name	Michael Caine
birth name	Maurice Joseph Micklewhite
birth date	March 14, 1933
birth place	Southwark, London, England, UK
nationality	British
occupation	Actor, author
years active	1956–present
spouse	Patricia Haines(m. 1955–1962; divorced)Shakira Baksh(m. 1973–present)
children	Dominique Caine (b. 1956)Natasha Caine (b. 1973)
relatives	Stanley Caine (brother) }}

Sir Michael Caine, CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' (1986) and ''The Cider House Rules'' (1999).

Caine is one of only two actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting (either lead or supporting) in every decade from the 1960s to 2000s (the other one being Jack Nicholson). In 2000, Caine was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his contribution to cinema.

Early life

Caine was born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite in St Olave's Hospital, Rotherhithe, Southwark in South East London, the son of Ellen Frances Marie (née Burchell), a cook and charlady, and Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, a fish market porter. His father was of part Irish and Irish Traveller ancestry and a Catholic, though Caine was brought up in his Protestant mother's religion.

Caine grew up in Camberwell, South London, and during the Second World War he was evacuated to North Runcton in Norfolk. After the war, when his father was demobilised, the family was rehoused by the council in Marshall Gardens at the Elephant and Castle in a pre-fabricated house made in Canada.

The prefabs, as they were known, were intended to be temporary homes while London was rebuilt, but we ended up living there for eighteen years and for us, after a cramped flat with an outside toilet, it was luxury.

In 1944 he passed his eleven plus exam, winning a scholarship to Hackney Downs Grocers School. After a year there he moved to Wilson's Grammar School in Camberwell (now Wilson's School in Wallington, South London), which he left at sixteen after gaining a School Certificate in six subjects. He then worked briefly as a filing clerk and messenger for a film company in Victoria Street and the film producer Jay Lewis in Wardour Street. From 1952, when he was called up to do his National Service, until 1954, he served in the British Army's Royal Fusiliers, first at the BAOR HQ in Iserlohn, Germany and then on active service during the Korean War. Caine has said he would like to see the return of National Service to help combat youth violence, stating: "I'm just saying, put them in the Army for six months. You're there to learn how to defend your country. You belong to the country. Then when you come out, you have a sense of belonging rather than a sense of violence."

Career

When Micklewhite became an actor, he adopted the stage name "Michael Scott". His agent soon informed him, however, that Michael Scott was already using the same name, and that he had to come up with a new name immediately. Speaking to his agent from a telephone box in Leicester Square, London, he looked around for inspiration, noted that ''The Caine Mutiny'' was being shown at the Odeon Cinema, and decided to change his name to "Michael Caine". He has joked in interviews that had he looked the other way, he would have ended up as "Michael One Hundred and One Dalmatians".

1960s

Caine's acting career began in Horsham, Sussex. He responded to an advertisement for an assistant stage manager for the Horsham-based Westminster Repertory Company. This led to walk-on roles at the Carfax Theatre. After dozens of minor TV roles, Caine entered the public eye as the upper class British Army officer Gonville Bromhead in the 1964 film ''Zulu''. This proved paradoxical, as Caine was to become notable for using a regional accent, rather than the Received Pronunciation hitherto considered proper for film actors. At the time, Caine's working class Cockney, just as with The Beatles' Liverpudlian accents, stood out to American and British audiences alike. ''Zulu'' was closely followed by two of his best-known roles: the spy Harry Palmer in ''The Ipcress File'' (1965), and the womanising title character in ''Alfie'' (1966). He went on to play Palmer in a further four films, ''Funeral in Berlin'' (1966), ''Billion Dollar Brain'' (1967), ''Bullet to Beijing'' (1995) and ''Midnight in Saint Petersburg'' (1995). Caine made his first film in the United States in 1966, after an invitation from Shirley MacLaine to play opposite her in ''Gambit.'' During the first two weeks, whilst staying at The Beverly Hills Hotel, he met long term friends John Wayne and agent "Swifty" Lazar.

1970s

After working on ''The Italian Job'' with Noël Coward, and a solid role as RAF fighter pilot Squadron Leader Canfield in the all-star cast of ''Battle of Britain'' (both 1969), Caine played the lead in ''Get Carter'' (1971), a British gangster film. Caine was busy with successes including ''Sleuth'' (1972) opposite Laurence Olivier, and ''The Man Who Would Be King'' (1975) co-starring Sean Connery and directed by John Huston (which he has stated will be the film he wishes to be remembered for after his death). In 1976 he appeared in the screen adaptation by Tom Mankiewicz of the Jack Higgins novel ''The Eagle Has Landed'' as ''Oberst'' (Colonel) Kurt Steiner, the commander of a Luftwaffe paratroop brigade disguised as Polish paratroopers, whose mission was to kidnap or kill the then-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, alongside co-stars Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Jenny Agutter, and Donald Pleasence. Subsequently in 1978, he starred in ''The Silver Bears'', an adaptation of Paul Erdman's (1974) novel of the same name. Caine also was part of an all-star cast in ''A Bridge Too Far'' (1977).

1980s

By the end of the decade, he had moved to the United States, but his choice of roles was often criticisedhe admitted to and has since made many self-deprecating comments about taking parts, strictly for the money, in numerous films he knew to be bad, despite working with Hollywood's highly regarded directors such as Irwin Allen, Richard Fleischer, Michael Ritchie and Oliver Stone. Caine was averaging two films a year, but these included such failures as the BAFTA Award-nominated ''The Magus'' (1968), the Academy Award-nominated ''The Swarm'' (1978), ''Ashanti'' (1979) (which he claimed were the worst three films of all the other worst films he ever made), ''Beyond the Poseidon Adventure'' (1979), ''The Island'' (1980), ''The Hand'' (1981) and a reunion with his ''Sleuth'' co-star Laurence Olivier in ''The Jigsaw Man'' (1982). Although Caine also took better roles, including a BAFTA-winning turn in ''Educating Rita'' (1983), and an Oscar-winning one in ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' (1986) and a Golden Globe-nominated one in ''Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' (1988), he continued to appear in notorious duds like the thinly veiled skin flick ''Blame It on Rio'', the Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais comedy ''Water'' and the critical-commercial flop ''Jaws: The Revenge'' (1987) (in which he had mixed feelings about the production and the final cut) and ''Bullseye!'' (1990); his appearing in so many films that did not meet with critical or box office acclaim made him the butt of numerous jokes on the subject. Of the former, Caine famously said (primarily about ''Jaws: The Revenge'') "I have never seen the film, but by all accounts it was terrible. However I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific." All these film failures later became cult films among his fans today. His other successful films (either critically and/or financially) were the 1978 Academy Award-winning ''California Suite'', the 1980 Golden Globe-nominated slasher film ''Dressed to Kill'', the 1981 war film ''Escape to Victory'', the 1982 film ''Deathtrap'', and the 1986 Academy Award-nominated ''Mona Lisa''. He also starred in ''Without a Clue'', portraying Sherlock Holmes.

1990s

The 1990s were a lean time for Caine, as he found good parts harder to come by. A high point came when he played Ebenezer Scrooge in the critically acclaimed ''Muppet Christmas Carol'' (1992), which he considers to be one of his most memorable roles. He played the beleaguered stage director Lloyd Dallas in the film adaptation of ''Noises Off'' (1992). He also played a villain in the Steven Seagal film ''On Deadly Ground'' (1994). He was in two straight to video Harry Palmer sequels and a few television films. However, Caine's reputation as a pop icon was still intact, thanks to his roles in films such as ''The Italian Job'' and ''Get Carter''. His performance in 1998's ''Little Voice'' was seen as something of a return to form, and won him a Golden Globe Award. Better parts followed, including ''The Cider House Rules'' (1999), for which he won his second Oscar.

2000s

In the 2000s, Caine appeared in ''Miss Congeniality'' (2000), ''Last Orders'' (2001), ''The Quiet American'' (2002) and others that helped rehabilitate his reputation. Several of Caine's classic films have been remade, including ''The Italian Job'', ''Get Carter'', ''Alfie'' and ''Sleuth''. In the 2007 remake of ''Sleuth'', Caine took over the role Laurence Olivier played in the 1972 version and Jude Law played Caine's original role. Caine also starred in ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' (2002) as Austin's father and in 2003 he co-starred with Robert Duvall in ''Secondhand Lions''. In 2005, he was cast as Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth in the first production of the new ''Batman'' film series. In 2006, he appeared in the films ''Children of Men'' and ''The Prestige''. In 2007 he appeared in ''Flawless'', while in 2008 he reprised his role as Alfred in Christopher Nolan's critically acclaimed ''Batman'' sequel, ''The Dark Knight'' as well as starring in the British drama ''Is Anybody There?'', which explores the final days of life.

It was reported by ''Empire'' magazine that Caine had said that ''Harry Brown'' (released on 13 November 2009) would be his last lead role. Caine later declared (in the ''Daily Mirror'') that he had been misquoted by the magazine.

2010s

Caine had a cameo appearance in Christopher Nolan's science fiction thriller, ''Inception''. He voiced Finn McMissile in Pixar's 2011 film ''Cars 2'' and also voiced a supporting role in the animation, ''Gnomeo and Juliet''. He is also set to star in the upcoming 2011 film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island alongside Josh Hutcherson and Dwayne Johnson. Caine will reprise his role as Alfred Pennyworth in the Batman sequel, ''The Dark Knight Rises'', due for release in mid 2012.

Awards and honours

Caine has been Oscar-nominated six times, winning his first Academy Award for the 1986 film ''Hannah and Her Sisters'', and his second in 1999 for ''The Cider House Rules'', in both cases as a supporting actor. Caine is one of only two actors to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting (either lead or supporting) in every decade since the 1960s. The other is Jack Nicholson. The two actors starred together in the 1996 film ''Blood and Wine''.

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1992 Queen's Birthday Honours, and in the 2000 New Year Honours he was knighted as ''Sir Maurice Micklewhite CBE''. On 5 January 2011, he was made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France's culture minister, Frédéric Mitterrand.

In 2008, he was awarded the prize for Outstanding Contribution to Showbusiness at the Variety Club Awards.

In popular culture

Caine is a popular subject for impressionists and mimics, having a voice and manner of speaking that are distinctive, yet fairly easy to imitate. Most Caine impressions include the catchphrase "Not a lot of people know that." Peter Sellers initiated this when he appeared on BBC1's ''Parkinson'' show on 28 October 1972 and said: The line had been used earlier in Spike Milligan's script for ''The Last Goon Show of All'', performed on 5 October 1972. In 1983, Caine was given the line to say as an in-joke in the film ''Educating Rita''. The line has also been parodied, along with its impression, in the British sketch comedy show, ''Harry Enfield's Television Programme'', with Paul Whitehouse as a stalking neighbourhood character called Michael Paine, who introduced himself with the line "My name is Michael Paine, and I am a nosey neighbour." Caine himself parodied the phenomenon in an interview with Michael Parkinson, imitating others' impressions of him and including the catchphrase.

Personal life

Caine lives near Leatherhead, Surrey, and is patron to the Leatherhead Drama Festival. He has also lived in North Stoke, Oxfordshire, Clewer near Windsor, Berkshire, Lowestoft in Suffolk and Chelsea Harbour in London. In addition, Caine owns a unit at The Apogee in Miami Beach, Florida. He still keeps a small flat near where he grew up in South East London. Caine published a volume of memoirs, ''What's It All About?'' in 1992 and told BBC Radio in 2010 he was preparing another, especially for aspiring actors.

He was married to actress Patricia Haines from 1955 to 1958. They had a daughter, Dominique (who was named after the heroine of the novel ''The Fountainhead'' by Ayn Rand). He dated Bianca Jagger in 1968. Caine has been married to actress and model Shakira Baksh since 8 January 1973. They met after Caine saw her appearing in a Maxwell House coffee commercial and a friend gave him her telephone number. They have a daughter, Natasha Haleema.

Some time after his mother died, Caine and his younger brother, Stanley, learned they had an elder half-brother, named David. He suffered from severe epilepsy and had been kept in Cane Hill Mental Hospital his entire life. Although their mother regularly visited her first son in the hospital, even her husband did not know the child existed. David died in 1992.

Trivia books written by Caine include ''Not Many People Know That!'', ''And Not Many People Know This Either!'', ''Michael Caine's Moving Picture Show'' and ''Not A Lot of People Know This is 1988''. Proceeds from the books went to the National Playing Fields Association (now Fields In Trust) of which Caine was a prominent supporter.

Unlike many actors who adopt their stage name for everyday use, Caine still uses his real name when he is not working.

Caine was called up for national service in the British Army in 1951 when he was aged 18 and was deployed to South Korea to help in the aftermath of the North Korean invasion. He served as part of the Royal Fusiliers. He said he had gone into it feeling sympathetic to communism, coming as he did from a poor family. But he has said the experience left him permanently repelled.

Politics

Caine has been open about his political views. He left Britain in the 1970s, citing the 82% tax levied on top earners by the Labour government of the time, but returned to Britain several years later when taxes were lowered:

"I decided not to become a tax exile, so I stayed in Britain, but they kept putting the tax up, so I'd do any old thing every now and then to pay the tax, that was my tax exile money. I realised that's not a socialist country, it's a communist country without a dictator, so I left and I was never going to come back. Maggie Thatcher came in and put the taxes back down and in the end, you know, you don't mind paying tax. What am I going to do? Not pay tax and drive around in a Rolls Royce, with cripples begging on the street like you see in some countries?"

"I voted for Maggie Thatcher because I thought we needed a change from that long period of socialism; I voted for Tony Blair because we had a great long period of Conservatism."

In 2009, Caine openly criticised the Labour government's proposed new 50% tax on top earners:

"The Government has taken tax up to 50 per cent and if it goes to 51 I will be back in America. They have reached their limit with me and that's what will happen to a lot of people. You know how much they made out of that high taxation all those years ago? Nothing. But they sent a mass of incredible brains to America. We've got 3.5 million layabouts laying about on benefits, and I'm 76, getting up at 6 am to go to work to keep them. Let's get everybody back to work so we can save a couple of billion and cut tax, not keep sticking it on."

"You're saying to poor people, 'let's tax those rich gits' and I understand that. You slice up the cake, give everyone a chance, but don't destroy the people that are making the bloody cake! I really believe about taking care of people, I don't mind paying tax. It's how the government spends my tax that I detest, really detest, because I see the waste. More money than all our income tax is spent on benefits. Now you tell me there is nothing wrong with that system."

Caine also stated in 2009 that he was likely to vote for the Conservatives again:

"I'll probably vote Conservative. I mean, we're in a terrible state whichever way you look at it, socially, financially and politically, so just give the other guy a chance. I don't know what Cameron's going to do, but in the end you vote out of desperation. You just have to have someone new and see what happens."

Following the launch of his film ''Harry Brown'', Caine called for the reintroduction of national service in the UK to give young people "a sense of belonging rather than a sense of violence".

During the run up to the 2010 General Election, Caine publicly endorsed Conservative Party policy regarding social exclusion. He appeared with David Cameron for the Conservative leader's launch of a civilian non-compulsary 'National Service' for teenagers.

Musical career

Caine is a fan of chill-out music and has compiled a mix CD called ''Cained'', which was released in 2007 by UMTV. According to Michael Caine, he met Elton John and was discussing musical tastes, when Caine claimed that he had been creating chillout mix tapes as an amateur for years. Also in music, Caine provided vocal samples for the band Madness for their 1984 hit "Michael Caine" as his daughter was a fan. He has sung in film roles as well, including for the musical film, ''The Muppet Christmas Carol''.

Filmography, awards and nominations

References

External links

The official Michael Caine website

in 2010

"The Films of Michael Caine" compilation of film clips, 4 minutes

PLAY DIRTY/Caine Special on Location in Spain

Martyn Palmer, "Double act: Michael Caine and Jude Law (lunch and discussion)", ''The Times'', 17 November 2007

Charlie Rose video interview 3 February 2003

IGN.com interview 18 March 2003

200 years of Michael Caine's family tree

Category:1933 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors awarded British knighthoods Category:Actors from London Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Actor BAFTA Award winners Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actor Golden Globe winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners Category:British Army personnel of the Korean War Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English film actors Category:English television actors Category:Knights Bachelor Category:Living people Category:Old Wilsonians Category:People from Camberwell Category:People from Leatherhead Category:People from South Oxfordshire (district) Category:People from Southwark Category:Royal Fusiliers soldiers

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name	Tim Minchin
birth name	Timothy David Minchin
birth date	October 07, 1975
birth place	Northampton, United Kingdom
nationality	British, Australian
active	2002–present
genre	Musical comedy
spouse	Sarah Minchin 2001–present (2 children)
website
britishcomedyawards	}}

Timothy David "Tim" Minchin (born 7 October 1975 in Northampton, UK) is an Australian comedian, actor, and musician.

Tim Minchin is best known for his musical comedy, which has featured in six CDs, three DVDs and a number of live comedy shows which he has performed internationally. He has also appeared on television in Australia, Britain and the United States. After growing up in Perth, Western Australia, he attended the University of Western Australia and WAAPA before moving to Melbourne in 2002. His breakout show, "Dark Side", launched him into the public eye, achieving critical success at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Minchin has a background in theatre and has appeared in various stage productions, in addition to some small acting roles on Australian TV. A documentary film about Minchin, ''Rock N Roll Nerd'' (directed by Rhian Skirving), was released theatrically in 2008 and broadcast by ABC1 in 2009.

Personal life

Minchin was born in Northampton, UK, to Australian parents and raised in Perth, Western Australia. He was educated at Christ Church Grammar School and started learning piano at the age of eight, but gave it up after three years because he did not enjoy the discipline. He redeveloped an interest in the instrument after he started writing music with his brother Dan Minchin, a guitarist, but still describes himself as a "hack pianist... a 'more you practise, the better you get' kind of guy". Minchin graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre, and in 1998 completed an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

He currently lives in Crouch End, London, with his wife, Sarah. They have two children, a daughter Violet, who was born 24 November 2006, and a son Caspar, born 3 July 2009. Minchin often refers to his relationships in his songs and stand-up routines.

Musical comedy

Minchin describes his act as a "funny cabaret show" and sees himself primarily as a musician and songwriter as opposed to a comedian; his songs, he says, "just happen to be funny." His reasoning for combining the disciplines of music and comedy was revealed in one interview when he said "I'm a good musician for a comedian and I'm a good comedian for a musician but if I had to do any of them in isolation I dunno."

He draws on his background in theatre for his distinctive onstage appearance and persona. In his performances, he typically goes barefoot with wild hair and heavy eye makeup, which is juxtaposed with a crisp suit and tails, and a grand piano. According to Minchin, he likes going barefoot in his shows because it makes him feel more comfortable. He considers the eye makeup important because while he is playing the piano he is not able to use his arms and relies on his face for expressions and gestures; the eyeliner makes his features more distinguishable for the audience. Much of his look and persona, he says, are about "treading that line between mocking yourself and wanting to be an iconic figure. Mocking the ridiculousness and completely unrealistic dream of being an iconic figure." The eccentric appearance removes Minchin from reality somewhat, allowing him to make outrageous statements onstage "without annoying (most) people."

The shows consist largely of Minchin's comedic songs and poetry, with subjects ranging from social satire to inflatable dolls, sex fetishes, and his own failed rock star ambitions. In between songs, he performs short stand-up routines. Several of his songs deal with religion, a subject with which Minchin—an atheist and a fan of Richard Dawkins—says he is "a bit obsessed." He argues that as one of the most powerful and influential forces in the world, religion should never be off-limits to satirists. He says that his favourite song to perform is "Peace Anthem for Palestine", which reflects his feelings about religious conflict. In October 2010 he was made a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association. His comedy also deals with taboos more broadly. A prime example of this is the song "Prejudice" which parodies the power awarded to something as simple as a word.

Early career (1998–2007)

After completing an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Music in 1998, Minchin started out composing music for documentaries and theatre. In 2000 he wrote and starred in the musical ''Pop'' at the Blue Room Theatre in Perth. He released a CD titled ''Sit'' with his band Timmy the Dog in 2001, but achieved little success. In 2002, after only one professional acting job, he moved from Perth to Melbourne to pursue work. Minchin struggled initially; he could not get an agent for a year and had been unable to find any acting work. While several record companies gave him positive feedback, they were not sure how his music—a mixture of satirical songs and more serious pop songs—could be marketed. He decided to compile all of his humorous songs into a single live show to "get the comedy stuff off [his] chest" before going back to more serious music.

Minchin says he entered into comedy "naively", having never even attended a live comedy gig before performing one himself. His break-out show, ''Darkside'' (co-produced by Laughing Stock Productions), achieved critical success at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where it won the inaugural Festival Directors' Award and attracted the notice of Karen Koren, the manager of the well-known Gilded Balloon venues. Koren backed the show's run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where Minchin received the Perrier Comedy Award for Best Newcomer. His 2006 show, ''So Rock'', was nominated for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's top prize, the Barry Award, and in 2007 he was given the award for Best Alternative Comedian at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival.

Live recordings of his 2005 and 2006 shows, ''Darkside'' and ''So Rock'', have been released as CDs. In 2007, he released a DVD entitled ''So Live'', featuring a live recording in the Sydney Opera House Studio with material from both of his previous shows. As this DVD was only released in Australia, he released a DVD in 2008 entitled ''So F**king Rock Live'' in the UK, containing largely the same material as ''So Live.''

''Ready for This?'' (2008–2010)

In August 2008 Minchin debuted his third solo show, ''Ready for This?'', at the Edinburgh Fringe and subsequently took it on tour across the UK. During the Edinburgh run, he contributed to ''The Guardian'' newspaper's podcasts, despite his new show containing a song about a ''Guardian'' critic who once gave his show a negative review.

A recording of this show, recorded live at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London was released as an album for download via iTunes on 20 July 2009. An Australian recording was released on DVD, solely in Australia on 9 September 2009 and a UK release is anticipated in the second half of 2010.

In December 2009, the track "White Wine in the Sun" was released as a downloadable single online. Fans on Minchin's official forum launched a campaign to get this festive track into the UK Christmas charts by purchasing it from various online download retailers. A Facebook group was also launched to support the campaign as well as a drive on Twitter in which celebrities were contacted about the campaign and a succession of e-mails to radio DJs in a bid to get them to play the song. It was later announced that 50% of the December profits from the song would be donated to The National Autistic Society. The bid was ultimately unsuccessful.

It was announced at the end of 2009 that one of Minchin's beat poems, ''Storm'', was to be made into a short animated movie to be released in 2010. A blog was launched to accompany the film-making process and a short trailer was released on 8 January 2010.

He performed ''Ready for This?'' for what he envisages as the final time on 27 February 2010 in Sydney. He did however perform a set at The Big Libel Gig on 14 March 2010 in protest at Britain's libel laws, along with other performers including Dara Ó Briain, Marcus Brigstocke, Shappi Khorsandi, Robin Ince and Ed Byrne. As well as this, he performed at Camp Bestival as part of the Jestival Sessions in July 2010.

Minchin was the subject of the winning entry in the 2010 Archibald Prize, Australia's most important portraiture competition. The winning entry was painted by Sam Leach.

Tim Minchin and His Orchestra (2010–2011)

Minchin embarked on a new arena tour starting with Birmingham on Wednesday 8 December, 2010. This is a departure from the structure of his previous live shows, since his act has been scaled up to be performed with a symphony orchestra. The show now contains both old and new material: he has new songs on the subject of prayer and of rationality, themes which also often appear in his previous work. He has stated that the aim of incorporating the orchestra into his act is to create a comedy show that would not be ruined by being performed in arenas. The show is touring the UK and Australia. It was filmed at the Royal Albert Hall in London for a DVD to be released later in 2011.

On Saturday 13 August 2011 Minchin hosted Prom 40 - the first BBC Comedy Promenade Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Television and radio

Tim has made appearances on various British radio and television shows, including the BBC's ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' (four times, once as guest host), BBC Radio 4's ''Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better'' and two specials on BBC Radio 2. He often performs on his TV appearances, such as his spots on ''Friday Night With Jonathan Ross'' in October 2009 and July 2010. He performed a song written especially for the show entitled "Five Poofs And Two Pianos," a parody of the house band for the show who are known as 4 Poofs and a Piano. Minchin also appeared as a special guest on the 2009 edition of ''The Big Fat Quiz of the Year'' performing a song written for the show ("It's Like 1984") in reference to a question regarding Google Street View.

A heavily cut-down version of the show released on DVD as ''So F**king Rock Live'' has aired several times on British TV channel E4, first on 23 July 2009. It aired at the turn of 2011, forming E4's New Year's coverage.

Tim has also appeared on the ABC's ''Spicks and Specks'', ''The Sideshow'', and the panel shows ''Good News Week'' (February 2010) and ''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'' (March 2010) in Australia.

In January 2011, Tim Minchin made his American television debut on TBS's ''Conan'' where he performed "Inflatable You." On 12 May 2011, he performed "If I Didn't Have You" on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and on 7 June 2011 Tim made his second appearance on TBS's ''Conan'' where he performed "Prejudice."

He is currently writing a musical sitcom for BBC Radio 2 entitled ''Strings''. The pilot was broadcast on Saturday 8 May 2010. Tim plays the part of the protagonist in the production as the lead singer of a rock band, named Jonny, who leaves Australia to live in the UK.

Acting and theatre

Minchin's background is in theatre and he has appeared in various stage productions. His most recent dramatic theatrical performance was in the title role for the 2006 Perth Theatre Company production of ''Amadeus'', a fictional play about the downfall of Mozart at the hands of the reigning court composer. His other stage acting roles have included the title role in the 2004 Perth Theatre Company / Hoopla production of ''Hamlet'', and The Writer in the original PTC production of Reg Cribb’s ''The Return''. He has also acted for The Australian Shakespeare Company (''Twelfth Night''), the Black Swan Theatre Company (''Cosi'', ''One Destiny'') and in various other plays, short films and TVC’s. Roles from his days in musical theatre include Don Quixote in ''Man of La Mancha'' and understudying Judas twice (and playing Pontius Pilate) in ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. He has also appeared playing small parts on the ABC telemovie ''Loot'' and on the show ''Comedy Inc.''.

Minchin also plays the role of Tom, in the contemporary family drama ''Two Fists, One Heart'', released 19 March 2009. He also wrote the song ''Drowned'' for the film's soundtrack.

He co-wrote a musical version of Roald Dahl's novel ''Matilda'' – entitled ''Matilda, A Musical'' – with Dennis Kelly and the Royal Shakespeare Company, which is produced by the RSC. It showed at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon running from 9 November 2010 to 30 January 2011 and has been confirmed for an open-ended West End run at the Cambridge Theatre, opening on the 22nd November 2011, with previews from 18th October 2011.

Atheism and skepticism

In an interview with IIG member John Rael, Minchin explains what upsets him most about paranormal beliefs, "special pleading" by people who say vague things that "there is no harm" in it. Minchin states that there is very little harm in something like Reiki but "where do you draw the line", when it comes to needing real evidence if a therapy works or not? He states that he is an atheist as well as a skeptic, and can not understand how someone can call themselves a skeptic and still be religious. "If you apply doubt to anything...the whole religion thing is obviously a fantasy."

Discography

Albums

''Sit'' (with band Timmy the Dog) (2001)

''Darkside'' (2005)

''So Rock'' (2006)

''Ready For This?'' (2009)

''Live at the O2'' (2010)

''Tim Minchin and The Heritage Orchestra'' (2011)

Singles

"Drowned" (2008)

"White Wine In the Sun" (2009)

"The Pope Song" (2010) - As a free download from his website

"The Fence" (2011)

Compilations

''Laugh-a-poolooza'' (featured artist) (2005)

DVD

''So Live'' (2007) Australian DVD

''So F**king Rock Live'' (11 October 2008)

''So F**king Rock Live (Special Edition)'' (5 October 2009)

''Ready For This?'' (29 November 2010)

"Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra." (14 November 2011)

Filmography

Actor

2008 – ''Two Fists, One Heart'' – Tom 2010 – ''The Lost Thing'' – The Boy (Voice)

Awards

; 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Directors' Choice Award for ''Dark Side'' 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Perrier Comedy Award, Best Newcomer 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, The Groggy Squirrel Critics' Award 2007 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, Best Alternative Act 2009 Helpmann Awards, Best Comedy Performer 2009 Green Room Awards, Cabaret: Best Original Songs 2009 Green Room Awards, Cabaret: Best Artiste 2010 Chortle Awards, Best Music or Variety Act

References

External links

Rock N Roll Nerd – The Tim Minchin Documentary website

YouTube Interview on Australian Sceptics vodcast, The TANK Vodcast, 2007

Tim Minchin's song 'If I Didn't Have You' (Secret Policeman's Ball)

Storm Movie Production Blog

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Australian comedy musicians Category:British comedy musicians Category:Australian stand-up comedians Category:Australian atheists Category:University of Western Australia alumni Category:People educated at Christ Church Grammar School Category:People from Crouch End Category:Australian sceptics Category:British sceptics Category:Atheism activists Category:Australian socialists Category:British socialists

da:Tim Minchin de:Tim Minchin fr:Tim Minchin nl:Tim Minchin no:Tim Minchin pl:Tim Minchin pt:Tim Minchin ru:Минчин, Тим sv:Tim Minchin

name	Ruth Jones
colour	#FFDD00
birth date	September 22, 1966
birth place	Bridgend, Wales
occupation	Actress, writer, producer
yearsactive	1991–present
nationality	British }}

Ruth Jones (born 22 September 1966) is a Welsh TV actress and writer. She starred in and co-wrote the multi-award winning TV comedy ''Gavin & Stacey'' and has appeared in many other successful comedies over recent years. She is also known for dramatic roles in other high profile TV dramas such as Jimmy McGovern's ''The Street'' with Timothy Spall, and most recently starring as Hattie Jacques in ''Hattie'' for BBC4. Ruth Jones is the co-founder of Tidy Productions, which she created and runs with TV producer David Peet.

Biography

Jones went to school in her home town of Porthcawl and graduated from Warwick University with a drama degree before spending a year at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. She first worked in TV and radio comedy for BBC Wales from 1991. Theatre with the RSC and The National Theatre was followed by her performance in the hit British movie ''East Is East''. After this Jones appeared as Kelly in four series of ITV's comedy ''Fat Friends'', as Myfanwy in BBC's ''Little Britain'' and as Linda in the BBC cult black comedy ''Nighty Night''. In 2008 she featured in the two BBC One period costume dramas ''Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' and ''Little Dorrit'', the Gavin and Stacey series she co-wrote with James Corden and in ''The Street'' with Timothy Spall.

In 2008, Jones co-founded Tidy Productions with producer David Peet. Tidy is an independent TV production company based in Cardiff and London specialising in comedy, comedy drama and entertainment. In 2010 the company has comedy and light entertainment production credits with BBC2 and BBC 3. It has made two 90-minute comedy dramas for the Welsh Channel Four and light entertainment shows for BBC Wales. Currently Ruth Jones's company is in pre-production of her ten-hour comedy drama 'Stella' for Sky TV and also two light entertainment shows for BBC 2.

She currently lives in Cardiff with husband David, and step-children.

Recognition and awards

Winner of ''Best Female Comedy Newcomer'' at the 2007 British Comedy Awards, Jones was also nominated for ''Best Television Comedy Actress''.

Winner of "Ultimate Funny Woman" at the annual Cosmopolitan 'Ultimate Women Of The Year Awards' November 2009.

Filmography

Films

Mandy ''East Is East (film) ''The Theory of Flight'' ''Emma''

scope="col" width="80"	Year	Title	Character	Production	Notes
2002	Heartlands (film)>Heartlands'	|	Miramax
1999	East is East'' ||	Peggy	Film4
1998	|	Becky	Fine Line Features
1996	|	Bates’ Maid	Miramax Films

TV

Hattie Jacques ''The Great Outdoors (UK TV series) ''Agatha Christie's Marple ''A Child’s Christmases in Wales'' ''The Street (TV series) ''Ar Y Tracs'' ''Little Dorrit (TV serial) ''Tess of the d'Urbervilles (TV series) ''Torchwood'' ''Gavin and Stacey'' ''Saxondale'' ''Mayo (TV series) ''I'm with Stupid (TV series) ''Born and Bred'' ''Nighty Night'' ''The Baby Juice Express'' ''Midsomer Murders'' ''Little Britain'' ''Roger Roger'' ''EastEnders'' ''Heartlands (film) ''Tales from Pleasure Beach'' ''Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years (TV series) ''Fat Friends'' ''Human Remains (TV series) ''A Likeness in Stone'' ''Picking Up The Pieces (TV series) ''As Time Goes By (TV series) ''Drovers' Gold'' ''Wales Playhouse''

scope="col" width="80"	Year	Title	Character	Production	Notes
2011	Hattie (television film)>Hattie''	|	BBC 4	1 episode
2010	The Great Outdoors'' ||	Christine	BBC Four	3 episodes
2010	Marple'' ||	Miss Blenkinsopp	ITV	The Secret Chimneys
2009	|	Mum	BBC Two	TV Movie
2009	The Street'' ||		BBC One	Series 3, Episodes 5 and 6
2009	|	Ingrid Crenski	S4C
2008	Little Dorrit'' ||	Flora Finching	BBC One
2008	Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' ||	Joan Durbeyfield	BBC One
2008	|	Nikki Bevan	BBC Three	Adrift (Torchwood)>Adrift"
2007–2010	|	Nessa	BBC
2006–2007	|	Magz	BBC Two	Series 1 and 2
2006	Mayo'' ||	Cal Andrews	BBC One
2005–2006	I'm With Stupid'' ||	Jean	BBC Three
2005	|	Ruby Moss	BBC One
2004–2005	|	Linda	BBC
2004	|	Gladys
2004	|	Rachael Rose	ITV	Episode - Bad Tidings
2003–2006	|	Myfanwy	BBC
2003	|	Angelica	BBC One	Episode "Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose"
2003	|	Jenny Morgan	BBC One	Dot's Story
2002	Heartlands'' ||	Mandy
2001	|	Mandy	BBC Two
2001	Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years'' ||	Sharon Bott	BBC
2000–2005	|	Kelly Chadwick	ITV
2000	Human Remains'' ||	Elaine	BBC	Episode "All Over My Glasses"
2000	|	Joan Poole
1998	Picking Up The Pieces'' ||	Marie
1998	As Time Goes By'' ||	Gilly	BBC One	Episode "Pardon?"
1997	|	Mary
1996	|	Belinda		Episode "Every Cloud"

Guest appearances

''Chris Moyles' Quiz Night' ''Would I Lie To You? (TV series) ''A League of Their Own'' ''Have I Got News for You'' ''Comic Relief''

scope="col" width="80"	Year	Title	Appearance	Series
2011	''The Big Fat Quiz of the Year	Herself
2010	|	Herself	Series 3, Episode 4
2010	Would I Lie To You?'' ||	Panelist	Series 4, Episode 2
2010	|	Panelist	Series 1 Episode 2
2009	|	Guest Presenter	Series 37 Episode 7
2009	|	Herself	‘’(Barry) Islands In The Stream’’ video

Writing work

''Ar Y Tracs ''The Chase (TV series) ''Fat Friends''

scope="col" width="80"	Year	Title	Episodes	Notes
2007–2009	''Gavin & Stacey''	3 series
2009	|	TV movie
2006	The Chase'' ||	1 episode
2005	|	1 episode	Series 4 Episode 3 "Angels Delight"

Production work

''Gavin & Stacey'' (Series 1, 6 episodes: BBC3 and BBC2 2007)

''Gavin & Stacey'' (Series 2, 7 episodes: BBC3 2008)

''Gavin & Stacey'' (Christmas Special: December 2008)

''Gavin & Stacey'' (Series 3, 6 episodes: BBC1 2009,2010)

''Ar Y Tracs'' Exec. Producer Tidy Productions S4C 2009)

Music work

''Islands in the Stream'' (cover version for Comic Relief)

Charity work

In 2010, Jones took part in ''Channel 4's Comedy Gala'', a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March.

References

External links

Ruth Jones at David Higham

Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Category:Alumni of the University of Warwick Category:People from Bridgend Category:Welsh film actors Category:Welsh television actors Category:Welsh television writers Category:People educated at Porthcawl Comprehensive School

cy:Ruth Jones

Colour	#DEDEE2
Name	Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr.
Series	Indiana Jones
First	''Raiders of the Lost Ark''
Latest	''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull''
Creator	George LucasSteven Spielberg
Portrayer	Films:Harrison Ford (ages 36–58)River Phoenix (age 13)TV series:Neil Boulane (baby)Corey Carrier (ages 8–10)Sean Patrick Flanery (ages 16–21)George Hall (age 93)Video games:Doug Lee (voice)David Esch (voice)
Birthdate	July 1st, 1899
Birthplace	New Jersey (U.S.)
Nickname	IndianaIndyHenri DefenseMungo KidogoCaptain Dynamite, Scourge of the KaiserJonesy
Alma mater	University of Chicago
Occupation	ArchaeologistAssociate deanCollege professorSoldierSpy
Title	DoctorColonel
Education	University of Chicago
Family	Henry Walton Jones, Sr. (father, deceased)Anna Mary Jones (mother, deceased)Susie Jones (sister, deceased)
Spouse	Deirdre Campbell Jones (1926)Marion Ravenwood Jones (1957–present)
Children	Henry Walton "Mutt" Jones IIISon
Relatives	Pete (uncle)Fred (uncle)Grace Jones (aunt)Frank (cousin)Caroline (granddaughter, probably via his daughter)Henry Walton "Spike" Jones IV (grandson, probably via Mutt)Lucy (granddaughter, probably via his daughter)Annie Jones (great-granddaughter, probably via Mutt)Henry Walton "Harry" Jones V (great-grandson, probably via Mutt)
Nationality	American
Religion	Christian}}

Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is the central protagonist of the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials. The character first appeared in the 1981 film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', to be followed by ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' in 1984, ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' in 1989, ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' from 1992 to 1996, and ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' in 2008. Alongside the more widely known films and television programs, the character is also featured in novels, comics, video games, and other media. Jones is also featured in the theme park attraction ''Indiana Jones Adventure'', which exists in similar forms at Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.

Jones is most famously played by Harrison Ford and has also been portrayed by River Phoenix (as the young Jones in ''The Last Crusade''), and in the television series ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' by Corey Carrier, Sean Patrick Flanery, and George Hall. Doug Lee has supplied Jones's voice to two LucasArts video games, ''Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis'' and ''Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine'', while David Esch supplied his voice to ''Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb''.

Particularly notable facets of the character include his iconic look (bullwhip, fedora, and leather jacket), sense of humor, deep knowledge of many ancient civilizations and languages, and fear of snakes.

Indiana Jones remains one of cinema's most revered movie characters. In 2003, he was ranked as the second greatest movie hero of all time by the American Film Institute. He was also named the sixth greatest movie character by ''Empire'' magazine. ''Entertainment Weekly'' ranked Indy 2nd on their list of ''The All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture''. ''Premiere'' magazine also placed Indy at number 7 on their list of ''The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time''. Since his first appearance in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', he has become a worldwide star. On their list of the ''100 Greatest Fictional Characters'', Fandomania.com ranked Indy at number 10. In 2010, he ranked #2 on ''Time'' Magazine's list of the greatest fictional characters of all time, surpassed only by Sherlock Holmes.

Appearances

Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford, was first introduced in the 1981 film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', set in 1936. The character is presented as an adventurer reminiscent of the 1930s film serial treasure hunters and pulp action heroes, whose research is funded by Marshall College (named after producer Frank Marshall) a fictional college in Connecticut, where he is a professor of archaeology. His students are predominantly female. In this first adventure, he is pitted against the Nazis, traveling the world to prevent them from recovering the Ark of the Covenant (see also Biblical archaeology). He is aided by Marion Ravenwood and Sallah. The Nazis are led by Jones's archrival, a Nazi-sympathizing French archaeologist named René Belloq, and Arnold Toht, a sinister Gestapo agent.

The 1984 prequel, ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'', set in 1935, took the character into a more horror-oriented story, skipping his legitimate teaching job and globe trotting, and taking place almost entirely in India. This time, Jones attempts to recover children and the Sankara stones from the bloodthirsty Thuggee cult. He is aided by Short Round and accompanied by Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw).

The third film, 1989's ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'', set in 1938, returned to the formula of the original, reintroducing characters such as Sallah and Marcus Brody, a scene from Professor Jones's classroom (he now teaches at Barnett College), the globe trotting element of multiple locations, and the return of the infamous Nazi mystics, this time trying to find the Holy Grail. The film's introduction, set in 1912, provided some back story to the character, specifically the origin of his fear of snakes, his use of a bullwhip, the scar on his chin, and his hat; the film's epilogue also reveals that "Indiana" is not Jones's first name, but a nickname he took from the family dog. The film was a buddy movie of sorts, teaming Jones with his father, often to comical effect. Although Lucas intended at the time to do five films, this ended up being the last for over eighteen years, as Lucas could not think of a good plot element to drive the next installment.

The 2008 film, ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'', became the latest film in the series. Set in 1957, 19 years after the third film, it pits an older, wiser Indiana Jones against Soviet agents bent on harnessing the power of a crystal skull discovered in South America by his former colleague Harold Oxley (John Hurt). He is aided in his adventure by an old lover, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), and her son—a young greaser named Henry "Mutt" Williams (Shia LaBeouf), later revealed to be his biological child, Henry Jones III. There were rumors that LaBeouf will take over the Indy franchise. This film also reveals that Jones was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (a predecessor department to the CIA) during World War II, attaining the rank of Colonel and running covert operations with MI6 agent George McHale on the Soviet Union.

Television

From 1992 to 1996, George Lucas executive-produced a television series named ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'', which was designed as an educational program for children, spotlighting historical figures and important events, using the concept of a prequel to the films as a draw. The show featured a standard formula of a 93-year-old Jones (George Hall), wearing an eye patch, introducing a story, and then an adventure with either a 17-year-old Jones (Sean Patrick Flanery) or a 10-year-old Jones (Corey Carrier), and even a baby Indy (Neil Boulane). Historical figures featured on the show include Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Leo Tolstoy, Pancho Villa, Charles de Gaulle, Elliot Ness, Ernest Hemingway, Patrick Pearse, Vladimir Lenin, T. E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill, Herman Göring, Theodore Roosevelt, Manfred von Richthofen, and John Ford, in such diverse locations as Egypt, Austria-Hungary, India, China, and the whole of Europe.

One episode, "Young Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Blues", is bookended by Harrison Ford, reprising his role as the character. Indiana loses one of his eyes sometime between 1957 and when the "Old Indy" segments take place.

The show provided some backstory for the films, as well as new information regarding the character. He was born July 1, 1899, and his middle name is Walton (Lucas's middle name). It is also mentioned that he had a sister called Suzie who died as an infant of fever, and that he eventually has a daughter and grandchildren who appear in some episode introductions and epilogues. His relationship with his father, first introduced in ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'', was further fleshed out with stories about his travels with his father as a young boy. A large portion of the series centered around his activities during World War I.

In 1999, Lucas removed the episode introductions and epilogues by George Hall for the VHS and DVD releases, as he re-edited the episodes into chronologically ordered feature-length stories. The series title was also changed to ''The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones''.

Video games

The character has appeared in several officially licensed games, including Lego Indiana Jones video games, beginning with adaptations of ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', ''Temple of Doom'', two adaptations of ''The Last Crusade'' (one with purely action mechanics, one with an adventure and puzzle based structure) and Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures which included the storylines from all three of the original films.

Following this, the games branched off into original storylines with Indiana Jones in the Lost Kingdom, ''Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis'', ''Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine'', ''Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb'' and ''Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings''. ''Emperor's Tomb'' sets up Jones's companion Wu Han and the search for Nurhaci's ashes seen at the beginning of ''Temple of Doom''. The first two games were developed by Hal Barwood and starred Doug Lee as the voice of Indiana Jones; ''Emperor's Tomb'' had David Esch fill the role and ''Staff of Kings'' starred John Armstrong.

There is also a small game from Lucas Arts ''Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures''. A video game was made for young Indy called ''Young Indiana Jones and the Instruments of Chaos'', as well as a video game version of ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles''.

Two Lego Indiana Jones games have also been released. ''Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures'' was released in 2008 and follows the plots of the first three films. It was followed by ''LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues'' in late 2009. The sequel includes an abbreviated reprise of the first three films, but focuses on the plot of ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull''.

Indiana Jones has also made cameo appearances as an unlockable character in the games ''Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction'' and ''Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga''.

Theme parks

Indiana Jones is featured at several Walt Disney theme park attractions. The Indiana Jones Adventure attractions at Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea ("Temple of the Forbidden Eye" and "Temple of the Crystal Skull," respectively) place Indy at the forefront of two similar archaeological discoveries. These two temples each contain a wrathful deity who threatens the guests who ride through in World War II troop transports. The attractions, some of the most expensive of their kind at the time, opened in 1995 and 2001, respectively, with sole design credit attributed to Walt Disney Imagineering. Disney did not license Harrison Ford's likeness for the North American version; nevertheless, a differentiated Indiana Jones audio-animatronic character appears at three points in both attractions. However, the Indiana Jones featured in the DisneySea version does use Harrison Ford's likeness but uses Japanese audio for all of his speaking parts. In 2010, some of the Indy audio-animatronics at the Disneyland version have been replaced and now resemble Ford.

Disneyland Resort Paris also features an Indiana Jones-titled ride where people speed off through ancient ruins in a runaway mine wagon similar to that found in ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom''. ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril'' is a looping roller coaster engineered by Intamin AG, designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, and opened in 1993.

The ''Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!'' is a live show that has been presented in the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park of the Walt Disney World Resort with few changes since the park's 1989 opening under a different name. The 25-minute show presents various stunts framed in the context of a feature film production, and recruits members of the audience to participate in the show. Stunt artists in the show re-create and ultimately reveal some of the secrets of the stunts of the ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' films, including the well-known "running-from-the-boulder" scene. Stunt performer Anislav Varbanov was fatally injured in August 2009, while rehearsing the popular show. Also at Disney's Hollywood Studios, an audio-animatronic Indiana Jones appears in another attraction; during the The Great Movie Ride's ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' segment.

Character description and formation

In his role as a college professor of archaeology, Henry Jones Jr. is scholarly and learned in a tweed suit, lecturing on ancient civilizations. In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it is revealed that Jones is influenced by the Marxist Archaeologist, Vere Gordon Childe, whose qualified acceptance of cultural diffusionism theory he propounds. Ironically, though Childe loathes fieldwork, Indy goes on to say, "If you want to be a good archaeologist, you gotta get out of the library." This is in tongue-in-cheek contrast to the previous film's comment, "Seventy percent of all archaeology is done in the library."

However, at the opportunity to recover important artifacts, Dr. Jones transforms into "Indiana," a "non-superhero superhero" image he has concocted for himself. Producer Frank Marshall said, "Indy [is] a fallible character. He makes mistakes and gets hurt. [...] That's the other thing people like: He's a real character, not a character with superpowers." Spielberg said there "was the willingness to allow our leading man to get hurt and to express his pain and to get his mad out and to take pratfalls and sometimes be the butt of his own jokes. I mean, Indiana Jones is not a perfect hero, and his imperfections, I think, make the audience feel that, with a little more exercise and a little more courage, they could be just like him." According to Spielberg biographer Douglas Brode, Indiana created his heroic figure so as to escape the dullness of teaching at a school. Both of Indiana's personas reject one another in philosophy, creating a duality. Harrison Ford said the fun of playing the character was because Indiana is both a romantic and a cynic, while scholars have analyzed Indiana as having traits of a lone wolf; a man on a quest; a noble treasure hunter; a hardboiled detective; a human superhero; and an American patriot.

Like many characters in his films, Jones has some autobiographical elements of Spielberg. Indiana lacks a proper father figure because of his strained relationship with his father, Henry Senior. His own contained anger is misdirected at the likes of Professor Abner Ravenwood, his mentor at the University of Chicago, leading to a strained relationship with Marion Ravenwood. The teenage Indiana bases his own look on a figure from the prologue of ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'', after being given his hat. Marcus Brody acts as Indiana's positive role model at the college. Indiana's own insecurities are made worse by the absence of his mother. In ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'', the character becomes the father in a temporary family unit with Willie Scott and Short Round to survive. Indiana is rescued from the evil of Kali by Short Round's dedication. Indiana also saves many children from slavery.

Because of Indiana's strained relationship with his father, who was absent much of Indiana's youth searching for the Holy Grail, the character does not pursue the more spiritual aspects of the cultures he studies. Indiana uses his knowledge of Shiva to ultimately defeat Mola Ram. In ''Raiders'', however, he is wise enough to close his eyes in the presence of God in the Ark of the Covenant. By contrast, his rival Rene Belloq dies horribly for having the audacity to try to communicate directly with God.

In ''Crusade'''s prologue, Indiana's intentions are revealed as prosocial, as he believes artifacts "belong in a museum." In the film's climax, Indiana undergoes "literal" tests of faith to retrieve the Grail and save his father's life. He also remembers Jesus as a historical figure – a humble carpenter – rather than an exalted figure when he recognizes the simple nature and tarnished appearance of the real Grail amongst a large assortment of much more ornately decorated ones. Henry Senior rescues his son from falling to his death when reaching for the fallen Grail, telling him to "let it go," overcoming his mercenary nature. ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' explains how Indiana becomes solitary and less idealistic after fighting in World War I. In ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'', Jones is older and wiser, whereas his sidekicks Mutt and Mac are youthfully arrogant and greedy, respectively.

Origins and inspirations

Indiana Jones is modeled after the strong-jawed heroes of the matinée serials and pulp magazines that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg enjoyed in their childhoods (such as the Republic Pictures serials, and the Doc Savage series). Sir H. Rider Haggard's safari guide/big game hunter Allan Quatermain of ''King Solomon's Mines'', who dates back to 1885, is a notable template for Jones. The two friends first discussed the project in Hawaii around the time of the release of the first ''Star Wars'' film. Spielberg told Lucas how he wanted his next project to be something fun, like perhaps a James Bond film. According to sources, Lucas responded to the effect that he had something "even better," or that he "got that beat."

The other clear basis for "Indiana" Jones is Professor Challenger, Professor George Challenger, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1912 for his novel, ''The Lost World''. Doyle based Prof. Challenger on his old physiology professor, Sir William Rutherford. As an adventuring academic, albeit a zoologist/anthropologist, Professor Challenger is the clear and singular inspiration for "Indiana" Jones. However, it appears the primary source for Indiana Jones was Charlton Heston's character of Harry Steele in "Secret of the Incas", Paramount, 1954.

The character was originally named "Indiana Smith" (perhaps in a nod to the 1966 Western film ''Nevada Smith''), after an Alaskan Malamute Lucas owned in the 1970s ("Indiana"); however, Spielberg disliked the name "Smith," and Lucas casually suggested "Jones" as an alternative based off the archaeologist Vendell Jones. Costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis said the inspiration for Indiana's outfit was Charlton Heston's Harry Steele in ''Secret of the Incas'': "We did watch this film together as a crew several times, and I always thought it strange that the filmmakers did not credit it later as the inspiration for the series."

Upon requests by Spielberg and Lucas, the costume designer gave the character a distinctive silhouette through the styling of the hat; after examining many hats, the designers chose a tall-crowned, wide-brimmed fedora. As a documentary of ''Raiders'' pointed out, the hat served a practical purpose. Following the lead of the old "B"-movies that inspired the ''Indiana Jones'' series, the fedora hid the actor's face sufficiently to allow doubles to perform the more dangerous stunts seamlessly. Examples in ''Raiders'' include the wider-angle shot of Indy and Marion crashing a statue through a wall, and Indy sliding under a fast-moving vehicle from front to back. Thus it was necessary for the hat to stay in place much of the time.

The hat became so iconic that the filmmakers could only come up with very good reasons or jokes to remove it. If it ever fell off during a take, filming would have to stop to put it back on. In jest, Ford put a stapler against his head to stop his from falling off when a documentary crew visited during shooting of ''The Last Crusade''. This created the urban legend that Ford stapled the hat to his head. Although other hats were also used throughout the movies, the general style and profile remained the same. Elements of the outfit include: The fedora was supplied by Herbert Johnson Hatters in England for the first three films. It was referred to as "The Australian Model" by costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis and was fitted with a Petersham bow. Indy's fedora for ''Crystal Skull'' was made by Steve Delk and Marc Kitter of the Adventurebilt Hat Company.

The leather jacket, a hybrid of the "Type 440" and the A-2 jacket, were made by Leather Concessionaires (now known as Wested Leather Co) for ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' and ''The Last Crusade''. For ''Temple of Doom'', jackets were made in-house at Bermans & Nathans in London based on a stunt jacket they provided for Raiders of The Lost Ark. Tony Nowak made the jacket in ''Kingdom of the Crystal Skull''.

The bag was a modified Mark VII British gas mask bag, usually worn under the jacket with the exception of Crystal Skull where the bag was inexplicably worn over the jacket.

The whip was a bullwhip crafted by David Morgan for the first three films. The whips for ''Crystal Skull'' were crafted by a variety of people, including Terry Jacka, Joe Strain and Morgan (different lengths and styles were likely used in specific stunts). The pistol was usually a World War I-era revolver, including the Webley Government (''Last Crusade'' and ''Crystal Skull''), or a .45 ACP Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector 2nd model revolver (''Raiders''). He has also used an M1917 revolver (''Temple of Doom''), a Nagant M1895 (''Young Indiana Jones''), and a 9 mm Browning Hi-Power (''Raiders''). The weapon is carried in a military pattern flap holster. The shoes were made by Alden. A stock style that had been a favorite of Ford's before the movies, they are still sold today (though in a redder (brick) shade of brown than seen in the movies) and are popularly known as "Indy Boots."

Jones's fedora and leather jacket (as used in ''The Last Crusade'') are on display at the Smithsonian's American History Museum in Washington, D.C. The collection of props and clothing from the films has become a thriving hobby for some aficionados of the franchise. Jones' whip was the third most popular film weapon, as shown by a 2008 poll held by 20th Century Fox, which surveyed approximately two thousand film fans.

Casting

Originally, Spielberg suggested Harrison Ford; Lucas resisted the idea, since he had already cast the actor in three of his movies (''American Graffiti'', ''Star Wars'', and ''The Empire Strikes Back''), and did not want Ford to become known as his "Bobby De Niro" (in reference to the fact that fellow director Martin Scorsese regularly cast Robert De Niro in his films). During an intensive casting process, Lucas and Spielberg auditioned many actors, and finally cast then little-known actor Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones. Shortly afterward pre-production began in earnest on ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''.

However, CBS refused to release Selleck from his contractual commitment to ''Magnum, P.I.'' (which was gradually gaining momentum in the ratings), forcing him to turn down the role. One of CBS's concerns was that shooting for ''Magnum P.I.'' conflicted with shooting for ''Raiders'', both of which were to begin about the same time. However, Selleck was to say later in an interview that shooting for ''Magnum P.I.'' was delayed and did not actually begin until shooting for ''Raiders'' had concluded. Sadly for Selleck, he could have finished his participation in ''Raiders'' and still had time to return for ''Magnum''.

After Spielberg suggested Ford again, Lucas gave in, and Ford was cast in the role less than three weeks before filming of ''Raiders'' began.

Models

Many people are said to be the real-life inspiration of the Indiana Jones character—although none of the following have been confirmed as inspirations by George Lucas or Steven Spielberg. There are some suggestions, listed here In alphabetical order by last name: Beloit College professor and paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews. Italian archaeologist and circus strongman Giovanni Battista Belzoni (1778–1823). Yale University professor, historian, and explorer Hiram Bingham III, who rediscovered and excavated the lost city of Machu Picchu, and chronicled his find in the bestselling book ''The Lost City of the Incas'' in 1948. University of Chicago archaeologist Robert Braidwood. University of Chicago archaeologist James Henry Breasted. The British archaeologist Percy Fawcett, who spent much of his life exploring the jungles of northern Brazil, and who was last seen in 1925 returning to the Amazon Basin to look for the Lost City Of Z. A fictionalized version of Fawcett appears to Jones in the book ''Indiana Jones And The Seven Veils''. British archaeologist and soldier T. E. Lawrence. The Northwestern University anthropologist, professor and adventurer William Montgomery McGovern. Frederick Albert Mitchell-Hedges. German archaeologist Otto Rahn.

George Lucas has said on various occasions that Sean Connery's portrayal of British secret agent James Bond was one of the primary inspirations for Jones, a reason Connery was chosen for the role of Indiana's father in the third film, ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''.

Influence

Though some archaeologists criticize Indy's methods as befitting a "looter" rather more than a careful worker of precious sites, many have adopted the popular figure as something of a standard-bearer for their profession. The industry magazine ''Archaeology'', believing that Jones, as one editor said, was "a horrible archaeologist but a great diplomat for archaeology," named eight past and current archaeologists who they felt "embodied [Jones'] spirit" as recipients of the "Indy Spirit Awards" in 2008. That same year Ford himself was elected to the Board of Directors of the Archaeological Institute of America. Commenting that "understanding the past can only help us in dealing with the present and the future," Ford was praised by the association's president for his character's "significant role in stimulating the public's interest in archaeological exploration."

While himself a homage to various prior adventurers, aspects of Indiana Jones also directly influenced some subsequent characterizations: Lara Croft, the female archaeologist of the ''Tomb Raider'' franchise, was originally designed as a man, but was changed to a woman, partly because the developers felt that the original design was too similar to Indiana Jones. Paramount Pictures, which distributed the Indiana Jones film series, would later make two films based on the ''Tomb Raider'' games.

Nathan Drake, The main protagonist of the Uncharted Video game series.

''Prince of Persia'' producer Ben Mattes explained that their "inspiration was anything Harrison Ford has ever done: Indiana Jones, Han Solo." The video game series ''Uncharted'' is also very heavily influenced by Indiana Jones, as well as some of the influences that led to Indiana Jones himself, such as pulp magazines and movie serials. The design team felt the sources shared themes of mystery and "what-if scenarios" that romanticized adventure and aimed to include those in ''Uncharted''.

Jack West Jr, a character featured in 3 Matthew Reilly books, (''Seven Ancient Wonders'', ''The Six Sacred Stones'' and ''The Five Greatest Warriors'') is heavily influenced by Indiana Jones. Reilly himself is a big fan of George Lucas.

Rick O'Connell of ''The Mummy'' and its sequels.

Ben Franklin Gates of the ''National Treasure'' film series.

In the game ''World of Warcraft'' there is an NPC named Harrison Jones, a reference to Indiana Jones and the actor Harrison Ford. This NPC teaches Archaeology to the character, making them able to find ancient treasures around the world. Furthermore, the game area Uldum has numerous playable quests with Harrison Jones as the main character, which contain a number of lines and references from ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''.

The Tia Carrere television show ''Relic Hunter''.

Robert Langdon from such Dan Brown novels as ''Angels & Demons'', ''The Da Vinci Code'', and ''The Lost Symbol'', adapted for cinema.

References

External links

IndianaJones.com – the official Indiana Jones site

The Indiana Jones Wiki – A wiki devoted to ''Indiana Jones''

Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1981 Category:Fictional archaeologists Category:Fictional characters from New Jersey Category:Fictional professors Category:Fictional American people of Scottish descent Category:Fictional secret agents and spies Category:Fictional colonels Category:Child characters in television Category:Fictional World War I veterans Category:Fictional World War II veterans Category:Indiana Jones characters

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''The Falling Man'' is a photograph taken by Associated Press photographer Richard Drew, of a man falling from the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:41:15 a.m. during the September 11 attacks in New York City. The subject of the image — whose identity remains uncertain in spite of attempts to identify him — was one of the people trapped on the upper floors of the skyscraper who apparently chose to jump rather than die from the fire and smoke. As many as 200 people jumped to their deaths that day; there was no time to recover or identify those who were forced to jump prior to the collapse of the towers. Officially, all deaths in the attacks except those of the hijackers were ruled to be homicides (as opposed to suicides), and the New York City medical examiner's office stated that it does not classify the people who fell to their deaths on September 11 as "jumpers": "A 'jumper' is somebody who goes to the office in the morning knowing that they will commit suicide... These people were forced out by the smoke and flames or blown out."

The photograph at right is somewhat deceptive, as it gives the impression that the man is falling straight down. However, this is just one of a dozen photographs of his fall, and in other photographs it is evident that he is tumbling through the air.

The photographer has noted that, in at least two cases, newspaper stories commenting on the image have attracted a barrage of criticism from readers who found the image "disturbing." Regarding the social and cultural significance of 'The Falling Man', theologian Mark D. Thompson of Moore Theological College says that "perhaps the most powerful image of despair at the beginning of the twenty-first century is not found in art, or literature, or even popular music. It is found in a single photograph."

Publication history

The photograph initially appeared in newspapers around the world, including on page 7 of ''The New York Times'' on September 12, 2001. It appeared only once in the ''Times'' because of criticism and anger against its use. Six years later, it appeared on page 1 of the ''New York Times Book Review'' on May 27, 2007.

"The Falling Man" is also the title of an article about the photograph by Tom Junod that appeared in the September 2003 issue of ''Esquire'' magazine and was later made into a documentary film. The article and film reveal who "The Falling Man" actually may have been: Jonathan Briley. Briley worked on the top floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center. It was there, in the restaurant, that he decided to jump. He was an asthmatic and knew he would not survive when smoke began to pour into the restaurant.

Identification

Because of the number of people who were forced out by the smoke and flames, blown out, or jumped, identifying the man captured in the 12 photos was not an easy task. At least 200 people either jumped or fell to their deaths.

Initially, the faller was identified by ''The Globe and Mail'' reporter Peter Cheney as Norberto Hernandez, but when the family looked at the whole series of pictures, it was clear that it was not Hernandez. Three other families claimed that he was their relative, but after careful analysis of the photo this was disproven.

Five years after the attacks, The Falling Man was identified by chef Michael Lomonaco as Jonathan Briley, a 43-year-old employee of the Windows on the World restaurant. Briley was a sound engineer who lived in Mount Vernon, New York and worked in the North Tower restaurant. According to the film, the victim was initially identified by his brother, Timothy. Lomonaco claims that he was able to identify Briley by his clothes and body-type. In one of the pictures, The Falling Man's clothes were blown away, revealing an orange undershirt similar to the shirt that Briley wore to work almost every day. His older sister, Gwendolyn, asserted he was wearing that shirt on the day of the attack. She told reporters of ''The Sunday Mirror'', "When I first looked at the picture...and I saw it was a man - tall, slim - I said, 'If I didn't know any better, that could be Jonathan.'" A charity has been set up for Briley's family, and many news programs have aired his story as being the one of The Falling Man. However, the identity of The Falling Man has never been officially confirmed.

Another brother, Alex, was an original member of the disco group Village People.

Documentary film

''9/11: The Falling Man'' is a 2006 documentary film about the picture and the story behind it. It was made by American filmmaker Henry Singer and filmed by Richard Numeroff, a New York-based director of photography. The film is loosely based on Junod's ''Esquire'' story. It also drew its material from photographer Lyle Owerko's pictures of falling people. It debuted on March 16, 2006, on the British television network Channel 4. It later made its North American premiere on Canada's CBC Newsworld on September 6, 2006, and has been broadcast in over 30 countries. The U.S. premiere was September 10, 2007, on the Discovery Times Channel.

Use in literature

The picture plays an important part in the book ''Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close'' by Jonathan Safran Foer. The last 15 pages of his text comprise a flip-book collection of images of a similar man shot by photographer Lyle Owerko falling upwards toward the top of the World Trade Center. Although he is not the first to make the claim, Foer demonstrates how the falling man is used as a symbol for grieving families much like the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier."

''Falling Man,'' a novel by Don DeLillo, is about the events of 9/11. The Falling Man in the novel is a performance artist recreating the events of the photograph. DeLillo claims that he was unfamiliar with the title of the picture when he named his book. The artist straps himself into a harness and jumps from an elevated structure in a high visibility area (such as a highway overpass), hanging in the pose of the falling man.

Notes

References

''9/11: The Falling Man'' (March 16, 2006). Channel 4.

Further reading

External links

NPR interview with Esquire magazine writer Tom Junod, August 21, 2003

Esquire article on search for the identity of the Falling Man

Category:September 11 attacks Category:Victims of the September 11 attacks Category:Terrorism deaths in New York Category:Filmed deaths from falls Category:Deaths by defenestration Category:Photographs Category:Unidentified people Category:2001 works Category:Associated Press Category:Works originally published in The New York Times Category:2001 deaths

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