#☆ﾟ*・ﾟ starring roles — ↳ lucille jordan

[lovestoofew]

@breathingliife​ sent:  ✿ from Drew “ send me a ✿ and i’ll generate a number. “ meme. //#48. Unreciprocated hug

Drew moved to hug her, and she understood why. She looked awful and honestly she was so cold and so miserable that she wanted to push herself into his embrace. Instead she’d taken a step back and looked up at him, already wounded by fear that she might push him away. But she had to tell him, not telling him felt too much like lying, she was only delaying the inevitable moment where he laughed in her face and left her or called her a lunatic. Maybe it would understand, but what if he didn’t?

“Please,” she said, putting her hands between them, not wanting to be swept away in how good it to be wrapped in his embrace, to be cared for. “Please, I... I have to tell you something, and it’s going to sound crazy,” she insisted, voice nearly breaking as her heart just might.

[ceeceerae]

Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was an American actress, famous on Broadway and in early silent film and subsequently in sound film, best known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the movie musical The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1938 for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live and is also remembered for her appearances in the Topper series. Billie Burke was the wife of Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., of Ziegfeld Follies fame, from 1914 until his death in 1932. Her voice was unique in intonation, which she accentuated in her later character roles as dim-witted, spoiled society types.

Billie Burke was born Mary Burke, the daughter of William "Billy" Burke and Blanche (née Beatty 1844–1921), in Washington, D.C. She toured the United States and Europe with her father, who was a singer and clown and worked for the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Her family ultimately settled in London where she attended plays in the West End. In 1903, she began acting on stage, making her debut in London in The School Girl. Other London shows included The Duchess of Dantzic (1903) and The Blue Moon(1904). She eventually returned to America to star in Broadway musical comedies.

Early life

Career

Burke went on to play leads on Broadway in Mrs. Dot, Suzanne,The Runaway, The "Mind-the-Paint" Girl, and The Land of Promise from 1910 to 1913, along with a supporting role in the revival of Sir Arthur Wing Pinero's The Amazons. There she caught the eye of producer Florenz Ziegfeld, marrying him in 1914. Two years later they had a daughter, Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson (1916–2008).

Billie Burke in the Broadway production of Arthur Wing Pinero's The "Mind the Paint" Girl (1912).

The actress's beauty and taste made her a major trendsetter throughout the 1910s and 20s. Much of her wardrobe, on screen and off, at this time was provided by the leading European couturier Lucile (in private life Lady Duff Gordon), whose New York branch was then the fashion mecca for socialites and entertainment celebrities.

Burke was signed for the movies, making her cinematic debut in the title role of Peggy (1915). Her success was phenomenal, and she was soon earning what was reputedly the highest salary granted a motion picture actress up to that time. She followed her first feature with the 15-part serial Gloria's Romance (1916), another popular and critically acclaimed vehicle. By 1917 Billie Burke was a favorite with silent movie fans, rivaling Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish,Clara Kimball Young and Irene Castle. Billie Burke starred primarily in provocative society dramas and comedies, similar in theme to The "Mind-the-Paint" Girl, her most successful American play. The star's girlish charm rivaled her acting ability, and as she dressed to the hilt in fashionable gowns, furs and jewelry, her clothes sense also won the devotion of female audiences. Among the films in which she appeared during this period were Arms and the Girl(1917), The Mysterious Miss Terry,Let's Get a Divorce (1918), Good Gracious, Annabelle (1919), Away Goes Prudence (1920) and The Frisky Mrs. Johnson (1920).

In 1933, Burke was cast as Millicent Jordan, a scatterbrained high-society woman hosting a dinner party in the comedy Dinner at Eight, directed by George Cukor, co-starring with Lionel Barrymore, Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery. The movie was a great success, and revived her career. She subsequently starred in many comedies and musicals, typecast as a ditzy, fluffy and feather-brained upper-class matron with her high-pitched voice.

In 1936, MGM filmed a sanitized biopic of Florenz Ziegfeld (The Great Ziegfeld), a film that won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actress (Luise Rainer as Ziegfeld's common-law wife, Anna Held). William Powell played Flo Ziegfeld and Myrna Loy played Burke, which infuriated Burke because she was under contract to the studio and could have played herself, but MGM considered her too old to cast in the part despite her obviously having the look and mannerisms down perfectly otherwise.

Despite her success in film, Billie Burke eventually returned to the stage, appearing in Caesar's Wife (1919), The Intimate Strangers (1921), The Marquise (1927) and The Happy Husband (1928). But when the family's savings were wiped out in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, she took up screen acting again to aid her husband.

In 1937 Burke appeared in the first of the Topper films, about a man haunted by two socialite ghosts (played by Cary Grant and Constance Bennett), in which she played the twittering and daffy Clara Topper. Her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live (1938) resulted in her only Oscar nomination. In 1938 she was chosen to play Glinda the Good Witch of the North, in the musical The Wizard of Oz (1939), directed by Victor Fleming, with Judy Garland. She had worked on a Garland film, Everybody Sing, in which she played Judy's histrionically hysterical actress-mother. Another successful film series followed withFather of the Bride (1950) and Father's Little Dividend (1951), both directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Burke wrote two autobiographies, both with Cameron Van Shippe, With a Feather on My Nose (Appleton 1949) and With Powder on My Nose (Coward McCann, 1959).

Radio and television

In 1932, Burke made her Hollywood comeback, starring as Margaret Fairfield in A Bill of Divorcement, directed by George Cukor. (She played Katharine Hepburn's mother in the film, which was Hepburn's debut). Despite the death of Florenz Ziegfeld during the film's production, she resumed filming shortly after his funeral.

Burke joined the cast ofEddie Cantor's radio show in 1948

On CBS Radio, The Billie Burke Show was heard on Saturday mornings from April 3, 1943 until September 21, 1946. Sponsored by Listerine, this situation comedy was initially titled Fashions in Rations during its first year. Portraying herself as a featherbrained Good Samaritan who lived "in the little white house on Sunnyview Lane," she always offered a helping hand to those in her neighborhood. She worked often in early television, appearing in the short-lived sitcom Doc Corkle (1952). She was a guest star on several TV and radio series, including Duffy's Tavern.

On television, Burke starred in her own talk show, At Home With Billie Burke, which ran on the DuMont Television Network from June 1951 through the spring of 1952. She was one of the first female talk show hosts, after the hostesses of the earlier DuMont series And Everything Nice (1949–50) and Fashions on Parade (1948–49) which both included some talk show segments.

Burke tried to make a comeback on the New York stage. She starred in two short-lived productions: This Rock and Mrs. January and Mr. X. Although she got good reviews, the plays did not. She appeared in several plays in California as well, although her mind became clouded, and she had trouble remembering lines. In the late 1950s, her failing memory led to her retirement from show business, although her explanation for that was, "Acting just wasn't any fun anymore."

Burke's last screen appearance was in Sergeant Rutledge (1960), a Western directed by John Ford.

Source - Wikipedia

@ceeceerae

[papermoonloveslucy]

A WOMAN OF DISTINCTION

March 16, 1950

Directed by Edward N. Buzzell 

Produced by Buddy Adler for Columbia Pictures

Written by Charles Hoffman; additional dialogue by Frank Tashlin; story by Ian McLellan Hunt and Hugo Butler

Synopsis ~ College dean Susan Middlecott thinks there's no room in her life for romance until she meets Professor Alec Stevenson, British lecturer on astronomy, who is in possession of a keepsake of Susan's that he wants to return. Desperate for publicity, lecture bureau press agent Teddy Evans magnifies this into a great romance. The efforts of both dignified principals to quash the story have the opposite effect.

PRINCIPAL CAST

Rosalind Russell (Susan Middlecott) is probably best remembered as Auntie Mame, a role she played on Broadway and in the film and a role Lucille Ball would film in the 1974 musical version of the play. She was nominated for four Oscars. This is her only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Edmund Gwenn (Mark Middlecott) is probably best remembered for playing Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street (1947), which also featured William Frawley. He won an Oscar in 1951 for Mister 888. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Ray Milland (Alec Stevenson) won a 1945 Oscar for The Lost Weekend. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.  

Janis Carter (Teddy Evans) also appeared with Lucille Ball in Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949). 

Mary Jane Saunders (Louisa) was a seven year-old child actor who also appeared with Lucille Ball in 1949′s Sorrowful Jones. 

Francis Lederer (Paul Simone) makes his only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Jerome Courtland (Jerome) makes his only appearance with Lucille Ball.

UNCREDITED CAST 

Lucille Ball (as Lucille Ball) plays herself in a cameo appearance in her 73rd motion picture. Leaving an airplane holding a lapdog, movie star Lucille Ball stops to pose for photographs. 

Gale Gordon (Station Clerk) was Lucille Ball’s co-star in every one of her radio and television shows: Rudolph Atterbury on “My Favorite Husband,” Alvin Littlefield on “I Love Lucy,” Theodore J. Mooney on “The Lucy Show,” Harrison Otis Carter on “Here’s Lucy,” and Curtis McGibbon on “Life With Lucy.” Whether bellowing or turning a cartwheel, he was Lucy’s perfect comic foil!  

Gail Bonney (Woman) also appeared with Lucille Ball in The Fuller Brush Girl (1950). She re-teamed with Lucy in as Mr. Hudson in “The Amateur Hour” in 192, a 1965 episode of "The Lucy Show”, and a 1968 episode of "Here’s Lucy.”

Harry Cheshire (Stewart) also appeared with Lucille Ball in Her Husband’s Affairs (1947), and Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949). He played oil tycoon Sam Johnson in “Oil Wells” (1954).  Mary Ellen Kay (Background Performer) later played Mrs. Taylor, who rents the Ricardo apartment in “Lucy Hates to Leave” (1957). 

Norman Leavitt (Earl, Hotel Desk Clerk) also appeared with Lucille Ball in The Long, Long Trailer (1953). He made three appearances on the “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” after which he was in The Facts of Life (1960) and two episodes of "The Lucy Show.”

William Newell (Bartender) played the Nome hotel desk clerk in “Lucy Goes To Alaska” an episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” featuring Red Skelton.

Hans Moebus (Background Performer) was a German-born actor who appeared as an uncredited background performer in hundreds of movies and TV shows, including the Lucille Ball films DuBarry Was a Lady (1943), and The Facts of Life (1960). On “I Love Lucy,” Moebus was seen in “Bon Voyage” also in two episodes of “The Lucy Show.”

Reporters: Larry Barton, Richard Bartell, Harry Strang, Donald Kerr,  Charles Jordan, Ted Jordan

Members: Lelah Tyler, Mira McKinney

Conductors: William E. Green, Robert Malcolm

Alex Gerry (Herman Pomeroy) Charles Evans (Dr. McFall) Charlotte Wynters (Miss Withers) Clifton Young (Chet) Jean Willes (Pearl) Wanda McKay (Merle) Elizabeth Flournoy (Laura) Harry Tyler (Charlie) Harry Harvey, Jr. (Joe) Maxine Gates (Goldie) Walter Sande (Officer) Marie Blake (Wax Operator) Napoleon Whiting (Porter) John Smith (Boy) Charles Trowbridge (Jewelry Salesman) Dudley Dickerson (Waiter) Lucille Browne (Manicurist) Lois Hall (Stewardess) Myron Healey (Cameraman) Edward Keane (Sergeant)

TRIVIA OF DISTINCTION

In Spain the film was titled The Teacher’s Scandals.

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on October 23, 1950 with Rosalind Russell reprising her film role. Coincidentally, Lucille Ball took over for Rosalind Russell when Screen Directors Radio Playhouse presented “A Foreign Affair” in March 1951. 

Rosalind Russell and her husband Fred Brisson were in the studio audience the night “I Love Lucy” filmed “Be A Pal” on September 21, 1951. 

Eddie Buzzell also directed Lucille Ball in Best Foot Forward (1943) and Easy to Wed (1946).  His name was mentioned as a going away party guest in “Drafted” (ILL S1;E11). 

[redshirtgal]

Just before this scene in “I, Mudd” begins, the Captain has realized something is wrong in auxiliary control so he opens communications with security. Lt. Rowe is the one who replies on the intercom and Kirk orders him to go find out what is wrong. But we don’t see what Lt. Rowe actually looks like until now when he brings two other guards with him to auxiliary control where they find Ensign Jordan slumped over in his chair. (Lt Rowe is the tall dude on the right).

Despite both Lt. Rowe and at least one other guard having lieutenant stripes, it appears Rowe is slightly higher in the redshirt pecking order. He is the one who gives the order to the other two guards to take care of their gold shirt comrade and they carry him out the door. Rowe is the one who stays behind and tries to work the master directional controls but has to tell his captain that they have been jammed. The lieutenant has also taken the initiative to put a full security alert on all decks. Captain Kirk then asks him to find the intruder. And that is the last we see of Lt. Rowe. 

Btw, take a good look at the other lieutenant on the left. He appeared in five other episodes but was never given a name. Actually, he died in two of them but when does that keep a good redshirt down?

Well, maybe not. His Romulan counterpart finds his way into “The Enterprise Incident” as a guard outside the room containing the cloaking device. Oddly, if you listen carefully, this guard seems to have the same U.S. Northeastern accent as Lt. Rowe when he asks the captain if "he had clearance to be in this arear".  Hmm... is it possible this is Lt. Rowe in a secret intelligence role making it easier for Captain Kirk to capture the cloaking device? (J/K)

Michael Richard Howden was the actor who played both Lt. Rowe and the Romulan security guard, but he was better known as Mike Howden. He was born and educated in England but left for Canada in the early 50s to join the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance. He moved to the United States later on as a ski instructor in both California and Aspen, Colorado.  Along the way, he also taught several celebrities. Above is a photo of Mike standing next to his student Jill St. John at a ski resort in Aspen, possibly around the time she was a Bond girl. He was also James Arness’s ski instructor, who was instrumental in getting Howden his first Trek assignment as Lt. Rowe. Mike also had parts in four episodes of Gunsmoke, starting the same year as his part in “I Mudd.”  He managed to snag small parts in TV here and there mainly during the summers when he wasn’t working in ski resorts.  (Photo courtesy of the Aspen Historical Society)

Howden also had another celebrity connection to Star Trek that paid off with two more roles. His student Lucille Ball gave him the part of an injured skier in the “Here’s Lucy” 1971 episode “Someone’s on the Ski Lift with DInah.”  He also appeared as an airline steward in “Lucy Helps Put David Frost Night-Night.” Sadly, the following year Lucy fractured her leg in a serious skiing accident which put her in a wheelchair for most of the 1972-1973 season. Not one to give up her love of the sport, she later learned to ski cross-country. (if you want to see Mike hobble into the lodge, here’s a short clip. https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/mike-howden/video/258903/heres-lucy-someones-on-the-ski-lift-with-dinah-3663896/ Howden ended his acting career with parts in the movie Hot Lead and Cold Feet and an episode in How the West Was Won (which he said was his favorite series) in 1978-1979. From there, he moved into the retail side of skiing, preparing skis for Subaru Pro Circuit Golden Rose Cup and for world champion skiers  Greg Snider and Jean Peter Ostbye.

 A versatile writer, Howden did articles for several skiing magazines and also wrote his own manual, World Class Ski Tuning. In addition, he also wrote plays and poetry.

The emblem from that manual turned up on Mike Howden’s patented invention, Magic Blocks Ski Vise Inserts. It has a patent number of D327401 and was described as a set of ski base edge beveling sleeves. He filed for the patent originally on March 9, 1990 and it was granted June 30th of 1992. The photo above is from a current eBay auction  https://www.ebay.com/i/274250067696

Michael’s last move was to Gresham, Oregon in 1987. He was diagnosed in 2004 with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare brain disorder that sadly robbed him of his balance and ability to walk in its beginning stages.Mike Howden’s death occurred on October 4, 2010.            

Most of the extras came into Star Trek because they wanted to break either into acting or into another related field in the world of Hollywood. But occasionally you have people like the man who played Lt. Bobby in “The Naked Time” and Mike Howden who got his Trek part just because he happened to know someone in the business and never really intended to make acting their career. To them, it was just an additional source of income (and in case of the man who played Lt. Bobby, a chance to meet girls). But no matter. They still played as important a part as the serious actors did in making Star Trek a believable world.     

[writemarcus]

Black LGBTQ+ playwrights and musical-theater artists you need to know

These artists are producing amazing, timely work.

By Marcus Scott Posted: Friday July 24 2020, 4:56pm

Marcus Scott is a New York City–based playwright, musical writer, opera librettist and journalist. He has contributed to Elle, Essence, Out, American Theatre, Uptown, Trace, Madame Noire and Playbill, among other publications. Follow Marcus: Instagram, Twitter

We’re in the chrysalis of a new age of theatrical storytelling, and Black queer voices have been at the center of this transformation. Stepping out of the margins of society to push against the status quo, Black LGBTQ+ artists  have been actively engaged in fighting anti-blackness, racial disparities, disenfranchisement, homophobia and transphobia.

The success of Jeremy O. Harris’s Slave Play, Donja R. Love’s one in two and Jordan E. Cooper’s Ain’t No Mo’—not to mention Michael R. Jackson’s tour de force, the Pulitzer Prize–winning metamusical A Strange Loop—made that phenomenon especially visible last season. But these artists are far from alone. Because the intersection of queerness and Blackness is complex—with various gender expressions, sexual identifiers and communities taking shape in different spaces—Black LGBTQ+ artists are anything but a monolith. George C. Wolfe, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Robert O’Hara, Harrison David Rivers, Staceyann Chin, Colman Domingo, Tracey Scott Wilson, Tanya Barfield, Marcus Gardley and Daniel Alexander Jones are just some of the many Black queer writers who have already made marks.

With New York stages dark for the foreseeable future, we can’t know when we will be able to see live works by these artists again. It is likely, however, that they will continue to play major roles in the direction American theater will take in the post-quarantine era—along with many creators who are still flying mostly under the radar. Here are just a few of the Black queer artists you may not have encountered yet: vital new voices that are speaking to the Zeitgeist and turning up the volume.

Christina Anderson A protégé of Paula Vogel’s, Christina Anderson has presented work at the Public Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Penumbra Theatre Company, Playwrights Horizons and other theaters around the U.S. and Canada. She has degrees from the Yale School of Drama and Brown University, and  is a resident playwright at New Dramatists and Epic Theatre Ensemble; she has received the inaugural Harper Lee Award for Playwriting and three Susan Smith Blackburn Prize nominations, among other honors. Works include: How To Catch Creation (2019), Blacktop Sky (2013), Inked Baby (2009) Follow Christina: Website

Aziza Barnes Award-winning poet Aziza Barnes moved into playwriting with one of the great sex comedies of the 2010s: BLKS, which premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2017 before it played at MCC Theatre in 2019 (where it earned a Lucille Lortel Award nomination). The NYU grad’s play about three twentysomethings probed the challenges and choices of Millennials with pathos and zest that hasn’t been seen since Kenneth Lonergan’s Gen X love/hate letter This Is Our Youth. Barnes is the author of the full-length collection of poems the blind pig and i be but i ain’t, which won a Pamet River Prize. Works include: BLKS (2017) Follow Aziza: Twitter

Troy Anthony Burton Fusing a mélange of quiet storm ‘90s-era Babyface R&B, ‘60s-style funk-soul and urban contemporary gospel, composer Troy Anthony has had a meteoric rise in musical theater in the past three years, receiving commissions and residencies from the Shed, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company and the Civilians. When Anthony is not crafting ditties of his own, he is an active performer who has participated in the Public Theater’s Public Works and Shakespeare In the Park. Works include: The River Is Me (2017), The Dark Girl Chronicles (in progress) Follow Troy: Instagram

Timothy DuWhite Addressing controversial issues such as HIV, state-sanctioned violence and structural anti-blackness, poet and performance artist Timothy DuWhite unnerves audiences with a hip-hop driven gonzo style. DuWhite’s raison d’être is to shock and enrage, and his provocative Neptune was, along with Donja R. Love’s one in two, one of the first plays by an openly black queer writer to address HIV openly and frankly.  He has worked with the United Nations/UNICEF, the Apollo Theater, Dixon Place and La MaMa. Works include: Neptune (2018) Follow Timothy: Instagram

Jirèh Breon Holder Raised in Memphis and educated at Morehouse College, Jirèh Breon Holder solidified his voice at the Yale School of Drama under the direction of Sarah Ruhl. He has received the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award and the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, among other honors. His play Too Heavy for Your Pocket premiered at Roundabout Underground and has since been produced in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Des Moines and Houston; his next play, ...What The End Will Be, is slated to debut at the Roundabout Theatre Company. Works include: Too Heavy for Your Pocket (2017), What The End Will Be (2020) Follow Jirèh: Twitter

C.A. Johnson Born in Louisiana, rising star C.A. Johnson writes with a southern hospitality and homespun charm that washes over audiences like a breath of fresh air. Making a debut at MCC Theater with her coming of age romcom All the Natalie Portmans, she drew praise for empathic take on a black queer teenage womanchild with Hollywood dreams. A core writer at the Playwrights Center, she has had fellowships with the Dramatists Guild Fellow, Page 73, the Lark and the Sundance Theatre Lab. Works include: All the Natalie Portmans (2020) Follow C.A.: Twitter

Johnny G. Lloyd A New York-based playwright and producer, Johnny G. Lloyd has seen his work produced and developed at the Tank, 59E59, the Corkscrew Festival, the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and more. A member of the 2019-2020 Liberation Theatre Company’s Writing Residency, this Columbia University graduate is also a producing director of InVersion Theatre. Works include: The Problem With Magic, Is (2020), Or, An Astronaut Play (2019), Patience (2018) Follow Johnny: Instagram

Patricia Ione Lloyd In her luminous 2018 breakthrough Eve’s Song at the Public Theater, Patricia Ione Lloyd offered a meditation on the violence against black women in America that is often overlooked onstage. With a style saturated in both humor and melancholy and a poetic lyricism that evokes Ntozake Shange’s, the former Tow Playwright in Residence has earned fellowships at New Georges, the Dramatist Guild, Playwrights Realm, New York Theater Workshop and Sundance. Works include: Eve’s Song (2018) Follow Patricia: Instagram

Maia Matsushita The half-Black, half-Japanese educator and playwright Maia Matsushita has sounded a silent alarm in downtown theater with an array of slow-burn, naturalistic coming-of-age dramas. She was a member of The Fire This Time’s 2017-18 New Works Lab and part of its inaugural Writers Group, and her work has been seen at Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Playwright Playground and the National Black Theatre’s Keeping Soul Alive Reading Series. Works include: House of Sticks (2019), White Mountains (2018) Follow Maia: Instagram

Daaimah Mubashshir When Daaimah Mubashshir’s kitchen-sink dramedy Room Enough (For Us All) debuted at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre in 2019, the prolific writer began a dialogue around the contemporary African-American Muslim experience and black queer expression that made her a significant storyteller to watch. She is a core writer at the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis as well as a member of Soho Rep’s Writer/Director Lab, Clubbed Thumb’s Early Career Writers Group, and a MacDowell Colony Fellow. Her short-play collection The Immeasurable Want of Light was published in 2018. Works include: Room Enough (For Us All) (2019) Follow Daaimah: Twitter

Jonathan Norton Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Jonathan Norton is a delightfully zany playwright who subverts notions of post-blackness by underlining America’s obscure historical atrocities with bloody red slashes. The stories he tells carry a profound horror, often viewed through the eyes of black children and young adults. Norton’s work has been produced or developed by companies including the Actors Theatre of Louisville (at the 44th Humana Festival), PlayPenn and InterAct Theatre Company. He is the Playwright in Residence at Dallas Theater Center. Works include: Mississippi Goddamn (2015), My Tidy List of Terrors (2013), penny candy (2019) Follow Jonathan: Website

AriDy Nox Cooking up piping hot gumbos of speculative fiction, transhumanism and radical womanist expression, AriDy Nox is a rising star with a larger-than-life vision. The Spelman alum earned an MFA from NYU TIsch’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and has been a staple of various theaters such as Town Stages. A member of the inaugural 2019 cohort of the Musical Theatre Factory Makers residency, they recently joined the Public Theater’s 2020-2022 Emerging Writers Group cohort. Works include: Metropolis (in progress), Project Tiresias (2018) Follow AriDy: Instagram

Akin Salawu Akin Salawu’s nonlinear, hyperkinetic work combines heart-pounding suspense chills with Tarantino-esque thrills while excavating Black trauma and Pan-African history in America. With over two decades of experience as a writer, director and editor, the prize-winning playwright is a two-time Tribeca All Access Winner and a member of both the Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group and Ars Nova’s Uncharted Musical Theater residency. A graduate of Stanford, he is a founder of the Tank’s LIT Council, a theater development center for male-identifying persons of color. Works include: bless your filthy lil’ heart (2019), The Real Whisperer (2017), I Stand Corrected (2008) Follow Akin: Twitter

Sheldon Shaw A playwright, screenwriter and actor, Sheldon Shaw studied writing at the Labyrinth Theater Company and was part of Playwrights Intensive at the Kennedy Center. Shaw has since developed into a sort of renaissance man, operating as playwright, screenwriter and actor. His plays have been developed by Emerging Artist Theaters New Works Festival, Classical Theater of Harlem and the Rooted Theater Company. Shaw's Glen was the winner of the Black Screenplays Matter competition and a finalist in the New York Screenplay Contest. Works include: Jailbait (2018), Clair (2017), Baby Starbucks (2015) Follow Johnny: Twitter

Nia O. Witherspoon Multidisciplinary artist Nia Ostrow Witherspoon’s metaphysical explorations of black liberation and desire have made her an in-demand presence in theater circles. The recipient of multiple honors—include New York Theatre Workshop’s 2050 Fellowship, a Wurlitzer Foundation residency and the Lambda Literary’s Emerging Playwriting Fellowship—she is currently developing The Dark Girl Chronicles, a play cycle that, in her words, “explores the criminalization of black cis and trans women via African diaspora sacred stories.” Works include: The Dark Girl Chronicles (in progress) ​Follow Nia: Instagram

Brandon Webster A Brooklyn-based musical theatre writer and dramaturg, Brandon Webster has been a familiar figure in the NYC theater scene, both onstage and behind the scenes. With an aesthetic that fuses Afrofuturist and Afrosurrealist storytelling, with a focus on Black liberation past and present, the composer’s work fuses psychedelic soul flourishes with alt-R&B nuances to create a sonic smorgasbord of seething rage and remorse. He is an alumnus of the 2013 class of BMI Musical Theater Workshop and a 2017 MCC Theater Artistic Fellow. Works include: Metropolis (in progress), Headlines (2017), Boogie Nights (2015) Follow Brandon: Instagram

[amongthemoonandstars]

Never ever give up

Successful People Who Failed At First

1. Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade. He was defeated in every public office role he ran for. Then he became the British prime minister at the age of 62.

2. Thomas Edison’s teachers told him he was “too stupid to learn anything." Edison also famously invented 1,000 light bulbs before creating one that worked.

3.Harland David Sanders, the famous KFC "Colonel,” couldn’t sell his chicken. More than 1,000 restaurants rejected him. But then one did, and today there are KFC restaurants bearing his image all over the world.

4. R.H. Macy had a history failing businesses, including a dud Macy’s in NYC.But Macy kept up the hard work and ended up with the biggest department store in the world.

5. Steven Spielberg was rejected from his dream school, the University of Southern California, three times. He sought out an education somewhere else and dropped out to be a director.

6. Charlie Chaplin’s act was rejected by executives because they thought it was too obscure for people to understand. But then they took a chance on Chaplin, who went on to become America’s first bona fide movie star.

7. Marilyn Monroe’s first contract with Columbia Pictures expired because they told her she wasn’t pretty or talented enough to be an actress.

8. Soichiro Honda was passed over for an engineering job at Toyota and left unemployed. But then he began making motorcycles, started a business and became a billionaire.

9. Vera Wang failed to make the U.S. Olympic figure-skating team. Then she became an editor at Vogue and was passed over for the editor-in-chief position. She began designing wedding gowns at 40 and today is the premier designer in the business, with a multi-billion dollar industry.

10. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas." Several more of his businesses failed before the premiere of his movie Snow White. Today, most childhoods wouldn’t be the same without his ideas.

11. Albert Einstein didn’t speak until age four and didn’t read until age seven. His teachers labeled him "slow” and “mentally handicapped." But Einstein just had a different way of thinking. He later won the Nobel prize in physics.

12. Charles Darwin was considered an average student. He gave up on a career in medicine and was going to school to become a parson. But as Darwin studied nature, he found his calling.

13. Sir Isaac Newton was tasked with running the family farm but was a miserable failure. Newton was sent off to Cambridge University and became a physics scholar.

14. Dick Cheney flunked out of Yale twice. George W. Bush once joked: ”So now we know –if you graduate from Yale, you become president. If you drop out, you get to be vice president.“

15. The first time Jerry Seinfeld went onstage, he was booed away by the jeering crowd. Eventually, he became a famous comic with one of the most-loved sitcoms ever.

16. In Fred Astaire’s first screen test, the judges wrote: "Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little." Astaire went on to be the most famous dancer of all time and won the hearts of American women forever.

17. After Sidney Poitier’s first audition, the casting director instructed him to just stop wasting everyone’s time and "go be a dishwasher or something." He went on to win an Academy Award and is admired by actors everywhere.

18. Oprah Winfrey was fired from her television reporting job because they told her she wasn’t fit to be on screen. But Winfrey rebounded and became the undisputed queen of television talk shows. She’s also a billionaire.

19. Lucille Ball spent many years on the B-list and her agent told her to pursue a new career. Then she got her big break on I Love Lucy.

20. After his first film, Harrison Ford underwhelmed the producer and was told he would probably never succeed. But today Ford is the third highest-grossing actor of all time.

21. Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting in his entire life, to a friend. He sometimes starved in order to create the 800 paintings he’d eventually do. Today, his works are priceless.

22. Dr. Seuss’ first book was rejected by 27 different publishers. He’s now the most popular children’s book author ever.

23. Henry Ford’s first auto company went out of business. He abandoned a second because of a fight and a third went downhill because of declining sales. He went on to become one of the greatest American entrepreneurs ever.

24. While developing his vacuum, Sir James Dyson went through 5,126 failed prototypes and his savings over 15 years. But the 5,127th prototype worked and now the Dyson brand is the best-selling vacuum cleaner in the United States.

25. J.K. Rowling was unemployed, divorced and raising a daughter on social security while writing the first Harry Potter novel. J.K. Rowling is now internationally renowned for her 7 book Harry Potter series and is the first person to become a billionaire from writing.

26. Stephen King was initially so frustrated with his first novel, Carrie, that he threw it in the trash. King’s wife found the manuscript in the trash and took it out. To date his 49 novels have sold 350 million copies.

27. Will Smith's life got flip turned upside down when he owed the IRS $2.8 million in taxes in 1989.  In 1990, he signed with NBC and created The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

28. Lady Gaga got dropped by a major record label after only three months. As of 2013, she's sold about 125 million singles.

29. Sidney Poitier was brutally rejected by the American Negro Theater for his Bahamian accent and difficulty reading. He became a dishwasher as he practiced his accent and reading. Six months later, he was accepted by the theater and went on to be the first black man to win an Oscar. 

30. Michelle Yeoh's dreams of being a ballerina were crushed by a spinal injury. She went on to play the most BADASS Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies and was nominated for a BAFTA for her role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

31. In her lifetime, Emily Dickinson published fewer than a dozen of her 1,800 poems. Allegedly agoraphobic, she was a shut-in for most of her adult life. Her complete works were published posthumously. A feminist icon, she has inspired millions of teenagers to write angsty poetry.

32. As a sophomore, Michael Jordan was rejected from his high school's varsity basketball team for lack of talent. But now, he is literally the most famous basketball player of all time. 

33. Lisa Kudrow was cast as the original Roz in Frasier, but cut shortly after. Kudrow rebounded with Friends a year later, which just wouldn't have been the same without Phoebe's rendition of "Smelly Cat." 

34. Ang Lee failed Taiwan's college entrance exam twice. He enrolled in a three-year art college instead, and became a director. In fact, to date, Lee has won three Academy Awards, three BAFTA awards, three Golden Globes, and more.

35. Allegedly, Bruno Mars was passed over by a music industry exec because he wasn't white. According to Bruno Mars, the executive wanted Mars' song "Nothin' On You" for a white singer. Mars performed at this year's Super Bowl. The industry exec probably feels real dumb now. 

36. Winston Churchill lost his first campaign for Parliament. Nicknamed "The British Bulldog," as prime minister he helped orchestrate the Allies' victory of WWII.

37. Arianna Huffington’s second book was rejected by 36 publishers. And when she ran for governor of California in 2003, she received just 0.55 percent of the vote. It’s pretty clear now that Huffington learned from her failures. In a 2010 interview with Success magazine, she said raising campaign funds showed her “the power of the internet.”The incredible success of The Huffington Post is proof of that. Oh, and she’s now published 13 books.

38. Beethoven's musical teacher told him he didn't have any talent. Even more so, he told him he was a hopeless disaster at composing music. Beethoven decided he couldn't hear him (I'm sorry, couldn’t help myself... XD)

39. Fred Smith wrote during his time at Yale a paper about his big life-changing idea about a nightly delivery service. He got a C. Despite this, he decided to establish FedEx...

[realtimebros]

Little Richard, Trailblazing Rock ‘n’ Roll Pioneer, Dead At 87: Reports

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) — Little Richard, the trailblazing rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, has died at the age of 87, his pastor confirmed to the Associated Press.

Born as Richard Wayne Penniman, Little Richie died Saturday morning of unknown causes, according to pastor Bill Minson, who was a good friend of his. Rolling Stone was the first publication to report on his death, citing confirmation from his son, Danny Penniman.

Musicians and celebrities alike took to social media following news of his death to pay their respects:

A couple weeks ago I randomly decided to read up on the legendary Little Richard on wiki. I learned then about how he developed The Beatles and saved The Rolling Stones pic.twitter.com/lUEvYG1Mew

— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) May 9, 2020

Rest In Peace To One Of The True Creators Of Rock And Roll. This Is The Commercial I Directed With Little Richard And Michael Jordan, 1991. pic.twitter.com/51bEV1eYKB

— Spike Lee (@SpikeLeeJoint) May 9, 2020

Let’s get the facts straight rock and roll & pop music would not be what it is today without Chuck Berry & Little Richard May he Rest In Peace one of the best performers of all time

The influencer of James Brown, Prince & MJ & Ric Wilson. pic.twitter.com/Ua9zUXHhU6

— disco ric (@RicWilson) May 9, 2020

Sadly, Little Richard passed away today. A founding Father of Rock And Roll, his contributions simply can’t be overstated. I had the honor of meeting Richard in his later years and was awed by his presence. He told me, “I am the architect of Rock And Roll.” Amen! ..Rest In Peace. https://t.co/ceQuNU6pkF

— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) May 9, 2020

God bless little Richard one of my all-time musical heroes. Peace and love to all his family.

pic.twitter.com/H2lzKbX3tm

— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) May 9, 2020

Little Richard was one of rock ‘n’ roll’s founding fathers who helped shatter the color line on the music charts, joining Chuck Berry and Fats Domino in bringing what was once called “race music” into the mainstream. Richard’s hyperkinetic piano playing, coupled with his howling vocals and hairdo, made him an implausible sensation — a gay, black man celebrated across America during the buttoned-down Eisenhower era.

He sold more than 30 million records worldwide, and his influence on other musicians was equally staggering, from the Beatles and Otis Redding to Creedence Clearwater Revival and David Bowie. In his personal life, he wavered between raunch and religion, alternately embracing the Good Book and outrageous behavior.

“Little Richard? That’s rock ‘n’ roll,” Neil Young, who heard Richard’s riffs on the radio in Canada, told biographer Jimmy McDonough. “Little Richard was great on every record.”

It was 1956 when his classic “Tutti Frutti” landed like a hand grenade in the Top 40, exploding from radios and off turntables across the country. It was highlighted by Richard’s memorable call of “wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom.”

A string of hits followed, providing the foundation of rock music: “Lucille,” “Keep A Knockin’,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Good Golly Miss Molly.” More than 40 years after the latter charted, Bruce Springsteen was still performing “Good Golly Miss Molly” live.

The Beatles’ Paul McCartney imitated Richard’s signature yelps — perhaps most notably in the “Wooooo!” from the hit “She Loves You.” Ex-bandmate John Lennon covered Richard’s “Rip It Up” and “Ready Teddy” on the 1975 “Rock and Roll” album.

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in 1986, he was among the charter members with Elvis Presley, Berry, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Cooke and others.

Few were quicker to acknowledge Little Richard’s seminal role than Richard himself. The flamboyant singer claimed he paved the way for Elvis, provided Mick Jagger with his stage moves and conducted vocal lessons for McCartney.

“I am the architect of rock ‘n’ roll!” Little Richard crowed at the 1988 Grammy Awards as the crowd rose in a standing ovation. “I am the originator!”

Richard Wayne Penniman was born in Macon, Georgia, during the Great Depression, one of 12 children. He was ostracized because he was effeminate and suffered a small deformity: his right leg was shorter than his left.

The family was religious, and Richard sang in local churches with a group called the Tiny Tots. The tug-of-war between his upbringing and rock ‘n’ roll excess tormented Penniman throughout his career.

Penniman was performing with bands by the age of 14, but there were problems at home over his sexual orientation. His father beat the boy and derided him as “half a son.”

Richard left home to join a minstrel show run by a man known as Sugarloaf Sam, occasionally appearing in drag.

In late 1955, Little Richard recorded the bawdy “Tutti Frutti,” with lyrics that were sanitized by a New Orleans songwriter. It went on to sell 1 million records over the next year.

When Little Richard’s hit was banned by many white-owned radio stations, white performers like Pat Boone and Elvis Presley did cover versions that topped the charts.

Little Richard went Hollywood with an appearance in “Don’t Knock the Rock.” But his wild lifestyle remained at odds with his faith, and a conflicted Richard quit the business in 1957 to enroll in a theological school and get married.

Richard remained on the charts when his label released previously recorded material. And he recorded a gospel record, returning to his roots.

A 1962 arrest for a sexual encounter with a man in a bus station restroom led to his divorce and return to performing.

He mounted three tours of England between 1962 and 1964, with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones serving as opening acts. Back in the States, he put together a band that included guitarist Jimi Hendrix — and later fired Hendrix when he was late for a bus.

In 1968, Richard hit Las Vegas and relaunched his career. Within two years, he had another hit single and made the cover of Rolling Stone.

By the mid-1970s, Richard was battling a $1,000-a-day cocaine problem and once again abandoned his musical career. He returned to religion, selling Bibles and renouncing homosexuality. For more than a decade, he vanished.

“If God can save an old homosexual like me, he can save anybody,” Richard said.

But he returned, in 1986, in spectacular fashion. Little Richard was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and appeared in the movie “Down and Out in Beverly Hills.”

A Little Richard song from the soundtrack, “Great Gosh A’Mighty,” even put him back on the charts for the first time in more than 15 years. Little Richard was back to stay, enjoying another dose of celebrity that he fully embraced.

Macon, Georgia, named a street after its favorite son. And Little Richard was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In August 2002, he announced his retirement from live performing. But he continued to appear frequently on television, including a humorous appearance on a 2006 commercial for GEICO insurance.

Richard had hip surgery in November 2009 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, and asked fans at the time to pray for him. He lived in the Nashville area at the time.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

[blue-opossum]

Celebrity Occurrences in Sleep-Wake Mediation, 1

Afternoon of February 16, 2020. Sunday.

Reading time: 3 min 32 sec.

My instinctual summoning of celebrities as personifications of the final sleep-wake mediation processes of a sleep cycle has been well-established since childhood. As well as an unknown person otherwise in this role, they exist to prevent any associations (or confusion) with my waking life, more so in increasing liminality, when vividness becomes exponentially more distinct than previous renderings (as a result of emerging consciousness and reestablishing viable waking-life memory and cognizance that usually does not exist in the dream state). It is uncommon for the same celebrity to occur more than once in my dreams, even over 50 years.

My series will include raw data in the following format: Date of dream, celebrity's name (and level of my dream's self's recognition of him or her in parentheses), and the type of sleep-wake mediation, with any interesting details. (Additional details are online in my original entries.)

July 2, 2019. Ken Curtis, born on July 2, 1916. (I recognize him as the actor with a lesser association as Festus Haggen on "Gunsmoke.") Somatosensory. I gaze at my right hand and move my fingers for a few minutes in a rolling motion from right to left. My bone and flesh are exposed, and bandages cover some of it, but I have no concern. (Instinctual awareness of the dream state and its mediatory processes typically prevents genuine fear).

February 7, 2018. Ian Somerhalder. (I recognize him as the actor.) Virtual exit point of the dream state (as a doorway); Wall mediation. As I go back into a version of our present house, Ian (sitting on our back steps) says, "Yes, you used just the right amount of physical strength and force" (after I say, regarding someone else, "I did not want to be too violent, I just wanted to get the message across"). As I am reaching higher liminality, I am aware I am making him say this.

September 7, 2016. Kate Capshaw. (I am directing her as the actress in "my" movie.) RAS (Reticular Activating System). Sleep Simulacrum. There is the anticipation a lion will reach over her bed and paw her abdomen, though this does not occur. (This sleep personification is partly a result of my subliminal association with her role as Jane DeVries in "Dreamscape.")

June 26, 2016. David Boreanaz. (I recognize him as the actor playing a role in a fictitious remake of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.") Virtual exit point of the dream state (as a doorway); Wall mediation. After appearing near a doorway when Zsuzsanna and I go closer to and into a television, teleporting to the studio, David eventually comes out from a different door, and cautions, "There are no cell phones here." (This may imply the inability of verbal communication while sleeping, though may also be a reference to no cell phones on flights as an association with vestibular system ambiguity or lesser sleep start anticipation.)

August 4, 2015. Dick Van Dyke. (I recognize him as being in a fictitious variation of the "Uhny Uftz" episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show.") Vestibular system ambiguity (sleep start anticipation). He is seemingly alone on a flying saucer, overlooking his city at night. There is an enhanced sense of peace.

June 1, 2015. Jordan Gavaris. (I recognize him as the actor, though additionally as a dancer in a fictitious production of "Swan Lake" on a stage elevated extremely high above the audience.) Vestibular system ambiguity (sleep start anticipation). Drop anticipation (and RAS function) is also personified as a possible serial killer, but I remain without concern. Exhilaration is a factor as with many flying dreams.

September 20, 2014. Tom Welling. (He acts as a fictitious character, a composite of Clark Kent and a detective, in what mostly begins as a fantasy-driven dreaming event.) Final role: RAS. Sleep Simulacrum. He ends up in a costume influenced by Batman, but (as he lies on his back in a bed), he is "disintegrating" in a similar manner as the monsters in "Little Monsters" do when exposed to light.

August 22, 2014. Barbara Bain (who shares Zsuzsanna's birthday). (I recognize her as the actress but also as associated with her character in "Space: 1999.") RAS. Sleep Simulacrum. The processes here are combined at several levels; one, the imaginary physicality of dreaming (robotic suit she is in for a time until disappearing and reappearing on a neighbor's roof that represents precursory cognitive arousal), the inability of the physical body to move while sleeping, and melatonin mediation (hypodermic needles inside suit).

March 8, 1997. Nichelle Nichols (as on "Star Trek"). Vestibular system ambiguity (sleep start anticipation). Nichelle bounces around in the interior of a small rocket without getting injured.

March 24, 1973. Desi Arnaz, Jr. Lucie Arnaz. (Lucille Ball seems present at times, more like an offset dream or reset.) Vestibular system ambiguity (sleep start anticipation). I stand on a flying carpet, traveling high in the sky with the others. Eventually, there is an implied crash landing (with no concern, as I transition to being incorporeal during cognitive arousal) with a sketch (somewhat like an X-ray) of how it is now integrated into the ground (anticipation of returning to slow-wave sleep in the same rendering type as in "Helicopter Digger" from August 23, 1987). Main influence from Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride." The first line is, "I like to dream."

[lovestoofew]

@thewhippedsalvatxre ❤’d for that starter.

She hadn’t meant to go off alone, not really, and very technically she wasn’t. There were others wandering the gardens, but none attached to Lucille. were she honest, it was a rare treat to be by her lonesome and enjoy the spectacle of others. Part of her envied Lady Whistledown, whoever she was, to be at a luxury of simply observing the fine mess everyone, and most certainly those with mothers, made of themselves. It was in her observations, she saw the Duke of Waterford fleeing a group of mothers with a look of what she assumed to be disgust. Pitying him, maybe for the same reasons others took pity on her, she opened her parasol ( as if the sun could have tarnished what was already gold ) and took quick steps to his side. She spoke loud enough for the mama’s to hear.

“There you are, your grace,” she began, turning them just enough to keep the vultures from seeing their expressions with her parasol blocking, hers plainly amused. “I had begun to think you’d forgotten about our stroll.”

A ruse of such would at least keep them at bay for now, and maybe that was what she could offer for a moment. She dropped her voice to a conspiritory hush, “Play along and I will turn you free once they’ve give up chase.”

[blackkudos]

Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (/ʃəˈkiːl/ shə-KEEL; born March 6, 1972), nicknamed Shaq (/ʃæk/ SHAK), is a retired American professional basketball player and former rapper who is currently an analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. Listed at 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall and weighing 325 pounds (147 kg), he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA. O'Neal played for six teams throughout his 19-year NBA career.

Following his career at Louisiana State University, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and later leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Amid tension between O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and his fourth NBA championship followed in 2006. Midway through the 2007–2008 season he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009–10 season. O'Neal played for the Boston Celtics in the 2010–11 season before retiring.

O'Neal's individual accolades include the 1999–2000 MVP award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998. He ranks 7th all-time in points scored, 5th in field goals, 13th in rebounds, and 7th in blocks. Largely due to his ability to dunk the basketball, O'Neal also ranks 3rd all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%). O'Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

In addition to his basketball career, O'Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum. He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq's Big Challenge and Shaq Vs.. He currently hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq.

Early life

O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey, to Lucille O'Neal and Joe Toney, an All-State guard in high school who was offered a basketball scholarship to play at Seton Hall. Toney struggled with drug addiction and was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. Upon his release, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life and instead agreed to relinquish his parental rights to O'Neal's stepfather, Phillip A. Harrison, a career Army sergeant. O'Neal remained estranged from his biological father for decades; O'Neal had not spoken with Toney or expressed an interest in establishing a relationship. On his 1994 rap album, Shaq Fu: The Return, O'Neal voiced his feelings of disdain for Toney in the song "Biological Didn't Bother", dismissing him with the line "Phil is my father." However, O'Neal's feelings toward Toney mellowed in the years following Harrison's death in 2013, and the two met for the first time in March 2016, with O'Neal telling him, "I don’t hate you. I had a good life. I had Phil."

O'Neal credits the Boys and Girls Club of America in Newark with giving him a safe place to play and keeping him off the streets. "It gave me something to do", he said. "I'd just go there to shoot. I didn't even play on a team." Because of his stepfather's career in the military, the family left Newark, moving to military bases in Germany and Texas.

At Robert G. Cole High School in San Antonio, Texas, O'Neal led his team to a 68–1 record over two years and helped the team win the state championship during his senior year. His 791 rebounds during the 1989 season remains a state record for a player in any classification. O'Neal's tendency to make hook shots earned comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, inspiring him to wear the same jersey number as Abdul-Jabbar, 33. However, the unavailability of said number in high school forced him to wear 32 before college.

On January 31, 2012, O'Neal was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.

College career

After graduating from high school, O'Neal studied business at Louisiana State University. He had first met Dale Brown, LSU's men's basketball coach, years earlier in Europe. O'Neal's stepfather was stationed on a U.S. Army base at Wildflecken, West Germany. While playing for Brown at LSU, O'Neal was a two-time All-American, two-time SEC Player of the Year, and received the Adolph Rupp Trophy as NCAA men's basketball player of the year in 1991; he was also named college player of the year by AP and UPI. O'Neal left LSU early to pursue his NBA career, but continued his education even after becoming a professional player. He was later inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame. A 900-pound bronze statue of O'Neal is located in front of the LSU Tigers Basketball Practice Facility.

NBA career

Orlando Magic (1992–1996)

The Orlando Magic drafted O'Neal with the 1st overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. During that summer, prior to moving to Orlando, he spent a significant amount of time in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. Given Terry Catledge eventually refused to give O'Neal the 33 jersey, he relented by going back to the 32 from his high school days. O'Neal was named the Player of the Week in his first week in the NBA, becoming the first player to do so. During his rookie season, O'Neal averaged 23.4 points on 56.2% shooting, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game for the season. He was named the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year and became the first rookie to be voted an All-Star starter since Michael Jordan in 1985. The Magic finished 41–41, winning 20 more games than the previous season; however, the team ultimately missed the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Indiana Pacers. On more than one occasion during the year, Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum overheard O'Neal saying, "We've got to get [head coach] Matty [Guokas] out of here and bring in [assistant] Brian [Hill]."

In 1993–1994, O'Neal's second season, Hill was the coach and Guokas was reassigned to the front office. O'Neal improved his scoring average to 29.4 points (second in the league to David Robinson) while leading the NBA in field goal percentage at 60%. On November 20, 1993, against the New Jersey Nets, O'Neal registered the first triple-double of his career, recording 24 points to go along with career highs of 28 rebounds and 15 blocks. He was voted into the All-Star game and also made the All-NBA 3rd Team. Teamed with newly drafted Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, the Magic finished with a record of 50–32 and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In his first playoff series, O'Neal averaged 20.7 points and 13.3 rebounds in a losing effort as the Magic lost every game to the Indiana Pacers.

O'Neal's third season in 1994–95 had him leading the NBA in scoring with a 29.3 point average, while finishing second in MVP voting to David Robinson and entering his third straight All-Star Game along with Hardaway. They formed one of the league's top duos and helped Orlando to a 57–25 record and the Atlantic Division crown. The Magic won their first ever playoff series against the Boston Celtics in the 1995 NBA Playoffs. They then defeated the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals. After beating Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers, the Magic reached the NBA Finals, facing the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets. O'Neal played well in his first Finals appearance, averaging 28 points on 59.5% shooting, 12.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Despite this, the Rockets, led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, swept the series in four games.

O'Neal was injured for a great deal of the 1995–96 season, missing 28 games. He averaged 26.6 points and 11 rebounds per game, made the All-NBA 3rd Team, and played in his 4th All-Star Game. Despite O'Neal's injuries, the Magic finished with a regular season record of 60–22, second in the Eastern conference to the Chicago Bulls, who finished with an NBA record 72 wins. Orlando easily defeated the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the 1996 NBA Playoffs; however, they were no match for Jordan's Bulls, who swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004)

O'Neal became a free agent after the 1995–96 NBA season. In the summer of 1996, O'Neal was named to the United States Olympic basketball team, and was later part of the gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. While the Olympic basketball team was training in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel published a poll that asked whether the Magic should fire Hill if that were one of O'Neal's conditions for returning. 82% answered "no". O'Neal had a power struggle while playing under Hill. He said the team "just didn't respect [Hill]." Another question in the poll asked, "Is Shaq worth $115 million?" in reference to the amount of the Magic's offer. 91.3% of the response was "no". O'Neal's Olympic teammates rode him hard over the poll. He was also upset that the Orlando media implied O'Neal was not a good role model for having a child with his longtime girlfriend with no immediate plans to marry. O'Neal compared his lack of privacy in Orlando to "feeling like a big fish in a dried-up pond." O'Neal also learned that Hardaway considered himself the leader of the Magic and did not want O'Neal making more money than him. On the team's first full day at the Olympics in Atlanta, it was announced that O'Neal would join the Los Angeles Lakers on a seven-year, $121 million contract. He insisted he did not choose Los Angeles for the money. "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money", O'Neal said after the signing. "I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok", he added, referring to a couple of his product endorsements. The Lakers won 56 games during the 1996–97 season. O'Neal averaged 26.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in his first season with Los Angeles; however, he again missed over 30 games due to injury. The Lakers made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the second round by the Utah Jazz in five games. In his first playoff game for the Lakers, O'Neal scored 46 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, the most for the Lakers in a playoff game since Jerry West had 53 in 1969. On December 17, 1996, O'Neal shoved Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls; Rodman's teammates Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan restrained Rodman and prevented further conflict. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that O'Neal was willing to be suspended for fighting Rodman, and O'Neal said: "It's one thing to talk tough and one thing to be tough."

The following season, O'Neal averaged 28.3 points and 11.4 rebounds. He led the league with a 58.4 field goal percentage, the first of five consecutive seasons in which he did so. The Lakers finished the season 61–21, first in the Pacific Division, and were the second seed in the western conference during the 1998 NBA Playoffs. After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics in the first two rounds, the Lakers again fell to the Jazz, this time in a 4–0 sweep.

With the tandem of O'Neal and teenage superstar Kobe Bryant, expectations for the Lakers increased. However, personnel changes were a source of instability during the 1998–99 season. Long-time Laker point guard Nick Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets; his former backcourt partner Eddie Jones was packaged with back-up center Elden Campbell for Glen Rice to satisfy a demand by O'Neal for a shooter. Coach Del Harris was fired, and former Lakers forward Kurt Rambis finished the season as head coach. The Lakers finished with a 31–19 record during the lockout-shortened season. Although they made the playoffs, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs would go on to win their first NBA title in 1999.

Championship seasons

In 1999, prior to the 1999–2000 season, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as head coach, and the team's fortunes soon changed. Jackson immediately challenged O'Neal, telling him "the [NBA's] MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired." Using Jackson's triangle offense, O'Neal and Bryant enjoyed tremendous success, leading the Lakers to three consecutive titles (2000, 2001, and 2002). O'Neal was named MVP of the NBA Finals all three times and had the highest scoring average for a center in NBA Finals history. In the November 10, 1999, game against the Houston Rockets, O'Neal and Charles Barkley were ejected. After O'Neal blocked a layup by Barkley, O'Neal shoved Barkley, who then threw the ball at O'Neal.

O'Neal was also voted the 1999–2000 regular season Most Valuable Player, one vote short of becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Fred Hickman, then of CNN, instead chose Allen Iverson, then of the Philadelphia 76ers who would go on to win MVP the next season. O'Neal also won the scoring title while finishing second in rebounds and third in blocked shots. Jackson's influence resulted in a newfound commitment by O'Neal to defense, resulting in his first All-Defensive Team selection (second-team) in 2000.

In the 2001 NBA Finals against the 76ers, O'Neal fouled out in Game 3 backing over Dikembe Mutombo, the 2000–2001 Defensive Player of the Year. "I didn't think the best defensive player in the game would be flopping like that. It's a shame that the referees buy into that", O'Neal said. "I wish he'd stand up and play me like a man instead of flopping and crying every time I back him down.

A month before the 2001–02 season's training camp, O'Neal had corrective surgery for a claw toe deformity in the smallest toe of his left foot. He opted against a more involved surgery to return quicker. He was ready for the start of the 2001–02 regular season, but the toe frequently bothered him. In January 2002, he was involved in a spectacular on-court brawl in a game against the Chicago Bulls. He punched center Brad Miller after an intentional foul to prevent a basket, resulting in a melee with Miller, forward Charles Oakley, and several other players. O'Neal was suspended for three games without pay and fined $15,000. For the season, O'Neal averaged 27.2 points and 10.7 rebounds, excellent statistics but below his career average; he was less of a defensive force during the season.

Matched up against the Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference finals, O'Neal said, "There is only one way to beat us. It starts with c and ends with t." O'Neal meant "cheat" in reference to the alleged flopping of Kings' center Vlade Divac. O'Neal referred to Divac as "she", and said he would never exaggerate contact to draw a foul. "I'm a guy with no talent who has gotten this way with hard work." After the 2001–2002 season, O'Neal told friends that he did not want another season of limping and being in virtually constant pain from his big right toe. His trademark mobility and explosion had been often absent. The corrective options ranged from reconstructive surgery on the toe to rehabilitation exercises with more shoe inserts and anti-inflammation medication. O'Neal was already wary of the long-term damage his frequent consumption of these medications might have. He did not want to rush a decision with his career potentially at risk.

Toe surgery to departure

O'Neal missed the first 12 games of the 2002–2003 season recovering from toe surgery. He was sidelined with hallux rigidus, a degenerative arthritis in his toe. He waited the whole summer until just before training camp for the surgery and explained, "I got hurt on company time, so I’ll heal on company time." O'Neal debated whether to have a more invasive surgery that would have kept him out an additional three months, but he opted against the more involved procedure. The Lakers started the season with a record of 11–19. After the Lakers fell to the fifth seed and failed to reach the Finals in 2003, the team made a concerted off-season effort to improve its roster. They sought the free-agent services of forward Karl Malone and aging guard Gary Payton, but due to salary cap restrictions, could not offer either one nearly as much money as they could have made with some other teams. O'Neal assisted in the recruitment efforts and personally persuaded both men to join the squad. Ultimately, both signed, each forgoing larger salaries in favor of a chance to win an NBA championship, which neither had accomplished in his career (and which neither would achieve with the Lakers). At the beginning of the 2003–04 season, O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years for $30 million. The Lakers had hoped O'Neal would take less money due to his age, physical conditioning, and games missed due to injuries. During a preseason game, O'Neal had yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, "Pay me." There had been increasing tension between O'Neal and Bryant, the feud climaxing on the eve of training camp prior to the 2003–2004 season when Kobe, in an interview with ESPN journalist Jim Gray, criticized Shaq for being out of shape, a poor leader, and putting his salary demands over the best interest of the Lakers.

The Lakers made the playoffs in 2004, and lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter said, "Shaq defeated himself against Detroit. He played way too passively. He had one big game ... He's always interested in being a scorer, but he hasn't had nearly enough concentration on defense and rebounding." After the series, O'Neal was angered by comments made by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak regarding O'Neal's future with the club, as well as by the departure of Lakers coach Phil Jackson at the request of Buss. O'Neal made comments indicating that he felt the team's decisions were centered on a desire to appease Bryant to the exclusion of all other concerns, and O'Neal promptly demanded a trade. Kupchak wanted the Dallas Mavericks's Dirk Nowitzki in return but Cuban refused to let his 7-footer go. However, Miami showed interest and eventually the two clubs agreed. Winter said, "[O'Neal] left because he couldn't get what he wanted—a huge pay raise. There was no way ownership could give him what he wanted. Shaq's demands held the franchise hostage, and the way he went about it didn't please the owner too much."

Miami Heat (2004–2008)

On July 14, 2004, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a future first-round draft choice (who would turn into Jordan Farmar in the 2006 draft). O'Neal reverted from (his Lakers jersey) number 34 to number 32, which he had worn while playing for the Magic. Upon signing with the Heat, O'Neal promised the fans that he would bring a championship to Miami. He claimed one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star Dwyane Wade, to whom he gave the nickname "Flash". With O'Neal on board, the new-look Heat surpassed expectations, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2004–05 with 59 wins. He played in 73 games, his most since 2001 season, averaged 22.9 points a game along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Shaq also made his 12th consecutive All-Star Team, made the All-NBA 1st Team, and won the Eastern Conference player of the Month award for his performance in March. O'Neal also narrowly lost the 2004–05 MVP Award to Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash in one of the closest votes in NBA history.

Despite being hobbled by a deep thigh bruise, O'Neal led the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Game 7 against the defending champion Detroit Pistons, losing by a narrow margin. Afterwards, O'Neal and others criticized Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy for not calling enough plays for O'Neal. In August 2005, O'Neal signed a 5-year-extension with the Heat for $100 million. Supporters applauded O'Neal's willingness to take what amounted to a pay cut and the Heat's decision to secure O'Neal's services for the long term. They contended that O'Neal was worth more than $20 million per year, particularly given that lesser players earned almost the same amount.

In the second game of the 2005–06 season, O'Neal injured his right ankle and subsequently missed the following 18 games. Upon O'Neal's return, Van Gundy resigned, citing family reasons, and Pat Riley assumed head coach responsibilities. Many critics stated that Heat coach Riley correctly managed O'Neal during the rest of the season, limiting his minutes to a career low. Riley felt doing so would allow O'Neal to be healthier and fresher come playoff time. Although O'Neal averaged career lows (or near-lows) in points, rebounds, and blocks, he said in an interview "Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60 points, break the records, and we lose, I'm pissed off. 'Cause I knew I did something wrong. I'll have a hell of a season if I win the championship and average 20 points a game." During the 2005–06 season, the Heat recorded only a .500 record without O'Neal in the line-up.

On April 11, 2006, O'Neal recorded his second career triple-double against the Toronto Raptors with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a career high 10 assists. O'Neal finished the 2005–06 season as the league leader in field goal percentage.

Fourth championship

In the 2006 NBA Playoffs, the Heat first faced the younger Chicago Bulls, and O'Neal delivered a dominating 27 point, 16 rebound and 5 blocks performance in game 1 followed by a 22-point effort in game 2 to help Miami take a 2-0 lead in the series. Chicago would respond with two dominating performances at home to tie the series, but Miami would respond right back with a victory at home in game 5. Miami returned to Chicago and closed out the series in the 6th game, highlighted by another dominating performance by O'Neal who finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds. Miami advanced to face New Jersey, who won a surprising game 1 victory before the Heat won four straight to assure a rematch with Detroit. The Pistons had no answer for Wade throughout the series, while O'Neal delivered 21 points and 12 rebounds in game 3 followed by 27 points and 12 boards in game 4 to help Miami take a 3-2 series lead. The Pistons would win game 5 in Detroit, and Wade would once again get injured, but the Heat held on to win game 6 with O'Neal scoring 28 points with 16 rebounds and 5 blocks to help Miami reach their first ever NBA Finals.

In the Finals, the Heat were not favored to win the title against the Dallas Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki, and the Mavericks won the first two games at home in dominating fashion. The Heat led by Wade and a balanced effort by O'Neal, Antoine Walker and Jason Williams would go on to win all three of the next games at home, before closing out the series in Dallas to deliver the first NBA title for the franchise and O'Neal fourth title. With Wade carrying the offensive load, O'Neal did not need to have a dominating series, and finished with an average of 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds for the series.

Surgery and Wade's injury

In the 2006–07 season, O'Neal missed 35 games after an injury to his left knee in November required surgery. After one of those missed games, a Christmas Day match-up against the Lakers, he ripped Jackson, who O'Neal had once called a second father, referring to his former coach as Benedict Arnold. Jackson had previously said, "The only person I've ever [coached] that hasn't been a worker ... is probably Shaq." The Heat struggled during O'Neal's absence, but with his return won seven of their next eight games. Bad luck still haunted the squad, however, as Wade dislocated his left shoulder, leaving O'Neal as the focus of the team. Critics doubted that O'Neal, now in his mid-thirties, could carry the team into the playoffs. The Heat went on a winning streak that kept them in the race for a playoff spot, which they finally secured against the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 5.

In a rematch of the year before, the Heat faced the Bulls in the first round of the 2006–07 NBA playoffs. The Heat struggled against the Bulls and although O'Neal put up reasonable numbers, he was not able to dominate the series. The Bulls swept the Heat, the first time in 50 years a defending NBA champion was swept in the opening round. It was the first time in 13 years that O'Neal did not advance into the second round. In the 2006–07 season O'Neal reached 25,000 career points, becoming the 14th player in NBA history to accomplish that milestone. However, it was the first season in O'Neal's career that his scoring average dropped below 20 points per game.

2007–2008 season

O'Neal experienced a rough start for the 2007–08 season, averaging career lows in points, rebounds and blocks. His role in the offense diminished, as he attempted only 10 field goals per game, versus his career average of 17. In addition, O'Neal was plagued by fouls, and during one stretch fouled out of five consecutive games. O'Neal's streak of 14 straight All-Star appearances ended that season. O'Neal again missed games due to injuries, and the Heat had a 15–game losing streak. According to O'Neal, Riley thought he was faking the injury. During a practice in February 2008, O'Neal got into an altercation with Riley over the coach ordering a tardy Jason Williams to leave practice. The two argued face-to-face, with O'Neal poking Riley in the chest and Riley slapping his finger away. Riley soon after decided to trade O'Neal. O'Neal said his relationship with Wade was not "all that good" by the time he left Miami, but he did not express disappointment at Wade for failing to stand up for him.

O'Neal played 33 games for the Miami Heat in the 2007–08 season prior to being traded to the Phoenix Suns. O'Neal started all 33 games and averaged 14.2 points per game. Following the trade to Phoenix, O'Neal averaged 12.9 ppg while starting all 28 games with the Suns.

Phoenix Suns (2008–2009)

The Phoenix Suns acquired O'Neal in February 2008 from the league-worst Miami Heat, who had a record at the time of the trade of 9-37, in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. O'Neal made his Suns debut on February 20, 2008 against his former Lakers team, scoring 15 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in the process. The Lakers won, 130–124. O'Neal was upbeat in a post-game press conference, stating: "I will take the blame for this loss because I wasn't in tune with the guys [...] But give me four or five days to really get in tune and I'll get it."

In 28 regular-season games, O'Neal averaged 12.9 points and 10.6 rebounds, good enough to make the playoffs. One of the reasons for the trade was to limit Tim Duncan in the event of a postseason matchup between the Suns and the San Antonio Spurs, especially after the Suns' six-game elimination by the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. O'Neal and the Phoenix Suns did face the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, but they were once again eliminated, in five games. O'Neal averaged 15.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.

O'Neal preferred his new situation with the Suns over the Heat. "I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys", O'Neal said. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with [his former Heat teammates] Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again." Riley felt O'Neal was wrong for maligning his former teammates. O'Neal responded with an expletive toward Riley, who he often referred to as the "great Pat Riley" while playing for the Heat. O'Neal credited the Suns training staff with prolonging his career. They connected his arthritic toe, which would not bend, to the alteration of his jump that consequently was straining his leg. The trainers had him concentrate on building his core strength, flexibility, and balance.

The 2008–09 season improved for O'Neal, who averaged 18 pts, 9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks through the first half (41 games) of the season, leading the Suns to a 23–18 record and 2nd place in their division. He returned to the All-Star Game in 2009 and emerged as co-MVP along with ex-teammate Kobe Bryant.

On February 27, 2009, O'Neal scored 45 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, his 49th career 40-point game, beating the Toronto Raptors 133–113.

In a matchup against Orlando on March 3, 2009, O'Neal was outscored by Magic center Dwight Howard, 21–19. "I'm really too old to be trying to outscore 18-year-olds", O'Neal said, referring to the then 23-year-old Howard. "It's not really my role anymore." O'Neal was double-teamed most of the night. "I like to play people one-on-one. My whole career I had to play people one-on-one. Never once had to double or ask for a double. But it's cool", said O'Neal. During the game, O'Neal flopped against Howard. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who had coached O'Neal with the Heat, was "very disappointed cause [O'Neal] knows what it's like. Let's stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight." O'Neal responded, "Flopping is playing like that your whole career. I was trying to take the charge, trying to get a call. It probably was a flop, but flopping is the wrong use of words. Flopping would describe his coaching." Mark Madsen, a Lakers teammate of O'Neal's for three years, found it amusing since "everyone in the league tries to flop on Shaq and Shaq never flops back." In a 2006 interview in TIME, O'Neal said if he were NBA commissioner, he would "Make a guy have to beat a guy—not flop and get calls and be nice to the referees and kiss ass."

On March 6, O'Neal talked about the upcoming game against the Rockets and Yao Ming. "It's not going to be man-on-man, so don’t even try that," says O'Neal with an incredulous laugh. "They’re going to double and triple me like everybody else ... I rarely get to play [Yao] one-on-one ... But when I play him (on defense), it's just going to be me down there. So don’t try to make it a Yao versus Shaq thing, when it's Shaq versus four other guys."

The 2009 NBA Playoffs was also the first time since O'Neal's rookie season in 1992–93 that he did not participate in the playoffs. He was named as a member of the All-NBA Third Team. The Suns notified O'Neal he might be traded to cut costs.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010)

On June 25, 2009, O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, $500,000 and a 2010-second round draft pick. Upon arriving in Cleveland, O'Neal said, "My motto is very simple: Win a Ring for the King", referring to LeBron James. James was the leader of the team, and O'Neal deferred to him.

On Friday, February 25, 2010 O'Neal suffered a severe right thumb injury while attempting to go up for a shot against Glen Davis of the Boston Celtics. He had surgery on the thumb on March 1 and returned to play on April 17 in the first round playoff game against the Chicago Bulls.

O'Neal averaged career lows in almost every major statistical category, taking on a much less significant role than in previous years. His presence in the post was not as significant as in years past. After the retirement of Lindsey Hunter on March 5, O'Neal became the NBA's oldest active player. He returned to the starting line-up in time for the 2010 NBA Playoffs. The Cavaliers swiftly defeated the Chicago Bulls in the first round, yet Cleveland became the first team in NBA history to miss the NBA Finals after laying claim to the NBA's top playoff seed for two consecutive seasons. On May 13, the Cavaliers were eliminated from the playoffs, losing to the Boston Celtics 4–2 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Boston Celtics (2010–2011)

Upon hearing Bryant comment that he had more rings than O'Neal, Wyc Grousbeck, principal owner of the Celtics, saw an opportunity to acquire O'Neal. Celtics coach Doc Rivers agreed to the signing on the condition that O'Neal would not receive preferential treatment nor could he cause any locker room problems like in Los Angeles or Miami. On August 4, 2010, the Celtics announced that they had signed O'Neal. The contract was for two years at the veteran minimum salary for a total contract value of $2.8 million. O'Neal wanted the larger mid-level exception contract, but the Celtics chose instead to give it to Jermaine O'Neal. The Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks also expressed interest but had stalled on O'Neal's salary demands. He was introduced by the Celtics on August 10, 2010, and chose the number 36.

O'Neal said he didn't "compete with little guys who run around dominating the ball, throwing up 30 shots a night—like D–Wade, Kobe." O'Neal added that he was only competing against Duncan: "If Tim Duncan gets five rings, then that gives some writer the chance to say 'Duncan is the best,' and I can't have that." Publicly, he insisted he did not care whether he started or substituted for the Celtics, but expected to be part of the second unit. Privately, he wanted to start, but kept it to himself. O'Neal missed games throughout the season due to an assortment of ailments to his right leg including knee, calf, hip, and Achilles injuries. The Celtics traded away center Kendrick Perkins in February partially due to the expectation that O'Neal would return to fill Perkins' role. The Celtics were 33–10 in games Perkins had missed during the year due to injury, and they were 19–3 in games that O'Neal played over 20 minutes. After requesting a cortisone shot, O'Neal returned April 3 after missing 27 games due to his Achilles; he played only five minutes due to a strained right calf. It was the last regular season game he would play that year. O'Neal missed the first round of the 2011 playoffs. He insisted on more cortisone shots and returned in the second round, but he was limited to 12 minutes in two games as the Heat eliminated the Celtics from the playoffs.

On June 1, 2011, O'Neal announced his retirement via social media. On a short tape on Twitter, O'Neal tweeted, "We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I’m telling you first. I’m about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon." On June 3, 2011, O'Neal held a press conference at his home in Orlando to officially announce his retirement.

National team career

While in college, O'Neal was considered for the Dream Team to fill the college spot, but it eventually went to future teammate Christian Laettner. His national team career began in the 1994 FIBA World Championship in which he was named MVP of the Tournament. While he led Dream Team II to the gold medal with an 8–0 record, O'Neal averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds and recorded two double-doubles. In four games, he scored more than 20 points. Before 2010, he was the last active American player to have a gold from the FIBA World Championships.

He was one of two players (the other being Reggie Miller) from the 1994 roster to be also named to the Dream Team III. Due to more star-power, he rotated with Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson and started 3 games. He averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with 8 total blocks. Again, a perfect 8–0 record landed him another gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. O'Neal was upset that coach Lenny Wilkens played Robinson more minutes in the final game; Wilkens previously explained to O'Neal that it would probably be Robinson's last Olympics.

After his 1996 experience, he declined to play in international competition. He was angered by being overlooked for the FIBA Americas Championship 1999 squad, saying it was a "lack of respect". He forwent an opportunity to participate in the 2000 Olympics, explaining that two gold medals were enough. Shaq also chose not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. He rejected an offer to play in the 2004 Olympics, and although he was initially interested in being named for 2006–2008 US preliminary roster, he eventually declined the invitation.

Player profile

O'Neal established himself as an overpowering low post presence, putting up career averages of 23.7 points on .582 field goal accuracy, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.

At 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m), 325 lb (147 kg; 23.2 st) and U.S. shoe size 23, he became famous for his physical stature. His physical frame gave him a power advantage over most opponents.

O'Neal's "drop step", (called the "Black Tornado" by O'Neal) in which he posted up a defender, turned around and, using his elbows for leverage, powered past him for a very high-percentage slam dunk, proved an effective offensive weapon. In addition, O'Neal frequently used a right-handed jump hook shot to score near the basket. The ability to dunk contributed to his career field goal accuracy of .582, second only to Artis Gilmore as the highest field goal percentage of all time. He led the NBA in field goal percentage 10 times, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of nine.

Opposing teams often used up many fouls on O'Neal, reducing the playing time of their own big men. O'Neal's imposing physical presence inside the paint caused dramatic changes in many teams' offensive and defensive strategies.

O'Neal's primary weakness was his free throw shooting, with a career average of 52.7%. He once missed all 11 of his free throw attempts in a game against the Seattle SuperSonics on December 8, 2000, a record. O'Neal believes his free throw woes were a mental issue, as he often shot 80 percent in practice. In hope of exploiting O'Neal's poor foul shooting, opponents often committed intentional fouls against him, a tactic known as "Hack-a-Shaq". O'Neal was the third-ranked player all-time in free throws taken, having attempted 11,252 free-throws in 1,207 games up to and including the 2010–11 season. On December 25, 2008, O'Neal missed his 5,000th free throw, becoming the second player in NBA history to do so, along with Chamberlain.

O'Neal only made one three point shot during his entire career. He made the shot during the 1995–96 NBA season with the Orlando Magic. His career three point shot record is 1 for 22 (a 4.5% career percentage).

On his own half of the hardwood, O'Neal was a capable defender, named three times to the All-NBA Second Defensive Team. His presence intimidated opposing players shooting near the basket, and he averaged 2.3 blocked shots per game over the course of his career.

Phil Jackson believed O'Neal underachieved in his career, saying he "could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons." The Lakers retired his No. 34 jersey on April 2, 2013.

On February 26, 2016, the Miami Heat announced that it would retire O'Neal's No. 32 jersey during the 2016–17 season, making O'Neal one of just 32 athletes in American professional sports history to have their jersey retired by multiple teams. The Heat eventually retired his jersey on December 22, 2016, during halftime of a game against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Media personality

O'Neal called himself "The Big Aristotle" and "Hobo Master" for his composure and insights during interviews. Journalists and others gave O'Neal several nicknames including "Shaq", "The Diesel", "Shaq Fu", "The Big Daddy", "Superman", "The Big Agave", "The Big Cactus", "The Big Shaqtus", "The Big Galactus", "Wilt Chamberneezy", "The Big Baryshnikov", "The Real Deal", "The Big Shamrock", "The Big Leprechaun", "Shaqovic", and "The Big Conductor". Although he was a favorite interviewee of the press, O'Neal was sensitive and often went weeks without speaking. When he did not want to speak with the press, he employed an interview technique whereby, sitting in front of his cubicle, he would murmur in his low-pitched voice.

During the 2000 Screen Actors Guild strike, O'Neal performed in a commercial for Disney. O'Neal was fined by the union for crossing the picket line.

O'Neal's humorous and sometimes incendiary comments fueled the Los Angeles Lakers' long-standing rivalry with the Sacramento Kings; O'Neal frequently referred to the Sacramento team as the "Queens." During the 2002 victory parade, O'Neal declared that Sacramento would never be the capital of California, after the Lakers beat the Kings in a tough seven game series en route to its third championship with O'Neal.

He also received media flak for mocking Chinese people when interviewed about newcomer center Yao Ming. O'Neal told a reporter, "you tell Yao Ming, ching chong yang, wah, ah so." O'Neal later said it was locker-room humor and he meant no offense. Yao believed that O'Neal was joking, but he said a lot of Asians wouldn't see the humor. Yao joked, "Chinese is hard to learn. I had trouble with it when I was little." O'Neal later admitted that he regretted how he hazed Yao early in his career.

During the 2005 NBA playoffs, O'Neal compared his poor play to Erick Dampier, a Dallas Mavericks center who had failed to score a single point in one of their recent games. The quip inspired countless citations and references by announcers during those playoffs, though Dampier himself offered little response to the insult. The two would meet in the 2006 NBA Finals.

O'Neal was very vocal with the media, often making jabs at former Laker teammate Kobe Bryant. In the summer of 2005, when asked about Bryant, he responded, "I'm sorry, who?" and continued to pretend that he did not know who Bryant was until well into the 2005–06 season.

O'Neal also appeared on television on Saturday Night Live (he was initially picked to host the second episode of season 24 in 1998, but had to back down due to scheduling conflicts, being replaced by Kelsey Grammer; however, he did appear in 2 sketches during the episode) and in 2007 hosted Shaq's Big Challenge, a reality show on ABC in which he challenged Florida kids to lose weight and stay in shape.

When the Lakers faced the Heat on January 16, 2006, O'Neal and Bryant made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, an event that was believed to signify the end of the so-called "Bryant–O'Neal feud" that had festered since the center left Los Angeles. O'Neal was quoted as saying that he accepted the advice of NBA legend Bill Russell to make peace with Bryant. However, on June 22, 2008, O'Neal freestyled a diss rap about Bryant in a New York club. While rapping, O'Neal blamed Bryant for his divorce from his wife Shaunie and claims to have received a vasectomy, as part of a rhyme. He also taunted Bryant for not being able to win a championship without him. O'Neal led the audience to mockingly chant several times "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes." O'Neal justified his act by saying "I was freestyling. That's all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what MCs do. They freestyle when called upon. I'm totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all." Although even other exponents of hip hop, such as Snoop Dogg, Nas and Cory Gunz, agreed with O'Neal, Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio expressed his intention to relieve O'Neal of his Maricopa County sheriff posse badge, due to "use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language". The racial quote from his song was "it's like a white boy trying to be more nigga than me."

Off the court

Education

O'Neal left LSU for the NBA after three years. However, he promised his mother he would eventually return to his studies and complete his bachelor's degree. He fulfilled that promise in 2000, earning his bachelor of arts in general studies. Coach Phil Jackson let O'Neal miss a home game so he could attend graduation. At the ceremony, he told the crowd "now I can go and get a real job". Subsequently, O'Neal earned an MBA online through the University of Phoenix in 2005. In reference to his completion of his MBA degree, he stated: "It's just something to have on my resume for when I go back into reality. Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."

Toward the end of his playing career, he began work on an Ed.D. in Human Resource Development at Barry University. His doctoral capstone topic was "The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles". O'Neal received his degree in 2012. O'Neal told a reporter for ABC News that he plans to further his education still by attending law school.

O'Neal has also studied directing and cinematography with the New York Film Academy's Filmmaking Conservatory.

Law enforcement

O'Neal maintained a high level of interest in the workings of police departments and became personally involved in law enforcement. O'Neal went through the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Reserve Academy and became a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Port Police. He appeared in a commercial for ESPN in Miami Police garb climbing a tree to rescue LSU's costumed mascot Mike the Tiger.

On March 2, 2005, O'Neal was given an honorary U.S. Deputy Marshal title and named the spokesman for the Safe Surfin' Foundation; he served an honorary role on the task force of the same name, which tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet.

Upon his trade to Miami, O'Neal began training to become a Miami Beach reserve officer. On December 8, 2005, he was sworn in, but elected for a private ceremony to avoid distracting attention from the other officers. He assumed a $1 per year salary in this capacity. Shortly thereafter, in Miami, O'Neal witnessed a hate crime (assaulting a man while calling out homophobic slurs) and called Miami-Dade police, describing the suspect and helping police, over his cell phone, track the offender. O'Neal's actions resulted in the arrest of two suspects on charges of aggravated battery, assault, and a hate crime.

In September 2006, O'Neal took part in a raid on a home in rural Bedford County, Virginia. O'Neal had been made an "honorary deputy" by the local sheriff's department. O'Neal was not qualified as a SWAT officer.

In December 2016, O'Neal was sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in Jonesboro, Georgia as part of Clayton County, Georgia Sheriff's Department. O'Neal holds the county record of Tallest Sheriff's Deputy.

Music career

Beginning in 1993, O'Neal began to compose rap music. He released five studio albums and 1 compilation album. Although his rapping abilities were criticized at the outset, one critic credited him with "progressing as a rapper in small steps, not leaps and bounds". His 1993 debut album, Shaq Diesel, received platinum certification from the RIAA.

O'Neal was featured alongside Michael Jackson as a guest rapper on "2 Bad", a song from Jackson's 1995 album HIStory. He contributed three tracks, including the song "We Genie", to the Kazaam soundtrack. O'Neal was also featured in Aaron Carter's 2001 hit single "That's How I Beat Shaq". Shaq also appears on the music video for the release.

Shaquille O'Neal conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Symphony Hall on December 20, 2010.

Acting

Starting with Blue Chips and Kazaam, O'Neal appeared in movies that were panned by some critics.

O'Neal is one of the first African Americans to portray a major comic book superhero in a motion picture, having starred as John Henry Irons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Steel. He is preceded only by Michael Jai White, whose film Spawn was released two weeks before Steel.

O'Neal appeared as himself on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, bedridden after Larry David's character accidentally tripped him while stretching, and in two episodes each of My Wife and Kids and The Parkers. He appeared in cameo roles in the films, Freddy Got Fingered, Jack and Jill and Scary Movie 4. O'Neal appeared in the 311 music video for the hit single "You Wouldn't Believe" in 2001, in P. Diddy's video for "Bad Boys 4 Life", the video for Aaron Carter's "That's How I Beat Shaq", and the video for Owl City's "Vanilla Twilight". O'Neal appeared in the movie CB4 in a small "interviewing" scene. O'Neal appeared in a SportsCenter commercial dressed in his Miami police uniform, rescuing Mike the Tiger from a tree. O'Neal reportedly wanted a role in the film X2 (the second in the X-Men film series), but was ignored by the filmmakers. O'Neal appeared as Officer Fluzoo in the comedy sequel Grown Ups 2.

He voiced animated versions of himself on several occasions, including in the animated series Static Shock (episode "Static Shaq"), in Johnny Bravo (episode "Back on Shaq"), in Uncle Grandpa (episode "Perfect Kid"), and in The Lego Movie. He also had a voice over role in the 2013 film, The Smurfs 2.

Video games

O'Neal was featured on the covers of video games NBA Live 96, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Hoopz, and NBA Inside Drive 2004. O'Neal appeared in the arcade version of NBA Jam (1993), NBA Jam (2003) and NBA Live 2004 as a current player and as a 1990s All-Star. O'Neal starred in Shaq Fu, a fighting game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. O'Neal also appeared in Backyard Basketball in 2004, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 as a playable boxer, and as an unlockable character in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. O'Neal was also an unlockable character in UFC Undisputed 2010. At CES 2014, O'Neal confirmed to GamerFitnation that there would be a "Shaq Fu 2" being released soon on next-generation consoles.

Television

O'Neal and his mother, Lucille Harrison, were featured in the documentary film Apple Pie, which aired on ESPN. O'Neal had a 2005 reality series on ESPN, Shaquille, and hosted a series called Shaq's Big Challenge on ABC.

O'Neal appeared on NBA Ballers and NBA Ballers: Phenom, in the 2002 Discovery Channel special Motorcycle Mania 2 requesting an exceptionally large bike to fit his large size famed custom motorcycle builder Jesse James, in the first Idol Gives Back in 2007, on an episode of Fear Factor, and on an episode of MTV's Jackass, where he was lifted off the ground on Wee Man's back. O'Neal was a wrestling fan and made appearances at many WWE events.

O'Neal was pranked on the MTV show Punk'd when a crew member accused him of stealing his parking space. After O'Neal and his wife went into a restaurant, Ashton Kutcher's crew members let the air out of O'Neal's tires. O'Neal and the crew member then got into an altercation and after Kutcher told O'Neal he had been Punk'd, O'Neal made an obscene gesture at the camera.

O'Neal starred in a reality show called Shaq Vs. which premiered on August 18, 2009, on ABC. The show featured O'Neal competing against other athletes at their own sports.

On July 14, 2011, O'Neal announced that he would join Turner Network Television (TNT) as an analyst on its NBA basketball games, joining Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.

He hosted the show Upload with Shaquille O'Neal which aired on TruTV for one season.

In September 2015 whilst promoting sportswear giant Reebok in South Korea, O'Neal joined the cast in the South Korean variety television show Off to School where he went to Seo Incheon High School. The show features various celebrities attending a selected high school as students for three days. The producer of the show, Kim No Eun said, "We’ve worked hard on our guest list this season, so Chu Sung Hoon will be appearing on a cable channel for the first time. Shaquille O'Neal will be on the show as well. We succeeded in casting him after a lot of effort. O'Neal will be visiting Korea for a promotion and will be visiting the school on the last day. He will have lunch with the students. We’re even preparing a big match between Chu Sung Hoon and Shaquille O'Neal. We’re specially preparing a uniform for Shaquille O'Neal."

Advertising

O'Neal has made numerous appearances in television commercials, including several Pepsi commercials, such as one from 1995 which parodied shows like I Love Lucy (the "Job Switching" episode), Bonanza, and Woody Woodpecker; various 1990s Reebok commercials; Nestlé Crunch commercials; Gold Bond products; The General insurance commercials; and IcyHot commercials.

Mixed martial arts

O'Neal began training in mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2000. At Jonathan Burke's Gracie Gym, he trained in boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and wrestling. At the gym, he used the nickname Diesel. O'Neal challenged kickboxer and mixed martial artist Choi Hong-man to a mixed martial arts rules bout in a YouTube video posted on June 17, 2009. Hong-man replied to an email asking him if he would like to fight O'Neal saying "Yes, if there is a chance." Hong-man also responded to a question asking if O'Neal had a chance of winning with a simple "No." On August 28, 2010 at UFC 118 in Boston, O'Neal reiterated his desire to fight Choi in an interview.

Professional wrestling

A lifelong professional wrestling fan, O'Neal has made numerous appearances at televised events over the years for three different promotions.

In 1994, O'Neal made several appearances in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), including at the Bash at the Beach pay per view, where he presented the title belt to the winner of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.

In July 2009, O'Neal served as the guest host for a live broadcast of WWE's Monday Night Raw. As part of the show, O'Neal got into a physical altercation with seven-foot tall wrestler Big Show.

In September 2012, O'Neal made a guest appearance on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Impact Wrestling program, where he had a backstage segment with Hulk Hogan.

In April 2016, O'Neal participated in his first ever match, when he was a surprise celebrity entry in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32. O'Neal eliminated Damien Sandow, and had another confrontation with Big Show before being eliminated himself by most of the other wrestlers.

He will face Big Show at Wrestlemania 33.

Business ventures

O'Neal is also an active businessman and investor. He was an active bond investor in the early 1990s but continued to wade into stocks and made investments in various companies such as General Electric, Apple, and PepsiCo. He described what has worked best for him in stock investing was where he felt a personal connection with the company. He has also been an active real estate entrepreneur. O'Neal was looking to expand his business ventures with real-estate development projects aimed at assisting Orlando home owners facing foreclosure. His plans involved buying the mortgages of those who had fallen into foreclosure and then selling the homes back to them under more affordable terms. He would make a small profit in return, but wanted to make an investment in Orlando and help out homeowners.

In conjunction with Boraie Development, O'Neal has developed projects in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey including, CityPlex12 and One Riverview.

O'Neal is on the advisory board for Tout Industries, a social video service startup company based in San Francisco. He received the position in return for breaking news of his NBA retirement on the service.

In September 2013, O'Neal became a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings.

In June 2015, O'Neal invested in technology startup Loyale3 Holdings Inc., a San Francisco brokerage firm whose website and mobile app enables companies to sell a piece of their IPOs directly to small investors who put up as a little as $100 and also allows investors to regularly buy small amounts of shares in already public companies.

O'Neal is an investor for eSports team NRG Esports. He has also appeared in television commercials promoting the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league ELeague.

In late 2016 O'Neal purchased the Krispy Kreme location at 295 Ponce de Leon Avenue Atlanta, GA. O'Neal is also the Global Spokesperson for the company.

Personal life

O'Neal was raised by a Baptist mother and a Muslim stepfather. Both Robin Wright in her book Rock the Casbah as well as the Los Angeles Times have identified O'Neal as a Muslim. However, O'Neal has said, "I'm Muslim, I'm Jewish, I'm Buddhist, I'm everybody 'cause I'm a people person."

He married Shaunie Nelson on December 26, 2002. The couple have four children (Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir, and Me'arah), and Nelson has one son from a previous relationship (Myles). In 2015, Shareef was seen in high school basketball highlights as a 6-foot-7-inch (2.01 m) or 6-foot-8-inch (2.03 m) freshman power forward, and had been described to have "polar opposite playing style to his father" due to his more athletic build and better shooting range. O'Neal also has a daughter from a previous relationship with his ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yarbourgh (Taheara). On September 4, 2007, O'Neal filed for divorce from Shaunie in a Miami-Dade Circuit court. Shaunie later said that the couple had gotten back together and that the divorce was withdrawn. However, on November 10, 2009, Shaunie filed an intent to divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. In summer 2010, O'Neal began dating reality TV star Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander. The couple resided at O'Neal's home in Sudbury, Massachusetts, and later split in 2012.

O'Neal is a 2009 inductee of the New Jersey Hall of Fame. O'Neal became a Freemason in 2011, becoming a member of Widow's Son Lodge No. 28 in Boston. O'Neal is a Freemason of the Prince Hall appendant body.

In his mansion in Orlando, Florida, O'Neal built a home movie theater with two rows of five retractable chairs, Superman lights, a Superman symbol on the floor, a big screen, a Superman symbol on his blanket, and 5.1 surround sound. O'Neal also created an indoor basketball court.

When Hall of Fame center George Mikan died in June 2005, O'Neal, who considered Mikan to be a major influence, extended an offer to his family to pay all of the funeral expenses, which they accepted.

O'Neal is a fan of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils, who play in his hometown of Newark, and has been seen at several games over the years. On January 11, 2014 O'Neal performed the ceremonial first puck and drove a Zamboni for a game between the Devils and the Florida Panthers. O'Neal is also a fan of English football club Northampton Town, and has posted videos of support to their official YouTube page.

O'Neal endorsed Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie in his 2013 reelection bid, appearing in a television advertisement.

Wikipedia

[placetobenation]

Meet the Robinsons

Release Date: March 23rd, 2007

Inspiration: “A Day with Wilbur Robinson” by William Joyce

Budget: $150 million

Domestic Gross: $97.8 million

Worldwide Gross: $169.3 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 67%

IMDB Score: 6.8/10

Storyline (per IMDB): Lewis an orphan wants to see what his mother looked like. So he invents a machine that looks through your brain so you can see your memories. But this weird kid says he’s from the future and warns him about a guy in a bowler hat. The bowler hat guy messes with his invention and it fails. He decides that he’s a failure and no one wants him. But the kid that warned him about the guy is here on a mission to find the bowler hat guy that wants to destroy Lewis. To prove he’s from the future he takes Lewis to the future. But the time machine breaks and he’s stuck in the future until he fixes it. In the meantime he spends quality time with the family. But the bowler hat guy is about to alter time and it’s up to Lewis to save the future.

Pre-Watching Thoughts: We continue on through the 2000s with our next film and this is a big one because in March of 2007 when this film was released, that was when I began my tenure with Regal Entertainment Group. So for the next 11 years, I would see Disney’s films in the theaters and I would see how successful or potentially how badly they would be, though in all honesty this is one I do not remember that much because I was just getting my feet wet working at the movie theater. After the last few films have been very disappointing and dismal, I am hoping that this film finally turns things around though again my hopes are not that high.

Voice Cast: We continue with the trend of having a brand new cast for each film though we did have a few actors return as well, and in addition we had a few actors pull multiple duty as they voiced multiple characters in the film. But as mentioned, we do have a few returning actors as Adam West returns to voice Uncle Art and also we have the return of Laurie Metcalf who voices Lucille Krunklehorn. We now move onto the newcomers as we have Jordan Fry who voices Lewis in one of the biggest roles of his career, and we should mention that Lewis was originally voiced by Daniel Hansen with Fry being brought in to do re-dubs of lines. We then have the legendary Tom Selleck who voices Lewis as an adult as he was starting to wind down his career, and then we have Wesley Singerman who voices Wilbur Robinson in what would be the last role of his short film career. Next, we have Steven Anderson who voices Bowler Hat guy along with Grandpa Bud and cousin Tallulah in multiple roles, and we should also mention Matthew Josten who voices Michael Yagoobian as a child. We then have Harland Williams who voices Carl as he was in the peak of his career by this point, and then we have Nicole Sullivan who voices Franny with Jessie Flower voicing Franny as a child. Next, we have Angela Bassett who voices Mildred as she was also hitting the peak of her career at this point, and then we have Ethan Sandler who voices multiple roles including DOR-15, Uncle Fritz and Aunt Petunia, the twins Spike and Dmitri, Cousin Laszlo, and the CEO of InventCo. We then have Don Hall who voices Uncle Gaston and the Gym Coach in dual roles as he also wrote the screenplay for the film, and then we have Tom Kenny who voices Mr. Willerstein though he will forever be remembered as Spongebob Squarepants. Next, we have Kelly Hoover who voices Aunt Billie in a minor role and then we have Tracey Miller-Zarneke who voices Lizzy in a minor role, and we have Joe Mateo who voices the T-Rex and then we have Aurian Redson who voices Frankie the frog with Jamie Cullum providing the singing voice. We then have Paul Butcher who voices Stanley in a minor role and we have Dara McGarry who voices the receptionist and Mrs. Harrington in a dual role, and then we have John H.H. Ford who voices Mr. Harrington and finally we have Nathan Greno who voices Lefty as he also had a hand in the screenplay. This was something that I haven’t mentioned in previous reviews of members of the creative team also providing voices, and this honestly might be one of the most low-key casts in Disney history as there was a significant lack of star power for the film.

Hero/Prince: We have had a string of fairly substandard heroes to this point which is sad since we were on such a good run early on in the run, and we will see if that trend continues here as we have the young man known as Lewis. He is left at an orphanage when he is a baby and he grows up loving science though he is frustrated that no one adopts him, and he decides to try and find his mother by inventing a device that could read his memory though it is sabotaged at the science fair. He starts to lose faith in his abilities until Wilbur arrives and takes him to the future though they inadvertently destroy the time machine, and Lewis agrees to fix the machine if Wilbur takes him back in time to see his mother which Wilbur agrees. Lewis meets Wilbur’s family and they become close until they learn Lewis is from the past, and after Wilbur admits he lied Lewis runs away and is coerced by the Bowler Hat guy to fix the Memory scanner. Lewis learns the truth that he is Wilbur’s future father and after Bowler Hat guy changes the future, Lewis fixes the machine and goes back in time where he manages to restore the timeline. Wilbur decides to take Lewis back to the moment where his mother left him at the orphanage though he chooses to let the events play out, and Lewis showcases the Memory scanner and wins the science fair as he is adopted and the timeline continues on as planned. Lewis is a pretty typical kid in that he has a specific love which is science though he does have a desire to be loved and feels his mother abandoned him, and after several failures he is ready to give up though upon learning what the future holds he is encouraged to continue on and fix things. He ends up getting everything he wanted as he has a family and he becomes a major success with his numerous inventions, and while he is not a typical hero he is pretty special for this film though he will probably not rank high amongst the other heroes.

Princess: N/A

Villain: For the first time since Treasure Planet, we have a pair of villains for this film though one is a true villain while the other is not so much a reluctant villain, but a misguided villain and we start with him as it is Michael “Goob” Yagoobian or Bowler Hat guy. He is a roommate with Lewis and is obsessed with baseball as he wants to be the one to win the championship for his team, but the day of the championship he is kept awake by Lewis and he falls asleep during the game which causes his team to lose. He is beat up by the team and kicked off the team as he becomes resentful to Lewis and is never adopted, and as he grows up he remains at the orphanage and vows revenge on Lewis when he meets the true villain of the movie which is the hat known as DOR-15 or “Doris”. DOR-15 was created by an adult Lewis to serve as a helper hat but malfunctioned and was left abandoned, and it would escape and meet with Goob who came up with the plan to sabotage Lewis during the science fair before stealing his Memory scanner and passing it off as their own. After some failed attempts, they manage to coerce Lewis into showing them how it works before revealing the plan, and they succeed in taking the credit and the future is changed though it is shown that DOR-15 betrayed Goob and enslaved humanity. Lewis goes back in time and stops them by saying he would never created DOR-15 which causes it to disappear permanently, and Goob sees the error of his ways though leaves out of guilt. After Lewis returns to his time, he makes sure that Goob is awake to win the championship game and he is hailed a hero, and Goob is later adopted by a family which changes his future and maintains Lewis’. DOR-15 is a typical example of a robot meant for good that turns bad and wants to rule the world though it is stopped fairly easily which makes it a weak villain, and Goob is a classic example of a troubled soul that goes down the wrong path though he ultimately is redeemed. As a result, both of these characters are not very memorable villains and will rank near the bottom of the list.

Other Characters: This is an interesting film in that the majority of the other characters in the film are all part of an extended family, but there were a few other characters in the film as well that are fairly important to the story. We start off with the family Robinson which includes Lucille Krunklehorn who is one of the judges of the science fair, and she ends up adopting Lewis along with her husband Bud which Lewis finds out when he goes to the future. We then have Franny who is one of the classmates of Lewis and she is fond of frogs, and she would go onto be Lewis’ wife and would train her frogs to sing and play instruments in the future. We then have Wilbur Robinson who returns to the past under the guise of a cop as he tries to keep Lewis on the right path, and he takes Lewis to the future and promises to take him to see his mother if Lewis fixes the time machine as Lewis learns that Wilbur is his future son. At one point, Wilbur disappears when Bowler Hat guy and DOR-15 change the timeline only for Lewis to fix everything and restore Wilbur, and Wilbur takes Lewis to see his mother as promised before returning him to his original time. We then have the other members of the family including Franny’s brothers Art and Gaston, Uncle Joe, Aunt Billie, Uncle Fritz and “Aunt Petunia” who is a puppet on his hand, cousin Tallulah and Laszlo, the twins Spike and Dmitri, Lefty the butler, and Buster the dog. We also have Carl the robot who is invented by Lewis in the future and he helps Wilbur in his plan, and Carl helps Lewis and Wilbur out until DOR-15 destroys him though he is revived by Lewis. We then have Mildred who owns the orphanage and tries her best to help Lewis and Goob get adopted, and then we have the other minor characters like the family that interviews to adopt Lewis, the other kids in the school, Lewis’ science teacher and the gym coach, and the board of directors of InventCo. While most of the focus was on the Robinson family which makes sense given its in the name of the film, the other characters in the film played some sort of purpose to the film.

Songs: This is another film that I never thought had any songs in it, but sure enough it did have a few though again they felt more like background noise as opposed to being a critical part of the film like in the past. The first song to talk about is the song “Another Believer” which is sung as Lewis begins building his Memory Scanner, and it is a fine song to serve as a transition into one of the main points of the film. The next song in the film is the brief song “The Future Has Arrived” which is first heard as a theme song when Lewis arrives in the future and is heard again during the credits performed by the All-American Rejects, and again it is a basic song in the film as it is more showcased in the end. The next song is “Where is Your Heart At?” sung by Frankie the frog as it is quick and easy and fairly forgettable, and then we have “Little Wonders” which is performed during the closing credits by Rob Thomas and it is again fairly forgettable. We do get one more song during the credits which is “The Motion Waltz (Emotion Commotion)” and it is mainly there to close out the film. Even though these last few films have had more songs than I ever remembered, it is clear that the songs are no longer the focus of these films which is sad since that seemed to be a staple of the earlier films and we will see if this trend continues.

Plot: This is another film that I was not aware was based off a book and given how short the book is, you knew that they were going to take some liberties in coming up with a plot though they did try to keep some faithfulness to the book. In the film, Lewis is an orphan who tries to create numerous inventions which typically fail and cost him chances at being adopted, and he decides to create an invention that can scan memories so he can find his real mother. However, the invention is sabotaged by Bowler Hat man and DOR-15 despite Wilbur’s warnings and Lewis becomes discouraged, and Wilbur takes Lewis to the future in a time machine which gets destroyed and Lewis agrees to fix it if Wilbur takes him back in time to see his mother. Lewis meets Wilbur’s family and becomes close with them until they learn he is from the past and Lewis learns that he is Wilbur’s future father, and Wilbur admits he lied to Lewis who runs away and comes across Bowler Hat guy who steals the Memory Scanner. He reveals that he is Lewis’ old roommate Goob who holds a grudge against Lewis due to being the reason his baseball team lost the championship, and he partnered together with DOR-15 who was an invention cast aside by Lewis and they take credit for the Scanner which changes the future. Lewis fixes the time machine and prevents the plan from going down as DOR-15 disintegrates and the timeline is restored, and Wilbur takes Lewis to the past to meet his mother though Lewis ends up putting it behind him. Lewis returns to his time and his fixed Scanner wins the science fair as he is also adopted which sets the timeline into motion. Again, they had to take some liberty with the plot given how short the book is though they do call back to the book in the film for those that are loyal to the book, and considering the plot was in essence original it was a fine plot for a film based off a basic children’s book.

Random Watching Thoughts: I believe this is the first film to feature the Walt Disney Animation Studios logo; Lewis’ mother must’ve been in real dire straits if she felt that she had to give up Lewis to an orphanage; She could afford to have a blanket for baby Lewis, yet she had to leave him in a cardboard box; Goob is going on and on while Lewis is clearly too focused on his work to pay attention to his ramblings; Goob tries to use the airhorn to get Lewis’ attention only to blow it in his own face; The Harringtons quickly realize that they are in over their head with Lewis just reading his notebook; How is that toaster not weighing down on Lewis’ head and causing him to lose his balance?; I wonder who Sarah and Jack are; You know there’s trouble when Lewis has kept exact count of all the times he’s been rejected; That is a big stretch for Lewis to think that his mother would want him now when she gave him up as a baby; He gets the idea for the Memory Scanner from a “Brain Scanners from Mars” billboard; “Boring”; Goob is clearly over being Lewis’ assistant; Everyone is used to Lewis’ inventions going bad that they have their own protection; I don’t think Mildred should be giving Goob coffee when he’s so young; “You have to get out of the past and look to the future”, something that will come into play later in the film; Lucille was right when she said that she doesn’t get out of the lab very often; How has Lucille not died from a caffeine overdose?; Are they really that short of teachers that the gym teacher is a judge for the science fair?; Of course the goth girl would have fire ants; Time Continuum Task Force; All DOR-15 had to do to sabotage the Scanner is loosen a few screws; If he is entering the date like I think he is, he was left behind at the orphanage on January 23rd, 2011; The gym coach tries hard to resist the fire ants, but ends up running around crying like a girl; This was the one invention that didn’t explode, but it still caused an insane amount of damage; I get future Goob was supposed to be a villain, but they made him way too stereotypical; Of all the things Wilbur could’ve used for a fake badge, he had to use a $15 coupon for a tanning salon; It’s a good thing Wilbur knew where his time machine was when he threw Lewis off the roof because that could’ve been really bad; Insta-Building; Obviously, they took some inspiration from Tomorrowland in the Disney parks to the point that the city was called “Todayland”; Instead of cars, people get around in bubbles; Lewis thinks he’s older than Wilbur because he was born in the past and technically, he is right in that; Goob thinks the receptionist is listening to him when she is actually on the phone; If only the real Mary Johnson came in and realized that someone stole her appointment spot; The CEO has seen a lot of pitches to the point that he times them to a specific point; Lewis went to the point that he had to make the headphones comfortable to wear; That is a strong cord to be able to pull the CEO across the table that easily; Goob actually censors himself when writing on his checklist; Of all the things to put on Lewis’ head to disguise him, he would use a fruit hat; How come we never actually learn why Spike and Dmitri are in those plants asking people to ring their doorbells?; Carl rants to Wilbur about the dangers they face yet also makes mention about his stolen bike; Yeah that sounds bad, but there is a .000001% chance Wilbur will live; Is it just me or does Bud look a lot like Geri from the Pixar short “Geri’s Game”?; Gaston would’ve beaten the train if he didn’t blast himself into the pillar; He painted a masterpiece in mere seconds; Fritz has a puppet on his hand that believes it’s alive and everyone treats it like it’s normal; The dog has insurance?; Only in the future can an octopus be a butler; Apparently, Franny was a fan of the Rat Pack because her frogs are pretty much carbon copies of them; Lewis learned about the family tree pretty quickly; They actually superimposed a real picture of Tom Selleck; They have no icepacks nearby so Goob has to use a piece of meat on his black eye; Adult Goob acting like the Emperor from “Star Wars” telling child Goob to embrace the hate; “Keep Moving Forward”; You have to be really dedicated if you fail well over 900 times yet keep working towards your goal; Lewis messes up one time on something he’s never dealt with before and he’s ready to give up completely again; Goob needs some work with his coordination skills in driving the mini DOR-15; Call me crazy, but gravy doesn’t work on spaghetti and meatballs; So the USA conquered Canada at some point and renamed it North Montana; The screen goes dark right before the fight and they even ape the classic Japanese samurai films complete with the overdubbed dialogue; So the first course was spaghetti and meatballs which is the appetizer to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches; Clearly, Frankie still has some of his wits if he claims that Goob’s plan isn’t the best; I’ve never seen people celebrate failure so much; Goob probably should’ve thought more about going back in time and getting a dinosaur to do his bidding; These are some very unorthodox ways to fight off a T-Rex; Lewis would end up in the one area where the T-Rex couldn’t reach him; Even the T-Rex has his own language; Looks like mini DOR-15 is sleeping with the fishes; Wilbur really doesn’t want to reveal the truth to the family, but they left him no choice; They have to show Goob crossing his fingers behind his back; All of those futuristic buildings yet the orphanage looks like it hasn’t been touched in years; He kept his old baseball uniform on all these years; Goob thinks that everyone hated him yet it looks like they wanted to be friends with him; He is a typical example of not taking responsibility for your own actions and instead want to blame someone else; If only Wilbur had made sure the door was shut completely to set the alarm; Lewis realizes that Mildred was right all along about letting go of the past and moving to the future; We go from Goob just wanting to ruin Lewis’ life to DOR-15 creating a bunch of clones and taking over the world; I’m surprised that in their scheming that Goob and DOR-15 never thought to kill Lewis and change the future that way; That has to be the most anticlimactic ending to a villain in any Disney film; It’s funny how past Lewis dictates to Wilbur like he does knowing that he’s his father; So obviously this universe is set up that if your past self meets your future self, it doesn’t cause any disturbances in the space-time continuum; Of course Carl would try and ask Lewis to change his design while he’s there; Lucille clearly establishing she’s the dominant one in the relationship; We come full circle as we see the opening scene play out again and we learn that it was Lewis that distracted his mom briefly and also knocked on the door; Wilbur seems like the kind of person that would go back in time repeatedly to make sure Lewis stayed on the right path; Lewis had enough sense to make sure that Goob would win the game for his team and change his future as well; Everyone builds a barricade and prepares for the worst; So since Lewis met their future selves, do their past selves now have knowledge about this?; Lewis remembers that Franny is always right and gets on her good side; So their home was once an observatory; We see the early model of Carl on the ground; “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney.

Overall Thoughts: Overall, this was a fairly decent film and easily better than the last two films I watched, but this was still not that great and was on par with a few of the other films from this decade. It is really sad that the quality of these films have severely declined over the last decade because I have really wanted to like these films having never watched them before, but while these films were not expected to live up to the expectations of the previous films they have not even lived up to my most basic expectations. The 2000s have been a tough time for Disney as they were growing in other aspects, but the animation studio was in a real slump and hopefully they would be able to pull out of it at the end of the decade. As for this film, it is a fairly average film that falls in line with the rest of the films from this decade.

Final Grade: 4.5/10

[papermoonloveslucy]

STAYING YOUNG

July 29, 1941

HOLLYWOOD (UP) - Lucille Ball has worked out a system for staying young in Hollywood - keep busy and don't worry. (1)

"One nice thing about the town," she said, "is that when it keeps you busy you don't have time to worry. And when you don't have time to worry, you don't have time to grow old." (1)

Miss Ball is busy enough at the moment to keep from worrying about anything further away than tomorrow's lines. She is making "Look Who's Talking" in which she co-stars with Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Fibber McGee and Molly. (2)

It's her 40th picture since she first came to Hollywood from Broadway eight years ago. (3)

Needed a Job 

Although her worries are few now, she had plenty for a time before she began to catch on In pictures. She says there were many weeks when she could find nothing to do, and needed a job desperately. 

If the pictures don't come fast enough to keep her busy, she puts in time flying, playing polo, roller skating, and at her favorite hobby, woodcarving. (4) Since starting to work In R-K-O's "Look Who's Talking," Miss Ball acquired a great urge to learn ventriloquism. Bergen's been giving her lessons but progress has been slow so far. She still sounds more like Lucille Ball than anyone else. (5)

She hasn't been too busy to fall In love and get married to Desi Arnaz, also an actor. They have a suburban home and Miss Ball says she is going to do all the decorating and landscaping herself. (6)

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FOOTNOTES FROM THE FUTURE (1) As of this date (July 29, 1941), Lucille Ball was just two weeks shy of her 30th birthday.  ‘Young’ in Hollywood is a different thing than ‘young’ in the rest of the world! 

(2) “Look Who’s Talking” was the working title of what eventually became known as “Look Who’s Laughing”.  

Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy were a popular ventriloquist team. Bergen was the ventriloquist, and McCarthy his sidekick. McCarthy was an upper class character, with a cultured voice, wearing a top hat, black tux, and a monocle. They conquered most all forms of media: stage, screen, television, and - yes - even radio!  Bergen had other ‘partners’ but McCarthy was the most popular and successful. Bergen was the father of TV star Candace Bergen. Later in her career, Lucille frequently performed with ventriloquist Paul Winchell, who also performed without his puppets. 

Fibber McGee and Molly were characters from a popular radio show (1935-59 created by married couple Jim (Fibber) and Marian (Molly) Jordan. One of their most frequent gags was the over-stuffed closet, which always was opened at the most inopportune times. “I Love Lucy” director William Asher tried to create a television version of the series, but the Jordans declined to appear in it, and it quickly disappeared. 

(3) “Look Who’s Talking / Laughing” is said here to be Lucille’s 40th film since coming to Hollywood. Other, more reliable sources, number it as her 53rd. Those sources claim “Room Service” (1938) as her 40th film. 

Lucille did not come from Broadway, strictly speaking. In the early 1930s she had been employed in a road company (rehearsing in NYC) of Flo Ziegfeld’s “Rio Rita,” but was fired. In 1937 she did a play called “Hey Diddle Diddle” that was scheduled for Broadway, but closed out of town.  Her Broadway debut came in late 1960 with the musical “Wildcat”. 

(4) Along with the usual line of puffery about Lucille Ball being born in Butte, her hobbies are similarly made up by an imaginative publicist. There is no proof that Lucille had a pilot’s license although there are some wild stories about her shooting crocodiles from her plane while soaring over the jungles of the Amazon.  Lucille was photographed playing polo - on top of a donkey during an RKO charity stunt. Although she could ride a horse, she was not a competitive polo player.  Lucille could roller skate - but it was generally for a role, not as a pastime. There is no evidence of Lucille’s woodcarving hobby.  

(5) Having said all that, Lucille was game to try most anything - even ventriloquism - but generally it was for a role.  As she always said “What I am is brave.” 

(6) This refers to Desilu, the name given to Lucy and Desi’s Chatsworth Ranch in the San Fernando Valley. 

[newyorktheater]

The dog days of August turn out to be full of theater news – even about dogs; these comfort dogs were watching Billy Elliot at the Stratford Festival, reportedly to practice what it’s like to help their handlers navigate through a theater. (So where are the handlers?) If there is relatively little actual theater happening for the rest of the month,  there have been a huge number of announcements — about new shows, new seasons, complete casts. Plus: theater and politics, and the tawdry side of Broadway.

Week in New York Theater Reviews and Previews

  Rave Theater Festival: Sweet Lorraine, Ni Mi Madre, Stormy Weather

What a sweet surprise to discover Valisia LeKae, so exquisite in her Tony nominate role as Diana Ross in Motown five years ago, portraying Lorraine Hansberry in Sweet Lorraine.

  Make Believe: Bess Wohl’s Elliptical Look at Child Neglect

48 Hours in Harlem with Ntozake Shange

On The Exhale: Gun Violence as Adrenaline on WNET

  The Week in New York Theater News

From the stage of the Lunt-Fontanne during his last performance, Barry Manilow announced that his long-aborning musical, Harmony, about German/Jewish singing group Comedian Harmonists, will be presented Feb 11 – March 29, 2020 via National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

I have a personal interest in “Harmony,” because I interviewed Roman Cycowski, the last surviving Comedian Harmonist, shortly before he died at age 97 — such a famous Jewish singer that he actually met Hitler once, and lived to tell the tale

Diana, a musical about Princess Diana, will open on Broadway, March 31, 2020 at the Longacre Theater. Jeanna de Waal will be portraying Diana, joined by Roe Hartrampf as Prince Charles, Erin Davie as Camilla Parker Bowles and Judy Kaye as Queen Elizabeth, all of whom will be reprising their roles from the world-premiere production at LaJolla Playhouse. Christopher Ashley (Come From Away) will direct the show, written by the Tony Award-winning team behind the musical Memphis, Joe DiPietro and David Bryan.

Paula Vogel

Playwright Paul Vogel returns to Broadway (after her long-delayed debut “Indecent”) with her Pulitzer-winning, 1997 play How I Learned to Drive, with its original Off-Broadway stars Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse, directed by Mark Brokaw. The story of a child molester opens April 22, 2020 at MTC‘s Samuel J. Friedman Theater. This will be Parker’s second Broadway show in the season: She’ll star in Adam Rapp’s  “The Sound Inside” at Studio 54 in the fall.

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is coming to Broadway, opening October 16, 2019 at the Longacre and running for 16 weeks. I saw this five years ago Off-Broadway. (My review.)  Still just an hour long?

A Christmas Carol will play at Broadway’s Lyceum Theater November 7, 2019 – January 5, 2020, in a version written by Jack Thorne (“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”) and directed by Matthew Warchus, who directed Broadway’s “Groundhog Day.” Cambell Scott will star as Ebenezer Scrooge.

“Installation on America,” FREE collaborative theater piece exploring race relations, by @LabTheaterNYC (eg @johnortiz718 @DaveAnzuelo @nycbatwife @Kellrod@AaronRWeiner et al) thrice nightly August 22-24 at @CherryLnTheatre, in support of @RAICESTEXAS & @ACLU pic.twitter.com/EqQqZJTV8O

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) August 16, 2019

  The cast of “The Inheritance,” a play by Matthew Lopez about a new generation of gay mean that opens November 17, will feature Lois Smith, John Benjamin Hickey and Jordan Barbour, Jonathan Burke, Andrew Burnap, Darryl Gene Daughtry Jr., Dylan Frederick, Kyle Harris, Paul Hilton, Samuel H. Levine, Carson McCalley, Kyle Soller, and Arturo Luis Soria (whom I just saw in his solo show “Ni Mi Madre”)

Nineteen actors portray 50 characters in Robert Schenkkan’s  “The  Great  Society,” his  follow-up  play  about  President  Lyndon  Johnson, opening Oct 1. Here’s the full cast list:

James Cusati Moyer and Ato Blankson-Wood

Sullivan Jones and Annie McNamara

The cast of Slave Play, which opens October 6 at Broadway’s John Golden Theater and runs through January 5, will feature the actors who appeared in it Off-Broadway — Ato Blankson-Wood, James Cusati-Moyer, Sullivan Jones, Chalia La Tour, Irene Sofia Lucio, Annie McNamara, and Paul Alexander Nolan — joined by Joaquina Kalukango who will create the role of Kaneisha for the Broadway production. The cast is being understudied by Eboni Flowers, Thomas Keegan, Jakeem Dante Powell, and Elizabeth Stahlmann.

Mary Beth Peil as Duncan  will join Corey Stoll and Nadia Bowers as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Classic Stage Company’s production of Shakespeare’s tragedy, October 10 to December 15. The cast will also feature  Erik Lochtefeld as Banquo, Barzin Akhavan as Macduff, Raffi Barsoumian as Malcolm, N’Jameh Camara as Lady Macduff, Antonio Michael Woodard as Fleance/Young Macduff and Jade Wu as Ros

Consummate director Anne Kauffman (Marjorie Prime, Marvin’s Room, Maple and Vine, Mary Jane, and dozens of plays that don’t begin with “M”)  will helm Sarah Silverman’s musical memoir The Bedwetter, which will begin performances on April 25th, 2020 at the Atlantic Theater

All hail @LaMaMaETC‘s forthcoming 58th season, which celebrates founder Ellen Stewart’s centennial & features premieres by Philip Glass, Andrei Serban, Estelle Parsons, Theodora Skipitares, Anne Bogart & many morehttps://t.co/mZOSiDLR9v pic.twitter.com/ffe4FWchSr

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) August 14, 2019

“The reason why I’m sitting here talking to you & not dead or in jail is because the theater saved my life”- @theebillyporter on why he stays in theater (latest: directing @Huntington) despite @PoseOnFX TV fame.@AmericanTheatre interview w/ @diepthoughthttps://t.co/YdTCP5WPuf pic.twitter.com/6Abbfk6XD0

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) August 16, 2019

Politics and Theater

Margaret Trudeau, mother to one Canadian prime minister and ex-wife to another, will perform her solo show, Certain Woman of an Age, for three nights (September 12-14) at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre. “She opens up about her wild child days, isolating marriage, motherhood and disastrous romances with famous men.” This is part of “Special Audible Performances” which will be recorded as audio books. (Later in September at the Minetta Lane: Diana Nyad’s “The Swimmer”)

  More than a thousand protesters in Hong Kong sang Les Miserables’ ‘Do you hear the people sing?’ at HK international airport with their calls for free election and democracy

More than thousand HKers sing Les Miserables’ ‘Do you hear the people sing?’ at HK international airport with their calls for free election and democracy. Here is the Ground Zero in the war against authoritarian rule. That’s the reason for us never surrender. pic.twitter.com/1MkTp4BkVg

— Joshua Wong 黃之鋒 (@joshuawongcf) August 10, 2019

  Can live theater help spur climate action?

The Tawdry Side of Theater

Ben Sprecher, “duped” producer of Rebecca.

Ben Sprecher, a Broadway producer best-known for the “Rebecca” debacle,  was arrested on child porn charges. Ben Sprecher, 65, of Manhattan, was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography

Faye Dunaway in Tea at Five

Michael Rocha, Faye Dunaway’s $1,500-a-week assistant on Mathew Lombardo’s play “Tea at Five” during its Boston tryout, filed a suit against the actress in  Manhattan Supreme Court accusing her of “regularly and relentlessly” subjecting him to “abusive demeaning tirades” that included calling him “little homosexual boy.” Rocha claims that after he complained about the behavior, he was fired, told  Dunaway “is not comfortable with you anymore.”

The producers of the solo play about Katherine Hepburn fired Dunaway, after accusations that she abused the crew, and scrapped plans for the show.

  Rest In Peace

Peter Fonda with daughter Bridget Fonda

“Henry Fonda’s son: That’s how everybody identified me until Easy Rider came along.” Peter Fonda, 79, who was also a Broadway veteran, appearing in the 1961 “Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole”

  Opening in NY: Manilow’s Harmony, Diana, How I Learned to Drive, The Lightning Thief, A Christmas Carol. Tawdry Broadway. #Stageworthy News Up The Wazoo. The dog days of August turn out to be full of theater news – even about dogs; these comfort dogs were watching Billy Elliot at the Stratford Festival, reportedly to practice what it's like to help their handlers navigate through a theater.

[demitgibbs]

Seth Rudetsky Hosts Broward Concert Series

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts and Mark Cortale announce the return of the Broadway Concert Series hosted by Seth Rudetsky to Parker Playhouse. The afternoon host on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s On Broadway channel will deliver three intimate evenings of incredible music and hilarious conversation with Jeremy Jordan, Tony Award® nominated star of Newsies and NBC’s Smash and CW’s Supergirl (Saturday, January 6), Rachel Bay Jones, 2017 Tony winner for Dear Evan Hansen (Friday, February 16) and Christine Ebersole, two-time Tony Award-winning star of War Paint, Grey Gardens and 42nd Street (March 24).

Jordan landed his first Broadway show in 2009, Rock of Ages, which he left the same year to play the lead role of Tony in West Side Story. He next starred on Broadway as Clyde Barrow in the short-lived Bonnie & Clyde before his star-making performance as Jack Kelly in Disney’s Newsies, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical. Film credits include Joyful Noise opposite Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah and The Last 5 Years. He is familiar to TV audiences having been a regular on NBC’s hit series Smash, the voice of Varian for Tangled on the Disney Channel and for his current role on Supergirl. A performer who has sold out shows in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and London, Jordan has performed his solo cabaret show in clubs around the country.

RELATED:

Jones won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her most recent Broadway performance in Dear Evan Hansen. She has also starred on Broadway in Pippin, Hair, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Jones has won acclaim for her Off-Broadway performances including the original production of Dear Evan Hansen (Lucille Lortel Award), Hello Again (Drama League nomination), and First Daughter Suite. Her work on television includes ABC’s The Family and FX’s Louie. Jones most recent recording is ShowFolk.

Ebersole most recently portrayed Elizabeth Arden on Broadway in War Paint opposite Patti LuPone, in a production that garnered Tony nominations for both actresses.  Ebersole took home the Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Muscial for Grey Gardens and the hit revival of 42nd Street. Her extensive Broadway career also includes leading roles in On the Twentieth Century, Oklahoma, Camelot, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, Steel Magnolias, the recent revival of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit and Dinner at Eight, for which she received both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations. Concert appearances include the recent concert version of the opera The Grapes of Wrath at Carnegie Hall, the Boston Pops’ concert version of A Little Night Music and, for PBS, Gershwin at 100: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall and The Rodgers & Hart Story: Thou Swell, Thou Witty. In addition to her acclaimed stage career, Ebersole has also appeared in numerous hit films and TV shows.

WATCH:

Dubbed “The Mayor of Broadway,” Rudetsky is also the host “Seth Speaks” on Sirius/XM Stars and has written three volumes of Seth’s Broadway Diary featuring inside scoop and hilarious stories from all of the stars with whom he has worked. He co-wrote and co-starred in Disaster! on Broadway and, in June 2016, he and his husband, James Wesley, co-produced a recording of “What The World Needs Now” with stars including Idina Menzel, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Carole King, Audra McDonald, which went to number one on iTunes and raised $100,000 for the Orlando shooting victims. The couple also produces Concert For America, a monthly series of benefit concerts held around the country.

Three-concert subscriptions are $96-$303 and offer a 20 percent savings when compared to the single ticket price. Individual tickets go on sale to the Jeremy Jordan evening on December 8 and to the nights with Jones and Ebersole on January 5. Tickets to individual events in the series are $37-$67 with $123 VIP tickets which include a post-show meet and greet with the artists.

Ticketmaster is the only official ticketing service of Parker Playhouse. Buy tickets online at ParkerPlayhouse.com and Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222; in person at the Parker Playhouse box office Tuesday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/12/27/seth-rudetsky-hosts-broward-concert-series/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/169008205285

[hotspotsmagazine]

Seth Rudetsky Hosts Broward Concert Series

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts and Mark Cortale announce the return of the Broadway Concert Series hosted by Seth Rudetsky to Parker Playhouse. The afternoon host on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s On Broadway channel will deliver three intimate evenings of incredible music and hilarious conversation with Jeremy Jordan, Tony Award® nominated star of Newsies and NBC’s Smash and CW’s Supergirl (Saturday, January 6), Rachel Bay Jones, 2017 Tony winner for Dear Evan Hansen (Friday, February 16) and Christine Ebersole, two-time Tony Award-winning star of War Paint, Grey Gardens and 42nd Street (March 24).

Jordan landed his first Broadway show in 2009, Rock of Ages, which he left the same year to play the lead role of Tony in West Side Story. He next starred on Broadway as Clyde Barrow in the short-lived Bonnie & Clyde before his star-making performance as Jack Kelly in Disney’s Newsies, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical. Film credits include Joyful Noise opposite Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah and The Last 5 Years. He is familiar to TV audiences having been a regular on NBC’s hit series Smash, the voice of Varian for Tangled on the Disney Channel and for his current role on Supergirl. A performer who has sold out shows in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and London, Jordan has performed his solo cabaret show in clubs around the country.

RELATED:

Jones won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her most recent Broadway performance in Dear Evan Hansen. She has also starred on Broadway in Pippin, Hair, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Jones has won acclaim for her Off-Broadway performances including the original production of Dear Evan Hansen (Lucille Lortel Award), Hello Again (Drama League nomination), and First Daughter Suite. Her work on television includes ABC’s The Family and FX’s Louie. Jones most recent recording is ShowFolk.

Ebersole most recently portrayed Elizabeth Arden on Broadway in War Paint opposite Patti LuPone, in a production that garnered Tony nominations for both actresses.  Ebersole took home the Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Muscial for Grey Gardens and the hit revival of 42nd Street. Her extensive Broadway career also includes leading roles in On the Twentieth Century, Oklahoma, Camelot, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, Steel Magnolias, the recent revival of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit and Dinner at Eight, for which she received both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations. Concert appearances include the recent concert version of the opera The Grapes of Wrath at Carnegie Hall, the Boston Pops’ concert version of A Little Night Music and, for PBS, Gershwin at 100: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall and The Rodgers & Hart Story: Thou Swell, Thou Witty. In addition to her acclaimed stage career, Ebersole has also appeared in numerous hit films and TV shows.

WATCH:

Dubbed “The Mayor of Broadway,” Rudetsky is also the host “Seth Speaks” on Sirius/XM Stars and has written three volumes of Seth’s Broadway Diary featuring inside scoop and hilarious stories from all of the stars with whom he has worked. He co-wrote and co-starred in Disaster! on Broadway and, in June 2016, he and his husband, James Wesley, co-produced a recording of “What The World Needs Now” with stars including Idina Menzel, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Carole King, Audra McDonald, which went to number one on iTunes and raised $100,000 for the Orlando shooting victims. The couple also produces Concert For America, a monthly series of benefit concerts held around the country.

Three-concert subscriptions are $96-$303 and offer a 20 percent savings when compared to the single ticket price. Individual tickets go on sale to the Jeremy Jordan evening on December 8 and to the nights with Jones and Ebersole on January 5. Tickets to individual events in the series are $37-$67 with $123 VIP tickets which include a post-show meet and greet with the artists.

Ticketmaster is the only official ticketing service of Parker Playhouse. Buy tickets online at ParkerPlayhouse.com and Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222; in person at the Parker Playhouse box office Tuesday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/12/27/seth-rudetsky-hosts-broward-concert-series/

[tabloidtoc]

National Examiner, October 21

Cover: Gilligan’s Island dark secrets revealed on its 55th anniversary

Page 2: Stories behind Cocoon 

Page 4: Stars strange and shocking last words -- Whitney Houston, Hugh Hefner, Jackie Gleason, John Wayne 

Page 5: Bob Hope, Leonard Nimoy, Lucille Ball, Michael Jackson 

Page 7: How to carve a perfect pumpkin 

Page 8: Dollar stores are the real deal 

Page 9: The best foods for fighting off stroke 

Page 10: The line for little Bryanne Sturch’s lemonade stand stretched all the way down the road when dozens of bikers in shades and vests turned out in gratitude to the girl’s mom who had tended their injuries after a terrible crash 

Page 11: Your Health -- 10 quick and easy ways to get healthy 

Page 12: Chilling John F. Kennedy prophecies come true -- unearthed tapes reveal predictions about Dallas, son’s flight, Mideast war and more 

Page 14: Dear Tony -- your spirit guide’s purpose is not to pick lotto numbers, Tony predicts Michael B. Jordan will become one of the great actors of our time but will have to take care of his health 

Page 16: The Burt Reynolds only friends and family knew 

Page 19: Aaron Benitez’s best man was his cat Prince Michael 

Page 20: Cover Story -- Dark secrets found on Gilligan’s Island -- The feuds and scandals behind the castaway comedy 

Page 22: Two mother dolphins and their calves were trapped in a Florida canal and faced certain death until volunteers formed a human chain in the water and gently guided them under a bridge and back out to sea 

Page 24: A team of firefighters went the extra mile to grant a nature lover his final wish to experience the outdoors one last time by transporting his gurney through the rugged terrain in the Washington forest 

Page 25: Survey shows families don’t talk during meals anymore 

Page 26: True Crime 

Page 28: The Good Doctor -- 5 signs men should never ignore 

Page 30: Know the difference between cold and flu 

Page 32: Dogs and cats add years to your life

Page 40: Two stars on the keys to happiness -- For Jamie Lee Curtis giving back and beating addiction are what count most, for Ted Danson he’s in the best place of his life thanks to work and marriage to Mary Steenburgen 

Page 44: Eyes on the Stars -- Cher in concert, Mariska Hargitay, Princess Beatrice will marry in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor had his first official engagement -- meeting Archbishop Desmond Tutu, palace watchers are wondering if Meghan Markle is already expecting baby no. 2, Renee Zellweger spent a year learning how to sing like superstar Judy Garland and then had to perform the challenging role while wearing the fake teeth that completed her physical transformation 

Page 45: Robert Redford and wife Sibylle, Tracy Morgan and Eddie Murphy, Paul McCartney thought he would die at age 28, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill will rejoin the franchise in Jurassic World 3, Tom Hanks will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 2020 Golden Globes, Patricia Heaton is back on TV in Carol’s Second Act a year after wrapping her series The Middle and says she can only take so much leisure before she starts getting antsy, Bethenny Frankel shared a photo of herself sporting a giant diamond ring and sparked rumors she’s engaged to boyfriend Paul Bernon but Bethenny is fond of buying baubles for herself, blind item 

Page 46: Grandpa crochets for a good cause -- kids with vitiligo like he has 

Page 47: Brent Heuser makes portraits in pumpkins -- Lady Gaga, Edward Scissorhands, Patti Lupone, Jimmy Fallon, Beyonce, Demogorgon from Stranger Things