1.
South Bend, Indiana
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South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents, its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 318,586 and it is the fourth-largest city in Indiana, serving as the economic and cultural hub of Northern Indiana. The highly ranked University of Notre Dame is located just to the north in unincorporated Notre Dame, the area was originally settled in the early 19th century by fur traders and was established as a city in 1865. The St. Joseph River shaped South Bends economy through the mid-20th century, River access assisted heavy industrial development such as that of the Studebaker Corporation, the Oliver Chilled Plow Company, and other large corporations. The population of South Bend declined after 1960, when it had a population of 132,445. This was chiefly due to migration to areas as well as the demise of Studebaker and other heavy industry. Today, the largest industries in South Bend are health care, education, small business, remaining large corporations include Crowe Horwath, Honeywell, and AM General. Recently, the city population has started to grow for the first time in fifty years. The old Studebaker plant and surrounding area, now called Ignition Park, is being redeveloped as a center to attract new industry. The St. Joseph Valley was long occupied by Native Americans, one of the earliest known groups to occupy what would later become northern Indiana was the Miami tribe. Later, the Potawatomi moved into the region, utilizing the rich food, the Potawatomi occupied this region of Indiana until most of them were forcibly removed in the 1840s. The South Bend area was so popular because its portage was the shortest overland route from the St. Joseph River to the Kankakee River and this route was used for centuries, first by the Native Americans, then by French explorers, missionaries and traders. The first permanent white settlers of South Bend were fur traders who established trading posts in the area, in 1820, Pierre Frieschutz Navarre arrived, representing the American Fur Company of John Jacob Astor. He settled near what is now downtown South Bend, alexis Coquillard, another agent of the AFC, established a trading post known as the Big St. Joseph Station. In 1827, Lathrop Minor Taylor established a post for Samuel Hanna and Company, in whose records the name St. Josephs, by 1829, the town was growing, with Coquillard and Taylor emerging as leaders. They applied for a post office, Taylor was appointed postmaster, and the post office was designated as Southold, Allen County, Indiana. The following year, the name was changed to South Bend, probably to ease confusion, in 1831, South Bend was laid out as the county seat and as one of the four original townships of St. Joseph County with 128 residents. Soon after, design began on what would become the town of South Bend, the town was formally established in 1835 and rapidly grew
2.
Days of Our Lives
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Days of Our Lives is an American daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the scripted television programs in the world. It has since been syndicated to many countries around the world and it rebroadcast same-day episodes on SOAPnet weeknights at 8 and 10 p. m. until the networks closure in 2013. The series was created by husband-and-wife team Ted Corday and Betty Corday. Irna Phillips was an editor for Days of Our Lives. In February 2016, the received a one-year renewal through 2017. Due to the success, it was expanded from 30 minutes to 60 minutes on April 21,1975. The series focuses on its core families, the Hortons and the Bradys, several other families have been added to the cast, and many of them still appear on the show. Frances Reid, the matriarch of the series Horton family remained with the show from its inception to her death on February 3,2010. Suzanne Rogers celebrated 40 years on Days of Our Lives this year, Susan Seaforth Hayes is the only cast member to appear on Days of Our Lives in all five decades it has been on air. Days of Our Lives aired its 10, 000th episode on February 21,2005, the soap was given the title of most daring drama in the seventies due to covering topics other soaps would not dare to do. The shows executive producer is Ken Corday, and co-executive producers are Greg Meng, Days of Our Lives is the most widely distributed soap opera in the United States. The show has had high-profile fans such as actress Julia Roberts, the Cordays and Bell combined the hospital soap idea with the tradition of centering a series on a family, by making the show about a family of doctors, including one who worked in a mental hospital. Former executive producer Al Rabin took pride in the characters passion, critics originally praised the show for its non-reliance on nostalgia and its portrayal of real American contemporary families. The January 12,1976 cover of Time magazine featured Days of Our Lives Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes, Days of Our lives actors have also won awards, Macdonald Carey won Best Actor in 1974 and 1975. Susan Flannery and Eileen Davidson won Best Actress in 1975 and 2014, suzanne Rogers, Leann Hunley, and Tamara Braun won Best Supporting Actress for, respectively,1979,1986, and 2009 and Billy Warlock won Best Younger Actor for 1988. In January 2007 it was suggested by NBC that the show is unlikely to continue past 2009, in November 2008, in an eleventh-hour decision, it was announced the show had been renewed through September 2010. The 18-month renewal was down from its previous renewal, which was for five years, the show made somewhat of a comeback in 2009, with ratings increasing as the year progressed. The series received a renewal in January 2014 that is set to last until September 2016
3.
Generations (U.S. TV series)
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Generations is an American soap opera that aired on NBC from March 27,1989, to January 25,1991. The show was groundbreaking in that it was the first soap opera to feature from its inception an African-American family, marla Adams Anthony Addabbo Jonelle Allen Jack Betts Taurean Blacque/James Reynolds Sharon Brown/Debbi Morgan Patricia Crowley/Dorothy Lyman George Deloy Rick Fitts Vivica A. Directors included Casey Childs, Michael Eilbaum, and Maria Wagner, the series was written by Sally Sussman Morina and Michelle Val Jean. 1988–89 season,2.7 million viewers 1989–90 season,2.6 million viewers 1990–91 season,2. com
4.
Patti LaBelle
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Patricia Louise Holt-Edwards better known under the stage name Patti LaBelle, is an American singer, author, actress, and entrepreneur. LaBelle began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer and front woman of the group, Patti LaBelle. After the group split in 1976, LaBelle began a solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album. Less than two years later, in 1986, LaBelle scored with the album, Winner in You. LaBelle eventually won a 1992 Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her 1991 album, Burnin, followed by a second Grammy win for the live album and her 1990s albums, Burnin, Gems and Flame, continued her popularity with young R&B audiences throughout the decade. LaBelles success has extended as an actress with a role in the film, A Soldiers Story. In 1992, LaBelle starred in her own TV sitcom, Out All Night, a decade later, LaBelle hosted her own lifestyle TV show, Living It Up with Patti LaBelle on TV One. In 2015, LaBelle took part in the competition, Dancing with the Stars. In a career that has spanned fifty years, she has more than 50 million records worldwide. LaBelle has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Apollo Theater Hall of Fame, in 2005, the World Music Awards recognized her years in the music business by awarding her the Legend Award. Possessing the voice of a soprano, LaBelle was included in Rolling Stone on their list of 100 Greatest Singers, LaBelle is commonly identified as the Godmother of Soul. LaBelle was born Patricia Louise Holte on May 24,1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and her father was a railroad worker and her mother was a domestic. Despite enjoying her childhood, LaBelle would later write in her memoirs, Dont Block the Blessings, when Patti was seven, she was sexually molested by a family friend. At twelve, her parents came to an end though Patti remained close to her father. When she was fifteen, she won a talent competition at her high school and this success led to Patti forming her first singing group, the Ordettes, in 1960, with schoolmates Jean Brown, Yvonne Hogen and Johnnie Dawson. The group, with Patti as front woman, became an attraction until two of its members left to marry. In 1962, the Ordettes included three new members, Cindy Birdsong, Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx, the two girls having sung for another defunct vocal group. That year, they auditioned for record label owner Harold Robinson
5.
NBC
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The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcast television network that is the flagship property of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The network is part of the Big Three television networks, founded in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America, NBC is the oldest major broadcast network in the United States. Following the acquisition by GE, Bob Wright served as executive officer of NBC, remaining in that position until his retirement in 2007. In 2003, French media company Vivendi merged its entertainment assets with GE, Comcast purchased a controlling interest in the company in 2011, and acquired General Electrics remaining stake in 2013. Following the Comcast merger, Zucker left NBC Universal and was replaced as CEO by Comcast executive Steve Burke, during a period of early broadcast business consolidation, radio manufacturer Radio Corporation of America acquired New York City radio station WEAF from American Telephone & Telegraph. Westinghouse, a shareholder in RCA, had an outlet in Newark, New Jersey pioneer station WJZ. This station was transferred from Westinghouse to RCA in 1923, WEAF acted as a laboratory for AT&Ts manufacturing and supply outlet Western Electric, whose products included transmitters and antennas. The Bell System, AT&Ts telephone utility, was developing technologies to transmit voice- and music-grade audio over short and long distances, the 1922 creation of WEAF offered a research-and-development center for those activities. WEAF maintained a schedule of radio programs, including some of the first commercially sponsored programs. In an early example of chain or networking broadcasting, the station linked with Outlet Company-owned WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, AT&T refused outside companies access to its high-quality phone lines. The early effort fared poorly, since the telegraph lines were susceptible to atmospheric. In 1925, AT&T decided that WEAF and its network were incompatible with the companys primary goal of providing a telephone service. AT&T offered to sell the station to RCA in a deal that included the right to lease AT&Ts phone lines for network transmission, the divisions ownership was split among RCA, its founding corporate parent General Electric and Westinghouse. NBC officially started broadcasting on November 15,1926, WEAF and WJZ, the flagships of the two earlier networks, were operated side-by-side for about a year as part of the new NBC. On April 5,1927, NBC expanded to the West Coast with the launch of the NBC Orange Network and this was followed by the debut of the NBC Gold Network, also known as the Pacific Gold Network, on October 18,1931. The Orange Network carried Red Network programming, and the Gold Network carried programming from the Blue Network, initially, the Orange Network recreated Eastern Red Network programming for West Coast stations at KPO in San Francisco. The Orange Network name was removed from use in 1936, at the same time, the Gold Network became part of the Blue Network. In the 1930s, NBC also developed a network for shortwave radio stations, in 1927, NBC moved its operations to 711 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, occupying the upper floors of a building designed by architect Floyd Brown
6.
Roland Emmerich
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Roland Emmerich is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer, widely known for his disaster films. He began his work in the industry by directing the film The Noahs Ark Principle as part of his university thesis. He is a collector of art and a campaigner for the LGBT community. He is also a campaigner for awareness of global warming and human rights, Emmerich was born in Stuttgart, West Germany, and grew up in the nearby town of Sindelfingen. As a youth, he traveled extensively throughout Europe and North America on vacations financed by his father, Hans, in 1977, he began attending University of Television and Film Munich with the intention of studying to become a production designer. After watching Star Wars, he decided to enroll in the schools film director program. In 1985, he founded Centropolis Film Productions in partnership with his sister, producer Ute Emmerich, and directed his film debut. He subsequently directed the 1987 comedy Hollywood-Monster and the 1990 science-fiction film Moon 44 and this subsequently resulted in Moon 44 being released direct-to-video in the U. S. in early 1991. Joey and Hollywood-Monster eventually also saw video releases in the U. S. once Emmerich achieved more prominence in America. Producer Mario Kassar invited Emmerich to come to the United States to direct an action film entitled Isobar. Dean Devlin, who appeared in Moon 44, soon joined Emmerich as his writing and producing partner, Emmerich subsequently refused the offer to direct after producers rejected Devlins re-write of the script, and the Isobar project was eventually scrapped. Instead, Emmerich was hired to replace director Andrew Davis for the action movie Universal Soldier, the film was released in 1992, and has since been followed by two direct-to-video sequels, a theatrical sequel, and another sequel released in 2010. Emmerich next helmed the 1994 science-fiction film Stargate, at the time, it set a record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a film released in the month of October. It became more successful than most film industry insiders had anticipated. Emmerich and Devlin then created the television series The Visitor, which aired on the Fox Network during 1997–1998 before being cancelled after one season and his next film, Godzilla, opened in 1998. An extensive advertising and marketing campaign generated significant hype during the leading up to the films release. The film was a box office success but was met with reviews from critics. It has only a 16% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, taking a short break from science-fiction, Emmerich next directed the American Revolutionary War epic The Patriot
7.
Independence Day (1996 film)
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Independence Day is a 1996 American science fiction action film directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich. The film focuses on disparate groups of people who converge in the Nevada desert in the aftermath of a attack by an extraterrestrial race of unknown origin. Along with the rest of the world, they launch a counterattack on July 4 – Independence Day in the United States. While promoting Stargate in Europe, Emmerich came up with the idea for the film when fielding a question about his own belief in the existence of alien life. He and Dean Devlin decided to incorporate a large-scale attack having noticed that aliens in most invasion films travel long distances in space only to remain hidden when reaching Earth. Shooting began in July 1995 in New York City, and the film was completed on June 20,1996. The film grossed over $817.4 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1996, and briefly, as of June 2016, it ranks 55th on the list of highest-grossing films, and was at the forefront of the large-scale disaster film and sci-fi resurgence of the mid-1990s. The film has an rating of 61% on Rotten Tomatoes. It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing, a sequel, Independence Day, Resurgence, was released on June 24,2016. David Levinson, an MIT-trained satellite technician, decodes a signal embedded in the satellite transmissions that he determines is a timer counting down to a coordinated attack. Whitmore, the Levinsons, and a few others narrowly escape aboard Air Force One as the capital is destroyed, on July 3, international leaders begin ordering individual counterattacks. Their aviation forces attack destroyer ships positioned above the ruins of the cities, each destroyer launches a swarm of attack fighters, which wipe out the human fighter squadrons. He subdues the injured pilot and flags down a convoy of refugees. They transport the alien to nearby Area 51 where Whitmores group has landed. Area 51 houses the refurbished alien fighter and three alien corpses recovered from the crash, when eccentric scientist Brackish Okun examines the alien captured by Hiller, it regains consciousness and attacks. It telepathically invades Okuns mind and uses his vocal cords to communicate with Whitmore before launching an attack against him. Whitmore sees visions of the plans, their entire civilization travels from planet to planet, exterminating all indigenous life. On July 4, Levinson demonstrates that the key to defeating the aliens lies in deactivating their force fields and he proposes using the refurbished alien fighter to implement the plan, which Hiller volunteers to pilot
8.
F. Gary Gray
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Felix Gary Gray is an American film director, film producer, music video director and actor. Gray directed Friday, Set It Off, The Negotiator, The Italian Job, Straight Outta Compton, Gray was born in New York. He began his career in 1989 when he appeared uncredited in the comedy film Major League. Three years later, he directed the video for Ice Cubes It Was a Good Day. The video is a adaptation of the lyrics. He would go on to subsequent videos for Ice Cube, as well as artists such as Cypress Hill, Outkast, Dr. Dre. At age 24, Gray directed his first film, the urban comedy Friday with rapper-producer Ice Cube, next, he directed the film Set It Off, with Jada Pinkett and Queen Latifah. Gray also directed The Italian Job, an action-thriller starring Academy Award winner Charlize Theron, Gray garnered the Best Director award at the 2004 Black American Film Festival for his work on the film, which surpassed the $100 million mark in the domestic box office. His next film was A Man Apart, a violent action thriller starring Vin Diesel and he would later direct Be Cool, an adaptation of Elmore Leonards novel of the same name. The John Travolta vehicle was a flop, but made $95.2 million worldwide. His next film was the thriller Law Abiding Citizen, starring Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, scripted by Kurt Wimmer, it grossed over $100 million worldwide. Gray is also responsible for directing music videos. He has worked with TLC, Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder, Babyface and he also received the Pioneer Director award from the Pan-African Film and Arts Festival in 2010. He also directed the acclaimed drama Straight Outta Compton, which is a biographical film about the rap group. Gray was selected as the director for the installment of The Fast. Dre and Ice Cube Saturday Nite Live by Masta Ace Incorporated Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik by OutKast Black Hand Side by Queen Latifah Keep Their Heads Ringin by Dr. Dre Pretty Girl by Jon B
9.
Set It Off (film)
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Set It Off is a 1996 American crime action film directed by F. Gary Gray, and written by Kate Lanier and Takashi Bufford. The film stars Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A and it follows four close friends in Los Angeles, California, who decide to plan and execute a bank robbery. They decide to do so for different reasons, although all four want better for themselves, the film became a critical and box office success, grossing over $41 million against a budget of $9 million. Francesca Frankie Sutton is a Los Angeles bank teller who witnesses a robbery, although she had no prior knowledge of the robbery, the bank fires Frankie after the police uncover a connection between her and one of the three robbers. Frankie goes to work at Luthers Janitorial Services with her three best friends, Lida Stoney Newsome, Cleopatra Cleo Sims, and Tisean T. T. Williams, Luther treats them with disrespect and pays them paltry wages. Cleo states they should rob a bank themselves, Frankie agrees, but Stoney and T. T. are reluctant. The four women embark on a series of robberies, which are investigated by LAPD detective Strode. He suspects that Cleo, Frankie and Stoney are involved, but his superior refuses to allow him to bring them in for questioning because he doesnt feel the evidence is sufficient. The four women stash the money in an air vent at one of their work sites, however, Cleo, Frankie, and T. T. show up for work one day and realize that their boss, Luther has discovered the money and fled. While Stoney attends an event with her lover Keith, the three women track Luther to a motel where he is sleeping with a prostitute. When Luther pulls a gun on Cleo, T. T. kills him, the next day Detective Strode takes Cleo to the police station to participate in a lineup. A glare from Cleo intimidates the prostitute into silence, Frankie and Cleo persuade T. T. and Stoney that they need to rob another bank and leave town the next day. The women rob the bank where Keith, Stoneys lover, works, Strode and his partner try to prevent the robbery, but a bank security guard shoots T. T. The women flee but T. T. dies in Stoneys arms en route to the hospital, the three remaining women decide to split up and meet up later. The police find Cleo who proceeds leads them on a speed chase. After her car is shot up by police, Cleo leaps from her car in one battle for her dignity, firing her gun. Frankie is found a time later. Strode tries to get her to surrender, but when she runs away, she is shot in the back, Stoney tearfully watches this from a passing bus
10.
Soul Food (film)
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Soul Food is a 1997 American comedy-drama film produced by Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, Tracey Edmonds and Robert Teitel and released by Fox 2000 Pictures. Featuring an ensemble cast, the film stars Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey D. Sams, Irma P. Hall, Gina Ravera, in 2000, Showtime premiered a one-hour television series based upon the film. Youngest daughter Ryla —nicknamed Bird—has just opened a barbershop/beauty parlor and is married to Lem, without her guidance, the family begins to fall apart. Teri takes in her troubled cousin Faith, who bonds with Miles over a love of the arts. Meanwhile, Lem cannot find a job due to his record, so Bird makes an uneasy deal with her former boyfriend, Simuel St. James. Realizing her mistake, Teri calls in a few favors to have Lem released, however, Ahmad manages to get everyone together for another Sunday dinner by promising them the whereabouts of the money. The dinner is uneasy as everyone starts to confront their issues and soon enough, Maxine chastises her son for lying, but Ahmad says tearfully that it was the only way to get everyone back together again, citing it was Joes dying wish. As Maxine is comforting her son, the kitchen accidentally catches on fire due to Ahmad leaving a towel too close to the burner and they all together to try. Things start to go well for the family, Vanessa Williams as Teri Vivica A. Regina King, Kenya Moore and Jada Pinkett-Smith were all considered for the role of Bird, Fox auditioned for the role of Teri, but landed the role of Maxine instead. Malik Yoba makes a cameo as their studio engineer. Soul Food was shot primarily on location in the Chicago area, a later Tillman-produced film, Barbershop, would also take place in and be shot on location in Chicago. A soundtrack containing R&B and hip-hop was released on August 19,1997 by LaFace Records and it peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and was eventually certified 2x Multi-Platinum for over 2 million copies sold. Soul Food received generally positive reviews from critics and it holds an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 41 reviews. The film earned $43,700,855 during its theatrical run. The film opened at #3 in its opening weekend at $11,197,897 behind The Peacemakers opening weekend, Phifer and Hall both appeared in HBOs 1999 adaptation of A Lesson Before Dying, the 1993 novel by Ernest J. Gaines. Hammond, Beach and Sams all appeared in the 1995 film Waiting to Exhale, soul Food spawned a follow-up cable television show on the Showtime network. Soul Food, The Series aired from 2000-2004 on Showtime and currently airs in reruns on TV One
11.
Why Do Fools Fall in Love (film)
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Why Do Fools Fall in Love is a 1998 American romantic drama film, directed by Gregory Nava and released by Warner Bros. The film is a film of the brief but intense life of R&B/Rock and roll singer Frankie Lymon, lead singer of the pioneering rock. Moreover, the highlights the three women in his life, each of whom claim to have married Lymon and lay claim to his estate. Written by Tina Andrews, Why Do Fools Fall in Love stars Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, Lela Rochon, and Larenz Tate, Little Richard also appears in the film as himself. Lymon was 13 years old when the teenage group Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers erupted from radios and jukeboxes with their 1956 hit Why Do Fools Fall in Love. after Mr. Rock and Roll, Lymon started a solo singing career, but it all fell apart. Lymons career was over by the time he was 18 years old, ending credits shows the real Frankie Lymon singing his song Goody Goody. Little Richard also makes a appearance, while Miguel A. Nunez. The film ends with Emira winning Frankies estate, although Elizabeth was named the legal surviving spouse of Frankie Lymon, the screenplay of the film, written by actress-turned-screenwriter Tina Andrews, took fifteen years to be produced. Director Gregory Nava used most of the staff from his prior film Selena. Filming locations include, Jacksonville, Florida, Los Angeles, California, the film was first presented at the Urbanworld Film Festival, New York on August 8,1998. The film opened in wide release on August 28,1998, why Do Fools Fall in Love ran for 8 weeks domestically and eventually grossed $12,506,676 in the United States. At its widest release the film was shown in 1,377 screens, the taglines used by the producers of the film to market the film include, The story of three very different women. With one husband in common Three different women married Frankie Lymon, by the end of the film, were not even left with anyone to root for, we realize with a little astonishment, waiting for the court verdict, that we dont care who wins. Yet, film critic Peter Stack liked the film and believes director Nava smartly juggles a lot of elements in the picture. He wrote, Why Do Fools Fall in Love is a fresh, enlightening example of how to take a tragic American show-business story and make it funny, warm, brims with joyful spirit and raucous comedy. Deftly juggles a surprising number of elements, but they all work, wins ALMA Award, Outstanding Latino Director of a Feature Film, Gregory Nava,1999. American Black Film Festival, Black Film Award, Best Actor, nominations ALMA Awards, Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film in a Crossover Role, Miguel A. Núñez Jr. Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Feature Film, Alexis Cruz,1999, American Black Film Festival, Black Film Award, Best Screenplay, Tina Andrews, Best Soundtrack,1999
12.
Kingdom Come (2001 film)
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Kingdom Come is a 2001 comedy-drama film, written by David Bottrell and Jessie Jones, and directed by Doug McHenry. This film stars LL Cool J, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, Anthony Anderson, Toni Braxton and Whoopi Goldberg. Kingdom Come is a story of a family called the Slocumbs, living out in the country, who must come together after the death of a family member and it is based on the Off-Broadway play Dearly Departed. First, theres Woodrow Bud Slocumb, the man in question, whose wife, the film begin with the a radio morning announcement by Rev. Beverly H. Hooker. She had also heard about Juniors and Charisses business going bad and she thinks that both her nephew and her own son could learn from Buster Kincaids child, Tiny. She had him over the weekend, and he did some chores around the house, as a reward, she gave him three dollars for his birthday the following week instead of the actual two dollars. Moreover, she says that she has decided to come over to visit church, she believes that one of them needs to get things right with the Lord. After Raynelle finishes reading, Bud, who both agrees and disagrees with some things said in the letter, collapses and dies, with the former noticing, later, Royce is awaken by a loud ring of his phone. The one calling is his mother, who starts singing too pitchy, after he answers again, he calls her off for waking him up, in which she replies that she says that hes taking the Lords name in vain. Royce talks harshly to his mother, but she talks back and she tells him that its 7,00 in the morning and why he isnt up looking for a job, but he replies that its not that at all. She assumes that he has a hangover and begins accusing him of laying with a harlot. He tells her to stop that and asks what does she want and she though that he want to know that his uncle Bud has passed this morning. He seems to be compassionate, saying that he is sorry to hear that and she replies that his aunt is not doing well, as his uncle dropped dead at a breakfast table in the middle of her letter. He then pretends to be sympathetic about the cause of his uncles death and she says that they are going to their house and giving them comfort and some Christian counsel. LL Cool J as Ray Bud Slocumb Jada Pinkett Smith as Charisse Slocumb Vivica A
13.
Two Can Play That Game
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Two Can Play That Game is a 2001 romantic comedy film written and directed by Mark Brown. Shante Smith is a woman who gives advice on how to keep a man in check and her ideals are challenged when her man, an attorney, named Keith Fenton, threatens to stray. Smith is a woman who feels that when it comes to men and their tricks. On the other end, Shante’s boyfriend Keith is being led by his friend Tony, when Shantés boyfriend, Keith, is caught red-handed stepping out with a co-worker, Shanté institutes her Ten Day Plan to get her man in line. The battle soon begins, though at the conclusion of the movie, Shante, box office raking in $7,720,942 USD in its first opening weekend, behind The Musketeer. The film was released in the United Kingdom on September 13,2002, the film got a mixed reception at Rotten Tomatoes, with a rating of 43%, including 27 fresh and 36 rotten. A direct-to-DVD film, titled Three Can Play That Game, was released in February 2008, the sequel was rated, although there still was a little inappropriate content. Three Can Play That Game starred Vivica A, fox as Shante Smith, a famous couples counsellor. This time around, Foxs character plays a role, as opposed to her starring role in the original. Morris Chestnut or his character doesnt make an appearance, but he was mentioned, Two Can Play That Game at AllMovie Two Can Play That Game at the Internet Movie Database
14.
Boat Trip (film)
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The film was released in the United States on March 21,2003. Jerry and Nick are two best buddies whose love lives have hit rock bottom, after Nick runs into a friend who is getting married to a beautiful, younger girl he met on a singles cruise, he decides to take a similar cruise with Jerry. Things do not go as planned though, after a travel agent books them on a cruise for gay men. During their trip, they come to learn that gay men are less objectionable than they first assumed, however, Jerry falls in love with the cruises dance instructor Gabriella and in order to win her over, he pretends to be gay so he can get closer to her. Meanwhile, Nick blossoms a romance with a model named Inga. After an accidental affair with her mean, sex-obsessed coach Sonya, Nick must fend her off, in the end, Jerry wins Gabriella while Nick loses out on Inga but sees a potential relationship with her sister instead. However, he is unwittingly reunited with Sonya, much to his disgust. Cuba Gooding Jr. as Jerry Robinson Horatio Sanz as Nick Ragoni Roselyn Sánchez as Gabriella Vivica A, in total, it had a worldwide gross of $15,020,293. It was released on DVD in the US on September 30,2003 and this film was universally critically panned by the critics on its initial release and performed poorly in theaters. Rotten Tomatoes, an aggregator, reports that 7% of 88 surveyed critics gave it a positive review. The sites consensus reads, Boat Trip is a lame, juvenile farce thats heavy on stereotypes and desperate antics but short on brains, metacritic rated it 18/100 based on 28 reviews. Chris Rock made jokes about Gooding during the 2005 Oscars telecast for starring in movie after receiving an Academy Award. Many viewed the film as homophobic although a reviewer for The Advocate wrote that the film was too terrible to protest. On the show Ebert and Roeper, Roger Ebert said the film was so bad in so many different ways, not only does it offend gays and his co-host Richard Roeper said, If the ship hit an iceberg, I would have been rooting for the iceberg. Overall, it was nominated for two Razzie Awards for Gooding as Worst Actor and for Mort Nathan as Worst Director, Boat Trip at the Internet Movie Database Boat Trip at AllMovie
15.
Kill Bill
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Kill Bill is an American two-part martial arts film series, and the fourth film overall that was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The original four-hour cut, retitled Kill Bill, The Whole Bloody Affair, was screened at cinemas in 2011. Tarantino has discussed the possibility of a third Kill Bill film, Kill Bill, Volume 1 was released in theaters on October 10,2003. In the United States and Canada, Volume 1 was released in 3,102 theaters, Volume 1 was the widest theatrical release of Tarantinos career to date, and it was also his highest-grossing opening weekend to date. Outside the United States and Canada, Kill Bill, Volume 1 was released in 20 countries, by November 2,2003, it had made $31 million in the 20 countries. Kill Bill, Volume 1 grossed a total of $70 million in the United States and Canada, the film follows a character initially identified as The Bride, a former assassin seeking revenge on her ex-colleagues who massacred members of her wedding party and tried to kill her. Kill Bill, Volume 2 was released in theaters on April 16,2004, Volume 2s opening weekend gross was higher than Volume 1s, and the equivalent success confirmed the studios financial decision to split the film into two theatrical releases. Volume 2 attracted more female theatergoers than Volume 1, with 40% of the audience being female, outside of the United States and Canada, Volume 2 was released in 20 countries over the weekend of April 23,2004. It grossed an estimated $17.7 million and ranked first at the box office. Volume 2 grossed a total of $66.2 million in the United States and Canada, the film follows The Bride pursuing Bills brother Budd and confronting Elle Driver, a fellow student of Pai Mei. She eventually catches up with Bill himself, screenings of the complete film began on March 27,2011 at the New Beverly Cinema. This was verified to be the print that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003. The print shown at the New Beverly even retained the French subtitles necessary for screening an English-language film at the Cannes festival, Tarantino told Entertainment Weekly in April 2004, that he was planning a sequel, Oh yeah, initially I was thinking this would be my Dollars Trilogy. I was going to do a new one every ten years, but I need at least fifteen years before I do this again. Ive already got the whole mythology, Sofie Fatale will get all of Bills money, shell raise Nikki, wholl take on The Bride. Nikki deserves her revenge every bit as much as The Bride deserved hers, according to Bloody-Disgusting. com, details emerged around 2007 about two possible sequels, Kill Bill, Volumes 3 and 4. The article adds that the installment of the popular kung fu action films concerns a cycle of reprisals. At the 2006 Comic Con, Tarantino said that after the completion of Grindhouse, one will be an origin story about Bill and his mentors, and the other will be an origin starring The Bride
16.
Ella Enchanted (film)
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Ella Enchanted is a 2004 fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Tommy OHaver and written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith loosely based on Gail Carson Levines 1997 novel of the same name. Starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy, the plays with the usual fairy tale genre. The film is a co-production between companies in the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, within the kingdom of Emir, in the town of Frell, a baby girl named Ella is born to Sir Peter and his wife Lady Eleanor. She is given the gift of obedience by a misguided and obnoxious fairy called Lucinda and this turns out to be more of a curse, as it forces Ella to do anything she is told to do, even if the command is against her wishes. Ellas mother, on her deathbed, warns her not to tell anyone about the curse she is under for fear that someone might use it to exploit Ella. After her mothers death, only Mandy, the household fairy, several years later, Ellas father remarries to a wealthy socialite, Dame Olga, who dislikes Ella. Her spoiled daughters Hattie and Olive notice Ellas obedience and start to humiliate her, Ella stumbles upon Prince Charmont, the handsome heir who will soon take the throne, as hes being pursued by his fan club of besotted young women. He invites Ella to the Coronation Ball, but Olga intercepts the invitation, Hattie and Olive, fan club members themselves, are overcome with jealousy. They force Ella to insult and cut ties with her best friend Areida, Ella cannot bear her situation a moment longer, and resolves to find Lucinda, as she is the only one who can reverse the spell. Mandy helps by lending Ella her boyfriend Benny, whom she transformed into a talking magical book that can show people in their current surroundings. During her journey, Ella encounters an elf named Slannen, who wants to be a lawyer instead of an entertainer as the laws now require and they are both captured by a group of ogres, who want to eat them. Prince Charmont rescues them and accompanies them to a wedding in the land of giants, en route, Ella opens Chars eyes to the cruelty of the laws oppressing elves and giants established by the acting ruler, Chars uncle Sir Edgar. Char invites Ella to visit the palaces Hall of Records and find Lucinda faster, but Edgars talking snake, Heston, is spying on them. At the palace, Heston tells Edgar about Ellas obedience, which Hattie confirms when Edgar offers her Chars hand in marriage, knowing that Char intends to marry Ella, Edgar orders her to kill him when he proposes, and keep the plan a secret. Edgar also reveals that he murdered Chars father, to save Char, Ella writes him a letter, saying she is leaving permanently and cannot explain why, which breaks his heart. She then asks Slannen to tie her to a tree and get the giants to help, Lucinda then appears before Ella, who asks her to undo the gift of obedience. Lucinda is offended that Ella doesnt like her gift and simply tells Ella to remove it herself. She unties Ella, gives her a dress, and tells her to attend the ball
17.
Fox Broadcasting Company
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The Fox Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcast television network that is owned by the Fox Entertainment Group subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. It is the third largest major network in the world based on total revenues, assets. Launched on October 9,1986 as a competitor to the Big Three television networks, Fox and its affiliated companies operate many entertainment channels in international markets, although these do not necessarily air the same programming as the U. S. network. Most viewers in Canada have access to at least one U. S, the network is named after sister company 20th Century Fox, and indirectly for producer William Fox, who founded one of the movie studios predecessors, Fox Film. Fox is a member of the North American Broadcasters Association and the National Association of Broadcasters, 20th Century Fox had been involved in television production as early as the 1950s, producing several syndicated programs. Following the demise of the DuMont Television Network in August of that year after it became mired in financial problems. 20th Century Fox would also produce original content for the NTA network, KTTV in Los Angeles, KRIV in Houston, WFLD-TV in Chicago, and KRLD-TV in Dallas. In October 1985, 20th Century Fox announced its intentions to form a television network that would compete with ABC, CBS. The plans were to use the combination of the Fox studios, organizational plans for the network were held off until the Metromedia acquisitions cleared regulatory hurdles. Then, in December 1985, Rupert Murdoch agreed to pay $325 million to acquire the remaining equity in TCF Holdings from his original partner, Marvin Davis. These first six stations, then broadcasting to a reach of 22% of the nations households. Except for KDAF, all of the original owned-and-operated stations are part of the Fox network today. Like the core O&O group, Foxs affiliate body consisted of independent stations. The Fox Broadcasting Company launched at 11,00 p. m. Eastern and its inaugural program was a late-night talk show, The Late Show, which was hosted by comedian Joan Rivers. By early 1987, Rivers quit The Late Show after disagreements with the network over the creative direction. The network expanded its programming into prime time on April 5,1987, with Children and the sketch comedy series The Tracey Ullman Show. Fox added one new show per week over the several weeks, with the drama 21 Jump Street. On July 11, the network rolled out its Saturday night schedule with the premiere of the drama series Werewolf
18.
CBS
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CBS is an American commercial broadcast television network that is a flagship property of CBS Corporation. The company is headquartered at the CBS Building in New York City with major facilities and operations in New York City. CBS is sometimes referred to as the Eye Network, in reference to the iconic logo. It has also called the Tiffany Network, alluding to the perceived high quality of CBS programming during the tenure of William S. Paley. It can also refer to some of CBSs first demonstrations of color television, the network has its origins in United Independent Broadcasters Inc. a collection of 16 radio stations that was purchased by Paley in 1928 and renamed the Columbia Broadcasting System. Under Paleys guidance, CBS would first become one of the largest radio networks in the United States, in 1974, CBS dropped its former full name and became known simply as CBS, Inc. In 2000, CBS came under the control of Viacom, which was formed as a spin-off of CBS in 1971, CBS Corporation is controlled by Sumner Redstone through National Amusements, which also controls the current Viacom. The television network has more than 240 owned-and-operated and affiliated stations throughout the United States. The origins of CBS date back to January 27,1927, Columbia Phonographic went on the air on September 18,1927, with a presentation by the Howard Barlow Orchestra from flagship station WOR in Newark, New Jersey, and fifteen affiliates. Operational costs were steep, particularly the payments to AT&T for use of its land lines, in early 1928 Judson sold the network to brothers Isaac and Leon Levy, owners of the networks Philadelphia affiliate WCAU, and their partner Jerome Louchenheim. With the record out of the picture, Paley quickly streamlined the corporate name to Columbia Broadcasting System. He believed in the power of advertising since his familys La Palina cigars had doubled their sales after young William convinced his elders to advertise on radio. By September 1928, Paley bought out the Louchenheim share of CBS, during Louchenheims brief regime, Columbia paid $410,000 to A. H. Grebes Atlantic Broadcasting Company for a small Brooklyn station, WABC, which would become the networks flagship station. WABC was quickly upgraded, and the relocated to 860 kHz. The physical plant was relocated also – to Steinway Hall on West 57th Street in Manhattan, by the turn of 1929, the network could boast to sponsors of having 47 affiliates. Paley moved right away to put his network on a financial footing. In the fall of 1928, he entered talks with Adolph Zukor of Paramount Pictures. The deal came to fruition in September 1929, Paramount acquired 49% of CBS in return for a block of its stock worth $3.8 million at the time
19.
Lifetime (TV network)
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The channel features programming that is geared toward women or features women in lead roles. As of July 2015, approximately 95,020,000 American households receive Lifetime, Daytime, originally called BETA, was launched in March 1982 by Hearst-ABC Video Services. The cable service operated four hours per day on weekdays, the service was focused on alternative womens programming. Cable Health Network was launched as a channel in June 1982 with a range of health-related programming. In November 1983, Cable Health Network adopted a new name, Lifetime Medical Television, Lifetime was established on February 1,1984 as the result of a merger of Hearst/ABCs Daytime and Viacoms Lifetime Medical Television. A board for the new network was formed with representation from Hearst, ABC and Viacom. It was not a success, reportedly losing $36 million in its first two years of operation, and did not become profitable until 1986. The channel suffered from low viewership, with a poll finding that some TV viewers erroneously believed it carried religious content. In 1985, Lifetime started branding itself as Talk Television with a lineup of talk shows and call-in programs hosted by people like Regis Philbin. In the process, the dropped the apple from their logo. In 1988, Lifetime hired Patricia Fili as its head of programming, in the first three years of her tenure, she changed 60 percent of Lifetimes programming, by her own estimate. A. The network also showed movies from the portfolios of its owners, Hearst, ABC, under Filis direction, Lifetime has gone a long way toward shedding its low-rent image. Lifetime began airing a limited amount of sports coverage, including the WNBA. Lifetime also adopted a new tagline, meanwhile, the channels original programming was aimed not just at women aged 24–44, but these womens spouses, who research showed watched the network in the evenings with their wives. This was done by making the characters in Lifetimes original programming – such as the film series Spencer for Hire – more appealing to men by making them more masculine. These roles were more stereotypical than previous Lifetime movies, which featured women protagonists on their own. This helped Lifetime take advantage of a bias in the Nielsen ranking system that favored upscale couples who shared a television set. By January 1995, Lifetime was the sixth most-highly rated cable network by Nielsen, according to Lifetime executives, the network stood to lose up to one million subscribers due to TCIs move
20.
African Americans
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African Americans are an ethnic group of Americans with total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. The term may also be used to only those individuals who are descended from enslaved Africans. As a compound adjective the term is usually hyphenated as African-American, Black and African Americans constitute the third largest racial and ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved peoples within the boundaries of the present United States. On average, African Americans are of 73. 2–80. 9% West African, 18–24% European, according to US Census Bureau data, African immigrants generally do not self-identify as African American. The overwhelming majority of African immigrants identify instead with their own respective ethnicities, immigrants from some Caribbean, Central American and South American nations and their descendants may or may not also self-identify with the term. After the founding of the United States, black people continued to be enslaved, believed to be inferior to white people, they were treated as second-class citizens. The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited U. S. citizenship to whites only, in 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected President of the United States. The first African slaves arrived via Santo Domingo to the San Miguel de Gualdape colony, the ill-fated colony was almost immediately disrupted by a fight over leadership, during which the slaves revolted and fled the colony to seek refuge among local Native Americans. De Ayllón and many of the colonists died shortly afterwards of an epidemic, the settlers and the slaves who had not escaped returned to Haiti, whence they had come. The first recorded Africans in British North America were 20 and odd negroes who came to Jamestown, as English settlers died from harsh conditions, more and more Africans were brought to work as laborers. Typically, young men or women would sign a contract of indenture in exchange for transportation to the New World, the landowner received 50 acres of land from the state for each servant purchased from a ships captain. An indentured servant would work for years without wages. The status of indentured servants in early Virginia and Maryland was similar to slavery, servants could be bought, sold, or leased and they could be physically beaten for disobedience or running away. Africans could legally raise crops and cattle to purchase their freedom and they raised families, married other Africans and sometimes intermarried with Native Americans or English settlers. By the 1640s and 1650s, several African families owned farms around Jamestown and some became wealthy by colonial standards and purchased indentured servants of their own. In 1640, the Virginia General Court recorded the earliest documentation of slavery when they sentenced John Punch. One of Dutch African arrivals, Anthony Johnson, would own one of the first black slaves, John Casor
21.
Native Americans in the United States
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In the United States, Native Americans are people descended from the Pre-Columbian indigenous population of the land within the countrys modern boundaries. These peoples were composed of distinct tribes, bands, and ethnic groups. Most Native American groups had historically preserved their histories by oral traditions and artwork, at the time of first contact, the indigenous cultures were quite different from those of the proto-industrial and mostly Christian immigrants. Some of the Northeastern and Southwestern cultures in particular were matrilineal, the majority of Indigenous American tribes maintained their hunting grounds and agricultural lands for use of the entire tribe. Europeans at that time had patriarchal cultures and had developed concepts of property rights with respect to land that were extremely different. Assimilation became a consistent policy through American administrations, during the 19th century, the ideology of manifest destiny became integral to the American nationalist movement. Expansion of European-American populations to the west after the American Revolution resulted in increasing pressure on Native American lands and this resulted in the ethnic cleansing of many tribes, with the brutal, forced marches coming to be known as The Trail of Tears. As American expansion reached into the West, settler and miner migrants came into increasing conflict with the Great Basin, Great Plains and these were complex nomadic cultures based on horse culture and seasonal bison hunting. Over time, the United States forced a series of treaties and land cessions by the tribes, in 1924, Native Americans who were not already U. S. citizens were granted citizenship by Congress. Contemporary Native Americans have a relationship with the United States because they may be members of nations, tribes. The terms used to refer to Native Americans have at times been controversial, by comparison, the indigenous peoples of Canada are generally known as First Nations. It is not definitively known how or when the Native Americans first settled the Americas and these early inhabitants, called Paleoamericans, soon diversified into many hundreds of culturally distinct nations and tribes. The archaeological periods used are the classifications of archaeological periods and cultures established in Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips 1958 book Method and they divided the archaeological record in the Americas into five phases, see Archaeology of the Americas. The Clovis culture, a hunting culture, is primarily identified by use of fluted spear points. Artifacts from this culture were first excavated in 1932 near Clovis, the Clovis culture ranged over much of North America and also appeared in South America. The culture is identified by the distinctive Clovis point, a flaked flint spear-point with a notched flute, dating of Clovis materials has been by association with animal bones and by the use of carbon dating methods. Recent reexaminations of Clovis materials using improved carbon-dating methods produced results of 11,050 and 10,800 radiocarbon years B. P, other tribes have stories that recount migrations across long tracts of land and a great river, believed to be the Mississippi River. Genetic and linguistic data connect the people of this continent with ancient northeast Asians
22.
Indianapolis
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Indianapolis, is the capital and largest city of the U. S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. It is in the East North Central region of the Midwestern United States, with an estimated population of 853,173 in 2015, Indianapolis is the second most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and 14th largest in the U. S. The city is the economic and cultural center of the Indianapolis metropolitan area, home to 2 million people and its combined statistical area ranks 26th, with 2.4 million inhabitants. Indianapolis covers 372 square miles, making it the 16th largest city by area in the U. S. The city grew beyond the Mile Square, as completion of the National Road and advent of the railroad solidified the position as a manufacturing. Indianapolis is within a single-day drive of 70 percent of the nations population, Indianapolis has developed niche markets in amateur sports and auto racing. The city is perhaps best known for hosting the worlds largest single-day sporting event. The city is notable as headquarters for the American Legion and home to a significant collection of monuments dedicated to veterans and war dead, the most in the U. S. outside of Washington, D. C. Since the 1970 city-county consolidation, known as Unigov, local government administration has operated under the direction of an elected 25-member city-county council, Indianapolis is considered a high sufficiency global city. In 1816, the year Indiana gained statehood, the U. S. Congress donated four sections of land to establish a permanent seat of state government. Two years later, under the Treaty of St. Marys and this tract of land, which was called the New Purchase, included the site selected for the new state capital in 1820. The availability of new lands for purchase in central Indiana attracted settlers. Although many of these first European and American setters were Protestants, few African Americans lived in central Indiana before 1840. The first European Americans to permanently settle in the area that became Indianapolis were either the McCormick or Pogue families, on January 11,1820, the Indiana General Assembly authorized a committee to select a site in central Indiana for the new state capital. The state legislature approved the site, adopting the name Indianapolis on January 6,1821, in April, Alexander Ralston and Elias Pym Fordham were appointed to survey and design a town plan for the new settlement. Indianapolis became a seat of county government on December 31,1821, a combined county and town government continued until 1832, when Indianapolis incorporated as a town. Indianapolis became an incorporated city effective March 30,1847, Samuel Henderson, the citys first mayor, led the new city government, which included a seven-member city council. In 1853, voters approved a new city charter provided for an elected mayor
23.
Golden West College
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Golden West College or GWC, is a community college providing two-year associate of arts degrees, and lower-division classes transferable to other colleges and universities. It is located in Huntington Beach, California, about 35 miles south of Los Angeles, golden West College, Orange Coast College, and Coastline Community College comprise the Coast Community College District. The district is an organization providing administrative services and funding for post-secondary education. The state of California charters the CCCD to provide community college services, GWC possesses several clubs on campus for students to join. CLUB is for single mothers dedicated to their children and their education, the California Nursing Student Association is to increase professional awareness and the growth of nursing students. The Peace & Leadership Club is for creating a culture of peace, golden West also won the AIAW junior/community college national championship in 1975,1976 and 1977. The 1975 title came in a game, 22-0 victory over Northeastern Colorado. Patty Cardenas - Olympic silver medalist, water polo Doug Fabian - Investment writer and advisor Vivica A
24.
Huntington Beach, California
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Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington, the population was 189,992 during the 2010 census, making it the most populous beach city in Orange County and the seventh most populous city in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim MSA. Its estimated 2014 population was 200,809, Huntington Beach is known for its long 9. 5-mile stretch of sandy beach, mild climate, excellent surfing, and beach culture. The ocean waves are enhanced by an effect caused by the edge-diffraction of open ocean swells around Santa Catalina Island. The area was occupied by the Tongva people. The main thoroughfare of Huntington Beach, Beach Boulevard, was originally a cattle route for the industry of the Rancho. Since its time as a parcel of the enormous Spanish land grant, later it became known as Fairview and then Pacific City, as it developed into a tourist destination. The Huntington Beach pier was built in 1904 and was originally a 1,000 foot-long timber structure, Huntington Beach was incorporated on February 17,1909 during the tenure of its first mayor, Ed Manning. Its original developer was Huntington Beach Company, a development firm owned by Henry Huntington. The Huntington Beach Company is still a major land-owner in the city, the company is now wholly owned by the Chevron Corporation. The lucky buyers got more than they had bargained for when oil was discovered in the area, and enormous development of the oil reserves followed. Though many of the old reserves are depleted, and the price of land for housing has pushed many of the rigs off the landscape, Huntington Beach was primarily agricultural in its early years with crops such as celery and sugar beets. Holly Sugar was an employer with a large processing plant in the city that was later converted to an oil refinery. The citys first high school, Huntington Beach High School, located on Main Street, was built in 1906, the schools team, the Oilers, is named after the citys original natural resource. Meadowlark Airport, a general aviation airport, existed in Huntington Beach from the 1940s until 1989. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 31.9 square miles. 26.7 sq mi of it is land and 5.1 sq mi of it is water, the entire city of Huntington Beach lies in area codes 657 and 714, except for small parts of Huntington Harbour, which is in the 562 Area Code. Huntington Beach has a borderline semi-arid/Mediterranean climate, the climate is generally sunny, dry and cool, although evenings can be excessively damp
25.
Oliver Stone
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William Oliver Stone is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of Midnight Express and he also wrote the acclaimed gangster movie Scarface. As a director, Stone achieved prominence as director/writer of the war drama Platoon, for which Stone won the Academy Award for Best Director, Platoon was the first in a trilogy of films based on the Vietnam War, in which Stone served as an infantry soldier. He continued the series with Born on the Fourth of July —for which Stone won his second Best Director Oscar—and Heaven & Earth. Many of Stones films focus on controversial American political issues during the late 20th century and they often combine different camera and film formats within a single scene, as evidenced in JFK, Natural Born Killers, and Nixon. Stone was born September 15,1946, in New York City, the son of Jacqueline and Louis Stone and he grew up in Manhattan and Stamford, Connecticut. His parents met during World War II, when his father was fighting as a part of the Allied force in France and his American-born father was a non-practicing Jew, and his French-born mother was a non-practicing Roman Catholic. Stone was raised in the Episcopal Church, and now practices Buddhism, Stone attended Trinity School in New York City before his parents sent him away to The Hill School, a college-preparatory school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. His parents were divorced abruptly while he was away at school, Stones mother was often absent and his father made a big impact on his life, father-son relationships were to feature heavily in Stones films. He often spent parts of his vacations with his maternal grandparents in France. Stone also worked at 17 in the Paris mercantile exchange in sugar, Stone graduated from The Hill School in 1964. Stone was admitted into Yale University, but left in June 1965 at age 18 to teach school students English for six months in Saigon at the Free Pacific Institute in South Vietnam. Afterwards, he worked as a wiper on a United States Merchant Marine ship in 1966 and he returned to Yale, where he dropped out a second time. In April 1967, Stone enlisted in the United States Army, from September 16,1967 to April 1968, he served in Vietnam with 2nd Platoon, B Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Infantry Division and was twice wounded in action. He was then transferred to the First Cavalry Division participating in long range patrols before being transferred again to drive for an infantry unit of the division until November 1968. Stone graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film in 1971, Stone made a short, well received 12-minute film Last Year in Viet Nam. In 1979, Stone won his first Academy Award, after adapting true-life prison story Midnight Express into a hit film for British director Alan Parker. Stones screenplay for Midnight Express was criticized by some for its inaccuracies in portraying the events described in the book, the original author, Billy Hayes, around whom the film is set, spoke out against the film, protesting that he had many Turkish friends while in jail
26.
Born on the Fourth of July (film)
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Born on the Fourth of July is a 1989 American war drama film adaptation of the best-selling autobiography of the same name by Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic. Tom Cruise plays Ron Kovic, in a performance that earned him his first Academy Award nomination, Oliver Stone co-wrote the screenplay with Kovic, and also produced and directed the film. Stone wanted to film the movie in Vietnam, but because relations between the United States and Vietnam had not yet been normalized, it was filmed in the Philippines. The film is considered part of Stones trilogy of films about the Vietnam War—following Platoon and preceding Heaven & Earth. Born on the Fourth of July was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two, for Best Director and Best Film Editing, it won four Golden Globe Awards. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $161,001,698 worldwide, in the summer of 1956 in Massapequa, Long Island, New York, 10-year-old Ron Kovic plays soldier in the woods and attends a Fourth of July parade. After watching President John F. Kennedys inaugural address, it inspires him to enlist in the Marines, later, Kovic attends an impassioned lecture about the Marine Corps. He decides to enlist and misses his prom because he is unable to secure a date with his love interest and he confronts her at the prom and has a dance with her on his last night before leaving. Now a Marine sergeant and on patrol during his second Vietnam tour in October 1967, Kovics unit kills a number of Vietnamese civilians in a village, during the retreat, Kovic accidentally kills one of the new arrivals to his platoon, a younger private first class named Wilson. During a firefight in January 1968, Kovic is critically wounded, Kovic desperately tries to walk again with the use of crutches and braces, despite repeated warnings from his doctors. In 1969, Kovic returns home, permanently in a wheelchair, though he tries to maintain his dignity as a United States Marine, Kovic gradually becomes disillusioned, despite being paralyzed, and resorts to alcohol. In Kovics absence, his younger brother Tommy has already become staunchly anti-war, during an Independence Day parade, Kovic shows signs of post-traumatic stress when firecrackers explode. When he is asked to give a speech, a baby in the crowd starts crying. Later, Kovic goes to visit Donna at her college in Syracuse, New York and he and Donna are separated when she and her fellow students are taken away by the police at her college for demonstrating against the Vietnam War. Ron goes to a bar, almost gets into a fight with a fellow Marine, after Ron has a heated argument with his mother, his father decides to send him to Mexico. He arrives in The Village of the Sun, which seems to be a haven for paralyzed Vietnam veterans and he has his first sexual experience with a prostitute, whom he believes he loves, until he sees her with another customer. He hooks up with another veteran, Charlie, and the two travel to what they believe will be a friendlier village. After annoying their taxicab driver, they end up stranded on the side of the road and they are picked up by a man with a truck and driven back to the Village of the Sun
27.
American Broadcasting Company
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The network is headquartered on Columbus Avenue and West 66th Street in Manhattan, New York City. There are additional offices and production facilities elsewhere in New York City, as well as in Los Angeles and Burbank. Since 2007, when ABC Radio was sold to Citadel Broadcasting, ABC originally launched on October 12,1943, as a radio network, separated from and serving as the successor to the NBC Blue Network, which had been purchased by Edward J. Noble. It extended its operations to television in 1948, following in the footsteps of established broadcast networks CBS, in the mid-1950s, ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres, a chain of movie theaters that formerly operated as a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. Leonard Goldenson, who had been the head of UPT, made the new television network profitable by helping develop, in 1996, most of Capital Cities/ABCs assets were purchased by The Walt Disney Company. The television network has eight owned-and-operated and over 232 affiliated television stations throughout the United States, most Canadians have access to at least one U. S. ABC News provides news and features content for radio stations owned by Citadel Broadcasting. In the 1930s, radio in the United States was dominated by three companies, the Columbia Broadcasting System, the Mutual Broadcasting System and the National Broadcasting Company. The last was owned by electronics manufacturer Radio Corporation of America, in 1938, the FCC began a series of investigations into the practices of radio networks and published its report on the broadcasting of network radio programs in 1940. The report recommended that RCA give up control of either NBC Red or NBC Blue, at that time, the NBC Red Network was the principal radio network in the United States and, according to the FCC, RCA was using NBC Blue to eliminate any hint of competition. Once Mutuals appeals against the FCC were rejected, RCA decided to sell NBC Blue in 1941, the newly separated NBC Red and NBC Blue divided their respective corporate assets. Investment firm Dillon, Read & Co. offered $7.5 million to purchase the network, Edward John Noble, the owner of Life Savers candy, drugstore chain Rexall and New York City radio station WMCA, purchased the network for $8 million. Due to FCC ownership rules, the transaction, which was to include the purchase of three RCA stations by Noble, would require him to resell his station with the FCCs approval, the Commission authorized the transaction on October 12,1943. Soon afterward, the Blue Network was purchased by the new company Noble founded, Noble subsequently acquired the rights to the American Broadcasting Company name from George B. Meanwhile, in August 1944, the West Coast division of the Blue Network, both stations were then managed by Don Searle, the vice-president of the Blue Networks West Coast division. The ABC Radio Network created its audience slowly, the network also became known for such suspenseful dramas as Sherlock Holmes, Gang Busters and Counterspy, as well as several mid-afternoon youth-oriented programs. S. From Nazi Germany after its conquest, to pre-record its programming, while its radio network was undergoing reconstruction, ABC found it difficult to avoid falling behind on the new medium of television. To ensure a space, in 1947, ABC submitted five applications for television station licenses, the ABC television network made its debut on April 19,1948, with WFIL-TV in Philadelphia becoming its first primary affiliate
28.
Who's the Boss?
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Whos the Boss. is an American sitcom created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, which aired on ABC from September 20,1984 to April 25,1992. Also featured were Alyssa Milano, Danny Pintauro and Katherine Helmond, the show received positive reviews throughout most of its run, becoming one of the most popular sitcoms of the mid-to-late 1980s. The series was nominated for more than forty awards, including ten Primetime Emmy Award and five Golden Globe Award nominations, also very successful in the ratings, Whos the Boss. Consistently ranked in the top ten in the primetime ratings between the years of 1985 and 1989, and has since continued in syndication worldwide. Widower Anthony Morton Tony Micelli is a second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals who was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury. He wants to move out of Brooklyn to find an environment for his daughter. He ends up taking a job in upscale Fairfield, Connecticut, the Micellis moved into the Bower residence. Also frequenting is Angelas feisty, sexually progressive mother, Mona Robinson, Mona dates all kinds of men, from college age to silver-haired CEOs. This portrayal of a woman with an active social and sexual life was unusual for television at the time. The title of the show refers to the role reversal of the two lead actors, where a woman was the breadwinner and a man stayed at home. The easy-going, spontaneous Tony and the driven, self-controlled Angela are attracted to each other, while there is playful banter and many hints of attraction, Tony and Angela do their best to avoid facing this aspect of their developing relationship, and date other people. Angela has a romantic interest in Geoffrey Wells, while Tony has a variety of girlfriends who come and go, including Kathleen Sawyer in seasons six. In the meantime, however, they become best friends, relying on each other frequently for emotional support, in addition, Tony provides a male role model for Jonathan, while Angela and Mona give Samantha the womanly guidance she had been missing. At the start of eight, Tony and Angela finally acknowledge their love for each other. However, the series does not end with the expected marriage. This was due primarily to concerns by the network that a marriage, representing a definitive ending, Tony Danza also vehemently opposed the marriage, saying it would contradict the original purpose of the show. During the final season, Samantha finds a new love in Hank Thomopoulous, a fellow college student, Hank was originally poised to enter a medical program, but soon decides to become a puppeteer. Sam and Hank were engaged in a matter of weeks, and in February, Tony Danza as Tony Micelli, a widower and retired baseball player for the St. Comic James Coco was a frequent guest, beginning in season one as Tonys father-in-law visiting from New York
29.
Halle Berry
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Halle Maria Berry is an American actress. She won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the romantic drama Monsters Ball, as of 2017, she is the only black woman to have won a Best Actress Academy Award. Berry was one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood during the 2000s and has involved in the production of several of the films in which she performed. She is also a Revlon spokesmodel, before becoming an actress, she started modeling and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the 1st runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant and coming in 6th place in the Miss World Pageant in 1986. She then appeared in the X-Men sequels, X2 and X-Men, in the 2010s, she appeared in movies such as the science fiction film Cloud Atlas, the crime thriller The Call and X-Men, Days of Future Past. Berry was formerly married to baseball player David Justice, and singer-songwriter Eric Benét and she has a daughter by model Gabriel Aubry, and a son by actor Olivier Martinez. Berry was born Maria Halle Berry, her name was changed to Halle Maria Berry at age five. Her parents selected her name from Halles Department Store, which was then a local landmark in her birthplace of Cleveland. Her mother, Judith Ann, who is of English and German ancestry, was a psychiatric nurse and her father, Jerome Jesse Berry, was an African-American hospital attendant in the psychiatric ward where her mother worked, he later became a bus driver. Berrys maternal grandmother, Nellie Dicken, was born in Sawley, Derbyshire, England, while her maternal grandfather, Berrys parents divorced when she was four years old, she and her older sister, Heidi Berry-Henderson, were raised exclusively by their mother. Berry has said in published reports that she has been estranged from her father since her childhood, noting in 1992 and her father was very abusive to her mother. Berry has recalled witnessing her mother being beaten daily, kicked down stairs, Berry graduated from Bedford High School where she was a cheerleader, honor student, editor of the school newspaper and prom queen. She worked in the department at Higbees Department store. She then studied at Cuyahoga Community College, in the 1980s, she entered several beauty contests, winning Miss Teen All American in 1985 and Miss Ohio USA in 1986. She was the 1986 Miss USA first runner-up to Christy Fichtner of Texas, in the Miss USA1986 pageant interview competition, she said she hoped to become an entertainer or to have something to do with the media. Her interview was awarded the highest score by the judges and she was the first African-American Miss World entrant in 1986, where she finished sixth and Trinidad and Tobagos Giselle Laronde was crowned Miss World. According to the Current Biography Yearbook, Berry. pursued a career in Chicago. Berrys first weeks in New York were less than auspicious, She slept in a homeless shelter, in 1989, Berry moved to New York City to pursue her acting ambitions
30.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
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The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10,1990, to May 20,1996. In the series, his lifestyle often clashes with the lifestyle of his relatives in Bel Air, the series ran for six seasons and aired 148 episodes. In December 1989, NBC approached Will Smith, a rapper during the late 1980s. The pilot episode began taping on May 1,1990, Season 1 aired in July 1990 and ended in March 1991. The series finale was taped on Thursday, March 21,1996, the theme song Yo Home to Bel Air was written and performed by Smith under his rap stage name, The Fresh Prince. The music was composed by Quincy Jones, who is credited with Smith at the end of each episode, the music often used to bridge scenes together during the show is based on a similar chord structure. The theme song and opening sequence set the premise of the show, will Smith is a street-smart teenager, born and raised in West Philadelphia. Will Smith as Will Smith James Avery as Philip Banks Janet Hubert-Whitten, to gain popularity between the two shows, Will Smith appeared in the Blossom episode Im with the Band as himself under his rap stage name, The Fresh Prince. That same season, Karyn Parsons appeared in the Blossom episode Wake Up Little Suzy as Hilary Banks, Parsons also appeared in the Patti LaBelle sitcom, Out All Night as Hilary. In the House and Fresh Prince were both produced by Winifred Hervey, David Salzman and Quincy Jones. During the second seasons first episode, Alfonso Ribeiro and Tatyana Ali appeared as their Fresh Prince characters in the crossover episode Dog Catchers, later that season, James Avery appeared as a mediator in the episode Love on a One-Way Street. In the Season 4 episode My Pest Friends Wedding, James Avery, both Avery and Reid portrayed the parents of Ribeiros Fresh Prince character. Joseph Marcell, who played the wisecracking Geoffrey Butler on Fresh Prince, the series was produced by NBC Productions in association with The Stuffed Dog Company and Quincy Jones Entertainment. After the show was released to syndication in 1994, the series has been distributed by Warner Bros, television, which continues to distribute the show worldwide. TBS continues to air the series today, early in the morning. Reruns also aired on WPIX-TV back to back weeknights at 6 pm &6,30 pm EST from 1994 until 2000, but, the series was still rerunning on The WBs affiliation WPIX-TV until 2006. The show returned to Nick at Nite on September 29,2014, but in August 2010, Disney XD stopped airing the show. ABC Family acquired the series in September 2008, though airing all 148 episodes, originally airing exclusively on Saturday nights, on September 29,2014, Disney/ABC rights to the show expired
31.
Beverly Hills, 90210
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It is the first of five television series in the Beverly Hills,90210 franchise. The show was created by Darren Star and executive producers Charles Rosin followed in later seasons by Aaron Spelling, E. Duke Vincent, Paul Waigner, Steve Wasserman, the 90210 in the title refers to one of the citys five ZIP codes. Beverly Hills,90210 was named one of the Best School Shows of All Time by AOL TV, the series became one of Foxs top shows when it began its next season that fall. The show also had many cast changes, with Garth, Spelling, Ian Ziering, the show followed the dramatic lives of its characters through high school, college, and ultimately the adult world, while introducing several additional characters as its seasons progressed. It is the show produced by Aaron Spelling, airing slightly longer than Dynasty. Shannen Doherty left the show at the end of the fourth season, dohertys character, Brenda Walsh, was written off the show as moving to London to attend school at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts. While the characters absence was originally described as only being for a year, she never returned and she was replaced with former Saved by the Bell star Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, who played the bad-girl character Valerie Malone. Dohertys departure from the show would be the longest the continuity had seen with a lead cast member not making another guest appearance after they had left the show. Spanning for a time of 14 years, Brenda Walsh was not seen in any 90210 incarnation until September 2,2008, in which she reprised her role in the CWs spinoff,90210. Doherty appeared as Brenda Walsh in the 2008 spin-off series,90210, along with former costars Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Ann Gillespie, Gabrielle Carteris left the show following the fifth season. Her character, Andrea Zuckerman, changed radically from high school to college, in high school, Andrea was the brainy editor of the West Beverly Blaze, had a crush on Brandon, and secretly lived out of district. During the fourth season, Andrea becomes pregnant, and gets married to someone she knows before the year is out. Her plot lines chronicled the struggles of trying to juggle college, marriage, the character eventually headed to Yale University. After her original five-year contract ended, Carteris voluntarily left the show for her own self-titled talk show, Carteris returned to the show for guest appearances during the sixth, eighth and tenth seasons. Both actors left the following the fifth season at the end of their original five-year contracts. During the high school years of the show, Jim and Cindy Walsh played secondary roles, offering advice to Brenda and Brandon, along with their friends and they generally spent most of their time reacting to various things that Brenda, Brandon and later Valerie did. Following the fifth season, both characters left Beverly Hills for Hong Kong, making occasional guest appearances in the sixth, seventh and eighth seasons, even though all the Walshes eventually left the show, the Walsh home continued to play a central role in the series. The show explained this by having Brandon tell Steve his parents had given the light for Steve to keep living in the house
32.
Family Matters
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Family Matters is an American sitcom which originated on ABC from September 22,1989 to May 9,1997, before moving to CBS from September 19,1997 to July 17,1998. A spin-off of Perfect Strangers, the series revolves around the Winslow family, midway through the first season, the show introduced the Winslows nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel, who quickly became its breakout character and eventually the shows main character. Having run for nine seasons, Family Matters is the second longest-running non-animated US sitcom with a predominantly African American cast, having aired 215 episodes, Family Matters is ranked third, behind only Tyler Perrys House of Payne and The Jeffersons. The series originally focused on the character of police officer Carl Winslow and his family, wife Harriette, son Eddie, elder daughter Laura and younger daughter Judy. In the pilot episode, The Mama Who Came to Dinner, prior to the start of the series, Harriettes sister, Rachel Crawford and her infant son, Richie, had moved into the Winslow household after the death of Rachels husband. The Winslows nerdy teenage next-door neighbor, Steve Urkel, was introduced midway through the first season in the episode Lauras First Date and quickly became the focus of the show. The popular sitcom was a mainstay of ABCs TGIF lineup from 1989 until 1997, Family Matters was produced by Bickley-Warren Productions and Miller-Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar Television and later Warner Bros. In early 1997, CBS picked up Family Matters and Step by Step in a $40 million deal to acquire the rights to the programs from ABC, ABC then promised to pay Miller-Boyett Productions $1.5 million per episode for a ninth and tenth season of Family Matters. However, tensions had risen between Miller-Boyett Productions and ABCs corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, Miller-Boyett thought that it would not be a big player on ABC after the networks recent purchase by Disney. In turn, Miller-Boyett Productions agreed to a $40 million offer from CBS for a 22-episode season for both Family Matters and Step By Step. Near the end of the season, the cast was informed that a tenth and final season was planned, so scripts. Ultimately, due to ratings, CBS cancelled Family Matters after one season. CBS also pulled the show from its schedule in the winter. As a result, the finale was broadcast with little fanfare during burn off summer TV time in 1998. Family Matters was created by William Bickley and Michael Warren and developed by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett, the series was produced by Miller-Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar Television who co-produced the show until 1993, when Warner Bros. Starting with season three, the series was produced by Bickley-Warren Productions. The shows original theme was Louis Armstrongs What a Wonderful World, it was scrapped after the episode of season one. A longer version of As Days Go By was used during the first three seasons, though in syndicated reruns the short version is heard, the opening sequence begins with a shot of the Chicago Lakefront, then a shot of the Winslow home
33.
Matlock (TV series)
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Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal-defense attorney Ben Matlock. The shows format is similar to that of CBSs Perry Mason, with Matlock identifying the perpetrators, one difference, however, was that whereas Mason usually exculpated his clients at a pretrial hearing, Matlock usually secured an acquittal at trial, from the jury. The show centers on widower Benjamin Leighton Ben Matlock, a renowned, folksy, Matlock studied law at Harvard, and after several years as a public defender, established his law practice in Atlanta, living in a modest farmhouse in a neighboring suburb. He is known to visit crime scenes to discover clues otherwise overlooked and come up with viable, Matlock is noted for his thrift and a fondness for hot dogs. In episode 158, hot dogs are revealed to have been his favorite dish since he was a young man, in contrast, after the series ended, his penchant for hot dogs was explained in the 1997 episode Murder Two of Joyce Burditts Diagnosis, Murder. He also, reluctantly, takes a pro bono case occasionally and these traits, and the demands he placed upon his investigators, are often points of comic relief in the series. Matlock also employed Tyler Hudson, a stock market whiz, as a private investigator, Tyler would often go undercover for Matlock in various guises to gather information. Matlocks most frequent prosecutorial adversary was Nebraska native Julie March, toward the end of the first season, Matlock also took on Cassie Phillips, a cocky young law student, as an office worker. After the first season ended, Linda Purl departed from the series, to begin the second season, Matlock went to England to try a case and met Michelle Thomas, a young American lawyer living in London. After the case was over, Michelle followed Matlock back to the U. S. Cassie stayed on as a file clerk until the end of the season, when she disappeared for reasons never made clear. With Lizers departure, Julie Sommars then became a regular cast member, several actors appeared in the series as different characters prior to becoming regular castmembers. In season ones The Seduction, Nancy Stafford played the role of Caryn Nelson/Carole Nathan, a high-class prostitute, also in that season, in The Angel, Kari Lizer had her first appearance as Matlocks client, Margaret Danello, a pop star called Angel. Also, actor Daniel Roebuck played lawyer Alex Winthrop in season threes The Priest, some actors appeared as a different character in each appearance on the show. For example, Carolyn Seymour played Christina Harrison Ward in season one, nana Visitor and Roddy McDowall made several guest appearances as well. After season three, Kene Holliday was fired, Matlock hired a young, former North Carolina deputy sheriff, Conrad McMasters, to be his new private detective. Like Tyler, Conrad would also go undercover to gather information about cases, however, the two characters were different in their personalities and approach to the job. Tyler was a stocktrader and carried himself with something of an air, whereas Conrad had more of a blue collar. Matlock and McMasters became good friends as they were alike in many ways and she joined the cast full-time in the season of 1992 playing a similar role to Linda Purls character of lawyer-daughter Charlene of the first season
34.
Martin (TV series)
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Martin is an American sitcom that aired for five seasons on Fox from August 27,1992 to May 1,1997. Reflecting the rising popularity of the Fox network throughout the 1990s, set in Detroit, the series stars Martin Lawrence in the role of Martin Payne, a disc jockey with a girlfriend named Gina Waters. Martin works for the radio station WZUP and later for local Public-access television station Channel 51. A common theme of the series is Martins ornery and wayward nature, episodes often center on Martins inconsiderate behaviors and incessant smart mouth towards his friends, neighbors, and whoever else finds themselves in his presence. When all is said and done, however, Martin loves his family, as the series progressed, plotlines saw Martin eventually move on to become the host of the talk show Word on the Street, which aired on the small Detroit public-access television station Channel 51. He retained this position until the final episode, in which he and Gina prepared to move to Los Angeles. The move coincided fortuitously with Ginas promotion by her boss Mr. Whitaker to head up his companys new Los Angeles headquarters, after having shut down the Detroit office. Pam, whom Whitaker let go two episodes due to this consolidation and downsizing, went on to pursue a career in the music industry as an artists & repertoire executive at Keep It Real Records. And at series end, Cole proposed to his even more dimwitted, but attractive and devoted girlfriend Shanise, the only actor to appear in every episode as the same character is Thomas Mikal Ford as Tommy. In early episodes, Lawrence began with a monologue of him speaking to the camera, HBO Studios eventually settled the case with Campbell so that the shows last season could be completed. Campbell did return to the Martin set to film the series finale of the show under the condition that she would not share any scenes with or interact in any way with Martin Lawrence. In the episode, Martin and Gina kept entering and exiting the sets at different times, Martin Payne Martin, the title character, is a sweetheart deep down, but on the outside a very ornery, arrogant wise guy. Martin carries himself in an urban youth manner, and urban expressions. His girlfriend turned wife, Gina Waters, has tried to straighten him out. Martin is not much of a physical fighter despite trying to come off as such and he has a particularly antagonistic relationship with Ginas best friend Pam. Regina Gina Waters-Payne, Martins professional, fun-loving, eternally romantic and forgiving girlfriend and she often acts as a peacemaker, admonishing others when they trade barbs and insults and breaking up fights. Gina works for a public-relations firm and she complements Martins street savvy by serving as a voice of reason. Thomas Tommy Strawn, one of Martins best friends, level-headed, intelligent, and charming, Tommy serves as another voice of reason, especially during Martins schemes
35.
The Young and the Restless
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The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, first broadcast on March 26,1973, The Young and the Restless was originally broadcast as half-hour episodes, five times a week. The show expanded to one-hour episodes on February 4,1980, in 2006, the series began airing encore episodes weeknights on SOAPnet until 2013, when Y&R moved to TVGN. Pop still airs the episodes on weeknights, starting July 1,2013. The series is syndicated internationally. The Young and the Restless originally focused on two families, the wealthy Brooks family and the working class Foster family. After a series of recasts and departures in the early 1980s, all the characters except Jill Foster. Bell replaced them with the new families, the Abbotts. Over the years, other such as the Newmans, Winters. Despite these changes, one storyline that has endured through almost the entire run is the feud between Jill Abbott and Katherine Chancellor, the longest rivalry on any American soap opera. Since its debut, The Young and the Restless has won nine Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series and it is also currently the highest-rated daytime drama on American television. As of 2008, it had appeared at the top of the weekly Nielsen ratings in that category for more than 1,000 weeks since 1988. As of December 12,2013, according to Nielsen ratings, The Young, on January 15,2014, the series was in the middle of its final year of its 2010 contract, and was renewed by CBS through 2017. Y&R is also a show to the Bells other soap opera The Bold. To compete with the youthful ABC soap operas, All My Children, One Life to Live, William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell created The Young and the Restless in 1972 for the network under the working title, The Innocent Years. We were confronted with the very disturbing reality that young America had lost much of its innocence, innocence as we had known and lived it all our lives had, in so many respects, ceased to exist. They changed the title of the series to The Young and the Restless because they felt it reflected the youth, the Young and the Restless began airing on March 26,1973, replacing the canceled soap opera, Where the Heart Is. Bell worked as writer from the debut of the series until his retirement in 1998
36.
Will Smith
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Willard Carroll Will Smith Jr. is an American actor, producer, rapper, and songwriter. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood, Smith has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards, and has won four Grammy Awards. In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince, in 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular NBC television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which ran for six seasons until 1996. After the series ended, Smith transitioned from television to film, Smith has been ranked as the most bankable star worldwide by Forbes. As of 2016, his films have grossed $7.5 billion at the box office. For his performances as boxer Muhammad Ali in Ali and stockbroker Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness, Smith received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Willard Carroll Smith Jr. was born on September 15,1968 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Caroline, a Philadelphia school board administrator and he grew up in West Philadelphias Wynnefield neighborhood, and was raised Baptist. He has three siblings, sister Pamela, who is four years older, and twins Harry and Ellen, Smith attended Our Lady of Lourdes, a private Catholic elementary school in Philadelphia. His parents separated when he was 13, but did not actually divorce until around 2000, though widely reported, it is untrue that Smith turned down a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he never applied to college because he wanted to rap. Smith says he was admitted to a program at MIT for high school students. According to Smith, My mother, who worked for the School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the officer at MIT. I had pretty high SAT scores and they needed black kids, but I had no intention of going to college. The trio was known for performing humorous, radio-friendly songs, most notably Parents Just Dont Understand and they gained critical acclaim and won the first Grammy awarded in the Rap category. Smith spent money freely around 1988 and 1989 and underpaid his income taxes, the Internal Revenue Service eventually assessed a $2.8 million tax debt against Smith, took many of his possessions, and garnished his income. Smith was nearly bankrupt in 1990, when the NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the show was successful and began his acting career. Will Smith set for himself the goal of becoming the biggest movie star in the world, Smiths first major roles were in the drama Six Degrees of Separation and the action film Bad Boys in which he starred opposite Martin Lawrence. In 1996, Smith starred as part of an ensemble cast in Roland Emmerichs Independence Day, the film was a massive blockbuster, becoming the second highest-grossing film in history at the time and establishing Smith as a prime box office draw. In the summer of 1997 he starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the summer hit Men in Black playing Agent J, in 1998, Smith starred with Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State
37.
Jada Pinkett Smith
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Jada Koren Pinkett–Smith is an American actress, dancer, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors and she starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor. She starred in films such as Menace II Society and Set It Off. Pinkett Smith launched her career in 2002, when she helped create the metal band Wicked Wisdom. Smith also created a company, in addition to authoring a book. In 1997, she married actor Will Smith and they have two children, Jaden and Willow. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Jada Koren Pinkett was named after her mothers favorite soap-opera actress, Pinkett Smith is of African American, West Indian, Creole, and Portuguese-Jewish ancestry. Her parents are Adrienne Banfield-Jones, the nurse of an inner-city clinic in Baltimore. Banfield-Jones became pregnant in high school, the married but divorced after several months. Banfield-Jones raised Pinkett with the help of her own mother, Marion Martin Banfield, Banfield noticed her granddaughters passion for the performing arts and enrolled her in piano, tap dance, and ballet lessons. She has a brother, actor/writer Caleeb Pinkett. Pinkett Smith has remained close to her mother and said, A mother and daughters relationship is usually the most honest and she also added, understood what I wanted and never stood in my way. She participated as the maid of honor in Banfield-Jones 1998 wedding to telecommunications executive Paul Jones, Pinkett Smith has shown great admiration for her grandmother, saying, My grandmother was a doer who wanted to create a better community and add beauty to the world. Pinkett Smith attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, where she met and she majored in dance and theatre and graduated in 1989. She continued her education at the North Carolina School of the Arts and she ultimately moved to Los Angeles, California, where she quickly found success in show business. She began her career in 1990, when she starred in an episode of True Colors. She then appeared in a pilot for a supernatural drama titled Moes World that was never aired. She received guest roles in shows such as Doogie Howser
38.
Queen Latifah
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Dana Elaine Owens, known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, songwriter, singer, actress, model, television producer, record producer, and talk show host. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album All Hail the Queen the same year and her second album, Nature of a Sista, was her final album with Tommy Boy Records. Latifah starred as Khadijah James on the FOX sitcom Living Single and her third album Black Reign, spawned the single U. N. I. T. Y. Which won a Grammy Award and was successful on the Billboard Hot 100 and she then starred in the lead role of Set It Off and released her fourth album, Order in the Court, in 1998, with Motown Records. Latifah gained mainstream success and acclaim with her performance in the film Chicago, in 2007 and 2009, she released two more studio albums – Travlin Light and Persona. She created the talk show The Queen Latifah Show, which ran from late 2013 to early 2015 on CBS. Latifah received critical acclaim for her portrayal of blues singer Bessie Smith in the HBO film Bessie and she has long been considered one of hip-hops pioneer feminists. Queen Latifah received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006, Latifah was born in Newark, New Jersey on March 18,1970, and lived primarily in East Orange, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Rita, a teacher at Irvington High School and Lancelot Owens, Sr and her parents divorced when Latifah was ten. Latifah was raised in the Baptist faith and attended Catholic school in Newark and her stage name, Latifah, meaning delicate and very kind in Arabic, she found in an Arabic book of names when she was eight. Always tall, the 5-foot-10-inch Latifah was a forward on her high school basketball team. She performed the number Home from the musical The Wiz in a school play. He gave the recording to Fab 5 Freddy, the host of Yo, the song got the attention of Tommy Boy Music employee Dante Ross, who signed Latifah and in 1988 issued her first single, Wrath of My Madness. Latifah made her mark in hip-hop by rapping about issues of black women and her songs covered topics including domestic violence, harassment on the streets, and relationship problems. Freddy helped Latifah sign with Tommy Boy Records, which released Latifahs first album All Hail the Queen in 1989 and that year, she appeared as Referee on the UK label Music of Life album 1989—The Hustlers Convention. She received a Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women in 1992, in 1998, co-produced by Ro Smith, now CEO of Def Ro Inc. she released her fourth hip-hop album Order in the Court, which was released by Motown Records. Latifah was also a member of the hip-hop collective Native Tongues, after Order in the Court, Latifah shifted primarily to singing soul music and jazz standards, which she had used sparingly in her previous hip-hop-oriented records. In 2004, she released the soul/jazz standards The Dana Owens Album, on July 11,2007, Latifah sang at the famed Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles as the headlining act in a live jazz concert
39.
Kimberly Elise
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Kimberly Elise Trammel, professionally known as Kimberly Elise, is an American film and television actress. She made her film debut in Set It Off. During her career, Elise has appeared in such as John Q. The Manchurian Candidate, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, The Great Debaters, For Colored Girls, Elise also starred in the CBS crime drama series, Close to Home, and in 2013 began starring in the VH1 comedy-drama series, Hit the Floor. Elise was born as Kimberly Elise Trammel in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Erma Jean, a school teacher, and Marvin Trammel. She attended The American Film Institute as a Directing Fellow and at the University of Minnesota earned a BA in Mass Communications, elises first film was Set It Off, in which she played one of four women who resort to robbing a bank for money. She received critical acclaim for her role in film, and in 1997. A relative unknown at the time, she conveyed her anonymity upon receiving the award by saying and her performance helped her land a role the next year in Beloved alongside Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. She is often compared to a young Cicely Tyson, whom she resembles and she made guest appearances on the situation comedy Girlfriends in 2003, in which she played an HIV-positive woman. In 2004, she appeared in Woman Thou Art Loosed portraying Michelle and this role won her a Black Reel award for Best Actress. She also appeared in John Q, The Manchurian Candidate and Diary of a Mad Black Woman, from 2005 to 2007, she was part of the main cast of the CBS crime drama Close to Home, playing the Marion County, Indiana prosecutor Maureen Scofield. Her character was killed off in the last episode of the series, the series was cancelled on May 2007. Her most recent film role was in Tyler Perrys For Colored Girls, while the film itself received mixed to negative reviews, her performance was praised by many critics. One journalist described her as the great lost Best Supporting Actress contender of the 2010 season, since 2013 Kimberly is part of the cast of VH1s new series Hit The Floor. Elise was married to Maurice Oldham from 1989 to 2005, the couple had two daughters, Ajableu Arial Oldham and Butterfly Rose Oldham. Maurice Oldham died from a blood clot in 2007. Elises maternal descent is of the Songhai people, Elise is vegan and has worked with PETA to promote the lifestyle
