title: Greta Garbo

text: In 1925, Garbo, who was unable to speak English, was brought to Hollywood from Sweden at the request of Mayer. In July, Garbo and Stiller arrived in New York after a 10-day crossing on . where they remained for more than six months with no word from MGM. They decided to travel to Los Angeles on their own but another five weeks passed without contact from the studio. On the verge of returning to Sweden, Garbo wrote her boyfriend back home, "You're quite right when you think I don't feel at home here ... Oh, you lovely little Sweden, I promise that when I return to you, my sad face will smile as never before."


title: Greta Garbo

text: A Swedish friend in Los Angeles helped by contacting MGM production boss Irving Thalberg, who agreed to give Garbo a screen test. According to author Frederick Sands, "the result of the test was electrifying. Thalberg was impressed and began grooming the young actress the following day, arranging to fix her teeth, making sure she lost weight and giving her English lessons."


title: Greta Garbo

text: During her rise to stardom, film historian Mark Vieira notes, "Thalberg decreed that henceforth, Garbo would play a young, but worldly wise, woman." However, according to Thalberg's actress wife, Norma Shearer, Garbo did not necessarily agree with his ideas:


title: Greta Garbo

text: Although she expected to work with Stiller on her first film, she was cast in "Torrent" (1926), an adaptation of a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, with director Monta Bell. She replaced Aileen Pringle, 10 years her senior, and played a peasant girl turned singer, opposite Ricardo Cortez. "Torrent" was a hit, and, despite its cool reception by the trade press, Garbo's performance was well received.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo's success in her first American film led Thalberg to cast her in a similar role in "The Temptress" (1926), based on another Ibáñez novel. In this, her second film, she played opposite the popular star Antonio Moreno but was given top billing. Her mentor Stiller, who had persuaded her to take the part, was assigned to direct. For both Garbo (who did not want to play another vamp and did not like the script any more than she did the first one) and Stiller, "The Temptress" was a harrowing experience. Stiller, who spoke little English, had difficulty adapting to the studio system and did not get on with Moreno, was fired by Thalberg and replaced by Fred Niblo. Re-shooting "The Temptress" was expensive, and even though it became one of the top-grossing films of the 1926–1927 season, it was the only Garbo film of the period to lose money. However, Garbo received rave reviews, and MGM had a new star.


title: Greta Garbo

text: After her lightning ascent, Garbo made eight more silent films, and all were hits. She starred in three of them with the leading man John Gilbert. About their first movie, "Flesh and the Devil" (1926), silent film expert Kevin Brownlow states that "she gave a more erotic performance than Hollywood had ever seen." Their on-screen chemistry soon translated into an off-camera romance, and by the end of the production, they began living together. The film also marked a turning point in Garbo's career. Vieira wrote: "Audiences were mesmerized by her beauty and titillated by her love scenes with Gilbert. She was a sensation."


title: Greta Garbo

text: Profits from her third movie with Gilbert, "A Woman of Affairs" (1928), catapulted her to top Metro star of the 1928–1929 box office season, usurping the long-reigned silent queen Lillian Gish. In 1929, reviewer Pierre de Rohan wrote in the "New York Telegraph": "She has glamour and fascination for both sexes which have never been equaled on the screen."


title: Greta Garbo

text: The impact of Garbo's acting and screen presence quickly established her reputation as one of Hollywood's greatest actresses. Film historian and critic David Denby argues that Garbo introduced a subtlety of expression to the art of silent acting and that its effect on audiences cannot be exaggerated. She "lowers her head to look calculating or flutters her lips," he says. "Her face darkens with a slight tightening around the eyes and mouth; she registers a passing idea with a contraction of her brows or a drooping of her lids. Worlds turned on her movements."


title: Greta Garbo

text: During this period, Garbo began to require unusual conditions during the shooting of her scenes. She prohibited visitors—including the studio brass—from her sets and demanded that black flats or screens surround her to prevent extras and technicians from watching her. When asked about these eccentric requirements, she said: "If I am by myself, my face will do things I cannot do with it otherwise."


title: Greta Garbo

text: Despite her status as a star of silent films, the studio feared that her Swedish accent might impair her work in sound, and delayed the shift for as long as possible. MGM itself was the last Hollywood studio to convert to sound, and Garbo's last silent film, "The Kiss" (1929), was also the studio's. Despite the fears, Garbo became one of the biggest box-office draws of the next decade.


title: Greta Garbo

text: In late 1929, MGM cast Garbo in "Anna Christie" (1930), a film adaptation of the 1922 play by Eugene O'Neill, her first speaking role. The screenplay was adapted by Frances Marion, and the film was produced by Irving Thalberg and Paul Bern. Sixteen minutes into the film, she famously utters her first line, "Gimme a whiskey, ginger ale on the side, and don't be stingy, baby." The film premiered in New York City on 21 February 1930, publicized with the catchphrase "Garbo talks!", and was the highest-grossing film of the year. Garbo received her first Academy Award for Best Actress nomination for her performance, although she lost to MGM colleague Norma Shearer. Her nomination that year included her performance in "Romance" (1930). After filming ended, Garbo—along with a different director and cast—filmed a German-language version of "Anna Christie" that was released in December 1930. The film's success certified Garbo's successful transition to talkies. In her follow-up film, "Romance", she portrayed an Italian opera star, opposite Lewis Stone. She was paired opposite Robert Montgomery in "Inspiration" (1931), and her profile was used to boost the career of the relatively unknown Clark Gable in "Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)" (1931). Although the films did not match Garbo's success with her sound debut, she was ranked as the most popular female star in the United States in 1930 and 1931.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo followed with two of her best-remembered roles. She played the World War I German spy in the lavish production of "Mata Hari" (1931), opposite Ramón Novarro. When the film was released, it "caused panic, with police reserves required to keep the waiting mob in order." The following year, she played a Russian ballerina in "Grand Hotel" (1932), opposite an ensemble cast, including John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, and Wallace Beery, among others. The film won that year's Academy Award for Best Picture. Both films were MGM's highest-earning films of 1931 and 1932, respectively, and Garbo was dubbed "the greatest money-making machine ever put on screen". Garbo's close friend Mercedes de Acosta then penned a screenplay for her to portray Joan of Arc, but MGM rebuffed the idea, and the project was shelved. By this time she had a fanatical worldwide following and the phenomenon of "Garbomania" reached its peak. After appearing in "As You Desire Me" (1932), the first of three films in which Garbo starred opposite Melvyn Douglas, her MGM contract expired, and she returned to Sweden.


title: Greta Garbo

text: After nearly a year of negotiations, Garbo agreed to renew her contract with MGM on the condition that she would star in "Queen Christina" (1933), and her salary would be increased to $300,000 per film. The film's screenplay had been written by Salka Viertel; although reluctant to make the movie, MGM relented at Garbo's insistence. For her leading man, MGM suggested Charles Boyer or Laurence Olivier, but Garbo rejected both, preferring her former co-star and lover John Gilbert. The studio balked at the idea of casting Gilbert, fearing his declining career would hurt the film's box-office, but Garbo prevailed. "Queen Christina" was a lavish production, becoming one of the studio's biggest productions at the time. Publicized as "Garbo returns", the film premiered in December 1933 to positive reviews and box-office triumph and became the highest-grossing film of the year. The movie, however, met with controversy upon its release; censors objected to the scenes in which Garbo disguised herself as a man and kissed a female co-star.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Although her domestic popularity was undiminished in the early 1930s, high profits for Garbo's films after "Queen Christina" depended on the foreign market for their success. The type of historical and melodramatic films she began to make on the advice of Viertel were highly successful abroad, but considerably less so in the United States. In the midst of the Great Depression, American screen audiences seemed to favor "home-grown" screen couples, such as Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. David O. Selznick wanted to cast Garbo as the dying heiress in "Dark Victory" (eventually released in 1939 with other leads), but she chose Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" (1935), in which she played another of her renowned roles. Her performance won her the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. The film was successful in international markets, and had better domestic rentals than MGM anticipated. Still, its profit was significantly diminished because of Garbo's exorbitant salary.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo selected George Cukor's romantic drama "Camille" (1936) as her next project. Thalberg cast her opposite Robert Taylor and former co-star, Lionel Barrymore. Cukor carefully crafted Garbo's portrayal of Marguerite Gautier, a lower-class woman, who becomes the world-renowned mistress Camille. Production was marred, however, by the sudden death of Thalberg, then only thirty-seven, which plunged the Hollywood studios into a "state of profound shock," writes David Bret. Garbo had grown close to Thalberg and his wife, Norma Shearer, and had often dropped by their house unannounced. Her grief for Thalberg, some believe, was more profound than for John Gilbert, who died earlier that same year. His death also added to the sombre mood required for the closing scenes of "Camille". When the film premiered in New York on 12 December 1936, it became an international success, Garbo's first major success in three years. She won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress for her performance, and she was nominated once more for an Academy Award. Garbo regarded "Camille" as her favorite out of all of her films.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo's follow-up project was Clarence Brown's lavish production of "Conquest" (1937), opposite Charles Boyer. The plot was the dramatized romance between Napoleon and Marie Walewska. It was MGM's biggest and most-publicized movie of its year, but upon its release, it became one of the studio's biggest failures of the decade at the box office. When her contract expired soon thereafter, she returned briefly to Sweden. On 3 May 1938, Garbo was among the many stars—including Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Luise Rainer, Katharine Hepburn, Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, Fred Astaire, and Dolores del Río, among others—dubbed to be "Box Office Poison" in an article published by Harry Brandt on behalf of the Independent Theatre Owners of America.


title: Greta Garbo

text: After the box-office failure of "Conquest", MGM decided a change of pace was needed to resurrect Garbo's career. For her next movie, the studio teamed her with producer-director Ernst Lubitsch to film "Ninotchka" (1939), her first comedy. The film was one of the first Hollywood movies which, under the cover of a satirical, light romance, depicted the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin as being rigid and gray when compared to Paris in its pre-war years. "Ninotchka" premiered in October 1939, publicized with the catchphrase "Garbo laughs!", commenting on the departure of Garbo's serious and melancholy image as she transferred to comedy. Favoured by critics and box-office success in the United States and abroad, it was banned in the Soviet Union.


title: Greta Garbo

text: With George Cukor's "Two-Faced Woman" (1941), MGM attempted to capitalize on Garbo's success in "Ninotchka" by re-teaming her with Melvyn Douglas in another romantic comedy which sought to transform her into a chic, modern woman. She played a "double" role that featured her dancing the rhumba, swimming, and skiing. The film was a critical failure, but, contrary to popular belief, it performed reasonably well at the box office. Garbo referred to the film as "my grave." "Two-Faced Woman" was her last film; she was thirty-six and had made 28 feature films in a span of 16 years.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Although Garbo was humiliated by the negative reviews of "Two-Faced Woman", she did not intend to retire at first. But her films depended on the European market, and when it fell through because of the war, finding a vehicle was problematic for MGM. Garbo signed a one-picture deal in 1942 to make "The Girl from Leningrad", but the project quickly dissolved. She still thought she would continue when the war was over, though she was ambivalent and indecisive about returning to the screen. Salka Viertel, Garbo's close friend and collaborator, said in 1945: "Greta is impatient to work. But on the other side, she's afraid of it." Garbo also worried about her age. "Time leaves traces on our small faces and bodies. It's not the same anymore, being able to pull it off." George Cukor, director of "Two-Faced Woman", and often blamed for its failure, said: "People often glibly say that the failure of "Two-Faced Woman" finished Garbo's career. That's a grotesque over-simplification. It certainly threw her, but I think that what really happened was that she just gave up. She didn't want to go on."


title: Greta Garbo

text: Still, Garbo signed a contract in 1948 with producer Walter Wanger, who had produced "Queen Christina", to shoot a picture based on Balzac's "La Duchesse de Langeais". Max Ophüls was slated to adapt and direct. She made several screen tests, learned the script, and arrived in Rome in the summer of 1949 to shoot the picture. However, the financing failed to materialize, and the project was abandoned. The screen tests—the last time Garbo stepped in front of a movie camera—were thought to have been lost for 41 years until they were re-discovered in 1990 by film historians Leonard Maltin and Jeanine Basinger. Parts of the footage were included in the 2005 TCM documentary "Garbo".


title: Greta Garbo

text: In 1949, she was offered the role of fictional silent-film star Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard", directed by "Ninotchka" co-writer Billy Wilder. However, after a meeting with film producer Charles Brackett, she insisted that she had no interest in the part whatsoever.


title: Greta Garbo

text: She was offered many roles both in the 1940s and throughout her retirement years but rejected all but a few of them. In the few instances when she did accept them, the slightest problem led her to drop out. Although she refused to talk to friends about her reasons for retiring throughout her life, four years before her death, she told Swedish biographer Sven Broman: "I was tired of Hollywood. I did not like my work. There were many days when I had to force myself to go to the studio ... I really wanted to live another life."


title: Greta Garbo

text: From the early days of her career, Garbo avoided industry social functions, preferring to spend her time alone or with friends. She never signed autographs or answered fan mail, and rarely gave interviews. Nor did she ever appear at Oscar ceremonies, even when she was nominated. Her aversion to publicity and the press was undeniably genuine, and exasperating to the studio at first. In an interview in 1928, she explained that her desire for privacy began when she was a child, stating, "As early as I can remember, I have wanted to be alone. I detest crowds, don't like many people."


title: Greta Garbo

text: Because Garbo was suspicious and mistrustful of the media, and often at odds with MGM executives, she spurned Hollywood's publicity rules. She was routinely referred to by the press as the "Swedish Sphinx". Her reticence and fear of strangers perpetuated the mystery and mystique she projected both on screen and in real life. MGM eventually capitalized on it, for it bolstered the image of the silent and reclusive woman of mystery. In spite of her strenuous efforts to avoid publicity, Garbo paradoxically became one of the twentieth century's most publicized women. She is closely associated with a line from "Grand Hotel", one which the American Film Institute in 2005 voted the 30th-most memorable movie quote of all time, "I want to be alone; I just want to be alone." The theme was a running gag in her movies that began during the silent period.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo has been credited with popularizing the "slouchy hat". Her look has been described as "trench coat, simple shoes, shirts, cigarette pants, slouchy hat and big sunglasses."


title: Greta Garbo

text: In retirement, Garbo generally led a private life of simplicity and leisure. She made no public appearances and assiduously avoided the publicity she loathed. Contrary to myth, from the beginning she had many friends and acquaintances with whom she socialized and later travelled.


title: Greta Garbo

text: She was often perplexed about what to do and how to spend her time ("drifting" was the word she frequently used), always struggling with her many eccentricities and her life-long melancholy and moodiness. As she approached her sixtieth birthday, she told a frequent walking companion, "In a few days, it will be the anniversary of the sorrow that never leaves me, that will never leave me for the rest of my life." She told another friend in 1971, "I suppose I suffer from very deep depression." One biographer claims that she could have been bipolar. "I am very happy one moment, the next there is nothing left for me", she said in 1933.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Beginning in the 1940s, she became an art collector. Although many paintings she bought were of negligible value, works by Renoir, Rouault, Kandinsky, Bonnard and Jawlensky made her art collection worth millions when she died in 1990.


title: Greta Garbo

text: On February 9, 1951, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States, and she bought a seven-room apartment at 450 East 52nd Street in Manhattan in 1953, where she lived for the rest of her life.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo was a dinner guest at the White House on November 13, 1963, just nine days before the assassination of President Kennedy. She spent the night at the Washington, D. C. home of philanthropist Florence Mahoney. Garbo's niece reported that Garbo had always spoken of it as a "magical evening."


title: Greta Garbo

text: Italian film director Luchino Visconti allegedly attempted to bring Garbo back to the screen in 1969 with the small part of Maria Sophia, Queen of Naples in his adaptation of Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past". He exclaimed: "I am very pleased with the idea that this woman, with her severe and authoritarian presence, should figure in the decadent and rarefied climate of the world described by Proust." Claims that Garbo was interested in the part cannot be substantiated.


title: Greta Garbo

text: In 1971, Garbo vacationed in Southern France at the summer home of her close friend Baroness Cécile de Rothschild who introduced her to Samuel Adams Green, an art collector and curator in New York City. Green became an important friend and walking companion. He was in the habit of tape-recording all of his telephone calls, including many of his conversations with Garbo. He did so with her permission, but Garbo ended the friendship in 1981 after being falsely told that Green had played the tapes to friends. In his last will and testament, Green bequeathed all of the tapes in 2011 to the film archives at Wesleyan University. The tapes reveal Garbo's personality in later life, her sense of humor, and various eccentricities.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Although she was increasingly withdrawn in her final years, Garbo became close to her cook and housekeeper Claire Koger, who worked for her for 31 years. "We were very close—like sisters," Koger said.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Throughout her life, Garbo was known for taking long daily walks with companions or by herself. In retirement, she walked the streets of New York City, dressed casually and wearing large sunglasses. "Garbo-watching" became a sport for photographers, the media, admirers, and curious New Yorkers, but she maintained her elusive mystique to the end.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo never married, had no children, and lived alone as an adult. Her most famous romance was with her frequent co-star John Gilbert, with whom she lived intermittently in 1926 and 1927. Soon after their romance began, Gilbert began helping her develop acting skills on the set and teaching her how to behave like a star, socialize at parties, and deal with studio bosses. They co-starred again in three more hits: "Love" (1927), "A Woman of Affairs" (1928), and "Queen Christina" (1933). Gilbert allegedly proposed to her numerous times, with Garbo agreeing, but backing out at the last minute. "I was in love with him," she said. "But I froze. I was afraid he would tell me what to do and boss me. I always wanted to be the boss." In later years, Garbo said of Gilbert, "I can't remember what I ever saw in him."


title: Greta Garbo

text: In 1937, Garbo met orchestra conductor Leopold Stokowski, with whom she had a highly publicized relationship while the pair traveled throughout Europe the following year; whether the relationship was platonic or romantic is uncertain. In his diary, Erich Maria Remarque discusses a liaison with Garbo in 1941, and in his memoir, Cecil Beaton described an affair with her in 1947 and 1948. In 1941, she met the Russian-born millionaire, George Schlee, who was introduced to her by his wife, fashion designer Valentina. Nicholas Turner, Garbo's close friend for 33 years, said that, after she bought an apartment in the same building, "Garbo moved in and took Schlee from Valentina right away." Schlee would divide his time between the two, becoming Garbo's close companion and advisor until his death in 1964.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Recent biographers and others have speculated that because it can be assumed she had intimate relationships with women as well as men, Garbo was bisexual, even "predominantly lesbian." In 1927, Garbo was introduced to stage and screen actress Lilyan Tashman, and they may have had an affair, according to some writers. Silent film star Louise Brooks stated that she and Garbo had a brief liaison the following year.


title: Greta Garbo

text: In 1931, Garbo befriended the writer and acknowledged lesbian Mercedes de Acosta, whom she met through Salka Viertel, and, according to Garbo's and de Acosta's biographers, began a sporadic and volatile romance.


title: Greta Garbo

text: The two remained friends—with ups and downs—for almost 30 years, during which time Garbo wrote de Acosta 181 letters, cards, and telegrams, now at the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia. Garbo's family, which controls her estate, has made only 87 of these items publicly available.


title: Greta Garbo

text: In 2005, Mimi Pollak's estate released 60 letters Garbo had written to her in their long correspondence. Several letters suggest she may have had romantic feelings for Pollak for many years. After learning of Pollak's pregnancy in 1930, for example, Garbo wrote: "We cannot help our nature, as God has created it. But I have always thought you and I belonged together." In 1975, she wrote a poem about not being able to touch the hand of her friend with whom she might have been walking through life.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo was successfully treated for breast cancer in 1984. Towards the end of her life, only Garbo's closest friends knew she was receiving six-hour dialysis treatments three times a week at The Rogosin Institute in New York Hospital. A photograph appeared in the media in early 1990, showing Koger assisting Garbo, who was walking with a cane, into the hospital.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo died on 15 April 1990, aged 84, in the hospital, as a result of pneumonia and renal failure. Daum later claimed that towards the end, she also suffered from gastrointestinal and periodontal ailments.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo was cremated in Manhattan, and her ashes were interred in 1999 at Skogskyrkogården Cemetery just south of her native Stockholm.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo made numerous investments, primarily in stocks and bonds, and left her entire estate of $32million () to her niece.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo was an international star during the late silent era and the "Golden Age" of Hollywood who became a screen icon. For most of her career, she was the highest-paid actor or actress at MGM, making her for many years its "premier prestige star." After her death, the Los Angeles Times published an obituary calling her "the most alluring, vibrant and yet aloof character to grace the motion-picture screen." The April 1990 "Washington Post" obituary said that "at the peak of her popularity, she was a virtual cult figure."


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo possessed a subtlety and naturalism in her acting that set her apart from other actors and actresses of the period. About her work in silents, film critic Ty Burr said: "This was a new kind of actor—not the stage actor who had to play to the far seats, but someone who could just look and with her eyes literally go from rage to sorrow in just a close-up."


title: Greta Garbo

text: Film historian Jeffrey Vance said that Garbo communicated her characters' innermost feelings through her movement, gestures, and, most importantly, her eyes. With the slightest movement of them, he argues, she subtly conveyed complex attitudes and feelings toward other characters and the truth of the situation. "She doesn't act," said "Camille" co-star Rex O'Malley, "she lives her roles." Director Clarence Brown, who made seven of Garbo's pictures, told an interviewer, "Garbo has something behind the eyes that you couldn't see until you photographed it in close-up. You could see thought. If she had to look at one person with jealousy, and another with love, she didn't have to change her expression. You could see it in her eyes as she looked from one to the other. And nobody else has been able to do that on screen." Director George Sidney adds: "You could call it underplaying, but in underplaying, she overplayed everyone else."


title: Greta Garbo

text: Many critics have said that few of Garbo's 24 Hollywood films are artistically exceptional, and that many are simply bad. It has been said, however, that her commanding and magnetic performances usually overcome the weaknesses of plot and dialogue. As one biographer put it, "All moviegoers demanded of a Garbo production was Greta Garbo."


title: Greta Garbo

text: Film historian Ephraim Katz: "Of all the stars who have ever fired the imaginations of audiences, none has quite projected a magnetism and a mystique equal to Garbo. ‘The Divine,’ the ‘dream princess of eternity,’ the ‘Sarah Bernhardt of films,’ are only a few of the superlatives writers used in describing her over the years ... She played heroines that were at once sensual and pure, superficial and profound, suffering and hopeful, world-weary and life-inspiring."


title: Greta Garbo

text: American film actress Bette Davis: "Her instinct, her mastery over the machine, was pure witchcraft. I cannot analyze this woman's acting. I only know that no one else so effectively worked in front of a camera."


title: Greta Garbo

text: Mexican film actress Dolores del Río: "The most extraordinary woman (in art) that I have encountered in my life. It was as if she had diamonds in her bones and in her interior light struggled to come out through the pores of her skin."


title: Greta Garbo

text: American film director George Cukor: "She had a talent that few actresses or actors possess. In close-ups, she gave the impression, the illusion of great movement. She would move her head just a little bit, and the whole screen would come alive, like a strong breeze that made itself felt."


title: Greta Garbo

text: American film actor Gregory Peck: "If you ask me my favorite actress of all time, I will tell you that it is Greta Garbo. She shared her emotions with the camera and the audience. They were very truthful emotions. To my mind, she was an early practitioner of the Method. She felt everything she did and had the intelligence to go with it. . . . And that is the key for the audience. If they believe it, then they’ve spent a couple of good hours at the cinema."


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo is the subject of several documentaries, including four made in the United States between 1990 and 2005 and one made for the BBC in 1969:


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo has been memorialized in art and literature both during and after her life. Garbo was one of the subjects of French composer Charles Koechlin's "Seven Stars Symphony" (1933), which consisted of seven movements, each dedicated to a Hollywood star.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Author Ernest Hemingway provided an imaginary portrayal of Garbo in his novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1940): "Maybe it is like the dreams you have when someone you have seen in the cinema comes to your bed at night and is so kind and lovely ... He could remember Garbo still ... Maybe it was like those dreams the night before the attack on Pozoblanco, and [Garbo] was wearing a soft silky wool sweater when he put his arms around her, and when she leaned forward, and her hair swept forward and over his face, and she said why had he never told her that he loved her when she had loved him all this time? ... and it was as true as though it had happened ..."


title: Greta Garbo

text: She was portrayed by Betty Comden in the film "Garbo Talks" (1984). The film concerns a dying Garbo fan (Anne Bancroft) whose last wish is to meet her idol. Her son (played by Ron Silver) sets about trying to get Garbo to visit his mother at the hospital.


title: Greta Garbo

text: A statue of Greta Garbo titled "Statue of Integrity" by Jón Leifsson sits isolated deep in the forest in Härjedalen.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo is mentioned in the song "Break My Soul" by Beyoncé and Madonna, along with a number of other famous singers and actresses. Garbo is also mentioned in the 1977 song "Right Before Your Eyes" by Ian Thomas that was also recorded by pop group America in 1982.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1930, a performer could receive a single nomination for their work in more than one film. Garbo received her nomination for her work in both "Anna Christie" and for "Romance".


title: Greta Garbo

text: She lost out to Irving Thalberg's wife, Norma Shearer, who won for "The Divorcee". In 1937, Garbo was nominated for "Camille", but Luise Rainer won for "The Good Earth". Finally, in 1939, Garbo was nominated for "Ninotchka", but again came away empty-handed. "Gone With the Wind" swept the major awards, including Best Actress, which went to Vivien Leigh. In 1954, however, she was awarded an Academy Honorary Award "for her luminous and unforgettable screen performances". Predictably, Garbo did not show up at the ceremony, and the statuette was mailed to her home address.


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo twice received the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress: for "Anna Karenina" in 1935, and for "Camille" in 1936. She won the National Board of Review Best Acting Award for "Camille" in 1936; for "Ninotchka" in 1939; and for "Two-Faced Woman" in 1941. The Swedish royal medal Litteris et Artibus, which is awarded to people who have made important contributions to culture (especially music, dramatic art, or literature) was presented to Garbo in January 1937. In a 1950 "Daily Variety" opinion poll, Garbo was voted "Best Actress of the Half Century", In 1957, she was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film.


title: Greta Garbo

text: In November 1983, she was made a Commander of the Swedish Order of the Polar Star by order of King Carl XVI Gustaf, the King of Sweden. In 1985, she was awarded the Illis quorum by the government of Sweden. In 1985, a star was nicknamed after her. For her contributions to cinema, in 1960, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard.


title: Greta Garbo

text: She was once designated the most beautiful woman who ever lived by the "Guinness Book of World Records".


title: Greta Garbo

text: Garbo appears on a number of postage stamps, and in September 2005, the United States Postal Service and Swedish Posten jointly issued two commemorative stamps bearing her image.


title: Greta Garbo

text: On 6 April 2011, Sveriges Riksbank announced that Garbo's portrait was to be featured on the 100-krona banknote, beginning in 2014–2015.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan pitched for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers. After his retirement in 1993, Ryan served as chief executive officer (CEO) of the Texas Rangers and an executive advisor to the Houston Astros. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, and is widely considered to be one of the best MLB pitchers of all time.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan was a right-handed pitcher who consistently threw pitches that were clocked above 100 miles per hour (161 km/h). He maintained this velocity throughout his pitching career. Ryan was also known to throw a devastating 12–6 curveball at exceptional velocity for a breaking ball.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan had a lifetime win–loss record of 324–292 (.526) and was an eight-time All-Star. He has 5,714 career strikeouts, an MLB record that is 839 more than runner-up Randy Johnson. Similarly, Ryan's 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962 – walking over 50% more hitters than any other pitcher in MLB history. Ryan's lifetime batting average against of .204 is also a major league record. Ryan, Pedro Martínez, Randy Johnson, Trevor Hoffman, and Sandy Koufax are the only five pitchers inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts than innings pitched. Ryan is one of only three players in history to have his number retired by at least three teams, along with Jackie Robinson (whose number was retired by Major League Baseball) and Frank Robinson.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan is the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for the most one-hitters, with 12. Ryan also pitched 18 two-hitters. Despite this, he never pitched a perfect game, nor did he ever win a Cy Young Award. Ryan is one of only 29 players in baseball history to have appeared in MLB games in four different decades.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Nolan Ryan was born on January 31, 1947, in Refugio, Texas, a small town located just south of Victoria in the southern part of the state. Ryan was the youngest of six children born to Martha Lee ("née" Hancock; 1913–1990) and Lynn Nolan Ryan Sr. (1907–1970). The senior Ryan operated a newspaper delivery service for the "Houston Post" that required him to rise in the early morning hours to prepare 1,500 newspapers for delivery over a 55-mile route. The children were expected to help with the daily tasks. Ryan's family lived in nearby Woodsboro, Texas in Refugio County, until they moved to Alvin, Texas in Brazoria County, when Nolan was six weeks old. As a young boy, Nolan enjoyed throwing objects at any target. His father thought baseball a better usage for his arm; therefore, he encouraged Nolan to play the game.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan joined Alvin Little League Baseball when he was nine, made the all-star team when he was 11 and 12, and pitched the first no-hitter of his life a few years later. Ryan also played various positions besides pitcher.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In junior high school, Ryan could throw a softball over 100 yards. After ninth grade, Ryan quit playing football after a tackle and fumble caused by future NFL running back Norm Bulaich made him decide to focus on baseball.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan played baseball for Coach Jim Watson at Alvin High School for all of his high school career. Ryan held the school's single game strikeout record for 44 years, striking out 21 hitters in a 7-inning game. The record was eventually tied by Alvin High School pitchers Aaron Stewart and Josh Land in the same week in 2009.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In 1963, at an Alvin High School game at Clear Creek High School in League City, Texas, Red Murff, a scout for the New York Mets, first noticed sophomore pitcher Ryan. Coach Watson recounted to Murff that some opponents refused to bat against Ryan and how his hard pitches would sometimes break bones in his catchers' hands. In his subsequent report to the Mets, Murff stated that Ryan had "the best arm I've seen in my life." The Mets later drafted Ryan.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: As a senior in 1965, Ryan had a 19–3 record and led the Alvin Yellow Jackets to the Texas high school state finals. Ryan pitched in 27 games, with 20 starts. He had 12 complete games, with 211 strikeouts and 61 walks.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In 1965, after graduating from Alvin, Ryan was drafted by the New York Mets in the 12th round of the 1965 Major League Baseball draft, with the 295th overall pick.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan signed with the Mets and immediately pitched for the Marion Mets in the Appalachian League and for the Mets team in the Florida Instructional League. Overall, he was 6–9 in 1965 with a 4.33 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 120 innings.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In 1966, Ryan pitched for the Class A Greenville Mets of the Western Carolinas League, where he went 17–2 with a 2.51 ERA and 272 strikeouts in 183 innings. He was then promoted to the Class AA Williamsport Mets of the Eastern League, where he was 0–2 with a 0.95 ERA, striking out 35 batters in 19 innings. Overall, Ryan had 307 strikeouts in 202 minor league innings in 1966, earning a late-season call-up to the New York Mets.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In 1967, Ryan pitched three games in relief for the Class AAA Jacksonville Suns, started one game for the Class A Winter Haven Mets and pitched eight games for the Mets team in the Florida Instructional League. In 34 total innings, Ryan had 54 strikeouts in 1967.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: When Ryan was called up by the New York Mets in 1966, he was the second-youngest player in the league. Playing in only two games, his first strikeout was Pat Jarvis, and he gave up his first major league home run to Joe Torre.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan missed much of the 1967 season due to illness, an arm injury, and service with the Army Reserve; he pitched only seven innings for the Mets' minor league affiliate in Jacksonville. In the 1968 season, Ryan returned to the major leagues, where he stayed until his retirement in 1993. Ryan was unable to crack the Mets' pitching rotation, led by Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman. Ryan was used more as a reliever and spot starter by the 1969 Mets. To deal with frequent blisters on his throwing hand he often soaked his fingers in pickle brine, although the technique's effectiveness was questioned by Ryan's teammates and coaches.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan pitched well for the Mets in the 1969 postseason. Against the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS, Ryan completed a Mets sweep by throwing seven innings of relief in Game 3, getting his first playoff win (it took him 12 years to get another). Then in the 1969 World Series, Ryan saved Game 3, pitching shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles. The Game 3 victory gave the Mets a 2–1 lead in the Series, which they went on to win in five games. It was Ryan's only World Series appearance in his career.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: On April 18, 1970, Ryan tied a Mets record by striking out 15 batters in one game. Four days later, Ryan's teammate Seaver topped it with a then-MLB record 19 against the San Diego Padres (though Ryan tied this record four years later). Ryan has credited his time with Seaver and the Mets with turning him from just a flamethrower into a pitcher.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan's performance declined sharply in the second half of his final season with the Mets. His earned run average for the first half of the 1971 season was 2.24; in the second half, it was 7.74. , this was the steepest second half increase in ERA for a starting pitcher in MLB history.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan did not want to be traded from the Mets, and when it happened he felt betrayed by the team that drafted him. His views on this calmed only once he started running the Rangers and gained a better understanding of the business side of baseball.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In five seasons with the Mets, 105 games and 74 starts, Ryan had a 29–38 record, with a 3.58 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, with 344 walks and 493 strikeouts in 511 innings.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: On December 10, 1971, the 25-year-old Ryan was traded to the California Angels along with pitcher Don Rose, catcher Francisco Estrada, and outfielder Leroy Stanton for shortstop Jim Fregosi (who later managed Ryan in Anaheim). The deal has been cited as one of the worst in Mets history but was not viewed as unreasonable at the time given Ryan's relatively unremarkable numbers as a Met and Fregosi's good career to that point.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In his first season with the Angels, Ryan was given a chance to pitch regularly as a starter for the first time in his career, mainly because by then he had fulfilled his military obligation and no longer had to commute to Houston every other week. He had a league-leading 329 strikeouts—nearly a third more than the AL runner-up, and to that point, the fourth-highest total of the 20th century. Within five seasons, the season was only Ryan's fourth-highest strikeout total. He also set a still-standing Major League record by allowing only 5.26 hits per nine innings, breaking Luis Tiant's 5.30 in 1968, as well as posting a 2.28 earned run average that year, to date the second-lowest in franchise history, trailing only Dean Chance's 1.65 in 1964. Though Ryan's actual winning percentage hovered only slightly over .500, his strikeouts and no-hitters brought him media attention. Meanwhile, Fregosi failed to produce as a Met, making no significant contribution to the Mets' 1973 pennant-winning campaign; he was sold to the Texas Rangers mid-season.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Although the Angels were a sub-.500 team and remained one for much of his time there, Ryan managed to post some winning records, notably 19–16 in 1972, 21–16 in 1973 and 22–16 in 1974 (the 22 wins tied what remains the Angels franchise record, set by Clyde Wright in 1970). He finished 2nd in the Cy Young balloting (losing to Jim Palmer 88–62) in 1973. It was the closest he ever came in the Cy Young balloting. Ryan also led the league in losses in 1976 with a 17–18 record (one short of the franchise record for losses). In the early 1970s, many teams used a four-man rotation and expected the starter to complete the game; thus most games Ryan started ended in a decision.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: On July 9, 1972, Ryan struck out three batters on nine pitches in the second inning of a 3–0 win over the Boston Red Sox; he became the seventh American League pitcher to accomplish the immaculate inning, and the first pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the feat in both leagues. (On April 19, 1968, he had struck out three batters on nine pitches in the second inning of a 2–1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, becoming the eighth National League pitcher and the 14th pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the feat.)


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In 1973, Ryan set his first major record when he struck out 383 batters in one season, beating Sandy Koufax's old mark by one. Remarking on this feat, Koufax joked, "Yeah, and he also surpassed my total for bases on balls in a single season by 91. I suspect half of those guys he struck out swung rather than get hit." Ryan threw two no-hitters in 1973. In the second one, on July 15 against the Detroit Tigers, he struck out 17 batters – the most in a recorded no-hitter. (This record was later tied by Max Scherzer on October 3, 2015.) Ryan was so dominant in this game, it led to one of baseball's best-remembered pranks. Tigers first baseman and cleanup hitter Norm Cash came to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, having already struck out twice, and was carrying a clubhouse table leg instead of a bat. Plate umpire Ron Luciano ordered Cash to go back and get a regulation bat, to which Cash replied, "Why? I won't hit him anyway!" With a regulation bat in hand, Cash did finally make contact, but popped out to end the game. Cash's teammate Mickey Stanley commented on facing Ryan that day by saying, "Those were the best pitches I ever heard."


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Pitching 13 innings against the Boston Red Sox on June 14, 1974, Ryan threw 235 pitches, striking out 19, walking 10 and getting a no-decision.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: During a September 7, 1974 game against the Chicago White Sox at Anaheim Stadium, Ryan became the first Major League pitcher to have his pitch speed measured during a game. A primitive radar gun clocked a ninth-inning fastball at when it was in front of home plate. This exceeded an earlier pitch by Bob Feller which was measured at at home plate and previously thought to be the fastest pitch ever recorded.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan added a third no-hitter in 1974 and a fourth in 1975, tying another of Koufax's records. In 1974 he twice struck out 19 batters, tying Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton for the single-game record for a nine-inning game. Roger Clemens became the first pitcher with a 20-strikeout game in 1986.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: The California Angels finally made the playoffs in Ryan's eighth and final year there in 1979. He started Game 1 of the ALCS and threw seven innings against the Orioles' Jim Palmer, but neither man was involved in the decision as Baltimore won in the 10th inning. Ryan was scheduled to pitch Game 5, but the Angels were eliminated in four. The season complete, Ryan became a free agent.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan led the American League in strikeouts seven times during his eight seasons with the Angels, but he also led the league in walks in six of those years, and finished second the other two seasons: 1975 and 1979. Aside from Bob Feller in 1938, Ryan is the only man since 1900 to walk 200 batters in a season, which he did twice: in 1974 and 1977. Emblematic of this, his 1974 no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins included eight walks.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Though Ryan's strikeouts and no-hitters got him considerable media attention, he did not win over Angels general manager Buzzie Bavasi, who dismissed him as a flashy .500 pitcher (Ryan was 26–27 in the last two years he was with the Angels).


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In his eight seasons with the Angels, Ryan was 138–121, a 3.07 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, with 1,302 walks and 2,416 strikeouts in 2181 innings over 288 starts and 156 complete games.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: On November 19, 1979, Nolan Ryan became the first million-dollar player when he signed a four-year free-agent contract with the Houston Astros for $4.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ). The salary quadrupled what he had been making with the California Angels. The normally light-hitting Ryan got his Houston years started with a bang in a nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 12, 1980, when he hit a three-run home run off Don Sutton. It was the first of two homers in Ryan's career and produced half of the six RBIs he got that year. On July 4 of that season, at Riverfront Stadium, Ryan recorded his 3,000th career strikeout, the victim being César Gerónimo of the Cincinnati Reds (Gerónimo had also been Bob Gibson's 3,000th strikeout victim, in 1974). Ryan got his third taste of postseason play in 1980, but the Astros were stopped one game short of the World Series.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In the 1980 NLCS versus the Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan pitched well in Game 2, leaving the game tied 2–2 in the seventh (having contributed to both Astros runs with a run scored following a walk, and a sacrifice bunt leading to a run) but again got a no-decision in a game that went extra innings. In the fifth and final game of the series, Ryan and the Astros held a 5–2 lead entering the 8th inning. But Ryan allowed three consecutive singles before walking in the third run. The Houston bullpen allowed the Phillies to take a 7–5 lead, and only a game-tying Astro rally permitted Ryan to escape the loss.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: On September 26, 1981, Ryan threw his fifth no-hitter, breaking Koufax's mark while becoming the third pitcher to throw a no-hitter in each league. That season, his 1.69 ERA won the National League ERA title.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1981 NLDS, Ryan threw a complete game 2-hitter in the opener, outlasting the Dodgers' rookie sensation Fernando Valenzuela. It was Ryan's second and last career postseason win. In the fifth and final game of the series, Ryan left trailing 3–0 and took the loss.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: By the end of the 1982 season, both Ryan and Steve Carlton were approaching Walter Johnson's all-time strikeout record, sometimes passing one another's career totals in successive starts. On April 27, 1983, Ryan won the race with his 3,509th whiff, against Brad Mills of the Montreal Expos. (Carlton reached the same mark two weeks after Ryan, and Gaylord Perry did so later that season.) On July 11, 1985, Ryan struck out Danny Heep for his 4,000th career strikeout.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In 1986, Ryan's Astros faced the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series. Ryan had a shaky start in Game 2, taking the loss. He returned in Game 5, throwing 9 innings of 2-hit, 1-run, 12-strikeout ball, but one of those hits was a Darryl Strawberry home run which tied the game at 1, as Dwight Gooden matched Ryan pitch for pitch. Ryan got a no-decision as his Astros lost in 12 innings.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In 1987, Ryan led the major leagues in both ERA (2.76) and strikeouts (270) at the age of 40, but finished 8–16 as the result of extremely poor run support; the Astros scored a total of 27 runs in his 16 losses–an average of 1.69 runs per game. Despite his .333 winning percentage, Ryan tied for 5th place in the 1987 Cy Young voting. Ryan hit his second and final career home run in a 12–3 win on May 1, 1987, against the Atlanta Braves.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In nine seasons as a pitcher with the Astros, Ryan compiled a 106–94 record in 282 starts, a 3.13 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, with 796 walks and 1,866 strikeouts in 1,854 innings.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan left Houston after a contract dispute following the 1988 season and signed with the Texas Rangers at age 42. He became the first player to play for all four MLB original expansion teams: the Mets, Angels, Houston Colt .45s/ Astros and Washington Senators/Texas Rangers. (Ryan was joined in this category by Darren Oliver, who made his major league debut as Ryan's teammate in September 1993. Oliver's father Bob had also been a teammate of Ryan's, with the Angels from 1972 to 1974.) In 1989, he went 16–10 and led the league with 301 strikeouts. Against the Oakland Athletics on August 22, Ryan struck out Rickey Henderson to become the only pitcher to record 5,000 career strikeouts. Following the game, Henderson was quoted as saying, "If he ain't struck you out, then you ain't nobody." His 4,999th and 5,001st strikeouts were against the same man, Athletics catcher Ron Hassey. Two years later, at 44, Ryan finished fifth in the league in ERA (2.91) and third in strikeouts (203).


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In 1990, Ryan threw his sixth no-hitter on June 11 against the Athletics, and earned his 300th win on July 31 against the Milwaukee Brewers. On May 1, 1991, at age 44, Ryan extended his record by throwing the seventh no-hitter of his career, striking out Roberto Alomar of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final out. On August 6, 1992, Ryan had the only ejection of his career when he was ejected after engaging in a shouting match with Oakland Athletics outfielder Willie Wilson with two outs in the eighth inning.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Before the 1993 season began, Ryan announced that he would retire as a player at the end of that season. On August 4, just before the end, Ryan had yet another high-profile moment—this time an on-the-mound fight. After Ryan hit Robin Ventura of the Chicago White Sox with a pitch, Ventura charged the mound in order to fight Ryan, who was 20 years his senior. Ryan secured the 26-year-old Ventura in a headlock with his left arm, while pummeling Ventura's head with his right fist six times before catcher Iván Rodríguez was able to pull Ventura away from Ryan. Ryan stated afterwards it was the same maneuver he used on steers he had to brand on his Texas ranch. Videos of the incident were played that evening throughout the country. While Ventura was ejected, Ryan–who had barely moved from his spot on the mound in the fracas–was allowed to remain in the game. White Sox manager Gene Lamont vehemently argued this, leading to his own ejection. Ryan pitched a hitless ball game the rest of the way. He had been determined to be more aggressive after coming out on the wrong side of an altercation with Dave Winfield in 1980.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan's arm gave out in Seattle on September 22, 1993, when he tore a ligament. The injury ended his career two starts earlier than planned, at age 46. Ryan briefly attempted to pitch past the injury, and he threw one additional pitch after tearing his ligament. With his injured arm, his final pitch was measured at . Ryan's last start was his career-worst; he allowed a single, four walks, and a grand slam in the top of the first without recording an out. It was his record-setting 10th grand slam given up of his career. (Ryan left trailing 5–0, and the fourth walk was completed by a reliever after Ryan's injury, but credited to Ryan.) Greg Myers of the California Angels was the last strikeout victim of Nolan Ryan's career, on September 17, 1993.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan finished his career having played in a major league record 27 seasons. He was the final active player from the 1960s to retire from Major League Baseball, outlasting Carlton Fisk (the final active position player) by three months.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In five seasons with the Rangers, Ryan had a 51–39 record, a 3.43 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, with 353 walks and 939 strikeouts in 840 innings over 129 starts.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan threw a record seven no-hitters during his major league career, three more than any other pitcher. The no-hitters spanned three decades of pitching. In those seven games, Ryan accumulated a total of 94 strikeouts and 26 walks; a ratio of 3.6 strikeouts per walk (his career K:BB was 2.0). Ryan struck out 17 in his no-hitter on July 15, 1973, versus Detroit and walked eight in his subsequent no-hitter against Minnesota, both respective highs for his no-hitters.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Nolan Ryan's post-retirement business interests include principal owner of Ryan Sanders Sports and Entertainment, which is the ownership group for the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A Affiliate of the Texas Rangers, among other businesses.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the 2005 World Series between the Astros and the White Sox, the first World Series game played in Texas. That game went 14 innings, equaling the longest in innings in World Series history (at 5:41, it was the longest in time). ESPN wryly suggested the Astros might have needed to pull the 58-year-old Ryan out of retirement if the game had gone much longer.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan has co-written six books: autobiographies "Miracle Man" (with Jerry Jenkins, 1992), "Throwing Heat" (with Harvey Frommer, 1988) and "The Road to Cooperstown" (with Mickey Herskowitz and T.R. Sullivan, 1999); "Kings of the Hill" (with Mickey Herskowitz, 1992), about contemporary pitchers; and instructional books "Pitching and Hitting" (with Joe Torre and Joel Cohen, 1977), and "Nolan Ryan's Pitcher's Bible" (with Tom House, 1991).


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In addition to his baseball activities, Ryan was majority owner and chairman of Express Bank of Alvin but sold his interest in 2005. He also owned a restaurant in Three Rivers, Texas. He served on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission from 1995 to 2001. He appeared as a TV spokesman for Advil for several years, promoting the pain medication he recommended for his own arm. He also has appeared in various television commercials shown in the Texas market.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: After retiring from baseball, Ryan teamed up with the federal government to promote physical fitness. His likeness was used in the "Nolan Ryan Fitness Guide", published by The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in 1994. Ryan suffered a heart attack on April 25, 2000, and had to receive a double coronary bypass.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In February 2008, the Rangers hired Ryan as team president. After the 2009 season, Ryan and Chuck Greenberg submitted a bid to purchase the Rangers from owner Tom Hicks. At midnight on August 5, 2010, the Ryan/Greenberg group, Rangers Baseball Express, was announced as the winners of the final auction to purchase the Rangers, after final approval from Major League Baseball. The final cash bid to purchase the franchise was $385 million. The opposing high bidder was Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Greenberg became managing general partner and CEO, while Ryan remained as team president.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Greenberg left the group in March 2011, reportedly due to a philosophical clash with Ryan. Ryan was immediately named as CEO while keeping the title of president. Although Texas oil magnates Ray Davis and Bob Simpson served as co-chairmen and held larger stakes, Ryan became the undisputed head of the franchise, with Davis and Simpson serving mostly as senior consultants.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan was named the Dallas–Fort Worth's 2012 CEO of the Year by Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: During the baseball owners' meetings in Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 1, 2013, the Rangers announced that general manager Jon Daniels would add president of baseball operations to his title. Rick George was promoted to president of business operations. Ryan's title was changed simply to CEO, but he remained operating head of the franchise; both Daniels and George reported to him. On October 17, 2013, Ryan announced that he was stepping down as Rangers CEO effective October 31, 2013.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: On February 11, 2014, Ryan accepted a position as an executive adviser for the Houston Astros under owner Jim Crane. Ryan's son, Reid Ryan, was hired the previous year as president of business operations for the Astros. The Astros won the 2017 World Series and won the 2019 American League pennant. Reid Ryan was demoted by the Astros after the 2019 World Series, and shortly thereafter Nolan Ryan sent a text message to a reporter indicating that he would not return to the Astros front office for the 2020 season.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan played in more seasons (27) than any other player in modern (since 1900) major league history (All-time he is tied with Cap Anson for #1). Ryan ranks first all-time in strikeouts (5,714), fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.56), and no-hitters (7). He is also fifth in innings pitched (5,386), second in games started (773), seventh in shutouts (61), is tied for 14th in wins (324), and is third in losses (292). Opposing hitters hit only .204 against Ryan during his career, although they had a .309 on-base percentage against him. He also limited hitters to a .298 slugging percentage. Ryan had 15 or more strikeouts in a game 26 times, second only to Randy Johnson, who had 28. Ryan's lengthy career spanned generations as he struck out seven pairs of fathers and sons (for example, Bobby Bonds and Barry Bonds), another major league record. Ryan also played during the administrations of seven U.S. Presidents—Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton—equaling a 20th-century record that had been set by Jim Kaat.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan also ranks high on the list for four "negative" records; he ranks first all-time in walks allowed (2,795), first in wild pitches (277), third in losses (292 – most in the post-1920 live-ball era), and ninth in hit batters (158). Ryan was the first pitcher in MLB history to give up ten grand slam home runs, including one to Dann Howitt, the next-to-last batter Ryan faced in his career; he has since been surpassed.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Bill James focuses on this dichotomy between Ryan's positive and negative statistics. While ranking him as the 24th best pitcher of all time, he notes, "Ryan has been retired almost ten years [in 2001], in another ten perhaps we will begin to get a little bit of perspective on him. Ryan's log of spectacular accomplishments is as thick as Bill Clinton's little black book; his list of flaws and failures is lengthy but dry, and will never make for good reading."


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Other writers have delved more into the specifics of James' general concerns. ESPN writer Rob Neyer stated in a 2003 column that while Ryan was among the 20 best pitchers since World War II, he "often had trouble throwing strikes, [and] he wasn't any good at fielding his position". In another column, Neyer, while stating that Ryan belonged in the Hall of Fame, pointed to Ryan's record-breaking walks total and noted that his .309 on-base percentage against "wasn't even close to being in the top 100".


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan and Frank Robinson are the only two major league players to have their number retired by three teams on which they played. The California Angels retired the number 30 on June 16, 1992; the Texas Rangers retired his number 34 on September 15, 1996; and the Houston Astros retired number 34 on September 29, 1996. His number was the first retired by the Rangers.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 in his first year of eligibility with 98.79% of the vote (491 out of 497 possible), six votes short of a unanimous election and the fifth-highest percentage in history, behind Mariano Rivera (100%, 425 out of 425 possible), Derek Jeter (99.75%, 396 out of 397 possible), Ken Griffey Jr. (99.32%, 437 out of 440 possible), and Tom Seaver (98.84%, 425 out of 430 possible). He chose to wear a Rangers cap for his HOF plaque to reflect his Texas heritage, as well as the fact that his 300th win, 5000th strikeout, and last two no-hitters came as a Ranger. He was the first Hall of Famer inducted as a Ranger. However, the Hall of Fame recognizes the Los Angeles Angels as his primary team. That year, he ranked 41st on "The Sporting News" list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2003, and named the Rangers', and Astros' Hometown Hero in 2006—the only player to be so named by two franchises. In 2011, he was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In 1992, the United States Mint produced a $1 commemorative coin honoring Olympic baseball depicting a pitcher in a USA Baseball uniform, but in a pose nearly identical to Ryan's photo on his 1991 Fleer baseball card. The numismatic community subsequently referred to the coin as the "Nolan Ryan dollar."


title: Nolan Ryan

text: In 1995 the Texas State Legislature declared State Highway 288, which passes near Alvin, as the Nolan Ryan Expressway.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: The Alvin Independent School District opened Nolan Ryan Junior High School, located at 11500 Shadow Creek Parkway (FM 2234) in Pearland, Texas, just a few hundred yards away from the Nolan Ryan Expressway.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: The Nolan Ryan Foundation is a Texas nonprofit organization that supports youth, education, and community development and is headquartered in Round Rock, Texas.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan married his high school sweetheart, the former Ruth Holdorff, on June 25, 1967. Nolan and Ruth attended Alvin High School together. Ruth was a high school state tennis champion. They have three children: Reid, Reese, and Wendy. Reid and Reese were both pitchers for the TCU Horned Frogs. Reid also pitched briefly in the minor leagues. On May 17, 2013, Reid was announced as president of the Houston Astros.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Nolan frequently pitched in the off-seasons, with Ruth often donning catching gear and serving as his catcher. Ruth Ryan also coached their sons' little league teams for a few summers.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: Ryan wrote in his 1992 autobiography "Miracle Man" that he voted for Jimmy Carter over Gerald R. Ford Jr. in 1976, but since then has generally identified as a Republican, though he does not automatically vote this way and looks at individual candidates, mentioning disgust at one particular election in which the two major parties were forcing a choice between "the racist or the criminal." He also crossed party lines in 2002 to headline a group of Republicans and Independents supporting a Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Texas. He has maintained a decades-long friendship with the Bush family, partially due to George W. Bush being a part-owner of the Rangers while Ryan played there. However, in his 1992 book Ryan expressed some criticisms of the elder Bush's (George H.W. Bush) management of domestic issues and said he wasn't "locked in" to voting for Bush that fall. In 1996 Ryan campaigned on behalf of Ron Paul in the election for Texas's 14th congressional district; his hometown of Alvin was located in the district.


title: Nolan Ryan

text: On April 7, 2011, Todd Staples announced that Nolan Ryan would be his statewide chairman for his exploratory committee for lieutenant governor. Ryan is quoted as saying, "Todd Staples is the top prospect for the Texas Republican Party in 2014." Staples, however, lost that race to current Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick of Houston.


title: Emily Browning

text: Emily Jane Browning (born 7 December 1988) is an Australian actress. She made her film debut in the television film "The Echo of Thunder" (1998), and subsequently appeared in television shows such as "High Flyers" (1999), "Something in the Air" (2000–2001), and "Blue Heelers" (2000–2002)"." Her breakthrough role was in the 2002 horror film "Ghost Ship", which introduced her to a wider audience. In 2005, Browning won the Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Violet Baudelaire in the film "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" (2004).


title: Emily Browning

text: Browning is also known for her roles in the horror film "The Uninvited" (2009), the action film "Sucker Punch" (2011), and the independent drama "Sleeping Beauty" (2011). She was named the Breakthrough Performer of The Year by the Hamptons International Film Festival for her role in the latter. Browning's other films include "Summer in February", "Plush" (both 2013), "Pompeii" (2014), "Legend" (2015) and "Golden Exits" (2017). From 2017 to 2021, she starred as Laura Moon in the Starz TV series "American Gods". She also had a recurring role in Showtime's drama series "The Affair" (2018–2019).


title: Emily Browning

text: Browning was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 7 December 1988, and is the daughter of Andrew and Shelley Browning. She attended Hurstbridge Learning Co-op and Eltham High School. Browning has two younger brothers, Nicholas and Matthew.


title: Emily Browning

text: Browning's debut acting role was in the 1998 Hallmark Channel movie "The Echo of Thunder". Additional roles in Australian film and television productions soon followed, including recurring roles in the television series "Blue Heelers" from 2000 to 2002, and "Something in the Air" from 2000 to 2001. In 2001, Browning appeared as the daughter of the character played by Billy Connolly in "The Man Who Sued God".


title: Emily Browning

text: She made her American film debut in 2002's "Ghost Ship", and won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Young Actress, the same year. In 2003, she appeared opposite Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom in 2003's "Ned Kelly", and reunited with Connolly the following year in the film adaptation of "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events", in which she played Violet Baudelaire.


title: Emily Browning

text: In 2006, Browning appeared in the music video for Evermore's "Light Surrounding You". In the behind-the-scenes video for the clip, the band stated, "[We] suck as actors, so we decided to get Emily". She attended the L'Oreal Fashion Festival as a festival ambassador on 1 February 2007.


title: Emily Browning

text: Browning played the lead role in the 2009 horror film "The Uninvited", an American remake of the 2003 South Korean film "A Tale of Two Sisters". She turned down a request to audition for the role of Bella Swan in "Twilight", citing exhaustion, despite an endorsement from series author Stephenie Meyer. In 2009, she was cast as Babydoll in Zack Snyder's action film "Sucker Punch", as a replacement for Amanda Seyfried, who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Filming took place in Vancouver from September 2009 to January 2010, and the film was released on 25 March 2011. In an interview at Comic-Con, she confirmed that she would be singing in the film, while claiming that her audition tape brought tears to her casting agent's eyes and the song she selected ("Killing Me Softly") was one of Zack Snyder's wife Deborah's favourites, which Browning referred to as the "selling point" on her being cast in the role.


title: Emily Browning

text: In February 2010, it was announced that Browning would play the lead role in the independent Australian film "Sleeping Beauty", directed by Julia Leigh. She replaced Mia Wasikowska, who was committed to a film adaptation of "Jane Eyre" at the time. The film screened at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and the Sydney Film Festival. In a review from the festival, Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" called the film "Technically elegant with vehemence and control ... Emily Browning gives a fierce and powerful performance ... There is force and originality in Leigh's work". Fionnuala Halligan in "Screen International" wrote "Browning has gone the distance for her director and together, they have delivered something here that sometimes catches your breath". At the festival Browning said, "Even reading the screenplay, it made me feel uncomfortable. But that was something that attracted me to it. I would prefer to polarise an audience as opposed to making an entertaining film everybody feels ambivalent about."


title: Emily Browning

text: In 2012, she replaced English actress Ophelia Lovibond as the female lead in the film "Summer in February". The film is based on the book of the same title, by Jonathan Smith. In July 2012, Browning was cast in "God Help the Girl", a musical film by Belle and Sebastian front-man Stuart Murdoch. Browning played Eve, and the role required live singing. Filming on the production began on 8 July 2012 and wrapped on 12 August 2012.


title: Emily Browning

text: Browning was cast in Catherine Hardwicke's "Plush" alongside Cam Gigandet, replacing Evan Rachel Wood (who was originally attached to the project) due to scheduling conflicts. Browning also starred alongside Xavier Samuel whom she met on the set during filming. "Magic Magic", directed by Sebastián Silva, screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Film.com designated the film as a "Top Pick".


title: Emily Browning

text: Browning starred in the 2014 film "Pompeii". The project was filmed in Toronto and the city of Pompeii. Browning took a break from filming on "Pompeii", and returned home to Australia to film a music video for the song "No Matter What You Say" by the band Imperial Teen. The video follows Browning as the lead character, conducting a 'live art-piece'.


title: Emily Browning

text: In 2014, Browning filmed "Shangri-La Suite". The story follows two young lovers who break out of a mental hospital in 1974 and set out on a road trip to Los Angeles to fulfill the boy's lifelong dream of killing his idol Elvis Presley, who appears as a supporting character. Luke Grimes and Avan Jogia co-star. The same year, she appeared in Years & Years's "Take Shelter" music video.


title: Emily Browning

text: In 2015, Browning appeared in the biopic crime thriller "Legend", alongside Tom Hardy, who portrayed twin brothers and infamous 1960s London gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray. She portrayed Frances Shea, the first wife of Reggie Kray.


title: Emily Browning

text: Browning was cast in "American Gods" as Laura Moon. Neil Gaiman, author of the novel, said, "I've been fascinated by Emily Browning since "A Series of Unfortunate Events". She has a challenge ahead of her: Laura is a tricky character, and the Laura on the screen is even trickier and more dangerous than the one on the page. She's going to have a wonderful time bringing Laura to life".


title: Emily Browning

text: In June 2021, it was announced that Browning would replace Anna Paquin in Andrea Pallaoro's drama "Monica", joining Trace Lysette, Patricia Clarkson and Adriana Barraza. She is also set to star in Lance Edmands' thriller "Brightwater", starring alongside Scoot McNairy and Jack Reynor.


title: Omeprazole

text: Omeprazole, sold under the brand names Prilosec and Losec, among others, is a medication used in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease, and Zollinger–Ellison syndrome. It is also used to prevent upper gastrointestinal bleeding in people who are at high risk. Omeprazole is a proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) and its effectiveness is similar to other PPIs. It can be taken by mouth or by injection into a vein. It is also available in the fixed-dose combination medication omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate as Zegerid.


title: Omeprazole

text: Common side effects include nausea, vomiting, headaches, abdominal pain, and increased intestinal gas. Serious side effects may include "Clostridium difficile" colitis, an increased risk of pneumonia, an increased risk of bone fractures, and the potential of masking stomach cancer. It is unclear if it is safe for use in pregnancy. It works by blocking the release of stomach acid.


title: Omeprazole

text: Omeprazole was patented in 1978, and approved for medical use in 1988. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. It is available as a generic medication. In 2020, it was the eighth most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 56million prescriptions. It is also available without a prescription in the United States.


title: Omeprazole

text: Omeprazole can be used in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcers, erosive esophagitis, Zollinger–Ellison syndrome, and eosinophilic esophagitis.


title: Omeprazole

text: Peptic ulcers may be treated with omeprazole. Treatment of a "Helicobacter pylori" infection can be completed by taking a triple therapy combination of omeprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin for 7–14 days. Amoxicillin may be replaced with metronidazole in patients who are allergic to penicillin.


title: Omeprazole

text: Concern has been expressed regarding vitamin B and iron malabsorption, but effects seem to be insignificant, especially when supplement therapy is provided.


title: Omeprazole

text: Since their introduction, proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs, especially omeprazole) have also been associated with several cases of acute interstitial nephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys that often occurs as an adverse drug reaction.


title: Omeprazole

text: Long-term use of PPIs is strongly associated with the development of benign polyps from fundic glands (which is distinct from fundic gland polyposis); these polyps do not cause cancer and resolve when PPIs are discontinued. No association is seen between PPI use and cancer, but use of PPIs may mask gastric cancers or other serious gastric problems and physicians should be aware of this effect.


title: Omeprazole

text: There is a possible association between long term use and dementia which requires further study to confirm.


title: Omeprazole

text: A review article in "U.S. Pharmacist" in 2013 states that long-term use of PPIs is associated with decreased calcium absorption (causing increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures), decreased magnesium absorption (causing electrolyte disturbances), and increased risk of certain infections such as "C. difficile" and community-acquired pneumonia. They hypothesize that this is due to decreased stomach acid production.


title: Omeprazole

text: The safety of using omeprazole has not been established in pregnant or breastfeeding women. Epidemiological data do not show an increased risk of major birth defects after maternal use of omeprazole during pregnancy.


title: Omeprazole

text: No clinical trials have deeply evaluated the potential consequences of the use of omeprazole in breastfeeding. However, the pharmacokinetics of the omeprazole molecule strongly suggest the safety of omeprazole use during breastfeeding:


title: Omeprazole

text: Important drug interactions are rare. However, the most significant major drug interaction concern is the decreased activation of clopidogrel when taken together with omeprazole. Although still controversial, this may increase the risk of stroke or heart attack in people taking clopidogrel to prevent these events.


title: Omeprazole

text: This interaction is possible because omeprazole is an inhibitor of the enzymes CYP2C19 and CYP3A4. Clopidogrel is an inactive prodrug that partially depends on CYP2C19 for conversion to its active form. Inhibition of CYP2C19 may block the activation of clopidogrel, which could reduce its effects.


title: Omeprazole

text: Almost all benzodiazepines are metabolised by the CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 pathways, and inhibition of these enzymes results in a higher area under the curve ("i.e.", the total effect over time of a given dose). Other examples of drugs dependent on CYP3A4 for their metabolism are escitalopram, warfarin, oxycodone, tramadol, and oxymorphone. The concentrations of these drugs may increase if they are used concomitantly with omeprazole.


title: Omeprazole

text: Drugs that depend on an acidic stomach environment (such as ketoconazole or atazanavir) may be poorly absorbed, whereas acid-labile antibiotics (such as erythromycin which is a very strong CYP3A4 inhibitor) may be absorbed to a greater extent than normal due to the more alkaline environment of the stomach.


title: Omeprazole

text: St. John's wort ("Hypericum perforatum") and "Gingko biloba" significantly reduce plasma concentrations of omeprazole through induction of CYP3A4 and CYP2C19.


title: Omeprazole

text: Proton-pump inhibitors like omeprazole have been found to increase the plasma concentrations of methotrexate.


title: Omeprazole

text: Omeprazole irreversibly blocks the enzyme system on parietal cells that is needed for the secretion of gastric acid. It is a specific H+/K+ATPase inhibitor. This is the enzyme needed for the final step in the secretion of gastric acid.


title: Omeprazole

text: Omeprazole is a selective and irreversible proton pump inhibitor. It suppresses stomach acid secretion by specific inhibition of the H/K-ATPase system found at the secretory surface of gastric parietal cells. Because this enzyme system is regarded as the acid (proton, or H) pump within the gastric mucosa, omeprazole inhibits the final step of acid production.


title: Omeprazole

text: Omeprazole also inhibits both basal and stimulated acid secretion irrespective of the stimulus as it blocks the last step in acid secretion. The drug binds non-competitively so it has a dose-dependent effect.


title: Omeprazole

text: The inhibitory effect of omeprazole occurs within 1 hour after oral administration. The maximum effect occurs within 2 hours. The duration of inhibition is up to 72 hours. When omeprazole is stopped, baseline stomach acid secretory activity returns after 3 to 5 days. The inhibitory effect of omeprazole on acid secretion will plateau after 4 days of repeated daily dosing.


title: Omeprazole

text: The absorption of omeprazole takes place in the small intestine and is usually completed within 3 to 6 hours. The systemic bioavailability of omeprazole after repeated doses is about 60%. Omeprazole has a volume of distribution of 0.4 L/kg. It has high plasma protein binding of 95%.


title: Omeprazole

text: Omeprazole, as well as other PPIs, are only effective on active H/K-ATPase pumps. These pumps are stimulated in the presence of food to aid in digestion. For this reason, patients should be advised to take omeprazole with a glass of water on an empty stomach. Additionally, most sources recommend that after taking omeprazole, at least 30 minutes should be allowed to elapse before eating (at least 60 minutes for immediate-release omeprazole plus sodium bicarbonate products, such as Zegerid),


title: Omeprazole

text: Omeprazole is completely metabolized by the cytochrome P450 system, mainly in the liver, by CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 isoenzymes. Identified metabolites are the sulfone, the sulfide, and hydroxy-omeprazole, which exert no significant effect on acid secretion. About 77% of an orally given dose is excreted as metabolites in the urine, and the remainder is found in the feces, primarily originating from bile secretion. Omeprazole has a half life of 0.5 to 1 hour.


title: Omeprazole

text: Omeprazole contains a tricoordinated sulfinyl sulfur in a pyramidal structure and therefore can exist as either the ("S")- or ("R")-enantiomers. Omeprazole is a racemate, an equal mixture of the two. In the acidic conditions of the canaliculi of parietal cells, both enantiomers are converted to achiral products (sulfenic acid and sulfenamide configurations) which react with a cysteine group in H/K ATPase, thereby inhibiting the ability of the parietal cells to produce gastric acid.


title: Omeprazole

text: AstraZeneca also developed esomeprazole (Nexium) which is a eutomer, purely the ("S")-enantiomer, rather than a racemate like omeprazole.


title: Omeprazole

text: Omeprazole undergoes a chiral shift "in vivo" which converts the inactive ("R")-enantiomer to the active ("S")-enantiomer, doubling the concentration of the active form. This chiral shift is accomplished by the CYP2C19 isozyme of cytochrome P450, which is not found equally in all human populations. Those who do not metabolize the drug effectively are called "poor metabolizers". The proportion of the poor metabolizer phenotype varies widely between populations, from 2.0 to 2.5% in African Americans and white Americans to >20% in Asians. Several pharmacogenomics studies have suggested that PPI treatment should be tailored according to CYP2C19 metabolism status.


title: Omeprazole

text: Omeprazole may be quantified in plasma or serum to monitor therapy or to confirm a diagnosis of poisoning in hospitalized patients. Plasma omeprazole concentrations are usually in a range of 0.2–1.2 mg/L in persons receiving the drug therapeutically by the oral route and 1–6 mg/L in people with acute overdose. Enantiomeric chromatographic methods are available to distinguish esomeprazole from racemic omeprazole.


title: Omeprazole

text: Omeprazole was first made in 1979 by Swedish AB Hässle, part of Astra AB. It was the first of the proton pump inhibitors (PPI). Astra AB, now AstraZeneca, launched it as an ulcer medicine under the name Losec in Sweden. It was first sold in the United States in 1989 under the brand name Losec. In 1990, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the brand name Losec was changed to Prilosec to avoid confusion with the diuretic Lasix (furosemide). The new name led to confusion between omeprazole (Prilosec) and fluoxetine (Prozac), an antidepressant.


title: Omeprazole

text: When Prilosec's U.S. patent expired in April 2001, AstraZeneca introduced esomeprazole (Nexium) as a patented replacement drug. Many companies introduced generics as AstraZeneca's patents expired worldwide, which are available under many brand names.


title: Ime Udoka

text: Ime Sunday Udoka ( ; born August 9, 1977) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), currently suspended by the team for the 2022–23 season. He represented the Nigeria national team during his playing career.


title: Ime Udoka

text: Udoka played for Utah State University Eastern and the University of San Francisco before transferring to Portland State University where he starred for the Vikings.


title: Ime Udoka

text: Udoka started his professional basketball career by playing in the NBDL with the Charleston Lowgators who drafted him with 39th overall pick in 2002 NBDL Draft. He was called up to play with the Los Angeles Lakers on January 14, 2004, but was later waived. After a stint in Europe, Udoka returned to the United States and once again drafted in NBDL. This time he was drafted third overall by the Fort Worth Flyers in 2005 NBDL Draft. He averaged 17.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with the Flyers. On April 6, 2006, Udoka was signed by the New York Knicks. Udoka was waived by the Knicks on September 11, 2006.


title: Ime Udoka

text: Udoka was the last player invited to his hometown Portland Trail Blazers' training camp before the 2006–07 season, getting the invitation only after Aaron Miles failed a physical. Despite the death of his father during the preseason, Udoka impressed the coaching staff with his defensive skills and made the team. After having played in only 12 NBA games in his career, Udoka started in 75 games played in the 2006–07 season. He played 28.6 minutes per game while averaging 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.9 steals.


title: Ime Udoka

text: In 2007, Udoka signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs. He played in 73 games averaging 5.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 18 minutes. On his second season with the Spurs, Udoka played in 67 games, and started in three. He averaged 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.4 minutes.


title: Ime Udoka

text: Following the 2009 season, Udoka became a free agent, eventually re-signing with the Trail Blazers. He was waived by the Blazers on October 22, 2009, but signed with the Sacramento Kings on November 4, 2009. He played 69 games with the Kings, averaging 3.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.7 minutes.


title: Ime Udoka

text: On November 24, 2010, Udoka rejoined the Spurs, but he was waived on January 5, 2011 after playing only 20 games.


title: Ime Udoka

text: On December 15, 2011, Udoka signed with the New Jersey Nets. However, he was waived on December 23, 2011.


title: Ime Udoka

text: In August 2012, Udoka joined the San Antonio Spurs as an assistant coach for Gregg Popovich. Udoka would win his first championship as the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals, 4–1.


title: Ime Udoka

text: Udoka was also the key for LaMarcus Aldridge's decision to join the Spurs in 2015. Both Udoka and Aldridge played together with the Trail Blazers during Aldridge's rookie season.


title: Ime Udoka

text: In June 2019, Udoka was hired as an assistant coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. Udoka's head coach on the 76ers, Brett Brown, also coached under Gregg Popovich for the Spurs, and Udoka and Brown were on the same staff in the 2012–13 season.


title: Ime Udoka

text: On June 28, 2021, Udoka was hired as head coach of the Boston Celtics, becoming the fifth head coach of African origin in Boston Celtics history. Though the Celtics began the season 18–21, Udoka led them to a 51–31 record, finishing as the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics won the Eastern Conference title and made their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010. The Celtics lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors.


title: Ime Udoka

text: On September 22, the Celtics suspended Udoka for the entirety of the 2022–23 season for violations of team policies, pertaining to an improper intimate relationship with a female Celtics staff member. Though the relationship was originally believed by the organization to be consensual, the woman later accused Udoka of making unwanted comments towards her. Udoka issued an apology after the suspension was handed out. He chose not to resign from his position as a result of the violation, though Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Udoka is not guaranteed to stay with the organization following the 2022–23 season. Assistant coach Joe Mazzulla took his place as the interim head coach.


title: Ime Udoka

text: Udoka was a player on the Nigerian national team. At the 2006 FIBA World Championships, Udoka led Nigeria in scoring, assists, and steals. Udoka also played for Nigeria in the 2005 and 2011 FIBA Africa Championships, winning a bronze medal in both tournaments.


title: Ime Udoka

text: Udoka has served as an assistant coach for USA Basketball under his Spurs head coach, Gregg Popovich. Udoka's coaching role on the 2019 FIBA World Cup team helped him build relationships with Celtics players Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, who advocated for his hiring as the new Boston head coach. Udoka also coached for Team USA under Popovich at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, along with Celtics assistant Will Hardy.


title: Ime Udoka

text: Udoka's father was of Nigerian descent, which qualified the younger Udoka for Nigerian citizenship. His older sister, Mfon, played in the WNBA. His mother, who died in late 2011, was an American from Illinois.


title: Ime Udoka

text: In November 2011, Udoka's then-girlfriend, Nia Long, gave birth to their first child. The couple became engaged in May 2015. Long has stated she has no plans to marry.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the predominant variant in circulation around the world. Following the original BA.1 variant, several subvariants of Omicron have emerged: BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, and BA.5. Since October 2022, two subvariants of BA.5 named BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 have spread rapidly.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: Three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine provide protection against severe disease and hospitalisation caused by BA.1 and BA.2. The immunity effects of BA.2 are similar to those of BA.1. For three-dose vaccinated individuals, the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are more infectious than previous subvariants, making it likely, , for a new peak in COVID-19 infections to occur.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: On 26 November, the WHO's Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution declared PANGO lineage B.1.1.529 a variant of concern and designated it with the Greek letter omicron. The WHO skipped the preceding letters nu and xi in the Greek alphabet to avoid confusion with the similarities of the English word "new" and the Chinese surname Xi.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: The name of the variant has occasionally been mistaken as "Omnicron" among some English speakers, due to a lack of familiarity with the Greek alphabet, and the relative frequency of the Latin prefix "omni" in other common speech.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: The GISAID project has assigned it the clade identifier GR/484A, and the Nextstrain project has assigned it the clade identifiers 21K and 21L, both belonging to a larger Omicron group 21M.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: Omicron was first detected on 22 November 2021 in laboratories in Botswana and South Africa based on samples collected on 11–16 November, with the first known samples collected in Johannesburg, South Africa on 8 November 2021. The first known cases outside of South Africa were two people who travelled on 11 November: one who flew from South Africa to Hong Kong via Qatar, and another who travelled from Egypt to Belgium via Turkey. On 26 November 2021, WHO designated B.1.1.529 as a variant of concern and named it "Omicron", after the fifteenth letter in the Greek alphabet. As of 6 January 2022, the variant had been confirmed in 149 countries.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: Omicron did not evolve from any other variant, but instead diverged on a distinct track, perhaps in mid-2020. Competing hypotheses are being examined.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: One origin hypothesis is that various mutations in the Omicron variant, comprising a 9-nucleotide sequence, may have been acquired from another coronavirus (known as HCoV-229E), responsible for the common cold. This is not entirely at times, viruses within the body acquire and swap segments of genetic material from each other, and this is one common means of mutation.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: A link with HIV infection may explain a large number of mutations in the sequence of the Omicron variant. Indeed, in order to be affected by such a high number of mutations, the virus must have been able to evolve a long time without killing its host, which can occur in people with a weakened immune system who receive enough medical care to survive. This is the case in HIV patients in South Africa, who represent about 14% of the population (as of 2017). HIV prevention could be key to reducing the risk of uncontrolled HIV driving the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: One hypothesis to explain the novel mutations is that SARS-CoV-2 was transmitted from humans to mice and mutated in a population of mice sometime between mid-2020 and late 2021 before reinfecting humans.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: On 24 November 2021, the variant was first reported to the WHO from South Africa based on samples that had been collected from 14 to 16 November. South African scientists were first alerted by samples from the very beginning of November where the PCR tests had S gene target failure (occurs in a few variants, but not in Delta which dominated in the country in October) and by a sudden increase of COVID-19 cases in Gauteng; sequencing revealed that more than 70 percent of samples collected in the province between 14 and 23 November were a new variant.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: The first confirmed specimens of Omicron were collected on 8 November 2021 in South Africa and on 9 November in Botswana. Likely Omicron (SGTF) samples had occurred on 4 November 2021 in Pretoria, South Africa.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: When WHO was alerted on 24 November, Hong Kong was the only place outside Africa that had confirmed a case of Omicron; one person who traveled from South Africa on 11 November, and another traveler who was cross-infected by this case while staying in the same quarantine hotel.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: On 25 November, one confirmed case was identified in Israel from a traveler returning from Malawi, along with two who returned from South Africa and one from Madagascar. All four initial cases reported from Botswana occurred among fully vaccinated individuals.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: On 26 November, Belgium confirmed its first case; an unvaccinated person who had travelled from Egypt via Turkey on 11 November. All three initial confirmed and suspected cases reported from Israel occurred among fully vaccinated individuals, as did a single suspected case in Germany.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: On 27 November, two cases were detected in the United Kingdom, another two in Munich, Germany and one in Milan, Italy.


title: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

text: On 28 November, 13 cases were confirmed in the Netherlands among the 624 airline passengers who arrived from South Africa on 26 November. Confirmation of a further 5 cases among these passengers followed later. Entry into the Netherlands generally required having been vaccinated or PCR-tested, or having recovered. The passengers of these two flights had been tested upon arrival because of the newly imposed restrictions (which were set in place during their flight), after which 61 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. A further two cases were detected in Australia. Both people landed in Sydney the previous day, and travelled from southern Africa to Sydney Airport via Doha Airport. The two people, who were fully vaccinated, entered isolation; 12 other travellers from southern Africa also entered quarantine for fourteen days, while about 260 other passengers and crew on the flight were directed to isolate. Two travellers from South Africa who landed in Denmark tested positive for COVID-19; it was confirmed on 28 November that both carried the Omicron variant. On the same day, Austria also confirmed its first Omicron case. A detected Omicron case was reported in the Czech Republic, from a traveler who spent time in Namibia. Canada also reported its first Omicron cases, with two from travelers from Nigeria, therefore becoming the first North American country to report an Omicron case.