives.
Live performances
Enya says that Warner Music and she "did not see eye to eye" initially as the label imagined her performing on stage "with a piano ... maybe two or three synthesiser players and that's it". Enya also explained that the time put into her studio albums causes her to "run overtime", leaving little time to plan for other such projects. She also expressed the difficulty in recreating her studio-oriented sound for the stage. In 1996, Ryan said Enya had received an offer worth almost £500,000 to perform a concert in Japan. In 2016, Enya spoke about the prospect of a live concert when she revealed talks with the Ryans during her three-year break after And Winter Came... (2008) to perform a show at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City that would be simulcast to cinemas worldwide. Before such an event could happen, Nicky suggested that she enter a studio and record "all the hits" live with an orchestra and choir to see how they would sound.
Enya has sung with live and lip synching vocals on various talk and music shows, events, and ceremonies throughout her career, usually during her worldwide press tours for each album. In December 1995, she performed "Anywhere Is" at a Christmas concert at Vatican City with Pope John Paul II in attendance, who met and thanked her for performing. In April 1996, Enya performed the same song during her surprise appearance at the fiftieth birthday celebration for Carl XVI Gustaf, the King of Sweden and a fan of Enya's. In 1997, Enya participated in a live Christmas Eve broadcast in London and flew to County Donegal afterwards to join her family for their annual midnight Mass choral performance, in which she participates each year. In March 2002, she performed "May It Be" with an orchestra at the year's Academy Awards ceremony. Enya and her sisters performed as part of the local choir Cor Mhuire in July 2005 at St. Mary's church in Gweedore during the annual Earagail Arts Festival.
Personal life
Since the 1980s, Enya has attracted the attention of several stalkers. In 1996, an Italian man who was seen in Dublin wearing a photograph of Enya around his neck stabbed himself outside her parents' pub after being ejected from the premises.
In 1991, a minor planet first discovered in 1978, 6433 Enya, was named after her. In 2017, a newly discovered species of fish, Leporinus enyae, found in the Orinoco River drainage area, was also named after her.
Enya is known for keeping a private lifestyle, saying: "The music is what sells. Not me, or what I stand for ... that's the way I've always wanted it". She is not married and is a surrogate aunt to the Ryans' two daughters. In 1991, she said: "I'm afraid of marriage because I'm afraid someone might want me because of who I am instead of because they loved me... I wouldn't go rushing into anything unexpected, but I do think a great deal about this". A relationship she had with one man ended in 1997, around the time when she considered taking time out of music to have a family but found she was putting pressure on herself over the matter and "gone the route I wanted to go". She declares herself as "more spiritual than religious... I derive from religion what I enjoy."
In 1997, Enya bought a Victorian Grade A listed castellated mansion in Killiney, County Dublin for IR£2.5 million at auction. Formerly known as Victoria Castle and Ayesha Castle, she renamed it Manderley Castle after the house from the novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. In all, she spent seven years renovating her property and also installing considerable security measures. In 2005, Enya spent around £250,000 on security improvements, covering gaps in the castle's outer wall and installing bollards and iron railings. In October of that year, two people broke into the home; one attacked and tied up one of her housekeepers and left with several of Enya's items after she had raised the alarm in her safe room. In 2009, during her three-year break from music, Enya purchased a home in southern France.
In 2006, Enya ranked third in a list of the wealthiest Irish entertainers with an estimated fortune of £75 million, and was number 95 in the Sunday Times Rich List of the richest 250 Irish people. In the 2016 edition, which listed its top 50 Music Millionaires of Britain and Ireland, she emerged as the richest female singer with a fortune of £91 million and ranked number 28 overall.
Awards and nominations
Billboard Music Awards
|-
| rowspan=4|2001
| rowspan=2|Enya
| Top Billboard 200 Artist - Female
|
|-
| Top New Age Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|A Day Without Rain
| Top Internet Album
|
|-
| rowspan=2|Top New Age Album
|
|-
| rowspan=3|2002
|
|-
| rowspan=2|Enya
| Top New Age Artist
|
|-
| Top Adult Contemporary Artist
|
Grammy Awards
|-
| rowspan=2|1990
| rowspan=2|"Orinoco Flow"
| Best New Age Performance
|
|-
| Best Music Video
|
|-
| 1993
| Shepherd Moons
| rowspan=3|Best New Age Album
|
|-
| 1997
| The Memory of Trees
|
|-
| 2002
| A Day Without Rain
|
|-
| 2003
| "May It Be"
| Best Song Written for Visual Media
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2007
| "Drifting"
| Best Pop Instrumental Performance
|
|-
| Amarantine
| rowspan=2|Best New Age Album
|
|-
| 2017
| Dark Sky Island
|
IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
!Ref.
|-
| 2001
| A Day Without Rain
| Top 10 Best Sales Foreign Albums
|
|
Japan Gold Disc Awards
|-
| 1990
| Enya
| New Artist of the Year
|
|-
| 1998
| Paint the Sky with Stars
| Best 3 Albums
|
|-
| 2001
| A Day Without Rain
| International Pop Album of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| Themes from Calmi Cuori Appassionati
| Best 3 Albums
|
|-
| 2006
| Amarantine
| International Album of the Year
|
World Music Awards
|-
| rowspan="2"|2001
| rowspan="7"| Enya
| World's Best Selling Irish Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=2|World's Best Selling New Age Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|2002
|
|-
| World's Best Selling Female Artist
|
|-
| rowspan=3|World's Best Selling Irish Artist
|
|-
| 2003
|
|-
| 2006
|
Žebřík Music Awards
!Ref.
|-
| 1993
| rowspan=3|Enya
| rowspan=3|Best International Female
|
|
|-
| 1997
|
|
|-
| 2005
|
|
Other Awards
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|1989
|rowspan="3"|Enya
| Brit Award for Best International Artist
|
|-
| Brit Award for Best International Female
|
|-
| IRMA Award for Best Female Irish Artist
|
|-
!scope="row"|1990
| "Orinoco Flow"
| BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|1992
|rowspan="3"|Enya
|rowspan="2"|Brit Award for Best International Solo Artist
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|1993
|
|-
| IRMA Award for Best Female Irish Artist
|
|-
| "Book of Days"
| Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=1|1998
| Enya, Nicky Ryan, and Roma Ryan
| Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|2001
| rowspan="4"| "May It Be"
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2001
| Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2002
| Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row"|2002
| Academy Award for Best Original Song
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="4"|2002
| rowspan="2"| Enya
| American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist
|
|-
| Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
|
|-
| rowspan=3|"Only Time"
| ECHO Award for Best Single of the Year (International)
|
|-
| BDSCertified Spin Awards – 300,000 Spins
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="1"|2003
| rowspan="1"|BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|2004
| rowspan=4|"I Don't Wanna Know"
| Vibe Award for R&B Song of the Year
|
|-
| MOBO Award for Best Single
|
|-
| MOBO Award for Best Ringtone
|
|-
!scope="row"|2005
| BMI Award for Citation of Achievement
|
|-
!scope="row"|2016
| Dark Sky Island
| ECHO Award for Best Female of the Year (International)
|
|-
|}
Discography
Studio albums
Enya (1987) (reissued in 1992 as The Celts)
Watermark (1988)
Shepherd Moons (1991)
The Memory of Trees (1995)
A Day Without Rain (2000)
Amarantine (2005)
And Winter Came... (2008)
Dark Sky Island (2015)
See also
Honorific nicknames in popular music
List of ambient music artists
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of best-selling music artists
List of highest-certified music artists in the United States
References
Sources
External links
1961 births
20th-century Irish women singers
21st-century Irish women singers
Celtic fusion musicians
Clannad members
Grammy Award winners
Irish women composers
Irish folk singers
Irish-language singers
Irish mezzo-sopranos
Irish pianists
Irish pop singers
Irish women singer-songwriters
Ivor Novello Award winners
Latin-language singers
Living people
Musicians from County Donegal
New-age musicians
People from Dalkey
People from Gweedore
Warner Music Group artists
Women in electronic music
World Music Awards winners
People from Killiney
20th-century women composers
21st-century women composers | true | [
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"Enya Patricia Brennan ( ; born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter and musician, known for pioneering modern Celtic and New-age music. Regarded as the \"Queen of New Age\", Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and second-best-selling overall behind U2.",
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"Early life and education"
] | C_8b166a2b96a4446b96aec0b2fd24bb06_1 | Where did Clinton grow up? | 1 | Where did Hillary Clinton grow up? | Hillary Clinton | Hillary Diane Rodham was born on October 26, 1947, at Edgewater Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Clinton was raised in a United Methodist family that first lived in Chicago. When she was three years old, her family moved to the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge. Her father, Hugh Rodham, was of English and Welsh descent, and managed a small but successful textile business. Her mother, Dorothy Howell, was a homemaker of Dutch, English, French Canadian (from Quebec), Scottish and Welsh descent. Clinton has two younger brothers, Hugh and Tony. As a child, Rodham was a favorite student among her teachers at the public schools that she attended in Park Ridge. She participated swimming and softball and earned numerous badges as a Brownie and a Girl Scout. She has often told a story of being inspired by U.S. efforts during the Space Race and sending a letter to NASA around 1961 asking what she could do to become an astronaut, only to be informed that women were not being accepted into the program. She attended Maine East High School, where she participated in the student council, the school newspaper and was selected for the National Honor Society. She was elected class vice president for her junior year, but then lost the election for class president for her senior year against two boys, one of whom told her that "you are really stupid if you think a girl can be elected president". For her senior year, she and other students were transferred to the then new Maine South High School, where she was a National Merit Finalist and was voted, "most likely to succeed". She graduated in 1965 in the top five percent of her class. Rodham's mother wanted her to have an independent, professional career, and her father, who was otherwise a traditionalist, felt that his daughter's abilities and opportunities should not be limited by gender. Rodham was raised in a politically conservative household, and she helped canvass Chicago's South Side at age 13 after the very close 1960 U.S. presidential election. She saw evidence of electoral fraud (such as voting list entries showing addresses that were empty lots) against Republican candidate Richard Nixon, and later volunteered to campaign for Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in the U.S. presidential election of 1964. Rodham's early political development was shaped most by her high school history teacher (like her father, a fervent anti-communist), who introduced her to Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative and by her Methodist youth minister (like her mother, concerned with issues of social justice), with whom she saw and afterwards briefly met, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. at a 1962 speech in Chicago's Orchestra Hall. CANNOTANSWER | first lived in Chicago. | Hillary Diane Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, lawyer, writer, and public speaker who served as the 67th United States secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, and as first lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001 as the wife of President Bill Clinton. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the party's nominee for president in the 2016 presidential election, becoming the first woman to win a presidential nomination by a major U.S. political party. Clinton won the popular vote in the election, making her the first woman to do so. However, she lost the Electoral College vote and thereby lost the presidential election.
Raised in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, Rodham graduated from Wellesley College in 1969 and earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1973. After serving as a congressional legal counsel, she moved to Arkansas and married future president Bill Clinton in 1975; the two had met at Yale. In 1977, Clinton co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. She was appointed the first female chair of the Legal Services Corporation in 1978 and became the first female partner at Little Rock's Rose Law Firm the following year. The National Law Journal twice listed her as one of the hundred most influential lawyers in America. Clinton was the first lady of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992. As the first lady of the United States, Clinton advocated for healthcare reform. In 1994, her major initiative—the Clinton health care plan—failed to gain approval from Congress. In 1997 and 1999, Clinton played a leading role in advocating the creation of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the Adoption and Safe Families Act, and the Foster Care Independence Act. Clinton advocated for gender equality at the 1995 UN conference on women. Her marital relationship came under public scrutiny during the Lewinsky scandal, which led her to issue a statement that reaffirmed her commitment to the marriage.
In 2000, Clinton was elected as the first female senator from New York and became the first First lady to simultaneously hold elected office, and then the first former First lady to serve in the Senate. She was re-elected in 2006 and chaired the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee from 2003 to 2007. During her Senate tenure, Clinton advocated for medical benefits for first responders whose health was damaged in the September 11 attacks. She supported the resolution authorizing the Iraq War in 2002 but opposed the surge of U.S. troops in 2007. In 2008, Clinton ran for president but was defeated by eventual winner Barack Obama in the Democratic primaries. Clinton was U.S. secretary of state in the first term of the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013. During her tenure, Clinton established the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review. She responded to the Arab Spring by advocating military intervention in Libya but was harshly criticized by Republicans for the failure to prevent or adequately respond to the 2012 Benghazi attack. Clinton helped to organize a diplomatic isolation and a regime of international sanctions against Iran in an effort to force it to curtail its nuclear program; this effort eventually led to the multinational JCPOA nuclear agreement in 2015. Her use of a private email server when she was Secretary of State was the subject of intense scrutiny; while no charges were filed against Clinton, the email controversy was the single most covered topic during the 2016 presidential election.
Clinton made a second presidential run in 2016. After winning the Democratic nomination, she ran in the general election with Virginia senator Tim Kaine as her running mate. Clinton lost the presidential election to Republican opponent Donald Trump in the Electoral College despite winning a plurality of the popular vote. Following her loss, she wrote her third memoir, What Happened, and launched Onward Together, a political action organization dedicated to fundraising for progressive political groups. Since January 2020, she has been the chancellor of Queen's University Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Early life and education
Early life
Hillary Diane Rodham was born on October 26, 1947, at Edgewater Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. She was raised in a United Methodist family who first lived in Chicago. When she was three years old, her family moved to the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge. Her father, Hugh Rodham, was of English and Welsh descent, and managed a small but successful textile business, which he had founded. Her mother, Dorothy Howell, was a homemaker of Dutch, English, French Canadian (from Quebec), Scottish, and Welsh descent. She had two younger brothers, Hugh and Tony.
As a child, Rodham was a favorite student among her teachers at the public schools she attended in Park Ridge. She participated in swimming and softball and earned numerous badges as a Brownie and a Girl Scout. She has often told the story of being inspired by U.S. efforts during the Space Race and sending a letter to NASA around 1961 asking what she could do to become an astronaut, only to be informed that women were not being accepted into the program. She attended Maine East High School, where she participated in the student council and school newspaper and was selected for the National Honor Society. She was elected class vice president for her junior year but then lost the election for class president for her senior year against two boys, one of whom told her that "you are really stupid if you think a girl can be elected president". For her senior year, she and other students were transferred to the then-new Maine South High School. There she was a National Merit Finalist and was voted "most likely to succeed." She graduated in 1965 in the top five percent of her class.
Rodham's mother wanted her to have an independent, professional career. Her father, who was otherwise a traditionalist, felt that his daughter's abilities and opportunities should not be limited by gender. She was raised in a politically conservative household, and she helped canvass Chicago's South Side at age 13 after the very close 1960 U.S. presidential election. She saw evidence of electoral fraud (such as voting list entries showing addresses that were empty lots) against Republican candidate Richard Nixon, and later volunteered to campaign for Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election.
Rodham's early political development was shaped mostly by her high school history teacher (like her father, a fervent anti-communist), who introduced her to Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative and by her Methodist youth minister (like her mother, concerned with issues of social justice), with whom she saw and afterwards briefly met, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. at a 1962 speech in Chicago's Orchestra Hall.
Wellesley College years
In 1965, Rodham enrolled at Wellesley College, where she majored in political science. During her first year, she was president of the Wellesley Young Republicans. As the leader of this "Rockefeller Republican"-oriented group, she supported the elections of moderate Republicans John Lindsay to mayor of New York City and Massachusetts attorney general Edward Brooke to the United States Senate. She later stepped down from this position. In 2003, Clinton would write that her views concerning the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War were changing in her early college years. In a letter to her youth minister at that time, she described herself as "a mind conservative and a heart liberal". In contrast to the factions in the 1960s that advocated radical actions against the political system, she sought to work for change within it.
By her junior year, Rodham became a supporter of the antiwar presidential nomination campaign of Democrat Eugene McCarthy. In early 1968, she was elected president of the Wellesley College Government Association, a position she held until early 1969. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Rodham organized a two-day student strike and worked with Wellesley's black students to recruit more black students and faculty. In her student government role, she played a role in keeping Wellesley from being embroiled in the student disruptions common to other colleges. A number of her fellow students thought she might some day become the first female president of the United States.
To help her better understand her changing political views, Professor Alan Schechter assigned Rodham to intern at the House Republican Conference, and she attended the "Wellesley in Washington" summer program. Rodham was invited by moderate New York Republican representative Charles Goodell to help Governor Nelson Rockefeller's late-entry campaign for the Republican nomination. Rodham attended the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami Beach. However, she was upset by the way Richard Nixon's campaign portrayed Rockefeller and by what she perceived as the convention's "veiled" racist messages, and she left the Republican Party for good.
Rodham wrote her senior thesis, a critique of the tactics of radical community organizer Saul Alinsky, under Professor Schechter. Years later, while she was the first lady, access to her thesis was restricted at the request of the White House and it became the subject of some speculation. The thesis was later released.
In 1969, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, with departmental honors in political science. After some fellow seniors requested that the college administration allow a student speaker at commencement, she became the first student in Wellesley College history to speak at the event. Her address followed that of the commencement speaker, Senator Edward Brooke. After her speech, she received a standing ovation that lasted seven minutes. She was featured in an article published in Life magazine, because of the response to a part of her speech that criticized Senator Brooke. She also appeared on Irv Kupcinet's nationally syndicated television talk show as well as in Illinois and New England newspapers. She was asked to speak at the 50th anniversary convention of the League of Women Voters in Washington, D.C., the next year. That summer, she worked her way across Alaska, washing dishes in Mount McKinley National Park and sliming salmon in a fish processing cannery in Valdez (which fired her and shut down overnight when she complained about unhealthy conditions).
Yale Law School and postgraduate studies
Rodham then entered Yale Law School, where she was on the editorial board of the Yale Review of Law and Social Action. During her second year, she worked at the Yale Child Study Center, learning about new research on early childhood brain development and working as a research assistant on the seminal work, Beyond the Best Interests of the Child (1973). She also took on cases of child abuse at Yale–New Haven Hospital, and volunteered at New Haven Legal Services to provide free legal advice for the poor. In the summer of 1970, she was awarded a grant to work at Marian Wright Edelman's Washington Research Project, where she was assigned to Senator Walter Mondale's Subcommittee on Migratory Labor. There she researched various migrant workers' issues including education, health and housing. Edelman later became a significant mentor. Rodham was recruited by political advisor Anne Wexler to work on the 1970 campaign of Connecticut U.S. Senate candidate Joseph Duffey. Rodham later crediting Wexler with providing her first job in politics.
In the spring of 1971, she began dating fellow law student Bill Clinton. During the summer, she interned at the Oakland, California, law firm of Treuhaft, Walker and Burnstein. The firm was well known for its support of constitutional rights, civil liberties and radical causes (two of its four partners were current or former Communist Party members); Rodham worked on child custody and other cases. Clinton canceled his original summer plans and moved to live with her in California; the couple continued living together in New Haven when they returned to law school. The following summer, Rodham and Clinton campaigned in Texas for unsuccessful 1972 Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern. She received a Juris Doctor degree from Yale in 1973, having stayed on an extra year to be with Clinton. He first proposed marriage to her following graduation, but she declined, uncertain if she wanted to tie her future to his.
Rodham began a year of postgraduate study on children and medicine at the Yale Child Study Center. In late 1973, her first scholarly article, "Children Under the Law", was published in the Harvard Educational Review. Discussing the new children's rights movement, the article stated that "child citizens" were "powerless individuals" and argued that children should not be considered equally incompetent from birth to attaining legal age, but instead that courts should presume competence on a case-by-case basis, except when there is evidence otherwise. The article became frequently cited in the field.
Marriage, family, legal career and first ladyship of Arkansas
From the East Coast to Arkansas
During her postgraduate studies, Rodham was staff attorney for Edelman's newly founded Children's Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and as a consultant to the Carnegie Council on Children. In 1974, she was a member of the impeachment inquiry staff in Washington, D.C., and advised the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate scandal. Under the guidance of Chief Counsel John Doar and senior member Bernard W. Nussbaum, Rodham helped research procedures of impeachment and the historical grounds and standards for it. The committee's work culminated with the resignation of President Richard Nixon in August 1974.
By then, Rodham was viewed as someone with a bright political future. Democratic political organizer and consultant Betsey Wright moved from Texas to Washington the previous year to help guide Rodham's career. Wright thought Rodham had the potential to become a future senator or president. Meanwhile, boyfriend Bill Clinton had repeatedly asked Rodham to marry him, but she continued to demur. After failing the District of Columbia bar exam and passing the Arkansas exam, Rodham came to a key decision. As she later wrote, "I chose to follow my heart instead of my head". She thus followed Clinton to Arkansas, rather than staying in Washington, where career prospects were brighter. He was then teaching law and running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in his home state. In August 1974, Rodham moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, and became one of only two female faculty members in the School of Law at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Early Arkansas years
At the university, Rodham taught classes in criminal law. She was considered a rigorous teacher who was tough with her grades. Rodham became the first director of a new legal aid clinic at the school, where she secured support from the local bar association and gained federal funding. As a court-appointed lawyer, Rodham was required to act as defense counsel to a man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl; after her request to be relieved of the assignment failed, Rodham used an effective defense and counseled her client to plead guilty to a lesser charge. She has called the trial a "terrible case". During her time in Fayetteville, Rodham and several other women founded the city's first rape crisis center.
In 1974, Bill Clinton lost an Arkansas congressional race, facing incumbent Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt. Rodham and Bill Clinton bought a house in Fayetteville in the summer of 1975 and she agreed to marry him. The wedding took place on October 11, 1975, in a Methodist ceremony in their living room. A story about the marriage in the Arkansas Gazette indicated that she decided to retain the name Hillary Rodham. Her motivation was threefold. She wanted to keep the couple's professional lives separate, avoid apparent conflicts of interest, and as she told a friend at the time, "it showed that I was still me". The decision upset both mothers, who were more traditional.
In 1976, Rodham temporarily relocated to Indianapolis to work as an Indiana state campaign organizer for the presidential campaign of Jimmy Carter. In November 1976, Bill Clinton was elected Arkansas attorney general, and the couple moved to the state capital of Little Rock. In February 1977, Rodham joined the venerable Rose Law Firm, a bastion of Arkansan political and economic influence. She specialized in patent infringement and intellectual property law while working pro bono in child advocacy; she rarely performed litigation work in court.
Rodham maintained her interest in children's law and family policy, publishing the scholarly articles "Children's Policies: Abandonment and Neglect" in 1977 and "Children's Rights: A Legal Perspective" in 1979. The latter continued her argument that children's legal competence depended upon their age and other circumstances and that in serious medical rights cases, judicial intervention was sometimes warranted. An American Bar Association chair later said, "Her articles were important, not because they were radically new but because they helped formulate something that had been inchoate." Historian Garry Wills would later describe her as "one of the more important scholar-activists of the last two decades". Conservatives said her theories would usurp traditional parental authority, would allow children to file frivolous lawsuits against their parents, and exemplified critical legal studies run amok.
In 1977, Rodham cofounded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a state-level alliance with the Children's Defense Fund. Later that year, President Jimmy Carter (for whom Rodham had been the 1976 campaign director of field operations in Indiana) appointed her to the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation. She held that position from 1978 until the end of 1981. From mid-1978 to mid-1980, she was the chair of that board, the first woman to hold the job. During her time as chair, funding for the corporation was expanded from $90 million to $300 million; subsequently, she successfully fought President Ronald Reagan's attempts to reduce the funding and change the nature of the organization.
Following her husband's November 1978 election as governor of Arkansas, Rodham became that state's first lady in January 1979. She would hold that title for twelve nonconsecutive years (1979–81, 1983–92). Clinton appointed his wife to be the chair of the Rural Health Advisory Committee the same year, where she secured federal funds to expand medical facilities in Arkansas's poorest areas without affecting doctors' fees.
In 1979, Rodham became the first woman to be made a full partner in Rose Law Firm. From 1978 until they entered the White House, she had a higher salary than her husband. During 1978 and 1979, while looking to supplement their income, Rodham engaged in the trading of cattle futures contracts; an initial $1,000 investment generated nearly $100,000 when she stopped trading after ten months. At this time, the couple began their ill-fated investment in the Whitewater Development Corporation real estate venture with Jim and Susan McDougal. Both of these became subjects of controversy in the 1990s.
On February 27, 1980, Rodham gave birth to the couple's only child, a daughter whom they named Chelsea. In November 1980, Bill Clinton was defeated in his bid for re-election.
Later Arkansas years
Two years after leaving office, Bill Clinton returned to his job as governor of Arkansas after winning the election of 1982. During her husband's campaign, Hillary began to use the name "Hillary Clinton", or sometimes "Mrs. Bill Clinton", to assuage the concerns of Arkansas voters; she also took a leave of absence from Rose Law to campaign for him full-time. During her second stint as the first lady of Arkansas, she made a point of using Hillary Rodham Clinton as her name. She was named chair of the Arkansas Education Standards Committee in 1983, where she sought to reform the state's court-sanctioned public education system. In one of the Clinton governorship's most important initiatives, she fought a prolonged but ultimately successful battle against the Arkansas Education Association to establish mandatory teacher testing and state standards for curriculum and classroom size. It became her introduction into the politics of a highly visible public policy effort. In 1985, she introduced Arkansas's Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youth, a program that helps parents work with their children in preschool preparedness and literacy. She was named Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983 and Arkansas Mother of the Year in 1984.
Clinton continued to practice law with the Rose Law Firm while she was the first lady of Arkansas. She earned less than the other partners, as she billed fewer hours but still made more than $200,000 in her final year there. The firm considered her a "rainmaker" because she brought in clients, partly thanks to the prestige she lent it and to her corporate board connections. She was also very influential in the appointment of state judges. Bill Clinton's Republican opponent in his 1986 gubernatorial re-election campaign accused the Clintons of conflict of interest because Rose Law did state business; the Clintons countered the charge by saying that state fees were walled off by the firm before her profits were calculated.
From 1982 to 1988, Clinton was on the board of directors, sometimes as chair, of the New World Foundation, which funded a variety of New Left interest groups. From 1987 to 1991, she was the first chair of the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession, created to address gender bias in the legal profession and induce the association to adopt measures to combat it. She was twice named by The National Law Journal as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America—in 1988 and 1991. When Bill Clinton thought about not running again for governor in 1990, Hillary Clinton considered running. Private polls were unfavorable, however, and in the end he ran and was re-elected for the final time.
Clinton was chairman of the board of the Children's Defense Fund and on the board of the Arkansas Children's Hospital's Legal Services (1988–92) In addition to her positions with nonprofit organizations, she also held positions on the corporate board of directors of TCBY (1985–92), Wal-Mart Stores (1986–92) and Lafarge (1990–92). TCBY and Wal-Mart were Arkansas-based companies that were also clients of Rose Law. Clinton was the first female member on Wal-Mart's board, added following pressure on chairman Sam Walton to name a woman to it. Once there, she pushed successfully for Wal-Mart to adopt more environmentally friendly practices. She was largely unsuccessful in her campaign for more women to be added to the company's management and was silent about the company's famously anti-labor union practices. According to Dan Kaufman, awareness of this later became a factor in her loss of credibility with organized labor, helping contribute to her loss in the 2016 election, where slightly less than half of union members voted for Donald Trump.
Bill Clinton presidential campaign of 1992
Clinton received sustained national attention for the first time when her husband became a candidate for the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination. Before the New Hampshire primary, tabloid publications printed allegations that Bill Clinton had engaged in an extramarital affair with Gennifer Flowers. In response, the Clintons appeared together on 60 Minutes, where Bill denied the affair, but acknowledged "causing pain in my marriage". This joint appearance was credited with rescuing his campaign. During the campaign, Hillary made culturally disparaging remarks about Tammy Wynette's outlook on marriage as described in her classic song "Stand by Your Man". Later in the campaign, she commented she could have chosen to be like women staying home and baking cookies and having teas, but wanted to pursue her career instead. The remarks were widely criticized, particularly by those who were, or defended, stay-at-home mothers. In retrospect, she admitted they were ill-considered. Bill said that in electing him, the nation would "get two for the price of one", referring to the prominent role his wife would assume. Beginning with Daniel Wattenberg's August 1992 The American Spectator article "The Lady Macbeth of Little Rock", Hillary's own past ideological and ethical record came under attack from conservatives. At least twenty other articles in major publications also drew comparisons between her and Lady Macbeth.
First Lady of the United States (1993–2001)
When Bill Clinton took office as president in January 1993, Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first lady. Her press secretary reiterated she would be using that form of her name. She was the first in this role to have a postgraduate degree and her own professional career up to the time of entering the White House. She was also the first to have an office in the West Wing of the White House in addition to the usual first lady offices in the East Wing. She was part of the innermost circle vetting appointments to the new administration. Her choices filled at least eleven top-level positions and dozens more lower-level ones. After Eleanor Roosevelt, Clinton was regarded as the most openly empowered presidential wife in American history.
Some critics called it inappropriate for the first lady to play a central role in public policy matters. Supporters pointed out that Clinton's role in policy was no different from that of other White House advisors, and that voters had been well aware she would play an active role in her husband's presidency. Bill Clinton's campaign promise of "two for the price of one" led opponents to refer derisively to the Clintons as "co-presidents" or sometimes use the Arkansas label "Billary". The pressures of conflicting ideas about the role of a first lady were enough to send Hillary Clinton into "imaginary discussions" with the also-politically active Eleanor Roosevelt. From the time she came to Washington, Hillary also found refuge in a prayer group of the Fellowship that featured many wives of conservative Washington figures. Triggered in part by the death of her father in April 1993, she publicly sought to find a synthesis of Methodist teachings, liberal religious political philosophy and Tikkun editor Michael Lerner's "politics of meaning" to overcome what she saw as America's "sleeping sickness of the soul"; that would lead to a willingness "to remold society by redefining what it means to be a human being in the twentieth century, moving into a new millennium".
Health care and other policy initiatives
In January 1993, President Clinton named Hillary to chair a task force on National Health Care Reform, hoping to replicate the success she had in leading the effort for Arkansas education reform. Unconvinced regarding the merits of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), she privately urged that passage of health care reform be given higher priority. The recommendation of the task force became known as the Clinton health care plan. This was a comprehensive proposal that would require employers to provide health coverage to their employees through individual health maintenance organizations. Its opponents quickly derided the plan as "Hillarycare" and it even faced opposition from some Democrats in Congress. Some protesters against the proposed plan became vitriolic and during a July 1994 bus tour to rally support for the plan, Clinton wore a bulletproof vest at times.
Failing to gather enough support for a floor vote in either the House or the Senate (although Democrats controlled both chambers), the proposal was abandoned in September 1994. Clinton later acknowledged in her memoir that her political inexperience partly contributed to the defeat but cited many other factors. The first lady's approval ratings, which had generally been in the high-50 percent range during her first year, fell to 44 percent in April 1994 and 35 percent by September 1994.
Republicans made the Clinton health care plan a major campaign issue of the 1994 midterm elections. They saw a net gain of 54 seats in the House election and eight in the Senate election, winning control of both; many analysts and pollsters found the plan to be a major factor in the Democrats' defeat, especially among independent voters. The White House subsequently sought to downplay Clinton's role in shaping policy. Opponents of universal health care would continue to use "Hillarycare" as a pejorative label for similar plans by others.
Along with senators Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch, Clinton was a force behind the passage of the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997. This federal bill gave state support to children whose parents could not provide them health coverage. She conducted outreach efforts on behalf of enrolling children in the program once it became law. She promoted nationwide immunization against childhood diseases and encouraged older women to get a mammogram for breast cancer screening, with coverage provided by Medicare. She successfully sought to increase research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the National Institutes of Health. She worked to investigate reports of an illness that affected veterans of the Gulf War, which became known as the Gulf War syndrome.
Enactment of welfare reform was a major goal of Bill Clinton's presidency. When the first two bills on the issue came from a Republican-controlled Congress lacking protections for people coming off welfare, however, Hillary urged him to veto the bills, which he did. A third version came up during his 1996 general election campaign that restored some of the protections but cut the scope of benefits in other areas; critics, including her past mentor Edelman, urged her to get the president to veto it again. But she decided to support the bill, which became the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, as the best political compromise available. This caused a rift with Edelman that Hillary later called "sad and painful".
Together with Attorney General Janet Reno, Clinton helped create the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice.
In 1997, she initiated and shepherded the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which she regarded as her greatest accomplishment as the first lady. In 1999, she was instrumental in the passage of the Foster Care Independence Act, which doubled federal monies for teenagers aging out of foster care.
As First Lady of the United States, Clinton was the host for various White House conferences. These included one on Child Care (1997), on Early Childhood Development and Learning (1997), and on Children and Adolescents (2000). She also hosted the first-ever White House Conference on Teenagers (2000), and the first-ever White House Conference on Philanthropy (1999).
Clinton traveled to 79 countries during this time, breaking the record for most-traveled first lady previously held by Pat Nixon. She did not hold a security clearance or attend National Security Council meetings, but played a role in U.S. diplomacy attaining its objectives. A March 1995 five-nation trip to South Asia, on behest of the U.S. State Department, without her husband, sought to improve relations with India and Pakistan. Clinton was troubled by the plight of women she encountered, but found a warm response from the people of the countries she visited, and gained a better relationship with the American press corps. The trip was a transformative experience for her and presaged her eventual career in diplomacy.
In a September 1995 speech before the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, Clinton argued forcefully against practices that abused women around the world and in the People's Republic of China itself. She declared, "it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights". Delegates from over 180 countries heard her say: "If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights, once and for all." In doing so, she resisted both internal administration and Chinese pressure to soften her remarks. The speech became a key moment in the empowerment of women and years later women around the world would recite Clinton's key phrases. During the late 1990s, she was one of the most prominent international figures to speak out against the treatment of Afghan women by the Taliban. She helped create Vital Voices, an international initiative sponsored by the U.S. to encourage the participation of women in the political processes of their countries. It and Clinton's own visits encouraged women to make themselves heard in the Northern Ireland peace process. In 1997, Clinton returned to Northern Ireland to deliver the inaugural Joyce McCartan lecture at the University of Ulster in honour of the community campaigner she had met during her visit in Belfast in 1995.
Whitewater and other investigations
Clinton was a subject of several investigations by the United States Office of the Independent Counsel, committees of the U.S. Congress, and the press.
The Whitewater controversy was the focus of media attention from its publication in a New York Times report during the 1992 presidential campaign and throughout her time as the first lady. The Clintons had lost their late-1970s investment in the Whitewater Development Corporation; at the same time, their partners in that investment, Jim and Susan McDougal operated Madison Guaranty, a savings and loan institution that retained the legal services of Rose Law Firm and may have been improperly subsidizing Whitewater losses. Madison Guaranty later failed, and Clinton's work at Rose was scrutinized for a possible conflict of interest in representing the bank before state regulators her husband had appointed. She said she had done minimal work for the bank. Independent counsels Robert Fiske and Kenneth Starr subpoenaed Clinton's legal billing records; she said she did not know where they were. After a two-year search, the records were found in the first lady's White House book room and delivered to investigators in early 1996. The delayed appearance of the records sparked intense interest and another investigation concerning how they surfaced and where they had been. Clinton's staff attributed the problem to continual changes in White House storage areas since the move from the Arkansas Governor's Mansion. On January 26, 1996, Clinton became the first spouse of a U.S. president to be subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury. After several Independent Counsels had investigated, a final report was issued in 2000 that stated there was insufficient evidence that either Clinton had engaged in criminal wrongdoing.
Scrutiny of the May 1993 firings of the White House Travel Office employees, an action that became known as "Travelgate", began with charges that the White House had used audited financial irregularities in the Travel Office operation as an excuse to replace the staff with friends from Arkansas. The 1996 discovery of a two-year-old White House memo led to the investigation being focused on whether Clinton had orchestrated the firings and whether the statements she made to investigators about her role in the firings were true. The 2000 final Independent Counsel report concluded she was involved in the firings and that she had made "factually false" statements, but that there was insufficient evidence that she knew the statements were false or knew that her actions would lead to firings, to prosecute her.
In March 1994, newspaper reports revealed that Clinton had earned spectacular profits from cattle futures trading in 1978–79. The press made allegations that Clinton had engaged in a conflict of interest and disguised a bribery. Several individuals analyzed her trading records, but no formal investigation was made and she was never charged with any wrongdoing.
An outgrowth of the "Travelgate" investigation was the June 1996 discovery of improper White House access to hundreds of FBI background reports on former Republican White House employees, an affair that some called "Filegate". Accusations were made that Clinton had requested these files and she had recommended hiring an unqualified individual to head the White House Security Office. The 2000 final Independent Counsel report found no substantial or credible evidence that Clinton had any role or showed any misconduct in the matter.
In early 2001, a controversy arose over gifts that were sent to the White House; there was a question whether the furnishings were White House property or the Clintons' personal property. During the last year of Bill Clinton's time in office, those gifts were shipped to the Clintons' private residence.
It Takes a Village release and tour
In 1996, Clinton presented a vision for American children in the book It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us. In January 1996, she went on a ten-city book tour and made numerous television appearances to promote the book, although she was frequently hit with questions about her involvement in the Whitewater and Travelgate controversies.
The book spent 18 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List that year, including three weeks at number one. By 2000, it had sold 450,000 copies in hardcover and another 200,000 in paperback.
Clinton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 1997 for the book's audio recording.
Response to Lewinsky scandal
In 1998, the Clintons' private concerns became the subject of much speculation when investigations revealed the president had engaged in an extramarital affair with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Events surrounding the Lewinsky scandal eventually led to the impeachment of the president by the House of Representatives; he was later acquitted by the senate. When the allegations against her husband were first made public, Hillary Clinton stated that the allegations were part of a "vast right-wing conspiracy". She characterized the Lewinsky charges as the latest in a long, organized, collaborative series of charges by Bill's political enemies rather than any wrongdoing by her husband. She later said she had been misled by her husband's initial claims that no affair had taken place. After the evidence of President Clinton's encounters with Lewinsky became incontrovertible, she issued a public statement reaffirming her commitment to their marriage. Privately, she was reported to be furious at him and was unsure if she wanted to remain in the marriage. The White House residence staff noticed a pronounced level of tension between the couple during this period.
Public reaction varied. Women variously admired her strength and poise in private matters that were made public. They sympathized with her as a victim of her husband's insensitive behavior and criticized her as being an enabler to her husband's indiscretions. They also accused her of cynically staying in a failed marriage as a way of keeping or even fostering her own political influence. In the wake of the revelations, her public approval ratings shot upward to around 70 percent, the highest they had ever been. In her 2003 memoir, she would attribute her decision to stay married to "a love that has persisted for decades" and add: "No one understands me better and no one can make me laugh the way Bill does. Even after all these years, he is still the most interesting, energizing, and fully alive person I have ever met."
Issues that surrounded the Lewinsky scandal left Bill Clinton with substantial legal bills. In 2014, Hillary said that she and Bill had left the White House "not only dead broke, but in debt". The statement may have been literally accurate but ignored the potentially enormous earning power of ex-presidents who give paid speeches after leaving office. The couple would also have the ability to secure loans from banks.
In October 2018, Hillary stated in an interview on CBS News Sunday Morning that Bill was right to not resign from office, and that Bill's affair with Lewinsky did not constitute an abuse of power because Lewinsky "was an adult".
Other books and initiatives
Other books published by Clinton when she was the first lady include Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets (1998) and An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History (2000). In 2001, she wrote an afterword to the children's book Beatrice's Goat.
She was the founding chair of Save America's Treasures, a nationwide effort matching federal funds with private donations to preserve and restore historic items and sites. This included the flag that inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the First Ladies National Historic Site in Canton, Ohio. She also published a weekly syndicated newspaper column titled "Talking It Over" from 1995 to 2000. It focused on her experiences and those of women, children and families she met during her travels around the world.
Traditional duties
She was head of the White House Millennium Council and hosted Millennium Evenings, a series of lectures that discussed futures studies, one of which became the first live simultaneous webcast from the White House. Clinton also created the first White House Sculpture Garden, located in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, which displayed large contemporary American works of art loaned by museums.
In the White House, Clinton placed donated handicrafts of contemporary American artisans, such as pottery and glassware, on rotating display in the state rooms. She oversaw the restoration of the Blue Room to be historically authentic to the period of James Monroe, and the Map Room to how it looked during World War II. Working with Arkansas interior decorator Kaki Hockersmith over an eight-year period, she oversaw extensive, privately funded redecoration efforts around the building, often trying to make it look brighter. These included changing of the Treaty Room and a presidential study to have a 19th-century look. Overall the redecoration brought mixed notices, with Victorian furnishings for the Lincoln Sitting Room being criticized the most. Clinton hosted many large-scale events at the White House, including a state dinner for visiting Chinese dignitaries, a New Year's Eve celebration at the turn of the 21st century, and a state dinner honoring the bicentennial of the White House in November 2000.
U.S. Senate (2001–2009)
2000 U.S. Senate election
When New York's long-serving U.S. senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan announced his retirement in November 1998, several prominent Democratic figures, including Representative Charles Rangel of New York, urged Clinton to run for his open seat in the Senate election of 2000. Once she decided to run, the Clintons purchased a home at 15 Old House Lane in Chappaqua, New York, north of New York City, in September 1999. She became the first wife of the president of the United States to be a candidate for elected office. Initially, Clinton expected to face Rudy Giuliani—the mayor of New York City—as her Republican opponent in the election. Giuliani withdrew from the race in May 2000 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer and matters related to his failing marriage became public. Clinton then faced Rick Lazio, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives who represented New York's 2nd congressional district. Throughout the campaign, opponents accused Clinton of carpetbagging, because she had never resided in New York State or participated in the state's politics before the 2000 Senate race.
Bill de Blasio was Clinton's campaign manager. She began her drive to the U.S. Senate by visiting all 62 counties in the state, in a "listening tour" of small-group settings. She devoted considerable time in traditionally Republican Upstate New York regions. Clinton vowed to improve the economic situation in those areas, promising to deliver 200,000 jobs to the state over her term. Her plan included tax credits to reward job creation and encourage business investment, especially in the high-tech sector. She called for personal tax cuts for college tuition and long-term care.
The contest drew national attention. During a September debate, Lazio blundered when he seemed to invade Clinton's personal space by trying to get her to sign a fundraising agreement. Their campaigns, along with Giuliani's initial effort, spent a record combined $90 million. Clinton won the election on November 7, 2000, with 55 percent of the vote to Lazio's 43 percent. She was sworn in as U.S. senator on January 3, 2001, and as George W. Bush was still 17 days away from being inaugurated as president after winning the 2000 presidential election, that meant from January 3–20, she simultaneously held the titles of First Lady and Senator – a first in U.S. history.
Publisher Simon & Schuster paid Clinton a near-record advance of $8 million in December 2000 for her autobiography, released in 2003, as Living History.
First term
Because Bill Clinton's term as president did not end until 17 days after she was sworn in, upon entering the Senate, Clinton became the first and so far only first lady to serve as a senator and first lady concurrently. Clinton maintained a low public profile and built relationships with senators from both parties when she started her term. She forged alliances with religiously inclined senators by becoming a regular participant in the Senate Prayer Breakfast. She sat on five Senate committees: Committee on Budget (2001–02), Committee on Armed Services (2003–09), Committee on Environment and Public Works (2001–09), Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (2001–09) and Special Committee on Aging.
She was also a member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (2001–09).
Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Clinton sought to obtain funding for the recovery efforts in New York City and security improvements in her state. Working with New York's senior senator, Chuck Schumer, she was instrumental in securing $21 billion in funding for the World Trade Center site's redevelopment. She subsequently took a leading role in investigating the health issues faced by 9/11 first responders. Clinton voted for the USA Patriot Act in October 2001. In 2005, when the act was up for renewal, she expressed concerns with the USA Patriot Act Reauthorization Conference Report regarding civil liberties. In March 2006, she voted in favor of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 that had gained large majority support.
Clinton strongly supported the 2001 U.S. military action in Afghanistan, saying it was a chance to combat terrorism while improving the lives of Afghan women who suffered under the Taliban government. Clinton voted in favor of the October 2002 Iraq War Resolution, which authorized President George W. Bush to use military force against Iraq.
After the Iraq War began, Clinton made trips to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit American troops stationed there. On a visit to Iraq in February 2005, Clinton noted that the insurgency had failed to disrupt the democratic elections held earlier and that parts of the country were functioning well. Observing that war deployments were draining regular and reserve forces, she co-introduced legislation to increase the size of the regular U.S. Army by 80,000 soldiers to ease the strain. In late 2005, Clinton said that while immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake, Bush's pledge to stay "until the job is done" was also misguided, as it gave Iraqis "an open-ended invitation not to take care of themselves". Her stance caused frustration among those in the Democratic Party who favored quick withdrawal. Clinton supported retaining and improving health benefits for reservists and lobbied against the closure of several military bases, especially those in New York. She used her position on the Armed Services Committee to forge close relationships with a number of high-ranking military officers. By 2014 and 2015 Clinton had fully reversed herself on the Iraq War Resolution, saying she "got it wrong" and the vote in support had been a "mistake".
Clinton voted against President Bush's two major tax cut packages, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Simon & Schuster released Living History: The book set a first-week sales record for a nonfiction work, went on to sell more than one million copies in the first month following publication, and was translated into twelve foreign languages. Clinton's audio recording of the book earned her a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Clinton voted against the 2005 confirmation of John Roberts as chief justice of the United States and the 2006 confirmation of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, filibustering the latter.
In 2005, Clinton called for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how hidden sex scenes showed up in the controversial video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Along with senators Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh, she introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act, intended to protect children from inappropriate content found in video games. In 2004 and 2006, Clinton voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment that sought to prohibit same-sex marriage.
Looking to establish a "progressive infrastructure" to rival that of American conservatism, Clinton played a formative role in conversations that led to the 2003 founding of former Clinton administration chief of staff John Podesta's Center for American Progress, shared aides with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, founded in 2003 and advised the Clintons' former antagonist David Brock's Media Matters for America, created in 2004. Following the 2004 Senate elections, she successfully pushed new Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid to create a Senate war room to handle daily political messaging.
2006 reelection campaign
In November 2004, Clinton announced she would seek a second Senate term. She easily won the Democratic nomination over opposition from antiwar activist Jonathan Tasini. The early frontrunner for the Republican nomination, Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, withdrew from the contest after several months of poor campaign performance. Clinton's eventual opponent in the general election was Republican candidate John Spencer, a former mayor of Yonkers. Clinton won the election on November 7, 2006, with 67 percent of the vote to Spencer's 31 percent, carrying all but four of New York's sixty-two counties. Her campaign spent $36 million for her reelection, more than any other candidate for Senate in the 2006 elections. Some Democrats criticized her for spending too much in a one-sided contest, while some supporters were concerned she did not leave more funds for a potential presidential bid in 2008. In the following months, she transferred $10 million of her Senate funds toward her presidential campaign.
Second term
Clinton opposed the Iraq War troop surge of 2007, for both military and domestic political reasons (by the following year, she was privately acknowledging the surge had been successful). In March of that year, she voted in favor of a war-spending bill that required President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq by a deadline; it passed almost completely along party lines but was subsequently vetoed by Bush. In May, a compromise war funding bill that removed withdrawal deadlines but tied funding to progress benchmarks for the Iraqi government passed the Senate by a vote of 80–14 and would be signed by Bush; Clinton was one of those who voted against it. She responded to General David Petraeus's September 2007 Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq by saying, "I think that the reports that you provide to us really require a willing suspension of disbelief."
In March 2007, in response to the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy, Clinton called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign. Regarding the high-profile, hotly debated immigration reform bill known as the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, Clinton cast several votes in support of the bill, which eventually failed to gain cloture.
As the financial crisis of 2007–08 reached a peak with the liquidity crisis of September 2008, Clinton supported the proposed bailout of the U.S. financial system, voting in favor of the $700 billion law that created the Troubled Asset Relief Program, saying it represented the interests of the American people. It passed the Senate 74–25.
In 2007, Clinton and Virginia senator Jim Webb called for an investigation into whether the body armor issued to soldiers in Iraq was adequate.
2008 presidential campaign
Clinton had been preparing for a potential candidacy for U.S. president since at least early 2003. On January 20, 2007, she announced via her website the formation of a presidential exploratory committee for the United States presidential election of 2008, stating: "I'm in and I'm in to win." No woman had ever been nominated by a major party for the presidency, and no first lady had ever run for president.
When Bill Clinton became president in 1993, a blind trust was established; in April 2007, the Clintons liquidated the blind trust to avoid the possibility of ethical conflicts or political embarrassments as Hillary undertook her presidential race. Later disclosure statements revealed the couple's worth was now upwards of $50 million. They had earned over $100 million since 2000—most of it coming from Bill's books, speaking engagements and other activities.
Throughout the first half of 2007, Clinton led candidates competing for the Democratic presidential nomination in opinion polls for the election. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and former senator John Edwards of North Carolina were her strongest competitors. The biggest threat to her campaign was her past support of the Iraq War, which Obama had opposed from the beginning. Clinton and Obama both set records for early fundraising, swapping the money lead each quarter.
At the end of October, Clinton fared poorly in her debate performance against Obama, Edwards, and her other opponents. Obama's message of change began to resonate with the Democratic electorate better than Clinton's message of experience.
In the first vote of 2008, she placed third in the January3 Iowa Democratic caucus behind Obama and Edwards. Obama gained ground in national polling in the next few days, with all polls predicting a victory for him in the New Hampshire primary. Clinton gained a surprise win there on January 8, narrowly defeating Obama. It was the first time a woman had won a major American party's presidential primary for the purposes of delegate selection. Explanations for Clinton's New Hampshire comeback varied but often centered on her being seen more sympathetically, especially by women, after her eyes welled with tears and her voice broke while responding to a voter's question the day before the election.
The nature of the contest fractured in the next few days. Several remarks by Bill Clinton and other surrogates, and a remark by Hillary Clinton concerning Martin Luther King Jr. and Lyndon B. Johnson, were perceived by many as, accidentally or intentionally, limiting Obama as a racially oriented candidate or otherwise denying the post-racial significance and accomplishments of his campaign. Despite attempts by both Hillary and Obama to downplay the issue, Democratic voting became more polarized as a result, with Clinton losing much of her support among African Americans. She lost by a two-to-one margin to Obama in the January 26, South Carolina primary, setting up, with Edwards soon dropping out, an intense two-person contest for the twenty-two February5 Super Tuesday states. Bill Clinton had made more statements attracting criticism for their perceived racial implications late in the South Carolina campaign, and his role was seen as damaging enough to her that a wave of supporters within and outside of the campaign said the former president "needs to stop". The South Carolina campaign had done lasting damage to Clinton, eroding her support among the Democratic establishment and leading to the prized endorsement of Obama by Ted Kennedy.
On Super Tuesday, Clinton won the largest states, such as California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, while Obama won more states; they almost evenly split the total popular vote. But Obama was gaining more pledged delegates for his share of the popular vote due to better exploitation of the Democratic proportional allocation rules.
The Clinton campaign had counted on winning the nomination by Super Tuesday and was unprepared financially and logistically for a prolonged effort; lagging in Internet fundraising as Clinton began loaning money to her campaign. There was continuous turmoil within the campaign staff, and she made several top-level personnel changes. Obama won the next eleven February contests across the country, often by large margins and took a significant pledged delegate lead over Clinton. On March 4, Clinton broke the string of losses by winning in Ohio among other places, where her criticism of NAFTA, a major legacy of her husband's presidency, helped in a state where the trade agreement was unpopular. Throughout the campaign, Obama dominated caucuses, for which the Clinton campaign largely ignored and failed to prepare. Obama did well in primaries where African Americans or younger, college-educated, or more affluent voters were heavily represented; Clinton did well in primaries where Hispanics or older, non-college-educated, or working-class white voters predominated. Behind in delegates, Clinton's best hope of winning the nomination came in persuading uncommitted, party-appointed superdelegates.
Following the final primaries on June 3, 2008, Obama had gained enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee. In a speech before her supporters on June 7, Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama. By campaign's end, Clinton had won 1,640 pledged delegates to Obama's 1,763; at the time of the clinching, Clinton had 286 superdelegates to Obama's 395, with those numbers widening to 256 versus 438 once Obama was acknowledged the winner. Clinton and Obama each received over 17 million votes during the nomination process with both breaking the previous record. Clinton was the first woman to run in the primary or caucus of every state and she eclipsed, by a very wide margin, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm's 1972 marks for most votes garnered and delegates won by a woman. Clinton gave a passionate speech supporting Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and campaigned frequently for him in fall 2008, which concluded with his victory over McCain in the general election on November 4. Clinton's campaign ended up severely in debt; she owed millions of dollars to outside vendors and wrote off the $13 million that she lent it herself. The debt was eventually paid off by the beginning of 2013.
Secretary of State (2009–2013)
Nomination and confirmation
In mid-November 2008, President-elect Obama and Clinton discussed the possibility of her serving as secretary of state in his administration. She was initially quite reluctant, but on November 20 she told Obama she would accept the position. On December 1, President-elect Obama formally announced that Clinton would be his nominee for secretary of state. Clinton said she did not want to leave the Senate, but that the new position represented a "difficult and exciting adventure". As part of the nomination and to relieve concerns of conflict of interest, Bill Clinton agreed to accept several conditions and restrictions regarding his ongoing activities and fundraising efforts for the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative.
The appointment required a Saxbe fix, passed and signed into law in December 2008. Confirmation hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee began on January 13, 2009, a week before the Obama inauguration; two days later, the committee voted 16–1 to approve Clinton. By this time, her public approval rating had reached 65 percent, the highest point since the Lewinsky scandal. On January 21, 2009, Clinton was confirmed in the full Senate by a vote of 94–2. Clinton took the oath of office of secretary of state, resigning from the Senate later that day. She became the first former first lady to be a member of the United States Cabinet.
First half of tenure
Clinton spent her initial days as secretary of state telephoning dozens of world leaders and indicating that U.S. foreign policy would change direction: "We have a lot of damage to repair." She advocated an expanded role in global economic issues for the State Department, and cited the need for an increased U.S. diplomatic presence, especially in Iraq where the Defense Department had conducted diplomatic missions. Clinton announced the most ambitious of her departmental reforms, the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, which establishes specific objectives for the State Department's diplomatic missions abroad; it was modeled after a similar process in the Defense Department that she was familiar with from her time on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The first such review was issued in late 2010. It called for the U.S. leading through "civilian power" as a cost-effective way of responding to international challenges and defusing crises. It also sought to institutionalize goals of empowering women throughout the world. A cause Clinton advocated throughout her tenure was the adoption of cookstoves in the developing world, to foster cleaner and more environmentally sound food preparation and reduce smoke dangers to women.
In a 2009 internal debate regarding the War in Afghanistan, Clinton sided with the military's recommendations for a maximal "Afghanistan surge", recommending 40,000 troops and no public deadline for withdrawal. She prevailed over Vice President Joe Biden's opposition but eventually supported Obama's compromise plan to send an additional 30,000 troops and tie the surge to a timetable for eventual withdrawal.
In March 2009, Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with a "reset button" symbolizing U.S. attempts to rebuild ties with that country under its new president, Dmitry Medvedev. The photo op was remembered for a mistranslation into Russian. The policy, which became known as the Russian reset, led to improved cooperation in several areas during Medvedev's time in office. Relations would worsen considerably, however, following Vladimir Putin's return to the position in 2012. In October 2009, on a trip to Switzerland, Clinton's intervention overcame last-minute snags and saved the signing of an historic Turkish–Armenian accord that established diplomatic relations and opened the border between the two long-hostile nations. In Pakistan, she engaged in several unusually blunt discussions with students, talk show hosts and tribal elders, in an attempt to repair the Pakistani image of the U.S. Beginning in 2010, she helped organize a diplomatic isolation and international sanctions regime against Iran, in an effort to force curtailment of that country's nuclear program; this would eventually lead to the multinational Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action being agreed to in 2015.
Clinton and Obama forged a good working relationship without power struggles; she was a team player within the administration and a defender of it to the outside and was careful that neither she nor her husband would upstage the president. Clinton formed an alliance with Secretary of Defense Gates as they shared similar strategic outlooks. Obama and Clinton both approached foreign policy as a largely non-ideological, pragmatic exercise. She met with him weekly but did not have the close, daily relationship that some of her predecessors had had with their presidents; moreover, certain key areas of policymaking were kept inside the White House or Pentagon. Nevertheless, the president had trust in her actions.
In a prepared speech in January 2010, Clinton drew analogies between the Iron Curtain and the free and unfree Internet. Chinese officials reacted negatively towards it. The speech garnered attention as the first time a senior American official had clearly defined the Internet as a key element of American foreign policy.
In July 2010, she visited South Korea, where she and Cheryl Mills worked to convince SAE-A, a large apparel subcontractor, to invest in Haiti despite the company's deep concerns about plans to raise the minimum wage. In the summer of 2010, the South Korean company signed a contract at the US State Department, ensuring that the Caracol Industrial Park would have a key tenant. This was part of the "build back better" program initiated by her husband, named UN Special Envoy to Haiti in 2009 after a tropical storm season caused $1 billion in damages to the island. In January 2011, Clinton traveled to Haiti in order to help pave the way for the election of Michel Martelly.
Second half of tenure
The 2011 Egyptian protests posed the most challenging foreign policy crisis yet for the Obama administration. Clinton's public response quickly evolved from an early assessment that the government of Hosni Mubarak was "stable", to a stance that there needed to be an "orderly transition [to] a democratic participatory government", to a condemnation of violence against the protesters. Obama came to rely upon Clinton's advice, organization and personal connections in the behind-the-scenes response to developments. As Arab Spring protests spread throughout the region, Clinton was at the forefront of a U.S. response that she recognized was sometimes contradictory, backing some regimes while supporting protesters against others.
As the Libyan Civil War took place, Clinton's shift in favor of military intervention aligned her with Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice and National Security Council figure Samantha Power. This was a key turning point in overcoming internal administration opposition from Defense Secretary Gates, security advisor Thomas E. Donilon and counterterrorism advisor John Brennan in gaining the backing for, and Arab and U.N. approval of, the 2011 military intervention in Libya. Secretary Clinton testified to Congress that the administration did not need congressional authorization for its military intervention in Libya, despite objections from some members of both parties that the administration was violating the War Powers Resolution. The State Department's legal advisor argued the same point when the Resolution's 60-day limit for unauthorized wars was passed (a view that prevailed in a legal debate within the Obama administration). Clinton later used U.S. allies and what she called "convening power" to promote unity among the Libyan rebels as they eventually overthrew the Gaddafi regime. The aftermath of the Libyan Civil War saw the country becoming a failed state. The wisdom of the intervention and interpretation of what happened afterward would become the subject of considerable debate.
During April 2011, internal deliberations of the president's innermost circle of advisors over whether to order U.S. special forces to conduct a raid into Pakistan against Osama bin Laden, Clinton was among those who argued in favor, saying the importance of getting bin Laden outweighed the risks to the U.S. relationship with Pakistan. Following the completion of the mission on May2 resulting in bin Laden's death, Clinton played a key role in the administration's decision not to release photographs of the dead al-Qaeda leader. During internal discussions regarding Iraq in 2011, Clinton argued for keeping a residual force of up to 10,000–20,000 U.S. troops there. (All of them ended up being withdrawn after negotiations for a revised U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement failed.)
In a speech before the United Nations Human Rights Council in December 2011, Clinton said that, "Gay rights are human rights", and that the U.S. would advocate for gay rights and legal protections of gay people abroad. The same period saw her overcome internal administration opposition with a direct appeal to Obama and stage the first visit to Burma by a U.S. secretary of state since 1955. She met with Burmese leaders as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and sought to support the 2011 Burmese democratic reforms. She also said the 21st century would be "America's Pacific century", a declaration that was part of the Obama administration's "pivot to Asia".
During the Syrian Civil War, Clinton and the Obama administration initially sought to persuade Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to engage popular demonstrations with reform. As government violence allegedly rose in August 2011, they called for him to resign from the presidency. The administration joined several countries in delivering non-lethal assistance to so-called rebels opposed to the Assad government and humanitarian groups working in Syria. During mid-2012, Clinton formed a plan with CIA Director David Petraeus to further strengthen the opposition by arming and training vetted groups of Syrian rebels. The proposal was rejected by White House officials who were reluctant to become entangled in the conflict, fearing that extremists hidden among the rebels might turn the weapons against other targets.
In December 2012, Clinton was hospitalized for a few days for treatment of a blood clot in her right transverse venous sinus. Her doctors had discovered the clot during a follow-up examination for a concussion she had sustained when she fainted and fell nearly three weeks earlier, as a result of severe dehydration from a viral intestinal ailment acquired during a trip to Europe. The clot, which caused no immediate neurological injury, was treated with anticoagulant medication, and her doctors have said she has made a full recovery.
Overall themes
Throughout her time in office (and mentioned in her final speech concluding it), Clinton viewed "smart power" as the strategy for asserting U.S. leadership and values. In a world of varied threats, weakened central governments and increasingly important nongovernmental entities, smart power combined military hard power with diplomacy and U.S. soft power capacities in global economics, development aid, technology, creativity and human rights advocacy. As such, she became the first secretary of state to methodically implement the smart power approach. In debates over use of military force, she was generally one of the more hawkish voices in the administration. In August 2011 she hailed the ongoing multinational military intervention in Libya and the initial U.S. response towards the Syrian Civil War as examples of smart power in action.
Clinton greatly expanded the State Department's use of social media, including Facebook and Twitter, to get its message out and to help empower citizens of foreign countries vis-à-vis their governments.
And in the Mideast turmoil, Clinton particularly saw an opportunity to advance one of the central themes of her tenure, the empowerment and welfare of women and girls worldwide. Moreover, in a formulation that became known as the "Hillary Doctrine", she viewed women's rights as critical for U.S. security interests, due to a link between the level of violence against women and gender inequality within a state, and the instability and challenge to international security of that state. In turn, there was a trend of women around the world finding more opportunities, and in some cases feeling safer, as the result of her actions and visibility.
Clinton visited 112 countries during her tenure, making her the most widely traveled secretary of state (Time magazine wrote that "Clinton's endurance is legendary".) The first secretary of state to visit countries like Togo and East Timor, she believed that in-person visits were more important than ever in the virtual age. As early as March 2011, she indicated she was not interested in serving a second term as secretary of state should Obama be re-elected in 2012; in December 2012, following that re-election, Obama nominated Senator John Kerry to be Clinton's successor. Her last day as secretary of state was February 1, 2013. Upon her departure, analysts commented that Clinton's tenure did not bring any signature diplomatic breakthroughs as some other secretaries of state had accomplished, and highlighted her focus on goals she thought were less tangible but would have more lasting effect. She has also been criticized for accepting millions in dollars in donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Foundation during her tenure as Secretary of State.
Benghazi attack and subsequent hearings
On September 11, 2012, the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked, resulting in the deaths of the U.S. Ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. The attack, questions surrounding the security of the U.S. consulate, and the varying explanations given afterward by administration officials for what had happened became politically controversial in the U.S. On October 15, Clinton took responsibility for the question of security lapses saying the differing explanations were due to the inevitable fog of war confusion after such events.
On December 19, a panel led by Thomas R. Pickering and Michael Mullen issued its report on the matter. It was sharply critical of State Department officials in Washington for ignoring requests for more guards and safety upgrades and for failing to adapt security procedures to a deteriorating security environment. It focused its criticism on the department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs; four State Department officials at the assistant secretary level and below were removed from their posts as a consequence. Clinton said she accepted the conclusions of the report and that changes were underway to implement its suggested recommendations.
Clinton gave testimony to two congressional foreign affairs committees on January 23, 2013, regarding the Benghazi attack. She defended her actions in response to the incident, and while still accepting formal responsibility, said she had had no direct role in specific discussions beforehand regarding consulate security. Congressional Republicans challenged her on several points, to which she responded. In particular, after persistent questioning about whether or not the administration had issued inaccurate "talking points" after the attack, Clinton responded with the much-quoted rejoinder, "With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided that they'd they go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator."
In November 2014, the House Intelligence Committee issued a report that concluded there had been no wrongdoing in the administration's response to the attack.
The House Select Committee on Benghazi was created in May 2014 and conducted a two-year investigation related to the 2012 attack. Its actions were often seen through the prism of domestic politics. This was especially the case in September 2015, when House majority leader Kevin McCarthy credited the Benghazi hearings with lowering Clinton's poll numbers, thereby contradicting the Republicans' previous talking points on the investigation. On October 22, 2015, Clinton testified at an all-day and nighttime session before the committee. The hearing included many heated exchanges between committee members and Clinton and among the committee members themselves. Clinton was widely seen as emerging largely unscathed from the hearing, because of what the media perceived as a calm and unfazed demeanor and a lengthy, meandering, repetitive line of questioning from the committee. The committee issued competing final reports in June 2016 that broke along partisan lines. The Republican report offered some new details about the attack but no new evidence of culpability by Clinton.
Email controversy
A controversy arose in March 2015, when the State Department's inspector general revealed that Clinton had used personal email accounts on a non-government, privately maintained server exclusively—instead of email accounts maintained on federal government servers—when conducting official business during her tenure as secretary of state. Some experts, officials, members of Congress and political opponents contended that her use of private messaging system software and a private server violated State Department protocols and procedures, and federal laws and regulations governing recordkeeping requirements. The controversy occurred against the backdrop of Clinton's 2016 presidential election campaign and hearings held by the House Select Committee on Benghazi.
In a joint statement released on July 15, 2015, the inspector general of the State Department and the inspector general of the intelligence community said their review of the emails found information that was classified when sent, remained so at the time of their inspection and "never should have been transmitted via an unclassified personal system". They also stated unequivocally this classified information should never have been stored outside of secure government computer systems. Clinton had said over a period of months that she kept no classified information on the private server that she set up in her house. Government policy, reiterated in the nondisclosure agreement signed by Clinton as part of gaining her security clearance, is that sensitive information can be considered as classified even if not marked as such. After allegations were raised that some of the emails in question fell into the so-called "born classified" category, an FBI probe was initiated regarding how classified information was handled on the Clinton server. The New York Times reported in February 2016 that nearly 2,100 emails stored on Clinton's server were retroactively marked classified by the State Department. Additionally, the intelligence community's inspector general wrote Congress to say that some of the emails "contained classified State Department information when originated". In May 2016, the inspector general of the State Department criticized her use of a private email server while secretary of state, stating that she had not requested permission for this and would not have received it if she had asked.
Clinton maintained she did not send or receive any emails from her personal server that were confidential at the time they were sent. In a Democratic debate with Bernie Sanders on February 4, 2016, Clinton said, "I never sent or received any classified material—they are retroactively classifying it." On July 2, 2016, Clinton stated: "Let me repeat what I have repeated for many months now, I never received nor sent any material that was marked classified."
On July 5, 2016, the FBI concluded its investigation. In a statement, FBI director James Comey said:
110 e-mails in 52 e-mail chains have been determined by the owning agency to contain classified information at the time they were sent or received. Eight of those chains contained information that was Top Secret at the time they were sent; 36 chains contained Secret information at the time; and eight contained Confidential information, which is the lowest level of classification. Separate from those, about 2,000 additional e-mails were "up-classified" to make them Confidential; the information in those had not been classified at the time the e-mails were sent.
Out of 30,000, three emails were found to be marked as classified, although they lacked classified headers and were marked only with a small "c" in parentheses, described as "portion markings" by Comey. He also said it was possible Clinton was not "technically sophisticated" enough to understand what the three classified markings meant. The probe found Clinton used her personal email extensively while outside the United States, both sending and receiving work-related emails in the territory of sophisticated adversaries. Comey acknowledged that it was "possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton's personal email account". He added that "[although] we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information". Nevertheless, Comey asserted that "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring criminal charges in this case, despite the existence of "potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information". The FBI recommended that the Justice Department decline to prosecute. On July 6, 2016, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch—who had met privately with Bill Clinton on June 27—confirmed that the probe into Clinton's use of private email servers would be closed without criminal charges.
On October 28, 2016, Comey notified Congress that the FBI had begun looking into newly discovered Clinton emails. Law enforcement officials said that while investigating allegedly illicit text messages from Anthony Weiner, husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin, to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina, they discovered emails related to Clinton's private server on a laptop computer belonging to Weiner. On November 6, Comey notified Congress that the FBI had not changed the conclusion it had reached in July. The notification was later cited by Clinton as a factor in her loss in the 2016 presidential election. The emails controversy received more media coverage than any other topic during the 2016 presidential election.
In September 2019, the State Department finished its internal review into 33,000 emails that Clinton had turned over. The investigation that began in 2016 found 588 violations of security procedures and found that Clinton's use of a personal email server increased the risk of compromising State Department information. In 91 cases, the culpability of sending classified information could be attributed to 38 people, but the review concluded there was "no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information".
Clinton Foundation, Hard Choices, and speeches
When Clinton left the State Department, she returned to private life for the first time in thirty years. She and her daughter joined her husband as named members of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation in 2013. There she focused on early childhood development efforts, including an initiative called Too Small to Fail and a $600 million initiative to encourage the enrollment of girls in secondary schools worldwide, led by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
In 2014, Clinton published a second memoir, Hard Choices, which focused on her time as secretary of state. , the book has sold about 280,000 copies.
Clinton also led the No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project, a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to gather and study data on the progress of women and girls around the world since the Beijing conference in 1995; its March 2015 report said that while "There has never been a better time in history to be born a woman ... this data shows just how far we still have to go." The foundation began accepting new donations from foreign governments, which it had stopped doing while she was secretary of state. However, even though the Clinton Foundation had stopped taking donations from foreign governments, they continued to take large donations from foreign citizens who were sometimes linked to their governments.
She began work on another volume of memoirs and made appearances on the paid speaking circuit. There she received $200,000–225,000 per engagement, often appearing before Wall Street firms or at business conventions. She also made some unpaid speeches on behalf of the foundation. For the fifteen months ending in March 2015, Clinton earned over $11 million from her speeches. For the overall period 2007–14, the Clintons earned almost $141 million, paid some $56 million in federal and state taxes and donated about $15 million to charity. , she was estimated to be worth over $30 million on her own, or $45–53 million with her husband.
Clinton resigned from the board of the foundation in April 2015, when she began her presidential campaign. The foundation said it would accept new foreign governmental donations from six Western nations only.
2016 presidential campaign
On April 12, 2015, Clinton formally announced her candidacy for the presidency in the 2016 election. She had a campaign-in-waiting already in place, including a large donor network, experienced operatives and the Ready for Hillary and Priorities USA Action political action committees and other infrastructure. Prior to her campaign, Clinton had claimed in an interview on NDTV in May 2012 that she would not seek the presidency again, but later wrote in her 2014 autobiography Hard Choices that she had not decided. The campaign's headquarters were established in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Her campaign focused on: raising middle class incomes, establishing universal preschool, making college more affordable and improving the Affordable Care Act. Initially considered a prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination, Clinton faced an unexpectedly strong challenge from democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. His longtime stance against the influence of corporations and the wealthy in American politics resonated with a dissatisfied citizenry troubled by the effects of income inequality in the U.S. and contrasted with Clinton's Wall Street ties.
In the initial contest of the primaries season, Clinton only very narrowly won the Iowa Democratic caucuses, held February 1, over an increasingly popular Sanders — the first woman to win them. In the first primary, held in New Hampshire on February 9, she lost to Sanders by a wide margin. Sanders was an increasing threat in the next contest, the Nevada caucuses on February 20, but Clinton managed a five-percentage-point win, aided by final-days campaigning among casino workers. Clinton followed that with a lopsided victory in the South Carolina primary on February 27. These two victories stabilized her campaign and showed an avoidance of the management turmoil that harmed her 2008 effort.
On March 1 Super Tuesday, Clinton won seven of eleven contests, including a string of dominating victories across the South buoyed, as in South Carolina, by African-American voters. She opened up a significant lead in pledged delegates over Sanders. She maintained this delegate lead across subsequent contests during the primary season, with a consistent pattern throughout. Sanders did better among younger, whiter, more rural and more liberal voters and states that held caucuses or where eligibility was open to independents. Clinton did better among older, black and Hispanic voter populations, and in states that held primaries or where eligibility was restricted to registered Democrats.
By June 5, 2016, she had earned enough pledged delegates and supportive superdelegates for the media to consider her the presumptive nominee. On June 7, after winning most of the states in the final major round of primaries, Clinton held a victory rally in Brooklyn becoming the first woman to claim the status of presumptive nominee for a major American political party. By campaign's end, Clinton had won 2,219 pledged delegates to Sanders' 1,832; with an estimated 594 superdelegates compared to Sanders' 47. She received almost 17 million votes during the nominating process, as opposed to Sanders' 13 million.
Clinton was formally nominated at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 26, 2016, becoming the first woman to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party. Her choice of vice presidential running mate, Senator Tim Kaine, was nominated by the convention the following day. Her opponents in the general election included Republican Donald Trump, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Jill Stein of the Green Party. Around the time of the convention, WikiLeaks released emails that suggested the DNC and the Clinton campaign tilted the primary in Clinton's favor.
Clinton held a significant lead in national polls over Trump throughout most of 2016. In early July, Trump and Clinton were tied in major polls following the FBI's conclusion of its investigation into her emails. FBI Director James Comey concluded Clinton had been "extremely careless" in her handling of classified government material. In late July, Trump gained his first lead over Clinton in major polls following a three to four percentage point convention bounce at the Republican National Convention. This was in line with the average bounce in conventions since 2004, although it was toward the low side by historical standards. Following Clinton's seven percentage point convention bounce at the Democratic National Convention, she regained a significant lead in national polls at the start of August. In fall 2016, Clinton and Tim Kaine published Stronger Together, which outlined their vision for the United States.
Clinton was defeated by Donald Trump in the November 8, 2016, presidential election. By the early morning hours of November 9, Trump had received 279 projected electoral college votes, with 270 needed to win; media sources proclaimed him the winner. Clinton then phoned Trump to concede and to congratulate him on his victory, whereupon Trump gave his victory speech. The next morning Clinton made a public concession speech in which she acknowledged the pain of her loss, but called on her supporters to accept Trump as their next president, saying: "We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead." Though Clinton lost the election by capturing only 232 electoral votes to Trump's 306, she won the popular vote by more than 2.8 million votes, or 2.1% of the voter base. She is the fifth presidential candidate in U.S. history to win the popular vote but lose the election. She won the most votes of any candidate who did not take office and the third-most votes of any candidate in history, though she did not have the greatest percentage win of a losing candidate. (Andrew Jackson won the popular vote by 10.4% but lost to John Quincy Adams).
On December 19, 2016, when electors formally voted, Clinton lost five of her initial 232 votes due to faithless electors, with three of her Washington votes being cast instead for Colin Powell, one being cast for Faith Spotted Eagle, and one in Hawaii being cast for Bernie Sanders.
Post-2016 election activities
In their respective roles as a former president and a former first lady, Bill and Hillary Clinton attended the inauguration of Donald Trump with their daughter, Chelsea. The morning of the inauguration Clinton wrote on her Twitter account, "I'm here today to honor our democracy & its enduring values, I will never stop believing in our country & its future."
In October 2017, Clinton was awarded an honorary doctorate from Swansea University, whose College of Law was renamed the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law in her honor. In October 2018, Hillary and Bill Clinton announced plans for a 13-city speaking tour in various cities in the United States and Canada between November 2018 and May 2019. Hillary was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in law (LLD) at Queen's University Belfast on October 10, 2018, after giving a speech on Northern Ireland and the impacts of Brexit at Whitla Hall, Belfast. In June 2018, Trinity College Dublin awarded her with an honorary doctorate (LLD). In September 2021 she was awarded an honorary doctorate of civil law by the University of Oxford.
A package that contained a pipe bomb was sent to Clinton's home in Washington, D.C., on October 24, 2018. It was intercepted by the Secret Service. Similar packages were sent to several other Democratic leaders and to CNN.
Political actions
Clinton delivered a St. Patrick's Day speech in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on March 17, 2017. In it, alluding to reports that she had being seen taking walks in the woods around Chappaqua following her loss in the presidential election, Clinton indicated her readiness to emerge from "the woods" and become politically active again. However, the following month she confirmed she would not seek public office again. She reiterated her comments in March 2019 and stated she would not run for president in 2020.
In May 2017, Clinton announced the formation of Onward Together, a new political action committee that she wrote is "dedicated to advancing the progressive vision that earned nearly 66 million votes in the last election". During 2017, she spoke out on a number of occasions against Republican plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with the American Health Care Act, which she called "a disastrous bill" and a "shameful failure of policy & morality by GOP". In response to the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, Clinton said the U.S. should take out Bashar al-Assad's airfields and thereby "prevent him from being able to use them to bomb innocent people and drop sarin gas on them".
On April 28, 2020, Clinton endorsed the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, for president in the 2020 election and she addressed the 2020 Democratic National Convention in August. On October 28, 2020, Clinton announced that she was on the 2020 Democratic slate of electors for the state of New York. After Biden and Kamala Harris won New York State, thereby electing the Democratic elector slate, Clinton and her husband served as members of the 2020 United States Electoral College and cast the first of the state's electoral votes for Biden and Harris.
Comments on President Trump
On May 2, 2017, Clinton said Trump's use of Twitter "doesn't work" when pursuing important negotiations. "Kim Jong Un ... [is] always interested in trying to get Americans to come to negotiate to elevate their status and their position". Negotiations with North Korea should not take place without "a broader strategic framework to try to get China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, to put the kind of pressure on the regime that will finally bring them to the negotiating table with some kind of realistic prospect for change." While delivering the commencement speech at her alma mater Wellesley College on May 26, Clinton asserted President Trump's 2018 budget proposal was "a con" for underfunding domestic programs. On June 1, when President Trump announced the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, Clinton tweeted that it was a "historic mistake".
On September 29, 2019, in an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, Clinton described Trump as a "threat" to the country's standing in the world; an "illegitimate president", despite having won the election; and a "corrupt human tornado".
Comments on politics during the Biden administration
In March 2021, Clinton voiced her support for the United States Senate to abolish the Senate filibuster if it proves necessary to do so in order to pass voting rights legislation. Clinton called the Senate filibuster "another Jim Crow relic".
Writing career
Clinton's third memoir, What Happened, an account of her loss in the 2016 election, was released on September 12, 2017. A book tour and a series of interviews and personal appearances were arranged for the launch. What Happened sold 300,000 copies in its first week, less than her 2003 memoir, Living History, but triple the first-week sales of her previous memoir, 2014's Hard Choices. Simon & Schuster announced that What Happened had sold more e-books in its first-week than any nonfiction e-book since 2010. As of December 10, 2017, the book had sold 448,947 hardcover copies.
An announcement was made in February 2017 that efforts were under way to render her 1996 book It Takes a Village as a picture book. Marla Frazee, a two-time winner of the Caldecott Medal, was announced as the illustrator. Clinton had worked on it with Frazee during her 2016 presidential election campaign. The result was published on the same day of publication as What Happened. The book is aimed at preschool-aged children, although a few messages are more likely better understood by adults.
In October 2019, The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience, a book Clinton co-wrote with her daughter Chelsea, was published. In February 2021, Clinton announced that she was co-writing her first fiction book with Louise Penny. The book, a political mystery thriller, is titled State of Terror and was released in October 2021.
Clinton has also written occasional op-eds in the years since her 2016 election defeat. In September 2018, The Atlantic published an article written by Clinton titled "American Democracy Is In Crisis". In April 2019, The Washington Post published an op-ed by Clinton calling for congress to be, "deliberate, fair, and fearless" in responding to the Mueller Report. In their November/December 2020 issue, Foreign Affairs published a piece by Clinton titled "A National Security Reckoning". On January 11, 2021, following the January 6 storming of the United States Capitol, an op-ed by Clinton titled "Trump should be impeached. But that alone won’t remove white supremacy from America." was published in The Washington Post. In July 2021, Democracy Docket published an op-ed by Clinton on Republican efforts to restrict voting following the 2020 presidential election.
Media ventures
Clinton collaborated with director Nanette Burstein on the documentary film Hillary, which was released on Hulu in March 2020.
On September 29, 2020, Clinton launched an interview podcast in collaboration with iHeartRadio titled You and Me Both.
Clinton is slated to be an executive producer of a drama series about the fight for women's suffrage in the United States titled The Woman's Hour. The series, based upon Elaine Weiss' book of the same name, will air on The CW.
Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast
On January 2, 2020, it was announced that Clinton would take up the position of Chancellor at Queen's University Belfast. Clinton became the 11th and first female chancellor of the university, filling the position that had been vacant since 2018 after the death of her predecessor, Thomas J. Moran. Commenting on taking up the position, she said that "the university is making waves internationally for its research and impact and I am proud to be an ambassador and help grow its reputation for excellence". Queen's Pro-Chancellor Stephen Prenter said that Clinton on her appointment "will be an incredible advocate for Queen's" who can act as an "inspirational role model". However, her inauguration was protested by some students.
Political positions
Using her Senate votes, several organizations have attempted to measure Clinton's place on the political spectrum scientifically. National Journals 2004 study of roll-call votes assigned Clinton a rating of 30 on the political spectrum, relative to the Senate at the time, with a rating of1 being most liberal and 100 being most conservative. National Journals subsequent rankings placed her as the 32nd-most liberal senator in 2006 and 16th-most liberal senator in 2007. A 2004 analysis by political scientists Joshua D. Clinton of Princeton University and Simon Jackman and Doug Rivers of Stanford University found her likely to be the sixth-to-eighth-most liberal senator. The Almanac of American Politics, edited by Michael Barone and Richard E. Cohen, rated her votes from 2003 through 2006 as liberal or conservative, with 100 as the highest rating, in three areas: Economic, Social and Foreign. Averaged for the four years, the ratings are: Economic = 75 liberal, 23 conservative; Social = 83 liberal, 6 conservative; Foreign = 66 liberal, 30 conservative. Total average = 75 liberal, 20 conservative. According to FiveThirtyEights measure of political ideology, "Clinton was one of the most liberal members during her time in the Senate."
Organizations have also attempted to provide more recent assessments of Clinton after she reentered elective politics in 2015. Based on her stated positions from the 1990s to the present, On the Issues places her in the "Left Liberal" region on their two-dimensional grid of social and economic ideologies, with a social score of 80 on a scale of zero more-restrictive to 100 less-government stances, with an economic score of ten on a scale of zero more-restrictive to 100 less-government stances. Crowdpac, which does a data aggregation of campaign contributions, votes and speeches, gives her a 6.5L rating on a one-dimensional left-right scale from 10L (most liberal) to 10C (most conservative).
In March 2016, Clinton laid out a detailed economic plan, which The New York Times called "optimistic" and "wide-ranging". Basing her economic philosophy on inclusive capitalism, Clinton proposed a "clawback" that would rescind tax relief and other benefits for companies that move jobs overseas; providing incentives for companies that share profits with employees, communities and the environment, rather than focusing on short-term profits to increase stock value and rewarding shareholders; increasing collective bargaining rights; and placing an "exit tax" on companies that move their headquarters out of America to pay a lower tax rate overseas. Clinton currently opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), though previously described it as "the gold standard" of trade deals. She supports the U.S. Export-Import Bank and holds that "any trade deal has to produce jobs and raise wages and increase prosperity and protect our security". As senator (2001–2009), her record on trade was mixed; she voted in favor of some trade agreements but not others.
Given the climate of unlimited campaign contributions following the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, Clinton called for a constitutional amendment to limit "unaccountable money" in politics. In July 2016, she "committed" to introducing a U.S. constitutional amendment that would result in overturning the 2010 Citizens United decision. On December 7, 2015, Clinton presented her detailed plans for regulating Wall Street financial activities in the New York Times.
Accepting the scientific consensus on climate change, Clinton supports cap-and-trade, and opposed the Keystone XL pipeline. She supported "equal pay for equal work", to address current shortfalls in how much women are paid to do the same jobs men do. Clinton has explicitly focused on family issues and supports universal preschool. These programs would be funded by proposing tax increases on the wealthy, including a "fair share surcharge". Clinton supported the Affordable Care Act and would have added a "public option" that competed with private insurers and enabled people "50 or 55 and up" to buy into Medicare.
On LGBT rights, she supports the right to same-sex marriage, a position that has changed throughout her political career. In 2000, she was against such marriages altogether. In 2006, she said only that she would support a state's decision to permit same-sex marriages, but opposed federally amending the Constitution to permit same-sex marriage. While running for president in 2007, she again reiterated her opposition to same-sex marriage, although expressed her support of civil unions. 2013 marked the first time that Clinton expressed support for a national right to same-sex marriage. In 2000, she was the first spouse of a US president to march in an LGBT pride parade. In 2016, she was the first major-party presidential candidate ever to write an op-ed for an LGBT newspaper (Philadelphia Gay News).
Clinton held that allowing undocumented immigrants to have a path to citizenship "s at its heart a family issue", and expressed support for Obama's Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program, which would allow up to five million undocumented immigrants to gain deferral of deportation and authorization to legally work in the United States. However, in 2014, Clinton stated that unaccompanied children crossing the border "should be sent back." She opposed and criticized Trump's call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.
Expressing support for Common Core she said, "The really unfortunate argument that's been going on around Common Core, it's very painful because the Common Core started off as a bipartisan effort. It was actually nonpartisan. It wasn't politicized ... Iowa has had a testing system based on a core curriculum for a really long time. And you see the value of it, you understand why that helps you organize your whole education system. And a lot of states unfortunately haven't had that and so don't understand the value of a core, in this sense a Common Core."
On foreign affairs, Clinton voted in favor of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in October 2002, a vote she later "regretted". She favored arming Syria's rebel fighters in 2012 and has called for the removal of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. She supported the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and the NATO-led military intervention in Libya to oust former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Clinton is in favor of maintaining American influence in the Middle East. She has told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, "America can't ever be neutral when it comes to Israel's security and survival." Clinton expressed support for Israel's right to defend itself during the 2006 Lebanon War and 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. In a 2017 interview, after a poison gas attack in Syria, Clinton said that she had favored more aggressive action against Bashar al-Assad: "I think we should have been more willing to confront Assad. I really believe we should have and still should take out his air fields and prevent him from being able to use them to bomb innocent people and drop sarin gas on them."
In 2000, Clinton advocated for the elimination of the electoral college. She promised to co-sponsor legislation that would abolish it, resulting in the direct election of the president. She reiterated her position against the Electoral College as she cast her vote as an elector in the electoral college for Joe Biden in 2020.
Religious views
Clinton has been a lifelong Methodist, and has been part of United Methodist Church congregations throughout her life. She has publicly discussed her Christian faith on several occasions, although seldom while campaigning. Professor Paul Kengor, author of God and Hillary Clinton: A Spiritual Life, has suggested that Clinton's political positions are rooted in her faith. She often expresses a maxim often attributed to John Wesley: "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can."
Cultural and political image
Over a hundred books and scholarly works have been written about Clinton. A 2006 survey by the New York Observer found "a virtual cottage industry" of "anti-Clinton literature" put out by Regnery Publishing and other conservative imprints. Some titles include Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House, Hillary's Scheme: Inside the Next Clinton's Ruthless Agenda to Take the White House and Can She Be Stopped?: Hillary Clinton Will Be the Next President of the United States Unless ... Books praising Clinton did not sell nearly as well (other than her memoirs and those of her husband). When she ran for Senate in 2000, several fundraising groups such as Save Our Senate and the Emergency Committee to Stop Hillary Rodham Clinton sprang up to oppose her. Don Van Natta found that Republican and conservative groups viewed her as a reliable "bogeyman" to mention in fundraising letters, on a par with Ted Kennedy, and the equivalent of Democratic and liberal appeals mentioning Newt Gingrich.
Clinton has also been featured in the media and popular culture in a wide spectrum of perspectives. In 1995, writer Todd S. Purdum of The New York Times characterized Clinton as a Rorschach test, an assessment echoed at the time by feminist writer and activist Betty Friedan, who said, "Coverage of Hillary Clinton is a massive Rorschach test of the evolution of women in our society." She has been the subject of many satirical impressions on Saturday Night Live, beginning with her time as the first lady. She has made guest appearances on the show herself, in 2008 and in 2015, to face-off with her doppelgängers. Jonathan Mann wrote songs about her including "The Hillary Shimmy Song", which went viral.
She has often been described in the popular media as a polarizing figure, though some argue otherwise. In the early stages of her 2008 presidential campaign, a Time magazine cover showed a large picture of her with two checkboxes labeled "Love Her", "Hate Her". Mother Jones titled its profile of her "Harpy, Hero, Heretic: Hillary". Following Clinton's "choked up moment" and related incidents in the run-up to the January 2008 New Hampshire primary, both The New York Times and Newsweek found that discussion of gender's role in the campaign had moved into the national political discourse. Newsweek editor Jon Meacham summed up the relationship between Clinton and the American public by saying the New Hampshire events, "brought an odd truth to light: though Hillary Rodham Clinton has been on the periphery or in the middle of national life for decades ... she is one of the most recognizable but least understood figures in American politics".
Once she became secretary of state, Clinton's image seemed to improve dramatically among the American public and become one of a respected world figure. Her favorability ratings dropped, however, after she left office and began to be viewed in the context of partisan politics once more. By September 2015, with her 2016 presidential campaign underway and beset by continued reports regarding her private email usage at the State Department, her ratings had slumped to some of her lowest levels ever. In March 2016, she acknowledged that: "I'm not a natural politician, in case you haven't noticed."
Electoral history
2000 Senate election
2006 Senate election
2008 presidential election
2016 presidential election
Books and recordings
It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us (1996).Clinton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 1997 for the book's audio recording.
Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets (1998)
An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History (2000)
Living History (Simon & Schuster, 2003). The book set a first-week sales record for a nonfiction work, went on to sell more than one million copies in the first month following publication, and was translated into twelve foreign languages.
Hard Choices (2014). The book has sold about 280,000 copies.
With Tim Kaine, Stronger Together (2016)
What Happened (Simon & Schuster, 2017, in print, e-book, and audio read by the author)
With Chelsea Clinton, The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience (Simon & Schuster, 2019, in print, e-book, and audio)
With Louise Penny, State of Terror is set to release on October 12, 2021, and be published by Simon & Schuster & St. Martin's Press.
Ancestry
See also
2016 United States presidential election timeline
List of female United States Cabinet members
Women in the United States Senate
Notes
References
Citations
Sources cited
External links
Official
Clinton Foundation
State Department Biography
Media coverage
Other
Hillary Clinton's file at Politifact
1947 births
Living people
2020 United States presidential electors
20th-century American lawyers
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20th-century American women politicians
20th-century American women writers
20th-century Methodists
21st-century American diplomats
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21st-century American politicians
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Activists from New York (state)
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American people of Dutch descent
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American political writers
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American women's rights activists
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Articles containing video clips
Candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election
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Children's rights activists
Bill Clinton
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"Hillary Diane Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, lawyer, writer, and public speaker who served as the 67th United States secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, and as first lady of the United States from 1993 to 2... |
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"Where did Clinton grow up?",
"first lived in Chicago."
] | C_8b166a2b96a4446b96aec0b2fd24bb06_1 | Where did she live after Chicago? | 2 | Where did Hillary Clinton live after Chicago? | Hillary Clinton | Hillary Diane Rodham was born on October 26, 1947, at Edgewater Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Clinton was raised in a United Methodist family that first lived in Chicago. When she was three years old, her family moved to the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge. Her father, Hugh Rodham, was of English and Welsh descent, and managed a small but successful textile business. Her mother, Dorothy Howell, was a homemaker of Dutch, English, French Canadian (from Quebec), Scottish and Welsh descent. Clinton has two younger brothers, Hugh and Tony. As a child, Rodham was a favorite student among her teachers at the public schools that she attended in Park Ridge. She participated swimming and softball and earned numerous badges as a Brownie and a Girl Scout. She has often told a story of being inspired by U.S. efforts during the Space Race and sending a letter to NASA around 1961 asking what she could do to become an astronaut, only to be informed that women were not being accepted into the program. She attended Maine East High School, where she participated in the student council, the school newspaper and was selected for the National Honor Society. She was elected class vice president for her junior year, but then lost the election for class president for her senior year against two boys, one of whom told her that "you are really stupid if you think a girl can be elected president". For her senior year, she and other students were transferred to the then new Maine South High School, where she was a National Merit Finalist and was voted, "most likely to succeed". She graduated in 1965 in the top five percent of her class. Rodham's mother wanted her to have an independent, professional career, and her father, who was otherwise a traditionalist, felt that his daughter's abilities and opportunities should not be limited by gender. Rodham was raised in a politically conservative household, and she helped canvass Chicago's South Side at age 13 after the very close 1960 U.S. presidential election. She saw evidence of electoral fraud (such as voting list entries showing addresses that were empty lots) against Republican candidate Richard Nixon, and later volunteered to campaign for Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in the U.S. presidential election of 1964. Rodham's early political development was shaped most by her high school history teacher (like her father, a fervent anti-communist), who introduced her to Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative and by her Methodist youth minister (like her mother, concerned with issues of social justice), with whom she saw and afterwards briefly met, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. at a 1962 speech in Chicago's Orchestra Hall. CANNOTANSWER | Chicago suburb of Park Ridge. | Hillary Diane Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, lawyer, writer, and public speaker who served as the 67th United States secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, and as first lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001 as the wife of President Bill Clinton. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the party's nominee for president in the 2016 presidential election, becoming the first woman to win a presidential nomination by a major U.S. political party. Clinton won the popular vote in the election, making her the first woman to do so. However, she lost the Electoral College vote and thereby lost the presidential election.
Raised in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, Rodham graduated from Wellesley College in 1969 and earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1973. After serving as a congressional legal counsel, she moved to Arkansas and married future president Bill Clinton in 1975; the two had met at Yale. In 1977, Clinton co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. She was appointed the first female chair of the Legal Services Corporation in 1978 and became the first female partner at Little Rock's Rose Law Firm the following year. The National Law Journal twice listed her as one of the hundred most influential lawyers in America. Clinton was the first lady of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992. As the first lady of the United States, Clinton advocated for healthcare reform. In 1994, her major initiative—the Clinton health care plan—failed to gain approval from Congress. In 1997 and 1999, Clinton played a leading role in advocating the creation of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the Adoption and Safe Families Act, and the Foster Care Independence Act. Clinton advocated for gender equality at the 1995 UN conference on women. Her marital relationship came under public scrutiny during the Lewinsky scandal, which led her to issue a statement that reaffirmed her commitment to the marriage.
In 2000, Clinton was elected as the first female senator from New York and became the first First lady to simultaneously hold elected office, and then the first former First lady to serve in the Senate. She was re-elected in 2006 and chaired the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee from 2003 to 2007. During her Senate tenure, Clinton advocated for medical benefits for first responders whose health was damaged in the September 11 attacks. She supported the resolution authorizing the Iraq War in 2002 but opposed the surge of U.S. troops in 2007. In 2008, Clinton ran for president but was defeated by eventual winner Barack Obama in the Democratic primaries. Clinton was U.S. secretary of state in the first term of the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013. During her tenure, Clinton established the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review. She responded to the Arab Spring by advocating military intervention in Libya but was harshly criticized by Republicans for the failure to prevent or adequately respond to the 2012 Benghazi attack. Clinton helped to organize a diplomatic isolation and a regime of international sanctions against Iran in an effort to force it to curtail its nuclear program; this effort eventually led to the multinational JCPOA nuclear agreement in 2015. Her use of a private email server when she was Secretary of State was the subject of intense scrutiny; while no charges were filed against Clinton, the email controversy was the single most covered topic during the 2016 presidential election.
Clinton made a second presidential run in 2016. After winning the Democratic nomination, she ran in the general election with Virginia senator Tim Kaine as her running mate. Clinton lost the presidential election to Republican opponent Donald Trump in the Electoral College despite winning a plurality of the popular vote. Following her loss, she wrote her third memoir, What Happened, and launched Onward Together, a political action organization dedicated to fundraising for progressive political groups. Since January 2020, she has been the chancellor of Queen's University Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Early life and education
Early life
Hillary Diane Rodham was born on October 26, 1947, at Edgewater Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. She was raised in a United Methodist family who first lived in Chicago. When she was three years old, her family moved to the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge. Her father, Hugh Rodham, was of English and Welsh descent, and managed a small but successful textile business, which he had founded. Her mother, Dorothy Howell, was a homemaker of Dutch, English, French Canadian (from Quebec), Scottish, and Welsh descent. She had two younger brothers, Hugh and Tony.
As a child, Rodham was a favorite student among her teachers at the public schools she attended in Park Ridge. She participated in swimming and softball and earned numerous badges as a Brownie and a Girl Scout. She has often told the story of being inspired by U.S. efforts during the Space Race and sending a letter to NASA around 1961 asking what she could do to become an astronaut, only to be informed that women were not being accepted into the program. She attended Maine East High School, where she participated in the student council and school newspaper and was selected for the National Honor Society. She was elected class vice president for her junior year but then lost the election for class president for her senior year against two boys, one of whom told her that "you are really stupid if you think a girl can be elected president". For her senior year, she and other students were transferred to the then-new Maine South High School. There she was a National Merit Finalist and was voted "most likely to succeed." She graduated in 1965 in the top five percent of her class.
Rodham's mother wanted her to have an independent, professional career. Her father, who was otherwise a traditionalist, felt that his daughter's abilities and opportunities should not be limited by gender. She was raised in a politically conservative household, and she helped canvass Chicago's South Side at age 13 after the very close 1960 U.S. presidential election. She saw evidence of electoral fraud (such as voting list entries showing addresses that were empty lots) against Republican candidate Richard Nixon, and later volunteered to campaign for Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election.
Rodham's early political development was shaped mostly by her high school history teacher (like her father, a fervent anti-communist), who introduced her to Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative and by her Methodist youth minister (like her mother, concerned with issues of social justice), with whom she saw and afterwards briefly met, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. at a 1962 speech in Chicago's Orchestra Hall.
Wellesley College years
In 1965, Rodham enrolled at Wellesley College, where she majored in political science. During her first year, she was president of the Wellesley Young Republicans. As the leader of this "Rockefeller Republican"-oriented group, she supported the elections of moderate Republicans John Lindsay to mayor of New York City and Massachusetts attorney general Edward Brooke to the United States Senate. She later stepped down from this position. In 2003, Clinton would write that her views concerning the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War were changing in her early college years. In a letter to her youth minister at that time, she described herself as "a mind conservative and a heart liberal". In contrast to the factions in the 1960s that advocated radical actions against the political system, she sought to work for change within it.
By her junior year, Rodham became a supporter of the antiwar presidential nomination campaign of Democrat Eugene McCarthy. In early 1968, she was elected president of the Wellesley College Government Association, a position she held until early 1969. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Rodham organized a two-day student strike and worked with Wellesley's black students to recruit more black students and faculty. In her student government role, she played a role in keeping Wellesley from being embroiled in the student disruptions common to other colleges. A number of her fellow students thought she might some day become the first female president of the United States.
To help her better understand her changing political views, Professor Alan Schechter assigned Rodham to intern at the House Republican Conference, and she attended the "Wellesley in Washington" summer program. Rodham was invited by moderate New York Republican representative Charles Goodell to help Governor Nelson Rockefeller's late-entry campaign for the Republican nomination. Rodham attended the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami Beach. However, she was upset by the way Richard Nixon's campaign portrayed Rockefeller and by what she perceived as the convention's "veiled" racist messages, and she left the Republican Party for good.
Rodham wrote her senior thesis, a critique of the tactics of radical community organizer Saul Alinsky, under Professor Schechter. Years later, while she was the first lady, access to her thesis was restricted at the request of the White House and it became the subject of some speculation. The thesis was later released.
In 1969, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, with departmental honors in political science. After some fellow seniors requested that the college administration allow a student speaker at commencement, she became the first student in Wellesley College history to speak at the event. Her address followed that of the commencement speaker, Senator Edward Brooke. After her speech, she received a standing ovation that lasted seven minutes. She was featured in an article published in Life magazine, because of the response to a part of her speech that criticized Senator Brooke. She also appeared on Irv Kupcinet's nationally syndicated television talk show as well as in Illinois and New England newspapers. She was asked to speak at the 50th anniversary convention of the League of Women Voters in Washington, D.C., the next year. That summer, she worked her way across Alaska, washing dishes in Mount McKinley National Park and sliming salmon in a fish processing cannery in Valdez (which fired her and shut down overnight when she complained about unhealthy conditions).
Yale Law School and postgraduate studies
Rodham then entered Yale Law School, where she was on the editorial board of the Yale Review of Law and Social Action. During her second year, she worked at the Yale Child Study Center, learning about new research on early childhood brain development and working as a research assistant on the seminal work, Beyond the Best Interests of the Child (1973). She also took on cases of child abuse at Yale–New Haven Hospital, and volunteered at New Haven Legal Services to provide free legal advice for the poor. In the summer of 1970, she was awarded a grant to work at Marian Wright Edelman's Washington Research Project, where she was assigned to Senator Walter Mondale's Subcommittee on Migratory Labor. There she researched various migrant workers' issues including education, health and housing. Edelman later became a significant mentor. Rodham was recruited by political advisor Anne Wexler to work on the 1970 campaign of Connecticut U.S. Senate candidate Joseph Duffey. Rodham later crediting Wexler with providing her first job in politics.
In the spring of 1971, she began dating fellow law student Bill Clinton. During the summer, she interned at the Oakland, California, law firm of Treuhaft, Walker and Burnstein. The firm was well known for its support of constitutional rights, civil liberties and radical causes (two of its four partners were current or former Communist Party members); Rodham worked on child custody and other cases. Clinton canceled his original summer plans and moved to live with her in California; the couple continued living together in New Haven when they returned to law school. The following summer, Rodham and Clinton campaigned in Texas for unsuccessful 1972 Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern. She received a Juris Doctor degree from Yale in 1973, having stayed on an extra year to be with Clinton. He first proposed marriage to her following graduation, but she declined, uncertain if she wanted to tie her future to his.
Rodham began a year of postgraduate study on children and medicine at the Yale Child Study Center. In late 1973, her first scholarly article, "Children Under the Law", was published in the Harvard Educational Review. Discussing the new children's rights movement, the article stated that "child citizens" were "powerless individuals" and argued that children should not be considered equally incompetent from birth to attaining legal age, but instead that courts should presume competence on a case-by-case basis, except when there is evidence otherwise. The article became frequently cited in the field.
Marriage, family, legal career and first ladyship of Arkansas
From the East Coast to Arkansas
During her postgraduate studies, Rodham was staff attorney for Edelman's newly founded Children's Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and as a consultant to the Carnegie Council on Children. In 1974, she was a member of the impeachment inquiry staff in Washington, D.C., and advised the House Committee on the Judiciary during the Watergate scandal. Under the guidance of Chief Counsel John Doar and senior member Bernard W. Nussbaum, Rodham helped research procedures of impeachment and the historical grounds and standards for it. The committee's work culminated with the resignation of President Richard Nixon in August 1974.
By then, Rodham was viewed as someone with a bright political future. Democratic political organizer and consultant Betsey Wright moved from Texas to Washington the previous year to help guide Rodham's career. Wright thought Rodham had the potential to become a future senator or president. Meanwhile, boyfriend Bill Clinton had repeatedly asked Rodham to marry him, but she continued to demur. After failing the District of Columbia bar exam and passing the Arkansas exam, Rodham came to a key decision. As she later wrote, "I chose to follow my heart instead of my head". She thus followed Clinton to Arkansas, rather than staying in Washington, where career prospects were brighter. He was then teaching law and running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in his home state. In August 1974, Rodham moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, and became one of only two female faculty members in the School of Law at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Early Arkansas years
At the university, Rodham taught classes in criminal law. She was considered a rigorous teacher who was tough with her grades. Rodham became the first director of a new legal aid clinic at the school, where she secured support from the local bar association and gained federal funding. As a court-appointed lawyer, Rodham was required to act as defense counsel to a man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl; after her request to be relieved of the assignment failed, Rodham used an effective defense and counseled her client to plead guilty to a lesser charge. She has called the trial a "terrible case". During her time in Fayetteville, Rodham and several other women founded the city's first rape crisis center.
In 1974, Bill Clinton lost an Arkansas congressional race, facing incumbent Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt. Rodham and Bill Clinton bought a house in Fayetteville in the summer of 1975 and she agreed to marry him. The wedding took place on October 11, 1975, in a Methodist ceremony in their living room. A story about the marriage in the Arkansas Gazette indicated that she decided to retain the name Hillary Rodham. Her motivation was threefold. She wanted to keep the couple's professional lives separate, avoid apparent conflicts of interest, and as she told a friend at the time, "it showed that I was still me". The decision upset both mothers, who were more traditional.
In 1976, Rodham temporarily relocated to Indianapolis to work as an Indiana state campaign organizer for the presidential campaign of Jimmy Carter. In November 1976, Bill Clinton was elected Arkansas attorney general, and the couple moved to the state capital of Little Rock. In February 1977, Rodham joined the venerable Rose Law Firm, a bastion of Arkansan political and economic influence. She specialized in patent infringement and intellectual property law while working pro bono in child advocacy; she rarely performed litigation work in court.
Rodham maintained her interest in children's law and family policy, publishing the scholarly articles "Children's Policies: Abandonment and Neglect" in 1977 and "Children's Rights: A Legal Perspective" in 1979. The latter continued her argument that children's legal competence depended upon their age and other circumstances and that in serious medical rights cases, judicial intervention was sometimes warranted. An American Bar Association chair later said, "Her articles were important, not because they were radically new but because they helped formulate something that had been inchoate." Historian Garry Wills would later describe her as "one of the more important scholar-activists of the last two decades". Conservatives said her theories would usurp traditional parental authority, would allow children to file frivolous lawsuits against their parents, and exemplified critical legal studies run amok.
In 1977, Rodham cofounded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a state-level alliance with the Children's Defense Fund. Later that year, President Jimmy Carter (for whom Rodham had been the 1976 campaign director of field operations in Indiana) appointed her to the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation. She held that position from 1978 until the end of 1981. From mid-1978 to mid-1980, she was the chair of that board, the first woman to hold the job. During her time as chair, funding for the corporation was expanded from $90 million to $300 million; subsequently, she successfully fought President Ronald Reagan's attempts to reduce the funding and change the nature of the organization.
Following her husband's November 1978 election as governor of Arkansas, Rodham became that state's first lady in January 1979. She would hold that title for twelve nonconsecutive years (1979–81, 1983–92). Clinton appointed his wife to be the chair of the Rural Health Advisory Committee the same year, where she secured federal funds to expand medical facilities in Arkansas's poorest areas without affecting doctors' fees.
In 1979, Rodham became the first woman to be made a full partner in Rose Law Firm. From 1978 until they entered the White House, she had a higher salary than her husband. During 1978 and 1979, while looking to supplement their income, Rodham engaged in the trading of cattle futures contracts; an initial $1,000 investment generated nearly $100,000 when she stopped trading after ten months. At this time, the couple began their ill-fated investment in the Whitewater Development Corporation real estate venture with Jim and Susan McDougal. Both of these became subjects of controversy in the 1990s.
On February 27, 1980, Rodham gave birth to the couple's only child, a daughter whom they named Chelsea. In November 1980, Bill Clinton was defeated in his bid for re-election.
Later Arkansas years
Two years after leaving office, Bill Clinton returned to his job as governor of Arkansas after winning the election of 1982. During her husband's campaign, Hillary began to use the name "Hillary Clinton", or sometimes "Mrs. Bill Clinton", to assuage the concerns of Arkansas voters; she also took a leave of absence from Rose Law to campaign for him full-time. During her second stint as the first lady of Arkansas, she made a point of using Hillary Rodham Clinton as her name. She was named chair of the Arkansas Education Standards Committee in 1983, where she sought to reform the state's court-sanctioned public education system. In one of the Clinton governorship's most important initiatives, she fought a prolonged but ultimately successful battle against the Arkansas Education Association to establish mandatory teacher testing and state standards for curriculum and classroom size. It became her introduction into the politics of a highly visible public policy effort. In 1985, she introduced Arkansas's Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youth, a program that helps parents work with their children in preschool preparedness and literacy. She was named Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983 and Arkansas Mother of the Year in 1984.
Clinton continued to practice law with the Rose Law Firm while she was the first lady of Arkansas. She earned less than the other partners, as she billed fewer hours but still made more than $200,000 in her final year there. The firm considered her a "rainmaker" because she brought in clients, partly thanks to the prestige she lent it and to her corporate board connections. She was also very influential in the appointment of state judges. Bill Clinton's Republican opponent in his 1986 gubernatorial re-election campaign accused the Clintons of conflict of interest because Rose Law did state business; the Clintons countered the charge by saying that state fees were walled off by the firm before her profits were calculated.
From 1982 to 1988, Clinton was on the board of directors, sometimes as chair, of the New World Foundation, which funded a variety of New Left interest groups. From 1987 to 1991, she was the first chair of the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession, created to address gender bias in the legal profession and induce the association to adopt measures to combat it. She was twice named by The National Law Journal as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America—in 1988 and 1991. When Bill Clinton thought about not running again for governor in 1990, Hillary Clinton considered running. Private polls were unfavorable, however, and in the end he ran and was re-elected for the final time.
Clinton was chairman of the board of the Children's Defense Fund and on the board of the Arkansas Children's Hospital's Legal Services (1988–92) In addition to her positions with nonprofit organizations, she also held positions on the corporate board of directors of TCBY (1985–92), Wal-Mart Stores (1986–92) and Lafarge (1990–92). TCBY and Wal-Mart were Arkansas-based companies that were also clients of Rose Law. Clinton was the first female member on Wal-Mart's board, added following pressure on chairman Sam Walton to name a woman to it. Once there, she pushed successfully for Wal-Mart to adopt more environmentally friendly practices. She was largely unsuccessful in her campaign for more women to be added to the company's management and was silent about the company's famously anti-labor union practices. According to Dan Kaufman, awareness of this later became a factor in her loss of credibility with organized labor, helping contribute to her loss in the 2016 election, where slightly less than half of union members voted for Donald Trump.
Bill Clinton presidential campaign of 1992
Clinton received sustained national attention for the first time when her husband became a candidate for the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination. Before the New Hampshire primary, tabloid publications printed allegations that Bill Clinton had engaged in an extramarital affair with Gennifer Flowers. In response, the Clintons appeared together on 60 Minutes, where Bill denied the affair, but acknowledged "causing pain in my marriage". This joint appearance was credited with rescuing his campaign. During the campaign, Hillary made culturally disparaging remarks about Tammy Wynette's outlook on marriage as described in her classic song "Stand by Your Man". Later in the campaign, she commented she could have chosen to be like women staying home and baking cookies and having teas, but wanted to pursue her career instead. The remarks were widely criticized, particularly by those who were, or defended, stay-at-home mothers. In retrospect, she admitted they were ill-considered. Bill said that in electing him, the nation would "get two for the price of one", referring to the prominent role his wife would assume. Beginning with Daniel Wattenberg's August 1992 The American Spectator article "The Lady Macbeth of Little Rock", Hillary's own past ideological and ethical record came under attack from conservatives. At least twenty other articles in major publications also drew comparisons between her and Lady Macbeth.
First Lady of the United States (1993–2001)
When Bill Clinton took office as president in January 1993, Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first lady. Her press secretary reiterated she would be using that form of her name. She was the first in this role to have a postgraduate degree and her own professional career up to the time of entering the White House. She was also the first to have an office in the West Wing of the White House in addition to the usual first lady offices in the East Wing. She was part of the innermost circle vetting appointments to the new administration. Her choices filled at least eleven top-level positions and dozens more lower-level ones. After Eleanor Roosevelt, Clinton was regarded as the most openly empowered presidential wife in American history.
Some critics called it inappropriate for the first lady to play a central role in public policy matters. Supporters pointed out that Clinton's role in policy was no different from that of other White House advisors, and that voters had been well aware she would play an active role in her husband's presidency. Bill Clinton's campaign promise of "two for the price of one" led opponents to refer derisively to the Clintons as "co-presidents" or sometimes use the Arkansas label "Billary". The pressures of conflicting ideas about the role of a first lady were enough to send Hillary Clinton into "imaginary discussions" with the also-politically active Eleanor Roosevelt. From the time she came to Washington, Hillary also found refuge in a prayer group of the Fellowship that featured many wives of conservative Washington figures. Triggered in part by the death of her father in April 1993, she publicly sought to find a synthesis of Methodist teachings, liberal religious political philosophy and Tikkun editor Michael Lerner's "politics of meaning" to overcome what she saw as America's "sleeping sickness of the soul"; that would lead to a willingness "to remold society by redefining what it means to be a human being in the twentieth century, moving into a new millennium".
Health care and other policy initiatives
In January 1993, President Clinton named Hillary to chair a task force on National Health Care Reform, hoping to replicate the success she had in leading the effort for Arkansas education reform. Unconvinced regarding the merits of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), she privately urged that passage of health care reform be given higher priority. The recommendation of the task force became known as the Clinton health care plan. This was a comprehensive proposal that would require employers to provide health coverage to their employees through individual health maintenance organizations. Its opponents quickly derided the plan as "Hillarycare" and it even faced opposition from some Democrats in Congress. Some protesters against the proposed plan became vitriolic and during a July 1994 bus tour to rally support for the plan, Clinton wore a bulletproof vest at times.
Failing to gather enough support for a floor vote in either the House or the Senate (although Democrats controlled both chambers), the proposal was abandoned in September 1994. Clinton later acknowledged in her memoir that her political inexperience partly contributed to the defeat but cited many other factors. The first lady's approval ratings, which had generally been in the high-50 percent range during her first year, fell to 44 percent in April 1994 and 35 percent by September 1994.
Republicans made the Clinton health care plan a major campaign issue of the 1994 midterm elections. They saw a net gain of 54 seats in the House election and eight in the Senate election, winning control of both; many analysts and pollsters found the plan to be a major factor in the Democrats' defeat, especially among independent voters. The White House subsequently sought to downplay Clinton's role in shaping policy. Opponents of universal health care would continue to use "Hillarycare" as a pejorative label for similar plans by others.
Along with senators Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch, Clinton was a force behind the passage of the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997. This federal bill gave state support to children whose parents could not provide them health coverage. She conducted outreach efforts on behalf of enrolling children in the program once it became law. She promoted nationwide immunization against childhood diseases and encouraged older women to get a mammogram for breast cancer screening, with coverage provided by Medicare. She successfully sought to increase research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the National Institutes of Health. She worked to investigate reports of an illness that affected veterans of the Gulf War, which became known as the Gulf War syndrome.
Enactment of welfare reform was a major goal of Bill Clinton's presidency. When the first two bills on the issue came from a Republican-controlled Congress lacking protections for people coming off welfare, however, Hillary urged him to veto the bills, which he did. A third version came up during his 1996 general election campaign that restored some of the protections but cut the scope of benefits in other areas; critics, including her past mentor Edelman, urged her to get the president to veto it again. But she decided to support the bill, which became the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, as the best political compromise available. This caused a rift with Edelman that Hillary later called "sad and painful".
Together with Attorney General Janet Reno, Clinton helped create the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice.
In 1997, she initiated and shepherded the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which she regarded as her greatest accomplishment as the first lady. In 1999, she was instrumental in the passage of the Foster Care Independence Act, which doubled federal monies for teenagers aging out of foster care.
As First Lady of the United States, Clinton was the host for various White House conferences. These included one on Child Care (1997), on Early Childhood Development and Learning (1997), and on Children and Adolescents (2000). She also hosted the first-ever White House Conference on Teenagers (2000), and the first-ever White House Conference on Philanthropy (1999).
Clinton traveled to 79 countries during this time, breaking the record for most-traveled first lady previously held by Pat Nixon. She did not hold a security clearance or attend National Security Council meetings, but played a role in U.S. diplomacy attaining its objectives. A March 1995 five-nation trip to South Asia, on behest of the U.S. State Department, without her husband, sought to improve relations with India and Pakistan. Clinton was troubled by the plight of women she encountered, but found a warm response from the people of the countries she visited, and gained a better relationship with the American press corps. The trip was a transformative experience for her and presaged her eventual career in diplomacy.
In a September 1995 speech before the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, Clinton argued forcefully against practices that abused women around the world and in the People's Republic of China itself. She declared, "it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights". Delegates from over 180 countries heard her say: "If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights, once and for all." In doing so, she resisted both internal administration and Chinese pressure to soften her remarks. The speech became a key moment in the empowerment of women and years later women around the world would recite Clinton's key phrases. During the late 1990s, she was one of the most prominent international figures to speak out against the treatment of Afghan women by the Taliban. She helped create Vital Voices, an international initiative sponsored by the U.S. to encourage the participation of women in the political processes of their countries. It and Clinton's own visits encouraged women to make themselves heard in the Northern Ireland peace process. In 1997, Clinton returned to Northern Ireland to deliver the inaugural Joyce McCartan lecture at the University of Ulster in honour of the community campaigner she had met during her visit in Belfast in 1995.
Whitewater and other investigations
Clinton was a subject of several investigations by the United States Office of the Independent Counsel, committees of the U.S. Congress, and the press.
The Whitewater controversy was the focus of media attention from its publication in a New York Times report during the 1992 presidential campaign and throughout her time as the first lady. The Clintons had lost their late-1970s investment in the Whitewater Development Corporation; at the same time, their partners in that investment, Jim and Susan McDougal operated Madison Guaranty, a savings and loan institution that retained the legal services of Rose Law Firm and may have been improperly subsidizing Whitewater losses. Madison Guaranty later failed, and Clinton's work at Rose was scrutinized for a possible conflict of interest in representing the bank before state regulators her husband had appointed. She said she had done minimal work for the bank. Independent counsels Robert Fiske and Kenneth Starr subpoenaed Clinton's legal billing records; she said she did not know where they were. After a two-year search, the records were found in the first lady's White House book room and delivered to investigators in early 1996. The delayed appearance of the records sparked intense interest and another investigation concerning how they surfaced and where they had been. Clinton's staff attributed the problem to continual changes in White House storage areas since the move from the Arkansas Governor's Mansion. On January 26, 1996, Clinton became the first spouse of a U.S. president to be subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury. After several Independent Counsels had investigated, a final report was issued in 2000 that stated there was insufficient evidence that either Clinton had engaged in criminal wrongdoing.
Scrutiny of the May 1993 firings of the White House Travel Office employees, an action that became known as "Travelgate", began with charges that the White House had used audited financial irregularities in the Travel Office operation as an excuse to replace the staff with friends from Arkansas. The 1996 discovery of a two-year-old White House memo led to the investigation being focused on whether Clinton had orchestrated the firings and whether the statements she made to investigators about her role in the firings were true. The 2000 final Independent Counsel report concluded she was involved in the firings and that she had made "factually false" statements, but that there was insufficient evidence that she knew the statements were false or knew that her actions would lead to firings, to prosecute her.
In March 1994, newspaper reports revealed that Clinton had earned spectacular profits from cattle futures trading in 1978–79. The press made allegations that Clinton had engaged in a conflict of interest and disguised a bribery. Several individuals analyzed her trading records, but no formal investigation was made and she was never charged with any wrongdoing.
An outgrowth of the "Travelgate" investigation was the June 1996 discovery of improper White House access to hundreds of FBI background reports on former Republican White House employees, an affair that some called "Filegate". Accusations were made that Clinton had requested these files and she had recommended hiring an unqualified individual to head the White House Security Office. The 2000 final Independent Counsel report found no substantial or credible evidence that Clinton had any role or showed any misconduct in the matter.
In early 2001, a controversy arose over gifts that were sent to the White House; there was a question whether the furnishings were White House property or the Clintons' personal property. During the last year of Bill Clinton's time in office, those gifts were shipped to the Clintons' private residence.
It Takes a Village release and tour
In 1996, Clinton presented a vision for American children in the book It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us. In January 1996, she went on a ten-city book tour and made numerous television appearances to promote the book, although she was frequently hit with questions about her involvement in the Whitewater and Travelgate controversies.
The book spent 18 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List that year, including three weeks at number one. By 2000, it had sold 450,000 copies in hardcover and another 200,000 in paperback.
Clinton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 1997 for the book's audio recording.
Response to Lewinsky scandal
In 1998, the Clintons' private concerns became the subject of much speculation when investigations revealed the president had engaged in an extramarital affair with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Events surrounding the Lewinsky scandal eventually led to the impeachment of the president by the House of Representatives; he was later acquitted by the senate. When the allegations against her husband were first made public, Hillary Clinton stated that the allegations were part of a "vast right-wing conspiracy". She characterized the Lewinsky charges as the latest in a long, organized, collaborative series of charges by Bill's political enemies rather than any wrongdoing by her husband. She later said she had been misled by her husband's initial claims that no affair had taken place. After the evidence of President Clinton's encounters with Lewinsky became incontrovertible, she issued a public statement reaffirming her commitment to their marriage. Privately, she was reported to be furious at him and was unsure if she wanted to remain in the marriage. The White House residence staff noticed a pronounced level of tension between the couple during this period.
Public reaction varied. Women variously admired her strength and poise in private matters that were made public. They sympathized with her as a victim of her husband's insensitive behavior and criticized her as being an enabler to her husband's indiscretions. They also accused her of cynically staying in a failed marriage as a way of keeping or even fostering her own political influence. In the wake of the revelations, her public approval ratings shot upward to around 70 percent, the highest they had ever been. In her 2003 memoir, she would attribute her decision to stay married to "a love that has persisted for decades" and add: "No one understands me better and no one can make me laugh the way Bill does. Even after all these years, he is still the most interesting, energizing, and fully alive person I have ever met."
Issues that surrounded the Lewinsky scandal left Bill Clinton with substantial legal bills. In 2014, Hillary said that she and Bill had left the White House "not only dead broke, but in debt". The statement may have been literally accurate but ignored the potentially enormous earning power of ex-presidents who give paid speeches after leaving office. The couple would also have the ability to secure loans from banks.
In October 2018, Hillary stated in an interview on CBS News Sunday Morning that Bill was right to not resign from office, and that Bill's affair with Lewinsky did not constitute an abuse of power because Lewinsky "was an adult".
Other books and initiatives
Other books published by Clinton when she was the first lady include Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets (1998) and An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History (2000). In 2001, she wrote an afterword to the children's book Beatrice's Goat.
She was the founding chair of Save America's Treasures, a nationwide effort matching federal funds with private donations to preserve and restore historic items and sites. This included the flag that inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the First Ladies National Historic Site in Canton, Ohio. She also published a weekly syndicated newspaper column titled "Talking It Over" from 1995 to 2000. It focused on her experiences and those of women, children and families she met during her travels around the world.
Traditional duties
She was head of the White House Millennium Council and hosted Millennium Evenings, a series of lectures that discussed futures studies, one of which became the first live simultaneous webcast from the White House. Clinton also created the first White House Sculpture Garden, located in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, which displayed large contemporary American works of art loaned by museums.
In the White House, Clinton placed donated handicrafts of contemporary American artisans, such as pottery and glassware, on rotating display in the state rooms. She oversaw the restoration of the Blue Room to be historically authentic to the period of James Monroe, and the Map Room to how it looked during World War II. Working with Arkansas interior decorator Kaki Hockersmith over an eight-year period, she oversaw extensive, privately funded redecoration efforts around the building, often trying to make it look brighter. These included changing of the Treaty Room and a presidential study to have a 19th-century look. Overall the redecoration brought mixed notices, with Victorian furnishings for the Lincoln Sitting Room being criticized the most. Clinton hosted many large-scale events at the White House, including a state dinner for visiting Chinese dignitaries, a New Year's Eve celebration at the turn of the 21st century, and a state dinner honoring the bicentennial of the White House in November 2000.
U.S. Senate (2001–2009)
2000 U.S. Senate election
When New York's long-serving U.S. senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan announced his retirement in November 1998, several prominent Democratic figures, including Representative Charles Rangel of New York, urged Clinton to run for his open seat in the Senate election of 2000. Once she decided to run, the Clintons purchased a home at 15 Old House Lane in Chappaqua, New York, north of New York City, in September 1999. She became the first wife of the president of the United States to be a candidate for elected office. Initially, Clinton expected to face Rudy Giuliani—the mayor of New York City—as her Republican opponent in the election. Giuliani withdrew from the race in May 2000 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer and matters related to his failing marriage became public. Clinton then faced Rick Lazio, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives who represented New York's 2nd congressional district. Throughout the campaign, opponents accused Clinton of carpetbagging, because she had never resided in New York State or participated in the state's politics before the 2000 Senate race.
Bill de Blasio was Clinton's campaign manager. She began her drive to the U.S. Senate by visiting all 62 counties in the state, in a "listening tour" of small-group settings. She devoted considerable time in traditionally Republican Upstate New York regions. Clinton vowed to improve the economic situation in those areas, promising to deliver 200,000 jobs to the state over her term. Her plan included tax credits to reward job creation and encourage business investment, especially in the high-tech sector. She called for personal tax cuts for college tuition and long-term care.
The contest drew national attention. During a September debate, Lazio blundered when he seemed to invade Clinton's personal space by trying to get her to sign a fundraising agreement. Their campaigns, along with Giuliani's initial effort, spent a record combined $90 million. Clinton won the election on November 7, 2000, with 55 percent of the vote to Lazio's 43 percent. She was sworn in as U.S. senator on January 3, 2001, and as George W. Bush was still 17 days away from being inaugurated as president after winning the 2000 presidential election, that meant from January 3–20, she simultaneously held the titles of First Lady and Senator – a first in U.S. history.
Publisher Simon & Schuster paid Clinton a near-record advance of $8 million in December 2000 for her autobiography, released in 2003, as Living History.
First term
Because Bill Clinton's term as president did not end until 17 days after she was sworn in, upon entering the Senate, Clinton became the first and so far only first lady to serve as a senator and first lady concurrently. Clinton maintained a low public profile and built relationships with senators from both parties when she started her term. She forged alliances with religiously inclined senators by becoming a regular participant in the Senate Prayer Breakfast. She sat on five Senate committees: Committee on Budget (2001–02), Committee on Armed Services (2003–09), Committee on Environment and Public Works (2001–09), Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (2001–09) and Special Committee on Aging.
She was also a member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (2001–09).
Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Clinton sought to obtain funding for the recovery efforts in New York City and security improvements in her state. Working with New York's senior senator, Chuck Schumer, she was instrumental in securing $21 billion in funding for the World Trade Center site's redevelopment. She subsequently took a leading role in investigating the health issues faced by 9/11 first responders. Clinton voted for the USA Patriot Act in October 2001. In 2005, when the act was up for renewal, she expressed concerns with the USA Patriot Act Reauthorization Conference Report regarding civil liberties. In March 2006, she voted in favor of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 that had gained large majority support.
Clinton strongly supported the 2001 U.S. military action in Afghanistan, saying it was a chance to combat terrorism while improving the lives of Afghan women who suffered under the Taliban government. Clinton voted in favor of the October 2002 Iraq War Resolution, which authorized President George W. Bush to use military force against Iraq.
After the Iraq War began, Clinton made trips to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit American troops stationed there. On a visit to Iraq in February 2005, Clinton noted that the insurgency had failed to disrupt the democratic elections held earlier and that parts of the country were functioning well. Observing that war deployments were draining regular and reserve forces, she co-introduced legislation to increase the size of the regular U.S. Army by 80,000 soldiers to ease the strain. In late 2005, Clinton said that while immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake, Bush's pledge to stay "until the job is done" was also misguided, as it gave Iraqis "an open-ended invitation not to take care of themselves". Her stance caused frustration among those in the Democratic Party who favored quick withdrawal. Clinton supported retaining and improving health benefits for reservists and lobbied against the closure of several military bases, especially those in New York. She used her position on the Armed Services Committee to forge close relationships with a number of high-ranking military officers. By 2014 and 2015 Clinton had fully reversed herself on the Iraq War Resolution, saying she "got it wrong" and the vote in support had been a "mistake".
Clinton voted against President Bush's two major tax cut packages, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Simon & Schuster released Living History: The book set a first-week sales record for a nonfiction work, went on to sell more than one million copies in the first month following publication, and was translated into twelve foreign languages. Clinton's audio recording of the book earned her a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Clinton voted against the 2005 confirmation of John Roberts as chief justice of the United States and the 2006 confirmation of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, filibustering the latter.
In 2005, Clinton called for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how hidden sex scenes showed up in the controversial video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Along with senators Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh, she introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act, intended to protect children from inappropriate content found in video games. In 2004 and 2006, Clinton voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment that sought to prohibit same-sex marriage.
Looking to establish a "progressive infrastructure" to rival that of American conservatism, Clinton played a formative role in conversations that led to the 2003 founding of former Clinton administration chief of staff John Podesta's Center for American Progress, shared aides with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, founded in 2003 and advised the Clintons' former antagonist David Brock's Media Matters for America, created in 2004. Following the 2004 Senate elections, she successfully pushed new Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid to create a Senate war room to handle daily political messaging.
2006 reelection campaign
In November 2004, Clinton announced she would seek a second Senate term. She easily won the Democratic nomination over opposition from antiwar activist Jonathan Tasini. The early frontrunner for the Republican nomination, Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, withdrew from the contest after several months of poor campaign performance. Clinton's eventual opponent in the general election was Republican candidate John Spencer, a former mayor of Yonkers. Clinton won the election on November 7, 2006, with 67 percent of the vote to Spencer's 31 percent, carrying all but four of New York's sixty-two counties. Her campaign spent $36 million for her reelection, more than any other candidate for Senate in the 2006 elections. Some Democrats criticized her for spending too much in a one-sided contest, while some supporters were concerned she did not leave more funds for a potential presidential bid in 2008. In the following months, she transferred $10 million of her Senate funds toward her presidential campaign.
Second term
Clinton opposed the Iraq War troop surge of 2007, for both military and domestic political reasons (by the following year, she was privately acknowledging the surge had been successful). In March of that year, she voted in favor of a war-spending bill that required President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq by a deadline; it passed almost completely along party lines but was subsequently vetoed by Bush. In May, a compromise war funding bill that removed withdrawal deadlines but tied funding to progress benchmarks for the Iraqi government passed the Senate by a vote of 80–14 and would be signed by Bush; Clinton was one of those who voted against it. She responded to General David Petraeus's September 2007 Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq by saying, "I think that the reports that you provide to us really require a willing suspension of disbelief."
In March 2007, in response to the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy, Clinton called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign. Regarding the high-profile, hotly debated immigration reform bill known as the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, Clinton cast several votes in support of the bill, which eventually failed to gain cloture.
As the financial crisis of 2007–08 reached a peak with the liquidity crisis of September 2008, Clinton supported the proposed bailout of the U.S. financial system, voting in favor of the $700 billion law that created the Troubled Asset Relief Program, saying it represented the interests of the American people. It passed the Senate 74–25.
In 2007, Clinton and Virginia senator Jim Webb called for an investigation into whether the body armor issued to soldiers in Iraq was adequate.
2008 presidential campaign
Clinton had been preparing for a potential candidacy for U.S. president since at least early 2003. On January 20, 2007, she announced via her website the formation of a presidential exploratory committee for the United States presidential election of 2008, stating: "I'm in and I'm in to win." No woman had ever been nominated by a major party for the presidency, and no first lady had ever run for president.
When Bill Clinton became president in 1993, a blind trust was established; in April 2007, the Clintons liquidated the blind trust to avoid the possibility of ethical conflicts or political embarrassments as Hillary undertook her presidential race. Later disclosure statements revealed the couple's worth was now upwards of $50 million. They had earned over $100 million since 2000—most of it coming from Bill's books, speaking engagements and other activities.
Throughout the first half of 2007, Clinton led candidates competing for the Democratic presidential nomination in opinion polls for the election. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and former senator John Edwards of North Carolina were her strongest competitors. The biggest threat to her campaign was her past support of the Iraq War, which Obama had opposed from the beginning. Clinton and Obama both set records for early fundraising, swapping the money lead each quarter.
At the end of October, Clinton fared poorly in her debate performance against Obama, Edwards, and her other opponents. Obama's message of change began to resonate with the Democratic electorate better than Clinton's message of experience.
In the first vote of 2008, she placed third in the January3 Iowa Democratic caucus behind Obama and Edwards. Obama gained ground in national polling in the next few days, with all polls predicting a victory for him in the New Hampshire primary. Clinton gained a surprise win there on January 8, narrowly defeating Obama. It was the first time a woman had won a major American party's presidential primary for the purposes of delegate selection. Explanations for Clinton's New Hampshire comeback varied but often centered on her being seen more sympathetically, especially by women, after her eyes welled with tears and her voice broke while responding to a voter's question the day before the election.
The nature of the contest fractured in the next few days. Several remarks by Bill Clinton and other surrogates, and a remark by Hillary Clinton concerning Martin Luther King Jr. and Lyndon B. Johnson, were perceived by many as, accidentally or intentionally, limiting Obama as a racially oriented candidate or otherwise denying the post-racial significance and accomplishments of his campaign. Despite attempts by both Hillary and Obama to downplay the issue, Democratic voting became more polarized as a result, with Clinton losing much of her support among African Americans. She lost by a two-to-one margin to Obama in the January 26, South Carolina primary, setting up, with Edwards soon dropping out, an intense two-person contest for the twenty-two February5 Super Tuesday states. Bill Clinton had made more statements attracting criticism for their perceived racial implications late in the South Carolina campaign, and his role was seen as damaging enough to her that a wave of supporters within and outside of the campaign said the former president "needs to stop". The South Carolina campaign had done lasting damage to Clinton, eroding her support among the Democratic establishment and leading to the prized endorsement of Obama by Ted Kennedy.
On Super Tuesday, Clinton won the largest states, such as California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, while Obama won more states; they almost evenly split the total popular vote. But Obama was gaining more pledged delegates for his share of the popular vote due to better exploitation of the Democratic proportional allocation rules.
The Clinton campaign had counted on winning the nomination by Super Tuesday and was unprepared financially and logistically for a prolonged effort; lagging in Internet fundraising as Clinton began loaning money to her campaign. There was continuous turmoil within the campaign staff, and she made several top-level personnel changes. Obama won the next eleven February contests across the country, often by large margins and took a significant pledged delegate lead over Clinton. On March 4, Clinton broke the string of losses by winning in Ohio among other places, where her criticism of NAFTA, a major legacy of her husband's presidency, helped in a state where the trade agreement was unpopular. Throughout the campaign, Obama dominated caucuses, for which the Clinton campaign largely ignored and failed to prepare. Obama did well in primaries where African Americans or younger, college-educated, or more affluent voters were heavily represented; Clinton did well in primaries where Hispanics or older, non-college-educated, or working-class white voters predominated. Behind in delegates, Clinton's best hope of winning the nomination came in persuading uncommitted, party-appointed superdelegates.
Following the final primaries on June 3, 2008, Obama had gained enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee. In a speech before her supporters on June 7, Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama. By campaign's end, Clinton had won 1,640 pledged delegates to Obama's 1,763; at the time of the clinching, Clinton had 286 superdelegates to Obama's 395, with those numbers widening to 256 versus 438 once Obama was acknowledged the winner. Clinton and Obama each received over 17 million votes during the nomination process with both breaking the previous record. Clinton was the first woman to run in the primary or caucus of every state and she eclipsed, by a very wide margin, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm's 1972 marks for most votes garnered and delegates won by a woman. Clinton gave a passionate speech supporting Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and campaigned frequently for him in fall 2008, which concluded with his victory over McCain in the general election on November 4. Clinton's campaign ended up severely in debt; she owed millions of dollars to outside vendors and wrote off the $13 million that she lent it herself. The debt was eventually paid off by the beginning of 2013.
Secretary of State (2009–2013)
Nomination and confirmation
In mid-November 2008, President-elect Obama and Clinton discussed the possibility of her serving as secretary of state in his administration. She was initially quite reluctant, but on November 20 she told Obama she would accept the position. On December 1, President-elect Obama formally announced that Clinton would be his nominee for secretary of state. Clinton said she did not want to leave the Senate, but that the new position represented a "difficult and exciting adventure". As part of the nomination and to relieve concerns of conflict of interest, Bill Clinton agreed to accept several conditions and restrictions regarding his ongoing activities and fundraising efforts for the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative.
The appointment required a Saxbe fix, passed and signed into law in December 2008. Confirmation hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee began on January 13, 2009, a week before the Obama inauguration; two days later, the committee voted 16–1 to approve Clinton. By this time, her public approval rating had reached 65 percent, the highest point since the Lewinsky scandal. On January 21, 2009, Clinton was confirmed in the full Senate by a vote of 94–2. Clinton took the oath of office of secretary of state, resigning from the Senate later that day. She became the first former first lady to be a member of the United States Cabinet.
First half of tenure
Clinton spent her initial days as secretary of state telephoning dozens of world leaders and indicating that U.S. foreign policy would change direction: "We have a lot of damage to repair." She advocated an expanded role in global economic issues for the State Department, and cited the need for an increased U.S. diplomatic presence, especially in Iraq where the Defense Department had conducted diplomatic missions. Clinton announced the most ambitious of her departmental reforms, the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, which establishes specific objectives for the State Department's diplomatic missions abroad; it was modeled after a similar process in the Defense Department that she was familiar with from her time on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The first such review was issued in late 2010. It called for the U.S. leading through "civilian power" as a cost-effective way of responding to international challenges and defusing crises. It also sought to institutionalize goals of empowering women throughout the world. A cause Clinton advocated throughout her tenure was the adoption of cookstoves in the developing world, to foster cleaner and more environmentally sound food preparation and reduce smoke dangers to women.
In a 2009 internal debate regarding the War in Afghanistan, Clinton sided with the military's recommendations for a maximal "Afghanistan surge", recommending 40,000 troops and no public deadline for withdrawal. She prevailed over Vice President Joe Biden's opposition but eventually supported Obama's compromise plan to send an additional 30,000 troops and tie the surge to a timetable for eventual withdrawal.
In March 2009, Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with a "reset button" symbolizing U.S. attempts to rebuild ties with that country under its new president, Dmitry Medvedev. The photo op was remembered for a mistranslation into Russian. The policy, which became known as the Russian reset, led to improved cooperation in several areas during Medvedev's time in office. Relations would worsen considerably, however, following Vladimir Putin's return to the position in 2012. In October 2009, on a trip to Switzerland, Clinton's intervention overcame last-minute snags and saved the signing of an historic Turkish–Armenian accord that established diplomatic relations and opened the border between the two long-hostile nations. In Pakistan, she engaged in several unusually blunt discussions with students, talk show hosts and tribal elders, in an attempt to repair the Pakistani image of the U.S. Beginning in 2010, she helped organize a diplomatic isolation and international sanctions regime against Iran, in an effort to force curtailment of that country's nuclear program; this would eventually lead to the multinational Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action being agreed to in 2015.
Clinton and Obama forged a good working relationship without power struggles; she was a team player within the administration and a defender of it to the outside and was careful that neither she nor her husband would upstage the president. Clinton formed an alliance with Secretary of Defense Gates as they shared similar strategic outlooks. Obama and Clinton both approached foreign policy as a largely non-ideological, pragmatic exercise. She met with him weekly but did not have the close, daily relationship that some of her predecessors had had with their presidents; moreover, certain key areas of policymaking were kept inside the White House or Pentagon. Nevertheless, the president had trust in her actions.
In a prepared speech in January 2010, Clinton drew analogies between the Iron Curtain and the free and unfree Internet. Chinese officials reacted negatively towards it. The speech garnered attention as the first time a senior American official had clearly defined the Internet as a key element of American foreign policy.
In July 2010, she visited South Korea, where she and Cheryl Mills worked to convince SAE-A, a large apparel subcontractor, to invest in Haiti despite the company's deep concerns about plans to raise the minimum wage. In the summer of 2010, the South Korean company signed a contract at the US State Department, ensuring that the Caracol Industrial Park would have a key tenant. This was part of the "build back better" program initiated by her husband, named UN Special Envoy to Haiti in 2009 after a tropical storm season caused $1 billion in damages to the island. In January 2011, Clinton traveled to Haiti in order to help pave the way for the election of Michel Martelly.
Second half of tenure
The 2011 Egyptian protests posed the most challenging foreign policy crisis yet for the Obama administration. Clinton's public response quickly evolved from an early assessment that the government of Hosni Mubarak was "stable", to a stance that there needed to be an "orderly transition [to] a democratic participatory government", to a condemnation of violence against the protesters. Obama came to rely upon Clinton's advice, organization and personal connections in the behind-the-scenes response to developments. As Arab Spring protests spread throughout the region, Clinton was at the forefront of a U.S. response that she recognized was sometimes contradictory, backing some regimes while supporting protesters against others.
As the Libyan Civil War took place, Clinton's shift in favor of military intervention aligned her with Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice and National Security Council figure Samantha Power. This was a key turning point in overcoming internal administration opposition from Defense Secretary Gates, security advisor Thomas E. Donilon and counterterrorism advisor John Brennan in gaining the backing for, and Arab and U.N. approval of, the 2011 military intervention in Libya. Secretary Clinton testified to Congress that the administration did not need congressional authorization for its military intervention in Libya, despite objections from some members of both parties that the administration was violating the War Powers Resolution. The State Department's legal advisor argued the same point when the Resolution's 60-day limit for unauthorized wars was passed (a view that prevailed in a legal debate within the Obama administration). Clinton later used U.S. allies and what she called "convening power" to promote unity among the Libyan rebels as they eventually overthrew the Gaddafi regime. The aftermath of the Libyan Civil War saw the country becoming a failed state. The wisdom of the intervention and interpretation of what happened afterward would become the subject of considerable debate.
During April 2011, internal deliberations of the president's innermost circle of advisors over whether to order U.S. special forces to conduct a raid into Pakistan against Osama bin Laden, Clinton was among those who argued in favor, saying the importance of getting bin Laden outweighed the risks to the U.S. relationship with Pakistan. Following the completion of the mission on May2 resulting in bin Laden's death, Clinton played a key role in the administration's decision not to release photographs of the dead al-Qaeda leader. During internal discussions regarding Iraq in 2011, Clinton argued for keeping a residual force of up to 10,000–20,000 U.S. troops there. (All of them ended up being withdrawn after negotiations for a revised U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement failed.)
In a speech before the United Nations Human Rights Council in December 2011, Clinton said that, "Gay rights are human rights", and that the U.S. would advocate for gay rights and legal protections of gay people abroad. The same period saw her overcome internal administration opposition with a direct appeal to Obama and stage the first visit to Burma by a U.S. secretary of state since 1955. She met with Burmese leaders as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and sought to support the 2011 Burmese democratic reforms. She also said the 21st century would be "America's Pacific century", a declaration that was part of the Obama administration's "pivot to Asia".
During the Syrian Civil War, Clinton and the Obama administration initially sought to persuade Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to engage popular demonstrations with reform. As government violence allegedly rose in August 2011, they called for him to resign from the presidency. The administration joined several countries in delivering non-lethal assistance to so-called rebels opposed to the Assad government and humanitarian groups working in Syria. During mid-2012, Clinton formed a plan with CIA Director David Petraeus to further strengthen the opposition by arming and training vetted groups of Syrian rebels. The proposal was rejected by White House officials who were reluctant to become entangled in the conflict, fearing that extremists hidden among the rebels might turn the weapons against other targets.
In December 2012, Clinton was hospitalized for a few days for treatment of a blood clot in her right transverse venous sinus. Her doctors had discovered the clot during a follow-up examination for a concussion she had sustained when she fainted and fell nearly three weeks earlier, as a result of severe dehydration from a viral intestinal ailment acquired during a trip to Europe. The clot, which caused no immediate neurological injury, was treated with anticoagulant medication, and her doctors have said she has made a full recovery.
Overall themes
Throughout her time in office (and mentioned in her final speech concluding it), Clinton viewed "smart power" as the strategy for asserting U.S. leadership and values. In a world of varied threats, weakened central governments and increasingly important nongovernmental entities, smart power combined military hard power with diplomacy and U.S. soft power capacities in global economics, development aid, technology, creativity and human rights advocacy. As such, she became the first secretary of state to methodically implement the smart power approach. In debates over use of military force, she was generally one of the more hawkish voices in the administration. In August 2011 she hailed the ongoing multinational military intervention in Libya and the initial U.S. response towards the Syrian Civil War as examples of smart power in action.
Clinton greatly expanded the State Department's use of social media, including Facebook and Twitter, to get its message out and to help empower citizens of foreign countries vis-à-vis their governments.
And in the Mideast turmoil, Clinton particularly saw an opportunity to advance one of the central themes of her tenure, the empowerment and welfare of women and girls worldwide. Moreover, in a formulation that became known as the "Hillary Doctrine", she viewed women's rights as critical for U.S. security interests, due to a link between the level of violence against women and gender inequality within a state, and the instability and challenge to international security of that state. In turn, there was a trend of women around the world finding more opportunities, and in some cases feeling safer, as the result of her actions and visibility.
Clinton visited 112 countries during her tenure, making her the most widely traveled secretary of state (Time magazine wrote that "Clinton's endurance is legendary".) The first secretary of state to visit countries like Togo and East Timor, she believed that in-person visits were more important than ever in the virtual age. As early as March 2011, she indicated she was not interested in serving a second term as secretary of state should Obama be re-elected in 2012; in December 2012, following that re-election, Obama nominated Senator John Kerry to be Clinton's successor. Her last day as secretary of state was February 1, 2013. Upon her departure, analysts commented that Clinton's tenure did not bring any signature diplomatic breakthroughs as some other secretaries of state had accomplished, and highlighted her focus on goals she thought were less tangible but would have more lasting effect. She has also been criticized for accepting millions in dollars in donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Foundation during her tenure as Secretary of State.
Benghazi attack and subsequent hearings
On September 11, 2012, the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked, resulting in the deaths of the U.S. Ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. The attack, questions surrounding the security of the U.S. consulate, and the varying explanations given afterward by administration officials for what had happened became politically controversial in the U.S. On October 15, Clinton took responsibility for the question of security lapses saying the differing explanations were due to the inevitable fog of war confusion after such events.
On December 19, a panel led by Thomas R. Pickering and Michael Mullen issued its report on the matter. It was sharply critical of State Department officials in Washington for ignoring requests for more guards and safety upgrades and for failing to adapt security procedures to a deteriorating security environment. It focused its criticism on the department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs; four State Department officials at the assistant secretary level and below were removed from their posts as a consequence. Clinton said she accepted the conclusions of the report and that changes were underway to implement its suggested recommendations.
Clinton gave testimony to two congressional foreign affairs committees on January 23, 2013, regarding the Benghazi attack. She defended her actions in response to the incident, and while still accepting formal responsibility, said she had had no direct role in specific discussions beforehand regarding consulate security. Congressional Republicans challenged her on several points, to which she responded. In particular, after persistent questioning about whether or not the administration had issued inaccurate "talking points" after the attack, Clinton responded with the much-quoted rejoinder, "With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided that they'd they go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator."
In November 2014, the House Intelligence Committee issued a report that concluded there had been no wrongdoing in the administration's response to the attack.
The House Select Committee on Benghazi was created in May 2014 and conducted a two-year investigation related to the 2012 attack. Its actions were often seen through the prism of domestic politics. This was especially the case in September 2015, when House majority leader Kevin McCarthy credited the Benghazi hearings with lowering Clinton's poll numbers, thereby contradicting the Republicans' previous talking points on the investigation. On October 22, 2015, Clinton testified at an all-day and nighttime session before the committee. The hearing included many heated exchanges between committee members and Clinton and among the committee members themselves. Clinton was widely seen as emerging largely unscathed from the hearing, because of what the media perceived as a calm and unfazed demeanor and a lengthy, meandering, repetitive line of questioning from the committee. The committee issued competing final reports in June 2016 that broke along partisan lines. The Republican report offered some new details about the attack but no new evidence of culpability by Clinton.
Email controversy
A controversy arose in March 2015, when the State Department's inspector general revealed that Clinton had used personal email accounts on a non-government, privately maintained server exclusively—instead of email accounts maintained on federal government servers—when conducting official business during her tenure as secretary of state. Some experts, officials, members of Congress and political opponents contended that her use of private messaging system software and a private server violated State Department protocols and procedures, and federal laws and regulations governing recordkeeping requirements. The controversy occurred against the backdrop of Clinton's 2016 presidential election campaign and hearings held by the House Select Committee on Benghazi.
In a joint statement released on July 15, 2015, the inspector general of the State Department and the inspector general of the intelligence community said their review of the emails found information that was classified when sent, remained so at the time of their inspection and "never should have been transmitted via an unclassified personal system". They also stated unequivocally this classified information should never have been stored outside of secure government computer systems. Clinton had said over a period of months that she kept no classified information on the private server that she set up in her house. Government policy, reiterated in the nondisclosure agreement signed by Clinton as part of gaining her security clearance, is that sensitive information can be considered as classified even if not marked as such. After allegations were raised that some of the emails in question fell into the so-called "born classified" category, an FBI probe was initiated regarding how classified information was handled on the Clinton server. The New York Times reported in February 2016 that nearly 2,100 emails stored on Clinton's server were retroactively marked classified by the State Department. Additionally, the intelligence community's inspector general wrote Congress to say that some of the emails "contained classified State Department information when originated". In May 2016, the inspector general of the State Department criticized her use of a private email server while secretary of state, stating that she had not requested permission for this and would not have received it if she had asked.
Clinton maintained she did not send or receive any emails from her personal server that were confidential at the time they were sent. In a Democratic debate with Bernie Sanders on February 4, 2016, Clinton said, "I never sent or received any classified material—they are retroactively classifying it." On July 2, 2016, Clinton stated: "Let me repeat what I have repeated for many months now, I never received nor sent any material that was marked classified."
On July 5, 2016, the FBI concluded its investigation. In a statement, FBI director James Comey said:
110 e-mails in 52 e-mail chains have been determined by the owning agency to contain classified information at the time they were sent or received. Eight of those chains contained information that was Top Secret at the time they were sent; 36 chains contained Secret information at the time; and eight contained Confidential information, which is the lowest level of classification. Separate from those, about 2,000 additional e-mails were "up-classified" to make them Confidential; the information in those had not been classified at the time the e-mails were sent.
Out of 30,000, three emails were found to be marked as classified, although they lacked classified headers and were marked only with a small "c" in parentheses, described as "portion markings" by Comey. He also said it was possible Clinton was not "technically sophisticated" enough to understand what the three classified markings meant. The probe found Clinton used her personal email extensively while outside the United States, both sending and receiving work-related emails in the territory of sophisticated adversaries. Comey acknowledged that it was "possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton's personal email account". He added that "[although] we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information". Nevertheless, Comey asserted that "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring criminal charges in this case, despite the existence of "potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information". The FBI recommended that the Justice Department decline to prosecute. On July 6, 2016, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch—who had met privately with Bill Clinton on June 27—confirmed that the probe into Clinton's use of private email servers would be closed without criminal charges.
On October 28, 2016, Comey notified Congress that the FBI had begun looking into newly discovered Clinton emails. Law enforcement officials said that while investigating allegedly illicit text messages from Anthony Weiner, husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin, to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina, they discovered emails related to Clinton's private server on a laptop computer belonging to Weiner. On November 6, Comey notified Congress that the FBI had not changed the conclusion it had reached in July. The notification was later cited by Clinton as a factor in her loss in the 2016 presidential election. The emails controversy received more media coverage than any other topic during the 2016 presidential election.
In September 2019, the State Department finished its internal review into 33,000 emails that Clinton had turned over. The investigation that began in 2016 found 588 violations of security procedures and found that Clinton's use of a personal email server increased the risk of compromising State Department information. In 91 cases, the culpability of sending classified information could be attributed to 38 people, but the review concluded there was "no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information".
Clinton Foundation, Hard Choices, and speeches
When Clinton left the State Department, she returned to private life for the first time in thirty years. She and her daughter joined her husband as named members of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation in 2013. There she focused on early childhood development efforts, including an initiative called Too Small to Fail and a $600 million initiative to encourage the enrollment of girls in secondary schools worldwide, led by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
In 2014, Clinton published a second memoir, Hard Choices, which focused on her time as secretary of state. , the book has sold about 280,000 copies.
Clinton also led the No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project, a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to gather and study data on the progress of women and girls around the world since the Beijing conference in 1995; its March 2015 report said that while "There has never been a better time in history to be born a woman ... this data shows just how far we still have to go." The foundation began accepting new donations from foreign governments, which it had stopped doing while she was secretary of state. However, even though the Clinton Foundation had stopped taking donations from foreign governments, they continued to take large donations from foreign citizens who were sometimes linked to their governments.
She began work on another volume of memoirs and made appearances on the paid speaking circuit. There she received $200,000–225,000 per engagement, often appearing before Wall Street firms or at business conventions. She also made some unpaid speeches on behalf of the foundation. For the fifteen months ending in March 2015, Clinton earned over $11 million from her speeches. For the overall period 2007–14, the Clintons earned almost $141 million, paid some $56 million in federal and state taxes and donated about $15 million to charity. , she was estimated to be worth over $30 million on her own, or $45–53 million with her husband.
Clinton resigned from the board of the foundation in April 2015, when she began her presidential campaign. The foundation said it would accept new foreign governmental donations from six Western nations only.
2016 presidential campaign
On April 12, 2015, Clinton formally announced her candidacy for the presidency in the 2016 election. She had a campaign-in-waiting already in place, including a large donor network, experienced operatives and the Ready for Hillary and Priorities USA Action political action committees and other infrastructure. Prior to her campaign, Clinton had claimed in an interview on NDTV in May 2012 that she would not seek the presidency again, but later wrote in her 2014 autobiography Hard Choices that she had not decided. The campaign's headquarters were established in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Her campaign focused on: raising middle class incomes, establishing universal preschool, making college more affordable and improving the Affordable Care Act. Initially considered a prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination, Clinton faced an unexpectedly strong challenge from democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. His longtime stance against the influence of corporations and the wealthy in American politics resonated with a dissatisfied citizenry troubled by the effects of income inequality in the U.S. and contrasted with Clinton's Wall Street ties.
In the initial contest of the primaries season, Clinton only very narrowly won the Iowa Democratic caucuses, held February 1, over an increasingly popular Sanders — the first woman to win them. In the first primary, held in New Hampshire on February 9, she lost to Sanders by a wide margin. Sanders was an increasing threat in the next contest, the Nevada caucuses on February 20, but Clinton managed a five-percentage-point win, aided by final-days campaigning among casino workers. Clinton followed that with a lopsided victory in the South Carolina primary on February 27. These two victories stabilized her campaign and showed an avoidance of the management turmoil that harmed her 2008 effort.
On March 1 Super Tuesday, Clinton won seven of eleven contests, including a string of dominating victories across the South buoyed, as in South Carolina, by African-American voters. She opened up a significant lead in pledged delegates over Sanders. She maintained this delegate lead across subsequent contests during the primary season, with a consistent pattern throughout. Sanders did better among younger, whiter, more rural and more liberal voters and states that held caucuses or where eligibility was open to independents. Clinton did better among older, black and Hispanic voter populations, and in states that held primaries or where eligibility was restricted to registered Democrats.
By June 5, 2016, she had earned enough pledged delegates and supportive superdelegates for the media to consider her the presumptive nominee. On June 7, after winning most of the states in the final major round of primaries, Clinton held a victory rally in Brooklyn becoming the first woman to claim the status of presumptive nominee for a major American political party. By campaign's end, Clinton had won 2,219 pledged delegates to Sanders' 1,832; with an estimated 594 superdelegates compared to Sanders' 47. She received almost 17 million votes during the nominating process, as opposed to Sanders' 13 million.
Clinton was formally nominated at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 26, 2016, becoming the first woman to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party. Her choice of vice presidential running mate, Senator Tim Kaine, was nominated by the convention the following day. Her opponents in the general election included Republican Donald Trump, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Jill Stein of the Green Party. Around the time of the convention, WikiLeaks released emails that suggested the DNC and the Clinton campaign tilted the primary in Clinton's favor.
Clinton held a significant lead in national polls over Trump throughout most of 2016. In early July, Trump and Clinton were tied in major polls following the FBI's conclusion of its investigation into her emails. FBI Director James Comey concluded Clinton had been "extremely careless" in her handling of classified government material. In late July, Trump gained his first lead over Clinton in major polls following a three to four percentage point convention bounce at the Republican National Convention. This was in line with the average bounce in conventions since 2004, although it was toward the low side by historical standards. Following Clinton's seven percentage point convention bounce at the Democratic National Convention, she regained a significant lead in national polls at the start of August. In fall 2016, Clinton and Tim Kaine published Stronger Together, which outlined their vision for the United States.
Clinton was defeated by Donald Trump in the November 8, 2016, presidential election. By the early morning hours of November 9, Trump had received 279 projected electoral college votes, with 270 needed to win; media sources proclaimed him the winner. Clinton then phoned Trump to concede and to congratulate him on his victory, whereupon Trump gave his victory speech. The next morning Clinton made a public concession speech in which she acknowledged the pain of her loss, but called on her supporters to accept Trump as their next president, saying: "We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead." Though Clinton lost the election by capturing only 232 electoral votes to Trump's 306, she won the popular vote by more than 2.8 million votes, or 2.1% of the voter base. She is the fifth presidential candidate in U.S. history to win the popular vote but lose the election. She won the most votes of any candidate who did not take office and the third-most votes of any candidate in history, though she did not have the greatest percentage win of a losing candidate. (Andrew Jackson won the popular vote by 10.4% but lost to John Quincy Adams).
On December 19, 2016, when electors formally voted, Clinton lost five of her initial 232 votes due to faithless electors, with three of her Washington votes being cast instead for Colin Powell, one being cast for Faith Spotted Eagle, and one in Hawaii being cast for Bernie Sanders.
Post-2016 election activities
In their respective roles as a former president and a former first lady, Bill and Hillary Clinton attended the inauguration of Donald Trump with their daughter, Chelsea. The morning of the inauguration Clinton wrote on her Twitter account, "I'm here today to honor our democracy & its enduring values, I will never stop believing in our country & its future."
In October 2017, Clinton was awarded an honorary doctorate from Swansea University, whose College of Law was renamed the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law in her honor. In October 2018, Hillary and Bill Clinton announced plans for a 13-city speaking tour in various cities in the United States and Canada between November 2018 and May 2019. Hillary was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in law (LLD) at Queen's University Belfast on October 10, 2018, after giving a speech on Northern Ireland and the impacts of Brexit at Whitla Hall, Belfast. In June 2018, Trinity College Dublin awarded her with an honorary doctorate (LLD). In September 2021 she was awarded an honorary doctorate of civil law by the University of Oxford.
A package that contained a pipe bomb was sent to Clinton's home in Washington, D.C., on October 24, 2018. It was intercepted by the Secret Service. Similar packages were sent to several other Democratic leaders and to CNN.
Political actions
Clinton delivered a St. Patrick's Day speech in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on March 17, 2017. In it, alluding to reports that she had being seen taking walks in the woods around Chappaqua following her loss in the presidential election, Clinton indicated her readiness to emerge from "the woods" and become politically active again. However, the following month she confirmed she would not seek public office again. She reiterated her comments in March 2019 and stated she would not run for president in 2020.
In May 2017, Clinton announced the formation of Onward Together, a new political action committee that she wrote is "dedicated to advancing the progressive vision that earned nearly 66 million votes in the last election". During 2017, she spoke out on a number of occasions against Republican plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with the American Health Care Act, which she called "a disastrous bill" and a "shameful failure of policy & morality by GOP". In response to the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, Clinton said the U.S. should take out Bashar al-Assad's airfields and thereby "prevent him from being able to use them to bomb innocent people and drop sarin gas on them".
On April 28, 2020, Clinton endorsed the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, for president in the 2020 election and she addressed the 2020 Democratic National Convention in August. On October 28, 2020, Clinton announced that she was on the 2020 Democratic slate of electors for the state of New York. After Biden and Kamala Harris won New York State, thereby electing the Democratic elector slate, Clinton and her husband served as members of the 2020 United States Electoral College and cast the first of the state's electoral votes for Biden and Harris.
Comments on President Trump
On May 2, 2017, Clinton said Trump's use of Twitter "doesn't work" when pursuing important negotiations. "Kim Jong Un ... [is] always interested in trying to get Americans to come to negotiate to elevate their status and their position". Negotiations with North Korea should not take place without "a broader strategic framework to try to get China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, to put the kind of pressure on the regime that will finally bring them to the negotiating table with some kind of realistic prospect for change." While delivering the commencement speech at her alma mater Wellesley College on May 26, Clinton asserted President Trump's 2018 budget proposal was "a con" for underfunding domestic programs. On June 1, when President Trump announced the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, Clinton tweeted that it was a "historic mistake".
On September 29, 2019, in an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, Clinton described Trump as a "threat" to the country's standing in the world; an "illegitimate president", despite having won the election; and a "corrupt human tornado".
Comments on politics during the Biden administration
In March 2021, Clinton voiced her support for the United States Senate to abolish the Senate filibuster if it proves necessary to do so in order to pass voting rights legislation. Clinton called the Senate filibuster "another Jim Crow relic".
Writing career
Clinton's third memoir, What Happened, an account of her loss in the 2016 election, was released on September 12, 2017. A book tour and a series of interviews and personal appearances were arranged for the launch. What Happened sold 300,000 copies in its first week, less than her 2003 memoir, Living History, but triple the first-week sales of her previous memoir, 2014's Hard Choices. Simon & Schuster announced that What Happened had sold more e-books in its first-week than any nonfiction e-book since 2010. As of December 10, 2017, the book had sold 448,947 hardcover copies.
An announcement was made in February 2017 that efforts were under way to render her 1996 book It Takes a Village as a picture book. Marla Frazee, a two-time winner of the Caldecott Medal, was announced as the illustrator. Clinton had worked on it with Frazee during her 2016 presidential election campaign. The result was published on the same day of publication as What Happened. The book is aimed at preschool-aged children, although a few messages are more likely better understood by adults.
In October 2019, The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience, a book Clinton co-wrote with her daughter Chelsea, was published. In February 2021, Clinton announced that she was co-writing her first fiction book with Louise Penny. The book, a political mystery thriller, is titled State of Terror and was released in October 2021.
Clinton has also written occasional op-eds in the years since her 2016 election defeat. In September 2018, The Atlantic published an article written by Clinton titled "American Democracy Is In Crisis". In April 2019, The Washington Post published an op-ed by Clinton calling for congress to be, "deliberate, fair, and fearless" in responding to the Mueller Report. In their November/December 2020 issue, Foreign Affairs published a piece by Clinton titled "A National Security Reckoning". On January 11, 2021, following the January 6 storming of the United States Capitol, an op-ed by Clinton titled "Trump should be impeached. But that alone won’t remove white supremacy from America." was published in The Washington Post. In July 2021, Democracy Docket published an op-ed by Clinton on Republican efforts to restrict voting following the 2020 presidential election.
Media ventures
Clinton collaborated with director Nanette Burstein on the documentary film Hillary, which was released on Hulu in March 2020.
On September 29, 2020, Clinton launched an interview podcast in collaboration with iHeartRadio titled You and Me Both.
Clinton is slated to be an executive producer of a drama series about the fight for women's suffrage in the United States titled The Woman's Hour. The series, based upon Elaine Weiss' book of the same name, will air on The CW.
Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast
On January 2, 2020, it was announced that Clinton would take up the position of Chancellor at Queen's University Belfast. Clinton became the 11th and first female chancellor of the university, filling the position that had been vacant since 2018 after the death of her predecessor, Thomas J. Moran. Commenting on taking up the position, she said that "the university is making waves internationally for its research and impact and I am proud to be an ambassador and help grow its reputation for excellence". Queen's Pro-Chancellor Stephen Prenter said that Clinton on her appointment "will be an incredible advocate for Queen's" who can act as an "inspirational role model". However, her inauguration was protested by some students.
Political positions
Using her Senate votes, several organizations have attempted to measure Clinton's place on the political spectrum scientifically. National Journals 2004 study of roll-call votes assigned Clinton a rating of 30 on the political spectrum, relative to the Senate at the time, with a rating of1 being most liberal and 100 being most conservative. National Journals subsequent rankings placed her as the 32nd-most liberal senator in 2006 and 16th-most liberal senator in 2007. A 2004 analysis by political scientists Joshua D. Clinton of Princeton University and Simon Jackman and Doug Rivers of Stanford University found her likely to be the sixth-to-eighth-most liberal senator. The Almanac of American Politics, edited by Michael Barone and Richard E. Cohen, rated her votes from 2003 through 2006 as liberal or conservative, with 100 as the highest rating, in three areas: Economic, Social and Foreign. Averaged for the four years, the ratings are: Economic = 75 liberal, 23 conservative; Social = 83 liberal, 6 conservative; Foreign = 66 liberal, 30 conservative. Total average = 75 liberal, 20 conservative. According to FiveThirtyEights measure of political ideology, "Clinton was one of the most liberal members during her time in the Senate."
Organizations have also attempted to provide more recent assessments of Clinton after she reentered elective politics in 2015. Based on her stated positions from the 1990s to the present, On the Issues places her in the "Left Liberal" region on their two-dimensional grid of social and economic ideologies, with a social score of 80 on a scale of zero more-restrictive to 100 less-government stances, with an economic score of ten on a scale of zero more-restrictive to 100 less-government stances. Crowdpac, which does a data aggregation of campaign contributions, votes and speeches, gives her a 6.5L rating on a one-dimensional left-right scale from 10L (most liberal) to 10C (most conservative).
In March 2016, Clinton laid out a detailed economic plan, which The New York Times called "optimistic" and "wide-ranging". Basing her economic philosophy on inclusive capitalism, Clinton proposed a "clawback" that would rescind tax relief and other benefits for companies that move jobs overseas; providing incentives for companies that share profits with employees, communities and the environment, rather than focusing on short-term profits to increase stock value and rewarding shareholders; increasing collective bargaining rights; and placing an "exit tax" on companies that move their headquarters out of America to pay a lower tax rate overseas. Clinton currently opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), though previously described it as "the gold standard" of trade deals. She supports the U.S. Export-Import Bank and holds that "any trade deal has to produce jobs and raise wages and increase prosperity and protect our security". As senator (2001–2009), her record on trade was mixed; she voted in favor of some trade agreements but not others.
Given the climate of unlimited campaign contributions following the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, Clinton called for a constitutional amendment to limit "unaccountable money" in politics. In July 2016, she "committed" to introducing a U.S. constitutional amendment that would result in overturning the 2010 Citizens United decision. On December 7, 2015, Clinton presented her detailed plans for regulating Wall Street financial activities in the New York Times.
Accepting the scientific consensus on climate change, Clinton supports cap-and-trade, and opposed the Keystone XL pipeline. She supported "equal pay for equal work", to address current shortfalls in how much women are paid to do the same jobs men do. Clinton has explicitly focused on family issues and supports universal preschool. These programs would be funded by proposing tax increases on the wealthy, including a "fair share surcharge". Clinton supported the Affordable Care Act and would have added a "public option" that competed with private insurers and enabled people "50 or 55 and up" to buy into Medicare.
On LGBT rights, she supports the right to same-sex marriage, a position that has changed throughout her political career. In 2000, she was against such marriages altogether. In 2006, she said only that she would support a state's decision to permit same-sex marriages, but opposed federally amending the Constitution to permit same-sex marriage. While running for president in 2007, she again reiterated her opposition to same-sex marriage, although expressed her support of civil unions. 2013 marked the first time that Clinton expressed support for a national right to same-sex marriage. In 2000, she was the first spouse of a US president to march in an LGBT pride parade. In 2016, she was the first major-party presidential candidate ever to write an op-ed for an LGBT newspaper (Philadelphia Gay News).
Clinton held that allowing undocumented immigrants to have a path to citizenship "s at its heart a family issue", and expressed support for Obama's Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program, which would allow up to five million undocumented immigrants to gain deferral of deportation and authorization to legally work in the United States. However, in 2014, Clinton stated that unaccompanied children crossing the border "should be sent back." She opposed and criticized Trump's call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.
Expressing support for Common Core she said, "The really unfortunate argument that's been going on around Common Core, it's very painful because the Common Core started off as a bipartisan effort. It was actually nonpartisan. It wasn't politicized ... Iowa has had a testing system based on a core curriculum for a really long time. And you see the value of it, you understand why that helps you organize your whole education system. And a lot of states unfortunately haven't had that and so don't understand the value of a core, in this sense a Common Core."
On foreign affairs, Clinton voted in favor of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in October 2002, a vote she later "regretted". She favored arming Syria's rebel fighters in 2012 and has called for the removal of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. She supported the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and the NATO-led military intervention in Libya to oust former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Clinton is in favor of maintaining American influence in the Middle East. She has told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, "America can't ever be neutral when it comes to Israel's security and survival." Clinton expressed support for Israel's right to defend itself during the 2006 Lebanon War and 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. In a 2017 interview, after a poison gas attack in Syria, Clinton said that she had favored more aggressive action against Bashar al-Assad: "I think we should have been more willing to confront Assad. I really believe we should have and still should take out his air fields and prevent him from being able to use them to bomb innocent people and drop sarin gas on them."
In 2000, Clinton advocated for the elimination of the electoral college. She promised to co-sponsor legislation that would abolish it, resulting in the direct election of the president. She reiterated her position against the Electoral College as she cast her vote as an elector in the electoral college for Joe Biden in 2020.
Religious views
Clinton has been a lifelong Methodist, and has been part of United Methodist Church congregations throughout her life. She has publicly discussed her Christian faith on several occasions, although seldom while campaigning. Professor Paul Kengor, author of God and Hillary Clinton: A Spiritual Life, has suggested that Clinton's political positions are rooted in her faith. She often expresses a maxim often attributed to John Wesley: "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can."
Cultural and political image
Over a hundred books and scholarly works have been written about Clinton. A 2006 survey by the New York Observer found "a virtual cottage industry" of "anti-Clinton literature" put out by Regnery Publishing and other conservative imprints. Some titles include Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House, Hillary's Scheme: Inside the Next Clinton's Ruthless Agenda to Take the White House and Can She Be Stopped?: Hillary Clinton Will Be the Next President of the United States Unless ... Books praising Clinton did not sell nearly as well (other than her memoirs and those of her husband). When she ran for Senate in 2000, several fundraising groups such as Save Our Senate and the Emergency Committee to Stop Hillary Rodham Clinton sprang up to oppose her. Don Van Natta found that Republican and conservative groups viewed her as a reliable "bogeyman" to mention in fundraising letters, on a par with Ted Kennedy, and the equivalent of Democratic and liberal appeals mentioning Newt Gingrich.
Clinton has also been featured in the media and popular culture in a wide spectrum of perspectives. In 1995, writer Todd S. Purdum of The New York Times characterized Clinton as a Rorschach test, an assessment echoed at the time by feminist writer and activist Betty Friedan, who said, "Coverage of Hillary Clinton is a massive Rorschach test of the evolution of women in our society." She has been the subject of many satirical impressions on Saturday Night Live, beginning with her time as the first lady. She has made guest appearances on the show herself, in 2008 and in 2015, to face-off with her doppelgängers. Jonathan Mann wrote songs about her including "The Hillary Shimmy Song", which went viral.
She has often been described in the popular media as a polarizing figure, though some argue otherwise. In the early stages of her 2008 presidential campaign, a Time magazine cover showed a large picture of her with two checkboxes labeled "Love Her", "Hate Her". Mother Jones titled its profile of her "Harpy, Hero, Heretic: Hillary". Following Clinton's "choked up moment" and related incidents in the run-up to the January 2008 New Hampshire primary, both The New York Times and Newsweek found that discussion of gender's role in the campaign had moved into the national political discourse. Newsweek editor Jon Meacham summed up the relationship between Clinton and the American public by saying the New Hampshire events, "brought an odd truth to light: though Hillary Rodham Clinton has been on the periphery or in the middle of national life for decades ... she is one of the most recognizable but least understood figures in American politics".
Once she became secretary of state, Clinton's image seemed to improve dramatically among the American public and become one of a respected world figure. Her favorability ratings dropped, however, after she left office and began to be viewed in the context of partisan politics once more. By September 2015, with her 2016 presidential campaign underway and beset by continued reports regarding her private email usage at the State Department, her ratings had slumped to some of her lowest levels ever. In March 2016, she acknowledged that: "I'm not a natural politician, in case you haven't noticed."
Electoral history
2000 Senate election
2006 Senate election
2008 presidential election
2016 presidential election
Books and recordings
It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us (1996).Clinton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 1997 for the book's audio recording.
Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets (1998)
An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History (2000)
Living History (Simon & Schuster, 2003). The book set a first-week sales record for a nonfiction work, went on to sell more than one million copies in the first month following publication, and was translated into twelve foreign languages.
Hard Choices (2014). The book has sold about 280,000 copies.
With Tim Kaine, Stronger Together (2016)
What Happened (Simon & Schuster, 2017, in print, e-book, and audio read by the author)
With Chelsea Clinton, The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience (Simon & Schuster, 2019, in print, e-book, and audio)
With Louise Penny, State of Terror is set to release on October 12, 2021, and be published by Simon & Schuster & St. Martin's Press.
Ancestry
See also
2016 United States presidential election timeline
List of female United States Cabinet members
Women in the United States Senate
Notes
References
Citations
Sources cited
External links
Official
Clinton Foundation
State Department Biography
Media coverage
Other
Hillary Clinton's file at Politifact
1947 births
Living people
2020 United States presidential electors
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20th-century American women politicians
20th-century American women writers
20th-century Methodists
21st-century American diplomats
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American politicians
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American people of Dutch descent
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American political writers
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Articles containing video clips
Candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election
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Yale Law School alumni | true | [
"\"She's Not Just a Pretty Face\" is a song recorded by Canadian country-pop singer Shania Twain. It was the fourth country single, and sixth overall, from her fourth studio album Up!. The song was written by Twain And her then-husband Robert John \"Mutt\" Lange. Twain had announced that \"Nah!\" would be the next ... | [
"Hillary Diane Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, lawyer, writer, and public speaker who served as the 67th United States secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, and as first lady of the United States from 1993 to 2... |
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"Havelock Ellis",
"Sexual impulse in youth"
] | C_55326ebad6b0415ea8430f68d8c986f4_1 | What was his view on sexual impulse in the youth? | 1 | What was Havelock Ellis view on sexual impulse in the youth? | Havelock Ellis | Dr. Havelock Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse,'" he adds. He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower function levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience. Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These early ages are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen. For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded that of girls. Dr. Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children experience are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this either pleasure or an erection until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude." Ellis even considers ancestry as contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable." CANNOTANSWER | book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. | Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and inclinations, as well as on transgender psychology. He is credited with introducing the notions of narcissism and autoeroticism, later adopted by psychoanalysis.
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He supported eugenics and served as one of 16 vice-presidents of the Eugenics Society from 1909 to 1912.
Early life and career
Ellis, son of Edward Peppen Ellis and Susannah Mary Wheatley, was born in Croydon, Surrey (now part of Greater London). He had four sisters, none of whom married. His father was a sea captain, his mother the daughter of a sea captain, and many other relatives lived on or near the sea. When he was seven his father took him on one of his voyages, during which they called at Sydney, Australia; Callao, Peru; and Antwerp, Belgium. After his return, Ellis attended the French and German College near Wimbledon, and afterward attended a school in Mitcham.
In April 1875, Ellis sailed on his father's ship for Australia; soon after his arrival in Sydney, he obtained a position as a master at a private school. After the discovery of his lack of training, he was fired and became a tutor for a family living a few miles from Carcoar, New South Wales. He spent a year there and then obtained a position as a master at a grammar school in Grafton, New South Wales. The headmaster had died and Ellis carried on at the school for that year, but was unsuccessful.
At the end of the year, he returned to Sydney and, after three months' training, was given charge of two government part-time elementary schools, one at Sparkes Creek, near Scone, New South Wales, and the other at Junction Creek. He lived at the school house on Sparkes Creek for a year. He wrote in his autobiography, "In Australia, I gained health of body, I attained peace of soul, my life task was revealed to me, I was able to decide on a professional vocation, I became an artist in literature; these five points covered the whole activity of my life in the world. Some of them I should doubtless have reached without the aid of the Australian environment, scarcely all, and most of them I could never have achieved so completely if chance had not cast me into the solitude of the Liverpool Range."
Medicine and psychology
Ellis returned to England in April 1879. He had decided to take up the study of sex and felt his first step must be to qualify as a physician. He studied at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, now part of King's College London, but never had a regular medical practice. His training was aided by a small legacy and also income earned from editing works in the Mermaid Series of lesser known Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. He joined The Fellowship of the New Life in 1883, meeting other social reformers Eleanor Marx, Edward Carpenter and George Bernard Shaw.
The 1897 English translation of Ellis's book Sexual Inversion, co-authored with John Addington Symonds and originally published in German in 1896, was the first English medical textbook on homosexuality. It describes male homosexual relations as well as adolescent rape. Ellis wrote the first objective study of homosexuality, as he did not characterise it as a disease, immoral, or a crime. The work assumes that same-sex love transcended age taboos as well as gender taboos. The first edition of the book was bought-out by the executor of Symond's estate, who forbade any mention of Symonds in the second edition.
In 1897 a bookseller was prosecuted for stocking Ellis's book. Although the term homosexual is attributed to Ellis, he wrote in 1897, "'Homosexual' is a barbarously hybrid word, and I claim no responsibility for it." In fact, the word homosexual was coined in 1868 by the Hungarian author Karl-Maria Kertbeny.
Ellis may have developed psychological concepts of autoerotism and narcissism, both of which were later developed further by Sigmund Freud. Ellis's influence may have reached Radclyffe Hall, who would have been about 17 years old at the time Sexual Inversion was published. She later referred to herself as a sexual invert and wrote of female "sexual inverts" in Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself and The Well of Loneliness. When Ellis bowed out as the star witness in the trial of The Well of Loneliness on 14 May 1928, Norman Haire was set to replace him but no witnesses were called.
Eonism
Ellis studied what today are called transgender phenomena. Together with Magnus Hirschfeld, Havelock Ellis is considered a major figure in the history of sexology to establish a new category that was separate and distinct from homosexuality. Aware of Hirschfeld's studies of transvestism, but disagreeing with his terminology, in 1913 Ellis proposed the term sexo-aesthetic inversion to describe the phenomenon. In 1920 he coined the term eonism, which he derived from the name of a historical figure, the Chevalier d'Éon. Ellis explained:
Ellis found eonism to be "a remarkably common anomaly", and "next in frequency to homosexuality among sexual deviations", and categorized it as "among the transitional or intermediate forms of sexuality". As in the Freudian tradition, Ellis postulated that a "too close attachment to the mother" may encourage eonism, but also considered that it "probably invokes some defective endocrine balance".
Marriage
In November 1891, at the age of 32, and reportedly still a virgin, Ellis married the English writer and proponent of women's rights Edith Lees. From the beginning, their marriage was unconventional, as Edith Lees was openly lesbian. At the end of the honeymoon, Ellis went back to his bachelor rooms in Paddington. She lived at Fellowship House. Their "open marriage" was the central subject in Ellis's autobiography, My Life. Ellis reportedly had an affair with Margaret Sanger.
According to Ellis in My Life, his friends were much amused at his being considered an expert on sex. Some knew that he reportedly suffered from impotence until the age of 60. He then discovered that he could become aroused by the sight of a woman urinating. Ellis named this "undinism". After his wife died, Ellis formed a relationship with a French woman, Françoise Lafitte.
Eugenics
Ellis was a supporter of eugenics. He served as vice-president to the Eugenics Education Society and wrote on the subject, among others, in The Task of Social Hygiene:
In his early writings, it was clear that Ellis concurred with the notion that there was a system of racial hierarchies, and that non-western cultures were considered to be "lower races". Before explicitly talking about eugenic topics, he used the prevalence of homosexuality in these 'lower races' to indicate the universality of the behavior. In his work, Sexual Inversions, where Ellis presented numerous cases of homosexuality in Britain, he was always careful to mention the race of the subject and the health of the person's 'stock', which included their neuropathic conditions and the health of their parents. However, Ellis was clear to assert that he did not feel that homosexuality was an issue that eugenics needed to actively deal with, as he felt that once the practice was accepted in society, those with homosexual tendencies would comfortably choose not to marry, and thus would cease to pass the 'homosexual heredity' along.
In a debate in the Sociological Society, Ellis corresponded with noted eugenicist Francis Galton, who was presenting a paper in support of marriage restrictions. While Galton analogized eugenics to breeding domesticated animals, Ellis felt that a greater sense of caution was needed before applying the eugenic regulations to populations, as "we have scarcely yet realized how subtle and far-reaching hereditary influences are." Instead, because unlike domesticated animals, humans were in charge of who they mated with, Ellis argued that a greater emphasis was needed on public education about how vital this issue was. Ellis thus held much more moderate views than many contemporary eugenicists. In fact, Ellis also fundamentally disagreed with Galton's leading ideas that procreation restrictions were the same as marriage restrictions. Ellis believed that those who should not procreate should still be able to gain all the other benefits of marriage, and to not allow that was an intolerable burden. This, in his mind, was what led to eugenics being "misunderstood, ridiculed, and regarded as a fad".
Throughout his life, Ellis was both a member and later a council member of the Eugenics Society. Moreover, he played a role on the General Committee of the First International Eugenics Congress.
Sexual impulse in youth
Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse, he adds. He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower function levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience.
Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These early ages are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen. For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references G.V. Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent of girls were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded those of girls.
Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this either pleasure or an erection until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude". Ellis even considers ancestry as contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable".
Auto-eroticism
Ellis' views of auto-eroticism were very comprehensive, including much more than masturbation. Auto-eroticism, according to Ellis, includes a wide range of phenomena. Ellis states in his 1897 book Studies in the Psychology of Sex, that auto-eroticism ranges from erotic day-dreams, marked by a passivity shown by the subject, to "unshamed efforts at sexual self-manipulation witnessed among the insane".
Ellis also argues that auto-erotic impulses can be heightened by bodily processes like menstrual flow. During this time, he says, women, who would otherwise not feel a strong propensity for auto-eroticism, increase their masturbation patterns. This trend is absent, however, in women without a conscious acceptance of their sexual feelings and in a small percentage of women suffering from a sexual or general ailment which result in a significant amount of "sexual anesthesia".
Ellis also raises social concern over how auto-erotic tendencies affect marriages. He goes on to tying auto-eroticism to declining marriage rates. As these rates decline, he concludes that auto-eroticism will only increase in both amount and intensity for both men and women. Therefore, he states, this is an important issue to both the moralist and physician to investigate psychological underpinnings of these experiences and determine an attitude toward them.
Smell
Ellis believed that the sense of smell, although ineffective at long ranges, still contributes to sexual attraction, and therefore, to mate selection. In his 1905 book, Sexual selection in man, Ellis makes a claim for the sense of smell in the role of sexual selection. He asserts that while we have evolved out of a great necessity for the sense of smell, we still rely on our sense of smell with sexual selection. The contributions that smell makes in sexual attraction can even be heightened with certain climates. Ellis states that with warmer climates come a heightened sensitivity to sexual and other positive feelings of smell among normal populations. Because of this, he believes people are often delighted by odors in the East, particularly in India, in "Hebrew and Mohammedan lands". Ellis then continues by describing the distinct odours in various races, noting that the Japanese race has the least intense of bodily odours. Ellis concludes his argument by stating, "On the whole, it may be said that in the usual life of man odours play a not inconsiderable part and raise problems which are not without interest, but that their demonstrable part in actual sexual selection is comparatively small."
Views on women and birth control
Ellis favoured feminism from a eugenic perspective, feeling that the enhanced social, economic, and sexual choices that feminism provided for women would result in women choosing partners who were more eugenically sound. In his view, intelligent women would not choose, nor be forced to marry and procreate with feeble-minded men.
Ellis viewed birth control as merely the continuation of an evolutionary progression, noting that natural progress has always consisted of increasing impediments to reproduction, which lead to a lower quantity of offspring, but a much higher quality of them. From a eugenic perspective, birth control was an invaluable instrument for the elevation of the race. However, Ellis noted that birth control could not be used randomly in a way that could have a detrimental impact by reducing conception, but rather needed to be used in a targeted manner to improve the qualities of certain 'stocks'. He observed that it was unfortunately the 'superior stocks' who had knowledge of and used birth control while the 'inferior stocks' propagated without checks. Ellis' solution to this was a focus on contraceptives in education, as this would disseminate the knowledge in the populations that he felt needed them the most. Ellis argued that birth control was the only available way of making eugenic selection practicable, as the only other option was wide-scale abstention from intercourse for those who were 'unfit'.
Views on sterilization
Ellis was strongly opposed to the idea of castration for eugenic purposes. In 1909, regulations were introduced at the Cantonal Asylum in Bern, which allowed those deemed 'unfit' and with strong sexual inclinations to be mandatorily sterilized. In a particular instance, several men and women, including epileptics and paedophiles, were castrated, some of whom voluntarily requested it. While the results were positive, in that none of the subjects were found guilty of any more sexual offences, Ellis remained staunchly opposed to the practice. His view on the origin of these inclinations was that sexual impulses do not reside in the sexual organs, but rather they persist in the brain. Moreover, he posited that the sexual glands provided an important source of internal secretions vital for the functioning of the organism, and thus their removal could greatly injure the patient.
However, already in his time, Ellis was witness to the rise of vasectomies and ligatures of the Fallopian tubes, which performed the same sterilization without removing the whole organ. In these cases, Ellis was much more favourable, yet still maintaining that "sterilization of the unfit, if it is to be a practical and humane measure commanding general approval, must be voluntary on the part of the person undergoing it, and never compulsory." His opposition to such a system was not only rooted in morality. Rather, Ellis also considered the practicality of the situation, hypothesizing that if an already mentally unfit man is forced to undergo sterilization, he would only become more ill-balanced, and would end up committing more anti-social acts.
Though Ellis was never at ease with the idea of forced sterilizations, he was willing to find ways to circumvent that restriction. His focus was on the social ends of eugenics, and as a means to it, Ellis was in no way against 'persuading' 'volunteers' to undergo sterilization by withdrawing Poor Relief from them. While he preferred to convince those he deemed unfit using education, Ellis supported coercion as a tool. Furthermore, he supported adding ideas about eugenics and birth control to the education system in order to restructure society, and to promote social hygiene. For Ellis, sterilization seemed to be the only eugenic instrument that could be used on the mentally unfit. In fact, in his publication The Sterilization of the Unfit, Ellis argued that even institutionalization could not guarantee the complete prevention of procreation between the unfit, and thus, "the burdens of society, to say nothing of the race, are being multiplied. It is not possible to view sterilization with enthusiasm when applied to any class of people…but what, I ask myself, is the practical alternative?"
Psychedelics
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He consumed a brew made of 3 Echinocacti (peyote) in the afternoon of Good Friday alone in his apartment in Temple, London. During the experience, lasting for about 24 hours, he noted a plethora of extremely vivid, complex, colourful, pleasantly smelling hallucinations, consisting both of abstract geometrical patterns and definite objects such as butterflies and other insects. He published the account of the experience in The Contemporary Review in 1898 (Mescal: A New Artificial Paradise). The title of the article alludes to an earlier work on the effects of mind-altering substances, an 1860 book Les Paradis artificiels by French poet Charles Baudelaire (containing descriptions of experiments with opium and hashish).
Ellis was so impressed with the aesthetic quality of the experience that he gave some specimens of peyote to the Irish poet W. B. Yeats, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an organisation of which another mescaline researcher, Aleister Crowley, was also a member.
Later life and death
Ellis resigned from his position of Fellow of the Eugenics Society over their stance on sterilization in January 1931.
Ellis spent the last year of his life at Hintlesham, Suffolk, where he died in July 1939. He is buried in Golders Green Crematorium, in North London.
Works
The Criminal (1890)
The New Spirit (1890)
The Nationalisation of Health (1892)
Man and Woman: A Study of Secondary and Tertiary Sexual Characteristics (1894) (revised 1929)
translator: Germinal (by Zola) (1895) (reissued 1933)
with J.A. Symonds
Studies in the Psychology of Sex (1897–1928) six volumes (listed below)
Affirmations (1898)
The Nineteenth Century (1900)
A Study of British Genius (1904)
The Soul of Spain (1908)
The Problem of Race-Regeneration (1911)
The World of Dreams (1911) (new edition 1926)
The Task of Social Hygiene (1912)
The Philosophy of Conflict (1919)
On Life and Sex: Essays of Love and Virtue (1921)
Little Essays of Love and Virtue (1922)
Sonnets, with Folk Songs from the Spanish (1925)
Eonism and Other Supplementary Studies (1928)
Studies in the Psychology of Sex Vol. 7 (1928)
The Art of Life (1929) (selected and arranged by Mrs. S. Herbert)
More Essays of Love and Virtue (1931)
ed.: James Hinton: Life in Nature (1931)
ed.: Imaginary Conversations and Poems: A Selection, by Walter Savage Landor (1933)
Chapman (1934)
My Confessional (1934)
Questions of Our Day (1934)
From Rousseau to Proust (1935)
Selected Essays (1936)
Poems (1937) (selected by John Gawsworth; pseudonym of T. Fytton Armstrong)
Love and Marriage (1938) (with others)
Sex Compatibility in Marriage (1939)
From Marlowe to Shaw (1950) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
The Genius of Europe (1950)
Sex and Marriage (1951) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
The Unpublished Letters of Havelock Ellis to Joseph Ishill (1954)
References
Bibliography
Further reading
(U.S. title)
External links
Havelock Ellis papers (MS 195). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library
Henry Havelock Ellis papers from the Historic Psychiatry Collection, Menninger Archives, Kansas Historical Society
1859 births
1939 deaths
19th-century English non-fiction writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
Alumni of King's College London
Alumni of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School
British sexologists
English eugenicists
English psychologists
People from Croydon
Psychedelic drug advocates
British relationships and sexuality writers
Medical writers on LGBT topics
British social reformers
Transgender studies academics
Victorian writers
Translators of Émile Zola | true | [
"The World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) is an international umbrella organization representing sexological societies and sexologists worldwide. Founded in 1978 in Rome, Italy, the WAS main goal is to promote sexual health for all through sexological science. Since its beginning, the WAS has successfully spon... | [
"Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and incl... |
[
"Havelock Ellis",
"Sexual impulse in youth",
"What was his view on sexual impulse in the youth?",
"book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity."
] | C_55326ebad6b0415ea8430f68d8c986f4_1 | How does he feel they experience it differently? | 2 | How does Havelock Ellis feel youth experience sexual impulse differently? | Havelock Ellis | Dr. Havelock Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse,'" he adds. He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower function levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience. Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These early ages are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen. For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded that of girls. Dr. Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children experience are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this either pleasure or an erection until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude." Ellis even considers ancestry as contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable." CANNOTANSWER | sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse, | Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and inclinations, as well as on transgender psychology. He is credited with introducing the notions of narcissism and autoeroticism, later adopted by psychoanalysis.
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He supported eugenics and served as one of 16 vice-presidents of the Eugenics Society from 1909 to 1912.
Early life and career
Ellis, son of Edward Peppen Ellis and Susannah Mary Wheatley, was born in Croydon, Surrey (now part of Greater London). He had four sisters, none of whom married. His father was a sea captain, his mother the daughter of a sea captain, and many other relatives lived on or near the sea. When he was seven his father took him on one of his voyages, during which they called at Sydney, Australia; Callao, Peru; and Antwerp, Belgium. After his return, Ellis attended the French and German College near Wimbledon, and afterward attended a school in Mitcham.
In April 1875, Ellis sailed on his father's ship for Australia; soon after his arrival in Sydney, he obtained a position as a master at a private school. After the discovery of his lack of training, he was fired and became a tutor for a family living a few miles from Carcoar, New South Wales. He spent a year there and then obtained a position as a master at a grammar school in Grafton, New South Wales. The headmaster had died and Ellis carried on at the school for that year, but was unsuccessful.
At the end of the year, he returned to Sydney and, after three months' training, was given charge of two government part-time elementary schools, one at Sparkes Creek, near Scone, New South Wales, and the other at Junction Creek. He lived at the school house on Sparkes Creek for a year. He wrote in his autobiography, "In Australia, I gained health of body, I attained peace of soul, my life task was revealed to me, I was able to decide on a professional vocation, I became an artist in literature; these five points covered the whole activity of my life in the world. Some of them I should doubtless have reached without the aid of the Australian environment, scarcely all, and most of them I could never have achieved so completely if chance had not cast me into the solitude of the Liverpool Range."
Medicine and psychology
Ellis returned to England in April 1879. He had decided to take up the study of sex and felt his first step must be to qualify as a physician. He studied at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, now part of King's College London, but never had a regular medical practice. His training was aided by a small legacy and also income earned from editing works in the Mermaid Series of lesser known Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. He joined The Fellowship of the New Life in 1883, meeting other social reformers Eleanor Marx, Edward Carpenter and George Bernard Shaw.
The 1897 English translation of Ellis's book Sexual Inversion, co-authored with John Addington Symonds and originally published in German in 1896, was the first English medical textbook on homosexuality. It describes male homosexual relations as well as adolescent rape. Ellis wrote the first objective study of homosexuality, as he did not characterise it as a disease, immoral, or a crime. The work assumes that same-sex love transcended age taboos as well as gender taboos. The first edition of the book was bought-out by the executor of Symond's estate, who forbade any mention of Symonds in the second edition.
In 1897 a bookseller was prosecuted for stocking Ellis's book. Although the term homosexual is attributed to Ellis, he wrote in 1897, "'Homosexual' is a barbarously hybrid word, and I claim no responsibility for it." In fact, the word homosexual was coined in 1868 by the Hungarian author Karl-Maria Kertbeny.
Ellis may have developed psychological concepts of autoerotism and narcissism, both of which were later developed further by Sigmund Freud. Ellis's influence may have reached Radclyffe Hall, who would have been about 17 years old at the time Sexual Inversion was published. She later referred to herself as a sexual invert and wrote of female "sexual inverts" in Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself and The Well of Loneliness. When Ellis bowed out as the star witness in the trial of The Well of Loneliness on 14 May 1928, Norman Haire was set to replace him but no witnesses were called.
Eonism
Ellis studied what today are called transgender phenomena. Together with Magnus Hirschfeld, Havelock Ellis is considered a major figure in the history of sexology to establish a new category that was separate and distinct from homosexuality. Aware of Hirschfeld's studies of transvestism, but disagreeing with his terminology, in 1913 Ellis proposed the term sexo-aesthetic inversion to describe the phenomenon. In 1920 he coined the term eonism, which he derived from the name of a historical figure, the Chevalier d'Éon. Ellis explained:
Ellis found eonism to be "a remarkably common anomaly", and "next in frequency to homosexuality among sexual deviations", and categorized it as "among the transitional or intermediate forms of sexuality". As in the Freudian tradition, Ellis postulated that a "too close attachment to the mother" may encourage eonism, but also considered that it "probably invokes some defective endocrine balance".
Marriage
In November 1891, at the age of 32, and reportedly still a virgin, Ellis married the English writer and proponent of women's rights Edith Lees. From the beginning, their marriage was unconventional, as Edith Lees was openly lesbian. At the end of the honeymoon, Ellis went back to his bachelor rooms in Paddington. She lived at Fellowship House. Their "open marriage" was the central subject in Ellis's autobiography, My Life. Ellis reportedly had an affair with Margaret Sanger.
According to Ellis in My Life, his friends were much amused at his being considered an expert on sex. Some knew that he reportedly suffered from impotence until the age of 60. He then discovered that he could become aroused by the sight of a woman urinating. Ellis named this "undinism". After his wife died, Ellis formed a relationship with a French woman, Françoise Lafitte.
Eugenics
Ellis was a supporter of eugenics. He served as vice-president to the Eugenics Education Society and wrote on the subject, among others, in The Task of Social Hygiene:
In his early writings, it was clear that Ellis concurred with the notion that there was a system of racial hierarchies, and that non-western cultures were considered to be "lower races". Before explicitly talking about eugenic topics, he used the prevalence of homosexuality in these 'lower races' to indicate the universality of the behavior. In his work, Sexual Inversions, where Ellis presented numerous cases of homosexuality in Britain, he was always careful to mention the race of the subject and the health of the person's 'stock', which included their neuropathic conditions and the health of their parents. However, Ellis was clear to assert that he did not feel that homosexuality was an issue that eugenics needed to actively deal with, as he felt that once the practice was accepted in society, those with homosexual tendencies would comfortably choose not to marry, and thus would cease to pass the 'homosexual heredity' along.
In a debate in the Sociological Society, Ellis corresponded with noted eugenicist Francis Galton, who was presenting a paper in support of marriage restrictions. While Galton analogized eugenics to breeding domesticated animals, Ellis felt that a greater sense of caution was needed before applying the eugenic regulations to populations, as "we have scarcely yet realized how subtle and far-reaching hereditary influences are." Instead, because unlike domesticated animals, humans were in charge of who they mated with, Ellis argued that a greater emphasis was needed on public education about how vital this issue was. Ellis thus held much more moderate views than many contemporary eugenicists. In fact, Ellis also fundamentally disagreed with Galton's leading ideas that procreation restrictions were the same as marriage restrictions. Ellis believed that those who should not procreate should still be able to gain all the other benefits of marriage, and to not allow that was an intolerable burden. This, in his mind, was what led to eugenics being "misunderstood, ridiculed, and regarded as a fad".
Throughout his life, Ellis was both a member and later a council member of the Eugenics Society. Moreover, he played a role on the General Committee of the First International Eugenics Congress.
Sexual impulse in youth
Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse, he adds. He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower function levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience.
Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These early ages are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen. For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references G.V. Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent of girls were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded those of girls.
Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this either pleasure or an erection until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude". Ellis even considers ancestry as contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable".
Auto-eroticism
Ellis' views of auto-eroticism were very comprehensive, including much more than masturbation. Auto-eroticism, according to Ellis, includes a wide range of phenomena. Ellis states in his 1897 book Studies in the Psychology of Sex, that auto-eroticism ranges from erotic day-dreams, marked by a passivity shown by the subject, to "unshamed efforts at sexual self-manipulation witnessed among the insane".
Ellis also argues that auto-erotic impulses can be heightened by bodily processes like menstrual flow. During this time, he says, women, who would otherwise not feel a strong propensity for auto-eroticism, increase their masturbation patterns. This trend is absent, however, in women without a conscious acceptance of their sexual feelings and in a small percentage of women suffering from a sexual or general ailment which result in a significant amount of "sexual anesthesia".
Ellis also raises social concern over how auto-erotic tendencies affect marriages. He goes on to tying auto-eroticism to declining marriage rates. As these rates decline, he concludes that auto-eroticism will only increase in both amount and intensity for both men and women. Therefore, he states, this is an important issue to both the moralist and physician to investigate psychological underpinnings of these experiences and determine an attitude toward them.
Smell
Ellis believed that the sense of smell, although ineffective at long ranges, still contributes to sexual attraction, and therefore, to mate selection. In his 1905 book, Sexual selection in man, Ellis makes a claim for the sense of smell in the role of sexual selection. He asserts that while we have evolved out of a great necessity for the sense of smell, we still rely on our sense of smell with sexual selection. The contributions that smell makes in sexual attraction can even be heightened with certain climates. Ellis states that with warmer climates come a heightened sensitivity to sexual and other positive feelings of smell among normal populations. Because of this, he believes people are often delighted by odors in the East, particularly in India, in "Hebrew and Mohammedan lands". Ellis then continues by describing the distinct odours in various races, noting that the Japanese race has the least intense of bodily odours. Ellis concludes his argument by stating, "On the whole, it may be said that in the usual life of man odours play a not inconsiderable part and raise problems which are not without interest, but that their demonstrable part in actual sexual selection is comparatively small."
Views on women and birth control
Ellis favoured feminism from a eugenic perspective, feeling that the enhanced social, economic, and sexual choices that feminism provided for women would result in women choosing partners who were more eugenically sound. In his view, intelligent women would not choose, nor be forced to marry and procreate with feeble-minded men.
Ellis viewed birth control as merely the continuation of an evolutionary progression, noting that natural progress has always consisted of increasing impediments to reproduction, which lead to a lower quantity of offspring, but a much higher quality of them. From a eugenic perspective, birth control was an invaluable instrument for the elevation of the race. However, Ellis noted that birth control could not be used randomly in a way that could have a detrimental impact by reducing conception, but rather needed to be used in a targeted manner to improve the qualities of certain 'stocks'. He observed that it was unfortunately the 'superior stocks' who had knowledge of and used birth control while the 'inferior stocks' propagated without checks. Ellis' solution to this was a focus on contraceptives in education, as this would disseminate the knowledge in the populations that he felt needed them the most. Ellis argued that birth control was the only available way of making eugenic selection practicable, as the only other option was wide-scale abstention from intercourse for those who were 'unfit'.
Views on sterilization
Ellis was strongly opposed to the idea of castration for eugenic purposes. In 1909, regulations were introduced at the Cantonal Asylum in Bern, which allowed those deemed 'unfit' and with strong sexual inclinations to be mandatorily sterilized. In a particular instance, several men and women, including epileptics and paedophiles, were castrated, some of whom voluntarily requested it. While the results were positive, in that none of the subjects were found guilty of any more sexual offences, Ellis remained staunchly opposed to the practice. His view on the origin of these inclinations was that sexual impulses do not reside in the sexual organs, but rather they persist in the brain. Moreover, he posited that the sexual glands provided an important source of internal secretions vital for the functioning of the organism, and thus their removal could greatly injure the patient.
However, already in his time, Ellis was witness to the rise of vasectomies and ligatures of the Fallopian tubes, which performed the same sterilization without removing the whole organ. In these cases, Ellis was much more favourable, yet still maintaining that "sterilization of the unfit, if it is to be a practical and humane measure commanding general approval, must be voluntary on the part of the person undergoing it, and never compulsory." His opposition to such a system was not only rooted in morality. Rather, Ellis also considered the practicality of the situation, hypothesizing that if an already mentally unfit man is forced to undergo sterilization, he would only become more ill-balanced, and would end up committing more anti-social acts.
Though Ellis was never at ease with the idea of forced sterilizations, he was willing to find ways to circumvent that restriction. His focus was on the social ends of eugenics, and as a means to it, Ellis was in no way against 'persuading' 'volunteers' to undergo sterilization by withdrawing Poor Relief from them. While he preferred to convince those he deemed unfit using education, Ellis supported coercion as a tool. Furthermore, he supported adding ideas about eugenics and birth control to the education system in order to restructure society, and to promote social hygiene. For Ellis, sterilization seemed to be the only eugenic instrument that could be used on the mentally unfit. In fact, in his publication The Sterilization of the Unfit, Ellis argued that even institutionalization could not guarantee the complete prevention of procreation between the unfit, and thus, "the burdens of society, to say nothing of the race, are being multiplied. It is not possible to view sterilization with enthusiasm when applied to any class of people…but what, I ask myself, is the practical alternative?"
Psychedelics
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He consumed a brew made of 3 Echinocacti (peyote) in the afternoon of Good Friday alone in his apartment in Temple, London. During the experience, lasting for about 24 hours, he noted a plethora of extremely vivid, complex, colourful, pleasantly smelling hallucinations, consisting both of abstract geometrical patterns and definite objects such as butterflies and other insects. He published the account of the experience in The Contemporary Review in 1898 (Mescal: A New Artificial Paradise). The title of the article alludes to an earlier work on the effects of mind-altering substances, an 1860 book Les Paradis artificiels by French poet Charles Baudelaire (containing descriptions of experiments with opium and hashish).
Ellis was so impressed with the aesthetic quality of the experience that he gave some specimens of peyote to the Irish poet W. B. Yeats, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an organisation of which another mescaline researcher, Aleister Crowley, was also a member.
Later life and death
Ellis resigned from his position of Fellow of the Eugenics Society over their stance on sterilization in January 1931.
Ellis spent the last year of his life at Hintlesham, Suffolk, where he died in July 1939. He is buried in Golders Green Crematorium, in North London.
Works
The Criminal (1890)
The New Spirit (1890)
The Nationalisation of Health (1892)
Man and Woman: A Study of Secondary and Tertiary Sexual Characteristics (1894) (revised 1929)
translator: Germinal (by Zola) (1895) (reissued 1933)
with J.A. Symonds
Studies in the Psychology of Sex (1897–1928) six volumes (listed below)
Affirmations (1898)
The Nineteenth Century (1900)
A Study of British Genius (1904)
The Soul of Spain (1908)
The Problem of Race-Regeneration (1911)
The World of Dreams (1911) (new edition 1926)
The Task of Social Hygiene (1912)
The Philosophy of Conflict (1919)
On Life and Sex: Essays of Love and Virtue (1921)
Little Essays of Love and Virtue (1922)
Sonnets, with Folk Songs from the Spanish (1925)
Eonism and Other Supplementary Studies (1928)
Studies in the Psychology of Sex Vol. 7 (1928)
The Art of Life (1929) (selected and arranged by Mrs. S. Herbert)
More Essays of Love and Virtue (1931)
ed.: James Hinton: Life in Nature (1931)
ed.: Imaginary Conversations and Poems: A Selection, by Walter Savage Landor (1933)
Chapman (1934)
My Confessional (1934)
Questions of Our Day (1934)
From Rousseau to Proust (1935)
Selected Essays (1936)
Poems (1937) (selected by John Gawsworth; pseudonym of T. Fytton Armstrong)
Love and Marriage (1938) (with others)
Sex Compatibility in Marriage (1939)
From Marlowe to Shaw (1950) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
The Genius of Europe (1950)
Sex and Marriage (1951) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
The Unpublished Letters of Havelock Ellis to Joseph Ishill (1954)
References
Bibliography
Further reading
(U.S. title)
External links
Havelock Ellis papers (MS 195). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library
Henry Havelock Ellis papers from the Historic Psychiatry Collection, Menninger Archives, Kansas Historical Society
1859 births
1939 deaths
19th-century English non-fiction writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
Alumni of King's College London
Alumni of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School
British sexologists
English eugenicists
English psychologists
People from Croydon
Psychedelic drug advocates
British relationships and sexuality writers
Medical writers on LGBT topics
British social reformers
Transgender studies academics
Victorian writers
Translators of Émile Zola | true | [
"How Does It Feel may refer to:\n\nMusic\n\nAlbums\n How Does It Feel, a 1999 album by Nancy Sinatra\n How Does It Feel (MS MR album), a 2015 album by MS MR\n\nSongs\n \"How Does It Feel\" (Anita Baker song)\n \"How Does It Feel\" (Slade song)\n \"How Does It Feel (to be the mother of 1000 dead)?\", a controversial... | [
"Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and incl... |
[
"Havelock Ellis",
"Sexual impulse in youth",
"What was his view on sexual impulse in the youth?",
"book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity.",
"How does he feel they experience it differently?",
"sex impulse has no normal existence... | C_55326ebad6b0415ea8430f68d8c986f4_1 | Does he think that the youth are more sexually active than older people? | 3 | Does Havelock Ellis think that the youth are more sexually active than older people? | Havelock Ellis | Dr. Havelock Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse,'" he adds. He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower function levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience. Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These early ages are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen. For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded that of girls. Dr. Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children experience are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this either pleasure or an erection until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude." Ellis even considers ancestry as contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable." CANNOTANSWER | He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. | Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and inclinations, as well as on transgender psychology. He is credited with introducing the notions of narcissism and autoeroticism, later adopted by psychoanalysis.
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He supported eugenics and served as one of 16 vice-presidents of the Eugenics Society from 1909 to 1912.
Early life and career
Ellis, son of Edward Peppen Ellis and Susannah Mary Wheatley, was born in Croydon, Surrey (now part of Greater London). He had four sisters, none of whom married. His father was a sea captain, his mother the daughter of a sea captain, and many other relatives lived on or near the sea. When he was seven his father took him on one of his voyages, during which they called at Sydney, Australia; Callao, Peru; and Antwerp, Belgium. After his return, Ellis attended the French and German College near Wimbledon, and afterward attended a school in Mitcham.
In April 1875, Ellis sailed on his father's ship for Australia; soon after his arrival in Sydney, he obtained a position as a master at a private school. After the discovery of his lack of training, he was fired and became a tutor for a family living a few miles from Carcoar, New South Wales. He spent a year there and then obtained a position as a master at a grammar school in Grafton, New South Wales. The headmaster had died and Ellis carried on at the school for that year, but was unsuccessful.
At the end of the year, he returned to Sydney and, after three months' training, was given charge of two government part-time elementary schools, one at Sparkes Creek, near Scone, New South Wales, and the other at Junction Creek. He lived at the school house on Sparkes Creek for a year. He wrote in his autobiography, "In Australia, I gained health of body, I attained peace of soul, my life task was revealed to me, I was able to decide on a professional vocation, I became an artist in literature; these five points covered the whole activity of my life in the world. Some of them I should doubtless have reached without the aid of the Australian environment, scarcely all, and most of them I could never have achieved so completely if chance had not cast me into the solitude of the Liverpool Range."
Medicine and psychology
Ellis returned to England in April 1879. He had decided to take up the study of sex and felt his first step must be to qualify as a physician. He studied at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, now part of King's College London, but never had a regular medical practice. His training was aided by a small legacy and also income earned from editing works in the Mermaid Series of lesser known Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. He joined The Fellowship of the New Life in 1883, meeting other social reformers Eleanor Marx, Edward Carpenter and George Bernard Shaw.
The 1897 English translation of Ellis's book Sexual Inversion, co-authored with John Addington Symonds and originally published in German in 1896, was the first English medical textbook on homosexuality. It describes male homosexual relations as well as adolescent rape. Ellis wrote the first objective study of homosexuality, as he did not characterise it as a disease, immoral, or a crime. The work assumes that same-sex love transcended age taboos as well as gender taboos. The first edition of the book was bought-out by the executor of Symond's estate, who forbade any mention of Symonds in the second edition.
In 1897 a bookseller was prosecuted for stocking Ellis's book. Although the term homosexual is attributed to Ellis, he wrote in 1897, "'Homosexual' is a barbarously hybrid word, and I claim no responsibility for it." In fact, the word homosexual was coined in 1868 by the Hungarian author Karl-Maria Kertbeny.
Ellis may have developed psychological concepts of autoerotism and narcissism, both of which were later developed further by Sigmund Freud. Ellis's influence may have reached Radclyffe Hall, who would have been about 17 years old at the time Sexual Inversion was published. She later referred to herself as a sexual invert and wrote of female "sexual inverts" in Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself and The Well of Loneliness. When Ellis bowed out as the star witness in the trial of The Well of Loneliness on 14 May 1928, Norman Haire was set to replace him but no witnesses were called.
Eonism
Ellis studied what today are called transgender phenomena. Together with Magnus Hirschfeld, Havelock Ellis is considered a major figure in the history of sexology to establish a new category that was separate and distinct from homosexuality. Aware of Hirschfeld's studies of transvestism, but disagreeing with his terminology, in 1913 Ellis proposed the term sexo-aesthetic inversion to describe the phenomenon. In 1920 he coined the term eonism, which he derived from the name of a historical figure, the Chevalier d'Éon. Ellis explained:
Ellis found eonism to be "a remarkably common anomaly", and "next in frequency to homosexuality among sexual deviations", and categorized it as "among the transitional or intermediate forms of sexuality". As in the Freudian tradition, Ellis postulated that a "too close attachment to the mother" may encourage eonism, but also considered that it "probably invokes some defective endocrine balance".
Marriage
In November 1891, at the age of 32, and reportedly still a virgin, Ellis married the English writer and proponent of women's rights Edith Lees. From the beginning, their marriage was unconventional, as Edith Lees was openly lesbian. At the end of the honeymoon, Ellis went back to his bachelor rooms in Paddington. She lived at Fellowship House. Their "open marriage" was the central subject in Ellis's autobiography, My Life. Ellis reportedly had an affair with Margaret Sanger.
According to Ellis in My Life, his friends were much amused at his being considered an expert on sex. Some knew that he reportedly suffered from impotence until the age of 60. He then discovered that he could become aroused by the sight of a woman urinating. Ellis named this "undinism". After his wife died, Ellis formed a relationship with a French woman, Françoise Lafitte.
Eugenics
Ellis was a supporter of eugenics. He served as vice-president to the Eugenics Education Society and wrote on the subject, among others, in The Task of Social Hygiene:
In his early writings, it was clear that Ellis concurred with the notion that there was a system of racial hierarchies, and that non-western cultures were considered to be "lower races". Before explicitly talking about eugenic topics, he used the prevalence of homosexuality in these 'lower races' to indicate the universality of the behavior. In his work, Sexual Inversions, where Ellis presented numerous cases of homosexuality in Britain, he was always careful to mention the race of the subject and the health of the person's 'stock', which included their neuropathic conditions and the health of their parents. However, Ellis was clear to assert that he did not feel that homosexuality was an issue that eugenics needed to actively deal with, as he felt that once the practice was accepted in society, those with homosexual tendencies would comfortably choose not to marry, and thus would cease to pass the 'homosexual heredity' along.
In a debate in the Sociological Society, Ellis corresponded with noted eugenicist Francis Galton, who was presenting a paper in support of marriage restrictions. While Galton analogized eugenics to breeding domesticated animals, Ellis felt that a greater sense of caution was needed before applying the eugenic regulations to populations, as "we have scarcely yet realized how subtle and far-reaching hereditary influences are." Instead, because unlike domesticated animals, humans were in charge of who they mated with, Ellis argued that a greater emphasis was needed on public education about how vital this issue was. Ellis thus held much more moderate views than many contemporary eugenicists. In fact, Ellis also fundamentally disagreed with Galton's leading ideas that procreation restrictions were the same as marriage restrictions. Ellis believed that those who should not procreate should still be able to gain all the other benefits of marriage, and to not allow that was an intolerable burden. This, in his mind, was what led to eugenics being "misunderstood, ridiculed, and regarded as a fad".
Throughout his life, Ellis was both a member and later a council member of the Eugenics Society. Moreover, he played a role on the General Committee of the First International Eugenics Congress.
Sexual impulse in youth
Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse, he adds. He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower function levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience.
Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These early ages are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen. For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references G.V. Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent of girls were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded those of girls.
Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this either pleasure or an erection until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude". Ellis even considers ancestry as contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable".
Auto-eroticism
Ellis' views of auto-eroticism were very comprehensive, including much more than masturbation. Auto-eroticism, according to Ellis, includes a wide range of phenomena. Ellis states in his 1897 book Studies in the Psychology of Sex, that auto-eroticism ranges from erotic day-dreams, marked by a passivity shown by the subject, to "unshamed efforts at sexual self-manipulation witnessed among the insane".
Ellis also argues that auto-erotic impulses can be heightened by bodily processes like menstrual flow. During this time, he says, women, who would otherwise not feel a strong propensity for auto-eroticism, increase their masturbation patterns. This trend is absent, however, in women without a conscious acceptance of their sexual feelings and in a small percentage of women suffering from a sexual or general ailment which result in a significant amount of "sexual anesthesia".
Ellis also raises social concern over how auto-erotic tendencies affect marriages. He goes on to tying auto-eroticism to declining marriage rates. As these rates decline, he concludes that auto-eroticism will only increase in both amount and intensity for both men and women. Therefore, he states, this is an important issue to both the moralist and physician to investigate psychological underpinnings of these experiences and determine an attitude toward them.
Smell
Ellis believed that the sense of smell, although ineffective at long ranges, still contributes to sexual attraction, and therefore, to mate selection. In his 1905 book, Sexual selection in man, Ellis makes a claim for the sense of smell in the role of sexual selection. He asserts that while we have evolved out of a great necessity for the sense of smell, we still rely on our sense of smell with sexual selection. The contributions that smell makes in sexual attraction can even be heightened with certain climates. Ellis states that with warmer climates come a heightened sensitivity to sexual and other positive feelings of smell among normal populations. Because of this, he believes people are often delighted by odors in the East, particularly in India, in "Hebrew and Mohammedan lands". Ellis then continues by describing the distinct odours in various races, noting that the Japanese race has the least intense of bodily odours. Ellis concludes his argument by stating, "On the whole, it may be said that in the usual life of man odours play a not inconsiderable part and raise problems which are not without interest, but that their demonstrable part in actual sexual selection is comparatively small."
Views on women and birth control
Ellis favoured feminism from a eugenic perspective, feeling that the enhanced social, economic, and sexual choices that feminism provided for women would result in women choosing partners who were more eugenically sound. In his view, intelligent women would not choose, nor be forced to marry and procreate with feeble-minded men.
Ellis viewed birth control as merely the continuation of an evolutionary progression, noting that natural progress has always consisted of increasing impediments to reproduction, which lead to a lower quantity of offspring, but a much higher quality of them. From a eugenic perspective, birth control was an invaluable instrument for the elevation of the race. However, Ellis noted that birth control could not be used randomly in a way that could have a detrimental impact by reducing conception, but rather needed to be used in a targeted manner to improve the qualities of certain 'stocks'. He observed that it was unfortunately the 'superior stocks' who had knowledge of and used birth control while the 'inferior stocks' propagated without checks. Ellis' solution to this was a focus on contraceptives in education, as this would disseminate the knowledge in the populations that he felt needed them the most. Ellis argued that birth control was the only available way of making eugenic selection practicable, as the only other option was wide-scale abstention from intercourse for those who were 'unfit'.
Views on sterilization
Ellis was strongly opposed to the idea of castration for eugenic purposes. In 1909, regulations were introduced at the Cantonal Asylum in Bern, which allowed those deemed 'unfit' and with strong sexual inclinations to be mandatorily sterilized. In a particular instance, several men and women, including epileptics and paedophiles, were castrated, some of whom voluntarily requested it. While the results were positive, in that none of the subjects were found guilty of any more sexual offences, Ellis remained staunchly opposed to the practice. His view on the origin of these inclinations was that sexual impulses do not reside in the sexual organs, but rather they persist in the brain. Moreover, he posited that the sexual glands provided an important source of internal secretions vital for the functioning of the organism, and thus their removal could greatly injure the patient.
However, already in his time, Ellis was witness to the rise of vasectomies and ligatures of the Fallopian tubes, which performed the same sterilization without removing the whole organ. In these cases, Ellis was much more favourable, yet still maintaining that "sterilization of the unfit, if it is to be a practical and humane measure commanding general approval, must be voluntary on the part of the person undergoing it, and never compulsory." His opposition to such a system was not only rooted in morality. Rather, Ellis also considered the practicality of the situation, hypothesizing that if an already mentally unfit man is forced to undergo sterilization, he would only become more ill-balanced, and would end up committing more anti-social acts.
Though Ellis was never at ease with the idea of forced sterilizations, he was willing to find ways to circumvent that restriction. His focus was on the social ends of eugenics, and as a means to it, Ellis was in no way against 'persuading' 'volunteers' to undergo sterilization by withdrawing Poor Relief from them. While he preferred to convince those he deemed unfit using education, Ellis supported coercion as a tool. Furthermore, he supported adding ideas about eugenics and birth control to the education system in order to restructure society, and to promote social hygiene. For Ellis, sterilization seemed to be the only eugenic instrument that could be used on the mentally unfit. In fact, in his publication The Sterilization of the Unfit, Ellis argued that even institutionalization could not guarantee the complete prevention of procreation between the unfit, and thus, "the burdens of society, to say nothing of the race, are being multiplied. It is not possible to view sterilization with enthusiasm when applied to any class of people…but what, I ask myself, is the practical alternative?"
Psychedelics
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He consumed a brew made of 3 Echinocacti (peyote) in the afternoon of Good Friday alone in his apartment in Temple, London. During the experience, lasting for about 24 hours, he noted a plethora of extremely vivid, complex, colourful, pleasantly smelling hallucinations, consisting both of abstract geometrical patterns and definite objects such as butterflies and other insects. He published the account of the experience in The Contemporary Review in 1898 (Mescal: A New Artificial Paradise). The title of the article alludes to an earlier work on the effects of mind-altering substances, an 1860 book Les Paradis artificiels by French poet Charles Baudelaire (containing descriptions of experiments with opium and hashish).
Ellis was so impressed with the aesthetic quality of the experience that he gave some specimens of peyote to the Irish poet W. B. Yeats, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an organisation of which another mescaline researcher, Aleister Crowley, was also a member.
Later life and death
Ellis resigned from his position of Fellow of the Eugenics Society over their stance on sterilization in January 1931.
Ellis spent the last year of his life at Hintlesham, Suffolk, where he died in July 1939. He is buried in Golders Green Crematorium, in North London.
Works
The Criminal (1890)
The New Spirit (1890)
The Nationalisation of Health (1892)
Man and Woman: A Study of Secondary and Tertiary Sexual Characteristics (1894) (revised 1929)
translator: Germinal (by Zola) (1895) (reissued 1933)
with J.A. Symonds
Studies in the Psychology of Sex (1897–1928) six volumes (listed below)
Affirmations (1898)
The Nineteenth Century (1900)
A Study of British Genius (1904)
The Soul of Spain (1908)
The Problem of Race-Regeneration (1911)
The World of Dreams (1911) (new edition 1926)
The Task of Social Hygiene (1912)
The Philosophy of Conflict (1919)
On Life and Sex: Essays of Love and Virtue (1921)
Little Essays of Love and Virtue (1922)
Sonnets, with Folk Songs from the Spanish (1925)
Eonism and Other Supplementary Studies (1928)
Studies in the Psychology of Sex Vol. 7 (1928)
The Art of Life (1929) (selected and arranged by Mrs. S. Herbert)
More Essays of Love and Virtue (1931)
ed.: James Hinton: Life in Nature (1931)
ed.: Imaginary Conversations and Poems: A Selection, by Walter Savage Landor (1933)
Chapman (1934)
My Confessional (1934)
Questions of Our Day (1934)
From Rousseau to Proust (1935)
Selected Essays (1936)
Poems (1937) (selected by John Gawsworth; pseudonym of T. Fytton Armstrong)
Love and Marriage (1938) (with others)
Sex Compatibility in Marriage (1939)
From Marlowe to Shaw (1950) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
The Genius of Europe (1950)
Sex and Marriage (1951) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
The Unpublished Letters of Havelock Ellis to Joseph Ishill (1954)
References
Bibliography
Further reading
(U.S. title)
External links
Havelock Ellis papers (MS 195). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library
Henry Havelock Ellis papers from the Historic Psychiatry Collection, Menninger Archives, Kansas Historical Society
1859 births
1939 deaths
19th-century English non-fiction writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
Alumni of King's College London
Alumni of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School
British sexologists
English eugenicists
English psychologists
People from Croydon
Psychedelic drug advocates
British relationships and sexuality writers
Medical writers on LGBT topics
British social reformers
Transgender studies academics
Victorian writers
Translators of Émile Zola | true | [
"Sexually active life expectancy is the average number of years remaining for a person to be sexually active. This population-based indicator extends the concept of health expectancy to the measure of sexuality (via sexual activity). Calculation of sexually active life expectancy uses the age-specific prevalence da... | [
"Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and incl... |
[
"Havelock Ellis",
"Sexual impulse in youth",
"What was his view on sexual impulse in the youth?",
"book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity.",
"How does he feel they experience it differently?",
"sex impulse has no normal existence... | C_55326ebad6b0415ea8430f68d8c986f4_1 | Why did he come to this conclusion? | 4 | Why did Havelock Ellis come to youth are more sexually active than older people conclusion? | Havelock Ellis | Dr. Havelock Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse,'" he adds. He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower function levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience. Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These early ages are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen. For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded that of girls. Dr. Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children experience are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this either pleasure or an erection until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude." Ellis even considers ancestry as contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable." CANNOTANSWER | However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. | Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and inclinations, as well as on transgender psychology. He is credited with introducing the notions of narcissism and autoeroticism, later adopted by psychoanalysis.
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He supported eugenics and served as one of 16 vice-presidents of the Eugenics Society from 1909 to 1912.
Early life and career
Ellis, son of Edward Peppen Ellis and Susannah Mary Wheatley, was born in Croydon, Surrey (now part of Greater London). He had four sisters, none of whom married. His father was a sea captain, his mother the daughter of a sea captain, and many other relatives lived on or near the sea. When he was seven his father took him on one of his voyages, during which they called at Sydney, Australia; Callao, Peru; and Antwerp, Belgium. After his return, Ellis attended the French and German College near Wimbledon, and afterward attended a school in Mitcham.
In April 1875, Ellis sailed on his father's ship for Australia; soon after his arrival in Sydney, he obtained a position as a master at a private school. After the discovery of his lack of training, he was fired and became a tutor for a family living a few miles from Carcoar, New South Wales. He spent a year there and then obtained a position as a master at a grammar school in Grafton, New South Wales. The headmaster had died and Ellis carried on at the school for that year, but was unsuccessful.
At the end of the year, he returned to Sydney and, after three months' training, was given charge of two government part-time elementary schools, one at Sparkes Creek, near Scone, New South Wales, and the other at Junction Creek. He lived at the school house on Sparkes Creek for a year. He wrote in his autobiography, "In Australia, I gained health of body, I attained peace of soul, my life task was revealed to me, I was able to decide on a professional vocation, I became an artist in literature; these five points covered the whole activity of my life in the world. Some of them I should doubtless have reached without the aid of the Australian environment, scarcely all, and most of them I could never have achieved so completely if chance had not cast me into the solitude of the Liverpool Range."
Medicine and psychology
Ellis returned to England in April 1879. He had decided to take up the study of sex and felt his first step must be to qualify as a physician. He studied at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, now part of King's College London, but never had a regular medical practice. His training was aided by a small legacy and also income earned from editing works in the Mermaid Series of lesser known Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. He joined The Fellowship of the New Life in 1883, meeting other social reformers Eleanor Marx, Edward Carpenter and George Bernard Shaw.
The 1897 English translation of Ellis's book Sexual Inversion, co-authored with John Addington Symonds and originally published in German in 1896, was the first English medical textbook on homosexuality. It describes male homosexual relations as well as adolescent rape. Ellis wrote the first objective study of homosexuality, as he did not characterise it as a disease, immoral, or a crime. The work assumes that same-sex love transcended age taboos as well as gender taboos. The first edition of the book was bought-out by the executor of Symond's estate, who forbade any mention of Symonds in the second edition.
In 1897 a bookseller was prosecuted for stocking Ellis's book. Although the term homosexual is attributed to Ellis, he wrote in 1897, "'Homosexual' is a barbarously hybrid word, and I claim no responsibility for it." In fact, the word homosexual was coined in 1868 by the Hungarian author Karl-Maria Kertbeny.
Ellis may have developed psychological concepts of autoerotism and narcissism, both of which were later developed further by Sigmund Freud. Ellis's influence may have reached Radclyffe Hall, who would have been about 17 years old at the time Sexual Inversion was published. She later referred to herself as a sexual invert and wrote of female "sexual inverts" in Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself and The Well of Loneliness. When Ellis bowed out as the star witness in the trial of The Well of Loneliness on 14 May 1928, Norman Haire was set to replace him but no witnesses were called.
Eonism
Ellis studied what today are called transgender phenomena. Together with Magnus Hirschfeld, Havelock Ellis is considered a major figure in the history of sexology to establish a new category that was separate and distinct from homosexuality. Aware of Hirschfeld's studies of transvestism, but disagreeing with his terminology, in 1913 Ellis proposed the term sexo-aesthetic inversion to describe the phenomenon. In 1920 he coined the term eonism, which he derived from the name of a historical figure, the Chevalier d'Éon. Ellis explained:
Ellis found eonism to be "a remarkably common anomaly", and "next in frequency to homosexuality among sexual deviations", and categorized it as "among the transitional or intermediate forms of sexuality". As in the Freudian tradition, Ellis postulated that a "too close attachment to the mother" may encourage eonism, but also considered that it "probably invokes some defective endocrine balance".
Marriage
In November 1891, at the age of 32, and reportedly still a virgin, Ellis married the English writer and proponent of women's rights Edith Lees. From the beginning, their marriage was unconventional, as Edith Lees was openly lesbian. At the end of the honeymoon, Ellis went back to his bachelor rooms in Paddington. She lived at Fellowship House. Their "open marriage" was the central subject in Ellis's autobiography, My Life. Ellis reportedly had an affair with Margaret Sanger.
According to Ellis in My Life, his friends were much amused at his being considered an expert on sex. Some knew that he reportedly suffered from impotence until the age of 60. He then discovered that he could become aroused by the sight of a woman urinating. Ellis named this "undinism". After his wife died, Ellis formed a relationship with a French woman, Françoise Lafitte.
Eugenics
Ellis was a supporter of eugenics. He served as vice-president to the Eugenics Education Society and wrote on the subject, among others, in The Task of Social Hygiene:
In his early writings, it was clear that Ellis concurred with the notion that there was a system of racial hierarchies, and that non-western cultures were considered to be "lower races". Before explicitly talking about eugenic topics, he used the prevalence of homosexuality in these 'lower races' to indicate the universality of the behavior. In his work, Sexual Inversions, where Ellis presented numerous cases of homosexuality in Britain, he was always careful to mention the race of the subject and the health of the person's 'stock', which included their neuropathic conditions and the health of their parents. However, Ellis was clear to assert that he did not feel that homosexuality was an issue that eugenics needed to actively deal with, as he felt that once the practice was accepted in society, those with homosexual tendencies would comfortably choose not to marry, and thus would cease to pass the 'homosexual heredity' along.
In a debate in the Sociological Society, Ellis corresponded with noted eugenicist Francis Galton, who was presenting a paper in support of marriage restrictions. While Galton analogized eugenics to breeding domesticated animals, Ellis felt that a greater sense of caution was needed before applying the eugenic regulations to populations, as "we have scarcely yet realized how subtle and far-reaching hereditary influences are." Instead, because unlike domesticated animals, humans were in charge of who they mated with, Ellis argued that a greater emphasis was needed on public education about how vital this issue was. Ellis thus held much more moderate views than many contemporary eugenicists. In fact, Ellis also fundamentally disagreed with Galton's leading ideas that procreation restrictions were the same as marriage restrictions. Ellis believed that those who should not procreate should still be able to gain all the other benefits of marriage, and to not allow that was an intolerable burden. This, in his mind, was what led to eugenics being "misunderstood, ridiculed, and regarded as a fad".
Throughout his life, Ellis was both a member and later a council member of the Eugenics Society. Moreover, he played a role on the General Committee of the First International Eugenics Congress.
Sexual impulse in youth
Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse, he adds. He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower function levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience.
Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These early ages are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen. For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references G.V. Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent of girls were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded those of girls.
Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this either pleasure or an erection until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude". Ellis even considers ancestry as contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable".
Auto-eroticism
Ellis' views of auto-eroticism were very comprehensive, including much more than masturbation. Auto-eroticism, according to Ellis, includes a wide range of phenomena. Ellis states in his 1897 book Studies in the Psychology of Sex, that auto-eroticism ranges from erotic day-dreams, marked by a passivity shown by the subject, to "unshamed efforts at sexual self-manipulation witnessed among the insane".
Ellis also argues that auto-erotic impulses can be heightened by bodily processes like menstrual flow. During this time, he says, women, who would otherwise not feel a strong propensity for auto-eroticism, increase their masturbation patterns. This trend is absent, however, in women without a conscious acceptance of their sexual feelings and in a small percentage of women suffering from a sexual or general ailment which result in a significant amount of "sexual anesthesia".
Ellis also raises social concern over how auto-erotic tendencies affect marriages. He goes on to tying auto-eroticism to declining marriage rates. As these rates decline, he concludes that auto-eroticism will only increase in both amount and intensity for both men and women. Therefore, he states, this is an important issue to both the moralist and physician to investigate psychological underpinnings of these experiences and determine an attitude toward them.
Smell
Ellis believed that the sense of smell, although ineffective at long ranges, still contributes to sexual attraction, and therefore, to mate selection. In his 1905 book, Sexual selection in man, Ellis makes a claim for the sense of smell in the role of sexual selection. He asserts that while we have evolved out of a great necessity for the sense of smell, we still rely on our sense of smell with sexual selection. The contributions that smell makes in sexual attraction can even be heightened with certain climates. Ellis states that with warmer climates come a heightened sensitivity to sexual and other positive feelings of smell among normal populations. Because of this, he believes people are often delighted by odors in the East, particularly in India, in "Hebrew and Mohammedan lands". Ellis then continues by describing the distinct odours in various races, noting that the Japanese race has the least intense of bodily odours. Ellis concludes his argument by stating, "On the whole, it may be said that in the usual life of man odours play a not inconsiderable part and raise problems which are not without interest, but that their demonstrable part in actual sexual selection is comparatively small."
Views on women and birth control
Ellis favoured feminism from a eugenic perspective, feeling that the enhanced social, economic, and sexual choices that feminism provided for women would result in women choosing partners who were more eugenically sound. In his view, intelligent women would not choose, nor be forced to marry and procreate with feeble-minded men.
Ellis viewed birth control as merely the continuation of an evolutionary progression, noting that natural progress has always consisted of increasing impediments to reproduction, which lead to a lower quantity of offspring, but a much higher quality of them. From a eugenic perspective, birth control was an invaluable instrument for the elevation of the race. However, Ellis noted that birth control could not be used randomly in a way that could have a detrimental impact by reducing conception, but rather needed to be used in a targeted manner to improve the qualities of certain 'stocks'. He observed that it was unfortunately the 'superior stocks' who had knowledge of and used birth control while the 'inferior stocks' propagated without checks. Ellis' solution to this was a focus on contraceptives in education, as this would disseminate the knowledge in the populations that he felt needed them the most. Ellis argued that birth control was the only available way of making eugenic selection practicable, as the only other option was wide-scale abstention from intercourse for those who were 'unfit'.
Views on sterilization
Ellis was strongly opposed to the idea of castration for eugenic purposes. In 1909, regulations were introduced at the Cantonal Asylum in Bern, which allowed those deemed 'unfit' and with strong sexual inclinations to be mandatorily sterilized. In a particular instance, several men and women, including epileptics and paedophiles, were castrated, some of whom voluntarily requested it. While the results were positive, in that none of the subjects were found guilty of any more sexual offences, Ellis remained staunchly opposed to the practice. His view on the origin of these inclinations was that sexual impulses do not reside in the sexual organs, but rather they persist in the brain. Moreover, he posited that the sexual glands provided an important source of internal secretions vital for the functioning of the organism, and thus their removal could greatly injure the patient.
However, already in his time, Ellis was witness to the rise of vasectomies and ligatures of the Fallopian tubes, which performed the same sterilization without removing the whole organ. In these cases, Ellis was much more favourable, yet still maintaining that "sterilization of the unfit, if it is to be a practical and humane measure commanding general approval, must be voluntary on the part of the person undergoing it, and never compulsory." His opposition to such a system was not only rooted in morality. Rather, Ellis also considered the practicality of the situation, hypothesizing that if an already mentally unfit man is forced to undergo sterilization, he would only become more ill-balanced, and would end up committing more anti-social acts.
Though Ellis was never at ease with the idea of forced sterilizations, he was willing to find ways to circumvent that restriction. His focus was on the social ends of eugenics, and as a means to it, Ellis was in no way against 'persuading' 'volunteers' to undergo sterilization by withdrawing Poor Relief from them. While he preferred to convince those he deemed unfit using education, Ellis supported coercion as a tool. Furthermore, he supported adding ideas about eugenics and birth control to the education system in order to restructure society, and to promote social hygiene. For Ellis, sterilization seemed to be the only eugenic instrument that could be used on the mentally unfit. In fact, in his publication The Sterilization of the Unfit, Ellis argued that even institutionalization could not guarantee the complete prevention of procreation between the unfit, and thus, "the burdens of society, to say nothing of the race, are being multiplied. It is not possible to view sterilization with enthusiasm when applied to any class of people…but what, I ask myself, is the practical alternative?"
Psychedelics
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He consumed a brew made of 3 Echinocacti (peyote) in the afternoon of Good Friday alone in his apartment in Temple, London. During the experience, lasting for about 24 hours, he noted a plethora of extremely vivid, complex, colourful, pleasantly smelling hallucinations, consisting both of abstract geometrical patterns and definite objects such as butterflies and other insects. He published the account of the experience in The Contemporary Review in 1898 (Mescal: A New Artificial Paradise). The title of the article alludes to an earlier work on the effects of mind-altering substances, an 1860 book Les Paradis artificiels by French poet Charles Baudelaire (containing descriptions of experiments with opium and hashish).
Ellis was so impressed with the aesthetic quality of the experience that he gave some specimens of peyote to the Irish poet W. B. Yeats, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an organisation of which another mescaline researcher, Aleister Crowley, was also a member.
Later life and death
Ellis resigned from his position of Fellow of the Eugenics Society over their stance on sterilization in January 1931.
Ellis spent the last year of his life at Hintlesham, Suffolk, where he died in July 1939. He is buried in Golders Green Crematorium, in North London.
Works
The Criminal (1890)
The New Spirit (1890)
The Nationalisation of Health (1892)
Man and Woman: A Study of Secondary and Tertiary Sexual Characteristics (1894) (revised 1929)
translator: Germinal (by Zola) (1895) (reissued 1933)
with J.A. Symonds
Studies in the Psychology of Sex (1897–1928) six volumes (listed below)
Affirmations (1898)
The Nineteenth Century (1900)
A Study of British Genius (1904)
The Soul of Spain (1908)
The Problem of Race-Regeneration (1911)
The World of Dreams (1911) (new edition 1926)
The Task of Social Hygiene (1912)
The Philosophy of Conflict (1919)
On Life and Sex: Essays of Love and Virtue (1921)
Little Essays of Love and Virtue (1922)
Sonnets, with Folk Songs from the Spanish (1925)
Eonism and Other Supplementary Studies (1928)
Studies in the Psychology of Sex Vol. 7 (1928)
The Art of Life (1929) (selected and arranged by Mrs. S. Herbert)
More Essays of Love and Virtue (1931)
ed.: James Hinton: Life in Nature (1931)
ed.: Imaginary Conversations and Poems: A Selection, by Walter Savage Landor (1933)
Chapman (1934)
My Confessional (1934)
Questions of Our Day (1934)
From Rousseau to Proust (1935)
Selected Essays (1936)
Poems (1937) (selected by John Gawsworth; pseudonym of T. Fytton Armstrong)
Love and Marriage (1938) (with others)
Sex Compatibility in Marriage (1939)
From Marlowe to Shaw (1950) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
The Genius of Europe (1950)
Sex and Marriage (1951) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
The Unpublished Letters of Havelock Ellis to Joseph Ishill (1954)
References
Bibliography
Further reading
(U.S. title)
External links
Havelock Ellis papers (MS 195). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library
Henry Havelock Ellis papers from the Historic Psychiatry Collection, Menninger Archives, Kansas Historical Society
1859 births
1939 deaths
19th-century English non-fiction writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
Alumni of King's College London
Alumni of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School
British sexologists
English eugenicists
English psychologists
People from Croydon
Psychedelic drug advocates
British relationships and sexuality writers
Medical writers on LGBT topics
British social reformers
Transgender studies academics
Victorian writers
Translators of Émile Zola | true | [
"Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action is a book by Simon Sinek.\n\nOverview\nThe book starts with comparing the two main ways to influence human behaviour: manipulation and inspiration. Sinek argues that inspiration is the more powerful and sustainable of the two. The book primarily dis... | [
"Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and incl... |
[
"Havelock Ellis",
"Sexual impulse in youth",
"What was his view on sexual impulse in the youth?",
"book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity.",
"How does he feel they experience it differently?",
"sex impulse has no normal existence... | C_55326ebad6b0415ea8430f68d8c986f4_1 | Were the recalling of sensations more in females or males? | 5 | Were the recalling of sensations more in females or males? | Havelock Ellis | Dr. Havelock Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse,'" he adds. He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower function levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience. Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These early ages are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen. For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded that of girls. Dr. Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children experience are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this either pleasure or an erection until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude." Ellis even considers ancestry as contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable." CANNOTANSWER | These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. | Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and inclinations, as well as on transgender psychology. He is credited with introducing the notions of narcissism and autoeroticism, later adopted by psychoanalysis.
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He supported eugenics and served as one of 16 vice-presidents of the Eugenics Society from 1909 to 1912.
Early life and career
Ellis, son of Edward Peppen Ellis and Susannah Mary Wheatley, was born in Croydon, Surrey (now part of Greater London). He had four sisters, none of whom married. His father was a sea captain, his mother the daughter of a sea captain, and many other relatives lived on or near the sea. When he was seven his father took him on one of his voyages, during which they called at Sydney, Australia; Callao, Peru; and Antwerp, Belgium. After his return, Ellis attended the French and German College near Wimbledon, and afterward attended a school in Mitcham.
In April 1875, Ellis sailed on his father's ship for Australia; soon after his arrival in Sydney, he obtained a position as a master at a private school. After the discovery of his lack of training, he was fired and became a tutor for a family living a few miles from Carcoar, New South Wales. He spent a year there and then obtained a position as a master at a grammar school in Grafton, New South Wales. The headmaster had died and Ellis carried on at the school for that year, but was unsuccessful.
At the end of the year, he returned to Sydney and, after three months' training, was given charge of two government part-time elementary schools, one at Sparkes Creek, near Scone, New South Wales, and the other at Junction Creek. He lived at the school house on Sparkes Creek for a year. He wrote in his autobiography, "In Australia, I gained health of body, I attained peace of soul, my life task was revealed to me, I was able to decide on a professional vocation, I became an artist in literature; these five points covered the whole activity of my life in the world. Some of them I should doubtless have reached without the aid of the Australian environment, scarcely all, and most of them I could never have achieved so completely if chance had not cast me into the solitude of the Liverpool Range."
Medicine and psychology
Ellis returned to England in April 1879. He had decided to take up the study of sex and felt his first step must be to qualify as a physician. He studied at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, now part of King's College London, but never had a regular medical practice. His training was aided by a small legacy and also income earned from editing works in the Mermaid Series of lesser known Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. He joined The Fellowship of the New Life in 1883, meeting other social reformers Eleanor Marx, Edward Carpenter and George Bernard Shaw.
The 1897 English translation of Ellis's book Sexual Inversion, co-authored with John Addington Symonds and originally published in German in 1896, was the first English medical textbook on homosexuality. It describes male homosexual relations as well as adolescent rape. Ellis wrote the first objective study of homosexuality, as he did not characterise it as a disease, immoral, or a crime. The work assumes that same-sex love transcended age taboos as well as gender taboos. The first edition of the book was bought-out by the executor of Symond's estate, who forbade any mention of Symonds in the second edition.
In 1897 a bookseller was prosecuted for stocking Ellis's book. Although the term homosexual is attributed to Ellis, he wrote in 1897, "'Homosexual' is a barbarously hybrid word, and I claim no responsibility for it." In fact, the word homosexual was coined in 1868 by the Hungarian author Karl-Maria Kertbeny.
Ellis may have developed psychological concepts of autoerotism and narcissism, both of which were later developed further by Sigmund Freud. Ellis's influence may have reached Radclyffe Hall, who would have been about 17 years old at the time Sexual Inversion was published. She later referred to herself as a sexual invert and wrote of female "sexual inverts" in Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself and The Well of Loneliness. When Ellis bowed out as the star witness in the trial of The Well of Loneliness on 14 May 1928, Norman Haire was set to replace him but no witnesses were called.
Eonism
Ellis studied what today are called transgender phenomena. Together with Magnus Hirschfeld, Havelock Ellis is considered a major figure in the history of sexology to establish a new category that was separate and distinct from homosexuality. Aware of Hirschfeld's studies of transvestism, but disagreeing with his terminology, in 1913 Ellis proposed the term sexo-aesthetic inversion to describe the phenomenon. In 1920 he coined the term eonism, which he derived from the name of a historical figure, the Chevalier d'Éon. Ellis explained:
Ellis found eonism to be "a remarkably common anomaly", and "next in frequency to homosexuality among sexual deviations", and categorized it as "among the transitional or intermediate forms of sexuality". As in the Freudian tradition, Ellis postulated that a "too close attachment to the mother" may encourage eonism, but also considered that it "probably invokes some defective endocrine balance".
Marriage
In November 1891, at the age of 32, and reportedly still a virgin, Ellis married the English writer and proponent of women's rights Edith Lees. From the beginning, their marriage was unconventional, as Edith Lees was openly lesbian. At the end of the honeymoon, Ellis went back to his bachelor rooms in Paddington. She lived at Fellowship House. Their "open marriage" was the central subject in Ellis's autobiography, My Life. Ellis reportedly had an affair with Margaret Sanger.
According to Ellis in My Life, his friends were much amused at his being considered an expert on sex. Some knew that he reportedly suffered from impotence until the age of 60. He then discovered that he could become aroused by the sight of a woman urinating. Ellis named this "undinism". After his wife died, Ellis formed a relationship with a French woman, Françoise Lafitte.
Eugenics
Ellis was a supporter of eugenics. He served as vice-president to the Eugenics Education Society and wrote on the subject, among others, in The Task of Social Hygiene:
In his early writings, it was clear that Ellis concurred with the notion that there was a system of racial hierarchies, and that non-western cultures were considered to be "lower races". Before explicitly talking about eugenic topics, he used the prevalence of homosexuality in these 'lower races' to indicate the universality of the behavior. In his work, Sexual Inversions, where Ellis presented numerous cases of homosexuality in Britain, he was always careful to mention the race of the subject and the health of the person's 'stock', which included their neuropathic conditions and the health of their parents. However, Ellis was clear to assert that he did not feel that homosexuality was an issue that eugenics needed to actively deal with, as he felt that once the practice was accepted in society, those with homosexual tendencies would comfortably choose not to marry, and thus would cease to pass the 'homosexual heredity' along.
In a debate in the Sociological Society, Ellis corresponded with noted eugenicist Francis Galton, who was presenting a paper in support of marriage restrictions. While Galton analogized eugenics to breeding domesticated animals, Ellis felt that a greater sense of caution was needed before applying the eugenic regulations to populations, as "we have scarcely yet realized how subtle and far-reaching hereditary influences are." Instead, because unlike domesticated animals, humans were in charge of who they mated with, Ellis argued that a greater emphasis was needed on public education about how vital this issue was. Ellis thus held much more moderate views than many contemporary eugenicists. In fact, Ellis also fundamentally disagreed with Galton's leading ideas that procreation restrictions were the same as marriage restrictions. Ellis believed that those who should not procreate should still be able to gain all the other benefits of marriage, and to not allow that was an intolerable burden. This, in his mind, was what led to eugenics being "misunderstood, ridiculed, and regarded as a fad".
Throughout his life, Ellis was both a member and later a council member of the Eugenics Society. Moreover, he played a role on the General Committee of the First International Eugenics Congress.
Sexual impulse in youth
Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse, he adds. He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower function levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience.
Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These early ages are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen. For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references G.V. Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent of girls were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded those of girls.
Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this either pleasure or an erection until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude". Ellis even considers ancestry as contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable".
Auto-eroticism
Ellis' views of auto-eroticism were very comprehensive, including much more than masturbation. Auto-eroticism, according to Ellis, includes a wide range of phenomena. Ellis states in his 1897 book Studies in the Psychology of Sex, that auto-eroticism ranges from erotic day-dreams, marked by a passivity shown by the subject, to "unshamed efforts at sexual self-manipulation witnessed among the insane".
Ellis also argues that auto-erotic impulses can be heightened by bodily processes like menstrual flow. During this time, he says, women, who would otherwise not feel a strong propensity for auto-eroticism, increase their masturbation patterns. This trend is absent, however, in women without a conscious acceptance of their sexual feelings and in a small percentage of women suffering from a sexual or general ailment which result in a significant amount of "sexual anesthesia".
Ellis also raises social concern over how auto-erotic tendencies affect marriages. He goes on to tying auto-eroticism to declining marriage rates. As these rates decline, he concludes that auto-eroticism will only increase in both amount and intensity for both men and women. Therefore, he states, this is an important issue to both the moralist and physician to investigate psychological underpinnings of these experiences and determine an attitude toward them.
Smell
Ellis believed that the sense of smell, although ineffective at long ranges, still contributes to sexual attraction, and therefore, to mate selection. In his 1905 book, Sexual selection in man, Ellis makes a claim for the sense of smell in the role of sexual selection. He asserts that while we have evolved out of a great necessity for the sense of smell, we still rely on our sense of smell with sexual selection. The contributions that smell makes in sexual attraction can even be heightened with certain climates. Ellis states that with warmer climates come a heightened sensitivity to sexual and other positive feelings of smell among normal populations. Because of this, he believes people are often delighted by odors in the East, particularly in India, in "Hebrew and Mohammedan lands". Ellis then continues by describing the distinct odours in various races, noting that the Japanese race has the least intense of bodily odours. Ellis concludes his argument by stating, "On the whole, it may be said that in the usual life of man odours play a not inconsiderable part and raise problems which are not without interest, but that their demonstrable part in actual sexual selection is comparatively small."
Views on women and birth control
Ellis favoured feminism from a eugenic perspective, feeling that the enhanced social, economic, and sexual choices that feminism provided for women would result in women choosing partners who were more eugenically sound. In his view, intelligent women would not choose, nor be forced to marry and procreate with feeble-minded men.
Ellis viewed birth control as merely the continuation of an evolutionary progression, noting that natural progress has always consisted of increasing impediments to reproduction, which lead to a lower quantity of offspring, but a much higher quality of them. From a eugenic perspective, birth control was an invaluable instrument for the elevation of the race. However, Ellis noted that birth control could not be used randomly in a way that could have a detrimental impact by reducing conception, but rather needed to be used in a targeted manner to improve the qualities of certain 'stocks'. He observed that it was unfortunately the 'superior stocks' who had knowledge of and used birth control while the 'inferior stocks' propagated without checks. Ellis' solution to this was a focus on contraceptives in education, as this would disseminate the knowledge in the populations that he felt needed them the most. Ellis argued that birth control was the only available way of making eugenic selection practicable, as the only other option was wide-scale abstention from intercourse for those who were 'unfit'.
Views on sterilization
Ellis was strongly opposed to the idea of castration for eugenic purposes. In 1909, regulations were introduced at the Cantonal Asylum in Bern, which allowed those deemed 'unfit' and with strong sexual inclinations to be mandatorily sterilized. In a particular instance, several men and women, including epileptics and paedophiles, were castrated, some of whom voluntarily requested it. While the results were positive, in that none of the subjects were found guilty of any more sexual offences, Ellis remained staunchly opposed to the practice. His view on the origin of these inclinations was that sexual impulses do not reside in the sexual organs, but rather they persist in the brain. Moreover, he posited that the sexual glands provided an important source of internal secretions vital for the functioning of the organism, and thus their removal could greatly injure the patient.
However, already in his time, Ellis was witness to the rise of vasectomies and ligatures of the Fallopian tubes, which performed the same sterilization without removing the whole organ. In these cases, Ellis was much more favourable, yet still maintaining that "sterilization of the unfit, if it is to be a practical and humane measure commanding general approval, must be voluntary on the part of the person undergoing it, and never compulsory." His opposition to such a system was not only rooted in morality. Rather, Ellis also considered the practicality of the situation, hypothesizing that if an already mentally unfit man is forced to undergo sterilization, he would only become more ill-balanced, and would end up committing more anti-social acts.
Though Ellis was never at ease with the idea of forced sterilizations, he was willing to find ways to circumvent that restriction. His focus was on the social ends of eugenics, and as a means to it, Ellis was in no way against 'persuading' 'volunteers' to undergo sterilization by withdrawing Poor Relief from them. While he preferred to convince those he deemed unfit using education, Ellis supported coercion as a tool. Furthermore, he supported adding ideas about eugenics and birth control to the education system in order to restructure society, and to promote social hygiene. For Ellis, sterilization seemed to be the only eugenic instrument that could be used on the mentally unfit. In fact, in his publication The Sterilization of the Unfit, Ellis argued that even institutionalization could not guarantee the complete prevention of procreation between the unfit, and thus, "the burdens of society, to say nothing of the race, are being multiplied. It is not possible to view sterilization with enthusiasm when applied to any class of people…but what, I ask myself, is the practical alternative?"
Psychedelics
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He consumed a brew made of 3 Echinocacti (peyote) in the afternoon of Good Friday alone in his apartment in Temple, London. During the experience, lasting for about 24 hours, he noted a plethora of extremely vivid, complex, colourful, pleasantly smelling hallucinations, consisting both of abstract geometrical patterns and definite objects such as butterflies and other insects. He published the account of the experience in The Contemporary Review in 1898 (Mescal: A New Artificial Paradise). The title of the article alludes to an earlier work on the effects of mind-altering substances, an 1860 book Les Paradis artificiels by French poet Charles Baudelaire (containing descriptions of experiments with opium and hashish).
Ellis was so impressed with the aesthetic quality of the experience that he gave some specimens of peyote to the Irish poet W. B. Yeats, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an organisation of which another mescaline researcher, Aleister Crowley, was also a member.
Later life and death
Ellis resigned from his position of Fellow of the Eugenics Society over their stance on sterilization in January 1931.
Ellis spent the last year of his life at Hintlesham, Suffolk, where he died in July 1939. He is buried in Golders Green Crematorium, in North London.
Works
The Criminal (1890)
The New Spirit (1890)
The Nationalisation of Health (1892)
Man and Woman: A Study of Secondary and Tertiary Sexual Characteristics (1894) (revised 1929)
translator: Germinal (by Zola) (1895) (reissued 1933)
with J.A. Symonds
Studies in the Psychology of Sex (1897–1928) six volumes (listed below)
Affirmations (1898)
The Nineteenth Century (1900)
A Study of British Genius (1904)
The Soul of Spain (1908)
The Problem of Race-Regeneration (1911)
The World of Dreams (1911) (new edition 1926)
The Task of Social Hygiene (1912)
The Philosophy of Conflict (1919)
On Life and Sex: Essays of Love and Virtue (1921)
Little Essays of Love and Virtue (1922)
Sonnets, with Folk Songs from the Spanish (1925)
Eonism and Other Supplementary Studies (1928)
Studies in the Psychology of Sex Vol. 7 (1928)
The Art of Life (1929) (selected and arranged by Mrs. S. Herbert)
More Essays of Love and Virtue (1931)
ed.: James Hinton: Life in Nature (1931)
ed.: Imaginary Conversations and Poems: A Selection, by Walter Savage Landor (1933)
Chapman (1934)
My Confessional (1934)
Questions of Our Day (1934)
From Rousseau to Proust (1935)
Selected Essays (1936)
Poems (1937) (selected by John Gawsworth; pseudonym of T. Fytton Armstrong)
Love and Marriage (1938) (with others)
Sex Compatibility in Marriage (1939)
From Marlowe to Shaw (1950) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
The Genius of Europe (1950)
Sex and Marriage (1951) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
The Unpublished Letters of Havelock Ellis to Joseph Ishill (1954)
References
Bibliography
Further reading
(U.S. title)
External links
Havelock Ellis papers (MS 195). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library
Henry Havelock Ellis papers from the Historic Psychiatry Collection, Menninger Archives, Kansas Historical Society
1859 births
1939 deaths
19th-century English non-fiction writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
Alumni of King's College London
Alumni of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School
British sexologists
English eugenicists
English psychologists
People from Croydon
Psychedelic drug advocates
British relationships and sexuality writers
Medical writers on LGBT topics
British social reformers
Transgender studies academics
Victorian writers
Translators of Émile Zola | true | [
"Sexual selection in insects is about how sexual selection functions in insects. The males of some species have evolved exaggerated adornments and mechanisms for self-defense. These traits play a role in increasing male reproductive expectations by triggering male-male competition or influencing the female mate cho... | [
"Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and incl... |
[
"Havelock Ellis",
"Sexual impulse in youth",
"What was his view on sexual impulse in the youth?",
"book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity.",
"How does he feel they experience it differently?",
"sex impulse has no normal existence... | C_55326ebad6b0415ea8430f68d8c986f4_1 | Did he have any thoughts on the hereditary of sexual excitement? | 7 | Did Havelock Ellis have any thoughts on the hereditary of sexual excitement? | Havelock Ellis | Dr. Havelock Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse,'" he adds. He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower function levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience. Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These early ages are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen. For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded that of girls. Dr. Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children experience are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this either pleasure or an erection until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude." Ellis even considers ancestry as contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable." CANNOTANSWER | Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience. | Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and inclinations, as well as on transgender psychology. He is credited with introducing the notions of narcissism and autoeroticism, later adopted by psychoanalysis.
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He supported eugenics and served as one of 16 vice-presidents of the Eugenics Society from 1909 to 1912.
Early life and career
Ellis, son of Edward Peppen Ellis and Susannah Mary Wheatley, was born in Croydon, Surrey (now part of Greater London). He had four sisters, none of whom married. His father was a sea captain, his mother the daughter of a sea captain, and many other relatives lived on or near the sea. When he was seven his father took him on one of his voyages, during which they called at Sydney, Australia; Callao, Peru; and Antwerp, Belgium. After his return, Ellis attended the French and German College near Wimbledon, and afterward attended a school in Mitcham.
In April 1875, Ellis sailed on his father's ship for Australia; soon after his arrival in Sydney, he obtained a position as a master at a private school. After the discovery of his lack of training, he was fired and became a tutor for a family living a few miles from Carcoar, New South Wales. He spent a year there and then obtained a position as a master at a grammar school in Grafton, New South Wales. The headmaster had died and Ellis carried on at the school for that year, but was unsuccessful.
At the end of the year, he returned to Sydney and, after three months' training, was given charge of two government part-time elementary schools, one at Sparkes Creek, near Scone, New South Wales, and the other at Junction Creek. He lived at the school house on Sparkes Creek for a year. He wrote in his autobiography, "In Australia, I gained health of body, I attained peace of soul, my life task was revealed to me, I was able to decide on a professional vocation, I became an artist in literature; these five points covered the whole activity of my life in the world. Some of them I should doubtless have reached without the aid of the Australian environment, scarcely all, and most of them I could never have achieved so completely if chance had not cast me into the solitude of the Liverpool Range."
Medicine and psychology
Ellis returned to England in April 1879. He had decided to take up the study of sex and felt his first step must be to qualify as a physician. He studied at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, now part of King's College London, but never had a regular medical practice. His training was aided by a small legacy and also income earned from editing works in the Mermaid Series of lesser known Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. He joined The Fellowship of the New Life in 1883, meeting other social reformers Eleanor Marx, Edward Carpenter and George Bernard Shaw.
The 1897 English translation of Ellis's book Sexual Inversion, co-authored with John Addington Symonds and originally published in German in 1896, was the first English medical textbook on homosexuality. It describes male homosexual relations as well as adolescent rape. Ellis wrote the first objective study of homosexuality, as he did not characterise it as a disease, immoral, or a crime. The work assumes that same-sex love transcended age taboos as well as gender taboos. The first edition of the book was bought-out by the executor of Symond's estate, who forbade any mention of Symonds in the second edition.
In 1897 a bookseller was prosecuted for stocking Ellis's book. Although the term homosexual is attributed to Ellis, he wrote in 1897, "'Homosexual' is a barbarously hybrid word, and I claim no responsibility for it." In fact, the word homosexual was coined in 1868 by the Hungarian author Karl-Maria Kertbeny.
Ellis may have developed psychological concepts of autoerotism and narcissism, both of which were later developed further by Sigmund Freud. Ellis's influence may have reached Radclyffe Hall, who would have been about 17 years old at the time Sexual Inversion was published. She later referred to herself as a sexual invert and wrote of female "sexual inverts" in Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself and The Well of Loneliness. When Ellis bowed out as the star witness in the trial of The Well of Loneliness on 14 May 1928, Norman Haire was set to replace him but no witnesses were called.
Eonism
Ellis studied what today are called transgender phenomena. Together with Magnus Hirschfeld, Havelock Ellis is considered a major figure in the history of sexology to establish a new category that was separate and distinct from homosexuality. Aware of Hirschfeld's studies of transvestism, but disagreeing with his terminology, in 1913 Ellis proposed the term sexo-aesthetic inversion to describe the phenomenon. In 1920 he coined the term eonism, which he derived from the name of a historical figure, the Chevalier d'Éon. Ellis explained:
Ellis found eonism to be "a remarkably common anomaly", and "next in frequency to homosexuality among sexual deviations", and categorized it as "among the transitional or intermediate forms of sexuality". As in the Freudian tradition, Ellis postulated that a "too close attachment to the mother" may encourage eonism, but also considered that it "probably invokes some defective endocrine balance".
Marriage
In November 1891, at the age of 32, and reportedly still a virgin, Ellis married the English writer and proponent of women's rights Edith Lees. From the beginning, their marriage was unconventional, as Edith Lees was openly lesbian. At the end of the honeymoon, Ellis went back to his bachelor rooms in Paddington. She lived at Fellowship House. Their "open marriage" was the central subject in Ellis's autobiography, My Life. Ellis reportedly had an affair with Margaret Sanger.
According to Ellis in My Life, his friends were much amused at his being considered an expert on sex. Some knew that he reportedly suffered from impotence until the age of 60. He then discovered that he could become aroused by the sight of a woman urinating. Ellis named this "undinism". After his wife died, Ellis formed a relationship with a French woman, Françoise Lafitte.
Eugenics
Ellis was a supporter of eugenics. He served as vice-president to the Eugenics Education Society and wrote on the subject, among others, in The Task of Social Hygiene:
In his early writings, it was clear that Ellis concurred with the notion that there was a system of racial hierarchies, and that non-western cultures were considered to be "lower races". Before explicitly talking about eugenic topics, he used the prevalence of homosexuality in these 'lower races' to indicate the universality of the behavior. In his work, Sexual Inversions, where Ellis presented numerous cases of homosexuality in Britain, he was always careful to mention the race of the subject and the health of the person's 'stock', which included their neuropathic conditions and the health of their parents. However, Ellis was clear to assert that he did not feel that homosexuality was an issue that eugenics needed to actively deal with, as he felt that once the practice was accepted in society, those with homosexual tendencies would comfortably choose not to marry, and thus would cease to pass the 'homosexual heredity' along.
In a debate in the Sociological Society, Ellis corresponded with noted eugenicist Francis Galton, who was presenting a paper in support of marriage restrictions. While Galton analogized eugenics to breeding domesticated animals, Ellis felt that a greater sense of caution was needed before applying the eugenic regulations to populations, as "we have scarcely yet realized how subtle and far-reaching hereditary influences are." Instead, because unlike domesticated animals, humans were in charge of who they mated with, Ellis argued that a greater emphasis was needed on public education about how vital this issue was. Ellis thus held much more moderate views than many contemporary eugenicists. In fact, Ellis also fundamentally disagreed with Galton's leading ideas that procreation restrictions were the same as marriage restrictions. Ellis believed that those who should not procreate should still be able to gain all the other benefits of marriage, and to not allow that was an intolerable burden. This, in his mind, was what led to eugenics being "misunderstood, ridiculed, and regarded as a fad".
Throughout his life, Ellis was both a member and later a council member of the Eugenics Society. Moreover, he played a role on the General Committee of the First International Eugenics Congress.
Sexual impulse in youth
Ellis' 1933 book, Psychology of Sex, is one of the many manifestations of his interest in human sexuality. In this book, he goes into vivid detail of how children can experience sexuality differently in terms of time and intensity. He mentions that it was previously believed that, in childhood, humans had no sex impulse at all. "If it is possible to maintain that the sex impulse has no normal existence in early life, then every manifestation of it at that period must be 'perverse, he adds. He continues by stating that, even in the early development and lower function levels of the genitalia, there is a wide range of variation in terms of sexual stimulation. He claims that the ability of some infants producing genital reactions, seen as "reflex signs of irritation" are typically not vividly remembered. Since the details of these manifestations are not remembered, there is no possible way to determine them as pleasurable. However, Ellis claims that many people of both sexes can recall having agreeable sensations with the genitalia as a child. "They are not (as is sometimes imagined) repressed." They are, however, not usually mentioned to adults. Ellis argues that they typically stand out and are remembered for the sole contrast of the intense encounter to any other ordinary experience.
Ellis claims that sexual self-excitement is known to happen at an early age. He references authors like Marc, Fonssagrives, and Perez in France who published their findings in the nineteenth century. These early ages are not strictly limited to ages close to puberty as can be seen in their findings. These authors provide cases for children of both sexes who have masturbated from the age of three or four. Ellis references Robie's findings that boys' first sex feelings appear between the ages of five and fourteen. For girls, this age ranges from eight to nineteen. For both sexes, these first sexual experiences arise more frequently during the later years as opposed to the earlier years. Ellis then references G.V. Hamilton's studies that found twenty percent of males and fourteen percent of females have pleasurable experiences with their sex organs before the age of six. This is only supplemented by Ellis' reference to Katharine Davis' studies, which found that twenty to twenty-nine percent of boys and forty-nine to fifty-one percent of girls were masturbating by the age of eleven. However, in the next three years after, boys' percentages exceeded those of girls.
Ellis also contributed to the idea of varying levels of sexual excitation. He asserts it is a mistake to assume all children are able to experience genital arousal or pleasurable erotic sensations. He proposes cases where an innocent child is led to believe that stimulation of the genitalia will result in a pleasurable erection. Some of these children may fail and not be able to experience this either pleasure or an erection until puberty. Ellis concludes, then, that children are capable of a "wide range of genital and sexual aptitude". Ellis even considers ancestry as contributions to different sexual excitation levels, stating that children of "more unsound heredity" and/or hypersexual parents are "more precociously excitable".
Auto-eroticism
Ellis' views of auto-eroticism were very comprehensive, including much more than masturbation. Auto-eroticism, according to Ellis, includes a wide range of phenomena. Ellis states in his 1897 book Studies in the Psychology of Sex, that auto-eroticism ranges from erotic day-dreams, marked by a passivity shown by the subject, to "unshamed efforts at sexual self-manipulation witnessed among the insane".
Ellis also argues that auto-erotic impulses can be heightened by bodily processes like menstrual flow. During this time, he says, women, who would otherwise not feel a strong propensity for auto-eroticism, increase their masturbation patterns. This trend is absent, however, in women without a conscious acceptance of their sexual feelings and in a small percentage of women suffering from a sexual or general ailment which result in a significant amount of "sexual anesthesia".
Ellis also raises social concern over how auto-erotic tendencies affect marriages. He goes on to tying auto-eroticism to declining marriage rates. As these rates decline, he concludes that auto-eroticism will only increase in both amount and intensity for both men and women. Therefore, he states, this is an important issue to both the moralist and physician to investigate psychological underpinnings of these experiences and determine an attitude toward them.
Smell
Ellis believed that the sense of smell, although ineffective at long ranges, still contributes to sexual attraction, and therefore, to mate selection. In his 1905 book, Sexual selection in man, Ellis makes a claim for the sense of smell in the role of sexual selection. He asserts that while we have evolved out of a great necessity for the sense of smell, we still rely on our sense of smell with sexual selection. The contributions that smell makes in sexual attraction can even be heightened with certain climates. Ellis states that with warmer climates come a heightened sensitivity to sexual and other positive feelings of smell among normal populations. Because of this, he believes people are often delighted by odors in the East, particularly in India, in "Hebrew and Mohammedan lands". Ellis then continues by describing the distinct odours in various races, noting that the Japanese race has the least intense of bodily odours. Ellis concludes his argument by stating, "On the whole, it may be said that in the usual life of man odours play a not inconsiderable part and raise problems which are not without interest, but that their demonstrable part in actual sexual selection is comparatively small."
Views on women and birth control
Ellis favoured feminism from a eugenic perspective, feeling that the enhanced social, economic, and sexual choices that feminism provided for women would result in women choosing partners who were more eugenically sound. In his view, intelligent women would not choose, nor be forced to marry and procreate with feeble-minded men.
Ellis viewed birth control as merely the continuation of an evolutionary progression, noting that natural progress has always consisted of increasing impediments to reproduction, which lead to a lower quantity of offspring, but a much higher quality of them. From a eugenic perspective, birth control was an invaluable instrument for the elevation of the race. However, Ellis noted that birth control could not be used randomly in a way that could have a detrimental impact by reducing conception, but rather needed to be used in a targeted manner to improve the qualities of certain 'stocks'. He observed that it was unfortunately the 'superior stocks' who had knowledge of and used birth control while the 'inferior stocks' propagated without checks. Ellis' solution to this was a focus on contraceptives in education, as this would disseminate the knowledge in the populations that he felt needed them the most. Ellis argued that birth control was the only available way of making eugenic selection practicable, as the only other option was wide-scale abstention from intercourse for those who were 'unfit'.
Views on sterilization
Ellis was strongly opposed to the idea of castration for eugenic purposes. In 1909, regulations were introduced at the Cantonal Asylum in Bern, which allowed those deemed 'unfit' and with strong sexual inclinations to be mandatorily sterilized. In a particular instance, several men and women, including epileptics and paedophiles, were castrated, some of whom voluntarily requested it. While the results were positive, in that none of the subjects were found guilty of any more sexual offences, Ellis remained staunchly opposed to the practice. His view on the origin of these inclinations was that sexual impulses do not reside in the sexual organs, but rather they persist in the brain. Moreover, he posited that the sexual glands provided an important source of internal secretions vital for the functioning of the organism, and thus their removal could greatly injure the patient.
However, already in his time, Ellis was witness to the rise of vasectomies and ligatures of the Fallopian tubes, which performed the same sterilization without removing the whole organ. In these cases, Ellis was much more favourable, yet still maintaining that "sterilization of the unfit, if it is to be a practical and humane measure commanding general approval, must be voluntary on the part of the person undergoing it, and never compulsory." His opposition to such a system was not only rooted in morality. Rather, Ellis also considered the practicality of the situation, hypothesizing that if an already mentally unfit man is forced to undergo sterilization, he would only become more ill-balanced, and would end up committing more anti-social acts.
Though Ellis was never at ease with the idea of forced sterilizations, he was willing to find ways to circumvent that restriction. His focus was on the social ends of eugenics, and as a means to it, Ellis was in no way against 'persuading' 'volunteers' to undergo sterilization by withdrawing Poor Relief from them. While he preferred to convince those he deemed unfit using education, Ellis supported coercion as a tool. Furthermore, he supported adding ideas about eugenics and birth control to the education system in order to restructure society, and to promote social hygiene. For Ellis, sterilization seemed to be the only eugenic instrument that could be used on the mentally unfit. In fact, in his publication The Sterilization of the Unfit, Ellis argued that even institutionalization could not guarantee the complete prevention of procreation between the unfit, and thus, "the burdens of society, to say nothing of the race, are being multiplied. It is not possible to view sterilization with enthusiasm when applied to any class of people…but what, I ask myself, is the practical alternative?"
Psychedelics
Ellis was among the pioneering investigators of psychedelic drugs and the author of one of the first written reports to the public about an experience with mescaline, which he conducted on himself in 1896. He consumed a brew made of 3 Echinocacti (peyote) in the afternoon of Good Friday alone in his apartment in Temple, London. During the experience, lasting for about 24 hours, he noted a plethora of extremely vivid, complex, colourful, pleasantly smelling hallucinations, consisting both of abstract geometrical patterns and definite objects such as butterflies and other insects. He published the account of the experience in The Contemporary Review in 1898 (Mescal: A New Artificial Paradise). The title of the article alludes to an earlier work on the effects of mind-altering substances, an 1860 book Les Paradis artificiels by French poet Charles Baudelaire (containing descriptions of experiments with opium and hashish).
Ellis was so impressed with the aesthetic quality of the experience that he gave some specimens of peyote to the Irish poet W. B. Yeats, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an organisation of which another mescaline researcher, Aleister Crowley, was also a member.
Later life and death
Ellis resigned from his position of Fellow of the Eugenics Society over their stance on sterilization in January 1931.
Ellis spent the last year of his life at Hintlesham, Suffolk, where he died in July 1939. He is buried in Golders Green Crematorium, in North London.
Works
The Criminal (1890)
The New Spirit (1890)
The Nationalisation of Health (1892)
Man and Woman: A Study of Secondary and Tertiary Sexual Characteristics (1894) (revised 1929)
translator: Germinal (by Zola) (1895) (reissued 1933)
with J.A. Symonds
Studies in the Psychology of Sex (1897–1928) six volumes (listed below)
Affirmations (1898)
The Nineteenth Century (1900)
A Study of British Genius (1904)
The Soul of Spain (1908)
The Problem of Race-Regeneration (1911)
The World of Dreams (1911) (new edition 1926)
The Task of Social Hygiene (1912)
The Philosophy of Conflict (1919)
On Life and Sex: Essays of Love and Virtue (1921)
Little Essays of Love and Virtue (1922)
Sonnets, with Folk Songs from the Spanish (1925)
Eonism and Other Supplementary Studies (1928)
Studies in the Psychology of Sex Vol. 7 (1928)
The Art of Life (1929) (selected and arranged by Mrs. S. Herbert)
More Essays of Love and Virtue (1931)
ed.: James Hinton: Life in Nature (1931)
ed.: Imaginary Conversations and Poems: A Selection, by Walter Savage Landor (1933)
Chapman (1934)
My Confessional (1934)
Questions of Our Day (1934)
From Rousseau to Proust (1935)
Selected Essays (1936)
Poems (1937) (selected by John Gawsworth; pseudonym of T. Fytton Armstrong)
Love and Marriage (1938) (with others)
Sex Compatibility in Marriage (1939)
From Marlowe to Shaw (1950) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
The Genius of Europe (1950)
Sex and Marriage (1951) (ed. by J. Gawsworth)
The Unpublished Letters of Havelock Ellis to Joseph Ishill (1954)
References
Bibliography
Further reading
(U.S. title)
External links
Havelock Ellis papers (MS 195). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library
Henry Havelock Ellis papers from the Historic Psychiatry Collection, Menninger Archives, Kansas Historical Society
1859 births
1939 deaths
19th-century English non-fiction writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
Alumni of King's College London
Alumni of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School
British sexologists
English eugenicists
English psychologists
People from Croydon
Psychedelic drug advocates
British relationships and sexuality writers
Medical writers on LGBT topics
British social reformers
Transgender studies academics
Victorian writers
Translators of Émile Zola | true | [
"An intrusive thought is an unwelcome, involuntary thought, image, or unpleasant idea that may become an obsession, is upsetting or distressing, and can feel difficult to manage or eliminate. When such thoughts are associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), and ... | [
"Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in 1897, and also published works on a variety of sexual practices and incl... |
[
"David Frost",
"That Was the Week That Was (TW3)"
] | C_217351d2fd5a4a9bb19386d270564876_1 | What was David Frost job? | 1 | What was David Frost job? | David Frost | Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was, alias TW3 after Frost's flatmate John Bird suggested Sherrin should see his act at The Blue Angel. The series, which ran for less than 18 months during 1962-63, was part of the satire boom in early 1960s Britain and became a popular programme. The involvement of Frost in TW3 led to an intensification of the rivalry with Peter Cook who accused him of stealing material and dubbed Frost "the bubonic plagiarist". The new satirical magazine Private Eye also mocked him at this time. Frost visited the United States during the break between the two series of TW3 in the summer of 1963 and stayed with the producer of the New York production of Beyond The Fringe. Frost was unable to swim, but still jumped into the pool, and nearly drowned until he was saved by Peter Cook. At the memorial service for Cook in 1995, Alan Bennett recalled that rescuing Frost was the one regret Cook frequently expressed. For the first three editions of the second series in 1963, the BBC attempted to limit the team by scheduling repeats of The Third Man television series after the programme, thus preventing overruns. Frost took to reading synopses of the episodes at the end of the programme as a means of sabotage. After the BBC's Director General Hugh Greene instructed that the repeats should be abandoned, TW3 returned to being open-ended. More sombrely, on 23 November 1963, a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, an event which had occurred the previous day, formed an entire edition of That Was the Week That Was. An American version of TW3 ran after the original British series had ended. Following a pilot episode on 10 November 1963, the 30-minute US series, also featuring Frost, ran on NBC from 10 January 1964 to May 1965. In 1985, Frost produced and hosted a television special in the same format, That Was the Year That Was, on NBC. CANNOTANSWER | Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was, | Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer.
He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962. His success on this show led to work as a host on American television. He became known for his television interviews with senior political figures, among them the Nixon interviews with President Richard Nixon in 1977 which were adapted into a stage play and film. Frost interviewed all eight British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2016 and all seven American presidents in office between 1969 and 2008.
He was one of the people behind the launch of ITV station TV-am in 1983. He was the inaugural host of the US newsmagazine programme Inside Edition. He hosted the Sunday morning interview programme Breakfast with Frost for the BBC from 1993 to 2005, and spent two decades as host of Through the Keyhole. From 2006 to 2012, he hosted the weekly programme Frost Over the World on Al Jazeera English, and the weekly programme The Frost Interview from 2012. He received the BAFTA Fellowship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2005 and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy Awards in 2009.
Frost died on 31 August 2013, aged 74, on board the cruise ship , where he had been engaged as a speaker. His memorial stone was unveiled in Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey in March 2014.
Early life
David Paradine Frost was born in Tenterden, Kent, on 7 April 1939, the son of a Methodist minister of Huguenot descent, the Rev. Wilfred John "W. J." Paradine Frost, and his wife, Mona (Aldrich); he had two elder sisters. While living in Gillingham, Kent, he was taught in the Bible class of the Sunday school at his father's church (Byron Road Methodist) by David Gilmore Harvey, and subsequently started training as a Methodist local preacher, which he did not complete.
Frost attended Barnsole Road Primary School in Gillingham, St Hugh's School, Woodhall Spa, Gillingham Grammar School and finally – while residing in Raunds, Northamptonshire – Wellingborough Grammar School. Throughout his school years he was an avid football and cricket player, and was offered a contract with Nottingham Forest F.C. For two years before going to university he was a lay preacher, following his witnessing of an event presided over by Christian evangelist Billy Graham.
Frost studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from 1958, graduating with a Third in English. He was editor of both the university's student paper, Varsity, and the literary magazine Granta. He was also secretary of the Footlights Drama Society, which included actors such as Peter Cook and John Bird. During this period Frost appeared on television for the first time in an edition of Anglia Television's Town And Gown, performing several comic characters. "The first time I stepped into a television studio", he once remembered, "it felt like home. It didn't scare me. Talking to the camera seemed the most natural thing in the world."
According to some accounts, Frost was the victim of snobbery from the group with which he associated at Cambridge, which has been confirmed by Barry Humphries. Christopher Booker, while asserting that Frost's one defining characteristic was ambition, commented that he was impossible to dislike. According to satirist John Wells, Old Etonian actor Jonathan Cecil congratulated Frost around this time for "that wonderfully silly voice" he used while performing, but then discovered that it was Frost's real voice.
After leaving university, Frost became a trainee at Associated-Rediffusion. Meanwhile, having already gained an agent, Frost performed in cabaret at the Blue Angel nightclub in Berkeley Square, London during the evenings.
That Was the Week That Was
Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was, or TW3, after Frost's flatmate John Bird suggested Sherrin should see his act at The Blue Angel. The series, which ran for less than 18 months during 1962–63, was part of the satire boom in early 1960s Britain and became a popular programme.
The involvement of Frost in TW3 led to an intensification of the rivalry with Peter Cook who accused him of stealing material and dubbed Frost "the bubonic plagiarist". The new satirical magazine Private Eye also mocked him at this time. Frost visited the U.S. during the break between the two series of TW3 in the summer of 1963 and stayed with the producer of the New York City production of Beyond The Fringe. Frost was unable to swim, but still jumped into the pool, and nearly drowned until he was saved by Peter Cook. At the memorial service for Cook in 1995, Alan Bennett recalled that rescuing Frost was the one regret Cook frequently expressed.
For the first three editions of the second series in 1963, the BBC attempted to limit the team by scheduling repeats of The Third Man television series after the programme, thus preventing overruns. Frost took to reading synopses of the episodes at the end of the programme as a means of sabotage. After the BBC's Director General Hugh Greene instructed that the repeats should be abandoned, TW3 returned to being open-ended. More sombrely, on 23 November 1963, a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, an event which had occurred the previous day, formed an entire edition of That Was the Week That Was.
An American version of TW3 ran after the original British series had ended. Following a pilot episode on 10 November 1963, the 30-minute US series, also featuring Frost, ran on NBC from 10 January 1964 to May 1965. In 1985, Frost produced and hosted a television special in the same format, That Was the Year That Was, on NBC.
After TW3
Frost fronted various programmes following the success of TW3, including its immediate successor, Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life, which he co-chaired with Willie Rushton and poet P. J. Kavanagh. Screened on three evenings each week, this series was dropped after a sketch was found to be offensive to Catholics and another to the British royal family. More successful was The Frost Report, broadcast between 1966 and 1967. The show launched the television careers of John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett, who appeared together in the Class sketch.
Frost signed for Rediffusion, the ITV weekday contractor in London, to produce a "heavier" interview-based show called The Frost Programme. Guests included Oswald Mosley and Rhodesian premier Ian Smith. His memorable dressing-down of insurance fraudster Emil Savundra, regarded as the first example of "trial by television" in the UK, led to concern from ITV executives that it might affect Savundra's right to a fair trial. Frost's introductory words for his television programmes during this period, "Hello, good evening and welcome", became his catchphrase and were often mimicked.
Frost was a member of a successful consortium, including former executives from the BBC, that bid for an ITV franchise in 1967. This became London Weekend Television, which began broadcasting in July 1968. The station began with a programming policy that was considered "highbrow" and suffered launch problems with low audience ratings and financial problems. A September 1968 meeting of the Network Programme Committee, which made decisions about the channel's scheduling, was particularly fraught, with Lew Grade expressing hatred of Frost in his presence. Frost, according to Kitty Muggeridge in 1967, had "risen without a trace."
He was involved in the station's early years as a presenter. On 20 and 21 July 1969, during the British television Apollo 11 coverage, he presented David Frost's Moon Party for LWT, a ten-hour discussion and entertainment marathon from LWT's Wembley Studios, on the night Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Two of his guests on this programme were British historian A. J. P. Taylor and entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. Around this time Frost interviewed Rupert Murdoch whose recently acquired Sunday newspaper, the News of the World, had just serialised the memoirs of Christine Keeler, a central figure in the Profumo scandal of 1963. For the Australian publisher, this was a bruising encounter, although Frost said that he had not intended it to be. Murdoch confessed to his biographer Michael Wolff that the incident had convinced him that Frost was "an arrogant bastard, [and] a bloody bugger".
In the late 1960s Frost began an intermittent involvement in the film industry. Setting up David Paradine Ltd in 1966, he part-financed The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970), in which the lead character was based partly on Frost, and gained an executive producer credit. In 1976, Frost was the executive producer of the British musical film The Slipper and the Rose, retelling the story of Cinderella.
Frost was the subject of This Is Your Life in January 1972 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at London's Quaglino's restaurant.
American career from 1968 to 1980
In 1968, he signed a contract worth £125,000 to appear on American television in his own show on three evenings each week, the largest such arrangement for a British television personality at the time. From 1969 to 1972, Frost kept his London shows and fronted The David Frost Show on the Group W (U.S. Westinghouse Corporation) television stations in the U.S. His 1970 TV special, Frost on America, featured guests such as Jack Benny and Tennessee Williams.
In a declassified transcript of a 1972 telephone call between Frost and Henry Kissinger, President Nixon's national security advisor and secretary of state, Frost urged Kissinger to call chess Grandmaster Bobby Fischer and urge him to compete in that year's World Chess Championship. During this call, Frost revealed that he was working on a novel.
Frost interviewed heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali in 1974 at his training camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania before "The Rumble in the Jungle" with George Foreman. Ali remarked, "Listen David, when I meet this man, if you think the world was surprised when Nixon resigned, wait till I whip Foreman's behind."
In 1977, the Nixon Interviews, which were five 90-minute interviews with former U.S. President Richard Nixon, were broadcast. Nixon was paid $600,000 plus a share of the profits for the interviews, which had to be funded by Frost himself after the U.S. television networks turned down the programme, describing it as "checkbook journalism". Frost's company negotiated its own deals to syndicate the interviews with local stations across the U.S. and internationally, creating what Ron Howard described as "the first fourth network". Frost taped around 29 hours of interviews with Nixon over four weeks. Nixon, who had previously avoided discussing his role in the Watergate scandal that had led to his resignation as president in 1974, expressed contrition saying, "I let the American people down and I have to carry that burden with me for the rest of my life". Frost asked Nixon whether the president could do something illegal in certain situations such as against antiwar groups and others if he decides "it's in the best interests of the nation or something". Nixon replied: "Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal", by definition.
Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Frost was the last person to interview Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the deposed Shah of Iran. The interview took place on Contadora Island in Panama in January 1980, and was broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company in the U.S. on 17 January. The Shah talks about his wealth, his illness, the SAVAK, the torture during his reign, Khomeini, his threat of extradition to Iran and draws a summary of the current situation in Iran.
Frost was an organiser of the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. Ten years later, he was hired as the anchor of new American tabloid news program Inside Edition. He was dismissed after only three weeks because of poor ratings. It seems he was "considered too high-brow for the show's low-brow format."
After 1980
Frost was one of the "Famous Five" who launched TV-am in February 1983; however, like LWT in the late 1960s, the station began with an unsustainable "highbrow" approach. Frost remained a presenter after restructuring. Frost on Sunday began in September 1983 and continued until the station lost its franchise at the end of 1992. Frost had been part of an unsuccessful consortium, CPV-TV, with Richard Branson and other interests, which had attempted to acquire three ITV contractor franchises prior to the changes made by the Independent Television Commission in 1991. After transferring from ITV, his Sunday morning interview programme Breakfast with Frost ran on the BBC from January 1993 until 29 May 2005. For a time it ran on BSB before moving to BBC 1.
Frost hosted Through the Keyhole, which ran on several UK channels from 1987 until 2008 and also featured Loyd Grossman. Produced by his own production company, the programme was first shown in prime time and on daytime television in its later years.
Frost worked for Al Jazeera English, presenting a live weekly hour-long current affairs programme, Frost Over The World, which started when the network launched in November 2006. The programme regularly made headlines with interviewees such as Tony Blair, President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan and President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua. The programme was produced by the former Question Time editor and Independent on Sunday journalist Charlie Courtauld. Frost was one of the first to interview the man who authored the Fatwa on Terrorism, Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri.
During his career as a broadcaster, Frost became one of Concorde's most frequent fliers, having flown between London and New York an average of 20 times per year for 20 years.
In 2007, Frost hosted a discussion with Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi as part of the Monitor Group's involvement in the country. In June 2010, Frost presented Frost on Satire, an hour-long BBC Four documentary looking at the history of television satire.
Achievements
Frost was the only person to have interviewed all eight British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2016 (Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron) and all seven U.S. presidents in office between 1969 and 2008 (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush).
He was a patron and former vice-president of the Motor Neurone Disease Association charity, as well as being a patron of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, Hearing Star Benevolent Fund, East Anglia's Children's Hospices, the Home Farm Trust and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. He was also recognized for his contributions to the women's charity "Wellbeing for Women".
After having been in television for 40 years, Frost was estimated to be worth £200 million by the Sunday Times Rich List in 2006, a figure he considered a significant overestimate in 2011. The valuation included the assets of his main British company and subsidiaries, plus homes in London and the country.
Frost/Nixon
Frost/Nixon was originally a play written by Peter Morgan, developed from the interviews that Frost had conducted with Richard Nixon in 1977. Frost/Nixon was presented as a stage production in London in 2006 and on Broadway in 2007. Frank Langella won a Leading Actor Tony Award for his portrayal of Nixon; the play also received nominations for Best Play and Best Direction.
The play was adapted into a Hollywood motion picture entitled Frost/Nixon and starring Michael Sheen as Frost and Langella as Nixon, both reprising their stage roles. The film was released in 2008 and directed by Ron Howard. It was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, winning none: Best Motion Picture-Drama, Best Director-Drama, Best Actor-Drama (Langella), Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score. It was also nominated for five Academy Awards, again winning none: Best Picture, Best Actor (Langella), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.
In February 2009, Frost was featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's international affairs programme Foreign Correspondent in a report titled "The World According To Frost", reflecting on his long career and portrayal in the film Frost/Nixon.
Personal life
Frost was known for several relationships with high-profile women. In the mid-1960s, he dated British actress Janette Scott, between her marriages to songwriter Jackie Rae and singer Mel Tormé; in the early 1970s he was engaged to American actress Diahann Carroll; between 1972 and 1977 he had a relationship with British socialite Caroline Cushing; in 1981, he married Lynne Frederick, widow of Peter Sellers, but they divorced the following year. He also had an 18-year intermittent affair with American actress Carol Lynley.
On 19 March 1983, Frost married Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, daughter of the 17th Duke of Norfolk. Three sons were born to the couple over the next five years. His second son, Wilfred Frost, followed in his father's footsteps and currently works as an anchor at CNBC. They lived for many years in Chelsea, London, and kept a weekend home at Michelmersh Court in Hampshire.
Death
On 31 August 2013, Frost was aboard the Cunard cruise ship when he died of a heart attack at the age of 74. Cunard said that the vessel had left Southampton for a ten-day cruise in the Mediterranean, ending in Rome. A post-mortem found that Frost had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Frost's son, Miles, died from the same condition at the age of 31 in 2015.
A funeral service was held at Holy Trinity Church in Nuffield, Oxfordshire, on 12 September 2013, after which he was interred in the church's graveyard. On 13 March 2014, a memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey, at which Frost was honoured with a memorial stone in Poets' Corner.
Tributes
British Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute, saying: "He could be—and certainly was with me—both a friend and a fearsome interviewer." Michael Grade commented: "He was kind of a television renaissance man. He could put his hand to anything. He could turn over Richard Nixon or he could win the comedy prize at the Montreux Golden Rose festival."
Selected awards and honours
1970: Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
1970: Honorary Doctor of Laws degree of Emerson College
1993: Knight Bachelor
1994: Honorary doctoral degree of the University of Sussex
2000: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
2005: Fellowship of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA
2009: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree of the University of Winchester
2009: Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy Awards
Bibliography
Non-fiction
How to Live Under Labour – or at Least Have as Much Chance as Anyone Else (1964)
To England with Love (1968). With Antony Jay.
The Presidential Debate, 1968: David Frost talks with Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey (and others) (1968).
The Americans (1970)
Billy Graham Talks with David Frost (1972)
Whitlam and Frost: The Full Text of Their TV Conversations Plus Exclusive New Interviews (1974)
"I Gave Them a Sword": Behind the Scenes of the Nixon Interviews (1978). Reissued as Frost/Nixon in 2007.
David Frost's Book of Millionaires, Multimillionaires, and Really Rich People (1984)
The World's Shortest Books (1987)
An Autobiography. Part 1: From Congregations to Audiences (1993)
With Michael Deakin and illustrated by Willie Rushton
I Could Have Kicked Myself: David Frost's Book of the World's Worst Decisions (1982)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1983)
If You'll Believe That (1986)
With Michael Shea
The Mid-Atlantic Companion, or, How to Misunderstand Americans as Much as They Misunderstand Us (1986)
The Rich Tide: Men, Women, Ideas and Their Transatlantic Impact (1986)
References
External links
BBC News Profile of David Frost
TV Cream on David Frost
TV Cream on Paradine Productions
1939 births
2013 deaths
Al Jazeera people
Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
BAFTA fellows
BBC newsreaders and journalists
British broadcast news analysts
British reporters and correspondents
British television producers
English comedians
English game show hosts
English memoirists
English Methodists
English satirists
English social commentators
English political writers
English television personalities
English television talk show hosts
International Emmy Founders Award winners
Knights Bachelor
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Gillingham Grammar School, Kent
People educated at St Hugh's School, Woodhall Spa
People from Raunds
People from Tenterden
People from Test Valley
People from Wellingborough
People who died at sea
Primetime Emmy Award winners
20th-century British businesspeople | true | [
"Rodney David Wingfield (6 June 1928 – 31 July 2007) was an English author and radio dramatist. He is best remembered for creating the character of Detective Inspector Jack Frost, who was later played by Sir David Jason in A Touch of Frost.\n\nEarly life\nRodney David Wingfield was born in Hackney, east London in 1... | [
"Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962.",
"He rose to prominence during the s... |
[
"David Frost",
"That Was the Week That Was (TW3)",
"What was David Frost job?",
"Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was,"
] | C_217351d2fd5a4a9bb19386d270564876_1 | In what country was That was the week that was been produce? | 2 | In what country was "That was the week that was" been produce? | David Frost | Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was, alias TW3 after Frost's flatmate John Bird suggested Sherrin should see his act at The Blue Angel. The series, which ran for less than 18 months during 1962-63, was part of the satire boom in early 1960s Britain and became a popular programme. The involvement of Frost in TW3 led to an intensification of the rivalry with Peter Cook who accused him of stealing material and dubbed Frost "the bubonic plagiarist". The new satirical magazine Private Eye also mocked him at this time. Frost visited the United States during the break between the two series of TW3 in the summer of 1963 and stayed with the producer of the New York production of Beyond The Fringe. Frost was unable to swim, but still jumped into the pool, and nearly drowned until he was saved by Peter Cook. At the memorial service for Cook in 1995, Alan Bennett recalled that rescuing Frost was the one regret Cook frequently expressed. For the first three editions of the second series in 1963, the BBC attempted to limit the team by scheduling repeats of The Third Man television series after the programme, thus preventing overruns. Frost took to reading synopses of the episodes at the end of the programme as a means of sabotage. After the BBC's Director General Hugh Greene instructed that the repeats should be abandoned, TW3 returned to being open-ended. More sombrely, on 23 November 1963, a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, an event which had occurred the previous day, formed an entire edition of That Was the Week That Was. An American version of TW3 ran after the original British series had ended. Following a pilot episode on 10 November 1963, the 30-minute US series, also featuring Frost, ran on NBC from 10 January 1964 to May 1965. In 1985, Frost produced and hosted a television special in the same format, That Was the Year That Was, on NBC. CANNOTANSWER | Britain | Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer.
He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962. His success on this show led to work as a host on American television. He became known for his television interviews with senior political figures, among them the Nixon interviews with President Richard Nixon in 1977 which were adapted into a stage play and film. Frost interviewed all eight British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2016 and all seven American presidents in office between 1969 and 2008.
He was one of the people behind the launch of ITV station TV-am in 1983. He was the inaugural host of the US newsmagazine programme Inside Edition. He hosted the Sunday morning interview programme Breakfast with Frost for the BBC from 1993 to 2005, and spent two decades as host of Through the Keyhole. From 2006 to 2012, he hosted the weekly programme Frost Over the World on Al Jazeera English, and the weekly programme The Frost Interview from 2012. He received the BAFTA Fellowship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2005 and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy Awards in 2009.
Frost died on 31 August 2013, aged 74, on board the cruise ship , where he had been engaged as a speaker. His memorial stone was unveiled in Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey in March 2014.
Early life
David Paradine Frost was born in Tenterden, Kent, on 7 April 1939, the son of a Methodist minister of Huguenot descent, the Rev. Wilfred John "W. J." Paradine Frost, and his wife, Mona (Aldrich); he had two elder sisters. While living in Gillingham, Kent, he was taught in the Bible class of the Sunday school at his father's church (Byron Road Methodist) by David Gilmore Harvey, and subsequently started training as a Methodist local preacher, which he did not complete.
Frost attended Barnsole Road Primary School in Gillingham, St Hugh's School, Woodhall Spa, Gillingham Grammar School and finally – while residing in Raunds, Northamptonshire – Wellingborough Grammar School. Throughout his school years he was an avid football and cricket player, and was offered a contract with Nottingham Forest F.C. For two years before going to university he was a lay preacher, following his witnessing of an event presided over by Christian evangelist Billy Graham.
Frost studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from 1958, graduating with a Third in English. He was editor of both the university's student paper, Varsity, and the literary magazine Granta. He was also secretary of the Footlights Drama Society, which included actors such as Peter Cook and John Bird. During this period Frost appeared on television for the first time in an edition of Anglia Television's Town And Gown, performing several comic characters. "The first time I stepped into a television studio", he once remembered, "it felt like home. It didn't scare me. Talking to the camera seemed the most natural thing in the world."
According to some accounts, Frost was the victim of snobbery from the group with which he associated at Cambridge, which has been confirmed by Barry Humphries. Christopher Booker, while asserting that Frost's one defining characteristic was ambition, commented that he was impossible to dislike. According to satirist John Wells, Old Etonian actor Jonathan Cecil congratulated Frost around this time for "that wonderfully silly voice" he used while performing, but then discovered that it was Frost's real voice.
After leaving university, Frost became a trainee at Associated-Rediffusion. Meanwhile, having already gained an agent, Frost performed in cabaret at the Blue Angel nightclub in Berkeley Square, London during the evenings.
That Was the Week That Was
Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was, or TW3, after Frost's flatmate John Bird suggested Sherrin should see his act at The Blue Angel. The series, which ran for less than 18 months during 1962–63, was part of the satire boom in early 1960s Britain and became a popular programme.
The involvement of Frost in TW3 led to an intensification of the rivalry with Peter Cook who accused him of stealing material and dubbed Frost "the bubonic plagiarist". The new satirical magazine Private Eye also mocked him at this time. Frost visited the U.S. during the break between the two series of TW3 in the summer of 1963 and stayed with the producer of the New York City production of Beyond The Fringe. Frost was unable to swim, but still jumped into the pool, and nearly drowned until he was saved by Peter Cook. At the memorial service for Cook in 1995, Alan Bennett recalled that rescuing Frost was the one regret Cook frequently expressed.
For the first three editions of the second series in 1963, the BBC attempted to limit the team by scheduling repeats of The Third Man television series after the programme, thus preventing overruns. Frost took to reading synopses of the episodes at the end of the programme as a means of sabotage. After the BBC's Director General Hugh Greene instructed that the repeats should be abandoned, TW3 returned to being open-ended. More sombrely, on 23 November 1963, a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, an event which had occurred the previous day, formed an entire edition of That Was the Week That Was.
An American version of TW3 ran after the original British series had ended. Following a pilot episode on 10 November 1963, the 30-minute US series, also featuring Frost, ran on NBC from 10 January 1964 to May 1965. In 1985, Frost produced and hosted a television special in the same format, That Was the Year That Was, on NBC.
After TW3
Frost fronted various programmes following the success of TW3, including its immediate successor, Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life, which he co-chaired with Willie Rushton and poet P. J. Kavanagh. Screened on three evenings each week, this series was dropped after a sketch was found to be offensive to Catholics and another to the British royal family. More successful was The Frost Report, broadcast between 1966 and 1967. The show launched the television careers of John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett, who appeared together in the Class sketch.
Frost signed for Rediffusion, the ITV weekday contractor in London, to produce a "heavier" interview-based show called The Frost Programme. Guests included Oswald Mosley and Rhodesian premier Ian Smith. His memorable dressing-down of insurance fraudster Emil Savundra, regarded as the first example of "trial by television" in the UK, led to concern from ITV executives that it might affect Savundra's right to a fair trial. Frost's introductory words for his television programmes during this period, "Hello, good evening and welcome", became his catchphrase and were often mimicked.
Frost was a member of a successful consortium, including former executives from the BBC, that bid for an ITV franchise in 1967. This became London Weekend Television, which began broadcasting in July 1968. The station began with a programming policy that was considered "highbrow" and suffered launch problems with low audience ratings and financial problems. A September 1968 meeting of the Network Programme Committee, which made decisions about the channel's scheduling, was particularly fraught, with Lew Grade expressing hatred of Frost in his presence. Frost, according to Kitty Muggeridge in 1967, had "risen without a trace."
He was involved in the station's early years as a presenter. On 20 and 21 July 1969, during the British television Apollo 11 coverage, he presented David Frost's Moon Party for LWT, a ten-hour discussion and entertainment marathon from LWT's Wembley Studios, on the night Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Two of his guests on this programme were British historian A. J. P. Taylor and entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. Around this time Frost interviewed Rupert Murdoch whose recently acquired Sunday newspaper, the News of the World, had just serialised the memoirs of Christine Keeler, a central figure in the Profumo scandal of 1963. For the Australian publisher, this was a bruising encounter, although Frost said that he had not intended it to be. Murdoch confessed to his biographer Michael Wolff that the incident had convinced him that Frost was "an arrogant bastard, [and] a bloody bugger".
In the late 1960s Frost began an intermittent involvement in the film industry. Setting up David Paradine Ltd in 1966, he part-financed The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970), in which the lead character was based partly on Frost, and gained an executive producer credit. In 1976, Frost was the executive producer of the British musical film The Slipper and the Rose, retelling the story of Cinderella.
Frost was the subject of This Is Your Life in January 1972 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at London's Quaglino's restaurant.
American career from 1968 to 1980
In 1968, he signed a contract worth £125,000 to appear on American television in his own show on three evenings each week, the largest such arrangement for a British television personality at the time. From 1969 to 1972, Frost kept his London shows and fronted The David Frost Show on the Group W (U.S. Westinghouse Corporation) television stations in the U.S. His 1970 TV special, Frost on America, featured guests such as Jack Benny and Tennessee Williams.
In a declassified transcript of a 1972 telephone call between Frost and Henry Kissinger, President Nixon's national security advisor and secretary of state, Frost urged Kissinger to call chess Grandmaster Bobby Fischer and urge him to compete in that year's World Chess Championship. During this call, Frost revealed that he was working on a novel.
Frost interviewed heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali in 1974 at his training camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania before "The Rumble in the Jungle" with George Foreman. Ali remarked, "Listen David, when I meet this man, if you think the world was surprised when Nixon resigned, wait till I whip Foreman's behind."
In 1977, the Nixon Interviews, which were five 90-minute interviews with former U.S. President Richard Nixon, were broadcast. Nixon was paid $600,000 plus a share of the profits for the interviews, which had to be funded by Frost himself after the U.S. television networks turned down the programme, describing it as "checkbook journalism". Frost's company negotiated its own deals to syndicate the interviews with local stations across the U.S. and internationally, creating what Ron Howard described as "the first fourth network". Frost taped around 29 hours of interviews with Nixon over four weeks. Nixon, who had previously avoided discussing his role in the Watergate scandal that had led to his resignation as president in 1974, expressed contrition saying, "I let the American people down and I have to carry that burden with me for the rest of my life". Frost asked Nixon whether the president could do something illegal in certain situations such as against antiwar groups and others if he decides "it's in the best interests of the nation or something". Nixon replied: "Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal", by definition.
Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Frost was the last person to interview Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the deposed Shah of Iran. The interview took place on Contadora Island in Panama in January 1980, and was broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company in the U.S. on 17 January. The Shah talks about his wealth, his illness, the SAVAK, the torture during his reign, Khomeini, his threat of extradition to Iran and draws a summary of the current situation in Iran.
Frost was an organiser of the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. Ten years later, he was hired as the anchor of new American tabloid news program Inside Edition. He was dismissed after only three weeks because of poor ratings. It seems he was "considered too high-brow for the show's low-brow format."
After 1980
Frost was one of the "Famous Five" who launched TV-am in February 1983; however, like LWT in the late 1960s, the station began with an unsustainable "highbrow" approach. Frost remained a presenter after restructuring. Frost on Sunday began in September 1983 and continued until the station lost its franchise at the end of 1992. Frost had been part of an unsuccessful consortium, CPV-TV, with Richard Branson and other interests, which had attempted to acquire three ITV contractor franchises prior to the changes made by the Independent Television Commission in 1991. After transferring from ITV, his Sunday morning interview programme Breakfast with Frost ran on the BBC from January 1993 until 29 May 2005. For a time it ran on BSB before moving to BBC 1.
Frost hosted Through the Keyhole, which ran on several UK channels from 1987 until 2008 and also featured Loyd Grossman. Produced by his own production company, the programme was first shown in prime time and on daytime television in its later years.
Frost worked for Al Jazeera English, presenting a live weekly hour-long current affairs programme, Frost Over The World, which started when the network launched in November 2006. The programme regularly made headlines with interviewees such as Tony Blair, President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan and President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua. The programme was produced by the former Question Time editor and Independent on Sunday journalist Charlie Courtauld. Frost was one of the first to interview the man who authored the Fatwa on Terrorism, Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri.
During his career as a broadcaster, Frost became one of Concorde's most frequent fliers, having flown between London and New York an average of 20 times per year for 20 years.
In 2007, Frost hosted a discussion with Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi as part of the Monitor Group's involvement in the country. In June 2010, Frost presented Frost on Satire, an hour-long BBC Four documentary looking at the history of television satire.
Achievements
Frost was the only person to have interviewed all eight British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2016 (Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron) and all seven U.S. presidents in office between 1969 and 2008 (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush).
He was a patron and former vice-president of the Motor Neurone Disease Association charity, as well as being a patron of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, Hearing Star Benevolent Fund, East Anglia's Children's Hospices, the Home Farm Trust and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. He was also recognized for his contributions to the women's charity "Wellbeing for Women".
After having been in television for 40 years, Frost was estimated to be worth £200 million by the Sunday Times Rich List in 2006, a figure he considered a significant overestimate in 2011. The valuation included the assets of his main British company and subsidiaries, plus homes in London and the country.
Frost/Nixon
Frost/Nixon was originally a play written by Peter Morgan, developed from the interviews that Frost had conducted with Richard Nixon in 1977. Frost/Nixon was presented as a stage production in London in 2006 and on Broadway in 2007. Frank Langella won a Leading Actor Tony Award for his portrayal of Nixon; the play also received nominations for Best Play and Best Direction.
The play was adapted into a Hollywood motion picture entitled Frost/Nixon and starring Michael Sheen as Frost and Langella as Nixon, both reprising their stage roles. The film was released in 2008 and directed by Ron Howard. It was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, winning none: Best Motion Picture-Drama, Best Director-Drama, Best Actor-Drama (Langella), Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score. It was also nominated for five Academy Awards, again winning none: Best Picture, Best Actor (Langella), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.
In February 2009, Frost was featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's international affairs programme Foreign Correspondent in a report titled "The World According To Frost", reflecting on his long career and portrayal in the film Frost/Nixon.
Personal life
Frost was known for several relationships with high-profile women. In the mid-1960s, he dated British actress Janette Scott, between her marriages to songwriter Jackie Rae and singer Mel Tormé; in the early 1970s he was engaged to American actress Diahann Carroll; between 1972 and 1977 he had a relationship with British socialite Caroline Cushing; in 1981, he married Lynne Frederick, widow of Peter Sellers, but they divorced the following year. He also had an 18-year intermittent affair with American actress Carol Lynley.
On 19 March 1983, Frost married Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, daughter of the 17th Duke of Norfolk. Three sons were born to the couple over the next five years. His second son, Wilfred Frost, followed in his father's footsteps and currently works as an anchor at CNBC. They lived for many years in Chelsea, London, and kept a weekend home at Michelmersh Court in Hampshire.
Death
On 31 August 2013, Frost was aboard the Cunard cruise ship when he died of a heart attack at the age of 74. Cunard said that the vessel had left Southampton for a ten-day cruise in the Mediterranean, ending in Rome. A post-mortem found that Frost had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Frost's son, Miles, died from the same condition at the age of 31 in 2015.
A funeral service was held at Holy Trinity Church in Nuffield, Oxfordshire, on 12 September 2013, after which he was interred in the church's graveyard. On 13 March 2014, a memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey, at which Frost was honoured with a memorial stone in Poets' Corner.
Tributes
British Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute, saying: "He could be—and certainly was with me—both a friend and a fearsome interviewer." Michael Grade commented: "He was kind of a television renaissance man. He could put his hand to anything. He could turn over Richard Nixon or he could win the comedy prize at the Montreux Golden Rose festival."
Selected awards and honours
1970: Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
1970: Honorary Doctor of Laws degree of Emerson College
1993: Knight Bachelor
1994: Honorary doctoral degree of the University of Sussex
2000: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
2005: Fellowship of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA
2009: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree of the University of Winchester
2009: Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy Awards
Bibliography
Non-fiction
How to Live Under Labour – or at Least Have as Much Chance as Anyone Else (1964)
To England with Love (1968). With Antony Jay.
The Presidential Debate, 1968: David Frost talks with Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey (and others) (1968).
The Americans (1970)
Billy Graham Talks with David Frost (1972)
Whitlam and Frost: The Full Text of Their TV Conversations Plus Exclusive New Interviews (1974)
"I Gave Them a Sword": Behind the Scenes of the Nixon Interviews (1978). Reissued as Frost/Nixon in 2007.
David Frost's Book of Millionaires, Multimillionaires, and Really Rich People (1984)
The World's Shortest Books (1987)
An Autobiography. Part 1: From Congregations to Audiences (1993)
With Michael Deakin and illustrated by Willie Rushton
I Could Have Kicked Myself: David Frost's Book of the World's Worst Decisions (1982)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1983)
If You'll Believe That (1986)
With Michael Shea
The Mid-Atlantic Companion, or, How to Misunderstand Americans as Much as They Misunderstand Us (1986)
The Rich Tide: Men, Women, Ideas and Their Transatlantic Impact (1986)
References
External links
BBC News Profile of David Frost
TV Cream on David Frost
TV Cream on Paradine Productions
1939 births
2013 deaths
Al Jazeera people
Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
BAFTA fellows
BBC newsreaders and journalists
British broadcast news analysts
British reporters and correspondents
British television producers
English comedians
English game show hosts
English memoirists
English Methodists
English satirists
English social commentators
English political writers
English television personalities
English television talk show hosts
International Emmy Founders Award winners
Knights Bachelor
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Gillingham Grammar School, Kent
People educated at St Hugh's School, Woodhall Spa
People from Raunds
People from Tenterden
People from Test Valley
People from Wellingborough
People who died at sea
Primetime Emmy Award winners
20th-century British businesspeople | true | [
"Queensland Country Life is a newspaper published in Queensland, Australia, since 1935. It focuses on rural news.\n\nHistory\nThe Queensland Country Life newspaper is the second of that name. The first newspaper was published from 1900 to 1910 and is unrelated to the current newspaper.\n\nThe Queensland Country Lif... | [
"Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962.",
"He rose to prominence during the s... |
[
"David Frost",
"That Was the Week That Was (TW3)",
"What was David Frost job?",
"Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was,",
"In what country was That was the week that was been produce?",
"Britain",
"Was it successful?",
"The serie... | C_217351d2fd5a4a9bb19386d270564876_1 | Was it published to other country? | 4 | Was "That was the week that was" published to other country aside from Britain? | David Frost | Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was, alias TW3 after Frost's flatmate John Bird suggested Sherrin should see his act at The Blue Angel. The series, which ran for less than 18 months during 1962-63, was part of the satire boom in early 1960s Britain and became a popular programme. The involvement of Frost in TW3 led to an intensification of the rivalry with Peter Cook who accused him of stealing material and dubbed Frost "the bubonic plagiarist". The new satirical magazine Private Eye also mocked him at this time. Frost visited the United States during the break between the two series of TW3 in the summer of 1963 and stayed with the producer of the New York production of Beyond The Fringe. Frost was unable to swim, but still jumped into the pool, and nearly drowned until he was saved by Peter Cook. At the memorial service for Cook in 1995, Alan Bennett recalled that rescuing Frost was the one regret Cook frequently expressed. For the first three editions of the second series in 1963, the BBC attempted to limit the team by scheduling repeats of The Third Man television series after the programme, thus preventing overruns. Frost took to reading synopses of the episodes at the end of the programme as a means of sabotage. After the BBC's Director General Hugh Greene instructed that the repeats should be abandoned, TW3 returned to being open-ended. More sombrely, on 23 November 1963, a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, an event which had occurred the previous day, formed an entire edition of That Was the Week That Was. An American version of TW3 ran after the original British series had ended. Following a pilot episode on 10 November 1963, the 30-minute US series, also featuring Frost, ran on NBC from 10 January 1964 to May 1965. In 1985, Frost produced and hosted a television special in the same format, That Was the Year That Was, on NBC. CANNOTANSWER | An American version of TW3 ran after the original British series had ended. | Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer.
He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962. His success on this show led to work as a host on American television. He became known for his television interviews with senior political figures, among them the Nixon interviews with President Richard Nixon in 1977 which were adapted into a stage play and film. Frost interviewed all eight British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2016 and all seven American presidents in office between 1969 and 2008.
He was one of the people behind the launch of ITV station TV-am in 1983. He was the inaugural host of the US newsmagazine programme Inside Edition. He hosted the Sunday morning interview programme Breakfast with Frost for the BBC from 1993 to 2005, and spent two decades as host of Through the Keyhole. From 2006 to 2012, he hosted the weekly programme Frost Over the World on Al Jazeera English, and the weekly programme The Frost Interview from 2012. He received the BAFTA Fellowship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2005 and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy Awards in 2009.
Frost died on 31 August 2013, aged 74, on board the cruise ship , where he had been engaged as a speaker. His memorial stone was unveiled in Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey in March 2014.
Early life
David Paradine Frost was born in Tenterden, Kent, on 7 April 1939, the son of a Methodist minister of Huguenot descent, the Rev. Wilfred John "W. J." Paradine Frost, and his wife, Mona (Aldrich); he had two elder sisters. While living in Gillingham, Kent, he was taught in the Bible class of the Sunday school at his father's church (Byron Road Methodist) by David Gilmore Harvey, and subsequently started training as a Methodist local preacher, which he did not complete.
Frost attended Barnsole Road Primary School in Gillingham, St Hugh's School, Woodhall Spa, Gillingham Grammar School and finally – while residing in Raunds, Northamptonshire – Wellingborough Grammar School. Throughout his school years he was an avid football and cricket player, and was offered a contract with Nottingham Forest F.C. For two years before going to university he was a lay preacher, following his witnessing of an event presided over by Christian evangelist Billy Graham.
Frost studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from 1958, graduating with a Third in English. He was editor of both the university's student paper, Varsity, and the literary magazine Granta. He was also secretary of the Footlights Drama Society, which included actors such as Peter Cook and John Bird. During this period Frost appeared on television for the first time in an edition of Anglia Television's Town And Gown, performing several comic characters. "The first time I stepped into a television studio", he once remembered, "it felt like home. It didn't scare me. Talking to the camera seemed the most natural thing in the world."
According to some accounts, Frost was the victim of snobbery from the group with which he associated at Cambridge, which has been confirmed by Barry Humphries. Christopher Booker, while asserting that Frost's one defining characteristic was ambition, commented that he was impossible to dislike. According to satirist John Wells, Old Etonian actor Jonathan Cecil congratulated Frost around this time for "that wonderfully silly voice" he used while performing, but then discovered that it was Frost's real voice.
After leaving university, Frost became a trainee at Associated-Rediffusion. Meanwhile, having already gained an agent, Frost performed in cabaret at the Blue Angel nightclub in Berkeley Square, London during the evenings.
That Was the Week That Was
Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was, or TW3, after Frost's flatmate John Bird suggested Sherrin should see his act at The Blue Angel. The series, which ran for less than 18 months during 1962–63, was part of the satire boom in early 1960s Britain and became a popular programme.
The involvement of Frost in TW3 led to an intensification of the rivalry with Peter Cook who accused him of stealing material and dubbed Frost "the bubonic plagiarist". The new satirical magazine Private Eye also mocked him at this time. Frost visited the U.S. during the break between the two series of TW3 in the summer of 1963 and stayed with the producer of the New York City production of Beyond The Fringe. Frost was unable to swim, but still jumped into the pool, and nearly drowned until he was saved by Peter Cook. At the memorial service for Cook in 1995, Alan Bennett recalled that rescuing Frost was the one regret Cook frequently expressed.
For the first three editions of the second series in 1963, the BBC attempted to limit the team by scheduling repeats of The Third Man television series after the programme, thus preventing overruns. Frost took to reading synopses of the episodes at the end of the programme as a means of sabotage. After the BBC's Director General Hugh Greene instructed that the repeats should be abandoned, TW3 returned to being open-ended. More sombrely, on 23 November 1963, a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, an event which had occurred the previous day, formed an entire edition of That Was the Week That Was.
An American version of TW3 ran after the original British series had ended. Following a pilot episode on 10 November 1963, the 30-minute US series, also featuring Frost, ran on NBC from 10 January 1964 to May 1965. In 1985, Frost produced and hosted a television special in the same format, That Was the Year That Was, on NBC.
After TW3
Frost fronted various programmes following the success of TW3, including its immediate successor, Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life, which he co-chaired with Willie Rushton and poet P. J. Kavanagh. Screened on three evenings each week, this series was dropped after a sketch was found to be offensive to Catholics and another to the British royal family. More successful was The Frost Report, broadcast between 1966 and 1967. The show launched the television careers of John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett, who appeared together in the Class sketch.
Frost signed for Rediffusion, the ITV weekday contractor in London, to produce a "heavier" interview-based show called The Frost Programme. Guests included Oswald Mosley and Rhodesian premier Ian Smith. His memorable dressing-down of insurance fraudster Emil Savundra, regarded as the first example of "trial by television" in the UK, led to concern from ITV executives that it might affect Savundra's right to a fair trial. Frost's introductory words for his television programmes during this period, "Hello, good evening and welcome", became his catchphrase and were often mimicked.
Frost was a member of a successful consortium, including former executives from the BBC, that bid for an ITV franchise in 1967. This became London Weekend Television, which began broadcasting in July 1968. The station began with a programming policy that was considered "highbrow" and suffered launch problems with low audience ratings and financial problems. A September 1968 meeting of the Network Programme Committee, which made decisions about the channel's scheduling, was particularly fraught, with Lew Grade expressing hatred of Frost in his presence. Frost, according to Kitty Muggeridge in 1967, had "risen without a trace."
He was involved in the station's early years as a presenter. On 20 and 21 July 1969, during the British television Apollo 11 coverage, he presented David Frost's Moon Party for LWT, a ten-hour discussion and entertainment marathon from LWT's Wembley Studios, on the night Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Two of his guests on this programme were British historian A. J. P. Taylor and entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. Around this time Frost interviewed Rupert Murdoch whose recently acquired Sunday newspaper, the News of the World, had just serialised the memoirs of Christine Keeler, a central figure in the Profumo scandal of 1963. For the Australian publisher, this was a bruising encounter, although Frost said that he had not intended it to be. Murdoch confessed to his biographer Michael Wolff that the incident had convinced him that Frost was "an arrogant bastard, [and] a bloody bugger".
In the late 1960s Frost began an intermittent involvement in the film industry. Setting up David Paradine Ltd in 1966, he part-financed The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970), in which the lead character was based partly on Frost, and gained an executive producer credit. In 1976, Frost was the executive producer of the British musical film The Slipper and the Rose, retelling the story of Cinderella.
Frost was the subject of This Is Your Life in January 1972 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at London's Quaglino's restaurant.
American career from 1968 to 1980
In 1968, he signed a contract worth £125,000 to appear on American television in his own show on three evenings each week, the largest such arrangement for a British television personality at the time. From 1969 to 1972, Frost kept his London shows and fronted The David Frost Show on the Group W (U.S. Westinghouse Corporation) television stations in the U.S. His 1970 TV special, Frost on America, featured guests such as Jack Benny and Tennessee Williams.
In a declassified transcript of a 1972 telephone call between Frost and Henry Kissinger, President Nixon's national security advisor and secretary of state, Frost urged Kissinger to call chess Grandmaster Bobby Fischer and urge him to compete in that year's World Chess Championship. During this call, Frost revealed that he was working on a novel.
Frost interviewed heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali in 1974 at his training camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania before "The Rumble in the Jungle" with George Foreman. Ali remarked, "Listen David, when I meet this man, if you think the world was surprised when Nixon resigned, wait till I whip Foreman's behind."
In 1977, the Nixon Interviews, which were five 90-minute interviews with former U.S. President Richard Nixon, were broadcast. Nixon was paid $600,000 plus a share of the profits for the interviews, which had to be funded by Frost himself after the U.S. television networks turned down the programme, describing it as "checkbook journalism". Frost's company negotiated its own deals to syndicate the interviews with local stations across the U.S. and internationally, creating what Ron Howard described as "the first fourth network". Frost taped around 29 hours of interviews with Nixon over four weeks. Nixon, who had previously avoided discussing his role in the Watergate scandal that had led to his resignation as president in 1974, expressed contrition saying, "I let the American people down and I have to carry that burden with me for the rest of my life". Frost asked Nixon whether the president could do something illegal in certain situations such as against antiwar groups and others if he decides "it's in the best interests of the nation or something". Nixon replied: "Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal", by definition.
Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Frost was the last person to interview Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the deposed Shah of Iran. The interview took place on Contadora Island in Panama in January 1980, and was broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company in the U.S. on 17 January. The Shah talks about his wealth, his illness, the SAVAK, the torture during his reign, Khomeini, his threat of extradition to Iran and draws a summary of the current situation in Iran.
Frost was an organiser of the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. Ten years later, he was hired as the anchor of new American tabloid news program Inside Edition. He was dismissed after only three weeks because of poor ratings. It seems he was "considered too high-brow for the show's low-brow format."
After 1980
Frost was one of the "Famous Five" who launched TV-am in February 1983; however, like LWT in the late 1960s, the station began with an unsustainable "highbrow" approach. Frost remained a presenter after restructuring. Frost on Sunday began in September 1983 and continued until the station lost its franchise at the end of 1992. Frost had been part of an unsuccessful consortium, CPV-TV, with Richard Branson and other interests, which had attempted to acquire three ITV contractor franchises prior to the changes made by the Independent Television Commission in 1991. After transferring from ITV, his Sunday morning interview programme Breakfast with Frost ran on the BBC from January 1993 until 29 May 2005. For a time it ran on BSB before moving to BBC 1.
Frost hosted Through the Keyhole, which ran on several UK channels from 1987 until 2008 and also featured Loyd Grossman. Produced by his own production company, the programme was first shown in prime time and on daytime television in its later years.
Frost worked for Al Jazeera English, presenting a live weekly hour-long current affairs programme, Frost Over The World, which started when the network launched in November 2006. The programme regularly made headlines with interviewees such as Tony Blair, President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan and President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua. The programme was produced by the former Question Time editor and Independent on Sunday journalist Charlie Courtauld. Frost was one of the first to interview the man who authored the Fatwa on Terrorism, Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri.
During his career as a broadcaster, Frost became one of Concorde's most frequent fliers, having flown between London and New York an average of 20 times per year for 20 years.
In 2007, Frost hosted a discussion with Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi as part of the Monitor Group's involvement in the country. In June 2010, Frost presented Frost on Satire, an hour-long BBC Four documentary looking at the history of television satire.
Achievements
Frost was the only person to have interviewed all eight British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2016 (Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron) and all seven U.S. presidents in office between 1969 and 2008 (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush).
He was a patron and former vice-president of the Motor Neurone Disease Association charity, as well as being a patron of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, Hearing Star Benevolent Fund, East Anglia's Children's Hospices, the Home Farm Trust and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. He was also recognized for his contributions to the women's charity "Wellbeing for Women".
After having been in television for 40 years, Frost was estimated to be worth £200 million by the Sunday Times Rich List in 2006, a figure he considered a significant overestimate in 2011. The valuation included the assets of his main British company and subsidiaries, plus homes in London and the country.
Frost/Nixon
Frost/Nixon was originally a play written by Peter Morgan, developed from the interviews that Frost had conducted with Richard Nixon in 1977. Frost/Nixon was presented as a stage production in London in 2006 and on Broadway in 2007. Frank Langella won a Leading Actor Tony Award for his portrayal of Nixon; the play also received nominations for Best Play and Best Direction.
The play was adapted into a Hollywood motion picture entitled Frost/Nixon and starring Michael Sheen as Frost and Langella as Nixon, both reprising their stage roles. The film was released in 2008 and directed by Ron Howard. It was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, winning none: Best Motion Picture-Drama, Best Director-Drama, Best Actor-Drama (Langella), Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score. It was also nominated for five Academy Awards, again winning none: Best Picture, Best Actor (Langella), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.
In February 2009, Frost was featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's international affairs programme Foreign Correspondent in a report titled "The World According To Frost", reflecting on his long career and portrayal in the film Frost/Nixon.
Personal life
Frost was known for several relationships with high-profile women. In the mid-1960s, he dated British actress Janette Scott, between her marriages to songwriter Jackie Rae and singer Mel Tormé; in the early 1970s he was engaged to American actress Diahann Carroll; between 1972 and 1977 he had a relationship with British socialite Caroline Cushing; in 1981, he married Lynne Frederick, widow of Peter Sellers, but they divorced the following year. He also had an 18-year intermittent affair with American actress Carol Lynley.
On 19 March 1983, Frost married Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, daughter of the 17th Duke of Norfolk. Three sons were born to the couple over the next five years. His second son, Wilfred Frost, followed in his father's footsteps and currently works as an anchor at CNBC. They lived for many years in Chelsea, London, and kept a weekend home at Michelmersh Court in Hampshire.
Death
On 31 August 2013, Frost was aboard the Cunard cruise ship when he died of a heart attack at the age of 74. Cunard said that the vessel had left Southampton for a ten-day cruise in the Mediterranean, ending in Rome. A post-mortem found that Frost had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Frost's son, Miles, died from the same condition at the age of 31 in 2015.
A funeral service was held at Holy Trinity Church in Nuffield, Oxfordshire, on 12 September 2013, after which he was interred in the church's graveyard. On 13 March 2014, a memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey, at which Frost was honoured with a memorial stone in Poets' Corner.
Tributes
British Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute, saying: "He could be—and certainly was with me—both a friend and a fearsome interviewer." Michael Grade commented: "He was kind of a television renaissance man. He could put his hand to anything. He could turn over Richard Nixon or he could win the comedy prize at the Montreux Golden Rose festival."
Selected awards and honours
1970: Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
1970: Honorary Doctor of Laws degree of Emerson College
1993: Knight Bachelor
1994: Honorary doctoral degree of the University of Sussex
2000: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
2005: Fellowship of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA
2009: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree of the University of Winchester
2009: Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy Awards
Bibliography
Non-fiction
How to Live Under Labour – or at Least Have as Much Chance as Anyone Else (1964)
To England with Love (1968). With Antony Jay.
The Presidential Debate, 1968: David Frost talks with Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey (and others) (1968).
The Americans (1970)
Billy Graham Talks with David Frost (1972)
Whitlam and Frost: The Full Text of Their TV Conversations Plus Exclusive New Interviews (1974)
"I Gave Them a Sword": Behind the Scenes of the Nixon Interviews (1978). Reissued as Frost/Nixon in 2007.
David Frost's Book of Millionaires, Multimillionaires, and Really Rich People (1984)
The World's Shortest Books (1987)
An Autobiography. Part 1: From Congregations to Audiences (1993)
With Michael Deakin and illustrated by Willie Rushton
I Could Have Kicked Myself: David Frost's Book of the World's Worst Decisions (1982)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1983)
If You'll Believe That (1986)
With Michael Shea
The Mid-Atlantic Companion, or, How to Misunderstand Americans as Much as They Misunderstand Us (1986)
The Rich Tide: Men, Women, Ideas and Their Transatlantic Impact (1986)
References
External links
BBC News Profile of David Frost
TV Cream on David Frost
TV Cream on Paradine Productions
1939 births
2013 deaths
Al Jazeera people
Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
BAFTA fellows
BBC newsreaders and journalists
British broadcast news analysts
British reporters and correspondents
British television producers
English comedians
English game show hosts
English memoirists
English Methodists
English satirists
English social commentators
English political writers
English television personalities
English television talk show hosts
International Emmy Founders Award winners
Knights Bachelor
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Gillingham Grammar School, Kent
People educated at St Hugh's School, Woodhall Spa
People from Raunds
People from Tenterden
People from Test Valley
People from Wellingborough
People who died at sea
Primetime Emmy Award winners
20th-century British businesspeople | true | [
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"Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962.",
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"David Frost",
"That Was the Week That Was (TW3)",
"What was David Frost job?",
"Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was,",
"In what country was That was the week that was been produce?",
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"The serie... | C_217351d2fd5a4a9bb19386d270564876_1 | Did he get other shows that was popular? | 6 | Besides "That was the week that was", did David Frost get other shows that was popular? | David Frost | Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was, alias TW3 after Frost's flatmate John Bird suggested Sherrin should see his act at The Blue Angel. The series, which ran for less than 18 months during 1962-63, was part of the satire boom in early 1960s Britain and became a popular programme. The involvement of Frost in TW3 led to an intensification of the rivalry with Peter Cook who accused him of stealing material and dubbed Frost "the bubonic plagiarist". The new satirical magazine Private Eye also mocked him at this time. Frost visited the United States during the break between the two series of TW3 in the summer of 1963 and stayed with the producer of the New York production of Beyond The Fringe. Frost was unable to swim, but still jumped into the pool, and nearly drowned until he was saved by Peter Cook. At the memorial service for Cook in 1995, Alan Bennett recalled that rescuing Frost was the one regret Cook frequently expressed. For the first three editions of the second series in 1963, the BBC attempted to limit the team by scheduling repeats of The Third Man television series after the programme, thus preventing overruns. Frost took to reading synopses of the episodes at the end of the programme as a means of sabotage. After the BBC's Director General Hugh Greene instructed that the repeats should be abandoned, TW3 returned to being open-ended. More sombrely, on 23 November 1963, a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, an event which had occurred the previous day, formed an entire edition of That Was the Week That Was. An American version of TW3 ran after the original British series had ended. Following a pilot episode on 10 November 1963, the 30-minute US series, also featuring Frost, ran on NBC from 10 January 1964 to May 1965. In 1985, Frost produced and hosted a television special in the same format, That Was the Year That Was, on NBC. CANNOTANSWER | 1985, Frost produced and hosted a television special in the same format, That Was the Year That Was, on NBC. | Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer.
He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962. His success on this show led to work as a host on American television. He became known for his television interviews with senior political figures, among them the Nixon interviews with President Richard Nixon in 1977 which were adapted into a stage play and film. Frost interviewed all eight British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2016 and all seven American presidents in office between 1969 and 2008.
He was one of the people behind the launch of ITV station TV-am in 1983. He was the inaugural host of the US newsmagazine programme Inside Edition. He hosted the Sunday morning interview programme Breakfast with Frost for the BBC from 1993 to 2005, and spent two decades as host of Through the Keyhole. From 2006 to 2012, he hosted the weekly programme Frost Over the World on Al Jazeera English, and the weekly programme The Frost Interview from 2012. He received the BAFTA Fellowship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2005 and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy Awards in 2009.
Frost died on 31 August 2013, aged 74, on board the cruise ship , where he had been engaged as a speaker. His memorial stone was unveiled in Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey in March 2014.
Early life
David Paradine Frost was born in Tenterden, Kent, on 7 April 1939, the son of a Methodist minister of Huguenot descent, the Rev. Wilfred John "W. J." Paradine Frost, and his wife, Mona (Aldrich); he had two elder sisters. While living in Gillingham, Kent, he was taught in the Bible class of the Sunday school at his father's church (Byron Road Methodist) by David Gilmore Harvey, and subsequently started training as a Methodist local preacher, which he did not complete.
Frost attended Barnsole Road Primary School in Gillingham, St Hugh's School, Woodhall Spa, Gillingham Grammar School and finally – while residing in Raunds, Northamptonshire – Wellingborough Grammar School. Throughout his school years he was an avid football and cricket player, and was offered a contract with Nottingham Forest F.C. For two years before going to university he was a lay preacher, following his witnessing of an event presided over by Christian evangelist Billy Graham.
Frost studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from 1958, graduating with a Third in English. He was editor of both the university's student paper, Varsity, and the literary magazine Granta. He was also secretary of the Footlights Drama Society, which included actors such as Peter Cook and John Bird. During this period Frost appeared on television for the first time in an edition of Anglia Television's Town And Gown, performing several comic characters. "The first time I stepped into a television studio", he once remembered, "it felt like home. It didn't scare me. Talking to the camera seemed the most natural thing in the world."
According to some accounts, Frost was the victim of snobbery from the group with which he associated at Cambridge, which has been confirmed by Barry Humphries. Christopher Booker, while asserting that Frost's one defining characteristic was ambition, commented that he was impossible to dislike. According to satirist John Wells, Old Etonian actor Jonathan Cecil congratulated Frost around this time for "that wonderfully silly voice" he used while performing, but then discovered that it was Frost's real voice.
After leaving university, Frost became a trainee at Associated-Rediffusion. Meanwhile, having already gained an agent, Frost performed in cabaret at the Blue Angel nightclub in Berkeley Square, London during the evenings.
That Was the Week That Was
Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was, or TW3, after Frost's flatmate John Bird suggested Sherrin should see his act at The Blue Angel. The series, which ran for less than 18 months during 1962–63, was part of the satire boom in early 1960s Britain and became a popular programme.
The involvement of Frost in TW3 led to an intensification of the rivalry with Peter Cook who accused him of stealing material and dubbed Frost "the bubonic plagiarist". The new satirical magazine Private Eye also mocked him at this time. Frost visited the U.S. during the break between the two series of TW3 in the summer of 1963 and stayed with the producer of the New York City production of Beyond The Fringe. Frost was unable to swim, but still jumped into the pool, and nearly drowned until he was saved by Peter Cook. At the memorial service for Cook in 1995, Alan Bennett recalled that rescuing Frost was the one regret Cook frequently expressed.
For the first three editions of the second series in 1963, the BBC attempted to limit the team by scheduling repeats of The Third Man television series after the programme, thus preventing overruns. Frost took to reading synopses of the episodes at the end of the programme as a means of sabotage. After the BBC's Director General Hugh Greene instructed that the repeats should be abandoned, TW3 returned to being open-ended. More sombrely, on 23 November 1963, a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, an event which had occurred the previous day, formed an entire edition of That Was the Week That Was.
An American version of TW3 ran after the original British series had ended. Following a pilot episode on 10 November 1963, the 30-minute US series, also featuring Frost, ran on NBC from 10 January 1964 to May 1965. In 1985, Frost produced and hosted a television special in the same format, That Was the Year That Was, on NBC.
After TW3
Frost fronted various programmes following the success of TW3, including its immediate successor, Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life, which he co-chaired with Willie Rushton and poet P. J. Kavanagh. Screened on three evenings each week, this series was dropped after a sketch was found to be offensive to Catholics and another to the British royal family. More successful was The Frost Report, broadcast between 1966 and 1967. The show launched the television careers of John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett, who appeared together in the Class sketch.
Frost signed for Rediffusion, the ITV weekday contractor in London, to produce a "heavier" interview-based show called The Frost Programme. Guests included Oswald Mosley and Rhodesian premier Ian Smith. His memorable dressing-down of insurance fraudster Emil Savundra, regarded as the first example of "trial by television" in the UK, led to concern from ITV executives that it might affect Savundra's right to a fair trial. Frost's introductory words for his television programmes during this period, "Hello, good evening and welcome", became his catchphrase and were often mimicked.
Frost was a member of a successful consortium, including former executives from the BBC, that bid for an ITV franchise in 1967. This became London Weekend Television, which began broadcasting in July 1968. The station began with a programming policy that was considered "highbrow" and suffered launch problems with low audience ratings and financial problems. A September 1968 meeting of the Network Programme Committee, which made decisions about the channel's scheduling, was particularly fraught, with Lew Grade expressing hatred of Frost in his presence. Frost, according to Kitty Muggeridge in 1967, had "risen without a trace."
He was involved in the station's early years as a presenter. On 20 and 21 July 1969, during the British television Apollo 11 coverage, he presented David Frost's Moon Party for LWT, a ten-hour discussion and entertainment marathon from LWT's Wembley Studios, on the night Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Two of his guests on this programme were British historian A. J. P. Taylor and entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. Around this time Frost interviewed Rupert Murdoch whose recently acquired Sunday newspaper, the News of the World, had just serialised the memoirs of Christine Keeler, a central figure in the Profumo scandal of 1963. For the Australian publisher, this was a bruising encounter, although Frost said that he had not intended it to be. Murdoch confessed to his biographer Michael Wolff that the incident had convinced him that Frost was "an arrogant bastard, [and] a bloody bugger".
In the late 1960s Frost began an intermittent involvement in the film industry. Setting up David Paradine Ltd in 1966, he part-financed The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970), in which the lead character was based partly on Frost, and gained an executive producer credit. In 1976, Frost was the executive producer of the British musical film The Slipper and the Rose, retelling the story of Cinderella.
Frost was the subject of This Is Your Life in January 1972 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at London's Quaglino's restaurant.
American career from 1968 to 1980
In 1968, he signed a contract worth £125,000 to appear on American television in his own show on three evenings each week, the largest such arrangement for a British television personality at the time. From 1969 to 1972, Frost kept his London shows and fronted The David Frost Show on the Group W (U.S. Westinghouse Corporation) television stations in the U.S. His 1970 TV special, Frost on America, featured guests such as Jack Benny and Tennessee Williams.
In a declassified transcript of a 1972 telephone call between Frost and Henry Kissinger, President Nixon's national security advisor and secretary of state, Frost urged Kissinger to call chess Grandmaster Bobby Fischer and urge him to compete in that year's World Chess Championship. During this call, Frost revealed that he was working on a novel.
Frost interviewed heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali in 1974 at his training camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania before "The Rumble in the Jungle" with George Foreman. Ali remarked, "Listen David, when I meet this man, if you think the world was surprised when Nixon resigned, wait till I whip Foreman's behind."
In 1977, the Nixon Interviews, which were five 90-minute interviews with former U.S. President Richard Nixon, were broadcast. Nixon was paid $600,000 plus a share of the profits for the interviews, which had to be funded by Frost himself after the U.S. television networks turned down the programme, describing it as "checkbook journalism". Frost's company negotiated its own deals to syndicate the interviews with local stations across the U.S. and internationally, creating what Ron Howard described as "the first fourth network". Frost taped around 29 hours of interviews with Nixon over four weeks. Nixon, who had previously avoided discussing his role in the Watergate scandal that had led to his resignation as president in 1974, expressed contrition saying, "I let the American people down and I have to carry that burden with me for the rest of my life". Frost asked Nixon whether the president could do something illegal in certain situations such as against antiwar groups and others if he decides "it's in the best interests of the nation or something". Nixon replied: "Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal", by definition.
Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Frost was the last person to interview Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the deposed Shah of Iran. The interview took place on Contadora Island in Panama in January 1980, and was broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company in the U.S. on 17 January. The Shah talks about his wealth, his illness, the SAVAK, the torture during his reign, Khomeini, his threat of extradition to Iran and draws a summary of the current situation in Iran.
Frost was an organiser of the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. Ten years later, he was hired as the anchor of new American tabloid news program Inside Edition. He was dismissed after only three weeks because of poor ratings. It seems he was "considered too high-brow for the show's low-brow format."
After 1980
Frost was one of the "Famous Five" who launched TV-am in February 1983; however, like LWT in the late 1960s, the station began with an unsustainable "highbrow" approach. Frost remained a presenter after restructuring. Frost on Sunday began in September 1983 and continued until the station lost its franchise at the end of 1992. Frost had been part of an unsuccessful consortium, CPV-TV, with Richard Branson and other interests, which had attempted to acquire three ITV contractor franchises prior to the changes made by the Independent Television Commission in 1991. After transferring from ITV, his Sunday morning interview programme Breakfast with Frost ran on the BBC from January 1993 until 29 May 2005. For a time it ran on BSB before moving to BBC 1.
Frost hosted Through the Keyhole, which ran on several UK channels from 1987 until 2008 and also featured Loyd Grossman. Produced by his own production company, the programme was first shown in prime time and on daytime television in its later years.
Frost worked for Al Jazeera English, presenting a live weekly hour-long current affairs programme, Frost Over The World, which started when the network launched in November 2006. The programme regularly made headlines with interviewees such as Tony Blair, President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan and President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua. The programme was produced by the former Question Time editor and Independent on Sunday journalist Charlie Courtauld. Frost was one of the first to interview the man who authored the Fatwa on Terrorism, Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri.
During his career as a broadcaster, Frost became one of Concorde's most frequent fliers, having flown between London and New York an average of 20 times per year for 20 years.
In 2007, Frost hosted a discussion with Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi as part of the Monitor Group's involvement in the country. In June 2010, Frost presented Frost on Satire, an hour-long BBC Four documentary looking at the history of television satire.
Achievements
Frost was the only person to have interviewed all eight British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2016 (Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron) and all seven U.S. presidents in office between 1969 and 2008 (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush).
He was a patron and former vice-president of the Motor Neurone Disease Association charity, as well as being a patron of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, Hearing Star Benevolent Fund, East Anglia's Children's Hospices, the Home Farm Trust and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. He was also recognized for his contributions to the women's charity "Wellbeing for Women".
After having been in television for 40 years, Frost was estimated to be worth £200 million by the Sunday Times Rich List in 2006, a figure he considered a significant overestimate in 2011. The valuation included the assets of his main British company and subsidiaries, plus homes in London and the country.
Frost/Nixon
Frost/Nixon was originally a play written by Peter Morgan, developed from the interviews that Frost had conducted with Richard Nixon in 1977. Frost/Nixon was presented as a stage production in London in 2006 and on Broadway in 2007. Frank Langella won a Leading Actor Tony Award for his portrayal of Nixon; the play also received nominations for Best Play and Best Direction.
The play was adapted into a Hollywood motion picture entitled Frost/Nixon and starring Michael Sheen as Frost and Langella as Nixon, both reprising their stage roles. The film was released in 2008 and directed by Ron Howard. It was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, winning none: Best Motion Picture-Drama, Best Director-Drama, Best Actor-Drama (Langella), Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score. It was also nominated for five Academy Awards, again winning none: Best Picture, Best Actor (Langella), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.
In February 2009, Frost was featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's international affairs programme Foreign Correspondent in a report titled "The World According To Frost", reflecting on his long career and portrayal in the film Frost/Nixon.
Personal life
Frost was known for several relationships with high-profile women. In the mid-1960s, he dated British actress Janette Scott, between her marriages to songwriter Jackie Rae and singer Mel Tormé; in the early 1970s he was engaged to American actress Diahann Carroll; between 1972 and 1977 he had a relationship with British socialite Caroline Cushing; in 1981, he married Lynne Frederick, widow of Peter Sellers, but they divorced the following year. He also had an 18-year intermittent affair with American actress Carol Lynley.
On 19 March 1983, Frost married Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, daughter of the 17th Duke of Norfolk. Three sons were born to the couple over the next five years. His second son, Wilfred Frost, followed in his father's footsteps and currently works as an anchor at CNBC. They lived for many years in Chelsea, London, and kept a weekend home at Michelmersh Court in Hampshire.
Death
On 31 August 2013, Frost was aboard the Cunard cruise ship when he died of a heart attack at the age of 74. Cunard said that the vessel had left Southampton for a ten-day cruise in the Mediterranean, ending in Rome. A post-mortem found that Frost had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Frost's son, Miles, died from the same condition at the age of 31 in 2015.
A funeral service was held at Holy Trinity Church in Nuffield, Oxfordshire, on 12 September 2013, after which he was interred in the church's graveyard. On 13 March 2014, a memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey, at which Frost was honoured with a memorial stone in Poets' Corner.
Tributes
British Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute, saying: "He could be—and certainly was with me—both a friend and a fearsome interviewer." Michael Grade commented: "He was kind of a television renaissance man. He could put his hand to anything. He could turn over Richard Nixon or he could win the comedy prize at the Montreux Golden Rose festival."
Selected awards and honours
1970: Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
1970: Honorary Doctor of Laws degree of Emerson College
1993: Knight Bachelor
1994: Honorary doctoral degree of the University of Sussex
2000: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
2005: Fellowship of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA
2009: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree of the University of Winchester
2009: Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy Awards
Bibliography
Non-fiction
How to Live Under Labour – or at Least Have as Much Chance as Anyone Else (1964)
To England with Love (1968). With Antony Jay.
The Presidential Debate, 1968: David Frost talks with Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey (and others) (1968).
The Americans (1970)
Billy Graham Talks with David Frost (1972)
Whitlam and Frost: The Full Text of Their TV Conversations Plus Exclusive New Interviews (1974)
"I Gave Them a Sword": Behind the Scenes of the Nixon Interviews (1978). Reissued as Frost/Nixon in 2007.
David Frost's Book of Millionaires, Multimillionaires, and Really Rich People (1984)
The World's Shortest Books (1987)
An Autobiography. Part 1: From Congregations to Audiences (1993)
With Michael Deakin and illustrated by Willie Rushton
I Could Have Kicked Myself: David Frost's Book of the World's Worst Decisions (1982)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1983)
If You'll Believe That (1986)
With Michael Shea
The Mid-Atlantic Companion, or, How to Misunderstand Americans as Much as They Misunderstand Us (1986)
The Rich Tide: Men, Women, Ideas and Their Transatlantic Impact (1986)
References
External links
BBC News Profile of David Frost
TV Cream on David Frost
TV Cream on Paradine Productions
1939 births
2013 deaths
Al Jazeera people
Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
BAFTA fellows
BBC newsreaders and journalists
British broadcast news analysts
British reporters and correspondents
British television producers
English comedians
English game show hosts
English memoirists
English Methodists
English satirists
English social commentators
English political writers
English television personalities
English television talk show hosts
International Emmy Founders Award winners
Knights Bachelor
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Gillingham Grammar School, Kent
People educated at St Hugh's School, Woodhall Spa
People from Raunds
People from Tenterden
People from Test Valley
People from Wellingborough
People who died at sea
Primetime Emmy Award winners
20th-century British businesspeople | true | [
"Celebrity Coach Trip 1 was the first series of Celebrity Coach Trip which was filmed from 6 to 20 September 2010 and began airing on 8 November 2010. The series featured a variety of celebrity couples on a 10-day tour, the couples get to vote off the other couples that they do not get along with. On the last day o... | [
"Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962.",
"He rose to prominence during the s... |
[
"David Frost",
"That Was the Week That Was (TW3)",
"What was David Frost job?",
"Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was,",
"In what country was That was the week that was been produce?",
"Britain",
"Was it successful?",
"The serie... | C_217351d2fd5a4a9bb19386d270564876_1 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 8 | Aside from television special, are there any other interesting aspects about David Frost, That Was the Week That Was (TW3)? | David Frost | Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was, alias TW3 after Frost's flatmate John Bird suggested Sherrin should see his act at The Blue Angel. The series, which ran for less than 18 months during 1962-63, was part of the satire boom in early 1960s Britain and became a popular programme. The involvement of Frost in TW3 led to an intensification of the rivalry with Peter Cook who accused him of stealing material and dubbed Frost "the bubonic plagiarist". The new satirical magazine Private Eye also mocked him at this time. Frost visited the United States during the break between the two series of TW3 in the summer of 1963 and stayed with the producer of the New York production of Beyond The Fringe. Frost was unable to swim, but still jumped into the pool, and nearly drowned until he was saved by Peter Cook. At the memorial service for Cook in 1995, Alan Bennett recalled that rescuing Frost was the one regret Cook frequently expressed. For the first three editions of the second series in 1963, the BBC attempted to limit the team by scheduling repeats of The Third Man television series after the programme, thus preventing overruns. Frost took to reading synopses of the episodes at the end of the programme as a means of sabotage. After the BBC's Director General Hugh Greene instructed that the repeats should be abandoned, TW3 returned to being open-ended. More sombrely, on 23 November 1963, a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, an event which had occurred the previous day, formed an entire edition of That Was the Week That Was. An American version of TW3 ran after the original British series had ended. Following a pilot episode on 10 November 1963, the 30-minute US series, also featuring Frost, ran on NBC from 10 January 1964 to May 1965. In 1985, Frost produced and hosted a television special in the same format, That Was the Year That Was, on NBC. CANNOTANSWER | Frost was unable to swim, but still jumped into the pool, and nearly drowned until he was saved by Peter Cook. | Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer.
He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962. His success on this show led to work as a host on American television. He became known for his television interviews with senior political figures, among them the Nixon interviews with President Richard Nixon in 1977 which were adapted into a stage play and film. Frost interviewed all eight British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2016 and all seven American presidents in office between 1969 and 2008.
He was one of the people behind the launch of ITV station TV-am in 1983. He was the inaugural host of the US newsmagazine programme Inside Edition. He hosted the Sunday morning interview programme Breakfast with Frost for the BBC from 1993 to 2005, and spent two decades as host of Through the Keyhole. From 2006 to 2012, he hosted the weekly programme Frost Over the World on Al Jazeera English, and the weekly programme The Frost Interview from 2012. He received the BAFTA Fellowship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2005 and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy Awards in 2009.
Frost died on 31 August 2013, aged 74, on board the cruise ship , where he had been engaged as a speaker. His memorial stone was unveiled in Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey in March 2014.
Early life
David Paradine Frost was born in Tenterden, Kent, on 7 April 1939, the son of a Methodist minister of Huguenot descent, the Rev. Wilfred John "W. J." Paradine Frost, and his wife, Mona (Aldrich); he had two elder sisters. While living in Gillingham, Kent, he was taught in the Bible class of the Sunday school at his father's church (Byron Road Methodist) by David Gilmore Harvey, and subsequently started training as a Methodist local preacher, which he did not complete.
Frost attended Barnsole Road Primary School in Gillingham, St Hugh's School, Woodhall Spa, Gillingham Grammar School and finally – while residing in Raunds, Northamptonshire – Wellingborough Grammar School. Throughout his school years he was an avid football and cricket player, and was offered a contract with Nottingham Forest F.C. For two years before going to university he was a lay preacher, following his witnessing of an event presided over by Christian evangelist Billy Graham.
Frost studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from 1958, graduating with a Third in English. He was editor of both the university's student paper, Varsity, and the literary magazine Granta. He was also secretary of the Footlights Drama Society, which included actors such as Peter Cook and John Bird. During this period Frost appeared on television for the first time in an edition of Anglia Television's Town And Gown, performing several comic characters. "The first time I stepped into a television studio", he once remembered, "it felt like home. It didn't scare me. Talking to the camera seemed the most natural thing in the world."
According to some accounts, Frost was the victim of snobbery from the group with which he associated at Cambridge, which has been confirmed by Barry Humphries. Christopher Booker, while asserting that Frost's one defining characteristic was ambition, commented that he was impossible to dislike. According to satirist John Wells, Old Etonian actor Jonathan Cecil congratulated Frost around this time for "that wonderfully silly voice" he used while performing, but then discovered that it was Frost's real voice.
After leaving university, Frost became a trainee at Associated-Rediffusion. Meanwhile, having already gained an agent, Frost performed in cabaret at the Blue Angel nightclub in Berkeley Square, London during the evenings.
That Was the Week That Was
Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was, or TW3, after Frost's flatmate John Bird suggested Sherrin should see his act at The Blue Angel. The series, which ran for less than 18 months during 1962–63, was part of the satire boom in early 1960s Britain and became a popular programme.
The involvement of Frost in TW3 led to an intensification of the rivalry with Peter Cook who accused him of stealing material and dubbed Frost "the bubonic plagiarist". The new satirical magazine Private Eye also mocked him at this time. Frost visited the U.S. during the break between the two series of TW3 in the summer of 1963 and stayed with the producer of the New York City production of Beyond The Fringe. Frost was unable to swim, but still jumped into the pool, and nearly drowned until he was saved by Peter Cook. At the memorial service for Cook in 1995, Alan Bennett recalled that rescuing Frost was the one regret Cook frequently expressed.
For the first three editions of the second series in 1963, the BBC attempted to limit the team by scheduling repeats of The Third Man television series after the programme, thus preventing overruns. Frost took to reading synopses of the episodes at the end of the programme as a means of sabotage. After the BBC's Director General Hugh Greene instructed that the repeats should be abandoned, TW3 returned to being open-ended. More sombrely, on 23 November 1963, a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, an event which had occurred the previous day, formed an entire edition of That Was the Week That Was.
An American version of TW3 ran after the original British series had ended. Following a pilot episode on 10 November 1963, the 30-minute US series, also featuring Frost, ran on NBC from 10 January 1964 to May 1965. In 1985, Frost produced and hosted a television special in the same format, That Was the Year That Was, on NBC.
After TW3
Frost fronted various programmes following the success of TW3, including its immediate successor, Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life, which he co-chaired with Willie Rushton and poet P. J. Kavanagh. Screened on three evenings each week, this series was dropped after a sketch was found to be offensive to Catholics and another to the British royal family. More successful was The Frost Report, broadcast between 1966 and 1967. The show launched the television careers of John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett, who appeared together in the Class sketch.
Frost signed for Rediffusion, the ITV weekday contractor in London, to produce a "heavier" interview-based show called The Frost Programme. Guests included Oswald Mosley and Rhodesian premier Ian Smith. His memorable dressing-down of insurance fraudster Emil Savundra, regarded as the first example of "trial by television" in the UK, led to concern from ITV executives that it might affect Savundra's right to a fair trial. Frost's introductory words for his television programmes during this period, "Hello, good evening and welcome", became his catchphrase and were often mimicked.
Frost was a member of a successful consortium, including former executives from the BBC, that bid for an ITV franchise in 1967. This became London Weekend Television, which began broadcasting in July 1968. The station began with a programming policy that was considered "highbrow" and suffered launch problems with low audience ratings and financial problems. A September 1968 meeting of the Network Programme Committee, which made decisions about the channel's scheduling, was particularly fraught, with Lew Grade expressing hatred of Frost in his presence. Frost, according to Kitty Muggeridge in 1967, had "risen without a trace."
He was involved in the station's early years as a presenter. On 20 and 21 July 1969, during the British television Apollo 11 coverage, he presented David Frost's Moon Party for LWT, a ten-hour discussion and entertainment marathon from LWT's Wembley Studios, on the night Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Two of his guests on this programme were British historian A. J. P. Taylor and entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. Around this time Frost interviewed Rupert Murdoch whose recently acquired Sunday newspaper, the News of the World, had just serialised the memoirs of Christine Keeler, a central figure in the Profumo scandal of 1963. For the Australian publisher, this was a bruising encounter, although Frost said that he had not intended it to be. Murdoch confessed to his biographer Michael Wolff that the incident had convinced him that Frost was "an arrogant bastard, [and] a bloody bugger".
In the late 1960s Frost began an intermittent involvement in the film industry. Setting up David Paradine Ltd in 1966, he part-financed The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970), in which the lead character was based partly on Frost, and gained an executive producer credit. In 1976, Frost was the executive producer of the British musical film The Slipper and the Rose, retelling the story of Cinderella.
Frost was the subject of This Is Your Life in January 1972 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at London's Quaglino's restaurant.
American career from 1968 to 1980
In 1968, he signed a contract worth £125,000 to appear on American television in his own show on three evenings each week, the largest such arrangement for a British television personality at the time. From 1969 to 1972, Frost kept his London shows and fronted The David Frost Show on the Group W (U.S. Westinghouse Corporation) television stations in the U.S. His 1970 TV special, Frost on America, featured guests such as Jack Benny and Tennessee Williams.
In a declassified transcript of a 1972 telephone call between Frost and Henry Kissinger, President Nixon's national security advisor and secretary of state, Frost urged Kissinger to call chess Grandmaster Bobby Fischer and urge him to compete in that year's World Chess Championship. During this call, Frost revealed that he was working on a novel.
Frost interviewed heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali in 1974 at his training camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania before "The Rumble in the Jungle" with George Foreman. Ali remarked, "Listen David, when I meet this man, if you think the world was surprised when Nixon resigned, wait till I whip Foreman's behind."
In 1977, the Nixon Interviews, which were five 90-minute interviews with former U.S. President Richard Nixon, were broadcast. Nixon was paid $600,000 plus a share of the profits for the interviews, which had to be funded by Frost himself after the U.S. television networks turned down the programme, describing it as "checkbook journalism". Frost's company negotiated its own deals to syndicate the interviews with local stations across the U.S. and internationally, creating what Ron Howard described as "the first fourth network". Frost taped around 29 hours of interviews with Nixon over four weeks. Nixon, who had previously avoided discussing his role in the Watergate scandal that had led to his resignation as president in 1974, expressed contrition saying, "I let the American people down and I have to carry that burden with me for the rest of my life". Frost asked Nixon whether the president could do something illegal in certain situations such as against antiwar groups and others if he decides "it's in the best interests of the nation or something". Nixon replied: "Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal", by definition.
Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Frost was the last person to interview Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the deposed Shah of Iran. The interview took place on Contadora Island in Panama in January 1980, and was broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company in the U.S. on 17 January. The Shah talks about his wealth, his illness, the SAVAK, the torture during his reign, Khomeini, his threat of extradition to Iran and draws a summary of the current situation in Iran.
Frost was an organiser of the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. Ten years later, he was hired as the anchor of new American tabloid news program Inside Edition. He was dismissed after only three weeks because of poor ratings. It seems he was "considered too high-brow for the show's low-brow format."
After 1980
Frost was one of the "Famous Five" who launched TV-am in February 1983; however, like LWT in the late 1960s, the station began with an unsustainable "highbrow" approach. Frost remained a presenter after restructuring. Frost on Sunday began in September 1983 and continued until the station lost its franchise at the end of 1992. Frost had been part of an unsuccessful consortium, CPV-TV, with Richard Branson and other interests, which had attempted to acquire three ITV contractor franchises prior to the changes made by the Independent Television Commission in 1991. After transferring from ITV, his Sunday morning interview programme Breakfast with Frost ran on the BBC from January 1993 until 29 May 2005. For a time it ran on BSB before moving to BBC 1.
Frost hosted Through the Keyhole, which ran on several UK channels from 1987 until 2008 and also featured Loyd Grossman. Produced by his own production company, the programme was first shown in prime time and on daytime television in its later years.
Frost worked for Al Jazeera English, presenting a live weekly hour-long current affairs programme, Frost Over The World, which started when the network launched in November 2006. The programme regularly made headlines with interviewees such as Tony Blair, President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan and President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua. The programme was produced by the former Question Time editor and Independent on Sunday journalist Charlie Courtauld. Frost was one of the first to interview the man who authored the Fatwa on Terrorism, Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri.
During his career as a broadcaster, Frost became one of Concorde's most frequent fliers, having flown between London and New York an average of 20 times per year for 20 years.
In 2007, Frost hosted a discussion with Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi as part of the Monitor Group's involvement in the country. In June 2010, Frost presented Frost on Satire, an hour-long BBC Four documentary looking at the history of television satire.
Achievements
Frost was the only person to have interviewed all eight British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2016 (Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron) and all seven U.S. presidents in office between 1969 and 2008 (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush).
He was a patron and former vice-president of the Motor Neurone Disease Association charity, as well as being a patron of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, Hearing Star Benevolent Fund, East Anglia's Children's Hospices, the Home Farm Trust and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. He was also recognized for his contributions to the women's charity "Wellbeing for Women".
After having been in television for 40 years, Frost was estimated to be worth £200 million by the Sunday Times Rich List in 2006, a figure he considered a significant overestimate in 2011. The valuation included the assets of his main British company and subsidiaries, plus homes in London and the country.
Frost/Nixon
Frost/Nixon was originally a play written by Peter Morgan, developed from the interviews that Frost had conducted with Richard Nixon in 1977. Frost/Nixon was presented as a stage production in London in 2006 and on Broadway in 2007. Frank Langella won a Leading Actor Tony Award for his portrayal of Nixon; the play also received nominations for Best Play and Best Direction.
The play was adapted into a Hollywood motion picture entitled Frost/Nixon and starring Michael Sheen as Frost and Langella as Nixon, both reprising their stage roles. The film was released in 2008 and directed by Ron Howard. It was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, winning none: Best Motion Picture-Drama, Best Director-Drama, Best Actor-Drama (Langella), Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score. It was also nominated for five Academy Awards, again winning none: Best Picture, Best Actor (Langella), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.
In February 2009, Frost was featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's international affairs programme Foreign Correspondent in a report titled "The World According To Frost", reflecting on his long career and portrayal in the film Frost/Nixon.
Personal life
Frost was known for several relationships with high-profile women. In the mid-1960s, he dated British actress Janette Scott, between her marriages to songwriter Jackie Rae and singer Mel Tormé; in the early 1970s he was engaged to American actress Diahann Carroll; between 1972 and 1977 he had a relationship with British socialite Caroline Cushing; in 1981, he married Lynne Frederick, widow of Peter Sellers, but they divorced the following year. He also had an 18-year intermittent affair with American actress Carol Lynley.
On 19 March 1983, Frost married Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, daughter of the 17th Duke of Norfolk. Three sons were born to the couple over the next five years. His second son, Wilfred Frost, followed in his father's footsteps and currently works as an anchor at CNBC. They lived for many years in Chelsea, London, and kept a weekend home at Michelmersh Court in Hampshire.
Death
On 31 August 2013, Frost was aboard the Cunard cruise ship when he died of a heart attack at the age of 74. Cunard said that the vessel had left Southampton for a ten-day cruise in the Mediterranean, ending in Rome. A post-mortem found that Frost had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Frost's son, Miles, died from the same condition at the age of 31 in 2015.
A funeral service was held at Holy Trinity Church in Nuffield, Oxfordshire, on 12 September 2013, after which he was interred in the church's graveyard. On 13 March 2014, a memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey, at which Frost was honoured with a memorial stone in Poets' Corner.
Tributes
British Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute, saying: "He could be—and certainly was with me—both a friend and a fearsome interviewer." Michael Grade commented: "He was kind of a television renaissance man. He could put his hand to anything. He could turn over Richard Nixon or he could win the comedy prize at the Montreux Golden Rose festival."
Selected awards and honours
1970: Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
1970: Honorary Doctor of Laws degree of Emerson College
1993: Knight Bachelor
1994: Honorary doctoral degree of the University of Sussex
2000: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
2005: Fellowship of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA
2009: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree of the University of Winchester
2009: Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy Awards
Bibliography
Non-fiction
How to Live Under Labour – or at Least Have as Much Chance as Anyone Else (1964)
To England with Love (1968). With Antony Jay.
The Presidential Debate, 1968: David Frost talks with Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey (and others) (1968).
The Americans (1970)
Billy Graham Talks with David Frost (1972)
Whitlam and Frost: The Full Text of Their TV Conversations Plus Exclusive New Interviews (1974)
"I Gave Them a Sword": Behind the Scenes of the Nixon Interviews (1978). Reissued as Frost/Nixon in 2007.
David Frost's Book of Millionaires, Multimillionaires, and Really Rich People (1984)
The World's Shortest Books (1987)
An Autobiography. Part 1: From Congregations to Audiences (1993)
With Michael Deakin and illustrated by Willie Rushton
I Could Have Kicked Myself: David Frost's Book of the World's Worst Decisions (1982)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1983)
If You'll Believe That (1986)
With Michael Shea
The Mid-Atlantic Companion, or, How to Misunderstand Americans as Much as They Misunderstand Us (1986)
The Rich Tide: Men, Women, Ideas and Their Transatlantic Impact (1986)
References
External links
BBC News Profile of David Frost
TV Cream on David Frost
TV Cream on Paradine Productions
1939 births
2013 deaths
Al Jazeera people
Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
BAFTA fellows
BBC newsreaders and journalists
British broadcast news analysts
British reporters and correspondents
British television producers
English comedians
English game show hosts
English memoirists
English Methodists
English satirists
English social commentators
English political writers
English television personalities
English television talk show hosts
International Emmy Founders Award winners
Knights Bachelor
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Gillingham Grammar School, Kent
People educated at St Hugh's School, Woodhall Spa
People from Raunds
People from Tenterden
People from Test Valley
People from Wellingborough
People who died at sea
Primetime Emmy Award winners
20th-century British businesspeople | true | [
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monume... | [
"Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962.",
"He rose to prominence during the s... |
[
"Martha and the Vandellas",
"Motown major hit years (1962-1968)"
] | C_1183ad7f6a684fc28b80ad594e48035d_0 | What happened during motown major hit years? | 1 | What happened to Martha and the Vandellas during motown major hit years (1962-1968)? | Martha and the Vandellas | Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. (On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.) The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise. The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at #21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at #4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history. Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. CANNOTANSWER | Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, | Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.
An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Gloria Williams, the group eventually included Martha Reeves, who moved up in ranks as lead vocalist of the group after Williams' departure in 1962. The group signed with and eventually recorded all of their singles for Motown's Gordy imprint.
The group's string of hits included "Come and Get These Memories", "Heat Wave", "Quicksand", "Nowhere to Run", "Jimmy Mack", "I'm Ready for Love", "Bless You" and "Dancing in the Street", the latter song becoming their signature single.
During their nine-year run on the charts from 1963 to 1972, Martha and the Vandellas charted over twenty-six hits and recorded in the styles of doo-wop, R&B, pop, blues, rock and roll and soul. Ten Vandellas songs reached the top ten of the Billboard R&B singles chart, including two R&B number ones, and six Top Ten Pop Hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Selected members of the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.
History
Early years (1957–1962)
Teenagers Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard first became acquainted after a local music manager hired them to be members of a girl group he named the Del-Phis. Ashford, Beard, and lead vocalist Gloria Williams, performed at local clubs, private events, church benefits, YMCA events and school functions. They were also being coached by Maxine Powell at Detroit's Ferris Center. One of the group's first professional engagements was singing background for singer Mike Hanks.
The group originally had up to six members, subsequently reduced to four. When one of the four left the group, she was replaced by Alabama-born vocalist Martha Reeves, a former member of two groups, the Fascinations and the Sabre-Ettes. In 1960, the group signed their first recording contract with Checker Records, releasing the Reeves-led "I'll Let You Know," which flopped. The Del-Phis then went to Checkmate Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records, recording their "There He Is (At My Door)" featuring Williams on lead vocals, which also flopped.
Reeves reverted to a solo artist under the name Martha LaVaille in the hope of getting a contract with emerging Detroit label Motown. After Motown staffer Mickey Stevenson saw Reeves singing at a Detroit club, he offered her an audition. Reeves showed up at Motown's Hitsville USA studios on a Tuesday rather than Thursday, Motown's usual audition day. Initially upset with Reeves, Stevenson soon assigned her as his secretary eventually responsible for handling Motown's auditions. By 1961, the group, now known as The Vels, were recording background vocals for Motown acts. Prior to her success as lead singer of The Elgins, Sandra Edwards (then going by her surname Maulett) recorded the song "Camel Walk", in 1962, which featured the Vels in background vocals. That year, the quartet began applying background vocals for emerging Motown star Marvin Gaye, singing on Gaye's first hit single, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" After Mary Wells failed to make a scheduled recording session feigning a short illness, the Vels recorded what was initially a demo recording of "I'll Have to Let Him Go". Motown was so impressed by the group's vocals – and Martha's lead vocals in the song – that the label CEO Berry Gordy offered to give the group a contract. Figuring that being in show business was too rigorous, Williams opted out of the group. With Williams out, the remaining trio of Ashford, Beard and Reeves were told by Gordy that they would need a new name. After failing to come up with a name on their own, Gordy gave the group the name The Vandellas. As stated in an interview with The History Makers, Ashford emphatically states that contrary to popular belief, The Vandellas were not named after Della Reese and Van Dyke Avenue, nor did Reeves come up with the name.
Motown major hit years (1962–1968)
Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance. On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.
The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise.
The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Pop Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at No. 4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history.
Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. On June 28, 1965, the group appeared with several other popular acts of the period on CBS-TV's Murray The K-It's What's Happening, Baby. Martha, Rosalind and Betty performed "Nowhere to Run," as they skipped through a Ford auto plant and sat in a Ford Mustang convertible as it's being assembled.
Personnel changes
Motown struggled to find good material for many of their acts after the exit of Motown contributor and Reeves' mentor William "Mickey" Stevenson in 1967 and Holland–Dozier–Holland in early 1968, but after their former collaborators left the label, the Vandellas initially continued to find success with the Richard Morris-produced singles "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" (US #25; R&B #14) and "Honey Chile" (US #11; UK #30; R&B #5) added to their already extended list of charted singles. In the summer of 1968, the group joined The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye in performing at the Copacabana though much like albums from the Four Tops and Gaye, a live album of their performance there was shelved indefinitely.
That same year, label changes had started to take effect, and Gordy focused much of his attention on building the Supremes' as well as Diana Ross' burgeoning upcoming solo career that would follow in 1970. The Vandellas' chart performance (and the chart performance of many Motown acts with the exception of Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder) suffered as a result.
However it was the infighting among the members of the Vandellas that led to their problems. Kelley was the first to be let go after reportedly missing shows, as well as getting into altercations with Reeves. There were many instances where these "fights" happened on stage. Kelley was fired in 1967 and was replaced by Martha Reeves' sister Lois. Simultaneously, the group's name was officially changed to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, to conform with the company's recent changes of The Supremes' and The Miracles' names to reflect their featured lead singers. During this time, Vandellas records including "(We've Got) Honey Love", "Sweet Darlin'" and "Taking My Love and Leaving Me" were issued as singles with diminishing success.
"Bless You" (1969–1972)
Reeves, out of the group temporarily due to illness, recovered and returned; Ashford was replaced by another former member of the Velvelettes, Sandra Tilley, and the group continued to release albums and singles into the early 1970s. Although they could not reignite the fire they had made in America they continued to have successful records the UK and abroad. Among their late 1960s hits was "I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing", which featured singer Syreeta Wright singing the chorus, and peaked at number forty-two. Reeves reportedly hated singing the song sensing it "close to home". In 1969 a reissue of "Nowhere To Run" reached the top 40 in the UK. In 1970, the group issued Motown's first protest single, the controversial anti-war song, "I Should Be Proud", which peaked at a modest forty-five on the R&B singles chart. The song was uncharacteristic of the Vandellas and did nothing to promote the group. On some stations, the flip-side "Love, Guess Who" was played instead, however the group reached the top 20 that year in the UK with a reissue of "Jimmy Mack".
In 1971, the group scored a top 11 hit in the UK with "Forget Me Not". later that year they scored an international hit with "Bless You" (produced by the Jackson 5's producers The Corporation). The song peaked at number fifty-three on the American pop singles chart (the biggest peak of Vandellas' seventies singles in the US), and number twenty-nine on the R&B singles chart. "Bless You" reached number thirty-three in the UK giving the group two big hits that year in England. . "Bless You" reached number 16 in Canada and went all the way to number 2 in Puerto Rico . It was to be the last Billboard Hot 100 hit single for the group. After two successive Top 40 R&B singles, the ballad "In and Out of My Life" (#22 US R&B) and the Marvin Gaye cover, "Tear It On Down" (#37 US R&B), the group disbanded following a farewell concert, held at Detroit's Cobo Hall on December 21, 1972, but Martha Reeves is still often billed as ‘Martha Reeves& The Vandellas’.
The next year, Reeves announced plans of starting a solo career. At the same time, Motown Records moved its operations to Los Angeles. When Reeves did not want to move, she negotiated out of her contract with Motown, signing with MCA in 1974, and releasing the critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, Martha Reeves. Despite rave reviews of her work, neither of Reeves' post-Vandellas/Motown recordings produced the same success as they had the decade before. After living what she called "a rock & roll lifestyle" of prescription pills, cocaine and alcohol, Reeves sobered up in 1977, overcoming her addictions and becoming a born-again Christian.
Epilogue
After the Vandellas' split, Reeves' sister Lois sang with the group Quiet Elegance and sang background for Al Green, while Tilley retired from show business in the late 1970s, suddenly dying of a brain aneurysm in 1981 at the age of thirty-eight. Original member Gloria Williams, who retired from show business when she left the group, died in 2000. In 1978, Reeves and original Vandellas Ashford and Beard reunited at a Los Angeles benefit concert for actor Will Geer. In 1983, Reeves successfully sued for royalties from her Motown hits and the label agreed to have the songs credited as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas from then on. That year, Reeves performed solo at Motown 25, which alongside some of their songs being placed on the Big Chill soundtrack, helped Reeves and the Vandellas gain a new audience. In 1989, original members Ashford and Beard also sued Motown for royalties. During this time, the original trio were inspired to reunite both as a recording act and in performances. They were offered a recording contract with Ian Levine at Motorcity Records who issued the group's first single since the Vandellas disbanded seventeen years earlier called "Step Into My Shoes."
Although they are no longer singing together full-time, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas have occasionally reunited for various concerts. Currently, Ashford, whose full name now is Rosalind Ashford-Holmes, and Beard, whose full name now is Annette Beard-Helton, continue to perform with other singers, most notably Roschelle Laughhunn, as "The Original Vandellas." Reeves, with her sisters Lois and Delphine Reeves, tour as "Martha Reeves and the Vandellas."
From 2005 to 2009, Reeves held the eighth seat of Detroit's city council. She has since lost her seat and told the press that she would continue performing.
A remake of the song "Nowhere To Run," sung by Arnold McCuller, is heard in the film "The Warriors" during the scene in which the Gramercy Riffs call a hit on the Warriors.
In a Season One episode of the television show The Golden Girls, Blanche described her car as the "noisiest thing to come out of Detroit since Martha & The Vandellas.".
Candice Bergen, who hosted the Saturday Night Live episode on which Martha Reeves appeared in its inaugural season, made sure that Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were a presence throughout her "Murphy Brown" series. The group's picture was displayed prominently in Murphy's office. When Aretha Franklin guest starred and Murphy tried to sing with her, Franklin stopped her, saying, ". . .I'm not Martha, and you ain't no Vandella."
The group is briefly portrayed in the 2017 film Detroit, performing "Nowhere To Run" at the Fox Theatre, Detroit.
Awards and accolades
Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (they were nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for the song in 1964). In 1993, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were awarded the Pioneer Award by the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. Except for pre-Vandellas member Gloria Williamson and Vandellas member Sandra Tilley, all members of the group were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming the second all-female group to be inducted. They were inducted by rock group The B-52's, whose frothy dance music was inspired by the Vandellas. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. Two of their singles, "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the group No. 96 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2005, Martha & The Vandellas were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
Always concert favorites, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were nominated for UK Festival Awards in 2010 and 2011 as "Best Headliner."
Martha and the Vandellas was inducted into the inaugural class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State University August 2013
Lineups
The Del-Phis
1957–1962
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Gloria Williams
Martha & the Vandellas
1964–1967
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Betty Kelly
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1969–1972
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Sandra Tilley
The Original Vandellas
2000s-present
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Roschelle Laughhunn
Martha & the Vandellas
1962–1964
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1967–1969
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Lois Reeves
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
2010–present
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Delphine Reeves
Discography
For a detailed listing of albums and singles, see Martha and the Vandellas discography
Albums
Come and Get These Memories (1963)
Heat Wave (1963)
Dance Party (1965)
Greatest Hits (1966)
Watchout! (1966)
Martha and the Vandellas Live! (1967)
Ridin' High (1968)
Sugar 'n' Spice (1969)
Natural Resources (1970)
Black Magic (1972)
Top 10 singles
The following singles reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 song chart in the U.S.
"Heat Wave" (1963)
"Quicksand" (1963)
"Dancing in the Street" (1964)
"Nowhere to Run" (1965)
"I'm Ready for Love" (1966)
"Jimmy Mack" (1967)
Awards and recognition
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas' "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame and were both included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
They were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 becoming just the second all-female group to be inducted and the fifth group in the Motown roster to be inducted.
They were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.
They were nominated for a Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 1964 for their hit song "Heat Wave"
"Dancing in the Street" was included in the United States Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for its historical, artistic and cultural significance in 2006.
References
External links
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame page on Martha and the Vandellas
'Martha and the Vandellas' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
History of Rock page on Martha and the Vandellas
The Original Vandellas (Rosalind Ashford-Holmes & Annette Beard-Helton) page
Martha and the Vandellas History, Charts and Songs
Martha & The Vandellas at Doo Wop Heaven
Martha & The Vandellas bio on the Soulwalking U.K. website.
African-American girl groups
American soul musical groups
Motown artists
Musical groups from Detroit
Northern soul musicians
1957 establishments in Michigan
Musical groups disestablished in 1972
Singers from Detroit | true | [
"Take Two is a duet album by Motown label mates Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, released August 25, 1966 on the Motown's Tamla label. The album was titled after its most successful selection, the Top 5 R&B/Top 20 Pop hit \"It Takes Two\", which was to this point Gaye's most successful duet with another singer. The albu... | [
"Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.",
"The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Glo... |
[
"Martha and the Vandellas",
"Motown major hit years (1962-1968)",
"What happened during motown major hit years?",
"Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team,"
] | C_1183ad7f6a684fc28b80ad594e48035d_0 | What happened after that? | 2 | What happened to Martha and the Vandellas after striking gold with the second album release? | Martha and the Vandellas | Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. (On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.) The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise. The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at #21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at #4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history. Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. CANNOTANSWER | It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. | Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.
An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Gloria Williams, the group eventually included Martha Reeves, who moved up in ranks as lead vocalist of the group after Williams' departure in 1962. The group signed with and eventually recorded all of their singles for Motown's Gordy imprint.
The group's string of hits included "Come and Get These Memories", "Heat Wave", "Quicksand", "Nowhere to Run", "Jimmy Mack", "I'm Ready for Love", "Bless You" and "Dancing in the Street", the latter song becoming their signature single.
During their nine-year run on the charts from 1963 to 1972, Martha and the Vandellas charted over twenty-six hits and recorded in the styles of doo-wop, R&B, pop, blues, rock and roll and soul. Ten Vandellas songs reached the top ten of the Billboard R&B singles chart, including two R&B number ones, and six Top Ten Pop Hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Selected members of the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.
History
Early years (1957–1962)
Teenagers Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard first became acquainted after a local music manager hired them to be members of a girl group he named the Del-Phis. Ashford, Beard, and lead vocalist Gloria Williams, performed at local clubs, private events, church benefits, YMCA events and school functions. They were also being coached by Maxine Powell at Detroit's Ferris Center. One of the group's first professional engagements was singing background for singer Mike Hanks.
The group originally had up to six members, subsequently reduced to four. When one of the four left the group, she was replaced by Alabama-born vocalist Martha Reeves, a former member of two groups, the Fascinations and the Sabre-Ettes. In 1960, the group signed their first recording contract with Checker Records, releasing the Reeves-led "I'll Let You Know," which flopped. The Del-Phis then went to Checkmate Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records, recording their "There He Is (At My Door)" featuring Williams on lead vocals, which also flopped.
Reeves reverted to a solo artist under the name Martha LaVaille in the hope of getting a contract with emerging Detroit label Motown. After Motown staffer Mickey Stevenson saw Reeves singing at a Detroit club, he offered her an audition. Reeves showed up at Motown's Hitsville USA studios on a Tuesday rather than Thursday, Motown's usual audition day. Initially upset with Reeves, Stevenson soon assigned her as his secretary eventually responsible for handling Motown's auditions. By 1961, the group, now known as The Vels, were recording background vocals for Motown acts. Prior to her success as lead singer of The Elgins, Sandra Edwards (then going by her surname Maulett) recorded the song "Camel Walk", in 1962, which featured the Vels in background vocals. That year, the quartet began applying background vocals for emerging Motown star Marvin Gaye, singing on Gaye's first hit single, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" After Mary Wells failed to make a scheduled recording session feigning a short illness, the Vels recorded what was initially a demo recording of "I'll Have to Let Him Go". Motown was so impressed by the group's vocals – and Martha's lead vocals in the song – that the label CEO Berry Gordy offered to give the group a contract. Figuring that being in show business was too rigorous, Williams opted out of the group. With Williams out, the remaining trio of Ashford, Beard and Reeves were told by Gordy that they would need a new name. After failing to come up with a name on their own, Gordy gave the group the name The Vandellas. As stated in an interview with The History Makers, Ashford emphatically states that contrary to popular belief, The Vandellas were not named after Della Reese and Van Dyke Avenue, nor did Reeves come up with the name.
Motown major hit years (1962–1968)
Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance. On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.
The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise.
The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Pop Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at No. 4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history.
Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. On June 28, 1965, the group appeared with several other popular acts of the period on CBS-TV's Murray The K-It's What's Happening, Baby. Martha, Rosalind and Betty performed "Nowhere to Run," as they skipped through a Ford auto plant and sat in a Ford Mustang convertible as it's being assembled.
Personnel changes
Motown struggled to find good material for many of their acts after the exit of Motown contributor and Reeves' mentor William "Mickey" Stevenson in 1967 and Holland–Dozier–Holland in early 1968, but after their former collaborators left the label, the Vandellas initially continued to find success with the Richard Morris-produced singles "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" (US #25; R&B #14) and "Honey Chile" (US #11; UK #30; R&B #5) added to their already extended list of charted singles. In the summer of 1968, the group joined The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye in performing at the Copacabana though much like albums from the Four Tops and Gaye, a live album of their performance there was shelved indefinitely.
That same year, label changes had started to take effect, and Gordy focused much of his attention on building the Supremes' as well as Diana Ross' burgeoning upcoming solo career that would follow in 1970. The Vandellas' chart performance (and the chart performance of many Motown acts with the exception of Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder) suffered as a result.
However it was the infighting among the members of the Vandellas that led to their problems. Kelley was the first to be let go after reportedly missing shows, as well as getting into altercations with Reeves. There were many instances where these "fights" happened on stage. Kelley was fired in 1967 and was replaced by Martha Reeves' sister Lois. Simultaneously, the group's name was officially changed to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, to conform with the company's recent changes of The Supremes' and The Miracles' names to reflect their featured lead singers. During this time, Vandellas records including "(We've Got) Honey Love", "Sweet Darlin'" and "Taking My Love and Leaving Me" were issued as singles with diminishing success.
"Bless You" (1969–1972)
Reeves, out of the group temporarily due to illness, recovered and returned; Ashford was replaced by another former member of the Velvelettes, Sandra Tilley, and the group continued to release albums and singles into the early 1970s. Although they could not reignite the fire they had made in America they continued to have successful records the UK and abroad. Among their late 1960s hits was "I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing", which featured singer Syreeta Wright singing the chorus, and peaked at number forty-two. Reeves reportedly hated singing the song sensing it "close to home". In 1969 a reissue of "Nowhere To Run" reached the top 40 in the UK. In 1970, the group issued Motown's first protest single, the controversial anti-war song, "I Should Be Proud", which peaked at a modest forty-five on the R&B singles chart. The song was uncharacteristic of the Vandellas and did nothing to promote the group. On some stations, the flip-side "Love, Guess Who" was played instead, however the group reached the top 20 that year in the UK with a reissue of "Jimmy Mack".
In 1971, the group scored a top 11 hit in the UK with "Forget Me Not". later that year they scored an international hit with "Bless You" (produced by the Jackson 5's producers The Corporation). The song peaked at number fifty-three on the American pop singles chart (the biggest peak of Vandellas' seventies singles in the US), and number twenty-nine on the R&B singles chart. "Bless You" reached number thirty-three in the UK giving the group two big hits that year in England. . "Bless You" reached number 16 in Canada and went all the way to number 2 in Puerto Rico . It was to be the last Billboard Hot 100 hit single for the group. After two successive Top 40 R&B singles, the ballad "In and Out of My Life" (#22 US R&B) and the Marvin Gaye cover, "Tear It On Down" (#37 US R&B), the group disbanded following a farewell concert, held at Detroit's Cobo Hall on December 21, 1972, but Martha Reeves is still often billed as ‘Martha Reeves& The Vandellas’.
The next year, Reeves announced plans of starting a solo career. At the same time, Motown Records moved its operations to Los Angeles. When Reeves did not want to move, she negotiated out of her contract with Motown, signing with MCA in 1974, and releasing the critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, Martha Reeves. Despite rave reviews of her work, neither of Reeves' post-Vandellas/Motown recordings produced the same success as they had the decade before. After living what she called "a rock & roll lifestyle" of prescription pills, cocaine and alcohol, Reeves sobered up in 1977, overcoming her addictions and becoming a born-again Christian.
Epilogue
After the Vandellas' split, Reeves' sister Lois sang with the group Quiet Elegance and sang background for Al Green, while Tilley retired from show business in the late 1970s, suddenly dying of a brain aneurysm in 1981 at the age of thirty-eight. Original member Gloria Williams, who retired from show business when she left the group, died in 2000. In 1978, Reeves and original Vandellas Ashford and Beard reunited at a Los Angeles benefit concert for actor Will Geer. In 1983, Reeves successfully sued for royalties from her Motown hits and the label agreed to have the songs credited as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas from then on. That year, Reeves performed solo at Motown 25, which alongside some of their songs being placed on the Big Chill soundtrack, helped Reeves and the Vandellas gain a new audience. In 1989, original members Ashford and Beard also sued Motown for royalties. During this time, the original trio were inspired to reunite both as a recording act and in performances. They were offered a recording contract with Ian Levine at Motorcity Records who issued the group's first single since the Vandellas disbanded seventeen years earlier called "Step Into My Shoes."
Although they are no longer singing together full-time, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas have occasionally reunited for various concerts. Currently, Ashford, whose full name now is Rosalind Ashford-Holmes, and Beard, whose full name now is Annette Beard-Helton, continue to perform with other singers, most notably Roschelle Laughhunn, as "The Original Vandellas." Reeves, with her sisters Lois and Delphine Reeves, tour as "Martha Reeves and the Vandellas."
From 2005 to 2009, Reeves held the eighth seat of Detroit's city council. She has since lost her seat and told the press that she would continue performing.
A remake of the song "Nowhere To Run," sung by Arnold McCuller, is heard in the film "The Warriors" during the scene in which the Gramercy Riffs call a hit on the Warriors.
In a Season One episode of the television show The Golden Girls, Blanche described her car as the "noisiest thing to come out of Detroit since Martha & The Vandellas.".
Candice Bergen, who hosted the Saturday Night Live episode on which Martha Reeves appeared in its inaugural season, made sure that Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were a presence throughout her "Murphy Brown" series. The group's picture was displayed prominently in Murphy's office. When Aretha Franklin guest starred and Murphy tried to sing with her, Franklin stopped her, saying, ". . .I'm not Martha, and you ain't no Vandella."
The group is briefly portrayed in the 2017 film Detroit, performing "Nowhere To Run" at the Fox Theatre, Detroit.
Awards and accolades
Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (they were nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for the song in 1964). In 1993, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were awarded the Pioneer Award by the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. Except for pre-Vandellas member Gloria Williamson and Vandellas member Sandra Tilley, all members of the group were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming the second all-female group to be inducted. They were inducted by rock group The B-52's, whose frothy dance music was inspired by the Vandellas. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. Two of their singles, "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the group No. 96 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2005, Martha & The Vandellas were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
Always concert favorites, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were nominated for UK Festival Awards in 2010 and 2011 as "Best Headliner."
Martha and the Vandellas was inducted into the inaugural class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State University August 2013
Lineups
The Del-Phis
1957–1962
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Gloria Williams
Martha & the Vandellas
1964–1967
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Betty Kelly
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1969–1972
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Sandra Tilley
The Original Vandellas
2000s-present
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Roschelle Laughhunn
Martha & the Vandellas
1962–1964
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1967–1969
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Lois Reeves
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
2010–present
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Delphine Reeves
Discography
For a detailed listing of albums and singles, see Martha and the Vandellas discography
Albums
Come and Get These Memories (1963)
Heat Wave (1963)
Dance Party (1965)
Greatest Hits (1966)
Watchout! (1966)
Martha and the Vandellas Live! (1967)
Ridin' High (1968)
Sugar 'n' Spice (1969)
Natural Resources (1970)
Black Magic (1972)
Top 10 singles
The following singles reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 song chart in the U.S.
"Heat Wave" (1963)
"Quicksand" (1963)
"Dancing in the Street" (1964)
"Nowhere to Run" (1965)
"I'm Ready for Love" (1966)
"Jimmy Mack" (1967)
Awards and recognition
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas' "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame and were both included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
They were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 becoming just the second all-female group to be inducted and the fifth group in the Motown roster to be inducted.
They were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.
They were nominated for a Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 1964 for their hit song "Heat Wave"
"Dancing in the Street" was included in the United States Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for its historical, artistic and cultural significance in 2006.
References
External links
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame page on Martha and the Vandellas
'Martha and the Vandellas' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
History of Rock page on Martha and the Vandellas
The Original Vandellas (Rosalind Ashford-Holmes & Annette Beard-Helton) page
Martha and the Vandellas History, Charts and Songs
Martha & The Vandellas at Doo Wop Heaven
Martha & The Vandellas bio on the Soulwalking U.K. website.
African-American girl groups
American soul musical groups
Motown artists
Musical groups from Detroit
Northern soul musicians
1957 establishments in Michigan
Musical groups disestablished in 1972
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"Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team,",
"What happene... | C_1183ad7f6a684fc28b80ad594e48035d_0 | What were some of their major hits? | 4 | What were some of Martha and the Vandellas major hits? | Martha and the Vandellas | Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. (On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.) The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise. The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at #21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at #4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history. Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. CANNOTANSWER | Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, | Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.
An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Gloria Williams, the group eventually included Martha Reeves, who moved up in ranks as lead vocalist of the group after Williams' departure in 1962. The group signed with and eventually recorded all of their singles for Motown's Gordy imprint.
The group's string of hits included "Come and Get These Memories", "Heat Wave", "Quicksand", "Nowhere to Run", "Jimmy Mack", "I'm Ready for Love", "Bless You" and "Dancing in the Street", the latter song becoming their signature single.
During their nine-year run on the charts from 1963 to 1972, Martha and the Vandellas charted over twenty-six hits and recorded in the styles of doo-wop, R&B, pop, blues, rock and roll and soul. Ten Vandellas songs reached the top ten of the Billboard R&B singles chart, including two R&B number ones, and six Top Ten Pop Hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Selected members of the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.
History
Early years (1957–1962)
Teenagers Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard first became acquainted after a local music manager hired them to be members of a girl group he named the Del-Phis. Ashford, Beard, and lead vocalist Gloria Williams, performed at local clubs, private events, church benefits, YMCA events and school functions. They were also being coached by Maxine Powell at Detroit's Ferris Center. One of the group's first professional engagements was singing background for singer Mike Hanks.
The group originally had up to six members, subsequently reduced to four. When one of the four left the group, she was replaced by Alabama-born vocalist Martha Reeves, a former member of two groups, the Fascinations and the Sabre-Ettes. In 1960, the group signed their first recording contract with Checker Records, releasing the Reeves-led "I'll Let You Know," which flopped. The Del-Phis then went to Checkmate Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records, recording their "There He Is (At My Door)" featuring Williams on lead vocals, which also flopped.
Reeves reverted to a solo artist under the name Martha LaVaille in the hope of getting a contract with emerging Detroit label Motown. After Motown staffer Mickey Stevenson saw Reeves singing at a Detroit club, he offered her an audition. Reeves showed up at Motown's Hitsville USA studios on a Tuesday rather than Thursday, Motown's usual audition day. Initially upset with Reeves, Stevenson soon assigned her as his secretary eventually responsible for handling Motown's auditions. By 1961, the group, now known as The Vels, were recording background vocals for Motown acts. Prior to her success as lead singer of The Elgins, Sandra Edwards (then going by her surname Maulett) recorded the song "Camel Walk", in 1962, which featured the Vels in background vocals. That year, the quartet began applying background vocals for emerging Motown star Marvin Gaye, singing on Gaye's first hit single, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" After Mary Wells failed to make a scheduled recording session feigning a short illness, the Vels recorded what was initially a demo recording of "I'll Have to Let Him Go". Motown was so impressed by the group's vocals – and Martha's lead vocals in the song – that the label CEO Berry Gordy offered to give the group a contract. Figuring that being in show business was too rigorous, Williams opted out of the group. With Williams out, the remaining trio of Ashford, Beard and Reeves were told by Gordy that they would need a new name. After failing to come up with a name on their own, Gordy gave the group the name The Vandellas. As stated in an interview with The History Makers, Ashford emphatically states that contrary to popular belief, The Vandellas were not named after Della Reese and Van Dyke Avenue, nor did Reeves come up with the name.
Motown major hit years (1962–1968)
Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance. On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.
The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise.
The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Pop Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at No. 4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history.
Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. On June 28, 1965, the group appeared with several other popular acts of the period on CBS-TV's Murray The K-It's What's Happening, Baby. Martha, Rosalind and Betty performed "Nowhere to Run," as they skipped through a Ford auto plant and sat in a Ford Mustang convertible as it's being assembled.
Personnel changes
Motown struggled to find good material for many of their acts after the exit of Motown contributor and Reeves' mentor William "Mickey" Stevenson in 1967 and Holland–Dozier–Holland in early 1968, but after their former collaborators left the label, the Vandellas initially continued to find success with the Richard Morris-produced singles "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" (US #25; R&B #14) and "Honey Chile" (US #11; UK #30; R&B #5) added to their already extended list of charted singles. In the summer of 1968, the group joined The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye in performing at the Copacabana though much like albums from the Four Tops and Gaye, a live album of their performance there was shelved indefinitely.
That same year, label changes had started to take effect, and Gordy focused much of his attention on building the Supremes' as well as Diana Ross' burgeoning upcoming solo career that would follow in 1970. The Vandellas' chart performance (and the chart performance of many Motown acts with the exception of Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder) suffered as a result.
However it was the infighting among the members of the Vandellas that led to their problems. Kelley was the first to be let go after reportedly missing shows, as well as getting into altercations with Reeves. There were many instances where these "fights" happened on stage. Kelley was fired in 1967 and was replaced by Martha Reeves' sister Lois. Simultaneously, the group's name was officially changed to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, to conform with the company's recent changes of The Supremes' and The Miracles' names to reflect their featured lead singers. During this time, Vandellas records including "(We've Got) Honey Love", "Sweet Darlin'" and "Taking My Love and Leaving Me" were issued as singles with diminishing success.
"Bless You" (1969–1972)
Reeves, out of the group temporarily due to illness, recovered and returned; Ashford was replaced by another former member of the Velvelettes, Sandra Tilley, and the group continued to release albums and singles into the early 1970s. Although they could not reignite the fire they had made in America they continued to have successful records the UK and abroad. Among their late 1960s hits was "I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing", which featured singer Syreeta Wright singing the chorus, and peaked at number forty-two. Reeves reportedly hated singing the song sensing it "close to home". In 1969 a reissue of "Nowhere To Run" reached the top 40 in the UK. In 1970, the group issued Motown's first protest single, the controversial anti-war song, "I Should Be Proud", which peaked at a modest forty-five on the R&B singles chart. The song was uncharacteristic of the Vandellas and did nothing to promote the group. On some stations, the flip-side "Love, Guess Who" was played instead, however the group reached the top 20 that year in the UK with a reissue of "Jimmy Mack".
In 1971, the group scored a top 11 hit in the UK with "Forget Me Not". later that year they scored an international hit with "Bless You" (produced by the Jackson 5's producers The Corporation). The song peaked at number fifty-three on the American pop singles chart (the biggest peak of Vandellas' seventies singles in the US), and number twenty-nine on the R&B singles chart. "Bless You" reached number thirty-three in the UK giving the group two big hits that year in England. . "Bless You" reached number 16 in Canada and went all the way to number 2 in Puerto Rico . It was to be the last Billboard Hot 100 hit single for the group. After two successive Top 40 R&B singles, the ballad "In and Out of My Life" (#22 US R&B) and the Marvin Gaye cover, "Tear It On Down" (#37 US R&B), the group disbanded following a farewell concert, held at Detroit's Cobo Hall on December 21, 1972, but Martha Reeves is still often billed as ‘Martha Reeves& The Vandellas’.
The next year, Reeves announced plans of starting a solo career. At the same time, Motown Records moved its operations to Los Angeles. When Reeves did not want to move, she negotiated out of her contract with Motown, signing with MCA in 1974, and releasing the critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, Martha Reeves. Despite rave reviews of her work, neither of Reeves' post-Vandellas/Motown recordings produced the same success as they had the decade before. After living what she called "a rock & roll lifestyle" of prescription pills, cocaine and alcohol, Reeves sobered up in 1977, overcoming her addictions and becoming a born-again Christian.
Epilogue
After the Vandellas' split, Reeves' sister Lois sang with the group Quiet Elegance and sang background for Al Green, while Tilley retired from show business in the late 1970s, suddenly dying of a brain aneurysm in 1981 at the age of thirty-eight. Original member Gloria Williams, who retired from show business when she left the group, died in 2000. In 1978, Reeves and original Vandellas Ashford and Beard reunited at a Los Angeles benefit concert for actor Will Geer. In 1983, Reeves successfully sued for royalties from her Motown hits and the label agreed to have the songs credited as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas from then on. That year, Reeves performed solo at Motown 25, which alongside some of their songs being placed on the Big Chill soundtrack, helped Reeves and the Vandellas gain a new audience. In 1989, original members Ashford and Beard also sued Motown for royalties. During this time, the original trio were inspired to reunite both as a recording act and in performances. They were offered a recording contract with Ian Levine at Motorcity Records who issued the group's first single since the Vandellas disbanded seventeen years earlier called "Step Into My Shoes."
Although they are no longer singing together full-time, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas have occasionally reunited for various concerts. Currently, Ashford, whose full name now is Rosalind Ashford-Holmes, and Beard, whose full name now is Annette Beard-Helton, continue to perform with other singers, most notably Roschelle Laughhunn, as "The Original Vandellas." Reeves, with her sisters Lois and Delphine Reeves, tour as "Martha Reeves and the Vandellas."
From 2005 to 2009, Reeves held the eighth seat of Detroit's city council. She has since lost her seat and told the press that she would continue performing.
A remake of the song "Nowhere To Run," sung by Arnold McCuller, is heard in the film "The Warriors" during the scene in which the Gramercy Riffs call a hit on the Warriors.
In a Season One episode of the television show The Golden Girls, Blanche described her car as the "noisiest thing to come out of Detroit since Martha & The Vandellas.".
Candice Bergen, who hosted the Saturday Night Live episode on which Martha Reeves appeared in its inaugural season, made sure that Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were a presence throughout her "Murphy Brown" series. The group's picture was displayed prominently in Murphy's office. When Aretha Franklin guest starred and Murphy tried to sing with her, Franklin stopped her, saying, ". . .I'm not Martha, and you ain't no Vandella."
The group is briefly portrayed in the 2017 film Detroit, performing "Nowhere To Run" at the Fox Theatre, Detroit.
Awards and accolades
Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (they were nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for the song in 1964). In 1993, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were awarded the Pioneer Award by the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. Except for pre-Vandellas member Gloria Williamson and Vandellas member Sandra Tilley, all members of the group were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming the second all-female group to be inducted. They were inducted by rock group The B-52's, whose frothy dance music was inspired by the Vandellas. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. Two of their singles, "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the group No. 96 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2005, Martha & The Vandellas were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
Always concert favorites, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were nominated for UK Festival Awards in 2010 and 2011 as "Best Headliner."
Martha and the Vandellas was inducted into the inaugural class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State University August 2013
Lineups
The Del-Phis
1957–1962
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Gloria Williams
Martha & the Vandellas
1964–1967
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Betty Kelly
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1969–1972
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Sandra Tilley
The Original Vandellas
2000s-present
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Roschelle Laughhunn
Martha & the Vandellas
1962–1964
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1967–1969
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Lois Reeves
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
2010–present
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Delphine Reeves
Discography
For a detailed listing of albums and singles, see Martha and the Vandellas discography
Albums
Come and Get These Memories (1963)
Heat Wave (1963)
Dance Party (1965)
Greatest Hits (1966)
Watchout! (1966)
Martha and the Vandellas Live! (1967)
Ridin' High (1968)
Sugar 'n' Spice (1969)
Natural Resources (1970)
Black Magic (1972)
Top 10 singles
The following singles reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 song chart in the U.S.
"Heat Wave" (1963)
"Quicksand" (1963)
"Dancing in the Street" (1964)
"Nowhere to Run" (1965)
"I'm Ready for Love" (1966)
"Jimmy Mack" (1967)
Awards and recognition
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas' "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame and were both included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
They were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 becoming just the second all-female group to be inducted and the fifth group in the Motown roster to be inducted.
They were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.
They were nominated for a Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 1964 for their hit song "Heat Wave"
"Dancing in the Street" was included in the United States Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for its historical, artistic and cultural significance in 2006.
References
External links
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame page on Martha and the Vandellas
'Martha and the Vandellas' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
History of Rock page on Martha and the Vandellas
The Original Vandellas (Rosalind Ashford-Holmes & Annette Beard-Helton) page
Martha and the Vandellas History, Charts and Songs
Martha & The Vandellas at Doo Wop Heaven
Martha & The Vandellas bio on the Soulwalking U.K. website.
African-American girl groups
American soul musical groups
Motown artists
Musical groups from Detroit
Northern soul musicians
1957 establishments in Michigan
Musical groups disestablished in 1972
Singers from Detroit | true | [
"Now That's What I Call Classic Rock Hits is one of many genre-themed compilation albums from the Now! series in the United States, this one focusing on popular classic rock songs from the 1970s. It was released on May 1, 2012.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReception\n\nIn his review for Allmusic, Gregory Heaney says \"the N... | [
"Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.",
"The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Glo... |
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"Martha and the Vandellas",
"Motown major hit years (1962-1968)",
"What happened during motown major hit years?",
"Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team,",
"What happene... | C_1183ad7f6a684fc28b80ad594e48035d_0 | What other things took place after that? | 6 | What other things took place after Martha and the Vandellas received a Grammy Award nomination? | Martha and the Vandellas | Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. (On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.) The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise. The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at #21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at #4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history. Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. CANNOTANSWER | The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland | Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.
An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Gloria Williams, the group eventually included Martha Reeves, who moved up in ranks as lead vocalist of the group after Williams' departure in 1962. The group signed with and eventually recorded all of their singles for Motown's Gordy imprint.
The group's string of hits included "Come and Get These Memories", "Heat Wave", "Quicksand", "Nowhere to Run", "Jimmy Mack", "I'm Ready for Love", "Bless You" and "Dancing in the Street", the latter song becoming their signature single.
During their nine-year run on the charts from 1963 to 1972, Martha and the Vandellas charted over twenty-six hits and recorded in the styles of doo-wop, R&B, pop, blues, rock and roll and soul. Ten Vandellas songs reached the top ten of the Billboard R&B singles chart, including two R&B number ones, and six Top Ten Pop Hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Selected members of the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.
History
Early years (1957–1962)
Teenagers Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard first became acquainted after a local music manager hired them to be members of a girl group he named the Del-Phis. Ashford, Beard, and lead vocalist Gloria Williams, performed at local clubs, private events, church benefits, YMCA events and school functions. They were also being coached by Maxine Powell at Detroit's Ferris Center. One of the group's first professional engagements was singing background for singer Mike Hanks.
The group originally had up to six members, subsequently reduced to four. When one of the four left the group, she was replaced by Alabama-born vocalist Martha Reeves, a former member of two groups, the Fascinations and the Sabre-Ettes. In 1960, the group signed their first recording contract with Checker Records, releasing the Reeves-led "I'll Let You Know," which flopped. The Del-Phis then went to Checkmate Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records, recording their "There He Is (At My Door)" featuring Williams on lead vocals, which also flopped.
Reeves reverted to a solo artist under the name Martha LaVaille in the hope of getting a contract with emerging Detroit label Motown. After Motown staffer Mickey Stevenson saw Reeves singing at a Detroit club, he offered her an audition. Reeves showed up at Motown's Hitsville USA studios on a Tuesday rather than Thursday, Motown's usual audition day. Initially upset with Reeves, Stevenson soon assigned her as his secretary eventually responsible for handling Motown's auditions. By 1961, the group, now known as The Vels, were recording background vocals for Motown acts. Prior to her success as lead singer of The Elgins, Sandra Edwards (then going by her surname Maulett) recorded the song "Camel Walk", in 1962, which featured the Vels in background vocals. That year, the quartet began applying background vocals for emerging Motown star Marvin Gaye, singing on Gaye's first hit single, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" After Mary Wells failed to make a scheduled recording session feigning a short illness, the Vels recorded what was initially a demo recording of "I'll Have to Let Him Go". Motown was so impressed by the group's vocals – and Martha's lead vocals in the song – that the label CEO Berry Gordy offered to give the group a contract. Figuring that being in show business was too rigorous, Williams opted out of the group. With Williams out, the remaining trio of Ashford, Beard and Reeves were told by Gordy that they would need a new name. After failing to come up with a name on their own, Gordy gave the group the name The Vandellas. As stated in an interview with The History Makers, Ashford emphatically states that contrary to popular belief, The Vandellas were not named after Della Reese and Van Dyke Avenue, nor did Reeves come up with the name.
Motown major hit years (1962–1968)
Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance. On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.
The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise.
The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Pop Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at No. 4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history.
Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. On June 28, 1965, the group appeared with several other popular acts of the period on CBS-TV's Murray The K-It's What's Happening, Baby. Martha, Rosalind and Betty performed "Nowhere to Run," as they skipped through a Ford auto plant and sat in a Ford Mustang convertible as it's being assembled.
Personnel changes
Motown struggled to find good material for many of their acts after the exit of Motown contributor and Reeves' mentor William "Mickey" Stevenson in 1967 and Holland–Dozier–Holland in early 1968, but after their former collaborators left the label, the Vandellas initially continued to find success with the Richard Morris-produced singles "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" (US #25; R&B #14) and "Honey Chile" (US #11; UK #30; R&B #5) added to their already extended list of charted singles. In the summer of 1968, the group joined The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye in performing at the Copacabana though much like albums from the Four Tops and Gaye, a live album of their performance there was shelved indefinitely.
That same year, label changes had started to take effect, and Gordy focused much of his attention on building the Supremes' as well as Diana Ross' burgeoning upcoming solo career that would follow in 1970. The Vandellas' chart performance (and the chart performance of many Motown acts with the exception of Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder) suffered as a result.
However it was the infighting among the members of the Vandellas that led to their problems. Kelley was the first to be let go after reportedly missing shows, as well as getting into altercations with Reeves. There were many instances where these "fights" happened on stage. Kelley was fired in 1967 and was replaced by Martha Reeves' sister Lois. Simultaneously, the group's name was officially changed to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, to conform with the company's recent changes of The Supremes' and The Miracles' names to reflect their featured lead singers. During this time, Vandellas records including "(We've Got) Honey Love", "Sweet Darlin'" and "Taking My Love and Leaving Me" were issued as singles with diminishing success.
"Bless You" (1969–1972)
Reeves, out of the group temporarily due to illness, recovered and returned; Ashford was replaced by another former member of the Velvelettes, Sandra Tilley, and the group continued to release albums and singles into the early 1970s. Although they could not reignite the fire they had made in America they continued to have successful records the UK and abroad. Among their late 1960s hits was "I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing", which featured singer Syreeta Wright singing the chorus, and peaked at number forty-two. Reeves reportedly hated singing the song sensing it "close to home". In 1969 a reissue of "Nowhere To Run" reached the top 40 in the UK. In 1970, the group issued Motown's first protest single, the controversial anti-war song, "I Should Be Proud", which peaked at a modest forty-five on the R&B singles chart. The song was uncharacteristic of the Vandellas and did nothing to promote the group. On some stations, the flip-side "Love, Guess Who" was played instead, however the group reached the top 20 that year in the UK with a reissue of "Jimmy Mack".
In 1971, the group scored a top 11 hit in the UK with "Forget Me Not". later that year they scored an international hit with "Bless You" (produced by the Jackson 5's producers The Corporation). The song peaked at number fifty-three on the American pop singles chart (the biggest peak of Vandellas' seventies singles in the US), and number twenty-nine on the R&B singles chart. "Bless You" reached number thirty-three in the UK giving the group two big hits that year in England. . "Bless You" reached number 16 in Canada and went all the way to number 2 in Puerto Rico . It was to be the last Billboard Hot 100 hit single for the group. After two successive Top 40 R&B singles, the ballad "In and Out of My Life" (#22 US R&B) and the Marvin Gaye cover, "Tear It On Down" (#37 US R&B), the group disbanded following a farewell concert, held at Detroit's Cobo Hall on December 21, 1972, but Martha Reeves is still often billed as ‘Martha Reeves& The Vandellas’.
The next year, Reeves announced plans of starting a solo career. At the same time, Motown Records moved its operations to Los Angeles. When Reeves did not want to move, she negotiated out of her contract with Motown, signing with MCA in 1974, and releasing the critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, Martha Reeves. Despite rave reviews of her work, neither of Reeves' post-Vandellas/Motown recordings produced the same success as they had the decade before. After living what she called "a rock & roll lifestyle" of prescription pills, cocaine and alcohol, Reeves sobered up in 1977, overcoming her addictions and becoming a born-again Christian.
Epilogue
After the Vandellas' split, Reeves' sister Lois sang with the group Quiet Elegance and sang background for Al Green, while Tilley retired from show business in the late 1970s, suddenly dying of a brain aneurysm in 1981 at the age of thirty-eight. Original member Gloria Williams, who retired from show business when she left the group, died in 2000. In 1978, Reeves and original Vandellas Ashford and Beard reunited at a Los Angeles benefit concert for actor Will Geer. In 1983, Reeves successfully sued for royalties from her Motown hits and the label agreed to have the songs credited as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas from then on. That year, Reeves performed solo at Motown 25, which alongside some of their songs being placed on the Big Chill soundtrack, helped Reeves and the Vandellas gain a new audience. In 1989, original members Ashford and Beard also sued Motown for royalties. During this time, the original trio were inspired to reunite both as a recording act and in performances. They were offered a recording contract with Ian Levine at Motorcity Records who issued the group's first single since the Vandellas disbanded seventeen years earlier called "Step Into My Shoes."
Although they are no longer singing together full-time, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas have occasionally reunited for various concerts. Currently, Ashford, whose full name now is Rosalind Ashford-Holmes, and Beard, whose full name now is Annette Beard-Helton, continue to perform with other singers, most notably Roschelle Laughhunn, as "The Original Vandellas." Reeves, with her sisters Lois and Delphine Reeves, tour as "Martha Reeves and the Vandellas."
From 2005 to 2009, Reeves held the eighth seat of Detroit's city council. She has since lost her seat and told the press that she would continue performing.
A remake of the song "Nowhere To Run," sung by Arnold McCuller, is heard in the film "The Warriors" during the scene in which the Gramercy Riffs call a hit on the Warriors.
In a Season One episode of the television show The Golden Girls, Blanche described her car as the "noisiest thing to come out of Detroit since Martha & The Vandellas.".
Candice Bergen, who hosted the Saturday Night Live episode on which Martha Reeves appeared in its inaugural season, made sure that Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were a presence throughout her "Murphy Brown" series. The group's picture was displayed prominently in Murphy's office. When Aretha Franklin guest starred and Murphy tried to sing with her, Franklin stopped her, saying, ". . .I'm not Martha, and you ain't no Vandella."
The group is briefly portrayed in the 2017 film Detroit, performing "Nowhere To Run" at the Fox Theatre, Detroit.
Awards and accolades
Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (they were nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for the song in 1964). In 1993, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were awarded the Pioneer Award by the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. Except for pre-Vandellas member Gloria Williamson and Vandellas member Sandra Tilley, all members of the group were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming the second all-female group to be inducted. They were inducted by rock group The B-52's, whose frothy dance music was inspired by the Vandellas. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. Two of their singles, "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the group No. 96 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2005, Martha & The Vandellas were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
Always concert favorites, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were nominated for UK Festival Awards in 2010 and 2011 as "Best Headliner."
Martha and the Vandellas was inducted into the inaugural class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State University August 2013
Lineups
The Del-Phis
1957–1962
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Gloria Williams
Martha & the Vandellas
1964–1967
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Betty Kelly
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1969–1972
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Sandra Tilley
The Original Vandellas
2000s-present
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Roschelle Laughhunn
Martha & the Vandellas
1962–1964
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1967–1969
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Lois Reeves
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
2010–present
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Delphine Reeves
Discography
For a detailed listing of albums and singles, see Martha and the Vandellas discography
Albums
Come and Get These Memories (1963)
Heat Wave (1963)
Dance Party (1965)
Greatest Hits (1966)
Watchout! (1966)
Martha and the Vandellas Live! (1967)
Ridin' High (1968)
Sugar 'n' Spice (1969)
Natural Resources (1970)
Black Magic (1972)
Top 10 singles
The following singles reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 song chart in the U.S.
"Heat Wave" (1963)
"Quicksand" (1963)
"Dancing in the Street" (1964)
"Nowhere to Run" (1965)
"I'm Ready for Love" (1966)
"Jimmy Mack" (1967)
Awards and recognition
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas' "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame and were both included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
They were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 becoming just the second all-female group to be inducted and the fifth group in the Motown roster to be inducted.
They were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.
They were nominated for a Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 1964 for their hit song "Heat Wave"
"Dancing in the Street" was included in the United States Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for its historical, artistic and cultural significance in 2006.
References
External links
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame page on Martha and the Vandellas
'Martha and the Vandellas' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
History of Rock page on Martha and the Vandellas
The Original Vandellas (Rosalind Ashford-Holmes & Annette Beard-Helton) page
Martha and the Vandellas History, Charts and Songs
Martha & The Vandellas at Doo Wop Heaven
Martha & The Vandellas bio on the Soulwalking U.K. website.
African-American girl groups
American soul musical groups
Motown artists
Musical groups from Detroit
Northern soul musicians
1957 establishments in Michigan
Musical groups disestablished in 1972
Singers from Detroit | true | [
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"Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.",
"The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Glo... |
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"Martha and the Vandellas",
"Motown major hit years (1962-1968)",
"What happened during motown major hit years?",
"Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team,",
"What happene... | C_1183ad7f6a684fc28b80ad594e48035d_0 | Did they go on to continue to be successful? | 7 | Did Martha and the Vandellas go on to continue to be successful after the second Top Ten single "Quicksand" was released? | Martha and the Vandellas | Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. (On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.) The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise. The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at #21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at #4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history. Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. CANNOTANSWER | and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. | Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.
An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Gloria Williams, the group eventually included Martha Reeves, who moved up in ranks as lead vocalist of the group after Williams' departure in 1962. The group signed with and eventually recorded all of their singles for Motown's Gordy imprint.
The group's string of hits included "Come and Get These Memories", "Heat Wave", "Quicksand", "Nowhere to Run", "Jimmy Mack", "I'm Ready for Love", "Bless You" and "Dancing in the Street", the latter song becoming their signature single.
During their nine-year run on the charts from 1963 to 1972, Martha and the Vandellas charted over twenty-six hits and recorded in the styles of doo-wop, R&B, pop, blues, rock and roll and soul. Ten Vandellas songs reached the top ten of the Billboard R&B singles chart, including two R&B number ones, and six Top Ten Pop Hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Selected members of the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.
History
Early years (1957–1962)
Teenagers Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard first became acquainted after a local music manager hired them to be members of a girl group he named the Del-Phis. Ashford, Beard, and lead vocalist Gloria Williams, performed at local clubs, private events, church benefits, YMCA events and school functions. They were also being coached by Maxine Powell at Detroit's Ferris Center. One of the group's first professional engagements was singing background for singer Mike Hanks.
The group originally had up to six members, subsequently reduced to four. When one of the four left the group, she was replaced by Alabama-born vocalist Martha Reeves, a former member of two groups, the Fascinations and the Sabre-Ettes. In 1960, the group signed their first recording contract with Checker Records, releasing the Reeves-led "I'll Let You Know," which flopped. The Del-Phis then went to Checkmate Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records, recording their "There He Is (At My Door)" featuring Williams on lead vocals, which also flopped.
Reeves reverted to a solo artist under the name Martha LaVaille in the hope of getting a contract with emerging Detroit label Motown. After Motown staffer Mickey Stevenson saw Reeves singing at a Detroit club, he offered her an audition. Reeves showed up at Motown's Hitsville USA studios on a Tuesday rather than Thursday, Motown's usual audition day. Initially upset with Reeves, Stevenson soon assigned her as his secretary eventually responsible for handling Motown's auditions. By 1961, the group, now known as The Vels, were recording background vocals for Motown acts. Prior to her success as lead singer of The Elgins, Sandra Edwards (then going by her surname Maulett) recorded the song "Camel Walk", in 1962, which featured the Vels in background vocals. That year, the quartet began applying background vocals for emerging Motown star Marvin Gaye, singing on Gaye's first hit single, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" After Mary Wells failed to make a scheduled recording session feigning a short illness, the Vels recorded what was initially a demo recording of "I'll Have to Let Him Go". Motown was so impressed by the group's vocals – and Martha's lead vocals in the song – that the label CEO Berry Gordy offered to give the group a contract. Figuring that being in show business was too rigorous, Williams opted out of the group. With Williams out, the remaining trio of Ashford, Beard and Reeves were told by Gordy that they would need a new name. After failing to come up with a name on their own, Gordy gave the group the name The Vandellas. As stated in an interview with The History Makers, Ashford emphatically states that contrary to popular belief, The Vandellas were not named after Della Reese and Van Dyke Avenue, nor did Reeves come up with the name.
Motown major hit years (1962–1968)
Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance. On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.
The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise.
The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Pop Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at No. 4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history.
Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. On June 28, 1965, the group appeared with several other popular acts of the period on CBS-TV's Murray The K-It's What's Happening, Baby. Martha, Rosalind and Betty performed "Nowhere to Run," as they skipped through a Ford auto plant and sat in a Ford Mustang convertible as it's being assembled.
Personnel changes
Motown struggled to find good material for many of their acts after the exit of Motown contributor and Reeves' mentor William "Mickey" Stevenson in 1967 and Holland–Dozier–Holland in early 1968, but after their former collaborators left the label, the Vandellas initially continued to find success with the Richard Morris-produced singles "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" (US #25; R&B #14) and "Honey Chile" (US #11; UK #30; R&B #5) added to their already extended list of charted singles. In the summer of 1968, the group joined The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye in performing at the Copacabana though much like albums from the Four Tops and Gaye, a live album of their performance there was shelved indefinitely.
That same year, label changes had started to take effect, and Gordy focused much of his attention on building the Supremes' as well as Diana Ross' burgeoning upcoming solo career that would follow in 1970. The Vandellas' chart performance (and the chart performance of many Motown acts with the exception of Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder) suffered as a result.
However it was the infighting among the members of the Vandellas that led to their problems. Kelley was the first to be let go after reportedly missing shows, as well as getting into altercations with Reeves. There were many instances where these "fights" happened on stage. Kelley was fired in 1967 and was replaced by Martha Reeves' sister Lois. Simultaneously, the group's name was officially changed to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, to conform with the company's recent changes of The Supremes' and The Miracles' names to reflect their featured lead singers. During this time, Vandellas records including "(We've Got) Honey Love", "Sweet Darlin'" and "Taking My Love and Leaving Me" were issued as singles with diminishing success.
"Bless You" (1969–1972)
Reeves, out of the group temporarily due to illness, recovered and returned; Ashford was replaced by another former member of the Velvelettes, Sandra Tilley, and the group continued to release albums and singles into the early 1970s. Although they could not reignite the fire they had made in America they continued to have successful records the UK and abroad. Among their late 1960s hits was "I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing", which featured singer Syreeta Wright singing the chorus, and peaked at number forty-two. Reeves reportedly hated singing the song sensing it "close to home". In 1969 a reissue of "Nowhere To Run" reached the top 40 in the UK. In 1970, the group issued Motown's first protest single, the controversial anti-war song, "I Should Be Proud", which peaked at a modest forty-five on the R&B singles chart. The song was uncharacteristic of the Vandellas and did nothing to promote the group. On some stations, the flip-side "Love, Guess Who" was played instead, however the group reached the top 20 that year in the UK with a reissue of "Jimmy Mack".
In 1971, the group scored a top 11 hit in the UK with "Forget Me Not". later that year they scored an international hit with "Bless You" (produced by the Jackson 5's producers The Corporation). The song peaked at number fifty-three on the American pop singles chart (the biggest peak of Vandellas' seventies singles in the US), and number twenty-nine on the R&B singles chart. "Bless You" reached number thirty-three in the UK giving the group two big hits that year in England. . "Bless You" reached number 16 in Canada and went all the way to number 2 in Puerto Rico . It was to be the last Billboard Hot 100 hit single for the group. After two successive Top 40 R&B singles, the ballad "In and Out of My Life" (#22 US R&B) and the Marvin Gaye cover, "Tear It On Down" (#37 US R&B), the group disbanded following a farewell concert, held at Detroit's Cobo Hall on December 21, 1972, but Martha Reeves is still often billed as ‘Martha Reeves& The Vandellas’.
The next year, Reeves announced plans of starting a solo career. At the same time, Motown Records moved its operations to Los Angeles. When Reeves did not want to move, she negotiated out of her contract with Motown, signing with MCA in 1974, and releasing the critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, Martha Reeves. Despite rave reviews of her work, neither of Reeves' post-Vandellas/Motown recordings produced the same success as they had the decade before. After living what she called "a rock & roll lifestyle" of prescription pills, cocaine and alcohol, Reeves sobered up in 1977, overcoming her addictions and becoming a born-again Christian.
Epilogue
After the Vandellas' split, Reeves' sister Lois sang with the group Quiet Elegance and sang background for Al Green, while Tilley retired from show business in the late 1970s, suddenly dying of a brain aneurysm in 1981 at the age of thirty-eight. Original member Gloria Williams, who retired from show business when she left the group, died in 2000. In 1978, Reeves and original Vandellas Ashford and Beard reunited at a Los Angeles benefit concert for actor Will Geer. In 1983, Reeves successfully sued for royalties from her Motown hits and the label agreed to have the songs credited as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas from then on. That year, Reeves performed solo at Motown 25, which alongside some of their songs being placed on the Big Chill soundtrack, helped Reeves and the Vandellas gain a new audience. In 1989, original members Ashford and Beard also sued Motown for royalties. During this time, the original trio were inspired to reunite both as a recording act and in performances. They were offered a recording contract with Ian Levine at Motorcity Records who issued the group's first single since the Vandellas disbanded seventeen years earlier called "Step Into My Shoes."
Although they are no longer singing together full-time, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas have occasionally reunited for various concerts. Currently, Ashford, whose full name now is Rosalind Ashford-Holmes, and Beard, whose full name now is Annette Beard-Helton, continue to perform with other singers, most notably Roschelle Laughhunn, as "The Original Vandellas." Reeves, with her sisters Lois and Delphine Reeves, tour as "Martha Reeves and the Vandellas."
From 2005 to 2009, Reeves held the eighth seat of Detroit's city council. She has since lost her seat and told the press that she would continue performing.
A remake of the song "Nowhere To Run," sung by Arnold McCuller, is heard in the film "The Warriors" during the scene in which the Gramercy Riffs call a hit on the Warriors.
In a Season One episode of the television show The Golden Girls, Blanche described her car as the "noisiest thing to come out of Detroit since Martha & The Vandellas.".
Candice Bergen, who hosted the Saturday Night Live episode on which Martha Reeves appeared in its inaugural season, made sure that Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were a presence throughout her "Murphy Brown" series. The group's picture was displayed prominently in Murphy's office. When Aretha Franklin guest starred and Murphy tried to sing with her, Franklin stopped her, saying, ". . .I'm not Martha, and you ain't no Vandella."
The group is briefly portrayed in the 2017 film Detroit, performing "Nowhere To Run" at the Fox Theatre, Detroit.
Awards and accolades
Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (they were nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for the song in 1964). In 1993, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were awarded the Pioneer Award by the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. Except for pre-Vandellas member Gloria Williamson and Vandellas member Sandra Tilley, all members of the group were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming the second all-female group to be inducted. They were inducted by rock group The B-52's, whose frothy dance music was inspired by the Vandellas. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. Two of their singles, "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the group No. 96 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2005, Martha & The Vandellas were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
Always concert favorites, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were nominated for UK Festival Awards in 2010 and 2011 as "Best Headliner."
Martha and the Vandellas was inducted into the inaugural class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State University August 2013
Lineups
The Del-Phis
1957–1962
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Gloria Williams
Martha & the Vandellas
1964–1967
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Betty Kelly
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1969–1972
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Sandra Tilley
The Original Vandellas
2000s-present
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Roschelle Laughhunn
Martha & the Vandellas
1962–1964
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1967–1969
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Lois Reeves
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
2010–present
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Delphine Reeves
Discography
For a detailed listing of albums and singles, see Martha and the Vandellas discography
Albums
Come and Get These Memories (1963)
Heat Wave (1963)
Dance Party (1965)
Greatest Hits (1966)
Watchout! (1966)
Martha and the Vandellas Live! (1967)
Ridin' High (1968)
Sugar 'n' Spice (1969)
Natural Resources (1970)
Black Magic (1972)
Top 10 singles
The following singles reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 song chart in the U.S.
"Heat Wave" (1963)
"Quicksand" (1963)
"Dancing in the Street" (1964)
"Nowhere to Run" (1965)
"I'm Ready for Love" (1966)
"Jimmy Mack" (1967)
Awards and recognition
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas' "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame and were both included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
They were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 becoming just the second all-female group to be inducted and the fifth group in the Motown roster to be inducted.
They were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.
They were nominated for a Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 1964 for their hit song "Heat Wave"
"Dancing in the Street" was included in the United States Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for its historical, artistic and cultural significance in 2006.
References
External links
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame page on Martha and the Vandellas
'Martha and the Vandellas' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
History of Rock page on Martha and the Vandellas
The Original Vandellas (Rosalind Ashford-Holmes & Annette Beard-Helton) page
Martha and the Vandellas History, Charts and Songs
Martha & The Vandellas at Doo Wop Heaven
Martha & The Vandellas bio on the Soulwalking U.K. website.
African-American girl groups
American soul musical groups
Motown artists
Musical groups from Detroit
Northern soul musicians
1957 establishments in Michigan
Musical groups disestablished in 1972
Singers from Detroit | true | [
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"Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.",
"The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Glo... |
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"Martha and the Vandellas",
"Motown major hit years (1962-1968)",
"What happened during motown major hit years?",
"Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team,",
"What happene... | C_1183ad7f6a684fc28b80ad594e48035d_0 | Any other important aspects regarding their major hit years? | 8 | Any other important aspects regarding Martha and the Vandellas' major hit years other than the awards and nominations? | Martha and the Vandellas | Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. (On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.) The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise. The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at #21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at #4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history. Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. CANNOTANSWER | Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. | Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.
An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Gloria Williams, the group eventually included Martha Reeves, who moved up in ranks as lead vocalist of the group after Williams' departure in 1962. The group signed with and eventually recorded all of their singles for Motown's Gordy imprint.
The group's string of hits included "Come and Get These Memories", "Heat Wave", "Quicksand", "Nowhere to Run", "Jimmy Mack", "I'm Ready for Love", "Bless You" and "Dancing in the Street", the latter song becoming their signature single.
During their nine-year run on the charts from 1963 to 1972, Martha and the Vandellas charted over twenty-six hits and recorded in the styles of doo-wop, R&B, pop, blues, rock and roll and soul. Ten Vandellas songs reached the top ten of the Billboard R&B singles chart, including two R&B number ones, and six Top Ten Pop Hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Selected members of the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.
History
Early years (1957–1962)
Teenagers Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard first became acquainted after a local music manager hired them to be members of a girl group he named the Del-Phis. Ashford, Beard, and lead vocalist Gloria Williams, performed at local clubs, private events, church benefits, YMCA events and school functions. They were also being coached by Maxine Powell at Detroit's Ferris Center. One of the group's first professional engagements was singing background for singer Mike Hanks.
The group originally had up to six members, subsequently reduced to four. When one of the four left the group, she was replaced by Alabama-born vocalist Martha Reeves, a former member of two groups, the Fascinations and the Sabre-Ettes. In 1960, the group signed their first recording contract with Checker Records, releasing the Reeves-led "I'll Let You Know," which flopped. The Del-Phis then went to Checkmate Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records, recording their "There He Is (At My Door)" featuring Williams on lead vocals, which also flopped.
Reeves reverted to a solo artist under the name Martha LaVaille in the hope of getting a contract with emerging Detroit label Motown. After Motown staffer Mickey Stevenson saw Reeves singing at a Detroit club, he offered her an audition. Reeves showed up at Motown's Hitsville USA studios on a Tuesday rather than Thursday, Motown's usual audition day. Initially upset with Reeves, Stevenson soon assigned her as his secretary eventually responsible for handling Motown's auditions. By 1961, the group, now known as The Vels, were recording background vocals for Motown acts. Prior to her success as lead singer of The Elgins, Sandra Edwards (then going by her surname Maulett) recorded the song "Camel Walk", in 1962, which featured the Vels in background vocals. That year, the quartet began applying background vocals for emerging Motown star Marvin Gaye, singing on Gaye's first hit single, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" After Mary Wells failed to make a scheduled recording session feigning a short illness, the Vels recorded what was initially a demo recording of "I'll Have to Let Him Go". Motown was so impressed by the group's vocals – and Martha's lead vocals in the song – that the label CEO Berry Gordy offered to give the group a contract. Figuring that being in show business was too rigorous, Williams opted out of the group. With Williams out, the remaining trio of Ashford, Beard and Reeves were told by Gordy that they would need a new name. After failing to come up with a name on their own, Gordy gave the group the name The Vandellas. As stated in an interview with The History Makers, Ashford emphatically states that contrary to popular belief, The Vandellas were not named after Della Reese and Van Dyke Avenue, nor did Reeves come up with the name.
Motown major hit years (1962–1968)
Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance. On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.
The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise.
The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Pop Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at No. 4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history.
Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. On June 28, 1965, the group appeared with several other popular acts of the period on CBS-TV's Murray The K-It's What's Happening, Baby. Martha, Rosalind and Betty performed "Nowhere to Run," as they skipped through a Ford auto plant and sat in a Ford Mustang convertible as it's being assembled.
Personnel changes
Motown struggled to find good material for many of their acts after the exit of Motown contributor and Reeves' mentor William "Mickey" Stevenson in 1967 and Holland–Dozier–Holland in early 1968, but after their former collaborators left the label, the Vandellas initially continued to find success with the Richard Morris-produced singles "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" (US #25; R&B #14) and "Honey Chile" (US #11; UK #30; R&B #5) added to their already extended list of charted singles. In the summer of 1968, the group joined The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye in performing at the Copacabana though much like albums from the Four Tops and Gaye, a live album of their performance there was shelved indefinitely.
That same year, label changes had started to take effect, and Gordy focused much of his attention on building the Supremes' as well as Diana Ross' burgeoning upcoming solo career that would follow in 1970. The Vandellas' chart performance (and the chart performance of many Motown acts with the exception of Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder) suffered as a result.
However it was the infighting among the members of the Vandellas that led to their problems. Kelley was the first to be let go after reportedly missing shows, as well as getting into altercations with Reeves. There were many instances where these "fights" happened on stage. Kelley was fired in 1967 and was replaced by Martha Reeves' sister Lois. Simultaneously, the group's name was officially changed to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, to conform with the company's recent changes of The Supremes' and The Miracles' names to reflect their featured lead singers. During this time, Vandellas records including "(We've Got) Honey Love", "Sweet Darlin'" and "Taking My Love and Leaving Me" were issued as singles with diminishing success.
"Bless You" (1969–1972)
Reeves, out of the group temporarily due to illness, recovered and returned; Ashford was replaced by another former member of the Velvelettes, Sandra Tilley, and the group continued to release albums and singles into the early 1970s. Although they could not reignite the fire they had made in America they continued to have successful records the UK and abroad. Among their late 1960s hits was "I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing", which featured singer Syreeta Wright singing the chorus, and peaked at number forty-two. Reeves reportedly hated singing the song sensing it "close to home". In 1969 a reissue of "Nowhere To Run" reached the top 40 in the UK. In 1970, the group issued Motown's first protest single, the controversial anti-war song, "I Should Be Proud", which peaked at a modest forty-five on the R&B singles chart. The song was uncharacteristic of the Vandellas and did nothing to promote the group. On some stations, the flip-side "Love, Guess Who" was played instead, however the group reached the top 20 that year in the UK with a reissue of "Jimmy Mack".
In 1971, the group scored a top 11 hit in the UK with "Forget Me Not". later that year they scored an international hit with "Bless You" (produced by the Jackson 5's producers The Corporation). The song peaked at number fifty-three on the American pop singles chart (the biggest peak of Vandellas' seventies singles in the US), and number twenty-nine on the R&B singles chart. "Bless You" reached number thirty-three in the UK giving the group two big hits that year in England. . "Bless You" reached number 16 in Canada and went all the way to number 2 in Puerto Rico . It was to be the last Billboard Hot 100 hit single for the group. After two successive Top 40 R&B singles, the ballad "In and Out of My Life" (#22 US R&B) and the Marvin Gaye cover, "Tear It On Down" (#37 US R&B), the group disbanded following a farewell concert, held at Detroit's Cobo Hall on December 21, 1972, but Martha Reeves is still often billed as ‘Martha Reeves& The Vandellas’.
The next year, Reeves announced plans of starting a solo career. At the same time, Motown Records moved its operations to Los Angeles. When Reeves did not want to move, she negotiated out of her contract with Motown, signing with MCA in 1974, and releasing the critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, Martha Reeves. Despite rave reviews of her work, neither of Reeves' post-Vandellas/Motown recordings produced the same success as they had the decade before. After living what she called "a rock & roll lifestyle" of prescription pills, cocaine and alcohol, Reeves sobered up in 1977, overcoming her addictions and becoming a born-again Christian.
Epilogue
After the Vandellas' split, Reeves' sister Lois sang with the group Quiet Elegance and sang background for Al Green, while Tilley retired from show business in the late 1970s, suddenly dying of a brain aneurysm in 1981 at the age of thirty-eight. Original member Gloria Williams, who retired from show business when she left the group, died in 2000. In 1978, Reeves and original Vandellas Ashford and Beard reunited at a Los Angeles benefit concert for actor Will Geer. In 1983, Reeves successfully sued for royalties from her Motown hits and the label agreed to have the songs credited as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas from then on. That year, Reeves performed solo at Motown 25, which alongside some of their songs being placed on the Big Chill soundtrack, helped Reeves and the Vandellas gain a new audience. In 1989, original members Ashford and Beard also sued Motown for royalties. During this time, the original trio were inspired to reunite both as a recording act and in performances. They were offered a recording contract with Ian Levine at Motorcity Records who issued the group's first single since the Vandellas disbanded seventeen years earlier called "Step Into My Shoes."
Although they are no longer singing together full-time, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas have occasionally reunited for various concerts. Currently, Ashford, whose full name now is Rosalind Ashford-Holmes, and Beard, whose full name now is Annette Beard-Helton, continue to perform with other singers, most notably Roschelle Laughhunn, as "The Original Vandellas." Reeves, with her sisters Lois and Delphine Reeves, tour as "Martha Reeves and the Vandellas."
From 2005 to 2009, Reeves held the eighth seat of Detroit's city council. She has since lost her seat and told the press that she would continue performing.
A remake of the song "Nowhere To Run," sung by Arnold McCuller, is heard in the film "The Warriors" during the scene in which the Gramercy Riffs call a hit on the Warriors.
In a Season One episode of the television show The Golden Girls, Blanche described her car as the "noisiest thing to come out of Detroit since Martha & The Vandellas.".
Candice Bergen, who hosted the Saturday Night Live episode on which Martha Reeves appeared in its inaugural season, made sure that Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were a presence throughout her "Murphy Brown" series. The group's picture was displayed prominently in Murphy's office. When Aretha Franklin guest starred and Murphy tried to sing with her, Franklin stopped her, saying, ". . .I'm not Martha, and you ain't no Vandella."
The group is briefly portrayed in the 2017 film Detroit, performing "Nowhere To Run" at the Fox Theatre, Detroit.
Awards and accolades
Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (they were nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for the song in 1964). In 1993, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were awarded the Pioneer Award by the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. Except for pre-Vandellas member Gloria Williamson and Vandellas member Sandra Tilley, all members of the group were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming the second all-female group to be inducted. They were inducted by rock group The B-52's, whose frothy dance music was inspired by the Vandellas. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. Two of their singles, "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the group No. 96 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2005, Martha & The Vandellas were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
Always concert favorites, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were nominated for UK Festival Awards in 2010 and 2011 as "Best Headliner."
Martha and the Vandellas was inducted into the inaugural class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State University August 2013
Lineups
The Del-Phis
1957–1962
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Gloria Williams
Martha & the Vandellas
1964–1967
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Betty Kelly
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1969–1972
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Sandra Tilley
The Original Vandellas
2000s-present
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Roschelle Laughhunn
Martha & the Vandellas
1962–1964
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1967–1969
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Lois Reeves
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
2010–present
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Delphine Reeves
Discography
For a detailed listing of albums and singles, see Martha and the Vandellas discography
Albums
Come and Get These Memories (1963)
Heat Wave (1963)
Dance Party (1965)
Greatest Hits (1966)
Watchout! (1966)
Martha and the Vandellas Live! (1967)
Ridin' High (1968)
Sugar 'n' Spice (1969)
Natural Resources (1970)
Black Magic (1972)
Top 10 singles
The following singles reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 song chart in the U.S.
"Heat Wave" (1963)
"Quicksand" (1963)
"Dancing in the Street" (1964)
"Nowhere to Run" (1965)
"I'm Ready for Love" (1966)
"Jimmy Mack" (1967)
Awards and recognition
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas' "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame and were both included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
They were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 becoming just the second all-female group to be inducted and the fifth group in the Motown roster to be inducted.
They were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.
They were nominated for a Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 1964 for their hit song "Heat Wave"
"Dancing in the Street" was included in the United States Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for its historical, artistic and cultural significance in 2006.
References
External links
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame page on Martha and the Vandellas
'Martha and the Vandellas' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
History of Rock page on Martha and the Vandellas
The Original Vandellas (Rosalind Ashford-Holmes & Annette Beard-Helton) page
Martha and the Vandellas History, Charts and Songs
Martha & The Vandellas at Doo Wop Heaven
Martha & The Vandellas bio on the Soulwalking U.K. website.
African-American girl groups
American soul musical groups
Motown artists
Musical groups from Detroit
Northern soul musicians
1957 establishments in Michigan
Musical groups disestablished in 1972
Singers from Detroit | true | [
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"Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.",
"The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Glo... |
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"Martha and the Vandellas",
"Motown major hit years (1962-1968)",
"What happened during motown major hit years?",
"Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team,",
"What happene... | C_1183ad7f6a684fc28b80ad594e48035d_0 | Did the group grow apart after she left? | 9 | Did Martha and the Vandellas grow apart after Annette left to get married and have a child? | Martha and the Vandellas | Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. (On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.) The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise. The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at #21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at #4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history. Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. CANNOTANSWER | Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise. | Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.
An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Gloria Williams, the group eventually included Martha Reeves, who moved up in ranks as lead vocalist of the group after Williams' departure in 1962. The group signed with and eventually recorded all of their singles for Motown's Gordy imprint.
The group's string of hits included "Come and Get These Memories", "Heat Wave", "Quicksand", "Nowhere to Run", "Jimmy Mack", "I'm Ready for Love", "Bless You" and "Dancing in the Street", the latter song becoming their signature single.
During their nine-year run on the charts from 1963 to 1972, Martha and the Vandellas charted over twenty-six hits and recorded in the styles of doo-wop, R&B, pop, blues, rock and roll and soul. Ten Vandellas songs reached the top ten of the Billboard R&B singles chart, including two R&B number ones, and six Top Ten Pop Hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Selected members of the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.
History
Early years (1957–1962)
Teenagers Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard first became acquainted after a local music manager hired them to be members of a girl group he named the Del-Phis. Ashford, Beard, and lead vocalist Gloria Williams, performed at local clubs, private events, church benefits, YMCA events and school functions. They were also being coached by Maxine Powell at Detroit's Ferris Center. One of the group's first professional engagements was singing background for singer Mike Hanks.
The group originally had up to six members, subsequently reduced to four. When one of the four left the group, she was replaced by Alabama-born vocalist Martha Reeves, a former member of two groups, the Fascinations and the Sabre-Ettes. In 1960, the group signed their first recording contract with Checker Records, releasing the Reeves-led "I'll Let You Know," which flopped. The Del-Phis then went to Checkmate Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records, recording their "There He Is (At My Door)" featuring Williams on lead vocals, which also flopped.
Reeves reverted to a solo artist under the name Martha LaVaille in the hope of getting a contract with emerging Detroit label Motown. After Motown staffer Mickey Stevenson saw Reeves singing at a Detroit club, he offered her an audition. Reeves showed up at Motown's Hitsville USA studios on a Tuesday rather than Thursday, Motown's usual audition day. Initially upset with Reeves, Stevenson soon assigned her as his secretary eventually responsible for handling Motown's auditions. By 1961, the group, now known as The Vels, were recording background vocals for Motown acts. Prior to her success as lead singer of The Elgins, Sandra Edwards (then going by her surname Maulett) recorded the song "Camel Walk", in 1962, which featured the Vels in background vocals. That year, the quartet began applying background vocals for emerging Motown star Marvin Gaye, singing on Gaye's first hit single, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" After Mary Wells failed to make a scheduled recording session feigning a short illness, the Vels recorded what was initially a demo recording of "I'll Have to Let Him Go". Motown was so impressed by the group's vocals – and Martha's lead vocals in the song – that the label CEO Berry Gordy offered to give the group a contract. Figuring that being in show business was too rigorous, Williams opted out of the group. With Williams out, the remaining trio of Ashford, Beard and Reeves were told by Gordy that they would need a new name. After failing to come up with a name on their own, Gordy gave the group the name The Vandellas. As stated in an interview with The History Makers, Ashford emphatically states that contrary to popular belief, The Vandellas were not named after Della Reese and Van Dyke Avenue, nor did Reeves come up with the name.
Motown major hit years (1962–1968)
Following their signing to Motown's Gordy imprint in 1962, the Vandellas struck gold with their second release, the first composition and production from the famed writing team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, titled "Come and Get These Memories". It became the Vandellas' first Top 40 recording, reaching number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number six on the R&B chart. Their second hit, "Heat Wave", became a phenomenal record for the group, reaching number four on the Hot 100 and hitting number one on the R&B singles chart for five weeks. It became their first million-seller and eventually got the group their only Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance. On the single and album, the song was titled "Heat Wave". It was sometime later that the song was retitled to avoid confusion with the Irving Berlin song.
The group's success continued with their second Top Ten single and third Top 40 single, "Quicksand", which was another composition with Holland-Dozier-Holland and reached number eight pop in the late fall of 1963. Around that time, Annette, who was pregnant with her first child and set to get married, chose to leave her singing career behind by 1964. Betty Kelley, formerly of the Velvelettes, was brought in shortly afterward to continue the Vandellas' rise.
The next two singles, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room" (#6 R&B Cashbox) were less successful singles, failing to reach the Pop Top 40. However, their next single, "Dancing in the Street", rose up to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also found global success, peaking at No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. In 1969, "Dancing in the Street" was re-issued and it was plugged heavily on radio stations. It did not take long for the song to peak at No. 4 in the UK, thus making the song one of the all-time favourite Motown single releases ever. The song became a million-seller, and one of the most played singles in history.
Between 1964 and 1967, singles like "Wild One" (US #34), "Nowhere to Run" (US #8; UK #26), "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" (US #70; R&B #22), "You've Been in Love Too Long" (US #36), "My Baby Loves Me" (US #22; R&B #3), "I'm Ready for Love" (US #9; R&B #2; UK #29) and "Jimmy Mack" (US #10; R&B #1; UK #21) kept the Vandellas on the map as one of the label's top acts. The Vandellas' popularity helped the group get spots on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand and Shindig!. Throughout this period, the Vandellas had also become one of the label's most popular performing acts. On June 28, 1965, the group appeared with several other popular acts of the period on CBS-TV's Murray The K-It's What's Happening, Baby. Martha, Rosalind and Betty performed "Nowhere to Run," as they skipped through a Ford auto plant and sat in a Ford Mustang convertible as it's being assembled.
Personnel changes
Motown struggled to find good material for many of their acts after the exit of Motown contributor and Reeves' mentor William "Mickey" Stevenson in 1967 and Holland–Dozier–Holland in early 1968, but after their former collaborators left the label, the Vandellas initially continued to find success with the Richard Morris-produced singles "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" (US #25; R&B #14) and "Honey Chile" (US #11; UK #30; R&B #5) added to their already extended list of charted singles. In the summer of 1968, the group joined The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye in performing at the Copacabana though much like albums from the Four Tops and Gaye, a live album of their performance there was shelved indefinitely.
That same year, label changes had started to take effect, and Gordy focused much of his attention on building the Supremes' as well as Diana Ross' burgeoning upcoming solo career that would follow in 1970. The Vandellas' chart performance (and the chart performance of many Motown acts with the exception of Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder) suffered as a result.
However it was the infighting among the members of the Vandellas that led to their problems. Kelley was the first to be let go after reportedly missing shows, as well as getting into altercations with Reeves. There were many instances where these "fights" happened on stage. Kelley was fired in 1967 and was replaced by Martha Reeves' sister Lois. Simultaneously, the group's name was officially changed to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, to conform with the company's recent changes of The Supremes' and The Miracles' names to reflect their featured lead singers. During this time, Vandellas records including "(We've Got) Honey Love", "Sweet Darlin'" and "Taking My Love and Leaving Me" were issued as singles with diminishing success.
"Bless You" (1969–1972)
Reeves, out of the group temporarily due to illness, recovered and returned; Ashford was replaced by another former member of the Velvelettes, Sandra Tilley, and the group continued to release albums and singles into the early 1970s. Although they could not reignite the fire they had made in America they continued to have successful records the UK and abroad. Among their late 1960s hits was "I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing", which featured singer Syreeta Wright singing the chorus, and peaked at number forty-two. Reeves reportedly hated singing the song sensing it "close to home". In 1969 a reissue of "Nowhere To Run" reached the top 40 in the UK. In 1970, the group issued Motown's first protest single, the controversial anti-war song, "I Should Be Proud", which peaked at a modest forty-five on the R&B singles chart. The song was uncharacteristic of the Vandellas and did nothing to promote the group. On some stations, the flip-side "Love, Guess Who" was played instead, however the group reached the top 20 that year in the UK with a reissue of "Jimmy Mack".
In 1971, the group scored a top 11 hit in the UK with "Forget Me Not". later that year they scored an international hit with "Bless You" (produced by the Jackson 5's producers The Corporation). The song peaked at number fifty-three on the American pop singles chart (the biggest peak of Vandellas' seventies singles in the US), and number twenty-nine on the R&B singles chart. "Bless You" reached number thirty-three in the UK giving the group two big hits that year in England. . "Bless You" reached number 16 in Canada and went all the way to number 2 in Puerto Rico . It was to be the last Billboard Hot 100 hit single for the group. After two successive Top 40 R&B singles, the ballad "In and Out of My Life" (#22 US R&B) and the Marvin Gaye cover, "Tear It On Down" (#37 US R&B), the group disbanded following a farewell concert, held at Detroit's Cobo Hall on December 21, 1972, but Martha Reeves is still often billed as ‘Martha Reeves& The Vandellas’.
The next year, Reeves announced plans of starting a solo career. At the same time, Motown Records moved its operations to Los Angeles. When Reeves did not want to move, she negotiated out of her contract with Motown, signing with MCA in 1974, and releasing the critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, Martha Reeves. Despite rave reviews of her work, neither of Reeves' post-Vandellas/Motown recordings produced the same success as they had the decade before. After living what she called "a rock & roll lifestyle" of prescription pills, cocaine and alcohol, Reeves sobered up in 1977, overcoming her addictions and becoming a born-again Christian.
Epilogue
After the Vandellas' split, Reeves' sister Lois sang with the group Quiet Elegance and sang background for Al Green, while Tilley retired from show business in the late 1970s, suddenly dying of a brain aneurysm in 1981 at the age of thirty-eight. Original member Gloria Williams, who retired from show business when she left the group, died in 2000. In 1978, Reeves and original Vandellas Ashford and Beard reunited at a Los Angeles benefit concert for actor Will Geer. In 1983, Reeves successfully sued for royalties from her Motown hits and the label agreed to have the songs credited as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas from then on. That year, Reeves performed solo at Motown 25, which alongside some of their songs being placed on the Big Chill soundtrack, helped Reeves and the Vandellas gain a new audience. In 1989, original members Ashford and Beard also sued Motown for royalties. During this time, the original trio were inspired to reunite both as a recording act and in performances. They were offered a recording contract with Ian Levine at Motorcity Records who issued the group's first single since the Vandellas disbanded seventeen years earlier called "Step Into My Shoes."
Although they are no longer singing together full-time, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas have occasionally reunited for various concerts. Currently, Ashford, whose full name now is Rosalind Ashford-Holmes, and Beard, whose full name now is Annette Beard-Helton, continue to perform with other singers, most notably Roschelle Laughhunn, as "The Original Vandellas." Reeves, with her sisters Lois and Delphine Reeves, tour as "Martha Reeves and the Vandellas."
From 2005 to 2009, Reeves held the eighth seat of Detroit's city council. She has since lost her seat and told the press that she would continue performing.
A remake of the song "Nowhere To Run," sung by Arnold McCuller, is heard in the film "The Warriors" during the scene in which the Gramercy Riffs call a hit on the Warriors.
In a Season One episode of the television show The Golden Girls, Blanche described her car as the "noisiest thing to come out of Detroit since Martha & The Vandellas.".
Candice Bergen, who hosted the Saturday Night Live episode on which Martha Reeves appeared in its inaugural season, made sure that Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were a presence throughout her "Murphy Brown" series. The group's picture was displayed prominently in Murphy's office. When Aretha Franklin guest starred and Murphy tried to sing with her, Franklin stopped her, saying, ". . .I'm not Martha, and you ain't no Vandella."
The group is briefly portrayed in the 2017 film Detroit, performing "Nowhere To Run" at the Fox Theatre, Detroit.
Awards and accolades
Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (they were nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for the song in 1964). In 1993, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were awarded the Pioneer Award by the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. Except for pre-Vandellas member Gloria Williamson and Vandellas member Sandra Tilley, all members of the group were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming the second all-female group to be inducted. They were inducted by rock group The B-52's, whose frothy dance music was inspired by the Vandellas. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. Two of their singles, "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the group No. 96 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2005, Martha & The Vandellas were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
Always concert favorites, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were nominated for UK Festival Awards in 2010 and 2011 as "Best Headliner."
Martha and the Vandellas was inducted into the inaugural class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State University August 2013
Lineups
The Del-Phis
1957–1962
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Gloria Williams
Martha & the Vandellas
1964–1967
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Betty Kelly
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1969–1972
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Sandra Tilley
The Original Vandellas
2000s-present
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Roschelle Laughhunn
Martha & the Vandellas
1962–1964
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Annette Beard-Helton
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
1967–1969
Martha Reeves
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
Lois Reeves
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
2010–present
Martha Reeves
Lois Reeves
Delphine Reeves
Discography
For a detailed listing of albums and singles, see Martha and the Vandellas discography
Albums
Come and Get These Memories (1963)
Heat Wave (1963)
Dance Party (1965)
Greatest Hits (1966)
Watchout! (1966)
Martha and the Vandellas Live! (1967)
Ridin' High (1968)
Sugar 'n' Spice (1969)
Natural Resources (1970)
Black Magic (1972)
Top 10 singles
The following singles reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 song chart in the U.S.
"Heat Wave" (1963)
"Quicksand" (1963)
"Dancing in the Street" (1964)
"Nowhere to Run" (1965)
"I'm Ready for Love" (1966)
"Jimmy Mack" (1967)
Awards and recognition
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas' "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame and were both included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
They were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 becoming just the second all-female group to be inducted and the fifth group in the Motown roster to be inducted.
They were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.
They were nominated for a Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 1964 for their hit song "Heat Wave"
"Dancing in the Street" was included in the United States Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for its historical, artistic and cultural significance in 2006.
References
External links
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame page on Martha and the Vandellas
'Martha and the Vandellas' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
History of Rock page on Martha and the Vandellas
The Original Vandellas (Rosalind Ashford-Holmes & Annette Beard-Helton) page
Martha and the Vandellas History, Charts and Songs
Martha & The Vandellas at Doo Wop Heaven
Martha & The Vandellas bio on the Soulwalking U.K. website.
African-American girl groups
American soul musical groups
Motown artists
Musical groups from Detroit
Northern soul musicians
1957 establishments in Michigan
Musical groups disestablished in 1972
Singers from Detroit | true | [
"Erica Alicia Grow-Cei (born March 15, 1980) is an American meteorologist and television reporter who is on PIX 11 News for New York City.\n\nEarly life\nErica Grow was born and raised in Bethlehem in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. She graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteoro... | [
"Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.",
"The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Glo... |
[
"Nomeansno",
"Early years as two-piece, Mama (1979-1982)"
] | C_0c375df1b7874f38a2530ccfccb1d6e1_1 | where did the group first come together | 1 | where did the group Nomeansno come together | Nomeansno | In 1979 and at age 25, Rob Wright returned to his family's home in Victoria after studying in Calgary. His younger brother John, eight years his junior, played drums in the school jazz band. They were inspired to play punk rock after seeing D.O.A. perform at the University of Victoria. The two began rehearsing in their parents' basement in 1979, and took the name Nomeansno from an anti-date rape slogan. They also briefly gigged as the rhythm section for the local cover band Castle. Nomeansno recorded its earliest material in the months that followed on a TASCAM four-track recorder, with Rob playing electric guitar and bass, John playing keyboards and drums, and both brothers singing. Some of these recordings were issued as their first two self-released 7"s, the "Look, Here Come the Wormies / SS Social Service" single (a 1980 split with another short-lived Wright brothers project, Mass Appeal), and the Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred EP of 1981. The brothers began performing live as a bass-and-drums duo in 1981. Their sound developed without a guitar, and John Wright later reflected on these developments: ...without a guitar player you can't rely on the standard hooks that punk rock and rock n' roll in general relies on. The guitar player - the guitar god quote unquote - was such a focus for so long that by the nature of not having a guitar player, the bass and the drums have to do a lot more. It also makes the vocals more important, or at least it makes a lot more room for the vocals. You don't have guitar solos, you don't have the wash of high end. And the things you do on the drums are different, if you just did a straight four beat on the drums it would get kinda dull after awhile. It isn't as though bass guitar hasn't been a prominent instrument at times in other bands but it made us approach things differently, our song structure couldn't just be verse-chorus-verse. It had everything to do with how our sound got off to a unique start. Some of the songs they played in this period were released on the Mama LP of 1982, which was self-released in a limited pressing. Writing for Trouser Press, critic Ira Robbins described Mama and the early 7"s as "Devo on a jazz trip, Motorhead after art school, or Wire on psychotic steroids." This same year, John Wright also joined the Victoria punk band The Infamous Scientists. CANNOTANSWER | rehearsing in their parents' basement in 1979, | Nomeansno (sometimes stylized as NoMeansNo or spelled No Means No) was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They issued 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, as well as numerous EPs and singles. Critic Martin Popoff described their music as "the mightiest merger between the hateful aggression of punk and the discipline of heavy metal." Nomeansno's distinct hardcore punk sound, complex instrumentation, and dark, "savagely intelligent" lyrics inspired subsequent musicians. They are often considered foundational in the punk jazz and post-hardcore movements, and have been cited as a formative influence on the math rock and emo genres.
Formed in 1979 by brothers Rob and John Wright, the group began as a two-piece punk band influenced by jazz and progressive rock. They self-released their debut Mama LP in 1982. Adding guitarist Andy Kerr the following year, the group signed with the Alternative Tentacles imprint and continued to expand their audience. Kerr departed in 1992 after five LPs with the band, and the group returned to its two-piece formation for the Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? album.
Guitarist Tom Holliston, and briefly second drummer Ken Kempster, joined in 1993, and Nomeansno continued touring and recording extensively while operating their own Wrong Records label. After three further LPs, they left Alternative Tentacles and issued their final album, All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt, in 2006. They were inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2015, and announced their retirement the following year.
History
Early years as two-piece, Mama (1979–1982)
In 1979 and at age 25, Rob Wright returned to his family's home in Victoria after studying in Calgary. John Wright, Rob's younger brother by eight years, played drums in the school jazz band, and the two were inspired to play punk rock after seeing D.O.A. perform at the University of Victoria. They began rehearsing in their parents' basement in 1979, and took the name Nomeansno from an anti-date rape slogan. They also briefly gigged as the rhythm section for the local cover band Castle.
Nomeansno recorded its earliest material in the months that followed on a TASCAM four-track recorder, with Rob playing electric guitar and bass, John playing keyboards and drums, and both brothers singing. Some of these recordings were issued as their first two self-released 7"s, the "Look, Here Come the Wormies / SS Social Service" single (a 1980 split with Mass Appeal, whose recording lineup featured both Wright Brothers), and the Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred EP of 1981.
The brothers began performing live as a bass-and-drums duo in 1981. Their sound developed without a guitar, and John Wright later reflected on these developments:
Some of the songs they played in this period were released on the Mama LP, which was self-released in a limited pressing in 1982. Writing for Trouser Press, critic Ira Robbins described Mama and the early 7"s as "Devo on a jazz trip, Motörhead after art school, or Wire on psychotic steroids." This same year, John Wright also joined the Victoria punk band The Infamous Scientists.
With Andy Kerr, You Kill Me, Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed (1983–1989)
The Infamous Scientists disbanded in 1983, and their guitarist and vocalist Andy Kerr joined Nomeansno several months later. Kerr brought a distinct hardcore punk edge to Nomeansno's sound, creating a buzz-saw guitar tone by playing through a Fender Bassman amplifier and a P.A. speaker. Nomeansno became a fixture in the British Columbia punk scene despite playing music that did not always conform to punk rock standards. The You Kill Me EP in 1985 on the Undergrowth Records imprint exhibited their experimental sound on dark and ponderous songs like "Body Bag" and a cover of "Manic Depression" by Jimi Hendrix. The three also began performing Ramones covers and more traditional punk music as The Hanson Brothers, a side project that would later receive more of their attention.
Issued initially by the Montreal punk label Psyche Industry, the band released Sex Mad, their second LP and first with Kerr. The album further expanded the band's experimental and progressive punk sound, yielding the single "Dad". The song was a minor college radio hit, which AllMusic reviewer Adam Bregman called "a bit chilling, even though it's spit out at slam-pit's pace". Kerr, the song's lead vocalist, increasingly became responsible for lead vocals as Rob Wright suffered from nodules on his vocal cords.
They soon signed with the seminal punk rock label Alternative Tentacles, run by Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys. This, along with frequent touring in North America and Europe, helped the band to garner a larger audience. In 1988, the group issued two releases recorded with producer Cecil English: The Day Everything Became Nothing EP and the Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed album. Alternative Tentacles compiled the two together on a single CD, The Day Everything Became Isolated and Destroyed. AllMusic reviewer Sean Carruthers called the experimental recordings "less aggressive" than, but nonetheless worthy of, the band's previous efforts.
Wrong, 0 + 2 = 1, Kerr's departure (1989–1992)
Rob Wright's vocal cords began to heal, and he again began acting as the group's lead vocalist. In 1989, the band issued their fourth album, Wrong, to wide critical acclaim. For AllMusic, Carruthers wrote that "[t]he playing is incredibly skilled;" critic Martin Popoff in writing for The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal called Wrong the band's best album and rated the album 10 out of 10 points. The band's extensive touring in support of the record is documented in part on the Live + Cuddly album, recorded in Holland in 1990. John Wright later reported that circa 1990 the band became profitable enough that "we didn't have to have day jobs."
The band released a collaborative LP with Biafra, The Sky Is Falling and I Want My Mommy, in 1991. Shortly thereafter, they issued 0 + 2 = 1, their fifth album and final release with Kerr. In a mixed review, AllMusic critic Adam Bregman praised 0 + 2 = 1 for its finer moments, but was concerned by its overall length and ponderousness.
Kerr departed the band after touring in support of the record and emigrated to the Netherlands. He went on to release two LPs with Hissanol, a collaboration with Scott Henderson of Shovlhed. He subsequently released a solo album in 1997 before forming the duo Two Pin Din with Wilf Plum of Dog Faced Hermans in 2005.
Side projects, Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? (1992–1993)
The Wright brothers had begun to focus on their side project, The Hanson Brothers. Dressing as a mock group of backward Canadian ice hockey players and fans, they derived the band's name and personae from a group of characters in the 1977 George Roy Hill film Slap Shot starring Paul Newman. With John acting as lead vocalist, the Wright brothers were joined by guitarist Tom Holliston of the Showbusiness Giants and drummer Ken Jensen of D.O.A. With encouragement from Alternative Tentacles to record an LP, The Hanson Brothers issued the Gross Misconduct album in 1992.
The Wright brothers also remained active with other endeavors. Rob Wright began performing as a solo artist under the name Mr. Wrong, appearing as a character dressed as an authoritarian priest. John Wright became a member of D.O.A. for several years. The brothers also continued to expand Wrong Records, their own imprint.
In 1993, the brothers assembled material for a sixth Nomeansno LP and recorded Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? as a duo. AllMusic critic Ned Raggett later praised the album's balance, arguing that it reached dark and sinister depths while also exhibiting subtler and more introspective moments. The Wrights also compiled the collection Mr. Right & Mr. Wrong: One Down & Two to Go, comprising early demos, studio outtakes, and additional material, which was released on Wrong the following year.
With Tom Holliston, Worldhood of the World (As Such), Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie (1993–1999)
For touring in support of Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?, Nomeansno assembled their first four-piece lineup, completed by Hanson Brothers guitarist Holliston and second drummer Ken Kempster. Holliston replaced Kerr as their full-time guitarist, while Kempster went on to tour sporadically with Nomeansno over the next four years.
The first Nomeansno album to feature Holliston was The Worldhood of the World (As Such), released in 1995. Receiving its title from philosopher Martin Heidegger's seminal text Being and Time, the album featured simpler and more melodic songs than its predecessors while nonetheless retaining the band's "taste for blood and gristle." After focusing briefly on the Hanson Brothers and releasing their second LP, Sudden Death, Nomeansno followed with the EPs Would We Be Alive? and In the Fishtank 1, each featuring a cover of "Would We Be Alive?" by The Residents.
Their eighth studio album, the double LP Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie, was released in 1998. The album featured some of the band's longest songs, including its title track. The album received mixed, but generally positive, reviews. In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Tom Schulte praised the album in its experimental tone as "dark and unforgettable, poignant and cutting." A critic writing for The A.V. Club, however, dismissed the album as "dull, meandering punk" and likened the band pejoratively to Rush.
One, All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt (2000–2006)
The band issued its final Alternative Tentacles album, One, in 2000. Featuring a slow stoner rock cover of The Ramones's "Beat on the Brat" and a fifteen-minute version of Miles Davis's "Bitches Brew" with electric piano and congas, the album was well received. AllMusic's Schulte assessed the album as "intense and heavy collegiate punk" as praised it as the band's finest effort since Wrong. Three outtakes from the album were also issued as the Generic Shame EP on Wrong.
The band left Alternative Tentacles in 2002, and began slowly reissuing their back catalogue through Wrong and distributors Southern Records. With new drummer Ernie Hawkins, The Hanson Brothers released their third album, My Game, later that year. Nomeansno continued touring extensively, but ultimately took six years to release their next album. In the meantime, they issued the best-of compilation The People's Choice.
Their tenth studio album, All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt, was released on August 22, 2006, by AntAcidAudio in the United States and Southern in Europe. AllMusic critic Jo-Ann Greene praised the album's exhausting diversity as befitting of the band's legacy and career-spanning accomplishments. Greene wrote that with the record Nomeansno travel "yet again through the undergrowth and underbelly of the rock realm, and with all the piss and vinegar that they started out with a quarter century ago."
Later years, retirement (2007–2016)
The band toured frequently in the years that followed, but ceased recording albums. Fang drummer Mike Branum joined The Hanson Brothers in 2008. In 2010, Nomeansno digitally released outtakes and demos from the 0 + 2 = 1 sessions as 0 + 2 = 1 ½. They next released two four-track EPs, Tour EP 1 (alternatively known as Old) and Tour EP 2 (alternatively Jubilation). They continued performing live through 2013, and toured as The Hanson Brothers in the following year with Byron Slack on drums, but entered a hiatus thereafter.
Holliston continued to perform with The Showbusiness Giants and release solo albums, while John Wright began working as musical director for the all-robot rock band Compressorhead. In 2015, Nomeansno was inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame. They played an acoustic set at the awards ceremony, and a Ramones cover set (with Slack on drums) on New Year's Eve, which became their final public appearances. Holliston announced his departure from the band in August 2016. On September 24, John Wright announced the band's official retirement.
In 2021, Wrong was named the public vote winner of the Polaris Heritage Prize at the 2021 Polaris Music Prize.
Band members
Rob Wright – bass, vocals, guitar (1979–2016)
John Wright – drums, vocals, keyboards (1979–2016)
Andy Kerr – guitar, vocals, bass (1983–1992)
Tom Holliston – guitar, vocals (1993–2016)
Ken Kempster – drums (1993–1997)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
Mama (1982)
Sex Mad (1986)
Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed (1988)
Wrong (1989)
0 + 2 = 1 (1991)
Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? (1993)
The Worldhood of the World (As Such) (1995)
Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie (1998)
One (2000)
All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt (2006)
Collaborative albums
The Sky Is Falling and I Want My Mommy (with Jello Biafra) (1991)
Live albums
Live + Cuddly (1991)
EPs
Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred (1981)
You Kill Me (1985)
The Day Everything Became Nothing (1988)
The Power of Positive Thinking (1990)
Would We Be Alive? (1996)
In the Fishtank 1 (1996)
Generic Shame (2001)
Tour EP 1 (2010)
Tour EP 2 (2010)
Singles
"Look, Here Come the Wormies / SS Social Service" (split with Mass Appeal) (1980)
"Dad/Revenge" (1987)
"Oh, Canaduh" (1991)
Compilations
The Day Everything Became Isolated and Destroyed (1988)
Sex Mad/You Kill Me (1991)
Mr. Right & Mr. Wrong: One Down & Two to Go (1994)
The People's Choice (2004)
0 + 2 = 1 ½ (2010)
Bootlegs
Live at the Paradiso Amsterdam – bootleg – VPRO Radio station recording (1988)
Live in Warsaw – bootleg cassette (1990)
Sasquatch – The Man, The Myth, The Compilation – includes cover tracks "I Don't Care" and "Glad All Over" (1991)
Where are they now file - live compilation, includes "I Want it All" (1991)
The Infamous Scientist 45" – bootleg 7" (1993)
Leave the Seaside – live bootleg 7" (1994)
Compilation appearances
It Came from the Pit (1986)
Random Thought: A Victoria Sampler (Volumes 1 & 2) – includes, "Getting Colder", "Burn" and "Love Thang" (1986)
Oops! Wrong Stereotype (Alternative Tentacles compilation) (1988)
Terminal City Ricochet (soundtrack Terminal City Ricochet movie) (1990)
Clam Chowder & Ice Vs. Big Macs and Bombers (1992)
Virus 100 (a cappella version of Dead Kennedys song, "Forward to Death") (1992)
Over a Century of Vivisection and Anti-Vivisection (How Much Longer?) – Includes the 1981 Mama outtake, "No Means No" (1992)
The Making of Allied One Two Three (1995)
Basement Tapes: A KSPC Compilation of Live Recordings – includes "I Don't Want To Go Down To The Basement" (1995)
Short Music for Short People (1999)
Sex With Nothing (2002)
Fubar: The Album (2002)
All Your Ears Can Hear (2007)
Videography
Would We Be...Live? (Live footage of Nomeansno and The Hanson Brothers, filmed in London, on DVD) (2004)
We Played At Squats (Portrait about Nomeansno and The Hanson Brothers, produced in Austria, on DVD) (2014)
See also
List of bands from Canada
References
External links
Nomeansno discography
1979 establishments in British Columbia
2016 disestablishments in British Columbia
Alternative Tentacles artists
Musical groups established in 1979
Musical groups disestablished in 2016
Musical groups from Vancouver
Canadian hardcore punk groups
Canadian post-hardcore musical groups
Sibling musical groups | true | [
"Where Did Our Love Go is the second studio album by Motown singing group The Supremes, released in 1964. The album includes several of the group's singles and B-sides from 1963 and 1964. Included are the group's first Billboard Pop Singles number-one hits, \"Where Did Our Love Go\", \"Baby Love\", and \"Come See A... | [
"Nomeansno (sometimes stylized as NoMeansNo or spelled No Means No) was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They issued 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, as well as numerous EPs and singles.",
"They issued 11 albums, includin... |
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"Nomeansno",
"Early years as two-piece, Mama (1979-1982)",
"where did the group first come together",
"rehearsing in their parents' basement in 1979,",
"did school cause the breakup",
"I don't know.",
"did any members leave on good terms",
"I don't know."
] | C_0c375df1b7874f38a2530ccfccb1d6e1_1 | Did they ever try other forms of music | 4 | Besides Nomeansno's original sound, did Nomeansno ever try other forms of music | Nomeansno | In 1979 and at age 25, Rob Wright returned to his family's home in Victoria after studying in Calgary. His younger brother John, eight years his junior, played drums in the school jazz band. They were inspired to play punk rock after seeing D.O.A. perform at the University of Victoria. The two began rehearsing in their parents' basement in 1979, and took the name Nomeansno from an anti-date rape slogan. They also briefly gigged as the rhythm section for the local cover band Castle. Nomeansno recorded its earliest material in the months that followed on a TASCAM four-track recorder, with Rob playing electric guitar and bass, John playing keyboards and drums, and both brothers singing. Some of these recordings were issued as their first two self-released 7"s, the "Look, Here Come the Wormies / SS Social Service" single (a 1980 split with another short-lived Wright brothers project, Mass Appeal), and the Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred EP of 1981. The brothers began performing live as a bass-and-drums duo in 1981. Their sound developed without a guitar, and John Wright later reflected on these developments: ...without a guitar player you can't rely on the standard hooks that punk rock and rock n' roll in general relies on. The guitar player - the guitar god quote unquote - was such a focus for so long that by the nature of not having a guitar player, the bass and the drums have to do a lot more. It also makes the vocals more important, or at least it makes a lot more room for the vocals. You don't have guitar solos, you don't have the wash of high end. And the things you do on the drums are different, if you just did a straight four beat on the drums it would get kinda dull after awhile. It isn't as though bass guitar hasn't been a prominent instrument at times in other bands but it made us approach things differently, our song structure couldn't just be verse-chorus-verse. It had everything to do with how our sound got off to a unique start. Some of the songs they played in this period were released on the Mama LP of 1982, which was self-released in a limited pressing. Writing for Trouser Press, critic Ira Robbins described Mama and the early 7"s as "Devo on a jazz trip, Motorhead after art school, or Wire on psychotic steroids." This same year, John Wright also joined the Victoria punk band The Infamous Scientists. CANNOTANSWER | The brothers began performing live as a bass-and-drums duo in 1981. | Nomeansno (sometimes stylized as NoMeansNo or spelled No Means No) was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They issued 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, as well as numerous EPs and singles. Critic Martin Popoff described their music as "the mightiest merger between the hateful aggression of punk and the discipline of heavy metal." Nomeansno's distinct hardcore punk sound, complex instrumentation, and dark, "savagely intelligent" lyrics inspired subsequent musicians. They are often considered foundational in the punk jazz and post-hardcore movements, and have been cited as a formative influence on the math rock and emo genres.
Formed in 1979 by brothers Rob and John Wright, the group began as a two-piece punk band influenced by jazz and progressive rock. They self-released their debut Mama LP in 1982. Adding guitarist Andy Kerr the following year, the group signed with the Alternative Tentacles imprint and continued to expand their audience. Kerr departed in 1992 after five LPs with the band, and the group returned to its two-piece formation for the Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? album.
Guitarist Tom Holliston, and briefly second drummer Ken Kempster, joined in 1993, and Nomeansno continued touring and recording extensively while operating their own Wrong Records label. After three further LPs, they left Alternative Tentacles and issued their final album, All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt, in 2006. They were inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2015, and announced their retirement the following year.
History
Early years as two-piece, Mama (1979–1982)
In 1979 and at age 25, Rob Wright returned to his family's home in Victoria after studying in Calgary. John Wright, Rob's younger brother by eight years, played drums in the school jazz band, and the two were inspired to play punk rock after seeing D.O.A. perform at the University of Victoria. They began rehearsing in their parents' basement in 1979, and took the name Nomeansno from an anti-date rape slogan. They also briefly gigged as the rhythm section for the local cover band Castle.
Nomeansno recorded its earliest material in the months that followed on a TASCAM four-track recorder, with Rob playing electric guitar and bass, John playing keyboards and drums, and both brothers singing. Some of these recordings were issued as their first two self-released 7"s, the "Look, Here Come the Wormies / SS Social Service" single (a 1980 split with Mass Appeal, whose recording lineup featured both Wright Brothers), and the Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred EP of 1981.
The brothers began performing live as a bass-and-drums duo in 1981. Their sound developed without a guitar, and John Wright later reflected on these developments:
Some of the songs they played in this period were released on the Mama LP, which was self-released in a limited pressing in 1982. Writing for Trouser Press, critic Ira Robbins described Mama and the early 7"s as "Devo on a jazz trip, Motörhead after art school, or Wire on psychotic steroids." This same year, John Wright also joined the Victoria punk band The Infamous Scientists.
With Andy Kerr, You Kill Me, Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed (1983–1989)
The Infamous Scientists disbanded in 1983, and their guitarist and vocalist Andy Kerr joined Nomeansno several months later. Kerr brought a distinct hardcore punk edge to Nomeansno's sound, creating a buzz-saw guitar tone by playing through a Fender Bassman amplifier and a P.A. speaker. Nomeansno became a fixture in the British Columbia punk scene despite playing music that did not always conform to punk rock standards. The You Kill Me EP in 1985 on the Undergrowth Records imprint exhibited their experimental sound on dark and ponderous songs like "Body Bag" and a cover of "Manic Depression" by Jimi Hendrix. The three also began performing Ramones covers and more traditional punk music as The Hanson Brothers, a side project that would later receive more of their attention.
Issued initially by the Montreal punk label Psyche Industry, the band released Sex Mad, their second LP and first with Kerr. The album further expanded the band's experimental and progressive punk sound, yielding the single "Dad". The song was a minor college radio hit, which AllMusic reviewer Adam Bregman called "a bit chilling, even though it's spit out at slam-pit's pace". Kerr, the song's lead vocalist, increasingly became responsible for lead vocals as Rob Wright suffered from nodules on his vocal cords.
They soon signed with the seminal punk rock label Alternative Tentacles, run by Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys. This, along with frequent touring in North America and Europe, helped the band to garner a larger audience. In 1988, the group issued two releases recorded with producer Cecil English: The Day Everything Became Nothing EP and the Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed album. Alternative Tentacles compiled the two together on a single CD, The Day Everything Became Isolated and Destroyed. AllMusic reviewer Sean Carruthers called the experimental recordings "less aggressive" than, but nonetheless worthy of, the band's previous efforts.
Wrong, 0 + 2 = 1, Kerr's departure (1989–1992)
Rob Wright's vocal cords began to heal, and he again began acting as the group's lead vocalist. In 1989, the band issued their fourth album, Wrong, to wide critical acclaim. For AllMusic, Carruthers wrote that "[t]he playing is incredibly skilled;" critic Martin Popoff in writing for The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal called Wrong the band's best album and rated the album 10 out of 10 points. The band's extensive touring in support of the record is documented in part on the Live + Cuddly album, recorded in Holland in 1990. John Wright later reported that circa 1990 the band became profitable enough that "we didn't have to have day jobs."
The band released a collaborative LP with Biafra, The Sky Is Falling and I Want My Mommy, in 1991. Shortly thereafter, they issued 0 + 2 = 1, their fifth album and final release with Kerr. In a mixed review, AllMusic critic Adam Bregman praised 0 + 2 = 1 for its finer moments, but was concerned by its overall length and ponderousness.
Kerr departed the band after touring in support of the record and emigrated to the Netherlands. He went on to release two LPs with Hissanol, a collaboration with Scott Henderson of Shovlhed. He subsequently released a solo album in 1997 before forming the duo Two Pin Din with Wilf Plum of Dog Faced Hermans in 2005.
Side projects, Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? (1992–1993)
The Wright brothers had begun to focus on their side project, The Hanson Brothers. Dressing as a mock group of backward Canadian ice hockey players and fans, they derived the band's name and personae from a group of characters in the 1977 George Roy Hill film Slap Shot starring Paul Newman. With John acting as lead vocalist, the Wright brothers were joined by guitarist Tom Holliston of the Showbusiness Giants and drummer Ken Jensen of D.O.A. With encouragement from Alternative Tentacles to record an LP, The Hanson Brothers issued the Gross Misconduct album in 1992.
The Wright brothers also remained active with other endeavors. Rob Wright began performing as a solo artist under the name Mr. Wrong, appearing as a character dressed as an authoritarian priest. John Wright became a member of D.O.A. for several years. The brothers also continued to expand Wrong Records, their own imprint.
In 1993, the brothers assembled material for a sixth Nomeansno LP and recorded Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? as a duo. AllMusic critic Ned Raggett later praised the album's balance, arguing that it reached dark and sinister depths while also exhibiting subtler and more introspective moments. The Wrights also compiled the collection Mr. Right & Mr. Wrong: One Down & Two to Go, comprising early demos, studio outtakes, and additional material, which was released on Wrong the following year.
With Tom Holliston, Worldhood of the World (As Such), Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie (1993–1999)
For touring in support of Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?, Nomeansno assembled their first four-piece lineup, completed by Hanson Brothers guitarist Holliston and second drummer Ken Kempster. Holliston replaced Kerr as their full-time guitarist, while Kempster went on to tour sporadically with Nomeansno over the next four years.
The first Nomeansno album to feature Holliston was The Worldhood of the World (As Such), released in 1995. Receiving its title from philosopher Martin Heidegger's seminal text Being and Time, the album featured simpler and more melodic songs than its predecessors while nonetheless retaining the band's "taste for blood and gristle." After focusing briefly on the Hanson Brothers and releasing their second LP, Sudden Death, Nomeansno followed with the EPs Would We Be Alive? and In the Fishtank 1, each featuring a cover of "Would We Be Alive?" by The Residents.
Their eighth studio album, the double LP Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie, was released in 1998. The album featured some of the band's longest songs, including its title track. The album received mixed, but generally positive, reviews. In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Tom Schulte praised the album in its experimental tone as "dark and unforgettable, poignant and cutting." A critic writing for The A.V. Club, however, dismissed the album as "dull, meandering punk" and likened the band pejoratively to Rush.
One, All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt (2000–2006)
The band issued its final Alternative Tentacles album, One, in 2000. Featuring a slow stoner rock cover of The Ramones's "Beat on the Brat" and a fifteen-minute version of Miles Davis's "Bitches Brew" with electric piano and congas, the album was well received. AllMusic's Schulte assessed the album as "intense and heavy collegiate punk" as praised it as the band's finest effort since Wrong. Three outtakes from the album were also issued as the Generic Shame EP on Wrong.
The band left Alternative Tentacles in 2002, and began slowly reissuing their back catalogue through Wrong and distributors Southern Records. With new drummer Ernie Hawkins, The Hanson Brothers released their third album, My Game, later that year. Nomeansno continued touring extensively, but ultimately took six years to release their next album. In the meantime, they issued the best-of compilation The People's Choice.
Their tenth studio album, All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt, was released on August 22, 2006, by AntAcidAudio in the United States and Southern in Europe. AllMusic critic Jo-Ann Greene praised the album's exhausting diversity as befitting of the band's legacy and career-spanning accomplishments. Greene wrote that with the record Nomeansno travel "yet again through the undergrowth and underbelly of the rock realm, and with all the piss and vinegar that they started out with a quarter century ago."
Later years, retirement (2007–2016)
The band toured frequently in the years that followed, but ceased recording albums. Fang drummer Mike Branum joined The Hanson Brothers in 2008. In 2010, Nomeansno digitally released outtakes and demos from the 0 + 2 = 1 sessions as 0 + 2 = 1 ½. They next released two four-track EPs, Tour EP 1 (alternatively known as Old) and Tour EP 2 (alternatively Jubilation). They continued performing live through 2013, and toured as The Hanson Brothers in the following year with Byron Slack on drums, but entered a hiatus thereafter.
Holliston continued to perform with The Showbusiness Giants and release solo albums, while John Wright began working as musical director for the all-robot rock band Compressorhead. In 2015, Nomeansno was inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame. They played an acoustic set at the awards ceremony, and a Ramones cover set (with Slack on drums) on New Year's Eve, which became their final public appearances. Holliston announced his departure from the band in August 2016. On September 24, John Wright announced the band's official retirement.
In 2021, Wrong was named the public vote winner of the Polaris Heritage Prize at the 2021 Polaris Music Prize.
Band members
Rob Wright – bass, vocals, guitar (1979–2016)
John Wright – drums, vocals, keyboards (1979–2016)
Andy Kerr – guitar, vocals, bass (1983–1992)
Tom Holliston – guitar, vocals (1993–2016)
Ken Kempster – drums (1993–1997)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
Mama (1982)
Sex Mad (1986)
Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed (1988)
Wrong (1989)
0 + 2 = 1 (1991)
Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? (1993)
The Worldhood of the World (As Such) (1995)
Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie (1998)
One (2000)
All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt (2006)
Collaborative albums
The Sky Is Falling and I Want My Mommy (with Jello Biafra) (1991)
Live albums
Live + Cuddly (1991)
EPs
Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred (1981)
You Kill Me (1985)
The Day Everything Became Nothing (1988)
The Power of Positive Thinking (1990)
Would We Be Alive? (1996)
In the Fishtank 1 (1996)
Generic Shame (2001)
Tour EP 1 (2010)
Tour EP 2 (2010)
Singles
"Look, Here Come the Wormies / SS Social Service" (split with Mass Appeal) (1980)
"Dad/Revenge" (1987)
"Oh, Canaduh" (1991)
Compilations
The Day Everything Became Isolated and Destroyed (1988)
Sex Mad/You Kill Me (1991)
Mr. Right & Mr. Wrong: One Down & Two to Go (1994)
The People's Choice (2004)
0 + 2 = 1 ½ (2010)
Bootlegs
Live at the Paradiso Amsterdam – bootleg – VPRO Radio station recording (1988)
Live in Warsaw – bootleg cassette (1990)
Sasquatch – The Man, The Myth, The Compilation – includes cover tracks "I Don't Care" and "Glad All Over" (1991)
Where are they now file - live compilation, includes "I Want it All" (1991)
The Infamous Scientist 45" – bootleg 7" (1993)
Leave the Seaside – live bootleg 7" (1994)
Compilation appearances
It Came from the Pit (1986)
Random Thought: A Victoria Sampler (Volumes 1 & 2) – includes, "Getting Colder", "Burn" and "Love Thang" (1986)
Oops! Wrong Stereotype (Alternative Tentacles compilation) (1988)
Terminal City Ricochet (soundtrack Terminal City Ricochet movie) (1990)
Clam Chowder & Ice Vs. Big Macs and Bombers (1992)
Virus 100 (a cappella version of Dead Kennedys song, "Forward to Death") (1992)
Over a Century of Vivisection and Anti-Vivisection (How Much Longer?) – Includes the 1981 Mama outtake, "No Means No" (1992)
The Making of Allied One Two Three (1995)
Basement Tapes: A KSPC Compilation of Live Recordings – includes "I Don't Want To Go Down To The Basement" (1995)
Short Music for Short People (1999)
Sex With Nothing (2002)
Fubar: The Album (2002)
All Your Ears Can Hear (2007)
Videography
Would We Be...Live? (Live footage of Nomeansno and The Hanson Brothers, filmed in London, on DVD) (2004)
We Played At Squats (Portrait about Nomeansno and The Hanson Brothers, produced in Austria, on DVD) (2014)
See also
List of bands from Canada
References
External links
Nomeansno discography
1979 establishments in British Columbia
2016 disestablishments in British Columbia
Alternative Tentacles artists
Musical groups established in 1979
Musical groups disestablished in 2016
Musical groups from Vancouver
Canadian hardcore punk groups
Canadian post-hardcore musical groups
Sibling musical groups | true | [
"Shambhavi School of Dance was established in 1993 at Kengeri, Bangalore in the state of Karnataka in India as a Gurukul of Indian classical dance and music. The Artistic Director of this school is Smt.Vyjayanthi Kashi who is an exponent in Kuchipudi dance form.\n\nActivities\n\nTo cultivate and nurture the culture... | [
"Nomeansno (sometimes stylized as NoMeansNo or spelled No Means No) was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They issued 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, as well as numerous EPs and singles.",
"They issued 11 albums, includin... |
[
"3 Doors Down",
"Continued success: 2005-2010"
] | C_61f7b6bfa43f4590b3b5f6583174f11a_0 | What albums were released bewteen 2005-2010? | 1 | What albums for 3 Doors Down were released between 2005-2010? | 3 Doors Down | By 2005, the band had sold 12 million albums. The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has been certified platinum. Of the singles from it, "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlining many shows of their own. Later in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days. Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback. 3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song "In the Presence of the Lord" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration. The band recorded in 2009 a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs on December 8. Six of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of "Where my Christmas Lives". CANNOTANSWER | the band had sold 12 million albums. | 3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar). The band rose to international fame with their first single, "Kryptonite", which placed in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band then signed with Republic Records and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. The album was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. The group was later joined by drummer Richard Liles, who played during the tour for their first album.
The band's second album, Away from the Sun (2002), continued the band's success; it debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, went multi-platinum in the U.S. like its predecessor, and spawned the hits "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You". The band toured extensively for two years. Daniel Adair played drums on tour from 2002 to 2006. This configuration played nearly 1,000 shows across the world following the release of Away from the Sun. In 2005, Greg Upchurch (Puddle of Mudd) joined to play drums to replace Adair. 3 Doors Down released their third album, Seventeen Days, in 2005. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum within one month of release. The band continued their success with their next two albums, 3 Doors Down (2008) and Time of My Life (2011), debuting at No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the Billboard 200 chart. Their latest album, Us and the Night, was released in 2016; they were working on new material for a seventh studio album as of 2019.
The band has been primarily described as post-grunge and alternative rock, while occasionally crossing into hard rock, and Southern rock. Their lyrical content contains overarching themes of angst, rebellion, revenge, yearning, and abandonment. 3 Doors Down has sold 30 million copies worldwide.
Original guitarist Matt Roberts departed in 2012, owing to health issues. He was replaced by Chet Roberts, who was formerly Chris Henderson's guitar tech. Harrell was fired from the band in 2013 after being charged with vehicular homicide, and was replaced by bassist Justin Biltonen.
History
Formative years: 1996–1998
3 Doors Down initially consisted of Brad Arnold as the lead vocalist and drummer, Matt Roberts as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist, and Todd Harrell as the bass guitarist. The band began to tour outside Escatawpa, Mississippi, eventually coming up with their official name during a trip to Foley, Alabama. When the three were walking through the town, they saw a building where some letters had fallen off its sign, reading "Doors Down". Since the band consisted of three people at the time, they added the "3" to create "3 Doors Down". The cover of their 2011 album Time of My Life hints at the original number of band members (3) and current band members (5); the clock on the album cover reads 3:05.
A couple of years after performing together, Todd Harrell asked rhythm guitarist Chris Henderson to join the band in 1998. 3 Doors Down recorded a demo CD of their original songs at Lincoln Recording in Pascagoula, Mississippi. When the band gave the CD to local radio station WCPR-FM, they started playing the EP version of "Kryptonite" and it became the No. 1 requested song on the station for over 15 weeks. The station's program director sent the song to manager Phin Daly who in turn showed it to Bill McGathy, his employer at In De Goot Entertainment. The band was booked in New York to perform a showcase at the CBGB music club. Daly told HitQuarters: "Once they got on stage and started playing it was apparent the magic was in the music. So we moved to sign them."
Mainstream success: 1999–2004
3 Doors Down's first studio album, The Better Life, was released on February 8, 2000 and went on to become the 11th best-selling album of the year, selling over three million copies. It has since been certified 6x platinum, thanks in large part to the international hit singles, "Kryptonite", "Loser", and "Duck and Run". A fourth single, "Be Like That" was re-recorded for the 2001 film American Pie 2, with alternate lyrics for the first three lines; this version is known as the "American Pie 2 Edit". Whilst recording the album, Brad Arnold recorded both the vocal and drum tracks. The band hired drummer Richard Liles for the tour in support of The Better Life so that Arnold could perform at the front of the stage. Liles left in late 2001.
The band's second studio album, Away from the Sun, was released on November 12, 2002 and went platinum within two months of release. The album also produced singles, including "When I'm Gone", "Here Without You", and "The Road I'm On". The album has sold four million copies worldwide, including well over three million in the U.S. Session drummer Josh Freese was hired to record drums for the album. Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson produced and performed on three tracks for the record, "Dangerous Game", "Dead Love", and "Wasted Me", but only "Dangerous Game" would appear on the finished product. The band hired Canadian Daniel Adair to play drums for the Away From the Sun tour. He would go on to record the drums for the band's next studio release, and was with the band aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73) to film the music video "When I'm Gone".
In 2003, 3 Doors Down released a live EP entitled Another 700 Miles consisting of recordings from a live performance by the band in Chicago, Illinois. Another 700 Miles has since been certified Gold in the United States. In addition to featuring some of 3 Doors Down's hit singles from their previous two albums, the EP also contains a version of the popular 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd song "That Smell". The group toured with Nickelback in 2004.
In 2003, the band began hosting the annual "3 Doors Down and Friends" benefit concert, through the band's own charity The Better Life Foundation. In 2006, this event was held at the Mobile Convention Center, with proceeds benefiting Hurricane Katrina survivors. As residents of Escatawpa, the members of the band saw the effects of Katrina's devastation.
Continued success: 2005–2010
By 2005, the band had sold 12 million albums. The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has been certified platinum. Of the singles from it, "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlining many shows of their own.
Later in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award-nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days.
Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback.
3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song "In the Presence of the Lord" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration.
In 2009, the band recorded a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs on December 8. Six of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of "Where my Christmas Lives".
Line-up changes: 2011–2013
3 Doors Down released their fifth studio album, Time of My Life, on July 19, 2011. The band had earlier released "When You're Young" as the first single from the album on January 10, 2011. The single reached a position of 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100. A second single from the album, "Every Time You Go" was released to digital outlets on May 23, 2011. The band embarked on a tour in July 2011 across the US, Europe, and the United Kingdom in support of the album. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with 59,800 copies sold in its first week. Beginning in May 2012, the band embarked on a six-week-long 'Gang of Outlaws Tour' with headliners ZZ Top and opener Gretchen Wilson.
On May 23, 2012, Matt Roberts announced he was leaving the band to focus on his health. He told fans in a statement that "3 Doors Down will always have a special place in my heart and it saddens me to take this time off. But my health has to be my first priority". Guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter that his old guitar tech Chet Roberts would be taking over from Matt Roberts on lead guitar.
After the "Gang of Outlaws" tour finished, the band said in an interview that they were entering the studio to record three or four new songs to put on their very first Greatest Hits album, which was released on November 19, 2012. During the tail end of the Gang of Outlaws tour, they debuted a new song "One Light" which was included on the band's The Greatest Hits. Guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter they would be back in the studio a few weeks after the tour had ended. In late 2012, the band appeared at several smaller shows including one in Huntington, NY. The band performed at Download Festival 2013 at the Zippo Encore Stage on the Friday of the three-day festival. From the tailend of 2012 through to March 2013, 3 Doors Down went on a joint headlining tour with US rock band Daughtry to promote Daughtry's 3rd studio album release. The cover of "In the Air Tonight" was captured and uploaded to Daughtry's official YouTube channel. The band also played the Dubai Jazz Festival in February 2013.
On April 20, 2013, bassist Todd Harrell was charged with vehicular homicide for his actions the night before in Nashville, Tennessee. He was reportedly driving on I-40 at a high speed while under the influence of prescription medication when he caused an accident that killed 47-year-old Paul Howard Shoulders, Jr. The judge in the case harshly criticized the musician's doctor in the courtroom, accusing the physician of prescribing Harrell far too many pain pills. The judge stated that Harrell "got 360 Oxycodone and 60 Oxycontin pills from his doctor in less than 30 days, which is well outside the amount that is usually prescribed in the due course of medical treatment". Harrell was also charged with bringing a controlled substance into a correctional detention facility after it was discovered during the booking process at Nashville's Metro Jail that Harrell had a plastic bag hidden in his sock that contained eight Xanax pills, twenty four Oxycodone pills, and four Oxymorphone pills. Harrell's court and trial dates have been repeatedly postponed by Harrell's attorneys for various reasons, including a rehab stay. In December 2015, Harrell was sentenced to two years imprisonment followed by six years of probation.
3 Doors Down later announced that the four scheduled shows in the U.S. for April and May had been cancelled out of respect for Shoulders and his family. The European tour with Prime Circle and the summer tour dates with Daughtry, which had been announced the day after the incident in Nashville, remained intact. On May 24, a week before the start on the European tour, Justin Biltonen, formerly of The Campaign 1984, was announced as the band's new bassist. The tour, starting in Moscow, Russia began on May 31, 2013. On July 20, 2013, they played live at the 2013 National Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve.
Us and the Night and death of Matt Roberts: 2014–2018
In January 2014, Chris Henderson stated that their new album would be released sometime in the year. From the end of 2013 into 2014, the band embarked on an acoustic tour entitled "Songs from the Basement" and toured around the US. In February 2014, Todd Harrell was arrested in Mississippi once again for a DUI. Afterward, the band released a statement that Harrell was permanently out of the band, and that they would continue with Justin Biltonen as his replacement. In June, Henderson announced that the new album would be titled Us and the Night. It was originally set to be released between September and November 2015. In January 2016, the album's release date was finally revealed to be March 11, 2016. The band then went on tour around North America and in festivals such as Fort rock and Carolina Rebellion. 3 Doors Down toured the UK and Europe with multiple sold-out shows.
Former guitarist Matt Roberts died on August 20, 2016 at the age of 38 from a prescription drug overdose.
3 Doors Down performed at the presidential inauguration concert of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, 2017. Arnold told TMZ that he was "proud" to perform and that he thinks it would be a "good experience". Fans of the band expressed mixed to negative feedback about it performing at the inauguration; the band received criticism and ridicule for playing at the event. 3 Doors Down's business manager, Angus Vail, explained to Vice the reasons behind the band's decision to perform by saying: "Well, 3 Doors actually played George W. Bush's inauguration. They are good Mississippi and Alabama boys — they come from conservative families. You know, they're really good guys, but they have very different political beliefs. Because they played both Bush's inaugurations, they've obviously been on the conservative radar." Vail continued that the band's choice to perform had a lot to do with their "God, guns, and country black-and-white sort of viewpoint" and that "they spend a lot of time going to Iraq, doing service, playing for the troops." In the week following the performance, the band's The Greatest Hits album reentered the Billboard 200 at a new peak of No. 94; the album had debuted and peaked at No. 100 in 2012 and had been off the chart since April 2016.
In 2018, 3 Doors Down embarked on the Rock n' Roll Express tour along with Collective Soul and opening act Soul Asylum. The tour had shows in 36 cities in the United States.
Upcoming seventh studio album: 2018–present
In July 2018, Brad Arnold stated that 3 Doors Down had been writing new material; "Who knows when we'll follow that one up. But we have been writing new songs. Maybe we'll release a single or a couple of new songs. We just might not release an album for a while. We still love creating new material — there's just not a market for it. But fans still like going out and seeing us." In August 2019, Arnold stated that the band would soon begin working on a follow-up to Us and the Night.
In July 2020, 3 Doors Down announced that they would be releasing a new single, which would have been the band's first new release since their 2016 album Us and the Night.
Other appearances
On February 9, 2010, the band released a song called "Shine", through digital media such as iTunes, which was used as a promotion for the 2010 Winter Olympics and is available through digital outlets. Billboard listed 3 Doors Down as the No. 30 band in the decade from 2000 to 2010.
On January 30, 2011, 3 Doors Down played during the 1st period intermission of the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. They played two songs: "When You're Young" followed by "Kryptonite". The band also held a free concert as part of the weekend festivities on January 28, 2011 in downtown Raleigh.
On June 28–29, 2014, 3 Doors Down played both days at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. They played all of their greatest hits and two new songs. This was at the Americafest celebration.
The Better Life Foundation
3 Doors Down started The Better Life Foundation (TBLF) in 2003, with a goal in mind to give as many children as possible a better life. Since its inception TBLF has supported numerous charities across the US, including the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, and the Habitat for Humanity, as well as providing aid and assistance to the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, Brad Arnold stated that approximately $900,000 had been raised.
When the Mississippi town of Waveland took an especially hard hit from Hurricane Katrina, the charity was able to purchase three police cars and a fire truck to help with rescue efforts. Also, in connection with Wal-Mart, they were able to supply the town with three semi-trucks full of rescue supplies. There was also extensive support from TBLF in providing funding for rebuilding efforts in the town.
3 Doors Down and The Better Life Foundation host a yearly show to raise money for the charity. Beginning in 2010, the show is performed at Horseshoe Hotel and Casino, in Tunica, Mississippi. Prior to 2010, the show was performed at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. In addition to a concert from 3 Doors Down and friends, there is also an auction, which includes numerous items from musical friends, sports icons, and other various supporters of the band and the charity. There is an average of sixty items auctioned off yearly, and proceeds are given to TBLF. As of 2016, The Better Life Foundation annual benefit concert has been held at Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, North Carolina.
Past performers at the show include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, Staind, Hinder, Switchfoot, Tracy Lawrence, Sara Evans, and others. Past auction items include a Paul Stanley guitar played on the KISS Farewell Tour, a total of four Roger Bourget motorcycles, access to the Dale Jr. racing suite, NASCAR artwork by Brad Daley, numerous signed guitars, and sports memorabilia.
Band members
Current members
Brad Arnold – lead vocals (1996–present), drums (1996–2000)
Chris Henderson – rhythm and lead guitar (1998–present)
Greg Upchurch – drums (2005–present)
Chet Roberts – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2012–present)
Justin Biltonen – bass (2013–present)
Former members
Matt Roberts – lead guitar, backing vocals (1996–2012; died 2016)
Todd Harrell – bass (1996–2013)
Richard Liles – drums (2000–2002)
Daniel Adair – drums, backing vocals (2002–2005)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
The Better Life (2000)
Away from the Sun (2002)
Seventeen Days (2005)
3 Doors Down (2008)
Time of My Life (2011)
Us and the Night (2016)
Accolades
References
External links
The Better Life Foundation
Chet Roberts Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2019)
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Alternative rock groups from Mississippi
American hard rock musical groups
American post-grunge musical groups
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical quintets
Republic Records artists
Universal Records artists | true | [
"Alive in You is the first studio album by Christian rock band 7eventh Time Down, released on September 13, 2011.\n\nTrack listing\n\nSingles \n\n\"Alive in You\" and \"What About Tonight\" were released as singles. \"Alive in You\" charted at number 46 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart, and \"What About T... | [
"3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar).",
"The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead... |
[
"3 Doors Down",
"Continued success: 2005-2010",
"What albums were released bewteen 2005-2010?",
"the band had sold 12 million albums."
] | C_61f7b6bfa43f4590b3b5f6583174f11a_0 | What were the titles of the albums? | 2 | What were the titles of the albums for 3 Doors Down released between 2005-2010?? | 3 Doors Down | By 2005, the band had sold 12 million albums. The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has been certified platinum. Of the singles from it, "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlining many shows of their own. Later in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days. Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback. 3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song "In the Presence of the Lord" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration. The band recorded in 2009 a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs on December 8. Six of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of "Where my Christmas Lives". CANNOTANSWER | 2005's Seventeen Days, | 3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar). The band rose to international fame with their first single, "Kryptonite", which placed in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band then signed with Republic Records and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. The album was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. The group was later joined by drummer Richard Liles, who played during the tour for their first album.
The band's second album, Away from the Sun (2002), continued the band's success; it debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, went multi-platinum in the U.S. like its predecessor, and spawned the hits "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You". The band toured extensively for two years. Daniel Adair played drums on tour from 2002 to 2006. This configuration played nearly 1,000 shows across the world following the release of Away from the Sun. In 2005, Greg Upchurch (Puddle of Mudd) joined to play drums to replace Adair. 3 Doors Down released their third album, Seventeen Days, in 2005. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum within one month of release. The band continued their success with their next two albums, 3 Doors Down (2008) and Time of My Life (2011), debuting at No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the Billboard 200 chart. Their latest album, Us and the Night, was released in 2016; they were working on new material for a seventh studio album as of 2019.
The band has been primarily described as post-grunge and alternative rock, while occasionally crossing into hard rock, and Southern rock. Their lyrical content contains overarching themes of angst, rebellion, revenge, yearning, and abandonment. 3 Doors Down has sold 30 million copies worldwide.
Original guitarist Matt Roberts departed in 2012, owing to health issues. He was replaced by Chet Roberts, who was formerly Chris Henderson's guitar tech. Harrell was fired from the band in 2013 after being charged with vehicular homicide, and was replaced by bassist Justin Biltonen.
History
Formative years: 1996–1998
3 Doors Down initially consisted of Brad Arnold as the lead vocalist and drummer, Matt Roberts as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist, and Todd Harrell as the bass guitarist. The band began to tour outside Escatawpa, Mississippi, eventually coming up with their official name during a trip to Foley, Alabama. When the three were walking through the town, they saw a building where some letters had fallen off its sign, reading "Doors Down". Since the band consisted of three people at the time, they added the "3" to create "3 Doors Down". The cover of their 2011 album Time of My Life hints at the original number of band members (3) and current band members (5); the clock on the album cover reads 3:05.
A couple of years after performing together, Todd Harrell asked rhythm guitarist Chris Henderson to join the band in 1998. 3 Doors Down recorded a demo CD of their original songs at Lincoln Recording in Pascagoula, Mississippi. When the band gave the CD to local radio station WCPR-FM, they started playing the EP version of "Kryptonite" and it became the No. 1 requested song on the station for over 15 weeks. The station's program director sent the song to manager Phin Daly who in turn showed it to Bill McGathy, his employer at In De Goot Entertainment. The band was booked in New York to perform a showcase at the CBGB music club. Daly told HitQuarters: "Once they got on stage and started playing it was apparent the magic was in the music. So we moved to sign them."
Mainstream success: 1999–2004
3 Doors Down's first studio album, The Better Life, was released on February 8, 2000 and went on to become the 11th best-selling album of the year, selling over three million copies. It has since been certified 6x platinum, thanks in large part to the international hit singles, "Kryptonite", "Loser", and "Duck and Run". A fourth single, "Be Like That" was re-recorded for the 2001 film American Pie 2, with alternate lyrics for the first three lines; this version is known as the "American Pie 2 Edit". Whilst recording the album, Brad Arnold recorded both the vocal and drum tracks. The band hired drummer Richard Liles for the tour in support of The Better Life so that Arnold could perform at the front of the stage. Liles left in late 2001.
The band's second studio album, Away from the Sun, was released on November 12, 2002 and went platinum within two months of release. The album also produced singles, including "When I'm Gone", "Here Without You", and "The Road I'm On". The album has sold four million copies worldwide, including well over three million in the U.S. Session drummer Josh Freese was hired to record drums for the album. Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson produced and performed on three tracks for the record, "Dangerous Game", "Dead Love", and "Wasted Me", but only "Dangerous Game" would appear on the finished product. The band hired Canadian Daniel Adair to play drums for the Away From the Sun tour. He would go on to record the drums for the band's next studio release, and was with the band aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73) to film the music video "When I'm Gone".
In 2003, 3 Doors Down released a live EP entitled Another 700 Miles consisting of recordings from a live performance by the band in Chicago, Illinois. Another 700 Miles has since been certified Gold in the United States. In addition to featuring some of 3 Doors Down's hit singles from their previous two albums, the EP also contains a version of the popular 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd song "That Smell". The group toured with Nickelback in 2004.
In 2003, the band began hosting the annual "3 Doors Down and Friends" benefit concert, through the band's own charity The Better Life Foundation. In 2006, this event was held at the Mobile Convention Center, with proceeds benefiting Hurricane Katrina survivors. As residents of Escatawpa, the members of the band saw the effects of Katrina's devastation.
Continued success: 2005–2010
By 2005, the band had sold 12 million albums. The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has been certified platinum. Of the singles from it, "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlining many shows of their own.
Later in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award-nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days.
Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback.
3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song "In the Presence of the Lord" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration.
In 2009, the band recorded a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs on December 8. Six of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of "Where my Christmas Lives".
Line-up changes: 2011–2013
3 Doors Down released their fifth studio album, Time of My Life, on July 19, 2011. The band had earlier released "When You're Young" as the first single from the album on January 10, 2011. The single reached a position of 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100. A second single from the album, "Every Time You Go" was released to digital outlets on May 23, 2011. The band embarked on a tour in July 2011 across the US, Europe, and the United Kingdom in support of the album. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with 59,800 copies sold in its first week. Beginning in May 2012, the band embarked on a six-week-long 'Gang of Outlaws Tour' with headliners ZZ Top and opener Gretchen Wilson.
On May 23, 2012, Matt Roberts announced he was leaving the band to focus on his health. He told fans in a statement that "3 Doors Down will always have a special place in my heart and it saddens me to take this time off. But my health has to be my first priority". Guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter that his old guitar tech Chet Roberts would be taking over from Matt Roberts on lead guitar.
After the "Gang of Outlaws" tour finished, the band said in an interview that they were entering the studio to record three or four new songs to put on their very first Greatest Hits album, which was released on November 19, 2012. During the tail end of the Gang of Outlaws tour, they debuted a new song "One Light" which was included on the band's The Greatest Hits. Guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter they would be back in the studio a few weeks after the tour had ended. In late 2012, the band appeared at several smaller shows including one in Huntington, NY. The band performed at Download Festival 2013 at the Zippo Encore Stage on the Friday of the three-day festival. From the tailend of 2012 through to March 2013, 3 Doors Down went on a joint headlining tour with US rock band Daughtry to promote Daughtry's 3rd studio album release. The cover of "In the Air Tonight" was captured and uploaded to Daughtry's official YouTube channel. The band also played the Dubai Jazz Festival in February 2013.
On April 20, 2013, bassist Todd Harrell was charged with vehicular homicide for his actions the night before in Nashville, Tennessee. He was reportedly driving on I-40 at a high speed while under the influence of prescription medication when he caused an accident that killed 47-year-old Paul Howard Shoulders, Jr. The judge in the case harshly criticized the musician's doctor in the courtroom, accusing the physician of prescribing Harrell far too many pain pills. The judge stated that Harrell "got 360 Oxycodone and 60 Oxycontin pills from his doctor in less than 30 days, which is well outside the amount that is usually prescribed in the due course of medical treatment". Harrell was also charged with bringing a controlled substance into a correctional detention facility after it was discovered during the booking process at Nashville's Metro Jail that Harrell had a plastic bag hidden in his sock that contained eight Xanax pills, twenty four Oxycodone pills, and four Oxymorphone pills. Harrell's court and trial dates have been repeatedly postponed by Harrell's attorneys for various reasons, including a rehab stay. In December 2015, Harrell was sentenced to two years imprisonment followed by six years of probation.
3 Doors Down later announced that the four scheduled shows in the U.S. for April and May had been cancelled out of respect for Shoulders and his family. The European tour with Prime Circle and the summer tour dates with Daughtry, which had been announced the day after the incident in Nashville, remained intact. On May 24, a week before the start on the European tour, Justin Biltonen, formerly of The Campaign 1984, was announced as the band's new bassist. The tour, starting in Moscow, Russia began on May 31, 2013. On July 20, 2013, they played live at the 2013 National Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve.
Us and the Night and death of Matt Roberts: 2014–2018
In January 2014, Chris Henderson stated that their new album would be released sometime in the year. From the end of 2013 into 2014, the band embarked on an acoustic tour entitled "Songs from the Basement" and toured around the US. In February 2014, Todd Harrell was arrested in Mississippi once again for a DUI. Afterward, the band released a statement that Harrell was permanently out of the band, and that they would continue with Justin Biltonen as his replacement. In June, Henderson announced that the new album would be titled Us and the Night. It was originally set to be released between September and November 2015. In January 2016, the album's release date was finally revealed to be March 11, 2016. The band then went on tour around North America and in festivals such as Fort rock and Carolina Rebellion. 3 Doors Down toured the UK and Europe with multiple sold-out shows.
Former guitarist Matt Roberts died on August 20, 2016 at the age of 38 from a prescription drug overdose.
3 Doors Down performed at the presidential inauguration concert of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, 2017. Arnold told TMZ that he was "proud" to perform and that he thinks it would be a "good experience". Fans of the band expressed mixed to negative feedback about it performing at the inauguration; the band received criticism and ridicule for playing at the event. 3 Doors Down's business manager, Angus Vail, explained to Vice the reasons behind the band's decision to perform by saying: "Well, 3 Doors actually played George W. Bush's inauguration. They are good Mississippi and Alabama boys — they come from conservative families. You know, they're really good guys, but they have very different political beliefs. Because they played both Bush's inaugurations, they've obviously been on the conservative radar." Vail continued that the band's choice to perform had a lot to do with their "God, guns, and country black-and-white sort of viewpoint" and that "they spend a lot of time going to Iraq, doing service, playing for the troops." In the week following the performance, the band's The Greatest Hits album reentered the Billboard 200 at a new peak of No. 94; the album had debuted and peaked at No. 100 in 2012 and had been off the chart since April 2016.
In 2018, 3 Doors Down embarked on the Rock n' Roll Express tour along with Collective Soul and opening act Soul Asylum. The tour had shows in 36 cities in the United States.
Upcoming seventh studio album: 2018–present
In July 2018, Brad Arnold stated that 3 Doors Down had been writing new material; "Who knows when we'll follow that one up. But we have been writing new songs. Maybe we'll release a single or a couple of new songs. We just might not release an album for a while. We still love creating new material — there's just not a market for it. But fans still like going out and seeing us." In August 2019, Arnold stated that the band would soon begin working on a follow-up to Us and the Night.
In July 2020, 3 Doors Down announced that they would be releasing a new single, which would have been the band's first new release since their 2016 album Us and the Night.
Other appearances
On February 9, 2010, the band released a song called "Shine", through digital media such as iTunes, which was used as a promotion for the 2010 Winter Olympics and is available through digital outlets. Billboard listed 3 Doors Down as the No. 30 band in the decade from 2000 to 2010.
On January 30, 2011, 3 Doors Down played during the 1st period intermission of the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. They played two songs: "When You're Young" followed by "Kryptonite". The band also held a free concert as part of the weekend festivities on January 28, 2011 in downtown Raleigh.
On June 28–29, 2014, 3 Doors Down played both days at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. They played all of their greatest hits and two new songs. This was at the Americafest celebration.
The Better Life Foundation
3 Doors Down started The Better Life Foundation (TBLF) in 2003, with a goal in mind to give as many children as possible a better life. Since its inception TBLF has supported numerous charities across the US, including the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, and the Habitat for Humanity, as well as providing aid and assistance to the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, Brad Arnold stated that approximately $900,000 had been raised.
When the Mississippi town of Waveland took an especially hard hit from Hurricane Katrina, the charity was able to purchase three police cars and a fire truck to help with rescue efforts. Also, in connection with Wal-Mart, they were able to supply the town with three semi-trucks full of rescue supplies. There was also extensive support from TBLF in providing funding for rebuilding efforts in the town.
3 Doors Down and The Better Life Foundation host a yearly show to raise money for the charity. Beginning in 2010, the show is performed at Horseshoe Hotel and Casino, in Tunica, Mississippi. Prior to 2010, the show was performed at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. In addition to a concert from 3 Doors Down and friends, there is also an auction, which includes numerous items from musical friends, sports icons, and other various supporters of the band and the charity. There is an average of sixty items auctioned off yearly, and proceeds are given to TBLF. As of 2016, The Better Life Foundation annual benefit concert has been held at Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, North Carolina.
Past performers at the show include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, Staind, Hinder, Switchfoot, Tracy Lawrence, Sara Evans, and others. Past auction items include a Paul Stanley guitar played on the KISS Farewell Tour, a total of four Roger Bourget motorcycles, access to the Dale Jr. racing suite, NASCAR artwork by Brad Daley, numerous signed guitars, and sports memorabilia.
Band members
Current members
Brad Arnold – lead vocals (1996–present), drums (1996–2000)
Chris Henderson – rhythm and lead guitar (1998–present)
Greg Upchurch – drums (2005–present)
Chet Roberts – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2012–present)
Justin Biltonen – bass (2013–present)
Former members
Matt Roberts – lead guitar, backing vocals (1996–2012; died 2016)
Todd Harrell – bass (1996–2013)
Richard Liles – drums (2000–2002)
Daniel Adair – drums, backing vocals (2002–2005)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
The Better Life (2000)
Away from the Sun (2002)
Seventeen Days (2005)
3 Doors Down (2008)
Time of My Life (2011)
Us and the Night (2016)
Accolades
References
External links
The Better Life Foundation
Chet Roberts Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2019)
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Alternative rock groups from Mississippi
American hard rock musical groups
American post-grunge musical groups
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical quintets
Republic Records artists
Universal Records artists | true | [
"The Early Four Track Recordings is a compilation album by indie rock band Of Montreal. It contains early recordings from the band, with the song titles telling a fictional story about actor Dustin Hoffman. Though the titles feature Dustin Hoffman, the album name and content have nothing to do with him, and the ti... | [
"3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar).",
"The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead... |
[
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"Continued success: 2005-2010",
"What albums were released bewteen 2005-2010?",
"the band had sold 12 million albums.",
"What were the titles of the albums?",
"2005's Seventeen Days,"
] | C_61f7b6bfa43f4590b3b5f6583174f11a_0 | What were the singles released from that album? | 3 | What were the singles released from the album 2005's Seventeen Days? | 3 Doors Down | By 2005, the band had sold 12 million albums. The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has been certified platinum. Of the singles from it, "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlining many shows of their own. Later in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days. Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback. 3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song "In the Presence of the Lord" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration. The band recorded in 2009 a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs on December 8. Six of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of "Where my Christmas Lives". CANNOTANSWER | "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes | 3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar). The band rose to international fame with their first single, "Kryptonite", which placed in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band then signed with Republic Records and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. The album was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. The group was later joined by drummer Richard Liles, who played during the tour for their first album.
The band's second album, Away from the Sun (2002), continued the band's success; it debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, went multi-platinum in the U.S. like its predecessor, and spawned the hits "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You". The band toured extensively for two years. Daniel Adair played drums on tour from 2002 to 2006. This configuration played nearly 1,000 shows across the world following the release of Away from the Sun. In 2005, Greg Upchurch (Puddle of Mudd) joined to play drums to replace Adair. 3 Doors Down released their third album, Seventeen Days, in 2005. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum within one month of release. The band continued their success with their next two albums, 3 Doors Down (2008) and Time of My Life (2011), debuting at No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the Billboard 200 chart. Their latest album, Us and the Night, was released in 2016; they were working on new material for a seventh studio album as of 2019.
The band has been primarily described as post-grunge and alternative rock, while occasionally crossing into hard rock, and Southern rock. Their lyrical content contains overarching themes of angst, rebellion, revenge, yearning, and abandonment. 3 Doors Down has sold 30 million copies worldwide.
Original guitarist Matt Roberts departed in 2012, owing to health issues. He was replaced by Chet Roberts, who was formerly Chris Henderson's guitar tech. Harrell was fired from the band in 2013 after being charged with vehicular homicide, and was replaced by bassist Justin Biltonen.
History
Formative years: 1996–1998
3 Doors Down initially consisted of Brad Arnold as the lead vocalist and drummer, Matt Roberts as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist, and Todd Harrell as the bass guitarist. The band began to tour outside Escatawpa, Mississippi, eventually coming up with their official name during a trip to Foley, Alabama. When the three were walking through the town, they saw a building where some letters had fallen off its sign, reading "Doors Down". Since the band consisted of three people at the time, they added the "3" to create "3 Doors Down". The cover of their 2011 album Time of My Life hints at the original number of band members (3) and current band members (5); the clock on the album cover reads 3:05.
A couple of years after performing together, Todd Harrell asked rhythm guitarist Chris Henderson to join the band in 1998. 3 Doors Down recorded a demo CD of their original songs at Lincoln Recording in Pascagoula, Mississippi. When the band gave the CD to local radio station WCPR-FM, they started playing the EP version of "Kryptonite" and it became the No. 1 requested song on the station for over 15 weeks. The station's program director sent the song to manager Phin Daly who in turn showed it to Bill McGathy, his employer at In De Goot Entertainment. The band was booked in New York to perform a showcase at the CBGB music club. Daly told HitQuarters: "Once they got on stage and started playing it was apparent the magic was in the music. So we moved to sign them."
Mainstream success: 1999–2004
3 Doors Down's first studio album, The Better Life, was released on February 8, 2000 and went on to become the 11th best-selling album of the year, selling over three million copies. It has since been certified 6x platinum, thanks in large part to the international hit singles, "Kryptonite", "Loser", and "Duck and Run". A fourth single, "Be Like That" was re-recorded for the 2001 film American Pie 2, with alternate lyrics for the first three lines; this version is known as the "American Pie 2 Edit". Whilst recording the album, Brad Arnold recorded both the vocal and drum tracks. The band hired drummer Richard Liles for the tour in support of The Better Life so that Arnold could perform at the front of the stage. Liles left in late 2001.
The band's second studio album, Away from the Sun, was released on November 12, 2002 and went platinum within two months of release. The album also produced singles, including "When I'm Gone", "Here Without You", and "The Road I'm On". The album has sold four million copies worldwide, including well over three million in the U.S. Session drummer Josh Freese was hired to record drums for the album. Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson produced and performed on three tracks for the record, "Dangerous Game", "Dead Love", and "Wasted Me", but only "Dangerous Game" would appear on the finished product. The band hired Canadian Daniel Adair to play drums for the Away From the Sun tour. He would go on to record the drums for the band's next studio release, and was with the band aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73) to film the music video "When I'm Gone".
In 2003, 3 Doors Down released a live EP entitled Another 700 Miles consisting of recordings from a live performance by the band in Chicago, Illinois. Another 700 Miles has since been certified Gold in the United States. In addition to featuring some of 3 Doors Down's hit singles from their previous two albums, the EP also contains a version of the popular 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd song "That Smell". The group toured with Nickelback in 2004.
In 2003, the band began hosting the annual "3 Doors Down and Friends" benefit concert, through the band's own charity The Better Life Foundation. In 2006, this event was held at the Mobile Convention Center, with proceeds benefiting Hurricane Katrina survivors. As residents of Escatawpa, the members of the band saw the effects of Katrina's devastation.
Continued success: 2005–2010
By 2005, the band had sold 12 million albums. The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has been certified platinum. Of the singles from it, "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlining many shows of their own.
Later in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award-nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days.
Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback.
3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song "In the Presence of the Lord" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration.
In 2009, the band recorded a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs on December 8. Six of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of "Where my Christmas Lives".
Line-up changes: 2011–2013
3 Doors Down released their fifth studio album, Time of My Life, on July 19, 2011. The band had earlier released "When You're Young" as the first single from the album on January 10, 2011. The single reached a position of 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100. A second single from the album, "Every Time You Go" was released to digital outlets on May 23, 2011. The band embarked on a tour in July 2011 across the US, Europe, and the United Kingdom in support of the album. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with 59,800 copies sold in its first week. Beginning in May 2012, the band embarked on a six-week-long 'Gang of Outlaws Tour' with headliners ZZ Top and opener Gretchen Wilson.
On May 23, 2012, Matt Roberts announced he was leaving the band to focus on his health. He told fans in a statement that "3 Doors Down will always have a special place in my heart and it saddens me to take this time off. But my health has to be my first priority". Guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter that his old guitar tech Chet Roberts would be taking over from Matt Roberts on lead guitar.
After the "Gang of Outlaws" tour finished, the band said in an interview that they were entering the studio to record three or four new songs to put on their very first Greatest Hits album, which was released on November 19, 2012. During the tail end of the Gang of Outlaws tour, they debuted a new song "One Light" which was included on the band's The Greatest Hits. Guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter they would be back in the studio a few weeks after the tour had ended. In late 2012, the band appeared at several smaller shows including one in Huntington, NY. The band performed at Download Festival 2013 at the Zippo Encore Stage on the Friday of the three-day festival. From the tailend of 2012 through to March 2013, 3 Doors Down went on a joint headlining tour with US rock band Daughtry to promote Daughtry's 3rd studio album release. The cover of "In the Air Tonight" was captured and uploaded to Daughtry's official YouTube channel. The band also played the Dubai Jazz Festival in February 2013.
On April 20, 2013, bassist Todd Harrell was charged with vehicular homicide for his actions the night before in Nashville, Tennessee. He was reportedly driving on I-40 at a high speed while under the influence of prescription medication when he caused an accident that killed 47-year-old Paul Howard Shoulders, Jr. The judge in the case harshly criticized the musician's doctor in the courtroom, accusing the physician of prescribing Harrell far too many pain pills. The judge stated that Harrell "got 360 Oxycodone and 60 Oxycontin pills from his doctor in less than 30 days, which is well outside the amount that is usually prescribed in the due course of medical treatment". Harrell was also charged with bringing a controlled substance into a correctional detention facility after it was discovered during the booking process at Nashville's Metro Jail that Harrell had a plastic bag hidden in his sock that contained eight Xanax pills, twenty four Oxycodone pills, and four Oxymorphone pills. Harrell's court and trial dates have been repeatedly postponed by Harrell's attorneys for various reasons, including a rehab stay. In December 2015, Harrell was sentenced to two years imprisonment followed by six years of probation.
3 Doors Down later announced that the four scheduled shows in the U.S. for April and May had been cancelled out of respect for Shoulders and his family. The European tour with Prime Circle and the summer tour dates with Daughtry, which had been announced the day after the incident in Nashville, remained intact. On May 24, a week before the start on the European tour, Justin Biltonen, formerly of The Campaign 1984, was announced as the band's new bassist. The tour, starting in Moscow, Russia began on May 31, 2013. On July 20, 2013, they played live at the 2013 National Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve.
Us and the Night and death of Matt Roberts: 2014–2018
In January 2014, Chris Henderson stated that their new album would be released sometime in the year. From the end of 2013 into 2014, the band embarked on an acoustic tour entitled "Songs from the Basement" and toured around the US. In February 2014, Todd Harrell was arrested in Mississippi once again for a DUI. Afterward, the band released a statement that Harrell was permanently out of the band, and that they would continue with Justin Biltonen as his replacement. In June, Henderson announced that the new album would be titled Us and the Night. It was originally set to be released between September and November 2015. In January 2016, the album's release date was finally revealed to be March 11, 2016. The band then went on tour around North America and in festivals such as Fort rock and Carolina Rebellion. 3 Doors Down toured the UK and Europe with multiple sold-out shows.
Former guitarist Matt Roberts died on August 20, 2016 at the age of 38 from a prescription drug overdose.
3 Doors Down performed at the presidential inauguration concert of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, 2017. Arnold told TMZ that he was "proud" to perform and that he thinks it would be a "good experience". Fans of the band expressed mixed to negative feedback about it performing at the inauguration; the band received criticism and ridicule for playing at the event. 3 Doors Down's business manager, Angus Vail, explained to Vice the reasons behind the band's decision to perform by saying: "Well, 3 Doors actually played George W. Bush's inauguration. They are good Mississippi and Alabama boys — they come from conservative families. You know, they're really good guys, but they have very different political beliefs. Because they played both Bush's inaugurations, they've obviously been on the conservative radar." Vail continued that the band's choice to perform had a lot to do with their "God, guns, and country black-and-white sort of viewpoint" and that "they spend a lot of time going to Iraq, doing service, playing for the troops." In the week following the performance, the band's The Greatest Hits album reentered the Billboard 200 at a new peak of No. 94; the album had debuted and peaked at No. 100 in 2012 and had been off the chart since April 2016.
In 2018, 3 Doors Down embarked on the Rock n' Roll Express tour along with Collective Soul and opening act Soul Asylum. The tour had shows in 36 cities in the United States.
Upcoming seventh studio album: 2018–present
In July 2018, Brad Arnold stated that 3 Doors Down had been writing new material; "Who knows when we'll follow that one up. But we have been writing new songs. Maybe we'll release a single or a couple of new songs. We just might not release an album for a while. We still love creating new material — there's just not a market for it. But fans still like going out and seeing us." In August 2019, Arnold stated that the band would soon begin working on a follow-up to Us and the Night.
In July 2020, 3 Doors Down announced that they would be releasing a new single, which would have been the band's first new release since their 2016 album Us and the Night.
Other appearances
On February 9, 2010, the band released a song called "Shine", through digital media such as iTunes, which was used as a promotion for the 2010 Winter Olympics and is available through digital outlets. Billboard listed 3 Doors Down as the No. 30 band in the decade from 2000 to 2010.
On January 30, 2011, 3 Doors Down played during the 1st period intermission of the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. They played two songs: "When You're Young" followed by "Kryptonite". The band also held a free concert as part of the weekend festivities on January 28, 2011 in downtown Raleigh.
On June 28–29, 2014, 3 Doors Down played both days at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. They played all of their greatest hits and two new songs. This was at the Americafest celebration.
The Better Life Foundation
3 Doors Down started The Better Life Foundation (TBLF) in 2003, with a goal in mind to give as many children as possible a better life. Since its inception TBLF has supported numerous charities across the US, including the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, and the Habitat for Humanity, as well as providing aid and assistance to the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, Brad Arnold stated that approximately $900,000 had been raised.
When the Mississippi town of Waveland took an especially hard hit from Hurricane Katrina, the charity was able to purchase three police cars and a fire truck to help with rescue efforts. Also, in connection with Wal-Mart, they were able to supply the town with three semi-trucks full of rescue supplies. There was also extensive support from TBLF in providing funding for rebuilding efforts in the town.
3 Doors Down and The Better Life Foundation host a yearly show to raise money for the charity. Beginning in 2010, the show is performed at Horseshoe Hotel and Casino, in Tunica, Mississippi. Prior to 2010, the show was performed at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. In addition to a concert from 3 Doors Down and friends, there is also an auction, which includes numerous items from musical friends, sports icons, and other various supporters of the band and the charity. There is an average of sixty items auctioned off yearly, and proceeds are given to TBLF. As of 2016, The Better Life Foundation annual benefit concert has been held at Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, North Carolina.
Past performers at the show include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, Staind, Hinder, Switchfoot, Tracy Lawrence, Sara Evans, and others. Past auction items include a Paul Stanley guitar played on the KISS Farewell Tour, a total of four Roger Bourget motorcycles, access to the Dale Jr. racing suite, NASCAR artwork by Brad Daley, numerous signed guitars, and sports memorabilia.
Band members
Current members
Brad Arnold – lead vocals (1996–present), drums (1996–2000)
Chris Henderson – rhythm and lead guitar (1998–present)
Greg Upchurch – drums (2005–present)
Chet Roberts – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2012–present)
Justin Biltonen – bass (2013–present)
Former members
Matt Roberts – lead guitar, backing vocals (1996–2012; died 2016)
Todd Harrell – bass (1996–2013)
Richard Liles – drums (2000–2002)
Daniel Adair – drums, backing vocals (2002–2005)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
The Better Life (2000)
Away from the Sun (2002)
Seventeen Days (2005)
3 Doors Down (2008)
Time of My Life (2011)
Us and the Night (2016)
Accolades
References
External links
The Better Life Foundation
Chet Roberts Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2019)
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Alternative rock groups from Mississippi
American hard rock musical groups
American post-grunge musical groups
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical quintets
Republic Records artists
Universal Records artists | true | [
"This article gives the discography for the English rock band The Zutons. Between their formation in 2001 and 2008 they released three studio albums and 14 singles, nine of which entered the top 40 UK singles chart.\n\nThe band released their debut album, entitled \"Who Killed...... The Zutons?\", in April 2004 to ... | [
"3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar).",
"The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead... |
[
"3 Doors Down",
"Continued success: 2005-2010",
"What albums were released bewteen 2005-2010?",
"the band had sold 12 million albums.",
"What were the titles of the albums?",
"2005's Seventeen Days,",
"What were the singles released from that album?",
"\"Let Me Go\" and \"Behind Those Eyes",
"Were t... | C_61f7b6bfa43f4590b3b5f6583174f11a_0 | What other albums did they release? | 5 | What other albums did 3 Doors Down release besides 2005's Seventeen Days ? | 3 Doors Down | By 2005, the band had sold 12 million albums. The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has been certified platinum. Of the singles from it, "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlining many shows of their own. Later in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days. Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback. 3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song "In the Presence of the Lord" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration. The band recorded in 2009 a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs on December 8. Six of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of "Where my Christmas Lives". CANNOTANSWER | self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. | 3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar). The band rose to international fame with their first single, "Kryptonite", which placed in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band then signed with Republic Records and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. The album was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. The group was later joined by drummer Richard Liles, who played during the tour for their first album.
The band's second album, Away from the Sun (2002), continued the band's success; it debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, went multi-platinum in the U.S. like its predecessor, and spawned the hits "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You". The band toured extensively for two years. Daniel Adair played drums on tour from 2002 to 2006. This configuration played nearly 1,000 shows across the world following the release of Away from the Sun. In 2005, Greg Upchurch (Puddle of Mudd) joined to play drums to replace Adair. 3 Doors Down released their third album, Seventeen Days, in 2005. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum within one month of release. The band continued their success with their next two albums, 3 Doors Down (2008) and Time of My Life (2011), debuting at No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the Billboard 200 chart. Their latest album, Us and the Night, was released in 2016; they were working on new material for a seventh studio album as of 2019.
The band has been primarily described as post-grunge and alternative rock, while occasionally crossing into hard rock, and Southern rock. Their lyrical content contains overarching themes of angst, rebellion, revenge, yearning, and abandonment. 3 Doors Down has sold 30 million copies worldwide.
Original guitarist Matt Roberts departed in 2012, owing to health issues. He was replaced by Chet Roberts, who was formerly Chris Henderson's guitar tech. Harrell was fired from the band in 2013 after being charged with vehicular homicide, and was replaced by bassist Justin Biltonen.
History
Formative years: 1996–1998
3 Doors Down initially consisted of Brad Arnold as the lead vocalist and drummer, Matt Roberts as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist, and Todd Harrell as the bass guitarist. The band began to tour outside Escatawpa, Mississippi, eventually coming up with their official name during a trip to Foley, Alabama. When the three were walking through the town, they saw a building where some letters had fallen off its sign, reading "Doors Down". Since the band consisted of three people at the time, they added the "3" to create "3 Doors Down". The cover of their 2011 album Time of My Life hints at the original number of band members (3) and current band members (5); the clock on the album cover reads 3:05.
A couple of years after performing together, Todd Harrell asked rhythm guitarist Chris Henderson to join the band in 1998. 3 Doors Down recorded a demo CD of their original songs at Lincoln Recording in Pascagoula, Mississippi. When the band gave the CD to local radio station WCPR-FM, they started playing the EP version of "Kryptonite" and it became the No. 1 requested song on the station for over 15 weeks. The station's program director sent the song to manager Phin Daly who in turn showed it to Bill McGathy, his employer at In De Goot Entertainment. The band was booked in New York to perform a showcase at the CBGB music club. Daly told HitQuarters: "Once they got on stage and started playing it was apparent the magic was in the music. So we moved to sign them."
Mainstream success: 1999–2004
3 Doors Down's first studio album, The Better Life, was released on February 8, 2000 and went on to become the 11th best-selling album of the year, selling over three million copies. It has since been certified 6x platinum, thanks in large part to the international hit singles, "Kryptonite", "Loser", and "Duck and Run". A fourth single, "Be Like That" was re-recorded for the 2001 film American Pie 2, with alternate lyrics for the first three lines; this version is known as the "American Pie 2 Edit". Whilst recording the album, Brad Arnold recorded both the vocal and drum tracks. The band hired drummer Richard Liles for the tour in support of The Better Life so that Arnold could perform at the front of the stage. Liles left in late 2001.
The band's second studio album, Away from the Sun, was released on November 12, 2002 and went platinum within two months of release. The album also produced singles, including "When I'm Gone", "Here Without You", and "The Road I'm On". The album has sold four million copies worldwide, including well over three million in the U.S. Session drummer Josh Freese was hired to record drums for the album. Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson produced and performed on three tracks for the record, "Dangerous Game", "Dead Love", and "Wasted Me", but only "Dangerous Game" would appear on the finished product. The band hired Canadian Daniel Adair to play drums for the Away From the Sun tour. He would go on to record the drums for the band's next studio release, and was with the band aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73) to film the music video "When I'm Gone".
In 2003, 3 Doors Down released a live EP entitled Another 700 Miles consisting of recordings from a live performance by the band in Chicago, Illinois. Another 700 Miles has since been certified Gold in the United States. In addition to featuring some of 3 Doors Down's hit singles from their previous two albums, the EP also contains a version of the popular 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd song "That Smell". The group toured with Nickelback in 2004.
In 2003, the band began hosting the annual "3 Doors Down and Friends" benefit concert, through the band's own charity The Better Life Foundation. In 2006, this event was held at the Mobile Convention Center, with proceeds benefiting Hurricane Katrina survivors. As residents of Escatawpa, the members of the band saw the effects of Katrina's devastation.
Continued success: 2005–2010
By 2005, the band had sold 12 million albums. The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has been certified platinum. Of the singles from it, "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlining many shows of their own.
Later in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award-nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days.
Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback.
3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song "In the Presence of the Lord" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration.
In 2009, the band recorded a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs on December 8. Six of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of "Where my Christmas Lives".
Line-up changes: 2011–2013
3 Doors Down released their fifth studio album, Time of My Life, on July 19, 2011. The band had earlier released "When You're Young" as the first single from the album on January 10, 2011. The single reached a position of 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100. A second single from the album, "Every Time You Go" was released to digital outlets on May 23, 2011. The band embarked on a tour in July 2011 across the US, Europe, and the United Kingdom in support of the album. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with 59,800 copies sold in its first week. Beginning in May 2012, the band embarked on a six-week-long 'Gang of Outlaws Tour' with headliners ZZ Top and opener Gretchen Wilson.
On May 23, 2012, Matt Roberts announced he was leaving the band to focus on his health. He told fans in a statement that "3 Doors Down will always have a special place in my heart and it saddens me to take this time off. But my health has to be my first priority". Guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter that his old guitar tech Chet Roberts would be taking over from Matt Roberts on lead guitar.
After the "Gang of Outlaws" tour finished, the band said in an interview that they were entering the studio to record three or four new songs to put on their very first Greatest Hits album, which was released on November 19, 2012. During the tail end of the Gang of Outlaws tour, they debuted a new song "One Light" which was included on the band's The Greatest Hits. Guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter they would be back in the studio a few weeks after the tour had ended. In late 2012, the band appeared at several smaller shows including one in Huntington, NY. The band performed at Download Festival 2013 at the Zippo Encore Stage on the Friday of the three-day festival. From the tailend of 2012 through to March 2013, 3 Doors Down went on a joint headlining tour with US rock band Daughtry to promote Daughtry's 3rd studio album release. The cover of "In the Air Tonight" was captured and uploaded to Daughtry's official YouTube channel. The band also played the Dubai Jazz Festival in February 2013.
On April 20, 2013, bassist Todd Harrell was charged with vehicular homicide for his actions the night before in Nashville, Tennessee. He was reportedly driving on I-40 at a high speed while under the influence of prescription medication when he caused an accident that killed 47-year-old Paul Howard Shoulders, Jr. The judge in the case harshly criticized the musician's doctor in the courtroom, accusing the physician of prescribing Harrell far too many pain pills. The judge stated that Harrell "got 360 Oxycodone and 60 Oxycontin pills from his doctor in less than 30 days, which is well outside the amount that is usually prescribed in the due course of medical treatment". Harrell was also charged with bringing a controlled substance into a correctional detention facility after it was discovered during the booking process at Nashville's Metro Jail that Harrell had a plastic bag hidden in his sock that contained eight Xanax pills, twenty four Oxycodone pills, and four Oxymorphone pills. Harrell's court and trial dates have been repeatedly postponed by Harrell's attorneys for various reasons, including a rehab stay. In December 2015, Harrell was sentenced to two years imprisonment followed by six years of probation.
3 Doors Down later announced that the four scheduled shows in the U.S. for April and May had been cancelled out of respect for Shoulders and his family. The European tour with Prime Circle and the summer tour dates with Daughtry, which had been announced the day after the incident in Nashville, remained intact. On May 24, a week before the start on the European tour, Justin Biltonen, formerly of The Campaign 1984, was announced as the band's new bassist. The tour, starting in Moscow, Russia began on May 31, 2013. On July 20, 2013, they played live at the 2013 National Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve.
Us and the Night and death of Matt Roberts: 2014–2018
In January 2014, Chris Henderson stated that their new album would be released sometime in the year. From the end of 2013 into 2014, the band embarked on an acoustic tour entitled "Songs from the Basement" and toured around the US. In February 2014, Todd Harrell was arrested in Mississippi once again for a DUI. Afterward, the band released a statement that Harrell was permanently out of the band, and that they would continue with Justin Biltonen as his replacement. In June, Henderson announced that the new album would be titled Us and the Night. It was originally set to be released between September and November 2015. In January 2016, the album's release date was finally revealed to be March 11, 2016. The band then went on tour around North America and in festivals such as Fort rock and Carolina Rebellion. 3 Doors Down toured the UK and Europe with multiple sold-out shows.
Former guitarist Matt Roberts died on August 20, 2016 at the age of 38 from a prescription drug overdose.
3 Doors Down performed at the presidential inauguration concert of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, 2017. Arnold told TMZ that he was "proud" to perform and that he thinks it would be a "good experience". Fans of the band expressed mixed to negative feedback about it performing at the inauguration; the band received criticism and ridicule for playing at the event. 3 Doors Down's business manager, Angus Vail, explained to Vice the reasons behind the band's decision to perform by saying: "Well, 3 Doors actually played George W. Bush's inauguration. They are good Mississippi and Alabama boys — they come from conservative families. You know, they're really good guys, but they have very different political beliefs. Because they played both Bush's inaugurations, they've obviously been on the conservative radar." Vail continued that the band's choice to perform had a lot to do with their "God, guns, and country black-and-white sort of viewpoint" and that "they spend a lot of time going to Iraq, doing service, playing for the troops." In the week following the performance, the band's The Greatest Hits album reentered the Billboard 200 at a new peak of No. 94; the album had debuted and peaked at No. 100 in 2012 and had been off the chart since April 2016.
In 2018, 3 Doors Down embarked on the Rock n' Roll Express tour along with Collective Soul and opening act Soul Asylum. The tour had shows in 36 cities in the United States.
Upcoming seventh studio album: 2018–present
In July 2018, Brad Arnold stated that 3 Doors Down had been writing new material; "Who knows when we'll follow that one up. But we have been writing new songs. Maybe we'll release a single or a couple of new songs. We just might not release an album for a while. We still love creating new material — there's just not a market for it. But fans still like going out and seeing us." In August 2019, Arnold stated that the band would soon begin working on a follow-up to Us and the Night.
In July 2020, 3 Doors Down announced that they would be releasing a new single, which would have been the band's first new release since their 2016 album Us and the Night.
Other appearances
On February 9, 2010, the band released a song called "Shine", through digital media such as iTunes, which was used as a promotion for the 2010 Winter Olympics and is available through digital outlets. Billboard listed 3 Doors Down as the No. 30 band in the decade from 2000 to 2010.
On January 30, 2011, 3 Doors Down played during the 1st period intermission of the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. They played two songs: "When You're Young" followed by "Kryptonite". The band also held a free concert as part of the weekend festivities on January 28, 2011 in downtown Raleigh.
On June 28–29, 2014, 3 Doors Down played both days at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. They played all of their greatest hits and two new songs. This was at the Americafest celebration.
The Better Life Foundation
3 Doors Down started The Better Life Foundation (TBLF) in 2003, with a goal in mind to give as many children as possible a better life. Since its inception TBLF has supported numerous charities across the US, including the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, and the Habitat for Humanity, as well as providing aid and assistance to the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, Brad Arnold stated that approximately $900,000 had been raised.
When the Mississippi town of Waveland took an especially hard hit from Hurricane Katrina, the charity was able to purchase three police cars and a fire truck to help with rescue efforts. Also, in connection with Wal-Mart, they were able to supply the town with three semi-trucks full of rescue supplies. There was also extensive support from TBLF in providing funding for rebuilding efforts in the town.
3 Doors Down and The Better Life Foundation host a yearly show to raise money for the charity. Beginning in 2010, the show is performed at Horseshoe Hotel and Casino, in Tunica, Mississippi. Prior to 2010, the show was performed at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. In addition to a concert from 3 Doors Down and friends, there is also an auction, which includes numerous items from musical friends, sports icons, and other various supporters of the band and the charity. There is an average of sixty items auctioned off yearly, and proceeds are given to TBLF. As of 2016, The Better Life Foundation annual benefit concert has been held at Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, North Carolina.
Past performers at the show include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, Staind, Hinder, Switchfoot, Tracy Lawrence, Sara Evans, and others. Past auction items include a Paul Stanley guitar played on the KISS Farewell Tour, a total of four Roger Bourget motorcycles, access to the Dale Jr. racing suite, NASCAR artwork by Brad Daley, numerous signed guitars, and sports memorabilia.
Band members
Current members
Brad Arnold – lead vocals (1996–present), drums (1996–2000)
Chris Henderson – rhythm and lead guitar (1998–present)
Greg Upchurch – drums (2005–present)
Chet Roberts – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2012–present)
Justin Biltonen – bass (2013–present)
Former members
Matt Roberts – lead guitar, backing vocals (1996–2012; died 2016)
Todd Harrell – bass (1996–2013)
Richard Liles – drums (2000–2002)
Daniel Adair – drums, backing vocals (2002–2005)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
The Better Life (2000)
Away from the Sun (2002)
Seventeen Days (2005)
3 Doors Down (2008)
Time of My Life (2011)
Us and the Night (2016)
Accolades
References
External links
The Better Life Foundation
Chet Roberts Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2019)
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Alternative rock groups from Mississippi
American hard rock musical groups
American post-grunge musical groups
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical quintets
Republic Records artists
Universal Records artists | true | [
"Marcia: Greatest Hits 1975–1983 is a compilation album released on 22 November 2004. \nIt was released just two months after the release of Hinesight.\n\nThe album contains tracks taken from the albums, Marcia Shines, Shining, Ladies and Gentlemen, Ooh Child, Take it From the Boys and Love Sides.\n\nIn 2020, the a... | [
"3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar).",
"The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead... |
[
"3 Doors Down",
"Continued success: 2005-2010",
"What albums were released bewteen 2005-2010?",
"the band had sold 12 million albums.",
"What were the titles of the albums?",
"2005's Seventeen Days,",
"What were the singles released from that album?",
"\"Let Me Go\" and \"Behind Those Eyes",
"Were t... | C_61f7b6bfa43f4590b3b5f6583174f11a_0 | What singles were on that album? | 6 | What singles were on the self-titled fourth album? | 3 Doors Down | By 2005, the band had sold 12 million albums. The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has been certified platinum. Of the singles from it, "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlining many shows of their own. Later in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days. Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback. 3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song "In the Presence of the Lord" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration. The band recorded in 2009 a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs on December 8. Six of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of "Where my Christmas Lives". CANNOTANSWER | Seventeen Days, | 3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar). The band rose to international fame with their first single, "Kryptonite", which placed in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band then signed with Republic Records and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. The album was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. The group was later joined by drummer Richard Liles, who played during the tour for their first album.
The band's second album, Away from the Sun (2002), continued the band's success; it debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, went multi-platinum in the U.S. like its predecessor, and spawned the hits "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You". The band toured extensively for two years. Daniel Adair played drums on tour from 2002 to 2006. This configuration played nearly 1,000 shows across the world following the release of Away from the Sun. In 2005, Greg Upchurch (Puddle of Mudd) joined to play drums to replace Adair. 3 Doors Down released their third album, Seventeen Days, in 2005. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum within one month of release. The band continued their success with their next two albums, 3 Doors Down (2008) and Time of My Life (2011), debuting at No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the Billboard 200 chart. Their latest album, Us and the Night, was released in 2016; they were working on new material for a seventh studio album as of 2019.
The band has been primarily described as post-grunge and alternative rock, while occasionally crossing into hard rock, and Southern rock. Their lyrical content contains overarching themes of angst, rebellion, revenge, yearning, and abandonment. 3 Doors Down has sold 30 million copies worldwide.
Original guitarist Matt Roberts departed in 2012, owing to health issues. He was replaced by Chet Roberts, who was formerly Chris Henderson's guitar tech. Harrell was fired from the band in 2013 after being charged with vehicular homicide, and was replaced by bassist Justin Biltonen.
History
Formative years: 1996–1998
3 Doors Down initially consisted of Brad Arnold as the lead vocalist and drummer, Matt Roberts as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist, and Todd Harrell as the bass guitarist. The band began to tour outside Escatawpa, Mississippi, eventually coming up with their official name during a trip to Foley, Alabama. When the three were walking through the town, they saw a building where some letters had fallen off its sign, reading "Doors Down". Since the band consisted of three people at the time, they added the "3" to create "3 Doors Down". The cover of their 2011 album Time of My Life hints at the original number of band members (3) and current band members (5); the clock on the album cover reads 3:05.
A couple of years after performing together, Todd Harrell asked rhythm guitarist Chris Henderson to join the band in 1998. 3 Doors Down recorded a demo CD of their original songs at Lincoln Recording in Pascagoula, Mississippi. When the band gave the CD to local radio station WCPR-FM, they started playing the EP version of "Kryptonite" and it became the No. 1 requested song on the station for over 15 weeks. The station's program director sent the song to manager Phin Daly who in turn showed it to Bill McGathy, his employer at In De Goot Entertainment. The band was booked in New York to perform a showcase at the CBGB music club. Daly told HitQuarters: "Once they got on stage and started playing it was apparent the magic was in the music. So we moved to sign them."
Mainstream success: 1999–2004
3 Doors Down's first studio album, The Better Life, was released on February 8, 2000 and went on to become the 11th best-selling album of the year, selling over three million copies. It has since been certified 6x platinum, thanks in large part to the international hit singles, "Kryptonite", "Loser", and "Duck and Run". A fourth single, "Be Like That" was re-recorded for the 2001 film American Pie 2, with alternate lyrics for the first three lines; this version is known as the "American Pie 2 Edit". Whilst recording the album, Brad Arnold recorded both the vocal and drum tracks. The band hired drummer Richard Liles for the tour in support of The Better Life so that Arnold could perform at the front of the stage. Liles left in late 2001.
The band's second studio album, Away from the Sun, was released on November 12, 2002 and went platinum within two months of release. The album also produced singles, including "When I'm Gone", "Here Without You", and "The Road I'm On". The album has sold four million copies worldwide, including well over three million in the U.S. Session drummer Josh Freese was hired to record drums for the album. Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson produced and performed on three tracks for the record, "Dangerous Game", "Dead Love", and "Wasted Me", but only "Dangerous Game" would appear on the finished product. The band hired Canadian Daniel Adair to play drums for the Away From the Sun tour. He would go on to record the drums for the band's next studio release, and was with the band aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73) to film the music video "When I'm Gone".
In 2003, 3 Doors Down released a live EP entitled Another 700 Miles consisting of recordings from a live performance by the band in Chicago, Illinois. Another 700 Miles has since been certified Gold in the United States. In addition to featuring some of 3 Doors Down's hit singles from their previous two albums, the EP also contains a version of the popular 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd song "That Smell". The group toured with Nickelback in 2004.
In 2003, the band began hosting the annual "3 Doors Down and Friends" benefit concert, through the band's own charity The Better Life Foundation. In 2006, this event was held at the Mobile Convention Center, with proceeds benefiting Hurricane Katrina survivors. As residents of Escatawpa, the members of the band saw the effects of Katrina's devastation.
Continued success: 2005–2010
By 2005, the band had sold 12 million albums. The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has been certified platinum. Of the singles from it, "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlining many shows of their own.
Later in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award-nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days.
Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback.
3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song "In the Presence of the Lord" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration.
In 2009, the band recorded a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs on December 8. Six of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of "Where my Christmas Lives".
Line-up changes: 2011–2013
3 Doors Down released their fifth studio album, Time of My Life, on July 19, 2011. The band had earlier released "When You're Young" as the first single from the album on January 10, 2011. The single reached a position of 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100. A second single from the album, "Every Time You Go" was released to digital outlets on May 23, 2011. The band embarked on a tour in July 2011 across the US, Europe, and the United Kingdom in support of the album. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with 59,800 copies sold in its first week. Beginning in May 2012, the band embarked on a six-week-long 'Gang of Outlaws Tour' with headliners ZZ Top and opener Gretchen Wilson.
On May 23, 2012, Matt Roberts announced he was leaving the band to focus on his health. He told fans in a statement that "3 Doors Down will always have a special place in my heart and it saddens me to take this time off. But my health has to be my first priority". Guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter that his old guitar tech Chet Roberts would be taking over from Matt Roberts on lead guitar.
After the "Gang of Outlaws" tour finished, the band said in an interview that they were entering the studio to record three or four new songs to put on their very first Greatest Hits album, which was released on November 19, 2012. During the tail end of the Gang of Outlaws tour, they debuted a new song "One Light" which was included on the band's The Greatest Hits. Guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter they would be back in the studio a few weeks after the tour had ended. In late 2012, the band appeared at several smaller shows including one in Huntington, NY. The band performed at Download Festival 2013 at the Zippo Encore Stage on the Friday of the three-day festival. From the tailend of 2012 through to March 2013, 3 Doors Down went on a joint headlining tour with US rock band Daughtry to promote Daughtry's 3rd studio album release. The cover of "In the Air Tonight" was captured and uploaded to Daughtry's official YouTube channel. The band also played the Dubai Jazz Festival in February 2013.
On April 20, 2013, bassist Todd Harrell was charged with vehicular homicide for his actions the night before in Nashville, Tennessee. He was reportedly driving on I-40 at a high speed while under the influence of prescription medication when he caused an accident that killed 47-year-old Paul Howard Shoulders, Jr. The judge in the case harshly criticized the musician's doctor in the courtroom, accusing the physician of prescribing Harrell far too many pain pills. The judge stated that Harrell "got 360 Oxycodone and 60 Oxycontin pills from his doctor in less than 30 days, which is well outside the amount that is usually prescribed in the due course of medical treatment". Harrell was also charged with bringing a controlled substance into a correctional detention facility after it was discovered during the booking process at Nashville's Metro Jail that Harrell had a plastic bag hidden in his sock that contained eight Xanax pills, twenty four Oxycodone pills, and four Oxymorphone pills. Harrell's court and trial dates have been repeatedly postponed by Harrell's attorneys for various reasons, including a rehab stay. In December 2015, Harrell was sentenced to two years imprisonment followed by six years of probation.
3 Doors Down later announced that the four scheduled shows in the U.S. for April and May had been cancelled out of respect for Shoulders and his family. The European tour with Prime Circle and the summer tour dates with Daughtry, which had been announced the day after the incident in Nashville, remained intact. On May 24, a week before the start on the European tour, Justin Biltonen, formerly of The Campaign 1984, was announced as the band's new bassist. The tour, starting in Moscow, Russia began on May 31, 2013. On July 20, 2013, they played live at the 2013 National Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve.
Us and the Night and death of Matt Roberts: 2014–2018
In January 2014, Chris Henderson stated that their new album would be released sometime in the year. From the end of 2013 into 2014, the band embarked on an acoustic tour entitled "Songs from the Basement" and toured around the US. In February 2014, Todd Harrell was arrested in Mississippi once again for a DUI. Afterward, the band released a statement that Harrell was permanently out of the band, and that they would continue with Justin Biltonen as his replacement. In June, Henderson announced that the new album would be titled Us and the Night. It was originally set to be released between September and November 2015. In January 2016, the album's release date was finally revealed to be March 11, 2016. The band then went on tour around North America and in festivals such as Fort rock and Carolina Rebellion. 3 Doors Down toured the UK and Europe with multiple sold-out shows.
Former guitarist Matt Roberts died on August 20, 2016 at the age of 38 from a prescription drug overdose.
3 Doors Down performed at the presidential inauguration concert of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, 2017. Arnold told TMZ that he was "proud" to perform and that he thinks it would be a "good experience". Fans of the band expressed mixed to negative feedback about it performing at the inauguration; the band received criticism and ridicule for playing at the event. 3 Doors Down's business manager, Angus Vail, explained to Vice the reasons behind the band's decision to perform by saying: "Well, 3 Doors actually played George W. Bush's inauguration. They are good Mississippi and Alabama boys — they come from conservative families. You know, they're really good guys, but they have very different political beliefs. Because they played both Bush's inaugurations, they've obviously been on the conservative radar." Vail continued that the band's choice to perform had a lot to do with their "God, guns, and country black-and-white sort of viewpoint" and that "they spend a lot of time going to Iraq, doing service, playing for the troops." In the week following the performance, the band's The Greatest Hits album reentered the Billboard 200 at a new peak of No. 94; the album had debuted and peaked at No. 100 in 2012 and had been off the chart since April 2016.
In 2018, 3 Doors Down embarked on the Rock n' Roll Express tour along with Collective Soul and opening act Soul Asylum. The tour had shows in 36 cities in the United States.
Upcoming seventh studio album: 2018–present
In July 2018, Brad Arnold stated that 3 Doors Down had been writing new material; "Who knows when we'll follow that one up. But we have been writing new songs. Maybe we'll release a single or a couple of new songs. We just might not release an album for a while. We still love creating new material — there's just not a market for it. But fans still like going out and seeing us." In August 2019, Arnold stated that the band would soon begin working on a follow-up to Us and the Night.
In July 2020, 3 Doors Down announced that they would be releasing a new single, which would have been the band's first new release since their 2016 album Us and the Night.
Other appearances
On February 9, 2010, the band released a song called "Shine", through digital media such as iTunes, which was used as a promotion for the 2010 Winter Olympics and is available through digital outlets. Billboard listed 3 Doors Down as the No. 30 band in the decade from 2000 to 2010.
On January 30, 2011, 3 Doors Down played during the 1st period intermission of the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. They played two songs: "When You're Young" followed by "Kryptonite". The band also held a free concert as part of the weekend festivities on January 28, 2011 in downtown Raleigh.
On June 28–29, 2014, 3 Doors Down played both days at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. They played all of their greatest hits and two new songs. This was at the Americafest celebration.
The Better Life Foundation
3 Doors Down started The Better Life Foundation (TBLF) in 2003, with a goal in mind to give as many children as possible a better life. Since its inception TBLF has supported numerous charities across the US, including the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, and the Habitat for Humanity, as well as providing aid and assistance to the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, Brad Arnold stated that approximately $900,000 had been raised.
When the Mississippi town of Waveland took an especially hard hit from Hurricane Katrina, the charity was able to purchase three police cars and a fire truck to help with rescue efforts. Also, in connection with Wal-Mart, they were able to supply the town with three semi-trucks full of rescue supplies. There was also extensive support from TBLF in providing funding for rebuilding efforts in the town.
3 Doors Down and The Better Life Foundation host a yearly show to raise money for the charity. Beginning in 2010, the show is performed at Horseshoe Hotel and Casino, in Tunica, Mississippi. Prior to 2010, the show was performed at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. In addition to a concert from 3 Doors Down and friends, there is also an auction, which includes numerous items from musical friends, sports icons, and other various supporters of the band and the charity. There is an average of sixty items auctioned off yearly, and proceeds are given to TBLF. As of 2016, The Better Life Foundation annual benefit concert has been held at Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, North Carolina.
Past performers at the show include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, Staind, Hinder, Switchfoot, Tracy Lawrence, Sara Evans, and others. Past auction items include a Paul Stanley guitar played on the KISS Farewell Tour, a total of four Roger Bourget motorcycles, access to the Dale Jr. racing suite, NASCAR artwork by Brad Daley, numerous signed guitars, and sports memorabilia.
Band members
Current members
Brad Arnold – lead vocals (1996–present), drums (1996–2000)
Chris Henderson – rhythm and lead guitar (1998–present)
Greg Upchurch – drums (2005–present)
Chet Roberts – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2012–present)
Justin Biltonen – bass (2013–present)
Former members
Matt Roberts – lead guitar, backing vocals (1996–2012; died 2016)
Todd Harrell – bass (1996–2013)
Richard Liles – drums (2000–2002)
Daniel Adair – drums, backing vocals (2002–2005)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
The Better Life (2000)
Away from the Sun (2002)
Seventeen Days (2005)
3 Doors Down (2008)
Time of My Life (2011)
Us and the Night (2016)
Accolades
References
External links
The Better Life Foundation
Chet Roberts Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2019)
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Alternative rock groups from Mississippi
American hard rock musical groups
American post-grunge musical groups
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical quintets
Republic Records artists
Universal Records artists | true | [
"This is a comprehensive listing of official releases by Nick Lachey, an American pop singer. Nick has released four studio albums, eight singles, and four music videos under Motown Records, Universal Records and Jive Records.\n\nLachey's debut album, SoulO, was released on November 11, 2003 reached #51 on the U.S.... | [
"3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar).",
"The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead... |
[
"3 Doors Down",
"Continued success: 2005-2010",
"What albums were released bewteen 2005-2010?",
"the band had sold 12 million albums.",
"What were the titles of the albums?",
"2005's Seventeen Days,",
"What were the singles released from that album?",
"\"Let Me Go\" and \"Behind Those Eyes",
"Were t... | C_61f7b6bfa43f4590b3b5f6583174f11a_0 | Wasn't that the name of the 2005 album? | 7 | Wasn't Seventeen Days the name of the 2005 album? | 3 Doors Down | By 2005, the band had sold 12 million albums. The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has been certified platinum. Of the singles from it, "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlining many shows of their own. Later in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days. Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback. 3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song "In the Presence of the Lord" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration. The band recorded in 2009 a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs on December 8. Six of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of "Where my Christmas Lives". CANNOTANSWER | Away from the Sun: | 3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar). The band rose to international fame with their first single, "Kryptonite", which placed in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band then signed with Republic Records and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. The album was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. The group was later joined by drummer Richard Liles, who played during the tour for their first album.
The band's second album, Away from the Sun (2002), continued the band's success; it debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, went multi-platinum in the U.S. like its predecessor, and spawned the hits "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You". The band toured extensively for two years. Daniel Adair played drums on tour from 2002 to 2006. This configuration played nearly 1,000 shows across the world following the release of Away from the Sun. In 2005, Greg Upchurch (Puddle of Mudd) joined to play drums to replace Adair. 3 Doors Down released their third album, Seventeen Days, in 2005. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum within one month of release. The band continued their success with their next two albums, 3 Doors Down (2008) and Time of My Life (2011), debuting at No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the Billboard 200 chart. Their latest album, Us and the Night, was released in 2016; they were working on new material for a seventh studio album as of 2019.
The band has been primarily described as post-grunge and alternative rock, while occasionally crossing into hard rock, and Southern rock. Their lyrical content contains overarching themes of angst, rebellion, revenge, yearning, and abandonment. 3 Doors Down has sold 30 million copies worldwide.
Original guitarist Matt Roberts departed in 2012, owing to health issues. He was replaced by Chet Roberts, who was formerly Chris Henderson's guitar tech. Harrell was fired from the band in 2013 after being charged with vehicular homicide, and was replaced by bassist Justin Biltonen.
History
Formative years: 1996–1998
3 Doors Down initially consisted of Brad Arnold as the lead vocalist and drummer, Matt Roberts as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist, and Todd Harrell as the bass guitarist. The band began to tour outside Escatawpa, Mississippi, eventually coming up with their official name during a trip to Foley, Alabama. When the three were walking through the town, they saw a building where some letters had fallen off its sign, reading "Doors Down". Since the band consisted of three people at the time, they added the "3" to create "3 Doors Down". The cover of their 2011 album Time of My Life hints at the original number of band members (3) and current band members (5); the clock on the album cover reads 3:05.
A couple of years after performing together, Todd Harrell asked rhythm guitarist Chris Henderson to join the band in 1998. 3 Doors Down recorded a demo CD of their original songs at Lincoln Recording in Pascagoula, Mississippi. When the band gave the CD to local radio station WCPR-FM, they started playing the EP version of "Kryptonite" and it became the No. 1 requested song on the station for over 15 weeks. The station's program director sent the song to manager Phin Daly who in turn showed it to Bill McGathy, his employer at In De Goot Entertainment. The band was booked in New York to perform a showcase at the CBGB music club. Daly told HitQuarters: "Once they got on stage and started playing it was apparent the magic was in the music. So we moved to sign them."
Mainstream success: 1999–2004
3 Doors Down's first studio album, The Better Life, was released on February 8, 2000 and went on to become the 11th best-selling album of the year, selling over three million copies. It has since been certified 6x platinum, thanks in large part to the international hit singles, "Kryptonite", "Loser", and "Duck and Run". A fourth single, "Be Like That" was re-recorded for the 2001 film American Pie 2, with alternate lyrics for the first three lines; this version is known as the "American Pie 2 Edit". Whilst recording the album, Brad Arnold recorded both the vocal and drum tracks. The band hired drummer Richard Liles for the tour in support of The Better Life so that Arnold could perform at the front of the stage. Liles left in late 2001.
The band's second studio album, Away from the Sun, was released on November 12, 2002 and went platinum within two months of release. The album also produced singles, including "When I'm Gone", "Here Without You", and "The Road I'm On". The album has sold four million copies worldwide, including well over three million in the U.S. Session drummer Josh Freese was hired to record drums for the album. Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson produced and performed on three tracks for the record, "Dangerous Game", "Dead Love", and "Wasted Me", but only "Dangerous Game" would appear on the finished product. The band hired Canadian Daniel Adair to play drums for the Away From the Sun tour. He would go on to record the drums for the band's next studio release, and was with the band aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73) to film the music video "When I'm Gone".
In 2003, 3 Doors Down released a live EP entitled Another 700 Miles consisting of recordings from a live performance by the band in Chicago, Illinois. Another 700 Miles has since been certified Gold in the United States. In addition to featuring some of 3 Doors Down's hit singles from their previous two albums, the EP also contains a version of the popular 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd song "That Smell". The group toured with Nickelback in 2004.
In 2003, the band began hosting the annual "3 Doors Down and Friends" benefit concert, through the band's own charity The Better Life Foundation. In 2006, this event was held at the Mobile Convention Center, with proceeds benefiting Hurricane Katrina survivors. As residents of Escatawpa, the members of the band saw the effects of Katrina's devastation.
Continued success: 2005–2010
By 2005, the band had sold 12 million albums. The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, has been certified platinum. Of the singles from it, "Let Me Go" and "Behind Those Eyes" charted with the most success. "Live for Today", "Landing in London" (on which Bob Seger sang the second verse and provided back-up vocals), and "Here by Me" were also released as singles. During the Seventeen Days tour, the band appeared alongside southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as headlining many shows of their own.
Later in 2005, the band released a live DVD entitled Away from the Sun: Live from Houston, Texas. The DVD was produced and directed by Academy Award-nominated Alex Gibney and Doug Biro. It features songs from both The Better Life and Away from the Sun, and even some early sketches of "It's Not Me" and "Father's Son", which were both eventually released on Seventeen Days.
Greg Upchurch, formerly of Puddle of Mudd, replaced Daniel Adair in 2005, when Adair left to become drummer and contributing member of Nickelback.
3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album on May 20, 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It is the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the Top Ten. The album contains the hit singles "It's Not My Time", "Train", "Let Me Be Myself" and "Citizen/Soldier", a song written as a tribute to the National Guard. In 2009, 3 Doors Down, along with The Soul Children of Chicago, released the song "In the Presence of the Lord" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration.
In 2009, the band recorded a Christmas song called "Where My Christmas Lives", which was the first Christmas song Brad Arnold had ever written. It was digitally released along with seven acoustic songs on December 8. Six of these acoustic tracks were from the previous self-titled album, and one was an acoustic version of "Where my Christmas Lives".
Line-up changes: 2011–2013
3 Doors Down released their fifth studio album, Time of My Life, on July 19, 2011. The band had earlier released "When You're Young" as the first single from the album on January 10, 2011. The single reached a position of 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100. A second single from the album, "Every Time You Go" was released to digital outlets on May 23, 2011. The band embarked on a tour in July 2011 across the US, Europe, and the United Kingdom in support of the album. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with 59,800 copies sold in its first week. Beginning in May 2012, the band embarked on a six-week-long 'Gang of Outlaws Tour' with headliners ZZ Top and opener Gretchen Wilson.
On May 23, 2012, Matt Roberts announced he was leaving the band to focus on his health. He told fans in a statement that "3 Doors Down will always have a special place in my heart and it saddens me to take this time off. But my health has to be my first priority". Guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter that his old guitar tech Chet Roberts would be taking over from Matt Roberts on lead guitar.
After the "Gang of Outlaws" tour finished, the band said in an interview that they were entering the studio to record three or four new songs to put on their very first Greatest Hits album, which was released on November 19, 2012. During the tail end of the Gang of Outlaws tour, they debuted a new song "One Light" which was included on the band's The Greatest Hits. Guitarist Chris Henderson announced on Twitter they would be back in the studio a few weeks after the tour had ended. In late 2012, the band appeared at several smaller shows including one in Huntington, NY. The band performed at Download Festival 2013 at the Zippo Encore Stage on the Friday of the three-day festival. From the tailend of 2012 through to March 2013, 3 Doors Down went on a joint headlining tour with US rock band Daughtry to promote Daughtry's 3rd studio album release. The cover of "In the Air Tonight" was captured and uploaded to Daughtry's official YouTube channel. The band also played the Dubai Jazz Festival in February 2013.
On April 20, 2013, bassist Todd Harrell was charged with vehicular homicide for his actions the night before in Nashville, Tennessee. He was reportedly driving on I-40 at a high speed while under the influence of prescription medication when he caused an accident that killed 47-year-old Paul Howard Shoulders, Jr. The judge in the case harshly criticized the musician's doctor in the courtroom, accusing the physician of prescribing Harrell far too many pain pills. The judge stated that Harrell "got 360 Oxycodone and 60 Oxycontin pills from his doctor in less than 30 days, which is well outside the amount that is usually prescribed in the due course of medical treatment". Harrell was also charged with bringing a controlled substance into a correctional detention facility after it was discovered during the booking process at Nashville's Metro Jail that Harrell had a plastic bag hidden in his sock that contained eight Xanax pills, twenty four Oxycodone pills, and four Oxymorphone pills. Harrell's court and trial dates have been repeatedly postponed by Harrell's attorneys for various reasons, including a rehab stay. In December 2015, Harrell was sentenced to two years imprisonment followed by six years of probation.
3 Doors Down later announced that the four scheduled shows in the U.S. for April and May had been cancelled out of respect for Shoulders and his family. The European tour with Prime Circle and the summer tour dates with Daughtry, which had been announced the day after the incident in Nashville, remained intact. On May 24, a week before the start on the European tour, Justin Biltonen, formerly of The Campaign 1984, was announced as the band's new bassist. The tour, starting in Moscow, Russia began on May 31, 2013. On July 20, 2013, they played live at the 2013 National Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve.
Us and the Night and death of Matt Roberts: 2014–2018
In January 2014, Chris Henderson stated that their new album would be released sometime in the year. From the end of 2013 into 2014, the band embarked on an acoustic tour entitled "Songs from the Basement" and toured around the US. In February 2014, Todd Harrell was arrested in Mississippi once again for a DUI. Afterward, the band released a statement that Harrell was permanently out of the band, and that they would continue with Justin Biltonen as his replacement. In June, Henderson announced that the new album would be titled Us and the Night. It was originally set to be released between September and November 2015. In January 2016, the album's release date was finally revealed to be March 11, 2016. The band then went on tour around North America and in festivals such as Fort rock and Carolina Rebellion. 3 Doors Down toured the UK and Europe with multiple sold-out shows.
Former guitarist Matt Roberts died on August 20, 2016 at the age of 38 from a prescription drug overdose.
3 Doors Down performed at the presidential inauguration concert of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, 2017. Arnold told TMZ that he was "proud" to perform and that he thinks it would be a "good experience". Fans of the band expressed mixed to negative feedback about it performing at the inauguration; the band received criticism and ridicule for playing at the event. 3 Doors Down's business manager, Angus Vail, explained to Vice the reasons behind the band's decision to perform by saying: "Well, 3 Doors actually played George W. Bush's inauguration. They are good Mississippi and Alabama boys — they come from conservative families. You know, they're really good guys, but they have very different political beliefs. Because they played both Bush's inaugurations, they've obviously been on the conservative radar." Vail continued that the band's choice to perform had a lot to do with their "God, guns, and country black-and-white sort of viewpoint" and that "they spend a lot of time going to Iraq, doing service, playing for the troops." In the week following the performance, the band's The Greatest Hits album reentered the Billboard 200 at a new peak of No. 94; the album had debuted and peaked at No. 100 in 2012 and had been off the chart since April 2016.
In 2018, 3 Doors Down embarked on the Rock n' Roll Express tour along with Collective Soul and opening act Soul Asylum. The tour had shows in 36 cities in the United States.
Upcoming seventh studio album: 2018–present
In July 2018, Brad Arnold stated that 3 Doors Down had been writing new material; "Who knows when we'll follow that one up. But we have been writing new songs. Maybe we'll release a single or a couple of new songs. We just might not release an album for a while. We still love creating new material — there's just not a market for it. But fans still like going out and seeing us." In August 2019, Arnold stated that the band would soon begin working on a follow-up to Us and the Night.
In July 2020, 3 Doors Down announced that they would be releasing a new single, which would have been the band's first new release since their 2016 album Us and the Night.
Other appearances
On February 9, 2010, the band released a song called "Shine", through digital media such as iTunes, which was used as a promotion for the 2010 Winter Olympics and is available through digital outlets. Billboard listed 3 Doors Down as the No. 30 band in the decade from 2000 to 2010.
On January 30, 2011, 3 Doors Down played during the 1st period intermission of the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. They played two songs: "When You're Young" followed by "Kryptonite". The band also held a free concert as part of the weekend festivities on January 28, 2011 in downtown Raleigh.
On June 28–29, 2014, 3 Doors Down played both days at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. They played all of their greatest hits and two new songs. This was at the Americafest celebration.
The Better Life Foundation
3 Doors Down started The Better Life Foundation (TBLF) in 2003, with a goal in mind to give as many children as possible a better life. Since its inception TBLF has supported numerous charities across the US, including the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, and the Habitat for Humanity, as well as providing aid and assistance to the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, Brad Arnold stated that approximately $900,000 had been raised.
When the Mississippi town of Waveland took an especially hard hit from Hurricane Katrina, the charity was able to purchase three police cars and a fire truck to help with rescue efforts. Also, in connection with Wal-Mart, they were able to supply the town with three semi-trucks full of rescue supplies. There was also extensive support from TBLF in providing funding for rebuilding efforts in the town.
3 Doors Down and The Better Life Foundation host a yearly show to raise money for the charity. Beginning in 2010, the show is performed at Horseshoe Hotel and Casino, in Tunica, Mississippi. Prior to 2010, the show was performed at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. In addition to a concert from 3 Doors Down and friends, there is also an auction, which includes numerous items from musical friends, sports icons, and other various supporters of the band and the charity. There is an average of sixty items auctioned off yearly, and proceeds are given to TBLF. As of 2016, The Better Life Foundation annual benefit concert has been held at Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, North Carolina.
Past performers at the show include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, Staind, Hinder, Switchfoot, Tracy Lawrence, Sara Evans, and others. Past auction items include a Paul Stanley guitar played on the KISS Farewell Tour, a total of four Roger Bourget motorcycles, access to the Dale Jr. racing suite, NASCAR artwork by Brad Daley, numerous signed guitars, and sports memorabilia.
Band members
Current members
Brad Arnold – lead vocals (1996–present), drums (1996–2000)
Chris Henderson – rhythm and lead guitar (1998–present)
Greg Upchurch – drums (2005–present)
Chet Roberts – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2012–present)
Justin Biltonen – bass (2013–present)
Former members
Matt Roberts – lead guitar, backing vocals (1996–2012; died 2016)
Todd Harrell – bass (1996–2013)
Richard Liles – drums (2000–2002)
Daniel Adair – drums, backing vocals (2002–2005)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
The Better Life (2000)
Away from the Sun (2002)
Seventeen Days (2005)
3 Doors Down (2008)
Time of My Life (2011)
Us and the Night (2016)
Accolades
References
External links
The Better Life Foundation
Chet Roberts Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2019)
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Alternative rock groups from Mississippi
American hard rock musical groups
American post-grunge musical groups
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical quintets
Republic Records artists
Universal Records artists | true | [
"\"Wasn't It Good\" is a song by Tina Arena from her 1994 album Don't Ask. Arena co-wrote the song along with Heather Field and Robert Parde, and it was produced by David Tyson. The song peaked at number 11 in Australia and received four nominations at the prestigious ARIA Awards in 1996. Upon release as a single, ... | [
"3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Todd Harrell (bass guitar).",
"The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead... |
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"Zhang Heng",
"Science and technology"
] | C_b200a4798a7349ff8822b7bcf5addda2_0 | what did he have to do with science and technology? | 1 | What did Zhang Heng have to do with science and technology? | Zhang Heng | Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors such as Yi Xing, Zhang Sixun, Su Song, and Guo Shoujing. Su Song directly named Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower. The cosmic model of nine points of Heaven corresponding with nine regions of earth conceived in the work of the scholar-official Chen Hongmou (1696-1771) followed in the tradition of Zhang's book Spiritual Constitution of the Universe. The seismologist John Milne, who created the modern seismograph in 1876 alongside Thomas Gray and James A. Ewing at the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo, commented in 1886 on Zhang Heng's contributions to seismology. The historian Joseph Needham emphasized his contributions to pre-modern Chinese technology, stating that Zhang was noted even in his day for being able to "make three wheels rotate as if they were one." More than one scholar has described Zhang as a polymath. However, some scholars also point out that Zhang's writing lacks concrete scientific theories. Comparing Zhang with his contemporary, Ptolemy (83-161) of Roman Egypt, Jin Guantao, Fan Hongye, and Liu Qingfeng state: Based on the theories of his predecessors, Zhang Heng systematically developed the celestial sphere theory. An armillary constructed on the basis of his hypotheses bears a remarkable similarity to Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. However, Zhang Heng did not definitely propose a theoretical model like Ptolemy's earth-centered one. It is astonishing that the celestial model Zhang Heng constructed was almost a physical model of Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. Only a single step separates the celestial globe from the earth-centered theory, but Chinese astronomers never took that step. Here we can see how important the exemplary function of the primitive scientific structure is. In order to use the Euclidean system of geometry as a model for the development of astronomical theory, Ptolemy first had to select hypotheses which could serve as axioms. He naturally regarded circular motion as fundamental and then used the circular motion of deferents and epicycles in his earth-centered theory. Although Zhang Heng understood that the sun, moon and planets move in circles, he lacked a model for a logically structured theory and so could not establish a corresponding astronomical theory. Chinese astronomy was most interested in extracting the algebraic features of planetary motion (that is, the length of the cyclic periods) to establish astronomical theories. Thus astronomy was reduced to arithmetic operations, extracting common multiples and divisors from the observed cyclic motions of the heavenly bodies. CANNOTANSWER | Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors | Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, mathematician, seismologist, hydraulic engineer, inventor, geographer, cartographer, ethnographer, artist, poet, philosopher, politician, and literary scholar.
Zhang Heng began his career as a minor civil servant in Nanyang. Eventually, he became Chief Astronomer, Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages, and then Palace Attendant at the imperial court. His uncompromising stance on historical and calendrical issues led to his becoming a controversial figure, preventing him from rising to the status of Grand Historian. His political rivalry with the palace eunuchs during the reign of Emperor Shun (r. 125–144) led to his decision to retire from the central court to serve as an administrator of Hejian Kingdom in present-day Hebei. Zhang returned home to Nanyang for a short time, before being recalled to serve in the capital once more in 138. He died there a year later, in 139.
Zhang applied his extensive knowledge of mechanics and gears in several of his inventions. He invented the world's first water-powered armillary sphere to assist astronomical observation; improved the inflow water clock by adding another tank; and invented the world's first seismoscope, which discerned the cardinal direction of an earthquake away. He improved previous Chinese calculations for pi. In addition to documenting about 2,500 stars in his extensive star catalog, Zhang also posited theories about the Moon and its relationship to the Sun: specifically, he discussed the Moon's sphericity, its illumination by reflected sunlight on one side and the hidden nature of the other, and the nature of solar and lunar eclipses. His fu (rhapsody) and shi poetry were renowned in his time and studied and analyzed by later Chinese writers. Zhang received many posthumous honors for his scholarship and ingenuity; some modern scholars have compared his work in astronomy to that of the Greco-Roman Ptolemy (AD 86–161).
Life
Early life
Born in the town of Xi'e in Nanyang Commandery (north of the modern Nanyang City in Henan province), Zhang Heng came from a distinguished but not very affluent family. His grandfather Zhang Kan () had been governor of a commandery and one of the leaders who supported the restoration of the Han by Emperor Guangwu (r. 25–57), following the death of the usurping Wang Mang of the Xin (AD 9–23). When he was ten, Zhang's father died, leaving him in the care of his mother and grandmother.
An accomplished writer in his youth, Zhang left home in the year 95 to pursue his studies in the capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang. While traveling to Luoyang, Zhang passed by a hot spring near Mount Li and dedicated one of his earliest fu poems to it. This work, entitled "Fu on the Hot Springs" (Wēnquán fù 溫泉賦), describes the throngs of people attending the hot springs, which later became famous as the "Huaqing Hot Springs", a favorite retreat of imperial concubine Yang Guifei during the Tang dynasty. After studying for some years at Luoyang's Taixue, he was well-versed in the classics and friends with several notable persons, including the mathematician and calligrapher Cui Yuan (78–143), the official and philosophical commentator Ma Rong (79–166), and the philosopher Wang Fu (78–163). Government authorities offered Zhang appointments to several offices, including a position as one of the Imperial Secretaries, yet he acted modestly and declined.
At age 23, Zhang returned home with the title "Officer of Merit in Nanyang", serving as the master of documents under the administration of Governor Bao De (in office from 103 to 111). As he was charged with composing inscriptions and dirges for the governor, he gained experience in writing official documents. As Officer of Merit in the commandery, he was also responsible for local appointments to office and recommendations to the capital of nominees for higher office. He spent much of his time composing rhapsodies on the capital cities. When Bao De was recalled to the capital in 111 to serve as a minister of finance, Zhang continued his literary work at home in Xi'e. Zhang Heng began his studies in astronomy at the age of 30 and began publishing his works on astronomy and mathematics.
Official career
In 112, Zhang was summoned to the court of Emperor An (r. 106–125), who had heard of his expertise in mathematics. When he was nominated to serve at the capital, Zhang was escorted by carriage—a symbol of his official status—to Luoyang, where he became a court gentleman working for the Imperial Secretariat. He was promoted to Chief Astronomer for the court, serving his first term from 115 to 120 under Emperor An and his second under the succeeding emperor from 126 to 132. As Chief Astronomer, Zhang was a subordinate of the Minister of Ceremonies, one of Nine Ministers ranked just below the Three Excellencies. In addition to recording heavenly observations and portents, preparing the calendar, and reporting which days were auspicious and which ill-omened, Zhang was also in charge of an advanced literacy test for all candidates to the Imperial Secretariat and the Censorate, both of whose members were required to know at least 9,000 characters and all major writing styles. Under Emperor An, Zhang also served as Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages under the Ministry of Guards, in charge of receiving memorials to the throne (formal essays on policy and administration) as well as nominees for official appointments.
When the government official Dan Song proposed the Chinese calendar should be reformed in 123 to adopt certain apocryphal teachings, Zhang opposed the idea. He considered the teachings to be of questionable stature and believed they could introduce errors. Others shared Zhang's opinion and the calendar was not altered, yet Zhang's proposal that apocryphal writings should be banned was rejected. The officials Liu Zhen and Liu Taotu, members of a committee to compile the dynastic history (), sought permission from the court to consult Zhang Heng. However, Zhang was barred from assisting the committee due to his controversial views on apocrypha and his objection to the relegation of Gengshi Emperor's (r. 23–25) role in the restoration of the Han Dynasty as lesser than Emperor Guangwu's. Liu Zhen and Liu Taotu were Zhang's only historian allies at court, and after their deaths Zhang had no further opportunities for promotion to the prestigious post of court historian.
Despite this setback in his official career, Zhang was reappointed as Chief Astronomer in 126 after Emperor Shun of Han (r. 125–144) ascended to the throne. His intensive astronomical work was rewarded only with the rank and salary of 600 bushels, or shi, of grain (mostly commuted to coin cash or bolts of silk). To place this number in context, in a hierarchy of twenty official ranks, the lowest-paid official earned the rank and salary of 100 bushels and the highest-paid official earned 10,000 bushels during the Han. The 600-bushel rank was the lowest the emperor could directly appoint to a central government position; any official of lower status was overseen by central or provincial officials of high rank.
In 132, Zhang introduced an intricate seismoscope to the court, which he claimed could detect the precise cardinal direction of a distant earthquake. On one occasion his device indicated that an earthquake had occurred in the northwest. As there was no perceivable tremor felt in the capital his political enemies were briefly able to relish the failure of his device, until a messenger arrived shortly afterwards to report that an earthquake had occurred about 400 km (248 mi) to 500 km (310 mi) northwest of Luoyang in Gansu province.
A year after Zhang presented his seismoscope to the court, officials and candidates were asked to provide comments about a series of recent earthquakes which could be interpreted as signs of displeasure from Heaven. The ancient Chinese viewed natural calamities as cosmological punishments for misdeeds that were perpetrated by the Chinese ruler or his subordinates on earth. In Zhang's memorial discussing the reasons behind these natural disasters, he criticized the new recruitment system of Zuo Xiong which fixed the age of eligible candidates for the title "Filial and Incorrupt" at age forty. The new system also transferred the power of the candidates' assessment to the Three Excellencies rather than the Generals of the Household, who by tradition oversaw the affairs of court gentlemen. Although Zhang's memorial was rejected, his status was significantly elevated soon after to Palace Attendant, a position he used to influence the decisions of Emperor Shun. With this prestigious new position, Zhang earned a salary of 2,000 bushels and had the right to escort the emperor.
As Palace Attendant to Emperor Shun, Zhang Heng attempted to convince him that the court eunuchs represented a threat to the imperial court. Zhang pointed to specific examples of past court intrigues involving eunuchs, and convinced Shun that he should assume greater authority and limit their influence. The eunuchs attempted to slander Zhang, who responded with a fu rhapsody called "Fu on Pondering the Mystery", which vents his frustration. Rafe de Crespigny states that Zhang's rhapsody used imagery similar to Qu Yuan's (340–278 BC) poem "Li Sao" and focused on whether or not good men should flee the corrupted world or remain virtuous within it.
Literature and poetry
While working for the central court, Zhang Heng had access to a variety of written materials located in the Archives of the Eastern Pavilion. Zhang read many of the great works of history in his day and claimed he had found ten instances where the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (145–90 BC) and the Book of Han by Ban Gu (AD 32–92) differed from other ancient texts that were available to him. His account was preserved and recorded in the 5th century text of the Book of Later Han by Fan Ye (398–445). His rhapsodies and other literary works displayed a deep knowledge of classic texts, Chinese philosophy, and histories. He also compiled a commentary on the Taixuan (, "Great Mystery") by the Daoist author Yang Xiong (53 BC–AD 18).
Xiao Tong (501–531), a crown prince of the Liang Dynasty (502–557), immortalized several of Zhang's works in his literary anthology Selections of Refined Literature (Wen xuan ). Zhang's fu rhapsodies include "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" (Xī jīng fù ), "Eastern Metropolis Rhapsody" (Dōng jīng fù ), "Southern Capital Rhapsody" (Nán dū fù ), "Rhapsody on Contemplating the Mystery" (Sī xuán fù ), and "Rhapsody on Returning to the Fields" (Guī tián fù ). The latter fuses Daoist ideas with Confucianism and was a precursor to later Chinese metaphysical nature poetry, according to Liu Wu-chi. A set of four short lyric poems (shi 詩) entitled "Lyric Poems on Four Sorrows" (Sì chóu shī ), is also included with Zhang's preface. This set constitutes some of the earliest heptasyllabic shi Chinese poetry written. While still in Luoyang, Zhang became inspired to write his "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" and "Eastern Metropolis Rhapsody", which were based on the "Rhapsody on the Two Capitals" by the historian Ban Gu. Zhang's work was similar to Ban's, although the latter fully praised the contemporaneous Eastern Han regime while Zhang provided a warning that it could suffer the same fate as the Western Han if it too declined into a state of decadence and moral depravity. These two works satirized and criticized what he saw as the excessive luxury of the upper classes. Zhang's "Southern Capital Rhapsody" commemorated his home city of Nanyang, home of the restorer of the Han Dynasty, Guangwu.
In Zhang Heng's poem "Four Sorrows", he laments that he is unable to woo a beautiful woman due to the impediment of mountains, snows and rivers. Rafe de Crespigny, Tong Xiao, and David R. Knechtges claim that Zhang wrote this as an innuendo hinting at his inability to keep in contact with the emperor, hindered by unworthy rivals and petty men. This poem is one of the first in China to have seven words per line. His "Four Sorrows" reads:
In another poem of his called "Stabilizing the Passions" (Dìng qíng fù 定情賦) — preserved in a Tang Dynasty (618–907) encyclopedia, but referred to earlier by Tao Qian (365–427) in praise of Zhang's lyrical minimalism — Zhang displays his admiration for an attractive and exemplary woman. This simpler type of fu poem influenced later works by the prominent official and scholar Cai Yong (132–192). Zhang wrote:
Zhang's long lyrical poems also revealed a great amount of information on urban layout and basic geography. His rhapsody "Sir Based-On-Nothing" provides details on terrain, palaces, hunting parks, markets, and prominent buildings of Chang'an, the Western Han capital. Exemplifying his attention to detail, his rhapsody on Nanyang described gardens filled with spring garlic, summer bamboo shoots, autumn leeks, winter rape-turnips, perilla, evodia, and purple ginger. Zhang Heng's writing confirms the size of the imperial hunting park in the suburbs of Chang'an, as his estimate for the circumference of the park's encircling wall agrees with the historian Ban Gu's estimate of roughly 400 li (one li in Han times was equal to 415.8 m, or 1,364 ft, making the circumference of the park wall 166,320 m, or 545,600 ft). Along with Sima Xiangru (179–117 BC), Zhang listed a variety of animals and hunting game inhabiting the park, which were divided in the northern and southern portions of the park according to where the animals had originally come from: northern or southern China. Somewhat similar to the description of Sima Xiangru, Zhang described the Western Han emperors and their entourage enjoying boat outings, water plays, fishing, and displays of archery targeting birds and other animals with stringed arrows from the tops of tall towers along Chang'an's Kunming Lake. The focus of Zhang's writing on specific places and their terrain, society, people, and their customs could also be seen as early attempts of ethnographic categorization. In his poem "Xijing fu", Zhang shows that he was aware of the new foreign religion of Buddhism, introduced via the Silk Road, as well as the legend of the birth of Buddha with the vision of the white elephant bringing about conception. In his "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" (), Zhang described court entertainments such as juedi (), a form of theatrical wrestling accompanied by music in which participants butted heads with bull horn masks.
With his "Responding to Criticism" (Ying jian ), a work modeled on Yang Xiong's "Justification Against Ridicule", Zhang was an early writer and proponent of the Chinese literary genre shelun, or hypothetical discourse. Authors of this genre created a written dialogue between themselves and an imaginary person (or a real person of their entourage or association); the latter poses questions to the author on how to lead a successful life. He also used it as a means to criticize himself for failing to obtain high office, but coming to the conclusion that the true gentleman displays virtue instead of greed for power. In this work, Dominik Declercq asserts that the person urging Zhang to advance his career in a time of government corruption most likely represented the eunuchs or Empress Liang's (116–150) powerful relatives in the Liang clan. Declercq states that these two groups would have been "anxious to know whether this famous scholar could be lured over to their side", but Zhang flatly rejected such an alignment by declaring in this politically charged piece of literature that his gentlemanly quest for virtue trumped any desire of his for power.
Zhang wrote about the various love affairs of emperors dissatisfied with the imperial harem, going out into the city incognito to seek out prostitutes and sing-song girls. This was seen as a general criticism of the Eastern Han emperors and their imperial favorites, guised in the criticism of earlier Western Han emperors. Besides criticizing the Western Han emperors for lavish decadence, Zhang also pointed out that their behavior and ceremonies did not properly conform with the Chinese cyclical beliefs in yin and yang. In a poem criticizing the previous Western Han Dynasty, Zhang wrote:
Achievements in science and technology
Mathematics
For centuries the Chinese approximated pi as 3; Liu Xin (d. AD 23) made the first known Chinese attempt at a more accurate calculation of 3.1457, but there is no record detailing the method he used to obtain this figure. In his work around 130, Zhang Heng compared the celestial circle to the diameter of the earth, proportioning the former as 736 and the latter as 232, thus calculating pi as 3.1724. In Zhang's day, the ratio 4:3 was given for the area of a square to the area of its inscribed circle and the volume of a cube and volume of the inscribed sphere should also be 42:32. In formula, with D as diameter and V as volume, D3:V = 16:9 or V=D3; Zhang realized that the value for diameter in this formula was inaccurate, noting the discrepancy as the value taken for the ratio. Zhang then attempted to remedy this by amending the formula with an additional D3, hence V=D3 + D3 = D3. With the ratio of the volume of the cube to the inscribed sphere at 8:5, the implied ratio of the area of the square to the circle is √8:√5. From this formula, Zhang calculated pi as the square root of 10 (or approximately 3.162). Zhang also calculated pi as = 3.1466 in his book Ling Xian (). In the 3rd century, Liu Hui made the calculation more accurate with his π algorithm, which allowed him to obtain the value 3.14159. Later, Zu Chongzhi (429–500) approximated pi as or 3.141592, the most accurate calculation for pi the ancient Chinese would achieve.
Astronomy
In his publication of AD 120 called The Spiritual Constitution of the Universe (靈憲, Ling Xian, lit. "Sublime Model"), Zhang Heng theorized that the universe was like an egg "as round as a crossbow pellet" with the stars on the shell and the Earth as the central yolk. This universe theory is congruent with the geocentric model as opposed to the heliocentric model. Although the ancient Warring States (403–221 BC) Chinese astronomers Shi Shen and Gan De had compiled China's first star catalogue in the 4th century BC, Zhang nonetheless catalogued 2,500 stars which he placed in a "brightly shining" category (the Chinese estimated the total to be 14,000), and he recognized 124 constellations. In comparison, this star catalogue featured many more stars than the 850 documented by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus (c. 190–c.120 BC) in his catalogue, and more than Ptolemy (AD 83–161), who catalogued over 1,000. Zhang supported the "radiating influence" theory to explain solar and lunar eclipses, a theory which was opposed by Wang Chong (AD 27–97). In the Ling Xian, Zhang wrote:
Zhang Heng viewed these astronomical phenomena in supernatural terms as well. The signs of comets, eclipses, and movements of heavenly bodies could all be interpreted by him as heavenly guides on how to conduct affairs of state. Contemporary writers also wrote about eclipses and the sphericity of heavenly bodies. The music theorist and mathematician Jing Fang (78–37 BC) wrote about the spherical shape of the Sun and Moon while discussing eclipses:
The Moon and the planets are Yin; they have shape but no light. This they receive only when the Sun illuminates them. The former masters regarded the Sun as round like a crossbow bullet, and they thought the Moon had the nature of a mirror. Some of them recognized the Moon as a ball too. Those parts of the Moon which the Sun illuminates look bright, those parts which it does not, remain dark.
The theory posited by Zhang and Jing was supported by later pre-modern scientists such as Shen Kuo (1031–1095), who expanded on the reasoning of why the Sun and Moon were spherical. The theory of the celestial sphere surrounding a flat, square Earth was later criticized by the Jin-dynasty scholar-official Yu Xi (fl. 307–345). He suggested that the Earth could be round like the heavens, a spherical Earth theory fully accepted by mathematician Li Ye (1192-1279) but not by mainstream Chinese science until European influence in the 17th century.
Extra tank for inflow clepsydra
The outflow clepsydra was a timekeeping device used in China as long ago as the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC), and certainly by the Zhou Dynasty (1122–256 BC). The inflow clepsydra with an indicator rod on a float had been known in China since the beginning of the Han Dynasty in 202 BC and had replaced the outflow type. The Han Chinese noted the problem with the falling pressure head in the reservoir, which slowed the timekeeping of the device as the inflow vessel was filled. Zhang Heng was the first to address this problem, indicated in his writings from 117, by adding an extra compensating tank between the reservoir and the inflow vessel. Zhang also mounted two statuettes of a Chinese immortal and a heavenly guard on the top of the inflow clepsydra, the two of which would guide the indicator rod with their left hand and point out the graduations with their right. Joseph Needham states that this was perhaps the ancestor of all clock jacks that would later sound the hours found in mechanical clocks by the 8th century, but he notes that these figures did not actually move like clock jack figurines or sound the hours. Many additional compensation tanks were added to later clepsydras in the tradition of Zhang Heng. In 610 the Sui Dynasty (581–618) engineers Geng Xun and Yuwen Kai crafted an unequal-armed steelyard balance able to make seasonal adjustments in the pressure head of the compensating tank, so that it could control the rate of water flow for different lengths of day and night during the year. Zhang mentioned a "jade dragon's neck", which in later times meant a siphon. He wrote of the floats and indicator-rods of the inflow clepsydra as follows:
Water-powered armillary sphere
Zhang Heng is the first person known to have applied hydraulic motive power (i.e. by employing a waterwheel and clepsydra) to rotate an armillary sphere, an astronomical instrument representing the celestial sphere. The Greek astronomer Eratosthenes (276–194 BC) invented the first armillary sphere in 255 BC. The Chinese armillary sphere was fully developed by 52 BC, with the astronomer Geng Shouchang's addition of a permanently fixed equatorial ring. In AD 84 the astronomers Fu An and Jia Kui added the ecliptic ring, and finally Zhang Heng added the horizon and meridian rings. This invention is described and attributed to Zhang in quotations by Hsu Chen and Li Shan, referencing his book Lou Shui Chuan Hun Thien I Chieh (Apparatus for Rotating an Armillary Sphere by Clepsydra Water). It was likely not an actual book by Zhang, but a chapter from his Hun I or Hun I Thu Chu, written in 117 AD. His water-powered armillary influenced the design of later Chinese water clocks and led to the discovery of the escapement mechanism by the 8th century. The historian Joseph Needham (1900–1995) states:
What were the factors leading to the first escapement clock in China? The chief tradition leading to Yi Xing (AD 725 ) was of course the succession of 'pre-clocks' which had started with Zhang Heng about 125. Reason has been given for believing that these applied power to the slow turning movement of computational armillary spheres and celestial globes by means of a water-wheel using clepsydra drip, which intermittently exerted the force of a lug to act on the teeth of a wheel on a polar-axis shaft. Zhang Heng in his turn had composed this arrangement by uniting the armillary rings of his predecessors into the equatorial armillary sphere, and combining it with the principles of the water-mills and hydraulic trip-hammers which had become so widespread in Chinese culture in the previous century.
Zhang did not initiate the Chinese tradition of hydraulic engineering, which began during the mid Zhou Dynasty (c. 6th century BC), through the work of engineers such as Sunshu Ao and Ximen Bao. Zhang's contemporary, Du Shi, (d. AD 38) was the first to apply the motive power of waterwheels to operate the bellows of a blast furnace to make pig iron, and the cupola furnace to make cast iron. Zhang provided a valuable description of his water-powered armillary sphere in the treatise of 125, stating:
The equatorial ring goes around the belly of the armillary sphere 91 and 5/19 (degrees) away from the pole. The circle of the ecliptic also goes round the belly of the instrument at an angle of 24 (degrees) with the equator. Thus at the summer solstice the ecliptic is 67 (degrees) and a fraction away from the pole, while at the winter solstice it is 115 (degrees) and a fraction away. Hence (the points) where the ecliptic and the equator intersect should give the north polar distances of the spring and autumn equinoxes. But now (it has been recorded that) the spring equinox is 90 and 1/4 (degrees) away from the pole, and the autumn equinox is 92 and 1/4 (degrees) away. The former figure is adopted only because it agrees with the (results obtained by the) method of measuring solstitial sun shadows as embodied in the Xia (dynasty) calendar.
Zhang Heng's water-powered armillary sphere had profound effects on Chinese astronomy and mechanical engineering in later generations. His model and its complex use of gears greatly influenced the water-powered instruments of later astronomers such as Yi Xing (683–727), Zhang Sixun (fl. 10th century), Su Song (1020–1101), Guo Shoujing (1231–1316), and many others. Water-powered armillary spheres in the tradition of Zhang Heng's were used in the eras of the Three Kingdoms (220–280) and Jin Dynasty (266–420), yet the design for it was temporarily out of use between 317 and 418, due to invasions of northern Xiongnu nomads. Zhang Heng's old instruments were recovered in 418, when Emperor Wu of Liu Song (r. 420–422) captured the ancient capital of Chang'an. Although still intact, the graduation marks and the representations of the stars, Moon, Sun, and planets were quite worn down by time and rust. In 436, the emperor ordered Qian Luozhi, the Secretary of the Bureau of Astronomy and Calendar, to recreate Zhang's device, which he managed to do successfully. Qian's water-powered celestial globe was still in use at the time of the Liang Dynasty (502–557), and successive models of water-powered armillary spheres were designed in subsequent dynasties.
Zhang's seismoscope
From the earliest times, the Chinese were concerned with the destructive force of earthquakes. It was recorded in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian of 91 BC that in 780 BC an earthquake had been powerful enough to divert the courses of three rivers. It was not known at the time that earthquakes were caused by the shifting of tectonic plates in the Earth's crust; instead, the people of the ancient Zhou Dynasty explained them as disturbances with cosmic yin and yang, along with the heavens' displeasure with acts committed (or the common peoples' grievances ignored) by the current ruling dynasty. These theories were ultimately derived from the ancient text of the Yijing (Book of Changes), in its fifty-first hexagram. There were other early theories about earthquakes, developed by those such as the ancient Greeks. Anaxagoras (c. 500–428 BC) believed that they were caused by excess water near the surface crust of the earth bursting into the Earth's hollows; Democritus (c. 460–370 BC) believed that the saturation of the Earth with water caused them; Anaximenes (c. 585–c. 525 BC) believed they were the result of massive pieces of the Earth falling into the cavernous hollows due to drying; and Aristotle (384–322 BC) believed they were caused by instability of vapor (pneuma) caused by the drying of the moist Earth by the Sun's rays.
During the Han Dynasty, many learned scholars—including Zhang Heng—believed in the "oracles of the winds". These oracles of the occult observed the direction, force, and timing of the winds, to speculate about the operation of the cosmos and to predict events on Earth. These ideas influenced Zhang Heng's views on the cause of earthquakes.
In 132, Zhang Heng presented to the Han court what many historians consider to be his most impressive invention, the first seismoscope. A seismoscope records the motions of Earth's shaking, but unlike a seismometer, it does not retain a time record of those motions. It was named "earthquake weathervane" (hòufēng dìdòngyí 候風地動儀), and it was able to roughly determine the direction (out of eight directions) where the earthquake came from. According to the Book of Later Han (compiled by Fan Ye in the 5th century), his bronze urn-shaped device, with a swinging pendulum inside, was able to detect the direction of an earthquake hundreds of miles/kilometers away. This was essential for the Han government in sending quick aid and relief to regions devastated by this type of natural disaster. The Book of Later Han records that, on one occasion, Zhang's device was triggered, though no observer had felt any seismic disturbance; several days later a messenger arrived from the west and reported that an earthquake had occurred in Longxi (modern Gansu Province), the same direction that Zhang's device had indicated, and thus the court was forced to admit the efficacy of the device.
To indicate the direction of a distant earthquake, Zhang's device dropped a bronze ball from one of eight tubed projections shaped as dragon heads; the ball fell into the mouth of a corresponding metal object shaped as a toad, each representing a direction like the points on a compass rose. His device had eight mobile arms (for all eight directions) connected with cranks having catch mechanisms at the periphery. When tripped, a crank and right angle lever would raise a dragon head and release a ball which had been supported by the lower jaw of the dragon head. His device also included a vertical pin passing through a slot in the crank, a catch device, a pivot on a projection, a sling suspending the pendulum, an attachment for the sling, and a horizontal bar supporting the pendulum. Wang Zhenduo (王振鐸) argued that the technology of the Eastern Han era was sophisticated enough to produce such a device, as evidenced by contemporary levers and cranks used in other devices such as crossbow triggers.
Later Chinese of subsequent periods were able to reinvent Zhang's seismoscope. They included the 6th-century mathematician and surveyor Xindu Fang of the Northern Qi Dynasty (550–577) and the astronomer and mathematician Lin Xiaogong of the Sui Dynasty (581–618). Like Zhang, Xindu Fang and Lin Xiaogong were given imperial patronage for their services in craftsmanship of devices for the court. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), it was acknowledged that all devices previously made were preserved, except for that of the seismoscope. This was discussed by the scholar Zhou Mi around 1290, who remarked that the books of Xindu Fang and Lin Xiaogong detailing their seismological devices were no longer to be found. Horwitz, Kreitner, and Needham speculate if Tang Dynasty (618–907) era seismographs found their way to contemporary Japan; according to Needham, "instruments of apparently traditional type there in which a pendulum carries pins projecting in many directions and able to pierce a surrounding paper cylinder, have been described."
Hong-sen Yan states that modern replicas of Zhang's device have failed to reach the level of accuracy and sensitivity described in Chinese historical records. Wang Zhenduo presented two different models of the seismoscope based on the ancient descriptions of Zhang's device. In his 1936 reconstruction, the central pillar (du zhu) of the device was a suspended pendulum acting as a movement sensor, while the central pillar of his second model in 1963 was an inverted pendulum. According to Needham, while working in the Seismological Observatory of Tokyo University in 1939, Akitsune Imamura and Hagiwara made a reconstruction of Zhang's device. While it was John Milne and Wang Zhenduo who argued early on that Zhang's "central pillar" was a suspended pendulum, Imamura was the first to propose an inverted model. He argued that transverse shock would have rendered Wang's immobilization mechanism ineffective, as it would not have prevented further motion that could knock other balls out of their position. On June 13, 2005, modern Chinese seismologists announced that they had successfully created a replica of the instrument.
Anthony J. Barbieri-Low, a Professor of Early Chinese History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, names Zhang Heng as one of several high-ranking Eastern-Han officials who engaged in crafts that were traditionally reserved for artisans (gong 工), such as mechanical engineering. Barbieri-Low speculates that Zhang only designed his seismoscope, but did not actually craft the device himself. He asserts that this would most likely have been the job of artisans commissioned by Zhang. He writes: "Zhang Heng was an official of moderately high rank and could not be seen sweating in the foundries with the gong artisans and the government slaves. Most likely, he worked collaboratively with the professional casters and mold makers in the imperial workshops."
Cartography
The Wei (220–265) and Jin Dynasty (266–420) cartographer and official Pei Xiu (224–271) was the first in China to describe in full the geometric grid reference for maps that allowed for precise measurements using a graduated scale, as well as topographical elevation. However, map-making in China had existed since at least the 4th century BC with the Qin state maps found in Gansu in 1986. Pinpointed accuracy of the winding courses of rivers and familiarity with scaled distance had been known since the Qin and Han Dynasty, respectively, as evidenced by their existing maps, while the use of a rectangular grid had been known in China since the Han as well. Historian Howard Nelson states that, although the accounts of Zhang Heng's work in cartography are somewhat vague and sketchy, there is ample written evidence that Pei Xiu derived the use of the rectangular grid reference from the maps of Zhang Heng. Rafe de Crespigny asserts that it was Zhang who established the rectangular grid system in Chinese cartography. Needham points out that the title of his book Flying Bird Calendar may have been a mistake, and that the book is more accurately entitled Bird's Eye Map. Historian Florian C. Reiter notes that Zhang's narrative "Guitian fu" contains a phrase about applauding the maps and documents of Confucius of the Zhou Dynasty, which Reiter suggests places maps (tu) on a same level of importance with documents (shu). It is documented that a physical geography map was first presented by Zhang Heng in 116 AD, called a Ti Hsing Thu.
Odometer and south-pointing chariot
Zhang Heng is often credited with inventing the first odometer, an achievement also attributed to Archimedes (c. 287–212 BC) and Heron of Alexandria (fl. AD 10–70). Similar devices were used by the Roman and Han-Chinese empires at about the same period. By the 3rd century, the Chinese had termed the device the jili guche (, "li-recording drum carriage" (the modern measurement of li = 500 m/1640 ft).
Ancient Chinese texts describe the mechanical carriage's functions; after one li was traversed, a mechanically driven wooden figure struck a drum, and after ten li had been covered, another wooden figure struck a gong or a bell with its mechanically operated arm. However, there is evidence to suggest that the invention of the odometer was a gradual process in Han Dynasty China that centered on the "huang men"—court people (i.e. eunuchs, palace officials, attendants and familiars, actors, acrobats, etc.) who followed the musical procession of the royal "drum-chariot". There is speculation that at some time during the 1st century BC the beating of drums and gongs was mechanically driven by the rotation of the road wheels. This might have actually been the design of Luoxia Hong (c. 110 BC), yet by at least 125 the mechanical odometer carriage was already known, as it was depicted in a mural of the Xiao Tang Shan Tomb.
The south-pointing chariot was another mechanical device credited to Zhang Heng. It was a non-magnetic compass vehicle in the form of a two-wheeled chariot. Differential gears driven by the chariot's wheels allowed a wooden figurine (in the shape of a Chinese state minister) to constantly point to the south, hence its name. The Song Shu (c. AD 500 ) records that Zhang Heng re-invented it from a model used in the Zhou Dynasty era, but the violent collapse of the Han Dynasty unfortunately did not allow it to be preserved. Whether Zhang Heng invented it or not, Ma Jun (200–265) succeeded in creating the chariot in the following century.
Legacy
Science and technology
Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors such as Yi Xing, Zhang Sixun, Su Song, and Guo Shoujing. Su Song directly named Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower. The cosmic model of nine points of Heaven corresponding with nine regions of earth conceived in the work of the scholar-official Chen Hongmou (1696–1771) followed in the tradition of Zhang's book Spiritual Constitution of the Universe. The seismologist John Milne, who created the modern seismograph in 1876 alongside Thomas Gray and James A. Ewing at the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo, commented in 1886 on Zhang Heng's contributions to seismology. The historian Joseph Needham emphasized his contributions to pre-modern Chinese technology, stating that Zhang was noted even in his day for being able to "make three wheels rotate as if they were one." More than one scholar has described Zhang as a polymath. However, some scholars also point out that Zhang's writing lacks concrete scientific theories. Comparing Zhang with his contemporary, Ptolemy (83–161) of Roman Egypt, Jin Guantao, Fan Hongye, and Liu Qingfeng state:
Based on the theories of his predecessors, Zhang Heng systematically developed the celestial sphere theory. An armillary constructed on the basis of his hypotheses bears a remarkable similarity to Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. However, Zhang Heng did not definitely propose a theoretical model like Ptolemy's earth-centered one. It is astonishing that the celestial model Zhang Heng constructed was almost a physical model of Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. Only a single step separates the celestial globe from the earth-centered theory, but Chinese astronomers never took that step.
Here we can see how important the exemplary function of the primitive scientific structure is. In order to use the Euclidean system of geometry as a model for the development of astronomical theory, Ptolemy first had to select hypotheses which could serve as axioms. He naturally regarded circular motion as fundamental and then used the circular motion of deferents and epicycles in his earth-centered theory. Although Zhang Heng understood that the sun, moon and planets move in circles, he lacked a model for a logically structured theory and so could not establish a corresponding astronomical theory. Chinese astronomy was most interested in extracting the algebraic features of planetary motion (that is, the length of the cyclic periods) to establish astronomical theories. Thus astronomy was reduced to arithmetic operations, extracting common multiples and divisors from the observed cyclic motions of the heavenly bodies.
Poetic literature
Zhang's poetry was widely read during his life and after his death. In addition to the compilation of Xiao Tong mentioned above, the Eastern Wu official Xue Zong (d. 237) wrote commentary on Zhang's poems "Dongjing fu" and "Xijing fu". The influential poet Tao Qian wrote that he admired the poetry of Zhang Heng for its "curbing extravagant diction and aiming at simplicity", in regards to perceived tranquility and rectitude correlating with the simple but effective language of the poet. Tao wrote that both Zhang Heng and Cai Yong "avoided inflated language, aiming chiefly at simplicity", and adding that their "compositions begin by giving free expression to their fancies but end on a note of quiet, serving admirably to restrain undisciplined and passionate nature".
Posthumous honors
Zhang was given great honors in life and in death. The philosopher and poet Fu Xuan (217–278) of the Wei and Jin dynasties once lamented in an essay over the fact that Zhang Heng was never placed in the Ministry of Works. Writing highly of Zhang and the 3rd-century mechanical engineer Ma Jun, Fu Xuan wrote, "Neither of them was ever an official of the Ministry of Works, and their ingenuity did not benefit the world. When (authorities) employ personnel with no regard to special talent, and having heard of genius neglect even to test it—is this not hateful and disastrous?"
In honor of Zhang's achievements in science and technology, his friend Cui Ziyu (Cui Yuan) wrote a memorial inscription on his burial stele, which has been preserved in the Guwen yuan. Cui stated, "[Zhang Heng's] mathematical computations exhausted (the riddles of) the heavens and the earth. His inventions were comparable even to those of the Author of Change. The excellence of his talent and the splendour of his art were one with those of the gods." The minor official Xiahou Zhan (243–291) of the Wei Dynasty made an inscription for his own commemorative stele to be placed at Zhang Heng's tomb. It read: "Ever since gentlemen have composed literary texts, none has been as skillful as the Master [Zhang Heng] in choosing his words well ... if only the dead could rise, oh I could then turn to him for a teacher!"
Several things have been named after Zhang in modern times, including the lunar crater Chang Heng, the asteroid 1802 Zhang Heng, and the mineral zhanghengite. In 2018, China launched a research satellite called China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) which is also named Zhangheng-1 (ZH-1).
See also
Han poetry
Fu (poetry)
Return to the Field
Yu Xi
References
Citation
Bibliography
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Dillon, Michael. (1998). China: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary. Surrey: Routledge Curzon Press. .
Fraser, Ian W. (2014). "Zhang Heng 张衡", in Kerry Brown, ed., The Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography (pp. 369–376). Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing. .
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Loewe, Michael. (1990). "The Juedi Games: a re-enactment of the battle between Chiyou and Xianyuan", in Thought and Law in Qin and Han China: Studies dedicated to Anthony Huslewé on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, 140–157, edited by W.L. Idema and E. Zürcher. Leiden: E.J. Brill. .
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Mair, Victor H. (2001). The Columbia History of Chinese Literature. New York: Columbia University Press. .
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Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. reprinted: Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
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Stein, S., and M. E. Wysession. (2002). An Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure. London: Wiley-Blackwell. ASIN B010WFPEOO.
Wagner, Donald B. (2001). The State and the Iron Industry in Han China. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Publishing. .
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External links
Zhang Heng at Chinaculture.org
Zhang Heng at the University of Maine, USA
Zhang Heng at the University of St Andrews, Scotland
The Early History of Seismology (to 1900)
Seismoscope - Research References 2012
78 births
139 deaths
1st-century Chinese poets
2nd-century Chinese poets
Ancient Chinese astronomers
Ancient Chinese mathematicians
Chinese cartographers
Chinese Confucianists
Chinese ethnographers
Chinese geographers
Chinese inventors
Chinese mechanical engineers
Chinese non-fiction writers
Chinese scholars
Chinese seismologists
Engineers from Henan
Han dynasty philosophers
Han dynasty poets
Han dynasty politicians from Henan
Han dynasty science writers
Hydraulic engineers
Mathematicians from Henan
Philosophers from Henan
Physicists from Henan
Poets from Henan
Politicians from Nanyang, Henan
Technical writers
Writers from Nanyang, Henan
2nd-century geographers | true | [
"is a Japanese chemist specializing in nanotechnology and self-assembly. He was educated at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, where he defended his PhD in 1990 and later worked as assistant professor. Since 2004 he carries out research at the National Institute for Materials Science, and teaches at the University ... | [
"Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, mathematician, seismologist, hydraulic engineer, inventor, geographer, cartogr... |
[
"Zhang Heng",
"Science and technology",
"what did he have to do with science and technology?",
"Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors"
] | C_b200a4798a7349ff8822b7bcf5addda2_0 | what did it influence them to do? | 2 | What did Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influence Chinese inventors to do? | Zhang Heng | Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors such as Yi Xing, Zhang Sixun, Su Song, and Guo Shoujing. Su Song directly named Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower. The cosmic model of nine points of Heaven corresponding with nine regions of earth conceived in the work of the scholar-official Chen Hongmou (1696-1771) followed in the tradition of Zhang's book Spiritual Constitution of the Universe. The seismologist John Milne, who created the modern seismograph in 1876 alongside Thomas Gray and James A. Ewing at the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo, commented in 1886 on Zhang Heng's contributions to seismology. The historian Joseph Needham emphasized his contributions to pre-modern Chinese technology, stating that Zhang was noted even in his day for being able to "make three wheels rotate as if they were one." More than one scholar has described Zhang as a polymath. However, some scholars also point out that Zhang's writing lacks concrete scientific theories. Comparing Zhang with his contemporary, Ptolemy (83-161) of Roman Egypt, Jin Guantao, Fan Hongye, and Liu Qingfeng state: Based on the theories of his predecessors, Zhang Heng systematically developed the celestial sphere theory. An armillary constructed on the basis of his hypotheses bears a remarkable similarity to Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. However, Zhang Heng did not definitely propose a theoretical model like Ptolemy's earth-centered one. It is astonishing that the celestial model Zhang Heng constructed was almost a physical model of Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. Only a single step separates the celestial globe from the earth-centered theory, but Chinese astronomers never took that step. Here we can see how important the exemplary function of the primitive scientific structure is. In order to use the Euclidean system of geometry as a model for the development of astronomical theory, Ptolemy first had to select hypotheses which could serve as axioms. He naturally regarded circular motion as fundamental and then used the circular motion of deferents and epicycles in his earth-centered theory. Although Zhang Heng understood that the sun, moon and planets move in circles, he lacked a model for a logically structured theory and so could not establish a corresponding astronomical theory. Chinese astronomy was most interested in extracting the algebraic features of planetary motion (that is, the length of the cyclic periods) to establish astronomical theories. Thus astronomy was reduced to arithmetic operations, extracting common multiples and divisors from the observed cyclic motions of the heavenly bodies. CANNOTANSWER | Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower. | Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, mathematician, seismologist, hydraulic engineer, inventor, geographer, cartographer, ethnographer, artist, poet, philosopher, politician, and literary scholar.
Zhang Heng began his career as a minor civil servant in Nanyang. Eventually, he became Chief Astronomer, Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages, and then Palace Attendant at the imperial court. His uncompromising stance on historical and calendrical issues led to his becoming a controversial figure, preventing him from rising to the status of Grand Historian. His political rivalry with the palace eunuchs during the reign of Emperor Shun (r. 125–144) led to his decision to retire from the central court to serve as an administrator of Hejian Kingdom in present-day Hebei. Zhang returned home to Nanyang for a short time, before being recalled to serve in the capital once more in 138. He died there a year later, in 139.
Zhang applied his extensive knowledge of mechanics and gears in several of his inventions. He invented the world's first water-powered armillary sphere to assist astronomical observation; improved the inflow water clock by adding another tank; and invented the world's first seismoscope, which discerned the cardinal direction of an earthquake away. He improved previous Chinese calculations for pi. In addition to documenting about 2,500 stars in his extensive star catalog, Zhang also posited theories about the Moon and its relationship to the Sun: specifically, he discussed the Moon's sphericity, its illumination by reflected sunlight on one side and the hidden nature of the other, and the nature of solar and lunar eclipses. His fu (rhapsody) and shi poetry were renowned in his time and studied and analyzed by later Chinese writers. Zhang received many posthumous honors for his scholarship and ingenuity; some modern scholars have compared his work in astronomy to that of the Greco-Roman Ptolemy (AD 86–161).
Life
Early life
Born in the town of Xi'e in Nanyang Commandery (north of the modern Nanyang City in Henan province), Zhang Heng came from a distinguished but not very affluent family. His grandfather Zhang Kan () had been governor of a commandery and one of the leaders who supported the restoration of the Han by Emperor Guangwu (r. 25–57), following the death of the usurping Wang Mang of the Xin (AD 9–23). When he was ten, Zhang's father died, leaving him in the care of his mother and grandmother.
An accomplished writer in his youth, Zhang left home in the year 95 to pursue his studies in the capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang. While traveling to Luoyang, Zhang passed by a hot spring near Mount Li and dedicated one of his earliest fu poems to it. This work, entitled "Fu on the Hot Springs" (Wēnquán fù 溫泉賦), describes the throngs of people attending the hot springs, which later became famous as the "Huaqing Hot Springs", a favorite retreat of imperial concubine Yang Guifei during the Tang dynasty. After studying for some years at Luoyang's Taixue, he was well-versed in the classics and friends with several notable persons, including the mathematician and calligrapher Cui Yuan (78–143), the official and philosophical commentator Ma Rong (79–166), and the philosopher Wang Fu (78–163). Government authorities offered Zhang appointments to several offices, including a position as one of the Imperial Secretaries, yet he acted modestly and declined.
At age 23, Zhang returned home with the title "Officer of Merit in Nanyang", serving as the master of documents under the administration of Governor Bao De (in office from 103 to 111). As he was charged with composing inscriptions and dirges for the governor, he gained experience in writing official documents. As Officer of Merit in the commandery, he was also responsible for local appointments to office and recommendations to the capital of nominees for higher office. He spent much of his time composing rhapsodies on the capital cities. When Bao De was recalled to the capital in 111 to serve as a minister of finance, Zhang continued his literary work at home in Xi'e. Zhang Heng began his studies in astronomy at the age of 30 and began publishing his works on astronomy and mathematics.
Official career
In 112, Zhang was summoned to the court of Emperor An (r. 106–125), who had heard of his expertise in mathematics. When he was nominated to serve at the capital, Zhang was escorted by carriage—a symbol of his official status—to Luoyang, where he became a court gentleman working for the Imperial Secretariat. He was promoted to Chief Astronomer for the court, serving his first term from 115 to 120 under Emperor An and his second under the succeeding emperor from 126 to 132. As Chief Astronomer, Zhang was a subordinate of the Minister of Ceremonies, one of Nine Ministers ranked just below the Three Excellencies. In addition to recording heavenly observations and portents, preparing the calendar, and reporting which days were auspicious and which ill-omened, Zhang was also in charge of an advanced literacy test for all candidates to the Imperial Secretariat and the Censorate, both of whose members were required to know at least 9,000 characters and all major writing styles. Under Emperor An, Zhang also served as Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages under the Ministry of Guards, in charge of receiving memorials to the throne (formal essays on policy and administration) as well as nominees for official appointments.
When the government official Dan Song proposed the Chinese calendar should be reformed in 123 to adopt certain apocryphal teachings, Zhang opposed the idea. He considered the teachings to be of questionable stature and believed they could introduce errors. Others shared Zhang's opinion and the calendar was not altered, yet Zhang's proposal that apocryphal writings should be banned was rejected. The officials Liu Zhen and Liu Taotu, members of a committee to compile the dynastic history (), sought permission from the court to consult Zhang Heng. However, Zhang was barred from assisting the committee due to his controversial views on apocrypha and his objection to the relegation of Gengshi Emperor's (r. 23–25) role in the restoration of the Han Dynasty as lesser than Emperor Guangwu's. Liu Zhen and Liu Taotu were Zhang's only historian allies at court, and after their deaths Zhang had no further opportunities for promotion to the prestigious post of court historian.
Despite this setback in his official career, Zhang was reappointed as Chief Astronomer in 126 after Emperor Shun of Han (r. 125–144) ascended to the throne. His intensive astronomical work was rewarded only with the rank and salary of 600 bushels, or shi, of grain (mostly commuted to coin cash or bolts of silk). To place this number in context, in a hierarchy of twenty official ranks, the lowest-paid official earned the rank and salary of 100 bushels and the highest-paid official earned 10,000 bushels during the Han. The 600-bushel rank was the lowest the emperor could directly appoint to a central government position; any official of lower status was overseen by central or provincial officials of high rank.
In 132, Zhang introduced an intricate seismoscope to the court, which he claimed could detect the precise cardinal direction of a distant earthquake. On one occasion his device indicated that an earthquake had occurred in the northwest. As there was no perceivable tremor felt in the capital his political enemies were briefly able to relish the failure of his device, until a messenger arrived shortly afterwards to report that an earthquake had occurred about 400 km (248 mi) to 500 km (310 mi) northwest of Luoyang in Gansu province.
A year after Zhang presented his seismoscope to the court, officials and candidates were asked to provide comments about a series of recent earthquakes which could be interpreted as signs of displeasure from Heaven. The ancient Chinese viewed natural calamities as cosmological punishments for misdeeds that were perpetrated by the Chinese ruler or his subordinates on earth. In Zhang's memorial discussing the reasons behind these natural disasters, he criticized the new recruitment system of Zuo Xiong which fixed the age of eligible candidates for the title "Filial and Incorrupt" at age forty. The new system also transferred the power of the candidates' assessment to the Three Excellencies rather than the Generals of the Household, who by tradition oversaw the affairs of court gentlemen. Although Zhang's memorial was rejected, his status was significantly elevated soon after to Palace Attendant, a position he used to influence the decisions of Emperor Shun. With this prestigious new position, Zhang earned a salary of 2,000 bushels and had the right to escort the emperor.
As Palace Attendant to Emperor Shun, Zhang Heng attempted to convince him that the court eunuchs represented a threat to the imperial court. Zhang pointed to specific examples of past court intrigues involving eunuchs, and convinced Shun that he should assume greater authority and limit their influence. The eunuchs attempted to slander Zhang, who responded with a fu rhapsody called "Fu on Pondering the Mystery", which vents his frustration. Rafe de Crespigny states that Zhang's rhapsody used imagery similar to Qu Yuan's (340–278 BC) poem "Li Sao" and focused on whether or not good men should flee the corrupted world or remain virtuous within it.
Literature and poetry
While working for the central court, Zhang Heng had access to a variety of written materials located in the Archives of the Eastern Pavilion. Zhang read many of the great works of history in his day and claimed he had found ten instances where the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (145–90 BC) and the Book of Han by Ban Gu (AD 32–92) differed from other ancient texts that were available to him. His account was preserved and recorded in the 5th century text of the Book of Later Han by Fan Ye (398–445). His rhapsodies and other literary works displayed a deep knowledge of classic texts, Chinese philosophy, and histories. He also compiled a commentary on the Taixuan (, "Great Mystery") by the Daoist author Yang Xiong (53 BC–AD 18).
Xiao Tong (501–531), a crown prince of the Liang Dynasty (502–557), immortalized several of Zhang's works in his literary anthology Selections of Refined Literature (Wen xuan ). Zhang's fu rhapsodies include "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" (Xī jīng fù ), "Eastern Metropolis Rhapsody" (Dōng jīng fù ), "Southern Capital Rhapsody" (Nán dū fù ), "Rhapsody on Contemplating the Mystery" (Sī xuán fù ), and "Rhapsody on Returning to the Fields" (Guī tián fù ). The latter fuses Daoist ideas with Confucianism and was a precursor to later Chinese metaphysical nature poetry, according to Liu Wu-chi. A set of four short lyric poems (shi 詩) entitled "Lyric Poems on Four Sorrows" (Sì chóu shī ), is also included with Zhang's preface. This set constitutes some of the earliest heptasyllabic shi Chinese poetry written. While still in Luoyang, Zhang became inspired to write his "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" and "Eastern Metropolis Rhapsody", which were based on the "Rhapsody on the Two Capitals" by the historian Ban Gu. Zhang's work was similar to Ban's, although the latter fully praised the contemporaneous Eastern Han regime while Zhang provided a warning that it could suffer the same fate as the Western Han if it too declined into a state of decadence and moral depravity. These two works satirized and criticized what he saw as the excessive luxury of the upper classes. Zhang's "Southern Capital Rhapsody" commemorated his home city of Nanyang, home of the restorer of the Han Dynasty, Guangwu.
In Zhang Heng's poem "Four Sorrows", he laments that he is unable to woo a beautiful woman due to the impediment of mountains, snows and rivers. Rafe de Crespigny, Tong Xiao, and David R. Knechtges claim that Zhang wrote this as an innuendo hinting at his inability to keep in contact with the emperor, hindered by unworthy rivals and petty men. This poem is one of the first in China to have seven words per line. His "Four Sorrows" reads:
In another poem of his called "Stabilizing the Passions" (Dìng qíng fù 定情賦) — preserved in a Tang Dynasty (618–907) encyclopedia, but referred to earlier by Tao Qian (365–427) in praise of Zhang's lyrical minimalism — Zhang displays his admiration for an attractive and exemplary woman. This simpler type of fu poem influenced later works by the prominent official and scholar Cai Yong (132–192). Zhang wrote:
Zhang's long lyrical poems also revealed a great amount of information on urban layout and basic geography. His rhapsody "Sir Based-On-Nothing" provides details on terrain, palaces, hunting parks, markets, and prominent buildings of Chang'an, the Western Han capital. Exemplifying his attention to detail, his rhapsody on Nanyang described gardens filled with spring garlic, summer bamboo shoots, autumn leeks, winter rape-turnips, perilla, evodia, and purple ginger. Zhang Heng's writing confirms the size of the imperial hunting park in the suburbs of Chang'an, as his estimate for the circumference of the park's encircling wall agrees with the historian Ban Gu's estimate of roughly 400 li (one li in Han times was equal to 415.8 m, or 1,364 ft, making the circumference of the park wall 166,320 m, or 545,600 ft). Along with Sima Xiangru (179–117 BC), Zhang listed a variety of animals and hunting game inhabiting the park, which were divided in the northern and southern portions of the park according to where the animals had originally come from: northern or southern China. Somewhat similar to the description of Sima Xiangru, Zhang described the Western Han emperors and their entourage enjoying boat outings, water plays, fishing, and displays of archery targeting birds and other animals with stringed arrows from the tops of tall towers along Chang'an's Kunming Lake. The focus of Zhang's writing on specific places and their terrain, society, people, and their customs could also be seen as early attempts of ethnographic categorization. In his poem "Xijing fu", Zhang shows that he was aware of the new foreign religion of Buddhism, introduced via the Silk Road, as well as the legend of the birth of Buddha with the vision of the white elephant bringing about conception. In his "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" (), Zhang described court entertainments such as juedi (), a form of theatrical wrestling accompanied by music in which participants butted heads with bull horn masks.
With his "Responding to Criticism" (Ying jian ), a work modeled on Yang Xiong's "Justification Against Ridicule", Zhang was an early writer and proponent of the Chinese literary genre shelun, or hypothetical discourse. Authors of this genre created a written dialogue between themselves and an imaginary person (or a real person of their entourage or association); the latter poses questions to the author on how to lead a successful life. He also used it as a means to criticize himself for failing to obtain high office, but coming to the conclusion that the true gentleman displays virtue instead of greed for power. In this work, Dominik Declercq asserts that the person urging Zhang to advance his career in a time of government corruption most likely represented the eunuchs or Empress Liang's (116–150) powerful relatives in the Liang clan. Declercq states that these two groups would have been "anxious to know whether this famous scholar could be lured over to their side", but Zhang flatly rejected such an alignment by declaring in this politically charged piece of literature that his gentlemanly quest for virtue trumped any desire of his for power.
Zhang wrote about the various love affairs of emperors dissatisfied with the imperial harem, going out into the city incognito to seek out prostitutes and sing-song girls. This was seen as a general criticism of the Eastern Han emperors and their imperial favorites, guised in the criticism of earlier Western Han emperors. Besides criticizing the Western Han emperors for lavish decadence, Zhang also pointed out that their behavior and ceremonies did not properly conform with the Chinese cyclical beliefs in yin and yang. In a poem criticizing the previous Western Han Dynasty, Zhang wrote:
Achievements in science and technology
Mathematics
For centuries the Chinese approximated pi as 3; Liu Xin (d. AD 23) made the first known Chinese attempt at a more accurate calculation of 3.1457, but there is no record detailing the method he used to obtain this figure. In his work around 130, Zhang Heng compared the celestial circle to the diameter of the earth, proportioning the former as 736 and the latter as 232, thus calculating pi as 3.1724. In Zhang's day, the ratio 4:3 was given for the area of a square to the area of its inscribed circle and the volume of a cube and volume of the inscribed sphere should also be 42:32. In formula, with D as diameter and V as volume, D3:V = 16:9 or V=D3; Zhang realized that the value for diameter in this formula was inaccurate, noting the discrepancy as the value taken for the ratio. Zhang then attempted to remedy this by amending the formula with an additional D3, hence V=D3 + D3 = D3. With the ratio of the volume of the cube to the inscribed sphere at 8:5, the implied ratio of the area of the square to the circle is √8:√5. From this formula, Zhang calculated pi as the square root of 10 (or approximately 3.162). Zhang also calculated pi as = 3.1466 in his book Ling Xian (). In the 3rd century, Liu Hui made the calculation more accurate with his π algorithm, which allowed him to obtain the value 3.14159. Later, Zu Chongzhi (429–500) approximated pi as or 3.141592, the most accurate calculation for pi the ancient Chinese would achieve.
Astronomy
In his publication of AD 120 called The Spiritual Constitution of the Universe (靈憲, Ling Xian, lit. "Sublime Model"), Zhang Heng theorized that the universe was like an egg "as round as a crossbow pellet" with the stars on the shell and the Earth as the central yolk. This universe theory is congruent with the geocentric model as opposed to the heliocentric model. Although the ancient Warring States (403–221 BC) Chinese astronomers Shi Shen and Gan De had compiled China's first star catalogue in the 4th century BC, Zhang nonetheless catalogued 2,500 stars which he placed in a "brightly shining" category (the Chinese estimated the total to be 14,000), and he recognized 124 constellations. In comparison, this star catalogue featured many more stars than the 850 documented by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus (c. 190–c.120 BC) in his catalogue, and more than Ptolemy (AD 83–161), who catalogued over 1,000. Zhang supported the "radiating influence" theory to explain solar and lunar eclipses, a theory which was opposed by Wang Chong (AD 27–97). In the Ling Xian, Zhang wrote:
Zhang Heng viewed these astronomical phenomena in supernatural terms as well. The signs of comets, eclipses, and movements of heavenly bodies could all be interpreted by him as heavenly guides on how to conduct affairs of state. Contemporary writers also wrote about eclipses and the sphericity of heavenly bodies. The music theorist and mathematician Jing Fang (78–37 BC) wrote about the spherical shape of the Sun and Moon while discussing eclipses:
The Moon and the planets are Yin; they have shape but no light. This they receive only when the Sun illuminates them. The former masters regarded the Sun as round like a crossbow bullet, and they thought the Moon had the nature of a mirror. Some of them recognized the Moon as a ball too. Those parts of the Moon which the Sun illuminates look bright, those parts which it does not, remain dark.
The theory posited by Zhang and Jing was supported by later pre-modern scientists such as Shen Kuo (1031–1095), who expanded on the reasoning of why the Sun and Moon were spherical. The theory of the celestial sphere surrounding a flat, square Earth was later criticized by the Jin-dynasty scholar-official Yu Xi (fl. 307–345). He suggested that the Earth could be round like the heavens, a spherical Earth theory fully accepted by mathematician Li Ye (1192-1279) but not by mainstream Chinese science until European influence in the 17th century.
Extra tank for inflow clepsydra
The outflow clepsydra was a timekeeping device used in China as long ago as the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC), and certainly by the Zhou Dynasty (1122–256 BC). The inflow clepsydra with an indicator rod on a float had been known in China since the beginning of the Han Dynasty in 202 BC and had replaced the outflow type. The Han Chinese noted the problem with the falling pressure head in the reservoir, which slowed the timekeeping of the device as the inflow vessel was filled. Zhang Heng was the first to address this problem, indicated in his writings from 117, by adding an extra compensating tank between the reservoir and the inflow vessel. Zhang also mounted two statuettes of a Chinese immortal and a heavenly guard on the top of the inflow clepsydra, the two of which would guide the indicator rod with their left hand and point out the graduations with their right. Joseph Needham states that this was perhaps the ancestor of all clock jacks that would later sound the hours found in mechanical clocks by the 8th century, but he notes that these figures did not actually move like clock jack figurines or sound the hours. Many additional compensation tanks were added to later clepsydras in the tradition of Zhang Heng. In 610 the Sui Dynasty (581–618) engineers Geng Xun and Yuwen Kai crafted an unequal-armed steelyard balance able to make seasonal adjustments in the pressure head of the compensating tank, so that it could control the rate of water flow for different lengths of day and night during the year. Zhang mentioned a "jade dragon's neck", which in later times meant a siphon. He wrote of the floats and indicator-rods of the inflow clepsydra as follows:
Water-powered armillary sphere
Zhang Heng is the first person known to have applied hydraulic motive power (i.e. by employing a waterwheel and clepsydra) to rotate an armillary sphere, an astronomical instrument representing the celestial sphere. The Greek astronomer Eratosthenes (276–194 BC) invented the first armillary sphere in 255 BC. The Chinese armillary sphere was fully developed by 52 BC, with the astronomer Geng Shouchang's addition of a permanently fixed equatorial ring. In AD 84 the astronomers Fu An and Jia Kui added the ecliptic ring, and finally Zhang Heng added the horizon and meridian rings. This invention is described and attributed to Zhang in quotations by Hsu Chen and Li Shan, referencing his book Lou Shui Chuan Hun Thien I Chieh (Apparatus for Rotating an Armillary Sphere by Clepsydra Water). It was likely not an actual book by Zhang, but a chapter from his Hun I or Hun I Thu Chu, written in 117 AD. His water-powered armillary influenced the design of later Chinese water clocks and led to the discovery of the escapement mechanism by the 8th century. The historian Joseph Needham (1900–1995) states:
What were the factors leading to the first escapement clock in China? The chief tradition leading to Yi Xing (AD 725 ) was of course the succession of 'pre-clocks' which had started with Zhang Heng about 125. Reason has been given for believing that these applied power to the slow turning movement of computational armillary spheres and celestial globes by means of a water-wheel using clepsydra drip, which intermittently exerted the force of a lug to act on the teeth of a wheel on a polar-axis shaft. Zhang Heng in his turn had composed this arrangement by uniting the armillary rings of his predecessors into the equatorial armillary sphere, and combining it with the principles of the water-mills and hydraulic trip-hammers which had become so widespread in Chinese culture in the previous century.
Zhang did not initiate the Chinese tradition of hydraulic engineering, which began during the mid Zhou Dynasty (c. 6th century BC), through the work of engineers such as Sunshu Ao and Ximen Bao. Zhang's contemporary, Du Shi, (d. AD 38) was the first to apply the motive power of waterwheels to operate the bellows of a blast furnace to make pig iron, and the cupola furnace to make cast iron. Zhang provided a valuable description of his water-powered armillary sphere in the treatise of 125, stating:
The equatorial ring goes around the belly of the armillary sphere 91 and 5/19 (degrees) away from the pole. The circle of the ecliptic also goes round the belly of the instrument at an angle of 24 (degrees) with the equator. Thus at the summer solstice the ecliptic is 67 (degrees) and a fraction away from the pole, while at the winter solstice it is 115 (degrees) and a fraction away. Hence (the points) where the ecliptic and the equator intersect should give the north polar distances of the spring and autumn equinoxes. But now (it has been recorded that) the spring equinox is 90 and 1/4 (degrees) away from the pole, and the autumn equinox is 92 and 1/4 (degrees) away. The former figure is adopted only because it agrees with the (results obtained by the) method of measuring solstitial sun shadows as embodied in the Xia (dynasty) calendar.
Zhang Heng's water-powered armillary sphere had profound effects on Chinese astronomy and mechanical engineering in later generations. His model and its complex use of gears greatly influenced the water-powered instruments of later astronomers such as Yi Xing (683–727), Zhang Sixun (fl. 10th century), Su Song (1020–1101), Guo Shoujing (1231–1316), and many others. Water-powered armillary spheres in the tradition of Zhang Heng's were used in the eras of the Three Kingdoms (220–280) and Jin Dynasty (266–420), yet the design for it was temporarily out of use between 317 and 418, due to invasions of northern Xiongnu nomads. Zhang Heng's old instruments were recovered in 418, when Emperor Wu of Liu Song (r. 420–422) captured the ancient capital of Chang'an. Although still intact, the graduation marks and the representations of the stars, Moon, Sun, and planets were quite worn down by time and rust. In 436, the emperor ordered Qian Luozhi, the Secretary of the Bureau of Astronomy and Calendar, to recreate Zhang's device, which he managed to do successfully. Qian's water-powered celestial globe was still in use at the time of the Liang Dynasty (502–557), and successive models of water-powered armillary spheres were designed in subsequent dynasties.
Zhang's seismoscope
From the earliest times, the Chinese were concerned with the destructive force of earthquakes. It was recorded in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian of 91 BC that in 780 BC an earthquake had been powerful enough to divert the courses of three rivers. It was not known at the time that earthquakes were caused by the shifting of tectonic plates in the Earth's crust; instead, the people of the ancient Zhou Dynasty explained them as disturbances with cosmic yin and yang, along with the heavens' displeasure with acts committed (or the common peoples' grievances ignored) by the current ruling dynasty. These theories were ultimately derived from the ancient text of the Yijing (Book of Changes), in its fifty-first hexagram. There were other early theories about earthquakes, developed by those such as the ancient Greeks. Anaxagoras (c. 500–428 BC) believed that they were caused by excess water near the surface crust of the earth bursting into the Earth's hollows; Democritus (c. 460–370 BC) believed that the saturation of the Earth with water caused them; Anaximenes (c. 585–c. 525 BC) believed they were the result of massive pieces of the Earth falling into the cavernous hollows due to drying; and Aristotle (384–322 BC) believed they were caused by instability of vapor (pneuma) caused by the drying of the moist Earth by the Sun's rays.
During the Han Dynasty, many learned scholars—including Zhang Heng—believed in the "oracles of the winds". These oracles of the occult observed the direction, force, and timing of the winds, to speculate about the operation of the cosmos and to predict events on Earth. These ideas influenced Zhang Heng's views on the cause of earthquakes.
In 132, Zhang Heng presented to the Han court what many historians consider to be his most impressive invention, the first seismoscope. A seismoscope records the motions of Earth's shaking, but unlike a seismometer, it does not retain a time record of those motions. It was named "earthquake weathervane" (hòufēng dìdòngyí 候風地動儀), and it was able to roughly determine the direction (out of eight directions) where the earthquake came from. According to the Book of Later Han (compiled by Fan Ye in the 5th century), his bronze urn-shaped device, with a swinging pendulum inside, was able to detect the direction of an earthquake hundreds of miles/kilometers away. This was essential for the Han government in sending quick aid and relief to regions devastated by this type of natural disaster. The Book of Later Han records that, on one occasion, Zhang's device was triggered, though no observer had felt any seismic disturbance; several days later a messenger arrived from the west and reported that an earthquake had occurred in Longxi (modern Gansu Province), the same direction that Zhang's device had indicated, and thus the court was forced to admit the efficacy of the device.
To indicate the direction of a distant earthquake, Zhang's device dropped a bronze ball from one of eight tubed projections shaped as dragon heads; the ball fell into the mouth of a corresponding metal object shaped as a toad, each representing a direction like the points on a compass rose. His device had eight mobile arms (for all eight directions) connected with cranks having catch mechanisms at the periphery. When tripped, a crank and right angle lever would raise a dragon head and release a ball which had been supported by the lower jaw of the dragon head. His device also included a vertical pin passing through a slot in the crank, a catch device, a pivot on a projection, a sling suspending the pendulum, an attachment for the sling, and a horizontal bar supporting the pendulum. Wang Zhenduo (王振鐸) argued that the technology of the Eastern Han era was sophisticated enough to produce such a device, as evidenced by contemporary levers and cranks used in other devices such as crossbow triggers.
Later Chinese of subsequent periods were able to reinvent Zhang's seismoscope. They included the 6th-century mathematician and surveyor Xindu Fang of the Northern Qi Dynasty (550–577) and the astronomer and mathematician Lin Xiaogong of the Sui Dynasty (581–618). Like Zhang, Xindu Fang and Lin Xiaogong were given imperial patronage for their services in craftsmanship of devices for the court. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), it was acknowledged that all devices previously made were preserved, except for that of the seismoscope. This was discussed by the scholar Zhou Mi around 1290, who remarked that the books of Xindu Fang and Lin Xiaogong detailing their seismological devices were no longer to be found. Horwitz, Kreitner, and Needham speculate if Tang Dynasty (618–907) era seismographs found their way to contemporary Japan; according to Needham, "instruments of apparently traditional type there in which a pendulum carries pins projecting in many directions and able to pierce a surrounding paper cylinder, have been described."
Hong-sen Yan states that modern replicas of Zhang's device have failed to reach the level of accuracy and sensitivity described in Chinese historical records. Wang Zhenduo presented two different models of the seismoscope based on the ancient descriptions of Zhang's device. In his 1936 reconstruction, the central pillar (du zhu) of the device was a suspended pendulum acting as a movement sensor, while the central pillar of his second model in 1963 was an inverted pendulum. According to Needham, while working in the Seismological Observatory of Tokyo University in 1939, Akitsune Imamura and Hagiwara made a reconstruction of Zhang's device. While it was John Milne and Wang Zhenduo who argued early on that Zhang's "central pillar" was a suspended pendulum, Imamura was the first to propose an inverted model. He argued that transverse shock would have rendered Wang's immobilization mechanism ineffective, as it would not have prevented further motion that could knock other balls out of their position. On June 13, 2005, modern Chinese seismologists announced that they had successfully created a replica of the instrument.
Anthony J. Barbieri-Low, a Professor of Early Chinese History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, names Zhang Heng as one of several high-ranking Eastern-Han officials who engaged in crafts that were traditionally reserved for artisans (gong 工), such as mechanical engineering. Barbieri-Low speculates that Zhang only designed his seismoscope, but did not actually craft the device himself. He asserts that this would most likely have been the job of artisans commissioned by Zhang. He writes: "Zhang Heng was an official of moderately high rank and could not be seen sweating in the foundries with the gong artisans and the government slaves. Most likely, he worked collaboratively with the professional casters and mold makers in the imperial workshops."
Cartography
The Wei (220–265) and Jin Dynasty (266–420) cartographer and official Pei Xiu (224–271) was the first in China to describe in full the geometric grid reference for maps that allowed for precise measurements using a graduated scale, as well as topographical elevation. However, map-making in China had existed since at least the 4th century BC with the Qin state maps found in Gansu in 1986. Pinpointed accuracy of the winding courses of rivers and familiarity with scaled distance had been known since the Qin and Han Dynasty, respectively, as evidenced by their existing maps, while the use of a rectangular grid had been known in China since the Han as well. Historian Howard Nelson states that, although the accounts of Zhang Heng's work in cartography are somewhat vague and sketchy, there is ample written evidence that Pei Xiu derived the use of the rectangular grid reference from the maps of Zhang Heng. Rafe de Crespigny asserts that it was Zhang who established the rectangular grid system in Chinese cartography. Needham points out that the title of his book Flying Bird Calendar may have been a mistake, and that the book is more accurately entitled Bird's Eye Map. Historian Florian C. Reiter notes that Zhang's narrative "Guitian fu" contains a phrase about applauding the maps and documents of Confucius of the Zhou Dynasty, which Reiter suggests places maps (tu) on a same level of importance with documents (shu). It is documented that a physical geography map was first presented by Zhang Heng in 116 AD, called a Ti Hsing Thu.
Odometer and south-pointing chariot
Zhang Heng is often credited with inventing the first odometer, an achievement also attributed to Archimedes (c. 287–212 BC) and Heron of Alexandria (fl. AD 10–70). Similar devices were used by the Roman and Han-Chinese empires at about the same period. By the 3rd century, the Chinese had termed the device the jili guche (, "li-recording drum carriage" (the modern measurement of li = 500 m/1640 ft).
Ancient Chinese texts describe the mechanical carriage's functions; after one li was traversed, a mechanically driven wooden figure struck a drum, and after ten li had been covered, another wooden figure struck a gong or a bell with its mechanically operated arm. However, there is evidence to suggest that the invention of the odometer was a gradual process in Han Dynasty China that centered on the "huang men"—court people (i.e. eunuchs, palace officials, attendants and familiars, actors, acrobats, etc.) who followed the musical procession of the royal "drum-chariot". There is speculation that at some time during the 1st century BC the beating of drums and gongs was mechanically driven by the rotation of the road wheels. This might have actually been the design of Luoxia Hong (c. 110 BC), yet by at least 125 the mechanical odometer carriage was already known, as it was depicted in a mural of the Xiao Tang Shan Tomb.
The south-pointing chariot was another mechanical device credited to Zhang Heng. It was a non-magnetic compass vehicle in the form of a two-wheeled chariot. Differential gears driven by the chariot's wheels allowed a wooden figurine (in the shape of a Chinese state minister) to constantly point to the south, hence its name. The Song Shu (c. AD 500 ) records that Zhang Heng re-invented it from a model used in the Zhou Dynasty era, but the violent collapse of the Han Dynasty unfortunately did not allow it to be preserved. Whether Zhang Heng invented it or not, Ma Jun (200–265) succeeded in creating the chariot in the following century.
Legacy
Science and technology
Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors such as Yi Xing, Zhang Sixun, Su Song, and Guo Shoujing. Su Song directly named Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower. The cosmic model of nine points of Heaven corresponding with nine regions of earth conceived in the work of the scholar-official Chen Hongmou (1696–1771) followed in the tradition of Zhang's book Spiritual Constitution of the Universe. The seismologist John Milne, who created the modern seismograph in 1876 alongside Thomas Gray and James A. Ewing at the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo, commented in 1886 on Zhang Heng's contributions to seismology. The historian Joseph Needham emphasized his contributions to pre-modern Chinese technology, stating that Zhang was noted even in his day for being able to "make three wheels rotate as if they were one." More than one scholar has described Zhang as a polymath. However, some scholars also point out that Zhang's writing lacks concrete scientific theories. Comparing Zhang with his contemporary, Ptolemy (83–161) of Roman Egypt, Jin Guantao, Fan Hongye, and Liu Qingfeng state:
Based on the theories of his predecessors, Zhang Heng systematically developed the celestial sphere theory. An armillary constructed on the basis of his hypotheses bears a remarkable similarity to Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. However, Zhang Heng did not definitely propose a theoretical model like Ptolemy's earth-centered one. It is astonishing that the celestial model Zhang Heng constructed was almost a physical model of Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. Only a single step separates the celestial globe from the earth-centered theory, but Chinese astronomers never took that step.
Here we can see how important the exemplary function of the primitive scientific structure is. In order to use the Euclidean system of geometry as a model for the development of astronomical theory, Ptolemy first had to select hypotheses which could serve as axioms. He naturally regarded circular motion as fundamental and then used the circular motion of deferents and epicycles in his earth-centered theory. Although Zhang Heng understood that the sun, moon and planets move in circles, he lacked a model for a logically structured theory and so could not establish a corresponding astronomical theory. Chinese astronomy was most interested in extracting the algebraic features of planetary motion (that is, the length of the cyclic periods) to establish astronomical theories. Thus astronomy was reduced to arithmetic operations, extracting common multiples and divisors from the observed cyclic motions of the heavenly bodies.
Poetic literature
Zhang's poetry was widely read during his life and after his death. In addition to the compilation of Xiao Tong mentioned above, the Eastern Wu official Xue Zong (d. 237) wrote commentary on Zhang's poems "Dongjing fu" and "Xijing fu". The influential poet Tao Qian wrote that he admired the poetry of Zhang Heng for its "curbing extravagant diction and aiming at simplicity", in regards to perceived tranquility and rectitude correlating with the simple but effective language of the poet. Tao wrote that both Zhang Heng and Cai Yong "avoided inflated language, aiming chiefly at simplicity", and adding that their "compositions begin by giving free expression to their fancies but end on a note of quiet, serving admirably to restrain undisciplined and passionate nature".
Posthumous honors
Zhang was given great honors in life and in death. The philosopher and poet Fu Xuan (217–278) of the Wei and Jin dynasties once lamented in an essay over the fact that Zhang Heng was never placed in the Ministry of Works. Writing highly of Zhang and the 3rd-century mechanical engineer Ma Jun, Fu Xuan wrote, "Neither of them was ever an official of the Ministry of Works, and their ingenuity did not benefit the world. When (authorities) employ personnel with no regard to special talent, and having heard of genius neglect even to test it—is this not hateful and disastrous?"
In honor of Zhang's achievements in science and technology, his friend Cui Ziyu (Cui Yuan) wrote a memorial inscription on his burial stele, which has been preserved in the Guwen yuan. Cui stated, "[Zhang Heng's] mathematical computations exhausted (the riddles of) the heavens and the earth. His inventions were comparable even to those of the Author of Change. The excellence of his talent and the splendour of his art were one with those of the gods." The minor official Xiahou Zhan (243–291) of the Wei Dynasty made an inscription for his own commemorative stele to be placed at Zhang Heng's tomb. It read: "Ever since gentlemen have composed literary texts, none has been as skillful as the Master [Zhang Heng] in choosing his words well ... if only the dead could rise, oh I could then turn to him for a teacher!"
Several things have been named after Zhang in modern times, including the lunar crater Chang Heng, the asteroid 1802 Zhang Heng, and the mineral zhanghengite. In 2018, China launched a research satellite called China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) which is also named Zhangheng-1 (ZH-1).
See also
Han poetry
Fu (poetry)
Return to the Field
Yu Xi
References
Citation
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External links
Zhang Heng at Chinaculture.org
Zhang Heng at the University of Maine, USA
Zhang Heng at the University of St Andrews, Scotland
The Early History of Seismology (to 1900)
Seismoscope - Research References 2012
78 births
139 deaths
1st-century Chinese poets
2nd-century Chinese poets
Ancient Chinese astronomers
Ancient Chinese mathematicians
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Writers from Nanyang, Henan
2nd-century geographers | true | [
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"Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, mathematician, seismologist, hydraulic engineer, inventor, geographer, cartogr... |
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"Zhang Heng",
"Science and technology",
"what did he have to do with science and technology?",
"Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors",
"what did it influence them to do?",
"Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower."
] | C_b200a4798a7349ff8822b7bcf5addda2_0 | what was his biggest accomplishment? | 3 | What was Zhang Heng biggest accomplishment? | Zhang Heng | Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors such as Yi Xing, Zhang Sixun, Su Song, and Guo Shoujing. Su Song directly named Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower. The cosmic model of nine points of Heaven corresponding with nine regions of earth conceived in the work of the scholar-official Chen Hongmou (1696-1771) followed in the tradition of Zhang's book Spiritual Constitution of the Universe. The seismologist John Milne, who created the modern seismograph in 1876 alongside Thomas Gray and James A. Ewing at the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo, commented in 1886 on Zhang Heng's contributions to seismology. The historian Joseph Needham emphasized his contributions to pre-modern Chinese technology, stating that Zhang was noted even in his day for being able to "make three wheels rotate as if they were one." More than one scholar has described Zhang as a polymath. However, some scholars also point out that Zhang's writing lacks concrete scientific theories. Comparing Zhang with his contemporary, Ptolemy (83-161) of Roman Egypt, Jin Guantao, Fan Hongye, and Liu Qingfeng state: Based on the theories of his predecessors, Zhang Heng systematically developed the celestial sphere theory. An armillary constructed on the basis of his hypotheses bears a remarkable similarity to Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. However, Zhang Heng did not definitely propose a theoretical model like Ptolemy's earth-centered one. It is astonishing that the celestial model Zhang Heng constructed was almost a physical model of Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. Only a single step separates the celestial globe from the earth-centered theory, but Chinese astronomers never took that step. Here we can see how important the exemplary function of the primitive scientific structure is. In order to use the Euclidean system of geometry as a model for the development of astronomical theory, Ptolemy first had to select hypotheses which could serve as axioms. He naturally regarded circular motion as fundamental and then used the circular motion of deferents and epicycles in his earth-centered theory. Although Zhang Heng understood that the sun, moon and planets move in circles, he lacked a model for a logically structured theory and so could not establish a corresponding astronomical theory. Chinese astronomy was most interested in extracting the algebraic features of planetary motion (that is, the length of the cyclic periods) to establish astronomical theories. Thus astronomy was reduced to arithmetic operations, extracting common multiples and divisors from the observed cyclic motions of the heavenly bodies. CANNOTANSWER | Based on the theories of his predecessors, Zhang Heng systematically developed the celestial sphere theory. | Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, mathematician, seismologist, hydraulic engineer, inventor, geographer, cartographer, ethnographer, artist, poet, philosopher, politician, and literary scholar.
Zhang Heng began his career as a minor civil servant in Nanyang. Eventually, he became Chief Astronomer, Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages, and then Palace Attendant at the imperial court. His uncompromising stance on historical and calendrical issues led to his becoming a controversial figure, preventing him from rising to the status of Grand Historian. His political rivalry with the palace eunuchs during the reign of Emperor Shun (r. 125–144) led to his decision to retire from the central court to serve as an administrator of Hejian Kingdom in present-day Hebei. Zhang returned home to Nanyang for a short time, before being recalled to serve in the capital once more in 138. He died there a year later, in 139.
Zhang applied his extensive knowledge of mechanics and gears in several of his inventions. He invented the world's first water-powered armillary sphere to assist astronomical observation; improved the inflow water clock by adding another tank; and invented the world's first seismoscope, which discerned the cardinal direction of an earthquake away. He improved previous Chinese calculations for pi. In addition to documenting about 2,500 stars in his extensive star catalog, Zhang also posited theories about the Moon and its relationship to the Sun: specifically, he discussed the Moon's sphericity, its illumination by reflected sunlight on one side and the hidden nature of the other, and the nature of solar and lunar eclipses. His fu (rhapsody) and shi poetry were renowned in his time and studied and analyzed by later Chinese writers. Zhang received many posthumous honors for his scholarship and ingenuity; some modern scholars have compared his work in astronomy to that of the Greco-Roman Ptolemy (AD 86–161).
Life
Early life
Born in the town of Xi'e in Nanyang Commandery (north of the modern Nanyang City in Henan province), Zhang Heng came from a distinguished but not very affluent family. His grandfather Zhang Kan () had been governor of a commandery and one of the leaders who supported the restoration of the Han by Emperor Guangwu (r. 25–57), following the death of the usurping Wang Mang of the Xin (AD 9–23). When he was ten, Zhang's father died, leaving him in the care of his mother and grandmother.
An accomplished writer in his youth, Zhang left home in the year 95 to pursue his studies in the capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang. While traveling to Luoyang, Zhang passed by a hot spring near Mount Li and dedicated one of his earliest fu poems to it. This work, entitled "Fu on the Hot Springs" (Wēnquán fù 溫泉賦), describes the throngs of people attending the hot springs, which later became famous as the "Huaqing Hot Springs", a favorite retreat of imperial concubine Yang Guifei during the Tang dynasty. After studying for some years at Luoyang's Taixue, he was well-versed in the classics and friends with several notable persons, including the mathematician and calligrapher Cui Yuan (78–143), the official and philosophical commentator Ma Rong (79–166), and the philosopher Wang Fu (78–163). Government authorities offered Zhang appointments to several offices, including a position as one of the Imperial Secretaries, yet he acted modestly and declined.
At age 23, Zhang returned home with the title "Officer of Merit in Nanyang", serving as the master of documents under the administration of Governor Bao De (in office from 103 to 111). As he was charged with composing inscriptions and dirges for the governor, he gained experience in writing official documents. As Officer of Merit in the commandery, he was also responsible for local appointments to office and recommendations to the capital of nominees for higher office. He spent much of his time composing rhapsodies on the capital cities. When Bao De was recalled to the capital in 111 to serve as a minister of finance, Zhang continued his literary work at home in Xi'e. Zhang Heng began his studies in astronomy at the age of 30 and began publishing his works on astronomy and mathematics.
Official career
In 112, Zhang was summoned to the court of Emperor An (r. 106–125), who had heard of his expertise in mathematics. When he was nominated to serve at the capital, Zhang was escorted by carriage—a symbol of his official status—to Luoyang, where he became a court gentleman working for the Imperial Secretariat. He was promoted to Chief Astronomer for the court, serving his first term from 115 to 120 under Emperor An and his second under the succeeding emperor from 126 to 132. As Chief Astronomer, Zhang was a subordinate of the Minister of Ceremonies, one of Nine Ministers ranked just below the Three Excellencies. In addition to recording heavenly observations and portents, preparing the calendar, and reporting which days were auspicious and which ill-omened, Zhang was also in charge of an advanced literacy test for all candidates to the Imperial Secretariat and the Censorate, both of whose members were required to know at least 9,000 characters and all major writing styles. Under Emperor An, Zhang also served as Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages under the Ministry of Guards, in charge of receiving memorials to the throne (formal essays on policy and administration) as well as nominees for official appointments.
When the government official Dan Song proposed the Chinese calendar should be reformed in 123 to adopt certain apocryphal teachings, Zhang opposed the idea. He considered the teachings to be of questionable stature and believed they could introduce errors. Others shared Zhang's opinion and the calendar was not altered, yet Zhang's proposal that apocryphal writings should be banned was rejected. The officials Liu Zhen and Liu Taotu, members of a committee to compile the dynastic history (), sought permission from the court to consult Zhang Heng. However, Zhang was barred from assisting the committee due to his controversial views on apocrypha and his objection to the relegation of Gengshi Emperor's (r. 23–25) role in the restoration of the Han Dynasty as lesser than Emperor Guangwu's. Liu Zhen and Liu Taotu were Zhang's only historian allies at court, and after their deaths Zhang had no further opportunities for promotion to the prestigious post of court historian.
Despite this setback in his official career, Zhang was reappointed as Chief Astronomer in 126 after Emperor Shun of Han (r. 125–144) ascended to the throne. His intensive astronomical work was rewarded only with the rank and salary of 600 bushels, or shi, of grain (mostly commuted to coin cash or bolts of silk). To place this number in context, in a hierarchy of twenty official ranks, the lowest-paid official earned the rank and salary of 100 bushels and the highest-paid official earned 10,000 bushels during the Han. The 600-bushel rank was the lowest the emperor could directly appoint to a central government position; any official of lower status was overseen by central or provincial officials of high rank.
In 132, Zhang introduced an intricate seismoscope to the court, which he claimed could detect the precise cardinal direction of a distant earthquake. On one occasion his device indicated that an earthquake had occurred in the northwest. As there was no perceivable tremor felt in the capital his political enemies were briefly able to relish the failure of his device, until a messenger arrived shortly afterwards to report that an earthquake had occurred about 400 km (248 mi) to 500 km (310 mi) northwest of Luoyang in Gansu province.
A year after Zhang presented his seismoscope to the court, officials and candidates were asked to provide comments about a series of recent earthquakes which could be interpreted as signs of displeasure from Heaven. The ancient Chinese viewed natural calamities as cosmological punishments for misdeeds that were perpetrated by the Chinese ruler or his subordinates on earth. In Zhang's memorial discussing the reasons behind these natural disasters, he criticized the new recruitment system of Zuo Xiong which fixed the age of eligible candidates for the title "Filial and Incorrupt" at age forty. The new system also transferred the power of the candidates' assessment to the Three Excellencies rather than the Generals of the Household, who by tradition oversaw the affairs of court gentlemen. Although Zhang's memorial was rejected, his status was significantly elevated soon after to Palace Attendant, a position he used to influence the decisions of Emperor Shun. With this prestigious new position, Zhang earned a salary of 2,000 bushels and had the right to escort the emperor.
As Palace Attendant to Emperor Shun, Zhang Heng attempted to convince him that the court eunuchs represented a threat to the imperial court. Zhang pointed to specific examples of past court intrigues involving eunuchs, and convinced Shun that he should assume greater authority and limit their influence. The eunuchs attempted to slander Zhang, who responded with a fu rhapsody called "Fu on Pondering the Mystery", which vents his frustration. Rafe de Crespigny states that Zhang's rhapsody used imagery similar to Qu Yuan's (340–278 BC) poem "Li Sao" and focused on whether or not good men should flee the corrupted world or remain virtuous within it.
Literature and poetry
While working for the central court, Zhang Heng had access to a variety of written materials located in the Archives of the Eastern Pavilion. Zhang read many of the great works of history in his day and claimed he had found ten instances where the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (145–90 BC) and the Book of Han by Ban Gu (AD 32–92) differed from other ancient texts that were available to him. His account was preserved and recorded in the 5th century text of the Book of Later Han by Fan Ye (398–445). His rhapsodies and other literary works displayed a deep knowledge of classic texts, Chinese philosophy, and histories. He also compiled a commentary on the Taixuan (, "Great Mystery") by the Daoist author Yang Xiong (53 BC–AD 18).
Xiao Tong (501–531), a crown prince of the Liang Dynasty (502–557), immortalized several of Zhang's works in his literary anthology Selections of Refined Literature (Wen xuan ). Zhang's fu rhapsodies include "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" (Xī jīng fù ), "Eastern Metropolis Rhapsody" (Dōng jīng fù ), "Southern Capital Rhapsody" (Nán dū fù ), "Rhapsody on Contemplating the Mystery" (Sī xuán fù ), and "Rhapsody on Returning to the Fields" (Guī tián fù ). The latter fuses Daoist ideas with Confucianism and was a precursor to later Chinese metaphysical nature poetry, according to Liu Wu-chi. A set of four short lyric poems (shi 詩) entitled "Lyric Poems on Four Sorrows" (Sì chóu shī ), is also included with Zhang's preface. This set constitutes some of the earliest heptasyllabic shi Chinese poetry written. While still in Luoyang, Zhang became inspired to write his "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" and "Eastern Metropolis Rhapsody", which were based on the "Rhapsody on the Two Capitals" by the historian Ban Gu. Zhang's work was similar to Ban's, although the latter fully praised the contemporaneous Eastern Han regime while Zhang provided a warning that it could suffer the same fate as the Western Han if it too declined into a state of decadence and moral depravity. These two works satirized and criticized what he saw as the excessive luxury of the upper classes. Zhang's "Southern Capital Rhapsody" commemorated his home city of Nanyang, home of the restorer of the Han Dynasty, Guangwu.
In Zhang Heng's poem "Four Sorrows", he laments that he is unable to woo a beautiful woman due to the impediment of mountains, snows and rivers. Rafe de Crespigny, Tong Xiao, and David R. Knechtges claim that Zhang wrote this as an innuendo hinting at his inability to keep in contact with the emperor, hindered by unworthy rivals and petty men. This poem is one of the first in China to have seven words per line. His "Four Sorrows" reads:
In another poem of his called "Stabilizing the Passions" (Dìng qíng fù 定情賦) — preserved in a Tang Dynasty (618–907) encyclopedia, but referred to earlier by Tao Qian (365–427) in praise of Zhang's lyrical minimalism — Zhang displays his admiration for an attractive and exemplary woman. This simpler type of fu poem influenced later works by the prominent official and scholar Cai Yong (132–192). Zhang wrote:
Zhang's long lyrical poems also revealed a great amount of information on urban layout and basic geography. His rhapsody "Sir Based-On-Nothing" provides details on terrain, palaces, hunting parks, markets, and prominent buildings of Chang'an, the Western Han capital. Exemplifying his attention to detail, his rhapsody on Nanyang described gardens filled with spring garlic, summer bamboo shoots, autumn leeks, winter rape-turnips, perilla, evodia, and purple ginger. Zhang Heng's writing confirms the size of the imperial hunting park in the suburbs of Chang'an, as his estimate for the circumference of the park's encircling wall agrees with the historian Ban Gu's estimate of roughly 400 li (one li in Han times was equal to 415.8 m, or 1,364 ft, making the circumference of the park wall 166,320 m, or 545,600 ft). Along with Sima Xiangru (179–117 BC), Zhang listed a variety of animals and hunting game inhabiting the park, which were divided in the northern and southern portions of the park according to where the animals had originally come from: northern or southern China. Somewhat similar to the description of Sima Xiangru, Zhang described the Western Han emperors and their entourage enjoying boat outings, water plays, fishing, and displays of archery targeting birds and other animals with stringed arrows from the tops of tall towers along Chang'an's Kunming Lake. The focus of Zhang's writing on specific places and their terrain, society, people, and their customs could also be seen as early attempts of ethnographic categorization. In his poem "Xijing fu", Zhang shows that he was aware of the new foreign religion of Buddhism, introduced via the Silk Road, as well as the legend of the birth of Buddha with the vision of the white elephant bringing about conception. In his "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" (), Zhang described court entertainments such as juedi (), a form of theatrical wrestling accompanied by music in which participants butted heads with bull horn masks.
With his "Responding to Criticism" (Ying jian ), a work modeled on Yang Xiong's "Justification Against Ridicule", Zhang was an early writer and proponent of the Chinese literary genre shelun, or hypothetical discourse. Authors of this genre created a written dialogue between themselves and an imaginary person (or a real person of their entourage or association); the latter poses questions to the author on how to lead a successful life. He also used it as a means to criticize himself for failing to obtain high office, but coming to the conclusion that the true gentleman displays virtue instead of greed for power. In this work, Dominik Declercq asserts that the person urging Zhang to advance his career in a time of government corruption most likely represented the eunuchs or Empress Liang's (116–150) powerful relatives in the Liang clan. Declercq states that these two groups would have been "anxious to know whether this famous scholar could be lured over to their side", but Zhang flatly rejected such an alignment by declaring in this politically charged piece of literature that his gentlemanly quest for virtue trumped any desire of his for power.
Zhang wrote about the various love affairs of emperors dissatisfied with the imperial harem, going out into the city incognito to seek out prostitutes and sing-song girls. This was seen as a general criticism of the Eastern Han emperors and their imperial favorites, guised in the criticism of earlier Western Han emperors. Besides criticizing the Western Han emperors for lavish decadence, Zhang also pointed out that their behavior and ceremonies did not properly conform with the Chinese cyclical beliefs in yin and yang. In a poem criticizing the previous Western Han Dynasty, Zhang wrote:
Achievements in science and technology
Mathematics
For centuries the Chinese approximated pi as 3; Liu Xin (d. AD 23) made the first known Chinese attempt at a more accurate calculation of 3.1457, but there is no record detailing the method he used to obtain this figure. In his work around 130, Zhang Heng compared the celestial circle to the diameter of the earth, proportioning the former as 736 and the latter as 232, thus calculating pi as 3.1724. In Zhang's day, the ratio 4:3 was given for the area of a square to the area of its inscribed circle and the volume of a cube and volume of the inscribed sphere should also be 42:32. In formula, with D as diameter and V as volume, D3:V = 16:9 or V=D3; Zhang realized that the value for diameter in this formula was inaccurate, noting the discrepancy as the value taken for the ratio. Zhang then attempted to remedy this by amending the formula with an additional D3, hence V=D3 + D3 = D3. With the ratio of the volume of the cube to the inscribed sphere at 8:5, the implied ratio of the area of the square to the circle is √8:√5. From this formula, Zhang calculated pi as the square root of 10 (or approximately 3.162). Zhang also calculated pi as = 3.1466 in his book Ling Xian (). In the 3rd century, Liu Hui made the calculation more accurate with his π algorithm, which allowed him to obtain the value 3.14159. Later, Zu Chongzhi (429–500) approximated pi as or 3.141592, the most accurate calculation for pi the ancient Chinese would achieve.
Astronomy
In his publication of AD 120 called The Spiritual Constitution of the Universe (靈憲, Ling Xian, lit. "Sublime Model"), Zhang Heng theorized that the universe was like an egg "as round as a crossbow pellet" with the stars on the shell and the Earth as the central yolk. This universe theory is congruent with the geocentric model as opposed to the heliocentric model. Although the ancient Warring States (403–221 BC) Chinese astronomers Shi Shen and Gan De had compiled China's first star catalogue in the 4th century BC, Zhang nonetheless catalogued 2,500 stars which he placed in a "brightly shining" category (the Chinese estimated the total to be 14,000), and he recognized 124 constellations. In comparison, this star catalogue featured many more stars than the 850 documented by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus (c. 190–c.120 BC) in his catalogue, and more than Ptolemy (AD 83–161), who catalogued over 1,000. Zhang supported the "radiating influence" theory to explain solar and lunar eclipses, a theory which was opposed by Wang Chong (AD 27–97). In the Ling Xian, Zhang wrote:
Zhang Heng viewed these astronomical phenomena in supernatural terms as well. The signs of comets, eclipses, and movements of heavenly bodies could all be interpreted by him as heavenly guides on how to conduct affairs of state. Contemporary writers also wrote about eclipses and the sphericity of heavenly bodies. The music theorist and mathematician Jing Fang (78–37 BC) wrote about the spherical shape of the Sun and Moon while discussing eclipses:
The Moon and the planets are Yin; they have shape but no light. This they receive only when the Sun illuminates them. The former masters regarded the Sun as round like a crossbow bullet, and they thought the Moon had the nature of a mirror. Some of them recognized the Moon as a ball too. Those parts of the Moon which the Sun illuminates look bright, those parts which it does not, remain dark.
The theory posited by Zhang and Jing was supported by later pre-modern scientists such as Shen Kuo (1031–1095), who expanded on the reasoning of why the Sun and Moon were spherical. The theory of the celestial sphere surrounding a flat, square Earth was later criticized by the Jin-dynasty scholar-official Yu Xi (fl. 307–345). He suggested that the Earth could be round like the heavens, a spherical Earth theory fully accepted by mathematician Li Ye (1192-1279) but not by mainstream Chinese science until European influence in the 17th century.
Extra tank for inflow clepsydra
The outflow clepsydra was a timekeeping device used in China as long ago as the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC), and certainly by the Zhou Dynasty (1122–256 BC). The inflow clepsydra with an indicator rod on a float had been known in China since the beginning of the Han Dynasty in 202 BC and had replaced the outflow type. The Han Chinese noted the problem with the falling pressure head in the reservoir, which slowed the timekeeping of the device as the inflow vessel was filled. Zhang Heng was the first to address this problem, indicated in his writings from 117, by adding an extra compensating tank between the reservoir and the inflow vessel. Zhang also mounted two statuettes of a Chinese immortal and a heavenly guard on the top of the inflow clepsydra, the two of which would guide the indicator rod with their left hand and point out the graduations with their right. Joseph Needham states that this was perhaps the ancestor of all clock jacks that would later sound the hours found in mechanical clocks by the 8th century, but he notes that these figures did not actually move like clock jack figurines or sound the hours. Many additional compensation tanks were added to later clepsydras in the tradition of Zhang Heng. In 610 the Sui Dynasty (581–618) engineers Geng Xun and Yuwen Kai crafted an unequal-armed steelyard balance able to make seasonal adjustments in the pressure head of the compensating tank, so that it could control the rate of water flow for different lengths of day and night during the year. Zhang mentioned a "jade dragon's neck", which in later times meant a siphon. He wrote of the floats and indicator-rods of the inflow clepsydra as follows:
Water-powered armillary sphere
Zhang Heng is the first person known to have applied hydraulic motive power (i.e. by employing a waterwheel and clepsydra) to rotate an armillary sphere, an astronomical instrument representing the celestial sphere. The Greek astronomer Eratosthenes (276–194 BC) invented the first armillary sphere in 255 BC. The Chinese armillary sphere was fully developed by 52 BC, with the astronomer Geng Shouchang's addition of a permanently fixed equatorial ring. In AD 84 the astronomers Fu An and Jia Kui added the ecliptic ring, and finally Zhang Heng added the horizon and meridian rings. This invention is described and attributed to Zhang in quotations by Hsu Chen and Li Shan, referencing his book Lou Shui Chuan Hun Thien I Chieh (Apparatus for Rotating an Armillary Sphere by Clepsydra Water). It was likely not an actual book by Zhang, but a chapter from his Hun I or Hun I Thu Chu, written in 117 AD. His water-powered armillary influenced the design of later Chinese water clocks and led to the discovery of the escapement mechanism by the 8th century. The historian Joseph Needham (1900–1995) states:
What were the factors leading to the first escapement clock in China? The chief tradition leading to Yi Xing (AD 725 ) was of course the succession of 'pre-clocks' which had started with Zhang Heng about 125. Reason has been given for believing that these applied power to the slow turning movement of computational armillary spheres and celestial globes by means of a water-wheel using clepsydra drip, which intermittently exerted the force of a lug to act on the teeth of a wheel on a polar-axis shaft. Zhang Heng in his turn had composed this arrangement by uniting the armillary rings of his predecessors into the equatorial armillary sphere, and combining it with the principles of the water-mills and hydraulic trip-hammers which had become so widespread in Chinese culture in the previous century.
Zhang did not initiate the Chinese tradition of hydraulic engineering, which began during the mid Zhou Dynasty (c. 6th century BC), through the work of engineers such as Sunshu Ao and Ximen Bao. Zhang's contemporary, Du Shi, (d. AD 38) was the first to apply the motive power of waterwheels to operate the bellows of a blast furnace to make pig iron, and the cupola furnace to make cast iron. Zhang provided a valuable description of his water-powered armillary sphere in the treatise of 125, stating:
The equatorial ring goes around the belly of the armillary sphere 91 and 5/19 (degrees) away from the pole. The circle of the ecliptic also goes round the belly of the instrument at an angle of 24 (degrees) with the equator. Thus at the summer solstice the ecliptic is 67 (degrees) and a fraction away from the pole, while at the winter solstice it is 115 (degrees) and a fraction away. Hence (the points) where the ecliptic and the equator intersect should give the north polar distances of the spring and autumn equinoxes. But now (it has been recorded that) the spring equinox is 90 and 1/4 (degrees) away from the pole, and the autumn equinox is 92 and 1/4 (degrees) away. The former figure is adopted only because it agrees with the (results obtained by the) method of measuring solstitial sun shadows as embodied in the Xia (dynasty) calendar.
Zhang Heng's water-powered armillary sphere had profound effects on Chinese astronomy and mechanical engineering in later generations. His model and its complex use of gears greatly influenced the water-powered instruments of later astronomers such as Yi Xing (683–727), Zhang Sixun (fl. 10th century), Su Song (1020–1101), Guo Shoujing (1231–1316), and many others. Water-powered armillary spheres in the tradition of Zhang Heng's were used in the eras of the Three Kingdoms (220–280) and Jin Dynasty (266–420), yet the design for it was temporarily out of use between 317 and 418, due to invasions of northern Xiongnu nomads. Zhang Heng's old instruments were recovered in 418, when Emperor Wu of Liu Song (r. 420–422) captured the ancient capital of Chang'an. Although still intact, the graduation marks and the representations of the stars, Moon, Sun, and planets were quite worn down by time and rust. In 436, the emperor ordered Qian Luozhi, the Secretary of the Bureau of Astronomy and Calendar, to recreate Zhang's device, which he managed to do successfully. Qian's water-powered celestial globe was still in use at the time of the Liang Dynasty (502–557), and successive models of water-powered armillary spheres were designed in subsequent dynasties.
Zhang's seismoscope
From the earliest times, the Chinese were concerned with the destructive force of earthquakes. It was recorded in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian of 91 BC that in 780 BC an earthquake had been powerful enough to divert the courses of three rivers. It was not known at the time that earthquakes were caused by the shifting of tectonic plates in the Earth's crust; instead, the people of the ancient Zhou Dynasty explained them as disturbances with cosmic yin and yang, along with the heavens' displeasure with acts committed (or the common peoples' grievances ignored) by the current ruling dynasty. These theories were ultimately derived from the ancient text of the Yijing (Book of Changes), in its fifty-first hexagram. There were other early theories about earthquakes, developed by those such as the ancient Greeks. Anaxagoras (c. 500–428 BC) believed that they were caused by excess water near the surface crust of the earth bursting into the Earth's hollows; Democritus (c. 460–370 BC) believed that the saturation of the Earth with water caused them; Anaximenes (c. 585–c. 525 BC) believed they were the result of massive pieces of the Earth falling into the cavernous hollows due to drying; and Aristotle (384–322 BC) believed they were caused by instability of vapor (pneuma) caused by the drying of the moist Earth by the Sun's rays.
During the Han Dynasty, many learned scholars—including Zhang Heng—believed in the "oracles of the winds". These oracles of the occult observed the direction, force, and timing of the winds, to speculate about the operation of the cosmos and to predict events on Earth. These ideas influenced Zhang Heng's views on the cause of earthquakes.
In 132, Zhang Heng presented to the Han court what many historians consider to be his most impressive invention, the first seismoscope. A seismoscope records the motions of Earth's shaking, but unlike a seismometer, it does not retain a time record of those motions. It was named "earthquake weathervane" (hòufēng dìdòngyí 候風地動儀), and it was able to roughly determine the direction (out of eight directions) where the earthquake came from. According to the Book of Later Han (compiled by Fan Ye in the 5th century), his bronze urn-shaped device, with a swinging pendulum inside, was able to detect the direction of an earthquake hundreds of miles/kilometers away. This was essential for the Han government in sending quick aid and relief to regions devastated by this type of natural disaster. The Book of Later Han records that, on one occasion, Zhang's device was triggered, though no observer had felt any seismic disturbance; several days later a messenger arrived from the west and reported that an earthquake had occurred in Longxi (modern Gansu Province), the same direction that Zhang's device had indicated, and thus the court was forced to admit the efficacy of the device.
To indicate the direction of a distant earthquake, Zhang's device dropped a bronze ball from one of eight tubed projections shaped as dragon heads; the ball fell into the mouth of a corresponding metal object shaped as a toad, each representing a direction like the points on a compass rose. His device had eight mobile arms (for all eight directions) connected with cranks having catch mechanisms at the periphery. When tripped, a crank and right angle lever would raise a dragon head and release a ball which had been supported by the lower jaw of the dragon head. His device also included a vertical pin passing through a slot in the crank, a catch device, a pivot on a projection, a sling suspending the pendulum, an attachment for the sling, and a horizontal bar supporting the pendulum. Wang Zhenduo (王振鐸) argued that the technology of the Eastern Han era was sophisticated enough to produce such a device, as evidenced by contemporary levers and cranks used in other devices such as crossbow triggers.
Later Chinese of subsequent periods were able to reinvent Zhang's seismoscope. They included the 6th-century mathematician and surveyor Xindu Fang of the Northern Qi Dynasty (550–577) and the astronomer and mathematician Lin Xiaogong of the Sui Dynasty (581–618). Like Zhang, Xindu Fang and Lin Xiaogong were given imperial patronage for their services in craftsmanship of devices for the court. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), it was acknowledged that all devices previously made were preserved, except for that of the seismoscope. This was discussed by the scholar Zhou Mi around 1290, who remarked that the books of Xindu Fang and Lin Xiaogong detailing their seismological devices were no longer to be found. Horwitz, Kreitner, and Needham speculate if Tang Dynasty (618–907) era seismographs found their way to contemporary Japan; according to Needham, "instruments of apparently traditional type there in which a pendulum carries pins projecting in many directions and able to pierce a surrounding paper cylinder, have been described."
Hong-sen Yan states that modern replicas of Zhang's device have failed to reach the level of accuracy and sensitivity described in Chinese historical records. Wang Zhenduo presented two different models of the seismoscope based on the ancient descriptions of Zhang's device. In his 1936 reconstruction, the central pillar (du zhu) of the device was a suspended pendulum acting as a movement sensor, while the central pillar of his second model in 1963 was an inverted pendulum. According to Needham, while working in the Seismological Observatory of Tokyo University in 1939, Akitsune Imamura and Hagiwara made a reconstruction of Zhang's device. While it was John Milne and Wang Zhenduo who argued early on that Zhang's "central pillar" was a suspended pendulum, Imamura was the first to propose an inverted model. He argued that transverse shock would have rendered Wang's immobilization mechanism ineffective, as it would not have prevented further motion that could knock other balls out of their position. On June 13, 2005, modern Chinese seismologists announced that they had successfully created a replica of the instrument.
Anthony J. Barbieri-Low, a Professor of Early Chinese History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, names Zhang Heng as one of several high-ranking Eastern-Han officials who engaged in crafts that were traditionally reserved for artisans (gong 工), such as mechanical engineering. Barbieri-Low speculates that Zhang only designed his seismoscope, but did not actually craft the device himself. He asserts that this would most likely have been the job of artisans commissioned by Zhang. He writes: "Zhang Heng was an official of moderately high rank and could not be seen sweating in the foundries with the gong artisans and the government slaves. Most likely, he worked collaboratively with the professional casters and mold makers in the imperial workshops."
Cartography
The Wei (220–265) and Jin Dynasty (266–420) cartographer and official Pei Xiu (224–271) was the first in China to describe in full the geometric grid reference for maps that allowed for precise measurements using a graduated scale, as well as topographical elevation. However, map-making in China had existed since at least the 4th century BC with the Qin state maps found in Gansu in 1986. Pinpointed accuracy of the winding courses of rivers and familiarity with scaled distance had been known since the Qin and Han Dynasty, respectively, as evidenced by their existing maps, while the use of a rectangular grid had been known in China since the Han as well. Historian Howard Nelson states that, although the accounts of Zhang Heng's work in cartography are somewhat vague and sketchy, there is ample written evidence that Pei Xiu derived the use of the rectangular grid reference from the maps of Zhang Heng. Rafe de Crespigny asserts that it was Zhang who established the rectangular grid system in Chinese cartography. Needham points out that the title of his book Flying Bird Calendar may have been a mistake, and that the book is more accurately entitled Bird's Eye Map. Historian Florian C. Reiter notes that Zhang's narrative "Guitian fu" contains a phrase about applauding the maps and documents of Confucius of the Zhou Dynasty, which Reiter suggests places maps (tu) on a same level of importance with documents (shu). It is documented that a physical geography map was first presented by Zhang Heng in 116 AD, called a Ti Hsing Thu.
Odometer and south-pointing chariot
Zhang Heng is often credited with inventing the first odometer, an achievement also attributed to Archimedes (c. 287–212 BC) and Heron of Alexandria (fl. AD 10–70). Similar devices were used by the Roman and Han-Chinese empires at about the same period. By the 3rd century, the Chinese had termed the device the jili guche (, "li-recording drum carriage" (the modern measurement of li = 500 m/1640 ft).
Ancient Chinese texts describe the mechanical carriage's functions; after one li was traversed, a mechanically driven wooden figure struck a drum, and after ten li had been covered, another wooden figure struck a gong or a bell with its mechanically operated arm. However, there is evidence to suggest that the invention of the odometer was a gradual process in Han Dynasty China that centered on the "huang men"—court people (i.e. eunuchs, palace officials, attendants and familiars, actors, acrobats, etc.) who followed the musical procession of the royal "drum-chariot". There is speculation that at some time during the 1st century BC the beating of drums and gongs was mechanically driven by the rotation of the road wheels. This might have actually been the design of Luoxia Hong (c. 110 BC), yet by at least 125 the mechanical odometer carriage was already known, as it was depicted in a mural of the Xiao Tang Shan Tomb.
The south-pointing chariot was another mechanical device credited to Zhang Heng. It was a non-magnetic compass vehicle in the form of a two-wheeled chariot. Differential gears driven by the chariot's wheels allowed a wooden figurine (in the shape of a Chinese state minister) to constantly point to the south, hence its name. The Song Shu (c. AD 500 ) records that Zhang Heng re-invented it from a model used in the Zhou Dynasty era, but the violent collapse of the Han Dynasty unfortunately did not allow it to be preserved. Whether Zhang Heng invented it or not, Ma Jun (200–265) succeeded in creating the chariot in the following century.
Legacy
Science and technology
Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors such as Yi Xing, Zhang Sixun, Su Song, and Guo Shoujing. Su Song directly named Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower. The cosmic model of nine points of Heaven corresponding with nine regions of earth conceived in the work of the scholar-official Chen Hongmou (1696–1771) followed in the tradition of Zhang's book Spiritual Constitution of the Universe. The seismologist John Milne, who created the modern seismograph in 1876 alongside Thomas Gray and James A. Ewing at the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo, commented in 1886 on Zhang Heng's contributions to seismology. The historian Joseph Needham emphasized his contributions to pre-modern Chinese technology, stating that Zhang was noted even in his day for being able to "make three wheels rotate as if they were one." More than one scholar has described Zhang as a polymath. However, some scholars also point out that Zhang's writing lacks concrete scientific theories. Comparing Zhang with his contemporary, Ptolemy (83–161) of Roman Egypt, Jin Guantao, Fan Hongye, and Liu Qingfeng state:
Based on the theories of his predecessors, Zhang Heng systematically developed the celestial sphere theory. An armillary constructed on the basis of his hypotheses bears a remarkable similarity to Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. However, Zhang Heng did not definitely propose a theoretical model like Ptolemy's earth-centered one. It is astonishing that the celestial model Zhang Heng constructed was almost a physical model of Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. Only a single step separates the celestial globe from the earth-centered theory, but Chinese astronomers never took that step.
Here we can see how important the exemplary function of the primitive scientific structure is. In order to use the Euclidean system of geometry as a model for the development of astronomical theory, Ptolemy first had to select hypotheses which could serve as axioms. He naturally regarded circular motion as fundamental and then used the circular motion of deferents and epicycles in his earth-centered theory. Although Zhang Heng understood that the sun, moon and planets move in circles, he lacked a model for a logically structured theory and so could not establish a corresponding astronomical theory. Chinese astronomy was most interested in extracting the algebraic features of planetary motion (that is, the length of the cyclic periods) to establish astronomical theories. Thus astronomy was reduced to arithmetic operations, extracting common multiples and divisors from the observed cyclic motions of the heavenly bodies.
Poetic literature
Zhang's poetry was widely read during his life and after his death. In addition to the compilation of Xiao Tong mentioned above, the Eastern Wu official Xue Zong (d. 237) wrote commentary on Zhang's poems "Dongjing fu" and "Xijing fu". The influential poet Tao Qian wrote that he admired the poetry of Zhang Heng for its "curbing extravagant diction and aiming at simplicity", in regards to perceived tranquility and rectitude correlating with the simple but effective language of the poet. Tao wrote that both Zhang Heng and Cai Yong "avoided inflated language, aiming chiefly at simplicity", and adding that their "compositions begin by giving free expression to their fancies but end on a note of quiet, serving admirably to restrain undisciplined and passionate nature".
Posthumous honors
Zhang was given great honors in life and in death. The philosopher and poet Fu Xuan (217–278) of the Wei and Jin dynasties once lamented in an essay over the fact that Zhang Heng was never placed in the Ministry of Works. Writing highly of Zhang and the 3rd-century mechanical engineer Ma Jun, Fu Xuan wrote, "Neither of them was ever an official of the Ministry of Works, and their ingenuity did not benefit the world. When (authorities) employ personnel with no regard to special talent, and having heard of genius neglect even to test it—is this not hateful and disastrous?"
In honor of Zhang's achievements in science and technology, his friend Cui Ziyu (Cui Yuan) wrote a memorial inscription on his burial stele, which has been preserved in the Guwen yuan. Cui stated, "[Zhang Heng's] mathematical computations exhausted (the riddles of) the heavens and the earth. His inventions were comparable even to those of the Author of Change. The excellence of his talent and the splendour of his art were one with those of the gods." The minor official Xiahou Zhan (243–291) of the Wei Dynasty made an inscription for his own commemorative stele to be placed at Zhang Heng's tomb. It read: "Ever since gentlemen have composed literary texts, none has been as skillful as the Master [Zhang Heng] in choosing his words well ... if only the dead could rise, oh I could then turn to him for a teacher!"
Several things have been named after Zhang in modern times, including the lunar crater Chang Heng, the asteroid 1802 Zhang Heng, and the mineral zhanghengite. In 2018, China launched a research satellite called China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) which is also named Zhangheng-1 (ZH-1).
See also
Han poetry
Fu (poetry)
Return to the Field
Yu Xi
References
Citation
Bibliography
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Balchin, Jon. (2003). Science: 100 Scientists Who Changed the World. New York: Enchanted Lion Books. .
Barbieri-Low, Anthony J. (2007). Artisans in Early Imperial China. Seattle & London: University of Washington Press. .
Declercq, Dominik (1998). Writings Against the State: Political Rhetorics in Third and Fourth Century China. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV.
Dillon, Michael. (1998). China: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary. Surrey: Routledge Curzon Press. .
Fraser, Ian W. (2014). "Zhang Heng 张衡", in Kerry Brown, ed., The Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography (pp. 369–376). Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing. .
Huang, Ray (1997). China: A Macro History. New York: An East Gate Book, M. E. SHARPE Inc.
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Lewis, Mark Edward (2006). The Construction of Space in Early China. New York: State University of New York Press. .
Liu, Wu-chi. (1990). An Introduction to Chinese Literature. Westport: Greenwood Press of Greenwood Publishing Group. .
Loewe, Michael. (1968). Everyday Life in Early Imperial China during the Han Period 202 BC-AD 220. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd.; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Loewe, Michael. (1990). "The Juedi Games: a re-enactment of the battle between Chiyou and Xianyuan", in Thought and Law in Qin and Han China: Studies dedicated to Anthony Huslewé on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, 140–157, edited by W.L. Idema and E. Zürcher. Leiden: E.J. Brill. .
Loewe, Michael. (2005). Faith, Myth, and Reason in Han China. Indianapolis: Hacket Publishing Company, Inc. .
Mair, Victor H. (2001). The Columbia History of Chinese Literature. New York: Columbia University Press. .
Mansvelt-Beck, B.J. (1990). The Treatises of Later Han: Their Author, Sources, Contents, and Place in Chinese Historiography. Leiden: E.J. Brill. .
Minford, John and Joseph S.M. Lau. (2002). Classical Chinese literature: an anthology of translations. New York: Columbia University Press. .
Morton, W. Scott and Charlton M. Lewis (2005). China: Its History and Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. reprinted: Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
Needham, Joseph (1965). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 1: Physics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. reprinted: Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
Neinhauser, William H., Charles Hartman, Y.W. Ma, and Stephen H. West. (1986). The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature: Volume 1. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. .
Rowe, William T. (2001). Saving the World: Chen Hongmou and Elite Consciousness in Eighteenth-Century China. Stanford: Stanford University Press. .
Stein, S., and M. E. Wysession. (2002). An Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure. London: Wiley-Blackwell. ASIN B010WFPEOO.
Wagner, Donald B. (2001). The State and the Iron Industry in Han China. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Publishing. .
Wilson, Robin J. (2001). Stamping Through Mathematics. New York: Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
Wright, David Curtis (2001) The History of China. Westport: Greenwood Press.
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External links
Zhang Heng at Chinaculture.org
Zhang Heng at the University of Maine, USA
Zhang Heng at the University of St Andrews, Scotland
The Early History of Seismology (to 1900)
Seismoscope - Research References 2012
78 births
139 deaths
1st-century Chinese poets
2nd-century Chinese poets
Ancient Chinese astronomers
Ancient Chinese mathematicians
Chinese cartographers
Chinese Confucianists
Chinese ethnographers
Chinese geographers
Chinese inventors
Chinese mechanical engineers
Chinese non-fiction writers
Chinese scholars
Chinese seismologists
Engineers from Henan
Han dynasty philosophers
Han dynasty poets
Han dynasty politicians from Henan
Han dynasty science writers
Hydraulic engineers
Mathematicians from Henan
Philosophers from Henan
Physicists from Henan
Poets from Henan
Politicians from Nanyang, Henan
Technical writers
Writers from Nanyang, Henan
2nd-century geographers | true | [
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"Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, mathematician, seismologist, hydraulic engineer, inventor, geographer, cartogr... |
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"Zhang Heng",
"Science and technology",
"what did he have to do with science and technology?",
"Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors",
"what did it influence them to do?",
"Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower.",
"wha... | C_b200a4798a7349ff8822b7bcf5addda2_0 | how did the world react to this theory? | 4 | How did the world react to the celestial spere theory? | Zhang Heng | Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors such as Yi Xing, Zhang Sixun, Su Song, and Guo Shoujing. Su Song directly named Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower. The cosmic model of nine points of Heaven corresponding with nine regions of earth conceived in the work of the scholar-official Chen Hongmou (1696-1771) followed in the tradition of Zhang's book Spiritual Constitution of the Universe. The seismologist John Milne, who created the modern seismograph in 1876 alongside Thomas Gray and James A. Ewing at the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo, commented in 1886 on Zhang Heng's contributions to seismology. The historian Joseph Needham emphasized his contributions to pre-modern Chinese technology, stating that Zhang was noted even in his day for being able to "make three wheels rotate as if they were one." More than one scholar has described Zhang as a polymath. However, some scholars also point out that Zhang's writing lacks concrete scientific theories. Comparing Zhang with his contemporary, Ptolemy (83-161) of Roman Egypt, Jin Guantao, Fan Hongye, and Liu Qingfeng state: Based on the theories of his predecessors, Zhang Heng systematically developed the celestial sphere theory. An armillary constructed on the basis of his hypotheses bears a remarkable similarity to Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. However, Zhang Heng did not definitely propose a theoretical model like Ptolemy's earth-centered one. It is astonishing that the celestial model Zhang Heng constructed was almost a physical model of Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. Only a single step separates the celestial globe from the earth-centered theory, but Chinese astronomers never took that step. Here we can see how important the exemplary function of the primitive scientific structure is. In order to use the Euclidean system of geometry as a model for the development of astronomical theory, Ptolemy first had to select hypotheses which could serve as axioms. He naturally regarded circular motion as fundamental and then used the circular motion of deferents and epicycles in his earth-centered theory. Although Zhang Heng understood that the sun, moon and planets move in circles, he lacked a model for a logically structured theory and so could not establish a corresponding astronomical theory. Chinese astronomy was most interested in extracting the algebraic features of planetary motion (that is, the length of the cyclic periods) to establish astronomical theories. Thus astronomy was reduced to arithmetic operations, extracting common multiples and divisors from the observed cyclic motions of the heavenly bodies. CANNOTANSWER | Only a single step separates the celestial globe from the earth-centered theory, but Chinese astronomers never took that step. | Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, mathematician, seismologist, hydraulic engineer, inventor, geographer, cartographer, ethnographer, artist, poet, philosopher, politician, and literary scholar.
Zhang Heng began his career as a minor civil servant in Nanyang. Eventually, he became Chief Astronomer, Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages, and then Palace Attendant at the imperial court. His uncompromising stance on historical and calendrical issues led to his becoming a controversial figure, preventing him from rising to the status of Grand Historian. His political rivalry with the palace eunuchs during the reign of Emperor Shun (r. 125–144) led to his decision to retire from the central court to serve as an administrator of Hejian Kingdom in present-day Hebei. Zhang returned home to Nanyang for a short time, before being recalled to serve in the capital once more in 138. He died there a year later, in 139.
Zhang applied his extensive knowledge of mechanics and gears in several of his inventions. He invented the world's first water-powered armillary sphere to assist astronomical observation; improved the inflow water clock by adding another tank; and invented the world's first seismoscope, which discerned the cardinal direction of an earthquake away. He improved previous Chinese calculations for pi. In addition to documenting about 2,500 stars in his extensive star catalog, Zhang also posited theories about the Moon and its relationship to the Sun: specifically, he discussed the Moon's sphericity, its illumination by reflected sunlight on one side and the hidden nature of the other, and the nature of solar and lunar eclipses. His fu (rhapsody) and shi poetry were renowned in his time and studied and analyzed by later Chinese writers. Zhang received many posthumous honors for his scholarship and ingenuity; some modern scholars have compared his work in astronomy to that of the Greco-Roman Ptolemy (AD 86–161).
Life
Early life
Born in the town of Xi'e in Nanyang Commandery (north of the modern Nanyang City in Henan province), Zhang Heng came from a distinguished but not very affluent family. His grandfather Zhang Kan () had been governor of a commandery and one of the leaders who supported the restoration of the Han by Emperor Guangwu (r. 25–57), following the death of the usurping Wang Mang of the Xin (AD 9–23). When he was ten, Zhang's father died, leaving him in the care of his mother and grandmother.
An accomplished writer in his youth, Zhang left home in the year 95 to pursue his studies in the capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang. While traveling to Luoyang, Zhang passed by a hot spring near Mount Li and dedicated one of his earliest fu poems to it. This work, entitled "Fu on the Hot Springs" (Wēnquán fù 溫泉賦), describes the throngs of people attending the hot springs, which later became famous as the "Huaqing Hot Springs", a favorite retreat of imperial concubine Yang Guifei during the Tang dynasty. After studying for some years at Luoyang's Taixue, he was well-versed in the classics and friends with several notable persons, including the mathematician and calligrapher Cui Yuan (78–143), the official and philosophical commentator Ma Rong (79–166), and the philosopher Wang Fu (78–163). Government authorities offered Zhang appointments to several offices, including a position as one of the Imperial Secretaries, yet he acted modestly and declined.
At age 23, Zhang returned home with the title "Officer of Merit in Nanyang", serving as the master of documents under the administration of Governor Bao De (in office from 103 to 111). As he was charged with composing inscriptions and dirges for the governor, he gained experience in writing official documents. As Officer of Merit in the commandery, he was also responsible for local appointments to office and recommendations to the capital of nominees for higher office. He spent much of his time composing rhapsodies on the capital cities. When Bao De was recalled to the capital in 111 to serve as a minister of finance, Zhang continued his literary work at home in Xi'e. Zhang Heng began his studies in astronomy at the age of 30 and began publishing his works on astronomy and mathematics.
Official career
In 112, Zhang was summoned to the court of Emperor An (r. 106–125), who had heard of his expertise in mathematics. When he was nominated to serve at the capital, Zhang was escorted by carriage—a symbol of his official status—to Luoyang, where he became a court gentleman working for the Imperial Secretariat. He was promoted to Chief Astronomer for the court, serving his first term from 115 to 120 under Emperor An and his second under the succeeding emperor from 126 to 132. As Chief Astronomer, Zhang was a subordinate of the Minister of Ceremonies, one of Nine Ministers ranked just below the Three Excellencies. In addition to recording heavenly observations and portents, preparing the calendar, and reporting which days were auspicious and which ill-omened, Zhang was also in charge of an advanced literacy test for all candidates to the Imperial Secretariat and the Censorate, both of whose members were required to know at least 9,000 characters and all major writing styles. Under Emperor An, Zhang also served as Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages under the Ministry of Guards, in charge of receiving memorials to the throne (formal essays on policy and administration) as well as nominees for official appointments.
When the government official Dan Song proposed the Chinese calendar should be reformed in 123 to adopt certain apocryphal teachings, Zhang opposed the idea. He considered the teachings to be of questionable stature and believed they could introduce errors. Others shared Zhang's opinion and the calendar was not altered, yet Zhang's proposal that apocryphal writings should be banned was rejected. The officials Liu Zhen and Liu Taotu, members of a committee to compile the dynastic history (), sought permission from the court to consult Zhang Heng. However, Zhang was barred from assisting the committee due to his controversial views on apocrypha and his objection to the relegation of Gengshi Emperor's (r. 23–25) role in the restoration of the Han Dynasty as lesser than Emperor Guangwu's. Liu Zhen and Liu Taotu were Zhang's only historian allies at court, and after their deaths Zhang had no further opportunities for promotion to the prestigious post of court historian.
Despite this setback in his official career, Zhang was reappointed as Chief Astronomer in 126 after Emperor Shun of Han (r. 125–144) ascended to the throne. His intensive astronomical work was rewarded only with the rank and salary of 600 bushels, or shi, of grain (mostly commuted to coin cash or bolts of silk). To place this number in context, in a hierarchy of twenty official ranks, the lowest-paid official earned the rank and salary of 100 bushels and the highest-paid official earned 10,000 bushels during the Han. The 600-bushel rank was the lowest the emperor could directly appoint to a central government position; any official of lower status was overseen by central or provincial officials of high rank.
In 132, Zhang introduced an intricate seismoscope to the court, which he claimed could detect the precise cardinal direction of a distant earthquake. On one occasion his device indicated that an earthquake had occurred in the northwest. As there was no perceivable tremor felt in the capital his political enemies were briefly able to relish the failure of his device, until a messenger arrived shortly afterwards to report that an earthquake had occurred about 400 km (248 mi) to 500 km (310 mi) northwest of Luoyang in Gansu province.
A year after Zhang presented his seismoscope to the court, officials and candidates were asked to provide comments about a series of recent earthquakes which could be interpreted as signs of displeasure from Heaven. The ancient Chinese viewed natural calamities as cosmological punishments for misdeeds that were perpetrated by the Chinese ruler or his subordinates on earth. In Zhang's memorial discussing the reasons behind these natural disasters, he criticized the new recruitment system of Zuo Xiong which fixed the age of eligible candidates for the title "Filial and Incorrupt" at age forty. The new system also transferred the power of the candidates' assessment to the Three Excellencies rather than the Generals of the Household, who by tradition oversaw the affairs of court gentlemen. Although Zhang's memorial was rejected, his status was significantly elevated soon after to Palace Attendant, a position he used to influence the decisions of Emperor Shun. With this prestigious new position, Zhang earned a salary of 2,000 bushels and had the right to escort the emperor.
As Palace Attendant to Emperor Shun, Zhang Heng attempted to convince him that the court eunuchs represented a threat to the imperial court. Zhang pointed to specific examples of past court intrigues involving eunuchs, and convinced Shun that he should assume greater authority and limit their influence. The eunuchs attempted to slander Zhang, who responded with a fu rhapsody called "Fu on Pondering the Mystery", which vents his frustration. Rafe de Crespigny states that Zhang's rhapsody used imagery similar to Qu Yuan's (340–278 BC) poem "Li Sao" and focused on whether or not good men should flee the corrupted world or remain virtuous within it.
Literature and poetry
While working for the central court, Zhang Heng had access to a variety of written materials located in the Archives of the Eastern Pavilion. Zhang read many of the great works of history in his day and claimed he had found ten instances where the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (145–90 BC) and the Book of Han by Ban Gu (AD 32–92) differed from other ancient texts that were available to him. His account was preserved and recorded in the 5th century text of the Book of Later Han by Fan Ye (398–445). His rhapsodies and other literary works displayed a deep knowledge of classic texts, Chinese philosophy, and histories. He also compiled a commentary on the Taixuan (, "Great Mystery") by the Daoist author Yang Xiong (53 BC–AD 18).
Xiao Tong (501–531), a crown prince of the Liang Dynasty (502–557), immortalized several of Zhang's works in his literary anthology Selections of Refined Literature (Wen xuan ). Zhang's fu rhapsodies include "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" (Xī jīng fù ), "Eastern Metropolis Rhapsody" (Dōng jīng fù ), "Southern Capital Rhapsody" (Nán dū fù ), "Rhapsody on Contemplating the Mystery" (Sī xuán fù ), and "Rhapsody on Returning to the Fields" (Guī tián fù ). The latter fuses Daoist ideas with Confucianism and was a precursor to later Chinese metaphysical nature poetry, according to Liu Wu-chi. A set of four short lyric poems (shi 詩) entitled "Lyric Poems on Four Sorrows" (Sì chóu shī ), is also included with Zhang's preface. This set constitutes some of the earliest heptasyllabic shi Chinese poetry written. While still in Luoyang, Zhang became inspired to write his "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" and "Eastern Metropolis Rhapsody", which were based on the "Rhapsody on the Two Capitals" by the historian Ban Gu. Zhang's work was similar to Ban's, although the latter fully praised the contemporaneous Eastern Han regime while Zhang provided a warning that it could suffer the same fate as the Western Han if it too declined into a state of decadence and moral depravity. These two works satirized and criticized what he saw as the excessive luxury of the upper classes. Zhang's "Southern Capital Rhapsody" commemorated his home city of Nanyang, home of the restorer of the Han Dynasty, Guangwu.
In Zhang Heng's poem "Four Sorrows", he laments that he is unable to woo a beautiful woman due to the impediment of mountains, snows and rivers. Rafe de Crespigny, Tong Xiao, and David R. Knechtges claim that Zhang wrote this as an innuendo hinting at his inability to keep in contact with the emperor, hindered by unworthy rivals and petty men. This poem is one of the first in China to have seven words per line. His "Four Sorrows" reads:
In another poem of his called "Stabilizing the Passions" (Dìng qíng fù 定情賦) — preserved in a Tang Dynasty (618–907) encyclopedia, but referred to earlier by Tao Qian (365–427) in praise of Zhang's lyrical minimalism — Zhang displays his admiration for an attractive and exemplary woman. This simpler type of fu poem influenced later works by the prominent official and scholar Cai Yong (132–192). Zhang wrote:
Zhang's long lyrical poems also revealed a great amount of information on urban layout and basic geography. His rhapsody "Sir Based-On-Nothing" provides details on terrain, palaces, hunting parks, markets, and prominent buildings of Chang'an, the Western Han capital. Exemplifying his attention to detail, his rhapsody on Nanyang described gardens filled with spring garlic, summer bamboo shoots, autumn leeks, winter rape-turnips, perilla, evodia, and purple ginger. Zhang Heng's writing confirms the size of the imperial hunting park in the suburbs of Chang'an, as his estimate for the circumference of the park's encircling wall agrees with the historian Ban Gu's estimate of roughly 400 li (one li in Han times was equal to 415.8 m, or 1,364 ft, making the circumference of the park wall 166,320 m, or 545,600 ft). Along with Sima Xiangru (179–117 BC), Zhang listed a variety of animals and hunting game inhabiting the park, which were divided in the northern and southern portions of the park according to where the animals had originally come from: northern or southern China. Somewhat similar to the description of Sima Xiangru, Zhang described the Western Han emperors and their entourage enjoying boat outings, water plays, fishing, and displays of archery targeting birds and other animals with stringed arrows from the tops of tall towers along Chang'an's Kunming Lake. The focus of Zhang's writing on specific places and their terrain, society, people, and their customs could also be seen as early attempts of ethnographic categorization. In his poem "Xijing fu", Zhang shows that he was aware of the new foreign religion of Buddhism, introduced via the Silk Road, as well as the legend of the birth of Buddha with the vision of the white elephant bringing about conception. In his "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" (), Zhang described court entertainments such as juedi (), a form of theatrical wrestling accompanied by music in which participants butted heads with bull horn masks.
With his "Responding to Criticism" (Ying jian ), a work modeled on Yang Xiong's "Justification Against Ridicule", Zhang was an early writer and proponent of the Chinese literary genre shelun, or hypothetical discourse. Authors of this genre created a written dialogue between themselves and an imaginary person (or a real person of their entourage or association); the latter poses questions to the author on how to lead a successful life. He also used it as a means to criticize himself for failing to obtain high office, but coming to the conclusion that the true gentleman displays virtue instead of greed for power. In this work, Dominik Declercq asserts that the person urging Zhang to advance his career in a time of government corruption most likely represented the eunuchs or Empress Liang's (116–150) powerful relatives in the Liang clan. Declercq states that these two groups would have been "anxious to know whether this famous scholar could be lured over to their side", but Zhang flatly rejected such an alignment by declaring in this politically charged piece of literature that his gentlemanly quest for virtue trumped any desire of his for power.
Zhang wrote about the various love affairs of emperors dissatisfied with the imperial harem, going out into the city incognito to seek out prostitutes and sing-song girls. This was seen as a general criticism of the Eastern Han emperors and their imperial favorites, guised in the criticism of earlier Western Han emperors. Besides criticizing the Western Han emperors for lavish decadence, Zhang also pointed out that their behavior and ceremonies did not properly conform with the Chinese cyclical beliefs in yin and yang. In a poem criticizing the previous Western Han Dynasty, Zhang wrote:
Achievements in science and technology
Mathematics
For centuries the Chinese approximated pi as 3; Liu Xin (d. AD 23) made the first known Chinese attempt at a more accurate calculation of 3.1457, but there is no record detailing the method he used to obtain this figure. In his work around 130, Zhang Heng compared the celestial circle to the diameter of the earth, proportioning the former as 736 and the latter as 232, thus calculating pi as 3.1724. In Zhang's day, the ratio 4:3 was given for the area of a square to the area of its inscribed circle and the volume of a cube and volume of the inscribed sphere should also be 42:32. In formula, with D as diameter and V as volume, D3:V = 16:9 or V=D3; Zhang realized that the value for diameter in this formula was inaccurate, noting the discrepancy as the value taken for the ratio. Zhang then attempted to remedy this by amending the formula with an additional D3, hence V=D3 + D3 = D3. With the ratio of the volume of the cube to the inscribed sphere at 8:5, the implied ratio of the area of the square to the circle is √8:√5. From this formula, Zhang calculated pi as the square root of 10 (or approximately 3.162). Zhang also calculated pi as = 3.1466 in his book Ling Xian (). In the 3rd century, Liu Hui made the calculation more accurate with his π algorithm, which allowed him to obtain the value 3.14159. Later, Zu Chongzhi (429–500) approximated pi as or 3.141592, the most accurate calculation for pi the ancient Chinese would achieve.
Astronomy
In his publication of AD 120 called The Spiritual Constitution of the Universe (靈憲, Ling Xian, lit. "Sublime Model"), Zhang Heng theorized that the universe was like an egg "as round as a crossbow pellet" with the stars on the shell and the Earth as the central yolk. This universe theory is congruent with the geocentric model as opposed to the heliocentric model. Although the ancient Warring States (403–221 BC) Chinese astronomers Shi Shen and Gan De had compiled China's first star catalogue in the 4th century BC, Zhang nonetheless catalogued 2,500 stars which he placed in a "brightly shining" category (the Chinese estimated the total to be 14,000), and he recognized 124 constellations. In comparison, this star catalogue featured many more stars than the 850 documented by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus (c. 190–c.120 BC) in his catalogue, and more than Ptolemy (AD 83–161), who catalogued over 1,000. Zhang supported the "radiating influence" theory to explain solar and lunar eclipses, a theory which was opposed by Wang Chong (AD 27–97). In the Ling Xian, Zhang wrote:
Zhang Heng viewed these astronomical phenomena in supernatural terms as well. The signs of comets, eclipses, and movements of heavenly bodies could all be interpreted by him as heavenly guides on how to conduct affairs of state. Contemporary writers also wrote about eclipses and the sphericity of heavenly bodies. The music theorist and mathematician Jing Fang (78–37 BC) wrote about the spherical shape of the Sun and Moon while discussing eclipses:
The Moon and the planets are Yin; they have shape but no light. This they receive only when the Sun illuminates them. The former masters regarded the Sun as round like a crossbow bullet, and they thought the Moon had the nature of a mirror. Some of them recognized the Moon as a ball too. Those parts of the Moon which the Sun illuminates look bright, those parts which it does not, remain dark.
The theory posited by Zhang and Jing was supported by later pre-modern scientists such as Shen Kuo (1031–1095), who expanded on the reasoning of why the Sun and Moon were spherical. The theory of the celestial sphere surrounding a flat, square Earth was later criticized by the Jin-dynasty scholar-official Yu Xi (fl. 307–345). He suggested that the Earth could be round like the heavens, a spherical Earth theory fully accepted by mathematician Li Ye (1192-1279) but not by mainstream Chinese science until European influence in the 17th century.
Extra tank for inflow clepsydra
The outflow clepsydra was a timekeeping device used in China as long ago as the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC), and certainly by the Zhou Dynasty (1122–256 BC). The inflow clepsydra with an indicator rod on a float had been known in China since the beginning of the Han Dynasty in 202 BC and had replaced the outflow type. The Han Chinese noted the problem with the falling pressure head in the reservoir, which slowed the timekeeping of the device as the inflow vessel was filled. Zhang Heng was the first to address this problem, indicated in his writings from 117, by adding an extra compensating tank between the reservoir and the inflow vessel. Zhang also mounted two statuettes of a Chinese immortal and a heavenly guard on the top of the inflow clepsydra, the two of which would guide the indicator rod with their left hand and point out the graduations with their right. Joseph Needham states that this was perhaps the ancestor of all clock jacks that would later sound the hours found in mechanical clocks by the 8th century, but he notes that these figures did not actually move like clock jack figurines or sound the hours. Many additional compensation tanks were added to later clepsydras in the tradition of Zhang Heng. In 610 the Sui Dynasty (581–618) engineers Geng Xun and Yuwen Kai crafted an unequal-armed steelyard balance able to make seasonal adjustments in the pressure head of the compensating tank, so that it could control the rate of water flow for different lengths of day and night during the year. Zhang mentioned a "jade dragon's neck", which in later times meant a siphon. He wrote of the floats and indicator-rods of the inflow clepsydra as follows:
Water-powered armillary sphere
Zhang Heng is the first person known to have applied hydraulic motive power (i.e. by employing a waterwheel and clepsydra) to rotate an armillary sphere, an astronomical instrument representing the celestial sphere. The Greek astronomer Eratosthenes (276–194 BC) invented the first armillary sphere in 255 BC. The Chinese armillary sphere was fully developed by 52 BC, with the astronomer Geng Shouchang's addition of a permanently fixed equatorial ring. In AD 84 the astronomers Fu An and Jia Kui added the ecliptic ring, and finally Zhang Heng added the horizon and meridian rings. This invention is described and attributed to Zhang in quotations by Hsu Chen and Li Shan, referencing his book Lou Shui Chuan Hun Thien I Chieh (Apparatus for Rotating an Armillary Sphere by Clepsydra Water). It was likely not an actual book by Zhang, but a chapter from his Hun I or Hun I Thu Chu, written in 117 AD. His water-powered armillary influenced the design of later Chinese water clocks and led to the discovery of the escapement mechanism by the 8th century. The historian Joseph Needham (1900–1995) states:
What were the factors leading to the first escapement clock in China? The chief tradition leading to Yi Xing (AD 725 ) was of course the succession of 'pre-clocks' which had started with Zhang Heng about 125. Reason has been given for believing that these applied power to the slow turning movement of computational armillary spheres and celestial globes by means of a water-wheel using clepsydra drip, which intermittently exerted the force of a lug to act on the teeth of a wheel on a polar-axis shaft. Zhang Heng in his turn had composed this arrangement by uniting the armillary rings of his predecessors into the equatorial armillary sphere, and combining it with the principles of the water-mills and hydraulic trip-hammers which had become so widespread in Chinese culture in the previous century.
Zhang did not initiate the Chinese tradition of hydraulic engineering, which began during the mid Zhou Dynasty (c. 6th century BC), through the work of engineers such as Sunshu Ao and Ximen Bao. Zhang's contemporary, Du Shi, (d. AD 38) was the first to apply the motive power of waterwheels to operate the bellows of a blast furnace to make pig iron, and the cupola furnace to make cast iron. Zhang provided a valuable description of his water-powered armillary sphere in the treatise of 125, stating:
The equatorial ring goes around the belly of the armillary sphere 91 and 5/19 (degrees) away from the pole. The circle of the ecliptic also goes round the belly of the instrument at an angle of 24 (degrees) with the equator. Thus at the summer solstice the ecliptic is 67 (degrees) and a fraction away from the pole, while at the winter solstice it is 115 (degrees) and a fraction away. Hence (the points) where the ecliptic and the equator intersect should give the north polar distances of the spring and autumn equinoxes. But now (it has been recorded that) the spring equinox is 90 and 1/4 (degrees) away from the pole, and the autumn equinox is 92 and 1/4 (degrees) away. The former figure is adopted only because it agrees with the (results obtained by the) method of measuring solstitial sun shadows as embodied in the Xia (dynasty) calendar.
Zhang Heng's water-powered armillary sphere had profound effects on Chinese astronomy and mechanical engineering in later generations. His model and its complex use of gears greatly influenced the water-powered instruments of later astronomers such as Yi Xing (683–727), Zhang Sixun (fl. 10th century), Su Song (1020–1101), Guo Shoujing (1231–1316), and many others. Water-powered armillary spheres in the tradition of Zhang Heng's were used in the eras of the Three Kingdoms (220–280) and Jin Dynasty (266–420), yet the design for it was temporarily out of use between 317 and 418, due to invasions of northern Xiongnu nomads. Zhang Heng's old instruments were recovered in 418, when Emperor Wu of Liu Song (r. 420–422) captured the ancient capital of Chang'an. Although still intact, the graduation marks and the representations of the stars, Moon, Sun, and planets were quite worn down by time and rust. In 436, the emperor ordered Qian Luozhi, the Secretary of the Bureau of Astronomy and Calendar, to recreate Zhang's device, which he managed to do successfully. Qian's water-powered celestial globe was still in use at the time of the Liang Dynasty (502–557), and successive models of water-powered armillary spheres were designed in subsequent dynasties.
Zhang's seismoscope
From the earliest times, the Chinese were concerned with the destructive force of earthquakes. It was recorded in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian of 91 BC that in 780 BC an earthquake had been powerful enough to divert the courses of three rivers. It was not known at the time that earthquakes were caused by the shifting of tectonic plates in the Earth's crust; instead, the people of the ancient Zhou Dynasty explained them as disturbances with cosmic yin and yang, along with the heavens' displeasure with acts committed (or the common peoples' grievances ignored) by the current ruling dynasty. These theories were ultimately derived from the ancient text of the Yijing (Book of Changes), in its fifty-first hexagram. There were other early theories about earthquakes, developed by those such as the ancient Greeks. Anaxagoras (c. 500–428 BC) believed that they were caused by excess water near the surface crust of the earth bursting into the Earth's hollows; Democritus (c. 460–370 BC) believed that the saturation of the Earth with water caused them; Anaximenes (c. 585–c. 525 BC) believed they were the result of massive pieces of the Earth falling into the cavernous hollows due to drying; and Aristotle (384–322 BC) believed they were caused by instability of vapor (pneuma) caused by the drying of the moist Earth by the Sun's rays.
During the Han Dynasty, many learned scholars—including Zhang Heng—believed in the "oracles of the winds". These oracles of the occult observed the direction, force, and timing of the winds, to speculate about the operation of the cosmos and to predict events on Earth. These ideas influenced Zhang Heng's views on the cause of earthquakes.
In 132, Zhang Heng presented to the Han court what many historians consider to be his most impressive invention, the first seismoscope. A seismoscope records the motions of Earth's shaking, but unlike a seismometer, it does not retain a time record of those motions. It was named "earthquake weathervane" (hòufēng dìdòngyí 候風地動儀), and it was able to roughly determine the direction (out of eight directions) where the earthquake came from. According to the Book of Later Han (compiled by Fan Ye in the 5th century), his bronze urn-shaped device, with a swinging pendulum inside, was able to detect the direction of an earthquake hundreds of miles/kilometers away. This was essential for the Han government in sending quick aid and relief to regions devastated by this type of natural disaster. The Book of Later Han records that, on one occasion, Zhang's device was triggered, though no observer had felt any seismic disturbance; several days later a messenger arrived from the west and reported that an earthquake had occurred in Longxi (modern Gansu Province), the same direction that Zhang's device had indicated, and thus the court was forced to admit the efficacy of the device.
To indicate the direction of a distant earthquake, Zhang's device dropped a bronze ball from one of eight tubed projections shaped as dragon heads; the ball fell into the mouth of a corresponding metal object shaped as a toad, each representing a direction like the points on a compass rose. His device had eight mobile arms (for all eight directions) connected with cranks having catch mechanisms at the periphery. When tripped, a crank and right angle lever would raise a dragon head and release a ball which had been supported by the lower jaw of the dragon head. His device also included a vertical pin passing through a slot in the crank, a catch device, a pivot on a projection, a sling suspending the pendulum, an attachment for the sling, and a horizontal bar supporting the pendulum. Wang Zhenduo (王振鐸) argued that the technology of the Eastern Han era was sophisticated enough to produce such a device, as evidenced by contemporary levers and cranks used in other devices such as crossbow triggers.
Later Chinese of subsequent periods were able to reinvent Zhang's seismoscope. They included the 6th-century mathematician and surveyor Xindu Fang of the Northern Qi Dynasty (550–577) and the astronomer and mathematician Lin Xiaogong of the Sui Dynasty (581–618). Like Zhang, Xindu Fang and Lin Xiaogong were given imperial patronage for their services in craftsmanship of devices for the court. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), it was acknowledged that all devices previously made were preserved, except for that of the seismoscope. This was discussed by the scholar Zhou Mi around 1290, who remarked that the books of Xindu Fang and Lin Xiaogong detailing their seismological devices were no longer to be found. Horwitz, Kreitner, and Needham speculate if Tang Dynasty (618–907) era seismographs found their way to contemporary Japan; according to Needham, "instruments of apparently traditional type there in which a pendulum carries pins projecting in many directions and able to pierce a surrounding paper cylinder, have been described."
Hong-sen Yan states that modern replicas of Zhang's device have failed to reach the level of accuracy and sensitivity described in Chinese historical records. Wang Zhenduo presented two different models of the seismoscope based on the ancient descriptions of Zhang's device. In his 1936 reconstruction, the central pillar (du zhu) of the device was a suspended pendulum acting as a movement sensor, while the central pillar of his second model in 1963 was an inverted pendulum. According to Needham, while working in the Seismological Observatory of Tokyo University in 1939, Akitsune Imamura and Hagiwara made a reconstruction of Zhang's device. While it was John Milne and Wang Zhenduo who argued early on that Zhang's "central pillar" was a suspended pendulum, Imamura was the first to propose an inverted model. He argued that transverse shock would have rendered Wang's immobilization mechanism ineffective, as it would not have prevented further motion that could knock other balls out of their position. On June 13, 2005, modern Chinese seismologists announced that they had successfully created a replica of the instrument.
Anthony J. Barbieri-Low, a Professor of Early Chinese History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, names Zhang Heng as one of several high-ranking Eastern-Han officials who engaged in crafts that were traditionally reserved for artisans (gong 工), such as mechanical engineering. Barbieri-Low speculates that Zhang only designed his seismoscope, but did not actually craft the device himself. He asserts that this would most likely have been the job of artisans commissioned by Zhang. He writes: "Zhang Heng was an official of moderately high rank and could not be seen sweating in the foundries with the gong artisans and the government slaves. Most likely, he worked collaboratively with the professional casters and mold makers in the imperial workshops."
Cartography
The Wei (220–265) and Jin Dynasty (266–420) cartographer and official Pei Xiu (224–271) was the first in China to describe in full the geometric grid reference for maps that allowed for precise measurements using a graduated scale, as well as topographical elevation. However, map-making in China had existed since at least the 4th century BC with the Qin state maps found in Gansu in 1986. Pinpointed accuracy of the winding courses of rivers and familiarity with scaled distance had been known since the Qin and Han Dynasty, respectively, as evidenced by their existing maps, while the use of a rectangular grid had been known in China since the Han as well. Historian Howard Nelson states that, although the accounts of Zhang Heng's work in cartography are somewhat vague and sketchy, there is ample written evidence that Pei Xiu derived the use of the rectangular grid reference from the maps of Zhang Heng. Rafe de Crespigny asserts that it was Zhang who established the rectangular grid system in Chinese cartography. Needham points out that the title of his book Flying Bird Calendar may have been a mistake, and that the book is more accurately entitled Bird's Eye Map. Historian Florian C. Reiter notes that Zhang's narrative "Guitian fu" contains a phrase about applauding the maps and documents of Confucius of the Zhou Dynasty, which Reiter suggests places maps (tu) on a same level of importance with documents (shu). It is documented that a physical geography map was first presented by Zhang Heng in 116 AD, called a Ti Hsing Thu.
Odometer and south-pointing chariot
Zhang Heng is often credited with inventing the first odometer, an achievement also attributed to Archimedes (c. 287–212 BC) and Heron of Alexandria (fl. AD 10–70). Similar devices were used by the Roman and Han-Chinese empires at about the same period. By the 3rd century, the Chinese had termed the device the jili guche (, "li-recording drum carriage" (the modern measurement of li = 500 m/1640 ft).
Ancient Chinese texts describe the mechanical carriage's functions; after one li was traversed, a mechanically driven wooden figure struck a drum, and after ten li had been covered, another wooden figure struck a gong or a bell with its mechanically operated arm. However, there is evidence to suggest that the invention of the odometer was a gradual process in Han Dynasty China that centered on the "huang men"—court people (i.e. eunuchs, palace officials, attendants and familiars, actors, acrobats, etc.) who followed the musical procession of the royal "drum-chariot". There is speculation that at some time during the 1st century BC the beating of drums and gongs was mechanically driven by the rotation of the road wheels. This might have actually been the design of Luoxia Hong (c. 110 BC), yet by at least 125 the mechanical odometer carriage was already known, as it was depicted in a mural of the Xiao Tang Shan Tomb.
The south-pointing chariot was another mechanical device credited to Zhang Heng. It was a non-magnetic compass vehicle in the form of a two-wheeled chariot. Differential gears driven by the chariot's wheels allowed a wooden figurine (in the shape of a Chinese state minister) to constantly point to the south, hence its name. The Song Shu (c. AD 500 ) records that Zhang Heng re-invented it from a model used in the Zhou Dynasty era, but the violent collapse of the Han Dynasty unfortunately did not allow it to be preserved. Whether Zhang Heng invented it or not, Ma Jun (200–265) succeeded in creating the chariot in the following century.
Legacy
Science and technology
Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors such as Yi Xing, Zhang Sixun, Su Song, and Guo Shoujing. Su Song directly named Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower. The cosmic model of nine points of Heaven corresponding with nine regions of earth conceived in the work of the scholar-official Chen Hongmou (1696–1771) followed in the tradition of Zhang's book Spiritual Constitution of the Universe. The seismologist John Milne, who created the modern seismograph in 1876 alongside Thomas Gray and James A. Ewing at the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo, commented in 1886 on Zhang Heng's contributions to seismology. The historian Joseph Needham emphasized his contributions to pre-modern Chinese technology, stating that Zhang was noted even in his day for being able to "make three wheels rotate as if they were one." More than one scholar has described Zhang as a polymath. However, some scholars also point out that Zhang's writing lacks concrete scientific theories. Comparing Zhang with his contemporary, Ptolemy (83–161) of Roman Egypt, Jin Guantao, Fan Hongye, and Liu Qingfeng state:
Based on the theories of his predecessors, Zhang Heng systematically developed the celestial sphere theory. An armillary constructed on the basis of his hypotheses bears a remarkable similarity to Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. However, Zhang Heng did not definitely propose a theoretical model like Ptolemy's earth-centered one. It is astonishing that the celestial model Zhang Heng constructed was almost a physical model of Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. Only a single step separates the celestial globe from the earth-centered theory, but Chinese astronomers never took that step.
Here we can see how important the exemplary function of the primitive scientific structure is. In order to use the Euclidean system of geometry as a model for the development of astronomical theory, Ptolemy first had to select hypotheses which could serve as axioms. He naturally regarded circular motion as fundamental and then used the circular motion of deferents and epicycles in his earth-centered theory. Although Zhang Heng understood that the sun, moon and planets move in circles, he lacked a model for a logically structured theory and so could not establish a corresponding astronomical theory. Chinese astronomy was most interested in extracting the algebraic features of planetary motion (that is, the length of the cyclic periods) to establish astronomical theories. Thus astronomy was reduced to arithmetic operations, extracting common multiples and divisors from the observed cyclic motions of the heavenly bodies.
Poetic literature
Zhang's poetry was widely read during his life and after his death. In addition to the compilation of Xiao Tong mentioned above, the Eastern Wu official Xue Zong (d. 237) wrote commentary on Zhang's poems "Dongjing fu" and "Xijing fu". The influential poet Tao Qian wrote that he admired the poetry of Zhang Heng for its "curbing extravagant diction and aiming at simplicity", in regards to perceived tranquility and rectitude correlating with the simple but effective language of the poet. Tao wrote that both Zhang Heng and Cai Yong "avoided inflated language, aiming chiefly at simplicity", and adding that their "compositions begin by giving free expression to their fancies but end on a note of quiet, serving admirably to restrain undisciplined and passionate nature".
Posthumous honors
Zhang was given great honors in life and in death. The philosopher and poet Fu Xuan (217–278) of the Wei and Jin dynasties once lamented in an essay over the fact that Zhang Heng was never placed in the Ministry of Works. Writing highly of Zhang and the 3rd-century mechanical engineer Ma Jun, Fu Xuan wrote, "Neither of them was ever an official of the Ministry of Works, and their ingenuity did not benefit the world. When (authorities) employ personnel with no regard to special talent, and having heard of genius neglect even to test it—is this not hateful and disastrous?"
In honor of Zhang's achievements in science and technology, his friend Cui Ziyu (Cui Yuan) wrote a memorial inscription on his burial stele, which has been preserved in the Guwen yuan. Cui stated, "[Zhang Heng's] mathematical computations exhausted (the riddles of) the heavens and the earth. His inventions were comparable even to those of the Author of Change. The excellence of his talent and the splendour of his art were one with those of the gods." The minor official Xiahou Zhan (243–291) of the Wei Dynasty made an inscription for his own commemorative stele to be placed at Zhang Heng's tomb. It read: "Ever since gentlemen have composed literary texts, none has been as skillful as the Master [Zhang Heng] in choosing his words well ... if only the dead could rise, oh I could then turn to him for a teacher!"
Several things have been named after Zhang in modern times, including the lunar crater Chang Heng, the asteroid 1802 Zhang Heng, and the mineral zhanghengite. In 2018, China launched a research satellite called China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) which is also named Zhangheng-1 (ZH-1).
See also
Han poetry
Fu (poetry)
Return to the Field
Yu Xi
References
Citation
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External links
Zhang Heng at Chinaculture.org
Zhang Heng at the University of Maine, USA
Zhang Heng at the University of St Andrews, Scotland
The Early History of Seismology (to 1900)
Seismoscope - Research References 2012
78 births
139 deaths
1st-century Chinese poets
2nd-century Chinese poets
Ancient Chinese astronomers
Ancient Chinese mathematicians
Chinese cartographers
Chinese Confucianists
Chinese ethnographers
Chinese geographers
Chinese inventors
Chinese mechanical engineers
Chinese non-fiction writers
Chinese scholars
Chinese seismologists
Engineers from Henan
Han dynasty philosophers
Han dynasty poets
Han dynasty politicians from Henan
Han dynasty science writers
Hydraulic engineers
Mathematicians from Henan
Philosophers from Henan
Physicists from Henan
Poets from Henan
Politicians from Nanyang, Henan
Technical writers
Writers from Nanyang, Henan
2nd-century geographers | true | [
"React is a media franchise used by the Fine Brothers consisting of several online series centering on a group of individuals reacting to viral videos, trends, video games, film trailers, or music videos. The franchise was launched with the YouTube debut of Kids React in October 2010, and then grew to encompass fou... | [
"Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, mathematician, seismologist, hydraulic engineer, inventor, geographer, cartogr... |
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"Zhang Heng",
"Science and technology",
"what did he have to do with science and technology?",
"Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors",
"what did it influence them to do?",
"Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower.",
"wha... | C_b200a4798a7349ff8822b7bcf5addda2_0 | what was his greatest accomplishment? | 5 | What was Zhang Heng greatest accomplishment? | Zhang Heng | Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors such as Yi Xing, Zhang Sixun, Su Song, and Guo Shoujing. Su Song directly named Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower. The cosmic model of nine points of Heaven corresponding with nine regions of earth conceived in the work of the scholar-official Chen Hongmou (1696-1771) followed in the tradition of Zhang's book Spiritual Constitution of the Universe. The seismologist John Milne, who created the modern seismograph in 1876 alongside Thomas Gray and James A. Ewing at the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo, commented in 1886 on Zhang Heng's contributions to seismology. The historian Joseph Needham emphasized his contributions to pre-modern Chinese technology, stating that Zhang was noted even in his day for being able to "make three wheels rotate as if they were one." More than one scholar has described Zhang as a polymath. However, some scholars also point out that Zhang's writing lacks concrete scientific theories. Comparing Zhang with his contemporary, Ptolemy (83-161) of Roman Egypt, Jin Guantao, Fan Hongye, and Liu Qingfeng state: Based on the theories of his predecessors, Zhang Heng systematically developed the celestial sphere theory. An armillary constructed on the basis of his hypotheses bears a remarkable similarity to Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. However, Zhang Heng did not definitely propose a theoretical model like Ptolemy's earth-centered one. It is astonishing that the celestial model Zhang Heng constructed was almost a physical model of Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. Only a single step separates the celestial globe from the earth-centered theory, but Chinese astronomers never took that step. Here we can see how important the exemplary function of the primitive scientific structure is. In order to use the Euclidean system of geometry as a model for the development of astronomical theory, Ptolemy first had to select hypotheses which could serve as axioms. He naturally regarded circular motion as fundamental and then used the circular motion of deferents and epicycles in his earth-centered theory. Although Zhang Heng understood that the sun, moon and planets move in circles, he lacked a model for a logically structured theory and so could not establish a corresponding astronomical theory. Chinese astronomy was most interested in extracting the algebraic features of planetary motion (that is, the length of the cyclic periods) to establish astronomical theories. Thus astronomy was reduced to arithmetic operations, extracting common multiples and divisors from the observed cyclic motions of the heavenly bodies. CANNOTANSWER | It is astonishing that the celestial model Zhang Heng constructed was almost a physical model of Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. | Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, mathematician, seismologist, hydraulic engineer, inventor, geographer, cartographer, ethnographer, artist, poet, philosopher, politician, and literary scholar.
Zhang Heng began his career as a minor civil servant in Nanyang. Eventually, he became Chief Astronomer, Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages, and then Palace Attendant at the imperial court. His uncompromising stance on historical and calendrical issues led to his becoming a controversial figure, preventing him from rising to the status of Grand Historian. His political rivalry with the palace eunuchs during the reign of Emperor Shun (r. 125–144) led to his decision to retire from the central court to serve as an administrator of Hejian Kingdom in present-day Hebei. Zhang returned home to Nanyang for a short time, before being recalled to serve in the capital once more in 138. He died there a year later, in 139.
Zhang applied his extensive knowledge of mechanics and gears in several of his inventions. He invented the world's first water-powered armillary sphere to assist astronomical observation; improved the inflow water clock by adding another tank; and invented the world's first seismoscope, which discerned the cardinal direction of an earthquake away. He improved previous Chinese calculations for pi. In addition to documenting about 2,500 stars in his extensive star catalog, Zhang also posited theories about the Moon and its relationship to the Sun: specifically, he discussed the Moon's sphericity, its illumination by reflected sunlight on one side and the hidden nature of the other, and the nature of solar and lunar eclipses. His fu (rhapsody) and shi poetry were renowned in his time and studied and analyzed by later Chinese writers. Zhang received many posthumous honors for his scholarship and ingenuity; some modern scholars have compared his work in astronomy to that of the Greco-Roman Ptolemy (AD 86–161).
Life
Early life
Born in the town of Xi'e in Nanyang Commandery (north of the modern Nanyang City in Henan province), Zhang Heng came from a distinguished but not very affluent family. His grandfather Zhang Kan () had been governor of a commandery and one of the leaders who supported the restoration of the Han by Emperor Guangwu (r. 25–57), following the death of the usurping Wang Mang of the Xin (AD 9–23). When he was ten, Zhang's father died, leaving him in the care of his mother and grandmother.
An accomplished writer in his youth, Zhang left home in the year 95 to pursue his studies in the capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang. While traveling to Luoyang, Zhang passed by a hot spring near Mount Li and dedicated one of his earliest fu poems to it. This work, entitled "Fu on the Hot Springs" (Wēnquán fù 溫泉賦), describes the throngs of people attending the hot springs, which later became famous as the "Huaqing Hot Springs", a favorite retreat of imperial concubine Yang Guifei during the Tang dynasty. After studying for some years at Luoyang's Taixue, he was well-versed in the classics and friends with several notable persons, including the mathematician and calligrapher Cui Yuan (78–143), the official and philosophical commentator Ma Rong (79–166), and the philosopher Wang Fu (78–163). Government authorities offered Zhang appointments to several offices, including a position as one of the Imperial Secretaries, yet he acted modestly and declined.
At age 23, Zhang returned home with the title "Officer of Merit in Nanyang", serving as the master of documents under the administration of Governor Bao De (in office from 103 to 111). As he was charged with composing inscriptions and dirges for the governor, he gained experience in writing official documents. As Officer of Merit in the commandery, he was also responsible for local appointments to office and recommendations to the capital of nominees for higher office. He spent much of his time composing rhapsodies on the capital cities. When Bao De was recalled to the capital in 111 to serve as a minister of finance, Zhang continued his literary work at home in Xi'e. Zhang Heng began his studies in astronomy at the age of 30 and began publishing his works on astronomy and mathematics.
Official career
In 112, Zhang was summoned to the court of Emperor An (r. 106–125), who had heard of his expertise in mathematics. When he was nominated to serve at the capital, Zhang was escorted by carriage—a symbol of his official status—to Luoyang, where he became a court gentleman working for the Imperial Secretariat. He was promoted to Chief Astronomer for the court, serving his first term from 115 to 120 under Emperor An and his second under the succeeding emperor from 126 to 132. As Chief Astronomer, Zhang was a subordinate of the Minister of Ceremonies, one of Nine Ministers ranked just below the Three Excellencies. In addition to recording heavenly observations and portents, preparing the calendar, and reporting which days were auspicious and which ill-omened, Zhang was also in charge of an advanced literacy test for all candidates to the Imperial Secretariat and the Censorate, both of whose members were required to know at least 9,000 characters and all major writing styles. Under Emperor An, Zhang also served as Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages under the Ministry of Guards, in charge of receiving memorials to the throne (formal essays on policy and administration) as well as nominees for official appointments.
When the government official Dan Song proposed the Chinese calendar should be reformed in 123 to adopt certain apocryphal teachings, Zhang opposed the idea. He considered the teachings to be of questionable stature and believed they could introduce errors. Others shared Zhang's opinion and the calendar was not altered, yet Zhang's proposal that apocryphal writings should be banned was rejected. The officials Liu Zhen and Liu Taotu, members of a committee to compile the dynastic history (), sought permission from the court to consult Zhang Heng. However, Zhang was barred from assisting the committee due to his controversial views on apocrypha and his objection to the relegation of Gengshi Emperor's (r. 23–25) role in the restoration of the Han Dynasty as lesser than Emperor Guangwu's. Liu Zhen and Liu Taotu were Zhang's only historian allies at court, and after their deaths Zhang had no further opportunities for promotion to the prestigious post of court historian.
Despite this setback in his official career, Zhang was reappointed as Chief Astronomer in 126 after Emperor Shun of Han (r. 125–144) ascended to the throne. His intensive astronomical work was rewarded only with the rank and salary of 600 bushels, or shi, of grain (mostly commuted to coin cash or bolts of silk). To place this number in context, in a hierarchy of twenty official ranks, the lowest-paid official earned the rank and salary of 100 bushels and the highest-paid official earned 10,000 bushels during the Han. The 600-bushel rank was the lowest the emperor could directly appoint to a central government position; any official of lower status was overseen by central or provincial officials of high rank.
In 132, Zhang introduced an intricate seismoscope to the court, which he claimed could detect the precise cardinal direction of a distant earthquake. On one occasion his device indicated that an earthquake had occurred in the northwest. As there was no perceivable tremor felt in the capital his political enemies were briefly able to relish the failure of his device, until a messenger arrived shortly afterwards to report that an earthquake had occurred about 400 km (248 mi) to 500 km (310 mi) northwest of Luoyang in Gansu province.
A year after Zhang presented his seismoscope to the court, officials and candidates were asked to provide comments about a series of recent earthquakes which could be interpreted as signs of displeasure from Heaven. The ancient Chinese viewed natural calamities as cosmological punishments for misdeeds that were perpetrated by the Chinese ruler or his subordinates on earth. In Zhang's memorial discussing the reasons behind these natural disasters, he criticized the new recruitment system of Zuo Xiong which fixed the age of eligible candidates for the title "Filial and Incorrupt" at age forty. The new system also transferred the power of the candidates' assessment to the Three Excellencies rather than the Generals of the Household, who by tradition oversaw the affairs of court gentlemen. Although Zhang's memorial was rejected, his status was significantly elevated soon after to Palace Attendant, a position he used to influence the decisions of Emperor Shun. With this prestigious new position, Zhang earned a salary of 2,000 bushels and had the right to escort the emperor.
As Palace Attendant to Emperor Shun, Zhang Heng attempted to convince him that the court eunuchs represented a threat to the imperial court. Zhang pointed to specific examples of past court intrigues involving eunuchs, and convinced Shun that he should assume greater authority and limit their influence. The eunuchs attempted to slander Zhang, who responded with a fu rhapsody called "Fu on Pondering the Mystery", which vents his frustration. Rafe de Crespigny states that Zhang's rhapsody used imagery similar to Qu Yuan's (340–278 BC) poem "Li Sao" and focused on whether or not good men should flee the corrupted world or remain virtuous within it.
Literature and poetry
While working for the central court, Zhang Heng had access to a variety of written materials located in the Archives of the Eastern Pavilion. Zhang read many of the great works of history in his day and claimed he had found ten instances where the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (145–90 BC) and the Book of Han by Ban Gu (AD 32–92) differed from other ancient texts that were available to him. His account was preserved and recorded in the 5th century text of the Book of Later Han by Fan Ye (398–445). His rhapsodies and other literary works displayed a deep knowledge of classic texts, Chinese philosophy, and histories. He also compiled a commentary on the Taixuan (, "Great Mystery") by the Daoist author Yang Xiong (53 BC–AD 18).
Xiao Tong (501–531), a crown prince of the Liang Dynasty (502–557), immortalized several of Zhang's works in his literary anthology Selections of Refined Literature (Wen xuan ). Zhang's fu rhapsodies include "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" (Xī jīng fù ), "Eastern Metropolis Rhapsody" (Dōng jīng fù ), "Southern Capital Rhapsody" (Nán dū fù ), "Rhapsody on Contemplating the Mystery" (Sī xuán fù ), and "Rhapsody on Returning to the Fields" (Guī tián fù ). The latter fuses Daoist ideas with Confucianism and was a precursor to later Chinese metaphysical nature poetry, according to Liu Wu-chi. A set of four short lyric poems (shi 詩) entitled "Lyric Poems on Four Sorrows" (Sì chóu shī ), is also included with Zhang's preface. This set constitutes some of the earliest heptasyllabic shi Chinese poetry written. While still in Luoyang, Zhang became inspired to write his "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" and "Eastern Metropolis Rhapsody", which were based on the "Rhapsody on the Two Capitals" by the historian Ban Gu. Zhang's work was similar to Ban's, although the latter fully praised the contemporaneous Eastern Han regime while Zhang provided a warning that it could suffer the same fate as the Western Han if it too declined into a state of decadence and moral depravity. These two works satirized and criticized what he saw as the excessive luxury of the upper classes. Zhang's "Southern Capital Rhapsody" commemorated his home city of Nanyang, home of the restorer of the Han Dynasty, Guangwu.
In Zhang Heng's poem "Four Sorrows", he laments that he is unable to woo a beautiful woman due to the impediment of mountains, snows and rivers. Rafe de Crespigny, Tong Xiao, and David R. Knechtges claim that Zhang wrote this as an innuendo hinting at his inability to keep in contact with the emperor, hindered by unworthy rivals and petty men. This poem is one of the first in China to have seven words per line. His "Four Sorrows" reads:
In another poem of his called "Stabilizing the Passions" (Dìng qíng fù 定情賦) — preserved in a Tang Dynasty (618–907) encyclopedia, but referred to earlier by Tao Qian (365–427) in praise of Zhang's lyrical minimalism — Zhang displays his admiration for an attractive and exemplary woman. This simpler type of fu poem influenced later works by the prominent official and scholar Cai Yong (132–192). Zhang wrote:
Zhang's long lyrical poems also revealed a great amount of information on urban layout and basic geography. His rhapsody "Sir Based-On-Nothing" provides details on terrain, palaces, hunting parks, markets, and prominent buildings of Chang'an, the Western Han capital. Exemplifying his attention to detail, his rhapsody on Nanyang described gardens filled with spring garlic, summer bamboo shoots, autumn leeks, winter rape-turnips, perilla, evodia, and purple ginger. Zhang Heng's writing confirms the size of the imperial hunting park in the suburbs of Chang'an, as his estimate for the circumference of the park's encircling wall agrees with the historian Ban Gu's estimate of roughly 400 li (one li in Han times was equal to 415.8 m, or 1,364 ft, making the circumference of the park wall 166,320 m, or 545,600 ft). Along with Sima Xiangru (179–117 BC), Zhang listed a variety of animals and hunting game inhabiting the park, which were divided in the northern and southern portions of the park according to where the animals had originally come from: northern or southern China. Somewhat similar to the description of Sima Xiangru, Zhang described the Western Han emperors and their entourage enjoying boat outings, water plays, fishing, and displays of archery targeting birds and other animals with stringed arrows from the tops of tall towers along Chang'an's Kunming Lake. The focus of Zhang's writing on specific places and their terrain, society, people, and their customs could also be seen as early attempts of ethnographic categorization. In his poem "Xijing fu", Zhang shows that he was aware of the new foreign religion of Buddhism, introduced via the Silk Road, as well as the legend of the birth of Buddha with the vision of the white elephant bringing about conception. In his "Western Metropolis Rhapsody" (), Zhang described court entertainments such as juedi (), a form of theatrical wrestling accompanied by music in which participants butted heads with bull horn masks.
With his "Responding to Criticism" (Ying jian ), a work modeled on Yang Xiong's "Justification Against Ridicule", Zhang was an early writer and proponent of the Chinese literary genre shelun, or hypothetical discourse. Authors of this genre created a written dialogue between themselves and an imaginary person (or a real person of their entourage or association); the latter poses questions to the author on how to lead a successful life. He also used it as a means to criticize himself for failing to obtain high office, but coming to the conclusion that the true gentleman displays virtue instead of greed for power. In this work, Dominik Declercq asserts that the person urging Zhang to advance his career in a time of government corruption most likely represented the eunuchs or Empress Liang's (116–150) powerful relatives in the Liang clan. Declercq states that these two groups would have been "anxious to know whether this famous scholar could be lured over to their side", but Zhang flatly rejected such an alignment by declaring in this politically charged piece of literature that his gentlemanly quest for virtue trumped any desire of his for power.
Zhang wrote about the various love affairs of emperors dissatisfied with the imperial harem, going out into the city incognito to seek out prostitutes and sing-song girls. This was seen as a general criticism of the Eastern Han emperors and their imperial favorites, guised in the criticism of earlier Western Han emperors. Besides criticizing the Western Han emperors for lavish decadence, Zhang also pointed out that their behavior and ceremonies did not properly conform with the Chinese cyclical beliefs in yin and yang. In a poem criticizing the previous Western Han Dynasty, Zhang wrote:
Achievements in science and technology
Mathematics
For centuries the Chinese approximated pi as 3; Liu Xin (d. AD 23) made the first known Chinese attempt at a more accurate calculation of 3.1457, but there is no record detailing the method he used to obtain this figure. In his work around 130, Zhang Heng compared the celestial circle to the diameter of the earth, proportioning the former as 736 and the latter as 232, thus calculating pi as 3.1724. In Zhang's day, the ratio 4:3 was given for the area of a square to the area of its inscribed circle and the volume of a cube and volume of the inscribed sphere should also be 42:32. In formula, with D as diameter and V as volume, D3:V = 16:9 or V=D3; Zhang realized that the value for diameter in this formula was inaccurate, noting the discrepancy as the value taken for the ratio. Zhang then attempted to remedy this by amending the formula with an additional D3, hence V=D3 + D3 = D3. With the ratio of the volume of the cube to the inscribed sphere at 8:5, the implied ratio of the area of the square to the circle is √8:√5. From this formula, Zhang calculated pi as the square root of 10 (or approximately 3.162). Zhang also calculated pi as = 3.1466 in his book Ling Xian (). In the 3rd century, Liu Hui made the calculation more accurate with his π algorithm, which allowed him to obtain the value 3.14159. Later, Zu Chongzhi (429–500) approximated pi as or 3.141592, the most accurate calculation for pi the ancient Chinese would achieve.
Astronomy
In his publication of AD 120 called The Spiritual Constitution of the Universe (靈憲, Ling Xian, lit. "Sublime Model"), Zhang Heng theorized that the universe was like an egg "as round as a crossbow pellet" with the stars on the shell and the Earth as the central yolk. This universe theory is congruent with the geocentric model as opposed to the heliocentric model. Although the ancient Warring States (403–221 BC) Chinese astronomers Shi Shen and Gan De had compiled China's first star catalogue in the 4th century BC, Zhang nonetheless catalogued 2,500 stars which he placed in a "brightly shining" category (the Chinese estimated the total to be 14,000), and he recognized 124 constellations. In comparison, this star catalogue featured many more stars than the 850 documented by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus (c. 190–c.120 BC) in his catalogue, and more than Ptolemy (AD 83–161), who catalogued over 1,000. Zhang supported the "radiating influence" theory to explain solar and lunar eclipses, a theory which was opposed by Wang Chong (AD 27–97). In the Ling Xian, Zhang wrote:
Zhang Heng viewed these astronomical phenomena in supernatural terms as well. The signs of comets, eclipses, and movements of heavenly bodies could all be interpreted by him as heavenly guides on how to conduct affairs of state. Contemporary writers also wrote about eclipses and the sphericity of heavenly bodies. The music theorist and mathematician Jing Fang (78–37 BC) wrote about the spherical shape of the Sun and Moon while discussing eclipses:
The Moon and the planets are Yin; they have shape but no light. This they receive only when the Sun illuminates them. The former masters regarded the Sun as round like a crossbow bullet, and they thought the Moon had the nature of a mirror. Some of them recognized the Moon as a ball too. Those parts of the Moon which the Sun illuminates look bright, those parts which it does not, remain dark.
The theory posited by Zhang and Jing was supported by later pre-modern scientists such as Shen Kuo (1031–1095), who expanded on the reasoning of why the Sun and Moon were spherical. The theory of the celestial sphere surrounding a flat, square Earth was later criticized by the Jin-dynasty scholar-official Yu Xi (fl. 307–345). He suggested that the Earth could be round like the heavens, a spherical Earth theory fully accepted by mathematician Li Ye (1192-1279) but not by mainstream Chinese science until European influence in the 17th century.
Extra tank for inflow clepsydra
The outflow clepsydra was a timekeeping device used in China as long ago as the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC), and certainly by the Zhou Dynasty (1122–256 BC). The inflow clepsydra with an indicator rod on a float had been known in China since the beginning of the Han Dynasty in 202 BC and had replaced the outflow type. The Han Chinese noted the problem with the falling pressure head in the reservoir, which slowed the timekeeping of the device as the inflow vessel was filled. Zhang Heng was the first to address this problem, indicated in his writings from 117, by adding an extra compensating tank between the reservoir and the inflow vessel. Zhang also mounted two statuettes of a Chinese immortal and a heavenly guard on the top of the inflow clepsydra, the two of which would guide the indicator rod with their left hand and point out the graduations with their right. Joseph Needham states that this was perhaps the ancestor of all clock jacks that would later sound the hours found in mechanical clocks by the 8th century, but he notes that these figures did not actually move like clock jack figurines or sound the hours. Many additional compensation tanks were added to later clepsydras in the tradition of Zhang Heng. In 610 the Sui Dynasty (581–618) engineers Geng Xun and Yuwen Kai crafted an unequal-armed steelyard balance able to make seasonal adjustments in the pressure head of the compensating tank, so that it could control the rate of water flow for different lengths of day and night during the year. Zhang mentioned a "jade dragon's neck", which in later times meant a siphon. He wrote of the floats and indicator-rods of the inflow clepsydra as follows:
Water-powered armillary sphere
Zhang Heng is the first person known to have applied hydraulic motive power (i.e. by employing a waterwheel and clepsydra) to rotate an armillary sphere, an astronomical instrument representing the celestial sphere. The Greek astronomer Eratosthenes (276–194 BC) invented the first armillary sphere in 255 BC. The Chinese armillary sphere was fully developed by 52 BC, with the astronomer Geng Shouchang's addition of a permanently fixed equatorial ring. In AD 84 the astronomers Fu An and Jia Kui added the ecliptic ring, and finally Zhang Heng added the horizon and meridian rings. This invention is described and attributed to Zhang in quotations by Hsu Chen and Li Shan, referencing his book Lou Shui Chuan Hun Thien I Chieh (Apparatus for Rotating an Armillary Sphere by Clepsydra Water). It was likely not an actual book by Zhang, but a chapter from his Hun I or Hun I Thu Chu, written in 117 AD. His water-powered armillary influenced the design of later Chinese water clocks and led to the discovery of the escapement mechanism by the 8th century. The historian Joseph Needham (1900–1995) states:
What were the factors leading to the first escapement clock in China? The chief tradition leading to Yi Xing (AD 725 ) was of course the succession of 'pre-clocks' which had started with Zhang Heng about 125. Reason has been given for believing that these applied power to the slow turning movement of computational armillary spheres and celestial globes by means of a water-wheel using clepsydra drip, which intermittently exerted the force of a lug to act on the teeth of a wheel on a polar-axis shaft. Zhang Heng in his turn had composed this arrangement by uniting the armillary rings of his predecessors into the equatorial armillary sphere, and combining it with the principles of the water-mills and hydraulic trip-hammers which had become so widespread in Chinese culture in the previous century.
Zhang did not initiate the Chinese tradition of hydraulic engineering, which began during the mid Zhou Dynasty (c. 6th century BC), through the work of engineers such as Sunshu Ao and Ximen Bao. Zhang's contemporary, Du Shi, (d. AD 38) was the first to apply the motive power of waterwheels to operate the bellows of a blast furnace to make pig iron, and the cupola furnace to make cast iron. Zhang provided a valuable description of his water-powered armillary sphere in the treatise of 125, stating:
The equatorial ring goes around the belly of the armillary sphere 91 and 5/19 (degrees) away from the pole. The circle of the ecliptic also goes round the belly of the instrument at an angle of 24 (degrees) with the equator. Thus at the summer solstice the ecliptic is 67 (degrees) and a fraction away from the pole, while at the winter solstice it is 115 (degrees) and a fraction away. Hence (the points) where the ecliptic and the equator intersect should give the north polar distances of the spring and autumn equinoxes. But now (it has been recorded that) the spring equinox is 90 and 1/4 (degrees) away from the pole, and the autumn equinox is 92 and 1/4 (degrees) away. The former figure is adopted only because it agrees with the (results obtained by the) method of measuring solstitial sun shadows as embodied in the Xia (dynasty) calendar.
Zhang Heng's water-powered armillary sphere had profound effects on Chinese astronomy and mechanical engineering in later generations. His model and its complex use of gears greatly influenced the water-powered instruments of later astronomers such as Yi Xing (683–727), Zhang Sixun (fl. 10th century), Su Song (1020–1101), Guo Shoujing (1231–1316), and many others. Water-powered armillary spheres in the tradition of Zhang Heng's were used in the eras of the Three Kingdoms (220–280) and Jin Dynasty (266–420), yet the design for it was temporarily out of use between 317 and 418, due to invasions of northern Xiongnu nomads. Zhang Heng's old instruments were recovered in 418, when Emperor Wu of Liu Song (r. 420–422) captured the ancient capital of Chang'an. Although still intact, the graduation marks and the representations of the stars, Moon, Sun, and planets were quite worn down by time and rust. In 436, the emperor ordered Qian Luozhi, the Secretary of the Bureau of Astronomy and Calendar, to recreate Zhang's device, which he managed to do successfully. Qian's water-powered celestial globe was still in use at the time of the Liang Dynasty (502–557), and successive models of water-powered armillary spheres were designed in subsequent dynasties.
Zhang's seismoscope
From the earliest times, the Chinese were concerned with the destructive force of earthquakes. It was recorded in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian of 91 BC that in 780 BC an earthquake had been powerful enough to divert the courses of three rivers. It was not known at the time that earthquakes were caused by the shifting of tectonic plates in the Earth's crust; instead, the people of the ancient Zhou Dynasty explained them as disturbances with cosmic yin and yang, along with the heavens' displeasure with acts committed (or the common peoples' grievances ignored) by the current ruling dynasty. These theories were ultimately derived from the ancient text of the Yijing (Book of Changes), in its fifty-first hexagram. There were other early theories about earthquakes, developed by those such as the ancient Greeks. Anaxagoras (c. 500–428 BC) believed that they were caused by excess water near the surface crust of the earth bursting into the Earth's hollows; Democritus (c. 460–370 BC) believed that the saturation of the Earth with water caused them; Anaximenes (c. 585–c. 525 BC) believed they were the result of massive pieces of the Earth falling into the cavernous hollows due to drying; and Aristotle (384–322 BC) believed they were caused by instability of vapor (pneuma) caused by the drying of the moist Earth by the Sun's rays.
During the Han Dynasty, many learned scholars—including Zhang Heng—believed in the "oracles of the winds". These oracles of the occult observed the direction, force, and timing of the winds, to speculate about the operation of the cosmos and to predict events on Earth. These ideas influenced Zhang Heng's views on the cause of earthquakes.
In 132, Zhang Heng presented to the Han court what many historians consider to be his most impressive invention, the first seismoscope. A seismoscope records the motions of Earth's shaking, but unlike a seismometer, it does not retain a time record of those motions. It was named "earthquake weathervane" (hòufēng dìdòngyí 候風地動儀), and it was able to roughly determine the direction (out of eight directions) where the earthquake came from. According to the Book of Later Han (compiled by Fan Ye in the 5th century), his bronze urn-shaped device, with a swinging pendulum inside, was able to detect the direction of an earthquake hundreds of miles/kilometers away. This was essential for the Han government in sending quick aid and relief to regions devastated by this type of natural disaster. The Book of Later Han records that, on one occasion, Zhang's device was triggered, though no observer had felt any seismic disturbance; several days later a messenger arrived from the west and reported that an earthquake had occurred in Longxi (modern Gansu Province), the same direction that Zhang's device had indicated, and thus the court was forced to admit the efficacy of the device.
To indicate the direction of a distant earthquake, Zhang's device dropped a bronze ball from one of eight tubed projections shaped as dragon heads; the ball fell into the mouth of a corresponding metal object shaped as a toad, each representing a direction like the points on a compass rose. His device had eight mobile arms (for all eight directions) connected with cranks having catch mechanisms at the periphery. When tripped, a crank and right angle lever would raise a dragon head and release a ball which had been supported by the lower jaw of the dragon head. His device also included a vertical pin passing through a slot in the crank, a catch device, a pivot on a projection, a sling suspending the pendulum, an attachment for the sling, and a horizontal bar supporting the pendulum. Wang Zhenduo (王振鐸) argued that the technology of the Eastern Han era was sophisticated enough to produce such a device, as evidenced by contemporary levers and cranks used in other devices such as crossbow triggers.
Later Chinese of subsequent periods were able to reinvent Zhang's seismoscope. They included the 6th-century mathematician and surveyor Xindu Fang of the Northern Qi Dynasty (550–577) and the astronomer and mathematician Lin Xiaogong of the Sui Dynasty (581–618). Like Zhang, Xindu Fang and Lin Xiaogong were given imperial patronage for their services in craftsmanship of devices for the court. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), it was acknowledged that all devices previously made were preserved, except for that of the seismoscope. This was discussed by the scholar Zhou Mi around 1290, who remarked that the books of Xindu Fang and Lin Xiaogong detailing their seismological devices were no longer to be found. Horwitz, Kreitner, and Needham speculate if Tang Dynasty (618–907) era seismographs found their way to contemporary Japan; according to Needham, "instruments of apparently traditional type there in which a pendulum carries pins projecting in many directions and able to pierce a surrounding paper cylinder, have been described."
Hong-sen Yan states that modern replicas of Zhang's device have failed to reach the level of accuracy and sensitivity described in Chinese historical records. Wang Zhenduo presented two different models of the seismoscope based on the ancient descriptions of Zhang's device. In his 1936 reconstruction, the central pillar (du zhu) of the device was a suspended pendulum acting as a movement sensor, while the central pillar of his second model in 1963 was an inverted pendulum. According to Needham, while working in the Seismological Observatory of Tokyo University in 1939, Akitsune Imamura and Hagiwara made a reconstruction of Zhang's device. While it was John Milne and Wang Zhenduo who argued early on that Zhang's "central pillar" was a suspended pendulum, Imamura was the first to propose an inverted model. He argued that transverse shock would have rendered Wang's immobilization mechanism ineffective, as it would not have prevented further motion that could knock other balls out of their position. On June 13, 2005, modern Chinese seismologists announced that they had successfully created a replica of the instrument.
Anthony J. Barbieri-Low, a Professor of Early Chinese History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, names Zhang Heng as one of several high-ranking Eastern-Han officials who engaged in crafts that were traditionally reserved for artisans (gong 工), such as mechanical engineering. Barbieri-Low speculates that Zhang only designed his seismoscope, but did not actually craft the device himself. He asserts that this would most likely have been the job of artisans commissioned by Zhang. He writes: "Zhang Heng was an official of moderately high rank and could not be seen sweating in the foundries with the gong artisans and the government slaves. Most likely, he worked collaboratively with the professional casters and mold makers in the imperial workshops."
Cartography
The Wei (220–265) and Jin Dynasty (266–420) cartographer and official Pei Xiu (224–271) was the first in China to describe in full the geometric grid reference for maps that allowed for precise measurements using a graduated scale, as well as topographical elevation. However, map-making in China had existed since at least the 4th century BC with the Qin state maps found in Gansu in 1986. Pinpointed accuracy of the winding courses of rivers and familiarity with scaled distance had been known since the Qin and Han Dynasty, respectively, as evidenced by their existing maps, while the use of a rectangular grid had been known in China since the Han as well. Historian Howard Nelson states that, although the accounts of Zhang Heng's work in cartography are somewhat vague and sketchy, there is ample written evidence that Pei Xiu derived the use of the rectangular grid reference from the maps of Zhang Heng. Rafe de Crespigny asserts that it was Zhang who established the rectangular grid system in Chinese cartography. Needham points out that the title of his book Flying Bird Calendar may have been a mistake, and that the book is more accurately entitled Bird's Eye Map. Historian Florian C. Reiter notes that Zhang's narrative "Guitian fu" contains a phrase about applauding the maps and documents of Confucius of the Zhou Dynasty, which Reiter suggests places maps (tu) on a same level of importance with documents (shu). It is documented that a physical geography map was first presented by Zhang Heng in 116 AD, called a Ti Hsing Thu.
Odometer and south-pointing chariot
Zhang Heng is often credited with inventing the first odometer, an achievement also attributed to Archimedes (c. 287–212 BC) and Heron of Alexandria (fl. AD 10–70). Similar devices were used by the Roman and Han-Chinese empires at about the same period. By the 3rd century, the Chinese had termed the device the jili guche (, "li-recording drum carriage" (the modern measurement of li = 500 m/1640 ft).
Ancient Chinese texts describe the mechanical carriage's functions; after one li was traversed, a mechanically driven wooden figure struck a drum, and after ten li had been covered, another wooden figure struck a gong or a bell with its mechanically operated arm. However, there is evidence to suggest that the invention of the odometer was a gradual process in Han Dynasty China that centered on the "huang men"—court people (i.e. eunuchs, palace officials, attendants and familiars, actors, acrobats, etc.) who followed the musical procession of the royal "drum-chariot". There is speculation that at some time during the 1st century BC the beating of drums and gongs was mechanically driven by the rotation of the road wheels. This might have actually been the design of Luoxia Hong (c. 110 BC), yet by at least 125 the mechanical odometer carriage was already known, as it was depicted in a mural of the Xiao Tang Shan Tomb.
The south-pointing chariot was another mechanical device credited to Zhang Heng. It was a non-magnetic compass vehicle in the form of a two-wheeled chariot. Differential gears driven by the chariot's wheels allowed a wooden figurine (in the shape of a Chinese state minister) to constantly point to the south, hence its name. The Song Shu (c. AD 500 ) records that Zhang Heng re-invented it from a model used in the Zhou Dynasty era, but the violent collapse of the Han Dynasty unfortunately did not allow it to be preserved. Whether Zhang Heng invented it or not, Ma Jun (200–265) succeeded in creating the chariot in the following century.
Legacy
Science and technology
Zhang Heng's mechanical inventions influenced later Chinese inventors such as Yi Xing, Zhang Sixun, Su Song, and Guo Shoujing. Su Song directly named Zhang's water-powered armillary sphere as the inspiration for his 11th-century clock tower. The cosmic model of nine points of Heaven corresponding with nine regions of earth conceived in the work of the scholar-official Chen Hongmou (1696–1771) followed in the tradition of Zhang's book Spiritual Constitution of the Universe. The seismologist John Milne, who created the modern seismograph in 1876 alongside Thomas Gray and James A. Ewing at the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo, commented in 1886 on Zhang Heng's contributions to seismology. The historian Joseph Needham emphasized his contributions to pre-modern Chinese technology, stating that Zhang was noted even in his day for being able to "make three wheels rotate as if they were one." More than one scholar has described Zhang as a polymath. However, some scholars also point out that Zhang's writing lacks concrete scientific theories. Comparing Zhang with his contemporary, Ptolemy (83–161) of Roman Egypt, Jin Guantao, Fan Hongye, and Liu Qingfeng state:
Based on the theories of his predecessors, Zhang Heng systematically developed the celestial sphere theory. An armillary constructed on the basis of his hypotheses bears a remarkable similarity to Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. However, Zhang Heng did not definitely propose a theoretical model like Ptolemy's earth-centered one. It is astonishing that the celestial model Zhang Heng constructed was almost a physical model of Ptolemy's earth-centered theory. Only a single step separates the celestial globe from the earth-centered theory, but Chinese astronomers never took that step.
Here we can see how important the exemplary function of the primitive scientific structure is. In order to use the Euclidean system of geometry as a model for the development of astronomical theory, Ptolemy first had to select hypotheses which could serve as axioms. He naturally regarded circular motion as fundamental and then used the circular motion of deferents and epicycles in his earth-centered theory. Although Zhang Heng understood that the sun, moon and planets move in circles, he lacked a model for a logically structured theory and so could not establish a corresponding astronomical theory. Chinese astronomy was most interested in extracting the algebraic features of planetary motion (that is, the length of the cyclic periods) to establish astronomical theories. Thus astronomy was reduced to arithmetic operations, extracting common multiples and divisors from the observed cyclic motions of the heavenly bodies.
Poetic literature
Zhang's poetry was widely read during his life and after his death. In addition to the compilation of Xiao Tong mentioned above, the Eastern Wu official Xue Zong (d. 237) wrote commentary on Zhang's poems "Dongjing fu" and "Xijing fu". The influential poet Tao Qian wrote that he admired the poetry of Zhang Heng for its "curbing extravagant diction and aiming at simplicity", in regards to perceived tranquility and rectitude correlating with the simple but effective language of the poet. Tao wrote that both Zhang Heng and Cai Yong "avoided inflated language, aiming chiefly at simplicity", and adding that their "compositions begin by giving free expression to their fancies but end on a note of quiet, serving admirably to restrain undisciplined and passionate nature".
Posthumous honors
Zhang was given great honors in life and in death. The philosopher and poet Fu Xuan (217–278) of the Wei and Jin dynasties once lamented in an essay over the fact that Zhang Heng was never placed in the Ministry of Works. Writing highly of Zhang and the 3rd-century mechanical engineer Ma Jun, Fu Xuan wrote, "Neither of them was ever an official of the Ministry of Works, and their ingenuity did not benefit the world. When (authorities) employ personnel with no regard to special talent, and having heard of genius neglect even to test it—is this not hateful and disastrous?"
In honor of Zhang's achievements in science and technology, his friend Cui Ziyu (Cui Yuan) wrote a memorial inscription on his burial stele, which has been preserved in the Guwen yuan. Cui stated, "[Zhang Heng's] mathematical computations exhausted (the riddles of) the heavens and the earth. His inventions were comparable even to those of the Author of Change. The excellence of his talent and the splendour of his art were one with those of the gods." The minor official Xiahou Zhan (243–291) of the Wei Dynasty made an inscription for his own commemorative stele to be placed at Zhang Heng's tomb. It read: "Ever since gentlemen have composed literary texts, none has been as skillful as the Master [Zhang Heng] in choosing his words well ... if only the dead could rise, oh I could then turn to him for a teacher!"
Several things have been named after Zhang in modern times, including the lunar crater Chang Heng, the asteroid 1802 Zhang Heng, and the mineral zhanghengite. In 2018, China launched a research satellite called China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) which is also named Zhangheng-1 (ZH-1).
See also
Han poetry
Fu (poetry)
Return to the Field
Yu Xi
References
Citation
Bibliography
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Barbieri-Low, Anthony J. (2007). Artisans in Early Imperial China. Seattle & London: University of Washington Press. .
Declercq, Dominik (1998). Writings Against the State: Political Rhetorics in Third and Fourth Century China. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV.
Dillon, Michael. (1998). China: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary. Surrey: Routledge Curzon Press. .
Fraser, Ian W. (2014). "Zhang Heng 张衡", in Kerry Brown, ed., The Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography (pp. 369–376). Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing. .
Huang, Ray (1997). China: A Macro History. New York: An East Gate Book, M. E. SHARPE Inc.
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Loewe, Michael. (1968). Everyday Life in Early Imperial China during the Han Period 202 BC-AD 220. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd.; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Loewe, Michael. (1990). "The Juedi Games: a re-enactment of the battle between Chiyou and Xianyuan", in Thought and Law in Qin and Han China: Studies dedicated to Anthony Huslewé on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, 140–157, edited by W.L. Idema and E. Zürcher. Leiden: E.J. Brill. .
Loewe, Michael. (2005). Faith, Myth, and Reason in Han China. Indianapolis: Hacket Publishing Company, Inc. .
Mair, Victor H. (2001). The Columbia History of Chinese Literature. New York: Columbia University Press. .
Mansvelt-Beck, B.J. (1990). The Treatises of Later Han: Their Author, Sources, Contents, and Place in Chinese Historiography. Leiden: E.J. Brill. .
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Morton, W. Scott and Charlton M. Lewis (2005). China: Its History and Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. reprinted: Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
Needham, Joseph (1965). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 1: Physics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2: Mechanical Engineering. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. reprinted: Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
Neinhauser, William H., Charles Hartman, Y.W. Ma, and Stephen H. West. (1986). The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature: Volume 1. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. .
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Stein, S., and M. E. Wysession. (2002). An Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure. London: Wiley-Blackwell. ASIN B010WFPEOO.
Wagner, Donald B. (2001). The State and the Iron Industry in Han China. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Publishing. .
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External links
Zhang Heng at Chinaculture.org
Zhang Heng at the University of Maine, USA
Zhang Heng at the University of St Andrews, Scotland
The Early History of Seismology (to 1900)
Seismoscope - Research References 2012
78 births
139 deaths
1st-century Chinese poets
2nd-century Chinese poets
Ancient Chinese astronomers
Ancient Chinese mathematicians
Chinese cartographers
Chinese Confucianists
Chinese ethnographers
Chinese geographers
Chinese inventors
Chinese mechanical engineers
Chinese non-fiction writers
Chinese scholars
Chinese seismologists
Engineers from Henan
Han dynasty philosophers
Han dynasty poets
Han dynasty politicians from Henan
Han dynasty science writers
Hydraulic engineers
Mathematicians from Henan
Philosophers from Henan
Physicists from Henan
Poets from Henan
Politicians from Nanyang, Henan
Technical writers
Writers from Nanyang, Henan
2nd-century geographers | true | [
"was a professional Go player.\n\nHe is well known in the Western go world for his book Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go.\n\nBiography \nKageyama was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In 1948, he won the biggest amateur Go tournament in Japan, the All-Amateur Honinbo. The year after that, he passed the pro exam.... | [
"Zhang Heng (; AD 78–139), formerly romanized as Chang Heng, was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman who lived during the Han dynasty. Educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, he achieved success as an astronomer, mathematician, seismologist, hydraulic engineer, inventor, geographer, cartogr... |
[
"Lillian Moller Gilbreth",
"Career"
] | C_2a5565a59286404c9b962d2cd426be68_0 | What type of work did Lillian do? | 1 | What type of work did Lillian Moller Gilbreth do? | Lillian Moller Gilbreth | For more than forty years, Gilbreth's career combined psychology with the study of scientific management and engineering. She also included her perspectives as a wife and mother in her research, writing, and consulting work. Gilbreth became a pioneer in what is now known as Industrial and organizational psychology. She helped industrial engineers recognized the importance of the psychological dimensions of work. In addition, she became the first American engineer ever to create a synthesis of psychology and scientific management. (Gilbreth introduced the concept of using psychology to study management at the Dartmouth College Conference on Scientific Management in 1911.) In addition to jointly running Gilbreth Incorporated, their business and engineering consulting firm, Lillian and Frank wrote numerous publications as sole authors, as well as co-authoring multiple books and more than fifty papers on a variety of scientific topics. However, in their joint publications Lillian was not always named as a co-author, possibly due to publishers' concerns about a female writer. Althhough her credentials included a doctorate in psychology, she is less frequently credited in their joing publications than her husband, who did not attend college. The Gilbreths were certain that the revolutionary ideas of Frederick Winslow Taylor would be neither easy to implement nor sufficient; their implementation would require hard work by engineers and psychologists to make them successful. The Gilbreths also believed that scientific management as formulated by Taylor fell short when it came to managing the human element on the shop floor. The Gilbreths helped formulate a constructive critique of Taylorism; this critique had the support of other successful managers. CANNOTANSWER | For more than forty years, Gilbreth's career combined psychology with the study of scientific management and engineering. | Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth ( Moller; May 24, 1878 – January 2, 1972) was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s as "a genius in the art of living." Gilbreth, one of the first female engineers to earn a Ph.D., is considered to be the first industrial/organizational psychologist. She and her husband, Frank Bunker Gilbreth, were efficiency experts who contributed to the study of industrial engineering, especially in the areas of motion study and human factors. Cheaper by the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by two of their children (Ernestine and Frank Jr.) tell the story of their family life and describe how time-and-motion studies were applied to the organization and daily activities of their large family. Both books were later made into feature films.
Early life and education
Lillie Evelyn Moller was born in Oakland, California, on May 24, 1878, to Annie () and William Moller, a builder's supply merchant. She was their second child and the eldest of the family's nine surviving children. Their first child, Anna Adelaide, had died at age four months. Her parents, of German ancestry, were well to-do. Educated at home until the age of nine, Moller began formal schooling in the first grade at a public elementary school and was rapidly promoted through the grade levels. She was elected vice president of her senior class at Oakland High School and graduated with exemplary grades in May 1896.
Although Moller wanted to go to college, her father was opposed to such education for his daughters. So she did not take all the required college preparatory courses in high school. She did persuade her father to let her try college for a year and was admitted to the University of California on condition she take the missing Latin course in her first semester. In August 1896 Moller was one of 300 entering students. The University of California at that time was housed in four buildings in the hills above the little town of Berkeley. It charged no tuition for California residents and was underfunded. Classes were large and many were held in tents. There were no dormitories; men lived in nearby boarding houses and women commuted from home.
Moller did well enough during her first year, coming in near the top of her class, that her father agreed to her continuing her education. She commuted from home on the streetcar, and in the evenings helped her mother with the household and her siblings with their homework. She majored in English, also studying philosophy and psychology, and had enough education courses to earn a teaching certificate. She also won a prize for poetry and acted in student plays. In the spring of her senior year the new university president, Benjamin Ide Wheeler, asked her to be one of the student speakers at the commencement ceremonies. On May 16, 1900, she graduated from the university and became the first woman to speak at a University of California commencement. The title of her speech was "Life: A Means or an End".
Moller had begun to think of a professional career rather than staying at home after graduation. She now wished to be called Lillian, a more dignified name for a university graduate she felt, and left home to enroll in graduate school at Columbia University in New York City. Her literature professor Charles Gayley had suggested she study there with Brander Matthews. Graduate enrollment at Columbia was almost half women at the time, but Matthews would not allow them in his classes. Instead, she studied literature with George Edward Woodberry. A lasting influence was her study with the psychologist Edward Thorndike, newly appointed at Columbia. Though she became ill with pleurisy and was brought home by her father, she continued to refer to him in her later work. Back in California, she returned to the University of California in August 1901 to work toward a master's degree in literature. Under the supervision of Gayley, she wrote a thesis on Ben Jonson's play Bartholomew Fair, and received her master's degree in the spring of 1902.
Moller began studies for a Ph.D. at the University of California, but took time off to travel through Europe in the spring of 1903. Following her marriage to Frank Bunker Gilbreth in 1904 and relocation to New York, she completed a dissertation for a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1911, but was not awarded the degree due to her noncompliance with residency requirements for doctoral candidates. The dissertation was published as The Psychology of Management: The Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste in 1914.
After the Gilbreths relocated their family to Providence, Rhode Island, Lillian enrolled at Brown University. She earned a Ph.D. in applied psychology in 1915, which made her the first of the pioneers of industrial management to have a doctorate. The topic of her dissertation was efficient teaching methods and titled Some Aspects of Eliminating Waste in Teaching.
Marriage and family
Lillian Moller met Frank Bunker Gilbreth in June 1903 in Boston, Massachusetts, en route to Europe with her chaperone, who was Frank's cousin. He had apprenticed in several building trades in the East and established a contracting business with offices in Boston, New York, and London.
The couple married on October 19, 1904, in Oakland, California, and settled in New York. They later moved to Providence, Rhode Island, and eventually relocated their family to Montclair, New Jersey.
As planned, the Gilbreths became the parents of a large family that included twelve children. One died young in 1912; one was still-born in 1915; and eleven of them lived to adulthood, including Ernestine Gilbreth, Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr., and Robert Moller Gilbreth.
After Frank died of a heart attack on June 14, 1924, Lillian never remarried.
Career
For more than forty years, Gilbreth's career combined psychology with the study of scientific management and engineering. She also included her perspectives as a wife and mother in her research, writing, and consulting work. Gilbreth became a pioneer in what is now known as industrial and organizational psychology. She helped industrial engineers recognize the importance of the psychological dimensions of work. In addition, she became the first American engineer ever to create a synthesis of psychology and scientific management. (Gilbreth introduced the concept of using psychology to study management at the Dartmouth College Conference on Scientific Management in 1911.)
In addition to jointly running Gilbreth, Incorporated, their business and engineering consulting firm, Lillian and Frank wrote numerous publications as sole authors, as well as co-authoring multiple books and more than fifty papers on a variety of scientific topics. However, in their joint publications Lillian was not always named as a co-author, possibly due to publishers' concerns about a female writer. Although her credentials included a doctorate in psychology, she is less frequently credited in their joint publications than her husband, who did not attend college.
The Gilbreths were certain that the revolutionary ideas of Frederick Winslow Taylor would be neither easy to implement nor sufficient; their implementation would require hard work by engineers and psychologists to make them successful. The Gilbreths also believed that scientific management as formulated by Taylor fell short when it came to managing the human element on the shop floor. The Gilbreths helped formulate a constructive critique of Taylorism; this critique had the support of other successful managers.
After Frank's passing and the mourning period, Lillian found that the homages to her husband were not a sign of her own taking, when three of her biggest clients didn't renew or cancelled contracts. Close associates offered her employment in their firms, but she wanted to keep Frank's business afloat.
Time, motion, and fatigue study
Gilbreth and her husband were equal partners in the engineering and management consulting firm of Gilbreth, Incorporated. She continued to lead the company for decades after his death in 1924. The Gilbreths, both pioneers in scientific management, were especially adept at performing time-and-motion studies. They named their methodology the Gilbreth System and used the slogan, "The One Best Way to Do Work," to promote it. The Gilbreths also developed a new technique for their studies that used a motion-picture camera to record work processes. These filmed observations enabled the Gilbreths to redesign machinery to better suit workers' movements to improve efficiency and reduce fatigue. Their research on fatigue study was a forerunner to ergonomics. In addition, the Gilbreths applied a human approach to scientific management to develop innovations in workplace efficiency, such as improved lighting and regular breaks, as well as ideas for workplace psychological well-being, such as suggestion boxes and free books.
Domestic management and home economics
Gilbreth collaborated with her husband until his death in 1924. Afterwards, she continued to research, write, and teach, in addition to consulting with businesses and manufacturers. She also participated in professional organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers until her own death nearly fifty years later in 1972. In addition, Gilbreth turned her attention to the home, despite her aversion to housework and the fact that she had long employed full-time household help. Her children once described her kitchen as a "model of inefficiency."
Due to discrimination within the engineering community, Gilbreth shifted her efforts toward research projects in the female-friendly arena of domestic management and home economics. She applied the principles of scientific management to household tasks and "sought to provide women with shorter, simpler, and easier ways of doing housework to enable them to seek paid employment outside the home." The Gilbreth children often took part in the experiments.
In addition, Gilbreth was instrumental in the development of the modern kitchen, creating the "work triangle" and linear-kitchen layouts that are often used today. In the late 1920s, she collaborated with Mary E. Dillon, President of Brooklyn Borough Gas Company on the creation of an efficient kitchen, equipped with gas powered appliances and named the Kitchen Practical. Inspired by Dillon's criticisms of her own kitchen, it was designed on three principles: the correct and uniform height of working surfaces; a circular work place; and a general “circular routing of working”, all carefully analyzed to reduce the time and effort required in the preparation of meals. It was unveiled in 1929 at a Women's Exposition.
She is also credited with the invention of the foot-pedal trash can, adding shelves to the inside of refrigerator doors (including the butter tray and egg keeper), and wall-light switches, all now standard. Gilbreth filed numerous patents for her designs, including one to improve the electric can opener and another for a wastewater hose for washing machines. When Gilbreth was an industrial engineer working at General Electric, she "interviewed over 4,000 women to design the proper height for stoves, sinks, and other kitchen fixtures as she worked on improving kitchen designs".
After World War I the Gilbreths did pioneering work with in the rehabilitation of war-veteran amputees. Lillian continued consulting with businesses and manufacturers after Frank's death. Her clients included Johnson & Johnson and Macy's, among others. Lillian spent three years at Macy's to find solutions in their sales and human resource issues. Solutions included changing light fixtures to reduce eye fatigue and eliminating duplicate recordings of sales checks.
In 1926, when Johnson & Johnson hired her as a consultant to do marketing research on sanitary napkins, Gilbreth and the firm benefited in three ways. First, Johnson & Johnson could use her training as a psychologist in the measurement and analysis of attitudes and opinions. Second, it could give her experience as an engineer specializing in the interaction between bodies and material objects. Third, her public image as a mother and a modern career woman could help the firm build consumer trust in its products. In addition to her work with Johnson & Johnson, Gilbreth was instrumental in the design of a desk in cooperation with IBM for display at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933
Volunteer work and government service
Gilbreth continued her private consulting practice while serving as a volunteer and an adviser to several government agencies and nonprofit groups. In 1927 she became a charter member of the Altrusa Club of New York City, an organization for Professional and Business Women started in 1917 for the purpose of providing community service Gilbreth's government work began as a result of her longtime friendship with Herbert Hoover and his wife Lou Henry Hoover, both of whom she had known in California; (Gilbreth had presided over the Women's Branch of the Engineers' Hoover for President campaign.)
Lou Hoover urged Gilbreth to join the Girl Scouts as a consultant in 1929. She remained active in the organization for more than twenty years, becoming a member of its board of directors. During the Great Depression President Hoover appointed Gilbreth to the Organization on Unemployment Relief as head of the "Share the Work" program. In 1930, under the Hoover administration, she headed the women's section of the President's Emergency Committee for Employment and helped to gain the cooperation of women's groups for reducing unemployment. During World War II Gilbreth continued advising governmental groups and also provided expertise on education and labor issues (especially women in the workforce) for organizations such as the War Manpower Commission, the Office of War Information, and the U.S. Navy. In her later years, Gilbreth served on the Chemical Warfare Board and on Harry Truman's Civil Defense Advisory Council. During the Korean War she served on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.
Author and educator
Gilbreth had a lifelong interest in teaching and education. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, she took enough education courses to earn a teacher's certificate, and her doctoral dissertation at Brown University was on applying the principles of scientific management to secondary school teaching.
While residing in Providence, Rhode Island, Gilbreth and her husband taught free, two-week-long summer schools in scientific management from 1913 to 1916. The Gilbreths also discussed teaching the Gilbreth System of time-and-motion study to members of industry, but it was not until after her husband's death in 1924 that she created a formal motion-study course. Gilbreth presented this idea at the First Prague International Management Congress in Prague in July 1924. Her first course began in January 1925. Gilbreth's classes offered to "prepare a member of an organization, who has adequate training both in scientific method and in plant problems, to take charge of Motion Study work in that organization." Coursework included laboratory projects and field trips to private firms to witness the application of scientific management. She ran a total of seven motion study courses out of her home in Montclair, New Jersey until 1930.
To earn additional income to support her large family, Gilbreth delivered numerous addresses to business and industry gatherings, as well as on college and university campuses such as Harvard, Yale, Colgate, the University of Michigan, MIT, Stanford, and Purdue University. In 1925 she succeeded her husband as a visiting lecturer at Purdue, where he had been delivering annual lectures. In 1935 she became a professor of management at Purdue's School of Mechanical Engineering, and the country's first female engineering professor. She was promoted to a full professor at Purdue in 1940. Gilbreth divided her time between Purdue's departments of industrial engineering, industrial psychology, home economics, and the dean's office, where she consulted on careers for women. In cooperation with Marvin Mundel, Gilbreth established and supervised a time-and-motion-study laboratory at Purdue's School of Industrial Engineering. She also demonstrated how time-and-motion studies could be used in agricultural studies and later transferred motion-study techniques to the home economics department under the banner of "work simplification". Gilbreth retired from Purdue's faculty in 1948.
After Gilbreth's retirement from Purdue, she continued to travel and deliver lectures. She also taught at several other colleges and universities, and became head of the Newark College of Engineering in 1941. Gilbreth was appointed the Knapp Visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin's School of Engineering in 1955. She also taught at Bryn Mawr College and Rutgers University. Whilst teaching at Bryn Mawr, she met then student of social economy, Anne Gillespie Shaw, who later worked for Gilbreth Management Consultants, doing commercial research studies and became a lifelong friend and colleague. In 1964, at the age of eighty-six, Gilbreth became resident lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1968, when her health finally began to fail, Gilbreth retired from her active public life and eventually entered a nursing home.
Death and legacy
Gilbreth died of a stroke on January 2, 1972, in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of ninety-three. Her ashes were scattered at sea.
Gilbreth was best known for her work as an industrial engineer and a pioneer in the field of management theory. Dubbed "America's first lady of engineering," she brought her training in psychology to time-and-motion studies and demonstrated how companies and industries could improve their management techniques, efficiency, and productivity. Gilbreth's extensive research and writings on her own and in collaboration with her husband emphasized "the human element in scientific management." Her expertise and major contribution to the field of scientific management was integrating the psychological and mental processes with the time-and-motion studies. She also helped make these types of studies widely accepted. In addition, Gilbreth was among the first to establish industrial engineering curricula in college and university engineering schools. Gilbreth's book, The Psychology of Management (1914), was an early major work in the history of engineering thought and the first to combine psychology with elements of management theory. Major repositories of Gilbreth materials are at the Archives Center of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and at Purdue University Library, Archives and Special Collections, at West Lafayette, Indiana.
Gilbreth also made contributions on behalf of women. Her pioneering work in industrial engineering influenced women in the field. In addition to her lectures on various engineering topics, she encouraged women to study industrial engineering and management. Purdue awarded its first Ph.D. in engineering to a woman in 1950, two years after Gilbreth retired from the university.
Several engineering awards have been named in Gilbreth's honor. The National Academy of Engineering established the Lillian M. Gilbreth Lectureships in 2001 to recognize outstanding young American engineers. The highest honor bestowed by the Institute of Industrial Engineers is the Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award for "those who have distinguished themselves through contributions to the welfare of mankind in the field of industrial engineering". The Lillian M. Gilbreth Distinguished Professor award at Purdue University is bestowed on a member of the industrial engineering department. The Society of Women Engineers awards the Lillian Moller Gilbreth Memorial Scholarship to female engineering undergraduates.
Two of the Gilbreth children also paid tribute to their mother in books about their family life. Cheaper by the Dozen (1948), a bestseller by Gilbreth's son, Frank Jr., and daughter, Ernestine, was made into a motion picture in 1950 starring Myrna Loy as Lillian and Clifton Webb as Frank. The book's sequel, Belles on Their Toes (1950), also written by Frank Jr. and Ernestine, was made into a motion picture sequel in 1952. Frank Jr. also paid tribute to his mother in Time Out for Happiness (1972).
In 2018, the College of Engineering at Purdue University established the prestigious Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowship Program to attract and prepare outstanding individuals with recently awarded PhDs for a career in engineering academia through interdisciplinary research, training, and professional development.
Awards and honors
Gilbreth received numerous awards and honors for her contributions.
Gilbreth is the recipient of twenty-three honorary degrees from such schools as Rutgers University, Princeton University, Brown University, Smith College, and the University of Michigan.
Her portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
The Gilbreth Engineering Library at Purdue University is named in honor of Lillian and Frank Gilbreth.
In 1921 Lillian Gilbreth was the second person to be named an honorary member of the American Society of Industrial Engineers.
She joined the British Women's Engineering Society in 1924.
Gilbreth was accepted to the membership of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1926, becoming its second female member.
In 1931 she received the first Gilbreth Medal, which was initiated in honor of her late husband.
In 1941 the Purdue University chapter of Mortar Board, a national honor society, named Gilbreth an honorary member.
In 1944 the American Society of Mechanical Engineers awarded Gilbreth and her husband (posthumously) the Henry Laurence Gantt Medal for their contributions to industrial engineering.
In 1950 Gilbreth became the first honorary member of the newly created Society of Women Engineers.
In 1951 she was awarded the Wallace Clark Award.
The University of California's alumni association named Gilbreth the 1954 Alumna of the Year.
In 1965 Gilbreth became the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
In 1966 Gilbreth became the first woman to receive the Hoover Medal.
She was made an honorary Member of the British Women's Engineering Society in 1967.
Gilbreth was a recipient of Gold Medal award from the National Institute of Social Sciences.
In 1984 the U.S. Postal Service issued a 40-cent Great Americans series postage stamp in Gilbreth's honor,
In 1995, Gilbreth was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Selected published works
A Primer of Scientific Management (1912), co-authored with Frank B. Gilbreth
The Psychology of Management: the Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste (1914)
Motion Models (1915) with Frank B. Gilbreth
Applied Motion Study; A collection of papers on the efficient method to industrial preparedness. (1917) with Frank B. Gilbreth
Fatigue Study: The Elimination of Humanity's Greatest Unnecessary Waste; a First Step in Motion Study] (1916) with Frank B. Gilbreth
Motion Study for the Handicapped (1920) with Frank B. Gilbreth
The Quest of the One Best Way: A Sketch of the Life of Frank Bunker Gilbreth (1925)
The Home-maker and Her Job (1927)
Living With Our Children (1928)
Normal Lives for the Disabled (1948), with Edna Yost
The Foreman in Manpower Management (1947), with Alice Rice Cook
Management in the Home: Happier Living Through Saving Time and Energy (1954), with Orpha Mae Thomas and Eleanor Clymer
As I Remember: An Autobiography (1998), published posthumously
Notes
References
"Lillian Moller Gilbreth and the Rise of Modern Industrial Engineering," in
Yost, Edna, "Lillian Moller Gilbreth" in
Further reading
External links
Widening Horizons - Dr. Lillian m. Gilbreth
Biography
Biography and Index to Purdue University Library's vast holdings of Gilbreth papers
A 1955 newspaper interview with Gilbreth
, comprehensive family and professional history.
Podcast (with transcript) of interview with Gilbreth's biographer Jane Lancaster, from the Lemelson Center
Lillian Gilbreth Keynote Speech, Society of Women Engineers National Convention, 1957
1878 births
1972 deaths
American industrial engineers
American people of German descent
American women educators
American women engineers
American women psychologists
Brown University alumni
Engineers from California
Engineers from New Jersey
Educators from New Jersey
Girl Scouts of the USA people
Henry Laurence Gantt Medal recipients
People from Montclair, New Jersey
People from Phoenix, Arizona
Time and motion study
University of California, Berkeley alumni
Writers from Oakland, California | true | [
"Lillian Colton (1911 – March 20, 2007) was a crop artist whose work, usually portraits of public figures made from agricultural products such as wild rice, hay, and timothy seeds glued to cardboard, has been prominently displayed at the Minnesota State Fair for many years. She was \"Considered the Andy Warhol of s... | [
"Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth ( Moller; May 24, 1878 – January 2, 1972) was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s as \"a genius in the art of living.\"",
"She was described in th... |
[
"Lillian Moller Gilbreth",
"Career",
"What type of work did Lillian do?",
"For more than forty years, Gilbreth's career combined psychology with the study of scientific management and engineering.",
"What other type of work did she do?",
"In addition to jointly running Gilbreth Incorporated, their busines... | C_2a5565a59286404c9b962d2cd426be68_0 | What type of books did she write? | 3 | What type of books did Lillian Moller Gilbreth write? | Lillian Moller Gilbreth | For more than forty years, Gilbreth's career combined psychology with the study of scientific management and engineering. She also included her perspectives as a wife and mother in her research, writing, and consulting work. Gilbreth became a pioneer in what is now known as Industrial and organizational psychology. She helped industrial engineers recognized the importance of the psychological dimensions of work. In addition, she became the first American engineer ever to create a synthesis of psychology and scientific management. (Gilbreth introduced the concept of using psychology to study management at the Dartmouth College Conference on Scientific Management in 1911.) In addition to jointly running Gilbreth Incorporated, their business and engineering consulting firm, Lillian and Frank wrote numerous publications as sole authors, as well as co-authoring multiple books and more than fifty papers on a variety of scientific topics. However, in their joint publications Lillian was not always named as a co-author, possibly due to publishers' concerns about a female writer. Althhough her credentials included a doctorate in psychology, she is less frequently credited in their joing publications than her husband, who did not attend college. The Gilbreths were certain that the revolutionary ideas of Frederick Winslow Taylor would be neither easy to implement nor sufficient; their implementation would require hard work by engineers and psychologists to make them successful. The Gilbreths also believed that scientific management as formulated by Taylor fell short when it came to managing the human element on the shop floor. The Gilbreths helped formulate a constructive critique of Taylorism; this critique had the support of other successful managers. CANNOTANSWER | more than fifty papers on a variety of scientific topics. | Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth ( Moller; May 24, 1878 – January 2, 1972) was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s as "a genius in the art of living." Gilbreth, one of the first female engineers to earn a Ph.D., is considered to be the first industrial/organizational psychologist. She and her husband, Frank Bunker Gilbreth, were efficiency experts who contributed to the study of industrial engineering, especially in the areas of motion study and human factors. Cheaper by the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by two of their children (Ernestine and Frank Jr.) tell the story of their family life and describe how time-and-motion studies were applied to the organization and daily activities of their large family. Both books were later made into feature films.
Early life and education
Lillie Evelyn Moller was born in Oakland, California, on May 24, 1878, to Annie () and William Moller, a builder's supply merchant. She was their second child and the eldest of the family's nine surviving children. Their first child, Anna Adelaide, had died at age four months. Her parents, of German ancestry, were well to-do. Educated at home until the age of nine, Moller began formal schooling in the first grade at a public elementary school and was rapidly promoted through the grade levels. She was elected vice president of her senior class at Oakland High School and graduated with exemplary grades in May 1896.
Although Moller wanted to go to college, her father was opposed to such education for his daughters. So she did not take all the required college preparatory courses in high school. She did persuade her father to let her try college for a year and was admitted to the University of California on condition she take the missing Latin course in her first semester. In August 1896 Moller was one of 300 entering students. The University of California at that time was housed in four buildings in the hills above the little town of Berkeley. It charged no tuition for California residents and was underfunded. Classes were large and many were held in tents. There were no dormitories; men lived in nearby boarding houses and women commuted from home.
Moller did well enough during her first year, coming in near the top of her class, that her father agreed to her continuing her education. She commuted from home on the streetcar, and in the evenings helped her mother with the household and her siblings with their homework. She majored in English, also studying philosophy and psychology, and had enough education courses to earn a teaching certificate. She also won a prize for poetry and acted in student plays. In the spring of her senior year the new university president, Benjamin Ide Wheeler, asked her to be one of the student speakers at the commencement ceremonies. On May 16, 1900, she graduated from the university and became the first woman to speak at a University of California commencement. The title of her speech was "Life: A Means or an End".
Moller had begun to think of a professional career rather than staying at home after graduation. She now wished to be called Lillian, a more dignified name for a university graduate she felt, and left home to enroll in graduate school at Columbia University in New York City. Her literature professor Charles Gayley had suggested she study there with Brander Matthews. Graduate enrollment at Columbia was almost half women at the time, but Matthews would not allow them in his classes. Instead, she studied literature with George Edward Woodberry. A lasting influence was her study with the psychologist Edward Thorndike, newly appointed at Columbia. Though she became ill with pleurisy and was brought home by her father, she continued to refer to him in her later work. Back in California, she returned to the University of California in August 1901 to work toward a master's degree in literature. Under the supervision of Gayley, she wrote a thesis on Ben Jonson's play Bartholomew Fair, and received her master's degree in the spring of 1902.
Moller began studies for a Ph.D. at the University of California, but took time off to travel through Europe in the spring of 1903. Following her marriage to Frank Bunker Gilbreth in 1904 and relocation to New York, she completed a dissertation for a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1911, but was not awarded the degree due to her noncompliance with residency requirements for doctoral candidates. The dissertation was published as The Psychology of Management: The Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste in 1914.
After the Gilbreths relocated their family to Providence, Rhode Island, Lillian enrolled at Brown University. She earned a Ph.D. in applied psychology in 1915, which made her the first of the pioneers of industrial management to have a doctorate. The topic of her dissertation was efficient teaching methods and titled Some Aspects of Eliminating Waste in Teaching.
Marriage and family
Lillian Moller met Frank Bunker Gilbreth in June 1903 in Boston, Massachusetts, en route to Europe with her chaperone, who was Frank's cousin. He had apprenticed in several building trades in the East and established a contracting business with offices in Boston, New York, and London.
The couple married on October 19, 1904, in Oakland, California, and settled in New York. They later moved to Providence, Rhode Island, and eventually relocated their family to Montclair, New Jersey.
As planned, the Gilbreths became the parents of a large family that included twelve children. One died young in 1912; one was still-born in 1915; and eleven of them lived to adulthood, including Ernestine Gilbreth, Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr., and Robert Moller Gilbreth.
After Frank died of a heart attack on June 14, 1924, Lillian never remarried.
Career
For more than forty years, Gilbreth's career combined psychology with the study of scientific management and engineering. She also included her perspectives as a wife and mother in her research, writing, and consulting work. Gilbreth became a pioneer in what is now known as industrial and organizational psychology. She helped industrial engineers recognize the importance of the psychological dimensions of work. In addition, she became the first American engineer ever to create a synthesis of psychology and scientific management. (Gilbreth introduced the concept of using psychology to study management at the Dartmouth College Conference on Scientific Management in 1911.)
In addition to jointly running Gilbreth, Incorporated, their business and engineering consulting firm, Lillian and Frank wrote numerous publications as sole authors, as well as co-authoring multiple books and more than fifty papers on a variety of scientific topics. However, in their joint publications Lillian was not always named as a co-author, possibly due to publishers' concerns about a female writer. Although her credentials included a doctorate in psychology, she is less frequently credited in their joint publications than her husband, who did not attend college.
The Gilbreths were certain that the revolutionary ideas of Frederick Winslow Taylor would be neither easy to implement nor sufficient; their implementation would require hard work by engineers and psychologists to make them successful. The Gilbreths also believed that scientific management as formulated by Taylor fell short when it came to managing the human element on the shop floor. The Gilbreths helped formulate a constructive critique of Taylorism; this critique had the support of other successful managers.
After Frank's passing and the mourning period, Lillian found that the homages to her husband were not a sign of her own taking, when three of her biggest clients didn't renew or cancelled contracts. Close associates offered her employment in their firms, but she wanted to keep Frank's business afloat.
Time, motion, and fatigue study
Gilbreth and her husband were equal partners in the engineering and management consulting firm of Gilbreth, Incorporated. She continued to lead the company for decades after his death in 1924. The Gilbreths, both pioneers in scientific management, were especially adept at performing time-and-motion studies. They named their methodology the Gilbreth System and used the slogan, "The One Best Way to Do Work," to promote it. The Gilbreths also developed a new technique for their studies that used a motion-picture camera to record work processes. These filmed observations enabled the Gilbreths to redesign machinery to better suit workers' movements to improve efficiency and reduce fatigue. Their research on fatigue study was a forerunner to ergonomics. In addition, the Gilbreths applied a human approach to scientific management to develop innovations in workplace efficiency, such as improved lighting and regular breaks, as well as ideas for workplace psychological well-being, such as suggestion boxes and free books.
Domestic management and home economics
Gilbreth collaborated with her husband until his death in 1924. Afterwards, she continued to research, write, and teach, in addition to consulting with businesses and manufacturers. She also participated in professional organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers until her own death nearly fifty years later in 1972. In addition, Gilbreth turned her attention to the home, despite her aversion to housework and the fact that she had long employed full-time household help. Her children once described her kitchen as a "model of inefficiency."
Due to discrimination within the engineering community, Gilbreth shifted her efforts toward research projects in the female-friendly arena of domestic management and home economics. She applied the principles of scientific management to household tasks and "sought to provide women with shorter, simpler, and easier ways of doing housework to enable them to seek paid employment outside the home." The Gilbreth children often took part in the experiments.
In addition, Gilbreth was instrumental in the development of the modern kitchen, creating the "work triangle" and linear-kitchen layouts that are often used today. In the late 1920s, she collaborated with Mary E. Dillon, President of Brooklyn Borough Gas Company on the creation of an efficient kitchen, equipped with gas powered appliances and named the Kitchen Practical. Inspired by Dillon's criticisms of her own kitchen, it was designed on three principles: the correct and uniform height of working surfaces; a circular work place; and a general “circular routing of working”, all carefully analyzed to reduce the time and effort required in the preparation of meals. It was unveiled in 1929 at a Women's Exposition.
She is also credited with the invention of the foot-pedal trash can, adding shelves to the inside of refrigerator doors (including the butter tray and egg keeper), and wall-light switches, all now standard. Gilbreth filed numerous patents for her designs, including one to improve the electric can opener and another for a wastewater hose for washing machines. When Gilbreth was an industrial engineer working at General Electric, she "interviewed over 4,000 women to design the proper height for stoves, sinks, and other kitchen fixtures as she worked on improving kitchen designs".
After World War I the Gilbreths did pioneering work with in the rehabilitation of war-veteran amputees. Lillian continued consulting with businesses and manufacturers after Frank's death. Her clients included Johnson & Johnson and Macy's, among others. Lillian spent three years at Macy's to find solutions in their sales and human resource issues. Solutions included changing light fixtures to reduce eye fatigue and eliminating duplicate recordings of sales checks.
In 1926, when Johnson & Johnson hired her as a consultant to do marketing research on sanitary napkins, Gilbreth and the firm benefited in three ways. First, Johnson & Johnson could use her training as a psychologist in the measurement and analysis of attitudes and opinions. Second, it could give her experience as an engineer specializing in the interaction between bodies and material objects. Third, her public image as a mother and a modern career woman could help the firm build consumer trust in its products. In addition to her work with Johnson & Johnson, Gilbreth was instrumental in the design of a desk in cooperation with IBM for display at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933
Volunteer work and government service
Gilbreth continued her private consulting practice while serving as a volunteer and an adviser to several government agencies and nonprofit groups. In 1927 she became a charter member of the Altrusa Club of New York City, an organization for Professional and Business Women started in 1917 for the purpose of providing community service Gilbreth's government work began as a result of her longtime friendship with Herbert Hoover and his wife Lou Henry Hoover, both of whom she had known in California; (Gilbreth had presided over the Women's Branch of the Engineers' Hoover for President campaign.)
Lou Hoover urged Gilbreth to join the Girl Scouts as a consultant in 1929. She remained active in the organization for more than twenty years, becoming a member of its board of directors. During the Great Depression President Hoover appointed Gilbreth to the Organization on Unemployment Relief as head of the "Share the Work" program. In 1930, under the Hoover administration, she headed the women's section of the President's Emergency Committee for Employment and helped to gain the cooperation of women's groups for reducing unemployment. During World War II Gilbreth continued advising governmental groups and also provided expertise on education and labor issues (especially women in the workforce) for organizations such as the War Manpower Commission, the Office of War Information, and the U.S. Navy. In her later years, Gilbreth served on the Chemical Warfare Board and on Harry Truman's Civil Defense Advisory Council. During the Korean War she served on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.
Author and educator
Gilbreth had a lifelong interest in teaching and education. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, she took enough education courses to earn a teacher's certificate, and her doctoral dissertation at Brown University was on applying the principles of scientific management to secondary school teaching.
While residing in Providence, Rhode Island, Gilbreth and her husband taught free, two-week-long summer schools in scientific management from 1913 to 1916. The Gilbreths also discussed teaching the Gilbreth System of time-and-motion study to members of industry, but it was not until after her husband's death in 1924 that she created a formal motion-study course. Gilbreth presented this idea at the First Prague International Management Congress in Prague in July 1924. Her first course began in January 1925. Gilbreth's classes offered to "prepare a member of an organization, who has adequate training both in scientific method and in plant problems, to take charge of Motion Study work in that organization." Coursework included laboratory projects and field trips to private firms to witness the application of scientific management. She ran a total of seven motion study courses out of her home in Montclair, New Jersey until 1930.
To earn additional income to support her large family, Gilbreth delivered numerous addresses to business and industry gatherings, as well as on college and university campuses such as Harvard, Yale, Colgate, the University of Michigan, MIT, Stanford, and Purdue University. In 1925 she succeeded her husband as a visiting lecturer at Purdue, where he had been delivering annual lectures. In 1935 she became a professor of management at Purdue's School of Mechanical Engineering, and the country's first female engineering professor. She was promoted to a full professor at Purdue in 1940. Gilbreth divided her time between Purdue's departments of industrial engineering, industrial psychology, home economics, and the dean's office, where she consulted on careers for women. In cooperation with Marvin Mundel, Gilbreth established and supervised a time-and-motion-study laboratory at Purdue's School of Industrial Engineering. She also demonstrated how time-and-motion studies could be used in agricultural studies and later transferred motion-study techniques to the home economics department under the banner of "work simplification". Gilbreth retired from Purdue's faculty in 1948.
After Gilbreth's retirement from Purdue, she continued to travel and deliver lectures. She also taught at several other colleges and universities, and became head of the Newark College of Engineering in 1941. Gilbreth was appointed the Knapp Visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin's School of Engineering in 1955. She also taught at Bryn Mawr College and Rutgers University. Whilst teaching at Bryn Mawr, she met then student of social economy, Anne Gillespie Shaw, who later worked for Gilbreth Management Consultants, doing commercial research studies and became a lifelong friend and colleague. In 1964, at the age of eighty-six, Gilbreth became resident lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1968, when her health finally began to fail, Gilbreth retired from her active public life and eventually entered a nursing home.
Death and legacy
Gilbreth died of a stroke on January 2, 1972, in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of ninety-three. Her ashes were scattered at sea.
Gilbreth was best known for her work as an industrial engineer and a pioneer in the field of management theory. Dubbed "America's first lady of engineering," she brought her training in psychology to time-and-motion studies and demonstrated how companies and industries could improve their management techniques, efficiency, and productivity. Gilbreth's extensive research and writings on her own and in collaboration with her husband emphasized "the human element in scientific management." Her expertise and major contribution to the field of scientific management was integrating the psychological and mental processes with the time-and-motion studies. She also helped make these types of studies widely accepted. In addition, Gilbreth was among the first to establish industrial engineering curricula in college and university engineering schools. Gilbreth's book, The Psychology of Management (1914), was an early major work in the history of engineering thought and the first to combine psychology with elements of management theory. Major repositories of Gilbreth materials are at the Archives Center of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and at Purdue University Library, Archives and Special Collections, at West Lafayette, Indiana.
Gilbreth also made contributions on behalf of women. Her pioneering work in industrial engineering influenced women in the field. In addition to her lectures on various engineering topics, she encouraged women to study industrial engineering and management. Purdue awarded its first Ph.D. in engineering to a woman in 1950, two years after Gilbreth retired from the university.
Several engineering awards have been named in Gilbreth's honor. The National Academy of Engineering established the Lillian M. Gilbreth Lectureships in 2001 to recognize outstanding young American engineers. The highest honor bestowed by the Institute of Industrial Engineers is the Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award for "those who have distinguished themselves through contributions to the welfare of mankind in the field of industrial engineering". The Lillian M. Gilbreth Distinguished Professor award at Purdue University is bestowed on a member of the industrial engineering department. The Society of Women Engineers awards the Lillian Moller Gilbreth Memorial Scholarship to female engineering undergraduates.
Two of the Gilbreth children also paid tribute to their mother in books about their family life. Cheaper by the Dozen (1948), a bestseller by Gilbreth's son, Frank Jr., and daughter, Ernestine, was made into a motion picture in 1950 starring Myrna Loy as Lillian and Clifton Webb as Frank. The book's sequel, Belles on Their Toes (1950), also written by Frank Jr. and Ernestine, was made into a motion picture sequel in 1952. Frank Jr. also paid tribute to his mother in Time Out for Happiness (1972).
In 2018, the College of Engineering at Purdue University established the prestigious Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowship Program to attract and prepare outstanding individuals with recently awarded PhDs for a career in engineering academia through interdisciplinary research, training, and professional development.
Awards and honors
Gilbreth received numerous awards and honors for her contributions.
Gilbreth is the recipient of twenty-three honorary degrees from such schools as Rutgers University, Princeton University, Brown University, Smith College, and the University of Michigan.
Her portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
The Gilbreth Engineering Library at Purdue University is named in honor of Lillian and Frank Gilbreth.
In 1921 Lillian Gilbreth was the second person to be named an honorary member of the American Society of Industrial Engineers.
She joined the British Women's Engineering Society in 1924.
Gilbreth was accepted to the membership of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1926, becoming its second female member.
In 1931 she received the first Gilbreth Medal, which was initiated in honor of her late husband.
In 1941 the Purdue University chapter of Mortar Board, a national honor society, named Gilbreth an honorary member.
In 1944 the American Society of Mechanical Engineers awarded Gilbreth and her husband (posthumously) the Henry Laurence Gantt Medal for their contributions to industrial engineering.
In 1950 Gilbreth became the first honorary member of the newly created Society of Women Engineers.
In 1951 she was awarded the Wallace Clark Award.
The University of California's alumni association named Gilbreth the 1954 Alumna of the Year.
In 1965 Gilbreth became the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
In 1966 Gilbreth became the first woman to receive the Hoover Medal.
She was made an honorary Member of the British Women's Engineering Society in 1967.
Gilbreth was a recipient of Gold Medal award from the National Institute of Social Sciences.
In 1984 the U.S. Postal Service issued a 40-cent Great Americans series postage stamp in Gilbreth's honor,
In 1995, Gilbreth was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Selected published works
A Primer of Scientific Management (1912), co-authored with Frank B. Gilbreth
The Psychology of Management: the Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste (1914)
Motion Models (1915) with Frank B. Gilbreth
Applied Motion Study; A collection of papers on the efficient method to industrial preparedness. (1917) with Frank B. Gilbreth
Fatigue Study: The Elimination of Humanity's Greatest Unnecessary Waste; a First Step in Motion Study] (1916) with Frank B. Gilbreth
Motion Study for the Handicapped (1920) with Frank B. Gilbreth
The Quest of the One Best Way: A Sketch of the Life of Frank Bunker Gilbreth (1925)
The Home-maker and Her Job (1927)
Living With Our Children (1928)
Normal Lives for the Disabled (1948), with Edna Yost
The Foreman in Manpower Management (1947), with Alice Rice Cook
Management in the Home: Happier Living Through Saving Time and Energy (1954), with Orpha Mae Thomas and Eleanor Clymer
As I Remember: An Autobiography (1998), published posthumously
Notes
References
"Lillian Moller Gilbreth and the Rise of Modern Industrial Engineering," in
Yost, Edna, "Lillian Moller Gilbreth" in
Further reading
External links
Widening Horizons - Dr. Lillian m. Gilbreth
Biography
Biography and Index to Purdue University Library's vast holdings of Gilbreth papers
A 1955 newspaper interview with Gilbreth
, comprehensive family and professional history.
Podcast (with transcript) of interview with Gilbreth's biographer Jane Lancaster, from the Lemelson Center
Lillian Gilbreth Keynote Speech, Society of Women Engineers National Convention, 1957
1878 births
1972 deaths
American industrial engineers
American people of German descent
American women educators
American women engineers
American women psychologists
Brown University alumni
Engineers from California
Engineers from New Jersey
Educators from New Jersey
Girl Scouts of the USA people
Henry Laurence Gantt Medal recipients
People from Montclair, New Jersey
People from Phoenix, Arizona
Time and motion study
University of California, Berkeley alumni
Writers from Oakland, California | true | [
"Letters to Judy: What Kids Wish They Could Tell You is a book published by Judy Blume in 1986. It is not a novel, but a collection of letters from children with responses from Blume.\n\nBlume quotes correspondence she receives asking for advice, written by readers of her children's books, boys and girls who feel u... | [
"Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth ( Moller; May 24, 1878 – January 2, 1972) was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s as \"a genius in the art of living.\"",
"She was described in th... |
[
"Lillian Moller Gilbreth",
"Career",
"What type of work did Lillian do?",
"For more than forty years, Gilbreth's career combined psychology with the study of scientific management and engineering.",
"What other type of work did she do?",
"In addition to jointly running Gilbreth Incorporated, their busines... | C_2a5565a59286404c9b962d2cd426be68_0 | Did she have any other career highlights? | 5 | In addition to running a business and publishing papers, did Lillian Moller Breth have any other career highlights? | Lillian Moller Gilbreth | For more than forty years, Gilbreth's career combined psychology with the study of scientific management and engineering. She also included her perspectives as a wife and mother in her research, writing, and consulting work. Gilbreth became a pioneer in what is now known as Industrial and organizational psychology. She helped industrial engineers recognized the importance of the psychological dimensions of work. In addition, she became the first American engineer ever to create a synthesis of psychology and scientific management. (Gilbreth introduced the concept of using psychology to study management at the Dartmouth College Conference on Scientific Management in 1911.) In addition to jointly running Gilbreth Incorporated, their business and engineering consulting firm, Lillian and Frank wrote numerous publications as sole authors, as well as co-authoring multiple books and more than fifty papers on a variety of scientific topics. However, in their joint publications Lillian was not always named as a co-author, possibly due to publishers' concerns about a female writer. Althhough her credentials included a doctorate in psychology, she is less frequently credited in their joing publications than her husband, who did not attend college. The Gilbreths were certain that the revolutionary ideas of Frederick Winslow Taylor would be neither easy to implement nor sufficient; their implementation would require hard work by engineers and psychologists to make them successful. The Gilbreths also believed that scientific management as formulated by Taylor fell short when it came to managing the human element on the shop floor. The Gilbreths helped formulate a constructive critique of Taylorism; this critique had the support of other successful managers. CANNOTANSWER | she became the first American engineer ever to create a synthesis of psychology and scientific management. | Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth ( Moller; May 24, 1878 – January 2, 1972) was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s as "a genius in the art of living." Gilbreth, one of the first female engineers to earn a Ph.D., is considered to be the first industrial/organizational psychologist. She and her husband, Frank Bunker Gilbreth, were efficiency experts who contributed to the study of industrial engineering, especially in the areas of motion study and human factors. Cheaper by the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by two of their children (Ernestine and Frank Jr.) tell the story of their family life and describe how time-and-motion studies were applied to the organization and daily activities of their large family. Both books were later made into feature films.
Early life and education
Lillie Evelyn Moller was born in Oakland, California, on May 24, 1878, to Annie () and William Moller, a builder's supply merchant. She was their second child and the eldest of the family's nine surviving children. Their first child, Anna Adelaide, had died at age four months. Her parents, of German ancestry, were well to-do. Educated at home until the age of nine, Moller began formal schooling in the first grade at a public elementary school and was rapidly promoted through the grade levels. She was elected vice president of her senior class at Oakland High School and graduated with exemplary grades in May 1896.
Although Moller wanted to go to college, her father was opposed to such education for his daughters. So she did not take all the required college preparatory courses in high school. She did persuade her father to let her try college for a year and was admitted to the University of California on condition she take the missing Latin course in her first semester. In August 1896 Moller was one of 300 entering students. The University of California at that time was housed in four buildings in the hills above the little town of Berkeley. It charged no tuition for California residents and was underfunded. Classes were large and many were held in tents. There were no dormitories; men lived in nearby boarding houses and women commuted from home.
Moller did well enough during her first year, coming in near the top of her class, that her father agreed to her continuing her education. She commuted from home on the streetcar, and in the evenings helped her mother with the household and her siblings with their homework. She majored in English, also studying philosophy and psychology, and had enough education courses to earn a teaching certificate. She also won a prize for poetry and acted in student plays. In the spring of her senior year the new university president, Benjamin Ide Wheeler, asked her to be one of the student speakers at the commencement ceremonies. On May 16, 1900, she graduated from the university and became the first woman to speak at a University of California commencement. The title of her speech was "Life: A Means or an End".
Moller had begun to think of a professional career rather than staying at home after graduation. She now wished to be called Lillian, a more dignified name for a university graduate she felt, and left home to enroll in graduate school at Columbia University in New York City. Her literature professor Charles Gayley had suggested she study there with Brander Matthews. Graduate enrollment at Columbia was almost half women at the time, but Matthews would not allow them in his classes. Instead, she studied literature with George Edward Woodberry. A lasting influence was her study with the psychologist Edward Thorndike, newly appointed at Columbia. Though she became ill with pleurisy and was brought home by her father, she continued to refer to him in her later work. Back in California, she returned to the University of California in August 1901 to work toward a master's degree in literature. Under the supervision of Gayley, she wrote a thesis on Ben Jonson's play Bartholomew Fair, and received her master's degree in the spring of 1902.
Moller began studies for a Ph.D. at the University of California, but took time off to travel through Europe in the spring of 1903. Following her marriage to Frank Bunker Gilbreth in 1904 and relocation to New York, she completed a dissertation for a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1911, but was not awarded the degree due to her noncompliance with residency requirements for doctoral candidates. The dissertation was published as The Psychology of Management: The Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste in 1914.
After the Gilbreths relocated their family to Providence, Rhode Island, Lillian enrolled at Brown University. She earned a Ph.D. in applied psychology in 1915, which made her the first of the pioneers of industrial management to have a doctorate. The topic of her dissertation was efficient teaching methods and titled Some Aspects of Eliminating Waste in Teaching.
Marriage and family
Lillian Moller met Frank Bunker Gilbreth in June 1903 in Boston, Massachusetts, en route to Europe with her chaperone, who was Frank's cousin. He had apprenticed in several building trades in the East and established a contracting business with offices in Boston, New York, and London.
The couple married on October 19, 1904, in Oakland, California, and settled in New York. They later moved to Providence, Rhode Island, and eventually relocated their family to Montclair, New Jersey.
As planned, the Gilbreths became the parents of a large family that included twelve children. One died young in 1912; one was still-born in 1915; and eleven of them lived to adulthood, including Ernestine Gilbreth, Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr., and Robert Moller Gilbreth.
After Frank died of a heart attack on June 14, 1924, Lillian never remarried.
Career
For more than forty years, Gilbreth's career combined psychology with the study of scientific management and engineering. She also included her perspectives as a wife and mother in her research, writing, and consulting work. Gilbreth became a pioneer in what is now known as industrial and organizational psychology. She helped industrial engineers recognize the importance of the psychological dimensions of work. In addition, she became the first American engineer ever to create a synthesis of psychology and scientific management. (Gilbreth introduced the concept of using psychology to study management at the Dartmouth College Conference on Scientific Management in 1911.)
In addition to jointly running Gilbreth, Incorporated, their business and engineering consulting firm, Lillian and Frank wrote numerous publications as sole authors, as well as co-authoring multiple books and more than fifty papers on a variety of scientific topics. However, in their joint publications Lillian was not always named as a co-author, possibly due to publishers' concerns about a female writer. Although her credentials included a doctorate in psychology, she is less frequently credited in their joint publications than her husband, who did not attend college.
The Gilbreths were certain that the revolutionary ideas of Frederick Winslow Taylor would be neither easy to implement nor sufficient; their implementation would require hard work by engineers and psychologists to make them successful. The Gilbreths also believed that scientific management as formulated by Taylor fell short when it came to managing the human element on the shop floor. The Gilbreths helped formulate a constructive critique of Taylorism; this critique had the support of other successful managers.
After Frank's passing and the mourning period, Lillian found that the homages to her husband were not a sign of her own taking, when three of her biggest clients didn't renew or cancelled contracts. Close associates offered her employment in their firms, but she wanted to keep Frank's business afloat.
Time, motion, and fatigue study
Gilbreth and her husband were equal partners in the engineering and management consulting firm of Gilbreth, Incorporated. She continued to lead the company for decades after his death in 1924. The Gilbreths, both pioneers in scientific management, were especially adept at performing time-and-motion studies. They named their methodology the Gilbreth System and used the slogan, "The One Best Way to Do Work," to promote it. The Gilbreths also developed a new technique for their studies that used a motion-picture camera to record work processes. These filmed observations enabled the Gilbreths to redesign machinery to better suit workers' movements to improve efficiency and reduce fatigue. Their research on fatigue study was a forerunner to ergonomics. In addition, the Gilbreths applied a human approach to scientific management to develop innovations in workplace efficiency, such as improved lighting and regular breaks, as well as ideas for workplace psychological well-being, such as suggestion boxes and free books.
Domestic management and home economics
Gilbreth collaborated with her husband until his death in 1924. Afterwards, she continued to research, write, and teach, in addition to consulting with businesses and manufacturers. She also participated in professional organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers until her own death nearly fifty years later in 1972. In addition, Gilbreth turned her attention to the home, despite her aversion to housework and the fact that she had long employed full-time household help. Her children once described her kitchen as a "model of inefficiency."
Due to discrimination within the engineering community, Gilbreth shifted her efforts toward research projects in the female-friendly arena of domestic management and home economics. She applied the principles of scientific management to household tasks and "sought to provide women with shorter, simpler, and easier ways of doing housework to enable them to seek paid employment outside the home." The Gilbreth children often took part in the experiments.
In addition, Gilbreth was instrumental in the development of the modern kitchen, creating the "work triangle" and linear-kitchen layouts that are often used today. In the late 1920s, she collaborated with Mary E. Dillon, President of Brooklyn Borough Gas Company on the creation of an efficient kitchen, equipped with gas powered appliances and named the Kitchen Practical. Inspired by Dillon's criticisms of her own kitchen, it was designed on three principles: the correct and uniform height of working surfaces; a circular work place; and a general “circular routing of working”, all carefully analyzed to reduce the time and effort required in the preparation of meals. It was unveiled in 1929 at a Women's Exposition.
She is also credited with the invention of the foot-pedal trash can, adding shelves to the inside of refrigerator doors (including the butter tray and egg keeper), and wall-light switches, all now standard. Gilbreth filed numerous patents for her designs, including one to improve the electric can opener and another for a wastewater hose for washing machines. When Gilbreth was an industrial engineer working at General Electric, she "interviewed over 4,000 women to design the proper height for stoves, sinks, and other kitchen fixtures as she worked on improving kitchen designs".
After World War I the Gilbreths did pioneering work with in the rehabilitation of war-veteran amputees. Lillian continued consulting with businesses and manufacturers after Frank's death. Her clients included Johnson & Johnson and Macy's, among others. Lillian spent three years at Macy's to find solutions in their sales and human resource issues. Solutions included changing light fixtures to reduce eye fatigue and eliminating duplicate recordings of sales checks.
In 1926, when Johnson & Johnson hired her as a consultant to do marketing research on sanitary napkins, Gilbreth and the firm benefited in three ways. First, Johnson & Johnson could use her training as a psychologist in the measurement and analysis of attitudes and opinions. Second, it could give her experience as an engineer specializing in the interaction between bodies and material objects. Third, her public image as a mother and a modern career woman could help the firm build consumer trust in its products. In addition to her work with Johnson & Johnson, Gilbreth was instrumental in the design of a desk in cooperation with IBM for display at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933
Volunteer work and government service
Gilbreth continued her private consulting practice while serving as a volunteer and an adviser to several government agencies and nonprofit groups. In 1927 she became a charter member of the Altrusa Club of New York City, an organization for Professional and Business Women started in 1917 for the purpose of providing community service Gilbreth's government work began as a result of her longtime friendship with Herbert Hoover and his wife Lou Henry Hoover, both of whom she had known in California; (Gilbreth had presided over the Women's Branch of the Engineers' Hoover for President campaign.)
Lou Hoover urged Gilbreth to join the Girl Scouts as a consultant in 1929. She remained active in the organization for more than twenty years, becoming a member of its board of directors. During the Great Depression President Hoover appointed Gilbreth to the Organization on Unemployment Relief as head of the "Share the Work" program. In 1930, under the Hoover administration, she headed the women's section of the President's Emergency Committee for Employment and helped to gain the cooperation of women's groups for reducing unemployment. During World War II Gilbreth continued advising governmental groups and also provided expertise on education and labor issues (especially women in the workforce) for organizations such as the War Manpower Commission, the Office of War Information, and the U.S. Navy. In her later years, Gilbreth served on the Chemical Warfare Board and on Harry Truman's Civil Defense Advisory Council. During the Korean War she served on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.
Author and educator
Gilbreth had a lifelong interest in teaching and education. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, she took enough education courses to earn a teacher's certificate, and her doctoral dissertation at Brown University was on applying the principles of scientific management to secondary school teaching.
While residing in Providence, Rhode Island, Gilbreth and her husband taught free, two-week-long summer schools in scientific management from 1913 to 1916. The Gilbreths also discussed teaching the Gilbreth System of time-and-motion study to members of industry, but it was not until after her husband's death in 1924 that she created a formal motion-study course. Gilbreth presented this idea at the First Prague International Management Congress in Prague in July 1924. Her first course began in January 1925. Gilbreth's classes offered to "prepare a member of an organization, who has adequate training both in scientific method and in plant problems, to take charge of Motion Study work in that organization." Coursework included laboratory projects and field trips to private firms to witness the application of scientific management. She ran a total of seven motion study courses out of her home in Montclair, New Jersey until 1930.
To earn additional income to support her large family, Gilbreth delivered numerous addresses to business and industry gatherings, as well as on college and university campuses such as Harvard, Yale, Colgate, the University of Michigan, MIT, Stanford, and Purdue University. In 1925 she succeeded her husband as a visiting lecturer at Purdue, where he had been delivering annual lectures. In 1935 she became a professor of management at Purdue's School of Mechanical Engineering, and the country's first female engineering professor. She was promoted to a full professor at Purdue in 1940. Gilbreth divided her time between Purdue's departments of industrial engineering, industrial psychology, home economics, and the dean's office, where she consulted on careers for women. In cooperation with Marvin Mundel, Gilbreth established and supervised a time-and-motion-study laboratory at Purdue's School of Industrial Engineering. She also demonstrated how time-and-motion studies could be used in agricultural studies and later transferred motion-study techniques to the home economics department under the banner of "work simplification". Gilbreth retired from Purdue's faculty in 1948.
After Gilbreth's retirement from Purdue, she continued to travel and deliver lectures. She also taught at several other colleges and universities, and became head of the Newark College of Engineering in 1941. Gilbreth was appointed the Knapp Visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin's School of Engineering in 1955. She also taught at Bryn Mawr College and Rutgers University. Whilst teaching at Bryn Mawr, she met then student of social economy, Anne Gillespie Shaw, who later worked for Gilbreth Management Consultants, doing commercial research studies and became a lifelong friend and colleague. In 1964, at the age of eighty-six, Gilbreth became resident lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1968, when her health finally began to fail, Gilbreth retired from her active public life and eventually entered a nursing home.
Death and legacy
Gilbreth died of a stroke on January 2, 1972, in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of ninety-three. Her ashes were scattered at sea.
Gilbreth was best known for her work as an industrial engineer and a pioneer in the field of management theory. Dubbed "America's first lady of engineering," she brought her training in psychology to time-and-motion studies and demonstrated how companies and industries could improve their management techniques, efficiency, and productivity. Gilbreth's extensive research and writings on her own and in collaboration with her husband emphasized "the human element in scientific management." Her expertise and major contribution to the field of scientific management was integrating the psychological and mental processes with the time-and-motion studies. She also helped make these types of studies widely accepted. In addition, Gilbreth was among the first to establish industrial engineering curricula in college and university engineering schools. Gilbreth's book, The Psychology of Management (1914), was an early major work in the history of engineering thought and the first to combine psychology with elements of management theory. Major repositories of Gilbreth materials are at the Archives Center of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and at Purdue University Library, Archives and Special Collections, at West Lafayette, Indiana.
Gilbreth also made contributions on behalf of women. Her pioneering work in industrial engineering influenced women in the field. In addition to her lectures on various engineering topics, she encouraged women to study industrial engineering and management. Purdue awarded its first Ph.D. in engineering to a woman in 1950, two years after Gilbreth retired from the university.
Several engineering awards have been named in Gilbreth's honor. The National Academy of Engineering established the Lillian M. Gilbreth Lectureships in 2001 to recognize outstanding young American engineers. The highest honor bestowed by the Institute of Industrial Engineers is the Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award for "those who have distinguished themselves through contributions to the welfare of mankind in the field of industrial engineering". The Lillian M. Gilbreth Distinguished Professor award at Purdue University is bestowed on a member of the industrial engineering department. The Society of Women Engineers awards the Lillian Moller Gilbreth Memorial Scholarship to female engineering undergraduates.
Two of the Gilbreth children also paid tribute to their mother in books about their family life. Cheaper by the Dozen (1948), a bestseller by Gilbreth's son, Frank Jr., and daughter, Ernestine, was made into a motion picture in 1950 starring Myrna Loy as Lillian and Clifton Webb as Frank. The book's sequel, Belles on Their Toes (1950), also written by Frank Jr. and Ernestine, was made into a motion picture sequel in 1952. Frank Jr. also paid tribute to his mother in Time Out for Happiness (1972).
In 2018, the College of Engineering at Purdue University established the prestigious Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowship Program to attract and prepare outstanding individuals with recently awarded PhDs for a career in engineering academia through interdisciplinary research, training, and professional development.
Awards and honors
Gilbreth received numerous awards and honors for her contributions.
Gilbreth is the recipient of twenty-three honorary degrees from such schools as Rutgers University, Princeton University, Brown University, Smith College, and the University of Michigan.
Her portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
The Gilbreth Engineering Library at Purdue University is named in honor of Lillian and Frank Gilbreth.
In 1921 Lillian Gilbreth was the second person to be named an honorary member of the American Society of Industrial Engineers.
She joined the British Women's Engineering Society in 1924.
Gilbreth was accepted to the membership of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1926, becoming its second female member.
In 1931 she received the first Gilbreth Medal, which was initiated in honor of her late husband.
In 1941 the Purdue University chapter of Mortar Board, a national honor society, named Gilbreth an honorary member.
In 1944 the American Society of Mechanical Engineers awarded Gilbreth and her husband (posthumously) the Henry Laurence Gantt Medal for their contributions to industrial engineering.
In 1950 Gilbreth became the first honorary member of the newly created Society of Women Engineers.
In 1951 she was awarded the Wallace Clark Award.
The University of California's alumni association named Gilbreth the 1954 Alumna of the Year.
In 1965 Gilbreth became the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
In 1966 Gilbreth became the first woman to receive the Hoover Medal.
She was made an honorary Member of the British Women's Engineering Society in 1967.
Gilbreth was a recipient of Gold Medal award from the National Institute of Social Sciences.
In 1984 the U.S. Postal Service issued a 40-cent Great Americans series postage stamp in Gilbreth's honor,
In 1995, Gilbreth was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Selected published works
A Primer of Scientific Management (1912), co-authored with Frank B. Gilbreth
The Psychology of Management: the Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste (1914)
Motion Models (1915) with Frank B. Gilbreth
Applied Motion Study; A collection of papers on the efficient method to industrial preparedness. (1917) with Frank B. Gilbreth
Fatigue Study: The Elimination of Humanity's Greatest Unnecessary Waste; a First Step in Motion Study] (1916) with Frank B. Gilbreth
Motion Study for the Handicapped (1920) with Frank B. Gilbreth
The Quest of the One Best Way: A Sketch of the Life of Frank Bunker Gilbreth (1925)
The Home-maker and Her Job (1927)
Living With Our Children (1928)
Normal Lives for the Disabled (1948), with Edna Yost
The Foreman in Manpower Management (1947), with Alice Rice Cook
Management in the Home: Happier Living Through Saving Time and Energy (1954), with Orpha Mae Thomas and Eleanor Clymer
As I Remember: An Autobiography (1998), published posthumously
Notes
References
"Lillian Moller Gilbreth and the Rise of Modern Industrial Engineering," in
Yost, Edna, "Lillian Moller Gilbreth" in
Further reading
External links
Widening Horizons - Dr. Lillian m. Gilbreth
Biography
Biography and Index to Purdue University Library's vast holdings of Gilbreth papers
A 1955 newspaper interview with Gilbreth
, comprehensive family and professional history.
Podcast (with transcript) of interview with Gilbreth's biographer Jane Lancaster, from the Lemelson Center
Lillian Gilbreth Keynote Speech, Society of Women Engineers National Convention, 1957
1878 births
1972 deaths
American industrial engineers
American people of German descent
American women educators
American women engineers
American women psychologists
Brown University alumni
Engineers from California
Engineers from New Jersey
Educators from New Jersey
Girl Scouts of the USA people
Henry Laurence Gantt Medal recipients
People from Montclair, New Jersey
People from Phoenix, Arizona
Time and motion study
University of California, Berkeley alumni
Writers from Oakland, California | true | [
"John Dufty Lasher (15 November 1932 – 17 June 2015) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand.\n\nPlaying career\nLasher played for Richmond and represented Auckland.\n\nIn 1956 he was part of the New Zealand national rugby league team tour of Australia, but he did not play in any of th... | [
"Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth ( Moller; May 24, 1878 – January 2, 1972) was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s as \"a genius in the art of living.\"",
"She was described in th... |
[
"Lillian Moller Gilbreth",
"Career",
"What type of work did Lillian do?",
"For more than forty years, Gilbreth's career combined psychology with the study of scientific management and engineering.",
"What other type of work did she do?",
"In addition to jointly running Gilbreth Incorporated, their busines... | C_2a5565a59286404c9b962d2cd426be68_0 | What other things did the Gilbreths do? | 8 | Besides joint publications, what other things did the Frank and Lillian Moller Gilbreth do? | Lillian Moller Gilbreth | For more than forty years, Gilbreth's career combined psychology with the study of scientific management and engineering. She also included her perspectives as a wife and mother in her research, writing, and consulting work. Gilbreth became a pioneer in what is now known as Industrial and organizational psychology. She helped industrial engineers recognized the importance of the psychological dimensions of work. In addition, she became the first American engineer ever to create a synthesis of psychology and scientific management. (Gilbreth introduced the concept of using psychology to study management at the Dartmouth College Conference on Scientific Management in 1911.) In addition to jointly running Gilbreth Incorporated, their business and engineering consulting firm, Lillian and Frank wrote numerous publications as sole authors, as well as co-authoring multiple books and more than fifty papers on a variety of scientific topics. However, in their joint publications Lillian was not always named as a co-author, possibly due to publishers' concerns about a female writer. Althhough her credentials included a doctorate in psychology, she is less frequently credited in their joing publications than her husband, who did not attend college. The Gilbreths were certain that the revolutionary ideas of Frederick Winslow Taylor would be neither easy to implement nor sufficient; their implementation would require hard work by engineers and psychologists to make them successful. The Gilbreths also believed that scientific management as formulated by Taylor fell short when it came to managing the human element on the shop floor. The Gilbreths helped formulate a constructive critique of Taylorism; this critique had the support of other successful managers. CANNOTANSWER | The Gilbreths helped formulate a constructive critique of Taylorism; this critique had the support of other successful managers. | Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth ( Moller; May 24, 1878 – January 2, 1972) was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s as "a genius in the art of living." Gilbreth, one of the first female engineers to earn a Ph.D., is considered to be the first industrial/organizational psychologist. She and her husband, Frank Bunker Gilbreth, were efficiency experts who contributed to the study of industrial engineering, especially in the areas of motion study and human factors. Cheaper by the Dozen (1948) and Belles on Their Toes (1950), written by two of their children (Ernestine and Frank Jr.) tell the story of their family life and describe how time-and-motion studies were applied to the organization and daily activities of their large family. Both books were later made into feature films.
Early life and education
Lillie Evelyn Moller was born in Oakland, California, on May 24, 1878, to Annie () and William Moller, a builder's supply merchant. She was their second child and the eldest of the family's nine surviving children. Their first child, Anna Adelaide, had died at age four months. Her parents, of German ancestry, were well to-do. Educated at home until the age of nine, Moller began formal schooling in the first grade at a public elementary school and was rapidly promoted through the grade levels. She was elected vice president of her senior class at Oakland High School and graduated with exemplary grades in May 1896.
Although Moller wanted to go to college, her father was opposed to such education for his daughters. So she did not take all the required college preparatory courses in high school. She did persuade her father to let her try college for a year and was admitted to the University of California on condition she take the missing Latin course in her first semester. In August 1896 Moller was one of 300 entering students. The University of California at that time was housed in four buildings in the hills above the little town of Berkeley. It charged no tuition for California residents and was underfunded. Classes were large and many were held in tents. There were no dormitories; men lived in nearby boarding houses and women commuted from home.
Moller did well enough during her first year, coming in near the top of her class, that her father agreed to her continuing her education. She commuted from home on the streetcar, and in the evenings helped her mother with the household and her siblings with their homework. She majored in English, also studying philosophy and psychology, and had enough education courses to earn a teaching certificate. She also won a prize for poetry and acted in student plays. In the spring of her senior year the new university president, Benjamin Ide Wheeler, asked her to be one of the student speakers at the commencement ceremonies. On May 16, 1900, she graduated from the university and became the first woman to speak at a University of California commencement. The title of her speech was "Life: A Means or an End".
Moller had begun to think of a professional career rather than staying at home after graduation. She now wished to be called Lillian, a more dignified name for a university graduate she felt, and left home to enroll in graduate school at Columbia University in New York City. Her literature professor Charles Gayley had suggested she study there with Brander Matthews. Graduate enrollment at Columbia was almost half women at the time, but Matthews would not allow them in his classes. Instead, she studied literature with George Edward Woodberry. A lasting influence was her study with the psychologist Edward Thorndike, newly appointed at Columbia. Though she became ill with pleurisy and was brought home by her father, she continued to refer to him in her later work. Back in California, she returned to the University of California in August 1901 to work toward a master's degree in literature. Under the supervision of Gayley, she wrote a thesis on Ben Jonson's play Bartholomew Fair, and received her master's degree in the spring of 1902.
Moller began studies for a Ph.D. at the University of California, but took time off to travel through Europe in the spring of 1903. Following her marriage to Frank Bunker Gilbreth in 1904 and relocation to New York, she completed a dissertation for a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1911, but was not awarded the degree due to her noncompliance with residency requirements for doctoral candidates. The dissertation was published as The Psychology of Management: The Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste in 1914.
After the Gilbreths relocated their family to Providence, Rhode Island, Lillian enrolled at Brown University. She earned a Ph.D. in applied psychology in 1915, which made her the first of the pioneers of industrial management to have a doctorate. The topic of her dissertation was efficient teaching methods and titled Some Aspects of Eliminating Waste in Teaching.
Marriage and family
Lillian Moller met Frank Bunker Gilbreth in June 1903 in Boston, Massachusetts, en route to Europe with her chaperone, who was Frank's cousin. He had apprenticed in several building trades in the East and established a contracting business with offices in Boston, New York, and London.
The couple married on October 19, 1904, in Oakland, California, and settled in New York. They later moved to Providence, Rhode Island, and eventually relocated their family to Montclair, New Jersey.
As planned, the Gilbreths became the parents of a large family that included twelve children. One died young in 1912; one was still-born in 1915; and eleven of them lived to adulthood, including Ernestine Gilbreth, Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr., and Robert Moller Gilbreth.
After Frank died of a heart attack on June 14, 1924, Lillian never remarried.
Career
For more than forty years, Gilbreth's career combined psychology with the study of scientific management and engineering. She also included her perspectives as a wife and mother in her research, writing, and consulting work. Gilbreth became a pioneer in what is now known as industrial and organizational psychology. She helped industrial engineers recognize the importance of the psychological dimensions of work. In addition, she became the first American engineer ever to create a synthesis of psychology and scientific management. (Gilbreth introduced the concept of using psychology to study management at the Dartmouth College Conference on Scientific Management in 1911.)
In addition to jointly running Gilbreth, Incorporated, their business and engineering consulting firm, Lillian and Frank wrote numerous publications as sole authors, as well as co-authoring multiple books and more than fifty papers on a variety of scientific topics. However, in their joint publications Lillian was not always named as a co-author, possibly due to publishers' concerns about a female writer. Although her credentials included a doctorate in psychology, she is less frequently credited in their joint publications than her husband, who did not attend college.
The Gilbreths were certain that the revolutionary ideas of Frederick Winslow Taylor would be neither easy to implement nor sufficient; their implementation would require hard work by engineers and psychologists to make them successful. The Gilbreths also believed that scientific management as formulated by Taylor fell short when it came to managing the human element on the shop floor. The Gilbreths helped formulate a constructive critique of Taylorism; this critique had the support of other successful managers.
After Frank's passing and the mourning period, Lillian found that the homages to her husband were not a sign of her own taking, when three of her biggest clients didn't renew or cancelled contracts. Close associates offered her employment in their firms, but she wanted to keep Frank's business afloat.
Time, motion, and fatigue study
Gilbreth and her husband were equal partners in the engineering and management consulting firm of Gilbreth, Incorporated. She continued to lead the company for decades after his death in 1924. The Gilbreths, both pioneers in scientific management, were especially adept at performing time-and-motion studies. They named their methodology the Gilbreth System and used the slogan, "The One Best Way to Do Work," to promote it. The Gilbreths also developed a new technique for their studies that used a motion-picture camera to record work processes. These filmed observations enabled the Gilbreths to redesign machinery to better suit workers' movements to improve efficiency and reduce fatigue. Their research on fatigue study was a forerunner to ergonomics. In addition, the Gilbreths applied a human approach to scientific management to develop innovations in workplace efficiency, such as improved lighting and regular breaks, as well as ideas for workplace psychological well-being, such as suggestion boxes and free books.
Domestic management and home economics
Gilbreth collaborated with her husband until his death in 1924. Afterwards, she continued to research, write, and teach, in addition to consulting with businesses and manufacturers. She also participated in professional organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers until her own death nearly fifty years later in 1972. In addition, Gilbreth turned her attention to the home, despite her aversion to housework and the fact that she had long employed full-time household help. Her children once described her kitchen as a "model of inefficiency."
Due to discrimination within the engineering community, Gilbreth shifted her efforts toward research projects in the female-friendly arena of domestic management and home economics. She applied the principles of scientific management to household tasks and "sought to provide women with shorter, simpler, and easier ways of doing housework to enable them to seek paid employment outside the home." The Gilbreth children often took part in the experiments.
In addition, Gilbreth was instrumental in the development of the modern kitchen, creating the "work triangle" and linear-kitchen layouts that are often used today. In the late 1920s, she collaborated with Mary E. Dillon, President of Brooklyn Borough Gas Company on the creation of an efficient kitchen, equipped with gas powered appliances and named the Kitchen Practical. Inspired by Dillon's criticisms of her own kitchen, it was designed on three principles: the correct and uniform height of working surfaces; a circular work place; and a general “circular routing of working”, all carefully analyzed to reduce the time and effort required in the preparation of meals. It was unveiled in 1929 at a Women's Exposition.
She is also credited with the invention of the foot-pedal trash can, adding shelves to the inside of refrigerator doors (including the butter tray and egg keeper), and wall-light switches, all now standard. Gilbreth filed numerous patents for her designs, including one to improve the electric can opener and another for a wastewater hose for washing machines. When Gilbreth was an industrial engineer working at General Electric, she "interviewed over 4,000 women to design the proper height for stoves, sinks, and other kitchen fixtures as she worked on improving kitchen designs".
After World War I the Gilbreths did pioneering work with in the rehabilitation of war-veteran amputees. Lillian continued consulting with businesses and manufacturers after Frank's death. Her clients included Johnson & Johnson and Macy's, among others. Lillian spent three years at Macy's to find solutions in their sales and human resource issues. Solutions included changing light fixtures to reduce eye fatigue and eliminating duplicate recordings of sales checks.
In 1926, when Johnson & Johnson hired her as a consultant to do marketing research on sanitary napkins, Gilbreth and the firm benefited in three ways. First, Johnson & Johnson could use her training as a psychologist in the measurement and analysis of attitudes and opinions. Second, it could give her experience as an engineer specializing in the interaction between bodies and material objects. Third, her public image as a mother and a modern career woman could help the firm build consumer trust in its products. In addition to her work with Johnson & Johnson, Gilbreth was instrumental in the design of a desk in cooperation with IBM for display at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933
Volunteer work and government service
Gilbreth continued her private consulting practice while serving as a volunteer and an adviser to several government agencies and nonprofit groups. In 1927 she became a charter member of the Altrusa Club of New York City, an organization for Professional and Business Women started in 1917 for the purpose of providing community service Gilbreth's government work began as a result of her longtime friendship with Herbert Hoover and his wife Lou Henry Hoover, both of whom she had known in California; (Gilbreth had presided over the Women's Branch of the Engineers' Hoover for President campaign.)
Lou Hoover urged Gilbreth to join the Girl Scouts as a consultant in 1929. She remained active in the organization for more than twenty years, becoming a member of its board of directors. During the Great Depression President Hoover appointed Gilbreth to the Organization on Unemployment Relief as head of the "Share the Work" program. In 1930, under the Hoover administration, she headed the women's section of the President's Emergency Committee for Employment and helped to gain the cooperation of women's groups for reducing unemployment. During World War II Gilbreth continued advising governmental groups and also provided expertise on education and labor issues (especially women in the workforce) for organizations such as the War Manpower Commission, the Office of War Information, and the U.S. Navy. In her later years, Gilbreth served on the Chemical Warfare Board and on Harry Truman's Civil Defense Advisory Council. During the Korean War she served on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.
Author and educator
Gilbreth had a lifelong interest in teaching and education. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, she took enough education courses to earn a teacher's certificate, and her doctoral dissertation at Brown University was on applying the principles of scientific management to secondary school teaching.
While residing in Providence, Rhode Island, Gilbreth and her husband taught free, two-week-long summer schools in scientific management from 1913 to 1916. The Gilbreths also discussed teaching the Gilbreth System of time-and-motion study to members of industry, but it was not until after her husband's death in 1924 that she created a formal motion-study course. Gilbreth presented this idea at the First Prague International Management Congress in Prague in July 1924. Her first course began in January 1925. Gilbreth's classes offered to "prepare a member of an organization, who has adequate training both in scientific method and in plant problems, to take charge of Motion Study work in that organization." Coursework included laboratory projects and field trips to private firms to witness the application of scientific management. She ran a total of seven motion study courses out of her home in Montclair, New Jersey until 1930.
To earn additional income to support her large family, Gilbreth delivered numerous addresses to business and industry gatherings, as well as on college and university campuses such as Harvard, Yale, Colgate, the University of Michigan, MIT, Stanford, and Purdue University. In 1925 she succeeded her husband as a visiting lecturer at Purdue, where he had been delivering annual lectures. In 1935 she became a professor of management at Purdue's School of Mechanical Engineering, and the country's first female engineering professor. She was promoted to a full professor at Purdue in 1940. Gilbreth divided her time between Purdue's departments of industrial engineering, industrial psychology, home economics, and the dean's office, where she consulted on careers for women. In cooperation with Marvin Mundel, Gilbreth established and supervised a time-and-motion-study laboratory at Purdue's School of Industrial Engineering. She also demonstrated how time-and-motion studies could be used in agricultural studies and later transferred motion-study techniques to the home economics department under the banner of "work simplification". Gilbreth retired from Purdue's faculty in 1948.
After Gilbreth's retirement from Purdue, she continued to travel and deliver lectures. She also taught at several other colleges and universities, and became head of the Newark College of Engineering in 1941. Gilbreth was appointed the Knapp Visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin's School of Engineering in 1955. She also taught at Bryn Mawr College and Rutgers University. Whilst teaching at Bryn Mawr, she met then student of social economy, Anne Gillespie Shaw, who later worked for Gilbreth Management Consultants, doing commercial research studies and became a lifelong friend and colleague. In 1964, at the age of eighty-six, Gilbreth became resident lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1968, when her health finally began to fail, Gilbreth retired from her active public life and eventually entered a nursing home.
Death and legacy
Gilbreth died of a stroke on January 2, 1972, in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of ninety-three. Her ashes were scattered at sea.
Gilbreth was best known for her work as an industrial engineer and a pioneer in the field of management theory. Dubbed "America's first lady of engineering," she brought her training in psychology to time-and-motion studies and demonstrated how companies and industries could improve their management techniques, efficiency, and productivity. Gilbreth's extensive research and writings on her own and in collaboration with her husband emphasized "the human element in scientific management." Her expertise and major contribution to the field of scientific management was integrating the psychological and mental processes with the time-and-motion studies. She also helped make these types of studies widely accepted. In addition, Gilbreth was among the first to establish industrial engineering curricula in college and university engineering schools. Gilbreth's book, The Psychology of Management (1914), was an early major work in the history of engineering thought and the first to combine psychology with elements of management theory. Major repositories of Gilbreth materials are at the Archives Center of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and at Purdue University Library, Archives and Special Collections, at West Lafayette, Indiana.
Gilbreth also made contributions on behalf of women. Her pioneering work in industrial engineering influenced women in the field. In addition to her lectures on various engineering topics, she encouraged women to study industrial engineering and management. Purdue awarded its first Ph.D. in engineering to a woman in 1950, two years after Gilbreth retired from the university.
Several engineering awards have been named in Gilbreth's honor. The National Academy of Engineering established the Lillian M. Gilbreth Lectureships in 2001 to recognize outstanding young American engineers. The highest honor bestowed by the Institute of Industrial Engineers is the Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award for "those who have distinguished themselves through contributions to the welfare of mankind in the field of industrial engineering". The Lillian M. Gilbreth Distinguished Professor award at Purdue University is bestowed on a member of the industrial engineering department. The Society of Women Engineers awards the Lillian Moller Gilbreth Memorial Scholarship to female engineering undergraduates.
Two of the Gilbreth children also paid tribute to their mother in books about their family life. Cheaper by the Dozen (1948), a bestseller by Gilbreth's son, Frank Jr., and daughter, Ernestine, was made into a motion picture in 1950 starring Myrna Loy as Lillian and Clifton Webb as Frank. The book's sequel, Belles on Their Toes (1950), also written by Frank Jr. and Ernestine, was made into a motion picture sequel in 1952. Frank Jr. also paid tribute to his mother in Time Out for Happiness (1972).
In 2018, the College of Engineering at Purdue University established the prestigious Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowship Program to attract and prepare outstanding individuals with recently awarded PhDs for a career in engineering academia through interdisciplinary research, training, and professional development.
Awards and honors
Gilbreth received numerous awards and honors for her contributions.
Gilbreth is the recipient of twenty-three honorary degrees from such schools as Rutgers University, Princeton University, Brown University, Smith College, and the University of Michigan.
Her portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
The Gilbreth Engineering Library at Purdue University is named in honor of Lillian and Frank Gilbreth.
In 1921 Lillian Gilbreth was the second person to be named an honorary member of the American Society of Industrial Engineers.
She joined the British Women's Engineering Society in 1924.
Gilbreth was accepted to the membership of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1926, becoming its second female member.
In 1931 she received the first Gilbreth Medal, which was initiated in honor of her late husband.
In 1941 the Purdue University chapter of Mortar Board, a national honor society, named Gilbreth an honorary member.
In 1944 the American Society of Mechanical Engineers awarded Gilbreth and her husband (posthumously) the Henry Laurence Gantt Medal for their contributions to industrial engineering.
In 1950 Gilbreth became the first honorary member of the newly created Society of Women Engineers.
In 1951 she was awarded the Wallace Clark Award.
The University of California's alumni association named Gilbreth the 1954 Alumna of the Year.
In 1965 Gilbreth became the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
In 1966 Gilbreth became the first woman to receive the Hoover Medal.
She was made an honorary Member of the British Women's Engineering Society in 1967.
Gilbreth was a recipient of Gold Medal award from the National Institute of Social Sciences.
In 1984 the U.S. Postal Service issued a 40-cent Great Americans series postage stamp in Gilbreth's honor,
In 1995, Gilbreth was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Selected published works
A Primer of Scientific Management (1912), co-authored with Frank B. Gilbreth
The Psychology of Management: the Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste (1914)
Motion Models (1915) with Frank B. Gilbreth
Applied Motion Study; A collection of papers on the efficient method to industrial preparedness. (1917) with Frank B. Gilbreth
Fatigue Study: The Elimination of Humanity's Greatest Unnecessary Waste; a First Step in Motion Study] (1916) with Frank B. Gilbreth
Motion Study for the Handicapped (1920) with Frank B. Gilbreth
The Quest of the One Best Way: A Sketch of the Life of Frank Bunker Gilbreth (1925)
The Home-maker and Her Job (1927)
Living With Our Children (1928)
Normal Lives for the Disabled (1948), with Edna Yost
The Foreman in Manpower Management (1947), with Alice Rice Cook
Management in the Home: Happier Living Through Saving Time and Energy (1954), with Orpha Mae Thomas and Eleanor Clymer
As I Remember: An Autobiography (1998), published posthumously
Notes
References
"Lillian Moller Gilbreth and the Rise of Modern Industrial Engineering," in
Yost, Edna, "Lillian Moller Gilbreth" in
Further reading
External links
Widening Horizons - Dr. Lillian m. Gilbreth
Biography
Biography and Index to Purdue University Library's vast holdings of Gilbreth papers
A 1955 newspaper interview with Gilbreth
, comprehensive family and professional history.
Podcast (with transcript) of interview with Gilbreth's biographer Jane Lancaster, from the Lemelson Center
Lillian Gilbreth Keynote Speech, Society of Women Engineers National Convention, 1957
1878 births
1972 deaths
American industrial engineers
American people of German descent
American women educators
American women engineers
American women psychologists
Brown University alumni
Engineers from California
Engineers from New Jersey
Educators from New Jersey
Girl Scouts of the USA people
Henry Laurence Gantt Medal recipients
People from Montclair, New Jersey
People from Phoenix, Arizona
Time and motion study
University of California, Berkeley alumni
Writers from Oakland, California | true | [
"A time and motion study (or time-motion study) is a business efficiency technique combining the Time Study work of Frederick Winslow Taylor with the Motion Study work of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth (the same couple as is best known through the biographical 1950 film and book Cheaper by the Dozen). It is a major par... | [
"Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth ( Moller; May 24, 1878 – January 2, 1972) was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s as \"a genius in the art of living.\"",
"She was described in th... |
[
"Luis Antonio Tagle",
"Bishop of Imus"
] | C_46b0baa6f2eb4e558d0f6df73e54b517_0 | when did he become bishop of Imus? | 1 | when did Luis Antonio Tagle become bishop of Imus? | Luis Antonio Tagle | In 2001, Tagle was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22 and consecrated on December 12 after previously serving as parish priest of the Cathedral-parish of Imus. During his ten years in Imus, he made a point of living simply, owned no car, and invited the destitute to join him for a meal. At the first gathering of bishops under Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, he spoke from the floor about the inadequacy of the number of priests in the Philippines. He said: To respond to the hunger for the Eucharist, priests say many masses, accept multiple intentions and send lay ministers for the service of the Word with communion.... The faithful know the difference between a bible service and Eucharist, a priest and a lay minister. Many communities wait for the gift of the priesthood and the Eucharist with humility. To the concept that priestly vocation are a gift from God he countered: "we should also ask whether the Church is a good steward of the gift." He told a news conference that "The first Sunday after my ordination as a priest, I said nine Masses, and that is regular in the Philippines." Discussing priestly celibacy, Cardinal Angelo Scola, the synod moderator, expressed reservations about modifications to the Church's requirement of celibacy for the priesthood. In response, Tagle suggested that the Church should consider such a change to combat the shortage of priests. At the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, Canada, he delivered a talk on the importance of the Eucharist that, by one report, moved the audience to tears. He contrasted Christian worship with false forms of adoration: It is sad that those who worship idols sacrifice other people while preserving themselves and their interests. How many factory workers are being denied the right wages for the god of profit? How many women are being sacrificed to the god of domination? How many children are being sacrificed to the god of lust? How many trees, rivers, hills are being sacrificed to the god of "progress"? How many poor people are being sacrificed to the god of greed? How many defenseless people are being sacrificed to the god of national security? CANNOTANSWER | In 2001, Tagle was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22 | Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle ( ; ; born June 21, 1957) is a Filipino prelate (cardinal) of the Catholic Church who has been the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since December 8, 2019. He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2019. Tagle also serves as the president of Caritas International, a federation of Catholic relief, development, and social service organizations, and of the Catholic Biblical Federation.
Tagle, who generally prefers to be called by his nickname "Chito" rather than by his clerical title, has been involved in many social issues in the Philippines, with emphasis on helping the poor while defending the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion, contraception (equated with abortion in the Philippines), and what he has called "practical atheism". Dubbed as the "Asian Francis", he is often seen as a representative of the Catholic Church's progressive wing. Tagle has criticized the Catholic Church for using "harsh words" to describe LGBT as well as divorced and remarried Catholics, whom he believes should be allowed to receive Holy Communion on a case-by-case basis.
He was one of the principal advisors to Pope Francis and is considered a papabile since the 2013 papal conclave up to the present.
Early life and studies
Tagle was born on June 21, 1957, the eldest child of devout Catholic parents, Manuel Topacio Tagle, an ethnic Tagalog and his Chinese Filipino wife, Milagros Gokim, who previously worked for Equitable PCI Bank.
Tagle's paternal grandfather, Florencio, came from Imus, Cavite; the Tagle family were from the Hispanic, lowland Christian aristocracy known as the Principalía, which were the elite prior to the 1896 Philippine Revolution. Florencio was injured by a bomb explosion during the Second World War; Tagle's grandmother made a living by running a local diner.
After completing elementary and high school at Saint Andrew's School in Parañaque in 1973, he was influenced by priest friends to enter the Jesuit San José Seminary, which sent him to the Jesuit Ateneo de Manila University.
Tagle earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in pre-divinity from Ateneo in 1977 and then a Master of Arts in theology at its Loyola School of Theology. Tagle earned his Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Catholic University of America from 1987 to 1991. He wrote his dissertation under the direction of Joseph A. Komonchak on "Episcopal Collegiality in the Teaching and Practice of Paul VI". Tagle also attended doctrinal courses at the Institute of Pope Paul VI University. In Komonchak's estimation, Tagle was "one of the best students I had in over 40 years of teaching" and "could have become the best theologian in the Philippines, or even in all of Asia" had he not been appointed bishop. Tagle has received honorary degrees from Catholic Theological Union and La Salle University. Tagle is fluent in speaking his native Tagalog language, as well as the English and Italian languages. He is also proficient in reading Spanish, French, and Latin.
Priesthood
Tagle was ordained in the Diocese of Imus on February 27, 1982. After ordination, he held the following positions: associate pastor of San Agustín Parish – Méndez-Núñez, Cavite (1982–1984), spiritual director (1982–1983) and later rector (1983–1985) of the diocesan seminary of Imus. After studies in the United States from 1985 to 1992, he returned to Imus and was Episcopal Vicar for Religious (1993–1995) and parish priest and rector (1998–2001) of Nuestra Señora del Pilar Cathedral-Parish. He also taught theology at San Carlos Seminary (1982-1985) and Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay.
Pope John Paul II appointed Tagle to the International Theological Commission, where he served from 1997 to 2002 under its President, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. From 1995 to 2001, he was a member of the editorial board of the "History of Vatican II" project.
Bishop of Imus
In 2001, Tagle was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22 and consecrated on December 12 after previously serving as parish priest of the Cathedral-parish of Imus. During his ten years in Imus, he made a point of living simply, owned no car, and invited the destitute to join him for a meal. At the first gathering of bishops under Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, he spoke from the floor about the inadequacy of the number of priests in the Philippines. He said:
To the concept that priestly vocation are a gift from God he countered: "we should also ask whether the Church is a good steward of the gift." He told a news conference that "The first Sunday after my ordination as a priest, I said nine Masses, and that is regular in the Philippines." Discussing priestly celibacy, Cardinal Angelo Scola, the synod moderator, expressed reservations about modifications to the Church's requirement of celibacy for the priesthood. In response, Tagle suggested that the Church should consider such a change to combat the shortage of priests.
At the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, Canada, he delivered a talk on the importance of the Eucharist that, by one report, moved the audience to tears. He contrasted Christian worship with false forms of adoration:
Archbishop of Manila
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Tagle the 32nd Archbishop of Manila on October 13, 2011, to succeed Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales. According to Father Catalino Arévalo, SJ, the first Asian member of the Vatican's International Theological Commission, Tagle's appointment was promoted by the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Edward Joseph Adams and by Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, but some objections were submitted to the Congregation for Bishops, which caused some delay in processing his appointment. Prior to his installation, Tagle made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in October 2011. He was installed as Archbishop on December 12, 2011, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the tenth anniversary of his episcopal consecration. He received the pallium, the symbol of his authority as a metropolitan archbishop, from Pope Benedict XVI on June 29, 2012, in Rome.
In February 2012, Tagle attended the Symposium for Healing and Renewal at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Tagle discussed the way the sex-abuse crisis manifests itself in Asia, where it is more common for priests to violate their vows of celibacy by taking mistresses than to engage in the sexual abuse of minors. Tagle maintained that the deference to authority typical of Asian culture combined with the dominance of the Catholic Church in a country like the Philippines produced a "culture of shame" that continued to inhibit the reporting of instances of abuse. He said that culture needed to change though he anticipated great difficulties:
He said the fact his country had a "touching culture" that created problems of interpretation and mandatory reporting laws would face cultural hurdles as well.
On June 12, 2012, Tagle was appointed a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education for a five-year renewable term. That same day, Tagle spoke at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Ireland. He discussed how the sexual abuse crisis requires the Catholic Church to reevaluate its relationship with the media. He said: "As we challenge them to be fair and truthful in whatever they are reporting, the Church should also be prepared to be scrutinised by media, provided the norms of fairness and truthfulness are applied to all, especially the victims." He decried the tendency of church officials to resent negative media coverage even when accurate, while noting he had witnessed some media coverage in Asia that is tainted by "an anti-Christian sentiment." He also mentioned the various issues which distinguish the experience of the Church in Ireland and similar cases in Asia.
On August 4, 2012, Tagle delivered a speech at a prayer rally against the Reproductive Health Bill, which included provisions for the funding and distribution of birth control information and devices; contraception is customarily considered abortion in the Philippines. He advocated for the recognition of women's rights by recognizing their valued role as mothers and wives, deserving of genuine love and respect as reflections of God and a gift to mankind. Tagle also denounced sexual prostitution as an affront to women's femininity. He took a more moderate stance on the legislation than other Philippine bishops, refusing to threaten politicians who supported the legislation with excommunication or to have posters criticizing its supporters as "Team Death" distributed in Manila's parishes.
Benedict XVI named Tagle as one of the Synod Fathers for the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelisation on September 18, 2012. In his intervention at that synod, he outlined how he believed the church should approach the process of evangelization. He said:
In an interview with Vatican Radio, he explained how his view reflected the experience of Asian and Philippine culture:
He served as archbishop of Manila until December 8, 2019 when he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He became the apostolic administrator of the metropolitan see until February 9, 2020. Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo temporarily administered the Archdiocese as apostolic administrator from February 10, 2020. On March 25, 2021, Pope Francis named Capiz Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula to succeed Tagle as Archbishop of Manila.
Cardinal
Pope Benedict XVI announced he was elevating Archbishop Tagle to the College of Cardinals on October 24, 2012. Tagle himself had been notified the night before. At that consistory, he was assigned the titular church of San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle. Tagle was the seventh Filipino to be made a cardinal of the Catholic Church. When he became a cardinal he was the second youngest one. On November 30, 2012, upon his return to the Philippines, he presided at a thanksgiving Mass at the San Fernando de Dilao Church in Paco, Manila, which President Benigno Aquino III, Vice-President Jejomar Binay, and Mayor Alfredo Lim of Manila attended.
On January 31, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Cardinal Tagle to serve as a member of the Presidential Committee of the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants.
Tagle was mentioned by some news organizations as a possible candidate for election as pope during the papal conclave that elected Pope Francis in 2013.
Tagle led the National Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the San Fernando de Dilao Church on June 8, 2013.
In a March 2015 interview, Tagle said the Catholic Church needed to develop a new language for addressing homosexuals, unwed mothers, and divorced and remarried Catholics because "what constituted in the past an acceptable way of showing mercy" changes and needs to be re-imagined. He said:
Following the publication of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato si', Cardinal Tagle launched a campaign in the Philippines to collect signatures for a petition against anthropogenic global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions.
As the Synod on the Family opened public discussion of allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion, Tagle said he was open to hearing arguments on the question. He said: "We have a principle we have to believe in. But the openness comes on pastoral judgments you have to make in concrete situations, because no two cases are alike." As the 2014 session of the synod approached he said he hoped that "the pastoral care of divorced and civilly remarried couples is debated openly and with good will," but emphasized other challenges drawn from his Philippine experience, especially the separation of married couples from one another and their children caused by poverty and migration. After the synod, he said:
In 2015, he said that "Every situation for those who are divorced and remarried is quite unique. To have a general rule might be counterproductive in the end. ...We cannot give one formula for all."
Cardinal Tagle is a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education, Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Pontifical Council for the Family, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Pontifical Council for the Laity, and XIII Ordinary Council of the Secretariat General of the Synod of Bishops. On July 11, 2015, he was made a member of the Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum'. He was also confirmed by Pope Francis as President of the Catholic Biblical Federation on March 5, 2015. On May 14, 2015, he was elected President of Caritas International replacing Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga. Some Catholic media that judge Tagle's views to be too liberal criticized the appointment.
Tagle has been Chairman for the Episcopal Commission on the Doctrine of Faith of the Philippines since 2003. Tagle is the Professor of Dogmatic Synthesis at the Graduate School of Theology of San Carlos Seminary, the archdiocesan major seminary of Manila, and an Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the Loyola School of Theology of Ateneo de Manila University. He also taught at the school of theology of the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay.
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Pope Francis named Tagle Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on December 8, 2019. Tagle is the second Asian to head that Congregation, following Cardinal Ivan Dias, who was prefect from 2006 to 2011. He is the second Filipino cardinal to lead a congregation of the Roman Curia after Jose Tomas Sanchez, who headed the Congregation for the Clergy from 1991 to 1996. In March 2020, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the Pope had removed Tagle from his post in Manila for channeling church funds to the President's political opponents. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and many individual Philippine prelates denounced Duterte's charge.
Pope Francis promoted him to highest rank of cardinal, Cardinal-Bishop, on May 1, 2020; he is the first Filipino to be included in that rank of the College of Cardinals, and he was promoted Cardinal-Bishop but was not appointed to a suburbicarian see just like Cardinals Parolin, Sandri, Ouelet and Filoni, a break with tradition and Canon Law Section 350
On September 10, 2020, Tagle tested positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival in Manila. He was the first head of a Vatican dicastery, as well as the fifth Filipino bishop, to test positive for COVID-19. He had tested negative for the virus in Rome on September 7. He was asymptomatic and was in isolation. Tagle remained asymptomatic and ended his quarantine on September 23.
On February 22, 2021, Tagle was appointed by Pope Francis as a new member of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.
Coat of arms
The top section depicts Christ as the Good Shepherd and as a fisherman, accompanied by an open Gospel Book inscribed with the letters Alpha and Omega. The middle section is a stylized version of Our Lady of the Pillar, the patroness of his previous diocese. This consists of an Ionic column surmounted by an ornate "M" as a symbol for the Virgin Mary, crowned with twelve stars. The bottom depicts a carpenter's square, which signifies Saint Joseph the Worker, along with a lily; these refer to the seminary Tagle attended.
Tagle's motto is taken from the John 21:7, Dominus Est ("It is the Lord!").
Interpretation of Vatican II
Tagle served from 1995 to 2001 as one of more than 50 members of the editorial board of the five-volume, 2,500-page History of Vatican II. Completed after discussions at 14 international conferences with contributions from over 100 scholars, it is seen as the seminal work on the Second Vatican Council. It has been criticized by some conservatives for providing an overly progressive reading of the Council. Its principal editors, Alberto Melloni and Giuseppe Alberigo, are identified with the Bologna School of ecclesiastical history which views the Second Vatican Council as a "rupture" with the past, a position criticized by Pope Benedict XVI and others, who hold that Vatican II represents "continuity" with the past. Tagle's contribution, written in 1999 when he was not yet a bishop, was a 66-page chapter in the fourth volume of the History called "A November Storm: The 'Black Week'" which covered the final days of the Council's third session in 1964, when several actions by Pope Paul VI caused alarm among reform forces.
Tagle's work has been criticized from opposite viewpoints. In 2005, Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants, a "continuity" advocate, assessed Tagle's chapter as "a rich and even comprehensive study", but called it "unbalanced, journalistic, and lacking objectivity expected of a true historian". Hans Küng, a principal critic of Pope Paul's conservative impact on the Council, endorsed Tagle's view that the Roman Curia's influence on the Pope forced the Council documents to make "theological compromises", but said Tagle was unable to develop an explanation or justification for Pope Paul's positions, so that "in the closing section his writing degenerates into sanctimoniousness".
The Vaticanologist John L. Allen Jr. reported that Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Holy See's prefect for the Congregation for Bishops and protégé of Pope Benedict XVI, maintains his "full support" for Tagle. Allen also reported that a Vatican official indicated that he read Tagle's 1999 essay – after media reports highlighted it – and found nothing objectionable. In fact, he was impressed by Tagle's defense of Paul VI in that Tagle wrote that Paul followed a strategy of "listening to all views, especially opposing ones", and was willing to "sacrifice his personal popularity to save the council and its future". This official also said that it is difficult to suggest Tagle is opposed to Pope Benedict's reading of the council since one of the sources Tagle cited was the writings of Joseph Ratzinger. The Vatican news analyst Sandro Magister reported that Tagle's identification with the Bologna School would have hurt his chances of becoming a bishop had the members of the Congregation for Bishops – who considered Tagle's candidacy for archbishop – known of it when considering his appointment.
In a 2012 interview, Tagle maintained that the Council represented no rupture in the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. He added that he does not subscribe to the "rupture theory" that the Catholic Church before 1962 is disconnected from the present church.
Distinctions
Orders
: Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Academic
Far Eastern University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa
San Beda College: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (March 30, 2012)
De La Salle University–Dasmariñas: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (June 19, 2013)
Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (August 1, 2013)
University of Santo Tomas: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (August 13, 2013)
Holy Angel University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (August 16, 2013)
Fordham University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (March 28, 2014)
Australian Catholic University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (May 17, 2014)
The Catholic University of America: Doctor of Theology honoris causa (May 17, 2014)
Catholic Theological Union: Doctor of Theology honoris causa (May 14, 2015)
La Salle University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (September 18, 2015)
Awards
Outstanding Manilan 2013
Fides Award (January 26, 2015)
Television
While Archbishop of Manila, Tagle continued to perform as a host of The Word Exposed and The Faith Exposed, both Catholic television programs produced by the Jesuit Communications Foundation, which also maintains an official Facebook account for him. He is also the Tuesday presenter of Kape't Pandasal ("Coffee and Prayer", a pun on the term kape't pandesal or "coffee and salted bread"), an early morning religious inspirational program partly produced by the same network, previously broadcast by ABS-CBN.
Notes
References
Bibliography
News articles
External links
Card. "Luis Antonio Gokim". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017.
Viehland, N.J. (November 5, 2012). "Elevation of Filipino archbishop considered a surprise in the Year of Faith". National Catholic Reporter.
"The Eucharist, the Life of Christ in our Lives: Spiritual Worship and Authentic Adoration", address to the 49th International Eucharistic Congress, Quebec, June 19, 2008
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila Biography of His Eminence Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila (November 11, 2017 archived copy)
1957 births
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Philippines
Living people
Roman Catholic archbishops of Manila
Ateneo de Manila University alumni
Ateneo de Manila University faculty
Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI
Officials of the Roman Curia
Filipino cardinals
Filipino people of Chinese descent
Members of the Congregation for Catholic Education
Tagalog people
Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Roman Catholic bishops of Imus
Catholic University of America alumni
Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Filipino Roman Catholic theologians
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila | true | [
"The Diocesan Shrine and Parish of the Our Lady of the Pillar - Imus Cathedral, commonly known as the Imus Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral church in the city of Imus, in the province of Cavite, Philippines. The city, which is the capital of the province, also serves as the seat of the bishop of the Diocese... | [
"Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle ( ; ; born June 21, 1957) is a Filipino prelate (cardinal) of the Catholic Church who has been the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since December 8, 2019. He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2019.",
"He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 20... |
[
"Luis Antonio Tagle",
"Bishop of Imus",
"when did he become bishop of Imus?",
"In 2001, Tagle was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22"
] | C_46b0baa6f2eb4e558d0f6df73e54b517_0 | what did he do before that? | 2 | what did Luis Antonio Tagle do before being appointed Bishop of Imus? | Luis Antonio Tagle | In 2001, Tagle was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22 and consecrated on December 12 after previously serving as parish priest of the Cathedral-parish of Imus. During his ten years in Imus, he made a point of living simply, owned no car, and invited the destitute to join him for a meal. At the first gathering of bishops under Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, he spoke from the floor about the inadequacy of the number of priests in the Philippines. He said: To respond to the hunger for the Eucharist, priests say many masses, accept multiple intentions and send lay ministers for the service of the Word with communion.... The faithful know the difference between a bible service and Eucharist, a priest and a lay minister. Many communities wait for the gift of the priesthood and the Eucharist with humility. To the concept that priestly vocation are a gift from God he countered: "we should also ask whether the Church is a good steward of the gift." He told a news conference that "The first Sunday after my ordination as a priest, I said nine Masses, and that is regular in the Philippines." Discussing priestly celibacy, Cardinal Angelo Scola, the synod moderator, expressed reservations about modifications to the Church's requirement of celibacy for the priesthood. In response, Tagle suggested that the Church should consider such a change to combat the shortage of priests. At the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, Canada, he delivered a talk on the importance of the Eucharist that, by one report, moved the audience to tears. He contrasted Christian worship with false forms of adoration: It is sad that those who worship idols sacrifice other people while preserving themselves and their interests. How many factory workers are being denied the right wages for the god of profit? How many women are being sacrificed to the god of domination? How many children are being sacrificed to the god of lust? How many trees, rivers, hills are being sacrificed to the god of "progress"? How many poor people are being sacrificed to the god of greed? How many defenseless people are being sacrificed to the god of national security? CANNOTANSWER | previously serving as parish priest of the Cathedral-parish of Imus. | Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle ( ; ; born June 21, 1957) is a Filipino prelate (cardinal) of the Catholic Church who has been the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since December 8, 2019. He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2019. Tagle also serves as the president of Caritas International, a federation of Catholic relief, development, and social service organizations, and of the Catholic Biblical Federation.
Tagle, who generally prefers to be called by his nickname "Chito" rather than by his clerical title, has been involved in many social issues in the Philippines, with emphasis on helping the poor while defending the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion, contraception (equated with abortion in the Philippines), and what he has called "practical atheism". Dubbed as the "Asian Francis", he is often seen as a representative of the Catholic Church's progressive wing. Tagle has criticized the Catholic Church for using "harsh words" to describe LGBT as well as divorced and remarried Catholics, whom he believes should be allowed to receive Holy Communion on a case-by-case basis.
He was one of the principal advisors to Pope Francis and is considered a papabile since the 2013 papal conclave up to the present.
Early life and studies
Tagle was born on June 21, 1957, the eldest child of devout Catholic parents, Manuel Topacio Tagle, an ethnic Tagalog and his Chinese Filipino wife, Milagros Gokim, who previously worked for Equitable PCI Bank.
Tagle's paternal grandfather, Florencio, came from Imus, Cavite; the Tagle family were from the Hispanic, lowland Christian aristocracy known as the Principalía, which were the elite prior to the 1896 Philippine Revolution. Florencio was injured by a bomb explosion during the Second World War; Tagle's grandmother made a living by running a local diner.
After completing elementary and high school at Saint Andrew's School in Parañaque in 1973, he was influenced by priest friends to enter the Jesuit San José Seminary, which sent him to the Jesuit Ateneo de Manila University.
Tagle earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in pre-divinity from Ateneo in 1977 and then a Master of Arts in theology at its Loyola School of Theology. Tagle earned his Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Catholic University of America from 1987 to 1991. He wrote his dissertation under the direction of Joseph A. Komonchak on "Episcopal Collegiality in the Teaching and Practice of Paul VI". Tagle also attended doctrinal courses at the Institute of Pope Paul VI University. In Komonchak's estimation, Tagle was "one of the best students I had in over 40 years of teaching" and "could have become the best theologian in the Philippines, or even in all of Asia" had he not been appointed bishop. Tagle has received honorary degrees from Catholic Theological Union and La Salle University. Tagle is fluent in speaking his native Tagalog language, as well as the English and Italian languages. He is also proficient in reading Spanish, French, and Latin.
Priesthood
Tagle was ordained in the Diocese of Imus on February 27, 1982. After ordination, he held the following positions: associate pastor of San Agustín Parish – Méndez-Núñez, Cavite (1982–1984), spiritual director (1982–1983) and later rector (1983–1985) of the diocesan seminary of Imus. After studies in the United States from 1985 to 1992, he returned to Imus and was Episcopal Vicar for Religious (1993–1995) and parish priest and rector (1998–2001) of Nuestra Señora del Pilar Cathedral-Parish. He also taught theology at San Carlos Seminary (1982-1985) and Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay.
Pope John Paul II appointed Tagle to the International Theological Commission, where he served from 1997 to 2002 under its President, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. From 1995 to 2001, he was a member of the editorial board of the "History of Vatican II" project.
Bishop of Imus
In 2001, Tagle was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22 and consecrated on December 12 after previously serving as parish priest of the Cathedral-parish of Imus. During his ten years in Imus, he made a point of living simply, owned no car, and invited the destitute to join him for a meal. At the first gathering of bishops under Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, he spoke from the floor about the inadequacy of the number of priests in the Philippines. He said:
To the concept that priestly vocation are a gift from God he countered: "we should also ask whether the Church is a good steward of the gift." He told a news conference that "The first Sunday after my ordination as a priest, I said nine Masses, and that is regular in the Philippines." Discussing priestly celibacy, Cardinal Angelo Scola, the synod moderator, expressed reservations about modifications to the Church's requirement of celibacy for the priesthood. In response, Tagle suggested that the Church should consider such a change to combat the shortage of priests.
At the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, Canada, he delivered a talk on the importance of the Eucharist that, by one report, moved the audience to tears. He contrasted Christian worship with false forms of adoration:
Archbishop of Manila
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Tagle the 32nd Archbishop of Manila on October 13, 2011, to succeed Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales. According to Father Catalino Arévalo, SJ, the first Asian member of the Vatican's International Theological Commission, Tagle's appointment was promoted by the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Edward Joseph Adams and by Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, but some objections were submitted to the Congregation for Bishops, which caused some delay in processing his appointment. Prior to his installation, Tagle made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in October 2011. He was installed as Archbishop on December 12, 2011, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the tenth anniversary of his episcopal consecration. He received the pallium, the symbol of his authority as a metropolitan archbishop, from Pope Benedict XVI on June 29, 2012, in Rome.
In February 2012, Tagle attended the Symposium for Healing and Renewal at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Tagle discussed the way the sex-abuse crisis manifests itself in Asia, where it is more common for priests to violate their vows of celibacy by taking mistresses than to engage in the sexual abuse of minors. Tagle maintained that the deference to authority typical of Asian culture combined with the dominance of the Catholic Church in a country like the Philippines produced a "culture of shame" that continued to inhibit the reporting of instances of abuse. He said that culture needed to change though he anticipated great difficulties:
He said the fact his country had a "touching culture" that created problems of interpretation and mandatory reporting laws would face cultural hurdles as well.
On June 12, 2012, Tagle was appointed a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education for a five-year renewable term. That same day, Tagle spoke at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Ireland. He discussed how the sexual abuse crisis requires the Catholic Church to reevaluate its relationship with the media. He said: "As we challenge them to be fair and truthful in whatever they are reporting, the Church should also be prepared to be scrutinised by media, provided the norms of fairness and truthfulness are applied to all, especially the victims." He decried the tendency of church officials to resent negative media coverage even when accurate, while noting he had witnessed some media coverage in Asia that is tainted by "an anti-Christian sentiment." He also mentioned the various issues which distinguish the experience of the Church in Ireland and similar cases in Asia.
On August 4, 2012, Tagle delivered a speech at a prayer rally against the Reproductive Health Bill, which included provisions for the funding and distribution of birth control information and devices; contraception is customarily considered abortion in the Philippines. He advocated for the recognition of women's rights by recognizing their valued role as mothers and wives, deserving of genuine love and respect as reflections of God and a gift to mankind. Tagle also denounced sexual prostitution as an affront to women's femininity. He took a more moderate stance on the legislation than other Philippine bishops, refusing to threaten politicians who supported the legislation with excommunication or to have posters criticizing its supporters as "Team Death" distributed in Manila's parishes.
Benedict XVI named Tagle as one of the Synod Fathers for the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelisation on September 18, 2012. In his intervention at that synod, he outlined how he believed the church should approach the process of evangelization. He said:
In an interview with Vatican Radio, he explained how his view reflected the experience of Asian and Philippine culture:
He served as archbishop of Manila until December 8, 2019 when he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He became the apostolic administrator of the metropolitan see until February 9, 2020. Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo temporarily administered the Archdiocese as apostolic administrator from February 10, 2020. On March 25, 2021, Pope Francis named Capiz Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula to succeed Tagle as Archbishop of Manila.
Cardinal
Pope Benedict XVI announced he was elevating Archbishop Tagle to the College of Cardinals on October 24, 2012. Tagle himself had been notified the night before. At that consistory, he was assigned the titular church of San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle. Tagle was the seventh Filipino to be made a cardinal of the Catholic Church. When he became a cardinal he was the second youngest one. On November 30, 2012, upon his return to the Philippines, he presided at a thanksgiving Mass at the San Fernando de Dilao Church in Paco, Manila, which President Benigno Aquino III, Vice-President Jejomar Binay, and Mayor Alfredo Lim of Manila attended.
On January 31, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Cardinal Tagle to serve as a member of the Presidential Committee of the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants.
Tagle was mentioned by some news organizations as a possible candidate for election as pope during the papal conclave that elected Pope Francis in 2013.
Tagle led the National Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the San Fernando de Dilao Church on June 8, 2013.
In a March 2015 interview, Tagle said the Catholic Church needed to develop a new language for addressing homosexuals, unwed mothers, and divorced and remarried Catholics because "what constituted in the past an acceptable way of showing mercy" changes and needs to be re-imagined. He said:
Following the publication of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato si', Cardinal Tagle launched a campaign in the Philippines to collect signatures for a petition against anthropogenic global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions.
As the Synod on the Family opened public discussion of allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion, Tagle said he was open to hearing arguments on the question. He said: "We have a principle we have to believe in. But the openness comes on pastoral judgments you have to make in concrete situations, because no two cases are alike." As the 2014 session of the synod approached he said he hoped that "the pastoral care of divorced and civilly remarried couples is debated openly and with good will," but emphasized other challenges drawn from his Philippine experience, especially the separation of married couples from one another and their children caused by poverty and migration. After the synod, he said:
In 2015, he said that "Every situation for those who are divorced and remarried is quite unique. To have a general rule might be counterproductive in the end. ...We cannot give one formula for all."
Cardinal Tagle is a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education, Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Pontifical Council for the Family, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Pontifical Council for the Laity, and XIII Ordinary Council of the Secretariat General of the Synod of Bishops. On July 11, 2015, he was made a member of the Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum'. He was also confirmed by Pope Francis as President of the Catholic Biblical Federation on March 5, 2015. On May 14, 2015, he was elected President of Caritas International replacing Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga. Some Catholic media that judge Tagle's views to be too liberal criticized the appointment.
Tagle has been Chairman for the Episcopal Commission on the Doctrine of Faith of the Philippines since 2003. Tagle is the Professor of Dogmatic Synthesis at the Graduate School of Theology of San Carlos Seminary, the archdiocesan major seminary of Manila, and an Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the Loyola School of Theology of Ateneo de Manila University. He also taught at the school of theology of the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay.
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Pope Francis named Tagle Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on December 8, 2019. Tagle is the second Asian to head that Congregation, following Cardinal Ivan Dias, who was prefect from 2006 to 2011. He is the second Filipino cardinal to lead a congregation of the Roman Curia after Jose Tomas Sanchez, who headed the Congregation for the Clergy from 1991 to 1996. In March 2020, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the Pope had removed Tagle from his post in Manila for channeling church funds to the President's political opponents. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and many individual Philippine prelates denounced Duterte's charge.
Pope Francis promoted him to highest rank of cardinal, Cardinal-Bishop, on May 1, 2020; he is the first Filipino to be included in that rank of the College of Cardinals, and he was promoted Cardinal-Bishop but was not appointed to a suburbicarian see just like Cardinals Parolin, Sandri, Ouelet and Filoni, a break with tradition and Canon Law Section 350
On September 10, 2020, Tagle tested positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival in Manila. He was the first head of a Vatican dicastery, as well as the fifth Filipino bishop, to test positive for COVID-19. He had tested negative for the virus in Rome on September 7. He was asymptomatic and was in isolation. Tagle remained asymptomatic and ended his quarantine on September 23.
On February 22, 2021, Tagle was appointed by Pope Francis as a new member of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.
Coat of arms
The top section depicts Christ as the Good Shepherd and as a fisherman, accompanied by an open Gospel Book inscribed with the letters Alpha and Omega. The middle section is a stylized version of Our Lady of the Pillar, the patroness of his previous diocese. This consists of an Ionic column surmounted by an ornate "M" as a symbol for the Virgin Mary, crowned with twelve stars. The bottom depicts a carpenter's square, which signifies Saint Joseph the Worker, along with a lily; these refer to the seminary Tagle attended.
Tagle's motto is taken from the John 21:7, Dominus Est ("It is the Lord!").
Interpretation of Vatican II
Tagle served from 1995 to 2001 as one of more than 50 members of the editorial board of the five-volume, 2,500-page History of Vatican II. Completed after discussions at 14 international conferences with contributions from over 100 scholars, it is seen as the seminal work on the Second Vatican Council. It has been criticized by some conservatives for providing an overly progressive reading of the Council. Its principal editors, Alberto Melloni and Giuseppe Alberigo, are identified with the Bologna School of ecclesiastical history which views the Second Vatican Council as a "rupture" with the past, a position criticized by Pope Benedict XVI and others, who hold that Vatican II represents "continuity" with the past. Tagle's contribution, written in 1999 when he was not yet a bishop, was a 66-page chapter in the fourth volume of the History called "A November Storm: The 'Black Week'" which covered the final days of the Council's third session in 1964, when several actions by Pope Paul VI caused alarm among reform forces.
Tagle's work has been criticized from opposite viewpoints. In 2005, Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants, a "continuity" advocate, assessed Tagle's chapter as "a rich and even comprehensive study", but called it "unbalanced, journalistic, and lacking objectivity expected of a true historian". Hans Küng, a principal critic of Pope Paul's conservative impact on the Council, endorsed Tagle's view that the Roman Curia's influence on the Pope forced the Council documents to make "theological compromises", but said Tagle was unable to develop an explanation or justification for Pope Paul's positions, so that "in the closing section his writing degenerates into sanctimoniousness".
The Vaticanologist John L. Allen Jr. reported that Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Holy See's prefect for the Congregation for Bishops and protégé of Pope Benedict XVI, maintains his "full support" for Tagle. Allen also reported that a Vatican official indicated that he read Tagle's 1999 essay – after media reports highlighted it – and found nothing objectionable. In fact, he was impressed by Tagle's defense of Paul VI in that Tagle wrote that Paul followed a strategy of "listening to all views, especially opposing ones", and was willing to "sacrifice his personal popularity to save the council and its future". This official also said that it is difficult to suggest Tagle is opposed to Pope Benedict's reading of the council since one of the sources Tagle cited was the writings of Joseph Ratzinger. The Vatican news analyst Sandro Magister reported that Tagle's identification with the Bologna School would have hurt his chances of becoming a bishop had the members of the Congregation for Bishops – who considered Tagle's candidacy for archbishop – known of it when considering his appointment.
In a 2012 interview, Tagle maintained that the Council represented no rupture in the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. He added that he does not subscribe to the "rupture theory" that the Catholic Church before 1962 is disconnected from the present church.
Distinctions
Orders
: Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Academic
Far Eastern University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa
San Beda College: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (March 30, 2012)
De La Salle University–Dasmariñas: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (June 19, 2013)
Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (August 1, 2013)
University of Santo Tomas: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (August 13, 2013)
Holy Angel University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (August 16, 2013)
Fordham University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (March 28, 2014)
Australian Catholic University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (May 17, 2014)
The Catholic University of America: Doctor of Theology honoris causa (May 17, 2014)
Catholic Theological Union: Doctor of Theology honoris causa (May 14, 2015)
La Salle University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (September 18, 2015)
Awards
Outstanding Manilan 2013
Fides Award (January 26, 2015)
Television
While Archbishop of Manila, Tagle continued to perform as a host of The Word Exposed and The Faith Exposed, both Catholic television programs produced by the Jesuit Communications Foundation, which also maintains an official Facebook account for him. He is also the Tuesday presenter of Kape't Pandasal ("Coffee and Prayer", a pun on the term kape't pandesal or "coffee and salted bread"), an early morning religious inspirational program partly produced by the same network, previously broadcast by ABS-CBN.
Notes
References
Bibliography
News articles
External links
Card. "Luis Antonio Gokim". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017.
Viehland, N.J. (November 5, 2012). "Elevation of Filipino archbishop considered a surprise in the Year of Faith". National Catholic Reporter.
"The Eucharist, the Life of Christ in our Lives: Spiritual Worship and Authentic Adoration", address to the 49th International Eucharistic Congress, Quebec, June 19, 2008
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila Biography of His Eminence Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila (November 11, 2017 archived copy)
1957 births
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Philippines
Living people
Roman Catholic archbishops of Manila
Ateneo de Manila University alumni
Ateneo de Manila University faculty
Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI
Officials of the Roman Curia
Filipino cardinals
Filipino people of Chinese descent
Members of the Congregation for Catholic Education
Tagalog people
Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Roman Catholic bishops of Imus
Catholic University of America alumni
Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Filipino Roman Catholic theologians
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila | true | [
"\"What Did I Do to You?\" is a song recorded by British singer Lisa Stansfield for her 1989 album, Affection. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Devaney and Morris. The song was released as the fourth European single on 30 April 1990. It included three previously unreleased ... | [
"Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle ( ; ; born June 21, 1957) is a Filipino prelate (cardinal) of the Catholic Church who has been the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since December 8, 2019. He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2019.",
"He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 20... |
[
"Luis Antonio Tagle",
"Bishop of Imus",
"when did he become bishop of Imus?",
"In 2001, Tagle was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22",
"what did he do before that?",
"previously serving as parish priest of the Cathedral-parish of Imus."
] | C_46b0baa6f2eb4e558d0f6df73e54b517_0 | how was his life during his tenure? | 3 | how was Luis Antonio Tagle's life during his tenure? | Luis Antonio Tagle | In 2001, Tagle was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22 and consecrated on December 12 after previously serving as parish priest of the Cathedral-parish of Imus. During his ten years in Imus, he made a point of living simply, owned no car, and invited the destitute to join him for a meal. At the first gathering of bishops under Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, he spoke from the floor about the inadequacy of the number of priests in the Philippines. He said: To respond to the hunger for the Eucharist, priests say many masses, accept multiple intentions and send lay ministers for the service of the Word with communion.... The faithful know the difference between a bible service and Eucharist, a priest and a lay minister. Many communities wait for the gift of the priesthood and the Eucharist with humility. To the concept that priestly vocation are a gift from God he countered: "we should also ask whether the Church is a good steward of the gift." He told a news conference that "The first Sunday after my ordination as a priest, I said nine Masses, and that is regular in the Philippines." Discussing priestly celibacy, Cardinal Angelo Scola, the synod moderator, expressed reservations about modifications to the Church's requirement of celibacy for the priesthood. In response, Tagle suggested that the Church should consider such a change to combat the shortage of priests. At the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, Canada, he delivered a talk on the importance of the Eucharist that, by one report, moved the audience to tears. He contrasted Christian worship with false forms of adoration: It is sad that those who worship idols sacrifice other people while preserving themselves and their interests. How many factory workers are being denied the right wages for the god of profit? How many women are being sacrificed to the god of domination? How many children are being sacrificed to the god of lust? How many trees, rivers, hills are being sacrificed to the god of "progress"? How many poor people are being sacrificed to the god of greed? How many defenseless people are being sacrificed to the god of national security? CANNOTANSWER | During his ten years in Imus, he made a point of living simply, owned no car, and invited the destitute to join him for a meal. | Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle ( ; ; born June 21, 1957) is a Filipino prelate (cardinal) of the Catholic Church who has been the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since December 8, 2019. He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2019. Tagle also serves as the president of Caritas International, a federation of Catholic relief, development, and social service organizations, and of the Catholic Biblical Federation.
Tagle, who generally prefers to be called by his nickname "Chito" rather than by his clerical title, has been involved in many social issues in the Philippines, with emphasis on helping the poor while defending the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion, contraception (equated with abortion in the Philippines), and what he has called "practical atheism". Dubbed as the "Asian Francis", he is often seen as a representative of the Catholic Church's progressive wing. Tagle has criticized the Catholic Church for using "harsh words" to describe LGBT as well as divorced and remarried Catholics, whom he believes should be allowed to receive Holy Communion on a case-by-case basis.
He was one of the principal advisors to Pope Francis and is considered a papabile since the 2013 papal conclave up to the present.
Early life and studies
Tagle was born on June 21, 1957, the eldest child of devout Catholic parents, Manuel Topacio Tagle, an ethnic Tagalog and his Chinese Filipino wife, Milagros Gokim, who previously worked for Equitable PCI Bank.
Tagle's paternal grandfather, Florencio, came from Imus, Cavite; the Tagle family were from the Hispanic, lowland Christian aristocracy known as the Principalía, which were the elite prior to the 1896 Philippine Revolution. Florencio was injured by a bomb explosion during the Second World War; Tagle's grandmother made a living by running a local diner.
After completing elementary and high school at Saint Andrew's School in Parañaque in 1973, he was influenced by priest friends to enter the Jesuit San José Seminary, which sent him to the Jesuit Ateneo de Manila University.
Tagle earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in pre-divinity from Ateneo in 1977 and then a Master of Arts in theology at its Loyola School of Theology. Tagle earned his Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Catholic University of America from 1987 to 1991. He wrote his dissertation under the direction of Joseph A. Komonchak on "Episcopal Collegiality in the Teaching and Practice of Paul VI". Tagle also attended doctrinal courses at the Institute of Pope Paul VI University. In Komonchak's estimation, Tagle was "one of the best students I had in over 40 years of teaching" and "could have become the best theologian in the Philippines, or even in all of Asia" had he not been appointed bishop. Tagle has received honorary degrees from Catholic Theological Union and La Salle University. Tagle is fluent in speaking his native Tagalog language, as well as the English and Italian languages. He is also proficient in reading Spanish, French, and Latin.
Priesthood
Tagle was ordained in the Diocese of Imus on February 27, 1982. After ordination, he held the following positions: associate pastor of San Agustín Parish – Méndez-Núñez, Cavite (1982–1984), spiritual director (1982–1983) and later rector (1983–1985) of the diocesan seminary of Imus. After studies in the United States from 1985 to 1992, he returned to Imus and was Episcopal Vicar for Religious (1993–1995) and parish priest and rector (1998–2001) of Nuestra Señora del Pilar Cathedral-Parish. He also taught theology at San Carlos Seminary (1982-1985) and Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay.
Pope John Paul II appointed Tagle to the International Theological Commission, where he served from 1997 to 2002 under its President, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. From 1995 to 2001, he was a member of the editorial board of the "History of Vatican II" project.
Bishop of Imus
In 2001, Tagle was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22 and consecrated on December 12 after previously serving as parish priest of the Cathedral-parish of Imus. During his ten years in Imus, he made a point of living simply, owned no car, and invited the destitute to join him for a meal. At the first gathering of bishops under Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, he spoke from the floor about the inadequacy of the number of priests in the Philippines. He said:
To the concept that priestly vocation are a gift from God he countered: "we should also ask whether the Church is a good steward of the gift." He told a news conference that "The first Sunday after my ordination as a priest, I said nine Masses, and that is regular in the Philippines." Discussing priestly celibacy, Cardinal Angelo Scola, the synod moderator, expressed reservations about modifications to the Church's requirement of celibacy for the priesthood. In response, Tagle suggested that the Church should consider such a change to combat the shortage of priests.
At the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, Canada, he delivered a talk on the importance of the Eucharist that, by one report, moved the audience to tears. He contrasted Christian worship with false forms of adoration:
Archbishop of Manila
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Tagle the 32nd Archbishop of Manila on October 13, 2011, to succeed Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales. According to Father Catalino Arévalo, SJ, the first Asian member of the Vatican's International Theological Commission, Tagle's appointment was promoted by the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Edward Joseph Adams and by Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, but some objections were submitted to the Congregation for Bishops, which caused some delay in processing his appointment. Prior to his installation, Tagle made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in October 2011. He was installed as Archbishop on December 12, 2011, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the tenth anniversary of his episcopal consecration. He received the pallium, the symbol of his authority as a metropolitan archbishop, from Pope Benedict XVI on June 29, 2012, in Rome.
In February 2012, Tagle attended the Symposium for Healing and Renewal at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Tagle discussed the way the sex-abuse crisis manifests itself in Asia, where it is more common for priests to violate their vows of celibacy by taking mistresses than to engage in the sexual abuse of minors. Tagle maintained that the deference to authority typical of Asian culture combined with the dominance of the Catholic Church in a country like the Philippines produced a "culture of shame" that continued to inhibit the reporting of instances of abuse. He said that culture needed to change though he anticipated great difficulties:
He said the fact his country had a "touching culture" that created problems of interpretation and mandatory reporting laws would face cultural hurdles as well.
On June 12, 2012, Tagle was appointed a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education for a five-year renewable term. That same day, Tagle spoke at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Ireland. He discussed how the sexual abuse crisis requires the Catholic Church to reevaluate its relationship with the media. He said: "As we challenge them to be fair and truthful in whatever they are reporting, the Church should also be prepared to be scrutinised by media, provided the norms of fairness and truthfulness are applied to all, especially the victims." He decried the tendency of church officials to resent negative media coverage even when accurate, while noting he had witnessed some media coverage in Asia that is tainted by "an anti-Christian sentiment." He also mentioned the various issues which distinguish the experience of the Church in Ireland and similar cases in Asia.
On August 4, 2012, Tagle delivered a speech at a prayer rally against the Reproductive Health Bill, which included provisions for the funding and distribution of birth control information and devices; contraception is customarily considered abortion in the Philippines. He advocated for the recognition of women's rights by recognizing their valued role as mothers and wives, deserving of genuine love and respect as reflections of God and a gift to mankind. Tagle also denounced sexual prostitution as an affront to women's femininity. He took a more moderate stance on the legislation than other Philippine bishops, refusing to threaten politicians who supported the legislation with excommunication or to have posters criticizing its supporters as "Team Death" distributed in Manila's parishes.
Benedict XVI named Tagle as one of the Synod Fathers for the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelisation on September 18, 2012. In his intervention at that synod, he outlined how he believed the church should approach the process of evangelization. He said:
In an interview with Vatican Radio, he explained how his view reflected the experience of Asian and Philippine culture:
He served as archbishop of Manila until December 8, 2019 when he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He became the apostolic administrator of the metropolitan see until February 9, 2020. Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo temporarily administered the Archdiocese as apostolic administrator from February 10, 2020. On March 25, 2021, Pope Francis named Capiz Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula to succeed Tagle as Archbishop of Manila.
Cardinal
Pope Benedict XVI announced he was elevating Archbishop Tagle to the College of Cardinals on October 24, 2012. Tagle himself had been notified the night before. At that consistory, he was assigned the titular church of San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle. Tagle was the seventh Filipino to be made a cardinal of the Catholic Church. When he became a cardinal he was the second youngest one. On November 30, 2012, upon his return to the Philippines, he presided at a thanksgiving Mass at the San Fernando de Dilao Church in Paco, Manila, which President Benigno Aquino III, Vice-President Jejomar Binay, and Mayor Alfredo Lim of Manila attended.
On January 31, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Cardinal Tagle to serve as a member of the Presidential Committee of the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants.
Tagle was mentioned by some news organizations as a possible candidate for election as pope during the papal conclave that elected Pope Francis in 2013.
Tagle led the National Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the San Fernando de Dilao Church on June 8, 2013.
In a March 2015 interview, Tagle said the Catholic Church needed to develop a new language for addressing homosexuals, unwed mothers, and divorced and remarried Catholics because "what constituted in the past an acceptable way of showing mercy" changes and needs to be re-imagined. He said:
Following the publication of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato si', Cardinal Tagle launched a campaign in the Philippines to collect signatures for a petition against anthropogenic global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions.
As the Synod on the Family opened public discussion of allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion, Tagle said he was open to hearing arguments on the question. He said: "We have a principle we have to believe in. But the openness comes on pastoral judgments you have to make in concrete situations, because no two cases are alike." As the 2014 session of the synod approached he said he hoped that "the pastoral care of divorced and civilly remarried couples is debated openly and with good will," but emphasized other challenges drawn from his Philippine experience, especially the separation of married couples from one another and their children caused by poverty and migration. After the synod, he said:
In 2015, he said that "Every situation for those who are divorced and remarried is quite unique. To have a general rule might be counterproductive in the end. ...We cannot give one formula for all."
Cardinal Tagle is a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education, Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Pontifical Council for the Family, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Pontifical Council for the Laity, and XIII Ordinary Council of the Secretariat General of the Synod of Bishops. On July 11, 2015, he was made a member of the Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum'. He was also confirmed by Pope Francis as President of the Catholic Biblical Federation on March 5, 2015. On May 14, 2015, he was elected President of Caritas International replacing Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga. Some Catholic media that judge Tagle's views to be too liberal criticized the appointment.
Tagle has been Chairman for the Episcopal Commission on the Doctrine of Faith of the Philippines since 2003. Tagle is the Professor of Dogmatic Synthesis at the Graduate School of Theology of San Carlos Seminary, the archdiocesan major seminary of Manila, and an Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the Loyola School of Theology of Ateneo de Manila University. He also taught at the school of theology of the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay.
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Pope Francis named Tagle Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on December 8, 2019. Tagle is the second Asian to head that Congregation, following Cardinal Ivan Dias, who was prefect from 2006 to 2011. He is the second Filipino cardinal to lead a congregation of the Roman Curia after Jose Tomas Sanchez, who headed the Congregation for the Clergy from 1991 to 1996. In March 2020, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the Pope had removed Tagle from his post in Manila for channeling church funds to the President's political opponents. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and many individual Philippine prelates denounced Duterte's charge.
Pope Francis promoted him to highest rank of cardinal, Cardinal-Bishop, on May 1, 2020; he is the first Filipino to be included in that rank of the College of Cardinals, and he was promoted Cardinal-Bishop but was not appointed to a suburbicarian see just like Cardinals Parolin, Sandri, Ouelet and Filoni, a break with tradition and Canon Law Section 350
On September 10, 2020, Tagle tested positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival in Manila. He was the first head of a Vatican dicastery, as well as the fifth Filipino bishop, to test positive for COVID-19. He had tested negative for the virus in Rome on September 7. He was asymptomatic and was in isolation. Tagle remained asymptomatic and ended his quarantine on September 23.
On February 22, 2021, Tagle was appointed by Pope Francis as a new member of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.
Coat of arms
The top section depicts Christ as the Good Shepherd and as a fisherman, accompanied by an open Gospel Book inscribed with the letters Alpha and Omega. The middle section is a stylized version of Our Lady of the Pillar, the patroness of his previous diocese. This consists of an Ionic column surmounted by an ornate "M" as a symbol for the Virgin Mary, crowned with twelve stars. The bottom depicts a carpenter's square, which signifies Saint Joseph the Worker, along with a lily; these refer to the seminary Tagle attended.
Tagle's motto is taken from the John 21:7, Dominus Est ("It is the Lord!").
Interpretation of Vatican II
Tagle served from 1995 to 2001 as one of more than 50 members of the editorial board of the five-volume, 2,500-page History of Vatican II. Completed after discussions at 14 international conferences with contributions from over 100 scholars, it is seen as the seminal work on the Second Vatican Council. It has been criticized by some conservatives for providing an overly progressive reading of the Council. Its principal editors, Alberto Melloni and Giuseppe Alberigo, are identified with the Bologna School of ecclesiastical history which views the Second Vatican Council as a "rupture" with the past, a position criticized by Pope Benedict XVI and others, who hold that Vatican II represents "continuity" with the past. Tagle's contribution, written in 1999 when he was not yet a bishop, was a 66-page chapter in the fourth volume of the History called "A November Storm: The 'Black Week'" which covered the final days of the Council's third session in 1964, when several actions by Pope Paul VI caused alarm among reform forces.
Tagle's work has been criticized from opposite viewpoints. In 2005, Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants, a "continuity" advocate, assessed Tagle's chapter as "a rich and even comprehensive study", but called it "unbalanced, journalistic, and lacking objectivity expected of a true historian". Hans Küng, a principal critic of Pope Paul's conservative impact on the Council, endorsed Tagle's view that the Roman Curia's influence on the Pope forced the Council documents to make "theological compromises", but said Tagle was unable to develop an explanation or justification for Pope Paul's positions, so that "in the closing section his writing degenerates into sanctimoniousness".
The Vaticanologist John L. Allen Jr. reported that Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Holy See's prefect for the Congregation for Bishops and protégé of Pope Benedict XVI, maintains his "full support" for Tagle. Allen also reported that a Vatican official indicated that he read Tagle's 1999 essay – after media reports highlighted it – and found nothing objectionable. In fact, he was impressed by Tagle's defense of Paul VI in that Tagle wrote that Paul followed a strategy of "listening to all views, especially opposing ones", and was willing to "sacrifice his personal popularity to save the council and its future". This official also said that it is difficult to suggest Tagle is opposed to Pope Benedict's reading of the council since one of the sources Tagle cited was the writings of Joseph Ratzinger. The Vatican news analyst Sandro Magister reported that Tagle's identification with the Bologna School would have hurt his chances of becoming a bishop had the members of the Congregation for Bishops – who considered Tagle's candidacy for archbishop – known of it when considering his appointment.
In a 2012 interview, Tagle maintained that the Council represented no rupture in the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. He added that he does not subscribe to the "rupture theory" that the Catholic Church before 1962 is disconnected from the present church.
Distinctions
Orders
: Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Academic
Far Eastern University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa
San Beda College: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (March 30, 2012)
De La Salle University–Dasmariñas: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (June 19, 2013)
Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (August 1, 2013)
University of Santo Tomas: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (August 13, 2013)
Holy Angel University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (August 16, 2013)
Fordham University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (March 28, 2014)
Australian Catholic University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (May 17, 2014)
The Catholic University of America: Doctor of Theology honoris causa (May 17, 2014)
Catholic Theological Union: Doctor of Theology honoris causa (May 14, 2015)
La Salle University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (September 18, 2015)
Awards
Outstanding Manilan 2013
Fides Award (January 26, 2015)
Television
While Archbishop of Manila, Tagle continued to perform as a host of The Word Exposed and The Faith Exposed, both Catholic television programs produced by the Jesuit Communications Foundation, which also maintains an official Facebook account for him. He is also the Tuesday presenter of Kape't Pandasal ("Coffee and Prayer", a pun on the term kape't pandesal or "coffee and salted bread"), an early morning religious inspirational program partly produced by the same network, previously broadcast by ABS-CBN.
Notes
References
Bibliography
News articles
External links
Card. "Luis Antonio Gokim". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017.
Viehland, N.J. (November 5, 2012). "Elevation of Filipino archbishop considered a surprise in the Year of Faith". National Catholic Reporter.
"The Eucharist, the Life of Christ in our Lives: Spiritual Worship and Authentic Adoration", address to the 49th International Eucharistic Congress, Quebec, June 19, 2008
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila Biography of His Eminence Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila (November 11, 2017 archived copy)
1957 births
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Philippines
Living people
Roman Catholic archbishops of Manila
Ateneo de Manila University alumni
Ateneo de Manila University faculty
Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI
Officials of the Roman Curia
Filipino cardinals
Filipino people of Chinese descent
Members of the Congregation for Catholic Education
Tagalog people
Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Roman Catholic bishops of Imus
Catholic University of America alumni
Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Filipino Roman Catholic theologians
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"Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle ( ; ; born June 21, 1957) is a Filipino prelate (cardinal) of the Catholic Church who has been the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since December 8, 2019. He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2019.",
"He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 20... |
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"Luis Antonio Tagle",
"Bishop of Imus",
"when did he become bishop of Imus?",
"In 2001, Tagle was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22",
"what did he do before that?",
"previously serving as parish priest of the Cathedral-parish of Imus.",
"how was his life during his tenure?",
"During his ten years... | C_46b0baa6f2eb4e558d0f6df73e54b517_0 | could you tell me more about him please? | 5 | could you tell me more about Luis Antonio Tagle please besides living simply? | Luis Antonio Tagle | In 2001, Tagle was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22 and consecrated on December 12 after previously serving as parish priest of the Cathedral-parish of Imus. During his ten years in Imus, he made a point of living simply, owned no car, and invited the destitute to join him for a meal. At the first gathering of bishops under Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, he spoke from the floor about the inadequacy of the number of priests in the Philippines. He said: To respond to the hunger for the Eucharist, priests say many masses, accept multiple intentions and send lay ministers for the service of the Word with communion.... The faithful know the difference between a bible service and Eucharist, a priest and a lay minister. Many communities wait for the gift of the priesthood and the Eucharist with humility. To the concept that priestly vocation are a gift from God he countered: "we should also ask whether the Church is a good steward of the gift." He told a news conference that "The first Sunday after my ordination as a priest, I said nine Masses, and that is regular in the Philippines." Discussing priestly celibacy, Cardinal Angelo Scola, the synod moderator, expressed reservations about modifications to the Church's requirement of celibacy for the priesthood. In response, Tagle suggested that the Church should consider such a change to combat the shortage of priests. At the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, Canada, he delivered a talk on the importance of the Eucharist that, by one report, moved the audience to tears. He contrasted Christian worship with false forms of adoration: It is sad that those who worship idols sacrifice other people while preserving themselves and their interests. How many factory workers are being denied the right wages for the god of profit? How many women are being sacrificed to the god of domination? How many children are being sacrificed to the god of lust? How many trees, rivers, hills are being sacrificed to the god of "progress"? How many poor people are being sacrificed to the god of greed? How many defenseless people are being sacrificed to the god of national security? CANNOTANSWER | the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, he spoke from the floor about the inadequacy of the number of priests in the Philippines. | Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle ( ; ; born June 21, 1957) is a Filipino prelate (cardinal) of the Catholic Church who has been the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since December 8, 2019. He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2019. Tagle also serves as the president of Caritas International, a federation of Catholic relief, development, and social service organizations, and of the Catholic Biblical Federation.
Tagle, who generally prefers to be called by his nickname "Chito" rather than by his clerical title, has been involved in many social issues in the Philippines, with emphasis on helping the poor while defending the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion, contraception (equated with abortion in the Philippines), and what he has called "practical atheism". Dubbed as the "Asian Francis", he is often seen as a representative of the Catholic Church's progressive wing. Tagle has criticized the Catholic Church for using "harsh words" to describe LGBT as well as divorced and remarried Catholics, whom he believes should be allowed to receive Holy Communion on a case-by-case basis.
He was one of the principal advisors to Pope Francis and is considered a papabile since the 2013 papal conclave up to the present.
Early life and studies
Tagle was born on June 21, 1957, the eldest child of devout Catholic parents, Manuel Topacio Tagle, an ethnic Tagalog and his Chinese Filipino wife, Milagros Gokim, who previously worked for Equitable PCI Bank.
Tagle's paternal grandfather, Florencio, came from Imus, Cavite; the Tagle family were from the Hispanic, lowland Christian aristocracy known as the Principalía, which were the elite prior to the 1896 Philippine Revolution. Florencio was injured by a bomb explosion during the Second World War; Tagle's grandmother made a living by running a local diner.
After completing elementary and high school at Saint Andrew's School in Parañaque in 1973, he was influenced by priest friends to enter the Jesuit San José Seminary, which sent him to the Jesuit Ateneo de Manila University.
Tagle earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in pre-divinity from Ateneo in 1977 and then a Master of Arts in theology at its Loyola School of Theology. Tagle earned his Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Catholic University of America from 1987 to 1991. He wrote his dissertation under the direction of Joseph A. Komonchak on "Episcopal Collegiality in the Teaching and Practice of Paul VI". Tagle also attended doctrinal courses at the Institute of Pope Paul VI University. In Komonchak's estimation, Tagle was "one of the best students I had in over 40 years of teaching" and "could have become the best theologian in the Philippines, or even in all of Asia" had he not been appointed bishop. Tagle has received honorary degrees from Catholic Theological Union and La Salle University. Tagle is fluent in speaking his native Tagalog language, as well as the English and Italian languages. He is also proficient in reading Spanish, French, and Latin.
Priesthood
Tagle was ordained in the Diocese of Imus on February 27, 1982. After ordination, he held the following positions: associate pastor of San Agustín Parish – Méndez-Núñez, Cavite (1982–1984), spiritual director (1982–1983) and later rector (1983–1985) of the diocesan seminary of Imus. After studies in the United States from 1985 to 1992, he returned to Imus and was Episcopal Vicar for Religious (1993–1995) and parish priest and rector (1998–2001) of Nuestra Señora del Pilar Cathedral-Parish. He also taught theology at San Carlos Seminary (1982-1985) and Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay.
Pope John Paul II appointed Tagle to the International Theological Commission, where he served from 1997 to 2002 under its President, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. From 1995 to 2001, he was a member of the editorial board of the "History of Vatican II" project.
Bishop of Imus
In 2001, Tagle was appointed Bishop of Imus on October 22 and consecrated on December 12 after previously serving as parish priest of the Cathedral-parish of Imus. During his ten years in Imus, he made a point of living simply, owned no car, and invited the destitute to join him for a meal. At the first gathering of bishops under Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, he spoke from the floor about the inadequacy of the number of priests in the Philippines. He said:
To the concept that priestly vocation are a gift from God he countered: "we should also ask whether the Church is a good steward of the gift." He told a news conference that "The first Sunday after my ordination as a priest, I said nine Masses, and that is regular in the Philippines." Discussing priestly celibacy, Cardinal Angelo Scola, the synod moderator, expressed reservations about modifications to the Church's requirement of celibacy for the priesthood. In response, Tagle suggested that the Church should consider such a change to combat the shortage of priests.
At the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, Canada, he delivered a talk on the importance of the Eucharist that, by one report, moved the audience to tears. He contrasted Christian worship with false forms of adoration:
Archbishop of Manila
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Tagle the 32nd Archbishop of Manila on October 13, 2011, to succeed Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales. According to Father Catalino Arévalo, SJ, the first Asian member of the Vatican's International Theological Commission, Tagle's appointment was promoted by the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Edward Joseph Adams and by Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, but some objections were submitted to the Congregation for Bishops, which caused some delay in processing his appointment. Prior to his installation, Tagle made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in October 2011. He was installed as Archbishop on December 12, 2011, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the tenth anniversary of his episcopal consecration. He received the pallium, the symbol of his authority as a metropolitan archbishop, from Pope Benedict XVI on June 29, 2012, in Rome.
In February 2012, Tagle attended the Symposium for Healing and Renewal at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Tagle discussed the way the sex-abuse crisis manifests itself in Asia, where it is more common for priests to violate their vows of celibacy by taking mistresses than to engage in the sexual abuse of minors. Tagle maintained that the deference to authority typical of Asian culture combined with the dominance of the Catholic Church in a country like the Philippines produced a "culture of shame" that continued to inhibit the reporting of instances of abuse. He said that culture needed to change though he anticipated great difficulties:
He said the fact his country had a "touching culture" that created problems of interpretation and mandatory reporting laws would face cultural hurdles as well.
On June 12, 2012, Tagle was appointed a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education for a five-year renewable term. That same day, Tagle spoke at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Ireland. He discussed how the sexual abuse crisis requires the Catholic Church to reevaluate its relationship with the media. He said: "As we challenge them to be fair and truthful in whatever they are reporting, the Church should also be prepared to be scrutinised by media, provided the norms of fairness and truthfulness are applied to all, especially the victims." He decried the tendency of church officials to resent negative media coverage even when accurate, while noting he had witnessed some media coverage in Asia that is tainted by "an anti-Christian sentiment." He also mentioned the various issues which distinguish the experience of the Church in Ireland and similar cases in Asia.
On August 4, 2012, Tagle delivered a speech at a prayer rally against the Reproductive Health Bill, which included provisions for the funding and distribution of birth control information and devices; contraception is customarily considered abortion in the Philippines. He advocated for the recognition of women's rights by recognizing their valued role as mothers and wives, deserving of genuine love and respect as reflections of God and a gift to mankind. Tagle also denounced sexual prostitution as an affront to women's femininity. He took a more moderate stance on the legislation than other Philippine bishops, refusing to threaten politicians who supported the legislation with excommunication or to have posters criticizing its supporters as "Team Death" distributed in Manila's parishes.
Benedict XVI named Tagle as one of the Synod Fathers for the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelisation on September 18, 2012. In his intervention at that synod, he outlined how he believed the church should approach the process of evangelization. He said:
In an interview with Vatican Radio, he explained how his view reflected the experience of Asian and Philippine culture:
He served as archbishop of Manila until December 8, 2019 when he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He became the apostolic administrator of the metropolitan see until February 9, 2020. Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo temporarily administered the Archdiocese as apostolic administrator from February 10, 2020. On March 25, 2021, Pope Francis named Capiz Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula to succeed Tagle as Archbishop of Manila.
Cardinal
Pope Benedict XVI announced he was elevating Archbishop Tagle to the College of Cardinals on October 24, 2012. Tagle himself had been notified the night before. At that consistory, he was assigned the titular church of San Felice da Cantalice a Centocelle. Tagle was the seventh Filipino to be made a cardinal of the Catholic Church. When he became a cardinal he was the second youngest one. On November 30, 2012, upon his return to the Philippines, he presided at a thanksgiving Mass at the San Fernando de Dilao Church in Paco, Manila, which President Benigno Aquino III, Vice-President Jejomar Binay, and Mayor Alfredo Lim of Manila attended.
On January 31, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Cardinal Tagle to serve as a member of the Presidential Committee of the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants.
Tagle was mentioned by some news organizations as a possible candidate for election as pope during the papal conclave that elected Pope Francis in 2013.
Tagle led the National Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the San Fernando de Dilao Church on June 8, 2013.
In a March 2015 interview, Tagle said the Catholic Church needed to develop a new language for addressing homosexuals, unwed mothers, and divorced and remarried Catholics because "what constituted in the past an acceptable way of showing mercy" changes and needs to be re-imagined. He said:
Following the publication of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato si', Cardinal Tagle launched a campaign in the Philippines to collect signatures for a petition against anthropogenic global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions.
As the Synod on the Family opened public discussion of allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion, Tagle said he was open to hearing arguments on the question. He said: "We have a principle we have to believe in. But the openness comes on pastoral judgments you have to make in concrete situations, because no two cases are alike." As the 2014 session of the synod approached he said he hoped that "the pastoral care of divorced and civilly remarried couples is debated openly and with good will," but emphasized other challenges drawn from his Philippine experience, especially the separation of married couples from one another and their children caused by poverty and migration. After the synod, he said:
In 2015, he said that "Every situation for those who are divorced and remarried is quite unique. To have a general rule might be counterproductive in the end. ...We cannot give one formula for all."
Cardinal Tagle is a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education, Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Pontifical Council for the Family, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Pontifical Council for the Laity, and XIII Ordinary Council of the Secretariat General of the Synod of Bishops. On July 11, 2015, he was made a member of the Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum'. He was also confirmed by Pope Francis as President of the Catholic Biblical Federation on March 5, 2015. On May 14, 2015, he was elected President of Caritas International replacing Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga. Some Catholic media that judge Tagle's views to be too liberal criticized the appointment.
Tagle has been Chairman for the Episcopal Commission on the Doctrine of Faith of the Philippines since 2003. Tagle is the Professor of Dogmatic Synthesis at the Graduate School of Theology of San Carlos Seminary, the archdiocesan major seminary of Manila, and an Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the Loyola School of Theology of Ateneo de Manila University. He also taught at the school of theology of the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay.
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Pope Francis named Tagle Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on December 8, 2019. Tagle is the second Asian to head that Congregation, following Cardinal Ivan Dias, who was prefect from 2006 to 2011. He is the second Filipino cardinal to lead a congregation of the Roman Curia after Jose Tomas Sanchez, who headed the Congregation for the Clergy from 1991 to 1996. In March 2020, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the Pope had removed Tagle from his post in Manila for channeling church funds to the President's political opponents. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and many individual Philippine prelates denounced Duterte's charge.
Pope Francis promoted him to highest rank of cardinal, Cardinal-Bishop, on May 1, 2020; he is the first Filipino to be included in that rank of the College of Cardinals, and he was promoted Cardinal-Bishop but was not appointed to a suburbicarian see just like Cardinals Parolin, Sandri, Ouelet and Filoni, a break with tradition and Canon Law Section 350
On September 10, 2020, Tagle tested positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival in Manila. He was the first head of a Vatican dicastery, as well as the fifth Filipino bishop, to test positive for COVID-19. He had tested negative for the virus in Rome on September 7. He was asymptomatic and was in isolation. Tagle remained asymptomatic and ended his quarantine on September 23.
On February 22, 2021, Tagle was appointed by Pope Francis as a new member of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.
Coat of arms
The top section depicts Christ as the Good Shepherd and as a fisherman, accompanied by an open Gospel Book inscribed with the letters Alpha and Omega. The middle section is a stylized version of Our Lady of the Pillar, the patroness of his previous diocese. This consists of an Ionic column surmounted by an ornate "M" as a symbol for the Virgin Mary, crowned with twelve stars. The bottom depicts a carpenter's square, which signifies Saint Joseph the Worker, along with a lily; these refer to the seminary Tagle attended.
Tagle's motto is taken from the John 21:7, Dominus Est ("It is the Lord!").
Interpretation of Vatican II
Tagle served from 1995 to 2001 as one of more than 50 members of the editorial board of the five-volume, 2,500-page History of Vatican II. Completed after discussions at 14 international conferences with contributions from over 100 scholars, it is seen as the seminal work on the Second Vatican Council. It has been criticized by some conservatives for providing an overly progressive reading of the Council. Its principal editors, Alberto Melloni and Giuseppe Alberigo, are identified with the Bologna School of ecclesiastical history which views the Second Vatican Council as a "rupture" with the past, a position criticized by Pope Benedict XVI and others, who hold that Vatican II represents "continuity" with the past. Tagle's contribution, written in 1999 when he was not yet a bishop, was a 66-page chapter in the fourth volume of the History called "A November Storm: The 'Black Week'" which covered the final days of the Council's third session in 1964, when several actions by Pope Paul VI caused alarm among reform forces.
Tagle's work has been criticized from opposite viewpoints. In 2005, Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants, a "continuity" advocate, assessed Tagle's chapter as "a rich and even comprehensive study", but called it "unbalanced, journalistic, and lacking objectivity expected of a true historian". Hans Küng, a principal critic of Pope Paul's conservative impact on the Council, endorsed Tagle's view that the Roman Curia's influence on the Pope forced the Council documents to make "theological compromises", but said Tagle was unable to develop an explanation or justification for Pope Paul's positions, so that "in the closing section his writing degenerates into sanctimoniousness".
The Vaticanologist John L. Allen Jr. reported that Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Holy See's prefect for the Congregation for Bishops and protégé of Pope Benedict XVI, maintains his "full support" for Tagle. Allen also reported that a Vatican official indicated that he read Tagle's 1999 essay – after media reports highlighted it – and found nothing objectionable. In fact, he was impressed by Tagle's defense of Paul VI in that Tagle wrote that Paul followed a strategy of "listening to all views, especially opposing ones", and was willing to "sacrifice his personal popularity to save the council and its future". This official also said that it is difficult to suggest Tagle is opposed to Pope Benedict's reading of the council since one of the sources Tagle cited was the writings of Joseph Ratzinger. The Vatican news analyst Sandro Magister reported that Tagle's identification with the Bologna School would have hurt his chances of becoming a bishop had the members of the Congregation for Bishops – who considered Tagle's candidacy for archbishop – known of it when considering his appointment.
In a 2012 interview, Tagle maintained that the Council represented no rupture in the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. He added that he does not subscribe to the "rupture theory" that the Catholic Church before 1962 is disconnected from the present church.
Distinctions
Orders
: Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Academic
Far Eastern University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa
San Beda College: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (March 30, 2012)
De La Salle University–Dasmariñas: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (June 19, 2013)
Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (August 1, 2013)
University of Santo Tomas: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (August 13, 2013)
Holy Angel University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (August 16, 2013)
Fordham University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (March 28, 2014)
Australian Catholic University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (May 17, 2014)
The Catholic University of America: Doctor of Theology honoris causa (May 17, 2014)
Catholic Theological Union: Doctor of Theology honoris causa (May 14, 2015)
La Salle University: Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa (September 18, 2015)
Awards
Outstanding Manilan 2013
Fides Award (January 26, 2015)
Television
While Archbishop of Manila, Tagle continued to perform as a host of The Word Exposed and The Faith Exposed, both Catholic television programs produced by the Jesuit Communications Foundation, which also maintains an official Facebook account for him. He is also the Tuesday presenter of Kape't Pandasal ("Coffee and Prayer", a pun on the term kape't pandesal or "coffee and salted bread"), an early morning religious inspirational program partly produced by the same network, previously broadcast by ABS-CBN.
Notes
References
Bibliography
News articles
External links
Card. "Luis Antonio Gokim". Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017.
Viehland, N.J. (November 5, 2012). "Elevation of Filipino archbishop considered a surprise in the Year of Faith". National Catholic Reporter.
"The Eucharist, the Life of Christ in our Lives: Spiritual Worship and Authentic Adoration", address to the 49th International Eucharistic Congress, Quebec, June 19, 2008
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila Biography of His Eminence Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila (November 11, 2017 archived copy)
1957 births
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Philippines
Living people
Roman Catholic archbishops of Manila
Ateneo de Manila University alumni
Ateneo de Manila University faculty
Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI
Officials of the Roman Curia
Filipino cardinals
Filipino people of Chinese descent
Members of the Congregation for Catholic Education
Tagalog people
Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Roman Catholic bishops of Imus
Catholic University of America alumni
Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Filipino Roman Catholic theologians
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila | true | [
"Praise & Worship is an album by the American contemporary gospel music group Commissioned, released on June 13, 2006, on Verity/Legacy Records\n\nTrack listing\n \"Let Me Tell It\" (4:34)\n \"We Shall Behold Him\" (6:35)\n \"Love U with the Rest of My Life\" (5:50)\n \"Please You More\" (6:26)\n \"Everlasting Love... | [
"Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle ( ; ; born June 21, 1957) is a Filipino prelate (cardinal) of the Catholic Church who has been the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since December 8, 2019. He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 2011 to 2019.",
"He was the 32nd Archbishop of Manila from 20... |
[
"Greg LeMond",
"1990: A third tour win"
] | C_9c9610aa3ce045f884f748c530eec16f_0 | How was his third win different? | 1 | How was Greg LeMond third win different? | Greg LeMond | LeMond parlayed the success of his 1989 season into the then-richest contract in the sport's history, signing a $5.5 million deal for three years with Z-Tomasso of France. He entered the 1990 Tour de France as defending champion and a pre-race favorite after leaving ADR to join the much stronger French team. At "Z" his teammates included Robert Millar, Eric Boyer and Ronan Pensec, all of whom already had finishes in the top six of the Tour de France. This unified roster of strong riders appeared capable of supporting LeMond in the mountains and controlling the race on the flats. The squad's tactical plan was upset on the first day, when a breakaway that included LeMond's teammate Ronan Pensec, but no major favorites, arrived ten minutes ahead of the field. LeMond was prevented from challenging for the lead until the yellow jersey left the shoulders of his teammate. LeMond closed in on race leader Claudio Chiappucci, finally overtaking him in the final individual time trial on stage 20, where he finished over two minutes ahead of the unheralded Italian. LeMond at last had the yellow jersey, wearing it the following day as the Tour rode into Paris. LeMond had the distinction of winning the 1990 Tour without taking any of the individual stages. He remains the last rider to win the Tour while wearing the world champion jersey. Over the course of the 1990 Tour the perceived strength of the Z team was confirmed, as they led the team classification through most of the race, adding the team title to LeMond's yellow jersey. In September, LeMond attempted to defend his title at the 1990 UCI Road World Championships, but finished fourth, eight seconds behind the winner, his former teammate Rudy Dhaenens of Belgium. CANNOTANSWER | He entered the 1990 Tour de France as defending champion and a pre-race favorite after leaving ADR to join the much stronger French team. | Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tour de France (1986, 1989, and 1990), LeMond is considered by many to be the greatest American cyclist of all time, one of the great all-round cyclists of the modern era, and an icon of the sport's globalisation.
LeMond began his professional cycling career in 1981. In 1983, he became the first American male cyclist to win the Road World Championship. LeMond won the Tour de France in 1986; he is the first non-European professional cyclist to win the Tour. He was accidentally shot with pellets and seriously injured while hunting in 1987. Following the shooting, he underwent two surgeries and missed the next two Tours. At the 1989 Tour, he completed an improbable comeback to win in dramatic fashion on the race's final stage. He successfully defended his Tour title the following year, becoming one of only eight riders to win three or more Tours. LeMond retired from competition in December 1994 and was inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1996. He was the first professional cyclist to sign a million-dollar contract and the first cyclist to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
During his career, LeMond championed several technological advancements in pro cycling, including the introduction of aerodynamic "triathlon" handlebars and carbon fiber bicycle frames, which he later marketed through his company LeMond Bicycles. His other business interests have included restaurants, real estate, and consumer fitness equipment. LeMond is a vocal opponent of performance-enhancing drug use in cycling and is a founding board member of 1in6.org, a nonprofit charity that assists male victims of child sex abuse.
Early life and amateur career
LeMond was born in Lakewood, California, and was raised in the Washoe Valley, a ranch country on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range between Reno, and the family home about 2.5 miles north of Carson City, Nevada. His parents are Bob LeMond and Bertha LeMond (d. 2006), and he has two sisters, Kathy and Karen.
LeMond grew up living an active, outdoor life. Hiking, hunting, skiing and flyfishing were boyhood pastimes. The ranch country of the Sierra Nevada mountain range lent itself to such pursuits. A hyperactive youngster, LeMond believes these outdoor activities helped keep him out of trouble. "I was a boy who just could not sit still. I had trouble focusing in school. Parents and educators then did not have the skill set to diagnose and cope with what we know now was a classic case of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD certainly was not the frequently medicated childhood disease it is today. My triumph over the symptoms was found atop two thin tires over many dusty miles." Said LeMond: "That's one of the traits. It's the inability to sit down [and listen] to something you are not really interested in and absorb it. If they are interested in it, people with ADD excel in really good ways. When I got into cycling I would say the sport itself took a fog off my brain. I was able to absorb stuff I read. It changed my life."
LeMond attended Earl Wooster High School in Reno, but lived too far away to participate in team sports. LeMond soon biked almost daily to high school. He often rode home from Wooster, taking a route over Mt. Rose, along to Incline Village, then south on Hwy 28, then downhill to Carson City, then to his home.
LeMond's introduction to cycling came in 1975, thanks to freestyle skiing pioneer Wayne Wong, who recommended the bike as an ideal off-season training aid. LeMond started competing in 1976, and after dominating the Intermediate category (13–15) and winning the first 11 races he entered, he received permission to ride against older, more seasoned competitors in the Junior (16–19) category.
In 1977, while still only 15, LeMond finished second in the Tour of Fresno to John Howard, then the United States's top road cyclist and the 1971 Pan American Games champion. LeMond caught the attention of Eddie Borysewicz, the US Cycling Federation's national team coach, who described LeMond as "a diamond, a clear diamond." LeMond represented the United States at the 1978 Junior World Championships in Washington, D.C., where he finished ninth in the road race, and again in the 1979 Junior World Championships in Argentina, where he won gold, silver and bronze medals—the highlight being his victory in the road race. At age 18, LeMond was selected for the 1980 U.S. Olympic cycling team, the youngest ever to make the team. However, the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow prevented him from competing there.
Borysewicz, whom LeMond described as his "first real coach," wanted to retain his protégé through the next Olympic cycle and discouraged him from turning pro, but LeMond was determined. Nevertheless, while he was the reigning Junior World Road Champion in 1980, LeMond received no professional offers, and so in the spring of 1980, he joined the U.S. National cycling team for a 6-week European racing campaign. There, he finished third overall in the Circuit des Ardennes before winning the 1980 Circuit de la Sarthe stage race in France, thereby becoming the first American and youngest rider of any nationality "in the history of the sport to win a major pro-am cycling event [in Europe]." That victory, and the subsequent press coverage, raised LeMond's profile in Europe and he was scouted at his next event (the Ruban Granitier Breton stage race) by Cyrille Guimard, the Renault–Elf–Gitane team's directeur sportif. Guimard said he was impressed with LeMond's spirit, and told him, "You have the fire to be a great champion," before offering him a professional contract for 1981 with Renault. After he returned to the United States, LeMond won the 1980 Nevada City Classic, considered to be one of the most historic and challenging professional cycling races in United States. Despite eventually receiving several other offers to turn professional besides Guimard's, LeMond did not consider them seriously, and he signed with Renault in Paris on the day the 1980 Tour de France finished.
Professional career
LeMond was an "exceptionally gifted" amateur rider who quickly established himself as one of the most talented cyclists on the professional circuit. Respected cycling journalist John Wilcockson, who reported the Tour de France for more than 40 years, described LeMond as a rider who was fuoriclasse.
1981–1983: Early years
LeMond's first professional victory came three months into his 1981 debut when he won a stage of the French Tour de l'Oise. He followed with a win in the Coors Classic in the United States, finishing ahead of Sergei Sukhoruchenkov, the 1980 Olympic road champion. The major step forward in 1981 occurred in the Dauphiné Libéré stage race where LeMond placed third. The achievement is the more remarkable because he rode the race in support of team leader Bernard Hinault. LeMond missed standing on the podium with race winner Hinault, as Pascal Simon had finished ahead of him. Two weeks later Simon was assessed a 10-minute penalty when it was discovered he had been doping. LeMond considered the race to have been a "major steppingstone" in his career. Said LeMond: "It showed me that I had the kind of climbing ability that you need to win the top European stage races." LeMond won a total of five races in his rookie season of 1981.
LeMond broke his collarbone on April 11, 1982, while racing the cycling classic Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The injury forced LeMond to ride a reduced schedule before entering the World Championships, which were in Goodwood, England that year. In the men's road race competition, LeMond broke for the line but was out-sprinted by Italian Giuseppe Saronni. Following the race, LeMond's American teammate Jacques Boyer accused LeMond of chasing him down in the final 800 meters. Saronni was very strong at the end of the race and flew past Boyer and LeMond, winning by 5 seconds over LeMond, with another 5 seconds back to Kelly. Boyer placed tenth. Bronze medalist Sean Kelly, a favorite to win the race, was with Saronni when he caught LeMond with about 200 meters to go, but he could not hold his wheel. Said Kelly: "I don't think that Boyer was fading ... He got quite a good gap. Nobody wanted to go after him ... Yes, LeMond chased down Boyer. Boyer was the only man up the road."
LeMond was supported by his teammate George Mount, who observed, "What's LeMond going to do? Throw his bike down in front of everybody because Boyer is such a good buddy of everyone? ... Hell no—he's going to start sprinting because it's less than 200 meters to go and the sprint's already been going for a couple hundred meters. LeMond made a good move and a good sprint ... Boyer was not going to win that race. The best he could have got was fifth or sixth place."
LeMond did not apologize. The U.S. team was not as set up as the European teams, and did not have an independent race to determine the national champion. Instead, the highest finisher at the World's was considered the national champion. LeMond had argued for the team to compete as the European teams did, but team management and Boyer voted against him. Thus, unlike the other teams at the world championship, the US riders were competing against each other. Aged 21, LeMond was the first American pro to win a medal at the World's since Frank Kramer took silver in 1912. Said LeMond: "I'm racing for Renault and I'm racing for myself. It's a business and it's my living. To me, that second place was almost as good as winning, especially at my age."
Two weeks later, on September 20, 1982, LeMond won the mountainous 12-day, Tour de l'Avenir by a record 10 minutes, 18 seconds. The victory, and the time advantage LeMond held at the end, stunned Europe and provided broad confirmation that LeMond was indeed fuoriclasse.
The following year, 1983, LeMond won the Road World Championship outright, becoming the first American male cyclist to do so. (Audrey McElmury won in 1969 and Beth Heiden won in 1980.) LeMond's cycling talent—his overall strength, climbing ability, ability to ride a fast time trial and his capacity to recover quickly—all suggested LeMond would be an excellent prospect for the most demanding Grand Tours.
1984–1986: Grand Tours
LeMond rode his first Tour de France in 1984, finishing third in support of team leader Laurent Fignon, and winning the white jersey of the young rider classification. The following year he was brought across to La Vie Claire to ride in support of team captain Bernard Hinault who had regained his form and was attempting to win his fifth Tour. French businessman and team owner Bernard Tapie signed LeMond with a $1 million contract over three years. In the race Hinault led through the early mountain stages, but suffered a crash and came into difficulty. At this point, it was clear that LeMond was an elite rider capable of winning the Tour in his own right. LeMond possessed a natural talent for riding the Grand Tours, and got stronger over the course of a three-week race. The injured Hinault was vulnerable, and his competitors knew it. Stage 17 included three major climbs in the Pyrenees. On the second, the Col du Tourmalet, LeMond followed Stephen Roche in an attack, but was not given permission to help build on the gap over the field. The managers of his La Vie Claire team ordered the 24-year-old LeMond not to ride with Roche, but to sit on his wheel, a tactic to use the rider in front as cover for wind resistance so the following rider uses less energy. The pace Roche could put out by himself eventually slowed, and other riders came up to join the two men. Hinault recovered as well, though he did not regain the lead group. At the end of the stage LeMond was frustrated to the point of tears. He later revealed that team management and his own coach Paul Köchli had misled him as to how far back Hinault had dropped during the crucial Stage 17 mountain stage. Hinault won the 1985 Tour, with LeMond finishing second, 1:42 behind. LeMond had ridden as the dutiful lieutenant, and his support enabled Hinault to win his fifth Tour. In repayment for his sacrifice Hinault promised to help LeMond win the Tour the following year.
Hoping to end the season on a high note LeMond entered the World Championships road race with the strongest team the United States ever fielded. Riders included Boyer and LeMond, as well as Andrew Hampsten, Ron Kiefel, Bob Roll and Eric Heiden and this time the American team was set up to help the three strongest riders in LeMond, then Hampsten and Kiefel. Throughout the race LeMond answered repeated attacks and led many chase groups to contain dangerous breakaways, but by the final lap of the race he was beginning to tire. He was however, part of the group that was going to win, and while Hampsten and Keifel survived the race to this point, unfortunately they were too far back to assist LeMond in the final ten kilometers. Inside the final kilometer the last rider to launch an attack was former Tour and Vuelta champion Joop Zoetemelk. Being as he was 38 years old and long past his prime none of the remaining contenders including LeMond, Claudio Corti, Robert Millar, Moreno Argentin or Stephen Roche took the attack seriously initially. Zoetemelk opened a sizeable gap however, before long it was in excess of a hundred meters and quickly growing. He also had two teammates remaining in Johan Van der Velde and Gerard Veldscholten, assisting him by riding at the front but not actually chasing, therefore slowing the chase group. Italian rider Moreno took up the chase but he had nothing left to close the gap and actually put his hand in the air waving for the other riders to come forward and take up the pursuit. LeMond too had nothing left to chase down this final attack feeling that if he did, he wouldn't have anything left for the sprint and wouldn't win any medal at all. In a notable upset, Zoetemelk beat the favorites to the line by three seconds as LeMond out-sprinted Argentin to take the silver. There was no controversy following this silver medal for LeMond and immediately after the race he rode up alongside the Dutchman and congratulated him saying, "Nice ride Joop."
For the 1986 Tour, LeMond was a co-leader of the La Vie Claire team alongside Hinault. Hinault's support seemed less certain the closer the race approached. An unspoken condition was that his help would be contingent upon LeMond demonstrating that he was clearly the better rider. Hinault was in superb form, and had the chance to win an unprecedented sixth Tour. Hinault chose to let the Stage 9 individual time trial be the decider for which rider would receive the full support of team La Vie Claire. Hinault won the Stage 9 time trial, finishing 44 seconds in front of LeMond. LeMond had bad luck during the stage, having suffered a punctured tire requiring a wheel change, and later in the stage a bicycle change was required when he broke a wheel. He was frustrated with the outcome and the impact it would have on how the team would function for the remainder of the race. In Stage 12, the first mountain stage of the race in the Pyrenees, Hinault attacked the lead group and built up an overall lead. By the end of Stage 12, Hinault had a five-minute lead over LeMond and the other top riders. He claimed he was trying to draw out LeMond's rivals, but none of these attacks were planned with LeMond. He was clearly willing to ride aggressively and take advantage of the opportunities presented. LeMond was never placed in difficulty, except by his own teammate. The following day Hinault broke away again early but was caught and then dropped by LeMond on the final climb of Stage 13, allowing LeMond to gain back four and a half minutes. The next three stages brought the Tour to the Alps. On Stage 17 LeMond and Urs Zimmermann dropped Hinault from the leading group, and the end of the day saw LeMond pulling on the yellow jersey of race leader, the first time it had ever been worn by a rider from the United States. The following day in the Alps saw Hinault attack again early on the first climb, but he was pulled back. Attempting an escape on the descent, he was unable to separate himself from LeMond. The La Vie Claire team leaders were both excellent descenders. As they ascended up the next col they continued to pull away from the field, and maintained the gap as they reached the base of the final climb, the vaunted Alpe d'Huez. They pressed on through the crowd, ascending the twenty-one switchbacks of Alpe d'Huez and reaching the summit together. LeMond put an arm around Hinault and gave him a smile and the stage win in a show of unity, but the infighting was not over. Hinault attacked again on Stage 19 and had to be brought back by teammates Andrew Hampsten and Steve Bauer. Commenting on the team situation prior to the final individual time trial at Stage 20, LeMond offered the following with a wry smile: "He's attacked me from the beginning of the Tour De France. He's never helped me once, and I don't feel confident at all with him."
LeMond had to keep his eye on his teammate and rival throughout the race. Hinault rode aggressively and repeatedly attacked, and the division created in the La Vie Claire team was unmistakable. LeMond would keep the yellow jersey to the end of the race and win his first Tour, but he felt betrayed by Hinault and the La Vie Claire team leadership. LeMond later stated the 1986 Tour was the most difficult and stressful race of his career.
1987–1988: Shooting accident and recovery
LeMond had planned to defend his title in the 1987 Tour de France with La Vie Claire, but he was unable to participate. Earlier that year, while riding in the Tirreno–Adriatico spring tune-up race, LeMond fell and fractured his left wrist. He returned to the United States to recover from the injury. The week before returning to Europe, he went turkey hunting on a ranch co-owned by his father in Lincoln, California. LeMond was with Rodney Barber and Patrick Blades, his uncle and brother-in-law. The trio had become separated when Blades, who heard movement behind him, turned and fired through a bush. The movement had come from LeMond, who was hit in his back and right side with approximately 60 pellets. LeMond's injuries were life-threatening, but a police helicopter was already airborne near the scene and transported LeMond on a 15-minute air medical flight to the Medical Center at University of California-Davis. LeMond was taken for emergency surgery. He had suffered a pneumothorax to his right lung and extensive bleeding, having lost some 65 percent of his blood volume. A physician informed LeMond later that he had been within 20 minutes of bleeding to death. The operation saved his life, but four months later he developed a small bowel obstruction due to adhesions that had formed following the shooting. He underwent another surgery to relieve the obstruction and take down the adhesions. Concerned that his team would drop him if they knew the shooting accident required a second surgery, LeMond asked the surgeons to remove his appendix at the same time. He then informed his team that he had had his appendix removed, but the rest of the story was left somewhat vague. The events effectively ended his 1987 season, and in October he announced he would return to serious competition the following February, with the Dutch PDM team.
With 35 shotgun pellets still in his body, including three in the lining of his heart and five more embedded in his liver, LeMond attempted to return to racing in 1988. His comeback was hampered by over-training which resulted in tendonitis in his right shin requiring surgery. He missed the Tour for the second year running. Tensions in the relationship between LeMond and PDM were aggravated when LeMond discovered that doping was going on at the PDM squad. The result was that LeMond moved from PDM, one of the strongest teams in the peloton, to ADR, a team based in Belgium. The team was co-sponsored by Coors Light for American races. The deal was completed on New Year's Eve, just hours before LeMond would have been legally obliged to ride another season for the Dutch team. Joining the Belgian ADR squad allowed LeMond to continue to compete, but with teammates like Johan Museeuw who were better suited to riding Classics than Grand Tours.
1989: Return to elite level
After struggling in the 1989 Paris–Nice early-season race and failing to improve his condition, LeMond informed his wife Kathy that he intended to retire from professional cycling after the 1989 Tour de France. He had some flashes of form with 6th overall in Tirreno-Adriatico and in the two-day Critérium International, sharing an escape with Fignon, Indurain, Mottet, Roche and Madiot and finishing 4th overall. He started the 1989 Giro d'Italia in May as preparation for the Tour to follow, but struggled in the mountains and was not in contention for any of the leaders' jerseys before the final individual time trial into Florence. LeMond placed a surprising second there, more than a minute ahead of overall winner Laurent Fignon. Some of his improvement he attributed to an anti-anemia treatment he received twice during the race.
Coming into the 1989 Tour de France LeMond was not considered a contender for the general classification (GC). His own most optimistic hope was to finish his final Tour in the top 20. Without the weight of expectation and other pressures of being a Tour favorite, LeMond surprised observers with a strong ride in the prologue in Luxembourg, finishing fourth out of 198 riders. Buoyed by the result, LeMond continued to ride well over the opening flat stages, winning the stage 5 individual time trial, and gaining the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification for the first time in three years. LeMond seemed to ride himself into better condition during the first week's flat stages, and he was coming into peak form by the time the Tour reached the mountains. LeMond remained at the front of the race in the Pyrénées, but lost the lead to his former teammate and rival Laurent Fignon on stage 10 in Superbagnères. Five days later LeMond reclaimed yellow in the Alps, after the stage 15 mountain time trial from Gap to Orcières-Merlette. The see-saw battle continued, and when Fignon attacked on the upper slopes of Alpe d'Huez LeMond was unable to go with him, placing the yellow jersey back on the shoulders of Fignon. Fignon held a 50-second advantage over LeMond going into the 21st and final stage, a rare individual time trial from Versailles to the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
Fignon had won the Tour twice before, in 1983 and 1984, and was a very capable time trialist. It seemed improbable that LeMond could take 50 seconds off Fignon over the short course. This would require LeMond to gain two seconds per kilometer against one of the fastest chrono-specialists in the world. LeMond had done wind tunnel testing in the off season and perfected his riding position. He rode the time trial with a rear disc wheel, a cut-down Giro aero helmet and the same Scott clip-on aero bars which had helped him to the Stage 5 time trial win. Holding his time trialing position LeMond was able to generate less aerodynamic drag than Fignon, who used a pair of disc wheels but chose to go helmetless and did not use the aero bars that are now commonplace in time trials. Instructing his support car not to give him his split times, LeMond rode flat-out and finished at a record pace to beat Fignon by 8 seconds and claim his second Tour de France victory. As LeMond embraced his wife and rejoiced on the Champs-Élysées, Fignon collapsed onto the tarmac, then sat in shock and wept.
The final margin of victory of eight seconds was the closest in the Tour's history. LeMond's average speed for the stage 21 time trial was, at that time, the fastest in Tour history. Since then, only the 1994 and 2015 prologues and David Zabriskie's 2005 time trial performance have been faster. The press immediately labeled LeMond's come-from-behind triumph as, "the most astonishing victory in Tour de France history," and while LeMond admitted that it felt almost "too good to be true," he personally rated it as "much more satisfying" than his first overall Tour win in 1986.
LeMond's return to the pinnacle of cycling was confirmed on August 27, when he won the World Championships road race in Chambéry, France. Late in the race with less than 10 km to go the lead group, who had been away since very early in the race, made up of three very strong riders in Steven Rooks, Thierry Claveyrolat and Soviet star Dimitri Konyshev were trying to hold on to fight for the victory amongst themselves when Laurent Fignon broke away from the pursuing group in an effort to chase the leaders down and solo to victory. On the final climb of the race LeMond attacked in pursuit of Fignon on his own. Before long he had caught the Frenchman and not long after that the pair could see the lead group in front of them and they were quickly closing the gap. LeMond briefly dropped Fignon and caught the lead group on his own. Immediately upon catching Rooks, Claveyrolat and Konyshev he moved to the front and set the pace as two other riders in Canadian Steve Bauer and Irishman Sean Kelly attempted to bridge the gap up to LeMond and the lead group. Bauer ended up getting a flat tire essentially ending his hopes at a high finish while Sean Kelly was able to fight his way to the front group, which was bad news for LeMond and the others as Kelly was one of the best sprinters in the world. Fignon was able to rejoin the lead group as well and as the race approached the finish Fignon attacked on numerous occasions trying to drop the remaining riders. Rooks also launched an attack to go for the solo victory but was caught by LeMond, Fignon and the others. Inside the final kilometer Fignon continued attacking trying to break free, but just couldn't force open a gap and began to fall back as the sprint materialized eventually finishing in 6th place. LeMond, Konyshev and Kelly were the strongest riders when it came to the final sprint for victory and they finished in that order. After the race LeMond said that he did not feel well and even considered abandoning the race. With two laps to go he began feeling stronger and stated, "I was racing for the Gold medal. I wanted that World Championship. And with one kilometer to go, I knew I could get it." LeMond was only the fifth person in history to win both the Tour de France and the World Championship in the same year. In December, Sports Illustrated magazine named LeMond its 1989 "Sportsman of the Year", the first time a cyclist received the honor.
1990: A third tour win
LeMond parlayed the success of his 1989 season into the then-richest contract in the sport's history, signing a $5.5 million deal for three years with of France, the first time a cyclist had signed a multi-million dollar contract. He entered the 1990 Tour de France as defending champion and a pre-race favorite after leaving ADR to join the much stronger French team. At "Z" his teammates included Robert Millar, Eric Boyer and Ronan Pensec, all of whom already had finishes in the top six of the Tour de France. This unified roster of strong riders appeared capable of supporting LeMond in the mountains and controlling the race on the flats.
The squad's tactical plan was upset on the first day, when a breakaway that included LeMond's teammate Ronan Pensec, but no major favorites, arrived ten minutes ahead of the field. LeMond was prevented from challenging for the lead until the yellow jersey left the shoulders of his teammate. Surprisingly Pensec held the lead through the first high mountain stages, including Alpe d'Huez, but he would lose it soon after to the relative unknown Claudio Chiappucci.
LeMond closed in on Chiappucci and on stage 16 he put his stamp of authority on the race during the final climb of Luz Ardiden. Late in this stage, after all of the breakaways had been caught he launched a devastating attack that no one could answer. Miguel Induráin was the only rider able to get on LeMond's wheel but it was LeMond dictating the pace all the way up the climb as Chiappucci, Delgado and all of the other favorites fell further and further behind. While Induráin stayed with LeMond, he was not a threat for victory, but his performance put the cycling world on notice as he would win the next five Tours. Near the end of the stage LeMond sat up and the Spaniard took the stage win, but the devastation of LeMond's competitors was all but complete as there was now only +0:05 between LeMond and the yellow jersey.
He finally overtook Chiappucci on the final individual time trial on stage 20, where he finished over two minutes ahead of the unheralded Italian. LeMond at last had the yellow jersey, wearing it the following day as the Tour rode into Paris. LeMond had the distinction of winning the 1990 Tour without taking any of the individual stages. He remains the last rider to win the Tour while wearing the world champion jersey. Over the course of the 1990 Tour the perceived strength of the Z team was confirmed, as they led the team classification through most of the race, adding the team title to LeMond's yellow jersey. LeMond's 1990 Tour victory made him one of just five cyclists to win three or more Tours. As of 2021 a total of seven cyclists have won three times or more.
In September, LeMond attempted to defend his title at the 1990 UCI Road World Championships, but finished fourth, eight seconds behind the winner, his former teammate Rudy Dhaenens of Belgium.
1991–1994: Change in the peloton and retirement
LeMond felt confident before the 1991 Tour de France. He was the defending champion, trained well and had a solid team to support him. LeMond was among the leaders going into the Stage 8 individual time trial, and he finished second to the Spaniard Miguel Indurain. LeMond felt he was riding extremely well, and though his TT-effort had propelled him into the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification, losing eight seconds to Indurain shook his confidence. He held the yellow jersey for the next four days until Stage 12, a challenging mountain stage. LeMond experienced difficulty on the first climb and he cracked on the Col du Tourmalet, losing significant time to Claudio Chiappucci, and eventual winner Indurain. He continued to race, but was unable to seriously challenge for the lead thereafter, finishing the 1991 Tour seventh overall.
In 1992, LeMond won the Tour DuPont, which would be the last major win of his career. He would also have a strong top 10 finish in Paris-Roubaix early in the season. He never won any of cycling's 'Monument' races but he had several high places in four out of five of them throughout his career including 4th in Paris-Roubaix, 3rd in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and 2nd in Milan San Remo as well as the Giro di Lombardia.
In the 1992 Tour de France he started strongly and finished fourth in a breakaway on Stage 6 that put him fifth overall and he maintained his fifth place until the mountain stages when he lost form disastrously and lost more than 45 minutes on the stage to Sestrieres before quitting the race the next day—when his compatriot and former domestique Andrew Hampsten won atop Alpe d'Huez. While LeMond claimed a serious saddle sore caused him to abandon, he had earlier stated, "My climbing is not like usual. I've climbed much better in the past Tours. This year I'm just not feeling my usual self."
LeMond did extensive endurance training on the road the following winter, but his performances the following spring failed to improve. LeMond had to abandon the 1993 Giro d'Italia two days before the final stage after difficult racing left him 125th on GCC and third-from-last in the final time trial. He was too exhausted to enter the 1993 Tour de France. Following the 1993 season LeMond hired renowned Dutch physiologist Adrie van Diemen to advise him on a new technique to monitor training and measure performance. The (SRM) power-based training would make use of the watt as a guide to power output. In November 1993 LeMond confided to Samuel Abt that power output in watts would become the key metric. The watt has gained wide acceptance as the best measure of a cyclist's training performance.
The following year LeMond began the 1994 Tour de France but found he was unable to race effectively. He had to abandon after the first week before the race had reached the difficult mountain stages. That December, he announced his retirement. At the time the reasons for LeMond's increasing difficulties were not entirely known. At a loss, he speculated that a condition known as mitochondrial myopathy might be responsible for the difficulty he was having performing against the current riders. In 2007, however, LeMond speculated that he might not have had the condition after all, and suggested that lead toxicity from the shotgun pellets still embedded in his body might have been responsible, the effects of which were increased by heavy training.
LeMond has acknowledged since 2010 that the increasing prevalence of doping in cycling contributed to his lack of competitiveness. Said LeMond: "Something had changed in cycling. The speeds were faster and riders that I had easily out performed were now dropping me. At the time, the team I was on, Team Z, became more and more demanding, more and more concerned..." He stated he had been told in 1994 that he would need to blood dope in order to win again. He frankly admitted to Abt in 1999: "I figure I had three months that went right for me after the hunting accident," three months in which he won the two Tours and a world road race championship. "The rest were just pure suffering, struggling, fatigue, always tired."
In a wide-ranging interview with American novelist Bryan Malessa in 1998, LeMond was asked if his career had not been interrupted by the hunting accident, how did he feel he would compare to five time Tour winners such as Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain. LeMond responded: "Of course you can't rewrite racing history, but I'm confident that I would have won five Tours."
Two years after his retirement LeMond was inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Rodale Park in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. The event was held on June 8, 1996, during the U.S. Olympic Cycling Team Trials.
In July 2014, ESPN announced the premiere of a new 30 for 30 film entitled Slaying the Badger. The film centers on LeMond and his former teammate Hinault at the 1986 Tour de France. It is based on the book of the same name by Richard Moore, and it premiered July 22, 2014 on ESPN.
Business interests
LeMond was a pioneer in the use of carbon fiber bicycle frames in European professional road cycling, and his Tour de France win in 1986 ahead of Bernard Hinault was the first for a carbon-framed bicycle. Ironically, given the rivalry that existed at the time between the American and his French teammate, LeMond rode a "Bernard Hinault" Signature Model Look prototype that year. LeMond also won the 1989 Tour de France, the 1989 World Championship, and his final Tour de France in 1990 on carbon fiber frames. These bicycle frames featured "Greg LeMond" branding.
LeMond Cycles
In 1990, LeMond founded LeMond Bicycles to develop machines for himself that would also be marketed and sold to the public. The following year, searching for an equipment edge for Team Z at the 1991 Tour de France, LeMond concluded an exclusive licensing agreement between his company and Carbonframes, Inc., to access the latter's advanced composites technology. Whilst using the bikes for the 1991 Tour, he would maintain his carbon bike in his hotel room, leading his mechanics to fear it had been stolen. While LeMond briefly led the 1991 Tour overall, riding his Carbonframes-produced "Greg LeMond" bicycle, the company eventually faltered, something LeMond blamed on "under-capitalization" and poor management by his father. Carbonframes and LeMond Cycles "parted amiably two years later." In 1995, with his company allegedly nearly bankrupt, LeMond reached a licensing-agreement with Trek Bicycle Corporation, according to which the Wisconsin-based company would manufacture and distribute bicycles designed with LeMond that would be sold under the "LeMond Bicycles" brand. LeMond would later claim that going into business with Trek "destroyed" his relationship with his father. The lucrative partnership, which generated revenue for Trek in excess of US$100,000,000, would be renewed several times over the course of 13 years, but it ultimately ended in acrimony after LeMond's relationship with Trek deteriorated over his staunch anti-doping advocacy.
LeMond found himself at odds with Trek in July 2001 after he expressed public concern over the relationship between Italian doping doctor Michele Ferrari and Trek's star athlete, Lance Armstrong. Trek president John Burke pressured LeMond to apologize, claiming, "Greg's public comments hurt the LeMond brand and the Trek brand." Burke allegedly justified his demand for an apology by advising that, "As a contractual partner, he [LeMond] could criticize doping only generally – not point his finger at specific athletes, particularly one that happens to be the company's main cash cow." Armstrong reportedly said privately he could "shut him up" by contacting Trek, as documented in affidavits by Frankie and Betsy Andreu released in the 2012 USADA doping report. LeMond issued an apology for his comment.
In a 2007 interview, LeMond accused Armstrong of trying to sabotage his relationship with Trek bicycles. In March 2008, LeMond Cycling Inc sued Trek for failing to properly promote and distribute the LeMond brand, and for attempting to "silence" LeMond's public comments about doping, attributing this to the influence of Armstrong on Trek. His complaint included statistics detailing slow sales in some markets, including the fact that between September 2001 and June 2007, Trek only sold $10,393 worth of LeMond bikes in France, a country in which LeMond was both famous and popular. Trek responded in April 2008, announcing that it was dropping LeMond Bicycles from its product line and that it would sue to sever the licensing agreement.
As promised, Trek counter-sued and stopped producing bicycles under the LeMond brand. After nearly two years of litigation, LeMond reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with Trek in February 2010. The settlement permitted the case to be dismissed with prejudice, meaning, "neither side can produce the same claims against one another in a future lawsuit." Although settlement terms were not disclosed, LeMond reportedly obtained full control over the LeMond Bicycles name, while Trek made a donation of US$200,000 to the charity 1in6, of which LeMond was a founding member of the board of directors.
LeMond Fitness/Revolution
In 2002, LeMond, Bernie Boglioli and others founded LeMond Fitness, Inc. "to help individuals achieve their fitness and performance goals and train more effectively." The company's primary business is the development and manufacture of bicycle trainers and indoor exercise bikes for consumers in the United States and internationally. LeMond serves as Chairman of the Board. In 2012, Hoist Fitness negotiated to purchase an interest in the company and announced plans to move its headquarters to Hoist's offices in San Diego, CA. In late 2012, LeMond purchased the LeMond Revolution from Hoist, relaunching with a new management team in Minneapolis. Later, he also formed LeMond LLC to introduce a suite of brands. Professional cycling's team renewed its sponsorship with LeMond to use its Revolution trainers for another three seasons. The team won several stages of the Tour de France, plus the general classification of the 2012 Giro d'Italia.
Partnership with Time
At the Interbike trade show in September 2013, LeMond announced that he was returning to the business of bicycle manufacture and sales by partnering with French company Time. The new line began with a series of commemorative designed bicycles, to be followed with road, cyclocross, and gravel-road models. LeMond purchased Time Sport USA, the US distributor for the company. Said LeMond: "I'm really excited to be back in the bike industry."
Real estate
In 2002, LeMond joined his parents-in-law David and Sacia Morris, friend Michael Snow and J.P. Morgan & Co. fund manager Jorge Jasson to invest in the exclusive Yellowstone Club, a Big Sky, Montana, private ski and golf community founded by timber baron Tim Blixseth and his wife Edra. Each of the five partners paid Blixseth $750,000 for one percent shares in the exclusive resort. LeMond also purchased several building lots and maintained a property at the resort. Four years later, LeMond and partners sued Blixseth in 2006 following reports of a Credit Suisse loan to the resort of $375 million from which Blixseth reportedly took $209 million in a disputed partial payout for his ownership stake. The Credit Suisse loan was based on a $1.16 billion Cushman & Wakefield valuation of the resort, for which LeMond and partners each sought $11.6 million for their one-percent shares. In 2007, LeMond settled his suit with the Blixseths for $39 million. However, he and his partners remained creditors as the Blixseths defaulted on a $20 million payment (after having already paid the group $18 million). In 2009, the Blixseths divorced and the Club went bankrupt.
Restaurants
LeMond became a restaurateur in August 1990 when, in partnership with his wife and her parents, he opened Scott Kee's Tour de France on France Avenue in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, Minnesota. LeMond described the restaurant, which was named for its chef (LeMond's brother-in-law), as "a dream of five years come true." Explaining the origin of the concept, LeMond said, "Kathy and I have eaten at the finest establishments in France, Italy and Belgium. Our favorites have always been small places, family-owned." LeMond also partnered in several Bruegger's bagel bakery-café franchises.
LeMond Composites
LeMond founded LeMond Composites in 2016 to manufacture high-volume, low-cost carbon fiber composites under a licensing agreement with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and an exclusive 20-year licensing agreement with Deakin University. In 2017 LeMond and his family moved from Minnesota to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to be close to the $125 million LeMond Composites manufacturing facility.
On October 16, 2017, Australian politician Sarah Henderson announced that LeMond Composites would receive AU$2.5 million (US$ million) in Australian Federal Government funding to establish a carbon fiber manufacturing plant in Geelong, Australia.
Broadcasting
In 2014, LeMond joined Eurosport as a pundit for the channel's cycling coverage, providing analysis at Paris–Roubaix, the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, and hosting his own monthly program LeMond on Cycling. He continued to work for the channel until 2017.
Anti-doping stance and controversies
LeMond is a longtime vocal opponent of performance-enhancing drug use. He first spoke on-record against doping in cycling after winning the 1989 Tour de France. He has consistently questioned the relationship between riders and unethical sports doctors and has pointed out that doping products ultimately victimize the professional cyclists who make use of them. Said LeMond: "When I speak out about doping people could translate it and think it was about the riders. Actually I feel like I am an advocate for the riders. I look at them as being treated like lab rats that are test vehicles for the doctors. The doctors, the management, the officials, they're the ones that have corrupted riders. The riders are the only ones that pay the price."
LeMond received intense criticism in 2001 when he publicly criticized Lance Armstrong's relationship with Dr. Michele Ferrari. Ferrari is an Italian physician and sports trainer who admitted to practicing blood doping and advocated the controlled use of the banned substance erythropoietin by athletes. Upon learning of Armstrong's association with Ferrari, LeMond said:
"When Lance won the prologue to the 1999 Tour I was close to tears, but when I heard he was working with Michele Ferrari I was devastated. In the light of Lance's relationship with Ferrari, I just don't want to comment on this year's Tour. This is not sour grapes. I'm disappointed in Lance, that's all it is."
LeMond's comments placed him in the center of an anti-doping controversy. About a month later, following pressure from both Armstrong and Trek, LeMond issued an apology for his comment; he called Armstrong "a great champion" and added, "I do not believe, in any way, that he has ever used any performance-enhancing substances. I believe his performances are the result of the same hard work, dedication and focus that were mine 10 years ago."
In 2004, LeMond spoke out again. On the heels of successive Tour de France wins by Armstrong, LeMond said, "If Armstrong's clean, it's the greatest comeback. And if he's not, then it's the greatest fraud." He went public with the fallout of his 2001 statement, alleging that Armstrong had threatened to defame him and threatened his business interests as well:
"[Armstrong] basically said 'I could find 10 people that will say you took EPO' ... The week after, I got multiple people that were on Lance ... Lance's camp, basically saying 'You better be quiet,' and I was quiet for three years. I have a business ... I have bikes that are sold ... and I was told that my sales might not be doing too well if ... just the publicity, the negative publicity." The same month, LeMond told French newspaper Le Monde that Armstrong was "ready to do anything to keep his secret. I don't know how he can continue to convince everybody of his innocence." At a press conference Armstrong gave in September 2008 to announce his return to cycling, LeMond publicly challenged him with questions about doping. Armstrong appeared angry and interrupted LeMond, telling him it was time to move on. In August 2012, the USADA announced that Armstrong had been issued a lifetime ban from cycling competition due to his involvement in a massive doping scheme. In addition, the USADA stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles.
LeMond has also clashed with fellow Tour rider Floyd Landis regarding the doping issue. On May 17, 2007, LeMond testified at a USADA hearing convened to weigh the evidence of doping by Landis during the 2006 Tour de France. Under oath, LeMond described a phone conversation he had with Landis on August 6, 2006, as well as another with Landis' business manager, Will Geoghegan, on May 16, 2007, the evening before LeMond appeared to testify. The major points of the testimony were:
In the August 6 conversation, LeMond said he told Landis that "If you did (admit to having used banned substances), you could single-handedly change the sport. You could be the one who will salvage the sport." LeMond said Landis responded by saying "What good would it do? If I did, it would destroy a lot of my friends and hurt a lot of people."
In their conversation, LeMond had disclosed his history of childhood sexual abuse to Landis and said the secret had nearly destroyed him. LeMond stated he warned Landis. "(Lying about doping) will come back to haunt you when you are 40 or 50. If you have a moral compass and ethics, this will destroy you."
Will Geoghegan attempted to stop LeMond's testimony by calling LeMond on his mobile phone. LeMond reported that Geoghegan claimed he was "his uncle" and intimated that he would appear at the hearing and expose the fact that LeMond was a survivor of child sex abuse. LeMond's BlackBerry, with Geoghegan's phone number captured in the call log, was entered into evidence.
In 2007, Landis was found guilty of doping and was banned from cycling for two years. In 2010, he admitted to having been involved in doping. Also in 2010, Landis apologized to LeMond for the events of 2007.
On July 23, 2009, LeMond wrote an opinion article in the French newspaper Le Monde where he questioned the validity of Alberto Contador's climb up Verbier in the 2009 Tour de France. In the piece, LeMond pointed out that Contador's calculated VO2 max of 99.5 mL/(kg·min) had never been achieved by any athlete. Said LeMond: "The burden is then on Alberto Contador to prove he is physically capable of performing this feat without the use of performance-enhancing products." Contador tested positive for clenbuterol after winning the 2010 Tour and was later stripped of his title and suspended from cycling for two years.
LeMond has criticized the UCI and its former president, Pat McQuaid. In December 2012, LeMond claimed that a change needed to be made in the leadership for the UCI and stated if called upon he would be willing to take the position himself if necessary to lead cycling out of the mire of doping. Said LeMond: "It is now or never to act. After the earthquake caused by the Armstrong case another chance will not arise. I am willing to invest to make this institution more democratic, transparent and look for the best candidate in the longer term." McQuaid rejected LeMond's call for new leadership and was dismissive of LeMond. Ultimately McQuaid was defeated in his bid for a third term by British Cycling president Brian Cookson at the September 2013 UCI Congress in Florence, Italy. Lemond had supported Cookson in the UCI Presidential battle.
Personal life
LeMond is married to Kathy (née Morris) and together they have three children: sons Geoffrey and Scott, and daughter Simone. LeMond and his wife lived in Medina, Minnesota, from 1990 until 2017 and then moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Since his retirement, LeMond has become increasingly involved in philanthropic efforts relating to causes that have affected him personally (including ADHD and sexual abuse).
LeMond is an avid outdoor enthusiast and fly angler, and in 1991 – while still racing full-time – he made the world-record fly fishing catch of a four-pound smallmouth bass on a reel with a four-pound tippet. The record was certified by the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin. The catch exceeded the then-previous record of three pounds, six ounces made on the same size tippet back in 1986. LeMond confessed, "I always pack my fly fishing equipment when I travel to bike events. I fish every chance I get."
After retiring from pro cycling, LeMond competed in Formula Ford 2000 series auto racing. He is also a motivational speaker. LeMond narrated an award-winning documentary for Adventures for the Cure in 2008.
On July 16, 2007, LeMond rode the L'Étape du Tour cyclosportive with his son, and found it to be a defining moment in his post-competition life. "I had the time of my life", he said, despite getting "650th place" and being "impressed that I even finished". LeMond continued, "I decided that day that nobody's going to keep me from cycling, not Trek, not Armstrong, not Verbruggen, not anybody." At the time, LeMond was alluding to a series of public and private disputes related to his anti-doping advocacy that hampered his enjoyment of cycling. Especially significant was LeMond's appearance as a USADA witness in the Floyd Landis doping case. At that time, Landis's business manager threatened to expose the fact that LeMond was a survivor of child sex abuse.
Several weeks later, LeMond and his wife Kathy gave an extensive interview to Paul Kimmage of The Sunday Times. LeMond provided additional details concerning the circumstances of his 2001 apology to Armstrong, stating that Trek, the longtime manufacturer and distributor of LeMond Racing Cycles, had threatened to end the relationship at the behest of Armstrong if he did not apologize. He described the two years following the apology as the worst in his life, marked by self-destructive behavior; ultimately, that behavior led LeMond to tell his wife that he was a survivor of child sex abuse and to seek help in addressing that past trauma. LeMond described how being a victim of molestation had impacted his life and his racing career. In September 2007, LeMond became a founding board member of the non-profit organization 1in6.org, whose mission is "to help men who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood live healthy, happy lives".
LeMond was in a car accident on the morning of January 30, 2013. He was driving through wintery and icy conditions to his dentist in Wayzata, Minnesota, when he lost control of his car. LeMond suffered a concussion and was left with no memory of the incident. According to Associated Press, a Plymouth police report says LeMond left the road, hit a fence and shrubs, and then hit an embankment before ending up in the backyard of a home. LeMond may have lost consciousness before the accident, according to his wife Kathy, and he suffered a compression fracture in his back and would have to wear a brace for three months. The accident curtailed LeMond's public appearances in the first half of 2013, but he made a full recovery.
On September 19, 2019, the United States House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill, submitted by California Representative Mike Thompson, to award LeMond the Congressional Gold Medal. The bill was approved by Congress on November 16, 2020, and signed by president Donald Trump on December 4, 2020. Upon signature of the bill, the White House released a statement, saying the medal was awarded "in recognition of his service to the Nation as an athlete, activist, role model, and community leader".
Career achievements
Major results
1977
1st Road race, National Junior Road Championships
1978
1st Overall Vuelta de Bisbee
2nd Road race, National Junior Road Championships
3rd Team time trial, UCI Junior Road World Championships
1979
1st Road race, UCI Junior Road World Championships
1st Road race, National Junior Road Championships
1st Nevada City Classic
2nd Track pursuit, UCI Junior Track World Championships
3rd Team time trial, UCI Junior Road World Championships
1980
1st Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
1st Nevada City Classic
3rd Overall Circuit des Ardennes
1981
1st Overall Coors Classic
1st Stages 1 & 7
Tour de Picardie
1st Stages 2 & 2a
1st Nevada City Classic
3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
3rd Overall Route du Sud
7th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
1982
1st Overall Tour de l'Avenir
1st Stages 4 (ITT), 5 & 8 (ITT)
2nd Road race, UCI Road World Championships
2nd Overall Tour Méditerranéen
3rd Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1st Stage 3
3rd Overall Tour de Corse
3rd Grand Prix de Rennes
1983
1st Road race, UCI Road World Championships
1st Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st Stages 1, 5 & 7b (ITT)
1st Overall Super Prestige Pernod International
1st Critérium des As
1st Stage 1 Tour Méditerranéen
2nd Grand Prix des Nations
2nd Giro di Lombardia
4th Overall Tour de Suisse
4th Paris–Tours
6th Druivenkoers Overijse
10th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1984
1st Stage 1 Clásico RCN
3rd Overall Tour de France
1st Young rider classification
1st Stage 3 (TTT)
3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st Stage 7b
3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
5th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
7th Overall Ronde van Nederland
8th Overall Critérium International
9th Gent–Wevelgem
1985
1st Overall Coors Classic
1st Stage 5
2nd Overall Tour de France
1st Combination classification
1st Stages 3 (TTT) & 21 (ITT)
2nd Road race, UCI Road World Championships
2nd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
3rd Overall Giro d'Italia
3rd Super Prestige Pernod International
4th Overall Critérium International
4th Paris–Roubaix
4th Omloop Het Volk
6th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
7th Tour of Flanders
7th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
1986
1st Overall Tour de France
1st Combination classification
1st Stage 13
1st Stage 4 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
2nd Milan–San Remo
2nd Super Prestige Pernod International
2nd Overall Coors Classic
1st Stage 4a
3rd Overall Paris–Nice
3rd Overall Tour de Suisse
3rd Overall Critérium International
4th Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Stage 5
4th La Flèche Wallonne
4th Züri-Metzgete
7th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
7th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
1989
1st Road race, UCI Road World Championships
1st Overall Tour de France
1st Stages 5 (ITT), 19 & 21 (ITT)
2nd Boucles de l'Aulne
4th Overall Critérium International
4th Grand Prix des Amériques
6th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1990
1st Overall Tour de France
2nd Züri-Metzgete
3rd Boucles de l'Aulne
4th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
10th Overall Tour de Suisse
1991
7th Overall Tour de France
1992
1st Overall Tour DuPont
1st Prologue
2nd Overall Tour d'Armorique
9th Paris–Roubaix
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Classics results timeline
Awards
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year: 1989
Jesse Owens International Trophy: 1991
Korbel Lifetime Achievement Award: 1992
See also
Yellow jersey statistics
List of companies named after people
List of French Americans
List of Grand Tour general classification winners
List of multi-sport athletes
List of people from Minnesota
List of sports rivalries
List of Tour de France general classification winners
List of Tour de France secondary classification winners
United States at the UCI Road World Championships
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
LeMond Composites
1961 births
Living people
American people of French descent
American Giro d'Italia stage winners
American male cyclists
American Tour de France stage winners
Cycle designers
People from Lakewood, California
Tour de France Champs Elysées stage winners
Tour de France winners
UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers
Super Prestige Pernod winners
Cyclists from California | true | [
"The 2018 NAPA Auto Parts Idaho 208 was a NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race held at Meridan Speedway in Meridian, Idaho. Hailie Deegan won the race, the first ever victory by a female in K&N Pro Series history. Her Bill McAnally Racing teammates Cole Rouse and Derek Kraus finished second and third respectively. Kraus... | [
"Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tour de France (1986, 1989, and 1990), LeMond is considered by many to be th... |
[
"Greg LeMond",
"1990: A third tour win",
"How was his third win different?",
"He entered the 1990 Tour de France as defending champion and a pre-race favorite after leaving ADR to join the much stronger French team.",
"Did he ever have to deal with injuries?",
"I don't know."
] | C_9c9610aa3ce045f884f748c530eec16f_0 | What is one interesting piece of information from the article? | 3 | What is one interesting piece of information from 1990: A third tour win? | Greg LeMond | LeMond parlayed the success of his 1989 season into the then-richest contract in the sport's history, signing a $5.5 million deal for three years with Z-Tomasso of France. He entered the 1990 Tour de France as defending champion and a pre-race favorite after leaving ADR to join the much stronger French team. At "Z" his teammates included Robert Millar, Eric Boyer and Ronan Pensec, all of whom already had finishes in the top six of the Tour de France. This unified roster of strong riders appeared capable of supporting LeMond in the mountains and controlling the race on the flats. The squad's tactical plan was upset on the first day, when a breakaway that included LeMond's teammate Ronan Pensec, but no major favorites, arrived ten minutes ahead of the field. LeMond was prevented from challenging for the lead until the yellow jersey left the shoulders of his teammate. LeMond closed in on race leader Claudio Chiappucci, finally overtaking him in the final individual time trial on stage 20, where he finished over two minutes ahead of the unheralded Italian. LeMond at last had the yellow jersey, wearing it the following day as the Tour rode into Paris. LeMond had the distinction of winning the 1990 Tour without taking any of the individual stages. He remains the last rider to win the Tour while wearing the world champion jersey. Over the course of the 1990 Tour the perceived strength of the Z team was confirmed, as they led the team classification through most of the race, adding the team title to LeMond's yellow jersey. In September, LeMond attempted to defend his title at the 1990 UCI Road World Championships, but finished fourth, eight seconds behind the winner, his former teammate Rudy Dhaenens of Belgium. CANNOTANSWER | The squad's tactical plan was upset on the first day, | Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tour de France (1986, 1989, and 1990), LeMond is considered by many to be the greatest American cyclist of all time, one of the great all-round cyclists of the modern era, and an icon of the sport's globalisation.
LeMond began his professional cycling career in 1981. In 1983, he became the first American male cyclist to win the Road World Championship. LeMond won the Tour de France in 1986; he is the first non-European professional cyclist to win the Tour. He was accidentally shot with pellets and seriously injured while hunting in 1987. Following the shooting, he underwent two surgeries and missed the next two Tours. At the 1989 Tour, he completed an improbable comeback to win in dramatic fashion on the race's final stage. He successfully defended his Tour title the following year, becoming one of only eight riders to win three or more Tours. LeMond retired from competition in December 1994 and was inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1996. He was the first professional cyclist to sign a million-dollar contract and the first cyclist to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
During his career, LeMond championed several technological advancements in pro cycling, including the introduction of aerodynamic "triathlon" handlebars and carbon fiber bicycle frames, which he later marketed through his company LeMond Bicycles. His other business interests have included restaurants, real estate, and consumer fitness equipment. LeMond is a vocal opponent of performance-enhancing drug use in cycling and is a founding board member of 1in6.org, a nonprofit charity that assists male victims of child sex abuse.
Early life and amateur career
LeMond was born in Lakewood, California, and was raised in the Washoe Valley, a ranch country on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range between Reno, and the family home about 2.5 miles north of Carson City, Nevada. His parents are Bob LeMond and Bertha LeMond (d. 2006), and he has two sisters, Kathy and Karen.
LeMond grew up living an active, outdoor life. Hiking, hunting, skiing and flyfishing were boyhood pastimes. The ranch country of the Sierra Nevada mountain range lent itself to such pursuits. A hyperactive youngster, LeMond believes these outdoor activities helped keep him out of trouble. "I was a boy who just could not sit still. I had trouble focusing in school. Parents and educators then did not have the skill set to diagnose and cope with what we know now was a classic case of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD certainly was not the frequently medicated childhood disease it is today. My triumph over the symptoms was found atop two thin tires over many dusty miles." Said LeMond: "That's one of the traits. It's the inability to sit down [and listen] to something you are not really interested in and absorb it. If they are interested in it, people with ADD excel in really good ways. When I got into cycling I would say the sport itself took a fog off my brain. I was able to absorb stuff I read. It changed my life."
LeMond attended Earl Wooster High School in Reno, but lived too far away to participate in team sports. LeMond soon biked almost daily to high school. He often rode home from Wooster, taking a route over Mt. Rose, along to Incline Village, then south on Hwy 28, then downhill to Carson City, then to his home.
LeMond's introduction to cycling came in 1975, thanks to freestyle skiing pioneer Wayne Wong, who recommended the bike as an ideal off-season training aid. LeMond started competing in 1976, and after dominating the Intermediate category (13–15) and winning the first 11 races he entered, he received permission to ride against older, more seasoned competitors in the Junior (16–19) category.
In 1977, while still only 15, LeMond finished second in the Tour of Fresno to John Howard, then the United States's top road cyclist and the 1971 Pan American Games champion. LeMond caught the attention of Eddie Borysewicz, the US Cycling Federation's national team coach, who described LeMond as "a diamond, a clear diamond." LeMond represented the United States at the 1978 Junior World Championships in Washington, D.C., where he finished ninth in the road race, and again in the 1979 Junior World Championships in Argentina, where he won gold, silver and bronze medals—the highlight being his victory in the road race. At age 18, LeMond was selected for the 1980 U.S. Olympic cycling team, the youngest ever to make the team. However, the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow prevented him from competing there.
Borysewicz, whom LeMond described as his "first real coach," wanted to retain his protégé through the next Olympic cycle and discouraged him from turning pro, but LeMond was determined. Nevertheless, while he was the reigning Junior World Road Champion in 1980, LeMond received no professional offers, and so in the spring of 1980, he joined the U.S. National cycling team for a 6-week European racing campaign. There, he finished third overall in the Circuit des Ardennes before winning the 1980 Circuit de la Sarthe stage race in France, thereby becoming the first American and youngest rider of any nationality "in the history of the sport to win a major pro-am cycling event [in Europe]." That victory, and the subsequent press coverage, raised LeMond's profile in Europe and he was scouted at his next event (the Ruban Granitier Breton stage race) by Cyrille Guimard, the Renault–Elf–Gitane team's directeur sportif. Guimard said he was impressed with LeMond's spirit, and told him, "You have the fire to be a great champion," before offering him a professional contract for 1981 with Renault. After he returned to the United States, LeMond won the 1980 Nevada City Classic, considered to be one of the most historic and challenging professional cycling races in United States. Despite eventually receiving several other offers to turn professional besides Guimard's, LeMond did not consider them seriously, and he signed with Renault in Paris on the day the 1980 Tour de France finished.
Professional career
LeMond was an "exceptionally gifted" amateur rider who quickly established himself as one of the most talented cyclists on the professional circuit. Respected cycling journalist John Wilcockson, who reported the Tour de France for more than 40 years, described LeMond as a rider who was fuoriclasse.
1981–1983: Early years
LeMond's first professional victory came three months into his 1981 debut when he won a stage of the French Tour de l'Oise. He followed with a win in the Coors Classic in the United States, finishing ahead of Sergei Sukhoruchenkov, the 1980 Olympic road champion. The major step forward in 1981 occurred in the Dauphiné Libéré stage race where LeMond placed third. The achievement is the more remarkable because he rode the race in support of team leader Bernard Hinault. LeMond missed standing on the podium with race winner Hinault, as Pascal Simon had finished ahead of him. Two weeks later Simon was assessed a 10-minute penalty when it was discovered he had been doping. LeMond considered the race to have been a "major steppingstone" in his career. Said LeMond: "It showed me that I had the kind of climbing ability that you need to win the top European stage races." LeMond won a total of five races in his rookie season of 1981.
LeMond broke his collarbone on April 11, 1982, while racing the cycling classic Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The injury forced LeMond to ride a reduced schedule before entering the World Championships, which were in Goodwood, England that year. In the men's road race competition, LeMond broke for the line but was out-sprinted by Italian Giuseppe Saronni. Following the race, LeMond's American teammate Jacques Boyer accused LeMond of chasing him down in the final 800 meters. Saronni was very strong at the end of the race and flew past Boyer and LeMond, winning by 5 seconds over LeMond, with another 5 seconds back to Kelly. Boyer placed tenth. Bronze medalist Sean Kelly, a favorite to win the race, was with Saronni when he caught LeMond with about 200 meters to go, but he could not hold his wheel. Said Kelly: "I don't think that Boyer was fading ... He got quite a good gap. Nobody wanted to go after him ... Yes, LeMond chased down Boyer. Boyer was the only man up the road."
LeMond was supported by his teammate George Mount, who observed, "What's LeMond going to do? Throw his bike down in front of everybody because Boyer is such a good buddy of everyone? ... Hell no—he's going to start sprinting because it's less than 200 meters to go and the sprint's already been going for a couple hundred meters. LeMond made a good move and a good sprint ... Boyer was not going to win that race. The best he could have got was fifth or sixth place."
LeMond did not apologize. The U.S. team was not as set up as the European teams, and did not have an independent race to determine the national champion. Instead, the highest finisher at the World's was considered the national champion. LeMond had argued for the team to compete as the European teams did, but team management and Boyer voted against him. Thus, unlike the other teams at the world championship, the US riders were competing against each other. Aged 21, LeMond was the first American pro to win a medal at the World's since Frank Kramer took silver in 1912. Said LeMond: "I'm racing for Renault and I'm racing for myself. It's a business and it's my living. To me, that second place was almost as good as winning, especially at my age."
Two weeks later, on September 20, 1982, LeMond won the mountainous 12-day, Tour de l'Avenir by a record 10 minutes, 18 seconds. The victory, and the time advantage LeMond held at the end, stunned Europe and provided broad confirmation that LeMond was indeed fuoriclasse.
The following year, 1983, LeMond won the Road World Championship outright, becoming the first American male cyclist to do so. (Audrey McElmury won in 1969 and Beth Heiden won in 1980.) LeMond's cycling talent—his overall strength, climbing ability, ability to ride a fast time trial and his capacity to recover quickly—all suggested LeMond would be an excellent prospect for the most demanding Grand Tours.
1984–1986: Grand Tours
LeMond rode his first Tour de France in 1984, finishing third in support of team leader Laurent Fignon, and winning the white jersey of the young rider classification. The following year he was brought across to La Vie Claire to ride in support of team captain Bernard Hinault who had regained his form and was attempting to win his fifth Tour. French businessman and team owner Bernard Tapie signed LeMond with a $1 million contract over three years. In the race Hinault led through the early mountain stages, but suffered a crash and came into difficulty. At this point, it was clear that LeMond was an elite rider capable of winning the Tour in his own right. LeMond possessed a natural talent for riding the Grand Tours, and got stronger over the course of a three-week race. The injured Hinault was vulnerable, and his competitors knew it. Stage 17 included three major climbs in the Pyrenees. On the second, the Col du Tourmalet, LeMond followed Stephen Roche in an attack, but was not given permission to help build on the gap over the field. The managers of his La Vie Claire team ordered the 24-year-old LeMond not to ride with Roche, but to sit on his wheel, a tactic to use the rider in front as cover for wind resistance so the following rider uses less energy. The pace Roche could put out by himself eventually slowed, and other riders came up to join the two men. Hinault recovered as well, though he did not regain the lead group. At the end of the stage LeMond was frustrated to the point of tears. He later revealed that team management and his own coach Paul Köchli had misled him as to how far back Hinault had dropped during the crucial Stage 17 mountain stage. Hinault won the 1985 Tour, with LeMond finishing second, 1:42 behind. LeMond had ridden as the dutiful lieutenant, and his support enabled Hinault to win his fifth Tour. In repayment for his sacrifice Hinault promised to help LeMond win the Tour the following year.
Hoping to end the season on a high note LeMond entered the World Championships road race with the strongest team the United States ever fielded. Riders included Boyer and LeMond, as well as Andrew Hampsten, Ron Kiefel, Bob Roll and Eric Heiden and this time the American team was set up to help the three strongest riders in LeMond, then Hampsten and Kiefel. Throughout the race LeMond answered repeated attacks and led many chase groups to contain dangerous breakaways, but by the final lap of the race he was beginning to tire. He was however, part of the group that was going to win, and while Hampsten and Keifel survived the race to this point, unfortunately they were too far back to assist LeMond in the final ten kilometers. Inside the final kilometer the last rider to launch an attack was former Tour and Vuelta champion Joop Zoetemelk. Being as he was 38 years old and long past his prime none of the remaining contenders including LeMond, Claudio Corti, Robert Millar, Moreno Argentin or Stephen Roche took the attack seriously initially. Zoetemelk opened a sizeable gap however, before long it was in excess of a hundred meters and quickly growing. He also had two teammates remaining in Johan Van der Velde and Gerard Veldscholten, assisting him by riding at the front but not actually chasing, therefore slowing the chase group. Italian rider Moreno took up the chase but he had nothing left to close the gap and actually put his hand in the air waving for the other riders to come forward and take up the pursuit. LeMond too had nothing left to chase down this final attack feeling that if he did, he wouldn't have anything left for the sprint and wouldn't win any medal at all. In a notable upset, Zoetemelk beat the favorites to the line by three seconds as LeMond out-sprinted Argentin to take the silver. There was no controversy following this silver medal for LeMond and immediately after the race he rode up alongside the Dutchman and congratulated him saying, "Nice ride Joop."
For the 1986 Tour, LeMond was a co-leader of the La Vie Claire team alongside Hinault. Hinault's support seemed less certain the closer the race approached. An unspoken condition was that his help would be contingent upon LeMond demonstrating that he was clearly the better rider. Hinault was in superb form, and had the chance to win an unprecedented sixth Tour. Hinault chose to let the Stage 9 individual time trial be the decider for which rider would receive the full support of team La Vie Claire. Hinault won the Stage 9 time trial, finishing 44 seconds in front of LeMond. LeMond had bad luck during the stage, having suffered a punctured tire requiring a wheel change, and later in the stage a bicycle change was required when he broke a wheel. He was frustrated with the outcome and the impact it would have on how the team would function for the remainder of the race. In Stage 12, the first mountain stage of the race in the Pyrenees, Hinault attacked the lead group and built up an overall lead. By the end of Stage 12, Hinault had a five-minute lead over LeMond and the other top riders. He claimed he was trying to draw out LeMond's rivals, but none of these attacks were planned with LeMond. He was clearly willing to ride aggressively and take advantage of the opportunities presented. LeMond was never placed in difficulty, except by his own teammate. The following day Hinault broke away again early but was caught and then dropped by LeMond on the final climb of Stage 13, allowing LeMond to gain back four and a half minutes. The next three stages brought the Tour to the Alps. On Stage 17 LeMond and Urs Zimmermann dropped Hinault from the leading group, and the end of the day saw LeMond pulling on the yellow jersey of race leader, the first time it had ever been worn by a rider from the United States. The following day in the Alps saw Hinault attack again early on the first climb, but he was pulled back. Attempting an escape on the descent, he was unable to separate himself from LeMond. The La Vie Claire team leaders were both excellent descenders. As they ascended up the next col they continued to pull away from the field, and maintained the gap as they reached the base of the final climb, the vaunted Alpe d'Huez. They pressed on through the crowd, ascending the twenty-one switchbacks of Alpe d'Huez and reaching the summit together. LeMond put an arm around Hinault and gave him a smile and the stage win in a show of unity, but the infighting was not over. Hinault attacked again on Stage 19 and had to be brought back by teammates Andrew Hampsten and Steve Bauer. Commenting on the team situation prior to the final individual time trial at Stage 20, LeMond offered the following with a wry smile: "He's attacked me from the beginning of the Tour De France. He's never helped me once, and I don't feel confident at all with him."
LeMond had to keep his eye on his teammate and rival throughout the race. Hinault rode aggressively and repeatedly attacked, and the division created in the La Vie Claire team was unmistakable. LeMond would keep the yellow jersey to the end of the race and win his first Tour, but he felt betrayed by Hinault and the La Vie Claire team leadership. LeMond later stated the 1986 Tour was the most difficult and stressful race of his career.
1987–1988: Shooting accident and recovery
LeMond had planned to defend his title in the 1987 Tour de France with La Vie Claire, but he was unable to participate. Earlier that year, while riding in the Tirreno–Adriatico spring tune-up race, LeMond fell and fractured his left wrist. He returned to the United States to recover from the injury. The week before returning to Europe, he went turkey hunting on a ranch co-owned by his father in Lincoln, California. LeMond was with Rodney Barber and Patrick Blades, his uncle and brother-in-law. The trio had become separated when Blades, who heard movement behind him, turned and fired through a bush. The movement had come from LeMond, who was hit in his back and right side with approximately 60 pellets. LeMond's injuries were life-threatening, but a police helicopter was already airborne near the scene and transported LeMond on a 15-minute air medical flight to the Medical Center at University of California-Davis. LeMond was taken for emergency surgery. He had suffered a pneumothorax to his right lung and extensive bleeding, having lost some 65 percent of his blood volume. A physician informed LeMond later that he had been within 20 minutes of bleeding to death. The operation saved his life, but four months later he developed a small bowel obstruction due to adhesions that had formed following the shooting. He underwent another surgery to relieve the obstruction and take down the adhesions. Concerned that his team would drop him if they knew the shooting accident required a second surgery, LeMond asked the surgeons to remove his appendix at the same time. He then informed his team that he had had his appendix removed, but the rest of the story was left somewhat vague. The events effectively ended his 1987 season, and in October he announced he would return to serious competition the following February, with the Dutch PDM team.
With 35 shotgun pellets still in his body, including three in the lining of his heart and five more embedded in his liver, LeMond attempted to return to racing in 1988. His comeback was hampered by over-training which resulted in tendonitis in his right shin requiring surgery. He missed the Tour for the second year running. Tensions in the relationship between LeMond and PDM were aggravated when LeMond discovered that doping was going on at the PDM squad. The result was that LeMond moved from PDM, one of the strongest teams in the peloton, to ADR, a team based in Belgium. The team was co-sponsored by Coors Light for American races. The deal was completed on New Year's Eve, just hours before LeMond would have been legally obliged to ride another season for the Dutch team. Joining the Belgian ADR squad allowed LeMond to continue to compete, but with teammates like Johan Museeuw who were better suited to riding Classics than Grand Tours.
1989: Return to elite level
After struggling in the 1989 Paris–Nice early-season race and failing to improve his condition, LeMond informed his wife Kathy that he intended to retire from professional cycling after the 1989 Tour de France. He had some flashes of form with 6th overall in Tirreno-Adriatico and in the two-day Critérium International, sharing an escape with Fignon, Indurain, Mottet, Roche and Madiot and finishing 4th overall. He started the 1989 Giro d'Italia in May as preparation for the Tour to follow, but struggled in the mountains and was not in contention for any of the leaders' jerseys before the final individual time trial into Florence. LeMond placed a surprising second there, more than a minute ahead of overall winner Laurent Fignon. Some of his improvement he attributed to an anti-anemia treatment he received twice during the race.
Coming into the 1989 Tour de France LeMond was not considered a contender for the general classification (GC). His own most optimistic hope was to finish his final Tour in the top 20. Without the weight of expectation and other pressures of being a Tour favorite, LeMond surprised observers with a strong ride in the prologue in Luxembourg, finishing fourth out of 198 riders. Buoyed by the result, LeMond continued to ride well over the opening flat stages, winning the stage 5 individual time trial, and gaining the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification for the first time in three years. LeMond seemed to ride himself into better condition during the first week's flat stages, and he was coming into peak form by the time the Tour reached the mountains. LeMond remained at the front of the race in the Pyrénées, but lost the lead to his former teammate and rival Laurent Fignon on stage 10 in Superbagnères. Five days later LeMond reclaimed yellow in the Alps, after the stage 15 mountain time trial from Gap to Orcières-Merlette. The see-saw battle continued, and when Fignon attacked on the upper slopes of Alpe d'Huez LeMond was unable to go with him, placing the yellow jersey back on the shoulders of Fignon. Fignon held a 50-second advantage over LeMond going into the 21st and final stage, a rare individual time trial from Versailles to the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
Fignon had won the Tour twice before, in 1983 and 1984, and was a very capable time trialist. It seemed improbable that LeMond could take 50 seconds off Fignon over the short course. This would require LeMond to gain two seconds per kilometer against one of the fastest chrono-specialists in the world. LeMond had done wind tunnel testing in the off season and perfected his riding position. He rode the time trial with a rear disc wheel, a cut-down Giro aero helmet and the same Scott clip-on aero bars which had helped him to the Stage 5 time trial win. Holding his time trialing position LeMond was able to generate less aerodynamic drag than Fignon, who used a pair of disc wheels but chose to go helmetless and did not use the aero bars that are now commonplace in time trials. Instructing his support car not to give him his split times, LeMond rode flat-out and finished at a record pace to beat Fignon by 8 seconds and claim his second Tour de France victory. As LeMond embraced his wife and rejoiced on the Champs-Élysées, Fignon collapsed onto the tarmac, then sat in shock and wept.
The final margin of victory of eight seconds was the closest in the Tour's history. LeMond's average speed for the stage 21 time trial was, at that time, the fastest in Tour history. Since then, only the 1994 and 2015 prologues and David Zabriskie's 2005 time trial performance have been faster. The press immediately labeled LeMond's come-from-behind triumph as, "the most astonishing victory in Tour de France history," and while LeMond admitted that it felt almost "too good to be true," he personally rated it as "much more satisfying" than his first overall Tour win in 1986.
LeMond's return to the pinnacle of cycling was confirmed on August 27, when he won the World Championships road race in Chambéry, France. Late in the race with less than 10 km to go the lead group, who had been away since very early in the race, made up of three very strong riders in Steven Rooks, Thierry Claveyrolat and Soviet star Dimitri Konyshev were trying to hold on to fight for the victory amongst themselves when Laurent Fignon broke away from the pursuing group in an effort to chase the leaders down and solo to victory. On the final climb of the race LeMond attacked in pursuit of Fignon on his own. Before long he had caught the Frenchman and not long after that the pair could see the lead group in front of them and they were quickly closing the gap. LeMond briefly dropped Fignon and caught the lead group on his own. Immediately upon catching Rooks, Claveyrolat and Konyshev he moved to the front and set the pace as two other riders in Canadian Steve Bauer and Irishman Sean Kelly attempted to bridge the gap up to LeMond and the lead group. Bauer ended up getting a flat tire essentially ending his hopes at a high finish while Sean Kelly was able to fight his way to the front group, which was bad news for LeMond and the others as Kelly was one of the best sprinters in the world. Fignon was able to rejoin the lead group as well and as the race approached the finish Fignon attacked on numerous occasions trying to drop the remaining riders. Rooks also launched an attack to go for the solo victory but was caught by LeMond, Fignon and the others. Inside the final kilometer Fignon continued attacking trying to break free, but just couldn't force open a gap and began to fall back as the sprint materialized eventually finishing in 6th place. LeMond, Konyshev and Kelly were the strongest riders when it came to the final sprint for victory and they finished in that order. After the race LeMond said that he did not feel well and even considered abandoning the race. With two laps to go he began feeling stronger and stated, "I was racing for the Gold medal. I wanted that World Championship. And with one kilometer to go, I knew I could get it." LeMond was only the fifth person in history to win both the Tour de France and the World Championship in the same year. In December, Sports Illustrated magazine named LeMond its 1989 "Sportsman of the Year", the first time a cyclist received the honor.
1990: A third tour win
LeMond parlayed the success of his 1989 season into the then-richest contract in the sport's history, signing a $5.5 million deal for three years with of France, the first time a cyclist had signed a multi-million dollar contract. He entered the 1990 Tour de France as defending champion and a pre-race favorite after leaving ADR to join the much stronger French team. At "Z" his teammates included Robert Millar, Eric Boyer and Ronan Pensec, all of whom already had finishes in the top six of the Tour de France. This unified roster of strong riders appeared capable of supporting LeMond in the mountains and controlling the race on the flats.
The squad's tactical plan was upset on the first day, when a breakaway that included LeMond's teammate Ronan Pensec, but no major favorites, arrived ten minutes ahead of the field. LeMond was prevented from challenging for the lead until the yellow jersey left the shoulders of his teammate. Surprisingly Pensec held the lead through the first high mountain stages, including Alpe d'Huez, but he would lose it soon after to the relative unknown Claudio Chiappucci.
LeMond closed in on Chiappucci and on stage 16 he put his stamp of authority on the race during the final climb of Luz Ardiden. Late in this stage, after all of the breakaways had been caught he launched a devastating attack that no one could answer. Miguel Induráin was the only rider able to get on LeMond's wheel but it was LeMond dictating the pace all the way up the climb as Chiappucci, Delgado and all of the other favorites fell further and further behind. While Induráin stayed with LeMond, he was not a threat for victory, but his performance put the cycling world on notice as he would win the next five Tours. Near the end of the stage LeMond sat up and the Spaniard took the stage win, but the devastation of LeMond's competitors was all but complete as there was now only +0:05 between LeMond and the yellow jersey.
He finally overtook Chiappucci on the final individual time trial on stage 20, where he finished over two minutes ahead of the unheralded Italian. LeMond at last had the yellow jersey, wearing it the following day as the Tour rode into Paris. LeMond had the distinction of winning the 1990 Tour without taking any of the individual stages. He remains the last rider to win the Tour while wearing the world champion jersey. Over the course of the 1990 Tour the perceived strength of the Z team was confirmed, as they led the team classification through most of the race, adding the team title to LeMond's yellow jersey. LeMond's 1990 Tour victory made him one of just five cyclists to win three or more Tours. As of 2021 a total of seven cyclists have won three times or more.
In September, LeMond attempted to defend his title at the 1990 UCI Road World Championships, but finished fourth, eight seconds behind the winner, his former teammate Rudy Dhaenens of Belgium.
1991–1994: Change in the peloton and retirement
LeMond felt confident before the 1991 Tour de France. He was the defending champion, trained well and had a solid team to support him. LeMond was among the leaders going into the Stage 8 individual time trial, and he finished second to the Spaniard Miguel Indurain. LeMond felt he was riding extremely well, and though his TT-effort had propelled him into the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification, losing eight seconds to Indurain shook his confidence. He held the yellow jersey for the next four days until Stage 12, a challenging mountain stage. LeMond experienced difficulty on the first climb and he cracked on the Col du Tourmalet, losing significant time to Claudio Chiappucci, and eventual winner Indurain. He continued to race, but was unable to seriously challenge for the lead thereafter, finishing the 1991 Tour seventh overall.
In 1992, LeMond won the Tour DuPont, which would be the last major win of his career. He would also have a strong top 10 finish in Paris-Roubaix early in the season. He never won any of cycling's 'Monument' races but he had several high places in four out of five of them throughout his career including 4th in Paris-Roubaix, 3rd in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and 2nd in Milan San Remo as well as the Giro di Lombardia.
In the 1992 Tour de France he started strongly and finished fourth in a breakaway on Stage 6 that put him fifth overall and he maintained his fifth place until the mountain stages when he lost form disastrously and lost more than 45 minutes on the stage to Sestrieres before quitting the race the next day—when his compatriot and former domestique Andrew Hampsten won atop Alpe d'Huez. While LeMond claimed a serious saddle sore caused him to abandon, he had earlier stated, "My climbing is not like usual. I've climbed much better in the past Tours. This year I'm just not feeling my usual self."
LeMond did extensive endurance training on the road the following winter, but his performances the following spring failed to improve. LeMond had to abandon the 1993 Giro d'Italia two days before the final stage after difficult racing left him 125th on GCC and third-from-last in the final time trial. He was too exhausted to enter the 1993 Tour de France. Following the 1993 season LeMond hired renowned Dutch physiologist Adrie van Diemen to advise him on a new technique to monitor training and measure performance. The (SRM) power-based training would make use of the watt as a guide to power output. In November 1993 LeMond confided to Samuel Abt that power output in watts would become the key metric. The watt has gained wide acceptance as the best measure of a cyclist's training performance.
The following year LeMond began the 1994 Tour de France but found he was unable to race effectively. He had to abandon after the first week before the race had reached the difficult mountain stages. That December, he announced his retirement. At the time the reasons for LeMond's increasing difficulties were not entirely known. At a loss, he speculated that a condition known as mitochondrial myopathy might be responsible for the difficulty he was having performing against the current riders. In 2007, however, LeMond speculated that he might not have had the condition after all, and suggested that lead toxicity from the shotgun pellets still embedded in his body might have been responsible, the effects of which were increased by heavy training.
LeMond has acknowledged since 2010 that the increasing prevalence of doping in cycling contributed to his lack of competitiveness. Said LeMond: "Something had changed in cycling. The speeds were faster and riders that I had easily out performed were now dropping me. At the time, the team I was on, Team Z, became more and more demanding, more and more concerned..." He stated he had been told in 1994 that he would need to blood dope in order to win again. He frankly admitted to Abt in 1999: "I figure I had three months that went right for me after the hunting accident," three months in which he won the two Tours and a world road race championship. "The rest were just pure suffering, struggling, fatigue, always tired."
In a wide-ranging interview with American novelist Bryan Malessa in 1998, LeMond was asked if his career had not been interrupted by the hunting accident, how did he feel he would compare to five time Tour winners such as Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain. LeMond responded: "Of course you can't rewrite racing history, but I'm confident that I would have won five Tours."
Two years after his retirement LeMond was inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Rodale Park in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. The event was held on June 8, 1996, during the U.S. Olympic Cycling Team Trials.
In July 2014, ESPN announced the premiere of a new 30 for 30 film entitled Slaying the Badger. The film centers on LeMond and his former teammate Hinault at the 1986 Tour de France. It is based on the book of the same name by Richard Moore, and it premiered July 22, 2014 on ESPN.
Business interests
LeMond was a pioneer in the use of carbon fiber bicycle frames in European professional road cycling, and his Tour de France win in 1986 ahead of Bernard Hinault was the first for a carbon-framed bicycle. Ironically, given the rivalry that existed at the time between the American and his French teammate, LeMond rode a "Bernard Hinault" Signature Model Look prototype that year. LeMond also won the 1989 Tour de France, the 1989 World Championship, and his final Tour de France in 1990 on carbon fiber frames. These bicycle frames featured "Greg LeMond" branding.
LeMond Cycles
In 1990, LeMond founded LeMond Bicycles to develop machines for himself that would also be marketed and sold to the public. The following year, searching for an equipment edge for Team Z at the 1991 Tour de France, LeMond concluded an exclusive licensing agreement between his company and Carbonframes, Inc., to access the latter's advanced composites technology. Whilst using the bikes for the 1991 Tour, he would maintain his carbon bike in his hotel room, leading his mechanics to fear it had been stolen. While LeMond briefly led the 1991 Tour overall, riding his Carbonframes-produced "Greg LeMond" bicycle, the company eventually faltered, something LeMond blamed on "under-capitalization" and poor management by his father. Carbonframes and LeMond Cycles "parted amiably two years later." In 1995, with his company allegedly nearly bankrupt, LeMond reached a licensing-agreement with Trek Bicycle Corporation, according to which the Wisconsin-based company would manufacture and distribute bicycles designed with LeMond that would be sold under the "LeMond Bicycles" brand. LeMond would later claim that going into business with Trek "destroyed" his relationship with his father. The lucrative partnership, which generated revenue for Trek in excess of US$100,000,000, would be renewed several times over the course of 13 years, but it ultimately ended in acrimony after LeMond's relationship with Trek deteriorated over his staunch anti-doping advocacy.
LeMond found himself at odds with Trek in July 2001 after he expressed public concern over the relationship between Italian doping doctor Michele Ferrari and Trek's star athlete, Lance Armstrong. Trek president John Burke pressured LeMond to apologize, claiming, "Greg's public comments hurt the LeMond brand and the Trek brand." Burke allegedly justified his demand for an apology by advising that, "As a contractual partner, he [LeMond] could criticize doping only generally – not point his finger at specific athletes, particularly one that happens to be the company's main cash cow." Armstrong reportedly said privately he could "shut him up" by contacting Trek, as documented in affidavits by Frankie and Betsy Andreu released in the 2012 USADA doping report. LeMond issued an apology for his comment.
In a 2007 interview, LeMond accused Armstrong of trying to sabotage his relationship with Trek bicycles. In March 2008, LeMond Cycling Inc sued Trek for failing to properly promote and distribute the LeMond brand, and for attempting to "silence" LeMond's public comments about doping, attributing this to the influence of Armstrong on Trek. His complaint included statistics detailing slow sales in some markets, including the fact that between September 2001 and June 2007, Trek only sold $10,393 worth of LeMond bikes in France, a country in which LeMond was both famous and popular. Trek responded in April 2008, announcing that it was dropping LeMond Bicycles from its product line and that it would sue to sever the licensing agreement.
As promised, Trek counter-sued and stopped producing bicycles under the LeMond brand. After nearly two years of litigation, LeMond reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with Trek in February 2010. The settlement permitted the case to be dismissed with prejudice, meaning, "neither side can produce the same claims against one another in a future lawsuit." Although settlement terms were not disclosed, LeMond reportedly obtained full control over the LeMond Bicycles name, while Trek made a donation of US$200,000 to the charity 1in6, of which LeMond was a founding member of the board of directors.
LeMond Fitness/Revolution
In 2002, LeMond, Bernie Boglioli and others founded LeMond Fitness, Inc. "to help individuals achieve their fitness and performance goals and train more effectively." The company's primary business is the development and manufacture of bicycle trainers and indoor exercise bikes for consumers in the United States and internationally. LeMond serves as Chairman of the Board. In 2012, Hoist Fitness negotiated to purchase an interest in the company and announced plans to move its headquarters to Hoist's offices in San Diego, CA. In late 2012, LeMond purchased the LeMond Revolution from Hoist, relaunching with a new management team in Minneapolis. Later, he also formed LeMond LLC to introduce a suite of brands. Professional cycling's team renewed its sponsorship with LeMond to use its Revolution trainers for another three seasons. The team won several stages of the Tour de France, plus the general classification of the 2012 Giro d'Italia.
Partnership with Time
At the Interbike trade show in September 2013, LeMond announced that he was returning to the business of bicycle manufacture and sales by partnering with French company Time. The new line began with a series of commemorative designed bicycles, to be followed with road, cyclocross, and gravel-road models. LeMond purchased Time Sport USA, the US distributor for the company. Said LeMond: "I'm really excited to be back in the bike industry."
Real estate
In 2002, LeMond joined his parents-in-law David and Sacia Morris, friend Michael Snow and J.P. Morgan & Co. fund manager Jorge Jasson to invest in the exclusive Yellowstone Club, a Big Sky, Montana, private ski and golf community founded by timber baron Tim Blixseth and his wife Edra. Each of the five partners paid Blixseth $750,000 for one percent shares in the exclusive resort. LeMond also purchased several building lots and maintained a property at the resort. Four years later, LeMond and partners sued Blixseth in 2006 following reports of a Credit Suisse loan to the resort of $375 million from which Blixseth reportedly took $209 million in a disputed partial payout for his ownership stake. The Credit Suisse loan was based on a $1.16 billion Cushman & Wakefield valuation of the resort, for which LeMond and partners each sought $11.6 million for their one-percent shares. In 2007, LeMond settled his suit with the Blixseths for $39 million. However, he and his partners remained creditors as the Blixseths defaulted on a $20 million payment (after having already paid the group $18 million). In 2009, the Blixseths divorced and the Club went bankrupt.
Restaurants
LeMond became a restaurateur in August 1990 when, in partnership with his wife and her parents, he opened Scott Kee's Tour de France on France Avenue in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, Minnesota. LeMond described the restaurant, which was named for its chef (LeMond's brother-in-law), as "a dream of five years come true." Explaining the origin of the concept, LeMond said, "Kathy and I have eaten at the finest establishments in France, Italy and Belgium. Our favorites have always been small places, family-owned." LeMond also partnered in several Bruegger's bagel bakery-café franchises.
LeMond Composites
LeMond founded LeMond Composites in 2016 to manufacture high-volume, low-cost carbon fiber composites under a licensing agreement with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and an exclusive 20-year licensing agreement with Deakin University. In 2017 LeMond and his family moved from Minnesota to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to be close to the $125 million LeMond Composites manufacturing facility.
On October 16, 2017, Australian politician Sarah Henderson announced that LeMond Composites would receive AU$2.5 million (US$ million) in Australian Federal Government funding to establish a carbon fiber manufacturing plant in Geelong, Australia.
Broadcasting
In 2014, LeMond joined Eurosport as a pundit for the channel's cycling coverage, providing analysis at Paris–Roubaix, the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, and hosting his own monthly program LeMond on Cycling. He continued to work for the channel until 2017.
Anti-doping stance and controversies
LeMond is a longtime vocal opponent of performance-enhancing drug use. He first spoke on-record against doping in cycling after winning the 1989 Tour de France. He has consistently questioned the relationship between riders and unethical sports doctors and has pointed out that doping products ultimately victimize the professional cyclists who make use of them. Said LeMond: "When I speak out about doping people could translate it and think it was about the riders. Actually I feel like I am an advocate for the riders. I look at them as being treated like lab rats that are test vehicles for the doctors. The doctors, the management, the officials, they're the ones that have corrupted riders. The riders are the only ones that pay the price."
LeMond received intense criticism in 2001 when he publicly criticized Lance Armstrong's relationship with Dr. Michele Ferrari. Ferrari is an Italian physician and sports trainer who admitted to practicing blood doping and advocated the controlled use of the banned substance erythropoietin by athletes. Upon learning of Armstrong's association with Ferrari, LeMond said:
"When Lance won the prologue to the 1999 Tour I was close to tears, but when I heard he was working with Michele Ferrari I was devastated. In the light of Lance's relationship with Ferrari, I just don't want to comment on this year's Tour. This is not sour grapes. I'm disappointed in Lance, that's all it is."
LeMond's comments placed him in the center of an anti-doping controversy. About a month later, following pressure from both Armstrong and Trek, LeMond issued an apology for his comment; he called Armstrong "a great champion" and added, "I do not believe, in any way, that he has ever used any performance-enhancing substances. I believe his performances are the result of the same hard work, dedication and focus that were mine 10 years ago."
In 2004, LeMond spoke out again. On the heels of successive Tour de France wins by Armstrong, LeMond said, "If Armstrong's clean, it's the greatest comeback. And if he's not, then it's the greatest fraud." He went public with the fallout of his 2001 statement, alleging that Armstrong had threatened to defame him and threatened his business interests as well:
"[Armstrong] basically said 'I could find 10 people that will say you took EPO' ... The week after, I got multiple people that were on Lance ... Lance's camp, basically saying 'You better be quiet,' and I was quiet for three years. I have a business ... I have bikes that are sold ... and I was told that my sales might not be doing too well if ... just the publicity, the negative publicity." The same month, LeMond told French newspaper Le Monde that Armstrong was "ready to do anything to keep his secret. I don't know how he can continue to convince everybody of his innocence." At a press conference Armstrong gave in September 2008 to announce his return to cycling, LeMond publicly challenged him with questions about doping. Armstrong appeared angry and interrupted LeMond, telling him it was time to move on. In August 2012, the USADA announced that Armstrong had been issued a lifetime ban from cycling competition due to his involvement in a massive doping scheme. In addition, the USADA stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles.
LeMond has also clashed with fellow Tour rider Floyd Landis regarding the doping issue. On May 17, 2007, LeMond testified at a USADA hearing convened to weigh the evidence of doping by Landis during the 2006 Tour de France. Under oath, LeMond described a phone conversation he had with Landis on August 6, 2006, as well as another with Landis' business manager, Will Geoghegan, on May 16, 2007, the evening before LeMond appeared to testify. The major points of the testimony were:
In the August 6 conversation, LeMond said he told Landis that "If you did (admit to having used banned substances), you could single-handedly change the sport. You could be the one who will salvage the sport." LeMond said Landis responded by saying "What good would it do? If I did, it would destroy a lot of my friends and hurt a lot of people."
In their conversation, LeMond had disclosed his history of childhood sexual abuse to Landis and said the secret had nearly destroyed him. LeMond stated he warned Landis. "(Lying about doping) will come back to haunt you when you are 40 or 50. If you have a moral compass and ethics, this will destroy you."
Will Geoghegan attempted to stop LeMond's testimony by calling LeMond on his mobile phone. LeMond reported that Geoghegan claimed he was "his uncle" and intimated that he would appear at the hearing and expose the fact that LeMond was a survivor of child sex abuse. LeMond's BlackBerry, with Geoghegan's phone number captured in the call log, was entered into evidence.
In 2007, Landis was found guilty of doping and was banned from cycling for two years. In 2010, he admitted to having been involved in doping. Also in 2010, Landis apologized to LeMond for the events of 2007.
On July 23, 2009, LeMond wrote an opinion article in the French newspaper Le Monde where he questioned the validity of Alberto Contador's climb up Verbier in the 2009 Tour de France. In the piece, LeMond pointed out that Contador's calculated VO2 max of 99.5 mL/(kg·min) had never been achieved by any athlete. Said LeMond: "The burden is then on Alberto Contador to prove he is physically capable of performing this feat without the use of performance-enhancing products." Contador tested positive for clenbuterol after winning the 2010 Tour and was later stripped of his title and suspended from cycling for two years.
LeMond has criticized the UCI and its former president, Pat McQuaid. In December 2012, LeMond claimed that a change needed to be made in the leadership for the UCI and stated if called upon he would be willing to take the position himself if necessary to lead cycling out of the mire of doping. Said LeMond: "It is now or never to act. After the earthquake caused by the Armstrong case another chance will not arise. I am willing to invest to make this institution more democratic, transparent and look for the best candidate in the longer term." McQuaid rejected LeMond's call for new leadership and was dismissive of LeMond. Ultimately McQuaid was defeated in his bid for a third term by British Cycling president Brian Cookson at the September 2013 UCI Congress in Florence, Italy. Lemond had supported Cookson in the UCI Presidential battle.
Personal life
LeMond is married to Kathy (née Morris) and together they have three children: sons Geoffrey and Scott, and daughter Simone. LeMond and his wife lived in Medina, Minnesota, from 1990 until 2017 and then moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Since his retirement, LeMond has become increasingly involved in philanthropic efforts relating to causes that have affected him personally (including ADHD and sexual abuse).
LeMond is an avid outdoor enthusiast and fly angler, and in 1991 – while still racing full-time – he made the world-record fly fishing catch of a four-pound smallmouth bass on a reel with a four-pound tippet. The record was certified by the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin. The catch exceeded the then-previous record of three pounds, six ounces made on the same size tippet back in 1986. LeMond confessed, "I always pack my fly fishing equipment when I travel to bike events. I fish every chance I get."
After retiring from pro cycling, LeMond competed in Formula Ford 2000 series auto racing. He is also a motivational speaker. LeMond narrated an award-winning documentary for Adventures for the Cure in 2008.
On July 16, 2007, LeMond rode the L'Étape du Tour cyclosportive with his son, and found it to be a defining moment in his post-competition life. "I had the time of my life", he said, despite getting "650th place" and being "impressed that I even finished". LeMond continued, "I decided that day that nobody's going to keep me from cycling, not Trek, not Armstrong, not Verbruggen, not anybody." At the time, LeMond was alluding to a series of public and private disputes related to his anti-doping advocacy that hampered his enjoyment of cycling. Especially significant was LeMond's appearance as a USADA witness in the Floyd Landis doping case. At that time, Landis's business manager threatened to expose the fact that LeMond was a survivor of child sex abuse.
Several weeks later, LeMond and his wife Kathy gave an extensive interview to Paul Kimmage of The Sunday Times. LeMond provided additional details concerning the circumstances of his 2001 apology to Armstrong, stating that Trek, the longtime manufacturer and distributor of LeMond Racing Cycles, had threatened to end the relationship at the behest of Armstrong if he did not apologize. He described the two years following the apology as the worst in his life, marked by self-destructive behavior; ultimately, that behavior led LeMond to tell his wife that he was a survivor of child sex abuse and to seek help in addressing that past trauma. LeMond described how being a victim of molestation had impacted his life and his racing career. In September 2007, LeMond became a founding board member of the non-profit organization 1in6.org, whose mission is "to help men who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood live healthy, happy lives".
LeMond was in a car accident on the morning of January 30, 2013. He was driving through wintery and icy conditions to his dentist in Wayzata, Minnesota, when he lost control of his car. LeMond suffered a concussion and was left with no memory of the incident. According to Associated Press, a Plymouth police report says LeMond left the road, hit a fence and shrubs, and then hit an embankment before ending up in the backyard of a home. LeMond may have lost consciousness before the accident, according to his wife Kathy, and he suffered a compression fracture in his back and would have to wear a brace for three months. The accident curtailed LeMond's public appearances in the first half of 2013, but he made a full recovery.
On September 19, 2019, the United States House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill, submitted by California Representative Mike Thompson, to award LeMond the Congressional Gold Medal. The bill was approved by Congress on November 16, 2020, and signed by president Donald Trump on December 4, 2020. Upon signature of the bill, the White House released a statement, saying the medal was awarded "in recognition of his service to the Nation as an athlete, activist, role model, and community leader".
Career achievements
Major results
1977
1st Road race, National Junior Road Championships
1978
1st Overall Vuelta de Bisbee
2nd Road race, National Junior Road Championships
3rd Team time trial, UCI Junior Road World Championships
1979
1st Road race, UCI Junior Road World Championships
1st Road race, National Junior Road Championships
1st Nevada City Classic
2nd Track pursuit, UCI Junior Track World Championships
3rd Team time trial, UCI Junior Road World Championships
1980
1st Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
1st Nevada City Classic
3rd Overall Circuit des Ardennes
1981
1st Overall Coors Classic
1st Stages 1 & 7
Tour de Picardie
1st Stages 2 & 2a
1st Nevada City Classic
3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
3rd Overall Route du Sud
7th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
1982
1st Overall Tour de l'Avenir
1st Stages 4 (ITT), 5 & 8 (ITT)
2nd Road race, UCI Road World Championships
2nd Overall Tour Méditerranéen
3rd Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1st Stage 3
3rd Overall Tour de Corse
3rd Grand Prix de Rennes
1983
1st Road race, UCI Road World Championships
1st Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st Stages 1, 5 & 7b (ITT)
1st Overall Super Prestige Pernod International
1st Critérium des As
1st Stage 1 Tour Méditerranéen
2nd Grand Prix des Nations
2nd Giro di Lombardia
4th Overall Tour de Suisse
4th Paris–Tours
6th Druivenkoers Overijse
10th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1984
1st Stage 1 Clásico RCN
3rd Overall Tour de France
1st Young rider classification
1st Stage 3 (TTT)
3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st Stage 7b
3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
5th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
7th Overall Ronde van Nederland
8th Overall Critérium International
9th Gent–Wevelgem
1985
1st Overall Coors Classic
1st Stage 5
2nd Overall Tour de France
1st Combination classification
1st Stages 3 (TTT) & 21 (ITT)
2nd Road race, UCI Road World Championships
2nd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
3rd Overall Giro d'Italia
3rd Super Prestige Pernod International
4th Overall Critérium International
4th Paris–Roubaix
4th Omloop Het Volk
6th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
7th Tour of Flanders
7th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
1986
1st Overall Tour de France
1st Combination classification
1st Stage 13
1st Stage 4 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
2nd Milan–San Remo
2nd Super Prestige Pernod International
2nd Overall Coors Classic
1st Stage 4a
3rd Overall Paris–Nice
3rd Overall Tour de Suisse
3rd Overall Critérium International
4th Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Stage 5
4th La Flèche Wallonne
4th Züri-Metzgete
7th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
7th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
1989
1st Road race, UCI Road World Championships
1st Overall Tour de France
1st Stages 5 (ITT), 19 & 21 (ITT)
2nd Boucles de l'Aulne
4th Overall Critérium International
4th Grand Prix des Amériques
6th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1990
1st Overall Tour de France
2nd Züri-Metzgete
3rd Boucles de l'Aulne
4th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
10th Overall Tour de Suisse
1991
7th Overall Tour de France
1992
1st Overall Tour DuPont
1st Prologue
2nd Overall Tour d'Armorique
9th Paris–Roubaix
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Classics results timeline
Awards
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year: 1989
Jesse Owens International Trophy: 1991
Korbel Lifetime Achievement Award: 1992
See also
Yellow jersey statistics
List of companies named after people
List of French Americans
List of Grand Tour general classification winners
List of multi-sport athletes
List of people from Minnesota
List of sports rivalries
List of Tour de France general classification winners
List of Tour de France secondary classification winners
United States at the UCI Road World Championships
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
LeMond Composites
1961 births
Living people
American people of French descent
American Giro d'Italia stage winners
American male cyclists
American Tour de France stage winners
Cycle designers
People from Lakewood, California
Tour de France Champs Elysées stage winners
Tour de France winners
UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers
Super Prestige Pernod winners
Cyclists from California | true | [
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"Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tour de France (1986, 1989, and 1990), LeMond is considered by many to be th... |
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"Greg LeMond",
"1990: A third tour win",
"How was his third win different?",
"He entered the 1990 Tour de France as defending champion and a pre-race favorite after leaving ADR to join the much stronger French team.",
"Did he ever have to deal with injuries?",
"I don't know.",
"What is one interesting p... | C_9c9610aa3ce045f884f748c530eec16f_0 | Why was there plan upset? | 4 | Why was there plan upset for Greg LeMond? | Greg LeMond | LeMond parlayed the success of his 1989 season into the then-richest contract in the sport's history, signing a $5.5 million deal for three years with Z-Tomasso of France. He entered the 1990 Tour de France as defending champion and a pre-race favorite after leaving ADR to join the much stronger French team. At "Z" his teammates included Robert Millar, Eric Boyer and Ronan Pensec, all of whom already had finishes in the top six of the Tour de France. This unified roster of strong riders appeared capable of supporting LeMond in the mountains and controlling the race on the flats. The squad's tactical plan was upset on the first day, when a breakaway that included LeMond's teammate Ronan Pensec, but no major favorites, arrived ten minutes ahead of the field. LeMond was prevented from challenging for the lead until the yellow jersey left the shoulders of his teammate. LeMond closed in on race leader Claudio Chiappucci, finally overtaking him in the final individual time trial on stage 20, where he finished over two minutes ahead of the unheralded Italian. LeMond at last had the yellow jersey, wearing it the following day as the Tour rode into Paris. LeMond had the distinction of winning the 1990 Tour without taking any of the individual stages. He remains the last rider to win the Tour while wearing the world champion jersey. Over the course of the 1990 Tour the perceived strength of the Z team was confirmed, as they led the team classification through most of the race, adding the team title to LeMond's yellow jersey. In September, LeMond attempted to defend his title at the 1990 UCI Road World Championships, but finished fourth, eight seconds behind the winner, his former teammate Rudy Dhaenens of Belgium. CANNOTANSWER | breakaway that included LeMond's teammate Ronan Pensec, but no major favorites, arrived ten minutes ahead of the field. | Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tour de France (1986, 1989, and 1990), LeMond is considered by many to be the greatest American cyclist of all time, one of the great all-round cyclists of the modern era, and an icon of the sport's globalisation.
LeMond began his professional cycling career in 1981. In 1983, he became the first American male cyclist to win the Road World Championship. LeMond won the Tour de France in 1986; he is the first non-European professional cyclist to win the Tour. He was accidentally shot with pellets and seriously injured while hunting in 1987. Following the shooting, he underwent two surgeries and missed the next two Tours. At the 1989 Tour, he completed an improbable comeback to win in dramatic fashion on the race's final stage. He successfully defended his Tour title the following year, becoming one of only eight riders to win three or more Tours. LeMond retired from competition in December 1994 and was inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1996. He was the first professional cyclist to sign a million-dollar contract and the first cyclist to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
During his career, LeMond championed several technological advancements in pro cycling, including the introduction of aerodynamic "triathlon" handlebars and carbon fiber bicycle frames, which he later marketed through his company LeMond Bicycles. His other business interests have included restaurants, real estate, and consumer fitness equipment. LeMond is a vocal opponent of performance-enhancing drug use in cycling and is a founding board member of 1in6.org, a nonprofit charity that assists male victims of child sex abuse.
Early life and amateur career
LeMond was born in Lakewood, California, and was raised in the Washoe Valley, a ranch country on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range between Reno, and the family home about 2.5 miles north of Carson City, Nevada. His parents are Bob LeMond and Bertha LeMond (d. 2006), and he has two sisters, Kathy and Karen.
LeMond grew up living an active, outdoor life. Hiking, hunting, skiing and flyfishing were boyhood pastimes. The ranch country of the Sierra Nevada mountain range lent itself to such pursuits. A hyperactive youngster, LeMond believes these outdoor activities helped keep him out of trouble. "I was a boy who just could not sit still. I had trouble focusing in school. Parents and educators then did not have the skill set to diagnose and cope with what we know now was a classic case of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD certainly was not the frequently medicated childhood disease it is today. My triumph over the symptoms was found atop two thin tires over many dusty miles." Said LeMond: "That's one of the traits. It's the inability to sit down [and listen] to something you are not really interested in and absorb it. If they are interested in it, people with ADD excel in really good ways. When I got into cycling I would say the sport itself took a fog off my brain. I was able to absorb stuff I read. It changed my life."
LeMond attended Earl Wooster High School in Reno, but lived too far away to participate in team sports. LeMond soon biked almost daily to high school. He often rode home from Wooster, taking a route over Mt. Rose, along to Incline Village, then south on Hwy 28, then downhill to Carson City, then to his home.
LeMond's introduction to cycling came in 1975, thanks to freestyle skiing pioneer Wayne Wong, who recommended the bike as an ideal off-season training aid. LeMond started competing in 1976, and after dominating the Intermediate category (13–15) and winning the first 11 races he entered, he received permission to ride against older, more seasoned competitors in the Junior (16–19) category.
In 1977, while still only 15, LeMond finished second in the Tour of Fresno to John Howard, then the United States's top road cyclist and the 1971 Pan American Games champion. LeMond caught the attention of Eddie Borysewicz, the US Cycling Federation's national team coach, who described LeMond as "a diamond, a clear diamond." LeMond represented the United States at the 1978 Junior World Championships in Washington, D.C., where he finished ninth in the road race, and again in the 1979 Junior World Championships in Argentina, where he won gold, silver and bronze medals—the highlight being his victory in the road race. At age 18, LeMond was selected for the 1980 U.S. Olympic cycling team, the youngest ever to make the team. However, the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow prevented him from competing there.
Borysewicz, whom LeMond described as his "first real coach," wanted to retain his protégé through the next Olympic cycle and discouraged him from turning pro, but LeMond was determined. Nevertheless, while he was the reigning Junior World Road Champion in 1980, LeMond received no professional offers, and so in the spring of 1980, he joined the U.S. National cycling team for a 6-week European racing campaign. There, he finished third overall in the Circuit des Ardennes before winning the 1980 Circuit de la Sarthe stage race in France, thereby becoming the first American and youngest rider of any nationality "in the history of the sport to win a major pro-am cycling event [in Europe]." That victory, and the subsequent press coverage, raised LeMond's profile in Europe and he was scouted at his next event (the Ruban Granitier Breton stage race) by Cyrille Guimard, the Renault–Elf–Gitane team's directeur sportif. Guimard said he was impressed with LeMond's spirit, and told him, "You have the fire to be a great champion," before offering him a professional contract for 1981 with Renault. After he returned to the United States, LeMond won the 1980 Nevada City Classic, considered to be one of the most historic and challenging professional cycling races in United States. Despite eventually receiving several other offers to turn professional besides Guimard's, LeMond did not consider them seriously, and he signed with Renault in Paris on the day the 1980 Tour de France finished.
Professional career
LeMond was an "exceptionally gifted" amateur rider who quickly established himself as one of the most talented cyclists on the professional circuit. Respected cycling journalist John Wilcockson, who reported the Tour de France for more than 40 years, described LeMond as a rider who was fuoriclasse.
1981–1983: Early years
LeMond's first professional victory came three months into his 1981 debut when he won a stage of the French Tour de l'Oise. He followed with a win in the Coors Classic in the United States, finishing ahead of Sergei Sukhoruchenkov, the 1980 Olympic road champion. The major step forward in 1981 occurred in the Dauphiné Libéré stage race where LeMond placed third. The achievement is the more remarkable because he rode the race in support of team leader Bernard Hinault. LeMond missed standing on the podium with race winner Hinault, as Pascal Simon had finished ahead of him. Two weeks later Simon was assessed a 10-minute penalty when it was discovered he had been doping. LeMond considered the race to have been a "major steppingstone" in his career. Said LeMond: "It showed me that I had the kind of climbing ability that you need to win the top European stage races." LeMond won a total of five races in his rookie season of 1981.
LeMond broke his collarbone on April 11, 1982, while racing the cycling classic Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The injury forced LeMond to ride a reduced schedule before entering the World Championships, which were in Goodwood, England that year. In the men's road race competition, LeMond broke for the line but was out-sprinted by Italian Giuseppe Saronni. Following the race, LeMond's American teammate Jacques Boyer accused LeMond of chasing him down in the final 800 meters. Saronni was very strong at the end of the race and flew past Boyer and LeMond, winning by 5 seconds over LeMond, with another 5 seconds back to Kelly. Boyer placed tenth. Bronze medalist Sean Kelly, a favorite to win the race, was with Saronni when he caught LeMond with about 200 meters to go, but he could not hold his wheel. Said Kelly: "I don't think that Boyer was fading ... He got quite a good gap. Nobody wanted to go after him ... Yes, LeMond chased down Boyer. Boyer was the only man up the road."
LeMond was supported by his teammate George Mount, who observed, "What's LeMond going to do? Throw his bike down in front of everybody because Boyer is such a good buddy of everyone? ... Hell no—he's going to start sprinting because it's less than 200 meters to go and the sprint's already been going for a couple hundred meters. LeMond made a good move and a good sprint ... Boyer was not going to win that race. The best he could have got was fifth or sixth place."
LeMond did not apologize. The U.S. team was not as set up as the European teams, and did not have an independent race to determine the national champion. Instead, the highest finisher at the World's was considered the national champion. LeMond had argued for the team to compete as the European teams did, but team management and Boyer voted against him. Thus, unlike the other teams at the world championship, the US riders were competing against each other. Aged 21, LeMond was the first American pro to win a medal at the World's since Frank Kramer took silver in 1912. Said LeMond: "I'm racing for Renault and I'm racing for myself. It's a business and it's my living. To me, that second place was almost as good as winning, especially at my age."
Two weeks later, on September 20, 1982, LeMond won the mountainous 12-day, Tour de l'Avenir by a record 10 minutes, 18 seconds. The victory, and the time advantage LeMond held at the end, stunned Europe and provided broad confirmation that LeMond was indeed fuoriclasse.
The following year, 1983, LeMond won the Road World Championship outright, becoming the first American male cyclist to do so. (Audrey McElmury won in 1969 and Beth Heiden won in 1980.) LeMond's cycling talent—his overall strength, climbing ability, ability to ride a fast time trial and his capacity to recover quickly—all suggested LeMond would be an excellent prospect for the most demanding Grand Tours.
1984–1986: Grand Tours
LeMond rode his first Tour de France in 1984, finishing third in support of team leader Laurent Fignon, and winning the white jersey of the young rider classification. The following year he was brought across to La Vie Claire to ride in support of team captain Bernard Hinault who had regained his form and was attempting to win his fifth Tour. French businessman and team owner Bernard Tapie signed LeMond with a $1 million contract over three years. In the race Hinault led through the early mountain stages, but suffered a crash and came into difficulty. At this point, it was clear that LeMond was an elite rider capable of winning the Tour in his own right. LeMond possessed a natural talent for riding the Grand Tours, and got stronger over the course of a three-week race. The injured Hinault was vulnerable, and his competitors knew it. Stage 17 included three major climbs in the Pyrenees. On the second, the Col du Tourmalet, LeMond followed Stephen Roche in an attack, but was not given permission to help build on the gap over the field. The managers of his La Vie Claire team ordered the 24-year-old LeMond not to ride with Roche, but to sit on his wheel, a tactic to use the rider in front as cover for wind resistance so the following rider uses less energy. The pace Roche could put out by himself eventually slowed, and other riders came up to join the two men. Hinault recovered as well, though he did not regain the lead group. At the end of the stage LeMond was frustrated to the point of tears. He later revealed that team management and his own coach Paul Köchli had misled him as to how far back Hinault had dropped during the crucial Stage 17 mountain stage. Hinault won the 1985 Tour, with LeMond finishing second, 1:42 behind. LeMond had ridden as the dutiful lieutenant, and his support enabled Hinault to win his fifth Tour. In repayment for his sacrifice Hinault promised to help LeMond win the Tour the following year.
Hoping to end the season on a high note LeMond entered the World Championships road race with the strongest team the United States ever fielded. Riders included Boyer and LeMond, as well as Andrew Hampsten, Ron Kiefel, Bob Roll and Eric Heiden and this time the American team was set up to help the three strongest riders in LeMond, then Hampsten and Kiefel. Throughout the race LeMond answered repeated attacks and led many chase groups to contain dangerous breakaways, but by the final lap of the race he was beginning to tire. He was however, part of the group that was going to win, and while Hampsten and Keifel survived the race to this point, unfortunately they were too far back to assist LeMond in the final ten kilometers. Inside the final kilometer the last rider to launch an attack was former Tour and Vuelta champion Joop Zoetemelk. Being as he was 38 years old and long past his prime none of the remaining contenders including LeMond, Claudio Corti, Robert Millar, Moreno Argentin or Stephen Roche took the attack seriously initially. Zoetemelk opened a sizeable gap however, before long it was in excess of a hundred meters and quickly growing. He also had two teammates remaining in Johan Van der Velde and Gerard Veldscholten, assisting him by riding at the front but not actually chasing, therefore slowing the chase group. Italian rider Moreno took up the chase but he had nothing left to close the gap and actually put his hand in the air waving for the other riders to come forward and take up the pursuit. LeMond too had nothing left to chase down this final attack feeling that if he did, he wouldn't have anything left for the sprint and wouldn't win any medal at all. In a notable upset, Zoetemelk beat the favorites to the line by three seconds as LeMond out-sprinted Argentin to take the silver. There was no controversy following this silver medal for LeMond and immediately after the race he rode up alongside the Dutchman and congratulated him saying, "Nice ride Joop."
For the 1986 Tour, LeMond was a co-leader of the La Vie Claire team alongside Hinault. Hinault's support seemed less certain the closer the race approached. An unspoken condition was that his help would be contingent upon LeMond demonstrating that he was clearly the better rider. Hinault was in superb form, and had the chance to win an unprecedented sixth Tour. Hinault chose to let the Stage 9 individual time trial be the decider for which rider would receive the full support of team La Vie Claire. Hinault won the Stage 9 time trial, finishing 44 seconds in front of LeMond. LeMond had bad luck during the stage, having suffered a punctured tire requiring a wheel change, and later in the stage a bicycle change was required when he broke a wheel. He was frustrated with the outcome and the impact it would have on how the team would function for the remainder of the race. In Stage 12, the first mountain stage of the race in the Pyrenees, Hinault attacked the lead group and built up an overall lead. By the end of Stage 12, Hinault had a five-minute lead over LeMond and the other top riders. He claimed he was trying to draw out LeMond's rivals, but none of these attacks were planned with LeMond. He was clearly willing to ride aggressively and take advantage of the opportunities presented. LeMond was never placed in difficulty, except by his own teammate. The following day Hinault broke away again early but was caught and then dropped by LeMond on the final climb of Stage 13, allowing LeMond to gain back four and a half minutes. The next three stages brought the Tour to the Alps. On Stage 17 LeMond and Urs Zimmermann dropped Hinault from the leading group, and the end of the day saw LeMond pulling on the yellow jersey of race leader, the first time it had ever been worn by a rider from the United States. The following day in the Alps saw Hinault attack again early on the first climb, but he was pulled back. Attempting an escape on the descent, he was unable to separate himself from LeMond. The La Vie Claire team leaders were both excellent descenders. As they ascended up the next col they continued to pull away from the field, and maintained the gap as they reached the base of the final climb, the vaunted Alpe d'Huez. They pressed on through the crowd, ascending the twenty-one switchbacks of Alpe d'Huez and reaching the summit together. LeMond put an arm around Hinault and gave him a smile and the stage win in a show of unity, but the infighting was not over. Hinault attacked again on Stage 19 and had to be brought back by teammates Andrew Hampsten and Steve Bauer. Commenting on the team situation prior to the final individual time trial at Stage 20, LeMond offered the following with a wry smile: "He's attacked me from the beginning of the Tour De France. He's never helped me once, and I don't feel confident at all with him."
LeMond had to keep his eye on his teammate and rival throughout the race. Hinault rode aggressively and repeatedly attacked, and the division created in the La Vie Claire team was unmistakable. LeMond would keep the yellow jersey to the end of the race and win his first Tour, but he felt betrayed by Hinault and the La Vie Claire team leadership. LeMond later stated the 1986 Tour was the most difficult and stressful race of his career.
1987–1988: Shooting accident and recovery
LeMond had planned to defend his title in the 1987 Tour de France with La Vie Claire, but he was unable to participate. Earlier that year, while riding in the Tirreno–Adriatico spring tune-up race, LeMond fell and fractured his left wrist. He returned to the United States to recover from the injury. The week before returning to Europe, he went turkey hunting on a ranch co-owned by his father in Lincoln, California. LeMond was with Rodney Barber and Patrick Blades, his uncle and brother-in-law. The trio had become separated when Blades, who heard movement behind him, turned and fired through a bush. The movement had come from LeMond, who was hit in his back and right side with approximately 60 pellets. LeMond's injuries were life-threatening, but a police helicopter was already airborne near the scene and transported LeMond on a 15-minute air medical flight to the Medical Center at University of California-Davis. LeMond was taken for emergency surgery. He had suffered a pneumothorax to his right lung and extensive bleeding, having lost some 65 percent of his blood volume. A physician informed LeMond later that he had been within 20 minutes of bleeding to death. The operation saved his life, but four months later he developed a small bowel obstruction due to adhesions that had formed following the shooting. He underwent another surgery to relieve the obstruction and take down the adhesions. Concerned that his team would drop him if they knew the shooting accident required a second surgery, LeMond asked the surgeons to remove his appendix at the same time. He then informed his team that he had had his appendix removed, but the rest of the story was left somewhat vague. The events effectively ended his 1987 season, and in October he announced he would return to serious competition the following February, with the Dutch PDM team.
With 35 shotgun pellets still in his body, including three in the lining of his heart and five more embedded in his liver, LeMond attempted to return to racing in 1988. His comeback was hampered by over-training which resulted in tendonitis in his right shin requiring surgery. He missed the Tour for the second year running. Tensions in the relationship between LeMond and PDM were aggravated when LeMond discovered that doping was going on at the PDM squad. The result was that LeMond moved from PDM, one of the strongest teams in the peloton, to ADR, a team based in Belgium. The team was co-sponsored by Coors Light for American races. The deal was completed on New Year's Eve, just hours before LeMond would have been legally obliged to ride another season for the Dutch team. Joining the Belgian ADR squad allowed LeMond to continue to compete, but with teammates like Johan Museeuw who were better suited to riding Classics than Grand Tours.
1989: Return to elite level
After struggling in the 1989 Paris–Nice early-season race and failing to improve his condition, LeMond informed his wife Kathy that he intended to retire from professional cycling after the 1989 Tour de France. He had some flashes of form with 6th overall in Tirreno-Adriatico and in the two-day Critérium International, sharing an escape with Fignon, Indurain, Mottet, Roche and Madiot and finishing 4th overall. He started the 1989 Giro d'Italia in May as preparation for the Tour to follow, but struggled in the mountains and was not in contention for any of the leaders' jerseys before the final individual time trial into Florence. LeMond placed a surprising second there, more than a minute ahead of overall winner Laurent Fignon. Some of his improvement he attributed to an anti-anemia treatment he received twice during the race.
Coming into the 1989 Tour de France LeMond was not considered a contender for the general classification (GC). His own most optimistic hope was to finish his final Tour in the top 20. Without the weight of expectation and other pressures of being a Tour favorite, LeMond surprised observers with a strong ride in the prologue in Luxembourg, finishing fourth out of 198 riders. Buoyed by the result, LeMond continued to ride well over the opening flat stages, winning the stage 5 individual time trial, and gaining the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification for the first time in three years. LeMond seemed to ride himself into better condition during the first week's flat stages, and he was coming into peak form by the time the Tour reached the mountains. LeMond remained at the front of the race in the Pyrénées, but lost the lead to his former teammate and rival Laurent Fignon on stage 10 in Superbagnères. Five days later LeMond reclaimed yellow in the Alps, after the stage 15 mountain time trial from Gap to Orcières-Merlette. The see-saw battle continued, and when Fignon attacked on the upper slopes of Alpe d'Huez LeMond was unable to go with him, placing the yellow jersey back on the shoulders of Fignon. Fignon held a 50-second advantage over LeMond going into the 21st and final stage, a rare individual time trial from Versailles to the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
Fignon had won the Tour twice before, in 1983 and 1984, and was a very capable time trialist. It seemed improbable that LeMond could take 50 seconds off Fignon over the short course. This would require LeMond to gain two seconds per kilometer against one of the fastest chrono-specialists in the world. LeMond had done wind tunnel testing in the off season and perfected his riding position. He rode the time trial with a rear disc wheel, a cut-down Giro aero helmet and the same Scott clip-on aero bars which had helped him to the Stage 5 time trial win. Holding his time trialing position LeMond was able to generate less aerodynamic drag than Fignon, who used a pair of disc wheels but chose to go helmetless and did not use the aero bars that are now commonplace in time trials. Instructing his support car not to give him his split times, LeMond rode flat-out and finished at a record pace to beat Fignon by 8 seconds and claim his second Tour de France victory. As LeMond embraced his wife and rejoiced on the Champs-Élysées, Fignon collapsed onto the tarmac, then sat in shock and wept.
The final margin of victory of eight seconds was the closest in the Tour's history. LeMond's average speed for the stage 21 time trial was, at that time, the fastest in Tour history. Since then, only the 1994 and 2015 prologues and David Zabriskie's 2005 time trial performance have been faster. The press immediately labeled LeMond's come-from-behind triumph as, "the most astonishing victory in Tour de France history," and while LeMond admitted that it felt almost "too good to be true," he personally rated it as "much more satisfying" than his first overall Tour win in 1986.
LeMond's return to the pinnacle of cycling was confirmed on August 27, when he won the World Championships road race in Chambéry, France. Late in the race with less than 10 km to go the lead group, who had been away since very early in the race, made up of three very strong riders in Steven Rooks, Thierry Claveyrolat and Soviet star Dimitri Konyshev were trying to hold on to fight for the victory amongst themselves when Laurent Fignon broke away from the pursuing group in an effort to chase the leaders down and solo to victory. On the final climb of the race LeMond attacked in pursuit of Fignon on his own. Before long he had caught the Frenchman and not long after that the pair could see the lead group in front of them and they were quickly closing the gap. LeMond briefly dropped Fignon and caught the lead group on his own. Immediately upon catching Rooks, Claveyrolat and Konyshev he moved to the front and set the pace as two other riders in Canadian Steve Bauer and Irishman Sean Kelly attempted to bridge the gap up to LeMond and the lead group. Bauer ended up getting a flat tire essentially ending his hopes at a high finish while Sean Kelly was able to fight his way to the front group, which was bad news for LeMond and the others as Kelly was one of the best sprinters in the world. Fignon was able to rejoin the lead group as well and as the race approached the finish Fignon attacked on numerous occasions trying to drop the remaining riders. Rooks also launched an attack to go for the solo victory but was caught by LeMond, Fignon and the others. Inside the final kilometer Fignon continued attacking trying to break free, but just couldn't force open a gap and began to fall back as the sprint materialized eventually finishing in 6th place. LeMond, Konyshev and Kelly were the strongest riders when it came to the final sprint for victory and they finished in that order. After the race LeMond said that he did not feel well and even considered abandoning the race. With two laps to go he began feeling stronger and stated, "I was racing for the Gold medal. I wanted that World Championship. And with one kilometer to go, I knew I could get it." LeMond was only the fifth person in history to win both the Tour de France and the World Championship in the same year. In December, Sports Illustrated magazine named LeMond its 1989 "Sportsman of the Year", the first time a cyclist received the honor.
1990: A third tour win
LeMond parlayed the success of his 1989 season into the then-richest contract in the sport's history, signing a $5.5 million deal for three years with of France, the first time a cyclist had signed a multi-million dollar contract. He entered the 1990 Tour de France as defending champion and a pre-race favorite after leaving ADR to join the much stronger French team. At "Z" his teammates included Robert Millar, Eric Boyer and Ronan Pensec, all of whom already had finishes in the top six of the Tour de France. This unified roster of strong riders appeared capable of supporting LeMond in the mountains and controlling the race on the flats.
The squad's tactical plan was upset on the first day, when a breakaway that included LeMond's teammate Ronan Pensec, but no major favorites, arrived ten minutes ahead of the field. LeMond was prevented from challenging for the lead until the yellow jersey left the shoulders of his teammate. Surprisingly Pensec held the lead through the first high mountain stages, including Alpe d'Huez, but he would lose it soon after to the relative unknown Claudio Chiappucci.
LeMond closed in on Chiappucci and on stage 16 he put his stamp of authority on the race during the final climb of Luz Ardiden. Late in this stage, after all of the breakaways had been caught he launched a devastating attack that no one could answer. Miguel Induráin was the only rider able to get on LeMond's wheel but it was LeMond dictating the pace all the way up the climb as Chiappucci, Delgado and all of the other favorites fell further and further behind. While Induráin stayed with LeMond, he was not a threat for victory, but his performance put the cycling world on notice as he would win the next five Tours. Near the end of the stage LeMond sat up and the Spaniard took the stage win, but the devastation of LeMond's competitors was all but complete as there was now only +0:05 between LeMond and the yellow jersey.
He finally overtook Chiappucci on the final individual time trial on stage 20, where he finished over two minutes ahead of the unheralded Italian. LeMond at last had the yellow jersey, wearing it the following day as the Tour rode into Paris. LeMond had the distinction of winning the 1990 Tour without taking any of the individual stages. He remains the last rider to win the Tour while wearing the world champion jersey. Over the course of the 1990 Tour the perceived strength of the Z team was confirmed, as they led the team classification through most of the race, adding the team title to LeMond's yellow jersey. LeMond's 1990 Tour victory made him one of just five cyclists to win three or more Tours. As of 2021 a total of seven cyclists have won three times or more.
In September, LeMond attempted to defend his title at the 1990 UCI Road World Championships, but finished fourth, eight seconds behind the winner, his former teammate Rudy Dhaenens of Belgium.
1991–1994: Change in the peloton and retirement
LeMond felt confident before the 1991 Tour de France. He was the defending champion, trained well and had a solid team to support him. LeMond was among the leaders going into the Stage 8 individual time trial, and he finished second to the Spaniard Miguel Indurain. LeMond felt he was riding extremely well, and though his TT-effort had propelled him into the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification, losing eight seconds to Indurain shook his confidence. He held the yellow jersey for the next four days until Stage 12, a challenging mountain stage. LeMond experienced difficulty on the first climb and he cracked on the Col du Tourmalet, losing significant time to Claudio Chiappucci, and eventual winner Indurain. He continued to race, but was unable to seriously challenge for the lead thereafter, finishing the 1991 Tour seventh overall.
In 1992, LeMond won the Tour DuPont, which would be the last major win of his career. He would also have a strong top 10 finish in Paris-Roubaix early in the season. He never won any of cycling's 'Monument' races but he had several high places in four out of five of them throughout his career including 4th in Paris-Roubaix, 3rd in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and 2nd in Milan San Remo as well as the Giro di Lombardia.
In the 1992 Tour de France he started strongly and finished fourth in a breakaway on Stage 6 that put him fifth overall and he maintained his fifth place until the mountain stages when he lost form disastrously and lost more than 45 minutes on the stage to Sestrieres before quitting the race the next day—when his compatriot and former domestique Andrew Hampsten won atop Alpe d'Huez. While LeMond claimed a serious saddle sore caused him to abandon, he had earlier stated, "My climbing is not like usual. I've climbed much better in the past Tours. This year I'm just not feeling my usual self."
LeMond did extensive endurance training on the road the following winter, but his performances the following spring failed to improve. LeMond had to abandon the 1993 Giro d'Italia two days before the final stage after difficult racing left him 125th on GCC and third-from-last in the final time trial. He was too exhausted to enter the 1993 Tour de France. Following the 1993 season LeMond hired renowned Dutch physiologist Adrie van Diemen to advise him on a new technique to monitor training and measure performance. The (SRM) power-based training would make use of the watt as a guide to power output. In November 1993 LeMond confided to Samuel Abt that power output in watts would become the key metric. The watt has gained wide acceptance as the best measure of a cyclist's training performance.
The following year LeMond began the 1994 Tour de France but found he was unable to race effectively. He had to abandon after the first week before the race had reached the difficult mountain stages. That December, he announced his retirement. At the time the reasons for LeMond's increasing difficulties were not entirely known. At a loss, he speculated that a condition known as mitochondrial myopathy might be responsible for the difficulty he was having performing against the current riders. In 2007, however, LeMond speculated that he might not have had the condition after all, and suggested that lead toxicity from the shotgun pellets still embedded in his body might have been responsible, the effects of which were increased by heavy training.
LeMond has acknowledged since 2010 that the increasing prevalence of doping in cycling contributed to his lack of competitiveness. Said LeMond: "Something had changed in cycling. The speeds were faster and riders that I had easily out performed were now dropping me. At the time, the team I was on, Team Z, became more and more demanding, more and more concerned..." He stated he had been told in 1994 that he would need to blood dope in order to win again. He frankly admitted to Abt in 1999: "I figure I had three months that went right for me after the hunting accident," three months in which he won the two Tours and a world road race championship. "The rest were just pure suffering, struggling, fatigue, always tired."
In a wide-ranging interview with American novelist Bryan Malessa in 1998, LeMond was asked if his career had not been interrupted by the hunting accident, how did he feel he would compare to five time Tour winners such as Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain. LeMond responded: "Of course you can't rewrite racing history, but I'm confident that I would have won five Tours."
Two years after his retirement LeMond was inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Rodale Park in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. The event was held on June 8, 1996, during the U.S. Olympic Cycling Team Trials.
In July 2014, ESPN announced the premiere of a new 30 for 30 film entitled Slaying the Badger. The film centers on LeMond and his former teammate Hinault at the 1986 Tour de France. It is based on the book of the same name by Richard Moore, and it premiered July 22, 2014 on ESPN.
Business interests
LeMond was a pioneer in the use of carbon fiber bicycle frames in European professional road cycling, and his Tour de France win in 1986 ahead of Bernard Hinault was the first for a carbon-framed bicycle. Ironically, given the rivalry that existed at the time between the American and his French teammate, LeMond rode a "Bernard Hinault" Signature Model Look prototype that year. LeMond also won the 1989 Tour de France, the 1989 World Championship, and his final Tour de France in 1990 on carbon fiber frames. These bicycle frames featured "Greg LeMond" branding.
LeMond Cycles
In 1990, LeMond founded LeMond Bicycles to develop machines for himself that would also be marketed and sold to the public. The following year, searching for an equipment edge for Team Z at the 1991 Tour de France, LeMond concluded an exclusive licensing agreement between his company and Carbonframes, Inc., to access the latter's advanced composites technology. Whilst using the bikes for the 1991 Tour, he would maintain his carbon bike in his hotel room, leading his mechanics to fear it had been stolen. While LeMond briefly led the 1991 Tour overall, riding his Carbonframes-produced "Greg LeMond" bicycle, the company eventually faltered, something LeMond blamed on "under-capitalization" and poor management by his father. Carbonframes and LeMond Cycles "parted amiably two years later." In 1995, with his company allegedly nearly bankrupt, LeMond reached a licensing-agreement with Trek Bicycle Corporation, according to which the Wisconsin-based company would manufacture and distribute bicycles designed with LeMond that would be sold under the "LeMond Bicycles" brand. LeMond would later claim that going into business with Trek "destroyed" his relationship with his father. The lucrative partnership, which generated revenue for Trek in excess of US$100,000,000, would be renewed several times over the course of 13 years, but it ultimately ended in acrimony after LeMond's relationship with Trek deteriorated over his staunch anti-doping advocacy.
LeMond found himself at odds with Trek in July 2001 after he expressed public concern over the relationship between Italian doping doctor Michele Ferrari and Trek's star athlete, Lance Armstrong. Trek president John Burke pressured LeMond to apologize, claiming, "Greg's public comments hurt the LeMond brand and the Trek brand." Burke allegedly justified his demand for an apology by advising that, "As a contractual partner, he [LeMond] could criticize doping only generally – not point his finger at specific athletes, particularly one that happens to be the company's main cash cow." Armstrong reportedly said privately he could "shut him up" by contacting Trek, as documented in affidavits by Frankie and Betsy Andreu released in the 2012 USADA doping report. LeMond issued an apology for his comment.
In a 2007 interview, LeMond accused Armstrong of trying to sabotage his relationship with Trek bicycles. In March 2008, LeMond Cycling Inc sued Trek for failing to properly promote and distribute the LeMond brand, and for attempting to "silence" LeMond's public comments about doping, attributing this to the influence of Armstrong on Trek. His complaint included statistics detailing slow sales in some markets, including the fact that between September 2001 and June 2007, Trek only sold $10,393 worth of LeMond bikes in France, a country in which LeMond was both famous and popular. Trek responded in April 2008, announcing that it was dropping LeMond Bicycles from its product line and that it would sue to sever the licensing agreement.
As promised, Trek counter-sued and stopped producing bicycles under the LeMond brand. After nearly two years of litigation, LeMond reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with Trek in February 2010. The settlement permitted the case to be dismissed with prejudice, meaning, "neither side can produce the same claims against one another in a future lawsuit." Although settlement terms were not disclosed, LeMond reportedly obtained full control over the LeMond Bicycles name, while Trek made a donation of US$200,000 to the charity 1in6, of which LeMond was a founding member of the board of directors.
LeMond Fitness/Revolution
In 2002, LeMond, Bernie Boglioli and others founded LeMond Fitness, Inc. "to help individuals achieve their fitness and performance goals and train more effectively." The company's primary business is the development and manufacture of bicycle trainers and indoor exercise bikes for consumers in the United States and internationally. LeMond serves as Chairman of the Board. In 2012, Hoist Fitness negotiated to purchase an interest in the company and announced plans to move its headquarters to Hoist's offices in San Diego, CA. In late 2012, LeMond purchased the LeMond Revolution from Hoist, relaunching with a new management team in Minneapolis. Later, he also formed LeMond LLC to introduce a suite of brands. Professional cycling's team renewed its sponsorship with LeMond to use its Revolution trainers for another three seasons. The team won several stages of the Tour de France, plus the general classification of the 2012 Giro d'Italia.
Partnership with Time
At the Interbike trade show in September 2013, LeMond announced that he was returning to the business of bicycle manufacture and sales by partnering with French company Time. The new line began with a series of commemorative designed bicycles, to be followed with road, cyclocross, and gravel-road models. LeMond purchased Time Sport USA, the US distributor for the company. Said LeMond: "I'm really excited to be back in the bike industry."
Real estate
In 2002, LeMond joined his parents-in-law David and Sacia Morris, friend Michael Snow and J.P. Morgan & Co. fund manager Jorge Jasson to invest in the exclusive Yellowstone Club, a Big Sky, Montana, private ski and golf community founded by timber baron Tim Blixseth and his wife Edra. Each of the five partners paid Blixseth $750,000 for one percent shares in the exclusive resort. LeMond also purchased several building lots and maintained a property at the resort. Four years later, LeMond and partners sued Blixseth in 2006 following reports of a Credit Suisse loan to the resort of $375 million from which Blixseth reportedly took $209 million in a disputed partial payout for his ownership stake. The Credit Suisse loan was based on a $1.16 billion Cushman & Wakefield valuation of the resort, for which LeMond and partners each sought $11.6 million for their one-percent shares. In 2007, LeMond settled his suit with the Blixseths for $39 million. However, he and his partners remained creditors as the Blixseths defaulted on a $20 million payment (after having already paid the group $18 million). In 2009, the Blixseths divorced and the Club went bankrupt.
Restaurants
LeMond became a restaurateur in August 1990 when, in partnership with his wife and her parents, he opened Scott Kee's Tour de France on France Avenue in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, Minnesota. LeMond described the restaurant, which was named for its chef (LeMond's brother-in-law), as "a dream of five years come true." Explaining the origin of the concept, LeMond said, "Kathy and I have eaten at the finest establishments in France, Italy and Belgium. Our favorites have always been small places, family-owned." LeMond also partnered in several Bruegger's bagel bakery-café franchises.
LeMond Composites
LeMond founded LeMond Composites in 2016 to manufacture high-volume, low-cost carbon fiber composites under a licensing agreement with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and an exclusive 20-year licensing agreement with Deakin University. In 2017 LeMond and his family moved from Minnesota to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to be close to the $125 million LeMond Composites manufacturing facility.
On October 16, 2017, Australian politician Sarah Henderson announced that LeMond Composites would receive AU$2.5 million (US$ million) in Australian Federal Government funding to establish a carbon fiber manufacturing plant in Geelong, Australia.
Broadcasting
In 2014, LeMond joined Eurosport as a pundit for the channel's cycling coverage, providing analysis at Paris–Roubaix, the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, and hosting his own monthly program LeMond on Cycling. He continued to work for the channel until 2017.
Anti-doping stance and controversies
LeMond is a longtime vocal opponent of performance-enhancing drug use. He first spoke on-record against doping in cycling after winning the 1989 Tour de France. He has consistently questioned the relationship between riders and unethical sports doctors and has pointed out that doping products ultimately victimize the professional cyclists who make use of them. Said LeMond: "When I speak out about doping people could translate it and think it was about the riders. Actually I feel like I am an advocate for the riders. I look at them as being treated like lab rats that are test vehicles for the doctors. The doctors, the management, the officials, they're the ones that have corrupted riders. The riders are the only ones that pay the price."
LeMond received intense criticism in 2001 when he publicly criticized Lance Armstrong's relationship with Dr. Michele Ferrari. Ferrari is an Italian physician and sports trainer who admitted to practicing blood doping and advocated the controlled use of the banned substance erythropoietin by athletes. Upon learning of Armstrong's association with Ferrari, LeMond said:
"When Lance won the prologue to the 1999 Tour I was close to tears, but when I heard he was working with Michele Ferrari I was devastated. In the light of Lance's relationship with Ferrari, I just don't want to comment on this year's Tour. This is not sour grapes. I'm disappointed in Lance, that's all it is."
LeMond's comments placed him in the center of an anti-doping controversy. About a month later, following pressure from both Armstrong and Trek, LeMond issued an apology for his comment; he called Armstrong "a great champion" and added, "I do not believe, in any way, that he has ever used any performance-enhancing substances. I believe his performances are the result of the same hard work, dedication and focus that were mine 10 years ago."
In 2004, LeMond spoke out again. On the heels of successive Tour de France wins by Armstrong, LeMond said, "If Armstrong's clean, it's the greatest comeback. And if he's not, then it's the greatest fraud." He went public with the fallout of his 2001 statement, alleging that Armstrong had threatened to defame him and threatened his business interests as well:
"[Armstrong] basically said 'I could find 10 people that will say you took EPO' ... The week after, I got multiple people that were on Lance ... Lance's camp, basically saying 'You better be quiet,' and I was quiet for three years. I have a business ... I have bikes that are sold ... and I was told that my sales might not be doing too well if ... just the publicity, the negative publicity." The same month, LeMond told French newspaper Le Monde that Armstrong was "ready to do anything to keep his secret. I don't know how he can continue to convince everybody of his innocence." At a press conference Armstrong gave in September 2008 to announce his return to cycling, LeMond publicly challenged him with questions about doping. Armstrong appeared angry and interrupted LeMond, telling him it was time to move on. In August 2012, the USADA announced that Armstrong had been issued a lifetime ban from cycling competition due to his involvement in a massive doping scheme. In addition, the USADA stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles.
LeMond has also clashed with fellow Tour rider Floyd Landis regarding the doping issue. On May 17, 2007, LeMond testified at a USADA hearing convened to weigh the evidence of doping by Landis during the 2006 Tour de France. Under oath, LeMond described a phone conversation he had with Landis on August 6, 2006, as well as another with Landis' business manager, Will Geoghegan, on May 16, 2007, the evening before LeMond appeared to testify. The major points of the testimony were:
In the August 6 conversation, LeMond said he told Landis that "If you did (admit to having used banned substances), you could single-handedly change the sport. You could be the one who will salvage the sport." LeMond said Landis responded by saying "What good would it do? If I did, it would destroy a lot of my friends and hurt a lot of people."
In their conversation, LeMond had disclosed his history of childhood sexual abuse to Landis and said the secret had nearly destroyed him. LeMond stated he warned Landis. "(Lying about doping) will come back to haunt you when you are 40 or 50. If you have a moral compass and ethics, this will destroy you."
Will Geoghegan attempted to stop LeMond's testimony by calling LeMond on his mobile phone. LeMond reported that Geoghegan claimed he was "his uncle" and intimated that he would appear at the hearing and expose the fact that LeMond was a survivor of child sex abuse. LeMond's BlackBerry, with Geoghegan's phone number captured in the call log, was entered into evidence.
In 2007, Landis was found guilty of doping and was banned from cycling for two years. In 2010, he admitted to having been involved in doping. Also in 2010, Landis apologized to LeMond for the events of 2007.
On July 23, 2009, LeMond wrote an opinion article in the French newspaper Le Monde where he questioned the validity of Alberto Contador's climb up Verbier in the 2009 Tour de France. In the piece, LeMond pointed out that Contador's calculated VO2 max of 99.5 mL/(kg·min) had never been achieved by any athlete. Said LeMond: "The burden is then on Alberto Contador to prove he is physically capable of performing this feat without the use of performance-enhancing products." Contador tested positive for clenbuterol after winning the 2010 Tour and was later stripped of his title and suspended from cycling for two years.
LeMond has criticized the UCI and its former president, Pat McQuaid. In December 2012, LeMond claimed that a change needed to be made in the leadership for the UCI and stated if called upon he would be willing to take the position himself if necessary to lead cycling out of the mire of doping. Said LeMond: "It is now or never to act. After the earthquake caused by the Armstrong case another chance will not arise. I am willing to invest to make this institution more democratic, transparent and look for the best candidate in the longer term." McQuaid rejected LeMond's call for new leadership and was dismissive of LeMond. Ultimately McQuaid was defeated in his bid for a third term by British Cycling president Brian Cookson at the September 2013 UCI Congress in Florence, Italy. Lemond had supported Cookson in the UCI Presidential battle.
Personal life
LeMond is married to Kathy (née Morris) and together they have three children: sons Geoffrey and Scott, and daughter Simone. LeMond and his wife lived in Medina, Minnesota, from 1990 until 2017 and then moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Since his retirement, LeMond has become increasingly involved in philanthropic efforts relating to causes that have affected him personally (including ADHD and sexual abuse).
LeMond is an avid outdoor enthusiast and fly angler, and in 1991 – while still racing full-time – he made the world-record fly fishing catch of a four-pound smallmouth bass on a reel with a four-pound tippet. The record was certified by the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin. The catch exceeded the then-previous record of three pounds, six ounces made on the same size tippet back in 1986. LeMond confessed, "I always pack my fly fishing equipment when I travel to bike events. I fish every chance I get."
After retiring from pro cycling, LeMond competed in Formula Ford 2000 series auto racing. He is also a motivational speaker. LeMond narrated an award-winning documentary for Adventures for the Cure in 2008.
On July 16, 2007, LeMond rode the L'Étape du Tour cyclosportive with his son, and found it to be a defining moment in his post-competition life. "I had the time of my life", he said, despite getting "650th place" and being "impressed that I even finished". LeMond continued, "I decided that day that nobody's going to keep me from cycling, not Trek, not Armstrong, not Verbruggen, not anybody." At the time, LeMond was alluding to a series of public and private disputes related to his anti-doping advocacy that hampered his enjoyment of cycling. Especially significant was LeMond's appearance as a USADA witness in the Floyd Landis doping case. At that time, Landis's business manager threatened to expose the fact that LeMond was a survivor of child sex abuse.
Several weeks later, LeMond and his wife Kathy gave an extensive interview to Paul Kimmage of The Sunday Times. LeMond provided additional details concerning the circumstances of his 2001 apology to Armstrong, stating that Trek, the longtime manufacturer and distributor of LeMond Racing Cycles, had threatened to end the relationship at the behest of Armstrong if he did not apologize. He described the two years following the apology as the worst in his life, marked by self-destructive behavior; ultimately, that behavior led LeMond to tell his wife that he was a survivor of child sex abuse and to seek help in addressing that past trauma. LeMond described how being a victim of molestation had impacted his life and his racing career. In September 2007, LeMond became a founding board member of the non-profit organization 1in6.org, whose mission is "to help men who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood live healthy, happy lives".
LeMond was in a car accident on the morning of January 30, 2013. He was driving through wintery and icy conditions to his dentist in Wayzata, Minnesota, when he lost control of his car. LeMond suffered a concussion and was left with no memory of the incident. According to Associated Press, a Plymouth police report says LeMond left the road, hit a fence and shrubs, and then hit an embankment before ending up in the backyard of a home. LeMond may have lost consciousness before the accident, according to his wife Kathy, and he suffered a compression fracture in his back and would have to wear a brace for three months. The accident curtailed LeMond's public appearances in the first half of 2013, but he made a full recovery.
On September 19, 2019, the United States House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill, submitted by California Representative Mike Thompson, to award LeMond the Congressional Gold Medal. The bill was approved by Congress on November 16, 2020, and signed by president Donald Trump on December 4, 2020. Upon signature of the bill, the White House released a statement, saying the medal was awarded "in recognition of his service to the Nation as an athlete, activist, role model, and community leader".
Career achievements
Major results
1977
1st Road race, National Junior Road Championships
1978
1st Overall Vuelta de Bisbee
2nd Road race, National Junior Road Championships
3rd Team time trial, UCI Junior Road World Championships
1979
1st Road race, UCI Junior Road World Championships
1st Road race, National Junior Road Championships
1st Nevada City Classic
2nd Track pursuit, UCI Junior Track World Championships
3rd Team time trial, UCI Junior Road World Championships
1980
1st Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
1st Nevada City Classic
3rd Overall Circuit des Ardennes
1981
1st Overall Coors Classic
1st Stages 1 & 7
Tour de Picardie
1st Stages 2 & 2a
1st Nevada City Classic
3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
3rd Overall Route du Sud
7th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
1982
1st Overall Tour de l'Avenir
1st Stages 4 (ITT), 5 & 8 (ITT)
2nd Road race, UCI Road World Championships
2nd Overall Tour Méditerranéen
3rd Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1st Stage 3
3rd Overall Tour de Corse
3rd Grand Prix de Rennes
1983
1st Road race, UCI Road World Championships
1st Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st Stages 1, 5 & 7b (ITT)
1st Overall Super Prestige Pernod International
1st Critérium des As
1st Stage 1 Tour Méditerranéen
2nd Grand Prix des Nations
2nd Giro di Lombardia
4th Overall Tour de Suisse
4th Paris–Tours
6th Druivenkoers Overijse
10th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1984
1st Stage 1 Clásico RCN
3rd Overall Tour de France
1st Young rider classification
1st Stage 3 (TTT)
3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st Stage 7b
3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
5th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
7th Overall Ronde van Nederland
8th Overall Critérium International
9th Gent–Wevelgem
1985
1st Overall Coors Classic
1st Stage 5
2nd Overall Tour de France
1st Combination classification
1st Stages 3 (TTT) & 21 (ITT)
2nd Road race, UCI Road World Championships
2nd Overall Tour of the Basque Country
3rd Overall Giro d'Italia
3rd Super Prestige Pernod International
4th Overall Critérium International
4th Paris–Roubaix
4th Omloop Het Volk
6th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
7th Tour of Flanders
7th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
1986
1st Overall Tour de France
1st Combination classification
1st Stage 13
1st Stage 4 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
2nd Milan–San Remo
2nd Super Prestige Pernod International
2nd Overall Coors Classic
1st Stage 4a
3rd Overall Paris–Nice
3rd Overall Tour de Suisse
3rd Overall Critérium International
4th Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Stage 5
4th La Flèche Wallonne
4th Züri-Metzgete
7th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
7th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
1989
1st Road race, UCI Road World Championships
1st Overall Tour de France
1st Stages 5 (ITT), 19 & 21 (ITT)
2nd Boucles de l'Aulne
4th Overall Critérium International
4th Grand Prix des Amériques
6th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1990
1st Overall Tour de France
2nd Züri-Metzgete
3rd Boucles de l'Aulne
4th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
10th Overall Tour de Suisse
1991
7th Overall Tour de France
1992
1st Overall Tour DuPont
1st Prologue
2nd Overall Tour d'Armorique
9th Paris–Roubaix
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Classics results timeline
Awards
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year: 1989
Jesse Owens International Trophy: 1991
Korbel Lifetime Achievement Award: 1992
See also
Yellow jersey statistics
List of companies named after people
List of French Americans
List of Grand Tour general classification winners
List of multi-sport athletes
List of people from Minnesota
List of sports rivalries
List of Tour de France general classification winners
List of Tour de France secondary classification winners
United States at the UCI Road World Championships
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
LeMond Composites
1961 births
Living people
American people of French descent
American Giro d'Italia stage winners
American male cyclists
American Tour de France stage winners
Cycle designers
People from Lakewood, California
Tour de France Champs Elysées stage winners
Tour de France winners
UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers
Super Prestige Pernod winners
Cyclists from California | true | [
"Darlene Tiffany Moore was a 12-year-old girl from Boston who, at 9:05 pm on Friday, August 19, 1988, was unintentionally struck and killed by two stray bullets fired by feuding drug dealers as she was sitting on a neighborhood mailbox.\n\nMoore became an example of Boston's epidemic of gang violence at the time. I... | [
"Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tour de France (1986, 1989, and 1990), LeMond is considered by many to be th... |
[
"The Apples in Stereo",
"1994-1995: Hypnotic Suggestion and Fun Trick Noisemaker",
"What is Hypnotic Suggestion?",
"The band started work on a debut full-length album, but it instead became Hypnotic Suggestion, a second EP.",
"Was this album successul?",
"I don't know."
] | C_03bc43463b984a15a99be98521739e74_0 | What is Fun Trick Noisemaker? | 3 | What is Fun Trick Noisemaker? | The Apples in Stereo | Several conflicts would lead Parfitt to leave the band in early 1994. John Hill, a former bandmate of McIntyre's, would join the band as a rhythm guitarist while Schneider began to grow more comfortable playing lead guitar. It was also at this time that Schneider began to take stronger creative control of the band, shifting its sound from its stronger rock qualities to a spacier pop sound. The band started work on a debut full-length album, but it instead became Hypnotic Suggestion, a second EP. However, after SpinART Records offered to buy the band an 8-track in return for an album, new plans for an LP arose. In mid-1994, after Hypnotic Suggestion, McIntyre would be the second to leave the band, due to a number of personal distresses as well as stylistic changes that arose with Parfitt's departure. Having great difficulty finding a new permanent bassist, the band would rotate a number of frequent bass contributors, including Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel, Kurt Heasley of The Lilys, Kyle Jones, Joel Richardson, and Joel Evans. Jim McIntyre would also occasionally guest on bass. This continued to be the makeup of the band as they toured the country in late 1994, recording the first half of their new album in Glendora, California. In early 1995, the band finished the album, Fun Trick Noisemaker, at Kyle Jones's house (the birthplace of Schneider's Pet Sounds Studio). Now with a full-length LP to support, the band began touring again. Eric Allen, whom the band had previously auditioned as a guitarist after the departure of Chris Parfitt, joined the band as a much welcomed permanent bassist. Late 1995, Schneider relocated Pet Sounds Studio to Jim McIntyre's house. McIntyre continued to be involved in the recording and engineering of the band's albums until the mid-2000s. A significantly different band from the original 1992 four-piece, the official name of the band gradually became "The Apples in Stereo", with the "in stereo" usually somewhat under-emphasized, whether in lower-case or in parentheses. Schneider described this in an interview: "It's very clearcut, actually: we're The Apples, the music's in stereo. It's not actually the band name - it's a step back from it, a band name once removed. We're The Apples, in stereo. Kind of like a TV show, 'in stereo!' That always seemed to be a really big deal, that it was in stereo." McIntyre later remarked, "It's cool the name changed cause the Apples and the Apples in Stereo were really two different entities." CANNOTANSWER | In early 1995, the band finished the album, Fun Trick Noisemaker, | The Apples in Stereo, styled as The Apples in stereo, are an American rock band associated with Elephant Six Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Of Montreal, and Circulatory System. The band is largely a product of lead vocalist/guitarist/producer Robert Schneider, who writes the majority of the band's music and lyrics. Currently, The Apples in Stereo also includes longstanding members John Hill (rhythm guitar) and Eric Allen (bass), as well as more recent members John Dufilho (drums), John Ferguson (keyboards), and Ben Phelan (keyboards/guitar/trumpet).
The band's sound draws comparisons to the psychedelic rock of The Beatles and The Beach Boys during the 1960s, as well as to bands such as Electric Light Orchestra and Pavement, and also draws from lo-fi, garage rock, new wave, R&B, bubblegum pop, power pop, punk, electro-pop and experimental music.
The band is also well known for their appearance in a The Powerpuff Girls music video performing the song "Signal in the Sky (Let's Go)". It aired immediately after the show's seventh episode of season 4, "Superfriends", which was based on the song's lyrics. The band has appeared widely in television and film, including performances on The Colbert Report, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Last Call with Carson Daly, guest hosting on MTV, song placements in numerous television shows, commercials and motion pictures, the performance of the single "Energy" by the contestants on American Idol, and a song recorded for children's show Yo Gabba Gabba.
Band history
1991–1993: The Apples
In late 1991, Robert Schneider met Jim McIntyre on a commuter bus in Denver, Colorado. Schneider had recently moved to Colorado from Ruston, Louisiana, and often initiated conversations with McIntyre. When Schneider asked McIntyre what his music interests were, McIntyre named his favorite band: The Beach Boys — a band Schneider was particularly fond of. Realizing that they shared many musical interests, McIntyre introduced Schneider to Hilarie Sidney. McIntyre already had a band called Von Hemmling in which McIntyre played bass and Sidney played drums. With Schneider, they discussed the idea of starting a band and perhaps a recording label. Schneider later met Chris Parfitt, who at the time was also already in a band (which Schneider unsuccessfully auditioned for on bass). Schneider and Parfitt also became friends, however, and toyed with the idea of having a rock band similar to The Velvet Underground or Black Sabbath, with production qualities similar to that of The Beach Boys.
Schneider then spent two weeks in Athens, Georgia recording music and spending time with his childhood friends Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss and Jeff Mangum. He discussed the idea of starting a record label with them (which soon became The Elephant 6 Recording Company). It was also at this time that the name "The Apples" came about, inspired by the Pink Floyd song "Apples and Oranges".
The earliest incarnation of the band began to form in 1992 upon Schneider's return to Denver, first between Schneider and Parfitt, both of whom played guitar. The two recruited McIntyre and Sidney during the autumn of that year, practicing material through the winter. Their first few live shows took place the following January, many of which were with the band Felt Pilotes. From February to April 1993, the band recorded their debut 7" EP, Tidal Wave, and released it in June as the first record ever to bear the Elephant 6 logo.
1994–1995: Hypnotic Suggestion and Fun Trick Noisemaker
Several conflicts would lead Parfitt to leave the band in early 1994. John Hill, a former bandmate of McIntyre's, would join the band as a rhythm guitarist while Schneider began to grow more comfortable playing lead guitar. It was also at this time that Schneider began to take stronger creative control of the band, shifting its sound from its stronger rock qualities to a spacier pop sound. The band started work on a debut album, but it instead became Hypnotic Suggestion, a second EP. However, after SpinART Records offered to buy the band an 8-track in return for an album, new plans for an LP arose.
In mid-1994, after Hypnotic Suggestion, McIntyre would be the second to leave the band, due to a number of personal distresses as well as stylistic changes that arose with Parfitt's departure. Having great difficulty finding a new permanent bassist, the band would rotate a number of frequent bass contributors, including Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel, Kurt Heasley of The Lilys, Kyle Jones, Joel Richardson, and Joel Evans. Jim McIntyre would also occasionally guest on bass. This continued to be the makeup of the band as they toured the country in late 1994, recording the first half of their new album in Glendora, California. In early 1995, the band finished the album, Fun Trick Noisemaker, at Kyle Jones's house (the birthplace of Schneider's Pet Sounds Studio).
Now with a LP to support, the band began touring again. Eric Allen, whom the band had previously auditioned as a guitarist after the departure of Chris Parfitt, joined the band as a much welcomed permanent bassist. Late 1995, Schneider relocated Pet Sounds Studio to Jim McIntyre's house. McIntyre continued to be involved in the recording and engineering of the band's albums until the mid-2000s.
A significantly different band from the original 1992 four-piece, the official name of the band gradually became "The Apples in Stereo", with the "in stereo" usually somewhat under-emphasized, whether in lower-case or in parentheses. Schneider described this in an interview: "It's very clearcut, actually: we're The Apples, the music's in stereo. It's not actually the band name – it's a step back from it, a band name once removed. We're The Apples, in stereo. Kind of like a TV show, 'in stereo!' That always seemed to be a really big deal, that it was in stereo." McIntyre later remarked, "It's cool the name changed cause the Apples and the Apples in Stereo were really two different entities."
1996–2005: Tone Soul Evolution to Velocity of Sound
The band continued touring through 1996, playing in Japan for the first time. Several early recording sessions were held at Pet Sounds for the band's second album, Tone Soul Evolution, but the members were dissatisfied with the quality of the recordings. The majority of the album's songs were re-recorded at Studio .45 in Hartford, Connecticut before the album's release. In 1998, Chris McDuffie joined the band, playing various instruments including organs, synthesizers and assorted percussion. He would leave the band before Velocity of Sound was released in 2002.
Several more albums were released by the band through the years, including the psychedelic "concept EP", Her Wallpaper Reverie, The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone and Velocity of Sound; both of the latter of which were progressively aimed at capturing the live sound of the band, which continued to tighten as they continued to perform hundreds of live shows (about 100 a year). In particular, the 2002 album Velocity of Sound rejects most of the psych-pop production sensibilities that would come to be associated with the band, instead featuring stripped-down production and sparse, rock instrumentation.
The band members would also continue to pursue careers in side bands and solo projects, with Schneider producing several albums for Elephant 6 artists. Schneider and drummer Hilarie Sidney were married for a time, with a son Max born in 2000. They have since been divorced.
The band went on a brief hiatus during 2004 as Schneider released the debut album from a new band called Ulysses and Sidney released the debut album from her new band The High Water Marks; both were released on Eenie Meenie Records. In 2005, The Apples in Stereo contributed "Liza Jane" to the Eenie Meenie compilation, Dimension Mix. It was also around this time that news began to circulate among various websites concerning the band's next studio album.
2006–2008: New Magnetic Wonder and evolving lineup
In August 2006, longtime drummer Hilarie Sidney officially announced her departure from the band during the band's closing set at the Athens Popfest music festival in Athens, Georgia. Her replacement, John Dufilho, lead singer and principal songwriter of The Deathray Davies, was announced in October 2006. 2006 touring member Bill Doss of The Olivia Tremor Control also quietly joined the band "officially" as its new keyboardist. John Ferguson of Big Fresh and Ulysses joined the Apples in 2007, also playing keyboards, and wearing a Doctor Who-esque space suit on stage.
In December 2006, Robert Schneider appeared on the popular television show The Colbert Report singing the song "Stephen Stephen" recorded by The Apples in Stereo to glorify the show's host Stephen Colbert, to kick off a guitar solo contest between Colbert and Chris Funk of The Decemberists.
On February 6, 2007, The Apples in Stereo released their sixth studio LP, New Magnetic Wonder. Finishing a ten-year deal with spinART Records, New Magnetic Wonder was the premiere release on Simian Records, a newly formed record label founded by Elijah Wood. This was followed by a long-awaited b-sides and rarities compilation titled Electronic Projects for Musicians, released on April 1.
In 2008, spinART Records went out of business. Rights for all major releases by The Apples in Stereo on the label were subsequently acquired by One Little Indian Records, and have since reverted to the band. In a recent interview, Schneider noted that the band's EPs have yet to have been re-released, but will likely be collected for another compilation. Such a compilation would probably include the re-releases of Look Away + 4, Let's Go! and a number of non-album songs released alongside New Magnetic Wonder.
On August 4, 2008, the band appeared again on The Colbert Report. They performed their song Can You Feel It? to promote the release of the Japanese picture disc.
In early 2008, their song "Same Old Drag" won in The 7th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Pop/Rock Song. The same year Apples in Stereo were nominated for Independent Music Awards Pop/Rock Album of the Year. The band members also joined the 9th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers.
2009–2011: #1 Hits Explosion and Travellers in Space and Time
Yep Roc released #1 Hits Explosion, an Apples in Stereo best-of album, on September 1, 2009.
In late 2008, PepsiCo released an advertisement with their song "Energy" off of their album New Magnetic Wonder.
In early 2009, Robert appeared on ABC News's segment called "amplified" and gave some short performances of songs from New Magnetic Wonder and a song from his project "Robert Bobbert and the bubble machine" and he described the album as sounding like early 1970s R&B as it would sound played by aliens and emanating from an alien spaceship.He also confirmed that the band was recording their new album at Trout Recording in Brooklyn, New York. In interviews in Billboard magazine and other press outlets,
In April 2009, the single "Energy" from New Magnetic Wonder was performed by the contestants on the television show American Idol.
The result was the band's seventh album Travellers in Space and Time, released on April 20, 2010 on Simian Records. Described by Schneider as a "retro-futuristic" concept album intended as a time capsule for listeners of the future, Travellers has drawn comparisons to the style of Electric Light Orchestra. The record is the first Apples in Stereo album without Hilarie Sidney, making Schneider the last founding member remaining in the group, although John Hill joined before "in stereo" was added to the name. The band was invited by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he curated in March 2012 in Minehead, England.
Schneider announced in May 2012 that The Apples in Stereo had begun work on a new album, described as being "a very, very different sort of album."
In recent years, Schneider has explored a number of experimental music projects, such as the Teletron mind-controlled synthesizer and Non-Pythagorean scale of his own invention.
2012–present: Death of Bill Doss, hiatus and future
The death of Bill Doss, the band's keyboardist as well as the co-founder of fellow Elephant 6 band The Olivia Tremor Control, was announced on July 31, 2012. The cause of death was an aneurysm. Schneider released a statement saying, "I am heartbroken by the loss of my life-long friend, collaborator and band-mate. My world will never be the same without the wonderful, funny, supremely creative Bill Doss."
The band went into hiatus in the fall of 2012, after Doss' death and Schneider's acceptance into the PhD program in Mathematics at Emory University. In 2013, Phish started covering the Apples in Stereo song "Energy."
In early 2017, Schneider hinted at a new album called The Bicycle Day. He stated on Facebook that "Apples are working on a concept record called The Bicycle Day but it is too deep of a task to finish while I'm in graduate school... it isn't a pop record though ... (Air-Sea Dolphin and my band Spaceflyte with John Ferguson are the new pop projects though)". On August 10, 2017, the Apples played their first show since 2012 as a headlining act at the Athens Popfest music festival in Athens, Georgia with Marshmallow Coast, Antlered Auntlord, and Waxahatchee as prior performers.
In 2018, Schneider received a PhD in mathematics from Emory.
Band members
Current members
Robert Schneider - guitar, French horn, lead vocals (1992–present)
John Hill - guitar, xylophone (1994–present)
Eric Allen - bass, harmonica (1995–present)
John Dufilho - drums, harp (2006–present)
John Ferguson - vocals, keyboards, panflute (2007–present)
Former members
Hilarie Sidney - drums, vocals (1992-2006)
Jim McIntyre - bass (1992-1994)
Chris Parfitt - guitar (1992-1994)
Chris McDuffie - keyboards (1998-2002)
Bill Doss - vocals, keyboards, ukulele (2006-2012; died 2012)
Timeline
Selected discography
Fun Trick Noisemaker (1995)
Science Faire (1996)
Tone Soul Evolution (1997)
Her Wallpaper Reverie (1999)
The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone (2000)
Velocity of Sound (2002)
New Magnetic Wonder (2007)
Electronic Projects for Musicians (2008)
Travellers in Space and Time (2010)
References
External links
The Apples in Stereo at Elephant6.com
Tractor Beam Management
Apples in Stereo entry at Trouser Press
The Apples in Stereo at Live Music Archive
Interview with the Cornell Daily Sun
Step Through the Portal
The Elephant 6 Recording Company artists
Musical groups from Denver
Lo-fi music groups
Musical groups established in 1992
Independent Music Awards winners
Indie pop groups from Colorado
Indie rock musical groups from Colorado
Psychedelic pop music groups
American power pop groups
SpinART Records artists
Yep Roc Records artists | true | [
"Fun Trick Noisemaker is the debut studio album by The Apples in Stereo. It was recorded in a house in Los Angeles, in Robert Schneider's (at the time) portable Pet Sounds Studio. It was released in 1995 via SpinART.\n\nThe album is perhaps the most raw example of the Apples, with the rather lo-fi recording values ... | [
"The Apples in Stereo, styled as The Apples in stereo, are an American rock band associated with Elephant Six Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Of Montreal, and Circulatory System. The band is largely a product of lead vocalist/guitarist/producer R... |
[
"Red Skelton",
"Radio, divorce and remarriage (1937-1951)"
] | C_d6375edfbf57404b88c47daa80fb83f0_0 | Was Red on radio | 1 | Was Red Skelton on the radio? | Red Skelton | Performing the "Doughnut Dunkers" routine led to Skelton's first appearance on Rudy Vallee's The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour on August 12, 1937. Vallee's program had a talent show segment and those who were searching for stardom were eager to be heard on it. Vallee also booked veteran comic and fellow Indiana native Joe Cook to appear as a guest with Skelton. The two Hoosiers proceeded to trade jokes about their home towns, with Skelton contending to Cook, an Evansville native, that the city was a suburb of Vincennes. The show received enough fan mail after the performance to invite both comedians back two weeks after Skelton's initial appearance and again in November of that year. On October 1, 1938, Skelton replaced Red Foley as the host of Avalon Time on NBC; Edna also joined the show's cast, under her maiden name. She developed a system for working with the show's writers: selecting material from them, adding her own and filing the unused bits and lines for future use; the Skeltons worked on Avalon Time until late 1939. Skelton's work in films led to a new regular radio show offer; between films, he promoted himself and MGM by appearing without charge at Los Angeles area banquets. A radio advertising agent was a guest at one of his banquet performances and recommended Skelton to one of his clients. Skelton went on the air with his own radio show, The Raleigh Cigarette Program, on October 7, 1941. The bandleader for the show was Ozzie Nelson; his wife, Harriet, who worked under her maiden name of Hilliard, was the show's vocalist and also worked with Skelton in skits. CANNOTANSWER | A radio advertising agent was a guest at one of his banquet performances and recommended Skelton to one of his clients. | Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program The Red Skelton Show. He has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio and television, and also appeared in burlesque, vaudeville, films, nightclubs, and casinos, all while he pursued an entirely separate career as an artist.
Skelton began developing his comedic and pantomime skills from the age of 10, when he became part of a traveling medicine show. He then spent time on a showboat, worked the burlesque circuit, and then entered into vaudeville in 1934. The "Doughnut Dunkers" pantomime sketch, which he wrote together with his wife, launched a career for him in vaudeville, radio, and films. His radio career began in 1937 with a guest appearance on The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour, which led to his becoming the host of Avalon Time in 1938. He became the host of The Raleigh Cigarette Program in 1941, on which many of his comedy characters were created, and he had a regularly scheduled radio program until 1957. Skelton made his film debut in 1938 alongside Ginger Rogers and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in Alfred Santell's Having Wonderful Time, and would appear in numerous musical and comedy films throughout the 1940s and 1950s, with starring roles in 19 films, including Ship Ahoy (1941), I Dood It (1943), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), and The Clown (1953).
Skelton was eager to work in television, even when the medium was in its infancy. The Red Skelton Show made its television premiere on September 30, 1951, on NBC. By 1954, Skelton's program moved to CBS, where it was expanded to one hour and renamed The Red Skelton Hour in 1962. Despite high ratings, the show was canceled by CBS in 1970, as the network believed that more youth-oriented programs were needed to attract younger viewers and their spending power. Skelton moved his program to NBC, where he completed his last year with a regularly scheduled television show in 1971. He spent his time after that making as many as 125 personal appearances a year and working on his paintings.
Skelton's paintings of clowns remained a hobby until 1964, when his wife Georgia persuaded him to show them at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas while he was performing there. Sales of his originals were successful, and he also sold prints and lithographs, earning $2.5 million yearly on lithograph sales. At the time of his death, his art dealer said he thought that Skelton had earned more money through his paintings than from his television performances.
Skelton believed that his life's work was to make people laugh; he wanted to be known as a clown because he defined it as being able to do everything. He had a 70-year-long career as a performer and entertained three generations of Americans. His widow donated many of his personal and professional effects to Vincennes University, including prints of his artwork. They are part of the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy at Vincennes, Indiana.
Biography
Early years, the medicine show and the circus (1913–1929)
According to some sources, Skelton was born Richard Red Skelton on July 18, 1913, in Vincennes, Indiana. In a 1983 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Skelton claimed his middle name was really "Red" and that he had made up the middle name Bernard, from the name of a local store, Bernard Clothiers, to satisfy a schoolteacher who would not believe his middle name was "Red".
Skelton was the fourth son and youngest child of Joseph Elmer and Ida Mae (née Fields) Skelton. He had three older brothers: Denny Ishmael Skelton (1905-1943), Christopher M. Skelton (1907-1977) and Paul Fred Skelton (1910-1989). Joseph Skelton, a grocer, died two months before Richard was born; he had once been a clown with the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. His birth certificate surname was that of his father's stepfather. During Skelton's lifetime there was some dispute about the year of his birth. Author Wesley Hyatt suggests that since he began working at such an early age, Skelton may have claimed he was older than he actually was in order to gain employment. Vincennes neighbors described the Skelton family as being extremely poor; a childhood friend remembered that her parents broke up a youthful romance between her sister and Skelton because they thought he had no future.
Because of the loss of his father, Skelton went to work as early as the age of seven, selling newspapers and doing other odd jobs to help his family, who had lost the family store and their home. He quickly learned the newsboy's patter and would keep it up until a prospective buyer bought a copy of the paper just to quiet him. According to later accounts, Skelton's early interest in becoming an entertainer stemmed from an incident that took place in Vincennes around 1923, when a stranger, supposedly the comedian Ed Wynn, approached Skelton, who was the newsboy selling papers outside a Vincennes theater. When the man asked Skelton what events were going on in town, Skelton suggested he see the new show in town. The man purchased every paper Skelton had, providing enough money for the boy to purchase a ticket for himself. The stranger turned out to be one of the show's stars, who later took the boy backstage to introduce him to the other performers. The experience prompted Skelton, who had already shown comedic tendencies, to pursue a career as a performer.
Skelton discovered at an early age that he could make people laugh. Skelton dropped out of school around 1926 or 1927, when he was 13 or 14 years old, but he already had some experience performing in minstrel shows in Vincennes, and on a showboat, The Cotton Blossom, that plied the Ohio and Missouri rivers. He enjoyed his work on the riverboat, moving on only after he realized that showboat entertainment was coming to an end. Skelton, who was interested in all forms of acting, took a dramatic role with the John Lawrence stock theater company, but was unable to deliver his lines in a serious manner; the audience laughed instead. In another incident, while performing in Uncle Tom's Cabin, Skelton was on an unseen treadmill; when it malfunctioned and began working in reverse, the frightened young actor called out, "Help! I'm backing into heaven!" He was fired before completing a week's work in the role. At the age of 15, Skelton did some early work on the burlesque circuit, and reportedly spent four months with the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus in 1929, when he was 16 years old.
Ida Skelton, who held multiple jobs to support her family after the death of her husband, did not suggest that her youngest son had run away from home to become an entertainer, but "his destiny had caught up with him at an early age". She let him go with her blessing. Times were tough during the Great Depression, and it may have meant one less child for her to feed. Around 1929, while Skelton was still a teen, he joined "Doc" R.E. Lewis's traveling medicine show as an errand boy who sold bottles of medicine to the audience. During one show, when Skelton accidentally fell from the stage, breaking several bottles of medicine as he fell, people laughed. Both Lewis and Skelton realized one could earn a living with this ability and the fall was worked into the show. He also told jokes and sang in the medicine show during his four years there. Skelton earned ten dollars a week, and sent all of it home to his mother. When she worried that he was keeping nothing for his own needs, Skelton reassured her: "We get plenty to eat, and we sleep in the wagon."
Burlesque to vaudeville (1929–1937)
As burlesque comedy material became progressively more ribald, Skelton moved on. He insisted that he was no prude; "I just didn't think the lines were funny". He became a sought-after master of ceremonies for dance marathons (known as "walkathons" at the time), a popular fad in the 1930s. The winner of one of the marathons was Edna Stillwell, an usher at the old Pantages Theater. She approached Skelton after winning the contest and told him that she did not like his jokes; he asked if she could do better. They married in 1931 in Kansas City, and Edna began writing his material. At the time of their marriage Skelton was one month away from his 18th birthday; Edna was 16. When they learned that Skelton's salary was to be cut, Edna went to see the boss; he resented the interference, until she came away with not only a raise, but additional considerations as well. Since he had left school at an early age, his wife bought textbooks and taught him what he had missed. With Edna's help, Skelton received a high school equivalency degree.
The couple put together an act and began booking it at small midwestern theaters. When an offer came for an engagement in Harwich Port, Massachusetts, some 2,000 miles from Kansas City, they were pleased to get it because of its proximity to their ultimate goal, the vaudeville houses of New York City. To get to Massachusetts they bought a used car and borrowed five dollars from Edna's mother, but by the time they arrived in St. Louis they had only fifty cents. Skelton asked Edna to collect empty cigarette packs; she thought he was joking, but did as he asked. He then spent their fifty cents on bars of soap, which they cut into small cubes and wrapped with the tinfoil from the cigarette packs. By selling their products for fifty cents each as fog remover for eyeglasses, the Skeltons were able to afford a hotel room every night as they worked their way to Harwich Port.
"Doughnut Dunkers"
Skelton and Edna worked for a year in Camden, New Jersey, and were able to get an engagement at Montreal's Lido Club in 1934 through a friend who managed the chorus lines at New York's Roxy Theatre. Despite an initial rocky start, the act was a success, and brought them more theater dates throughout Canada.
Skelton's performances in Canada led to new opportunities and the inspiration for a new, innovative routine that brought him recognition in the years to come. While performing in Montreal, the Skeltons met Harry Anger, a vaudeville producer for New York City's Loew's State Theatre. Anger promised the pair a booking as a headlining act at Loew's, but they would need to come up with new material for the engagement. While the Skeltons were having breakfast in a Montreal diner, Edna had an idea for a new routine as she and Skelton observed the other patrons eating doughnuts and drinking coffee. They devised the "Doughnut Dunkers" routine, with Skelton's visual impressions of how different people ate doughnuts. The skit won them the Loew's State engagement and a handsome fee.
The couple viewed the Loew's State engagement in 1937 as Skelton's big chance. They hired New York comedy writers to prepare material for the engagement, believing they needed more sophisticated jokes and skits than the routines Skelton normally performed. However, his New York audience did not laugh or applaud until Skelton abandoned the newly written material and began performing the "Doughnut Dunkers" and his older routines. The doughnut-dunking routine also helped Skelton rise to celebrity status. In 1937, while he was entertaining at the Capitol Theater in Washington, D.C., President Franklin D. Roosevelt invited Skelton to perform at a White House luncheon. During one of the official toasts, Skelton grabbed Roosevelt's glass, saying, "Careful what you drink, Mr. President. I got rolled in a place like this once." His humor appealed to FDR and Skelton became the master of ceremonies for Roosevelt's official birthday celebration for many years afterward.
Film work
Skelton's first contact with Hollywood came in the form of a failed 1932 screen test. In 1938, he made his film debut for RKO Pictures in the supporting role of a camp counselor in Having Wonderful Time. He appeared in two short subjects for Vitaphone in 1939: Seeing Red and The Broadway Buckaroo. Actor Mickey Rooney contacted Skelton, urging him to try for work in films after seeing him perform his "Doughnut Dunkers" act at President Roosevelt's 1940 birthday party. For his Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) screen test, Skelton performed many of his more popular skits, such as "Guzzler's Gin", but added some impromptu pantomimes as the cameras were rolling. "Imitation of Movie Heroes Dying" were Skelton's impressions of the cinema deaths of stars such as George Raft, Edward G. Robinson, and James Cagney.
Skelton appeared in numerous films for MGM throughout the 1940s. In 1940, he provided comic relief as a lieutenant in Frank Borzage's war drama Flight Command, opposite Robert Taylor, Ruth Hussey, and Walter Pidgeon. In 1941, he also provided comic relief in Harold S. Bucquet's Dr. Kildare medical dramas, Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day and The People vs. Dr. Kildare. Skelton was soon starring in comedy features as inept radio detective "The Fox", the first of which was Whistling in the Dark (1941) in which he began working with director S. Sylvan Simon, who became his favorite director. He reprised the same role opposite Ann Rutherford in Simon's other pictures, including Whistling in Dixie (1942) and Whistling in Brooklyn (1943). In 1941, Skelton began appearing in musical comedies, starring opposite Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern, and Robert Young in Norman Z. McLeod's Lady Be Good. In 1942, Skelton again starred opposite Eleanor Powell in Edward Buzzell's Ship Ahoy, and alongside Ann Sothern in McLeod's Panama Hattie.
In 1943, after a memorable role as a nightclub hatcheck attendant who becomes King Louis XV of France in a dream opposite Lucille Ball and Gene Kelly in Roy Del Ruth's Du Barry Was a Lady, Skelton starred as Joseph Rivington Reynolds, a hotel valet besotted with Broadway starlet Constance Shaw (Powell) in Vincente Minnelli's romantic musical comedy, I Dood It. The film was largely a remake of Buster Keaton's Spite Marriage; Keaton, who had become a comedy consultant to MGM after his film career had diminished, began coaching Skelton on set during the filming. Keaton worked in this capacity on several of Skelton's films, and his 1926 film The General was also later rewritten to become Skelton's A Southern Yankee (1948), under directors S. Sylvan Simon and Edward Sedgwick. Keaton was so convinced of Skelton's comedic talent that he approached MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer with a request to create a small company within MGM for himself and Skelton, where the two could work on film projects. Keaton offered to forgo his salary if the films made by the company were not box-office hits; Mayer chose to decline the request. In 1944, Skelton starred opposite Esther Williams in George Sidney's musical comedy Bathing Beauty, playing a songwriter with romantic difficulties. He next had a relatively minor role as a "TV announcer who, in the course of demonstrating a brand of gin, progresses from mild inebriation through messy drunkenness to full-blown stupor" in the "When Television Comes" segment of Ziegfeld Follies, which featured William Powell and Judy Garland in the main roles. In 1946, Skelton played boastful clerk J. Aubrey Piper opposite Marilyn Maxwell and Marjorie Main in Harry Beaumont's comedy picture The Show-Off.
Skelton's contract called for MGM's approval prior to his radio shows and other appearances. When he renegotiated his long-term contract with MGM, he wanted a clause that permitted him to remain working in radio and to be able to work on television, which was then largely experimental. At the time, the major work in the medium was centered in New York; Skelton had worked there for some time, and was able to determine that he would find success with his physical comedy through the medium. By 1947, Skelton's work interests were focused not on films, but on radio and television. His MGM contract was rigid enough to require the studio's written consent for his weekly radio shows, as well as any benefit or similar appearances he made; radio offered fewer restrictions, more creative control, and a higher salary. Skelton asked for a release from MGM after learning he could not raise the $750,000 needed to buy out the remainder of his contract. He also voiced frustration with the film scripts he was offered while on the set of The Fuller Brush Man, saying, "Movies are not my field. Radio and television are." He did not receive the desired television clause nor a release from his MGM contract. In 1948, columnist Sheilah Graham printed that Skelton's wishes were to make only one film a year, spending the rest of the time traveling the U.S. with his radio show.
Skelton's ability to successfully ad lib often meant that the way the script was written was not always the way it was recorded on film. Some directors were delighted with the creativity, but others were often frustrated by it. S. Sylvan Simon, who became a close friend, allowed Skelton free rein when directing him. MGM became annoyed with Simon during the filming of The Fuller Brush Man, as the studio contended that Skelton should have been playing romantic leads instead of performing slapstick. Simon and MGM parted company when he was not asked to direct retakes of Skelton's A Southern Yankee; Simon asked that his name be removed from the film's credits.
Skelton was willing to negotiate with MGM to extend the agreement provided he would receive the right to pursue television. This time, the studio was willing to grant it, making Skelton the only major MGM personality with the privilege. The 1950 negotiations allowed him to begin working in television beginning September 30, 1951. During the last portion of his contract with the studio, Skelton was working in radio and on television in addition to films. He went on to appear in films such as Jack Donohue's The Yellow Cab Man (1950), Roy Rowland and Buster Keaton's Excuse My Dust (1951), Charles Walters' Texas Carnival (1951), Mervyn LeRoy's Lovely to Look At (1952), Robert Z. Leonard's The Clown (1953), and The Great Diamond Robbery (1954), and Norman Z. McLeod's poorly received Public Pigeon No. 1 (1957), his last major film role, which originated incidentally from an episode of the television anthology series Climax!. In a 1956 interview, he said he would never work simultaneously in all three media again. As a result, Skelton would make only a few appearances in films after this, including playing a saloon drunk in Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), a fictional version of himself as a gambler in Ocean's 11 (1960), and a Neanderthal man in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965).
Radio, divorce, and remarriage (1937–1951)
Performing the "Doughnut Dunkers" routine led to Skelton's first appearance on Rudy Vallée's The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour on August 12, 1937. Vallée's program had a talent-show segment, and those who were searching for stardom were eager to be heard on it. Vallée also booked veteran comic and fellow Indiana native Joe Cook to appear as a guest with Skelton. The two Hoosiers proceeded to trade jokes about their home towns, with Skelton contending to Cook, an Evansville native, that the city was a suburb of Vincennes. The show received enough fan mail after the performance to invite both comedians back two weeks after Skelton's initial appearance and again in November of that year.
On October 1, 1938, Skelton replaced Red Foley as the host of Avalon Time on NBC; Edna also joined the show's cast, under her maiden name. She developed a system for working with the show's writers – selecting material from them, adding her own, and filing the unused bits and lines for future use; the Skeltons worked on Avalon Time until late 1939. Skelton's work in films led to a new regular radio-show offer; between films, he promoted himself and MGM by appearing without charge at Los Angeles-area banquets. A radio advertising agent was a guest at one of his banquet performances and recommended Skelton to one of his clients.
Skelton went on the air with his own radio show, The Raleigh Cigarette Program, on October 7, 1941. The bandleader for the show was Ozzie Nelson; his wife, Harriet, who worked under her maiden name of Hilliard, was the show's vocalist and also worked with Skelton in skits.
"I dood it!"
Skelton introduced the first two of his many characters during The Raleigh Cigarette Program's first season. The character of Clem Kadiddlehopper was based on a Vincennes neighbor named Carl Hopper, who was hard of hearing. After the cartoon character Bullwinkle was introduced, Skelton contemplated filing a lawsuit against Bill Scott, who voiced the cartoon moose, because he found it similar to his voice pattern for Clem. The second character, the Mean Widdle Kid, or "Junior", was a young boy full of mischief, who typically did things he was told not to do. "Junior" would say things like, "If I dood it, I gets a whipping.", followed moments later by the statement, "I dood it!" Skelton performed the character at home with Edna, giving him the nickname "Junior" long before it was heard by a radio audience. While the phrase was Skelton's, the idea of using the character on the radio show was Edna's. Skelton starred in a 1943 movie of the same name, but did not play "Junior" in the film.
The phrase was such a part of national culture at the time that, when General Doolittle conducted the bombing of Tokyo in 1942, many newspapers used the phrase "Doolittle Dood It" as a headline. After a talk with President Roosevelt in 1943, Skelton used his radio show to collect funds for a Douglas A-20 Havoc to be given to the Soviet Army to help fight World War II. Asking children to send in their spare change, he raised enough money for the aircraft in two weeks; he named the bomber "We Dood It!" In 1986, Soviet newspaper Pravda offered praise to Skelton for his 1943 gift, and in 1993, the pilot of the plane was able to meet Skelton and thank him for the bomber.
Skelton also added a routine he had been performing since 1928. Originally called "Mellow Cigars", the skit entailed an announcer who became ill as he smoked his sponsor's product. Brown and Williamson, the makers of cigarettes, asked Skelton to change some aspects of the skit; he renamed the routine "Guzzler's Gin", where the announcer became inebriated while sampling and touting the imaginary sponsor's wares. While the traditional radio program called for its cast to do an audience warm-up in preparation for the broadcast, Skelton did just the opposite. After the regular radio program had ended, the show's audience was treated to a post-program performance. He then performed his "Guzzler's Gin" or any of more than 350 routines for those who had come to the radio show. He updated and revised his post-show routines as diligently as those for his radio program. As a result, studio audience tickets for Skelton's radio show were in high demand; at times, up to 300 people had to be turned away for lack of seats.
Divorce from Edna, marriage to Georgia
In 1942, Edna announced that she was leaving Skelton, but would continue to manage his career and write material for him. He did not realize she was serious until Edna issued a statement about the impending divorce through NBC. They were divorced in 1943, leaving the courtroom arm in arm. The couple did not discuss the reasons for their divorce, and Edna initially prepared to work as a script writer for other radio programs. When the divorce was finalized, she went to New York, leaving her former husband three fully prepared show scripts. Skelton and those associated with him sent telegrams and called her, asking her to come back to him in a professional capacity. Edna remained the manager of the couple's funds because Skelton spent money too easily. An attempt at managing his own checking account that began with a $5,000 balance, ended five days later after a call to Edna saying the account was overdrawn. Skelton had a weekly allowance of $75, with Edna making investments for him, choosing real estate and other relatively stable assets. She remained an advisor on his career until 1952, receiving a generous weekly salary for life for her efforts.
The divorce meant that Skelton had lost his married man's deferment; he was once again classified as 1-A for service. He was drafted into the Army in early 1944; both MGM and his radio sponsor tried to obtain a deferment for the comedian, but to no avail. His last Raleigh radio show was on June 6, 1944, the day before he was formally inducted as a private; he was not assigned to Special Services at that time. Without its star, the program was discontinued, and the opportunity presented itself for the Nelsons to begin a radio show of their own, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
By 1944, Skelton was engaged to actress Muriel Morris, who was also known as Muriel Chase; the couple had obtained a marriage license and told the press they intended to marry within a few days. At the last minute, the actress decided not to marry him, initially saying she intended to marry a wealthy businessman in Mexico City. She later recanted the story about marrying the businessman, but continued to say that her relationship with Skelton was over. The actress further denied that the reason for the breakup was Edna's continuing to manage her ex-husband's career; Edna stated that she had no intention of either getting in the middle of the relationship or reconciling with her former husband.
He was on army furlough for throat discomfort when he married actress Georgia Maureen Davis in Beverly Hills, California, on March 9, 1945; the couple met on the MGM lot. Skelton traveled to Los Angeles from the eastern army base where he was assigned for the wedding. He knew he would possibly be assigned overseas soon, and wanted the marriage to take place first. After the wedding, he entered the hospital to have his tonsils removed. The couple had two children; Valentina, a daughter, was born May 5, 1947, and a son, Richard, was born May 20, 1948.
A cast of characters
Skelton served in the United States Army during World War II. After being assigned to the Special Services, Skelton performed as many as 12 shows per day before troops in both the United States and in Europe. The pressure of his workload caused him to suffer exhaustion and a nervous breakdown. He had a nervous collapse while in the Army, following which he developed a stutter. While recovering at an army hospital at Camp Pickett, Virginia, he met a soldier who had been severely wounded and was not expected to survive. Skelton devoted a lot of time and effort to trying to make the man laugh. As a result of this effort, his stutter reduced; his army friend's condition also improved, and he was no longer on the critical list. He was released from his army duties in September 1945. "I've been told I'm the only celebrity who entered the Army as a private and came out a private," he told reporters. His sponsor was eager to have him back on the air, and Skelton's program began anew on NBC on December 4, 1945.
Upon returning to radio, Skelton brought with him many new characters that were added to his repertoire: Bolivar Shagnasty, described as a "loudmouthed braggart"; Cauliflower McPugg, a boxer; Deadeye, a cowboy; Willie Lump-Lump, a fellow who drank too much; and San Fernando Red, a confidence man with political aspirations. By 1947, Skelton's musical conductor was David Rose, who went on to television with him; he had worked with Rose during his time in the Army and wanted Rose to join him on the radio show when it went back on the air.
On April 22, 1947, Skelton was censored by NBC two minutes into his radio show. When his announcer Rod O'Connor and he began talking about Fred Allen being censored the previous week, they were silenced for 15 seconds; comedian Bob Hope was given the same treatment once he began referring to the censoring of Allen. Skelton forged on with his lines for his studio audience's benefit; the material he insisted on using had been edited from the script by the network before the broadcast. He had been briefly censored the previous month for the use of the word "diaper". After the April incidents, NBC indicated it would no longer pull the plug for similar reasons.
Skelton changed sponsors in 1948; Brown & Williamson, owners of Raleigh cigarettes, withdrew due to program production costs. His new sponsor was Procter & Gamble's Tide laundry detergent. The next year, he changed networks, going from NBC to CBS, where his radio show aired until May 1953. After his network radio contract was over, he signed a three-year contract with Ziv Radio for a syndicated radio program in 1954. His syndicated radio program was offered as a daily show; it included segments of his older network radio programs, and new material done for the syndication. He was able to use portions of his older radio shows because he owned the rights for rebroadcasting them.
Television (1951–1970)
Skelton was unable to work in television until the end of his 1951 MGM movie contract; a renegotiation to extend the pact provided permission after that point. On May 4, 1951, he signed a contract for television with NBC; Procter and Gamble was his sponsor. He said he would be performing the same characters on television that he had been doing on radio. The MGM agreement with Skelton for television performances did not allow him to go on the air before September 30, 1951.
His television debut, The Red Skelton Show, premiered on that date: At the end of his opening monologue, two men backstage grabbed his ankles from behind the set curtain, hauling him offstage face down. A 1943 instrumental hit by David Rose, called "Holiday for Strings", became Skelton's TV theme song. The move to television allowed him to create two nonhuman characters, seagulls Gertrude and Heathcliffe, which he performed while the pair were flying by, tucking his thumbs under his arms to represent wings and shaping his hat to look like a bird's bill. He patterned his meek, henpecked television character of George Appleby after his radio character, J. Newton Numbskull, who had similar characteristics. His "Freddie the Freeloader" clown was introduced on the program in 1952, with Skelton copying his father's makeup for the character. ( He learned how to duplicate his father's makeup and perform his routines through his mother's recollections.) A ritual was established for the end of every program, with Skelton's shy, boyish wave and words of "Good night and may God bless."
During the 1951–1952 season, the program was broadcast from a converted NBC radio studio. The first year of the television show was done live; this led to problems, because not enough time was available for costume changes; Skelton was on camera for most of the half hour, including the delivery of a commercial that was written into one of the show's skits. In early 1952, Skelton had an idea for a television sketch about someone who had been drinking not knowing which way is up. The script was completed, and he had the show's production crew build a set that was perpendicular to the stage, so it would give the illusion that someone was walking on walls. The skit, starring his character Willie Lump-Lump, called for the character's wife to hire a carpenter to redo the living room in an effort to teach her husband a lesson about his drinking. When Willie wakes up there after a night of drinking, he is misled into believing he is not lying on the floor, but on the living room wall. Willie's wife goes about the house normally, but to Willie, she appears to be walking on a wall. Within an hour after the broadcast, the NBC switchboard had received 350 calls regarding the show, and Skelton had received more than 2,500 letters about the skit within a week of its airing.
Skelton was delivering an intense performance live each week, and the strain showed in physical illness. In 1952, he was drinking heavily due to the constant physical pain of a diaphragmatic hernia and the emotional distress of marital problems. He thought about divorcing Georgia. NBC agreed to film his shows in the 1952–1953 season at Eagle Lion Studios, next to the Sam Goldwyn Studio, on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood. Later, the show was moved to the new NBC television studios in Burbank. Procter and Gamble was unhappy with the filming of the television show, and insisted that Skelton return to live broadcasts. The situation made him think about leaving television. Declining ratings prompted sponsor Procter & Gamble to cancel his show in the spring of 1953. Skelton announced that any of his future television programs would be variety shows, where he would not have the almost constant burden of performing. Beginning with the 1953–1954 season, he switched to CBS, where he remained until 1970. For the initial move to CBS, he had no sponsor. The network gambled by covering all expenses for the program on a sustaining basis: His first CBS sponsor was Geritol. He curtailed his drinking and his ratings at CBS began to improve, especially after he began appearing on Tuesday nights for co-sponsors Johnson's Wax and Pet Milk Company.
By 1955, Skelton was broadcasting some of his weekly programs in color, which was the case about 100 times
between 1955 and 1960. He tried to encourage CBS to do other shows in color at the facility, but CBS mostly avoided color broadcasting after the network's television-set manufacturing division was discontinued in 1951. By 1959, Skelton was the only comedian with a weekly variety television show. Others who remained on the air, such as Danny Thomas, were performing their routines as part of situation comedy programs. He performed a preview show for a studio audience on Mondays, using their reactions to determine which skits required editing for the Tuesday program. For the Tuesday afternoon run-through prior to the actual show, he ignored the script for the most part, ad-libbing through it at will. The run-through was well attended by CBS Television City employees. Sometimes during live telecasts and taped programs, Skelton would break up or cause his guest stars to laugh.
Richard's illness and death
At the height of Skelton's popularity, his 9-year-old son Richard was diagnosed with leukemia and was given a year to live. While the network told him to take as much time off as necessary, Skelton felt that unless he went back to his television show, he would be unable to be at ease and make his son's life a happy one. He returned to his television show on January 15, 1957, with guest star Mickey Rooney helping to lift his spirits. In happier times, he had frequently mentioned his children on his program, but he found it extremely difficult to do this after Richard became ill. Skelton resumed this practice only after his son asked him to do so. After his son's diagnosis, Skelton took his family on an extended trip, so Richard could see as much of the world as possible. The Skeltons had an audience with Pope Pius XII on July 22, 1957. According to an International News Service article that appeared in the August 1, 1957, issue of the St.Joseph, Missouri News Press, Richard said that the audience with the Pope was the high point of the trip so far. The Skeltons cut their travels short and returned to the United States after an encounter with an aggressive reporter in London and relentlessly negative reports in British newspapers.
The Skelton family received support from CBS management and from the public following the announcement of Richard's illness. In November, Skelton fell down stairs and injured an ankle, and he nearly died after a "cardiac-asthma" attack on December 30, 1957. He was taken to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, where, his doctors said, "if there were ten steps to death, Red Skelton had taken nine of them by the time he had arrived". Skelton later said he was working on some notes for television and the next thing he remembered, he was in a hospital bed; he did not know how serious his illness was until he read about it himself in the newspapers. His illness and recovery kept him off the air for a full month; Skelton returned to his television show on January 28, 1958.
Richard died on May 10, 1958, 10 days before his 10th birthday. Skelton was scheduled to do his weekly television show on the day his son was buried. Though recordings of some older programs were available that the network could have run, he asked that guest performers be used, instead. His friends in the television, film and music industries organized The Friends Of Red Skelton Variety Show, which they performed to replace The Red Skelton Show for that week; by May 27, 1958, Skelton had returned to his program. Richard‘s death had a profound effect on the family. Life magazine, profiling "The Invincible Red" on April 21, 1961, observed that Skelton was still "racked [sic]" by his son’s death. In 1962, the Skelton family moved to Palm Springs, and Skelton used the Bel Air home only on the two days a week when he was in Los Angeles for his television show taping.
The Red Skelton Hour
In early 1960, Skelton purchased the old Charlie Chaplin Studios and updated it for videotape recording. With a recently purchased three-truck mobile color television unit, he recorded a number of his series episodes and specials in color. Even with his color facilities, CBS discontinued color broadcasts on a regular basis and Skelton shortly thereafter sold the studio to CBS and the mobile unit to local station KTLA. Prior to this, he had been filming at Desilu Productions. Skelton then moved back to the network's Television City facilities, where he taped his programs until he left the network. In the fall of 1962, CBS expanded his program to a full hour, retitling it The Red Skelton Hour. Although it was a staple of his radio programs, he did not perform his "Junior" character on television until 1962, after extending the length of his program.
Skelton frequently employed the art of pantomime for his characters; a segment of his weekly program was called the "Silent Spot". He attributed his liking for pantomime and for using few props to the early days when he did not want to have a lot of luggage. He explained that having the right hat was the key to getting into character.
Skelton's season premiere for the 1960–1961 television season was a tribute to the United Nations. About 600 people from the organization, including diplomats, were invited to be part of the audience for the show. The program was entirely done in pantomime, as UN representatives from 39 nations were in the studio audience. One of the sketches he performed for the UN was that of the old man watching the parade. The sketch had its origins in a question Skelton's son, Richard, asked his father about what happens when people die. He told his son, "They join a parade and start marching." In 1965, Skelton did another show completely in pantomime. This time, he was joined by Marcel Marceau; the two artists alternated performances for the hour-long program, sharing the stage to perform Pinocchio. The only person who spoke during the hour was Maurice Chevalier, who served as the show's narrator.
In 1969, Skelton wrote and performed a monologue about the Pledge of Allegiance. In the speech, he commented on the meaning of each phrase of the pledge. He credited one of his Vincennes grammar-school teachers, Mr. Laswell, with the original speech. The teacher had grown tired of hearing his students monotonously recite the pledge each morning; he then demonstrated to them how it should be recited, along with comments about the meaning behind each phrase. CBS received 200,000 requests for copies; the company subsequently released the monologue as a single on Columbia Records. A year later, he performed the monologue for President Richard Nixon at the first "Evening at the White House", a series of entertainment events honoring the recently inaugurated president.
Off the air and bitterness (1970–1983)
As the 1970s began, the networks began a major campaign to discontinue long-running shows that they considered stale, dominated by older demographics, and/or becoming too expensive due to escalating costs. Despite Skelton's continued strong overall viewership, CBS saw his show as fitting into this category and cancelled the program along with other comedy and variety shows hosted by veterans such as Jackie Gleason and Ed Sullivan. Performing in Las Vegas when he got the news of his CBS cancellation, Skelton said, "My heart has been broken." His program had been one of the top-10, highest-rated shows for 17 of the 20 years he was on television. Skelton moved to NBC in 1970 in a half-hour Monday-night version of his former show. Its cancellation after one season ended his television career, and he returned to live performances. In an effort to prove the networks wrong, he gave many of these at colleges and proved popular with the audiences.
Skelton was bitter about CBS's cancellation for many years afterwards. Believing the demographic and salary issues to be irrelevant, he accused CBS of bowing to the antiestablishment, antiwar faction at the height of the Vietnam War, saying his conservative political and social views caused the network to turn against him. He had invited prominent Republicans, including Vice President Spiro Agnew and Senate Republican Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, one of the Senate’s strongest supporters of the war, to appear on his program.
Personal, as well as professional, changes occurred in Skelton's life at this time. He divorced Georgia in 1971 and married Lothian Toland, daughter of cinematographer Gregg Toland, on October 7, 1973. While he disassociated himself from television soon after his show was cancelled, his bitterness had subsided enough for him to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on July 11, 1975; it was his first television appearance since the cancellation of his television program. (Johnny Carson, one of his former writers, began his rise to network television prominence when he substituted for Skelton after a dress rehearsal injury in 1954.) Skelton was also a guest on The Merv Griffin Show in October of the same year. Hopes he may have had that he could ease back into television through the talk-show circuit were ended on May 10, 1976, when Georgia Skelton committed suicide by gunshot on the 18th anniversary of Richard Skelton's death. Georgia was 54 and had been in poor health for some time. He put all professional activities on hold for some months as he mourned his former wife's death.
Skelton made plans in 1977 to sell the rights to his old television programs as part of a package that would bring him back to regular television appearances. The package called for him to produce one new television show for every three older episodes; this did not materialize. In 1980, he was taken to court by 13 of his former writers over a report that his will called for the destruction of recordings of all his old television shows upon his death. Skelton contended his remarks were made at a time when he was very unhappy with the television industry and were taken out of context. He said at the time, "Would you burn the only monument you've built in over 20 years?" As the owner of the television shows, Skelton initially refused to allow them to be syndicated as reruns during his lifetime. In 1983, Group W announced that it had come to terms with him for the rights to rebroadcast some of his original television programs from 1966 through 1970; some of his earlier shows were made available after Skelton's death.
Red Skelton onstage
Skelton's 70-year career as an entertainer began as a stage performer. He retained a fondness for theaters, and referred to them as "palaces"; he also likened them to his "living room", where he would privately entertain guests. At the end of a performance, he would look at the empty stage where there was now no laughter or applause and tell himself, "Tomorrow I must start again. One hour ago, I was a big man. I was important out there. Now it's empty. It's all gone."
Skelton was invited to play a four-week date at the London Palladium in July 1951. While flying to the engagement, Skelton, Georgia and Father Edward J. Carney, were on a plane from Rome with passengers from an assortment of countries that included 11 children. The plane lost the use of two of its four engines and seemed destined to lose the rest, meaning that the plane would crash over Mont Blanc. The priest readied himself to administer last rites. As he did so, he told Skelton, "You take care of your department, Red, and I'll take care of mine." Skelton diverted the attention of the passengers with pantomimes while Father Carney prayed. They ultimately landed at a small airstrip in Lyon, France. He received both an enthusiastic reception and an invitation to return for the Palladium's Christmas show of that year.
Though Skelton had always done live engagements at Nevada hotels and appearances such as state fairs during his television show's hiatus, he focused his time and energy on live performances after he was no longer on the air, performing up to 125 dates a year. He often arrived days early for his engagement and would serve as his own promotion staff, making the rounds of the local shopping malls. Before the show, his audiences received a ballot listing about 100 of his many routines and were asked to tick off their favorites. The venue's ushers would collect the ballots and tally the votes. Skelton's performance on that given day was based on the skits his audience selected. After he learned that his performances were popular with the hearing-impaired because of his heavy use of pantomimes, Skelton hired a sign language interpreter to translate the non-pantomime portions of his act for all his shows. He continued performing live until 1993, when he celebrated his 80th birthday.
Later years and death
In 1974, Skelton's interest in film work was rekindled with the news that Neil Simon's comedy The Sunshine Boys would become a movie; his last significant film appearance had been in Public Pigeon No. 1 in 1956. He screen tested for the role of Willy Clark with Jack Benny, who had been cast as Al Lewis. Although Simon had planned to cast Jack Albertson, who played Willy on Broadway, in the same role for the film, Skelton's screen test impressed him enough to change his mind. Skelton declined the part, however, reportedly due to an inadequate financial offer, and Benny's final illness forced him to withdraw, as well. George Burns and Walter Matthau ultimately starred in the film.
In 1981, Skelton made several specials for HBO, including Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner (1981) and the Funny Faces series of specials. He gave a Royal Command Performance for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1984, which was later shown in the U.S. on HBO. A portion of one of his last interviews, conducted by Steven F. Zambo, was broadcast as part of the 2005 PBS special The Pioneers of Primetime.
Skelton died on September 17, 1997, at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, at the age of 84, after what was described as "a long, undisclosed illness". He is interred in the Skelton Family Tomb, the family's private room, alongside his son, Richard Freeman Skelton, Jr., and his second wife, Georgia Maureen Davis Skelton, in the Great Mausoleum's Sanctuary of Benediction at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Skelton was survived by his widow, Lothian Toland Skelton; his daughter, Valentina Marie Skelton Alonso; and granddaughter Sabrina Maureen Alonso.
Art and other interests
Artwork
Skelton began producing artwork in 1943, but kept his works private for many years. He said he was inspired to try his hand at painting after visiting a large Chicago department store that had various paintings on display. Inquiring as to the price of one, which Skelton described as "a bunch of blotches", he was told, "Ten thousand wouldn't buy that one." He told the clerk he was one of the ten thousand who would not buy the painting, instead buying his own art materials. His wife Georgia, a former art student, persuaded him to have his first public showing of his work in 1964 at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, where he was performing at the time. Skelton believed painting was an asset to his comedy work, as it helped him to better visualize the imaginary props used in his pantomime routines.
In addition to his originals, Skelton also sold reproductions and prints through his own mail-order business. He made his work available to art galleries by selling them franchises to display and sell his paintings. He once estimated the sale of his lithographs earned him $2.5 million per year. Shortly after his death, his art dealer said he believed that Skelton made more money on his paintings than from his television work. At the time of his death, Skelton had produced over 1,000 oil paintings of clowns. When asked why his artwork focused on clowns, he said at first, "I don't know why it's always clowns." He continued after thinking a moment by saying "No, that's not true—I do know why. I just don't feel like thinking about it ..." At the time of Skelton's death, his originals were priced at $80,000 and upward.
Other interests
Skelton was a prolific writer of both short stories and music. After sleeping only four or five hours a night, he would wake up at 5 am and begin writing stories, composing music, and painting pictures. He wrote at least one short story a week and had composed over 8,000 songs and symphonies by the time of his death. He wrote commercials for Skoal tobacco and sold many of his compositions to Muzak, a company that specialized in providing background music to stores and other businesses. Skelton was also interested in photography; when attending Hollywood parties, he would take photos and give the film to newspaper reporters waiting outside. He was never without a miniature camera, and kept a photographic record of all his paintings. Skelton was also an avid gardener, who created his own Japanese and Italian gardens and cultivated bonsai trees at his home in Palm Springs. He owned a horse ranch in the Anza Valley.
Fraternity and honors
Skelton was a Freemason, a member of Vincennes Lodge No. 1, in Indiana. He also was a member of both the Scottish and the York Rites. He was a recipient of the Gold Medal of the General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, for Distinguished Service in the Arts and Sciences. On September 24, 1969, he received the honorary 33rd degree in the Scottish Rite and was a Gourgas Medal recipient in 1995. Skelton became interested in Masonry as a small boy selling newspapers in Vincennes, when a man bought a paper from him with a $5 bill and told him to keep the change. The young Skelton asked his benefactor why he had given him so much money; the man explained that he was a Mason and Masons are taught to give. Skelton decided to become one also when he was grown. He was also member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as a Shriner in Los Angeles.
Skelton was made an honorary brother of Phi Sigma Kappa at Truman State University. In 1961, he became an honorary brother of the Phi Alpha Tau Fraternity of Emerson College, when he was awarded the Joseph E. Connor Award for excellence in the field of communications. He also received an honorary degree from the college at the same ceremony. Skelton received an honorary high-school diploma from Vincennes High School. He was also an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity; Skelton had composed many marches, which were used by more than 10,000 high-school and college bands. In 1986, Skelton received an honorary degree from Ball State University.
The Red Skelton Memorial Bridge spans the Wabash River and provides the highway link between Illinois and Indiana on U.S. Route 50, near Skelton's home town of Vincennes. He attended the dedication ceremonies in 1963.
Awards and recognition
In 1952, Skelton received Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Program and Best Comedian. He also received an Emmy nomination in 1957 for his noncomedic performance in Playhouse 90's presentation of "The Big Slide". Skelton and his writers won another Emmy in 1961 for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy. He was named an honorary faculty member of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1968 and 1969.
Skelton's first major post-television recognition came in 1978, when the Golden Globe Awards named him as the recipient for their Cecil B. DeMille Award, which is given to honor outstanding contributions in entertainment. His excitement was so great upon receiving the award and a standing ovation, that he clutched it tightly enough to break the statuette. When he was presented with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Governor's Award in 1986, Skelton received a standing ovation. "I want to thank you for sitting down", he said when the ovation subsided. "I thought you were pulling a CBS and walking out on me." The honor came 16 years after his television program left the airwaves.
Skelton received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild in 1987, and in 1988, he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Television Hall of Fame. He was one of the International Clown Hall of Fame's first inductees in 1989. Skelton and Katharine Hepburn were honored with lifetime achievement awards by the American Comedy Awards in the same year. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1994. Skelton also has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his radio and television work.
Legacy and tributes
Skelton preferred to be described as a clown rather than a comic: "A comedian goes out and hits people right on. A clown uses pathos. He can be funny, then turn right around and reach people and touch them with what life is like." "I just want to be known as a clown", he said, "because to me that's the height of my profession. It means you can do everything—sing, dance and above all, make people laugh." His purpose in life, he believed, was to make people laugh.
In Groucho and Me, Groucho Marx called Skelton "the most unacclaimed clown in show business", and "the logical successor to [Charlie] Chaplin", largely because of his ability to play a multitude of characters with minimal use of dialogue and props. "With one prop, a soft battered hat", Groucho wrote, describing a performance he had witnessed, "he successfully converted himself into an idiot boy, a peevish old lady, a teetering-tottering drunk, an overstuffed clubwoman, a tramp, and any other character that seemed to suit his fancy. No grotesque make-up, no funny clothes, just Red." He added that Skelton also "plays a dramatic scene about as effectively as any of the dramatic actors." In late 1965, ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, reminiscing about the entertainment business, singled out Skelton for high praise. "It's all so very different today. The whole business of comedy has changed — from 15 minutes of quality to quantity. We had a lot of very funny people around, from Charley Chase to Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. The last one of that breed is Red Skelton." Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures also praised Skelton, saying, "He's a clown in the old tradition. He doesn't need punch lines. He's got heart."
Skelton and Marcel Marceau shared a long friendship and admiration of each other's work. Marceau appeared on Skelton's CBS television show three times, including one turn as the host in 1961 as Skelton recovered from surgery. He was also a guest on the three Funny Faces specials that Skelton produced for HBO. In a TV Guide interview after Skelton's death, Marceau said, "Red, you are eternal for me and the millions of people you made laugh and cry. May God bless you forever, my great and precious companion. I will never forget that silent world we created together." CBS issued the following statement upon his death: "Red's audience had no age limits. He was the consummate family entertainer—a winsome clown, a storyteller without peer, a superb mime, a singer, and a dancer."
The Red Skelton Performing Arts Center was dedicated in February 2006 on the campus of Vincennes University, one block from the home in Vincennes where Skelton was born. The building includes an 850-seat theater, classrooms, rehearsal rooms, and dressing rooms. Its grand foyer is a gallery for Skelton's paintings, statues, and film posters. The theater hosts theatrical and musical productions by Vincennes University, as well as special events, convocations, and conventions. The adjacent Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy opened on July 18, 2013, on what would have been Skelton's 100th birthday. It houses his personal and professional materials, which he had collected since the age of 10, in accordance with his wishes that they be made available in his hometown for the public's enjoyment. Skelton's widow, Lothian, noted that he expressed no interest in any sort of Hollywood memorial. The museum is funded jointly by the Red Skelton Museum Foundation and the Indiana Historical Society. Other foundation projects include a fund that provides new clothes to Vincennes children from low-income families. The foundation also purchased Skelton's birthplace. On July 15, 2017, the state of Indiana unveiled a state historic marker at the home in Vincennes where Skelton was born.
The town of Vincennes has held an annual Red Skelton Festival since 2005. A "Parade of a Thousand Clowns", billed as the largest clown parade in the Midwest, is followed by family-oriented activities and live music performances.
In 2006, Travis Tarrants purchased the historic Vincennes Pantheon Theatre, where Skelton performed during his youth. He established a nonprofit organization with the hope of restoring the theatre to its 1921 state. Tarrants was able to raise close to $300,000 for the restoration. Two years later, donations for the project plummeted. Tarrants lost the theatre to unpaid back taxes in 2012, and the new owner was realtor Heath Klein. In late 2014, Klein sold the theatre property to a Vincennes nonprofit group, INVin. The organization works to bring arts and arts-related businesses into downtown Vincennes. In March 2016, the group proposed to turn the theatre into shared workspace.
Filmography
Features
Short subjects
Box-office ranking
Based on rankings of the amount of money earned in box-office receipts for film showings, for a number of years Skelton was among the most popular stars in the country:
1944 – 16th largest box office draw
1949 – 13th
1951 – 14th
1952 – 21st
Published works
Notes
References
Sources cited
External links
Red Skelton Biography
Red Skelton Foundation
Red Skelton Museum and Education Center
Red Skelton Performing Arts Center at Vincennes University
Edna and Red Skelton Collection at the Indiana Historical Society
RED-EO Video Production Company, article and photo, The Broadcast Archive
List of Red Skelton TV Episodes 1951–1971, The Classic TV Archive
Literature on Red Skelton
Red Skelton at the Internet Archive
"Edna Stillwell and the 'Real Making of Red'”, Indiana Historical Bureau
1913 births
1997 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American painters
Red Skelton
Red Skelton
Red Skelton
American burlesque performers
American clowns
American male comedians
American male composers
American male film actors
American male painters
American male radio actors
American male television actors
American radio personalities
Television personalities from California
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
California Republicans
Red Skelton
Cecil B. DeMille Award Golden Globe winners
Comedians from California
Conservatism in the United States
Indiana Historical Society
Indiana Republicans
Deaths from pneumonia in California
Male actors from Indiana
Male actors from Palm Springs, California
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
Red Skelton
Painters from Indiana
Painters from California
People from Vincennes, Indiana
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
United States Army personnel of World War II
United States Army soldiers
Vaudeville performers | true | [
"Jon Rish (born 1973) is an American former radio personality, best known for his work in the Boston area.\n\nCareer\nRish was a radio host for WEEI-FM in Boston.\n\nRish attended Boston College and began his sportscasting experience on WZBC, the school's 1000-watt FM radio station broadcasting to the Greater Bosto... | [
"Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program The Red Skelton Show. He has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio and television, and als... |
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"Red Skelton",
"Radio, divorce and remarriage (1937-1951)",
"Was Red on radio",
"A radio advertising agent was a guest at one of his banquet performances and recommended Skelton to one of his clients."
] | C_d6375edfbf57404b88c47daa80fb83f0_0 | Did he do ads on radio or shows? | 2 | Did Red Skelton do ads on radio or shows? | Red Skelton | Performing the "Doughnut Dunkers" routine led to Skelton's first appearance on Rudy Vallee's The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour on August 12, 1937. Vallee's program had a talent show segment and those who were searching for stardom were eager to be heard on it. Vallee also booked veteran comic and fellow Indiana native Joe Cook to appear as a guest with Skelton. The two Hoosiers proceeded to trade jokes about their home towns, with Skelton contending to Cook, an Evansville native, that the city was a suburb of Vincennes. The show received enough fan mail after the performance to invite both comedians back two weeks after Skelton's initial appearance and again in November of that year. On October 1, 1938, Skelton replaced Red Foley as the host of Avalon Time on NBC; Edna also joined the show's cast, under her maiden name. She developed a system for working with the show's writers: selecting material from them, adding her own and filing the unused bits and lines for future use; the Skeltons worked on Avalon Time until late 1939. Skelton's work in films led to a new regular radio show offer; between films, he promoted himself and MGM by appearing without charge at Los Angeles area banquets. A radio advertising agent was a guest at one of his banquet performances and recommended Skelton to one of his clients. Skelton went on the air with his own radio show, The Raleigh Cigarette Program, on October 7, 1941. The bandleader for the show was Ozzie Nelson; his wife, Harriet, who worked under her maiden name of Hilliard, was the show's vocalist and also worked with Skelton in skits. CANNOTANSWER | Skelton went on the air with his own radio show, The Raleigh Cigarette Program, | Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program The Red Skelton Show. He has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio and television, and also appeared in burlesque, vaudeville, films, nightclubs, and casinos, all while he pursued an entirely separate career as an artist.
Skelton began developing his comedic and pantomime skills from the age of 10, when he became part of a traveling medicine show. He then spent time on a showboat, worked the burlesque circuit, and then entered into vaudeville in 1934. The "Doughnut Dunkers" pantomime sketch, which he wrote together with his wife, launched a career for him in vaudeville, radio, and films. His radio career began in 1937 with a guest appearance on The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour, which led to his becoming the host of Avalon Time in 1938. He became the host of The Raleigh Cigarette Program in 1941, on which many of his comedy characters were created, and he had a regularly scheduled radio program until 1957. Skelton made his film debut in 1938 alongside Ginger Rogers and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in Alfred Santell's Having Wonderful Time, and would appear in numerous musical and comedy films throughout the 1940s and 1950s, with starring roles in 19 films, including Ship Ahoy (1941), I Dood It (1943), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), and The Clown (1953).
Skelton was eager to work in television, even when the medium was in its infancy. The Red Skelton Show made its television premiere on September 30, 1951, on NBC. By 1954, Skelton's program moved to CBS, where it was expanded to one hour and renamed The Red Skelton Hour in 1962. Despite high ratings, the show was canceled by CBS in 1970, as the network believed that more youth-oriented programs were needed to attract younger viewers and their spending power. Skelton moved his program to NBC, where he completed his last year with a regularly scheduled television show in 1971. He spent his time after that making as many as 125 personal appearances a year and working on his paintings.
Skelton's paintings of clowns remained a hobby until 1964, when his wife Georgia persuaded him to show them at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas while he was performing there. Sales of his originals were successful, and he also sold prints and lithographs, earning $2.5 million yearly on lithograph sales. At the time of his death, his art dealer said he thought that Skelton had earned more money through his paintings than from his television performances.
Skelton believed that his life's work was to make people laugh; he wanted to be known as a clown because he defined it as being able to do everything. He had a 70-year-long career as a performer and entertained three generations of Americans. His widow donated many of his personal and professional effects to Vincennes University, including prints of his artwork. They are part of the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy at Vincennes, Indiana.
Biography
Early years, the medicine show and the circus (1913–1929)
According to some sources, Skelton was born Richard Red Skelton on July 18, 1913, in Vincennes, Indiana. In a 1983 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Skelton claimed his middle name was really "Red" and that he had made up the middle name Bernard, from the name of a local store, Bernard Clothiers, to satisfy a schoolteacher who would not believe his middle name was "Red".
Skelton was the fourth son and youngest child of Joseph Elmer and Ida Mae (née Fields) Skelton. He had three older brothers: Denny Ishmael Skelton (1905-1943), Christopher M. Skelton (1907-1977) and Paul Fred Skelton (1910-1989). Joseph Skelton, a grocer, died two months before Richard was born; he had once been a clown with the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. His birth certificate surname was that of his father's stepfather. During Skelton's lifetime there was some dispute about the year of his birth. Author Wesley Hyatt suggests that since he began working at such an early age, Skelton may have claimed he was older than he actually was in order to gain employment. Vincennes neighbors described the Skelton family as being extremely poor; a childhood friend remembered that her parents broke up a youthful romance between her sister and Skelton because they thought he had no future.
Because of the loss of his father, Skelton went to work as early as the age of seven, selling newspapers and doing other odd jobs to help his family, who had lost the family store and their home. He quickly learned the newsboy's patter and would keep it up until a prospective buyer bought a copy of the paper just to quiet him. According to later accounts, Skelton's early interest in becoming an entertainer stemmed from an incident that took place in Vincennes around 1923, when a stranger, supposedly the comedian Ed Wynn, approached Skelton, who was the newsboy selling papers outside a Vincennes theater. When the man asked Skelton what events were going on in town, Skelton suggested he see the new show in town. The man purchased every paper Skelton had, providing enough money for the boy to purchase a ticket for himself. The stranger turned out to be one of the show's stars, who later took the boy backstage to introduce him to the other performers. The experience prompted Skelton, who had already shown comedic tendencies, to pursue a career as a performer.
Skelton discovered at an early age that he could make people laugh. Skelton dropped out of school around 1926 or 1927, when he was 13 or 14 years old, but he already had some experience performing in minstrel shows in Vincennes, and on a showboat, The Cotton Blossom, that plied the Ohio and Missouri rivers. He enjoyed his work on the riverboat, moving on only after he realized that showboat entertainment was coming to an end. Skelton, who was interested in all forms of acting, took a dramatic role with the John Lawrence stock theater company, but was unable to deliver his lines in a serious manner; the audience laughed instead. In another incident, while performing in Uncle Tom's Cabin, Skelton was on an unseen treadmill; when it malfunctioned and began working in reverse, the frightened young actor called out, "Help! I'm backing into heaven!" He was fired before completing a week's work in the role. At the age of 15, Skelton did some early work on the burlesque circuit, and reportedly spent four months with the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus in 1929, when he was 16 years old.
Ida Skelton, who held multiple jobs to support her family after the death of her husband, did not suggest that her youngest son had run away from home to become an entertainer, but "his destiny had caught up with him at an early age". She let him go with her blessing. Times were tough during the Great Depression, and it may have meant one less child for her to feed. Around 1929, while Skelton was still a teen, he joined "Doc" R.E. Lewis's traveling medicine show as an errand boy who sold bottles of medicine to the audience. During one show, when Skelton accidentally fell from the stage, breaking several bottles of medicine as he fell, people laughed. Both Lewis and Skelton realized one could earn a living with this ability and the fall was worked into the show. He also told jokes and sang in the medicine show during his four years there. Skelton earned ten dollars a week, and sent all of it home to his mother. When she worried that he was keeping nothing for his own needs, Skelton reassured her: "We get plenty to eat, and we sleep in the wagon."
Burlesque to vaudeville (1929–1937)
As burlesque comedy material became progressively more ribald, Skelton moved on. He insisted that he was no prude; "I just didn't think the lines were funny". He became a sought-after master of ceremonies for dance marathons (known as "walkathons" at the time), a popular fad in the 1930s. The winner of one of the marathons was Edna Stillwell, an usher at the old Pantages Theater. She approached Skelton after winning the contest and told him that she did not like his jokes; he asked if she could do better. They married in 1931 in Kansas City, and Edna began writing his material. At the time of their marriage Skelton was one month away from his 18th birthday; Edna was 16. When they learned that Skelton's salary was to be cut, Edna went to see the boss; he resented the interference, until she came away with not only a raise, but additional considerations as well. Since he had left school at an early age, his wife bought textbooks and taught him what he had missed. With Edna's help, Skelton received a high school equivalency degree.
The couple put together an act and began booking it at small midwestern theaters. When an offer came for an engagement in Harwich Port, Massachusetts, some 2,000 miles from Kansas City, they were pleased to get it because of its proximity to their ultimate goal, the vaudeville houses of New York City. To get to Massachusetts they bought a used car and borrowed five dollars from Edna's mother, but by the time they arrived in St. Louis they had only fifty cents. Skelton asked Edna to collect empty cigarette packs; she thought he was joking, but did as he asked. He then spent their fifty cents on bars of soap, which they cut into small cubes and wrapped with the tinfoil from the cigarette packs. By selling their products for fifty cents each as fog remover for eyeglasses, the Skeltons were able to afford a hotel room every night as they worked their way to Harwich Port.
"Doughnut Dunkers"
Skelton and Edna worked for a year in Camden, New Jersey, and were able to get an engagement at Montreal's Lido Club in 1934 through a friend who managed the chorus lines at New York's Roxy Theatre. Despite an initial rocky start, the act was a success, and brought them more theater dates throughout Canada.
Skelton's performances in Canada led to new opportunities and the inspiration for a new, innovative routine that brought him recognition in the years to come. While performing in Montreal, the Skeltons met Harry Anger, a vaudeville producer for New York City's Loew's State Theatre. Anger promised the pair a booking as a headlining act at Loew's, but they would need to come up with new material for the engagement. While the Skeltons were having breakfast in a Montreal diner, Edna had an idea for a new routine as she and Skelton observed the other patrons eating doughnuts and drinking coffee. They devised the "Doughnut Dunkers" routine, with Skelton's visual impressions of how different people ate doughnuts. The skit won them the Loew's State engagement and a handsome fee.
The couple viewed the Loew's State engagement in 1937 as Skelton's big chance. They hired New York comedy writers to prepare material for the engagement, believing they needed more sophisticated jokes and skits than the routines Skelton normally performed. However, his New York audience did not laugh or applaud until Skelton abandoned the newly written material and began performing the "Doughnut Dunkers" and his older routines. The doughnut-dunking routine also helped Skelton rise to celebrity status. In 1937, while he was entertaining at the Capitol Theater in Washington, D.C., President Franklin D. Roosevelt invited Skelton to perform at a White House luncheon. During one of the official toasts, Skelton grabbed Roosevelt's glass, saying, "Careful what you drink, Mr. President. I got rolled in a place like this once." His humor appealed to FDR and Skelton became the master of ceremonies for Roosevelt's official birthday celebration for many years afterward.
Film work
Skelton's first contact with Hollywood came in the form of a failed 1932 screen test. In 1938, he made his film debut for RKO Pictures in the supporting role of a camp counselor in Having Wonderful Time. He appeared in two short subjects for Vitaphone in 1939: Seeing Red and The Broadway Buckaroo. Actor Mickey Rooney contacted Skelton, urging him to try for work in films after seeing him perform his "Doughnut Dunkers" act at President Roosevelt's 1940 birthday party. For his Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) screen test, Skelton performed many of his more popular skits, such as "Guzzler's Gin", but added some impromptu pantomimes as the cameras were rolling. "Imitation of Movie Heroes Dying" were Skelton's impressions of the cinema deaths of stars such as George Raft, Edward G. Robinson, and James Cagney.
Skelton appeared in numerous films for MGM throughout the 1940s. In 1940, he provided comic relief as a lieutenant in Frank Borzage's war drama Flight Command, opposite Robert Taylor, Ruth Hussey, and Walter Pidgeon. In 1941, he also provided comic relief in Harold S. Bucquet's Dr. Kildare medical dramas, Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day and The People vs. Dr. Kildare. Skelton was soon starring in comedy features as inept radio detective "The Fox", the first of which was Whistling in the Dark (1941) in which he began working with director S. Sylvan Simon, who became his favorite director. He reprised the same role opposite Ann Rutherford in Simon's other pictures, including Whistling in Dixie (1942) and Whistling in Brooklyn (1943). In 1941, Skelton began appearing in musical comedies, starring opposite Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern, and Robert Young in Norman Z. McLeod's Lady Be Good. In 1942, Skelton again starred opposite Eleanor Powell in Edward Buzzell's Ship Ahoy, and alongside Ann Sothern in McLeod's Panama Hattie.
In 1943, after a memorable role as a nightclub hatcheck attendant who becomes King Louis XV of France in a dream opposite Lucille Ball and Gene Kelly in Roy Del Ruth's Du Barry Was a Lady, Skelton starred as Joseph Rivington Reynolds, a hotel valet besotted with Broadway starlet Constance Shaw (Powell) in Vincente Minnelli's romantic musical comedy, I Dood It. The film was largely a remake of Buster Keaton's Spite Marriage; Keaton, who had become a comedy consultant to MGM after his film career had diminished, began coaching Skelton on set during the filming. Keaton worked in this capacity on several of Skelton's films, and his 1926 film The General was also later rewritten to become Skelton's A Southern Yankee (1948), under directors S. Sylvan Simon and Edward Sedgwick. Keaton was so convinced of Skelton's comedic talent that he approached MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer with a request to create a small company within MGM for himself and Skelton, where the two could work on film projects. Keaton offered to forgo his salary if the films made by the company were not box-office hits; Mayer chose to decline the request. In 1944, Skelton starred opposite Esther Williams in George Sidney's musical comedy Bathing Beauty, playing a songwriter with romantic difficulties. He next had a relatively minor role as a "TV announcer who, in the course of demonstrating a brand of gin, progresses from mild inebriation through messy drunkenness to full-blown stupor" in the "When Television Comes" segment of Ziegfeld Follies, which featured William Powell and Judy Garland in the main roles. In 1946, Skelton played boastful clerk J. Aubrey Piper opposite Marilyn Maxwell and Marjorie Main in Harry Beaumont's comedy picture The Show-Off.
Skelton's contract called for MGM's approval prior to his radio shows and other appearances. When he renegotiated his long-term contract with MGM, he wanted a clause that permitted him to remain working in radio and to be able to work on television, which was then largely experimental. At the time, the major work in the medium was centered in New York; Skelton had worked there for some time, and was able to determine that he would find success with his physical comedy through the medium. By 1947, Skelton's work interests were focused not on films, but on radio and television. His MGM contract was rigid enough to require the studio's written consent for his weekly radio shows, as well as any benefit or similar appearances he made; radio offered fewer restrictions, more creative control, and a higher salary. Skelton asked for a release from MGM after learning he could not raise the $750,000 needed to buy out the remainder of his contract. He also voiced frustration with the film scripts he was offered while on the set of The Fuller Brush Man, saying, "Movies are not my field. Radio and television are." He did not receive the desired television clause nor a release from his MGM contract. In 1948, columnist Sheilah Graham printed that Skelton's wishes were to make only one film a year, spending the rest of the time traveling the U.S. with his radio show.
Skelton's ability to successfully ad lib often meant that the way the script was written was not always the way it was recorded on film. Some directors were delighted with the creativity, but others were often frustrated by it. S. Sylvan Simon, who became a close friend, allowed Skelton free rein when directing him. MGM became annoyed with Simon during the filming of The Fuller Brush Man, as the studio contended that Skelton should have been playing romantic leads instead of performing slapstick. Simon and MGM parted company when he was not asked to direct retakes of Skelton's A Southern Yankee; Simon asked that his name be removed from the film's credits.
Skelton was willing to negotiate with MGM to extend the agreement provided he would receive the right to pursue television. This time, the studio was willing to grant it, making Skelton the only major MGM personality with the privilege. The 1950 negotiations allowed him to begin working in television beginning September 30, 1951. During the last portion of his contract with the studio, Skelton was working in radio and on television in addition to films. He went on to appear in films such as Jack Donohue's The Yellow Cab Man (1950), Roy Rowland and Buster Keaton's Excuse My Dust (1951), Charles Walters' Texas Carnival (1951), Mervyn LeRoy's Lovely to Look At (1952), Robert Z. Leonard's The Clown (1953), and The Great Diamond Robbery (1954), and Norman Z. McLeod's poorly received Public Pigeon No. 1 (1957), his last major film role, which originated incidentally from an episode of the television anthology series Climax!. In a 1956 interview, he said he would never work simultaneously in all three media again. As a result, Skelton would make only a few appearances in films after this, including playing a saloon drunk in Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), a fictional version of himself as a gambler in Ocean's 11 (1960), and a Neanderthal man in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965).
Radio, divorce, and remarriage (1937–1951)
Performing the "Doughnut Dunkers" routine led to Skelton's first appearance on Rudy Vallée's The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour on August 12, 1937. Vallée's program had a talent-show segment, and those who were searching for stardom were eager to be heard on it. Vallée also booked veteran comic and fellow Indiana native Joe Cook to appear as a guest with Skelton. The two Hoosiers proceeded to trade jokes about their home towns, with Skelton contending to Cook, an Evansville native, that the city was a suburb of Vincennes. The show received enough fan mail after the performance to invite both comedians back two weeks after Skelton's initial appearance and again in November of that year.
On October 1, 1938, Skelton replaced Red Foley as the host of Avalon Time on NBC; Edna also joined the show's cast, under her maiden name. She developed a system for working with the show's writers – selecting material from them, adding her own, and filing the unused bits and lines for future use; the Skeltons worked on Avalon Time until late 1939. Skelton's work in films led to a new regular radio-show offer; between films, he promoted himself and MGM by appearing without charge at Los Angeles-area banquets. A radio advertising agent was a guest at one of his banquet performances and recommended Skelton to one of his clients.
Skelton went on the air with his own radio show, The Raleigh Cigarette Program, on October 7, 1941. The bandleader for the show was Ozzie Nelson; his wife, Harriet, who worked under her maiden name of Hilliard, was the show's vocalist and also worked with Skelton in skits.
"I dood it!"
Skelton introduced the first two of his many characters during The Raleigh Cigarette Program's first season. The character of Clem Kadiddlehopper was based on a Vincennes neighbor named Carl Hopper, who was hard of hearing. After the cartoon character Bullwinkle was introduced, Skelton contemplated filing a lawsuit against Bill Scott, who voiced the cartoon moose, because he found it similar to his voice pattern for Clem. The second character, the Mean Widdle Kid, or "Junior", was a young boy full of mischief, who typically did things he was told not to do. "Junior" would say things like, "If I dood it, I gets a whipping.", followed moments later by the statement, "I dood it!" Skelton performed the character at home with Edna, giving him the nickname "Junior" long before it was heard by a radio audience. While the phrase was Skelton's, the idea of using the character on the radio show was Edna's. Skelton starred in a 1943 movie of the same name, but did not play "Junior" in the film.
The phrase was such a part of national culture at the time that, when General Doolittle conducted the bombing of Tokyo in 1942, many newspapers used the phrase "Doolittle Dood It" as a headline. After a talk with President Roosevelt in 1943, Skelton used his radio show to collect funds for a Douglas A-20 Havoc to be given to the Soviet Army to help fight World War II. Asking children to send in their spare change, he raised enough money for the aircraft in two weeks; he named the bomber "We Dood It!" In 1986, Soviet newspaper Pravda offered praise to Skelton for his 1943 gift, and in 1993, the pilot of the plane was able to meet Skelton and thank him for the bomber.
Skelton also added a routine he had been performing since 1928. Originally called "Mellow Cigars", the skit entailed an announcer who became ill as he smoked his sponsor's product. Brown and Williamson, the makers of cigarettes, asked Skelton to change some aspects of the skit; he renamed the routine "Guzzler's Gin", where the announcer became inebriated while sampling and touting the imaginary sponsor's wares. While the traditional radio program called for its cast to do an audience warm-up in preparation for the broadcast, Skelton did just the opposite. After the regular radio program had ended, the show's audience was treated to a post-program performance. He then performed his "Guzzler's Gin" or any of more than 350 routines for those who had come to the radio show. He updated and revised his post-show routines as diligently as those for his radio program. As a result, studio audience tickets for Skelton's radio show were in high demand; at times, up to 300 people had to be turned away for lack of seats.
Divorce from Edna, marriage to Georgia
In 1942, Edna announced that she was leaving Skelton, but would continue to manage his career and write material for him. He did not realize she was serious until Edna issued a statement about the impending divorce through NBC. They were divorced in 1943, leaving the courtroom arm in arm. The couple did not discuss the reasons for their divorce, and Edna initially prepared to work as a script writer for other radio programs. When the divorce was finalized, she went to New York, leaving her former husband three fully prepared show scripts. Skelton and those associated with him sent telegrams and called her, asking her to come back to him in a professional capacity. Edna remained the manager of the couple's funds because Skelton spent money too easily. An attempt at managing his own checking account that began with a $5,000 balance, ended five days later after a call to Edna saying the account was overdrawn. Skelton had a weekly allowance of $75, with Edna making investments for him, choosing real estate and other relatively stable assets. She remained an advisor on his career until 1952, receiving a generous weekly salary for life for her efforts.
The divorce meant that Skelton had lost his married man's deferment; he was once again classified as 1-A for service. He was drafted into the Army in early 1944; both MGM and his radio sponsor tried to obtain a deferment for the comedian, but to no avail. His last Raleigh radio show was on June 6, 1944, the day before he was formally inducted as a private; he was not assigned to Special Services at that time. Without its star, the program was discontinued, and the opportunity presented itself for the Nelsons to begin a radio show of their own, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
By 1944, Skelton was engaged to actress Muriel Morris, who was also known as Muriel Chase; the couple had obtained a marriage license and told the press they intended to marry within a few days. At the last minute, the actress decided not to marry him, initially saying she intended to marry a wealthy businessman in Mexico City. She later recanted the story about marrying the businessman, but continued to say that her relationship with Skelton was over. The actress further denied that the reason for the breakup was Edna's continuing to manage her ex-husband's career; Edna stated that she had no intention of either getting in the middle of the relationship or reconciling with her former husband.
He was on army furlough for throat discomfort when he married actress Georgia Maureen Davis in Beverly Hills, California, on March 9, 1945; the couple met on the MGM lot. Skelton traveled to Los Angeles from the eastern army base where he was assigned for the wedding. He knew he would possibly be assigned overseas soon, and wanted the marriage to take place first. After the wedding, he entered the hospital to have his tonsils removed. The couple had two children; Valentina, a daughter, was born May 5, 1947, and a son, Richard, was born May 20, 1948.
A cast of characters
Skelton served in the United States Army during World War II. After being assigned to the Special Services, Skelton performed as many as 12 shows per day before troops in both the United States and in Europe. The pressure of his workload caused him to suffer exhaustion and a nervous breakdown. He had a nervous collapse while in the Army, following which he developed a stutter. While recovering at an army hospital at Camp Pickett, Virginia, he met a soldier who had been severely wounded and was not expected to survive. Skelton devoted a lot of time and effort to trying to make the man laugh. As a result of this effort, his stutter reduced; his army friend's condition also improved, and he was no longer on the critical list. He was released from his army duties in September 1945. "I've been told I'm the only celebrity who entered the Army as a private and came out a private," he told reporters. His sponsor was eager to have him back on the air, and Skelton's program began anew on NBC on December 4, 1945.
Upon returning to radio, Skelton brought with him many new characters that were added to his repertoire: Bolivar Shagnasty, described as a "loudmouthed braggart"; Cauliflower McPugg, a boxer; Deadeye, a cowboy; Willie Lump-Lump, a fellow who drank too much; and San Fernando Red, a confidence man with political aspirations. By 1947, Skelton's musical conductor was David Rose, who went on to television with him; he had worked with Rose during his time in the Army and wanted Rose to join him on the radio show when it went back on the air.
On April 22, 1947, Skelton was censored by NBC two minutes into his radio show. When his announcer Rod O'Connor and he began talking about Fred Allen being censored the previous week, they were silenced for 15 seconds; comedian Bob Hope was given the same treatment once he began referring to the censoring of Allen. Skelton forged on with his lines for his studio audience's benefit; the material he insisted on using had been edited from the script by the network before the broadcast. He had been briefly censored the previous month for the use of the word "diaper". After the April incidents, NBC indicated it would no longer pull the plug for similar reasons.
Skelton changed sponsors in 1948; Brown & Williamson, owners of Raleigh cigarettes, withdrew due to program production costs. His new sponsor was Procter & Gamble's Tide laundry detergent. The next year, he changed networks, going from NBC to CBS, where his radio show aired until May 1953. After his network radio contract was over, he signed a three-year contract with Ziv Radio for a syndicated radio program in 1954. His syndicated radio program was offered as a daily show; it included segments of his older network radio programs, and new material done for the syndication. He was able to use portions of his older radio shows because he owned the rights for rebroadcasting them.
Television (1951–1970)
Skelton was unable to work in television until the end of his 1951 MGM movie contract; a renegotiation to extend the pact provided permission after that point. On May 4, 1951, he signed a contract for television with NBC; Procter and Gamble was his sponsor. He said he would be performing the same characters on television that he had been doing on radio. The MGM agreement with Skelton for television performances did not allow him to go on the air before September 30, 1951.
His television debut, The Red Skelton Show, premiered on that date: At the end of his opening monologue, two men backstage grabbed his ankles from behind the set curtain, hauling him offstage face down. A 1943 instrumental hit by David Rose, called "Holiday for Strings", became Skelton's TV theme song. The move to television allowed him to create two nonhuman characters, seagulls Gertrude and Heathcliffe, which he performed while the pair were flying by, tucking his thumbs under his arms to represent wings and shaping his hat to look like a bird's bill. He patterned his meek, henpecked television character of George Appleby after his radio character, J. Newton Numbskull, who had similar characteristics. His "Freddie the Freeloader" clown was introduced on the program in 1952, with Skelton copying his father's makeup for the character. ( He learned how to duplicate his father's makeup and perform his routines through his mother's recollections.) A ritual was established for the end of every program, with Skelton's shy, boyish wave and words of "Good night and may God bless."
During the 1951–1952 season, the program was broadcast from a converted NBC radio studio. The first year of the television show was done live; this led to problems, because not enough time was available for costume changes; Skelton was on camera for most of the half hour, including the delivery of a commercial that was written into one of the show's skits. In early 1952, Skelton had an idea for a television sketch about someone who had been drinking not knowing which way is up. The script was completed, and he had the show's production crew build a set that was perpendicular to the stage, so it would give the illusion that someone was walking on walls. The skit, starring his character Willie Lump-Lump, called for the character's wife to hire a carpenter to redo the living room in an effort to teach her husband a lesson about his drinking. When Willie wakes up there after a night of drinking, he is misled into believing he is not lying on the floor, but on the living room wall. Willie's wife goes about the house normally, but to Willie, she appears to be walking on a wall. Within an hour after the broadcast, the NBC switchboard had received 350 calls regarding the show, and Skelton had received more than 2,500 letters about the skit within a week of its airing.
Skelton was delivering an intense performance live each week, and the strain showed in physical illness. In 1952, he was drinking heavily due to the constant physical pain of a diaphragmatic hernia and the emotional distress of marital problems. He thought about divorcing Georgia. NBC agreed to film his shows in the 1952–1953 season at Eagle Lion Studios, next to the Sam Goldwyn Studio, on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood. Later, the show was moved to the new NBC television studios in Burbank. Procter and Gamble was unhappy with the filming of the television show, and insisted that Skelton return to live broadcasts. The situation made him think about leaving television. Declining ratings prompted sponsor Procter & Gamble to cancel his show in the spring of 1953. Skelton announced that any of his future television programs would be variety shows, where he would not have the almost constant burden of performing. Beginning with the 1953–1954 season, he switched to CBS, where he remained until 1970. For the initial move to CBS, he had no sponsor. The network gambled by covering all expenses for the program on a sustaining basis: His first CBS sponsor was Geritol. He curtailed his drinking and his ratings at CBS began to improve, especially after he began appearing on Tuesday nights for co-sponsors Johnson's Wax and Pet Milk Company.
By 1955, Skelton was broadcasting some of his weekly programs in color, which was the case about 100 times
between 1955 and 1960. He tried to encourage CBS to do other shows in color at the facility, but CBS mostly avoided color broadcasting after the network's television-set manufacturing division was discontinued in 1951. By 1959, Skelton was the only comedian with a weekly variety television show. Others who remained on the air, such as Danny Thomas, were performing their routines as part of situation comedy programs. He performed a preview show for a studio audience on Mondays, using their reactions to determine which skits required editing for the Tuesday program. For the Tuesday afternoon run-through prior to the actual show, he ignored the script for the most part, ad-libbing through it at will. The run-through was well attended by CBS Television City employees. Sometimes during live telecasts and taped programs, Skelton would break up or cause his guest stars to laugh.
Richard's illness and death
At the height of Skelton's popularity, his 9-year-old son Richard was diagnosed with leukemia and was given a year to live. While the network told him to take as much time off as necessary, Skelton felt that unless he went back to his television show, he would be unable to be at ease and make his son's life a happy one. He returned to his television show on January 15, 1957, with guest star Mickey Rooney helping to lift his spirits. In happier times, he had frequently mentioned his children on his program, but he found it extremely difficult to do this after Richard became ill. Skelton resumed this practice only after his son asked him to do so. After his son's diagnosis, Skelton took his family on an extended trip, so Richard could see as much of the world as possible. The Skeltons had an audience with Pope Pius XII on July 22, 1957. According to an International News Service article that appeared in the August 1, 1957, issue of the St.Joseph, Missouri News Press, Richard said that the audience with the Pope was the high point of the trip so far. The Skeltons cut their travels short and returned to the United States after an encounter with an aggressive reporter in London and relentlessly negative reports in British newspapers.
The Skelton family received support from CBS management and from the public following the announcement of Richard's illness. In November, Skelton fell down stairs and injured an ankle, and he nearly died after a "cardiac-asthma" attack on December 30, 1957. He was taken to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, where, his doctors said, "if there were ten steps to death, Red Skelton had taken nine of them by the time he had arrived". Skelton later said he was working on some notes for television and the next thing he remembered, he was in a hospital bed; he did not know how serious his illness was until he read about it himself in the newspapers. His illness and recovery kept him off the air for a full month; Skelton returned to his television show on January 28, 1958.
Richard died on May 10, 1958, 10 days before his 10th birthday. Skelton was scheduled to do his weekly television show on the day his son was buried. Though recordings of some older programs were available that the network could have run, he asked that guest performers be used, instead. His friends in the television, film and music industries organized The Friends Of Red Skelton Variety Show, which they performed to replace The Red Skelton Show for that week; by May 27, 1958, Skelton had returned to his program. Richard‘s death had a profound effect on the family. Life magazine, profiling "The Invincible Red" on April 21, 1961, observed that Skelton was still "racked [sic]" by his son’s death. In 1962, the Skelton family moved to Palm Springs, and Skelton used the Bel Air home only on the two days a week when he was in Los Angeles for his television show taping.
The Red Skelton Hour
In early 1960, Skelton purchased the old Charlie Chaplin Studios and updated it for videotape recording. With a recently purchased three-truck mobile color television unit, he recorded a number of his series episodes and specials in color. Even with his color facilities, CBS discontinued color broadcasts on a regular basis and Skelton shortly thereafter sold the studio to CBS and the mobile unit to local station KTLA. Prior to this, he had been filming at Desilu Productions. Skelton then moved back to the network's Television City facilities, where he taped his programs until he left the network. In the fall of 1962, CBS expanded his program to a full hour, retitling it The Red Skelton Hour. Although it was a staple of his radio programs, he did not perform his "Junior" character on television until 1962, after extending the length of his program.
Skelton frequently employed the art of pantomime for his characters; a segment of his weekly program was called the "Silent Spot". He attributed his liking for pantomime and for using few props to the early days when he did not want to have a lot of luggage. He explained that having the right hat was the key to getting into character.
Skelton's season premiere for the 1960–1961 television season was a tribute to the United Nations. About 600 people from the organization, including diplomats, were invited to be part of the audience for the show. The program was entirely done in pantomime, as UN representatives from 39 nations were in the studio audience. One of the sketches he performed for the UN was that of the old man watching the parade. The sketch had its origins in a question Skelton's son, Richard, asked his father about what happens when people die. He told his son, "They join a parade and start marching." In 1965, Skelton did another show completely in pantomime. This time, he was joined by Marcel Marceau; the two artists alternated performances for the hour-long program, sharing the stage to perform Pinocchio. The only person who spoke during the hour was Maurice Chevalier, who served as the show's narrator.
In 1969, Skelton wrote and performed a monologue about the Pledge of Allegiance. In the speech, he commented on the meaning of each phrase of the pledge. He credited one of his Vincennes grammar-school teachers, Mr. Laswell, with the original speech. The teacher had grown tired of hearing his students monotonously recite the pledge each morning; he then demonstrated to them how it should be recited, along with comments about the meaning behind each phrase. CBS received 200,000 requests for copies; the company subsequently released the monologue as a single on Columbia Records. A year later, he performed the monologue for President Richard Nixon at the first "Evening at the White House", a series of entertainment events honoring the recently inaugurated president.
Off the air and bitterness (1970–1983)
As the 1970s began, the networks began a major campaign to discontinue long-running shows that they considered stale, dominated by older demographics, and/or becoming too expensive due to escalating costs. Despite Skelton's continued strong overall viewership, CBS saw his show as fitting into this category and cancelled the program along with other comedy and variety shows hosted by veterans such as Jackie Gleason and Ed Sullivan. Performing in Las Vegas when he got the news of his CBS cancellation, Skelton said, "My heart has been broken." His program had been one of the top-10, highest-rated shows for 17 of the 20 years he was on television. Skelton moved to NBC in 1970 in a half-hour Monday-night version of his former show. Its cancellation after one season ended his television career, and he returned to live performances. In an effort to prove the networks wrong, he gave many of these at colleges and proved popular with the audiences.
Skelton was bitter about CBS's cancellation for many years afterwards. Believing the demographic and salary issues to be irrelevant, he accused CBS of bowing to the antiestablishment, antiwar faction at the height of the Vietnam War, saying his conservative political and social views caused the network to turn against him. He had invited prominent Republicans, including Vice President Spiro Agnew and Senate Republican Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, one of the Senate’s strongest supporters of the war, to appear on his program.
Personal, as well as professional, changes occurred in Skelton's life at this time. He divorced Georgia in 1971 and married Lothian Toland, daughter of cinematographer Gregg Toland, on October 7, 1973. While he disassociated himself from television soon after his show was cancelled, his bitterness had subsided enough for him to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on July 11, 1975; it was his first television appearance since the cancellation of his television program. (Johnny Carson, one of his former writers, began his rise to network television prominence when he substituted for Skelton after a dress rehearsal injury in 1954.) Skelton was also a guest on The Merv Griffin Show in October of the same year. Hopes he may have had that he could ease back into television through the talk-show circuit were ended on May 10, 1976, when Georgia Skelton committed suicide by gunshot on the 18th anniversary of Richard Skelton's death. Georgia was 54 and had been in poor health for some time. He put all professional activities on hold for some months as he mourned his former wife's death.
Skelton made plans in 1977 to sell the rights to his old television programs as part of a package that would bring him back to regular television appearances. The package called for him to produce one new television show for every three older episodes; this did not materialize. In 1980, he was taken to court by 13 of his former writers over a report that his will called for the destruction of recordings of all his old television shows upon his death. Skelton contended his remarks were made at a time when he was very unhappy with the television industry and were taken out of context. He said at the time, "Would you burn the only monument you've built in over 20 years?" As the owner of the television shows, Skelton initially refused to allow them to be syndicated as reruns during his lifetime. In 1983, Group W announced that it had come to terms with him for the rights to rebroadcast some of his original television programs from 1966 through 1970; some of his earlier shows were made available after Skelton's death.
Red Skelton onstage
Skelton's 70-year career as an entertainer began as a stage performer. He retained a fondness for theaters, and referred to them as "palaces"; he also likened them to his "living room", where he would privately entertain guests. At the end of a performance, he would look at the empty stage where there was now no laughter or applause and tell himself, "Tomorrow I must start again. One hour ago, I was a big man. I was important out there. Now it's empty. It's all gone."
Skelton was invited to play a four-week date at the London Palladium in July 1951. While flying to the engagement, Skelton, Georgia and Father Edward J. Carney, were on a plane from Rome with passengers from an assortment of countries that included 11 children. The plane lost the use of two of its four engines and seemed destined to lose the rest, meaning that the plane would crash over Mont Blanc. The priest readied himself to administer last rites. As he did so, he told Skelton, "You take care of your department, Red, and I'll take care of mine." Skelton diverted the attention of the passengers with pantomimes while Father Carney prayed. They ultimately landed at a small airstrip in Lyon, France. He received both an enthusiastic reception and an invitation to return for the Palladium's Christmas show of that year.
Though Skelton had always done live engagements at Nevada hotels and appearances such as state fairs during his television show's hiatus, he focused his time and energy on live performances after he was no longer on the air, performing up to 125 dates a year. He often arrived days early for his engagement and would serve as his own promotion staff, making the rounds of the local shopping malls. Before the show, his audiences received a ballot listing about 100 of his many routines and were asked to tick off their favorites. The venue's ushers would collect the ballots and tally the votes. Skelton's performance on that given day was based on the skits his audience selected. After he learned that his performances were popular with the hearing-impaired because of his heavy use of pantomimes, Skelton hired a sign language interpreter to translate the non-pantomime portions of his act for all his shows. He continued performing live until 1993, when he celebrated his 80th birthday.
Later years and death
In 1974, Skelton's interest in film work was rekindled with the news that Neil Simon's comedy The Sunshine Boys would become a movie; his last significant film appearance had been in Public Pigeon No. 1 in 1956. He screen tested for the role of Willy Clark with Jack Benny, who had been cast as Al Lewis. Although Simon had planned to cast Jack Albertson, who played Willy on Broadway, in the same role for the film, Skelton's screen test impressed him enough to change his mind. Skelton declined the part, however, reportedly due to an inadequate financial offer, and Benny's final illness forced him to withdraw, as well. George Burns and Walter Matthau ultimately starred in the film.
In 1981, Skelton made several specials for HBO, including Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner (1981) and the Funny Faces series of specials. He gave a Royal Command Performance for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1984, which was later shown in the U.S. on HBO. A portion of one of his last interviews, conducted by Steven F. Zambo, was broadcast as part of the 2005 PBS special The Pioneers of Primetime.
Skelton died on September 17, 1997, at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, at the age of 84, after what was described as "a long, undisclosed illness". He is interred in the Skelton Family Tomb, the family's private room, alongside his son, Richard Freeman Skelton, Jr., and his second wife, Georgia Maureen Davis Skelton, in the Great Mausoleum's Sanctuary of Benediction at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Skelton was survived by his widow, Lothian Toland Skelton; his daughter, Valentina Marie Skelton Alonso; and granddaughter Sabrina Maureen Alonso.
Art and other interests
Artwork
Skelton began producing artwork in 1943, but kept his works private for many years. He said he was inspired to try his hand at painting after visiting a large Chicago department store that had various paintings on display. Inquiring as to the price of one, which Skelton described as "a bunch of blotches", he was told, "Ten thousand wouldn't buy that one." He told the clerk he was one of the ten thousand who would not buy the painting, instead buying his own art materials. His wife Georgia, a former art student, persuaded him to have his first public showing of his work in 1964 at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, where he was performing at the time. Skelton believed painting was an asset to his comedy work, as it helped him to better visualize the imaginary props used in his pantomime routines.
In addition to his originals, Skelton also sold reproductions and prints through his own mail-order business. He made his work available to art galleries by selling them franchises to display and sell his paintings. He once estimated the sale of his lithographs earned him $2.5 million per year. Shortly after his death, his art dealer said he believed that Skelton made more money on his paintings than from his television work. At the time of his death, Skelton had produced over 1,000 oil paintings of clowns. When asked why his artwork focused on clowns, he said at first, "I don't know why it's always clowns." He continued after thinking a moment by saying "No, that's not true—I do know why. I just don't feel like thinking about it ..." At the time of Skelton's death, his originals were priced at $80,000 and upward.
Other interests
Skelton was a prolific writer of both short stories and music. After sleeping only four or five hours a night, he would wake up at 5 am and begin writing stories, composing music, and painting pictures. He wrote at least one short story a week and had composed over 8,000 songs and symphonies by the time of his death. He wrote commercials for Skoal tobacco and sold many of his compositions to Muzak, a company that specialized in providing background music to stores and other businesses. Skelton was also interested in photography; when attending Hollywood parties, he would take photos and give the film to newspaper reporters waiting outside. He was never without a miniature camera, and kept a photographic record of all his paintings. Skelton was also an avid gardener, who created his own Japanese and Italian gardens and cultivated bonsai trees at his home in Palm Springs. He owned a horse ranch in the Anza Valley.
Fraternity and honors
Skelton was a Freemason, a member of Vincennes Lodge No. 1, in Indiana. He also was a member of both the Scottish and the York Rites. He was a recipient of the Gold Medal of the General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, for Distinguished Service in the Arts and Sciences. On September 24, 1969, he received the honorary 33rd degree in the Scottish Rite and was a Gourgas Medal recipient in 1995. Skelton became interested in Masonry as a small boy selling newspapers in Vincennes, when a man bought a paper from him with a $5 bill and told him to keep the change. The young Skelton asked his benefactor why he had given him so much money; the man explained that he was a Mason and Masons are taught to give. Skelton decided to become one also when he was grown. He was also member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as a Shriner in Los Angeles.
Skelton was made an honorary brother of Phi Sigma Kappa at Truman State University. In 1961, he became an honorary brother of the Phi Alpha Tau Fraternity of Emerson College, when he was awarded the Joseph E. Connor Award for excellence in the field of communications. He also received an honorary degree from the college at the same ceremony. Skelton received an honorary high-school diploma from Vincennes High School. He was also an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity; Skelton had composed many marches, which were used by more than 10,000 high-school and college bands. In 1986, Skelton received an honorary degree from Ball State University.
The Red Skelton Memorial Bridge spans the Wabash River and provides the highway link between Illinois and Indiana on U.S. Route 50, near Skelton's home town of Vincennes. He attended the dedication ceremonies in 1963.
Awards and recognition
In 1952, Skelton received Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Program and Best Comedian. He also received an Emmy nomination in 1957 for his noncomedic performance in Playhouse 90's presentation of "The Big Slide". Skelton and his writers won another Emmy in 1961 for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy. He was named an honorary faculty member of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1968 and 1969.
Skelton's first major post-television recognition came in 1978, when the Golden Globe Awards named him as the recipient for their Cecil B. DeMille Award, which is given to honor outstanding contributions in entertainment. His excitement was so great upon receiving the award and a standing ovation, that he clutched it tightly enough to break the statuette. When he was presented with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Governor's Award in 1986, Skelton received a standing ovation. "I want to thank you for sitting down", he said when the ovation subsided. "I thought you were pulling a CBS and walking out on me." The honor came 16 years after his television program left the airwaves.
Skelton received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild in 1987, and in 1988, he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Television Hall of Fame. He was one of the International Clown Hall of Fame's first inductees in 1989. Skelton and Katharine Hepburn were honored with lifetime achievement awards by the American Comedy Awards in the same year. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1994. Skelton also has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his radio and television work.
Legacy and tributes
Skelton preferred to be described as a clown rather than a comic: "A comedian goes out and hits people right on. A clown uses pathos. He can be funny, then turn right around and reach people and touch them with what life is like." "I just want to be known as a clown", he said, "because to me that's the height of my profession. It means you can do everything—sing, dance and above all, make people laugh." His purpose in life, he believed, was to make people laugh.
In Groucho and Me, Groucho Marx called Skelton "the most unacclaimed clown in show business", and "the logical successor to [Charlie] Chaplin", largely because of his ability to play a multitude of characters with minimal use of dialogue and props. "With one prop, a soft battered hat", Groucho wrote, describing a performance he had witnessed, "he successfully converted himself into an idiot boy, a peevish old lady, a teetering-tottering drunk, an overstuffed clubwoman, a tramp, and any other character that seemed to suit his fancy. No grotesque make-up, no funny clothes, just Red." He added that Skelton also "plays a dramatic scene about as effectively as any of the dramatic actors." In late 1965, ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, reminiscing about the entertainment business, singled out Skelton for high praise. "It's all so very different today. The whole business of comedy has changed — from 15 minutes of quality to quantity. We had a lot of very funny people around, from Charley Chase to Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. The last one of that breed is Red Skelton." Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures also praised Skelton, saying, "He's a clown in the old tradition. He doesn't need punch lines. He's got heart."
Skelton and Marcel Marceau shared a long friendship and admiration of each other's work. Marceau appeared on Skelton's CBS television show three times, including one turn as the host in 1961 as Skelton recovered from surgery. He was also a guest on the three Funny Faces specials that Skelton produced for HBO. In a TV Guide interview after Skelton's death, Marceau said, "Red, you are eternal for me and the millions of people you made laugh and cry. May God bless you forever, my great and precious companion. I will never forget that silent world we created together." CBS issued the following statement upon his death: "Red's audience had no age limits. He was the consummate family entertainer—a winsome clown, a storyteller without peer, a superb mime, a singer, and a dancer."
The Red Skelton Performing Arts Center was dedicated in February 2006 on the campus of Vincennes University, one block from the home in Vincennes where Skelton was born. The building includes an 850-seat theater, classrooms, rehearsal rooms, and dressing rooms. Its grand foyer is a gallery for Skelton's paintings, statues, and film posters. The theater hosts theatrical and musical productions by Vincennes University, as well as special events, convocations, and conventions. The adjacent Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy opened on July 18, 2013, on what would have been Skelton's 100th birthday. It houses his personal and professional materials, which he had collected since the age of 10, in accordance with his wishes that they be made available in his hometown for the public's enjoyment. Skelton's widow, Lothian, noted that he expressed no interest in any sort of Hollywood memorial. The museum is funded jointly by the Red Skelton Museum Foundation and the Indiana Historical Society. Other foundation projects include a fund that provides new clothes to Vincennes children from low-income families. The foundation also purchased Skelton's birthplace. On July 15, 2017, the state of Indiana unveiled a state historic marker at the home in Vincennes where Skelton was born.
The town of Vincennes has held an annual Red Skelton Festival since 2005. A "Parade of a Thousand Clowns", billed as the largest clown parade in the Midwest, is followed by family-oriented activities and live music performances.
In 2006, Travis Tarrants purchased the historic Vincennes Pantheon Theatre, where Skelton performed during his youth. He established a nonprofit organization with the hope of restoring the theatre to its 1921 state. Tarrants was able to raise close to $300,000 for the restoration. Two years later, donations for the project plummeted. Tarrants lost the theatre to unpaid back taxes in 2012, and the new owner was realtor Heath Klein. In late 2014, Klein sold the theatre property to a Vincennes nonprofit group, INVin. The organization works to bring arts and arts-related businesses into downtown Vincennes. In March 2016, the group proposed to turn the theatre into shared workspace.
Filmography
Features
Short subjects
Box-office ranking
Based on rankings of the amount of money earned in box-office receipts for film showings, for a number of years Skelton was among the most popular stars in the country:
1944 – 16th largest box office draw
1949 – 13th
1951 – 14th
1952 – 21st
Published works
Notes
References
Sources cited
External links
Red Skelton Biography
Red Skelton Foundation
Red Skelton Museum and Education Center
Red Skelton Performing Arts Center at Vincennes University
Edna and Red Skelton Collection at the Indiana Historical Society
RED-EO Video Production Company, article and photo, The Broadcast Archive
List of Red Skelton TV Episodes 1951–1971, The Classic TV Archive
Literature on Red Skelton
Red Skelton at the Internet Archive
"Edna Stillwell and the 'Real Making of Red'”, Indiana Historical Bureau
1913 births
1997 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American painters
Red Skelton
Red Skelton
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American burlesque performers
American clowns
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American male composers
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American radio personalities
Television personalities from California
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
California Republicans
Red Skelton
Cecil B. DeMille Award Golden Globe winners
Comedians from California
Conservatism in the United States
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Deaths from pneumonia in California
Male actors from Indiana
Male actors from Palm Springs, California
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
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Painters from Indiana
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People from Vincennes, Indiana
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
United States Army personnel of World War II
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Vaudeville performers | true | [
"Banner blindness is a phenomenon in web usability where visitors to a website consciously or unconsciously ignore banner-like information. A broader term covering all forms of advertising is ad blindness, and the mass of banners that people ignore is called banner noise.\n\nThe term banner blindness was coined in ... | [
"Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program The Red Skelton Show. He has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio and television, and als... |
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"A radio advertising agent was a guest at one of his banquet performances and recommended Skelton to one of his clients.",
"Did he do ads on radio or shows?",
" Skelton went on the air with his own radio show, The Raleigh Cig... | C_d6375edfbf57404b88c47daa80fb83f0_0 | Was the show popular | 3 | Was the show The Raleigh Cigarette Program popular? | Red Skelton | Performing the "Doughnut Dunkers" routine led to Skelton's first appearance on Rudy Vallee's The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour on August 12, 1937. Vallee's program had a talent show segment and those who were searching for stardom were eager to be heard on it. Vallee also booked veteran comic and fellow Indiana native Joe Cook to appear as a guest with Skelton. The two Hoosiers proceeded to trade jokes about their home towns, with Skelton contending to Cook, an Evansville native, that the city was a suburb of Vincennes. The show received enough fan mail after the performance to invite both comedians back two weeks after Skelton's initial appearance and again in November of that year. On October 1, 1938, Skelton replaced Red Foley as the host of Avalon Time on NBC; Edna also joined the show's cast, under her maiden name. She developed a system for working with the show's writers: selecting material from them, adding her own and filing the unused bits and lines for future use; the Skeltons worked on Avalon Time until late 1939. Skelton's work in films led to a new regular radio show offer; between films, he promoted himself and MGM by appearing without charge at Los Angeles area banquets. A radio advertising agent was a guest at one of his banquet performances and recommended Skelton to one of his clients. Skelton went on the air with his own radio show, The Raleigh Cigarette Program, on October 7, 1941. The bandleader for the show was Ozzie Nelson; his wife, Harriet, who worked under her maiden name of Hilliard, was the show's vocalist and also worked with Skelton in skits. CANNOTANSWER | The bandleader for the show was Ozzie Nelson; his wife, Harriet, who worked under her maiden name of Hilliard, | Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program The Red Skelton Show. He has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio and television, and also appeared in burlesque, vaudeville, films, nightclubs, and casinos, all while he pursued an entirely separate career as an artist.
Skelton began developing his comedic and pantomime skills from the age of 10, when he became part of a traveling medicine show. He then spent time on a showboat, worked the burlesque circuit, and then entered into vaudeville in 1934. The "Doughnut Dunkers" pantomime sketch, which he wrote together with his wife, launched a career for him in vaudeville, radio, and films. His radio career began in 1937 with a guest appearance on The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour, which led to his becoming the host of Avalon Time in 1938. He became the host of The Raleigh Cigarette Program in 1941, on which many of his comedy characters were created, and he had a regularly scheduled radio program until 1957. Skelton made his film debut in 1938 alongside Ginger Rogers and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in Alfred Santell's Having Wonderful Time, and would appear in numerous musical and comedy films throughout the 1940s and 1950s, with starring roles in 19 films, including Ship Ahoy (1941), I Dood It (1943), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), and The Clown (1953).
Skelton was eager to work in television, even when the medium was in its infancy. The Red Skelton Show made its television premiere on September 30, 1951, on NBC. By 1954, Skelton's program moved to CBS, where it was expanded to one hour and renamed The Red Skelton Hour in 1962. Despite high ratings, the show was canceled by CBS in 1970, as the network believed that more youth-oriented programs were needed to attract younger viewers and their spending power. Skelton moved his program to NBC, where he completed his last year with a regularly scheduled television show in 1971. He spent his time after that making as many as 125 personal appearances a year and working on his paintings.
Skelton's paintings of clowns remained a hobby until 1964, when his wife Georgia persuaded him to show them at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas while he was performing there. Sales of his originals were successful, and he also sold prints and lithographs, earning $2.5 million yearly on lithograph sales. At the time of his death, his art dealer said he thought that Skelton had earned more money through his paintings than from his television performances.
Skelton believed that his life's work was to make people laugh; he wanted to be known as a clown because he defined it as being able to do everything. He had a 70-year-long career as a performer and entertained three generations of Americans. His widow donated many of his personal and professional effects to Vincennes University, including prints of his artwork. They are part of the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy at Vincennes, Indiana.
Biography
Early years, the medicine show and the circus (1913–1929)
According to some sources, Skelton was born Richard Red Skelton on July 18, 1913, in Vincennes, Indiana. In a 1983 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Skelton claimed his middle name was really "Red" and that he had made up the middle name Bernard, from the name of a local store, Bernard Clothiers, to satisfy a schoolteacher who would not believe his middle name was "Red".
Skelton was the fourth son and youngest child of Joseph Elmer and Ida Mae (née Fields) Skelton. He had three older brothers: Denny Ishmael Skelton (1905-1943), Christopher M. Skelton (1907-1977) and Paul Fred Skelton (1910-1989). Joseph Skelton, a grocer, died two months before Richard was born; he had once been a clown with the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. His birth certificate surname was that of his father's stepfather. During Skelton's lifetime there was some dispute about the year of his birth. Author Wesley Hyatt suggests that since he began working at such an early age, Skelton may have claimed he was older than he actually was in order to gain employment. Vincennes neighbors described the Skelton family as being extremely poor; a childhood friend remembered that her parents broke up a youthful romance between her sister and Skelton because they thought he had no future.
Because of the loss of his father, Skelton went to work as early as the age of seven, selling newspapers and doing other odd jobs to help his family, who had lost the family store and their home. He quickly learned the newsboy's patter and would keep it up until a prospective buyer bought a copy of the paper just to quiet him. According to later accounts, Skelton's early interest in becoming an entertainer stemmed from an incident that took place in Vincennes around 1923, when a stranger, supposedly the comedian Ed Wynn, approached Skelton, who was the newsboy selling papers outside a Vincennes theater. When the man asked Skelton what events were going on in town, Skelton suggested he see the new show in town. The man purchased every paper Skelton had, providing enough money for the boy to purchase a ticket for himself. The stranger turned out to be one of the show's stars, who later took the boy backstage to introduce him to the other performers. The experience prompted Skelton, who had already shown comedic tendencies, to pursue a career as a performer.
Skelton discovered at an early age that he could make people laugh. Skelton dropped out of school around 1926 or 1927, when he was 13 or 14 years old, but he already had some experience performing in minstrel shows in Vincennes, and on a showboat, The Cotton Blossom, that plied the Ohio and Missouri rivers. He enjoyed his work on the riverboat, moving on only after he realized that showboat entertainment was coming to an end. Skelton, who was interested in all forms of acting, took a dramatic role with the John Lawrence stock theater company, but was unable to deliver his lines in a serious manner; the audience laughed instead. In another incident, while performing in Uncle Tom's Cabin, Skelton was on an unseen treadmill; when it malfunctioned and began working in reverse, the frightened young actor called out, "Help! I'm backing into heaven!" He was fired before completing a week's work in the role. At the age of 15, Skelton did some early work on the burlesque circuit, and reportedly spent four months with the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus in 1929, when he was 16 years old.
Ida Skelton, who held multiple jobs to support her family after the death of her husband, did not suggest that her youngest son had run away from home to become an entertainer, but "his destiny had caught up with him at an early age". She let him go with her blessing. Times were tough during the Great Depression, and it may have meant one less child for her to feed. Around 1929, while Skelton was still a teen, he joined "Doc" R.E. Lewis's traveling medicine show as an errand boy who sold bottles of medicine to the audience. During one show, when Skelton accidentally fell from the stage, breaking several bottles of medicine as he fell, people laughed. Both Lewis and Skelton realized one could earn a living with this ability and the fall was worked into the show. He also told jokes and sang in the medicine show during his four years there. Skelton earned ten dollars a week, and sent all of it home to his mother. When she worried that he was keeping nothing for his own needs, Skelton reassured her: "We get plenty to eat, and we sleep in the wagon."
Burlesque to vaudeville (1929–1937)
As burlesque comedy material became progressively more ribald, Skelton moved on. He insisted that he was no prude; "I just didn't think the lines were funny". He became a sought-after master of ceremonies for dance marathons (known as "walkathons" at the time), a popular fad in the 1930s. The winner of one of the marathons was Edna Stillwell, an usher at the old Pantages Theater. She approached Skelton after winning the contest and told him that she did not like his jokes; he asked if she could do better. They married in 1931 in Kansas City, and Edna began writing his material. At the time of their marriage Skelton was one month away from his 18th birthday; Edna was 16. When they learned that Skelton's salary was to be cut, Edna went to see the boss; he resented the interference, until she came away with not only a raise, but additional considerations as well. Since he had left school at an early age, his wife bought textbooks and taught him what he had missed. With Edna's help, Skelton received a high school equivalency degree.
The couple put together an act and began booking it at small midwestern theaters. When an offer came for an engagement in Harwich Port, Massachusetts, some 2,000 miles from Kansas City, they were pleased to get it because of its proximity to their ultimate goal, the vaudeville houses of New York City. To get to Massachusetts they bought a used car and borrowed five dollars from Edna's mother, but by the time they arrived in St. Louis they had only fifty cents. Skelton asked Edna to collect empty cigarette packs; she thought he was joking, but did as he asked. He then spent their fifty cents on bars of soap, which they cut into small cubes and wrapped with the tinfoil from the cigarette packs. By selling their products for fifty cents each as fog remover for eyeglasses, the Skeltons were able to afford a hotel room every night as they worked their way to Harwich Port.
"Doughnut Dunkers"
Skelton and Edna worked for a year in Camden, New Jersey, and were able to get an engagement at Montreal's Lido Club in 1934 through a friend who managed the chorus lines at New York's Roxy Theatre. Despite an initial rocky start, the act was a success, and brought them more theater dates throughout Canada.
Skelton's performances in Canada led to new opportunities and the inspiration for a new, innovative routine that brought him recognition in the years to come. While performing in Montreal, the Skeltons met Harry Anger, a vaudeville producer for New York City's Loew's State Theatre. Anger promised the pair a booking as a headlining act at Loew's, but they would need to come up with new material for the engagement. While the Skeltons were having breakfast in a Montreal diner, Edna had an idea for a new routine as she and Skelton observed the other patrons eating doughnuts and drinking coffee. They devised the "Doughnut Dunkers" routine, with Skelton's visual impressions of how different people ate doughnuts. The skit won them the Loew's State engagement and a handsome fee.
The couple viewed the Loew's State engagement in 1937 as Skelton's big chance. They hired New York comedy writers to prepare material for the engagement, believing they needed more sophisticated jokes and skits than the routines Skelton normally performed. However, his New York audience did not laugh or applaud until Skelton abandoned the newly written material and began performing the "Doughnut Dunkers" and his older routines. The doughnut-dunking routine also helped Skelton rise to celebrity status. In 1937, while he was entertaining at the Capitol Theater in Washington, D.C., President Franklin D. Roosevelt invited Skelton to perform at a White House luncheon. During one of the official toasts, Skelton grabbed Roosevelt's glass, saying, "Careful what you drink, Mr. President. I got rolled in a place like this once." His humor appealed to FDR and Skelton became the master of ceremonies for Roosevelt's official birthday celebration for many years afterward.
Film work
Skelton's first contact with Hollywood came in the form of a failed 1932 screen test. In 1938, he made his film debut for RKO Pictures in the supporting role of a camp counselor in Having Wonderful Time. He appeared in two short subjects for Vitaphone in 1939: Seeing Red and The Broadway Buckaroo. Actor Mickey Rooney contacted Skelton, urging him to try for work in films after seeing him perform his "Doughnut Dunkers" act at President Roosevelt's 1940 birthday party. For his Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) screen test, Skelton performed many of his more popular skits, such as "Guzzler's Gin", but added some impromptu pantomimes as the cameras were rolling. "Imitation of Movie Heroes Dying" were Skelton's impressions of the cinema deaths of stars such as George Raft, Edward G. Robinson, and James Cagney.
Skelton appeared in numerous films for MGM throughout the 1940s. In 1940, he provided comic relief as a lieutenant in Frank Borzage's war drama Flight Command, opposite Robert Taylor, Ruth Hussey, and Walter Pidgeon. In 1941, he also provided comic relief in Harold S. Bucquet's Dr. Kildare medical dramas, Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day and The People vs. Dr. Kildare. Skelton was soon starring in comedy features as inept radio detective "The Fox", the first of which was Whistling in the Dark (1941) in which he began working with director S. Sylvan Simon, who became his favorite director. He reprised the same role opposite Ann Rutherford in Simon's other pictures, including Whistling in Dixie (1942) and Whistling in Brooklyn (1943). In 1941, Skelton began appearing in musical comedies, starring opposite Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern, and Robert Young in Norman Z. McLeod's Lady Be Good. In 1942, Skelton again starred opposite Eleanor Powell in Edward Buzzell's Ship Ahoy, and alongside Ann Sothern in McLeod's Panama Hattie.
In 1943, after a memorable role as a nightclub hatcheck attendant who becomes King Louis XV of France in a dream opposite Lucille Ball and Gene Kelly in Roy Del Ruth's Du Barry Was a Lady, Skelton starred as Joseph Rivington Reynolds, a hotel valet besotted with Broadway starlet Constance Shaw (Powell) in Vincente Minnelli's romantic musical comedy, I Dood It. The film was largely a remake of Buster Keaton's Spite Marriage; Keaton, who had become a comedy consultant to MGM after his film career had diminished, began coaching Skelton on set during the filming. Keaton worked in this capacity on several of Skelton's films, and his 1926 film The General was also later rewritten to become Skelton's A Southern Yankee (1948), under directors S. Sylvan Simon and Edward Sedgwick. Keaton was so convinced of Skelton's comedic talent that he approached MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer with a request to create a small company within MGM for himself and Skelton, where the two could work on film projects. Keaton offered to forgo his salary if the films made by the company were not box-office hits; Mayer chose to decline the request. In 1944, Skelton starred opposite Esther Williams in George Sidney's musical comedy Bathing Beauty, playing a songwriter with romantic difficulties. He next had a relatively minor role as a "TV announcer who, in the course of demonstrating a brand of gin, progresses from mild inebriation through messy drunkenness to full-blown stupor" in the "When Television Comes" segment of Ziegfeld Follies, which featured William Powell and Judy Garland in the main roles. In 1946, Skelton played boastful clerk J. Aubrey Piper opposite Marilyn Maxwell and Marjorie Main in Harry Beaumont's comedy picture The Show-Off.
Skelton's contract called for MGM's approval prior to his radio shows and other appearances. When he renegotiated his long-term contract with MGM, he wanted a clause that permitted him to remain working in radio and to be able to work on television, which was then largely experimental. At the time, the major work in the medium was centered in New York; Skelton had worked there for some time, and was able to determine that he would find success with his physical comedy through the medium. By 1947, Skelton's work interests were focused not on films, but on radio and television. His MGM contract was rigid enough to require the studio's written consent for his weekly radio shows, as well as any benefit or similar appearances he made; radio offered fewer restrictions, more creative control, and a higher salary. Skelton asked for a release from MGM after learning he could not raise the $750,000 needed to buy out the remainder of his contract. He also voiced frustration with the film scripts he was offered while on the set of The Fuller Brush Man, saying, "Movies are not my field. Radio and television are." He did not receive the desired television clause nor a release from his MGM contract. In 1948, columnist Sheilah Graham printed that Skelton's wishes were to make only one film a year, spending the rest of the time traveling the U.S. with his radio show.
Skelton's ability to successfully ad lib often meant that the way the script was written was not always the way it was recorded on film. Some directors were delighted with the creativity, but others were often frustrated by it. S. Sylvan Simon, who became a close friend, allowed Skelton free rein when directing him. MGM became annoyed with Simon during the filming of The Fuller Brush Man, as the studio contended that Skelton should have been playing romantic leads instead of performing slapstick. Simon and MGM parted company when he was not asked to direct retakes of Skelton's A Southern Yankee; Simon asked that his name be removed from the film's credits.
Skelton was willing to negotiate with MGM to extend the agreement provided he would receive the right to pursue television. This time, the studio was willing to grant it, making Skelton the only major MGM personality with the privilege. The 1950 negotiations allowed him to begin working in television beginning September 30, 1951. During the last portion of his contract with the studio, Skelton was working in radio and on television in addition to films. He went on to appear in films such as Jack Donohue's The Yellow Cab Man (1950), Roy Rowland and Buster Keaton's Excuse My Dust (1951), Charles Walters' Texas Carnival (1951), Mervyn LeRoy's Lovely to Look At (1952), Robert Z. Leonard's The Clown (1953), and The Great Diamond Robbery (1954), and Norman Z. McLeod's poorly received Public Pigeon No. 1 (1957), his last major film role, which originated incidentally from an episode of the television anthology series Climax!. In a 1956 interview, he said he would never work simultaneously in all three media again. As a result, Skelton would make only a few appearances in films after this, including playing a saloon drunk in Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), a fictional version of himself as a gambler in Ocean's 11 (1960), and a Neanderthal man in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965).
Radio, divorce, and remarriage (1937–1951)
Performing the "Doughnut Dunkers" routine led to Skelton's first appearance on Rudy Vallée's The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour on August 12, 1937. Vallée's program had a talent-show segment, and those who were searching for stardom were eager to be heard on it. Vallée also booked veteran comic and fellow Indiana native Joe Cook to appear as a guest with Skelton. The two Hoosiers proceeded to trade jokes about their home towns, with Skelton contending to Cook, an Evansville native, that the city was a suburb of Vincennes. The show received enough fan mail after the performance to invite both comedians back two weeks after Skelton's initial appearance and again in November of that year.
On October 1, 1938, Skelton replaced Red Foley as the host of Avalon Time on NBC; Edna also joined the show's cast, under her maiden name. She developed a system for working with the show's writers – selecting material from them, adding her own, and filing the unused bits and lines for future use; the Skeltons worked on Avalon Time until late 1939. Skelton's work in films led to a new regular radio-show offer; between films, he promoted himself and MGM by appearing without charge at Los Angeles-area banquets. A radio advertising agent was a guest at one of his banquet performances and recommended Skelton to one of his clients.
Skelton went on the air with his own radio show, The Raleigh Cigarette Program, on October 7, 1941. The bandleader for the show was Ozzie Nelson; his wife, Harriet, who worked under her maiden name of Hilliard, was the show's vocalist and also worked with Skelton in skits.
"I dood it!"
Skelton introduced the first two of his many characters during The Raleigh Cigarette Program's first season. The character of Clem Kadiddlehopper was based on a Vincennes neighbor named Carl Hopper, who was hard of hearing. After the cartoon character Bullwinkle was introduced, Skelton contemplated filing a lawsuit against Bill Scott, who voiced the cartoon moose, because he found it similar to his voice pattern for Clem. The second character, the Mean Widdle Kid, or "Junior", was a young boy full of mischief, who typically did things he was told not to do. "Junior" would say things like, "If I dood it, I gets a whipping.", followed moments later by the statement, "I dood it!" Skelton performed the character at home with Edna, giving him the nickname "Junior" long before it was heard by a radio audience. While the phrase was Skelton's, the idea of using the character on the radio show was Edna's. Skelton starred in a 1943 movie of the same name, but did not play "Junior" in the film.
The phrase was such a part of national culture at the time that, when General Doolittle conducted the bombing of Tokyo in 1942, many newspapers used the phrase "Doolittle Dood It" as a headline. After a talk with President Roosevelt in 1943, Skelton used his radio show to collect funds for a Douglas A-20 Havoc to be given to the Soviet Army to help fight World War II. Asking children to send in their spare change, he raised enough money for the aircraft in two weeks; he named the bomber "We Dood It!" In 1986, Soviet newspaper Pravda offered praise to Skelton for his 1943 gift, and in 1993, the pilot of the plane was able to meet Skelton and thank him for the bomber.
Skelton also added a routine he had been performing since 1928. Originally called "Mellow Cigars", the skit entailed an announcer who became ill as he smoked his sponsor's product. Brown and Williamson, the makers of cigarettes, asked Skelton to change some aspects of the skit; he renamed the routine "Guzzler's Gin", where the announcer became inebriated while sampling and touting the imaginary sponsor's wares. While the traditional radio program called for its cast to do an audience warm-up in preparation for the broadcast, Skelton did just the opposite. After the regular radio program had ended, the show's audience was treated to a post-program performance. He then performed his "Guzzler's Gin" or any of more than 350 routines for those who had come to the radio show. He updated and revised his post-show routines as diligently as those for his radio program. As a result, studio audience tickets for Skelton's radio show were in high demand; at times, up to 300 people had to be turned away for lack of seats.
Divorce from Edna, marriage to Georgia
In 1942, Edna announced that she was leaving Skelton, but would continue to manage his career and write material for him. He did not realize she was serious until Edna issued a statement about the impending divorce through NBC. They were divorced in 1943, leaving the courtroom arm in arm. The couple did not discuss the reasons for their divorce, and Edna initially prepared to work as a script writer for other radio programs. When the divorce was finalized, she went to New York, leaving her former husband three fully prepared show scripts. Skelton and those associated with him sent telegrams and called her, asking her to come back to him in a professional capacity. Edna remained the manager of the couple's funds because Skelton spent money too easily. An attempt at managing his own checking account that began with a $5,000 balance, ended five days later after a call to Edna saying the account was overdrawn. Skelton had a weekly allowance of $75, with Edna making investments for him, choosing real estate and other relatively stable assets. She remained an advisor on his career until 1952, receiving a generous weekly salary for life for her efforts.
The divorce meant that Skelton had lost his married man's deferment; he was once again classified as 1-A for service. He was drafted into the Army in early 1944; both MGM and his radio sponsor tried to obtain a deferment for the comedian, but to no avail. His last Raleigh radio show was on June 6, 1944, the day before he was formally inducted as a private; he was not assigned to Special Services at that time. Without its star, the program was discontinued, and the opportunity presented itself for the Nelsons to begin a radio show of their own, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
By 1944, Skelton was engaged to actress Muriel Morris, who was also known as Muriel Chase; the couple had obtained a marriage license and told the press they intended to marry within a few days. At the last minute, the actress decided not to marry him, initially saying she intended to marry a wealthy businessman in Mexico City. She later recanted the story about marrying the businessman, but continued to say that her relationship with Skelton was over. The actress further denied that the reason for the breakup was Edna's continuing to manage her ex-husband's career; Edna stated that she had no intention of either getting in the middle of the relationship or reconciling with her former husband.
He was on army furlough for throat discomfort when he married actress Georgia Maureen Davis in Beverly Hills, California, on March 9, 1945; the couple met on the MGM lot. Skelton traveled to Los Angeles from the eastern army base where he was assigned for the wedding. He knew he would possibly be assigned overseas soon, and wanted the marriage to take place first. After the wedding, he entered the hospital to have his tonsils removed. The couple had two children; Valentina, a daughter, was born May 5, 1947, and a son, Richard, was born May 20, 1948.
A cast of characters
Skelton served in the United States Army during World War II. After being assigned to the Special Services, Skelton performed as many as 12 shows per day before troops in both the United States and in Europe. The pressure of his workload caused him to suffer exhaustion and a nervous breakdown. He had a nervous collapse while in the Army, following which he developed a stutter. While recovering at an army hospital at Camp Pickett, Virginia, he met a soldier who had been severely wounded and was not expected to survive. Skelton devoted a lot of time and effort to trying to make the man laugh. As a result of this effort, his stutter reduced; his army friend's condition also improved, and he was no longer on the critical list. He was released from his army duties in September 1945. "I've been told I'm the only celebrity who entered the Army as a private and came out a private," he told reporters. His sponsor was eager to have him back on the air, and Skelton's program began anew on NBC on December 4, 1945.
Upon returning to radio, Skelton brought with him many new characters that were added to his repertoire: Bolivar Shagnasty, described as a "loudmouthed braggart"; Cauliflower McPugg, a boxer; Deadeye, a cowboy; Willie Lump-Lump, a fellow who drank too much; and San Fernando Red, a confidence man with political aspirations. By 1947, Skelton's musical conductor was David Rose, who went on to television with him; he had worked with Rose during his time in the Army and wanted Rose to join him on the radio show when it went back on the air.
On April 22, 1947, Skelton was censored by NBC two minutes into his radio show. When his announcer Rod O'Connor and he began talking about Fred Allen being censored the previous week, they were silenced for 15 seconds; comedian Bob Hope was given the same treatment once he began referring to the censoring of Allen. Skelton forged on with his lines for his studio audience's benefit; the material he insisted on using had been edited from the script by the network before the broadcast. He had been briefly censored the previous month for the use of the word "diaper". After the April incidents, NBC indicated it would no longer pull the plug for similar reasons.
Skelton changed sponsors in 1948; Brown & Williamson, owners of Raleigh cigarettes, withdrew due to program production costs. His new sponsor was Procter & Gamble's Tide laundry detergent. The next year, he changed networks, going from NBC to CBS, where his radio show aired until May 1953. After his network radio contract was over, he signed a three-year contract with Ziv Radio for a syndicated radio program in 1954. His syndicated radio program was offered as a daily show; it included segments of his older network radio programs, and new material done for the syndication. He was able to use portions of his older radio shows because he owned the rights for rebroadcasting them.
Television (1951–1970)
Skelton was unable to work in television until the end of his 1951 MGM movie contract; a renegotiation to extend the pact provided permission after that point. On May 4, 1951, he signed a contract for television with NBC; Procter and Gamble was his sponsor. He said he would be performing the same characters on television that he had been doing on radio. The MGM agreement with Skelton for television performances did not allow him to go on the air before September 30, 1951.
His television debut, The Red Skelton Show, premiered on that date: At the end of his opening monologue, two men backstage grabbed his ankles from behind the set curtain, hauling him offstage face down. A 1943 instrumental hit by David Rose, called "Holiday for Strings", became Skelton's TV theme song. The move to television allowed him to create two nonhuman characters, seagulls Gertrude and Heathcliffe, which he performed while the pair were flying by, tucking his thumbs under his arms to represent wings and shaping his hat to look like a bird's bill. He patterned his meek, henpecked television character of George Appleby after his radio character, J. Newton Numbskull, who had similar characteristics. His "Freddie the Freeloader" clown was introduced on the program in 1952, with Skelton copying his father's makeup for the character. ( He learned how to duplicate his father's makeup and perform his routines through his mother's recollections.) A ritual was established for the end of every program, with Skelton's shy, boyish wave and words of "Good night and may God bless."
During the 1951–1952 season, the program was broadcast from a converted NBC radio studio. The first year of the television show was done live; this led to problems, because not enough time was available for costume changes; Skelton was on camera for most of the half hour, including the delivery of a commercial that was written into one of the show's skits. In early 1952, Skelton had an idea for a television sketch about someone who had been drinking not knowing which way is up. The script was completed, and he had the show's production crew build a set that was perpendicular to the stage, so it would give the illusion that someone was walking on walls. The skit, starring his character Willie Lump-Lump, called for the character's wife to hire a carpenter to redo the living room in an effort to teach her husband a lesson about his drinking. When Willie wakes up there after a night of drinking, he is misled into believing he is not lying on the floor, but on the living room wall. Willie's wife goes about the house normally, but to Willie, she appears to be walking on a wall. Within an hour after the broadcast, the NBC switchboard had received 350 calls regarding the show, and Skelton had received more than 2,500 letters about the skit within a week of its airing.
Skelton was delivering an intense performance live each week, and the strain showed in physical illness. In 1952, he was drinking heavily due to the constant physical pain of a diaphragmatic hernia and the emotional distress of marital problems. He thought about divorcing Georgia. NBC agreed to film his shows in the 1952–1953 season at Eagle Lion Studios, next to the Sam Goldwyn Studio, on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood. Later, the show was moved to the new NBC television studios in Burbank. Procter and Gamble was unhappy with the filming of the television show, and insisted that Skelton return to live broadcasts. The situation made him think about leaving television. Declining ratings prompted sponsor Procter & Gamble to cancel his show in the spring of 1953. Skelton announced that any of his future television programs would be variety shows, where he would not have the almost constant burden of performing. Beginning with the 1953–1954 season, he switched to CBS, where he remained until 1970. For the initial move to CBS, he had no sponsor. The network gambled by covering all expenses for the program on a sustaining basis: His first CBS sponsor was Geritol. He curtailed his drinking and his ratings at CBS began to improve, especially after he began appearing on Tuesday nights for co-sponsors Johnson's Wax and Pet Milk Company.
By 1955, Skelton was broadcasting some of his weekly programs in color, which was the case about 100 times
between 1955 and 1960. He tried to encourage CBS to do other shows in color at the facility, but CBS mostly avoided color broadcasting after the network's television-set manufacturing division was discontinued in 1951. By 1959, Skelton was the only comedian with a weekly variety television show. Others who remained on the air, such as Danny Thomas, were performing their routines as part of situation comedy programs. He performed a preview show for a studio audience on Mondays, using their reactions to determine which skits required editing for the Tuesday program. For the Tuesday afternoon run-through prior to the actual show, he ignored the script for the most part, ad-libbing through it at will. The run-through was well attended by CBS Television City employees. Sometimes during live telecasts and taped programs, Skelton would break up or cause his guest stars to laugh.
Richard's illness and death
At the height of Skelton's popularity, his 9-year-old son Richard was diagnosed with leukemia and was given a year to live. While the network told him to take as much time off as necessary, Skelton felt that unless he went back to his television show, he would be unable to be at ease and make his son's life a happy one. He returned to his television show on January 15, 1957, with guest star Mickey Rooney helping to lift his spirits. In happier times, he had frequently mentioned his children on his program, but he found it extremely difficult to do this after Richard became ill. Skelton resumed this practice only after his son asked him to do so. After his son's diagnosis, Skelton took his family on an extended trip, so Richard could see as much of the world as possible. The Skeltons had an audience with Pope Pius XII on July 22, 1957. According to an International News Service article that appeared in the August 1, 1957, issue of the St.Joseph, Missouri News Press, Richard said that the audience with the Pope was the high point of the trip so far. The Skeltons cut their travels short and returned to the United States after an encounter with an aggressive reporter in London and relentlessly negative reports in British newspapers.
The Skelton family received support from CBS management and from the public following the announcement of Richard's illness. In November, Skelton fell down stairs and injured an ankle, and he nearly died after a "cardiac-asthma" attack on December 30, 1957. He was taken to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, where, his doctors said, "if there were ten steps to death, Red Skelton had taken nine of them by the time he had arrived". Skelton later said he was working on some notes for television and the next thing he remembered, he was in a hospital bed; he did not know how serious his illness was until he read about it himself in the newspapers. His illness and recovery kept him off the air for a full month; Skelton returned to his television show on January 28, 1958.
Richard died on May 10, 1958, 10 days before his 10th birthday. Skelton was scheduled to do his weekly television show on the day his son was buried. Though recordings of some older programs were available that the network could have run, he asked that guest performers be used, instead. His friends in the television, film and music industries organized The Friends Of Red Skelton Variety Show, which they performed to replace The Red Skelton Show for that week; by May 27, 1958, Skelton had returned to his program. Richard‘s death had a profound effect on the family. Life magazine, profiling "The Invincible Red" on April 21, 1961, observed that Skelton was still "racked [sic]" by his son’s death. In 1962, the Skelton family moved to Palm Springs, and Skelton used the Bel Air home only on the two days a week when he was in Los Angeles for his television show taping.
The Red Skelton Hour
In early 1960, Skelton purchased the old Charlie Chaplin Studios and updated it for videotape recording. With a recently purchased three-truck mobile color television unit, he recorded a number of his series episodes and specials in color. Even with his color facilities, CBS discontinued color broadcasts on a regular basis and Skelton shortly thereafter sold the studio to CBS and the mobile unit to local station KTLA. Prior to this, he had been filming at Desilu Productions. Skelton then moved back to the network's Television City facilities, where he taped his programs until he left the network. In the fall of 1962, CBS expanded his program to a full hour, retitling it The Red Skelton Hour. Although it was a staple of his radio programs, he did not perform his "Junior" character on television until 1962, after extending the length of his program.
Skelton frequently employed the art of pantomime for his characters; a segment of his weekly program was called the "Silent Spot". He attributed his liking for pantomime and for using few props to the early days when he did not want to have a lot of luggage. He explained that having the right hat was the key to getting into character.
Skelton's season premiere for the 1960–1961 television season was a tribute to the United Nations. About 600 people from the organization, including diplomats, were invited to be part of the audience for the show. The program was entirely done in pantomime, as UN representatives from 39 nations were in the studio audience. One of the sketches he performed for the UN was that of the old man watching the parade. The sketch had its origins in a question Skelton's son, Richard, asked his father about what happens when people die. He told his son, "They join a parade and start marching." In 1965, Skelton did another show completely in pantomime. This time, he was joined by Marcel Marceau; the two artists alternated performances for the hour-long program, sharing the stage to perform Pinocchio. The only person who spoke during the hour was Maurice Chevalier, who served as the show's narrator.
In 1969, Skelton wrote and performed a monologue about the Pledge of Allegiance. In the speech, he commented on the meaning of each phrase of the pledge. He credited one of his Vincennes grammar-school teachers, Mr. Laswell, with the original speech. The teacher had grown tired of hearing his students monotonously recite the pledge each morning; he then demonstrated to them how it should be recited, along with comments about the meaning behind each phrase. CBS received 200,000 requests for copies; the company subsequently released the monologue as a single on Columbia Records. A year later, he performed the monologue for President Richard Nixon at the first "Evening at the White House", a series of entertainment events honoring the recently inaugurated president.
Off the air and bitterness (1970–1983)
As the 1970s began, the networks began a major campaign to discontinue long-running shows that they considered stale, dominated by older demographics, and/or becoming too expensive due to escalating costs. Despite Skelton's continued strong overall viewership, CBS saw his show as fitting into this category and cancelled the program along with other comedy and variety shows hosted by veterans such as Jackie Gleason and Ed Sullivan. Performing in Las Vegas when he got the news of his CBS cancellation, Skelton said, "My heart has been broken." His program had been one of the top-10, highest-rated shows for 17 of the 20 years he was on television. Skelton moved to NBC in 1970 in a half-hour Monday-night version of his former show. Its cancellation after one season ended his television career, and he returned to live performances. In an effort to prove the networks wrong, he gave many of these at colleges and proved popular with the audiences.
Skelton was bitter about CBS's cancellation for many years afterwards. Believing the demographic and salary issues to be irrelevant, he accused CBS of bowing to the antiestablishment, antiwar faction at the height of the Vietnam War, saying his conservative political and social views caused the network to turn against him. He had invited prominent Republicans, including Vice President Spiro Agnew and Senate Republican Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, one of the Senate’s strongest supporters of the war, to appear on his program.
Personal, as well as professional, changes occurred in Skelton's life at this time. He divorced Georgia in 1971 and married Lothian Toland, daughter of cinematographer Gregg Toland, on October 7, 1973. While he disassociated himself from television soon after his show was cancelled, his bitterness had subsided enough for him to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on July 11, 1975; it was his first television appearance since the cancellation of his television program. (Johnny Carson, one of his former writers, began his rise to network television prominence when he substituted for Skelton after a dress rehearsal injury in 1954.) Skelton was also a guest on The Merv Griffin Show in October of the same year. Hopes he may have had that he could ease back into television through the talk-show circuit were ended on May 10, 1976, when Georgia Skelton committed suicide by gunshot on the 18th anniversary of Richard Skelton's death. Georgia was 54 and had been in poor health for some time. He put all professional activities on hold for some months as he mourned his former wife's death.
Skelton made plans in 1977 to sell the rights to his old television programs as part of a package that would bring him back to regular television appearances. The package called for him to produce one new television show for every three older episodes; this did not materialize. In 1980, he was taken to court by 13 of his former writers over a report that his will called for the destruction of recordings of all his old television shows upon his death. Skelton contended his remarks were made at a time when he was very unhappy with the television industry and were taken out of context. He said at the time, "Would you burn the only monument you've built in over 20 years?" As the owner of the television shows, Skelton initially refused to allow them to be syndicated as reruns during his lifetime. In 1983, Group W announced that it had come to terms with him for the rights to rebroadcast some of his original television programs from 1966 through 1970; some of his earlier shows were made available after Skelton's death.
Red Skelton onstage
Skelton's 70-year career as an entertainer began as a stage performer. He retained a fondness for theaters, and referred to them as "palaces"; he also likened them to his "living room", where he would privately entertain guests. At the end of a performance, he would look at the empty stage where there was now no laughter or applause and tell himself, "Tomorrow I must start again. One hour ago, I was a big man. I was important out there. Now it's empty. It's all gone."
Skelton was invited to play a four-week date at the London Palladium in July 1951. While flying to the engagement, Skelton, Georgia and Father Edward J. Carney, were on a plane from Rome with passengers from an assortment of countries that included 11 children. The plane lost the use of two of its four engines and seemed destined to lose the rest, meaning that the plane would crash over Mont Blanc. The priest readied himself to administer last rites. As he did so, he told Skelton, "You take care of your department, Red, and I'll take care of mine." Skelton diverted the attention of the passengers with pantomimes while Father Carney prayed. They ultimately landed at a small airstrip in Lyon, France. He received both an enthusiastic reception and an invitation to return for the Palladium's Christmas show of that year.
Though Skelton had always done live engagements at Nevada hotels and appearances such as state fairs during his television show's hiatus, he focused his time and energy on live performances after he was no longer on the air, performing up to 125 dates a year. He often arrived days early for his engagement and would serve as his own promotion staff, making the rounds of the local shopping malls. Before the show, his audiences received a ballot listing about 100 of his many routines and were asked to tick off their favorites. The venue's ushers would collect the ballots and tally the votes. Skelton's performance on that given day was based on the skits his audience selected. After he learned that his performances were popular with the hearing-impaired because of his heavy use of pantomimes, Skelton hired a sign language interpreter to translate the non-pantomime portions of his act for all his shows. He continued performing live until 1993, when he celebrated his 80th birthday.
Later years and death
In 1974, Skelton's interest in film work was rekindled with the news that Neil Simon's comedy The Sunshine Boys would become a movie; his last significant film appearance had been in Public Pigeon No. 1 in 1956. He screen tested for the role of Willy Clark with Jack Benny, who had been cast as Al Lewis. Although Simon had planned to cast Jack Albertson, who played Willy on Broadway, in the same role for the film, Skelton's screen test impressed him enough to change his mind. Skelton declined the part, however, reportedly due to an inadequate financial offer, and Benny's final illness forced him to withdraw, as well. George Burns and Walter Matthau ultimately starred in the film.
In 1981, Skelton made several specials for HBO, including Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner (1981) and the Funny Faces series of specials. He gave a Royal Command Performance for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1984, which was later shown in the U.S. on HBO. A portion of one of his last interviews, conducted by Steven F. Zambo, was broadcast as part of the 2005 PBS special The Pioneers of Primetime.
Skelton died on September 17, 1997, at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, at the age of 84, after what was described as "a long, undisclosed illness". He is interred in the Skelton Family Tomb, the family's private room, alongside his son, Richard Freeman Skelton, Jr., and his second wife, Georgia Maureen Davis Skelton, in the Great Mausoleum's Sanctuary of Benediction at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Skelton was survived by his widow, Lothian Toland Skelton; his daughter, Valentina Marie Skelton Alonso; and granddaughter Sabrina Maureen Alonso.
Art and other interests
Artwork
Skelton began producing artwork in 1943, but kept his works private for many years. He said he was inspired to try his hand at painting after visiting a large Chicago department store that had various paintings on display. Inquiring as to the price of one, which Skelton described as "a bunch of blotches", he was told, "Ten thousand wouldn't buy that one." He told the clerk he was one of the ten thousand who would not buy the painting, instead buying his own art materials. His wife Georgia, a former art student, persuaded him to have his first public showing of his work in 1964 at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, where he was performing at the time. Skelton believed painting was an asset to his comedy work, as it helped him to better visualize the imaginary props used in his pantomime routines.
In addition to his originals, Skelton also sold reproductions and prints through his own mail-order business. He made his work available to art galleries by selling them franchises to display and sell his paintings. He once estimated the sale of his lithographs earned him $2.5 million per year. Shortly after his death, his art dealer said he believed that Skelton made more money on his paintings than from his television work. At the time of his death, Skelton had produced over 1,000 oil paintings of clowns. When asked why his artwork focused on clowns, he said at first, "I don't know why it's always clowns." He continued after thinking a moment by saying "No, that's not true—I do know why. I just don't feel like thinking about it ..." At the time of Skelton's death, his originals were priced at $80,000 and upward.
Other interests
Skelton was a prolific writer of both short stories and music. After sleeping only four or five hours a night, he would wake up at 5 am and begin writing stories, composing music, and painting pictures. He wrote at least one short story a week and had composed over 8,000 songs and symphonies by the time of his death. He wrote commercials for Skoal tobacco and sold many of his compositions to Muzak, a company that specialized in providing background music to stores and other businesses. Skelton was also interested in photography; when attending Hollywood parties, he would take photos and give the film to newspaper reporters waiting outside. He was never without a miniature camera, and kept a photographic record of all his paintings. Skelton was also an avid gardener, who created his own Japanese and Italian gardens and cultivated bonsai trees at his home in Palm Springs. He owned a horse ranch in the Anza Valley.
Fraternity and honors
Skelton was a Freemason, a member of Vincennes Lodge No. 1, in Indiana. He also was a member of both the Scottish and the York Rites. He was a recipient of the Gold Medal of the General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, for Distinguished Service in the Arts and Sciences. On September 24, 1969, he received the honorary 33rd degree in the Scottish Rite and was a Gourgas Medal recipient in 1995. Skelton became interested in Masonry as a small boy selling newspapers in Vincennes, when a man bought a paper from him with a $5 bill and told him to keep the change. The young Skelton asked his benefactor why he had given him so much money; the man explained that he was a Mason and Masons are taught to give. Skelton decided to become one also when he was grown. He was also member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as a Shriner in Los Angeles.
Skelton was made an honorary brother of Phi Sigma Kappa at Truman State University. In 1961, he became an honorary brother of the Phi Alpha Tau Fraternity of Emerson College, when he was awarded the Joseph E. Connor Award for excellence in the field of communications. He also received an honorary degree from the college at the same ceremony. Skelton received an honorary high-school diploma from Vincennes High School. He was also an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity; Skelton had composed many marches, which were used by more than 10,000 high-school and college bands. In 1986, Skelton received an honorary degree from Ball State University.
The Red Skelton Memorial Bridge spans the Wabash River and provides the highway link between Illinois and Indiana on U.S. Route 50, near Skelton's home town of Vincennes. He attended the dedication ceremonies in 1963.
Awards and recognition
In 1952, Skelton received Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Program and Best Comedian. He also received an Emmy nomination in 1957 for his noncomedic performance in Playhouse 90's presentation of "The Big Slide". Skelton and his writers won another Emmy in 1961 for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy. He was named an honorary faculty member of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1968 and 1969.
Skelton's first major post-television recognition came in 1978, when the Golden Globe Awards named him as the recipient for their Cecil B. DeMille Award, which is given to honor outstanding contributions in entertainment. His excitement was so great upon receiving the award and a standing ovation, that he clutched it tightly enough to break the statuette. When he was presented with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Governor's Award in 1986, Skelton received a standing ovation. "I want to thank you for sitting down", he said when the ovation subsided. "I thought you were pulling a CBS and walking out on me." The honor came 16 years after his television program left the airwaves.
Skelton received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild in 1987, and in 1988, he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Television Hall of Fame. He was one of the International Clown Hall of Fame's first inductees in 1989. Skelton and Katharine Hepburn were honored with lifetime achievement awards by the American Comedy Awards in the same year. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1994. Skelton also has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his radio and television work.
Legacy and tributes
Skelton preferred to be described as a clown rather than a comic: "A comedian goes out and hits people right on. A clown uses pathos. He can be funny, then turn right around and reach people and touch them with what life is like." "I just want to be known as a clown", he said, "because to me that's the height of my profession. It means you can do everything—sing, dance and above all, make people laugh." His purpose in life, he believed, was to make people laugh.
In Groucho and Me, Groucho Marx called Skelton "the most unacclaimed clown in show business", and "the logical successor to [Charlie] Chaplin", largely because of his ability to play a multitude of characters with minimal use of dialogue and props. "With one prop, a soft battered hat", Groucho wrote, describing a performance he had witnessed, "he successfully converted himself into an idiot boy, a peevish old lady, a teetering-tottering drunk, an overstuffed clubwoman, a tramp, and any other character that seemed to suit his fancy. No grotesque make-up, no funny clothes, just Red." He added that Skelton also "plays a dramatic scene about as effectively as any of the dramatic actors." In late 1965, ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, reminiscing about the entertainment business, singled out Skelton for high praise. "It's all so very different today. The whole business of comedy has changed — from 15 minutes of quality to quantity. We had a lot of very funny people around, from Charley Chase to Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. The last one of that breed is Red Skelton." Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures also praised Skelton, saying, "He's a clown in the old tradition. He doesn't need punch lines. He's got heart."
Skelton and Marcel Marceau shared a long friendship and admiration of each other's work. Marceau appeared on Skelton's CBS television show three times, including one turn as the host in 1961 as Skelton recovered from surgery. He was also a guest on the three Funny Faces specials that Skelton produced for HBO. In a TV Guide interview after Skelton's death, Marceau said, "Red, you are eternal for me and the millions of people you made laugh and cry. May God bless you forever, my great and precious companion. I will never forget that silent world we created together." CBS issued the following statement upon his death: "Red's audience had no age limits. He was the consummate family entertainer—a winsome clown, a storyteller without peer, a superb mime, a singer, and a dancer."
The Red Skelton Performing Arts Center was dedicated in February 2006 on the campus of Vincennes University, one block from the home in Vincennes where Skelton was born. The building includes an 850-seat theater, classrooms, rehearsal rooms, and dressing rooms. Its grand foyer is a gallery for Skelton's paintings, statues, and film posters. The theater hosts theatrical and musical productions by Vincennes University, as well as special events, convocations, and conventions. The adjacent Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy opened on July 18, 2013, on what would have been Skelton's 100th birthday. It houses his personal and professional materials, which he had collected since the age of 10, in accordance with his wishes that they be made available in his hometown for the public's enjoyment. Skelton's widow, Lothian, noted that he expressed no interest in any sort of Hollywood memorial. The museum is funded jointly by the Red Skelton Museum Foundation and the Indiana Historical Society. Other foundation projects include a fund that provides new clothes to Vincennes children from low-income families. The foundation also purchased Skelton's birthplace. On July 15, 2017, the state of Indiana unveiled a state historic marker at the home in Vincennes where Skelton was born.
The town of Vincennes has held an annual Red Skelton Festival since 2005. A "Parade of a Thousand Clowns", billed as the largest clown parade in the Midwest, is followed by family-oriented activities and live music performances.
In 2006, Travis Tarrants purchased the historic Vincennes Pantheon Theatre, where Skelton performed during his youth. He established a nonprofit organization with the hope of restoring the theatre to its 1921 state. Tarrants was able to raise close to $300,000 for the restoration. Two years later, donations for the project plummeted. Tarrants lost the theatre to unpaid back taxes in 2012, and the new owner was realtor Heath Klein. In late 2014, Klein sold the theatre property to a Vincennes nonprofit group, INVin. The organization works to bring arts and arts-related businesses into downtown Vincennes. In March 2016, the group proposed to turn the theatre into shared workspace.
Filmography
Features
Short subjects
Box-office ranking
Based on rankings of the amount of money earned in box-office receipts for film showings, for a number of years Skelton was among the most popular stars in the country:
1944 – 16th largest box office draw
1949 – 13th
1951 – 14th
1952 – 21st
Published works
Notes
References
Sources cited
External links
Red Skelton Biography
Red Skelton Foundation
Red Skelton Museum and Education Center
Red Skelton Performing Arts Center at Vincennes University
Edna and Red Skelton Collection at the Indiana Historical Society
RED-EO Video Production Company, article and photo, The Broadcast Archive
List of Red Skelton TV Episodes 1951–1971, The Classic TV Archive
Literature on Red Skelton
Red Skelton at the Internet Archive
"Edna Stillwell and the 'Real Making of Red'”, Indiana Historical Bureau
1913 births
1997 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American painters
Red Skelton
Red Skelton
Red Skelton
American burlesque performers
American clowns
American male comedians
American male composers
American male film actors
American male painters
American male radio actors
American male television actors
American radio personalities
Television personalities from California
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
California Republicans
Red Skelton
Cecil B. DeMille Award Golden Globe winners
Comedians from California
Conservatism in the United States
Indiana Historical Society
Indiana Republicans
Deaths from pneumonia in California
Male actors from Indiana
Male actors from Palm Springs, California
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
Red Skelton
Painters from Indiana
Painters from California
People from Vincennes, Indiana
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
United States Army personnel of World War II
United States Army soldiers
Vaudeville performers | true | [
"The Silver Logie for Most Popular Australian Program was an award presented at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards. The award was given to recognise the popularity of Australian programs, originally state based awards and then awarded nationally.\n\nIt was first awarded at the 3rd Annual TV Week Logie Awards cerem... | [
"Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program The Red Skelton Show. He has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio and television, and als... |
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"Ruben Studdard",
"2006-2008: The Return",
"what happened in 2006?",
"Studdard's third album, The Return was released in October 2006;",
"how did the album do?",
"The Return sold 71,000 copies in its first week to open at number eight on the Billboard 200 album chart, but sales declined rapidly after that... | C_f61797b8cc554761a4647de15fbd2199_1 | what is the most important fact in this article? | 6 | what is the most important fact in this article on Ruben Studdard? | Ruben Studdard | Studdard's third album, The Return was released in October 2006; it goes back to his R&B roots, but is different from his previous efforts. Studdard collaborated with the artist Ne-Yo on this album, along with a variety of producers. The single "Change Me" was released ahead of the album. The Return sold 71,000 copies in its first week to open at number eight on the Billboard 200 album chart, but sales declined rapidly after that, not approaching those of his earlier albums. However, Studdard did have good success on the Urban Contemporary chart with "Change Me" (which reached number one) and its successor "Make Ya Feel Beautiful". Studdard continued to tour, saying he would play a variety of music: "Coming out to my show is like coming to my house. I'll play the songs I love. It's like a party. For me, a party has all different types of music happening." Studdard appeared on the finale of American Idol season 6 in May 2007. He spent a few weeks touring with Robin Givens in the comedy-drama Heaven I Need a Hug and prepared to take on the role of Fats Waller in a national tour of Ain't Misbehavin' in 2008. The tour is scheduled to begin November 17, 2008 in Atlanta, GA and end May 14, 2009 in Syracuse, NY. In December 2007, Studdard had been dropped from his record company, J Records, due to poor sales of The Return and "[falling] short of expectations". He remained under contract with 19 Recordings, however. As such he was assigned the high-profile position of performing the American Idol season 7 farewell song, a recording of Kenny Loggins' "Celebrate Me Home", in a new version produced by Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam. Studdard performed "Celebrate Me Home" live on May 20, 2008, at the Nokia Theatre for the first night of the two-night Grand Finale of American Idol's seventh season. CANNOTANSWER | In December 2007, Studdard had been dropped from his record company, J Records, due to poor sales of The Return and "[falling] short of expectations". | Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of American Idol and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of "Superstar." In the years following Idol, Studdard has released seven studio albums, including his platinum-selling debut, Soulful, and the top-selling gospel follow-up, I Need an Angel. He is most well known for his recording career, which has produced hits including "Flying Without Wings," "Sorry 2004," and "Change Me," but he has also segued into television and stage work. Most notably, he starred as Fats Waller in a national tour revival of Ain't Misbehavin', which spawned a Grammy-nominated soundtrack.
In 2013, Studdard appeared as a contestant on the fifteenth season of weight-loss competition show The Biggest Loser. He later signed to Verve Records and collaborated with the label's chairman, David Foster, on Studdard's sixth studio album, Unconditional Love, in 2014. That album received strong reviews as a return-to-form and included a tour with Lalah Hathaway. In 2018, Studdard, who has long been compared to R&B singer Luther Vandross, released a cover album called Ruben Sings Luther and launched his Always & Forever national tour.
He made his Broadway theatre debut in December 2018 in Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show (aka Ruben & Clay’s Christmas Show) at the Imperial Theatre.
Early life
Studdard was born in Frankfurt, West Germany, to American parents, while his father was stationed there with the U.S. Army, and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. The youngest son of two teachers, at the age of three, he sang for the first time at the Rising Star Baptist Church in his hometown of Birmingham. He continued singing gospel in church, performing solos as a child while his mother sang in the local choir. While at Huffman High School, he played football for which he received a scholarship to Alabama A&M University. While at Alabama A&M, he joined the Omicron Delta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the men's music fraternity of America.
After growing up listening to his mother's Donny Hathaway albums, Fred Hammond, and gospel music, Studdard began to pursue a career in the music industry, majoring in voice studies at Alabama A&M. He sang with Just a Few Cats, a popular local Birmingham jazz and R&B band founded by members of Ray Reach's UAB Jazz Ensemble, along with other local musicians. Years later, Studdard stated: "A lot of people don't realize how hard I was trying to get into the business before American Idol. I was making demos and just working so hard." A back-up singer from Just a Few Cats asked him to accompany her to Nashville, Tennessee for an audition on the 2003 second season of American Idol.
American Idol
When auditioning, Studdard sang Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon in the Sky." This guided him to being one of the local finalists. On American Idol, he impressed viewers with his performances of the Leon Russell/Bonnie Bramlett song "Superstar" and the Peabo Bryson/Regina Belle duet "A Whole New World." During his time on the show, Studdard received praise from music legends such as Lionel Richie, Neil Sedaka, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, Luther Vandross, and Gladys Knight.
During the televised competition, Studdard gained the nickname "Velvet Teddy Bear" and was noted for his shirts printed with "205," the telephone area code of his hometown of Birmingham.
He won the contest over runner-up Clay Aiken by only 134,000 votes out of 24,000,000 cast in the May 2003 finale, becoming the second American Idol winner. Alabama Governor Bob Riley declared March 11, 2003 as "Ruben Studdard Day."
Performances and results
Career
2003–2004: Soulful
Studdard released his first single, a cover of Westlife's "Flying Without Wings" (which he had sung on the American Idol finale), produced by The Underdogs and Babyface. Fueled largely by sales, it debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. In December 2003, advance orders for his album Soulful topped the one million mark before it was released into stores. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart that month, selling over 400,000 copies in its first week and attaining the second highest first-week sales of any American Idol winner. The single "Sorry 2004" from this album found substantial airplay, reaching number nine in the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Billboard R&B singles chart. Studdard received a Grammy Award nomination in December 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Superstar", nominated alongside his idol Luther Vandross, who ultimately won the category. In March 2004, Ruben won the NAACP Outstanding New Artist award.
2004–2005: I Need an Angel
Studdard released the gospel album I Need an Angel on November 23, 2004. The title track and first single "I Need an Angel" was a cover of a 2002 single performed by R&B singer Daniel DeBourg and written by R. Kelly. The album sold over 96,000 copies in its first week, entering the Gospel charts at number one and at number twenty on the Billboard 200 chart. It since has sold over 500,000 copies, securing Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. It was also number one on the 2005 Billboard Year-End Gospel Albums Chart.
In March 2005, Studdard filed a lawsuit against his godfather and business advisor Ronald Edwards. The suit alleges that Edwards ran up $156,000 on Studdard's credit cards and stole $90,000 from his checking account. Edwards filed a countersuit. On June 15, 2006, Studdard was awarded $500,000 for personal losses and another $1.5 million in punitive damages.
Between his second and third albums, Studdard began a diet and fitness program to deal with his weight, out of concern for a family history of diabetes and hypertension, resulting in his losing over 70 pounds on a vegetarian diet.
In 2004, Studdard made a cameo in the film Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, singing a cover of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star". He also made guest appearances on TV shows including Life on a Stick, 8 Simple Rules, One on One, All of Us and Eve.
2006–2008: The Return
Studdard's third album, The Return, was released in October 2006. Returning to R&B music on this album, Studdard collaborated with a variety of producers, including Scott Storch, Stargate, and Ne-Yo. Studdard also co-wrote several songs on the album. The Return sold 71,000 copies in its first week to open at number eight on the Billboard 200 album chart. The lead single, "Change Me," reached number one on Billboard's Urban Contemporary chart, while the follow-up track, "Make Ya Feel Beautiful", also made a strong impression on the R&B charts.
Studdard continued to tour, saying he would play a variety of music: "Coming out to my show is like coming to my house. I'll play the songs I love. It's like a party. For me, a party has all different types of music happening."
Studdard appeared on the finale of American Idol season 6 in May 2007. He spent a few weeks touring with Robin Givens in the comedy-drama Heaven I Need a Hug and prepared to take on the role of Fats Waller in a national tour of Ain't Misbehavin' in 2008. The tour is scheduled to begin November 17, 2008 in Atlanta, GA and end May 14, 2009 in Syracuse, NY.
In December 2007, Studdard had been dropped from his record company, J Records, due to poor sales of The Return and "[falling] short of expectations". He remained under contract with 19 Recordings and was assigned the high-profile position of performing the American Idol season 7 farewell song, a recording of Kenny Loggins' "Celebrate Me Home", in a new version produced by Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam.
Studdard performed "Celebrate Me Home" live on May 20, 2008, at the Nokia Theatre for the first night of the two-night grand finale of American Idol's seventh season. In 2008, Studdard also collaborated with gospel singer Deitrick Haddon and duo Mary Mary on the hit gospel song "Love Him Like I Do".
2009–2010: Love Is
Studdard announced that his next album, to be released May 19, 2009, would be released on Sony Music offshoot Hickory Records. The new album, entitled Love Is, was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The album spawned the singles "Together" and "Don't Make 'Em Like U No More".
Love Is was released on May 19, 2009, to positive reviews. The album, which features a mix of covers and original songs, sold 15,200 units in its first week to debut at number 36 on the Billboard 200, number five on Independent Albums and number eight on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Studdard appeared with the "David Foster and Friends" ten-city tour beginning October 21, 2009, in Chicago, Illinois and ending November 8, 2009, in Vancouver, Canada. A compilation album, Playlist: The Very Best of Ruben Studdard was released on January 26, 2010 by Sony's Legacy Recordings.
Studdard returned to the American Idol stage on March 31, 2010 to perform "Don't Make 'Em Like U No More". In his on-camera interview with Ryan Seacrest after his performance, he announced that he would be touring with Clay Aiken in the summer.
Studdard and Aiken brought their Timeless tour to cities in the US and Canada beginning in Asheville, North Carolina on July 23, 2010 and ending in Biloxi, Mississippi on August 14. Instead of a concert focusing on each singers recordings, Studdard and Aiken opted for a variety show format covering medleys of songs from the 1960s to the 1990s, with a few solos and interspersed with comedy bits.
2010–2013: Letters from Birmingham
In 2011, Studdard signed with Shanachie Entertainment. His first album for the label and fifth studio release overall, Letters from Birmingham, was released in March 2012.
A concept album that traces a relationship through a series of romantic letters, Letters from Birmingham received mostly positive reviews, especially for his duet with Chrisette Michele, "Do It Right", which was praised as "sublime" and "tantalizing". The album also included covers of Bobby Brown's "Rock Wit'cha" and "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, recast as a love song. Since its release, "Letters from Birmingham" has sold 22,000 copies, and the lead single, "June 28 (I'm Single)", which referenced his marriage and subsequent divorce, reached the top 20 of Billboard's urban charts.
2013–2014: The Biggest Loser and Unconditional Love
Studdard joined the cast of fifteenth season of the NBC weight loss competition show The Biggest Loser, and was credited as its first ever celebrity contestant. At 6'3 and 462 pounds, Studdard had the highest starting weight and BMI of the entire cast. A member of the show's Red Team, Studdard was first eliminated in the fourth week after he failed to make his weight loss goal. However, because opposing coach Jillian Michaels had given her team caffeine pills in violation of the rules, Studdard's elimination was voided and he returned before once again being eliminated during the competition's eighth week.
At the show's finale on February 4, 2014 (which coincided with the release of Studdard's newest album, Unconditional Love), it was revealed that he had lost a total of 119 pounds for an ending weight of 343 pounds. Studdard credited the weight loss for improving his ability to perform onstage. During the finale, Studdard also performed his new album's lead single, "Meant to Be", accompanied by the song's cowriter and producer, David Foster, on piano.
Unconditional Love is Studdard's sixth studio album and first with his new label, Verve Records. Foster, who has won 16 Grammy Awards, was the executive producer of the disc, which primarily consists of covers of love songs along with two originals, including "Meant to Be". Studdard has called it "the album that everybody expected from me when I won American Idol." The album features collaborations with Stevie Wonder, Lalah Hathaway, and Eric Benet, and includes covers of songs originally performed by artists such as Paul McCartney, Donny Hathaway, Bonnie Raitt, Marvin Gaye, and Peabo Bryson. Since its release, the album has received some of Studdard's best reviews of his career. According to critics, the album "finds Studdard at the top of his game vocally" and he hits his stride, "exuding grace, confidence and class" as he successfully positions himself as a "stylish crooner." Unconditional Love debuted at #46 on the Billboard 200 and #7 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.
Studdard supported the release of Unconditional Love with the national Born Again Tour with his collaborator Lalah Hathaway.
2015-present: Ruben Sings Luther and Broadway debut
Studdard continues to appear regularly on American Idol, including mentoring and performing with contestants in its farewell season on Fox. He released a new single, "Can't Nobody Love You," on April 8, 2016, and appeared on several talk shows to promote the song. In 2017, he released a cover of "A Change Is Gonna Come" and guested on Patti LaBelle's holiday album, performing "Your Presence with Me" and "Ave Maria."
In 2018, Studdard, who had long been compared to Luther Vandross, released a tribute album, Ruben Sings Luther, on the SEG Music label. He supported the album with the Always & Forever national tour. In an interview with People Magazine, Studdard said that, “Since I won American Idol, people have been asking for me to sing Luther songs for a long time. I thought, ‘OK. You want to hear it? I might as well do it. I thought it was the perfect time to pay homage to one of the greatest song interpreters of all time.”
Both the album and tour received strong reviews, with Variety noting that "Studdard truly took wing and made the music of Vandross his own" on tour and The Philadelphia Inquirer calling the album a "full-on lush-and-funky tribute".
Studdard made his Broadway theatre debut in December 2018, reuniting with Clay Aiken in Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show (aka Ruben & Clay’s Christmas Show) at the Imperial Theatre, with previews beginning December 7 and the show officially opening December 11. The show continued through December 30, with a portion of ticket sales benefitting the National Inclusion Project.
Acting
Studdard has worked as an actor in several roles, including single-episode appearances on the television series 8 Simple Rules, Life on a Stick, All of Us, Eve, and One on One, as well as a cameo appearance in the film Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. He has also appeared on a television commercial for a Birmingham-area Kia dealer.
Studdard headlined the revival tour of Ain't Misbehavin', starring alongside fellow American Idol alumni Trenyce and Frenchie Davis. Starring as Fats Waller, Studdard received positive reviews and was part of the cast recording album released by Rhino Records on January 13, 2009. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Advocacy
Studdard's love of music led him to create The Ruben Studdard Foundation for the Advancement of Children in the Music Arts. The foundation's mission statement says their aim is "to promote the essential role of the arts in education through learning initiatives for the development of students in the Greater Birmingham Area."
Studdard also signed on as an official spokesperson for "Be Sickle Smart", a nationwide grassroots health-education program aimed at increasing awareness of iron overload among people living with sickle-cell disease.
Personal life
Studdard met Surata Zuri McCants in October 2006, when he was signing CDs at a Wal-Mart in Atlanta. On June 28, 2008, Studdard married McCants in a short, private ceremony in Mountain Brook, Alabama. On November 16, 2011, Studdard's attorney announced that Studdard was in the process of a divorce. Studdard's divorce was finalized in April 2012.
Studdard received an honorary Master of Arts degree from his alma mater of Alabama A&M University, where he received a bachelor degree in Vocal Studies, at its December 2015 commencement ceremony. He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity. In 2022, it was announced that Studdard would teach a masterclass for performing arts majors at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Singles
Single certifications
Other albums
American Idol Season 2: All-Time Classic American Love Songs (2003)
"What the World Needs Now" (with Season 2 Finalists)
"God Bless the U.S.A. (Proud to Be an American)" (with Season 2 Finalists)
"Superstar"
American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics (2003)
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (American Idol Ensemble)
"This Christmas"
Genius & Friends (2005)
"Imagine" with Ray Charles and The Harlem Gospel Singers
Revealed (2008)
"Love Him Like I Do" with Deitrick Haddon and Mary Mary
Ain't Misbehavin': The 30th Anniversary Cast Recording (2009)
"Honeysuckle Rose" duet with Frenchie Davis
"The Jitterbug Waltz" with Patrice Covington & Company
"Lounging At The Waldorf" with Frenchie Davis, Trenyce Cobbins & Patrice Covington
"Your Feet's Too Big"
Hit Man Returns: David Foster & Friends (2011)
"Home" with David Foster
Unbelievable (2011)
"Saturday Love" with Keke Wyatt
Sing Pray Love, Vol. 1: Sing (2014)
"Back 2 Love" with Kelly Price
Patti LaBelle Presents: Home for the Holidays with Friends (2017)
"Don't Save it All for Christmas"
"Your Presence with Me"
"Let It Snow"
"Ave Maria"
Filmography
One on One (2004)
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
8 Simple Rules (2005)
Life on a Stick (2005)
All of Us (2005)
Natural Born Komics (2006) (direct-to-DVD)
Eve (2006)
Lifted (2011)
The Perfect Gift (2011)
See also
List of Idols winners
References
External links
Official Foundation site
1978 births
Living people
Alabama A&M Bulldogs football players
American football offensive linemen
American gospel singers
American Idol winners
American male pop singers
American contemporary R&B singers
Baptists from Alabama
Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama
Urban contemporary gospel musicians
19 Recordings artists
J Records artists
Hickory Records artists
Shanachie Records artists
Verve Records artists
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"Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of American Idol and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of \"Superstar.\"",
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"Ruben Studdard",
"2006-2008: The Return",
"what happened in 2006?",
"Studdard's third album, The Return was released in October 2006;",
"how did the album do?",
"The Return sold 71,000 copies in its first week to open at number eight on the Billboard 200 album chart, but sales declined rapidly after that... | C_f61797b8cc554761a4647de15fbd2199_1 | what was the season 7 farewell song? | 8 | what was the American Idol season 7 farewell song? | Ruben Studdard | Studdard's third album, The Return was released in October 2006; it goes back to his R&B roots, but is different from his previous efforts. Studdard collaborated with the artist Ne-Yo on this album, along with a variety of producers. The single "Change Me" was released ahead of the album. The Return sold 71,000 copies in its first week to open at number eight on the Billboard 200 album chart, but sales declined rapidly after that, not approaching those of his earlier albums. However, Studdard did have good success on the Urban Contemporary chart with "Change Me" (which reached number one) and its successor "Make Ya Feel Beautiful". Studdard continued to tour, saying he would play a variety of music: "Coming out to my show is like coming to my house. I'll play the songs I love. It's like a party. For me, a party has all different types of music happening." Studdard appeared on the finale of American Idol season 6 in May 2007. He spent a few weeks touring with Robin Givens in the comedy-drama Heaven I Need a Hug and prepared to take on the role of Fats Waller in a national tour of Ain't Misbehavin' in 2008. The tour is scheduled to begin November 17, 2008 in Atlanta, GA and end May 14, 2009 in Syracuse, NY. In December 2007, Studdard had been dropped from his record company, J Records, due to poor sales of The Return and "[falling] short of expectations". He remained under contract with 19 Recordings, however. As such he was assigned the high-profile position of performing the American Idol season 7 farewell song, a recording of Kenny Loggins' "Celebrate Me Home", in a new version produced by Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam. Studdard performed "Celebrate Me Home" live on May 20, 2008, at the Nokia Theatre for the first night of the two-night Grand Finale of American Idol's seventh season. CANNOTANSWER | a recording of Kenny Loggins' "Celebrate Me Home", in a new version produced by Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam. | Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of American Idol and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of "Superstar." In the years following Idol, Studdard has released seven studio albums, including his platinum-selling debut, Soulful, and the top-selling gospel follow-up, I Need an Angel. He is most well known for his recording career, which has produced hits including "Flying Without Wings," "Sorry 2004," and "Change Me," but he has also segued into television and stage work. Most notably, he starred as Fats Waller in a national tour revival of Ain't Misbehavin', which spawned a Grammy-nominated soundtrack.
In 2013, Studdard appeared as a contestant on the fifteenth season of weight-loss competition show The Biggest Loser. He later signed to Verve Records and collaborated with the label's chairman, David Foster, on Studdard's sixth studio album, Unconditional Love, in 2014. That album received strong reviews as a return-to-form and included a tour with Lalah Hathaway. In 2018, Studdard, who has long been compared to R&B singer Luther Vandross, released a cover album called Ruben Sings Luther and launched his Always & Forever national tour.
He made his Broadway theatre debut in December 2018 in Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show (aka Ruben & Clay’s Christmas Show) at the Imperial Theatre.
Early life
Studdard was born in Frankfurt, West Germany, to American parents, while his father was stationed there with the U.S. Army, and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. The youngest son of two teachers, at the age of three, he sang for the first time at the Rising Star Baptist Church in his hometown of Birmingham. He continued singing gospel in church, performing solos as a child while his mother sang in the local choir. While at Huffman High School, he played football for which he received a scholarship to Alabama A&M University. While at Alabama A&M, he joined the Omicron Delta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the men's music fraternity of America.
After growing up listening to his mother's Donny Hathaway albums, Fred Hammond, and gospel music, Studdard began to pursue a career in the music industry, majoring in voice studies at Alabama A&M. He sang with Just a Few Cats, a popular local Birmingham jazz and R&B band founded by members of Ray Reach's UAB Jazz Ensemble, along with other local musicians. Years later, Studdard stated: "A lot of people don't realize how hard I was trying to get into the business before American Idol. I was making demos and just working so hard." A back-up singer from Just a Few Cats asked him to accompany her to Nashville, Tennessee for an audition on the 2003 second season of American Idol.
American Idol
When auditioning, Studdard sang Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon in the Sky." This guided him to being one of the local finalists. On American Idol, he impressed viewers with his performances of the Leon Russell/Bonnie Bramlett song "Superstar" and the Peabo Bryson/Regina Belle duet "A Whole New World." During his time on the show, Studdard received praise from music legends such as Lionel Richie, Neil Sedaka, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, Luther Vandross, and Gladys Knight.
During the televised competition, Studdard gained the nickname "Velvet Teddy Bear" and was noted for his shirts printed with "205," the telephone area code of his hometown of Birmingham.
He won the contest over runner-up Clay Aiken by only 134,000 votes out of 24,000,000 cast in the May 2003 finale, becoming the second American Idol winner. Alabama Governor Bob Riley declared March 11, 2003 as "Ruben Studdard Day."
Performances and results
Career
2003–2004: Soulful
Studdard released his first single, a cover of Westlife's "Flying Without Wings" (which he had sung on the American Idol finale), produced by The Underdogs and Babyface. Fueled largely by sales, it debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. In December 2003, advance orders for his album Soulful topped the one million mark before it was released into stores. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart that month, selling over 400,000 copies in its first week and attaining the second highest first-week sales of any American Idol winner. The single "Sorry 2004" from this album found substantial airplay, reaching number nine in the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Billboard R&B singles chart. Studdard received a Grammy Award nomination in December 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Superstar", nominated alongside his idol Luther Vandross, who ultimately won the category. In March 2004, Ruben won the NAACP Outstanding New Artist award.
2004–2005: I Need an Angel
Studdard released the gospel album I Need an Angel on November 23, 2004. The title track and first single "I Need an Angel" was a cover of a 2002 single performed by R&B singer Daniel DeBourg and written by R. Kelly. The album sold over 96,000 copies in its first week, entering the Gospel charts at number one and at number twenty on the Billboard 200 chart. It since has sold over 500,000 copies, securing Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. It was also number one on the 2005 Billboard Year-End Gospel Albums Chart.
In March 2005, Studdard filed a lawsuit against his godfather and business advisor Ronald Edwards. The suit alleges that Edwards ran up $156,000 on Studdard's credit cards and stole $90,000 from his checking account. Edwards filed a countersuit. On June 15, 2006, Studdard was awarded $500,000 for personal losses and another $1.5 million in punitive damages.
Between his second and third albums, Studdard began a diet and fitness program to deal with his weight, out of concern for a family history of diabetes and hypertension, resulting in his losing over 70 pounds on a vegetarian diet.
In 2004, Studdard made a cameo in the film Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, singing a cover of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star". He also made guest appearances on TV shows including Life on a Stick, 8 Simple Rules, One on One, All of Us and Eve.
2006–2008: The Return
Studdard's third album, The Return, was released in October 2006. Returning to R&B music on this album, Studdard collaborated with a variety of producers, including Scott Storch, Stargate, and Ne-Yo. Studdard also co-wrote several songs on the album. The Return sold 71,000 copies in its first week to open at number eight on the Billboard 200 album chart. The lead single, "Change Me," reached number one on Billboard's Urban Contemporary chart, while the follow-up track, "Make Ya Feel Beautiful", also made a strong impression on the R&B charts.
Studdard continued to tour, saying he would play a variety of music: "Coming out to my show is like coming to my house. I'll play the songs I love. It's like a party. For me, a party has all different types of music happening."
Studdard appeared on the finale of American Idol season 6 in May 2007. He spent a few weeks touring with Robin Givens in the comedy-drama Heaven I Need a Hug and prepared to take on the role of Fats Waller in a national tour of Ain't Misbehavin' in 2008. The tour is scheduled to begin November 17, 2008 in Atlanta, GA and end May 14, 2009 in Syracuse, NY.
In December 2007, Studdard had been dropped from his record company, J Records, due to poor sales of The Return and "[falling] short of expectations". He remained under contract with 19 Recordings and was assigned the high-profile position of performing the American Idol season 7 farewell song, a recording of Kenny Loggins' "Celebrate Me Home", in a new version produced by Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam.
Studdard performed "Celebrate Me Home" live on May 20, 2008, at the Nokia Theatre for the first night of the two-night grand finale of American Idol's seventh season. In 2008, Studdard also collaborated with gospel singer Deitrick Haddon and duo Mary Mary on the hit gospel song "Love Him Like I Do".
2009–2010: Love Is
Studdard announced that his next album, to be released May 19, 2009, would be released on Sony Music offshoot Hickory Records. The new album, entitled Love Is, was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The album spawned the singles "Together" and "Don't Make 'Em Like U No More".
Love Is was released on May 19, 2009, to positive reviews. The album, which features a mix of covers and original songs, sold 15,200 units in its first week to debut at number 36 on the Billboard 200, number five on Independent Albums and number eight on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Studdard appeared with the "David Foster and Friends" ten-city tour beginning October 21, 2009, in Chicago, Illinois and ending November 8, 2009, in Vancouver, Canada. A compilation album, Playlist: The Very Best of Ruben Studdard was released on January 26, 2010 by Sony's Legacy Recordings.
Studdard returned to the American Idol stage on March 31, 2010 to perform "Don't Make 'Em Like U No More". In his on-camera interview with Ryan Seacrest after his performance, he announced that he would be touring with Clay Aiken in the summer.
Studdard and Aiken brought their Timeless tour to cities in the US and Canada beginning in Asheville, North Carolina on July 23, 2010 and ending in Biloxi, Mississippi on August 14. Instead of a concert focusing on each singers recordings, Studdard and Aiken opted for a variety show format covering medleys of songs from the 1960s to the 1990s, with a few solos and interspersed with comedy bits.
2010–2013: Letters from Birmingham
In 2011, Studdard signed with Shanachie Entertainment. His first album for the label and fifth studio release overall, Letters from Birmingham, was released in March 2012.
A concept album that traces a relationship through a series of romantic letters, Letters from Birmingham received mostly positive reviews, especially for his duet with Chrisette Michele, "Do It Right", which was praised as "sublime" and "tantalizing". The album also included covers of Bobby Brown's "Rock Wit'cha" and "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, recast as a love song. Since its release, "Letters from Birmingham" has sold 22,000 copies, and the lead single, "June 28 (I'm Single)", which referenced his marriage and subsequent divorce, reached the top 20 of Billboard's urban charts.
2013–2014: The Biggest Loser and Unconditional Love
Studdard joined the cast of fifteenth season of the NBC weight loss competition show The Biggest Loser, and was credited as its first ever celebrity contestant. At 6'3 and 462 pounds, Studdard had the highest starting weight and BMI of the entire cast. A member of the show's Red Team, Studdard was first eliminated in the fourth week after he failed to make his weight loss goal. However, because opposing coach Jillian Michaels had given her team caffeine pills in violation of the rules, Studdard's elimination was voided and he returned before once again being eliminated during the competition's eighth week.
At the show's finale on February 4, 2014 (which coincided with the release of Studdard's newest album, Unconditional Love), it was revealed that he had lost a total of 119 pounds for an ending weight of 343 pounds. Studdard credited the weight loss for improving his ability to perform onstage. During the finale, Studdard also performed his new album's lead single, "Meant to Be", accompanied by the song's cowriter and producer, David Foster, on piano.
Unconditional Love is Studdard's sixth studio album and first with his new label, Verve Records. Foster, who has won 16 Grammy Awards, was the executive producer of the disc, which primarily consists of covers of love songs along with two originals, including "Meant to Be". Studdard has called it "the album that everybody expected from me when I won American Idol." The album features collaborations with Stevie Wonder, Lalah Hathaway, and Eric Benet, and includes covers of songs originally performed by artists such as Paul McCartney, Donny Hathaway, Bonnie Raitt, Marvin Gaye, and Peabo Bryson. Since its release, the album has received some of Studdard's best reviews of his career. According to critics, the album "finds Studdard at the top of his game vocally" and he hits his stride, "exuding grace, confidence and class" as he successfully positions himself as a "stylish crooner." Unconditional Love debuted at #46 on the Billboard 200 and #7 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.
Studdard supported the release of Unconditional Love with the national Born Again Tour with his collaborator Lalah Hathaway.
2015-present: Ruben Sings Luther and Broadway debut
Studdard continues to appear regularly on American Idol, including mentoring and performing with contestants in its farewell season on Fox. He released a new single, "Can't Nobody Love You," on April 8, 2016, and appeared on several talk shows to promote the song. In 2017, he released a cover of "A Change Is Gonna Come" and guested on Patti LaBelle's holiday album, performing "Your Presence with Me" and "Ave Maria."
In 2018, Studdard, who had long been compared to Luther Vandross, released a tribute album, Ruben Sings Luther, on the SEG Music label. He supported the album with the Always & Forever national tour. In an interview with People Magazine, Studdard said that, “Since I won American Idol, people have been asking for me to sing Luther songs for a long time. I thought, ‘OK. You want to hear it? I might as well do it. I thought it was the perfect time to pay homage to one of the greatest song interpreters of all time.”
Both the album and tour received strong reviews, with Variety noting that "Studdard truly took wing and made the music of Vandross his own" on tour and The Philadelphia Inquirer calling the album a "full-on lush-and-funky tribute".
Studdard made his Broadway theatre debut in December 2018, reuniting with Clay Aiken in Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show (aka Ruben & Clay’s Christmas Show) at the Imperial Theatre, with previews beginning December 7 and the show officially opening December 11. The show continued through December 30, with a portion of ticket sales benefitting the National Inclusion Project.
Acting
Studdard has worked as an actor in several roles, including single-episode appearances on the television series 8 Simple Rules, Life on a Stick, All of Us, Eve, and One on One, as well as a cameo appearance in the film Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. He has also appeared on a television commercial for a Birmingham-area Kia dealer.
Studdard headlined the revival tour of Ain't Misbehavin', starring alongside fellow American Idol alumni Trenyce and Frenchie Davis. Starring as Fats Waller, Studdard received positive reviews and was part of the cast recording album released by Rhino Records on January 13, 2009. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Advocacy
Studdard's love of music led him to create The Ruben Studdard Foundation for the Advancement of Children in the Music Arts. The foundation's mission statement says their aim is "to promote the essential role of the arts in education through learning initiatives for the development of students in the Greater Birmingham Area."
Studdard also signed on as an official spokesperson for "Be Sickle Smart", a nationwide grassroots health-education program aimed at increasing awareness of iron overload among people living with sickle-cell disease.
Personal life
Studdard met Surata Zuri McCants in October 2006, when he was signing CDs at a Wal-Mart in Atlanta. On June 28, 2008, Studdard married McCants in a short, private ceremony in Mountain Brook, Alabama. On November 16, 2011, Studdard's attorney announced that Studdard was in the process of a divorce. Studdard's divorce was finalized in April 2012.
Studdard received an honorary Master of Arts degree from his alma mater of Alabama A&M University, where he received a bachelor degree in Vocal Studies, at its December 2015 commencement ceremony. He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity. In 2022, it was announced that Studdard would teach a masterclass for performing arts majors at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Singles
Single certifications
Other albums
American Idol Season 2: All-Time Classic American Love Songs (2003)
"What the World Needs Now" (with Season 2 Finalists)
"God Bless the U.S.A. (Proud to Be an American)" (with Season 2 Finalists)
"Superstar"
American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics (2003)
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (American Idol Ensemble)
"This Christmas"
Genius & Friends (2005)
"Imagine" with Ray Charles and The Harlem Gospel Singers
Revealed (2008)
"Love Him Like I Do" with Deitrick Haddon and Mary Mary
Ain't Misbehavin': The 30th Anniversary Cast Recording (2009)
"Honeysuckle Rose" duet with Frenchie Davis
"The Jitterbug Waltz" with Patrice Covington & Company
"Lounging At The Waldorf" with Frenchie Davis, Trenyce Cobbins & Patrice Covington
"Your Feet's Too Big"
Hit Man Returns: David Foster & Friends (2011)
"Home" with David Foster
Unbelievable (2011)
"Saturday Love" with Keke Wyatt
Sing Pray Love, Vol. 1: Sing (2014)
"Back 2 Love" with Kelly Price
Patti LaBelle Presents: Home for the Holidays with Friends (2017)
"Don't Save it All for Christmas"
"Your Presence with Me"
"Let It Snow"
"Ave Maria"
Filmography
One on One (2004)
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
8 Simple Rules (2005)
Life on a Stick (2005)
All of Us (2005)
Natural Born Komics (2006) (direct-to-DVD)
Eve (2006)
Lifted (2011)
The Perfect Gift (2011)
See also
List of Idols winners
References
External links
Official Foundation site
1978 births
Living people
Alabama A&M Bulldogs football players
American football offensive linemen
American gospel singers
American Idol winners
American male pop singers
American contemporary R&B singers
Baptists from Alabama
Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama
Urban contemporary gospel musicians
19 Recordings artists
J Records artists
Hickory Records artists
Shanachie Records artists
Verve Records artists
21st-century African-American male singers | true | [
"\"Farewell Is a Lonely Sound\" is a song by American soul singer Jimmy Ruffin, released as a single in October 1969 from his album Ruff'n Ready. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.\n\nRelease and reception \n\"Farewell Is a Lonely Sound\" was recorded in March 1967 at Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studio, b... | [
"Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of American Idol and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of \"Superstar.\"",
"He rose to fame as winner of the second season of Ame... |
[
"Dinosaur Jr.",
"You're Living All Over Me",
"What is You're living all over me?",
"Dinosaur recorded much of their second album You're Living All Over Me with Sonic Youth engineer Wharton Tiers in New York."
] | C_e8222f72e3ca4f74a76588abb3ba15bb_0 | Was it successful? | 2 | Was You're Living All Over Me by Dinosaur Jr. successful? | Dinosaur Jr. | Dinosaur recorded much of their second album You're Living All Over Me with Sonic Youth engineer Wharton Tiers in New York. During the recording process, tension emerged between Mascis and Murph because Mascis had very specific ideas for the drum parts. Barlow recalled, "J controlled Murph's every drumbeat...And Murph could not handle that. Murph wanted to kill J for the longest time." Gerard Cosloy was excited by the completed album, but was devastated when Mascis told him the band was going to release it on California-based SST Records. Mascis was reluctant to sign a two-album deal with Homestead, but Cosloy felt betrayed, "There was no way I couldn't take it personally." After the album's completion Mascis moved to New York, leaving the rest of the band feeling alienated. You're Living All Over Me was released in 1987; early copies of the record in the Boston area were packaged with the Weed Forestin' tape, the first release by Barlow's side project Sebadoh. The album received much more attention in the indie-rock community than the debut. While the previous record had featured different musical styles for each song, You're Living All Over Me found the band's various disparate influences merging into each individual song. Although the hardcore punk influences were noticeably more muted than on Dinosaur, the overall sound was much more powerful, with the instruments often recorded very loud and with considerable distortion. While Mascis's guitar, alternating between Black Sabbath-like riffs, squalling solos, dissonant noise-rock and occasional quiet passages, was the main attraction, Barlow's bass, melodic, highly distorted and often playing thick two-note chords, competed for attention. Meanwhile, Murph played the Mascis-composed drum parts in a very heavy and powerful fashion, resulting in a version of the power trio format. Mascis did most of the lead singing, in a detached drawl that presented a contrast with the extreme music. The songs were highly melodic, albeit with odd song structures that avoided the typical verse-chorus-verse patterns of most rock and pop songs. Barlow also composed two songs: the hardcore-influenced "Lose" and an acoustic sonic collage entitled "Poledo" that anticipated his work with Sebadoh. Immediately following the release of You're Living All Over Me, supergroup The Dinosaurs (featuring ex-members of Country Joe and the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Hot Tuna, Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane) sued them over the use of the name, prompting the addition of "Jr." CANNOTANSWER | The album received much more attention in the indie-rock community than the debut. | Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name.
The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow (bass, vocals), and Murph (drums). After three albums on independent labels, the band earned a reputation as one of the formative influences on American alternative rock. Creative tension led to Mascis firing Barlow, who later formed Sebadoh and Folk Implosion. His replacement, Mike Johnson, came aboard for three major-label albums. Murph eventually quit, with Mascis taking over drum duties on the band's albums before the group disbanded in 1997. The original lineup reformed in 2005, releasing five albums thereafter.
Mascis's drawling vocals and distinct guitar sound, hearkening back to 1960s and 1970s classic rock and characterized by extensive use of feedback and distortion, were highly influential in the alternative rock movement of the 1990s.
History
Formation
Mascis and Barlow played together, on drums and guitar respectively, in the hardcore punk band Deep Wound, formed in 1982 while the pair were attending high school in western Massachusetts. After high school, they began exploring slower yet still aggressive music such as Black Sabbath, the Replacements, and Neil Young. Mascis's college friend Gerard Cosloy introduced him to psychedelic-influenced pop bands like Dream Syndicate, which Mascis in turn showed to Barlow. Barlow explained, "We loved speed metal ... and we loved wimpy-jangly stuff".
Deep Wound broke up in mid-1984. Cosloy had dropped out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst to focus on running his independent record label, Homestead Records, and promised Mascis that if he were to make a record Homestead would release it. Mascis wrote a number of songs by himself and showed them to Barlow, to whom he offered the bassist position. Barlow said the songs "were fucking brilliant ...They were so far beyond. I was still into two-chord songs and basic stuff like 'I'm so sad.' While I was really into my own little tragedy, J was operating in this whole other panorama." Mascis enlisted vocalist Charlie Nakajima, also formerly of Deep Wound, and drummer Emmett Patrick Murphy, otherwise known as Murph, to complete the band. Mascis explained the concept behind the group as "ear-bleeding country".
The band was initially named Mogo, and played their first show on University of Massachusetts Amherst campus in the first week of September 1984. However, Nakajima used the performance to launch an extended anti-police tirade. Mascis was so appalled by Nakajima's behavior at the show that he disbanded the group the next day. A few days later Mascis invited Barlow and Murph to form a new band without telling Nakajima. "I was kind of too wimpy to kick him out, exactly," Mascis later admitted. "Communicating with people has been a constant problem in the band." The trio named themselves Dinosaur, and Mascis and Barlow took over lead-vocal duties.
Dinosaur
Mascis took Cosloy up on his offer to release an album and Dinosaur recorded their debut album for $500 at a home studio in the woods outside Northampton, Massachusetts. Their debut album, Dinosaur, was released in 1985. Mascis wrote all of the songs. Vocals were done by Mascis in his trademark nasal drawl which was often compared to singer Neil Young. Mascis would sing most or all of the lead vocals on all of their subsequent releases. The album did not make much of an impact commercially or critically: it sold only about 1,500 copies in its first year and was largely ignored by the majority of the music press.
After the record's release, Dinosaur would often drive to New York City to perform shows. At one of their shows, the New York-based alternative rock band Sonic Youth was at first unimpressed by the first Dinosaur performance they saw, but after watching them play several months later, approached the band declaring themselves as fans. Sonic Youth invited Dinosaur to join them on tour in the American Northeast and northern Midwest in September 1986.
You're Living All Over Me
Dinosaur recorded much of their second album, You're Living All Over Me, with Sonic Youth engineer Wharton Tiers in New York. During the recording process, tension emerged between Mascis and Murph because Mascis had very specific ideas for the drum parts. Barlow recalled, "J controlled Murph's every drumbeat ... And Murph could not handle that. Murph wanted to kill J for the longest time." Gerard Cosloy was excited by the completed album, but was devastated when Mascis told him the band was going to release it on California-based SST Records. Mascis was reluctant to sign a two-album deal with Homestead, but Cosloy felt betrayed, "There was no way I couldn't take it personally." After the album's completion Mascis moved to New York, leaving the rest of the band feeling alienated.
You're Living All Over Me was released in 1987; early copies of the record in the Boston area were packaged with the Weed Forestin tape, the first release by Barlow's side project Sebadoh. The album received much more attention in the indie-rock community than the debut. Barlow also composed two songs: the hardcore-influenced "Lose" and an acoustic sonic collage entitled "Poledo" that anticipated his work with Sebadoh.
Immediately following the release of You're Living All Over Me, a supergroup called the Dinosaurs (featuring ex-members of Country Joe and the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Hot Tuna, Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane) sued Dinosaur over the use of the name, prompting the addition of "Jr."
Bug and Barlow's departure
Dinosaur Jr. had a major breakthrough in the United Kingdom with their debut single for Blast First, "Freak Scene", in 1988, a version with censored lyrics being issued for radio consumption. It reached number 4 in the UK independent chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks. The band's third album, Bug, followed shortly afterwards, reaching number 1 on the UK independent chart and spending 38 weeks in the chart. The band's first UK singles chart placing came in 1989 with their cover of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven".
Bug was similar in musical style to You're Living All Over Me, with the contrast between the extremely distorted instruments and the melodic vocal parts intact, as was the band's unique blend of musical influences. However, this time out, there was even more melody and the song structures were more conventional. Mascis was exhibiting an even tighter control over the band's sound, singing lead vocals on all but one song and composing the parts for Murph and Lou to play. Barlow's only lead vocal was on the album's final track, featuring an overdriven, noise-rock backing track and Barlow screaming "Why don't you like me?"
Mascis has described Bug as his least favorite of the band's albums. In an interview in 2005, after the original line-up had reformed, he said, "Bug is my least favourite of all our records. I like some of the songs but, I dunno, I guess I really don't like the vibe of it."
Despite the album's success, tension between Mascis and Barlow began interfering with the band's productivity, and in 1989, after touring in support of Bug, Barlow was kicked out of the band. Barlow now focused all of his attention on the former side-project Sebadoh. "The Freed Pig", the opening track on 1991's Sebadoh III, documents Barlow's frustration with Mascis and feeling of being treated poorly in Dinosaur Jr.
Meanwhile, the band embarked on an Australian tour with Donna Dresch filling in for Barlow. In 1990, the band released a new single, "The Wagon" on Sub Pop, their first release since Barlow's departure. The single featured a short-lived lineup including guitarist Don Fleming and drummer Jay Spiegel from the band Gumball, in addition to Mascis and Murph.
Major label years
Despite the ongoing lineup turmoil, Dinosaur Jr. signed with Sire Records in 1990. They made their major-label debut Green Mind in 1991. The new record was virtually a J Mascis solo album, with Murph playing drums on only a few songs, as well as minimal contributions from Fleming and Spiegel, who were out of the band by the time the album was released. Mascis, whose first instrument was a drum kit, recorded many of the drum parts by himself, layering the various instrumental parts through overdubbing.
For touring purposes, Mascis first added Van Conner, and then Mike Johnson to handle the bass parts and embarked on several tours to support Green Mind, with support acts that included Nirvana. In 1991, Sire records released an EP titled Whatever's Cool with Me that featured old B-sides coupled with one new track. In 1992, the band was part of the Rollercoaster Tour, a package tour based on the successful Lollapolooza festival, which featured The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Blur.
The band found their live shows well received in the changing musical climate of the early 1990s, and decided to record new material with the new lineup. This time, the recording sessions were with full participation from Murph and Johnson, with the former playing most of the drums and the latter playing all of the bass parts, singing harmony vocals and even contributing a few guitar solos. This material represented the peak of the band's commercial success, with the single "Start Choppin'" reaching the top 20 in the UK, and the album that followed, Where You Been, reaching the UK top 10 and the US top 50. The opening track, "Out There", had an accompanying video and was aired on MTV for a short time, as the show 120 Minutes was still popular as a late-night "alternative" video show. Although the new material was more accessible than the band's 1980s albums, in terms of playing it represented a partial return to the more unrestrained power-trio sound of the original lineup.
Murph left the band after touring for Where You Been and was replaced for the band's live shows by George Berz, leaving Mascis as the sole remaining original member. However, the band's subsequent albums would be recorded mostly by J Mascis on his own, playing everything except for the bass and some of the harmony vocals, which continued to be handled by Mike Johnson. The commercial success continued with 1994's Without a Sound, which placed well in both the US and UK album charts. After 1997's Hand It Over, Mascis finally retired the Dinosaur Jr. name, with the group's final live performance being an appearance on the American talk show The Jenny Jones Show. In 1999, Mascis released the first of two solo albums under the name J Mascis + The Fog.
2005 reunion and onward
The beginnings of a Mascis–Barlow détente started in the mid-'90s when Mascis began showing up at Sebadoh shows. "I think he was kind of aware of how much shit I was talking about him," Barlow noted in a 2005 interview, "but I don't think he really ever pursued any of it. One of the things that really triggered this, for me to finally just go, 'Hey, you know, maybe this could work,' is when I realized that maybe J wasn't really holding any kind of grudge against me because he didn't like me. I was thinking, maybe he just didn't realize what he had done, or maybe he wasn't really aware of how much he'd actually hurt me. And when I started to realize that, he kind of became more human to me."
In 2002, the two shared the stage for two shows in London, with Barlow singing I Wanna Be Your Dog along with Mascis, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton and Mike Watt, who had been performing Stooges songs as "Asheton, Asheton, Mascis and Watt".
Mascis regained the master rights to the band's first three albums from SST in 2004, and arranged for their reissue on Merge early 2005. Later that year, he and Barlow shared the stage at benefit show for autism at Smith College organized by Barlow's mother in Northampton, Massachusetts, and played together as Deep Wound after Mascis and Sebadoh had completed their respective sets.
Following the reissues in 2005, Mascis, Barlow and Murph finally reunited to play on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on April 15, 2005, and in June that year, they kicked off a tour of Europe. While performing in New York City in 2006, much of the band's equipment was stolen while stored outside their hotel and has not yet been recovered. The band members were later among the curators of 2006's All Tomorrow's Parties festival.
In 2007, the original members of Dinosaur Jr. released Beyond on Fat Possum Records, their first album of new material as a trio since Bug in 1988. It was met with critical acclaim, rating an 8.4 from Pitchfork Media and garnering positive reviews from the music press as a whole. It was considered somewhat of a sonic paradox in that even though it featured the original members who produced "two records so drenched in noise they still sound like aural assaults decades after their original release," sonically it resembled the major label releases of the 1990s in both production values and stylistic range. On the other hand, while the sound was not as extreme as the original lineup's 1980s albums, it did feature a much bigger, more unrestrained, and more live-sounding feel than their 1990s albums, though Barlow's bass was noticeably quieter than in the old days. Barlow did make his mark on the music in other ways: for the first time since You're Living All Over Me, he contributed to the songwriting. The album went on to good commercial success, debuting on the Billboard 200 at number 69 its opening week.
In February 2009, the band signed with indie label Jagjaguwar. The band's first release on the new label was titled Farm and released on June 23, 2009. Murph said the album was recorded at Mascis's home and marks return to the heavier, Where You Been LP era. The album reached number 29 on the Billboard 200, making it the band's highest-charting album in the US. To promote the album, the band played Farm's lead-off track, "Pieces", on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on June 25, 2009.
Dinosaur Jr. released their second album for Jagjaguwar, I Bet on Sky, in September 2012, to favourable reviews.
In December 2015, Murph confirmed the band had entered the studio to begin working on their follow up to I Bet on Sky. The album Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not was released on August 5, 2016, on Jagjaguwar.
In February 2019, the song "Over Your Shoulder" from the band's 1994 album Without a Sound reached number 18 on Japan's Billboard charts. The cause is suspected to be the song's use on the Japanese TV show called Gachinko Fight Club.
In February 2021, the band announced their 12th album Sweep It Into Space, which was released on April 23, 2021. The album was originally scheduled for release in mid-2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The album was preceded by the single "I Ran Away" on February 23, 2021, with a music video for the song being released on March 3, 2021. The second single, "Garden", was released with a music video on March 31, 2021. The band announced a 2021 North American tour to support the album was planned to begin in September 2021 and would conclude in February 2022.
Musical style and influences
Dinosaur Jr has been described as alternative rock, indie rock and noise rock, also noise pop, hardcore punk (first albums), and grunge (early nineties).
Dinosaur Jr. is considered to be an alternative rock band; however the band's musical style, compared to its underground contemporaries in the 1980s, differed in several ways. This included the influence of classic rock on the band's music, their use of feedback, extreme volume and the loud-quiet dynamic, and frontman Mascis's droning vocals. A characteristic of Mascis's vocal style is frequent use of vocal fry. Gerald Cosloy, head of Homestead Records, summarised the band's music: "It was its own bizarre hybrid. ... It wasn't exactly pop, it wasn't exactly punk rock—it was completely its own thing".
Mascis listened to classic rock artists such as the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys, elements of which were incorporated into Dinosaur Jr.'s sound. In addition, Mascis was also a fan of many punk and hardcore bands such as The Birthday Party, and has frequently noted Nick Cave as an influence. Dinosaur Jr.'s members also combined elements of hardcore punk and noise rock in their songs, which often featured a large amount of feedback, distortion and extreme volume. When the master tape of You're Living All Over Me arrived at SST, the label's production manager noticed the level on the tape was so high it was distorting; however, Mascis confirmed it was the way he wanted the album to sound.
Similar to Mascis's guitar work, Barlow's bass lines, with their alternating heavily distorted, fast chords and pulverizing lows, draw heavily from both his hardcore past and musicians such as Lemmy from Motörhead and Johnny Ramone. "Johnny Ramone is my hero. I wanted to make that rhythmic chugging sound like he got playing guitar with the Ramones. And, I found that I got a bigger sound by strumming farther up the neck."
Mascis's vocals are another distinctive feature of Dinosaur Jr.'s music. He attributed his "whiny low-key drawl", the opposite of the hardcore punk "bark", to artists such as John Fogerty and Mick Jagger. His style also resembled Neil Young's, but Mascis disputed this, and later commented: "That got annoying, being compared all the time." His drawl epitomised the band's slacker ethos and relaxed attitude; author Michael Azerrad said "even Mascis seemed removed from the feelings he was conveying in the music".
Legacy
In a BBC review of their reissued albums You're Living All Over Me and Bug, Zoe Street called them "Frighteningly ahead of their time." The Seattle Times called them "one of post-punk’s most influential bands." According to Azerrad:Dinosaur Jr was one of the first, biggest, and best bands among the second generation of indie kids, the ones who took Black Flag and Minor Threat for granted, a generation for whom the Seventies, not the Sixties, was the nostalgic ideal. Their music continued a retrograde stylistic shift in the American underground that the Replacements and other bands had begun: renouncing the antihistorical tendencies of hardcore and fully embracing the music that everyone had grown up on. In particular, Dinosaur singer-guitarist J Mascis achieved the unthinkable in underground rock—he brought back the extended guitar solo.Dinosaur Jr's music has influenced many other musicians such as Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Black Francis of Pixies, Radiohead, Graham Coxon of Blur, Doug Martsch of Built to Spill, Henry Rollins, Tad, Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive, Aidan Moffat of Belle and Sebastian, Swervedriver, Uncle Tupelo, Teenage Fanclub, The Lemonheads, Tom DeLonge of Blink-182, Snow Patrol, Band of Horses, Polvo, and Kurt Vile.
Their album You're Living All Over Me has been called possibly "the first perfect indie rock album." Spin named it one of "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)". Pitchfork placed the album at number 40 on its Top 100 Albums of the 1980s list.
Band membersCurrent membersJ Mascis – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards (1984–1997, 2005–present); drums (studio, 1991, 1994–1997)
Lou Barlow – bass, backing and lead vocals (1984–1989, 2005–present)
Murph – drums (1984–1993, 2005–present)Former members'''
Mike Johnson – bass, backing vocals (1991–1997)
George Berz – drums (live, 1993–1997)
Van Conner - bass, backing vocals (live, 1990–1991)
DiscographyDinosaur (1985)You're Living All Over Me (1987)Bug (1988)Green Mind (1991)Where You Been (1993)Without a Sound (1994)Hand It Over (1997)Beyond (2007)Farm (2009)I Bet on Sky (2012)Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not (2016)Sweep It Into Space (2021)
Filmography
2020 Freakscene – The Story of Dinosaur Jr.'' Documentary. Dir.: Philipp Reichenheim
References
Sources
External links
Official Dinosaur Jr. site
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups disestablished in 1997
Musical groups reestablished in 2005
American musical trios
Alternative rock groups from Massachusetts
Homestead Records artists
SST Records artists
Blast First artists
Sire Records artists
Fat Possum Records artists
PIAS Recordings artists
American noise rock music groups
Indie rock musical groups from Massachusetts
Jagjaguwar artists
1984 establishments in Massachusetts
Merge Records artists | true | [
"Merry Legs (1911-1932) was a Tennessee Walking Horse mare who was given foundation registration for her influence as a broodmare. She was also a successful show horse.\n\nLife\nMerry Legs was foaled in April 1911. She was a bay with sabino markings. She was sired by the foundation stallion Black Allan F-1, out of ... | [
"Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow (bass, vocals), and Murph (drums).",
"The band was founded by J Mascis (... |
[
"Dinosaur Jr.",
"You're Living All Over Me",
"What is You're living all over me?",
"Dinosaur recorded much of their second album You're Living All Over Me with Sonic Youth engineer Wharton Tiers in New York.",
"Was it successful?",
"The album received much more attention in the indie-rock community than t... | C_e8222f72e3ca4f74a76588abb3ba15bb_0 | Was it successful? | 6 | Was The Weed Forestin' Tape by Sebadoh successful? | Dinosaur Jr. | Dinosaur recorded much of their second album You're Living All Over Me with Sonic Youth engineer Wharton Tiers in New York. During the recording process, tension emerged between Mascis and Murph because Mascis had very specific ideas for the drum parts. Barlow recalled, "J controlled Murph's every drumbeat...And Murph could not handle that. Murph wanted to kill J for the longest time." Gerard Cosloy was excited by the completed album, but was devastated when Mascis told him the band was going to release it on California-based SST Records. Mascis was reluctant to sign a two-album deal with Homestead, but Cosloy felt betrayed, "There was no way I couldn't take it personally." After the album's completion Mascis moved to New York, leaving the rest of the band feeling alienated. You're Living All Over Me was released in 1987; early copies of the record in the Boston area were packaged with the Weed Forestin' tape, the first release by Barlow's side project Sebadoh. The album received much more attention in the indie-rock community than the debut. While the previous record had featured different musical styles for each song, You're Living All Over Me found the band's various disparate influences merging into each individual song. Although the hardcore punk influences were noticeably more muted than on Dinosaur, the overall sound was much more powerful, with the instruments often recorded very loud and with considerable distortion. While Mascis's guitar, alternating between Black Sabbath-like riffs, squalling solos, dissonant noise-rock and occasional quiet passages, was the main attraction, Barlow's bass, melodic, highly distorted and often playing thick two-note chords, competed for attention. Meanwhile, Murph played the Mascis-composed drum parts in a very heavy and powerful fashion, resulting in a version of the power trio format. Mascis did most of the lead singing, in a detached drawl that presented a contrast with the extreme music. The songs were highly melodic, albeit with odd song structures that avoided the typical verse-chorus-verse patterns of most rock and pop songs. Barlow also composed two songs: the hardcore-influenced "Lose" and an acoustic sonic collage entitled "Poledo" that anticipated his work with Sebadoh. Immediately following the release of You're Living All Over Me, supergroup The Dinosaurs (featuring ex-members of Country Joe and the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Hot Tuna, Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane) sued them over the use of the name, prompting the addition of "Jr." CANNOTANSWER | The album received much more attention in the indie-rock community than the debut. | Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name.
The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow (bass, vocals), and Murph (drums). After three albums on independent labels, the band earned a reputation as one of the formative influences on American alternative rock. Creative tension led to Mascis firing Barlow, who later formed Sebadoh and Folk Implosion. His replacement, Mike Johnson, came aboard for three major-label albums. Murph eventually quit, with Mascis taking over drum duties on the band's albums before the group disbanded in 1997. The original lineup reformed in 2005, releasing five albums thereafter.
Mascis's drawling vocals and distinct guitar sound, hearkening back to 1960s and 1970s classic rock and characterized by extensive use of feedback and distortion, were highly influential in the alternative rock movement of the 1990s.
History
Formation
Mascis and Barlow played together, on drums and guitar respectively, in the hardcore punk band Deep Wound, formed in 1982 while the pair were attending high school in western Massachusetts. After high school, they began exploring slower yet still aggressive music such as Black Sabbath, the Replacements, and Neil Young. Mascis's college friend Gerard Cosloy introduced him to psychedelic-influenced pop bands like Dream Syndicate, which Mascis in turn showed to Barlow. Barlow explained, "We loved speed metal ... and we loved wimpy-jangly stuff".
Deep Wound broke up in mid-1984. Cosloy had dropped out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst to focus on running his independent record label, Homestead Records, and promised Mascis that if he were to make a record Homestead would release it. Mascis wrote a number of songs by himself and showed them to Barlow, to whom he offered the bassist position. Barlow said the songs "were fucking brilliant ...They were so far beyond. I was still into two-chord songs and basic stuff like 'I'm so sad.' While I was really into my own little tragedy, J was operating in this whole other panorama." Mascis enlisted vocalist Charlie Nakajima, also formerly of Deep Wound, and drummer Emmett Patrick Murphy, otherwise known as Murph, to complete the band. Mascis explained the concept behind the group as "ear-bleeding country".
The band was initially named Mogo, and played their first show on University of Massachusetts Amherst campus in the first week of September 1984. However, Nakajima used the performance to launch an extended anti-police tirade. Mascis was so appalled by Nakajima's behavior at the show that he disbanded the group the next day. A few days later Mascis invited Barlow and Murph to form a new band without telling Nakajima. "I was kind of too wimpy to kick him out, exactly," Mascis later admitted. "Communicating with people has been a constant problem in the band." The trio named themselves Dinosaur, and Mascis and Barlow took over lead-vocal duties.
Dinosaur
Mascis took Cosloy up on his offer to release an album and Dinosaur recorded their debut album for $500 at a home studio in the woods outside Northampton, Massachusetts. Their debut album, Dinosaur, was released in 1985. Mascis wrote all of the songs. Vocals were done by Mascis in his trademark nasal drawl which was often compared to singer Neil Young. Mascis would sing most or all of the lead vocals on all of their subsequent releases. The album did not make much of an impact commercially or critically: it sold only about 1,500 copies in its first year and was largely ignored by the majority of the music press.
After the record's release, Dinosaur would often drive to New York City to perform shows. At one of their shows, the New York-based alternative rock band Sonic Youth was at first unimpressed by the first Dinosaur performance they saw, but after watching them play several months later, approached the band declaring themselves as fans. Sonic Youth invited Dinosaur to join them on tour in the American Northeast and northern Midwest in September 1986.
You're Living All Over Me
Dinosaur recorded much of their second album, You're Living All Over Me, with Sonic Youth engineer Wharton Tiers in New York. During the recording process, tension emerged between Mascis and Murph because Mascis had very specific ideas for the drum parts. Barlow recalled, "J controlled Murph's every drumbeat ... And Murph could not handle that. Murph wanted to kill J for the longest time." Gerard Cosloy was excited by the completed album, but was devastated when Mascis told him the band was going to release it on California-based SST Records. Mascis was reluctant to sign a two-album deal with Homestead, but Cosloy felt betrayed, "There was no way I couldn't take it personally." After the album's completion Mascis moved to New York, leaving the rest of the band feeling alienated.
You're Living All Over Me was released in 1987; early copies of the record in the Boston area were packaged with the Weed Forestin tape, the first release by Barlow's side project Sebadoh. The album received much more attention in the indie-rock community than the debut. Barlow also composed two songs: the hardcore-influenced "Lose" and an acoustic sonic collage entitled "Poledo" that anticipated his work with Sebadoh.
Immediately following the release of You're Living All Over Me, a supergroup called the Dinosaurs (featuring ex-members of Country Joe and the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Hot Tuna, Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane) sued Dinosaur over the use of the name, prompting the addition of "Jr."
Bug and Barlow's departure
Dinosaur Jr. had a major breakthrough in the United Kingdom with their debut single for Blast First, "Freak Scene", in 1988, a version with censored lyrics being issued for radio consumption. It reached number 4 in the UK independent chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks. The band's third album, Bug, followed shortly afterwards, reaching number 1 on the UK independent chart and spending 38 weeks in the chart. The band's first UK singles chart placing came in 1989 with their cover of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven".
Bug was similar in musical style to You're Living All Over Me, with the contrast between the extremely distorted instruments and the melodic vocal parts intact, as was the band's unique blend of musical influences. However, this time out, there was even more melody and the song structures were more conventional. Mascis was exhibiting an even tighter control over the band's sound, singing lead vocals on all but one song and composing the parts for Murph and Lou to play. Barlow's only lead vocal was on the album's final track, featuring an overdriven, noise-rock backing track and Barlow screaming "Why don't you like me?"
Mascis has described Bug as his least favorite of the band's albums. In an interview in 2005, after the original line-up had reformed, he said, "Bug is my least favourite of all our records. I like some of the songs but, I dunno, I guess I really don't like the vibe of it."
Despite the album's success, tension between Mascis and Barlow began interfering with the band's productivity, and in 1989, after touring in support of Bug, Barlow was kicked out of the band. Barlow now focused all of his attention on the former side-project Sebadoh. "The Freed Pig", the opening track on 1991's Sebadoh III, documents Barlow's frustration with Mascis and feeling of being treated poorly in Dinosaur Jr.
Meanwhile, the band embarked on an Australian tour with Donna Dresch filling in for Barlow. In 1990, the band released a new single, "The Wagon" on Sub Pop, their first release since Barlow's departure. The single featured a short-lived lineup including guitarist Don Fleming and drummer Jay Spiegel from the band Gumball, in addition to Mascis and Murph.
Major label years
Despite the ongoing lineup turmoil, Dinosaur Jr. signed with Sire Records in 1990. They made their major-label debut Green Mind in 1991. The new record was virtually a J Mascis solo album, with Murph playing drums on only a few songs, as well as minimal contributions from Fleming and Spiegel, who were out of the band by the time the album was released. Mascis, whose first instrument was a drum kit, recorded many of the drum parts by himself, layering the various instrumental parts through overdubbing.
For touring purposes, Mascis first added Van Conner, and then Mike Johnson to handle the bass parts and embarked on several tours to support Green Mind, with support acts that included Nirvana. In 1991, Sire records released an EP titled Whatever's Cool with Me that featured old B-sides coupled with one new track. In 1992, the band was part of the Rollercoaster Tour, a package tour based on the successful Lollapolooza festival, which featured The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Blur.
The band found their live shows well received in the changing musical climate of the early 1990s, and decided to record new material with the new lineup. This time, the recording sessions were with full participation from Murph and Johnson, with the former playing most of the drums and the latter playing all of the bass parts, singing harmony vocals and even contributing a few guitar solos. This material represented the peak of the band's commercial success, with the single "Start Choppin'" reaching the top 20 in the UK, and the album that followed, Where You Been, reaching the UK top 10 and the US top 50. The opening track, "Out There", had an accompanying video and was aired on MTV for a short time, as the show 120 Minutes was still popular as a late-night "alternative" video show. Although the new material was more accessible than the band's 1980s albums, in terms of playing it represented a partial return to the more unrestrained power-trio sound of the original lineup.
Murph left the band after touring for Where You Been and was replaced for the band's live shows by George Berz, leaving Mascis as the sole remaining original member. However, the band's subsequent albums would be recorded mostly by J Mascis on his own, playing everything except for the bass and some of the harmony vocals, which continued to be handled by Mike Johnson. The commercial success continued with 1994's Without a Sound, which placed well in both the US and UK album charts. After 1997's Hand It Over, Mascis finally retired the Dinosaur Jr. name, with the group's final live performance being an appearance on the American talk show The Jenny Jones Show. In 1999, Mascis released the first of two solo albums under the name J Mascis + The Fog.
2005 reunion and onward
The beginnings of a Mascis–Barlow détente started in the mid-'90s when Mascis began showing up at Sebadoh shows. "I think he was kind of aware of how much shit I was talking about him," Barlow noted in a 2005 interview, "but I don't think he really ever pursued any of it. One of the things that really triggered this, for me to finally just go, 'Hey, you know, maybe this could work,' is when I realized that maybe J wasn't really holding any kind of grudge against me because he didn't like me. I was thinking, maybe he just didn't realize what he had done, or maybe he wasn't really aware of how much he'd actually hurt me. And when I started to realize that, he kind of became more human to me."
In 2002, the two shared the stage for two shows in London, with Barlow singing I Wanna Be Your Dog along with Mascis, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton and Mike Watt, who had been performing Stooges songs as "Asheton, Asheton, Mascis and Watt".
Mascis regained the master rights to the band's first three albums from SST in 2004, and arranged for their reissue on Merge early 2005. Later that year, he and Barlow shared the stage at benefit show for autism at Smith College organized by Barlow's mother in Northampton, Massachusetts, and played together as Deep Wound after Mascis and Sebadoh had completed their respective sets.
Following the reissues in 2005, Mascis, Barlow and Murph finally reunited to play on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on April 15, 2005, and in June that year, they kicked off a tour of Europe. While performing in New York City in 2006, much of the band's equipment was stolen while stored outside their hotel and has not yet been recovered. The band members were later among the curators of 2006's All Tomorrow's Parties festival.
In 2007, the original members of Dinosaur Jr. released Beyond on Fat Possum Records, their first album of new material as a trio since Bug in 1988. It was met with critical acclaim, rating an 8.4 from Pitchfork Media and garnering positive reviews from the music press as a whole. It was considered somewhat of a sonic paradox in that even though it featured the original members who produced "two records so drenched in noise they still sound like aural assaults decades after their original release," sonically it resembled the major label releases of the 1990s in both production values and stylistic range. On the other hand, while the sound was not as extreme as the original lineup's 1980s albums, it did feature a much bigger, more unrestrained, and more live-sounding feel than their 1990s albums, though Barlow's bass was noticeably quieter than in the old days. Barlow did make his mark on the music in other ways: for the first time since You're Living All Over Me, he contributed to the songwriting. The album went on to good commercial success, debuting on the Billboard 200 at number 69 its opening week.
In February 2009, the band signed with indie label Jagjaguwar. The band's first release on the new label was titled Farm and released on June 23, 2009. Murph said the album was recorded at Mascis's home and marks return to the heavier, Where You Been LP era. The album reached number 29 on the Billboard 200, making it the band's highest-charting album in the US. To promote the album, the band played Farm's lead-off track, "Pieces", on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on June 25, 2009.
Dinosaur Jr. released their second album for Jagjaguwar, I Bet on Sky, in September 2012, to favourable reviews.
In December 2015, Murph confirmed the band had entered the studio to begin working on their follow up to I Bet on Sky. The album Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not was released on August 5, 2016, on Jagjaguwar.
In February 2019, the song "Over Your Shoulder" from the band's 1994 album Without a Sound reached number 18 on Japan's Billboard charts. The cause is suspected to be the song's use on the Japanese TV show called Gachinko Fight Club.
In February 2021, the band announced their 12th album Sweep It Into Space, which was released on April 23, 2021. The album was originally scheduled for release in mid-2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The album was preceded by the single "I Ran Away" on February 23, 2021, with a music video for the song being released on March 3, 2021. The second single, "Garden", was released with a music video on March 31, 2021. The band announced a 2021 North American tour to support the album was planned to begin in September 2021 and would conclude in February 2022.
Musical style and influences
Dinosaur Jr has been described as alternative rock, indie rock and noise rock, also noise pop, hardcore punk (first albums), and grunge (early nineties).
Dinosaur Jr. is considered to be an alternative rock band; however the band's musical style, compared to its underground contemporaries in the 1980s, differed in several ways. This included the influence of classic rock on the band's music, their use of feedback, extreme volume and the loud-quiet dynamic, and frontman Mascis's droning vocals. A characteristic of Mascis's vocal style is frequent use of vocal fry. Gerald Cosloy, head of Homestead Records, summarised the band's music: "It was its own bizarre hybrid. ... It wasn't exactly pop, it wasn't exactly punk rock—it was completely its own thing".
Mascis listened to classic rock artists such as the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys, elements of which were incorporated into Dinosaur Jr.'s sound. In addition, Mascis was also a fan of many punk and hardcore bands such as The Birthday Party, and has frequently noted Nick Cave as an influence. Dinosaur Jr.'s members also combined elements of hardcore punk and noise rock in their songs, which often featured a large amount of feedback, distortion and extreme volume. When the master tape of You're Living All Over Me arrived at SST, the label's production manager noticed the level on the tape was so high it was distorting; however, Mascis confirmed it was the way he wanted the album to sound.
Similar to Mascis's guitar work, Barlow's bass lines, with their alternating heavily distorted, fast chords and pulverizing lows, draw heavily from both his hardcore past and musicians such as Lemmy from Motörhead and Johnny Ramone. "Johnny Ramone is my hero. I wanted to make that rhythmic chugging sound like he got playing guitar with the Ramones. And, I found that I got a bigger sound by strumming farther up the neck."
Mascis's vocals are another distinctive feature of Dinosaur Jr.'s music. He attributed his "whiny low-key drawl", the opposite of the hardcore punk "bark", to artists such as John Fogerty and Mick Jagger. His style also resembled Neil Young's, but Mascis disputed this, and later commented: "That got annoying, being compared all the time." His drawl epitomised the band's slacker ethos and relaxed attitude; author Michael Azerrad said "even Mascis seemed removed from the feelings he was conveying in the music".
Legacy
In a BBC review of their reissued albums You're Living All Over Me and Bug, Zoe Street called them "Frighteningly ahead of their time." The Seattle Times called them "one of post-punk’s most influential bands." According to Azerrad:Dinosaur Jr was one of the first, biggest, and best bands among the second generation of indie kids, the ones who took Black Flag and Minor Threat for granted, a generation for whom the Seventies, not the Sixties, was the nostalgic ideal. Their music continued a retrograde stylistic shift in the American underground that the Replacements and other bands had begun: renouncing the antihistorical tendencies of hardcore and fully embracing the music that everyone had grown up on. In particular, Dinosaur singer-guitarist J Mascis achieved the unthinkable in underground rock—he brought back the extended guitar solo.Dinosaur Jr's music has influenced many other musicians such as Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Black Francis of Pixies, Radiohead, Graham Coxon of Blur, Doug Martsch of Built to Spill, Henry Rollins, Tad, Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive, Aidan Moffat of Belle and Sebastian, Swervedriver, Uncle Tupelo, Teenage Fanclub, The Lemonheads, Tom DeLonge of Blink-182, Snow Patrol, Band of Horses, Polvo, and Kurt Vile.
Their album You're Living All Over Me has been called possibly "the first perfect indie rock album." Spin named it one of "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)". Pitchfork placed the album at number 40 on its Top 100 Albums of the 1980s list.
Band membersCurrent membersJ Mascis – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards (1984–1997, 2005–present); drums (studio, 1991, 1994–1997)
Lou Barlow – bass, backing and lead vocals (1984–1989, 2005–present)
Murph – drums (1984–1993, 2005–present)Former members'''
Mike Johnson – bass, backing vocals (1991–1997)
George Berz – drums (live, 1993–1997)
Van Conner - bass, backing vocals (live, 1990–1991)
DiscographyDinosaur (1985)You're Living All Over Me (1987)Bug (1988)Green Mind (1991)Where You Been (1993)Without a Sound (1994)Hand It Over (1997)Beyond (2007)Farm (2009)I Bet on Sky (2012)Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not (2016)Sweep It Into Space (2021)
Filmography
2020 Freakscene – The Story of Dinosaur Jr.'' Documentary. Dir.: Philipp Reichenheim
References
Sources
External links
Official Dinosaur Jr. site
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups disestablished in 1997
Musical groups reestablished in 2005
American musical trios
Alternative rock groups from Massachusetts
Homestead Records artists
SST Records artists
Blast First artists
Sire Records artists
Fat Possum Records artists
PIAS Recordings artists
American noise rock music groups
Indie rock musical groups from Massachusetts
Jagjaguwar artists
1984 establishments in Massachusetts
Merge Records artists | true | [
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"Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow (bass, vocals), and Murph (drums).",
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"Ion Creangă",
"Junimea reception"
] | C_c81777bed23f4fd3a49716508c674479_0 | When was the Junimea reception | 1 | When was the Junimea reception? | Ion Creangă | At around the same time, Creanga also began attending Junimea, an upper class literary club presided upon by Maiorescu, whose cultural and political prestige was increasing. This event, literary historian Z. Ornea argued, followed a time of indecision: as a former Factionalist, Creanga was a natural adversary of the mainstream Junimist "cosmopolitan orientation", represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was still fundamentally committed to Maiorescu's agenda in the field of education. Literary historians Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu also argue that, after attending Junimea, the author was able to assimilate some of its innovative teachings into his own style of pedagogy, and thus helped diffuse its message outside the purely academic environment. The exact date of his reception is a mystery. According to Maiorescu's own recollections, written some decades after the event, Creanga was in attendance at a Junimea meeting of 1871, during which Gheorghe Costaforu proposed to transform the club into a political party. The information was considered dubious by Z. Ornea, who argued that the episode may have been entirely invented by the Junimist leader, and noted that it contradicted both Negruzzi's accounts and minutes kept by A. D. Xenopol. According to Ornea's assessment, with the exception of literary critic Vladimir Streinu, all of Creanga's biographers have come to dismiss Maiorescu's statement. Several sources mention that the future writer was introduced to the society by Eminescu, who was an active member around 1875. This and other details lead Ornea to conclude that membership was granted to Creanga only after the summer break of 1875. Gradually or instantly, Creanga made a positive impression by confirming with the Junimist ideal of authenticity. He also became treasured for his talkative and jocular nature, self-effacing references to himself as a "peasant", and eventually his debut works, which became subjects of his own public readings. His storytelling soon earned him dedicated spectators, who deemed Creanga's fictional universe a "sack of wonders" at a time when the author himself had started casually using the pseudonym Ioan Vantura-Tara ("Ioan Gadabout"). Although still in his forties, the newcomer was also becoming colloquially known to his colleagues as Mos Creanga ("Old Man Creanga" or "Father Creanga"), which was a sign of respect and sympathy. Among Ion Creanga's most dedicated promoters were Eminescu, his former political rival Iacob Negruzzi, Alexandru Lambrior and Vasile Pogor, as well as the so-called caracuda (roughly, "small game") section, which comprised Junimists who rarely took the floor during public debates, and who were avid listeners of his literary productions (it was to this latter gathering that Creanga later dedicated his erotic texts). In parallel to his diversified literary contribution, the former priest himself became a noted voice in Junimist politics, and, like his new friend Eminescu, voiced support for the group's nationalist faction, in disagreement with the more cosmopolitan and aristocratic segment led by Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp. By that the late 1870s, he was secretly redirecting political support from the former Factionalists to his new colleagues, as confirmed by an encrypted letter he addressed to Negruzzi in March 1877. CANNOTANSWER | The exact date of his reception is a mystery. | Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romanian literature, he is best known for his Childhood Memories volume, his novellas and short stories, and his many anecdotes. Creangă's main contribution to fantasy and children's literature includes narratives structured around eponymous protagonists ("Harap Alb", "Ivan Turbincă", "Dănilă Prepeleac", "Stan Pățitul"), as well as fairy tales indebted to conventional forms ("The Story of the Pig", "The Goat and Her Three Kids", "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter"). Widely seen as masterpieces of the Romanian language and local humor, his writings occupy the middle ground between a collection of folkloric sources and an original contribution to a literary realism of rural inspiration. They are accompanied by a set of contributions to erotic literature, collectively known as his "corrosives".
A defrocked Romanian Orthodox priest with an unconventional lifestyle, Creangă made an early impact as an innovative educator and textbook author, while pursuing a short career in nationalist politics with the Free and Independent Faction. His literary debut came late in life, closely following the start of his close friendship with Romania's national poet Mihai Eminescu and their common affiliation with the influential conservative literary society Junimea. Although viewed with reserve by many of his colleagues there, and primarily appreciated for his records of oral tradition, Creangă helped propagate the group's cultural guidelines in an accessible form. Later critics have often described him, alongside Eminescu, Ion Luca Caragiale and Ioan Slavici, as one of the most accomplished representatives of Junimist literature.
Ion Creangă was posthumously granted several honors, and is commemorated by a number of institutions in both Romania and neighboring Moldova. These include the Bojdeuca building in Iași, which, in 1918, was opened as the first memorial house in Romania. His direct descendants include Horia Creangă, one of the leading Romanian architects during the interwar period.
Biography
Background and family
Ion Creangă was born in Humulești in the Principality of Moldavia, a former village which has since been incorporated into Târgu Neamț city, the son of Orthodox trader Ștefan sin Petre Ciubotariul and his wife Smaranda. His native area, bordering on heavily forested areas, was in the Eastern Carpathian foothills, and included into what was then the Principality of Moldavia. The surrounding region's population preserved an archaic way of life, dominated by shepherding, textile manufacturing and related occupations, and noted for preserving the older forms of local folklore. Another characteristic of the area, which left an impression on Creangă's family history, was related to the practice of transhumance and the links between ethnic Romanian communities on both sides of the mountains, in Moldavia and Transylvania: on his maternal side, the writer descended from Maramureș-born peasants, while, according to literary historian George Călinescu, his father's origin may have been further southwest, in Transylvania-proper.
The family had reached a significant position within their community: Ștefan sin Petre had made a steady income from his itinerant trade in wool, while his wife was the descendant of the Creangăs of Pipirig, a family of community leaders. The latter's members included Moldavian Metropolitan Iacob Stamati, as well as Smaranda's father, Vornic David, and her uncle Ciubuc Clopotarul, a monk at Neamț Monastery. Proud of this tradition, it was her who insisted for her son to pursue a career in the Church. According to his own recollection, the future writer was born on March 1, 1837—a date which has since been challenged. Creangă's other statements mention March 2, 1837, or an unknown date in 1836. The exactitude of other accounts is equally unreliable: community registers from the period gave the date of June 10, 1839, and mention another child of the same name being born to his parents on February 4, 1842 (the more probable birth date of Creangă's younger brother Zahei). The imprecision also touches other aspects of his family life: noting the resulting conflicts in data, Călinescu decided that it was not possible for one to know if the writer's parents were married to each other (and, if so, if they were on their first marriage), nor how many children they had together. At a time when family names were not legally required, and people were primarily known by various nicknames and patronymics, the boy was known to the community as Nică, a hypocorism formed from Ion, or more formally as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei ("Nică of Ștefan of Petru", occasionally Nic-a lui Ștefan a Petrei).
Childhood, youth and ordination
After an idyllic period, which is recounted in the first section of his Childhood Memories, Ion Creangă was sent to primary school, an institution then in the care of Orthodox Church authorities, where he became noted for his rebellious attitude and appetite for truancy. Among his colleagues was a female student, Smărăndița popii (known later as Smaranda Posea), for whom he developed an affection which lasted into his adult life, over decades in which the two no longer saw each other. He was taught reading and writing in Cyrillic alphabet through peer tutoring techniques, before the overseeing teacher, Vasile Ilioaiei, was lassoed off the street and conscripted by the Moldavian military at some point before 1848. After another teacher, whom the Memories portray as a drunk, died from cholera in late 1848, David Creangă withdrew his grandson from the local school and took him to a similar establishment in Broșteni, handing him into the care of a middle-aged woman, Irinuca. Ion Creangă spent several months at Irinuca's remote house on the Bistrița River, before the proximity of goats resulted in a scabies infection and his hastened departure for Pipirig, where he cured himself using birch extract, a folk remedy mastered by his maternal grandmother Nastasia.
After returning to school between late 1849 and early 1850, Creangă was pulled out by his financially struggling father, spent the following period working in wool-spinning, and became known by the occupational nickname Torcălău ("Spinster"). He only returned in third grade some four years later, having been sent to the Târgu Neamț public school, newly founded by Moldavian Prince Grigore Alexandru Ghica as part of the Regulamentul Organic string of reforms. A colleague of future philosopher Vasile Conta in the class of priest and theologian Isaia "Popa Duhu" Teodorescu, Creangă was sent to the Fălticeni seminary in 1854. After having been registered as Ioan Ștefănescu (a variant of his given name and a family name based on his patronymic), the adolescent student eventually adopted his maternal surname of Creangă. According to Călinescu, this was done either "for aesthetic reasons" (as his new name, literally meaning "branch" or "bough", "sounds good") or because of a likely discovery that Ștefan was not his real father. Dan Grădinaru, a researcher of Creangă's work, believes that the writer had a special preference for the variant Ioan, generally used in more learned circles, instead of the variant Ion that was consecrated by his biographers.
Having witnessed, according to his own claim, the indifference and mundane preoccupations of his peers, Creangă admitted to having taken little care in his training, submitting to the drinking culture, playing practical jokes on his colleagues, and even shoplifting, while pursuing an affair with the daughter of a local priest. According to his own statement, he was a philanderer who, early in his youth, had already "caught the scent" of the catrință (the skirt in traditional costumes). In August 1855, circumstances again forced him to change schools: confronted with the closure of his Fălticeni school, Creangă left for the Central Seminary attached to Socola Monastery, in Moldavia's capital of Iași. Ștefan sin Petre's 1858 death left him without means of support, and he requested being directly ordained, but, not being of the necessary age, was instead handed a certificate to attest his school attendance. He was soon after married, after a brief courtship, to the 15-year-old Ileana, daughter of Priest Ioan Grigoriu from the church of the Forty Saints, where he is believed to have been in training as a schoolteacher. The ceremony took place in August 1859, several months after the personal union between Moldavia and its southern neighbor Wallachia, effected by the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as Domnitor. Having been employed as a cantor by his father in law's church, he was ordained in December of the same year, assigned to the position of deacon in Holy Trinity Church, and, in May 1860, returned to Forty Saints.
Relations between Creangă and Grigoriu were exceptionally tense. Only weeks after his wedding, the groom, who had probably agreed to marriage only because it could facilitate succeeding Grigoriu, signed a complaint addressed to Metropolitan Sofronie Miclescu, denouncing his father in law as "a killer", claiming to have been mistreated by him and cheated out of his wife's dowry, and demanding to be allowed a divorce. The response to this request was contrary to his wishes: he was ordered into isolation by the Dicasterie, the supreme ecclesiastical court, being allowed to go free only on promise to reconcile with Grigoriu.
Beginnings as schoolteacher and clash with the Orthodox Church
In 1860, Creangă enlisted at the Faculty of Theology, part of the newly founded University of Iași, and, in December 1860, fathered a son, Constantin. His life still lacked in stability, and he decided to move out of Grigoriu's supervision and into Bărboi Church, before his position as deacon was cut out of the budget and his belongings were evicted out of his temporary lodging in 1864. He contemplated leaving the city, and even officially requested a new assignment in the more remote Bolgrad. Since January 1864, when the Faculty of Theology had been closed down, he had been attending Iași's Trei Ierarhi Monastery normal school (Trisfetite or Trei Sfetite), where he first met the young cultural figure Titu Maiorescu, who served as his teacher and supervisor, and whence he graduated as the first in his class (June 1865). Embittered by his own experience with the education system, Creangă became an enthusiastic promoter of Maiorescu's ideas on education reform and modernization, and in particular of the new methods of teaching reading and writing. During and after completing normal school, he was assigned to teaching positions at Trisfetite. While there, he earned the reputation of a demanding teacher (notably by accompanying his reports on individual students with characterizations such as "idiot", "impertinent" or "envious"). Accounts from the period state that he made use of corporal punishment in disciplining his pupils, and even surpassed the standards of violence accepted at the time.
In parallel, he was beginning his activities in support of education reform. By 1864, he and several others, among them schoolteacher V. Răceanu, were working on a new primer, which saw print in 1868 under the title Metodă nouă de scriere și cetire pentru uzul clasei I primară ("A New Method of Writing and Reading for the Use of 1st Grade Primary Course Students"). It mainly addressed the issues posed by the new Romanian alphabetical standard, a Romanization replacing Cyrillic spelling (which had been officially discarded in 1862). Largely based on Maiorescu's principles, Metodă nouă ... became one the period's most circulated textbooks. In addition to didactic texts, it also featured Creangă's isolated debut in lyric poetry, with a naïve piece titled Păsărica în timpul iernii ("The Little Bird in Wintertime"). The book was followed in 1871 by another such work, published as Învățătoriul copiilor ("The Children's Teacher") and co-authored by V. Răceanu. It included several prose fables and a sketch story, "Human Stupidity", to which later editions added Poveste ("A Story") and Pâcală (a borrowing of the fictional folk character better known as Păcală).
In February 1866, having briefly served at Iași's Pantelimon Church, he was welcomed by hegumen Isaia Vicol Dioclias into the service of Golia Monastery. Around 1867, his wife Ileana left him. After that moment, Creangă began losing interest in performing his duties in the clergy, and, while doing his best to hide that he was no longer living with his wife, took a mistress. The marriage's breakup was later attributed by Creangă himself to Ileana's adulterous affair with a Golia monk, and rumors spread that Ileana's lover was a high-ranking official, the protopope of Iași. Creangă's accusations, Călinescu contends, are nevertheless dubious, because the deacon persisted in working for the same monastery after the alleged incident.
By the second half of the 1860s, the future writer was also pursuing an interest in politics, which eventually led him to rally with the more nationalist group within the Romanian liberal current, known as Free and Independent Faction. An agitator for his party, Creangă became commonly known under the nickname Popa Smântână ("Priest Sour Cream"). In April 1866, shortly after Domnitor Cuza was toppled by a coup, and just before Carol I was selected to replace him, the Romanian Army intervened to quell a separatist riot in Iași, instigated by Moldavian Metropolitan Calinic Miclescu. It is likely that Creangă shared the outlook of other Factionalists, according to which secession was preferable to Carol's rule, and was probably among the rioters. At around the same time, he began circulating antisemitic tracts, and is said to have demanded that Christians boycott Jewish business. He is thought to have coined the expression Nici un ac de la jidani ("Not even a needle from the kikes"). He was eventually selected as one of the Factionalist candidates for an Iași seat in the Romanian Deputies' Chamber, as documented by the memoirs of his conservative rival, Iacob Negruzzi. The episode is supposed to have taken place at the earliest during the 1871 suffrage.
By 1868, Creangă's rebellious stance was irritating his hierarchical superiors, and, according to Călinescu, his consecutive actions show that he was "going out of his way for scandal". He was initially punished for attending a Iași Theater performance, as well as for defiantly claiming that there was "nothing scandalous or demoralizing" in what he had seen, and reportedly further antagonized the monks by firing a gun to scare off the rooks nesting on his church. The latter incident, which some commentators believe fabricated by Creangă's detractors, was judged absurd by the ecclesiastical authorities, who had been further alarmed by negative reporting in the press. When told that no clergyman other than him had been seen using a gun, Creangă issued a reply deemed "Nasreddinesque" by George Călinescu, maintaining that, unlike others, he was not afraid of doing so. Confronted by Metropolitan Calinic himself, Creangă allegedly argued that he could think of no other way to eliminate rooks, being eventually pardoned by the prelate when it was ruled that he had not infringed on canon law.
Defrocking and the Bojdeuca years
Creangă eventually moved out of the monastery, but refused to relinquish his key to the church basement, and, in what was probably a modernizing intent, chopped off his long hair, one of the traditional marks of an Orthodox priest. The latter gesture scandalized his superiors, particularly since Creangă explained himself using an ancient provision of canon law, which stipulated that priests were not supposed to grow their hair long. After some assessment, his superiors agreed not to regard this action as more than a minor disobedience. He was temporarily suspended in practice but, citing an ambiguity in the decision (which could be read as a banishment in perpetuity), Creangă considered himself defrocked. He relinquished his clerical clothing altogether and began wearing lay clothes everywhere, a matter which caused public outrage.
By then a teacher at the 1st School for Boys, on Română Street, Creangă was ordered out of his secular assignment in July 1872, when news of his status and attitude reached Education Minister Christian Tell. Upset by the circumstances, and objecting in writing on grounds that it did not refer to his teaching abilities, he fell back on income produced by a tobacconist's shop he had established shortly before being dismissed. This stage marked a final development in Creangă's conflict with the church hierarchy. Summoned to explain why he was living the life of a shopkeeper, he responded in writing by showing his unwillingness to apologize, and indicated that he would only agree to face secular courts. The virulent text notably accused the church officials of being his enemies on account of his "independence, sincerity, honesty" in supporting the cause of "human dignity". After the gesture of defiance, the court recommended his defrocking, its decision being soon after confirmed by the synod.
In the meantime, Creangă moved into what he called Bojdeuca (or Bujdeuca, both being Moldavian regional speech for "tiny hut"), a small house located on the outskirts of Iași. Officially divorced in 1873, he was living there with his lover Ecaterina "Tinca" Vartic. A former laundress who had earlier leased one of the Bojdeuca rooms, she shared Creangă's peasant-like existence. This lifestyle implied a number of eccentricities, such as the former deacon's practice of wearing loose shirts throughout summer and bathing in a natural pond. His voracious appetite, called "proverbial gluttony" by George Călinescu, was attested by contemporary accounts. These depict him consuming uninterrupted successions of whole meals on a daily basis.
In May 1874, soon after taking over Minister of Education in the Conservative Party cabinet of Lascăr Catargiu, his friend Maiorescu granted Creangă the position of schoolteacher in the Iași area of Păcurari. During the same period, Ion Creangă met and became best friends with Mihai Eminescu, posthumously celebrated as Romania's national poet. This is said to have taken place in summer 1875, when Eminescu was working as an inspector for Maiorescu's Education Ministry, overseeing schools in Iași County: reportedly, Eminescu was fascinated with Creangă's talents as a raconteur, while the latter admired Eminescu for his erudition.
Junimea reception
At around the same time, Creangă also began attending Junimea, an upper class literary club presided upon by Maiorescu, whose cultural and political prestige was increasing. This event, literary historian Z. Ornea argued, followed a time of indecision: as a former Factionalist, Creangă was a natural adversary of the mainstream Junimist "cosmopolitan orientation", represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was still fundamentally committed to Maiorescu's agenda in the field of education. Literary historians Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu also argue that, after attending Junimea, the author was able to assimilate some of its innovative teachings into his own style of pedagogy, and thus helped diffuse its message outside the purely academic environment.
The exact date of his reception is a mystery. According to Maiorescu's own recollections, written some decades after the event, Creangă was in attendance at a Junimea meeting of 1871, during which Gheorghe Costaforu proposed to transform the club into a political party. The information was considered dubious by Z. Ornea, who argued that the episode may have been entirely invented by the Junimist leader, and noted that it contradicted both Negruzzi's accounts and minutes kept by A. D. Xenopol. According to Ornea's assessment, with the exception of literary critic Vladimir Streinu, all of Creangă's biographers have come to dismiss Maiorescu's statement. Several sources mention that the future writer was introduced to the society by Eminescu, who was an active member around 1875. This and other details lead Ornea to conclude that membership was granted to Creangă only after the summer break of 1875.
Gradually or instantly, Creangă made a positive impression by confirming with the Junimist ideal of authenticity. He also became treasured for his talkative and jocular nature, self-effacing references to himself as a "peasant", and eventually his debut works, which became subjects of his own public readings. His storytelling soon earned him dedicated spectators, who deemed Creangă's fictional universe a "sack of wonders" at a time when the author himself had started casually using the pseudonym Ioan Vântură-Țară ("Ioan Gadabout"). Although still in his forties, the newcomer was also becoming colloquially known to his colleagues as Moș Creangă ("Old Man Creangă" or "Father Creangă"), which was a sign of respect and sympathy. Among Ion Creangă's most dedicated promoters were Eminescu, his former political rival Iacob Negruzzi, Alexandru Lambrior and Vasile Pogor, as well as the so-called caracudă (roughly, "small game") section, which comprised Junimists who rarely took the floor during public debates, and who were avid listeners of his literary productions (it was to this latter gathering that Creangă later dedicated his erotic texts). In parallel to his diversified literary contribution, the former priest himself became a noted voice in Junimist politics, and, like his new friend Eminescu, voiced support for the group's nationalist faction, in disagreement with the more cosmopolitan and aristocratic segment led by Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp. By that the late 1870s, he was secretly redirecting political support from the former Factionalists to his new colleagues, as confirmed by an encrypted letter he addressed to Negruzzi in March 1877.
Literary consecration
Autumn 1875 is also often described as his actual debut in fiction prose, with "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", a short story first publish in October by the club's magazine Convorbiri Literare. In all, Convorbiri Literare would publish 15 works of fiction and the four existing parts of his Childhood Memories before Creangă's death. Reportedly, the decision to begin writing down his stories had been the direct result of Eminescu's persuasion. His talent for storytelling and its transformation into writing fascinated his new colleagues. Several among them, including poet Grigore Alexandrescu, tasked experimental psychologist Eduard Gruber with closely studying Creangă's methods, investigations which produced a report evidencing Creangă's laborious and physical approach to the creative process. The latter also involved his frequent exchanges of ideas with Vartic, in whom he found his primary audience. In addition to his fiction writing, the emerging author followed Maiorescu's suggestion and, in 1876, published a work of educational methodology and the phonemic orthography favored by Junimea: Povățuitoriu la cetire prin scriere după sistema fonetică ("Guide to Reading by Writing in the Phonetic System"). It was supposed to become a standard textbook for the training of teachers, but was withdrawn from circulation soon afterward, when the Catargiu cabinet fell.
After losing his job as school inspector following the decisions of a hostile National Liberal executive, Mihai Eminescu spent much of his time in Bojdeuca, where he was looked after by the couple. For five months after quarreling with Samson Bodnărescu, his fellow poet and previous landlord, Eminescu even moved inside the house, where he reputedly pursued his discreet love affair with woman writer Veronica Micle, and completed as many as 22 of his poems. Creangă introduced his younger friend to a circle of companions which included Zahei Creangă, who was by then a cantor, as well as Răceanu, priest Gheorghe Ienăchescu, and clerk Nicșoi (all of whom, Călinescu notes, had come to share the raconteur's lifestyle choices and his nationalist opinions). Eminescu was especially attracted by their variant of simple life, the rudimentary setting of Creangă's house and the group's bohemian escapades. Circumstances drew the two friends apart: by 1877, Eminescu had relocated in Bucharest, the capital city, regularly receiving letters in which Creangă was asking him to return. He was however against Eminescu's plan to marry Veronica Micle, and made his objection known to the poet. In 1879, as a sign that he was formalizing his own affair with Tinca Vartic, Creangă purchased the Bojdeuca in her name, paying his former landlord 40 Austrian gulden in exchange. That same year, he, Răceanu and Ienăchescu published the textbook Geografia județului Iași ("The Geography of Iași County"), followed soon after by a map of the same region, researched by Creangă and Răceanu. A final work in the area of education followed in 1880, as a schoolteacher's version of Maiorescu's study of Romanian grammar, Regulile limbei române ("Rules of the Romanian Language").
Illness and death
By the 1880s, Creangă had become afflicted with epilepsy, suffering accelerated and debilitating episodes. He was also severely overweight, weighing some 120 kilograms (over 250 pounds), with a height of 1.85 meters (6 feet), and being teasingly nicknamed Burduhănosul ("Tubby") by his friends (although, according to testimonies by his son and daughter-in-law, he did not actually look his size).
Despite his activity being much reduced, he still kept himself informed about the polemics agitating Romania's cultural and political scene. He was also occasionally hosting Eminescu, witnessing his friend's struggle with mental disorder. The two failed to reconnect, and their relationship ended. After one of the meetings, he recorded that the delusional poet was carrying around a revolver with which to fend off unknown attackers—among the first in a series of episodes which ended with Eminescu's psychiatric confinement and death during June 1889. Around that time, Creangă, like other Junimists, was involved in a clash of ideas with the emerging Romanian socialist and atheistic group, rallied around Contemporanul magazine. This occurred after Contemporanul founder Ioan Nădejde publicly ridiculed Învățătoriul copiilor over its take on creationism, quoting its claim that "the invisible hand of God" was what made seeds grow into plants. Creangă replied with a measure of irony, stating that "had God not pierced the skin over our eyes, we would be unable to see each other's mistakes". Nevertheless, Călinescu argued, Nădejde's comments had shaken his adversary's religious sentiment, leading Creangă to question the immortality of the soul in a letter he addressed to one of his relatives in the clergy. According to other assessments, he was himself an atheist, albeit intimately so.
In 1887, the National Liberal Ministry of Dimitrie Sturdza removed Creangă from his schoolteacher's post, and he subsequently left for Bucharest in order to petition for his pension rights. Having hoped to be granted assistance by Maiorescu, he was disappointed when the Junimea leader would not respond to his request, and, during his final years, switched allegiance to the literary circle founded by Nicolae Beldiceanu (where he was introduced by Gruber). Among Creangă's last works was a fourth and final part of his Memories, most likely written during 1888. The book remained unfinished, as did the story Făt-frumos, fiul iepei ("Făt-Frumos, Son of the Mare"). He died after an epileptic crisis, on the last day of 1889, his body being buried in Iași's Eternitatea Cemetery. His funeral ceremony was attended by several of Iași's intellectuals (Vasile Burlă, A. C. Cuza, Dumitru Evolceanu, Nicolae Iorga and Artur Stavri among them).
Work
Cultural context
The impact of Ion Creangă's work within its cultural context was originally secured by Junimea. Seeking to revitalize Romanian literature by recovering authenticity, and reacting against those cultural imports it deemed excessive, the group notably encouraged individual creativity among peasants. Reflecting back on Maiorescu's role in the process, George Călinescu wrote: "A literary salon where the personal merit would take the forefront did not exist [before Junimea] and, had Creangă been born two decades earlier, he would not have been able to present 'his peasant material' to anyone. Summoning the creativity of the peasant class and placing it in direct contact with the aristocrats is the work of Junimea." His cogenerationist and fellow literary historian Tudor Vianu issued a similar verdict, commenting: "Junimea is itself ... an aristocratic society. Nevertheless, it is through Junimea that surfaced the first gesture of transmitting a literary direction to some writers of rural extraction: a phenomenon of great importance, the neglect of which would render unexplainable the entire subsequent development of our literature." Also referring to cultural positioning within and outside the group, Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu took the acceptance of "literate peasants" such as Creangă as exemplary proof of Junimist "diversity" and "tolerance".
Maiorescu is known to have had much appreciation for Creangă and other writers of peasant origin, such as Ion Popovici-Bănățeanu and Ioan Slavici. Late in life, he used this connection to challenge accusations of Junimist elitism in the face of criticism from more populist traditionalists. Nonetheless, Junimea members in general found Creangă more of an entertainer rather than a serious writer, and treasured him only to the measure where he illustrated their theories about the validity of rural literature as a source of inspiration for cultured authors. Therefore, Iacob Negruzzi sympathetically but controversially referred to his friend as "a primitive and uncouth talent". Maiorescu's critical texts also provide little individual coverage of Creangă's contributions, probably because these failed to comply exactly with his stratification of literary works into poporane ("popular", that is anonymous or collective) and otherwise. Tudor Vianu's theory defines Creangă as a prime representative of the "popular realism" guidelines (as sporadically recommended by the Junimist doyen himself), cautioning however that Creangă's example was never mentioned in such a context by Maiorescu personally.
Although he occasionally downplayed his own contribution to literature, Creangă himself was aware that his texts went beyond records of popular tradition, and made significant efforts to be recognized as an original author (by corresponding with fellow writers and willingly submitting his books to critical scrutiny). Vianu commented at length on the exact relationship between the narrative borrowed from oral tradition and Creangă's "somewhat surreptitious" method of blending his own style into the folkloric standard, likening it to the historical process whereby local painters improvised over the strict canons of Byzantine art. Creangă's complex take on individuality and the art of writing was attested by his own foreword to an edition of his collected stories, in which he addressed the reader directly: "You may have read many stupid things since you were put on this Earth. Please read these as well, and where it should be that they don't agree with you, take hold of a pen and come up with something better, for this is all I could see myself doing and did."
An exception among Junimea promoters was Eminescu, himself noted for expressing a dissenting social perspective which only partly mirrored Maiorescu's take on conservatism. According to historian Lucian Boia, the "authentic Moldavian peasant" that was Creangă also complemented Eminescu's own "more metaphysical" peasanthood. Similarly, Z. Ornea notes that the poet used Creangă's positions to illustrate his own ethnonationalist take on Romanian culture, and in particular his claim that rural authenticity lay hidden by a "superimposed stratum" of urbanized ethnic minorities. 20th century critics have described Creangă as one of his generation's most accomplished figures, and a leading exponent of Junimist literature. This verdict is found in several of Vianu's texts, which uphold Creangă as a great exponent of his generation's literature, comparable to fellow Junimea members Eminescu, Slavici and Ion Luca Caragiale. This view complements George Călinescu's definition, placing the Moldavian author in the company of Slavici and Caragiale as one of the "great prose writers" of the 1880s. Lucian Boia, who noted that "the triad of Romanian classics" includes Creangă alongside Eminescu and Caragiale, also cautioned that, compared to the other two (with whom "the Romanians have said almost all there is to say about themselves"), Creangă has "a rather more limited register".
The frequent comparison between Creangă and Caragiale in particular is seen by Vianu as stemming from both their common "wide-ranging stylistic means" and their complementary positions in relations to two superimposed phenomenons, with Caragiale's depiction of the petite bourgeoisie as the rough equivalent of Creangă's interest in the peasantry. The same parallelism is explained by Ornea as a consequence of the two authors' social outlook: "[Their works] have cemented aesthetically the portrayal of two worlds. Creangă's is the peasant world, Caragiale's the suburban and urban one. Two worlds which represent, in fact, two characteristic steps and two sociopolitical models in the evolution of Romanian structures which ... were confronting themselves in a process that would later prove decisive." According to the same commentator, the two plus Eminescu are their generation's great writers, with Slavici as one "in their immediate succession." While listing what he believes are elements bridging the works of Creangă and Caragiale, other critics have described as strange the fact that the two never appear to have mentioned each other, and stressed that, although not unlikely, a direct encounter between them was never recorded in sources.
Narrative style and language
Highlighting Ion Creangă's recourse to the particularities of Moldavian regionalisms and archaisms, their accumulation making Creangă's work very difficult to translate, George Călinescu reacted against claims that the narratives reflected antiquating patterns. He concluded that, in effect, Creangă's written language was the equivalent of a "glossological museum", and even contrasted by the writer's more modern everyday parlance. Also discussing the impression that Creangă's work should be read with a Moldavian accent, noted for its "softness of sound" in relation to standard Romanian phonology, Călinescu cautioned against interpretative exaggerations, maintaining that the actual texts only offer faint suggestions of regional pronunciation. Contrasting Creangă with the traditions of literature produced by Wallachians in what became the standard literary language, Călinescu also argued in favor of a difference in mentality: the "balance" evidenced by Moldavian speech and illustrated in Ion Creangă's writings is contrasted by the "discoloration and roughness" of "Wallachianism". He also criticized those views according to which Creangă's variant of the literary language was "beautiful", since it failed to "please everyone on account of some acoustical beauty", and since readers from outside the writer's native area could confront it "with some irritation." For Călinescu, the result nevertheless displays "an enormous capacity of authentic speech", also found in the works of Caragiale and, in the 20th century, Mihail Sadoveanu. According to the same commentator, the dialectical interventions formed a background to a lively vocabulary, a "hermetic" type of "argot", which contained "hilarious double entendres and indecent onomatopoeia", passing from "erudite beauty" to "obscene laughter". Some of the expressions characteristic of Creangă's style are obscure in meaning, and some other, such as "drought made the snake scream inside the frog's mouth", appear to be spontaneous and nonsensical. Another specific trait of this language, commented upon by Vianu's and compared by him to the aesthetics of Classicism, sees much of Creangă's prose being set to a discreet poetic meter.
The recourse to oral literature schemes made it into his writings, where it became a defining trait. As part of this process, Călinescu assessed, "Creangă acts as all his characters in turn, for his stories are almost entirely spoken. ... When Creangă recounts, the composition is not extraordinary, but once his heroes begin talking, their gesticulation and wording reach a height in typical storytelling." According to the critic, discovering this "fundamental" notion about Creangă's work was the merit of literary historian and Viața Românească editor Garabet Ibrăileanu, who had mentioned it as a main proof of affiliation to realism. The distinctive manner of characterization through "realistic dialogues" is seen by Vianu as a highly personal intervention and indicator of the Moldavian writer's originality. Both Vianu and Călinescu discussed this trait, together with the technique of imparting subjective narration in-between characters' replies, as creating other meeting points between Creangă and his counterpart Caragiale. Partly replicating in paper the essence of social gatherings, Ion Creangă often tried to transpose the particular effects of oral storytelling into writing. Among these characteristic touches were interrogations addressed to the readers as imaginary listeners, and pausing for effect with the visual aid of ellipsis. He also often interrupted his narratives with concise illustrations of his point, often in verse form, and usually introduced by vorba ceea (an expression literally meaning "that word", but covering the sense of "as word goes around"). One example of this connects the notions of abundance and personal satisfaction:
In other cases, the short riddles relate to larger themes, such as divine justification for one's apparent fortune:
Creangă's specificity
Despite assuming the external form of traditional literature, Ion Creangă's interests and creative interventions, Călinescu noted, separated him from his roots: "peasants do not have [his] entirely cultured gifts. ... Too much 'atmosphere', too much dialogic 'humor', too much polychromy at the expense of linear epic movements. The peasant wants the bare epic and desires the unreal." The commentator passed a similar judgment on the author's use of ancient sayings, concluding that, instead of crystallizing and validating local folklore, the accounts appeal to cultured tastes, having as the generation of comedy and volubility as their main purpose. According to Vianu's assessment Creangă was "a supreme artist" whose use of "typical sayings" attests "a man of the people, but not an anonymous and impersonal sample." These verdicts, directly contradicting Junimist theories, were mirrored by several other 20th century exegetes belonging to distinct schools of thought: Pompiliu Constantinescu, Benjamin Fondane and Ion Negoițescu. Writing during the second half of the century, critic Nicolae Manolescu passed a similar judgment, believing that Creangă was motivated by a "strictly intellectual sensuousness" and the notion that "pleasure arises from gratuitousness", while Manolescu's colleague Mircea Braga referred to "the great secret of the man who has managed to transfer unaltered the code of popular creativity into the immanence of the cultured one." In Braga's assessment, this synthesis managed "the impossible", but the difficulty of repeating it with each story also resulted in mediocre writings: "from among his few texts, even fewer are located on the relatively highest level of the relative aesthetic hierarchy".
Călinescu viewed such intellectual traits as shared by Creangă with his Wallachian counterpart Anton Pann, in turn linking both writers to the satirical component of Renaissance literature, and specifically to François Rabelais. Within local tradition, the literary historian saw a symbolic connection between Creangă and the early 18th century figure, Ion Neculce, one of Moldavia's leading chroniclers. While he made his own comparison between Creangă and Pann, Tudor Vianu concluded that the Moldavian writer was in fact superior, as well as being more relevant to literature than Petre Ispirescu, the prime collector of tales in 19th-century Wallachia. Also making use of the Rabelais analogy, literary chronicler Gabriela Ursachi found another analogy in local letters: Ion Budai-Deleanu, an early 19th-century representative of the Transylvanian School, whose style mixes erudite playfulness with popular tastes. These contextual traits, researchers assess, did not prevent Creangă's overall work from acquiring a universal aspect, particularly since various of his writings use narrative sequences common throughout world literature.
George Călinescu also assessed that these literary connections served to highlight the elevated nature of Creangă's style, his "erudite device", concluding: "Writers such as Creangă can only show up in places where the word is ancient and equivocal, and where experience has been condensed into unchanging formulas. It would have been more natural for such a prose writer to have emerged a few centuries later, into an era of Romanian humanism. Born much earlier, Creangă showed up where there exists an ancient tradition, and therefore a species of erudition, ... in a mountain village ... where the people is unmixed and keeping [with tradition]." Outlining his own theory about the aspects of "national specificity" in Romanian letters, he expanded on these thoughts, listing Creangă and Eminescu as "core Romanians" who illustrated a "primordial note", complemented by the "southern" and "Balkan" group of Caragiale and others. Claiming that the "core" presence had "not primitive, but ancient" origins, perpetuated by "stereotyped wisdom" and "energetic fatalism", he asserted: "Creangă shows our civilization's contemporaneity with the world's oldest civilizations, our Asian age." The alternating national and regional characteristics in Creangă's writings are related by historian Neagu Djuvara with the writer's place of birth, an affluent village in an isolated region, contrasting heavily with the 19th century Wallachian countryside: "if the mud hut villages of the Danube flood plain are to be taken into account, one finds himself in a different country." Ornea, who noted that Eminescu effectively shared Creangă's worldview, believed the latter to have been dominated by nostalgia for a world of independent landowning peasants, and argued that Creangă's literary and political outlook were both essentially conservative. Ornea commented: "One could say that it was through [this form of nostalgia] that the writer debuted and that, within the space of his work it became, in its own right, an expression of the world that was about to vanish." Commenting on Creangă's "robust realism" and lack of "sentimentality", Vianu contrarily asserted: "Creangă's nostalgia ... has an individual, not social, sense."
The witty and playful side of Creangă's personality, which became notorious during his time at Junimea and constituted a significant part of his appeal, was reflected into a series of anecdotes. These accounts detail his playing the ignorant in front of fellow Junimists in order not to antagonize sides during literary debates (notably, by declaring himself "for against" during a two-option vote), his irony in reference to his own admirers (such as when he asked two of them to treasure the photograph of himself in the middle and the two of them on either side, while comparing it to the crucifixion scene and implicitly assigning them the role of thieves), and his recourse to puns and proverbs which he usually claimed to be citing from oral tradition and the roots of Romanian humor. The latter habit was notably illustrated by his answer to people who would ask him for money: "not since I born was I as poor as I was poor yesterday and the day before yesterday and last week and last week and throughout life". His joyfulness complemented his overall Epicureanism and his gourmand habits: his accounts are often marked by a special interest in describing acts related to food and drink. Overall, Eduard Gruber's report contended, Creangă's writing relied on him being "a strong sensual and auditive type", and a "very emotional" person.
Ion Creangă's sense of humor was instrumental in forging the unprecedented characteristics of his work. American critic Ruth S. Lamb, the writer's style merges "the rich vocabulary of the Moldavian peasant" with "an original gaiety and gusto comparable to that of Rabelais." According to George Călinescu: "[Creangă] got the idea that he was a clever man, like all men of the people, and therefore used irony to make himself seem stupid." In Călinescu's view, the author's antics had earned him a status equivalent to that of his Wallachian Junimist counterpart Caragiale, with the exception that the latter found his inspiration in urban settings, matching "Nasreddinisms" with "Miticism". Z. Ornea sees the main protagonists in Creangă's comedic narratives as, in effect, "particularized incarnations of the same symbolic character", while the use of humor itself reflects the traditional mindset, "a survival through intelligence, that of a people with an old history, whose life experience has for centuries been concentrated into gestures and words."
Most prominent tales
Part of Ion Creangă's contribution to the short story, fantasy and children's literature genres involved collecting and transforming narratives circulating throughout his native region, which intertwine with his characteristic storytelling to the point where they become original contributions. According to Călinescu, the traditional praise for Ion Creangă as a creator of literary types is erroneous, since his characters primarily answered to ancient and linear narrative designs. The conclusion is partly shared by Braga, who links Creangă's tales to ethnological and anthropological takes on the themes and purposes of fairy tales, postulating the prevalence of three ancient and related narrative pretexts throughout his contributions: the preexistence of a "perturbing situation" (attributable to fatality), the plunging of the hero into a rite of passage-type challenge, a happy ending which brings the triumph of good over evil (often as a brutal and uncompromising act). Like their sources and predecessors in folklore, these accounts also carry transparent morals, ranging from the regulation of family life to meditations about destiny and lessons about tolerating the marginals. However, Swedish researcher Tom Sandqvist argues, they also illustrate the absurdist vein of some traditional narratives, by featuring "grotesqueries" and "illogical surprises".
With "The Goat and Her Three Kids", written mainly as a picturesque illustration of motherly love, Creangă produced a fable in prose, opposing the eponymous characters, caricatures of a garrulous but hard-working woman and her restless sons, to the sharp-toothed Big Bad Wolf, a satirical depiction of the cunning and immoral stranger. The plot shows the wolf making his way into the goat's house, where he eats the two older and less obedient kids, while the youngest one manages to escape by hiding up the chimney—the symbolism of which was psychoanalyzed by Dan Grădinaru, who claims it constitutes an allusion to Creangă's own childhood. The dénouement sees an inversion of the natural roles, an episode which, ethnologist Șerban Anghelescu notes, is dominated by "the culinary fire": the goat exercises her brutal revenge by trapping and slowly cooking the predator. This approach partly resonates with that of "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", in which Creangă makes ample use of a traditional theme in Romanian humor, which portrays mothers-in-law as mean, stingy and oppressive characters. The embodiment of such offensive traits, she is also shown to be ingenious, pretending that she has a hidden third eye which always keeps things under watch. The narrator sides with the three young women in depicting their violent retribution, showing them capturing their oppressor, torturing her until she is left speech impaired, and leaving her on the brink of death. The mother-in-law's end turns into a farce: the eldest and most intelligent of the killers manipulates her victim's dying sounds into a testament partitioning her wealth, and a thin decorum is maintained at the funeral ceremony by the daughters' hypocritical sobbing.
"The Story of the Pig" partly illustrates the notion that parental love subdues even physical repulsion, showing an elderly peasant couple cherishing their adopted porcine son, who, unbeknown to them, is enchanted. The creature instantly offsets his parents' sadness and immobility by his witty intelligence. Having applied his perseverance and spells to erect a magical bridge, the piglet fulfills the requirement for marrying the emperor's daughter, after which it is uncovered that he is a Făt-Frumos or Prince Charming character who assumes his real identity only by night. Although the plot is supposed to deal with imperial magnificence in fairy tale fashion, the setting is still primarily rural, and the court itself is made to look like an elevated peasant community. According to researcher Marcu Beza, the text is, outside of its humorous context, a distant reworking of ancient legends such as Cupid and Psyche. The story introduces three additional characters, old women who assess and reward the efforts of the virtuous: Holy Wednesday, Holy Friday and Holy Sunday. They represent a mix of Christian and pagan traditions, by being both personifications of the liturgical calendar and fairy-like patrons of the wilderness (zâne).
A similar perspective was favored by "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter". Here, the theme echoes Cinderella, but, according to Călinescu, the rural setting provides a sharp contrast to the classical motif. Persecuted by her stepmother and stepsister, the kind and loving daughter of the old man is forced into a position of servitude reflecting the plight of many peasant women in Creangă's lifetime. In this case, the old man is negatively depicted as cowardly and entirely dominated by his mean wife. The focal point of the narrative is the meeting between the good daughter and Holy Sunday. The latter notices and generously rewards the girl's helpful nature and mastery of cooking; in contrast, when her envious sister attempts the same and fails, she ends up being eaten by serpent-like creatures (balauri). The happy ending sees the good girl marrying not Prince Charming, but a simple man described as "kind and industrious"—this outcome, Călinescu assessed, did not in effect spare the old man's daughter from a life of intense labor. A story very similar to "The Old Man's Daughter ..." is "The Purse a' Tuppence", which teaches that greed can shatter families, while offering symbolic retribution to men who are unhappy in marriage. The old man's rooster, chased away by the old woman for being unproductive, ends up amassing a huge fortune, which he keeps inside his belly and regurgitates back into the courtyard; the jealous old woman ends up killing her favorite hen, who has failed in replicating the rooster's feat.
Devil-themed stories and "Harap Alb"
Several of Creangă's characteristic novellas are infused with themes from Christian mythology, fictionalizing God, Saint Peter and the army of devils, most often with the comedic intent of showing such personages behaving like regular people. A defining story in this series is "Dănilă Prepeleac", whose eponymous peasant hero is characterized by what Șerban Anghelescu calls "idiocy serving to initiate", or, according to Gabriela Ursachi, "complete, and therefore sublime, stupidity." The first part of the story shows Dănilă exchanging his oxen for an empty bag—a set of dialogues which, George Călinescu argued, is almost exactly like a comedy play. In what was described as a complete reversal in characterization, the hero uses intelligence and ruse to trick and frighten several devils. Contrarily, "Stan Pățitul" shows its hero fraternizing with a lesser demon. Following the opening episode, in which the latter accidentally eats a bit of mămăligă dedicated by Stan to those who honor God, Satan himself condemns his subordinate to service the peasant. Călinescu highlights the naturalness of exchanges between the two protagonists, the latter of whom assumes the endearing form of a frail boy, Chirică, who ends up moving in with Stan and entering his service. The writing was also noted for other realistic elements alluding to everyday life, such as the overtly colloquial exchange between Chirică and Satan, or the episodes in which the young devil helps Stan woo a peasant woman. Although relatively young, Stan himself is referred to as stătut ("frowzy" or "lacking in freshness"), and the wording reflects rural attitudes about men who fail to marry during a certain age interval. Toward the end, the story focuses on a corrupt old woman who tries to trick Stan's new wife into committing adultery, but fails and is banished to the remotest area of Hell. Viewed by Călinescu as Creangă's "most original manner of dealing with the fabulous", and paralleled by him with Caragiale's Kir Ianulea on account of its realist approach to the supernatural, "Stan Pățitul" is, according to Vianu, untraceable in its inspiration: "[its] folk origin could not be identified, but it is not dismissible".
Another account in this series is "Ivan Turbincă", whose protagonist, a Russian serviceman, is shown rebelling against Heaven and Hell, and ultimately accomplishing the human ideal of cheating Death. The plot retells a theme present in both Romanian tradition and Ukrainian folklore, while, according to researcher of children's literature Muguraș Constantinescu, the main character is similar to German tradition's Till Eulenspiegel. In the beginning of the account, God rewards the soldier's exemplary charity by granting him a pouch (turbincă), which can miraculously trap anything in existence. In order to circumvent the laws of nature, Ivan subsequently makes use of both his magical item and his innate shrewdness. In one such episode, pretending not to understand the proper position of bodies inside a coffin, he tricks impatient Death into taking his place, and traps her inside. Eventually, he is allowed to keep his life, but is promised an eternity of old age, which he ingeniously counterbalances by attending an endless succession of wedding parties, and therefore never having to feel sad.
"Harap Alb", one of Ion Creangă's most complex narratives, carries a moral defined by Călinescu as "the gifted man will earn a reputation under any guise." The story opens with a coming of age quest, handed down by a king to his three sons: the most fit among them is supposed to reach the court of the Green Emperor, who is the king's brother, and succeed him to the throne. According to Călinescu, the mission bases itself on travels undertaken by young men in Creangă's native region, while the subsequent episodes in the narrative reinforce the impression of familiarity, from the "peasant speech" adopted by the villain known as the Bald Man, to the "crass vulgarity" evidenced by the antagonist Red Emperor. Forced to pass himself off as a foreign servant (or "Moor"), the prince is three times tested and aided by Holy Sunday, who doubles as the queen of zâne creatures. Călinescu described as "playful realism" the method through which Creangă outlined the mannerisms of several other characters, in particular the allegorical creatures who provide the youngest prince with additional and serendipitous assistance. In one noted instance, the characters Setilă ("Drink-All") and Flămânzilă ("Eat-All") help the hero overcome seemingly impossible tasks set by the Red Emperor, by ingesting unnaturally huge amounts of food and drink.
The tale builds on intricate symbolism stemming from obscure sources. It features what Muguraș Constantinescu calls "the most complex representation of Holy Sunday", with mention of her isolated and heavenly abode on "flower island". A background antithesis opposes the two fictional monarchs, with the Red Emperor replicating an ancient tradition which attributes malignant characteristics to the color. By contrast, the Green Emperor probably illustrates the ideals of vitality and healthy lifestyle, as hinted by his culinary preference for "lettuce from the garden of the bear". Historian Adrian Majuru, building on earlier observations made by linguist Lazăr Șăineanu, also connects the servant-prince's antagonists with various reflections of ethnic strife in Romanian folklore: the Red Emperor as standing for the medieval Khazars ("Red Jews"), the Bald Man as a popular view of the Tatars.
Childhood Memories
Childhood Memories is, together with a short story about his teacher Isaia Teodorescu (titled "Popa Duhu"), one of Creangă's two memoirs. George Călinescu proposed that, like his fairy tales, the book illustrates popular narrative conventions, a matter accounting for their special place in literature: "The stories are true, but typical, without depth. Once retold with a different kind of gesticulation, the subject would lose all of its lively atmosphere." Also based on the techniques of traditional oral accounts, it features the topical interventions of a first-person narrator in the form of soliloquies, and reflects in part the literary canon set by frame stories. The resulting effect, Călinescu argued, was not that of "a confession or a diary", but that of a symbolic account depicting "the childhood of the universal child." According to Vianu, the text is especially illustrative of its author's "spontaneous passage" between the levels of "popular" and "cultured" literature: "The idea of fictionalizing oneself, of outlining one's formative steps, the steady accumulation of impressions from life, and then the sentiment of time, of its irreversible flow, of regret for all things lost in its consumption, of the charm relived through one's recollections are all thoughts, feelings and attitudes defining a modern man of culture. No popular model could have ever stood before Creangă when he was writing his Memories, but, surely, neither could the cultured prototypes of the genre, the first autobiographies and memoirs of the Renaissance". Grădinaru and essayist Mircea Moț analyzed the volume as a fundamentally sad text, in stated contrast with its common perception as a recollection of joyful moments: the former focused on moments which seem to depict Nică as a loner, the latter highlighted those sections which include Creangă's bitter musings about destiny and the impregnability of changes. A distinct interpretation was provided by critic Luminița Marcu, who reacted against the tradition of viewing Creangă's actual childhood as inseparable from his own subjective rendition.
Several of the book's episodes have drawn attention for the insight they offer into the culture, structure and conflicts of traditional society before 1900. Commenting on this characteristic, Djuvara asserted: "even if we take into account that the grown-up will embellish, transfigure, 'enrich' the memories of his childhood, how could we not recognize the sincerity in Creangă's heart-warming evocation of his childhood's village?" The book stays true to life in depicting ancient customs: discussing the impact of paganism on traditional Romanian customs, Marcu Beza communicated a detail of Creangă's account, which shows how January 1 celebrations of Saint Basil opposed the loud buhai players reenacting a fertility rite to people preferring a quieter celebration. The work also offers details on the traditional roles of a rural society such as that of Humulești, in the context of social change. Muguraș Constantinescu highlights the important roles of old men and women within Nică's universe, and especially that of his grandfather and "clan leader" David Creangă. The latter, she notes, is an "enlightened man" displaying "the wisdom and balance of the ripe age", a person able to insist on the importance of education, and a churchgoer who frowns on "his wife's bigotry." The seniors' regulatory role within the village is evidenced throughout the book, notoriously so in the episode where the boy captures a hoopoe who bothers his morning sleep, only to be tricked into releasing it by old man, who understands the bird's vital role as village alarm clock.
Another significant part of the account, detailing Creangă's education, shows him frustrated by the old methods of teaching, insisting on the absurd image of children learning by heart and chanting elements of Romanian grammar and even whole texts. The narrator refers to this method as "a terrible way to stultify the mind". The negative portrayal of teaching priests was commented by writer and critic Horia Gârbea as proof of the author's anticlericalism, in line with various satirical works targeting the Romanian clergy: "Creangă's Memories of the catechism school would discourage any candidate."
Didactic writings
Creangă's contribution to literature also covers a series of didactic fables written as lively dialogues, among them "The Needle and the Sledge Hammer", in which the objects of traditional metalworking scold the byproducts of their work for having forgotten their lowly origin. The inspiration behind this theme was identified by Călinescu as "The Story of a Gold Coin", written earlier by Creangă's Junimist colleague Vasile Alecsandri. A similar piece, "The Flax and the Shirt", reveals the circuit of fibers from weed-like plants into recycled cloth, leading to the conclusion that "all things are not what they seem; they were something else once, they are something else now;—and shall become something else." The technique employed by Creangă has the flax plant teaching the less knowledgeable textile, a dialogue which Călinescu likened to that between old women in a traditional society. Included alongside the two stories were: Pâcală, a writing which, Mircea Braga argued, is not as much didactic as it is a study in dialogue; "The Bear Tricked by the Fox", which uses legendary and humorous elements in an attempt to explain why bears are the tail-less species among mammals; and Cinci pâini ("Five Loafs of Bread"), which serves as a condemnation of greed.
With "Human Stupidity", Creangă builds a fable about incompetence in its absolute forms. The story centers on a peasant's quest to find people who are less rational than his wife, having been infuriated by her panic at the remote possibility that a ball of salt could fall from its place of storage and kill their baby. This, essayist and chronicler Simona Vasilache argues, highlights "a family-based division" of illogical behavior, in which women are depicted as the main propagators of both "astonishing nonsense" and "prudent stupidity". Instead, literary critic Ion Pecie identified inside the narrative a meditation on "the link between spirit and nature", with the unpredictable ball of salt representing the equivalent of a "sphinx". His colleague Gheorghe Grigurcu argued that such conclusions "may seem excessive", but that they were ultimately validated by the literary work being "a plurality of levels". A similar piece is the prose fable "The Story of a Lazy Man": fed up with the protagonist's proverbial indolence, which has led him as far as to view chewing food as an effort, his fellow villagers organize a lynching. This upsets the sensibility of a noblewoman who happens to witness the incident. When she offers to take the lazy man into her care and feed him bread crumbs, he seals his own fate by asking: "But are your bread crumbs soft?" The peculiar effect of this moral is underlined by Anghelescu: "The lazy man dies as a martyr of his own immobility." Braga interpreted the story as evidence of "the primacy of ethics" over social aspects in the local tradition. Ion Pecie saw in the story proof of Creangă's own support for capital punishment with a preventive or didactic purpose, even in cases were the fault was trivial or imagined, concluding: "Here, ... Creangă loses much of his depth." Pecie's conclusion was treated with reserve by Grigurcu, who believed that, instead, the narrator refrains from passing any judgment on "the community's instinctual eugenic reaction".
Partly didactic in scope, several of Creangă's anecdotes involve Ion Roată, a representative to the ad hoc Divan which voted in favor of Moldo-Wallachian union, and the newly elected Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The texts convey a sense of tension between the traditional boyar aristocracy and the peasant category, closely reflecting, according to historian Philip Longworth, a conflict mounting during the second half of the 19th century. The same is argued by Ornea, who also proposes that the protagonist offers insight into Creangă's own conservative reflexes and his complex views on the union, while outlining several connections which the brand of social criticism professed by Junimea. Although Roată, a real-life person, was a representative of the pro-union National Party, his main interest, according to the stories themselves, was in curbing the boyars' infringement of peasant rights. The stories' narrator directs his hostility not at boyars in general, but at the younger Romantic nationalist ones, whom he portrays as gambling on Moldavia's future: "[There was] a clash of ideas opposing old boyars to the youth of Moldavia's ad hoc Divan, even though both were in favor of 'Union'. It's only that the old ones wanted a negotiated 'Union', and the young ones a 'Union' done without proper thinking, as it came to pass." According to Muguraș Constantinescu: "[Roată] opposes the intelligence of common folk, their common sense, their humor and the pleasure of allegorical discourse to the pompous and hollow speeches of some politicians". In this context, Cuza's presence is depicted as both legitimate and serendipitous, as he takes a personal interest in curbing boyar abuse.
Moș Nichifor Coțcariul and "corrosives"
Seen by Romanian critic Radu Voinescu as an extended anecdote, the novella Moș Nichifor Coțcariul ("Old Man Nichifor Slyboots") establishes a connection with the language of fairy tales, being located in a legendary and non-historical age. It details the elaborate seduction of a young Jewish bride by a worldly Moldavian wagoner, on the route between Târgu Neamț and Piatra. The episode, which the text itself indicates is just one in a series of Nichifor's conquests among his female clients, highlights the seducer's verbose monologue, which covers accounts of his unhappy marriage, allusions about the naturalness of physical love, and intimidating suggestions that wolves may be tempted to attack the wagon (prompting the young woman to seek refuge in his arms). The seducer's behavior, Constantinescu notes, presents an alternative to the theme of old age as a time of immobility: "the still-green old man, the rake, the joker who enjoys his amorous escapades, while justifying them by the natural course of life". Nichifor mostly expresses himself with the help of folk sayings, which he casually mixes in with personal observations about the situation. The background to the plot is a record of various superstitions, some anticlerical or antisemitic: Nichifor voices the belief that priests crossing one's path will produce bad luck, as well as the claim that Jewish apothecaries sold "poisons".
The reception of Moș Nichifor Coțcariul by Junimea illustrated its ambivalence toward Creangă. Maiorescu found the text "interesting in its way and decisively Romanian", but asked Convorbiri Literare journal to either modify it or refrain from publishing it altogether. This was complemented by its author's own self-effacing assessment: calling the text "a childish thing", he suggested to Maiorescu that revisions were needed, stating "I have written it long, because there was no time for me to write it short." Contrarily, the writer's posterity referred to it as one of the greatest Romanian contributions to the genre: according to George Călinescu, the insight into Nichifor's musings resulted in transforming the writing as a whole into "the first great Romanian novella with a stereotypical hero", while Voinescu described the entire story as "a true masterpiece."
The narrative approaches of Moș Nichifor Coțcariul bordered on Creangă's contributions to erotic literature, pieces collectively known as "corrosives" and which have for long treated with discretion by literary historians. In Călinescu's view, this chapter in Creangă's literature created another link between the Moldavian writer and the Renaissance tradition of Rabelais: "All Rabelaisians have penetrated deeply into the realm of vulgarity." The taste for titillating accounts was also cultivated by Junimea members, who discreetly signaled their wish to hear more explicit content by asking Creangă to recount stories from "the wide street". A product of this context, Moș Nichifor Coțcariul itself is said to have had at least one sexually explicit variant, circulated orally.
Two stories with explicit pornographic content survive as samples of Creangă's erotic authorship: "The Tale of Ionică the Fool" and "The Tale of All Tales" (also known as Povestea pulei, "Tale of the Dick" or "Tale of the Cock"). The former shows its cunning hero having intercourse with a priest's daughter, moving between prose and verse to describe the act. "The Tale of All Tales", which makes ample use of vulgar speech, recounts how a peasant disrespectful of divinity has his entire maize harvest transformed into male genitalia, but is able to turn out a profit by catering to the sexual appetites of women. The final section, seen by Gârbea as a sample of anticlerical jeers recorded by "the defrocked Creangă", depicts the rape of a priest by one such sexual object. Although explicit, literary historian Alex. Ștefănescu argued, the text "is refined and full of charm". While acknowledging both "corrosives" for their "popular charm" in the line of Rabelais and Geoffrey Chaucer, and noting that they still display the author's place as a "great stylist", Voinescu also signaled the texts' "very obvious" debt to folkloric sources. In his definition, Ion Creangă is "possibly the only writer" to draw on the legacy of "luscious popular jests" found in local "erotic folklore". Nevertheless, according to literary critic Mircea Iorgulescu, "The Tale of All Tales" may in fact be based on Parapilla, a pornographic leaflet circulating in Italian and French.
Legacy
Estate, family and early cultural impact
Soon after the Creangă's death, efforts began to collect his manuscript writings and the updated versions of his printed works. This project involved his son Constantin, alongside A. D. Xenopol, Grigore Alexandrescu and Eduard Gruber, the latter of whom obtained the works from Tinca Vartic. The first edition was published as two volumes, in 1890–1892, but the project came to an abrupt halt due to Gruber's insanity and death. Creangă's final known work, the fragment of Făt-frumos, fiul iepei, was published by Convorbiri Literare in 1898. The Gruber copies were sold to a Dr. Mendel, and only a part of them was recovered by exegetes, alongside various fragments accidentally discovered at Iași market, where they were being used for wrapping paper. The collection, structured into a whole by folklorist Gheorghe T. Kirileanu, was published by Editura Minerva in 1902 and 1906. In addition to being mentioned in the memoirs of several prominent Junimists, Creangă had his political career fictionalized and satirized by Iacob Negruzzi, who transformed him, as Popa Smântână, into a character of his satirical poems Electorale ("Electorals"). The same author referred to his counterpart in one of his epigrams.
Shortly after her lover's death, Tinca Vartic married a man who lived in the same part of Iași. The target of organized tourism from as early as 1890, the Iași Bojdeuca nevertheless fell into disrepair. It was eventually purchased by an "Ion Creangă Committee", whose members included Constantin Creangă, Kirileanu and the ultra-nationalist politician A. C. Cuza. It was set up as the first of Romania's "memorial houses" on April 15, 1918. Restored the same year and again in 1933–1934, it houses an important part of Creangă's personal items and the first known among Creangă's portraits, painted by his contemporary V. Mușnețanu. While Constantin Creangă had a successful career in the Romanian Army, one of the writer's two grandsons, Horia Creangă, became one of the celebrated modern architects of the interwar period, earning his reputation by redesigning much of downtown Bucharest.
The popularity of Ion Creangă's accounts outside his regional and dialectal context, together with his own contribution as an educator, played a part in the evolution of standard Romanian, at a new phase in which many dialectal variations were incorporated into the spoken language. His primers Metodă nouă ... and Învățătoriul copiilor went through many editions during the late 19th century. The impact of his works was also a contributing factor to preserving a noted interest in rural subjects, a subsequent defining trait in modern Romanian literature. Discussing "stylistic harmony", which he believed to be bridging all of Romania's social and literary environments, philosopher Mircea Eliade wrote: "Romanians consider Ion Creangă a classic writer belonging to the modern age. His work can be read and understood by the entire range of social classes, in all the provinces of our country. In spite of the abundant presence of Moldavian words in his writings, the work would not remain a stranger to its readers. What other European culture can take pride in having a classic writer read by all categories of readers?" The "thematic grip of the village" was noted by American academic Harold Segel, who investigated its impact on "some of the most revered names in the history of Romanian literature", from Creangă and Slavici to interwar novelist Liviu Rebreanu.
Early 20th century and interwar echoes
A more thorough evaluation of Creangă's literature began after 1900. At the time, it became a topic of interest to the emerging traditionalist and populist trend, illustrated by the two venues rivaling Junimea: the right-wing Sămănătorul, led by Nicolae Iorga, and the left-wing Poporanists, among which was Garabet Ibrăileanu. The new editions of his works enlisted the collaboration of Sămănătorist intellectuals Ilarie Chendi and Ștefan Octavian Iosif. Tudor Vianu however noted that, unlike Eminescu's outlook, Creangă's "authentic ruralism" did not complement the "spiritual complications", global social class perspective and intellectual background associated with these trends, making Creangă "the least Sămănătorist among our writers." According to Ornea, Creangă has "nothing in common" with the Sămănătorul ideology in particular: while the group shared his nostalgic outlook on the rural past in stark contrast to the modernized world, the Moldavian author could "maintain, intelligently, the middle ground between contraries". Likewise, Mircea Braga reacted against the perception of Creangă as announcing a "series" of authors, noting that, for all imitation, he was "an exceptional and, as far as Romanian literary history goes, unique creator."
Directly influenced by Creangă, several early 20th century and interwar authors within the new traditionalist trend explicitly stood for the legacy of folkloric, spontaneous and unskilled literature: the peasant writer I. Dragoslav, whose memoirs borrow stylistic elements from Creangă's accounts; Constantin Sandu-Aldea, an agriculturalist by profession, who took inspiration from his techniques of rendering dialogue; and Ion Iovescu, whom the Sburătorul literary circle acclaimed as "a new Creangă", and who made ample use of a modernized Muntenian dialect. Similarly, the Aromanian activist and author Nicolae Constantin Batzaria, who divided his career between Romania and the southern Balkans, combined Creangă's storytelling techniques with the traditions of Turkish literature, while the reworking of regional folklore themes earned intellectual Constantin S. Nicolăescu-Plopșor a reputation as "the Oltenian Creangă". During the 1910s, folklorist Tudor Pamfile published a specialized magazine named Ion Creangă in honor of the writer. Creangă's various works also provided starting points for several other writers of diverse backgrounds. They included representatives of the Symbolist movement, such as Victor Eftimiu, who was inspired by Creangă's narrative style in writing his fantasy and verse play Înșir'te mărgărite. Another such author was poet Elena Farago, whose didactic children's story Într-un cuib de rândunică ("Inside a Swallow's Nest") borrows from "The Flax and the Shirt".
With the interwar period and the spread of modernist literature, a new generation of critics, most notably George Călinescu and Vladimir Streinu, dedicated important segments of their activity to the works of Ion Creangă. Other such figures were Șerban Cioculescu, whose contribution attempts to elucidate the more mysterious parts of the writer's vocabulary, and educator Dumitru Furtună, whose biographical studies provided a main source for subsequent research. By then, interest in Creangă's life and writings had diversified. This phenomenon first touched Romanian theater when I. I. Mironescu dramatized a section of Creangă's Memories as Catiheții de la Humulești ("The Catechists from Humulești")—a literary contribution judged "superfluous" by George Călinescu, who noted that the original was already "dramatic" in style. The writer's stories also became an inspiration for Alfred Mendelsohn and Alexandru Zirra, two Romanian composers who worked in children's musical theater, who adapted, respectively, "Harap Alb" and "The Goat and Her Three Kids". Creangă was also a secondary presence in Mite and Bălăuca, two biographical novels centered on Eminescu's amorous life, written by the prominent interwar critic Eugen Lovinescu, to whom Călinescu reproached having largely ignored Creangă in his nonfictional texts. Creangă's writings also earned followers among the more radical wing of the modernist scene. The authenticity and originality of Creangă's prose were highlighted and treasured by the influential modernist venue Contimporanul, in particular by its literary chroniclers Ion Vinea and Benjamin Fondane. Likewise, while formally affiliating with Surrealism, the avant-garde author Ion Călugăru contributed various prose works which borrow some of Creangă's storytelling techniques to depict the lives of Jewish Romanian communities from Moldavia.
In stages after World War I, the 19th century writer became better known to an international audience. This process produced translations into English, some of which, Călinescu argued, reached significant popularity among British readers of Romanian literature. In contrast, writer Paul Bailey assessed that the variants used antiquated words and "sounded terrible" in English. Among the series of early English-language versions was a 1920 edition of Creangă's Memories, translated by Lucy Byng and published by Marcu Beza. It was also during the interwar that Jean Boutière published the first-ever French-language monograph on the Romanian writer, originally as a Ph.D. thesis for the University of Paris.
While their author continued to receive praise for his main contributions, the erotic tales were most often kept hidden from the public eye. George Călinescu summarized this contrast by stating: "The 'corrosives' left by Creangă are not known publicly." An exception to this rule was Kirileanu's Creangă reader of 1938, published by Editura Fundațiilor Regale as the first critical edition of his entire literature. According to critic Adrian Solomon, the Romanian tradition of silencing obscene language and sexually explicit literature through censorship made "The Tale of All Tales" circulate "rather like a samizdat", which left writers with "no solid tradition to draw on, and precious little chance to evade ... the vigilant morals of a straitlaced public." The nationalist aspects of Ion Creangă's public discourse were however approved of and recovered by the far right of the 1920s and '30s. High-ranking Orthodox cleric Tit Simedrea referred to Creangă as a predecessor when, in 1937, he urged his congregation to refrain from purchasing merchandise sold by Jews (a measure which he believed was a practical alternative to the Jews' forced eviction). In 1939, as part of a press campaign targeting Călinescu's work, the fascist journal Porunca Vremii accused the literary historian of having exposed Creangă's biography for the sake of compromising the "genial Moldavian" by turning him into "an unfrocked epileptic and a drunk."
Creangă inspired a 1920 painting by Octav Băncilă, which shows Creangă listening to Eminescu reading his poems. Two busts of the author were erected in Iași, respectively at his grave site and, in 1932, the gardens of Copou neighborhood. After 1943, another such piece was unveiled in Bucharest's Cișmigiu Gardens, as part of Rotunda Scriitorilor monument.
Under communism
During Romania's restrictive communist period, which lasted between 1948 and 1989, the critical evaluation of Ion Creangă's work went through several periods, complementing political developments. Throughout the first part of this interval, when socialist realism was politically imposed on Romanian letters, Creangă was spared the posthumous censorship which affected several other classical writers (see Censorship in Communist Romania). His work was officially praised for its aesthetic qualities, but its association with the condemned Junimea was omitted from critical commentary, and readers were instead referred to Creangă as a realist critical of bourgeois society. In 1948, the new authorities granted him posthumous membership in the Romanian Academy. The following year, at the height of Soviet occupation, official critic Barbu Lăzăreanu controversially described Creangă as a writer indebted to Russian folklore.
By the second half of communist rule, several new approaches in the critical assessment of Creangă's literature were emerging. His work became a main topic of critical interest and the sole subject of many works, to the point where Nicolae Manolescu assessed that "everything has been said about Creangă". Within this exegetic phenomenon, an original interpretation of his stories from an esoteric perspective was written by philosopher Vasile Lovinescu as Creangă și Creanga de aur ("Creangă and the Golden Bough"). During the final two decades of communism, under Nicolae Ceaușescu, the recovery of nationalist discourse into official dogma also encouraged the birth of protochronism. In one of its aspects, theorized by cultural historian Edgar Papu, this approach controversially reevaluated various Romanian writers, Creangă included, presenting them as figures who anticipated most developments on the world stage. Papu's own conclusion about "Harap Alb", outlined in a 1983 volume, depicted Creangă as a direct predecessor of Italian semiotician Umberto Eco and his celebrated volume The Open Work—a conclusion which literary historian Florin Mihăilescu has seen as proof of Papu's "exegetic obsession", lacking in "sense of humor, not just sense of reality." One of Papu's disciples, national communist ideologue Dan Zamfirescu, claimed that Creangă was equal to, or even more important than world classics Homer, William Shakespeare and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, while asserting that the eponymous protagonist of "Ivan Turbincă" stands as "the character who dominates world history in our century". Left outside the scope of this critical interest, the "corrosives" were left out of new Creangă readers (such as Iorgu Iordan's 1970 edition), being, according to a 1976 essay by scholar George Munteanu, "still unpublishable" for lack of "a general level of aesthetic education" among Romanians.
A second museum entirely dedicated to the writer was opened at his Târgu Neamț home in 1951, and donated to the state by his successors in 1965. During the following decades, it reportedly became the most visited memorial house in Romania. The authorities also financed a new cultural center, raised in the immediate vicinity of Bojdeuca during 1984–1989. In 1965, the Ion Creangă Children's Theater, a state-run institution, was founded in Bucharest, and its subsequent activity included staging several of the writer's fairy tales for a junior public. Among such contributions were two adaptation of "Harap Alb", directed respectively by Ion Lucian and Zoe Anghel Stanca. In 1983, Timișoara-based author Șerban Foarță also completed work on a stage version of "Ivan Turbincă".
A new publishing house, Editura Ion Creangă, was created as a main publisher of children's literature, and its output included editions of Creangă's own works. The new editions were illustrated by several visual artists of note, among them Corneliu Baba, Eugen Taru and Lívia Rusz, while "Harap Alb" became a project of comic book artist Sandu Florea, earning him a Eurocon prize. A major project of the time involved Creangă translations into other languages, including Hungarian (a celebrated contribution by Hungarian-Romanian author András Sütő). During the same epoch, Creangă and his stories first became sources of inspiration for the Romanian film industry. Among the first were two contributions of filmmaker Elisabeta Bostan, both released in the early 1960s and based on the Memories: Amintiri din copilărie (starring child actor Ion Bocancea as the young Nică and Ștefan Ciubotărașu as the grown-up narrator), and Pupăza din tei (focusing on the hoopoe story). In 1965, celebrated Romanian director Ion Popescu-Gopo released De-aș fi Harap Alb, a loose adaptation of "Harap Alb", starring Florin Piersic in the title role. Popescu-Gopo also directed the 1976 film Povestea dragostei, which was based on "The Story of the Pig" and the 1985 film "Ramasagul" which was based on "The Bag with 2 Coins". The series also includes Nicolae Mărgineanu's biographical film of 1989, Un bulgăre de humă, focuses on the friendship between Creangă (played by Dorel Vișan) and Eminescu (Adrian Pintea).
The legacy of Ion Creangă was also tangible in the Soviet Union, and especially in the Moldavian SSR (which, as the larger section of Bessarabia, had been part of interwar Greater Romania, and later became independent Moldova). Initially, his writings, titled Moldavian Stories, formed part of the Soviet curriculum in the Moldavian Autonomous Region (Transnistria). Following the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia, Creangă was one of the Romanian-language writers whose works were still allowed for publishing by the new authorities. This provided local contributors to Romanian literature contact with older cultural models, directly inspiring the experimental or Postmodern prose pieces by Vlad Ioviță and Leo Butnaru. The endorsement of Creangă's public image within the Moldavian SSR was also reflected in art: in 1958, the writer's bust, the work of sculptor Lev Averbruh, was assigned to the Alley of Classics in Chișinău. His works were illustrated by one of the Moldavian SSR's leading visual artists, Igor Vieru, who also painted a portrait of the author. In 1967, Ioviță and filmmaker Gheorghe Vodă released Se caută un paznic: an adaptation of "Ivan Turbincă" and one of the successful samples of early Moldovan cinema, it was also noted for the musical score, composed by Eugen Doga. Also during that period, "The Goat ..." and "The Purse a' Tuppence" were made into animated shorts (directed by Anton Mater and Constantin Condrea). In 1978, an operatic version of "The Goat and Her Three Kids" was created by composer Zlata Tkach, based on a libretto by Grigore Vieru.
After 1989
The 1989 Revolution, which signaled the end of communism, closely preceded the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Renewed Moldova–Romania relations, and moves toward potential reunification, were consecrated by 1990 events such as the "Bridge of Flowers". The latter tour saw Moldovan politicians and cultural delegates demanding, and obtaining, that they be allowed to visit Bojdeuca. In 1993, answering a petition signed by a group of cultural personalities from Iași, Metropolitan Daniel (the future Patriarch of All Romania) signed a decision to posthumously revert the decision to exclude Ion Creangă from among the Moldavian clergy. The public polled during a 2006 program produced by the Romanian Television nominated Creangă 43rd among the 100 greatest Romanians. New monuments honoring the writer include a bust unveiled in Târgu Neamț, the work of sculptor Ovidiu Ciobotaru. The patrimony associated with Creangă's life has also sparked debates: local authorities in Târgu Neamț were criticized for not maintaining the site near his house in its best condition, while the Fălticeni where he once lived was controversially put up for sale by its private owners in 2009, at a time when city hall could not exercise its pre-emption right.
Creangă's work was also subject to rediscovery and reevaluation. This implied the publishing of his "corrosives", most notably in a 1998 edition titled Povestea poveștilor generației '80 ("The Tale of the Tales of the 80s Generation"). Edited by Dan Petrescu and Luca Pițu, it featured a Postmodern reworking of Povestea poveștilor by Mircea Nedelciu, a leading theorist of the Optzeciști writers. A trilingual edition of Creangă's original text was published in 2006 as a Humanitas project, with illustrations made for the occasion by graphic artist Ioan Iacob. The book included versions of the text in English (the work of Alistair Ian Blyth) and French (translated by Marie-France Ionesco, the daughter of playwright Eugène Ionesco), both of which were noted for resorting exclusively to antiquated slang. In 2004, another one of Creangă's stories was subjected to a Postmodern interpretation, with Stelian Țurlea's novel Relatare despre Harap Alb ("A Report about Harap Alb"). In 2009, Țurlea followed up with a version of "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter"; a year later, his colleague Horia Gârbea published a personal take on "The Story of a Lazy Man". Ion Creangă's own didactic tales have remained a presence in the Romanian curriculum after 2000, particularly in areas of education targeting the youngest students.
New films based on Creangă's writings include, among others, Mircea Daneliuc's Tusea și junghiul of 1992 (an adaptation of "The Old Man's Daughter ...") and Tudor Tătaru's Moldovan-Romanian co-production Dănilă Prepeleac (1996). There were also several post-1989 theatrical adaptations of Ion Creangă's texts, contributed by various Romanian dramaturges. Some of these are Cornel Todea's variant of "Harap Alb" (with music by Nicu Alifantis), Cristian Pepino's take on "The Goat and Her Three Kids", Mihai Mălaimare's Prostia omenească (from "Human Stupidity") and Gheorghe Hibovski's Povestea poveștilor, a fringe theater show using both Creangă's original and Nedelciu's text.
Creangă's name was assigned to several education institutions, among them Bucharest's Ion Creangă National College, and to an annual prize granted by the Romanian Academy. There is an Ion Creangă commune, in Neamț County, and streets or squares were also named in the writer's honor in cities throughout Romania: Târgu Neamț, Iași, Fălticeni, Bucharest, Arad, Brăila, Brașov, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Oradea, Ploiești, Sibiu, Suceava, Târgu Mureș, Tecuci, Timișoara, Tulcea, etc. A quarter in northern Bucharest, near Colentina, is also named Ion Creangă. Creangă's name was assigned to several landmarks and institutions in post-Soviet Moldova. Among them is the Ion Creangă Pedagogical State University, founded on the basis of Chișinău's normal school.
Notes
References
Marcu Beza, Paganism in Roumanian Folklore, Swedenborg Press, New York, 2007.
Lucian Boia, History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness, Central European University Press, Budapest, 2001.
Mircea Braga, postface and bibliography to Ion Creangă, Povești și povestiri, Editura Minerva, 1987, p. 199–220.
George Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române de la origini pînă în prezent, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1986
Paul Cernat, Avangarda românească și complexul periferiei: primul val, Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2007.
Muguraș Constantinescu, "Figures et représentations du vieillir et de la vieillesse dans les contes de Ion Creangă", in Alain Montandon (ed.), Figures du vieillir, Presses Universitaires Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, 2005, p. 59–71.
Neagu Djuvara, Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne, Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995.
Horia Gârbea, Trecute vieți de fanți și de birlici, Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2008.
Ruth S. Lamb, "Romanian Drama", in Stanley Hochman (ed.), The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama. Vol. 4: O-S, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1984, p. 239–252.
Carmen-Maria Mecu, Nicolae Mecu, "Paradigms of Junimea in Education for a Civil Society", in Magdalena Dumitrana (ed.), Romania: Cultural Identity and Education for Civil Society. Romanian Philosophical Studies, V. Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change, Series IVA, Eastern and Central Europe, Volume 24, Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, Washington, 2004, p. 181–193.
Florin Mihăilescu, De la proletcultism la postmodernism, Editura Pontica, Constanța, 2002.
Lucian Nastasă, Intelectualii și promovarea socială (pentru o morfologie a câmpului universitar), Editura Nereamia Napocae, Cluj-Napoca, 2002; e-book version at the Romanian Academy's George Bariț Institute of History
Andrei Oișteanu, Inventing the Jew. Antisemitic Stereotypes in Romanian and Other Central East-European Cultures, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 2009.
Z. Ornea,
Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească, Editura Fundației Culturale Române, Bucharest, 1995.
Junimea și junimismul, Vol. II, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1998.
Tudor Vianu, Scriitori români, Vol. I-III, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1970–1971.
Radu Voinescu, "Romanian Erotic Literature", in Gaëtan Brulotte, John Phillips (eds.), Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature, Routledge, New York & Abingdon, p. 1127–1131.
External links
translations in the Romanian Cultural Institute's Plural Magazine (various issues): "Danillo Nonsuch" ("Dănilă Prepeleac"), Childhood Memories (excerpt), "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", Childhood Memories (excerpt), "The Purse a' Tuppence", "The Tale of All Tales", "The Tale of Ionică the Fool"
Roumanian Stories. Translated by Lucy Byng, at the University of Washington's DXARTS/CARTAH Electronic Text Archive
"The Story of the Pig". Hog Bridegrooms (tales of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 441 in which a beautiful maiden is forced to marry a hog or a hedgehog), University of Pittsburgh, Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts edited and/or translated by D. L. Ashliman
1837 births
1889 deaths
People from Târgu Neamț
People of the Principality of Moldavia
Romanian Orthodox priests
Free and Independent Faction politicians
Romanian children's writers
Romanian collectors of fairy tales
Romanian erotica writers
Romanian fantasy writers
Romanian folklorists
Romanian humorists
Romanian memoirists
19th-century Romanian poets
Romanian male poets
Romanian male short story writers
Romanian short story writers
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Censorship in Romania
Christian creationists
People with epilepsy
Burials at Eternitatea cemetery
Members of the Romanian Academy elected posthumously
19th-century memoirists | true | [
"Societatea Academică Junimea (Romanian for \"Junimea Academic Society\") was a society (Studentenverbindung) for Romanian students in the Austro-Hungarian city of Czernowitz, located in the Bukovina region of Cisleithania. The city was called Cernăuți after the region united with Romania in 1918, and today is Cher... | [
"Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romanian literature, he is best known for his Childhood Memories volume, his novellas and... |
[
"Ion Creangă",
"Junimea reception",
"When was the Junimea reception",
"The exact date of his reception is a mystery."
] | C_c81777bed23f4fd3a49716508c674479_0 | Who else was involved in the Junimea reception? | 2 | Besides Ion Creangă, who else was involved in the Junimea reception? | Ion Creangă | At around the same time, Creanga also began attending Junimea, an upper class literary club presided upon by Maiorescu, whose cultural and political prestige was increasing. This event, literary historian Z. Ornea argued, followed a time of indecision: as a former Factionalist, Creanga was a natural adversary of the mainstream Junimist "cosmopolitan orientation", represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was still fundamentally committed to Maiorescu's agenda in the field of education. Literary historians Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu also argue that, after attending Junimea, the author was able to assimilate some of its innovative teachings into his own style of pedagogy, and thus helped diffuse its message outside the purely academic environment. The exact date of his reception is a mystery. According to Maiorescu's own recollections, written some decades after the event, Creanga was in attendance at a Junimea meeting of 1871, during which Gheorghe Costaforu proposed to transform the club into a political party. The information was considered dubious by Z. Ornea, who argued that the episode may have been entirely invented by the Junimist leader, and noted that it contradicted both Negruzzi's accounts and minutes kept by A. D. Xenopol. According to Ornea's assessment, with the exception of literary critic Vladimir Streinu, all of Creanga's biographers have come to dismiss Maiorescu's statement. Several sources mention that the future writer was introduced to the society by Eminescu, who was an active member around 1875. This and other details lead Ornea to conclude that membership was granted to Creanga only after the summer break of 1875. Gradually or instantly, Creanga made a positive impression by confirming with the Junimist ideal of authenticity. He also became treasured for his talkative and jocular nature, self-effacing references to himself as a "peasant", and eventually his debut works, which became subjects of his own public readings. His storytelling soon earned him dedicated spectators, who deemed Creanga's fictional universe a "sack of wonders" at a time when the author himself had started casually using the pseudonym Ioan Vantura-Tara ("Ioan Gadabout"). Although still in his forties, the newcomer was also becoming colloquially known to his colleagues as Mos Creanga ("Old Man Creanga" or "Father Creanga"), which was a sign of respect and sympathy. Among Ion Creanga's most dedicated promoters were Eminescu, his former political rival Iacob Negruzzi, Alexandru Lambrior and Vasile Pogor, as well as the so-called caracuda (roughly, "small game") section, which comprised Junimists who rarely took the floor during public debates, and who were avid listeners of his literary productions (it was to this latter gathering that Creanga later dedicated his erotic texts). In parallel to his diversified literary contribution, the former priest himself became a noted voice in Junimist politics, and, like his new friend Eminescu, voiced support for the group's nationalist faction, in disagreement with the more cosmopolitan and aristocratic segment led by Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp. By that the late 1870s, he was secretly redirecting political support from the former Factionalists to his new colleagues, as confirmed by an encrypted letter he addressed to Negruzzi in March 1877. CANNOTANSWER | Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp. | Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romanian literature, he is best known for his Childhood Memories volume, his novellas and short stories, and his many anecdotes. Creangă's main contribution to fantasy and children's literature includes narratives structured around eponymous protagonists ("Harap Alb", "Ivan Turbincă", "Dănilă Prepeleac", "Stan Pățitul"), as well as fairy tales indebted to conventional forms ("The Story of the Pig", "The Goat and Her Three Kids", "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter"). Widely seen as masterpieces of the Romanian language and local humor, his writings occupy the middle ground between a collection of folkloric sources and an original contribution to a literary realism of rural inspiration. They are accompanied by a set of contributions to erotic literature, collectively known as his "corrosives".
A defrocked Romanian Orthodox priest with an unconventional lifestyle, Creangă made an early impact as an innovative educator and textbook author, while pursuing a short career in nationalist politics with the Free and Independent Faction. His literary debut came late in life, closely following the start of his close friendship with Romania's national poet Mihai Eminescu and their common affiliation with the influential conservative literary society Junimea. Although viewed with reserve by many of his colleagues there, and primarily appreciated for his records of oral tradition, Creangă helped propagate the group's cultural guidelines in an accessible form. Later critics have often described him, alongside Eminescu, Ion Luca Caragiale and Ioan Slavici, as one of the most accomplished representatives of Junimist literature.
Ion Creangă was posthumously granted several honors, and is commemorated by a number of institutions in both Romania and neighboring Moldova. These include the Bojdeuca building in Iași, which, in 1918, was opened as the first memorial house in Romania. His direct descendants include Horia Creangă, one of the leading Romanian architects during the interwar period.
Biography
Background and family
Ion Creangă was born in Humulești in the Principality of Moldavia, a former village which has since been incorporated into Târgu Neamț city, the son of Orthodox trader Ștefan sin Petre Ciubotariul and his wife Smaranda. His native area, bordering on heavily forested areas, was in the Eastern Carpathian foothills, and included into what was then the Principality of Moldavia. The surrounding region's population preserved an archaic way of life, dominated by shepherding, textile manufacturing and related occupations, and noted for preserving the older forms of local folklore. Another characteristic of the area, which left an impression on Creangă's family history, was related to the practice of transhumance and the links between ethnic Romanian communities on both sides of the mountains, in Moldavia and Transylvania: on his maternal side, the writer descended from Maramureș-born peasants, while, according to literary historian George Călinescu, his father's origin may have been further southwest, in Transylvania-proper.
The family had reached a significant position within their community: Ștefan sin Petre had made a steady income from his itinerant trade in wool, while his wife was the descendant of the Creangăs of Pipirig, a family of community leaders. The latter's members included Moldavian Metropolitan Iacob Stamati, as well as Smaranda's father, Vornic David, and her uncle Ciubuc Clopotarul, a monk at Neamț Monastery. Proud of this tradition, it was her who insisted for her son to pursue a career in the Church. According to his own recollection, the future writer was born on March 1, 1837—a date which has since been challenged. Creangă's other statements mention March 2, 1837, or an unknown date in 1836. The exactitude of other accounts is equally unreliable: community registers from the period gave the date of June 10, 1839, and mention another child of the same name being born to his parents on February 4, 1842 (the more probable birth date of Creangă's younger brother Zahei). The imprecision also touches other aspects of his family life: noting the resulting conflicts in data, Călinescu decided that it was not possible for one to know if the writer's parents were married to each other (and, if so, if they were on their first marriage), nor how many children they had together. At a time when family names were not legally required, and people were primarily known by various nicknames and patronymics, the boy was known to the community as Nică, a hypocorism formed from Ion, or more formally as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei ("Nică of Ștefan of Petru", occasionally Nic-a lui Ștefan a Petrei).
Childhood, youth and ordination
After an idyllic period, which is recounted in the first section of his Childhood Memories, Ion Creangă was sent to primary school, an institution then in the care of Orthodox Church authorities, where he became noted for his rebellious attitude and appetite for truancy. Among his colleagues was a female student, Smărăndița popii (known later as Smaranda Posea), for whom he developed an affection which lasted into his adult life, over decades in which the two no longer saw each other. He was taught reading and writing in Cyrillic alphabet through peer tutoring techniques, before the overseeing teacher, Vasile Ilioaiei, was lassoed off the street and conscripted by the Moldavian military at some point before 1848. After another teacher, whom the Memories portray as a drunk, died from cholera in late 1848, David Creangă withdrew his grandson from the local school and took him to a similar establishment in Broșteni, handing him into the care of a middle-aged woman, Irinuca. Ion Creangă spent several months at Irinuca's remote house on the Bistrița River, before the proximity of goats resulted in a scabies infection and his hastened departure for Pipirig, where he cured himself using birch extract, a folk remedy mastered by his maternal grandmother Nastasia.
After returning to school between late 1849 and early 1850, Creangă was pulled out by his financially struggling father, spent the following period working in wool-spinning, and became known by the occupational nickname Torcălău ("Spinster"). He only returned in third grade some four years later, having been sent to the Târgu Neamț public school, newly founded by Moldavian Prince Grigore Alexandru Ghica as part of the Regulamentul Organic string of reforms. A colleague of future philosopher Vasile Conta in the class of priest and theologian Isaia "Popa Duhu" Teodorescu, Creangă was sent to the Fălticeni seminary in 1854. After having been registered as Ioan Ștefănescu (a variant of his given name and a family name based on his patronymic), the adolescent student eventually adopted his maternal surname of Creangă. According to Călinescu, this was done either "for aesthetic reasons" (as his new name, literally meaning "branch" or "bough", "sounds good") or because of a likely discovery that Ștefan was not his real father. Dan Grădinaru, a researcher of Creangă's work, believes that the writer had a special preference for the variant Ioan, generally used in more learned circles, instead of the variant Ion that was consecrated by his biographers.
Having witnessed, according to his own claim, the indifference and mundane preoccupations of his peers, Creangă admitted to having taken little care in his training, submitting to the drinking culture, playing practical jokes on his colleagues, and even shoplifting, while pursuing an affair with the daughter of a local priest. According to his own statement, he was a philanderer who, early in his youth, had already "caught the scent" of the catrință (the skirt in traditional costumes). In August 1855, circumstances again forced him to change schools: confronted with the closure of his Fălticeni school, Creangă left for the Central Seminary attached to Socola Monastery, in Moldavia's capital of Iași. Ștefan sin Petre's 1858 death left him without means of support, and he requested being directly ordained, but, not being of the necessary age, was instead handed a certificate to attest his school attendance. He was soon after married, after a brief courtship, to the 15-year-old Ileana, daughter of Priest Ioan Grigoriu from the church of the Forty Saints, where he is believed to have been in training as a schoolteacher. The ceremony took place in August 1859, several months after the personal union between Moldavia and its southern neighbor Wallachia, effected by the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as Domnitor. Having been employed as a cantor by his father in law's church, he was ordained in December of the same year, assigned to the position of deacon in Holy Trinity Church, and, in May 1860, returned to Forty Saints.
Relations between Creangă and Grigoriu were exceptionally tense. Only weeks after his wedding, the groom, who had probably agreed to marriage only because it could facilitate succeeding Grigoriu, signed a complaint addressed to Metropolitan Sofronie Miclescu, denouncing his father in law as "a killer", claiming to have been mistreated by him and cheated out of his wife's dowry, and demanding to be allowed a divorce. The response to this request was contrary to his wishes: he was ordered into isolation by the Dicasterie, the supreme ecclesiastical court, being allowed to go free only on promise to reconcile with Grigoriu.
Beginnings as schoolteacher and clash with the Orthodox Church
In 1860, Creangă enlisted at the Faculty of Theology, part of the newly founded University of Iași, and, in December 1860, fathered a son, Constantin. His life still lacked in stability, and he decided to move out of Grigoriu's supervision and into Bărboi Church, before his position as deacon was cut out of the budget and his belongings were evicted out of his temporary lodging in 1864. He contemplated leaving the city, and even officially requested a new assignment in the more remote Bolgrad. Since January 1864, when the Faculty of Theology had been closed down, he had been attending Iași's Trei Ierarhi Monastery normal school (Trisfetite or Trei Sfetite), where he first met the young cultural figure Titu Maiorescu, who served as his teacher and supervisor, and whence he graduated as the first in his class (June 1865). Embittered by his own experience with the education system, Creangă became an enthusiastic promoter of Maiorescu's ideas on education reform and modernization, and in particular of the new methods of teaching reading and writing. During and after completing normal school, he was assigned to teaching positions at Trisfetite. While there, he earned the reputation of a demanding teacher (notably by accompanying his reports on individual students with characterizations such as "idiot", "impertinent" or "envious"). Accounts from the period state that he made use of corporal punishment in disciplining his pupils, and even surpassed the standards of violence accepted at the time.
In parallel, he was beginning his activities in support of education reform. By 1864, he and several others, among them schoolteacher V. Răceanu, were working on a new primer, which saw print in 1868 under the title Metodă nouă de scriere și cetire pentru uzul clasei I primară ("A New Method of Writing and Reading for the Use of 1st Grade Primary Course Students"). It mainly addressed the issues posed by the new Romanian alphabetical standard, a Romanization replacing Cyrillic spelling (which had been officially discarded in 1862). Largely based on Maiorescu's principles, Metodă nouă ... became one the period's most circulated textbooks. In addition to didactic texts, it also featured Creangă's isolated debut in lyric poetry, with a naïve piece titled Păsărica în timpul iernii ("The Little Bird in Wintertime"). The book was followed in 1871 by another such work, published as Învățătoriul copiilor ("The Children's Teacher") and co-authored by V. Răceanu. It included several prose fables and a sketch story, "Human Stupidity", to which later editions added Poveste ("A Story") and Pâcală (a borrowing of the fictional folk character better known as Păcală).
In February 1866, having briefly served at Iași's Pantelimon Church, he was welcomed by hegumen Isaia Vicol Dioclias into the service of Golia Monastery. Around 1867, his wife Ileana left him. After that moment, Creangă began losing interest in performing his duties in the clergy, and, while doing his best to hide that he was no longer living with his wife, took a mistress. The marriage's breakup was later attributed by Creangă himself to Ileana's adulterous affair with a Golia monk, and rumors spread that Ileana's lover was a high-ranking official, the protopope of Iași. Creangă's accusations, Călinescu contends, are nevertheless dubious, because the deacon persisted in working for the same monastery after the alleged incident.
By the second half of the 1860s, the future writer was also pursuing an interest in politics, which eventually led him to rally with the more nationalist group within the Romanian liberal current, known as Free and Independent Faction. An agitator for his party, Creangă became commonly known under the nickname Popa Smântână ("Priest Sour Cream"). In April 1866, shortly after Domnitor Cuza was toppled by a coup, and just before Carol I was selected to replace him, the Romanian Army intervened to quell a separatist riot in Iași, instigated by Moldavian Metropolitan Calinic Miclescu. It is likely that Creangă shared the outlook of other Factionalists, according to which secession was preferable to Carol's rule, and was probably among the rioters. At around the same time, he began circulating antisemitic tracts, and is said to have demanded that Christians boycott Jewish business. He is thought to have coined the expression Nici un ac de la jidani ("Not even a needle from the kikes"). He was eventually selected as one of the Factionalist candidates for an Iași seat in the Romanian Deputies' Chamber, as documented by the memoirs of his conservative rival, Iacob Negruzzi. The episode is supposed to have taken place at the earliest during the 1871 suffrage.
By 1868, Creangă's rebellious stance was irritating his hierarchical superiors, and, according to Călinescu, his consecutive actions show that he was "going out of his way for scandal". He was initially punished for attending a Iași Theater performance, as well as for defiantly claiming that there was "nothing scandalous or demoralizing" in what he had seen, and reportedly further antagonized the monks by firing a gun to scare off the rooks nesting on his church. The latter incident, which some commentators believe fabricated by Creangă's detractors, was judged absurd by the ecclesiastical authorities, who had been further alarmed by negative reporting in the press. When told that no clergyman other than him had been seen using a gun, Creangă issued a reply deemed "Nasreddinesque" by George Călinescu, maintaining that, unlike others, he was not afraid of doing so. Confronted by Metropolitan Calinic himself, Creangă allegedly argued that he could think of no other way to eliminate rooks, being eventually pardoned by the prelate when it was ruled that he had not infringed on canon law.
Defrocking and the Bojdeuca years
Creangă eventually moved out of the monastery, but refused to relinquish his key to the church basement, and, in what was probably a modernizing intent, chopped off his long hair, one of the traditional marks of an Orthodox priest. The latter gesture scandalized his superiors, particularly since Creangă explained himself using an ancient provision of canon law, which stipulated that priests were not supposed to grow their hair long. After some assessment, his superiors agreed not to regard this action as more than a minor disobedience. He was temporarily suspended in practice but, citing an ambiguity in the decision (which could be read as a banishment in perpetuity), Creangă considered himself defrocked. He relinquished his clerical clothing altogether and began wearing lay clothes everywhere, a matter which caused public outrage.
By then a teacher at the 1st School for Boys, on Română Street, Creangă was ordered out of his secular assignment in July 1872, when news of his status and attitude reached Education Minister Christian Tell. Upset by the circumstances, and objecting in writing on grounds that it did not refer to his teaching abilities, he fell back on income produced by a tobacconist's shop he had established shortly before being dismissed. This stage marked a final development in Creangă's conflict with the church hierarchy. Summoned to explain why he was living the life of a shopkeeper, he responded in writing by showing his unwillingness to apologize, and indicated that he would only agree to face secular courts. The virulent text notably accused the church officials of being his enemies on account of his "independence, sincerity, honesty" in supporting the cause of "human dignity". After the gesture of defiance, the court recommended his defrocking, its decision being soon after confirmed by the synod.
In the meantime, Creangă moved into what he called Bojdeuca (or Bujdeuca, both being Moldavian regional speech for "tiny hut"), a small house located on the outskirts of Iași. Officially divorced in 1873, he was living there with his lover Ecaterina "Tinca" Vartic. A former laundress who had earlier leased one of the Bojdeuca rooms, she shared Creangă's peasant-like existence. This lifestyle implied a number of eccentricities, such as the former deacon's practice of wearing loose shirts throughout summer and bathing in a natural pond. His voracious appetite, called "proverbial gluttony" by George Călinescu, was attested by contemporary accounts. These depict him consuming uninterrupted successions of whole meals on a daily basis.
In May 1874, soon after taking over Minister of Education in the Conservative Party cabinet of Lascăr Catargiu, his friend Maiorescu granted Creangă the position of schoolteacher in the Iași area of Păcurari. During the same period, Ion Creangă met and became best friends with Mihai Eminescu, posthumously celebrated as Romania's national poet. This is said to have taken place in summer 1875, when Eminescu was working as an inspector for Maiorescu's Education Ministry, overseeing schools in Iași County: reportedly, Eminescu was fascinated with Creangă's talents as a raconteur, while the latter admired Eminescu for his erudition.
Junimea reception
At around the same time, Creangă also began attending Junimea, an upper class literary club presided upon by Maiorescu, whose cultural and political prestige was increasing. This event, literary historian Z. Ornea argued, followed a time of indecision: as a former Factionalist, Creangă was a natural adversary of the mainstream Junimist "cosmopolitan orientation", represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was still fundamentally committed to Maiorescu's agenda in the field of education. Literary historians Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu also argue that, after attending Junimea, the author was able to assimilate some of its innovative teachings into his own style of pedagogy, and thus helped diffuse its message outside the purely academic environment.
The exact date of his reception is a mystery. According to Maiorescu's own recollections, written some decades after the event, Creangă was in attendance at a Junimea meeting of 1871, during which Gheorghe Costaforu proposed to transform the club into a political party. The information was considered dubious by Z. Ornea, who argued that the episode may have been entirely invented by the Junimist leader, and noted that it contradicted both Negruzzi's accounts and minutes kept by A. D. Xenopol. According to Ornea's assessment, with the exception of literary critic Vladimir Streinu, all of Creangă's biographers have come to dismiss Maiorescu's statement. Several sources mention that the future writer was introduced to the society by Eminescu, who was an active member around 1875. This and other details lead Ornea to conclude that membership was granted to Creangă only after the summer break of 1875.
Gradually or instantly, Creangă made a positive impression by confirming with the Junimist ideal of authenticity. He also became treasured for his talkative and jocular nature, self-effacing references to himself as a "peasant", and eventually his debut works, which became subjects of his own public readings. His storytelling soon earned him dedicated spectators, who deemed Creangă's fictional universe a "sack of wonders" at a time when the author himself had started casually using the pseudonym Ioan Vântură-Țară ("Ioan Gadabout"). Although still in his forties, the newcomer was also becoming colloquially known to his colleagues as Moș Creangă ("Old Man Creangă" or "Father Creangă"), which was a sign of respect and sympathy. Among Ion Creangă's most dedicated promoters were Eminescu, his former political rival Iacob Negruzzi, Alexandru Lambrior and Vasile Pogor, as well as the so-called caracudă (roughly, "small game") section, which comprised Junimists who rarely took the floor during public debates, and who were avid listeners of his literary productions (it was to this latter gathering that Creangă later dedicated his erotic texts). In parallel to his diversified literary contribution, the former priest himself became a noted voice in Junimist politics, and, like his new friend Eminescu, voiced support for the group's nationalist faction, in disagreement with the more cosmopolitan and aristocratic segment led by Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp. By that the late 1870s, he was secretly redirecting political support from the former Factionalists to his new colleagues, as confirmed by an encrypted letter he addressed to Negruzzi in March 1877.
Literary consecration
Autumn 1875 is also often described as his actual debut in fiction prose, with "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", a short story first publish in October by the club's magazine Convorbiri Literare. In all, Convorbiri Literare would publish 15 works of fiction and the four existing parts of his Childhood Memories before Creangă's death. Reportedly, the decision to begin writing down his stories had been the direct result of Eminescu's persuasion. His talent for storytelling and its transformation into writing fascinated his new colleagues. Several among them, including poet Grigore Alexandrescu, tasked experimental psychologist Eduard Gruber with closely studying Creangă's methods, investigations which produced a report evidencing Creangă's laborious and physical approach to the creative process. The latter also involved his frequent exchanges of ideas with Vartic, in whom he found his primary audience. In addition to his fiction writing, the emerging author followed Maiorescu's suggestion and, in 1876, published a work of educational methodology and the phonemic orthography favored by Junimea: Povățuitoriu la cetire prin scriere după sistema fonetică ("Guide to Reading by Writing in the Phonetic System"). It was supposed to become a standard textbook for the training of teachers, but was withdrawn from circulation soon afterward, when the Catargiu cabinet fell.
After losing his job as school inspector following the decisions of a hostile National Liberal executive, Mihai Eminescu spent much of his time in Bojdeuca, where he was looked after by the couple. For five months after quarreling with Samson Bodnărescu, his fellow poet and previous landlord, Eminescu even moved inside the house, where he reputedly pursued his discreet love affair with woman writer Veronica Micle, and completed as many as 22 of his poems. Creangă introduced his younger friend to a circle of companions which included Zahei Creangă, who was by then a cantor, as well as Răceanu, priest Gheorghe Ienăchescu, and clerk Nicșoi (all of whom, Călinescu notes, had come to share the raconteur's lifestyle choices and his nationalist opinions). Eminescu was especially attracted by their variant of simple life, the rudimentary setting of Creangă's house and the group's bohemian escapades. Circumstances drew the two friends apart: by 1877, Eminescu had relocated in Bucharest, the capital city, regularly receiving letters in which Creangă was asking him to return. He was however against Eminescu's plan to marry Veronica Micle, and made his objection known to the poet. In 1879, as a sign that he was formalizing his own affair with Tinca Vartic, Creangă purchased the Bojdeuca in her name, paying his former landlord 40 Austrian gulden in exchange. That same year, he, Răceanu and Ienăchescu published the textbook Geografia județului Iași ("The Geography of Iași County"), followed soon after by a map of the same region, researched by Creangă and Răceanu. A final work in the area of education followed in 1880, as a schoolteacher's version of Maiorescu's study of Romanian grammar, Regulile limbei române ("Rules of the Romanian Language").
Illness and death
By the 1880s, Creangă had become afflicted with epilepsy, suffering accelerated and debilitating episodes. He was also severely overweight, weighing some 120 kilograms (over 250 pounds), with a height of 1.85 meters (6 feet), and being teasingly nicknamed Burduhănosul ("Tubby") by his friends (although, according to testimonies by his son and daughter-in-law, he did not actually look his size).
Despite his activity being much reduced, he still kept himself informed about the polemics agitating Romania's cultural and political scene. He was also occasionally hosting Eminescu, witnessing his friend's struggle with mental disorder. The two failed to reconnect, and their relationship ended. After one of the meetings, he recorded that the delusional poet was carrying around a revolver with which to fend off unknown attackers—among the first in a series of episodes which ended with Eminescu's psychiatric confinement and death during June 1889. Around that time, Creangă, like other Junimists, was involved in a clash of ideas with the emerging Romanian socialist and atheistic group, rallied around Contemporanul magazine. This occurred after Contemporanul founder Ioan Nădejde publicly ridiculed Învățătoriul copiilor over its take on creationism, quoting its claim that "the invisible hand of God" was what made seeds grow into plants. Creangă replied with a measure of irony, stating that "had God not pierced the skin over our eyes, we would be unable to see each other's mistakes". Nevertheless, Călinescu argued, Nădejde's comments had shaken his adversary's religious sentiment, leading Creangă to question the immortality of the soul in a letter he addressed to one of his relatives in the clergy. According to other assessments, he was himself an atheist, albeit intimately so.
In 1887, the National Liberal Ministry of Dimitrie Sturdza removed Creangă from his schoolteacher's post, and he subsequently left for Bucharest in order to petition for his pension rights. Having hoped to be granted assistance by Maiorescu, he was disappointed when the Junimea leader would not respond to his request, and, during his final years, switched allegiance to the literary circle founded by Nicolae Beldiceanu (where he was introduced by Gruber). Among Creangă's last works was a fourth and final part of his Memories, most likely written during 1888. The book remained unfinished, as did the story Făt-frumos, fiul iepei ("Făt-Frumos, Son of the Mare"). He died after an epileptic crisis, on the last day of 1889, his body being buried in Iași's Eternitatea Cemetery. His funeral ceremony was attended by several of Iași's intellectuals (Vasile Burlă, A. C. Cuza, Dumitru Evolceanu, Nicolae Iorga and Artur Stavri among them).
Work
Cultural context
The impact of Ion Creangă's work within its cultural context was originally secured by Junimea. Seeking to revitalize Romanian literature by recovering authenticity, and reacting against those cultural imports it deemed excessive, the group notably encouraged individual creativity among peasants. Reflecting back on Maiorescu's role in the process, George Călinescu wrote: "A literary salon where the personal merit would take the forefront did not exist [before Junimea] and, had Creangă been born two decades earlier, he would not have been able to present 'his peasant material' to anyone. Summoning the creativity of the peasant class and placing it in direct contact with the aristocrats is the work of Junimea." His cogenerationist and fellow literary historian Tudor Vianu issued a similar verdict, commenting: "Junimea is itself ... an aristocratic society. Nevertheless, it is through Junimea that surfaced the first gesture of transmitting a literary direction to some writers of rural extraction: a phenomenon of great importance, the neglect of which would render unexplainable the entire subsequent development of our literature." Also referring to cultural positioning within and outside the group, Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu took the acceptance of "literate peasants" such as Creangă as exemplary proof of Junimist "diversity" and "tolerance".
Maiorescu is known to have had much appreciation for Creangă and other writers of peasant origin, such as Ion Popovici-Bănățeanu and Ioan Slavici. Late in life, he used this connection to challenge accusations of Junimist elitism in the face of criticism from more populist traditionalists. Nonetheless, Junimea members in general found Creangă more of an entertainer rather than a serious writer, and treasured him only to the measure where he illustrated their theories about the validity of rural literature as a source of inspiration for cultured authors. Therefore, Iacob Negruzzi sympathetically but controversially referred to his friend as "a primitive and uncouth talent". Maiorescu's critical texts also provide little individual coverage of Creangă's contributions, probably because these failed to comply exactly with his stratification of literary works into poporane ("popular", that is anonymous or collective) and otherwise. Tudor Vianu's theory defines Creangă as a prime representative of the "popular realism" guidelines (as sporadically recommended by the Junimist doyen himself), cautioning however that Creangă's example was never mentioned in such a context by Maiorescu personally.
Although he occasionally downplayed his own contribution to literature, Creangă himself was aware that his texts went beyond records of popular tradition, and made significant efforts to be recognized as an original author (by corresponding with fellow writers and willingly submitting his books to critical scrutiny). Vianu commented at length on the exact relationship between the narrative borrowed from oral tradition and Creangă's "somewhat surreptitious" method of blending his own style into the folkloric standard, likening it to the historical process whereby local painters improvised over the strict canons of Byzantine art. Creangă's complex take on individuality and the art of writing was attested by his own foreword to an edition of his collected stories, in which he addressed the reader directly: "You may have read many stupid things since you were put on this Earth. Please read these as well, and where it should be that they don't agree with you, take hold of a pen and come up with something better, for this is all I could see myself doing and did."
An exception among Junimea promoters was Eminescu, himself noted for expressing a dissenting social perspective which only partly mirrored Maiorescu's take on conservatism. According to historian Lucian Boia, the "authentic Moldavian peasant" that was Creangă also complemented Eminescu's own "more metaphysical" peasanthood. Similarly, Z. Ornea notes that the poet used Creangă's positions to illustrate his own ethnonationalist take on Romanian culture, and in particular his claim that rural authenticity lay hidden by a "superimposed stratum" of urbanized ethnic minorities. 20th century critics have described Creangă as one of his generation's most accomplished figures, and a leading exponent of Junimist literature. This verdict is found in several of Vianu's texts, which uphold Creangă as a great exponent of his generation's literature, comparable to fellow Junimea members Eminescu, Slavici and Ion Luca Caragiale. This view complements George Călinescu's definition, placing the Moldavian author in the company of Slavici and Caragiale as one of the "great prose writers" of the 1880s. Lucian Boia, who noted that "the triad of Romanian classics" includes Creangă alongside Eminescu and Caragiale, also cautioned that, compared to the other two (with whom "the Romanians have said almost all there is to say about themselves"), Creangă has "a rather more limited register".
The frequent comparison between Creangă and Caragiale in particular is seen by Vianu as stemming from both their common "wide-ranging stylistic means" and their complementary positions in relations to two superimposed phenomenons, with Caragiale's depiction of the petite bourgeoisie as the rough equivalent of Creangă's interest in the peasantry. The same parallelism is explained by Ornea as a consequence of the two authors' social outlook: "[Their works] have cemented aesthetically the portrayal of two worlds. Creangă's is the peasant world, Caragiale's the suburban and urban one. Two worlds which represent, in fact, two characteristic steps and two sociopolitical models in the evolution of Romanian structures which ... were confronting themselves in a process that would later prove decisive." According to the same commentator, the two plus Eminescu are their generation's great writers, with Slavici as one "in their immediate succession." While listing what he believes are elements bridging the works of Creangă and Caragiale, other critics have described as strange the fact that the two never appear to have mentioned each other, and stressed that, although not unlikely, a direct encounter between them was never recorded in sources.
Narrative style and language
Highlighting Ion Creangă's recourse to the particularities of Moldavian regionalisms and archaisms, their accumulation making Creangă's work very difficult to translate, George Călinescu reacted against claims that the narratives reflected antiquating patterns. He concluded that, in effect, Creangă's written language was the equivalent of a "glossological museum", and even contrasted by the writer's more modern everyday parlance. Also discussing the impression that Creangă's work should be read with a Moldavian accent, noted for its "softness of sound" in relation to standard Romanian phonology, Călinescu cautioned against interpretative exaggerations, maintaining that the actual texts only offer faint suggestions of regional pronunciation. Contrasting Creangă with the traditions of literature produced by Wallachians in what became the standard literary language, Călinescu also argued in favor of a difference in mentality: the "balance" evidenced by Moldavian speech and illustrated in Ion Creangă's writings is contrasted by the "discoloration and roughness" of "Wallachianism". He also criticized those views according to which Creangă's variant of the literary language was "beautiful", since it failed to "please everyone on account of some acoustical beauty", and since readers from outside the writer's native area could confront it "with some irritation." For Călinescu, the result nevertheless displays "an enormous capacity of authentic speech", also found in the works of Caragiale and, in the 20th century, Mihail Sadoveanu. According to the same commentator, the dialectical interventions formed a background to a lively vocabulary, a "hermetic" type of "argot", which contained "hilarious double entendres and indecent onomatopoeia", passing from "erudite beauty" to "obscene laughter". Some of the expressions characteristic of Creangă's style are obscure in meaning, and some other, such as "drought made the snake scream inside the frog's mouth", appear to be spontaneous and nonsensical. Another specific trait of this language, commented upon by Vianu's and compared by him to the aesthetics of Classicism, sees much of Creangă's prose being set to a discreet poetic meter.
The recourse to oral literature schemes made it into his writings, where it became a defining trait. As part of this process, Călinescu assessed, "Creangă acts as all his characters in turn, for his stories are almost entirely spoken. ... When Creangă recounts, the composition is not extraordinary, but once his heroes begin talking, their gesticulation and wording reach a height in typical storytelling." According to the critic, discovering this "fundamental" notion about Creangă's work was the merit of literary historian and Viața Românească editor Garabet Ibrăileanu, who had mentioned it as a main proof of affiliation to realism. The distinctive manner of characterization through "realistic dialogues" is seen by Vianu as a highly personal intervention and indicator of the Moldavian writer's originality. Both Vianu and Călinescu discussed this trait, together with the technique of imparting subjective narration in-between characters' replies, as creating other meeting points between Creangă and his counterpart Caragiale. Partly replicating in paper the essence of social gatherings, Ion Creangă often tried to transpose the particular effects of oral storytelling into writing. Among these characteristic touches were interrogations addressed to the readers as imaginary listeners, and pausing for effect with the visual aid of ellipsis. He also often interrupted his narratives with concise illustrations of his point, often in verse form, and usually introduced by vorba ceea (an expression literally meaning "that word", but covering the sense of "as word goes around"). One example of this connects the notions of abundance and personal satisfaction:
In other cases, the short riddles relate to larger themes, such as divine justification for one's apparent fortune:
Creangă's specificity
Despite assuming the external form of traditional literature, Ion Creangă's interests and creative interventions, Călinescu noted, separated him from his roots: "peasants do not have [his] entirely cultured gifts. ... Too much 'atmosphere', too much dialogic 'humor', too much polychromy at the expense of linear epic movements. The peasant wants the bare epic and desires the unreal." The commentator passed a similar judgment on the author's use of ancient sayings, concluding that, instead of crystallizing and validating local folklore, the accounts appeal to cultured tastes, having as the generation of comedy and volubility as their main purpose. According to Vianu's assessment Creangă was "a supreme artist" whose use of "typical sayings" attests "a man of the people, but not an anonymous and impersonal sample." These verdicts, directly contradicting Junimist theories, were mirrored by several other 20th century exegetes belonging to distinct schools of thought: Pompiliu Constantinescu, Benjamin Fondane and Ion Negoițescu. Writing during the second half of the century, critic Nicolae Manolescu passed a similar judgment, believing that Creangă was motivated by a "strictly intellectual sensuousness" and the notion that "pleasure arises from gratuitousness", while Manolescu's colleague Mircea Braga referred to "the great secret of the man who has managed to transfer unaltered the code of popular creativity into the immanence of the cultured one." In Braga's assessment, this synthesis managed "the impossible", but the difficulty of repeating it with each story also resulted in mediocre writings: "from among his few texts, even fewer are located on the relatively highest level of the relative aesthetic hierarchy".
Călinescu viewed such intellectual traits as shared by Creangă with his Wallachian counterpart Anton Pann, in turn linking both writers to the satirical component of Renaissance literature, and specifically to François Rabelais. Within local tradition, the literary historian saw a symbolic connection between Creangă and the early 18th century figure, Ion Neculce, one of Moldavia's leading chroniclers. While he made his own comparison between Creangă and Pann, Tudor Vianu concluded that the Moldavian writer was in fact superior, as well as being more relevant to literature than Petre Ispirescu, the prime collector of tales in 19th-century Wallachia. Also making use of the Rabelais analogy, literary chronicler Gabriela Ursachi found another analogy in local letters: Ion Budai-Deleanu, an early 19th-century representative of the Transylvanian School, whose style mixes erudite playfulness with popular tastes. These contextual traits, researchers assess, did not prevent Creangă's overall work from acquiring a universal aspect, particularly since various of his writings use narrative sequences common throughout world literature.
George Călinescu also assessed that these literary connections served to highlight the elevated nature of Creangă's style, his "erudite device", concluding: "Writers such as Creangă can only show up in places where the word is ancient and equivocal, and where experience has been condensed into unchanging formulas. It would have been more natural for such a prose writer to have emerged a few centuries later, into an era of Romanian humanism. Born much earlier, Creangă showed up where there exists an ancient tradition, and therefore a species of erudition, ... in a mountain village ... where the people is unmixed and keeping [with tradition]." Outlining his own theory about the aspects of "national specificity" in Romanian letters, he expanded on these thoughts, listing Creangă and Eminescu as "core Romanians" who illustrated a "primordial note", complemented by the "southern" and "Balkan" group of Caragiale and others. Claiming that the "core" presence had "not primitive, but ancient" origins, perpetuated by "stereotyped wisdom" and "energetic fatalism", he asserted: "Creangă shows our civilization's contemporaneity with the world's oldest civilizations, our Asian age." The alternating national and regional characteristics in Creangă's writings are related by historian Neagu Djuvara with the writer's place of birth, an affluent village in an isolated region, contrasting heavily with the 19th century Wallachian countryside: "if the mud hut villages of the Danube flood plain are to be taken into account, one finds himself in a different country." Ornea, who noted that Eminescu effectively shared Creangă's worldview, believed the latter to have been dominated by nostalgia for a world of independent landowning peasants, and argued that Creangă's literary and political outlook were both essentially conservative. Ornea commented: "One could say that it was through [this form of nostalgia] that the writer debuted and that, within the space of his work it became, in its own right, an expression of the world that was about to vanish." Commenting on Creangă's "robust realism" and lack of "sentimentality", Vianu contrarily asserted: "Creangă's nostalgia ... has an individual, not social, sense."
The witty and playful side of Creangă's personality, which became notorious during his time at Junimea and constituted a significant part of his appeal, was reflected into a series of anecdotes. These accounts detail his playing the ignorant in front of fellow Junimists in order not to antagonize sides during literary debates (notably, by declaring himself "for against" during a two-option vote), his irony in reference to his own admirers (such as when he asked two of them to treasure the photograph of himself in the middle and the two of them on either side, while comparing it to the crucifixion scene and implicitly assigning them the role of thieves), and his recourse to puns and proverbs which he usually claimed to be citing from oral tradition and the roots of Romanian humor. The latter habit was notably illustrated by his answer to people who would ask him for money: "not since I born was I as poor as I was poor yesterday and the day before yesterday and last week and last week and throughout life". His joyfulness complemented his overall Epicureanism and his gourmand habits: his accounts are often marked by a special interest in describing acts related to food and drink. Overall, Eduard Gruber's report contended, Creangă's writing relied on him being "a strong sensual and auditive type", and a "very emotional" person.
Ion Creangă's sense of humor was instrumental in forging the unprecedented characteristics of his work. American critic Ruth S. Lamb, the writer's style merges "the rich vocabulary of the Moldavian peasant" with "an original gaiety and gusto comparable to that of Rabelais." According to George Călinescu: "[Creangă] got the idea that he was a clever man, like all men of the people, and therefore used irony to make himself seem stupid." In Călinescu's view, the author's antics had earned him a status equivalent to that of his Wallachian Junimist counterpart Caragiale, with the exception that the latter found his inspiration in urban settings, matching "Nasreddinisms" with "Miticism". Z. Ornea sees the main protagonists in Creangă's comedic narratives as, in effect, "particularized incarnations of the same symbolic character", while the use of humor itself reflects the traditional mindset, "a survival through intelligence, that of a people with an old history, whose life experience has for centuries been concentrated into gestures and words."
Most prominent tales
Part of Ion Creangă's contribution to the short story, fantasy and children's literature genres involved collecting and transforming narratives circulating throughout his native region, which intertwine with his characteristic storytelling to the point where they become original contributions. According to Călinescu, the traditional praise for Ion Creangă as a creator of literary types is erroneous, since his characters primarily answered to ancient and linear narrative designs. The conclusion is partly shared by Braga, who links Creangă's tales to ethnological and anthropological takes on the themes and purposes of fairy tales, postulating the prevalence of three ancient and related narrative pretexts throughout his contributions: the preexistence of a "perturbing situation" (attributable to fatality), the plunging of the hero into a rite of passage-type challenge, a happy ending which brings the triumph of good over evil (often as a brutal and uncompromising act). Like their sources and predecessors in folklore, these accounts also carry transparent morals, ranging from the regulation of family life to meditations about destiny and lessons about tolerating the marginals. However, Swedish researcher Tom Sandqvist argues, they also illustrate the absurdist vein of some traditional narratives, by featuring "grotesqueries" and "illogical surprises".
With "The Goat and Her Three Kids", written mainly as a picturesque illustration of motherly love, Creangă produced a fable in prose, opposing the eponymous characters, caricatures of a garrulous but hard-working woman and her restless sons, to the sharp-toothed Big Bad Wolf, a satirical depiction of the cunning and immoral stranger. The plot shows the wolf making his way into the goat's house, where he eats the two older and less obedient kids, while the youngest one manages to escape by hiding up the chimney—the symbolism of which was psychoanalyzed by Dan Grădinaru, who claims it constitutes an allusion to Creangă's own childhood. The dénouement sees an inversion of the natural roles, an episode which, ethnologist Șerban Anghelescu notes, is dominated by "the culinary fire": the goat exercises her brutal revenge by trapping and slowly cooking the predator. This approach partly resonates with that of "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", in which Creangă makes ample use of a traditional theme in Romanian humor, which portrays mothers-in-law as mean, stingy and oppressive characters. The embodiment of such offensive traits, she is also shown to be ingenious, pretending that she has a hidden third eye which always keeps things under watch. The narrator sides with the three young women in depicting their violent retribution, showing them capturing their oppressor, torturing her until she is left speech impaired, and leaving her on the brink of death. The mother-in-law's end turns into a farce: the eldest and most intelligent of the killers manipulates her victim's dying sounds into a testament partitioning her wealth, and a thin decorum is maintained at the funeral ceremony by the daughters' hypocritical sobbing.
"The Story of the Pig" partly illustrates the notion that parental love subdues even physical repulsion, showing an elderly peasant couple cherishing their adopted porcine son, who, unbeknown to them, is enchanted. The creature instantly offsets his parents' sadness and immobility by his witty intelligence. Having applied his perseverance and spells to erect a magical bridge, the piglet fulfills the requirement for marrying the emperor's daughter, after which it is uncovered that he is a Făt-Frumos or Prince Charming character who assumes his real identity only by night. Although the plot is supposed to deal with imperial magnificence in fairy tale fashion, the setting is still primarily rural, and the court itself is made to look like an elevated peasant community. According to researcher Marcu Beza, the text is, outside of its humorous context, a distant reworking of ancient legends such as Cupid and Psyche. The story introduces three additional characters, old women who assess and reward the efforts of the virtuous: Holy Wednesday, Holy Friday and Holy Sunday. They represent a mix of Christian and pagan traditions, by being both personifications of the liturgical calendar and fairy-like patrons of the wilderness (zâne).
A similar perspective was favored by "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter". Here, the theme echoes Cinderella, but, according to Călinescu, the rural setting provides a sharp contrast to the classical motif. Persecuted by her stepmother and stepsister, the kind and loving daughter of the old man is forced into a position of servitude reflecting the plight of many peasant women in Creangă's lifetime. In this case, the old man is negatively depicted as cowardly and entirely dominated by his mean wife. The focal point of the narrative is the meeting between the good daughter and Holy Sunday. The latter notices and generously rewards the girl's helpful nature and mastery of cooking; in contrast, when her envious sister attempts the same and fails, she ends up being eaten by serpent-like creatures (balauri). The happy ending sees the good girl marrying not Prince Charming, but a simple man described as "kind and industrious"—this outcome, Călinescu assessed, did not in effect spare the old man's daughter from a life of intense labor. A story very similar to "The Old Man's Daughter ..." is "The Purse a' Tuppence", which teaches that greed can shatter families, while offering symbolic retribution to men who are unhappy in marriage. The old man's rooster, chased away by the old woman for being unproductive, ends up amassing a huge fortune, which he keeps inside his belly and regurgitates back into the courtyard; the jealous old woman ends up killing her favorite hen, who has failed in replicating the rooster's feat.
Devil-themed stories and "Harap Alb"
Several of Creangă's characteristic novellas are infused with themes from Christian mythology, fictionalizing God, Saint Peter and the army of devils, most often with the comedic intent of showing such personages behaving like regular people. A defining story in this series is "Dănilă Prepeleac", whose eponymous peasant hero is characterized by what Șerban Anghelescu calls "idiocy serving to initiate", or, according to Gabriela Ursachi, "complete, and therefore sublime, stupidity." The first part of the story shows Dănilă exchanging his oxen for an empty bag—a set of dialogues which, George Călinescu argued, is almost exactly like a comedy play. In what was described as a complete reversal in characterization, the hero uses intelligence and ruse to trick and frighten several devils. Contrarily, "Stan Pățitul" shows its hero fraternizing with a lesser demon. Following the opening episode, in which the latter accidentally eats a bit of mămăligă dedicated by Stan to those who honor God, Satan himself condemns his subordinate to service the peasant. Călinescu highlights the naturalness of exchanges between the two protagonists, the latter of whom assumes the endearing form of a frail boy, Chirică, who ends up moving in with Stan and entering his service. The writing was also noted for other realistic elements alluding to everyday life, such as the overtly colloquial exchange between Chirică and Satan, or the episodes in which the young devil helps Stan woo a peasant woman. Although relatively young, Stan himself is referred to as stătut ("frowzy" or "lacking in freshness"), and the wording reflects rural attitudes about men who fail to marry during a certain age interval. Toward the end, the story focuses on a corrupt old woman who tries to trick Stan's new wife into committing adultery, but fails and is banished to the remotest area of Hell. Viewed by Călinescu as Creangă's "most original manner of dealing with the fabulous", and paralleled by him with Caragiale's Kir Ianulea on account of its realist approach to the supernatural, "Stan Pățitul" is, according to Vianu, untraceable in its inspiration: "[its] folk origin could not be identified, but it is not dismissible".
Another account in this series is "Ivan Turbincă", whose protagonist, a Russian serviceman, is shown rebelling against Heaven and Hell, and ultimately accomplishing the human ideal of cheating Death. The plot retells a theme present in both Romanian tradition and Ukrainian folklore, while, according to researcher of children's literature Muguraș Constantinescu, the main character is similar to German tradition's Till Eulenspiegel. In the beginning of the account, God rewards the soldier's exemplary charity by granting him a pouch (turbincă), which can miraculously trap anything in existence. In order to circumvent the laws of nature, Ivan subsequently makes use of both his magical item and his innate shrewdness. In one such episode, pretending not to understand the proper position of bodies inside a coffin, he tricks impatient Death into taking his place, and traps her inside. Eventually, he is allowed to keep his life, but is promised an eternity of old age, which he ingeniously counterbalances by attending an endless succession of wedding parties, and therefore never having to feel sad.
"Harap Alb", one of Ion Creangă's most complex narratives, carries a moral defined by Călinescu as "the gifted man will earn a reputation under any guise." The story opens with a coming of age quest, handed down by a king to his three sons: the most fit among them is supposed to reach the court of the Green Emperor, who is the king's brother, and succeed him to the throne. According to Călinescu, the mission bases itself on travels undertaken by young men in Creangă's native region, while the subsequent episodes in the narrative reinforce the impression of familiarity, from the "peasant speech" adopted by the villain known as the Bald Man, to the "crass vulgarity" evidenced by the antagonist Red Emperor. Forced to pass himself off as a foreign servant (or "Moor"), the prince is three times tested and aided by Holy Sunday, who doubles as the queen of zâne creatures. Călinescu described as "playful realism" the method through which Creangă outlined the mannerisms of several other characters, in particular the allegorical creatures who provide the youngest prince with additional and serendipitous assistance. In one noted instance, the characters Setilă ("Drink-All") and Flămânzilă ("Eat-All") help the hero overcome seemingly impossible tasks set by the Red Emperor, by ingesting unnaturally huge amounts of food and drink.
The tale builds on intricate symbolism stemming from obscure sources. It features what Muguraș Constantinescu calls "the most complex representation of Holy Sunday", with mention of her isolated and heavenly abode on "flower island". A background antithesis opposes the two fictional monarchs, with the Red Emperor replicating an ancient tradition which attributes malignant characteristics to the color. By contrast, the Green Emperor probably illustrates the ideals of vitality and healthy lifestyle, as hinted by his culinary preference for "lettuce from the garden of the bear". Historian Adrian Majuru, building on earlier observations made by linguist Lazăr Șăineanu, also connects the servant-prince's antagonists with various reflections of ethnic strife in Romanian folklore: the Red Emperor as standing for the medieval Khazars ("Red Jews"), the Bald Man as a popular view of the Tatars.
Childhood Memories
Childhood Memories is, together with a short story about his teacher Isaia Teodorescu (titled "Popa Duhu"), one of Creangă's two memoirs. George Călinescu proposed that, like his fairy tales, the book illustrates popular narrative conventions, a matter accounting for their special place in literature: "The stories are true, but typical, without depth. Once retold with a different kind of gesticulation, the subject would lose all of its lively atmosphere." Also based on the techniques of traditional oral accounts, it features the topical interventions of a first-person narrator in the form of soliloquies, and reflects in part the literary canon set by frame stories. The resulting effect, Călinescu argued, was not that of "a confession or a diary", but that of a symbolic account depicting "the childhood of the universal child." According to Vianu, the text is especially illustrative of its author's "spontaneous passage" between the levels of "popular" and "cultured" literature: "The idea of fictionalizing oneself, of outlining one's formative steps, the steady accumulation of impressions from life, and then the sentiment of time, of its irreversible flow, of regret for all things lost in its consumption, of the charm relived through one's recollections are all thoughts, feelings and attitudes defining a modern man of culture. No popular model could have ever stood before Creangă when he was writing his Memories, but, surely, neither could the cultured prototypes of the genre, the first autobiographies and memoirs of the Renaissance". Grădinaru and essayist Mircea Moț analyzed the volume as a fundamentally sad text, in stated contrast with its common perception as a recollection of joyful moments: the former focused on moments which seem to depict Nică as a loner, the latter highlighted those sections which include Creangă's bitter musings about destiny and the impregnability of changes. A distinct interpretation was provided by critic Luminița Marcu, who reacted against the tradition of viewing Creangă's actual childhood as inseparable from his own subjective rendition.
Several of the book's episodes have drawn attention for the insight they offer into the culture, structure and conflicts of traditional society before 1900. Commenting on this characteristic, Djuvara asserted: "even if we take into account that the grown-up will embellish, transfigure, 'enrich' the memories of his childhood, how could we not recognize the sincerity in Creangă's heart-warming evocation of his childhood's village?" The book stays true to life in depicting ancient customs: discussing the impact of paganism on traditional Romanian customs, Marcu Beza communicated a detail of Creangă's account, which shows how January 1 celebrations of Saint Basil opposed the loud buhai players reenacting a fertility rite to people preferring a quieter celebration. The work also offers details on the traditional roles of a rural society such as that of Humulești, in the context of social change. Muguraș Constantinescu highlights the important roles of old men and women within Nică's universe, and especially that of his grandfather and "clan leader" David Creangă. The latter, she notes, is an "enlightened man" displaying "the wisdom and balance of the ripe age", a person able to insist on the importance of education, and a churchgoer who frowns on "his wife's bigotry." The seniors' regulatory role within the village is evidenced throughout the book, notoriously so in the episode where the boy captures a hoopoe who bothers his morning sleep, only to be tricked into releasing it by old man, who understands the bird's vital role as village alarm clock.
Another significant part of the account, detailing Creangă's education, shows him frustrated by the old methods of teaching, insisting on the absurd image of children learning by heart and chanting elements of Romanian grammar and even whole texts. The narrator refers to this method as "a terrible way to stultify the mind". The negative portrayal of teaching priests was commented by writer and critic Horia Gârbea as proof of the author's anticlericalism, in line with various satirical works targeting the Romanian clergy: "Creangă's Memories of the catechism school would discourage any candidate."
Didactic writings
Creangă's contribution to literature also covers a series of didactic fables written as lively dialogues, among them "The Needle and the Sledge Hammer", in which the objects of traditional metalworking scold the byproducts of their work for having forgotten their lowly origin. The inspiration behind this theme was identified by Călinescu as "The Story of a Gold Coin", written earlier by Creangă's Junimist colleague Vasile Alecsandri. A similar piece, "The Flax and the Shirt", reveals the circuit of fibers from weed-like plants into recycled cloth, leading to the conclusion that "all things are not what they seem; they were something else once, they are something else now;—and shall become something else." The technique employed by Creangă has the flax plant teaching the less knowledgeable textile, a dialogue which Călinescu likened to that between old women in a traditional society. Included alongside the two stories were: Pâcală, a writing which, Mircea Braga argued, is not as much didactic as it is a study in dialogue; "The Bear Tricked by the Fox", which uses legendary and humorous elements in an attempt to explain why bears are the tail-less species among mammals; and Cinci pâini ("Five Loafs of Bread"), which serves as a condemnation of greed.
With "Human Stupidity", Creangă builds a fable about incompetence in its absolute forms. The story centers on a peasant's quest to find people who are less rational than his wife, having been infuriated by her panic at the remote possibility that a ball of salt could fall from its place of storage and kill their baby. This, essayist and chronicler Simona Vasilache argues, highlights "a family-based division" of illogical behavior, in which women are depicted as the main propagators of both "astonishing nonsense" and "prudent stupidity". Instead, literary critic Ion Pecie identified inside the narrative a meditation on "the link between spirit and nature", with the unpredictable ball of salt representing the equivalent of a "sphinx". His colleague Gheorghe Grigurcu argued that such conclusions "may seem excessive", but that they were ultimately validated by the literary work being "a plurality of levels". A similar piece is the prose fable "The Story of a Lazy Man": fed up with the protagonist's proverbial indolence, which has led him as far as to view chewing food as an effort, his fellow villagers organize a lynching. This upsets the sensibility of a noblewoman who happens to witness the incident. When she offers to take the lazy man into her care and feed him bread crumbs, he seals his own fate by asking: "But are your bread crumbs soft?" The peculiar effect of this moral is underlined by Anghelescu: "The lazy man dies as a martyr of his own immobility." Braga interpreted the story as evidence of "the primacy of ethics" over social aspects in the local tradition. Ion Pecie saw in the story proof of Creangă's own support for capital punishment with a preventive or didactic purpose, even in cases were the fault was trivial or imagined, concluding: "Here, ... Creangă loses much of his depth." Pecie's conclusion was treated with reserve by Grigurcu, who believed that, instead, the narrator refrains from passing any judgment on "the community's instinctual eugenic reaction".
Partly didactic in scope, several of Creangă's anecdotes involve Ion Roată, a representative to the ad hoc Divan which voted in favor of Moldo-Wallachian union, and the newly elected Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The texts convey a sense of tension between the traditional boyar aristocracy and the peasant category, closely reflecting, according to historian Philip Longworth, a conflict mounting during the second half of the 19th century. The same is argued by Ornea, who also proposes that the protagonist offers insight into Creangă's own conservative reflexes and his complex views on the union, while outlining several connections which the brand of social criticism professed by Junimea. Although Roată, a real-life person, was a representative of the pro-union National Party, his main interest, according to the stories themselves, was in curbing the boyars' infringement of peasant rights. The stories' narrator directs his hostility not at boyars in general, but at the younger Romantic nationalist ones, whom he portrays as gambling on Moldavia's future: "[There was] a clash of ideas opposing old boyars to the youth of Moldavia's ad hoc Divan, even though both were in favor of 'Union'. It's only that the old ones wanted a negotiated 'Union', and the young ones a 'Union' done without proper thinking, as it came to pass." According to Muguraș Constantinescu: "[Roată] opposes the intelligence of common folk, their common sense, their humor and the pleasure of allegorical discourse to the pompous and hollow speeches of some politicians". In this context, Cuza's presence is depicted as both legitimate and serendipitous, as he takes a personal interest in curbing boyar abuse.
Moș Nichifor Coțcariul and "corrosives"
Seen by Romanian critic Radu Voinescu as an extended anecdote, the novella Moș Nichifor Coțcariul ("Old Man Nichifor Slyboots") establishes a connection with the language of fairy tales, being located in a legendary and non-historical age. It details the elaborate seduction of a young Jewish bride by a worldly Moldavian wagoner, on the route between Târgu Neamț and Piatra. The episode, which the text itself indicates is just one in a series of Nichifor's conquests among his female clients, highlights the seducer's verbose monologue, which covers accounts of his unhappy marriage, allusions about the naturalness of physical love, and intimidating suggestions that wolves may be tempted to attack the wagon (prompting the young woman to seek refuge in his arms). The seducer's behavior, Constantinescu notes, presents an alternative to the theme of old age as a time of immobility: "the still-green old man, the rake, the joker who enjoys his amorous escapades, while justifying them by the natural course of life". Nichifor mostly expresses himself with the help of folk sayings, which he casually mixes in with personal observations about the situation. The background to the plot is a record of various superstitions, some anticlerical or antisemitic: Nichifor voices the belief that priests crossing one's path will produce bad luck, as well as the claim that Jewish apothecaries sold "poisons".
The reception of Moș Nichifor Coțcariul by Junimea illustrated its ambivalence toward Creangă. Maiorescu found the text "interesting in its way and decisively Romanian", but asked Convorbiri Literare journal to either modify it or refrain from publishing it altogether. This was complemented by its author's own self-effacing assessment: calling the text "a childish thing", he suggested to Maiorescu that revisions were needed, stating "I have written it long, because there was no time for me to write it short." Contrarily, the writer's posterity referred to it as one of the greatest Romanian contributions to the genre: according to George Călinescu, the insight into Nichifor's musings resulted in transforming the writing as a whole into "the first great Romanian novella with a stereotypical hero", while Voinescu described the entire story as "a true masterpiece."
The narrative approaches of Moș Nichifor Coțcariul bordered on Creangă's contributions to erotic literature, pieces collectively known as "corrosives" and which have for long treated with discretion by literary historians. In Călinescu's view, this chapter in Creangă's literature created another link between the Moldavian writer and the Renaissance tradition of Rabelais: "All Rabelaisians have penetrated deeply into the realm of vulgarity." The taste for titillating accounts was also cultivated by Junimea members, who discreetly signaled their wish to hear more explicit content by asking Creangă to recount stories from "the wide street". A product of this context, Moș Nichifor Coțcariul itself is said to have had at least one sexually explicit variant, circulated orally.
Two stories with explicit pornographic content survive as samples of Creangă's erotic authorship: "The Tale of Ionică the Fool" and "The Tale of All Tales" (also known as Povestea pulei, "Tale of the Dick" or "Tale of the Cock"). The former shows its cunning hero having intercourse with a priest's daughter, moving between prose and verse to describe the act. "The Tale of All Tales", which makes ample use of vulgar speech, recounts how a peasant disrespectful of divinity has his entire maize harvest transformed into male genitalia, but is able to turn out a profit by catering to the sexual appetites of women. The final section, seen by Gârbea as a sample of anticlerical jeers recorded by "the defrocked Creangă", depicts the rape of a priest by one such sexual object. Although explicit, literary historian Alex. Ștefănescu argued, the text "is refined and full of charm". While acknowledging both "corrosives" for their "popular charm" in the line of Rabelais and Geoffrey Chaucer, and noting that they still display the author's place as a "great stylist", Voinescu also signaled the texts' "very obvious" debt to folkloric sources. In his definition, Ion Creangă is "possibly the only writer" to draw on the legacy of "luscious popular jests" found in local "erotic folklore". Nevertheless, according to literary critic Mircea Iorgulescu, "The Tale of All Tales" may in fact be based on Parapilla, a pornographic leaflet circulating in Italian and French.
Legacy
Estate, family and early cultural impact
Soon after the Creangă's death, efforts began to collect his manuscript writings and the updated versions of his printed works. This project involved his son Constantin, alongside A. D. Xenopol, Grigore Alexandrescu and Eduard Gruber, the latter of whom obtained the works from Tinca Vartic. The first edition was published as two volumes, in 1890–1892, but the project came to an abrupt halt due to Gruber's insanity and death. Creangă's final known work, the fragment of Făt-frumos, fiul iepei, was published by Convorbiri Literare in 1898. The Gruber copies were sold to a Dr. Mendel, and only a part of them was recovered by exegetes, alongside various fragments accidentally discovered at Iași market, where they were being used for wrapping paper. The collection, structured into a whole by folklorist Gheorghe T. Kirileanu, was published by Editura Minerva in 1902 and 1906. In addition to being mentioned in the memoirs of several prominent Junimists, Creangă had his political career fictionalized and satirized by Iacob Negruzzi, who transformed him, as Popa Smântână, into a character of his satirical poems Electorale ("Electorals"). The same author referred to his counterpart in one of his epigrams.
Shortly after her lover's death, Tinca Vartic married a man who lived in the same part of Iași. The target of organized tourism from as early as 1890, the Iași Bojdeuca nevertheless fell into disrepair. It was eventually purchased by an "Ion Creangă Committee", whose members included Constantin Creangă, Kirileanu and the ultra-nationalist politician A. C. Cuza. It was set up as the first of Romania's "memorial houses" on April 15, 1918. Restored the same year and again in 1933–1934, it houses an important part of Creangă's personal items and the first known among Creangă's portraits, painted by his contemporary V. Mușnețanu. While Constantin Creangă had a successful career in the Romanian Army, one of the writer's two grandsons, Horia Creangă, became one of the celebrated modern architects of the interwar period, earning his reputation by redesigning much of downtown Bucharest.
The popularity of Ion Creangă's accounts outside his regional and dialectal context, together with his own contribution as an educator, played a part in the evolution of standard Romanian, at a new phase in which many dialectal variations were incorporated into the spoken language. His primers Metodă nouă ... and Învățătoriul copiilor went through many editions during the late 19th century. The impact of his works was also a contributing factor to preserving a noted interest in rural subjects, a subsequent defining trait in modern Romanian literature. Discussing "stylistic harmony", which he believed to be bridging all of Romania's social and literary environments, philosopher Mircea Eliade wrote: "Romanians consider Ion Creangă a classic writer belonging to the modern age. His work can be read and understood by the entire range of social classes, in all the provinces of our country. In spite of the abundant presence of Moldavian words in his writings, the work would not remain a stranger to its readers. What other European culture can take pride in having a classic writer read by all categories of readers?" The "thematic grip of the village" was noted by American academic Harold Segel, who investigated its impact on "some of the most revered names in the history of Romanian literature", from Creangă and Slavici to interwar novelist Liviu Rebreanu.
Early 20th century and interwar echoes
A more thorough evaluation of Creangă's literature began after 1900. At the time, it became a topic of interest to the emerging traditionalist and populist trend, illustrated by the two venues rivaling Junimea: the right-wing Sămănătorul, led by Nicolae Iorga, and the left-wing Poporanists, among which was Garabet Ibrăileanu. The new editions of his works enlisted the collaboration of Sămănătorist intellectuals Ilarie Chendi and Ștefan Octavian Iosif. Tudor Vianu however noted that, unlike Eminescu's outlook, Creangă's "authentic ruralism" did not complement the "spiritual complications", global social class perspective and intellectual background associated with these trends, making Creangă "the least Sămănătorist among our writers." According to Ornea, Creangă has "nothing in common" with the Sămănătorul ideology in particular: while the group shared his nostalgic outlook on the rural past in stark contrast to the modernized world, the Moldavian author could "maintain, intelligently, the middle ground between contraries". Likewise, Mircea Braga reacted against the perception of Creangă as announcing a "series" of authors, noting that, for all imitation, he was "an exceptional and, as far as Romanian literary history goes, unique creator."
Directly influenced by Creangă, several early 20th century and interwar authors within the new traditionalist trend explicitly stood for the legacy of folkloric, spontaneous and unskilled literature: the peasant writer I. Dragoslav, whose memoirs borrow stylistic elements from Creangă's accounts; Constantin Sandu-Aldea, an agriculturalist by profession, who took inspiration from his techniques of rendering dialogue; and Ion Iovescu, whom the Sburătorul literary circle acclaimed as "a new Creangă", and who made ample use of a modernized Muntenian dialect. Similarly, the Aromanian activist and author Nicolae Constantin Batzaria, who divided his career between Romania and the southern Balkans, combined Creangă's storytelling techniques with the traditions of Turkish literature, while the reworking of regional folklore themes earned intellectual Constantin S. Nicolăescu-Plopșor a reputation as "the Oltenian Creangă". During the 1910s, folklorist Tudor Pamfile published a specialized magazine named Ion Creangă in honor of the writer. Creangă's various works also provided starting points for several other writers of diverse backgrounds. They included representatives of the Symbolist movement, such as Victor Eftimiu, who was inspired by Creangă's narrative style in writing his fantasy and verse play Înșir'te mărgărite. Another such author was poet Elena Farago, whose didactic children's story Într-un cuib de rândunică ("Inside a Swallow's Nest") borrows from "The Flax and the Shirt".
With the interwar period and the spread of modernist literature, a new generation of critics, most notably George Călinescu and Vladimir Streinu, dedicated important segments of their activity to the works of Ion Creangă. Other such figures were Șerban Cioculescu, whose contribution attempts to elucidate the more mysterious parts of the writer's vocabulary, and educator Dumitru Furtună, whose biographical studies provided a main source for subsequent research. By then, interest in Creangă's life and writings had diversified. This phenomenon first touched Romanian theater when I. I. Mironescu dramatized a section of Creangă's Memories as Catiheții de la Humulești ("The Catechists from Humulești")—a literary contribution judged "superfluous" by George Călinescu, who noted that the original was already "dramatic" in style. The writer's stories also became an inspiration for Alfred Mendelsohn and Alexandru Zirra, two Romanian composers who worked in children's musical theater, who adapted, respectively, "Harap Alb" and "The Goat and Her Three Kids". Creangă was also a secondary presence in Mite and Bălăuca, two biographical novels centered on Eminescu's amorous life, written by the prominent interwar critic Eugen Lovinescu, to whom Călinescu reproached having largely ignored Creangă in his nonfictional texts. Creangă's writings also earned followers among the more radical wing of the modernist scene. The authenticity and originality of Creangă's prose were highlighted and treasured by the influential modernist venue Contimporanul, in particular by its literary chroniclers Ion Vinea and Benjamin Fondane. Likewise, while formally affiliating with Surrealism, the avant-garde author Ion Călugăru contributed various prose works which borrow some of Creangă's storytelling techniques to depict the lives of Jewish Romanian communities from Moldavia.
In stages after World War I, the 19th century writer became better known to an international audience. This process produced translations into English, some of which, Călinescu argued, reached significant popularity among British readers of Romanian literature. In contrast, writer Paul Bailey assessed that the variants used antiquated words and "sounded terrible" in English. Among the series of early English-language versions was a 1920 edition of Creangă's Memories, translated by Lucy Byng and published by Marcu Beza. It was also during the interwar that Jean Boutière published the first-ever French-language monograph on the Romanian writer, originally as a Ph.D. thesis for the University of Paris.
While their author continued to receive praise for his main contributions, the erotic tales were most often kept hidden from the public eye. George Călinescu summarized this contrast by stating: "The 'corrosives' left by Creangă are not known publicly." An exception to this rule was Kirileanu's Creangă reader of 1938, published by Editura Fundațiilor Regale as the first critical edition of his entire literature. According to critic Adrian Solomon, the Romanian tradition of silencing obscene language and sexually explicit literature through censorship made "The Tale of All Tales" circulate "rather like a samizdat", which left writers with "no solid tradition to draw on, and precious little chance to evade ... the vigilant morals of a straitlaced public." The nationalist aspects of Ion Creangă's public discourse were however approved of and recovered by the far right of the 1920s and '30s. High-ranking Orthodox cleric Tit Simedrea referred to Creangă as a predecessor when, in 1937, he urged his congregation to refrain from purchasing merchandise sold by Jews (a measure which he believed was a practical alternative to the Jews' forced eviction). In 1939, as part of a press campaign targeting Călinescu's work, the fascist journal Porunca Vremii accused the literary historian of having exposed Creangă's biography for the sake of compromising the "genial Moldavian" by turning him into "an unfrocked epileptic and a drunk."
Creangă inspired a 1920 painting by Octav Băncilă, which shows Creangă listening to Eminescu reading his poems. Two busts of the author were erected in Iași, respectively at his grave site and, in 1932, the gardens of Copou neighborhood. After 1943, another such piece was unveiled in Bucharest's Cișmigiu Gardens, as part of Rotunda Scriitorilor monument.
Under communism
During Romania's restrictive communist period, which lasted between 1948 and 1989, the critical evaluation of Ion Creangă's work went through several periods, complementing political developments. Throughout the first part of this interval, when socialist realism was politically imposed on Romanian letters, Creangă was spared the posthumous censorship which affected several other classical writers (see Censorship in Communist Romania). His work was officially praised for its aesthetic qualities, but its association with the condemned Junimea was omitted from critical commentary, and readers were instead referred to Creangă as a realist critical of bourgeois society. In 1948, the new authorities granted him posthumous membership in the Romanian Academy. The following year, at the height of Soviet occupation, official critic Barbu Lăzăreanu controversially described Creangă as a writer indebted to Russian folklore.
By the second half of communist rule, several new approaches in the critical assessment of Creangă's literature were emerging. His work became a main topic of critical interest and the sole subject of many works, to the point where Nicolae Manolescu assessed that "everything has been said about Creangă". Within this exegetic phenomenon, an original interpretation of his stories from an esoteric perspective was written by philosopher Vasile Lovinescu as Creangă și Creanga de aur ("Creangă and the Golden Bough"). During the final two decades of communism, under Nicolae Ceaușescu, the recovery of nationalist discourse into official dogma also encouraged the birth of protochronism. In one of its aspects, theorized by cultural historian Edgar Papu, this approach controversially reevaluated various Romanian writers, Creangă included, presenting them as figures who anticipated most developments on the world stage. Papu's own conclusion about "Harap Alb", outlined in a 1983 volume, depicted Creangă as a direct predecessor of Italian semiotician Umberto Eco and his celebrated volume The Open Work—a conclusion which literary historian Florin Mihăilescu has seen as proof of Papu's "exegetic obsession", lacking in "sense of humor, not just sense of reality." One of Papu's disciples, national communist ideologue Dan Zamfirescu, claimed that Creangă was equal to, or even more important than world classics Homer, William Shakespeare and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, while asserting that the eponymous protagonist of "Ivan Turbincă" stands as "the character who dominates world history in our century". Left outside the scope of this critical interest, the "corrosives" were left out of new Creangă readers (such as Iorgu Iordan's 1970 edition), being, according to a 1976 essay by scholar George Munteanu, "still unpublishable" for lack of "a general level of aesthetic education" among Romanians.
A second museum entirely dedicated to the writer was opened at his Târgu Neamț home in 1951, and donated to the state by his successors in 1965. During the following decades, it reportedly became the most visited memorial house in Romania. The authorities also financed a new cultural center, raised in the immediate vicinity of Bojdeuca during 1984–1989. In 1965, the Ion Creangă Children's Theater, a state-run institution, was founded in Bucharest, and its subsequent activity included staging several of the writer's fairy tales for a junior public. Among such contributions were two adaptation of "Harap Alb", directed respectively by Ion Lucian and Zoe Anghel Stanca. In 1983, Timișoara-based author Șerban Foarță also completed work on a stage version of "Ivan Turbincă".
A new publishing house, Editura Ion Creangă, was created as a main publisher of children's literature, and its output included editions of Creangă's own works. The new editions were illustrated by several visual artists of note, among them Corneliu Baba, Eugen Taru and Lívia Rusz, while "Harap Alb" became a project of comic book artist Sandu Florea, earning him a Eurocon prize. A major project of the time involved Creangă translations into other languages, including Hungarian (a celebrated contribution by Hungarian-Romanian author András Sütő). During the same epoch, Creangă and his stories first became sources of inspiration for the Romanian film industry. Among the first were two contributions of filmmaker Elisabeta Bostan, both released in the early 1960s and based on the Memories: Amintiri din copilărie (starring child actor Ion Bocancea as the young Nică and Ștefan Ciubotărașu as the grown-up narrator), and Pupăza din tei (focusing on the hoopoe story). In 1965, celebrated Romanian director Ion Popescu-Gopo released De-aș fi Harap Alb, a loose adaptation of "Harap Alb", starring Florin Piersic in the title role. Popescu-Gopo also directed the 1976 film Povestea dragostei, which was based on "The Story of the Pig" and the 1985 film "Ramasagul" which was based on "The Bag with 2 Coins". The series also includes Nicolae Mărgineanu's biographical film of 1989, Un bulgăre de humă, focuses on the friendship between Creangă (played by Dorel Vișan) and Eminescu (Adrian Pintea).
The legacy of Ion Creangă was also tangible in the Soviet Union, and especially in the Moldavian SSR (which, as the larger section of Bessarabia, had been part of interwar Greater Romania, and later became independent Moldova). Initially, his writings, titled Moldavian Stories, formed part of the Soviet curriculum in the Moldavian Autonomous Region (Transnistria). Following the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia, Creangă was one of the Romanian-language writers whose works were still allowed for publishing by the new authorities. This provided local contributors to Romanian literature contact with older cultural models, directly inspiring the experimental or Postmodern prose pieces by Vlad Ioviță and Leo Butnaru. The endorsement of Creangă's public image within the Moldavian SSR was also reflected in art: in 1958, the writer's bust, the work of sculptor Lev Averbruh, was assigned to the Alley of Classics in Chișinău. His works were illustrated by one of the Moldavian SSR's leading visual artists, Igor Vieru, who also painted a portrait of the author. In 1967, Ioviță and filmmaker Gheorghe Vodă released Se caută un paznic: an adaptation of "Ivan Turbincă" and one of the successful samples of early Moldovan cinema, it was also noted for the musical score, composed by Eugen Doga. Also during that period, "The Goat ..." and "The Purse a' Tuppence" were made into animated shorts (directed by Anton Mater and Constantin Condrea). In 1978, an operatic version of "The Goat and Her Three Kids" was created by composer Zlata Tkach, based on a libretto by Grigore Vieru.
After 1989
The 1989 Revolution, which signaled the end of communism, closely preceded the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Renewed Moldova–Romania relations, and moves toward potential reunification, were consecrated by 1990 events such as the "Bridge of Flowers". The latter tour saw Moldovan politicians and cultural delegates demanding, and obtaining, that they be allowed to visit Bojdeuca. In 1993, answering a petition signed by a group of cultural personalities from Iași, Metropolitan Daniel (the future Patriarch of All Romania) signed a decision to posthumously revert the decision to exclude Ion Creangă from among the Moldavian clergy. The public polled during a 2006 program produced by the Romanian Television nominated Creangă 43rd among the 100 greatest Romanians. New monuments honoring the writer include a bust unveiled in Târgu Neamț, the work of sculptor Ovidiu Ciobotaru. The patrimony associated with Creangă's life has also sparked debates: local authorities in Târgu Neamț were criticized for not maintaining the site near his house in its best condition, while the Fălticeni where he once lived was controversially put up for sale by its private owners in 2009, at a time when city hall could not exercise its pre-emption right.
Creangă's work was also subject to rediscovery and reevaluation. This implied the publishing of his "corrosives", most notably in a 1998 edition titled Povestea poveștilor generației '80 ("The Tale of the Tales of the 80s Generation"). Edited by Dan Petrescu and Luca Pițu, it featured a Postmodern reworking of Povestea poveștilor by Mircea Nedelciu, a leading theorist of the Optzeciști writers. A trilingual edition of Creangă's original text was published in 2006 as a Humanitas project, with illustrations made for the occasion by graphic artist Ioan Iacob. The book included versions of the text in English (the work of Alistair Ian Blyth) and French (translated by Marie-France Ionesco, the daughter of playwright Eugène Ionesco), both of which were noted for resorting exclusively to antiquated slang. In 2004, another one of Creangă's stories was subjected to a Postmodern interpretation, with Stelian Țurlea's novel Relatare despre Harap Alb ("A Report about Harap Alb"). In 2009, Țurlea followed up with a version of "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter"; a year later, his colleague Horia Gârbea published a personal take on "The Story of a Lazy Man". Ion Creangă's own didactic tales have remained a presence in the Romanian curriculum after 2000, particularly in areas of education targeting the youngest students.
New films based on Creangă's writings include, among others, Mircea Daneliuc's Tusea și junghiul of 1992 (an adaptation of "The Old Man's Daughter ...") and Tudor Tătaru's Moldovan-Romanian co-production Dănilă Prepeleac (1996). There were also several post-1989 theatrical adaptations of Ion Creangă's texts, contributed by various Romanian dramaturges. Some of these are Cornel Todea's variant of "Harap Alb" (with music by Nicu Alifantis), Cristian Pepino's take on "The Goat and Her Three Kids", Mihai Mălaimare's Prostia omenească (from "Human Stupidity") and Gheorghe Hibovski's Povestea poveștilor, a fringe theater show using both Creangă's original and Nedelciu's text.
Creangă's name was assigned to several education institutions, among them Bucharest's Ion Creangă National College, and to an annual prize granted by the Romanian Academy. There is an Ion Creangă commune, in Neamț County, and streets or squares were also named in the writer's honor in cities throughout Romania: Târgu Neamț, Iași, Fălticeni, Bucharest, Arad, Brăila, Brașov, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Oradea, Ploiești, Sibiu, Suceava, Târgu Mureș, Tecuci, Timișoara, Tulcea, etc. A quarter in northern Bucharest, near Colentina, is also named Ion Creangă. Creangă's name was assigned to several landmarks and institutions in post-Soviet Moldova. Among them is the Ion Creangă Pedagogical State University, founded on the basis of Chișinău's normal school.
Notes
References
Marcu Beza, Paganism in Roumanian Folklore, Swedenborg Press, New York, 2007.
Lucian Boia, History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness, Central European University Press, Budapest, 2001.
Mircea Braga, postface and bibliography to Ion Creangă, Povești și povestiri, Editura Minerva, 1987, p. 199–220.
George Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române de la origini pînă în prezent, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1986
Paul Cernat, Avangarda românească și complexul periferiei: primul val, Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2007.
Muguraș Constantinescu, "Figures et représentations du vieillir et de la vieillesse dans les contes de Ion Creangă", in Alain Montandon (ed.), Figures du vieillir, Presses Universitaires Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, 2005, p. 59–71.
Neagu Djuvara, Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne, Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995.
Horia Gârbea, Trecute vieți de fanți și de birlici, Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2008.
Ruth S. Lamb, "Romanian Drama", in Stanley Hochman (ed.), The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama. Vol. 4: O-S, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1984, p. 239–252.
Carmen-Maria Mecu, Nicolae Mecu, "Paradigms of Junimea in Education for a Civil Society", in Magdalena Dumitrana (ed.), Romania: Cultural Identity and Education for Civil Society. Romanian Philosophical Studies, V. Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change, Series IVA, Eastern and Central Europe, Volume 24, Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, Washington, 2004, p. 181–193.
Florin Mihăilescu, De la proletcultism la postmodernism, Editura Pontica, Constanța, 2002.
Lucian Nastasă, Intelectualii și promovarea socială (pentru o morfologie a câmpului universitar), Editura Nereamia Napocae, Cluj-Napoca, 2002; e-book version at the Romanian Academy's George Bariț Institute of History
Andrei Oișteanu, Inventing the Jew. Antisemitic Stereotypes in Romanian and Other Central East-European Cultures, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 2009.
Z. Ornea,
Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească, Editura Fundației Culturale Române, Bucharest, 1995.
Junimea și junimismul, Vol. II, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1998.
Tudor Vianu, Scriitori români, Vol. I-III, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1970–1971.
Radu Voinescu, "Romanian Erotic Literature", in Gaëtan Brulotte, John Phillips (eds.), Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature, Routledge, New York & Abingdon, p. 1127–1131.
External links
translations in the Romanian Cultural Institute's Plural Magazine (various issues): "Danillo Nonsuch" ("Dănilă Prepeleac"), Childhood Memories (excerpt), "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", Childhood Memories (excerpt), "The Purse a' Tuppence", "The Tale of All Tales", "The Tale of Ionică the Fool"
Roumanian Stories. Translated by Lucy Byng, at the University of Washington's DXARTS/CARTAH Electronic Text Archive
"The Story of the Pig". Hog Bridegrooms (tales of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 441 in which a beautiful maiden is forced to marry a hog or a hedgehog), University of Pittsburgh, Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts edited and/or translated by D. L. Ashliman
1837 births
1889 deaths
People from Târgu Neamț
People of the Principality of Moldavia
Romanian Orthodox priests
Free and Independent Faction politicians
Romanian children's writers
Romanian collectors of fairy tales
Romanian erotica writers
Romanian fantasy writers
Romanian folklorists
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19th-century Romanian poets
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Censorship in Romania
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Members of the Romanian Academy elected posthumously
19th-century memoirists | true | [
"Societatea Academică Junimea (Romanian for \"Junimea Academic Society\") was a society (Studentenverbindung) for Romanian students in the Austro-Hungarian city of Czernowitz, located in the Bukovina region of Cisleithania. The city was called Cernăuți after the region united with Romania in 1918, and today is Cher... | [
"Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romanian literature, he is best known for his Childhood Memories volume, his novellas and... |
[
"Ion Creangă",
"Junimea reception",
"When was the Junimea reception",
"The exact date of his reception is a mystery.",
"Who else was involved in the Junimea reception?",
"Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp."
] | C_c81777bed23f4fd3a49716508c674479_0 | What did Maiorescu do in the reception? | 3 | What did Maiorescu do in the Junimea reception? | Ion Creangă | At around the same time, Creanga also began attending Junimea, an upper class literary club presided upon by Maiorescu, whose cultural and political prestige was increasing. This event, literary historian Z. Ornea argued, followed a time of indecision: as a former Factionalist, Creanga was a natural adversary of the mainstream Junimist "cosmopolitan orientation", represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was still fundamentally committed to Maiorescu's agenda in the field of education. Literary historians Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu also argue that, after attending Junimea, the author was able to assimilate some of its innovative teachings into his own style of pedagogy, and thus helped diffuse its message outside the purely academic environment. The exact date of his reception is a mystery. According to Maiorescu's own recollections, written some decades after the event, Creanga was in attendance at a Junimea meeting of 1871, during which Gheorghe Costaforu proposed to transform the club into a political party. The information was considered dubious by Z. Ornea, who argued that the episode may have been entirely invented by the Junimist leader, and noted that it contradicted both Negruzzi's accounts and minutes kept by A. D. Xenopol. According to Ornea's assessment, with the exception of literary critic Vladimir Streinu, all of Creanga's biographers have come to dismiss Maiorescu's statement. Several sources mention that the future writer was introduced to the society by Eminescu, who was an active member around 1875. This and other details lead Ornea to conclude that membership was granted to Creanga only after the summer break of 1875. Gradually or instantly, Creanga made a positive impression by confirming with the Junimist ideal of authenticity. He also became treasured for his talkative and jocular nature, self-effacing references to himself as a "peasant", and eventually his debut works, which became subjects of his own public readings. His storytelling soon earned him dedicated spectators, who deemed Creanga's fictional universe a "sack of wonders" at a time when the author himself had started casually using the pseudonym Ioan Vantura-Tara ("Ioan Gadabout"). Although still in his forties, the newcomer was also becoming colloquially known to his colleagues as Mos Creanga ("Old Man Creanga" or "Father Creanga"), which was a sign of respect and sympathy. Among Ion Creanga's most dedicated promoters were Eminescu, his former political rival Iacob Negruzzi, Alexandru Lambrior and Vasile Pogor, as well as the so-called caracuda (roughly, "small game") section, which comprised Junimists who rarely took the floor during public debates, and who were avid listeners of his literary productions (it was to this latter gathering that Creanga later dedicated his erotic texts). In parallel to his diversified literary contribution, the former priest himself became a noted voice in Junimist politics, and, like his new friend Eminescu, voiced support for the group's nationalist faction, in disagreement with the more cosmopolitan and aristocratic segment led by Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp. By that the late 1870s, he was secretly redirecting political support from the former Factionalists to his new colleagues, as confirmed by an encrypted letter he addressed to Negruzzi in March 1877. CANNOTANSWER | represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was still fundamentally committed to Maiorescu's agenda in the field of education. | Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romanian literature, he is best known for his Childhood Memories volume, his novellas and short stories, and his many anecdotes. Creangă's main contribution to fantasy and children's literature includes narratives structured around eponymous protagonists ("Harap Alb", "Ivan Turbincă", "Dănilă Prepeleac", "Stan Pățitul"), as well as fairy tales indebted to conventional forms ("The Story of the Pig", "The Goat and Her Three Kids", "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter"). Widely seen as masterpieces of the Romanian language and local humor, his writings occupy the middle ground between a collection of folkloric sources and an original contribution to a literary realism of rural inspiration. They are accompanied by a set of contributions to erotic literature, collectively known as his "corrosives".
A defrocked Romanian Orthodox priest with an unconventional lifestyle, Creangă made an early impact as an innovative educator and textbook author, while pursuing a short career in nationalist politics with the Free and Independent Faction. His literary debut came late in life, closely following the start of his close friendship with Romania's national poet Mihai Eminescu and their common affiliation with the influential conservative literary society Junimea. Although viewed with reserve by many of his colleagues there, and primarily appreciated for his records of oral tradition, Creangă helped propagate the group's cultural guidelines in an accessible form. Later critics have often described him, alongside Eminescu, Ion Luca Caragiale and Ioan Slavici, as one of the most accomplished representatives of Junimist literature.
Ion Creangă was posthumously granted several honors, and is commemorated by a number of institutions in both Romania and neighboring Moldova. These include the Bojdeuca building in Iași, which, in 1918, was opened as the first memorial house in Romania. His direct descendants include Horia Creangă, one of the leading Romanian architects during the interwar period.
Biography
Background and family
Ion Creangă was born in Humulești in the Principality of Moldavia, a former village which has since been incorporated into Târgu Neamț city, the son of Orthodox trader Ștefan sin Petre Ciubotariul and his wife Smaranda. His native area, bordering on heavily forested areas, was in the Eastern Carpathian foothills, and included into what was then the Principality of Moldavia. The surrounding region's population preserved an archaic way of life, dominated by shepherding, textile manufacturing and related occupations, and noted for preserving the older forms of local folklore. Another characteristic of the area, which left an impression on Creangă's family history, was related to the practice of transhumance and the links between ethnic Romanian communities on both sides of the mountains, in Moldavia and Transylvania: on his maternal side, the writer descended from Maramureș-born peasants, while, according to literary historian George Călinescu, his father's origin may have been further southwest, in Transylvania-proper.
The family had reached a significant position within their community: Ștefan sin Petre had made a steady income from his itinerant trade in wool, while his wife was the descendant of the Creangăs of Pipirig, a family of community leaders. The latter's members included Moldavian Metropolitan Iacob Stamati, as well as Smaranda's father, Vornic David, and her uncle Ciubuc Clopotarul, a monk at Neamț Monastery. Proud of this tradition, it was her who insisted for her son to pursue a career in the Church. According to his own recollection, the future writer was born on March 1, 1837—a date which has since been challenged. Creangă's other statements mention March 2, 1837, or an unknown date in 1836. The exactitude of other accounts is equally unreliable: community registers from the period gave the date of June 10, 1839, and mention another child of the same name being born to his parents on February 4, 1842 (the more probable birth date of Creangă's younger brother Zahei). The imprecision also touches other aspects of his family life: noting the resulting conflicts in data, Călinescu decided that it was not possible for one to know if the writer's parents were married to each other (and, if so, if they were on their first marriage), nor how many children they had together. At a time when family names were not legally required, and people were primarily known by various nicknames and patronymics, the boy was known to the community as Nică, a hypocorism formed from Ion, or more formally as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei ("Nică of Ștefan of Petru", occasionally Nic-a lui Ștefan a Petrei).
Childhood, youth and ordination
After an idyllic period, which is recounted in the first section of his Childhood Memories, Ion Creangă was sent to primary school, an institution then in the care of Orthodox Church authorities, where he became noted for his rebellious attitude and appetite for truancy. Among his colleagues was a female student, Smărăndița popii (known later as Smaranda Posea), for whom he developed an affection which lasted into his adult life, over decades in which the two no longer saw each other. He was taught reading and writing in Cyrillic alphabet through peer tutoring techniques, before the overseeing teacher, Vasile Ilioaiei, was lassoed off the street and conscripted by the Moldavian military at some point before 1848. After another teacher, whom the Memories portray as a drunk, died from cholera in late 1848, David Creangă withdrew his grandson from the local school and took him to a similar establishment in Broșteni, handing him into the care of a middle-aged woman, Irinuca. Ion Creangă spent several months at Irinuca's remote house on the Bistrița River, before the proximity of goats resulted in a scabies infection and his hastened departure for Pipirig, where he cured himself using birch extract, a folk remedy mastered by his maternal grandmother Nastasia.
After returning to school between late 1849 and early 1850, Creangă was pulled out by his financially struggling father, spent the following period working in wool-spinning, and became known by the occupational nickname Torcălău ("Spinster"). He only returned in third grade some four years later, having been sent to the Târgu Neamț public school, newly founded by Moldavian Prince Grigore Alexandru Ghica as part of the Regulamentul Organic string of reforms. A colleague of future philosopher Vasile Conta in the class of priest and theologian Isaia "Popa Duhu" Teodorescu, Creangă was sent to the Fălticeni seminary in 1854. After having been registered as Ioan Ștefănescu (a variant of his given name and a family name based on his patronymic), the adolescent student eventually adopted his maternal surname of Creangă. According to Călinescu, this was done either "for aesthetic reasons" (as his new name, literally meaning "branch" or "bough", "sounds good") or because of a likely discovery that Ștefan was not his real father. Dan Grădinaru, a researcher of Creangă's work, believes that the writer had a special preference for the variant Ioan, generally used in more learned circles, instead of the variant Ion that was consecrated by his biographers.
Having witnessed, according to his own claim, the indifference and mundane preoccupations of his peers, Creangă admitted to having taken little care in his training, submitting to the drinking culture, playing practical jokes on his colleagues, and even shoplifting, while pursuing an affair with the daughter of a local priest. According to his own statement, he was a philanderer who, early in his youth, had already "caught the scent" of the catrință (the skirt in traditional costumes). In August 1855, circumstances again forced him to change schools: confronted with the closure of his Fălticeni school, Creangă left for the Central Seminary attached to Socola Monastery, in Moldavia's capital of Iași. Ștefan sin Petre's 1858 death left him without means of support, and he requested being directly ordained, but, not being of the necessary age, was instead handed a certificate to attest his school attendance. He was soon after married, after a brief courtship, to the 15-year-old Ileana, daughter of Priest Ioan Grigoriu from the church of the Forty Saints, where he is believed to have been in training as a schoolteacher. The ceremony took place in August 1859, several months after the personal union between Moldavia and its southern neighbor Wallachia, effected by the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as Domnitor. Having been employed as a cantor by his father in law's church, he was ordained in December of the same year, assigned to the position of deacon in Holy Trinity Church, and, in May 1860, returned to Forty Saints.
Relations between Creangă and Grigoriu were exceptionally tense. Only weeks after his wedding, the groom, who had probably agreed to marriage only because it could facilitate succeeding Grigoriu, signed a complaint addressed to Metropolitan Sofronie Miclescu, denouncing his father in law as "a killer", claiming to have been mistreated by him and cheated out of his wife's dowry, and demanding to be allowed a divorce. The response to this request was contrary to his wishes: he was ordered into isolation by the Dicasterie, the supreme ecclesiastical court, being allowed to go free only on promise to reconcile with Grigoriu.
Beginnings as schoolteacher and clash with the Orthodox Church
In 1860, Creangă enlisted at the Faculty of Theology, part of the newly founded University of Iași, and, in December 1860, fathered a son, Constantin. His life still lacked in stability, and he decided to move out of Grigoriu's supervision and into Bărboi Church, before his position as deacon was cut out of the budget and his belongings were evicted out of his temporary lodging in 1864. He contemplated leaving the city, and even officially requested a new assignment in the more remote Bolgrad. Since January 1864, when the Faculty of Theology had been closed down, he had been attending Iași's Trei Ierarhi Monastery normal school (Trisfetite or Trei Sfetite), where he first met the young cultural figure Titu Maiorescu, who served as his teacher and supervisor, and whence he graduated as the first in his class (June 1865). Embittered by his own experience with the education system, Creangă became an enthusiastic promoter of Maiorescu's ideas on education reform and modernization, and in particular of the new methods of teaching reading and writing. During and after completing normal school, he was assigned to teaching positions at Trisfetite. While there, he earned the reputation of a demanding teacher (notably by accompanying his reports on individual students with characterizations such as "idiot", "impertinent" or "envious"). Accounts from the period state that he made use of corporal punishment in disciplining his pupils, and even surpassed the standards of violence accepted at the time.
In parallel, he was beginning his activities in support of education reform. By 1864, he and several others, among them schoolteacher V. Răceanu, were working on a new primer, which saw print in 1868 under the title Metodă nouă de scriere și cetire pentru uzul clasei I primară ("A New Method of Writing and Reading for the Use of 1st Grade Primary Course Students"). It mainly addressed the issues posed by the new Romanian alphabetical standard, a Romanization replacing Cyrillic spelling (which had been officially discarded in 1862). Largely based on Maiorescu's principles, Metodă nouă ... became one the period's most circulated textbooks. In addition to didactic texts, it also featured Creangă's isolated debut in lyric poetry, with a naïve piece titled Păsărica în timpul iernii ("The Little Bird in Wintertime"). The book was followed in 1871 by another such work, published as Învățătoriul copiilor ("The Children's Teacher") and co-authored by V. Răceanu. It included several prose fables and a sketch story, "Human Stupidity", to which later editions added Poveste ("A Story") and Pâcală (a borrowing of the fictional folk character better known as Păcală).
In February 1866, having briefly served at Iași's Pantelimon Church, he was welcomed by hegumen Isaia Vicol Dioclias into the service of Golia Monastery. Around 1867, his wife Ileana left him. After that moment, Creangă began losing interest in performing his duties in the clergy, and, while doing his best to hide that he was no longer living with his wife, took a mistress. The marriage's breakup was later attributed by Creangă himself to Ileana's adulterous affair with a Golia monk, and rumors spread that Ileana's lover was a high-ranking official, the protopope of Iași. Creangă's accusations, Călinescu contends, are nevertheless dubious, because the deacon persisted in working for the same monastery after the alleged incident.
By the second half of the 1860s, the future writer was also pursuing an interest in politics, which eventually led him to rally with the more nationalist group within the Romanian liberal current, known as Free and Independent Faction. An agitator for his party, Creangă became commonly known under the nickname Popa Smântână ("Priest Sour Cream"). In April 1866, shortly after Domnitor Cuza was toppled by a coup, and just before Carol I was selected to replace him, the Romanian Army intervened to quell a separatist riot in Iași, instigated by Moldavian Metropolitan Calinic Miclescu. It is likely that Creangă shared the outlook of other Factionalists, according to which secession was preferable to Carol's rule, and was probably among the rioters. At around the same time, he began circulating antisemitic tracts, and is said to have demanded that Christians boycott Jewish business. He is thought to have coined the expression Nici un ac de la jidani ("Not even a needle from the kikes"). He was eventually selected as one of the Factionalist candidates for an Iași seat in the Romanian Deputies' Chamber, as documented by the memoirs of his conservative rival, Iacob Negruzzi. The episode is supposed to have taken place at the earliest during the 1871 suffrage.
By 1868, Creangă's rebellious stance was irritating his hierarchical superiors, and, according to Călinescu, his consecutive actions show that he was "going out of his way for scandal". He was initially punished for attending a Iași Theater performance, as well as for defiantly claiming that there was "nothing scandalous or demoralizing" in what he had seen, and reportedly further antagonized the monks by firing a gun to scare off the rooks nesting on his church. The latter incident, which some commentators believe fabricated by Creangă's detractors, was judged absurd by the ecclesiastical authorities, who had been further alarmed by negative reporting in the press. When told that no clergyman other than him had been seen using a gun, Creangă issued a reply deemed "Nasreddinesque" by George Călinescu, maintaining that, unlike others, he was not afraid of doing so. Confronted by Metropolitan Calinic himself, Creangă allegedly argued that he could think of no other way to eliminate rooks, being eventually pardoned by the prelate when it was ruled that he had not infringed on canon law.
Defrocking and the Bojdeuca years
Creangă eventually moved out of the monastery, but refused to relinquish his key to the church basement, and, in what was probably a modernizing intent, chopped off his long hair, one of the traditional marks of an Orthodox priest. The latter gesture scandalized his superiors, particularly since Creangă explained himself using an ancient provision of canon law, which stipulated that priests were not supposed to grow their hair long. After some assessment, his superiors agreed not to regard this action as more than a minor disobedience. He was temporarily suspended in practice but, citing an ambiguity in the decision (which could be read as a banishment in perpetuity), Creangă considered himself defrocked. He relinquished his clerical clothing altogether and began wearing lay clothes everywhere, a matter which caused public outrage.
By then a teacher at the 1st School for Boys, on Română Street, Creangă was ordered out of his secular assignment in July 1872, when news of his status and attitude reached Education Minister Christian Tell. Upset by the circumstances, and objecting in writing on grounds that it did not refer to his teaching abilities, he fell back on income produced by a tobacconist's shop he had established shortly before being dismissed. This stage marked a final development in Creangă's conflict with the church hierarchy. Summoned to explain why he was living the life of a shopkeeper, he responded in writing by showing his unwillingness to apologize, and indicated that he would only agree to face secular courts. The virulent text notably accused the church officials of being his enemies on account of his "independence, sincerity, honesty" in supporting the cause of "human dignity". After the gesture of defiance, the court recommended his defrocking, its decision being soon after confirmed by the synod.
In the meantime, Creangă moved into what he called Bojdeuca (or Bujdeuca, both being Moldavian regional speech for "tiny hut"), a small house located on the outskirts of Iași. Officially divorced in 1873, he was living there with his lover Ecaterina "Tinca" Vartic. A former laundress who had earlier leased one of the Bojdeuca rooms, she shared Creangă's peasant-like existence. This lifestyle implied a number of eccentricities, such as the former deacon's practice of wearing loose shirts throughout summer and bathing in a natural pond. His voracious appetite, called "proverbial gluttony" by George Călinescu, was attested by contemporary accounts. These depict him consuming uninterrupted successions of whole meals on a daily basis.
In May 1874, soon after taking over Minister of Education in the Conservative Party cabinet of Lascăr Catargiu, his friend Maiorescu granted Creangă the position of schoolteacher in the Iași area of Păcurari. During the same period, Ion Creangă met and became best friends with Mihai Eminescu, posthumously celebrated as Romania's national poet. This is said to have taken place in summer 1875, when Eminescu was working as an inspector for Maiorescu's Education Ministry, overseeing schools in Iași County: reportedly, Eminescu was fascinated with Creangă's talents as a raconteur, while the latter admired Eminescu for his erudition.
Junimea reception
At around the same time, Creangă also began attending Junimea, an upper class literary club presided upon by Maiorescu, whose cultural and political prestige was increasing. This event, literary historian Z. Ornea argued, followed a time of indecision: as a former Factionalist, Creangă was a natural adversary of the mainstream Junimist "cosmopolitan orientation", represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was still fundamentally committed to Maiorescu's agenda in the field of education. Literary historians Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu also argue that, after attending Junimea, the author was able to assimilate some of its innovative teachings into his own style of pedagogy, and thus helped diffuse its message outside the purely academic environment.
The exact date of his reception is a mystery. According to Maiorescu's own recollections, written some decades after the event, Creangă was in attendance at a Junimea meeting of 1871, during which Gheorghe Costaforu proposed to transform the club into a political party. The information was considered dubious by Z. Ornea, who argued that the episode may have been entirely invented by the Junimist leader, and noted that it contradicted both Negruzzi's accounts and minutes kept by A. D. Xenopol. According to Ornea's assessment, with the exception of literary critic Vladimir Streinu, all of Creangă's biographers have come to dismiss Maiorescu's statement. Several sources mention that the future writer was introduced to the society by Eminescu, who was an active member around 1875. This and other details lead Ornea to conclude that membership was granted to Creangă only after the summer break of 1875.
Gradually or instantly, Creangă made a positive impression by confirming with the Junimist ideal of authenticity. He also became treasured for his talkative and jocular nature, self-effacing references to himself as a "peasant", and eventually his debut works, which became subjects of his own public readings. His storytelling soon earned him dedicated spectators, who deemed Creangă's fictional universe a "sack of wonders" at a time when the author himself had started casually using the pseudonym Ioan Vântură-Țară ("Ioan Gadabout"). Although still in his forties, the newcomer was also becoming colloquially known to his colleagues as Moș Creangă ("Old Man Creangă" or "Father Creangă"), which was a sign of respect and sympathy. Among Ion Creangă's most dedicated promoters were Eminescu, his former political rival Iacob Negruzzi, Alexandru Lambrior and Vasile Pogor, as well as the so-called caracudă (roughly, "small game") section, which comprised Junimists who rarely took the floor during public debates, and who were avid listeners of his literary productions (it was to this latter gathering that Creangă later dedicated his erotic texts). In parallel to his diversified literary contribution, the former priest himself became a noted voice in Junimist politics, and, like his new friend Eminescu, voiced support for the group's nationalist faction, in disagreement with the more cosmopolitan and aristocratic segment led by Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp. By that the late 1870s, he was secretly redirecting political support from the former Factionalists to his new colleagues, as confirmed by an encrypted letter he addressed to Negruzzi in March 1877.
Literary consecration
Autumn 1875 is also often described as his actual debut in fiction prose, with "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", a short story first publish in October by the club's magazine Convorbiri Literare. In all, Convorbiri Literare would publish 15 works of fiction and the four existing parts of his Childhood Memories before Creangă's death. Reportedly, the decision to begin writing down his stories had been the direct result of Eminescu's persuasion. His talent for storytelling and its transformation into writing fascinated his new colleagues. Several among them, including poet Grigore Alexandrescu, tasked experimental psychologist Eduard Gruber with closely studying Creangă's methods, investigations which produced a report evidencing Creangă's laborious and physical approach to the creative process. The latter also involved his frequent exchanges of ideas with Vartic, in whom he found his primary audience. In addition to his fiction writing, the emerging author followed Maiorescu's suggestion and, in 1876, published a work of educational methodology and the phonemic orthography favored by Junimea: Povățuitoriu la cetire prin scriere după sistema fonetică ("Guide to Reading by Writing in the Phonetic System"). It was supposed to become a standard textbook for the training of teachers, but was withdrawn from circulation soon afterward, when the Catargiu cabinet fell.
After losing his job as school inspector following the decisions of a hostile National Liberal executive, Mihai Eminescu spent much of his time in Bojdeuca, where he was looked after by the couple. For five months after quarreling with Samson Bodnărescu, his fellow poet and previous landlord, Eminescu even moved inside the house, where he reputedly pursued his discreet love affair with woman writer Veronica Micle, and completed as many as 22 of his poems. Creangă introduced his younger friend to a circle of companions which included Zahei Creangă, who was by then a cantor, as well as Răceanu, priest Gheorghe Ienăchescu, and clerk Nicșoi (all of whom, Călinescu notes, had come to share the raconteur's lifestyle choices and his nationalist opinions). Eminescu was especially attracted by their variant of simple life, the rudimentary setting of Creangă's house and the group's bohemian escapades. Circumstances drew the two friends apart: by 1877, Eminescu had relocated in Bucharest, the capital city, regularly receiving letters in which Creangă was asking him to return. He was however against Eminescu's plan to marry Veronica Micle, and made his objection known to the poet. In 1879, as a sign that he was formalizing his own affair with Tinca Vartic, Creangă purchased the Bojdeuca in her name, paying his former landlord 40 Austrian gulden in exchange. That same year, he, Răceanu and Ienăchescu published the textbook Geografia județului Iași ("The Geography of Iași County"), followed soon after by a map of the same region, researched by Creangă and Răceanu. A final work in the area of education followed in 1880, as a schoolteacher's version of Maiorescu's study of Romanian grammar, Regulile limbei române ("Rules of the Romanian Language").
Illness and death
By the 1880s, Creangă had become afflicted with epilepsy, suffering accelerated and debilitating episodes. He was also severely overweight, weighing some 120 kilograms (over 250 pounds), with a height of 1.85 meters (6 feet), and being teasingly nicknamed Burduhănosul ("Tubby") by his friends (although, according to testimonies by his son and daughter-in-law, he did not actually look his size).
Despite his activity being much reduced, he still kept himself informed about the polemics agitating Romania's cultural and political scene. He was also occasionally hosting Eminescu, witnessing his friend's struggle with mental disorder. The two failed to reconnect, and their relationship ended. After one of the meetings, he recorded that the delusional poet was carrying around a revolver with which to fend off unknown attackers—among the first in a series of episodes which ended with Eminescu's psychiatric confinement and death during June 1889. Around that time, Creangă, like other Junimists, was involved in a clash of ideas with the emerging Romanian socialist and atheistic group, rallied around Contemporanul magazine. This occurred after Contemporanul founder Ioan Nădejde publicly ridiculed Învățătoriul copiilor over its take on creationism, quoting its claim that "the invisible hand of God" was what made seeds grow into plants. Creangă replied with a measure of irony, stating that "had God not pierced the skin over our eyes, we would be unable to see each other's mistakes". Nevertheless, Călinescu argued, Nădejde's comments had shaken his adversary's religious sentiment, leading Creangă to question the immortality of the soul in a letter he addressed to one of his relatives in the clergy. According to other assessments, he was himself an atheist, albeit intimately so.
In 1887, the National Liberal Ministry of Dimitrie Sturdza removed Creangă from his schoolteacher's post, and he subsequently left for Bucharest in order to petition for his pension rights. Having hoped to be granted assistance by Maiorescu, he was disappointed when the Junimea leader would not respond to his request, and, during his final years, switched allegiance to the literary circle founded by Nicolae Beldiceanu (where he was introduced by Gruber). Among Creangă's last works was a fourth and final part of his Memories, most likely written during 1888. The book remained unfinished, as did the story Făt-frumos, fiul iepei ("Făt-Frumos, Son of the Mare"). He died after an epileptic crisis, on the last day of 1889, his body being buried in Iași's Eternitatea Cemetery. His funeral ceremony was attended by several of Iași's intellectuals (Vasile Burlă, A. C. Cuza, Dumitru Evolceanu, Nicolae Iorga and Artur Stavri among them).
Work
Cultural context
The impact of Ion Creangă's work within its cultural context was originally secured by Junimea. Seeking to revitalize Romanian literature by recovering authenticity, and reacting against those cultural imports it deemed excessive, the group notably encouraged individual creativity among peasants. Reflecting back on Maiorescu's role in the process, George Călinescu wrote: "A literary salon where the personal merit would take the forefront did not exist [before Junimea] and, had Creangă been born two decades earlier, he would not have been able to present 'his peasant material' to anyone. Summoning the creativity of the peasant class and placing it in direct contact with the aristocrats is the work of Junimea." His cogenerationist and fellow literary historian Tudor Vianu issued a similar verdict, commenting: "Junimea is itself ... an aristocratic society. Nevertheless, it is through Junimea that surfaced the first gesture of transmitting a literary direction to some writers of rural extraction: a phenomenon of great importance, the neglect of which would render unexplainable the entire subsequent development of our literature." Also referring to cultural positioning within and outside the group, Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu took the acceptance of "literate peasants" such as Creangă as exemplary proof of Junimist "diversity" and "tolerance".
Maiorescu is known to have had much appreciation for Creangă and other writers of peasant origin, such as Ion Popovici-Bănățeanu and Ioan Slavici. Late in life, he used this connection to challenge accusations of Junimist elitism in the face of criticism from more populist traditionalists. Nonetheless, Junimea members in general found Creangă more of an entertainer rather than a serious writer, and treasured him only to the measure where he illustrated their theories about the validity of rural literature as a source of inspiration for cultured authors. Therefore, Iacob Negruzzi sympathetically but controversially referred to his friend as "a primitive and uncouth talent". Maiorescu's critical texts also provide little individual coverage of Creangă's contributions, probably because these failed to comply exactly with his stratification of literary works into poporane ("popular", that is anonymous or collective) and otherwise. Tudor Vianu's theory defines Creangă as a prime representative of the "popular realism" guidelines (as sporadically recommended by the Junimist doyen himself), cautioning however that Creangă's example was never mentioned in such a context by Maiorescu personally.
Although he occasionally downplayed his own contribution to literature, Creangă himself was aware that his texts went beyond records of popular tradition, and made significant efforts to be recognized as an original author (by corresponding with fellow writers and willingly submitting his books to critical scrutiny). Vianu commented at length on the exact relationship between the narrative borrowed from oral tradition and Creangă's "somewhat surreptitious" method of blending his own style into the folkloric standard, likening it to the historical process whereby local painters improvised over the strict canons of Byzantine art. Creangă's complex take on individuality and the art of writing was attested by his own foreword to an edition of his collected stories, in which he addressed the reader directly: "You may have read many stupid things since you were put on this Earth. Please read these as well, and where it should be that they don't agree with you, take hold of a pen and come up with something better, for this is all I could see myself doing and did."
An exception among Junimea promoters was Eminescu, himself noted for expressing a dissenting social perspective which only partly mirrored Maiorescu's take on conservatism. According to historian Lucian Boia, the "authentic Moldavian peasant" that was Creangă also complemented Eminescu's own "more metaphysical" peasanthood. Similarly, Z. Ornea notes that the poet used Creangă's positions to illustrate his own ethnonationalist take on Romanian culture, and in particular his claim that rural authenticity lay hidden by a "superimposed stratum" of urbanized ethnic minorities. 20th century critics have described Creangă as one of his generation's most accomplished figures, and a leading exponent of Junimist literature. This verdict is found in several of Vianu's texts, which uphold Creangă as a great exponent of his generation's literature, comparable to fellow Junimea members Eminescu, Slavici and Ion Luca Caragiale. This view complements George Călinescu's definition, placing the Moldavian author in the company of Slavici and Caragiale as one of the "great prose writers" of the 1880s. Lucian Boia, who noted that "the triad of Romanian classics" includes Creangă alongside Eminescu and Caragiale, also cautioned that, compared to the other two (with whom "the Romanians have said almost all there is to say about themselves"), Creangă has "a rather more limited register".
The frequent comparison between Creangă and Caragiale in particular is seen by Vianu as stemming from both their common "wide-ranging stylistic means" and their complementary positions in relations to two superimposed phenomenons, with Caragiale's depiction of the petite bourgeoisie as the rough equivalent of Creangă's interest in the peasantry. The same parallelism is explained by Ornea as a consequence of the two authors' social outlook: "[Their works] have cemented aesthetically the portrayal of two worlds. Creangă's is the peasant world, Caragiale's the suburban and urban one. Two worlds which represent, in fact, two characteristic steps and two sociopolitical models in the evolution of Romanian structures which ... were confronting themselves in a process that would later prove decisive." According to the same commentator, the two plus Eminescu are their generation's great writers, with Slavici as one "in their immediate succession." While listing what he believes are elements bridging the works of Creangă and Caragiale, other critics have described as strange the fact that the two never appear to have mentioned each other, and stressed that, although not unlikely, a direct encounter between them was never recorded in sources.
Narrative style and language
Highlighting Ion Creangă's recourse to the particularities of Moldavian regionalisms and archaisms, their accumulation making Creangă's work very difficult to translate, George Călinescu reacted against claims that the narratives reflected antiquating patterns. He concluded that, in effect, Creangă's written language was the equivalent of a "glossological museum", and even contrasted by the writer's more modern everyday parlance. Also discussing the impression that Creangă's work should be read with a Moldavian accent, noted for its "softness of sound" in relation to standard Romanian phonology, Călinescu cautioned against interpretative exaggerations, maintaining that the actual texts only offer faint suggestions of regional pronunciation. Contrasting Creangă with the traditions of literature produced by Wallachians in what became the standard literary language, Călinescu also argued in favor of a difference in mentality: the "balance" evidenced by Moldavian speech and illustrated in Ion Creangă's writings is contrasted by the "discoloration and roughness" of "Wallachianism". He also criticized those views according to which Creangă's variant of the literary language was "beautiful", since it failed to "please everyone on account of some acoustical beauty", and since readers from outside the writer's native area could confront it "with some irritation." For Călinescu, the result nevertheless displays "an enormous capacity of authentic speech", also found in the works of Caragiale and, in the 20th century, Mihail Sadoveanu. According to the same commentator, the dialectical interventions formed a background to a lively vocabulary, a "hermetic" type of "argot", which contained "hilarious double entendres and indecent onomatopoeia", passing from "erudite beauty" to "obscene laughter". Some of the expressions characteristic of Creangă's style are obscure in meaning, and some other, such as "drought made the snake scream inside the frog's mouth", appear to be spontaneous and nonsensical. Another specific trait of this language, commented upon by Vianu's and compared by him to the aesthetics of Classicism, sees much of Creangă's prose being set to a discreet poetic meter.
The recourse to oral literature schemes made it into his writings, where it became a defining trait. As part of this process, Călinescu assessed, "Creangă acts as all his characters in turn, for his stories are almost entirely spoken. ... When Creangă recounts, the composition is not extraordinary, but once his heroes begin talking, their gesticulation and wording reach a height in typical storytelling." According to the critic, discovering this "fundamental" notion about Creangă's work was the merit of literary historian and Viața Românească editor Garabet Ibrăileanu, who had mentioned it as a main proof of affiliation to realism. The distinctive manner of characterization through "realistic dialogues" is seen by Vianu as a highly personal intervention and indicator of the Moldavian writer's originality. Both Vianu and Călinescu discussed this trait, together with the technique of imparting subjective narration in-between characters' replies, as creating other meeting points between Creangă and his counterpart Caragiale. Partly replicating in paper the essence of social gatherings, Ion Creangă often tried to transpose the particular effects of oral storytelling into writing. Among these characteristic touches were interrogations addressed to the readers as imaginary listeners, and pausing for effect with the visual aid of ellipsis. He also often interrupted his narratives with concise illustrations of his point, often in verse form, and usually introduced by vorba ceea (an expression literally meaning "that word", but covering the sense of "as word goes around"). One example of this connects the notions of abundance and personal satisfaction:
In other cases, the short riddles relate to larger themes, such as divine justification for one's apparent fortune:
Creangă's specificity
Despite assuming the external form of traditional literature, Ion Creangă's interests and creative interventions, Călinescu noted, separated him from his roots: "peasants do not have [his] entirely cultured gifts. ... Too much 'atmosphere', too much dialogic 'humor', too much polychromy at the expense of linear epic movements. The peasant wants the bare epic and desires the unreal." The commentator passed a similar judgment on the author's use of ancient sayings, concluding that, instead of crystallizing and validating local folklore, the accounts appeal to cultured tastes, having as the generation of comedy and volubility as their main purpose. According to Vianu's assessment Creangă was "a supreme artist" whose use of "typical sayings" attests "a man of the people, but not an anonymous and impersonal sample." These verdicts, directly contradicting Junimist theories, were mirrored by several other 20th century exegetes belonging to distinct schools of thought: Pompiliu Constantinescu, Benjamin Fondane and Ion Negoițescu. Writing during the second half of the century, critic Nicolae Manolescu passed a similar judgment, believing that Creangă was motivated by a "strictly intellectual sensuousness" and the notion that "pleasure arises from gratuitousness", while Manolescu's colleague Mircea Braga referred to "the great secret of the man who has managed to transfer unaltered the code of popular creativity into the immanence of the cultured one." In Braga's assessment, this synthesis managed "the impossible", but the difficulty of repeating it with each story also resulted in mediocre writings: "from among his few texts, even fewer are located on the relatively highest level of the relative aesthetic hierarchy".
Călinescu viewed such intellectual traits as shared by Creangă with his Wallachian counterpart Anton Pann, in turn linking both writers to the satirical component of Renaissance literature, and specifically to François Rabelais. Within local tradition, the literary historian saw a symbolic connection between Creangă and the early 18th century figure, Ion Neculce, one of Moldavia's leading chroniclers. While he made his own comparison between Creangă and Pann, Tudor Vianu concluded that the Moldavian writer was in fact superior, as well as being more relevant to literature than Petre Ispirescu, the prime collector of tales in 19th-century Wallachia. Also making use of the Rabelais analogy, literary chronicler Gabriela Ursachi found another analogy in local letters: Ion Budai-Deleanu, an early 19th-century representative of the Transylvanian School, whose style mixes erudite playfulness with popular tastes. These contextual traits, researchers assess, did not prevent Creangă's overall work from acquiring a universal aspect, particularly since various of his writings use narrative sequences common throughout world literature.
George Călinescu also assessed that these literary connections served to highlight the elevated nature of Creangă's style, his "erudite device", concluding: "Writers such as Creangă can only show up in places where the word is ancient and equivocal, and where experience has been condensed into unchanging formulas. It would have been more natural for such a prose writer to have emerged a few centuries later, into an era of Romanian humanism. Born much earlier, Creangă showed up where there exists an ancient tradition, and therefore a species of erudition, ... in a mountain village ... where the people is unmixed and keeping [with tradition]." Outlining his own theory about the aspects of "national specificity" in Romanian letters, he expanded on these thoughts, listing Creangă and Eminescu as "core Romanians" who illustrated a "primordial note", complemented by the "southern" and "Balkan" group of Caragiale and others. Claiming that the "core" presence had "not primitive, but ancient" origins, perpetuated by "stereotyped wisdom" and "energetic fatalism", he asserted: "Creangă shows our civilization's contemporaneity with the world's oldest civilizations, our Asian age." The alternating national and regional characteristics in Creangă's writings are related by historian Neagu Djuvara with the writer's place of birth, an affluent village in an isolated region, contrasting heavily with the 19th century Wallachian countryside: "if the mud hut villages of the Danube flood plain are to be taken into account, one finds himself in a different country." Ornea, who noted that Eminescu effectively shared Creangă's worldview, believed the latter to have been dominated by nostalgia for a world of independent landowning peasants, and argued that Creangă's literary and political outlook were both essentially conservative. Ornea commented: "One could say that it was through [this form of nostalgia] that the writer debuted and that, within the space of his work it became, in its own right, an expression of the world that was about to vanish." Commenting on Creangă's "robust realism" and lack of "sentimentality", Vianu contrarily asserted: "Creangă's nostalgia ... has an individual, not social, sense."
The witty and playful side of Creangă's personality, which became notorious during his time at Junimea and constituted a significant part of his appeal, was reflected into a series of anecdotes. These accounts detail his playing the ignorant in front of fellow Junimists in order not to antagonize sides during literary debates (notably, by declaring himself "for against" during a two-option vote), his irony in reference to his own admirers (such as when he asked two of them to treasure the photograph of himself in the middle and the two of them on either side, while comparing it to the crucifixion scene and implicitly assigning them the role of thieves), and his recourse to puns and proverbs which he usually claimed to be citing from oral tradition and the roots of Romanian humor. The latter habit was notably illustrated by his answer to people who would ask him for money: "not since I born was I as poor as I was poor yesterday and the day before yesterday and last week and last week and throughout life". His joyfulness complemented his overall Epicureanism and his gourmand habits: his accounts are often marked by a special interest in describing acts related to food and drink. Overall, Eduard Gruber's report contended, Creangă's writing relied on him being "a strong sensual and auditive type", and a "very emotional" person.
Ion Creangă's sense of humor was instrumental in forging the unprecedented characteristics of his work. American critic Ruth S. Lamb, the writer's style merges "the rich vocabulary of the Moldavian peasant" with "an original gaiety and gusto comparable to that of Rabelais." According to George Călinescu: "[Creangă] got the idea that he was a clever man, like all men of the people, and therefore used irony to make himself seem stupid." In Călinescu's view, the author's antics had earned him a status equivalent to that of his Wallachian Junimist counterpart Caragiale, with the exception that the latter found his inspiration in urban settings, matching "Nasreddinisms" with "Miticism". Z. Ornea sees the main protagonists in Creangă's comedic narratives as, in effect, "particularized incarnations of the same symbolic character", while the use of humor itself reflects the traditional mindset, "a survival through intelligence, that of a people with an old history, whose life experience has for centuries been concentrated into gestures and words."
Most prominent tales
Part of Ion Creangă's contribution to the short story, fantasy and children's literature genres involved collecting and transforming narratives circulating throughout his native region, which intertwine with his characteristic storytelling to the point where they become original contributions. According to Călinescu, the traditional praise for Ion Creangă as a creator of literary types is erroneous, since his characters primarily answered to ancient and linear narrative designs. The conclusion is partly shared by Braga, who links Creangă's tales to ethnological and anthropological takes on the themes and purposes of fairy tales, postulating the prevalence of three ancient and related narrative pretexts throughout his contributions: the preexistence of a "perturbing situation" (attributable to fatality), the plunging of the hero into a rite of passage-type challenge, a happy ending which brings the triumph of good over evil (often as a brutal and uncompromising act). Like their sources and predecessors in folklore, these accounts also carry transparent morals, ranging from the regulation of family life to meditations about destiny and lessons about tolerating the marginals. However, Swedish researcher Tom Sandqvist argues, they also illustrate the absurdist vein of some traditional narratives, by featuring "grotesqueries" and "illogical surprises".
With "The Goat and Her Three Kids", written mainly as a picturesque illustration of motherly love, Creangă produced a fable in prose, opposing the eponymous characters, caricatures of a garrulous but hard-working woman and her restless sons, to the sharp-toothed Big Bad Wolf, a satirical depiction of the cunning and immoral stranger. The plot shows the wolf making his way into the goat's house, where he eats the two older and less obedient kids, while the youngest one manages to escape by hiding up the chimney—the symbolism of which was psychoanalyzed by Dan Grădinaru, who claims it constitutes an allusion to Creangă's own childhood. The dénouement sees an inversion of the natural roles, an episode which, ethnologist Șerban Anghelescu notes, is dominated by "the culinary fire": the goat exercises her brutal revenge by trapping and slowly cooking the predator. This approach partly resonates with that of "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", in which Creangă makes ample use of a traditional theme in Romanian humor, which portrays mothers-in-law as mean, stingy and oppressive characters. The embodiment of such offensive traits, she is also shown to be ingenious, pretending that she has a hidden third eye which always keeps things under watch. The narrator sides with the three young women in depicting their violent retribution, showing them capturing their oppressor, torturing her until she is left speech impaired, and leaving her on the brink of death. The mother-in-law's end turns into a farce: the eldest and most intelligent of the killers manipulates her victim's dying sounds into a testament partitioning her wealth, and a thin decorum is maintained at the funeral ceremony by the daughters' hypocritical sobbing.
"The Story of the Pig" partly illustrates the notion that parental love subdues even physical repulsion, showing an elderly peasant couple cherishing their adopted porcine son, who, unbeknown to them, is enchanted. The creature instantly offsets his parents' sadness and immobility by his witty intelligence. Having applied his perseverance and spells to erect a magical bridge, the piglet fulfills the requirement for marrying the emperor's daughter, after which it is uncovered that he is a Făt-Frumos or Prince Charming character who assumes his real identity only by night. Although the plot is supposed to deal with imperial magnificence in fairy tale fashion, the setting is still primarily rural, and the court itself is made to look like an elevated peasant community. According to researcher Marcu Beza, the text is, outside of its humorous context, a distant reworking of ancient legends such as Cupid and Psyche. The story introduces three additional characters, old women who assess and reward the efforts of the virtuous: Holy Wednesday, Holy Friday and Holy Sunday. They represent a mix of Christian and pagan traditions, by being both personifications of the liturgical calendar and fairy-like patrons of the wilderness (zâne).
A similar perspective was favored by "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter". Here, the theme echoes Cinderella, but, according to Călinescu, the rural setting provides a sharp contrast to the classical motif. Persecuted by her stepmother and stepsister, the kind and loving daughter of the old man is forced into a position of servitude reflecting the plight of many peasant women in Creangă's lifetime. In this case, the old man is negatively depicted as cowardly and entirely dominated by his mean wife. The focal point of the narrative is the meeting between the good daughter and Holy Sunday. The latter notices and generously rewards the girl's helpful nature and mastery of cooking; in contrast, when her envious sister attempts the same and fails, she ends up being eaten by serpent-like creatures (balauri). The happy ending sees the good girl marrying not Prince Charming, but a simple man described as "kind and industrious"—this outcome, Călinescu assessed, did not in effect spare the old man's daughter from a life of intense labor. A story very similar to "The Old Man's Daughter ..." is "The Purse a' Tuppence", which teaches that greed can shatter families, while offering symbolic retribution to men who are unhappy in marriage. The old man's rooster, chased away by the old woman for being unproductive, ends up amassing a huge fortune, which he keeps inside his belly and regurgitates back into the courtyard; the jealous old woman ends up killing her favorite hen, who has failed in replicating the rooster's feat.
Devil-themed stories and "Harap Alb"
Several of Creangă's characteristic novellas are infused with themes from Christian mythology, fictionalizing God, Saint Peter and the army of devils, most often with the comedic intent of showing such personages behaving like regular people. A defining story in this series is "Dănilă Prepeleac", whose eponymous peasant hero is characterized by what Șerban Anghelescu calls "idiocy serving to initiate", or, according to Gabriela Ursachi, "complete, and therefore sublime, stupidity." The first part of the story shows Dănilă exchanging his oxen for an empty bag—a set of dialogues which, George Călinescu argued, is almost exactly like a comedy play. In what was described as a complete reversal in characterization, the hero uses intelligence and ruse to trick and frighten several devils. Contrarily, "Stan Pățitul" shows its hero fraternizing with a lesser demon. Following the opening episode, in which the latter accidentally eats a bit of mămăligă dedicated by Stan to those who honor God, Satan himself condemns his subordinate to service the peasant. Călinescu highlights the naturalness of exchanges between the two protagonists, the latter of whom assumes the endearing form of a frail boy, Chirică, who ends up moving in with Stan and entering his service. The writing was also noted for other realistic elements alluding to everyday life, such as the overtly colloquial exchange between Chirică and Satan, or the episodes in which the young devil helps Stan woo a peasant woman. Although relatively young, Stan himself is referred to as stătut ("frowzy" or "lacking in freshness"), and the wording reflects rural attitudes about men who fail to marry during a certain age interval. Toward the end, the story focuses on a corrupt old woman who tries to trick Stan's new wife into committing adultery, but fails and is banished to the remotest area of Hell. Viewed by Călinescu as Creangă's "most original manner of dealing with the fabulous", and paralleled by him with Caragiale's Kir Ianulea on account of its realist approach to the supernatural, "Stan Pățitul" is, according to Vianu, untraceable in its inspiration: "[its] folk origin could not be identified, but it is not dismissible".
Another account in this series is "Ivan Turbincă", whose protagonist, a Russian serviceman, is shown rebelling against Heaven and Hell, and ultimately accomplishing the human ideal of cheating Death. The plot retells a theme present in both Romanian tradition and Ukrainian folklore, while, according to researcher of children's literature Muguraș Constantinescu, the main character is similar to German tradition's Till Eulenspiegel. In the beginning of the account, God rewards the soldier's exemplary charity by granting him a pouch (turbincă), which can miraculously trap anything in existence. In order to circumvent the laws of nature, Ivan subsequently makes use of both his magical item and his innate shrewdness. In one such episode, pretending not to understand the proper position of bodies inside a coffin, he tricks impatient Death into taking his place, and traps her inside. Eventually, he is allowed to keep his life, but is promised an eternity of old age, which he ingeniously counterbalances by attending an endless succession of wedding parties, and therefore never having to feel sad.
"Harap Alb", one of Ion Creangă's most complex narratives, carries a moral defined by Călinescu as "the gifted man will earn a reputation under any guise." The story opens with a coming of age quest, handed down by a king to his three sons: the most fit among them is supposed to reach the court of the Green Emperor, who is the king's brother, and succeed him to the throne. According to Călinescu, the mission bases itself on travels undertaken by young men in Creangă's native region, while the subsequent episodes in the narrative reinforce the impression of familiarity, from the "peasant speech" adopted by the villain known as the Bald Man, to the "crass vulgarity" evidenced by the antagonist Red Emperor. Forced to pass himself off as a foreign servant (or "Moor"), the prince is three times tested and aided by Holy Sunday, who doubles as the queen of zâne creatures. Călinescu described as "playful realism" the method through which Creangă outlined the mannerisms of several other characters, in particular the allegorical creatures who provide the youngest prince with additional and serendipitous assistance. In one noted instance, the characters Setilă ("Drink-All") and Flămânzilă ("Eat-All") help the hero overcome seemingly impossible tasks set by the Red Emperor, by ingesting unnaturally huge amounts of food and drink.
The tale builds on intricate symbolism stemming from obscure sources. It features what Muguraș Constantinescu calls "the most complex representation of Holy Sunday", with mention of her isolated and heavenly abode on "flower island". A background antithesis opposes the two fictional monarchs, with the Red Emperor replicating an ancient tradition which attributes malignant characteristics to the color. By contrast, the Green Emperor probably illustrates the ideals of vitality and healthy lifestyle, as hinted by his culinary preference for "lettuce from the garden of the bear". Historian Adrian Majuru, building on earlier observations made by linguist Lazăr Șăineanu, also connects the servant-prince's antagonists with various reflections of ethnic strife in Romanian folklore: the Red Emperor as standing for the medieval Khazars ("Red Jews"), the Bald Man as a popular view of the Tatars.
Childhood Memories
Childhood Memories is, together with a short story about his teacher Isaia Teodorescu (titled "Popa Duhu"), one of Creangă's two memoirs. George Călinescu proposed that, like his fairy tales, the book illustrates popular narrative conventions, a matter accounting for their special place in literature: "The stories are true, but typical, without depth. Once retold with a different kind of gesticulation, the subject would lose all of its lively atmosphere." Also based on the techniques of traditional oral accounts, it features the topical interventions of a first-person narrator in the form of soliloquies, and reflects in part the literary canon set by frame stories. The resulting effect, Călinescu argued, was not that of "a confession or a diary", but that of a symbolic account depicting "the childhood of the universal child." According to Vianu, the text is especially illustrative of its author's "spontaneous passage" between the levels of "popular" and "cultured" literature: "The idea of fictionalizing oneself, of outlining one's formative steps, the steady accumulation of impressions from life, and then the sentiment of time, of its irreversible flow, of regret for all things lost in its consumption, of the charm relived through one's recollections are all thoughts, feelings and attitudes defining a modern man of culture. No popular model could have ever stood before Creangă when he was writing his Memories, but, surely, neither could the cultured prototypes of the genre, the first autobiographies and memoirs of the Renaissance". Grădinaru and essayist Mircea Moț analyzed the volume as a fundamentally sad text, in stated contrast with its common perception as a recollection of joyful moments: the former focused on moments which seem to depict Nică as a loner, the latter highlighted those sections which include Creangă's bitter musings about destiny and the impregnability of changes. A distinct interpretation was provided by critic Luminița Marcu, who reacted against the tradition of viewing Creangă's actual childhood as inseparable from his own subjective rendition.
Several of the book's episodes have drawn attention for the insight they offer into the culture, structure and conflicts of traditional society before 1900. Commenting on this characteristic, Djuvara asserted: "even if we take into account that the grown-up will embellish, transfigure, 'enrich' the memories of his childhood, how could we not recognize the sincerity in Creangă's heart-warming evocation of his childhood's village?" The book stays true to life in depicting ancient customs: discussing the impact of paganism on traditional Romanian customs, Marcu Beza communicated a detail of Creangă's account, which shows how January 1 celebrations of Saint Basil opposed the loud buhai players reenacting a fertility rite to people preferring a quieter celebration. The work also offers details on the traditional roles of a rural society such as that of Humulești, in the context of social change. Muguraș Constantinescu highlights the important roles of old men and women within Nică's universe, and especially that of his grandfather and "clan leader" David Creangă. The latter, she notes, is an "enlightened man" displaying "the wisdom and balance of the ripe age", a person able to insist on the importance of education, and a churchgoer who frowns on "his wife's bigotry." The seniors' regulatory role within the village is evidenced throughout the book, notoriously so in the episode where the boy captures a hoopoe who bothers his morning sleep, only to be tricked into releasing it by old man, who understands the bird's vital role as village alarm clock.
Another significant part of the account, detailing Creangă's education, shows him frustrated by the old methods of teaching, insisting on the absurd image of children learning by heart and chanting elements of Romanian grammar and even whole texts. The narrator refers to this method as "a terrible way to stultify the mind". The negative portrayal of teaching priests was commented by writer and critic Horia Gârbea as proof of the author's anticlericalism, in line with various satirical works targeting the Romanian clergy: "Creangă's Memories of the catechism school would discourage any candidate."
Didactic writings
Creangă's contribution to literature also covers a series of didactic fables written as lively dialogues, among them "The Needle and the Sledge Hammer", in which the objects of traditional metalworking scold the byproducts of their work for having forgotten their lowly origin. The inspiration behind this theme was identified by Călinescu as "The Story of a Gold Coin", written earlier by Creangă's Junimist colleague Vasile Alecsandri. A similar piece, "The Flax and the Shirt", reveals the circuit of fibers from weed-like plants into recycled cloth, leading to the conclusion that "all things are not what they seem; they were something else once, they are something else now;—and shall become something else." The technique employed by Creangă has the flax plant teaching the less knowledgeable textile, a dialogue which Călinescu likened to that between old women in a traditional society. Included alongside the two stories were: Pâcală, a writing which, Mircea Braga argued, is not as much didactic as it is a study in dialogue; "The Bear Tricked by the Fox", which uses legendary and humorous elements in an attempt to explain why bears are the tail-less species among mammals; and Cinci pâini ("Five Loafs of Bread"), which serves as a condemnation of greed.
With "Human Stupidity", Creangă builds a fable about incompetence in its absolute forms. The story centers on a peasant's quest to find people who are less rational than his wife, having been infuriated by her panic at the remote possibility that a ball of salt could fall from its place of storage and kill their baby. This, essayist and chronicler Simona Vasilache argues, highlights "a family-based division" of illogical behavior, in which women are depicted as the main propagators of both "astonishing nonsense" and "prudent stupidity". Instead, literary critic Ion Pecie identified inside the narrative a meditation on "the link between spirit and nature", with the unpredictable ball of salt representing the equivalent of a "sphinx". His colleague Gheorghe Grigurcu argued that such conclusions "may seem excessive", but that they were ultimately validated by the literary work being "a plurality of levels". A similar piece is the prose fable "The Story of a Lazy Man": fed up with the protagonist's proverbial indolence, which has led him as far as to view chewing food as an effort, his fellow villagers organize a lynching. This upsets the sensibility of a noblewoman who happens to witness the incident. When she offers to take the lazy man into her care and feed him bread crumbs, he seals his own fate by asking: "But are your bread crumbs soft?" The peculiar effect of this moral is underlined by Anghelescu: "The lazy man dies as a martyr of his own immobility." Braga interpreted the story as evidence of "the primacy of ethics" over social aspects in the local tradition. Ion Pecie saw in the story proof of Creangă's own support for capital punishment with a preventive or didactic purpose, even in cases were the fault was trivial or imagined, concluding: "Here, ... Creangă loses much of his depth." Pecie's conclusion was treated with reserve by Grigurcu, who believed that, instead, the narrator refrains from passing any judgment on "the community's instinctual eugenic reaction".
Partly didactic in scope, several of Creangă's anecdotes involve Ion Roată, a representative to the ad hoc Divan which voted in favor of Moldo-Wallachian union, and the newly elected Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The texts convey a sense of tension between the traditional boyar aristocracy and the peasant category, closely reflecting, according to historian Philip Longworth, a conflict mounting during the second half of the 19th century. The same is argued by Ornea, who also proposes that the protagonist offers insight into Creangă's own conservative reflexes and his complex views on the union, while outlining several connections which the brand of social criticism professed by Junimea. Although Roată, a real-life person, was a representative of the pro-union National Party, his main interest, according to the stories themselves, was in curbing the boyars' infringement of peasant rights. The stories' narrator directs his hostility not at boyars in general, but at the younger Romantic nationalist ones, whom he portrays as gambling on Moldavia's future: "[There was] a clash of ideas opposing old boyars to the youth of Moldavia's ad hoc Divan, even though both were in favor of 'Union'. It's only that the old ones wanted a negotiated 'Union', and the young ones a 'Union' done without proper thinking, as it came to pass." According to Muguraș Constantinescu: "[Roată] opposes the intelligence of common folk, their common sense, their humor and the pleasure of allegorical discourse to the pompous and hollow speeches of some politicians". In this context, Cuza's presence is depicted as both legitimate and serendipitous, as he takes a personal interest in curbing boyar abuse.
Moș Nichifor Coțcariul and "corrosives"
Seen by Romanian critic Radu Voinescu as an extended anecdote, the novella Moș Nichifor Coțcariul ("Old Man Nichifor Slyboots") establishes a connection with the language of fairy tales, being located in a legendary and non-historical age. It details the elaborate seduction of a young Jewish bride by a worldly Moldavian wagoner, on the route between Târgu Neamț and Piatra. The episode, which the text itself indicates is just one in a series of Nichifor's conquests among his female clients, highlights the seducer's verbose monologue, which covers accounts of his unhappy marriage, allusions about the naturalness of physical love, and intimidating suggestions that wolves may be tempted to attack the wagon (prompting the young woman to seek refuge in his arms). The seducer's behavior, Constantinescu notes, presents an alternative to the theme of old age as a time of immobility: "the still-green old man, the rake, the joker who enjoys his amorous escapades, while justifying them by the natural course of life". Nichifor mostly expresses himself with the help of folk sayings, which he casually mixes in with personal observations about the situation. The background to the plot is a record of various superstitions, some anticlerical or antisemitic: Nichifor voices the belief that priests crossing one's path will produce bad luck, as well as the claim that Jewish apothecaries sold "poisons".
The reception of Moș Nichifor Coțcariul by Junimea illustrated its ambivalence toward Creangă. Maiorescu found the text "interesting in its way and decisively Romanian", but asked Convorbiri Literare journal to either modify it or refrain from publishing it altogether. This was complemented by its author's own self-effacing assessment: calling the text "a childish thing", he suggested to Maiorescu that revisions were needed, stating "I have written it long, because there was no time for me to write it short." Contrarily, the writer's posterity referred to it as one of the greatest Romanian contributions to the genre: according to George Călinescu, the insight into Nichifor's musings resulted in transforming the writing as a whole into "the first great Romanian novella with a stereotypical hero", while Voinescu described the entire story as "a true masterpiece."
The narrative approaches of Moș Nichifor Coțcariul bordered on Creangă's contributions to erotic literature, pieces collectively known as "corrosives" and which have for long treated with discretion by literary historians. In Călinescu's view, this chapter in Creangă's literature created another link between the Moldavian writer and the Renaissance tradition of Rabelais: "All Rabelaisians have penetrated deeply into the realm of vulgarity." The taste for titillating accounts was also cultivated by Junimea members, who discreetly signaled their wish to hear more explicit content by asking Creangă to recount stories from "the wide street". A product of this context, Moș Nichifor Coțcariul itself is said to have had at least one sexually explicit variant, circulated orally.
Two stories with explicit pornographic content survive as samples of Creangă's erotic authorship: "The Tale of Ionică the Fool" and "The Tale of All Tales" (also known as Povestea pulei, "Tale of the Dick" or "Tale of the Cock"). The former shows its cunning hero having intercourse with a priest's daughter, moving between prose and verse to describe the act. "The Tale of All Tales", which makes ample use of vulgar speech, recounts how a peasant disrespectful of divinity has his entire maize harvest transformed into male genitalia, but is able to turn out a profit by catering to the sexual appetites of women. The final section, seen by Gârbea as a sample of anticlerical jeers recorded by "the defrocked Creangă", depicts the rape of a priest by one such sexual object. Although explicit, literary historian Alex. Ștefănescu argued, the text "is refined and full of charm". While acknowledging both "corrosives" for their "popular charm" in the line of Rabelais and Geoffrey Chaucer, and noting that they still display the author's place as a "great stylist", Voinescu also signaled the texts' "very obvious" debt to folkloric sources. In his definition, Ion Creangă is "possibly the only writer" to draw on the legacy of "luscious popular jests" found in local "erotic folklore". Nevertheless, according to literary critic Mircea Iorgulescu, "The Tale of All Tales" may in fact be based on Parapilla, a pornographic leaflet circulating in Italian and French.
Legacy
Estate, family and early cultural impact
Soon after the Creangă's death, efforts began to collect his manuscript writings and the updated versions of his printed works. This project involved his son Constantin, alongside A. D. Xenopol, Grigore Alexandrescu and Eduard Gruber, the latter of whom obtained the works from Tinca Vartic. The first edition was published as two volumes, in 1890–1892, but the project came to an abrupt halt due to Gruber's insanity and death. Creangă's final known work, the fragment of Făt-frumos, fiul iepei, was published by Convorbiri Literare in 1898. The Gruber copies were sold to a Dr. Mendel, and only a part of them was recovered by exegetes, alongside various fragments accidentally discovered at Iași market, where they were being used for wrapping paper. The collection, structured into a whole by folklorist Gheorghe T. Kirileanu, was published by Editura Minerva in 1902 and 1906. In addition to being mentioned in the memoirs of several prominent Junimists, Creangă had his political career fictionalized and satirized by Iacob Negruzzi, who transformed him, as Popa Smântână, into a character of his satirical poems Electorale ("Electorals"). The same author referred to his counterpart in one of his epigrams.
Shortly after her lover's death, Tinca Vartic married a man who lived in the same part of Iași. The target of organized tourism from as early as 1890, the Iași Bojdeuca nevertheless fell into disrepair. It was eventually purchased by an "Ion Creangă Committee", whose members included Constantin Creangă, Kirileanu and the ultra-nationalist politician A. C. Cuza. It was set up as the first of Romania's "memorial houses" on April 15, 1918. Restored the same year and again in 1933–1934, it houses an important part of Creangă's personal items and the first known among Creangă's portraits, painted by his contemporary V. Mușnețanu. While Constantin Creangă had a successful career in the Romanian Army, one of the writer's two grandsons, Horia Creangă, became one of the celebrated modern architects of the interwar period, earning his reputation by redesigning much of downtown Bucharest.
The popularity of Ion Creangă's accounts outside his regional and dialectal context, together with his own contribution as an educator, played a part in the evolution of standard Romanian, at a new phase in which many dialectal variations were incorporated into the spoken language. His primers Metodă nouă ... and Învățătoriul copiilor went through many editions during the late 19th century. The impact of his works was also a contributing factor to preserving a noted interest in rural subjects, a subsequent defining trait in modern Romanian literature. Discussing "stylistic harmony", which he believed to be bridging all of Romania's social and literary environments, philosopher Mircea Eliade wrote: "Romanians consider Ion Creangă a classic writer belonging to the modern age. His work can be read and understood by the entire range of social classes, in all the provinces of our country. In spite of the abundant presence of Moldavian words in his writings, the work would not remain a stranger to its readers. What other European culture can take pride in having a classic writer read by all categories of readers?" The "thematic grip of the village" was noted by American academic Harold Segel, who investigated its impact on "some of the most revered names in the history of Romanian literature", from Creangă and Slavici to interwar novelist Liviu Rebreanu.
Early 20th century and interwar echoes
A more thorough evaluation of Creangă's literature began after 1900. At the time, it became a topic of interest to the emerging traditionalist and populist trend, illustrated by the two venues rivaling Junimea: the right-wing Sămănătorul, led by Nicolae Iorga, and the left-wing Poporanists, among which was Garabet Ibrăileanu. The new editions of his works enlisted the collaboration of Sămănătorist intellectuals Ilarie Chendi and Ștefan Octavian Iosif. Tudor Vianu however noted that, unlike Eminescu's outlook, Creangă's "authentic ruralism" did not complement the "spiritual complications", global social class perspective and intellectual background associated with these trends, making Creangă "the least Sămănătorist among our writers." According to Ornea, Creangă has "nothing in common" with the Sămănătorul ideology in particular: while the group shared his nostalgic outlook on the rural past in stark contrast to the modernized world, the Moldavian author could "maintain, intelligently, the middle ground between contraries". Likewise, Mircea Braga reacted against the perception of Creangă as announcing a "series" of authors, noting that, for all imitation, he was "an exceptional and, as far as Romanian literary history goes, unique creator."
Directly influenced by Creangă, several early 20th century and interwar authors within the new traditionalist trend explicitly stood for the legacy of folkloric, spontaneous and unskilled literature: the peasant writer I. Dragoslav, whose memoirs borrow stylistic elements from Creangă's accounts; Constantin Sandu-Aldea, an agriculturalist by profession, who took inspiration from his techniques of rendering dialogue; and Ion Iovescu, whom the Sburătorul literary circle acclaimed as "a new Creangă", and who made ample use of a modernized Muntenian dialect. Similarly, the Aromanian activist and author Nicolae Constantin Batzaria, who divided his career between Romania and the southern Balkans, combined Creangă's storytelling techniques with the traditions of Turkish literature, while the reworking of regional folklore themes earned intellectual Constantin S. Nicolăescu-Plopșor a reputation as "the Oltenian Creangă". During the 1910s, folklorist Tudor Pamfile published a specialized magazine named Ion Creangă in honor of the writer. Creangă's various works also provided starting points for several other writers of diverse backgrounds. They included representatives of the Symbolist movement, such as Victor Eftimiu, who was inspired by Creangă's narrative style in writing his fantasy and verse play Înșir'te mărgărite. Another such author was poet Elena Farago, whose didactic children's story Într-un cuib de rândunică ("Inside a Swallow's Nest") borrows from "The Flax and the Shirt".
With the interwar period and the spread of modernist literature, a new generation of critics, most notably George Călinescu and Vladimir Streinu, dedicated important segments of their activity to the works of Ion Creangă. Other such figures were Șerban Cioculescu, whose contribution attempts to elucidate the more mysterious parts of the writer's vocabulary, and educator Dumitru Furtună, whose biographical studies provided a main source for subsequent research. By then, interest in Creangă's life and writings had diversified. This phenomenon first touched Romanian theater when I. I. Mironescu dramatized a section of Creangă's Memories as Catiheții de la Humulești ("The Catechists from Humulești")—a literary contribution judged "superfluous" by George Călinescu, who noted that the original was already "dramatic" in style. The writer's stories also became an inspiration for Alfred Mendelsohn and Alexandru Zirra, two Romanian composers who worked in children's musical theater, who adapted, respectively, "Harap Alb" and "The Goat and Her Three Kids". Creangă was also a secondary presence in Mite and Bălăuca, two biographical novels centered on Eminescu's amorous life, written by the prominent interwar critic Eugen Lovinescu, to whom Călinescu reproached having largely ignored Creangă in his nonfictional texts. Creangă's writings also earned followers among the more radical wing of the modernist scene. The authenticity and originality of Creangă's prose were highlighted and treasured by the influential modernist venue Contimporanul, in particular by its literary chroniclers Ion Vinea and Benjamin Fondane. Likewise, while formally affiliating with Surrealism, the avant-garde author Ion Călugăru contributed various prose works which borrow some of Creangă's storytelling techniques to depict the lives of Jewish Romanian communities from Moldavia.
In stages after World War I, the 19th century writer became better known to an international audience. This process produced translations into English, some of which, Călinescu argued, reached significant popularity among British readers of Romanian literature. In contrast, writer Paul Bailey assessed that the variants used antiquated words and "sounded terrible" in English. Among the series of early English-language versions was a 1920 edition of Creangă's Memories, translated by Lucy Byng and published by Marcu Beza. It was also during the interwar that Jean Boutière published the first-ever French-language monograph on the Romanian writer, originally as a Ph.D. thesis for the University of Paris.
While their author continued to receive praise for his main contributions, the erotic tales were most often kept hidden from the public eye. George Călinescu summarized this contrast by stating: "The 'corrosives' left by Creangă are not known publicly." An exception to this rule was Kirileanu's Creangă reader of 1938, published by Editura Fundațiilor Regale as the first critical edition of his entire literature. According to critic Adrian Solomon, the Romanian tradition of silencing obscene language and sexually explicit literature through censorship made "The Tale of All Tales" circulate "rather like a samizdat", which left writers with "no solid tradition to draw on, and precious little chance to evade ... the vigilant morals of a straitlaced public." The nationalist aspects of Ion Creangă's public discourse were however approved of and recovered by the far right of the 1920s and '30s. High-ranking Orthodox cleric Tit Simedrea referred to Creangă as a predecessor when, in 1937, he urged his congregation to refrain from purchasing merchandise sold by Jews (a measure which he believed was a practical alternative to the Jews' forced eviction). In 1939, as part of a press campaign targeting Călinescu's work, the fascist journal Porunca Vremii accused the literary historian of having exposed Creangă's biography for the sake of compromising the "genial Moldavian" by turning him into "an unfrocked epileptic and a drunk."
Creangă inspired a 1920 painting by Octav Băncilă, which shows Creangă listening to Eminescu reading his poems. Two busts of the author were erected in Iași, respectively at his grave site and, in 1932, the gardens of Copou neighborhood. After 1943, another such piece was unveiled in Bucharest's Cișmigiu Gardens, as part of Rotunda Scriitorilor monument.
Under communism
During Romania's restrictive communist period, which lasted between 1948 and 1989, the critical evaluation of Ion Creangă's work went through several periods, complementing political developments. Throughout the first part of this interval, when socialist realism was politically imposed on Romanian letters, Creangă was spared the posthumous censorship which affected several other classical writers (see Censorship in Communist Romania). His work was officially praised for its aesthetic qualities, but its association with the condemned Junimea was omitted from critical commentary, and readers were instead referred to Creangă as a realist critical of bourgeois society. In 1948, the new authorities granted him posthumous membership in the Romanian Academy. The following year, at the height of Soviet occupation, official critic Barbu Lăzăreanu controversially described Creangă as a writer indebted to Russian folklore.
By the second half of communist rule, several new approaches in the critical assessment of Creangă's literature were emerging. His work became a main topic of critical interest and the sole subject of many works, to the point where Nicolae Manolescu assessed that "everything has been said about Creangă". Within this exegetic phenomenon, an original interpretation of his stories from an esoteric perspective was written by philosopher Vasile Lovinescu as Creangă și Creanga de aur ("Creangă and the Golden Bough"). During the final two decades of communism, under Nicolae Ceaușescu, the recovery of nationalist discourse into official dogma also encouraged the birth of protochronism. In one of its aspects, theorized by cultural historian Edgar Papu, this approach controversially reevaluated various Romanian writers, Creangă included, presenting them as figures who anticipated most developments on the world stage. Papu's own conclusion about "Harap Alb", outlined in a 1983 volume, depicted Creangă as a direct predecessor of Italian semiotician Umberto Eco and his celebrated volume The Open Work—a conclusion which literary historian Florin Mihăilescu has seen as proof of Papu's "exegetic obsession", lacking in "sense of humor, not just sense of reality." One of Papu's disciples, national communist ideologue Dan Zamfirescu, claimed that Creangă was equal to, or even more important than world classics Homer, William Shakespeare and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, while asserting that the eponymous protagonist of "Ivan Turbincă" stands as "the character who dominates world history in our century". Left outside the scope of this critical interest, the "corrosives" were left out of new Creangă readers (such as Iorgu Iordan's 1970 edition), being, according to a 1976 essay by scholar George Munteanu, "still unpublishable" for lack of "a general level of aesthetic education" among Romanians.
A second museum entirely dedicated to the writer was opened at his Târgu Neamț home in 1951, and donated to the state by his successors in 1965. During the following decades, it reportedly became the most visited memorial house in Romania. The authorities also financed a new cultural center, raised in the immediate vicinity of Bojdeuca during 1984–1989. In 1965, the Ion Creangă Children's Theater, a state-run institution, was founded in Bucharest, and its subsequent activity included staging several of the writer's fairy tales for a junior public. Among such contributions were two adaptation of "Harap Alb", directed respectively by Ion Lucian and Zoe Anghel Stanca. In 1983, Timișoara-based author Șerban Foarță also completed work on a stage version of "Ivan Turbincă".
A new publishing house, Editura Ion Creangă, was created as a main publisher of children's literature, and its output included editions of Creangă's own works. The new editions were illustrated by several visual artists of note, among them Corneliu Baba, Eugen Taru and Lívia Rusz, while "Harap Alb" became a project of comic book artist Sandu Florea, earning him a Eurocon prize. A major project of the time involved Creangă translations into other languages, including Hungarian (a celebrated contribution by Hungarian-Romanian author András Sütő). During the same epoch, Creangă and his stories first became sources of inspiration for the Romanian film industry. Among the first were two contributions of filmmaker Elisabeta Bostan, both released in the early 1960s and based on the Memories: Amintiri din copilărie (starring child actor Ion Bocancea as the young Nică and Ștefan Ciubotărașu as the grown-up narrator), and Pupăza din tei (focusing on the hoopoe story). In 1965, celebrated Romanian director Ion Popescu-Gopo released De-aș fi Harap Alb, a loose adaptation of "Harap Alb", starring Florin Piersic in the title role. Popescu-Gopo also directed the 1976 film Povestea dragostei, which was based on "The Story of the Pig" and the 1985 film "Ramasagul" which was based on "The Bag with 2 Coins". The series also includes Nicolae Mărgineanu's biographical film of 1989, Un bulgăre de humă, focuses on the friendship between Creangă (played by Dorel Vișan) and Eminescu (Adrian Pintea).
The legacy of Ion Creangă was also tangible in the Soviet Union, and especially in the Moldavian SSR (which, as the larger section of Bessarabia, had been part of interwar Greater Romania, and later became independent Moldova). Initially, his writings, titled Moldavian Stories, formed part of the Soviet curriculum in the Moldavian Autonomous Region (Transnistria). Following the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia, Creangă was one of the Romanian-language writers whose works were still allowed for publishing by the new authorities. This provided local contributors to Romanian literature contact with older cultural models, directly inspiring the experimental or Postmodern prose pieces by Vlad Ioviță and Leo Butnaru. The endorsement of Creangă's public image within the Moldavian SSR was also reflected in art: in 1958, the writer's bust, the work of sculptor Lev Averbruh, was assigned to the Alley of Classics in Chișinău. His works were illustrated by one of the Moldavian SSR's leading visual artists, Igor Vieru, who also painted a portrait of the author. In 1967, Ioviță and filmmaker Gheorghe Vodă released Se caută un paznic: an adaptation of "Ivan Turbincă" and one of the successful samples of early Moldovan cinema, it was also noted for the musical score, composed by Eugen Doga. Also during that period, "The Goat ..." and "The Purse a' Tuppence" were made into animated shorts (directed by Anton Mater and Constantin Condrea). In 1978, an operatic version of "The Goat and Her Three Kids" was created by composer Zlata Tkach, based on a libretto by Grigore Vieru.
After 1989
The 1989 Revolution, which signaled the end of communism, closely preceded the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Renewed Moldova–Romania relations, and moves toward potential reunification, were consecrated by 1990 events such as the "Bridge of Flowers". The latter tour saw Moldovan politicians and cultural delegates demanding, and obtaining, that they be allowed to visit Bojdeuca. In 1993, answering a petition signed by a group of cultural personalities from Iași, Metropolitan Daniel (the future Patriarch of All Romania) signed a decision to posthumously revert the decision to exclude Ion Creangă from among the Moldavian clergy. The public polled during a 2006 program produced by the Romanian Television nominated Creangă 43rd among the 100 greatest Romanians. New monuments honoring the writer include a bust unveiled in Târgu Neamț, the work of sculptor Ovidiu Ciobotaru. The patrimony associated with Creangă's life has also sparked debates: local authorities in Târgu Neamț were criticized for not maintaining the site near his house in its best condition, while the Fălticeni where he once lived was controversially put up for sale by its private owners in 2009, at a time when city hall could not exercise its pre-emption right.
Creangă's work was also subject to rediscovery and reevaluation. This implied the publishing of his "corrosives", most notably in a 1998 edition titled Povestea poveștilor generației '80 ("The Tale of the Tales of the 80s Generation"). Edited by Dan Petrescu and Luca Pițu, it featured a Postmodern reworking of Povestea poveștilor by Mircea Nedelciu, a leading theorist of the Optzeciști writers. A trilingual edition of Creangă's original text was published in 2006 as a Humanitas project, with illustrations made for the occasion by graphic artist Ioan Iacob. The book included versions of the text in English (the work of Alistair Ian Blyth) and French (translated by Marie-France Ionesco, the daughter of playwright Eugène Ionesco), both of which were noted for resorting exclusively to antiquated slang. In 2004, another one of Creangă's stories was subjected to a Postmodern interpretation, with Stelian Țurlea's novel Relatare despre Harap Alb ("A Report about Harap Alb"). In 2009, Țurlea followed up with a version of "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter"; a year later, his colleague Horia Gârbea published a personal take on "The Story of a Lazy Man". Ion Creangă's own didactic tales have remained a presence in the Romanian curriculum after 2000, particularly in areas of education targeting the youngest students.
New films based on Creangă's writings include, among others, Mircea Daneliuc's Tusea și junghiul of 1992 (an adaptation of "The Old Man's Daughter ...") and Tudor Tătaru's Moldovan-Romanian co-production Dănilă Prepeleac (1996). There were also several post-1989 theatrical adaptations of Ion Creangă's texts, contributed by various Romanian dramaturges. Some of these are Cornel Todea's variant of "Harap Alb" (with music by Nicu Alifantis), Cristian Pepino's take on "The Goat and Her Three Kids", Mihai Mălaimare's Prostia omenească (from "Human Stupidity") and Gheorghe Hibovski's Povestea poveștilor, a fringe theater show using both Creangă's original and Nedelciu's text.
Creangă's name was assigned to several education institutions, among them Bucharest's Ion Creangă National College, and to an annual prize granted by the Romanian Academy. There is an Ion Creangă commune, in Neamț County, and streets or squares were also named in the writer's honor in cities throughout Romania: Târgu Neamț, Iași, Fălticeni, Bucharest, Arad, Brăila, Brașov, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Oradea, Ploiești, Sibiu, Suceava, Târgu Mureș, Tecuci, Timișoara, Tulcea, etc. A quarter in northern Bucharest, near Colentina, is also named Ion Creangă. Creangă's name was assigned to several landmarks and institutions in post-Soviet Moldova. Among them is the Ion Creangă Pedagogical State University, founded on the basis of Chișinău's normal school.
Notes
References
Marcu Beza, Paganism in Roumanian Folklore, Swedenborg Press, New York, 2007.
Lucian Boia, History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness, Central European University Press, Budapest, 2001.
Mircea Braga, postface and bibliography to Ion Creangă, Povești și povestiri, Editura Minerva, 1987, p. 199–220.
George Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române de la origini pînă în prezent, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1986
Paul Cernat, Avangarda românească și complexul periferiei: primul val, Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2007.
Muguraș Constantinescu, "Figures et représentations du vieillir et de la vieillesse dans les contes de Ion Creangă", in Alain Montandon (ed.), Figures du vieillir, Presses Universitaires Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, 2005, p. 59–71.
Neagu Djuvara, Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne, Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995.
Horia Gârbea, Trecute vieți de fanți și de birlici, Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2008.
Ruth S. Lamb, "Romanian Drama", in Stanley Hochman (ed.), The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama. Vol. 4: O-S, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1984, p. 239–252.
Carmen-Maria Mecu, Nicolae Mecu, "Paradigms of Junimea in Education for a Civil Society", in Magdalena Dumitrana (ed.), Romania: Cultural Identity and Education for Civil Society. Romanian Philosophical Studies, V. Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change, Series IVA, Eastern and Central Europe, Volume 24, Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, Washington, 2004, p. 181–193.
Florin Mihăilescu, De la proletcultism la postmodernism, Editura Pontica, Constanța, 2002.
Lucian Nastasă, Intelectualii și promovarea socială (pentru o morfologie a câmpului universitar), Editura Nereamia Napocae, Cluj-Napoca, 2002; e-book version at the Romanian Academy's George Bariț Institute of History
Andrei Oișteanu, Inventing the Jew. Antisemitic Stereotypes in Romanian and Other Central East-European Cultures, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 2009.
Z. Ornea,
Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească, Editura Fundației Culturale Române, Bucharest, 1995.
Junimea și junimismul, Vol. II, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1998.
Tudor Vianu, Scriitori români, Vol. I-III, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1970–1971.
Radu Voinescu, "Romanian Erotic Literature", in Gaëtan Brulotte, John Phillips (eds.), Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature, Routledge, New York & Abingdon, p. 1127–1131.
External links
translations in the Romanian Cultural Institute's Plural Magazine (various issues): "Danillo Nonsuch" ("Dănilă Prepeleac"), Childhood Memories (excerpt), "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", Childhood Memories (excerpt), "The Purse a' Tuppence", "The Tale of All Tales", "The Tale of Ionică the Fool"
Roumanian Stories. Translated by Lucy Byng, at the University of Washington's DXARTS/CARTAH Electronic Text Archive
"The Story of the Pig". Hog Bridegrooms (tales of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 441 in which a beautiful maiden is forced to marry a hog or a hedgehog), University of Pittsburgh, Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts edited and/or translated by D. L. Ashliman
1837 births
1889 deaths
People from Târgu Neamț
People of the Principality of Moldavia
Romanian Orthodox priests
Free and Independent Faction politicians
Romanian children's writers
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Romanian fantasy writers
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19th-century Romanian poets
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19th-century memoirists | true | [
"Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the Junimea Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of the 19th century.\n\nA member of the Conservative Party, he was Foreign Mini... | [
"Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romanian literature, he is best known for his Childhood Memories volume, his novellas and... |
[
"Ion Creangă",
"Junimea reception",
"When was the Junimea reception",
"The exact date of his reception is a mystery.",
"Who else was involved in the Junimea reception?",
"Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp.",
"What did Maiorescu do in the reception?",
"represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was stil... | C_c81777bed23f4fd3a49716508c674479_0 | What was Petre P. Carp's role in the reception? | 4 | What was Petre P. Carp's role in the Junimea reception? | Ion Creangă | At around the same time, Creanga also began attending Junimea, an upper class literary club presided upon by Maiorescu, whose cultural and political prestige was increasing. This event, literary historian Z. Ornea argued, followed a time of indecision: as a former Factionalist, Creanga was a natural adversary of the mainstream Junimist "cosmopolitan orientation", represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was still fundamentally committed to Maiorescu's agenda in the field of education. Literary historians Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu also argue that, after attending Junimea, the author was able to assimilate some of its innovative teachings into his own style of pedagogy, and thus helped diffuse its message outside the purely academic environment. The exact date of his reception is a mystery. According to Maiorescu's own recollections, written some decades after the event, Creanga was in attendance at a Junimea meeting of 1871, during which Gheorghe Costaforu proposed to transform the club into a political party. The information was considered dubious by Z. Ornea, who argued that the episode may have been entirely invented by the Junimist leader, and noted that it contradicted both Negruzzi's accounts and minutes kept by A. D. Xenopol. According to Ornea's assessment, with the exception of literary critic Vladimir Streinu, all of Creanga's biographers have come to dismiss Maiorescu's statement. Several sources mention that the future writer was introduced to the society by Eminescu, who was an active member around 1875. This and other details lead Ornea to conclude that membership was granted to Creanga only after the summer break of 1875. Gradually or instantly, Creanga made a positive impression by confirming with the Junimist ideal of authenticity. He also became treasured for his talkative and jocular nature, self-effacing references to himself as a "peasant", and eventually his debut works, which became subjects of his own public readings. His storytelling soon earned him dedicated spectators, who deemed Creanga's fictional universe a "sack of wonders" at a time when the author himself had started casually using the pseudonym Ioan Vantura-Tara ("Ioan Gadabout"). Although still in his forties, the newcomer was also becoming colloquially known to his colleagues as Mos Creanga ("Old Man Creanga" or "Father Creanga"), which was a sign of respect and sympathy. Among Ion Creanga's most dedicated promoters were Eminescu, his former political rival Iacob Negruzzi, Alexandru Lambrior and Vasile Pogor, as well as the so-called caracuda (roughly, "small game") section, which comprised Junimists who rarely took the floor during public debates, and who were avid listeners of his literary productions (it was to this latter gathering that Creanga later dedicated his erotic texts). In parallel to his diversified literary contribution, the former priest himself became a noted voice in Junimist politics, and, like his new friend Eminescu, voiced support for the group's nationalist faction, in disagreement with the more cosmopolitan and aristocratic segment led by Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp. By that the late 1870s, he was secretly redirecting political support from the former Factionalists to his new colleagues, as confirmed by an encrypted letter he addressed to Negruzzi in March 1877. CANNOTANSWER | in disagreement with the more cosmopolitan and aristocratic segment led by Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp. | Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romanian literature, he is best known for his Childhood Memories volume, his novellas and short stories, and his many anecdotes. Creangă's main contribution to fantasy and children's literature includes narratives structured around eponymous protagonists ("Harap Alb", "Ivan Turbincă", "Dănilă Prepeleac", "Stan Pățitul"), as well as fairy tales indebted to conventional forms ("The Story of the Pig", "The Goat and Her Three Kids", "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter"). Widely seen as masterpieces of the Romanian language and local humor, his writings occupy the middle ground between a collection of folkloric sources and an original contribution to a literary realism of rural inspiration. They are accompanied by a set of contributions to erotic literature, collectively known as his "corrosives".
A defrocked Romanian Orthodox priest with an unconventional lifestyle, Creangă made an early impact as an innovative educator and textbook author, while pursuing a short career in nationalist politics with the Free and Independent Faction. His literary debut came late in life, closely following the start of his close friendship with Romania's national poet Mihai Eminescu and their common affiliation with the influential conservative literary society Junimea. Although viewed with reserve by many of his colleagues there, and primarily appreciated for his records of oral tradition, Creangă helped propagate the group's cultural guidelines in an accessible form. Later critics have often described him, alongside Eminescu, Ion Luca Caragiale and Ioan Slavici, as one of the most accomplished representatives of Junimist literature.
Ion Creangă was posthumously granted several honors, and is commemorated by a number of institutions in both Romania and neighboring Moldova. These include the Bojdeuca building in Iași, which, in 1918, was opened as the first memorial house in Romania. His direct descendants include Horia Creangă, one of the leading Romanian architects during the interwar period.
Biography
Background and family
Ion Creangă was born in Humulești in the Principality of Moldavia, a former village which has since been incorporated into Târgu Neamț city, the son of Orthodox trader Ștefan sin Petre Ciubotariul and his wife Smaranda. His native area, bordering on heavily forested areas, was in the Eastern Carpathian foothills, and included into what was then the Principality of Moldavia. The surrounding region's population preserved an archaic way of life, dominated by shepherding, textile manufacturing and related occupations, and noted for preserving the older forms of local folklore. Another characteristic of the area, which left an impression on Creangă's family history, was related to the practice of transhumance and the links between ethnic Romanian communities on both sides of the mountains, in Moldavia and Transylvania: on his maternal side, the writer descended from Maramureș-born peasants, while, according to literary historian George Călinescu, his father's origin may have been further southwest, in Transylvania-proper.
The family had reached a significant position within their community: Ștefan sin Petre had made a steady income from his itinerant trade in wool, while his wife was the descendant of the Creangăs of Pipirig, a family of community leaders. The latter's members included Moldavian Metropolitan Iacob Stamati, as well as Smaranda's father, Vornic David, and her uncle Ciubuc Clopotarul, a monk at Neamț Monastery. Proud of this tradition, it was her who insisted for her son to pursue a career in the Church. According to his own recollection, the future writer was born on March 1, 1837—a date which has since been challenged. Creangă's other statements mention March 2, 1837, or an unknown date in 1836. The exactitude of other accounts is equally unreliable: community registers from the period gave the date of June 10, 1839, and mention another child of the same name being born to his parents on February 4, 1842 (the more probable birth date of Creangă's younger brother Zahei). The imprecision also touches other aspects of his family life: noting the resulting conflicts in data, Călinescu decided that it was not possible for one to know if the writer's parents were married to each other (and, if so, if they were on their first marriage), nor how many children they had together. At a time when family names were not legally required, and people were primarily known by various nicknames and patronymics, the boy was known to the community as Nică, a hypocorism formed from Ion, or more formally as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei ("Nică of Ștefan of Petru", occasionally Nic-a lui Ștefan a Petrei).
Childhood, youth and ordination
After an idyllic period, which is recounted in the first section of his Childhood Memories, Ion Creangă was sent to primary school, an institution then in the care of Orthodox Church authorities, where he became noted for his rebellious attitude and appetite for truancy. Among his colleagues was a female student, Smărăndița popii (known later as Smaranda Posea), for whom he developed an affection which lasted into his adult life, over decades in which the two no longer saw each other. He was taught reading and writing in Cyrillic alphabet through peer tutoring techniques, before the overseeing teacher, Vasile Ilioaiei, was lassoed off the street and conscripted by the Moldavian military at some point before 1848. After another teacher, whom the Memories portray as a drunk, died from cholera in late 1848, David Creangă withdrew his grandson from the local school and took him to a similar establishment in Broșteni, handing him into the care of a middle-aged woman, Irinuca. Ion Creangă spent several months at Irinuca's remote house on the Bistrița River, before the proximity of goats resulted in a scabies infection and his hastened departure for Pipirig, where he cured himself using birch extract, a folk remedy mastered by his maternal grandmother Nastasia.
After returning to school between late 1849 and early 1850, Creangă was pulled out by his financially struggling father, spent the following period working in wool-spinning, and became known by the occupational nickname Torcălău ("Spinster"). He only returned in third grade some four years later, having been sent to the Târgu Neamț public school, newly founded by Moldavian Prince Grigore Alexandru Ghica as part of the Regulamentul Organic string of reforms. A colleague of future philosopher Vasile Conta in the class of priest and theologian Isaia "Popa Duhu" Teodorescu, Creangă was sent to the Fălticeni seminary in 1854. After having been registered as Ioan Ștefănescu (a variant of his given name and a family name based on his patronymic), the adolescent student eventually adopted his maternal surname of Creangă. According to Călinescu, this was done either "for aesthetic reasons" (as his new name, literally meaning "branch" or "bough", "sounds good") or because of a likely discovery that Ștefan was not his real father. Dan Grădinaru, a researcher of Creangă's work, believes that the writer had a special preference for the variant Ioan, generally used in more learned circles, instead of the variant Ion that was consecrated by his biographers.
Having witnessed, according to his own claim, the indifference and mundane preoccupations of his peers, Creangă admitted to having taken little care in his training, submitting to the drinking culture, playing practical jokes on his colleagues, and even shoplifting, while pursuing an affair with the daughter of a local priest. According to his own statement, he was a philanderer who, early in his youth, had already "caught the scent" of the catrință (the skirt in traditional costumes). In August 1855, circumstances again forced him to change schools: confronted with the closure of his Fălticeni school, Creangă left for the Central Seminary attached to Socola Monastery, in Moldavia's capital of Iași. Ștefan sin Petre's 1858 death left him without means of support, and he requested being directly ordained, but, not being of the necessary age, was instead handed a certificate to attest his school attendance. He was soon after married, after a brief courtship, to the 15-year-old Ileana, daughter of Priest Ioan Grigoriu from the church of the Forty Saints, where he is believed to have been in training as a schoolteacher. The ceremony took place in August 1859, several months after the personal union between Moldavia and its southern neighbor Wallachia, effected by the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as Domnitor. Having been employed as a cantor by his father in law's church, he was ordained in December of the same year, assigned to the position of deacon in Holy Trinity Church, and, in May 1860, returned to Forty Saints.
Relations between Creangă and Grigoriu were exceptionally tense. Only weeks after his wedding, the groom, who had probably agreed to marriage only because it could facilitate succeeding Grigoriu, signed a complaint addressed to Metropolitan Sofronie Miclescu, denouncing his father in law as "a killer", claiming to have been mistreated by him and cheated out of his wife's dowry, and demanding to be allowed a divorce. The response to this request was contrary to his wishes: he was ordered into isolation by the Dicasterie, the supreme ecclesiastical court, being allowed to go free only on promise to reconcile with Grigoriu.
Beginnings as schoolteacher and clash with the Orthodox Church
In 1860, Creangă enlisted at the Faculty of Theology, part of the newly founded University of Iași, and, in December 1860, fathered a son, Constantin. His life still lacked in stability, and he decided to move out of Grigoriu's supervision and into Bărboi Church, before his position as deacon was cut out of the budget and his belongings were evicted out of his temporary lodging in 1864. He contemplated leaving the city, and even officially requested a new assignment in the more remote Bolgrad. Since January 1864, when the Faculty of Theology had been closed down, he had been attending Iași's Trei Ierarhi Monastery normal school (Trisfetite or Trei Sfetite), where he first met the young cultural figure Titu Maiorescu, who served as his teacher and supervisor, and whence he graduated as the first in his class (June 1865). Embittered by his own experience with the education system, Creangă became an enthusiastic promoter of Maiorescu's ideas on education reform and modernization, and in particular of the new methods of teaching reading and writing. During and after completing normal school, he was assigned to teaching positions at Trisfetite. While there, he earned the reputation of a demanding teacher (notably by accompanying his reports on individual students with characterizations such as "idiot", "impertinent" or "envious"). Accounts from the period state that he made use of corporal punishment in disciplining his pupils, and even surpassed the standards of violence accepted at the time.
In parallel, he was beginning his activities in support of education reform. By 1864, he and several others, among them schoolteacher V. Răceanu, were working on a new primer, which saw print in 1868 under the title Metodă nouă de scriere și cetire pentru uzul clasei I primară ("A New Method of Writing and Reading for the Use of 1st Grade Primary Course Students"). It mainly addressed the issues posed by the new Romanian alphabetical standard, a Romanization replacing Cyrillic spelling (which had been officially discarded in 1862). Largely based on Maiorescu's principles, Metodă nouă ... became one the period's most circulated textbooks. In addition to didactic texts, it also featured Creangă's isolated debut in lyric poetry, with a naïve piece titled Păsărica în timpul iernii ("The Little Bird in Wintertime"). The book was followed in 1871 by another such work, published as Învățătoriul copiilor ("The Children's Teacher") and co-authored by V. Răceanu. It included several prose fables and a sketch story, "Human Stupidity", to which later editions added Poveste ("A Story") and Pâcală (a borrowing of the fictional folk character better known as Păcală).
In February 1866, having briefly served at Iași's Pantelimon Church, he was welcomed by hegumen Isaia Vicol Dioclias into the service of Golia Monastery. Around 1867, his wife Ileana left him. After that moment, Creangă began losing interest in performing his duties in the clergy, and, while doing his best to hide that he was no longer living with his wife, took a mistress. The marriage's breakup was later attributed by Creangă himself to Ileana's adulterous affair with a Golia monk, and rumors spread that Ileana's lover was a high-ranking official, the protopope of Iași. Creangă's accusations, Călinescu contends, are nevertheless dubious, because the deacon persisted in working for the same monastery after the alleged incident.
By the second half of the 1860s, the future writer was also pursuing an interest in politics, which eventually led him to rally with the more nationalist group within the Romanian liberal current, known as Free and Independent Faction. An agitator for his party, Creangă became commonly known under the nickname Popa Smântână ("Priest Sour Cream"). In April 1866, shortly after Domnitor Cuza was toppled by a coup, and just before Carol I was selected to replace him, the Romanian Army intervened to quell a separatist riot in Iași, instigated by Moldavian Metropolitan Calinic Miclescu. It is likely that Creangă shared the outlook of other Factionalists, according to which secession was preferable to Carol's rule, and was probably among the rioters. At around the same time, he began circulating antisemitic tracts, and is said to have demanded that Christians boycott Jewish business. He is thought to have coined the expression Nici un ac de la jidani ("Not even a needle from the kikes"). He was eventually selected as one of the Factionalist candidates for an Iași seat in the Romanian Deputies' Chamber, as documented by the memoirs of his conservative rival, Iacob Negruzzi. The episode is supposed to have taken place at the earliest during the 1871 suffrage.
By 1868, Creangă's rebellious stance was irritating his hierarchical superiors, and, according to Călinescu, his consecutive actions show that he was "going out of his way for scandal". He was initially punished for attending a Iași Theater performance, as well as for defiantly claiming that there was "nothing scandalous or demoralizing" in what he had seen, and reportedly further antagonized the monks by firing a gun to scare off the rooks nesting on his church. The latter incident, which some commentators believe fabricated by Creangă's detractors, was judged absurd by the ecclesiastical authorities, who had been further alarmed by negative reporting in the press. When told that no clergyman other than him had been seen using a gun, Creangă issued a reply deemed "Nasreddinesque" by George Călinescu, maintaining that, unlike others, he was not afraid of doing so. Confronted by Metropolitan Calinic himself, Creangă allegedly argued that he could think of no other way to eliminate rooks, being eventually pardoned by the prelate when it was ruled that he had not infringed on canon law.
Defrocking and the Bojdeuca years
Creangă eventually moved out of the monastery, but refused to relinquish his key to the church basement, and, in what was probably a modernizing intent, chopped off his long hair, one of the traditional marks of an Orthodox priest. The latter gesture scandalized his superiors, particularly since Creangă explained himself using an ancient provision of canon law, which stipulated that priests were not supposed to grow their hair long. After some assessment, his superiors agreed not to regard this action as more than a minor disobedience. He was temporarily suspended in practice but, citing an ambiguity in the decision (which could be read as a banishment in perpetuity), Creangă considered himself defrocked. He relinquished his clerical clothing altogether and began wearing lay clothes everywhere, a matter which caused public outrage.
By then a teacher at the 1st School for Boys, on Română Street, Creangă was ordered out of his secular assignment in July 1872, when news of his status and attitude reached Education Minister Christian Tell. Upset by the circumstances, and objecting in writing on grounds that it did not refer to his teaching abilities, he fell back on income produced by a tobacconist's shop he had established shortly before being dismissed. This stage marked a final development in Creangă's conflict with the church hierarchy. Summoned to explain why he was living the life of a shopkeeper, he responded in writing by showing his unwillingness to apologize, and indicated that he would only agree to face secular courts. The virulent text notably accused the church officials of being his enemies on account of his "independence, sincerity, honesty" in supporting the cause of "human dignity". After the gesture of defiance, the court recommended his defrocking, its decision being soon after confirmed by the synod.
In the meantime, Creangă moved into what he called Bojdeuca (or Bujdeuca, both being Moldavian regional speech for "tiny hut"), a small house located on the outskirts of Iași. Officially divorced in 1873, he was living there with his lover Ecaterina "Tinca" Vartic. A former laundress who had earlier leased one of the Bojdeuca rooms, she shared Creangă's peasant-like existence. This lifestyle implied a number of eccentricities, such as the former deacon's practice of wearing loose shirts throughout summer and bathing in a natural pond. His voracious appetite, called "proverbial gluttony" by George Călinescu, was attested by contemporary accounts. These depict him consuming uninterrupted successions of whole meals on a daily basis.
In May 1874, soon after taking over Minister of Education in the Conservative Party cabinet of Lascăr Catargiu, his friend Maiorescu granted Creangă the position of schoolteacher in the Iași area of Păcurari. During the same period, Ion Creangă met and became best friends with Mihai Eminescu, posthumously celebrated as Romania's national poet. This is said to have taken place in summer 1875, when Eminescu was working as an inspector for Maiorescu's Education Ministry, overseeing schools in Iași County: reportedly, Eminescu was fascinated with Creangă's talents as a raconteur, while the latter admired Eminescu for his erudition.
Junimea reception
At around the same time, Creangă also began attending Junimea, an upper class literary club presided upon by Maiorescu, whose cultural and political prestige was increasing. This event, literary historian Z. Ornea argued, followed a time of indecision: as a former Factionalist, Creangă was a natural adversary of the mainstream Junimist "cosmopolitan orientation", represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was still fundamentally committed to Maiorescu's agenda in the field of education. Literary historians Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu also argue that, after attending Junimea, the author was able to assimilate some of its innovative teachings into his own style of pedagogy, and thus helped diffuse its message outside the purely academic environment.
The exact date of his reception is a mystery. According to Maiorescu's own recollections, written some decades after the event, Creangă was in attendance at a Junimea meeting of 1871, during which Gheorghe Costaforu proposed to transform the club into a political party. The information was considered dubious by Z. Ornea, who argued that the episode may have been entirely invented by the Junimist leader, and noted that it contradicted both Negruzzi's accounts and minutes kept by A. D. Xenopol. According to Ornea's assessment, with the exception of literary critic Vladimir Streinu, all of Creangă's biographers have come to dismiss Maiorescu's statement. Several sources mention that the future writer was introduced to the society by Eminescu, who was an active member around 1875. This and other details lead Ornea to conclude that membership was granted to Creangă only after the summer break of 1875.
Gradually or instantly, Creangă made a positive impression by confirming with the Junimist ideal of authenticity. He also became treasured for his talkative and jocular nature, self-effacing references to himself as a "peasant", and eventually his debut works, which became subjects of his own public readings. His storytelling soon earned him dedicated spectators, who deemed Creangă's fictional universe a "sack of wonders" at a time when the author himself had started casually using the pseudonym Ioan Vântură-Țară ("Ioan Gadabout"). Although still in his forties, the newcomer was also becoming colloquially known to his colleagues as Moș Creangă ("Old Man Creangă" or "Father Creangă"), which was a sign of respect and sympathy. Among Ion Creangă's most dedicated promoters were Eminescu, his former political rival Iacob Negruzzi, Alexandru Lambrior and Vasile Pogor, as well as the so-called caracudă (roughly, "small game") section, which comprised Junimists who rarely took the floor during public debates, and who were avid listeners of his literary productions (it was to this latter gathering that Creangă later dedicated his erotic texts). In parallel to his diversified literary contribution, the former priest himself became a noted voice in Junimist politics, and, like his new friend Eminescu, voiced support for the group's nationalist faction, in disagreement with the more cosmopolitan and aristocratic segment led by Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp. By that the late 1870s, he was secretly redirecting political support from the former Factionalists to his new colleagues, as confirmed by an encrypted letter he addressed to Negruzzi in March 1877.
Literary consecration
Autumn 1875 is also often described as his actual debut in fiction prose, with "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", a short story first publish in October by the club's magazine Convorbiri Literare. In all, Convorbiri Literare would publish 15 works of fiction and the four existing parts of his Childhood Memories before Creangă's death. Reportedly, the decision to begin writing down his stories had been the direct result of Eminescu's persuasion. His talent for storytelling and its transformation into writing fascinated his new colleagues. Several among them, including poet Grigore Alexandrescu, tasked experimental psychologist Eduard Gruber with closely studying Creangă's methods, investigations which produced a report evidencing Creangă's laborious and physical approach to the creative process. The latter also involved his frequent exchanges of ideas with Vartic, in whom he found his primary audience. In addition to his fiction writing, the emerging author followed Maiorescu's suggestion and, in 1876, published a work of educational methodology and the phonemic orthography favored by Junimea: Povățuitoriu la cetire prin scriere după sistema fonetică ("Guide to Reading by Writing in the Phonetic System"). It was supposed to become a standard textbook for the training of teachers, but was withdrawn from circulation soon afterward, when the Catargiu cabinet fell.
After losing his job as school inspector following the decisions of a hostile National Liberal executive, Mihai Eminescu spent much of his time in Bojdeuca, where he was looked after by the couple. For five months after quarreling with Samson Bodnărescu, his fellow poet and previous landlord, Eminescu even moved inside the house, where he reputedly pursued his discreet love affair with woman writer Veronica Micle, and completed as many as 22 of his poems. Creangă introduced his younger friend to a circle of companions which included Zahei Creangă, who was by then a cantor, as well as Răceanu, priest Gheorghe Ienăchescu, and clerk Nicșoi (all of whom, Călinescu notes, had come to share the raconteur's lifestyle choices and his nationalist opinions). Eminescu was especially attracted by their variant of simple life, the rudimentary setting of Creangă's house and the group's bohemian escapades. Circumstances drew the two friends apart: by 1877, Eminescu had relocated in Bucharest, the capital city, regularly receiving letters in which Creangă was asking him to return. He was however against Eminescu's plan to marry Veronica Micle, and made his objection known to the poet. In 1879, as a sign that he was formalizing his own affair with Tinca Vartic, Creangă purchased the Bojdeuca in her name, paying his former landlord 40 Austrian gulden in exchange. That same year, he, Răceanu and Ienăchescu published the textbook Geografia județului Iași ("The Geography of Iași County"), followed soon after by a map of the same region, researched by Creangă and Răceanu. A final work in the area of education followed in 1880, as a schoolteacher's version of Maiorescu's study of Romanian grammar, Regulile limbei române ("Rules of the Romanian Language").
Illness and death
By the 1880s, Creangă had become afflicted with epilepsy, suffering accelerated and debilitating episodes. He was also severely overweight, weighing some 120 kilograms (over 250 pounds), with a height of 1.85 meters (6 feet), and being teasingly nicknamed Burduhănosul ("Tubby") by his friends (although, according to testimonies by his son and daughter-in-law, he did not actually look his size).
Despite his activity being much reduced, he still kept himself informed about the polemics agitating Romania's cultural and political scene. He was also occasionally hosting Eminescu, witnessing his friend's struggle with mental disorder. The two failed to reconnect, and their relationship ended. After one of the meetings, he recorded that the delusional poet was carrying around a revolver with which to fend off unknown attackers—among the first in a series of episodes which ended with Eminescu's psychiatric confinement and death during June 1889. Around that time, Creangă, like other Junimists, was involved in a clash of ideas with the emerging Romanian socialist and atheistic group, rallied around Contemporanul magazine. This occurred after Contemporanul founder Ioan Nădejde publicly ridiculed Învățătoriul copiilor over its take on creationism, quoting its claim that "the invisible hand of God" was what made seeds grow into plants. Creangă replied with a measure of irony, stating that "had God not pierced the skin over our eyes, we would be unable to see each other's mistakes". Nevertheless, Călinescu argued, Nădejde's comments had shaken his adversary's religious sentiment, leading Creangă to question the immortality of the soul in a letter he addressed to one of his relatives in the clergy. According to other assessments, he was himself an atheist, albeit intimately so.
In 1887, the National Liberal Ministry of Dimitrie Sturdza removed Creangă from his schoolteacher's post, and he subsequently left for Bucharest in order to petition for his pension rights. Having hoped to be granted assistance by Maiorescu, he was disappointed when the Junimea leader would not respond to his request, and, during his final years, switched allegiance to the literary circle founded by Nicolae Beldiceanu (where he was introduced by Gruber). Among Creangă's last works was a fourth and final part of his Memories, most likely written during 1888. The book remained unfinished, as did the story Făt-frumos, fiul iepei ("Făt-Frumos, Son of the Mare"). He died after an epileptic crisis, on the last day of 1889, his body being buried in Iași's Eternitatea Cemetery. His funeral ceremony was attended by several of Iași's intellectuals (Vasile Burlă, A. C. Cuza, Dumitru Evolceanu, Nicolae Iorga and Artur Stavri among them).
Work
Cultural context
The impact of Ion Creangă's work within its cultural context was originally secured by Junimea. Seeking to revitalize Romanian literature by recovering authenticity, and reacting against those cultural imports it deemed excessive, the group notably encouraged individual creativity among peasants. Reflecting back on Maiorescu's role in the process, George Călinescu wrote: "A literary salon where the personal merit would take the forefront did not exist [before Junimea] and, had Creangă been born two decades earlier, he would not have been able to present 'his peasant material' to anyone. Summoning the creativity of the peasant class and placing it in direct contact with the aristocrats is the work of Junimea." His cogenerationist and fellow literary historian Tudor Vianu issued a similar verdict, commenting: "Junimea is itself ... an aristocratic society. Nevertheless, it is through Junimea that surfaced the first gesture of transmitting a literary direction to some writers of rural extraction: a phenomenon of great importance, the neglect of which would render unexplainable the entire subsequent development of our literature." Also referring to cultural positioning within and outside the group, Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu took the acceptance of "literate peasants" such as Creangă as exemplary proof of Junimist "diversity" and "tolerance".
Maiorescu is known to have had much appreciation for Creangă and other writers of peasant origin, such as Ion Popovici-Bănățeanu and Ioan Slavici. Late in life, he used this connection to challenge accusations of Junimist elitism in the face of criticism from more populist traditionalists. Nonetheless, Junimea members in general found Creangă more of an entertainer rather than a serious writer, and treasured him only to the measure where he illustrated their theories about the validity of rural literature as a source of inspiration for cultured authors. Therefore, Iacob Negruzzi sympathetically but controversially referred to his friend as "a primitive and uncouth talent". Maiorescu's critical texts also provide little individual coverage of Creangă's contributions, probably because these failed to comply exactly with his stratification of literary works into poporane ("popular", that is anonymous or collective) and otherwise. Tudor Vianu's theory defines Creangă as a prime representative of the "popular realism" guidelines (as sporadically recommended by the Junimist doyen himself), cautioning however that Creangă's example was never mentioned in such a context by Maiorescu personally.
Although he occasionally downplayed his own contribution to literature, Creangă himself was aware that his texts went beyond records of popular tradition, and made significant efforts to be recognized as an original author (by corresponding with fellow writers and willingly submitting his books to critical scrutiny). Vianu commented at length on the exact relationship between the narrative borrowed from oral tradition and Creangă's "somewhat surreptitious" method of blending his own style into the folkloric standard, likening it to the historical process whereby local painters improvised over the strict canons of Byzantine art. Creangă's complex take on individuality and the art of writing was attested by his own foreword to an edition of his collected stories, in which he addressed the reader directly: "You may have read many stupid things since you were put on this Earth. Please read these as well, and where it should be that they don't agree with you, take hold of a pen and come up with something better, for this is all I could see myself doing and did."
An exception among Junimea promoters was Eminescu, himself noted for expressing a dissenting social perspective which only partly mirrored Maiorescu's take on conservatism. According to historian Lucian Boia, the "authentic Moldavian peasant" that was Creangă also complemented Eminescu's own "more metaphysical" peasanthood. Similarly, Z. Ornea notes that the poet used Creangă's positions to illustrate his own ethnonationalist take on Romanian culture, and in particular his claim that rural authenticity lay hidden by a "superimposed stratum" of urbanized ethnic minorities. 20th century critics have described Creangă as one of his generation's most accomplished figures, and a leading exponent of Junimist literature. This verdict is found in several of Vianu's texts, which uphold Creangă as a great exponent of his generation's literature, comparable to fellow Junimea members Eminescu, Slavici and Ion Luca Caragiale. This view complements George Călinescu's definition, placing the Moldavian author in the company of Slavici and Caragiale as one of the "great prose writers" of the 1880s. Lucian Boia, who noted that "the triad of Romanian classics" includes Creangă alongside Eminescu and Caragiale, also cautioned that, compared to the other two (with whom "the Romanians have said almost all there is to say about themselves"), Creangă has "a rather more limited register".
The frequent comparison between Creangă and Caragiale in particular is seen by Vianu as stemming from both their common "wide-ranging stylistic means" and their complementary positions in relations to two superimposed phenomenons, with Caragiale's depiction of the petite bourgeoisie as the rough equivalent of Creangă's interest in the peasantry. The same parallelism is explained by Ornea as a consequence of the two authors' social outlook: "[Their works] have cemented aesthetically the portrayal of two worlds. Creangă's is the peasant world, Caragiale's the suburban and urban one. Two worlds which represent, in fact, two characteristic steps and two sociopolitical models in the evolution of Romanian structures which ... were confronting themselves in a process that would later prove decisive." According to the same commentator, the two plus Eminescu are their generation's great writers, with Slavici as one "in their immediate succession." While listing what he believes are elements bridging the works of Creangă and Caragiale, other critics have described as strange the fact that the two never appear to have mentioned each other, and stressed that, although not unlikely, a direct encounter between them was never recorded in sources.
Narrative style and language
Highlighting Ion Creangă's recourse to the particularities of Moldavian regionalisms and archaisms, their accumulation making Creangă's work very difficult to translate, George Călinescu reacted against claims that the narratives reflected antiquating patterns. He concluded that, in effect, Creangă's written language was the equivalent of a "glossological museum", and even contrasted by the writer's more modern everyday parlance. Also discussing the impression that Creangă's work should be read with a Moldavian accent, noted for its "softness of sound" in relation to standard Romanian phonology, Călinescu cautioned against interpretative exaggerations, maintaining that the actual texts only offer faint suggestions of regional pronunciation. Contrasting Creangă with the traditions of literature produced by Wallachians in what became the standard literary language, Călinescu also argued in favor of a difference in mentality: the "balance" evidenced by Moldavian speech and illustrated in Ion Creangă's writings is contrasted by the "discoloration and roughness" of "Wallachianism". He also criticized those views according to which Creangă's variant of the literary language was "beautiful", since it failed to "please everyone on account of some acoustical beauty", and since readers from outside the writer's native area could confront it "with some irritation." For Călinescu, the result nevertheless displays "an enormous capacity of authentic speech", also found in the works of Caragiale and, in the 20th century, Mihail Sadoveanu. According to the same commentator, the dialectical interventions formed a background to a lively vocabulary, a "hermetic" type of "argot", which contained "hilarious double entendres and indecent onomatopoeia", passing from "erudite beauty" to "obscene laughter". Some of the expressions characteristic of Creangă's style are obscure in meaning, and some other, such as "drought made the snake scream inside the frog's mouth", appear to be spontaneous and nonsensical. Another specific trait of this language, commented upon by Vianu's and compared by him to the aesthetics of Classicism, sees much of Creangă's prose being set to a discreet poetic meter.
The recourse to oral literature schemes made it into his writings, where it became a defining trait. As part of this process, Călinescu assessed, "Creangă acts as all his characters in turn, for his stories are almost entirely spoken. ... When Creangă recounts, the composition is not extraordinary, but once his heroes begin talking, their gesticulation and wording reach a height in typical storytelling." According to the critic, discovering this "fundamental" notion about Creangă's work was the merit of literary historian and Viața Românească editor Garabet Ibrăileanu, who had mentioned it as a main proof of affiliation to realism. The distinctive manner of characterization through "realistic dialogues" is seen by Vianu as a highly personal intervention and indicator of the Moldavian writer's originality. Both Vianu and Călinescu discussed this trait, together with the technique of imparting subjective narration in-between characters' replies, as creating other meeting points between Creangă and his counterpart Caragiale. Partly replicating in paper the essence of social gatherings, Ion Creangă often tried to transpose the particular effects of oral storytelling into writing. Among these characteristic touches were interrogations addressed to the readers as imaginary listeners, and pausing for effect with the visual aid of ellipsis. He also often interrupted his narratives with concise illustrations of his point, often in verse form, and usually introduced by vorba ceea (an expression literally meaning "that word", but covering the sense of "as word goes around"). One example of this connects the notions of abundance and personal satisfaction:
In other cases, the short riddles relate to larger themes, such as divine justification for one's apparent fortune:
Creangă's specificity
Despite assuming the external form of traditional literature, Ion Creangă's interests and creative interventions, Călinescu noted, separated him from his roots: "peasants do not have [his] entirely cultured gifts. ... Too much 'atmosphere', too much dialogic 'humor', too much polychromy at the expense of linear epic movements. The peasant wants the bare epic and desires the unreal." The commentator passed a similar judgment on the author's use of ancient sayings, concluding that, instead of crystallizing and validating local folklore, the accounts appeal to cultured tastes, having as the generation of comedy and volubility as their main purpose. According to Vianu's assessment Creangă was "a supreme artist" whose use of "typical sayings" attests "a man of the people, but not an anonymous and impersonal sample." These verdicts, directly contradicting Junimist theories, were mirrored by several other 20th century exegetes belonging to distinct schools of thought: Pompiliu Constantinescu, Benjamin Fondane and Ion Negoițescu. Writing during the second half of the century, critic Nicolae Manolescu passed a similar judgment, believing that Creangă was motivated by a "strictly intellectual sensuousness" and the notion that "pleasure arises from gratuitousness", while Manolescu's colleague Mircea Braga referred to "the great secret of the man who has managed to transfer unaltered the code of popular creativity into the immanence of the cultured one." In Braga's assessment, this synthesis managed "the impossible", but the difficulty of repeating it with each story also resulted in mediocre writings: "from among his few texts, even fewer are located on the relatively highest level of the relative aesthetic hierarchy".
Călinescu viewed such intellectual traits as shared by Creangă with his Wallachian counterpart Anton Pann, in turn linking both writers to the satirical component of Renaissance literature, and specifically to François Rabelais. Within local tradition, the literary historian saw a symbolic connection between Creangă and the early 18th century figure, Ion Neculce, one of Moldavia's leading chroniclers. While he made his own comparison between Creangă and Pann, Tudor Vianu concluded that the Moldavian writer was in fact superior, as well as being more relevant to literature than Petre Ispirescu, the prime collector of tales in 19th-century Wallachia. Also making use of the Rabelais analogy, literary chronicler Gabriela Ursachi found another analogy in local letters: Ion Budai-Deleanu, an early 19th-century representative of the Transylvanian School, whose style mixes erudite playfulness with popular tastes. These contextual traits, researchers assess, did not prevent Creangă's overall work from acquiring a universal aspect, particularly since various of his writings use narrative sequences common throughout world literature.
George Călinescu also assessed that these literary connections served to highlight the elevated nature of Creangă's style, his "erudite device", concluding: "Writers such as Creangă can only show up in places where the word is ancient and equivocal, and where experience has been condensed into unchanging formulas. It would have been more natural for such a prose writer to have emerged a few centuries later, into an era of Romanian humanism. Born much earlier, Creangă showed up where there exists an ancient tradition, and therefore a species of erudition, ... in a mountain village ... where the people is unmixed and keeping [with tradition]." Outlining his own theory about the aspects of "national specificity" in Romanian letters, he expanded on these thoughts, listing Creangă and Eminescu as "core Romanians" who illustrated a "primordial note", complemented by the "southern" and "Balkan" group of Caragiale and others. Claiming that the "core" presence had "not primitive, but ancient" origins, perpetuated by "stereotyped wisdom" and "energetic fatalism", he asserted: "Creangă shows our civilization's contemporaneity with the world's oldest civilizations, our Asian age." The alternating national and regional characteristics in Creangă's writings are related by historian Neagu Djuvara with the writer's place of birth, an affluent village in an isolated region, contrasting heavily with the 19th century Wallachian countryside: "if the mud hut villages of the Danube flood plain are to be taken into account, one finds himself in a different country." Ornea, who noted that Eminescu effectively shared Creangă's worldview, believed the latter to have been dominated by nostalgia for a world of independent landowning peasants, and argued that Creangă's literary and political outlook were both essentially conservative. Ornea commented: "One could say that it was through [this form of nostalgia] that the writer debuted and that, within the space of his work it became, in its own right, an expression of the world that was about to vanish." Commenting on Creangă's "robust realism" and lack of "sentimentality", Vianu contrarily asserted: "Creangă's nostalgia ... has an individual, not social, sense."
The witty and playful side of Creangă's personality, which became notorious during his time at Junimea and constituted a significant part of his appeal, was reflected into a series of anecdotes. These accounts detail his playing the ignorant in front of fellow Junimists in order not to antagonize sides during literary debates (notably, by declaring himself "for against" during a two-option vote), his irony in reference to his own admirers (such as when he asked two of them to treasure the photograph of himself in the middle and the two of them on either side, while comparing it to the crucifixion scene and implicitly assigning them the role of thieves), and his recourse to puns and proverbs which he usually claimed to be citing from oral tradition and the roots of Romanian humor. The latter habit was notably illustrated by his answer to people who would ask him for money: "not since I born was I as poor as I was poor yesterday and the day before yesterday and last week and last week and throughout life". His joyfulness complemented his overall Epicureanism and his gourmand habits: his accounts are often marked by a special interest in describing acts related to food and drink. Overall, Eduard Gruber's report contended, Creangă's writing relied on him being "a strong sensual and auditive type", and a "very emotional" person.
Ion Creangă's sense of humor was instrumental in forging the unprecedented characteristics of his work. American critic Ruth S. Lamb, the writer's style merges "the rich vocabulary of the Moldavian peasant" with "an original gaiety and gusto comparable to that of Rabelais." According to George Călinescu: "[Creangă] got the idea that he was a clever man, like all men of the people, and therefore used irony to make himself seem stupid." In Călinescu's view, the author's antics had earned him a status equivalent to that of his Wallachian Junimist counterpart Caragiale, with the exception that the latter found his inspiration in urban settings, matching "Nasreddinisms" with "Miticism". Z. Ornea sees the main protagonists in Creangă's comedic narratives as, in effect, "particularized incarnations of the same symbolic character", while the use of humor itself reflects the traditional mindset, "a survival through intelligence, that of a people with an old history, whose life experience has for centuries been concentrated into gestures and words."
Most prominent tales
Part of Ion Creangă's contribution to the short story, fantasy and children's literature genres involved collecting and transforming narratives circulating throughout his native region, which intertwine with his characteristic storytelling to the point where they become original contributions. According to Călinescu, the traditional praise for Ion Creangă as a creator of literary types is erroneous, since his characters primarily answered to ancient and linear narrative designs. The conclusion is partly shared by Braga, who links Creangă's tales to ethnological and anthropological takes on the themes and purposes of fairy tales, postulating the prevalence of three ancient and related narrative pretexts throughout his contributions: the preexistence of a "perturbing situation" (attributable to fatality), the plunging of the hero into a rite of passage-type challenge, a happy ending which brings the triumph of good over evil (often as a brutal and uncompromising act). Like their sources and predecessors in folklore, these accounts also carry transparent morals, ranging from the regulation of family life to meditations about destiny and lessons about tolerating the marginals. However, Swedish researcher Tom Sandqvist argues, they also illustrate the absurdist vein of some traditional narratives, by featuring "grotesqueries" and "illogical surprises".
With "The Goat and Her Three Kids", written mainly as a picturesque illustration of motherly love, Creangă produced a fable in prose, opposing the eponymous characters, caricatures of a garrulous but hard-working woman and her restless sons, to the sharp-toothed Big Bad Wolf, a satirical depiction of the cunning and immoral stranger. The plot shows the wolf making his way into the goat's house, where he eats the two older and less obedient kids, while the youngest one manages to escape by hiding up the chimney—the symbolism of which was psychoanalyzed by Dan Grădinaru, who claims it constitutes an allusion to Creangă's own childhood. The dénouement sees an inversion of the natural roles, an episode which, ethnologist Șerban Anghelescu notes, is dominated by "the culinary fire": the goat exercises her brutal revenge by trapping and slowly cooking the predator. This approach partly resonates with that of "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", in which Creangă makes ample use of a traditional theme in Romanian humor, which portrays mothers-in-law as mean, stingy and oppressive characters. The embodiment of such offensive traits, she is also shown to be ingenious, pretending that she has a hidden third eye which always keeps things under watch. The narrator sides with the three young women in depicting their violent retribution, showing them capturing their oppressor, torturing her until she is left speech impaired, and leaving her on the brink of death. The mother-in-law's end turns into a farce: the eldest and most intelligent of the killers manipulates her victim's dying sounds into a testament partitioning her wealth, and a thin decorum is maintained at the funeral ceremony by the daughters' hypocritical sobbing.
"The Story of the Pig" partly illustrates the notion that parental love subdues even physical repulsion, showing an elderly peasant couple cherishing their adopted porcine son, who, unbeknown to them, is enchanted. The creature instantly offsets his parents' sadness and immobility by his witty intelligence. Having applied his perseverance and spells to erect a magical bridge, the piglet fulfills the requirement for marrying the emperor's daughter, after which it is uncovered that he is a Făt-Frumos or Prince Charming character who assumes his real identity only by night. Although the plot is supposed to deal with imperial magnificence in fairy tale fashion, the setting is still primarily rural, and the court itself is made to look like an elevated peasant community. According to researcher Marcu Beza, the text is, outside of its humorous context, a distant reworking of ancient legends such as Cupid and Psyche. The story introduces three additional characters, old women who assess and reward the efforts of the virtuous: Holy Wednesday, Holy Friday and Holy Sunday. They represent a mix of Christian and pagan traditions, by being both personifications of the liturgical calendar and fairy-like patrons of the wilderness (zâne).
A similar perspective was favored by "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter". Here, the theme echoes Cinderella, but, according to Călinescu, the rural setting provides a sharp contrast to the classical motif. Persecuted by her stepmother and stepsister, the kind and loving daughter of the old man is forced into a position of servitude reflecting the plight of many peasant women in Creangă's lifetime. In this case, the old man is negatively depicted as cowardly and entirely dominated by his mean wife. The focal point of the narrative is the meeting between the good daughter and Holy Sunday. The latter notices and generously rewards the girl's helpful nature and mastery of cooking; in contrast, when her envious sister attempts the same and fails, she ends up being eaten by serpent-like creatures (balauri). The happy ending sees the good girl marrying not Prince Charming, but a simple man described as "kind and industrious"—this outcome, Călinescu assessed, did not in effect spare the old man's daughter from a life of intense labor. A story very similar to "The Old Man's Daughter ..." is "The Purse a' Tuppence", which teaches that greed can shatter families, while offering symbolic retribution to men who are unhappy in marriage. The old man's rooster, chased away by the old woman for being unproductive, ends up amassing a huge fortune, which he keeps inside his belly and regurgitates back into the courtyard; the jealous old woman ends up killing her favorite hen, who has failed in replicating the rooster's feat.
Devil-themed stories and "Harap Alb"
Several of Creangă's characteristic novellas are infused with themes from Christian mythology, fictionalizing God, Saint Peter and the army of devils, most often with the comedic intent of showing such personages behaving like regular people. A defining story in this series is "Dănilă Prepeleac", whose eponymous peasant hero is characterized by what Șerban Anghelescu calls "idiocy serving to initiate", or, according to Gabriela Ursachi, "complete, and therefore sublime, stupidity." The first part of the story shows Dănilă exchanging his oxen for an empty bag—a set of dialogues which, George Călinescu argued, is almost exactly like a comedy play. In what was described as a complete reversal in characterization, the hero uses intelligence and ruse to trick and frighten several devils. Contrarily, "Stan Pățitul" shows its hero fraternizing with a lesser demon. Following the opening episode, in which the latter accidentally eats a bit of mămăligă dedicated by Stan to those who honor God, Satan himself condemns his subordinate to service the peasant. Călinescu highlights the naturalness of exchanges between the two protagonists, the latter of whom assumes the endearing form of a frail boy, Chirică, who ends up moving in with Stan and entering his service. The writing was also noted for other realistic elements alluding to everyday life, such as the overtly colloquial exchange between Chirică and Satan, or the episodes in which the young devil helps Stan woo a peasant woman. Although relatively young, Stan himself is referred to as stătut ("frowzy" or "lacking in freshness"), and the wording reflects rural attitudes about men who fail to marry during a certain age interval. Toward the end, the story focuses on a corrupt old woman who tries to trick Stan's new wife into committing adultery, but fails and is banished to the remotest area of Hell. Viewed by Călinescu as Creangă's "most original manner of dealing with the fabulous", and paralleled by him with Caragiale's Kir Ianulea on account of its realist approach to the supernatural, "Stan Pățitul" is, according to Vianu, untraceable in its inspiration: "[its] folk origin could not be identified, but it is not dismissible".
Another account in this series is "Ivan Turbincă", whose protagonist, a Russian serviceman, is shown rebelling against Heaven and Hell, and ultimately accomplishing the human ideal of cheating Death. The plot retells a theme present in both Romanian tradition and Ukrainian folklore, while, according to researcher of children's literature Muguraș Constantinescu, the main character is similar to German tradition's Till Eulenspiegel. In the beginning of the account, God rewards the soldier's exemplary charity by granting him a pouch (turbincă), which can miraculously trap anything in existence. In order to circumvent the laws of nature, Ivan subsequently makes use of both his magical item and his innate shrewdness. In one such episode, pretending not to understand the proper position of bodies inside a coffin, he tricks impatient Death into taking his place, and traps her inside. Eventually, he is allowed to keep his life, but is promised an eternity of old age, which he ingeniously counterbalances by attending an endless succession of wedding parties, and therefore never having to feel sad.
"Harap Alb", one of Ion Creangă's most complex narratives, carries a moral defined by Călinescu as "the gifted man will earn a reputation under any guise." The story opens with a coming of age quest, handed down by a king to his three sons: the most fit among them is supposed to reach the court of the Green Emperor, who is the king's brother, and succeed him to the throne. According to Călinescu, the mission bases itself on travels undertaken by young men in Creangă's native region, while the subsequent episodes in the narrative reinforce the impression of familiarity, from the "peasant speech" adopted by the villain known as the Bald Man, to the "crass vulgarity" evidenced by the antagonist Red Emperor. Forced to pass himself off as a foreign servant (or "Moor"), the prince is three times tested and aided by Holy Sunday, who doubles as the queen of zâne creatures. Călinescu described as "playful realism" the method through which Creangă outlined the mannerisms of several other characters, in particular the allegorical creatures who provide the youngest prince with additional and serendipitous assistance. In one noted instance, the characters Setilă ("Drink-All") and Flămânzilă ("Eat-All") help the hero overcome seemingly impossible tasks set by the Red Emperor, by ingesting unnaturally huge amounts of food and drink.
The tale builds on intricate symbolism stemming from obscure sources. It features what Muguraș Constantinescu calls "the most complex representation of Holy Sunday", with mention of her isolated and heavenly abode on "flower island". A background antithesis opposes the two fictional monarchs, with the Red Emperor replicating an ancient tradition which attributes malignant characteristics to the color. By contrast, the Green Emperor probably illustrates the ideals of vitality and healthy lifestyle, as hinted by his culinary preference for "lettuce from the garden of the bear". Historian Adrian Majuru, building on earlier observations made by linguist Lazăr Șăineanu, also connects the servant-prince's antagonists with various reflections of ethnic strife in Romanian folklore: the Red Emperor as standing for the medieval Khazars ("Red Jews"), the Bald Man as a popular view of the Tatars.
Childhood Memories
Childhood Memories is, together with a short story about his teacher Isaia Teodorescu (titled "Popa Duhu"), one of Creangă's two memoirs. George Călinescu proposed that, like his fairy tales, the book illustrates popular narrative conventions, a matter accounting for their special place in literature: "The stories are true, but typical, without depth. Once retold with a different kind of gesticulation, the subject would lose all of its lively atmosphere." Also based on the techniques of traditional oral accounts, it features the topical interventions of a first-person narrator in the form of soliloquies, and reflects in part the literary canon set by frame stories. The resulting effect, Călinescu argued, was not that of "a confession or a diary", but that of a symbolic account depicting "the childhood of the universal child." According to Vianu, the text is especially illustrative of its author's "spontaneous passage" between the levels of "popular" and "cultured" literature: "The idea of fictionalizing oneself, of outlining one's formative steps, the steady accumulation of impressions from life, and then the sentiment of time, of its irreversible flow, of regret for all things lost in its consumption, of the charm relived through one's recollections are all thoughts, feelings and attitudes defining a modern man of culture. No popular model could have ever stood before Creangă when he was writing his Memories, but, surely, neither could the cultured prototypes of the genre, the first autobiographies and memoirs of the Renaissance". Grădinaru and essayist Mircea Moț analyzed the volume as a fundamentally sad text, in stated contrast with its common perception as a recollection of joyful moments: the former focused on moments which seem to depict Nică as a loner, the latter highlighted those sections which include Creangă's bitter musings about destiny and the impregnability of changes. A distinct interpretation was provided by critic Luminița Marcu, who reacted against the tradition of viewing Creangă's actual childhood as inseparable from his own subjective rendition.
Several of the book's episodes have drawn attention for the insight they offer into the culture, structure and conflicts of traditional society before 1900. Commenting on this characteristic, Djuvara asserted: "even if we take into account that the grown-up will embellish, transfigure, 'enrich' the memories of his childhood, how could we not recognize the sincerity in Creangă's heart-warming evocation of his childhood's village?" The book stays true to life in depicting ancient customs: discussing the impact of paganism on traditional Romanian customs, Marcu Beza communicated a detail of Creangă's account, which shows how January 1 celebrations of Saint Basil opposed the loud buhai players reenacting a fertility rite to people preferring a quieter celebration. The work also offers details on the traditional roles of a rural society such as that of Humulești, in the context of social change. Muguraș Constantinescu highlights the important roles of old men and women within Nică's universe, and especially that of his grandfather and "clan leader" David Creangă. The latter, she notes, is an "enlightened man" displaying "the wisdom and balance of the ripe age", a person able to insist on the importance of education, and a churchgoer who frowns on "his wife's bigotry." The seniors' regulatory role within the village is evidenced throughout the book, notoriously so in the episode where the boy captures a hoopoe who bothers his morning sleep, only to be tricked into releasing it by old man, who understands the bird's vital role as village alarm clock.
Another significant part of the account, detailing Creangă's education, shows him frustrated by the old methods of teaching, insisting on the absurd image of children learning by heart and chanting elements of Romanian grammar and even whole texts. The narrator refers to this method as "a terrible way to stultify the mind". The negative portrayal of teaching priests was commented by writer and critic Horia Gârbea as proof of the author's anticlericalism, in line with various satirical works targeting the Romanian clergy: "Creangă's Memories of the catechism school would discourage any candidate."
Didactic writings
Creangă's contribution to literature also covers a series of didactic fables written as lively dialogues, among them "The Needle and the Sledge Hammer", in which the objects of traditional metalworking scold the byproducts of their work for having forgotten their lowly origin. The inspiration behind this theme was identified by Călinescu as "The Story of a Gold Coin", written earlier by Creangă's Junimist colleague Vasile Alecsandri. A similar piece, "The Flax and the Shirt", reveals the circuit of fibers from weed-like plants into recycled cloth, leading to the conclusion that "all things are not what they seem; they were something else once, they are something else now;—and shall become something else." The technique employed by Creangă has the flax plant teaching the less knowledgeable textile, a dialogue which Călinescu likened to that between old women in a traditional society. Included alongside the two stories were: Pâcală, a writing which, Mircea Braga argued, is not as much didactic as it is a study in dialogue; "The Bear Tricked by the Fox", which uses legendary and humorous elements in an attempt to explain why bears are the tail-less species among mammals; and Cinci pâini ("Five Loafs of Bread"), which serves as a condemnation of greed.
With "Human Stupidity", Creangă builds a fable about incompetence in its absolute forms. The story centers on a peasant's quest to find people who are less rational than his wife, having been infuriated by her panic at the remote possibility that a ball of salt could fall from its place of storage and kill their baby. This, essayist and chronicler Simona Vasilache argues, highlights "a family-based division" of illogical behavior, in which women are depicted as the main propagators of both "astonishing nonsense" and "prudent stupidity". Instead, literary critic Ion Pecie identified inside the narrative a meditation on "the link between spirit and nature", with the unpredictable ball of salt representing the equivalent of a "sphinx". His colleague Gheorghe Grigurcu argued that such conclusions "may seem excessive", but that they were ultimately validated by the literary work being "a plurality of levels". A similar piece is the prose fable "The Story of a Lazy Man": fed up with the protagonist's proverbial indolence, which has led him as far as to view chewing food as an effort, his fellow villagers organize a lynching. This upsets the sensibility of a noblewoman who happens to witness the incident. When she offers to take the lazy man into her care and feed him bread crumbs, he seals his own fate by asking: "But are your bread crumbs soft?" The peculiar effect of this moral is underlined by Anghelescu: "The lazy man dies as a martyr of his own immobility." Braga interpreted the story as evidence of "the primacy of ethics" over social aspects in the local tradition. Ion Pecie saw in the story proof of Creangă's own support for capital punishment with a preventive or didactic purpose, even in cases were the fault was trivial or imagined, concluding: "Here, ... Creangă loses much of his depth." Pecie's conclusion was treated with reserve by Grigurcu, who believed that, instead, the narrator refrains from passing any judgment on "the community's instinctual eugenic reaction".
Partly didactic in scope, several of Creangă's anecdotes involve Ion Roată, a representative to the ad hoc Divan which voted in favor of Moldo-Wallachian union, and the newly elected Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The texts convey a sense of tension between the traditional boyar aristocracy and the peasant category, closely reflecting, according to historian Philip Longworth, a conflict mounting during the second half of the 19th century. The same is argued by Ornea, who also proposes that the protagonist offers insight into Creangă's own conservative reflexes and his complex views on the union, while outlining several connections which the brand of social criticism professed by Junimea. Although Roată, a real-life person, was a representative of the pro-union National Party, his main interest, according to the stories themselves, was in curbing the boyars' infringement of peasant rights. The stories' narrator directs his hostility not at boyars in general, but at the younger Romantic nationalist ones, whom he portrays as gambling on Moldavia's future: "[There was] a clash of ideas opposing old boyars to the youth of Moldavia's ad hoc Divan, even though both were in favor of 'Union'. It's only that the old ones wanted a negotiated 'Union', and the young ones a 'Union' done without proper thinking, as it came to pass." According to Muguraș Constantinescu: "[Roată] opposes the intelligence of common folk, their common sense, their humor and the pleasure of allegorical discourse to the pompous and hollow speeches of some politicians". In this context, Cuza's presence is depicted as both legitimate and serendipitous, as he takes a personal interest in curbing boyar abuse.
Moș Nichifor Coțcariul and "corrosives"
Seen by Romanian critic Radu Voinescu as an extended anecdote, the novella Moș Nichifor Coțcariul ("Old Man Nichifor Slyboots") establishes a connection with the language of fairy tales, being located in a legendary and non-historical age. It details the elaborate seduction of a young Jewish bride by a worldly Moldavian wagoner, on the route between Târgu Neamț and Piatra. The episode, which the text itself indicates is just one in a series of Nichifor's conquests among his female clients, highlights the seducer's verbose monologue, which covers accounts of his unhappy marriage, allusions about the naturalness of physical love, and intimidating suggestions that wolves may be tempted to attack the wagon (prompting the young woman to seek refuge in his arms). The seducer's behavior, Constantinescu notes, presents an alternative to the theme of old age as a time of immobility: "the still-green old man, the rake, the joker who enjoys his amorous escapades, while justifying them by the natural course of life". Nichifor mostly expresses himself with the help of folk sayings, which he casually mixes in with personal observations about the situation. The background to the plot is a record of various superstitions, some anticlerical or antisemitic: Nichifor voices the belief that priests crossing one's path will produce bad luck, as well as the claim that Jewish apothecaries sold "poisons".
The reception of Moș Nichifor Coțcariul by Junimea illustrated its ambivalence toward Creangă. Maiorescu found the text "interesting in its way and decisively Romanian", but asked Convorbiri Literare journal to either modify it or refrain from publishing it altogether. This was complemented by its author's own self-effacing assessment: calling the text "a childish thing", he suggested to Maiorescu that revisions were needed, stating "I have written it long, because there was no time for me to write it short." Contrarily, the writer's posterity referred to it as one of the greatest Romanian contributions to the genre: according to George Călinescu, the insight into Nichifor's musings resulted in transforming the writing as a whole into "the first great Romanian novella with a stereotypical hero", while Voinescu described the entire story as "a true masterpiece."
The narrative approaches of Moș Nichifor Coțcariul bordered on Creangă's contributions to erotic literature, pieces collectively known as "corrosives" and which have for long treated with discretion by literary historians. In Călinescu's view, this chapter in Creangă's literature created another link between the Moldavian writer and the Renaissance tradition of Rabelais: "All Rabelaisians have penetrated deeply into the realm of vulgarity." The taste for titillating accounts was also cultivated by Junimea members, who discreetly signaled their wish to hear more explicit content by asking Creangă to recount stories from "the wide street". A product of this context, Moș Nichifor Coțcariul itself is said to have had at least one sexually explicit variant, circulated orally.
Two stories with explicit pornographic content survive as samples of Creangă's erotic authorship: "The Tale of Ionică the Fool" and "The Tale of All Tales" (also known as Povestea pulei, "Tale of the Dick" or "Tale of the Cock"). The former shows its cunning hero having intercourse with a priest's daughter, moving between prose and verse to describe the act. "The Tale of All Tales", which makes ample use of vulgar speech, recounts how a peasant disrespectful of divinity has his entire maize harvest transformed into male genitalia, but is able to turn out a profit by catering to the sexual appetites of women. The final section, seen by Gârbea as a sample of anticlerical jeers recorded by "the defrocked Creangă", depicts the rape of a priest by one such sexual object. Although explicit, literary historian Alex. Ștefănescu argued, the text "is refined and full of charm". While acknowledging both "corrosives" for their "popular charm" in the line of Rabelais and Geoffrey Chaucer, and noting that they still display the author's place as a "great stylist", Voinescu also signaled the texts' "very obvious" debt to folkloric sources. In his definition, Ion Creangă is "possibly the only writer" to draw on the legacy of "luscious popular jests" found in local "erotic folklore". Nevertheless, according to literary critic Mircea Iorgulescu, "The Tale of All Tales" may in fact be based on Parapilla, a pornographic leaflet circulating in Italian and French.
Legacy
Estate, family and early cultural impact
Soon after the Creangă's death, efforts began to collect his manuscript writings and the updated versions of his printed works. This project involved his son Constantin, alongside A. D. Xenopol, Grigore Alexandrescu and Eduard Gruber, the latter of whom obtained the works from Tinca Vartic. The first edition was published as two volumes, in 1890–1892, but the project came to an abrupt halt due to Gruber's insanity and death. Creangă's final known work, the fragment of Făt-frumos, fiul iepei, was published by Convorbiri Literare in 1898. The Gruber copies were sold to a Dr. Mendel, and only a part of them was recovered by exegetes, alongside various fragments accidentally discovered at Iași market, where they were being used for wrapping paper. The collection, structured into a whole by folklorist Gheorghe T. Kirileanu, was published by Editura Minerva in 1902 and 1906. In addition to being mentioned in the memoirs of several prominent Junimists, Creangă had his political career fictionalized and satirized by Iacob Negruzzi, who transformed him, as Popa Smântână, into a character of his satirical poems Electorale ("Electorals"). The same author referred to his counterpart in one of his epigrams.
Shortly after her lover's death, Tinca Vartic married a man who lived in the same part of Iași. The target of organized tourism from as early as 1890, the Iași Bojdeuca nevertheless fell into disrepair. It was eventually purchased by an "Ion Creangă Committee", whose members included Constantin Creangă, Kirileanu and the ultra-nationalist politician A. C. Cuza. It was set up as the first of Romania's "memorial houses" on April 15, 1918. Restored the same year and again in 1933–1934, it houses an important part of Creangă's personal items and the first known among Creangă's portraits, painted by his contemporary V. Mușnețanu. While Constantin Creangă had a successful career in the Romanian Army, one of the writer's two grandsons, Horia Creangă, became one of the celebrated modern architects of the interwar period, earning his reputation by redesigning much of downtown Bucharest.
The popularity of Ion Creangă's accounts outside his regional and dialectal context, together with his own contribution as an educator, played a part in the evolution of standard Romanian, at a new phase in which many dialectal variations were incorporated into the spoken language. His primers Metodă nouă ... and Învățătoriul copiilor went through many editions during the late 19th century. The impact of his works was also a contributing factor to preserving a noted interest in rural subjects, a subsequent defining trait in modern Romanian literature. Discussing "stylistic harmony", which he believed to be bridging all of Romania's social and literary environments, philosopher Mircea Eliade wrote: "Romanians consider Ion Creangă a classic writer belonging to the modern age. His work can be read and understood by the entire range of social classes, in all the provinces of our country. In spite of the abundant presence of Moldavian words in his writings, the work would not remain a stranger to its readers. What other European culture can take pride in having a classic writer read by all categories of readers?" The "thematic grip of the village" was noted by American academic Harold Segel, who investigated its impact on "some of the most revered names in the history of Romanian literature", from Creangă and Slavici to interwar novelist Liviu Rebreanu.
Early 20th century and interwar echoes
A more thorough evaluation of Creangă's literature began after 1900. At the time, it became a topic of interest to the emerging traditionalist and populist trend, illustrated by the two venues rivaling Junimea: the right-wing Sămănătorul, led by Nicolae Iorga, and the left-wing Poporanists, among which was Garabet Ibrăileanu. The new editions of his works enlisted the collaboration of Sămănătorist intellectuals Ilarie Chendi and Ștefan Octavian Iosif. Tudor Vianu however noted that, unlike Eminescu's outlook, Creangă's "authentic ruralism" did not complement the "spiritual complications", global social class perspective and intellectual background associated with these trends, making Creangă "the least Sămănătorist among our writers." According to Ornea, Creangă has "nothing in common" with the Sămănătorul ideology in particular: while the group shared his nostalgic outlook on the rural past in stark contrast to the modernized world, the Moldavian author could "maintain, intelligently, the middle ground between contraries". Likewise, Mircea Braga reacted against the perception of Creangă as announcing a "series" of authors, noting that, for all imitation, he was "an exceptional and, as far as Romanian literary history goes, unique creator."
Directly influenced by Creangă, several early 20th century and interwar authors within the new traditionalist trend explicitly stood for the legacy of folkloric, spontaneous and unskilled literature: the peasant writer I. Dragoslav, whose memoirs borrow stylistic elements from Creangă's accounts; Constantin Sandu-Aldea, an agriculturalist by profession, who took inspiration from his techniques of rendering dialogue; and Ion Iovescu, whom the Sburătorul literary circle acclaimed as "a new Creangă", and who made ample use of a modernized Muntenian dialect. Similarly, the Aromanian activist and author Nicolae Constantin Batzaria, who divided his career between Romania and the southern Balkans, combined Creangă's storytelling techniques with the traditions of Turkish literature, while the reworking of regional folklore themes earned intellectual Constantin S. Nicolăescu-Plopșor a reputation as "the Oltenian Creangă". During the 1910s, folklorist Tudor Pamfile published a specialized magazine named Ion Creangă in honor of the writer. Creangă's various works also provided starting points for several other writers of diverse backgrounds. They included representatives of the Symbolist movement, such as Victor Eftimiu, who was inspired by Creangă's narrative style in writing his fantasy and verse play Înșir'te mărgărite. Another such author was poet Elena Farago, whose didactic children's story Într-un cuib de rândunică ("Inside a Swallow's Nest") borrows from "The Flax and the Shirt".
With the interwar period and the spread of modernist literature, a new generation of critics, most notably George Călinescu and Vladimir Streinu, dedicated important segments of their activity to the works of Ion Creangă. Other such figures were Șerban Cioculescu, whose contribution attempts to elucidate the more mysterious parts of the writer's vocabulary, and educator Dumitru Furtună, whose biographical studies provided a main source for subsequent research. By then, interest in Creangă's life and writings had diversified. This phenomenon first touched Romanian theater when I. I. Mironescu dramatized a section of Creangă's Memories as Catiheții de la Humulești ("The Catechists from Humulești")—a literary contribution judged "superfluous" by George Călinescu, who noted that the original was already "dramatic" in style. The writer's stories also became an inspiration for Alfred Mendelsohn and Alexandru Zirra, two Romanian composers who worked in children's musical theater, who adapted, respectively, "Harap Alb" and "The Goat and Her Three Kids". Creangă was also a secondary presence in Mite and Bălăuca, two biographical novels centered on Eminescu's amorous life, written by the prominent interwar critic Eugen Lovinescu, to whom Călinescu reproached having largely ignored Creangă in his nonfictional texts. Creangă's writings also earned followers among the more radical wing of the modernist scene. The authenticity and originality of Creangă's prose were highlighted and treasured by the influential modernist venue Contimporanul, in particular by its literary chroniclers Ion Vinea and Benjamin Fondane. Likewise, while formally affiliating with Surrealism, the avant-garde author Ion Călugăru contributed various prose works which borrow some of Creangă's storytelling techniques to depict the lives of Jewish Romanian communities from Moldavia.
In stages after World War I, the 19th century writer became better known to an international audience. This process produced translations into English, some of which, Călinescu argued, reached significant popularity among British readers of Romanian literature. In contrast, writer Paul Bailey assessed that the variants used antiquated words and "sounded terrible" in English. Among the series of early English-language versions was a 1920 edition of Creangă's Memories, translated by Lucy Byng and published by Marcu Beza. It was also during the interwar that Jean Boutière published the first-ever French-language monograph on the Romanian writer, originally as a Ph.D. thesis for the University of Paris.
While their author continued to receive praise for his main contributions, the erotic tales were most often kept hidden from the public eye. George Călinescu summarized this contrast by stating: "The 'corrosives' left by Creangă are not known publicly." An exception to this rule was Kirileanu's Creangă reader of 1938, published by Editura Fundațiilor Regale as the first critical edition of his entire literature. According to critic Adrian Solomon, the Romanian tradition of silencing obscene language and sexually explicit literature through censorship made "The Tale of All Tales" circulate "rather like a samizdat", which left writers with "no solid tradition to draw on, and precious little chance to evade ... the vigilant morals of a straitlaced public." The nationalist aspects of Ion Creangă's public discourse were however approved of and recovered by the far right of the 1920s and '30s. High-ranking Orthodox cleric Tit Simedrea referred to Creangă as a predecessor when, in 1937, he urged his congregation to refrain from purchasing merchandise sold by Jews (a measure which he believed was a practical alternative to the Jews' forced eviction). In 1939, as part of a press campaign targeting Călinescu's work, the fascist journal Porunca Vremii accused the literary historian of having exposed Creangă's biography for the sake of compromising the "genial Moldavian" by turning him into "an unfrocked epileptic and a drunk."
Creangă inspired a 1920 painting by Octav Băncilă, which shows Creangă listening to Eminescu reading his poems. Two busts of the author were erected in Iași, respectively at his grave site and, in 1932, the gardens of Copou neighborhood. After 1943, another such piece was unveiled in Bucharest's Cișmigiu Gardens, as part of Rotunda Scriitorilor monument.
Under communism
During Romania's restrictive communist period, which lasted between 1948 and 1989, the critical evaluation of Ion Creangă's work went through several periods, complementing political developments. Throughout the first part of this interval, when socialist realism was politically imposed on Romanian letters, Creangă was spared the posthumous censorship which affected several other classical writers (see Censorship in Communist Romania). His work was officially praised for its aesthetic qualities, but its association with the condemned Junimea was omitted from critical commentary, and readers were instead referred to Creangă as a realist critical of bourgeois society. In 1948, the new authorities granted him posthumous membership in the Romanian Academy. The following year, at the height of Soviet occupation, official critic Barbu Lăzăreanu controversially described Creangă as a writer indebted to Russian folklore.
By the second half of communist rule, several new approaches in the critical assessment of Creangă's literature were emerging. His work became a main topic of critical interest and the sole subject of many works, to the point where Nicolae Manolescu assessed that "everything has been said about Creangă". Within this exegetic phenomenon, an original interpretation of his stories from an esoteric perspective was written by philosopher Vasile Lovinescu as Creangă și Creanga de aur ("Creangă and the Golden Bough"). During the final two decades of communism, under Nicolae Ceaușescu, the recovery of nationalist discourse into official dogma also encouraged the birth of protochronism. In one of its aspects, theorized by cultural historian Edgar Papu, this approach controversially reevaluated various Romanian writers, Creangă included, presenting them as figures who anticipated most developments on the world stage. Papu's own conclusion about "Harap Alb", outlined in a 1983 volume, depicted Creangă as a direct predecessor of Italian semiotician Umberto Eco and his celebrated volume The Open Work—a conclusion which literary historian Florin Mihăilescu has seen as proof of Papu's "exegetic obsession", lacking in "sense of humor, not just sense of reality." One of Papu's disciples, national communist ideologue Dan Zamfirescu, claimed that Creangă was equal to, or even more important than world classics Homer, William Shakespeare and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, while asserting that the eponymous protagonist of "Ivan Turbincă" stands as "the character who dominates world history in our century". Left outside the scope of this critical interest, the "corrosives" were left out of new Creangă readers (such as Iorgu Iordan's 1970 edition), being, according to a 1976 essay by scholar George Munteanu, "still unpublishable" for lack of "a general level of aesthetic education" among Romanians.
A second museum entirely dedicated to the writer was opened at his Târgu Neamț home in 1951, and donated to the state by his successors in 1965. During the following decades, it reportedly became the most visited memorial house in Romania. The authorities also financed a new cultural center, raised in the immediate vicinity of Bojdeuca during 1984–1989. In 1965, the Ion Creangă Children's Theater, a state-run institution, was founded in Bucharest, and its subsequent activity included staging several of the writer's fairy tales for a junior public. Among such contributions were two adaptation of "Harap Alb", directed respectively by Ion Lucian and Zoe Anghel Stanca. In 1983, Timișoara-based author Șerban Foarță also completed work on a stage version of "Ivan Turbincă".
A new publishing house, Editura Ion Creangă, was created as a main publisher of children's literature, and its output included editions of Creangă's own works. The new editions were illustrated by several visual artists of note, among them Corneliu Baba, Eugen Taru and Lívia Rusz, while "Harap Alb" became a project of comic book artist Sandu Florea, earning him a Eurocon prize. A major project of the time involved Creangă translations into other languages, including Hungarian (a celebrated contribution by Hungarian-Romanian author András Sütő). During the same epoch, Creangă and his stories first became sources of inspiration for the Romanian film industry. Among the first were two contributions of filmmaker Elisabeta Bostan, both released in the early 1960s and based on the Memories: Amintiri din copilărie (starring child actor Ion Bocancea as the young Nică and Ștefan Ciubotărașu as the grown-up narrator), and Pupăza din tei (focusing on the hoopoe story). In 1965, celebrated Romanian director Ion Popescu-Gopo released De-aș fi Harap Alb, a loose adaptation of "Harap Alb", starring Florin Piersic in the title role. Popescu-Gopo also directed the 1976 film Povestea dragostei, which was based on "The Story of the Pig" and the 1985 film "Ramasagul" which was based on "The Bag with 2 Coins". The series also includes Nicolae Mărgineanu's biographical film of 1989, Un bulgăre de humă, focuses on the friendship between Creangă (played by Dorel Vișan) and Eminescu (Adrian Pintea).
The legacy of Ion Creangă was also tangible in the Soviet Union, and especially in the Moldavian SSR (which, as the larger section of Bessarabia, had been part of interwar Greater Romania, and later became independent Moldova). Initially, his writings, titled Moldavian Stories, formed part of the Soviet curriculum in the Moldavian Autonomous Region (Transnistria). Following the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia, Creangă was one of the Romanian-language writers whose works were still allowed for publishing by the new authorities. This provided local contributors to Romanian literature contact with older cultural models, directly inspiring the experimental or Postmodern prose pieces by Vlad Ioviță and Leo Butnaru. The endorsement of Creangă's public image within the Moldavian SSR was also reflected in art: in 1958, the writer's bust, the work of sculptor Lev Averbruh, was assigned to the Alley of Classics in Chișinău. His works were illustrated by one of the Moldavian SSR's leading visual artists, Igor Vieru, who also painted a portrait of the author. In 1967, Ioviță and filmmaker Gheorghe Vodă released Se caută un paznic: an adaptation of "Ivan Turbincă" and one of the successful samples of early Moldovan cinema, it was also noted for the musical score, composed by Eugen Doga. Also during that period, "The Goat ..." and "The Purse a' Tuppence" were made into animated shorts (directed by Anton Mater and Constantin Condrea). In 1978, an operatic version of "The Goat and Her Three Kids" was created by composer Zlata Tkach, based on a libretto by Grigore Vieru.
After 1989
The 1989 Revolution, which signaled the end of communism, closely preceded the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Renewed Moldova–Romania relations, and moves toward potential reunification, were consecrated by 1990 events such as the "Bridge of Flowers". The latter tour saw Moldovan politicians and cultural delegates demanding, and obtaining, that they be allowed to visit Bojdeuca. In 1993, answering a petition signed by a group of cultural personalities from Iași, Metropolitan Daniel (the future Patriarch of All Romania) signed a decision to posthumously revert the decision to exclude Ion Creangă from among the Moldavian clergy. The public polled during a 2006 program produced by the Romanian Television nominated Creangă 43rd among the 100 greatest Romanians. New monuments honoring the writer include a bust unveiled in Târgu Neamț, the work of sculptor Ovidiu Ciobotaru. The patrimony associated with Creangă's life has also sparked debates: local authorities in Târgu Neamț were criticized for not maintaining the site near his house in its best condition, while the Fălticeni where he once lived was controversially put up for sale by its private owners in 2009, at a time when city hall could not exercise its pre-emption right.
Creangă's work was also subject to rediscovery and reevaluation. This implied the publishing of his "corrosives", most notably in a 1998 edition titled Povestea poveștilor generației '80 ("The Tale of the Tales of the 80s Generation"). Edited by Dan Petrescu and Luca Pițu, it featured a Postmodern reworking of Povestea poveștilor by Mircea Nedelciu, a leading theorist of the Optzeciști writers. A trilingual edition of Creangă's original text was published in 2006 as a Humanitas project, with illustrations made for the occasion by graphic artist Ioan Iacob. The book included versions of the text in English (the work of Alistair Ian Blyth) and French (translated by Marie-France Ionesco, the daughter of playwright Eugène Ionesco), both of which were noted for resorting exclusively to antiquated slang. In 2004, another one of Creangă's stories was subjected to a Postmodern interpretation, with Stelian Țurlea's novel Relatare despre Harap Alb ("A Report about Harap Alb"). In 2009, Țurlea followed up with a version of "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter"; a year later, his colleague Horia Gârbea published a personal take on "The Story of a Lazy Man". Ion Creangă's own didactic tales have remained a presence in the Romanian curriculum after 2000, particularly in areas of education targeting the youngest students.
New films based on Creangă's writings include, among others, Mircea Daneliuc's Tusea și junghiul of 1992 (an adaptation of "The Old Man's Daughter ...") and Tudor Tătaru's Moldovan-Romanian co-production Dănilă Prepeleac (1996). There were also several post-1989 theatrical adaptations of Ion Creangă's texts, contributed by various Romanian dramaturges. Some of these are Cornel Todea's variant of "Harap Alb" (with music by Nicu Alifantis), Cristian Pepino's take on "The Goat and Her Three Kids", Mihai Mălaimare's Prostia omenească (from "Human Stupidity") and Gheorghe Hibovski's Povestea poveștilor, a fringe theater show using both Creangă's original and Nedelciu's text.
Creangă's name was assigned to several education institutions, among them Bucharest's Ion Creangă National College, and to an annual prize granted by the Romanian Academy. There is an Ion Creangă commune, in Neamț County, and streets or squares were also named in the writer's honor in cities throughout Romania: Târgu Neamț, Iași, Fălticeni, Bucharest, Arad, Brăila, Brașov, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Oradea, Ploiești, Sibiu, Suceava, Târgu Mureș, Tecuci, Timișoara, Tulcea, etc. A quarter in northern Bucharest, near Colentina, is also named Ion Creangă. Creangă's name was assigned to several landmarks and institutions in post-Soviet Moldova. Among them is the Ion Creangă Pedagogical State University, founded on the basis of Chișinău's normal school.
Notes
References
Marcu Beza, Paganism in Roumanian Folklore, Swedenborg Press, New York, 2007.
Lucian Boia, History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness, Central European University Press, Budapest, 2001.
Mircea Braga, postface and bibliography to Ion Creangă, Povești și povestiri, Editura Minerva, 1987, p. 199–220.
George Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române de la origini pînă în prezent, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1986
Paul Cernat, Avangarda românească și complexul periferiei: primul val, Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2007.
Muguraș Constantinescu, "Figures et représentations du vieillir et de la vieillesse dans les contes de Ion Creangă", in Alain Montandon (ed.), Figures du vieillir, Presses Universitaires Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, 2005, p. 59–71.
Neagu Djuvara, Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne, Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995.
Horia Gârbea, Trecute vieți de fanți și de birlici, Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2008.
Ruth S. Lamb, "Romanian Drama", in Stanley Hochman (ed.), The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama. Vol. 4: O-S, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1984, p. 239–252.
Carmen-Maria Mecu, Nicolae Mecu, "Paradigms of Junimea in Education for a Civil Society", in Magdalena Dumitrana (ed.), Romania: Cultural Identity and Education for Civil Society. Romanian Philosophical Studies, V. Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change, Series IVA, Eastern and Central Europe, Volume 24, Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, Washington, 2004, p. 181–193.
Florin Mihăilescu, De la proletcultism la postmodernism, Editura Pontica, Constanța, 2002.
Lucian Nastasă, Intelectualii și promovarea socială (pentru o morfologie a câmpului universitar), Editura Nereamia Napocae, Cluj-Napoca, 2002; e-book version at the Romanian Academy's George Bariț Institute of History
Andrei Oișteanu, Inventing the Jew. Antisemitic Stereotypes in Romanian and Other Central East-European Cultures, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 2009.
Z. Ornea,
Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească, Editura Fundației Culturale Române, Bucharest, 1995.
Junimea și junimismul, Vol. II, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1998.
Tudor Vianu, Scriitori români, Vol. I-III, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1970–1971.
Radu Voinescu, "Romanian Erotic Literature", in Gaëtan Brulotte, John Phillips (eds.), Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature, Routledge, New York & Abingdon, p. 1127–1131.
External links
translations in the Romanian Cultural Institute's Plural Magazine (various issues): "Danillo Nonsuch" ("Dănilă Prepeleac"), Childhood Memories (excerpt), "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", Childhood Memories (excerpt), "The Purse a' Tuppence", "The Tale of All Tales", "The Tale of Ionică the Fool"
Roumanian Stories. Translated by Lucy Byng, at the University of Washington's DXARTS/CARTAH Electronic Text Archive
"The Story of the Pig". Hog Bridegrooms (tales of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 441 in which a beautiful maiden is forced to marry a hog or a hedgehog), University of Pittsburgh, Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts edited and/or translated by D. L. Ashliman
1837 births
1889 deaths
People from Târgu Neamț
People of the Principality of Moldavia
Romanian Orthodox priests
Free and Independent Faction politicians
Romanian children's writers
Romanian collectors of fairy tales
Romanian erotica writers
Romanian fantasy writers
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19th-century Romanian poets
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19th-century memoirists | true | [
"The first cabinet of Petre P. Carp was the government of Romania from 7 July 1900 to 13 February 1901.\n\nMinisters\nThe ministers of the cabinet were as follows:\n\nPresident of the Council of Ministers:\nPetre P. Carp (7 July 1900 - 13 February 1901)\nMinister of the Interior: \nConstantin Olănescu (7 July 1900 ... | [
"Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romanian literature, he is best known for his Childhood Memories volume, his novellas and... |
[
"Ion Creangă",
"Junimea reception",
"When was the Junimea reception",
"The exact date of his reception is a mystery.",
"Who else was involved in the Junimea reception?",
"Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp.",
"What did Maiorescu do in the reception?",
"represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was stil... | C_c81777bed23f4fd3a49716508c674479_0 | What was the purpose of the reception? | 6 | What was the purpose of the Junimea reception? | Ion Creangă | At around the same time, Creanga also began attending Junimea, an upper class literary club presided upon by Maiorescu, whose cultural and political prestige was increasing. This event, literary historian Z. Ornea argued, followed a time of indecision: as a former Factionalist, Creanga was a natural adversary of the mainstream Junimist "cosmopolitan orientation", represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was still fundamentally committed to Maiorescu's agenda in the field of education. Literary historians Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu also argue that, after attending Junimea, the author was able to assimilate some of its innovative teachings into his own style of pedagogy, and thus helped diffuse its message outside the purely academic environment. The exact date of his reception is a mystery. According to Maiorescu's own recollections, written some decades after the event, Creanga was in attendance at a Junimea meeting of 1871, during which Gheorghe Costaforu proposed to transform the club into a political party. The information was considered dubious by Z. Ornea, who argued that the episode may have been entirely invented by the Junimist leader, and noted that it contradicted both Negruzzi's accounts and minutes kept by A. D. Xenopol. According to Ornea's assessment, with the exception of literary critic Vladimir Streinu, all of Creanga's biographers have come to dismiss Maiorescu's statement. Several sources mention that the future writer was introduced to the society by Eminescu, who was an active member around 1875. This and other details lead Ornea to conclude that membership was granted to Creanga only after the summer break of 1875. Gradually or instantly, Creanga made a positive impression by confirming with the Junimist ideal of authenticity. He also became treasured for his talkative and jocular nature, self-effacing references to himself as a "peasant", and eventually his debut works, which became subjects of his own public readings. His storytelling soon earned him dedicated spectators, who deemed Creanga's fictional universe a "sack of wonders" at a time when the author himself had started casually using the pseudonym Ioan Vantura-Tara ("Ioan Gadabout"). Although still in his forties, the newcomer was also becoming colloquially known to his colleagues as Mos Creanga ("Old Man Creanga" or "Father Creanga"), which was a sign of respect and sympathy. Among Ion Creanga's most dedicated promoters were Eminescu, his former political rival Iacob Negruzzi, Alexandru Lambrior and Vasile Pogor, as well as the so-called caracuda (roughly, "small game") section, which comprised Junimists who rarely took the floor during public debates, and who were avid listeners of his literary productions (it was to this latter gathering that Creanga later dedicated his erotic texts). In parallel to his diversified literary contribution, the former priest himself became a noted voice in Junimist politics, and, like his new friend Eminescu, voiced support for the group's nationalist faction, in disagreement with the more cosmopolitan and aristocratic segment led by Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp. By that the late 1870s, he was secretly redirecting political support from the former Factionalists to his new colleagues, as confirmed by an encrypted letter he addressed to Negruzzi in March 1877. CANNOTANSWER | an upper class literary club presided upon by Maiorescu, whose cultural and political prestige was increasing. | Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romanian literature, he is best known for his Childhood Memories volume, his novellas and short stories, and his many anecdotes. Creangă's main contribution to fantasy and children's literature includes narratives structured around eponymous protagonists ("Harap Alb", "Ivan Turbincă", "Dănilă Prepeleac", "Stan Pățitul"), as well as fairy tales indebted to conventional forms ("The Story of the Pig", "The Goat and Her Three Kids", "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter"). Widely seen as masterpieces of the Romanian language and local humor, his writings occupy the middle ground between a collection of folkloric sources and an original contribution to a literary realism of rural inspiration. They are accompanied by a set of contributions to erotic literature, collectively known as his "corrosives".
A defrocked Romanian Orthodox priest with an unconventional lifestyle, Creangă made an early impact as an innovative educator and textbook author, while pursuing a short career in nationalist politics with the Free and Independent Faction. His literary debut came late in life, closely following the start of his close friendship with Romania's national poet Mihai Eminescu and their common affiliation with the influential conservative literary society Junimea. Although viewed with reserve by many of his colleagues there, and primarily appreciated for his records of oral tradition, Creangă helped propagate the group's cultural guidelines in an accessible form. Later critics have often described him, alongside Eminescu, Ion Luca Caragiale and Ioan Slavici, as one of the most accomplished representatives of Junimist literature.
Ion Creangă was posthumously granted several honors, and is commemorated by a number of institutions in both Romania and neighboring Moldova. These include the Bojdeuca building in Iași, which, in 1918, was opened as the first memorial house in Romania. His direct descendants include Horia Creangă, one of the leading Romanian architects during the interwar period.
Biography
Background and family
Ion Creangă was born in Humulești in the Principality of Moldavia, a former village which has since been incorporated into Târgu Neamț city, the son of Orthodox trader Ștefan sin Petre Ciubotariul and his wife Smaranda. His native area, bordering on heavily forested areas, was in the Eastern Carpathian foothills, and included into what was then the Principality of Moldavia. The surrounding region's population preserved an archaic way of life, dominated by shepherding, textile manufacturing and related occupations, and noted for preserving the older forms of local folklore. Another characteristic of the area, which left an impression on Creangă's family history, was related to the practice of transhumance and the links between ethnic Romanian communities on both sides of the mountains, in Moldavia and Transylvania: on his maternal side, the writer descended from Maramureș-born peasants, while, according to literary historian George Călinescu, his father's origin may have been further southwest, in Transylvania-proper.
The family had reached a significant position within their community: Ștefan sin Petre had made a steady income from his itinerant trade in wool, while his wife was the descendant of the Creangăs of Pipirig, a family of community leaders. The latter's members included Moldavian Metropolitan Iacob Stamati, as well as Smaranda's father, Vornic David, and her uncle Ciubuc Clopotarul, a monk at Neamț Monastery. Proud of this tradition, it was her who insisted for her son to pursue a career in the Church. According to his own recollection, the future writer was born on March 1, 1837—a date which has since been challenged. Creangă's other statements mention March 2, 1837, or an unknown date in 1836. The exactitude of other accounts is equally unreliable: community registers from the period gave the date of June 10, 1839, and mention another child of the same name being born to his parents on February 4, 1842 (the more probable birth date of Creangă's younger brother Zahei). The imprecision also touches other aspects of his family life: noting the resulting conflicts in data, Călinescu decided that it was not possible for one to know if the writer's parents were married to each other (and, if so, if they were on their first marriage), nor how many children they had together. At a time when family names were not legally required, and people were primarily known by various nicknames and patronymics, the boy was known to the community as Nică, a hypocorism formed from Ion, or more formally as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei ("Nică of Ștefan of Petru", occasionally Nic-a lui Ștefan a Petrei).
Childhood, youth and ordination
After an idyllic period, which is recounted in the first section of his Childhood Memories, Ion Creangă was sent to primary school, an institution then in the care of Orthodox Church authorities, where he became noted for his rebellious attitude and appetite for truancy. Among his colleagues was a female student, Smărăndița popii (known later as Smaranda Posea), for whom he developed an affection which lasted into his adult life, over decades in which the two no longer saw each other. He was taught reading and writing in Cyrillic alphabet through peer tutoring techniques, before the overseeing teacher, Vasile Ilioaiei, was lassoed off the street and conscripted by the Moldavian military at some point before 1848. After another teacher, whom the Memories portray as a drunk, died from cholera in late 1848, David Creangă withdrew his grandson from the local school and took him to a similar establishment in Broșteni, handing him into the care of a middle-aged woman, Irinuca. Ion Creangă spent several months at Irinuca's remote house on the Bistrița River, before the proximity of goats resulted in a scabies infection and his hastened departure for Pipirig, where he cured himself using birch extract, a folk remedy mastered by his maternal grandmother Nastasia.
After returning to school between late 1849 and early 1850, Creangă was pulled out by his financially struggling father, spent the following period working in wool-spinning, and became known by the occupational nickname Torcălău ("Spinster"). He only returned in third grade some four years later, having been sent to the Târgu Neamț public school, newly founded by Moldavian Prince Grigore Alexandru Ghica as part of the Regulamentul Organic string of reforms. A colleague of future philosopher Vasile Conta in the class of priest and theologian Isaia "Popa Duhu" Teodorescu, Creangă was sent to the Fălticeni seminary in 1854. After having been registered as Ioan Ștefănescu (a variant of his given name and a family name based on his patronymic), the adolescent student eventually adopted his maternal surname of Creangă. According to Călinescu, this was done either "for aesthetic reasons" (as his new name, literally meaning "branch" or "bough", "sounds good") or because of a likely discovery that Ștefan was not his real father. Dan Grădinaru, a researcher of Creangă's work, believes that the writer had a special preference for the variant Ioan, generally used in more learned circles, instead of the variant Ion that was consecrated by his biographers.
Having witnessed, according to his own claim, the indifference and mundane preoccupations of his peers, Creangă admitted to having taken little care in his training, submitting to the drinking culture, playing practical jokes on his colleagues, and even shoplifting, while pursuing an affair with the daughter of a local priest. According to his own statement, he was a philanderer who, early in his youth, had already "caught the scent" of the catrință (the skirt in traditional costumes). In August 1855, circumstances again forced him to change schools: confronted with the closure of his Fălticeni school, Creangă left for the Central Seminary attached to Socola Monastery, in Moldavia's capital of Iași. Ștefan sin Petre's 1858 death left him without means of support, and he requested being directly ordained, but, not being of the necessary age, was instead handed a certificate to attest his school attendance. He was soon after married, after a brief courtship, to the 15-year-old Ileana, daughter of Priest Ioan Grigoriu from the church of the Forty Saints, where he is believed to have been in training as a schoolteacher. The ceremony took place in August 1859, several months after the personal union between Moldavia and its southern neighbor Wallachia, effected by the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as Domnitor. Having been employed as a cantor by his father in law's church, he was ordained in December of the same year, assigned to the position of deacon in Holy Trinity Church, and, in May 1860, returned to Forty Saints.
Relations between Creangă and Grigoriu were exceptionally tense. Only weeks after his wedding, the groom, who had probably agreed to marriage only because it could facilitate succeeding Grigoriu, signed a complaint addressed to Metropolitan Sofronie Miclescu, denouncing his father in law as "a killer", claiming to have been mistreated by him and cheated out of his wife's dowry, and demanding to be allowed a divorce. The response to this request was contrary to his wishes: he was ordered into isolation by the Dicasterie, the supreme ecclesiastical court, being allowed to go free only on promise to reconcile with Grigoriu.
Beginnings as schoolteacher and clash with the Orthodox Church
In 1860, Creangă enlisted at the Faculty of Theology, part of the newly founded University of Iași, and, in December 1860, fathered a son, Constantin. His life still lacked in stability, and he decided to move out of Grigoriu's supervision and into Bărboi Church, before his position as deacon was cut out of the budget and his belongings were evicted out of his temporary lodging in 1864. He contemplated leaving the city, and even officially requested a new assignment in the more remote Bolgrad. Since January 1864, when the Faculty of Theology had been closed down, he had been attending Iași's Trei Ierarhi Monastery normal school (Trisfetite or Trei Sfetite), where he first met the young cultural figure Titu Maiorescu, who served as his teacher and supervisor, and whence he graduated as the first in his class (June 1865). Embittered by his own experience with the education system, Creangă became an enthusiastic promoter of Maiorescu's ideas on education reform and modernization, and in particular of the new methods of teaching reading and writing. During and after completing normal school, he was assigned to teaching positions at Trisfetite. While there, he earned the reputation of a demanding teacher (notably by accompanying his reports on individual students with characterizations such as "idiot", "impertinent" or "envious"). Accounts from the period state that he made use of corporal punishment in disciplining his pupils, and even surpassed the standards of violence accepted at the time.
In parallel, he was beginning his activities in support of education reform. By 1864, he and several others, among them schoolteacher V. Răceanu, were working on a new primer, which saw print in 1868 under the title Metodă nouă de scriere și cetire pentru uzul clasei I primară ("A New Method of Writing and Reading for the Use of 1st Grade Primary Course Students"). It mainly addressed the issues posed by the new Romanian alphabetical standard, a Romanization replacing Cyrillic spelling (which had been officially discarded in 1862). Largely based on Maiorescu's principles, Metodă nouă ... became one the period's most circulated textbooks. In addition to didactic texts, it also featured Creangă's isolated debut in lyric poetry, with a naïve piece titled Păsărica în timpul iernii ("The Little Bird in Wintertime"). The book was followed in 1871 by another such work, published as Învățătoriul copiilor ("The Children's Teacher") and co-authored by V. Răceanu. It included several prose fables and a sketch story, "Human Stupidity", to which later editions added Poveste ("A Story") and Pâcală (a borrowing of the fictional folk character better known as Păcală).
In February 1866, having briefly served at Iași's Pantelimon Church, he was welcomed by hegumen Isaia Vicol Dioclias into the service of Golia Monastery. Around 1867, his wife Ileana left him. After that moment, Creangă began losing interest in performing his duties in the clergy, and, while doing his best to hide that he was no longer living with his wife, took a mistress. The marriage's breakup was later attributed by Creangă himself to Ileana's adulterous affair with a Golia monk, and rumors spread that Ileana's lover was a high-ranking official, the protopope of Iași. Creangă's accusations, Călinescu contends, are nevertheless dubious, because the deacon persisted in working for the same monastery after the alleged incident.
By the second half of the 1860s, the future writer was also pursuing an interest in politics, which eventually led him to rally with the more nationalist group within the Romanian liberal current, known as Free and Independent Faction. An agitator for his party, Creangă became commonly known under the nickname Popa Smântână ("Priest Sour Cream"). In April 1866, shortly after Domnitor Cuza was toppled by a coup, and just before Carol I was selected to replace him, the Romanian Army intervened to quell a separatist riot in Iași, instigated by Moldavian Metropolitan Calinic Miclescu. It is likely that Creangă shared the outlook of other Factionalists, according to which secession was preferable to Carol's rule, and was probably among the rioters. At around the same time, he began circulating antisemitic tracts, and is said to have demanded that Christians boycott Jewish business. He is thought to have coined the expression Nici un ac de la jidani ("Not even a needle from the kikes"). He was eventually selected as one of the Factionalist candidates for an Iași seat in the Romanian Deputies' Chamber, as documented by the memoirs of his conservative rival, Iacob Negruzzi. The episode is supposed to have taken place at the earliest during the 1871 suffrage.
By 1868, Creangă's rebellious stance was irritating his hierarchical superiors, and, according to Călinescu, his consecutive actions show that he was "going out of his way for scandal". He was initially punished for attending a Iași Theater performance, as well as for defiantly claiming that there was "nothing scandalous or demoralizing" in what he had seen, and reportedly further antagonized the monks by firing a gun to scare off the rooks nesting on his church. The latter incident, which some commentators believe fabricated by Creangă's detractors, was judged absurd by the ecclesiastical authorities, who had been further alarmed by negative reporting in the press. When told that no clergyman other than him had been seen using a gun, Creangă issued a reply deemed "Nasreddinesque" by George Călinescu, maintaining that, unlike others, he was not afraid of doing so. Confronted by Metropolitan Calinic himself, Creangă allegedly argued that he could think of no other way to eliminate rooks, being eventually pardoned by the prelate when it was ruled that he had not infringed on canon law.
Defrocking and the Bojdeuca years
Creangă eventually moved out of the monastery, but refused to relinquish his key to the church basement, and, in what was probably a modernizing intent, chopped off his long hair, one of the traditional marks of an Orthodox priest. The latter gesture scandalized his superiors, particularly since Creangă explained himself using an ancient provision of canon law, which stipulated that priests were not supposed to grow their hair long. After some assessment, his superiors agreed not to regard this action as more than a minor disobedience. He was temporarily suspended in practice but, citing an ambiguity in the decision (which could be read as a banishment in perpetuity), Creangă considered himself defrocked. He relinquished his clerical clothing altogether and began wearing lay clothes everywhere, a matter which caused public outrage.
By then a teacher at the 1st School for Boys, on Română Street, Creangă was ordered out of his secular assignment in July 1872, when news of his status and attitude reached Education Minister Christian Tell. Upset by the circumstances, and objecting in writing on grounds that it did not refer to his teaching abilities, he fell back on income produced by a tobacconist's shop he had established shortly before being dismissed. This stage marked a final development in Creangă's conflict with the church hierarchy. Summoned to explain why he was living the life of a shopkeeper, he responded in writing by showing his unwillingness to apologize, and indicated that he would only agree to face secular courts. The virulent text notably accused the church officials of being his enemies on account of his "independence, sincerity, honesty" in supporting the cause of "human dignity". After the gesture of defiance, the court recommended his defrocking, its decision being soon after confirmed by the synod.
In the meantime, Creangă moved into what he called Bojdeuca (or Bujdeuca, both being Moldavian regional speech for "tiny hut"), a small house located on the outskirts of Iași. Officially divorced in 1873, he was living there with his lover Ecaterina "Tinca" Vartic. A former laundress who had earlier leased one of the Bojdeuca rooms, she shared Creangă's peasant-like existence. This lifestyle implied a number of eccentricities, such as the former deacon's practice of wearing loose shirts throughout summer and bathing in a natural pond. His voracious appetite, called "proverbial gluttony" by George Călinescu, was attested by contemporary accounts. These depict him consuming uninterrupted successions of whole meals on a daily basis.
In May 1874, soon after taking over Minister of Education in the Conservative Party cabinet of Lascăr Catargiu, his friend Maiorescu granted Creangă the position of schoolteacher in the Iași area of Păcurari. During the same period, Ion Creangă met and became best friends with Mihai Eminescu, posthumously celebrated as Romania's national poet. This is said to have taken place in summer 1875, when Eminescu was working as an inspector for Maiorescu's Education Ministry, overseeing schools in Iași County: reportedly, Eminescu was fascinated with Creangă's talents as a raconteur, while the latter admired Eminescu for his erudition.
Junimea reception
At around the same time, Creangă also began attending Junimea, an upper class literary club presided upon by Maiorescu, whose cultural and political prestige was increasing. This event, literary historian Z. Ornea argued, followed a time of indecision: as a former Factionalist, Creangă was a natural adversary of the mainstream Junimist "cosmopolitan orientation", represented by both Maiorescu and Negruzzi, but was still fundamentally committed to Maiorescu's agenda in the field of education. Literary historians Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu also argue that, after attending Junimea, the author was able to assimilate some of its innovative teachings into his own style of pedagogy, and thus helped diffuse its message outside the purely academic environment.
The exact date of his reception is a mystery. According to Maiorescu's own recollections, written some decades after the event, Creangă was in attendance at a Junimea meeting of 1871, during which Gheorghe Costaforu proposed to transform the club into a political party. The information was considered dubious by Z. Ornea, who argued that the episode may have been entirely invented by the Junimist leader, and noted that it contradicted both Negruzzi's accounts and minutes kept by A. D. Xenopol. According to Ornea's assessment, with the exception of literary critic Vladimir Streinu, all of Creangă's biographers have come to dismiss Maiorescu's statement. Several sources mention that the future writer was introduced to the society by Eminescu, who was an active member around 1875. This and other details lead Ornea to conclude that membership was granted to Creangă only after the summer break of 1875.
Gradually or instantly, Creangă made a positive impression by confirming with the Junimist ideal of authenticity. He also became treasured for his talkative and jocular nature, self-effacing references to himself as a "peasant", and eventually his debut works, which became subjects of his own public readings. His storytelling soon earned him dedicated spectators, who deemed Creangă's fictional universe a "sack of wonders" at a time when the author himself had started casually using the pseudonym Ioan Vântură-Țară ("Ioan Gadabout"). Although still in his forties, the newcomer was also becoming colloquially known to his colleagues as Moș Creangă ("Old Man Creangă" or "Father Creangă"), which was a sign of respect and sympathy. Among Ion Creangă's most dedicated promoters were Eminescu, his former political rival Iacob Negruzzi, Alexandru Lambrior and Vasile Pogor, as well as the so-called caracudă (roughly, "small game") section, which comprised Junimists who rarely took the floor during public debates, and who were avid listeners of his literary productions (it was to this latter gathering that Creangă later dedicated his erotic texts). In parallel to his diversified literary contribution, the former priest himself became a noted voice in Junimist politics, and, like his new friend Eminescu, voiced support for the group's nationalist faction, in disagreement with the more cosmopolitan and aristocratic segment led by Maiorescu and Petre P. Carp. By that the late 1870s, he was secretly redirecting political support from the former Factionalists to his new colleagues, as confirmed by an encrypted letter he addressed to Negruzzi in March 1877.
Literary consecration
Autumn 1875 is also often described as his actual debut in fiction prose, with "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", a short story first publish in October by the club's magazine Convorbiri Literare. In all, Convorbiri Literare would publish 15 works of fiction and the four existing parts of his Childhood Memories before Creangă's death. Reportedly, the decision to begin writing down his stories had been the direct result of Eminescu's persuasion. His talent for storytelling and its transformation into writing fascinated his new colleagues. Several among them, including poet Grigore Alexandrescu, tasked experimental psychologist Eduard Gruber with closely studying Creangă's methods, investigations which produced a report evidencing Creangă's laborious and physical approach to the creative process. The latter also involved his frequent exchanges of ideas with Vartic, in whom he found his primary audience. In addition to his fiction writing, the emerging author followed Maiorescu's suggestion and, in 1876, published a work of educational methodology and the phonemic orthography favored by Junimea: Povățuitoriu la cetire prin scriere după sistema fonetică ("Guide to Reading by Writing in the Phonetic System"). It was supposed to become a standard textbook for the training of teachers, but was withdrawn from circulation soon afterward, when the Catargiu cabinet fell.
After losing his job as school inspector following the decisions of a hostile National Liberal executive, Mihai Eminescu spent much of his time in Bojdeuca, where he was looked after by the couple. For five months after quarreling with Samson Bodnărescu, his fellow poet and previous landlord, Eminescu even moved inside the house, where he reputedly pursued his discreet love affair with woman writer Veronica Micle, and completed as many as 22 of his poems. Creangă introduced his younger friend to a circle of companions which included Zahei Creangă, who was by then a cantor, as well as Răceanu, priest Gheorghe Ienăchescu, and clerk Nicșoi (all of whom, Călinescu notes, had come to share the raconteur's lifestyle choices and his nationalist opinions). Eminescu was especially attracted by their variant of simple life, the rudimentary setting of Creangă's house and the group's bohemian escapades. Circumstances drew the two friends apart: by 1877, Eminescu had relocated in Bucharest, the capital city, regularly receiving letters in which Creangă was asking him to return. He was however against Eminescu's plan to marry Veronica Micle, and made his objection known to the poet. In 1879, as a sign that he was formalizing his own affair with Tinca Vartic, Creangă purchased the Bojdeuca in her name, paying his former landlord 40 Austrian gulden in exchange. That same year, he, Răceanu and Ienăchescu published the textbook Geografia județului Iași ("The Geography of Iași County"), followed soon after by a map of the same region, researched by Creangă and Răceanu. A final work in the area of education followed in 1880, as a schoolteacher's version of Maiorescu's study of Romanian grammar, Regulile limbei române ("Rules of the Romanian Language").
Illness and death
By the 1880s, Creangă had become afflicted with epilepsy, suffering accelerated and debilitating episodes. He was also severely overweight, weighing some 120 kilograms (over 250 pounds), with a height of 1.85 meters (6 feet), and being teasingly nicknamed Burduhănosul ("Tubby") by his friends (although, according to testimonies by his son and daughter-in-law, he did not actually look his size).
Despite his activity being much reduced, he still kept himself informed about the polemics agitating Romania's cultural and political scene. He was also occasionally hosting Eminescu, witnessing his friend's struggle with mental disorder. The two failed to reconnect, and their relationship ended. After one of the meetings, he recorded that the delusional poet was carrying around a revolver with which to fend off unknown attackers—among the first in a series of episodes which ended with Eminescu's psychiatric confinement and death during June 1889. Around that time, Creangă, like other Junimists, was involved in a clash of ideas with the emerging Romanian socialist and atheistic group, rallied around Contemporanul magazine. This occurred after Contemporanul founder Ioan Nădejde publicly ridiculed Învățătoriul copiilor over its take on creationism, quoting its claim that "the invisible hand of God" was what made seeds grow into plants. Creangă replied with a measure of irony, stating that "had God not pierced the skin over our eyes, we would be unable to see each other's mistakes". Nevertheless, Călinescu argued, Nădejde's comments had shaken his adversary's religious sentiment, leading Creangă to question the immortality of the soul in a letter he addressed to one of his relatives in the clergy. According to other assessments, he was himself an atheist, albeit intimately so.
In 1887, the National Liberal Ministry of Dimitrie Sturdza removed Creangă from his schoolteacher's post, and he subsequently left for Bucharest in order to petition for his pension rights. Having hoped to be granted assistance by Maiorescu, he was disappointed when the Junimea leader would not respond to his request, and, during his final years, switched allegiance to the literary circle founded by Nicolae Beldiceanu (where he was introduced by Gruber). Among Creangă's last works was a fourth and final part of his Memories, most likely written during 1888. The book remained unfinished, as did the story Făt-frumos, fiul iepei ("Făt-Frumos, Son of the Mare"). He died after an epileptic crisis, on the last day of 1889, his body being buried in Iași's Eternitatea Cemetery. His funeral ceremony was attended by several of Iași's intellectuals (Vasile Burlă, A. C. Cuza, Dumitru Evolceanu, Nicolae Iorga and Artur Stavri among them).
Work
Cultural context
The impact of Ion Creangă's work within its cultural context was originally secured by Junimea. Seeking to revitalize Romanian literature by recovering authenticity, and reacting against those cultural imports it deemed excessive, the group notably encouraged individual creativity among peasants. Reflecting back on Maiorescu's role in the process, George Călinescu wrote: "A literary salon where the personal merit would take the forefront did not exist [before Junimea] and, had Creangă been born two decades earlier, he would not have been able to present 'his peasant material' to anyone. Summoning the creativity of the peasant class and placing it in direct contact with the aristocrats is the work of Junimea." His cogenerationist and fellow literary historian Tudor Vianu issued a similar verdict, commenting: "Junimea is itself ... an aristocratic society. Nevertheless, it is through Junimea that surfaced the first gesture of transmitting a literary direction to some writers of rural extraction: a phenomenon of great importance, the neglect of which would render unexplainable the entire subsequent development of our literature." Also referring to cultural positioning within and outside the group, Carmen-Maria Mecu and Nicolae Mecu took the acceptance of "literate peasants" such as Creangă as exemplary proof of Junimist "diversity" and "tolerance".
Maiorescu is known to have had much appreciation for Creangă and other writers of peasant origin, such as Ion Popovici-Bănățeanu and Ioan Slavici. Late in life, he used this connection to challenge accusations of Junimist elitism in the face of criticism from more populist traditionalists. Nonetheless, Junimea members in general found Creangă more of an entertainer rather than a serious writer, and treasured him only to the measure where he illustrated their theories about the validity of rural literature as a source of inspiration for cultured authors. Therefore, Iacob Negruzzi sympathetically but controversially referred to his friend as "a primitive and uncouth talent". Maiorescu's critical texts also provide little individual coverage of Creangă's contributions, probably because these failed to comply exactly with his stratification of literary works into poporane ("popular", that is anonymous or collective) and otherwise. Tudor Vianu's theory defines Creangă as a prime representative of the "popular realism" guidelines (as sporadically recommended by the Junimist doyen himself), cautioning however that Creangă's example was never mentioned in such a context by Maiorescu personally.
Although he occasionally downplayed his own contribution to literature, Creangă himself was aware that his texts went beyond records of popular tradition, and made significant efforts to be recognized as an original author (by corresponding with fellow writers and willingly submitting his books to critical scrutiny). Vianu commented at length on the exact relationship between the narrative borrowed from oral tradition and Creangă's "somewhat surreptitious" method of blending his own style into the folkloric standard, likening it to the historical process whereby local painters improvised over the strict canons of Byzantine art. Creangă's complex take on individuality and the art of writing was attested by his own foreword to an edition of his collected stories, in which he addressed the reader directly: "You may have read many stupid things since you were put on this Earth. Please read these as well, and where it should be that they don't agree with you, take hold of a pen and come up with something better, for this is all I could see myself doing and did."
An exception among Junimea promoters was Eminescu, himself noted for expressing a dissenting social perspective which only partly mirrored Maiorescu's take on conservatism. According to historian Lucian Boia, the "authentic Moldavian peasant" that was Creangă also complemented Eminescu's own "more metaphysical" peasanthood. Similarly, Z. Ornea notes that the poet used Creangă's positions to illustrate his own ethnonationalist take on Romanian culture, and in particular his claim that rural authenticity lay hidden by a "superimposed stratum" of urbanized ethnic minorities. 20th century critics have described Creangă as one of his generation's most accomplished figures, and a leading exponent of Junimist literature. This verdict is found in several of Vianu's texts, which uphold Creangă as a great exponent of his generation's literature, comparable to fellow Junimea members Eminescu, Slavici and Ion Luca Caragiale. This view complements George Călinescu's definition, placing the Moldavian author in the company of Slavici and Caragiale as one of the "great prose writers" of the 1880s. Lucian Boia, who noted that "the triad of Romanian classics" includes Creangă alongside Eminescu and Caragiale, also cautioned that, compared to the other two (with whom "the Romanians have said almost all there is to say about themselves"), Creangă has "a rather more limited register".
The frequent comparison between Creangă and Caragiale in particular is seen by Vianu as stemming from both their common "wide-ranging stylistic means" and their complementary positions in relations to two superimposed phenomenons, with Caragiale's depiction of the petite bourgeoisie as the rough equivalent of Creangă's interest in the peasantry. The same parallelism is explained by Ornea as a consequence of the two authors' social outlook: "[Their works] have cemented aesthetically the portrayal of two worlds. Creangă's is the peasant world, Caragiale's the suburban and urban one. Two worlds which represent, in fact, two characteristic steps and two sociopolitical models in the evolution of Romanian structures which ... were confronting themselves in a process that would later prove decisive." According to the same commentator, the two plus Eminescu are their generation's great writers, with Slavici as one "in their immediate succession." While listing what he believes are elements bridging the works of Creangă and Caragiale, other critics have described as strange the fact that the two never appear to have mentioned each other, and stressed that, although not unlikely, a direct encounter between them was never recorded in sources.
Narrative style and language
Highlighting Ion Creangă's recourse to the particularities of Moldavian regionalisms and archaisms, their accumulation making Creangă's work very difficult to translate, George Călinescu reacted against claims that the narratives reflected antiquating patterns. He concluded that, in effect, Creangă's written language was the equivalent of a "glossological museum", and even contrasted by the writer's more modern everyday parlance. Also discussing the impression that Creangă's work should be read with a Moldavian accent, noted for its "softness of sound" in relation to standard Romanian phonology, Călinescu cautioned against interpretative exaggerations, maintaining that the actual texts only offer faint suggestions of regional pronunciation. Contrasting Creangă with the traditions of literature produced by Wallachians in what became the standard literary language, Călinescu also argued in favor of a difference in mentality: the "balance" evidenced by Moldavian speech and illustrated in Ion Creangă's writings is contrasted by the "discoloration and roughness" of "Wallachianism". He also criticized those views according to which Creangă's variant of the literary language was "beautiful", since it failed to "please everyone on account of some acoustical beauty", and since readers from outside the writer's native area could confront it "with some irritation." For Călinescu, the result nevertheless displays "an enormous capacity of authentic speech", also found in the works of Caragiale and, in the 20th century, Mihail Sadoveanu. According to the same commentator, the dialectical interventions formed a background to a lively vocabulary, a "hermetic" type of "argot", which contained "hilarious double entendres and indecent onomatopoeia", passing from "erudite beauty" to "obscene laughter". Some of the expressions characteristic of Creangă's style are obscure in meaning, and some other, such as "drought made the snake scream inside the frog's mouth", appear to be spontaneous and nonsensical. Another specific trait of this language, commented upon by Vianu's and compared by him to the aesthetics of Classicism, sees much of Creangă's prose being set to a discreet poetic meter.
The recourse to oral literature schemes made it into his writings, where it became a defining trait. As part of this process, Călinescu assessed, "Creangă acts as all his characters in turn, for his stories are almost entirely spoken. ... When Creangă recounts, the composition is not extraordinary, but once his heroes begin talking, their gesticulation and wording reach a height in typical storytelling." According to the critic, discovering this "fundamental" notion about Creangă's work was the merit of literary historian and Viața Românească editor Garabet Ibrăileanu, who had mentioned it as a main proof of affiliation to realism. The distinctive manner of characterization through "realistic dialogues" is seen by Vianu as a highly personal intervention and indicator of the Moldavian writer's originality. Both Vianu and Călinescu discussed this trait, together with the technique of imparting subjective narration in-between characters' replies, as creating other meeting points between Creangă and his counterpart Caragiale. Partly replicating in paper the essence of social gatherings, Ion Creangă often tried to transpose the particular effects of oral storytelling into writing. Among these characteristic touches were interrogations addressed to the readers as imaginary listeners, and pausing for effect with the visual aid of ellipsis. He also often interrupted his narratives with concise illustrations of his point, often in verse form, and usually introduced by vorba ceea (an expression literally meaning "that word", but covering the sense of "as word goes around"). One example of this connects the notions of abundance and personal satisfaction:
In other cases, the short riddles relate to larger themes, such as divine justification for one's apparent fortune:
Creangă's specificity
Despite assuming the external form of traditional literature, Ion Creangă's interests and creative interventions, Călinescu noted, separated him from his roots: "peasants do not have [his] entirely cultured gifts. ... Too much 'atmosphere', too much dialogic 'humor', too much polychromy at the expense of linear epic movements. The peasant wants the bare epic and desires the unreal." The commentator passed a similar judgment on the author's use of ancient sayings, concluding that, instead of crystallizing and validating local folklore, the accounts appeal to cultured tastes, having as the generation of comedy and volubility as their main purpose. According to Vianu's assessment Creangă was "a supreme artist" whose use of "typical sayings" attests "a man of the people, but not an anonymous and impersonal sample." These verdicts, directly contradicting Junimist theories, were mirrored by several other 20th century exegetes belonging to distinct schools of thought: Pompiliu Constantinescu, Benjamin Fondane and Ion Negoițescu. Writing during the second half of the century, critic Nicolae Manolescu passed a similar judgment, believing that Creangă was motivated by a "strictly intellectual sensuousness" and the notion that "pleasure arises from gratuitousness", while Manolescu's colleague Mircea Braga referred to "the great secret of the man who has managed to transfer unaltered the code of popular creativity into the immanence of the cultured one." In Braga's assessment, this synthesis managed "the impossible", but the difficulty of repeating it with each story also resulted in mediocre writings: "from among his few texts, even fewer are located on the relatively highest level of the relative aesthetic hierarchy".
Călinescu viewed such intellectual traits as shared by Creangă with his Wallachian counterpart Anton Pann, in turn linking both writers to the satirical component of Renaissance literature, and specifically to François Rabelais. Within local tradition, the literary historian saw a symbolic connection between Creangă and the early 18th century figure, Ion Neculce, one of Moldavia's leading chroniclers. While he made his own comparison between Creangă and Pann, Tudor Vianu concluded that the Moldavian writer was in fact superior, as well as being more relevant to literature than Petre Ispirescu, the prime collector of tales in 19th-century Wallachia. Also making use of the Rabelais analogy, literary chronicler Gabriela Ursachi found another analogy in local letters: Ion Budai-Deleanu, an early 19th-century representative of the Transylvanian School, whose style mixes erudite playfulness with popular tastes. These contextual traits, researchers assess, did not prevent Creangă's overall work from acquiring a universal aspect, particularly since various of his writings use narrative sequences common throughout world literature.
George Călinescu also assessed that these literary connections served to highlight the elevated nature of Creangă's style, his "erudite device", concluding: "Writers such as Creangă can only show up in places where the word is ancient and equivocal, and where experience has been condensed into unchanging formulas. It would have been more natural for such a prose writer to have emerged a few centuries later, into an era of Romanian humanism. Born much earlier, Creangă showed up where there exists an ancient tradition, and therefore a species of erudition, ... in a mountain village ... where the people is unmixed and keeping [with tradition]." Outlining his own theory about the aspects of "national specificity" in Romanian letters, he expanded on these thoughts, listing Creangă and Eminescu as "core Romanians" who illustrated a "primordial note", complemented by the "southern" and "Balkan" group of Caragiale and others. Claiming that the "core" presence had "not primitive, but ancient" origins, perpetuated by "stereotyped wisdom" and "energetic fatalism", he asserted: "Creangă shows our civilization's contemporaneity with the world's oldest civilizations, our Asian age." The alternating national and regional characteristics in Creangă's writings are related by historian Neagu Djuvara with the writer's place of birth, an affluent village in an isolated region, contrasting heavily with the 19th century Wallachian countryside: "if the mud hut villages of the Danube flood plain are to be taken into account, one finds himself in a different country." Ornea, who noted that Eminescu effectively shared Creangă's worldview, believed the latter to have been dominated by nostalgia for a world of independent landowning peasants, and argued that Creangă's literary and political outlook were both essentially conservative. Ornea commented: "One could say that it was through [this form of nostalgia] that the writer debuted and that, within the space of his work it became, in its own right, an expression of the world that was about to vanish." Commenting on Creangă's "robust realism" and lack of "sentimentality", Vianu contrarily asserted: "Creangă's nostalgia ... has an individual, not social, sense."
The witty and playful side of Creangă's personality, which became notorious during his time at Junimea and constituted a significant part of his appeal, was reflected into a series of anecdotes. These accounts detail his playing the ignorant in front of fellow Junimists in order not to antagonize sides during literary debates (notably, by declaring himself "for against" during a two-option vote), his irony in reference to his own admirers (such as when he asked two of them to treasure the photograph of himself in the middle and the two of them on either side, while comparing it to the crucifixion scene and implicitly assigning them the role of thieves), and his recourse to puns and proverbs which he usually claimed to be citing from oral tradition and the roots of Romanian humor. The latter habit was notably illustrated by his answer to people who would ask him for money: "not since I born was I as poor as I was poor yesterday and the day before yesterday and last week and last week and throughout life". His joyfulness complemented his overall Epicureanism and his gourmand habits: his accounts are often marked by a special interest in describing acts related to food and drink. Overall, Eduard Gruber's report contended, Creangă's writing relied on him being "a strong sensual and auditive type", and a "very emotional" person.
Ion Creangă's sense of humor was instrumental in forging the unprecedented characteristics of his work. American critic Ruth S. Lamb, the writer's style merges "the rich vocabulary of the Moldavian peasant" with "an original gaiety and gusto comparable to that of Rabelais." According to George Călinescu: "[Creangă] got the idea that he was a clever man, like all men of the people, and therefore used irony to make himself seem stupid." In Călinescu's view, the author's antics had earned him a status equivalent to that of his Wallachian Junimist counterpart Caragiale, with the exception that the latter found his inspiration in urban settings, matching "Nasreddinisms" with "Miticism". Z. Ornea sees the main protagonists in Creangă's comedic narratives as, in effect, "particularized incarnations of the same symbolic character", while the use of humor itself reflects the traditional mindset, "a survival through intelligence, that of a people with an old history, whose life experience has for centuries been concentrated into gestures and words."
Most prominent tales
Part of Ion Creangă's contribution to the short story, fantasy and children's literature genres involved collecting and transforming narratives circulating throughout his native region, which intertwine with his characteristic storytelling to the point where they become original contributions. According to Călinescu, the traditional praise for Ion Creangă as a creator of literary types is erroneous, since his characters primarily answered to ancient and linear narrative designs. The conclusion is partly shared by Braga, who links Creangă's tales to ethnological and anthropological takes on the themes and purposes of fairy tales, postulating the prevalence of three ancient and related narrative pretexts throughout his contributions: the preexistence of a "perturbing situation" (attributable to fatality), the plunging of the hero into a rite of passage-type challenge, a happy ending which brings the triumph of good over evil (often as a brutal and uncompromising act). Like their sources and predecessors in folklore, these accounts also carry transparent morals, ranging from the regulation of family life to meditations about destiny and lessons about tolerating the marginals. However, Swedish researcher Tom Sandqvist argues, they also illustrate the absurdist vein of some traditional narratives, by featuring "grotesqueries" and "illogical surprises".
With "The Goat and Her Three Kids", written mainly as a picturesque illustration of motherly love, Creangă produced a fable in prose, opposing the eponymous characters, caricatures of a garrulous but hard-working woman and her restless sons, to the sharp-toothed Big Bad Wolf, a satirical depiction of the cunning and immoral stranger. The plot shows the wolf making his way into the goat's house, where he eats the two older and less obedient kids, while the youngest one manages to escape by hiding up the chimney—the symbolism of which was psychoanalyzed by Dan Grădinaru, who claims it constitutes an allusion to Creangă's own childhood. The dénouement sees an inversion of the natural roles, an episode which, ethnologist Șerban Anghelescu notes, is dominated by "the culinary fire": the goat exercises her brutal revenge by trapping and slowly cooking the predator. This approach partly resonates with that of "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", in which Creangă makes ample use of a traditional theme in Romanian humor, which portrays mothers-in-law as mean, stingy and oppressive characters. The embodiment of such offensive traits, she is also shown to be ingenious, pretending that she has a hidden third eye which always keeps things under watch. The narrator sides with the three young women in depicting their violent retribution, showing them capturing their oppressor, torturing her until she is left speech impaired, and leaving her on the brink of death. The mother-in-law's end turns into a farce: the eldest and most intelligent of the killers manipulates her victim's dying sounds into a testament partitioning her wealth, and a thin decorum is maintained at the funeral ceremony by the daughters' hypocritical sobbing.
"The Story of the Pig" partly illustrates the notion that parental love subdues even physical repulsion, showing an elderly peasant couple cherishing their adopted porcine son, who, unbeknown to them, is enchanted. The creature instantly offsets his parents' sadness and immobility by his witty intelligence. Having applied his perseverance and spells to erect a magical bridge, the piglet fulfills the requirement for marrying the emperor's daughter, after which it is uncovered that he is a Făt-Frumos or Prince Charming character who assumes his real identity only by night. Although the plot is supposed to deal with imperial magnificence in fairy tale fashion, the setting is still primarily rural, and the court itself is made to look like an elevated peasant community. According to researcher Marcu Beza, the text is, outside of its humorous context, a distant reworking of ancient legends such as Cupid and Psyche. The story introduces three additional characters, old women who assess and reward the efforts of the virtuous: Holy Wednesday, Holy Friday and Holy Sunday. They represent a mix of Christian and pagan traditions, by being both personifications of the liturgical calendar and fairy-like patrons of the wilderness (zâne).
A similar perspective was favored by "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter". Here, the theme echoes Cinderella, but, according to Călinescu, the rural setting provides a sharp contrast to the classical motif. Persecuted by her stepmother and stepsister, the kind and loving daughter of the old man is forced into a position of servitude reflecting the plight of many peasant women in Creangă's lifetime. In this case, the old man is negatively depicted as cowardly and entirely dominated by his mean wife. The focal point of the narrative is the meeting between the good daughter and Holy Sunday. The latter notices and generously rewards the girl's helpful nature and mastery of cooking; in contrast, when her envious sister attempts the same and fails, she ends up being eaten by serpent-like creatures (balauri). The happy ending sees the good girl marrying not Prince Charming, but a simple man described as "kind and industrious"—this outcome, Călinescu assessed, did not in effect spare the old man's daughter from a life of intense labor. A story very similar to "The Old Man's Daughter ..." is "The Purse a' Tuppence", which teaches that greed can shatter families, while offering symbolic retribution to men who are unhappy in marriage. The old man's rooster, chased away by the old woman for being unproductive, ends up amassing a huge fortune, which he keeps inside his belly and regurgitates back into the courtyard; the jealous old woman ends up killing her favorite hen, who has failed in replicating the rooster's feat.
Devil-themed stories and "Harap Alb"
Several of Creangă's characteristic novellas are infused with themes from Christian mythology, fictionalizing God, Saint Peter and the army of devils, most often with the comedic intent of showing such personages behaving like regular people. A defining story in this series is "Dănilă Prepeleac", whose eponymous peasant hero is characterized by what Șerban Anghelescu calls "idiocy serving to initiate", or, according to Gabriela Ursachi, "complete, and therefore sublime, stupidity." The first part of the story shows Dănilă exchanging his oxen for an empty bag—a set of dialogues which, George Călinescu argued, is almost exactly like a comedy play. In what was described as a complete reversal in characterization, the hero uses intelligence and ruse to trick and frighten several devils. Contrarily, "Stan Pățitul" shows its hero fraternizing with a lesser demon. Following the opening episode, in which the latter accidentally eats a bit of mămăligă dedicated by Stan to those who honor God, Satan himself condemns his subordinate to service the peasant. Călinescu highlights the naturalness of exchanges between the two protagonists, the latter of whom assumes the endearing form of a frail boy, Chirică, who ends up moving in with Stan and entering his service. The writing was also noted for other realistic elements alluding to everyday life, such as the overtly colloquial exchange between Chirică and Satan, or the episodes in which the young devil helps Stan woo a peasant woman. Although relatively young, Stan himself is referred to as stătut ("frowzy" or "lacking in freshness"), and the wording reflects rural attitudes about men who fail to marry during a certain age interval. Toward the end, the story focuses on a corrupt old woman who tries to trick Stan's new wife into committing adultery, but fails and is banished to the remotest area of Hell. Viewed by Călinescu as Creangă's "most original manner of dealing with the fabulous", and paralleled by him with Caragiale's Kir Ianulea on account of its realist approach to the supernatural, "Stan Pățitul" is, according to Vianu, untraceable in its inspiration: "[its] folk origin could not be identified, but it is not dismissible".
Another account in this series is "Ivan Turbincă", whose protagonist, a Russian serviceman, is shown rebelling against Heaven and Hell, and ultimately accomplishing the human ideal of cheating Death. The plot retells a theme present in both Romanian tradition and Ukrainian folklore, while, according to researcher of children's literature Muguraș Constantinescu, the main character is similar to German tradition's Till Eulenspiegel. In the beginning of the account, God rewards the soldier's exemplary charity by granting him a pouch (turbincă), which can miraculously trap anything in existence. In order to circumvent the laws of nature, Ivan subsequently makes use of both his magical item and his innate shrewdness. In one such episode, pretending not to understand the proper position of bodies inside a coffin, he tricks impatient Death into taking his place, and traps her inside. Eventually, he is allowed to keep his life, but is promised an eternity of old age, which he ingeniously counterbalances by attending an endless succession of wedding parties, and therefore never having to feel sad.
"Harap Alb", one of Ion Creangă's most complex narratives, carries a moral defined by Călinescu as "the gifted man will earn a reputation under any guise." The story opens with a coming of age quest, handed down by a king to his three sons: the most fit among them is supposed to reach the court of the Green Emperor, who is the king's brother, and succeed him to the throne. According to Călinescu, the mission bases itself on travels undertaken by young men in Creangă's native region, while the subsequent episodes in the narrative reinforce the impression of familiarity, from the "peasant speech" adopted by the villain known as the Bald Man, to the "crass vulgarity" evidenced by the antagonist Red Emperor. Forced to pass himself off as a foreign servant (or "Moor"), the prince is three times tested and aided by Holy Sunday, who doubles as the queen of zâne creatures. Călinescu described as "playful realism" the method through which Creangă outlined the mannerisms of several other characters, in particular the allegorical creatures who provide the youngest prince with additional and serendipitous assistance. In one noted instance, the characters Setilă ("Drink-All") and Flămânzilă ("Eat-All") help the hero overcome seemingly impossible tasks set by the Red Emperor, by ingesting unnaturally huge amounts of food and drink.
The tale builds on intricate symbolism stemming from obscure sources. It features what Muguraș Constantinescu calls "the most complex representation of Holy Sunday", with mention of her isolated and heavenly abode on "flower island". A background antithesis opposes the two fictional monarchs, with the Red Emperor replicating an ancient tradition which attributes malignant characteristics to the color. By contrast, the Green Emperor probably illustrates the ideals of vitality and healthy lifestyle, as hinted by his culinary preference for "lettuce from the garden of the bear". Historian Adrian Majuru, building on earlier observations made by linguist Lazăr Șăineanu, also connects the servant-prince's antagonists with various reflections of ethnic strife in Romanian folklore: the Red Emperor as standing for the medieval Khazars ("Red Jews"), the Bald Man as a popular view of the Tatars.
Childhood Memories
Childhood Memories is, together with a short story about his teacher Isaia Teodorescu (titled "Popa Duhu"), one of Creangă's two memoirs. George Călinescu proposed that, like his fairy tales, the book illustrates popular narrative conventions, a matter accounting for their special place in literature: "The stories are true, but typical, without depth. Once retold with a different kind of gesticulation, the subject would lose all of its lively atmosphere." Also based on the techniques of traditional oral accounts, it features the topical interventions of a first-person narrator in the form of soliloquies, and reflects in part the literary canon set by frame stories. The resulting effect, Călinescu argued, was not that of "a confession or a diary", but that of a symbolic account depicting "the childhood of the universal child." According to Vianu, the text is especially illustrative of its author's "spontaneous passage" between the levels of "popular" and "cultured" literature: "The idea of fictionalizing oneself, of outlining one's formative steps, the steady accumulation of impressions from life, and then the sentiment of time, of its irreversible flow, of regret for all things lost in its consumption, of the charm relived through one's recollections are all thoughts, feelings and attitudes defining a modern man of culture. No popular model could have ever stood before Creangă when he was writing his Memories, but, surely, neither could the cultured prototypes of the genre, the first autobiographies and memoirs of the Renaissance". Grădinaru and essayist Mircea Moț analyzed the volume as a fundamentally sad text, in stated contrast with its common perception as a recollection of joyful moments: the former focused on moments which seem to depict Nică as a loner, the latter highlighted those sections which include Creangă's bitter musings about destiny and the impregnability of changes. A distinct interpretation was provided by critic Luminița Marcu, who reacted against the tradition of viewing Creangă's actual childhood as inseparable from his own subjective rendition.
Several of the book's episodes have drawn attention for the insight they offer into the culture, structure and conflicts of traditional society before 1900. Commenting on this characteristic, Djuvara asserted: "even if we take into account that the grown-up will embellish, transfigure, 'enrich' the memories of his childhood, how could we not recognize the sincerity in Creangă's heart-warming evocation of his childhood's village?" The book stays true to life in depicting ancient customs: discussing the impact of paganism on traditional Romanian customs, Marcu Beza communicated a detail of Creangă's account, which shows how January 1 celebrations of Saint Basil opposed the loud buhai players reenacting a fertility rite to people preferring a quieter celebration. The work also offers details on the traditional roles of a rural society such as that of Humulești, in the context of social change. Muguraș Constantinescu highlights the important roles of old men and women within Nică's universe, and especially that of his grandfather and "clan leader" David Creangă. The latter, she notes, is an "enlightened man" displaying "the wisdom and balance of the ripe age", a person able to insist on the importance of education, and a churchgoer who frowns on "his wife's bigotry." The seniors' regulatory role within the village is evidenced throughout the book, notoriously so in the episode where the boy captures a hoopoe who bothers his morning sleep, only to be tricked into releasing it by old man, who understands the bird's vital role as village alarm clock.
Another significant part of the account, detailing Creangă's education, shows him frustrated by the old methods of teaching, insisting on the absurd image of children learning by heart and chanting elements of Romanian grammar and even whole texts. The narrator refers to this method as "a terrible way to stultify the mind". The negative portrayal of teaching priests was commented by writer and critic Horia Gârbea as proof of the author's anticlericalism, in line with various satirical works targeting the Romanian clergy: "Creangă's Memories of the catechism school would discourage any candidate."
Didactic writings
Creangă's contribution to literature also covers a series of didactic fables written as lively dialogues, among them "The Needle and the Sledge Hammer", in which the objects of traditional metalworking scold the byproducts of their work for having forgotten their lowly origin. The inspiration behind this theme was identified by Călinescu as "The Story of a Gold Coin", written earlier by Creangă's Junimist colleague Vasile Alecsandri. A similar piece, "The Flax and the Shirt", reveals the circuit of fibers from weed-like plants into recycled cloth, leading to the conclusion that "all things are not what they seem; they were something else once, they are something else now;—and shall become something else." The technique employed by Creangă has the flax plant teaching the less knowledgeable textile, a dialogue which Călinescu likened to that between old women in a traditional society. Included alongside the two stories were: Pâcală, a writing which, Mircea Braga argued, is not as much didactic as it is a study in dialogue; "The Bear Tricked by the Fox", which uses legendary and humorous elements in an attempt to explain why bears are the tail-less species among mammals; and Cinci pâini ("Five Loafs of Bread"), which serves as a condemnation of greed.
With "Human Stupidity", Creangă builds a fable about incompetence in its absolute forms. The story centers on a peasant's quest to find people who are less rational than his wife, having been infuriated by her panic at the remote possibility that a ball of salt could fall from its place of storage and kill their baby. This, essayist and chronicler Simona Vasilache argues, highlights "a family-based division" of illogical behavior, in which women are depicted as the main propagators of both "astonishing nonsense" and "prudent stupidity". Instead, literary critic Ion Pecie identified inside the narrative a meditation on "the link between spirit and nature", with the unpredictable ball of salt representing the equivalent of a "sphinx". His colleague Gheorghe Grigurcu argued that such conclusions "may seem excessive", but that they were ultimately validated by the literary work being "a plurality of levels". A similar piece is the prose fable "The Story of a Lazy Man": fed up with the protagonist's proverbial indolence, which has led him as far as to view chewing food as an effort, his fellow villagers organize a lynching. This upsets the sensibility of a noblewoman who happens to witness the incident. When she offers to take the lazy man into her care and feed him bread crumbs, he seals his own fate by asking: "But are your bread crumbs soft?" The peculiar effect of this moral is underlined by Anghelescu: "The lazy man dies as a martyr of his own immobility." Braga interpreted the story as evidence of "the primacy of ethics" over social aspects in the local tradition. Ion Pecie saw in the story proof of Creangă's own support for capital punishment with a preventive or didactic purpose, even in cases were the fault was trivial or imagined, concluding: "Here, ... Creangă loses much of his depth." Pecie's conclusion was treated with reserve by Grigurcu, who believed that, instead, the narrator refrains from passing any judgment on "the community's instinctual eugenic reaction".
Partly didactic in scope, several of Creangă's anecdotes involve Ion Roată, a representative to the ad hoc Divan which voted in favor of Moldo-Wallachian union, and the newly elected Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The texts convey a sense of tension between the traditional boyar aristocracy and the peasant category, closely reflecting, according to historian Philip Longworth, a conflict mounting during the second half of the 19th century. The same is argued by Ornea, who also proposes that the protagonist offers insight into Creangă's own conservative reflexes and his complex views on the union, while outlining several connections which the brand of social criticism professed by Junimea. Although Roată, a real-life person, was a representative of the pro-union National Party, his main interest, according to the stories themselves, was in curbing the boyars' infringement of peasant rights. The stories' narrator directs his hostility not at boyars in general, but at the younger Romantic nationalist ones, whom he portrays as gambling on Moldavia's future: "[There was] a clash of ideas opposing old boyars to the youth of Moldavia's ad hoc Divan, even though both were in favor of 'Union'. It's only that the old ones wanted a negotiated 'Union', and the young ones a 'Union' done without proper thinking, as it came to pass." According to Muguraș Constantinescu: "[Roată] opposes the intelligence of common folk, their common sense, their humor and the pleasure of allegorical discourse to the pompous and hollow speeches of some politicians". In this context, Cuza's presence is depicted as both legitimate and serendipitous, as he takes a personal interest in curbing boyar abuse.
Moș Nichifor Coțcariul and "corrosives"
Seen by Romanian critic Radu Voinescu as an extended anecdote, the novella Moș Nichifor Coțcariul ("Old Man Nichifor Slyboots") establishes a connection with the language of fairy tales, being located in a legendary and non-historical age. It details the elaborate seduction of a young Jewish bride by a worldly Moldavian wagoner, on the route between Târgu Neamț and Piatra. The episode, which the text itself indicates is just one in a series of Nichifor's conquests among his female clients, highlights the seducer's verbose monologue, which covers accounts of his unhappy marriage, allusions about the naturalness of physical love, and intimidating suggestions that wolves may be tempted to attack the wagon (prompting the young woman to seek refuge in his arms). The seducer's behavior, Constantinescu notes, presents an alternative to the theme of old age as a time of immobility: "the still-green old man, the rake, the joker who enjoys his amorous escapades, while justifying them by the natural course of life". Nichifor mostly expresses himself with the help of folk sayings, which he casually mixes in with personal observations about the situation. The background to the plot is a record of various superstitions, some anticlerical or antisemitic: Nichifor voices the belief that priests crossing one's path will produce bad luck, as well as the claim that Jewish apothecaries sold "poisons".
The reception of Moș Nichifor Coțcariul by Junimea illustrated its ambivalence toward Creangă. Maiorescu found the text "interesting in its way and decisively Romanian", but asked Convorbiri Literare journal to either modify it or refrain from publishing it altogether. This was complemented by its author's own self-effacing assessment: calling the text "a childish thing", he suggested to Maiorescu that revisions were needed, stating "I have written it long, because there was no time for me to write it short." Contrarily, the writer's posterity referred to it as one of the greatest Romanian contributions to the genre: according to George Călinescu, the insight into Nichifor's musings resulted in transforming the writing as a whole into "the first great Romanian novella with a stereotypical hero", while Voinescu described the entire story as "a true masterpiece."
The narrative approaches of Moș Nichifor Coțcariul bordered on Creangă's contributions to erotic literature, pieces collectively known as "corrosives" and which have for long treated with discretion by literary historians. In Călinescu's view, this chapter in Creangă's literature created another link between the Moldavian writer and the Renaissance tradition of Rabelais: "All Rabelaisians have penetrated deeply into the realm of vulgarity." The taste for titillating accounts was also cultivated by Junimea members, who discreetly signaled their wish to hear more explicit content by asking Creangă to recount stories from "the wide street". A product of this context, Moș Nichifor Coțcariul itself is said to have had at least one sexually explicit variant, circulated orally.
Two stories with explicit pornographic content survive as samples of Creangă's erotic authorship: "The Tale of Ionică the Fool" and "The Tale of All Tales" (also known as Povestea pulei, "Tale of the Dick" or "Tale of the Cock"). The former shows its cunning hero having intercourse with a priest's daughter, moving between prose and verse to describe the act. "The Tale of All Tales", which makes ample use of vulgar speech, recounts how a peasant disrespectful of divinity has his entire maize harvest transformed into male genitalia, but is able to turn out a profit by catering to the sexual appetites of women. The final section, seen by Gârbea as a sample of anticlerical jeers recorded by "the defrocked Creangă", depicts the rape of a priest by one such sexual object. Although explicit, literary historian Alex. Ștefănescu argued, the text "is refined and full of charm". While acknowledging both "corrosives" for their "popular charm" in the line of Rabelais and Geoffrey Chaucer, and noting that they still display the author's place as a "great stylist", Voinescu also signaled the texts' "very obvious" debt to folkloric sources. In his definition, Ion Creangă is "possibly the only writer" to draw on the legacy of "luscious popular jests" found in local "erotic folklore". Nevertheless, according to literary critic Mircea Iorgulescu, "The Tale of All Tales" may in fact be based on Parapilla, a pornographic leaflet circulating in Italian and French.
Legacy
Estate, family and early cultural impact
Soon after the Creangă's death, efforts began to collect his manuscript writings and the updated versions of his printed works. This project involved his son Constantin, alongside A. D. Xenopol, Grigore Alexandrescu and Eduard Gruber, the latter of whom obtained the works from Tinca Vartic. The first edition was published as two volumes, in 1890–1892, but the project came to an abrupt halt due to Gruber's insanity and death. Creangă's final known work, the fragment of Făt-frumos, fiul iepei, was published by Convorbiri Literare in 1898. The Gruber copies were sold to a Dr. Mendel, and only a part of them was recovered by exegetes, alongside various fragments accidentally discovered at Iași market, where they were being used for wrapping paper. The collection, structured into a whole by folklorist Gheorghe T. Kirileanu, was published by Editura Minerva in 1902 and 1906. In addition to being mentioned in the memoirs of several prominent Junimists, Creangă had his political career fictionalized and satirized by Iacob Negruzzi, who transformed him, as Popa Smântână, into a character of his satirical poems Electorale ("Electorals"). The same author referred to his counterpart in one of his epigrams.
Shortly after her lover's death, Tinca Vartic married a man who lived in the same part of Iași. The target of organized tourism from as early as 1890, the Iași Bojdeuca nevertheless fell into disrepair. It was eventually purchased by an "Ion Creangă Committee", whose members included Constantin Creangă, Kirileanu and the ultra-nationalist politician A. C. Cuza. It was set up as the first of Romania's "memorial houses" on April 15, 1918. Restored the same year and again in 1933–1934, it houses an important part of Creangă's personal items and the first known among Creangă's portraits, painted by his contemporary V. Mușnețanu. While Constantin Creangă had a successful career in the Romanian Army, one of the writer's two grandsons, Horia Creangă, became one of the celebrated modern architects of the interwar period, earning his reputation by redesigning much of downtown Bucharest.
The popularity of Ion Creangă's accounts outside his regional and dialectal context, together with his own contribution as an educator, played a part in the evolution of standard Romanian, at a new phase in which many dialectal variations were incorporated into the spoken language. His primers Metodă nouă ... and Învățătoriul copiilor went through many editions during the late 19th century. The impact of his works was also a contributing factor to preserving a noted interest in rural subjects, a subsequent defining trait in modern Romanian literature. Discussing "stylistic harmony", which he believed to be bridging all of Romania's social and literary environments, philosopher Mircea Eliade wrote: "Romanians consider Ion Creangă a classic writer belonging to the modern age. His work can be read and understood by the entire range of social classes, in all the provinces of our country. In spite of the abundant presence of Moldavian words in his writings, the work would not remain a stranger to its readers. What other European culture can take pride in having a classic writer read by all categories of readers?" The "thematic grip of the village" was noted by American academic Harold Segel, who investigated its impact on "some of the most revered names in the history of Romanian literature", from Creangă and Slavici to interwar novelist Liviu Rebreanu.
Early 20th century and interwar echoes
A more thorough evaluation of Creangă's literature began after 1900. At the time, it became a topic of interest to the emerging traditionalist and populist trend, illustrated by the two venues rivaling Junimea: the right-wing Sămănătorul, led by Nicolae Iorga, and the left-wing Poporanists, among which was Garabet Ibrăileanu. The new editions of his works enlisted the collaboration of Sămănătorist intellectuals Ilarie Chendi and Ștefan Octavian Iosif. Tudor Vianu however noted that, unlike Eminescu's outlook, Creangă's "authentic ruralism" did not complement the "spiritual complications", global social class perspective and intellectual background associated with these trends, making Creangă "the least Sămănătorist among our writers." According to Ornea, Creangă has "nothing in common" with the Sămănătorul ideology in particular: while the group shared his nostalgic outlook on the rural past in stark contrast to the modernized world, the Moldavian author could "maintain, intelligently, the middle ground between contraries". Likewise, Mircea Braga reacted against the perception of Creangă as announcing a "series" of authors, noting that, for all imitation, he was "an exceptional and, as far as Romanian literary history goes, unique creator."
Directly influenced by Creangă, several early 20th century and interwar authors within the new traditionalist trend explicitly stood for the legacy of folkloric, spontaneous and unskilled literature: the peasant writer I. Dragoslav, whose memoirs borrow stylistic elements from Creangă's accounts; Constantin Sandu-Aldea, an agriculturalist by profession, who took inspiration from his techniques of rendering dialogue; and Ion Iovescu, whom the Sburătorul literary circle acclaimed as "a new Creangă", and who made ample use of a modernized Muntenian dialect. Similarly, the Aromanian activist and author Nicolae Constantin Batzaria, who divided his career between Romania and the southern Balkans, combined Creangă's storytelling techniques with the traditions of Turkish literature, while the reworking of regional folklore themes earned intellectual Constantin S. Nicolăescu-Plopșor a reputation as "the Oltenian Creangă". During the 1910s, folklorist Tudor Pamfile published a specialized magazine named Ion Creangă in honor of the writer. Creangă's various works also provided starting points for several other writers of diverse backgrounds. They included representatives of the Symbolist movement, such as Victor Eftimiu, who was inspired by Creangă's narrative style in writing his fantasy and verse play Înșir'te mărgărite. Another such author was poet Elena Farago, whose didactic children's story Într-un cuib de rândunică ("Inside a Swallow's Nest") borrows from "The Flax and the Shirt".
With the interwar period and the spread of modernist literature, a new generation of critics, most notably George Călinescu and Vladimir Streinu, dedicated important segments of their activity to the works of Ion Creangă. Other such figures were Șerban Cioculescu, whose contribution attempts to elucidate the more mysterious parts of the writer's vocabulary, and educator Dumitru Furtună, whose biographical studies provided a main source for subsequent research. By then, interest in Creangă's life and writings had diversified. This phenomenon first touched Romanian theater when I. I. Mironescu dramatized a section of Creangă's Memories as Catiheții de la Humulești ("The Catechists from Humulești")—a literary contribution judged "superfluous" by George Călinescu, who noted that the original was already "dramatic" in style. The writer's stories also became an inspiration for Alfred Mendelsohn and Alexandru Zirra, two Romanian composers who worked in children's musical theater, who adapted, respectively, "Harap Alb" and "The Goat and Her Three Kids". Creangă was also a secondary presence in Mite and Bălăuca, two biographical novels centered on Eminescu's amorous life, written by the prominent interwar critic Eugen Lovinescu, to whom Călinescu reproached having largely ignored Creangă in his nonfictional texts. Creangă's writings also earned followers among the more radical wing of the modernist scene. The authenticity and originality of Creangă's prose were highlighted and treasured by the influential modernist venue Contimporanul, in particular by its literary chroniclers Ion Vinea and Benjamin Fondane. Likewise, while formally affiliating with Surrealism, the avant-garde author Ion Călugăru contributed various prose works which borrow some of Creangă's storytelling techniques to depict the lives of Jewish Romanian communities from Moldavia.
In stages after World War I, the 19th century writer became better known to an international audience. This process produced translations into English, some of which, Călinescu argued, reached significant popularity among British readers of Romanian literature. In contrast, writer Paul Bailey assessed that the variants used antiquated words and "sounded terrible" in English. Among the series of early English-language versions was a 1920 edition of Creangă's Memories, translated by Lucy Byng and published by Marcu Beza. It was also during the interwar that Jean Boutière published the first-ever French-language monograph on the Romanian writer, originally as a Ph.D. thesis for the University of Paris.
While their author continued to receive praise for his main contributions, the erotic tales were most often kept hidden from the public eye. George Călinescu summarized this contrast by stating: "The 'corrosives' left by Creangă are not known publicly." An exception to this rule was Kirileanu's Creangă reader of 1938, published by Editura Fundațiilor Regale as the first critical edition of his entire literature. According to critic Adrian Solomon, the Romanian tradition of silencing obscene language and sexually explicit literature through censorship made "The Tale of All Tales" circulate "rather like a samizdat", which left writers with "no solid tradition to draw on, and precious little chance to evade ... the vigilant morals of a straitlaced public." The nationalist aspects of Ion Creangă's public discourse were however approved of and recovered by the far right of the 1920s and '30s. High-ranking Orthodox cleric Tit Simedrea referred to Creangă as a predecessor when, in 1937, he urged his congregation to refrain from purchasing merchandise sold by Jews (a measure which he believed was a practical alternative to the Jews' forced eviction). In 1939, as part of a press campaign targeting Călinescu's work, the fascist journal Porunca Vremii accused the literary historian of having exposed Creangă's biography for the sake of compromising the "genial Moldavian" by turning him into "an unfrocked epileptic and a drunk."
Creangă inspired a 1920 painting by Octav Băncilă, which shows Creangă listening to Eminescu reading his poems. Two busts of the author were erected in Iași, respectively at his grave site and, in 1932, the gardens of Copou neighborhood. After 1943, another such piece was unveiled in Bucharest's Cișmigiu Gardens, as part of Rotunda Scriitorilor monument.
Under communism
During Romania's restrictive communist period, which lasted between 1948 and 1989, the critical evaluation of Ion Creangă's work went through several periods, complementing political developments. Throughout the first part of this interval, when socialist realism was politically imposed on Romanian letters, Creangă was spared the posthumous censorship which affected several other classical writers (see Censorship in Communist Romania). His work was officially praised for its aesthetic qualities, but its association with the condemned Junimea was omitted from critical commentary, and readers were instead referred to Creangă as a realist critical of bourgeois society. In 1948, the new authorities granted him posthumous membership in the Romanian Academy. The following year, at the height of Soviet occupation, official critic Barbu Lăzăreanu controversially described Creangă as a writer indebted to Russian folklore.
By the second half of communist rule, several new approaches in the critical assessment of Creangă's literature were emerging. His work became a main topic of critical interest and the sole subject of many works, to the point where Nicolae Manolescu assessed that "everything has been said about Creangă". Within this exegetic phenomenon, an original interpretation of his stories from an esoteric perspective was written by philosopher Vasile Lovinescu as Creangă și Creanga de aur ("Creangă and the Golden Bough"). During the final two decades of communism, under Nicolae Ceaușescu, the recovery of nationalist discourse into official dogma also encouraged the birth of protochronism. In one of its aspects, theorized by cultural historian Edgar Papu, this approach controversially reevaluated various Romanian writers, Creangă included, presenting them as figures who anticipated most developments on the world stage. Papu's own conclusion about "Harap Alb", outlined in a 1983 volume, depicted Creangă as a direct predecessor of Italian semiotician Umberto Eco and his celebrated volume The Open Work—a conclusion which literary historian Florin Mihăilescu has seen as proof of Papu's "exegetic obsession", lacking in "sense of humor, not just sense of reality." One of Papu's disciples, national communist ideologue Dan Zamfirescu, claimed that Creangă was equal to, or even more important than world classics Homer, William Shakespeare and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, while asserting that the eponymous protagonist of "Ivan Turbincă" stands as "the character who dominates world history in our century". Left outside the scope of this critical interest, the "corrosives" were left out of new Creangă readers (such as Iorgu Iordan's 1970 edition), being, according to a 1976 essay by scholar George Munteanu, "still unpublishable" for lack of "a general level of aesthetic education" among Romanians.
A second museum entirely dedicated to the writer was opened at his Târgu Neamț home in 1951, and donated to the state by his successors in 1965. During the following decades, it reportedly became the most visited memorial house in Romania. The authorities also financed a new cultural center, raised in the immediate vicinity of Bojdeuca during 1984–1989. In 1965, the Ion Creangă Children's Theater, a state-run institution, was founded in Bucharest, and its subsequent activity included staging several of the writer's fairy tales for a junior public. Among such contributions were two adaptation of "Harap Alb", directed respectively by Ion Lucian and Zoe Anghel Stanca. In 1983, Timișoara-based author Șerban Foarță also completed work on a stage version of "Ivan Turbincă".
A new publishing house, Editura Ion Creangă, was created as a main publisher of children's literature, and its output included editions of Creangă's own works. The new editions were illustrated by several visual artists of note, among them Corneliu Baba, Eugen Taru and Lívia Rusz, while "Harap Alb" became a project of comic book artist Sandu Florea, earning him a Eurocon prize. A major project of the time involved Creangă translations into other languages, including Hungarian (a celebrated contribution by Hungarian-Romanian author András Sütő). During the same epoch, Creangă and his stories first became sources of inspiration for the Romanian film industry. Among the first were two contributions of filmmaker Elisabeta Bostan, both released in the early 1960s and based on the Memories: Amintiri din copilărie (starring child actor Ion Bocancea as the young Nică and Ștefan Ciubotărașu as the grown-up narrator), and Pupăza din tei (focusing on the hoopoe story). In 1965, celebrated Romanian director Ion Popescu-Gopo released De-aș fi Harap Alb, a loose adaptation of "Harap Alb", starring Florin Piersic in the title role. Popescu-Gopo also directed the 1976 film Povestea dragostei, which was based on "The Story of the Pig" and the 1985 film "Ramasagul" which was based on "The Bag with 2 Coins". The series also includes Nicolae Mărgineanu's biographical film of 1989, Un bulgăre de humă, focuses on the friendship between Creangă (played by Dorel Vișan) and Eminescu (Adrian Pintea).
The legacy of Ion Creangă was also tangible in the Soviet Union, and especially in the Moldavian SSR (which, as the larger section of Bessarabia, had been part of interwar Greater Romania, and later became independent Moldova). Initially, his writings, titled Moldavian Stories, formed part of the Soviet curriculum in the Moldavian Autonomous Region (Transnistria). Following the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia, Creangă was one of the Romanian-language writers whose works were still allowed for publishing by the new authorities. This provided local contributors to Romanian literature contact with older cultural models, directly inspiring the experimental or Postmodern prose pieces by Vlad Ioviță and Leo Butnaru. The endorsement of Creangă's public image within the Moldavian SSR was also reflected in art: in 1958, the writer's bust, the work of sculptor Lev Averbruh, was assigned to the Alley of Classics in Chișinău. His works were illustrated by one of the Moldavian SSR's leading visual artists, Igor Vieru, who also painted a portrait of the author. In 1967, Ioviță and filmmaker Gheorghe Vodă released Se caută un paznic: an adaptation of "Ivan Turbincă" and one of the successful samples of early Moldovan cinema, it was also noted for the musical score, composed by Eugen Doga. Also during that period, "The Goat ..." and "The Purse a' Tuppence" were made into animated shorts (directed by Anton Mater and Constantin Condrea). In 1978, an operatic version of "The Goat and Her Three Kids" was created by composer Zlata Tkach, based on a libretto by Grigore Vieru.
After 1989
The 1989 Revolution, which signaled the end of communism, closely preceded the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Renewed Moldova–Romania relations, and moves toward potential reunification, were consecrated by 1990 events such as the "Bridge of Flowers". The latter tour saw Moldovan politicians and cultural delegates demanding, and obtaining, that they be allowed to visit Bojdeuca. In 1993, answering a petition signed by a group of cultural personalities from Iași, Metropolitan Daniel (the future Patriarch of All Romania) signed a decision to posthumously revert the decision to exclude Ion Creangă from among the Moldavian clergy. The public polled during a 2006 program produced by the Romanian Television nominated Creangă 43rd among the 100 greatest Romanians. New monuments honoring the writer include a bust unveiled in Târgu Neamț, the work of sculptor Ovidiu Ciobotaru. The patrimony associated with Creangă's life has also sparked debates: local authorities in Târgu Neamț were criticized for not maintaining the site near his house in its best condition, while the Fălticeni where he once lived was controversially put up for sale by its private owners in 2009, at a time when city hall could not exercise its pre-emption right.
Creangă's work was also subject to rediscovery and reevaluation. This implied the publishing of his "corrosives", most notably in a 1998 edition titled Povestea poveștilor generației '80 ("The Tale of the Tales of the 80s Generation"). Edited by Dan Petrescu and Luca Pițu, it featured a Postmodern reworking of Povestea poveștilor by Mircea Nedelciu, a leading theorist of the Optzeciști writers. A trilingual edition of Creangă's original text was published in 2006 as a Humanitas project, with illustrations made for the occasion by graphic artist Ioan Iacob. The book included versions of the text in English (the work of Alistair Ian Blyth) and French (translated by Marie-France Ionesco, the daughter of playwright Eugène Ionesco), both of which were noted for resorting exclusively to antiquated slang. In 2004, another one of Creangă's stories was subjected to a Postmodern interpretation, with Stelian Țurlea's novel Relatare despre Harap Alb ("A Report about Harap Alb"). In 2009, Țurlea followed up with a version of "The Old Man's Daughter and the Old Woman's Daughter"; a year later, his colleague Horia Gârbea published a personal take on "The Story of a Lazy Man". Ion Creangă's own didactic tales have remained a presence in the Romanian curriculum after 2000, particularly in areas of education targeting the youngest students.
New films based on Creangă's writings include, among others, Mircea Daneliuc's Tusea și junghiul of 1992 (an adaptation of "The Old Man's Daughter ...") and Tudor Tătaru's Moldovan-Romanian co-production Dănilă Prepeleac (1996). There were also several post-1989 theatrical adaptations of Ion Creangă's texts, contributed by various Romanian dramaturges. Some of these are Cornel Todea's variant of "Harap Alb" (with music by Nicu Alifantis), Cristian Pepino's take on "The Goat and Her Three Kids", Mihai Mălaimare's Prostia omenească (from "Human Stupidity") and Gheorghe Hibovski's Povestea poveștilor, a fringe theater show using both Creangă's original and Nedelciu's text.
Creangă's name was assigned to several education institutions, among them Bucharest's Ion Creangă National College, and to an annual prize granted by the Romanian Academy. There is an Ion Creangă commune, in Neamț County, and streets or squares were also named in the writer's honor in cities throughout Romania: Târgu Neamț, Iași, Fălticeni, Bucharest, Arad, Brăila, Brașov, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Oradea, Ploiești, Sibiu, Suceava, Târgu Mureș, Tecuci, Timișoara, Tulcea, etc. A quarter in northern Bucharest, near Colentina, is also named Ion Creangă. Creangă's name was assigned to several landmarks and institutions in post-Soviet Moldova. Among them is the Ion Creangă Pedagogical State University, founded on the basis of Chișinău's normal school.
Notes
References
Marcu Beza, Paganism in Roumanian Folklore, Swedenborg Press, New York, 2007.
Lucian Boia, History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness, Central European University Press, Budapest, 2001.
Mircea Braga, postface and bibliography to Ion Creangă, Povești și povestiri, Editura Minerva, 1987, p. 199–220.
George Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române de la origini pînă în prezent, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1986
Paul Cernat, Avangarda românească și complexul periferiei: primul val, Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2007.
Muguraș Constantinescu, "Figures et représentations du vieillir et de la vieillesse dans les contes de Ion Creangă", in Alain Montandon (ed.), Figures du vieillir, Presses Universitaires Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, 2005, p. 59–71.
Neagu Djuvara, Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne, Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995.
Horia Gârbea, Trecute vieți de fanți și de birlici, Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2008.
Ruth S. Lamb, "Romanian Drama", in Stanley Hochman (ed.), The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama. Vol. 4: O-S, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1984, p. 239–252.
Carmen-Maria Mecu, Nicolae Mecu, "Paradigms of Junimea in Education for a Civil Society", in Magdalena Dumitrana (ed.), Romania: Cultural Identity and Education for Civil Society. Romanian Philosophical Studies, V. Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change, Series IVA, Eastern and Central Europe, Volume 24, Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, Washington, 2004, p. 181–193.
Florin Mihăilescu, De la proletcultism la postmodernism, Editura Pontica, Constanța, 2002.
Lucian Nastasă, Intelectualii și promovarea socială (pentru o morfologie a câmpului universitar), Editura Nereamia Napocae, Cluj-Napoca, 2002; e-book version at the Romanian Academy's George Bariț Institute of History
Andrei Oișteanu, Inventing the Jew. Antisemitic Stereotypes in Romanian and Other Central East-European Cultures, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 2009.
Z. Ornea,
Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească, Editura Fundației Culturale Române, Bucharest, 1995.
Junimea și junimismul, Vol. II, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1998.
Tudor Vianu, Scriitori români, Vol. I-III, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1970–1971.
Radu Voinescu, "Romanian Erotic Literature", in Gaëtan Brulotte, John Phillips (eds.), Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature, Routledge, New York & Abingdon, p. 1127–1131.
External links
translations in the Romanian Cultural Institute's Plural Magazine (various issues): "Danillo Nonsuch" ("Dănilă Prepeleac"), Childhood Memories (excerpt), "The Mother with Three Daughters-in-Law", Childhood Memories (excerpt), "The Purse a' Tuppence", "The Tale of All Tales", "The Tale of Ionică the Fool"
Roumanian Stories. Translated by Lucy Byng, at the University of Washington's DXARTS/CARTAH Electronic Text Archive
"The Story of the Pig". Hog Bridegrooms (tales of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 441 in which a beautiful maiden is forced to marry a hog or a hedgehog), University of Pittsburgh, Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts edited and/or translated by D. L. Ashliman
1837 births
1889 deaths
People from Târgu Neamț
People of the Principality of Moldavia
Romanian Orthodox priests
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Romanian children's writers
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19th-century Romanian poets
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19th-century memoirists | true | [
"Marie Calloway is an American author. Her first book, what purpose did i serve in your life?, was published by Tyrant Books and generated controversy. Part of the volume recounts the author's romantic relationship with a married journalist who she dubbed \"Adrien Brody\", and is reportedly based on an actual relat... | [
"Ion Creangă (; also known as Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei, Ion Torcălău and Ioan Ștefănescu; March 1, 1837 – December 31, 1889) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th-century Romanian literature, he is best known for his Childhood Memories volume, his novellas and... |
[
"Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo",
"Trail rides",
"do they have trail rides at the houston livestock show and rodeo?",
"Since 1952, traditional trail rides have been a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo."
] | C_b0e09b1b5e694dd1aa7694aaa0a637a4_1 | are the trail rides open to the public? | 2 | Are the trail rides at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo open to the public? | Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo | Since 1952, traditional trail rides have been a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. As of 2017, there were 13 official trail rides, totaling over 3,000 riders. The trail rides range in size from a dozen to over one thousand people who ride on horseback or in horse-drawn wagons from various areas of the state to Houston. They make their way at about 3 miles (4.8 km) per hour, covering up to 17 miles (27 km) each day. Many of the routes take place in part along major highways and busy city streets, making safety a major concern. The trail rides last from a few days to three weeks, depending on the distance they cover. Some of the participants are able to join only on weekends or at the end of the trip. The days start very early, and often end with live music or a small celebration. Many riders choose to camp in recreational vehicles rather than in the open. Each morning, they drive their vehicles and horse trailers to the next camping spot, then have a bus or convoy take them back so they can retrace their path on horseback. Participants can bring their own provisions, or, in some cases, purchase meals at a chuck wagon that is also following the trail. The rides converge at Memorial Park in Houston on Go Texan Day, the Friday before the livestock show and rodeo begins. The city closes some roads downtown to allow the riders to reach their destination safely. The resulting traffic interruption cause annual complaints from those who work downtown. The following day, all of the trail riders participate in the parade. CANNOTANSWER | As of 2017, there were 13 official trail rides, totaling over 3,000 riders. | The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, since 2003, with the exception of 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was previously held in the Astrodome. It is considered to be the city's "signature event", much like New Orleans's Mardi Gras, Dallas's Texas State Fair, San Diego's Comic-Con and New York City's New Year's Eve at Times Square.
In 2017, attendance reached a record high of 2,611,176 people and 33,000 volunteers. In 2007, the rodeo was deemed "the year of the volunteer." The event is 20 days long. It is kicked off by the Downtown Rodeo Roundup held near Houston City Hall, the Downtown Rodeo parade, and the ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run – a 10k and 5k walk & run and the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. The show features championship rodeo action, livestock competitions, concerts, a carnival, pig racing, barbecue and the Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition, shopping, sales and livestock auctions. Traditional trail rides, which start in different areas of Texas and end in Houston, precede the Rodeo events. The City of Houston celebrates this event with Go Texan Day, where residents are encouraged to dress in western wear the Friday before the rodeo begins.
The rodeo has drawn some of the world's biggest recording artists, including Gene Autry, Beyoncé, blink-182, Selena Gomez, Keith Urban, Ariana Grande, Selena, Reba McEntire, Kiss, Kelly Clarkson, Charley Pride, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Alan Jackson, REO Speedwagon, Brooks & Dunn, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, Bon Jovi, ZZ Top, Chris Stapleton, John Legend, Taylor Swift, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among others.
History
Early years
In the early part of the 20th century, Houston-area ranchers developed a new breed of cattle, the American Brahman, which was a blend of four breeds of cattle from India. The cattle were well-adapted to the hot, swampy conditions of the Texas Gulf Coast. In the early 1920s, James W. Sartwelle, a stockyard manager from Sealy, Texas, founded the American Brahman Breeders Association. Ranchers had no opportunities to show their cattle and raise awareness of the breed. Some attempted to show at the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth, Texas, but they weren't allowed into the main arena.
In January 1932, Sartwelle invited six other businessmen to a lunch at the Texas State Hotel. They decided to host a livestock exposition in Houston. Sartwelle was named the first president of the new Houston Fat Stock Show. Their inaugural event was held in late April 1932 at Sam Houston Hall in downtown Houston. It was primarily a regional event, designed to showcase the agriculture and livestock, including Brahmans, in the area around Houston. The show lasted one week and ran a deficit of $2,800. Approximately 2,000 people attended the exposition, where they were also entertained by the Future Farmers Band, comprising 68 high school students from around the state. The Grand Champion Steer was purchased by a local restaurant owner for $504.
The Fat Stock Show was held annually for the next four years. Realizing they had outgrown the space, organizers began looking for a larger venue. Shortly after the 1936 show ended, Sam Houston Hall was torn down. Sam Houston Coliseum, a 10,000-seat arena, would take its place. To allow for construction time, the 1937 exposition was cancelled. The year off allowed Fat Stock show organizers to solidify plans for a larger event. When the show resumed in 1938, it included a parade through downtown Houston, a carnival and midway, and a rodeo with a total purse of $640.50.
In the 1940s, despite World War II, organizers added musical entertainment. Local talent was invited to perform after the rodeo on some evenings. In 1942, singing cowboy Gene Autry became the first nationally recognized entertainer to perform at the show.
Attendance flagged in the early 1950s. To attract more attention to the event, organizers decided to hold a cattle drive. In 1952, the media were invited to join cowboys on a trek from Brenham, Texas to the Fat Stock Show. The publicity stunt was well received. The following year, the Salt Grass Trail Association again held the cattle drive. Other areas of the state organized their own trail rides to the show. This began the transition from a smaller regional event to larger, statewide notice.
Archer Romero, one of the key proponents of the trail ride, took over as president of the Fat Stock Show in 1954. That year, he founded the Go Texan Committee to further publicize the show. The committee would designate a day shortly before the show commenced as Go Texan Day. They encouraged Houston residents to dress in Western wear. The day had the dual purpose of celebrating Texas culture and advertising the show.
In 1957, Myrtis Dightman organized the first trail ride for African-Americans. He led 10 other cowboys in a ride from Prairie View, Texas to Houston. Because of their color, they were not welcomed in Memorial Park, where trail riders typically spent the night. Armed guards were there to ensure that the men could enter safely.
That same year, the show granted its first major scholarship. Ben Dickerson was given $2,000 ($16,000 in 2016) towards his education. This was the first step a major shift in the show's purpose. Over the next few decades, the show placed an increasing emphasis on education and scholarships.
Astrodome era
Throughout the 1950s, influential local leaders had been advocating that the city acquire a professional sports team. In 1957, the Texas State Legislature granted Harris County the ability to issue bonds to finance a new stadium, so that the city could attract a team. The county put together a commission to formulate a plan. Romero stepped down as Fat Stock Show president to join the commission. They visited stadiums in several large cities, as well as a fairgrounds in Oklahoma. After several years of research, the commission recommended that the county build both a stadium and a connected, air-conditioned coliseum. The presentation to the county commissioners listed four main uses for the new facility: 1) Major league baseball, 2) football, 3) the Fat Stock Show, and 4) various other activities.
County commissioners approved the project, sending it to a vote of Harris County residents. Just before the election, Fat Stock Show organizers announced that the show would donate near South Main for the project, provided the show have input into the design. Voters approved the new stadium, and the Fat Stock Show became one of the focal residents of the new Astrodome.
The show was renamed the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 1961. The show had continued to grow, and organizers realized that Sam Houston Coliseum would not be a viable alternative for much longer. The number of exhibitors had declined because many activities were held outside in tents. The chicken, rabbit, and hog shows were cancelled because organizers could not find space for them. Construction began on the Astrohall, next to the Astrodome, in 1965. The following year, the Livestock Show and Rodeo officially moved to the Astrodome. To mark their new location, the organizing committee introduced a new logo, the Bowlegged H. The first night of the rodeo featured entertainment by the stars of the television series Gunsmoke. Some locals scoffed at the idea that the rodeo and concert could fill a 45,000-seat stadium, but more than 40,000 fans attended the rodeo the night Jimmy Dean performed that year.
Louis Pearce Jr served sixty years as a board member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He served on the executive committee as president and CEO, and remained an active executive committee member until his death in 2012. As a result of his dedication and significant contributions to the event, Pearce became known as "Mr. Houston Livestock Show".
The first Hispanic trail ride commenced in 1973. Calling themselves Los Vaqueros Rio Grande Trail Ride, the group journeyed from the border crossing at Reynosa, Mexico to Houston.
The Go Texan committee launched the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest in 1974. Seventeen teams entered the competition, which was held in the Astrodome parking lot. Teams were asked to barbecue a minimum of on a wood fire. The inaugural judges included actor Ben Johnson. The competition grew in popularity; by 1981 it had grown to over 200 teams, with 45,000 people visiting.
In 1988, the show added a 5k run and 10k fun run through downtown Houston. Participants would pay an entry fee, with proceeds going to the scholarship fund.
1990s
By the 1990s, the show had been expanded to 20 days. Each evening featured a rodeo, sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The rodeo offered hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money, second only to the National Finals Rodeo. After the rodeo, attendees would see a concert, usually by a famous entertainer. Tickets were relatively inexpensive. For $10 or a little more, a person could buy a ticket to see the livestock shows, wild west shows, the rodeo and concert, and enjoy the carnival. The livestock show was billed as the largest of its kind, with more animals shown by adolescents than anywhere else in the country. Winning livestock were auctioned at the end of the judging, and, in the 1990s, the combined auction take was usually over $7 million. This was far beyond market value.
The rodeo was generally limited to the top PRCA contestants, based on prize money earned throughout the year. It was popular with cowboys; Houston won the inaugural Indoor Rodeo Committee of the Year award from the PRCA in 1992, and then won each of the next four years as well. The facility had huge screens hanging from the ceiling. Attendees could watch the competition live, then see an instant replay on the screens.
In 1996, the rodeo was halted one evening. The crew on the space shuttle Columbia appeared live on the big screens to address the crowd. Later that year, country singer George Strait set a record, having played to more than 1 million Houston rodeo attendees. The 1996 rodeo earned a net profit of $16.8 million and gave more than $7.9 million away in scholarships, assistantships, and research grants.
The Hideout was created in 1997 to give attendees more entertainment options after the rodeo and concert had ended. It is a nightclub for adults over 21 to dance and drink.
21st century
A new venue, Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium), was built on the Astrodome grounds in 2002. The rodeo marked its last night in the Astrodome on March 3, 2002, with a performance by country legend George Strait. The show was recorded and became Strait's first official live album, For the Last Time: Live from the Astrodome. Following the show, the Astrohall was torn down. A new exhibition space, Reliant Center, was constructed on the grounds, expanding exhibition capacity to 1.4 million square feet. Rodeo executives moved their offices into the second floor of the center. When the rodeo opened in 2003 in its new homes, Strait performed on opening night. In the first two seasons at Reliant, the Hideout was cancelled, but it resumed in 2005, now located within the Astrodome.
In 2004, show organizers added a new event, Rodeo Uncorked! International. Vintners from around the world entered their wines into a competition. These were then auctioned, raising $313,700. The following year, the wine auction raised more than $500,000. To give livestock show attendees the opportunity to taste the wines, the show launched the Wine Garden in 2008.
Attendance at the rodeo began falling. Attendees would purchase a ticket and arrive just before the concert, leaving a largely empty stadium for the rodeo itself. Joe Bruce Hancock, then the general manager of the rodeo, theorized that the audience was more urban and less familiar with rodeo events. The current show structure moved slowly and made it difficult for this type of audience to follow what was happening. As one of the PRCA-sanctioned rodeos, show organizers had little ability to make changes. The PRCA required that certain events be held, dictated the general structure of the rodeo, and insisted that each organizing committee use the PRCA national registration system. This meant that rodeos did not know which contestants were going to be appearing, or on which days.
The Houston rodeo committee requested a waiver from the PRCA in 2008. Houston would still remit 6% of the rodeo purse to the PRCA, but they would change the format and the registration system. Now, the rodeo knew who would be competing on which days and could market those individual appearances. The rodeo was restructured into a playoff format. Attendance at the rodeo skyrocketed. Champion bareback rider Bobby Mote said competitors appreciated the changes: "It was exciting to be a part of because people were really getting into it. Finally we were performing for a real crowd in Houston." The finale of the 2008 rodeo was the PRCA's Xtreme Bulls tour. The same year, HLSR was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame along with 15 other PRCA rodeos that had previously been granted special recognition.
During the 2009 state legislative session, local state senator Mario Gallegos filed a bill that would require the livestock show organizing committee to comply with the state open records rules. The bill would also encourage the rodeo to contract with more minority-owned business and to add minorities to the livestock show's executive committee. At the time, the 19-member executive committee composed entirely of men, without a single Hispanic or African-American representative. Livestock show president Leroy Shafer insisted that the legislation was unprecedented, and that non-profits should not be held to the same standards as public entities. Shafer maintained that the executive committee membership was determined in large part by length of volunteer service, with the members having served, on average, for 37.5 years. According to Shafer, in time minorities and women would accumulate the years of service required to be on the committee. Minority leaders in Houston advocated a boycott. The controversy caused new Harris County sheriff Adrian Garcia to decline an invitation to be co-grand marshal of the rodeo parade, although Garcia still marched in the parade as part of the sheriff's office mounted patrol.
When the Astrodome was permanently closed in 2009, the Hideout moved to a giant tent on the grounds of the facility.
The rodeo's waiver from the PRCA expired in 2011. Houston applied for a renewal but were denied. The PRCA was under new management, who insisted that all of their rodeos should abide by the same rules. The show ended its contract with the organization, making the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo an independent rodeo. As an unsanctioned rodeo, none of the prize money would count towards competitors' world standings, and thus qualification for the National Finals Rodeo. Some competitors were upset with the change, as winning the RodeoHouston $50,000 prize had generally been enough to qualify a cowboy for the National Finals Rodeo. However, because the $1.75 million purse was the largest one in rodeo at that time, there was little difficulty in attracting cowboys. Because they were now independent, the show could now invite specific competitors who might not otherwise have qualified to appear, such as local cowboy, 8-time world champion calf roper Fred Whitfield. Of the 280 competitors invited to attend in 2012, all but one accepted.
In an additional change, the rodeo dropped the PRCA's Xtreme Bulls tour from its last evening. As a replacement, they offered the Cinch RodeoHouston Super Shootout, inviting the champions from the top 10 rodeos in North America to compete in bull riding, saddle-bronc and bareback riding, and barrel racing. Two of the rodeos represented, the Calgary Stampede and the Ponoka Stampede, were also non-PRCA sanctioned invitiational rodeos. Total attendance in 2011 topped 2.26 million, an increase of almost 119,000 people over 2010.
In 2019 & 2020 and resuming in 2022, RodeoHouston has been sanctioned by the PRCA again. The Super Series is PRCA-sanctioned and money won here by contestants counts toward the world standings for the National Finals Rodeo. However, the Super Shootout is unsanctioned and money won here does not count toward the PRCA world standings. Also in 2019, RodeoHouston won the PRCA Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year Award.
On March 11, 2020 after running for 8 of 20 planned days, the rodeo was shut down by the city of Houston after evidence emerged of community spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Montgomery County constable deputy in his 40s who tested positive for COVID-19 had attended a barbeque cookoff at the rodeo. The man was hospitalized and at least 18 rodeo attendees tested positive for coronavirus, though it is unclear whether they all contracted it at the event. It was the only time in the event's history the Rodeo got shut down.
The 2021 edition of the rodeo was originally rescheduled to May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but after several weeks, it was cancelled altogether, making it the event's first cancellation in 84 years, with the 89th edition instead being deferred to 2022.
Events
Rodeo Uncorked! RoundUp and Best Bites Competition
Almost 3,000 bottles of wine are submitted each year for judging in the Rodeo International Wine Competition. High scoring wines are served to the public at the Rodeo Uncorked! RoundUp and Best Bites Competition before the HLSR begins. More than 5,000 people purchase tickets to attend the event. There, they can sample food from more than 100 local restaurants and vote on their pick for tastiest food.
During the livestock show, attendees can purchase glasses of these wine entries at the Wine Garden, an outdoor area comprising six tents that shelter 30,000 square feet of space. Live music is offered in the Wine Garden area each evening.
Go Texan Day
The unofficial kickoff of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is Go Texan Day. Traditionally held the Friday before the rodeo begins, the day is meant to encourage the Houston community to celebrate Western culture. Houston-area residents are encouraged to wear Western attire, such as jeans, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats. The day is an unofficial holiday, and local school districts and many businesses encourage their students and employees to participate. Writing in The New York Times, journalist Manny Fernandez described Go Texan Day as ""the one day of the year on which people in Houston dress the way people outside Houston think people in Houston dress".
Trail rides
From 1952 to 2020 & resuming in 2022, traditional trail rides have been a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. As of 2017, there were 13 official trail rides, totaling over 3,000 riders. The trail rides range in size from a dozen to over one thousand people who ride on horseback or in horse-drawn wagons from various areas of the state to Houston. They make their way at about per hour, covering up to each day. Many of the routes take place in part along major highways and busy city streets, making safety a major concern.
The trail rides last from a few days to three weeks, depending on the distance they cover. Some of the participants are able to join only on weekends or at the end of the trip. The days start very early, and often end with live music or a small celebration. Many riders choose to camp in recreational vehicles rather than in the open. Each morning, they drive their vehicles and horse trailers to the next camping spot, then have a bus or convoy take them back so they can retrace their path on horseback. Participants can bring their own provisions, or, in some cases, purchase meals at a chuck wagon that is also following the trail.
The rides converge at Memorial Park in Houston on Go Texan Day, the Friday before the livestock show and rodeo begins. The city closes some roads downtown to allow the riders to reach their destination safely. The resulting traffic interruption cause annual complaints from those who work downtown. The following day, all of the trail riders participate in the parade.
Rodeo parade and Rodeo Run
The official kickoff of the show is the annual Rodeo Parade. It is held the Saturday before the show begins and runs through downtown Houston. The parade features members of the 13 trail rides, influential Houstonians, bands, and floats.
Preceding the parade is the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Run. More than 10,000 people compete annually in 5k and 10k fun runs. All proceeds go to the show's scholarship fund. The run generally begins near Bagby Street and ends at Eleanor Tinsley Park.
World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest
The Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before the livestock show begins, the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest, established in 1974, is held on the grounds of NRG Park. It is one of the largest barbecue cookoffs in the United States, but it is not sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. More than 250 teams, including a handful from outside of the United States, compete to be named best entry in several categories, including brisket, chicken, and ribs. The barbecue must be cooked on a wood fire; electric or gas fires are prohibited.
Entries are judged on a 50-point scale, with the most points gained for taste and tenderness, and lesser amounts available for smell and the look and feel of the entry. Winners are named in each category, and then an overall Grand Champion is named. Teams can also compete for non-food-related awards, such as cleanest area, most unique pit, and most colorful team.
Each barbecue team has their own tent on the grounds. Many offer their own entertainment, generally cover bands or djs. Entrance into each tents is by invitation only. Many teams sell sponsorships that provide access to their tent, with the money often going to charity. Attendees without an invitation to a specific tent can congregate in one of the three general admission areas, each with its own live entertainment. A record 264,132 people attended the World's Championship Barbecue Contest in 2013.
The 49th is scheduled for 23–25 February 2023.
Rodeo and concert
One of the largest draws for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the 20 consecutive evenings of rodeo and concert, held in NRG Stadium. Tickets are relatively inexpensive, averaging about $29 in 2016, and also grant admission to the livestock show and fairgrounds. More than 43,000 season tickets are sold every year, with the remaining seats 30,000 seats available for individual-show sale. Members of the HLSR are given an opportunity to buy individual tickets before the general public.
RodeoHouston is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It offers one of the largest prize purses in North America, over $2 million, which count for the PRCA's National Finals Rodeo. RodeoHouston features 280 of the top professional cowboys. They compete in a playoff format, with the ultimate champion in each event earning $50,000. For one day, contestants compete in the RodeoHouston SuperShootout. Champions from each of the top 10 rodeos in North America are invited to compete as teams in a subset of rodeo events. In 2020 & resuming in 2022, the entire rodeo has been televised live on The Cowboy Channel.
After the professional rodeo concludes, children are given an opportunity to compete. Each evening, 30 high school students from across the state compete in the calf scramble. They are given the opportunity to chase down (on foot) and catch one of 15 calves, put a halter on them, and drag them back to the center of the stadium. Winners are given money to purchase their own heifer or steer to show the following year. Immediately following the calf scramble is mutton busting. Five- and six-year-olds wearing protective gear try to ride a sheep across a portion of the arena. On the last night of the rodeo, the winners from each of the previous evenings compete again to see who will become grand champion.
A rotating stage is then brought into the arena for the nightly concert. The majority of evenings are performances by country music singers, although several nights are dedicated to pop or rock music. The annual Go Tejano Day generally draws the largest crowds. The winner of the annual Mariachi Invitational competition is invited to perform onstage with the Tejano acts.
Grounds
Visitors who are not attending the rodeo and concert can purchase a lower-cost general admission ticket to gain access to all of NRG Park except the stadium.
According to livestock show CEO Joel Cowley, "if we can draw people here for a concert or a carnival or a rodeo and teach them something about agriculture, it’s a win in regard to our mission." NRG Center contains AgVenture, which provides educational displays about agriculture and the origins of the food for sale at grocery stores. More than 61,000 schoolchildren visited AgVenture in 2015 on official tours. Displays include an area where attendees can see cows, pigs, and sheep give birth or see chickens hatch. There are also displays with live rabbits and honeybees. NRG Center also hosts a large vendor area.
The grounds feature an area where children can do pretend farm chores and compete in races using pedal-driven tractors. There is also a petting zoo, pony and camel rides, and a full carnival and midway. Over the course of the 20-day event in 2015, visitors purchased over $23 million of food outside of the stadium.
Other competitions are held throughout the three weeks at NRG Center and NRG Arena. These include open cattle shows and a paint horse competition. Children with mental and physical disabilities are invited to compete in the Lil' Rustlers Rodeo, which offers imitation rodeo events, such as riding a stick horse.
Free educational seminars are available throughout the three weeks of the livestock show. They are open to the public and cover topic related to wildlife, agricultural in general, and farming and hunting.
Adults can visit The Hideout, a temporary dance hall located in a large tent near NRG Arena. After the show in NRG Stadium concludes, The Hideout features live music from new artists. Several past performers at The Hideout, including the Dixie Chicks, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and the Eli Young Band, later became headliners at the main rodeo show. Approximately 2,000-3,000 people visit The Hideout each evening.
Livestock show
HLSR is the largest indoor livestock show in the world. For a full week, cattle auctions are held in NRG Arena for professional breeders to sell their stock. The livestock show has a larger international presence than any other. In 2017, the Ministers of Agriculture from Russia and Colombia made official visits to HLSR, joining more than 2,600 other international businessmen representing 88 countries. The HLSR International Committee estimated that they facilitated more than $2.6 million in agriculture sales between livestock show participants and international visitors in 2016.
Junior market auctions are also held. Children from around the state show the livestock that they have raised, including cows, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, and chicken. The livestock are judged, with the winners auctioned off. It is the largest set of animals to be shown and judged of any livestock show. Most champion animals sell for well over market value. Winning children are guaranteed a certain amount of scholarship money; if the bid is larger than that amount, the excess funds are directed to the general scholarship fund. More than 4,368 cattle were shown in 2017, with Brahmans the largest category.
Impact
HLSR is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and ranks as the 7th-largest Better Business Bureau accredited charity in Houston. Its primary source of revenue is an annual livestock show and rodeo and the events leading up to it. HLSR has 85 full-time employees and over 31,000 volunteers, divided into 108 committees. The volunteers contribute an estimated 2.1 million hours of work per year, averaging almost 68 hours per person. All of them are required to pay a minimum fee of $50, and some committees require a larger donation. The most popular committees have a wait list.
More than 2.5 million people, including visitors from around the world, attended in 2016. It is the largest cultural event in Houston, and its attendance numbers dwarf those of annual attendance for most professional sports teams and most major cultural events in other cities. In comparison, New Orleans' Mardi Gras generally draws about 1.4 million visitors.
In 2015, the organization reported operating revenue of $133.35 million. The Corral Club, which covers the sale of much of the alcohol on the grounds, but not that within the stadium, sold more alcohol in the three weeks of the HLSR than any other mixed-beverage permit holder in the state for the month of March 2016, and in the year prior was only outsold by the stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play.
A 2010 economic impact analysis estimate that the HLSR funneled $220 million into the Houston economy, with almost half of that coming from visitors outside of the Houston metro region. HLSR and its suppliers and vendors paid over $27 million in taxes to local entities. The study's author estimates that by 2017, the HLSR would be contributing almost $500 million to the local economy each year, the equivalent of hosting the Super Bowl every year.
HLSR awarded $26.07 million in scholarships, grants, and graduate assistantships in 2017. More than 750 students received scholarships, many of them worth $20,000 over four years. Recipients can pursue any field of study but are required to attend a university or college in Texas. Eleven different colleges were awarded funds to pay for graduate assistants. The remainder of the money was allocated for grants to other nonprofits or educational facilities to provide programs to help educate youth about agriculture or pioneer heritage. Since 1932, HLSR boasts that it has given away over $430 million.
Milestones
1931 : First established as The Houston Fat Stock Show.
1932 : First Show is held at the Sam Houston Hall.
1937 : No rodeo due to cancellation.
1938 : Moved to new location: Sam Houston Coliseum.
1942 : First star entertainer: Gene Autry, "the Singing Cowboy"; calf scramble event added to the Show's rodeo.
1943–45 : No rodeo due to World War II.
1946 : Rodeo resumes.
1952 : First trail ride (Salt Grass Trail Ride) commences from Brenham, Texas.
1957 : First major educational scholarship ($2,000) awarded to Ben Dickerson.
1961 : Name changes to Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
1963 : The School Art Program begins
1966 : New location: Astrodome complex; Astrohall built for Livestock Exposition.
1970 : Research program launched committing $100,000 annually in support of research studies at various universities and colleges in Texas
1974 : The first World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. Elvis Presley sets attendance record of 43,944. On his second show, on the same day, he breaks his own record drawing 44,175, for a one-day record 88,119
1975 : The Astroarena is completed.
1977 : Four-year scholarships increased from $4,000 to $6,000.
1983 : Four-year scholarships increased from $6,000 to $8,000.
1989 : Scholarship program expands to Houston metropolitan area.
1992 : Four-year scholarships upgraded from $8,000 to $10,000 retroactive to all students currently on scholarship.
1993 : Tejano superstar Selena breaks attendance record at the Astrodome by drawing a crowd of exactly 57,894 fans.
1994 : Tejano superstar Selena sets another attendance record at the Astrodome by drawing another crowd of 60,081 fans, breaking her previous record.
1995 : Tejano superstar Selena holds famed Astrodome concert with over 67,000 fans, again, breaking her previous records
1997 : Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence is created as a 3-year pilot program with $4.6 million in funding; websites www.hlsr.com and www.rodeohouston.com introduced.
1998 : Number of 4-H and FFA scholarships increased to 60 per program, totaling 120 four-year $10,000 awards.
1999 : Number of 4-H and FFA scholarships increased to 70 per program, totaling 140 four-year $10,000 awards; Opportunity Scholarships awarded based on financial need and academic excellence.
2000 : Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence extended another 3 years with another $4.6 million; Reliant Energy acquires naming rights for the Astrodomain; renamed Reliant Park includes the Reliant Astrodome, Reliant Arena, Reliant Hall, Reliant Center and Reliant Stadium.
2001 : Largest presentation of scholarships to date, with 300 four-year $10,000 awards through the Metropolitan, Opportunity and School Art scholarship programs, totaling $3 million.
2002 : George Strait sets paid attendance record for any Rodeo event in the Reliant Astrodome with 68,266; Reliant Hall is demolished.
2003 : New location: Reliant Stadium and Reliant Center; Carruth Plaza, a Western sculpture garden named in honor of past president and chairman, Allen H. "Buddy" Carruth, completed at Reliant Park.
2006 : Brooks & Dunn break rodeo attendance record set by Hilary Duff in 2005 with 72,867 in attendance.
2007 : The Cheetah Girls and supporting act Hannah Montana sell out in just three minutes and set a new rodeo attendance record of 73,291.
2008 : Hannah Montana sets an attendance record of 73,459.
2008: Inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
2009 : Ramón Ayala and Alacranes Musical set the all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day, with 74,147 in attendance for championship Rodeo action, concert entertainment and the Mariachi finals.
2012 : The Professional Bull Riders held their first event at Reliant Stadium, and it was their first to be a part of RodeoHouston.
2013 : George Strait, Martina McBride, and the Randy Rogers Band set a new all-time attendance record with 80,020.
2015 : La Arrolladora Banda El Limón/La Maquinaria Norteña set a new all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day with 75,357.
2016 : Banda Los Recoditos/Los Huracanes Del Norte broke the all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day with 75,508.
2017 : Banda El Recodo/Banda Siggno broke the all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day with 75,557.
2017 : Rodeo officials announced plans to replace the stage used in NRG Stadium for concerts with a new stage resembling that of a five point star. It can fold and it can be elevated or lowered so the performer can have a higher up stage or walk on the ground level. Garth Brooks is scheduled to be the first performer on the new stage.
2018 : Garth Brooks kicked off and ended Livestock Show & Rodeo.
2018 : Calibre 50 beat last year's all-time attendance record, as 75,565 fans showed up on Go Tejano Day. It was later broken by Garth Brooks, attended by 75,577.
2018 : Cody Johnson becomes the first unsigned artist to play to a sold out crowd.
2019 : Cardi B sets record, with 75,580 fans in the audience
2019 : Los Tigres del Norte sets a new all-time attendance record a week later, with 75,586 fans in the audience, beating the previous artist record holder.
2019 : George Strait breaks his own 2013 attendance record with 80,108 fans to close the 2019 show with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen opening. (two sets of attendance records are kept: one for shows with an accompanying rodeo competition, one for concert-only performances, in which seats are available on the floor of NRG stadium as well. Strait's record is the concert only, Los Tigres Del Norte holds the record for the rodeo/concert performances)
2020 : RodeoHouston cancelled after 9 days when local spread of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus caused cases of COVID-19.
2022 : Rodeo will return after a pandemic-based one-year hiatus.
Notes
External links
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Homepage
Houston Livestock Show - Pro Rodeo Online
Rodeos
Culture of Houston
Concerts in the United States
Agricultural shows in the United States
Tourist attractions in Houston
ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees
Rodeo venues in the United States
Animal shows | true | [
"The Stonehurst Family Farm and Motor Museum is a working farm and a motor museum located in the village of Mountsorrel, Leicestershire. The farm won the Leicestershire Tourism Award for Best visitor experience 2000/2001.\n\nFarm\n\nHistory\nThe farm (established in 1851) is currently open to the public daily and i... | [
"The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events.",
"It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at ... |
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"Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo",
"Trail rides",
"do they have trail rides at the houston livestock show and rodeo?",
"Since 1952, traditional trail rides have been a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.",
"are the trail rides open to the public?",
"As of 2017, there were 13 official trail ride... | C_b0e09b1b5e694dd1aa7694aaa0a637a4_1 | Are the trail rides competitive or for leisure? | 3 | Are the trail rides at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo competitive or for leisure? | Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo | Since 1952, traditional trail rides have been a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. As of 2017, there were 13 official trail rides, totaling over 3,000 riders. The trail rides range in size from a dozen to over one thousand people who ride on horseback or in horse-drawn wagons from various areas of the state to Houston. They make their way at about 3 miles (4.8 km) per hour, covering up to 17 miles (27 km) each day. Many of the routes take place in part along major highways and busy city streets, making safety a major concern. The trail rides last from a few days to three weeks, depending on the distance they cover. Some of the participants are able to join only on weekends or at the end of the trip. The days start very early, and often end with live music or a small celebration. Many riders choose to camp in recreational vehicles rather than in the open. Each morning, they drive their vehicles and horse trailers to the next camping spot, then have a bus or convoy take them back so they can retrace their path on horseback. Participants can bring their own provisions, or, in some cases, purchase meals at a chuck wagon that is also following the trail. The rides converge at Memorial Park in Houston on Go Texan Day, the Friday before the livestock show and rodeo begins. The city closes some roads downtown to allow the riders to reach their destination safely. The resulting traffic interruption cause annual complaints from those who work downtown. The following day, all of the trail riders participate in the parade. CANNOTANSWER | The trail rides range in size from a dozen to over one thousand people who ride on horseback or in horse-drawn wagons from various areas of the state to Houston. | The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, since 2003, with the exception of 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was previously held in the Astrodome. It is considered to be the city's "signature event", much like New Orleans's Mardi Gras, Dallas's Texas State Fair, San Diego's Comic-Con and New York City's New Year's Eve at Times Square.
In 2017, attendance reached a record high of 2,611,176 people and 33,000 volunteers. In 2007, the rodeo was deemed "the year of the volunteer." The event is 20 days long. It is kicked off by the Downtown Rodeo Roundup held near Houston City Hall, the Downtown Rodeo parade, and the ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run – a 10k and 5k walk & run and the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. The show features championship rodeo action, livestock competitions, concerts, a carnival, pig racing, barbecue and the Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition, shopping, sales and livestock auctions. Traditional trail rides, which start in different areas of Texas and end in Houston, precede the Rodeo events. The City of Houston celebrates this event with Go Texan Day, where residents are encouraged to dress in western wear the Friday before the rodeo begins.
The rodeo has drawn some of the world's biggest recording artists, including Gene Autry, Beyoncé, blink-182, Selena Gomez, Keith Urban, Ariana Grande, Selena, Reba McEntire, Kiss, Kelly Clarkson, Charley Pride, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Alan Jackson, REO Speedwagon, Brooks & Dunn, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, Bon Jovi, ZZ Top, Chris Stapleton, John Legend, Taylor Swift, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among others.
History
Early years
In the early part of the 20th century, Houston-area ranchers developed a new breed of cattle, the American Brahman, which was a blend of four breeds of cattle from India. The cattle were well-adapted to the hot, swampy conditions of the Texas Gulf Coast. In the early 1920s, James W. Sartwelle, a stockyard manager from Sealy, Texas, founded the American Brahman Breeders Association. Ranchers had no opportunities to show their cattle and raise awareness of the breed. Some attempted to show at the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth, Texas, but they weren't allowed into the main arena.
In January 1932, Sartwelle invited six other businessmen to a lunch at the Texas State Hotel. They decided to host a livestock exposition in Houston. Sartwelle was named the first president of the new Houston Fat Stock Show. Their inaugural event was held in late April 1932 at Sam Houston Hall in downtown Houston. It was primarily a regional event, designed to showcase the agriculture and livestock, including Brahmans, in the area around Houston. The show lasted one week and ran a deficit of $2,800. Approximately 2,000 people attended the exposition, where they were also entertained by the Future Farmers Band, comprising 68 high school students from around the state. The Grand Champion Steer was purchased by a local restaurant owner for $504.
The Fat Stock Show was held annually for the next four years. Realizing they had outgrown the space, organizers began looking for a larger venue. Shortly after the 1936 show ended, Sam Houston Hall was torn down. Sam Houston Coliseum, a 10,000-seat arena, would take its place. To allow for construction time, the 1937 exposition was cancelled. The year off allowed Fat Stock show organizers to solidify plans for a larger event. When the show resumed in 1938, it included a parade through downtown Houston, a carnival and midway, and a rodeo with a total purse of $640.50.
In the 1940s, despite World War II, organizers added musical entertainment. Local talent was invited to perform after the rodeo on some evenings. In 1942, singing cowboy Gene Autry became the first nationally recognized entertainer to perform at the show.
Attendance flagged in the early 1950s. To attract more attention to the event, organizers decided to hold a cattle drive. In 1952, the media were invited to join cowboys on a trek from Brenham, Texas to the Fat Stock Show. The publicity stunt was well received. The following year, the Salt Grass Trail Association again held the cattle drive. Other areas of the state organized their own trail rides to the show. This began the transition from a smaller regional event to larger, statewide notice.
Archer Romero, one of the key proponents of the trail ride, took over as president of the Fat Stock Show in 1954. That year, he founded the Go Texan Committee to further publicize the show. The committee would designate a day shortly before the show commenced as Go Texan Day. They encouraged Houston residents to dress in Western wear. The day had the dual purpose of celebrating Texas culture and advertising the show.
In 1957, Myrtis Dightman organized the first trail ride for African-Americans. He led 10 other cowboys in a ride from Prairie View, Texas to Houston. Because of their color, they were not welcomed in Memorial Park, where trail riders typically spent the night. Armed guards were there to ensure that the men could enter safely.
That same year, the show granted its first major scholarship. Ben Dickerson was given $2,000 ($16,000 in 2016) towards his education. This was the first step a major shift in the show's purpose. Over the next few decades, the show placed an increasing emphasis on education and scholarships.
Astrodome era
Throughout the 1950s, influential local leaders had been advocating that the city acquire a professional sports team. In 1957, the Texas State Legislature granted Harris County the ability to issue bonds to finance a new stadium, so that the city could attract a team. The county put together a commission to formulate a plan. Romero stepped down as Fat Stock Show president to join the commission. They visited stadiums in several large cities, as well as a fairgrounds in Oklahoma. After several years of research, the commission recommended that the county build both a stadium and a connected, air-conditioned coliseum. The presentation to the county commissioners listed four main uses for the new facility: 1) Major league baseball, 2) football, 3) the Fat Stock Show, and 4) various other activities.
County commissioners approved the project, sending it to a vote of Harris County residents. Just before the election, Fat Stock Show organizers announced that the show would donate near South Main for the project, provided the show have input into the design. Voters approved the new stadium, and the Fat Stock Show became one of the focal residents of the new Astrodome.
The show was renamed the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 1961. The show had continued to grow, and organizers realized that Sam Houston Coliseum would not be a viable alternative for much longer. The number of exhibitors had declined because many activities were held outside in tents. The chicken, rabbit, and hog shows were cancelled because organizers could not find space for them. Construction began on the Astrohall, next to the Astrodome, in 1965. The following year, the Livestock Show and Rodeo officially moved to the Astrodome. To mark their new location, the organizing committee introduced a new logo, the Bowlegged H. The first night of the rodeo featured entertainment by the stars of the television series Gunsmoke. Some locals scoffed at the idea that the rodeo and concert could fill a 45,000-seat stadium, but more than 40,000 fans attended the rodeo the night Jimmy Dean performed that year.
Louis Pearce Jr served sixty years as a board member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He served on the executive committee as president and CEO, and remained an active executive committee member until his death in 2012. As a result of his dedication and significant contributions to the event, Pearce became known as "Mr. Houston Livestock Show".
The first Hispanic trail ride commenced in 1973. Calling themselves Los Vaqueros Rio Grande Trail Ride, the group journeyed from the border crossing at Reynosa, Mexico to Houston.
The Go Texan committee launched the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest in 1974. Seventeen teams entered the competition, which was held in the Astrodome parking lot. Teams were asked to barbecue a minimum of on a wood fire. The inaugural judges included actor Ben Johnson. The competition grew in popularity; by 1981 it had grown to over 200 teams, with 45,000 people visiting.
In 1988, the show added a 5k run and 10k fun run through downtown Houston. Participants would pay an entry fee, with proceeds going to the scholarship fund.
1990s
By the 1990s, the show had been expanded to 20 days. Each evening featured a rodeo, sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The rodeo offered hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money, second only to the National Finals Rodeo. After the rodeo, attendees would see a concert, usually by a famous entertainer. Tickets were relatively inexpensive. For $10 or a little more, a person could buy a ticket to see the livestock shows, wild west shows, the rodeo and concert, and enjoy the carnival. The livestock show was billed as the largest of its kind, with more animals shown by adolescents than anywhere else in the country. Winning livestock were auctioned at the end of the judging, and, in the 1990s, the combined auction take was usually over $7 million. This was far beyond market value.
The rodeo was generally limited to the top PRCA contestants, based on prize money earned throughout the year. It was popular with cowboys; Houston won the inaugural Indoor Rodeo Committee of the Year award from the PRCA in 1992, and then won each of the next four years as well. The facility had huge screens hanging from the ceiling. Attendees could watch the competition live, then see an instant replay on the screens.
In 1996, the rodeo was halted one evening. The crew on the space shuttle Columbia appeared live on the big screens to address the crowd. Later that year, country singer George Strait set a record, having played to more than 1 million Houston rodeo attendees. The 1996 rodeo earned a net profit of $16.8 million and gave more than $7.9 million away in scholarships, assistantships, and research grants.
The Hideout was created in 1997 to give attendees more entertainment options after the rodeo and concert had ended. It is a nightclub for adults over 21 to dance and drink.
21st century
A new venue, Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium), was built on the Astrodome grounds in 2002. The rodeo marked its last night in the Astrodome on March 3, 2002, with a performance by country legend George Strait. The show was recorded and became Strait's first official live album, For the Last Time: Live from the Astrodome. Following the show, the Astrohall was torn down. A new exhibition space, Reliant Center, was constructed on the grounds, expanding exhibition capacity to 1.4 million square feet. Rodeo executives moved their offices into the second floor of the center. When the rodeo opened in 2003 in its new homes, Strait performed on opening night. In the first two seasons at Reliant, the Hideout was cancelled, but it resumed in 2005, now located within the Astrodome.
In 2004, show organizers added a new event, Rodeo Uncorked! International. Vintners from around the world entered their wines into a competition. These were then auctioned, raising $313,700. The following year, the wine auction raised more than $500,000. To give livestock show attendees the opportunity to taste the wines, the show launched the Wine Garden in 2008.
Attendance at the rodeo began falling. Attendees would purchase a ticket and arrive just before the concert, leaving a largely empty stadium for the rodeo itself. Joe Bruce Hancock, then the general manager of the rodeo, theorized that the audience was more urban and less familiar with rodeo events. The current show structure moved slowly and made it difficult for this type of audience to follow what was happening. As one of the PRCA-sanctioned rodeos, show organizers had little ability to make changes. The PRCA required that certain events be held, dictated the general structure of the rodeo, and insisted that each organizing committee use the PRCA national registration system. This meant that rodeos did not know which contestants were going to be appearing, or on which days.
The Houston rodeo committee requested a waiver from the PRCA in 2008. Houston would still remit 6% of the rodeo purse to the PRCA, but they would change the format and the registration system. Now, the rodeo knew who would be competing on which days and could market those individual appearances. The rodeo was restructured into a playoff format. Attendance at the rodeo skyrocketed. Champion bareback rider Bobby Mote said competitors appreciated the changes: "It was exciting to be a part of because people were really getting into it. Finally we were performing for a real crowd in Houston." The finale of the 2008 rodeo was the PRCA's Xtreme Bulls tour. The same year, HLSR was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame along with 15 other PRCA rodeos that had previously been granted special recognition.
During the 2009 state legislative session, local state senator Mario Gallegos filed a bill that would require the livestock show organizing committee to comply with the state open records rules. The bill would also encourage the rodeo to contract with more minority-owned business and to add minorities to the livestock show's executive committee. At the time, the 19-member executive committee composed entirely of men, without a single Hispanic or African-American representative. Livestock show president Leroy Shafer insisted that the legislation was unprecedented, and that non-profits should not be held to the same standards as public entities. Shafer maintained that the executive committee membership was determined in large part by length of volunteer service, with the members having served, on average, for 37.5 years. According to Shafer, in time minorities and women would accumulate the years of service required to be on the committee. Minority leaders in Houston advocated a boycott. The controversy caused new Harris County sheriff Adrian Garcia to decline an invitation to be co-grand marshal of the rodeo parade, although Garcia still marched in the parade as part of the sheriff's office mounted patrol.
When the Astrodome was permanently closed in 2009, the Hideout moved to a giant tent on the grounds of the facility.
The rodeo's waiver from the PRCA expired in 2011. Houston applied for a renewal but were denied. The PRCA was under new management, who insisted that all of their rodeos should abide by the same rules. The show ended its contract with the organization, making the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo an independent rodeo. As an unsanctioned rodeo, none of the prize money would count towards competitors' world standings, and thus qualification for the National Finals Rodeo. Some competitors were upset with the change, as winning the RodeoHouston $50,000 prize had generally been enough to qualify a cowboy for the National Finals Rodeo. However, because the $1.75 million purse was the largest one in rodeo at that time, there was little difficulty in attracting cowboys. Because they were now independent, the show could now invite specific competitors who might not otherwise have qualified to appear, such as local cowboy, 8-time world champion calf roper Fred Whitfield. Of the 280 competitors invited to attend in 2012, all but one accepted.
In an additional change, the rodeo dropped the PRCA's Xtreme Bulls tour from its last evening. As a replacement, they offered the Cinch RodeoHouston Super Shootout, inviting the champions from the top 10 rodeos in North America to compete in bull riding, saddle-bronc and bareback riding, and barrel racing. Two of the rodeos represented, the Calgary Stampede and the Ponoka Stampede, were also non-PRCA sanctioned invitiational rodeos. Total attendance in 2011 topped 2.26 million, an increase of almost 119,000 people over 2010.
In 2019 & 2020 and resuming in 2022, RodeoHouston has been sanctioned by the PRCA again. The Super Series is PRCA-sanctioned and money won here by contestants counts toward the world standings for the National Finals Rodeo. However, the Super Shootout is unsanctioned and money won here does not count toward the PRCA world standings. Also in 2019, RodeoHouston won the PRCA Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year Award.
On March 11, 2020 after running for 8 of 20 planned days, the rodeo was shut down by the city of Houston after evidence emerged of community spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Montgomery County constable deputy in his 40s who tested positive for COVID-19 had attended a barbeque cookoff at the rodeo. The man was hospitalized and at least 18 rodeo attendees tested positive for coronavirus, though it is unclear whether they all contracted it at the event. It was the only time in the event's history the Rodeo got shut down.
The 2021 edition of the rodeo was originally rescheduled to May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but after several weeks, it was cancelled altogether, making it the event's first cancellation in 84 years, with the 89th edition instead being deferred to 2022.
Events
Rodeo Uncorked! RoundUp and Best Bites Competition
Almost 3,000 bottles of wine are submitted each year for judging in the Rodeo International Wine Competition. High scoring wines are served to the public at the Rodeo Uncorked! RoundUp and Best Bites Competition before the HLSR begins. More than 5,000 people purchase tickets to attend the event. There, they can sample food from more than 100 local restaurants and vote on their pick for tastiest food.
During the livestock show, attendees can purchase glasses of these wine entries at the Wine Garden, an outdoor area comprising six tents that shelter 30,000 square feet of space. Live music is offered in the Wine Garden area each evening.
Go Texan Day
The unofficial kickoff of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is Go Texan Day. Traditionally held the Friday before the rodeo begins, the day is meant to encourage the Houston community to celebrate Western culture. Houston-area residents are encouraged to wear Western attire, such as jeans, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats. The day is an unofficial holiday, and local school districts and many businesses encourage their students and employees to participate. Writing in The New York Times, journalist Manny Fernandez described Go Texan Day as ""the one day of the year on which people in Houston dress the way people outside Houston think people in Houston dress".
Trail rides
From 1952 to 2020 & resuming in 2022, traditional trail rides have been a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. As of 2017, there were 13 official trail rides, totaling over 3,000 riders. The trail rides range in size from a dozen to over one thousand people who ride on horseback or in horse-drawn wagons from various areas of the state to Houston. They make their way at about per hour, covering up to each day. Many of the routes take place in part along major highways and busy city streets, making safety a major concern.
The trail rides last from a few days to three weeks, depending on the distance they cover. Some of the participants are able to join only on weekends or at the end of the trip. The days start very early, and often end with live music or a small celebration. Many riders choose to camp in recreational vehicles rather than in the open. Each morning, they drive their vehicles and horse trailers to the next camping spot, then have a bus or convoy take them back so they can retrace their path on horseback. Participants can bring their own provisions, or, in some cases, purchase meals at a chuck wagon that is also following the trail.
The rides converge at Memorial Park in Houston on Go Texan Day, the Friday before the livestock show and rodeo begins. The city closes some roads downtown to allow the riders to reach their destination safely. The resulting traffic interruption cause annual complaints from those who work downtown. The following day, all of the trail riders participate in the parade.
Rodeo parade and Rodeo Run
The official kickoff of the show is the annual Rodeo Parade. It is held the Saturday before the show begins and runs through downtown Houston. The parade features members of the 13 trail rides, influential Houstonians, bands, and floats.
Preceding the parade is the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Run. More than 10,000 people compete annually in 5k and 10k fun runs. All proceeds go to the show's scholarship fund. The run generally begins near Bagby Street and ends at Eleanor Tinsley Park.
World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest
The Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before the livestock show begins, the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest, established in 1974, is held on the grounds of NRG Park. It is one of the largest barbecue cookoffs in the United States, but it is not sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. More than 250 teams, including a handful from outside of the United States, compete to be named best entry in several categories, including brisket, chicken, and ribs. The barbecue must be cooked on a wood fire; electric or gas fires are prohibited.
Entries are judged on a 50-point scale, with the most points gained for taste and tenderness, and lesser amounts available for smell and the look and feel of the entry. Winners are named in each category, and then an overall Grand Champion is named. Teams can also compete for non-food-related awards, such as cleanest area, most unique pit, and most colorful team.
Each barbecue team has their own tent on the grounds. Many offer their own entertainment, generally cover bands or djs. Entrance into each tents is by invitation only. Many teams sell sponsorships that provide access to their tent, with the money often going to charity. Attendees without an invitation to a specific tent can congregate in one of the three general admission areas, each with its own live entertainment. A record 264,132 people attended the World's Championship Barbecue Contest in 2013.
The 49th is scheduled for 23–25 February 2023.
Rodeo and concert
One of the largest draws for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the 20 consecutive evenings of rodeo and concert, held in NRG Stadium. Tickets are relatively inexpensive, averaging about $29 in 2016, and also grant admission to the livestock show and fairgrounds. More than 43,000 season tickets are sold every year, with the remaining seats 30,000 seats available for individual-show sale. Members of the HLSR are given an opportunity to buy individual tickets before the general public.
RodeoHouston is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It offers one of the largest prize purses in North America, over $2 million, which count for the PRCA's National Finals Rodeo. RodeoHouston features 280 of the top professional cowboys. They compete in a playoff format, with the ultimate champion in each event earning $50,000. For one day, contestants compete in the RodeoHouston SuperShootout. Champions from each of the top 10 rodeos in North America are invited to compete as teams in a subset of rodeo events. In 2020 & resuming in 2022, the entire rodeo has been televised live on The Cowboy Channel.
After the professional rodeo concludes, children are given an opportunity to compete. Each evening, 30 high school students from across the state compete in the calf scramble. They are given the opportunity to chase down (on foot) and catch one of 15 calves, put a halter on them, and drag them back to the center of the stadium. Winners are given money to purchase their own heifer or steer to show the following year. Immediately following the calf scramble is mutton busting. Five- and six-year-olds wearing protective gear try to ride a sheep across a portion of the arena. On the last night of the rodeo, the winners from each of the previous evenings compete again to see who will become grand champion.
A rotating stage is then brought into the arena for the nightly concert. The majority of evenings are performances by country music singers, although several nights are dedicated to pop or rock music. The annual Go Tejano Day generally draws the largest crowds. The winner of the annual Mariachi Invitational competition is invited to perform onstage with the Tejano acts.
Grounds
Visitors who are not attending the rodeo and concert can purchase a lower-cost general admission ticket to gain access to all of NRG Park except the stadium.
According to livestock show CEO Joel Cowley, "if we can draw people here for a concert or a carnival or a rodeo and teach them something about agriculture, it’s a win in regard to our mission." NRG Center contains AgVenture, which provides educational displays about agriculture and the origins of the food for sale at grocery stores. More than 61,000 schoolchildren visited AgVenture in 2015 on official tours. Displays include an area where attendees can see cows, pigs, and sheep give birth or see chickens hatch. There are also displays with live rabbits and honeybees. NRG Center also hosts a large vendor area.
The grounds feature an area where children can do pretend farm chores and compete in races using pedal-driven tractors. There is also a petting zoo, pony and camel rides, and a full carnival and midway. Over the course of the 20-day event in 2015, visitors purchased over $23 million of food outside of the stadium.
Other competitions are held throughout the three weeks at NRG Center and NRG Arena. These include open cattle shows and a paint horse competition. Children with mental and physical disabilities are invited to compete in the Lil' Rustlers Rodeo, which offers imitation rodeo events, such as riding a stick horse.
Free educational seminars are available throughout the three weeks of the livestock show. They are open to the public and cover topic related to wildlife, agricultural in general, and farming and hunting.
Adults can visit The Hideout, a temporary dance hall located in a large tent near NRG Arena. After the show in NRG Stadium concludes, The Hideout features live music from new artists. Several past performers at The Hideout, including the Dixie Chicks, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and the Eli Young Band, later became headliners at the main rodeo show. Approximately 2,000-3,000 people visit The Hideout each evening.
Livestock show
HLSR is the largest indoor livestock show in the world. For a full week, cattle auctions are held in NRG Arena for professional breeders to sell their stock. The livestock show has a larger international presence than any other. In 2017, the Ministers of Agriculture from Russia and Colombia made official visits to HLSR, joining more than 2,600 other international businessmen representing 88 countries. The HLSR International Committee estimated that they facilitated more than $2.6 million in agriculture sales between livestock show participants and international visitors in 2016.
Junior market auctions are also held. Children from around the state show the livestock that they have raised, including cows, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, and chicken. The livestock are judged, with the winners auctioned off. It is the largest set of animals to be shown and judged of any livestock show. Most champion animals sell for well over market value. Winning children are guaranteed a certain amount of scholarship money; if the bid is larger than that amount, the excess funds are directed to the general scholarship fund. More than 4,368 cattle were shown in 2017, with Brahmans the largest category.
Impact
HLSR is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and ranks as the 7th-largest Better Business Bureau accredited charity in Houston. Its primary source of revenue is an annual livestock show and rodeo and the events leading up to it. HLSR has 85 full-time employees and over 31,000 volunteers, divided into 108 committees. The volunteers contribute an estimated 2.1 million hours of work per year, averaging almost 68 hours per person. All of them are required to pay a minimum fee of $50, and some committees require a larger donation. The most popular committees have a wait list.
More than 2.5 million people, including visitors from around the world, attended in 2016. It is the largest cultural event in Houston, and its attendance numbers dwarf those of annual attendance for most professional sports teams and most major cultural events in other cities. In comparison, New Orleans' Mardi Gras generally draws about 1.4 million visitors.
In 2015, the organization reported operating revenue of $133.35 million. The Corral Club, which covers the sale of much of the alcohol on the grounds, but not that within the stadium, sold more alcohol in the three weeks of the HLSR than any other mixed-beverage permit holder in the state for the month of March 2016, and in the year prior was only outsold by the stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play.
A 2010 economic impact analysis estimate that the HLSR funneled $220 million into the Houston economy, with almost half of that coming from visitors outside of the Houston metro region. HLSR and its suppliers and vendors paid over $27 million in taxes to local entities. The study's author estimates that by 2017, the HLSR would be contributing almost $500 million to the local economy each year, the equivalent of hosting the Super Bowl every year.
HLSR awarded $26.07 million in scholarships, grants, and graduate assistantships in 2017. More than 750 students received scholarships, many of them worth $20,000 over four years. Recipients can pursue any field of study but are required to attend a university or college in Texas. Eleven different colleges were awarded funds to pay for graduate assistants. The remainder of the money was allocated for grants to other nonprofits or educational facilities to provide programs to help educate youth about agriculture or pioneer heritage. Since 1932, HLSR boasts that it has given away over $430 million.
Milestones
1931 : First established as The Houston Fat Stock Show.
1932 : First Show is held at the Sam Houston Hall.
1937 : No rodeo due to cancellation.
1938 : Moved to new location: Sam Houston Coliseum.
1942 : First star entertainer: Gene Autry, "the Singing Cowboy"; calf scramble event added to the Show's rodeo.
1943–45 : No rodeo due to World War II.
1946 : Rodeo resumes.
1952 : First trail ride (Salt Grass Trail Ride) commences from Brenham, Texas.
1957 : First major educational scholarship ($2,000) awarded to Ben Dickerson.
1961 : Name changes to Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
1963 : The School Art Program begins
1966 : New location: Astrodome complex; Astrohall built for Livestock Exposition.
1970 : Research program launched committing $100,000 annually in support of research studies at various universities and colleges in Texas
1974 : The first World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. Elvis Presley sets attendance record of 43,944. On his second show, on the same day, he breaks his own record drawing 44,175, for a one-day record 88,119
1975 : The Astroarena is completed.
1977 : Four-year scholarships increased from $4,000 to $6,000.
1983 : Four-year scholarships increased from $6,000 to $8,000.
1989 : Scholarship program expands to Houston metropolitan area.
1992 : Four-year scholarships upgraded from $8,000 to $10,000 retroactive to all students currently on scholarship.
1993 : Tejano superstar Selena breaks attendance record at the Astrodome by drawing a crowd of exactly 57,894 fans.
1994 : Tejano superstar Selena sets another attendance record at the Astrodome by drawing another crowd of 60,081 fans, breaking her previous record.
1995 : Tejano superstar Selena holds famed Astrodome concert with over 67,000 fans, again, breaking her previous records
1997 : Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence is created as a 3-year pilot program with $4.6 million in funding; websites www.hlsr.com and www.rodeohouston.com introduced.
1998 : Number of 4-H and FFA scholarships increased to 60 per program, totaling 120 four-year $10,000 awards.
1999 : Number of 4-H and FFA scholarships increased to 70 per program, totaling 140 four-year $10,000 awards; Opportunity Scholarships awarded based on financial need and academic excellence.
2000 : Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence extended another 3 years with another $4.6 million; Reliant Energy acquires naming rights for the Astrodomain; renamed Reliant Park includes the Reliant Astrodome, Reliant Arena, Reliant Hall, Reliant Center and Reliant Stadium.
2001 : Largest presentation of scholarships to date, with 300 four-year $10,000 awards through the Metropolitan, Opportunity and School Art scholarship programs, totaling $3 million.
2002 : George Strait sets paid attendance record for any Rodeo event in the Reliant Astrodome with 68,266; Reliant Hall is demolished.
2003 : New location: Reliant Stadium and Reliant Center; Carruth Plaza, a Western sculpture garden named in honor of past president and chairman, Allen H. "Buddy" Carruth, completed at Reliant Park.
2006 : Brooks & Dunn break rodeo attendance record set by Hilary Duff in 2005 with 72,867 in attendance.
2007 : The Cheetah Girls and supporting act Hannah Montana sell out in just three minutes and set a new rodeo attendance record of 73,291.
2008 : Hannah Montana sets an attendance record of 73,459.
2008: Inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
2009 : Ramón Ayala and Alacranes Musical set the all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day, with 74,147 in attendance for championship Rodeo action, concert entertainment and the Mariachi finals.
2012 : The Professional Bull Riders held their first event at Reliant Stadium, and it was their first to be a part of RodeoHouston.
2013 : George Strait, Martina McBride, and the Randy Rogers Band set a new all-time attendance record with 80,020.
2015 : La Arrolladora Banda El Limón/La Maquinaria Norteña set a new all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day with 75,357.
2016 : Banda Los Recoditos/Los Huracanes Del Norte broke the all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day with 75,508.
2017 : Banda El Recodo/Banda Siggno broke the all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day with 75,557.
2017 : Rodeo officials announced plans to replace the stage used in NRG Stadium for concerts with a new stage resembling that of a five point star. It can fold and it can be elevated or lowered so the performer can have a higher up stage or walk on the ground level. Garth Brooks is scheduled to be the first performer on the new stage.
2018 : Garth Brooks kicked off and ended Livestock Show & Rodeo.
2018 : Calibre 50 beat last year's all-time attendance record, as 75,565 fans showed up on Go Tejano Day. It was later broken by Garth Brooks, attended by 75,577.
2018 : Cody Johnson becomes the first unsigned artist to play to a sold out crowd.
2019 : Cardi B sets record, with 75,580 fans in the audience
2019 : Los Tigres del Norte sets a new all-time attendance record a week later, with 75,586 fans in the audience, beating the previous artist record holder.
2019 : George Strait breaks his own 2013 attendance record with 80,108 fans to close the 2019 show with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen opening. (two sets of attendance records are kept: one for shows with an accompanying rodeo competition, one for concert-only performances, in which seats are available on the floor of NRG stadium as well. Strait's record is the concert only, Los Tigres Del Norte holds the record for the rodeo/concert performances)
2020 : RodeoHouston cancelled after 9 days when local spread of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus caused cases of COVID-19.
2022 : Rodeo will return after a pandemic-based one-year hiatus.
Notes
External links
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Homepage
Houston Livestock Show - Pro Rodeo Online
Rodeos
Culture of Houston
Concerts in the United States
Agricultural shows in the United States
Tourist attractions in Houston
ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees
Rodeo venues in the United States
Animal shows | true | [
"A Judged trail ride is a type of trail riding popular in the western United States where horses and riders are asked to travel a natural trail for a set distance (usually 10 to 15 miles) with occasional stops for the horse and rider team to negotiate an obstacle, usually with varying options for difficulty, with h... | [
"The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events.",
"It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at ... |
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"do they have trail rides at the houston livestock show and rodeo?",
"Since 1952, traditional trail rides have been a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.",
"are the trail rides open to the public?",
"As of 2017, there were 13 official trail ride... | C_b0e09b1b5e694dd1aa7694aaa0a637a4_1 | Is the trail ride part of a parade? | 4 | Is the trail ride at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo part of a parade? | Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo | Since 1952, traditional trail rides have been a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. As of 2017, there were 13 official trail rides, totaling over 3,000 riders. The trail rides range in size from a dozen to over one thousand people who ride on horseback or in horse-drawn wagons from various areas of the state to Houston. They make their way at about 3 miles (4.8 km) per hour, covering up to 17 miles (27 km) each day. Many of the routes take place in part along major highways and busy city streets, making safety a major concern. The trail rides last from a few days to three weeks, depending on the distance they cover. Some of the participants are able to join only on weekends or at the end of the trip. The days start very early, and often end with live music or a small celebration. Many riders choose to camp in recreational vehicles rather than in the open. Each morning, they drive their vehicles and horse trailers to the next camping spot, then have a bus or convoy take them back so they can retrace their path on horseback. Participants can bring their own provisions, or, in some cases, purchase meals at a chuck wagon that is also following the trail. The rides converge at Memorial Park in Houston on Go Texan Day, the Friday before the livestock show and rodeo begins. The city closes some roads downtown to allow the riders to reach their destination safely. The resulting traffic interruption cause annual complaints from those who work downtown. The following day, all of the trail riders participate in the parade. CANNOTANSWER | The trail rides last from a few days to three weeks, depending on the distance they cover. | The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, since 2003, with the exception of 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was previously held in the Astrodome. It is considered to be the city's "signature event", much like New Orleans's Mardi Gras, Dallas's Texas State Fair, San Diego's Comic-Con and New York City's New Year's Eve at Times Square.
In 2017, attendance reached a record high of 2,611,176 people and 33,000 volunteers. In 2007, the rodeo was deemed "the year of the volunteer." The event is 20 days long. It is kicked off by the Downtown Rodeo Roundup held near Houston City Hall, the Downtown Rodeo parade, and the ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run – a 10k and 5k walk & run and the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. The show features championship rodeo action, livestock competitions, concerts, a carnival, pig racing, barbecue and the Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition, shopping, sales and livestock auctions. Traditional trail rides, which start in different areas of Texas and end in Houston, precede the Rodeo events. The City of Houston celebrates this event with Go Texan Day, where residents are encouraged to dress in western wear the Friday before the rodeo begins.
The rodeo has drawn some of the world's biggest recording artists, including Gene Autry, Beyoncé, blink-182, Selena Gomez, Keith Urban, Ariana Grande, Selena, Reba McEntire, Kiss, Kelly Clarkson, Charley Pride, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Alan Jackson, REO Speedwagon, Brooks & Dunn, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, Bon Jovi, ZZ Top, Chris Stapleton, John Legend, Taylor Swift, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among others.
History
Early years
In the early part of the 20th century, Houston-area ranchers developed a new breed of cattle, the American Brahman, which was a blend of four breeds of cattle from India. The cattle were well-adapted to the hot, swampy conditions of the Texas Gulf Coast. In the early 1920s, James W. Sartwelle, a stockyard manager from Sealy, Texas, founded the American Brahman Breeders Association. Ranchers had no opportunities to show their cattle and raise awareness of the breed. Some attempted to show at the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth, Texas, but they weren't allowed into the main arena.
In January 1932, Sartwelle invited six other businessmen to a lunch at the Texas State Hotel. They decided to host a livestock exposition in Houston. Sartwelle was named the first president of the new Houston Fat Stock Show. Their inaugural event was held in late April 1932 at Sam Houston Hall in downtown Houston. It was primarily a regional event, designed to showcase the agriculture and livestock, including Brahmans, in the area around Houston. The show lasted one week and ran a deficit of $2,800. Approximately 2,000 people attended the exposition, where they were also entertained by the Future Farmers Band, comprising 68 high school students from around the state. The Grand Champion Steer was purchased by a local restaurant owner for $504.
The Fat Stock Show was held annually for the next four years. Realizing they had outgrown the space, organizers began looking for a larger venue. Shortly after the 1936 show ended, Sam Houston Hall was torn down. Sam Houston Coliseum, a 10,000-seat arena, would take its place. To allow for construction time, the 1937 exposition was cancelled. The year off allowed Fat Stock show organizers to solidify plans for a larger event. When the show resumed in 1938, it included a parade through downtown Houston, a carnival and midway, and a rodeo with a total purse of $640.50.
In the 1940s, despite World War II, organizers added musical entertainment. Local talent was invited to perform after the rodeo on some evenings. In 1942, singing cowboy Gene Autry became the first nationally recognized entertainer to perform at the show.
Attendance flagged in the early 1950s. To attract more attention to the event, organizers decided to hold a cattle drive. In 1952, the media were invited to join cowboys on a trek from Brenham, Texas to the Fat Stock Show. The publicity stunt was well received. The following year, the Salt Grass Trail Association again held the cattle drive. Other areas of the state organized their own trail rides to the show. This began the transition from a smaller regional event to larger, statewide notice.
Archer Romero, one of the key proponents of the trail ride, took over as president of the Fat Stock Show in 1954. That year, he founded the Go Texan Committee to further publicize the show. The committee would designate a day shortly before the show commenced as Go Texan Day. They encouraged Houston residents to dress in Western wear. The day had the dual purpose of celebrating Texas culture and advertising the show.
In 1957, Myrtis Dightman organized the first trail ride for African-Americans. He led 10 other cowboys in a ride from Prairie View, Texas to Houston. Because of their color, they were not welcomed in Memorial Park, where trail riders typically spent the night. Armed guards were there to ensure that the men could enter safely.
That same year, the show granted its first major scholarship. Ben Dickerson was given $2,000 ($16,000 in 2016) towards his education. This was the first step a major shift in the show's purpose. Over the next few decades, the show placed an increasing emphasis on education and scholarships.
Astrodome era
Throughout the 1950s, influential local leaders had been advocating that the city acquire a professional sports team. In 1957, the Texas State Legislature granted Harris County the ability to issue bonds to finance a new stadium, so that the city could attract a team. The county put together a commission to formulate a plan. Romero stepped down as Fat Stock Show president to join the commission. They visited stadiums in several large cities, as well as a fairgrounds in Oklahoma. After several years of research, the commission recommended that the county build both a stadium and a connected, air-conditioned coliseum. The presentation to the county commissioners listed four main uses for the new facility: 1) Major league baseball, 2) football, 3) the Fat Stock Show, and 4) various other activities.
County commissioners approved the project, sending it to a vote of Harris County residents. Just before the election, Fat Stock Show organizers announced that the show would donate near South Main for the project, provided the show have input into the design. Voters approved the new stadium, and the Fat Stock Show became one of the focal residents of the new Astrodome.
The show was renamed the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 1961. The show had continued to grow, and organizers realized that Sam Houston Coliseum would not be a viable alternative for much longer. The number of exhibitors had declined because many activities were held outside in tents. The chicken, rabbit, and hog shows were cancelled because organizers could not find space for them. Construction began on the Astrohall, next to the Astrodome, in 1965. The following year, the Livestock Show and Rodeo officially moved to the Astrodome. To mark their new location, the organizing committee introduced a new logo, the Bowlegged H. The first night of the rodeo featured entertainment by the stars of the television series Gunsmoke. Some locals scoffed at the idea that the rodeo and concert could fill a 45,000-seat stadium, but more than 40,000 fans attended the rodeo the night Jimmy Dean performed that year.
Louis Pearce Jr served sixty years as a board member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He served on the executive committee as president and CEO, and remained an active executive committee member until his death in 2012. As a result of his dedication and significant contributions to the event, Pearce became known as "Mr. Houston Livestock Show".
The first Hispanic trail ride commenced in 1973. Calling themselves Los Vaqueros Rio Grande Trail Ride, the group journeyed from the border crossing at Reynosa, Mexico to Houston.
The Go Texan committee launched the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest in 1974. Seventeen teams entered the competition, which was held in the Astrodome parking lot. Teams were asked to barbecue a minimum of on a wood fire. The inaugural judges included actor Ben Johnson. The competition grew in popularity; by 1981 it had grown to over 200 teams, with 45,000 people visiting.
In 1988, the show added a 5k run and 10k fun run through downtown Houston. Participants would pay an entry fee, with proceeds going to the scholarship fund.
1990s
By the 1990s, the show had been expanded to 20 days. Each evening featured a rodeo, sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The rodeo offered hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money, second only to the National Finals Rodeo. After the rodeo, attendees would see a concert, usually by a famous entertainer. Tickets were relatively inexpensive. For $10 or a little more, a person could buy a ticket to see the livestock shows, wild west shows, the rodeo and concert, and enjoy the carnival. The livestock show was billed as the largest of its kind, with more animals shown by adolescents than anywhere else in the country. Winning livestock were auctioned at the end of the judging, and, in the 1990s, the combined auction take was usually over $7 million. This was far beyond market value.
The rodeo was generally limited to the top PRCA contestants, based on prize money earned throughout the year. It was popular with cowboys; Houston won the inaugural Indoor Rodeo Committee of the Year award from the PRCA in 1992, and then won each of the next four years as well. The facility had huge screens hanging from the ceiling. Attendees could watch the competition live, then see an instant replay on the screens.
In 1996, the rodeo was halted one evening. The crew on the space shuttle Columbia appeared live on the big screens to address the crowd. Later that year, country singer George Strait set a record, having played to more than 1 million Houston rodeo attendees. The 1996 rodeo earned a net profit of $16.8 million and gave more than $7.9 million away in scholarships, assistantships, and research grants.
The Hideout was created in 1997 to give attendees more entertainment options after the rodeo and concert had ended. It is a nightclub for adults over 21 to dance and drink.
21st century
A new venue, Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium), was built on the Astrodome grounds in 2002. The rodeo marked its last night in the Astrodome on March 3, 2002, with a performance by country legend George Strait. The show was recorded and became Strait's first official live album, For the Last Time: Live from the Astrodome. Following the show, the Astrohall was torn down. A new exhibition space, Reliant Center, was constructed on the grounds, expanding exhibition capacity to 1.4 million square feet. Rodeo executives moved their offices into the second floor of the center. When the rodeo opened in 2003 in its new homes, Strait performed on opening night. In the first two seasons at Reliant, the Hideout was cancelled, but it resumed in 2005, now located within the Astrodome.
In 2004, show organizers added a new event, Rodeo Uncorked! International. Vintners from around the world entered their wines into a competition. These were then auctioned, raising $313,700. The following year, the wine auction raised more than $500,000. To give livestock show attendees the opportunity to taste the wines, the show launched the Wine Garden in 2008.
Attendance at the rodeo began falling. Attendees would purchase a ticket and arrive just before the concert, leaving a largely empty stadium for the rodeo itself. Joe Bruce Hancock, then the general manager of the rodeo, theorized that the audience was more urban and less familiar with rodeo events. The current show structure moved slowly and made it difficult for this type of audience to follow what was happening. As one of the PRCA-sanctioned rodeos, show organizers had little ability to make changes. The PRCA required that certain events be held, dictated the general structure of the rodeo, and insisted that each organizing committee use the PRCA national registration system. This meant that rodeos did not know which contestants were going to be appearing, or on which days.
The Houston rodeo committee requested a waiver from the PRCA in 2008. Houston would still remit 6% of the rodeo purse to the PRCA, but they would change the format and the registration system. Now, the rodeo knew who would be competing on which days and could market those individual appearances. The rodeo was restructured into a playoff format. Attendance at the rodeo skyrocketed. Champion bareback rider Bobby Mote said competitors appreciated the changes: "It was exciting to be a part of because people were really getting into it. Finally we were performing for a real crowd in Houston." The finale of the 2008 rodeo was the PRCA's Xtreme Bulls tour. The same year, HLSR was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame along with 15 other PRCA rodeos that had previously been granted special recognition.
During the 2009 state legislative session, local state senator Mario Gallegos filed a bill that would require the livestock show organizing committee to comply with the state open records rules. The bill would also encourage the rodeo to contract with more minority-owned business and to add minorities to the livestock show's executive committee. At the time, the 19-member executive committee composed entirely of men, without a single Hispanic or African-American representative. Livestock show president Leroy Shafer insisted that the legislation was unprecedented, and that non-profits should not be held to the same standards as public entities. Shafer maintained that the executive committee membership was determined in large part by length of volunteer service, with the members having served, on average, for 37.5 years. According to Shafer, in time minorities and women would accumulate the years of service required to be on the committee. Minority leaders in Houston advocated a boycott. The controversy caused new Harris County sheriff Adrian Garcia to decline an invitation to be co-grand marshal of the rodeo parade, although Garcia still marched in the parade as part of the sheriff's office mounted patrol.
When the Astrodome was permanently closed in 2009, the Hideout moved to a giant tent on the grounds of the facility.
The rodeo's waiver from the PRCA expired in 2011. Houston applied for a renewal but were denied. The PRCA was under new management, who insisted that all of their rodeos should abide by the same rules. The show ended its contract with the organization, making the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo an independent rodeo. As an unsanctioned rodeo, none of the prize money would count towards competitors' world standings, and thus qualification for the National Finals Rodeo. Some competitors were upset with the change, as winning the RodeoHouston $50,000 prize had generally been enough to qualify a cowboy for the National Finals Rodeo. However, because the $1.75 million purse was the largest one in rodeo at that time, there was little difficulty in attracting cowboys. Because they were now independent, the show could now invite specific competitors who might not otherwise have qualified to appear, such as local cowboy, 8-time world champion calf roper Fred Whitfield. Of the 280 competitors invited to attend in 2012, all but one accepted.
In an additional change, the rodeo dropped the PRCA's Xtreme Bulls tour from its last evening. As a replacement, they offered the Cinch RodeoHouston Super Shootout, inviting the champions from the top 10 rodeos in North America to compete in bull riding, saddle-bronc and bareback riding, and barrel racing. Two of the rodeos represented, the Calgary Stampede and the Ponoka Stampede, were also non-PRCA sanctioned invitiational rodeos. Total attendance in 2011 topped 2.26 million, an increase of almost 119,000 people over 2010.
In 2019 & 2020 and resuming in 2022, RodeoHouston has been sanctioned by the PRCA again. The Super Series is PRCA-sanctioned and money won here by contestants counts toward the world standings for the National Finals Rodeo. However, the Super Shootout is unsanctioned and money won here does not count toward the PRCA world standings. Also in 2019, RodeoHouston won the PRCA Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year Award.
On March 11, 2020 after running for 8 of 20 planned days, the rodeo was shut down by the city of Houston after evidence emerged of community spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Montgomery County constable deputy in his 40s who tested positive for COVID-19 had attended a barbeque cookoff at the rodeo. The man was hospitalized and at least 18 rodeo attendees tested positive for coronavirus, though it is unclear whether they all contracted it at the event. It was the only time in the event's history the Rodeo got shut down.
The 2021 edition of the rodeo was originally rescheduled to May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but after several weeks, it was cancelled altogether, making it the event's first cancellation in 84 years, with the 89th edition instead being deferred to 2022.
Events
Rodeo Uncorked! RoundUp and Best Bites Competition
Almost 3,000 bottles of wine are submitted each year for judging in the Rodeo International Wine Competition. High scoring wines are served to the public at the Rodeo Uncorked! RoundUp and Best Bites Competition before the HLSR begins. More than 5,000 people purchase tickets to attend the event. There, they can sample food from more than 100 local restaurants and vote on their pick for tastiest food.
During the livestock show, attendees can purchase glasses of these wine entries at the Wine Garden, an outdoor area comprising six tents that shelter 30,000 square feet of space. Live music is offered in the Wine Garden area each evening.
Go Texan Day
The unofficial kickoff of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is Go Texan Day. Traditionally held the Friday before the rodeo begins, the day is meant to encourage the Houston community to celebrate Western culture. Houston-area residents are encouraged to wear Western attire, such as jeans, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats. The day is an unofficial holiday, and local school districts and many businesses encourage their students and employees to participate. Writing in The New York Times, journalist Manny Fernandez described Go Texan Day as ""the one day of the year on which people in Houston dress the way people outside Houston think people in Houston dress".
Trail rides
From 1952 to 2020 & resuming in 2022, traditional trail rides have been a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. As of 2017, there were 13 official trail rides, totaling over 3,000 riders. The trail rides range in size from a dozen to over one thousand people who ride on horseback or in horse-drawn wagons from various areas of the state to Houston. They make their way at about per hour, covering up to each day. Many of the routes take place in part along major highways and busy city streets, making safety a major concern.
The trail rides last from a few days to three weeks, depending on the distance they cover. Some of the participants are able to join only on weekends or at the end of the trip. The days start very early, and often end with live music or a small celebration. Many riders choose to camp in recreational vehicles rather than in the open. Each morning, they drive their vehicles and horse trailers to the next camping spot, then have a bus or convoy take them back so they can retrace their path on horseback. Participants can bring their own provisions, or, in some cases, purchase meals at a chuck wagon that is also following the trail.
The rides converge at Memorial Park in Houston on Go Texan Day, the Friday before the livestock show and rodeo begins. The city closes some roads downtown to allow the riders to reach their destination safely. The resulting traffic interruption cause annual complaints from those who work downtown. The following day, all of the trail riders participate in the parade.
Rodeo parade and Rodeo Run
The official kickoff of the show is the annual Rodeo Parade. It is held the Saturday before the show begins and runs through downtown Houston. The parade features members of the 13 trail rides, influential Houstonians, bands, and floats.
Preceding the parade is the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Run. More than 10,000 people compete annually in 5k and 10k fun runs. All proceeds go to the show's scholarship fund. The run generally begins near Bagby Street and ends at Eleanor Tinsley Park.
World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest
The Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before the livestock show begins, the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest, established in 1974, is held on the grounds of NRG Park. It is one of the largest barbecue cookoffs in the United States, but it is not sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. More than 250 teams, including a handful from outside of the United States, compete to be named best entry in several categories, including brisket, chicken, and ribs. The barbecue must be cooked on a wood fire; electric or gas fires are prohibited.
Entries are judged on a 50-point scale, with the most points gained for taste and tenderness, and lesser amounts available for smell and the look and feel of the entry. Winners are named in each category, and then an overall Grand Champion is named. Teams can also compete for non-food-related awards, such as cleanest area, most unique pit, and most colorful team.
Each barbecue team has their own tent on the grounds. Many offer their own entertainment, generally cover bands or djs. Entrance into each tents is by invitation only. Many teams sell sponsorships that provide access to their tent, with the money often going to charity. Attendees without an invitation to a specific tent can congregate in one of the three general admission areas, each with its own live entertainment. A record 264,132 people attended the World's Championship Barbecue Contest in 2013.
The 49th is scheduled for 23–25 February 2023.
Rodeo and concert
One of the largest draws for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the 20 consecutive evenings of rodeo and concert, held in NRG Stadium. Tickets are relatively inexpensive, averaging about $29 in 2016, and also grant admission to the livestock show and fairgrounds. More than 43,000 season tickets are sold every year, with the remaining seats 30,000 seats available for individual-show sale. Members of the HLSR are given an opportunity to buy individual tickets before the general public.
RodeoHouston is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It offers one of the largest prize purses in North America, over $2 million, which count for the PRCA's National Finals Rodeo. RodeoHouston features 280 of the top professional cowboys. They compete in a playoff format, with the ultimate champion in each event earning $50,000. For one day, contestants compete in the RodeoHouston SuperShootout. Champions from each of the top 10 rodeos in North America are invited to compete as teams in a subset of rodeo events. In 2020 & resuming in 2022, the entire rodeo has been televised live on The Cowboy Channel.
After the professional rodeo concludes, children are given an opportunity to compete. Each evening, 30 high school students from across the state compete in the calf scramble. They are given the opportunity to chase down (on foot) and catch one of 15 calves, put a halter on them, and drag them back to the center of the stadium. Winners are given money to purchase their own heifer or steer to show the following year. Immediately following the calf scramble is mutton busting. Five- and six-year-olds wearing protective gear try to ride a sheep across a portion of the arena. On the last night of the rodeo, the winners from each of the previous evenings compete again to see who will become grand champion.
A rotating stage is then brought into the arena for the nightly concert. The majority of evenings are performances by country music singers, although several nights are dedicated to pop or rock music. The annual Go Tejano Day generally draws the largest crowds. The winner of the annual Mariachi Invitational competition is invited to perform onstage with the Tejano acts.
Grounds
Visitors who are not attending the rodeo and concert can purchase a lower-cost general admission ticket to gain access to all of NRG Park except the stadium.
According to livestock show CEO Joel Cowley, "if we can draw people here for a concert or a carnival or a rodeo and teach them something about agriculture, it’s a win in regard to our mission." NRG Center contains AgVenture, which provides educational displays about agriculture and the origins of the food for sale at grocery stores. More than 61,000 schoolchildren visited AgVenture in 2015 on official tours. Displays include an area where attendees can see cows, pigs, and sheep give birth or see chickens hatch. There are also displays with live rabbits and honeybees. NRG Center also hosts a large vendor area.
The grounds feature an area where children can do pretend farm chores and compete in races using pedal-driven tractors. There is also a petting zoo, pony and camel rides, and a full carnival and midway. Over the course of the 20-day event in 2015, visitors purchased over $23 million of food outside of the stadium.
Other competitions are held throughout the three weeks at NRG Center and NRG Arena. These include open cattle shows and a paint horse competition. Children with mental and physical disabilities are invited to compete in the Lil' Rustlers Rodeo, which offers imitation rodeo events, such as riding a stick horse.
Free educational seminars are available throughout the three weeks of the livestock show. They are open to the public and cover topic related to wildlife, agricultural in general, and farming and hunting.
Adults can visit The Hideout, a temporary dance hall located in a large tent near NRG Arena. After the show in NRG Stadium concludes, The Hideout features live music from new artists. Several past performers at The Hideout, including the Dixie Chicks, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and the Eli Young Band, later became headliners at the main rodeo show. Approximately 2,000-3,000 people visit The Hideout each evening.
Livestock show
HLSR is the largest indoor livestock show in the world. For a full week, cattle auctions are held in NRG Arena for professional breeders to sell their stock. The livestock show has a larger international presence than any other. In 2017, the Ministers of Agriculture from Russia and Colombia made official visits to HLSR, joining more than 2,600 other international businessmen representing 88 countries. The HLSR International Committee estimated that they facilitated more than $2.6 million in agriculture sales between livestock show participants and international visitors in 2016.
Junior market auctions are also held. Children from around the state show the livestock that they have raised, including cows, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, and chicken. The livestock are judged, with the winners auctioned off. It is the largest set of animals to be shown and judged of any livestock show. Most champion animals sell for well over market value. Winning children are guaranteed a certain amount of scholarship money; if the bid is larger than that amount, the excess funds are directed to the general scholarship fund. More than 4,368 cattle were shown in 2017, with Brahmans the largest category.
Impact
HLSR is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and ranks as the 7th-largest Better Business Bureau accredited charity in Houston. Its primary source of revenue is an annual livestock show and rodeo and the events leading up to it. HLSR has 85 full-time employees and over 31,000 volunteers, divided into 108 committees. The volunteers contribute an estimated 2.1 million hours of work per year, averaging almost 68 hours per person. All of them are required to pay a minimum fee of $50, and some committees require a larger donation. The most popular committees have a wait list.
More than 2.5 million people, including visitors from around the world, attended in 2016. It is the largest cultural event in Houston, and its attendance numbers dwarf those of annual attendance for most professional sports teams and most major cultural events in other cities. In comparison, New Orleans' Mardi Gras generally draws about 1.4 million visitors.
In 2015, the organization reported operating revenue of $133.35 million. The Corral Club, which covers the sale of much of the alcohol on the grounds, but not that within the stadium, sold more alcohol in the three weeks of the HLSR than any other mixed-beverage permit holder in the state for the month of March 2016, and in the year prior was only outsold by the stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play.
A 2010 economic impact analysis estimate that the HLSR funneled $220 million into the Houston economy, with almost half of that coming from visitors outside of the Houston metro region. HLSR and its suppliers and vendors paid over $27 million in taxes to local entities. The study's author estimates that by 2017, the HLSR would be contributing almost $500 million to the local economy each year, the equivalent of hosting the Super Bowl every year.
HLSR awarded $26.07 million in scholarships, grants, and graduate assistantships in 2017. More than 750 students received scholarships, many of them worth $20,000 over four years. Recipients can pursue any field of study but are required to attend a university or college in Texas. Eleven different colleges were awarded funds to pay for graduate assistants. The remainder of the money was allocated for grants to other nonprofits or educational facilities to provide programs to help educate youth about agriculture or pioneer heritage. Since 1932, HLSR boasts that it has given away over $430 million.
Milestones
1931 : First established as The Houston Fat Stock Show.
1932 : First Show is held at the Sam Houston Hall.
1937 : No rodeo due to cancellation.
1938 : Moved to new location: Sam Houston Coliseum.
1942 : First star entertainer: Gene Autry, "the Singing Cowboy"; calf scramble event added to the Show's rodeo.
1943–45 : No rodeo due to World War II.
1946 : Rodeo resumes.
1952 : First trail ride (Salt Grass Trail Ride) commences from Brenham, Texas.
1957 : First major educational scholarship ($2,000) awarded to Ben Dickerson.
1961 : Name changes to Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
1963 : The School Art Program begins
1966 : New location: Astrodome complex; Astrohall built for Livestock Exposition.
1970 : Research program launched committing $100,000 annually in support of research studies at various universities and colleges in Texas
1974 : The first World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. Elvis Presley sets attendance record of 43,944. On his second show, on the same day, he breaks his own record drawing 44,175, for a one-day record 88,119
1975 : The Astroarena is completed.
1977 : Four-year scholarships increased from $4,000 to $6,000.
1983 : Four-year scholarships increased from $6,000 to $8,000.
1989 : Scholarship program expands to Houston metropolitan area.
1992 : Four-year scholarships upgraded from $8,000 to $10,000 retroactive to all students currently on scholarship.
1993 : Tejano superstar Selena breaks attendance record at the Astrodome by drawing a crowd of exactly 57,894 fans.
1994 : Tejano superstar Selena sets another attendance record at the Astrodome by drawing another crowd of 60,081 fans, breaking her previous record.
1995 : Tejano superstar Selena holds famed Astrodome concert with over 67,000 fans, again, breaking her previous records
1997 : Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence is created as a 3-year pilot program with $4.6 million in funding; websites www.hlsr.com and www.rodeohouston.com introduced.
1998 : Number of 4-H and FFA scholarships increased to 60 per program, totaling 120 four-year $10,000 awards.
1999 : Number of 4-H and FFA scholarships increased to 70 per program, totaling 140 four-year $10,000 awards; Opportunity Scholarships awarded based on financial need and academic excellence.
2000 : Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence extended another 3 years with another $4.6 million; Reliant Energy acquires naming rights for the Astrodomain; renamed Reliant Park includes the Reliant Astrodome, Reliant Arena, Reliant Hall, Reliant Center and Reliant Stadium.
2001 : Largest presentation of scholarships to date, with 300 four-year $10,000 awards through the Metropolitan, Opportunity and School Art scholarship programs, totaling $3 million.
2002 : George Strait sets paid attendance record for any Rodeo event in the Reliant Astrodome with 68,266; Reliant Hall is demolished.
2003 : New location: Reliant Stadium and Reliant Center; Carruth Plaza, a Western sculpture garden named in honor of past president and chairman, Allen H. "Buddy" Carruth, completed at Reliant Park.
2006 : Brooks & Dunn break rodeo attendance record set by Hilary Duff in 2005 with 72,867 in attendance.
2007 : The Cheetah Girls and supporting act Hannah Montana sell out in just three minutes and set a new rodeo attendance record of 73,291.
2008 : Hannah Montana sets an attendance record of 73,459.
2008: Inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
2009 : Ramón Ayala and Alacranes Musical set the all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day, with 74,147 in attendance for championship Rodeo action, concert entertainment and the Mariachi finals.
2012 : The Professional Bull Riders held their first event at Reliant Stadium, and it was their first to be a part of RodeoHouston.
2013 : George Strait, Martina McBride, and the Randy Rogers Band set a new all-time attendance record with 80,020.
2015 : La Arrolladora Banda El Limón/La Maquinaria Norteña set a new all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day with 75,357.
2016 : Banda Los Recoditos/Los Huracanes Del Norte broke the all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day with 75,508.
2017 : Banda El Recodo/Banda Siggno broke the all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day with 75,557.
2017 : Rodeo officials announced plans to replace the stage used in NRG Stadium for concerts with a new stage resembling that of a five point star. It can fold and it can be elevated or lowered so the performer can have a higher up stage or walk on the ground level. Garth Brooks is scheduled to be the first performer on the new stage.
2018 : Garth Brooks kicked off and ended Livestock Show & Rodeo.
2018 : Calibre 50 beat last year's all-time attendance record, as 75,565 fans showed up on Go Tejano Day. It was later broken by Garth Brooks, attended by 75,577.
2018 : Cody Johnson becomes the first unsigned artist to play to a sold out crowd.
2019 : Cardi B sets record, with 75,580 fans in the audience
2019 : Los Tigres del Norte sets a new all-time attendance record a week later, with 75,586 fans in the audience, beating the previous artist record holder.
2019 : George Strait breaks his own 2013 attendance record with 80,108 fans to close the 2019 show with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen opening. (two sets of attendance records are kept: one for shows with an accompanying rodeo competition, one for concert-only performances, in which seats are available on the floor of NRG stadium as well. Strait's record is the concert only, Los Tigres Del Norte holds the record for the rodeo/concert performances)
2020 : RodeoHouston cancelled after 9 days when local spread of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus caused cases of COVID-19.
2022 : Rodeo will return after a pandemic-based one-year hiatus.
Notes
External links
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Homepage
Houston Livestock Show - Pro Rodeo Online
Rodeos
Culture of Houston
Concerts in the United States
Agricultural shows in the United States
Tourist attractions in Houston
ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees
Rodeo venues in the United States
Animal shows | true | [
"The Florida Cracker Trail runs from just east of Bradenton, and ends in Fort Pierce, a total distance of approximately .\n\nIn years past, this route was used for both cattle and horses. Today it includes parts of State Road 66, State Road 64, and U.S. Highway 98.\n\nOn November 20, 2000, the Florida Cracker Trail... | [
"The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events.",
"It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at ... |
[
"Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo",
"Trail rides",
"do they have trail rides at the houston livestock show and rodeo?",
"Since 1952, traditional trail rides have been a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.",
"are the trail rides open to the public?",
"As of 2017, there were 13 official trail ride... | C_b0e09b1b5e694dd1aa7694aaa0a637a4_1 | where are the trail rides held? | 6 | Where are the trail rides held at Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo? | Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo | Since 1952, traditional trail rides have been a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. As of 2017, there were 13 official trail rides, totaling over 3,000 riders. The trail rides range in size from a dozen to over one thousand people who ride on horseback or in horse-drawn wagons from various areas of the state to Houston. They make their way at about 3 miles (4.8 km) per hour, covering up to 17 miles (27 km) each day. Many of the routes take place in part along major highways and busy city streets, making safety a major concern. The trail rides last from a few days to three weeks, depending on the distance they cover. Some of the participants are able to join only on weekends or at the end of the trip. The days start very early, and often end with live music or a small celebration. Many riders choose to camp in recreational vehicles rather than in the open. Each morning, they drive their vehicles and horse trailers to the next camping spot, then have a bus or convoy take them back so they can retrace their path on horseback. Participants can bring their own provisions, or, in some cases, purchase meals at a chuck wagon that is also following the trail. The rides converge at Memorial Park in Houston on Go Texan Day, the Friday before the livestock show and rodeo begins. The city closes some roads downtown to allow the riders to reach their destination safely. The resulting traffic interruption cause annual complaints from those who work downtown. The following day, all of the trail riders participate in the parade. CANNOTANSWER | The rides converge at Memorial Park in Houston on Go Texan Day, the Friday before the livestock show and rodeo begins. | The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, since 2003, with the exception of 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was previously held in the Astrodome. It is considered to be the city's "signature event", much like New Orleans's Mardi Gras, Dallas's Texas State Fair, San Diego's Comic-Con and New York City's New Year's Eve at Times Square.
In 2017, attendance reached a record high of 2,611,176 people and 33,000 volunteers. In 2007, the rodeo was deemed "the year of the volunteer." The event is 20 days long. It is kicked off by the Downtown Rodeo Roundup held near Houston City Hall, the Downtown Rodeo parade, and the ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run – a 10k and 5k walk & run and the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. The show features championship rodeo action, livestock competitions, concerts, a carnival, pig racing, barbecue and the Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition, shopping, sales and livestock auctions. Traditional trail rides, which start in different areas of Texas and end in Houston, precede the Rodeo events. The City of Houston celebrates this event with Go Texan Day, where residents are encouraged to dress in western wear the Friday before the rodeo begins.
The rodeo has drawn some of the world's biggest recording artists, including Gene Autry, Beyoncé, blink-182, Selena Gomez, Keith Urban, Ariana Grande, Selena, Reba McEntire, Kiss, Kelly Clarkson, Charley Pride, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Alan Jackson, REO Speedwagon, Brooks & Dunn, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, Bon Jovi, ZZ Top, Chris Stapleton, John Legend, Taylor Swift, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, among others.
History
Early years
In the early part of the 20th century, Houston-area ranchers developed a new breed of cattle, the American Brahman, which was a blend of four breeds of cattle from India. The cattle were well-adapted to the hot, swampy conditions of the Texas Gulf Coast. In the early 1920s, James W. Sartwelle, a stockyard manager from Sealy, Texas, founded the American Brahman Breeders Association. Ranchers had no opportunities to show their cattle and raise awareness of the breed. Some attempted to show at the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth, Texas, but they weren't allowed into the main arena.
In January 1932, Sartwelle invited six other businessmen to a lunch at the Texas State Hotel. They decided to host a livestock exposition in Houston. Sartwelle was named the first president of the new Houston Fat Stock Show. Their inaugural event was held in late April 1932 at Sam Houston Hall in downtown Houston. It was primarily a regional event, designed to showcase the agriculture and livestock, including Brahmans, in the area around Houston. The show lasted one week and ran a deficit of $2,800. Approximately 2,000 people attended the exposition, where they were also entertained by the Future Farmers Band, comprising 68 high school students from around the state. The Grand Champion Steer was purchased by a local restaurant owner for $504.
The Fat Stock Show was held annually for the next four years. Realizing they had outgrown the space, organizers began looking for a larger venue. Shortly after the 1936 show ended, Sam Houston Hall was torn down. Sam Houston Coliseum, a 10,000-seat arena, would take its place. To allow for construction time, the 1937 exposition was cancelled. The year off allowed Fat Stock show organizers to solidify plans for a larger event. When the show resumed in 1938, it included a parade through downtown Houston, a carnival and midway, and a rodeo with a total purse of $640.50.
In the 1940s, despite World War II, organizers added musical entertainment. Local talent was invited to perform after the rodeo on some evenings. In 1942, singing cowboy Gene Autry became the first nationally recognized entertainer to perform at the show.
Attendance flagged in the early 1950s. To attract more attention to the event, organizers decided to hold a cattle drive. In 1952, the media were invited to join cowboys on a trek from Brenham, Texas to the Fat Stock Show. The publicity stunt was well received. The following year, the Salt Grass Trail Association again held the cattle drive. Other areas of the state organized their own trail rides to the show. This began the transition from a smaller regional event to larger, statewide notice.
Archer Romero, one of the key proponents of the trail ride, took over as president of the Fat Stock Show in 1954. That year, he founded the Go Texan Committee to further publicize the show. The committee would designate a day shortly before the show commenced as Go Texan Day. They encouraged Houston residents to dress in Western wear. The day had the dual purpose of celebrating Texas culture and advertising the show.
In 1957, Myrtis Dightman organized the first trail ride for African-Americans. He led 10 other cowboys in a ride from Prairie View, Texas to Houston. Because of their color, they were not welcomed in Memorial Park, where trail riders typically spent the night. Armed guards were there to ensure that the men could enter safely.
That same year, the show granted its first major scholarship. Ben Dickerson was given $2,000 ($16,000 in 2016) towards his education. This was the first step a major shift in the show's purpose. Over the next few decades, the show placed an increasing emphasis on education and scholarships.
Astrodome era
Throughout the 1950s, influential local leaders had been advocating that the city acquire a professional sports team. In 1957, the Texas State Legislature granted Harris County the ability to issue bonds to finance a new stadium, so that the city could attract a team. The county put together a commission to formulate a plan. Romero stepped down as Fat Stock Show president to join the commission. They visited stadiums in several large cities, as well as a fairgrounds in Oklahoma. After several years of research, the commission recommended that the county build both a stadium and a connected, air-conditioned coliseum. The presentation to the county commissioners listed four main uses for the new facility: 1) Major league baseball, 2) football, 3) the Fat Stock Show, and 4) various other activities.
County commissioners approved the project, sending it to a vote of Harris County residents. Just before the election, Fat Stock Show organizers announced that the show would donate near South Main for the project, provided the show have input into the design. Voters approved the new stadium, and the Fat Stock Show became one of the focal residents of the new Astrodome.
The show was renamed the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 1961. The show had continued to grow, and organizers realized that Sam Houston Coliseum would not be a viable alternative for much longer. The number of exhibitors had declined because many activities were held outside in tents. The chicken, rabbit, and hog shows were cancelled because organizers could not find space for them. Construction began on the Astrohall, next to the Astrodome, in 1965. The following year, the Livestock Show and Rodeo officially moved to the Astrodome. To mark their new location, the organizing committee introduced a new logo, the Bowlegged H. The first night of the rodeo featured entertainment by the stars of the television series Gunsmoke. Some locals scoffed at the idea that the rodeo and concert could fill a 45,000-seat stadium, but more than 40,000 fans attended the rodeo the night Jimmy Dean performed that year.
Louis Pearce Jr served sixty years as a board member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He served on the executive committee as president and CEO, and remained an active executive committee member until his death in 2012. As a result of his dedication and significant contributions to the event, Pearce became known as "Mr. Houston Livestock Show".
The first Hispanic trail ride commenced in 1973. Calling themselves Los Vaqueros Rio Grande Trail Ride, the group journeyed from the border crossing at Reynosa, Mexico to Houston.
The Go Texan committee launched the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest in 1974. Seventeen teams entered the competition, which was held in the Astrodome parking lot. Teams were asked to barbecue a minimum of on a wood fire. The inaugural judges included actor Ben Johnson. The competition grew in popularity; by 1981 it had grown to over 200 teams, with 45,000 people visiting.
In 1988, the show added a 5k run and 10k fun run through downtown Houston. Participants would pay an entry fee, with proceeds going to the scholarship fund.
1990s
By the 1990s, the show had been expanded to 20 days. Each evening featured a rodeo, sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The rodeo offered hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money, second only to the National Finals Rodeo. After the rodeo, attendees would see a concert, usually by a famous entertainer. Tickets were relatively inexpensive. For $10 or a little more, a person could buy a ticket to see the livestock shows, wild west shows, the rodeo and concert, and enjoy the carnival. The livestock show was billed as the largest of its kind, with more animals shown by adolescents than anywhere else in the country. Winning livestock were auctioned at the end of the judging, and, in the 1990s, the combined auction take was usually over $7 million. This was far beyond market value.
The rodeo was generally limited to the top PRCA contestants, based on prize money earned throughout the year. It was popular with cowboys; Houston won the inaugural Indoor Rodeo Committee of the Year award from the PRCA in 1992, and then won each of the next four years as well. The facility had huge screens hanging from the ceiling. Attendees could watch the competition live, then see an instant replay on the screens.
In 1996, the rodeo was halted one evening. The crew on the space shuttle Columbia appeared live on the big screens to address the crowd. Later that year, country singer George Strait set a record, having played to more than 1 million Houston rodeo attendees. The 1996 rodeo earned a net profit of $16.8 million and gave more than $7.9 million away in scholarships, assistantships, and research grants.
The Hideout was created in 1997 to give attendees more entertainment options after the rodeo and concert had ended. It is a nightclub for adults over 21 to dance and drink.
21st century
A new venue, Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium), was built on the Astrodome grounds in 2002. The rodeo marked its last night in the Astrodome on March 3, 2002, with a performance by country legend George Strait. The show was recorded and became Strait's first official live album, For the Last Time: Live from the Astrodome. Following the show, the Astrohall was torn down. A new exhibition space, Reliant Center, was constructed on the grounds, expanding exhibition capacity to 1.4 million square feet. Rodeo executives moved their offices into the second floor of the center. When the rodeo opened in 2003 in its new homes, Strait performed on opening night. In the first two seasons at Reliant, the Hideout was cancelled, but it resumed in 2005, now located within the Astrodome.
In 2004, show organizers added a new event, Rodeo Uncorked! International. Vintners from around the world entered their wines into a competition. These were then auctioned, raising $313,700. The following year, the wine auction raised more than $500,000. To give livestock show attendees the opportunity to taste the wines, the show launched the Wine Garden in 2008.
Attendance at the rodeo began falling. Attendees would purchase a ticket and arrive just before the concert, leaving a largely empty stadium for the rodeo itself. Joe Bruce Hancock, then the general manager of the rodeo, theorized that the audience was more urban and less familiar with rodeo events. The current show structure moved slowly and made it difficult for this type of audience to follow what was happening. As one of the PRCA-sanctioned rodeos, show organizers had little ability to make changes. The PRCA required that certain events be held, dictated the general structure of the rodeo, and insisted that each organizing committee use the PRCA national registration system. This meant that rodeos did not know which contestants were going to be appearing, or on which days.
The Houston rodeo committee requested a waiver from the PRCA in 2008. Houston would still remit 6% of the rodeo purse to the PRCA, but they would change the format and the registration system. Now, the rodeo knew who would be competing on which days and could market those individual appearances. The rodeo was restructured into a playoff format. Attendance at the rodeo skyrocketed. Champion bareback rider Bobby Mote said competitors appreciated the changes: "It was exciting to be a part of because people were really getting into it. Finally we were performing for a real crowd in Houston." The finale of the 2008 rodeo was the PRCA's Xtreme Bulls tour. The same year, HLSR was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame along with 15 other PRCA rodeos that had previously been granted special recognition.
During the 2009 state legislative session, local state senator Mario Gallegos filed a bill that would require the livestock show organizing committee to comply with the state open records rules. The bill would also encourage the rodeo to contract with more minority-owned business and to add minorities to the livestock show's executive committee. At the time, the 19-member executive committee composed entirely of men, without a single Hispanic or African-American representative. Livestock show president Leroy Shafer insisted that the legislation was unprecedented, and that non-profits should not be held to the same standards as public entities. Shafer maintained that the executive committee membership was determined in large part by length of volunteer service, with the members having served, on average, for 37.5 years. According to Shafer, in time minorities and women would accumulate the years of service required to be on the committee. Minority leaders in Houston advocated a boycott. The controversy caused new Harris County sheriff Adrian Garcia to decline an invitation to be co-grand marshal of the rodeo parade, although Garcia still marched in the parade as part of the sheriff's office mounted patrol.
When the Astrodome was permanently closed in 2009, the Hideout moved to a giant tent on the grounds of the facility.
The rodeo's waiver from the PRCA expired in 2011. Houston applied for a renewal but were denied. The PRCA was under new management, who insisted that all of their rodeos should abide by the same rules. The show ended its contract with the organization, making the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo an independent rodeo. As an unsanctioned rodeo, none of the prize money would count towards competitors' world standings, and thus qualification for the National Finals Rodeo. Some competitors were upset with the change, as winning the RodeoHouston $50,000 prize had generally been enough to qualify a cowboy for the National Finals Rodeo. However, because the $1.75 million purse was the largest one in rodeo at that time, there was little difficulty in attracting cowboys. Because they were now independent, the show could now invite specific competitors who might not otherwise have qualified to appear, such as local cowboy, 8-time world champion calf roper Fred Whitfield. Of the 280 competitors invited to attend in 2012, all but one accepted.
In an additional change, the rodeo dropped the PRCA's Xtreme Bulls tour from its last evening. As a replacement, they offered the Cinch RodeoHouston Super Shootout, inviting the champions from the top 10 rodeos in North America to compete in bull riding, saddle-bronc and bareback riding, and barrel racing. Two of the rodeos represented, the Calgary Stampede and the Ponoka Stampede, were also non-PRCA sanctioned invitiational rodeos. Total attendance in 2011 topped 2.26 million, an increase of almost 119,000 people over 2010.
In 2019 & 2020 and resuming in 2022, RodeoHouston has been sanctioned by the PRCA again. The Super Series is PRCA-sanctioned and money won here by contestants counts toward the world standings for the National Finals Rodeo. However, the Super Shootout is unsanctioned and money won here does not count toward the PRCA world standings. Also in 2019, RodeoHouston won the PRCA Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year Award.
On March 11, 2020 after running for 8 of 20 planned days, the rodeo was shut down by the city of Houston after evidence emerged of community spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Montgomery County constable deputy in his 40s who tested positive for COVID-19 had attended a barbeque cookoff at the rodeo. The man was hospitalized and at least 18 rodeo attendees tested positive for coronavirus, though it is unclear whether they all contracted it at the event. It was the only time in the event's history the Rodeo got shut down.
The 2021 edition of the rodeo was originally rescheduled to May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but after several weeks, it was cancelled altogether, making it the event's first cancellation in 84 years, with the 89th edition instead being deferred to 2022.
Events
Rodeo Uncorked! RoundUp and Best Bites Competition
Almost 3,000 bottles of wine are submitted each year for judging in the Rodeo International Wine Competition. High scoring wines are served to the public at the Rodeo Uncorked! RoundUp and Best Bites Competition before the HLSR begins. More than 5,000 people purchase tickets to attend the event. There, they can sample food from more than 100 local restaurants and vote on their pick for tastiest food.
During the livestock show, attendees can purchase glasses of these wine entries at the Wine Garden, an outdoor area comprising six tents that shelter 30,000 square feet of space. Live music is offered in the Wine Garden area each evening.
Go Texan Day
The unofficial kickoff of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is Go Texan Day. Traditionally held the Friday before the rodeo begins, the day is meant to encourage the Houston community to celebrate Western culture. Houston-area residents are encouraged to wear Western attire, such as jeans, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats. The day is an unofficial holiday, and local school districts and many businesses encourage their students and employees to participate. Writing in The New York Times, journalist Manny Fernandez described Go Texan Day as ""the one day of the year on which people in Houston dress the way people outside Houston think people in Houston dress".
Trail rides
From 1952 to 2020 & resuming in 2022, traditional trail rides have been a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. As of 2017, there were 13 official trail rides, totaling over 3,000 riders. The trail rides range in size from a dozen to over one thousand people who ride on horseback or in horse-drawn wagons from various areas of the state to Houston. They make their way at about per hour, covering up to each day. Many of the routes take place in part along major highways and busy city streets, making safety a major concern.
The trail rides last from a few days to three weeks, depending on the distance they cover. Some of the participants are able to join only on weekends or at the end of the trip. The days start very early, and often end with live music or a small celebration. Many riders choose to camp in recreational vehicles rather than in the open. Each morning, they drive their vehicles and horse trailers to the next camping spot, then have a bus or convoy take them back so they can retrace their path on horseback. Participants can bring their own provisions, or, in some cases, purchase meals at a chuck wagon that is also following the trail.
The rides converge at Memorial Park in Houston on Go Texan Day, the Friday before the livestock show and rodeo begins. The city closes some roads downtown to allow the riders to reach their destination safely. The resulting traffic interruption cause annual complaints from those who work downtown. The following day, all of the trail riders participate in the parade.
Rodeo parade and Rodeo Run
The official kickoff of the show is the annual Rodeo Parade. It is held the Saturday before the show begins and runs through downtown Houston. The parade features members of the 13 trail rides, influential Houstonians, bands, and floats.
Preceding the parade is the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Run. More than 10,000 people compete annually in 5k and 10k fun runs. All proceeds go to the show's scholarship fund. The run generally begins near Bagby Street and ends at Eleanor Tinsley Park.
World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest
The Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before the livestock show begins, the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest, established in 1974, is held on the grounds of NRG Park. It is one of the largest barbecue cookoffs in the United States, but it is not sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. More than 250 teams, including a handful from outside of the United States, compete to be named best entry in several categories, including brisket, chicken, and ribs. The barbecue must be cooked on a wood fire; electric or gas fires are prohibited.
Entries are judged on a 50-point scale, with the most points gained for taste and tenderness, and lesser amounts available for smell and the look and feel of the entry. Winners are named in each category, and then an overall Grand Champion is named. Teams can also compete for non-food-related awards, such as cleanest area, most unique pit, and most colorful team.
Each barbecue team has their own tent on the grounds. Many offer their own entertainment, generally cover bands or djs. Entrance into each tents is by invitation only. Many teams sell sponsorships that provide access to their tent, with the money often going to charity. Attendees without an invitation to a specific tent can congregate in one of the three general admission areas, each with its own live entertainment. A record 264,132 people attended the World's Championship Barbecue Contest in 2013.
The 49th is scheduled for 23–25 February 2023.
Rodeo and concert
One of the largest draws for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the 20 consecutive evenings of rodeo and concert, held in NRG Stadium. Tickets are relatively inexpensive, averaging about $29 in 2016, and also grant admission to the livestock show and fairgrounds. More than 43,000 season tickets are sold every year, with the remaining seats 30,000 seats available for individual-show sale. Members of the HLSR are given an opportunity to buy individual tickets before the general public.
RodeoHouston is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). It offers one of the largest prize purses in North America, over $2 million, which count for the PRCA's National Finals Rodeo. RodeoHouston features 280 of the top professional cowboys. They compete in a playoff format, with the ultimate champion in each event earning $50,000. For one day, contestants compete in the RodeoHouston SuperShootout. Champions from each of the top 10 rodeos in North America are invited to compete as teams in a subset of rodeo events. In 2020 & resuming in 2022, the entire rodeo has been televised live on The Cowboy Channel.
After the professional rodeo concludes, children are given an opportunity to compete. Each evening, 30 high school students from across the state compete in the calf scramble. They are given the opportunity to chase down (on foot) and catch one of 15 calves, put a halter on them, and drag them back to the center of the stadium. Winners are given money to purchase their own heifer or steer to show the following year. Immediately following the calf scramble is mutton busting. Five- and six-year-olds wearing protective gear try to ride a sheep across a portion of the arena. On the last night of the rodeo, the winners from each of the previous evenings compete again to see who will become grand champion.
A rotating stage is then brought into the arena for the nightly concert. The majority of evenings are performances by country music singers, although several nights are dedicated to pop or rock music. The annual Go Tejano Day generally draws the largest crowds. The winner of the annual Mariachi Invitational competition is invited to perform onstage with the Tejano acts.
Grounds
Visitors who are not attending the rodeo and concert can purchase a lower-cost general admission ticket to gain access to all of NRG Park except the stadium.
According to livestock show CEO Joel Cowley, "if we can draw people here for a concert or a carnival or a rodeo and teach them something about agriculture, it’s a win in regard to our mission." NRG Center contains AgVenture, which provides educational displays about agriculture and the origins of the food for sale at grocery stores. More than 61,000 schoolchildren visited AgVenture in 2015 on official tours. Displays include an area where attendees can see cows, pigs, and sheep give birth or see chickens hatch. There are also displays with live rabbits and honeybees. NRG Center also hosts a large vendor area.
The grounds feature an area where children can do pretend farm chores and compete in races using pedal-driven tractors. There is also a petting zoo, pony and camel rides, and a full carnival and midway. Over the course of the 20-day event in 2015, visitors purchased over $23 million of food outside of the stadium.
Other competitions are held throughout the three weeks at NRG Center and NRG Arena. These include open cattle shows and a paint horse competition. Children with mental and physical disabilities are invited to compete in the Lil' Rustlers Rodeo, which offers imitation rodeo events, such as riding a stick horse.
Free educational seminars are available throughout the three weeks of the livestock show. They are open to the public and cover topic related to wildlife, agricultural in general, and farming and hunting.
Adults can visit The Hideout, a temporary dance hall located in a large tent near NRG Arena. After the show in NRG Stadium concludes, The Hideout features live music from new artists. Several past performers at The Hideout, including the Dixie Chicks, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and the Eli Young Band, later became headliners at the main rodeo show. Approximately 2,000-3,000 people visit The Hideout each evening.
Livestock show
HLSR is the largest indoor livestock show in the world. For a full week, cattle auctions are held in NRG Arena for professional breeders to sell their stock. The livestock show has a larger international presence than any other. In 2017, the Ministers of Agriculture from Russia and Colombia made official visits to HLSR, joining more than 2,600 other international businessmen representing 88 countries. The HLSR International Committee estimated that they facilitated more than $2.6 million in agriculture sales between livestock show participants and international visitors in 2016.
Junior market auctions are also held. Children from around the state show the livestock that they have raised, including cows, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, and chicken. The livestock are judged, with the winners auctioned off. It is the largest set of animals to be shown and judged of any livestock show. Most champion animals sell for well over market value. Winning children are guaranteed a certain amount of scholarship money; if the bid is larger than that amount, the excess funds are directed to the general scholarship fund. More than 4,368 cattle were shown in 2017, with Brahmans the largest category.
Impact
HLSR is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and ranks as the 7th-largest Better Business Bureau accredited charity in Houston. Its primary source of revenue is an annual livestock show and rodeo and the events leading up to it. HLSR has 85 full-time employees and over 31,000 volunteers, divided into 108 committees. The volunteers contribute an estimated 2.1 million hours of work per year, averaging almost 68 hours per person. All of them are required to pay a minimum fee of $50, and some committees require a larger donation. The most popular committees have a wait list.
More than 2.5 million people, including visitors from around the world, attended in 2016. It is the largest cultural event in Houston, and its attendance numbers dwarf those of annual attendance for most professional sports teams and most major cultural events in other cities. In comparison, New Orleans' Mardi Gras generally draws about 1.4 million visitors.
In 2015, the organization reported operating revenue of $133.35 million. The Corral Club, which covers the sale of much of the alcohol on the grounds, but not that within the stadium, sold more alcohol in the three weeks of the HLSR than any other mixed-beverage permit holder in the state for the month of March 2016, and in the year prior was only outsold by the stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play.
A 2010 economic impact analysis estimate that the HLSR funneled $220 million into the Houston economy, with almost half of that coming from visitors outside of the Houston metro region. HLSR and its suppliers and vendors paid over $27 million in taxes to local entities. The study's author estimates that by 2017, the HLSR would be contributing almost $500 million to the local economy each year, the equivalent of hosting the Super Bowl every year.
HLSR awarded $26.07 million in scholarships, grants, and graduate assistantships in 2017. More than 750 students received scholarships, many of them worth $20,000 over four years. Recipients can pursue any field of study but are required to attend a university or college in Texas. Eleven different colleges were awarded funds to pay for graduate assistants. The remainder of the money was allocated for grants to other nonprofits or educational facilities to provide programs to help educate youth about agriculture or pioneer heritage. Since 1932, HLSR boasts that it has given away over $430 million.
Milestones
1931 : First established as The Houston Fat Stock Show.
1932 : First Show is held at the Sam Houston Hall.
1937 : No rodeo due to cancellation.
1938 : Moved to new location: Sam Houston Coliseum.
1942 : First star entertainer: Gene Autry, "the Singing Cowboy"; calf scramble event added to the Show's rodeo.
1943–45 : No rodeo due to World War II.
1946 : Rodeo resumes.
1952 : First trail ride (Salt Grass Trail Ride) commences from Brenham, Texas.
1957 : First major educational scholarship ($2,000) awarded to Ben Dickerson.
1961 : Name changes to Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
1963 : The School Art Program begins
1966 : New location: Astrodome complex; Astrohall built for Livestock Exposition.
1970 : Research program launched committing $100,000 annually in support of research studies at various universities and colleges in Texas
1974 : The first World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. Elvis Presley sets attendance record of 43,944. On his second show, on the same day, he breaks his own record drawing 44,175, for a one-day record 88,119
1975 : The Astroarena is completed.
1977 : Four-year scholarships increased from $4,000 to $6,000.
1983 : Four-year scholarships increased from $6,000 to $8,000.
1989 : Scholarship program expands to Houston metropolitan area.
1992 : Four-year scholarships upgraded from $8,000 to $10,000 retroactive to all students currently on scholarship.
1993 : Tejano superstar Selena breaks attendance record at the Astrodome by drawing a crowd of exactly 57,894 fans.
1994 : Tejano superstar Selena sets another attendance record at the Astrodome by drawing another crowd of 60,081 fans, breaking her previous record.
1995 : Tejano superstar Selena holds famed Astrodome concert with over 67,000 fans, again, breaking her previous records
1997 : Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence is created as a 3-year pilot program with $4.6 million in funding; websites www.hlsr.com and www.rodeohouston.com introduced.
1998 : Number of 4-H and FFA scholarships increased to 60 per program, totaling 120 four-year $10,000 awards.
1999 : Number of 4-H and FFA scholarships increased to 70 per program, totaling 140 four-year $10,000 awards; Opportunity Scholarships awarded based on financial need and academic excellence.
2000 : Rodeo Institute for Teacher Excellence extended another 3 years with another $4.6 million; Reliant Energy acquires naming rights for the Astrodomain; renamed Reliant Park includes the Reliant Astrodome, Reliant Arena, Reliant Hall, Reliant Center and Reliant Stadium.
2001 : Largest presentation of scholarships to date, with 300 four-year $10,000 awards through the Metropolitan, Opportunity and School Art scholarship programs, totaling $3 million.
2002 : George Strait sets paid attendance record for any Rodeo event in the Reliant Astrodome with 68,266; Reliant Hall is demolished.
2003 : New location: Reliant Stadium and Reliant Center; Carruth Plaza, a Western sculpture garden named in honor of past president and chairman, Allen H. "Buddy" Carruth, completed at Reliant Park.
2006 : Brooks & Dunn break rodeo attendance record set by Hilary Duff in 2005 with 72,867 in attendance.
2007 : The Cheetah Girls and supporting act Hannah Montana sell out in just three minutes and set a new rodeo attendance record of 73,291.
2008 : Hannah Montana sets an attendance record of 73,459.
2008: Inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
2009 : Ramón Ayala and Alacranes Musical set the all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day, with 74,147 in attendance for championship Rodeo action, concert entertainment and the Mariachi finals.
2012 : The Professional Bull Riders held their first event at Reliant Stadium, and it was their first to be a part of RodeoHouston.
2013 : George Strait, Martina McBride, and the Randy Rogers Band set a new all-time attendance record with 80,020.
2015 : La Arrolladora Banda El Limón/La Maquinaria Norteña set a new all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day with 75,357.
2016 : Banda Los Recoditos/Los Huracanes Del Norte broke the all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day with 75,508.
2017 : Banda El Recodo/Banda Siggno broke the all-time paid Rodeo attendance record on Go Tejano Day with 75,557.
2017 : Rodeo officials announced plans to replace the stage used in NRG Stadium for concerts with a new stage resembling that of a five point star. It can fold and it can be elevated or lowered so the performer can have a higher up stage or walk on the ground level. Garth Brooks is scheduled to be the first performer on the new stage.
2018 : Garth Brooks kicked off and ended Livestock Show & Rodeo.
2018 : Calibre 50 beat last year's all-time attendance record, as 75,565 fans showed up on Go Tejano Day. It was later broken by Garth Brooks, attended by 75,577.
2018 : Cody Johnson becomes the first unsigned artist to play to a sold out crowd.
2019 : Cardi B sets record, with 75,580 fans in the audience
2019 : Los Tigres del Norte sets a new all-time attendance record a week later, with 75,586 fans in the audience, beating the previous artist record holder.
2019 : George Strait breaks his own 2013 attendance record with 80,108 fans to close the 2019 show with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen opening. (two sets of attendance records are kept: one for shows with an accompanying rodeo competition, one for concert-only performances, in which seats are available on the floor of NRG stadium as well. Strait's record is the concert only, Los Tigres Del Norte holds the record for the rodeo/concert performances)
2020 : RodeoHouston cancelled after 9 days when local spread of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus caused cases of COVID-19.
2022 : Rodeo will return after a pandemic-based one-year hiatus.
Notes
External links
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Homepage
Houston Livestock Show - Pro Rodeo Online
Rodeos
Culture of Houston
Concerts in the United States
Agricultural shows in the United States
Tourist attractions in Houston
ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductees
Rodeo venues in the United States
Animal shows | true | [
"A Judged trail ride is a type of trail riding popular in the western United States where horses and riders are asked to travel a natural trail for a set distance (usually 10 to 15 miles) with occasional stops for the horse and rider team to negotiate an obstacle, usually with varying options for difficulty, with h... | [
"The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, also called RodeoHouston or abbreviated HLSR, is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world. It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events.",
"It includes one of the richest regular-season professional rodeo events. It has been held at ... |
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"Edwin Edwards",
"Early scandals"
] | C_e1d668882c39441abf5804d2a7db0abc_0 | what were edwins early scandals? | 1 | what were edwin's early scandals? | Edwin Edwards | Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemer - father of future governor Buddy Roemer - was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case. During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but the Edwards administration attacked Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife. In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was a U.S. representative. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was "super moralistic" for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings. The scandal also engulfed Edwards's former congressional colleague Otto Passman of Monroe, who was later acquitted of all charges in the case. CANNOTANSWER | When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." | Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1976, 1976-1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive. He served a total of 16 years in gubernatorial office, at 5,784 days the sixth-longest such tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history.
A colorful, powerful, and legendary figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards, who was dubbed the "very last of the line of New Deal Southern Democrats", was long dogged by charges of corruption. In 2001, he was found guilty of racketeering charges and sentenced to ten years in federal prison. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas, and was later transferred to the federal facility in Oakdale, Louisiana. He was released from federal prison in January 2011, having served eight years.
In 2014, Edwards again sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives, running to represent . He placed first in the jungle primary, but was defeated by Republican Garret Graves by nearly 25 percentage points in the runoff election.
Early life and career
Edwin Washington Edwards was born in rural Avoyelles Parish, near Marksville. His father, Clarence Edwards, was a half-French Creole Presbyterian sharecropper, while his mother, the former Agnès Brouillette, was a French-speaking Roman Catholic. Edwards' ancestors were among early Louisiana colonists from France who eventually settled in Avoyelles Parish, referred to as the original French Creoles. Edwards, like many 20th century politicians from Avoyelles, assumed that he had Cajun ancestry, when in fact he may have had none. His father was descended from a family in Kentucky, who came to Louisiana during the American Civil War. His great-great-grandfather, William Edwards, was killed in Marksville at the beginning of the American Civil War because of his pro-Union sentiment.
Avoyelles Parish has been known for colorful politicians; another who stood out, F.O. "Potch" Didier, actually spent seven days in his own jail after being convicted of malfeasance in office during his own heated reelection.
The young Edwards had planned on a career as a preacher. As a young man, he did some preaching for the Marksville Church of the Nazarene. He served briefly in the U.S. Navy Air Corps near the end of World War II. After his return from the military, he graduated at the age of twenty-one from Louisiana State University Law Center and began practicing law in Crowley, the seat of Acadia Parish. He relocated there in 1949 after his sister, Audrey E. Isbell, who had moved there with her husband, told him there were few French-speaking attorneys in the southwestern Louisiana community.
Edwards' career was thus helped by his being bilingual and articulate in both English and Cajun French. He learned to cultivate the goodwill of the media, working reporters and editorial page editors. One of his favorites was Adras LaBorde, the longtime managing editor of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk in Alexandria. LaBorde even influenced Edwards in regard to environmental policy.
Edwards entered politics through election to the Crowley City Council in 1954. He was a member of the Democratic Party which, in that era, had a monopoly on public offices in Louisiana, but which fell out of favor in the late 20th century. Edwards remained on the Crowley council until his election to the Louisiana State Senate in 1964; in that race he defeated, in a major political upset in the Democratic primary, the incumbent Bill Cleveland, a Crowley businessman who had served for twenty years in both houses of the Louisiana legislature. Years later as governor, Edwards appointed Cleveland's daughter, Willie Mae Fulkerson (1924–2009), a former member of the Crowley City Council, to the Louisiana Board of Prisons.
After serving in the state Senate for less than two years as a floor leader for Governor John McKeithen, Edwards was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 7th congressional district, a position that he held from 1965 until 1972. He won the congressional seat in a special election called when the incumbent, T. Ashton Thompson of Ville Platte, was killed in an automobile accident near Gastonia, North Carolina. Edwards was easily reelected to three full terms in the House in 1966, 1968, and 1970.
In 1968, he defeated Republican Vance William Plauché (1924–2013) of Lake Charles, son of former one-term Democratic Congressman Vance Gabriel Plauché, who was also a native of Avoyelles Parish. Edwards received more than 80 percent of the general election vote. While in Congress, Edwards served on the Public Works, Judiciary, and Internal Security committees. In 1970, he was one of the few Southern congressmen to support the extension for five years of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
1971–1972 campaign for governor
In the election of 1971–1972, Edwards won the governorship after finishing first in a field of seventeen candidates in the Democratic primary, including the final race of former governor Jimmie Davis and Gillis Long, a relative of Huey Long. His greatest support came from southern Louisiana, particularly among its large numbers of Cajun, Creole, and African-American voters. In the first primary, Edwards led with 276,397 (23.8 percent). J. Bennett Johnston Jr., a state senator from Shreveport, followed with 208,830 (17.8 percent). In third place was former Congressman Gillis Long of Alexandria, with 164,276 (14 percent). Former Governor Jimmie Davis finished fourth with 138,756 (11.8 percent). Far to the rear of the pack was Congressman Speedy O. Long of Jena of rural La Salle Parish with only 61,359 (5.2 percent).
Both Edwards and Johnston ran on reform-oriented platforms during the primary, but Edwards was more adept at making political deals and building alliances for the runoff round of voting. Edwards said that the major philosophical difference that he held with Johnston was in regard to their "awareness of problems of the poor". Johnston won the endorsement of Edwards' legislative colleague, Joe D. Waggonner of Bossier Parish, but the Shreveport state senator declined to accept Edwards' offer of a televised debate between the two.
Edwards defeated Johnston in the runoff, 584,262 (50.2 percent) to 579,774 (49.8 percent),
In a less than one vote per precinct outcome. The victory showed that south Louisiana was eclipsing the north in both population and in future political domination of the state.
On election night, Edwards gave public credit to the African American New Orleans political organization SOUL for his extremely narrow victory, stating that the 12,000 vote lead SOUL had bought him in New Orleans had put him over the top. Such public recognition of black political power by a Democratic governor of Louisiana was unprecedented.
In the general election held on February 1, 1972, Edwards faced Republican gubernatorial nominee David C. Treen, then of Metairie. He did not run as the candidate who would continue the Democratic policies of his predecessor, John McKeithen, for whom Edwards had been a state senate floor leader. Instead he derided McKeithen as a "lame duck governor who doesn't want the new administration to do well. It'll make him look bad", considering a $30 million budget shortfall facing the next governor. Throughout the campaign, Edwards repeatedly insisted that Treen had no chance of victory. He said the climate was not right for a Republican governor in Louisiana. He ridiculed Treen as having "never held a public office. He has run for office four times and has been defeated all four times. He can't even generate enough enthusiasm in his home district (Jefferson Parish), where he is best known." He accused Treen of having adopted Edwards' own reform platform characterized as the "Era of Excellence".
Though Treen ran a vigorous campaign, Louisiana's Democratic tradition favored Edwards from the start, as Edwards had predicted. Edwards polled 641,146 (57.2 percent) to Treen's 480,424 (42.8 percent). Edwards also overcame the south Louisiana "jinx" that had doomed former New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison Sr., in his three gubernatorial bids. Edwards picked up the enthusiastic backing of his runoff rival, J. Bennett Johnston, later a U.S. senator.
Bill Dodd, who was defeated for state superintendent of education in the same election cycle that Edwards was winning the governorship in for the first time, attributed the Edwards victory in part to political kingmaker Louis J. Roussel Jr., of New Orleans. According to Dodd, Roussel "can do more than any other individual in Louisiana to elect any candidate he supports for any office in this state. ... He is such a good administrator and motivator that he can put together an organization that will win in business and in politics."
First two terms as governor, 1972–1980
Both in his political rhetoric and in his public persona, Edwards cast himself as a Louisiana populist in the tradition of Huey P. Long and Earl K. Long. He was inaugurated as governor on May 9. One of his first acts was to call for a constitutional convention to overhaul Louisiana's bulky charter. Many of the sections on state government were written by delegate Robert G. Pugh, a prominent Shreveport attorney, who became an advisor to Edwards and two other governors thereafter. Voters approved the new constitution by a three-to-two margin in 1974, and government reorganization resulted. For the first time Louisiana operated with a "cabinet style" executive department in lieu of the hundreds of boards and commissions that had existed for decades, each its own fiefdom.
During his first two terms in office, Edwards developed a reputation for being one of the most colorful and flamboyant politicians in the history of a state known for its unorthodox political figures. Charismatic, well-dressed, and quick with clever one-liners and retorts, Edwards maintained wide popularity.
On taking office, Edwards hired J. Kelly Nix as his executive assistant and in 1974 elevated him to first executive assistant. In the second term, however, Nix left the administration to take office as the Louisiana state school superintendent. Dale Thorn, who had been Edwards' press secretary while he was in Congress, continued in that position for the first and most of the second Edwards terms. He was later associate commissioner of higher education for the Louisiana Board of Regents, and an LSU journalism professor.
Edwards also depended heavily on state Senator Sixty Rayburn of Bogalusa, whose 44-year service earned him the sobriquet as "Dean of the Louisiana Senate". He also rewarded political friends, such as former legislative colleague Fred L. Schiele, whom he appointed in 1973 to succeed the embattled Noah W. Cross as sheriff of Concordia Parish in eastern Louisiana.
Under Edwards, Michael H. O'Keefe of New Orleans in 1976 was named president of the state Senate, an office that was held by the lieutenant governor prior to the implementation of the state Constitution of 1974. In 1983, as Edwards prepared to return to office, O'Keefe was engulfed in scandal and forced to leave the Senate. He was as replaced by the Edwards loyalist, Samuel B. Nunez Jr., of Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish. In 2013, O'Keefe was still serving time in prison for a 1999 conviction.
Policies and achievements
After enduring three grueling rounds of voting in the 1971–1972 campaign, Edwards pushed a bill through the legislature that limited state elections to two rounds by having Democratic, Republican, and independent candidates run together on the same ballot in a nonpartisan blanket primary. Though the jungle primary system was intended to benefit Edwards' own political career, many observers cite it as being a major factor in the eventual rise of the state's Republican Party and the creation of a genuinely competitive two-party system. For this, Edwards was facetiously christened "father of Louisiana's Republican Party".
William Denis Brown, III, a lawyer and a state senator from Monroe, was Edwards's floor leader in the upper legislative chamber in the first term as governor. A native of Vicksburg, Mississippi reared on a plantation north of Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish, Brown was instrumental in drafting the Louisiana Mineral Code. Thereafter from 1980 to 1988, Brown was the chairman of the Louisiana Board of Ethics.
Early in the first gubernatorial term, Edwards initiated the creation of the first new Louisiana state constitution in more than a half century. He intended to replace the Constitution of 1921, an unwieldy and outmoded document burdened with hundreds of amendments. A constitutional convention was held in 1973; the resulting document was put into effect in 1975. , the 1973 Constitution remains in effect. Edwards also undertook a major reorganization of the state government, abolishing over 80 state agencies and modeling the remaining structure after that of the federal government.
In his first year in office, Edwards appointed his wife Elaine Edwards, also a native of Avoyelles Parish, to complete the Senate term of the deceased Allen J. Ellender. Mrs. Edwards served from August 1972 until that November, and during that time, the small town of Crowley boasted the governor, a U.S. Senator, and a U.S. Representative (former Edwards aide John Breaux), who all lived within a few blocks of each other.
An outspoken supporter of civil rights, Edwards appointed more black people and women to high positions in his administration than had his predecessors.
Edwards named State Representative J. Burton Angelle of Breaux Bridge as his director of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, a key appointment which Angelle filled for Edwards' first three terms of office.
Edwards' tenure in the 1970s coincided with a huge boom in the state's oil and gas industry after the gas pricing crisis of 1973. Edwards was able to greatly expand the state's oil revenues by basing severance taxes on a percentage of the price of each barrel rather than the former flat rate. This oil money fueled a massive increase in state spending (a 163% increase between 1972 and 1980), and Edwards was able to consistently balance the state budget due to the boom in oil revenue. Much of this increased spending went toward health and human services programs and increased funding for vocational-technical schools and higher education.
Edwards easily won reelection in 1975, with 750,107 votes (62.3 percent). In second place was Democratic State Senator Robert G. "Bob" Jones of Lake Charles, son of former Governor Sam Houston Jones, with 292,220 (24.3 percent). Secretary of State Wade O. Martin Jr., ran third with 146,363 (12.2 percent). Thereafter, Jones and Martin became Republicans. Addison Roswell Thompson, the perennial segregationist candidate from New Orleans, made his last race for governor in the 1975 primary.
Early scandals
Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemerfather of future governor Buddy Roemer – was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case.
During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but the Edwards administration attacked Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife.
In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was a U.S. representative. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was "super moralistic" for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings. The scandal also engulfed Edwards's former congressional colleague Otto Passman of Monroe, who was later acquitted of all charges in the case, but nonetheless was defeated in his 1976 re-election bid by Jerry Huckaby of Ringgold.
First political comeback: Edwards vs. Treen, 1983
Barred by the state constitution from seeking a third term immediately after his second, Edwards temporarily left politics in 1980 but made it clear he would run again for governor in 1983. He began raising money and touring the state long before the 1983 election, maintaining what supporters called "the government in waiting". Early in 1982, Edwards said that he was so committed to running again for governor that "only death alone can separate me from this. ... We are being led by a governor whose only answer to unemployment is to buy a $350,000 jet."
In 1979, Republican David Treen was narrowly elected governor on a pledge of good government reform. Edwards had supported Treen's opponent, Democratic Public Service Commissioner Louis Lambert of Ascension Parish. As widely expected, Edwards in 1983 defeated Treen's re-election attempt. The election offered a clear contrast between the flamboyant, charismatic Edwards and the low-key, policy-oriented Treen. While Treen focused on Edward's reputation for corruption and dishonesty, Edwards sought to portray Treen as incompetent and unresponsive to the public. Treen said of Edwards: "It's difficult for me to understand his popularity", which indicated in the eyes of many that he did not fully comprehend Louisiana politics. The two major candidates spent over $18 million between them; the election became renowned as one of the most expensive campaigns ever conducted in a state the size of Louisiana. John Maginnis' 1984 book, The Last Hayride, chronicles this colorful but lopsided campaign.
Treen's commissioner of administration, former legislator E. L. "Bubba" Henry, told the Democratic State Central Committee that Edwards had created a "smoke screen ... to divert attention from his own 'sweetheart deals' for his political friends", a reference to controversy which arose in the financing of a new baseball stadium for the University of Louisiana at Monroe (then known as Northeast Louisiana University).
Before election day, Edwards joked with reporters: "The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy." Edwards zinged Treen many times, once describing Treen as "so slow it takes him an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes." During a gubernatorial debate in 1983, Treen asked Edwards, "How come you talk out of both sides of your mouth?" Edwards instantly responded, "So people like you with only half a brain can understand me."
Then Shreveport Journal editor Stanley R. Tiner reported after the campaign of 1983 that Edwards does not believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and does not personally expect to go to heaven. There was an uproar in conservative religious circles, but the comments did not stop Edwards from finishing his term or winning a fourth election eight years later.
Edwards' brother, Marion David Edwards (1928–2013), was part of the 1983 campaign and of the entourage that headed to France and Belgium early in 1984 to raise money to repay a lingering $4.2 million campaign debt. Six hundred supporters joined the Edwardses on an eight-day tour that included dinner at Versailles and gambling in Monte Carlo. Each paid $10,000. Edwards expected a 70 percent profit on the contributors' tickets to retire the debt. Bumper stickers were printed in blue and gold campaign colors and distributed to those who contributed to the retirement of this debt. For years afterwards, motorists saw stickers on vehicles bearing the slogan, "I did Paris with the Gov." Attendees ranged from Sheriff Don Hathaway of Caddo Parish to the Lafayette artist George Rodrigue, known at the time for his oak tree symbol, later replaced by the widely recognized blue dog.
Third term as governor, 1984–1988
State finances nosedived during the third Edwards administration. Money from petroleum severance taxes decreased sharply in the middle 1980s because of plummeting oil prices. In 1984, Edwards attempted to deal with the erosion of state revenue by approving $730 million—Edwards had requested $1.1 billion—in new personal taxes, including a 1 percentage point increase in the state sales tax, $61 million in higher corporate income taxes, and $190 million in additional gasoline taxes. The legislature, overwhelmingly dominated by lawmakers beholden to Edwards, passed these taxes into law, but the taxes were highly unpopular and damaged Edwards' level of public support. Republican State Representative Terry W. Gee of New Orleans said at the time, "Nobody realized the magnitude of what's going on; I've had 180 phone calls in two days against the higher taxes."
Much of Edwards' support in the 1970s had been fueled by high levels of social spending during times of economic prosperity; with economic conditions worsening, his popularity waned. To obtain passage of the higher taxes, Edwards first submitted Treen's 1984–1985 proposed budget as a warning to lawmakers. The Treen budget, he claimed, would cut state spending too drastically and cause roads to fall apart, bridges to collapse, and insurance premiums to skyrocket. Edwards predicted that if lawmakers passed Treen's budget instead of the higher taxes the voters would rebel and blame the legislature itself for the results. In the end, Edwards got most of what he wanted and was able to use the excuse of teacher pay increases to put pressure on lawmakers.
John Volz indictment and trials
In February 1985, soon after his third term began, Edwards was forced to stand trial on charges of mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and bribery, brought by U.S. Attorney John Volz. The charges were centered around an alleged scheme in which Edwards and his associates received almost $2 million in exchange for granting preferential treatment to companies dealing with state hospitals. Edwards proclaimed his innocence and insisted that the charges were politically motivated by Volz and the Republican Party. The first trial resulted in a mistrial in December 1985, while a second trial in 1986 resulted in an acquittal. After Edwards and his four co-defendants were acquitted, the hotel where the jurors had been sequestered revealed that half of the jurors had stolen towels as they left. Edwards quipped that he had been judged by a "jury of my peers".
Russell B. Long had correctly predicted in March 1985 that Edwards would indeed be acquitted by a Louisiana jury and that the ensuing trial would not disrupt state government. When Long announced his retirement from the U.S. Senate seat that he had held since 1948, he indicated his preference for Edwards as his senatorial successor but added, correctly, that he did not think Edwards would enter the 1986 Senate election.
Prosecutors referred to Marion Edwards, also indicted in the alleged health care scheme, as a "bag man" for his brother. Marion ridiculed this characterization at a French Quarter bar in New Orleans, when media representatives were present. He placed a shopping bag on his head to resemble a crown and tossed about phony $100 bills.
Edwards later recited during a toast at a French Quarter bar, though his beverage was non-alcoholic as he was a teetotaler, a rhyming invitation for Volz to "kiss my ass". The trials were rather lengthy, and at one point during the first trial but before the mistrial Edwards rode to the Hale Boggs U.S. Courthouse on a mule from his hotel. When asked by reporters why he did so, he replied something to the effect that it was symbolic of the speed and intellect of the federal judicial system, but also that he supported "tradition". Marion Edwards, an attorney, often wore a pinstripe suit with a top hat and cane and held comedic press briefings at the end of each court session on the steps of the courthouse. Marion Edwards mocked the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Volz, and United States Judge Marcel Livaudais, who presided over the trials.
Even after beating the Volz indictment, Edwin Edwards' popularity was in decline. Despite his acquittal, the trial brought many sordid details of Edwards's conduct under public scrutiny. It was revealed that during frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas, Edwards lost hundreds of thousands of dollars under aliases such as T. Wong and E. Lee, later paying these gambling debts using suitcases stuffed with cash of unknown origin.
After the trial, Edwards' support for the legalization of gambling as a solution to the state's severe revenue shortages contributed to a further decline in his popularity. He had made unpopular budget cuts to education and other social programs earlier in his term. Beginning in January 1986, he argued that legalizing casino gambling in up to fifteen locations and creating a state lottery would be a way to restore the programs, but the state legislature rejected his gambling proposals. Entering a tough re-election campaign in 1987, Edwards seemed vulnerable. Going into the election, his disapproval ratings ranged from 52 to 71 percent.
At first Edwards had predicted that a casino and a state lottery would net the state $600 million; then he lowered the expectations to $150 million. Both gambling measures would eventually be implemented, but not during Edwards' third term.
Defeat: Edwards vs. Roemer, 1987
Several notable candidates lined up to face Edwards in the 1987 gubernatorial election. Perhaps his strongest early challenger was Republican Congressman Bob Livingston. Also in the race were Billy Tauzin, a then-Democratic Cajun congressman from Thibodaux who was a strong Edwards supporter while serving in the state legislature from 1972 to 1980; Democratic Secretary of State Jim Brown of Ferriday, and a Democratic congressman from Bossier City, Buddy Roemer, the son of former Commissioner of Administration Charles Roemer, who climbed up from a series of low poll rankings early in the campaign.
Louis J. Roussel Jr., the businessman from New Orleans who began his career as a bus driver, contributed $600,000 to Edwards in the losing race in 1987. Roussel had been a large donor to Bill Dodd, whose son, William Ford Dodd, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the same 1987 primary election.
"Anyone But Edwards"
Edwards was the issue of the campaign. Because of his name recognition, his resilient supporters, and unmatched political skill, even a weakened Edwards could safely assume he would win a place in Louisiana's unique primary election system runoff. The question was whether his opponent in the runoff would be someone who could beat him.
There was a prevailing sense in the race that Edwards needed Livingston in the runoff. Livingston was a Republican in a state that had at that point elected only one Republican governor since Reconstruction. And Livingston was widely perceived as lacking in charisma and personality, which would work to Edwards's advantage. Any other opponent, a moderate Democrat without the ethical problems, would be dangerous. To that end, Edwards talked up Livingston. Perhaps the key moment in the 1987 race came at a forum between the candidates. As usual, the main topic of discussion was Edwin Edwards. His challengers were asked, in succession, if they would consider endorsing Edwards in the general election if they did not make it to the runoff. The candidates hedged, particularly Secretary of State Brown, a reliable Edwards supporter in the state Senate who in his 1979 election drew many of the same voters who supported fellow Democrat Louis Lambert in his failed gubernatorial bid in the same general election vs. Treen. The last candidate to speak was Buddy Roemer: "No, we've got to slay the dragon. I would endorse anyone but Edwards." The next day, as political commentator John Maginnis put it, Jim Brown was explaining his statement while Buddy Roemer was ordering "Slay the Dragon" buttons. Boosted by his endorsement as the 'good government candidate' by nearly every newspaper in the state, Roemer stormed from last place in the polls and on election night, overtook Edwin Edwards and placed first in the primary election, with 33 percent of the vote compared with Edwards' 28 percent. This marked the first time Edwin Edwards ever finished other than in first place in an election.
In what seemed to be the end of Edwards' political career, the governor withdrew from the contest in his concession speech, automatically electing Buddy Roemer governor. In fact, he was cleverly setting a trap for Roemer. By withdrawing, Edwards denied Roemer the opportunity to build a governing coalition in the general election race, and denied him the decisive majority victory that he surely would have attained. In one stroke, Edwards made Buddy Roemer a minority governor. Also, Edwards virtually ceded control of the state to Roemer even before his inauguration. By doing so, he passed on the burden of the state's problems to the new governor, who was essentially under the gun even before assuming office. For four years, Roemer struggled to be a reform governor of Louisiana as so many had before him. And although virtually no one realized it at the time, Edwin Edwards quietly waited in the wings for a return to power.
Second comeback: Edwards vs. Duke, 1991
As the 1991 governor's race drew near, many of Edwards' friends encouraged him to abandon his planned comeback, believing that he had no chance to win. After Edwards' loss in 1987, Lanny Keller, a journalist for the defunct Shreveport Journal wrote that the only way Edwin Edwards could ever be elected again was to run against Adolf Hitler. These words turned out to be shockingly prophetic, since after the 1991 primary Edwards discovered his runoff opponent to be former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke. Edwards received 34 percent of the vote while Duke received 32 percent. Governor Roemer placed third, 80,000 votes behind Duke.
The runoff between an avowed white supremacist and a former governor who was corrupt but was also perceived as minority-friendly, gained national attention. Support for Edwards grew in between the primary and the runoff. Louisiana Coalition against Racism and Nazism, an interest group, appeared on the landscape to challenge Duke, with its leadership including longtime Treen supporter Beth Rickey, a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee from New Orleans. The coalition revealed through a recording of Duke at a White Nationalist conference that he was still involved in Ku Klux Klan activities.
Faced with the alternative of Duke, many who were otherwise lukewarm for Edwards found him looking ever better. Edwards found himself receiving endorsements from Treen and Roemer; even Republican President George H. W. Bush urged that Edwards, the Democrat, be elected over Duke. A popular bumper sticker urging support for Edwards (although clearly not produced by his campaign) read "Vote For the Crook. It's Important." Another read "Vote for the Lizard, not the Wizard." Edwards said that this would be his final term as governor and that he cared about leaving a good legacy, which made many hope that the corruption of his previous administrations would not be repeated. Edwards won by a wide margin. Continuing his artful use of humor to deflate an opponent, and referring to his considerable reputation as a ladies' man, Edwards said of Duke that "the only thing we have in common is that we both have been wizards beneath the sheets." He also feigned concern for Duke's health due to smoke inhalation "because he's around so many burning crosses" and when a reporter asked Edwards what he needed to do to triumph over Duke, Edwards replied "stay alive". On election day, Edwards defeated Duke in a landslide, 61 to 39 percent, a margin of nearly 400,000 votes.
Fourth term as governor, 1992–1996
In his last term, Edwards asked his boyhood friend, Raymond Laborde, to leave the state House after twenty years to serve as commissioner of administration. Laborde, who had once defeated Edwards for class president at Marksville High School and had earlier been his legislative floor leader, agreed to join the administration. He invited former state Representative Kevin P. Reilly Sr., of Baton Rouge, former CEO of Lamar Advertising Company to serve as secretary of economic development. Reilly had been removed in 1986 as chairman of the Louisiana House Appropriations Committee after having criticized Edwards.
In 1992, Edwards appointed the professional penologist, Richard Stalder, as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections, a position that used to be given to political supporters. Stalder remained secretary until 2008, serving during three subsequent gubernatorial terms in the position.
During his previous term as Governor, Edwards promoted casino gambling in Louisiana, which had been a major part of his platform in the 1991 campaign. In June 1992, his heavy lobbying led the state legislature to pass a bill calling for a single large land-based casino in New Orleans. He also appointed a board that, at his private direction, awarded 15 floating riverboat casinos that had been authorized by the Legislature and the Roemer administration. He appointed a political ally, Paul Fontenot, to head the State Police; he would oversee the licensing and investigation of casino operators. On another front he again demonstrated his broad commitment to civil rights by becoming the first Southern governor to issue an executive order protecting lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons from discrimination in state governmental services, employment, and contracts.
Despite the discovery that some licensees had links to organized crime or other unsavory ties, Edwards blocked the revocation of their licenses. But a political backlash against gambling-related corruption began. Though he had originally planned to run for re-election in 1995, he announced in June 1994, shortly after marrying his second wife Candy Picou, that he would be retiring from politics at the end of his term. Edwards was succeeded as governor by State Senator Murphy J. Foster Jr., who ran as an opponent of gambling interests. Edwards retired to a newly purchased home in Baton Rouge, intent on returning to a private law practice and living out his remaining days in contentment with his young wife, Candy (born 1964).
Ron Gomez, whose second term in the legislature corresponded with Edwards' third term as governor, describes Edwards, accordingly:
"Somehow, his brashness and arrogance over the years, traits that would have destroyed the average politician, have only seemed to endear him to his core constituency: minorities, organized labor, Cajuns and lower-income voters. It is exactly those groups who suffered the most over the quarter of a century he was in and out of the governor's office. Except for some black leaders who attached themselves to his entourage and gained political clout and monetary rewards through favors and appointments, the minority population as a whole has made very little progress culturally, educationally or socially because of his leadership."
Gomez continued:
Organized labor, once a powerful force in the state, has fallen to its lowest membership in history. And, overall, when he finally left office in 1996, the state was near the bottom in teacher pay and college and university funding (among other things). It was also near the top in high school dropouts, teen pregnancies, welfare recipients, prison population, and virtually every other negative category.
Indictment and conviction
Former Congressman Cleo Fields achieved considerable notoriety in 1997 when an FBI surveillance videotape showed him accepting a large amount of cash (about $20,000) from Edwards and stuffing it in his pockets. At the time Fields stated that the incident was just an innocent business transaction between friends, and said there was a humorous explanation, which he would make public shortly thereafter. A cloud hung over Fields as an unindicted co-conspirator in Edwards' criminal trial and in the end Fields refused to deliver the promised "humorous" explanation, stating that at the time of the cash transfer, he was not an elected official, and therefore under no obligation to explain publicly.
After being fingered by Texas for-profit prison entrepreneur Patrick Graham, who allegedly gave him $845,000 in conjunction with a scheme to locate a private juvenile prison in Jena in La Salle Parish, Edwards was indicted in 1998 by the federal government with the prosecution led by U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan. The prosecution soon released transcripts of audio conversations, and excerpts of video surveillance that seemed to indicate dubious financial transactions. The Edwards investigation also resulted in the conviction of San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., who admitted to paying Edwards a $400,000 bribe (DeBartolo was convicted for not reporting the extortion) in exchange for Edwards's assistance in securing a riverboat casino license.
Edwards was found guilty on seventeen of twenty-six counts, including racketeering, extortion, money laundering, mail fraud, and wire fraud; his son Stephen was convicted on 18 counts. "I did not do anything wrong as a governor, even if you accept the verdict as it is, it doesn't indicate that", Edwards told the press after his conviction. On his way to prison he said, "I will be a model prisoner, as I have been a model citizen". From 2002 to 2004 Edwin Edwards was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
Edwards' sometime co-conspirator, Cecil Brown, a Eunice cattleman, was convicted for his part in the payoffs in 2002.
In 2004, Edwards filed for divorce from his second wife Candy, saying that Mrs. Edwards had "suffered enough" during his incarceration. In June 2005, the former Mrs. Edwards was arrested for threatening a police officer at a traffic stop in Port Barre, screaming "don't you know who I am?"
In 2005, Edwards was moved to the Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale in Allen Parish, where he served his sentence as inmate #03128-095. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, he was scheduled to be released on July 6, 2011. In prison, he served as the facility's librarian: "I did what I could for my fellow inmates. I helped a number of them get their GEDs and I was helping several more when my term expired. Now, I have to be honest; I didn't stick around to see if they succeeded..."
Two men whom Edwards defeated in Louisiana elections—David C. Treen and J. Bennett Johnston Jr.—and a third who was his protégé and successor in the Seventh District U.S. House seat, U.S. Senator John Breaux, confirmed in July 2007 that they intended to approach then U.S. President George W. Bush to seek a pardon or commutation for Edwards, who celebrated his 80th birthday in prison in August 2007. Bush denied a pardon for Edwards before he left the presidency on January 20, 2009.
Edwards supporters also lobbied U.S. President Barack Obama for a pardon for Edwards so he might run in the 2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election. Obama did not reply to petitions by supporters of Edwards and lacking a pardon, Edwards remained ineligible to seek the governorship of Louisiana until the end of his life and would have only been eligible to run after fifteen years would have passed from the end of his sentence.
In 2009, Edwards was listed as an "honorary pallbearer" at the funeral of perennial political candidate L. D. Knox of Winnsboro, who in the 1979 gubernatorial contest, when Edwards was not on the ballot, legally changed his name to "None of the Above" Knox to dramatize his support for the "None of the Above" option in elections.
On January 13, 2011, Edwards was released from prison and served the remainder of his sentence at a halfway house. His sentence ended on July 6, 2011 and he began three years of probation. He entered into home confinement at his daughter's Denham Springs, Louisiana home through the supervision of a halfway house, on January 13, 2011. Following that, Edwards was placed on probation. On February 7, 2013, Edwards was granted early release from probation due to good behavior. His wife Trina made the announcement on her Facebook page.
In a poll taken in October 2011, months after he had been released from prison, 30 percent of respondents named Edwards the state's best governor since 1980.
2014 Congressional election
In February 2014, Edwards announced that he was contemplating running in the 2014 election to represent the Louisiana's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is centered on the state capital of Baton Rouge. With U.S. Representative Bill Cassidy exiting the seat to run for the Senate, Edwards said of the solidly Republican district: "I'm the only hope the Democrats have here." He formally declared his candidacy at a March 17 meeting of the Press Club of Baton Rouge, saying, "I want you to know, I'm going to give it every effort." If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, a runoff would be held on December 6, 2014, between the top two candidates. Two other Democrats, a Libertarian and nine Republicans, most notably Garret Graves, a former aide to Governor Bobby Jindal, State Senator Dan Claitor, businessman Paul Dietzel, II, and State Representative Lenar Whitney, also sought the seat.
After Edwards' announcement, Cassidy told KEEL radio news in Shreveport that he doubted that Edwards "has a chance. It's a conservative district, and he's obviously not a conservative. But it kind of shows, I think, to a certain extent that the Democratic bench is weak." Louisiana political writer John Maginnis said that Edwards was "likely to make the runoff" because of his name recognition, but "I don't see how he could win in a strong GOP-performance district like the 6th. But it should be entertaining." State pollster Elliott Stonecipher said that "the most basic math of the Edwards race yields an 'it is not impossible' answer" and former Governor Buddy Roemer said that while it is unlikely, "yes, [Edwards] can win".
An April 2014 article in Politico that discussed his chances noted that he was "still sharp as a razor" and "in remarkably vigorous health". He pronounced himself "disappointed" with President Obama for "sitting" on the Keystone Pipeline and listed his campaign priorities as "Building support for a high-speed rail system between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and emphasizing the good aspects of Obamacare, while doing what I can to change or amend the provisions that I think are onerous." He said that he would have voted against the Affordable Care Act, but criticized Governor Jindal for not accepting the Medicaid expansion. If elected, he hoped to serve on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to spur the construction of elevated roadways in the state.
A September 2014 survey of statewide Louisiana voters by Public Policy Polling found that 40% had a favourable opinion of Edwards, 44% did not and 17% were unsure. Asked whether they would rather have Edwards as governor than incumbent Republican governor Bobby Jindal, 47% said they would prefer Edwards, 43% preferred Jindal and 10% were not sure.
Edwards finished first in every poll taken of the race, though only with a plurality. Runoff polls showed him losing to all of his Republican opponents. An article in The Times-Picayune in late October 2014 noted that he had run a vigorous, serious campaign and noted that, as previously, analysts were split on whether he could actually win. David Wasserman of The Cook Political Report said that for Edwards, "mathematically, victory is something close to impossibility." Conversely, a spokesman for Republican opponent Lenar Whitney and political analyst Michael Beychok both said that he had a chance to win and Republican candidate Garret Graves said "There's no one alive anymore in this state that has the experience or, quite frankly, the tactics (of) Edwin Edwards." Edwards was expected to make the runoff, with his chances dependent on which Republican joins him, with several analysts saying that Edwards' best chance would come if Whitney, the most conservative Republican running, does so. Edwards' strategy was to appeal to black and Cajun voters and conservative Democrats, also campaigning on college campuses to appeal to younger voters. Columnist Bob Mann predicted that if Edwards made the runoff, the media would decry Louisiana voters' toleration for corruption when, "in truth (Edwards) never really had a chance to win."
As expected, Edwards as the principal Democratic candidate led the 2014 primary field for Congress with 77,862 votes (30.1 percent), winning every parish in the district. He then faced the Republican runner-up, Garret Graves, in the December 6 runoff election. Graves had received 70,706 "jungle primary" votes (27.4 percent). Losing Republican candidates were Paul Dietzel II, with 35,013 votes (13.6 percent), state Senator Dan Claitor with 26,520 (10.3 percent), and state Representative Lenar Whitney with 19,146 votes (7.4 percent). Edwards lost to Graves by a 62–38 percent margin in the runoff. It was only the second loss of his political career.
Edwards' record of longevity
Edwards has the seventh longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,784 days. Few governors have served four four-year terms. Edwards followed George Wallace of Alabama, Jim Hunt of North Carolina, Bill Janklow of South Dakota, Terry Branstad of Iowa, Lewis Cass of Michigan, and Jim Rhodes of Ohio as 16-year governors. However, Branstad was elected to a fifth nonconsecutive term as governor of Iowa in 2010, placing him second to George Clinton of New York (21 years) as the longest-serving governor in U.S. history, and won a sixth term as governor in 2014. In December 2015 Branstad surpassed New York's George Clinton as the longest-tenured governor in American history, with 8,169 days in office.
Veteran journalist Iris Kelso once described Edwards as clearly "the most interesting" of the six governors that she had covered while working for three newspapers and WDSU, the NBC television affiliate in New Orleans. Kelso declared Edwards more colorful than Earl Long, whom she covered for less than a year in the office.
Personal life
Marriages and family
In 1949, Edwards married Elaine Schwartzenburg, whom he had met at Marksville High School. The couple had four children: Anna, Victoria, Stephen, and David. In 1972, Edwards appointed her as an interim U.S. senator to complete the unfinished term of Allen J. Ellender of Houma, who died while campaigning for his seventh term in office. On July 1, 1989, the couple divorced after forty years of marriage. They had begun living apart on March 15, 1989.
In 1994, Edwards married Candy Picou (born 1964). In 1997, the couple entered the headlines when they attempted to have a child. Edwards had a vasectomy reversal, and the couple froze sperm to attempt to have a baby but were not successful. While in prison, Edwin Edwards filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2004.
In July 2011, Edwards married Trina Grimes, his prison pen pal. They began corresponding while he was serving his sentence for corruption. At the time of the wedding, he was 83, and she was 32. On August 1, 2013, Grimes gave birth to their child, Eli Wallace Edwards. In 2013, Edwards and Trina co-starred in an A&E reality show, The Governor's Wife based on their life together.
Extended family
One of Edwards's brothers, Nolan Edwards, a former assistant district attorney in Acadia Parish, was murdered in Crowley by an irate client in 1983, the same year that Edwards was engineering his comeback bid for a third term as governor. Nolan's killer, Rodney Wingate Jr., of Church Point, Louisiana, then killed himself. Wingate had been pardoned by Governor Edwards in 1980 for two drug convictions in the 1970s, a pardon procured through the intervention of Nolan Edwards. Nolan's murder halted the 1983 politicking. Newspapers carried a photograph of brothers Edwin and Marion locked in an embrace on an airport tarmac.
Marion Edwards, an insurance agent and political consultant, was a cancer survivor and counseled other patients for many years. Born on July 10, 1928, in Marksville, he died on January 12, 2013, at the age of eighty-four at his home in Broussard near Lafayette, Louisiana. The cause of death was not released. The Marion D. Edwards Fellowship in Hepatic Oncology at the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston, Texas, is named in his honor. Marion Edwards, who was Nazarene, was survived by his second wife, the former Deborah "Penny" Meaux, and three daughters from his first marriage to Aline Luther Edwards: Wanda Edwards, Elizabeth Kersten, and Donna Edwards.
Another brother, Allen Edwards, the longtime owner of a farm and heavy equipment company in Quitman in northern Arkansas, died in 2009, while Edwards was in prison. Edwards did not attend the funeral because of security difficulties.
Edwards was an uncle by marriage to former U.S. Representative Charles Boustany, a Republican from Lafayette, whose district includes much of the territory represented from 1965 to 1972 by then-U.S. Representative Edwin Edwards. Boustany's wife is the former Bridget Edwards, a daughter of Nolan Edwards.
Third wife and reality television show
On July 29, 2011, Edwards married Trina Grimes Scott (born August 1978) from Baton Rouge, at the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans. Edwards' one-time prison pen pal, she was fifty-one years his junior and was born midway in his second term as governor. She is a Republican.
Edwin and Trina Edwards were the subjects of the reality show The Governor's Wife, which premiered October 27, 2013, on the Arts & Entertainment Network. The program focused on Trina's rearing of teenaged sons and acting as stepmother to Edwards' daughters who are almost twice her age. According to the A&E description of the program: "Between school projects, running for president of the Homeowner's Association, fending off skeptics who think she's a gold digger, and thoughts of adding a baby of their own to the mix, the Edwards clan truly represents a new take on the modern family." The couple announced February 15, 2013 that Trina was pregnant. Trina gave birth to their son, Eli Wallace Edwards, on August 1, 2013.
Health and death
In 2015, Edwards was hospitalized for pneumonia. On December 13, 2016, Edwards was hospitalized under stable condition again for pneumonia in Baton Rouge.
Edwards was rushed to the hospital again by ambulance in November 2020, with shortness of breath. Edwards returned to his home in Gonzales after spending two nights at Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center in Baton Rouge. It was reported that he had a common head cold and he reportedly tested negative for both COVID-19 and pneumonia, as well as the flu. His wife told the media that he was resting well and "giving orders" once he got home.
Edwards was sent to hospice care for pain in his lungs in Gonzales, Louisiana on July 6, 2021. He died six days later on July 12, 26 days short of his 94th birthday. The cause of death was respiratory complications. At the time of his death, Edwards had outlived four of his successors: Dave Treen, Buddy Roemer, Mike Foster, and Kathleen Blanco.
References
Bibliography
State of Louisiana – Biography
Boulard, Garry, "Edwin Edwards: Reflections on a Life", Times of Acadiana, August 15, 2001.
Bridges, Tyler. Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001.
Dawson, Joseph G. The Louisiana Governors: From Iberville to Edwards. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1990.
Honeycutt, Leo. Edwin Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, An Authorized Biography by Leo Honeycutt. Lisburn Press, 2009.
Lemann, Nancy. Ritz of the Bayou. Knopf, 1987.
Maginnis, John. The Last Hayride. Baton Rouge: Gris Gris Press, 1984.
Maginnis, John. Cross to Bear. Baton Rouge: Darkhorse Press, 1992.
Reeves, Miriam G. The Governors of Louisiana. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 1998.
External links
Edwards' greatest quotes
New York magazine profile
Larry King interview
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"August William Edwins (August 12, 1871 – July 2, 1942) was the American founder of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church mission in the Xuchang, Henan, China.\n\nEarly life\n\nAugust William Edwins was born August 12, 1871, in Ogden, Boone Co., Iowa. His parents had emigrated from Sweden in 1868 to Swede Valle... | [
"Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1976, 1976-1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as ... |
[
"Edwin Edwards",
"Early scandals",
"what were edwins early scandals?",
"When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that \"It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive.\""
] | C_e1d668882c39441abf5804d2a7db0abc_0 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 2 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article besides Edwin's scandal? | Edwin Edwards | Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemer - father of future governor Buddy Roemer - was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case. During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but the Edwards administration attacked Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife. In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was a U.S. representative. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was "super moralistic" for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings. The scandal also engulfed Edwards's former congressional colleague Otto Passman of Monroe, who was later acquitted of all charges in the case. CANNOTANSWER | while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. | Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1976, 1976-1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive. He served a total of 16 years in gubernatorial office, at 5,784 days the sixth-longest such tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history.
A colorful, powerful, and legendary figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards, who was dubbed the "very last of the line of New Deal Southern Democrats", was long dogged by charges of corruption. In 2001, he was found guilty of racketeering charges and sentenced to ten years in federal prison. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas, and was later transferred to the federal facility in Oakdale, Louisiana. He was released from federal prison in January 2011, having served eight years.
In 2014, Edwards again sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives, running to represent . He placed first in the jungle primary, but was defeated by Republican Garret Graves by nearly 25 percentage points in the runoff election.
Early life and career
Edwin Washington Edwards was born in rural Avoyelles Parish, near Marksville. His father, Clarence Edwards, was a half-French Creole Presbyterian sharecropper, while his mother, the former Agnès Brouillette, was a French-speaking Roman Catholic. Edwards' ancestors were among early Louisiana colonists from France who eventually settled in Avoyelles Parish, referred to as the original French Creoles. Edwards, like many 20th century politicians from Avoyelles, assumed that he had Cajun ancestry, when in fact he may have had none. His father was descended from a family in Kentucky, who came to Louisiana during the American Civil War. His great-great-grandfather, William Edwards, was killed in Marksville at the beginning of the American Civil War because of his pro-Union sentiment.
Avoyelles Parish has been known for colorful politicians; another who stood out, F.O. "Potch" Didier, actually spent seven days in his own jail after being convicted of malfeasance in office during his own heated reelection.
The young Edwards had planned on a career as a preacher. As a young man, he did some preaching for the Marksville Church of the Nazarene. He served briefly in the U.S. Navy Air Corps near the end of World War II. After his return from the military, he graduated at the age of twenty-one from Louisiana State University Law Center and began practicing law in Crowley, the seat of Acadia Parish. He relocated there in 1949 after his sister, Audrey E. Isbell, who had moved there with her husband, told him there were few French-speaking attorneys in the southwestern Louisiana community.
Edwards' career was thus helped by his being bilingual and articulate in both English and Cajun French. He learned to cultivate the goodwill of the media, working reporters and editorial page editors. One of his favorites was Adras LaBorde, the longtime managing editor of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk in Alexandria. LaBorde even influenced Edwards in regard to environmental policy.
Edwards entered politics through election to the Crowley City Council in 1954. He was a member of the Democratic Party which, in that era, had a monopoly on public offices in Louisiana, but which fell out of favor in the late 20th century. Edwards remained on the Crowley council until his election to the Louisiana State Senate in 1964; in that race he defeated, in a major political upset in the Democratic primary, the incumbent Bill Cleveland, a Crowley businessman who had served for twenty years in both houses of the Louisiana legislature. Years later as governor, Edwards appointed Cleveland's daughter, Willie Mae Fulkerson (1924–2009), a former member of the Crowley City Council, to the Louisiana Board of Prisons.
After serving in the state Senate for less than two years as a floor leader for Governor John McKeithen, Edwards was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 7th congressional district, a position that he held from 1965 until 1972. He won the congressional seat in a special election called when the incumbent, T. Ashton Thompson of Ville Platte, was killed in an automobile accident near Gastonia, North Carolina. Edwards was easily reelected to three full terms in the House in 1966, 1968, and 1970.
In 1968, he defeated Republican Vance William Plauché (1924–2013) of Lake Charles, son of former one-term Democratic Congressman Vance Gabriel Plauché, who was also a native of Avoyelles Parish. Edwards received more than 80 percent of the general election vote. While in Congress, Edwards served on the Public Works, Judiciary, and Internal Security committees. In 1970, he was one of the few Southern congressmen to support the extension for five years of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
1971–1972 campaign for governor
In the election of 1971–1972, Edwards won the governorship after finishing first in a field of seventeen candidates in the Democratic primary, including the final race of former governor Jimmie Davis and Gillis Long, a relative of Huey Long. His greatest support came from southern Louisiana, particularly among its large numbers of Cajun, Creole, and African-American voters. In the first primary, Edwards led with 276,397 (23.8 percent). J. Bennett Johnston Jr., a state senator from Shreveport, followed with 208,830 (17.8 percent). In third place was former Congressman Gillis Long of Alexandria, with 164,276 (14 percent). Former Governor Jimmie Davis finished fourth with 138,756 (11.8 percent). Far to the rear of the pack was Congressman Speedy O. Long of Jena of rural La Salle Parish with only 61,359 (5.2 percent).
Both Edwards and Johnston ran on reform-oriented platforms during the primary, but Edwards was more adept at making political deals and building alliances for the runoff round of voting. Edwards said that the major philosophical difference that he held with Johnston was in regard to their "awareness of problems of the poor". Johnston won the endorsement of Edwards' legislative colleague, Joe D. Waggonner of Bossier Parish, but the Shreveport state senator declined to accept Edwards' offer of a televised debate between the two.
Edwards defeated Johnston in the runoff, 584,262 (50.2 percent) to 579,774 (49.8 percent),
In a less than one vote per precinct outcome. The victory showed that south Louisiana was eclipsing the north in both population and in future political domination of the state.
On election night, Edwards gave public credit to the African American New Orleans political organization SOUL for his extremely narrow victory, stating that the 12,000 vote lead SOUL had bought him in New Orleans had put him over the top. Such public recognition of black political power by a Democratic governor of Louisiana was unprecedented.
In the general election held on February 1, 1972, Edwards faced Republican gubernatorial nominee David C. Treen, then of Metairie. He did not run as the candidate who would continue the Democratic policies of his predecessor, John McKeithen, for whom Edwards had been a state senate floor leader. Instead he derided McKeithen as a "lame duck governor who doesn't want the new administration to do well. It'll make him look bad", considering a $30 million budget shortfall facing the next governor. Throughout the campaign, Edwards repeatedly insisted that Treen had no chance of victory. He said the climate was not right for a Republican governor in Louisiana. He ridiculed Treen as having "never held a public office. He has run for office four times and has been defeated all four times. He can't even generate enough enthusiasm in his home district (Jefferson Parish), where he is best known." He accused Treen of having adopted Edwards' own reform platform characterized as the "Era of Excellence".
Though Treen ran a vigorous campaign, Louisiana's Democratic tradition favored Edwards from the start, as Edwards had predicted. Edwards polled 641,146 (57.2 percent) to Treen's 480,424 (42.8 percent). Edwards also overcame the south Louisiana "jinx" that had doomed former New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison Sr., in his three gubernatorial bids. Edwards picked up the enthusiastic backing of his runoff rival, J. Bennett Johnston, later a U.S. senator.
Bill Dodd, who was defeated for state superintendent of education in the same election cycle that Edwards was winning the governorship in for the first time, attributed the Edwards victory in part to political kingmaker Louis J. Roussel Jr., of New Orleans. According to Dodd, Roussel "can do more than any other individual in Louisiana to elect any candidate he supports for any office in this state. ... He is such a good administrator and motivator that he can put together an organization that will win in business and in politics."
First two terms as governor, 1972–1980
Both in his political rhetoric and in his public persona, Edwards cast himself as a Louisiana populist in the tradition of Huey P. Long and Earl K. Long. He was inaugurated as governor on May 9. One of his first acts was to call for a constitutional convention to overhaul Louisiana's bulky charter. Many of the sections on state government were written by delegate Robert G. Pugh, a prominent Shreveport attorney, who became an advisor to Edwards and two other governors thereafter. Voters approved the new constitution by a three-to-two margin in 1974, and government reorganization resulted. For the first time Louisiana operated with a "cabinet style" executive department in lieu of the hundreds of boards and commissions that had existed for decades, each its own fiefdom.
During his first two terms in office, Edwards developed a reputation for being one of the most colorful and flamboyant politicians in the history of a state known for its unorthodox political figures. Charismatic, well-dressed, and quick with clever one-liners and retorts, Edwards maintained wide popularity.
On taking office, Edwards hired J. Kelly Nix as his executive assistant and in 1974 elevated him to first executive assistant. In the second term, however, Nix left the administration to take office as the Louisiana state school superintendent. Dale Thorn, who had been Edwards' press secretary while he was in Congress, continued in that position for the first and most of the second Edwards terms. He was later associate commissioner of higher education for the Louisiana Board of Regents, and an LSU journalism professor.
Edwards also depended heavily on state Senator Sixty Rayburn of Bogalusa, whose 44-year service earned him the sobriquet as "Dean of the Louisiana Senate". He also rewarded political friends, such as former legislative colleague Fred L. Schiele, whom he appointed in 1973 to succeed the embattled Noah W. Cross as sheriff of Concordia Parish in eastern Louisiana.
Under Edwards, Michael H. O'Keefe of New Orleans in 1976 was named president of the state Senate, an office that was held by the lieutenant governor prior to the implementation of the state Constitution of 1974. In 1983, as Edwards prepared to return to office, O'Keefe was engulfed in scandal and forced to leave the Senate. He was as replaced by the Edwards loyalist, Samuel B. Nunez Jr., of Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish. In 2013, O'Keefe was still serving time in prison for a 1999 conviction.
Policies and achievements
After enduring three grueling rounds of voting in the 1971–1972 campaign, Edwards pushed a bill through the legislature that limited state elections to two rounds by having Democratic, Republican, and independent candidates run together on the same ballot in a nonpartisan blanket primary. Though the jungle primary system was intended to benefit Edwards' own political career, many observers cite it as being a major factor in the eventual rise of the state's Republican Party and the creation of a genuinely competitive two-party system. For this, Edwards was facetiously christened "father of Louisiana's Republican Party".
William Denis Brown, III, a lawyer and a state senator from Monroe, was Edwards's floor leader in the upper legislative chamber in the first term as governor. A native of Vicksburg, Mississippi reared on a plantation north of Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish, Brown was instrumental in drafting the Louisiana Mineral Code. Thereafter from 1980 to 1988, Brown was the chairman of the Louisiana Board of Ethics.
Early in the first gubernatorial term, Edwards initiated the creation of the first new Louisiana state constitution in more than a half century. He intended to replace the Constitution of 1921, an unwieldy and outmoded document burdened with hundreds of amendments. A constitutional convention was held in 1973; the resulting document was put into effect in 1975. , the 1973 Constitution remains in effect. Edwards also undertook a major reorganization of the state government, abolishing over 80 state agencies and modeling the remaining structure after that of the federal government.
In his first year in office, Edwards appointed his wife Elaine Edwards, also a native of Avoyelles Parish, to complete the Senate term of the deceased Allen J. Ellender. Mrs. Edwards served from August 1972 until that November, and during that time, the small town of Crowley boasted the governor, a U.S. Senator, and a U.S. Representative (former Edwards aide John Breaux), who all lived within a few blocks of each other.
An outspoken supporter of civil rights, Edwards appointed more black people and women to high positions in his administration than had his predecessors.
Edwards named State Representative J. Burton Angelle of Breaux Bridge as his director of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, a key appointment which Angelle filled for Edwards' first three terms of office.
Edwards' tenure in the 1970s coincided with a huge boom in the state's oil and gas industry after the gas pricing crisis of 1973. Edwards was able to greatly expand the state's oil revenues by basing severance taxes on a percentage of the price of each barrel rather than the former flat rate. This oil money fueled a massive increase in state spending (a 163% increase between 1972 and 1980), and Edwards was able to consistently balance the state budget due to the boom in oil revenue. Much of this increased spending went toward health and human services programs and increased funding for vocational-technical schools and higher education.
Edwards easily won reelection in 1975, with 750,107 votes (62.3 percent). In second place was Democratic State Senator Robert G. "Bob" Jones of Lake Charles, son of former Governor Sam Houston Jones, with 292,220 (24.3 percent). Secretary of State Wade O. Martin Jr., ran third with 146,363 (12.2 percent). Thereafter, Jones and Martin became Republicans. Addison Roswell Thompson, the perennial segregationist candidate from New Orleans, made his last race for governor in the 1975 primary.
Early scandals
Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemerfather of future governor Buddy Roemer – was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case.
During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but the Edwards administration attacked Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife.
In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was a U.S. representative. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was "super moralistic" for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings. The scandal also engulfed Edwards's former congressional colleague Otto Passman of Monroe, who was later acquitted of all charges in the case, but nonetheless was defeated in his 1976 re-election bid by Jerry Huckaby of Ringgold.
First political comeback: Edwards vs. Treen, 1983
Barred by the state constitution from seeking a third term immediately after his second, Edwards temporarily left politics in 1980 but made it clear he would run again for governor in 1983. He began raising money and touring the state long before the 1983 election, maintaining what supporters called "the government in waiting". Early in 1982, Edwards said that he was so committed to running again for governor that "only death alone can separate me from this. ... We are being led by a governor whose only answer to unemployment is to buy a $350,000 jet."
In 1979, Republican David Treen was narrowly elected governor on a pledge of good government reform. Edwards had supported Treen's opponent, Democratic Public Service Commissioner Louis Lambert of Ascension Parish. As widely expected, Edwards in 1983 defeated Treen's re-election attempt. The election offered a clear contrast between the flamboyant, charismatic Edwards and the low-key, policy-oriented Treen. While Treen focused on Edward's reputation for corruption and dishonesty, Edwards sought to portray Treen as incompetent and unresponsive to the public. Treen said of Edwards: "It's difficult for me to understand his popularity", which indicated in the eyes of many that he did not fully comprehend Louisiana politics. The two major candidates spent over $18 million between them; the election became renowned as one of the most expensive campaigns ever conducted in a state the size of Louisiana. John Maginnis' 1984 book, The Last Hayride, chronicles this colorful but lopsided campaign.
Treen's commissioner of administration, former legislator E. L. "Bubba" Henry, told the Democratic State Central Committee that Edwards had created a "smoke screen ... to divert attention from his own 'sweetheart deals' for his political friends", a reference to controversy which arose in the financing of a new baseball stadium for the University of Louisiana at Monroe (then known as Northeast Louisiana University).
Before election day, Edwards joked with reporters: "The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy." Edwards zinged Treen many times, once describing Treen as "so slow it takes him an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes." During a gubernatorial debate in 1983, Treen asked Edwards, "How come you talk out of both sides of your mouth?" Edwards instantly responded, "So people like you with only half a brain can understand me."
Then Shreveport Journal editor Stanley R. Tiner reported after the campaign of 1983 that Edwards does not believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and does not personally expect to go to heaven. There was an uproar in conservative religious circles, but the comments did not stop Edwards from finishing his term or winning a fourth election eight years later.
Edwards' brother, Marion David Edwards (1928–2013), was part of the 1983 campaign and of the entourage that headed to France and Belgium early in 1984 to raise money to repay a lingering $4.2 million campaign debt. Six hundred supporters joined the Edwardses on an eight-day tour that included dinner at Versailles and gambling in Monte Carlo. Each paid $10,000. Edwards expected a 70 percent profit on the contributors' tickets to retire the debt. Bumper stickers were printed in blue and gold campaign colors and distributed to those who contributed to the retirement of this debt. For years afterwards, motorists saw stickers on vehicles bearing the slogan, "I did Paris with the Gov." Attendees ranged from Sheriff Don Hathaway of Caddo Parish to the Lafayette artist George Rodrigue, known at the time for his oak tree symbol, later replaced by the widely recognized blue dog.
Third term as governor, 1984–1988
State finances nosedived during the third Edwards administration. Money from petroleum severance taxes decreased sharply in the middle 1980s because of plummeting oil prices. In 1984, Edwards attempted to deal with the erosion of state revenue by approving $730 million—Edwards had requested $1.1 billion—in new personal taxes, including a 1 percentage point increase in the state sales tax, $61 million in higher corporate income taxes, and $190 million in additional gasoline taxes. The legislature, overwhelmingly dominated by lawmakers beholden to Edwards, passed these taxes into law, but the taxes were highly unpopular and damaged Edwards' level of public support. Republican State Representative Terry W. Gee of New Orleans said at the time, "Nobody realized the magnitude of what's going on; I've had 180 phone calls in two days against the higher taxes."
Much of Edwards' support in the 1970s had been fueled by high levels of social spending during times of economic prosperity; with economic conditions worsening, his popularity waned. To obtain passage of the higher taxes, Edwards first submitted Treen's 1984–1985 proposed budget as a warning to lawmakers. The Treen budget, he claimed, would cut state spending too drastically and cause roads to fall apart, bridges to collapse, and insurance premiums to skyrocket. Edwards predicted that if lawmakers passed Treen's budget instead of the higher taxes the voters would rebel and blame the legislature itself for the results. In the end, Edwards got most of what he wanted and was able to use the excuse of teacher pay increases to put pressure on lawmakers.
John Volz indictment and trials
In February 1985, soon after his third term began, Edwards was forced to stand trial on charges of mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and bribery, brought by U.S. Attorney John Volz. The charges were centered around an alleged scheme in which Edwards and his associates received almost $2 million in exchange for granting preferential treatment to companies dealing with state hospitals. Edwards proclaimed his innocence and insisted that the charges were politically motivated by Volz and the Republican Party. The first trial resulted in a mistrial in December 1985, while a second trial in 1986 resulted in an acquittal. After Edwards and his four co-defendants were acquitted, the hotel where the jurors had been sequestered revealed that half of the jurors had stolen towels as they left. Edwards quipped that he had been judged by a "jury of my peers".
Russell B. Long had correctly predicted in March 1985 that Edwards would indeed be acquitted by a Louisiana jury and that the ensuing trial would not disrupt state government. When Long announced his retirement from the U.S. Senate seat that he had held since 1948, he indicated his preference for Edwards as his senatorial successor but added, correctly, that he did not think Edwards would enter the 1986 Senate election.
Prosecutors referred to Marion Edwards, also indicted in the alleged health care scheme, as a "bag man" for his brother. Marion ridiculed this characterization at a French Quarter bar in New Orleans, when media representatives were present. He placed a shopping bag on his head to resemble a crown and tossed about phony $100 bills.
Edwards later recited during a toast at a French Quarter bar, though his beverage was non-alcoholic as he was a teetotaler, a rhyming invitation for Volz to "kiss my ass". The trials were rather lengthy, and at one point during the first trial but before the mistrial Edwards rode to the Hale Boggs U.S. Courthouse on a mule from his hotel. When asked by reporters why he did so, he replied something to the effect that it was symbolic of the speed and intellect of the federal judicial system, but also that he supported "tradition". Marion Edwards, an attorney, often wore a pinstripe suit with a top hat and cane and held comedic press briefings at the end of each court session on the steps of the courthouse. Marion Edwards mocked the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Volz, and United States Judge Marcel Livaudais, who presided over the trials.
Even after beating the Volz indictment, Edwin Edwards' popularity was in decline. Despite his acquittal, the trial brought many sordid details of Edwards's conduct under public scrutiny. It was revealed that during frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas, Edwards lost hundreds of thousands of dollars under aliases such as T. Wong and E. Lee, later paying these gambling debts using suitcases stuffed with cash of unknown origin.
After the trial, Edwards' support for the legalization of gambling as a solution to the state's severe revenue shortages contributed to a further decline in his popularity. He had made unpopular budget cuts to education and other social programs earlier in his term. Beginning in January 1986, he argued that legalizing casino gambling in up to fifteen locations and creating a state lottery would be a way to restore the programs, but the state legislature rejected his gambling proposals. Entering a tough re-election campaign in 1987, Edwards seemed vulnerable. Going into the election, his disapproval ratings ranged from 52 to 71 percent.
At first Edwards had predicted that a casino and a state lottery would net the state $600 million; then he lowered the expectations to $150 million. Both gambling measures would eventually be implemented, but not during Edwards' third term.
Defeat: Edwards vs. Roemer, 1987
Several notable candidates lined up to face Edwards in the 1987 gubernatorial election. Perhaps his strongest early challenger was Republican Congressman Bob Livingston. Also in the race were Billy Tauzin, a then-Democratic Cajun congressman from Thibodaux who was a strong Edwards supporter while serving in the state legislature from 1972 to 1980; Democratic Secretary of State Jim Brown of Ferriday, and a Democratic congressman from Bossier City, Buddy Roemer, the son of former Commissioner of Administration Charles Roemer, who climbed up from a series of low poll rankings early in the campaign.
Louis J. Roussel Jr., the businessman from New Orleans who began his career as a bus driver, contributed $600,000 to Edwards in the losing race in 1987. Roussel had been a large donor to Bill Dodd, whose son, William Ford Dodd, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the same 1987 primary election.
"Anyone But Edwards"
Edwards was the issue of the campaign. Because of his name recognition, his resilient supporters, and unmatched political skill, even a weakened Edwards could safely assume he would win a place in Louisiana's unique primary election system runoff. The question was whether his opponent in the runoff would be someone who could beat him.
There was a prevailing sense in the race that Edwards needed Livingston in the runoff. Livingston was a Republican in a state that had at that point elected only one Republican governor since Reconstruction. And Livingston was widely perceived as lacking in charisma and personality, which would work to Edwards's advantage. Any other opponent, a moderate Democrat without the ethical problems, would be dangerous. To that end, Edwards talked up Livingston. Perhaps the key moment in the 1987 race came at a forum between the candidates. As usual, the main topic of discussion was Edwin Edwards. His challengers were asked, in succession, if they would consider endorsing Edwards in the general election if they did not make it to the runoff. The candidates hedged, particularly Secretary of State Brown, a reliable Edwards supporter in the state Senate who in his 1979 election drew many of the same voters who supported fellow Democrat Louis Lambert in his failed gubernatorial bid in the same general election vs. Treen. The last candidate to speak was Buddy Roemer: "No, we've got to slay the dragon. I would endorse anyone but Edwards." The next day, as political commentator John Maginnis put it, Jim Brown was explaining his statement while Buddy Roemer was ordering "Slay the Dragon" buttons. Boosted by his endorsement as the 'good government candidate' by nearly every newspaper in the state, Roemer stormed from last place in the polls and on election night, overtook Edwin Edwards and placed first in the primary election, with 33 percent of the vote compared with Edwards' 28 percent. This marked the first time Edwin Edwards ever finished other than in first place in an election.
In what seemed to be the end of Edwards' political career, the governor withdrew from the contest in his concession speech, automatically electing Buddy Roemer governor. In fact, he was cleverly setting a trap for Roemer. By withdrawing, Edwards denied Roemer the opportunity to build a governing coalition in the general election race, and denied him the decisive majority victory that he surely would have attained. In one stroke, Edwards made Buddy Roemer a minority governor. Also, Edwards virtually ceded control of the state to Roemer even before his inauguration. By doing so, he passed on the burden of the state's problems to the new governor, who was essentially under the gun even before assuming office. For four years, Roemer struggled to be a reform governor of Louisiana as so many had before him. And although virtually no one realized it at the time, Edwin Edwards quietly waited in the wings for a return to power.
Second comeback: Edwards vs. Duke, 1991
As the 1991 governor's race drew near, many of Edwards' friends encouraged him to abandon his planned comeback, believing that he had no chance to win. After Edwards' loss in 1987, Lanny Keller, a journalist for the defunct Shreveport Journal wrote that the only way Edwin Edwards could ever be elected again was to run against Adolf Hitler. These words turned out to be shockingly prophetic, since after the 1991 primary Edwards discovered his runoff opponent to be former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke. Edwards received 34 percent of the vote while Duke received 32 percent. Governor Roemer placed third, 80,000 votes behind Duke.
The runoff between an avowed white supremacist and a former governor who was corrupt but was also perceived as minority-friendly, gained national attention. Support for Edwards grew in between the primary and the runoff. Louisiana Coalition against Racism and Nazism, an interest group, appeared on the landscape to challenge Duke, with its leadership including longtime Treen supporter Beth Rickey, a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee from New Orleans. The coalition revealed through a recording of Duke at a White Nationalist conference that he was still involved in Ku Klux Klan activities.
Faced with the alternative of Duke, many who were otherwise lukewarm for Edwards found him looking ever better. Edwards found himself receiving endorsements from Treen and Roemer; even Republican President George H. W. Bush urged that Edwards, the Democrat, be elected over Duke. A popular bumper sticker urging support for Edwards (although clearly not produced by his campaign) read "Vote For the Crook. It's Important." Another read "Vote for the Lizard, not the Wizard." Edwards said that this would be his final term as governor and that he cared about leaving a good legacy, which made many hope that the corruption of his previous administrations would not be repeated. Edwards won by a wide margin. Continuing his artful use of humor to deflate an opponent, and referring to his considerable reputation as a ladies' man, Edwards said of Duke that "the only thing we have in common is that we both have been wizards beneath the sheets." He also feigned concern for Duke's health due to smoke inhalation "because he's around so many burning crosses" and when a reporter asked Edwards what he needed to do to triumph over Duke, Edwards replied "stay alive". On election day, Edwards defeated Duke in a landslide, 61 to 39 percent, a margin of nearly 400,000 votes.
Fourth term as governor, 1992–1996
In his last term, Edwards asked his boyhood friend, Raymond Laborde, to leave the state House after twenty years to serve as commissioner of administration. Laborde, who had once defeated Edwards for class president at Marksville High School and had earlier been his legislative floor leader, agreed to join the administration. He invited former state Representative Kevin P. Reilly Sr., of Baton Rouge, former CEO of Lamar Advertising Company to serve as secretary of economic development. Reilly had been removed in 1986 as chairman of the Louisiana House Appropriations Committee after having criticized Edwards.
In 1992, Edwards appointed the professional penologist, Richard Stalder, as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections, a position that used to be given to political supporters. Stalder remained secretary until 2008, serving during three subsequent gubernatorial terms in the position.
During his previous term as Governor, Edwards promoted casino gambling in Louisiana, which had been a major part of his platform in the 1991 campaign. In June 1992, his heavy lobbying led the state legislature to pass a bill calling for a single large land-based casino in New Orleans. He also appointed a board that, at his private direction, awarded 15 floating riverboat casinos that had been authorized by the Legislature and the Roemer administration. He appointed a political ally, Paul Fontenot, to head the State Police; he would oversee the licensing and investigation of casino operators. On another front he again demonstrated his broad commitment to civil rights by becoming the first Southern governor to issue an executive order protecting lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons from discrimination in state governmental services, employment, and contracts.
Despite the discovery that some licensees had links to organized crime or other unsavory ties, Edwards blocked the revocation of their licenses. But a political backlash against gambling-related corruption began. Though he had originally planned to run for re-election in 1995, he announced in June 1994, shortly after marrying his second wife Candy Picou, that he would be retiring from politics at the end of his term. Edwards was succeeded as governor by State Senator Murphy J. Foster Jr., who ran as an opponent of gambling interests. Edwards retired to a newly purchased home in Baton Rouge, intent on returning to a private law practice and living out his remaining days in contentment with his young wife, Candy (born 1964).
Ron Gomez, whose second term in the legislature corresponded with Edwards' third term as governor, describes Edwards, accordingly:
"Somehow, his brashness and arrogance over the years, traits that would have destroyed the average politician, have only seemed to endear him to his core constituency: minorities, organized labor, Cajuns and lower-income voters. It is exactly those groups who suffered the most over the quarter of a century he was in and out of the governor's office. Except for some black leaders who attached themselves to his entourage and gained political clout and monetary rewards through favors and appointments, the minority population as a whole has made very little progress culturally, educationally or socially because of his leadership."
Gomez continued:
Organized labor, once a powerful force in the state, has fallen to its lowest membership in history. And, overall, when he finally left office in 1996, the state was near the bottom in teacher pay and college and university funding (among other things). It was also near the top in high school dropouts, teen pregnancies, welfare recipients, prison population, and virtually every other negative category.
Indictment and conviction
Former Congressman Cleo Fields achieved considerable notoriety in 1997 when an FBI surveillance videotape showed him accepting a large amount of cash (about $20,000) from Edwards and stuffing it in his pockets. At the time Fields stated that the incident was just an innocent business transaction between friends, and said there was a humorous explanation, which he would make public shortly thereafter. A cloud hung over Fields as an unindicted co-conspirator in Edwards' criminal trial and in the end Fields refused to deliver the promised "humorous" explanation, stating that at the time of the cash transfer, he was not an elected official, and therefore under no obligation to explain publicly.
After being fingered by Texas for-profit prison entrepreneur Patrick Graham, who allegedly gave him $845,000 in conjunction with a scheme to locate a private juvenile prison in Jena in La Salle Parish, Edwards was indicted in 1998 by the federal government with the prosecution led by U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan. The prosecution soon released transcripts of audio conversations, and excerpts of video surveillance that seemed to indicate dubious financial transactions. The Edwards investigation also resulted in the conviction of San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., who admitted to paying Edwards a $400,000 bribe (DeBartolo was convicted for not reporting the extortion) in exchange for Edwards's assistance in securing a riverboat casino license.
Edwards was found guilty on seventeen of twenty-six counts, including racketeering, extortion, money laundering, mail fraud, and wire fraud; his son Stephen was convicted on 18 counts. "I did not do anything wrong as a governor, even if you accept the verdict as it is, it doesn't indicate that", Edwards told the press after his conviction. On his way to prison he said, "I will be a model prisoner, as I have been a model citizen". From 2002 to 2004 Edwin Edwards was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
Edwards' sometime co-conspirator, Cecil Brown, a Eunice cattleman, was convicted for his part in the payoffs in 2002.
In 2004, Edwards filed for divorce from his second wife Candy, saying that Mrs. Edwards had "suffered enough" during his incarceration. In June 2005, the former Mrs. Edwards was arrested for threatening a police officer at a traffic stop in Port Barre, screaming "don't you know who I am?"
In 2005, Edwards was moved to the Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale in Allen Parish, where he served his sentence as inmate #03128-095. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, he was scheduled to be released on July 6, 2011. In prison, he served as the facility's librarian: "I did what I could for my fellow inmates. I helped a number of them get their GEDs and I was helping several more when my term expired. Now, I have to be honest; I didn't stick around to see if they succeeded..."
Two men whom Edwards defeated in Louisiana elections—David C. Treen and J. Bennett Johnston Jr.—and a third who was his protégé and successor in the Seventh District U.S. House seat, U.S. Senator John Breaux, confirmed in July 2007 that they intended to approach then U.S. President George W. Bush to seek a pardon or commutation for Edwards, who celebrated his 80th birthday in prison in August 2007. Bush denied a pardon for Edwards before he left the presidency on January 20, 2009.
Edwards supporters also lobbied U.S. President Barack Obama for a pardon for Edwards so he might run in the 2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election. Obama did not reply to petitions by supporters of Edwards and lacking a pardon, Edwards remained ineligible to seek the governorship of Louisiana until the end of his life and would have only been eligible to run after fifteen years would have passed from the end of his sentence.
In 2009, Edwards was listed as an "honorary pallbearer" at the funeral of perennial political candidate L. D. Knox of Winnsboro, who in the 1979 gubernatorial contest, when Edwards was not on the ballot, legally changed his name to "None of the Above" Knox to dramatize his support for the "None of the Above" option in elections.
On January 13, 2011, Edwards was released from prison and served the remainder of his sentence at a halfway house. His sentence ended on July 6, 2011 and he began three years of probation. He entered into home confinement at his daughter's Denham Springs, Louisiana home through the supervision of a halfway house, on January 13, 2011. Following that, Edwards was placed on probation. On February 7, 2013, Edwards was granted early release from probation due to good behavior. His wife Trina made the announcement on her Facebook page.
In a poll taken in October 2011, months after he had been released from prison, 30 percent of respondents named Edwards the state's best governor since 1980.
2014 Congressional election
In February 2014, Edwards announced that he was contemplating running in the 2014 election to represent the Louisiana's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is centered on the state capital of Baton Rouge. With U.S. Representative Bill Cassidy exiting the seat to run for the Senate, Edwards said of the solidly Republican district: "I'm the only hope the Democrats have here." He formally declared his candidacy at a March 17 meeting of the Press Club of Baton Rouge, saying, "I want you to know, I'm going to give it every effort." If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, a runoff would be held on December 6, 2014, between the top two candidates. Two other Democrats, a Libertarian and nine Republicans, most notably Garret Graves, a former aide to Governor Bobby Jindal, State Senator Dan Claitor, businessman Paul Dietzel, II, and State Representative Lenar Whitney, also sought the seat.
After Edwards' announcement, Cassidy told KEEL radio news in Shreveport that he doubted that Edwards "has a chance. It's a conservative district, and he's obviously not a conservative. But it kind of shows, I think, to a certain extent that the Democratic bench is weak." Louisiana political writer John Maginnis said that Edwards was "likely to make the runoff" because of his name recognition, but "I don't see how he could win in a strong GOP-performance district like the 6th. But it should be entertaining." State pollster Elliott Stonecipher said that "the most basic math of the Edwards race yields an 'it is not impossible' answer" and former Governor Buddy Roemer said that while it is unlikely, "yes, [Edwards] can win".
An April 2014 article in Politico that discussed his chances noted that he was "still sharp as a razor" and "in remarkably vigorous health". He pronounced himself "disappointed" with President Obama for "sitting" on the Keystone Pipeline and listed his campaign priorities as "Building support for a high-speed rail system between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and emphasizing the good aspects of Obamacare, while doing what I can to change or amend the provisions that I think are onerous." He said that he would have voted against the Affordable Care Act, but criticized Governor Jindal for not accepting the Medicaid expansion. If elected, he hoped to serve on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to spur the construction of elevated roadways in the state.
A September 2014 survey of statewide Louisiana voters by Public Policy Polling found that 40% had a favourable opinion of Edwards, 44% did not and 17% were unsure. Asked whether they would rather have Edwards as governor than incumbent Republican governor Bobby Jindal, 47% said they would prefer Edwards, 43% preferred Jindal and 10% were not sure.
Edwards finished first in every poll taken of the race, though only with a plurality. Runoff polls showed him losing to all of his Republican opponents. An article in The Times-Picayune in late October 2014 noted that he had run a vigorous, serious campaign and noted that, as previously, analysts were split on whether he could actually win. David Wasserman of The Cook Political Report said that for Edwards, "mathematically, victory is something close to impossibility." Conversely, a spokesman for Republican opponent Lenar Whitney and political analyst Michael Beychok both said that he had a chance to win and Republican candidate Garret Graves said "There's no one alive anymore in this state that has the experience or, quite frankly, the tactics (of) Edwin Edwards." Edwards was expected to make the runoff, with his chances dependent on which Republican joins him, with several analysts saying that Edwards' best chance would come if Whitney, the most conservative Republican running, does so. Edwards' strategy was to appeal to black and Cajun voters and conservative Democrats, also campaigning on college campuses to appeal to younger voters. Columnist Bob Mann predicted that if Edwards made the runoff, the media would decry Louisiana voters' toleration for corruption when, "in truth (Edwards) never really had a chance to win."
As expected, Edwards as the principal Democratic candidate led the 2014 primary field for Congress with 77,862 votes (30.1 percent), winning every parish in the district. He then faced the Republican runner-up, Garret Graves, in the December 6 runoff election. Graves had received 70,706 "jungle primary" votes (27.4 percent). Losing Republican candidates were Paul Dietzel II, with 35,013 votes (13.6 percent), state Senator Dan Claitor with 26,520 (10.3 percent), and state Representative Lenar Whitney with 19,146 votes (7.4 percent). Edwards lost to Graves by a 62–38 percent margin in the runoff. It was only the second loss of his political career.
Edwards' record of longevity
Edwards has the seventh longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,784 days. Few governors have served four four-year terms. Edwards followed George Wallace of Alabama, Jim Hunt of North Carolina, Bill Janklow of South Dakota, Terry Branstad of Iowa, Lewis Cass of Michigan, and Jim Rhodes of Ohio as 16-year governors. However, Branstad was elected to a fifth nonconsecutive term as governor of Iowa in 2010, placing him second to George Clinton of New York (21 years) as the longest-serving governor in U.S. history, and won a sixth term as governor in 2014. In December 2015 Branstad surpassed New York's George Clinton as the longest-tenured governor in American history, with 8,169 days in office.
Veteran journalist Iris Kelso once described Edwards as clearly "the most interesting" of the six governors that she had covered while working for three newspapers and WDSU, the NBC television affiliate in New Orleans. Kelso declared Edwards more colorful than Earl Long, whom she covered for less than a year in the office.
Personal life
Marriages and family
In 1949, Edwards married Elaine Schwartzenburg, whom he had met at Marksville High School. The couple had four children: Anna, Victoria, Stephen, and David. In 1972, Edwards appointed her as an interim U.S. senator to complete the unfinished term of Allen J. Ellender of Houma, who died while campaigning for his seventh term in office. On July 1, 1989, the couple divorced after forty years of marriage. They had begun living apart on March 15, 1989.
In 1994, Edwards married Candy Picou (born 1964). In 1997, the couple entered the headlines when they attempted to have a child. Edwards had a vasectomy reversal, and the couple froze sperm to attempt to have a baby but were not successful. While in prison, Edwin Edwards filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2004.
In July 2011, Edwards married Trina Grimes, his prison pen pal. They began corresponding while he was serving his sentence for corruption. At the time of the wedding, he was 83, and she was 32. On August 1, 2013, Grimes gave birth to their child, Eli Wallace Edwards. In 2013, Edwards and Trina co-starred in an A&E reality show, The Governor's Wife based on their life together.
Extended family
One of Edwards's brothers, Nolan Edwards, a former assistant district attorney in Acadia Parish, was murdered in Crowley by an irate client in 1983, the same year that Edwards was engineering his comeback bid for a third term as governor. Nolan's killer, Rodney Wingate Jr., of Church Point, Louisiana, then killed himself. Wingate had been pardoned by Governor Edwards in 1980 for two drug convictions in the 1970s, a pardon procured through the intervention of Nolan Edwards. Nolan's murder halted the 1983 politicking. Newspapers carried a photograph of brothers Edwin and Marion locked in an embrace on an airport tarmac.
Marion Edwards, an insurance agent and political consultant, was a cancer survivor and counseled other patients for many years. Born on July 10, 1928, in Marksville, he died on January 12, 2013, at the age of eighty-four at his home in Broussard near Lafayette, Louisiana. The cause of death was not released. The Marion D. Edwards Fellowship in Hepatic Oncology at the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston, Texas, is named in his honor. Marion Edwards, who was Nazarene, was survived by his second wife, the former Deborah "Penny" Meaux, and three daughters from his first marriage to Aline Luther Edwards: Wanda Edwards, Elizabeth Kersten, and Donna Edwards.
Another brother, Allen Edwards, the longtime owner of a farm and heavy equipment company in Quitman in northern Arkansas, died in 2009, while Edwards was in prison. Edwards did not attend the funeral because of security difficulties.
Edwards was an uncle by marriage to former U.S. Representative Charles Boustany, a Republican from Lafayette, whose district includes much of the territory represented from 1965 to 1972 by then-U.S. Representative Edwin Edwards. Boustany's wife is the former Bridget Edwards, a daughter of Nolan Edwards.
Third wife and reality television show
On July 29, 2011, Edwards married Trina Grimes Scott (born August 1978) from Baton Rouge, at the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans. Edwards' one-time prison pen pal, she was fifty-one years his junior and was born midway in his second term as governor. She is a Republican.
Edwin and Trina Edwards were the subjects of the reality show The Governor's Wife, which premiered October 27, 2013, on the Arts & Entertainment Network. The program focused on Trina's rearing of teenaged sons and acting as stepmother to Edwards' daughters who are almost twice her age. According to the A&E description of the program: "Between school projects, running for president of the Homeowner's Association, fending off skeptics who think she's a gold digger, and thoughts of adding a baby of their own to the mix, the Edwards clan truly represents a new take on the modern family." The couple announced February 15, 2013 that Trina was pregnant. Trina gave birth to their son, Eli Wallace Edwards, on August 1, 2013.
Health and death
In 2015, Edwards was hospitalized for pneumonia. On December 13, 2016, Edwards was hospitalized under stable condition again for pneumonia in Baton Rouge.
Edwards was rushed to the hospital again by ambulance in November 2020, with shortness of breath. Edwards returned to his home in Gonzales after spending two nights at Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center in Baton Rouge. It was reported that he had a common head cold and he reportedly tested negative for both COVID-19 and pneumonia, as well as the flu. His wife told the media that he was resting well and "giving orders" once he got home.
Edwards was sent to hospice care for pain in his lungs in Gonzales, Louisiana on July 6, 2021. He died six days later on July 12, 26 days short of his 94th birthday. The cause of death was respiratory complications. At the time of his death, Edwards had outlived four of his successors: Dave Treen, Buddy Roemer, Mike Foster, and Kathleen Blanco.
References
Bibliography
State of Louisiana – Biography
Boulard, Garry, "Edwin Edwards: Reflections on a Life", Times of Acadiana, August 15, 2001.
Bridges, Tyler. Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001.
Dawson, Joseph G. The Louisiana Governors: From Iberville to Edwards. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1990.
Honeycutt, Leo. Edwin Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, An Authorized Biography by Leo Honeycutt. Lisburn Press, 2009.
Lemann, Nancy. Ritz of the Bayou. Knopf, 1987.
Maginnis, John. The Last Hayride. Baton Rouge: Gris Gris Press, 1984.
Maginnis, John. Cross to Bear. Baton Rouge: Darkhorse Press, 1992.
Reeves, Miriam G. The Governors of Louisiana. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 1998.
External links
Edwards' greatest quotes
New York magazine profile
Larry King interview
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"Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1976, 1976-1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as ... |
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"Edwin Edwards",
"Early scandals",
"what were edwins early scandals?",
"When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that \"It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive.\"",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"while still governor, an... | C_e1d668882c39441abf5804d2a7db0abc_0 | how did the press take his demonstration? | 3 | how did the press take Edwin Edwards' demonstration of his gambling prowess? | Edwin Edwards | Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemer - father of future governor Buddy Roemer - was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case. During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but the Edwards administration attacked Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife. In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was a U.S. representative. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was "super moralistic" for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings. The scandal also engulfed Edwards's former congressional colleague Otto Passman of Monroe, who was later acquitted of all charges in the case. CANNOTANSWER | At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. | Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1976, 1976-1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive. He served a total of 16 years in gubernatorial office, at 5,784 days the sixth-longest such tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history.
A colorful, powerful, and legendary figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards, who was dubbed the "very last of the line of New Deal Southern Democrats", was long dogged by charges of corruption. In 2001, he was found guilty of racketeering charges and sentenced to ten years in federal prison. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas, and was later transferred to the federal facility in Oakdale, Louisiana. He was released from federal prison in January 2011, having served eight years.
In 2014, Edwards again sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives, running to represent . He placed first in the jungle primary, but was defeated by Republican Garret Graves by nearly 25 percentage points in the runoff election.
Early life and career
Edwin Washington Edwards was born in rural Avoyelles Parish, near Marksville. His father, Clarence Edwards, was a half-French Creole Presbyterian sharecropper, while his mother, the former Agnès Brouillette, was a French-speaking Roman Catholic. Edwards' ancestors were among early Louisiana colonists from France who eventually settled in Avoyelles Parish, referred to as the original French Creoles. Edwards, like many 20th century politicians from Avoyelles, assumed that he had Cajun ancestry, when in fact he may have had none. His father was descended from a family in Kentucky, who came to Louisiana during the American Civil War. His great-great-grandfather, William Edwards, was killed in Marksville at the beginning of the American Civil War because of his pro-Union sentiment.
Avoyelles Parish has been known for colorful politicians; another who stood out, F.O. "Potch" Didier, actually spent seven days in his own jail after being convicted of malfeasance in office during his own heated reelection.
The young Edwards had planned on a career as a preacher. As a young man, he did some preaching for the Marksville Church of the Nazarene. He served briefly in the U.S. Navy Air Corps near the end of World War II. After his return from the military, he graduated at the age of twenty-one from Louisiana State University Law Center and began practicing law in Crowley, the seat of Acadia Parish. He relocated there in 1949 after his sister, Audrey E. Isbell, who had moved there with her husband, told him there were few French-speaking attorneys in the southwestern Louisiana community.
Edwards' career was thus helped by his being bilingual and articulate in both English and Cajun French. He learned to cultivate the goodwill of the media, working reporters and editorial page editors. One of his favorites was Adras LaBorde, the longtime managing editor of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk in Alexandria. LaBorde even influenced Edwards in regard to environmental policy.
Edwards entered politics through election to the Crowley City Council in 1954. He was a member of the Democratic Party which, in that era, had a monopoly on public offices in Louisiana, but which fell out of favor in the late 20th century. Edwards remained on the Crowley council until his election to the Louisiana State Senate in 1964; in that race he defeated, in a major political upset in the Democratic primary, the incumbent Bill Cleveland, a Crowley businessman who had served for twenty years in both houses of the Louisiana legislature. Years later as governor, Edwards appointed Cleveland's daughter, Willie Mae Fulkerson (1924–2009), a former member of the Crowley City Council, to the Louisiana Board of Prisons.
After serving in the state Senate for less than two years as a floor leader for Governor John McKeithen, Edwards was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 7th congressional district, a position that he held from 1965 until 1972. He won the congressional seat in a special election called when the incumbent, T. Ashton Thompson of Ville Platte, was killed in an automobile accident near Gastonia, North Carolina. Edwards was easily reelected to three full terms in the House in 1966, 1968, and 1970.
In 1968, he defeated Republican Vance William Plauché (1924–2013) of Lake Charles, son of former one-term Democratic Congressman Vance Gabriel Plauché, who was also a native of Avoyelles Parish. Edwards received more than 80 percent of the general election vote. While in Congress, Edwards served on the Public Works, Judiciary, and Internal Security committees. In 1970, he was one of the few Southern congressmen to support the extension for five years of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
1971–1972 campaign for governor
In the election of 1971–1972, Edwards won the governorship after finishing first in a field of seventeen candidates in the Democratic primary, including the final race of former governor Jimmie Davis and Gillis Long, a relative of Huey Long. His greatest support came from southern Louisiana, particularly among its large numbers of Cajun, Creole, and African-American voters. In the first primary, Edwards led with 276,397 (23.8 percent). J. Bennett Johnston Jr., a state senator from Shreveport, followed with 208,830 (17.8 percent). In third place was former Congressman Gillis Long of Alexandria, with 164,276 (14 percent). Former Governor Jimmie Davis finished fourth with 138,756 (11.8 percent). Far to the rear of the pack was Congressman Speedy O. Long of Jena of rural La Salle Parish with only 61,359 (5.2 percent).
Both Edwards and Johnston ran on reform-oriented platforms during the primary, but Edwards was more adept at making political deals and building alliances for the runoff round of voting. Edwards said that the major philosophical difference that he held with Johnston was in regard to their "awareness of problems of the poor". Johnston won the endorsement of Edwards' legislative colleague, Joe D. Waggonner of Bossier Parish, but the Shreveport state senator declined to accept Edwards' offer of a televised debate between the two.
Edwards defeated Johnston in the runoff, 584,262 (50.2 percent) to 579,774 (49.8 percent),
In a less than one vote per precinct outcome. The victory showed that south Louisiana was eclipsing the north in both population and in future political domination of the state.
On election night, Edwards gave public credit to the African American New Orleans political organization SOUL for his extremely narrow victory, stating that the 12,000 vote lead SOUL had bought him in New Orleans had put him over the top. Such public recognition of black political power by a Democratic governor of Louisiana was unprecedented.
In the general election held on February 1, 1972, Edwards faced Republican gubernatorial nominee David C. Treen, then of Metairie. He did not run as the candidate who would continue the Democratic policies of his predecessor, John McKeithen, for whom Edwards had been a state senate floor leader. Instead he derided McKeithen as a "lame duck governor who doesn't want the new administration to do well. It'll make him look bad", considering a $30 million budget shortfall facing the next governor. Throughout the campaign, Edwards repeatedly insisted that Treen had no chance of victory. He said the climate was not right for a Republican governor in Louisiana. He ridiculed Treen as having "never held a public office. He has run for office four times and has been defeated all four times. He can't even generate enough enthusiasm in his home district (Jefferson Parish), where he is best known." He accused Treen of having adopted Edwards' own reform platform characterized as the "Era of Excellence".
Though Treen ran a vigorous campaign, Louisiana's Democratic tradition favored Edwards from the start, as Edwards had predicted. Edwards polled 641,146 (57.2 percent) to Treen's 480,424 (42.8 percent). Edwards also overcame the south Louisiana "jinx" that had doomed former New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison Sr., in his three gubernatorial bids. Edwards picked up the enthusiastic backing of his runoff rival, J. Bennett Johnston, later a U.S. senator.
Bill Dodd, who was defeated for state superintendent of education in the same election cycle that Edwards was winning the governorship in for the first time, attributed the Edwards victory in part to political kingmaker Louis J. Roussel Jr., of New Orleans. According to Dodd, Roussel "can do more than any other individual in Louisiana to elect any candidate he supports for any office in this state. ... He is such a good administrator and motivator that he can put together an organization that will win in business and in politics."
First two terms as governor, 1972–1980
Both in his political rhetoric and in his public persona, Edwards cast himself as a Louisiana populist in the tradition of Huey P. Long and Earl K. Long. He was inaugurated as governor on May 9. One of his first acts was to call for a constitutional convention to overhaul Louisiana's bulky charter. Many of the sections on state government were written by delegate Robert G. Pugh, a prominent Shreveport attorney, who became an advisor to Edwards and two other governors thereafter. Voters approved the new constitution by a three-to-two margin in 1974, and government reorganization resulted. For the first time Louisiana operated with a "cabinet style" executive department in lieu of the hundreds of boards and commissions that had existed for decades, each its own fiefdom.
During his first two terms in office, Edwards developed a reputation for being one of the most colorful and flamboyant politicians in the history of a state known for its unorthodox political figures. Charismatic, well-dressed, and quick with clever one-liners and retorts, Edwards maintained wide popularity.
On taking office, Edwards hired J. Kelly Nix as his executive assistant and in 1974 elevated him to first executive assistant. In the second term, however, Nix left the administration to take office as the Louisiana state school superintendent. Dale Thorn, who had been Edwards' press secretary while he was in Congress, continued in that position for the first and most of the second Edwards terms. He was later associate commissioner of higher education for the Louisiana Board of Regents, and an LSU journalism professor.
Edwards also depended heavily on state Senator Sixty Rayburn of Bogalusa, whose 44-year service earned him the sobriquet as "Dean of the Louisiana Senate". He also rewarded political friends, such as former legislative colleague Fred L. Schiele, whom he appointed in 1973 to succeed the embattled Noah W. Cross as sheriff of Concordia Parish in eastern Louisiana.
Under Edwards, Michael H. O'Keefe of New Orleans in 1976 was named president of the state Senate, an office that was held by the lieutenant governor prior to the implementation of the state Constitution of 1974. In 1983, as Edwards prepared to return to office, O'Keefe was engulfed in scandal and forced to leave the Senate. He was as replaced by the Edwards loyalist, Samuel B. Nunez Jr., of Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish. In 2013, O'Keefe was still serving time in prison for a 1999 conviction.
Policies and achievements
After enduring three grueling rounds of voting in the 1971–1972 campaign, Edwards pushed a bill through the legislature that limited state elections to two rounds by having Democratic, Republican, and independent candidates run together on the same ballot in a nonpartisan blanket primary. Though the jungle primary system was intended to benefit Edwards' own political career, many observers cite it as being a major factor in the eventual rise of the state's Republican Party and the creation of a genuinely competitive two-party system. For this, Edwards was facetiously christened "father of Louisiana's Republican Party".
William Denis Brown, III, a lawyer and a state senator from Monroe, was Edwards's floor leader in the upper legislative chamber in the first term as governor. A native of Vicksburg, Mississippi reared on a plantation north of Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish, Brown was instrumental in drafting the Louisiana Mineral Code. Thereafter from 1980 to 1988, Brown was the chairman of the Louisiana Board of Ethics.
Early in the first gubernatorial term, Edwards initiated the creation of the first new Louisiana state constitution in more than a half century. He intended to replace the Constitution of 1921, an unwieldy and outmoded document burdened with hundreds of amendments. A constitutional convention was held in 1973; the resulting document was put into effect in 1975. , the 1973 Constitution remains in effect. Edwards also undertook a major reorganization of the state government, abolishing over 80 state agencies and modeling the remaining structure after that of the federal government.
In his first year in office, Edwards appointed his wife Elaine Edwards, also a native of Avoyelles Parish, to complete the Senate term of the deceased Allen J. Ellender. Mrs. Edwards served from August 1972 until that November, and during that time, the small town of Crowley boasted the governor, a U.S. Senator, and a U.S. Representative (former Edwards aide John Breaux), who all lived within a few blocks of each other.
An outspoken supporter of civil rights, Edwards appointed more black people and women to high positions in his administration than had his predecessors.
Edwards named State Representative J. Burton Angelle of Breaux Bridge as his director of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, a key appointment which Angelle filled for Edwards' first three terms of office.
Edwards' tenure in the 1970s coincided with a huge boom in the state's oil and gas industry after the gas pricing crisis of 1973. Edwards was able to greatly expand the state's oil revenues by basing severance taxes on a percentage of the price of each barrel rather than the former flat rate. This oil money fueled a massive increase in state spending (a 163% increase between 1972 and 1980), and Edwards was able to consistently balance the state budget due to the boom in oil revenue. Much of this increased spending went toward health and human services programs and increased funding for vocational-technical schools and higher education.
Edwards easily won reelection in 1975, with 750,107 votes (62.3 percent). In second place was Democratic State Senator Robert G. "Bob" Jones of Lake Charles, son of former Governor Sam Houston Jones, with 292,220 (24.3 percent). Secretary of State Wade O. Martin Jr., ran third with 146,363 (12.2 percent). Thereafter, Jones and Martin became Republicans. Addison Roswell Thompson, the perennial segregationist candidate from New Orleans, made his last race for governor in the 1975 primary.
Early scandals
Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemerfather of future governor Buddy Roemer – was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case.
During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but the Edwards administration attacked Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife.
In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was a U.S. representative. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was "super moralistic" for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings. The scandal also engulfed Edwards's former congressional colleague Otto Passman of Monroe, who was later acquitted of all charges in the case, but nonetheless was defeated in his 1976 re-election bid by Jerry Huckaby of Ringgold.
First political comeback: Edwards vs. Treen, 1983
Barred by the state constitution from seeking a third term immediately after his second, Edwards temporarily left politics in 1980 but made it clear he would run again for governor in 1983. He began raising money and touring the state long before the 1983 election, maintaining what supporters called "the government in waiting". Early in 1982, Edwards said that he was so committed to running again for governor that "only death alone can separate me from this. ... We are being led by a governor whose only answer to unemployment is to buy a $350,000 jet."
In 1979, Republican David Treen was narrowly elected governor on a pledge of good government reform. Edwards had supported Treen's opponent, Democratic Public Service Commissioner Louis Lambert of Ascension Parish. As widely expected, Edwards in 1983 defeated Treen's re-election attempt. The election offered a clear contrast between the flamboyant, charismatic Edwards and the low-key, policy-oriented Treen. While Treen focused on Edward's reputation for corruption and dishonesty, Edwards sought to portray Treen as incompetent and unresponsive to the public. Treen said of Edwards: "It's difficult for me to understand his popularity", which indicated in the eyes of many that he did not fully comprehend Louisiana politics. The two major candidates spent over $18 million between them; the election became renowned as one of the most expensive campaigns ever conducted in a state the size of Louisiana. John Maginnis' 1984 book, The Last Hayride, chronicles this colorful but lopsided campaign.
Treen's commissioner of administration, former legislator E. L. "Bubba" Henry, told the Democratic State Central Committee that Edwards had created a "smoke screen ... to divert attention from his own 'sweetheart deals' for his political friends", a reference to controversy which arose in the financing of a new baseball stadium for the University of Louisiana at Monroe (then known as Northeast Louisiana University).
Before election day, Edwards joked with reporters: "The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy." Edwards zinged Treen many times, once describing Treen as "so slow it takes him an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes." During a gubernatorial debate in 1983, Treen asked Edwards, "How come you talk out of both sides of your mouth?" Edwards instantly responded, "So people like you with only half a brain can understand me."
Then Shreveport Journal editor Stanley R. Tiner reported after the campaign of 1983 that Edwards does not believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and does not personally expect to go to heaven. There was an uproar in conservative religious circles, but the comments did not stop Edwards from finishing his term or winning a fourth election eight years later.
Edwards' brother, Marion David Edwards (1928–2013), was part of the 1983 campaign and of the entourage that headed to France and Belgium early in 1984 to raise money to repay a lingering $4.2 million campaign debt. Six hundred supporters joined the Edwardses on an eight-day tour that included dinner at Versailles and gambling in Monte Carlo. Each paid $10,000. Edwards expected a 70 percent profit on the contributors' tickets to retire the debt. Bumper stickers were printed in blue and gold campaign colors and distributed to those who contributed to the retirement of this debt. For years afterwards, motorists saw stickers on vehicles bearing the slogan, "I did Paris with the Gov." Attendees ranged from Sheriff Don Hathaway of Caddo Parish to the Lafayette artist George Rodrigue, known at the time for his oak tree symbol, later replaced by the widely recognized blue dog.
Third term as governor, 1984–1988
State finances nosedived during the third Edwards administration. Money from petroleum severance taxes decreased sharply in the middle 1980s because of plummeting oil prices. In 1984, Edwards attempted to deal with the erosion of state revenue by approving $730 million—Edwards had requested $1.1 billion—in new personal taxes, including a 1 percentage point increase in the state sales tax, $61 million in higher corporate income taxes, and $190 million in additional gasoline taxes. The legislature, overwhelmingly dominated by lawmakers beholden to Edwards, passed these taxes into law, but the taxes were highly unpopular and damaged Edwards' level of public support. Republican State Representative Terry W. Gee of New Orleans said at the time, "Nobody realized the magnitude of what's going on; I've had 180 phone calls in two days against the higher taxes."
Much of Edwards' support in the 1970s had been fueled by high levels of social spending during times of economic prosperity; with economic conditions worsening, his popularity waned. To obtain passage of the higher taxes, Edwards first submitted Treen's 1984–1985 proposed budget as a warning to lawmakers. The Treen budget, he claimed, would cut state spending too drastically and cause roads to fall apart, bridges to collapse, and insurance premiums to skyrocket. Edwards predicted that if lawmakers passed Treen's budget instead of the higher taxes the voters would rebel and blame the legislature itself for the results. In the end, Edwards got most of what he wanted and was able to use the excuse of teacher pay increases to put pressure on lawmakers.
John Volz indictment and trials
In February 1985, soon after his third term began, Edwards was forced to stand trial on charges of mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and bribery, brought by U.S. Attorney John Volz. The charges were centered around an alleged scheme in which Edwards and his associates received almost $2 million in exchange for granting preferential treatment to companies dealing with state hospitals. Edwards proclaimed his innocence and insisted that the charges were politically motivated by Volz and the Republican Party. The first trial resulted in a mistrial in December 1985, while a second trial in 1986 resulted in an acquittal. After Edwards and his four co-defendants were acquitted, the hotel where the jurors had been sequestered revealed that half of the jurors had stolen towels as they left. Edwards quipped that he had been judged by a "jury of my peers".
Russell B. Long had correctly predicted in March 1985 that Edwards would indeed be acquitted by a Louisiana jury and that the ensuing trial would not disrupt state government. When Long announced his retirement from the U.S. Senate seat that he had held since 1948, he indicated his preference for Edwards as his senatorial successor but added, correctly, that he did not think Edwards would enter the 1986 Senate election.
Prosecutors referred to Marion Edwards, also indicted in the alleged health care scheme, as a "bag man" for his brother. Marion ridiculed this characterization at a French Quarter bar in New Orleans, when media representatives were present. He placed a shopping bag on his head to resemble a crown and tossed about phony $100 bills.
Edwards later recited during a toast at a French Quarter bar, though his beverage was non-alcoholic as he was a teetotaler, a rhyming invitation for Volz to "kiss my ass". The trials were rather lengthy, and at one point during the first trial but before the mistrial Edwards rode to the Hale Boggs U.S. Courthouse on a mule from his hotel. When asked by reporters why he did so, he replied something to the effect that it was symbolic of the speed and intellect of the federal judicial system, but also that he supported "tradition". Marion Edwards, an attorney, often wore a pinstripe suit with a top hat and cane and held comedic press briefings at the end of each court session on the steps of the courthouse. Marion Edwards mocked the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Volz, and United States Judge Marcel Livaudais, who presided over the trials.
Even after beating the Volz indictment, Edwin Edwards' popularity was in decline. Despite his acquittal, the trial brought many sordid details of Edwards's conduct under public scrutiny. It was revealed that during frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas, Edwards lost hundreds of thousands of dollars under aliases such as T. Wong and E. Lee, later paying these gambling debts using suitcases stuffed with cash of unknown origin.
After the trial, Edwards' support for the legalization of gambling as a solution to the state's severe revenue shortages contributed to a further decline in his popularity. He had made unpopular budget cuts to education and other social programs earlier in his term. Beginning in January 1986, he argued that legalizing casino gambling in up to fifteen locations and creating a state lottery would be a way to restore the programs, but the state legislature rejected his gambling proposals. Entering a tough re-election campaign in 1987, Edwards seemed vulnerable. Going into the election, his disapproval ratings ranged from 52 to 71 percent.
At first Edwards had predicted that a casino and a state lottery would net the state $600 million; then he lowered the expectations to $150 million. Both gambling measures would eventually be implemented, but not during Edwards' third term.
Defeat: Edwards vs. Roemer, 1987
Several notable candidates lined up to face Edwards in the 1987 gubernatorial election. Perhaps his strongest early challenger was Republican Congressman Bob Livingston. Also in the race were Billy Tauzin, a then-Democratic Cajun congressman from Thibodaux who was a strong Edwards supporter while serving in the state legislature from 1972 to 1980; Democratic Secretary of State Jim Brown of Ferriday, and a Democratic congressman from Bossier City, Buddy Roemer, the son of former Commissioner of Administration Charles Roemer, who climbed up from a series of low poll rankings early in the campaign.
Louis J. Roussel Jr., the businessman from New Orleans who began his career as a bus driver, contributed $600,000 to Edwards in the losing race in 1987. Roussel had been a large donor to Bill Dodd, whose son, William Ford Dodd, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the same 1987 primary election.
"Anyone But Edwards"
Edwards was the issue of the campaign. Because of his name recognition, his resilient supporters, and unmatched political skill, even a weakened Edwards could safely assume he would win a place in Louisiana's unique primary election system runoff. The question was whether his opponent in the runoff would be someone who could beat him.
There was a prevailing sense in the race that Edwards needed Livingston in the runoff. Livingston was a Republican in a state that had at that point elected only one Republican governor since Reconstruction. And Livingston was widely perceived as lacking in charisma and personality, which would work to Edwards's advantage. Any other opponent, a moderate Democrat without the ethical problems, would be dangerous. To that end, Edwards talked up Livingston. Perhaps the key moment in the 1987 race came at a forum between the candidates. As usual, the main topic of discussion was Edwin Edwards. His challengers were asked, in succession, if they would consider endorsing Edwards in the general election if they did not make it to the runoff. The candidates hedged, particularly Secretary of State Brown, a reliable Edwards supporter in the state Senate who in his 1979 election drew many of the same voters who supported fellow Democrat Louis Lambert in his failed gubernatorial bid in the same general election vs. Treen. The last candidate to speak was Buddy Roemer: "No, we've got to slay the dragon. I would endorse anyone but Edwards." The next day, as political commentator John Maginnis put it, Jim Brown was explaining his statement while Buddy Roemer was ordering "Slay the Dragon" buttons. Boosted by his endorsement as the 'good government candidate' by nearly every newspaper in the state, Roemer stormed from last place in the polls and on election night, overtook Edwin Edwards and placed first in the primary election, with 33 percent of the vote compared with Edwards' 28 percent. This marked the first time Edwin Edwards ever finished other than in first place in an election.
In what seemed to be the end of Edwards' political career, the governor withdrew from the contest in his concession speech, automatically electing Buddy Roemer governor. In fact, he was cleverly setting a trap for Roemer. By withdrawing, Edwards denied Roemer the opportunity to build a governing coalition in the general election race, and denied him the decisive majority victory that he surely would have attained. In one stroke, Edwards made Buddy Roemer a minority governor. Also, Edwards virtually ceded control of the state to Roemer even before his inauguration. By doing so, he passed on the burden of the state's problems to the new governor, who was essentially under the gun even before assuming office. For four years, Roemer struggled to be a reform governor of Louisiana as so many had before him. And although virtually no one realized it at the time, Edwin Edwards quietly waited in the wings for a return to power.
Second comeback: Edwards vs. Duke, 1991
As the 1991 governor's race drew near, many of Edwards' friends encouraged him to abandon his planned comeback, believing that he had no chance to win. After Edwards' loss in 1987, Lanny Keller, a journalist for the defunct Shreveport Journal wrote that the only way Edwin Edwards could ever be elected again was to run against Adolf Hitler. These words turned out to be shockingly prophetic, since after the 1991 primary Edwards discovered his runoff opponent to be former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke. Edwards received 34 percent of the vote while Duke received 32 percent. Governor Roemer placed third, 80,000 votes behind Duke.
The runoff between an avowed white supremacist and a former governor who was corrupt but was also perceived as minority-friendly, gained national attention. Support for Edwards grew in between the primary and the runoff. Louisiana Coalition against Racism and Nazism, an interest group, appeared on the landscape to challenge Duke, with its leadership including longtime Treen supporter Beth Rickey, a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee from New Orleans. The coalition revealed through a recording of Duke at a White Nationalist conference that he was still involved in Ku Klux Klan activities.
Faced with the alternative of Duke, many who were otherwise lukewarm for Edwards found him looking ever better. Edwards found himself receiving endorsements from Treen and Roemer; even Republican President George H. W. Bush urged that Edwards, the Democrat, be elected over Duke. A popular bumper sticker urging support for Edwards (although clearly not produced by his campaign) read "Vote For the Crook. It's Important." Another read "Vote for the Lizard, not the Wizard." Edwards said that this would be his final term as governor and that he cared about leaving a good legacy, which made many hope that the corruption of his previous administrations would not be repeated. Edwards won by a wide margin. Continuing his artful use of humor to deflate an opponent, and referring to his considerable reputation as a ladies' man, Edwards said of Duke that "the only thing we have in common is that we both have been wizards beneath the sheets." He also feigned concern for Duke's health due to smoke inhalation "because he's around so many burning crosses" and when a reporter asked Edwards what he needed to do to triumph over Duke, Edwards replied "stay alive". On election day, Edwards defeated Duke in a landslide, 61 to 39 percent, a margin of nearly 400,000 votes.
Fourth term as governor, 1992–1996
In his last term, Edwards asked his boyhood friend, Raymond Laborde, to leave the state House after twenty years to serve as commissioner of administration. Laborde, who had once defeated Edwards for class president at Marksville High School and had earlier been his legislative floor leader, agreed to join the administration. He invited former state Representative Kevin P. Reilly Sr., of Baton Rouge, former CEO of Lamar Advertising Company to serve as secretary of economic development. Reilly had been removed in 1986 as chairman of the Louisiana House Appropriations Committee after having criticized Edwards.
In 1992, Edwards appointed the professional penologist, Richard Stalder, as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections, a position that used to be given to political supporters. Stalder remained secretary until 2008, serving during three subsequent gubernatorial terms in the position.
During his previous term as Governor, Edwards promoted casino gambling in Louisiana, which had been a major part of his platform in the 1991 campaign. In June 1992, his heavy lobbying led the state legislature to pass a bill calling for a single large land-based casino in New Orleans. He also appointed a board that, at his private direction, awarded 15 floating riverboat casinos that had been authorized by the Legislature and the Roemer administration. He appointed a political ally, Paul Fontenot, to head the State Police; he would oversee the licensing and investigation of casino operators. On another front he again demonstrated his broad commitment to civil rights by becoming the first Southern governor to issue an executive order protecting lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons from discrimination in state governmental services, employment, and contracts.
Despite the discovery that some licensees had links to organized crime or other unsavory ties, Edwards blocked the revocation of their licenses. But a political backlash against gambling-related corruption began. Though he had originally planned to run for re-election in 1995, he announced in June 1994, shortly after marrying his second wife Candy Picou, that he would be retiring from politics at the end of his term. Edwards was succeeded as governor by State Senator Murphy J. Foster Jr., who ran as an opponent of gambling interests. Edwards retired to a newly purchased home in Baton Rouge, intent on returning to a private law practice and living out his remaining days in contentment with his young wife, Candy (born 1964).
Ron Gomez, whose second term in the legislature corresponded with Edwards' third term as governor, describes Edwards, accordingly:
"Somehow, his brashness and arrogance over the years, traits that would have destroyed the average politician, have only seemed to endear him to his core constituency: minorities, organized labor, Cajuns and lower-income voters. It is exactly those groups who suffered the most over the quarter of a century he was in and out of the governor's office. Except for some black leaders who attached themselves to his entourage and gained political clout and monetary rewards through favors and appointments, the minority population as a whole has made very little progress culturally, educationally or socially because of his leadership."
Gomez continued:
Organized labor, once a powerful force in the state, has fallen to its lowest membership in history. And, overall, when he finally left office in 1996, the state was near the bottom in teacher pay and college and university funding (among other things). It was also near the top in high school dropouts, teen pregnancies, welfare recipients, prison population, and virtually every other negative category.
Indictment and conviction
Former Congressman Cleo Fields achieved considerable notoriety in 1997 when an FBI surveillance videotape showed him accepting a large amount of cash (about $20,000) from Edwards and stuffing it in his pockets. At the time Fields stated that the incident was just an innocent business transaction between friends, and said there was a humorous explanation, which he would make public shortly thereafter. A cloud hung over Fields as an unindicted co-conspirator in Edwards' criminal trial and in the end Fields refused to deliver the promised "humorous" explanation, stating that at the time of the cash transfer, he was not an elected official, and therefore under no obligation to explain publicly.
After being fingered by Texas for-profit prison entrepreneur Patrick Graham, who allegedly gave him $845,000 in conjunction with a scheme to locate a private juvenile prison in Jena in La Salle Parish, Edwards was indicted in 1998 by the federal government with the prosecution led by U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan. The prosecution soon released transcripts of audio conversations, and excerpts of video surveillance that seemed to indicate dubious financial transactions. The Edwards investigation also resulted in the conviction of San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., who admitted to paying Edwards a $400,000 bribe (DeBartolo was convicted for not reporting the extortion) in exchange for Edwards's assistance in securing a riverboat casino license.
Edwards was found guilty on seventeen of twenty-six counts, including racketeering, extortion, money laundering, mail fraud, and wire fraud; his son Stephen was convicted on 18 counts. "I did not do anything wrong as a governor, even if you accept the verdict as it is, it doesn't indicate that", Edwards told the press after his conviction. On his way to prison he said, "I will be a model prisoner, as I have been a model citizen". From 2002 to 2004 Edwin Edwards was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
Edwards' sometime co-conspirator, Cecil Brown, a Eunice cattleman, was convicted for his part in the payoffs in 2002.
In 2004, Edwards filed for divorce from his second wife Candy, saying that Mrs. Edwards had "suffered enough" during his incarceration. In June 2005, the former Mrs. Edwards was arrested for threatening a police officer at a traffic stop in Port Barre, screaming "don't you know who I am?"
In 2005, Edwards was moved to the Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale in Allen Parish, where he served his sentence as inmate #03128-095. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, he was scheduled to be released on July 6, 2011. In prison, he served as the facility's librarian: "I did what I could for my fellow inmates. I helped a number of them get their GEDs and I was helping several more when my term expired. Now, I have to be honest; I didn't stick around to see if they succeeded..."
Two men whom Edwards defeated in Louisiana elections—David C. Treen and J. Bennett Johnston Jr.—and a third who was his protégé and successor in the Seventh District U.S. House seat, U.S. Senator John Breaux, confirmed in July 2007 that they intended to approach then U.S. President George W. Bush to seek a pardon or commutation for Edwards, who celebrated his 80th birthday in prison in August 2007. Bush denied a pardon for Edwards before he left the presidency on January 20, 2009.
Edwards supporters also lobbied U.S. President Barack Obama for a pardon for Edwards so he might run in the 2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election. Obama did not reply to petitions by supporters of Edwards and lacking a pardon, Edwards remained ineligible to seek the governorship of Louisiana until the end of his life and would have only been eligible to run after fifteen years would have passed from the end of his sentence.
In 2009, Edwards was listed as an "honorary pallbearer" at the funeral of perennial political candidate L. D. Knox of Winnsboro, who in the 1979 gubernatorial contest, when Edwards was not on the ballot, legally changed his name to "None of the Above" Knox to dramatize his support for the "None of the Above" option in elections.
On January 13, 2011, Edwards was released from prison and served the remainder of his sentence at a halfway house. His sentence ended on July 6, 2011 and he began three years of probation. He entered into home confinement at his daughter's Denham Springs, Louisiana home through the supervision of a halfway house, on January 13, 2011. Following that, Edwards was placed on probation. On February 7, 2013, Edwards was granted early release from probation due to good behavior. His wife Trina made the announcement on her Facebook page.
In a poll taken in October 2011, months after he had been released from prison, 30 percent of respondents named Edwards the state's best governor since 1980.
2014 Congressional election
In February 2014, Edwards announced that he was contemplating running in the 2014 election to represent the Louisiana's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is centered on the state capital of Baton Rouge. With U.S. Representative Bill Cassidy exiting the seat to run for the Senate, Edwards said of the solidly Republican district: "I'm the only hope the Democrats have here." He formally declared his candidacy at a March 17 meeting of the Press Club of Baton Rouge, saying, "I want you to know, I'm going to give it every effort." If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, a runoff would be held on December 6, 2014, between the top two candidates. Two other Democrats, a Libertarian and nine Republicans, most notably Garret Graves, a former aide to Governor Bobby Jindal, State Senator Dan Claitor, businessman Paul Dietzel, II, and State Representative Lenar Whitney, also sought the seat.
After Edwards' announcement, Cassidy told KEEL radio news in Shreveport that he doubted that Edwards "has a chance. It's a conservative district, and he's obviously not a conservative. But it kind of shows, I think, to a certain extent that the Democratic bench is weak." Louisiana political writer John Maginnis said that Edwards was "likely to make the runoff" because of his name recognition, but "I don't see how he could win in a strong GOP-performance district like the 6th. But it should be entertaining." State pollster Elliott Stonecipher said that "the most basic math of the Edwards race yields an 'it is not impossible' answer" and former Governor Buddy Roemer said that while it is unlikely, "yes, [Edwards] can win".
An April 2014 article in Politico that discussed his chances noted that he was "still sharp as a razor" and "in remarkably vigorous health". He pronounced himself "disappointed" with President Obama for "sitting" on the Keystone Pipeline and listed his campaign priorities as "Building support for a high-speed rail system between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and emphasizing the good aspects of Obamacare, while doing what I can to change or amend the provisions that I think are onerous." He said that he would have voted against the Affordable Care Act, but criticized Governor Jindal for not accepting the Medicaid expansion. If elected, he hoped to serve on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to spur the construction of elevated roadways in the state.
A September 2014 survey of statewide Louisiana voters by Public Policy Polling found that 40% had a favourable opinion of Edwards, 44% did not and 17% were unsure. Asked whether they would rather have Edwards as governor than incumbent Republican governor Bobby Jindal, 47% said they would prefer Edwards, 43% preferred Jindal and 10% were not sure.
Edwards finished first in every poll taken of the race, though only with a plurality. Runoff polls showed him losing to all of his Republican opponents. An article in The Times-Picayune in late October 2014 noted that he had run a vigorous, serious campaign and noted that, as previously, analysts were split on whether he could actually win. David Wasserman of The Cook Political Report said that for Edwards, "mathematically, victory is something close to impossibility." Conversely, a spokesman for Republican opponent Lenar Whitney and political analyst Michael Beychok both said that he had a chance to win and Republican candidate Garret Graves said "There's no one alive anymore in this state that has the experience or, quite frankly, the tactics (of) Edwin Edwards." Edwards was expected to make the runoff, with his chances dependent on which Republican joins him, with several analysts saying that Edwards' best chance would come if Whitney, the most conservative Republican running, does so. Edwards' strategy was to appeal to black and Cajun voters and conservative Democrats, also campaigning on college campuses to appeal to younger voters. Columnist Bob Mann predicted that if Edwards made the runoff, the media would decry Louisiana voters' toleration for corruption when, "in truth (Edwards) never really had a chance to win."
As expected, Edwards as the principal Democratic candidate led the 2014 primary field for Congress with 77,862 votes (30.1 percent), winning every parish in the district. He then faced the Republican runner-up, Garret Graves, in the December 6 runoff election. Graves had received 70,706 "jungle primary" votes (27.4 percent). Losing Republican candidates were Paul Dietzel II, with 35,013 votes (13.6 percent), state Senator Dan Claitor with 26,520 (10.3 percent), and state Representative Lenar Whitney with 19,146 votes (7.4 percent). Edwards lost to Graves by a 62–38 percent margin in the runoff. It was only the second loss of his political career.
Edwards' record of longevity
Edwards has the seventh longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,784 days. Few governors have served four four-year terms. Edwards followed George Wallace of Alabama, Jim Hunt of North Carolina, Bill Janklow of South Dakota, Terry Branstad of Iowa, Lewis Cass of Michigan, and Jim Rhodes of Ohio as 16-year governors. However, Branstad was elected to a fifth nonconsecutive term as governor of Iowa in 2010, placing him second to George Clinton of New York (21 years) as the longest-serving governor in U.S. history, and won a sixth term as governor in 2014. In December 2015 Branstad surpassed New York's George Clinton as the longest-tenured governor in American history, with 8,169 days in office.
Veteran journalist Iris Kelso once described Edwards as clearly "the most interesting" of the six governors that she had covered while working for three newspapers and WDSU, the NBC television affiliate in New Orleans. Kelso declared Edwards more colorful than Earl Long, whom she covered for less than a year in the office.
Personal life
Marriages and family
In 1949, Edwards married Elaine Schwartzenburg, whom he had met at Marksville High School. The couple had four children: Anna, Victoria, Stephen, and David. In 1972, Edwards appointed her as an interim U.S. senator to complete the unfinished term of Allen J. Ellender of Houma, who died while campaigning for his seventh term in office. On July 1, 1989, the couple divorced after forty years of marriage. They had begun living apart on March 15, 1989.
In 1994, Edwards married Candy Picou (born 1964). In 1997, the couple entered the headlines when they attempted to have a child. Edwards had a vasectomy reversal, and the couple froze sperm to attempt to have a baby but were not successful. While in prison, Edwin Edwards filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2004.
In July 2011, Edwards married Trina Grimes, his prison pen pal. They began corresponding while he was serving his sentence for corruption. At the time of the wedding, he was 83, and she was 32. On August 1, 2013, Grimes gave birth to their child, Eli Wallace Edwards. In 2013, Edwards and Trina co-starred in an A&E reality show, The Governor's Wife based on their life together.
Extended family
One of Edwards's brothers, Nolan Edwards, a former assistant district attorney in Acadia Parish, was murdered in Crowley by an irate client in 1983, the same year that Edwards was engineering his comeback bid for a third term as governor. Nolan's killer, Rodney Wingate Jr., of Church Point, Louisiana, then killed himself. Wingate had been pardoned by Governor Edwards in 1980 for two drug convictions in the 1970s, a pardon procured through the intervention of Nolan Edwards. Nolan's murder halted the 1983 politicking. Newspapers carried a photograph of brothers Edwin and Marion locked in an embrace on an airport tarmac.
Marion Edwards, an insurance agent and political consultant, was a cancer survivor and counseled other patients for many years. Born on July 10, 1928, in Marksville, he died on January 12, 2013, at the age of eighty-four at his home in Broussard near Lafayette, Louisiana. The cause of death was not released. The Marion D. Edwards Fellowship in Hepatic Oncology at the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston, Texas, is named in his honor. Marion Edwards, who was Nazarene, was survived by his second wife, the former Deborah "Penny" Meaux, and three daughters from his first marriage to Aline Luther Edwards: Wanda Edwards, Elizabeth Kersten, and Donna Edwards.
Another brother, Allen Edwards, the longtime owner of a farm and heavy equipment company in Quitman in northern Arkansas, died in 2009, while Edwards was in prison. Edwards did not attend the funeral because of security difficulties.
Edwards was an uncle by marriage to former U.S. Representative Charles Boustany, a Republican from Lafayette, whose district includes much of the territory represented from 1965 to 1972 by then-U.S. Representative Edwin Edwards. Boustany's wife is the former Bridget Edwards, a daughter of Nolan Edwards.
Third wife and reality television show
On July 29, 2011, Edwards married Trina Grimes Scott (born August 1978) from Baton Rouge, at the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans. Edwards' one-time prison pen pal, she was fifty-one years his junior and was born midway in his second term as governor. She is a Republican.
Edwin and Trina Edwards were the subjects of the reality show The Governor's Wife, which premiered October 27, 2013, on the Arts & Entertainment Network. The program focused on Trina's rearing of teenaged sons and acting as stepmother to Edwards' daughters who are almost twice her age. According to the A&E description of the program: "Between school projects, running for president of the Homeowner's Association, fending off skeptics who think she's a gold digger, and thoughts of adding a baby of their own to the mix, the Edwards clan truly represents a new take on the modern family." The couple announced February 15, 2013 that Trina was pregnant. Trina gave birth to their son, Eli Wallace Edwards, on August 1, 2013.
Health and death
In 2015, Edwards was hospitalized for pneumonia. On December 13, 2016, Edwards was hospitalized under stable condition again for pneumonia in Baton Rouge.
Edwards was rushed to the hospital again by ambulance in November 2020, with shortness of breath. Edwards returned to his home in Gonzales after spending two nights at Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center in Baton Rouge. It was reported that he had a common head cold and he reportedly tested negative for both COVID-19 and pneumonia, as well as the flu. His wife told the media that he was resting well and "giving orders" once he got home.
Edwards was sent to hospice care for pain in his lungs in Gonzales, Louisiana on July 6, 2021. He died six days later on July 12, 26 days short of his 94th birthday. The cause of death was respiratory complications. At the time of his death, Edwards had outlived four of his successors: Dave Treen, Buddy Roemer, Mike Foster, and Kathleen Blanco.
References
Bibliography
State of Louisiana – Biography
Boulard, Garry, "Edwin Edwards: Reflections on a Life", Times of Acadiana, August 15, 2001.
Bridges, Tyler. Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001.
Dawson, Joseph G. The Louisiana Governors: From Iberville to Edwards. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1990.
Honeycutt, Leo. Edwin Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, An Authorized Biography by Leo Honeycutt. Lisburn Press, 2009.
Lemann, Nancy. Ritz of the Bayou. Knopf, 1987.
Maginnis, John. The Last Hayride. Baton Rouge: Gris Gris Press, 1984.
Maginnis, John. Cross to Bear. Baton Rouge: Darkhorse Press, 1992.
Reeves, Miriam G. The Governors of Louisiana. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 1998.
External links
Edwards' greatest quotes
New York magazine profile
Larry King interview
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"The 1916 Democratic National Convention was held at the St. Louis Coliseum in St. Louis, Missouri from June 14 to June 16, 1916. It resulted in the nomination of President Woodrow Wilson and Vice President Thomas R. Marshall for reelection.\n\nDemonstrations \nWomen's suffrage activists in Missouri staged a demons... | [
"Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1976, 1976-1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as ... |
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"Edwin Edwards",
"Early scandals",
"what were edwins early scandals?",
"When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that \"It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive.\"",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"while still governor, an... | C_e1d668882c39441abf5804d2a7db0abc_0 | what did he go on to do after being questioned? | 4 | what did Edwin Edwards go on to do after being questioned? | Edwin Edwards | Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemer - father of future governor Buddy Roemer - was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case. During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but the Edwards administration attacked Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife. In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was a U.S. representative. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was "super moralistic" for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings. The scandal also engulfed Edwards's former congressional colleague Otto Passman of Monroe, who was later acquitted of all charges in the case. CANNOTANSWER | During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. | Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1976, 1976-1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive. He served a total of 16 years in gubernatorial office, at 5,784 days the sixth-longest such tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history.
A colorful, powerful, and legendary figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards, who was dubbed the "very last of the line of New Deal Southern Democrats", was long dogged by charges of corruption. In 2001, he was found guilty of racketeering charges and sentenced to ten years in federal prison. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas, and was later transferred to the federal facility in Oakdale, Louisiana. He was released from federal prison in January 2011, having served eight years.
In 2014, Edwards again sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives, running to represent . He placed first in the jungle primary, but was defeated by Republican Garret Graves by nearly 25 percentage points in the runoff election.
Early life and career
Edwin Washington Edwards was born in rural Avoyelles Parish, near Marksville. His father, Clarence Edwards, was a half-French Creole Presbyterian sharecropper, while his mother, the former Agnès Brouillette, was a French-speaking Roman Catholic. Edwards' ancestors were among early Louisiana colonists from France who eventually settled in Avoyelles Parish, referred to as the original French Creoles. Edwards, like many 20th century politicians from Avoyelles, assumed that he had Cajun ancestry, when in fact he may have had none. His father was descended from a family in Kentucky, who came to Louisiana during the American Civil War. His great-great-grandfather, William Edwards, was killed in Marksville at the beginning of the American Civil War because of his pro-Union sentiment.
Avoyelles Parish has been known for colorful politicians; another who stood out, F.O. "Potch" Didier, actually spent seven days in his own jail after being convicted of malfeasance in office during his own heated reelection.
The young Edwards had planned on a career as a preacher. As a young man, he did some preaching for the Marksville Church of the Nazarene. He served briefly in the U.S. Navy Air Corps near the end of World War II. After his return from the military, he graduated at the age of twenty-one from Louisiana State University Law Center and began practicing law in Crowley, the seat of Acadia Parish. He relocated there in 1949 after his sister, Audrey E. Isbell, who had moved there with her husband, told him there were few French-speaking attorneys in the southwestern Louisiana community.
Edwards' career was thus helped by his being bilingual and articulate in both English and Cajun French. He learned to cultivate the goodwill of the media, working reporters and editorial page editors. One of his favorites was Adras LaBorde, the longtime managing editor of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk in Alexandria. LaBorde even influenced Edwards in regard to environmental policy.
Edwards entered politics through election to the Crowley City Council in 1954. He was a member of the Democratic Party which, in that era, had a monopoly on public offices in Louisiana, but which fell out of favor in the late 20th century. Edwards remained on the Crowley council until his election to the Louisiana State Senate in 1964; in that race he defeated, in a major political upset in the Democratic primary, the incumbent Bill Cleveland, a Crowley businessman who had served for twenty years in both houses of the Louisiana legislature. Years later as governor, Edwards appointed Cleveland's daughter, Willie Mae Fulkerson (1924–2009), a former member of the Crowley City Council, to the Louisiana Board of Prisons.
After serving in the state Senate for less than two years as a floor leader for Governor John McKeithen, Edwards was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 7th congressional district, a position that he held from 1965 until 1972. He won the congressional seat in a special election called when the incumbent, T. Ashton Thompson of Ville Platte, was killed in an automobile accident near Gastonia, North Carolina. Edwards was easily reelected to three full terms in the House in 1966, 1968, and 1970.
In 1968, he defeated Republican Vance William Plauché (1924–2013) of Lake Charles, son of former one-term Democratic Congressman Vance Gabriel Plauché, who was also a native of Avoyelles Parish. Edwards received more than 80 percent of the general election vote. While in Congress, Edwards served on the Public Works, Judiciary, and Internal Security committees. In 1970, he was one of the few Southern congressmen to support the extension for five years of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
1971–1972 campaign for governor
In the election of 1971–1972, Edwards won the governorship after finishing first in a field of seventeen candidates in the Democratic primary, including the final race of former governor Jimmie Davis and Gillis Long, a relative of Huey Long. His greatest support came from southern Louisiana, particularly among its large numbers of Cajun, Creole, and African-American voters. In the first primary, Edwards led with 276,397 (23.8 percent). J. Bennett Johnston Jr., a state senator from Shreveport, followed with 208,830 (17.8 percent). In third place was former Congressman Gillis Long of Alexandria, with 164,276 (14 percent). Former Governor Jimmie Davis finished fourth with 138,756 (11.8 percent). Far to the rear of the pack was Congressman Speedy O. Long of Jena of rural La Salle Parish with only 61,359 (5.2 percent).
Both Edwards and Johnston ran on reform-oriented platforms during the primary, but Edwards was more adept at making political deals and building alliances for the runoff round of voting. Edwards said that the major philosophical difference that he held with Johnston was in regard to their "awareness of problems of the poor". Johnston won the endorsement of Edwards' legislative colleague, Joe D. Waggonner of Bossier Parish, but the Shreveport state senator declined to accept Edwards' offer of a televised debate between the two.
Edwards defeated Johnston in the runoff, 584,262 (50.2 percent) to 579,774 (49.8 percent),
In a less than one vote per precinct outcome. The victory showed that south Louisiana was eclipsing the north in both population and in future political domination of the state.
On election night, Edwards gave public credit to the African American New Orleans political organization SOUL for his extremely narrow victory, stating that the 12,000 vote lead SOUL had bought him in New Orleans had put him over the top. Such public recognition of black political power by a Democratic governor of Louisiana was unprecedented.
In the general election held on February 1, 1972, Edwards faced Republican gubernatorial nominee David C. Treen, then of Metairie. He did not run as the candidate who would continue the Democratic policies of his predecessor, John McKeithen, for whom Edwards had been a state senate floor leader. Instead he derided McKeithen as a "lame duck governor who doesn't want the new administration to do well. It'll make him look bad", considering a $30 million budget shortfall facing the next governor. Throughout the campaign, Edwards repeatedly insisted that Treen had no chance of victory. He said the climate was not right for a Republican governor in Louisiana. He ridiculed Treen as having "never held a public office. He has run for office four times and has been defeated all four times. He can't even generate enough enthusiasm in his home district (Jefferson Parish), where he is best known." He accused Treen of having adopted Edwards' own reform platform characterized as the "Era of Excellence".
Though Treen ran a vigorous campaign, Louisiana's Democratic tradition favored Edwards from the start, as Edwards had predicted. Edwards polled 641,146 (57.2 percent) to Treen's 480,424 (42.8 percent). Edwards also overcame the south Louisiana "jinx" that had doomed former New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison Sr., in his three gubernatorial bids. Edwards picked up the enthusiastic backing of his runoff rival, J. Bennett Johnston, later a U.S. senator.
Bill Dodd, who was defeated for state superintendent of education in the same election cycle that Edwards was winning the governorship in for the first time, attributed the Edwards victory in part to political kingmaker Louis J. Roussel Jr., of New Orleans. According to Dodd, Roussel "can do more than any other individual in Louisiana to elect any candidate he supports for any office in this state. ... He is such a good administrator and motivator that he can put together an organization that will win in business and in politics."
First two terms as governor, 1972–1980
Both in his political rhetoric and in his public persona, Edwards cast himself as a Louisiana populist in the tradition of Huey P. Long and Earl K. Long. He was inaugurated as governor on May 9. One of his first acts was to call for a constitutional convention to overhaul Louisiana's bulky charter. Many of the sections on state government were written by delegate Robert G. Pugh, a prominent Shreveport attorney, who became an advisor to Edwards and two other governors thereafter. Voters approved the new constitution by a three-to-two margin in 1974, and government reorganization resulted. For the first time Louisiana operated with a "cabinet style" executive department in lieu of the hundreds of boards and commissions that had existed for decades, each its own fiefdom.
During his first two terms in office, Edwards developed a reputation for being one of the most colorful and flamboyant politicians in the history of a state known for its unorthodox political figures. Charismatic, well-dressed, and quick with clever one-liners and retorts, Edwards maintained wide popularity.
On taking office, Edwards hired J. Kelly Nix as his executive assistant and in 1974 elevated him to first executive assistant. In the second term, however, Nix left the administration to take office as the Louisiana state school superintendent. Dale Thorn, who had been Edwards' press secretary while he was in Congress, continued in that position for the first and most of the second Edwards terms. He was later associate commissioner of higher education for the Louisiana Board of Regents, and an LSU journalism professor.
Edwards also depended heavily on state Senator Sixty Rayburn of Bogalusa, whose 44-year service earned him the sobriquet as "Dean of the Louisiana Senate". He also rewarded political friends, such as former legislative colleague Fred L. Schiele, whom he appointed in 1973 to succeed the embattled Noah W. Cross as sheriff of Concordia Parish in eastern Louisiana.
Under Edwards, Michael H. O'Keefe of New Orleans in 1976 was named president of the state Senate, an office that was held by the lieutenant governor prior to the implementation of the state Constitution of 1974. In 1983, as Edwards prepared to return to office, O'Keefe was engulfed in scandal and forced to leave the Senate. He was as replaced by the Edwards loyalist, Samuel B. Nunez Jr., of Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish. In 2013, O'Keefe was still serving time in prison for a 1999 conviction.
Policies and achievements
After enduring three grueling rounds of voting in the 1971–1972 campaign, Edwards pushed a bill through the legislature that limited state elections to two rounds by having Democratic, Republican, and independent candidates run together on the same ballot in a nonpartisan blanket primary. Though the jungle primary system was intended to benefit Edwards' own political career, many observers cite it as being a major factor in the eventual rise of the state's Republican Party and the creation of a genuinely competitive two-party system. For this, Edwards was facetiously christened "father of Louisiana's Republican Party".
William Denis Brown, III, a lawyer and a state senator from Monroe, was Edwards's floor leader in the upper legislative chamber in the first term as governor. A native of Vicksburg, Mississippi reared on a plantation north of Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish, Brown was instrumental in drafting the Louisiana Mineral Code. Thereafter from 1980 to 1988, Brown was the chairman of the Louisiana Board of Ethics.
Early in the first gubernatorial term, Edwards initiated the creation of the first new Louisiana state constitution in more than a half century. He intended to replace the Constitution of 1921, an unwieldy and outmoded document burdened with hundreds of amendments. A constitutional convention was held in 1973; the resulting document was put into effect in 1975. , the 1973 Constitution remains in effect. Edwards also undertook a major reorganization of the state government, abolishing over 80 state agencies and modeling the remaining structure after that of the federal government.
In his first year in office, Edwards appointed his wife Elaine Edwards, also a native of Avoyelles Parish, to complete the Senate term of the deceased Allen J. Ellender. Mrs. Edwards served from August 1972 until that November, and during that time, the small town of Crowley boasted the governor, a U.S. Senator, and a U.S. Representative (former Edwards aide John Breaux), who all lived within a few blocks of each other.
An outspoken supporter of civil rights, Edwards appointed more black people and women to high positions in his administration than had his predecessors.
Edwards named State Representative J. Burton Angelle of Breaux Bridge as his director of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, a key appointment which Angelle filled for Edwards' first three terms of office.
Edwards' tenure in the 1970s coincided with a huge boom in the state's oil and gas industry after the gas pricing crisis of 1973. Edwards was able to greatly expand the state's oil revenues by basing severance taxes on a percentage of the price of each barrel rather than the former flat rate. This oil money fueled a massive increase in state spending (a 163% increase between 1972 and 1980), and Edwards was able to consistently balance the state budget due to the boom in oil revenue. Much of this increased spending went toward health and human services programs and increased funding for vocational-technical schools and higher education.
Edwards easily won reelection in 1975, with 750,107 votes (62.3 percent). In second place was Democratic State Senator Robert G. "Bob" Jones of Lake Charles, son of former Governor Sam Houston Jones, with 292,220 (24.3 percent). Secretary of State Wade O. Martin Jr., ran third with 146,363 (12.2 percent). Thereafter, Jones and Martin became Republicans. Addison Roswell Thompson, the perennial segregationist candidate from New Orleans, made his last race for governor in the 1975 primary.
Early scandals
Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemerfather of future governor Buddy Roemer – was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case.
During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but the Edwards administration attacked Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife.
In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was a U.S. representative. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was "super moralistic" for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings. The scandal also engulfed Edwards's former congressional colleague Otto Passman of Monroe, who was later acquitted of all charges in the case, but nonetheless was defeated in his 1976 re-election bid by Jerry Huckaby of Ringgold.
First political comeback: Edwards vs. Treen, 1983
Barred by the state constitution from seeking a third term immediately after his second, Edwards temporarily left politics in 1980 but made it clear he would run again for governor in 1983. He began raising money and touring the state long before the 1983 election, maintaining what supporters called "the government in waiting". Early in 1982, Edwards said that he was so committed to running again for governor that "only death alone can separate me from this. ... We are being led by a governor whose only answer to unemployment is to buy a $350,000 jet."
In 1979, Republican David Treen was narrowly elected governor on a pledge of good government reform. Edwards had supported Treen's opponent, Democratic Public Service Commissioner Louis Lambert of Ascension Parish. As widely expected, Edwards in 1983 defeated Treen's re-election attempt. The election offered a clear contrast between the flamboyant, charismatic Edwards and the low-key, policy-oriented Treen. While Treen focused on Edward's reputation for corruption and dishonesty, Edwards sought to portray Treen as incompetent and unresponsive to the public. Treen said of Edwards: "It's difficult for me to understand his popularity", which indicated in the eyes of many that he did not fully comprehend Louisiana politics. The two major candidates spent over $18 million between them; the election became renowned as one of the most expensive campaigns ever conducted in a state the size of Louisiana. John Maginnis' 1984 book, The Last Hayride, chronicles this colorful but lopsided campaign.
Treen's commissioner of administration, former legislator E. L. "Bubba" Henry, told the Democratic State Central Committee that Edwards had created a "smoke screen ... to divert attention from his own 'sweetheart deals' for his political friends", a reference to controversy which arose in the financing of a new baseball stadium for the University of Louisiana at Monroe (then known as Northeast Louisiana University).
Before election day, Edwards joked with reporters: "The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy." Edwards zinged Treen many times, once describing Treen as "so slow it takes him an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes." During a gubernatorial debate in 1983, Treen asked Edwards, "How come you talk out of both sides of your mouth?" Edwards instantly responded, "So people like you with only half a brain can understand me."
Then Shreveport Journal editor Stanley R. Tiner reported after the campaign of 1983 that Edwards does not believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and does not personally expect to go to heaven. There was an uproar in conservative religious circles, but the comments did not stop Edwards from finishing his term or winning a fourth election eight years later.
Edwards' brother, Marion David Edwards (1928–2013), was part of the 1983 campaign and of the entourage that headed to France and Belgium early in 1984 to raise money to repay a lingering $4.2 million campaign debt. Six hundred supporters joined the Edwardses on an eight-day tour that included dinner at Versailles and gambling in Monte Carlo. Each paid $10,000. Edwards expected a 70 percent profit on the contributors' tickets to retire the debt. Bumper stickers were printed in blue and gold campaign colors and distributed to those who contributed to the retirement of this debt. For years afterwards, motorists saw stickers on vehicles bearing the slogan, "I did Paris with the Gov." Attendees ranged from Sheriff Don Hathaway of Caddo Parish to the Lafayette artist George Rodrigue, known at the time for his oak tree symbol, later replaced by the widely recognized blue dog.
Third term as governor, 1984–1988
State finances nosedived during the third Edwards administration. Money from petroleum severance taxes decreased sharply in the middle 1980s because of plummeting oil prices. In 1984, Edwards attempted to deal with the erosion of state revenue by approving $730 million—Edwards had requested $1.1 billion—in new personal taxes, including a 1 percentage point increase in the state sales tax, $61 million in higher corporate income taxes, and $190 million in additional gasoline taxes. The legislature, overwhelmingly dominated by lawmakers beholden to Edwards, passed these taxes into law, but the taxes were highly unpopular and damaged Edwards' level of public support. Republican State Representative Terry W. Gee of New Orleans said at the time, "Nobody realized the magnitude of what's going on; I've had 180 phone calls in two days against the higher taxes."
Much of Edwards' support in the 1970s had been fueled by high levels of social spending during times of economic prosperity; with economic conditions worsening, his popularity waned. To obtain passage of the higher taxes, Edwards first submitted Treen's 1984–1985 proposed budget as a warning to lawmakers. The Treen budget, he claimed, would cut state spending too drastically and cause roads to fall apart, bridges to collapse, and insurance premiums to skyrocket. Edwards predicted that if lawmakers passed Treen's budget instead of the higher taxes the voters would rebel and blame the legislature itself for the results. In the end, Edwards got most of what he wanted and was able to use the excuse of teacher pay increases to put pressure on lawmakers.
John Volz indictment and trials
In February 1985, soon after his third term began, Edwards was forced to stand trial on charges of mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and bribery, brought by U.S. Attorney John Volz. The charges were centered around an alleged scheme in which Edwards and his associates received almost $2 million in exchange for granting preferential treatment to companies dealing with state hospitals. Edwards proclaimed his innocence and insisted that the charges were politically motivated by Volz and the Republican Party. The first trial resulted in a mistrial in December 1985, while a second trial in 1986 resulted in an acquittal. After Edwards and his four co-defendants were acquitted, the hotel where the jurors had been sequestered revealed that half of the jurors had stolen towels as they left. Edwards quipped that he had been judged by a "jury of my peers".
Russell B. Long had correctly predicted in March 1985 that Edwards would indeed be acquitted by a Louisiana jury and that the ensuing trial would not disrupt state government. When Long announced his retirement from the U.S. Senate seat that he had held since 1948, he indicated his preference for Edwards as his senatorial successor but added, correctly, that he did not think Edwards would enter the 1986 Senate election.
Prosecutors referred to Marion Edwards, also indicted in the alleged health care scheme, as a "bag man" for his brother. Marion ridiculed this characterization at a French Quarter bar in New Orleans, when media representatives were present. He placed a shopping bag on his head to resemble a crown and tossed about phony $100 bills.
Edwards later recited during a toast at a French Quarter bar, though his beverage was non-alcoholic as he was a teetotaler, a rhyming invitation for Volz to "kiss my ass". The trials were rather lengthy, and at one point during the first trial but before the mistrial Edwards rode to the Hale Boggs U.S. Courthouse on a mule from his hotel. When asked by reporters why he did so, he replied something to the effect that it was symbolic of the speed and intellect of the federal judicial system, but also that he supported "tradition". Marion Edwards, an attorney, often wore a pinstripe suit with a top hat and cane and held comedic press briefings at the end of each court session on the steps of the courthouse. Marion Edwards mocked the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Volz, and United States Judge Marcel Livaudais, who presided over the trials.
Even after beating the Volz indictment, Edwin Edwards' popularity was in decline. Despite his acquittal, the trial brought many sordid details of Edwards's conduct under public scrutiny. It was revealed that during frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas, Edwards lost hundreds of thousands of dollars under aliases such as T. Wong and E. Lee, later paying these gambling debts using suitcases stuffed with cash of unknown origin.
After the trial, Edwards' support for the legalization of gambling as a solution to the state's severe revenue shortages contributed to a further decline in his popularity. He had made unpopular budget cuts to education and other social programs earlier in his term. Beginning in January 1986, he argued that legalizing casino gambling in up to fifteen locations and creating a state lottery would be a way to restore the programs, but the state legislature rejected his gambling proposals. Entering a tough re-election campaign in 1987, Edwards seemed vulnerable. Going into the election, his disapproval ratings ranged from 52 to 71 percent.
At first Edwards had predicted that a casino and a state lottery would net the state $600 million; then he lowered the expectations to $150 million. Both gambling measures would eventually be implemented, but not during Edwards' third term.
Defeat: Edwards vs. Roemer, 1987
Several notable candidates lined up to face Edwards in the 1987 gubernatorial election. Perhaps his strongest early challenger was Republican Congressman Bob Livingston. Also in the race were Billy Tauzin, a then-Democratic Cajun congressman from Thibodaux who was a strong Edwards supporter while serving in the state legislature from 1972 to 1980; Democratic Secretary of State Jim Brown of Ferriday, and a Democratic congressman from Bossier City, Buddy Roemer, the son of former Commissioner of Administration Charles Roemer, who climbed up from a series of low poll rankings early in the campaign.
Louis J. Roussel Jr., the businessman from New Orleans who began his career as a bus driver, contributed $600,000 to Edwards in the losing race in 1987. Roussel had been a large donor to Bill Dodd, whose son, William Ford Dodd, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the same 1987 primary election.
"Anyone But Edwards"
Edwards was the issue of the campaign. Because of his name recognition, his resilient supporters, and unmatched political skill, even a weakened Edwards could safely assume he would win a place in Louisiana's unique primary election system runoff. The question was whether his opponent in the runoff would be someone who could beat him.
There was a prevailing sense in the race that Edwards needed Livingston in the runoff. Livingston was a Republican in a state that had at that point elected only one Republican governor since Reconstruction. And Livingston was widely perceived as lacking in charisma and personality, which would work to Edwards's advantage. Any other opponent, a moderate Democrat without the ethical problems, would be dangerous. To that end, Edwards talked up Livingston. Perhaps the key moment in the 1987 race came at a forum between the candidates. As usual, the main topic of discussion was Edwin Edwards. His challengers were asked, in succession, if they would consider endorsing Edwards in the general election if they did not make it to the runoff. The candidates hedged, particularly Secretary of State Brown, a reliable Edwards supporter in the state Senate who in his 1979 election drew many of the same voters who supported fellow Democrat Louis Lambert in his failed gubernatorial bid in the same general election vs. Treen. The last candidate to speak was Buddy Roemer: "No, we've got to slay the dragon. I would endorse anyone but Edwards." The next day, as political commentator John Maginnis put it, Jim Brown was explaining his statement while Buddy Roemer was ordering "Slay the Dragon" buttons. Boosted by his endorsement as the 'good government candidate' by nearly every newspaper in the state, Roemer stormed from last place in the polls and on election night, overtook Edwin Edwards and placed first in the primary election, with 33 percent of the vote compared with Edwards' 28 percent. This marked the first time Edwin Edwards ever finished other than in first place in an election.
In what seemed to be the end of Edwards' political career, the governor withdrew from the contest in his concession speech, automatically electing Buddy Roemer governor. In fact, he was cleverly setting a trap for Roemer. By withdrawing, Edwards denied Roemer the opportunity to build a governing coalition in the general election race, and denied him the decisive majority victory that he surely would have attained. In one stroke, Edwards made Buddy Roemer a minority governor. Also, Edwards virtually ceded control of the state to Roemer even before his inauguration. By doing so, he passed on the burden of the state's problems to the new governor, who was essentially under the gun even before assuming office. For four years, Roemer struggled to be a reform governor of Louisiana as so many had before him. And although virtually no one realized it at the time, Edwin Edwards quietly waited in the wings for a return to power.
Second comeback: Edwards vs. Duke, 1991
As the 1991 governor's race drew near, many of Edwards' friends encouraged him to abandon his planned comeback, believing that he had no chance to win. After Edwards' loss in 1987, Lanny Keller, a journalist for the defunct Shreveport Journal wrote that the only way Edwin Edwards could ever be elected again was to run against Adolf Hitler. These words turned out to be shockingly prophetic, since after the 1991 primary Edwards discovered his runoff opponent to be former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke. Edwards received 34 percent of the vote while Duke received 32 percent. Governor Roemer placed third, 80,000 votes behind Duke.
The runoff between an avowed white supremacist and a former governor who was corrupt but was also perceived as minority-friendly, gained national attention. Support for Edwards grew in between the primary and the runoff. Louisiana Coalition against Racism and Nazism, an interest group, appeared on the landscape to challenge Duke, with its leadership including longtime Treen supporter Beth Rickey, a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee from New Orleans. The coalition revealed through a recording of Duke at a White Nationalist conference that he was still involved in Ku Klux Klan activities.
Faced with the alternative of Duke, many who were otherwise lukewarm for Edwards found him looking ever better. Edwards found himself receiving endorsements from Treen and Roemer; even Republican President George H. W. Bush urged that Edwards, the Democrat, be elected over Duke. A popular bumper sticker urging support for Edwards (although clearly not produced by his campaign) read "Vote For the Crook. It's Important." Another read "Vote for the Lizard, not the Wizard." Edwards said that this would be his final term as governor and that he cared about leaving a good legacy, which made many hope that the corruption of his previous administrations would not be repeated. Edwards won by a wide margin. Continuing his artful use of humor to deflate an opponent, and referring to his considerable reputation as a ladies' man, Edwards said of Duke that "the only thing we have in common is that we both have been wizards beneath the sheets." He also feigned concern for Duke's health due to smoke inhalation "because he's around so many burning crosses" and when a reporter asked Edwards what he needed to do to triumph over Duke, Edwards replied "stay alive". On election day, Edwards defeated Duke in a landslide, 61 to 39 percent, a margin of nearly 400,000 votes.
Fourth term as governor, 1992–1996
In his last term, Edwards asked his boyhood friend, Raymond Laborde, to leave the state House after twenty years to serve as commissioner of administration. Laborde, who had once defeated Edwards for class president at Marksville High School and had earlier been his legislative floor leader, agreed to join the administration. He invited former state Representative Kevin P. Reilly Sr., of Baton Rouge, former CEO of Lamar Advertising Company to serve as secretary of economic development. Reilly had been removed in 1986 as chairman of the Louisiana House Appropriations Committee after having criticized Edwards.
In 1992, Edwards appointed the professional penologist, Richard Stalder, as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections, a position that used to be given to political supporters. Stalder remained secretary until 2008, serving during three subsequent gubernatorial terms in the position.
During his previous term as Governor, Edwards promoted casino gambling in Louisiana, which had been a major part of his platform in the 1991 campaign. In June 1992, his heavy lobbying led the state legislature to pass a bill calling for a single large land-based casino in New Orleans. He also appointed a board that, at his private direction, awarded 15 floating riverboat casinos that had been authorized by the Legislature and the Roemer administration. He appointed a political ally, Paul Fontenot, to head the State Police; he would oversee the licensing and investigation of casino operators. On another front he again demonstrated his broad commitment to civil rights by becoming the first Southern governor to issue an executive order protecting lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons from discrimination in state governmental services, employment, and contracts.
Despite the discovery that some licensees had links to organized crime or other unsavory ties, Edwards blocked the revocation of their licenses. But a political backlash against gambling-related corruption began. Though he had originally planned to run for re-election in 1995, he announced in June 1994, shortly after marrying his second wife Candy Picou, that he would be retiring from politics at the end of his term. Edwards was succeeded as governor by State Senator Murphy J. Foster Jr., who ran as an opponent of gambling interests. Edwards retired to a newly purchased home in Baton Rouge, intent on returning to a private law practice and living out his remaining days in contentment with his young wife, Candy (born 1964).
Ron Gomez, whose second term in the legislature corresponded with Edwards' third term as governor, describes Edwards, accordingly:
"Somehow, his brashness and arrogance over the years, traits that would have destroyed the average politician, have only seemed to endear him to his core constituency: minorities, organized labor, Cajuns and lower-income voters. It is exactly those groups who suffered the most over the quarter of a century he was in and out of the governor's office. Except for some black leaders who attached themselves to his entourage and gained political clout and monetary rewards through favors and appointments, the minority population as a whole has made very little progress culturally, educationally or socially because of his leadership."
Gomez continued:
Organized labor, once a powerful force in the state, has fallen to its lowest membership in history. And, overall, when he finally left office in 1996, the state was near the bottom in teacher pay and college and university funding (among other things). It was also near the top in high school dropouts, teen pregnancies, welfare recipients, prison population, and virtually every other negative category.
Indictment and conviction
Former Congressman Cleo Fields achieved considerable notoriety in 1997 when an FBI surveillance videotape showed him accepting a large amount of cash (about $20,000) from Edwards and stuffing it in his pockets. At the time Fields stated that the incident was just an innocent business transaction between friends, and said there was a humorous explanation, which he would make public shortly thereafter. A cloud hung over Fields as an unindicted co-conspirator in Edwards' criminal trial and in the end Fields refused to deliver the promised "humorous" explanation, stating that at the time of the cash transfer, he was not an elected official, and therefore under no obligation to explain publicly.
After being fingered by Texas for-profit prison entrepreneur Patrick Graham, who allegedly gave him $845,000 in conjunction with a scheme to locate a private juvenile prison in Jena in La Salle Parish, Edwards was indicted in 1998 by the federal government with the prosecution led by U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan. The prosecution soon released transcripts of audio conversations, and excerpts of video surveillance that seemed to indicate dubious financial transactions. The Edwards investigation also resulted in the conviction of San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., who admitted to paying Edwards a $400,000 bribe (DeBartolo was convicted for not reporting the extortion) in exchange for Edwards's assistance in securing a riverboat casino license.
Edwards was found guilty on seventeen of twenty-six counts, including racketeering, extortion, money laundering, mail fraud, and wire fraud; his son Stephen was convicted on 18 counts. "I did not do anything wrong as a governor, even if you accept the verdict as it is, it doesn't indicate that", Edwards told the press after his conviction. On his way to prison he said, "I will be a model prisoner, as I have been a model citizen". From 2002 to 2004 Edwin Edwards was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
Edwards' sometime co-conspirator, Cecil Brown, a Eunice cattleman, was convicted for his part in the payoffs in 2002.
In 2004, Edwards filed for divorce from his second wife Candy, saying that Mrs. Edwards had "suffered enough" during his incarceration. In June 2005, the former Mrs. Edwards was arrested for threatening a police officer at a traffic stop in Port Barre, screaming "don't you know who I am?"
In 2005, Edwards was moved to the Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale in Allen Parish, where he served his sentence as inmate #03128-095. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, he was scheduled to be released on July 6, 2011. In prison, he served as the facility's librarian: "I did what I could for my fellow inmates. I helped a number of them get their GEDs and I was helping several more when my term expired. Now, I have to be honest; I didn't stick around to see if they succeeded..."
Two men whom Edwards defeated in Louisiana elections—David C. Treen and J. Bennett Johnston Jr.—and a third who was his protégé and successor in the Seventh District U.S. House seat, U.S. Senator John Breaux, confirmed in July 2007 that they intended to approach then U.S. President George W. Bush to seek a pardon or commutation for Edwards, who celebrated his 80th birthday in prison in August 2007. Bush denied a pardon for Edwards before he left the presidency on January 20, 2009.
Edwards supporters also lobbied U.S. President Barack Obama for a pardon for Edwards so he might run in the 2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election. Obama did not reply to petitions by supporters of Edwards and lacking a pardon, Edwards remained ineligible to seek the governorship of Louisiana until the end of his life and would have only been eligible to run after fifteen years would have passed from the end of his sentence.
In 2009, Edwards was listed as an "honorary pallbearer" at the funeral of perennial political candidate L. D. Knox of Winnsboro, who in the 1979 gubernatorial contest, when Edwards was not on the ballot, legally changed his name to "None of the Above" Knox to dramatize his support for the "None of the Above" option in elections.
On January 13, 2011, Edwards was released from prison and served the remainder of his sentence at a halfway house. His sentence ended on July 6, 2011 and he began three years of probation. He entered into home confinement at his daughter's Denham Springs, Louisiana home through the supervision of a halfway house, on January 13, 2011. Following that, Edwards was placed on probation. On February 7, 2013, Edwards was granted early release from probation due to good behavior. His wife Trina made the announcement on her Facebook page.
In a poll taken in October 2011, months after he had been released from prison, 30 percent of respondents named Edwards the state's best governor since 1980.
2014 Congressional election
In February 2014, Edwards announced that he was contemplating running in the 2014 election to represent the Louisiana's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is centered on the state capital of Baton Rouge. With U.S. Representative Bill Cassidy exiting the seat to run for the Senate, Edwards said of the solidly Republican district: "I'm the only hope the Democrats have here." He formally declared his candidacy at a March 17 meeting of the Press Club of Baton Rouge, saying, "I want you to know, I'm going to give it every effort." If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, a runoff would be held on December 6, 2014, between the top two candidates. Two other Democrats, a Libertarian and nine Republicans, most notably Garret Graves, a former aide to Governor Bobby Jindal, State Senator Dan Claitor, businessman Paul Dietzel, II, and State Representative Lenar Whitney, also sought the seat.
After Edwards' announcement, Cassidy told KEEL radio news in Shreveport that he doubted that Edwards "has a chance. It's a conservative district, and he's obviously not a conservative. But it kind of shows, I think, to a certain extent that the Democratic bench is weak." Louisiana political writer John Maginnis said that Edwards was "likely to make the runoff" because of his name recognition, but "I don't see how he could win in a strong GOP-performance district like the 6th. But it should be entertaining." State pollster Elliott Stonecipher said that "the most basic math of the Edwards race yields an 'it is not impossible' answer" and former Governor Buddy Roemer said that while it is unlikely, "yes, [Edwards] can win".
An April 2014 article in Politico that discussed his chances noted that he was "still sharp as a razor" and "in remarkably vigorous health". He pronounced himself "disappointed" with President Obama for "sitting" on the Keystone Pipeline and listed his campaign priorities as "Building support for a high-speed rail system between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and emphasizing the good aspects of Obamacare, while doing what I can to change or amend the provisions that I think are onerous." He said that he would have voted against the Affordable Care Act, but criticized Governor Jindal for not accepting the Medicaid expansion. If elected, he hoped to serve on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to spur the construction of elevated roadways in the state.
A September 2014 survey of statewide Louisiana voters by Public Policy Polling found that 40% had a favourable opinion of Edwards, 44% did not and 17% were unsure. Asked whether they would rather have Edwards as governor than incumbent Republican governor Bobby Jindal, 47% said they would prefer Edwards, 43% preferred Jindal and 10% were not sure.
Edwards finished first in every poll taken of the race, though only with a plurality. Runoff polls showed him losing to all of his Republican opponents. An article in The Times-Picayune in late October 2014 noted that he had run a vigorous, serious campaign and noted that, as previously, analysts were split on whether he could actually win. David Wasserman of The Cook Political Report said that for Edwards, "mathematically, victory is something close to impossibility." Conversely, a spokesman for Republican opponent Lenar Whitney and political analyst Michael Beychok both said that he had a chance to win and Republican candidate Garret Graves said "There's no one alive anymore in this state that has the experience or, quite frankly, the tactics (of) Edwin Edwards." Edwards was expected to make the runoff, with his chances dependent on which Republican joins him, with several analysts saying that Edwards' best chance would come if Whitney, the most conservative Republican running, does so. Edwards' strategy was to appeal to black and Cajun voters and conservative Democrats, also campaigning on college campuses to appeal to younger voters. Columnist Bob Mann predicted that if Edwards made the runoff, the media would decry Louisiana voters' toleration for corruption when, "in truth (Edwards) never really had a chance to win."
As expected, Edwards as the principal Democratic candidate led the 2014 primary field for Congress with 77,862 votes (30.1 percent), winning every parish in the district. He then faced the Republican runner-up, Garret Graves, in the December 6 runoff election. Graves had received 70,706 "jungle primary" votes (27.4 percent). Losing Republican candidates were Paul Dietzel II, with 35,013 votes (13.6 percent), state Senator Dan Claitor with 26,520 (10.3 percent), and state Representative Lenar Whitney with 19,146 votes (7.4 percent). Edwards lost to Graves by a 62–38 percent margin in the runoff. It was only the second loss of his political career.
Edwards' record of longevity
Edwards has the seventh longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,784 days. Few governors have served four four-year terms. Edwards followed George Wallace of Alabama, Jim Hunt of North Carolina, Bill Janklow of South Dakota, Terry Branstad of Iowa, Lewis Cass of Michigan, and Jim Rhodes of Ohio as 16-year governors. However, Branstad was elected to a fifth nonconsecutive term as governor of Iowa in 2010, placing him second to George Clinton of New York (21 years) as the longest-serving governor in U.S. history, and won a sixth term as governor in 2014. In December 2015 Branstad surpassed New York's George Clinton as the longest-tenured governor in American history, with 8,169 days in office.
Veteran journalist Iris Kelso once described Edwards as clearly "the most interesting" of the six governors that she had covered while working for three newspapers and WDSU, the NBC television affiliate in New Orleans. Kelso declared Edwards more colorful than Earl Long, whom she covered for less than a year in the office.
Personal life
Marriages and family
In 1949, Edwards married Elaine Schwartzenburg, whom he had met at Marksville High School. The couple had four children: Anna, Victoria, Stephen, and David. In 1972, Edwards appointed her as an interim U.S. senator to complete the unfinished term of Allen J. Ellender of Houma, who died while campaigning for his seventh term in office. On July 1, 1989, the couple divorced after forty years of marriage. They had begun living apart on March 15, 1989.
In 1994, Edwards married Candy Picou (born 1964). In 1997, the couple entered the headlines when they attempted to have a child. Edwards had a vasectomy reversal, and the couple froze sperm to attempt to have a baby but were not successful. While in prison, Edwin Edwards filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2004.
In July 2011, Edwards married Trina Grimes, his prison pen pal. They began corresponding while he was serving his sentence for corruption. At the time of the wedding, he was 83, and she was 32. On August 1, 2013, Grimes gave birth to their child, Eli Wallace Edwards. In 2013, Edwards and Trina co-starred in an A&E reality show, The Governor's Wife based on their life together.
Extended family
One of Edwards's brothers, Nolan Edwards, a former assistant district attorney in Acadia Parish, was murdered in Crowley by an irate client in 1983, the same year that Edwards was engineering his comeback bid for a third term as governor. Nolan's killer, Rodney Wingate Jr., of Church Point, Louisiana, then killed himself. Wingate had been pardoned by Governor Edwards in 1980 for two drug convictions in the 1970s, a pardon procured through the intervention of Nolan Edwards. Nolan's murder halted the 1983 politicking. Newspapers carried a photograph of brothers Edwin and Marion locked in an embrace on an airport tarmac.
Marion Edwards, an insurance agent and political consultant, was a cancer survivor and counseled other patients for many years. Born on July 10, 1928, in Marksville, he died on January 12, 2013, at the age of eighty-four at his home in Broussard near Lafayette, Louisiana. The cause of death was not released. The Marion D. Edwards Fellowship in Hepatic Oncology at the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston, Texas, is named in his honor. Marion Edwards, who was Nazarene, was survived by his second wife, the former Deborah "Penny" Meaux, and three daughters from his first marriage to Aline Luther Edwards: Wanda Edwards, Elizabeth Kersten, and Donna Edwards.
Another brother, Allen Edwards, the longtime owner of a farm and heavy equipment company in Quitman in northern Arkansas, died in 2009, while Edwards was in prison. Edwards did not attend the funeral because of security difficulties.
Edwards was an uncle by marriage to former U.S. Representative Charles Boustany, a Republican from Lafayette, whose district includes much of the territory represented from 1965 to 1972 by then-U.S. Representative Edwin Edwards. Boustany's wife is the former Bridget Edwards, a daughter of Nolan Edwards.
Third wife and reality television show
On July 29, 2011, Edwards married Trina Grimes Scott (born August 1978) from Baton Rouge, at the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans. Edwards' one-time prison pen pal, she was fifty-one years his junior and was born midway in his second term as governor. She is a Republican.
Edwin and Trina Edwards were the subjects of the reality show The Governor's Wife, which premiered October 27, 2013, on the Arts & Entertainment Network. The program focused on Trina's rearing of teenaged sons and acting as stepmother to Edwards' daughters who are almost twice her age. According to the A&E description of the program: "Between school projects, running for president of the Homeowner's Association, fending off skeptics who think she's a gold digger, and thoughts of adding a baby of their own to the mix, the Edwards clan truly represents a new take on the modern family." The couple announced February 15, 2013 that Trina was pregnant. Trina gave birth to their son, Eli Wallace Edwards, on August 1, 2013.
Health and death
In 2015, Edwards was hospitalized for pneumonia. On December 13, 2016, Edwards was hospitalized under stable condition again for pneumonia in Baton Rouge.
Edwards was rushed to the hospital again by ambulance in November 2020, with shortness of breath. Edwards returned to his home in Gonzales after spending two nights at Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center in Baton Rouge. It was reported that he had a common head cold and he reportedly tested negative for both COVID-19 and pneumonia, as well as the flu. His wife told the media that he was resting well and "giving orders" once he got home.
Edwards was sent to hospice care for pain in his lungs in Gonzales, Louisiana on July 6, 2021. He died six days later on July 12, 26 days short of his 94th birthday. The cause of death was respiratory complications. At the time of his death, Edwards had outlived four of his successors: Dave Treen, Buddy Roemer, Mike Foster, and Kathleen Blanco.
References
Bibliography
State of Louisiana – Biography
Boulard, Garry, "Edwin Edwards: Reflections on a Life", Times of Acadiana, August 15, 2001.
Bridges, Tyler. Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001.
Dawson, Joseph G. The Louisiana Governors: From Iberville to Edwards. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1990.
Honeycutt, Leo. Edwin Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, An Authorized Biography by Leo Honeycutt. Lisburn Press, 2009.
Lemann, Nancy. Ritz of the Bayou. Knopf, 1987.
Maginnis, John. The Last Hayride. Baton Rouge: Gris Gris Press, 1984.
Maginnis, John. Cross to Bear. Baton Rouge: Darkhorse Press, 1992.
Reeves, Miriam G. The Governors of Louisiana. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 1998.
External links
Edwards' greatest quotes
New York magazine profile
Larry King interview
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United States Navy personnel of World War II | true | [
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"Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1976, 1976-1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as ... |
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"When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that \"It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive.\"",
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"while still governor, an... | C_e1d668882c39441abf5804d2a7db0abc_0 | were his accusations true? | 5 | were Edwin Edwards' accusations true? | Edwin Edwards | Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemer - father of future governor Buddy Roemer - was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case. During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but the Edwards administration attacked Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife. In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was a U.S. representative. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was "super moralistic" for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings. The scandal also engulfed Edwards's former congressional colleague Otto Passman of Monroe, who was later acquitted of all charges in the case. CANNOTANSWER | Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. | Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1976, 1976-1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive. He served a total of 16 years in gubernatorial office, at 5,784 days the sixth-longest such tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history.
A colorful, powerful, and legendary figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards, who was dubbed the "very last of the line of New Deal Southern Democrats", was long dogged by charges of corruption. In 2001, he was found guilty of racketeering charges and sentenced to ten years in federal prison. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas, and was later transferred to the federal facility in Oakdale, Louisiana. He was released from federal prison in January 2011, having served eight years.
In 2014, Edwards again sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives, running to represent . He placed first in the jungle primary, but was defeated by Republican Garret Graves by nearly 25 percentage points in the runoff election.
Early life and career
Edwin Washington Edwards was born in rural Avoyelles Parish, near Marksville. His father, Clarence Edwards, was a half-French Creole Presbyterian sharecropper, while his mother, the former Agnès Brouillette, was a French-speaking Roman Catholic. Edwards' ancestors were among early Louisiana colonists from France who eventually settled in Avoyelles Parish, referred to as the original French Creoles. Edwards, like many 20th century politicians from Avoyelles, assumed that he had Cajun ancestry, when in fact he may have had none. His father was descended from a family in Kentucky, who came to Louisiana during the American Civil War. His great-great-grandfather, William Edwards, was killed in Marksville at the beginning of the American Civil War because of his pro-Union sentiment.
Avoyelles Parish has been known for colorful politicians; another who stood out, F.O. "Potch" Didier, actually spent seven days in his own jail after being convicted of malfeasance in office during his own heated reelection.
The young Edwards had planned on a career as a preacher. As a young man, he did some preaching for the Marksville Church of the Nazarene. He served briefly in the U.S. Navy Air Corps near the end of World War II. After his return from the military, he graduated at the age of twenty-one from Louisiana State University Law Center and began practicing law in Crowley, the seat of Acadia Parish. He relocated there in 1949 after his sister, Audrey E. Isbell, who had moved there with her husband, told him there were few French-speaking attorneys in the southwestern Louisiana community.
Edwards' career was thus helped by his being bilingual and articulate in both English and Cajun French. He learned to cultivate the goodwill of the media, working reporters and editorial page editors. One of his favorites was Adras LaBorde, the longtime managing editor of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk in Alexandria. LaBorde even influenced Edwards in regard to environmental policy.
Edwards entered politics through election to the Crowley City Council in 1954. He was a member of the Democratic Party which, in that era, had a monopoly on public offices in Louisiana, but which fell out of favor in the late 20th century. Edwards remained on the Crowley council until his election to the Louisiana State Senate in 1964; in that race he defeated, in a major political upset in the Democratic primary, the incumbent Bill Cleveland, a Crowley businessman who had served for twenty years in both houses of the Louisiana legislature. Years later as governor, Edwards appointed Cleveland's daughter, Willie Mae Fulkerson (1924–2009), a former member of the Crowley City Council, to the Louisiana Board of Prisons.
After serving in the state Senate for less than two years as a floor leader for Governor John McKeithen, Edwards was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 7th congressional district, a position that he held from 1965 until 1972. He won the congressional seat in a special election called when the incumbent, T. Ashton Thompson of Ville Platte, was killed in an automobile accident near Gastonia, North Carolina. Edwards was easily reelected to three full terms in the House in 1966, 1968, and 1970.
In 1968, he defeated Republican Vance William Plauché (1924–2013) of Lake Charles, son of former one-term Democratic Congressman Vance Gabriel Plauché, who was also a native of Avoyelles Parish. Edwards received more than 80 percent of the general election vote. While in Congress, Edwards served on the Public Works, Judiciary, and Internal Security committees. In 1970, he was one of the few Southern congressmen to support the extension for five years of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
1971–1972 campaign for governor
In the election of 1971–1972, Edwards won the governorship after finishing first in a field of seventeen candidates in the Democratic primary, including the final race of former governor Jimmie Davis and Gillis Long, a relative of Huey Long. His greatest support came from southern Louisiana, particularly among its large numbers of Cajun, Creole, and African-American voters. In the first primary, Edwards led with 276,397 (23.8 percent). J. Bennett Johnston Jr., a state senator from Shreveport, followed with 208,830 (17.8 percent). In third place was former Congressman Gillis Long of Alexandria, with 164,276 (14 percent). Former Governor Jimmie Davis finished fourth with 138,756 (11.8 percent). Far to the rear of the pack was Congressman Speedy O. Long of Jena of rural La Salle Parish with only 61,359 (5.2 percent).
Both Edwards and Johnston ran on reform-oriented platforms during the primary, but Edwards was more adept at making political deals and building alliances for the runoff round of voting. Edwards said that the major philosophical difference that he held with Johnston was in regard to their "awareness of problems of the poor". Johnston won the endorsement of Edwards' legislative colleague, Joe D. Waggonner of Bossier Parish, but the Shreveport state senator declined to accept Edwards' offer of a televised debate between the two.
Edwards defeated Johnston in the runoff, 584,262 (50.2 percent) to 579,774 (49.8 percent),
In a less than one vote per precinct outcome. The victory showed that south Louisiana was eclipsing the north in both population and in future political domination of the state.
On election night, Edwards gave public credit to the African American New Orleans political organization SOUL for his extremely narrow victory, stating that the 12,000 vote lead SOUL had bought him in New Orleans had put him over the top. Such public recognition of black political power by a Democratic governor of Louisiana was unprecedented.
In the general election held on February 1, 1972, Edwards faced Republican gubernatorial nominee David C. Treen, then of Metairie. He did not run as the candidate who would continue the Democratic policies of his predecessor, John McKeithen, for whom Edwards had been a state senate floor leader. Instead he derided McKeithen as a "lame duck governor who doesn't want the new administration to do well. It'll make him look bad", considering a $30 million budget shortfall facing the next governor. Throughout the campaign, Edwards repeatedly insisted that Treen had no chance of victory. He said the climate was not right for a Republican governor in Louisiana. He ridiculed Treen as having "never held a public office. He has run for office four times and has been defeated all four times. He can't even generate enough enthusiasm in his home district (Jefferson Parish), where he is best known." He accused Treen of having adopted Edwards' own reform platform characterized as the "Era of Excellence".
Though Treen ran a vigorous campaign, Louisiana's Democratic tradition favored Edwards from the start, as Edwards had predicted. Edwards polled 641,146 (57.2 percent) to Treen's 480,424 (42.8 percent). Edwards also overcame the south Louisiana "jinx" that had doomed former New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison Sr., in his three gubernatorial bids. Edwards picked up the enthusiastic backing of his runoff rival, J. Bennett Johnston, later a U.S. senator.
Bill Dodd, who was defeated for state superintendent of education in the same election cycle that Edwards was winning the governorship in for the first time, attributed the Edwards victory in part to political kingmaker Louis J. Roussel Jr., of New Orleans. According to Dodd, Roussel "can do more than any other individual in Louisiana to elect any candidate he supports for any office in this state. ... He is such a good administrator and motivator that he can put together an organization that will win in business and in politics."
First two terms as governor, 1972–1980
Both in his political rhetoric and in his public persona, Edwards cast himself as a Louisiana populist in the tradition of Huey P. Long and Earl K. Long. He was inaugurated as governor on May 9. One of his first acts was to call for a constitutional convention to overhaul Louisiana's bulky charter. Many of the sections on state government were written by delegate Robert G. Pugh, a prominent Shreveport attorney, who became an advisor to Edwards and two other governors thereafter. Voters approved the new constitution by a three-to-two margin in 1974, and government reorganization resulted. For the first time Louisiana operated with a "cabinet style" executive department in lieu of the hundreds of boards and commissions that had existed for decades, each its own fiefdom.
During his first two terms in office, Edwards developed a reputation for being one of the most colorful and flamboyant politicians in the history of a state known for its unorthodox political figures. Charismatic, well-dressed, and quick with clever one-liners and retorts, Edwards maintained wide popularity.
On taking office, Edwards hired J. Kelly Nix as his executive assistant and in 1974 elevated him to first executive assistant. In the second term, however, Nix left the administration to take office as the Louisiana state school superintendent. Dale Thorn, who had been Edwards' press secretary while he was in Congress, continued in that position for the first and most of the second Edwards terms. He was later associate commissioner of higher education for the Louisiana Board of Regents, and an LSU journalism professor.
Edwards also depended heavily on state Senator Sixty Rayburn of Bogalusa, whose 44-year service earned him the sobriquet as "Dean of the Louisiana Senate". He also rewarded political friends, such as former legislative colleague Fred L. Schiele, whom he appointed in 1973 to succeed the embattled Noah W. Cross as sheriff of Concordia Parish in eastern Louisiana.
Under Edwards, Michael H. O'Keefe of New Orleans in 1976 was named president of the state Senate, an office that was held by the lieutenant governor prior to the implementation of the state Constitution of 1974. In 1983, as Edwards prepared to return to office, O'Keefe was engulfed in scandal and forced to leave the Senate. He was as replaced by the Edwards loyalist, Samuel B. Nunez Jr., of Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish. In 2013, O'Keefe was still serving time in prison for a 1999 conviction.
Policies and achievements
After enduring three grueling rounds of voting in the 1971–1972 campaign, Edwards pushed a bill through the legislature that limited state elections to two rounds by having Democratic, Republican, and independent candidates run together on the same ballot in a nonpartisan blanket primary. Though the jungle primary system was intended to benefit Edwards' own political career, many observers cite it as being a major factor in the eventual rise of the state's Republican Party and the creation of a genuinely competitive two-party system. For this, Edwards was facetiously christened "father of Louisiana's Republican Party".
William Denis Brown, III, a lawyer and a state senator from Monroe, was Edwards's floor leader in the upper legislative chamber in the first term as governor. A native of Vicksburg, Mississippi reared on a plantation north of Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish, Brown was instrumental in drafting the Louisiana Mineral Code. Thereafter from 1980 to 1988, Brown was the chairman of the Louisiana Board of Ethics.
Early in the first gubernatorial term, Edwards initiated the creation of the first new Louisiana state constitution in more than a half century. He intended to replace the Constitution of 1921, an unwieldy and outmoded document burdened with hundreds of amendments. A constitutional convention was held in 1973; the resulting document was put into effect in 1975. , the 1973 Constitution remains in effect. Edwards also undertook a major reorganization of the state government, abolishing over 80 state agencies and modeling the remaining structure after that of the federal government.
In his first year in office, Edwards appointed his wife Elaine Edwards, also a native of Avoyelles Parish, to complete the Senate term of the deceased Allen J. Ellender. Mrs. Edwards served from August 1972 until that November, and during that time, the small town of Crowley boasted the governor, a U.S. Senator, and a U.S. Representative (former Edwards aide John Breaux), who all lived within a few blocks of each other.
An outspoken supporter of civil rights, Edwards appointed more black people and women to high positions in his administration than had his predecessors.
Edwards named State Representative J. Burton Angelle of Breaux Bridge as his director of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, a key appointment which Angelle filled for Edwards' first three terms of office.
Edwards' tenure in the 1970s coincided with a huge boom in the state's oil and gas industry after the gas pricing crisis of 1973. Edwards was able to greatly expand the state's oil revenues by basing severance taxes on a percentage of the price of each barrel rather than the former flat rate. This oil money fueled a massive increase in state spending (a 163% increase between 1972 and 1980), and Edwards was able to consistently balance the state budget due to the boom in oil revenue. Much of this increased spending went toward health and human services programs and increased funding for vocational-technical schools and higher education.
Edwards easily won reelection in 1975, with 750,107 votes (62.3 percent). In second place was Democratic State Senator Robert G. "Bob" Jones of Lake Charles, son of former Governor Sam Houston Jones, with 292,220 (24.3 percent). Secretary of State Wade O. Martin Jr., ran third with 146,363 (12.2 percent). Thereafter, Jones and Martin became Republicans. Addison Roswell Thompson, the perennial segregationist candidate from New Orleans, made his last race for governor in the 1975 primary.
Early scandals
Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemerfather of future governor Buddy Roemer – was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case.
During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but the Edwards administration attacked Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife.
In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was a U.S. representative. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was "super moralistic" for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings. The scandal also engulfed Edwards's former congressional colleague Otto Passman of Monroe, who was later acquitted of all charges in the case, but nonetheless was defeated in his 1976 re-election bid by Jerry Huckaby of Ringgold.
First political comeback: Edwards vs. Treen, 1983
Barred by the state constitution from seeking a third term immediately after his second, Edwards temporarily left politics in 1980 but made it clear he would run again for governor in 1983. He began raising money and touring the state long before the 1983 election, maintaining what supporters called "the government in waiting". Early in 1982, Edwards said that he was so committed to running again for governor that "only death alone can separate me from this. ... We are being led by a governor whose only answer to unemployment is to buy a $350,000 jet."
In 1979, Republican David Treen was narrowly elected governor on a pledge of good government reform. Edwards had supported Treen's opponent, Democratic Public Service Commissioner Louis Lambert of Ascension Parish. As widely expected, Edwards in 1983 defeated Treen's re-election attempt. The election offered a clear contrast between the flamboyant, charismatic Edwards and the low-key, policy-oriented Treen. While Treen focused on Edward's reputation for corruption and dishonesty, Edwards sought to portray Treen as incompetent and unresponsive to the public. Treen said of Edwards: "It's difficult for me to understand his popularity", which indicated in the eyes of many that he did not fully comprehend Louisiana politics. The two major candidates spent over $18 million between them; the election became renowned as one of the most expensive campaigns ever conducted in a state the size of Louisiana. John Maginnis' 1984 book, The Last Hayride, chronicles this colorful but lopsided campaign.
Treen's commissioner of administration, former legislator E. L. "Bubba" Henry, told the Democratic State Central Committee that Edwards had created a "smoke screen ... to divert attention from his own 'sweetheart deals' for his political friends", a reference to controversy which arose in the financing of a new baseball stadium for the University of Louisiana at Monroe (then known as Northeast Louisiana University).
Before election day, Edwards joked with reporters: "The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy." Edwards zinged Treen many times, once describing Treen as "so slow it takes him an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes." During a gubernatorial debate in 1983, Treen asked Edwards, "How come you talk out of both sides of your mouth?" Edwards instantly responded, "So people like you with only half a brain can understand me."
Then Shreveport Journal editor Stanley R. Tiner reported after the campaign of 1983 that Edwards does not believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and does not personally expect to go to heaven. There was an uproar in conservative religious circles, but the comments did not stop Edwards from finishing his term or winning a fourth election eight years later.
Edwards' brother, Marion David Edwards (1928–2013), was part of the 1983 campaign and of the entourage that headed to France and Belgium early in 1984 to raise money to repay a lingering $4.2 million campaign debt. Six hundred supporters joined the Edwardses on an eight-day tour that included dinner at Versailles and gambling in Monte Carlo. Each paid $10,000. Edwards expected a 70 percent profit on the contributors' tickets to retire the debt. Bumper stickers were printed in blue and gold campaign colors and distributed to those who contributed to the retirement of this debt. For years afterwards, motorists saw stickers on vehicles bearing the slogan, "I did Paris with the Gov." Attendees ranged from Sheriff Don Hathaway of Caddo Parish to the Lafayette artist George Rodrigue, known at the time for his oak tree symbol, later replaced by the widely recognized blue dog.
Third term as governor, 1984–1988
State finances nosedived during the third Edwards administration. Money from petroleum severance taxes decreased sharply in the middle 1980s because of plummeting oil prices. In 1984, Edwards attempted to deal with the erosion of state revenue by approving $730 million—Edwards had requested $1.1 billion—in new personal taxes, including a 1 percentage point increase in the state sales tax, $61 million in higher corporate income taxes, and $190 million in additional gasoline taxes. The legislature, overwhelmingly dominated by lawmakers beholden to Edwards, passed these taxes into law, but the taxes were highly unpopular and damaged Edwards' level of public support. Republican State Representative Terry W. Gee of New Orleans said at the time, "Nobody realized the magnitude of what's going on; I've had 180 phone calls in two days against the higher taxes."
Much of Edwards' support in the 1970s had been fueled by high levels of social spending during times of economic prosperity; with economic conditions worsening, his popularity waned. To obtain passage of the higher taxes, Edwards first submitted Treen's 1984–1985 proposed budget as a warning to lawmakers. The Treen budget, he claimed, would cut state spending too drastically and cause roads to fall apart, bridges to collapse, and insurance premiums to skyrocket. Edwards predicted that if lawmakers passed Treen's budget instead of the higher taxes the voters would rebel and blame the legislature itself for the results. In the end, Edwards got most of what he wanted and was able to use the excuse of teacher pay increases to put pressure on lawmakers.
John Volz indictment and trials
In February 1985, soon after his third term began, Edwards was forced to stand trial on charges of mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and bribery, brought by U.S. Attorney John Volz. The charges were centered around an alleged scheme in which Edwards and his associates received almost $2 million in exchange for granting preferential treatment to companies dealing with state hospitals. Edwards proclaimed his innocence and insisted that the charges were politically motivated by Volz and the Republican Party. The first trial resulted in a mistrial in December 1985, while a second trial in 1986 resulted in an acquittal. After Edwards and his four co-defendants were acquitted, the hotel where the jurors had been sequestered revealed that half of the jurors had stolen towels as they left. Edwards quipped that he had been judged by a "jury of my peers".
Russell B. Long had correctly predicted in March 1985 that Edwards would indeed be acquitted by a Louisiana jury and that the ensuing trial would not disrupt state government. When Long announced his retirement from the U.S. Senate seat that he had held since 1948, he indicated his preference for Edwards as his senatorial successor but added, correctly, that he did not think Edwards would enter the 1986 Senate election.
Prosecutors referred to Marion Edwards, also indicted in the alleged health care scheme, as a "bag man" for his brother. Marion ridiculed this characterization at a French Quarter bar in New Orleans, when media representatives were present. He placed a shopping bag on his head to resemble a crown and tossed about phony $100 bills.
Edwards later recited during a toast at a French Quarter bar, though his beverage was non-alcoholic as he was a teetotaler, a rhyming invitation for Volz to "kiss my ass". The trials were rather lengthy, and at one point during the first trial but before the mistrial Edwards rode to the Hale Boggs U.S. Courthouse on a mule from his hotel. When asked by reporters why he did so, he replied something to the effect that it was symbolic of the speed and intellect of the federal judicial system, but also that he supported "tradition". Marion Edwards, an attorney, often wore a pinstripe suit with a top hat and cane and held comedic press briefings at the end of each court session on the steps of the courthouse. Marion Edwards mocked the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Volz, and United States Judge Marcel Livaudais, who presided over the trials.
Even after beating the Volz indictment, Edwin Edwards' popularity was in decline. Despite his acquittal, the trial brought many sordid details of Edwards's conduct under public scrutiny. It was revealed that during frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas, Edwards lost hundreds of thousands of dollars under aliases such as T. Wong and E. Lee, later paying these gambling debts using suitcases stuffed with cash of unknown origin.
After the trial, Edwards' support for the legalization of gambling as a solution to the state's severe revenue shortages contributed to a further decline in his popularity. He had made unpopular budget cuts to education and other social programs earlier in his term. Beginning in January 1986, he argued that legalizing casino gambling in up to fifteen locations and creating a state lottery would be a way to restore the programs, but the state legislature rejected his gambling proposals. Entering a tough re-election campaign in 1987, Edwards seemed vulnerable. Going into the election, his disapproval ratings ranged from 52 to 71 percent.
At first Edwards had predicted that a casino and a state lottery would net the state $600 million; then he lowered the expectations to $150 million. Both gambling measures would eventually be implemented, but not during Edwards' third term.
Defeat: Edwards vs. Roemer, 1987
Several notable candidates lined up to face Edwards in the 1987 gubernatorial election. Perhaps his strongest early challenger was Republican Congressman Bob Livingston. Also in the race were Billy Tauzin, a then-Democratic Cajun congressman from Thibodaux who was a strong Edwards supporter while serving in the state legislature from 1972 to 1980; Democratic Secretary of State Jim Brown of Ferriday, and a Democratic congressman from Bossier City, Buddy Roemer, the son of former Commissioner of Administration Charles Roemer, who climbed up from a series of low poll rankings early in the campaign.
Louis J. Roussel Jr., the businessman from New Orleans who began his career as a bus driver, contributed $600,000 to Edwards in the losing race in 1987. Roussel had been a large donor to Bill Dodd, whose son, William Ford Dodd, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the same 1987 primary election.
"Anyone But Edwards"
Edwards was the issue of the campaign. Because of his name recognition, his resilient supporters, and unmatched political skill, even a weakened Edwards could safely assume he would win a place in Louisiana's unique primary election system runoff. The question was whether his opponent in the runoff would be someone who could beat him.
There was a prevailing sense in the race that Edwards needed Livingston in the runoff. Livingston was a Republican in a state that had at that point elected only one Republican governor since Reconstruction. And Livingston was widely perceived as lacking in charisma and personality, which would work to Edwards's advantage. Any other opponent, a moderate Democrat without the ethical problems, would be dangerous. To that end, Edwards talked up Livingston. Perhaps the key moment in the 1987 race came at a forum between the candidates. As usual, the main topic of discussion was Edwin Edwards. His challengers were asked, in succession, if they would consider endorsing Edwards in the general election if they did not make it to the runoff. The candidates hedged, particularly Secretary of State Brown, a reliable Edwards supporter in the state Senate who in his 1979 election drew many of the same voters who supported fellow Democrat Louis Lambert in his failed gubernatorial bid in the same general election vs. Treen. The last candidate to speak was Buddy Roemer: "No, we've got to slay the dragon. I would endorse anyone but Edwards." The next day, as political commentator John Maginnis put it, Jim Brown was explaining his statement while Buddy Roemer was ordering "Slay the Dragon" buttons. Boosted by his endorsement as the 'good government candidate' by nearly every newspaper in the state, Roemer stormed from last place in the polls and on election night, overtook Edwin Edwards and placed first in the primary election, with 33 percent of the vote compared with Edwards' 28 percent. This marked the first time Edwin Edwards ever finished other than in first place in an election.
In what seemed to be the end of Edwards' political career, the governor withdrew from the contest in his concession speech, automatically electing Buddy Roemer governor. In fact, he was cleverly setting a trap for Roemer. By withdrawing, Edwards denied Roemer the opportunity to build a governing coalition in the general election race, and denied him the decisive majority victory that he surely would have attained. In one stroke, Edwards made Buddy Roemer a minority governor. Also, Edwards virtually ceded control of the state to Roemer even before his inauguration. By doing so, he passed on the burden of the state's problems to the new governor, who was essentially under the gun even before assuming office. For four years, Roemer struggled to be a reform governor of Louisiana as so many had before him. And although virtually no one realized it at the time, Edwin Edwards quietly waited in the wings for a return to power.
Second comeback: Edwards vs. Duke, 1991
As the 1991 governor's race drew near, many of Edwards' friends encouraged him to abandon his planned comeback, believing that he had no chance to win. After Edwards' loss in 1987, Lanny Keller, a journalist for the defunct Shreveport Journal wrote that the only way Edwin Edwards could ever be elected again was to run against Adolf Hitler. These words turned out to be shockingly prophetic, since after the 1991 primary Edwards discovered his runoff opponent to be former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke. Edwards received 34 percent of the vote while Duke received 32 percent. Governor Roemer placed third, 80,000 votes behind Duke.
The runoff between an avowed white supremacist and a former governor who was corrupt but was also perceived as minority-friendly, gained national attention. Support for Edwards grew in between the primary and the runoff. Louisiana Coalition against Racism and Nazism, an interest group, appeared on the landscape to challenge Duke, with its leadership including longtime Treen supporter Beth Rickey, a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee from New Orleans. The coalition revealed through a recording of Duke at a White Nationalist conference that he was still involved in Ku Klux Klan activities.
Faced with the alternative of Duke, many who were otherwise lukewarm for Edwards found him looking ever better. Edwards found himself receiving endorsements from Treen and Roemer; even Republican President George H. W. Bush urged that Edwards, the Democrat, be elected over Duke. A popular bumper sticker urging support for Edwards (although clearly not produced by his campaign) read "Vote For the Crook. It's Important." Another read "Vote for the Lizard, not the Wizard." Edwards said that this would be his final term as governor and that he cared about leaving a good legacy, which made many hope that the corruption of his previous administrations would not be repeated. Edwards won by a wide margin. Continuing his artful use of humor to deflate an opponent, and referring to his considerable reputation as a ladies' man, Edwards said of Duke that "the only thing we have in common is that we both have been wizards beneath the sheets." He also feigned concern for Duke's health due to smoke inhalation "because he's around so many burning crosses" and when a reporter asked Edwards what he needed to do to triumph over Duke, Edwards replied "stay alive". On election day, Edwards defeated Duke in a landslide, 61 to 39 percent, a margin of nearly 400,000 votes.
Fourth term as governor, 1992–1996
In his last term, Edwards asked his boyhood friend, Raymond Laborde, to leave the state House after twenty years to serve as commissioner of administration. Laborde, who had once defeated Edwards for class president at Marksville High School and had earlier been his legislative floor leader, agreed to join the administration. He invited former state Representative Kevin P. Reilly Sr., of Baton Rouge, former CEO of Lamar Advertising Company to serve as secretary of economic development. Reilly had been removed in 1986 as chairman of the Louisiana House Appropriations Committee after having criticized Edwards.
In 1992, Edwards appointed the professional penologist, Richard Stalder, as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections, a position that used to be given to political supporters. Stalder remained secretary until 2008, serving during three subsequent gubernatorial terms in the position.
During his previous term as Governor, Edwards promoted casino gambling in Louisiana, which had been a major part of his platform in the 1991 campaign. In June 1992, his heavy lobbying led the state legislature to pass a bill calling for a single large land-based casino in New Orleans. He also appointed a board that, at his private direction, awarded 15 floating riverboat casinos that had been authorized by the Legislature and the Roemer administration. He appointed a political ally, Paul Fontenot, to head the State Police; he would oversee the licensing and investigation of casino operators. On another front he again demonstrated his broad commitment to civil rights by becoming the first Southern governor to issue an executive order protecting lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons from discrimination in state governmental services, employment, and contracts.
Despite the discovery that some licensees had links to organized crime or other unsavory ties, Edwards blocked the revocation of their licenses. But a political backlash against gambling-related corruption began. Though he had originally planned to run for re-election in 1995, he announced in June 1994, shortly after marrying his second wife Candy Picou, that he would be retiring from politics at the end of his term. Edwards was succeeded as governor by State Senator Murphy J. Foster Jr., who ran as an opponent of gambling interests. Edwards retired to a newly purchased home in Baton Rouge, intent on returning to a private law practice and living out his remaining days in contentment with his young wife, Candy (born 1964).
Ron Gomez, whose second term in the legislature corresponded with Edwards' third term as governor, describes Edwards, accordingly:
"Somehow, his brashness and arrogance over the years, traits that would have destroyed the average politician, have only seemed to endear him to his core constituency: minorities, organized labor, Cajuns and lower-income voters. It is exactly those groups who suffered the most over the quarter of a century he was in and out of the governor's office. Except for some black leaders who attached themselves to his entourage and gained political clout and monetary rewards through favors and appointments, the minority population as a whole has made very little progress culturally, educationally or socially because of his leadership."
Gomez continued:
Organized labor, once a powerful force in the state, has fallen to its lowest membership in history. And, overall, when he finally left office in 1996, the state was near the bottom in teacher pay and college and university funding (among other things). It was also near the top in high school dropouts, teen pregnancies, welfare recipients, prison population, and virtually every other negative category.
Indictment and conviction
Former Congressman Cleo Fields achieved considerable notoriety in 1997 when an FBI surveillance videotape showed him accepting a large amount of cash (about $20,000) from Edwards and stuffing it in his pockets. At the time Fields stated that the incident was just an innocent business transaction between friends, and said there was a humorous explanation, which he would make public shortly thereafter. A cloud hung over Fields as an unindicted co-conspirator in Edwards' criminal trial and in the end Fields refused to deliver the promised "humorous" explanation, stating that at the time of the cash transfer, he was not an elected official, and therefore under no obligation to explain publicly.
After being fingered by Texas for-profit prison entrepreneur Patrick Graham, who allegedly gave him $845,000 in conjunction with a scheme to locate a private juvenile prison in Jena in La Salle Parish, Edwards was indicted in 1998 by the federal government with the prosecution led by U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan. The prosecution soon released transcripts of audio conversations, and excerpts of video surveillance that seemed to indicate dubious financial transactions. The Edwards investigation also resulted in the conviction of San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., who admitted to paying Edwards a $400,000 bribe (DeBartolo was convicted for not reporting the extortion) in exchange for Edwards's assistance in securing a riverboat casino license.
Edwards was found guilty on seventeen of twenty-six counts, including racketeering, extortion, money laundering, mail fraud, and wire fraud; his son Stephen was convicted on 18 counts. "I did not do anything wrong as a governor, even if you accept the verdict as it is, it doesn't indicate that", Edwards told the press after his conviction. On his way to prison he said, "I will be a model prisoner, as I have been a model citizen". From 2002 to 2004 Edwin Edwards was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
Edwards' sometime co-conspirator, Cecil Brown, a Eunice cattleman, was convicted for his part in the payoffs in 2002.
In 2004, Edwards filed for divorce from his second wife Candy, saying that Mrs. Edwards had "suffered enough" during his incarceration. In June 2005, the former Mrs. Edwards was arrested for threatening a police officer at a traffic stop in Port Barre, screaming "don't you know who I am?"
In 2005, Edwards was moved to the Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale in Allen Parish, where he served his sentence as inmate #03128-095. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, he was scheduled to be released on July 6, 2011. In prison, he served as the facility's librarian: "I did what I could for my fellow inmates. I helped a number of them get their GEDs and I was helping several more when my term expired. Now, I have to be honest; I didn't stick around to see if they succeeded..."
Two men whom Edwards defeated in Louisiana elections—David C. Treen and J. Bennett Johnston Jr.—and a third who was his protégé and successor in the Seventh District U.S. House seat, U.S. Senator John Breaux, confirmed in July 2007 that they intended to approach then U.S. President George W. Bush to seek a pardon or commutation for Edwards, who celebrated his 80th birthday in prison in August 2007. Bush denied a pardon for Edwards before he left the presidency on January 20, 2009.
Edwards supporters also lobbied U.S. President Barack Obama for a pardon for Edwards so he might run in the 2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election. Obama did not reply to petitions by supporters of Edwards and lacking a pardon, Edwards remained ineligible to seek the governorship of Louisiana until the end of his life and would have only been eligible to run after fifteen years would have passed from the end of his sentence.
In 2009, Edwards was listed as an "honorary pallbearer" at the funeral of perennial political candidate L. D. Knox of Winnsboro, who in the 1979 gubernatorial contest, when Edwards was not on the ballot, legally changed his name to "None of the Above" Knox to dramatize his support for the "None of the Above" option in elections.
On January 13, 2011, Edwards was released from prison and served the remainder of his sentence at a halfway house. His sentence ended on July 6, 2011 and he began three years of probation. He entered into home confinement at his daughter's Denham Springs, Louisiana home through the supervision of a halfway house, on January 13, 2011. Following that, Edwards was placed on probation. On February 7, 2013, Edwards was granted early release from probation due to good behavior. His wife Trina made the announcement on her Facebook page.
In a poll taken in October 2011, months after he had been released from prison, 30 percent of respondents named Edwards the state's best governor since 1980.
2014 Congressional election
In February 2014, Edwards announced that he was contemplating running in the 2014 election to represent the Louisiana's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is centered on the state capital of Baton Rouge. With U.S. Representative Bill Cassidy exiting the seat to run for the Senate, Edwards said of the solidly Republican district: "I'm the only hope the Democrats have here." He formally declared his candidacy at a March 17 meeting of the Press Club of Baton Rouge, saying, "I want you to know, I'm going to give it every effort." If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, a runoff would be held on December 6, 2014, between the top two candidates. Two other Democrats, a Libertarian and nine Republicans, most notably Garret Graves, a former aide to Governor Bobby Jindal, State Senator Dan Claitor, businessman Paul Dietzel, II, and State Representative Lenar Whitney, also sought the seat.
After Edwards' announcement, Cassidy told KEEL radio news in Shreveport that he doubted that Edwards "has a chance. It's a conservative district, and he's obviously not a conservative. But it kind of shows, I think, to a certain extent that the Democratic bench is weak." Louisiana political writer John Maginnis said that Edwards was "likely to make the runoff" because of his name recognition, but "I don't see how he could win in a strong GOP-performance district like the 6th. But it should be entertaining." State pollster Elliott Stonecipher said that "the most basic math of the Edwards race yields an 'it is not impossible' answer" and former Governor Buddy Roemer said that while it is unlikely, "yes, [Edwards] can win".
An April 2014 article in Politico that discussed his chances noted that he was "still sharp as a razor" and "in remarkably vigorous health". He pronounced himself "disappointed" with President Obama for "sitting" on the Keystone Pipeline and listed his campaign priorities as "Building support for a high-speed rail system between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and emphasizing the good aspects of Obamacare, while doing what I can to change or amend the provisions that I think are onerous." He said that he would have voted against the Affordable Care Act, but criticized Governor Jindal for not accepting the Medicaid expansion. If elected, he hoped to serve on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to spur the construction of elevated roadways in the state.
A September 2014 survey of statewide Louisiana voters by Public Policy Polling found that 40% had a favourable opinion of Edwards, 44% did not and 17% were unsure. Asked whether they would rather have Edwards as governor than incumbent Republican governor Bobby Jindal, 47% said they would prefer Edwards, 43% preferred Jindal and 10% were not sure.
Edwards finished first in every poll taken of the race, though only with a plurality. Runoff polls showed him losing to all of his Republican opponents. An article in The Times-Picayune in late October 2014 noted that he had run a vigorous, serious campaign and noted that, as previously, analysts were split on whether he could actually win. David Wasserman of The Cook Political Report said that for Edwards, "mathematically, victory is something close to impossibility." Conversely, a spokesman for Republican opponent Lenar Whitney and political analyst Michael Beychok both said that he had a chance to win and Republican candidate Garret Graves said "There's no one alive anymore in this state that has the experience or, quite frankly, the tactics (of) Edwin Edwards." Edwards was expected to make the runoff, with his chances dependent on which Republican joins him, with several analysts saying that Edwards' best chance would come if Whitney, the most conservative Republican running, does so. Edwards' strategy was to appeal to black and Cajun voters and conservative Democrats, also campaigning on college campuses to appeal to younger voters. Columnist Bob Mann predicted that if Edwards made the runoff, the media would decry Louisiana voters' toleration for corruption when, "in truth (Edwards) never really had a chance to win."
As expected, Edwards as the principal Democratic candidate led the 2014 primary field for Congress with 77,862 votes (30.1 percent), winning every parish in the district. He then faced the Republican runner-up, Garret Graves, in the December 6 runoff election. Graves had received 70,706 "jungle primary" votes (27.4 percent). Losing Republican candidates were Paul Dietzel II, with 35,013 votes (13.6 percent), state Senator Dan Claitor with 26,520 (10.3 percent), and state Representative Lenar Whitney with 19,146 votes (7.4 percent). Edwards lost to Graves by a 62–38 percent margin in the runoff. It was only the second loss of his political career.
Edwards' record of longevity
Edwards has the seventh longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,784 days. Few governors have served four four-year terms. Edwards followed George Wallace of Alabama, Jim Hunt of North Carolina, Bill Janklow of South Dakota, Terry Branstad of Iowa, Lewis Cass of Michigan, and Jim Rhodes of Ohio as 16-year governors. However, Branstad was elected to a fifth nonconsecutive term as governor of Iowa in 2010, placing him second to George Clinton of New York (21 years) as the longest-serving governor in U.S. history, and won a sixth term as governor in 2014. In December 2015 Branstad surpassed New York's George Clinton as the longest-tenured governor in American history, with 8,169 days in office.
Veteran journalist Iris Kelso once described Edwards as clearly "the most interesting" of the six governors that she had covered while working for three newspapers and WDSU, the NBC television affiliate in New Orleans. Kelso declared Edwards more colorful than Earl Long, whom she covered for less than a year in the office.
Personal life
Marriages and family
In 1949, Edwards married Elaine Schwartzenburg, whom he had met at Marksville High School. The couple had four children: Anna, Victoria, Stephen, and David. In 1972, Edwards appointed her as an interim U.S. senator to complete the unfinished term of Allen J. Ellender of Houma, who died while campaigning for his seventh term in office. On July 1, 1989, the couple divorced after forty years of marriage. They had begun living apart on March 15, 1989.
In 1994, Edwards married Candy Picou (born 1964). In 1997, the couple entered the headlines when they attempted to have a child. Edwards had a vasectomy reversal, and the couple froze sperm to attempt to have a baby but were not successful. While in prison, Edwin Edwards filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2004.
In July 2011, Edwards married Trina Grimes, his prison pen pal. They began corresponding while he was serving his sentence for corruption. At the time of the wedding, he was 83, and she was 32. On August 1, 2013, Grimes gave birth to their child, Eli Wallace Edwards. In 2013, Edwards and Trina co-starred in an A&E reality show, The Governor's Wife based on their life together.
Extended family
One of Edwards's brothers, Nolan Edwards, a former assistant district attorney in Acadia Parish, was murdered in Crowley by an irate client in 1983, the same year that Edwards was engineering his comeback bid for a third term as governor. Nolan's killer, Rodney Wingate Jr., of Church Point, Louisiana, then killed himself. Wingate had been pardoned by Governor Edwards in 1980 for two drug convictions in the 1970s, a pardon procured through the intervention of Nolan Edwards. Nolan's murder halted the 1983 politicking. Newspapers carried a photograph of brothers Edwin and Marion locked in an embrace on an airport tarmac.
Marion Edwards, an insurance agent and political consultant, was a cancer survivor and counseled other patients for many years. Born on July 10, 1928, in Marksville, he died on January 12, 2013, at the age of eighty-four at his home in Broussard near Lafayette, Louisiana. The cause of death was not released. The Marion D. Edwards Fellowship in Hepatic Oncology at the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston, Texas, is named in his honor. Marion Edwards, who was Nazarene, was survived by his second wife, the former Deborah "Penny" Meaux, and three daughters from his first marriage to Aline Luther Edwards: Wanda Edwards, Elizabeth Kersten, and Donna Edwards.
Another brother, Allen Edwards, the longtime owner of a farm and heavy equipment company in Quitman in northern Arkansas, died in 2009, while Edwards was in prison. Edwards did not attend the funeral because of security difficulties.
Edwards was an uncle by marriage to former U.S. Representative Charles Boustany, a Republican from Lafayette, whose district includes much of the territory represented from 1965 to 1972 by then-U.S. Representative Edwin Edwards. Boustany's wife is the former Bridget Edwards, a daughter of Nolan Edwards.
Third wife and reality television show
On July 29, 2011, Edwards married Trina Grimes Scott (born August 1978) from Baton Rouge, at the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans. Edwards' one-time prison pen pal, she was fifty-one years his junior and was born midway in his second term as governor. She is a Republican.
Edwin and Trina Edwards were the subjects of the reality show The Governor's Wife, which premiered October 27, 2013, on the Arts & Entertainment Network. The program focused on Trina's rearing of teenaged sons and acting as stepmother to Edwards' daughters who are almost twice her age. According to the A&E description of the program: "Between school projects, running for president of the Homeowner's Association, fending off skeptics who think she's a gold digger, and thoughts of adding a baby of their own to the mix, the Edwards clan truly represents a new take on the modern family." The couple announced February 15, 2013 that Trina was pregnant. Trina gave birth to their son, Eli Wallace Edwards, on August 1, 2013.
Health and death
In 2015, Edwards was hospitalized for pneumonia. On December 13, 2016, Edwards was hospitalized under stable condition again for pneumonia in Baton Rouge.
Edwards was rushed to the hospital again by ambulance in November 2020, with shortness of breath. Edwards returned to his home in Gonzales after spending two nights at Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center in Baton Rouge. It was reported that he had a common head cold and he reportedly tested negative for both COVID-19 and pneumonia, as well as the flu. His wife told the media that he was resting well and "giving orders" once he got home.
Edwards was sent to hospice care for pain in his lungs in Gonzales, Louisiana on July 6, 2021. He died six days later on July 12, 26 days short of his 94th birthday. The cause of death was respiratory complications. At the time of his death, Edwards had outlived four of his successors: Dave Treen, Buddy Roemer, Mike Foster, and Kathleen Blanco.
References
Bibliography
State of Louisiana – Biography
Boulard, Garry, "Edwin Edwards: Reflections on a Life", Times of Acadiana, August 15, 2001.
Bridges, Tyler. Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001.
Dawson, Joseph G. The Louisiana Governors: From Iberville to Edwards. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1990.
Honeycutt, Leo. Edwin Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, An Authorized Biography by Leo Honeycutt. Lisburn Press, 2009.
Lemann, Nancy. Ritz of the Bayou. Knopf, 1987.
Maginnis, John. The Last Hayride. Baton Rouge: Gris Gris Press, 1984.
Maginnis, John. Cross to Bear. Baton Rouge: Darkhorse Press, 1992.
Reeves, Miriam G. The Governors of Louisiana. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 1998.
External links
Edwards' greatest quotes
New York magazine profile
Larry King interview
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"Monklandsgate was the name of a political scandal in the former Scottish local government district of Monklands (now part of North Lanarkshire) which dominated the Monklands East by-election in 1994.\n\nMonklandsgate consisted of allegations of sectarianism spending discrepancies between Protestant Airdrie and Cat... | [
"Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1976, 1976-1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as ... |
[
"Edwin Edwards",
"Early scandals",
"what were edwins early scandals?",
"When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that \"It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive.\"",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"while still governor, an... | C_e1d668882c39441abf5804d2a7db0abc_0 | was the book well-sold? | 6 | was Vidrine 's book well-sold? | Edwin Edwards | Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemer - father of future governor Buddy Roemer - was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case. During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but the Edwards administration attacked Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife. In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was a U.S. representative. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was "super moralistic" for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings. The scandal also engulfed Edwards's former congressional colleague Otto Passman of Monroe, who was later acquitted of all charges in the case. CANNOTANSWER | Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife. | Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1976, 1976-1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive. He served a total of 16 years in gubernatorial office, at 5,784 days the sixth-longest such tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history.
A colorful, powerful, and legendary figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards, who was dubbed the "very last of the line of New Deal Southern Democrats", was long dogged by charges of corruption. In 2001, he was found guilty of racketeering charges and sentenced to ten years in federal prison. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas, and was later transferred to the federal facility in Oakdale, Louisiana. He was released from federal prison in January 2011, having served eight years.
In 2014, Edwards again sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives, running to represent . He placed first in the jungle primary, but was defeated by Republican Garret Graves by nearly 25 percentage points in the runoff election.
Early life and career
Edwin Washington Edwards was born in rural Avoyelles Parish, near Marksville. His father, Clarence Edwards, was a half-French Creole Presbyterian sharecropper, while his mother, the former Agnès Brouillette, was a French-speaking Roman Catholic. Edwards' ancestors were among early Louisiana colonists from France who eventually settled in Avoyelles Parish, referred to as the original French Creoles. Edwards, like many 20th century politicians from Avoyelles, assumed that he had Cajun ancestry, when in fact he may have had none. His father was descended from a family in Kentucky, who came to Louisiana during the American Civil War. His great-great-grandfather, William Edwards, was killed in Marksville at the beginning of the American Civil War because of his pro-Union sentiment.
Avoyelles Parish has been known for colorful politicians; another who stood out, F.O. "Potch" Didier, actually spent seven days in his own jail after being convicted of malfeasance in office during his own heated reelection.
The young Edwards had planned on a career as a preacher. As a young man, he did some preaching for the Marksville Church of the Nazarene. He served briefly in the U.S. Navy Air Corps near the end of World War II. After his return from the military, he graduated at the age of twenty-one from Louisiana State University Law Center and began practicing law in Crowley, the seat of Acadia Parish. He relocated there in 1949 after his sister, Audrey E. Isbell, who had moved there with her husband, told him there were few French-speaking attorneys in the southwestern Louisiana community.
Edwards' career was thus helped by his being bilingual and articulate in both English and Cajun French. He learned to cultivate the goodwill of the media, working reporters and editorial page editors. One of his favorites was Adras LaBorde, the longtime managing editor of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk in Alexandria. LaBorde even influenced Edwards in regard to environmental policy.
Edwards entered politics through election to the Crowley City Council in 1954. He was a member of the Democratic Party which, in that era, had a monopoly on public offices in Louisiana, but which fell out of favor in the late 20th century. Edwards remained on the Crowley council until his election to the Louisiana State Senate in 1964; in that race he defeated, in a major political upset in the Democratic primary, the incumbent Bill Cleveland, a Crowley businessman who had served for twenty years in both houses of the Louisiana legislature. Years later as governor, Edwards appointed Cleveland's daughter, Willie Mae Fulkerson (1924–2009), a former member of the Crowley City Council, to the Louisiana Board of Prisons.
After serving in the state Senate for less than two years as a floor leader for Governor John McKeithen, Edwards was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 7th congressional district, a position that he held from 1965 until 1972. He won the congressional seat in a special election called when the incumbent, T. Ashton Thompson of Ville Platte, was killed in an automobile accident near Gastonia, North Carolina. Edwards was easily reelected to three full terms in the House in 1966, 1968, and 1970.
In 1968, he defeated Republican Vance William Plauché (1924–2013) of Lake Charles, son of former one-term Democratic Congressman Vance Gabriel Plauché, who was also a native of Avoyelles Parish. Edwards received more than 80 percent of the general election vote. While in Congress, Edwards served on the Public Works, Judiciary, and Internal Security committees. In 1970, he was one of the few Southern congressmen to support the extension for five years of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
1971–1972 campaign for governor
In the election of 1971–1972, Edwards won the governorship after finishing first in a field of seventeen candidates in the Democratic primary, including the final race of former governor Jimmie Davis and Gillis Long, a relative of Huey Long. His greatest support came from southern Louisiana, particularly among its large numbers of Cajun, Creole, and African-American voters. In the first primary, Edwards led with 276,397 (23.8 percent). J. Bennett Johnston Jr., a state senator from Shreveport, followed with 208,830 (17.8 percent). In third place was former Congressman Gillis Long of Alexandria, with 164,276 (14 percent). Former Governor Jimmie Davis finished fourth with 138,756 (11.8 percent). Far to the rear of the pack was Congressman Speedy O. Long of Jena of rural La Salle Parish with only 61,359 (5.2 percent).
Both Edwards and Johnston ran on reform-oriented platforms during the primary, but Edwards was more adept at making political deals and building alliances for the runoff round of voting. Edwards said that the major philosophical difference that he held with Johnston was in regard to their "awareness of problems of the poor". Johnston won the endorsement of Edwards' legislative colleague, Joe D. Waggonner of Bossier Parish, but the Shreveport state senator declined to accept Edwards' offer of a televised debate between the two.
Edwards defeated Johnston in the runoff, 584,262 (50.2 percent) to 579,774 (49.8 percent),
In a less than one vote per precinct outcome. The victory showed that south Louisiana was eclipsing the north in both population and in future political domination of the state.
On election night, Edwards gave public credit to the African American New Orleans political organization SOUL for his extremely narrow victory, stating that the 12,000 vote lead SOUL had bought him in New Orleans had put him over the top. Such public recognition of black political power by a Democratic governor of Louisiana was unprecedented.
In the general election held on February 1, 1972, Edwards faced Republican gubernatorial nominee David C. Treen, then of Metairie. He did not run as the candidate who would continue the Democratic policies of his predecessor, John McKeithen, for whom Edwards had been a state senate floor leader. Instead he derided McKeithen as a "lame duck governor who doesn't want the new administration to do well. It'll make him look bad", considering a $30 million budget shortfall facing the next governor. Throughout the campaign, Edwards repeatedly insisted that Treen had no chance of victory. He said the climate was not right for a Republican governor in Louisiana. He ridiculed Treen as having "never held a public office. He has run for office four times and has been defeated all four times. He can't even generate enough enthusiasm in his home district (Jefferson Parish), where he is best known." He accused Treen of having adopted Edwards' own reform platform characterized as the "Era of Excellence".
Though Treen ran a vigorous campaign, Louisiana's Democratic tradition favored Edwards from the start, as Edwards had predicted. Edwards polled 641,146 (57.2 percent) to Treen's 480,424 (42.8 percent). Edwards also overcame the south Louisiana "jinx" that had doomed former New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison Sr., in his three gubernatorial bids. Edwards picked up the enthusiastic backing of his runoff rival, J. Bennett Johnston, later a U.S. senator.
Bill Dodd, who was defeated for state superintendent of education in the same election cycle that Edwards was winning the governorship in for the first time, attributed the Edwards victory in part to political kingmaker Louis J. Roussel Jr., of New Orleans. According to Dodd, Roussel "can do more than any other individual in Louisiana to elect any candidate he supports for any office in this state. ... He is such a good administrator and motivator that he can put together an organization that will win in business and in politics."
First two terms as governor, 1972–1980
Both in his political rhetoric and in his public persona, Edwards cast himself as a Louisiana populist in the tradition of Huey P. Long and Earl K. Long. He was inaugurated as governor on May 9. One of his first acts was to call for a constitutional convention to overhaul Louisiana's bulky charter. Many of the sections on state government were written by delegate Robert G. Pugh, a prominent Shreveport attorney, who became an advisor to Edwards and two other governors thereafter. Voters approved the new constitution by a three-to-two margin in 1974, and government reorganization resulted. For the first time Louisiana operated with a "cabinet style" executive department in lieu of the hundreds of boards and commissions that had existed for decades, each its own fiefdom.
During his first two terms in office, Edwards developed a reputation for being one of the most colorful and flamboyant politicians in the history of a state known for its unorthodox political figures. Charismatic, well-dressed, and quick with clever one-liners and retorts, Edwards maintained wide popularity.
On taking office, Edwards hired J. Kelly Nix as his executive assistant and in 1974 elevated him to first executive assistant. In the second term, however, Nix left the administration to take office as the Louisiana state school superintendent. Dale Thorn, who had been Edwards' press secretary while he was in Congress, continued in that position for the first and most of the second Edwards terms. He was later associate commissioner of higher education for the Louisiana Board of Regents, and an LSU journalism professor.
Edwards also depended heavily on state Senator Sixty Rayburn of Bogalusa, whose 44-year service earned him the sobriquet as "Dean of the Louisiana Senate". He also rewarded political friends, such as former legislative colleague Fred L. Schiele, whom he appointed in 1973 to succeed the embattled Noah W. Cross as sheriff of Concordia Parish in eastern Louisiana.
Under Edwards, Michael H. O'Keefe of New Orleans in 1976 was named president of the state Senate, an office that was held by the lieutenant governor prior to the implementation of the state Constitution of 1974. In 1983, as Edwards prepared to return to office, O'Keefe was engulfed in scandal and forced to leave the Senate. He was as replaced by the Edwards loyalist, Samuel B. Nunez Jr., of Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish. In 2013, O'Keefe was still serving time in prison for a 1999 conviction.
Policies and achievements
After enduring three grueling rounds of voting in the 1971–1972 campaign, Edwards pushed a bill through the legislature that limited state elections to two rounds by having Democratic, Republican, and independent candidates run together on the same ballot in a nonpartisan blanket primary. Though the jungle primary system was intended to benefit Edwards' own political career, many observers cite it as being a major factor in the eventual rise of the state's Republican Party and the creation of a genuinely competitive two-party system. For this, Edwards was facetiously christened "father of Louisiana's Republican Party".
William Denis Brown, III, a lawyer and a state senator from Monroe, was Edwards's floor leader in the upper legislative chamber in the first term as governor. A native of Vicksburg, Mississippi reared on a plantation north of Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish, Brown was instrumental in drafting the Louisiana Mineral Code. Thereafter from 1980 to 1988, Brown was the chairman of the Louisiana Board of Ethics.
Early in the first gubernatorial term, Edwards initiated the creation of the first new Louisiana state constitution in more than a half century. He intended to replace the Constitution of 1921, an unwieldy and outmoded document burdened with hundreds of amendments. A constitutional convention was held in 1973; the resulting document was put into effect in 1975. , the 1973 Constitution remains in effect. Edwards also undertook a major reorganization of the state government, abolishing over 80 state agencies and modeling the remaining structure after that of the federal government.
In his first year in office, Edwards appointed his wife Elaine Edwards, also a native of Avoyelles Parish, to complete the Senate term of the deceased Allen J. Ellender. Mrs. Edwards served from August 1972 until that November, and during that time, the small town of Crowley boasted the governor, a U.S. Senator, and a U.S. Representative (former Edwards aide John Breaux), who all lived within a few blocks of each other.
An outspoken supporter of civil rights, Edwards appointed more black people and women to high positions in his administration than had his predecessors.
Edwards named State Representative J. Burton Angelle of Breaux Bridge as his director of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, a key appointment which Angelle filled for Edwards' first three terms of office.
Edwards' tenure in the 1970s coincided with a huge boom in the state's oil and gas industry after the gas pricing crisis of 1973. Edwards was able to greatly expand the state's oil revenues by basing severance taxes on a percentage of the price of each barrel rather than the former flat rate. This oil money fueled a massive increase in state spending (a 163% increase between 1972 and 1980), and Edwards was able to consistently balance the state budget due to the boom in oil revenue. Much of this increased spending went toward health and human services programs and increased funding for vocational-technical schools and higher education.
Edwards easily won reelection in 1975, with 750,107 votes (62.3 percent). In second place was Democratic State Senator Robert G. "Bob" Jones of Lake Charles, son of former Governor Sam Houston Jones, with 292,220 (24.3 percent). Secretary of State Wade O. Martin Jr., ran third with 146,363 (12.2 percent). Thereafter, Jones and Martin became Republicans. Addison Roswell Thompson, the perennial segregationist candidate from New Orleans, made his last race for governor in the 1975 primary.
Early scandals
Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that "It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive." He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemerfather of future governor Buddy Roemer – was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case.
During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards bodyguard named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but the Edwards administration attacked Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin' Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was murdered in December 1986 by the husband of a woman he was guarding, who believed Vidrine was having an affair with his wife.
In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was a U.S. representative. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was "super moralistic" for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings. The scandal also engulfed Edwards's former congressional colleague Otto Passman of Monroe, who was later acquitted of all charges in the case, but nonetheless was defeated in his 1976 re-election bid by Jerry Huckaby of Ringgold.
First political comeback: Edwards vs. Treen, 1983
Barred by the state constitution from seeking a third term immediately after his second, Edwards temporarily left politics in 1980 but made it clear he would run again for governor in 1983. He began raising money and touring the state long before the 1983 election, maintaining what supporters called "the government in waiting". Early in 1982, Edwards said that he was so committed to running again for governor that "only death alone can separate me from this. ... We are being led by a governor whose only answer to unemployment is to buy a $350,000 jet."
In 1979, Republican David Treen was narrowly elected governor on a pledge of good government reform. Edwards had supported Treen's opponent, Democratic Public Service Commissioner Louis Lambert of Ascension Parish. As widely expected, Edwards in 1983 defeated Treen's re-election attempt. The election offered a clear contrast between the flamboyant, charismatic Edwards and the low-key, policy-oriented Treen. While Treen focused on Edward's reputation for corruption and dishonesty, Edwards sought to portray Treen as incompetent and unresponsive to the public. Treen said of Edwards: "It's difficult for me to understand his popularity", which indicated in the eyes of many that he did not fully comprehend Louisiana politics. The two major candidates spent over $18 million between them; the election became renowned as one of the most expensive campaigns ever conducted in a state the size of Louisiana. John Maginnis' 1984 book, The Last Hayride, chronicles this colorful but lopsided campaign.
Treen's commissioner of administration, former legislator E. L. "Bubba" Henry, told the Democratic State Central Committee that Edwards had created a "smoke screen ... to divert attention from his own 'sweetheart deals' for his political friends", a reference to controversy which arose in the financing of a new baseball stadium for the University of Louisiana at Monroe (then known as Northeast Louisiana University).
Before election day, Edwards joked with reporters: "The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy." Edwards zinged Treen many times, once describing Treen as "so slow it takes him an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes." During a gubernatorial debate in 1983, Treen asked Edwards, "How come you talk out of both sides of your mouth?" Edwards instantly responded, "So people like you with only half a brain can understand me."
Then Shreveport Journal editor Stanley R. Tiner reported after the campaign of 1983 that Edwards does not believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and does not personally expect to go to heaven. There was an uproar in conservative religious circles, but the comments did not stop Edwards from finishing his term or winning a fourth election eight years later.
Edwards' brother, Marion David Edwards (1928–2013), was part of the 1983 campaign and of the entourage that headed to France and Belgium early in 1984 to raise money to repay a lingering $4.2 million campaign debt. Six hundred supporters joined the Edwardses on an eight-day tour that included dinner at Versailles and gambling in Monte Carlo. Each paid $10,000. Edwards expected a 70 percent profit on the contributors' tickets to retire the debt. Bumper stickers were printed in blue and gold campaign colors and distributed to those who contributed to the retirement of this debt. For years afterwards, motorists saw stickers on vehicles bearing the slogan, "I did Paris with the Gov." Attendees ranged from Sheriff Don Hathaway of Caddo Parish to the Lafayette artist George Rodrigue, known at the time for his oak tree symbol, later replaced by the widely recognized blue dog.
Third term as governor, 1984–1988
State finances nosedived during the third Edwards administration. Money from petroleum severance taxes decreased sharply in the middle 1980s because of plummeting oil prices. In 1984, Edwards attempted to deal with the erosion of state revenue by approving $730 million—Edwards had requested $1.1 billion—in new personal taxes, including a 1 percentage point increase in the state sales tax, $61 million in higher corporate income taxes, and $190 million in additional gasoline taxes. The legislature, overwhelmingly dominated by lawmakers beholden to Edwards, passed these taxes into law, but the taxes were highly unpopular and damaged Edwards' level of public support. Republican State Representative Terry W. Gee of New Orleans said at the time, "Nobody realized the magnitude of what's going on; I've had 180 phone calls in two days against the higher taxes."
Much of Edwards' support in the 1970s had been fueled by high levels of social spending during times of economic prosperity; with economic conditions worsening, his popularity waned. To obtain passage of the higher taxes, Edwards first submitted Treen's 1984–1985 proposed budget as a warning to lawmakers. The Treen budget, he claimed, would cut state spending too drastically and cause roads to fall apart, bridges to collapse, and insurance premiums to skyrocket. Edwards predicted that if lawmakers passed Treen's budget instead of the higher taxes the voters would rebel and blame the legislature itself for the results. In the end, Edwards got most of what he wanted and was able to use the excuse of teacher pay increases to put pressure on lawmakers.
John Volz indictment and trials
In February 1985, soon after his third term began, Edwards was forced to stand trial on charges of mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and bribery, brought by U.S. Attorney John Volz. The charges were centered around an alleged scheme in which Edwards and his associates received almost $2 million in exchange for granting preferential treatment to companies dealing with state hospitals. Edwards proclaimed his innocence and insisted that the charges were politically motivated by Volz and the Republican Party. The first trial resulted in a mistrial in December 1985, while a second trial in 1986 resulted in an acquittal. After Edwards and his four co-defendants were acquitted, the hotel where the jurors had been sequestered revealed that half of the jurors had stolen towels as they left. Edwards quipped that he had been judged by a "jury of my peers".
Russell B. Long had correctly predicted in March 1985 that Edwards would indeed be acquitted by a Louisiana jury and that the ensuing trial would not disrupt state government. When Long announced his retirement from the U.S. Senate seat that he had held since 1948, he indicated his preference for Edwards as his senatorial successor but added, correctly, that he did not think Edwards would enter the 1986 Senate election.
Prosecutors referred to Marion Edwards, also indicted in the alleged health care scheme, as a "bag man" for his brother. Marion ridiculed this characterization at a French Quarter bar in New Orleans, when media representatives were present. He placed a shopping bag on his head to resemble a crown and tossed about phony $100 bills.
Edwards later recited during a toast at a French Quarter bar, though his beverage was non-alcoholic as he was a teetotaler, a rhyming invitation for Volz to "kiss my ass". The trials were rather lengthy, and at one point during the first trial but before the mistrial Edwards rode to the Hale Boggs U.S. Courthouse on a mule from his hotel. When asked by reporters why he did so, he replied something to the effect that it was symbolic of the speed and intellect of the federal judicial system, but also that he supported "tradition". Marion Edwards, an attorney, often wore a pinstripe suit with a top hat and cane and held comedic press briefings at the end of each court session on the steps of the courthouse. Marion Edwards mocked the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Volz, and United States Judge Marcel Livaudais, who presided over the trials.
Even after beating the Volz indictment, Edwin Edwards' popularity was in decline. Despite his acquittal, the trial brought many sordid details of Edwards's conduct under public scrutiny. It was revealed that during frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas, Edwards lost hundreds of thousands of dollars under aliases such as T. Wong and E. Lee, later paying these gambling debts using suitcases stuffed with cash of unknown origin.
After the trial, Edwards' support for the legalization of gambling as a solution to the state's severe revenue shortages contributed to a further decline in his popularity. He had made unpopular budget cuts to education and other social programs earlier in his term. Beginning in January 1986, he argued that legalizing casino gambling in up to fifteen locations and creating a state lottery would be a way to restore the programs, but the state legislature rejected his gambling proposals. Entering a tough re-election campaign in 1987, Edwards seemed vulnerable. Going into the election, his disapproval ratings ranged from 52 to 71 percent.
At first Edwards had predicted that a casino and a state lottery would net the state $600 million; then he lowered the expectations to $150 million. Both gambling measures would eventually be implemented, but not during Edwards' third term.
Defeat: Edwards vs. Roemer, 1987
Several notable candidates lined up to face Edwards in the 1987 gubernatorial election. Perhaps his strongest early challenger was Republican Congressman Bob Livingston. Also in the race were Billy Tauzin, a then-Democratic Cajun congressman from Thibodaux who was a strong Edwards supporter while serving in the state legislature from 1972 to 1980; Democratic Secretary of State Jim Brown of Ferriday, and a Democratic congressman from Bossier City, Buddy Roemer, the son of former Commissioner of Administration Charles Roemer, who climbed up from a series of low poll rankings early in the campaign.
Louis J. Roussel Jr., the businessman from New Orleans who began his career as a bus driver, contributed $600,000 to Edwards in the losing race in 1987. Roussel had been a large donor to Bill Dodd, whose son, William Ford Dodd, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the same 1987 primary election.
"Anyone But Edwards"
Edwards was the issue of the campaign. Because of his name recognition, his resilient supporters, and unmatched political skill, even a weakened Edwards could safely assume he would win a place in Louisiana's unique primary election system runoff. The question was whether his opponent in the runoff would be someone who could beat him.
There was a prevailing sense in the race that Edwards needed Livingston in the runoff. Livingston was a Republican in a state that had at that point elected only one Republican governor since Reconstruction. And Livingston was widely perceived as lacking in charisma and personality, which would work to Edwards's advantage. Any other opponent, a moderate Democrat without the ethical problems, would be dangerous. To that end, Edwards talked up Livingston. Perhaps the key moment in the 1987 race came at a forum between the candidates. As usual, the main topic of discussion was Edwin Edwards. His challengers were asked, in succession, if they would consider endorsing Edwards in the general election if they did not make it to the runoff. The candidates hedged, particularly Secretary of State Brown, a reliable Edwards supporter in the state Senate who in his 1979 election drew many of the same voters who supported fellow Democrat Louis Lambert in his failed gubernatorial bid in the same general election vs. Treen. The last candidate to speak was Buddy Roemer: "No, we've got to slay the dragon. I would endorse anyone but Edwards." The next day, as political commentator John Maginnis put it, Jim Brown was explaining his statement while Buddy Roemer was ordering "Slay the Dragon" buttons. Boosted by his endorsement as the 'good government candidate' by nearly every newspaper in the state, Roemer stormed from last place in the polls and on election night, overtook Edwin Edwards and placed first in the primary election, with 33 percent of the vote compared with Edwards' 28 percent. This marked the first time Edwin Edwards ever finished other than in first place in an election.
In what seemed to be the end of Edwards' political career, the governor withdrew from the contest in his concession speech, automatically electing Buddy Roemer governor. In fact, he was cleverly setting a trap for Roemer. By withdrawing, Edwards denied Roemer the opportunity to build a governing coalition in the general election race, and denied him the decisive majority victory that he surely would have attained. In one stroke, Edwards made Buddy Roemer a minority governor. Also, Edwards virtually ceded control of the state to Roemer even before his inauguration. By doing so, he passed on the burden of the state's problems to the new governor, who was essentially under the gun even before assuming office. For four years, Roemer struggled to be a reform governor of Louisiana as so many had before him. And although virtually no one realized it at the time, Edwin Edwards quietly waited in the wings for a return to power.
Second comeback: Edwards vs. Duke, 1991
As the 1991 governor's race drew near, many of Edwards' friends encouraged him to abandon his planned comeback, believing that he had no chance to win. After Edwards' loss in 1987, Lanny Keller, a journalist for the defunct Shreveport Journal wrote that the only way Edwin Edwards could ever be elected again was to run against Adolf Hitler. These words turned out to be shockingly prophetic, since after the 1991 primary Edwards discovered his runoff opponent to be former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke. Edwards received 34 percent of the vote while Duke received 32 percent. Governor Roemer placed third, 80,000 votes behind Duke.
The runoff between an avowed white supremacist and a former governor who was corrupt but was also perceived as minority-friendly, gained national attention. Support for Edwards grew in between the primary and the runoff. Louisiana Coalition against Racism and Nazism, an interest group, appeared on the landscape to challenge Duke, with its leadership including longtime Treen supporter Beth Rickey, a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee from New Orleans. The coalition revealed through a recording of Duke at a White Nationalist conference that he was still involved in Ku Klux Klan activities.
Faced with the alternative of Duke, many who were otherwise lukewarm for Edwards found him looking ever better. Edwards found himself receiving endorsements from Treen and Roemer; even Republican President George H. W. Bush urged that Edwards, the Democrat, be elected over Duke. A popular bumper sticker urging support for Edwards (although clearly not produced by his campaign) read "Vote For the Crook. It's Important." Another read "Vote for the Lizard, not the Wizard." Edwards said that this would be his final term as governor and that he cared about leaving a good legacy, which made many hope that the corruption of his previous administrations would not be repeated. Edwards won by a wide margin. Continuing his artful use of humor to deflate an opponent, and referring to his considerable reputation as a ladies' man, Edwards said of Duke that "the only thing we have in common is that we both have been wizards beneath the sheets." He also feigned concern for Duke's health due to smoke inhalation "because he's around so many burning crosses" and when a reporter asked Edwards what he needed to do to triumph over Duke, Edwards replied "stay alive". On election day, Edwards defeated Duke in a landslide, 61 to 39 percent, a margin of nearly 400,000 votes.
Fourth term as governor, 1992–1996
In his last term, Edwards asked his boyhood friend, Raymond Laborde, to leave the state House after twenty years to serve as commissioner of administration. Laborde, who had once defeated Edwards for class president at Marksville High School and had earlier been his legislative floor leader, agreed to join the administration. He invited former state Representative Kevin P. Reilly Sr., of Baton Rouge, former CEO of Lamar Advertising Company to serve as secretary of economic development. Reilly had been removed in 1986 as chairman of the Louisiana House Appropriations Committee after having criticized Edwards.
In 1992, Edwards appointed the professional penologist, Richard Stalder, as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections, a position that used to be given to political supporters. Stalder remained secretary until 2008, serving during three subsequent gubernatorial terms in the position.
During his previous term as Governor, Edwards promoted casino gambling in Louisiana, which had been a major part of his platform in the 1991 campaign. In June 1992, his heavy lobbying led the state legislature to pass a bill calling for a single large land-based casino in New Orleans. He also appointed a board that, at his private direction, awarded 15 floating riverboat casinos that had been authorized by the Legislature and the Roemer administration. He appointed a political ally, Paul Fontenot, to head the State Police; he would oversee the licensing and investigation of casino operators. On another front he again demonstrated his broad commitment to civil rights by becoming the first Southern governor to issue an executive order protecting lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons from discrimination in state governmental services, employment, and contracts.
Despite the discovery that some licensees had links to organized crime or other unsavory ties, Edwards blocked the revocation of their licenses. But a political backlash against gambling-related corruption began. Though he had originally planned to run for re-election in 1995, he announced in June 1994, shortly after marrying his second wife Candy Picou, that he would be retiring from politics at the end of his term. Edwards was succeeded as governor by State Senator Murphy J. Foster Jr., who ran as an opponent of gambling interests. Edwards retired to a newly purchased home in Baton Rouge, intent on returning to a private law practice and living out his remaining days in contentment with his young wife, Candy (born 1964).
Ron Gomez, whose second term in the legislature corresponded with Edwards' third term as governor, describes Edwards, accordingly:
"Somehow, his brashness and arrogance over the years, traits that would have destroyed the average politician, have only seemed to endear him to his core constituency: minorities, organized labor, Cajuns and lower-income voters. It is exactly those groups who suffered the most over the quarter of a century he was in and out of the governor's office. Except for some black leaders who attached themselves to his entourage and gained political clout and monetary rewards through favors and appointments, the minority population as a whole has made very little progress culturally, educationally or socially because of his leadership."
Gomez continued:
Organized labor, once a powerful force in the state, has fallen to its lowest membership in history. And, overall, when he finally left office in 1996, the state was near the bottom in teacher pay and college and university funding (among other things). It was also near the top in high school dropouts, teen pregnancies, welfare recipients, prison population, and virtually every other negative category.
Indictment and conviction
Former Congressman Cleo Fields achieved considerable notoriety in 1997 when an FBI surveillance videotape showed him accepting a large amount of cash (about $20,000) from Edwards and stuffing it in his pockets. At the time Fields stated that the incident was just an innocent business transaction between friends, and said there was a humorous explanation, which he would make public shortly thereafter. A cloud hung over Fields as an unindicted co-conspirator in Edwards' criminal trial and in the end Fields refused to deliver the promised "humorous" explanation, stating that at the time of the cash transfer, he was not an elected official, and therefore under no obligation to explain publicly.
After being fingered by Texas for-profit prison entrepreneur Patrick Graham, who allegedly gave him $845,000 in conjunction with a scheme to locate a private juvenile prison in Jena in La Salle Parish, Edwards was indicted in 1998 by the federal government with the prosecution led by U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan. The prosecution soon released transcripts of audio conversations, and excerpts of video surveillance that seemed to indicate dubious financial transactions. The Edwards investigation also resulted in the conviction of San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., who admitted to paying Edwards a $400,000 bribe (DeBartolo was convicted for not reporting the extortion) in exchange for Edwards's assistance in securing a riverboat casino license.
Edwards was found guilty on seventeen of twenty-six counts, including racketeering, extortion, money laundering, mail fraud, and wire fraud; his son Stephen was convicted on 18 counts. "I did not do anything wrong as a governor, even if you accept the verdict as it is, it doesn't indicate that", Edwards told the press after his conviction. On his way to prison he said, "I will be a model prisoner, as I have been a model citizen". From 2002 to 2004 Edwin Edwards was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
Edwards' sometime co-conspirator, Cecil Brown, a Eunice cattleman, was convicted for his part in the payoffs in 2002.
In 2004, Edwards filed for divorce from his second wife Candy, saying that Mrs. Edwards had "suffered enough" during his incarceration. In June 2005, the former Mrs. Edwards was arrested for threatening a police officer at a traffic stop in Port Barre, screaming "don't you know who I am?"
In 2005, Edwards was moved to the Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale in Allen Parish, where he served his sentence as inmate #03128-095. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, he was scheduled to be released on July 6, 2011. In prison, he served as the facility's librarian: "I did what I could for my fellow inmates. I helped a number of them get their GEDs and I was helping several more when my term expired. Now, I have to be honest; I didn't stick around to see if they succeeded..."
Two men whom Edwards defeated in Louisiana elections—David C. Treen and J. Bennett Johnston Jr.—and a third who was his protégé and successor in the Seventh District U.S. House seat, U.S. Senator John Breaux, confirmed in July 2007 that they intended to approach then U.S. President George W. Bush to seek a pardon or commutation for Edwards, who celebrated his 80th birthday in prison in August 2007. Bush denied a pardon for Edwards before he left the presidency on January 20, 2009.
Edwards supporters also lobbied U.S. President Barack Obama for a pardon for Edwards so he might run in the 2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election. Obama did not reply to petitions by supporters of Edwards and lacking a pardon, Edwards remained ineligible to seek the governorship of Louisiana until the end of his life and would have only been eligible to run after fifteen years would have passed from the end of his sentence.
In 2009, Edwards was listed as an "honorary pallbearer" at the funeral of perennial political candidate L. D. Knox of Winnsboro, who in the 1979 gubernatorial contest, when Edwards was not on the ballot, legally changed his name to "None of the Above" Knox to dramatize his support for the "None of the Above" option in elections.
On January 13, 2011, Edwards was released from prison and served the remainder of his sentence at a halfway house. His sentence ended on July 6, 2011 and he began three years of probation. He entered into home confinement at his daughter's Denham Springs, Louisiana home through the supervision of a halfway house, on January 13, 2011. Following that, Edwards was placed on probation. On February 7, 2013, Edwards was granted early release from probation due to good behavior. His wife Trina made the announcement on her Facebook page.
In a poll taken in October 2011, months after he had been released from prison, 30 percent of respondents named Edwards the state's best governor since 1980.
2014 Congressional election
In February 2014, Edwards announced that he was contemplating running in the 2014 election to represent the Louisiana's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is centered on the state capital of Baton Rouge. With U.S. Representative Bill Cassidy exiting the seat to run for the Senate, Edwards said of the solidly Republican district: "I'm the only hope the Democrats have here." He formally declared his candidacy at a March 17 meeting of the Press Club of Baton Rouge, saying, "I want you to know, I'm going to give it every effort." If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, a runoff would be held on December 6, 2014, between the top two candidates. Two other Democrats, a Libertarian and nine Republicans, most notably Garret Graves, a former aide to Governor Bobby Jindal, State Senator Dan Claitor, businessman Paul Dietzel, II, and State Representative Lenar Whitney, also sought the seat.
After Edwards' announcement, Cassidy told KEEL radio news in Shreveport that he doubted that Edwards "has a chance. It's a conservative district, and he's obviously not a conservative. But it kind of shows, I think, to a certain extent that the Democratic bench is weak." Louisiana political writer John Maginnis said that Edwards was "likely to make the runoff" because of his name recognition, but "I don't see how he could win in a strong GOP-performance district like the 6th. But it should be entertaining." State pollster Elliott Stonecipher said that "the most basic math of the Edwards race yields an 'it is not impossible' answer" and former Governor Buddy Roemer said that while it is unlikely, "yes, [Edwards] can win".
An April 2014 article in Politico that discussed his chances noted that he was "still sharp as a razor" and "in remarkably vigorous health". He pronounced himself "disappointed" with President Obama for "sitting" on the Keystone Pipeline and listed his campaign priorities as "Building support for a high-speed rail system between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and emphasizing the good aspects of Obamacare, while doing what I can to change or amend the provisions that I think are onerous." He said that he would have voted against the Affordable Care Act, but criticized Governor Jindal for not accepting the Medicaid expansion. If elected, he hoped to serve on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to spur the construction of elevated roadways in the state.
A September 2014 survey of statewide Louisiana voters by Public Policy Polling found that 40% had a favourable opinion of Edwards, 44% did not and 17% were unsure. Asked whether they would rather have Edwards as governor than incumbent Republican governor Bobby Jindal, 47% said they would prefer Edwards, 43% preferred Jindal and 10% were not sure.
Edwards finished first in every poll taken of the race, though only with a plurality. Runoff polls showed him losing to all of his Republican opponents. An article in The Times-Picayune in late October 2014 noted that he had run a vigorous, serious campaign and noted that, as previously, analysts were split on whether he could actually win. David Wasserman of The Cook Political Report said that for Edwards, "mathematically, victory is something close to impossibility." Conversely, a spokesman for Republican opponent Lenar Whitney and political analyst Michael Beychok both said that he had a chance to win and Republican candidate Garret Graves said "There's no one alive anymore in this state that has the experience or, quite frankly, the tactics (of) Edwin Edwards." Edwards was expected to make the runoff, with his chances dependent on which Republican joins him, with several analysts saying that Edwards' best chance would come if Whitney, the most conservative Republican running, does so. Edwards' strategy was to appeal to black and Cajun voters and conservative Democrats, also campaigning on college campuses to appeal to younger voters. Columnist Bob Mann predicted that if Edwards made the runoff, the media would decry Louisiana voters' toleration for corruption when, "in truth (Edwards) never really had a chance to win."
As expected, Edwards as the principal Democratic candidate led the 2014 primary field for Congress with 77,862 votes (30.1 percent), winning every parish in the district. He then faced the Republican runner-up, Garret Graves, in the December 6 runoff election. Graves had received 70,706 "jungle primary" votes (27.4 percent). Losing Republican candidates were Paul Dietzel II, with 35,013 votes (13.6 percent), state Senator Dan Claitor with 26,520 (10.3 percent), and state Representative Lenar Whitney with 19,146 votes (7.4 percent). Edwards lost to Graves by a 62–38 percent margin in the runoff. It was only the second loss of his political career.
Edwards' record of longevity
Edwards has the seventh longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,784 days. Few governors have served four four-year terms. Edwards followed George Wallace of Alabama, Jim Hunt of North Carolina, Bill Janklow of South Dakota, Terry Branstad of Iowa, Lewis Cass of Michigan, and Jim Rhodes of Ohio as 16-year governors. However, Branstad was elected to a fifth nonconsecutive term as governor of Iowa in 2010, placing him second to George Clinton of New York (21 years) as the longest-serving governor in U.S. history, and won a sixth term as governor in 2014. In December 2015 Branstad surpassed New York's George Clinton as the longest-tenured governor in American history, with 8,169 days in office.
Veteran journalist Iris Kelso once described Edwards as clearly "the most interesting" of the six governors that she had covered while working for three newspapers and WDSU, the NBC television affiliate in New Orleans. Kelso declared Edwards more colorful than Earl Long, whom she covered for less than a year in the office.
Personal life
Marriages and family
In 1949, Edwards married Elaine Schwartzenburg, whom he had met at Marksville High School. The couple had four children: Anna, Victoria, Stephen, and David. In 1972, Edwards appointed her as an interim U.S. senator to complete the unfinished term of Allen J. Ellender of Houma, who died while campaigning for his seventh term in office. On July 1, 1989, the couple divorced after forty years of marriage. They had begun living apart on March 15, 1989.
In 1994, Edwards married Candy Picou (born 1964). In 1997, the couple entered the headlines when they attempted to have a child. Edwards had a vasectomy reversal, and the couple froze sperm to attempt to have a baby but were not successful. While in prison, Edwin Edwards filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2004.
In July 2011, Edwards married Trina Grimes, his prison pen pal. They began corresponding while he was serving his sentence for corruption. At the time of the wedding, he was 83, and she was 32. On August 1, 2013, Grimes gave birth to their child, Eli Wallace Edwards. In 2013, Edwards and Trina co-starred in an A&E reality show, The Governor's Wife based on their life together.
Extended family
One of Edwards's brothers, Nolan Edwards, a former assistant district attorney in Acadia Parish, was murdered in Crowley by an irate client in 1983, the same year that Edwards was engineering his comeback bid for a third term as governor. Nolan's killer, Rodney Wingate Jr., of Church Point, Louisiana, then killed himself. Wingate had been pardoned by Governor Edwards in 1980 for two drug convictions in the 1970s, a pardon procured through the intervention of Nolan Edwards. Nolan's murder halted the 1983 politicking. Newspapers carried a photograph of brothers Edwin and Marion locked in an embrace on an airport tarmac.
Marion Edwards, an insurance agent and political consultant, was a cancer survivor and counseled other patients for many years. Born on July 10, 1928, in Marksville, he died on January 12, 2013, at the age of eighty-four at his home in Broussard near Lafayette, Louisiana. The cause of death was not released. The Marion D. Edwards Fellowship in Hepatic Oncology at the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston, Texas, is named in his honor. Marion Edwards, who was Nazarene, was survived by his second wife, the former Deborah "Penny" Meaux, and three daughters from his first marriage to Aline Luther Edwards: Wanda Edwards, Elizabeth Kersten, and Donna Edwards.
Another brother, Allen Edwards, the longtime owner of a farm and heavy equipment company in Quitman in northern Arkansas, died in 2009, while Edwards was in prison. Edwards did not attend the funeral because of security difficulties.
Edwards was an uncle by marriage to former U.S. Representative Charles Boustany, a Republican from Lafayette, whose district includes much of the territory represented from 1965 to 1972 by then-U.S. Representative Edwin Edwards. Boustany's wife is the former Bridget Edwards, a daughter of Nolan Edwards.
Third wife and reality television show
On July 29, 2011, Edwards married Trina Grimes Scott (born August 1978) from Baton Rouge, at the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans. Edwards' one-time prison pen pal, she was fifty-one years his junior and was born midway in his second term as governor. She is a Republican.
Edwin and Trina Edwards were the subjects of the reality show The Governor's Wife, which premiered October 27, 2013, on the Arts & Entertainment Network. The program focused on Trina's rearing of teenaged sons and acting as stepmother to Edwards' daughters who are almost twice her age. According to the A&E description of the program: "Between school projects, running for president of the Homeowner's Association, fending off skeptics who think she's a gold digger, and thoughts of adding a baby of their own to the mix, the Edwards clan truly represents a new take on the modern family." The couple announced February 15, 2013 that Trina was pregnant. Trina gave birth to their son, Eli Wallace Edwards, on August 1, 2013.
Health and death
In 2015, Edwards was hospitalized for pneumonia. On December 13, 2016, Edwards was hospitalized under stable condition again for pneumonia in Baton Rouge.
Edwards was rushed to the hospital again by ambulance in November 2020, with shortness of breath. Edwards returned to his home in Gonzales after spending two nights at Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center in Baton Rouge. It was reported that he had a common head cold and he reportedly tested negative for both COVID-19 and pneumonia, as well as the flu. His wife told the media that he was resting well and "giving orders" once he got home.
Edwards was sent to hospice care for pain in his lungs in Gonzales, Louisiana on July 6, 2021. He died six days later on July 12, 26 days short of his 94th birthday. The cause of death was respiratory complications. At the time of his death, Edwards had outlived four of his successors: Dave Treen, Buddy Roemer, Mike Foster, and Kathleen Blanco.
References
Bibliography
State of Louisiana – Biography
Boulard, Garry, "Edwin Edwards: Reflections on a Life", Times of Acadiana, August 15, 2001.
Bridges, Tyler. Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001.
Dawson, Joseph G. The Louisiana Governors: From Iberville to Edwards. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1990.
Honeycutt, Leo. Edwin Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, An Authorized Biography by Leo Honeycutt. Lisburn Press, 2009.
Lemann, Nancy. Ritz of the Bayou. Knopf, 1987.
Maginnis, John. The Last Hayride. Baton Rouge: Gris Gris Press, 1984.
Maginnis, John. Cross to Bear. Baton Rouge: Darkhorse Press, 1992.
Reeves, Miriam G. The Governors of Louisiana. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 1998.
External links
Edwards' greatest quotes
New York magazine profile
Larry King interview
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United States Navy personnel of World War II | true | [
"Valdimar Tómasson (born 1971) is an Icelandic poet. He was born in Vík í Mýrdal but moved to Reykjavík at the age of 16.\n\nValdimar's first book, Enn sefur vatnið (\"The Water Still Sleeps\") was published in 2007 by the Icelandic publishing house JPV. The book contains short alliterative poems with a free rhythm... | [
"Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1976, 1976-1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as ... |
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"Scarlett Johansson",
"Music career"
] | C_d189e6b99ea04627b701abfd791e3d8a_0 | What was her first music performance? | 1 | What was Scarlett Johansson's first music performance? | Scarlett Johansson | In 2006, Johansson sang the track "Summertime" for Unexpected Dreams - Songs From the Stars, a non-profit collection of songs recorded by Hollywood actors. She performed with the Jesus and Mary Chain for a Coachella reunion show in Indio, California, in April 2007. The following year, Johansson appeared as the leading lady in Justin Timberlake's music video, for "What Goes Around... Comes Around", which was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year. In May 2008, Johansson released her debut album Anywhere I Lay My Head, which consists of one original song and ten cover versions of Tom Waits songs, and features David Bowie and members from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Celebration. Reviews of the album were mixed. Spin was not particularly impressed with Johansson's singing. Some critics found it to be "surprisingly alluring", "a bravely eccentric selection", and "a brilliant album" with "ghostly magic". NME named the album the "23rd best album of 2008", and it peaked at number 126 on the Billboard 200. Johansson started listening to Waits when she was 11 or 12 years old, and said of him, "His melodies are so beautiful, his voice is so distinct and I had my own way of doing Tom Waits songs." In September 2009, Johansson and singer-songwriter Pete Yorn released a collaborative album, Break Up, inspired by Serge Gainsbourg's duets with Brigitte Bardot. The album reached number 41 in the US. In 2010, Steel Train released Terrible Thrills Vol. 1, which includes their favorite female artists singing songs from their self-titled album. Johansson is the first artist on the album, singing "Bullet". Johansson sang "One Whole Hour" for the 2011 soundtrack of the documentary film Wretches & Jabberers (2010). and in 2012 sang on a J. Ralph track entitled "Before My Time" for the end credits of the climate documentary Chasing Ice (2012) In February 2015, Johansson formed a band called the Singles with Este Haim from HAIM, Holly Miranda, Kendra Morris, and Julia Haltigan. The group's first single was called "Candy". Johansson was issued a cease and desist order from the lead singer of the Los Angeles-based rock band the Singles, demanding she stop using their name. In 2016, she performed "Trust in Me" for The Jungle Book soundtrack and "The Promise & The Prize," "Universal Fanfare", "Set It All Free" and "I Don't Wanna" for Sing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. CANNOTANSWER | Summertime | Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Her films have grossed over billion worldwide, making Johansson the ninth-highest-grossing box office star of all time. She has received various accolades, including a Tony Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.
Johansson aspired to be an actress from an early age and first appeared on stage in an Off-Broadway play as a child actor. She made her film debut in the fantasy comedy North (1994), and gained early recognition for her roles in Manny & Lo (1996), The Horse Whisperer (1998), and Ghost World (2001). Johansson shifted to adult roles in 2003 with her performances in Lost in Translation, which won her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, and Girl with a Pearl Earring. She was nominated for Golden Globe Awards for these films, and for playing a troubled teenager in the drama A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004) and a seductress in psychological thriller Match Point (2005). The latter was her first collaboration with Woody Allen, who later directed her in Scoop (2006) and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). Johansson's other works of this period include The Prestige (2006) and the albums Anywhere I Lay My Head (2008) and Break Up (2009), both of which charted on the Billboard 200.
In 2010, Johansson debuted on Broadway in a revival of A View from the Bridge, which won her a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress, and began portraying Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Iron Man 2. She reprised the role in eight films, most recently in her solo feature Black Widow (2021), gaining global recognition for her performances. During this period, Johansson starred in the science fiction films Her (2013), Under the Skin (2013) and Lucy (2014). She received two simultaneous Academy Award nominations—Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress—for the respective roles of an actress going through a divorce in the drama Marriage Story (2019) and a single mother in Nazi Germany in the satire Jojo Rabbit (2019).
Labeled a sex symbol, Johansson has been referred to as one of the world's most attractive women by various media outlets. She is a prominent brand endorser and supports several charitable causes. Divorced from actor Ryan Reynolds and businessman Romain Dauriac, Johansson has been married to comedian Colin Jost since 2020. She has two children, one with Dauriac and another with Jost.
Early life
Johansson was born on November 22, 1984, in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Her father, Karsten Olaf Johansson, is an architect originally from Copenhagen, Denmark. Her paternal grandfather, Ejner Johansson, was an art historian, screenwriter, and film director, whose own father was Swedish. Her mother, Melanie Sloan, a New Yorker, has worked as a producer; she comes from an Ashkenazi Jewish family from Poland and Russia, originally surnamed Schlamberg, and Johansson describes herself as Jewish. She has an older sister, Vanessa, also an actress; an older brother, Adrian; and a twin brother, Hunter. She also has an older half-brother, Christian, from her father's first marriage. Johansson holds dual American and Danish citizenship. She discovered that her maternal great-grandfather's family died during the Holocaust in the Warsaw Ghetto on a 2017 episode of PBS's Finding Your Roots.
Johansson attended PS 41, an elementary school in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. Her parents divorced when she was thirteen. She was particularly close to her maternal grandmother, Dorothy Sloan, a bookkeeper and schoolteacher; they often spent time together and Johansson considered Dorothy her best friend. Interested in a career in the spotlight from an early age, Johansson often put on song-and-dance routines for her family. She was particularly fond of musical theater and jazz hands. She took lessons in tap dance, and states that her parents were supportive of her career choice. She has described her childhood as very ordinary.
As a child, Johansson practiced acting by staring in the mirror until she made herself cry, wanting to be Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis. At age seven, she was devastated when a talent agent signed one of her brothers instead of her, but she later decided to become an actress anyway. She enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and began auditioning for commercials, but soon lost interest: "I didn't want to promote Wonder Bread." She shifted her focus to film and theater, making her first stage appearance in the Off-Broadway play Sophistry with Ethan Hawke, in which she had two lines. Around this time, she began studying at Professional Children's School (PCS), a private educational institution for aspiring child actors in Manhattan.
Acting career
Early work and breakthrough (1994–2002)
At age nine, Johansson made her film debut as John Ritter's daughter in the fantasy comedy North (1994). She says that when she was on the film set, she knew intuitively what to do. She later played minor roles such as the daughter of Sean Connery's and Kate Capshaw's characters in the mystery thriller Just Cause (1995), and an art student in If Lucy Fell (1996). Johansson's first leading role was as Amanda, the younger sister of a pregnant teenager who runs away from her foster home in Manny & Lo (1996) alongside Aleksa Palladino and her brother, Hunter. Her performance received positive reviews: one written for the San Francisco Chronicle noted, "[the film] grows on you, largely because of the charm of ... Scarlett Johansson," while critic Mick LaSalle, writing for the same paper, commented on her "peaceful aura", and believed, "If she can get through puberty with that aura undisturbed, she could become an important actress." Johansson earned a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female for the role.
After appearing in minor roles in Fall and Home Alone 3 (both 1997), Johansson attracted wider attention for her performance in the film The Horse Whisperer (1998), directed by Robert Redford. The drama film, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Nicholas Evans, tells the story of a trainer with a gift for understanding horses, who is hired to help an injured teenager played by Johansson. The actress received an "introducing" credit on this film, although it was her seventh role. On Johansson's maturity, Redford described her as "13 going on 30". Todd McCarthy of Variety commented that Johansson "convincingly conveys the awkwardness of her age and the inner pain of a carefree girl suddenly laid low by horrible happenstance". For the film, she was nominated for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress. She believed that the film changed many things in her life, realizing that acting is the ability to manipulate one's emotions. On finding good roles as a teenager, Johansson said it was hard for her as adults wrote the scripts and they "portray kids like mall rats and not seriously ... Kids and teenagers just aren't being portrayed with any real depth".
Johansson later appeared in My Brother the Pig (1999) and in the neo-noir, Coen brothers film The Man Who Wasn't There (2001). Her breakthrough came playing a cynical outcast in Terry Zwigoff's black comedy Ghost World (2001), an adaptation of Daniel Clowes' graphic novel of the same name. Johansson auditioned for the film via a tape from New York, and Zwigoff believed her to be "a unique, eccentric person, and right for that part". The film premiered at the 2001 Seattle International Film Festival; it was a box office failure, but has since developed a cult status. Johansson was credited with "sensitivity and talent [that] belie her age" by an Austin Chronicle critic, and won a Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
With David Arquette, Johansson appeared in the horror comedy Eight Legged Freaks (2002), about a collection of spiders that are exposed to toxic waste, causing them to grow to gigantic proportions and begin killing and harvesting. After graduating from Professional Children's School that year, she applied to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts; she decided to focus on her film career when she was rejected.
Transition to adult roles (2003–2004)
Johansson transitioned from teen to adult roles with two films in 2003: the romantic comedy-drama Lost in Translation and the drama Girl with a Pearl Earring. In the former, directed by Sofia Coppola, she plays Charlotte, a listless and lonely young wife, opposite Bill Murray. Coppola had first noticed Johansson in Manny & Lo, and compared her to a young Lauren Bacall; Coppola based the film's story on the relationship between Bacall and Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep (1946). Johansson found the experience of working with a female director different because of Coppola's ability to empathize with her. Made on a budget of $4million, the film grossed $119million at the box office and received critical acclaim. Roger Ebert was pleased with the film and described the lead actors' performances as "wonderful", and Entertainment Weekly wrote of Johansson's "embracing, restful serenity". The New York Times praised Johansson, aged 17 at the time of filming, for playing an older character.
In Peter Webber's Girl with a Pearl Earring, which is based on the novel of the same name by Tracy Chevalier, Johansson played Griet, a young 17th-century servant in the household of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (played by Colin Firth). Webber interviewed 150 actors before casting Johansson. Johansson found the character moving, but did not read the novel, as she thought it was better to approach the story with a fresh start. Girl with a Pearl Earring received positive reviews and was profitable. In his review for The New Yorker, Anthony Lane thought that her presence kept the film "alive", writing, "She is often wordless and close to plain onscreen, but wait for the ardor with which she can summon a closeup and bloom under its gaze; this is her film, not Vermeer's, all the way." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly noted her "nearly silent performance", remarking, "The interplay on her face of fear, ignorance, curiosity, and sex is intensely dramatic." She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress for both films in 2003, winning the former for Lost in Translation.
In Varietys opinion, Johansson's roles in Lost in Translation and Girl with a Pearl Earring established her as among the most versatile actresses of her generation. Johansson had five releases in 2004, three of which—the teen heist film The Perfect Score, the drama A Love Song for Bobby Long, and the drama A Good Woman—were critical and commercial failures. Co-starring with John Travolta, Johansson played a discontented teenager in A Love Song for Bobby Long, which is based on the novel Off Magazine Street by Ronald Everett Capps. David Rooney of Variety wrote that Johansson's and Travolta's performances rescued the film. Johansson earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama nomination for the film.
In her fourth release in 2004, the live-action animated comedy The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Johansson voiced Princess Mindy, the daughter of King Neptune. She agreed to the project because of her love of cartoons, particularly The Ren & Stimpy Show. The film was her most commercially successful release that year. She would then reprise her role as Mindy in the video game adaptation of the film. She followed it with In Good Company, a comedy-drama in which she complicates the life of her father when she dates his much younger boss. Reviews of the film were generally positive, describing it as "witty and charming". Roger Ebert was impressed with Johansson's portrayal, writing that she "continues to employ the gravitational pull of quiet fascination".
Collaborations with Woody Allen (2005–2009)
Johansson played Nola, an aspiring actress who begins an affair with a married man (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers) in Woody Allen's drama Match Point in 2005. After replacing Kate Winslet with Johansson for the role, Allen changed the character's nationality from British to American. An admirer of Allen's films, Johansson liked the idea of working with him, but felt nervous her first day on the set. The New York Times was impressed with the performances of Johansson and Rhys Meyers, and Mick LaSalle, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, stated that Johansson "is a powerhouse from the word go", with a performance that "borders on astonishing". The film, a box office success, earned Johansson nominations for the Golden Globe and the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress. Also that year, Johansson underwent a tonsillectomy, after which she starred with Ewan McGregor in Michael Bay's science fiction film The Island, in dual roles as Sarah Jordan and her clone, Jordan Two Delta. Johansson found her filming schedule exhausting: she had to shoot for 14 hours a day, and she hit her head and injured herself. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $163million against a $126million budget.
Two of Johansson's films in 2006 explored the world of stage magicians, both opposite Hugh Jackman. Allen cast her opposite Jackman and himself in the film Scoop (2006), in which she played a journalism student. The film was a modest worldwide box office success, but polarized critics. Ebert was critical of the film, but found Johansson "lovely as always", and Mick LaSalle noted the freshness she brought to her part. She also appeared in Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia, a film noir shot in Los Angeles and Bulgaria. Johansson later said she was a fan of DePalma and had wanted to work with him on the film, but thought that she was unsuitable for the part. Anne Billson of The Daily Telegraph likewise found her miscast. However, CNN said that she "takes to the pulpy period atmosphere as if it were oxygen".
Also in 2006, Johansson starred in the short film When the Deal Goes Down to accompany Bob Dylan's song "When the Deal Goes Down..." from the album Modern Times. Johansson had a supporting role of assistant and lover of Jackman's character, an aristocratic magician, in Christopher Nolan's mystery thriller The Prestige (2006). Nolan thought Johansson possessed "ambiguity" and "a shielded quality". She was fascinated with Nolan's directing methods and liked working with him. The film was a critical and box office success, recommended by the Los Angeles Times as "an adult, provocative piece of work". Some critics were skeptical of her performance: Billson again judged her miscast, and Dan Jolin of Empire criticized her English accent.
Johansson's sole release of 2007 was the critically panned comedy-drama The Nanny Diaries alongside Chris Evans and Laura Linney, in which she played a college graduate working as a nanny. Reviews of her performance were mixed; Variety wrote, "[She] essays an engaging heroine", and The New Yorker criticized her for looking "merely confused" while "trying to give the material a plausible emotional center". In 2008, Johansson starred, with Natalie Portman and Eric Bana, in The Other Boleyn Girl, which also earned mixed reviews. Promoting the film, Johansson and Portman appeared on the cover of W, discussing with the magazine the public's reception of them. In Rolling Stone, Pete Travers criticized the film for "[moving] in frustrating herks and jerks", but thought that the duo were the only positive aspect of the production. Variety credited the cast as "almost flawless ... at the top of its game", citing "Johansson's quieter Mary ... as the [film's] emotional center".
In her third collaboration with Woody Allen, the romantic comedy-drama Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), which was filmed in Spain, Johansson plays one of the love interests of Javier Bardem's character alongside Penélope Cruz. The film was one of Allen's most profitable and received favorable reviews. A reviewer in Variety described Johansson as "open and malleable" compared to the other actors. She also played the femme fatale Silken Floss in The Spirit, based on the newspaper comic strip of the same name by Will Eisner. It received poor reviews from critics, who deemed it melodramatic, unoriginal, and sexist. Johansson's only role in 2009 was as Anna Marks, a yoga instructor, in the ensemble comedy-drama He's Just Not That into You (2009). The film was released to tepid reviews, but was a box office success.
Marvel Cinematic Universe and worldwide recognition (2010–2013)
Aspiring to appear on Broadway since childhood, Johansson made her debut in a 2010 revival of Arthur Miller's drama A View from the Bridge. Set in the 1950s in an Italian-American neighborhood in New York, it tells the tragic tale of Eddie (Liev Schreiber), who has an inappropriate love for his wife's orphaned niece, Catherine (Johansson). After initial reservations about playing a teenage character, Johansson was convinced by a friend to take on the part. Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote Johansson "melts into her character so thoroughly that her nimbus of celebrity disappears". Varietys David Rooney was impressed with the play and Johansson in particular, describing her as the chief performer. She won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play. Some critics and Broadway actors criticized the award committee's decision to reward the work of mainstream Hollywood actors, including Johansson. In response, she said that she understood the frustration, but had worked hard for her accomplishments.
Johansson played Black Widow in Jon Favreau's Iron Man 2 (2010), a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Before she secured the role, she dyed her hair red to convince Favreau that she was right for the part, and undertook stunt and strength training to prepare for the role. Johansson said the character resonated with her, and she admired the superhero's human traits. The film earned $623.9million against its $200million budget, and received generally positive reviews from critics, although reviewers criticized how her character was written. Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph and Matt Goldberg thought that she had little to do but look attractive. In 2011, Johansson played the role of Kelly, a zookeeper in the family film We Bought a Zoo alongside Matt Damon. The film got mainly favorable reviews, and Anne Billson praised Johansson for bringing depth to a rather uninteresting character. Johansson earned a Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Drama nomination for her performance.
Johansson learned some Russian from a former teacher on the phone for her role as Black Widow in The Avengers (2012), another entry from the MCU. The film received mainly positive reviews and broke many box office records, becoming the third highest-grossing film both in the United States and worldwide. For her performance, she was nominated for two Teen Choice Awards and three People's Choice Awards. Later that year, Johansson portrayed actress Janet Leigh in Sacha Gervasi's Hitchcock, a behind-the-scenes drama about the making of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho. Roger Ebert wrote that Johansson did not look much like Leigh, but conveyed her spunk, intelligence, and sense of humor.
In January 2013, Johansson starred in a Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Rob Ashford. Set in the Mississippi Delta, it examines the relationships within the family of Big Daddy (Ciarán Hinds), primarily between his son Brick (Benjamin Walker) and Maggie (Johansson). Her performance received mixed reviews. Entertainment Weeklys Thom Geier wrote Johansson "brings a fierce fighting spirit" to her part, but Joe Dziemianowicz from Daily News called her performance "alarmingly one-note". The 2013 Sundance Film Festival hosted the premiere of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut, Don Jon. In this romantic comedy-drama, she played the pornography-addicted title character's girlfriend. Gordon-Levitt wrote the role for Johansson, who had previously admired his acting work. The film received positive reviews and Johansson's performance was highlighted by critics. Claudia Puig of USA Today considered it to be one of her best performances.
In 2013, Johansson voiced the character Samantha, a self-aware computer operating system, in Spike Jonze's film Her, replacing Samantha Morton in the role. The film premiered at the 8th Rome International Film Festival, where Johansson won Best Actress; she was also nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. Johansson was intimidated by the role's complexity, and found her recording sessions for the role challenging but liberating. Peter Travers believed Johansson's voice in the film was "sweet, sexy, caring, manipulative, scary [and] award-worthy". Times Richard Corliss called her performance "seductive and winning", and Her was rated as one of the best films of 2013.
She also won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 40th Saturn Awards in 2014 for her performance. Johansson was cast in Jonathan Glazer's science fiction film Under the Skin (2013) as an extraterrestrial creature disguised as a human femme fatale who preys on men in Scotland. The project, an adaptation of Michel Faber's novel of the same name, took nine years to complete. For the role, she learned to drive a van and speak in an English accent. Johansson improvised conversations with non-professional actors on the street, who did not know they were being filmed. It was released to generally positive reviews, with particular praise for Johansson. Erin Whitney, writing for The Huffington Post, considered it to be her finest performance to that point, and noted that it was her first fully nude role. Author Maureen Foster wrote, "How much depth, breadth, and range Johansson mines from her character's very limited allowance of emotional response is a testament to her acting prowess that is, as the film goes on, increasingly stunning." It earned Johansson a BIFA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film nomination.
Blockbuster films and critical acclaim (2014–2020)
Continuing her work in the MCU, Johansson reprised her role as Black Widow in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). In the film, she joins forces with Captain America (Chris Evans) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) to uncover a conspiracy within S.H.I.E.L.D., while facing a mysterious assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Johansson and Evans wrote their own dialogue for several scenes they had together. Johansson was attracted to her character's way of doing her job, employing her feminine wiles and not her physical appeal. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $714million worldwide. Critic Odie Henderson saw "a genuine emotional shorthand at work, especially from Johansson, who is excellent here". The role earned her a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination.
Johansson played a supporting role in the film Chef (2014), alongside Robert Downey, Jr., Sofía Vergara, and director Jon Favreau. It grossed over $45million at the box office and was well received by critics. The Chicago Sun-Times writer Richard Roeper found the film "funny, quirky and insightful, with a bounty of interesting supporting characters". In Luc Besson's science fiction action film Lucy (2014), Johansson starred as the title character, who gains psychokinetic abilities when a nootropic drug is absorbed into her bloodstream. Besson discussed the role with several actresses, and cast Johansson based on her strong reaction to the script and her discipline. Critics generally praised the film's themes, visuals, and Johansson's performance; some found the plot nonsensical. IGN's Jim Vejvoda attributed the film's success to her acting and Besson's style. The film grossed $458million on a budget of $40million to become the 18th highest-grossing film of 2014.
In 2015 and 2016, Johansson again played Black Widow in the MCU films Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. During filming of the former, a mixture of close-ups, concealing costumes, stunt doubles and visual effects were used to hide her pregnancy. Both films earned more than $1.1billion, ranking among the highest-grossing films of all time. For Civil War, Johansson earned her second nomination for Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie and her fourth for Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. Earlier in 2016, Johansson had featured in the Coen brothers' well-received comedy film Hail, Caesar! about a "fixer" working in the classical Hollywood cinema, trying to discover what happened to a cast member who vanished during the filming of a biblical epic; Johansson plays an actress who becomes pregnant while her film is in production. She also voiced Kaa in Jon Favreau's live-action adaptation of Disney's The Jungle Book, and Ash in the animated musical comedy film Sing (both 2016). That year she also narrated an audiobook of Lewis Carroll's children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Johansson played Motoko Kusanagi in Rupert Sanders's 2017 film adaptation of the Ghost in the Shell franchise. The film was praised for its visual style, acting, and cinematography, but was the subject of controversy for whitewashing the cast, particularly Johansson's character, a cyborg who was meant to hold the memories of a Japanese woman. Responding to the backlash, the actress asserted she would never play a non-white character, but wanted to take the rare opportunity to star in a female-led franchise. Ghost in the Shell grossed $169.8million worldwide against a production budget of $110million. In March 2017, Johansson hosted Saturday Night Live for the fifth time, making her the 17th person, and the fourth woman, to enter the NBC sketch comedy's prestigious Five-Timers Club. Johansson's next 2017 film was the comedy Rough Night, where she played Jess Thayer, one of the five friends—alongside Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer, and Zoë Kravitz—whose bachelorette party goes wrong after a male stripper dies. The film had a mixed critical reception and moderate box office returns. In 2018, Johansson voiced show dog Nutmeg in Wes Anderson's stop-motion animated film Isle of Dogs, released in March, and reprised her MCU role as Black Widow in Avengers: Infinity War, which followed the next month. Johansson was due to star in Rub & Tug, a biographical film in which she would have played Dante "Tex" Gill, a transgender man who operated a massage parlor and prostitution ring in the 1970s and 1980s. She dropped out of the project following backlash to the casting of a cisgender woman to play a transgender man.
In 2019, Johansson once again reprised her role as Black Widow in Avengers: Endgame, which is the highest-grossing film of all time. She next starred in Noah Baumbach's Netflix film Marriage Story, in which Adam Driver and she played a warring couple who file for divorce. Johansson found a connection with her character, as she was amid her own divorce proceedings at the time. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian commended her "brilliantly textured" performance in it. She also took on the supporting role of a young boy's mother who shelters a Jewish girl in Nazi Germany in Taika Waititi's satire Jojo Rabbit. Waititi modeled the character on his own mother, and cast Johansson to provide her a rare opportunity to perform comedy. The film received polarizing reviews, but Stephanie Zacharek labeled her the "lustrous soul of the movie". Johansson received her first two Academy Award nominations, for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for her performances in Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit, respectively, becoming the eleventh performer to be nominated for two Oscars in the same year. She also received two BAFTA nominations for these films, and a Golden Globe nomination for the former.
Black Widow and lawsuit (2021–present)
After a one-year screen absence, Johansson reprised her role as Black Widow in her own solo prequel film in 2021, on which she also served as an executive producer. Also starring Florence Pugh, the film is set after the events of Captain America: Civil War, and sees Johansson's character on the run and forced to confront her past. Director Cate Shortland, who wanted to make a standalone film on her character, watched Johansson's previous appearances as Black Widow to prepare. Johansson felt proud of the film and that her work playing the role was now complete. She saw this as an opportunity to show her character's ability to be on her own and make choices for herself while facing difficult times, and noted that her vulnerability distinguished her from other Avengers. Critics were generally favorable in their reviews of the film, mainly praising Johansson and Pugh's performances. In a review published in The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney thought the film was "a stellar vehicle" for Johansson. Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood found the actress "again a great presence in the role, showing expert action and acting chops throughout". For the film, Johansson won The Female Movie Star of 2021 at the 47th People's Choice Awards.
In July 2021, Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney claiming that the simultaneous release of Black Widow on their streaming service Disney+ breached a clause in her contract that the film receive exclusive theatrical release. She alleged that the release on Disney+ exempted her from receiving additional bonus from box-office profits, to which she was entitled. In response, Disney said her lawsuit showed an indifference to the "horrific and prolonged" effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also stated that Johansson already received $20million for the film and that the Disney+ Premier Access release would only earn her additional compensation. The Hollywood Reporter described Disney's response as "aggressive". Accusing Disney of intentionally violating their contract with Johansson, Creative Artists Agency co-chairman Bryan Lourd criticized the company for falsely portraying Johansson as insensitive to the effects of the pandemic, which he considered a "direct attack on her character". Lourd further stated that the company including her salary in their public statement was to try to "weaponize her success as an artist and businesswoman". Later that September, both parties announced that they had resolved their dispute, with the terms of the settlement remaining undisclosed.
Music career
In 2006, Johansson sang the track "Summertime" for Unexpected DreamsSongs From the Stars, a non-profit collection of songs recorded by Hollywood actors. She performed with the Jesus and Mary Chain for a Coachella reunion show in Indio, California, in April 2007. The following year, Johansson appeared as the leading lady in Justin Timberlake's music video, for "What Goes Around... Comes Around", which was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.
In May 2008, Johansson released her debut album Anywhere I Lay My Head, which consists of one original song and ten cover versions of Tom Waits songs, and features David Bowie and members from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Celebration. Reviews of the album were mixed. Spin was not particularly impressed with Johansson's singing. Some critics found it to be "surprisingly alluring", "a bravely eccentric selection", and "a brilliant album" with "ghostly magic". NME named the album the "23rd best album of 2008", and it peaked at number126 on the Billboard 200. Johansson started listening to Waits when she was 11 or 12 years old, and said of him, "His melodies are so beautiful, his voice is so distinct and I had my own way of doing Tom Waits songs."
In September 2009, Johansson and singer-songwriter Pete Yorn released a collaborative album, Break Up, inspired by Serge Gainsbourg's duets with Brigitte Bardot. The album reached number 41 in the US. In 2010, Steel Train released Terrible Thrills Vol.1, which includes their favorite female artists singing songs from their self-titled album. Johansson is the first artist on the album, singing "Bullet". Johansson sang "One Whole Hour" for the 2011 soundtrack of the documentary film Wretches & Jabberers (2010). and in 2012 sang on a J.Ralph track entitled "Before My Time" for the end credits of the climate documentary Chasing Ice (2012)
In February 2015, Johansson formed a band called the Singles with Este Haim from HAIM, Holly Miranda, Kendra Morris, and Julia Haltigan. The group's first single was called "Candy". Johansson was issued a cease and desist order from the lead singer of the Los Angeles-based rock band the Singles, demanding she stop using their name. In 2016, she performed "Trust in Me" for The Jungle Book soundtrack and "Set It All Free" and "I Don't Wanna" for Sing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. In 2018, Johansson collaborated with Pete Yorn again for an EP titled Apart, released June 1.
Public image
Johansson has been called "ScarJo" by the media and fans, and dislikes being called this, finding it lazy, flippant and insulting. She has no social media profiles, saying she does not see the need "to continuously share details of [her] everyday life."
Johansson is described as a sex symbol by the media. The Sydney Morning Herald describes her as "the embodiment of male fantasy". During the filming of Match Point, director Woody Allen remarked upon her attractiveness, calling her "beautiful" and "sexually overwhelming". In 2014, The New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane wrote that "she is evidently, and profitably, aware of her sultriness, and of how much, down to the last inch, it contributes to the contours of her reputation." Johansson has expressed displeasure at being sexualized, and maintains that a preoccupation with one's attractiveness does not last. She lost the role of Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), because the film's director David Fincher found her "too sexy" for the part.
Johansson ranks highly in several beauty listings. Maxim included her in their Hot 100 list from 2006 to 2014. She has been named "Sexiest Woman Alive" twice by Esquire (2006 and 2013), and has been included in similar listings by Playboy (2007), Men's Health (2011), and FHM (since 2005). She was named GQs Babe of the Year in 2010. Madame Tussauds New York museum unveiled a wax statue of her in 2015.
Johansson was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2004. In 2006, she appeared on Forbes Celebrity 100 list, and again in 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2012. In 2021, she appeared on the Time 100, Times annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Johansson was included on Forbes annual list of the world's highest-paid actresses from 2014 to 2016, with respective earnings of $17million, $35.5million and $25million. She would later top the list in 2018 and 2019, with earnings of $40.5million and $56million, respectively. She was the highest-grossing actor of 2016, with a total of $1.2billion. As a result, IndieWire credited her for taking on risky roles. , her films have grossed over billion in North America and over billion worldwide, making Johansson the third-highest-grossing box-office star of all time both domestically and worldwide as well as the highest-grossing actress of all time in North America.
Johansson has appeared in advertising campaigns for Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, L'Oréal, and Louis Vuitton, and has represented the Spanish brand Mango since 2009. She was the first Hollywood celebrity to represent a champagne producer, appearing in advertisements for Moët & Chandon. In January 2014, the Israeli company SodaStream, which makes home-carbonation products, hired Johansson as its first global brand ambassador, a relationship that commenced with a television commercial during Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014. This created some controversy, as SodaStream at that time operated a plant in Israeli-occupied territory in the West Bank.
Personal life
While attending PCS, Johansson dated classmate Jack Antonoff from 2001 to 2002. She dated her Black Dahlia co-star Josh Hartnett for about two years until the end of 2006. Hartnett said they broke up because their busy schedules kept them apart. Johansson began dating Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds in 2007. They became engaged in May 2008, married in September 2008 on Vancouver Island, separated in December 2010 and divorced in July 2011.
In November 2012, Johansson began dating Frenchman Romain Dauriac, the owner of an advertising agency. They became engaged the following September. The pair divided their time between New York City and Paris. She gave birth to their daughter, Rose Dorothy Dauriac, in 2014. Johansson and Dauriac married that October in Philipsburg, Montana. They separated in mid-2016 and divorced in September 2017. Johansson began dating Saturday Night Live co-head writer and Weekend Update co-host Colin Jost in May 2017. In May 2019, the two were engaged. They married in October 2020, at their New York home. She gave birth to their son, Cosmo, in August 2021. Johansson resides in New York and Los Angeles.
In September 2011, nude photographs of Johansson hacked from her cell phone were leaked online. She said the pictures had been sent to her then-husband, Ryan Reynolds, three years before the incident. Following an FBI investigation, the hacker was arrested, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to ten years in prison. In 2014, Johansson won a lawsuit against French publisher JC Lattès over defamatory statements about her relationships in the novel The First Thing We Look At by Grégoire Delacourt. She was awarded $3,400; she had claimed $68,000.
Johansson has criticized the media for promoting an image that causes unhealthy diets and eating disorders among women. In an essay she wrote for The Huffington Post, she encouraged people to maintain a healthy body. She posed nude on the March 2006 cover of Vanity Fair alongside actress Keira Knightley and fully clothed fashion designer Tom Ford, who jumped in last minute on the day of the shoot to replace Rachel McAdams after she walked out. The photograph sparked controversy, as some believed it demonstrated that women are forced to flaunt their sexuality more often than men.
Other ventures
Philanthropy
Johansson has supported various charitable organizations, including Aid Still Required, Cancer Research UK, Stand Up To Cancer, Too Many Women (which works against breast cancer), and USA Harvest, which provides food for people in need. In 2005, Johansson became a global ambassador for the aid and development agency Oxfam. In 2007, she took part in the anti-poverty campaign ONE, which was organized by U2's lead singer Bono. In March 2008, a UK-based bidder paid £20,000 on an eBay auction to benefit Oxfam, winning a hair and makeup treatment, a pair of tickets, and a chauffeured trip to accompany her on a 20-minute date to the world premiere of He's Just Not That into You.
In January 2014, Johansson resigned from her Oxfam position after criticism of her promotion of SodaStream, whose main factory was based in Mishor Adumim, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank; Oxfam opposes all trade with such Israeli settlements. Oxfam stated that it was thankful for her contributions in raising funds to fight poverty. Together with her Avengers costars, Johansson raised $500,000 for the victims of Hurricane Maria.
In 2018, she collaborated with 300 women in Hollywood to set up the Time's Up initiative to protect women from harassment and discrimination. Johansson took part in the Women's March in Los Angeles in January 2018, where she spoke on topics such as abuses of power, sharing her own experience. She received backlash for calling out fellow actor James Franco on allegations of sexual misconduct as in the past she had defended working with Woody Allen amid an accusation by his daughter Dylan Farrow.
Johansson has given support to Operation Warrior Wellness, a division of the David Lynch Foundation that helps veterans learn Transcendental Meditation. Her grand-uncle, Phillip Schlamberg, was the last American pilot to have been killed during WWII. He had gone on a bombing mission with Jerry Yellin, who went on to become co-founder of Operation Warrior Wellness.
Politics
Johansson was registered as an independent, at least through 2008, and campaigned for Democratic candidate John Kerry in the 2004 United States presidential election. When George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004, she said she was disappointed.
In January 2008, her campaign for Democratic candidate Barack Obama included appearances in Iowa targeted at younger voters, an appearance at Cornell College, and a speaking engagement at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, on Super Tuesday, 2008. Johansson appeared in the music video for rapper will.i.am's song, "Yes We Can" (2008), directed by Jesse Dylan; the song was inspired by Obama's speech after the 2008 New Hampshire primary. In February 2012, Johansson and Anna Wintour hosted a fashion launch of pro-Obama clothing, bags, and accessories, the proceeds of which went to the President's re-election campaign. She addressed voters at the Democratic National Convention in September 2012, calling for Obama's re-election and for more engagement from young voters. She encouraged women to vote for Obama and condemned Mitt Romney for his opposition to Planned Parenthood.
Johansson publicly endorsed and supported Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's 2013 run for New York City Comptroller by hosting a series of fundraisers. To encourage people to vote in the 2016 presidential election, in which Johansson endorsed Hillary Clinton, she appeared in a commercial alongside her Marvel Cinematic Universe co-star Robert Downey Jr., and Joss Whedon. In 2017, she spoke at the Women's March on Washington, addressing Donald Trump's presidency and stating that she would support the president if he works for women's rights and stops withdrawing federal funding for Planned Parenthood. In the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, Johansson endorsed Elizabeth Warren, referring to Warren as "thoughtful and progressive but realistic".
In December 2020, three members of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, an Egyptian civil rights organization, were released from prison in Egypt, after Johansson had described their detention circumstances and demanded the trio's release.
Notes
See also
List of actors nominated for two Academy Awards in the same year
References
Further reading
External links
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American women singers
21st-century American singers
1984 births
Actresses from New York City
American child actresses
American film actresses
American people of Danish descent
American people of Polish-Jewish descent
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American people of Swedish descent
American stage actresses
American voice actresses
American women film producers
Atco Records artists
Best Actress BAFTA Award winners
César Honorary Award recipients
Danish people of Polish-Jewish descent
Danish people of Russian-Jewish descent
Danish people of Swedish descent
Female models from New York (state)
Fraternal twin actresses
Jewish American actresses
Jewish singers
Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni
Living people
Method actors
People from Manhattan
Theatre World Award winners
Time 100
Tony Award winners
Twin people from the United States | true | [
"\"What Will It Be\" is a digital single by Deeyah Khan, featuring guest performance rap by Los Angeles based rapper Young Maylay. This was Young Maylay's first appearance in a single.\n\nWhat Will It Be was to be Deeyah's second single in the UK after a successful Top 30 release of Plan of My Own. \nThe music vi... | [
"Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Her films have grossed over billion worldwide, making Johansson the ninth-highest-grossing box office star of all time."... |
[
"Scarlett Johansson",
"Music career",
"What was her first music performance?",
"Summertime"
] | C_d189e6b99ea04627b701abfd791e3d8a_0 | Was she given any award as a singer? | 2 | Was Scarlett Johansson given any award as a singer? | Scarlett Johansson | In 2006, Johansson sang the track "Summertime" for Unexpected Dreams - Songs From the Stars, a non-profit collection of songs recorded by Hollywood actors. She performed with the Jesus and Mary Chain for a Coachella reunion show in Indio, California, in April 2007. The following year, Johansson appeared as the leading lady in Justin Timberlake's music video, for "What Goes Around... Comes Around", which was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year. In May 2008, Johansson released her debut album Anywhere I Lay My Head, which consists of one original song and ten cover versions of Tom Waits songs, and features David Bowie and members from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Celebration. Reviews of the album were mixed. Spin was not particularly impressed with Johansson's singing. Some critics found it to be "surprisingly alluring", "a bravely eccentric selection", and "a brilliant album" with "ghostly magic". NME named the album the "23rd best album of 2008", and it peaked at number 126 on the Billboard 200. Johansson started listening to Waits when she was 11 or 12 years old, and said of him, "His melodies are so beautiful, his voice is so distinct and I had my own way of doing Tom Waits songs." In September 2009, Johansson and singer-songwriter Pete Yorn released a collaborative album, Break Up, inspired by Serge Gainsbourg's duets with Brigitte Bardot. The album reached number 41 in the US. In 2010, Steel Train released Terrible Thrills Vol. 1, which includes their favorite female artists singing songs from their self-titled album. Johansson is the first artist on the album, singing "Bullet". Johansson sang "One Whole Hour" for the 2011 soundtrack of the documentary film Wretches & Jabberers (2010). and in 2012 sang on a J. Ralph track entitled "Before My Time" for the end credits of the climate documentary Chasing Ice (2012) In February 2015, Johansson formed a band called the Singles with Este Haim from HAIM, Holly Miranda, Kendra Morris, and Julia Haltigan. The group's first single was called "Candy". Johansson was issued a cease and desist order from the lead singer of the Los Angeles-based rock band the Singles, demanding she stop using their name. In 2016, she performed "Trust in Me" for The Jungle Book soundtrack and "The Promise & The Prize," "Universal Fanfare", "Set It All Free" and "I Don't Wanna" for Sing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. CANNOTANSWER | Johansson was issued a cease and desist order from the lead singer of the Los Angeles-based rock band the Singles, | Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Her films have grossed over billion worldwide, making Johansson the ninth-highest-grossing box office star of all time. She has received various accolades, including a Tony Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.
Johansson aspired to be an actress from an early age and first appeared on stage in an Off-Broadway play as a child actor. She made her film debut in the fantasy comedy North (1994), and gained early recognition for her roles in Manny & Lo (1996), The Horse Whisperer (1998), and Ghost World (2001). Johansson shifted to adult roles in 2003 with her performances in Lost in Translation, which won her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, and Girl with a Pearl Earring. She was nominated for Golden Globe Awards for these films, and for playing a troubled teenager in the drama A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004) and a seductress in psychological thriller Match Point (2005). The latter was her first collaboration with Woody Allen, who later directed her in Scoop (2006) and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). Johansson's other works of this period include The Prestige (2006) and the albums Anywhere I Lay My Head (2008) and Break Up (2009), both of which charted on the Billboard 200.
In 2010, Johansson debuted on Broadway in a revival of A View from the Bridge, which won her a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress, and began portraying Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Iron Man 2. She reprised the role in eight films, most recently in her solo feature Black Widow (2021), gaining global recognition for her performances. During this period, Johansson starred in the science fiction films Her (2013), Under the Skin (2013) and Lucy (2014). She received two simultaneous Academy Award nominations—Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress—for the respective roles of an actress going through a divorce in the drama Marriage Story (2019) and a single mother in Nazi Germany in the satire Jojo Rabbit (2019).
Labeled a sex symbol, Johansson has been referred to as one of the world's most attractive women by various media outlets. She is a prominent brand endorser and supports several charitable causes. Divorced from actor Ryan Reynolds and businessman Romain Dauriac, Johansson has been married to comedian Colin Jost since 2020. She has two children, one with Dauriac and another with Jost.
Early life
Johansson was born on November 22, 1984, in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Her father, Karsten Olaf Johansson, is an architect originally from Copenhagen, Denmark. Her paternal grandfather, Ejner Johansson, was an art historian, screenwriter, and film director, whose own father was Swedish. Her mother, Melanie Sloan, a New Yorker, has worked as a producer; she comes from an Ashkenazi Jewish family from Poland and Russia, originally surnamed Schlamberg, and Johansson describes herself as Jewish. She has an older sister, Vanessa, also an actress; an older brother, Adrian; and a twin brother, Hunter. She also has an older half-brother, Christian, from her father's first marriage. Johansson holds dual American and Danish citizenship. She discovered that her maternal great-grandfather's family died during the Holocaust in the Warsaw Ghetto on a 2017 episode of PBS's Finding Your Roots.
Johansson attended PS 41, an elementary school in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. Her parents divorced when she was thirteen. She was particularly close to her maternal grandmother, Dorothy Sloan, a bookkeeper and schoolteacher; they often spent time together and Johansson considered Dorothy her best friend. Interested in a career in the spotlight from an early age, Johansson often put on song-and-dance routines for her family. She was particularly fond of musical theater and jazz hands. She took lessons in tap dance, and states that her parents were supportive of her career choice. She has described her childhood as very ordinary.
As a child, Johansson practiced acting by staring in the mirror until she made herself cry, wanting to be Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis. At age seven, she was devastated when a talent agent signed one of her brothers instead of her, but she later decided to become an actress anyway. She enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and began auditioning for commercials, but soon lost interest: "I didn't want to promote Wonder Bread." She shifted her focus to film and theater, making her first stage appearance in the Off-Broadway play Sophistry with Ethan Hawke, in which she had two lines. Around this time, she began studying at Professional Children's School (PCS), a private educational institution for aspiring child actors in Manhattan.
Acting career
Early work and breakthrough (1994–2002)
At age nine, Johansson made her film debut as John Ritter's daughter in the fantasy comedy North (1994). She says that when she was on the film set, she knew intuitively what to do. She later played minor roles such as the daughter of Sean Connery's and Kate Capshaw's characters in the mystery thriller Just Cause (1995), and an art student in If Lucy Fell (1996). Johansson's first leading role was as Amanda, the younger sister of a pregnant teenager who runs away from her foster home in Manny & Lo (1996) alongside Aleksa Palladino and her brother, Hunter. Her performance received positive reviews: one written for the San Francisco Chronicle noted, "[the film] grows on you, largely because of the charm of ... Scarlett Johansson," while critic Mick LaSalle, writing for the same paper, commented on her "peaceful aura", and believed, "If she can get through puberty with that aura undisturbed, she could become an important actress." Johansson earned a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female for the role.
After appearing in minor roles in Fall and Home Alone 3 (both 1997), Johansson attracted wider attention for her performance in the film The Horse Whisperer (1998), directed by Robert Redford. The drama film, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Nicholas Evans, tells the story of a trainer with a gift for understanding horses, who is hired to help an injured teenager played by Johansson. The actress received an "introducing" credit on this film, although it was her seventh role. On Johansson's maturity, Redford described her as "13 going on 30". Todd McCarthy of Variety commented that Johansson "convincingly conveys the awkwardness of her age and the inner pain of a carefree girl suddenly laid low by horrible happenstance". For the film, she was nominated for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress. She believed that the film changed many things in her life, realizing that acting is the ability to manipulate one's emotions. On finding good roles as a teenager, Johansson said it was hard for her as adults wrote the scripts and they "portray kids like mall rats and not seriously ... Kids and teenagers just aren't being portrayed with any real depth".
Johansson later appeared in My Brother the Pig (1999) and in the neo-noir, Coen brothers film The Man Who Wasn't There (2001). Her breakthrough came playing a cynical outcast in Terry Zwigoff's black comedy Ghost World (2001), an adaptation of Daniel Clowes' graphic novel of the same name. Johansson auditioned for the film via a tape from New York, and Zwigoff believed her to be "a unique, eccentric person, and right for that part". The film premiered at the 2001 Seattle International Film Festival; it was a box office failure, but has since developed a cult status. Johansson was credited with "sensitivity and talent [that] belie her age" by an Austin Chronicle critic, and won a Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
With David Arquette, Johansson appeared in the horror comedy Eight Legged Freaks (2002), about a collection of spiders that are exposed to toxic waste, causing them to grow to gigantic proportions and begin killing and harvesting. After graduating from Professional Children's School that year, she applied to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts; she decided to focus on her film career when she was rejected.
Transition to adult roles (2003–2004)
Johansson transitioned from teen to adult roles with two films in 2003: the romantic comedy-drama Lost in Translation and the drama Girl with a Pearl Earring. In the former, directed by Sofia Coppola, she plays Charlotte, a listless and lonely young wife, opposite Bill Murray. Coppola had first noticed Johansson in Manny & Lo, and compared her to a young Lauren Bacall; Coppola based the film's story on the relationship between Bacall and Humphrey Bogart in The Big Sleep (1946). Johansson found the experience of working with a female director different because of Coppola's ability to empathize with her. Made on a budget of $4million, the film grossed $119million at the box office and received critical acclaim. Roger Ebert was pleased with the film and described the lead actors' performances as "wonderful", and Entertainment Weekly wrote of Johansson's "embracing, restful serenity". The New York Times praised Johansson, aged 17 at the time of filming, for playing an older character.
In Peter Webber's Girl with a Pearl Earring, which is based on the novel of the same name by Tracy Chevalier, Johansson played Griet, a young 17th-century servant in the household of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (played by Colin Firth). Webber interviewed 150 actors before casting Johansson. Johansson found the character moving, but did not read the novel, as she thought it was better to approach the story with a fresh start. Girl with a Pearl Earring received positive reviews and was profitable. In his review for The New Yorker, Anthony Lane thought that her presence kept the film "alive", writing, "She is often wordless and close to plain onscreen, but wait for the ardor with which she can summon a closeup and bloom under its gaze; this is her film, not Vermeer's, all the way." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly noted her "nearly silent performance", remarking, "The interplay on her face of fear, ignorance, curiosity, and sex is intensely dramatic." She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress for both films in 2003, winning the former for Lost in Translation.
In Varietys opinion, Johansson's roles in Lost in Translation and Girl with a Pearl Earring established her as among the most versatile actresses of her generation. Johansson had five releases in 2004, three of which—the teen heist film The Perfect Score, the drama A Love Song for Bobby Long, and the drama A Good Woman—were critical and commercial failures. Co-starring with John Travolta, Johansson played a discontented teenager in A Love Song for Bobby Long, which is based on the novel Off Magazine Street by Ronald Everett Capps. David Rooney of Variety wrote that Johansson's and Travolta's performances rescued the film. Johansson earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama nomination for the film.
In her fourth release in 2004, the live-action animated comedy The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Johansson voiced Princess Mindy, the daughter of King Neptune. She agreed to the project because of her love of cartoons, particularly The Ren & Stimpy Show. The film was her most commercially successful release that year. She would then reprise her role as Mindy in the video game adaptation of the film. She followed it with In Good Company, a comedy-drama in which she complicates the life of her father when she dates his much younger boss. Reviews of the film were generally positive, describing it as "witty and charming". Roger Ebert was impressed with Johansson's portrayal, writing that she "continues to employ the gravitational pull of quiet fascination".
Collaborations with Woody Allen (2005–2009)
Johansson played Nola, an aspiring actress who begins an affair with a married man (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers) in Woody Allen's drama Match Point in 2005. After replacing Kate Winslet with Johansson for the role, Allen changed the character's nationality from British to American. An admirer of Allen's films, Johansson liked the idea of working with him, but felt nervous her first day on the set. The New York Times was impressed with the performances of Johansson and Rhys Meyers, and Mick LaSalle, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, stated that Johansson "is a powerhouse from the word go", with a performance that "borders on astonishing". The film, a box office success, earned Johansson nominations for the Golden Globe and the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress. Also that year, Johansson underwent a tonsillectomy, after which she starred with Ewan McGregor in Michael Bay's science fiction film The Island, in dual roles as Sarah Jordan and her clone, Jordan Two Delta. Johansson found her filming schedule exhausting: she had to shoot for 14 hours a day, and she hit her head and injured herself. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $163million against a $126million budget.
Two of Johansson's films in 2006 explored the world of stage magicians, both opposite Hugh Jackman. Allen cast her opposite Jackman and himself in the film Scoop (2006), in which she played a journalism student. The film was a modest worldwide box office success, but polarized critics. Ebert was critical of the film, but found Johansson "lovely as always", and Mick LaSalle noted the freshness she brought to her part. She also appeared in Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia, a film noir shot in Los Angeles and Bulgaria. Johansson later said she was a fan of DePalma and had wanted to work with him on the film, but thought that she was unsuitable for the part. Anne Billson of The Daily Telegraph likewise found her miscast. However, CNN said that she "takes to the pulpy period atmosphere as if it were oxygen".
Also in 2006, Johansson starred in the short film When the Deal Goes Down to accompany Bob Dylan's song "When the Deal Goes Down..." from the album Modern Times. Johansson had a supporting role of assistant and lover of Jackman's character, an aristocratic magician, in Christopher Nolan's mystery thriller The Prestige (2006). Nolan thought Johansson possessed "ambiguity" and "a shielded quality". She was fascinated with Nolan's directing methods and liked working with him. The film was a critical and box office success, recommended by the Los Angeles Times as "an adult, provocative piece of work". Some critics were skeptical of her performance: Billson again judged her miscast, and Dan Jolin of Empire criticized her English accent.
Johansson's sole release of 2007 was the critically panned comedy-drama The Nanny Diaries alongside Chris Evans and Laura Linney, in which she played a college graduate working as a nanny. Reviews of her performance were mixed; Variety wrote, "[She] essays an engaging heroine", and The New Yorker criticized her for looking "merely confused" while "trying to give the material a plausible emotional center". In 2008, Johansson starred, with Natalie Portman and Eric Bana, in The Other Boleyn Girl, which also earned mixed reviews. Promoting the film, Johansson and Portman appeared on the cover of W, discussing with the magazine the public's reception of them. In Rolling Stone, Pete Travers criticized the film for "[moving] in frustrating herks and jerks", but thought that the duo were the only positive aspect of the production. Variety credited the cast as "almost flawless ... at the top of its game", citing "Johansson's quieter Mary ... as the [film's] emotional center".
In her third collaboration with Woody Allen, the romantic comedy-drama Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), which was filmed in Spain, Johansson plays one of the love interests of Javier Bardem's character alongside Penélope Cruz. The film was one of Allen's most profitable and received favorable reviews. A reviewer in Variety described Johansson as "open and malleable" compared to the other actors. She also played the femme fatale Silken Floss in The Spirit, based on the newspaper comic strip of the same name by Will Eisner. It received poor reviews from critics, who deemed it melodramatic, unoriginal, and sexist. Johansson's only role in 2009 was as Anna Marks, a yoga instructor, in the ensemble comedy-drama He's Just Not That into You (2009). The film was released to tepid reviews, but was a box office success.
Marvel Cinematic Universe and worldwide recognition (2010–2013)
Aspiring to appear on Broadway since childhood, Johansson made her debut in a 2010 revival of Arthur Miller's drama A View from the Bridge. Set in the 1950s in an Italian-American neighborhood in New York, it tells the tragic tale of Eddie (Liev Schreiber), who has an inappropriate love for his wife's orphaned niece, Catherine (Johansson). After initial reservations about playing a teenage character, Johansson was convinced by a friend to take on the part. Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote Johansson "melts into her character so thoroughly that her nimbus of celebrity disappears". Varietys David Rooney was impressed with the play and Johansson in particular, describing her as the chief performer. She won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play. Some critics and Broadway actors criticized the award committee's decision to reward the work of mainstream Hollywood actors, including Johansson. In response, she said that she understood the frustration, but had worked hard for her accomplishments.
Johansson played Black Widow in Jon Favreau's Iron Man 2 (2010), a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Before she secured the role, she dyed her hair red to convince Favreau that she was right for the part, and undertook stunt and strength training to prepare for the role. Johansson said the character resonated with her, and she admired the superhero's human traits. The film earned $623.9million against its $200million budget, and received generally positive reviews from critics, although reviewers criticized how her character was written. Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph and Matt Goldberg thought that she had little to do but look attractive. In 2011, Johansson played the role of Kelly, a zookeeper in the family film We Bought a Zoo alongside Matt Damon. The film got mainly favorable reviews, and Anne Billson praised Johansson for bringing depth to a rather uninteresting character. Johansson earned a Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Drama nomination for her performance.
Johansson learned some Russian from a former teacher on the phone for her role as Black Widow in The Avengers (2012), another entry from the MCU. The film received mainly positive reviews and broke many box office records, becoming the third highest-grossing film both in the United States and worldwide. For her performance, she was nominated for two Teen Choice Awards and three People's Choice Awards. Later that year, Johansson portrayed actress Janet Leigh in Sacha Gervasi's Hitchcock, a behind-the-scenes drama about the making of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho. Roger Ebert wrote that Johansson did not look much like Leigh, but conveyed her spunk, intelligence, and sense of humor.
In January 2013, Johansson starred in a Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Rob Ashford. Set in the Mississippi Delta, it examines the relationships within the family of Big Daddy (Ciarán Hinds), primarily between his son Brick (Benjamin Walker) and Maggie (Johansson). Her performance received mixed reviews. Entertainment Weeklys Thom Geier wrote Johansson "brings a fierce fighting spirit" to her part, but Joe Dziemianowicz from Daily News called her performance "alarmingly one-note". The 2013 Sundance Film Festival hosted the premiere of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut, Don Jon. In this romantic comedy-drama, she played the pornography-addicted title character's girlfriend. Gordon-Levitt wrote the role for Johansson, who had previously admired his acting work. The film received positive reviews and Johansson's performance was highlighted by critics. Claudia Puig of USA Today considered it to be one of her best performances.
In 2013, Johansson voiced the character Samantha, a self-aware computer operating system, in Spike Jonze's film Her, replacing Samantha Morton in the role. The film premiered at the 8th Rome International Film Festival, where Johansson won Best Actress; she was also nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. Johansson was intimidated by the role's complexity, and found her recording sessions for the role challenging but liberating. Peter Travers believed Johansson's voice in the film was "sweet, sexy, caring, manipulative, scary [and] award-worthy". Times Richard Corliss called her performance "seductive and winning", and Her was rated as one of the best films of 2013.
She also won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 40th Saturn Awards in 2014 for her performance. Johansson was cast in Jonathan Glazer's science fiction film Under the Skin (2013) as an extraterrestrial creature disguised as a human femme fatale who preys on men in Scotland. The project, an adaptation of Michel Faber's novel of the same name, took nine years to complete. For the role, she learned to drive a van and speak in an English accent. Johansson improvised conversations with non-professional actors on the street, who did not know they were being filmed. It was released to generally positive reviews, with particular praise for Johansson. Erin Whitney, writing for The Huffington Post, considered it to be her finest performance to that point, and noted that it was her first fully nude role. Author Maureen Foster wrote, "How much depth, breadth, and range Johansson mines from her character's very limited allowance of emotional response is a testament to her acting prowess that is, as the film goes on, increasingly stunning." It earned Johansson a BIFA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film nomination.
Blockbuster films and critical acclaim (2014–2020)
Continuing her work in the MCU, Johansson reprised her role as Black Widow in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). In the film, she joins forces with Captain America (Chris Evans) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) to uncover a conspiracy within S.H.I.E.L.D., while facing a mysterious assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Johansson and Evans wrote their own dialogue for several scenes they had together. Johansson was attracted to her character's way of doing her job, employing her feminine wiles and not her physical appeal. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $714million worldwide. Critic Odie Henderson saw "a genuine emotional shorthand at work, especially from Johansson, who is excellent here". The role earned her a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination.
Johansson played a supporting role in the film Chef (2014), alongside Robert Downey, Jr., Sofía Vergara, and director Jon Favreau. It grossed over $45million at the box office and was well received by critics. The Chicago Sun-Times writer Richard Roeper found the film "funny, quirky and insightful, with a bounty of interesting supporting characters". In Luc Besson's science fiction action film Lucy (2014), Johansson starred as the title character, who gains psychokinetic abilities when a nootropic drug is absorbed into her bloodstream. Besson discussed the role with several actresses, and cast Johansson based on her strong reaction to the script and her discipline. Critics generally praised the film's themes, visuals, and Johansson's performance; some found the plot nonsensical. IGN's Jim Vejvoda attributed the film's success to her acting and Besson's style. The film grossed $458million on a budget of $40million to become the 18th highest-grossing film of 2014.
In 2015 and 2016, Johansson again played Black Widow in the MCU films Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. During filming of the former, a mixture of close-ups, concealing costumes, stunt doubles and visual effects were used to hide her pregnancy. Both films earned more than $1.1billion, ranking among the highest-grossing films of all time. For Civil War, Johansson earned her second nomination for Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie and her fourth for Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. Earlier in 2016, Johansson had featured in the Coen brothers' well-received comedy film Hail, Caesar! about a "fixer" working in the classical Hollywood cinema, trying to discover what happened to a cast member who vanished during the filming of a biblical epic; Johansson plays an actress who becomes pregnant while her film is in production. She also voiced Kaa in Jon Favreau's live-action adaptation of Disney's The Jungle Book, and Ash in the animated musical comedy film Sing (both 2016). That year she also narrated an audiobook of Lewis Carroll's children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Johansson played Motoko Kusanagi in Rupert Sanders's 2017 film adaptation of the Ghost in the Shell franchise. The film was praised for its visual style, acting, and cinematography, but was the subject of controversy for whitewashing the cast, particularly Johansson's character, a cyborg who was meant to hold the memories of a Japanese woman. Responding to the backlash, the actress asserted she would never play a non-white character, but wanted to take the rare opportunity to star in a female-led franchise. Ghost in the Shell grossed $169.8million worldwide against a production budget of $110million. In March 2017, Johansson hosted Saturday Night Live for the fifth time, making her the 17th person, and the fourth woman, to enter the NBC sketch comedy's prestigious Five-Timers Club. Johansson's next 2017 film was the comedy Rough Night, where she played Jess Thayer, one of the five friends—alongside Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer, and Zoë Kravitz—whose bachelorette party goes wrong after a male stripper dies. The film had a mixed critical reception and moderate box office returns. In 2018, Johansson voiced show dog Nutmeg in Wes Anderson's stop-motion animated film Isle of Dogs, released in March, and reprised her MCU role as Black Widow in Avengers: Infinity War, which followed the next month. Johansson was due to star in Rub & Tug, a biographical film in which she would have played Dante "Tex" Gill, a transgender man who operated a massage parlor and prostitution ring in the 1970s and 1980s. She dropped out of the project following backlash to the casting of a cisgender woman to play a transgender man.
In 2019, Johansson once again reprised her role as Black Widow in Avengers: Endgame, which is the highest-grossing film of all time. She next starred in Noah Baumbach's Netflix film Marriage Story, in which Adam Driver and she played a warring couple who file for divorce. Johansson found a connection with her character, as she was amid her own divorce proceedings at the time. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian commended her "brilliantly textured" performance in it. She also took on the supporting role of a young boy's mother who shelters a Jewish girl in Nazi Germany in Taika Waititi's satire Jojo Rabbit. Waititi modeled the character on his own mother, and cast Johansson to provide her a rare opportunity to perform comedy. The film received polarizing reviews, but Stephanie Zacharek labeled her the "lustrous soul of the movie". Johansson received her first two Academy Award nominations, for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for her performances in Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit, respectively, becoming the eleventh performer to be nominated for two Oscars in the same year. She also received two BAFTA nominations for these films, and a Golden Globe nomination for the former.
Black Widow and lawsuit (2021–present)
After a one-year screen absence, Johansson reprised her role as Black Widow in her own solo prequel film in 2021, on which she also served as an executive producer. Also starring Florence Pugh, the film is set after the events of Captain America: Civil War, and sees Johansson's character on the run and forced to confront her past. Director Cate Shortland, who wanted to make a standalone film on her character, watched Johansson's previous appearances as Black Widow to prepare. Johansson felt proud of the film and that her work playing the role was now complete. She saw this as an opportunity to show her character's ability to be on her own and make choices for herself while facing difficult times, and noted that her vulnerability distinguished her from other Avengers. Critics were generally favorable in their reviews of the film, mainly praising Johansson and Pugh's performances. In a review published in The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney thought the film was "a stellar vehicle" for Johansson. Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood found the actress "again a great presence in the role, showing expert action and acting chops throughout". For the film, Johansson won The Female Movie Star of 2021 at the 47th People's Choice Awards.
In July 2021, Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney claiming that the simultaneous release of Black Widow on their streaming service Disney+ breached a clause in her contract that the film receive exclusive theatrical release. She alleged that the release on Disney+ exempted her from receiving additional bonus from box-office profits, to which she was entitled. In response, Disney said her lawsuit showed an indifference to the "horrific and prolonged" effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also stated that Johansson already received $20million for the film and that the Disney+ Premier Access release would only earn her additional compensation. The Hollywood Reporter described Disney's response as "aggressive". Accusing Disney of intentionally violating their contract with Johansson, Creative Artists Agency co-chairman Bryan Lourd criticized the company for falsely portraying Johansson as insensitive to the effects of the pandemic, which he considered a "direct attack on her character". Lourd further stated that the company including her salary in their public statement was to try to "weaponize her success as an artist and businesswoman". Later that September, both parties announced that they had resolved their dispute, with the terms of the settlement remaining undisclosed.
Music career
In 2006, Johansson sang the track "Summertime" for Unexpected DreamsSongs From the Stars, a non-profit collection of songs recorded by Hollywood actors. She performed with the Jesus and Mary Chain for a Coachella reunion show in Indio, California, in April 2007. The following year, Johansson appeared as the leading lady in Justin Timberlake's music video, for "What Goes Around... Comes Around", which was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.
In May 2008, Johansson released her debut album Anywhere I Lay My Head, which consists of one original song and ten cover versions of Tom Waits songs, and features David Bowie and members from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Celebration. Reviews of the album were mixed. Spin was not particularly impressed with Johansson's singing. Some critics found it to be "surprisingly alluring", "a bravely eccentric selection", and "a brilliant album" with "ghostly magic". NME named the album the "23rd best album of 2008", and it peaked at number126 on the Billboard 200. Johansson started listening to Waits when she was 11 or 12 years old, and said of him, "His melodies are so beautiful, his voice is so distinct and I had my own way of doing Tom Waits songs."
In September 2009, Johansson and singer-songwriter Pete Yorn released a collaborative album, Break Up, inspired by Serge Gainsbourg's duets with Brigitte Bardot. The album reached number 41 in the US. In 2010, Steel Train released Terrible Thrills Vol.1, which includes their favorite female artists singing songs from their self-titled album. Johansson is the first artist on the album, singing "Bullet". Johansson sang "One Whole Hour" for the 2011 soundtrack of the documentary film Wretches & Jabberers (2010). and in 2012 sang on a J.Ralph track entitled "Before My Time" for the end credits of the climate documentary Chasing Ice (2012)
In February 2015, Johansson formed a band called the Singles with Este Haim from HAIM, Holly Miranda, Kendra Morris, and Julia Haltigan. The group's first single was called "Candy". Johansson was issued a cease and desist order from the lead singer of the Los Angeles-based rock band the Singles, demanding she stop using their name. In 2016, she performed "Trust in Me" for The Jungle Book soundtrack and "Set It All Free" and "I Don't Wanna" for Sing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. In 2018, Johansson collaborated with Pete Yorn again for an EP titled Apart, released June 1.
Public image
Johansson has been called "ScarJo" by the media and fans, and dislikes being called this, finding it lazy, flippant and insulting. She has no social media profiles, saying she does not see the need "to continuously share details of [her] everyday life."
Johansson is described as a sex symbol by the media. The Sydney Morning Herald describes her as "the embodiment of male fantasy". During the filming of Match Point, director Woody Allen remarked upon her attractiveness, calling her "beautiful" and "sexually overwhelming". In 2014, The New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane wrote that "she is evidently, and profitably, aware of her sultriness, and of how much, down to the last inch, it contributes to the contours of her reputation." Johansson has expressed displeasure at being sexualized, and maintains that a preoccupation with one's attractiveness does not last. She lost the role of Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), because the film's director David Fincher found her "too sexy" for the part.
Johansson ranks highly in several beauty listings. Maxim included her in their Hot 100 list from 2006 to 2014. She has been named "Sexiest Woman Alive" twice by Esquire (2006 and 2013), and has been included in similar listings by Playboy (2007), Men's Health (2011), and FHM (since 2005). She was named GQs Babe of the Year in 2010. Madame Tussauds New York museum unveiled a wax statue of her in 2015.
Johansson was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2004. In 2006, she appeared on Forbes Celebrity 100 list, and again in 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2012. In 2021, she appeared on the Time 100, Times annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Johansson was included on Forbes annual list of the world's highest-paid actresses from 2014 to 2016, with respective earnings of $17million, $35.5million and $25million. She would later top the list in 2018 and 2019, with earnings of $40.5million and $56million, respectively. She was the highest-grossing actor of 2016, with a total of $1.2billion. As a result, IndieWire credited her for taking on risky roles. , her films have grossed over billion in North America and over billion worldwide, making Johansson the third-highest-grossing box-office star of all time both domestically and worldwide as well as the highest-grossing actress of all time in North America.
Johansson has appeared in advertising campaigns for Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, L'Oréal, and Louis Vuitton, and has represented the Spanish brand Mango since 2009. She was the first Hollywood celebrity to represent a champagne producer, appearing in advertisements for Moët & Chandon. In January 2014, the Israeli company SodaStream, which makes home-carbonation products, hired Johansson as its first global brand ambassador, a relationship that commenced with a television commercial during Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014. This created some controversy, as SodaStream at that time operated a plant in Israeli-occupied territory in the West Bank.
Personal life
While attending PCS, Johansson dated classmate Jack Antonoff from 2001 to 2002. She dated her Black Dahlia co-star Josh Hartnett for about two years until the end of 2006. Hartnett said they broke up because their busy schedules kept them apart. Johansson began dating Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds in 2007. They became engaged in May 2008, married in September 2008 on Vancouver Island, separated in December 2010 and divorced in July 2011.
In November 2012, Johansson began dating Frenchman Romain Dauriac, the owner of an advertising agency. They became engaged the following September. The pair divided their time between New York City and Paris. She gave birth to their daughter, Rose Dorothy Dauriac, in 2014. Johansson and Dauriac married that October in Philipsburg, Montana. They separated in mid-2016 and divorced in September 2017. Johansson began dating Saturday Night Live co-head writer and Weekend Update co-host Colin Jost in May 2017. In May 2019, the two were engaged. They married in October 2020, at their New York home. She gave birth to their son, Cosmo, in August 2021. Johansson resides in New York and Los Angeles.
In September 2011, nude photographs of Johansson hacked from her cell phone were leaked online. She said the pictures had been sent to her then-husband, Ryan Reynolds, three years before the incident. Following an FBI investigation, the hacker was arrested, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to ten years in prison. In 2014, Johansson won a lawsuit against French publisher JC Lattès over defamatory statements about her relationships in the novel The First Thing We Look At by Grégoire Delacourt. She was awarded $3,400; she had claimed $68,000.
Johansson has criticized the media for promoting an image that causes unhealthy diets and eating disorders among women. In an essay she wrote for The Huffington Post, she encouraged people to maintain a healthy body. She posed nude on the March 2006 cover of Vanity Fair alongside actress Keira Knightley and fully clothed fashion designer Tom Ford, who jumped in last minute on the day of the shoot to replace Rachel McAdams after she walked out. The photograph sparked controversy, as some believed it demonstrated that women are forced to flaunt their sexuality more often than men.
Other ventures
Philanthropy
Johansson has supported various charitable organizations, including Aid Still Required, Cancer Research UK, Stand Up To Cancer, Too Many Women (which works against breast cancer), and USA Harvest, which provides food for people in need. In 2005, Johansson became a global ambassador for the aid and development agency Oxfam. In 2007, she took part in the anti-poverty campaign ONE, which was organized by U2's lead singer Bono. In March 2008, a UK-based bidder paid £20,000 on an eBay auction to benefit Oxfam, winning a hair and makeup treatment, a pair of tickets, and a chauffeured trip to accompany her on a 20-minute date to the world premiere of He's Just Not That into You.
In January 2014, Johansson resigned from her Oxfam position after criticism of her promotion of SodaStream, whose main factory was based in Mishor Adumim, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank; Oxfam opposes all trade with such Israeli settlements. Oxfam stated that it was thankful for her contributions in raising funds to fight poverty. Together with her Avengers costars, Johansson raised $500,000 for the victims of Hurricane Maria.
In 2018, she collaborated with 300 women in Hollywood to set up the Time's Up initiative to protect women from harassment and discrimination. Johansson took part in the Women's March in Los Angeles in January 2018, where she spoke on topics such as abuses of power, sharing her own experience. She received backlash for calling out fellow actor James Franco on allegations of sexual misconduct as in the past she had defended working with Woody Allen amid an accusation by his daughter Dylan Farrow.
Johansson has given support to Operation Warrior Wellness, a division of the David Lynch Foundation that helps veterans learn Transcendental Meditation. Her grand-uncle, Phillip Schlamberg, was the last American pilot to have been killed during WWII. He had gone on a bombing mission with Jerry Yellin, who went on to become co-founder of Operation Warrior Wellness.
Politics
Johansson was registered as an independent, at least through 2008, and campaigned for Democratic candidate John Kerry in the 2004 United States presidential election. When George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004, she said she was disappointed.
In January 2008, her campaign for Democratic candidate Barack Obama included appearances in Iowa targeted at younger voters, an appearance at Cornell College, and a speaking engagement at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, on Super Tuesday, 2008. Johansson appeared in the music video for rapper will.i.am's song, "Yes We Can" (2008), directed by Jesse Dylan; the song was inspired by Obama's speech after the 2008 New Hampshire primary. In February 2012, Johansson and Anna Wintour hosted a fashion launch of pro-Obama clothing, bags, and accessories, the proceeds of which went to the President's re-election campaign. She addressed voters at the Democratic National Convention in September 2012, calling for Obama's re-election and for more engagement from young voters. She encouraged women to vote for Obama and condemned Mitt Romney for his opposition to Planned Parenthood.
Johansson publicly endorsed and supported Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's 2013 run for New York City Comptroller by hosting a series of fundraisers. To encourage people to vote in the 2016 presidential election, in which Johansson endorsed Hillary Clinton, she appeared in a commercial alongside her Marvel Cinematic Universe co-star Robert Downey Jr., and Joss Whedon. In 2017, she spoke at the Women's March on Washington, addressing Donald Trump's presidency and stating that she would support the president if he works for women's rights and stops withdrawing federal funding for Planned Parenthood. In the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, Johansson endorsed Elizabeth Warren, referring to Warren as "thoughtful and progressive but realistic".
In December 2020, three members of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, an Egyptian civil rights organization, were released from prison in Egypt, after Johansson had described their detention circumstances and demanded the trio's release.
Notes
See also
List of actors nominated for two Academy Awards in the same year
References
Further reading
External links
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American women singers
21st-century American singers
1984 births
Actresses from New York City
American child actresses
American film actresses
American people of Danish descent
American people of Polish-Jewish descent
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American people of Swedish descent
American stage actresses
American voice actresses
American women film producers
Atco Records artists
Best Actress BAFTA Award winners
César Honorary Award recipients
Danish people of Polish-Jewish descent
Danish people of Russian-Jewish descent
Danish people of Swedish descent
Female models from New York (state)
Fraternal twin actresses
Jewish American actresses
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Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni
Living people
Method actors
People from Manhattan
Theatre World Award winners
Time 100
Tony Award winners
Twin people from the United States | true | [
"Orawee Sujjanon (, sometimes Sutjahnon, Satchanont, or Sajjanont; ) (born 9 March 1965) is a Thai lukgrung singer who has the alias \"the singer with voice like a bell\" (thai:นักร้องเสียงระฆังเเก้ว). Her nickname is Lek (Thai :เล็ก). Popularly known as Lek Orawee, she was born in Phrasamutchedi District, Samutpr... | [
"Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Her films have grossed over billion worldwide, making Johansson the ninth-highest-grossing box office star of all time."... |
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