title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Although the Brazilian Navy was small, it had modern minelayers suitable for coastal convoy escort and aircraft which needed only small modifications to become suitable for maritime patrol. During its three years of war, mainly in Caribbean and South Atlantic, alone and in conjunction with the US, Brazil escorted 3,167 ships in 614 convoys, totalling 16,500,000 tons, with losses of 0.1%. Brazil saw three of its warships sunk and 486 men killed in action (332 in the cruiser ); 972 seamen and civilian passengers were also lost aboard the 32 Brazilian merchant vessels attacked by enemy submarines. American and Brazilian air and naval forces worked closely together until the end of the Battle. One example was the sinking of in July 1943, by a coordinated action of Brazilian and American aircraft. In Brazilian waters, eleven other Axis submarines were known to be sunk between January and September 1943—the Italian and ten German boats: , , , "U-507", , , , , , and .


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: By fall 1943, the decreasing number of Allied shipping losses in the South Atlantic coincided with the increasing elimination of Axis submarines operating there. From then on, the battle in the region was lost by Germany, even though most of the remaining submarines in the region received an official order of withdrawal only in August of the following year, and with ("Baron Jedburgh") the last Allied merchant ship sunk by a U-boat ("U-532") there, on 10 March 1945.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Germany made several attempts to upgrade the U-boat force, while awaiting the next generation of U-boats, the Walter and "Elektroboot" types. Among these upgrades were improved anti-aircraft defences, radar detectors, better torpedoes, decoys, and "Schnorchel" (snorkels), which allowed U-boats to run underwater off their diesel engines.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Germany returned to the offensive in the North Atlantic in September 1943 with initial success, with an attack on convoys ONS 18 and ON 202. A series of battles resulted in fewer victories and more losses for "UbW". After four months, "BdU" again called off the offensive; eight ships of 56,000 tons and six warships had been sunk for the loss of 39 U-boats, a catastrophic loss ratio.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: The "Luftwaffe" also introduced the long-range He 177 bomber and Henschel Hs 293 guided glide bomb, which claimed a number of victims, but Allied air superiority prevented them from being a major threat.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: To counter Allied air power, "UbW" increased the anti-aircraft armament of U-boats, and introduced specially-equipped ""flak" boats", which were to stay surfaced and engage in combat with attacking planes, rather than diving and evading. These developments initially caught RAF pilots by surprise. However, a U-boat that remained surfaced increased the risk of its pressure hull being punctured, making it unable to submerge, while attacking pilots often called in surface ships if they met too much resistance, orbiting out of range of the U-boat's guns to maintain contact. Should the U-boat dive, the aircraft would attack. Immediate diving remained a U-boat's best survival tactic when encountering aircraft. According to German sources, only six aircraft were shot down by "U-flak"s in six missions (three by "U-441", one each by "U-256", "U-621" and "U-953").


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: The Germans also introduced improved radar warning units, such as "Wanze". To fool Allied sonar, the Germans deployed "Bold" canisters (which the British called Submarine Bubble Target) to generate false echoes, as well as "Sieglinde" self-propelled decoys.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: The development of torpedoes also improved with the pattern-running "Flächen-Absuch-Torpedo" (FAT), which ran a pre-programmed course criss-crossing the convoy path and the G7es acoustic torpedo (known to the Allies as German Naval Acoustic Torpedo, GNAT), which homed on the propeller noise of a target. This was initially very effective, but the Allies quickly developed counter-measures, both tactical ("Step-Aside") and technical ("Foxer").


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: None of the German measures were truly effective, and by 1943 Allied air power was so strong that U-boats were being attacked in the Bay of Biscay shortly after leaving port. The Germans had lost the technological race. Their actions were restricted to lone-wolf attacks in British coastal waters and preparation to resist the expected Operation Neptune, the invasion of France.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Over the next two years many U-boats were sunk, usually with all hands. With the battle won by the Allies, supplies poured into Britain and North Africa for the eventual liberation of Europe. The U-boats were further critically hampered after D-Day by the loss of their bases in France to the advancing Allied armies.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Late in the war, the Germans introduced the "Elektroboot": the Type XXI and short range Type XXIII. The Type XXI could run submerged at , faster than a Type VII at full speed surfaced, and faster than Allied corvettes. Designs were finalised in January 1943 but mass-production of the new types did not start until 1944. By 1945, just one Type XXI boat and five Type XXIII boats were operational. The Type XXIIIs made nine patrols, sinking five ships in the first five months of 1945; only one combat patrol was carried out by a Type XXI before the war ended, making no contact with the enemy.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: As the Allied armies closed in on the U-boat bases in North Germany, over 200 boats were scuttled to avoid capture; those of most value attempted to flee to bases in Norway. In the first week of May, twenty-three boats were sunk in the Baltic while attempting this journey.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: The last actions in American waters took place on May 5–6, 1945, which saw the sinking of the steamer and the destruction of and in separate incidents.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: The last actions of the Battle of the Atlantic were on May 7–8. was the last U-boat sunk in action, by an RAF Catalina; while the Norwegian minesweeper and the freighters and were torpedoed in separate incidents, just hours before the German surrender.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: The remaining U-boats, at sea or in port, were surrendered to the Allies, 174 in total. Most were destroyed in "Operation Deadlight" after the war.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: The Germans failed to stop the flow of strategic supplies to Britain. This failure resulted in the build-up of troops and supplies needed for the D-Day landings. The defeat of the U-boat was a necessary precursor for accumulation of Allied troops and supplies to ensure Germany's defeat.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Victory was achieved at a huge cost: between 1939 and 1945, 3,500 Allied merchant ships (totalling 14.5 million gross tons) and 175 Allied warships were sunk and some 72,200 Allied naval and merchant seamen died. The vast majority of Allied warships lost in the Atlantic and close coasts were small warships averaging around 1,000 tons such as frigates, destroyer escorts, sloops, submarine chasers, or corvettes, but losses also included one battleship (), one battlecruiser (), two aircraft carriers ( and ), three escort carriers (, "Audacity", and ), and seven cruisers (, , , , , , and ). The Germans lost 783 U-boats and approximately 30,000 sailors killed, three-quarters of Germany's 40,000-man U-boat fleet. Losses to Germany's surface fleet were also significant, with 4 battleships, 9 cruisers, 7 raiders, and 27 destroyers sunk.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: During the Second World War nearly one third of the world's merchant shipping was British. Over 30,000 men from the British Merchant Navy died between 1939 and 1945. More than 2,400 British ships were sunk. The ships were crewed by sailors from all over the British Empire, including some 25% from India and China, and 5% from the West Indies, Middle East and Africa. The British officers wore uniforms very similar to those of the Royal Navy. The ordinary sailors, however, had no uniform and when on leave in Britain they sometimes suffered taunts and abuse from civilians who mistakenly thought the crewmen were shirking their patriotic duty to enlist in the armed forces. To counter this, the crewmen were issued with an 'MN' lapel badge to indicate they were serving in the Merchant Navy.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: The British merchant fleet was made up of vessels from the many and varied private shipping lines, examples being the tankers of the British Tanker Company and the freighters of Ellerman and Silver Lines. The British government, via the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), also had new ships built during the course of the war, these being known as Empire ships.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: In addition to its existing merchant fleet, United States shipyards built 2,710 Liberty ships totalling 38.5 million tons, vastly exceeding the 14 million tons of shipping the German U-boats were able to sink during the war.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Canada's Merchant Navy was vital to the Allied cause during World War II. More than 70 Canadian merchant vessels were lost. An estimated 1,600 merchant sailors were killed, including eight women. Information obtained by British agents regarding German shipping movements led Canada to conscript all its merchant vessels two weeks before actually declaring war, with the Royal Canadian Navy taking control of all shipping August 26, 1939.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: At the outbreak of the war, Canada possessed 38 ocean-going merchant vessels. By the end of hostilities, in excess of 400 cargo ships had been built in Canada.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: With the exception of the Japanese invasion of the Alaskan Aleutian Islands, the Battle of the Atlantic was the only battle of the Second World War to touch North American shores. U-boats disrupted coastal shipping from the Caribbean to Halifax, during the summer of 1942, and even entered into battle in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Canadian officers wore uniforms which were virtually identical in style to those of the British. The ordinary seamen were issued with an 'MN Canada' badge to wear on their lapel when on leave, to indicate their service.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: At the end of the war, Rear Admiral Leonard Murray, Commander-in-Chief Canadian North Atlantic, remarked, "...the Battle of the Atlantic was not won by any Navy or Air Force, it was won by the courage, fortitude and determination of the British and Allied Merchant Navy."


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Before the war, Norway's Merchant Navy was the fourth largest in the world and its ships were the most modern. The Germans and the Allies both recognised the great importance of Norway's merchant fleet, and following Germany's invasion of Norway in April 1940, both sides sought control of the ships. Norwegian Nazi puppet leader Vidkun Quisling ordered all Norwegian ships to sail to German, Italian or neutral ports. He was ignored. All Norwegian ships decided to serve at the disposal of the Allies. The vessels of the Norwegian Merchant Navy were placed under the control of the government-run Nortraship, with headquarters in London and New York.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Nortraship's modern ships, especially its tankers, were extremely important to the Allies. Norwegian tankers carried nearly one-third of the oil transported to Britain during the war. Records show that 694 Norwegian ships were sunk during this period, representing 47% of the total fleet. At the end of the war in 1945, the Norwegian merchant fleet was estimated at 1,378 ships. More than 3,700 Norwegian merchant seamen died.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: It is maintained by G. H. Persall that "the Germans were close" to economically starving England, but they "failed to capitalize" on their early war successes. Others, including Blair and Alan Levine, disagree; Levine states this is "a misperception", and that "it is doubtful they ever came close" to achieving this.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: The focus on U-boat successes, the "aces" and their scores, the convoys attacked, and the ships sunk, serves to camouflage the "Kriegsmarine" manifold failures. In particular, this was because most of the ships sunk by U-boats were not in convoys, but sailing alone, or having become separated from convoys.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: At no time during the campaign were supply lines to Britain interrupted; even during the "Bismarck" crisis, convoys sailed as usual (although with heavier escorts). In all, during the Atlantic campaign only 10% of transatlantic convoys that sailed were attacked, and of those attacked only 10% on average of the ships were lost. Overall, more than 99% of all ships sailing to and from the British Isles during World War II did so successfully.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Despite their efforts, the Axis powers were unable to prevent the build-up of Allied invasion forces for the liberation of Europe. In November 1942, at the height of the Atlantic campaign, the US Navy escorted the Operation Torch invasion fleet across the Atlantic without hindrance, or even being detected. (This may be the ultimate example of the Allied practise of evasive routing.) In 1943 and 1944 the Allies transported some 3 million American and Allied servicemen across the Atlantic without significant loss. By 1945 the USN was able to wipe out a wolf-pack suspected of carrying V-weapons in the mid-Atlantic, with little difficulty.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Third, and unlike the Allies, the Germans were never able to mount a comprehensive blockade of Britain. Nor were they able to focus their effort by targeting the most valuable cargoes, the eastbound traffic carrying war materiel. Instead they were reduced to the slow attrition of a tonnage war. To win this, the U-boat arm had to sink 300,000 GRT per month in order to overwhelm Britain's shipbuilding capacity and reduce its merchant marine strength.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: In only four out of the first 27 months of the war did Germany achieve this target, while after December 1941, when Britain was joined by the US merchant marine and ship yards the target effectively doubled. As a result, the Axis needed to sink 700,000 GRT per month; as the massive expansion of the US shipbuilding industry took effect this target increased still further. The 700,000 ton target was achieved in only one month, November 1942, while after May 1943 average sinkings dropped to less than one tenth of that figure.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: By the end of the war, although the U-boat arm had sunk 6,000 ships totalling 21 million GRT, the Allies had built over 38 million tons of new shipping.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: The reason for the misperception that the German blockade came close to success may be found in post-war writings by both German and British authors. Blair attributes the distortion to "propagandists" who "glorified and exaggerated the successes of German submariners", while he believes Allied writers "had their own reasons for exaggerating the peril".


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Dan van der Vat suggests that, unlike the US, or Canada and Britain's other dominions, which were protected by oceanic distances, Britain was at the end of the transatlantic supply route closest to German bases; for Britain it was a lifeline. It is this which led to Churchill's concerns. Coupled with a series of major convoy battles in the space of a month, it undermined confidence in the convoy system in March 1943, to the point Britain considered abandoning it, not realising the U-boat had already effectively been defeated. These were "over-pessimistic threat assessments", Blair concludes: "At no time did the German U-boat force ever come close to winning the Battle of the Atlantic or bringing on the collapse of Great Britain".


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: Historians disagree about the relative importance of the anti-U-boat measures. Max Hastings states that "In 1941 alone, Ultra [breaking the German code] saved between 1.5 and two million tons of Allied ships from destruction." This would be a 40 percent to 53 percent reduction. A history based on the German archives written for the British Admiralty after the war by a former U-boat commander and son-in-law of Dönitz reports that several detailed investigations to discover whether their operations were compromised by broken code were negative and that their defeat ".. was due firstly to outstanding developments in enemy radar ..." The graphs of the data are colour coded to divide the battle into three epochs before the breaking of the Enigma code, after it was broken, and after the introduction of centimetric radar, which could reveal submarine conning towers above the surface of the water and even detect periscopes. Obviously this subdivision of the data ignores many other defensive measures the Allies developed during the war, so interpretation must be constrained. Codebreaking by itself did not decrease the losses, which continued to rise ominously. More U-boats were sunk, but the number operational had more than tripled. After the improved radar came into action shipping losses plummeted, reaching a level significantly (p=0.99) below the early months of the war. The development of the improved radar by the Allies began in 1940, before the United States entered the war, when Henry Tizard and A. V. Hill won permission to share British secret research with the Americans, including bringing them a cavity magnetron, which generates the needed high-frequency radio waves.


title: Battle of the Atlantic

text: All sides will agree with Hastings that "... mobilization of the best civilian brains, and their integration into the war effort at the highest levels, was an outstanding British success story."


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: Tylenol () is a brand of medication, advertised for reducing pain, reducing fever, and relieving the symptoms of allergies, cold, cough, headache, and influenza. The active ingredient of its original flagship product is paracetamol (known in the United States, Canada, and various other countries as "acetaminophen"), an analgesic and antipyretic. Like the words "paracetamol" and "acetaminophen", the brand name "Tylenol" is derived from a chemical name for the compound, "N"-acetyl-"para"-aminophenol (APAP). The brand name is owned by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: The active ingredient in Tylenol is paracetamol, a widely used over-the-counter analgesic (pain reliever) and antipyretic (fever reducer). Formulations with additional active ingredients intended to target specific applications are sold under the Tylenol brand. These can include codeine as co-codamol, dextromethorphan, methocarbamol, guaifenesin, pseudoephedrine, caffeine, diphenhydramine, chlorpheniramine and phenylephrine.


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: The brand was introduced in 1955 by McNeil Laboratories, a family-owned pharmaceutical manufacturer. Two brothers took over the company from their father that year, and one of them subsequently learned about paracetamol, which was not on the U.S. market at that time. To avoid competing with aspirin, they marketed it as a product to reduce fever in children, packaging it like a red fire truck with the slogan, "for little hotheads". The brand name "Tylenol" and the United States Adopted Name "acetaminophen" were generated by McNeil from the chemical name of the drug, "N"-acetyl-"para"-aminophenol (APAP).


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: Johnson & Johnson bought McNeil in 1959, and one year later the drug was made available over the counter.


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: On September 29, 1982, a "Tylenol scare" began when the first of seven individuals died in the Chicago metropolitan area after ingesting Extra Strength Tylenol that had been deliberately contaminated with cyanide. Within a week, the company pulled 31 million bottles of tablets back from retailers, making it one of the first major product recalls in American history.


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: As a result of the crisis, all Tylenol capsules were discontinued, as were capsules of other brand names. Retained by McNeil's president, new product consultant Martin Calle of management strategist Calle & Company conceived the world's first tamper-resistant gelatin-enrobed capsule called "Tylenol Gelcaps", which proved to resuscitate the 92% of capsule-segment sales lost to the recall. The tamper-resistant, triple-sealed safety containers were placed on the shelves of retailers ten weeks after the withdrawal, and other manufacturers followed suit. The crisis cost the company more than , but Tylenol regained 100% of the market share it had before the crisis. The Tylenol murderer was never found, and a reward offered by Johnson & Johnson remained unclaimed as of 2013.


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: Before the poisonings, Tylenol brands held around 35% of the US market for acetaminophen and in the immediate aftermath, fell to 8%. Within a year sales had rebounded to the prior levels. J&J's handling of the crisis has been widely cited as an example of optimal crisis management.


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: These events led to the widespread use of tamper resistance packaging of drugs by drug companies, to the 1982 passage of a US federal law making tampering a crime, and to legislation in 1989 requiring tamper-proof packaging.


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: On January 15, 2010, a voluntary recall of several hundred batches of popular medicines was announced, including Benadryl, Motrin, Rolaids, Simply Sleep, St. Joseph Aspirin, and Tylenol. The recall was due to complaints of a musty smell suspected to be due to contamination of the packaging with the chemical 2,4,6-tribromoanisole. The full health effects of 2,4,6-tribromoanisole are not known but no serious events have been documented in medical literature. The recall came 20 months after McNeil first began receiving and investigating consumer complaints about moldy-smelling bottles of Tylenol Arthritis Relief caplets, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The recall included 53 million bottles of over-the-counter products, involving lots in the Americas, the United Arab Emirates, and Fiji.


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: On April 30, 2010, another recall was issued for 40 products including liquid infant and children's pain relievers Tylenol and Motrin, and allergy medications Zyrtec and Benadryl. An FDA report said its inspectors found thick dust and grime covering certain equipment, a hole in the ceiling, and duct tape-covered pipes at the Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, facility that made 40 products recalled. New testing regulations were enacted after the recall to ensure product quality and safety.


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: On May 5, 2010, the FDA confirmed that the bacterium found at the Johnson & Johnson plant that made the recalled Children's Tylenol was "Burkholderia cepacia", a bacterium often resistant to common antibiotics. The bacteria were found on the outside of certain product-containing drums, but not in the finished product. The CDC has stated that "Burkholderia cepacia" is not likely to cause health problems for those with healthy immune systems, but those with weaker ones and those with chronic lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, could be more susceptible to infection.


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: A 2014 study found that "Maternal acetaminophen use during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk for HKDs and ADHD-like behaviors in children."


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: The study was the first of its kind, and concluded that, "because the exposure and outcome are frequent, these results are of public health relevance but further investigations are needed."


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: In September 2021, the United States Food and Drug Administration released a statement amid growing concern about the potential impact of Tylenol during pregnancy, and concluded that the studies were "too limited to make any recommendations based on these studies at this time. Because of this


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: Tylenol has many different advertisement approaches. One of these advertisement campaigns focuses on "getting you back to normal", whereas the other commercials focus on Tylenol's current slogan, "Feel better, Tylenol". In the "Feel better, Tylenol" commercials, Tylenol places emphasis on the importance of sleep; various people are seen sleeping in this commercial while a voiceover describes how sleep can help repair and heal the human body during times of aches and pains. In the "getting you back to normal" commercial, Tylenol places more emphasis on helping its consumers get back to their daily routines; many different people are shown first experiencing headaches and other sorts of body pain, where a voiceover then states that Tylenol Rapid Release can help rid aches and pains; the various people are then shown enjoying their everyday lives, and are seen as "back to normal".


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: In an older commercial from 1986, Tylenol emphasized that it is the drug that American hospitals trust the most. In this ad, Susan Sullivan told the consumer that Tylenol was a drug that could be trusted by Americans since many doctors also trusted it; she went on to state that doctors prescribed Tylenol four times more often than other leading pain relieving drugs combined.


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: A form that contains dextromethorphan, pseudoephedrine, acetaminophen, and chlorpheniramine, is sold as Cotylenol.


title: Tylenol (brand)

text: , the "Tylenol" brand was used in Australia Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, Oman, Paraguay, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Vietnam.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: Lisa del Giocondo (; ; June 15, 1479 – July 15, 1542) was an Italian noblewoman and member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany. Her name was given to the "Mona Lisa", her portrait commissioned by her husband and painted by Leonardo da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: Little is known about Lisa's life. Born in Florence and married in her teens to a cloth and silk merchant and shoemaker who later became a local official, she was a mother to five children and led what is thought to have been a comfortable and ordinary middle-class life. Lisa outlived her husband, who was considerably her senior.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: In the centuries after Lisa's death, the "Mona Lisa" became the world's most famous painting. In 2005, Lisa was definitively identified as the model for the "Mona Lisa".


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: Lisa's Florentine family was old and aristocratic but over time had lost their influence. They were well off but not wealthy, and lived on farm income in a city that was among the largest in Europe. While economically successful, there were great disparities in wealth among Florence's inhabitants.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: Antonmaria di Noldo Gherardini, Lisa's father, came from a family who had lived on properties near San Donato in Poggio and only recently moved to the city.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: Antonmaria lost two wives, Lisa di Giovanni Filippo de' Carducci, whom he married in 1465, and Caterina di Mariotto Rucellai, whom he married in 1473. Both died in childbirth. Lisa's mother was Lucrezia del Caccia, daughter of Piera Spinelli, and Gherardini's wife by his third marriage in 1476. Gherardini at one time owned or rented six farms in Chianti that produced wheat, wine and olive oil and where livestock was raised.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: Lisa was born in Florence on June 15, 1479, on Via Maggio, although for many years it was thought she was born on Villa Vignamaggio just outside Greve, one of the family's rural properties. She is named for Lisa, a wife of her paternal grandfather. The eldest of seven children, Lisa had three sisters, one of whom was named Ginevra, and three brothers, Giovangualberto, Francesco, and Noldo.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: The family lived in Florence, originally near Santa Trinita and later in rented space near Santo Spirito, most likely because they were not able to afford repairs when their first house was damaged. Lisa's family moved to what today is called Via dei Pepi, and then near Santa Croce, where they lived near Ser Piero da Vinci, Leonardo's father. They also owned a small country home in St. Donato in the village of Poggio about south of the city. Noldo, Gherardini's father and Lisa's grandfather, had bequeathed a farm in Chianti to the Santa Maria Nuova hospital. Gherardini secured a lease for another of the hospital's farms and, so that he could oversee the wheat harvest, the family spent summers there at the house named Ca' di Pesa.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: On March 5, 1495, 15-year-old Lisa married Francesco del Giocondo, a modestly poor cloth and silk merchant, becoming his third wife. Lisa's dowry was 170 florins and the San Silvestro farm near her family's country home, which lies between Castellina and San Donato in Poggio, near two farms later owned by Michelangelo. The modest dowry may be a sign that the Gherardini family was not wealthy at the time and lends reason to think she and her husband loved each other. Neither poor nor among the most well-to-do in Florence, the couple lived a middle-class life. Lisa's marriage may have increased her social status because her husband's family may have been richer than her own. Francesco is thought to have benefited because Gherardini is an "old name". They lived in shared accommodation until 5 March 1503, when Francesco was able to buy a house next door to his family's old home in the Via della Stufa. Leonardo is thought to have begun painting Lisa's portrait the same year.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: Lisa and Francesco had five children: Piero, Piera, Camilla, Marietta, and Andrea between 1496 and 1502. Lisa lost a baby daughter in 1499. Lisa also raised Bartolomeo, the son of Francesco and his first wife Camilla di Mariotto Rucellai, who died shortly after the birth. The second wife of Lisa's father, Caterina di Mariotto Rucellai, and Francesco's first wife were sisters, members of the .


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: Camilla and Marietta became Catholic nuns. Camilla took the name Suor Beatrice and entered the convent of San Domenico di Cafaggio, where she was entrusted to the care of Antonmaria's sister Suor Albiera and Lisa's sister Suor Camilla (who was acquitted in a scandalous visitation by four men at the convent) and Suor Alessandra. Beatrice died at age 18 and was buried in the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella. Lisa developed a relationship with Sant'Orsola, a convent held in high regard in Florence, where she was able to place Marietta in 1521. Marietta took the name Suor Ludovica and became a respected member of the convent in a position of some responsibility.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: Francesco became an official in Florence. He was elected to the "Dodici Buonomini" in 1499 and to the Signoria in 1512, where he was confirmed as a "Priori" in 1524. He may have had ties to Medici family political or business interests. In 1512, when the government of Florence feared the return of the Medici from exile, Francesco was imprisoned and fined 1,000 florins. He was released in September when the Medici returned.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: In June 1537, in his will among many provisions, Francesco returned Lisa's dowry to her, gave her personal clothing and jewelry and provided for her future. Upon entrusting her care to their daughter Ludovica and, should she be incapable, his son Bartolomeo, Francesco wrote, "Given the affection and love of the testator towards Mona Lisa, his beloved wife; in consideration of the fact that Lisa has always acted with a noble spirit and as a faithful wife; wishing that she shall have all she needs…"


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: In one account, Francesco died in the plague of 1538. Lisa fell ill and was taken by her daughter Ludovica to the convent of Sant'Orsola, where she died on July 15, 1542, at the age of 63. In a scholarly account of their lives, Francesco was nearly 80 years old when he died, and Lisa may have lived until at least 1551, when she would have been 71 or 72.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: Like other Florentines of their financial means, Francesco's family members were art lovers and patrons. His son Bartolomeo asked Antonio di Donnino Mazzieri to paint a fresco at the family's burial site in the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata di Firenze. Andrea del Sarto painted a Madonna for another member of his family. Francesco gave commissions to Leonardo for a portrait of his wife and to Domenico Puligo for a painting of Saint Francis of Assisi. He is thought to have commissioned Lisa's portrait to celebrate both Andrea's birth and the purchase of the family's home.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: The "Mona Lisa" fulfilled 15th- and early 16th century requirements for portraying a woman of virtue. Lisa is portrayed as a faithful wife through gesture—her right hand rests over her left. Leonardo also presented Lisa as fashionable and successful, perhaps more well-off than she was. Her dark garments and black veil were Spanish-influenced high fashion; they are not a depiction of mourning for her first daughter, as some scholars have proposed. The portrait is strikingly large; its size is equal to that of commissions acquired by wealthier art patrons of the time. This extravagance has been explained as a sign of Francesco and Lisa's social aspiration.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: During the spring of 1503, Leonardo had no income source, which may in part explain his interest in a private portrait. But later that year, he most likely had to delay his work on "Mona Lisa" when he received payment for starting "The Battle of Anghiari", which was a more valuable commission and one he was contracted to complete by February 1505. In 1506, Leonardo considered the portrait unfinished. He was not paid for the work and did not deliver it to his client. The artist's paintings travelled with him throughout his life, and he may have completed the "Mona Lisa" many years later in France, in one estimation by 1516.


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: The painting's title dates to 1550. An acquaintance of at least some of Francesco's family, Giorgio Vasari, wrote, "Leonardo undertook to paint, for Francesco del Giocondo, the portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife" (). The portrait's Italian name "La Gioconda" is the feminine form of her married name. In French it is known by the variant "La Joconde". Though derived from Lisa's married name there is the added significance that the name derives from the word for "happy" (in English, "jocund") or "the happy one".


title: Lisa del Giocondo

text: Speculation assigned Lisa's name to at least four different paintings and her identity to at least ten different people. By the end of the 20th century, the painting was a global icon that had been used in more than 300 other paintings and in 2,000 advertisements, appearing at an average of one new advertisement each week. In 2005, an expert at the University Library of Heidelberg discovered a margin note in the library's collection that established with certainty the traditional view that the sitter was Lisa. The note, written by Agostino Vespucci in 1503, states that Leonardo was working on a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo. The "Mona Lisa" has been in custody of France since the 16th century, when it was acquired by King Francis I; since the French Revolution, it has been the property of the French Republic. Today about six million people visit the painting each year at the Louvre in Paris, where it is part of a French national collection.


title: Big Time Rush

text: Big Time Rush is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013 and is currently available in Paramount+. It focuses on the Hollywood misadventures of four hockey players from Duluth, Minnesota, Kendall Knight, James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, and Logan Mitchell, after they are selected to form a boy band by fictional mega music producer Gustavo Rocque.


title: Big Time Rush

text: The series premiered with an hour-long pilot episode, "Big Time Audition", on Nickelodeon, on November 28, 2009. Its official debut episode premiered on January 18, 2010. The show's second season premiered on September 25, 2010. On May 24, 2011, "Big Time Rush" was renewed for a third season with production scheduled to begin January 2012. Season three premiered May 12, 2012. On March 10, 2012, a film adaptation named "Big Time Movie" based on the series premiered. On August 6, 2012, Nickelodeon renewed "Big Time Rush" for a 13-episode fourth season. Production began on January 7, 2013. The fourth season premiered May 2, 2013, and aired its series finale "Big Time Dreams" on July 25, 2013.


title: Big Time Rush

text: In late 2011, Nickelodeon announced that a television film based on the television series was going to premiere. However, a promo did not air until February 2012. The movie premiered on Nickelodeon on March 10, 2012, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Throughout the whole weekend, the movie drew 13.1 million viewers.


title: Big Time Rush

text: The series was conceived and created by Scott Fellows, formerly the creator, executive producer and showrunner of "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide". Fellows says his inspiration for the show was the musical comedy show, "The Monkees"—a popular and culturally significant American television series from the 1960s about a group of four young male adults who form a rock band, and perform songs while having comedic adventures. Although the show had a concept as early as 2007, the series had no actual title as late as August 2009.


title: Big Time Rush

text: "Big Time Rush" is a Nickelodeon Viacom Music Productions Band consisting of four members: Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Logan Henderson, and Carlos Pena Jr. Nickelodeon partnered with Columbia/Epic Label Group to produce the show, which is why music and instrumentals are incorporated throughout the series.


title: Big Time Rush

text: Big Time Rush's debut album, "B.T.R.", was released on October 11, 2010, via Sony/Columbia. Their second full-length album, entitled "Elevate", was released on November 21, 2011. Big Time Rush released their new song "If I Ruled the World" ft. Iyaz on iTunes July 22. They have also released a number of new songs such as "Music Sounds Better With U" (feat. Mann), "Love Me Love Me", "You're Not Alone", and "Superstar". They also released three singles, "Paralyzed", "Blow Your Speakers", and "Epic" in 2012. Then, "Epic" was the bonus track on the U.K. album version. They released their third CD, "24/Seven" in the summer of 2013. Among the songs on the CD is "We Are" which won a Viewer's Choice award.


title: Big Time Rush

text: Nickelodeon partnered with Columbia/Epic Label Group to produce the show, which incorporates original music into the series. "Big Time Rush" is one of the three Nickelodeon shows (the others are "iCarly" and "Victorious") on which the cable network is partnering with the music group to promote music as well as shows. The "Los Angeles Times" has been critical of the show's focus on music, noting:


title: Big Time Rush

text: The closing credits of Nickelodeon airings of the show contain short clips of music videos for singles featured the series. Occasionally, full versions of the videos are featured.


title: Big Time Rush

text: The show incorporates wacky sound effects, some laugh-like noises, music, and editing cuts designed to make it more humorous to the intended demographic of viewers age 10 to 18; this was also typical of creator Scott Fellows' previous work on Nickelodeon. However, the show does not have a laugh track. Big Time Rush made an appearance at the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards, the 2010 Teen Choice Award and performed at the 2011 Kids' Choice Awards. they also appeared in an episode of BrainSurge during the week of April 18–22, 2011. On November 24, 2011, the group performed the National Anthem at Cowboys Stadium for the Thanksgiving NFL game which was broadcast on CBS. Big Time Rush has released 3 albums, B.T.R, Elevate, and 24/Seven.


title: Big Time Rush

text: More singles were released in 2012. Big Time Rush covered The Beatles songs in their movie "Big Time Movie" which was released March 10, 2012.


title: Big Time Rush

text: They went on tour with Victoria Justice in 2013 on the Summer Break Tour. Their final tour was the Big Time Rush: Live World Tour in 2014 for the month of February.


title: Big Time Rush

text: In 2021, the band officially announced their comeback via Twitter, after their indefinite hiatus back in 2014, who will be performing two shows in December 2021.


title: Big Time Rush

text: A nationwide casting effort began in 2007. More than 1,500 teens and young adults auditioned for the four roles. James Maslow and Logan Henderson were the easiest and first actors cast. Kendall Schmidt was the last actor cast, and the most difficult role to cast. The role of Kendall Knight was originally to go to Curt Hansen, who later played Dak Zevon on the show, but when he appeared a lot older than the others and sounded too much like James in the pick up pilot, the producers auditioned and cast Schmidt after a recommendation by Logan Henderson, who was also friends with the actor before casting. Filming of the series began in August 2009. Actor Carlos Pena Jr. previously worked with Scott Fellows on "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide". As he had just entered the Boston Conservatory to study musical theatre, Pena was reluctant to audition but sent in a tape at the encouragement of his manager. Executive producer Scott Fellows was inspired to write each character by the personality of the actor playing him.


title: Big Time Rush

text: In addition to Pena, five are alumni of Scott Fellows make appearances in this show: Spencer Locke, Carlie Casey, Daran Norris, Adam Conway (as recurring cast members), and James Arnold Taylor (as a guest star).


title: Big Time Rush

text: The series was filmed in Studio 27, Paramount Pictures in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The series premiere's one-hour special took place in the suburbs of Los Angeles and a small town in Minnesota.


title: Big Time Rush

text: A one-hour special preview (which serves as the series pilot and first episode) debuted on Nickelodeon on November 28, 2009, drawing an audience of 3.6 million viewers. The series' official premiere on January 18, 2010 (which followed the premiere of the "iCarly" special "iSaved Your Life"), was watched by a total of 6.8 million total viewers, Nickelodeon's highest-rated live-action series debut.


title: Big Time Rush

text: The "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" stated the show was "Nick's attempt at building a Jonas Brothers-style pop band. It's Nick's answer to Disney Channel's 'JONAS,' albeit slightly less organic since 'Rush' doesn't feature siblings." The "Hartford Courant" stated the series a "not so good" show "with their thin pop and unfunny comedies". The "Boston Globe" stated the show as "one example in a growing list of kid shows selling showbiz fantasies to children. The genre is stronger than ever now and more fixated on the perks of the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle ... wish fulfillment at a time when tabloid dreams are ubiquitous." DVD Talk had the following review of the Big Time Rush: Season 1, Volume 1 DVD. "It would be hard to craft a description engineered to be less interesting to me, and yet, as I plowed through this collection from the series' beginnings, I frequently found myself amended and entertained. Say what you will about Nickelodeon's teen programming, but they've got the art of making a solid sitcom down to a science."


title: Big Time Rush

text: As of March 2021, the series is available to stream on Netflix and Paramount+. The series was previously available to stream on Hulu until it was removed in March 2021.


title: Big Time Rush

text: It was shown as a preview in Australia and New Zealand on April 10, 2010, and premiered on May 15, 2010. It previewed on April 16, 2010, and premiered on May 31, 2010, in Southeast Asia. In the United Kingdom and Ireland it previewed on May 27, 2010, and premiered on June 21, 2010. In Canada it previewed on August 6, 2010, and premiered on September 6, 2010.


title: Big Time Rush

text: It premiered in January 2011 in Australia and New Zealand and in February 2011 in the UK and Ireland. It was announced by Nickelodeon in October 2011 that "Big Time Rush" would go free-to-air on CITV in the UK.


title: Big Time Rush

text: The third season premiered November 2012 in Australia and New Zealand and in December 2012 in the UK and Ireland.


title: Stephen Gyllenhaal

text: Stephen Roark Gyllenhaal (; born October 4, 1949) is an American film director and poet. He is the father of actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Maggie Gyllenhaal.


title: Stephen Gyllenhaal

text: Gyllenhaal was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Virginia Lowrie (née Childs) and Hugh Anders Gyllenhaal. He is of Swedish and English descent; through his father, he is a member of the Gyllenhaal family, and a descendant of the cavalry officer Nils Gunnesson Haal, who was ennobled in 1652 when Queen Christina of Sweden conferred upon him the crest and family name, "Gyllenhaal". Stephen grew up in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia in a close-knit Swedenborgian family and graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1972, with a degree in English. His mentor at Trinity was the poet Hugh Ogden.


title: Stephen Gyllenhaal

text: He was married to screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal for 32 years, from 1977 until their divorce was finalized in 2009. From that marriage, he is the father of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and actor Jake Gyllenhaal. He is also the brother of Anders Gyllenhaal, executive editor of the "Miami Herald".


title: Stephen Gyllenhaal

text: In July 2011, he married Kathleen Man, a filmmaker and professor who was a co-producer on Gyllenhaal's 2012 film "Grassroots". Their son Luke was born in 2014.


title: Stephen Gyllenhaal

text: Gyllenhaal directed the film version of the Pete Dexter novel "Paris Trout", which was nominated for five Emmy Awards and won him a DGA Award. In 1990, Gyllenhaal directed "Family of Spies", which was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy. In 1992, he directed the feature film "Waterland", starring Jeremy Irons and Ethan Hawke. Since 1993, he has focused primarily on directing in television, including an episode of the ABC television series "Twin Peaks". He directed his son, Jake, then 14 years old, in an episode of NBC's "" that aired in 1994. Gyllenhaal directed several episodes of the CBS series "Numb3rs", "The Mentalist", "Hawthorne", "Army Wives", "Rectify", and "Blue Bloods". In 2011, Gyllenhaal directed "Girl Fight" which starred Anne Heche and earned Gyllenhaal a DGA Nomination for outstanding directorial achievement in movies for television.


title: Stephen Gyllenhaal

text: He is also a poet, who has been published in literary journals such as "Prairie Schooner" and "Nimrod". His first collection of poetry, "Claptrap: Notes from Hollywood", was published in June 2006 by Cantara Christopher's New York–based literary small press, Cantarabooks.


title: Stephen Gyllenhaal

text: In 2013, Gyllenhaal directed a backdoor pilot originally titled "Sworn to Silence" that aired as the Lifetime TV movie "An Amish Murder". It stars Neve Campbell as a local police detective who must solve a murder case that involves the Amish Community she was shunned from years ago. Gyllenhaal is also in post-production on a documentary about dream interpretation titled "Exquisite Continent".


title: Stephen Gyllenhaal

text: In 2019, Gyllenhaal was on the "Social Impact Advisory Board" of the San Diego International Film Festival with Susan Sarandon and Cecelia Peck.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ganesan is acknowledged as one of the greatest Indian actors of all time and among the most imitated one by other actors. He was known for his versatility and the variety of roles he depicted on screen, which gave him also the Tamil nickname "Nadigar Thilagam" (). In a career that spanned close to five decades, he had acted 288 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. Sivaji Ganesan is the only Tamil actor to have played the lead role in over 250 films.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Ganesan was the first Indian actor to win a "Best Actor" award in an International film festival, the Afro-Asian Film Festival held in Cairo, Egypt in 1960. Many leading South Indian actors have stated that their acting was influenced by Ganesan. In addition, he received four Filmfare Awards South and a National Film Award (Special Jury). In 1997, Ganesan was conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honour for films in India. He was also the first Indian actor to be made a "Chevalier" of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Ganesan is remembered as an iconic figure of Tamil cinema. Upon his death, The "Los Angeles Times" described him as "the Marlon Brando of south India's film industry".


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Ganesan was born on 1 October 1928, as the fourth son of Chinnaiya Manrayar and Rajamani Ammal in Villupuram, India. Early in his career, Ganesan acted under the name V. C. Ganesan. Media outlets said that the initial 'V' stood for Villupuram, though one of Ganesan's sons stated that it stands for Vettaithidal, a village from which their family originates. Without his father's consent, Ganesan decided to join a touring stage drama company at the age of seven. At the age of 10, he moved to Tiruchirappalli and joined a drama troupe in Sangiliyandapuram and began to perform in stage plays. From the drama troupe trainers, he was fortunate enough to learn acting and dancing. He was trained in Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Manipuri dance forms.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Ganesan exhibited the ability to remember lengthy lines easily. The group favoured Ganesan to play the lead and he would continue to do so. His portrayal of Shivaji in the stage play "Shivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam" earned him the monicker "Sivaji", which was conferred on him at a public function presided over by social reformer Periyar. Since then, he was referred to by the name of "Sivaji".


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Ganesan made his acting debut in the 1952 Tamil film "Parasakthi", which was directed by the Krishnan–Panju duo and co-starred actress Pandari Bai. The film became an instant commercial success, running for over 175 days in several theatres, and ran for over 50 days in all the 62 centres it was released, and at the Sri Lanka-based Mailan Theatre, it ran for nearly 40 weeks. Film distributor P. A. Perumal Mudaliar of National Pictures, with the patronage of A. V. Meiyappan of AVM Productions, bought the film rights of "Parasakthi". P.A. Perumal cast Ganesan after being impressed with his performance as Nur Jahan in the Sakthi Nadaga Sabha play of the same name. It was he who, in 1950, gave Ganesan a flight ticket to Madras for the screen test for "Parasakthi". Ganesan had simultaneously shot for the Telugu-Tamil bilingual film "Paradesi / Poongothai", which was supposed to be his actual film to release first, but released much later after Perumal requested its co-producer Anjali Devi to let "Parasakthi" release first, and she agreed.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: "Parasakthi" did not begin well for Ganesan. When shooting began and 2000 feet of the film was shot, Meiyappan was dissatisfied with Ganesan's "thin" physique, and wanted him replaced with K. R. Ramasamy. Perumal refused, and Ganesan was retained. Meiyappan was also satisfied with the final results of the film. The initial scenes of Ganesan which he earlier disliked were reshot. Ganesan was paid a monthly salary of 250 (valued at about US$52.5 in 1952) for acting in the film.The script was written by later Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi. Since actors who are well-trained in classical dance can effectively showcase expressions called Nava Rasa on their faces, Ganesan went on to become one of the popular actors in Tamil cinema in the 1950s. His unique voice had a greater appeal. His style of dialogue delivery with a long spell of dialogues — like a poetry recitation with much clarity — earned him critical recognition.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Two factors can be attributed the entry of Ganesan into films: The principal artists in Tamil films during the 1940s and 1950s were Telugus, whose acting was not matched by their dialogue delivery in Tamil. (In fact, Sivaji Ganesan lent his voice to Mukkamala Krishna Murthy, a Telugu actor, for a Tamil film "Niraparathi". The film was well received by the Tamil audience.) Secondly, the 1950s saw the growth of the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu, under the leadership of C. N. Annadurai, and M. Karunanidhi. Their transformation of language skills to films through script writing ensured their instant acceptance. Ganesan's entry into films at this stage of popularity was easy and inevitable, and he could establish himself in a better position.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: "Andha Naal" (1954) was a trendsetter in Tamil cinema because it had no songs and Ganesan played an anti-hero. The film won the president's silver medal the following year. The same year, he co-starred with his competitor M. G. Ramachandran in "Koondukkili", where he played the antagonist.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: His role in the film "Veerapandiya Kattabomman" won him the Best Actor Award at the Afro-Asian Film Festival held in March 1960 at Cairo. Incidentally, Ganesan was also the first Indian actor to get an award for Best Actor abroad. Often considered to be a landmark film in Tamil cinema, "Pasamalar" is arguably one of the best films of Sivaji Ganesan and Savitri together. Once again directed by A Bhimsingh, the film has a cult following and rightly so. When it released in 1961, it became a trendsetter of sorts and was a money spinner at the box-office. Post its release, several films based on a similar theme were made, for example, "Mullum Malarum". It also won the National Award that year and was remade in several languages.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Uthama Puthiran is the first film to feature Ganesan in dual roles and the first Indian film to have the shots with zoom technique.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Sivaji Ganesan has acted in many Tamil movies co-starring with many popular and talented Tamil actresses of his time. He gave many commercial success films such as


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: "Palum Pazhamum", "Irumbu Thirai", "Padikkadha Medhai", "Paava Mannippu", "Padithal Mattum Podhuma", "Aalayamani", "Iruvar Ullam", "Annai Illam",


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: "Aandavan Kattalai", "Kappalottiya Thamizhan", "Mahabharata" (1965), "Kai Koduttha Dheivam", "Puthiya Paravai" and his 100th film, "Navarathri" whereby ganesan acted nine distinct roles in the film. It is arguably one of Sivaji Ganesan's best films in its tribute to the actor.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: He had comedic roles in several movies, such as "Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachari" (1954), "Sabaash Meena" (1958), "Ooty Varai Uravu" (1967), and "Galatta Kalyanam" (1968).


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: His portrayal of Lord Shiva in the movie "Thiruvilayadal" (1965) won him many accolades. Ganesan could strike a balance between commercial cinema, Mythological cinema and experimental cinema. His epical portrayals in films such as "Thiruvilayaadal", "Thiruvarutselvar", "Saraswati Sabatham", "Thirumal Perumai" and "Thillana Mohanambal" won him critical acclaim. He played a variety of roles such as freedom fighters, like Tiruppur Kumaran, Bhagat Singh and epic characters like Karna, Bharatha, Narada, Appar, Nayanmars and Alwars. Spanning genres like epics to Crime thrillers; from romantic escapades to comic flicks and action flicks, Ganesan has covered it all.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Ganesan played supporting role to Rajendra Kumar in the Hindi film "Dharti" in 1970, which was a remake of his 1969 Tamil film "Sivandha Mann", in which he played the lead role. In the Hindi version, Ganesan played the role which Muthuraman had played in the original. Several directors such as Krishnan–Panju, T. R. Sundaram, T. R. Ramanna, A. P. Nagarajan, L. V. Prasad, B. R. Panthulu, T. Prakash Rao, D. Yoganand, A. Bhim Singh, K. Shankar, C. V. Sridhar, A. C. Tirulokchandar, P. Madhavan, K. S. Gopalakrishnan, Muktha V.Srinivasan, C. V. Rajendran, and K. Vijayan directed Ganesan in different roles. Jaggayya offered his voice to Sivaji when his movies were dubbed into Telugu.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: In the 1960s and 1970s his films have been well received and he was able to deliver constant hits. Some of his famous hits during this period are "Vasantha Maligai", "Gauravam", "Thanga Pathakkam" and "Sathyam". Many of his films inspired remakes in Sinhalese. Films such as "Pilot Premnath" and "Mohana Punnagai" were shot in Sri Lanka, with Sri Lankan actors such as Malini Fonseka and Geetha Kumarasinghe playing the female lead. In 1979, he appeared in the biggest blockbuster of his career, "Thirisoolam" his 200th film, an adaptation of the Kannada film "Shankar Guru" in which Rajkumar had played the lead role.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: "Muthal Mariyathai" (1985) won him a "Filmfare Award" and "Tamil Nadu State film Award" under "Best Actor" category. The 1990s was a period in which Ganesan started enacting matured roles. In 1992, he acted with Kamal Haasan in the critically acclaimed "Thevar Magan", which won him a Special Mention Award at the 40th National Film Awards. His other films released during this period are "Pasumpon", "Once More", "En Aasai Rasave" and "Mannavaru Chinnavaru", where he was cast in prominent roles. He acted with Mohanlal in the movie "Oru Yathramozhi" (1997). He worked in "Pooparika Varugirom", which released as his last film before his death, however the last film he worked in before his death was "Padayappa" (1999).


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Chinna Ponnusamy Padayatchi is the teacher of theatrical arts who trained Ganesan in his troupe. During an interview with V.S. Srinivasan, Ganesan said: "Theatre has taught me everything. My teacher ("Chinna Ponnuswamy Padayachi of Chidambaram") taught me Bharatnatyam, acting, body movements & practically everything. Padayachi, was himself an outstanding stage actor and I learnt in an atmosphere that was reminiscent of an ashram school."


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Sivaji Ganesan has made many financial contributions during natural disasters and for the educational development. In 1960, K. Kamaraj introduced the Midday Meal Scheme for which Sivaji Ganesan donated one lakh rupees. Sivaji Ganesan presented a 80 gram gold chain to P. Kakkan, who was living in poverty, and also he donated the entire proceeds from the play 'Thanga Padhakkam' which is held at the Salem Nehru Auditorium. He also donated a large amount of money during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Sivaji ganesan bought the place where Veerapandiya Kattabomman was hanged in Kayatharu and placed a statue of Veerapandiya Kattabomman at his expense which is still remain a monument. He has donated elephants to many temples like Venkateswara Temple, Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Ganesan started his political career as an activist of the Dravidar Kazhagam. Ganesan joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam after it was founded by C. N. Annadurai in 1949. Until 1956, Ganesan was a staunch supporter of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). In the 1950s, however, Sivaji Ganesan was criticized for going "against the stated values of rationalism" during a visit to Tirupathi. He left the DMK and joined the Tamil National Party, which was founded by former DMK members. The Indian National Congress eventually absorbed the party. He embraced Congress leader K. Kamaraj's leadership.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: In 1962, Ganesan became a strong supporter of the Indian National Congress. Due to his popularity, he was requested to be part of the National Congress Tamil Nadu. His respect for Kamaraj made him support Congress. He was made the Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi's death in 1984 also brought Ganesan's political career to an end.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: After the death of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) founder and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran in 1987, AIADMK broke into two, one headed by his wife V. N. Janaki Ramachandran and other by another Tamil movie star J. Jayalalithaa. Election Commission of India refused to accept either of them as the original AIADMK. Tamil Nadu Congress decided to ally with Jayalalitha's fragment of AIADMK. This move was opposed by Sivaji Ganesan and hence he left the party along with his supporters to form the new party Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani on 10 February 1988. To popularise the party Ganesan produce a movie titled "En Thamizh En Makkal" (My Tamil language and my people). At the time the party was created it was considered to be pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The party opposed the presence of Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka stating that the force was trying to wipe out the LTTE and its leader V. Prabhakaran. The party also urged the Government of India to hold talks with the LTTE without any pre- condition. In the 1989 elections, his party lost all of its seats in favor of V. N. Janaki Ramachandran. Sivaji himself was defeated by DMK candidate Durai Chandrasekaran in the Tiruvayaru seat by a difference of 10,643 votes.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: He later joined the Janata Dal under VP Singh and rose through the ranks to become the party's state president, but his political career came to an end in 1993.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Ganesan was the fourth son of his family. He had three brothers and one sister. Ganesan married Kamala on May 1, 1952 and had four children. His younger son Prabhu is a notable Tamil actor. Ganesan established a film production company in the late 1950s, now called Sivaji Productions, which is now being looked after by his elder son Ramkumar. He has two daughters Shanthi and Thenmozhi. Two of his grandsons namely Vikram Prabhu and Dushyant Ramkumar have also appeared in films, with Ramkumar's son Dushyanth Ramkumar having the stage name of Junior Sivaji. Moreover, Prabhu's son Vikram Prabhu debuted in the critically acclaimed film "Kumki" in 2012.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Suffering from respiratory problems, Ganesan was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Chennai on 1 July 2001. He also had been suffering from a prolonged heart ailment for about 10 years. He died at 7:45 pm (IST) on 21 July 2001 at the age of 72 just three months prior to his 73rd birthday for which he had special plans. A documentary "Parasakthi Muthal Padayappa Varai" was made to commemorate Sivaji Ganesan's legacy. He was given a State funeral. His funeral the next day was telecast live on Sun TV and was attended by thousands of viewers, politicians and personalities from the South Indian film fraternity. Ramkumar, performed his last rites at the Besant Nagar Crematorium, Chennai.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: When President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt visited India, Sivaji Ganesan was the only individual granted permission by the then-Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, to host a party for Nasser. Nasser was given a number of valuable mementos depicting the civilisation and culture of South India. Sivaji Ganesan was the first artist from India to visit the United States, in the cultural exchange programme of the US government, in 1962, invited by the then-US President John F. Kennedy, where he took the role of India's cultural ambassador. During his visit there, he was honoured by being made the honorary mayor of Niagara Falls, New York for one day and was presented the golden key to the city. The only other Indian who has had this honour before Ganesan was Jawaharlal Nehru. When Sivaji returned from America, there was a huge crowd to receive him at the Madras Airport and M. G. Ramachandran was there. When Sivaji returned from Egypt after winning the best actor award, there was a huge crowd to receive him at the Madras Airport. On 22 March 1976, he went over to Mauritius on an invitation from Prime Minister Ramagoolam and took part in their independence day celebrations and stayed as their government guest for four days.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: During his visit to the United States in June 1995, he visited Columbus, Ohio. Participating in the dinner hosted to honour Ganesan, the Mayor of the city, Greg Lashutka honoured him by announcing him as an honorary citizen of Columbus. On the same occasion, the Mayor of Mount Vernon read out and gave him a special welcome citation. The Columbus Tamil Sangam was formulated on that day and Ganesan was made the honorary President of that association.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Although Sivaji appeared less in leading roles after the 1980s, his supporting roles were received positively, as in "Thevar Magan", which won him the National Awards Jury's Special Jury award in 1993. Sivaji, incidentally, declined the award.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Sivaji Ganesan is considered one of the best Indian actors of all time. He was also acknowledged as a consummate actor and one of the most imitated ones. He was praised for his body language and his resounding voice and dialogue delivery. Ganesan is known for his versatility and has acted as a blind man in "Palum Pazhamum", a physically handicapped person in "Bhaaga Pirivinai", enacting Nine numbers of totally different personas from various social strata and the corresponding body language (gait, voice, facial expression, etc.) in " Navarathiri", thereby becoming probably the first-time in Indian cinema history as an actor reprising Nine roles in a single film and in extension, inspiring subsequent films (at least) in Tamil like "Navarathinam" (the great MGR – starred), "Dasavatharam" (featuring Sivaji's torch-bearer Kamal Haasan), a man with a scared face as in "Deiva Magan", a murderer in "Pudhiya Paravai", or a traitor as in "Andha Naal", the first movie that had no songs at all.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: On 1 October 2021, Google commemorated Ganesan's 93rd birth anniversary with a Google Doodle on their Indian homepage.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: Pondicherry (Puducherry) was the first state to erect a statue of Sivaji Ganesan in honour of his acting skills and his huge fan base in the state and it was unveiled by the then Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy. A statue of Ganesan was erected on Kamarajar Road in Chennai, Tamil Nadu to honour the actor and was unveiled by the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in 2006.


title: Sivaji Ganesan

text: In 2017, a memorial built at a cost of 28 million was opened in Chennai. Located in Adyar, a southern neighbourhood of the city, it is built in the Tamil style of architecture, adorned with domes, and houses a statue of the actor, which was previously erected on the Marina Beach in 2006.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Jason Chandler Williams (born November 18, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who was a point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for twelve seasons during the late 1990s and 2000s. In 2006, Williams won an NBA championship as the starting point guard for the Miami Heat. Due to his style of play, he was given the nickname "White Chocolate."


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: A native of West Virginia, Williams played college basketball for Marshall University and the University of Florida. The Sacramento Kings selected him in the first round of the 1998 NBA draft. He also played for the Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic throughout his career. The Heat named Williams one of their top 25 players of all time in 2007.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Williams was born in Belle, West Virginia. He attended DuPont High School (since consolidated into the current Riverside High School) in Belle, where he played high school basketball for the DuPont Panthers in 1994, and led his high school team to the state championship before being defeated by Martinsburg in the final. He became the only player in DuPont team history to reach 1,000 points and 500 assists. "USA Today" named Williams the West Virginia Player of the Year in 1994. Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss was one of Williams' high school basketball teammates.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Williams originally committed to play college basketball for Providence College, but instead chose to attend Marshall University after Providence coach Rick Barnes left for Clemson. At Marshall, he played for coach Billy Donovan's Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team from 1994 to 1996. After redshirting his first season, he averaged 13.4 points and 6.4 assists per game during his 1995–96 freshman year.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: When Marshall coach Billy Donovan accepted the head coaching position at the University of Florida in the summer of 1996, Williams decided to transfer and follow Donovan to Florida. After sitting out the 1996–97 season as required by the NCAA transfer rule, he became the starting point guard for the Florida Gators men's basketball team during the 1997–98 season, and set a Florida Gators single-game record with 17 assists in a December 3, 1997 game against Duquesne. Through twenty games, he averaged 17.1 points, 6.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game, and led the Gators to an 86–78 upset of the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, Kentucky. In February 1998, however, the University of Florida suspended him for the remainder of the season for cannabis use, after two previous suspensions for the same infraction.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Following his suspension by the University of Florida, Williams decided to make himself eligible for the NBA draft. He was the seventh overall selection in the 1998 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: In his rookie year, the Kings, with a roster that included newcomers Williams, Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, and Peja Stojaković, turned into a playoff contender. That year, Williams' number 55 jersey was among the top five sellers of all NBA players.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: On July 20, 2000, Williams was suspended for the first five games of the 2000–01 NBA season for failure to comply with his treatment obligations under the NBA's anti-drug program. The NBA does not release details of violations of the anti-drug program.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: On February 28, 2001, Williams allegedly shouted racist slurs to Michael Ching, a Golden State Warriors season ticket-holder, and to several other Asian Americans seated beside Ching during a Warriors game at the Oakland Arena. As recounted by a letter Ching sent to NBA commissioner David Stern, Williams retaliated against heckling made by Ching and his party midway through the first half.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: The NBA eventually levied a $15,000 fine on Jason Williams for cursing at fans. Nike decided to change a planned advertising campaign featuring Williams as a result of his alleged actions as well. Williams has since apologized for the incident.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: The NBA had previously fined Williams $10,000 for comments to a fan at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in 2000.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: By 2001, the Kings had concluded that Williams' behavior made him more trouble than he was worth. Additionally, general manager Geoff Petrie was concerned that Williams had not developed into a more complete point guard. With this in mind, the Kings traded Williams and Nick Anderson to the Vancouver Grizzlies for Mike Bibby and Brent Price. The team relocated to Memphis, Tennessee several weeks after the trade. In 2002, Grizzlies' general manager Jerry West hired Hubie Brown out of retirement to coach the team. The team improved by a franchise record 28 wins in Brown's first season.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: After Memphis was swept by the Phoenix Suns in the 2005 NBA Playoffs, Williams was reportedly involved in an altercation with Geoff Calkins, a columnist for the "Commercial Appeal". Sources said that Williams screamed in Calkins' ear and took his pen away from him. Calkins had previously quoted Williams as saying, "I'm happy. I go home and see my kids and my wife and I'm OK. All of this [stuff] is secondary to me."


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Calkins was critical of the Grizzlies' lackadaisical play and had alleged that Williams did not care about winning basketball games. Williams was fined $10,000 for the incident on May 4, 2005. Williams maintained that the quotations were out of context, especially after Williams had delivered spectacular performances during the series, despite the Grizzlies' loss.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: On August 2, 2005, Williams and teammate James Posey were two of thirteen players involved in the biggest trade in league history that saw them being dealt to the Miami Heat in exchange for shooting guard Eddie Jones.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Williams started at point guard for the Heat in the 2005–06 campaign, playing a total of 59 games due to a knee injury but placing second only to Dwyane Wade in minutes per game. He would serve as the third leading scorer for Miami averaging 12.3 points a game, only trailed Wade with 4.9 assists per contest and was one of three players on the team with over 100 three-point baskets for the season. In the playoffs his averages were lower than the regular season, but he scored in double figures 11 times in the post-season including 21 points on 10 of 11 shooting in Game 6 of the Eastern Finals against the Detroit Pistons. Miami closed out Detroit in that game and would win the NBA Championship over the Dallas Mavericks, giving Williams his first and only title.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: In the 2006–07 season, Williams was limited to 61 games, of which he started 55. He averaged 10.9 points and 5.3 assists, which did not meet his career averages of 11.7 and 6.5. His play dropped dramatically in the postseason, averaging 5.8 points per game and 3.5 assists per game. His struggles contributed to the Heat being swept by the Bulls in four games in the first round of the playoffs.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: In the 2007–08 season, Williams played 67 games while averaging 8.7 points and 4.6 assists per game. He shot 41.5 percent from the field, 86.3 percent from the free-throw line, and 35.3 percent from beyond the three-point arc. In March, he had 34 points versus Orlando, connecting on five three-point baskets. He had two double-doubles: one against Phoenix and one against the Bucks; both were 21-point, 10-assist performances.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: In the summer of 2008, Williams signed with the Los Angeles Clippers to a one-year deal. However, on September 26, 2008, Williams announced his retirement from the NBA after 10 years due to persistent injuries.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: In February 2009, Williams announced he would attempt a return to the NBA. On August 19, 2009, Williams signed with the Orlando Magic. The move reunited Williams with Stan Van Gundy, his former coach in Miami, who pushed the team to make the signing. Orlando was also located just south of Gainesville, where he had gone to college.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Williams played in all 82 games for the Magic that year, including 18 starts when Jameer Nelson was injured. He also played in all 14 of their playoff games, as the Magic advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in six games.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Williams re-signed with the team on August 3, 2010. On September 29, he had arthroscopic knee surgery, though he was still able to play the season-opener on October 28. After missing time due to injury, Williams was unable to crack the Magic's rotation behind Nelson and new acquisitions Chris Duhon and Gilbert Arenas. He was granted his release from the team on January 26, 2011.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Williams signed a two-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies on February 7, 2011, returning to the team where he was their all-time assists leader (since surpassed by Mike Conley). The rest of the season was fully guaranteed, with a player option for the second year of the contract.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: On February 1, 2017, it was announced that Willams would be playing in the 3-on-3 basketball league BIG3, on the 3 Headed Monsters with former teammate Rashard Lewis. In his debut he injured his knee, and missed the remainder of the BIG3 season as a result.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Early in his career, Williams built a reputation for an unorthodox "street" style of play. He became a regular on "SportsCenter" for his spectacular passes and dazzling assists. He regularly attempted, and mostly completed, passes such as behind-the back, no-look and half-court. Popular user-generated Internet-video sites contain many "home-made" highlight videos dedicated solely to Williams' highlights. He was also known for taking spectacular three-point shots that drove home audiences wild. With his risky play, he was turnover-prone at times: in his second and fourth years, he peaked at over 3.5 per game. His playing style led Williams to be benched during crucial periods of some games. For example, in the 2000 NBA Playoffs, Williams sat out most of the fourth quarter in all five games against the Los Angeles Lakers.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: In his later years with Memphis and Miami, he significantly tamed his extravagant playing style and consistently achieved one of the highest assists per turnover ratios in the NBA. Throughout his entire career, Williams continued to be known for his assists and for his creativity.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: In the Rookie Challenge of the NBA All-Star Weekend in 2000, in a counter-attack, Williams made a no-look, behind-the-back pass off the elbow on a full sprint to Raef LaFrentz. "I did it so you all wouldn't ask me to ever do it again", Williams said.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Williams' nickname was "White Chocolate". The nickname was started in Williams' rookie year by Stephanie Shepherd, a media relations assistant with the Sacramento Kings. "I came up with that name because of his style", Shepard said. "He has flash and pizazz. The way he does things with the ball is incredible to me. It reminds me of, like, schoolyard street ball when I go to Chicago."


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Despite his NBA success, Williams preferred to stay out of the spotlight and live a low-key lifestyle, spending time with his family. Williams married Denika Kisty, a University of Florida alumna, a former member of the Florida Gators track and field team, and an All-American javelin thrower. Williams and his wife have three children; in his NBA profile, he listed his family as his "most treasured possession".


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Williams is a close friend of former Miami Heat teammate and center Shaquille O'Neal, having been neighbors in Orlando for three years. "I was the one who helped broker the deal this summer", O'Neal said (in 2005) of the five-team, 13-player trade that brought Williams to Miami. "He wanted to play with me and I wanted to play with a guard who loves to pass and I think it'll be a good combination for myself and [guard] Dwyane Wade."


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Williams has a number of tattoos, which include a panther on his right arm, a dragon on his left arm (which was redone in the 2007–08 season), an eye on his chest of which he said, "It's why I pass so good, I have a 3rd eye". In the 2000–01 season, he had a wolf holding a basketball on his arm, and "WHITEBOY" tattooed across his knuckles. He also has his children's names on his forearms.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: In 2003, Williams, when he was playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, along with Dr. Bob Wallace of the UT Medical Group founded the We Will Foundation, a charitable foundation to benefit children facing treatment for craniofacial deformities.


title: Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975)

text: Williams was also a frequent visitor to St. Jude Children's Hospital when he was a player in Memphis, Tennessee. "I started going over not long after I got here," said Williams, who has always said he likes to be around kids. "I go see them when I can, and it's great to see their faces light up!"


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: Debra Jo Rupp (born February 24, 1951) is an American actress best known for her roles as Kitty Forman on the Fox sitcom "That '70s Show", and Alice Knight-Buffay on the third through fifth seasons of "Friends". She voiced Mary Lou Helperman in the animated series "Teacher's Pet" and its sequel film, and played timid secretary Miss Patterson in "Big" (1988).


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: In 2012, Rupp starred as sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer in "Dr. Ruth – All the Way" on the St. Germain Stage of the Barrington Stage Company. Rupp reprised the role Off-Broadway in "Becoming Dr. Ruth", for which she was nominated for the 2014 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: Rupp was born in Glendale, California, to Margaret A. Williams Rupp and John E. Rupp Jr. She was raised in Boxford, Massachusetts, where she attended Masconomet Regional High School, graduating in 1969. She has two sisters Robin Lee Rupp and Rebecca Louise Rupp.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: Rupp always dreamed of being an actress, but her parents were firmly opposed to the idea. They sent her to the University of Rochester in New York because it offered no theater classes, but the school added a drama department in Rupp's freshman year. On campus, she was an active member of Drama House, a small theater club and venue. After graduating with a B.A. in 1974, she moved to New York to begin her acting career.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: Rupp left Massachusetts in 1979 to pursue an acting career in New York City. She frequently performed on stage and appeared in commercials before winning her first television role in 1980 as Sheila, a topless dancer, on the daytime drama "All My Children". Earlier the same year, Rupp played Helen, the wife of a cheating husband, in Sharon Tipsword's one-act comedy "Second Verse", produced as part of a play festival at New York's Nat Horne Theater.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: Another notable stage performance was as the young bride Eleanor in the 1985 production of A. R. Gurney's "The Middle Ages" at the Whole Theater Company, established by Olympia Dukakis in Montclair, New Jersey.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: She garnered praise from Walter Goodman in a "New York Times" review of one of her many off-Broadway performances: as June Yeager, a young wife who feels she is never "loved enough", in the 1986 York Theater Company production of Arthur Laurents' dramatic play, "The Time of the Cuckoo" staged at the Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City's Upper East Side.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: Rupp's list of stage credits includes appearances in Terrence McNally's "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" and Cynthia Heimel's "A Girl's Guide to Chaos", the Broadway role which propelled her career forward. She originated the role of Cynthia in 1986, a character based on Heimel's observations made during her stints as a columnist for "Playboy" and "The Village Voice". Directed by Wynn Handman, and sharing the stage with Rita Jenrette, Rupp's performance as Cynthia was immortalized by legendary caricaturist Al Hirschfeld and described in a "New York Times" review as "an appealing mixture of pluck and pathos". In his review of "Chaos", "New York Newsday" theater critic Allan Wallach called Rupp "a real find".


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: In early 1987, Rupp was featured in an article written by Enid Nemy for the "Broadway" section of "The New York Times". Entitled "New York is beckoning, but first, Los Angeles", the interview revealed how Rupp's success in the theater so soon after her arrival in New York City had scared the young actress enough to take time off from acting for several years. After returning to the stage, Rupp explained, she was often cast as an ingénue, but after her portrayal of Cynthia in "Chaos", she began getting calls to audition in Los Angeles for "really crazy neurotic" parts in television pilots. She was realistic about the unpredictability of an acting career, and since she had promised her mother she would never wait tables when she left for New York, she had not given up her part-time work as a bookkeeper and was "learning computers" as something to fall back on.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: Rupp continued to devote herself to acting full-time through the 1980s, and performed in numerous regional stage productions. One such production was Sherry Kramer's "Wall of Water" in New Haven, Connecticut, at the Yale Repertory Theatre's Winterfest play festival of 1988. She guest-starred on numerous television shows, including "Kate & Allie", "Spenser for Hire", and "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd". In 1988, Rupp landed her first feature-film role as Miss Patterson, the timid secretary of Tom Hanks' Josh Baskin, in the comedy "Big".


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: In 1990, Rupp returned to New York City to perform in a Broadway stage production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" with Kathleen Turner at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. In it, Rupp portrayed Mae (Sister Woman). Her television work during the early 1990s included recurring roles as Ms. Higgins on the television series "Davis Rules" with Randy Quaid, and as Sister Mary Incarnata on "Phenom" with Judith Light, as well as guest roles on "Blossom", "Family Matters", "L.A. Law", and "ER".


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: In 1995, she began her stint as Jeff Foxworthy's sister-in-law Gayle on "The Jeff Foxworthy Show", appeared in the science fiction miniseries "The Invaders" with Scott Bakula, portrayed Jerry Seinfeld's eccentric booking agent Katie on an episode of "Seinfeld" (a role she reprised in 1996), and performed on stage as Meg in "Broken Bones", a dark drama about spousal abuse by Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan, as part of a one-act play festival at Hollywood's Met Theater. She provided the voice of Lana Lionheart in the "MGM Sing-Alongs" Videos in 1997. Also in 1997, Rupp appeared as the office manager in the 1997 independent film "Clockwatchers", co-starring Lisa Kudrow, Parker Posey, and Toni Colette.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: Rupp appeared in several episodes of "Friends" as Alice Knight, a home economics teacher who fell in love with and married Phoebe Buffay's (Lisa Kudrow) much younger half-brother, Frank Jr. (Giovanni Ribisi). In 1998, she began portraying Kitty Forman in the comedy series, "That '70s Show". She also portrayed Marilyn See, wife of astronaut Elliot See, in episode 11 of the Emmy Award-winning television miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon", produced by Tom Hanks and directed by Sally Field.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: She lent her voice as the character of Mrs. Helperman in Disney's animated series "Teacher's Pet" in 2000, and again for the 2004 movie version. She starred as a stand-up comic with a secret in the independent short film "The Act", directed by Susan Kraker and Pi Ware, an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival which won several awards at film festivals around the world. In 2004, she played Brad Hunt's nagging mother in "Lucky 13", a full-length independent film starring Lauren Graham. She returned to "All My Children" for one episode in December 2005, playing a homeless woman named Victoria.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: Rupp has often returned to Massachusetts and New York to appear in regional and off-Broadway stage productions. In 2004, she played Dotty Otley in Michael Frayn's "Noises Off" at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts. In 2006, she appeared on stage in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, as a kooky mother in French playwright Jean Anouilh's comedy "Ring Round the Moon" at Barrington Stage Company.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: New York theater-goers saw Rupp return to the off-Broadway stage in June 2007 as Valerie in the Second Stage Theatre production of Marisa Wegrzyn's "The Butcher of Baraboo", directed by Judith Ivey. Two months later, she performed in the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, as Ida Bolton in a revival of Paul Osborn's 1939 play, "Morning's at Seven".


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: "That '70s Show" ended in 2006. Rupp appeared soon after in a dramatic television role as the wife of a murdered pharmaceutical CEO on the crime drama "". In the episode, entitled "Infiltrated", Rupp's character desperately attempts to hide her slain husband's past sexual abuses. In early 2007, the feature film "Kickin It Old Skool" was released, in which Rupp was cast as Jamie Kennedy's mother. In 2008, she appeared as a restaurant owner who helps two homeless men in the comedy-drama-musical, "Jackson", written and directed by J. F. Lawton. In the same year, she returned to daytime television in a guest role on "As the World Turns".


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: Massachusetts theater-goers saw Rupp onstage in 2008 playing Olympia in Georges Feydeau's 1907 farce "A Flea in Her Ear" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, and as Miss Maudie in "To Kill a Mockingbird" at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield. In 2012, Rupp portrayed Ruth in "She Wants Me", an independent romantic comedy.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: In June and July 2012, Rupp starred as Dr. Ruth Westheimer in "Dr. Ruth – All the Way" on the St. Germain Stage of the Barrington Stage Company. The play showcased a sex therapist's life, from fleeing the Nazis in the Kindertransport and joining the Haganah in Jerusalem as a scout and sniper, to her struggles to succeed as a single mother coming to America. Rupp reprised the role Off-Broadway in "Becoming Dr. Ruth", for which she was nominated for the 2014 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: In 2021, Rupp joined the limited television series "WandaVision" as Mrs. Hart, Wanda and Vision's neighbor.


title: Debra Jo Rupp

text: She has two homes, one in Lee, Massachusetts, where she stays when she is doing theatrical projects in New York, and another one in Los Angeles, where she stays during television and film projects. She said in an interview that she is a Methodist.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Douglas Vincent Mastriano (born January 2, 1964) is an American far-right politician and retired military officer who has served in the Pennsylvania Senate since 2019, representing the 33rd district. A member of the Republican Party, he was the GOP nominee in the 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, which he lost by 14.8 percentage points to Democrat Josh Shapiro.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Born in New Jersey, Mastriano served in the United States Army from 1986 to 2017 and attained the rank of colonel. He ran for U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district in 2018, where he finished fourth in the primary. Mastriano won the state senate seat for the 33rd district the following year in a special election. In 2022, he announced his gubernatorial campaign and won the Republican nomination with 44% of the vote. He lost to Democratic Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro in the general election.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano is a prominent figure in fundamentalist Christian nationalism and has called the separation of church and state a myth. He has made social media posts referencing QAnon and has spoken at events that promoted QAnon and 9/11 conspiracy theories. A self-professed close ally of former president Donald Trump, Mastriano received national attention for his efforts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election. He attended Trump's January 6 rally in Washington D.C. prior to the Trump supporters storming the United States Capitol, and was seen on video passing through Capitol Police barriers after they had been breached by others in the crowd. Mastriano was subpoenaed by the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack in February 2022; he stopped cooperating with the select committee in August.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on January 2, 1964, the son of Italian Americans Richard L. and Janice C. (Bono) Mastriano. Raised in Hightstown, New Jersey, he graduated from Hightstown High School in 1982. He was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and obtained the rank of Eagle Scout.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: He then attended Mercer County Community College, where he was a member of Psi Beta and Phi Theta Kappa.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano himself has said that he did not grow up in a "strong Christian family", but was led to embrace religion as a teenager by an "on-fire youth pastor" after being invited to a youth group called "The Way".


title: Doug Mastriano

text: In 1986, Mastriano received a bachelor's degree in history from Eastern College. While at Eastern, he participated in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano received a master's degree in strategic intelligence from the Joint Intelligence College in 1992. His education also includes a master's degree in airpower theory from the Air University in 2001. In 2002, he received a master's degree in military operational art and science from the Air University's School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. He received a master's degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College in 2010.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: While a Major at Air University, Mastriano wrote a thesis titled "The Civilian Putsch of 2018: Debunking the Myth of a Civil-Military Leadership Rift." In the thesis, Mastriano writes from a perspective of a military colonel, like himself, who is forced to hide out in a cave because a politically correct leader has taken over America and killed millions.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: During his 2022 run for Governor of Pennsylvania, formal complaints were made to the University of New Brunswick about potential academic fraud contained in his book published about Alvin York. As Mastriano's book on York was heavily based on his Ph.D. thesis, this eventually prompted the University of New Brunswick to launch an investigation into his Ph.D. work. The complaint cited 213 allegations of potential academic misconduct contained in Mastriano's doctoral thesis. Regarding the incident, Jeffrey Brown, a professor at the University of New Brunswick who was listed on Mastriano's doctoral dissertation, said that "[Mastriano] was awarded a Ph.D. on very shaky grounds." Brown also said that Mastriano's work was "dishonest, sloppy," ... "and indifferent to facts that contradicted his claims". James Gregory, an educator and a history PhD candidate, has found more than 150 problems with Mastriano's doctoral thesis and has said it amounts to "academic fraud." University of New Brunswick President Paul Mazerolle said that the school will not comment on the investigation in order to refrain from interfering in American politics.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: After college, Mastriano was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army and assigned to the Military Intelligence Corps. After initial training, he started his career in Nuremberg, Germany, with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in the area of the West German borders with East Germany and Czechoslovakia. Mastriano also spent four years at the NATO Land Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany. Mastriano was deployed to Iraq for Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Mastriano then was in Washington, DC, in the 3rd Infantry Division and US Army Europe. He ended his military career as a faculty instructor in the Department of Military Strategy at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, during 2012–2017, and retired in 2017 at the rank of colonel.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: On February 13, 2018, at the Otterbein Church in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, Mastriano announced his candidacy for U.S. Representative for , a seat being vacated by the retiring congressman Bill Shuster. Less than a week after his announcement, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania redrew the congressional district map of Pennsylvania after ruling the previous map unconstitutional (due to gerrymandering by the majority Republican Party), and the area previously covered by the 9th district corresponds most closely to the new 13th district, so Mastriano became a candidate for .


title: Doug Mastriano

text: During his run for Congress, Mastriano made multiple controversial statements including stating that same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples should "[a]bsolutely not" be legal. He also said that Islam is not compatible with the constitution and that recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program should be deported.


title: Doug Mastriano

text: Mastriano ultimately finished fourth of the eight candidates in the primary election, receiving 10,485 votes.