Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of guarachas, earning the nickname "La Guarachera de Cuba". In the following decades, she became known internationally as the "Queen of Salsa" due to her contributions to Latin music. She had sold over 10 million copies, making her one of the best-selling Latin music artists.

She began her career in her home country Cuba, earning recognition as a vocalist of the popular musical group Sonora Matancera, a musical association that lasted fifteen years (1950-1965). Cruz mastered a wide variety of Afro-Cuban music styles including guaracha, rumba, afro, son and bolero, recording numerous singles in these styles for Seeco Records. In 1960, after the Cuban Revolution caused the nationalization of the music industry, Cruz left her native country, becoming one of the symbols and spokespersons of the Cuban community in exile. Cruz continued her career, first in Mexico, and then in the United States, the country that she took as her definitive residence. In the 1960s, she collaborated with Tito Puente, recording her signature tune "Bemba colorá". In the 1970s, she signed for Fania Records and became strongly associated with the salsa genre, releasing hits such as "Quimbara". She often appeared live with Fania All-Stars and collaborated with Johnny Pacheco and Willie Colón. During the last years of her career, Cruz continued to release successful songs such as "La vida es un carnaval" and "La negra tiene tumbao".

Her musical legacy is made up of a total of 37 studio albums, as well as numerous live albums and collaborations. Throughout her career, she was awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, including two Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards. In addition to her prolific career in music, Cruz also made several appearances as an actress in movies and telenovelas. Her catchphrase "¡Azúcar!" ("Sugar!") has become one of the most recognizable symbols of salsa music.

Early life
Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso was born on 21 October 1925, at 47 Serrano Street in the Santos Suárez neighborhood of Havana, Cuba. Her father, Simón Cruz, was a railway stoker, and her mother, Catalina Alfonso Ramos, a housewife who took care of an extended family. Celia was one of the eldest among fourteen children living in the house, including cousins and her three siblings, Dolores, Gladys, and Bárbaro, and she used to sing cradle songs to put them to sleep. According to her mother, she began singing as a child at 9 or 10 months of age, often in the middle of the night. She also sang in school during the Fridays' actos cívicos and in her neighborhood ensemble, Botón de oro.

While growing up in Cuba's diverse 1930s musical climate, Cruz listened to many musicians who influenced her adult career, including Fernando Collazo, Abelardo Barroso, Pablo Quevedo, Antonio Arcaño and Arsenio Rodríguez. Despite her father's opposition and the fact that she was Catholic, as a child Cruz learned Santería songs from her neighbor who practiced Santería. Cruz also studied the words to Yoruba songs with colleague Merceditas Valdés (an akpwon, a santería singer) from Cuba and later made various recordings of this religious genre, even singing backup for other akpwons like Candita Batista.

As a teenager, her aunt took her and her cousin to cabarets to sing, but her father encouraged her to attend school in the hope she would become a teacher. After high school, she attended the Normal School for Teachers in Havana with the intent of becoming a literature teacher. At the time being a singer was not viewed as an entirely respectable career. However, one of her teachers told her that, as an entertainer, she could earn in one day what most Cuban teachers earned in a month. From 1947, Cruz studied music theory, voice, and piano at Havana's National Conservatory of Music.

One day, her cousin took her to Havana's radio station Radio García-Serra, where she became a contestant in the "Hora del té" amateur radio program. It was her first time using a microphone and she sang the tango "Nostalgia" (as a tribute to Paulina Álvarez), winning a cake as the first prize for her performance. On other occasions she won silver chains, as well as opportunities to participate in more contests. She also sang in other amateur radio programs such as La suprema corte del arte, broadcast by CMQ, always winning first prize. The only exception was when she competed against Vilma Valle, having to split their earnings: 25 dollars each.

In 2004, the Miami Herald revealed from partially declassified US State Department papers that Cruz had been linked to Cuba's pre-Revolution communist party, the Popular Socialist Party (PSP), as early as the 1940s. The article, promoted as an "exclusive", was written by Miami Herald journalist Carol Rosenberg from Freedom of Information Act requests. It made several revelations. Among them, the US Embassy in Havana denied Cruz a US visa in 1952 and 1955 because of suspected communist affiliations. The article also states that Cruz had joined the youth wing of the PSP at age 20 and had used a concert to arrange a secret meeting with communists in South America on behalf of its then general secretary, Blas Roca Calderío, who has also founded the party in 1925. Cruz had also signed a public letter in support of one of the Party's front groups, the Pro-Peace Congress. The article states that Cruz's surviving husband, Pedro Knight, was asked about this, and is quoted he knew nothing about it. "She never told me about that. She never talked about politics," the article quotes Knight.

Career

First recordings
Isolina Carrillo was one of the first people to recognize Cruz's ability to sing Afro-Cuban music and asked her to join her Conjunto Siboney, where Olga Guillot also sang. She later joined Orquesta de Ernesto Duarte, Gloria Matancera, Sonora Caracas and Orquesta Anacaona. From 1947, she started to sing in Havana's most popular cabarets: Tropicana, Sans Souci, Bamboo, Topeka, etc. In 1948, Roderico Rodney Neyra founded the group of dancers and singers Las Mulatas de Fuego (The Fiery Mulattas). Cruz was hired with this group as a singer, reaching great success and making presentations in Mexico and Venezuela, where she made her first recordings. Shortly thereafter, Cruz began to sing on musical programs at Radio Cadena Suaritos, along with a group that performed Santería music under the direction of Obdulio Morales. With this group, known as Coro Yoruba y Tambores Batá, she made several recordings that were later released by Panart.

Sonora Matancera
Cruz's big break came in 1950 when Myrta Silva, the singer with Cuba's Sonora Matancera, returned to her native Puerto Rico. Since they were in need of a new singer, the band decided to give the young Celia Cruz a chance. She auditioned in June, and at the end of July she was asked to join as lead singer, and thus became the group's first black frontwoman. In her first rehearsal with Sonora Matancera, Cruz met her future husband Pedro Knight, who was the band's second trumpeter.

Cruz debuted with the group on 3 August 1950. Initially, Cruz was not received with enthusiasm by the public, but Rogelio Martínez had faith in her. On 15 December 1950, Cruz recorded her first songs with the group, which were a resounding success. Her "musical marriage" with the Sonora Matancera lasted fifteen years. In total Celia recorded 188 songs with the Matancera, including hits such as "Cao cao maní picao", "Mata siguaraya", "Burundanga" and "El yerbero moderno". She won her first gold record for "Burundanga", making her first trip to the United States in 1957 to receive the award and to perform at St. Nicholas Arena, New York. During her 15 years with Sonora Matancera, she appeared in cameos in some Mexican films such as Rincón criollo (1950), Una gallega en La Habana (1955) and Amorcito corazón (1961), toured all over Latin America and became a regular at the Tropicana.

Exile and Tico recordings
Cruz was touring in Mexico when Fidel Castro seized power at the conclusion of the Cuban Revolution. She returned to Cuba to find her hometown of Havana in turmoil and mostly shut down. Cruz was publicly critical of Castro, a stance that she knew would endanger her career and possibly her freedom, since other critics of the regime were regularly arrested. She also needed money to pay for her ailing mother's medical expenses, and when she was offered a contract to perform for a few months at La Terraza Nightclub in Mexico City, she accepted. Cruz left Cuba on July 15, 1960, not knowing that she would never return to her home country.

Just one week after arriving in Mexico, Cruz received the news of the death of her father, Simón Cruz. In 1961, Cruz and Sonora Matancera left Mexico for an engagement in the United States. During this period, Cruz began performing solo without the group, performing at a recital at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.

In 1962, before the refusal of the Cuban government to allow her to return to Cuba, Cruz acquired a house in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Although she tried to return to Cuba to see her sick mother, who was struggling with terminal bladder cancer, the Cuban government denied her request to return. On 7 April 1962, she received the news of the death of her mother Catalina Alfonso. That same year, on 14 July, Cruz was married in civil ceremony with Pedro Knight after a romance of several years. Cruz and Sonora Matancera made their first tour outside of the Americas, visiting Europe and Japan, where they performed with Tito Puente. In 1965, Cruz would culminate a vertiginous fifteen years with the Sonora Matancera. Cruz began a solo career and her husband Pedro Knight decided to leave his position at Sonora Matancera to become her representative, arranger and personal director. During this time, Cruz became an American citizen.

In 1966, Cruz was contacted by Tito Puente to perform with his orchestra. Their first collaborative album, Son con guaguancó featured a recording of José Claro Fumero's guaracha "Bemba colorá", which became one of Cruz's signature songs.  Cruz and Puente went on to collaborate on another four albums together. She also recorded albums with other musical directors such as Memo Salamanca, Juan Bruno Tarraza and Lino Frías for Tico Records. In 1974, Fania Records, the leading salsa record label, acquired Tico and signed Cruz to the imprint Vaya Records, where she remained until 1992.

The Fania years

Cruz's association with the Fania label had begun in 1973, when she recorded the lead vocals of "Gracia divina", a song by Larry Harlow which was part of his "Latin opera" Hommy. She then joined the Fania All-Stars, a salsa supergroup featuring the most popular performers of the Fania roster. With them, Cruz first sang "Bemba colorá" and "Diosa del ritmo" in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1973. She later travelled with the group to Kinshasa, Zaire, in 1974 and returned to San Juan in 1975 for another concert. These live recordings were commercially released years later. Her performance in Zaire, as part of The Rumble in the Jungle event, was included in the film Soul Power.

Cruz recorded her first studio album for Fania in 1974 in collaboration with Johnny Pacheco, the label's founder and musical director. The album, Celia & Johnny, and its lead single, "Quimbara", were both a commercial success. In 1976, she participated in the documentary film Salsa about Latin culture, along with figures like Dolores del Río and Willie Colón. The following year she recorded her first LP with Colón, a collaboration that would be repeated with great success in 1981 and 1987. When touring with Colón, Cruz wore a flamboyant costume, which included various colored wigs, tight sequined dresses, and very high heels. Her fashion style became so famous that one of them was acquired by the Smithsonian institution. In the late 1970s, she participated in an Eastern Air Lines commercial in Puerto Rico, singing the catchy phrase ¡Esto sí es volar! (This is to truly fly!). Cruz also used to sing the identifying spot for WQBA radio station in Miami, formerly known as "La Cubanísima": "I am the voice of Cuba, from this land, far away...I am liberty, I am WQBA, the most Cuban!" (Yo soy de Cuba, la voz, desde esta tierra lejana... ¡soy libertad, soy WQBA, Cubanísima!).

In 1982, Celia was reunited with the Sonora Matancera and recorded the album Feliz Encuentro. That year, the singer received the first tribute of her career at Madison Square Garden in New York. In 1987, Cruz performed a concert in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. That concert was recognized by the publisher of the Guinness Book of Records as the largest free-entry outdoor concert, with an audience of 250,000 people. In 1988, she participated in the feature film Salsa alongside Robby Draco Rosa. In 1990, Cruz won her first Grammy Award (Best Tropical Latin Performance) for her album Ritmo en el corazón, recorded with Ray Barretto. She was also invited to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Sonora Matancera in Central Park in New York. The decline of Fania's brand of salsa dura in favor of the emergent salsa romántica gradually brought an end to Celia's musical association with the Fania All Stars. Their final reunions took place in Puerto Rico (1994) and Colombia (1995), both of which were released on CD.

Later years

In 1990, Cruz managed to return to Cuba. She was invited to make a presentation at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. When she came out of this presentation she took in a bag a few grams of earth from Cuba, the same one she asked to be placed in her coffin when she died. In 1994, she received the National Endowment for the Arts award from the then President Bill Clinton, which is the highest recognition granted by the United States government to an artist.
Having made musical presentations in Mexican and Cuban films, in 1992 Celia participated as an actress in the American film Mambo Kings, along with Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas. A year later she made her debut as a television actress in the Mexican telenovela Valentina, along with Verónica Castro for the Televisa network. In 1995, Celia made a guest appearance in the American film The Perez Family, along with Alfred Molina and Anjelica Huston. In 1997, she starred again for Televisa in the Mexican telenovela El alma no tiene color, a remake of the classic Mexican film Angelitos negros. Cruz played the role of a black woman who gives birth to a white daughter. On 25 October 1997, the city of San Francisco, California, officially declared that date as "Celia Cruz Day".

In 1998, she released the album Mi vida es cantar, which featured one of her most successful songs, "La vida es un carnaval". In 1999, she performed with Luciano Pavarotti for the Pavarotti and Friends concert. In 2000, Cruz released a new album under the auspices of Sony Music, Celia Cruz and Friends: A Night of Salsa, where she recorded again with Tito Puente, who died a shortly after. Thanks to this album, Cruz was awarded her first Latin Grammy. In 2001, the album Siempre viviré makes her the creditor of her second Latin Grammy. In that same year, she performed with Marc Anthony in a tribute to Aretha Franklin for VH1. In 2002, Cruz released the album, La negra tiene tumbao, where she ventured into modern variants of Caribbean rhythms, influenced by rap and hip hop. For this record she won her third Latin Grammy and her second American Grammy.

On 16 July 2002, Cruz performed to a full house at the free outdoor performing arts festival Central Park SummerStage in New York City. During the performance she sang "Bemba colorá".  A live recording of this song was subsequently made available in 2005 on a commemorative CD honoring the festival's then 20-year history entitled, "Central Park SummerStage: Live from the Heart of the City". Cruz appeared on the Dionne Warwick albums Dionne Sings Dionne and My Friends & Me with their Latin duet version of "(Do You Know The Way To) San José".

Death

In August and September 2002, Cruz underwent surgery due to breast cancer. In November that year, Cruz fell during a concert in Mexico. She was diagnosed with glioma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, and underwent surgery in December. Confident, Cruz said she did not shed one tear and that she was aiming to resume her artistic career. She finished recording her last album, Regalo del Alma. In February, she appeared in public again at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards to receive the award for Best Salsa Album. In March 2003, she was paid tribute by the US Hispanic network Telemundo. The event, titled ¡Celia Cruz: Azúcar!, involved figures such as Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony, La India, Gloria Gaynor and Patti LaBelle among others. This was her last public appearance.

On the afternoon of 16 July 2003, Cruz died at her home in Fort Lee, New Jersey, at the age of 77. At her express wish, her mortal remains were first transferred to Miami for two days to receive the homage of her Cuban exile admirers, returning and finally resting in the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York. An epilogue in her autobiography notes that, in accordance with her wishes, Cuban soil - which she had saved from a visit to Guantánamo Bay - was used in her entombment.

Tributes and legacy

Cruz's legacy has been honored since years before her death, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1987), the asteroid name 5212 Celiacruz (1989), the Excellence Awards at the 1990 Lo Nuestro Awards, and Celia Cruz Way in Miami (1991). She was also recognized with a star on Boulevard Amador Bendayán in Caracas, Venezuela, and a figure in the Hollywood Wax Museum. Besides, Cruz received three Honoris Causa doctorates from three universities in the United States: Yale University, Florida International University and the University of Miami. Cruz, along with fellow Afro-Cuban musician Cachao, were inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1994. She was also inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1999. In the same year, she was presented with the ASCAP Latin Heritage Award becoming the first recipient of the accolade.

Through a formidable work ethic, Cruz rose to the very top in her genre. In February 2004, her last album, Regalo del Alma, she won a posthumous award at the Premios Lo Nuestro for best salsa release of the year. It was announced in December 2005 that a musical called ¡Azúcar! would open in Tenerife before touring the world. The name comes from Cruz's well-known catch phrase of "¡Azúcar!" ("Sugar!").

In 2003, a music school was opened in the Bronx, named the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music. Pedro Knight visited this school before his death to meet the students and share stories about her life.
On June 4, 2004, the heavily Cuban-American community of Union City, New Jersey heralded its annual Cuban Day Parade by dedicating its new Celia Cruz Park (also known as Celia Cruz Plaza), which features a sidewalk star in her honor, at 31st Street and Bergenline Avenue, with Cruz's widower, Pedro Knight, present. There are four other similar dedications to Cruz around the world. Cruz's star has expanded into Union City's "Walk of Fame", as new marble stars are added each spring to honor Latin entertainment and media personalities, such as merengue singer Joseíto Mateo, salsa singer La India, Cachao, Cuban tenor Beny Moré, Tito Puente, Spanish language television news anchor Rafael Pineda, salsa pioneer Johnny Pacheco, singer/bandleader Gilberto Santa Rosa and music promoter Ralph Mercado.

On 18 May 2005, the National Museum of American History, administered by the Smithsonian Institution and located in Washington, D.C., opened "¡Azúcar!", an exhibit celebrating the life and music of Celia Cruz. The exhibit highlights important moments in Cruz's life and career through photographs, personal documents, costumes, videos, and music. Her biography Celia: Mi vida was also published in 2005, based on more than 500 hours of interviews with the Mexican journalist Ana Cristina Reymundo. The journalist and TV presenter Cristina Saralegui planned to take the story of her life to the cinema and the American actress Whoopi Goldberg, admirer of the singer, expressed her interest in representing her, but the project was cancelled. From 26 September 2007 to 25 May 2008, Celia, a musical based on the life of Celia Cruz, played at the Off-Broadway venue New World Stages. The show won four 2008 HOLA Awards from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors.

On 16 March 2011, Celia Cruz was honored by the United States Postal Service with a commemorative postage stamp. The Cruz stamp was one of a group of five stamps honoring Latin music greats, also including Selena, Tito Puente, Carmen Miranda, and Carlos Gardel. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History collaborated with photographer Robert Weingarten to create an object-based portrait of Celia Cruz featuring artifacts in the museum. The portrait was unveiled on 3 October 2012.

On 21 October 2013, Google honored her with a Google Doodle. Jennifer Lopez honored Cruz with her presentation at the 41st American Music Awards ceremony. The singers Yuri, La India, Maluma and Aymée Nuviola did the same at the Latin American Music Awards. Also in 2013, Cruz was inducted into the New Jersey Hall Fame. In October 2015, Telemundo premiered an 80-episode docu-drama based on Cruz's life, Celia.

In 2015, the television networks RCN Televisión and Telemundo, made the Celia a TV series, based on the life of Celia Cruz. Celia was played by the actresses Jeimy Osorio and Aymée Nuviola and counted on the voice of Patty Padilla. In 2019, Angélique Kidjo released a tribute album to Cruz, entitled Celia, including songs spanning all of Celia's Cruz career reinvented with an Afrobeat feel. It features Tony Allen (musician), Meshell Ndegeocello and the Gangbé Brass Band.

In 2018, a monument to Celia Cruz was unveiled in the Cuban Heritage Park in Hialeah, Florida. Also in 2018, the Celia Cruz Estate launched a brand inspired by Cruz which featured merchandise inspired and about Cruz.

In 2019, Chilean-American poet Marjorie Agosin created a chamber music theatre performance titled "Las Magníficas" (The Magnificent Ones), based on the life of Celia Cruz and Chilean singer-songwriter Violeta Parra.

On June 2, 2021, the City of New York honored Celia Cruz by co-naming the intersection of Reservoir Avenue and East 195th Street in the Kingsbridge Heights section of The Bronx, near the High School that is the named in her honor, "Celia Cruz Way".

In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Cruz at No. 18 on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. In February 2023, Cruz was selected as an honoree in the 2024 American Women quarter program, making her the first Afro-Latina to appear on a U.S quarter.

Discography

 Cuba's Foremost Rhythm Singer (1958)
 Incomparable Celia (1958)
 Mi Diario Musical (1959)
 Canciones Premiadas (1961)
 Homenaje a Los Santos (1964)
 Canciones que Yo Quería Haber Grabado Primero (1965)
 Sabor y Ritmo de Pueblos (1965)
 Cuba Y Puerto Rico Son (1966)
 Son con Guaguancó (1966)
 Bravo Celia Cruz (1967)
 A Ti México (1967)
 Excitante (1968)
 Serenata Guajira (1968)
 Quimbo Quimbumbia (1969)
 Etc. Etc. Etc. (1970)
 Celia y Tito Puente en España (1971)
   Celia Cruz/Tito Puente Algo Especial Para Recordar (1972)
 Celia & Johnny (1974)
 Tremendo Caché (1975)
 Recordando El Ayer (1976)
 Only They Could Have Made This Album (1977)
 Homenaje A Beny More (1978)
   Celia Cruz Y La Sonora Ponceña La Ceiba (1979)
 Celia/Johnny/Pete (1980)
 Celia & Willie (1981)
 Feliz Encuentro (1982)
 Tremendo Trío (1983)
 Candela (1986)
 De Nuevo (1986)
 Winners (1987)
 Ritmo en el Corazón (1988)
 Guarachera del Mundo (1990)
 Canta Celia Cruz (1991)
 Reina del Ritmo Cubano (1991)
 Tributo a Ismael Rivera (1992)
 Verdadera Historia (1992)
 Azucar Negra (1993)
 Boleros Polydor (1993)
 Homenaje a Beny Moré, Vol. 3 (1993)
 Introducing (1993)
 Guaracheras de La Guaracha (1994)
 Homenaje a Los Santos (1994)
 Irrepetible (1994)
 Mambo del Amor (1994)
 Merengue Saludos Amigos (1994)
 Cuba's Queen of Rhythm (1995)
 Double Dynamite (1995)
 Festejando Navidad (1995)
 Irresistible (1995)
 Celia Cruz Delta (1996)
 Cambiando Ritmos (1997)
 Duets (1997)
 También Boleros (1997)
 Afro-Cubana (1998)
 Mi Vida Es Cantar (1998)
 En Vivo C.M.Q., Vol. 4 (1999)
 En Vivo C.M.Q., Vol. 5 (1999)
 En Vivo Radio Progreso, Vol. 1 (1999)
 En Vivo Radio Progreso, Vol. 2 (1999)
 En Vivo Radio Progreso, Vol. 3 (1999)
 Celia Cruz and Friends: A Night of Salsa (1999)
 Habanera (2000)
 Salsa (2000)
 Siempre Viviré (2000)
 La Negra Tiene Tumbao (2001)
 Hits Mix (2002)
 Unrepeatable (2002)
 Homenaje a Beny Moré (2003)
 Regalo del Alma (2003)
 Dios disfrute a la Reina (2004)
 Havana Nights (2019)

Filmography
 Salón México (Mexico, 1950)
 Una gallega en La Habana (Mexico, 1952)
 ¡Olé... Cuba! (Mexico/Cuba, 1957)
 Affair in Havana (USA/Cuba, 1957)
 Amorcito Corazón (Mexico, 1960)
 Salsa (Documentary, 1976)
 Salsa (USA, 1988)
 "Fires Within" (USA, 1991)
 The Mambo Kings (USA, 1992)
 Valentina (TV) (Mexico, 1993)
 The Perez Family (USA, 1995) Luz Pat
 El alma no tiene color (TV) (Mexico, 1997)
 ¡Celia Cruz: Azúcar! (TV) (Tribute, USA, 2003)
 Soul Power (Documentary of Kinshasa, Zaire Music Festival 1974) (USA, 2008)
 CELIA, Celia Cruz Bio-Drama (2015 on Telemundo)

Awards

Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in the United States. Celia Cruz has received two awards from fourteen nominations, as well as a non-competitive Lifetime Achievement award.

|-
| align="center"|1979
| Eternos
| Best Latin Recording
|
|-
| align="center"|1983
| Tremendo Trío
|rowspan="5"| Best Tropical Latin Recording
|
|-
| align="center"|1985
| De Nuevo
|
|-
| align="center"|1986
| Homenaje A Beny More - Vol. III
|
|-
| align="center"|1987
| The Winners
|
|-
| align="center"|1989
| "Ritmo En El Corazón"
|
|-
| align="center"|1992
| Tributo a Ismael Rivera
|rowspan="2"| Best Tropical Latin Album
|
|-
| align="center"|1993
| Azúcar Negra
|
|-
| align="center"|1995
| Irrepetible
| Best Tropical Latin Performance
|
|-
| 1997
| "Guantanamera"
| Best Rap Performance for a Duo or Group
|
|-
| 1998
| Mi Vida Es Cantar
| Best Tropical Latin Performance
|
|-
| align="center"|2000
| Celia Cruz and Friends: A Night of Salsa
|rowspan="2"| Best Salsa Album
|
|-
| align="center"|2002
| La Negra Tiene Tumbao
|
|-
| align="center"|2003
| Regalo del Alma
| Best Salsa/Merengue Album
|
|}

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to those who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording. Celia Cruz won the award in 2016.

|-
| align="center"|2016
| Herself
| Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
|
|}

Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Celia Cruz has won four awards out of seven nominations.

|-
| align="center"|2000
| Celia Cruz and Friends: A Night of Salsa
| Best Salsa Album
|
|-
| align="center"|2001
| Siempre Viveré
| Best Traditional Tropical Album
|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="4"|2002
|rowspan="2"| "La Negra Tiene Tumbao"
| Record of the Year
|
|-
| Best Music Video
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| La Negra Tiene Tumbao
| Album of the Year
|
|-
| Best Salsa Album
|
|-
| align="center" |2004
| Regalo del Alma
| Best Salsa Album
|
|}
Cruz is also the recipient of the president's National Medal of Arts.

See also
 Honorific nicknames in popular music
 Music of Cuba
 History of Cuba
 Pedro Knight - Cruz's musician husband
 List of Cubans
List of best-selling Latin music artists

References

External links

 Celia Cruz video archive
Celia Cruz at Directorio de Afrocubanas
 Celia Cruz at Afrocuba.org
 Celia Cruz collection, 1948–2008 at the Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami Libraries (photographs, newspaper clippings, music scores, and a range of other materials documenting Cruz's professional activities)
 Celia Cruz discography (album covers) at Florida International University archives
 Celia Cruz discography (recordings) at Florida International University archives
 ¡Azúcar! The Life and Music of Celia Cruz  at the National Museum of American History

Cuban women singers
Guaracha singers
Bolero singers
Mambo musicians
Salsa musicians
Latin Grammy Award winners
Spanish-language singers of the United States
United States National Medal of Arts recipients
1925 births
2003 deaths
Musicians from Havana
Afro-Cuban culture
American entertainers of Cuban descent
Cuban feminists
Cuban people of African descent
Women in Latin music
Cuban Roman Catholics
Cuban Santeríans
Deaths from brain cancer in the United States
Cuban emigrants to the United States
Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)
People from Fort Lee, New Jersey
People of Afro–Cuban descent
Fania Records artists
Feminist musicians
RMM Records artists
Sony Discos artists
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
People with acquired American citizenship
Yoruba-language singers
20th-century American women singers
20th-century American singers
21st-century American women

Celia Cruz


8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk was released  in 2007 by the group 8-Bit Operators  on Kraftwerk's US label Astralwerks and EMI Records worldwide. It features cover versions of Kraftwerk songs by several prominent chiptune artists.

In March 2007, the CD release reached as high as number 1 on the CMJ RPM (North American college Electronic) charts.

Background
Inspiration for the project as quoted by Jeremy Kolosine (credited as Executive Producer of the release, and noted founder of the early 80's electronic group Futurisk and chipmusic band Receptors.)

This Kraftwerk covers compilation was somewhat unusual in the fact that Kraftwerk's Ralf Hütter selected the final track line-up.

In a subsequent interview, when asked about the 8-Bit Operators release, Ralf Hütter responded:

CD Track listing

Vinyl
A vinyl 12-inch single version was released on 24 February 2007 as a precursor to the full-length CD, and reached as high as number 17 on the Billboard magazine Hot Dance Singles Sales Chart.

Side A of the vinyl consisted of  8-Bit Operators' "Pocket Calculator (Megamix)" version by Glomag (featuring 0x7f, Bit Shifter, Bubblyfish, firestARTer, Hey Kid Nice Robot, Ladybug, M-.-n, Nullsleep, Psilodump, Random, Sidabitball, and David E Sugar).

Side B was an alternate cover of Kraftwerk's "The Robots" by the Los Angeles chipmusic rap group 8-Bit.

References

2007 debut albums
Astralwerks compilation albums
Tribute albums
Kraftwerk
Electronic compilation albums

8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk


Alastair Ivor Gilbert Boyd, 7th Baron Kilmarnock (11 May 1927 – 19 March 2009) was a Scottish writer, Hispanophile, and Chief of the Clan Boyd.

Early life
Boyd was born into an aristocratic British family, and served as a pageboy at the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. He was educated at Bradfield College and King's College, Cambridge, and was commissioned into the Irish Guards in 1946. He served with them until 1948, including a spell in Palestine.

Personal life
Boyd married Diana Mary Gibson in 1954 but the marriage was dissolved in 1970. Gibson died in 1975. He married for a second time, in 1977. His new wife, Hilary Bardwell ("Hilly"), had been married twice before: first to Kingsley Amis (with whom she had three children: Philip Amis, the novelist Martin Amis, and Sally Amis), and later to D. R. Shackleton Bailey. Boyd and Bardwell had one son, James Charles Edward Boyd, known as "Jaime," who was born in 1972. After the end of Kingsley Amis's second marriage, he came to live with Lord Kilmarnock and his ex-wife Hilly.

Boyd lived for much of his life at Ronda in Andalusia, first with Diana, and later with Hilly and their son James, where he variously ran a tapas bar and a language school.

As Boyd's only son was born before his parents' marriage, the title of Baron Kilmarnock was inherited by Boyd's younger brother, Robin Jordan Boyd (b. 1941), who succeeded to the peerage in 2009. He has two sons, Simon John Boyd, born 1978, and Mark Julian Boyd, born 1981. The heir apparent is the elder of his two sons, Simon John Boyd, who has a son, Lucian Michael Boyd (born 2007).

Political career
After inheriting his father's title in 1975 Boyd took his seat in the House of Lords, eventually joining the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which according to his obituary in The Times "suited his political instincts admirably". He served as the party's chief whip in the Lords from 1983 to 1986. He was the deputy leader of the SDP Peers from 1986 to 1987, and served as the chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Aids from 1987 to 1996. A loyal follower of David Owen, in 1988 he joined him in rejecting the SDP's merger with the Liberals by forming the breakaway 'continuing' SDP instead. Reportedly "saddened" by the original party's demise, he remained associated with the Owenite rump party and its even smaller successor until 1992, thereafter sitting in the Lords as a crossbencher. Along with many other anti-merger Social Democrats, including Owen himself, Boyd was also instrumental in establishing the Social Market Foundation think tank, and was appointed its first executive director in 1989.

Writing
His publications include Sabbatical Year (1958); The Road from Ronda (1969); The Companion Guide to Madrid and Central Spain (1974); The Essence of Catalonia (1988); The Sierras of the South (1992); The Social Market and the State (1999); and Rosemary: A Memoir (2005).

His essay, The Quest (2006), on the paintings of his friend Miles Richmond (1922–2008), appeared in catalogues that accompanied exhibitions by Richmond at the Convento de Santo Domingo, Ronda (2006) and the Galeria Italcable, Málaga (2008).

Notes

References
 The Times obituary

 Debrett's Peerage

External links

 laserrania.org Lord Kilmarnock

1927 births
2009 deaths
Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Irish Guards officers
Scottish clan chiefs
People educated at Bradfield College
Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers
Social Democratic Party (UK) hereditary peers
Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990) peers
Place of birth missing
20th-century Scottish businesspeople
Kilmarnock

Alastair Boyd, 7th Baron Kilmarnock


Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. Its roots trace to both the "classic album stations of the '70s as well as the alternative rock format that developed in the '80s."

Format
The format has a broader, more diverse playlist than most other formats. Musical selection tends to be on the fringe of mainstream pop and rock. It also includes many other music genres such as indie rock, Americana, pop rock, classic rock, alternative rock, new wave, alternative country, jazz, folk, world music, jam band and blues. The musical selections tend to avoid hard rock and rap music. Music selection also includes tracks from albums that are not singles, which leads to the enhanced and larger playlist. Some AAA outlets focus more on classic rock artists, folk and blues while others focus on more contemporary artists and modern/indie rock.

Popularity
Some of the songs that first air on the Triple-A format have later found additional popularity on the Adult Top 40, modern rock, or adult contemporary charts months after their initial Triple-A chart runs.  The format is often seen as a "test market" for emerging artists.

The format has gone off and on in the Los Angeles radio market.  Currently KCSN and simulcast partner KSBR broadcast a Triple A format in the Los Angeles and Orange Country areas respectively. The format still exists in New York City (WFUV); Chicago (WXRT); Philadelphia (WXPN);  Seattle (KPNW);  Minneapolis (KCMP); Boston (WXRV, WERS, and Americana leaning WUMB-FM); Baltimore (WTMD); Aspen, Colorado (KSPN-FM); Denver (KBCO and KVOQ); Fort Collins (KJAC); Portland, Oregon (KINK); Portland, Maine (WCLZ); Indianapolis (WTTS); Nashville (WRLT, WNXP, and Americana leaning WMOT); Conway, New Hampshire (WMWV); Burlington, Vermont (WNCS); Turners Falls-Northampton, Massachusetts (WRSI); Bozeman, Montana (KMMS-FM); Woodstock, New York (WDST); Austin (KGSR-HD2, KUTX, and KTSN); and Dallas (KKXT).  The now-defunct KFOG was a legendary Triple A station in the San Francisco Bay Area.

On July 10, 2008 Billboard began a Triple-A chart (using information from sister-publication Radio and Records, a news magazine devoted to the radio and the music industries that has since ceased publication). Rival Mediabase 24/7 also compiles a Triple A chart. As of mid-2009, Radio and Records publications and accompanying charts were discontinued. As of 2010, Billboard publishes Triple A charts in the magazine and for its premium members on its website. Mediabase also publishes Triple A charts on a daily basis.

Additional Triple-A charts are published by CMJ and FMQB. FMQB also produces the annual Triple A Conference in Boulder, Colorado, USA, an event that grew out of the Gavin Report's Triple A Summit, first held in 1993. FMQB took over production of the event, rebranding it as the Triple A Conference, after the closing of Radio & Records in 2009.

At the end of 2019, FMQB closed and all Triple A services were absorbed by Jack Barton Entertainment, LLC (JBE), helmed by Jack Barton, former VP/Triple A at FMQB. JBE has rebranded the Boulder convention as the Triple A SummitFest and continues to publish weekly Triple A charts, including a Non-Commercial album chart, as well as a weekly newsletter (JBE Triple A Report) covering Triple A radio and the music it plays.

See also
 Active rock, a format that, similar to adult album alternative, features classic rock and contemporary rock, but with an emphasis on hard rock
 Adult Alternative Songs, also known as Triple A, a record chart published by Billboard
 Adult contemporary music (radio format), a format with a much more pop-oriented playlist, that is much softer and not too adventurous
 Album-oriented rock (FM radio format)
 List of adult alternative artists
 List of soft rock artists and songs

References

External links
Radio-Locator's Format Definition: Adult Album Alternative
 AllMusic

Radio formats

Adult album alternative


Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality.

Xzibit began his musical career after the release of his debut studio album, At the Speed of Life, on October 15, 1996. The album was both critically and commercially successful, peaking at number 74 on the Billboard 200. It also contained the single "Paparazzi", which peaked at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100. This success allowed Xzibit to secure a recording contract with Loud Records later that year.

Xzibit released his second album, 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz, on August 25, 1998; it peaked at number 53 on the Billboard 200. The album also contained the single "What U See Is What U Get", which peaked at #50 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's success caught attention from West Coast rapper Dr. Dre who acted as the executive producer on Xzibit's third album, Restless, which was released on December 12, 2000.

Restless debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200 and was later certified platinum in the U.S. The album contained the singles "Front 2 Back", "X", and "Get Your Walk On". His follow-up album Man vs. Machine (2002) also enjoyed success; it debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold. Weapons of Mass Destruction (2004) also became certified gold. After the release of Full Circle in 2006, Xzibit underwent a hiatus, not releasing music until the release of his seventh studio album Napalm on October 9, 2012. Since 2013, he is part of the hip-hop supergroup Serial Killers.

Xzibit has also gained fame as an actor and television host, for his role as Shyne Johnson in the television series Empire, and as the host for the reality television series Pimp My Ride. He has starred in the films Gridiron Gang (2006), The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008), Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) and Sun Dogs (2017).

Career

1992–99: Early career and At the Speed of Life
Xzibit started to rap at 14, shortly after his relocation from Albuquerque to Los Angeles, then under the pseudonym "Exhibit A". His first appearance on a professional record was in February 1995 on The Alkaholiks' Coast II Coast, on the song "Hit and Run" and also appeared on King Tee's IV Life shortly after, on the track "Free Style Ghetto".  After touring with Likwit Crew, Xzibit signed to Loud Records and released his debut album, At the Speed of Life in October 1996, which peaked at number 74 on the Billboard Hot 200 and reached 38 on the Canadian Albums Chart. The album produced single "Paparazzi" which peaked at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100. It had success in Germany and peaked at number 11 on the German Singles Chart.

After spending the next two years building his reputation as a West Coast underground artist and touring with the Likwit Crew, he released his second album, 40 Dayz & 40 Nightz on August 25, 1998, which charted in the U.S. at number 58 and 50 in Canada. It spawned four singles, the most successful being "What U See Is What U Get" charting at number 50 in the United States. With his growing following in the West, he caught the eye of rapper and producer Dr. Dre, who secured him high-profile guest spots, such as joining Snoop Dogg on the Dre-produced hit "Bitch Please" of his album No Limit Top Dogg, and appearing on Dr. Dre's 6× platinum album 2001, on the songs "Lolo", "Some L.A. Niggaz", and "What's the Difference" with Eminem. He closed the year 1999 with his acting debut, starring in The Breaks.

1999–2003: Rise to prominence and Restless
Xzibit started the year with the release of a compilation album Likwit Rhymes, which featured mostly previously unreleased material from his earlier recordings and a guest spot on "Bitch Please II", along with Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Nate Dogg. Xzibit also received a guest spot on Limp Bizkit's 8× platinum album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water on the song "Getcha Groove On". His breakthrough came with his third studio album Restless, with Dr. Dre as executive producer and guest appearances by Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Eminem, Dr. Dre, DJ Quik and the Alkaholiks, among others, which sold almost 2 million copies and was certified platinum. It spawned three singles, the most successful being "X", which peaked at number 76 in the U.S., 14 in the UK and 4 in Germany. The album reached  number 12 in the US. Dr. Dre invited Xzibit to perform on his American Up in Smoke Tour in mid-2000, which featured Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Ice Cube, among many others. The same year, he also starred in the direct-to-video crime film Tha Eastsidaz by the group of the same name and was a playable character in the video game Madden NFL 2001. He continued to star in films involving fellow rap artists such as The Wash, co-starring Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, in 2001 and The Slim Shady Show and 8 Mile, co-starring Eminem, in 2001 and 2002, respectively. He released two concert films in 2001, Xzibit: Restless Xposed, centered around the recording of his third studio album and various live-performances and was also seen in Tha Alkaholiks: X.O. The Movie Experience by the rap group of the same name. He also released a compilation album of songs that featured him, entitled You Better Believe It. Xzibit contributed vocals to Fat Joe's 2001 album, Jealous Ones Still Envy, appearing on the song "The Wild Life".

In 2002, he guest-starred in the comedy series Cedric the Entertainer Presents as Mack Daddy in the eponymous episode and released his fourth studio album Man vs. Machine with mostly similar guest appearances like its predecessor, which spawned three singles, which all failed to chart in the Hot 100, although "Multiply" reached number 39 in the UK and 33 in Germany. The album itself went gold, although Xzibit was unhappy with the crafting and promotion of his newest product, ending the cooperation with Dr. Dre. The album is his highest-charting album to date, reaching number 3 in the U.S. and 8 in Canada. He also starred in The Country Bears. He continued to collaborate with his West Coast colleagues, Ras Kass and Saafir, forming The Golden State Project (originally Golden State Warriors) rap collective, and Tha Alkaholiks, along with Snoop Dogg and Eminem, whom he accompanied on his All Access Europe tour in 2003.

2003–06: Pimp My Ride and transition into acting

The MTV show Pimp My Ride boosted his popularity as it introduced him to a major audience in 2004. The show starred him as the host, who brings an individual's wrecked car to West Coast Customs, where it undergoes a rejuvenation. He continued hosting the show until its cancelation in 2007.

Musically, he started the year off with the release of his second compilation album Appetite for Destruction featuring 50 Cent on one track, consisting mostly of tracks from his Dre period and songs that didn't make the cut for his fifth studio album Weapons of Mass Destruction, which was released in December 2004, entering the charts at 43 in the U.S. For this album, he reunited with Columbia Records, after having parted ways with producer and mentor Dr. Dre. The album managed to go gold, but yet again Xzibit was unhappy with the promotion and backing of his label, claiming that they were trying to promote him like Jessica Simpson, leaving the label in anger and going independent. His single "Hey Now (Mean Muggin)" featuring Keri Hilson marked his last chart success on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 93, while the second single "Muthafucka" failed to chart. Aside from his music and Pimp My Ride, he starred in the movie Full Clip, alongside Busta Rhymes, guest-starred in CSI: Miami in the episode The Rap Sheet, released a concert documentary with his new group, eponymously titled Strong Arm Steady and hosted the 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards in Rome. In 2005, he collaborated with shock rock legend Alice Cooper on a track entitled "Stand" from the album Dirty Diamonds. This represented Cooper's first-ever foray into rap music. This year marks his most busy one, also being featured in three video games, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, where he lent his voice and likeness to the warden Abbott and Def Jam: Fight for NY and NFL Street 2, where he was a playable character.

The following year, he mainly focused on acting, getting roles in the Hollywood blockbusters Derailed opposite Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston in which he played as Dexter, XXX: State of the Union as Zeke that also starred fellow L.A. rapper Ice Cube and Hoodwinked, where he voiced Chief Ted Grizzly opposite Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close, and Patrick Warburton. In 2006, he starred in the drama Gridiron Gang as Malcolm Moore and made two guest-appearances in the animated sitcom The Boondocks. The year also saw the release of his sixth studio album Full Circle released independently on Koch Records. The album charted at position 50 but was a commercial flop, selling merely 120,000 copies in the U.S.. None of the three singles were able to chart, although "Concentrate" climbed at number 68 in Germany. The album featured Kurupt, T-Pain and The Game, whom he assisted on his album Doctor's Advocate, where he rapped on the track "California Vacation". He also worked on two video games that year, Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover and Pimp My Ride. The year 2007 saw him hosting the final season of Pimp My Ride only, although he competed in the Gumball 3000 2007 rally.

2006–12: Full Circle and hiatus

After the cancelation of Pimp My Ride in 2007, 2008 was the first year where Xzibit did not release an album in his former two-year cycle. Though starring in two movies The X-Files: I Want to Believe as Mosley Drummy and American Violet as Darrell Hughes, this year marked a significant financial downstep for him, earning merely $70,000, opposed by almost $500,000 one year prior. He was also featured on The Alkaholiks Tha Alkaholiks: Live from Rehab concert film that year. In 2009, he played the mob leader Big Fate in the acclaimed The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and reprised his role as Abbott in the enhanced remake of 2004's The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, while Sony released his first greatest hits album, entitled The Greatest Hits. Even though his financial troubles were increased even further, as he had to file for bankruptcy in July 2009 and January 2010, although both attempts were dismissed and his houses and belongings liened.

In 2010, he had a guest-spot in the crime series Detroit 1-8-7, in the episode Royal Bubbles / Needle Drop. He also had the role of the Jabberwock in Malice n Wonderland, a short film based on the novel Alice in Wonderland, included on the re-release of the eponymous Snoop Dogg album, entitled More Malice. After having guest-starred three times in the previous season, he was added to the permanent cast of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, where he is a part of the design team. After a four-year hiatus, he planned to release his seventh studio album MMX in 2010, but due to label issues the album was not released by the end of year. In March 2011, he teamed up with Extreme Music, to release a new compilation of material titled Urban Ammo 2. Xzibit produced, composed and performed all 40 tracks on the compilation album, created primarily for professional music users and music supervisors in need of material for their movie/television productions. Xzibit enlisted veteran director Matt Alonzo to shoot the videos for the two singles, which are titled "Man on the Moon" and "What It Is", both featuring Young De. In April 2011 he teamed up with Fredwreck and Adil Omar for a song on The Mushroom Cloud Effect. He also appeared in the TV movie Weekends at Bellevue as a nurse in late 2011, an unsuccessful pilot that was not picked up in the end.

2012–present: Napalm and Empire

On October 19, 2011, it was announced that the title of the album had been changed to Napalm. On October 9, 2012, Napalm was released and Xzibit made an appearance on the BET Cypher in the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards. On October 29, 2012, Xzibit announced the Collateral Damage tour with the first 16 shows in Canada starting in early November. The tour eventually grew to 18 shows and Xzibit announced this was the first leg on a global tour that would continue into 2013. He starred in the TV movie Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden as a Navy SEAL, depicting the death of Osama bin Laden. He also appeared in 3 episodes of Hawaii Five-0 as Jason "JC" Dekker starting in 2013. On November 8, 2013, Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation revealed the title, artwork and track listing of their upcoming sixth studio album, Hydra. Xzibit features as a guest vocalist on the third track entitled "And We Run". In October 2013 Xzibit released an album with the hip hop group Serial Killers alongside Demrick and B-Real. Xzibit recently appeared on Dr. Dre's studio album Compton, on the song "Loose Cannons" alongside Cold 187um and Sly Pyper.

During his UK tour, Xzibit spoke with Hip-Hop Kings regarding his upcoming work. He confirmed a brand new album to be released in 2016 with Dr. Dre as a featured producer. Furthermore, Xzibit told the crowd in Manchester that he would be returning next year for the Compton Tour. Xzibit confirmed that Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar were confirmed artists who would be on the Compton Tour.

On February 25, 2016, it was announced that he would be joining the cast of Empire, playing the character of Shyne.

Personal life
Xzibit and his ex-wife Krista have had two children together; Xavier and Gatlyn. Xavier was born prematurely on May 15, 2008, and died eleven days later. Xzibit has another son Tremaine Joiner (born June 8, 1995) from a previous relationship. The song "The Foundation" from Xzibit's debut studio album At the Speed of Life is dedicated to Tremaine. Krista Joiner filed for divorce in February 2021.

Gumball 3000
In the Gumball 3000 2007 rally, Xzibit drove a black Jaguar XJ220. During the first day of the rally, Dutch police seized his driver's license for doing 160 km/h in a 100 km/h zone. After the penalty, his co-driver, producer Fredwreck Nassar took over the wheel and they were allowed to continue. In an interview with Dutch radio personality Reinout "Q-Bah" van Gendt, Xzibit says that he mistook the kilometers for miles (100 mph = 160 km/h). Ultimately, he never got his license back from the Dutch police and had to apply for a new one in the United States. Xzibit competed again in both the 2013 and 2014 Gumball 3000.

Tax evasion
According to public records, as of late 2010 Xzibit owed more than $900,000 in delinquent federal taxes. He tried to file for bankruptcy twice, in July 2009 and January 2010, but his bankruptcy filings were dismissed. The problems started after Pimp My Ride was canceled: in 2007 he earned $497,175; after the cancelation his 2008 income was reported as $67,510.

Discography

Studio albums
At the Speed of Life (1996)
40 Dayz & 40 Nightz (1998)
Restless (2000)
Man vs. Machine (2002)
Weapons of Mass Destruction (2004)
Full Circle (2006)
Napalm (2012)
King Maker (TBA)

With Serial Killers
 Serial Killers Vol. 1 (2013)
 The Murder Show (2015)
 Day of the Dead (2018)
 Summer of Sam (2020)

Filmography

Film

Television

Music Videos

Documentary

Video Games

References

External links

Official website

1974 births
20th-century African-American people
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century African-American musicians
21st-century American rappers
African-American male actors
African-American male rappers
American male rappers
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
Columbia Records artists
G-funk artists
Gangsta rappers
Internet memes
Likwit Crew members
Living people
MNRK Music Group artists
Musicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico
Rappers from Los Angeles
Rappers from New Mexico
Serial Killers (musical group) members
Television personalities from Los Angeles
West Coast hip hop musicians
Cibola High School alumni

Xzibit


Maude Findlay was a fictional character in her own American situation comedy Maude. She was also in two episodes of All in the Family. Maude is played by actress Bea Arthur. Maude is the cousin of Edith Bunker who is the wife of Archie Bunker. She and Archie Bunker do not like each other and she is one of Archie's antagonists. Maude moves to Upstate New York where Maude takes place. In the show she had an abortion which was very controversial and the show almost ended because of it.

Fictional American people
Television characters
Fictional characters introduced in the 1970s

Maude Findlay


Gul Hamid (1905-1936) was an Indian actor. He started his acting career in silent films and later played leading roles in talkies. He had many honors to his credit. He acted in Heer Ranjha, the first film produced in Punjabi and in Seeta, a talkie that won an honorary diploma in the 1934 Venice Film Festival and that was also the first Indian film shown at an International film festival. Hamid also wrote the script, acted in, and directed the film Khyber Pass (1936).  Hamid died of Hodgkin's Disease in 1936.

Life
Gul Hamid was born in Pirpiai; nowshera, a village near the Kabul River in the North West Frontier Province of British India (now in Pakistan). His father was Saif Ullah Khan. Gul Hamid Khan had three brothers named Abdul Hameed Khan, Gul Jamal Khan and Sayed Jamal Khan. Gul Hamid Khan was married to Patience Cooper (later Sabra Begum) from 1930–1936, one of the first early silent movie actors.

Film career
"Gul Hamid, a handsome young man from Peshawar, became an all-India celebrity when A. R. Kardar cast him in his hit movie. It is said that the movie industry never again saw an actor with Gul Hamid's looks". He made his film debut with Sarfarosh alias Brave Hearts in 1930, which was a silent movie made in Lahore & directed by A. R. Kardar. In 1931, his films Aatishe Ishq and Wandering Dancer were released.

Gul Hamid also had the honour of working in the first ever Punjabi feature film Heer Ranjha released in 1932. This film was made in Lahore and directed by A. R. Kardar.

In 1933, his film Yahudi Ki Ladki was released based on Agha Hashar Kashmiri's play Yahudi Ki Larki.

Gul Hamid's film Seeta, produced by East India Film Company & directed by Debaki Bose was the first talkie shown in an international film festival when it was shown in 1934 at the Venice Film Festival, where it won an honorary diploma. His other films released in 1934 were Chandar Gupt, Mumtaz Begum, Sultana and Night Bird.

1935 was the rich year of Gul Hamid's career as many of his films were released in it. In Karwan-E-Hayat (a 1935 adventure film) and Bharat Ki Beti (1935), his heroine was Rattan Bai. His other notable talkies (films) in 1935 were Soteeli Maa, Badruhi, Saleema and Murderer. Yasmin was also released the same year, in which his name was Behram.

Only three films are present on the record to be released in 1936 i.e., Sunehra Sansar, Baghi Sipahi and  Khyber Pass.

Khyber Pass was the film in which he not only acted, but also wrote its script and directed it.

He worked with his wife, Patience Cooper, in three films i.e., Baghi Sipahi, Murderer (1935) and Khyber Pass. After starting his film career from Lahore, he moved to Calcutta, where he worked in more than a dozen of silent films and talkies. Some of his films were made in Bombay too.

He died in 1936 due to Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Filmography

Personal life
Gul Hamid Khan was married to Patience Cooper (later Sabra Begum) from 1930–1936, one of the first early silent movie actors.

References

External links
 Academy of the Punjab in North America, COLUMNS by A.Hameed. http://www.apnaorg.com/columns/ahameed/column-38.html

 Most Rare Pictures of Gul Hameed https://www.flickr.com/photos/rashid_ashraf/32315944870/

1936 deaths
1905 births
Deaths from cancer in India
Deaths from Hodgkin lymphoma
Hindkowan people
Indian male film actors
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Actors from British India
People from Nowshera District
20th-century Indian male actors

Gul Hamid


William Emmett Smith (March 24, 1933 – July 5, 2021) was an American actor. In a Hollywood career spanning more than 79 years, he appeared in almost three hundred feature films and television productions in a wide variety of character roles, often villainous or brutal, accumulating over 980 total credits, with his best known role being the menacing Anthony Falconetti in the 1970s television mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man. Smith is also known for films like Any Which Way You Can (1980), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Rumble Fish (1983), and Red Dawn (1984), as well as lead roles in several exploitation films during the 1970s and 1990's.

Early life and career
Smith was born on March 24, 1933, in Columbia, Missouri, to William Emmett Smith and Emily (Richards) Smith, and grew up on their cattle ranch. His family later moved to Southern California, where he began his acting career at the age of eight in 1942; entering films as a child actor in such films as The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Song of Bernadette and Meet Me in St. Louis.

Smith served in the United States Air Force. He won the 200-pound (91 kg) arm-wrestling championship of the world multiple times and also won the United States Air Force weightlifting championship. A lifelong bodybuilder, Smith was a record holder for reverse-curling his own body weight. His trademark arms measured as much as  inches. Smith held a 31–1 record as an amateur boxer. A fluent Russian speaker with a master's degree in the discipline from UCLA, during the Korean War Smith was a Russian Intercept Interrogator and flew secret ferret missions over the Russian SFSR. He was reportedly also fluent in French, German and Serbo-Croatian. It had been while working on his doctorate that he was offered a contract from MGM, which would pave his career.

From 1961 to 2014, Smith established himself as a highly prolific and profoundly talented character actor with roles in a diverse range of genres. Although often typecast as an anti-social personality, he sporadically got the opportunity to prove his effectiveness in other kinds of roles as a law enforcement officer or an anti-heroic protagonist. He was a regular on the 1961 ABC television series The Asphalt Jungle, portraying police Sergeant Danny Keller. In 1964, he appeared in the episode "The Rope of Lies" as Bill, a ranch hand from the Shiloh Ranch in the syndicated television series The Virginian. He appeared in the 1964 Wagon Train episode "The Bob Stuart Story", and also gave a moving performance as the orphaned Native American valet who rails against violence opposite Guy Stockwell in "The Richard Bloodgood Story" S8 E10 which aired on 11/28/1964. One of his earliest leading roles was as Joe Riley, a good-natured Texas Ranger with arms of steel on the NBC western series Laredo (1965–1967). In 1967, Smith guest starred as Jude Bonner on James Arness's long-lived western Gunsmoke in a 1972 episode, "Hostage!"; his character abducts, beats, and apparently rapes (off-screen) Amanda Blake's character, Miss Kitty Russell, and shoots her twice in the back. Smith has been described as the "greatest bad-guy character actor of our time".

Smith joined the cast of the final season of Hawaii Five-O as Detective James "Kimo" Carew, a new officer in the Five-O unit. He had previously appeared with Jack Lord in Stoney Burke. Smith starred in one episode each of the Adam West Batman TV series (in the episode "Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires" as Adonis, one of the minions of the title guest villainess portrayed by Zsa Zsa Gabor), I Dream of Jeannie (in the episode "Operation: First Couple on the Moon" as Turk Parker), Kung Fu, and as The Treybor, a ruthless warlord, in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Buck's Duel to the Death". Smith also made guest appearances opposite James Garner in the 1974 two-hour pilot for The Rockford Files (titled "Backlash of the Hunter") and George Peppard in The A-Team (in two appearances as different characters, in the first season's "Pros and Cons" and the fourth season's "The A-Team Is Coming, The A-Team Is Coming"). In the 1976 television miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, he portrayed Anthony Falconetti, nemesis of the Jordache family, and reprised the role in the sequel, Rich Man, Poor Man Book II.

Other 1970s TV appearances included the Kolchak: The Night Stalker episode "The Energy Eater", as an Indian medicine man who advises Kolchak, and an early Six Million Dollar Man episode "Survival of the Fittest" as Commander Maxwell.  He also appeared in the 1979 miniseries The Rebels as John Waverly; in an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard as Jason Steele, a bounty hunter hired by Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane to frame the Duke Boys into jail; and an episode of Knight Rider as Harold Turner, the manipulative leader of a hellish biker gang whom Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff) has to outsmart.

On the big screen, Smith became the star of several cult feature films in the early 1970s. He appeared as heavy Terry Bartell in Darker than Amber in 1970. In the fist fight scene that ends the film, Rod Taylor hit Smith (who was playing the villain) who retaliated in kind, and a staged-fight scene became a real fight as the cameras continued to roll. Smith later reported that Taylor was "a very tough guy" who broke three of his ribs while he broke Taylor's nose.

Also in 1970, Smith featured in two biker flicks Nam's Angels (originally released under the title "The Losers") co-starring Bernie Hamilton and C.C. and Company, the latter of which was directed by Seymour Robbie and written by Roger Smith. He starred in 1972's Grave of the Vampire as James Eastman and in 1973's Invasion of the Bee Girls, and 1975's The Swinging Barmaids.

In 1972 and 1975, respectively, he appeared in two popular Blaxploitation films, Hammer and the controversially titled Boss Nigger, both with Fred Williamson. In 1972, he appeared in a Columbo episode "The Greenhouse Jungle" as Ken Nichols, a handsome swindler who may be a person of interest in Columbo's murder investigation. After that, he appeared as a vindictive sergeant in Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977), as a drag-racing legend in Fast Company (1979), as the title character's father in Conan the Barbarian (1982), as bad guy Matt Diggs in The Frisco Kid (1979), as Clint Eastwood's bare-knuckle opponent Jack Wilson in 1980's Any Which Way You Can, and had the top villainous role as a Soviet Spetsnaz commander in 1984's Red Dawn.

In 1983, Smith appeared in two films from Francis Ford Coppola, in The Outsiders as a store clerk and in Rumble Fish as a police officer. In 1985, he landed the starring role of Brodie Hollister in the short-lived Disney Western series Wildside, and another role as the bookmaker Dutchman's strongarm enforcer known simply as "Panama Hat", in director Richard Brooks's final movie, Fever Pitch (1985).

From the late 80's on and into the new millennium, Smith's icy stare, physique and continuous essaying of scene-stealing character villainy continued in a string of B-features and direct-to-video productions. Many were continuing collaborations with filmmakers he had worked with years prior, along with other character players whom also achieved cult status in own right. Such names include Robert Z'Dar, Joe Estevez, Tim Thomerson, James Drury, Lloyd Kaufman, Gary Graver, Wolf Larson and Jürgen Prochnow.

In 2002, Smith voiced Draaga, an alien gladiator, in the Justice League episode "War World".

Although it was reported that Smith retired in 2014, he made a cameo appearance in Irresistible (2020).

Post-retirement and death
In 2009, Smith published The Poetic Works of William Smith.

Smith died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles, on July 5, 2021, at the age of 88.

Selected filmography

 1942 The Ghost of Frankenstein as Village boy in courtroom (uncredited)
 1943 The Song of Bernadette as Sleeping Boy (uncredited)
 1944 Going My Way as Choir Member (uncredited)
 1944 Meet Me in St. Louis as Little Boy (uncredited)
 1945 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn as Boy (uncredited)
 1946 Gilda as Man (uncredited)
 1947 I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now as Young Boy (uncredited)
 1948 The Boy with Green Hair as Boy (uncredited)
 1958 High School Confidential as Minor Role (uncredited)
 1959 The Mating Game as Barney
 1959 Ask Any Girl as Young Man (uncredited)
 1959 Girls Town as Man (uncredited)
 1959 Never So Few as MP Officer #1 (uncredited)
 1959 The Gazebo as Actor (uncredited)
 1961 Go Naked in the World as Minor Role
 1961 The Asphalt Jungle (TV series) as Sergeant Danny Keller
 1961 Atlantis, the Lost Continent as Captain of The Guard
 1962 Zero One (TV series) as Jimmy Delaney
 1964 36 Hours as Guy (uncredited)
 1964 Mail Order Bride as Lank
 1965 Laredo (TV series) as Joe Riley
 1968 Batman as Adonis - Episode: "Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires"
 1968 Three Guns for Texas as Ranger Joe Riley
 1969 The Over-the-Hill Gang as Amos
 1969 Run, Angel, Run! as Angel
 1970 Nam's Angels as Link Thomas
 1970 Angels Die Hard as Tim
 1970 Darker than Amber as Terry
 1970 C.C. and Company as Moon
 1970 Crowhaven Farm as Patrolman Hayes
 1971 Summertree as Draft Lawyer
 1971 Chrome and Hot Leather as T.J.
 1972 The Thing with Two Heads as Hysterical Condemned Man
 1972 Hammer as Brenner
 1972 Piranha, Piranha as Caribe
 1972 Grave of the Vampire as James Eastman
 1972 The Runaway as Frank
 1973 The Fuzz Brothers as Sonny
 1973 Gentle Savage as John Allen, Camper
 1973 Sweet Jesus, Preacherman as Martelli
 1973 Invasion of the Bee Girls as Neil Agar
 1973 The Last American Hero as Kyle Kingman
 1973 The Deadly Trackers as Schoolboy
 1973 A Taste of Hell as Jack Lowell
 1974 Kung Fu 2:3 as Capt Luther Stagger
 1974 Policewomen as The Karate Instructor
 1974 Black Samson as Giovanni "Johnny" Nappa
 1974 Planet of the Apes as Tolar - Episode: "The Gladiators"
 1974 Kolchak: The Night Stalker as Jim Elkhorn - Episode: "The Energy Eater"
 1974 Win, Place or Steal as Tom
 1974 The Rockford Files as Jerry Grimes - Episode: "Backlash of the Hunter"
 1975 Boss Nigger as Jed Clayton
 1975 The Swinging Barmaids as Lieutenant Harry White
 1975 The Ultimate Warrior as "Carrot"
 1975 Dr. Minx as Gus Dolan
 1976 Scorchy as Carl Henrich
 1976 Rich Man, Poor Man as Anthony Falconetti
 1976 Rich Man, Poor Man Book II as Anthony Falconetti
 1976 Hollywood Man as Rafe Stoker
 1977 Twilight's Last Gleaming as Hoxey
 1978 Blood and Guts as Dan O'Neil
 1978 Blackjack as Andy Mayfield
 1979 The Frisco Kid as Matt Diggs
 1979 Seven as Drew Savano
 1979 The Rebels as John Waverly
 1979 Fast Company as Lonnie "Lucky Man" Johnson
 1979 Hawaii Five-O - Detective James "Kimo" Carew
 1980 Any Which Way You Can as Jack Wilson
 1981 Dukes of Hazzard as Jason Steele - Episode: "10 Million Dollar Sheriff"
 1982 Conan the Barbarian as Conan's father
 1983 Rumble Fish as Officer Patterson
 1983 The A-Team
 1983 The Outsiders as The Store Clerk
 1984 Red Dawn as Colonel Strelnikov
 1984 The Jerk, Too as Suicide
 1985 Wildside (TV Series) as Brodie Hollister
 1985 The Mean Season as Albert O'Shaughnessy
 1985 When Nature Calls as The Husband ("Gena's Story" trailer)
 1985 Fever Pitch as "Panama Hat"
 1986 Eye of the Tiger as "Blade"
 1987 Commando Squad as Morgan Denny
 1987 Moon in Scorpio as Burt
 1987 The Badd One as Badd
 1988 Bulletproof as Russian Major
 1988 Platoon Leader as Major Flynn
 1988 Maniac Cop as Captain Ripley
 1988 Hell on the Battleground as Colonel Meredith
 1988 Hell Comes To Frogtown as Captain Devlin / Count Sodom
 1988 Evil Altar as Reed Weller
 1989 Jungle Assault as General Mitchell
 1989 Slow Burn as Antonio Scarpelli
 1989 Action U.S.A. as Conover
 1989 Empire of Ash III as Lucas
 1989 Terror in Beverly Hills as The President
 1989 Memorial Valley Massacre as General Mintz
 1989 East L.A. Warriors as Martelli
 1989 B.O.R.N. as Dr. Farley
 1989 Deadly Breed as Captain
 1990 Instant Karma as Pop
 1990 Emperor of the Bronx as Fitz
 1990 Cartel as Mason
 1990 Chance as Captain Joe Wilkes
 1990 The Final Sanction as Major Galashkin
 1990 Forgotten Heroes as General Gregori Zelenkov
 1991 Spirit of the Eagle as Hatchett
 1991 Merchant of Evil as Victor Fortunetti
 1991 Kiss and Be Killed as Detective Murdoch
 1991 The Roller Blade Seven as Pharaoh
 1991 Hard Time Romance
 1991 Cybernator as Colonel Peck
 1992 The Last Riders as "Hammer"
 1992 American Me as Deacon
 1992 Shadow of the Dragon as Eric Brunner
 1992 The Legend of the Roller Blade Seven as "Pharaoh"
 1992 Legend of Skull Canyon as Charlie "Conchos Charlie"
 1992 Feast as Detective George Bordelli
 1992 Dark Secrets as Robert
 1992 A Mission to Kill as Boris Catuli
 1993 Road to Revenge as Normad
 1994 Maverick as Riverboat Poker Player
 1994 Manosaurus as Sheriff Todd
 1995 Taken Alive as L.E.
 1995 Raw Energy as Sam Stompkins
 1995 Judee Strange as Judee
 1995 Big Sister 2000 as The Man
 1996 Uncle Sam as Major
 1996 Neon Signs as Clyde
 1997 Hollywood Cops as Rinaldi
 1997 The Shooter as Jerry Krants
 1997 Interview with a Zombie as Zombie
 1997 Doublecross on Costa's Island as L.E.
 1998 Broken Vessels as Bo
 1998 Warriors of the Apocolypse as Moon
 1998 No Rest for the Wicked as Frank Love
 1999 Wasteland Justice as Moon
 2000 Vice as "Spooky" Harlow
 2000 Plastic Boy and the Jokers as Dr. Taylor
 2001 The Elite as Colonel Shaw
 2002 Body Shop as Sheriff Taggart
 2003 The Rock n' Roll Cops as Rinaldi
 2003 God Has a Rap Sheet as Lucifer
 2004 Y.M.I. as Cal
 2004 Killer Story as Monty – 'The Wrap'
 2006 Voices from the Graves as Lester Jiggs
 2006 Inner Rage as Sam
 2007 Rapturious as Sheriff
 2012 Tiger Cage as Katulic
 2014 Island of Witches as Vladislav Titov
 2020 Irresistible as Hofbrau Bar Fly

References

External links
Official website

Facebook

1933 births
2021 deaths
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Actors from Columbia, Missouri
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
Golden Boot Awards recipients
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
Male actors from Missouri
Male Western (genre) film actors
Military personnel from Missouri
Syracuse University alumni
United States Air Force airmen
United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
University of Paris alumni

William Smith (actor)


Richard Atkinson may refer to:
Richard Atkinson (bishop) (born 1958), British Anglican bishop
Richard C. Atkinson (born 1929), American psychologist and former president of the University of California
Richard J. C. Atkinson (1920–1994), British prehistorian and archaeologist
Richard Merrill Atkinson (1894–1947), U.S. Representative from Tennessee
Rick Atkinson (born 1952), American journalist and author
Ricky Atkinson (born 1965), American footballer

See also
Dick Atkinson, Australian rules footballer

Richard Atkinson


Lasthenia conjugens, commonly known as Contra Costa goldfields, is an endangered species of wildflower endemic to a limited range within the San Francisco Bay Area of the state of California, USA. Specifically this rare species occurs in Napa,  Santa Barbara, Solano, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Monterey and Alameda Counties. This annual herb typically flowers from March through June, and its colonies grow in vernal pool habitats at elevations not exceeding 100 meters above sea level. The Jepson Manual notes that the present distribution is limited to the deltaic Sacramento Valley, principally Napa and Solano Counties, but the historic range of L. conjugens is known to be significantly wider. In any case, historically the range has included parts of the North Coast, Sacramento Valley, and San Francisco Bay Area as well as the South Coast. Alternatively and less frequently this taxon has been referred to as Baeria fremontii var. conjugens.

Even though this plant is found almost exclusively in vernal pools, its behavior in controlled experiments indicates it prefers less than complete inundation. This implies that the plant actually prefers a theoretically drier environment, but is merely less successful than its competitors in surviving in drier (non-inundation) climate regimes.

Description

Lastenia conjugens is an herb whose stems are simple or freely branched and erect, attaining a height of less than 40 centimeters. Their glabrous leaves, of length of approximately eight centimeters, are entire to pinnately lobed. Inflorescences appear in the form of solitary heads, with twelve to eighteen phyllaries fused at one third to less than mid length, a distinguishing hallmark for identification of this species. An involucre structure measures six to ten millimeters and may be somewhat hemispheric. The receptacle presents as dome-shaped or obconic. The yellow ray flowers may number six to thirteen petals, and the five to ten millimeter ligules are yellow as well. The yellow disk flowers are numerous, and anther tips are linear to somewhat ovate. Style tips are triangular. The corollae are typically five-lobed.  Style tips may be triangular or round, but typically hair-tufted. The glabrous club-shaped fruits are less than 1.5 millimeters across, black or gray in color, absent a pappus structure. The species is cross-pollinated. According to Greene, the chromosome characteristic is: 2n=12.

Ecology
Lasthenia conjugens relies upon insect pollination for fertilization, and dispersal of seed is largely by gravity. In undisturbed habitats, this and other species of Lasthenia are pollinated by specialist bee species, primarily in the genus Andrena.  Studies in Solano County natural and restoration habitats have shown variability between visitation rates to the two types of colonies; however, plant propagation rates were found to be similar between natural colonies and introduced ones, implying pollination is not a limiting factor of propagation. An alternative conclusion is that members of one particular insect family, Sciaridae, are also efficient pollinators of L. conjugens, since it was the only insect family to visit the restoration colonies in significant numbers (the specialist bees are absent from these areas).

Conservation
The population trend for L. conjugens is one of declining numbers as well as shrinking range.  According to Jepson, the historic range includes areas not in the present range: parts of the North Coast, more eastern reaches of the Sacramento Valley, more southerly parts of the San Francisco Bay Area and parts of the South Coast.  Moreover, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alludes to historic populations in Contra Costa County and Santa Clara County.  More specifically another source defines the extended historic San Francisco Bay Area range to have extended from Richmond to Palo Alto  By the year 1995 the populations of L. conjugens had declined to the point where there were only five colonies extant, all of which were within Napa and Solano Counties.

Contra Costa goldfields has been studied extensively with regard to genetic diversity of colonies. Some early findings were that repeated seedings in restoration colonies enhanced the resultant population of Lasthenia conjugens and hence ultimate survival.  The subsequent finding has been made that genetic diversity has been able to be replicated for introduced colonies in a restoration environment, implying favorable long-term stability and viability for introduced colonies.

In addition to the federal status as an endangered species it gained on June 18, 1997, Lasthenia conjugens is acknowledged and protected under the Solano County Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP).  The Solano County Habitat Conservation Plan encourages corridor preservation among vernal pool habitats, which are essential for this species' survival; in addition the HCP states the importance of recognizing genetic differences amongst various colonies of L. conjugens in order to protect the total species genetic diversity.  Contra Costa goldfields is not listed by the State of California as endangered.

References

External links
U.S. Department of Interior plant profile for Contra Costa goldfields
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing details for the endangered species Lasthenia conjugens

conjugens
Endemic flora of California
Natural history of Contra Costa County, California
Critically endangered flora of California

Lasthenia conjugens


In endocrinology, secretagogue is a substance that causes another substance to be secreted. The word contains the suffix -agogue, which refers to something that leads to something else; a secretagogue thus leads to secretion.

One example is gastrin, which stimulates the H/K ATPase in the parietal cells (increased gastric acid production by the stomach). Pentagastrin, a synthetic gastrin, histamine, and acetylcholine are also gastric secretagogues.

Insulin secretagogues, such as sulfonylureas, trigger insulin release by direct action on the KATP channel of the pancreatic beta cells. Blockage of this channel leads to depolarization and secretion of vesicles.

Angiotensin II is a secretagogue for aldosterone from the adrenal gland.

References

External links

Endocrinology

Secretagogue


Carrickfergus and Belfast was a constituency in Ireland, that returned a single Member of Parliament to sit in the House of Commons of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.

It was represented in the three Protectorate Parliaments, between 1654 and 1659.

Representation and Electorate
Ireland was united with England and Scotland under a republican government, after the defeat of the Royalists in the English Civil War and related conflicts, which had affected all three kingdoms.

Under the Instrument of Government, of 15 December 1653, the Lord Protector and the English Council of State were given power to provide for Irish representatives in the Westminster Parliament.

Provision for thirty Members of Parliament was made by An Ordinance by the Protector for Elections in Ireland of 27 June 1654. Carrickfergus and Belfast was one of the constituencies established by the Ordinance. The place of election was at Belfast.

Belfast was a borough, which had been enfranchised in 1613. According to Samuel Lewis in A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland in Parliament of Ireland elections the  voters were the free burgess members of the corporation (the local Council). This group numbered twelve in the 18th century, although many Irish boroughs had larger corporations in earlier times than in the 18th century.

Carrickfergus, one of the oldest Parliamentary boroughs in Ireland, was a county of itself. This was a status similar to the later County Boroughs. The town had been enfranchised in 1326, before County Antrim existed as a sub-division of Ireland and Carrickfergus was included in that geographical county (but not for the purposes of administration). In Irish Parliament elections it was one of the few boroughs with a fairly large electorate. According to Samuel Lewis in A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland it consisted of the mayor, aldermen, burgesses, and freemen of the town as well as the freeholders of land valued at 40 shillings per annum or more.

Boundaries and boundary changes
The constituency comprised the County Antrim boroughs of Belfast and Carrickfergus.

Both before and after the Commonwealth, Belfast (Parliament of Ireland constituency) and Carrickfergus (Parliament of Ireland constituency) each sent two members to the Parliament of Ireland.

Parliaments in which the constituency was represented

First Protectorate Parliament
The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with  William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House.

Second Protectorate Parliament
The Second Protectorate Parliament sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658 with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House.

Third Protectorate Parliament
The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659 with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfield as the Speakers of the House.

See also
 List of Irish constituencies
 Irish House of Commons

External links
 Text of the Instrument of Government
 Text of An Ordinance by the Protector for Elections in Ireland

Historic constituencies in Belfast
Historic constituencies in County Antrim
Carrickfergus
Constituencies in the Parliament of England
Constituencies established in 1654
Constituencies disestablished in 1659

Carrickfergus and Belfast (constituency)


The Malaysia Youth Museum () is a museum in Malacca City, Malacca, Malaysia, which dedicated to the youth of Malaysia and their contribution to the economic and social wellbeing at regional, national, and international levels.

The museum building was formerly used as part of the Dutch Administrative Complex during the Dutch Malacca. It was later converted into a post office and subsequently an Anglo-Chinese School in 1931 and finally the museum today, which was officially opened by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on 15 April 1992.

The museum is located on the ground floor of the building, which houses the Malacca Art Gallery at the upper floor. It is located in a cluster at Bandar Hilir, along with core Malacca historic sites: A Famosa, St Paul's Church, the Stadthuys, Christ Church, the Proclamation of Independence Memorial and the Malacca Sultanate Palace Museum. The museum opens every day except Monday from 9.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

See also
 List of museums in Malaysia
 List of tourist attractions in Malacca

References

1992 establishments in Malaysia
Museums established in 1992
Museums in Malacca
Youth in Malaysia

Malaysia Youth Museum


Stewart Lynn "Stu" Blusson,  (born 1939) is a Canadian geologist, helicopter pilot, businessman, diamond magnate and philanthropist. He co-discovered billion-dollar Ekati Diamond Mine, 300 kilometres from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. He is President of Archon Minerals Ltd. In 2002, Blusson donated key start-up funds necessary for Quest University Canada in Squamish, British Columbia. In 2006, Blusson donated $10 million for the Archon X PRIZE to develop a quick and inexpensive way to sequence the human genome.  Blusson had a net worth of $660 million CDN in 2006.

Early life
Blusson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He completed an undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia (1960) and a doctorate in geology at the University of California, Berkeley (1964).

Career
After school, he joined the federal Geological Survey of Canada, leading regional geological mapping and research programs in the central Yukon and parts of British Columbia. During that time he survived a serious helicopter crash and a Grizzly bear attack. In 1969, Chuck Fipke, a geologist, needed to be rescued from the side of a mountain where he had been stranded for close to a week. Blusson sent in the helicopter pilot that saved him. From this first encounter, Fipke and Blusson became friends and prospecting partners.

He left the Geological Survey in 1979 to explore the modes of formation of mineral deposits from Mexico to the Arctic. He discovered a number of important occurrences of gold, copper and other metals.

Blusson married his wife, Marilyn, in 1980.

In 1981, he and Fipke began searching for diamonds in the Northwest Territories, concentrating their search on indicator minerals commonly associated with kimberlite, a host rock for diamond. They found kimberlitic indicator minerals near Lac de Gras in the Northwest Territories in 1985, and their first kimberlite at Point Lake in 1991.

In 1998, Ekati opened, a joint venture between BHP Diamonds Inc. (51%), Dia Met Minerals (29%), Fipke (10%), and Blusson (10%). Blusson's net worth in 2002 was estimated to be $295 million (US).

In 2004, he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada and was presented with the Logan Medal, Geological Association of Canada's highest honour. In 2012, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Archon X Prize
In 2006, Blusson donated the largest medical prize in history, $10 million (US), for the Archon X Prize. The prize is named after the ancient Archean Craton core plate beneath Canada where diamonds were discovered. The prize will go to the person or group that can develop a quick (100 people in 10 days) and inexpensive way to sequence a human genome.

Philanthropy
 1998- $50-million (Cdn) to the University of British Columbia for genetic research performed by Michael Smith, Nobel laureate
 2002- $32-million to Quest University Canada in Squamish, British Columbia
 2006- $5-million (Cdn) to Vancouver Aquarium for an educational program
 2006- $10-million (Cdn) to the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre which houses ICORD, Vancouver Coastal Health and the Rick Hansen Institute, and is backed by activist Rick Hansen
 2006- $10-million (US) to Archon X PRIZE
 2007- $12-million (Cdn) to the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University
 2016- $11-million (Cdn) to the Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute at the University of British Columbia

References

Sources
X marks the spotlight for elusive benefactor
Officer of the Order of Canada
UBC grad donates $50 million to alma mater
Ekati Pioneer is Title Sponsor for Largest Medical Prize in History
This Wall Street Journal- Celebrity Genome Project?
SFU receives record $12-million gift

External links
 Recipients of the Logan Medal
 Stuart Blusson from the GSC to Ekati

1939 births
Living people
Businesspeople from Vancouver
Canadian geologists
Canadian mining businesspeople
20th-century Canadian philanthropists
Canadian prospectors
Geological Survey of Canada personnel
Officers of the Order of Canada
University of British Columbia Faculty of Science alumni
UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni
Logan Medal recipients
21st-century Canadian philanthropists

Stewart Blusson


The W64 nuclear warhead was the Los Alamos Laboratory's entry into a brief competition between Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and Los Alamos to design an "enhanced-radiation" nuclear warhead (i.e., a "neutron bomb") for the United States Army's MGM-52 Lance tactical surface-to-surface missile. In July 1964, both Livermore Labs and Los Alamos started developing competing warheads for the Lance. The Los Alamos design, the W64, was canceled in September 1964 in favor of Livermore's W63. In November 1966, the W63 was canceled in favor of the W70, the model that finally entered production.

References

Nuclear warheads of the United States

W64 (nuclear warhead)


Port Arthur may refer to:

 Port Arthur naval base in Manchuria, now called Lüshunkou
 Port Arthur massacre (China) in the Sino-Japanese War in 1894
 Battle of Port Arthur, a sea battle in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904
 Siege of Port Arthur a land battle in 1904
Australia
 Port Arthur, Tasmania (Australia), the site of a historic convict settlement
 Port Arthur massacre (Australia), which occurred in Port Arthur, Tasmania in 1996
United States
 Port Arthur, Texas, a city in the United States
 Port Arthur, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community
Canada
 Port Arthur, Ontario (Canada), a former city, now a part of Thunder Bay
 Port Arthur (electoral district) (Canada),
Finland
 VIII District, Turku (Finland), aka Port Arthur, a district in Turku

Other
  Port Arthur, BattleTech Universe's fictional planet

Port Arthur


Massacre is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He primarily appears in Spider-Man related publications. The character is responsible for the murder of Ashley Kafka, a supporting character in various Spider-Man comic books and adapted media.

Publication history
The character's first appearance was in The Amazing Spider-Man #655 (published April 2011), during the Big Time storyline and was created by Dan Slott and Marcos Martin. The character also appeared in the following issue. Massacre would go on to make his return in the fourth issue of the Superior Spider-Man series.<ref>The Superior Spider-Man #4 April 2013</ref> He was killed by the eponymous character in the next issue of that series, before being "reanimated" by Ben Reilly in a cloned body (with his soul intact) during Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy, being one of the few reanimated to survive the event.

Fictional character biography
Marcus Lyman was an ordinary man until a failed assassination attempt nearly claimed his life. He and his wife Judy Lyman were successful traders for a local Wall Street firm in New York City until an unhappy client planted a car bomb on their vehicle. The bomb killed Judy Lyman but Marcus survived with a piece of shrapnel from the explosion stuck in his forehead, penetrating his brain. The shrapnel was successfully removed but not without consequence: the damage had caused certain connections in Lyman's brain to no longer function. As a result, he lost his ability to feel emotion. He was sent to the Ravencroft Institute For The Criminally Insane, where he was treated by Dr. Ashley Kafka. Dr. Kafka was disturbed by Lyman and she found that there was nothing she could do to help his mental state, advising that he be held under observation indefinitely.

Now calling himself "Massacre", Marcus Lyman escaped the Ravencroft Institute and began kidnapping hostages. He held the hostages in a building, killing one of them to prove that he was willing to do so. The police began attempting negotiations with Massacre. Having temporarily lost his Spider-sense, Spider-Man arrived on the crime scene in an attempt to free the hostages, but was barely able to do so due to Massacre's heavy artillery. Massacre managed to escaped the scene, though not before Spider-Man secretly placed a Spider Tracer on him. Massacre resurfaced not long after, kidnapping another set of hostages at his former Wall Street firm but Spider-Man arrived on the scene prepared. Now donning a bullet proof costume and magnetic webbing, Spider-Man was able to defeat Massacre and rescue the hostages. When asked about his motivations, Massacre admitted that he had no particular reason for committing the crimes he did. Massacre was sent back to the Ravencroft Institute.

At the Ravencroft Institute, Dr. Kafka became increasingly afraid of Massacre, believing him to be her most dangerous patient. Her fears were realized when Massacre once again escaped Ravencroft, killing Kafka in the process. Massacre then went on a killing spree, threatening to murder anyone who crossed his path. Massacre soon took hostages at a Burger Town restaurant and, in retaliation for an employee pressing an alarm button, murdered them. Massacre then tracked down the manager of the Phizzy Cola company (Burger Town being one of its subsidiaries) and offered to help fix Phizzy Cola's public image after the killings by continuing to murder innocents wearing the logo of Phizzy Cola's rival company in exchange for a large sum of cash. Fearing for her own life, the manager agreed to Massacre's offer. Because of all of the harm Massacre has caused to innocent civilians, the Superior Spider-Man (Doctor Octopus's mind in Spider-Man's body) decides to end Masacre's killing spree by killing him with his own gun. Just before his death, Massacre claimed to feel a spark of emotion.

During the Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy storyline, Massacre is among the villains "reanimated" by Jackal and his company New U Technologies (Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider seeing the embodiment of Death herself confirm those reanimated to have had their souls intact on being brought back). Although New U Technologies is supposed to revive individuals without any defects, Massacre assumedly retains the shrapnel in his brain as he is seen with the metal plate over his head. He was involved in a fight with the other cloned supervillains until it was broken up by a clone of Prowler.

During the Devil's Reign'' storyline, Massacre was seen as an inmate of the Myrmidon. Moon Knight fought him in one of the prison matches and defeated him.

Powers and abilities
While Massacre does not have any traditional super-powers, an accident made it nearly impossible for him to feel any emotion. Massacre also has a genius level intellect.

Equipment
Massacre uses guns and bombs.

See also
 List of Spider-Man enemies

References

External links
 Massacre at Marvel Wiki
 Massacre at Comic Vine

Characters created by Dan Slott
Comics characters introduced in 2011
Marvel Comics supervillains
Spider-Man characters
Fictional bankers
Fictional characters from New York City
Fictional characters with neurotrauma
Fictional gunfighters in comics
Fictional people in finance
Fictional mass murderers
Fictional rampage and spree killers

Massacre (Marvel Comics)


INTERMOT Cologne is a biennial trade show for motorcycle manufacturers. The trade show began in Munich in 1998, though it was founded in Cologne. Since 2006 it has moved to Koelnmesse in Cologne. The Intermot 2006 had over 1,000 exhibitors and some 187,000 visitors.

External links
 Official web site

Motorcycle shows
Trade fairs in Germany

Intermot


Ilario, A Story of the First History is a novel by Mary Gentle, published as two novels in the USA, set in an alternate history where Carthage has become a powerful medieval empire.

Synopsis
Set in the same alternate medieval world as Gentle's Ash: A Secret History sequence, Ilario, A Story of the First History is more limited in scope. The protagonist, Ilario, is an intersex person seeking to serve as apprentice to a master painter, a path that takes Ilario from Iberia to Carthage, Rome, Venice and Constantinople. Described as "part picaresque, part travelogue, part prose chanson de geste", the story serves to examine issues of gender, sexuality, and power.

Reception
Roz Kaveney, reviewing The Lion's Eye for Time Out described the book as "action-packed, deeply intelligent novel a focus for intrigue, intellectual debate and a fair amount of polymorphous hot sexual action". Strange Horizons found the book "something of a disappointment", with "precious few changes of tone".

Ilario novels

Ilario: The Lion's Eye. London: Gollancz, 2006.
Ilario: The Lion's Eye. New York: EOS, 2007.
Ilario: The Stone Golem. New York: EOS, 2007.

References

British fantasy novels
Novels about intersex
2000s novels
British LGBT novels
2006 British novels
Victor Gollancz Ltd books

Ilario: A Story of the First History