New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education and one of two flagship universities in New Mexico. NMSU has campuses in Alamogordo, Doña Ana County, and Grants, as well as research centers and programs in all 33 counties in the state.

Initially established as Las Cruces College, NMSU was designated a land-grant college in 1898 and renamed New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts; it received its present name in 1960. NMSU offers over 180 degree programs, including 28 doctoral, 58 master's, and 96 baccalaureate programs. It had approximately 21,700 enrolled in Fall 2021, with a faculty-to-student ratio of roughly 1 to 16. New Mexico State's athletic teams, the Aggies, compete at the NCAA Division I level in Conference USA.

NMSU is classified as having "high research activity" among doctoral universities. It is particularly noted for its graduate programs in education, engineering, business, and nursing. NMSU is the chief space grant college in New Mexico and leads one of 52 national consortia dedicated to space research.

History

Hiram Hadley, an Earlham College-educated teacher from Indiana, founded Las Cruces College. Upon its opening on September 17, 1888, it included an elementary school, a university preparatory school, and a business school; it "was not a college in the contemporary meaning of the word."

A year later, the Territorial Assembly of New Mexico provided for the establishment of an agricultural college and agricultural experiment station with the Rodey Act of 1889. It stated: "Said institution is hereby located at or near the town of Las Cruces in the County of Doña Ana, upon a tract of land of not less than one hundred (100) acres." Designated as the land-grant college for New Mexico under the Morrill Act, it was named the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.

Las Cruces College merged with the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts and opened on January 21, 1890. It began with 35 students and six faculty members. The college was supposed to graduate its first student in 1893, but the only senior, Sam Steel, was murdered before he was able to receive his diploma. Classes met in the two-room adobe building of Las Cruces College until new buildings were erected on the  campus three miles (5 km) south of Las Cruces. In February 1891, McFie Hall, popularly known as Old Main, opened its doors.

In 1960, to better represent its expanded programs and operations, New Mexico A&M was renamed New Mexico State University.

New Mexico State University now has a  campus and enrolls more than 21,000 students from the United States and 71 foreign countries. Full-time faculty members number 694, with a staff of 3,113.

Organization and administration
Regulated by the New Mexico Constitution, the Regents of New Mexico State University are a corporate body that implements legislation over the control and management of NMSU. The board is made of up five persons appointed by the governor of New Mexico with the consent of the senate. Four members are qualified electors of the state of New Mexico, and one is a member of the student body.

The NMSU faculty senate consists of 60 elected faculty and has legal authority over all academic policies across the NMSU system.

Campus
The main campus of New Mexico State University occupies a core of  in the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico. It is located adjacent to Interstate 25, surrounded by desert landscape and greenhouses. The main campus is also bordered by Interstate 10, which is the main east–west interstate highway across the southern part of the United States. To the east of Interstate 25, the campus facilities consist of the President's residence, NMSU Golf Course, the "A" Mountain west slope, and the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. South of University Avenue are Pan American Plaza, 48 acres of horse farm, and the Fabian Garcia Science center, which houses the Chile Pepper Institute's research, teaching and demonstration garden, algal biofuels research equipment, grape vineyards and gazebos, and fields and greenhouses for plant research projects. About six miles south of campus, on 203 acres of land, is the Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center.

The Las Cruces campus is home to a nesting population of Swainson's hawks, a raptor species currently protected by federal law. In defense of their nest, the hawks are often mistaken for attacking pedestrians. Pedestrians are advised to be careful when walking on Stewart Street, as signs have been posted all across.

The first master plan of the university was to create a "Horseshoe", a U-shaped drive, in an open large lawn. At the center was Old Main, the original campus building, originally known as McFie Hall, which was destroyed by fire in 1910 (the remains are now a college landmark). The cornerstone and remains of Mcfie Hall stand near the flagpole in the middle of the Horseshoe. Today, the Horseshoe is the center of campus and is the location of the main administration building, Hadley Hall, which sits at the top of the Horseshoe, and other classroom buildings.

NMSU is a land-grant institution with a presence in all 33 counties of New Mexico, a satellite learning center in Albuquerque, 13 research and science centers, distance education opportunities, and five campuses in Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Grants, Doña Ana County, and Las Cruces.

Medical school

The Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State University (BCOM), a private medical school, is located on NMSU's main campus. Medical students can utilize the facilities and amenities of NMSU's campus, including on-campus student housing. BCOM began instruction in August 2016 and will graduate its first class in May 2020. BCOM and NMSU created a pipeline program whereby NMSU students who meet certain qualifications during their undergraduate studies are guaranteed a seat at the medical school following graduating from NMSU. In addition, BCOM has established a scholarship fund at NMSU. BCOM is the first osteopathic medical school in New Mexico and just one of two medical schools in the state, the other being in Albuquerque at the University of New Mexico.

Libraries

NMSU has two major libraries on the main campus, Branson Hall Library and Zuhl Library. Both libraries have a total collection of more than 1 million volumes.

Branson Hall Library
Branson Hall Library was built in 1951 and houses texts and resources related to engineering, business, agriculture, science, special collections, maps, government publications, and archives.

Zuhl Library
Zuhl Library was built in 1992 at a cost of $3 million. The library houses texts and resources related to the arts, humanities, and sciences.

Museums and collections
NMSU is home to several museums, collections, and galleries. The NMSU Arthropod Museum, which houses more than 150,000 research and 5,000 teaching specimens, is housed in Skeen Hall. Specimens are used globally for taxonomic research and within the state for community outreach. The University Museum (established in 1959) serves the community as a repository and exhibitor of local and regional culture and history. The Klipsch Museum containts materials representing more than 80 years of audio engineering. The Zuhl Collection combines the functions of an art gallery and natural history museum and showcases thousands of specimens of petrified wood, fossils, and minerals.

Police department
The university has a dedicated police department employing approximately 35 people, some of whom are full-time commissioned police officers. The number of employed personnel expands greatly during special events such as concerts or sporting events, with as many as 50 security guards and dozens of additional officers from other departments. In addition to the Las Cruces campus, the department also has authority for all university-owned campuses, lands, and facilities around the state.

The department also offers personal defense courses for females on campus, including training in rape prevention, escape and the proper use of pepper sprays. Campus officers receive training on gender identity/expression issues, which has helped the university achieve an overall score of 4 out of 5 for LGBT friendliness.

Academics
NMSU offers a wide variety of programs across multiple disciplines, including agriculture, education, engineering, and the sciences. There are 58 master's degree programs, 96 baccalaureate degree programs 28 doctoral programs. Over 4,400 courses are available across 54 academic departments.

In addition to the main campus in Las Cruces, NMSU has community colleges in Alamogordo, Doña Ana County, and Grants, through which it offers academic, vocational/technical, and continuing education programs. In accord with its land-grant mission, the university provides informal, off-campus educational programs through the Cooperative Extension Service. Through a statewide network of nine research facilities, the Agricultural Experiment Station conducts basic and applied research supporting agriculture, natural resources management, environmental quality, and improved quality of life.

NMSU is divided into six colleges and a graduate school:
College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
College of Business
College of Engineering
College of Health, Education and Social Transformation
Honors College
Graduate School

Rankings
According to the 2022 college rankings by U.S. News & World Report, NMSU is tied for 263 among National Universities and tied for 132 among public universities in the U.S. USN&WR ranked several programs among the top 200 in the nation, including the College of Engineering's graduate program at 149, the Nursing School for master's degrees (139; tied) and Doctoral degrees (109), and the College of Education's graduate program (125; tied). Forbes listed NMSU as one of "America's Top Colleges in 2021", based on indicators such as alumni salary, debt, return on investment, and graduation rate.

In 2015, Business Insider ranked NMSU 42 among the "50 most underrated colleges in America", based on a comparison USN&WR's rankings of Best Colleges with PayScale's 2015-16 College Salary Report, which ranked more than 1,000 institutions based on mid-career salaries of graduates. The same year, New Mexico State was listed among the top 12 percent of schools that help improve students' economic status, according CollegeNET's "Social Mobility Index", based on factors such as tuition, economic background, graduation rate, early career salary, and endowment. In 2022, NMSU was among the top 35 percent of schools in the SMI rankings.

NMSU is recognized as a top institution for minority students. In 2021, it was recognized as one of the Top 100 Colleges and Universities for Hispanics by Hispanic Outlook on Education Magazine. A 2017 report by the National Science Foundation's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics ranked NMSU first for federal funding for science and engineering activities for minority-serving institutions. In 2016, NMSU was among the top 10 universities in awarding bachelor's degrees to Hispanics, including for communications technologies/technicians and support services (seventh); agriculture, agriculture operations and related sciences (eighth); hospitality administration/management (ninth); engineering technologies and engineering-related fields (10); and education (10). The school also ranked among the top 10 universities in conferring bachelor's degrees to Native Americans. The school also ranked ninth for awarding bachelor's degrees to minorities overall for agriculture, agriculture operations and related sciences.

Institutes and research programs

Research programs

The university is home to New Mexico's NASA Space Grant Program.

In 2010, the NMSU Physical Sciences Laboratory secured a study contract with Reaction Engines Limited, a British aerospace company that is developing technology for an airbreathing single stage to orbit, precooled air turboramjet based spaceplane.

The NMSU Department of Astronomy operates the Sunspot Solar Observatory and Apache Point Observatory, in Sunspot, New Mexico, including the site of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

NMSU is a research active university, with $150 million per year in externally funded research programs. Its estimated annual economic impact in New Mexico is $1 billion. Anchoring the southern end of New Mexico's Rio Grande Research Corridor, NMSU is the only university to reach the platinum, or highest, level of service to NASA's Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program. SATOP makes the expertise of corporate and university researchers available to small businesses.

Academic centers and research institutes
 Agricultural Experiment Station – conducts basic and applied research supporting agriculture, natural resources management, environmental quality, and improved quality of life.
 Arrowhead Center – provides business assistance, technology incubation, intellectual property commercialization, economic policy analysis to local businesses as well as students, staff and faculty at the university.
 Institute for Energy and Environment (IEE) – a multidisciplinary, energy sector and water resource institute. IEE's goal is to provide global leadership, expertise, and technology for public policy, technical and human resource development to meet growing energy and water needs. The International Environmental Design Contest is co-hosted by the IEE.
 Manufacturing Technology and Engineering Center (M-TEC) – supports economic development in New Mexico by providing manufacturing education, technical assistance, and other extension services to industries in New Mexico.

Student life

Student organizations
NMSU student organizations include a Greek system and several religious organizations. The Associated Students of New Mexico State University (ASNMSU) is the student government and is considered a departmental organization. It consists of an elected student body president, vice president, 30 senators, and an appointed student supreme court. Senators are elected to two semester terms, with two elections each school year, in each, 15 senators are elected. There are 12 different departments within ASNMSU, who manage various events such as the homecoming parade, free student concerts, a free cab program for students, and many others. Each department is overseen by a director, who is appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate. ASNMSU manages a budget of over $1 million.

Greek life
There are numerous fraternities and sororities at New Mexico State University. Kappa Sigma was suspended after a student was shot during hazing in 2020.

Media
Founded in 1907, The Round Up is the oldest student-run news publication at New Mexico State University. In fall 2017, it reduced its printing frequency and now provides current online news coverage as well as special print editions.

KRWG-TV is a full-service television station in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and is operated and owned by New Mexico State University. It is a member station of PBS (Public Broadcasting Service).

Puerto del Sol is a literary magazine run by graduate students in the English Department. It has been in print for over fifty years and currently publishes biannually. The magazine also curates a Black Voices series on its website.

News22 is a student-run television newscast that airs live on KRWG-TV three days per week during the nine-month academic year. The broadcast is produced by New Mexico State University journalism students. In 2011, News22 added Noticias22 en Español, a Spanish language broadcast that airs Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Las Cruces, Silver City and El Paso, Texas.

Kokopelli is an online news publication produced by New Mexico State University journalism students. Kokopelli provides breaking news, features and weekly sports coverage during the nine-month academic year. Kokopelli is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press.

NMSU also owns and operates two radio stations: KRUX (91.5 FM) and KRWG-FM.

KRUX is an entirely student–run, non-commercial radio station located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, that was founded in 1989. KRUX is financed through student fees administered by the Associated Students of New Mexico State University, the student government of NMSU. KRUX is a member of the Collegiate Music Journal Network.

KRWG-FM (90.7 FM) is a public, non-commercial, full-service FM radio station. It serves the area within southwestern New Mexico and Far West Texas. It is an affiliated station of National Public Radio and features NPR programming.

Traditions

Aggies
The nickname was derived from its roots and beginnings as an agricultural school and the state's only designated land-grant university.

Victory Bell

In the 1940s, the Victory Bell, a gift of the Class of 1939, was housed in an open-sided structure on the Horseshoe and rung to announce Aggie victories. In 1972, the bell was rededicated as the NMSU Engineer's Bell and mounted on a platform near Goddard Hall. On game days, various school organizations took turns in toting the ringing bell around Las Cruces before kick-off. The Bell was then taken to Aggie Memorial Stadium where it rang after Aggie touchdowns. More recently, the bell has been permanently mounted at field level just behind the south goal post of the stadium.

"A" Tradition
In 1920, students of then New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts scouted for an appropriate place to display their school letter. Tortugas Mountain, located three miles (5 km) east of campus, seemed a natural spot. Brave males gathered enough stones to form a big "A" easily visible from campus and the surrounding area. On the following day, April 1, students trudged up the mountain side with their five-gallon cans of whitewash and splashed it on the stones, turning them into a gleaming white "A". For many years, giving the "A" its annual fresh coat of whitewash was an all-school effort. The seniors mixed lime and water at the foot of the mountain and the freshmen and sophomores toted the mixture up to the juniors who splashed it on the "A." With the growth of the university through the years, the tradition was taken over by the Greek Council.

The Pride of New Mexico Marching Band
The marching band of New Mexico State University is known as the Pride of New Mexico. It is composed of approximately 200 musicians, dancers, and auxiliary. They provide entertainment at football games, parades, and other NMSU events. Timothy Lautzenheiser was director of the band, naming it the Pride of New Mexico, from 1976 to 1979.

The Wonder Dog
At kickoff of every NMSU home football game, Aggie fans await the "Wonder Dog" to retrieve the kicking tee from the football field. This tradition started in the mid 1990s. The first "Wonder Dog" was Smoki, a border collie-Australian shepherd mix born in Capitan, New Mexico, and trained by Joel Sims, an NMSU alumni. Smoki "The Wonder Dog" entertained the Aggie crowd for six years and retired in 2002. She also debuted in a Hollywood film which co-starred Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid, entitled "Wyatt Earp", as a town dog. Smoki "The Wonder Dog" died at the age of 15 in 2005. Since then, the tradition ended until 2012, when a tryout for the next "Wonder Dog" took place. A panel of celebrity judges chose a four-year old border collie, Striking as the next "Wonder Dog". Striking first appeared on August 30, 2012, at the NMSU-Sacramento State home game.

Crimson Fridays
Every Friday, some students, faculties, staff, and alumni of NMSU wear crimson colors to show support for the university and the school's sports programs.

NMSU ring
The official ring of New Mexico State University is given to students with junior and senior standing, and alumni of NMSU, to celebrate and commemorate their achievements and NMSU traditions. The official Ring Ceremony is sponsored by the Alumni Association, which is held every spring and fall Semester at the Aggie Memorial Tower.

The official ring is manufactured by Balfour, which comes with white gold and yellow gold, with an optional stone; diamond or cubic zirconia at the centerpiece of the ring; and is presented with Hatch Chile Ristra. The top of the ring highlights the NMSU three triangles school seal, encircled with the school name. The three triangles represent NMSU's role as a land-grant university – teaching, research, and service. It also represents the connection of Spanish, American Indian, and Anglo cultures in New Mexico, and the triangulation of NMSU campus with Interstate 10 linking Interstate 25 in the first principal interchange of the Pan American Highway in North America. The one side of the ring shows the Aggie Memorial Tower, in honor of Aggies who died for the country, and the other side of the ring displays the majestic Organ Mountains. Students wear the ring facing the school name.  Upon granting of degrees, graduates should turn the ring around facing outward, which symbolizes that they are ready to face the world.

Noche de Luminarias
A tradition that signals the beginning of the holiday season is the "Noche de Luminarias" or "Night of Lights". A university tradition that started as the President's Holiday Reception in 1984, which starts the holiday season with a night of entertainment and festivities. It is considered one of the largest luminaria displays in the state of New Mexico.

Each candle set is lit inside a paper bag. With more than 6,000 luminarias, it begins at the Educational Services Building, extends towards the International Mall and then encircles the Corbett Center Student Union. The display is set up by the Las Cruces High School band and serenades visitors as they walk through the lighted path by the Las Cruces High School Brass Choir.

Athletics

NMSU's teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings.

New Mexico State is a member of Conference USA (C-USA), as of July 1st, 2023. Conference USA is the sixth conference NMSU has been affiliated with in its football history. New Mexico State spent the past eighteen seasons as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Before that, NMSU was a member of the Big West Conference, Sun Belt Conference, Missouri Valley Conference and the Border Conference.

In 2023, two basketball players complained of sexual assault during hazing rituals. Deuce Benjamin settled out of court for $4.125 million, Shak Odunewu settled out of court for $3.875 million, and the case was dropped.

Another athletic program at New Mexico State was the women's Equestrian Team. The Equestrian Team was first established in 2004. The Equestrian team was cut following the 2016–2017 season due to budget cuts.

Rivalries

NMSU maintains strong athletic rivalries with the University of New Mexico. The UNM-NMSU rivalry is called the Rio Grande Rivalry (aka Battle of I-25), a competitive series based on points awarded to the winners of head-to-head competitions between the two universities in every sport. A rotating trophy is granted to the winning university for a period of one year, until the award presentation the following year. Different traditions take place at each school the night before game day.

The university also has a strong rivalry with the University of Texas at El Paso known as The Battle of I-10. UTEP and NMSU are located just over 40 miles apart.

Notable people

Alumni
There are approximately 120,000 living NMSU alumni. The NMSU Alumni Association is one of the university's oldest organizations, dating from May 24, 1898.  Notable alumnae include Kevin Johnson, President and CEO of Starbucks Corporation; Paul Wilbur Klipsch, founder of Klipsch Audio Technologies; Jerome Shaw, EVP/COO of Volt Information Sciences, Inc; Christine Aguilera, president of SkyMall; Jorge Gardea-Torresdey, a nanoparticle researcher and professor at the University of Texas at El Paso; Alvy Ray Smith, co-founder of Pixar; and Kathy Lueders, the first woman to head NASA's human spaceflight program as the Associate Administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate.

Faculty
Notable faculty include:
 Clyde Tombaugh, an astronomer best known for his discovery of Pluto
 Antonya Nelson, named by The New Yorker as one of the 20 best young fiction writers in America, has published three novels and more than 50 stories

Notes

References

External links

New Mexico State Athletics website

1888 establishments in New Mexico Territory
Buildings and structures in Doña Ana County, New Mexico
Education in Cibola County, New Mexico
Education in Doña Ana County, New Mexico
Education in Eddy County, New Mexico
Education in Otero County, New Mexico
Universities and colleges established in 1888
Land-grant universities and colleges
Public universities and colleges in New Mexico
Buildings and structures in Las Cruces, New Mexico
New Mexico State

New Mexico State University


Willard Carroll  Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper and film producer. He has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and four Grammy Awards. As of , his films have grossed over $9.3 billion globally, making him one of Hollywood's most bankable stars.

Smith began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996). He first gained recognition as part of a hip hop duo with DJ Jazzy Jeff, with whom he released five studio albums and the US Billboard Hot 100 top 20 singles "Parents Just Don't Understand", "A Nightmare on My Street", "Summertime", "Ring My Bell", and "Boom! Shake the Room" from 1984 to 1994. He released the solo albums Big Willie Style (1997), Willennium (1999), Born to Reign (2002), and Lost and Found (2005), which contained the US number-one singles "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" and "Wild Wild West". He has received four Grammy Awards for his rap performances.

Smith achieved wider fame as a leading man for the action film Bad Boys (1995) and the science fiction comedy Men in Black (1997); he later reprised his role in several sequels. After starring in the thrillers Independence Day (1996) and Enemy of the State (1998), he received Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his portrayal as Muhammad Ali in Ali (2001), and as Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). His other commercially successful films include I, Robot (2004), Shark Tale (2004), Hitch (2005), I Am Legend (2007), Hancock (2008), Seven Pounds (2008), Suicide Squad (2016) and Aladdin (2019).

For his portrayal of Richard Williams in the biographical sports drama King Richard (2021), Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor. At the 2022 ceremony, shortly before winning, Smith faced backlash for slapping presenter Chris Rock after Rock made an unscripted joke referencing Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith subsequently resigned from the Academy and was banned from attending all their events for ten years.

Early life
Willard Carroll Smith II was born on September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, to Caroline (née Bright), a school board administrator, and Willard Carroll Smith Sr., a US Air Force veteran and refrigeration engineer. His mother graduated from Carnegie Mellon University.

He grew up in West Philadelphia's Wynnefield neighborhood and was raised Baptist. He has an elder sister named Pamela and two younger siblings, twins Harry and Ellen. He attended Our Lady of Lourdes, a private Catholic elementary school in Philadelphia, and Overbrook High School. His parents separated when he was 13 and divorced around the year 2000.

Smith began rapping at age 12. When his grandmother found a notebook of his lyrics, which he described as containing "all [his] little curse words", she wrote him a note on a page in the book: "Dear Willard, truly intelligent people do not have to use words like this to express themselves. Please show the world that you're as smart as we think you are". Smith said that this influenced his decision not to use profanity in his music.

Career

1985–1992: DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince

Smith started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as turntablist and producer. Townes and Smith were introduced to each other by chance in 1985, as Townes was performing at a house party only a few doors down from Smith's residence, and he was missing his hype man. Smith decided to fill in. They both felt strong chemistry, and Townes was upset when his hype man finally made it to the party.

Soon after, the two decided to collaborate. Smith enlisted a friend to join as the beatboxer of the group, Clarence Holmes aka Ready Rock C, making them a trio. Philadelphia-based Word Records released their first single in 1986 when A&R man Paul Oakenfold introduced them to Champion Records with their single "Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble," a tale of funny misadventures that landed Smith and his former DJ and rap partner Mark Forrest (Lord Supreme) in trouble. The song sampled the theme song of "I Dream of Jeannie." Smith became known for light-hearted story-telling raps and capable, though profanity-free, "battle" rhymes. The single became a hit a month before Smith graduated from high school.

Based on this success, the duo were brought to the attention of Jive Records and Russell Simmons. The duo's first album, Rock the House, which was first released on Word Up in 1986 debuted on Jive in March 1987. The group received the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for "Parents Just Don't Understand" (1988), though their most successful single was "Summertime" (1991), which earned the group their second Grammy and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Smith and Townes are still friends and claim that they never split up, having made songs under Smith's solo performer credit.

Smith spent money freely around 1988 and 1989 and underpaid his income taxes. The Internal Revenue Service eventually assessed a $2.8 million tax debt against Smith, took many of his possessions, and garnished his income. Smith was struggling financially in 1990 when the NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him. The show was successful and began his acting career. Smith set for himself the goal of becoming "the biggest movie star in the world", studying box office successes' common characteristics. In 1989, Smith was arrested in relation to an alleged assault on his record promoter, William Hendricks; the charges were later dismissed.

1993–1997: Solo music and film breakthrough
Smith's first major roles were in the drama Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and the action film Bad Boys (1995) in which he starred opposite Martin Lawrence. The latter film was commercially successful, grossing $141.4 million worldwide. However, critical reception was generally mixed. In 1996, Smith starred as part of an ensemble cast in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day. The film was a massive blockbuster, becoming the second highest-grossing film in history at the time and establishing Smith as a prime box office draw.

In the summer of 1997, he starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the hit Men in Black, playing Agent J. The film was released on July 2 by Columbia Pictures and grossed over $589.3 million worldwide against a $90 million budget, becoming the year's third highest-grossing film, with an estimated 54,616,700 tickets sold in the US. It received positive reviews, with critics praising its humor, as well as Jones's and Smith's performances.

During the summer of 1997, Smith also began his solo music career with the release of "Men in Black", the theme song for the film, which topped singles charts in several regions across the world, including the UK. "Men in Black" (and second single "Just Cruisin'") was later included on Smith's debut solo album Big Willie Style, which reached the top ten of the US Billboard 200 and was certified nine times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The third single from the album, "Gettin' Jiggy wit It", became Smith's first Billboard Hot 100 number one when it was released in 1998.

1998–2007: Leading man status

In 1998, Smith starred with Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State. The following year he turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West (1999). Despite the disappointment of Wild Wild West, Smith said that he has no regrets about his decision, asserting that Keanu Reeves's performance as Neo was superior to what Smith himself would have achieved, although in interviews subsequent to the release of Wild Wild West he said that he "made a mistake on Wild Wild West. That could have been better."

Smith's second album was again supported by the release of a film theme song as the lead single: "Wild Wild West", featuring Dru Hill and Kool Moe Dee, topped the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the RIAA. The album in question, Willennium, reached number five on the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum by the RIAA. "Will 2K", the second single from the album, reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Before the end of 1999, a video album was released featuring Smith's seven music videos released to date, which reached number 25 on the UK Music Video Chart. The same year, he was also featured on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star Tatyana Ali's single "Boy You Knock Me Out", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and topped the UK R&B Singles Chart.

Smith portrayed heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali in the 2001 biopic Ali. For his performance he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. In 2002, following a four-year musical hiatus, Smith returned with his third album Born to Reign, which reached number 13 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA. The album's lead single was the theme song from Smith's film Men in Black II, called "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart. Later in the year, Smith's first compilation album Greatest Hits was released, featuring songs from his three solo albums as well as those produced with DJ Jazzy Jeff.

2003 saw Smith return for Bad Boys II, the sequel to the 1995 film Bad Boys; the film follows detectives Burnett and Lowrey investigating the flow of ecstasy into Miami. Despite receiving generally negative reviews, the film was a box-office success, grossing $270 million worldwide. In the following year, he starred in the science fiction film I, Robot and the animated film Shark Tale; both films were box office successes despite mixed reviews. Smith's latest album Lost and Found was released in 2005, peaking at number six on the Billboard 200. Lead single "Switch" reached the top ten of both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. In 2005, Smith was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for attending three premieres in a 24-hour time span. Smith and his son Jaden played father and son in the 2006 biographical drama The Pursuit of Happyness. In the film Smith portrays Chris Gardner. Smith first became interested in making a film about Gardner after seeing him on 20/20 and connected with him during production. The film, along with Smith's performance, received praise.

On December 10, 2007, Smith was honored at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Smith left an imprint of his hands and feet outside the theater in front of many fans. Later that month, Smith starred in the film I Am Legend, released on December 14, 2007. Alongside marginally positive reviews, its opening was the largest ever for a film released in the United States during December. Smith himself has said that he considers the film to be "aggressively unique". A reviewer said that the film's commercial success "cemented [Smith's] standing as the number one box office draw in Hollywood." On December 1, 2008, TV Guide reported that Smith was selected as one of America's top ten most fascinating people of 2008 for a Barbara Walters ABC special that aired on December 4, 2008.

2008–2019: Blockbusters and critical disappointments
In 2008, Smith was reported to be developing a film entitled The Last Pharaoh, in which he would be starring as Taharqa. Smith later starred in the superhero movie Hancock, which grossed $227,946,274 in the United States and Canada and had a worldwide total of $624,386,746. On August 19, 2011, it was announced that Smith returned to the studio with producer La Mar Edwards to work on his fifth studio album.

Smith again reprised his role as Agent J with Men in Black 3, which opened on May 25, 2012, his first major starring role in four years. After the release of the film, Smith was content with ending his work with the franchise, saying, "I think three is enough for me. Three of anything is enough for me. We'll look at it and we'll consider it, but it feels like that it might be time to let someone else do that." Men in Black 3, released ten years after Men in Black II (2002), grossed over $624 million worldwide. Unadjusted for inflation, it is the highest-grossing film in the series.

In 2013, Smith starred in After Earth with his son Jaden. The film was a disappointment at the domestic box office and was panned critically. Calling the film "the most painful failure in my career", Smith ended up taking a year and a half break as a result.

Smith starred opposite Margot Robbie in the romance drama Focus, released on February 27, 2015. He played Nicky Spurgeon, a veteran con artist who takes a young, attractive woman under his wing. Smith was set to star in the sci-fi thriller Brilliance, an adaptation of Marcus Sakey's novel of the same name scripted by Jurassic Park writer David Koepp, but he left the project to work on the Ridley Scott-produced sports drama Concussion.

In Concussion, Smith played Dr. Bennet Omalu of the Brain Injury Research Institute, the first to discover chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Smith reported he had doubts about the film early in the production, saying, "some of my happiest memories are of watching my son catch and throw a football. I didn't want to be the guy who did a movie saying football could be dangerous." These views subsided when he met Omalu, whose words about American ideals resonated with Smith. Smith's performance was praised for being "sensitive [and] understated".

In 2016, Smith played Deadshot in the supervillain team-up action film Suicide Squad. Smith's participation in the film meant choosing it over a role in Independence Day: Resurgence, which he said would be like "clinging and clawing backwards." While Suicide Squad was a massive financial success, earning over $700 million at the box office, the film received negative reviews from critics. Christopher Orr, film critic from The Atlantic wrote that "the latest offering from the DC Comics superhero universe may be the most disastrous yet". Later that year, Smith starred in director David Frankel's drama Collateral Beauty, playing a New York advertising executive who succumbs to a deep depression after a personal tragedy. Weeks after signing Smith onto the film, his father was diagnosed with cancer, from which he died in 2016. As part of his role required him to read about religion and the afterlife, he was brought closer to the elder Smith, calling the experience "a beautiful way to prepare for a movie and an even more majestic way to say goodbye to my father." The film marked the lowest box office opening of Will Smith's career. The film also received near universal negative reviews from film critics. Hollywood Reporter critic David Rooney criticized Smith's performance writing as "the least interesting component in a madly overqualified cast".

His film Bright was distributed via Netflix on December 22, 2017. An urban fantasy, it was the most expensive film for Netflix to date. Smith collaborated with his director from Suicide Squad, David Ayer. This would also be another critical disappointment for Smith, with critics panning the movie. Richard Roeper of The Chicago Sun-Times criticized the film and Smith's performance writing, "By the time Will Smith barks [the line, "Dude, you can't go through elf town!"] with 100 percent urgency and sincerity in the mindboggling mess that is "Bright," it's clear we are watching a truly terrible, mountainous pile of genre-blending garbage."

Also in 2017, Smith released the song "Get Lit" a collaboration between him and his former group mate Jazzy Jeff and launched his own YouTube channel, which  has over 6 million subscribers and 294 million total views.

Smith performed the official song "Live It Up" alongside American singer Nicky Jam and Kosovar singer Era Istrefi at the closing ceremony of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow, Russia. That September, Smith appeared, alongside Bad Bunny, on the Marc Anthony song "Está Rico".

Smith portrayed The Genie (originally voiced by Robin Williams) in the live-action adaptation of Disney's Aladdin, directed by Guy Ritchie. He also participated in the soundtracks by recording singles: "Arabian Nights (2019)", "Friend Like Me" and "Prince Ali". The film was released on May 24, 2019. Aladdin grossed over $1 billion worldwide to become Smith's highest-grossing film, surpassing Independence Day. Smith was also featured on rapper Logic's song "Don't Be Afraid To Be Different" (2019), from his fifth studio album Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

Smith appeared as an assassin who faces off against a younger clone of himself in Ang Lee's Gemini Man, released on October 11, 2019. The film was a box office bomb and received negative reviews from critics. Varietys Peter DeBruge called the film "a high-concept misfire" and wrote: "In practice, it's been a nearly impossible project to get made, passing through the hands of countless actors and falling through multiple times because the technology wasn't there yet. At least, that's been the excuse, although judging by the finished product, it was the script that never lived up to the promise of its premise."

Later that year, Smith had his second starring role in an animated film, in Spies in Disguise, opposite Tom Holland. Smith voiced Lance Sterling, a spy who teams up with the nerdy inventor who creates his gadgets (Holland). In 2020, he reteamed with Martin Lawrence for the third film in their franchise, Bad Boys for Life. In 2019, Smith invested $46 million in esports organization Gen.G with Smith's Dreamers Fund, which he co-founded with Keisuke Honda. In June 2020, it was announced that Smith would star in Emancipation, directed by Antoine Fuqua, in which he portrays Peter, a runaway slave, who outsmarts hunters and the Louisiana swamp on a journey to the Union Army.

2020–present: Memoir and King Richard
Smith's memoir Will, which was written with Mark Manson, the author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, was published on November 9, 2021, and promoted with a tour. The book is a journey of self-knowledge recalling childhood traumas, his relationship with his father, and his experiences with ayahuasca. In the same year, he and his Westbrook Studios company signed a deal with National Geographic.

Smith portrayed Richard Williams, father and coach of tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, in the 2021 film King Richard. For his performance, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.

On February 7, 2022, National Geographic announced that Smith would star in a series titled Pole to Pole, which will stream on Disney+. The show will follow Smith and his film crew as they go on a  trek from the South Pole to the North Pole, crossing all of Earth's biomes and spending time in communities along the way.

2022 Oscars confrontation

During the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, 2022, Smith walked onstage and slapped presenter and comedian Chris Rock who had made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head with a reference to the main protagonist in the film G.I. Jane. Smith then returned to his seat and yelled at Rock, twice saying "Keep my wife's name out your fucking mouth!" Pinkett Smith had been diagnosed with alopecia areata in 2018 and would later shave her head due to the condition. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) said that Smith was asked to leave the ceremony but he refused. Later in the night, Smith was named Best Actor for King Richard and apologized to the Academy and the other nominees, but not to Rock, in his acceptance speech. Following public backlash, Smith issued a formal apology via a public Instagram post. ABC, AMPAS, and the Screen Actors Guild condemned Smith following the incident, prompting an investigation by the Academy's Board of Governors. Rock declined to press charges against Smith, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. On April 1, 2022, Smith tendered his resignation from the Academy, writing in part:

I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film. So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate.

The AMPAS President David Rubin accepted the resignation in an official statement but said they would continue their investigation. Smith's resignation means he is no longer able to vote on Oscar nominations as a member of the Academy. Commentators have speculated that Smith's resignation from the Academy and other related fallout from the slap would damage his "family brand".

On April 8, 2022, the Academy announced its decision to ban Smith from future Oscars galas and associated events for a period of 10 years. Several film projects that Smith had been involved in were put on hold as a result of the controversy. In a statement to CNN, Smith stated: "I accept and respect the Academy's decision." Smith offered an on camera apology on July 29, saying he was "deeply remorseful" for his actions.

Personal life

Relationships and family

Smith married Sheree Zampino in 1992. Their son Willard Carroll "Trey" Smith III was born on November 11, 1992. The two divorced in 1995. Trey appeared in his father's music video for the 1998 single "Just the Two of Us". He also acted in two episodes of the sitcom All of Us, and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and the David Blaine: Real or Magic TV special.

During the late-1980s, Smith confirmed he briefly dated Sandra Denton, better known as Pepa of the hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa.

Smith married actress Jada Koren Pinkett on December 31, 1997. They met when Pinkett auditioned for a role as Smith's character's girlfriend in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The pair produce films through their joint production company Overbrook Entertainment and Westbrook Inc. Together they have two children: Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (b. 1998), his co-star in The Pursuit of Happyness and After Earth; and Willow Camille Reign Smith (b. 2000), who appeared as his daughter in I Am Legend.

Smith and his wife Jada have expressed unconventional practices in their marriage, jokingly calling their commitment "bad marriage for life". Both he and Pinkett Smith have admitted to having extramarital relationships and believing in the freedom to pursue them. Smith has said he wanted a polyamorous relationship with actress Halle Berry and ballerina Misty Copeland but ultimately abandoned the idea after therapy.

In October 2023, Pinkett Smith stated that she and Smith had been separated since 2016, though they have no intention to legally divorce.

Business
Smith and his brother Harry own Treyball Development Inc., a Beverly Hills–based company named after Trey Smith, and his family resides in Los Angeles, California. In 2018, Smith celebrated his 50th birthday by performing a bungee jump from a helicopter in the Grand Canyon. Smith was insured by Lloyd's of London for $200 million for the jump, which raised money for the charity Global Citizen.

Religious and political views
Smith was raised in a Baptist household and attended a Baptist church and Catholic school. In a 2013 interview, he said he did not identify as religious. In 2015, Smith said in an interview with The Christian Post that his Christian faith, which was instilled in him by his grandmother, helped him to accurately portray Bennet Omalu in Concussion, saying: "She was my spiritual teacher, she was that grandmother at the church, the one having the kids doing the Easter presentations and putting on the Christmas plays and her kids and grandkids had to be first. She was the most spiritually certain person that I had ever met in my entire life. Even to the point that when she was dying she was happy, like she was really excited about going to heaven." In 2018, Smith performed the Hindu rite of abhisheka of Shiva at Haridwar, India. He also performed an arti of the holy river Ganga. He has said that he feels a deep connection to Hindu spirituality and Indian astrology. Smith and his family also met and spent time with the Indian spiritual leader Sadhguru, stating that he enjoyed the heartfelt conversations between them.

Smith donated $4,600 to the 2008 presidential campaign of Democrat Barack Obama. On December 11, 2009, Smith and his wife hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, to celebrate Obama's winning of the prize. In 2012, Smith said he supported legalizing same-sex marriage. In 2021, Smith announced that production of his upcoming film, Emancipation, was being pulled from the U.S. state of Georgia because of the recent passage of the Election Integrity Act of 2021, which critics viewed as a restrictive voting law, negatively impacting non-white voters. Smith and director Antoine Fuqua released a joint statement: "We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access".

Public image and legacy
Smith has often been noted for achieving groundbreaking success throughout his musical career, and with his work as an actor in television and film. He has been cited as one of the "greatest actors" of his generation by several publications. Forbes referred to him as the "biggest movie star of the post-9/11 era". His transition from music to acting has influenced multiple rappers to also become actors, with him being cited as a pioneer for the rappers crossing over into acting by Complex. In 2006, Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world; in 2008, Esquire named him one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century.

Music

His work as a member of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince made them the first rap act to win a Grammy Award, as well as the first to win an MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video, when the song "Parents Just Don't Understand" won in the inaugural rap categories at both award show ceremonies. XXL has referred to him as "one of the most important rappers of all time". As of 2013, his debut solo album Big Willie Style (1997) is among the best-selling rap albums of all time.

 Television

Smith launched his acting career by starring in the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air; the show's success is considered to be a watershed moment for Hip-Hop and Black television, with many publications referring to it as one of the "Greatest Sitcoms of All Time". Professor Andrew Horton said, "Smith's genre of comedy, popularized on the sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-Air translated well into commercial box-office appeal. The Fresh Prince watered down and capitalized upon the then growing popularity of Hip Hop and almost anticipated its dominance on the American scene".

Moreover, author Willie Tolliver noted, "What The Fresh Prince did accomplish was to put Smith and his character Will into an environment of affluence and possibility, thus changing the terms of his own Black identity. This social and cultural mobility is central to Smith's racial significance, and this will become evident again and again; he moves the image of the Black male into unaccustomed spaces just as Smith himself was in the process of conquering Hollywood."

 Film

After starring in his debut film Where the Day Takes You (1992), Smith quickly became one of Hollywood's most successful and bankable stars. He currently holds the record for the most consecutive $100-million-plus hits at the US box office, with eight. Smith starred as Daryl in the movie Bright (2017), which broke the record at the time for the most-viewed Netflix film ever for its first week, and became the first major Hollywood film to skip theatrical release over streaming platform for simultaneous viewing by more than 100 million people worldwide.

For his role as Agent J in Men in Black 3 (2012), Smith earned the highest-paid movie role of all time, when he reportedly earned $100 million for his role in the film; furthermore his roles in the movies King Richard and Bright are also among the highest-paid roles of all time. His film Emancipation (2022) was sold to Apple Studios for $120 million in June 2020, which made it the largest film festival acquisition deal in film history. In 2022, Smith became the fifth black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor behind Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, and Forest Whitaker.

Discography

 Big Willie Style (1997)
 Willennium (1999)
 Born to Reign (2002)
 Lost and Found (2005)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Smith has received multiple awards throughout his career, including an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Richard Williams, the prolific father and coach to championship tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, in the biopic King Richard (2021)a role that also won him a Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award and Screen Actors Guild Award in the same category; he also received a producer nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Prior to this award, he had been nominated several times for the Academy Award (2; for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness), the Golden Globe Award (5; for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness and Concussion), and the Screen Actors Guild Award (once for The Pursuit of Happyness). In 2005, he received the honorary César Award; that same year, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical for Fela!; and in 2021, he was nominated as a producer of Cobra Kai for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

Aside from acting and behind-the-scenes work on screen and stage, Smith has made ventures into hip hop with the release of several songs, four of which won him Grammy Awardsone for Best Rap Performance (for "Parents Just Don't Understand"), one for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (for "Summertime"), and two for Best Rap Solo Performance (for "Men in Black" and "Gettin' Jiggy wit It"); the former two of which he won as a member of the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.

His Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award nominations make him one of few black actors to be nominated for all four major entertainment awards in the US.

See also

African-American culture
List of black Academy Award winners and nominees

References

Further reading

  Memoir.

External links

1968 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American rappers
20th-century African-American male singers
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American rappers
21st-century African-American male singers
African-American businesspeople
African-American film producers
African-American male actors
African-American male rappers
American male rappers
African-American male singer-songwriters
African-American record producers
African-American screenwriters
African-American sports executives and administrators
African-American television producers
American beatboxers
American film producers
American hip hop record producers
American hip hop singers
American male film actors
American male screenwriters
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American philanthropists
American sports executives and administrators
Best Actor Academy Award winners
Businesspeople from Philadelphia
César Honorary Award recipients
Columbia Records artists
East Coast hip hop musicians
Film producers from Pennsylvania
Grammy Award winners for rap music
Interscope Records artists
Jive Records artists
Male actors from Philadelphia
MTV Europe Music Award winners
Philadelphia 76ers owners
Pop rappers
Rappers from Philadelphia
RCA Records artists
Record producers from Pennsylvania
Screenwriters from Pennsylvania
Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania
Television producers from Pennsylvania
World Music Awards winners
Writers from Philadelphia

Will Smith


Tarita Cheyenne Brando (20 February 1970 – 16 April 1995) was a French fashion model. She was the daughter of actor Marlon Brando by his third wife Tarita Teriipaia, an actress from French Polynesia whom he met while filming Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962.

Early life
Born in 1970, Brando was raised by her mother Tarita on the island of Tahiti, south of Papeete. Her parents divorced in 1972.

While growing up, Marlon Brando did not allow Cheyenne and her brother Tehotu to visit him in the United States. In 1976 he stated, "I don't think I will let them [Cheyenne and Tehotu] go to the States. As Tahitians, they are too trusting. They would be destroyed in the pace of life in the States." As a child, Cheyenne reportedly adored her father and bragged about him. As she entered her teenage years, her feelings towards her father changed. In a 1990 interview she stated, "I have come to despise my father for the way he ignored me when I was a child. He came to the island maybe once a year but really didn't seem to care whether he saw me or not. He wanted us but he didn't want us."

Cheyenne eventually dropped out of high school and began taking drugs including LSD, PCP, marijuana, and tranquilizers. During this time, she began a modeling career.

In 1989, Cheyenne was seriously injured in a car crash when she crashed a Jeep she was driving after her father refused to allow her to visit him while he was filming The Freshman in Toronto. She sustained a broken jaw, a laceration under her eye, and a torn ear. Marlon Brando flew Cheyenne to Los Angeles to undergo extensive reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. The crash effectively ended her modeling career. After the crash, she began experiencing bouts of depression and attempted suicide.

Death of Dag Drollet
In May 1987, Cheyenne began dating 23-year-old Dag Drollet. His father, Jacques Drollet, was a member of the Assembly of French Polynesia. The pair were introduced through a get-together, as the Brandos and Drollets had been longtime friends. In 1989, Cheyenne became pregnant with their child. At Marlon Brando's request, the couple moved to the United States and into Marlon's Mulholland Drive home to await the birth of their child.

On 16 May 1990, Drollet was fatally shot by Cheyenne's elder half-brother Christian at their father's home. Christian Brando maintained that the shooting was accidental. He stated that earlier in the evening, Cheyenne told him that Drollet was physically abusing her. Later that night, Christian confronted Drollet about the abuse. Christian claimed that the gun went off after Drollet tried to take the gun away from him.

Christian Brando was immediately arrested and charged with first-degree murder two days later. The prosecutors of the case attempted to subpoena Cheyenne to testify at Christian's trial as they felt her account of the night's event was crucial in proving the shooting was premeditated. However, she refused to testify and fled to Tahiti. On 26 June 1990, she gave birth to a son she named Tuki Brando. Soon after Tuki's birth, Cheyenne attempted suicide twice and was hospitalized for drug detoxification in a psychiatric hospital. On 22 December 1990, Cheyenne was declared "mentally disabled" by a French judge and was deemed unable to testify in her brother's trial.

Without Cheyenne's testimony, prosecutors felt they could no longer prove that Drollet's death was premeditated. They presented Christian Brando with a plea deal. Christian took the deal and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. He served a total of five years and was placed on three years' probation. In an interview given after his release, Christian stated that he doubted Cheyenne's accusations of physical abuse against Drollet due to her mental instability. "I feel like a complete chump for believing her," he said.

Aftermath and final years
In the years following Drollet's death and her half-brother Christian's trial, Cheyenne's mental health steadily declined. She repeatedly entered drug rehab and psychiatric hospitals. Cheyenne also publicly accused her father of molesting her and accused him of being an accomplice in Drollet's death; Marlon Brando denied both accusations.

Cheyenne was later formally diagnosed with schizophrenia , became isolated from her former friends, and ultimately lost custody of her son, Tuki, to her mother, who raised him in Tahiti. As an adult, Tuki Brando entered medical school and, like his mother, would go into modeling.

Death
On 16 April 1995, Cheyenne hanged herself at her mother's house in Puna'auia, Tahiti. Neither her father nor her half-brother Christian were able to attend her funeral in Tahiti. She was buried in the Roman Catholic Uranie Cemetery in Papeete in the family crypt of Dag Drollet's family.

References

1970 births
1995 deaths
French female models
French Polynesian people of American descent
French Polynesian people of Chinese descent
Brando family
People from Tahiti
People with schizophrenia
Suicides by hanging in France
Suicides in French Polynesia
Tahitian women
1995 suicides
20th-century French women

Cheyenne Brando


The Franciscan missions of the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro in Mexico, are five missions built between 1750 and 1760, the foundation of the missions is attributed to Junípero Serra, who also founded the most important missions in California. They were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003.

They are an example of an architectural and stylistic unity with a tempera painting that is one of the best examples of popular New Spain Baroque. According to the criteria to which the UNESCO inscription as a World Heritage Site refers, the missions are testimony to the important exchange of values during the colonization process, both in the center and north of Mexico, and in the west of what currently occupies the territory of the United States.

Region

The Sierra Gorda is an ecological region centered on the northern third of the state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo and San Luis Potosí . The region is on a branch of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range and consists of a series of mountain chains that run north to southeast.  Within Querétaro, the ecosystem extends from the center of the state starting in parts of San Joaquín and Cadereyta de Montes municipalities and covering all of the municipalities of Peñamiller, Pinal de Amoles, Jalpan de Serra, Landa de Matamoros and Arroyo Seco, for a total of 250km2 of territory.

All of the Sierra Gorda is marked by very rugged terrain, which includes canyons and steep mountains. Altitudes range from just 300 meters above sea level in the Río Santa María Canyon in Jalpan to 3,100 masl at the Cerro de la Pingüica in Pinal de Amoles.  The micro-environments of the region range from conifer forests, oak forests, mostly found on mountain peaks, banana and sugar cane fields in the deeper canyons. On the east side, there are deciduous forests. On the west side, bordering the Mexican Plateau, there are desert and semi desert conditions, with a variety of cactus and arid scrub brush. Among its features are the peaks associated with the Sierra Alta de Hidalgo, the pine forests of Zamorano, the Extorax Canyon and the slopes of the Huazmazonta, the inter-mountain valleys where the five missions are found and the rolling hills leading into La Huasteca. The wide variations of altitude and rainfall favor a wide variety of flora and wildlife.

Foundation

Although the mission of Jalpan was founded in 1750 before Junípero Serra arrived in the region, he is credited with building the five main missions in the area and completing the evangelization of the local population. In reality, the missions were built by the Pame people, under the direction of various Franciscan friars, including José Antonio de Murguía in San Miguel Conca, Juan Crispi in Tilaco, Juan Ramos de Lora in Tancoyol, and Miguel de la Campa de Landa.

However, the vision for the construction of the missions belonged to Serra, as he imagined a kind of utopia based on Franciscan principles, Serra put a firm missionary attitude that consisted in the accompaniment and understanding of its social problems, in the knowledge of their hunger and their language; Serra founded cooperatives, supported and strengthened their organization and production capacities, motivated the distribution of land and imposed doctrinal tasks in the Pame language. It was a missionary task of great dimensions and profound consequences from the human point of view and whose results are today appreciable in the Baroque syncretism that it exhibits in all the missions.

History

Although there had been some city building in this area during the Pre Classic era, with heights between the 6th and 10th centuries, these cities had been abandoned long before the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. At this time, the native peoples of the region were nomadic hunter gathers, such as the Pames, Ximpeces Guachichils and Jonaz, generally referred to together as the Chichimecas. In addition, there were also groups of Otomis and Huasteca to be found. The Spanish dominated the far west and the far east of the Sierra Gorda (today in the states of Guanajuato and Hidalgo), but could not dominate the center in what is now Querétaro. This is because the rugged terrain and fierce resistance, especially by the Jonaz.

Efforts to dominate the region included evangelization efforts, many of which failed before the mid 18th century. During the 16th and 17th century, there were attempts to evangelize the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro by the Augustinians, Franciscans and Dominicans. However, almost all of these missions were never completed or were destroyed soon after they were built by the indigenous communities. The best known example is the Bucareli Mission is located in the community of Puerto de Tejamanil in the municipality of Pinal de Amoles. The mission was founded in 1797 by Franciscan Juan Guadalupe Soriano for evangelization of the local Jonaz people. The full name of the mission is the Purísima Concepción de Bucarelí. It was never finished with only part of the monastery, the mines and the church visible. On 4 February, mass in honor of Francis of Assisi is performed here, in a small chapel with still remains, although there is no roof in any part of the complex. The mission was completely abandoned during the Mexican Revolution in 1914 and construction officially suspended in 1926.

In 1740, the colonial government decided to exterminate indigenous resistance here to secure trade routes to Guanajuato and Zacatecas. This was accomplished by José de Escandón, whose expedition culminated in the Battle of Media Luna, defeating the Jonaz and Ximpeces. The military pacification of the area by José de Escandón in the 1740s allowed for the building of permanent missions in the heart of the Sierra Gorda. However, the five Franciscans missions accredited to Junípero Serra were built in Pame territory, as these people were more accepting of Spanish domination. The Spanish decided to burn original Pame villages and resettle the population around missions for better control. Those who did not submit either committed suicide or went to live in the mountains. The placement of the missions had the purpose of dividing the heart of the Sierra Gorda and to open roads into San Luis Potosí.

Junípero Serra spent eight years on the project of building the missions until 1770, when a number of historical events, including the expulsion of the Jesuits, forced the abandonment of the missions. Serra moved onto California. From then until the late 20th century, the complexes suffered abandonment, deterioration and damage. This was especially true during the Mexican Revolution with many churches in the region were sacked and a number of portal figures on these Franciscan churches became "decapitated" by the fighting.

In the 1980s, a group from the Xilitla office of INAH got lost in the area and came upon one of the missions. The find led to efforts to save the missions and culminated with their declaration as a World Heritage Site in 2003. Initial restoration work to the structure and exterior of the mission churches was begun in the 1980s. Between 1991 and 1997, interior work on altars, choirs, organs and paintings was done. Further work was sponsored by the state between 1997 and 2002, which included that on surrounding plazas and monuments. Restoration costs for the Tancoyol mission alone were over three million pesos by 2008. The effort to inscribe the missions as a World Heritage Site began in 2000 by a group of Mexican intellectuals including Dr. Miguel León Portilla. The effort took two and a half years but was ultimately successful in 2003, when it was added during the 27th meeting of the World Heritage Committee. The five missions are promoted by the state tourism authority as the Ruta de las Misiones, (Mission Route) .

Architecture

The main characteristic of these temples is the rich decoration of the main doors, this decoration is called "New Spanish Baroque" or "mestizo Baroque", according to the INAH. The rich decoration is mainly aimed at teaching the new religion to the indigenous peoples, but unlike the Baroque of the temples and works further south, the indigenous influence is obvious. The idea of Serra was to demonstrate a mixture of cultures instead of a complete conquest. One of them was the use of the colors red, orange and yellow, as well as pastel shades, and of sacred native figures, such as the rabbit and the jaguar. The temples have a single nave, covered by a barrel vault, but each one has its own peculiarities, especially in the portals. Serra spent eleven years in the Sierra Gorda, before moving to the north, around 1760. The missions established in Querétaro would be the first in a long series of missions that would be established in what is now southern California.

The Sierra Gorda missions have unique characteristics in New Spanish Baroque, both for their conceptions of floor plans and elevations. On their facades they present a series of very original compositions based on high-quality decorative elements and ingenious design; its forms are armed with partitions covered with stucco, made of quicklime burned on site and colored with earth. Despite the fact that these missions were established in the 18th century, in them some basic elements of the religious architecture of the Mendicant orders of the 16th century are discovered. The architecture of these missions obeys the so-called "moderate trace" program that was implemented in the 16th century and accepted by the Franciscan, Augustinian and Dominican orders; and that they applied in the convent-fortresses.

The missions have what is called a Capilla posa, one of the architectural solutions used in the monastery complexes of New Spain in the 16th century, consisting of four quadrangular vaulted buildings located at the ends of the atrium outside them. Like the Capilla abierta, it is a unique solution and a contribution of Spanish-American colonial art to universal art given its originality and the plastic and stylistic resources used in its ornamentation. There are several theories about its function. It has been proposed that, following the processional path, the Capillas posas were used to pose or rest the Blessed Sacrament when it was carried in procession through the atrium.

Missions

The Santiago de Jalpan mission was established before the arrival of Junípero Serra in 1744, but Serra was in charge of building the mission complex that stands today from 1751 to 1758, the first to be built. It is dedicated to James the Greater, the first evangelist. This complex is situated in the center of the modern town in front of the main plaza and formed by an atrium, cloister, pilgrim portal and church, with a chapel annex on the left side. The original atrium wall was lost, but reconstructed in the same style, with three portals and inverted arches. The main features of the ornate portal on the facade are Our Lady of the Pillar and the Virgin of Guadalupe, both with Mesoamerican connections, as well as a double headed eagle, meant to symbolize the blending of the two cultures.

The facade is elaborately done in stucco and stone work, with ochre of the pilasters contrasting with the yellow of many of the decorative details. Much of the detail is vegetative, along with small angels and eagles. European elements include images of saints such as Saint Dominic and Francis of Assisi and the Franciscan coat of arms. Inside the door, there are the images of Saints Peter and Paul. Native elements include a double-headed Mexican eagle devouring a serpent. On the upper left, there is an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe on the upper left, the Our Lady of the Pillar. These are the virgin images of Mexico and Spain respectively.  This statue is said to have been taken by a general at the end of the 19th century. It was replaced by a more modern clock.  Inside, the cupola of the Jalpan mission contains scenes of the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

A second mission is located in the community of Tancoyol called Nuestra Señora de la Luz de Tancoyol, dedicated to Our Lady of Light. This facade has profuse vegetative ornamentation, with ears of corn prominent and is the most elaborate of the five missions. It is likely that this mission was constructed by Juan Ramos de Lora, who resided here from 1761 to 1767. The structure is similar to those in Jalpan and Landa. It has a church with a Latin cross layout and choir area, a sacristy, atrium with cross and chapels in the corners of the atrium called "capillas posas."  There is also a pilgrims' gate, a cloister and quarters for the priest.

The interior has a number of sculptures including one of "Our Lady of Light." The facade is marked by a rhomboid window surrounded by a representation of the cord Franciscans use to tie their habits. The basic theme of the facade is mercy, represented by interventions by the Virgin Mary and various saints. The iconography of this portal is the most elaborate of the five missions. The facade consists of three bodies, a pediment and four estípite columns. The lower body has sculptures of Saints Peter and Paul and who Franciscan coats of arms. The second body has sculptures of Joachim and Saint Anne, with the Virgin Mary in her arms, and a niche in the center. There are also images from the Passion such as nails and a lance. This niche contained an image of Our Lady of Light, but it is empty now. Between the second and third bodies, there is a large window and above it, a representation of the stigmata of Francis of Assisi.

The pediment contains a large cross in relief of two styles related to the Franciscan and Dominican orders. The main cross at the top represents redemption with the crosses of Calatrava and Jerusalem on either side. Indigenous elements are found in the church's interior, with an image of a jaguar and a person with Olmec features. The bell tower is narrow and the baptistery is at the base of this tower. On the lower part appears a small window which illuminates the baptistery. The cupola of the tower is in a pyramid shape with a Baroque iron cross on top.

San Miguel Concá mission is located forty km from Jalpan on Highway 69 to Río Verde. The church is in the center of the community on one side of Guerrero Street. It is oriented to the south and dedicated to the Archangel Michael. It is the smallest of the mission churches and was probably finished in 1754, according to an inscription located inside the church. Concá is a Pame word which means "with me." San Miguel Concá is the furthest north and the smallest of the missions. The decoration features large flowers, foliage and coarse figures in indigenous style. It is distinguished by an image of the Holy Trinity at the crest along with a rabbit (a Pame symbol) and double-headed eagle.

San Francisco de Asís del Valle de Tilaco mission is in a small community eighteen km northeast of Landa de Matamoros. It was constructed between 1754 and 1762 by Juan Crespi and dedicated to Francis of Assisi . It has some characteristics different from the other missions. First, it is built on a gradient. The bell tower is separated from the main nave of the church by the baptistery and structurally functions as a buttress for the church. Tilaco is the best conserved of the five missions and has the most subtle ornamentation on its facade. Its facades are composed of three horizontal and three vertical partitions, with the Franciscan coat of arms prominent over the main entrance. In Tilaco, the facade has small angels, ears of corn and a strange large jar over which is an image of Francis of Assisi. One distinctive decorative element is four mermaids with indigenous features. Tilaco has the best conserved atrium corner chapels called "capillas posas," which were used for processions.

Santa María de la Purísima Concepción del Agua de Landa mission is located twenty km from Jalpan on Highway 120 towards Xilitla. The mission was built between 1760 and 1768 by Miguel de la Campa is dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, which gives rise to part of the community's name. It was the last of the missions to be built. The atrium is bordered by a wall and centered by a cross, and paved in stone. It is noted for its equilibrium in composition and very narrow bell tower, which is integrated into the facade. The sculpture of this facade is considered to be the best of the five according to Arqueología Mexicana magazine. The faces of the mermaids at Landa have indigenous features.

The facade bears a great resemblance to that of Jalpan, in various aspects, its sizes and aesthetics, the atrium is surrounded by a wall and centered by a cross, and paved. In addition to them, the Franciscan friars leave an unprecedented rubric and the notorious reflection of their predilections in the last of their missions, there we have seen through his mother, the Immaculate Conception, Saint Francis and the four saints of the column of observance, to Archangel Michael and those studies and protectors of the order, Duns Escoto and María de Agreda. We see the universal church with Saint Peter and Paul and Christ in these three martyrs, as well as the shields of the Franciscans.

Inside we have medallions on the ceiling of the main nave beginning with Saint Michael the Archangel, with his traditional iconography, followed by Juan Duns Escoto exposed in a very didactic way presented with his hands holding the Immaculate Conception in one and a same pen with which through writing he tirelessly defended the dogma of Mary. And again Archangel Michael account to the center of the transept of two other archangels, Raphael and Gabriel.

It stands out for its balanced composition and very narrow bell tower, which is integrated into the façade. The sculpture on this facade is considered the best of the five according to the Mexican Archeology magazine.

See also
 Mendicant monasteries in Mexico
 Spanish missions in Mexico

References

External links

 UNESCO Site

Missions in Mexico
Buildings and structures in Querétaro
Colonial Mexico
Franciscan churches in Mexico
History of Querétaro
Tourist attractions in Querétaro
Spanish Colonial architecture in Mexico
Baroque architecture in Mexico
Baroque church buildings in Mexico
World Heritage Sites in Mexico
Junípero Serra

Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro


Viola banksii, commonly known as native violet, is sold and grown throughout garden nurseries and grown and loved in gardens around Australia, especially in the east. For many years it was known as Viola hederacea, however, the species complex was revised in 2004 by Kevin Thiele, with the name Viola banksii being published in 2003 by Kevin Thiele and Suzanne Prober. Although the Native Violet was initially collected by Banks and Solander, the type specimen was either lost or not provided until a collection by Jacques Labillardière in Tasmania. Thiele discovered that the original type specimen of V. hederacea collected by Labillardière was not the same as the hardier and showier plant later collected, cultivated and widely sold. This second form, native to the east coast from near Brisbane to Batemans Bay, he named Viola banksii. This species is distinguished by its striking purple and white flowers. As well, the fully developed leaves are almost circular in outline with a deep, narrow, v-shaped sinus at the base, and are usually rather bright, fresh green.

Taxonomy
James Edward Smith noted that the form known as V. hederacea in New South Wales had larger leaves, and he suspected it was either a different species or "luxuriant variety", in 1817.

Distribution and habitat

Cultivated widely, Viola banksii is at some risk of becoming naturalised in some areas. One such population has been recorded at Mount Donna Buang near Melbourne.

Cultivation

Viola banksii is a very easy plant to grow, and adaptable to different soil types as long as it gets sufficient moisture and at least half shade or more in a garden situation. It can be quite vigorous in heavier, moisture-retentive soils and spreads forming a natural low groundcover.

Cultivars

V. "Baby Blue"
V. "White Glory" has all-white flowers with a slight fragrance.

References

External links

Flora of New South Wales
Garden plants of Australia
Malpighiales of Australia
banksii
Plants described in 2003
Taxa named by Suzanne Mary Prober
Taxa named by Kevin Thiele

Viola banksii


Three Colours: White (, ) is a 1994 comedy-drama film co-written, produced and directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski. White is the second in the Three Colours trilogy, themed on the French Revolutionary ideals, following Blue and preceding Red. The film was selected as the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 67th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

White is about equality, with the film depicting Karol Karol, a shy man who, after being left by his wife in humiliating circumstances in Paris, loses his money, his residency, and his friends. As a deeply ashamed beggar in Paris, Karol begins his effort to restore equality to his life through revenge.

Plot
At a Paris divorce court, Polish barber Karol Karol, is pleading with the judge - the same legal proceedings Julie briefly stumbled upon in Blue. The immigrant Karol, through an interpreter, is made to understand that his wife Dominique does not love him as he was unable to consummate the marriage. The divorce is granted, and Dominique proceeds to give Karol a suitcase with his possessions. Karol then loses access to his bank account, his passport, and ownership of a salon he and Dominique owned jointly. Karol breaks into the salon to sleep but is discovered by Dominique. The two first initiate sex, but he again suffers impotence.  Dominique tells Karol that she no longer loves him. She then sets the salon drapes on fire, framing him for arson, forcing Karol to flee and become a beggar.

While performing songs using a comb in a Paris Métro station, Karol meets a fellow Pole, Mikołaj. While Karol has lost his wife and his property, Mikołaj is married and successful; he offers Karol a job – he would have to kill someone who wants to die but does not have enough courage to do it himself – but Karol rejects it. Karol proceeds to show Mikołaj his ex-wife from the street outside Dominique's window, but he sees the shadow of her with another man. Karol rushes back and calls her from a telephone booth at the station, only for Dominique to make him listen to her having sex, causing him to break down. Through a hazardous scheme, Mikołaj helps Karol return to Poland hidden in the suitcase shown at the beginning of the film, which is later stolen by employees at the airport. After discovering how poor he is, the airport employees beat him up and leave him in a Polish countryside dump. Karol manages to reach Warsaw and finds his brother Jurek.

Karol soon returns to work at his brother's hair salon and later takes on another job as a bodyguard in a seemingly innocent cash exchange office. Using his position as a deceptively foolish bodyguard, Karol spies on his bosses and discovers their scheme to purchase different pieces of land that they know are going to be targeted by big companies for development and resell for large profits. Karol beats them to it and then tells his ex-bosses that if they kill him all his estate shall go to the church, forcing them to purchase the land from him instead. Karol then tracks down Mikołaj and asks for the job he offered to him previously. Mikołaj meets Karol in a Warsaw Metro tunnel for the execution of the "suicide," which turns out that Mikołaj is the intended victim and asks Karol to kill him. Karol first shoots a blank into Mikołaj's chest and asks him if he really wants to go through with it as the next bullet is real. Mikołaj changes his mind and thanks Karol for helping him feel alive again. He proceeds to pay Karol the money anyway, saying that he earned it.

Karol, with the money he has gained from his scheme and the payment from Mikołaj, goes into business (of a vaguely defined, possibly blackmarket nature) with him. Karol becomes ruthlessly ambitious, earning a fortune while improving his French and brooding over his wife's abandonment. One night, after waking up from a dream about Dominique, Karol calls her but she hangs up. Karol then devises a scheme to get revenge on Dominique. He first gives Dominique the majority of his fortune in his will, then, with the help of Mikoľaj and Jurek as well as his financial influences, fakes his own death and prepares to frame Dominique for it. On the day of his "burial," Karol sees Dominique mourning from afar. He then surprises her in her hotel room, apparently reconciling with her before making love together. In the morning, Karol leaves before Dominique wakes up. She is then awakened by local police, who arrest her on the suspicion that she murdered Karol to get his money.

Sometime later, Karol visits the prison complex where Dominique is held and sees her through her cell window with binoculars. She gestures to him that she wants to marry him again, and Karol begins to cry.

Cast
 Zbigniew Zamachowski as Karol Karol
 Julie Delpy as Dominique Vidal
 Janusz Gajos as Mikołaj
 Jerzy Stuhr as Jurek
 Aleksander Bardini as Le notaire (The Lawyer)
 Grzegorz Warchoł as L'élégant (The Elegant Man)
 Cezary Harasimowicz as L'inspecteur (The Inspector)
 Jerzy Nowak as Le vieux paysan (The Old Farmer)
 Jerzy Trela as Monsieur Bronek
 Teresa Budzisz-Krzyżanowska as Madame Jadwiga

Production
The final scene of Dominique standing behind bars of her prison cell was shot months after the rest of the film, and was intended to soften Dominique's image; Kieślowski has said that he was dissatisfied with the ending shot previously and wanted her to seem less of a monster.

Analysis
The film has been interpreted as an anti-comedy by Roger Ebert, in parallel with Blue being an anti-tragedy and Red being an anti-romance.

Reception
Three Colours: White was met with critical acclaim; it holds an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.6/10, based on 55 reviews. The consensus reads: "Taking a lighter tone than the other films of the Three Colors trilogy, White is a witty, bittersweet comedy with heavier themes on its mind than one might at first realize". On Metacritic, it was assigned a score of 91 out of 100, based on 11 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Year-end lists
 4th – Todd Anthony, Miami New Times
 5th – Desson Howe, The Washington Post
 Honorable mention – Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News

Soundtrack

Awards and recognition
Kieślowski won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival in 1994.

See also
 List of submissions to the 67th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
 List of Polish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

References

External links

 Three Colors: A Hymn to European Cinema an essay by Colin MacCabe at the Criterion Collection
 White: The Nonpolitical Reunifications of Karol Karol an essay by Stuart Klawans at the Criterion Collection
 Discover Polish Cinema with Dave – White

1994 films
1994 comedy-drama films
1994 independent films
1990s French-language films
Films about divorce
Films about immigration
Films about race and ethnicity
Films directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski
Films produced by Marin Karmitz
Films scored by Zbigniew Preisner
Films set in Paris
Films set in Poland
Films shot in Paris
Films shot in Poland
Films with screenplays by Krzysztof Kieślowski
Films with screenplays by Krzysztof Piesiewicz
French comedy-drama films
French independent films
Polish comedy-drama films
Polish independent films
1990s Polish-language films
1990s Russian-language films
Swiss comedy-drama films
Swiss independent films
1994 multilingual films
French multilingual films
Polish multilingual films
Swiss multilingual films
French-language Swiss films
1990s French films

Three Colours: White


"Peace Train" is a 1971 song by Cat Stevens, taken from his album Teaser and the Firecat. The song climbed to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of November 6, 1971, becoming Stevens' first US Top 10 hit. The song also spent three weeks at No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart. It is also featured on The Very Best of Cat Stevens compilation album. He re-recorded the song for the charity War Child in 2003.

Record World called it a "beautiful follow-up to 'Moon Shadow' and 'Wide World' [sic]" and praised the "delightful production."

In the album version, the instrumental ending features a string section which drops out leaving the solo acoustic guitar playing of Cat Stevens,before the song's fade.

History
In a 1970s concert he introduced the song with the revelation that he wrote the song whilst on a train, and was thinking about Alfred Hitchcock, no doubt reflecting the fact that many of Alfred Hitchcock's film plots were set on trains.

Cat Stevens later converted to Islam, changed his name to Yusuf Islam, and reduced his public appearances, but during the Iraq War he commented on the song's renewed relevance, saying: Peace Train' is a song I wrote, the message of which continues to breeze thunderously through the hearts of millions. There is a powerful need for people to feel that gust of hope rise up again. As a member of humanity and as a Muslim, this is my contribution to the call for a peaceful solution."

Yusuf Islam performed the song live at the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Concert ceremony when Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh received the award. The interlude during the song where the background singers chant "Kumbayaba" was removed for this version. He also performed the song as part of a comedic skit at Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity, and at the New Zealand national remembrance service for the Christchurch mosque shootings, held at Hagley Park on 29 March 2019.

Teaming up with Playing for Change, in 2021 Yusuf/Cat Stevens recorded a new version of "Peace Train" with over 25 musicians from 12 countries.

Allegations of hypocrisy
Pop songs with messages of peace were common in the Vietnam War era, and "Peace Train" was preceded by "Give Peace a Chance" in 1969. Not everyone found Cat Stevens's peace-themed song convincing, however. Robert Christgau criticized "Peace Train's" message in his November 1972 Newsday review of a concert by Stevens at the New York Philharmonic Hall: "I don't mind when Johnny Nash sings a charming ditty about how things are getting better, but when Stevens informs the world that we're all on a peace train, I get annoyed. We're not, and if Stevens ever stops shaking his head long enough to see clearly for a second, he might realize it."

After Ayatollah Khomeini announced a fatwa upon Salman Rushdie after the publication of the author's book The Satanic Verses, Stevens made statements supporting the fatwa, saying: Rushdie deserved to die; that he (Stevens) would act as executioner "if we were in an Islamic state and I was ordered by a judge"; and when asked, "would you go to a demonstration where you knew that an effigy was going to be burned?", Stevens replied, "I would have hoped that it'd be the real thing". Islam's comments caused a backlash at the time. The pop group 10,000 Maniacs deleted the Cat Stevens song "Peace Train", which they had recorded for their 1987 In My Tribe album, from subsequent pressings of the album as a protest against Islam's remarks. Several US stations stopped playing Cat Stevens records. Radio talk show host Tom Leykis of KFI-AM in Los Angeles called for a mass burning of Cat Stevens' records, later changed to a mass steamrolling. Islam claimed that he had earlier unsuccessfully asked his record company to stop production of his Cat Stevens records but they had refused on economic grounds.

Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the song was placed on the list of post-9/11 inappropriate titles distributed by Clear Channel.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions
Aside from Stevens' original recording, a cover version of "Peace Train" was recorded by the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. The song originally appeared on the band's 1987 album, In My Tribe, but it failed to chart.  After Stevens' comment which some interpreted as calling for the death of Salman Rushdie, 10,000 Maniacs lead singer Natalie Merchant had "Peace Train" removed from all future pressings of the album in the U.S.

In 1995, a cover of "Peace Train" was included on the Don Williams CD Borrowed Tales. In 1996, Dolly Parton included a version of "Peace Train", accompanied by South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, on her album of covers Treasures. Parton produced a CBS television special, airing in November 1996, to promote the album, in which she described "Peace Train" as a personal favorite. The special also included a brief interview of Yusuf Islam, describing how he came to write the song.  (Islam later joined Parton on a cover of another of his songs, "Where Do the Children Play?", playing guitar on the track for her 2005 album Those Were the Days). In 1997, Parton released the song as a single and filmed a music video, directed by Christopher Ciccone, brother of entertainer Madonna. The single was a hit on the US Dance chart peaking at No. 23.

The song has also been covered by Tony Meléndez in 1987, Jann Arden in 2007, Zain Bhikha in 2008, Laleh, Richie Havens, Melanie, Sam Harris, and Rob Tobias and Friends. The song was also remixed by the DJ Junior Vasquez.

The song has appeared in the films The War, Remember the Titans, Ordinary Magic, We Are Marshall, and Jobs. Richie Havens's cover was included in the soundtrack of The Wonder Years TV series.

More recently, "Peace Train" (along with several other Cat Stevens songs) appeared in the 2015 American comedy Rock the Kasbah.

See also
 List of anti-war songs
 List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1971 (U.S.)

References

10,000 Maniacs songs
1970 songs
1971 singles
A&M Records singles
Peace songs
Anti-war songs
Cat Stevens songs
Dolly Parton songs
Island Records singles
Song recordings produced by Paul Samwell-Smith
Songs about trains
Songs written by Cat Stevens

Peace Train


Signum Records, also known as Signum Classics, is a classical musical record label in the UK founded in 1997.

The label began with a project to make the first recording of the complete works of Thomas Tallis.
The artists for the Tallis recording were the Chapelle du Roi, an ensemble of ten singers founded in 1994 by Alistair Dixon, also co-founder of the record label. The other fifty percent of the company was held by Floating Earth sound engineers. Since the Tallis project the label has grown to host many well-known UK ensembles, including The Kings Singers, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge, Huddersfield Choral Society, Charivari Agreable, Tenebrae directed by Nigel Short, Voces8, Cantabile and the choir of His Majesty's Chapel Royal, who record at St James's Palace, London.

In 2017 they were named Gramophone Magazine's Label of the Year.

References

External links

British record labels

Signum Records