1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
Blue Network
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The Blue Network, and its immediate predecessor, the NBC Blue Network, were the on-air names of the now defunct American radio production and distribution service, which ran from 1927 to 1945. The Blue Network can be dated to 1923, when the Radio Corporation of America acquired WJZ, Newark from Westinghouse and moved it to New York City in May of that year. When RCA commenced operations of WRC, Washington on August 1,1923, Radio historian Elizabeth McLeod states that it would not be until 1924 that the Radio Group formally began network operations. The core stations of the Radio Group were RCAs stations WJZ and WRC, the Westinghouse station WBZ, then in Springfield, Massachusetts, and WGY, RCAs principal rival prior to 1926 was the radio broadcasting department of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company. AT&T, starting in 1921, had been using this department as a test-bed for equipment being designed and manufactured by its Western Electric subsidiary, nevertheless, the WJZ network sought to compete toe-to-toe with the AT&T network, which was built around WEAF. For example, both stations sent announcer teams to cover the 1924 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City. RCA were to receive a break in 1926, when AT&T made a decision to exit the broadcasting business. The first step by AT&T was to create the Broadcasting Company of America on May 15,1926, the Oakland Tribune stated that 4/5ths of the purchase price of WEAF could be attributed to good-will and the line access. On July 28,1926, the Washington Post reported in a story that RCA had acquired WCAP. The Oakland Tribune reported the day that WCAP had departed the field, and WRC would be operating on the frequency that they had shared. It is also announced that this opening Victor program inaugurates a new system to be operated by the National Broadcasting Company. This new chain, which will be known as the network, will allow simultaneous broadcasting from WJZ through WBZ, Springfield and Boston, KDKA, Pittsburgh. For broadcasting of the first program, therefore, the network will be joined with the red network, as the WEAF chain is designated. The Red and Blue Networks shared a pool of engineers and facilities. There are two examples, from the biggest news events of 1927. On May 20,1927, both of the NBC networks covered the return of Charles Lindbergh to America from his trans-Atlantic flight, star announcer Graham McNamee doing the honors. Three months later, a combined hookup of 67 stations on the two presented the second Dempsey–Tunney fight, broadcast by McNamee and NBC colleague Phillips Carlin. See Elizabeth McLeods discussion of surviving NBC broadcast material from this era, during the 1932–1933 season, Standard Oil of New Jersey sponsored an unusual program, the Five-Star Theater, which each weeknight presented a show in a different format
3.
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
4.
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
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.
Luke Halpin
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Luke Austin Halpin is an American former actor. Halpin was born in Astoria, Queens, New York City and his father was of Irish and German descent, and his maternal grandparents were Polish. He grew up with his family in Long Island City and he has an older brother, Eugene, Jr. and an older sister, Joan. He and his siblings were raised as Roman Catholics, Halpins career began when a music teacher, impressed by Halpins all-American look, encouraged him to try acting. In 1955 he co-starred with Natalie Wood in an episode of Studio One entitled Miracle at Potters Farm, Halpins early career also included several stage roles. He made his Broadway debut in Take Me Along starring Jackie Gleason, and appeared in Sunrise at Campobello, kelly and Halpin kept the same roles for the Flipper that commenced filming in the summer of 1964 adding younger brother Bud, played by Tommy Norden when Norden was 11. Halpin was chosen by Tors for the role of Sandy Ricks because of his skills in the water as well as his extensive prior acting experience and he also proved able to bond quickly with the dolphins who played Flipper. This chemistry paved the way for the launching of the TV series after the two feature films and his popular TV character became defined by many water-activity related plots with him often wearing nothing more than what came to be his signature cut-off blue jeans shorts. The Flipper ran for eighty-eight episodes from 1964 to 1967 and is still in syndication and it was filmed in the park and waters around Key Biscayne, Florida, at the Ivan Tors Studios and the Miami Seaquarium, both in Miami. The series performed strongly in the hotly contested Saturday night TV slot, the series made Halpin a famous teen idol especially among adolescent viewers. He was often featured in magazines as Bravo, Teen Life,16 Magazine. He appeared on the show again just prior to the filming of the season, on April 15,1965. He appeared in Death Valley Days in 1968, where he played Sandy King, a member of the Curly Bill Brocius gang. A notable later appearance was in the 1980 television movie The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd for treatment, flight of the Navigator and Speed 2, Cruise Control as well as for the television series Miami Vice. Halpin lives in Rotonda West in Charlotte County on the west coast of Florida with his third wife and he has three sons, Kyle Austin Halpin, Blair Luke Halpin, and Courtney Luke Halpin. In 2015 it was reported that Halpin was suffering from Stage IV head, a website to assist in his care has been established. In June 2016 a family friend announced the cancer was in remission, Luke Halpin at the Internet Movie Database Luke Halpin Gallery
7.
Soap opera
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A soap opera, soap, or soapie, is a serial drama on television or radio that examines the lives of many characters, usually focusing on emotional relationships to the point of melodrama. The term soap opera originated from such dramas being typically sponsored by soap manufacturers in the past, the first serial considered to be a soap opera was Painted Dreams, which debuted on October 20,1930 on Chicago radio station WGN. The first nationally broadcast radio soap opera was Clara, Lu, and Em, a crucial element that defines the soap opera is the open-ended serial nature of the narrative, with stories spanning several episodes. One of the features that makes a television program a soap opera. While Spanish language telenovelas are sometimes called soap operas, telenovelas have conflicts that get resolved, but with soap operas each episode ends with a promise that the storyline is to be continued in another episode. You spend more time even with the characters, the apparent villains grow less apparently villainous. Soap opera storylines run concurrently, intersect and lead into further developments, each episode may feature some of the shows current storylines, but not always all of them. Soap operas rarely bring all the current storylines to a conclusion at the same time, when one storyline ends, there are several other story threads at differing stages of development. Soap opera episodes typically end on some sort of cliffhanger, evening soap operas and those that air at a rate of one episode per week are more likely to feature the entire cast in each episode, and to represent all current storylines in each episode. Evening soap operas and serials that run for only part of the year tend to bring things to a dramatic end-of-season cliffhanger, the article explained that at that time, many prime time series lost money, while daytime serials earned profits several times more than their production costs. Fitting in with these characteristics, most soap operas follow the lives of a group of characters who live or work in a particular place, the storylines follow the day-to-day activities and personal relationships of these characters. These elements may be found across the gamut of soap operas, Due to the prominence of English-language television, most soap-operas are completely English. In many soap operas, in particular daytime serials in the US, Soap operas from the United Kingdom and Australia tend to focus on more everyday characters and situations, and are frequently set in working class environments. Many of the soaps produced in two countries explore social realist storylines such as family discord, marriage breakdown or financial problems. This diverges from US soap operas where such comedy is rare, UK soap operas frequently make a claim to presenting reality or purport to have a realistic style. Romance, secret relationships, extramarital affairs, and genuine hate have been the basis for many soap opera storylines, in US daytime serials, the most popular soap opera characters, and the most popular storylines, often involved a romance of the sort presented in paperback romance novels. Crimes such as kidnapping, rape, and even murder may go unpunished if the perpetrator is to be retained in the ongoing story, Australian and UK soap operas also feature a significant proportion of romance storylines. In Russia, most popular serials explore the romantic quality of criminal and/or oligarch life, in soap opera storylines, previously unknown children, siblings and twins of established characters often emerge to upset and reinvigorate the set of relationships examined by the series
8.
Patty McCormack
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Patricia Patty McCormack is an American actress with a career in theater, films, and television. McCormack began her career as a child actress and she is perhaps best known for her performance as the title character in Maxwell Andersons 1954 psychological drama The Bad Seed. McCormack was born Patricia Ellen Russo in Brooklyn, New York, to Elizabeth, a roller skater, and Frank Russo. She attended New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn She is an aunt of fellow actor and she was a child model at the age of four, and began appearing on television at the age of seven. She made her debut in Two Gals and a Guy. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film version and she originated the role of Helen Keller in the original 1957 Playhouse 90 production of William Gibsons The Miracle Worker opposite Teresa Wright. In 1957, she was cast by Orson Welles in his film of Don Quixote, but filming had to be abandoned for budgetary reasons, and was never fully completed. When a version was edited together in 1992, some years after Welless death, it did not include any of McCormacks scenes and she had the role of a pampered child star in the 1958 comedy Kathy O and recorded the title song for Dot Records. McCormack briefly starred in her own series, Pecks Bad Girl with Marsha Hunt and Wendell Corey in 1959, in the early 1960s, she starred in a series of popular teenaged-delinquent films, including The Explosive Generation with William Shatner and The Young Runaways. In 1962, she portrayed Julie Cannon in the episode Incident of the Wolvers on CBSs Rawhide and she married restaurateur Bob Catania in 1967, and they had two children before their marriage was dissolved. After a half-dozen teen roles during the 1960s, her career declined. In 1970, she played Linda Warren on the soap opera The Best of Everything and she guest-starred on The Streets of San Francisco, season two, episode Blockade. She also portrayed a San Francisco paramedic on the season-seven Emergency, series episodes Whats a Nice Girl Like You Doing. and The Convention. She resumed her career with Bug in 1975. She had recurring roles in television series, including The Ropers, Dallas, Murder, She Wrote. When Kathryn Hays left the CBS soap opera As the World Turns for an extended period and she starred as a psychotic mother in the cult thriller Mommy and its 1997 sequel Mommy 2, Mommys Day. In 2008, McCormack played First Lady Pat Nixon in the feature film Frost/Nixon, McCormack continues to work regularly and she costarred in the 2012 series Have You Met Miss Jones. A recent film appearance is in the 2014 release Chicanery and she guest-starred in a 2013 episode of the series Hart of Dixie and her most notable recent work was in the Paul Thomas Anderson film The Master
9.
Dick Van Patten
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Richard Vincent Dick Van Patten was an American actor, businessman, and animal welfare advocate, best known for his role as patriarch Tom Bradford on the ABC television comedy-drama Eight Is Enough. Van Patten began work as an actor and was successful on the New York stage. He worked in radio, on Duffys Tavern and he later starred in numerous television roles including the long running CBS television series, I Remember Mama and Young Doctor Malone. Later, he would star or co-star in many films, including Mel Brooks Robin Hood, Men in Tights and Spaceballs, Charlton Hestons Soylent Green. Van Patten was the founder of Natural Balance Pet Foods and National Guide Dog Month. Richard Vincent Van Patten was born in the Kew Gardens section of Queens, New York, the son of Richard Byron Van Patten, a decorator, and Josephine Rose. His mother was of Italian descent, while his father had Dutch and he began work as a model and actor as a child making his Broadway debut at the age of seven. He was successful on the New York stage, appearing in a dozen theatrical plays before reaching his teen years and he later moved to Hollywood and began a lengthy career in film and television. Van Pattens career in business began as a child actor on Broadway in 1935 in Tapestry In Gray starring Melvyn Douglas. He was billed as Dickie Van Patten and went on to appear in twelve other Broadway plays as a teenager. He moved on to television with the role of Nels Hansen in the CBS series, Mama, about a Norwegian-American family living in San Francisco, California and it ran from 1949 to 1957. Van Patten also appeared in episodes of Sanford and Son, Banacek, Arrested Development, The Brian Keith Show, Cannon, The Streets of San Francisco, Adam-12, Van Patten had numerous leading roles in motion pictures including Joe Kidd, The Snowball Express and The Santa Trap. He played the role of Usher #1 alongside Charlton Heston. Van Patten played the role of Jack Benson in Opposite Day and he also was a commentator for the World Series of Poker from 1993 to 1995. The Hollywood Walk of Fame honored Van Patten November 20,1985, on January 12,2008, Van Patten received a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. On November 1,2009, Phoenix Books published Eighty Is Not Enough, a book co-authored by Van Patten and Robert Baer in which Van Patten shares an 80-year journey of insights and anecdotes through the entertainment industry. An animal enthusiast, Van Patten co-founded Dick Van Pattens Natural Balance Pet Foods in 1989. Van Pattens creation of his own brand of dog food was satirized in comedian John Hodgmans 2008 book, More Information Than You Require, and was re-branded as Dick Van Pattens Hobo Chili for Dogs
10.
Procter & Gamble
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It primarily specializes in a wide range of cleaning agents, personal care and hygienics products. Before the sale of Pringles to the Kellogg Company, its product also included foods, snacks. In 2014, P&G recorded $83.1 billion in sales, David Taylor is the current president and CEO of Procter & Gamble. Candlemaker William Procter born in the United Kingdom and soapmaker James Gamble born in Ireland, emigrated from England and Ireland and they settled in Cincinnati initially and met when they married sisters, Olivia and Elizabeth Norris. Alexander Norris, their father-in-law, called a meeting in which he persuaded his new sons-in-law to become business partners, on October 31,1837, as a result of the suggestion, Procter & Gamble was created. In 1858–1859, sales reached $1 million, by that point, about 80 employees worked for Procter & Gamble. During the American Civil War, the company won contracts to supply the Union Army with soap, in addition to the increased profits experienced during the war, the military contracts introduced soldiers from all over the country to Procter & Gambles products. In the 1880s, Procter & Gamble began to market a new product, the company called the soap Ivory. William Arnett Procter, William Procters grandson, began a program for the companys workforce in 1887. By giving the workers a stake in the company, he assumed that they would be less likely to go on strike. The company began to build factories in other locations in the United States because the demand for products had outgrown the capacity of the Cincinnati facilities. The companys leaders began to diversify its products, as well, and in 1911, began producing Crisco, as radio became more popular in the 1920s and 1930s, the company sponsored a number of radio programs. As a result, these often became commonly known as soap operas. After this acquisition, Procter & Gamble had their UK Headquarters at Hedley House in Newcastle upon Tyne, numerous new products and brand names were introduced over time, and Procter & Gamble began branching out into new areas. The company introduced Tide laundry detergent in 1946 and Prell shampoo in 1947, in 1955, Procter & Gamble began selling the first toothpaste to contain fluoride, known as Crest. Branching out once again in 1957, the company purchased Charmin paper mills, once again focusing on laundry, Procter & Gamble began making Downy fabric softener in 1960 and Bounce fabric softener sheets in 1972. Prior to this point, disposable diapers were not popular, although Johnson & Johnson had developed a product called Chux, babies always wore cloth diapers, which were leaky and labor-intensive to wash. Pampers provided a convenient alternative, albeit at the environmental cost of waste requiring landfilling
