title: Pope Leo I

text: Leo was a Roman aristocrat, and was the first pope to have been called "the Great". He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452 and persuaded him to turn back from his invasion of Italy. He is also a Doctor of the Church, most remembered theologically for issuing the Tome of Leo, a document which was a major foundation to the debates of the Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council. That meeting dealt primarily with Christology and elucidated the orthodox definition of Christ's being as the hypostatic union of two natures, divine and human, united in one person, "with neither confusion nor division". It was followed by a major schism associated with Monophysitism, Miaphysitism and Dyophysitism. He also contributed significantly to developing ideas of papal authority.


title: Pope Leo I

text: According to the "Liber Pontificalis", he was a native of Tuscany. By 431, as a deacon, he was sufficiently well known outside of Rome that John Cassian dedicated to him the treatise against Nestorius written at Leo's suggestion. About this time Cyril of Alexandria appealed to Rome regarding a jurisdictional dispute with Juvenal of Jerusalem, but it is not entirely clear whether the letter was intended for Leo, in his capacity of archdeacon, or for Pope Celestine I directly. Near the end of the reign of Pope Sixtus III, Leo was dispatched at the request of Emperor Valentinian III to settle a dispute between Aëtius, one of Gaul's chief military commanders, and the chief magistrate Albinus. Johann Peter Kirsch sees this commission as a proof of the confidence placed in the able deacon by the Imperial Court.


title: Pope Leo I

text: During Leo's absence in Gaul, Pope Sixtus III died (11 August 440), and on 29 September he was unanimously elected by the people to succeed him.


title: Pope Leo I

text: Soon after assuming the papal throne Leo learned that in Aquileia, Pelagians were received into church communion without formal repudiation of their errors; he censured this practice and directed that a provincial synod be held where such former Pelagians be required make an unequivocal abjuration.


title: Pope Leo I

text: Manichaeans fleeing the Vandals had come to Rome in 439 and secretly organized there; Leo learned of it around 443, and proceeded against them by holding a public debate with their representatives, burning their books and writing letters of warning to the Italian bishops. His attitude was as decided against the Priscillianists. Bishop Turibius of Astorga, astonished at the spread of the sect in Spain, had addressed the other Spanish bishops on the subject, sending a copy of his letter to Leo, who took the opportunity to write an extended treatise (21 July 447) against the sect, examining its false teaching in detail and calling for a Spanish general council to investigate whether it had any adherents in the episcopate.


title: Pope Leo I

text: From a pastoral perspective, he galvanized charitable works in a Rome beset by famines, an influx of refugees, and poverty. He further associated the practice of fasting with charity and almsgiving particularly on the occasion of the "Quattro tempora", (the quarterly Ember days).


title: Pope Leo I

text: It was during Leo's papacy that the term "Pope", which previously meant any bishop, came to exclusively mean the Bishop of Rome.


title: Pope Leo I

text: Leo drew many learned men about him and chose Prosper of Aquitaine to act in some secretarial or notarial capacity.


title: Pope Leo I

text: Leo was a significant contributor to the centralisation of spiritual authority within the Church and in reaffirming papal authority. In 450, the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, in a letter to Pope Leo I, was the first to call the Bishop of Rome the Patriarch of the West, a title that would continue to be used by the popes up until as recently as 2006.


title: Pope Leo I

text: On several occasions, Leo was asked to arbitrate disputes in Gaul. Patroclus of Arles (d. 426) had received from Pope Zosimus the recognition of a subordinate primacy over the Gallican Church which was strongly asserted by his successor Hilary of Arles. An appeal from Chelidonius of Besançon gave Leo the opportunity to assert the pope's authority over Hilary, who defended himself stoutly at Rome, refusing to recognize Leo's judicial status. Feeling that the primatial rights of the bishop of Rome were threatened, Leo appealed to the civil power for support and obtained, from Valentinian III, a decree of 6 June 445, which recognized the primacy of the bishop of Rome based on the merits of Peter, the dignity of the city, and the legislation of the First Council of Nicaea; and provided for the forcible extradition by provincial governors of any bishop who refused to answer a summons to Rome. Faced with this decree, Hilary submitted to the pope, although under his successor, Ravennius, Leo divided the metropolitan rights between Arles and Vienne (450).


title: Pope Leo I

text: In 445, Leo disputed with Patriarch Dioscorus, Cyril of Alexandria's successor as Patriarch of Alexandria, insisting that the ecclesiastical practice of his see should follow that of Rome on the basis that Mark the Evangelist, the disciple of Peter the Apostle and the founder of the Alexandrian Church, could have had no other tradition than that of the prince of the apostles.


title: Pope Leo I

text: The fact that the African province of Mauretania Caesariensis had been preserved to the empire and thus to the Nicene faith during the Vandal invasion and, in its isolation, was disposed to rest on outside support, gave Leo an opportunity to assert his authority there. In 446 he wrote to the Church in Mauretania in regard to a number of questions of discipline, stressing the point that laymen were not to be appointed to the episcopate.


title: Pope Leo I

text: In a letter to the bishops of Campania, Picenum, and Tuscany (443) he required the observance of all his precepts and those of his predecessors; and he sharply rebuked the bishops of Sicily (447) for their deviation from the Roman custom as to the time of baptism, requiring them to send delegates to the Roman synod to learn the proper practice.


title: Pope Leo I

text: Because of the earlier line of division between the western and eastern parts of the Roman Empire, Illyria was ecclesiastically subject to Rome. Pope Innocent I had constituted the metropolitan of Thessalonica his vicar, in order to oppose the growing influence of the patriarch of Constantinople in the area. In a letter of about 446 to a successor bishop of Thessalonica, Anastasius, Leo reproached him for the way he had treated one of the metropolitan bishops subject to him; after giving various instructions about the functions entrusted to Anastasius and stressing that certain powers were reserved to the pope himself, Leo wrote: "The care of the universal Church should converge towards Peter's one seat, and nothing anywhere should be separated from its Head."


title: Pope Leo I

text: He succeeded in having an imperial patriarch, Timothy Salophakiolos, and not Timotheus Aelurus, chosen as Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria on the murder of Greek Patriarch Proterius of Alexandria.


title: Pope Leo I

text: At the Second Council of Ephesus in 449, Leo's representatives delivered his famous "Tome", a statement of the faith of the Roman Church in the form of a letter addressed to Archbishop Flavian of Constantinople, which repeats, in close adherence to Augustine of Hippo, the formulas of western Christology. The council did not read the letter nor did it pay any attention to the protests of Leo's legates but deposed Flavian and Eusebius of Dorylaeum, who appealed to Rome. That is one reason that the council was never recognized as ecumenical and was later repudiated by the Council of Chalcedon.


title: Pope Leo I

text: It was presented again at the subsequent Council of Chalcedon as offering a solution to the Christological controversies still raging between East and West.


title: Pope Leo I

text: Eutyches, in the beginning of the conflict, appealed to Leo and took refuge with him on his condemnation by Flavian, but on receiving full information from Flavian, Leo took his side decisively. Leo demanded of the emperor that an ecumenical council should be held in Italy, and in the meantime, at a Roman synod in October 449, repudiated all the decisions of the "Robber Synod". In his letters to the emperor and others he demanded the deposition of Eutyches as a Manichaean and Docetic heretic.


title: Pope Leo I

text: The Council of Chalcedon of 451 rejected the heresy of Eutyches who denied the true human nature of the Son of God, and affirmed the union in his one Person, without confusion and without separation, of his two natures, human and divine.


title: Pope Leo I

text: The acts of the council report: "After the reading of the foregoing epistle, the most reverend bishops cried out: This is the faith of the fathers, this is the faith of the Apostles. So we all believe, thus the orthodox believe. Anathema to him who does not thus believe. Peter has spoken thus through Leo. So taught the Apostles. Piously and truly did Leo teach, so taught Cyril. Everlasting be the memory of Cyril. Leo and Cyril taught the same thing, anathema to him who does not so believe. This is the true faith. Those of us who are orthodox thus believe. This is the faith of the fathers. Why were not these things read at Ephesus? These are the things Dioscorus hid away."


title: Pope Leo I

text: Leo firmly declined to confirm their disciplinary arrangements, which seemed to allow Constantinople a practically equal authority with Rome and regarded the civil importance of a city as a determining factor in its ecclesiastical position; but he strongly supported its dogmatic decrees, especially when, after the accession of Leo I (457), there seemed to be a disposition toward compromise with the Eutychians.


title: Pope Leo I

text: Leo's writings (both the sermons and the letters) are mostly concerned with theological questions concerning the person of Jesus Christ


title: Pope Leo I

text: (Christology) and his role as mediator and savior (Soteriology), which is partially connected to the Council of Chalcedon in which Roman legates participated in Leo's name. Subsequently, through numerous letters addressed to bishops and members of the imperial family, Leo incessantly worked for the propagation and universal reception of the faith in Christ as defined by Chalcedon, also in the eastern part of the Roman empire. Leo defends the true divinity and the true humanity of the one Christ against heretical one-sidedness. He takes up this topic also in many of his sermons, and over the years, he further develops his own original concepts. A central idea around which Leo deepens and explains his theology is Christ's presence in the Church, more specifically in the teaching and preaching of the faith (Scripture, Tradition and their interpretation), in the liturgy (sacraments and celebrations), in the life of the individual believer and of the organized Church, especially in a council.


title: Pope Leo I

text: To Leo the Great, Mariology is determined by Christology. If Christ were divine only, everything about him would be divine. Only his divinity would have been crucified, buried and resurrected. Mary would only be the mother of God, and Christians would have no hope for their own resurrection. The nucleus of Christianity would be destroyed. The most unusual beginning of a truly human life through her was to give birth to Jesus, the Lord and Son of King David.


title: Pope Leo I

text: Leo assumed the papacy at a time of increasing barbarian invasions; this, coupled with the decreasing imperial authority in the West, forced the Bishop of Rome to take a more active part in civil and political affairs. He was one of the first bishops of Rome to promote papal primacy based on succession from Peter the Apostle; and he did so as a means of maintaining unity among the churches.


title: Pope Leo I

text: Besides recourse to biblical language, Leo also described his own special relationship with Peter in terms derived from Roman law. He called himself the (unworthy) heir and deputy ("vicarius") of Peter, having received his apostolic authority and being obliged to follow his example. On the one hand, Peter stood before him with a claim on how Leo is to exercise his office; on the other hand, Leo, as the Roman bishop, represented the Apostle, whose authority he held. Christ, however, always comes out as the source of all grace and authority, and Leo is responsible to him for how he fulfilled his duties (sermon 1). Thus, the office of the Roman bishop was grounded on the special relationship between Christ and Peter, a relationship that cannot be repeated per se; therefore, Leo depended on Peter's mediation, his assistance and his example in order to be able to adequately fulfill his role and exercise his authority as the Bishop of Rome, both in the city and beyond.


title: Pope Leo I

text: After the indecisive outcome of the Battle of Chalons in 451, Attila invaded Italy in 452, sacking cities such as Aquileia and heading for Rome. He allegedly demanded that the sister of the reigning Emperor Valentinian III be sent to him with a dowry. In response, the emperor sent three envoys to negotiate with Attila: Gennadius Avienus, one of the consuls of 450, Memmius Aemilius Trygetius, the former urban prefect, and Leo. Little is known of the specifics of the negotiations, as a result of which Attila withdrew. Most ancient and medieval historians celebrated Leo's actions, giving him all the credit for this successful embassy. According to Prosper of Aquitaine who was alive at the time of the event, Attila was so impressed by Leo that he withdrew. Another near-contemporary was the historian Priscus who records that Attila was dissuaded from attacking Rome by his own men because they feared he would share the fate of the Visigothic king Alaric, who died shortly after sacking the city in 410. Paul the Deacon, in the late 8th century, relates that an enormously huge man dressed in priestly robes and armed with a sword, visible only to Attila, threatened him and his army with death during his discourse with Leo, and this prompted Attila to submit to his request.


title: Pope Leo I

text: The fact of the embassy cannot be doubted. The distinguished ambassadors visited the Hun's camp near the south shore of Lake Garda. It is also certain that Attila suddenly retreated. But we are at a loss to know what considerations were offered him to induce him to depart. It is unreasonable to suppose that this heathen king would have cared for the thunders or persuasions of the Church. The Emperor refused to surrender Honoria, and it is not recorded that money was paid. A trustworthy chronicle hands down another account which does not conflict with the fact that an embassy was sent, but evidently furnishes the true reasons which moved Attila to receive it favourably. Plague broke out in the barbarian host and their food ran short, and at the same time troops arrived from the east, sent by Marcian to the aid of Italy. If his host was suffering from pestilence, and if troops arrived from the east, we can understand that Attila was forced to withdraw. But whatever terms were arranged, he did not pretend that they meant a permanent peace. The question of Honoria was left unsettled, and he threatened that he would come again and do worse things in Italy unless she were given up with the due portion of the Imperial possessions.


title: Pope Leo I

text: Leo's intercession could not prevent the sack of the city by the Vandal King Genseric in 455, but murder and arson were repressed by his influence. The Pope and members of his clergy, went to meet the invader to implore him to desist. While the Vandals plundered the city, the gesture nevertheless prevented Rome from being burned and assured that the Basilicas of St Peter, St Paul and St John, in which part of the terrified population sought refuge, were spared. Leo assisted in rebuilding the city of Rome, restoring key places such as Saint Peter's.


title: Pope Leo I

text: In his "In Nativitate Domini", Christmas Day, sermon, "Christian, remember your dignity", Leo articulates a fundamental dignity common to all Christians, whether saints or sinners, and the consequent obligation to live up to it:


title: Pope Leo I

text: Leo died on 10 November 461 and, as he wished to be buried as close as possible to the tomb of St Peter, his body was entombed within the portico of Old St. Peter's Basilica. He was the first pope to be buried within St. Peter's. In 688, Pope Sergius I had Leo's remains moved to the south transept, inside the basilica. The relocation was apparently due to the number of later papal burials obscuring the prominence that Sergius believed Leo's tomb should have.


title: Pope Leo I

text: Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy "...was undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's history."


title: Pope Leo I

text: In 1754 Pope Benedict XIV proclaimed Leo I a Doctor of the Church. Next to Leo only one other pope, Gregory I, is also recognized as Doctor of the Church.


title: Pope Leo I

text: The Catholic Church marks 10 November as the feast day of Saint Leo, given in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum and the 8th-century Calendar of Saint Willibrord as the date of his death and entry to heaven. His feast was once celebrated in Rome on 28 June, the anniversary of the placing of his relics in Saint Peter's Basilica, but in the 12th century, the Gallican Rite feast of 11 April was admitted to the General Roman Calendar, which maintained that date until 1969. Some traditionalist Catholics continue to observe pre-1970 versions of that calendar.


title: Pope Leo I

text: The Eastern Catholic Churches as well as the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrate Saint Leo on 18 February.


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: John Leslie (born John Leslie Stott; 22 February 1965) is a Scottish former television and radio presenter. Debuting on the Music Box channel in 1987, he later presented BBC One's "Blue Peter", and ITV's "This Morning" and the gameshow "Wheel of Fortune". He was also the studio host for the first series of the UK version of "Survivor".


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: John Leslie Stott was born in Edinburgh, the brother of Grant Stott. He attended Liberton High School and James Gillespie's High School. He spent his early years in the church choir, studied music on leaving school, and worked as a DJ in Copenhagen. His first television work was on Yorkshire Television, when he hosted Music Box's all-night music show, "Formula One", in 1989. Prior to his television career he worked as a DJ in nightclubs in Edinburgh and Newcastle, becoming resident DJ at the Blu Bambu club.


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: Leslie had a widely publicised relationship with nurse Abi Titmuss, who became a star in her own right when a video Leslie filmed of her having sex with another woman was leaked.


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: Leslie is also known for his affinity for football. He played in goal for the Scottish team in the Celebrity World Cup Soccer Six tournament, which took place on 14 May 2006 at St Andrew's, the home of Birmingham City. He is a supporter of Hibernian.


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: On 20 April 1989, Leslie became "Blue Peter"s first Scottish presenter, and also the tallest at 1.93 m (6' 4"). He was the second "Blue Peter" presenter to take part in the London Marathon, following Peter Duncan. He finished in four hours, thirty-six minutes.


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: On his last show he was set John's Final Challenge which involved abseiling down BBC Television Centre, completing a velcro and wheelbarrow obstacle course, then trampolining and conducting an orchestra in the studio. Leslie presented "Blue Peter" with Caron Keating, Yvette Fielding, Diane-Louise Jordan, Anthea Turner and Tim Vincent.


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: Leslie succeeded Bradley Walsh as the main presenter of the British version of "Wheel of Fortune". He was succeeded in 2001 by Paul Hendy. That year, he turned up on "Lily Savage's Blankety Blank".


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: From series 11 in 1999 Leslie, alongside Fern Britton, was a regular presenter of the Friday edition. When Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan departed the show in 2001, they were replaced by Coleen Nolan and Twiggy, with Britton and Leslie remaining on Fridays. However, Nolan and Twiggy proved less popular with viewers, so Britton and Leslie took on the full job of presenting the show, bringing the ratings back up to around one million. In 2002, after allegations of sexual offences were made in the press against Leslie, he was dismissed from the programme and replaced by Phillip Schofield from Mondays to Thursdays and by Eamonn Holmes on Fridays (with Ruth Langsford).


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: In December 2003, Leslie appeared in the music video for the Christmas single "Proper Crimbo", released by "Bo' Selecta!" creator Leigh Francis, alongside Matthew Wright in a spoof of their presumed rivalry.


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: In November 2012, John Leslie began to present Friday's Drivetime show on 98.8 Castle FM, hoping to revive his career as a radio DJ. In March 2013, Leslie was among the Castle FM presenters who walked out in a disagreement with their management, only to be locked out when they tried to return. By the end of the year, the radio station had become automated, with no presenters.


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: On 28 March 2014, it was announced that Leslie would begin presenting his own Saturday (10:00 to 14:00) radio show across the Scottish Bauer Radio AM network, debuting the following day.


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: In October 2002, Ulrika Jonsson had written in her autobiography, "Honest", that "an acquaintance" had raped her when she was 19. Amid media speculation, television presenter Matthew Wright mistakenly named Leslie as the alleged predator on "The Wright Stuff". Jonsson has never said whether the correct person was named, and Leslie was never charged for offences against Jonsson. Wright has since apologised to Leslie and said he named him in error. Despite this, the story was widely covered in the tabloids.


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: Other women made accusations of indecent assault against Leslie, and he was arrested in December 2002 on one count of rape and two concerning indecent assault, being then released on bail after being interviewed by the police. He was charged in June 2003 with assaulting a woman twice between 25 and 28 May 1997. The prosecution dropped the charges against Leslie at Southwark Crown Court on 31 July 2003 after new information from the alleged victim. On the court steps after the end of the hearing, Leslie said that he had "been to hell and back" and that he had "maintained [his] innocence throughout".


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: In July 2018, Leslie was cleared of assaulting a woman at a nightclub in June 2017 after a two-day trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. Leslie announced that he was going to make a complaint against Police Scotland.


title: John Leslie (TV presenter)

text: In June 2019, Leslie was charged with sexually assaulting a then 30-year-old woman in Westminster during December 2008. That August, Leslie pleaded not guilty at Southwark Crown Court and he was released on bail. He was cleared of this charge by a jury on 19 October 2020. Judge Deborah Taylor subsequently told him: "You, for the second time, leave this court without a stain on your character and I hope it will be the last time you have to attend."


title: Hercules beetle

text: The Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules) is a species of rhinoceros beetle native to the rainforests of Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles. It is the longest extant species of beetle in the world, and is also one of the largest flying insects in the world.


title: Hercules beetle

text: "Dynastes hercules" is known for its tremendous strength and is named after Hercules, a hero of classical mythology who is famed for his great strength.


title: Hercules beetle

text: "D. hercules" has a complex taxonomic history and has been known by several synonyms. It is in the subfamily Dynastinae (rhinoceros beetles) in the larger family Scarabaeidae (commonly known as scarab beetles). Not counting subspecies of "D. hercules", seven other species are recognized in the genus "Dynastes".


title: Hercules beetle

text: Several subspecies of "D. hercules" have been named, though still some uncertainty exists as to the validity of the named taxa.


title: Hercules beetle

text: Adult body sizes (not including the thoracic horn) vary between in length and in width. Male Hercules beetles may reach up to in length (including the horn), making them the longest species of beetle in the world, if jaws and/or horns are included in the measurement. The size of the horn is naturally variable, more so than any variation of the size of legs, wings, or overall body size in the species. This variability results from developmental mechanisms that coincide with genetic predisposition in relation to nutrition, stress, exposure to parasites, and/or physiological conditions.


title: Hercules beetle

text: "Dynastes hercules" is highly sexually dimorphic, with only males exhibiting the characteristic horns (one on the head, and a much larger one on the prothorax). The body of males is black with the exception of the elytra, which can have shades of olive-green. They have a black suture with sparsely distributed black spots elsewhere on the elytra. They have a slightly iridescent coloration to their elytra, which varies in color between specimens and may be affected by the humidity of the local environment in which they develop. At low humidity the elytra are olive-green or yellow in color, but darken to black at higher humidity due to its hygrochromic properties.


title: Hercules beetle

text: Females of "D. hercules" have punctured elytra which are usually entirely black, but sometimes have the last quarter of the elytra colored in the same way as the males.


title: Hercules beetle

text: Populations of "D. hercules" may be found from southern Mexico to Bolivia in mountainous and lowland rain forests. Known populations include the Lesser Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru. Chromosomal analysis has shown that the genus "Dynastes" in fact originated from South America.


title: Hercules beetle

text: Not much is known about the life cycle in the wild, but much evidence has been gained through observations of captive-bred populations. The mating season for adults typically occurs during the rainy season (July to December). Females have an average gestation period of 30 days from copulation to egg-laying, and may lay up to 100 eggs on the ground or on dead wood. The eggs have an incubation period of approximately 27.7 days before they hatch. Once hatched, the larval stage of the Hercules beetle may last up to two years in duration, where it will go through 3 metamorphosis stages, also known as instars. The larvae have a yellow body with a black head. The larvae can grow up to in length and weigh more than 100 grams. In laboratory conditions at 25 ± 1°C, the first instar stage lasts an average of 50 days, the second stage an average of 56 days, and the third an average of 450 days. After the third instar stage, the pupal stage lasts about 32 days, where it will transition into an adult. Adult beetles can live for three to six months in captivity.


title: Hercules beetle

text: The larvae of the Hercules beetle are saproxylophagous, meaning that they feed on rotting wood; they reside in same during their two-year developmental stage. The adult Hercules beetle feeds on fresh and rotting fruit, along with tree sap. Adults carve bark through the use of its synchronous mandibles to easily access the sap of trees. When these mandibles are closed, a narrow opening is formed which can act like a straw to allow consumption of tree sap. They have been observed feeding on peaches, pears, apples, grapes, bananas, and mangoes in captivity.


title: Hercules beetle

text: Within their native rain forest habitats, the adult beetles, which are nocturnal, forage for fruit at night and hide or burrow within the leaf litter during the day. The adult "D. hercules" beetles are capable of creating a 'huffing' sound, generated by stridulating their abdomen against their elytra to serve as a warning to predators. Like most insects, communication within the species is a mix of chemoreception, sight, and mechanical perception. Experiments on "D. hercules" have shown that a male placed in the vicinity of a female will immediately orient towards her and seek her out, suggesting chemical communication through strong sexual pheromones.


title: Hercules beetle

text: It has been observed in wild habitat and in captivity that male "D. hercules" will engage in combat to win possession and mating rights to a female. Male Hercules beetles typically use their large horns to settle mating disputes; these fights can cause significant physical damage to the combatants but may also include possible damage to the female in the process. During fights, the males attempt to grab and pin their rival between the cephalic and thoracic horns to lift and throw them. The successful male wins mating rights with the female, though the beetles remain polygynandrous.


title: Hercules beetle

text: Reports suggest the Hercules beetle is able to carry up to 850 times its body mass. Actual measurements on a much smaller (and relatively stronger: see square-cube law) species of rhinoceros beetle shows a carrying capacity only up to 100 times their body mass, at which point they can barely move.


title: Hercules beetle

text: "Dynastes hercules" does not negatively affect human activities, either as an agricultural pest or disease vector. The beetles can be kept as pets. Larvae excrement has been shown to contain β-mannanase, a bacteria synthesized enzyme that hydrolyzes hemicellulose that can be used in enzyme based cleaning products. β-mannanase has been successfully extracted and cloned from larvae fecal matter, suggesting that production of bio additive cleaning products may be feasible.


title: Hercules beetle

text: "Dynastes hercules" is a beneficial contributor to the rain forest ecosystem, primarily during their larval stage where they are saproxylophagous. Feeding on rotting wood assists with biodegradation and cycling nutrients in the environment.


title: Evil Lives Here

text: Evil Lives Here is an American documentary television series on Investigation Discovery that debuted on January 17, 2016. This 60-minute true crime show spends each episode interviewing a family member of the highlighted murderer.


title: Evil Lives Here

text: On August 23, 2020, Season 8 kicked off with a 90-minute episode called "I Killed Dirty John", on which Debra and Terra Newell recount their experiences with "Dirty" John Meehan. The format is featured on the spinoff series, Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death, in which both investigators and families of victims discuss the impacts murders had on their lives. Unlike its predecessor, the culprit isn't revealed right away in some episodes.


title: Evil Lives Here

text: The premise of the show depicts the stories of people who shared a home and a life with a loved one who would become a killer whether it be a parent, sibling, extended family member, or even an offspring. Reenactments blended with police footage, family photographs, videos and interviews give the audience a view of the murderer as told through the eyes of someone close to them.


title: Evil Lives Here

text: Most episodes are done solo with only one close person to the suspect who committed heinous acts telling the story, though there are a few with two people featured. The producers are sometimes heard in the background asking questions to the person or persons being interviewed. Every episode depicts the person looking at pictures of themselves and or the suspect to reminisce on certain moments in their lives whether it be good or bad.


title: Evil Lives Here

text: A spinoff series titled "Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death" debuted on October 29, 2020. Whereas the parent show "Evil Lives Here" showcases a person being interviewed on a family member who is a murderer and how the situation has affected them, this show features mostly the associates of the victims and law enforcement themselves being interviewed on how they were affected by the culprit's actions or culprits if there was more than one.


title: Evil Lives Here

text: Some episodes do favor the original show's format featuring family member culprits, but the stories are told by two or more people of the family (often joined by a police officer assigned to the case), as opposed to just one person the whole way through which is a main element of the original show for most of the episodes. With "Shadows of Death", it is the reversal where solo interview storytelling is rare.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Michael Alex Crabtree Jr. (born September 14, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at Texas Tech, where he was a two-time unanimous All-American, and was selected 10th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2009 NFL Draft. Crabtree was a member of the 49ers for six seasons and spent the remainder of his career with the Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, and Arizona Cardinals.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree was born in Dallas, Texas. He attended David W. Carter High School in Dallas, where he played basketball and football and ran track for the Cowboys program. He played as a quarterback for the Carter Cowboys high school football team. As a senior, he passed for 870 yards and eleven touchdowns on 45 completions out of 100 attempts. He also ran for 646 yards and nine touchdowns on 100 carries. He was a four-star football recruit as an athlete.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree ranked among the top 51 recruits in the state of Texas going into college. During a visit in 2004, Texas Tech basketball coach Bob Knight asked Crabtree which sport he was going to choose. Though the decision was not an easy one, he opted to play college football exclusively.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree was offered football scholarships by Baylor, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Kansas. He was also recruited by Texas, whose coaches wanted him to play defense. Crabtree refused, stating that he wanted to score touchdowns.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Texas Tech University, where he played for coach Mike Leach and the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team from 2006 to 2008.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree was redshirted his freshman season of 2006 because of a transcript glitch and a position change from quarterback to wide receiver.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: In 2007, Crabtree started his redshirt-freshman season against SMU. The Red Raiders won 49–9, and Crabtree stood out with 106 yards receiving on twelve receptions for three touchdowns. The next week, in a 45–31 win over UTEP, Crabtree continued his performance with 15 receptions, 188 yards, and two touchdowns. Against the Rice Owls, Crabtree put up 244 yards on eleven receptions for three touchdowns. In Tech's first loss of the season, against Oklahoma State, he had 14 receptions for 237 yards and three touchdowns. In a 75–7 win over Northwestern State, Crabtree had 145 yards on eight receptions for three touchdowns in only two and a half quarters of playing time. In the contest against Iowa State, Crabtree had 10 receptions for 154 yards and three touchdowns.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: During the Iowa State game, Crabtree broke the season record for most touchdown receptions by a freshman receiver. The previous record of 14 was shared by Jabar Gaffney in 2000, Mike Williams in 2002, and Davone Bess in 2005. In the October 13, 2007, game, Crabtree tacked on 170 more receiving yards on eight receptions but had no touchdowns in a 35–7 win over the Texas A&M Aggies. This brought his total yardage to 1,244. In the next game, against Missouri, he again did not score but still added 76 more yards on ten catches. In spite of having two consecutive games without a touchdown, CBS Sports still ranked Crabtree as the top freshman in the nation.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: During the game against Colorado, Crabtree made his 99th catch. This set three records simultaneously—most single-season receptions by a freshman in I-A, most single-season receptions by a Red Raider, and most single-season touchdowns by a Big 12 player (18). Crabtree finished his freshman season with 134 receptions, 1,962 yards, and 22 touchdowns.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Before the beginning of his sophomore season, CBS Sports listed Crabtree as a Heisman hopeful. Tech quarterback Graham Harrell's name also appeared on the list. Crabtree, along with Harrell and head coach Mike Leach, were featured on the cover of the 2008 edition of "Dave Campbell's Texas Football". His name has also appeared on the Maxwell Award preseason watchlist along with Harrell. To support the Heisman campaign of both Harrell and Crabtree, Texas Tech created a website called PassOrCatch2008.com, which is modelled after political campaigns. The site has garnered national attention and was awarded a Telly Award which honors the best in local, regional, and cable commercials and programs, as well as online videos, films, and commercials. Crabtree finished fifth in the Heisman race behind Harrell at fourth.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree began his sophomore campaign in the 49–24 win over Eastern Washington, recording 9 receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown in limited playing time. In the following 35–19 win over Nevada, he totaled 7 receptions for 158 yards and an 82-yard touchdown catch. Crabtree was selected as the AT&T ESPN All-America Player of the Week for following 43–7 win over Southern Methodist for totaling a season-high 164 yards and 3 touchdowns from 8 receptions.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: In the 56–14 win over Massachusetts, Crabtree recorded 62 yards and a touchdown off of 5 receptions in limited playing time. In the following 58–28 win over Kansas State, he totaled 107 yards on 9 receptions for 2 touchdowns. The Red Raiders then defeated Nebraska 37–31, in which he had 5 receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns. In the following 43–25 win over Texas A&M, he totaled 71 yards and two touchdowns from 8 receptions. He also compiled his first kickoff return of his career in the game, running the ball for 50 yards. On the return however, he tweaked his left ankle and hobbled off the field.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree partially recovered from his ankle sprain enough to play at Kansas, where he amassed 70 yards and two touchdowns off of 9 receptions in a 63–21 Tech victory. The Red Raiders then upset #1 Texas 39–33. Down 33–32, Tech drove down into the Longhorns' territory with 8 seconds left in the game. Quarterback Graham Harrell threw to Crabtree in double coverage inside the 10-yard line. Crabtree grabbed the pass, shook a defender on the sideline, and ran into the endzone for the game-winning touchdown with a second left in the game. As the Red Raiders won, Crabtree finished with 127 yards and a touchdown off of 10 receptions. In Oklahoma State game, Crabtree recorded 89 yards and three touchdowns on eight catches. He extended his streak of at least five receptions and a touchdown catch to 13 games, placing him in a tie for second-longest all time. In these three games, he hobbled off the field at times after making catches. He used the bye week before the Oklahoma game to fully recover from the injury.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree started the year with the expectation that he would compete for the Heisman trophy, and in the end he finished fifth in the Heisman voting, garnering 3 first place votes.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: On April 23, 2009, EA Sports announced that Crabtree would be featured on the cover of "NCAA Football 10" for Xbox 360. Cover athletes for the other editions of the game are Brian Johnson of the Utah Utes (PlayStation 3), Brian Orakpo of the Texas Longhorns (PlayStation 2), and Mark Sanchez of the USC Trojans (PlayStation Portable). The game was available in stores beginning July 14, 2009.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: After only two seasons at Texas Tech, Crabtree was able to achieve eight NCAA records. See also NCAA records held by individual Red Raiders


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree has received multiple honors due to his accomplishments at Texas Tech. In addition to being a two-time unanimous first-team All-American, he is a two-time Biletnikoff Award and Paul Warfield Award winner. He is one of only five Red Raiders in school history have earned unanimous All-American honors. The other four to receive the honor are: Mark Bounds in 1991, Zach Thomas in 1995, Byron Hanspard in 1996, and Jace Amaro in 2013.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Shortly before the deadline, Crabtree declared himself eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft, after discussions with his coach Mike Leach, and with representatives of the NFL who advised that "he would be a first-round pick". At the press conference to announce his plans to enter the NFL Draft, Crabtree was accompanied by his Texas Tech Red Raider teammate Brandon Williams, who made a similar announcement. Williams had led the Big 12 Conference in sacks. The San Francisco 49ers drafted Crabtree as the tenth overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. had projected Crabtree to be selected by the Seattle Seahawks as the fourth overall pick.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: On February 21, 2009, it was reported that Crabtree sustained a Jones fracture in his left foot, which would require surgery to insert a screw and would leave him unable to perform for the next six to ten weeks including the NFL Combine and Texas Tech's pro day. Doctors found that the injury had happened recently, and possibly during his training for the combine. However, Crabtree stated that the stress fracture had been there for a year and did not cause him pain. On March 1, Crabtree stated he would have surgery and forgo the workout at Texas Tech's pro day on March 26.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: At the 2009 NFL Combine, Crabtree weighed 214 pounds; his height was reported at 6 ft 1 ⅜ in. He later scored 15 on the Wonderlic Test.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree was selected in the first round with the 10th overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2009 NFL Draft. He was the highest drafted Texas Tech Red Raider since halfback Donny Anderson went seventh overall in the 1965 NFL Draft. On July 28, 2009, Crabtree failed to report for training camp because he had no contract. Crabtree's training camp no show was the first for a rookie since 2005. Sources close to Crabtree indicated that he was prepared to sit out the 2009–2010 NFL season and re-enter the 2010 NFL Draft. Crabtree's agent Eugene Parker stated that he denied threatening the 49ers with having Crabtree sit out the season and reenter the draft. On August 30, 2009, Crabtree became the last holdout and unsigned draft pick from the 2009 NFL draft when Andre Smith, the 6th overall pick, signed with the Bengals. That day was also the 32nd day of Crabtree's holdout, and only 10 days short of the all-time long holdout for any 49ers rookie in the franchise's history. Beat reporter Matt Maiocco had reported rumors that the signing could have happened around Labor Day, but that did not occur as the sides remained at a complete impasse. Over Labor Day weekend Deion Sanders, an NFL reporter and Crabtree counselor, stated on the "NFL Total Access" show that Crabtree was indeed willing to sit out the entire season. Sanders also claimed that the rookie receiver was not in "dire need" of money at that time. By September 9, 2009, Crabtree set a 49ers record by becoming the longest rookie holdout in franchise history. The last first-round draft pick to hold out for an entire season was quarterback Kelly Stouffer in 1987 when he refused to sign with the Cardinals. Stouffer was eventually traded in April 1988 to the Seahawks for three draft picks, including a first pick in the 1989 draft. The 49ers would have had the option to trade the rights to Crabtree only after March 1, 2010, and up until the next draft. If a team were to trade for the rights, that team would not be able to sign such a player before the 2010 NFL Draft. If he was not signed by the 49ers and then traded to another team, his contract would have then counted against "that" team's 2010 rookie pool.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: On September 21, 2009, the 49ers filed charges against the New York Jets for attempting to tamper with their negotiations with Crabtree. The 49ers may have believed the Jets contacted Crabtree's agent to let him know they'd be interested in trading for his rights, or in drafting him in 2010 with a better salary than the 49ers were offering. The 49ers had until November 17 to sign Crabtree or he wouldn't have been allowed to play in the 2009 season along with its being considered a non-accrued season for contract purposes.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: On October 7, 2009, ESPN reported that Crabtree and the 49ers had agreed to a six-year contract. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the deal would be worth $32 million, with $17 million guaranteed, $8 million more than offered by the team in August 2009, but also a year longer. The contract can void to five years based on Pro Bowl and playing time triggers.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: On October 25, 2009, Crabtree made his first career NFL start against the Houston Texans catching five passes for 56 yards and playing more snaps than any other 49ers receiver in the game. On November 22, 2009, Crabtree caught his first touchdown on a 38-yard pass from quarterback Alex Smith, beating veteran All-Pro cornerback Al Harris on the play. He caught his second touchdown pass, and his first touchdown at Candlestick Park, against the Arizona Cardinals in a Week 14 divisional match-up. He led all rookie receivers in yards per game, with 56.8.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: In the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks, Crabtree caught 2 passes for 12 yards (a career low). It was the first time in his career that he did not record at least 3 receptions in a game. In the home opener on "Monday Night Football" against the New Orleans Saints he caught 1 pass (career low) for 32 yards. On October 10, 2010, Crabtree recorded his first career 100+-yard game. He caught 9 passes for 105 yards and also had a 7-yard touchdown. He caught the go-ahead 32-yard touchdown against Oakland in week 6. It was the first time he caught a touchdown in consecutive games. In Week 16, against the St. Louis Rams, he recorded a career-high 60-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter of the 25–17 loss. Overall, in the 2010 season, he finished with 55 receptions for 741 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree suffered a broken foot during player-only off-season workouts in 2011. He received surgery and missed the entire preseason. In the first game of the regular season against the Seahawks, he was still not fully recovered from his injury and sat out the second half of that game and the next game against the Dallas Cowboys. Crabtree caught his first touchdown of the season in a 20–10 win against the Cleveland Browns. His second touchdown reception occurred in a home game against the St. Louis Rams on a 52-yard pass from Alex Smith. In the final game of the regular season in St. Louis, Crabtree recorded the first multi-touchdown game of his NFL career with two touchdown receptions, one of which came from kicker David Akers on a fake field goal. Crabtree finished the season with a career-high in both receptions (72) and receiving yards (874). In the playoffs, Crabtree caught a five-yard touchdown pass in the against the New Orleans Saints to give the 49ers an early 14–0 lead. However, in the Saints game and against the New York Giants, he totaled only five receptions for 28 yards.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: In 2012, Crabtree posted his first season with greater than 1,000 receiving yards as he continued to develop as a player and grow into his role as the number-one target in the 49ers' passing game. Following Colin Kaepernick's ascension to the starting quarterback position, Crabtree became a greater focal point of the offense, as Kaepernick's ability enabled more down-field passing. Crabtree began to put up better numbers with Kaepernick at the helm. Late in the season, Crabtree showed dominance with 107 yards and two touchdowns against the New England Patriots and a career-high 172 yards and two touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals. Crabtree finished with career highs in targets, receptions, yards and touchdowns. In the post-season, Crabtree had nine catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns in a 49ers victory over the Green Bay Packers in the , as well as six receptions for 57 yards in the win over the Atlanta Falcons. Crabtree had five receptions for 109 yards including a touchdown in the Super Bowl XLVII loss to the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 34–31.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: On May 22, 2013, Crabtree underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon. The surgery required a minimum of six months to recover. On August 27, 2013, the 49ers placed Crabtree on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. He was most likely to return to the field in mid-November 2013. On November 25, 2013, rumors circulated online that he would be activated since November 26 would be the deadline for the team to activate him or face benching him for the rest of the season. On November 26, 2013, the 49ers activated him and waived a backup quarterback to make room for him on the 53-man roster. Crabtree played his first game of the 2013 season on December 1, 2013, in Week 13 against the St. Louis Rams making two receptions for 68 yards and the 49ers won the game 23–13. Crabtree caught his first and only touchdown of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the of the playoffs, Crabtree had eight receptions for 125 yards in the 23–20 victory over Green Bay. On January 19, 2014, an under-thrown pass to Crabtree from Kaepernick (into double coverage) in the final seconds of the against the Seahawks was tipped by Richard Sherman and intercepted by Malcolm Smith as the 49ers lost, 23–17.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: In Week 3 of the 2014 season, in a 23–14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Crabtree recorded a career-high ten receptions, which went for 80 yards and a touchdown.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: On April 13, 2015, after becoming a free agent, Crabtree signed a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the Oakland Raiders. The contract also included $1.8 million in incentives.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree began the 2015 season making 5 receptions for 46 yards in the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. In his second game as a Raider, Crabtree caught nine receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown. In a Week 9 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Crabtree caught seven receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns. On December 9, 2015, Crabtree agreed to a 4-year, $35 million extension. Crabtree finished the 2015 season with 85 receptions for 922 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: In the 2016 season, Crabtree had his second career 1,000-yard season and his first since 2012. In the season opener against the New Orleans Saints, he scored the Raiders' go-ahead two-point conversion on a pass from Derek Carr late in the fourth quarter of the 35–34 victory. In Week 4, against the Baltimore Ravens, Crabtree had seven receptions for 88 yards and a career-high three receiving touchdowns in the 28–27 victory. Crabtree finished the 2016 season with a career-high 89 receptions for 1,003 yards and eight touchdowns. He had three games ont the season with over 100 receiving yards.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: In Week 2, against the New York Jets, Crabtree had six receptions for 80 yards and a career-high tying three touchdowns in the 45–20 victory. During Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Crabtree had three catches for 24 yards and caught the game-winning touchdown from Derek Carr as time expired. During a Week 12 21–14 victory against the Denver Broncos, Crabtree got into a fight with cornerback Aqib Talib, resulting in both players being ejected. The next day, both combatants were suspended for two games. However, the suspension was reduced to one game following a joint appeal. Crabtree finished the 2017 season with 58 receptions for 618 yards and six touchdowns.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: On March 15, 2018, Crabtree was released by the Raiders after spending three seasons with the team after the team signed Jordy Nelson. Crabtree finished his Raiders career with 232 catches for 2,543 yards and 25 receiving touchdowns.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: On March 16, 2018, Crabtree signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens, with $11 million guaranteed.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree was part of a Ravens' receiving unit that included Willie Snead IV and John Brown. In his Ravens debut, Crabtree caught three receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown in a 47–3 victory over the Buffalo Bills. In Week 6, against the Tennessee Titans, he had six receptions for 93 yards and his second receiving touchdown of the season in the 21–0 victory. Crabtree finished the regular season with 54 receptions for 607 yards and three touchdowns. In the against the Los Angeles Chargers, Crabtree had two catches for 38 yards, both for touchdowns, as the Ravens lost 23–17.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: On August 21, 2019, Crabtree signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals. He was released on September 23, 2019.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: In 2012, Crabtree partnered with Ubisoft, makers of the video game, The Hip Hop Dance Experience, to create a touchdown celebration dance inspired by the video game. Each time Crabtree performed his signature dance move "The Crab Shake" on the field, Ubisoft made a charitable donation to the Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Crabtree teamed up with Subway restaurants in 2009 in his first national endorsement. The deal involves a variety of endeavors including personal appearances and behind-the-scenes webisodes which debuted the week of the 2009 NFL Draft. His other contracts includes EA Sports, Jordan Brand, three trading card companies, and MogoTXT.


title: Michael Crabtree

text: Texas Tech University honored Crabtree by incorporating a large mural of Crabtree as part of a $51.1 million expansion to the Jones AT&T Stadium. The mural is located on the east side of the stadium inside the concession area. Crabtree's image is also displayed prominently in the football training facility.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Robert Burgess Aldrich (August 9, 1918 – December 5, 1983) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His notable credits include "Vera Cruz" (1954), "Kiss Me Deadly" (1955), "The Big Knife" (1955), "Autumn Leaves" (1956), "Attack" (1956), "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962), "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (1964), "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965), "The Dirty Dozen" (1967) and "The Longest Yard" (1974).


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Robert Burgess Aldrich was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, into a family of wealth and social prominence – "The Aldriches of Rhode Island". His father, Edward Burgess Aldrich (1871–1957) was the publisher of "The Times" of Pawtucket and an influential operative in state Republican politics. His mother, Lora Elsie (née Lawson) of New Hampshire (1874–1931), died when Aldrich was 13 and was remembered with fondness by her son. Ruth Aldrich Kaufinger (1912–1987) was his elder sister and only sibling.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Among his notable ancestors were the American Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene and the theologian Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island Colony.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: His grandfather, Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich, was a self-made millionaire and art investor. A Republican member of the U.S. Senate for thirty years (1881–1911), he was dubbed "General Manager of the Nation" by the press for his dominant role in framing federal monetary policy.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: A number of Aldrich's paternal uncles had impressive careers, among them a successful investment banker, a noted architect and Harvard instructor, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and a chairman of the Chase Manhattan Bank who also served as U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain. An aunt, Abigail Greene "Abby" Aldrich Rockefeller married John D. Rockefeller Jr., scion of the Standard Oil fortune, ands was a leading figure in the establishment of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Nelson Rockefeller, a four-term governor of New York State and U.S. vice-president to Gerald Ford, was the director's first cousin.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: As the only male heir to the Lawson-Aldrich family line, Aldrich was under considerable pressure to compete successfully with his numerous cousins in a family of high achievers.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Following family tradition and expectations, Aldrich was educated at Moses Brown School in Providence from 1933 to 1937. There he served as captain of the track and football teams and was elected president of his senior class.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Failing to matriculate to Yale due to mediocre grades, Aldrich attended the University of Virginia from 1937 to 1941, majoring in economics. He continued to excel in sports and played a leading role in campus clubs and fraternities.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: During the Great Depression, the adolescent Aldrich began to question the justice of his family's "politics and power" which clashed with his growing sympathies with left-wing social and political movements of the 1930s. Aldrich's disaffection from the Aldrich-Rockefeller right-wing social and political orientation contributed to a growing tension between father and son.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Having satisfactorily demonstrated his aptitude for a career in finance, Aldrich defied his father by dropping out of college in his senior year without taking a degree.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich approached his uncle Winthrop W. Aldrich, who got his 23-year-old nephew a job at RKO Studios as a production clerk at $25 a week. For this act of defiance, Aldrich was promptly disinherited. Aldrich would reciprocate by expunging public records of his connection with the Aldrich-Rockefeller clan, while stoically accepting the breach. He rarely mentioned or invoked his family thereafter. Indeed, it's been said that "No American film director was born as wealthy as Aldrich — and then so thoroughly cut off from family money."


title: Robert Aldrich

text: At the age of 23, Aldrich began work at RKO Pictures as a production clerk, an entry-level position, after declining an offer through his Rockefeller connections to enter the studio as an associate producer.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: He married his first wife, Harriet Foster, a childhood sweetheart, shortly before he departed for Hollywood in May 1941.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Though the smallest of Hollywood's top studios, RKO could boast an impressive roster of directors (George Cukor, John Ford and Howard Hawks) as well as movie stars (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and the Marx Brothers). The 23-year-old Aldrich assumed his duties shortly after Orson Welles, at 26, signed a six-movie contract with RKO after the release of the widely acclaimed "Citizen Kane" (1941).


title: Robert Aldrich

text: When the United States entered the Second World War in December 1941, Aldrich was inducted into the Air Force Motion Picture Unit, but was quickly discharged when an old football injury disqualified him for military service. The film studios' manpower shortage allowed Aldrich to win assignments as third- or second-tier director's assistant to learn the basics of filmmaking.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: In just two years he participated on two dozen movies with well-known directors. He was second assistant director on "Joan of Paris" (1942, directed by Robert Stevenson), "The Falcon Takes Over" (1942, directed by Irving Reis), "The Big Street" (1942), directed by Reis, "Bombardier" (1943, directed by Richard Wallace), "Behind the Rising Sun" (1943, directed by Edward Dmytryk), "A Lady Takes a Chance" (1943, directed by William A. Seiter), "The Adventures of a Rookie" (1943, directed by Leslie Goodwins), "Gangway for Tomorrow" (1943, directed by John H. Auer), and "Rookies in Burma" (1943, directed by Goodwins).


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Towards the end of the war, Aldrich had risen to first assistant director making comedy shorts with director Leslie Goodwins.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: In 1944, Aldrich departed RKO to begin free-lancing on feature films at other major studios, including Columbia, United Artists, and Paramount.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich was fortunate to serve as an assistant director to many notable and talented Hollywood filmmakers. During these assignments, which spanned nine years, Aldrich gained both practical and aesthetic fundamentals of filmmaking: "set location and atmosphere" (Jean Renoir, "The Southerner", 1945), the "techniques of pre-planning a shot" (Lewis Milestone's "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers", 1946), "action scenes" (William A. Wellman's "The Story of G.I. Joe", 1946), the "importance of communication with actors" (Joseph Losey's "The Prowler", 1951), and "establishing visual empathy between camera and audience" (Charlie Chaplin's "Limelight", 1952).


title: Robert Aldrich

text: He also worked on "Pardon My Past" (1945, directed by Leslie Fenton) and "The Private Affairs of Bel Ami" (1947, directed by Albert Lewin).


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich approached these projects and directors with a fine discrimination, enabling him to learn from both their strengths and weaknesses.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: During these years Aldrich forged lasting professional relationships with talented artists who would serve him throughout his filmmaking career, namely, cinematographer Joseph Biroc, film editor Michael Luciano, music director Frank De Vol, art director William Glasgow and screenwriter Lukas Heller. A troupe of loyal, mostly male, players were enlisted for his film leads and supporting roles: Burt Lancaster, Jack Palance, Lee Marvin, Eddie Albert, Richard Jaeckel, Wesley Addy, Ernest Borgnine and Charles Bronson.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich's association with The Enterprise Studios marks the most formative period of his apprenticeship. The production company offered a unique venue of independent filmmakers welcoming socially conscious themes critical of authoritarian aspects of American society.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: While at Enterprise, Aldrich established both a professional and a personal affiliation with screenwriter and director Abraham Polonsky, a major figure in the Popular Front movement of the 1930s. Their respective films addressed the issue of an individual's often desperate struggle to resist destruction by an oppressive society.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Enterprise's "Body and Soul" (1947), written by Polonsky, directed by Robert Rossen, and starring John Garfield, made a deep and lasting impression on the 29-year-old assistant director from both structural and thematic standpoints. Garfield plays a corrupt prizefighter who seeks to redeem himself by defying mobsters who insist he throw a fight or forfeit his life. While the protagonist's personal failings contribute to his own oppression, the film censures capitalism as an unredeemable system. Aldrich would revisit "Body and Soul" throughout his career when seeking guidance on how to convey the progressive ideals of the 1930s while working in the reactionary political atmosphere of the Cold War era.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: In 1948 Aldrich joined Polonsky and Garfield on the early noir film "Force of Evil". The story concerns a Wall Street attorney turned mob lawyer (Garfield) who informs on his employers when they murder his brother. "Force of Evil"s cinematically excessive visuals and striking sound would later appear in Aldrich's films "Kiss Me Deadly" and "Twilight's Last Gleaming".


title: Robert Aldrich

text: A number of Aldrich's associates at Enterprise came under scrutiny by the HUAC in the late 1940s after Enterprise had closed its doors. Among them were Rossen, Polonsky, Garfield, directors John Berry, and Joseph Losey, producer Carl Foreman, and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, some of whom suffered blacklisting and imprisonment. Aldrich was never targeted by the authorities, despite his collaborations with these artists. This was largely due to his post-1930s entry into the film industry when recruitment by Communist and leftist organizations was declining. Nonetheless, Aldrich remained a champion for the victims of the Red Scare.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: At Enterprise, Aldrich also worked as an assistant director on "Arch of Triumph" (1948) and "No Minor Vices" (1948) for Lewis Milestone, "So This Is New York" (1948) for director Richard Fleischer and producer Stanley Kramer, and "Caught" (1949) for Max Ophüls.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: During his apprenticeship Aldrich developed a keen appreciation for the nexus between autonomous control over every element of picture production and achievement of his creative vision. He would forever strive for full control over his films.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: After the demise of The Enterprise Studios, Aldrich continued to be in much demand as an assistant director. He worked again for Lewis Milestone on "The Red Pony" (1949) at Republic and did "Red Light" (1949) for Roy Del Ruth, "A Kiss for Corliss" (1949) for Richard Wallace, "The White Tower" (1950) for Ted Tetzlaff, "M" (1951) and "The Prowler" (1951) for Joseph Losey, and "New Mexico" (1951) for Reis.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich was assistant to producer Harold Hecht on "Ten Tall Men" (1951), a French Foreign Legion action film starring Burt Lancaster. He worked as production manager on "When I Grow Up" (1951) for Sam Spiegel and as production manager on "The Steel Trap" (1952) for Andrew L. Stone.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Hecht had enjoyed working with Aldrich on "Ten Tall Men" and used him on "The First Time" (1952), the feature directorial debut of Frank Tashlin.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich's most notable credit to date came on "Limelight" (1952), for which he was assistant director to Charlie Chaplin. He was assistant on "Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd" (1952).


title: Robert Aldrich

text: By 1952, the 34-year old assistant director, fully prepared to make his directorial debut, had no offers materializing in Hollywood. Eager to perform at a journeyman level, he moved to New York City to join its television startups.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: The infant industries' golden age of live broadcasts was in a primitive stage of organization, and producers were pleased to enlist talent from the Hollywood film industry. More than merely a career move, television offered Aldrich an opportunity to apply the cinematic skills and concepts he had garnered during his eclectic education in movie-making to an entirely new medium.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: "All they were paying directors was scale", recalled Aldrich of this time. "Who the hell wanted to go live in New York and work for scale? Only guys that had never directed or couldn't get a shot... Walter Blake... convinced these people who were doing the Camay soap shows that I was a genius waiting behind a rock out here. I had been assistant director on a Chaplin picture, so he told them that I had directed Chaplin. Nobody directs Chaplin except Chaplin, but these guys didn't know the difference. So I went back to New York and did, I don't know, thirty or forty shows."


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Procter & Gamble hired Aldrich in 1952 to direct episodes of the anthology series "The Doctor" (later retitled "The Guest" in syndication), an early soap opera starring Warner Anderson. Shooting schedules were notoriously tight. Despite this, Aldrich routinely dedicated half or more of the allotted time to rehearsals, an immensely reassuring practice for the players that contributed to the efficient execution of the final live shoot.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Following "The Doctor", Aldrich resettled in Hollywood to complete twenty episodes of television's "China Smith" starring Dan Duryea, filmed on an even tighter timetable.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: He also filled in as director on TV's "Four Star Playhouse" and the "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" ("The Pussyfootin' Rocks").


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich described the early TV industry as a "director's crash course" where, unlike feature film production, the overall quality of the series outweighed the success or failure of an individual episode. In his two-year stint in television, Aldrich was free to experiment with technique and narrative schemes that would appear later in his film treatments. As such, he used cinematic framing and composition to reveal character motivation and close ups serving to highlight dialog, all of which endowed his episodes with a polished Hollywood studio-like appearance. Aldrich avoided disparaging television as an art form, only regretting its "rushed schedules and lack of preparation time."


title: Robert Aldrich

text: In December 1951 Irving Allen announced he had formed Warwick Productions with Albert Broccoli. He intended to make "The Gamma People" with Robert Aldrich. In August 1952 Allen announced that Aldrich would make his feature debut as director with "The Gamma People", to be shot in Europe in the winter from Aldrich's own script. Dick Powell was slated to star. However, the film would not be made for several years, with Aldrich's involvement limited to working on the story.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich broke into feature films as a director when Herbert Baker, who had worked with Aldrich on "So This is New York", recommended the director to MGM, which was looking for someone with a background in sports for a low-budget baseball film, "Big Leaguer" (1953).


title: Robert Aldrich

text: The film was not particularly successful, so Aldrich returned to television, doing episodes of "Four Star Playhouse", several of which were written by Blake Edwards. He directed "The Witness", which starred Dick Powell, Strother Martin, and Charles Bronson, and "The Bad Streak" with Charles Boyer.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich remained ambitious to work in features and raised money for a low-budget action film using many of the same sets and cast members of "China Smith", including star Dan Duryea, called "World for Ransom" (1954). It was made for Plaza Productions and financed by Allied Artists; Aldrich produced and directed. The cinematographer was Joseph F. Biroc, who would shoot many of Aldrich's later features.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: "World for Ransom" was seen by Harold Hecht and Burt Lancaster, who hired Aldrich to direct his first color film, "Apache" (1954), a western starring Lancaster as an Apache fighter. It was made for Hecht-Lancaster Productions and released through United Artists. This film was a big hit, earning $6 million.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Hecht and Lancaster used Aldrich again on "Vera Cruz" (1954), a western starring Gary Cooper and Lancaster. It was even more successful at the box office than "Apache", making $9 million, and firmly established Aldrich as a director.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: The success of these movies enabled Aldrich to set up his own company, The Associates and Aldrich, and sign a deal with United Artists. Its first movie was to be "The Way We Are" by Jack Jevne, about a woman who has an affair with a younger man. It was not immediately made.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Instead Aldrich produced and directed "Kiss Me Deadly" (1955), a "film noir" adapted by A. I. Bezzerides from a novel by Mickey Spillane starring Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer. It was made for Parklane Productions, the independent company of Victor Saville, who owned the rights, and released through United Artists.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich and his company then made "The Big Knife" (1955), based on a play by Clifford Odets. Aldrich directed and produced this film about a movie star played by Jack Palance.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: The Associates and Aldrich Company made a second film, also based on a play and released through United Artists, "Attack" (1956), starring Palance and Lee Marvin.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: None of the three films was particularly successful at the box office, although they received some excellent reviews. In particular, "Kiss Me Deadly" became a major cult favorite in France. "I worked almost for nothing, economically, on those movies", he said. "They got caught up in the system and were not profitable pictures." Aldrich said his experiences made him "more cynical in terms of what preference to give survival and what preference to give material that might make a fine film which nobody or very few would go to see. That was the break. I realized that if you're careful in choosing projects and setting costs your taste and knowledge will, out of every six or seven pictures, produce one that makes a good deal of profitable return for everybody."


title: Robert Aldrich

text: The Associates announced numerous projects around this time, including "Tryanny", "Kinderspiel", "Potluck for Pomeroy", "Candidate for President" (by Don Weis) and "Machine for Chuparosa".


title: Robert Aldrich

text: The Associates and Aldrich Company expanded to offer financing and distribution for other films. The only one that resulted was "The Ride Back" (1957) for UA. They wanted to make "The Build Up Boys" with Dana Andrews but the film did not eventuate.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: In between making "Big Knife" and "Attack", Aldrich directed the Joan Crawford melodrama "Autumn Leaves" (1956) (originally "The Way We Are"), which was a minor hit.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich worked on the original story for the thriller "The Gamma People" (1956), made for Columbia and Warwick Productions in England.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: In July 1956 Robert Aldrich signed a two-picture deal with Columbia to make films through his own company. The first was to be "The Garment Jungle" (1957). The second was to be "Until Proven Guilty". He also acquired the John O'Hara story "Now We Know".


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich started directing "Garment" but was fired towards the end of filming and replaced by Vincent Sherman.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: In March 1957 Aldrich sued Columbia for reneging on a promise to make a film of the play "Storm in the Sun", which he wanted to do with Crawford. The case was settled the following month.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich announced a range of projects – "Kinderspiel", "Pommeroy", "The Snipe Hunt", "Until Proven Guilty", "Now We Know" – but he found it difficult to get financing.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: The Associates and Aldrich had the rights to the script for "" but ended up selling the project outright to Columbia.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich was unable to get a job until he had an offer from Hammer Films and Seven Arts to write and direct "Ten Seconds to Hell" (1959), starring Palance and Jeff Chandler, in Germany. While there, he was head of the jury at the 9th Berlin International Film Festival.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich stayed in Europe to make "The Angry Hills" (1959), based on the novel by Leon Uris and starring Robert Mitchum, for MGM in Greece for producer Raymond Stross. Aldrich had the film rewritten by Bezzerides, but then his cut of the film was re-edited by Stross. It was an unhappy experience for Aldrich and the film lost money.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Adlrich was going to make "Taras Bulba" in Yugoslavia with Anthony Quinn and a budget of $3 million, but the film did not proceed. Neither did another proposed subject, "The Catalyst", based on a play by Ronald Duncan about male bisexuality. Aldrich would attempt to make "Taras Bulba" several times but ended up having to sell his script to Harold Hecht, who produced a film without Aldrich in 1962. Other projects he developed around this time include "Angry Odyssey", "The Left Bank", and "Too Late the Hero".


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich returned to Hollywood to direct episodes of "Hotel de Paree" ("Sundance Returns"), and "Adventures in Paradise".


title: Robert Aldrich

text: He directed a western, "The Last Sunset" (1961), starring Kirk Douglas and Rock Hudson, made for Douglas's company at Universal.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich then went back to Italy, where he directed the Biblical spectacular "Sodom and Gomorrah" (1962) for Joseph E. Levine. Aldrich disparaged the final film, which ended up costing $6 million.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich rejuvenated his career by optioning the novel "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962) for the Associates and Aldrich Company. He signed Bette Davis and Joan Crawford as stars, got Lukas Heller to write the script, and raised financing through Warner Bros. The film was a massive hit at the box office and earned five Academy Award nominations (including a win for black-and-white costume design), restoring Aldrich's commercial and critical reputation. It also revived the popularity of Davis and Crawford as box office draws and led to a subgenre of horror movies starring elder actresses nicknamed "Psycho-biddy". It also started a run of films (continued in "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" and others) with a gothic, camp sensibility that became an immediate hit with queer audiences.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Still at Warners, Aldrich wrote, produced and directed a comic western with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, "4 for Texas" (1963). Made for Sam Productions, it had Charles Bronson, Victor Buono, Ursula Andress and Anita Ekberg in supporting roles. The film was reasonably popular at the box office, but Aldrich disliked working with Sinatra and the resulting film.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Emboldened by his recent commercial successes, Aldrich announced a $14 million production program of eight films, including "Cross of Iron", "Whatever Happened to Cousin Charlotte", "The Tsar's Bride", "Brouhaha", "The Legend of Lylah Clare", "Paper Eagle", "Genghis Khan's Bicycle", and "There Really Was a Gold Mine" a sequel to "Vera Cruz". He had prepared scripts on "Now We Know", "Vengeance Is Mine", "Potluck for Pomeroy" and "Too Late the Hero". Other projects were "The Strong Are Lonely", "Pursuit of Happiness" and the TV series "The Man".


title: Robert Aldrich

text: He started with a follow up to "Baby Jane", "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (1964), made for the Associates and Aldrich at 20th Century Fox. Bette Davis starred as a Southern woman who lives in a mansion and thinks she is going insane. Davis was to be reunited with Joan Crawford, but Crawford left the film and was replaced by Olivia de Havilland. The movie was popular, though not as successful as "Baby Jane".


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich stayed at Fox for his next film, the all-male action story "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965), with James Stewart, Richard Attenborough and Peter Finch. The film was a commercial disappointment but eventually proved profitable.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich had his biggest hit to date with "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), produced by Kenneth Hyman's Seven Arts Productions and released through MGM. Starring Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Ernest Borgnine and John Cassavetes, the film was a massive success at the box office.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich stayed at MGM for "The Legend of Lylah Clare" (1968) starring Finch and Kim Novak, made for Aldrich's own company. It was a critical and commercial disappointment.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich sold his profit participation in "Dirty Dozen" to MGM for $1,350,000 and used the money to achieve a long-time dream – to buy his own studios, which he called the Aldrich Studios. He picked a facility at 201 North Occidental Boulevard, which had been in existence as a film studio since 1913, making Mary Pickford movies, and had recently been the basis of Sutherland Productions. Aldrich had made "The Big Knife" there.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: "My dream has always been to own my own studio", he said. "With the possible exception of the old Enterprise Studio back in '45 I've never seen a studio run the way it should. That's because everybody at Enterprise felt they could make a contribution


title: Robert Aldrich

text: The studios were opened in August 1968. Along with Goldwyn, The Associates and Aldrich was the only major independent company with a studio in Hollywood. For the next few years he would make his movies there.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich's success with "The Dirty Dozen" led to the newly formed ABC Pictures offer the Associates and Aldrich Company a four-film contract. Aldrich announced they would be "The Killing of Sister George", "The Greatest Mother of Them All", "Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice" and "Too Late the Hero".


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich's first film for ABC was "The Killing of Sister George" (1968), adapted from by Lukas Heller from the play by Frank Marcus. It starred Beryl Reid and Susannah York and was notable for its frank depiction of a lesbian relationship. The movie was popular but because of its high cost lost money.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich produced but did not direct "What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?" (1969), a psycho-biddy thriller in the vein of "Baby Jane" directed by Lee H. Katzin and starring Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon. It also lost money. (Aldrich announced he would make a third "Whatever Happened to" film, "Whatever Happened to Dear Elva?" based on the novel "Goodbye, Dear Elva" by Elizabeth Fenwick. However no film was made.)


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich made a 20-minute demo film, "The Greatest Mother of Them All" (1969), in an attempt to raise money for a feature-length version, but was unable to attract interest from ABC. Peter Finch starred.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: ABC wanted Aldrich to make a war film in the vein of "The Dirty Dozen" so he produced and directed "Too Late the Hero" (1970), a "patrol" film, which he had been developing since 1959. Despite starring Michael Caine and Cliff Robertson and location work in the Philippines, the film made an overall loss of $6,765,000, making it one of the biggest money losers in the history of ABC Films.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich's next film for ABC was "The Grissom Gang" (1971), an adaptation of "No Orchids for Miss Blandish" set in the 1930s, with Scott Wilson and Kim Darby. It was another flop, losing ABC $3,670,000.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Films Aldrich announced but did not make around this time included "Rebellion", a western about Victoriano Huerta with Ernest Borgnine and George Kennedy;, "The Movement", about student protest;. He also developed scripts for books which were turned into films by others: "Coffee, Tea or Me?" and "Monte Walsh".


title: Robert Aldrich

text: By now Aldrich's relationship with ABC had become fraught and devolved into lawsuits, in part caused by ABC refusing to finance other Aldrich projects. Aldrich parted company with ABC and in January 1972 put his studios up for sale.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Lasting power is the most important power. Especially in this business, staying at the plate or staying at the table, staying in the game, is the essential. You can't allow yourself to get passed over or pushed aside. Very, very talented people got pushed aside and remained unused... If you must make a choice between luck and talent, you have to opt for luck. It's nice to have some of both, or a lot of both; but if you can't, luck is the answer. Nowhere else more so than in this business. The right place, the right time, the right script, all the right auspices—they made the difference to directors, writers, actors.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich returned to westerns with "Ulzana's Raid" (1972), made at Universal for the Associates and Aldrich with producer Carter De Haven. It reteamed Aldrich with Lancaster for the first time since "Vera Cruz". The film was a commercial disappointment but has subsequently come to be regarded as one of his finest films.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich followed it with "Emperor of the North Pole" (1973), a story of railway hobos in the 1930s starring Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine. Produced by Hyman at 20th Century Fox, it was another box office failure, though it too has seen its reputation soar in recent years (Leonard Maltin gave it 3 1/2 stars, calling it "unusual, exciting" and a "unique entertainment").


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich's commercial fortunes were revived with a prison comedy starring Burt Reynolds,"The Longest Yard" (1974). Made for producer Albert S. Ruddy at Paramount, it was Aldrich's biggest hit since "The Dirty Dozen".


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich and Reynolds promptly reteamed on "Hustle" (1975), made for their own production company RoBurt and released through Paramount. A tough police drama co-starring Catherine Deneuve, it was another box office success. However, tension between Aldrich and Reynolds during filming meant they made no more movies together. In 1975 Aldrich was elected president of the Directors Guild of America and served two two-year terms.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich signed a two-picture deal with Lorimar Productions, a TV company which wanted to move into features.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: The first was "Twilight's Last Gleaming" (1977), an action thriller starring Lancaster. The second was a comedy, "The Choirboys" (1977), based on the best selling novel by Joseph Wambaugh, which Wambaugh disliked so much he sued to get his name taken off the film.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich's last movies were comedies: "The Frisco Kid" (1979), set in the West with Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford, and "...All the Marbles" (1981), set in the world of female wrestling with Peter Falk. Neither was particularly popular.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: When the latter film came out, Aldrich said, "I'm 63 and I've had hits every ten years and I just hope I can function long enough to have one in the 90s."


title: Robert Aldrich

text: From his marriage to Harriet Foster (1941–1965), Aldrich had four children, all of whom work in the film business—Adell, William, Alida and Kelly. In 1966, after divorcing Harriet, he married fashion model Sibylle Siegfried.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Film critic John Patterson summarized his career in 2012: "He was a punchy, caustic, macho and pessimistic director, who depicted corruption and evil unflinchingly, and pushed limits on violence throughout his career. His aggressive and pugnacious film-making style, often crass and crude, but never less than utterly vital and alive, warrants — and will richly reward — your immediate attention."


title: Robert Aldrich

text: Aldrich died of kidney failure on December 5, 1983, in a Los Angeles hospital. He is buried in Lot 5153 of the Whispering Trees Section of Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood Hills.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: In 2012, John Patterson of "The Guardian" commented that Aldrich is "a wonderful director nearly 30 years dead now, whose body of work is in danger of slipping over the horizon." Japanese film director Kiyoshi Kurosawa noted Aldrich's influence on him.


title: Robert Aldrich

text: In the FX miniseries "Feud: Bette and Joan", Aldrich is portrayed by English actor Alfred Molina. The series follows the productions of "Baby Jane" and "Sweet Charlotte".


title: Chumash people

text: The Chumash are a Native American people of the central and southern coastal regions of California, in portions of what is now San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, extending from Morro Bay in the north to Malibu in the south. Their territory included three of the Channel Islands: Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel; the smaller island of Anacapa was likely inhabited seasonally due to the lack of a consistent water source.


title: Chumash people

text: Modern place names with Chumash origins include Malibu, Nipomo, Lompoc, Ojai, Pismo Beach, Point Mugu, Port Hueneme, Piru, Lake Castaic, Saticoy, Simi Valley and Somis.


title: Chumash people

text: Archaeological research demonstrates that the Chumash people have deep roots in the Santa Barbara Channel area and lived along the southern California coast for millennia.


title: Chumash people

text: Indigenous peoples have lived along the California coast for at least 11,000 years. Sites of the Millingstone Horizon date from 7000 to 4500 BC and show evidence of a subsistence system focused on the processing of seeds with "metates" and "manos". During that time, people used bipointed bone objects and line to catch fish and began making beads from shells of the marine olive snail ("Olivella biplicata"). The name Chumash means "bead maker" or "seashell people" being that they originated near the Santa Barbara coast. The Chumash tribes near the coast benefited most with the "close juxtaposition of a variety or marine and terrestrial habitats, intensive upwelling in coastal waters, and intentional burning of the landscape made the Santa Barbara Channel region one of the most resource abundant places on the planet."


title: Chumash people

text: While droughts were not uncommon in the centuries of the first millennium AD, a population explosion occurred with the coming of the medieval warm period. "Marine productivity soared between 950 and 1300 as natural upwelling intensified off the coast." Before the mission period, the Chumash lived in over 150 independent villages, speaking variations of the same language. Much of their culture consisted of basketry, bead manufacturing and trading, cuisine of local abalone and clam, herbalism which consisted of using local herbs to produce teas and medical reliefs, rock art, and the scorpion tree. The scorpion tree was significant to the Chumash as shown in its arborglyph: a carving depicting a six-legged creature with a headdress including a crown and two spheres. The shamans participated in the carving which was used in observations of the stars and in part of the Chumash calendar.


title: Chumash people

text: The Chumash resided between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the California coasts where a bounty of resources could be found. The tribe lived in an area of three environments: the interior, the coast, and the Northern Channel Islands. The interior is composed of the land outside the coast and spanning the wide plains, rivers, and mountains. The coast covers the cliffs, land close to the ocean, and the areas of the ocean from which the Chumash harvested. The Northern Channel Islands lie off the coast of the Chumash territory. All of the California coastal-interior has a Mediterranean climate due to the incoming ocean winds. The mild temperatures, save for winter, made gathering easy; during the cold months, the Chumash harvested what they could and supplemented their diets with stored foods. What villagers gathered and traded during the seasons changed depending on where they resided. With coasts populated by masses of species of fish and land densely covered by trees and animals, the Chumash had a diverse array of food. Abundant resources and a winter rarely harsh enough to cause concern meant the tribe lived a sedentary lifestyle in addition to a subsistence existence. Villages in the three aforementioned areas contained remains of sea mammals, indicating that trade networks existed for moving materials throughout the Chumash territory.


title: Chumash people

text: The closer a village was to the ocean, the greater its reliance on maritime resources. Due to advanced canoe designs, coastal and island people could procure fish and aquatic mammals from farther out. Shellfish were a good source of nutrition: relatively easy to find and abundant. Many of the favored varieties grew in tidal zones. Shellfish grew in abundance during winter to early spring; their proximity to shore made collection easier. Some of the consumed species included mussels, abalone, and a wide array of clams. Haliotis rufescens (red abalone) was harvested along the Central California coast in the pre-contact era. The Chumash and other California Indians also used red abalone shells to make a variety of fishhooks, beads, ornaments, and other artifacts.


title: Chumash people

text: Ocean animals such as otters and seals were thought to be the primary meal of coastal tribes people, but recent evidence shows the aforementioned trade networks exchanged oceanic animals for terrestrial foods from the interior. Any village could acquire fish, but the coastal and island communities specialized in catching not just smaller fish, but also the massive catches such as swordfish. This feat, difficult even for today's technology, was made possible by the tomol plank canoe. Its design allowed for the capture of deepwater fish, and it facilitated trade routes between villages.


title: Chumash people

text: Some researchers believe that the Chumash may have been visited by Polynesians between AD 400 and 800, nearly 1,000 years before Christopher Columbus reached the Americas. The Chumash advanced sewn-plank canoe design, used throughout the Polynesian Islands but unknown in North America except by those two tribes, is cited as the chief evidence for contact. Comparative linguistics may provide evidence as the Chumash word for "sewn-plank canoe", "tomolo'o", may have been derived from "kumula'au", the Polynesian word for the redwood logs used in that construction. However, the language comparison is generally considered tentative. Furthermore, the development of the Chumash plank canoe is fairly well represented in the archaeological record and spans several centuries. The concept is rejected by most archaeologists who work with the Chumash culture, and there is no evidence of a genetic legacy.


title: Chumash people

text: Before contact with Europeans, coastal Chumash relied less on terrestrial resources than they did on maritime; vice versa for interior Chumash. Regardless, they consumed similar land resources. Like many other tribes, deer were the most important land mammal the Chumash pursued; deer were consumed in varying amounts across all regions, which cannot be said for other terrestrial animals. Interior Chumash placed greater value on the deer, to the extent that they had unique hunting practices for them. They dressed as deer and grazed alongside the animals until the hunters were in range to use their arrows. Even Chumash close to the ocean pursued deer, though in understandably fewer numbers, and what more meat the villages needed they acquired from smaller animals such as rabbits and birds. Plant foods composed the rest of Chumash diet, especially acorns, which were the staple food despite the work needed to remove their inherent toxins. They could be ground into a paste that was easy to eat and store for years. Coast live oak provided the best acorns; their mush would be served usually unseasoned with meat and/or fish.


title: Chumash people

text: The Spaniard Juan Cabrillo was the first European to make contact with the coastal Alta Californian tribes in the year 1542. Cabrillo died and was buried on San Miguel Island, but his men brought back a diary that contained the names and population counts for many Chumash villages, such as Mikiw. Spain claimed what is now California from that time forward, but did not return to settle until 1769, when the first Spanish soldiers and missionaries arrived with the double purpose of Christianizing the Native Americans and facilitating Spanish colonization. By the end of 1770, missions and military presidios had been founded at San Diego to the south of Chumash lands and Monterey to their north.


title: Chumash people

text: With the arrival of the Europeans "came a series of unprecedented blows to the Chumash and their traditional lifeways. Anthropologists, historians, and other scholars have long been interested in documenting the collision of cultures that accompanied the European exploration and colonization of the Americas." Spain settled on the territory of the Chumash in 1770. They founded colonies, bringing in missionaries to begin evangelizing Native Americans in the region by forcing Chumash villages into numerous missions springing up along the coast.


title: Chumash people

text: The Chumash people moved from their villages to the Franciscan missions between 1772 and 1817. Mission San Luis Obispo, established in 1772, was the first mission in Chumash-speaking lands, as well as the northernmost of the five missions ever constructed in those lands. Next established, in 1782, was Mission San Buenaventura on the Pacific Coast near the mouth of the Santa Clara River. Mission Santa Barbara, also on the coast, and facing out to the Channel Islands, was established in 1786. Mission La Purisima Concepción was founded along the inland route from Santa Barbara north to San Luis Obispo in 1789. The final Franciscan mission to be constructed in native Chumash territory was Santa Ynez, founded in 1804 on the Santa Ynez River with a seed population of Chumash people from Missions La Purisima and Santa Barbara. To the southeast, Mission San Fernando, founded in 1798 in the land of Takic Shoshonean speakers, also took in large numbers of Chumash speakers from the middle Santa Clara River valley. While most of the Chumash people joined one mission or another between 1772 and 1806, a significant portion of the native inhabitants of the Channel Islands did not move to the mainland missions until 1816.