title: Carlo Collodi

text: Collodi was born in Florence on 24 November 1826. His mother, Angiolina Orzali Lorenzini, was a seamstress from Collodi, the town from which he later took the pen name, and his father, Domenico Lorenzini, was a cook. Both parents worked for the ' Ginori Lisci. Carlo was the eldest child in the family and he had ten siblings but seven died at a young age. He spent most of his childhood in the town of Collodi where his mother was born. He lived there with his maternal grandmother. After attending primary school, he was sent to study at a theological seminary in Colle Val d’Elsa. An account at the seminary shows that the ' had offered financial aid, but the boy found that he did not want to be a priest so he continued his education at the College of the Scolopi Fathers in Florence. In 1844 he started working at the Florentine bookstore Libreria Piatti, where he assisted Giuseppe Aiazzi, a prominent Italian manuscript specialist.


title: Carlo Collodi

text: During the Italian Wars of Independence in 1848 and 1860 Collodi served as a volunteer with the Tuscan army. His active interest in political matters may be seen in his earliest literary works, as well as in the founding of the satirical newspaper in 1853. This newspaper was censored by order of the grand duke of Tuscany. In 1854, he published his second newspaper, ' ("The Controversy"). Lorenzini's first publications were in his periodicals. A debut came in 1856 with the play ' and parodic guidebook , both in 1856. By 1860, he published his first notable work called "" (Mr. Alberi Is Right!), which outlined his political and cultural vision of Italy. This is the text where Lorenzini started using the Collodi pseudonym, which was taken from his mother's hometown.


title: Carlo Collodi

text: Collodi had also begun intense activity on other political newspapers such as '; at the same time he was employed by the Censorship Commission for the Theatre. During this period he composed various satirical sketches and stories (sometimes simply by collating earlier articles), including ' (1880), ' (1881), and ' (1887).


title: Carlo Collodi

text: Collodi became disenchanted with Italian politics afterward so he turned to children's literature and his first works involved translating French fairy tales into Italian. In 1875, for instance, he completed ', a translation of French fairy tales by Charles Perrault. In 1876 Collodi wrote ' (inspired by Alessandro Luigi Parravicini's "Giannetto"), the ', and ', a pedagogic series which explored the unification of Italy through the ironic thoughts and actions of the character Giannettino.


title: Carlo Collodi

text: Lorenzini became fascinated by the idea of using an amiable, rascally character as a means of expressing his own convictions through allegory. In 1880, he began writing ' ("Story of a Marionette"), also called ', which was published weekly in "". "Pinocchio" was adapted into a 1940 film by Disney that is considered to be one of Disney's greatest films.


title: Carlo Collodi

text: Collodi died suddenly in Florence on 26 October 1890 at the age of 63 and is interred at Cimitero Monumentale Delle Porte Sante in Florence. The National Carlo Collodi Foundation was established to promote education and the works of Collodi, and the Park of Pinocchio attracts many visitors each year.


title: Sharon Case

text: Sharon Case (born February 9, 1971) is an American actress and former model. At the age of 17, Case began working as a model, relocating briefly to Japan, before pursuing an acting career. She is best known for her roles on daytime television soap operas, scoring parts in the serials "General Hospital" and "As the World Turns" during the early stages of her career. In 1994, she stepped into the role of Sharon Newman on the CBS daytime soap opera "The Young and the Restless", which she still plays. Case, who is considered a leading actress in the series, won the 1999 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance.


title: Sharon Case

text: Case was born on February 9, 1971 in Detroit, Michigan. During her childhood, she was involved heavily in dancing, devoting herself to ballet and jazz. When she was three, Case relocated to Chatsworth, California.


title: Sharon Case

text: She was married to businessman Sandy Corzine from April 2007 to November 2009, with the marriage ending in divorce.


title: Sharon Case

text: In December 2001, Case became the first soap opera actress to be featured on the cover of "FHM", a men's lifestyle magazine. This issue featured multiple other daytime television actresses. Case is active on social networking website Twitter. Since May 2019, Case has been in a relationship with her "The Young and the Restless" co-star, Mark Grossman, who plays Adam Newman, one of the character's love interests on the soap.


title: Sharon Case

text: Although Case's main goal was to become an actress, she turned her attention to modeling as a teenager. She stated: "I thought modeling would be a good start in the business". At the age of 17 in 1988, Case caught the eye of a scout while attending a modeling event, and was offered a modeling job in Japan. She traveled to Japan for five months, before returning to Los Angeles. She later took part in theater, garnering lead role credits in the musicals "Grease", "The Wizard" and "The Nutcracker".


title: Sharon Case

text: In November 1989, Case scored her first television role playing Dawn Winthrop on the ABC Network soap opera "General Hospital". Case wanted to "perfect" her audition prior to screen testing as Dawn, who served as the long-lost daughter of the long-running character Monica Quartermaine (Leslie Charleson). Speaking of the audition, Case stated: "I practiced night and day [...] It was a heavy scene in which Dawn learned that her boyfriend Ned (Kurt Robin McKinney) had once slept with her mother! I knew I had to do the best job [possible]". She departed "General Hospital" the next year, after a guest appearance on another ABC series, the comedy drama "Doogie Howser, M.D.". In 1991, Case appeared in various other television series, including "Diplomatic Immunity", "Beverly Hills, 90210", "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" and "Cheers". From November 1992 to 1993 Case stepped into her second soap opera role, as Debbie Simon on the CBS Network drama "As the World Turns". Case has stated that she loved the role, and wanted to stay on to explore more into the character of Debbie who was a "manic depressive", an issue that hadn't been covered on daytime television. During this, she also appeared on the CBS crime drama "Silk Stalkings" as Bonnie Abagail. In 1994, a year after departing from "As the World Turns", she became a regular on the primetime soap opera "Valley of the Dolls", which was based on the romantic novel of the same name. In 1997, Case had a role in the HBO film "Breast Men". Previously, she turned down a larger role in the film due to being uncomfortable topless on-screen. Instead, she accepted a smaller, clothed role.


title: Sharon Case

text: In 2005, Case appeared in an independent film entitled "Carpool Guy" with "The Young and the Restless" co-star Lauralee Bell. Also that year, she starred in the short film "Wentworth". The film was about a man named Wentworth who had to choose between the women of his dream, Emily, and the "perfect" woman in his dreams, "Dream" Emily, both played by Case. It was directed by Steve Suettinger, and produced independently by students at the University of Southern California.


title: Sharon Case

text: In 2007, Case starred with Debra Hopkins in her second short film, "Repressions", which ran for 24 minutes. Produced by Roundhay Garden films and directed by Adam Kargman, it was filmed from May 14 to July 16, 2006. In the film, Janie (Case) is being tricked by her therapist into believing she has repressed memories of sexual child abuse. The film was met with critical acclaim from independent movie reviewers who found her performance "mesmerizing" and "stunning". Oscar Award nominee Jesse Friedman heavily praised the film, and encouraged people to watch it. In 2009, Case appeared on an episode of the sex comedy web series "Poor Paul" which was created by former "The Young and the Restless" co-star Kevin Schmidt. In June 2010, Case starred opposite David James Elliott in the romantic comedy "Dad's Home" for the Hallmark Channel.


title: Sharon Case

text: In August 1994, Case was cast in the role of Sharon Newman on the CBS soap opera "The Young and the Restless". The character had been introduced by the show's creator William J. Bell earlier that year, on March 24, 1994. The role was previously played by Monica Potter and Heidi Mark for two months each. Of her casting, Case stated: "Not only is this my third soap, but I'm also the third actress to play the role of Sharon Collins. So, if three times is the charm, this should be it." The actress wanted to "breathe new life" into the role and make it her own. Case was upgraded from a recurring status to a contract in early 1995. In 2001, Case revealed that she had only expected to remain on the show for six months. February 2003 saw her temporarily leave the show due to contract negotiations, with Case eventually returning that April. The character who grew up on the "wrong side of the tracks" has developed into a mother and business woman; known for her supercouple romantic pairing with Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow) and a "darker" relationship with Adam Newman (Michael Muhney).


title: Sharon Case

text: Since 2011, the character's storylines have been met with controversy and negative feedback. Case herself has stated that she has been unhappy with the character being paired with "too many men" because it "waters" the storyline down. A storyline in which she let her children believe she was dead was heavily frowned upon by "Yahoo!". The show's cast and viewers were appalled when Sharon was romantically paired with her former father-in-law who she had grown to have a father-daughter relationship with, Victor Newman (Eric Braeden). The storyline was considered an "inside joke" by cast members. Case was unhappy with the romance she considered almost "incestuous", stating: "Sometimes controversial storylines can work because you're bringing attention to a controversial issue that the nation is trying to decide on. But this was not one of those things. Everybody is universally against incest! It was just so upsetting to the audience."


title: Sharon Case

text: The show's former head writer and executive producer Maria Arena Bell has been highly criticized for the "destruction" of Sharon. Jillian Bowe, a writer of the website Zap2It said that the character was "beloved" but Bell had "assassinated" her "via one ill-conceived storyline and/or romance after another." Tommy Garrett of "Canyon News" praised Case, and wrote that: "Maria Bell knows that consummate actress Sharon Case plays the consummate heroine Sharon Newman with aplomb." Garret also has described Case's performance as "flawless" playing a "role of a lifetime and giving the performance of a lifetime." Case has received several awards for her work on "The Young and the Restless". "Canyon News" suggested that her performance needed more Emmy attention. The character has tackled issues such as infidelity and rape, and in recent years, mental health social issues like kleptomania and most notably bipolar disorder. Case continues to play Sharon today.


title: Sharon Case

text: In January 2010, Case announced that she had created a signature line of fashion jewelry entitled "Pomp". She created it with her best friend and fashion stylist Elif Inanc. The line was designed to have a "piece for everybody" which could be worn on any occasion. 20 different designs of jewelry pieces were featured in the line's initial reveal through the shopping cable QVC Network in August 2010; prices ranged from $20–40. Nine more additional pieces were added to the "Pomp" jewelry line on January 15, 2011. Kim Daugherty of "Yahoo!" noted that "they are touted to be ideal for a night on the town, giving 'The Young and the Restless' fans an affordable way to sparkle and shine with star-quality by wearing star-designed jewelry". Case described the line as being affordable "chic, fun and hip".


title: Nancy Wake

text: Nancy Grace Augusta Wake, (30 August 1912 – 7 August 2011), also known as Madame Fiocca and Nancy Fiocca, was a nurse and journalist who joined the French Resistance and later the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II, and briefly pursued a post-war career as an intelligence officer in the Air Ministry. The official historian of the SOE, M. R. D. Foot, said that "her irrepressible, infectious, high spirits were a joy to everyone who worked with her". Many stories about her World War II activities come from her autobiography, "The White Mouse", and are not verifiable from other sources.


title: Nancy Wake

text: Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Wake grew up in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. By the 1930s, Wake was living in Marseille with her French industrialist husband, Henri Fiocca, when the war broke out. After the fall of France to Nazi Germany in 1940, Wake became a courier for the Pat O'Leary escape network led by Ian Garrow and, later, Albert Guérisse. As a member of the escape network, she helped Allied airmen evade capture by the Germans and escape to neutral Spain. In 1943, when the Germans became aware of her, she escaped to Spain and continued on to the United Kingdom. Her husband was captured and executed.


title: Nancy Wake

text: After reaching Britain, Wake joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE) under the code name "Hélène". On 29–30 April 1944 as a member of a three-person SOE team code-named "Freelance", Wake parachuted into the Allier department of occupied France to liaise between the SOE and several Maquis groups in the Auvergne region, which were loosely overseen by Émile Coulaudon (code name "Gaspard"). She participated in a battle between the Maquis and a large German force in June 1944. In the aftermath of the battle, a defeat for the Maquis, she claimed to have bicycled 500 kilometers to send a situation report to SOE in London.


title: Nancy Wake

text: Wake was a recipient of the George Medal from the United Kingdom (17 July 1945), the Medal of Freedom from the United States (1947), the "Légion d'honneur" from France (1970: Knight; 1988: Officer), a Companion of the Order of Australia from Australia (22 February 2004), and the Badge in Gold from New Zealand (2006).


title: Nancy Wake

text: Born in Roseneath, Wellington, New Zealand, on 30 August 1912, Wake was the youngest of six children. She was Māori through her great-grandmother Pourewa, believed to be of the Ngāti Māhanga iwi,


title: Nancy Wake

text: Shortly thereafter, her father, Charles Augustus Wake, returned to New Zealand and her mother, Ella Wake (née Rosieur; 1874–1968) raised the children.


title: Nancy Wake

text: At the age of 16, she ran away from home and worked as a nurse. With £200 (1928 currency) she had inherited from an aunt, she journeyed to New York City, then London where she trained herself as a journalist.


title: Nancy Wake

text: In the 1930s, she worked in Paris and later for Hearst newspapers as a European correspondent. She witnessed the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement and "saw roving Nazi gangs randomly beating Jewish men and women in the streets" of Vienna.


title: Nancy Wake

text: In 1937, Wake met wealthy French industrialist Henri Edmond Fiocca (1898–1943), whom she married on 30 November 1939. She was living in Marseille, France when Germany invaded. During the war in France, Wake served as an ambulance driver. After the fall of France in 1940, she joined the escape network of Captain Ian Garrow, which became the Pat O'Leary Line. In reference to Wake's ability to elude capture, the Gestapo called her the "White Mouse". The Resistance exercised caution with her missions; her life was in constant danger, with the Gestapo tapping her telephone and intercepting her mail.


title: Nancy Wake

text: In November 1942, Wehrmacht troops occupied Vichy France after the Allies' Operation Torch had started. This gave the Germans and the Gestapo unrestricted access to all parts of Vichy France and made life more dangerous for Wake. When the network was betrayed that same year she decided to flee France. Her husband, Henri Fiocca, stayed behind. He later was captured, tortured, and executed by the Gestapo. Wake described her tactics: "A little powder and a little drink on the way, and I'd pass their (German) posts and wink and say, 'Do you want to search me?' God, what a flirtatious little bastard I was."


title: Nancy Wake

text: In early 1943, in the process of getting out of France, Wake was picked up with a whole trainload of people and was arrested in Toulouse, but was released four days later. The head of the O'Leary Line, Albert Guérisse, managed to have her released by claiming she was his mistress and was trying to conceal her infidelity to her husband (all of which was untrue). She succeeded in crossing the Pyrenees to Spain. Until the war ended, she was unaware of her husband's death, and she subsequently blamed herself for it.


title: Nancy Wake

text: After reaching Britain, Wake joined the Special Operations Executive and was trained in several programs. Vera Atkins, who was the senior female in the SOE overseeing the agents going into France, recalls her as "a real Australian bombshell. Tremendous vitality, flashing eyes. Everything she did, she did well." Training reports record that she was "a very good and fast shot" and possessed excellent fieldcraft. She was noted to "put the men to shame by her cheerful spirit and strength of character."


title: Nancy Wake

text: On 29–30 April 1944 as part of the three-person "Freelance" team headed by John Hind Farmer (code name "Hubert"), Wake parachuted into Auvergne province, France. Resistance leader Henri Tardivat discovered Wake tangled in a tree. He remarked, "I hope that all the trees in France bear such beautiful fruit this year," to which she replied, "Don't give me that French shit." Denis Rake, a radio operator, was the third member of the team.


title: Nancy Wake

text: The team was to be a liaison between London and the local maquis group headed by Émile Coulaudon (Gaspard). The team's initial relationship with Gaspard was frosty. He wanted money and arms from the allies but was not cooperative until the French Forces of the Interior in London, the umbrella organization for the disparate resistance groups in France, instructed him to cooperate. SOE began sending in large amounts of arms, equipment, and money. Wake's duties were pinpointing locations at which the material and money were parachuted in, collecting it, and allocating it among the maquis, including pay to individual soldiers. Wake carried with her a list of the targets the maquis were to destroy before the invasion of France by the Allies (which would take place on 6 June). The destruction of communication lines and other facilities throughout France would hinder the German response to the invasion.


title: Nancy Wake

text: Disaster. The reach of the maquis exceeded their grasp. On 20 May, Couloudon declared a general mobilization of resistance fighters, collecting in total about 7,000 men divided into three groups. His objective was to demonstrate that the resistance was able to liberate areas from the Germans with its own forces. On 2 June, the Germans launched a probing attack on Couloudon's base at Mont Mouchet; on 10 June the Germans launched a larger attack, and on 20 June encircled Couloudon's positions and forced the resistance fighters to flee after taking heavy casualties. Wake and the members of her team accompanied groups of maquis in a three-day , retreat westward to the village of Saint-Santin.


title: Nancy Wake

text: The bicycle ride. During the flight from the Germans, Rake, the radio operator, had left his radio and codes behind and the SOE team needed to be in contact with London. The nearest SOE radio and operator were in Châteauroux, Wake said she borrowed a bicycle and rode it to Châteauroux, found a radio near there, updated London on the situation, and then bicycled back to Saint-Santin, traveling in 72 hours. Fortunately for her, there were few Germans in the areas through which she bicycled.


title: Nancy Wake

text: With Henri Tardivat. After her bicycle ride, the Freelance team, with another recently arrived operator named Roger, a 19-year-old American marine, returned to Allier Department to join the resistance group of Henri Tardivat (who discovered her tangled in a tree when she parachuted in). In July two more Americans, Reeve Schley and John deKoven Alsop, joined their team as instructors. Neither spoke much French and Schley was nearly blind if not wearing his thick-lensed eyeglasses, but he impressed the maquisards with his immaculately tailored military uniform. Both proved to be effective instructors. Wake said that she and Tardivat initiated a series of attacks on German convoys and fought off an attack on their camp by the Germans in which seven French maquisards were killed. Her principal job, however, continued to be to organize the reception and distribution of arms and material for the resistance groups which was parachuted into Allier nearly every other night.


title: Nancy Wake

text: Wake claimed that she participated in a raid (not confirmed by other sources) that destroyed the Gestapo headquarters in Montluçon, killing 38 Germans. At one point Wake said she discovered that the men were using three girls as prostitutes and mistreating them. She coerced the maquis to release the women, to whom she provided a wash and new clothes. Nancy Wake set two of the girls free, but she suspected that a third was a German spy. After interrogating and exposing her, Wake ordered the resistance group to shoot the informer. They did not have the heart to kill her in cold blood, but when Wake insisted that she would perform the execution, they capitulated. Nancy Wake claimed that the spy girl spat and stripped naked in front of her before facing the firing squad. Wake showed no regrets for the execution. Wake also said that she killed an SS sentry with her bare hands to prevent him from raising the alarm during a raid. During a 1990s television interview, when asked what had happened to the sentry who spotted her, Wake simply drew her finger across her throat. "They'd taught this judo-chop stuff with the flat of the hand at SOE, and I practised away at it. But this was the only time I used it – whack – and it killed him all right. I was really surprised."


title: Nancy Wake

text: After the invasion of southern France by American military forces on 15 August, the Resistance groups harried the retreating Germans. Her friend Tardivat was badly wounded and would lose a leg to amputation. During a victory celebration in Vichy, Wake learnt of the death of her husband. In mid-September, she and other members of the Freelance team, their job completed, returned to Great Britain.


title: Nancy Wake

text: Immediately after the war, Wake was awarded the George Medal, the United States Medal of Freedom, the Médaille de la Résistance, and thrice, the Croix de Guerre. She worked for the intelligence department at the British Air Ministry, attached to embassies in Paris and Prague.


title: Nancy Wake

text: Wake stood as a Liberal candidate in the 1949 Australian federal election for the Sydney seat of Barton, running against Dr. Herbert Evatt, then deputy prime minister, attorney general, and minister for external affairs in the Ben Chifley Labor government. While Chifley lost government to Robert Menzies, Wake recorded a 13 percent swing against Evatt, with Evatt retaining the seat with 53.2 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis. Wake ran against Evatt again at the 1951 federal election. By this time, Evatt was deputy leader of the opposition. The result was extremely close; however, Evatt retained the seat with a margin of fewer than 250 votes. Evatt slightly increased his margin at subsequent elections before relocating to the safer seat of Hunter by 1958.


title: Nancy Wake

text: Wake left Australia just after the 1951 election and moved back to England. She worked as an intelligence officer in the department of the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff at the Air Ministry in Whitehall. She resigned in 1957 after marrying an RAF officer, John Forward, in December of that year. They relocated to Australia in the early 1960s. Maintaining her interest in politics, Wake was endorsed as a Liberal candidate at the 1966 federal election for the Sydney seat of Kingsford Smith. Despite recording a swing of 6.9 per cent against the sitting Labor member Daniel Curtin, Wake was again unsuccessful. Around 1985, Wake and John Forward left Sydney to retire to Port Macquarie.


title: Nancy Wake

text: In 1985, Wake published her autobiography, "The White Mouse". Later, after 40 years of marriage, her second husband John Forward died at Port Macquarie on 19 August 1997. The couple had no children. She sold her medals to fund herself, saying, "There was no point in keeping them, I'll probably go to hell and they'd melt anyway." In 2001, Wake left Australia for the last time and emigrated to London. She became a resident at the Stafford Hotel in St. James' Place, near Piccadilly, formerly a British and American forces club during the war. She had been introduced to her first "bloody good drink" there by the general manager at the time, Louis Burdet. He also had worked for the Resistance in Marseille. In the mornings she would usually be found in the hotel bar, sipping her first gin and tonic of the day and telling war stories. She was welcomed at the hotel, celebrating her ninetieth birthday there. The hotel owners absorbed most of the costs of her stay. In 2003, Wake chose to move to the Royal Star and Garter Home for Disabled Ex-Service Men and Women, in Richmond, London, where she remained until her death.


title: Nancy Wake

text: Wake died on 7 August 2011, aged 98, at Kingston Hospital after being admitted with a chest infection. She had requested that her ashes be scattered at Montluçon in central France. Her ashes were scattered near the village of Verneix, which is near Montluçon, on 11 March 2013. Her obituary was included in (and inspired the title for) "The Socialite Who Killed A Nazi With Her Bare Hands: And 144 Other Fascinating People Who Died This Year", a collection of "New York Times" obituaries published in 2012.


title: Nancy Wake

text: Wake was appointed a Chevalier (knight) of the Legion of Honour in 1970 and was promoted to Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1988. Shortly after the war, she was recommended for decorations in Australia but was turned down. Decades later, Australia offered to award her medals but she refused, saying: "The last time there was a suggestion of that I told the government they could stick their medals where the monkey stuck his nuts. The thing is if they gave me a medal now, it wouldn't be love so I don't want anything from them."


title: Nancy Wake

text: It was not until February 2004 that Wake was made a Companion of the Order of Australia. In April 2006, she was awarded the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association's highest honour, the RSA Badge in Gold. Wake's medals are on display in the Second World War gallery at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. On 3 June 2010, a "heritage pylon" paying tribute to Wake was unveiled on Oriental Parade in Wellington, New Zealand, near the place of her birth.


title: Nancy Wake

text: In 1956, Australian author Russell Braddon wrote "Nancy Wake: The Story of a Very Brave Woman" (). A copy of the book, dedicated to Major Denis Rake MC who worked with Nancy Wake in the SOE undercover in France, was auctioned in 2022, in the same auction of Rake's medals. Nancy Wake wrote her own account (first published 1985) with the original title, "The White Mouse" ("The autobiography of the woman the Gestapo called the White Mouse") (). In 2001, Australian author Peter FitzSimons wrote "Nancy Wake, A Biography of Our Greatest War Heroine" (), a bestselling comprehensive biography of Wake. In 2011, German author wrote "Codename Hélène: Churchills Geheimagentin Nancy Wake und ihr Kampf gegen die Gestapo in Frankreich." (translated: "Codename Hélène: Churchill's secret agent Nancy Wake and her fight against the Gestapo in France"). The book was published in October 2012. In 2020, Simon and Schuster published Ariel Lawhon's "Code Name Helene", a fictionalisation of Wake's exploits.


title: Nancy Wake

text: Claims that Sebastian Faulks' 1999 novel "Charlotte Gray" is based on Wake's war-time exploits, as well as those of Pearl Cornioley, a British secret-service agent have been refuted by the author. Sebastian Faulks said in an interview that "The truth about Charlotte Gray is that she was entirely invented. That's the way good novelists work, ... I had not heard of Pearl Cornioley when I wrote Charlotte Gray in 1995 ...'. Wake was also featured in a 2012 article in "Military Officer".


title: Nancy Wake

text: An Australian television mini-series was released in 1987 entitled "Nancy Wake", which is based on the 1956 biography by Russell Braddon. It was released as "True Colors" in the U.S.. Wake was played by Australian actress Noni Hazlehurst and Wake herself made a cameo appearance in the role of Madame Fouret. Wake also was made a consultant for the film but only after the script had been written. She criticised the script upon reading it, and she did so again at the launch of the mini-series. Wake was disappointed that the film was changed from an 8-hour resistance story to a 4-hour love story. The producers said that they did not have the budget for the longer version and that it was difficult to cover all Wake's exploits in the reduced time frame. Wake also candidly criticized aspects that she felt were not a true depiction of events, and continued for the rest of her life to criticize the script. Similarly, Seasons 1 and 2 of the late 1980s British television series "Wish Me Luck" were based on her exploits and much of the dialogue was copied from her autobiography. Rachael Blampied portrayed Nancy Wake in the 2014 TVNZ docu-drama "Nancy Wake: The White Mouse".


title: Nancy Wake

text: In 2002, Melissa Beowulf's portrait of Wake was a finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. It was later acquired by the National Portrait Gallery. Beowulf chose Wake as a subject to help ensure she received greater recognition within Australia.


title: Nancy Wake

text: Christine Croydon's "Underground", a play reviewing Wake's life opened at The Gasworks Theatre in Melbourne in March 2019.


title: Nancy Wake

text: In 2019, the book "Liberation", a historical novel based on the events of Wake's wartime service, was released. Written by Imogen Kealey, the book's dust jacket from the Grand Central Publishing edition released in April 2020 mentions that the story is in development as a "major motion picture."


title: Nancy Wake

text: On 27 August 2020, it was announced that Elizabeth Debicki would star and executive produce a limited series about Wake titled "Code Name Hélène", based on Ariel Lawhon's novel of the same name.


title: Tracey Walter

text: Tracey Walter (born November 25, 1947) is an American character actor. He has appeared in more than 170 films and television series.


title: Tracey Walter

text: Walter was born and grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the son of a truck driver. He attended St. Anthony's High School there and played basketball. He has a son and daughter.


title: Tracey Walter

text: He is known for his portrayal of "sidekicks" and "henchmen" such as Bob the Goon in "Batman", Cookie in "City Slickers", and Malak in "Conan the Destroyer". He portrayed Frog Rothchild Jr. on the ABC sitcom "Best of the West" from 1981 to 1982.


title: Tracey Walter

text: Walter has acted in six Jonathan Demme films: "Something Wild" (1986), "Married to the Mob" (1988), "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991), "Philadelphia" (1993), "Beloved" (1998), and "The Manchurian Candidate" (2004). He has been directed by Danny DeVito in three films: "Matilda" (1996), "Death to Smoochy" (2002), and "Duplex" (2003). He acted with and was directed by Jack Nicholson in "The Two Jakes" (1990). He and Nicholson have appeared in nine films together, beginning with "Goin' South" in 1978.


title: Tracey Walter

text: He appeared in a small role with Clint Eastwood in the 1982 film "Honkytonk Man" and has coined the phrase "Right Cheer" (as in right here) while playing a service station attendant, also attributed to Andy Griffith on his first comedy album "What it Was, Was Football" (1953). Walter also coined the phrase "Make 'Em Bounce" (as in happy) in the film "Raggedy Man". His portrayal of Miller, the philosopher mechanic of Alex Cox's "Repo Man", earned Walter a Saturn Award in 1985 for Best Supporting Actor. In the 2000 film "Erin Brockovich", Walter played Charles Embry, the PG&E employee who supplied the memo that tied an executive at the PG&E corporate headquarters to knowledge of the Hinkley station water contamination.


title: Tracey Walter

text: Walter's television credits include guest appearances on "WKRP in Cincinnati", "Taxi", "Charlie's Angels", "Hill Street Blues", "Amazing Stories", "Moonlighting", David Lynch's "On the Air", "Melrose Place", "The Division", "Veronica Mars", "Criminal Minds" and "Cold Case". He appeared on "Nash Bridges" as Angel from 1996 to 2001 and on "Reno 911!" as Sheriff Walter Chechekevitch from 2003 to 2006.


title: Midget submarine

text: A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, from which they are launched and recovered and which provide living accommodation for the crew and support staff.


title: Midget submarine

text: Both military and civilian midget submarines have been built. Military types work with surface ships and other submarines as mother ships. Civilian and non-combatant military types are generally called submersibles and normally work with surface ships.


title: Midget submarine

text: Most early submarines would now be considered midget submarines, such as the United States Navy's and the British Royal Navy's (both named for the same designer).


title: Midget submarine

text: Midget submarines are best known for harbor penetration, although only two World War II boats, the British X-craft and the unsuccessful Welman submarine, were specifically designed with this in mind. Japan's "Ko-hyoteki"-class submarines were originally designed to take part in decisive fleet actions. However, as circumstances changed, they were given the task of harbor penetration. Germany's various World War II designs were mostly designed to attack Allied shipping off landing beaches and harbors, although the "Seehund" had a great enough range to attack shipping off the Thames estuary.


title: Midget submarine

text: Midget submarines have also seen some use in support roles. X-craft were used for reconnaissance, and the "Seehund" was used to carry supplies. A number of modern midget submarines have also been built for submarine rescue.


title: Midget submarine

text: Midget submarines are commonly armed with torpedoes and mines in the form of, for example, detachable side loads and nose sections. Alternatively they may function as swimmer delivery vehicles to deliver frogmen to the vicinity of their targets, which are then attacked with limpet mines.


title: Midget submarine

text: In civilian use, midget submarines are generally called submersibles; commercial submersibles are used in, for example, underwater maintenance, exploration, archaeology, and scientific research. Other commercially available submersibles are marketed as novelty tourist attractions and as specialised tenders for wealthy yacht owners. Also, a growing number of amateur submariners homebuild submersibles as a hobby.


title: Midget submarine

text: Most German midget submarines were developed late in World War II in an attempt to stop the Allied invasion of Europe and used later to disrupt its supply lines. As a result, the submarines mostly engaged in open water attacks rather than harbour penetration.


title: Midget submarine

text: The Indian Navy is planning to acquire two midget submarines at an estimated cost of ₹2000 Crores for use as swimmer delivery vehicles. These submarines will be used for conducting underwater special operations by MARCOS. Both submarines will be constructed by Hindustan Shipyard Limited.


title: Midget submarine

text: The Indonesian Navy has shown some interest in having a new Midget-class submarine, built by local shipyards, for coastal rather than open water patrol. The submarine was designed a number of years ago by a retired Indonesian Navy submariner officer, Colonel (Ret) Ir. R. Dradjat Budiyanto, Msc. The midget experiment project involves the construction of a submarine, designated MIDGET IM X −1, which will weigh about 150 – 250 tonnes, with a tubular frame design 24 – 30 meters long, and four torpedo tubes. The submarines will have minimum of 8 – 10 crew members including officers. They will have a 40 km range non-hull-penetrating optronic mast as the attack periscope, and a 20 km range navigation periscope.


title: Midget submarine

text: Indonesian defence minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro has backed the project. Construction should commence at the Indonesian PT.PAL INDONESIA shipyard by late 2011, and will take about three or four years to complete. If this schedule is met, the Indonesian Navy expects to be commissioning the first Midget Class submarine in 2014.


title: Midget submarine

text: The Turkish navy has evaluated two midget submarine designs from German firm ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Type 200 and Type 300 classes:


title: Midget submarine

text: The Royal Navy has used a number of midget submarines. Most were developed during the Second World War. The decommissioning of the Stickleback class 1958–early 1960s marked the end of midget submarines designed for combat in the Royal Navy.


title: Dan Lauria

text: Daniel Joseph Lauria (born April 12, 1947) is an American actor, known for playing the role of Jack Arnold in "The Wonder Years" (1988–1993), Jack Sullivan on "Sullivan and Son" (2012–2014), and Al Luongo on "Pitch" (2016-2017).


title: Dan Lauria

text: Lauria, an Italian-American, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Carmela (née Luongo) and Joseph J. Lauria. He also lived in Lindenhurst, New York. He graduated from Lindenhurst Senior High School in 1965 as a varsity football player, and he briefly taught physical education at Lindenhurst High School. A Vietnam War veteran, Lauria served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps; he served at the same point in his life that Jack Arnold, his character in "The Wonder Years", did during the Korean War. In Vietnam, he served as a platoon commander at An Loc near the Cambodian border. He got his start in acting while attending Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut, on a football scholarship.


title: Dan Lauria

text: Lauria is best known for his portrayal of Jack Arnold, the money-conscious father on the TV series "The Wonder Years", that ran from 1988 to 1993. He also played NASA Administrator James Webb in the 1998 TV miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon" and Commanding Officer, USA in 1996's "Independence Day". More recently he has appeared as Police Commissioner Eustace Dolan in "The Spirit". He appeared as Coach Hamstrung in "The Three Stooges N.Y.U.K." on AMC in 2000. Lauria appeared on stage in New York in the summer of 2006 in an Off Broadway production of "A Stone Carver" by William Mastrosimone with Jim Iorio and Elizabeth Rossa. Lauria also had a small role in a season two episode of "Army Wives", as well as a season one episode of "The Mentalist". In 2009, Lauria has appeared as General Lee Whitworth, M.D. in "Criminal Minds" season 4. He has also appeared in an episode of "Boy Meets World", starring Ben Savage, the younger brother of Fred Savage. In late 2009, Lauria returned to the Off Broadway stage, appearing as Jimmy Hoffa in Brian Lee Franklin's "Good Bobby", a fictionalized account of Robert F. Kennedy's rise.


title: Dan Lauria

text: In 2010, Lauria appeared as Vince Lombardi in the Broadway play "Lombardi". The play received positive reviews, with sportswriter Jim Hague commenting, "Lauria truly becomes Vince Lombardi. You almost forget you're watching an actor. He's Lombardi through and through, down to the wire-framed glasses and intimidating scowl." North Bergen football coach Vince Ascolese, who met Lombardi, commented "I really felt like he was Lombardi. It was uncanny." Lauria's portrayal of Lombardi was used during the NFL on FOX introduction to Super Bowl XLV, where one of the two participating teams was the Green Bay Packers; the team Lombardi coached to victories in the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and 1968. The Packers went on to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in that game.


title: Dan Lauria

text: In 2012, Lauria played the part of Jean Shepherd in the Broadway production of "", a role which he reprised off Broadway at Madison Square Garden in 2013. From 2012 through 2014, he played Jack Sullivan on the Steve Byrne sitcom "Sullivan & Son".


title: Dan Lauria

text: Lauria served one year as a Department of Veterans Affairs celebrity hospital visitor, during which he toured many VA hospitals, meeting patients.


title: 52nd Street (album)

text: 52nd Street is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on October 11, 1978, as the follow-up to his breakthrough album, "The Stranger." Joel tried to give the new album a fresh sound, hiring various jazz musicians to differentiate it from his previous albums.


title: 52nd Street (album)

text: It was the first of four Joel albums to top the "Billboard" charts, and it earned him two Grammys. Three songs reached the Top 40 in the United States, contributing to the album's success: "My Life" (number 3), "Big Shot" (number 14), and "Honesty" (number 24). It was similarly well received by critics, earning the 1980 Grammy for Album of the Year. This Grammy was presented to its producer, Phil Ramone. Upon Ramone's death, "52nd Street"s Album of the Year Grammy was passed on to Joel.


title: 52nd Street (album)

text: The album was among the first commercially released on the compact disc format, reaching store shelves on October 1, 1982, in Japan (it was one of 50 CDs released that day, including "The Stranger", but bore the first catalogue number in the sequence, 35DP-1, and so is frequently cited as the first to be released). In keeping with this history, it was also the first release when Sony returned to manufacturing vinyl records in 2018.


title: 52nd Street (album)

text: The title is a reference to 52nd Street, one of New York City's jazz centers in the middle of the century. Joel's label was headquartered on 52nd Street (in the CBS Building) at the time of the album's release. The studio where recording took place was also on 52nd Street, one block away from the CBS Building.


title: 52nd Street (album)

text: Reviewing "52nd Street" for "The Village Voice" in 1979, Robert Christgau noted Joel's talent for writing catchy songs and likened him to Elton John, albeit with more "smarm".


title: 52nd Street (album)

text: Retrospectively, AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine praises Joel for expanding stylistically on 1977's "The Stranger", describing "52nd Street" as "more sophisticated and somewhat jazzy." In 2000, it was voted number 621 in Colin Larkin's "All Time Top 1000 Albums". In 2003, "52nd Street" was ranked number 352 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and at 354 on a 2012 revised list.


title: Karen Page

text: Karen Page is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She serves as the original love interest for Daredevil, under Matt Murdock's employ as his legal secretary. In 1999, Page was killed by Bullseye, and since the 1980s her role as primary love interest has been superseded by Elektra Natchios.


title: Karen Page

text: Karen Page was portrayed by Ellen Pompeo in the 2003 feature film "Daredevil", and by Deborah Ann Woll in the Marvel Television streaming television productions "Daredevil", "The Defenders", and "The Punisher", set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).


title: Karen Page

text: Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, she first appeared in "Daredevil" #1 (April 1964).


title: Karen Page

text: In her first appearances, Karen is the beautiful secretary for the law firm of Daredevil's alter ego Matt Murdock, and the mutual love interest of both Murdock and his partner Foggy Nelson. Her relationship with Murdock hits a downward spiral when he reveals his secret identity to her in "Daredevil" #57 (October 1969), setting off a long break-up which concluded with her departure from the series in issue #86 (April 1972). Within these final stories, she trades her profession of secretary to become a film actress.


title: Karen Page

text: After three years absence from published stories, Karen returned for a considerable stint as a supporting character in "Ghost Rider", starting with vol. 2 #13 (August 1975) and continuing through to #26 (October 1977). During this time, a crossover with "Daredevil" #138 afforded her a brief return appearance in the series where she got her start. A 1978 appearance in "Marvel Two-in-One" would prove the character's last showing for over seven years.


title: Karen Page

text: Karen returned in "Born Again", the award-winning storyline beginning in "Daredevil" #227 (February 1986) that would ultimately restore her earlier role as Daredevil's love interest. Writer Ann Nocenti gave considerably more development to their relationship, and even had Karen acting as a sidekick to Daredevil for the first time in issue #259, in which she goes undercover to help take down a child pornography ring. She was again dropped from the series in issue #263 (February 1989) for another long-term breakup from Murdock, but this time was brought back just two years later, for "Daredevil" #294 (July 1991).


title: Karen Page

text: Karen Page is hired to be the secretary by Foggy Nelson for the new law firm Nelson and Murdock. She is infatuated with Matt Murdock from the moment they meet. When Matt introduces her to the adventuring, wisecracking aspect of his personality, in the guise of his "twin brother" Mike, she finds herself equally charmed by this side of Murdock.


title: Karen Page

text: Dr. Paxton Page (Karen's father) fakes his own kidnapping and death in order to assume the guise of the villain Death's Head. Karen returns to her parents' home in Fagan Corners, Vermont, to investigate her father's disappearance. Daredevil follows her. In the ensuing battle between Daredevil and Death's Head, Death's Head spills a vat of molten cobalt over Daredevil, but realizes that Karen is endangered. This brings Paxton back to his own senses, pushing Daredevil and Karen to safety. He appears to die in this act of self-sacrifice, when he is coated in the molten cobalt. After the battle with Death's Head, Daredevil's true identity is revealed to Karen. She constantly fears for Matt's safety, but Daredevil cannot give up fighting crime. Karen eventually leaves Matt and moves to California to pursue an acting career. She finds work as an actress in a daytime soap opera.


title: Karen Page

text: Karen appears alongside Johnny Blaze in a film. After a scene is interrupted by The Uncanny Orb, Katy Milner (Karen's stuntwoman) confides in Johnny about Karen's history of "unhappy romances" including the ones with Murdock and Phil Hickock. Later on, Karen herself falls under the Orb's control.


title: Karen Page

text: Karen is offered a role on "The Incredible Hulk" TV show which was on its first season at the time. She is kidnapped by three ex-stuntmen on the show, but is saved by the Thing (who is looking for his own TV show), and the Hulk (who is annoyed at having this show).


title: Karen Page

text: Karen becomes addicted to heroin and starts making pornographic movies. In need of a fix, she sells Daredevil's secret identity to a drug dealer who in turn sells this to the Kingpin. Karen is forced to return to New York, where she meets up again with Matt. Matt helps Karen beat her addiction, and they resume their relationship and begin sharing an apartment.


title: Karen Page

text: Realizing that Matt is incomplete without work as a lawyer, Karen founds a free drug and legal clinic, where she counsels drug addicts and Matt provides legal advice and "ghost lawyering". The clinic is destroyed during a demonic invasion of Manhattan, and Karen discovers hours later that Matt has been having an affair with Typhoid Mary. These combined blows leave her psychologically lost, and she runs away.


title: Karen Page

text: She becomes an anti-pornography activist, assists Daredevil and the Black Widow in fighting crime on separate occasions, and reluctantly begins dating Matt. At this point, she becomes a radio show host under the name "Paige Angel". She eventually realizes that she is too dependent on Matt and that her past is a constant barrier between them. Karen leaves Matt to accept a talk show host position in Los Angeles.


title: Karen Page

text: While in California, Karen has a routine blood test as part of an insurance policy application. The supervillain Mysterio, as part of a plan to psychologically destroy Daredevil for one last scheme, disguises himself as a doctor, performs the blood test, and tells her that she is HIV positive. Devastated, Karen returns to New York and tells Matt about the diagnosis. Using another disguise, Mysterio suggests to Karen that her infection is due to an infant that Matt is currently protecting, as the child is 'really' the Antichrist, but Matt forces her to acknowledge that she is just trying to avoid facing her own responsibility for her state. Later, during a fight between Daredevil and Bullseye, Karen is murdered by Bullseye when she moves to intercept a billy-club thrown at Daredevil's head and is impaled in the heart.


title: Karen Page

text: Devastated by Karen's death, Matt briefly contemplates suicide but is given new strength to keep going by remembering some of their times together, such as when she convinced Matt to take a night off on his birthday and when she said that she didn't want Daredevil to quit as she always felt safer knowing the vigilante was out there. After Mysterio's role in the scheme is revealed and the villain commits suicide, Matt attempts and fails to give Karen's eulogy, finding himself overwhelmed at the memory of her loss. Initially bitter at Karen dying simply so that Mysterio could feel better about himself, a later conversation with Spider-Man helps Daredevil realize that the infant he's saved represents something positive that has come of the whole affair. The baby is given up for adoption to a couple in New Jersey. Before leaving, Matt names the baby after Karen and hopes that her new parents will allow the occasional visit from her "Uncle Matt".


title: Karen Page

text: In the "What If" comic "What If Karen Page Had Lived?", Karen is narrowly saved from death when Bullseye hits her in the shoulder rather than the head. However, driven by his rage at the fear of losing her rather than his focused grief when he actually lost her, Matt beats the Kingpin to death for his part in Mysterio's scheme, and is subsequently arrested. When Matt is sentenced to 44 years in the Raft for the crime, Karen leaves town and disappears. Matt assumes that she had become severely depressed and may have killed herself. He never sees her again. However, in the beginning of the comic book, it is revealed that the entire story is the speculation of the main Marvel Universe version of Brian Michael Bendis, the writer himself, who makes a cameo as narrator.


title: Karen Page

text: In a one-off book of the "Secret Wars" storyline called "Secret Wars: Secret Lovers", a universe that became the Battleworld domain of Limbo is shown where Matt and Karen have grown close to the point of living with each other. Daredevil finds himself in a battle with Typhoid Mary after having nightmares about her prior that Karen is aware of. Karen follows the two only to discover that Mary is actually Mephisto, who wants to spend the final evening before Inferno psychologically and physically torturing Matt. Karen saves Matt by cutting off Mephisto's head with Mary's sword and the two embrace one last time as the world burns around them.


title: Karen Page

text: Karen appears in the 2003 feature film "Daredevil", portrayed by Ellen Pompeo. Most of her scenes were deleted from the final theatrical cut, but they can be seen in the Director's Cut. In the film, she is attracted to Matt, as shown when she presents two invitations to a business party and demonstrates disappointment when Foggy promptly takes the second invitation. When Matt is tracking the Kingpin's forces, Karen helps Foggy determine the meaning of a key piece of evidence in a case.


title: Karen Page

text: Born in Fagan Corners, Vermont, Karen works as a waitress at Penny's Place, a diner run by her mother Penelope and father Paxton, with her brother Kevin running the kitchen. After Penelope dies from cancer, Karen is left to run the diner with her father and brother. To cope with the stress and the fear that her father will drive the diner into bankruptcy without her around to do bookkeeping, she turns to drugs and hooks up with a dealer named Todd Neiman. One night, after a heated argument over dinner, Kevin stages an intervention by burning down Todd's trailer. An enraged Todd attacks him with a tire iron, and Karen is forced to shoot him with the gun in his truck to keep him from killing Kevin. While driving away, Karen gets into an argument with Kevin, during which she drifts off the road and crashes into a guardrail. The car rolls over several times before coming to rest on its roof, injuring Karen and killing Kevin. The local sheriff, Bernie Cohen, takes sympathy on the Page family and falsifies the accident report to say that Kevin was alone in the car, so that Karen does not face prison time. Karen leaves town after being disowned by her father, and bounces around before arriving in New York City and landing a job as a secretary at Union Allied Construction, a construction company rebuilding Midtown Manhattan after the alien invasion of 2012.


title: Karen Page

text: In the first season of "Daredevil", Karen discovers evidence that Union Allied's pension fund is being used by Wilson Fisk to launder criminal money. In response, Fisk has her framed for fatally stabbing a coworker, Daniel Fisher, in her apartment, and intends to have a lawyer on his payroll approach Karen to extort her into giving up her copy of the pension file. However, Matt and Foggy show up and agree to take Karen on as a client thanks to a tipoff from Brett Mahoney. As a result, Fisk instead settles for trying to kill Karen, first by having James Wesley intimidate a guard into trying to hang Karen in her jail cell, an attempt that fails when Karen fights back, drawing blood from one of the guard's eyes. Undeterred, he makes a second attempt by sending an assassin to Karen's apartment to attack her when she sneaks out of Matt's apartment to retrieve the pension file, but Matt saves her and delivers the pension file to the "New York Bulletin" so that Union Allied's criminal dealings are publicly exposed. Feeling indebted to Matt and Foggy for getting her out of jail, Karen offers to work for them as Nelson & Murdock's secretary.


title: Karen Page

text: While Fisk orders the deaths of everyone involved in the scheme and the attempts to kill Karen, he settles for buying Karen's silence by coercing her into signing a nondisclosure agreement with six months' salary attached to it. While she reluctantly signs the agreement, she is angered that the people who tried to have her killed have not been brought to justice, so she approaches Ben Urich, the "New York Bulletin" reporter who broke the Union Allied story, and works with him to follow the money trail. She refuses to back down even after Ben makes clear that her prior activities in Vermont will be used against her to discredit her as a source. Eventually, she finds out that Union Allied has ties to Westmeyer Holt, a development company that Fisk is using to strongarm tenants into vacating tenements in Hell's Kitchen that he intends to develop into high-rise condominiums. One of these tenants, Elena Cardenas, is a client of Nelson & Murdock's. On one occasion, two Westmeyer contractors attack Karen while she is paying a visit to Elena, though she is saved when Foggy turns up and beats the men unconscious with his softball bat.


title: Karen Page

text: After Fisk makes himself a public figure at Vanessa's urging, Karen begins digging into his life looking for incriminating evidence against him. She finds out that his mother Marlene Vistain is in fact alive and well, and living in a nursing home in upstate New York. Accompanied by Ben, she talks to Marlene and learns about how when Fisk was 12, he beat his abusive father to death with a hammer. Marlene informs Wesley of this visit, prompting Wesley to abduct Karen as she is returning to her apartment. He takes her to a warehouse, and tries to intimidate her into backing down by threatening to have her friends and loved ones killed. However, he makes the mistake of leaving a loaded gun (which he procured from the head of Fisk's security detail) within arm's reach of Karen. When Wesley is distracted by his phone picking up an incoming call from Fisk, Karen grabs the gun and shoots him to death. She is deeply traumatized over taking a life, having nightmares in which Fisk appears in her living room and strangles her to death with his bare hands. She is further wracked with guilt when Fisk personally murders Ben after finding out from a mole at the "Bulletin" about his and Karen's visit to Marlene. Nonetheless, Karen composes herself and helps Matt and Foggy track down the hiding place of Carl Hoffman, one of the corrupt detectives who investigated her for Fisher's murder and who in the interim has been coerced by Fisk into killing his own partner, allowing Matt to bring him in and have him give up Fisk.


title: Karen Page

text: In season 2 of "Daredevil", Karen comes into contact with and befriends Frank Castle when the firm takes Castle as a client after being charged with multiple murders of different low-level criminals and she helps defend him in court. She and Matt also briefly date before Matt's double-life as Daredevil causes a falter in contributing to Frank's trial and Karen finds Elektra Natchios in Matt's bed when she tells Matt about it. When Nelson and Murdock falls apart, Karen joins the "New York Bulletin" with the intention of writing Castle's true story, however during her investigation, she is almost killed by Colonel Schoonover, only being saved by Castle's intervention. In the second-season finale, Karen and several others that Daredevil has saved are kidnapped by the Hand as bait for Matt, who is able to track them down and rescue them after Karen convinces Turk Barrett to turn on his ankle bracelet.


title: Karen Page

text: By the start of "The Defenders", Matt and Karen are back on speaking terms, although it is clear Karen is hesitant to resume a relationship due to her own secrets. Later, when Matt believes the Hand are targeting his loved ones, he visits Karen at her office to take her to the 29th precinct. Karen is angered when she finds out he has resumed Daredevil activities, but agrees to hide with Foggy in the 29th precinct until the Hand have been taken down. While there, she bonds with Trish Walker over their complicated relationships with Matt and Jessica Jones. When Matt is presumed killed in the destruction of Midland Circle, Karen refuses to believe Matt has died and holds out hope that he somehow survived the collapse.


title: Karen Page

text: In the first season of "The Punisher", Karen is a recurring character. Caught up in her grief over losing Matt, she agrees to help Frank when he approaches her for help identifying Micro, the hacker who has been shadowing him and knows about his past activities in Kandahar. When Lewis Wilson (Daniel Webber) goes on a bombing spree, he delivers a manifesto to the "Bulletin" explicitly citing Karen's defense of Frank in her coverage. Incensed, Karen talks down to Lewis when she appears on a radio show to debate Senator Stan Ori. This prompts Lewis to try and attack Karen in a hotel, though he is driven off by Frank, who later goads him into killing himself in a meat locker in the hotel's kitchen.


title: Karen Page

text: At the start of season 3, Karen is still refusing to believe that Matt is dead. To that end, she is hyperfixating on the Midland Circle collapse to a degree that Ellison begins to take notice, and is paying rent on Matt's apartment. Ellison and his wife also try to set Karen up for a date with his nephew Jason, with minimal success. Her belief that Matt is still alive is piqued when Ellison sends her to interview Neda Kazemi, a socialite whose father was assaulted on Fisk's orders to keep him from repurchasing a hotel he sold to one of Fisk's shell companies, and learns that Matt fought off the assailants.


title: Karen Page

text: Upon Fisk's release from prison, Ellison tries to sideline Karen, seeing as her past involvement with Fisk gives her a conflict of interest. Against Ellison's wishes, Karen manages to determine Fisk secretly owns the hotel he's being kept under house arrest in, but is threatened by Fisk's fixer Felix Manning when she tries to get him on record regarding Fisk's money laundering. When Fisk frames Matt as a scapegoat for Ray Nadeem, Karen reluctantly helps Matt bring in Jasper Evans, a lifer Fisk hired to stab him as part of his plan to get out of prison. Learning of this from a mole in the FBI, Fisk realizes Evans is a liability that needs to be eliminated, and sends Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter to the "Bulletin" dressed in a fake Daredevil costume. Despite Matt's efforts to fight him off, Dex kills several of Karen's coworkers, as well as wounds Matt, Foggy and Ellison, before shooting Evans dead with Karen's gun.


title: Karen Page

text: Karen later loses her job at the "Bulletin" when she refuses to give Matt's identity over to Ellison. Incensed, Karen decides to visit Fisk at his penthouse and try to provoke him into attacking her in front of the FBI by revealing the truth about Wesley. Fisk attempts to murder her on the spot, but is stopped by Foggy's timely intervention. Undeterred, Fisk orders a hit on Karen, hiring Dex to attack her in Matt's church. Matt thwarts the attempt, but Father Lantom is killed taking a baton meant for Karen. Matt and Karen are only able to escape the church with assistance from Foggy and Nadeem, who they persuade to testify in front of a grand jury. After Nadeem is subsequently killed by Dex at his house on Vanessa's orders, his wife passes on a video confession he made hours before his death over to Foggy, which Karen works with Ellison to publish on the Internet so as to publicize evidence of Fisk's latest crimes.


title: Karen Page

text: Karen's last appearance is in the second season of "The Punisher", where she shows up to help Frank escape the hospital after Pilgrim puts a bounty out on him.


title: Vithoba

text: Vithoba, also known as Vi(t)thal(a) and Panduranga, is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian state of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is generally considered as a manifestation of the god Vishnu, or his avatar Krishna. Vithoba is often depicted as a dark young boy, standing arms akimbo on a brick, sometimes accompanied by his consort Rakhumai.


title: Vithoba

text: Vithoba is the focus of an essentially monotheistic, non-ritualistic bhakti-driven Varkari faith of Maharashtra and the Haridasa faith of Karnataka. Vithoba Temple, Pandharpur is his main temple. Vithoba legends revolve around his devotee Pundalik who is credited for bringing the deity to Pandharpur, and around Vithoba's role as a saviour to the poet-saints of the Varkari faith. The Varkari poet-saints are known for their unique genre of devotional lyric, the abhang, dedicated to Vithoba and composed in Marathi. Other devotional literature dedicated to Vithoba includes the Kannada hymns of the Haridasa and the Marathi versions of the generic aarti songs associated with rituals of offering light to the deity. The most important festivals of Vithoba are held on Devshayani Ekadashi in the month of Ashadha, and Prabodhini Ekadashi in the month of Kartik.


title: Vithoba

text: The historiography of Vithoba and his sect is an area of continuing debate, even regarding his name. Though the origins of both his sect and his main temple are likewise debated, there is clear evidence that they already existed by the 13th century.


title: Vithoba

text: Vithoba (, ) is known by many names, including: Vitthala, Panduranga, Pandharinath, Hari and Narayan.


title: Vithoba

text: There are several theories about the origins and meanings of these names. Varkari tradition suggests that the name Vitthala (also spelled as Vitthal, Viththal, Vittala and Vithal; , , and ; all ) is composed of two Sanskrit-Marathi words: "", which means 'brick'; and "thal", which may have originated from the Sanskrit "sthala", meaning 'standing'. Thus, Vitthala would mean 'one standing on a brick'. William Crooke, orientalist, supported this explanation. The prescribed iconography of Vithoba stipulates that he be shown standing arms-akimbo upon a brick, which is associated with the legend of the devotee Pundalik.


title: Vithoba

text: Definition of Vittala: "Vidaa Jnanena Taan Shoonyan Laati Gruhnaati Yaha Swayam AjnaanugrahaKruddevo Vittalah Kathyate Budhaiah" - Prikryaya Kaumudi Vyakhyana


title: Vithoba

text: However, the Varkari poet-saint Tukaram proposed a different etymology—that Vitthala is composed of the words (ignorance) and (one who accepts), thus meaning 'one who accepts innocent people who are devoid of knowledge'. Historian Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar offers yet another possibility—that Vitthu () is a Kannada corruption of the name Vishnu adopted in Marathi. The suffixes -"la" and -"ba" (meaning 'father' in Marathi) were appended for reverence, producing the names Vitthala and Vithoba. This corruption of Vishnu to Vitthu could have been due to the tendency of Marathi and Kannada people to pronounce the Sanskrit ' () as ' (), attested since the 8th century.


title: Vithoba

text: According to research scholar M. S. Mate of the Deccan College, Pundalik—who is assumed to be a historical figure—was instrumental in persuading the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana alias Bittidev to build the Pandharpur temple dedicated to Vishnu. The deity was subsequently named as Vitthala, a derivative of Bittidev, by the builder-king. Other variants of the name include (King Vitthala), and (Mother Vitthala). The people of Gujarat add the suffix -"nath" (Lord) to Vitthala, which yields the name Vitthal-nath. The additional honorific suffix -ji may be added, giving the name Vitthalnathji. This name is generally used in the Pushtimarg sect.


title: Vithoba

text: Panduranga (, , ; all ), also spelt as Pandurang and Pandaranga, is another popular epithet for Vithoba, which means 'the white god' in Sanskrit. The Jain author-saint Hemachandra (1089–1172 AD) notes it is also used as an epithet for the god Rudra-Shiva. Even though Vithoba is depicted with dark complexion, he is called a "white god". Bhandarkar explains this paradox, proposing that Panduranga may be an epithet for the form of Shiva worshipped in Pandharpur, and whose temple still stands. Later, with the increasing popularity of Vithoba's cult, this was also transferred to Vithoba. Another theory suggests that Vithoba may initially have been a Shaiva god (related to Shiva), only later identified with Vishnu, thus explaining the usage of Panduranga for Vithoba. Crooke, however, proposed that Panduranga is a Sanskritised form of Pandaraga (belonging to Pandarga), referring to the old name of Pandharpur. Another name, Pandharinath, also refers to Vithoba as the lord of Pandhari (yet another variant for Pandharpur).


title: Vithoba

text: Finally, Vithoba is also addressed by the names of Vishnu like Hari and Narayana, in the Vaishnava sect.


title: Vithoba

text: Reconstruction of the historical development of Vithoba worship has been much debated. In particular, several alternative theories have been proposed regarding the earliest stages as well as the point at which he came to be recognised as a distinct deity. The "Pandurangashtakam stotra", a hymn attributed to Adi Shankaracharya of the 8th century, indicates that Vithoba worship have already existed at an early date.


title: Vithoba

text: According to Richard Maxwell Eaton, author of "A Social History of the Deccan", Vithoba was first worshiped as a pastoral god as early as the 6th century. Vithoba's arms-akimbo iconography is similar to Bir Kuar, the cattle-god of the Ahirs of Bihar, who is now also associated with Krishna. Vithoba was probably later assimilated into the Shaiva pantheon and identified with the god Shiva, like most other pastoral gods. This is backed by the facts that the temple at Pandharpur is surrounded by Shaiva temples (most notably of the devotee Pundalik himself), and that Vithoba is crowned with the Linga, symbol of Shiva. However, since the 13th century, the poet-saints like Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram identified Vithoba with Vishnu.


title: Vithoba

text: Christian Lee Novetzke of the University of Washington suggests that Vithoba's worship migrated from Karnataka to the formerly Shaiva city of Pandharpur some time before 1000 CE; but under the possible influence of a Krishna-worshipping Mahanubhava sect, the town was transformed into a Vaishnava center of pilgrimage. This proposal is consistent with contemporary remnants of Shaiva worship in the town.


title: Vithoba

text: The religious historian R.C. Dhere, winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award for his book "Sri Vitthal: Ek Mahasamanvaya", opines that Vithoba worship may be even older—"Vedic or pre-Vedic", hence pre-dating the worship of Krishna. According to this theory, Vithoba is an amalgam of various local heroes, who gave their lives to save their cattle. He was first worshipped by the Dhangar, the cattle-owning caste of Maharashtra. The rise of the Yadava dynasty, which had cowherd ancestry, could have led to the glorification of Vithoba as Krishna, who is often depicted as a cowherd. This Vaishnavization of Vithoba also led to conversion of the Shaiva Pundarika shrine to the Vaishnava shrine of the devotee Pundalik, who—according to legend—brought Vithoba to Pandharpur. There may have been an attempt to assimilate Vithoba into Buddhism; today, both are viewed as a form of Vishnu in Hinduism.


title: Vithoba

text: Vithoba is associated more with "compassion, an infinite love and tenderness for his "bhaktas" (devotees) that can be compared to the love of the mother for her children pining for the presence of his devotees the way a cow pines for her far-away calf."


title: Vithoba

text: G. A. Deleury, author of "The cult of Vithoba", proposes that the image of Vithoba is a "viragal" (hero stone), which was later identified with Vishnu in his form as Krishna, and that Pundalik transformed the Puranic, ritualistic "puja" worship into more idealised "bhakti" worship—"interiorized adoration prescinding caste distinction and institutional priesthood .." Indologist Dr. Tilak suggests that Vithoba emerged as "an alternative to the existing pantheon" of brahminical deities (related to classical, ritualistic Hinduism). The emergence of Vithoba was concurrent with the rise of a "new type of lay devotee", the Varkari. While Vishnu and Shiva were bound in rigid ritualistic worship and Brahmin (priestly) control, Vithoba, "the God of the subaltern, became increasingly human." Vithoba is often praised as the protector of the poor and needy. Stevenson (1843) suggests that Vithoba could have been a Jain saint, as the Vithoba images were similar to Jain images.


title: Vithoba

text: Scholastic investigation of Vithoba's history often begins with consideration of the dating of the chief temple at Pandharpur, which is believed to be the earliest Vithoba temple. The oldest part of the temple dates to the Yadava period of the 12th and 13th centuries. Most of the temple is believed to have been built in the 17th century, though addition to the temple has never ceased. The date the temple was first established is unclear to Bhandarkar, but he insists there is clear evidence to suggest it existed by the 13th century. According to S. G. Tulpule, the temple stood as early as 1189. In fact, a monument dated 1189 records establishment of a small Vithoba shrine at the present location of the temple; thus, Tulpule concludes, the worship of Vithoba predates 1189.


title: Vithoba

text: A stone inscription dated 1237, found on an overhead beam of the present Vithoba temple, mentions that the Hoysala king Someshvara donated a village for the expense of the "bhoga" (food offering) for "Vitthala". An inscription on a copper plate, dated 1249, records the Yadava king Krishna granting to one of his generals the village Paundrikakshetra ("kshetra" of Pundarik), on the river Bhimarathi, in the presence of the god Vishnu. Another stone inscription in Pandharpur narrates a sacrifice at Pandurangapura due to which "people and Vitthal along with the gods were gratified". Thus from the 13th century, the city is known as the city of Panduranga. Inside the temple, a stone inscription records gifts to the temple between 1272 and 1277 from various donors, notably the Yadava king Ramachandra's minister Hemadri.


title: Vithoba

text: Ranade believes that an inscription, found in Alandi and referring to Vitthala and Rakhumai, is the oldest related to Vithoba, and dates it to 1209. However, the name Pandaranga is found on a Rashtrakuta copper plate inscription, dated 516. Citing this, Pande infers that Vithoba's cult was well established by the 6th century.


title: Vithoba

text: The physical characteristics of the central "murti" (image) of Vithoba at Pandharpur, and various textual references to it, have inspired theories relating to Vithoba worship. Sand concludes, from a version of Pundalik's legend in the Skanda Purana (see Legend below), that two distinct "murtis" must have existed at Pandharpur—one each of "tirtha" and "kshetra" type. The earlier one was a "tirtha murti", an image purposely sited near a holy body of water ("tirtha"), in this case facing west, on the Bhima riverbed, near the Pundalik shrine. The later murti, according to Sand, was a "kshetra murti", located at a place of holy power ("kshetra"), in this case facing east, on the hill where the current temple has stood since about 1189. Thus, Sand proposes that the worship of Vithoba may predate the temple itself.


title: Vithoba

text: Deleury suggests that although the temple may have been built in the 13th century, given the Hemadpanthi style architecture, the statue of Vithoba is of an earlier style so may have been carved for an earlier, smaller shrine that existed in Pandharpur. The workmanship of the image is earlier than the style of the Yadava (1175–1318), the Anhivad Chalukya (943–1210) and even the Ajmer Chohans (685–1193) eras. Although no other existing Vishnu temple has iconography like Pandharpur's Vithoba, Deleury finds similarities between the Pandharpur image and the third-century, arms-akimbo Vishnu images at Udaygiri Caves, Madhya Pradesh but declares that they are from different schools of sculpture.


title: Vithoba

text: The devotee Pundalik, thrower of the brick (see Legend below), is a major character in the legends of Vithoba. He is commonly perceived to be a historical figure, connected with the establishment and propagation of the Vithoba-centric Varkari sect. Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar considers Pundalik to be the founder of the Varkari sect and the one who promulgated the sect in Maratha country. Stevenson (1843) goes further, suggesting he might have been a Jain or a Buddhist, since Varkari tradition is a combination of Jain and Buddhist morals, and Vithoba is viewed as Vishnu in his form as Buddha. Frazer, Edwards and P.R. Bhandarkar (1922) all suggest that Pundalik tried to unify Shiva and Vishnu, and that this sect originated in Karnataka. Ranade (1933) thinks that Pundalik, a Kannada saint, was not only the founder of the Varkari sect but also the first great devotee or first high priest of the Pandharpur temple. Upadhyaya supports the priest theory but declines the Kannada origin theory. According to M. S. Mate, Pundalik was instrumental in coaxing the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana to build the Pandharpur temple to Vishnu, placing him in the early 12th century. Other scholars like Raeside (1965), Dhanpalvar (1972), and Vaudeville (1974) have questioned the historicity of Pundalik altogether, and dismissed him as a mythical figure.


title: Vithoba

text: Primarily, there are three Hindu deities associated with Vithoba: Vishnu, Krishna and Shiva. Gautama Buddha is also associated with Vithoba, consistent with Hindu deification of the Buddha as the ninth incarnation of Vishnu. However, Varkari consider Vithoba to be the "svarup" (original)


title: Vithoba

text: Vishnu himself, not an "Avatar" (manifestation) of Vishnu like Krishna, despite legends and consorts linking Vithoba to Krishna. However, even the Mahanubhavas, who rose in the 13th century as a Krishna-worshipping sect, not only dismissed the notion that Vithoba is Krishna but also frequently vilified Vithoba.


title: Vithoba

text: In some traditions though, Vithoba is also worshipped as a form of Shiva. The Dhangars still consider Vithoba to be a brother of the god Viroba, and view Vithoba as a Shaiva god rather than a Vaishnava one. Underhill proposes that the shrine of Pandharpur is a combined form of Vishnu-Shiva established by the Bhagavata sect that worships Vishnu-Shiva—the Lord, which is what "bhagavata" means. However, for the chief priests of the Pandharpur temple—Brahmins of the Badva family —" is neither nor . is " (IAST original). Despite this, some priests of the temple point to marks on the Vithoba image's chest as proof of Vithoba being Vishnu, in his form as Krishna.


title: Vithoba

text: Vithoba's image replaces the traditional representation of Buddha, when depicted as the ninth avatar of Vishnu, in some temple sculptures and Hindu astrological almanacs in Maharashtra. In the 17th century, Maratha artists sculpted an image of Pandharpur's Vithoba in the Buddha's place on a panel showing Vishnu's avatars. This can be found in the Shivneri Caves. Stevenson goes so far as to call devotees of Vithoba ("Vithal-bhaktas") Buddhist Vaishnavas ("Bauddho-Vaishnavas"), since they consider Vithoba to be the ninth—namely Buddha—avatar of Vishnu. Some of the poet-saints praised Vithoba as a form of Buddha. B. R. Ambedkar, an Indian political leader and Buddhist convert, suggested that the image of Vithoba at Pandharpur was in reality the image of the Buddha.


title: Vithoba

text: All Vithoba images are generally modelled on his central image in Pandharpur. The Pandharpur image is a black basalt sculpture that is tall. Vithoba is depicted as dark young boy. The poet-saints have called him "Para-brahman with a dark complexion". He wears high, conical headgear or a crown, interpreted as Shiva's symbol—the Linga. Thus, according to Zelliot, Vithoba represents Shiva as well as Vishnu. The first Varkari poet-saint, Dnyaneshwar (13th century), states that Vithoba (Vishnu) carries Shiva, who according to Vaishnavism is Vishnu's first and foremost devotee, on his own head.


title: Vithoba

text: Vithoba is shown standing arms-akimbo on the brick thrown by the devotee Pundalik. He wears a necklace of tulsi-beads, embedded with the legendary "kaustubha" gem, and "makara-kundala" (fish-shaped earrings) that the poet-saint Tukaram relates to the iconography of Vishnu. Pandharpur's Vithoba holds a "shankha" (conch) in his left hand and a "chakra" (discus) or lotus flower in his right, all of which are symbols traditionally associated with Vishnu. Some images depict Vithoba's right hand making a gesture that has been traditionally misunderstood as a blessing; no gesture of blessing is present in the Pandharpur image. Though usually depicted two-armed, four-armed representations of the deity also exist.


title: Vithoba

text: The Pandharpur image, when not clothed by its attendant priest to receive devotees, provides Vithoba with the detailed features distinctive of a male body, visible in full relief. However, close inspection of the stonework reveals the outline of a loincloth, supported by a "kambarband" (waist belt), traced by thin, light carvings. Other images and pictures depict Vithoba clothed, usually with "pitambara" – a yellow dhoti and various gold ornaments—the manner in which he is attired by the priests in the daily rites.


title: Vithoba

text: The Pandharpur image also bears, on the left breast, the mark known as the "srivatsalanchhana"—said to be a curl of white hair, usually found on the breast of Vishnu and Krishna images. The image is also dignified with a ring-shaped mark called "shriniketana" on the right breast, "mekhala" (a three-stringed waist-belt), a long stick ("kathi") embedded in the ground between the legs, and double ring and pearl bracelets on the elbows.


title: Vithoba

text: Vithoba is usually depicted with his main consort, Rakhumai, on his left side. Rakhumai (or Rakhamai) literally means 'mother Rukmini'. Rukmini is traditionally viewed as the wife of Krishna. Hindus generally consider Krishna to be a form of Vishnu, hence his consort as a form of Lakshmi. Just like her consort, Rakhumai is also depicted in the arms-akimbo posture, standing on a brick. She has an independent cella in the Pandharpur temple complex. According to Ghurye, Rukmini—a princess of the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra—was elevated to the status of the main consort, because of her affiliation with the region. According to Dhangar tradition, Rukhumai is worshipped by the community as Padmavati or Padubai, a protector of the community and cattle in particular. Dhangar folklore explains the reason behind separate shrines for Vithoba and Padubai as the outcome of Vithoba invoking a curse on his consort, and his non-attachment to "samsara" (the householder's life). Apart from Rakhumai, two other consorts Satyabhama and Rahi (derived from Radha) are worshipped too. All three consorts are regarded as Krishna's in Hindu mythology.


title: Vithoba

text: Vithoba is a popular deity in Maharashtra and Karnataka; devotees also exist in Goa, Telangana and Tamil Nadu but not in the same numbers. Vithoba is worshipped and revered by most Marathis, but he is not popular as a "kuldevta" (family deity). The main temple of Vithoba, which includes a distinct, additional shrine for his consort Rakhumai, is located at Pandharpur. In this context, Pandharpur is affectionately called "Bhu-Vaikuntha" (the place of residence of Vishnu on earth) by devotees. Devotees, from across Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana, have visited Vithoba's central temple at Pandharpur, since the times of Dnyaneshwar (13th century).


title: Vithoba

text: Two distinct traditions revolve around the worship of Vithoba in Maharashtra: ritual worship inside the temple by the Brahmin priests of the Badva family; and spiritual worship by the Varkaris. The ritual worship includes five daily rites. First, at about 3 am, is an "arati" to awaken the god, called . Next comes the , a "puja" that includes a bath with five ("pancha") sweet substances called "panchamrita". The image is then dressed to receive morning devotions. The third rite is another "puja" involving re-dressing and lunch at noon. This is known as . Afternoon devotions are followed by a fourth rite for dinner at sunset—the . The final rite is , an "arati" for putting the god to sleep. In addition to the rites at the main temple in Pandharpur, Haridasa traditions dedicated to Vitthala flourish in Karnataka.


title: Vithoba

text: The Varkari Panth (Pilgrim Path) or Varkari Sampradaya (Pilgrim Tradition) is one of the most important Vaishnava sects in India. According to Raeside, it is an essentially monotheistic, "bhakti" sect, focused on the worship of Vithoba and based on traditional Bhagavata "dharma". The sect, according to Vaudeville, is a "Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis" and "nominal Vaishnavism, containing a free mix of other religions". It is believed to have originated in Karnataka and migrated to Maharashtra. This last theory is based on a reference to Vithoba as "Kānaḍā" (belonging to Karnataka) in the work of the first of the poet-saints, Dnyaneshwar. However, this word can also be interpreted as "difficult to understand". Varkaris and scholars who believe Pundalik to have been a historical figure also consider him to be founder of the cult of Vithoba. This is evidenced by the liturgical call—"Pundalikavarada Hari Vitthala!"—which means "O Hari Vitthala (Vithoba), who has given a boon to Pundalik!" However, according to Zelliot, the sect was founded by Dnyaneshwar (also spelled Jnaneshwar), who was a Brahmin poet and philosopher and flourished during the period 1275–1296. Varkaris also give him credit with the saying—"Dnyanadev rachila paya"—which means "Dnyaneshwar laid the foundation stone".


title: Vithoba

text: Namdev ("c". 1270–1350), a Shudra tailor, wrote short Marathi devotional poems in praise of Vithoba called "abhangas" (literally 'unbroken'), and used the call-and-response "kirtan" (literally 'repeating') form of singing to praise the glory of his Lord. Public performance of this musical devotion led to the spread of the Vithoba faith, which accepted women, Shudras and outcaste "untouchables", something forbidden in classical brahminical Hinduism. In the times of Muslim rulers, the faith faced stagnation. However, after the decline of the Vijayanagara empire, when wars erupted in the Deccan region, the Muslim rulers had to accept the faiths of Maharashtra in order to gather the support of its people. In this period, Eknath ("c". 1533–99) revived the Varkari tradition. With the foundation of the Maratha empire under Shivaji, Tukaram ("c". 1568–1650), a Vaishya grocer, further propagated the Vithoba-centric tradition throughout the Maharashtra region.


title: Vithoba

text: All these poet-saints, and others like Janabai, the maidservant of Namdev, wrote poetry dedicated to Vithoba. This Marathi poetry advocates pure devotion, referring to Vithoba mostly as a father, or in the case of the female saint Janabai's poetry, as a mother (Vithabai). Not only women, like Janabai, but also a wide variety of people from different castes and backgrounds wrote "abhangas" in praise of Vithoba: Visoba Khechara (who was an orthodox Shaiva and teacher of Namdev), Sena the barber, Narhari the goldsmith, Savata the gardener, Gora the potter, Kanhopatra the dancing girl, Chokhamela the "untouchable" Mahar, and even the Muslim Sheikh Muhammad (1560–1650). Anyone born Shaiva or Vaishnava who considers Vithoba his "maya-baap" (mother-father) and Pandharpur his "maher" (maternal house of a bride) is accepted as a Varkari by the sect irrespective of the barriers of caste. Varkaris often practice Vithoba "japa" (meditative repetition of a divine name), and observe a fast on the "ekadashi" of each month.


title: Vithoba

text: Haridasa means servant ("dasa") of Vishnu (Hari). According to Haridasa tradition, their "sampradaya", also known as Haridasa-kuta, was founded by Achalananda Vitthala ("c". 888). It is a distinct branch within Vaishnavism, centered on Vitthala (the Haridasa–Kannada name for Vithoba).


title: Vithoba

text: Where Varkari are normally associated with Maharashtra, Haridasa are normally associated with Karnataka. The scholar Sharma considers Vithoba worship first emerged in Karnataka, only later moving to Maharashtra. He argues this on the basis of the reference by Dnyaneshwar, mentioned in section "Varkari sect" above. Lutgendorf credits the movement to Vyasatirtha (1478–1539), the royal guru ("rajguru") to king Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara empire. Vitthala enjoyed royal patronage in this era. Krishnadevaraya is also credited with building Vitthala's temple at the then capital city Vijayanagara (modern Hampi).


title: Vithoba

text: VadirajaTeertha(1480-1600) visited pandarapura and praised lord Vittala in TeerthaPrabhanda as 'Paapavaleepaatanapatvapaangah shripaanipadaanchitajaanujanghah goopalabalaha krupayaa swayam naha shri pandurango bhavatu prasannaha'


title: Vithoba

text: Haridasas consider the temple of Pandharpur to be sacred, as well that of Hampi, and worship Vitthala along with forms of Krishna. Haridasa literature generally deals with praise dedicated to Vitthala and Krishna. Haridasa poets like Vijaya Vitthala, Gopala Vitthala, Jagannatha Vitthala, Venugopala Vitthala and Mohana Vitthala assumed pen-names ending with "Vitthala", as an act of devotion. The Haridasa poet Purandara Dasa or Purandara Vitthala (1484–1564), "father of Carnatic music", often ended his Kannada language compositions with a salutation to Vitthala.


title: Vithoba

text: The founder of the Hindu sect Pushtimarg – Vallabhacharya (1479–1531) is believed to have visited Pandharpur at least twice and was ordered to marry by Vithoba (called Vitthalnath or Vitthalnathji in the sect) and have children so that he could be born as Vallabhacharya's son. Later, Vallabhacharya married. His second son and successor was recognized as a manifestation of Vithoba and named Vitthalnath, also known as Gusainji. One of the sect's Nidhi Swaroops is Vitthalnathji with his consort Yamunaji.


title: Vithoba

text: The festivals associated with Vithoba primarily correspond to the bi-annual "yatras" (pilgrimages) of the Varkaris. The pilgrims travel to the Pandharpur temple from Alandi and Dehu, towns closely associated with poet-saints Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram respectively. Along the way, they sing "abhangas" (devotional songs) dedicated to Vithoba and repeat his name, carrying the "palkhis" (palanquins) of the poet-saints. Varkaris do not engage in ritual worship but only practice "darshan" (visual adoration) of the deity. The ritual worship by the priests is restricted to five days each around the Ashadha (June–July) and Kartik (October–November) Ekadashis, when a large number of Varkaris participate in the "yatras". In smaller numbers, the Varkaris also visit the temple on two other Ekadashis—in the Hindu months of Magha and Chaitra.


title: Vithoba

text: More than 800,000 Varkaris travel to Pandharpur for the "yatra" on Shayani Ekadashi, the 11th day of the waxing moon in the lunar month of Ashadha. Both Shayani Ekadashi and Prabodhini Ekadashi (in the waxing half of Kartik), are associated with the mythology of Vishnu. Hindus believe that Vishnu falls asleep in Ksheersagar (a cosmic ocean of milk), while lying on the back of Shesha-nāga (the cosmic serpent). His sleep begins on Shayani Ekadashi (literally the 'sleeping 11th') and he finally awakens from his slumber, four months later, on Prabodhini Ekadashi. The celebrations in Ashadha and Kartik continue until the full-moon in those months, concluding with torchlight processions. Inscriptions dating to the 11th century mention the Ekadashi pilgrimages to Pandharpur. On Shayani Ekadashi and Prabodini Ekadashi, the chief minister or a minister of Maharashtra state performs ritual components of worship on behalf of the Government of Maharashtra. This form of worship is known as "sarkari-mahapuja".


title: Vithoba

text: Apart from the four Ekadashis, a fair is held on Dussera night at Pandharpur, when devotees dance on a large slab ("ranga-shila") before Vithoba, accompanied with torchlight processions. Other observances at the Pandharpur temple include: Ranga-Panchami, when "gulal" (red powder) is sprinkled on the god's feet; and Krishna Janmashtami, Krishna's birthday, when devotees dance and sing in front of Vithoba for nine days. Other sacred days include Wednesdays, Saturdays and all other Ekadashis, all of which are considered holy in Vaishnavism.


title: Vithoba

text: Devotional works dedicated to Vithoba can be categorised into the Varkari tradition, the Brahmin tradition and what Raeside calls a "third tradition", that includes both Varkari and Brahmin elements. The Varkari texts are written in Marathi, the Brahmin texts in Sanskrit, and the "third tradition" are Marathi texts written by Brahmins.


title: Vithoba

text: The Varkari texts are: "Bhaktalilamrita" and "Bhaktavijaya" by Mahipati, "Pundalika-Mahatmya" by Bahinabai, and a long "abhanga" by Namdev. All these texts describe the legend of Pundalik. The Brahmin texts include: two versions of "Panduranga-Mahatmya" from the Skanda Purana (consisting of 900 verses); "Panduranga-Mahatmya" from the Padma Purana (consisting of 1,200 verses); "Bhima-Mahatmya", also from the Padma Purana; and a third devotional work, yet again called "Panduranga-Mahatmya", which is found in the Vishnu Purana. The "third tradition" is found in two works: "Panduranga-Mahatmya" by the Brahmin Sridhara (consisting of 750 verses), and another work of the same name written by Prahlada Maharaj (consisting of 181 verses).


title: Vithoba

text: In addition to the above, there are many "abhangas", the short Marathi devotional poems of the Varkaris, and many "stutis" (songs of praise) and "stotras" (hymns), some of them originating from the Haridasa tradition. The best known of these is "Pandurangastaka" or "Pandurangastrotra", attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, although this attribution is questioned. A text called "Tirthavali-Gatha", attributed to Namdev or Dnyaneshwar but possibly a collection of writings of many poet-saints, also centers on the propagation of Varkari faith and Vithoba worship. Other devotional works include "aratis" like "Yuge atthavisa vitevari ubha" by Namdev and "Yei O Vitthala majhe mauli re". These "aratis" sing of Vithoba, who wears yellow garments (a characteristic of Vishnu) and is served by Garuda (mount of Vishnu) and Hanuman (the monkey god, devotee of Rama—an avatar of Vishnu). Finally, the Telugu poet Tenali Ramakrishna (16th century) refers to Vithoba, as Panduranga, in his poem "Panduranga-Mahatmyamu": "(O Parvati), accepting the services of Pundarika and Kshetrapala (Kala-bhairava), becoming the wish fulfilling tree by assuming a subtle body for the sake of devotees, fulfilling their wishes, the deity Panduranga resides in that temple."


title: Vithoba

text: There are many Vithoba temples in Maharashtra, and some in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Goa and Andhra Pradesh. However, the main centre of worship is Vithoba's temple in Pandharpur. The temple's date of establishment is disputed, though it is clear that it was standing at the time of Dnyaneshwar in the 13th century. Along with Vithoba and his consorts—Rukmini, Satyabhama and Radha—other Vaishnava deities are worshipped. These include: Venkateshwara, a form of Vishnu; Mahalakshmi, a form of Vishnu's consort Lakshmi; Garuda and Hanuman (see previous section). Shaiva deities are also worshipped, such as: Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of wisdom and beginnings; Khandoba, a form of Shiva; and Annapurna, a form of Shiva's consort Parvati. The "samadhis" (memorials) of saints like Namdev, Chokhamela and Janabai, and of devotees such as Pundalik and Kanhopatra, are in and around the temple. Other significant temples in Maharashtra are located: at Dehu, the birthplace of Tukaram, which attracts visitors at all ekadashis of the year; at Kole (Satara district), in memory of Ghadge Bova, which has a fair on the fifth day of the bright fortnight (waxing moon) in Magha month; at Kolhapur and Rajapur, which host fairs on Shayani Ekadashi and Prabodini Ekadashi; Madhe — a refuge of the Pandharpur image when it was moved to protect from Muslim invaders and finally at the Birla Mandir in Shahad.


title: Vithoba

text: Several temples are found in Goa, the well-known ones being the temples at Sanquelim, Sanguem and Gokarna Math. Similarly temple festivals celebrated in Vitthala temples in Margao, Ponda attract a lot a pilgrims. Vitthal is also worshipped as "Vitthalnath" at the Nathdwara in Rajasthan.


title: Vithoba

text: Vithoba was introduced to South India during the Vijayanagara and Maratha rule. In South India he is generally known as Vitthala. The Hampi temple (mentioned above) is a World Heritage Site and the most important of Vitthala's temples outside Maharashtra. Constructed in the 15th century, the temple is believed to have housed the central image from Pandharpur, which the Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya took "to enhance his own status" or to save the image from plunder by Muslim invaders. It was later returned to Pandharpur by Bhanudas (1448–1513), the great-grandfather of poet-saint Eknath. Today, the temple stands without a central image, though between 1516 and 1565, most important transactions, which would have been carried out previously in the presence of the original state deity Virupaksha (a form of Shiva), were issued in presence of the central image of Vitthala. Three of Madhvacharya's eight "matha"s (monasteries) in Karnataka—Shirur, Pejavara and Puttige—have Vitthala as their presiding deity. A "Vitthaleshwara temple" stands at Mulbagal, Karnataka. In Tamil Nadu, Vitthala shrines are found in Srirangam, Vittalapuram near thiruporur and in Tirunelveli district, and Thennangur, Govindapuram near Kumbakonam and sculptures are also found in Kanchi.


title: Vithoba

text: Legends regarding Vithoba usually focus on his devotee Pundalik or on Vithoba's role as a savior to the poet-saints of the Varkari faith. As discussed in the devotional works section above, the Pundalik legend appears in the Sanskrit scriptures Skanda Purana and Padma Purana. It is also documented in Marathi texts: "Panduranga-Mahatmya" by a Brahmin called Sridhara; another work of the same name written by Prahlada Maharaj; and also in the "abhanga"s of various poet-saints.