title: Claressa Shields

text: Shields was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, where she was a high school junior in May 2012. She was introduced to boxing by her father, Bo Shields, who had boxed in underground leagues. Bo was in prison from the time Shields was two years old, and released when she was nine. After his release, he talked to her about boxer Laila Ali, piquing her interest in the sport. Bo, however, believed that boxing was a men's sport and refused to allow Shields to pursue it until she was eleven. At that time she began boxing at Berston Field House in Flint, where she met her coach and trainer, Jason Crutchfield. Shields credits her grandmother with encouraging her to not accept restrictions based on her gender.


title: Claressa Shields

text: After winning two Junior Olympic championships, Shields competed in her first open-division tournament, the National Police Athletic League Championships 2011; she won the middleweight title and was named top overall fighter and also qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials. At the 2012 Olympic Trials, she defeated the reigning national champion, Franchón Crews-Dezurn, the 2010 world champion, Andrecia Wasson, and Pittsburgh's Tika Hemingway to win the middleweight class. In April 2011, she won her weight class at the Women's Elite Continental Championships in Cornwall, Ontario against three-time defending world champion Mary Spencer of Canada; she held an undefeated record of 25 wins and 0 losses at that point.


title: Claressa Shields

text: Following Shields' victory at the U.S. Olympic Trials, it was initially reported that she would need only a top-8 finish at the 2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Qinhuangdao, China, in order to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. On May 10, the day after the contest began but before Shields' first bout, a change to the rules was announced that meant Shields would need to place in the top two from the (North, Central, and South) American Boxing Confederation region of AIBA (AMBC).


title: Claressa Shields

text: Shields won her first round but was beaten in the second round on May 13 to Savannah Marshall of England, bringing Shields' record to 26–1.


title: Claressa Shields

text: Her chances for qualification thus depended on Marshall's subsequent performance; after Marshall advanced to the middleweight finals on May 18, it was announced that Shields had earned an Olympic berth.


title: Claressa Shields

text: At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she won the gold medal in the women's middleweight division after beating Russian boxer Nadezda Torlopova 19–12.


title: Claressa Shields

text: In 2014, Shields won the World Championship gold medal, and the following year, she became the first American to win titles in women's boxing at the Olympics and Pan American Games. As a result of her performance in the Pan American Games, she was given the honour of serving as Team USA’s flag bearer at the closing ceremony.


title: Claressa Shields

text: Shields won the gold medal at the 2016 AMBC Olympic Qualifying tournament in Argentina. Later that year at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, she won the gold medal in the women's middleweight division by defeating Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands. She was awarded the inaugural women's division of the Val Barker Trophy at the competition. Her back-to-back Olympic gold medal wins made her the first American boxer to win consecutive Olympic titles.


title: Claressa Shields

text: In November 2016, Shields officially went pro. She won her first match, against Franchón Crews-Dezurn, by unanimous decision.


title: Claressa Shields

text: On March 10, 2017, she faced Szilvia Szabados for the North American Boxing Federation middleweight title, and won by TKO. This was the main event on ShoBox, with a regional title fight between Antonio Nieves and Nikolai Potapov serving as the co-main event. It was the first time a women's boxing bout was the main event on a United States premium network card.


title: Claressa Shields

text: On June 16, 2017, Shields headlined the "Detroit Brawl," facing Sydney LeBlanc in her first scheduled eight-round bout. LeBlanc signed on with three days notice, after Mery Rancier dropped out due to visa issues. Shields won the bout by decision after all eight rounds.


title: Claressa Shields

text: On August 4, 2017, Shields defeated defending champ Nikki Adler in Detroit for the WBC super-middleweight belt and the vacant IBF super-middleweight belt. By 5th Rd TKO the ref had to jump in to protect The undefeated Nikki Adler. The fight was on Showtime.


title: Claressa Shields

text: On January 12, 2018, Shields retained her WBC and IBF female super middleweight titles, and won the WBAN super-middleweight title by defeating 17-0 Tori Nelson. It was Shields' first time going all 10 rounds in her professional career.


title: Claressa Shields

text: On June 22, 2018, in just her sixth professional fight, Shields defeated Hanna Gabriel by unanimous decision, winning the vacant WBA and inaugural IBF middleweight belts, breaking the record for becoming a two-weight world champion in the fewest professional fights, a record previously held by Vasyl Lomachenko. During Round 1, she experienced the first knock down of her professional career. She dropped down from 168 pounds to 160 for the fight. This was her first fight with trainer John David Jackson, having worked with Jason Crutchfield for the previous 5.


title: Claressa Shields

text: On December 8, 2018, Shields' fight aired on HBO, her first appearance on the network, a fight which was a part of the last boxing card to occur on HBO. She faced Femke Herman's outboxing her all 10 rounds for a unanimous decision.


title: Claressa Shields

text: On April 13, 2019, Shields became the undisputed women's middleweight world champion, unifying the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO middleweight titles, along with "The Ring" magazine's inaugural middleweight belt, after defeating Christina Hammer by unanimous decision. The victory was a near shutout with two judges scoring the bout 98–91 while a third judge scored it 98–92.


title: Claressa Shields

text: Shields was scheduled to fight Ivana Habazin for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title in Flint, Michigan, on October 5, 2019. However, the fight was postponed due to Habazin's trainer being attacked at the weigh in.


title: Claressa Shields

text: On January 10, 2020, the battle between Shields and Habazin took place with an all female ring (referee). The Atlantic boardwalk hall had a sold out Venue as Claressa won by unanimous decision, 99–89, 100–90 and 100–89, and became the fastest ever to win titles in 3 divisions male or female in history.


title: Claressa Shields

text: On March 5, 2021, Shields defeated Marie-Eve Dicaire by unanimous decision to retain her WBC and WBO super welterweight titles, claim IBF 154-pound belt, and vacant WBA light middleweight strap. With the win she has become the first world champion boxer in four-belt era to hold undisputed titles in two different weight divisions. This Fight took place in Shields hometown with limited crowd due to COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Claressa Shields

text: Shields then faced Ema Kozin on February 5, 2022. She captured an unanimous decision with all referees scoring every round for her, and retained her WBA, WBC, IBF, and "The Ring" female middleweight titles meanwhile winning the WBF female middleweight title also.


title: Claressa Shields

text: Shields was initially scheduled to face reigning WBO Middleweight Champion Savannah Marshall in a title unification bout on September 10, 2022. However, due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II the bout was postponed to take place on October 15, 2022.


title: Claressa Shields

text: On the night of the fight, Shields went the full 10 round distance against Marshall. According to CompuBox stats, Shields outlanded Marshall 175 to 136; landed significantly more jabs, 44 to 14; and landed more power, 131 to 122. Shields won via unanimous decision with two judges scoring the fight 97–93 and one scoring it 96–94, all in favor of Shields to become the undisputed middleweight world champion. This fight occurred at the O2 Arena and was the first time two female boxers headlined at a major venue in the United Kingdom. As well, the fight headlined the first all-female boxing card in the United Kingdom.


title: Claressa Shields

text: In November 2020, Shields had signed a three-year contract with Professional Fighters League and was expected to make her mixed martial arts debut in 2021. Since Shields first announced that her MMA debut, she has also begun training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has gone to train under IBJJF no gi World Champion Roberto Alencar, alongside Holly Holm. She also started training at JacksonWink MMA in late 2020.


title: Claressa Shields

text: Shields made her MMA debut at PFL 4 on June 10, 2021, against Brittney Elkin. She won the fight via technical knockout in round three.


title: Claressa Shields

text: Her second bout was initially scheduled to take place on the PFL 9 event on August 27, 2021, against an opponent yet to be named. However, on July 12, 2021, news surfaced that her bout was rescheduled to take place on August 19, 2021, in order to garner more exposure at an ESPN-aired PFL 8 event. It was eventually rescheduled for PFL 10 on October 27, 2021, with Shields facing Abigail Montes. Shields lost the bout via split decision.


title: Claressa Shields

text: Shields is from Flint, Michigan. Shields was baptized at age 13 (two years after she began boxing) and began attending a local church. She found strength in her Christian faith and eventually left home.


title: Claressa Shields

text: Shields is an ambassador for Up2Us Sports, a national non-profit organization dedicated to supporting underserved youth by providing them with coaches trained in positive youth development.


title: Claressa Shields

text: Shields is also an ambassador for gender equality in sports, particularly boxing, which she insists is under-covered by the media.


title: Claressa Shields

text: Shields is the subject of the 2015 documentary "T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold". In 2016 Universal Pictures, a division of Comcast, which holds Olympic broadcast rights in the United States, acquired the rights to produce a film about her life story. Barry Jenkins is the screenwriter. Entitled "Flint Strong", Rachel Morrison will be directing, with actress Ryan Destiny portraying Shields.


title: Claressa Shields

text: In 2017, Shields won the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports Award for "Biggest Powerhouse." In 2018, Shields was inducted into the USA Boxing Alumni Association's Hall of Fame. The Boxing Writers Association of America gave her the 2018 Christy Martin Award - Female Fighter of the Year.


title: Munich air disaster

text: The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958 when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. The aircraft was carrying the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes", along with supporters and journalists. There were 44 people on board, 20 of whom died at the scene. The injured, some unconscious, were taken to Munich's Rechts der Isar Hospital where three more died, resulting in 23 fatalities with 21 survivors.


title: Munich air disaster

text: The Manchester United team were returning from a European Cup match in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), having eliminated Red Star Belgrade to advance to the semi-finals of the competition. The flight stopped to refuel in Munich because a non-stop flight from Belgrade to Manchester was beyond the range of the "Elizabethan"-class Airspeed Ambassador. After refuelling, pilots James Thain and Kenneth Rayment twice abandoned take-off because of boost surging in the left engine. Fearing they would fall too far behind schedule, Thain rejected an overnight stay in Munich in favour of a third take-off attempt. By that time snow was falling, causing a layer of slush to form at the end of the runway. After hitting the slush, the aircraft ploughed through a fence beyond the end of the runway and the left wing was torn off when it struck a house. The tail section broke off and hit a barn with a parked fuel truck in it, which caught fire and exploded. Fearing the aircraft too might explode, Thain began evacuating passengers while goalkeeper Harry Gregg helped pull survivors from the wreckage.


title: Munich air disaster

text: An investigation by West German airport authorities originally blamed Thain, saying he did not de-ice the aircraft's wings, despite eyewitness statements indicating that de-icing was unnecessary. It was later established that the crash was caused by the slush on the runway, which slowed the plane too much to enable take-off. Thain was cleared in 1968, ten years after the incident.


title: Munich air disaster

text: United were aiming to become the third club to win three successive Football League titles; they were six points behind league leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers with 14 games still to play. They also held the FA Charity Shield and had just advanced into their second successive European Cup semi-finals. The team had not been beaten for 11 matches. The crash not only derailed the team's title ambitions that year but also destroyed the nucleus of what promised to be one of the greatest generations of players in English football history. It took ten years for the club to recover after the tragedy. Busby rebuilt the team and won the European Cup in 1968 with a new generation of "Babes".


title: Munich air disaster

text: In April 1955, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) established the European Cup, a football competition for the champion clubs of UEFA-affiliated nations, to begin in the 1955–56 season; however, the English league winners, Chelsea, were denied entry by the Football League's secretary, Alan Hardaker, who believed not participating was best for English football. The following season, the English league was won by Manchester United, managed by Matt Busby. The Football League again denied their champions entry, but Busby and his chairman, Harold Hardman, with the help of the Football Association's (FA) chairman Stanley Rous, defied the league and United became the first English team to play in Europe.


title: Munich air disaster

text: The team – known as the "Busby Babes" for their youth – reached the semi-finals, beaten there by the eventual winners, Real Madrid. Winning the First Division title again that season meant qualification for the 1957–58 tournament, and their semi-final run in 1956–57 meant they were one of the favourites to win. Domestic league matches were on Saturdays and European matches midweek, so, although air travel was risky, it was the only choice if United were to fulfil their league fixtures, which they would have to do if they were to avoid proving Hardaker right.


title: Munich air disaster

text: After overcoming Shamrock Rovers and Dukla Prague in the preliminary and first round respectively, United were drawn with Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia (now Serbia) for the quarter-finals. After beating them 2–1 at Old Trafford on 14 January 1958, the club was to travel to Yugoslavia for the return leg on 5 February. On the way back from Prague in the previous round, fog over England prevented the team from flying back to Manchester, so they flew to Amsterdam before taking the ferry from the Hook of Holland to Harwich and then the train to Manchester. The trip took its toll on the players and they drew 3–3 with Birmingham City at St Andrew's three days later.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Eager not to miss Football League fixtures, and not to have a difficult trip again, the club chartered a British European Airways (BEA) plane from Manchester to Belgrade for the away leg against Red Star. The match was drawn 3–3 but it was enough to send United to the semi-finals. The takeoff from Belgrade was delayed for an hour after outside right Johnny Berry lost his passport, and the plane landed in Munich, West Germany, for refuelling at 13:15 GMT.


title: Munich air disaster

text: The aircraft was a six-year-old Airspeed Ambassador 2, built in 1952 and delivered to BEA the same year.


title: Munich air disaster

text: The pilot, 36-year-old Captain James Thain, was a former flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force (RAF). Originally a sergeant (later a warrant officer), he was given an emergency commission in the RAF as an acting pilot officer on probation in April 1944, and promoted to pilot officer on probation in September that year. He was promoted to flight lieutenant in May 1948, and received a permanent commission in the same rank in 1952. He retired from the RAF to join BEA.


title: Munich air disaster

text: The co-pilot, 37-year-old Captain Kenneth Rayment, was also a former RAF flight lieutenant and a Second World War flying ace. After joining the RAF in 1940, he was promoted to sergeant in September 1941. He was commissioned as a war substantive pilot officer a year later, and promoted to war substantive flying officer in May 1943. He shot down five German fighters, one Italian plane and a V-1 flying bomb. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in July 1943, and promoted to flight lieutenant in September 1943. After leaving the RAF in 1945, he joined British Overseas Airways Corporation in Cairo, before joining BEA in 1947. He had had experience with Vikings, Dakotas and the Ambassador "Elizabethan" class.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Thain had flown the "Elizabethan"-class Airspeed Ambassador (registration G-ALZU) to Belgrade but handed the controls to Rayment for the return. At 14:19 GMT, the control tower at Munich was told the plane was ready to take off and gave clearance for take-off, expiring at 14:31. Rayment abandoned the take-off after Thain noticed the port boost pressure gauge fluctuating as the plane reached full power and the engine sounded odd while accelerating. A second attempt was made three minutes later, but called off 40 seconds into the attempt because the engines were running on an over-rich mixture, causing them to over-accelerate, a common problem for the "Elizabethan". After the second failure, passengers retreated to the airport lounge. By then, it had started to snow heavily, and it looked unlikely that the plane would be making the return journey that day. Half-back Duncan Edwards sent a telegram to his landlady in Manchester, reading: "All flights cancelled, flying tomorrow. Duncan."


title: Munich air disaster

text: Thain told the station engineer, Bill Black, about the problem with the boost surging in the port engine, and Black suggested that since opening the throttle more slowly had not worked, the only option was to hold the plane overnight for retuning. Thain was anxious to stay on schedule and suggested opening the throttle even more slowly would suffice. This would mean that the plane would not achieve take-off velocity until further down the runway, but with the runway almost long, he believed this would not be a problem. The passengers were called back to the plane 15 minutes after leaving it.


title: Munich air disaster

text: A few of the players were not confident fliers, particularly Billy Whelan, who said, "This may be death, but I'm ready". Others, including Edwards, Tommy Taylor, Mark Jones, Eddie Colman and journalist Frank Swift, moved to the back of the plane, believing it safer. Once everyone was on board, Thain and Rayment got the plane moving again at 14:56. At 14:59, they reached the runway holding point, where they received clearance to line up ready for take-off. On the runway, they made final cockpit checks and at 15:02, they were told their take-off clearance would expire at 15:04. The pilots agreed to attempt take-off, but that they would watch the instruments for surging in the engines. At 15:03, they told the control tower of their decision.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Rayment moved the throttle forward slowly and released the brakes; the plane began to accelerate, and radio officer Bill Rodgers radioed the control tower with the message "Zulu Uniform rolling". The plane threw up slush as it gathered speed, and Thain called out the plane's velocity in 10-knot increments. At 85 knots, the port engine began to surge again, and he pulled back marginally on the port throttle before pushing it forward again. Once the plane reached , he announced "V1", at which it was no longer safe to abort take-off, and Rayment listened for the call of "V2" (), the minimum required to get off the ground. Thain expected the speed to rise, but it fluctuated around 117 knots before suddenly dropping to , and then . Rayment shouted, "Christ, we won't make it!", as Thain looked up to see what lay ahead.


title: Munich air disaster

text: The plane skidded off the end of the runway, crashed into the fence surrounding the airport and across a road before its port wing was torn off as it caught a house, home to a family of six. The father and eldest daughter were away and the mother and the other three children escaped as the house caught fire. Part of the plane's tail was torn off before the left side of the cockpit hit a tree. The right side of the fuselage hit a wooden hut, inside which was a truck filled with tyres and fuel, which exploded.


title: Munich air disaster

text: On seeing flames around the cockpit, Thain feared that the aircraft would explode and told his crew to evacuate the area. The stewardesses, Rosemary Cheverton and Margaret Bellis, were the first to leave through a blown-out emergency window in the galley, followed by radio officer Rodgers. Rayment was trapped in his seat by the crumpled fuselage and told Thain to go without him. Thain clambered out of the galley window. On reaching the ground, he saw flames growing under the starboard wing, which held of fuel. He shouted to his crew to get away and climbed back into the aircraft to retrieve two handheld fire extinguishers, stopping to tell Rayment he would be back when the fires had been dealt with.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Meanwhile, in the cabin, goalkeeper Harry Gregg was regaining consciousness, thinking that he was dead. He felt blood on his face and "didn't dare put [his] hand up. [He] thought the top of [his] head had been taken off, like a hard boiled egg." Just above him, light shone into the cabin, so Gregg kicked the hole wide enough for him to escape. He also managed to save some passengers, among them teammates Bobby Charlton and Dennis Viollet, who were strapped into their seats away from the wreckage.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Twenty passengers died at the scene, another died on his way to hospital, and two others died later that month while in the hospital.


title: Munich air disaster

text: The crash was originally blamed on pilot error, but it was later found to have been caused by slush towards the end of the runway, slowing the aircraft and preventing safe flying speed. During take-off, the aircraft had reached , but, on entering the slush, dropped to , too slow to leave the ground, and with not enough runway to abort the take-off. Aircraft with tail-wheel undercarriages had not been greatly affected by slush, due to the geometry of these undercarriages in relation to the aircraft's centre of gravity, but newer types, such as the Ambassador, with nose wheel landing-gear and the main wheels behind the centre of gravity, were found to be vulnerable.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Despite this conclusion, German airport authorities took legal action against Thain, as the one pilot who had survived the crash. They claimed he had taken off without clearing the wings of ice, which caused the crash, despite several witnesses stating that no ice had been seen. De-icing the aircraft was the captain's responsibility, while the state of the airport's runways was the responsibility of the airport authorities, among whom there was widespread ignorance of the danger of slush on runways for aircraft such as the Ambassador.


title: Munich air disaster

text: The basis of the German authorities' case relied on the icy condition of the wings hours after the crash and a photograph of the aircraft (published in several newspapers) taken shortly before take-off, that appeared to show snow on the upper wing surfaces. When the original negative was examined, no snow or ice could be seen, the "snow" in the original having been due to the sun reflecting off the wings, which was clarified when examining the negative rather than the published pictures which had been produced from a copy negative. The witnesses were not called to the German inquiry and proceedings against Thain dragged on until 1968, when he was finally cleared of any responsibility for the crash. As the official cause, British authorities recorded a build-up of melting snow on the runway which prevented the plane from reaching the required take-off speed. Thain, having been dismissed by BEA shortly after the accident and never re-engaged, retired and returned to run his poultry farm in Berkshire. He died of a heart attack at age 53 in August 1975.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Twenty people, including seven of Manchester United's players, died at the scene of the crash. The 21st victim was Frank Swift, a journalist and former goalkeeper who played with Busby at Manchester City; he died on his way to hospital. Duncan Edwards died from his injuries on 21 February at the Rechts der Isar Hospital in Munich, and the final death toll reached 23 several days later when co-pilot Rayment died as a result of serious head injuries. Johnny Berry and Jackie Blanchflower were both injured so severely that they never played again. Busby was seriously injured and had to stay in hospital for more than two months after the crash, and was given the Last Rites twice. After being discharged from hospital, he went to Switzerland to recuperate in Interlaken. At times, he felt like giving up football entirely, until he was told by his wife, Jean, "You know Matt, the lads would have wanted you to carry on." That statement lifted Busby from his depression, and he returned by land and sea to Manchester, before watching his team play in the 1958 FA Cup Final.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Meanwhile, there was speculation that the club would fold, but a threadbare United team completed the 1957–58 season, with Busby's assistant Jimmy Murphy standing in as manager; he had not travelled to Belgrade as he was in Cardiff managing the Wales national team at the time. A team largely made up of reserve and youth team players beat Sheffield Wednesday 3–0 in the first match after the disaster. The programme for that match showed simply a blank space where each United player's name should have been. With seven players dead (Edwards died just over 24 hours later), and with only Gregg and Foulkes fit to play out of the surviving players, United were desperate to find replacements with experience, so Murphy signed Ernie Taylor from Blackpool and Stan Crowther from Aston Villa. Three players, Derek Lewin, Bob Hardisty and Warren Bradley, were transferred to United on short-term contracts by non-League club Bishop Auckland. Bradley was the only one of the three players to play for the first team, and the only one to sign a permanent contract. The remaining places in the team were filled by reserve players including Shay Brennan and Mark Pearson. United's fierce rivals Liverpool offered them five loan players to help put a side together.


title: Munich air disaster

text: There were changes in the backroom staff at United too, following the deaths of secretary Walter Crickmer and coaches Tom Curry and Bert Whalley. Goalkeeper Les Olive, still registered as a player at the time of the disaster, retired from playing and took over from Crickmer as club secretary, while another former United goalkeeper, Jack Crompton, took over coaching duties after United chairman Harold Hardman had negotiated with Crompton's then-employers Luton Town for his release.


title: Munich air disaster

text: United only won one more league game in the 1957–58 season after the crash, causing their title challenge to collapse and they fell to ninth place. They did manage to reach the final of the FA Cup, but lost 2–0 to Bolton Wanderers, and also managed to beat Milan at Old Trafford in the European Cup semi-finals, only to lose 4–0 at the San Siro. Real Madrid, who went on to win the trophy for the third year running, suggested that Manchester United be awarded the trophy for that year – a suggestion supported by Red Star Belgrade – but this failed to materialise. After the tragedy, UEFA floated the idea of Manchester City taking United's place in the European Cup had United not been able to fulfil their fixtures, but this was rejected by all parties involved, City in particular.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Busby resumed managerial duties the next season (1958–59). Real Madrid offered to loan Alfredo Di Stefano until the end of the 58-59 season for half his wages but the transfer was blocked by the FA as it would prevent a British player to take that spot in the team. Madrid instead raised funds and organized charity friendly matches with Manchester. Eventually, Busby built a second generation of Busby Babes, including George Best and Denis Law, that ten years later won the European Cup by beating two-time winners Benfica. Charlton and Foulkes were the only two crash survivors who lined up in that team.


title: Munich air disaster

text: A fund for dependents of victims of the crash was established in March, and chaired by the Chairman of the FA, Arthur Drewry. The fund had raised £52,000 (equivalent to £ as of ) by the time of its disbursement in October 1958.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Manchester United announced on 8 January 1963 that legal action against BEA relating to the crash had been settled out of court. Club secretary Les Olive said the amount involved was not being disclosed. A BEA statement said: "A settlement has been made and an application will be made to the court on Friday, January 11, to stay proceedings."


title: Munich air disaster

text: The first memorials at Old Trafford to the lost players and staff were unveiled on 25 February 1960. The first, a plaque in the shape of the stadium with the image of a green pitch, inscribed with the names of the victims in black and gold glass, was placed above the entrance to the directors' box. Above the plaque was a teak carving of a player and a supporter, heads bowed either side of a wreath and a football inscribed with the date "1958". The plaque was designed by Manchester architect J. Vipond and constructed by Messrs Jaconello (Manchester) Ltd. at a cost of £2,100, and unveiled by Matt Busby.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Also unveiled that day was a memorial to the members of the press who died at Munich, which consisted of a bronze plaque that named the eight lost journalists. It was unveiled by crash survivor Frank Taylor on behalf of the Football Writers' Association. The original plaque was stolen in the 1980s and replaced by a replica now behind the counter in the press entrance. The final memorial was the Munich clock, a simple two-faced clock paid for by the Ground Committee and attached to the southeast corner of the stadium, with the date "6 Feb 1958" at the top of both faces and "Munich" at the bottom. The clock has remained in the same position since it was first installed. The clock was unveiled on 25 February 1960 by Dan Marsden, the chairman of the Ground Committee.


title: Munich air disaster

text: When the stadium was renovated in the mid-1970s, the plaque had to be moved from the directors' entrance to allow the necessary changes. The plaque could not be removed without damaging it, so the old memorial was walled up within the Main Stand and a new memorial was made, simpler than the original, now consisting simply of a slate pitch with the names inscribed upon it, and installed in 1976.


title: Munich air disaster

text: A third version of the memorial, more like the original than the second in that it included the stands around the slate pitch and the figures above it, was installed in 1996, coinciding with the erection of the statue of Matt Busby, who had unveiled the original memorial. This third version was constructed by stonemasons Mather and Ellis from Trafford Park, and the second was put into storage. It is currently awaiting new display panels before being placed into the club museum's Munich display. The third plaque and the statue of Busby were originally on the north side of the East Stand, but the statue was moved to the front of the East Stand and the plaque to the south side of the stand after the stand's expansion in 2000.


title: Munich air disaster

text: There are also two memorials in Germany. First, in the Munich suburb of Trudering, on the corner of Karotschstraße and Emplstraße, there is a small wooden memorial depicting the Crucifixion, decorated by a stone trough filled with flowers. The trough bears a plaque with the inscription: "Im Gedenken an die Opfer der Flugzeugkatastrophe am 6.2.1958 unter denen sich auch ein Teil der Fußballmannschaft von Manchester United befand, sowie allen Verkehrstoten der Gemeinde Trudering" ("In memory of the victims of the air disaster of 6 February 1958 including members of the football team of Manchester United as well as all the traffic victims from the municipality of Trudering").


title: Munich air disaster

text: On 22 September 2004, a dark blue granite plaque set in a sandstone border was unveiled in the vicinity of the old Munich Airport on the corner of Rappenweg and Emplstraße, just metres from the wooden memorial. With a design in the shape of a football pitch, it reads, in both English and German, "In memory of all those who lost their lives here in the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958". Underneath is a plaque expressing United's gratitude to the municipality of Munich and its people. The new memorial was funded by Manchester United themselves and the unveiling was attended by club officials, including chief executive David Gill, manager Sir Alex Ferguson and director Sir Bobby Charlton, a survivor of the disaster himself. On 24 April 2008, the Munich city council decided to name the site where the memorial stone is placed "Manchesterplatz" ("Manchester Square").


title: Munich air disaster

text: On the 57th anniversary of the crash, 6 February 2015, Charlton and FC Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge opened a new museum exhibit commemorating the disaster at the German club's stadium, the Allianz Arena.


title: Munich air disaster

text: There is a small display of artefacts at the Majestic Hotel, where the team stayed after the match. These include a menu card signed by 14 of the players, including the eight who were killed, a photograph taken at the meal and a match ticket. The menu card was acquired by the then-British ambassador to Yugoslavia and was auctioned by his son in 2006. Also at the hotel is the piano played by Manchester United's Mark Jones the night before the accident.


title: Munich air disaster

text: In late 1997, John Doherty (a former United player who had left the club shortly before the disaster) approached club chairman Martin Edwards on behalf of the Manchester United Former Players' Association to request a testimonial for those victims of the Munich disaster – both the survivors and the dependants of the ones who were lost. Edwards was hesitant, but a benefit match was eventually sanctioned for a date as close to the 40th anniversary of the disaster as possible. Red Star Belgrade and Bayern Munich were touted as possible opponents for the match, and fans purchased tickets without the opponents even having been decided.


title: Munich air disaster

text: In the midst of the preparations, former United player Eric Cantona, who had retired from football to pursue a career in film in 1997, expressed an interest in returning to the club for a farewell match. Edwards took the opportunity to combine the two events into one. Due to Cantona's acting career, his schedule meant that he would not be available in February 1998 and the match was moved to 18 August, with the opposition to be a European XI chosen by Cantona; the side selected by Cantona featured the likes of French internationals Laurent Blanc, Pascal Vahirua and Jean-Pierre Papin; England's Paul Gascoigne; former United players Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes; and Cantona's brother Joël. Cantona himself played the first half of the match for the European XI, before switching sides at half-time. United ultimately won the match 8–4, with goals from Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Jordi Cruyff, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, Alex Notman (2) and Cantona; while Papin, Blanc, Martin Dahlin and United player Mark Wilson were the scorers for the European XI.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Edwards was criticised for turning the match into a publicity stunt, while Elizabeth Wood, the divorced wife of survivor Ray Wood, compared the treatment of the Munich victims to that of "dancing bears at the circus". Nevertheless, the match earned £47,000 for each of the victims' families, while Cantona recouped over £90,000 in expenses directly from the testimonial fund, rather than from the club. The club also received criticism from some quarters for its poor treatment of the survivors: Berry and Blanchflower were forced to leave the flats they rented from the club to make way for new players. Berry was also notified by post that his employment with the club had been terminated. Another survivor, Ray Wood, complained about the lack of recognition from the club: "We feel that we helped to build Manchester United... They received massive international support following the disaster but they didn't treat people properly then, did nothing for us all those years, and they're still making money out of it directly now."


title: Munich air disaster

text: On 7 February 1998, United played Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford in the Premier League a day after the 40th anniversary of the disaster. The match kicked off at 3:15 p.m. to allow a minute's silence to be observed at 3:04 p.m. Representatives from both teams laid floral tributes to those who lost their lives, with crash survivor and United director Bobby Charlton joined by Bolton president Nat Lofthouse in leading out the two teams.


title: Munich air disaster

text: A memorial service was held at Old Trafford on 6 February 2008 to mark the 50th anniversary of the disaster. At the conclusion of the service, the surviving members of the 1958 team were the guests of honour at a ceremony to rename the tunnel under the stadium's South Stand as the "Munich Tunnel", which features an exhibition about the Busby Babes. A memorial billboard was unveiled outside Old Trafford, but it was criticized by some fans for including the logo of club's then-sponsor, American insurance firm AIG. The poster was later vandalised with paint bombs.


title: Munich air disaster

text: On the same day, the England national football team took on Switzerland at Wembley Stadium. Before the game, pictures of the players who lost their lives at Munich were displayed on big screens, and the England players wore black armbands. There was also a tribute to the Busby Babes in the match programme. Originally, there was no plan to observe a minute's silence on the day, because the FA feared that the silence would not be respected by fans of United's rivals. They eventually agreed that a moment of silence should be held and, in the event, it was generally well-observed; however, a small number of supporters made whistles and cat-calls and the referee cut the silence short after less than 30 seconds. One-minute silences were also observed at the Northern Ireland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland games.


title: Munich air disaster

text: At the derby match between United and City at Old Trafford on 10 February 2008, both teams were led onto the pitch by a lone piper playing "The Red Flag", and the managers – Sir Alex Ferguson and Sven-Göran Eriksson – each laid a wreath in the centre circle. This was followed by a minute's silence, which, despite previous concerns, was respected by all the fans. Kevin Parker, secretary of City's supporters club, had suggested a minute of applause instead of a minute's silence, so as to drown out anyone who would disrupt the silence, but this was rejected by the United management as inappropriate. United played in strips reminiscent of those worn by the 1958 team, numbered 1 to 11, with no advertising on the front or players' names on the back, while City removed sponsors' logos from their kit and the image of a small black ribbon was heat pressed onto the right shoulder. Both teams wore black armbands in tribute to the victims of the Munich disaster. Manchester City won 2–1 thanks to first-half goals from Darius Vassell and debutant Benjani. Fans in attendance were given commemorative scarves – in red and white for the United fans, and sky blue and white for the City fans – which were held up during the silence.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Several musical tributes to the Munich air disaster have been recorded, the earliest being the song "The Flowers of Manchester". Written by an anonymous author, later revealed to be Eric Winter, the editor of the magazine "Sing", the song was recorded and released by Liverpool folk band The Spinners on their 1962 debut album "Quayside Songs Old and New". Manchester-born singer Morrissey also released a song called "Munich Air Disaster, 1958" as a B-side to "Irish Blood, English Heart" in 2004. It later appeared on his live album, "Live at Earls Court", in 2005 and his 2009 B-sides compilation, "Swords".


title: Munich air disaster

text: Most recently, the English band The Futureheads named their album "News and Tributes" in honour of the disaster. The title track pays tribute to those who lost their lives, and includes the verse:


title: Munich air disaster

text: Barry Navidi, producer of the 2004 film "The Merchant of Venice", was reported to be working on a script for a Hollywood film about the Munich air crash. The "Manchester Evening News" reported on 22 April 2005 that the survivors had not been consulted and were concerned about how accurate the film would be.


title: Munich air disaster

text: Foulkes said that, if done right, the film could become a "tribute to the Busby Babes which could be seen for generations to come"; however, he expressed concerns about the accuracy of the film, given the filmmakers' lack of first-hand sources about what actually happened in Munich. Fellow survivor Harry Gregg was more concerned about the portrayal of the players, particularly those who died, and whether their families' feelings would be respected. John Doherty, a player who had left United only a few months before the crash, was less restrained, saying that "the only reason anyone would want to make a film like this is to make money" and that "while there may be a slight hint of truth in the film, it will be mainly untruths... Unless you were there, how could you know what conversations took place?".


title: Munich air disaster

text: On 10 January 2006, the BBC showed a drama/documentary retelling the story in the series "Surviving Disaster". The programme was met with criticism from former United winger Albert Scanlon, who claimed that it was full of inaccuracies, despite the production having consulted him about the content of the documentary. Errors in the programme included the depiction of Jimmy Murphy giving a pre-match team talk in Belgrade, despite him being in Cardiff at the time, and the plane being shown as only half full when nearly every seat was occupied.


title: Munich air disaster

text: On 6 February 2008, the 50th anniversary of the crash, several television channels showed programmes about it:


title: Munich air disaster

text: The University of Salford honoured Munich victim Eddie Colman by naming one of its halls of residence after him. Colman was born in Salford in 1936. There is also a network of small roads in Newton Heath named after the players who lost their lives in Munich, including Roger Byrne Close, David Pegg Walk, Geoff Bent Walk, Eddie Colman Close, Billy Whelan Walk, Tommy Taylor Close and Mark Jones Walk. Among those roads is an old people's home named after Duncan Edwards. Edwards was also honoured with street names in his home town of Dudley; there is a small close off Stourbridge Road named Duncan Edwards Close, and in 2008, the Dudley Southern Bypass was renamed Duncan Edwards Way. The road bridge over the Luas tram line at Fassaugh Road, Cabra, Dublin 7 is named after Billy Whelan.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor, model, film producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film "Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat" (2001) and has since gone on to act in more than 40 films. He has received several awards including the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "Rock On!!".


title: Arjun Rampal

text: He has enacted lead roles in romance films including "Deewaanapan" (2001), "Dil Hai Tumhaara" (2002), "Dil Ka Rishta" (2003), "Vaada" (2005) and "I See You" (2006), action films "Asambhav" (2004) and "D-Day" (2013), thrillers "Yakeen" (2005) and "Roy" (2015), socio-political "Chakravyuh" (2012), crime drama "Inkaar" (2013) and biopic "Daddy" (2017). The year 2002 marked a turning point for Rampal when he was cast in "Aankhen", proving to be his first commercial success. His other commercially successful films include "Don" (2006), "Om Shanti Om" (2007), "Housefull" (2010), "Raajneeti" (2010), "Ra.One" (2011), "" (2016) and "Nail Polish" (2021).


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal became a film producer with "I See You" (2006) under his banner, Chasing Ganesha Films, and produced the biopic "Daddy" (2017), for which he also co-wrote the screenplay.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal was born on 26 November 1972 in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India, in a family with military background. His maternal grandfather, Brigadier Gurdayal Singh, designed the first artillery gun for the Indian Army post-independence. His father is a Brahmin while his mother is part Sikh and part Dutch. He grew up in a multicultural environment where the family celebrated Christmas, Diwali and Eid. He stayed with his mother after the separation of his parents and attended St. Patrick School (Devlali, Nashik) where his mother was a teacher. There in a school play, he played the part of Arjun while his charming classmate Raju Tolani brought life to the role of Krishna. He then attended the Kodaikanal International School. Later, he graduated with a degree in economics with honours from Hindu College, Delhi. He went on to become a model. Actress Kim Sharma is Arjun Rampal's first cousin.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's "Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat" (2001) opposite Sunil Shetty, Aftab Shivdasani and Kirti Reddy. Rampal gave a show stealing performance and earned all the attention. He earned critical acclaim for his performance in the movie. Taran Adarsh of indiaFM wrote ""Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat" is a showcase for Arjun Rampal to exhibit his talent. The guy looks dashing and emotes with utmost sincerity. He's handled the emotional moments with maturity, which is so rare for a first-timer. A confident debut!" This established Rampal as a leading actor in the Indian film industry. He was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut but swapped the awards in the Best Male Debut category at the Star Screen and IIFA ceremonies.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: His next release was Ashu Trikha's "Deewaanapan", in which Rampal was paired with Dia Mirza. He earned critical acclaim for his performance, but the film flopped at the box office. Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM wrote: "Arjun Rampal carries the film on his broad shoulders and comes up with a sincere performance that is consistent throughout. He is wonderful in action sequences and springs a pleasant surprise in the emotional moments by delivering the apposite expressions." Ashish Magotra of Rediff gave negative reviews on Rampal, writing: "Among the actors, Arjun Rampal as the hero does pretty much what he has been known to do. He models. His acting capabilities leave a lot to be desired." His last release of the year was Ashok Mehta's "Moksha". It was actually his first film, but was released after "Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat". Rampal was paired with famous actress Manisha Koirala in a lead role in "Moksha". This film marked Rampal's third consecutive flop at the box office, but Rampal earned critical acclaim. Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM wrote: "Arjun Rampal excels in a role that was difficult to portray. He takes giant strides as a performer and proves that he's an actor with an amazing range." Priyanka Bhattacharya of Rediff considered the movie to be "more a 70-mm portfolio for Arjun Rampal than a story."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal's first release of 2002 was Vipul Amrutlal Shah's "Aankhen", in which Rampal starred in an ensemble cast featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Sushmita Sen, Paresh Rawal and Aditya Pancholi. He played the role of a blind person. The film was ranked above average at the box office and became the fourth-highest grossing Bollywood film of 2002. His next release was Kundan Shah's "Dil Hai Tumhaara" opposite Rekha, Preity Zinta, Mahima Chaudhry and Jimmy Shergill. The film was a flop.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: In 2003, Rampal played a lead role in Naresh Malhotra's "Dil Ka Rishta" opposite Aishwarya Rai. Rampal earned critical acclaim for his performance. Ronjita Kulkarni of Rediff wrote: "Arjun Rampal shakes off his wooden image and comes up with a good performance. He is subtle and convincing in the emotional scenes. He has certainly moved on from "Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat"." It was ranked the thirtieth film of the year on the basis of box office collections. Rampal's next role was in Khalid Mohammed's "Tehzeeb" opposite Urmila Matondkar. Rampal played a Muslim in the film. The film earned critical acclaim. Taran Adarsh praised his performance, quoting: "the easy-going attitude his character reflects injects that certain sheen to the enterprise."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: In 2004, Rampal collaborated with Rajiv Rai for the second time in his first action thriller "Asambhav". Rampal starred opposite Priyanka Chopra and played the role of an Indian commando Captain Aadit Arya. The film was entirely shot in Switzerland. Released on 23 July, "Asambhav" was Rampal's only release of the year. Shahid Khan of Planet Bollywood wrote: "Arjun Rampal looks good and he suits the mould of the action hero very well."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal's first release of 2005 was Satish Kaushik's "Vaada", in which he played a lead role opposite Ameesha Patel and Zayed Khan. The film was a flop. Patcy N of Rediff praised Rampal, writing: "Arjun Rampal has done a good job; his is a subdued performance, and the model-turned-actor looks great in most scenes." Rampal's next release was Vikram Bhatt's multi-starrer action film "Elaan". The film managed to do well and became an average-grosser at the box office. Rampal earned critical acclaim for his performance in "Elaan". Subhash K. Jha of IANS praised Rampal and wrote: "Arjun is pretty much on his own. Once again playing a man with responsibilities he brings a controlled conviction to both his scenes with his screen daughter and his engrossing death scene." Merril Diniz of Rediff wrote: "Arjun Rampal is almost believable as the rugged ex-cop. He has a deep baritone and svelte body language."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal's third release of the year was the mystery thriller "Yakeen", in which Rampal was paired in a lead role with Priyanka Chopra for the second time. He received acclaim for improving his emotional acting. Taran Adarsh praised his performance, quoting: "Cast in complex role, Arjun Rampal delivers his best performance so far. The role would've lost its bearings had it been entrusted to an inferior actor, but Arjun sinks his teeth into it and emerges trumps. The actor portrays the gamut of emotions with aplomb and delivers a flawless performance. He is truly efficient in sequences when he starts suspecting his wife's fidelity in the first half. The shower sequence as also the intermission point display Arjun's range as an actor." Rampal's last release of the year was Apoorva Lakhia's "Ek Ajnabee" opposite Amitabh Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Perizaad Zorabian. This film featured Rampal in his first negative role as Shekhar Verma, the bodyguard of a child, but is actually a corrupted person. Subhash K Jha praised Rampal's performance and wrote, "The narrative has some nice supporting performances, particularly Arjun Rampal who's gone both over and under the skin of his bar-owner ex-army man's role. Not only does Rampal look right, he feels right."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: His first release of 2006 was the love triangle based "Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai" opposite Bobby Deol and Ameesha Patel. This film was a delayed release. Satyajit of SmasHits quoted "Arjun Rampal has also been promising and it shows in his performance. The media might have labeled him "wooden actor" but he has shown great improvisation in emotional scenes." Taran Adarsh wrote: "Arjun is awkward at places in initial portions, but gets into the rhythm subsequently. The emotional sequences in the second half clearly indicate that he's come a long way." His next appearance was the multi-starrer anthology "Darna Zaroori Hai". Rampal starred in the story "Spirits Do Come" opposite Bipasha Basu and Makrand Deshpande, directed by Prawal Raman. Despite a cast of stars, the film flopped at the box office.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal reprised the supporting role of Jasjit in "Don – The Chase Begins Again", a remake of the 1978 movie "Don". The role had been played by Pran in the original "Don". "Don – The Chase Begins Again" starred Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra and the movie became Rampal's first hit. The film proved to be a breakthrough movie for Rampal, although Khan earned the most attention. Taran Adarsh praised his performance, quoting: "Despite the shortcomings, he makes a sincere attempt."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal established his own production company Chasing Ganesha Films with his wife Mehr Jesia. The first movie under that banner "I See You" was Rampal's last release of 2006. He played a lead role opposite newcomer Vipasha Agarwal. The movie was shot entirely in London, England. Like his past movies, "I See You" was also a failure at the box office and received poor reviews. However, Rampal earned critical acclaim for his work. Taran Adarsh wrote: ""I See You" rests on Arjun's shoulders. Arjun is efficient in a role that doesn't really demand histrionics. He has proved his credentials in the past and his performance in this film is at par with his earlier works. He works best in the dramatic portions."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: In 2007, Rampal starred in an antagonist role in "Om Shanti Om" opposite Shah Rukh Khan and the debuting Deepika Padukone. The film emerged as the year's highest-grossing film in India and the overseas market, and became India's highest grossing production ever up to that point with a worldwide gross of over 1.48 billion. It was Rampal's biggest hit in his career and earned him critical acclaim for his villainous role. Sukanya Verma of Rediff wrote: "Rampal's persona exudes too much warmth to pass off as a cold-blooded antagonist." Rampal won the Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role for his villainous performance in "Om Shanti Om" and got nominations at the IIFA, Star Screen and Apsara ceremonies.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Following the success of "Om Shanti Om", Rampal started to rise as a successful actor. In 2008, Rampal gave an excellent performance in "Rock On!!" as Joseph "Joe" Mascarenhas, the lead guitarist of a band, a poor idealist who never learned that self-promotion is more important than music in a remixed world. Rampal learned guitar to prepare for his role. His performance was widely acclaimed, earning him the prestigious National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 56th National Film Awards, Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award at the 54th Filmfare Awards, IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 10th IIFA Awards and Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor. This brought wider success and acclaim to Rampal. Noted critic Nikhat Kazmi of "The Times of India" praised Rampal's performance and wrote: "If you actually had to choose, then the vote would go for Arjun Rampal who displays a newfound maturity and looks absolutely groovy with his windblown hair and his guitar-strumming stance." Martin D'Souza of Bollywood Trade News Network praised Rampal, writing: "Arjun Rampal is slowly coming into his own. After playing a character with a negative shade in "Om Shanti Om", he returns with another powerful performance as Joe Mascarenhas, the lead guitarist of the band. Vibrant at first, and then subdued he walks the act with a rock star gait."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Later that year, he starred in Rituparno Ghosh's English-language arthouse film "The Last Lear", alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Preity Zinta. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was received well at a number of other film festivals. Upon its theatrical release in India, Rampal got favourable reviews for his performance. He gave a show-stealing performance. Taran Adarsh wrote: "Arjun is evolving into a fine actor. After "Rock On!!", this is another performance that would fetch Arjun laurels." Martin D'Souza considered it to be Rampal's best performance to date. Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN praised Rampal's performance, writing: "Arjun Rampal shines as the guilt-ridden filmmaker, too ashamed to even apologise for his selfishness."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal's only release of 2009 was Deepak Tijori's "Fox", in which he starred opposite Sunny Deol, Sagarika Ghatge and Udita Goswami. The film mainly received negative reviews and flopped at the box office, but Rampal earned critical acclaim. Taran Adarsh praised Rampal's performance as perfect.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: 2010 would go on to become the most successful year of Rampal's career with three back to back hits. The first was Sajid Khan's comedy film "Housefull", in which he starred in a supporting role. The film received negative reviews, but became a huge hit at the box office. Rampal's next release was Prakash Jha's multi-starrer "Raajneeti". Rampal received critical acclaim for his supporting role of Prithvi in the movie. Taran Adarsh wrote: "Arjun is a revelation and what a terrific performance he pitches in. He's like an untamed lion." His performance earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. He won the award in the Best Supporting Actor at the IIFA, Apsara and Zee Cine categories. His last release of the year was Siddharth Malhotra and Karan Johar's "We Are Family", in which he played a lead role opposite Kajol and Kareena Kapoor. It was an average grosser and Rampal's first successful movie that featured him in a lead role. Taran Adarsh wrote: "Arjun continues to surprise. "Rock On!!", "Housefull", "Raajneeti" and now "We Are Family" indicates the growth of this actor. He handles the emotional moments well, too."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: In 2011, Rampal played the titular negative role in Anubhav Sinha's science fiction movie "Ra.One". The movie became a successful film in India and overseas and received mixed reviews. Rampal's new bald look earned him a lot of appreciation and popularity within the audiences. Majority of the fans considered his "Ra. One" look to be better than that of the protagonist "G.One". He earned critical acclaim for his villainous performance. Martin D'Souza praised Rampal's performance and considered him to be the saviour of the film that was being flawless in the second half. He wrote: "It's only after the interval that the plot meanders a bit, loses it sting and almost falls apart like a pixelised image, before Arjun lights up the screen." Arthur J Pais of Rediff.com wrote: "The best person to gain from the film directed by Anubhav Sinha with more inane and crude sexual jokes than in any recent Hindi film, is Arjun Rampal. His body language and brooding face creates a quietly menacing villain." Raja Sen wrote: "Arjun Rampal is the best thing in the biggest budget Indian feature of all time." Aseem Chhabra considered Rampal to be the "most interesting element of the film."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal had three releases in 2012: Madhur Bhandarkar's "Heroine", Prakash Jha's "Chakravyuh" and the comedy movie "Ajab Gazabb Love", with all three failing at the box office. However, Rampal earned critical acclaim for his performances. In "Heroine", Rampal played the role of Aryan Khanna, a well-known actor, starring opposite Kareena Kapoor. The movie failed to become a success at the box office with an earning of net at the weekend. It was declared below average by Box Office India.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: In "Chakravyuh", Rampal played the role of a police officer, SP Adil Khan, starring opposite Abhay Deol, Esha Gupta, Manoj Bajpai, Om Puri and Anjali Patil. The film grossed in the first week. However, Rampal earned critical acclaim for his performance as a police officer. Rohit Vats of CNN-IBN wrote: "Arjun Rampal's image and dialogue delivery mar his chances, but it is one of his better performances, in fact he has given Abhay Deol a run for his money in double shots."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: In "Ajab Gazabb Love", Rampal played the double role of twin brothers Karan and Arjun, based on the popular duo of Karan Arjun from the hit 1995 film of the same name. Though the film flopped at the box office, Rampal earned critical acclaim for his double role performance. Madhureeta Mukherjee of "The Times of India" wrote: "Arjun Rampal's comic-timing is a revelation. His double-act entertains and adds energy to this comedy."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: His first release of 2013 was Sudhir Mishra's "Inkaar", opposite Chitrangada Singh. Though the film flopped at the box office, Rampal earned positive reviews for his performance by critics and audiences. Taran Adarsh praised Rampal's performance, quoting: "Arjun Rampal displays remarkable understanding of the character. Post "Chakravyuh", which released a few months ago, this is yet another power-packed performance that makes you realize that this supermodel has transformed into a super actor."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: His next film was Nikhil Advani's action movie "D-Day", co-starring Rishi Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Shruti Haasan and Huma Qureshi. He portrayed Rudra Pratap Singh, a RAW agent. To prepare for his role, Rampal met real RAW agents. He earned critical acclaim for his performance. Mohar Basu of Koimoi wrote: "Arjun Rampal has evolved for the better as an actor. His infallible personality and his portrayal that has hints of both anguish and strength is what makes him stand out despite the presence of more powerful actors. He acted like a dream and that is commendable, to say the least." Rummana Ahmed of Yahoo! Movies wrote: "As a former army officer and now an undercover agent, Arjun is intense and sharp, his body language apt and his performance precise." Shubha Shetty of "Mid-Day" wrote: "It is Arjun Rampal as Rudra who amazes with a performance that is undoubtedly his best till date. Rampal, apart from looking as gorgeous as he does, comfortably displays a range of emotions with surprising deft." Mansha Rastogi of Now Running. com wrote: "Arjun Rampal has excelled himself by leaps and bound and makes a commendable effort of an ex-army man turned RAW Agent delightfully." Rajeev Masand wrote: "Arjun Rampal does some of his best work here as the rebellious agent simmering with pent-up anger." Sarit Ray of "Hindustan Times" wrote: "Arjun Rampal (agent Rudra Pratap Singh) brings to the role what he brings to every film – good looks and a standard brooding expression."


title: Arjun Rampal

text: His last release of the year was Prakash Jha's "Satyagraha" (2013). Rampal was featured in an ensemble cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee and Amrita Rao. Rampal played the role of Arjun Singh, a social activist who joined a campaign to free his former college principal.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: His next film "Roy" was initially scheduled to release in 2014 but it was delayed and ultimately released in 2015. He portrayed the main protagonist of the romantic thriller alongside Jacqueline Fernandez and Ranbir Kapoor. This was a critical and commercial failure. Critic Sarita A. Tanwar described it as a "boring, exhausting and pretentious" film.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: In 2016, Rampal starred in the sequel to "Rock On!!", "Rock On!! 2" alongside Farhan Akhtar, Shraddha Kapoor, Purab Kohli, in which he reprised the role of Joe Mascarenhas. It was a flop at box-office owing primarily to demonetisation but the camaraderie between the actors was appreciated in the film. His next release was "", in which he portrayed the role of a sub-inspector on the hunt of missing protagonist (portrayed by Vidya Balan). The film was an average grosser but his performance was appreciated.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: His next venture was a biopic on gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli called "Daddy" in which he portrayed Arun Gawli and also produced the film. He reduced 10 kg weight and missed workout for nearly two years to portray the character. His role was critically praised and Rajeev Masand of "News18" wrote "It's a shrewd performance, relying almost entirely on body language over histrionics, and the actor doesn't disappoint." In 2021, he appeared in Aparna Sen's Hindi film "The Rapist" in main lead alongside Konkona Sen Sharma. The film has been nominated for Kim Jiseok award at 26th Busan International Film Festival.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal is set to make his Telugu film debut with "Hari Hara Veera Mallu" starring Pawan Kalyan. Rampal will reportedly be playing the role of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: In 2008, Rampal made his television debut as one of the three judges of the fourth season of the dance reality television show "Nach Baliye" on STAR Plus. The other two judges were choreographer Farah Khan and film actress Karisma Kapoor. In 2010, Rampal hosted the 5th Apsara Awards with Preity Zinta.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: In November 2011, Rampal started hosting a new television show called "Love 2 Hate U" airing on STAR World India. The theme of the show was that Rampal would try and change the perception of people who hate Bollywood actors by bringing them face to face with them. The first episode aired on 20 November and the last episode aired on 15 January. In 2019, Rampal made his debut in a digital web series with "The Final Call" in which he played Captain Karan Sachdev and won the Best Actor in a Web Series Award.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Alongside acting, Arjun Rampal has performed in many international stage concerts with several of Bollywood actors and actresses. In 2002, Rampal participated in his first world tour; "Heartthrobs: Live in Concert" with Hrithik Roshan, Aftab Shivdasani and sisters Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor. His next concert was the international "Temptations 2004" with Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta and Priyanka Chopra. It was the most successful Bollywood concert at the time. Nineteen shows occurred across the globe.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: In 2008, Rampal participated in "Temptations Reloaded 2008", a series of concerts showcased across several different countries. It was set by Shah Rukh Khan. The show also featured Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Ganesh Hegde, Javed Ali and Anusha Dandekar. It took place at the Ahoy Rotterdam venue in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Several months later, Rampal again joined Khan, Kapoor and Kaif to perform for 15,000 spectators at Dubai's Festival City Arena. In 2010, Rampal was paired with Khan in a concert at the Army Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh to a packed audience. The other participants were Rani Mukerji, Neeraj Shridhar and Ishaa Koppikar.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal has gained a frequent popularity and fan base on the basis of his good looks and acting. He is described as a versatile and popular actor by the media. He has been frequently described by the Indian media as "the hunk". He was voted as "The Times of India"s "Most Desirable Man" of 2012, beating 49 other men including actors, politicians and sportsmen. Also in 2017, he was included in "Times of India"<nowiki>'s "Most Desirable Man"</nowiki> list at No. 9.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: In 2012, Arjun Rampal, in association with Percept Limited launched "Lost Festival". "Lost" is a music festival driven by culture, tradition & soul. In 2013, he joined PETA, in its campaign to ban horse-drawn carriages in Mumbai. Rampal's luxury night club "Lap", situated in New Delhi, hosting DJs and musicians like Lady Gaga, the Formula 1 after-parties, attended by Bernie Ecclecston. He shut the club in 2016 after 8 years.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Rampal married Mehr Jesia in 1998 and has two daughters with her. On 28 May 2018 the couple announced their separation in a joint statement after 20 years of marriage. They were granted divorce by a Bandra family court in November 2019. The couple's two daughters will live with their mother.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: In April 2019, Rampal announced that his girlfriend, Gabriella Demetriades, was pregnant. Demetriades gave birth to a boy named Arik Rampal in July 2019.


title: Arjun Rampal

text: Arjun Rampal has received numerous awards in his career including a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor and the prestigious National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for "Rock On!!" (2008). He has also fetched awards for his performances in "Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat" (2001), "Om Shanti Om" (2007), "Raajneeti" (2010) and "Housefull" (2010).


title: George Conway

text: George Thomas Conway III (born September 2, 1963) is an American lawyer and activist. Conway was considered by President Donald Trump for the position of Solicitor General of the United States, and a post as an assistant attorney general heading the Civil Division at the United States Department of Justice, but withdrew himself from consideration.


title: George Conway

text: In 2018, Conway emerged as a vocal Trump critic, even though his wife, Kellyanne Conway, worked for Trump from 2016 to 2020. During the 2020 presidential election, Conway was involved with the Lincoln Project, a coalition of former Republicans dedicated to defeating Trump.


title: George Conway

text: Conway successfully argued the 2010 case "Morrison v. National Australia Bank" before the Supreme Court of the United States.


title: George Conway

text: George Conway's father, an electrical engineer, worked for defense contractor Raytheon. His mother was an organic chemist from the Philippines.


title: George Conway

text: Conway grew up outside of Boston and graduated from Marlborough High School in Marlborough, Massachusetts. In 1984, Conway graduated from Harvard College "magna cum laude" with a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry, where William A. Haseltine served as his faculty advisor. Three years later, he obtained his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the "Yale Law Journal" and president of the school's chapter of the Federalist Society.


title: George Conway

text: In 1987 and 1988, Conway served as a law clerk to Judge Ralph K. Winter Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In September 1988, Conway joined the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. He was named a partner of the firm in the Litigation Department in January 1994 at a million dollar a year. Conway's practice focused on litigation involving securities, mergers and acquisitions, contracts, and antitrust. In 2016, Wachtell Lipton reported $5.8 million in profits per partner.


title: George Conway

text: Conway agreed to work unpaid as one of the attorneys who represented Paula Jones in her lawsuit against U.S. president Bill Clinton. During the representation of Jones, Conway worked closely with Ann Coulter and Matt Drudge.


title: George Conway

text: On March 29, 2010, Conway argued the securities case of "Morrison v. National Australia Bank" before the U.S. Supreme Court. Conway won the case, which was decided by an 8–0 vote; the opinion was written by Justice Antonin Scalia.


title: George Conway

text: Conway has been considered for some United States Department of Justice posts. In January 2017, he was considered for the post of Solicitor General. The job eventually went to Noel Francisco. On March 17, 2017, it was reported that he would be nominated to run the United States Department of Justice Civil Division. However, on June 2, 2017, Conway announced that he declined to pursue the post. On November 16, 2018, Conway stated that a reason he did not join the Trump administration was because it was "like a shitshow in a dumpster fire".


title: George Conway

text: On November 9, 2018, Conway and Neal Katyal wrote an op-ed in "The New York Times" challenging the constitutionality of Trump's appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general following the termination of Jeff Sessions. Trump relied on the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA), which allows the president to make interim appointments, to appoint Whitaker. Conway and Katyal argued that it was a mistake to try to use the FVRA to override the explicit wording of the Constitution, which requires Senate approval of all appointees who answer directly to the president.


title: George Conway

text: In November 2018, Conway organized a group called Checks and Balances. The group was composed of more than a dozen members of the conservative-libertarian Federalist Society, which had been instrumental in selecting candidates for the Trump administration to appoint to federal courts. "The New York Times" reported that the group was "urging their fellow conservatives to speak up about what they say are the Trump administration's betrayals of bedrock legal norms".


title: George Conway

text: Conway is a founding member and advisor of the Lincoln Project, a conservative Super PAC formed in December 2019 and dedicated to "Defeat President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box". Its detailed aim is "persuading enough disaffected conservatives, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents in swing states and districts to help ensure a victory in the Electoral College, and congressional majorities that don't enable or abet Mr. Trump's violations of the Constitution". The group released its first video on January 9, 2020; called "The MAGA Church"; it warns evangelicals to beware of false prophets. On August 23, 2020, he announced that he would be taking a leave from the Lincoln Project in order to devote more time to his family. Kellyanne Conway, his wife, announced her departure from the White House the same day as well. In 2021, Conway said that the Lincoln Project should shut down considering revelations that some of its leadership ignored warnings that another founder was harassing young men, including interns.


title: George Conway

text: Following the first impeachment of Donald Trump, Conway opined in "The Washington Post" that if the relevant witnesses are not allowed to testify during the Senate Trump impeachment trial, Trump's defenders will be negatively affected by "the very evidence they sought to suppress". Upon Senator Mitch McConnell's refusal to subpoena John Bolton in a Senate impeachment trial, Conway and Neal K. Katyal opined in "The New York Times", "There is only one possible explanation for this behavior: [McConnell] is afraid of the truth. Otherwise, what argument can there be for refusing to hear from a central witness like Mr. Bolton, who other witnesses have indicated was exceptionally concerned about the suspension of military aid to Ukraine?"


title: George Conway

text: In the late 1990s Conway dated conservative pundit Laura Ingraham. After he saw Kellyanne Fitzpatrick on the cover of a society magazine, he asked Ann Coulter for an introduction, and began dating her. George and Kellyanne married in 2001. They have four children and live in Washington, D.C. Prior to Trump's presidency, the family lived in Closter, New Jersey.


title: George Conway

text: In 2020, Conway's daughter, Claudia Conway, made a series of anti-Trump comments on TikTok. On July 2, she said that her father approved of utilizing her right to free speech and voicing her own opinions. On July 3, Conway tweeted a request that all media cease communicating with his daughter. In response, Claudia tweeted, regarding her father, "You're just mad that I'm finally getting my voice heard. Sorry your marriage failed." Her social media accounts were then briefly made private.


title: George Conway

text: Since 2018, Conway's stated political positions have often been contrary to those taken by his wife on behalf of the Trump administration. His published legal interpretations of Trump's actions differ from his wife's positions, and on Twitter he has been critical of Trump on a personal level. In March 2019, Trump responded to Conway's attacks by calling him a "stone cold LOSER & husband from hell" on Twitter. Kellyanne defended Trump's comments in an interview, saying that Trump was "a counterpuncher" and was free to respond when he is attacked.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: Maureen Starkey Tigrett (born Mary Cox; 4 August 1946 – 30 December 1994), also known as Mo Starkey, was a hairdresser from Liverpool, England, best known as the first wife of Ringo Starr, the Beatles' drummer. When she was a trainee hairdresser in Liverpool, she met him at the Cavern Club, where the Beatles were playing. Starr proposed marriage at the Ad Lib Club in London on 20 January 1965. They married at the Caxton Hall Register Office, London, in 1965, and divorced in 1975.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: First living at 34 Montagu Square, Marylebone, the Starrs bought Sunny Heights, in St George's Hill, Weybridge. In 1973, they bought Tittenhurst Park from John Lennon. They had three children together: sons Zak and Jason, and daughter Lee.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: Mary Cox was born on 4 August 1946, in Liverpool, Lancashire, (now Merseyside), England. She was the only child of Joseph Cox, a ship's steward, and Florence Cox (née Barrett). As a teenager, she remembered turning her school uniform around to make it look like a frock, and paying a school friend ten cigarettes a day to teach her how to "smoke properly". She left convent school when she was 14 years old, changing her name to Maureen when she began her career as a trainee manicurist/hairdresser at Ashley du Pre, in Liverpool, but was known as "Mo" to her friends.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: At 15, Cox became a regular at the Cavern Club, and remembered the long queues and violent competition for access to the Beatles. Although Ringo, whom she called "Ritchie" (for Richard), kissed her, he did not immediately notice her among his numerous fans. All the Beatles were supposed to be officially unattached, for image purposes, and when Ringo started dating Cox in 1962, she was often threatened, and once scratched in the face by a vicious rival. She even had to stop working as a hairdresser because of the threats. In September 1963, with her parents' permission, she travelled to Greece with Starr, Paul McCartney, and Jane Asher.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: On the eve of an international tour, Starr collapsed during a photo session at a studio in Barnes, London. Stricken with a fever and tonsillitis, he was rushed to hospital, where Cox visited every day to help him recuperate. Afterwards they became a monogamous couple. On 20 January 1965, Starr proposed marriage to Cox at the Ad Lib Club, above the Prince Charles Theatre, London.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: After finding out that she was pregnant in late January 1965, 18-year-old Maureen married Starr at the Caxton Hall Register Office, London, on 11 February 1965.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: Because of the pregnancy, the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein arranged the wedding very quickly, hoping it would be private, with John Lennon telling her there should be no tears, or she 'wouldn't be one of the gang'. McCartney was in Tunisia at the time and could not attend. After the wedding, George Harrison (who had arrived on a bicycle) jokingly said "Two down, two to go", meaning that the only two Beatles who were not married were Harrison and McCartney. The Starrs had a brief honeymoon for three days at the holiday home of Epstein's lawyer, David Jacobs, in Prince's Crescent, Hove, but gave an interview in the back garden on their wedding day, as they were being besieged by numerous reporters, with 100 photographers. Starr then had to depart to the Bahamas for the filming of "Help!", on 22 February. She made it clear from the start that she would not give interviews, as a Beatles spokesperson explained: "She doesn't want to get mixed up in publicity, and Ringo doesn't want her to, either."


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: The Starrs were living at 34 Montagu Square, Marylebone, when Epstein's accountant suggested that the group members should move to houses near his, in Esher. Lennon bought a house called Kenwood in St George's Hill, Weybridge, Harrison bought Kinfauns on a nearby estate in Esher, and on 24 July 1965, the Starrs bought Sunny Heights, on South Road, St George's Hill, for £30,000. Ken Partridge was asked to redesign the interior of the six-bedroomed house, incorporating a private pub above the garage, called "The Flying Cow", which had a mirrored bar, pool table, jukebox, and a portrait of Lennon and McCartney on the wall. A TV was usually turned on in every room, and a go-kart track was laid in the grounds. Although she cooked for the family, the Starrs had a nanny who lived in the house, and a cleaning woman who visited every day.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: After Lennon moved away, the Starrs sold Sunny Heights for £50,000, and bought a 16th-century mansion in Elstead, from Peter Sellers, which they soon sold to Stephen Stills, before moving into Roundhill, on Compton Avenue, Highgate, London, on 25 April 1969. They bought Lennon's home at Tittenhurst Park on 18 September 1973.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: Cox enjoyed the closeness of Cynthia Lennon and Pattie Harrison, as they often went on holiday together, shopping, and celebrated Christmas. Starr promised that he would set up a nationwide hairdressing business for his wife, but the idea was later shelved, as she had to deal with looking after their children and being the wife of a Beatle. This would entail waiting with other Beatles' partners, at clubs like the Speakeasy Club, the Ad Lib, or the Scotch of St James, or staying up all night, waiting with a cooked meal for Starr when he came home after a recording session. She was also asked to look after voluminous fan club mail, and would personally answer letters. The Starrs were both interested in various arts, and collaborated on photo montages, paintings and simple sculptures together.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: On 19 February 1968, the Starrs travelled to Rishikesh, India, with McCartney and Asher. They joined the Lennons and the Harrisons, who had arrived three days earlier. Maureen took an instant dislike to the spiders, mosquitoes, and flies that were ever-present in the ashram. The division between the sexes was emphasised by the male musicians sitting outside at night composing songs, while their partners would gather together in one of their rooms, often talking about life as the wife or partner of a Beatle. The Starrs left India on 1 March, saying the unfamiliar food was not to their liking, and they were missing their children.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: Maureen Starr sang backup vocals on "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" (from "The White Album") and was, along with Yoko Ono and Linda McCartney, in attendance at the Apple Corps' rooftop concert in 1969, which was filmed for "Let It Be", showing her sitting next to the chimney stack with Ono to keep warm. Responding to applause, McCartney can be heard saying "Thanks, Mo" after the final performance of "Get Back" on the album "Let It Be".


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: The first song in the Apple Records catalogue was a private recording by Frank Sinatra. In 1968, as a favour to Starr, Sinatra recorded this special version of his previously released song "The Lady Is a Tramp" for Maureen's birthday. Sammy Cahn re-wrote the lyrics, and personalised them: "She married Ringo, and she could have had Paul/That's why the lady is a champ". Sinatra's recording was pressed as a single in Los Angeles, and notated as Apple 1. Starr presented his wife with the single on her 22nd birthday, 4 August 1968. Only a few copies were pressed before the master tape was destroyed; the song is still in demand by record collectors. A poor quality copy of the song began circulating in collector circles, and is now available on several bootleg albums. Starr and his wife attended a Sinatra concert in London on 8 May 1970.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: Zak Starkey was born on 13 September 1965, at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, the same day as the single "Yesterday" was released in the US. She said at the time: "I'd like the baby to be like Ringo, but he need not necessarily follow in his father's footsteps." Starr said his son was "a little smasher", but also said that "I won't let Zak be a drummer." She did not get her wish, as his son later went on to play with the Who and Oasis. Jason Starkey was born on 19 August 1967, and daughter Lee Parkin Starkey was born on 11 November 1970, both at Queen Charlotte and Chelsea Hospital in Hammersmith, London.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: When the Beatles broke up in 1970, so did the Starrs' marriage, as Ringo's infidelities were becoming more frequent, and his alcoholism was escalating. When the Harrisons were visiting the Starrs, Harrison confessed how much he loved Maureen, which led to an affair. Ringo threatened divorce when he was told by Harrison's wife Pattie that she had found the pair in bed together. Lennon was equally angry with Harrison, describing the affair as being "virtual incest".


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: Despite the couple's problems, notwithstanding extramarital affairs, Maureen did not want to divorce Starr, but eventually, on 17 July 1975, their divorce was finalised on the grounds of Starr's affair with American fashion model Nancy Lee Andrews. Starr agreed to give his ex-wife custody of their children and a one-off payment of £125,000, along with £23,000 a year plus £2,500 a year for each of their children. The end of her marriage depressed her deeply; she once rode a motorbike into a brick wall in a suicide attempt. Starr later admitted that the marriage had been dysfunctional, confessing that he had been "a drunk, a wife-beater and an absent father."


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: In November 1987, Maureen Starr instructed her counsel, Thayne Forbes QC, to sue Withers, the London firm of solicitors that had handled her divorce settlement, for an alleged "breach of contract and negligence," saying that a partner, Charles Doughty, had not fully investigated Starr's finances at the time and had not given enough consideration to the settlement amount and her personal needs. She was present for every day of the three-week court case, and when called to give evidence, she referred to herself as "thick as two short planks," and Starr as being a "sodding great Andy Capp" (a womanising, drunk cartoon character). Finding in favour of Doughty and Withers, Mr Justice Bush said that Starr was "a generous man" as he had increased her yearly payments twice since their divorce. He ordered her to pay the whole bill for the case, estimated to be over £200,000.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: In 1976, Maureen started to live with Isaac Tigrett, best known as one of the founders of the Hard Rock Cafe and the House of Blues. They were married in Monaco on 27 May 1989. Tigrett, known for collecting memorabilia, once said that Maureen was his "ultimate collectible." During her relationship and marriage to Tigrett she often used the phrase, "Just give me furs, jewels and property, thank you." They had one daughter together, Augusta King Tigrett, who was born on 4 January 1987, in Dallas, Texas.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: Cox attended the funeral of drummer Keith Moon on 13 September 1978, at the Golders Green Crematorium, along with 120 guests, including Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: On 8 December 1980, Lennon's ex-wife, Cynthia Lennon, was staying at Maureen's home in London when Maureen received a phone call from Starr two hours after Lennon had been shot in New York City.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: Maureen and Starr became grandparents when Tatia Jayne Starkey was born on 7 September 1985, to their eldest son, Zak, and his wife, Sarah Starkey (née Menikides), in England.


title: Maureen Starkey Tigrett

text: Cox died at age 48 on 30 December 1994, due to complications from leukemia, after receiving treatment at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. She had received bone marrow from her son, Zak, who then donated blood platelets and white blood cells. Maureen's four children, her 82-year-old mother, husband Tigrett, and ex-husband Starr were all at her bedside when she died. Following her death, Paul McCartney wrote the song "Little Willow" in her memory, which appears on his 1997 album, "Flaming Pie", with a dedication to her children.


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set Shakespeare's sonnets to music for a theatre piece by Robert Wilson.


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: Wainwright's self-titled debut album was released through DreamWorks Records in May 1998. His second album, "Poses", was released in June 2001. Wainwright's third and fourth studio albums, "Want One" (2003) and "Want Two" (2004), were repackaged as the double album "Want" in 2005. In 2007, Wainwright released his fifth studio album, "Release the Stars", and his first live album, "Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall". His second live album, "Milwaukee at Last!!!", was released in 2009, followed by the studio albums "" (2010) and "Out of the Game" (2012). The double album "Prima Donna" (2015) was a recording of his opera of the same name. His ninth studio album, "" (2016), featured nine adaptions of Shakespeare's sonnets. Rufus' 10th studio album, "Unfollow the Rules", was released on July 20, 2020.


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: Wainwright is the son of musicians Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, and the older brother of singer Martha Wainwright.


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: Wainwright was born in Rhinebeck, New York, USA, to folk singers Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III. His parents divorced when he was three, and he lived with his mother in Montreal for most of his youth. His father is a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, the 17th century Dutch governor of New Amsterdam, later New York. Wainwright has dual US and Canadian citizenship. He attended high school at the Millbrook School in New York (which would later inspire his song "Millbrook"), and later briefly studied piano at McGill in Montreal. He began playing the piano at age six, and started touring at age 13 with "The McGarrigle Sisters and Family", a folk group featuring Rufus, his sister Martha, his mother Kate, and aunt Anna. His song "I'm a-Runnin'", which he performed in the film "Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller" at the age of 14, earned him a nomination for a 1989 Genie Award for Best Original Song. He was nominated for a 1990 Juno Award for Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year.


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: Wainwright identified as gay while a teenager. In 1999, he told "Rolling Stone" that his father recognized his homosexuality early on. "We'd drive around in the car, he'd play 'Heart of Glass' and I'd sort of mouth the words, pretend to be Blondie. Just a sign of many other things to come as well." Wainwright later said in another interview that his "mother and father could not even handle me being gay. We never talked about it really."


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: Wainwright became interested in opera during his adolescent years, and the genre strongly influences his music. (For instance, the song "Barcelona" features lyrics from the libretto of Giuseppe Verdi's opera, "Macbeth".) During this time, he became interested in Édith Piaf, Al Jolson, and Judy Garland. As a youth he trained at Interlochen Arts Camp, studying classical music.


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: At age 14, Wainwright was sexually assaulted in London's Hyde Park after picking up a man at a bar. In an interview years later, he described the event: "I said I wanted to go to the park and see where this big concert was going on. I thought it was going to be a romantic walk in the park, but he raped me and robbed me afterwards and tried to strangle me". Wainwright states that he survived only by pretending to be an epileptic and faking a seizure. He has been reported to have stated that he remained celibate for five or seven years after the incident, and eventually became promiscuous.


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: Through weekly shows at Cafe Sarajevo, Wainwright was on the Montreal club circuit and eventually cut a series of demo tapes produced by Pierre Marchand, who later produced Wainwright's album "Poses". The resulting tapes impressed his father Loudon, who passed them on to his friend Van Dyke Parks. Parks sent the recordings to Lenny Waronker, the DreamWorks Records executive who eventually signed Wainwright to his label.


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: The singer moved to New York City in 1996, performing regularly at Club Fez. He relocated to Los Angeles that year and began his first studio album, 1998's "Rufus Wainwright". Waronker paired Wainwright with producer Jon Brion, and the two spent most of 1996 and 1997 making the record. Wainwright recorded 56 songs in total, on 62 rolls of tape. The sessions cost $700,000.


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: Wainwright's self-titled debut received critical acclaim; "Rolling Stone" recognized it as one of the best albums of the year, and named the singer "Best New Artist" of the year. Wainwright was nominated for four awards by the Gay & Lesbian American Music Awards, including Album of the Year, Pop Recording of the Year and Video of the Year, and won for Best New Artist. "Rufus Wainwright" won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Music Album and a Juno Award for Best Alternative Album. However, commercial success of the album was limited; the debut failed to chart in any country, though he ranked No.24 on "Billboard"'s Top Heatseekers chart.


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: In 1996 Wainwright toured the UK as "Special Guest" of Kate & Anna McGarrigle. He toured with Sean Lennon in 1998 and began his first headline tour later that year. In December 1998, he appeared in a Gap commercial directed by Phil Harder, performing Frank Loesser's "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?". In March 1999, Wainwright began a headlining tour in Hoboken, New Jersey.


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: Wainwright lived in the Chelsea Hotel in New York City for six months, during which he wrote most of his second album. On June 5, 2001, Wainwright's second album, "Poses", was released to critical acclaim but limited sales. The album ranked No.117 on the "Billboard" 200 and No.1 on the Top Heatseekers chart. "Poses" won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Music Album and a Juno Award for Best Alternative Album, and was nominated by the Juno Awards for Best Songwriter ("Poses" / "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" / "Grey Gardens"). From 2001 to 2004, he toured with Tori Amos, Sting, Ben Folds, and Guster, as well as headlining the 2001 and 2002 tour in support of the album.


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: Wainwright became addicted to crystal meth in the early 2000s and temporarily lost his vision. His addiction reached its peak in 2002, during what he described as "the most surreal week of my life". During that week, he played a cameo role in the UK comedy television program "Absolutely Fabulous", spent several nights partying with George W. Bush's daughter Barbara, enjoyed a "debauched evening" with his mother and Marianne Faithfull, sang with Anohni of Antony and the Johnsons for Zaldy's spring 2003 collection, and experienced recurring hallucinations of his father throughout. He decided after that he "was either going to rehab or I was going to live with my father. I knew I needed an asshole to yell at me, and I felt he fit the bill."


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: In 2003, Rufus released the full-length album "Want One". Then Wainwright's album "Want Two", from which four songs were released as the EP "Waiting for a Want", was released by DreamWorks/Geffen on November 16, 2004. The live iTunes Sessions EP entitled "" was released on March 15, 2005. A DVD entitled "All I Want", featuring a biographical documentary, music videos, and live performances, was released internationally in 2005. That same year, Wainwright made two major contributions as a solo vocalist to a pair of records: the Mercury Prize-winning Antony and the Johnsons' "I am a Bird Now" and Burt Bacharach's "At This Time".


title: Rufus Wainwright

text: "Want One" and "Want Two" were repackaged as "Want" for a November 2005 release to coincide with the beginning of a British tour. This version of "Want One" contains two extra songs: "Es Muß Sein" and "Velvet Curtain Rag". The "Want" package in the UK has two bonus tracks: "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" (a Leonard Cohen cover) and "In With the Ladies", which replace "Coeur de parisienne – Reprise d'Arletty" and "Quand vous mourez de nos amours" from 2004's augmented edition.