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The Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are the most prestigious and popular film awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science or AMPAS situated in Beverly Hills, California started it in May 1929. PricewaterhouseCoopers since 1935 have managed the balloting process. In 1941 the confidential envelope system started which exists till this date. This was how the phrase 'the envelope please" became famous. The members of this academy are invited by the Board of Governors to join. The membership has fifteen branches each based on the different categories of awards. 

The gold plated statuettes are also presented as the Academy Award of Merit. It has a black metal base and weights 8.5 lb and 13.5 inch tall knight holding a crusader's sword standing over a film reel with five spokes, which represent the five main categories of awards. It was created by George Stanley and Alex Smith and since then the Oscars have been manipulated only once. Forty Oscars are made for each annual Academy Awards in Chicago, Illinois. They are presented every year for movies, which have been produced in the last twelve months. The seventeen-month qualifying period was introduced to consider films released in a single calendar year in the year 1932. And since then this time period has been taken into consideration. The minimum length of the movie should be forty minutes and the minimum resolution should be 1280x720 so as to qualify as a feature-length.

The Academy Awards were held on Thursdays until 1954. From 1959 - 1998 they were held on Mondays except for few exceptions. It started to be held on Sundays from 1999. For nearly sixty years the Academy Awards were held in later March or early April. Since 2004 it is being held in late February or early March. The very first awards ceremony was held at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood. The Ambassador Hotel and Biltmore Hotel were the venues till early 1940s. Next venue was Grauman's Chinese Theater, which was followed by the Shrine Auditorium. In 1949 the awards were presented at the Academy Award Theater. For the next ten years the venue was Pantages Theater in Hollywood. Next in line was Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica. Then the ceremony was shifted back to Los Angeles in 1968 at the Los Angeles Music Center and Shrine Auditorium and it was held there until 1988. In 2002 it was finally shifted to Kodak Theater in Hollywood.    

Oscars recognizes talents in field such as acting, screenwriting, production, direction and technician. The awards categories can be broadly described as Best Production award, Best Director award, Best Actor award, Best Actress award, Best Supporting actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay award. The only three movies that have won awards in all the categories are "It Happened One Night"," One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Silence of the Lambs". This achievement is also known as the Big Five or Oscar Grand Slam. Three films hold the record for winning most number of Oscars, which are "Ben-Hur" in 1959, "Titanic" in 1997 and "The Return of the King" in 2003. On the awards night, invitees walk the red carpet in their best dresses, which create a fashion statement. The whole ceremony is broadcasted live on television all over America except Hawaii and Alaska, the first ever broadcast was in 1953 on NBC channel. There are performances by the nominees of the Best Original Song category and countless other performances. The telecast attracts over a billion viewers from all over the world as claimed by the Academy.
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Contacting Celebrities Through Communities

Hollywood is a massive organization and getting near to it could not even be dreamt off by the fans. The Hollywood stars are generally so dear and near to our hearts and everyone would really wish to contact or see them at least once.

It would be surely a real joyful moment to contact them. But mostly people do not know the way to get in touch with the celebrities as they think it is out of the reach of their hands.

To their astonishment there are several methods in which they can come in contact with the Hollywood celebrities. Some of them include MySpace, communities, forums and lot more.

There are several communities on different websites which helps you to get more information related to the personalities. You can also mail or send photos to be autographed and you get them back to put a smile on your face.

There are thousands of users in the community across different countries. Several celebrity addresses would urge you to join the site once you visit it.

This is because there are several sites which cannot be relied upon and give you false information leading to some other links once you click on it. So while searching make sure that the site is dependable and you can also gain more information of the site by discussions in various forums and networks.

You can also know more by mingling with friends and talking about the different ways to contact the celebrities. They would also be willing to have an opportunity to get in touch with them thus encouraging your enthusiasm.
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Contacting Celebrities Through Email

Hollywood celebrities are those who shine with glamour and fame and there would be no one who does not adore them. There are many of them who are real die hard fans of the stars.

There are also enormous fan clubs and the members irrespective of the age. Kids of very small age group to the elderly constitute the fan clubs.

They also love to see their favorite stars online or contact them. It would be a mind blowing opportunity for all those who are into seeing them.

The increased interest for them is sure to make you very close to them thus increasing the desire to see and contact them. There are many who are satisfied if you can get in touch with them online or through mails. Various methods for this are really vast but all you need is to get the right one done.

Your dreams are to come true with the facilities offered by internet as in today's world it is possible to get in touch with the celebrities online.

There are several organizations aiming at helping the fans to get in touch with the celebrities. Apart from getting in touch with the stars there are also several sites which send you autographed photos and what is spoken is truth.

There are also real stories added as a proof which talks about the experiences they had in searching for the contact information of the personalities.

Sending emails have become the latest trend in contacting any Hollywood personality and you are sure to get the result if you are lucky!

How to Contact Hollywood

Searching for contacts of Hollywood celebrities can be like groping in the dark, trying to find the light switch. Fortunately, there are several sites available online that has all the necessary information.

Now a day, using the Internet to find contacts of Hollywood celebrities is the best and the easiest way. The most prominent website for contacting Hollywood celebrities online is the 'Contact Hollywood'. It is the 'Official Blog' of www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com.

Once you log into it, you will find, astonishing celebrity photos, rolodex, celebrity addresses, celebrity causes database, celebrity black book, tips on how to hire a celebrity, Gawker Stalker Map, secrets to contacting celebrities along with addresses and contacts of thousands and thousands of Hollywood celebrities.

If you plan to purchase a membership of the site, you will get benefits including admittance to 54,000+ celebrities; 6,800+ agents, managers, publicists & attorneys; and 4,100+ entertainment companies; daily updates of your celebrities.

This site helps you to build your autograph collection faster than the current speed by providing audio interviews, postage refunds, and research requests and live phone support.

This website is helping thousands and thousands of people including collectors to establish contacts with the celebrities. Most of them, if not all, already received autographs of their favorite Hollywood celebrities.

Additionally, the members get benefits from the shared community knowledge. Its research department is continuously collecting up-to-date information including contacts of Hollywood celebrities.

Once you are a member of the site, you get online access to their full searchable database. Your favorite Hollywood celebrities' contacts are than just a click away. The site also has an efficient customer service section.
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Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are being hosted on an annual basis to honor best music talent in the record industry and is considered equivalent to Academy Awards. Originally called as the Gramophone Awards it was started by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Usually held in February, it constitutes nearly twenty genres of music with hundred and eight categories. The categories can be broadly described as Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Artist of the Year to name a few. Regular members of the voting committee are Jon Bon Jovi, Beyonce Knowles, Prince and Paul Simon. The Recording Academy and record companies choose the works of artist who are really talented. Over hundred and fifty members review this selection and assign the works to their proper category. The members of each category who are experts in their respective fields reviews them and votes for the nominees. Deloitte Touche, who are the major independent accounting firm, then tabulates the ballots. The works, which have been produced in a time limit of past twelve months, are considered, starting from October 1.   For many years the venue for the Grammy Awards was The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California that was also the home of the Oscars. But once the categories began expanding, the venue was shifted to the Staple Center, Los Angeles, California. The nominees and other non-presenting attendees are expected to pay for the ticket to attend the ceremony. In 2007, the entree fee for the members was $750, which later went up to $2500. To attend the official post party, additional $250 should be paid. All the attendees get a gift bag with lots of goodies in it like perfumes, jewelry, CDs and gift certificates with the Grammy award seal.    The ceremony is telecast live on television and there are several live performances by renowned artists.  The first Grammy Awards was aired on ABC channel in 1971. Presently it is being aired on CBS channel.  On February 10, 2008, the fiftieth Annual Grammy Awards will be celebrated at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

From time to time, the Grammy Awards have been blamed that they consider only the mainstream music and do not take alternative groups into consideration. The rumor was further heightened by criticism that the big record companies are influencing Grammy Awards. Many even say that Grammy Awards doesn't honor the artist's talent; rather it's just held to promote the music industry as a whole and never understood the sentiments of the common people. The critics also blame the Grammy Awards to use this platform for advertising the recording industry. Many also question the nominating and the voting process from time to time.

Sir Georg Solti received the largest number of Grammy awards in a year.  He was the conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and he received a total of thirty-one Grammys. U2 is the band, which received the most number of Grammys, a total of twenty-two. In a single night Rick Rubin won the maximum awards. He received five awards at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. Grammy Awards have even faced fraud when the reality of the pop group Milli Vanilli came to light. The group just lip-synced the song sung by someone else, which resulted in their Grammies being taken back from them instantly. But the awards still go on attracting people from all walks of life.
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The History Of Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation owned by media conglomerate Viacom was founded in the year 1912. The founder Adolph Zukor of Famous Players Film Company decided to make feature films that would fulfill the demands of immigrants. By the mid of next year he made five successful films. In the same year Jesse L. Lasky founded Lasky Feature Play Company and hired Cecil B. DeMille for his first movie "The Squaw Man". Both these production companies sought help of Paramount Pictures to release their movies. Paramount Pictures was a new company at that time and was a merger of many small firms by W. W. Hokinson. The idea was appreciated and the new company, Famous Players-Lasky, got a good start. Lasky and his brother-in-law, Goldfish became in charge of the production, along with DeMille. Hiram Abrams was responsible for the distribution where as Zukor made plans for the development of the company. The company soon touched great heights. In 1916, Zukor decided to talk about the merging of the three companies with Lasky and Hodkinson. Public can take guided tour into the Paramount Studios situated in Hollywood, California.

Zukor made the first slogan of the company "Famous Players in Famous Plays". He was the man behind successful actors like Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, Mary Pickford, Wallace Reid and Gloria Swanson. Paramount Pictures were the first to introduce the concept of block booking; this meant that if a particular firm wanted to buy the rights of a particular actor, they were also required to buy the other productions of Paramount Productions for that year. This concept proved to be a huge success and boosted the company's sale.

Under the leadership of Zukor, Paramount had huge success. He was responsible for building number of theaters which had nearly two thousand screens altogether. He also had big investments in radio and in 1926 he gained control over the Balaban & Katz chain. Barney Balaban became the president and Sam Katz handled the Paramount Publix theater chain. The company's name, Famous Players-Lasky was changed to Paramount-Publix Corporation, in 1927.  Due to the success of Publix theater chain the name was changed to Paramount-Publix Corporation in 1930.

By 1932 Zukon left all his old partners behind as the company was facing bankruptcy due to the enormous expansion projects. A bank reorganization team, consisting of Otto Kahn and John Hertz took over the company but kept Zukon in the company. After dealing with bankruptcy, the company was named Paramount Pictures, Inc. and Barney Balaban became the chairman. Many actors and singers were roped in and on a yearly basis; the company was producing nearly seventy movies a year. They also tried their hand at cartoon and the two characters, Popeye the Sailor and Betty Boop became an instant hit.

The government was having problems with the block booking, so the company decided to end it in 1940, after which the company's production went down to twenty movies a year. While the company was making an effort to attract audience during the World War II, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department reopened the case, U.S. vs. Paramount Pictures and the Supreme Court ordered the split of the company into two. Due to the loss of theater chains, the position of Paramount Pictures was very unstable and the company was sold to Gulf and Western Industries.

Paramount collaborated with Universal Studios to form Cinema International Corporation in 1970. They began producing for television. After the realease of movies "Grease" and "Saturday Night Fever", the interest in movies were back again. Paramount Pictures began making albums when they purchased rights for Paramount Records. Cinema International Corporation became United International Pictures, in 1981, which was renamed as Paramount Communications in 1989. Paramount became a prominent name in Hollywood once again and gave tough competition to its rivals. Some survived by moving to another place like Warner Bros. and some closed down like for instance RKO.
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The History Of Universal Studios

Universal Studios or Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios is one of the largest American film studios. It was established in 1906 when Carl Laemmle started his first theater in Chicago. He started by playing short silent movies. He later switched to production and distribution. To start the production of his own films, he opened the Independent Moving Picture Company in New York in 1909. His first work, Hiawatha, was released in the same year.

Laemmle's dream was to make his presence felt all over America. His next target was the west where he bought the Nestor Studio in Hollywood. He formed the Universal Film Manufacturing Company on June 8, 1912. This company which was New York based, incorporated the already existing Independent Moving Picture Company and five other companies into it. By that time he had already conquered the east and the west coast of America and now he decided to centralize his production companies. He asked Isadore Bernstein to buy plots in Los Angeles. The two hundred and thirty acre land bought became the Universal City, the entertainment center of the world. Although film production here began in 1914 and in 1915 it was officially inaugurated on March 15, 1915. The first production of this studio was Damon and Pythias. Many films were released after the studio opened including comedies, drama, action, and adventure.

Some of the popular movies that were produced in this studio are "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Dracula", "Bride of Frankenstein"," The Phantom of the Opera", "The Mummy", and "All Quiet on the Western Front". Laemmle developed a habit of inviting guests to watch the movie making procedure and to give suggestions to improve them. It then became a tradition at Universal studios, and later temporarily visitors were banned because of the disturbances on the sets. 

Carl retired in 1936 and sold the company to Standard Capital Company. In 1946, Universal merged with International and it was named as Universal-International. In 1947, the company produced "Hamlet" which won the Best Picture Academy Award. In 1952, Universal-International was sold to Decca Records. Decca Universal gave many hits in Milt Rackmil.  Music Corporation of America, Inc. bought the Universal City studio and shifted its studio there and both the companies merged officially in 1962. Jules Stein was the founder of MCA, Inc., who was later joined by Lew Wasseman in 1936. At first this company prepared bands to perform in clubs and parties. Later it became the leading talent agency and conquered the entertainment world. They made motion pictures and also serials for television. Later they also ventured into the world of musical entertainment around 1960s to 1980s. The tradition of tours was started once again.

The company was taken over by Matsushita Electrical Industrial Company Ltd. in 1991. The Seagram Company Ltd. Bought large number of shares in 1995 and MCA Inc. was finally named as Universal Studios on December 10, 1996. The Universal International television operations merged with USA Networks in 1998. At the end of the year the company took over PolyGram and Universal Music Group became the largest music company in the world.  The Seagram collaborated with Vivendi and Canal in June 2000 and today Universal Studios is a part of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company.
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The History Of Warner Bros

Based in Burbank, California Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. is one of the largest producers of television programs and films. The other companies which are a part of Warner Bros. are Warner Bros. Studios, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Home Video, Warner Bros. Animation, The CW Television Network and DC Comics. The founders of the studio were the Warner Brothers - Harry Warner, Albert Warner, Sam Warner and Jack L. Warner. The first three brothers started with projecting movies in the Ohio and Pennsylvania. They bought their first theater the Cascade in 1903. They also founded Duquesne Amusement and Supply Company for distribution purpose in Pittsburg.

They began film production by the onset of World War I and they soon opened the Warner Bros. studio in 1918. Sam and Jack Warner were into film production and the other two brothers handled finance and distribution. Their first big success came after the creation of the character "Rin Tin Tin". It became so popular that it was used in twenty six subsequent movies. They bought the pioneer Vitagraph Company, which had presence all over the nation, with the help of loan taken from Goldman Sachs. They also took over many radio stations and also constructed many theaters.  They incorporated music and special effects in their production and were the first ones to start talking pictures.

The Warner Bros. bought the Stanley Company and gained shares and control of the First National Pictures and the merger was named as A Warner Bros. - First National Picture. After the merger their first all-talking and all-color film caused the whole industry to change overnight. They made many musicals after that and after a point of time, the audience wanted a change. The production head Darryl F. Zanuck now concentrated on making more serious and realistic productions. These productions were said to be encourage gangsters and thus faced many censorships. The studios then changed their course of direction to historic dramas, melodramas and adaptation of best sellers to avoid scissors of censor. Though the Warner Bros. were ruling the industry for a while, MGM slowly took over them after some time.

In 1930s, Warner Bros. took a plunge into cartoons with Looney Tones cartoons. They launched their own Warner Bros. Records in 1958 but by 1960s the motion pictures were on a decline. Finally they decided to sell the studio to Seven Arts Productions and the company was renamed Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. Steve Ross purchased this company later and made Ted Ashley as the head of the studio and renamed it as Warner Bros. Pictures. Warner Bros. joined with Columbia Pictures for film distributions till 1988 and then made a joint venture with Walt Disney Pictures till 1993. Along with Tribune Company of Chicago they launched The WB Network in 1995.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Dawson's Creek"," Smallville", "7th Heaven" and" Charmed" caught the eye of millions of people. 7th Heaven went for eleven seasons making it the longest running family drama and Charmed went for eight seasons making it the longest running drama with actresses in the lead. CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. replaced The WB Network with The CW Television Network. They obtained rights to produce the famous Harry Potter series in the end of 1990s and the first Harry Potter movie was released in 2001 and till date a total of four Harry Potter movies have been released.
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History of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

The California based Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation formed after the merger of two companies Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures in 1935. Darryl F. Zanuck, Raymond Griffith, William Goetz and Joseph Schenck started the Twentieth Century Pictures in 1933 and the Fox Film Corporation's founder was William Fox who founded it in the year 1915.

William Fox built many theaters and created many legends in his impressive career. Sound Fox bought the rights of a German film sound processing technique and Fox was able to produce movies with music and effect track in 1926. The company was growing and more land was required for expanding. He bought around three hundred acre of land in Beverly Hills where he built the Movietone City.  After the death of his rival, Marcus Loew, William thought of buying Loew's Inc. It had nearly two hundred theaters and also MGM studios under it. The deal was made and the companies were officially merged in 1929. But the owner of MGM studios, Louis B. Mayer, wasn't happy with this idea and he revolted by calling on the Justice Department's anti-trust unit and using political influence. Luck wasn't on William's side and he was injured in a car crash and by the time he was back to normal again the stock market crashed and he was totally bankrupt. He lost all his fortune and was even had to go to jail. The only way out was to merge with another larger company. This is when the merger of Twentieth Century and Fox took place. Fox had nearly two hundred theaters under its belt, but at that time the Twentieth Century was in better financial condition, so the name of the new company was Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, which began functioning on May 31, 1935. Schenck became the chief executive and Zanuck was the head of production. The leading actor of this company Will Rogers was killed in a plane crash and the leading actress Janet Gaynor also began losing popularity. Zanuck then decided to sign up new artists with some fresh talent. That was when Tyrone Power, Betty Grable, Henry Fonda, Sonja Henie, and Don Ameche became a part of the Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. They made many musical-dramas and movies on famous biographies, which became huge hit with the audiences.

The fortune of the company was rising rapidly and it became the third profitable studio of America, by overtaking RKO and MGM. During the World War II, Zanuck went to serve the country and his partner William Goetz took over the company. He made many lighthearted movies. But after Zanuck returned from the war, he wanted to produce some serious entertainment and made movies like "Gentleman's Agreement", "Pinky", "Wilson" and "Boomerang" which also fell into adult films category.

After the World War, public were more attracted to television. Fox started experimenting on new ideas so as to bring the crowd back to the theater. With the help of three projectors the movie was projected on a huge concave curve, which created the illusion of three-dimensional character. The effect was achieved without polarized glasses with the help of French anamorphic projection, and this feature was named Cinemascope.  They made other theater owners to switch to this technology and also bore the conversion costs. "The Robe" and "How to Marry a Millionaire" were the first experimental films using this technology. After seeing their success other rival studios also adopted this technique. Although this attracted audiences for a while the numbers started to diminish again by 1956. The same year Zanuck announced his resignation.

Buddy Adler fitted into the shoes of Darryl Zanuck but he also died after a year. Others who followed couldn't do anything to bring success to the company. Producer Walter Wagner convinced Elizabeth Taylor to star in "Cleopatra" and the movie proved to be a hit. Actress Marilyn Monroe was also roped in to work in "Something's Got to Give". But due to her untimely death the film was left uncompleted.  Other movies were also rushed and Spyros Skouras the successor of Buddy Adler wasn't able to manage the company properly. Zanuck returned back again and somehow made the directors to take him back. He made his son Richard Zanuck the president. At first Zanuck was able to give big hits like "The Sound of Music" but his credential were questioned again there string of flops after that. Eventually he was removed from the company and president Dennis Stanfill and production head Alan Ladd, Jr. pulled the company back. Many investors joined the bandwagon and great hits were produced ever after that.
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A Bio of Clark Gable

William Clark Gable who is popularly known as Clark Gable was born on February 1, 1901 in a small town called Cadiz in Ohio. Clark Gable was also known by nicknames such "Gabe" and "The King". Clark Gable had five marriages. The first two ended in divorce with Josephine Dillon and Ria Langham respectively. The third marriage took place with Carole Lombard but that too was short lived as she died after three years of marriage. Clark Gable married Sylvia Ashley nearly 7 years after the death of his third wife. But that too ended within 3 years of marriage. His last wife survived Clark Gable when he died of a heart attack on November 16, 1960.

Clark Gable's had a miserly childhood. He was only seven months old when his mother passed away. He quit his school at the age of 16 and began working in a tire factory in Akron, Ohio. Still his tough days were not over. He worked in stock companies, oil fields and sold ties. It was after watching the play The Bird of Paradise that he wanted to be an actor. In the year 1924 Clark Gable was able to reach Hollywood somehow with the help of Josephine Dillon who was a theater manager of Portland, Oregon who also coached him on acting. Josephine Dillon who later on became his first wife who was twelve years senior to him played an important role in helping Clerk Gable enter Hollywood.

Lionel Barrymore the famous actor and the director recommended Gable to MGM's Irving Thalberg that he be screen tested. After the screening Irving Thalberg was not impressed particularly with his looks. But the studio eventually hired him after several screen tests in 1930. He worked as a co-actor with Joan Crawford in 1931 film Dance, Fools, Dance. Public liked his on screen chemistry with Jean Harlow in Red Dust in 1932 which took to top of the popularity chart. There was a spat between Gable and MGM as refused to do assignment for which he was heavily punished by loaning him out to low rent paying Columbia Pictures. Again his destiny wanted him to be a star, working with Columbia Pictures in Frank Capra's "It happened One Night" Gabel won an Oscar which was one of the best romantic comedies to be ever produced.

He was called back by MGM with far more intense roles in movies like "Mutiny on the Bounty" in 1935 and "Gone with the Wind" in 1939 for which he was nominated to Oscar for best actor role. Gable left Hollywood for three years after his third wife Carole Lombard died in a plane crash along with her mother. He joined Army Corps and served Europe during World War II. He starred in "Adventure" in 1945, which was highly promoted, as his comeback movie. But the film had a lukewarm response. MGM thought that Gable's salary is too high and thus did not renew his contract with the studio. He starred in many unnoticeable films there on during 1940's and 1950's. During the filing of his last movie "Misfits" in 1961 he announced that he is going to become a father. But to his misfortune he passed away without seeing his son. Clark Gable was laid to rest in the shrine he built for his third wife Carole Lambord and her mother in their memory. He may be gone but to us he remains a legend even to this day and forever.
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A bio of Charlie Chaplin

What could be said about this great and prolific actor? An article isn't sufficient to describe the life of this immortal legend. A library of books written on him may still fall short of portraying the life of this never to be forgotten hero of Hollywood who gave innumerable memorable movies to us. Though he rose to fame mostly due to his silent movies but he conveyed so many things that many actors couldn't do through speech. Charles Spencer Chaplin popularly known as Charlie Chaplin was born in Walworth, London, U.K. on April 16, 1889. The people had given him nick names like Charlie, Charlot and The Little Tramp.

Charlie Chaplin was born in the family of entertainers. His parents Charles and Hannah Chaplin were musical entertainers. No wonder why he took to stage so early. He was only five years old when he had to sing a song on his mother's behalf as she became ill. There was no stopping this boy who toured in a musical called "The Eight Lancaster Lads" at the age of eight. The wonder kid continued his marvelous work appearing in "Giddy Ostende" at London's Hippodrome. After that he worked with Fred Karno who had an English Vaudeville Troupe until the age of twenty-four. The troupe also brought him to New York in 1921 at the age of twenty one. He got his first break in December 1913 with Mack Sennet of Keystone. He moved to Hollywood, California the every next month to begin his long carrier both as actor and director. Charlie Chaplin's first movie was "Making a Living" which released in February 1914. He acted and directed about thirty-five films with Keytone before moving to Essanay in 1915 where he did another fourteen films. Then he signed up with Mutual in 1916 and did another 12 films. He worked with Mutual until 1917. Then again next year he joined First National, which was later, acquired by Warner Bros. After a year i.e. in the year 1919 Charlie Chaplin formed United Artists collaborating with Mary Pickford, D.W. Griffith and Douglas Fairbanks. Then he gave his first ever full-length movie "The Kid" in 1921 produced under the banner of United Artists which was directed by him.

Charles Chaplin won a special award in 1929 Oscar Awards for his excellence in Writing, Producing, Directing and Acting for the movie "The Circus" which was released in 1928. Charlie Chaplin has the premiere of his 1931 movie "City Lights" in London where he stayed until 1932 and then returned to U.S. Chaplin's next movie was five years called "Modern Times which was released in 1936. The movie was one of the biggest all time hits. He made another movie after four years by name "The Great Dictator" in 1940 in which he portrayed as Hitler, which was criticized by many. But the film created a stir at the box office and also won many awards. He made Monsieur Verdouz in 1947 and released a talkie in 1952 called "Limelight" which is still remembered as his best talkie.

Chaplin had his share of controversies too. The U.S. Authorities accused him of spreading communism through his movies. After being devastated by these allegations he left for Switzerland. While being outside U.S. he produced two more films "A King in New York" in 1957 and his last film "A Countess from Hong Kong" in 1967. It saw a bad end to this wonderful artist's works when it flopped on the box office, which was the only failure that the great actor had in his professional career. He tried his hands at new scores in 1969 including "The Kid" and "The Circus". Academy Award honored him for his contribution to the film industry in 1972. Queen Elizabeth II knighted Charlie Chaplin in 1975. Charlie Chaplin ascended to peace on Christmas Day of 1977 while in his sleep leaving an era of artistic brilliance behind him and cherished memories to the avid viewers of his movies.
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Asking Hollywood Celebrities For Donation

Hollywood celebrities live in a glamour world; an attracting glamour world. If you plan to contact Hollywood celebrities for business, personal or charitable reasons, online is the best way to do so.

By browsing related websites or through search engines, you can have your desirable celebrities' contacts. There are basically thousands of sites available online that possess Hollywood celebrities' contacts.

You just need to spend some time online to find the contact you are looking for.

If you are planning for requesting money for a charity from the celebrities, you should request the manager or the agent. It is the manager, who decide whether the celebrity will donate or not.

However, before asking for a donation, find out whether the celebrity is a supporter of that particular charity or not. You can also ask the agent.

The Agent is mainly the money guy, so he is important. He has good relations with the celebrity, so he can peruse your request.

These managers and agents have their own websites. You need to carefully find out the agent who deals with your selected celebrity and knock him.

You should write them in a polite tone, explaining why you think that the celebrity should donate to your charity. If you have done your homework properly, you should know whether the selected celebrity has donated in similar charities before. If the celebrity has done such donations before, you can confidently put your request.

Most of the Hollywood celebrities have their fan clubs. Fan clubs have websites. These sites surely possess contacts of the celebrities along with information that will give you an idea whether the celebrity will donate to your cause or not. So, it is better to go through the fan sites before requesting.
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A Bio of Michael Jackson

Born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, Michael Jackson was the seventh child of the family of nine. They were six brothers and three sisters - Sigmund, Toriano, Jermaine, Marlon, Michael, Steven, Rebbie, Janet and La-Toya. He started his career by becoming the lead singer of the band Jackson 5, at the age of five. Jackie, Jermaine, Tito and Marlon were the other band members.

They played at local parties and clubs and also entered competitions which allowed them to grow as a band. They got their big first big break in 1968 when Bobby Taylor and The Vancouvers heard about the Jackson 5 and got them auditioned for Berry Gordy of Motown Records. They were signed immediately and they moved to California. "I want you back", "The love you save" and "I'll be there" were among their first few singles which became huge hits of America. They made fourteen albums with Motown till 1976 and Michael Jackson recorded four other albums. They later signed up with Epic and their group name was changed to The Jacksons, as Jackson 5 was the copyright of Motown. They made a total of six albums with Epic many of them being great hits until 1984.

Michael met Quincy Jones on the sets of "The Wiz", which was also his film debut. He played the role of crow along with Diana Ross who played Dorothy. He made "Off The Wall" with Quincy, who was the producer. It was the first album whose all four songs were US #1 singles and was a hit all over the world. "Thriller" was the largest selling album of all time, which was released in 1982. Over fifty million copies of the album were sold worldwide and the album had seven hits.

Michael Jackson laid great emphasis on the videos. He called them as short films of his albums and chose the best producers and directors to work with. He even used special effects and the latest technologies, his hit song Billie Jean was a good example of this. Excellent choreography was combined with detailed make-up to make this fourteen minute long video. This short film boosted the sales of the album, Thriller and it became the world's largest selling home video.

The trademark moonwalk was performed by Michael Jackson for the first time in the year 1984. He won eight Grammies in one night for the album "Thriller" and the narrative work on ET Storybook, breaking all records. He announced, on December 9, 1984 that he is splitting with The Jacksons on his last concert of The Jackson's Victory tour. After that he released his next album in 1987 named "Bad".  Michael also wrote his autobiography in 1987 which talked in detailed about his personal life and singing career. He was given the title of the Artist of the Decade for his albums "Thriller" and "Bad". He released his fourth album "Dangerous" in collaboration with Sony Music in 1991. After his first solo world tour in 1987 he took off for another world tour in 1992. His song "Heal the World" was written on the pages of history and won the hearts of many. In the same year he started Heal the World Foundation for the homeless and orphan children of the world.

His marriage with Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of the legendry Elvis Presley lasted for only one and a half year and they were divorced in 1996. During that period he released his fifth album "History" in 1995. To promote that album this time he took a world tour for two years. Debbie Rowe was his second wife and also his nurse when he was getting treatment for skin disorder. They had a child named Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. who was born on February 13, 1997. The next year they were gifted with a daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson who was born on April 3, 1998.

"Blood on the Dance Floor" was his sixth solo album, which was released in 1997. He also made a thirty eight minute short film named Ghost to promote his album, in which he played five different characters. He reunited with his the Jacksons on his concert in New York to celebrate his thirteenth anniversary as a solo artist. Many other superstars shared the stage with him like Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Shaggy and others.  He released" Invisible" and "You Rock My World in 2001".   Jackson had his own share of controversies in recent years when he was accused of child abuse charges. After going through years of trauma he was finally found not guilty. Jackson now lives in a Middle Eastern country called Bahrain with his brother Jermaine far away from the shadow of the public and God only knows when he will return to the music again.
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A Bio of Cary Grant

One of the greatest actors that Hollywood has ever seen Cary Grant was born on January 18, 1904 in Horfield, Bristol, U.K. His original birth name was Archibald Alexander Leach. Cary Grant was a tall, handsome and Charismatic person. No wonder why everyone during that era wanted to be like him. The actors had an average lower middle class childhood. It got even tougher after his mother was sent to a mental institution after she fell mentally ill when he was only 9 years old. But this fact had not been told to him until he reached his late twenties. He dropped out from school at the age of fourteen to join Bob Pender's troupe of comedians by lying about his age and forging the signature of his father on the letter he submitted to join the troupe.

The troupe enabled him to learn many skills including pantomime and acrobatics. He toured many English counties with the Pender Troupe. The destiny beckoned him and he was selected to go to the U.S. along with seven other Pender Troupe boys. Cary performed in the show called Good Times on Broadway, which ran for good 456 performances. This gave him enough opportunity to show his talent and to get used to the country. Then he left the Troupe and gave a screen test at Paramount Pictures in 1931. This is when he changed his name to Cary Grant from Archibald Alexander Leach.

Cary Grant debuted in Hollywood in "This is the Night" which was released in 1932. After this movie Cary Grant was the automatic choice for Mae West in her movies "I'm no Angel" and "She done him wrong", both releasing in the year 1933. But the real break came to him in the movie "Sylvia Scarlett" in the year 1935 with the actress Katharine Hepburn, the actress who happened to be his co-star in many of his forthcoming movies. It is with the help of this movie that Grant proved his mettle and was looked at as an actor to look forward to and tipped as the next Hollywood star. After his contract with Paramount Pictures came to an end in 1937 he decided not to join any Studio, which was standard at that time, and work independently by choosing his own scripts to work for. The move resulted in Grant giving some of the finest and most memorable comedies ever. Some of his famous comedies include "Bringing up Baby" and "Holiday", both released in the year 1938 with none other actress Katharine Hepburn; "My Favorite Wife" and "The Awful Truth" in the year 1940 with Iren Dunne; "Gunga Din in 1939 with Victor McLagen and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.; "His Girl Friday" in 1940 with Rosalind Russell and "The Philadelphia Story" in 1940 with Jimmy Stewart and Katharine Hepbum again.

Grant retired at the age of 62 from movies to take his new role of a father. Grant had a rocky married life. He was married five times. All his marriages ended in divorce except his last when he was survived by his wife after his death in 1986. He had only 1 child, a daughter from his fourth wife Dyan Cannon. He had a very close friendship with Randolph Scott for which many doubted him as a homosexual, which apparently he wasn't. According to some of the people who were close to him say that he shared a brotherly relationship with him and thus should not be doubted as something sexual. Grant was nominated twice for the best actor in Oscar but never won any award. But he was honored with a special Oscar in 1969. Though Grant died due to a stroke in November 29, 1986 he left behind a legacy of comedy movies behind for generations to come. The Empire Magazine of U.K. ranked Cary Grant the 7th most popular movie stars of all time, which he truly deserves.
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A Bio of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger born in Austria is a very versatile actor along with being a great bodybuilder and now a politician and the Governor of California. He was the second son of his parents. His father being a police officer taught him great values and brought him up in a very strict and disciplined environment.

Arnold had a great sports personality like his father. He had an ambition to be a body builder from his childhood and thus he began bodybuilding at the age of fifteen when he joined the soccer team of Austria. At the age of eighteen, in 1965 he joined the army and that's when he became serious about his body and started taking a strict diet. While in the army he took part in the Mr. Junior Europe contest in 1965 and won the competition. From then on there was no looking back for him. He won enormous number of professional titles after which he went to take part in the 1968 Mr. Universe competition. He won that one too and also became the youngest winner, at the age of twenty. He even won the Mr. Olympia titles consecutively for six years but lost to Sergio Oliva when he competed for the first time. He was given the nickname "The Austrian Oak" for his great body. He then left the competition saying that he wanted to give a chance to other talents too. George Butler made a documentary on Arnold's body building training named Pumping Iron. Besides body building being his ultimate dream, he entered Hollywood with his first movie "Hercules Goes to New York" in the year 1970. He won the Golden Globe Award for best new actor for his performance in the movie Stay Hungry, in 1976. His character in "Conan" movie required him to train vigorously and all the horse riding, sword training and running made him so strong that he required only eight weeks training for the competition. This time too, he won it. But it led to a controversy that the competition didn't support talent but popularity.

Arnold's movies didn't click at the box office until he did "Terminator" in 1984, which was followed by other hits like "Twins", "Total Recall", "Commando" and "Kindergarten Cop". He started a construction firm whose profits were used to fund another small business of mail order of fitness material such as books and videocassettes. He even got a degree in business and international economics from the Wisconsin University to take his business to a further higher level. Within few years was living a luxurious life. He even wrote articles for body building magazines, Muscle & Fitness, and Flex. After being appointed as the governor he was promoted as the executive editor of both the magazines.

His first affair was with Barbara Outland Baker who was an English teacher but they split in 1974. After that Arnold dated Maria Shriver, niece of former president John F. Kennedy for eight years and then got married to her in 1986 and they live together ever since then and the couple have four children. In August 2003 he announced his decision to stand for the elections of Governor of California. He was elected on October 7, 2003 and he replaced Gary Davis with nearly 3.4 million votes in his favor. He was re-elected again in November 2006. He is a republican. He was ranked among the top hundred people who shaped the world by time. He continues to perform his duty as the Governor of California and is being lauded for bringing in many reforms.
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The Fashion of Celebrities

A lot of younger girls, and even some older ones, are hopelessly smitten with celebrity fashions. Though I don't think there is anything wrong with this, it can be a problem. Some girls are trying to wear celebrity fashions that are entirely too much for them. When a twelve-year-old girl has a thong peeking up above her jeans, you have to cringe a bit, and wonder why her mother let her out of the door that morning. Sex sells, but should it be selling to that young of an age group?

There is something about celebrity fashions that catches the imaginations of teenagers and adults alike. They always have the latest fashions, and celebrities are worshiped in our world. They have the money to buy the newest fashions, and they have to keep one step ahead. There is nothing wrong with wanting to wear celebrity fashions, but you should know that there is a good way to go about it, and after that, you have crossed the line into the absurd. You really have to consider what you look like when putting something on, celebrity look or not. Many of the clothes are meant to be larger than life, and they should stay on television and out of your wardrobe.

Celebrity fashions are often dictated by fashion designers. When it comes to big events, most celebrities don't even pick out or pay for their own clothing. Designers give them dresses to wear. If you want to get that particular dress, I hope you have a lot of money to blow on clothing. Another thing to consider is lifestyle. A celebrity is expected to be larger than life (take Cher for example) but most of us end up looking ridiculous if we copy some of the celebrity fashions you see in the magazines. Some things should stay on the pages of a magazine and should never be worn to the grocery store.

If you like celebrity fashions, you should make a few adjustments before you go shopping. Don't copy anyone, because you want to be yourself first and foremost. If you like certain celebrity fashions, you can incorporate them into your own look. Don't be a look alike, be an original. Take your favorite parts of celebrity fashions and find a way to make them work within your wardrobe while keeping your own personality and taste involved. You may find you love this more than following the celebrity fashions to the letter. Nothing is more fashionable than being yourself.
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Celebrity Photo

This is the celebrity age. We are obsessed with celebrities and greedily consume newspaper and magazine images of them. The celebrity photo is big business and photographers can make a lot of money when they snap one. The paparazzi wait for hours on end outside nightclubs, to get a picture of someone famous coming out drunk or the worse for wear. Some of these snappers are quite shameless and deliberately provoke the celebrity into reacting aggressively. They know it will make a photo that a picture editor will want. Some will stalk a celebrity until they get the image they want. The media builds them up and then tries to knock them down again. Sitting up trees with a long lens to shoot a celebrity photo is a strange way to make a living.

A great deal of soul searching went on when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris. Although the photographers who had been chasing her on that tragic night were officially cleared of any blame, a lot of people thought that they had played a significant part in the events of that night. The driver was speeding through the tunnel, having been followed at speed by photographers keen to get the ultimate celebrity photo of Diana and her boyfriend Dodi. It has been reported that some photographers took photos of Diana after the crash and before the emergency services arrived. It is common practice for the paparazzi to chase celebrities through traffic and a similar incident will probably happen again.

Of course, it's not just the paparazzi that snap the celebrities. There is a long tradition, from the days of silent screen star Valentino, to publicize celebrities with a photo shoot. Many photographers have gained a reputation from the celebrity photo and some photos have passed into legend. In the 1930s and 1940s, the movie studios wanted their glamorous stars to pout for the camera in gorgeous dresses. Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland posed for the magazine covers like Hollywood royalty. More informal photographs came in from the 1950s, leaving us with some wonderful moments. No one knew how legendary James Dean would become when he was captured walking down the streets of New York, hunched up against the rain.

Sometimes, a photograph can become like an historical document. One such celebrity photo is the one taken of John Lennon and Yoko Ono that shows an unclothed Lennon in a fetus position, lying beside Ono. This photograph was taken on the day of Lennon's murder and is very poignant to look at now.  The celebrity photo is with us to stay whether the celebrity is a willing participant or the hunted quarry of the paparazzi.
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Celebrities Online Overview

Hollywood stars are those whom we adore and would love to see at least online. But when you think about contacting them online it really makes our senses blink.

But this is true even though many of them do not know the ways for it. Internet has conquered the world and there is nothing that could be done online.

Searching on the internet reveals you many sites which help you gain the address and other contact info relevant to the personality you are looking for.

While surfing you have to choose reliable sites as there are many of them who are fraudulent and aims at provide the incorrect information. On the other hand, some sites links to some illegal sites which open up leading to damaging you system as such as it might be some virus or porn sites. So always be careful while getting the information of stars.

Online you can access their address and also get their mail ids and then connecting to them is not such a big deal. There are many of them who respond to each and every email and mails that they receive. You might be one among them if you are lucky enough!

Sending emails and mails could be a pleasure for the person himself as it can increase his spirit and also contact you in meantime as you have been the fan for long.

Trying can gain you a lot as to be in contact with them for long. You can search for even more ways on the internet.
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Celebrity Gossip: Is it for Real?

There's certainly no shortage of celebrity gossip on the planet. The question is, if you were the talked-about celebrity, how much of what is in print is true? There are rumors of this and that which take on a life of their own in a New York minute. The celebrity person has little, if any control over what is said, suspected or verified. However, celebrity gossip is a hot topic and fans can't wait to read what their favorite star has - or perhaps has not - been doing, with whom and where and when.

The average fan's thirst for knowing what celebrities are up to borders on the insatiable. Celebrity magazines and websites are more than willing to oblige. Celebrity gossip is fuel for conversation, at the very least. Just think what you can share with your friends, if you're the first to hear.

If the truth be known, the celebrity gossip gristmill is quite the cottage industry. Unless the gossip is outrageously unsubstantiated or particularly over the line, few celebrities bother to sue over what shows up in print. It's hardly worth the trouble. Besides, if you're worth gossiping about, you get lots of free publicity and the fans get plenty of entertainment.

It does make you wonder. Fans must certainly know that not everything they read can be true. Celebrities do have exciting lives, much lived under the spotlights of eager photographers and reporters. Probably most fans know that celebrity gossip should be taken with a grain of salt, but, after all, it's entertainment.

Most fans never meet the object of their attention and so are satisfied to fantasize about these beautiful people, moving from an agonizing ordeal to a mysterious tryst or scandalous behavior in a big name club. Even a simple lunch date can result in a full page article, detailing how one celebrity was having lunch with her mother, when rumor had it they hadn't been speaking. When the magazine, entertainment show or website publishes the story, millions of people eagerly read. It's something to talk about.

Even though there's likely more fantasy and speculation than fact to most of the celebrity gossip in circulation at any given time, the reporters and photographers who track down the stories are very well compensated. Why? Because the stories sell to an adoring and attentive audience. As a hobby or pasttime, it's all in fun. No one really takes it all as gospel. If celebrity lives were as ordinary as ours, it wouldn't be any fun at all!
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Hollywood Super Stars

I would like someone to explain to me the obsession that Americans seem to have with Hollywood stars. There is something amazing to me about what goes on in the minds of some people. It's a sad state of affairs when the news pages are filled with news about Hollywood stars and the real news seems to be an afterthought. Where are our priorities? Why are we so obsessed with the private lives of those we pay to entertain us? Are we so bored with our own lives that we must peek into the lives of others, or perhaps is it that we want to see the rich and privileged get knocked down a peg or two?

Though people have always been interested in the lives of Hollywood stars, it was never like it is now. There are photographers who make a living following these poor people around hoping to get a unique shot of them doing something they shouldn't be doing. So many people seem to forget that Hollywood stars are just regular people with a really great job. Other than that, they are human and they deserve to be treated as such. You pay to see them in the movie, but you are not entitled to see them on a private vacation. Give them the same space you want others to give you.

Imagine this if you will. You are on a vacation after working hard all year. You are with your family, and you want nothing more than to spend some relaxing time together. Sounds heavenly right? Then imagine that there are men you don't know camped out in the bushes outside of your room. Every single time you emerge from your room they start snapping pictures of you and your family. If you don't come out, they will try to snap pictures through an open window. That doesn't sound like much fun does it? This is what a lot of Hollywood stars have to put up with when they do anything. Yes, there is a price for fame, but I think we have lost our collective minds.

I guess when you see enough of a Hollywood star you start to feel like you know them. That's a normal reaction. Even though you really don't know them, they are a familiar presence. That might lead to curiosity about the Hollywood stars and their lives. However, there is a point where it goes to far. They do interviews and they make appearances and let you know what they want to share. Who are we to dig deeper? Though I don't like some of the Hollywood stars that are shoved down my throat I still don't think they deserve most of what they get. Let them be. They are really just people, I promise. There is nothing extra special there besides just being human.
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Contacting Hollywood Celebrities Online

Everyone loves Hollywood celebrities. Glamour world attracts us just like water attracts fish! We often get obsessed with this glamour world and the Hollywood celebrities, which sometimes results in us wanting to contact them. Contacting with these 'out of reach' Hollywood celebrities can be hard. But if you know where to look for, and whom to ask for celebrity's contact and schedule, things become easier.

First you need to decide, whose address or contacts you are actually looking for. You can then go collecting the agent's contact address or e-mail address online. The agent will work as a bridge between you and your loved celebrity. Collecting the manager's contact information will do the same. If you can convince them, you move very close to talking or even meeting the celebrity. The Agent is basically the money guy, so he is important. He has good relations with a lot of celebrities. Therefore hitting on an agent might open doors of several celebrities. These agents have their own websites. You need to carefully find the agent who deals with your selected celebrity and get closer to him.

Searching for the celebrity's manager is also a good thing to do. Managers generally take care of all aspects of the celebrity's professional career including hiring agents, publicists and lawyers. Major business decisions and related matters go through the managers. Therefore, if you can find contacts of the precious manager, you are one step ahead in meeting or talking with the celebrity. You will easily find the managers online. Just send them an e-mail or a letter. In your letter, explain why you are actually contacting that particular celebrity.
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A Bio of Tom Hanks

Born on July 9, 1956 in Concord, California Thomas Jeffrey Hanks ala Tom Hanks is one of the gifted Hollywood stars with immense acting talent and perfection. Tom Hanks did not have the happiest of childhoods, as his parents got divorced when he was only 5 years old. Tom was third of four children born to Amos and Janet Hanks.  His parents were avant-gardes in the development of marriage dissolution law in California. He moved around with his father changing schools and changing stepmothers and he was just confused.  After finally settling down in Oakland, CA Tom began taking part in high school plays. He continued to act in plays while attending California State University. Then he left the university to pursue his acting career further.

Hanks went to the city of opportunities, New York. This is when he got married to actress/producer Samantha Lewes on January 24, 1978. The marriage lasted nearly 9 years and they got divorced on March 19, 1987. Tom Hank's first break as an actor came in a low budget movie called "He Knows You're Alone" in 1980 where he was reportedly paid just $800 for the movie. After few months he moved to Los Angeles and co-starred in the TV Sitcom "Bosom Buddies" where he portrayed a man forced to dress as a woman in order to stay at a women's only hotel. The show didn't touch cord with the viewers and was shelved after only two seasons. He also worked in TV Series like "Taxi" and "Family Ties". His acting career remained silent until 1984 when he got a big break in a Disney Film's comedy called "Splash" which was about a mermaid in 1984. The movie proved to be a box office hit and the audience liked the charm and comic timing of the actor. Tom Hank was reportedly paid $70,000 for this movie.

Hanks didn't carry the success that he got after "Splash" for too long. He appeared in many comedies which went unnoticed until he starred in "Big" in 1988 where he gave a powerful performance portraying the role of a child in a grown up man's body for which he also won a Oscar nomination. He became darling to the audience's hearts and that is the reason why they ignored the flop movie "Bonfire of the Vanities" in 1990 and looked forward to his upcoming movies rather. He once again made a comeback with the movie "Penny Marshall's A League of Their Own" in 1992. The success of this movie fetched him a role in another comedy called "Sleepless in Seattle" in 1993, which was a huge hit at the box office.  He also portrayed the role of a homosexual in 1993 movie "Philadelphia" for which he won an Oscar for best actor. He won an Oscar for best actor again the next year for the movie "Forrest Gump" in 1994 achieving a rare double only the second time in the history of academy awards.

The actor had a wonderful run with movies like "Apollo 13" in 1995, "Toy Story" in 1995 and "Saving Private Ryan" in 1998. His recent movies include "Toy Story 2" in 1999, "Cast Away" in 2000 for which he again won an Oscar nomination and controversial "The Da Vinci Code" in 2006. Tom Hanks is a family man married to actress Rita Wilson who he met on the sets of the movie "Volunteers" in 1985. Tom Hanks continues his professional life hosting "Saturday Night Live". Entertainment Weekly has reportedly chosen him as the only actor right now who is worth more than $20 million. Surely with the bundle of talent that this actor has and his selective approach to movies there is no match to this actor.
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Auditioning for American Idol

As everyone knows American Idol is a television program that has singers competing with each other to win the coveted title of American Idol. The show was conceptualized on the lines of Pop Idol from U.K. Even now American Idol is produce by U.K. producers Ken Warwick and Simon Fuller who also produced Pop Idol. The first ever episode of American Idol debuted on June 11, 2002 with its first season attracting a lot of enthusiasm around the country and record television viewers. The show aims to discover the best young singing talent in the country through a nationwide search for the singers. The search is usually performed in six to seven cities every season. The candidates are filtered into few hundreds from thousands. The contestants are further filtered in Hollywood round and ultimately 24 contestants go to the semifinals of which 12 are males and 12 females. The contestants are further reduced to 12 in the final round. From there on a singer is eliminated from bottom three contestants each week until the last episode when only two singers remain from which the winner and the runner up are selected.

Many youngsters dream about getting a break in American Idol and also try hard to get there. Some fail and some come out with flying colors. But we should realize there can be only winner at the end the day and everyone performing in the program cannot be an American Idol. Apart from the singing talent one also need to have the personality to win the competition. In addition to having a beautiful voice you need to have the rhythm and command over different tunes. Knowing how to dance along with singing is also a huge advantage over others who can't dance.

If you are planning to audition for American Idol do not forget to read and if possible memorize the information provided on fox television's idol website. There are lot of frequently asked questions and answers on this website. You can clear many misconceptions you have by reading the information provided. The eligibility criterion to get into the competition is that you should be a citizen or permanent resident of the country and you should be between the ages of 16 and 29.

Some of the previous winners of the American Idol gives an advise to the aspiring contestants to really put everything you can into the song you are singing. You should feel the lyrics when you are singing a song and the expressions should show on your face. Also they advise rehearse the songs you choose over and over again until you perfect it and sing the same song in front of the judges with full confidence and capture their attention and imagination and leave them wanting to hear more form you. Remember focus you attention on getting though the current round and each time you make it into next round you have an extra chance to show your talent and you are that much closer to the crown.

Also remember you may be asked about your role models. Try to come up with two or three names. And how you describe them? You should fine tune your verbiage and if possible try to come up with some interesting words to describe those personalities but only if you are comfortable, do no use it if you feel that you will end up getting embarrassed. Also be prepared to tell about yourself concisely. Part of the job is to dress well, get fashionable if possible but never under dressed. Also be honest, respectful and truthful to the judges. It is also seen that the judges often like contestants who dedicate songs to their friends or family members. Also taking few voice-training classes greatly increases the chances of making it into American Idol. If one follows the tips discussed above there should be no stopping you in landing on the sets of American Idol and who knows you might be the next American Idol.
 
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