The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It originates on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mainland peak, draining the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, before flowing through the Alpine National Park and the Snowy River National Park in Victoria and emptying into Bass Strait.

While the river's course and surroundings have remained almost entirely unchanged, the majority of it being protected by the Snowy River National Park, its flow was drastically reduced in the mid 20th century, to less than 1% (as measured at Jindabyne), after the construction of four large dams (Guthega, Island Bend, Eucumbene, and Jindabyne) and many smaller diversion structures in its headwaters in New South Wales, as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

The river has been immortalised in cultural folklore through the poem The Man from Snowy River, written by Banjo Paterson in 1890, which formed the basis of many subsequent works in film, TV and music theatre.

Geography

The main headwaters of the Snowy River, which include the Eucumbene, Gungarlin and Thredbo Rivers and many smaller alpine watercourses, are predominantly located in Kosciuszko National Park and meet near Jindabyne. From this point the river winds  southwards through inaccessible country, comprising private lands and the Snowy River National Park, eventually reaching the sea in the Snowy Inlet, at Marlo, near Orbost.

In New South Wales, the river runs through the Snowy Monaro Regional Council. The tributaries of the Snowy River below Jindabyne include: the Mowamba, Wullwye Creek, Maclaughlin, Delegate, Jacobs, Pinch, Suggan Buggan, Deddick, Buchan, Rodger and Brodribb rivers. At a pinch point named Hutchings pass, water flows uphill.

In 1986, Jennings and Mabbutt mapped four geomorphic classes in the Snowy River Basin; (i) Australian Alps; (ii) the Monaro Tablelands; (iii) the East Victorian Uplands and (iv) the Gippsland Plains. Each class is physically distinct from one another.

Rainfall
The general distribution of rainfall over the Snowy River drainage basin (catchment) is controlled by orographic effects. There is a strong rainfall gradient across the basin.

The highest average annual rainfall is recorded in the higher alpine reaches of the Snowy Catchment, with  recorded in areas above . The lowest average rainfall is recorded in the rain shadow affected north eastern catchment on the Monaro Plains around Dalgety, with average rain below . The lower eastern sub-catchments are more strongly influenced by coastal rainfall patterns. For example, peak rainfall in the Delegate catchment is strongly influenced by east coast lows, rather than the alpine dominated precipitation patterns in the upper Snowy River catchment. These local variations in rainfall result in distinctly different hydrology in the rivers across the Snowy River catchment.

Hydrology
The snow melt derived rivers in the Snowy Mountains typically have the lowest average stream flow in the months from November to June, with October having the largest monthly flows of the year, e.g., mean monthly flow for October at Dalgety was  prior to the Snowy Scheme. The large flows in September and October are derived from snowmelt and hydrologically it is one of the key aspects that defines these mountain waterways. Typically, Australian rivers can be defined as having highly variable river flows, with frequent zero flows even in humid areas due to the extreme age of soils and consequent extremely high water absorption to absorb minimal phosphorus via proteoid and similar root types. The mixed snow melt-rainfall rivers of the Snowy Mountains can be defined by strong seasonal patterns and remain permanent throughout the year, with no record of zero flow ever observed in the Lower Snowy. Prolonged base flows over the summer months are another feature of these types of rivers, driven by snowmelt derived groundwater.

In the lower reaches of the Snowy River catchment, the larger tributaries have a distinctly different flow regime to the snow melt rivers of the Alps. These tributaries are typically dominated by the winter rainfall and often have peak monthly flows a few months earlier than the snow melt tributaries. The peak monthly flows for these lower Snowy River tributaries occur in June through July. Additionally, the flow regime in the lower tributaries is far more variable and unpredictable.

Waterfalls
The Snowy River below Jindabyne Dam contains four major waterfalls; Stone Bridge Falls, Corrowong Falls, Snowy Falls and Pinch Falls. Potentially, many of these waterfalls act as barriers for the large scale movement of aquatic species in the main stem of the Snowy River.  The flows required to drown out the largest barrier, Snowy Falls, is potentially larger than the environmental water releases to the river via Jindabyne Dam.

Parklands and protected areas
Around 70–80% of the Snowy River's length is protected by national parks, these include, from upstream to downstream:
Kosciuszko National Park — New South Wales
Alpine National Park — Victoria
Snowy River National Park — Victoria

River ecology
The aquatic flora and fauna of the snowy mountain snow melt rivers have evolved with the predictable seasonal hydrological snow melt peaks and constant summer base flow conditions.  Many of these flora and fauna are coldwater specialists.

River habitat
The instream habitat of the Snowy River below Jindabyne has changed. The Snowy River sediment study: investigation into the distribution, transport and sources of sand in the Snowy River between Lake Jindabyne and Jarrahmond.  Department of Water Resources Victoria Report No. 81.</ref> Many of the in-stream features of a large upland river are not evident today.  The substrate was previously typified by a clean cobble stone substrate.  Today, the river channel has contracted and the substrate has a heavy cover of sediment, overlying much of the cobble stone riverbed.

The bushfires of 2002–03, added to this problem as large amounts of sediment and organic matter were deposited in the river via tributary inflows.  This input of sediment lead to the substrate becoming finer. This pattern of increased silt in the pools of rivers and streams has been observed across the Snowy Mountains following the bushfires.  These bushfires are likely to have a long lasting influence on these waterways.

Larger events are required to start to improve the condition of the river bed.  Events of  per day will start to move the unconsolidated fine particles of the riverbed. Events between  per day are important for conditioning the riffle habitats (i.e., a type of flowing water habitat).

The current poor condition of the river bed is one of the key factors inhibiting the aquatic fauna typical in a snow melt river.

Water quality
The mountain streams and rivers are typically low in nutrients and electrical conductivity. Conductivity is generally below 50 μS/cm.

Large dams can essentially influence downstream water quality via two key mechanisms, either by poor water quality released from the waters of the dam itself and reduced mixing of the river water column attributable to lower water velocities leading to anoxic conditions at the bottom of deep river pools.

Influence of Jindabyne Dam on water quality
Possibly the main influence on downstream water quality from Jindabyne Dam, is the influence on water temperature. Unlike many other dams where coldwater pollution is a concern, where water is released from the below the thermocline in the reservoir (i.e. the bottom water of the lake), the water is released from the surface waters of lake Jindabyne. The water temperature of the Snowy River downstream can reach temperatures of  in summer.

The Snowy River is on average 4 °C (7 °F) warmer than the surrounding unregulated snow melt rivers, with a peak difference of up to 8 °C (14 °F). The water temperature in spring appears to be the greatly warmer than the surrounding snow melt rivers.

Thermal stratification
Thermal stratification in the river reaches below Jindabyne is typically restricted to a few of the larger or deeper pools. In general thermal stratification is spatially restricted to the pools that are typically greater than  deep. Pools shallower than  have not displayed any thermal stratification.

Stratification can occur between October and March, but typically does not persist for very long in the Snowy River in the Jindabyne Gorge. Breakdown of thermal stratification is frequently driven by the cooling overnight air temperature. This region experiences a very large temperature range between day and night (i.e. diurnal temperature range).

Algae
Algae is present in the water column and on the bed of the Snowy River. The water column algae is called phytoplankton, whereas the riverbed algae is defined as periphyton (attached algae).

Riverbed algae
Much of the bed of the Snowy River below Jindabyne contains high levels of attached algae. These taxa are typically filamentous algae. In the snowy mountains rivers unaffected by water diversions, large stands of filamentous algae are uncommon.

Water column algae
During 2008–09, the river pools of Jindabyne Gorge and the Dalgety uplands were typically dominated by blue green algae. Two blue green algae Aphanotheca spp. and Aphanocaspa spp. comprise about 25% of the total abundance. However, these abundances are still under the guidelines and its unclear if this is solely related to river regulation, but also reflects other catchment inputs.

The composition of algae in the free flowing snow melt rivers are typically defined by diatoms. Over 58% of taxa are diatoms, with Fragilaria spp. being the most numerically abundant taxa.

Water bugs
The water bugs in the Snowy River differ from the bugs of the snowmelt rivers. Dams have been shown to have an adverse impact on the water bugs of rivers.

Caenid mayflies (riffles) and oligochaete worms (pool edges) are generally typical of the upland regulated Snowy River.  Other studies have also found greater densities of Caenidae mayflies in regulated rivers compared to unregulated rivers.  Reduced high flows and constant low flows in the upper Snowy River are likely to have favoured high densities of worms through the buildup of silt and organic matter in the pools.  Nichols et al. (2006) and Petts et al. (1993) also found greater densities of segmented worms associated with soft sediments and coarse organic debris in response to river regulation.  Chironomids were also numerically dominant in riffles sampled in the regulated Snowy River.  This response has been found in many other studies of regulated rivers and has been attributed to an increase of periphytic growth in riffles that increased overall habitat area and food availability.

Conoesucidae caddisflies (riffles), larval and adult elmids (riffles) and Oniscigastridae (pool edges) distinguished the snow melt rivers from regulated Snowy River.  Marchant and Hehir (2002) reported that AUSRIVAS models (>50% probability) predicted Conoesucidae and elmids to be present in the upper Snowy River, but these taxa were not found in their study.  The greater density of these taxa in snowmelt rivers compared the Snowy River is consistent with river regulation.

Marchant and Hehir attribute the absence of these taxa to dams acting as a barrier to drift and limiting recolonisation of these taxa and not to flow regulation. The upper Snowy River sites are all below the confluence of the Mowamba River which provides a pathway for recolonisation of the Snowy River.  Therefore, the reduced flow and altered flow regime is likely to be the primary cause of reduced densities of these taxa in the upper Snowy River rather than the barrier effects of Jindabyne Dam.  There is little information on the responses of Oniscigastridae to reduced flows and altered flow regimes, but it is probable that an elevated temperature regime combined with lack of suitable sandy edge habitat has reduced their densities in the Snowy River.

Fish
The fish assemblage of the Snowy River below Jindabyne are clearly divided into two components. This division is based on that which occurred in the upper catchment (above Snowy Falls) and that in the lower catchment (below Snowy Falls).

The major differences between the two zones were the low abundance or absence of diadromous migratory fish (except eels) and the greater abundance of short-finned eel and trout in the upper catchment, and the greater abundance of Australian smelt, congolli and long-finned eel below Snowy Falls. These upper and lower Snowy River zone differences were greater than the differences between un-regulated tributary streams and the highly regulated main channel of the Snowy River within either zone.  In the upper catchment, river blackfish, brown trout and short-finned eel were more abundant in un-regulated tributaries, whilst long-finned eel and goldfish were more abundant in the regulated upper part of the Snowy River. In the lower zone, eastern gambusia, long-finned eel, Australian smelt, short-finned eel and congolli were all more abundant in Snowy River while common galaxias and short-headed lamprey were more abundant at tributaries.

Flow thresholds below Jindabyne
River scientists are currently undertaking studies to determine the flow thresholds for a range of riverine processes. Some preliminary flow thresholds that have been developed include:

Further defining of ecological flow thresholds is currently in progress via modelling, field based studies, and flow trials. See Snowy Flow Response Monitoring and Modelling.

History of water management

Early history
The Snowy River was initially utilised sustainably as a food and water resource by Indigenous Australians for around 30,000–40,000 years prior to European settlement. Evidence of human occupation at Cloggs Cave, near the Snowy River, near Buchan, was dated at up to 17,000 years. Despite the cold climate in the river's higher reaches, the Ngarigo nation held territory around the Australian Alps and the Snowy Mountains in modern-day New South Wales. As the river flowed southwards into modern day Victoria, it flowed in the Gunai nation's territory, particularly, the Krauatungalung clan's territory.

The first use of the Snowy River, for the extraction of energy, was by a water-powered flour mill, fed from a low weir across the river at Jindabyne. It was constructed by Stewart Ryrie, Junior, in 1847, and operated until around 1889.

1950–1990s reduced water flow

The Snowy River originally had a huge, often destructive flow during the spring snow-melt which flowed directly into the sea. In the 1950s and 1960s, as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a network of four dams (i.e. Guthega, Island Bend, Eucumebene and Jindabyne) and many smaller water diversion structures were built to collect and divert 99% (as measured at Jindabyne) of the Snowy River's flow through the mountains, to provide more water to the Murray and Murrumbidgee River agricultural basins for irrigation. Several hydro-electric power stations were also constructed to generate electricity. While there was initial public opposition to the diversion of the river's water during the 1950s and '60s, it was largely ignored as the scheme provided agriculture with more water. It generated a large number of jobs in construction initially, then in agriculture and logistics, and added permanent and reliable, on-demand electricity generation to two states.

1990s–2000: Increased awareness
By the 1990s, the reduced flows in the Snowy River became a major environmental concern in Victoria, New South Wales and across Australia. After the scheme was built downstream flows were insufficient to keep the channel clear of vegetation or move sediment in the stream bed. Salt water intrusion extended seven to ten kilometres up the estuary and outdoor recreational activities were curtailed along the lower reaches of the river.

This period of increased awareness of the impacts of water diversions lead to the Snowy Water Inquiry, which looked at options to improve the health of the Snowy River. The key outcomes of the Snowy Water Inquiry was an initial agreement to increase environmental water releases to the Snowy River below Jindabyne by 15% and the Snowy Montane Rivers.

These series of staged flow targets (up to 28% of mean annual natural discharge) were set for the Snowy River below Jindabyne, with these dependent on water savings in the Murray and Murrumbidgee River catchments.  The targets included 15% by 2009 and 21% by 2012.

2002–2006: Environmental water releases from the Mowamba River in a low allocation period
From 28 August 2002 until January 2006, the first stage of environmental water was released to the Snowy River via the Mowamba River. The Mowamba River aqueduct was "turned out", preventing water being diverted to Jindabyne Dam. The releases from the Mowamba River essentially doubled the daily discharge at Dalgety from about  per day. Additionally, it provided a small snow melt signal, peaking in September. Only a small percentage of the Mowamba River catchment is covered by snow in winter, compared to some of the upper catchments in the Snowy River catchment. Additionally, the release increased daily river flow variability, between  per day, and the timing of flows was in keeping with natural events across the catchment. These small discharges saw a 20% increase in wetted habitat and a doubling of running water habitat (i.e. riffles) in the upper reaches of the Snowy River in the Dalgety Uplands, whereas the rest of the river saw a decline in discharge due to the prevailing drought.

This stage increased flows from 1% to approximately 4% of mean annual river discharge. Typically an annual release of  per year.

2006–2010: Environmental water releases from Jindabyne Dam in a low allocation period
After the completion of capital works (i.e. multi-level offtake and the cone values) at Jindabyne Dam the environmental water releases were essentially released from Jindabyne Dam, rather than the Mowamba River.  The second stage of environmental flow releases saw a very small increase in the median flow rate, but also a decline in daily flow variability compared to base flow compared to stage one.

Overall the annual volume released remained around 38GL year given the historical record drought.

2010–2011: Environmental water releases in a higher allocation period

During this stage the "Water for Rivers" were able to secure more water entitlements (i.e. up ) in the Western Rivers and the allocations increased as the drought broke in South Eastern Australia. Actual allocations are weather dependent, so in dry periods the allocation will be smaller than during wet periods. During this period the annual water availability jumped from about  per annum. Although water is released all year, this period has seen two significant spring snow melt environmental water releases to the Snowy River.

In November 2010 the first spring snow melt release occurred.  This small but important release had a peak discharge of  per day, and was sufficient to start to scour the fines sediment from some sections of the bed of the Snowy.

In October 2011, with substantially greater water available a much larger spring snow melt release has occurred i.e.  over 19 days.  This second and substantially larger release with a peak discharge rate of  per day over three days is expected to scour the bed of the river.  This releases targeted much larger particles, up to the size of , as the bed of the river is heavily "armoured" and larger flows are required to move these particles to improve the instream habitat of the river.  Once the armouring had been removed it is expected the fine sediment would be scoured within the river bed profile.

Politics
A political campaign began, which aimed to increase the water flow from 1% to 28% of its original flow from the dam at Jindabyne. An independent candidate from the East Gippsland district, Craig Ingram, was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1999 and re-elected in 2002 and 2006, on a platform to increase the flow of water in the Snowy River.

After Ingram was elected to office, he became instrumental in the three shareholding governments reaching agreement to return of up to 28% ANF of an environmental flow to the Snowy River which was an outcome of the corporatisation of the Snowy Scheme, swinging the Victorian Government to sign the legislation. Although the Victorian, NSW and Federal governments promised that corporatisation would not lead to privatisation, in November 2005 they announced their intention to sell Snowy Hydro through a public float. Community groups rallied to stop the sale of Snowy Hydro and by June 2006 the Australian Prime Minister withdrew the Commonwealth's intention to sell Snowy Hydro.

Cultural references
The poem The Man from Snowy River was written by 'Banjo' Paterson in 1890, which formed the basis of many subsequent works in film, TV and music theatre.

The natural environment surrounding the Snowy River formed part of the subject matter and setting for the 'Banjo' Paterson poem The Man from Snowy River, first published in 1890. The Snowy River has also been immortalised in a 1920 The Man from Snowy River silent film, as well as in the better-known 1982 Fox film The Man from Snowy River and its 1988 Disney sequel film The Man from Snowy River II (U.S. title: "Return to Snowy River" – UK title: "The Untamed"), as well as in The Man from Snowy River (TV series) and The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular, all of which were based on the Banjo Paterson's poem.

Settlements

There are very few towns located on the Snowy River, the following is a list of towns that sit on the Snowy River, ordered from upstream to downstream;

New South Wales
Guthega ski village
Jindabyne
Dalgety
Ironmungy (nearby)

Victoria
Willis
Suggan Buggan (nearby)
Buchan (nearby)
Orbost
Marlo

Crossings

New South Wales
Summit Road (closed to vehicles) – Mount Kosciuszko
Main Range Walk (ford, closed to vehicles) – Charlotte Pass
Illawong suspension bridge (pedestrians only)
Guthega Dam Wall (closed to vehicles)
Munyang (Guthega) Power Station
Island Bend Fire Trail at Gungarlin River
Kosciuszko Road – Jindabyne
Romero
Snowy River Way – Dalgety

Victoria
McKillops Bridge – McKillops Road
Princes Highway – Orbost

See also

List of rivers of Australia
Public Fight to Stop the Sale of Snowy Hydro

References

External links

Snowy River Alliance
Snowy Flow Response Monitoring and Modelling
Before & After Images of the Snowy River's decreased water flow
 Construction Images

East Gippsland catchment
Rivers of Gippsland (region)

Rivers of New South Wales
Snowy River
.Snowy River

Snowy River


Gifica ƿæs Burgenda Cyning in þǣre endhealfe þæs 4. gēarhundes ōþ his dēað in oððe ymbe þæt 407. Hē ƿæs fæder tō Guðorm I, Giselhere and Gūðhere.  Hē is rinc in sagum ac ēac in stǣre forþǣm þe Gundobad Burgenda Cyning ƿrāt of his cynedōme in his rihtbēc, Lex Burgundionum.

Þæs cyninges naman is on manigum þēoda sagum. In missenlicum gereordum is his nama Gjúki, Gibica, Gebicar, Gibicho or Gippich.

Se scop þæs Ƿīdsīðes sanges ƿrāt þe Gifica ƿæs Burgenda rīca ac segeþ nā mā.  In þæm Norðiscan geƿeorce Atlakviða be naman (se is 'Ætla Lēod') hātte hēGjúki, and se scop segeþ þe Gifica ƿæs Gūþheres fæder. In þǣm geƿeorce hē is ǣr cyning on þǣm Nifelingum and of him is þæt cynn genemned Gjúkungar, se is 'Gificingas'.

Snorri Sturluson segeþ in Edda his bēc þe Gifica ('Gjúki') hæfde tƿegen sunan - Gūþhere ('Gunnar') and Hagenan ('Hogni') – and āne dōhtor, Gūðrūne. Gotþorm (Sigefriþes bana) is his stēopsunu of his ƿīfe Grimhilde ǣrran hǣmedes.

In Edda lēoðe is ēac Gudny, Gifican and Grimhilde ōðru dōhtor. In þǣm Guðrunarkvida is þēos dōhtor Gullrond be naman.

Burgenda Cyningas
Wīdsīð

Gifica


Daniel Hill (born 6 February 1956) is an English actor, known for his extensive work in television, theatre and film.

Career
He played the avaricious Harvey Bains, manager of the retirement home in Waiting for God, alongside Stephanie Cole and Graham Crowden. He had earlier appeared with Martin Clunes and William Gaunt in the sitcom No Place Like Home.

He has also made appearances in several cult television programmes, most notable as Chasgo in Blake's 7, Series 1 episode The Dessert Song of Minder, and Chris Parsons in the incomplete Doctor Who story Shada. He provided his voice to complete the serial with animation in 2017.

Other roles include playing a Royal Air Force pilot in the BBC drama Secret Army, Harry in Tom Brown's Schooldays (1971 TV miniseries), Gower in Terry and June, Steven in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, Tom Redburn in Tenko and, more recently, parts in Silent Witness (2008), Bad Girls, Hope and Glory, Judge John Deed and Rose and Maloney. He was also the voice-over artist of the 2001 reality TV show Popstars.

In early 2009, Hill toured in the play Pack of Lies followed later by a UK tour of Dial M for Murder where he played Captain Lesgate. He appeared briefly in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 as a Ministry worker who recognizes Harry. In 2019, Hill portrayed the recurring role of Tye Vere on the BBC soap opera Doctors. He returned to Doctors in 2021.

References

External links

Living people
British male television actors
20th-century British male actors
British male stage actors
21st-century British male actors
1956 births

Daniel Hill (actor)


The Maiden Stack or Frau Stack is a tiny stack in the western Shetland Islands to the north of Brei Holm and east of Housa Voe in Papa Stour.

It is so called because of the tiny house at its top. It is said to have been built in the 14th century by Lord Þorvald Þoresson, in order to "preserve" his daughter from men. Unfortunately, when she left, she was found to be pregnant, and probably no longer a virgin.

There are various versions of the story. Another is recorded by Hibbert:

One of these insulated rocks, named Frau-a-stack or the Lady's Stack - accessible to none but the best of climbers - is crowned on the summit by the remains of a small building, that was originally built by a Norwegian Lady, to preserve herself from the solicitations of suitors, when she had entered into a vow of pure celibacy. The ascent to the house was considered almost unsurmountable, except by the help of ropes. But a dauntless lover, an udaller from Islesburgh, contrived in the dark secrecy of evening to scale the stack, and, after the first surprise was overcome, so far ingratiated himself in the fair devotee's affections that, in a fatal hour she was induced:

To trust the opportunity of night
And the ill counsel of a desert place
With the rich worth of her virginity.When the consequence of the Lady's faux pas could no longer be concealed, Frau-a-stack became the scoff of the island, and was deserted by its fair and frail tenant. The house was soon afterwards unroofed and reduced to ruin, in contempt of the vow of chastity that had been broken'''

In a third version of the story, the lady was incarcerated by her father because of her interest in a common fisherman. Eventually she and her sweetheart successfully eloped.

References

Stacks of Scotland
Uninhabited islands of Shetland

Maiden Stack


Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (), also known as Story of Ricky, is a 1991 Hong Kong martial arts splatter film written and directed by Lam Nai-Choi. The film is loosely based on the Japanese manga of the same name by Masahiko Takajo and Tetsuya Saruwatari. Saruwatari also co-wrote the film. The film stars Fan Siu-wong, Fan Mei-sheng (Siu-wong's real-life father), Ho Ka-kui, Gloria Yip, and Yukari Oshima.

Fan Siu-wong plays Ricky Ho Lik Wong, a young man who has super-human power and fighting abilities. Originally known in English as Story of Ricky, later releases were sold under the title Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky. The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States in 1993. It is well known for its acting, story, extremely brutal and highly unrealistic violence, as well as its high camp factor and extremely poor English dubbing. The film is considered a cult film and has an approval rating of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Plot
In 2001, when all prisons have been privatized, super-strong and durable Ricky Ho is sent to one for manslaughter after killing a crime boss responsible for his girlfriend's death. The prison is divided by cardinal directions, with each wing having a member of the "Gang of Four" ruling over it. Ricky is placed in the North wing, where he witnesses an inmate named Samuel disfigure an elderly inmate. Ricky partially blinds him, so he pays obese inmate Mad Dragon to kill Ricky, while the disfigured inmate commits suicide after Samuel stops his probation from clearing. Mad Dragon attacks him in the shower, but Ricky kills him and Samuel.

Fearing that Ricky may inspire the other prisoners to revolt, the one-eyed assistant warden "Cyclops" orders the North wing leader Hai to publicly execute him. Hai disembowels himself in shame when Ricky beats him and tries to strangle him with his intestines, forcing Ricky to kill him. The rest of the Gang murder Hai's godson when he refuses to take revenge on Ricky, so Ricky burns their opium farm. The Gang restrains Ricky, but before they can kill him, Cyclops learns that the warden is returning from vacation and forces everyone back to their cells. Cyclops floods Ricky's cell with cement, freezing him in place.

The warden and his spoiled son return and the former interrogates Ricky, but is interrupted when Tarzan, the East wing leader, bursts through a wall to fight Ricky. Ricky brutalizes him and the warden tries to crush them to death under the cell's hydraulic ceiling, though Ricky holds it off to try and save Tarzan rather than escape. The warden shocks him with a taser to make him stop, only for Tarzan to hold up the ceiling long enough for Ricky to escape before he dies. The warden orders Ricky buried alive for a full week and promises him freedom if he can survive, which he manages to, though the warden still denies him freedom and leaves him chained up in his cell.

An inmate sneaks Ricky his food, but a snitch informs Cyclops, who kills the man and taunts Ricky with his body. Enraged, Ricky breaks free, kills the snitch, and blinds Cyclops's other eye. The inmates riot and mutilate Cyclops, who the warden kills, annoyed with his incompetence. Ricky twists the West wing leader's limbs to neutralize him, while the South wing leader is killed by the warden when he flees in fear. Having gone too long without his medication, the warden transforms into a hulking creature that Ricky barely defeats by shoving him into a meat grinder. As the prisoners and guards fight, Ricky stops them by showing off the warden's decapitated head. He breaks the prison wall with his fist and declares "you're all free now" before walking away.

Cast

Production

Casting
Fan Siu-Wong was an upcoming martial artist slowing gaining attention in Mainland China and Hong Kong when he was approached by Golden Harvest after finishing filming "Stone Age Warrior." He claims he was picked up at the airport by Golden Harvest and immediately offered the main role in "Story of Ricky." Fan Siu-Wong signed up for the role before researching his parts, eventually finding out it was being adapted from an ultra violent Japanese anime, in which he was then shocked by the sheer violence and brutality of the anime. He initially was very nervous that nobody will like the film because of the blood and disgusting violence. Fan Siu-Wong eventually said the role of Ricky is still one of his most memorable and people in rural areas in China will often come up to him and talk to him about the movie and say stuff like "You were in "Story of Ricky" right?" He then says the violence is the ultimately the main reason why people still remembers the movie and why it is a cult hit among fans.

Style

The plot closely follows the events depicted in the original Japanese manga and its anime adaptation, with some minor modifications in certain instances.

The film is notorious for its excessive use of graphic violence and gore, primarily due to the fact that the lead character is practically invincible, has impossibly great strength and can virtually withstand all pain, which is partially explained by Ricky being a practitioner of a superhuman form of qigong. This leads to attempts by other characters to subdue him which end up being extremely gory and over-the-top.

Aside from the aforementioned head crushing and meat grinding scenes, most notable is a fight scene between Ricky and a knife-wielding prisoner named Oscar. During the fight, Oscar throws powdered glass in Ricky's eyes and then slashes Ricky's right arm. Ricky seemingly finished, smashes a water pipe and cleans his eyes, then uses his teeth and left hand to tie the veins and tendons in his arm back together. Oscar then charges at Ricky, but Ricky dodges and smacks him in the back of the head, popping one of his eyes out, leaving it to be eaten by crows. Seeing himself at a disadvantage, Oscar attempts suicide by seppuku. However, when Ricky approaches Oscar to try and stop the suicide, Oscar grabs his own intestines and wraps them around Ricky's neck in an attempt to strangle him, prompting the assistant warden to exclaim in the English dub: "You've got a lot of guts, Oscar!". Ricky then punches Oscar in the face, with an X-ray image showing the front of his skull shattering. The deceased Oscar crumples to the ground without so much as a visibly broken nose.

In another fight scene, Ricky punches and graphically breaks the Gang of Four member, Tarzan's arm, then lands an uppercut with such force that Tarzan's jaw is torn off. Finally, Ricky goes for the Coup de grâce and punches several of Tarzan's fingers off as he attempts to punch Ricky.

Another scene includes the warden's graphic death which depicts Ricky throwing him into an industrial meat grinder. Ricky pushes the struggling warden through the grinder, until his whole body is shredded and only his head remains. In that scene, so much fake blood was used that Fan Siu-wong could not wash the blood off his skin for three days.

The film's low budget shows in the scene where Ricky's girlfriend Keiko jumps to her death. For this scene, an obvious mannequin wearing her clothes is thrown off the top of the building, landing with a dull thud and a slight bounce. A dummy is also used in some scenes where there is a close up.

Reception

Box office
Riki-Oh received a Category III rating (viewers under 18 not allowed). It was one of the first Hong Kong movies to receive such a rating for non-erotic content. This rating greatly inhibited the film's ability to make money at the box office. The film grossed $2,147,778 HKD in Hong Kong. Despite the box office performance, Fan Siu Wong said that the movie was a major hit on rental since many kids who were not allowed to view it in theaters could now rent the film and watch it.

Critical response
On the aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, Riki-Oh has an approval rating of 89% by 9 reviews, and with an average rating of 7.1/10. Michael Atkinson of The Village Voice called it "a rather astonishing, starkly stylized blood flood set inside a privatized prison." Kurt Ramschissel of Film Threat gave the film 5 stars, saying that "the violence comes fast and furious and is just as outrageous and over-the-top as Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson ever were." J.R. Jones from the Chicago Reader said, "If you can handle the torrent of grisly violence, you'll find yourself royally entertained by this Hong Kong actioner."

Home media
In the U.S., Tokyo Shock released it on a bare bones DVD in 2000. In 2002, DVD was released by Hong Kong Legends in Region 2. In 2003, Fortune Star (formerly Mega Star), current holders of the Golden Harvest library from Media Asia, released a Remastered version of the film on a 3 disc set along with The Dragon from Russia and City Hunter.

The film was released on Blu-ray by Media Blasters in 2011. Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky became available in its original Chinese with hard-coded English subtitles on Netflix's Instant Streaming service in mid-2012. The film aired on Turner Classic Movies on 2 November 2012 and 14 April 2013 as part of TCM Underground. In the UK, the film was first released on Blu-ray from a new HD restoration by Mediumrare Entertainment in 2015 before going out of print. In 2021, British distributors 88 Films released their own Blu-ray edition of the film with new remastered English subtitles and both Cantonese and English audio tracks.

Unofficial sequel
An unofficial sequel titled Dint King Inside King ( Story of Ricky 2 or Super Powerful Man) was released in Hong Kong in 2005. The film was never released in the United States or in Europe. Fan Siu-wong is again cast in the title role, and wears the camouflage poncho seen in flashbacks and in the manga.

References

External links

Riki-Oh 2 at Hong Kong Cinemagic

1991 films
1991 martial arts films
1991 black comedy films
1990s prison films
1990s science fiction films
1990s Cantonese-language films
1990s dystopian films
Films about giants
Films about miscarriage of justice
Films about suicide
Films about the illegal drug trade
Films set in 2001
Films set in the future
Golden Harvest films
Hong Kong films about revenge
Hong Kong martial arts films
Hong Kong prison films
Live-action films based on manga
Obscenity controversies in film
Hong Kong splatter films
Tokyo Shock
1990s Hong Kong films

ja:力王#力王 RIKI-OH STORY OF RICKY

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky


The World Peace Bell Association (WPBA) is a Japanese organisation which attempts to raise awareness of the World peace movement by casting and installing Japanese temple bells in locations around the world.

The association was effectively begun in 1954 by Chiyoji Nakagawa, with the goal of providing peace bells to every country in the world. As mayor of Uwajima, he oversaw the replacement of the temple bell at Taihei temple in the aftermath or the Second World War. The replacement bell was known as the "Bell of Banzai for Absolute Peace", and was the model for the United Nations Peace Bell, the first bell donated by the WPBA.

The bells are made using melted-down coinage donated from countries around the world. They have been placed in sixteen countries to date, with the US, Japan and Australia having more than one bell.

The current president of the association is Tomijiro Yoshida. Yoshida officially founded the WPBA in 1982, ten years after Chiyoji Nakagawa's death, to continue Nakagawa's work.

References

Bells (percussion)
Charities based in Japan

World Peace Bell Association


Latcho Drom  ("safe journey") is a 1993 French film directed and written by Tony Gatlif. The movie is about the Romani people's journey from north-west India to Spain, consisting primarily of music. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot
The film contains very little dialogue and captions; only what is required to grasp the essential meaning of a song or conversation is translated. The film begins in the Thar Desert in Northern India and ends in Spain, passing through Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and France. All of the Romani portrayed are actual members of the Romani community.

India—Kalbelia people gathering in celebration.
Egypt—Ghawazi people sing and dance while children observe and begin to learn the artistic traditions.
Turkey—Turkish Roma in Istanbul sell flowers and play their music in cafes while their children observe and learn.
Romania—A young boy listens to Roma musicians sing about the horrors of Nicolae Ceausescu and his reign before returning to his village, where the musicians from earlier begin a semi-spontaneous and joyous music session.
Hungary—A Roma family on the train sing of their rejection by non-Romani people. The scene cuts to the train station ahead, where the waiting family set up a fire as they wait across the tracks from the train station while a Hungarian woman and her young son wait on a bench. The boy, seeing that his mother is sad and cold, ventures over to the Roma, who strike up the music and cheer the woman up before their family on the train arrive and they walk away singing.
Slovakia—The train screeches along a barbed wire fence as an old woman sings a song about Auschwitz and the camera pans down to reveal her imprisonment tattoo from her time in the concentration camp. A series of shots show a winter camp before the occupants return to the road.
France—French Romani set up camp with their metal vardos in a summer field and briefly go about their business, making baskets and other crafts before being driven off by landlords. They leave behind clues that a fellow Romani musician Tchavolo Schmitt uses to find them. They all meet up for the celebration in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and celebrate the festival of Saint Sarah, patron saint of the Romani.
Spain—Latcho Drom closes in Spain, showing flamenco puro performed by local "Gitanos". The famous "gitana" singer La Caita sings mournfully of the centuries of persecution, repeatedly imploring "Why does your mouth spit on me?" as her query echoes out over the town.

Music
The use of music in the film is highly important. Although Latcho Drom is a documentary, there are no interviews and none of the dialogue is captioned. Few of the lyrics are captioned. The film relies on music to convey emotion and tell the story of the Romani. Musicians include the Romanian group Taraf de Haïdouks, La Caita (Spain), Remedios Amaya and gypsy jazz guitarist Tchavolo Schmitt.

The soundtrack was composed by Dorado Schmitt, who appears in the film.

References

External links

1993 films
1990s French-language films
French documentary films
Films directed by Tony Gatlif
Documentary films about Romani people
1993 documentary films
1990s French films

Latcho Drom


Masaya, cried the Ceety o Flouers, is the caipital ceety o the Masaya Depairtment o Nicaragua. It is situatit approximately 14 km north o Granada an 17 km sooth frae Managua. The toun o Masaya is situatit juist sooth o the Masaya Volcano (Volcan de Masaya), an active Volcano frae which the ceety takes its name. The 2005 population estimate wis 146,000.

Geography
Masaya is locatit centrally tae a lairge agricultural production region in Nicaragua. Muckle o the production frae the depairtments o Masaya an Carazo an the surroondin auries is shipped throu Masaya on its way north, towards Managua an Leon. Masaya is an' a' a notable industrial centre, producin fuitwear an claes. Ither industries in the ceety include the processin o feebre an the manufactur o cigars, leather products, soap, an starch. Mony o the communities surroondin Masaya produce haurdwood an wicker furnitur, an thare is a neighbourhuid in Masaya near the lake dedicatit tae the production o hammocks.

Cultur
Masaya is kent as "the Cradle o Nicaraguan Fowklore" an is the vera hert o Nicaraguan handicrafts. The main mecat in Masaya an is locatit next tae the central bus station. The mercat is dividit intae sections, wi each section servin a different need. Aside frae unique Nicaraguan products sic as haund woven hammocks, embroidered blouses, wid carvins, an hemp weavin the mercat is vera diverse. An entire section o the mercat is dedicatit tae sellin electronic devices an cleidin, while anither aurie is reserved for raw meat. Aathing is available in the mercat frae haurdware an beauty supplies tae produce frae the surroondin aurie.

The Mercado de Artesanias (Craft Mercat) is locatit inside what uised tae be the "mercado viejo" (auld mercat), a 1900s structur that is locatit near the centre o the ceety an a couple o blocks away frae the general population mercat. Thir mercat haes been revitalized an set as a tourist spot, whaur crafts frae Masaya an ither auries o Nicaragua can be foond. In addition, ivery Thursday nicht thare is a Noche de Verbena or Nicht o Revelry, whaur folkloric dances are presentit.

Masaya is notit for the annual faw fiesta o San Jerónimo, which is ruitit in the Roman Catholic faith o the fowk who celebrate thair patron saint, San Jerónimo. Awtho mony fowk, includin some Nicaraguans, mey consider this event a cultural event athoot pairticipatin in the releegious content, the vast majority are renderin thair devotion tae thair saunt when thay pairticipate in the folkloric dances an ither street processions, sic as the carnivalesque "Torovenado" celebrations, which aften hae groups an individuals who perform satires o local an naitional poleetical figures. This celebration is famous athin the kintra tae the extensiveness (~3 month) an richness o folkloric elements.

The historical ceety centre haes open plazas an twa lairge 16t century Baroque airchitectur kirks.

Masaya Volcano

Masaya is the maist active volcano in the region. It is actually made up o twa volcanoes; Masaya an Nindiri wi a tot o five craters. The Spainyie first describit the volcano in 1524. Syne then, Masaya haes eruptit at least 19 times. Frae 1965 tae 1979 Masaya contained an active lava lake. The last reportit eruption event at Volcan de Masaya wis in 2003, when a plume reportedly shot ~4.6 km intae the air. Masaya is an unuisual basaltic volcano acause it haes haed explosive eruptions. The eruption in 4550 B.C. wis ane o the lairgest on Yird in the last 10,000 years.

Apoyo Lagoon
Masaya is an aa locatit northwast o a lairge, dormant volcano wi a deep crater lake, "Lago de Apoyo", at its summit. Pairt o the Apoyo Lagoon Natural Reserve, this lake is a popular attraction in the aurie, an is host tae several hostels an sma resorts. Apoyo's crater measures fower mile wide an ower 656 feet deep. It is uised for fishin as well as watter sports. It haes an aa been a location for pre-colonial airchaeological findins.

Toun twinnin
  - Belo Horizonte, Brazil
  - Dietzenbach, Germany
  - Leicester, Ingland, UK
  - Nijmegen, Netherlands
  - North Plainfield, New Jersey, USA

Freemit airtins
Leicester Masaya Link Group

Populatit places in Nicaragua
Municipalities o the Masaya Depairtment

Masaya


Shotgun Sports is a competitive shooting sport involving shotguns.  Shotgun Sports include several different events, each with different rules.  The general goal of a shotgun event is to break a clay target, but the targets are thrown in different manners depending on the game.

Sporting Clays
In sporting clays, a shooter will walk through a course generally consisting of ten stations.  Each station will have two targets that are thrown as a true pair or as a report pair(one thrown on pull command and one thrown on gun fire).  Sporting clay courses are generally scored out of a 100.

Trap
Trap is another clay target event.  A game of trap is scored out of 25, and a full trap event generally consists of 4 trap games, or 100 targets.  In this event, a team of 5 shooters lines up behind a trap house.  Inside the trap house is a pivoting arm that throws a clay out at a random direction when 'pull' is called.  To vary the difficulty of this game, shooters can stand farther back from the house.

Skeet

In the skeet shooting event, a shooter moves around a field in a semi circle.  Skeet, like Trap, is also a 25 target game, with skeet events generally consisting of four games.  There are 8 stations on the field.  On one end of a field is a high house, and on the other end of the field, there is a low house.  On station 1, 2, 6, and 7 a high single, low single, and double are shot.  On stations 3, 4, and 5 a high single and low single are shot.  Station 8 is in between the high and low house.  At this station, the shooter faces the high house, shoots a high single, then turns and faces the low house to shoot a low single.  This totals 24 targets.  The last target, to make 25, comes from what is referred to as the option.  The option is a target that is shot after the first target that is missed.  If the shooter misses the high bird on station 1, the high bird is shot again.  If the shooter makes it all the way around the field without missing a bird, a second low single is shot on station 8, totaling a perfect 25.

Related pages
Gun

Other websites

Summer Olympic sports

Shotgun Sports


Jenna Maroney (born Yustrepa Gronkowitz; February 24, 1969) is a fictional character on the American television series 30 Rock,  played by Jane Krakowski.

For her portrayal of Maroney, Krakowski was nominated four times for the Prime time Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and also received seven Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, winning one.

Character development
In Tina Fey's original pilot script for 30 Rock, Jenna was named "Jenna DeCarlo", and The Girlie Show was titled Friday Night Bits with Jenna DeCarlo. In the unaired pilot for the show, Rachel Dratch, a former SNL cast member, played the role of Jenna. In August 2006, executive producer Lorne Michaels announced that Dratch would be replaced as Jenna. Later in the month, NBC announced that Krakowski had replaced Dratch, and that the character was renamed "Jenna Maroney".

Krakowski was credited as a main cast member, and the character appeared in all but 10 episodes.

Fictional biography
Jenna was born Yustrepa Gronkowitz on February 24, 1969 in Tampa, FL, and grew up in Bakersfield, CA. In "The Return of Avery Jessup", however, Jenna mentions being from "Toilet Swamp Cove" in the Florida Panhandle. She also is revealed to have a strong Southern accent that she suppresses. In "Queen of Jordan 2: Mystery of the Phantom Pooper", it was revealed that she was conceived in a Florida bathroom.  Jenna says that the day she was born her mother was chain-smoking on a curb. Her ethnic origin is that of an Ashkenazi Jew (with an extra Y chromosome), as revealed through a DNA sample, which Jack mistakenly thought belonged to Kaylie Hooper. Jenna's father, Werner (or possibly Travis) Maroney was a burger server in suburban Santa Barbara, before leaving her mother, Verna (Jan Hooks), for a "curly-haired surfer" named Roberta — which hurt her.  In "Secret Santa", she reveals to Jack "Danny" Baker that her mother forced her to sit on every mall Santa's lap in Bakersfield in an attempt to find him. As a young girl, Jenna competed in child pageants and was on Weight Watchers at age six (though the math was too much and she eventually turned to cigarettes). She performed Christmas carols inside Sears as a distraction while her mother shoplifted. Jenna's entire church group was eaten by a bear, which Jenna witnesses while playing dead. It is mentioned that she has a sister who died (and that Jenna felt pushed aside and forgotten at her funeral).

Jenna did not attend her high school reunion because the boat she was educated on sank. It is mentioned that her college was tipped over by Miami Heat fans, that she quit fashion school, and that she spent $500 on Adrien Brody's unaccredited acting school. Jenna was trained in stage acting and game show pointing at the Royal Tampa Academy of Dramatic Tricks, where she studied theatre superstition and majored in prom queens and murdered runaways (mentioned in "Black Light Attack"). Jenna also studied voice at Northwestern University where she first met Liz Lemon in 1993.

Jenna's many dysfunctional relationships are referenced throughout the series. She dated a boy in a fraternity when she was twelve years old (possibly a reference to National Lampoon's Animal House). At age sixteen, Jenna was engaged to a congressman.  As an adult she was later engaged to David Blaine. She mentioned that she lost her virginity to a boat salesman on a water bed. She has dated or had relations with: a sniper (who threatened to kill her but Jenna says he was just bluffing because he couldn't face his mother, let alone kill someone), O. J. Simpson, a music producer (hinted at having been Red One), Kevin Federline, Ed Begley Jr., Dog the Bounty Hunter, and a mob boss. She has been in at least two three-ways, one with Tom and Roseanne Arnold (long after the couple was divorced), and another with two of the Backstreet Boys, in which she claimed she was "not really necessary."  Jenna also claimed to have had a relationship with Mickey Rourke, and his over-the-top attempts at killing her (by catapulting her into the Hollywood sign, throwing her onto the field during the Superbowl, with a double-edged sword, etc.) are a recurring joke on the series. However, in the series finale, she breaks the fourth wall and tells the audience that she has never actually met Rourke; despite this, in the episode "Murphy Brown Lied to Us", Rourke does actually try to kill her by sending her a flower bouquet full of spiders, which instead land on Tracy.

Jenna's husband Paul L'astname (Will Forte) is a "gender dysmorphic bi-genitalia pansexual" and a professional female impersonator most renowned for his performances as Jenna. She met him at a Jenna Maroney impersonator contest in which she came in fourth and he placed first. Before they were married it was revealed that she is so attracted to him because he gives her the opportunity to date herself. Throughout the series, during their relationship they are shown performing various, unusual sexual acts and rituals.

Fictional career
Jenna started off in theater, notably in Pippin; despite co-star Irene Ryan dying on stage, Jenna continued performing anyway (as revealed in "Live Show"). Later performances included The Jenna Chronicles: A One-Wormy Show in 1996 and Con Air: The Musical in 1997, where she appears to have played Rachel Ticotin character. She was nominated for a Cable ACE Award for her work on HBO Arliss . She appeared for three episodes on the show Night Court as a werewolf lawyer named Sparky Monroe and is blamed by the cast for leading to the show's cancellation.  She also appeared in an episode of Law & Order as a "lady rapist" and from a poster in her dressing room, had also starred in a production of the Broadway musical Evita. Jenna also starred in a pilot for a police drama named Good Looking, in which she played the protagonist Alexis Goodlooking, whose special skill was being good at looking for clues.

Jenna was the star of The Girlie Show, a sketch comedy series that was created by her friend Liz Lemon. Jenna's star billing is reduced drastically when Jack Donaghy is hired as a new network vice president and brings in Tracy Jordan, a popular but unpredictable actor. Jack further decides that Tracy is a higher priority than Jenna, so he orders the show's title change to TGS with Tracy Jordan. This makes Jenna furious because she is no longer the star of the show, and believed that Liz gave in to Jack's demands. In addition she finds herself at the mercy of Tracy's antics, the writing staff's constant pranks, and Jack's constant avoidance of her (his reason is that she is not promotable for the show). But despite all this, Liz assures Jenna that her future on the show is safe (Lemon forces Jack to sign a contract stating he will never fire Jenna in the pilot).

When she is not working on TGS, Jenna stars in a series of low-budget films, including her first starring role, The Rural Juror, written by John Grisham's brother Kevin; Take My Hand, a romantic comedy that went through so many re-writes that it became a torture porn film, Jackie Jormp-Jomp a biopic based on the life of Janis Joplin, in which Joplin's name and music could not be used for legal reasons; Trivial Pursuit: The Movie, a movie based on the board game, in which Jenna portrayed Arts & Leisure; and Nights talkers, a werewolf film to be shot in Iceland that had production shut down when the producers realized that the movie had to be shot at night and Iceland only had one minute of darkness per day. Jenna also played Avery Jessup in Kidnapped By Danger, a made-for-TV movie about Jack's wife Avery (Elizabeth Banks), who was being held prisoner in North Korea. Jenna proudly announced at Jack and Avery's would-be vow renewal/divorcing ceremony, that "Kidnapped By Danger" is now available on Sega Genesis. Jenna was banned for life from the Golden Globe Awards after trying to bribe the Hollywood Foreign Press Association into giving her an award for the Lifetime TV movie Sister, Can You Spare a Breast? She also played a criminal profiler named Jill St. Ferrari in an original Lifetime miniseries, Hushed Raping.

Jenna is also a singer and possibly a rapper, having once participated in a Gangsta rap contest. She has been a somewhat successful pop star overseas, with one of her hits, "Muffin Top", reaching number one in Israel and number four in Belgium. In the fourth season premiere, Jenna decided that she needed to "go country" to help her career, and in a promotion for NBC's tennis coverage, she made her country debut with the single "Tennis Night In America." During the sixth season, Jenna was a judge on the singing talent competition show America's Kids' Got Singing. In season seven, Jenna comes out with a hit song called "I Caught Crabs in Paradise," which attracts many fans from Florida, who called themselves "Crab Catchers". Liz and Jack realize that, since Florida is the swing state in the 2012 election and almost everyone in Florida is loyal to Jenna, Jenna could be the one to decide whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney is voted president. They subsequently try to sway Jenna's vote (Jack lobbying for Romney and Liz for Obama). In season seven, Jenna has a hit single, "Balls", which despite extensive airplay, she is outraged to discover earned her very little money due to music piracy.

Jenna also performs on stage, once appearing in Mystic Pizza: The Musical, an off-Broadway musical version of the film Mystic Pizza. As her role required her to eat 32 slices of pizza on stage each week, Jenna gained a large amount of weight at this time. She took advantage of it, however, by becoming a spokesmodel for Enormé, a perfume for plus-sized women that had the slogan "Enormé: Make him chase the chunk." The writers of TGS also took advantage of Jenna's weight gain, writing plus-sized sketches and giving her a catchphrase, "Me want food!" Eventually, Jack tells Jenna that on television an actress can't be "in between" fat and thin, so she has to either lose 30 pounds or gain 60, and Jenna loses the weight again.

After the cancellation of TGS, Jenna decides to become a dramatic actress, starting with a guest spot on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. However, after learning that she would only play a corpse, Jenna gives up that dream and takes her career to Los Angeles, but immediately leaves after seeing how many beautiful younger women live there. Ultimately, she reveals plans to star in a Broadway musical version of The Rural Juror, and sings the musical's main theme at the finale of TGS (and 30 Rock). It is revealed that a year later, Jenna will force her way on stage to claim the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, despite her name not being called and Alice Ripley being the real winner.

References

30 Rock characters
Fictional actors
Fictional characters from California
Fictional characters from Tampa, Florida
Fictional prostitutes
Fictional singers
Television characters introduced in 2006
Fictional television personalities
Narcissism in television
American female characters in television

Jenna Maroney


Peter Boardman (25 December 1950 – 17 May 1982) was an English mountaineer and author. He is best known for a series of bold and lightweight expeditions to the Himalayas, often in partnership with Joe Tasker, and for his contribution to mountain literature. Boardman and Tasker died on the North East Ridge of Mount Everest in 1982. The Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature was established in their memory.

Early life and education
Boardman was born in Stockport, Cheshire, England, the youngest son of Alan Howe Boardman (1920–1979) and Dorothy Boardman (1923–2007). He attended Stockport Grammar School from 1956 to 1969, going on school trips to Corsica in 1964 and 1965, and to the Swabian Alps in 1966. Boardman first began climbing with school friends at Windgather Rocks in the Peak District National Park. After joining the Mynydd Climbing Club in 1966, Boardman's climbing progressed quickly and he went on to climb in the Pennine Alps in 1968.

From 1969 to 1972, Boardman studied English at the University of Nottingham where he was President of the Mountaineering Club from 1971 to 1972. While at university Boardman climbed extensively in Britain and Europe and embarked on his first expedition, to Afghanistan, in 1972. After Nottingham, Boardman obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (English and outdoor activities) from the University College of North Wales in 1973.

Personal life
Boardman married Hilary Collins in August 1980. They first met in 1974 when Hilary attended a course at Glenmore Lodge instructed by Boardman. After the Changabang expedition in 1976 Hilary arranged for Boardman to give a slide show at Belper High School where she was the teacher responsible for outdoor activities. Soon after they began climbing together in Derbyshire and Scotland. Hilary shared Boardman's passion for mountains and they climbed together on Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and Carstensz Pyramid. Hilary left Britain to take up a teaching position in Switzerland where she was later joined by Boardman when he took over as Director of the International School of Mountaineering in Leysin.

Career
With his postgraduate qualification, and climbing and mountaineering experience, Boardman was set on the path to becoming a professional mountaineer. In 1973, he became an instructor at Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore. He moved on to become the National Officer at the British Mountaineering Council in 1975. In 1978 Boardman took over as Director of the International School of Mountaineering in Leysin, Switzerland, after Dougal Haston's death, a position he held until his own death in 1982.
Other positions and qualifications held by Boardman include:
 Mountain Guide Carnet – September 1977.
 Vice-president, British Mountaineering Council. Elected in 1979.
 President, Association of British Mountain Guides. Elected in 1979.

Mountaineering

Europe
Boardman climbed extensively in Europe throughout his career. His early climbs included:
 1970 Petit Dru, SW Pillar
 1971 First British ascents of the North Face Direct of the Olan, WNW face of Pic Sans Nom and SW face of Aiguille de Sialouze. Boardman also climbed the north face of the Matterhorn, and met Joe Tasker and Dick Renshaw for the first time on the North Spur of the Droites.
 1973 First British ascents of the North Face of the Nesthorn and the North Face Direct of the Lauterbrunnen Breithorn.

Hindu Kush, 1972
Boardman's first expedition outside Europe was with fellow members of the Nottingham University Mountaineering Club who drove overland to the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan in the summer of 1972. A training climb on the North Face of Koh-i-Khaaik (5,860m) turned into an epic when the climbers underestimated the difficulty of the Face, taking longer than planned to reach the summit and necessitating a 50-mile walk back to Base Camp. Their main objective, the unclimbed North Face of Koh-i-Mondi (6,234m), was climbed relatively uneventfully. In all, expedition members climbed five new peaks and five new routes.

Mount Dan Beard, Alaska, 1974
In May 1974, Boardman and Roger O'Donovan made the first ascent via the South Face, and the second ascent overall, of Mount Dan Beard (3,127m) in the Alaska Range. An attempt on Mount McKinley was abandoned when O'Donovan became ill.

Everest, South West Face, 1975
When Chris Bonington was recruiting for the large, siege-style expedition to climb the South West Face of Everest, Boardman was recommended by Paul Braithwaite as a talented climber who would be compatible with other team members. The expedition was successful in placing the first two Britons, Doug Scott and Dougal Haston, on the summit on 24 September 1975. Boardman and Pertemba, the expedition's head Sirdar, reached the summit on 26 September. On their descent, they met Mick Burke a short distance below the summit and still ascending. They waited for him at the South Summit in deteriorating weather, but Burke was never seen alive again.

Changabang, West Wall, 1976
Boardman and Joe Tasker, on their first expedition together, made the first ascent of the West Wall of Changabang (6,864m) in the Garhwal Himalaya in India. The climb took 25 days during September and October 1976. It was considered "probably the most outstanding lightweight Himalayan climb so far achieved". Changabang had been Joe Tasker's idea; he had seen it the previous year while on Dunagiri with Dick Renshaw. As Renshaw was recovering from frostbite Tasker had asked Boardman if he was interested in a new route on Changabang. Boardman had agreed readily with Tasker's proposal: "This climb would be all that I wanted. Something that would be totally committing, that would bring my self-respect into line with the public recognition I had received for Everest."

K2, West Ridge, 1978
Boardman was invited by Chris Bonington to join an expedition to K2 (8,611m) in 1978. The team was composed of climbers Paul Braithwaite, Nick Estcourt, Doug Scott and Joe Tasker, as well as a doctor, Jim Duff, and cameraman Tony Riley. At the time, K2 had been climbed successfully only twice and the West Ridge not at all. Boardman and Tasker reached a height of approximately 6,700m, but the expedition was abandoned when Estcourt was killed in an avalanche.

Carstensz Pyramid, 1978
In December 1978 Boardman and Hilary Collins made the first ascent of the South Face of Carstensz Pyramid (4,884m) in the Indonesian province of Papua on the island of New Guinea. In early January 1979 they climbed the nearby peak Dugundugu and, with two French climbers, traversed the three summits of Ngga Pulu.

Kangchenjunga, North Ridge, 1979
On 16 May 1979 Boardman, together with Doug Scott and Joe Tasker, reached the summit of Kangchenjunga (8,586m) via the North Ridge. This was the third ascent overall and the first via this route. Two earlier attempts by the team (which included French mountaineer Georges Bettembourg) were thwarted by storms high on the mountain.

Gauri Sankar, South Summit, 1979
Boardman led an Anglo-Nepalese expedition to make the first ascent of the southern summit of Gauri Sankar, a twin-peaked mountain in Nepal. The team composed of Boardman, Pemba Lama, Tim Leach and Guy Neithardt reached the South Summit (7,010m) on 9 November 1979 via the West Ridge. Fellow expedition member John Barry, who had been injured in a fall, waited at a lower camp.

K2, West Ridge and Abruzzi Spur, 1980
Immediately after the 1978 K2 expedition, Boardman and Tasker had applied for a permit for another attempt on the mountain. In May 1980 they returned to the West Ridge with Dick Renshaw and Doug Scott. Their route avoided the avalanche-prone slope of 1978, but proved too difficult and the team, now minus Scott, turned their attention to the Abruzzi Spur, the route taken by the first ascensionists. On their second attempt on this route, they reached a height of 8,077m but their tent was overwhelmed by an avalanche in the middle of the night leading to a lengthy and precarious retreat off the mountain. A third and final attempt was abandoned due to storms on the mountain.

Kongur, 1981
Boardman was part of the British team that made the first ascent of Kongur (7,719m), in China. The climbing team, consisting of Boardman, Chris Bonington, Al Rouse and Joe Tasker, was supplemented by cameraman, Jim Curran, and a medical team carrying out research on the effects of altitude on expedition members. The ascent was made alpine style via the southwest rib with the summit reached on the evening of 12 July 1981.

Everest, North East Ridge, 1982
British mountaineers had last visited the north side of Everest in the 1930s. Permission for the 1982 expedition was obtained after the Chinese government began opening up mountains to foreign expeditions. The North East Ridge was "an obvious choice [...] elegant, unknown and looked, from the few photographs we had, difficult but possible." The North East Ridge rises two miles from the Raphu La (6,510m) to the North East Shoulder (8,393m) and the junction with the North Ridge. From there the summit is almost another mile away. The crux of the North East Ridge is a series of pinnacles high on the ridge before the junction with the North Ridge.

The expedition consisted of Boardman, Chris Bonington, Dick Renshaw and Joe Tasker, supported by expedition doctor Charles Clarke and Adrian Gordon, and Chinese Base Camp staff. Tasker had responsibility for filming the expedition documentary. The expedition arrived at Base Camp on 16 March 1982 and began acclimatisation forays and establishment of camps further up the Rongbuk glacier. By April the team had begun climbing on the Ridge, establishing snow caves at 6,850m and 7,256m. In early May their third and highest snow cave was established at 7,850m. While climbing on the First Pinnacle above 8,000m Renshaw experienced a minor stroke. After suffering a second stroke at Base Camp, and following medical advice, Renshaw left to return home accompanied by Clarke as far as Chengdu. By this time Bonington realised that he would be unable to go much higher on the mountain without the use of supplementary oxygen and switched to a support role. He intended to climb to the North Col with Gordon and wait there while Boardman and Tasker made a final push to cross the Three Pinnacles. Boardman and Tasker left Advance Base Camp on 15 May and reached the second snow cave the same day. By 16 May they reached the third snow cave and made what was to be their last radio contact with Bonington that evening. On 17 May they moved slowly beyond the First Pinnacle and were last seen at 9:00pm at the foot of the Second Pinnacle at 8,250m having been climbing for 14 hours. By 21 May, with no sign of Boardman and Tasker for four days Bonington and Clarke travelled up the Kangshung Valley to search the other side of the ridge for any sign of the missing climbers, while Gordon maintained a watch at Advance Base Camp. By the beginning of June the expedition was back at Base Camp and Bonington travelled to Chengdu to break the news of the deaths to Boardman and Tasker's families.

Death
News of Boardman's death was relayed to Hilary Boardman in Leysin, and Dorothy Boardman in Manchester, and covered in the media. A memorial service was held for Boardman at St George's Church in Stockport on 11 July 1982. In September 1982 Hilary Boardman and Maria Coffey, Joe Tasker's girlfriend, travelled to the north side of Everest as far as Advance Base Camp to retrace the last journey made by Boardman and Tasker.

Discovery of body
Expeditions to the North East Ridge in 1985, 1986 and 1987 failed to reach Boardman and Tasker's high point. In August 1988, Russell Brice and Harry Taylor succeeded in crossing the Pinnacles, thus completing the unclimbed section of the route, before descending via the North Ridge. They saw no sign of Boardman or Tasker due to heavy monsoon snow cover.

The next expedition on the ridge was in 1992 when a joint Japanese-Kazakh expedition crossed the Pinnacles but were unable to continue to the summit. They found a body beyond the second pinnacle at approximately 8,200m on the Rongbuk side of the ridge. Photographs taken by Vladimir Suviga and sent to Chris Bonington enabled the body to be identified, from the clothing and features, as Peter Boardman.

In 1995 the complete ridge was climbed by a Japanese expedition. They also came across a body which was initially thought to be Joe Tasker. Upon re-examining all the evidence, Chris Bonington concluded that both sightings were of Boardman: "At first it was surmised that this was Joe Tasker, but after carefully comparing the written descriptions and the photographs provided by each expedition, I became convinced that this was the same as the original sighting and therefore that of Pete."

Writing
Boardman's book about the 1976 Changabang expedition, The Shining Mountain, is one of the outstanding works of mountaineering literature, and won the 1979 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for literature. A second book, Sacred Summits, detailing his climbing exploits in 1979 on Carstensz Pyramid, Kangchenjunga and Gauri Sankar, was published posthumously.

In 1995, these books, along with those of Joe Tasker, were republished in the Boardman Tasker Omnibus.

Commemoration
 The Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature was set up in 1983 by family and friends of the two climbers to honour their literary legacy.
 The Peter Boardman Climbing Wall at Stockport Grammar School was dedicated in 2008.
 In 2012, a calendar was produced for 2013 to mark the 30th anniversary of the disappearance of Boardman and Tasker.
 In 2016, The Peter Boardman Climbing wall was opened at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China to mark Boardman's contribution both as a mountaineer and as a Nottingham alumnus.

Publications

Books
 The Shining Mountain: Two men on Changabang's West Wall (with material by Joe Tasker) (1978) Hodder and Stoughton, London.
 Sacred Summits: A Climber's Year (1982) Hodder and Stoughton, London.

Articles
"The Rock Rush", Nottingham University Mountaineering Club Journal, No. 9 December 1971. pp24–28.
"Hindu Kush – Alpine Style", Alpine Journal, 1974. p110-114.
"Long Necks in the Hindu Kush", Mountain, No. 36, June 1974. pp15–21.
(with R. Richards) "British Everest Expedition SW Face 1975", Alpine Journal, 1976. pp3–15.
"Everest is not a Private Affair", Mountain Life, Dec 1975/Jan 1976.
"Peter the Pooh", Crags, No. 4, 1976, pp8–9.
"Changabang Commentary", Mountain, No. 55, May/June 1977. pp15–27.
"A Westerner's Luxury", The Listener, 2 March 1978. pp266–267.
"No More Himalayan Heroes", Climber and Rambler, November 1979. pp34–41.
"The Untrodden Peak", The Observer Magazine, [issue to be confirmed].
"Gauri Sankar Report", Climber and Rambler, April 1980. pp40–42.
"So You're an Everest Climber", Mountain, No. 76. Nov/Dec 1980. pp26–29.
"Gaurishankar, South Summit", American Alpine Journal, 1980. pp616–617.
"The British-Nepalese Gauri Shankar Expedition, 1979", Himalayan Journal, 1979–80, Vol. 37. p15.
"1980 K2 Expedition", American Alpine Journal, 1981. pp286–89.
"Fight for Life on the Savage Mountain", The Observer Magazine, 15 February 1981.
"Mount Kongur", The Observer Magazine, 15 November 1981.

See also
List of people who died climbing Mount Everest

Notes and references

Further reading
Barry, John (1990) "Raven's with the Great Man" in K. Wilson, D. Alcock & J. Barry (eds) Cold Climbs, London: Diadem Books. (Humorous and moving account of a day's climbing with Boardman in Scotland.)
Bartlett, Phil (1993) The Undiscovered Country: The Reason We Climb, Holyhead: The Ernest Press. (Includes discussion of Boardman's attitude to and writing about mountaineering.)
Bettembourg, Georges (with Brame, Michael) (1981) The White Death, Seattle: Reynard House. (Part II gives a different perspective on the 1979 Kangchenjunga expedition.)
The Boardman Tasker Omnibus, London: Baton Wicks. (First published 1995; new ed. published 2012. Contains both Boardman's books plus Joe Tasker's Everest the Cruel Way and Savage Arena; introduction by Chris Bonington.)
Bonington, Chris (1976) Everest the Hard Way, London: Hodder and Stoughton. (Everest 1975 expedition; includes extracts from Boardman's expedition diary.)
Bonington, Chris (1982) Kongur: China's Elusive Summit, London: Hodder and Stoughton. (Kongur 1981 expedition; includes extracts from Boardman's expedition diary.)
Bonington, Chris (1983) Everest: The Unclimbed Ridge, London: Hodder and Stoughton. (Everest 1982 expedition; includes extracts from Boardman's expedition diary.)
Bonington, Chris (1986) The Everest Years: A Climber's Life, London: Hodder and Stoughton. (Includes Everest 1975, K2 1978, Kongur and Everest 1982 expeditions.)
Bonington, Chris (2002) Chris Bonington's Everest, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. (Includes chapters on Everest 1982 expedition and discovery of Boardman's body.)
Coffey, Maria (1989) Fragile Edge, London: Chatto & Windus. (Description of friendship between Boardman and Tasker by Tasker's partner, and journey to Everest with Hilary Boardman.)
Coffey, Maria (2003) Where the Mountain Casts its Shadow: The Personal Costs of Climbing, London: Hutchinson. (Describes effect of mountaineering deaths on family and friends, and impact of discovery of Boardman's body.)
Curran, Jim (1991) Suspended Sentences: From the Life of a Climbing Cameraman, London: Hodder and Stoughton. (Includes account of the Kongur expedition.)
Gray, Dennis (1990) Mountain Lover, Swindon: Crowood Press. (Gray was head of the BMC during Boardman's time there; includes anecdotes about Boardman.)
Scott, Doug (1992) Himalayan Climber, London: Diadem Books. (Contains brief accounts and many photos of expeditions Scott shared with Boardman.)
Tasker, Joe (1982) Savage Arena, London: Methuen. (Includes chapters on Changabang, K2 1978 and 1980, and Kangchenjunga expeditions.)
Willis, Clint (2006) The Boys of Everest: Chris Bonington and the Tragedy of Climbing's Greatest Generation, New York: Carroll & Graf. (Boardman was one of Bonington's "Boys"; provides historical context.)

External links
Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature
José Luis Bermúdez, 'Boardman, Peter David (1950–1982)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006
Mountain Heritage Trust
Nottingham University Mountaineering Club Journal
Alpine Journal
American Alpine Journal

1950 births
1982 deaths
Alumni of the University of Nottingham
British summiters of Mount Everest
English mountain climbers
English non-fiction writers
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners
Mountaineering deaths on Mount Everest
People educated at Stockport Grammar School
People from Stockport
Sport deaths in China
English male non-fiction writers
20th-century English male writers
English non-fiction outdoors writers

Peter Boardman


Sven Havsteen-Mikkelsen (16 September 1912, Argentina – 14 February 1999, Ærøskøbing) was a Danish painter who is remembered for his old Nordic landscapes, his church decorations and his woodcuts.

Early life and education

After his parents, Johan Theodor Havsteen and Ella Holm-Jensen, divorced, Havsteen-Mikkelsen was brought up by the polar explorer Ejnar Mikkelsen. He studied art under Olivian Holm Møller (1929), Fritz Syberg (1929–1932), P. Rostrup Bøyesen (1932–1933) and Oluf Høst (1932–1933). He also spent short periods at the Norwegian Academy under Per Krohg (1933–1934) and at the Danish Academy under Elof Risebye (1942–1943).

Artistic career

Havsteen-Mikkelsen's art and interests were deeply rooted in the Nordic countries. Under the influence of Ejnar Mikkelsen and thanks to early voyages to the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland, he was confronted while still young with subjects he would maintain throughout his life. He became especially interested in the age-old landscapes of the North, still free of the detrimental effects of civilisation. In his youth, Havsteen-Mikkelsen became acquainted with the Funen Painters where he also learnt the art of woodcut, a technique he would later use to illustrate books on Nordic literature. At the Academy in Oslo, his studies of stave church decoration developed his interest in sacred art.

After travelling widely outside Denmark, Havsteen-Mikkelsen settled first on Tåsinge and later on Ærø from where he toured the Danish countryside with Martin A. Hansen, Ole Wivel and Regin Dahl. From the 1950s, he became a central figure for church decoration in Denmark, completing altarpieces and religious works which often harmonised with existing Renaissance art. His work extended to stained glass windows which he often created with his son, the architect Alan Havsteen-Mikkelsen or with Mogens Frese. His landscapes from the Faroes and Iceland often depict early Christian communities but they are always free of human figures who are only to be found in his Biblical works. Among his landscapes depicting early Nordic cults are Askestorm, Island (1955) and Beinisvörd, Færøerne (1957). His portraits are often inspired by members of his family with 25 paintings of his wife Pam.

He illustrated many of Martin A. Hansen's books including Orm og Tyr (1952) with 400 of his woodcuts and  Rejse paa Island (1954). He also illustrated Herman Melville's Moby Dick (1955).  His illustrations are frequently based on very early Danish sacred art, both heathen and Christian. Another aspect of his illustrative work was postage stamp design. Together with his son Alan, he was the originator of an annual series of four or five stamps depicting different parts of Denmark (1974–1981). He also participated in earlier series (1970–1973) covering ships, architecture and frescos.

Havsteen-Mikkelsen received many awards for his work including the Eckersberg Medal in 1960 and the Thorvaldsen Medal in 1995.

Church decorations and furnishings
Of particular note is the decorative work Havsteen-Mikkelsen completed in some 60 churches in Denmark, Norway, Greenland and the Faroes comprising altarpieces, paintings, stained glass windows and crucifixes. Favourite subjects include Christ calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee, Christ's Crucifixion, and Christ's appearance in Emmaus.

In 1985, Havsteen-Mikkelsen designed the bronze gates to Frederik IX's Mausoleum adjacent to Roskilde Cathedral.

Permanent exhibitions

A permanent exhibition of Havsteen-Mikkelsen's work can be seen at Schæffergården in Jægersborg to the north of Copenhagen.

Søbygaard on the island of Ærø houses an exhibition of the preparatory sketches Havsteen-Mikkelsen made for his stained glass windows while Ærø Museum has a large collection of his portrait sketches, lithographs, illustrations and postage stamp works.

References

Argentine people of Norwegian descent
Argentine people of Icelandic descent
Argentine people of Danish descent
20th-century Danish painters
20th-century Danish illustrators
1912 births
1999 deaths
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni
Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal
Danish resistance members
Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal

Sven Havsteen-Mikkelsen


Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his leading man roles in film and television. The Guardian named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.

Quaid is known for his starring roles in Breaking Away (1979), The Right Stuff (1983), The Big Easy (1986), Innerspace (1987), Great Balls of Fire! (1989), Dragonheart (1996), The Parent Trap (1998), Frequency (2000), The Rookie (2002), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), In Good Company (2004), Yours, Mine & Ours (2005), and Vantage Point (2008). He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in Far from Heaven (2002).

Quaid also acted in Jaws 3-D (1983), Come See the Paradise (1990),  Any Given Sunday (1999), Traffic (2000), American Dreamz (2006), Footloose (2011), Playing for Keeps (2012), Truth (2015), Midway (2019), and Strange World (2022). He portrayed President Bill Clinton in the HBO film The Special Relationship (2010) for which he earned nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award.

Early life and education
Dennis William Quaid was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Juanita Bonnie Dale "Nita" (née Jordan), a real estate agent, and William Rudy Quaid (1923–1987), an electrician. He has English, Irish, Scots-Irish, and Cajun (French) ancestry. Through his father, he is a first cousin, twice removed, of cowboy performer Gene Autry. Quaid attended Paul W. Horn Elementary School in Bellaire and Pershing Middle School in Houston. He studied Mandarin and dance at Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas, and later in college, at the University of Houston, under drama coach Cecil Pickett, who had previously taught at Bellaire High and whose daughter is actress Cindy Pickett. Quaid was raised in the Baptist faith. He is the younger brother of actor Randy Quaid.

Career

1979–1982: Early roles
Quaid dropped out of the University of Houston before graduating and moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. He made his film debut in an uncredited role in the action comedy film Crazy Mama (1975) starring Cloris Leachman. He then acted in the psychological drama I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977) and the drama September 30, 1955 (1977). He initially had trouble finding work but began to gain notice after appearing in the comedy Breaking Away (1979) and the musical drama The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981), During this time he appeared in numerous films such as the drama film Our Winning Season (1978), the comedy film The Seniors (1978), the romantic comedy All Night Long (1981), and the slapstick comedy Caveman (1981). He portrayed outlaw Ed Miller in the Walter Hill directed Western drama The Long Riders (1980). He had an extra at a graduation ceremony in the Ivan Reitman directed comedy Stripes (1981) starring Bill Murray.

1983–2002: Stardom and acclaim
Known for his grin, Quaid has appeared in both comedic and dramatic roles. Quaid's breakout role was for his portrayal of astronaut Gordon Cooper in the critically acclaimed Philip Kaufman directed historical epic The Right Stuff (1983). The film received positive reviews earning an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination. Critic Roger Ebert praised the film writing, "It contains uniformly interesting performances" naming Quaid, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, and Fred Ward. Also that year He had starring roles in the films such as the horror film Jaws 3-D (1983) and romantic sports drama Tough Enough acting alongside Pam Grier. He later acted in the science fiction films Dreamscape (1984) and Enemy Mine (1985) and Innerspace (1987).

In 1987 he starred in the neo-noir romance thriller The Big Easy (1987) opposite Ellen Barkin. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post praised his performance comparing him to Jack Nicholson writing, "The same is true for Quaid. A gator grin spreading over his face, Quaid is so unabashedly full of himself that you get swept up in his enthusiastic high spirits. He's a life-giver, like Nicholson." For his performance he received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. He also achieved acclaim for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire! (1989) acting alongside Winona Ryder. In 1989, Quaid also appeared throughout the Bonnie Raitt music video for the song "Thing Called Love."

Quaid's career lost steam in the early 1990s after he fought anorexia nervosa brought on when he lost 40 pounds to play the tuberculosis-afflicted Doc Holliday in the Western drama Wyatt Earp (1994)  and recovered from a cocaine addiction. However, Quaid continued to garner positive reviews in a variety of films. He was also the guest star of a season 2 episode of Muppets Tonight (1997). He starred in the lead role in the 1996 adventure film Dragonheart, the remake of The Parent Trap (1998) directed by Nancy Meyers, playing the part of the twins' father, and as an aging pro football quarterback in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday (1999) and in the science fiction film Frequency (2000). In 1998, Quaid made his debut as a film director with Everything That Rises, a television movie western in which he also starred.

In 2000 he acted in Steven Soderbergh's crime drama Traffic which received critical acclaim. Quaid earned a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture along with the ensemble. Quaid gained acclaim for his role in the Norman Jewison directed HBO film Dinner with Friends (2001). The film is based on the Donald Margulies play of the same name. He acted alongside Andie MacDowell, Greg Kinnear, and Toni Colette. In 2002 he portrayed former baseball pitcher Jim Morris in the Walt Disney sports drama The Rookie (2002). Also that year he earned acclaim for his role as the closeted husband Frank Whitaker during the 1950s in the Todd Haynes directed romantic period film. Quaid acted alongside Julianne Moore and earned a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture after winning the Independent Spirit Award and the New York Film Critics Circle Award.

2003–present: Established actor
He then acted in films of various genres such as the thriller Cold Creek Manor (2003), the survival drama Flight of the Phoenix (2004), the war film The Alamo (2004), the romantic comedy In Good Company (2004), the disaster film The Day After Tomorrow (2004), and the family comedy Yours, Mine & Ours (2005). He played the president in the political comedy American Dreamz (2006) with Hugh Grant, Mandy Moore, Marcia Gay Harden, and Willem Dafoe. In 2008 he acted in the political action thriller Vantage Point (2008) alongside Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, and Forest Whitaker. That same year he portrayed football coach Ben Schwartzwalder in the sports drama The Express: The Ernie Davis Story (2008). In 2009 he portrayed General Clayton M. Abernathy / Hawk in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009). He also acted in Pandorum (2009) and guest starred in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, playing Mr. Krabs' grandfather, Captain Redbeard.

Quaid returned to television portraying U.S. President Bill Clinton, alongside Michael Sheen as Tony Blair and Hope Davis as Hillary Clinton, in the HBO film The Special Relationship (2009). He received acclaim as well as nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie as well as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2012 and 2013, Quaid played Sheriff Ralph Lamb in the CBS TV drama series Vegas. In 2015 he made guest appearances playing Lucky Luciano in Drunk History and a Chief and a Judge in Inside Amy Schumer. From 2015 to 2016 he played Samuel Brukner in the Crackle series The Art of More. He played Michael Lennox in the British series Fortitude in 2017 and Wade Blackwood in the Amazon Prime legal series Goliath in 2019.

In 2017, Quaid starred in A Dog's Purpose as Ethan Montgomery, billed as "a celebration of the special connection between humans and their dogs". The following year, Quaid starred in I Can Only Imagine, where he played Arthur Millard, the father of singer and songwriter Bart Millard, and Kin, where he plays Hal, the father of the film's two protagonists. In 2019, he portrayed Vice Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey in the war drama Midway. In 2023 he voiced a leading role in the Walt Disney Animated film Strange World. That same year he starred in the sports drama The Hill (2023).

In March 2018, it was confirmed by director Sean McNamara that Quaid would portray President Ronald Reagan in an upcoming biopic, titled Reagan, this would be the second time Quaid portrayed a U.S. president. The film was slated to have a summer 2019 release; however, it is still in pre-production  and was scheduled to begin filming in May 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personal life

Relationships and children
Quaid has been married four times and has three children.

He met his first wife, actress P. J. Soles, on the set of the film Our Winning Season. They were married in 1978 and divorced in 1983.

On February 14, 1991, he married actress Meg Ryan. Quaid and Ryan fell in love during the shooting of their second film together, D.O.A. They have a son, Jack Henry Quaid (born 1992). Quaid and Ryan announced their separation on June 28, 2000, saying they had been separated six weeks by then. Their divorce was finalized in July 2001.

Quaid dated model Shanna Moakler from February to October 2001.

He married Texas real-estate agent Kimberly Buffington on July 4, 2004, at his ranch in Paradise Valley, Montana. They have fraternal twins who were born via a surrogate on November 8, 2007, in Santa Monica, California.

On November 18, 2007, hospital staff mistakenly gave Quaid's ten-day-old twins a dosage of heparin (a blood thinner) that was 1,000 times the common dosage for infants. The babies recovered, but Quaid filed a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer, Baxter Healthcare, claiming that packaging for the two doses of heparin are not different enough. In May 2008, the Quaids testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asking U.S. Congress not to preempt the right to sue drug manufacturers for negligence under state law. This incident led Quaid to become a patient-safety advocate, producing a series of documentaries on preventable medical errors that aired on the Discovery Channel as well as co-authoring a medical journal article addressing the positive influence of patient stories in motivating change in healthcare. The first documentary, Chasing Zero: Winning the War on Healthcare Harm, aired on the Discovery Channel in 2010, and the second documentary, Surfing the Healthcare Tsunami: Bring Your Best Board, aired on the Discovery Channel in 2012.

Buffington filed for divorce from Quaid in March 2012. Buffington's attorney then withdrew the divorce papers on April 26, 2012. That summer, Quaid and Buffington moved to California. In October 2012, he and Buffington again decided to separate, and Buffington filed for legal separation, seeking joint legal and sole physical custody of the twins. After waiting to establish the required six months of residency in California, Quaid filed for divorce on November 30, 2012, asking for joint legal and physical custody of the children and offering to pay spousal support to Buffington. They then reconciled and the divorce was dismissed by September 2013. On June 28, 2016, the couple announced in a joint statement that they were divorcing, with Buffington asking for full physical custody and joint legal custody. The divorce was finalized on April 27, 2018.

Following his separation from Buffington, Quaid dated model Santa Auzina from July 2016 to 2019.

On October 21, 2019, Quaid confirmed his engagement to Laura Savoie. After postponing their original wedding date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they got married on June 2, 2020, in Santa Barbara.

Religion
Quaid is a Christian, writing the Christian song "On My Way to Heaven" dedicated to his mother and included in the film I Can Only Imagine, in which he starred.

Interests
In addition to acting, Quaid is a musician and plays with his band, the Sharks. He wrote and performed the song "Closer to You" in the film The Big Easy (1987). He also has a pilot's license and owned a Cessna Citation. He is also a one-handicap golfer, and in 2005, he was named as the top golfer among the "Hollywood set" by Golf Digest magazine.

Quaid is a fan of the Houston Astros, and after the team's 2005 National League Championship-winning season, he narrated their commemorative DVD release. After the filming of The Express: The Ernie Davis Story, Quaid went to Cleveland Browns Stadium to dedicate Davis's jersey.

Quaid began podcasting in 2020. He started The Pet Show with Dennis Quaid and Jimmy Jellinek. Its first episode premiered on July 10, 2020. During that podcast, Quaid learned of a cat in Lynchburg, Virginia also named Dennis Quaid. He adopted the cat and flew it out to California to live at his recording studio.

Substance use
There have been extensive stories about Quaid's past abuse of cocaine. In a candid 2002 interview with Larry King on his talk show, after King asked about his motives for using drugs, Quaid responded, "Well, you got to put it in context. Back in the late 1960s, early 1970s. That was back during the time where, you know, drugs were going to expand our minds and everybody was experimenting and everything. We were really getting high, we didn't know it. And cocaine at that time was considered harmless. You know. I remember magazine articles in People Magazine of doctors saying it is not addicting. It is just—alcohol is worse. So I think we all fell into that. But that's not the way it was."

When asked if he believed he had ever been addicted to the drugs, Quaid responded, "It was a gradual thing. But it got to the point where I couldn't have any fun unless I had it. Which is a bad place to be." Later in the interview, he said, "But I saw myself being dead in about five years if I didn't stop."

Political views
In a 2018 interview with the New York Post, Quaid stated he was a registered Independent and has voted for both Democratic and Republican candidates, saying that he did not consider himself an adherent to any particular ideology; though he did opine that Ronald Reagan was his favorite president of his lifetime. In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Quaid stated that President Donald Trump was handling the pandemic well, calling him "involved". Quaid subsequently recorded an interview with infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci as part of an advertising campaign by the Department of Health and Human Services to "defeat despair" surrounding COVID-19.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

For his role in Far from Heaven (2002) he won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He received nominations for Best Supporting Actor from the Golden Globe Awards, the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Quaid was also honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, the University of Houston, in April 2012.

References

Further reading
 Author describes Quaid's participation in the film Great Balls of Fire.

External links

 Interview with Dennis Quaid at Everybody's All American press junket at Texas Archive of the Moving Image
 Interview on KVUE with Dennis Quaid in 1987 about Innerspace from Texas Archive of the Moving Image

1954 births
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American aviators
American Christians
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American people of English descent
American people of French descent
American people of Irish descent
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
Bellaire High School (Bellaire, Texas) alumni
Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead winners
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male winners
Living people
Male actors from Houston
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Texas Independents
University of Houston alumni

Dennis Quaid