title: Advertising

text: Foreign governments, particularly those that own marketable commercial products or services, often promote their interests and positions through the advertising of those goods because the target audience is not only largely unaware of the forum as a vehicle for foreign messaging but also willing to receive the message while in a mental state of absorbing information from advertisements during television commercial breaks, while reading a periodical, or while passing by billboards in public spaces. A prime example of this messaging technique is advertising campaigns to promote international travel. While advertising foreign destinations and services may stem from the typical goal of increasing revenue by drawing more tourism, some travel campaigns carry the additional or alternative intended purpose of promoting good sentiments or improving existing ones among the target audience towards a given nation or region. It is common for advertising promoting foreign countries to be produced and distributed by the tourism ministries of those countries, so these ads often carry political statements and/or depictions of the foreign government's desired international public perception. Additionally, a wide range of foreign airlines and travel-related services which advertise separately from the destinations, themselves, are owned by their respective governments; examples include, though are not limited to, the Emirates airline (Dubai), Singapore Airlines (Singapore), Qatar Airways (Qatar), China Airlines (Taiwan/Republic of China), and Air China (People's Republic of China). By depicting their destinations, airlines, and other services in a favorable and pleasant light, countries market themselves to populations abroad in a manner that could mitigate prior public impressions.


title: Advertising

text: In the realm of advertising agencies, continued industry diversification has seen observers note that "big global clients don't need big global agencies any more". This is reflected by the growth of non-traditional agencies in various global markets, such as Canadian business TAXI and SMART in Australia and has been referred to as "a revolution in the ad world".


title: Advertising

text: The ability to record shows on digital video recorders (such as TiVo) allow watchers to record the programs for later viewing, enabling them to fast forward through commercials. Additionally, as more seasons of pre-recorded box sets are offered for sale of television programs; fewer people watch the shows on TV. However, the fact that these sets are sold, means the company will receive additional profits from these sets.


title: Advertising

text: To counter this effect, a variety of strategies have been employed. Many advertisers have opted for product placement on TV shows like Survivor. Other strategies include integrating advertising with internet-connected program guidess (EPGs), advertising on companion devices (like smartphones and tablets) during the show, and creating mobile apps for TV programs. Additionally, some like brands have opted for social television sponsorship.


title: Advertising

text: In recent years there have been several media literacy initiatives, and more specifically concerning advertising, that seek to empower citizens in the face of media advertising campaigns.


title: Advertising

text: Advertising education has become popular with bachelor, master and doctorate degrees becoming available in the emphasis. A surge in advertising interest is typically attributed to the strong relationship advertising plays in cultural and technological changes, such as the advance of online social networking. A unique model for teaching advertising is the student-run advertising agency, where advertising students create campaigns for real companies. Organizations such as the American Advertising Federation establish companies with students to create these campaigns.


title: Advertising

text: Advertising is at the front of delivering the proper message to customers and prospective customers. The purpose of advertising is to inform the consumers about their product and convince customers that a company's services or products are the best, enhance the image of the company, point out and create a need for products or services, demonstrate new uses for established products, announce new products and programs, reinforce the salespeople's individual messages, draw customers to the business, and to hold existing customers.


title: Advertising

text: Sales promotions are another way to advertise. Sales promotions are double purposed because they are used to gather information about what type of customers one draws in and where they are, and to jump start sales. Sales promotions include things like contests and games, sweepstakes, product giveaways, samples coupons, loyalty programs, and discounts. The ultimate goal of sales promotions is to stimulate potential customers to action.


title: Advertising

text: While advertising can be seen as necessary for economic growth, it is not without social costs. Unsolicited commercial e-mail and other forms of spam have become so prevalent as to have become a major nuisance to users of these services, as well as being a financial burden on internet service providers. Advertising is increasingly invading public spaces, such as schools, which some critics argue is a form of child exploitation. This increasing difficulty in limiting exposure to specific audiences can result in negative backlash for advertisers. In tandem with these criticisms, the advertising industry has seen low approval rates in surveys and negative cultural portrayals.


title: Advertising

text: One of the most controversial criticisms of advertisement in the present day is that of the predominance of advertising of foods high in sugar, fat, and salt specifically to children. Critics claim that food advertisements targeting children are exploitive and are not sufficiently balanced with proper nutritional education to help children understand the consequences of their food choices. Additionally, children may not understand that they are being sold something, and are therefore more impressionable. Michelle Obama has criticized large food companies for advertising unhealthy foods largely towards children and has requested that food companies either limit their advertising to children or advertise foods that are more in line with dietary guidelines. The other criticisms include the change that are brought by those advertisements on the society and also the deceiving ads that are aired and published by the corporations. Cosmetic and health industry are the ones which exploited the highest and created reasons of concern.


title: Advertising

text: A 2021 study found that for more than 80% of brands, advertising had a negative return on investment. Unsolicited ads have been criticized as attention theft.


title: Advertising

text: There have been increasing efforts to protect the public interest by regulating the content and the influence of advertising. Some examples include restrictions for advertising alcohol, tobacco or gambling imposed in many countries, as well as the bans around advertising to children, which exist in parts of Europe. Advertising regulation focuses heavily on the veracity of the claims and as such, there are often tighter restrictions placed around advertisements for food and healthcare products.


title: Advertising

text: The advertising industries within some countries rely less on laws and more on systems of self-regulation. Advertisers and the media agree on a code of advertising standards that they attempt to uphold. The general aim of such codes is to ensure that any advertising is 'legal, decent, honest and truthful'. Some self-regulatory organizations are funded by the industry, but remain independent, with the intent of upholding the standards or codes like the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK.


title: Advertising

text: In the UK, most forms of outdoor advertising such as the display of billboards is regulated by the UK Town and County Planning system. Currently, the display of an advertisement without consent from the Planning Authority is a criminal offense liable to a fine of £2,500 per offense. In the US, many communities believe that many forms of outdoor advertising blight the public realm. As long ago as the 1960s in the US, there were attempts to ban billboard advertising in the open countryside. Cities such as São Paulo have introduced an outright ban with London also having specific legislation to control unlawful displays.


title: Advertising

text: Some governments restrict the languages that can be used in advertisements, but advertisers may employ tricks to try avoiding them. In France for instance, advertisers sometimes print English words in bold and French translations in fine print to deal with Article 120 of the 1994 Toubon Law limiting the use of English.


title: Advertising

text: The advertising of pricing information is another topic of concern for governments. In the United States for instance, it is common for businesses to only mention the existence and amount of applicable taxes at a later stage of a transaction. In Canada and New Zealand, taxes can be listed as separate items, as long as they are quoted up-front. In most other countries, the advertised price must include all applicable taxes, enabling customers to easily know how much it will cost them.


title: Advertising

text: Various competing models of hierarchies of effects attempt to provide a theoretical underpinning to advertising practice.


title: Advertising

text: The marketing mix was proposed by professor E. Jerome McCarthy in the 1960s. It consists of four basic elements called the "four Ps". Product is the first P representing the actual product. Price represents the process of determining the value of a product. Place represents the variables of getting the product to the consumer such as distribution channels, market coverage and movement organization. The last P stands for Promotion which is the process of reaching the target market and convincing them to buy the product.


title: Advertising

text: In the 1990s, the concept of four Cs was introduced as a more customer-driven replacement of four P's. There are two theories based on four Cs: Lauterborn's four Cs ("consumer", "cost", "communication", "convenience")


title: Advertising

text: Advertising research is a specialized form of research that works to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of advertising. It entails numerous forms of research which employ different methodologies. Advertising research includes pre-testing (also known as copy testing) and post-testing of ads and/or campaigns.


title: Advertising

text: Pre-testing includes a wide range of qualitative and quantitative techniques, including: focus groups, in-depth target audience interviews (one-on-one interviews), small-scale quantitative studies and physiological measurement. The goal of these investigations is to better understand how different groups respond to various messages and visual prompts, thereby providing an assessment of how well the advertisement meets its communications goals.


title: Advertising

text: Post-testing employs many of the same techniques as pre-testing, usually with a focus on understanding the change in awareness or attitude attributable to the advertisement. With the emergence of digital advertising technologies, many firms have begun to continuously post-test ads using real-time data. This may take the form of A/B split-testing or multivariate testing.


title: Advertising

text: Continuous ad tracking and the Communicus System are competing examples of post-testing advertising research types.


title: Advertising

text: Meanings between consumers and marketers depict signs and symbols that are encoded in everyday objects. Semiotics is the study of signs and how they are interpreted. Advertising has many hidden signs and meanings within brand names, logos, package designs, print advertisements, and television advertisements. Semiotics aims to study and interpret the message being conveyed in (for example) advertisements. Logos and advertisements can be interpreted at two levels – known as the surface level and the underlying level. The surface level uses signs creatively to create an image or personality for a product. These signs can be images, words, fonts, colors, or slogans. The underlying level is made up of hidden meanings. The combination of images, words, colors, and slogans must be interpreted by the audience or consumer. The "key to advertising analysis" is the signifier and the signified. The signifier is the object and the signified is the mental concept. A product has a signifier and a signified. The signifier is the color, brand name, logo design, and technology. The signified has two meanings known as denotative and connotative. The denotative meaning is the meaning of the product. A television's denotative meaning might be that it is high definition. The connotative meaning is the product's deep and hidden meaning. A connotative meaning of a television would be that it is top-of-the-line.


title: Advertising

text: Apple's commercials used a black silhouette of a person that was the age of Apple's target market. They placed the silhouette in front of a blue screen so that the picture behind the silhouette could be constantly changing. However, the one thing that stays the same in these ads is that there is music in the background and the silhouette is listening to that music on a white iPod through white headphones. Through advertising, the white color on a set of earphones now signifies that the music device is an iPod. The white color signifies almost all of Apple's products.


title: Advertising

text: The semiotics of gender plays a key influence on the way in which signs are interpreted. When considering gender roles in advertising, individuals are influenced by three categories. Certain characteristics of stimuli may enhance or decrease the elaboration of the message (if the product is perceived as feminine or masculine). Second, the characteristics of individuals can affect attention and elaboration of the message (traditional or non-traditional gender role orientation). Lastly, situational factors may be important to influence the elaboration of the message.


title: Advertising

text: There are two types of marketing communication claims-objective and subjective. Objective claims stem from the extent to which the claim associates the brand with a tangible product or service feature. For instance, a camera may have auto-focus features. Subjective claims convey emotional, subjective, impressions of intangible aspects of a product or service. They are non-physical features of a product or service that cannot be directly perceived, as they have no physical reality. For instance the brochure has a beautiful design. Males tend to respond better to objective marketing-communications claims while females tend to respond better to subjective marketing communications claims.


title: Advertising

text: Voiceovers are commonly used in advertising. Most voiceovers are done by men, with figures of up to 94% having been reported. There have been more female voiceovers in recent years, but mainly for food, household products, and feminine-care products.


title: Advertising

text: According to a 1977 study by David Statt, females process information comprehensively, while males process information through heuristic devices such as procedures, methods or strategies for solving problems, which could have an effect on how they interpret advertising. According to this study, men prefer to have available and apparent cues to interpret the message, whereas females engage in more creative, associative, imagery-laced interpretation. Later research by a Danish team found that advertising attempts to persuade men to improve their appearance or performance, whereas its approach to women aims at transformation toward an impossible ideal of female presentation. In Paul Suggett's article "The Objectification of Women in Advertising" he discusses the negative impact that these women in advertisements, who are too perfect to be real, have on women, as well as men, in real life. Advertising's manipulation of women's aspiration to these ideal types as portrayed in film, in erotic art, in advertising, on stage, within music videos and through other media exposures requires at least a conditioned rejection of female reality and thereby takes on a highly ideological cast. Studies show that these expectations of women and young girls negatively affect their views about their bodies and appearances. These advertisements are directed towards men. Not everyone agrees: one critic viewed this monologic, gender-specific interpretation of advertising as excessively skewed and politicized. There are some companies like Dove and aerie that are creating commercials to portray more natural women, with less post production manipulation, so more women and young girls are able to relate to them.


title: Advertising

text: More recent research by Martin (2003) reveals that males and females differ in how they react to advertising depending on their mood at the time of exposure to the ads and on the affective tone of the advertising. When feeling sad, males prefer happy ads to boost their mood. In contrast, females prefer happy ads when they are feeling happy. The television programs in which ads are embedded influence a viewer's mood state. Susan Wojcicki, author of the article "Ads that Empower Women don't just Break Stereotypes—They're also Effective" discusses how advertising to women has changed since the first Barbie commercial, where a little girl tells the doll that, she wants to be just like her. Little girls grow up watching advertisements of scantily clad women advertising things from trucks to burgers and Wojcicki states that this shows girls that they are either arm candy or eye candy.


title: Advertising

text: Other approaches to revenue include donations, paid subscriptions, microtransactions, and data monetization. Websites and applications are "ad-free" when not using advertisements at all for revenue. For example, the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia provides free content by receiving funding from charitable donations.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Brian Denis Cox (born 1 June 1946) is a Scottish actor. He has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre extensively, where he gained recognition for his portrayal of King Lear. He played supporting roles in "Rob Roy" (1995) and Mel Gibson's Academy Award-winning "Braveheart" (1995). He was the first actor to portray Hannibal Lecter on film in "Manhunter" (1986). A winner of two Olivier Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, he has also been nominated for a British Academy Television Award and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2003, he was appointed to the Order of the British Empire at the rank of Commander.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for his portrayal of Hermann Göring in "Nuremberg", and received nominations at the Golden Globe Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards. His performance in "L.I.E." earned him an AFI Award nomination and an Independent Spirit Award nomination. His guest-starring role in the series "Frasier" earned him his second Emmy nomination in 2002, in which year he also appeared in seven films grossing $347 million at the box office. He received his second SAG Award nomination as part of the ensemble cast of Spike Jonze's "Adaptation", in which he played Hollywood's screenwriting guru Robert McKee. He also played General William Stryker in "X-Men 2". He currently stars as Logan Roy on HBO's series "Succession" (2018–present), for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox's notable film credits include "The Long Kiss Goodnight" (1996), "The Boxer" (1997), "Rushmore" (1998), "Super Troopers" (2001), "The Bourne Identity" (2002), "The Ring" (2002), "25th Hour" (2002), "Troy" (2004), "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004), "Red Eye" (2005), "Zodiac" (2007), "The Escapist" (2008), "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (2009), "RED" (2010), "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (2011), "Coriolanus" (2011), "RED 2" (2013), "Churchill" (2017), and "Remember Me" (2019). Cox is a veteran of the London stage, having won two Olivier Awards for Best Actor for his performances in "Titus Andronicus" for the Royal Shakespeare Company and "Rat in the Skull" for the Royal Court, and two more Olivier Award nominations for "Misalliance" and "Fashion". His New York theatre credits include "St. Nicholas", which earned him the Lucille Lortel Award as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critic's Circle nominations.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox has written three books: "Salem to Moscow: An Actor's Odyssey", "The Lear Diaries", and his autobiography "Putting the Rabbit in the Hat". He was honoured at the 2004 BAFTA Scotland Awards with an Outstanding Achievement Award, and at the 2004 Great Scot Awards with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Empire Magazine awarded him the Empire Icon Award for his film achievements in 2006, and the UK Film Council named him one of the top 10 powerful British film stars in Hollywood in 2007.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox was born on 1 June 1946 in Dundee, Scotland as the youngest of five children. He is from a working-class Roman Catholic family of Irish and Scottish descent. His mother, Mary Ann Guillerline (née McCann), was a spinner who worked in the jute mills and suffered several nervous breakdowns during Cox's childhood. His father, Charles McArdle Campbell Cox, was a police officer and later a shopkeeper, and died when Cox was eight years old. Cox was brought up by his three elder sisters, including Betty, with whom Cox has remained close.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In Dundee, Cox attended St Mary's Forebank Primary School and St Michael's Junior Secondary School, which he left at the age of 15. After working at Dundee Repertory Theatre for a few years, he began his training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art at age 17, graduating in 1965.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Brian Cox began his acting career at age 14 at Dundee Repertory Theatre in 1961 and then as one of the founding members of the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, performing in its first show, "The Servant O’ Twa Maisters", in October 1965. From 1966, he worked at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre for two years, where he played the title role in Peer Gynt (1967) and made his West End debut in June 1967 as Orlando in "As You Like It" at the Vaudeville Theatre.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox is an accomplished Shakespearean actor, spending seasons with both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1983, he portrayed the Duke of Burgundy opposite Laurence Olivier who played title role of "King Lear". In 1984, he played the Royal Ulster Constabulary officer Inspector Nelson in the Royal Court's production of "Rat in the Skull". He was subsequently awarded that year's Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a New Play. He made his Broadway debut in February 1985 as Edmund Darrell in Eugene O'Neill's "Strange Interlude" at the Nederlander Theatre for which he received his first British Theatre Association Drama Award for Best Actor. In May that year, he made his off-Broadway debut, reprising his role as Inspector Nelson, in "Rat in the Skull" at the Public Theater. He received two additional Laurence Olivier nominations for "Misalliance" (1984) and for "Fashion" (1988).


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: He won his second Laurence Olivier Award, this time as Best Actor in a Revival, for his performance as the title character in "Titus Andronicus" (1988). Cox later said that he considers his performance in "Titus Andronicus" the greatest he has ever given on stage. His performance as Petruchio in "The Taming of The Shrew" (1987) also garnered positive reviews and won him another British Theatre Association Drama Award for Best Actor.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox returned from some years teaching and directing at the Moscow Arts Theatre School to tour with the Royal National Theatre worldwide, delivering a highly acclaimed performance as the title role in "King Lear" (1990-1991). His account of the emotional and physical difficulties that came with playing King Lear's all-consuming role was detailed in "The Lear Diaries" (1995) which he authored. King Lear is one of Shakespeare's most difficult roles, and Cox's portrayal broke new ground in the understanding of this most enigmatic figure.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 1995, he directed Open Air Theatre's chilling adaptation of "Richard III" which was well received by critics. During the same season, he also appeared in one of the theatre's productions, "The Music Man", as Professor Harold Hill.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 1997, he starred in Conor McPherson's "St. Nicholas" at the Bush Theatre in London, and in 1998 returned to the off-Broadway stage reprising his role for Primary Stages, where he won a Lucille Lortel Award and earned a Drama Desk and an Outer Critics Circle nomination for his New York performance. In the same year, he played Marc in the Broadway production of "Art".


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2000, Cox reunited with award-winning playwright Conor McPherson on The Royal Court Theatre's production of "Dublin Carol" in which he starred as grim alcoholic undertaker John Plunkett. In 2004, he played the title character in "Uncle Varick" for the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. In 2005, he starred in "The Ride Down Mt. Morgan in Los Angeles" for the Los Angeles Theatre Works.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: From 2006 to 2007, he starred as Max at London's West End production of Tom Stoppard’s "Rock ‘n Roll", a role he reprised on Broadway until 2008. In 2011, Cox appeared on Broadway opposite in a revival of Jason Miller's "That Championship Season". His portrayal of Jack in "The Weir" at the Donmar Theatre in April 2013 is reprised at Wyndham's Theatre in January 2014. In Fall 2015, Cox starred in a new production of "Waiting for Godot", for Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh's 50th anniversary. In 2016, he became co-artistic director of the Mirror Theater Ltd. Cox returned to the Broadway stage in 2019 to star as Lyndon B. Johnson in Robert Shenkkan’s "The Great Society" at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. In 2020, he directed the UK premiere of Joshua Sobol's "Sinners" — "The English Professor". Cox has also previously directed "I Love My Life, Mrs. Warren's Profession, The Philanderer, The Master Builder, The Crucible," and "Julius Caesar" on stage.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox made his first television appearance as Nelson in an episode of "The Wednesday Play" in 1965 and made one-off appearances in "Redcap", "ITV Playhouse", and "The Gamblers" before taking a lead role in "The Year of the Sex Olympics" in 1968. His first film appearance was as Leon Trotsky in "Nicholas and Alexandra" in 1971. In 1978 he played King Henry II of England in the acclaimed BBC2 drama serial "The Devil's Crown", then starred in many other television dramas.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 1990, Cox portrayed Andrew Neil in "Secret Weapon" based on Mordechai Vanunu's life story. In the same year, he guest-starred as Father Amedy in the comedy series "Perfect Scoundrels" and starred as police investigator Kerrigan in the political thriller "Hidden Agenda". In 1991, he played the role of Owen Benjamin, the closeted father of a gay man, in the BBC production of David Leavitt's novel, "The Lost Language of Cranes", which is set in the 1980s. For his performance he was nominated as Best Actor at the 1993 BAFTA TV Awards. He also played Geoffrey Harrison in the ITV thriller "Red Fox" based on Gerald Seymour's international best-seller. In 1992, he appeared in another ITV adaptation as Carl May in "The Cloning of Joanna May" based on Fay Weldon's sci-fi novel. He also appeared as Stefan Szabo in the first episode of the fifth season of "Van der Valk." He played the title role in the short film "The Cutter" and "The Director" in BBC's anthology series of classic and contemporary plays "Performance". He also starred as Carlton Heard in "Deceptions" and as Edward Hoyland in "The Big Battalions", a series about three religious families of differing faith.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 1993, he appeared as spymaster Major Hogan in two episodes of "Sharpe", and as Brother Shaw in "Sean's Show". He played P.O. Garvey in BBC's anthology series "Scene" featuring plays and documentaries originally broadcast for educational purposes. In the same year, he was seen in an episode of "Inspector Morse," where he portrayed Michael Steppings, a retired bookmaker whose daughter is in a permanent coma. In 1994, he appeared alongside Kevin Spacey as Angus Mcleague in "Iron Will". He portrayed Aethelwine alongside Christian Bale and Hellen Mirren in "Royal Deceit", an adaptation of the Danish legend of Prince Amleth. He also played the role of Colonel Grushko, 'a policeman who sees greed and rapacity in Russia's new mood', in "Grushko", a British-made crime drama set in Russia. He then starred in "The Negotiator" as Charlie King, a "street copper" who had a heart attack.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: He shot to superstardom in the mid-1990s thanks to roles in the likes of "Rob Roy" as Killearn and "Braveheart" as Argyle Wallace in 1995. His performance in the former earned him a BAFTA Scotland Award nomination for Best Actor. In 1996, he starred with Helen McRory as Judge Freisler in "Witness Against Hitler" which tells the true story of a Prussian intelligence officer and aristocrat who, with his fellow devout Christians, plotted to assassinate Hitler. In the same year he played Lyman Earl Collier, a murderous CEO in "Chain Reaction." He also appeared with Steven Seagal in "The Glimmer Man" as the CIA superior Mr Smith, and with Samuel L. Jackson in "The Long Kiss Goodnight" as Nathan Waldman.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox made a guest appearance in the 1997 "Red Dwarf" episode "Stoke Me a Clipper", as a medieval king in a virtual reality game. In the same year, he appeared alongside Morgan Freeman in the neo-noir psychological thriller "Kiss the Girls" based on James Patterson's best-selling novel. He also played Nye Bevan in the drama "Food for Ravens" and ranking IRA member Joe Hamill in the Irish sports drama "The Boxer" alongside Daniel Day-Lewis. In 1998, he appeared as police captain Jeremiah Cassidy in "Desperate Measures", Uncle Vladimir in the romantic comedy "Merchants of Venus", Clayton Blackstone in HBO's neo-noir film "Poodle Springs", and in the drama "Family Brood". In the same year he appeared alongside Bill Murray in Wes Anderson's "Rushmore" as the school headmaster Dr. Nelson Guggenheim. The film is preserved by the Library of Congress in 2016 due to its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance. In 1999, he appeared opposite Owen Wilson as postal worker Doug Durwin in the thriller The Minus Man. He also played Sean Wallace in "The Corruptor" alongside Chow Yun-Fat and Mark Wahlberg, and appeared as Gary Wheeler in the sports drama "For Love of the Game".


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2000, Cox portrayed Lord Morton in "Longitude", a dramatisation of Dava Sobel's book. He starred as the title character in "The Invention of Dr. Morel", who invents a VR machine as a duplicate of the woman he loved. He also starred opposite Johnny Lee Miller as Inspector McDunn in "Complicity", and as Sidney McLoughlin in the romantic comedy "Mad About Mambo". He won an Emmy Award as Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Actor for his portrayal of Hermann Göring in "Nuremberg". He appeared in the Irish drama "Saltwater" as George Beneventi, a chip-shop-owning father troubled by loan sharks.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2001, he played the fatherly police Captain O'Hagan in "Super Troopers." In the same year, he received critical acclaim for his performance as the paedophile Big John Harrigan in Michael Cuesta's "L.I.E.," winning a Satellite Award for Best Actor in Motion Picture Drama, and receiving nominations for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Actor and the AFI Award for Featured Male Actor of the Year. In "Strictly Sinatra", he played mob enforcer Chisolm who helps an aspiring musician passionate on Frank Sinatra. He also portrayed Baron de Breteuil in "The Affair of the Necklace" based on the diamond necklace incident that fuelled dissent against the French monarchy and led to the French Revolution.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2002, Cox appeared in "A Shot at Glory" as Rangers manager Martin Smith. He starred as Cyr in "Bug" in which a diverse group is propelled to a common fate by a series of cause-and-effect chain reactions. He played Jim Morris, Sr. in the sports drama "The Rookie", based on the true story of Jim Morris. In the same year, he guest-starred as Harry Moon in two episodes of the critically acclaimed series "Frasier" for which he would receive an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He then starred as corrupt CIA official Ward Abbott in the blockbuster film "The Bourne Identity," opposite Matt Damon. He appeared as Michael O'Mara in "The Biographer," and also starred as Richard Morgan in the supernatural horror thriller "The Ring", a remake of the 1998 Japanese film. It was one of the highest grossing horror remakes, paving the way for other English-version horror remakes. He played Edward Norton's father James Brogan in "25th Hour," and also appeared in Spike Jonze's "Adaptation" as the real-life screenwriting teacher, Robert McKee, giving advice to Nicolas Cage in both his roles as Charlie Kaufman and Charlie's fictional twin brother, Donald. He shared a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination as part of the ensemble cast of the latter.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2003, he played Tobias in "The Reckoning", a murder mystery drama set in the medieval period. He also played the villain William Stryker in "X2: X-Men United" and Captain Oakes in the direct-to-video crime thriller "Sin". In 2004, Cox played an alternate, villainous version of King Agamemnon opposite Brad Pitt in "Troy". He also reprised his role as Ward Abbott in "The Bourne Supremacy," the second instalment of the "Bourne" franchise. In the short film "Get the Picture", he played Harry Sondheim, a journalist who doubts the guilt of four suspected terrorists. He portrayed King Lear in episode 4 of season 6 of "French and Saunders", BBC's sketch comedy series as satire to popular culture. He was honoured at the 2004 BAFTA Scotland Awards with an Outstanding Achievement Award, and at the 2004 Great Scot Awards with a Lifetime Achievement Award.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2005, Cox starred as Robert Smith in "Blue/Orange", a BBC film adaptation of Joe Penhall's play exploring race, mental illness, and modern British life. He played Alec Hewett, patriarch of the wealthy family in Woody Allen's psychological thriller "Match Point". He also played Rachel McAdams' father Joe Reisert in "Red Eye". In the biographical drama "The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle", he portrayed Doyle's mentor Dr. Joseph Bell. The television film explored how Doyle created Holmes and how he applied Bell's techniques in his novels. In the sports comedy "The Ringer", he played Gary Barker who suggests to his nephew to enter and fix a Special Olympics to solve their financial woes.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2006, Cox played Dr Hunt in "A Woman in Winter" which explores the nature of obsessive love. In "The Flying Scotsman", based on the life of Scottish amateur cyclist Graeme Obree, he portrayed Douglas Baxter, a boatyard owner and minister who befriends the atheist cyclist. He appeared as Jack Langrishe in the HBO series "Deadwood". In ITV's "The Outsiders", he played Gabriel, the head of the spy agency. In the comedy drama "Running with Scissors", based on Augusten Burroughs' best-selling memoir about his childhood, he portrayed Dr Finch, the psychiatrist of Burrough's mother and patriarch of an eccentric family to whom Burrough was sent to live with.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2007, Cox portrayed prominent US lawyer Melvin Belli in David Fincher's mystery thriller "Zodiac", based on Robert Graysmith's book which follows the manhunt for the Zodiac Killer. He also played old Angus in the fantasy drama , Mr Kreeg in the anthology horror "Trick 'r Treat", Daniel Tennant in "Shoot on Sight" based on Operation Kratos, and Drosselmeyer in "The Secret of the Nutcracker".


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2008 Cox starred as Avery Ludlow in "Red", and also played institutionalised convict Frank Perry, the protagonist in Rupert Wyatt's film, "The Escapist" (2008), appearing alongside Joseph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper, and Damian Lewis. For the latter, he won that year's BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Acting Performance. In 2009, he appeared as Lewis Serrocold in the ITV series "Marple" loosely based on Agatha Christie's books and short stories. He starred as Philip Van Doren in the Ridley Scott produced "Tell-Tale", a film based on the short story "The Tell Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. He starred as the legendary criminal godfather Ozzy in "The Take", and portrayed King Vesper Abaddon, the former king of Carmel in "Kings" loosely based on the biblical King David and set in a modern absolute monarchy. He also starred as the short-tempered bartender Jacques in the Icelandic film "The Good Heart", and as Burt Macey in the crime drama "Lost & Found". He also appeared as Dennis in "The Day of the Triffids" based on John Wyndham's best-selling post-apocalyptic novel.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2010, he played Reverend Kalahan, cult leader and pastor whose death is the backdrop of the story in the crime thriller "As Good as Dead". He portrayed former Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin in the television film "On Expenses". He also starred as Wally, an old rogue who fulfills his old friend's dying wish for a sea burial in the black comedy "All at Sea". In the same year, Cox played Laura Linney's father in the Showtime series "The Big C," and appeared as Ivan Simonov in "RED."


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2011, he starred as Captain Rudolph Sharp in "The Sinking of the Laconia", BBC Two's television film about the sinking of the British ocean liner RMS Laconia during World War II. He co-starred with Gerald Butler and Ralph Fiennes as a quietly reasonable senator in "Coriolanus", a modern British film adaptation of the Shakespeare tragedy. He portrayed Baron William d'Aubigny, a lordly wool merchant against King John's tyranny in "Ironclad", a war film set after the ratification of the Magna Carta. In the American thriller "The Key Man", he shared the screen with Hugo Weaving as Irving, a sociopathic con man and a Shakespearian actor. He then starred in "The Veteran" as a British intelligence officer who recruits a war veteran to track a female contact infiltrating a group of suspected terrorists. He also starred as John Landon in the science-fiction film "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." He appeared as Glover Boyd, the retired policeman father of the protagonist in the Canadian biographical drama "Citizen Gangster".


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2012, Cox appeared in the Australian drama "The Straits" as the patriarch of the Montebello family crime syndicate, Harry Montebello. He appeared as Raymond Huggins, an associate of two corrupt businessmen brothers, in the political satire film "The Campaign", and as Bill Ball in "A Touch of Cloth", a parody of British police procedural dramas. He starred in "Blood" as Lenny Fairburn, a retired cop and father of two fraternal detectives played by Paul Bettany and Stephen Graham. He also appeared as an old man in the short film "I Missed My Mother's Funeral".


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In January 2013, Cox played the title character in the series "Bob Servant". He said he played Servant, the creation of Dundonian author Neil Forsyth, based on memories of his late brother Charlie. He played Ivan Simanov in "RED 2", reprising his role from the 2010 original film. In "Blumenthal", he played the title role as the legendary playwright Harold Blumenthal who made a career out of parodying his family and died laughing at his own joke. He starred in "Believe" as the legendary Scottish football manager Sir Matt Busby who returns from retirement to coach a group of young working-class boys. He also starred in the psychological thriller "Mindscape" (original title "Anna") as Sebastian, a superior in top memory detective agency Mindscape, which employs psychics to assist in solving criminal cases. He portrayed FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in "The Curse of Edgar", an original docudrama based on the best-selling novel by Marc Dugain about Hoover's battle to keep power away from the Kennedys. In November 2013, he starred in the BBC television docudrama, "An Adventure in Space and Time", about the creation of the British science-fiction series "Doctor Who". Cox portrayed Canadian television executive Sydney Newman, the driving force behind the creation of the iconic programme. He appeared in "Tooned", an animated cartoon about Formula One racing, as an old mechanic, and as Magnus Bain in the crime drama series "Shetland" (2013-2014) which was initially based on Ann Cleeves' novels.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2014, Cox appeared in "The Anomaly" as Lloyd Langham, Ian Somerhalder's father in the sci-fi thriller, who conducted nightmarish experiments on the protagonist. He also appeared in the documentary "The Great War: The People's Story" as Reverend Andrew Clark, and in BBC's Cold War spy thriller series "The Game" as an MI5 superior codenamed "Daddy". He also reprised his role in the second series of Bob Servant.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2015, he starred in "The Slap", an American adaptation of the Australian series based on Christos Tsiolka's novel, as Manolis Apostolou, the father of the main character played by Peter Sarsgaard. He appeared in the sci-fi comedy "Pixels" as a military heavyweight starring alongside Adam Sandler, and in the Canadian revisionist western film "Forsaken" as a local gang leader. He also starred in the short film "Killing Thyme" as a grumpy old man with a squandered allotment and a death wish.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2016, he starred in the British-Hungarian comedy "The Carer" as Sir Michael Gifford, an ageing Shakespearian actor, and in BBC's historical drama series adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel "War & Peace" as General Mikhail Kutuzov. He was nominated at the BAFTA Scotland Awards for Best Actor for his portrayal in the former. He also received a Career Achievement Award at the Stony Brook Film Festival for the same role. He appeared in season 3 of the horror drama series "Penny Dreadful" as Jared Talbot, a ruthless, powerful American rancher and the estranged father of Josh Hartnett's character. He also appeared in the sci-fi thriller "Morgan" as Jim Bryce, and starred alongside Emile Hirsch in "The Autopsy of Jane Doe" as Tommy. In the first series of the Italian-British historical drama series "Medici", he portrayed Bernardo Guadagni, an officer of the Signoria.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2017, he appeared as Marlon Brando in "Urban Myths", a biographical comedy drama series in which each episode features a story about popular culture icons. In June, Cox starred in the critically acclaimed historical war drama "Churchill", playing the title role as Winston Churchill.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In April 2018, Cox reprised his role of Captain John O'Hagen in "Super Troopers 2". Early drafts of the script excluded Cox's character from the movie, with reservations on whether Cox would want to return or not for the sequel. It was later announced he would return, Cox himself joking that it was on the condition that he receive a "big action scene with rockets and explosions". In May, he starred in "The Etruscan Smile" as Rory MacNeil, a dying man who reunites with his estranged son. He starred in the first season of "Succession", HBO's satirical drama which premiered in June to positive reviews, as Logan Roy, the patriarch of the dysfunctional Roy family and the billionaire founder of the global media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar RoyCo. In November, he starred as Henry in James Franco's drama "The Pretenders".


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In June 2019, he played William "Bill" Erwin in "Strange But True", a thriller adaptation of John Searles' novel. In August, he starred as Shane in the romantic comedy "Remember Me". In the same month, the second season of "Succession" premiered in which Cox reprised his role, earning him the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and a nomination for the Emmy Award for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series. The series garnered critical acclaim receiving numerous awards and nominations, winning the British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme, the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama, and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. In the same year, he played Father Reilly in the comedy drama "The Last Right".


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2020, Cox starred as Gilles in the American neo-noir thriller "Last Moment of Clarity". In "The Bay of Silence", he played Milton Hunter, a powerful art dealer and stepfather to a celebrated artist. In 2021, he played Paul Rivers in the horror film "Separation".


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In July 2021, it was announced that Cox would join the cast of the family drama "Prisoner's Daughter" which tells the story of an ex-con trying to reconnect with his daughter and grandson"." The film was released at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival to mixed critical reviews, with Cox's performance praised as one of the highlights.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In November 2020, it was announced that Cox is joining the cast of the "audio movie series" "Unsinkable" told in 11 20-minute episodes based on the oil tanker MV San Demetrio, set on fire by a German battleship in 1940; the crew was ordered to abandon ship, but reboarded the burning vessel two days later and with no charts or radio sailed her to Britain. He will also appear in the revenge thriller "The Jesuit" set in the backdrop of the Mexican underworld, in "Wittgenstein's Poker" as Bertrand Russell, and in "Skelly".


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In August, he signed on to executive produce "Mending the Line" and star as a Vietnam veteran who teaches a young injured soldier how to fly fish hoping it would help him cope with his physical and emotional trauma. In September, it was announced that he will star in the political thriller "The Independent" which centers on a young journalist who teams up with her idol (Cox) to uncover a major conspiracy.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox narrated in the short film "Zulu 9" (2001), the short film "The Legend of Loch Lomond" (2001), the docudrama "Smallpox" (2002), and the short film "The Martyr's Crown" (2007). He provided live-action narration for the television miniseries "Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic" (2008). He voiced Malcolm Young in "Exit Humanity" (2011) which follows a man's battle with the walking dead in post-Civil War America. In 2017, he narrated the multi award-winning short film "Kubrick by Candlelight" which takes place behind the scenes of Stanley Kubrick's film "Barry Lyndon". In 2018, he provided the opening narration for the horror film "Dark Highlands". In 2019, he was The Voice in a "A Modern Magician", a supernatural black comedy short film based on William Olaf Stapledon's story exploring mental health, morality, perception, and desire.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: He was the voice of the Ood Elder in part one of the "Doctor Who" Christmas special, "The End of Time" (2009), the narrator in the pseudo-scientific documentary "The Revelation of the Pyramids", supporting antisemitic and negationnist conspiracy theories (2010), Bob Servant in Neil Forsyth's "The Bob Servant Emails: Series 1" (2012), The Mastermind in the action series "M.I. High" (2013), Alan Watts in the award-winning sci-fi romantic drama "Her" (2013), Chorus in Arkangel Shakespeare's dramatised recording of Shakespeare's "Henry V" (2014), and Death in "Good Omens" (2019).


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: From 2020 to 2021, he voice-acted in the sci-fi series "From Now" as Hunter, the formerly identical brother of Richard Madden's character. He voiced Augustus in Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman: Act II" (2021), the second instalment of Audible's New York Times best-selling original. He is set to star in "Lawrence: After Arabia", a retelling of the events that led to the enigmatic death of the famed T. E. Lawrence.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: His radio work include roles in multiple BBC/BBC Radio 4 productions such as the title character in the series "McLevy" (1999–2016), based on the real-life detective James McLevy, Alec Leamas in "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" (2009), John Bernard Books in the dramatisation of "The Shootist" (2018), and a talking head in the impressions show "Dead Ringers: Series 18" (2018). He also narrated in the epic full-cast drama "The Stuarts" (2019) and in "Alexander: The Story of a Legendary Leader" (2020).


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox narrated the abridged audiobook version of John Aubrey's "Brief Lives" (1995), Joseph Conrad's novellas "Youth" and "Heart of Darkness" (1996), and Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe" (2001). He read the unabridged audiobook version of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (1997), Ruth Rendell's "To Fear a Painted Devil" (2014), William McIlvanney's "The Dark Remains" book series, and his own autobiography "Putting the Rabbit in the Hat" (2021). He also voiced in "Murder Most Foul (Vol. 1)", a collection of classic crime short fiction, and in its sequel "Murder Most Foul (Vol. 2)" both in 2003.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: He has collaborated with HarperCollins on an audiobook of Tolkien's epic poem "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún" (2010), and on the abridged audiobook version of Gerald Seymour's 2011 works including "The Fighting Man", "The Heart of Danger", "The Journeyman Tailor", "The Glory Boys", "Red Fox", "Killing Ground", "Condition Black", and "Field of Blood". In 2012, he read Penguin Classics' audiobook version of H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine", and in 2014, "The Human Table" by Marvin Cohen in WordTheatre's "Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses (Vol. 2)". He narrated "The Gospel of John" (2014), the first ever word for word film adaptation of all four gospels, and in religious audiobooks for The New Testament such as RSV-CE's "Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible" (2020) and "The Word of God Audio Bible" (2021).


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox also worked in animation, providing the voice of Macbeth in "" (1992), Earl Garver in "" (1997), Pariah Dark in (2005), General Hemmer in "Battle for Terra" (2007), Spanners in "Agent Crush" (2008), the Green Dragon in the direct-to-video film "Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword" (2009), Action 12 Reporter in Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (2009), and Conrad and Crunch in the UK and US version of "Bob the Builder: Mega Machines" (2017). Cox narrated the first episode of the first series of "Animated Tales of the World" (2000). In 2018, he voiced Mr Widdershins, a gentleman whose life is pampered by automated machines, in "Widdershins". He voices the English version of Niander Wallace Sr. in the Japanese-American animated series "" (2021) based on the Blade Runner franchise.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox has also been involved in the video game industry. He voice-acted the ruthless emperor Scolar Visari in "Killzone" (2004), and its two sequels, "Killzone 2" (2009) and "Killzone 3" (2011). He was also the voice of Lionel Starkweather, the main antagonist in "Manhunt" (2003), a video game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. In Electronic Arts' reboot of "Syndicate" (2012), Cox played Jack Denham, the "ruthless power behind the boardroom throne" of the malicious corporation EuroCorp. The game was released on PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: He provided the voiceover for Virgin TV's cross-platform advertising campaign promoting its new streamlined service, Virgin TV Anywhere, in January 2017. Cox has also voiced commercial adverts for McDonald's since 2020. In April 2021, he provided voiceovers for TV ads for the launch of the online property portal Boomin.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox made his directorial debut in the "Gray Matter" episode of the hit HBO prison drama series "Oz" (2000). His first foray into executive production was in "The Escapist" (2008). He also served as executive producer in the series "From Now" (2020-2021) and is set to executive produce "Mending the Line".


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox also performed soundtracks in a few of his projects. In the series "Sharpe" in the episode "Sharpe's Rifles" (1993), he sang "Here's Adieu to all Judges and Juries". In "L.I.E." (2001), he performed "Danny Boy" and "Harrigan Song". He also sang "The Butcher Boy" in "The Escapist".


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox is a patron of the Scottish Youth Theatre, Scotland's national theatre "for and by" young people. Scottish Youth Theatre's building in Glasgow, The Old Sheriff Court, named their theatre the Brian Cox Studio Theatre in his honour. He is also a patron of "THE SPACE", a training facility for actors and dancers in his native Dundee, and an ambassador for the Screen Academy Scotland, a collaboration between Napier University and the Edinburgh College of Art. Cox is also patron of The Old Rep Theatre in Birmingham, one of the first repertory theatres to be built in the UK. In October 2017, he was made an honorary patron for Capital Theatre's campaign to modernise the historic King's Theatre Edinburgh and preserve it for future generations. In January 2020, he was removed from patronage of the Mid-Lin Daycare Centre, a centre for the elderly in Dundee, after serving for four years due to his confession of his use and endorsement of recreational cannabis. In April 2020, he became patron of the British American Drama Academy with whom he has had a decades-long association, including directing several collaborations with the Moscow Art Theatre and holding regular Masterclasses for participants on BADA's programs.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In April 2010, Cox, along with Ian McKellen and Eleanor Bron, appeared in a series of TV advertisements to support Age UK, the charity formed from the merger of Age Concern and Help the Aged. All three actors gave their time free of charge. In 2012, Cox became the Grand Marshal of the New York City Tartan Day Parade and reprised the role in 2020, the first time a previous Grand Marshal was asked to return since the parade moved to Manhattan's Sixth Avenue. In June 2005, he was awarded the first Scotland's Tartan Day International Ambassador Award at a ceremony in the Scottish Parliament for his work in promoting Scotland abroad.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: He has authored three books: "Salem to Moscow: An Actors Odyssey", "The Lear Diaries", and his autobiography "Putting the Rabbit in the Hat".


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: "Salem to Moscow: An Actors Odyssey" spans 30 years in British theatre, beginning in the 1980s, when Cox, despite success on both sides of the Atlantic, was looking for a new sense of purpose for his life and work which culminates having first directed "The Crucible" at the Moscow Art Theatre School.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In "The Lear Diaries", Cox accounts how a group of leading actors approach a major text, providing insight into the pressures that contemporary theatre actors face. He describes the emotional and physical difficulties that came with playing King Lear while also working as a member of an ensemble playing roles in Richard III. His diary also reveals the personal strains of touring, particularly the difficulties of being separated from his family during the company's year-long tour.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox credits a remark from fellow actor Oliver Cotton during the production as resulting in the title of his autobiography "Putting The Rabbit In The Hat" published in 2021.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox is divorced from his second wife, Caroline Burt. They have two children, Margaret and Alan; the latter is also an actor, best known for his roles in "Young Sherlock Holmes," and as the young John Mortimer in the television film of his play "A Voyage Round My Father" (1982) opposite Laurence Olivier. Cox married his third wife, actress Nicole Ansari, in 2002. They have two sons, Orson Jonathan Cox and Torin Kamran Cox, and live in New York City. Cox also maintains a home in Primrose Hill, London.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In 2007, Cox campaigned for Labour in the run-up to that year's Scottish Parliamentary elections. However, he endorsed the Scottish National Party in the 2011 election because of their higher education policy. Cox told Alastair Campbell that he was an active and committed Labour supporter all his life, until – “you won’t like this,” the Iraq War. On 25 May 2012, he spoke in support of Scottish independence at the Yes Scotland campaign. However Cox did not qualify for a vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum as his status as a tax exile, living in the United States greatly limits the number of days he can spend in the United Kingdom. On 29 January 2015, he announced he had quit the Labour Party, believing it had failed to live up to its basic principles, and joined the Scottish National Party, whom he felt was taking forward values of social justice and representing Scotland's best interests.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In January 2020, despite stating he is unlikely to ever return to live in Scotland, he called for a second referendum on Scottish independence, saying Labour had "failed" in Scotland and that Scots were "organically" moving towards a decision to leave the UK following the Brexit referendum.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In November 2022, Cox stated that he did not consider himself a Scottish nationalist and described himself as an Anglophile but felt too many political decisions were being made on Scotland's behalf. He also claimed to favour a move towards federalism and constitutional change in the United Kingdom over Scottish independence and said "I don't want to break up the Union but I want another idea for the Union" which he described as "independent states but we come together as a united federation."


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: Cox confirmed in an interview to "The Guardian" that he supported the recreational use of cannabis: "It's absolutely great and I recommend it to everyone—get stoned!"


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: On 31 December 2002, Cox was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours List. In 1994, he was made an Honorary Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa by the University of Dundee. In 2006, he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Drama by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In July 2007, he was made an Honorary Doctor of Letters by Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, and was made an Honorary Doctor of Drama by Napier University in Edinburgh in July 2008. In November 2011, he was named an Honorary Doctor of Letters by Kingston University in southwest London for his tireless contributions to drama education.


title: Brian Cox (actor)

text: In February 2010, Cox was elected as the 12th Rector of the University of Dundee by its students, was formally installed in October, and was re-elected in January 2013. In December 2018 he was appointed head of the international jury at the Golden Unicorn Awards.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. When the Dodgers signed Robinson, it heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: During his 10-year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In 1997, MLB retired his uniform number 42 across all major league teams; he was the first professional athlete in any sport to be so honored. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, "Jackie Robinson Day", for the first time on April 15, 2004, on which every player on every team wears No. 42.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Robinson's character, his use of nonviolence, and his talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation that had then marked many other aspects of American life. He influenced the culture of and contributed significantly to the civil rights movement. Robinson also was the first black television analyst in MLB and the first black vice president of a major American corporation, Chock full o'Nuts. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. After his death in 1972, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his achievements on and off the field.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, into a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia. He was the youngest of five children born to Mallie (McGriff) and Jerry Robinson, after siblings Edgar, Frank, Matthew (nicknamed "Mack"), and Willa Mae. His middle name was in honor of former President Theodore Roosevelt, who died 25 days before Robinson was born. After Robinson's father left the family in 1920, they moved to Pasadena, California.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: The extended Robinson family established itself on a residential plot containing two small houses at 121 Pepper Street in Pasadena. Robinson's mother worked various odd jobs to support the family. Growing up in relative poverty in an otherwise affluent community, Robinson and his minority friends were excluded from many recreational opportunities. As a result, Robinson joined a neighborhood gang, but his friend Carl Anderson persuaded him to abandon it.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In 1935, Robinson graduated from Washington Junior High School and enrolled at John Muir High School (Muir Tech). Recognizing his athletic talents, Robinson's older brothers Mack (himself an accomplished athlete and silver medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics) and Frank inspired Jackie to pursue his interest in sports.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: At Muir Tech, Robinson played numerous sports at the varsity level and lettered in four of them: football, basketball, track, and baseball. He played shortstop and catcher on the baseball team, quarterback on the football team, and guard on the basketball team. With the track and field squad, he won awards in the broad jump. He was also a member of the tennis team.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In 1936, Robinson won the junior boys singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament and earned a place on the Pomona annual baseball tournament all-star team, which included future Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Bob Lemon. In late January 1937, the "Pasadena Star-News" newspaper reported that Robinson "for two years has been the outstanding athlete at Muir, starring in football, basketball, track, baseball and tennis."


title: Jackie Robinson

text: After Muir, Robinson attended Pasadena Junior College (PJC), where he continued his athletic career by participating in basketball, football, baseball, and track. On the football team, he played quarterback and safety. He was a shortstop and leadoff hitter for the baseball team, and he broke an American junior college broad-jump record held by his brother Mack with a jump of 25 ft. in. on May 7, 1938. As at Muir High School, most of Jackie's teammates were white. While playing football at PJC, Robinson suffered a fractured ankle, complications from which would eventually delay his deployment status while in the military. In 1938, he was elected to the All-Southland Junior College Team for baseball and selected as the region's Most Valuable Player.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: That year, Robinson was one of 10 students named to the school's Order of the Mast and Dagger ("Omicron Mu Delta"), awarded to students performing "outstanding service to the school and whose scholastic and citizenship record is worthy of recognition." Also while at PJC, he was elected to the Lancers, a student-run police organization responsible for patrolling various school activities.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: An incident at PJC illustrated Robinson's impatience with authority figures he perceived as racist—a character trait that would resurface repeatedly in his life. On January 25, 1938, he was arrested after vocally disputing the detention of a black friend by police. Robinson received a two-year suspended sentence, but the incident—along with other rumored run-ins between Robinson and police—gave Robinson a reputation for combativeness in the face of racial antagonism. While at PJC, he was motivated by a preacher (the Rev. Karl Downs) to attend church on a regular basis, and Downs became a confidant for Robinson, a Christian. Toward the end of his PJC tenure, Frank Robinson (to whom Robinson felt closest among his three brothers) was killed in a motorcycle accident. The event motivated Jackie to pursue his athletic career at the nearby University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he could remain closer to Frank's family.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: After graduating from PJC in spring 1939, Robinson enrolled at UCLA, where he became the school's first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: He was one of four black players on the Bruins' 1939 football team; the others were Woody Strode, Kenny Washington, and Ray Bartlett. Washington, Strode, and Robinson made up three of the team's four backfield players. At a time when only a few black students played mainstream college football, this made UCLA college football's most They went undefeated with four ties at Robinson finished the season with 12.2 yards per attempt on 42 carries, which is the school football record for highest rushing yards per carry in a season as of 2022. Robinson also led the NCAA in punt return average in the 1939 and 1940 seasons.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In track and field, Robinson won the 1940 NCAA championship in the long jump at . Baseball was Robinson's "worst sport" at UCLA; he hit .097 in his only season, although in his first game he went 4-for-4 and twice stole home.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: While a senior at UCLA, Robinson met his future wife, Rachel Isum (b.1922), a UCLA freshman who was familiar with Robinson's athletic career He played football as a senior, but the 1940 Bruins won only one game. In the spring, Robinson left college just shy of graduation, despite the reservations of his mother and Isum. He took a job as an assistant athletic director with the government's National Youth Administration (NYA)


title: Jackie Robinson

text: After the government ceased NYA operations, Robinson traveled to Honolulu in the fall of 1941 to play football for the semi-professional, racially integrated Honolulu After a short season, Robinson returned to California in December 1941 to pursue a career as running back for the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Football League. By that time, however, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had taken place, which drew the United States into World War II and ended Robinson's nascent football career.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In 1942, Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit at Fort Riley (in Kansas). Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied for admission to an Officer Candidate School (OCS) then located at Fort Riley. Although the Army's initial July 1941 guidelines for OCS had been drafted as race neutral, few black applicants were admitted into OCS until after subsequent directives by Army leadership. As a result, the applications of Robinson and his colleagues were delayed for several months. After protests by heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (then stationed at Fort Riley) and with the help of Truman Gibson (then an assistant civilian aide to the Secretary of War), the men were accepted into OCS. The experience led to a personal friendship between Robinson and Louis. Upon finishing OCS, Robinson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in January 1943. Shortly afterward, Robinson and Isum were formally engaged.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: After receiving his commission, Robinson was reassigned to Fort Hood, Texas, where he joined the 761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion. While at Fort Hood, Robinson often used his weekend leave to visit the Rev. Karl Downs, President of Sam Huston College (now Huston–Tillotson University) in nearby Austin, Texas; in California, Downs had been Robinson's pastor at Scott United Methodist Church while Robinson attended PJC.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: An event on July 6, 1944, derailed Robinson's military career. While awaiting results of hospital tests on the ankle he had injured in junior college, Robinson boarded an Army bus with a fellow officer's wife; although the Army had commissioned its own unsegregated bus line, the bus driver ordered Robinson to move to the back of the bus. Robinson refused. The driver backed down, but after reaching the end of the line, summoned the military police, who took Robinson into custody. When Robinson later confronted the investigating duty officer about racist questioning by the officer and his assistant, the officer recommended Robinson be court-martialed.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: After Robinson's commander in the 761st, Paul L. Bates, refused to authorize the legal action, Robinson was summarily transferred to the 758th Battalion—where the commander quickly consented to charge Robinson with multiple offenses, including, among other charges, public drunkenness, even though Robinson did not drink.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: By the time of the court-martial in August 1944, the charges against Robinson had been reduced to two counts of insubordination during questioning. Robinson was acquitted by an all-white panel of nine officers.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Although his former unit, the 761st Tank Battalion, became the first black tank unit to see combat in World War II, Robinson's court-martial proceedings prohibited him from being deployed overseas; thus, he never saw combat action.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: After his acquittal, he was transferred to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, where he served as a coach for army athletics until receiving an honorable discharge in November 1944. While there, Robinson met a former player for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, who encouraged Robinson to write the Monarchs and ask for a tryout. Robinson took the former player's advice and wrote to Monarchs co-owner Thomas Baird.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: After his discharge, Robinson briefly returned to his old football club, the Los Angeles Bulldogs. Robinson then accepted an offer from his old friend and pastor Rev. Karl Downs to be the athletic director at Samuel Huston College in Austin, then of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The job included coaching the school's basketball team for the 1944–45 season. As it was a fledgling program, few students tried out for the basketball team, and Robinson even resorted to inserting himself into the lineup for exhibition games. Although his teams were outmatched by opponents, Robinson was respected as a disciplinarian coach, and drew the admiration of, among others, Langston University basketball player Marques Haynes, a future member of the Harlem Globetrotters.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In early 1945, while Robinson was at Sam Huston College, the Kansas City Monarchs sent him a written offer to play professional baseball in the Negro leagues. Robinson accepted a contract for $400 per month. Although he played well for the Monarchs, Robinson was frustrated with the experience. He had grown used to a structured playing environment in college, and the Negro leagues' disorganization and embrace of gambling interests appalled him. The hectic travel schedule also placed a burden on his relationship with Isum, with whom he could now communicate only by letter. In all, Robinson played 47 games at shortstop for the Monarchs, hitting .387 with five home runs, and registering 13 stolen bases. He also appeared in the 1945 East–West All-Star Game, going hitless in five at-bats.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: During the season, Robinson pursued potential major league interests. No black man had played in the major leagues since Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1884, but the Boston Red Sox nevertheless held a tryout at Fenway Park for Robinson and other black players on April 16. The tryout, however, was a farce chiefly designed to assuage the desegregationist sensibilities of powerful Boston City Councilman Isadore H. Y. Muchnick. Even with the stands limited to management, Robinson was subjected to racial epithets. He left the tryout humiliated, and more than 14 years later, in July 1959, the Red Sox became the final major league team to integrate its roster.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Other teams, however, had more serious interest in signing a black ballplayer. In the mid-1940s, Branch Rickey, club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, began to scout the Negro leagues for a possible addition to the Dodgers' roster. Rickey selected Robinson from a list of promising black players and interviewed him for possible assignment to Brooklyn's International League farm club, the Montreal Royals. Rickey was especially interested in making sure his eventual signee could withstand the inevitable racial abuse that would be directed at him. In a famous three-hour exchange on August 28, 1945, Rickey asked Robinson if he could face the racial animus without taking the bait and reacting angrily—a concern given Robinson's prior arguments with law enforcement officials at PJC and in the military. Robinson was aghast: "Are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?" Rickey replied that he needed a Negro player "with guts enough not to fight back." After obtaining a commitment from Robinson to "turn the other cheek" to racial antagonism, Rickey agreed to sign him to a contract for $600 a month, equal to $ today. Rickey did not offer compensation to the Monarchs, instead believing all Negro league players were free agents due to the contracts not containing a reserve clause. Among those with whom Rickey discussed prospects was Wendell Smith, writer for the black weekly "Pittsburgh Courier", who, according to Cleveland Indians owner and team president Bill Veeck, "influenced Rickey to take Jack Robinson, for which he's never completely gotten credit."


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Although he required Robinson to keep the arrangement a secret for the time being, Rickey committed to formally signing Robinson before November 1, 1945. On October 23, it was publicly announced that Robinson would be assigned to the Royals for the 1946 season. On the same day, with representatives of the Royals and Dodgers present, Robinson formally signed his contract with the Royals. In what was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment", Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s. He was not necessarily the best player in the Negro leagues, and black talents Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson were upset when Robinson was selected first. Larry Doby, who broke the color line in the American League the same year as Robinson, said, "One of the things that was disappointing and disheartening to a lot of the black players at the time was that Jack was not the best player. The best was Josh Gibson. I think that's one of the reasons why Josh died so early—he was heartbroken."


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Rickey's offer allowed Robinson to leave behind the Monarchs and their grueling bus rides, and he went home to Pasadena.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: That September, he signed with Chet Brewer's Kansas City Royals, a post-season barnstorming team in the California Winter League. Later that off-season, he briefly toured South America with another barnstorming team, while his fiancée Isum pursued nursing opportunities in New York City. On February 10, 1946, Robinson and Isum were married by their old friend, the Rev. Karl Downs.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In 1946, Robinson arrived at Daytona Beach, Florida, for spring training with the Montreal Royals of the Class AAA International League. Clay Hopper, the manager of the Royals, asked Rickey to assign Robinson to any other Dodger affiliate, but Rickey refused.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Robinson's presence was controversial in racially segregated Florida. He was not allowed to stay with his white teammates at the team hotel, and instead lodged at the home of Joe and Dufferin Harris, a politically active African American couple who introduced the Robinsons to civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. Since the Dodgers organization did not own a spring training facility, scheduling was subject to the whim of area localities, several of which turned down any event involving Robinson or Johnny Wright, another black player whom Rickey had signed to the Dodgers' organization in January. In Sanford, Florida, the police chief threatened to cancel games if Robinson and Wright did not cease training activities there; as a result, Robinson was sent back to Daytona Beach. In Jacksonville, the stadium was padlocked shut without warning on game day, by order of the city's Parks and Public Property director. In DeLand, a scheduled day game was postponed, ostensibly because of issues with the stadium's electrical lighting.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: After much lobbying of local officials by Rickey himself, the Royals were allowed to host a game involving Robinson in Daytona Beach. Robinson made his Royals debut at Daytona Beach's City Island Ballpark on March 17, 1946, in an exhibition game against the team's parent club, the Dodgers. Robinson thus became the first black player to openly play for a minor league team against a major league team since the "de facto" baseball color line had been implemented in the 1880s.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Later in spring training, after some less-than-stellar performances, Robinson was shifted from shortstop to second base, allowing him to make shorter throws to first base. Robinson's performance soon rebounded. On April 18, 1946, Roosevelt Stadium hosted the Jersey City Giants' season opener against the Montreal Royals, marking the professional debut of the Royals' Jackie Robinson and the first time the color barrier had been broken in a game between two minor league clubs. Pitching against Robinson was Warren Sandel who had played against him when they both lived in California. During Robinson's first at bat, the Jersey City catcher, Dick Bouknight, demanded that Sandel throw at Robinson, but Sandel refused. Although Sandel induced Robinson to ground out at his first at bat, Robinson ended up with four hits in his five trips to the plate; his first hit was a three-run home run in the game's third inning. He also scored four runs, drove in three, and stole two bases in the Royals' 14–1 victory. Robinson proceeded to lead the International League that season with a .349 batting average and .985 fielding percentage, and he was named the league's Most Valuable Player. Although he often faced hostility while on road trips (the Royals were forced to cancel a Southern exhibition tour, for example), the Montreal fan base enthusiastically supported Robinson. Whether fans supported or opposed it, Robinson's presence on the field was a boon to attendance; more than one million people went to games involving Robinson in 1946, an astounding figure by International League standards. In the fall of 1946, following the baseball season, Robinson returned home to California and briefly played professional basketball for the short-lived Los Angeles Red Devils.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In 1947, the Dodgers called Robinson up to the major leagues six days before the start of the season. With Eddie Stanky entrenched at second base for the Dodgers, Robinson played his initial major league season as a first baseman. Robinson made his debut in a Dodgers uniform wearing number 42 on April 11, 1947, in a preseason exhibition game against the New York Yankees at Ebbets Field with 24,237 in attendance. On April 15, Robinson made his major league debut at the relatively advanced age of 28 at Ebbets Field before a crowd of 26,623 spectators, more than 14,000 of whom were black. Although he failed to get a base hit, he walked and scored a run in the Dodgers' 5–3 victory. Robinson became the first player since 1884 to openly break the major league baseball color line. Black fans began flocking to see the Dodgers when they came to town, abandoning their Negro league teams.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Robinson's promotion met a generally positive, although mixed, reception among newspapers and white major league players. However, racial tension existed in the Dodger clubhouse. Some Dodger players insinuated they would sit out rather than play alongside Robinson. The brewing mutiny ended when Dodgers management took a stand for Robinson. Manager Leo Durocher informed the team, "I do not care if the guy is yellow or black, or if he has stripes like a fuckin' zebra. I'm the manager of this team, and I say he plays. What's more, I say he can make us all rich. And if any of you cannot use the money, I will see that you are all traded."


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Robinson was also derided by opposing teams. According to a press report, the St. Louis Cardinals threatened to strike if Robinson played and spread the walkout across the entire National League. Existence of the plot was said to have been leaked by the Cardinals' team physician, Robert Hyland, to a friend, the "New York Herald Tribune"s Rutherford "Rud" Rennie. The reporter, concerned about protecting Hyland's anonymity and job, in turn leaked it to his "Tribune" colleague and editor, Stanley Woodward, whose own subsequent reporting with other sources protected Hyland. The Woodward article made national headlines. After it was published, National League President Ford Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended. "You will find that the friends that you think you have in the press box will not support you, that you will be outcasts," Frick was quoted as saying. "I do not care if half the league strikes. Those who do it will encounter quick retribution. All will be suspended and I don't care if it wrecks the National League for five years. This is the United States of America and one citizen has as much right to play as another." Woodward's article received the E. P. Dutton Award in 1947 for Best Sports Reporting. The Cardinals players denied that they were planning to strike, and Woodward later told author Roger Kahn that Frick was his true source; writer Warren Corbett said that Frick's speech "never happened". Regardless, the report led to Robinson receiving increased support from the sports media. Even "The Sporting News", a publication that had backed the color line, came out against the idea of a strike.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Robinson nonetheless became the target of rough physical play by opponents (particularly the Cardinals). At one time, he received a seven-inch gash in his leg from Enos Slaughter. On April 22, 1947, during a game between the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies players and manager Ben Chapman called Robinson a "nigger" from their dugout and yelled that he should "go back to the cotton fields". Rickey later recalled that Chapman "did more than anybody to unite the Dodgers. When he poured out that string of unconscionable abuse, he solidified and united thirty men."


title: Jackie Robinson

text: However, Robinson received significant encouragement from several major league players. Robinson named Lee "Jeep" Handley, who played for the Phillies at the time, as the first opposing player to wish him well. Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese once came to Robinson's defense with the famous line, "You can hate a man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." In 1947 or 1948, Reese is said to have put his arm around Robinson in response to fans who shouted racial slurs at Robinson before a game in Boston or Cincinnati. A statue by sculptor William Behrends, unveiled at KeySpan Park on November 1, 2005, depicts Reese with his arm around Robinson. Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg, who had to deal with ethnic epithets during his career, also encouraged Robinson. Following an incident where Greenberg collided with Robinson at first base, he "whispered a few words into Robinson's ear", which Robinson later characterized as "words of encouragement." Greenberg had advised him to overcome his critics by defeating them in games. Robinson also talked frequently with Larry Doby, who endured his own hardships since becoming the first black player in the American League with the Cleveland Indians, as the two spoke to one another via telephone throughout the season.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Robinson finished the season having played in 151 games for the Dodgers, with a batting average of .297, an on-base percentage of .383, and a .427 slugging percentage. He had 175 hits (scoring 125 runs) including 31 doubles, 5 triples, and 12 home runs, driving in 48 runs for the year. Robinson led the league in sacrifice hits, with 28, and in stolen bases, with 29. His cumulative performance earned him the inaugural Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (separate National and American League Rookie of the Year honors were not awarded until 1949).


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Following Stanky's trade to the Boston Braves in March 1948, Robinson took over second base, where he logged a .980 fielding percentage that year (second in the National League at the position, fractionally behind Stanky). Robinson had a batting average of .296 and 22 stolen bases for the season. In a 12–7 win against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 29, 1948, he hit for the cycle—a home run, a triple, a double, and a single in the same game. The Dodgers briefly moved into first place in the National League in late August 1948, but they ultimately finished third as the Braves went on to win the league title and lose to the Cleveland Indians in the World Series.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Racial pressure on Robinson eased in 1948 when a number of other black players entered the major leagues. Larry Doby (who broke the color barrier in the American League on July 5, 1947, just 11 weeks after Robinson) and Satchel Paige played for the Cleveland Indians, and the Dodgers had three other black players besides Robinson. In February 1948, he signed a $12,500 contract (equal to $ today) with the Dodgers; while a significant amount, this was less than Robinson made in the off-season from a vaudeville tour, where he answered pre-set baseball questions and a speaking tour of the South. Between the tours, he underwent surgery on his right ankle. Because of his off-season activities, Robinson reported to training camp overweight. He lost the weight during training camp, but dieting left him weak at the plate. In 1948, Wendell Smith's book, "Jackie Robinson: My Own Story", was released.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In the spring of 1949, Robinson turned to Hall of Famer George Sisler, working as an advisor to the Dodgers, for batting help. At Sisler's suggestion, Robinson spent hours at a batting tee, learning to hit the ball to right field. Sisler taught Robinson to anticipate a fastball, on the theory that it is easier to subsequently adjust to a slower curveball. Robinson also noted that "Sisler showed me how to stop lunging, how to check my swing until the last fraction of a second". The tutelage helped Robinson raise his batting average from .296 in 1948 to .342 in 1949. In addition to his improved batting average, Robinson stole 37 bases that season, was second place in the league for both doubles and triples, and registered 124 runs batted in with 122 runs scored. For the performance Robinson earned the Most Valuable Player Award for the National League. Baseball fans also voted Robinson as the starting second baseman for the 1949 All-Star Game—the first All-Star Game to include black players.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: That year, a song about Robinson by Buddy Johnson, "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?", reached number 13 on the charts; Count Basie recorded a famous version. Ultimately, the Dodgers won the National League pennant, but lost in five games to the New York Yankees in the 1949 World Series.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Summer 1949 brought an unwanted distraction for Robinson. In July, he was called to testify before the United States House of Representatives' Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) concerning statements made that April by black athlete and actor Paul Robeson. Robinson was reluctant to testify, but he eventually agreed to do so, fearing it might negatively affect his career if he declined.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In 1950, Robinson led the National League in double plays made by a second baseman with 133. His salary that year was the highest any Dodger had been paid to that point: $35,000 ($ in dollars). He finished the year with 99 runs scored, a .328 batting average, and 12 stolen bases. The year saw the release of a film biography of Robinson's life, "The Jackie Robinson Story", in which Robinson played himself, and actress Ruby Dee played Rachel "Rae" (Isum) Robinson. The project had been previously delayed when the film's producers refused to accede to demands of two Hollywood studios that the movie include scenes of Robinson being tutored in baseball by a white man. "The New York Times" wrote that Robinson, "doing that rare thing of playing himself in the picture's leading role, displays a calm assurance and composure that might be envied by many a Hollywood star."


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Robinson's Hollywood exploits, however, did not sit well with Dodgers co-owner Walter O'Malley, who referred to Robinson as "Rickey's prima donna". In late 1950, Rickey's contract as the Dodgers' team President expired. Weary of constant disagreements with O'Malley, and with no hope of being re-appointed as President of the Dodgers, Rickey cashed out his one-quarter financial interest in the team, leaving O'Malley in full control of the franchise. Rickey shortly thereafter became general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Robinson was disappointed at the turn of events and wrote a sympathetic letter to Rickey, whom he considered a father figure, stating, "Regardless of what happens to me in the future, it all can be placed on what you have done and, believe me, I appreciate it."


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Before the 1951 season, O'Malley reportedly offered Robinson the job of manager of the Montreal Royals, effective at the end of Robinson's playing career. O'Malley was quoted in the "Montreal Standard" as saying, "Jackie told me that he would be both delighted and honored to tackle this managerial post"—although reports differed as to whether a position was ever formally offered.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: During the 1951 season, Robinson led the National League in double plays made by a second baseman for the second year in a row, with 137. He also kept the Dodgers in contention for the 1951 pennant. During the last game of the regular season, in the 13th inning, he had a hit to tie the game and then hit a home run in the 14th inning, which proved to be the winning margin. This forced a best-of-three playoff series against the crosstown rival New York Giants.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Despite Robinson's regular-season heroics, on October 3, 1951, the Dodgers lost the pennant on Bobby Thomson's famous home run, known as the Shot Heard 'Round the World. Overcoming his dejection, Robinson dutifully observed Thomson's feet to ensure he touched all the bases. Dodgers sportscaster Vin Scully later noted that the incident showed "how much of a competitor Robinson was." He finished the season with 106 runs scored, a batting average of .335, and 25 stolen bases.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Robinson had what was an average year for him in 1952. He finished the year with 104 runs, a .308 batting average, and 24 stolen bases. He did, however, record a career-high on-base percentage of .436. The Dodgers improved on their performance from the year before, winning the National League pennant before losing the 1952 World Series to the New York Yankees in seven games. That year, on the television show "Youth Wants to Know", Robinson challenged the Yankees' general manager, George Weiss, on the racial record of his team, which had yet to sign a black player. Sportswriter Dick Young, whom Robinson had described as a "bigot", said, "If there was one flaw in Jackie, it was the common one. He believed that everything unpleasant that happened to him happened because of his blackness." The 1952 season was the last year Robinson was an everyday starter at second base. Afterward, Robinson played variously at first, second, and third bases, shortstop, and in the outfield, with Jim Gilliam, another black player, taking over everyday second base duties. Robinson's interests began to shift toward the prospect of managing a major league team. He had hoped to gain experience by managing in the Puerto Rican Winter League, but according to the "New York Post", Commissioner Happy Chandler denied the request.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In 1953, Robinson had 109 runs, a .329 batting average, and 17 steals, leading the Dodgers to another National League pennant (and another World Series loss to the Yankees, this time in six games). Robinson's continued success spawned a string of death threats. He was not dissuaded, however, from addressing racial issues publicly. That year, he served as editor for "Our Sports" magazine, a periodical focusing on Negro sports issues; contributions to the magazine included an article on golf course segregation by Robinson's old friend Joe Louis. Robinson also openly criticized segregated hotels and restaurants that served the Dodger organization; a number of these establishments integrated as a result, including the five-star Chase Park Hotel in St. Louis.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In 1954, Robinson had 62 runs scored, a .311 batting average, and 7 steals. His best day at the plate was on June 17, when he hit two home runs and two doubles. The following autumn, Robinson won his only championship when the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series. Although the team enjoyed ultimate success, 1955 was the worst year of Robinson's individual career. He hit .256 and stole only 12 bases. The Dodgers tried Robinson in the outfield and as a third baseman, both because of his diminishing abilities and because Gilliam was established at second base. Robinson, then 36 years old, missed 49 games and did not play in Game 7 of the World Series. Robinson missed the game because manager Walter Alston decided to play Gilliam at second and Don Hoak at third base. That season, the Dodgers' Don Newcombe became the first black major league pitcher to win twenty games in a year.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: In 1956, Robinson had 61 runs scored, a .275 batting average, and 12 steals. By then, he had begun to exhibit the effects of diabetes and to lose interest in the prospect of playing or managing professional baseball. Robinson ended his major league career when he struck out to end Game 7 of the 1956 World Series. After the season, the Dodgers traded Robinson to the arch-rival New York Giants for Dick Littlefield and $35,000 cash (equal to $ today). The trade, however, was never completed; unbeknownst to the Dodgers, Robinson had already agreed with the president of Chock full o'Nuts to quit baseball and become an executive with the company. Since Robinson had sold exclusive rights to any retirement story to "Look" magazine two years previously, his retirement decision was revealed through the magazine, instead of through the Dodgers organization.


title: Jackie Robinson

text: Robinson's major league debut brought an end to approximately sixty years of segregation in professional baseball, known as the baseball color line. After World War II, several other forces were also leading the country toward increased equality for blacks, including their accelerated migration to the North, where their political clout grew, and President Harry Truman's desegregation of the military in 1948. Robinson's breaking of the baseball color line and his professional success symbolized these broader changes and demonstrated that the fight for equality was more than simply a political matter. Civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr. said that he was "a legend and a symbol in his own time", and that he "challenged the dark skies of intolerance and frustration." According to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Robinson's "efforts were a monumental step in the civil-rights revolution in America ... [His] accomplishments allowed black and white Americans to be more respectful and open to one another and more appreciative of everyone's abilities."