title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr founded the record label Ring O' Records in 1975. The company signed eleven artists and released fifteen singles and five albums between 1975 and 1978, including works by David Hentschel, Graham Bonnet and Rab Noakes. The commercial impact of Starr's own career diminished over the same period, however, although he continued to record and remained a familiar celebrity presence. Speaking in 2001, he attributed this downward turn to his "[not] taking enough interest" in music, saying of himself and friends such as Nilsson and Keith Moon: "We weren't musicians dabbling in drugs and alcohol; now we were junkies dabbling in music." Starr, Nilsson and Moon were members of a drinking club, the Hollywood Vampires.


title: Ringo Starr

text: From the late 1960s until the mid-1980s, Starr and the designer Robin Cruikshank ran a furniture and interior design company, ROR. ROR's designs were placed on sale in the department stores of Harvey Nichols and Liberty of London. The company designed the interiors of palaces in Abu Dhabi and Oman, and the apartments of Paul Raymond and Starr's friend Nilsson.


title: Ringo Starr

text: In November 1976, Starr appeared as a guest at the Band's farewell concert, featured in the 1978 Martin Scorsese documentary "The Last Waltz". Also in 1976, Starr issued "Ringo's Rotogravure", the first release under his new contract with Atlantic Records for the North American market and Polydor for all other territories. The album was produced by Arif Mardin and featured compositions by Lennon, McCartney and Harrison. Starr promoted the release heavily, yet "Rotogravure" and its accompanying singles failed to chart in the UK. In America, the LP produced two minor hits, "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll" (number 26) and a cover of "Hey! Baby" (number 74), and achieved moderate sales, reaching a chart position of 28. Its disappointing performance inspired Atlantic to revamp Starr's formula; the result was a blend of disco and 1970s pop, "Ringo the 4th" (1977). The album failed to chart in the UK and peaked at number 162 in the US. In 1978 Starr released "Bad Boy", which reached number 129 in the US and again failed to place on the UK albums chart.


title: Ringo Starr

text: In April 1979, Starr became seriously ill with intestinal problems relating to his childhood bout of peritonitis and was taken to the Princess Grace Hospital in Monte Carlo. He almost died and during an operation on 28 April, several feet of intestine had to be removed. Three weeks later he played with McCartney and Harrison at Eric Clapton's wedding. On 28 November, a fire destroyed his Hollywood home and much of his Beatles memorabilia.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Following Lennon's murder in December 1980, Harrison modified the lyrics of a song he had originally written for Starr, "All Those Years Ago", as a tribute to their former bandmate. Released as a Harrison single in 1981, the track, which included Starr's drum part and overdubbed backing vocals by McCartney, peaked at number two in the US charts and number 13 in the UK. Later that year, Starr released "Stop and Smell the Roses", featuring songs produced by Nilsson, McCartney, Harrison, Ronnie Wood and Stephen Stills. The album's lead single, the Harrison-composed "Wrack My Brain", reached number 38 in the US charts, but failed to chart in the UK. Lennon had offered a pair of songs for inclusion on the album – "Nobody Told Me" and "Life Begins at 40" – but following his death, Starr did not feel comfortable recording them. Soon after the murder, Starr and his girlfriend Barbara Bach flew to New York City to be with Lennon's widow Yoko Ono.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Following "Stop and Smell the Roses", Starr's recording projects were beset with problems. After completing "Old Wave" in 1982 with producer Joe Walsh, he was unable to find a record company willing to release the album in the UK or the US. In 1987, he abandoned sessions in Memphis for a planned country album, produced by Chips Moman, after which Moman was blocked by a court injunction from issuing the recordings. Starr narrated the 1984–86 series of the children's series "Thomas & Friends", a Britt Allcroft production based on the books by the Reverend W. Awdry. For a single season in 1989, Starr also portrayed the character Mr. Conductor in the American "Thomas & Friends" spin-off, "Shining Time Station".


title: Ringo Starr

text: In 1985, Starr performed with his son Zak as part of Artists United Against Apartheid on the protest song "Sun City", and, with Harrison and Eric Clapton, was among the special guests on Carl Perkins' TV special "". In 1987, he played drums on Harrison's Beatles pastiche "When We Was Fab" and also appeared in Godley & Creme's innovative video clip for the song. The same year, Starr joined Harrison, Clapton, Jeff Lynne and Elton John in a performance at London's Wembley Arena for the Prince's Trust charity. In January 1988, he attended the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in New York, with Harrison and Ono (the latter representing Lennon), to accept the Beatles' induction into the Hall of Fame.


title: Ringo Starr

text: During October and November 1988, Starr and Bach attended a detox clinic in Tucson, Arizona; each received a six-week treatment for alcoholism. He later commented on his longstanding addiction: "Years I've lost, absolute years ... I've no idea what happened. I lived in a blackout." Having embraced sobriety, Starr focused on re-establishing his career by making a return to touring. On 23 July 1989, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band gave their first performance to an audience of ten thousand in Dallas, Texas. Setting a pattern that would continue over the following decades, the band consisted of Starr and an assortment of musicians who had been successful in their own right at different times. The concerts interchanged Starr's singing, including selections of his Beatles and solo songs, with performances of each of the other artists' well-known material, the latter incorporating either Starr or another musician as drummer.


title: Ringo Starr

text: The first All-Starr excursion led to the release of "Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band" (1990), a compilation of live performances from the 1989 tour. Also in 1990, Starr recorded a version of the song "I Call Your Name" for a television special marking the 10th anniversary of John Lennon's death and the 50th anniversary of Lennon's birth. The track, produced by Lynne, features a supergroup composed of Lynne, Tom Petty, Joe Walsh and Jim Keltner.


title: Ringo Starr

text: The following year, Starr made a cameo appearance on "The Simpsons" episode "Brush with Greatness" and contributed an original song, "You Never Know", to the soundtrack of the John Hughes film "Curly Sue". In 1992, he released his first studio album in nine years, "Time Takes Time", which was produced by Phil Ramone, Don Was, Lynne and Peter Asher and featured guest appearances by various stars including Brian Wilson and Harry Nilsson. The album failed to achieve commercial success, although the single "Weight of the World" peaked at number 74 in the UK, marking his first appearance on the singles chart there since "Only You" in 1974.


title: Ringo Starr

text: In 1994, he began a collaboration with the surviving former Beatles for the "Beatles Anthology" project. They recorded two new Beatles songs built around solo vocal and piano tapes recorded by Lennon and gave lengthy interviews about the Beatles' career. Released in December 1995, "Free as a Bird" was the first new Beatles single since 1970. In March 1996, they released a second single, "Real Love". The temporary reunion ended when Harrison refused to participate in the completion of a third song. Starr then played drums on McCartney's 1997 album "Flaming Pie". Among the tracks to which he contributed, "Little Willow" was a song McCartney wrote about Starr's ex-wife Maureen, who died in 1994, while "Really Love You" was the first official release ever credited to McCartney–Starkey.


title: Ringo Starr

text: In 1998, he released two albums on the Mercury label. The studio album "Vertical Man" marked the beginning of a nine-year partnership with Mark Hudson, who produced the album and, with his band the Roundheads, formed the core of the backing group on the recordings. In addition, many famous guests joined on various tracks, including Martin, Petty, McCartney and, in his final appearance on a Starr album, Harrison. Most of the songs were written by Starr and the band. Joe Walsh and the Roundheads joined Starr for his appearance on "VH1 Storytellers", which was released as an album under the same name. During the show, he performed greatest hits and new songs and told anecdotes relating to them. Starr's final release for Mercury was the 1999 Christmas-themed "I Wanna Be Santa Claus". The album was a commercial failure, although the record company chose not to issue it in Britain.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 2002, joining an elite group of drummers and percussionists that include Buddy Rich, William F. Ludwig Sr. and William F. Ludwig Jr. On 29 November 2002 (the first anniversary of Harrison's death), he performed "Photograph" and a cover of Carl Perkins' "Honey Don't" at the Concert for George held in the Royal Albert Hall, London. Early the following year, he released the album "Ringo Rama", which contained a song he co-wrote as a tribute to Harrison, "Never Without You". Also in 2003, he formed Pumkinhead Records with All-Starr Band member Mark Hudson. The label was not prolific, but their first signing was Liam Lynch, who produced a 2003 LP entitled "Fake Songs".


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr served as an honorary Santa Tracker and voice-over personality in 2003 and 2004 during the London stop in Father Christmas's annual Christmas Eve journey, as depicted in the annual NORAD tracks Santa program. According to NORAD officials, he was "a Starr in the east" who helped guide North American Aerospace Defense Command's Santa-tracking tradition.


title: Ringo Starr

text: His 2005 release "Choose Love" eschewed the star-guests approach of his last two studio albums but failed to chart in the UK or the US. That same year, Liverpool's City Council announced plans to demolish Starr's birthplace, 9Madryn Street, stating that it had "no historical significance". The LCC later announced that the building would be taken apart brick by brick and preserved.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr released the album "Liverpool 8" in January 2008, coinciding with the start of Liverpool's year as the European Capital of Culture. Hudson was the initial producer of the recordings, but after a falling out with Starr, he was replaced by David A. Stewart.<ref name="Erlewine/Liverpool8"></ref> Starr performed the title track at the opening ceremony for Liverpool's appointment, but thereafter attracted controversy over his seemingly unflattering comments about his city of birth. Later that year, he was the object of further criticism in the press for posting a video on his website in which he harangued fans and autograph hunters for sending him items to sign.


title: Ringo Starr

text: In April 2009, he reunited with McCartney at the David Lynch Foundation's "Change Begins Within" benefit concert, held at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Having played his own set beforehand, Starr joined McCartney for the finale and performed "With a Little Help from My Friends", among other songs. Starr also appeared on-stage during Microsoft's June 2009 E3 press conference with Yoko Ono, McCartney and Olivia Harrison to promote "" video game.


title: Ringo Starr

text: In 2010, Starr self-produced and released his fifteenth studio album, "Y Not", which included the track "Walk with You" and featured a vocal contribution from McCartney. Later that year, he appeared during "" as a celebrity phone operator. On 7 July 2010, he celebrated his 70th birthday at Radio City Music Hall with another All-Starr Band concert, topped with friends and family joining him on stage including Ono, his son Zak, and McCartney.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr recorded a cover of Buddy Holly's "Think It Over" for the 2011 tribute album "". In January 2012, he released the album "Ringo 2012". Later that year, he announced that his All-Starr Band would tour the Pacific Rim during 2013 with select dates in New Zealand, Australia and Japan; it was his first performance in Japan since 1996, and his debut in both New Zealand and Australia.


title: Ringo Starr

text: In January 2014, Starr joined McCartney for a special performance at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, where they performed the song "Queenie Eye". That summer he toured Canada and the US with an updated version of the Twelfth All-Starr Band, featuring multi-instrumentalist Warren Ham instead of saxophonist Mark Rivera. In July, Starr became involved in "#peacerocks", an anti-violence campaign started by fashion designer John Varvatos, in conjunction with the David Lynch Foundation.<ref name="instyle7/14"></ref> In September 2014, he won at the "GQ" Men of the Year Awards for his humanitarian work with the David Lynch Foundation.


title: Ringo Starr

text: In January 2015, Starr tweeted the title of his new studio album "Postcards from Paradise". The album came a few weeks in advance of Starr's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and was released on 31 March 2015 to mixed to positive reviews. Later that month, Starr and his band announced a forthcoming Summer 2016 Tour of the US. Full production began in June 2016 in Syracuse.


title: Ringo Starr

text: On 7 July 2017 (his 77th birthday), Starr released "Give More Love" as a single, which was followed two months later by his nineteenth studio album, also titled "Give More Love" and issued by UM. The album includes appearances by McCartney, as well as frequent collaborators such as Joe Walsh, David A. Stewart, Gary Nicholson and members of the All-Starr Band.


title: Ringo Starr

text: On 13 September 2019, Starr announced the upcoming release of his 20th album, "What's My Name", to be released by UM on 25 October 2019. He recorded the album in his home studio, Roccabella West in Los Angeles.


title: Ringo Starr

text: In celebration of his 80th birthday in July 2020, Starr organised a live-streamed concert featuring appearances by many of his friends and collaborators including McCartney, Walsh, Ben Harper, Dave Grohl, Sheryl Crow, Sheila E. and Willie Nelson. The show replaced his annual public birthday celebration at the Capitol Records Building, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Ringo Starr

text: On 16 December 2020, Starr released the song "Here's to the Nights". An accompanying video was released on 18 December. The song of peace, love and friendship was written by Diane Warren and features a group of his friends, including McCartney, Joe Walsh, Corinne Bailey Rae, Eric Burdon, Sheryl Crow, Finneas, Dave Grohl, Ben Harper, Lenny Kravitz, Jenny Lewis, Steve Lukather, Chris Stapleton and Yola. The song was the lead single from his EP "Zoom In", which was released on 19 March 2021 via UMe.


title: Ringo Starr

text: On 16 March 2021, Starr stated in an interview with "Esquire" that it was unlikely that he would record another full-length album, preferring to release EPs instead. On 24 September that year, he released the EP "Change the World", a sequel to the previous EP "Zoom In".


title: Ringo Starr

text: On 7 February 2022, Starr announced his intention to return to touring with his band for the first time since 2019. The tour was announced to run from 27 May to 26 June, but several concerts held in June would end up being postponed till October due to two members of the band catching COVID-19. These postponed events were added to the band's previously announced fall tour to be held in September and October. On 1 October, he cancelled a concert at the Four Winds New Buffalo casino due to an unspecified illness affecting his voice. Another concert to be held at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel the following day was also postponed. On 3 October, it was confirmed that Starr had tested positive for COVID-19, after which several shows in Canada were cancelled.


title: Ringo Starr

text: During his youth, Starr had been a devoted fan of skiffle and blues music, but by the time he joined the Texans in 1958, he had developed a preference for rock and roll. He was also influenced by country artists, including Hank Williams, Buck Owens and Hank Snow, and jazz artists such as Chico Hamilton and Yusef Lateef, whose compositional style inspired Starr's fluid and energetic drum fills and grooves. While reflecting on Buddy Rich, Starr commented: "He does things with one hand that I can't do with nine, but that's technique. Everyone I talk to says 'What about Buddy Rich?' Well, what about him? Because he doesn't turn me on." He stated that he "was never really into drummers", but identified Cozy Cole 1958 cover of Benny Goodman "Topsy Part Two" as "the one drum record" he bought.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr's first musical hero was Gene Autry, about whom he commented: "I remember getting shivers up my back when he sang, 'South of the Border'". By the early 1960s he had become an ardent fan of Lee Dorsey. In November 1964, Starr told "Melody Maker": "Our music is second-hand versions of negro music ... Ninety per cent of the music I like is coloured."


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr said of his drumming: "I'm no good on the technical things ... I'm your basic offbeat drummer with funny fills ... because I'm really left-handed playing a right-handed kit. I can't roll around the drums because of that." Beatles producer George Martin said: "Ringo hit good and hard and used the tom-tom well, even though he couldn't do a roll to save his life", but later said, "He's got tremendous feel. He always helped us to hit the right tempo for a song, and gave it that support – that rock-solid back-beat – that made the recording of all the Beatles' songs that much easier." Starr said he did not believe the drummer's role was to "interpret the song". Instead, comparing his drumming to painting, he said: "I am the foundation, and then I put a bit of glow here and there ... If there's a gap, I want to be good enough to fill it."


title: Ringo Starr

text: In 2011, "Rolling Stone" readers voted Starr the fifth-greatest drummer of all time. Journalist Robyn Flans wrote for the Percussive Arts Society: "I cannot count the number of drummers who have told me that Ringo inspired their passion for drums". Drummer Steve Smith said:


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr said his favourite drummer is Jim Keltner, with whom he first played at the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971. The pair subsequently played drums together on some of Harrison's recordings during the 1970s, on "Ringo" and other albums by Starr, and on the early All-Starr Band tours. For "Ringo's Rotogravure" in 1976, Starr credited himself as "Thunder" and Keltner as "Lightnin'".


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr influenced Genesis drummer Phil Collins, who said: "I think he's vastly underrated, Ringo. The drum fills on 'A Day in the Life' are very, very complex things. You could take a great drummer from today and say, 'I want it like that', and they really wouldn't know what to do." Collins said his drumming on the 1983 Genesis song "That's All" was an affectionate attempt at a "Ringo Starr drum part".


title: Ringo Starr

text: In an often-repeated but apocryphal story, when asked if Starr was the best drummer in the world, Lennon quipped that he "wasn't even the best drummer in the Beatles". The line actually comes from a 1981 episode of the BBC Radio comedy series "Radio Active", although it gained more prominence when used by the television comedian Jasper Carrott in 1983, three years after Lennon's death. In September 1980, Lennon told "Rolling Stone" that Starr was a "damn good drummer" whose talent would have surfaced even without the Beatles.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Tjinder Singh of the indie rock band Cornershop highlighted Starr as a pioneering drummer, saying: "There was a time when the common consensus was that Ringo couldn't play. What's that all about? He's totally unique, a one-off, and hip hop has a lot to thank him for." In his book "The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions", Mark Lewisohn says there were fewer than a dozen occasions in the Beatles' eight-year recording career where session breakdowns were caused by Starr making a mistake, while the vast majority of takes were stopped due to mistakes by the other Beatles. Starr influenced various modern drumming techniques, such as the matched grip, tuning the drums lower, and using muffling devices on tonal rings. According to Ken Micallef and Donnie Marshall, co-authors of "Classic Rock Drummers": "Ringo's fat tom sounds and delicate cymbal work were imitated by thousands of drummers."


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr sang lead vocals for a song on most of the Beatles' studio albums as part of an attempt to establish a vocal personality for each band member. In many cases, Lennon or McCartney wrote the lyrics and melody especially for him, as they did for "Yellow Submarine" from "Revolver" and "With a Little Help from My Friends" on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". These melodies were tailored to Starr's limited baritone vocal range. Because of his distinctive voice, Starr rarely performed backing vocals during his time with the Beatles, but they can be heard on songs such as "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and "Carry That Weight". He is also the lead vocalist on his compositions "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden". In addition, he sang lead on "I Wanna Be Your Man", "Boys", "Matchbox", "Honey Don't", "Act Naturally", "Good Night" and "What Goes On".


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr's idiosyncratic turns of phrase or "Ringoisms", such as "a hard day's night" and "tomorrow never knows", were used as song titles by the Beatles, particularly by Lennon. McCartney commented: "Ringo would do these little malapropisms, he would say things slightly wrong, like people do, but his were always wonderful, very lyrical ... they were sort of magic." Starr also occasionally contributed lyrics to unfinished Lennon–McCartney songs, such as the line "darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there" in "Eleanor Rigby".


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr is credited as the sole composer of two Beatles songs: "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden", the latter written with assistance from Harrison. While promoting the "Abbey Road" album in 1969, Harrison recognised Starr's lyrics to "Octopus's Garden" as an unwittingly profound message about finding inner peace, and therefore an example of how "Ringo writes his cosmic songs without knowing it." Starr is also credited as a co-writer of "What Goes On", "Flying" and "Dig It". On material issued after the band's break-up, he received a writing credit for "Taking a Trip to Carolina" and joint songwriting credits with the other Beatles for "12-Bar Original", "Los Paranoias", "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)", "Suzy Parker" (from the "Let It Be" film) and "Jessie's Dream" (from the "Magical Mystery Tour" film).


title: Ringo Starr

text: In a 2003 interview, Starr discussed Harrison's input in his songwriting and said: "I was great at writing two verses and a chorus – I'm still pretty good at that. Finishing songs is not my forte."<ref name="Ruttenburg/TimeOutNY"></ref> Harrison helped Starr complete two of his biggest hit songs, "It Don't Come Easy" and "Back Off Boogaloo", although he only accepted a credit for "Photograph", which they wrote together in France. Starting with the "Ringo" album in 1973, Starr shared a songwriting partnership with Vini Poncia. One of the pair's first collaborations was "Oh My My". Over half of the songs on "Ringo the 4th" were Starkey–Poncia compositions, but the partnership produced just two more songs, released on "Bad Boy" in 1978.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr met hairdresser Maureen Cox in 1962, the same week that he joined the Beatles. They married in February 1965. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was best man and Starr's stepfather Harry Graves and fellow Beatle George Harrison were witnesses. Their marriage became the subject of the novelty song "Treat Him Tender, Maureen" by the Chicklettes. The couple had three children: Zak (born 13 September 1965), Jason (born 19 August 1967) and Lee (born 11 November 1970). In 1971, Starr purchased Lennon's home Tittenhurst Park at Sunninghill in Berkshire and moved his family there. The couple divorced in 1975 following Starr's repeated infidelities. Maureen died from leukaemia at age 48 in 1994.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr met actress Barbara Bach in 1980 on the set of the film "Caveman", and they were married at Marylebone Town Hall on 27 April 1981. In 1985, he was the first of the Beatles to become a grandfather upon the birth of Zak's daughter Tatia Jayne Starkey. Zak is also a drummer, and he spent time with the Who's Keith Moon during his father's regular absences; he has performed with his father during some All-Starr Band tours. Starr has eight grandchildren: two from Zak, three from Jason, and three from Lee. In 2016, he was the first Beatle to become a great-grandfather.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr and Bach split their time between homes in Cranleigh, Los Angeles, and Monte Carlo. He was listed at number 56 in the "Sunday Times Rich List 2011" with an estimated personal wealth of £150 million. In 2012, he was estimated to be the wealthiest drummer in the world. In 2014, Starr announced that his 200-acre Surrey estate at Rydinghurst was for sale, with its Grade II-listed Jacobean house. However, he retains a property in the London district of Chelsea off King's Road, and he and Bach continue to divide their time between London and Los Angeles.


title: Ringo Starr

text: In December 2015, Starr and Bach auctioned some of their personal and professional items via Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles.<ref name="Julien/Property"></ref> The collection included Starr's first Ludwig Black Oyster Pearl drum kit, instruments given to him by Harrison, Lennon, and Marc Bolan, and a first-pressing copy of the Beatles' White Album numbered "0000001". The auction raised over $9 million, a portion of which was set aside for the Lotus Foundation, a charity founded by Starr and Bach.


title: Ringo Starr

text: In 2016, Starr expressed his support for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. "I thought the European Union was a great idea," he said, "but I didn't see it going anywhere lately." In 2017, he described his impatience for Britain to "get on with" Brexit, declaring that "to be in control of your country is a good move".


title: Ringo Starr

text: In October 2021, Starr was named in the Pandora Papers which allege a secret financial deal of politicians and celebrities using tax havens in an effort to avoid the payment of owed taxes.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr is a vegetarian<ref name="Maclean/Independent"></ref> and meditates daily. His catchphrase and motto for life is "peace and love".


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr and the other members of the Beatles were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1965 Birthday Honours; they received their insignia from Queen Elizabeth II at an investiture at Buckingham Palace on 26 October. He and the other Beatles were collectively nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer for their performances in the 1964 film "A Hard Day's Night". In 1971, the Beatles received an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film "Let It Be". The minor planet 4150 Starr, discovered on 31 August 1984 by Brian A. Skiff at the Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory, was named in Starr's honour. Starr was nominated for a 1989 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for his role as Mr. Conductor in the television series "Shining Time Station".


title: Ringo Starr

text: In 2015, 27 years after he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the Beatles, Starr became the last Beatle to be inducted for a solo career. Unlike the other three Beatles who were inducted within the "Performers" category, Starr was inducted within the "Musical Excellence" category. During the 50th Grammy Awards, Starr, George Martin and his son Giles accepted the Best Compilation Soundtrack award for "Love". On 9 November 2008, Starr accepted a Diamond Award on behalf of the Beatles during the 2008 World Music Awards ceremony in Monaco. On 8 February 2010, he was honoured with the 2,401st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. It is located at 1750 North Vine Street, in front of the Capitol Records building, as are the stars for Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to music. He was knighted in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge on 20 March 2018.


title: Ringo Starr

text: In 2022, Starr received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music for his "immeasurable impact on music, film and television, and popular culture".


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr has received praise from critics and movie industry professionals regarding his acting; director and producer Walter Shenson called him "a superb actor, an absolute natural". By the mid-1960s, Starr had become a connoisseur of film. In addition to his roles in "A Hard Day's Night" (1964), "Help!" (1965), "Magical Mystery Tour" (1967) and "Let It Be" (1970), Starr also acted in "Candy" (1968), "The Magic Christian" (1969), "Blindman" (1971), "Son of Dracula" (1974) and "Caveman" (1981). In 1971, he starred as Larry the Dwarf in Frank Zappa's "200 Motels" and was featured in Harry Nilsson's animated film "The Point!" He co-starred in "That'll Be the Day" (1973) as a Teddy Boy and appeared in "The Last Waltz", the Martin Scorsese documentary film about the 1976 farewell concert of the Band.


title: Ringo Starr

text: Starr played the Pope in Ken Russell's "Lisztomania" (1975), and a fictionalised version of himself in McCartney's "Give My Regards to Broad Street" in 1984. Starr appeared as himself and a downtrodden alter-ego Ognir Rrats in "Ringo" (1978), an American-made television comedy film based loosely on "The Prince and the Pauper". For the 1979 documentary film on the Who, "The Kids Are Alright", Starr appeared in interview segments with fellow drummer Keith Moon.


title: John Wayne

text: Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Golden Age, especially in Western and war movies. His career flourished from the silent era of the 1920s through the American New Wave, as he appeared in a total of 179 film and television productions. He was among the top box-office draws for three decades, and he appeared with many other important Hollywood stars of his era. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Wayne as one of the greatest male stars of classic American cinema.


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa, but grew up in Southern California. After losing his football scholarship to the University of Southern California from a bodysurfing accident, he began working for the Fox Film Corporation. He appeared mostly in small parts, but his first leading role came in Raoul Walsh's Western "The Big Trail" (1930), an early widescreen film epic that was a box-office failure. He played leading roles in numerous during the 1930s, most of them also Westerns, without becoming a major name. John Ford's "Stagecoach" (1939) made Wayne a mainstream star, and he starred in 142 motion pictures altogether. According to one biographer, "John Wayne personified for millions the nation's frontier heritage."


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne's other roles in Westerns include a cattleman driving his herd on the Chisholm Trail in "Red River" (1948), a Civil War veteran whose niece is abducted by a tribe of Comanches in "The Searchers" (1956), a troubled rancher competing with a lawyer (James Stewart) for a woman's hand in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962), and a cantankerous one-eyed marshal in "True Grit" (1969), for which he received the Academy Award for Best Actor. He is also remembered for his roles in "The Quiet Man" (1952) with Maureen O'Hara, "Rio Bravo" (1959) with Dean Martin, and "The Longest Day" (1962). In his final screen performance, he starred as an aging gunfighter battling cancer in "The Shootist" (1976). He made his last public appearance at the Academy Awards ceremony on April 9, 1979, and died of stomach cancer two months later. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor of the United States.


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison on May 26, 1907, at 224 South Second Street in Winterset, Iowa. The local paper, "Winterset Madisonian", reported on page 4 of the edition of May 30, 1907, that Wayne weighed 13 lb (around 6 kg) at birth. Wayne claimed his middle name was soon changed from Robert to Michael when his parents decided to name their next son Robert, but extensive research has found no such legal change although it might have been changed informally or the documention may have been lost. Wayne's legal name apparently remained Marion Robert Morrison his entire life although to this day his original name is almost always referred to as Marion Michael Morrison.


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne's father, Clyde Leonard Morrison (1884–1937), was the son of American Civil War veteran Marion Mitchell Morrison (1845–1915). Wayne's mother, the former Mary "Molly" Alberta Brown (1885–1970), was from Lancaster County, Nebraska. Wayne had Scottish, Scotch-Irish, English, and Irish ancestry. His great-great-grandfather Robert Morrison (b. 1782) left County Antrim, Ireland, with his mother, arriving in New York in 1799 and eventually settling in Adams County, Ohio. The Morrisons were originally from the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. He was raised Presbyterian.


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne's family moved to Palmdale, California, and then in 1916 to Glendale at 404 Isabel Street, where his father worked as a pharmacist. He attended Glendale Union High School, where he performed well in both sports and academics. Wayne was part of his high school's football team and its debating team. He was also the president of the Latin Society and contributed to the school's newspaper sports column.


title: John Wayne

text: A local fireman at the station on his route to school in Glendale started calling him "Little Duke" because he never went anywhere without his huge Airedale Terrier, Duke. He preferred "Duke" to "Marion", and the nickname stuck. Wayne attended Wilson Middle School in Glendale. As a teen, he worked in an ice-cream shop for a man who shod horses for Hollywood studios. He was also active as a member of the Order of DeMolay. He played football for the 1924 league champion Glendale High School team.


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne applied to the U.S. Naval Academy, but was not accepted due to poor grades. Instead, he attended the University of Southern California (USC), majoring in pre-law. He was a member of the Trojan Knights and Sigma Chi fraternities. Wayne, who stood tall, also played on the USC football team under coach Howard Jones. A broken collarbone injury curtailed his athletic career; Wayne later noted that he was too terrified of Jones' reaction to reveal the actual cause of his injury, a bodysurfing accident. He lost his athletic scholarship, and without funds, had to leave the university.


title: John Wayne

text: As a favor to coach Jones, who had given silent Western film star Tom Mix tickets to USC games, director John Ford and Mix hired Wayne as a prop boy and extra. Wayne later credited his walk, talk, and persona to his acquaintance with Wyatt Earp, who was good friends with Tom Mix. Wayne soon moved to bit parts, establishing a longtime friendship with the director who provided most of those roles, John Ford. Early in this period, he had a minor, uncredited role as a guard in the 1926 film "Bardelys the Magnificent". Wayne also appeared with his USC teammates playing football in "Brown of Harvard" (1926), "The Dropkick" (1927), and "Salute" (1929) and Columbia's "Maker of Men" (filmed in 1930, released in 1931).While working for Fox Film Corporation in bit roles, Wayne was given on-screen credit as "Duke Morrison" only once, in "Words and Music" (1929). Director Raoul Walsh saw him moving studio furniture while working as a prop boy and cast him in his first starring role in "The Big Trail" (1930). For his screen name, Walsh suggested "Anthony Wayne", after Revolutionary War General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. Fox Studios chief Winfield Sheehan rejected it as sounding "too Italian". Walsh then suggested "John Wayne". Sheehan agreed, and the name was set. Wayne was not even present for the discussion. His pay was raised to $105 a week.


title: John Wayne

text: "The Big Trail" was to be the first big-budget outdoor spectacle of the sound era, made at a then-staggering cost over $2 million (over $32.8 million equivalent in 2021), using hundreds of extras and wide vistas of the American Southwest, still largely unpopulated at the time. To take advantage of the breathtaking scenery, it was filmed in two versions, a standard 35 mm version and another in the new 70 mm Grandeur film process, using an innovative camera and lenses. Many in the audience who saw it in Grandeur stood and cheered, but only a handful of theaters were equipped to show the film in its widescreen process, and the effort was largely wasted at the time. The film was considered a huge box-office flop at the time, but came to be highly regarded by modern critics.


title: John Wayne

text: After the commercial failure of "The Big Trail", Wayne was relegated to small roles in A pictures, including Columbia's "The Deceiver" (1931), in which he played a corpse. He appeared in the serial "The Three Musketeers" (1933), an updated version of the Alexandre Dumas novel in which the protagonists were soldiers in the French Foreign Legion in then-contemporary North Africa. He played the lead, with his name over the title, in many low-budget Poverty Row Westerns, mostly at Monogram Pictures and serials for Mascot Pictures Corporation. By Wayne's own estimation, he appeared in about 80 of these horse operas from 1930 to 1939. In "Riders of Destiny" (1933), he became one of the first singing cowboys of film, albeit via dubbing. Wayne also appeared in some of the "Three Mesquiteers" Westerns, whose title was a play on the Dumas classic. He was mentored by stuntmen in riding and other Western skills. Stuntman Yakima Canutt and Wayne developed and perfected stunts and onscreen fisticuffs techniques that are still in use. One of the main innovations with which Wayne is credited in these early Poverty Row Westerns is allowing the good guys to fight as convincingly as the bad guys, by not always making them fight clean. Wayne claimed, "Before I came along, it was standard practice that the hero must always fight clean. The heavy was allowed to hit the hero in the head with a chair or throw a kerosene lamp at him or kick him in the stomach, but the hero could only knock the villain down politely and then wait until he rose. I changed all that. I threw chairs and lamps. I fought hard and I fought dirty. I fought to win."


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne's second breakthrough role came with John Ford's "Stagecoach" (1939). Because of Wayne's B-movie status and track record in low-budget Westerns throughout the 1930s, Ford had difficulty getting financing for what was to be an A-budget film. After rejection by all the major studios, Ford struck a deal with independent producer Walter Wanger in which Claire Trevor—a much bigger star at the time—received top billing. "Stagecoach" was a huge critical and financial success, and Wayne became a mainstream star. Cast member Louise Platt credited Ford as saying at the time that Wayne would become the biggest star ever because of his appeal as the archetypal "everyman".


title: John Wayne

text: America's entry into World War II resulted in a deluge of support for the war effort from all sectors of society, and Hollywood was no exception. Wayne was exempted from service due to his age (34 at the time of Pearl Harbor) and family status (classified as 3-A – family deferment). Wayne repeatedly wrote to John Ford saying he wanted to enlist, on one occasion inquiring whether he could get into Ford's military unit. Wayne did not attempt to prevent his reclassification as 1-A (draft eligible), but Republic Studios was emphatically resistant to losing him, since he was their only A-list actor under contract. Herbert J. Yates, president of Republic, threatened Wayne with a lawsuit if he walked away from his contract, and Republic Pictures intervened in the Selective Service process, requesting Wayne's further deferment.


title: John Wayne

text: U.S. National Archives records indicate that Wayne, in fact, did make an application to serve in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), precursor to the modern CIA, and had been accepted within the U.S. Army's allotted billet to the OSS. William J. Donovan, OSS commander, wrote Wayne a letter informing him of his acceptance into the Field Photographic Unit as a special forces commando, but the letter went to his estranged wife Josephine's home. She never told him about it. Wayne toured U.S. bases and hospitals in the South Pacific for three months in 1943 and 1944, with the USO. During this trip, he carried out a request from Donovan to assess whether General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the South West Pacific Area, or his staff were hindering the work of the OSS. Donovan later issued Wayne an OSS Certificate of Service to memorialize Wayne's contribution to the OSS mission.


title: John Wayne

text: By many accounts, his failure to serve in the military later became the most painful part of his life. His widow later suggested that his patriotism in later decades sprang from guilt, writing: "He would become a 'superpatriot' for the rest of his life trying to atone for staying home."


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne's first color film was "Shepherd of the Hills" (1941), in which he co-starred with his longtime friend Harry Carey. The following year, he appeared in his only film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, the Technicolor epic "Reap the Wild Wind" (1942), in which he co-starred with Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard; it was one of the rare times he played a character with questionable values.


title: John Wayne

text: Like most Hollywood stars of his era, Wayne appeared as a guest on radio programs, such as: "The Hedda Hopper Show" and "The Louella Parsons Show". He made a number of appearances in dramatic roles, mainly recreations for radio of his own film roles, on such programs as "Screen Directors Playhouse" and "Lux Radio Theatre". For six months in 1942, Wayne starred in his own radio adventure series, "Three Sheets to the Wind", produced by film director Tay Garnett. In the series, an international spy/detective show, Wayne played Dan O'Brien, a detective who used alcoholism as a mask for his investigatory endeavors. The show was intended by Garnett to be a pilot of sorts for a film version, though the motion picture never came to fruition. No episodes of the series featuring Wayne seem to have survived, though a demonstration episode with Brian Donlevy in the leading role does exist. Wayne, not Donlevy, played the role throughout the series' run on NBC.


title: John Wayne

text: Director Robert Rossen offered the starring role in "All the King's Men" (1949) to Wayne, but he refused, believing the script to be un-American in many ways. Broderick Crawford, who was eventually cast in the role, won the 1949 Oscar for best male actor, ironically beating out Wayne, who had been nominated for "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949).


title: John Wayne

text: He lost the leading role of Jimmy Ringo in "The Gunfighter" (1950) to Gregory Peck due to his refusal to work for Columbia Pictures because its chief, Harry Cohn, had mistreated him years before when he was a young contract player. Cohn had bought the project for Wayne, but Wayne's grudge was too deep, and Cohn sold the script to Twentieth Century Fox, which cast Peck in the role Wayne badly wanted, but for which he refused to bend.


title: John Wayne

text: Batjac, the production company co-founded by Wayne in 1952, was named after the fictional shipping company Batjak in "Wake of the Red Witch" (1948), a film based on the novel by Garland Roark. (A spelling error by Wayne's secretary was allowed to stand, accounting for the variation.) Batjac (and its predecessor, Wayne-Fellows Productions) was the arm through which Wayne produced many films for himself and other stars. Its best-known non-Wayne productions were "Seven Men From Now" (1956), which started the classic collaboration between director Budd Boetticher and star Randolph Scott, and "Gun the Man Down" (1956) with contract player James Arness as an outlaw.


title: John Wayne

text: One of Wayne's most popular roles was in "The High and the Mighty" (1954), directed by William Wellman, and based on a novel by Ernest K. Gann. His portrayal of a heroic copilot won widespread acclaim. Wayne also portrayed aviators in "Flying Tigers" (1942), "Flying Leathernecks" (1951), "Island in the Sky" (1953), "The Wings of Eagles" (1957), and "Jet Pilot" (1957).


title: John Wayne

text: He appeared in nearly two dozen of John Ford's films over 20 years, including "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949), "The Quiet Man" (1952), "The Wings of Eagles" (1957), etc. The first movie in which he called someone "Pilgrim", Ford's "The Searchers" (1956), is often considered to contain Wayne's finest and most complex performance.


title: John Wayne

text: On May 14, 1958, Hal Kanter's "I Married a Woman" starring George Gobel and Diana Dors had its Los Angeles opening. In it, Wayne had a cameo as himself. On October 2, John Huston's "The Barbarian and the Geisha", in which Wayne played the lead and clashed with his director all the way, had its New York opening.


title: John Wayne

text: Howard Hawks's "Rio Bravo" premiered on March 18, 1959. In it, Wayne plays the lead with a supporting cast including Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan and Ward Bond. John Ford's "The Horse Soldiers" had its world premiere in Shreveport, Louisiana on June 18. Set during the Civil War, Wayne shares the lead with William Holden.


title: John Wayne

text: In 1960, Wayne directed and produced "The Alamo" portraying Davy Crockett, with Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie. Wayne was nominated for an Oscar as the producer in the Best Picture category. That year Wayne also played the lead in Henry Hathaway's "North to Alaska" also starring Stewart Granger and Ernie Kovacs. In 1961, Wayne shared the lead with Stuart Whitman in Michael Curtiz's "The Comancheros".


title: John Wayne

text: On May 23, 1962, Wayne starred in John Ford's "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" with James Stewart. May 29 marked the premiere of Howard Hawks's "Hatari!", shot on location in Africa with Wayne playing the lead capturing wild animals from the beds of trucks; all the scenes with animals in the film are real. On October 4, "The Longest Day" started its theatrical run, with Wayne memorably acting with an ensemble cast. Although the other top-level actors in the film accepted a token payment of only $10,000 each to play their roles, making the all-star cast feasible for the budget, Wayne was paid a quarter of a million dollars due to an earlier dispute with producer Darryl F. Zanuck.


title: John Wayne

text: On February 20, 1963, Wayne acted in a segment of "How the West Was Won" directed by John Ford. On June 12, Wayne played the lead in his final John Ford film, "Donovan's Reef", co-starring Lee Marvin. On November 13, another film starring Wayne premiered, Andrew V. McLaglen's "McLintock!", once again opposite Maureen O'Hara.


title: John Wayne

text: In 1964, Wayne played the leading role in Henry Hathaway's "Circus World" with Claudia Cardinale and Rita Hayworth.


title: John Wayne

text: On February 15, 1965, Wayne played the brief cameo role of a centurion in George Stevens's "The Greatest Story Ever Told". On April 6, he shared the screen with Kirk Douglas and Patricia Neal in Otto Preminger's "In Harm's Way". On June 13, he acted in Henry Hathaway's "The Sons of Katie Elder" with Dean Martin.


title: John Wayne

text: In 1966, Wayne appeared in a cameo role for Melville Shavelson's "Cast a Giant Shadow" starring Kirk Douglas.


title: John Wayne

text: On May 24, 1967, Wayne played the lead in Burt Kennedy's "The War Wagon" with Kirk Douglas as the second lead. His second movie that year, Howard Hawks's "El Dorado", a highly successful partial remake of "Rio Bravo" with Robert Mitchum playing Dean Martin's original role, premiered on June 7.


title: John Wayne

text: In 1968, Wayne co-directed with Ray Kellogg "The Green Berets." the only major film made during the Vietnam War in support of the war. Wayne wanted to make this movie because at that time Hollywood had little interest in making movies about the Vietnam War. During the filming of "The Green Berets", the Degar or Montagnard people of Vietnam's Central Highlands, fierce fighters against communism, bestowed on Wayne a brass bracelet that he wore in the film and all subsequent films. Also that year, Wayne played the lead in Andrew V. McLaglen's "Hellfighters", a film about the crews who put out oil rig fires. Katharine Ross played a supporting role.


title: John Wayne

text: On June 13, 1969, Henry Hathaway's "True Grit" premiered. For his role as Rooster Cogburn, Wayne won the Best Actor Oscar at the Academy Awards. In November of that year another film starring Wayne was released, Andrew V. McLaglen's "The Undefeated" with Rock Hudson.


title: John Wayne

text: On June 24, 1970, Andrew V. McLaglen's "Chisum" started to play in cinemas. Wayne took the role of the owner of a cattle ranch, who finds out that a businessman is trying to own neighboring land illegally. On September 16, Howard Hawks' "Rio Lobo" premiered. Wayne played Col. Cord McNally, who confronts Confederate soldiers who stole a shipment of gold at the end of the Civil War. This was another remake of "Rio Bravo" albeit without a second lead the box office calibre of Dean Martin or Robert Mitchum.


title: John Wayne

text: In June 1971, George Sherman's "Big Jake" made its debut. Wayne played the role of an estranged father who must track down a gang who kidnapped his grandson. The film was a critically acclaimed hit.


title: John Wayne

text: In 1972, Wayne starred in Mark Rydell's "The Cowboys." Vincent Canby of "The New York Times", who did not particularly care for the film, wrote: "Wayne is, of course, marvelously indestructible, and he has become an almost perfect father figure". The same year, he was selected in the last round of the NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons for his past football experience, though the pick was disallowed by league officials as he was 64 years old at the time.


title: John Wayne

text: On February 7, 1973, Burt Kennedy's "The Train Robbers" opened; Wayne appeared alongside Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor and Ben Johnson. On June 27, Andrew V. McLaglen's "Cahill U.S. Marshal" premiered, with Wayne, George Kennedy and Gary Grimes, a box office failure.


title: John Wayne

text: On March 25, 1975, Douglas Hickox's "Brannigan" premiered. In it, Wayne played a Chicago police lieutenant named Jim Brannigan on the hunt for an organized-crime leader. On October 17, "Rooster Cogburn" started its theatrical run; Wayne reprised his role as U.S. Marshal Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn with strong elements of the plot of "The African Queen" along with Katharine Hepburn as his leading lady.


title: John Wayne

text: In 1976, Wayne starred in Don Siegel's "The Shootist", also starring Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard and James Stewart. It was Wayne's final cinematic role, whose main character, J. B. Books, was dying of cancer, to which Wayne himself succumbed three years later. It contains numerous plot similarities to "The Gunfighter" of nearly 30 years before, a role which Wayne had wanted, but turned down. Upon its theatrical release, it grossed $13,406,138 domestically. About $6 million were earned as US theatrical rentals. The film received positive reviews. It was named one of the Ten Best Films of 1976 by the National Board of Review. Film critic Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" ranked "The Shootist" number 10 on his list of the 10 best films of 1976. The film was nominated for an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA film award, and a Writers Guild of America award.


title: John Wayne

text: Although he enrolled in a cancer vaccine study in an attempt to ward off the disease, Wayne died of stomach cancer on June 11, 1979, at the UCLA Medical Center. He was buried in the Pacific View Memorial Park Cemetery in Corona del Mar, Newport Beach. According to his son Patrick and his grandson Matthew Muñoz, who was a priest in the California Diocese of Orange, Wayne converted to Roman Catholicism shortly before his death. He requested that his tombstone read ""Feo, Fuerte y Formal"", a Spanish epitaph Wayne described as meaning "ugly, strong, and dignified". His grave, which was unmarked for 20 years, has been marked since 1999 with the quotation:


title: John Wayne

text: Throughout most of his life, Wayne was a vocally prominent conservative Republican in Hollywood, supporting anti-communist positions. However, he voted for Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1936 presidential election and expressed admiration for Roosevelt's successor, fellow Democratic President Harry S. Truman, despite having supported Republican candidate Thomas E. Dewey in 1948. He took part in creating the conservative Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals in February 1944 before being elected its president in 1949. An ardent anti-communist and vocal supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committee, he made "Big Jim McLain" (1952) with himself as a HUAC investigator to demonstrate his support for the cause of anti-communism. His personal views found expression as a proactive inside enforcer of the "Black List", denying employment and undermining careers of many actors and writers who had expressed their personal political beliefs earlier in life. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is alleged to have said that Wayne should be assassinated for his frequently espoused anti-communist politics, despite being a fan of his movies. Wayne was a supporter of Senator Joseph McCarthy.


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne supported Vice President Richard Nixon in the presidential election of 1960, but expressed his vision of patriotism when John F. Kennedy won the election: "I didn't vote for him, but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job." He used his star power to support conservative causes, including rallying support for the Vietnam War by producing, co-directing, and starring in the financially successful film "The Green Berets" (1968). In 1960, he joined the anti-communist John Birch Society, but quit after the organization denounced fluoridation of water supplies as a communist plot. In 1964, Wayne was a staunch supporter of Barry Goldwater, and actively campaigned for him.


title: John Wayne

text: Due to his status as the highest-profile Republican star in Hollywood, wealthy Texas Republican Party backers asked Wayne to run for national office in 1968, like his friend and fellow actor Senator George Murphy. He declined, joking that he did not believe the public would seriously consider an actor in the White House. Instead, he supported his friend Ronald Reagan's campaigns for Governor of California in 1966 and 1970. He was asked to be the running mate for Democratic Alabama Governor George Wallace, who had been nominated for president by the American Independent Party, in his 1968 campaign, but he immediately rejected the offer and actively campaigned for Richard Nixon; Wayne addressed the 1968 Republican National Convention on its opening day.


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne openly differed with many conservatives over the issue of returning the Panama Canal, as he supported the Panama Canal Treaty in the mid-1970s; while Republican leaders such as Reagan, Jesse Helms, and Strom Thurmond had wanted the U.S. to retain full control of the canal, Wayne and fellow conservative William F. Buckley believed that the Panamanians had the right to the canal and sided with President Jimmy Carter. Wayne was a close friend of Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos Herrera, and Wayne's first wife Josephine was a native of Panama. His support of the treaty brought him hate mail for the first time in his life.


title: John Wayne

text: In 1973 actor Marlon Brando refused an Oscar he had won, due to "the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry"; Brando did not attend the award ceremony but asked Native American civil rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather to attend and deliver a refusal speech in the event that he won. Wayne, who has been described as "serial slaughterer of Native Americans on-screen and self-professed white supremacist off it", was in the wings, and was so angry about her presence there that Littlefeather said "he was coming towards me to forcibly take me off the stage, and he had to be restrained by six security men to prevent him from doing so." However, an investigation in 2022 found that this is unlikely to have happened, and Littlefeather had no way of witnessing this take place.


title: John Wayne

text: Left-wing activist Abbie Hoffman paid tribute to Wayne's singularity, saying, "I like Wayne's wholeness, his style. As for his politics, well—I suppose even cavemen felt a little admiration for the dinosaurs that were trying to gobble them up."


title: John Wayne

text: In May 1971, "Playboy" magazine published an interview with Wayne, in which he expressed his support for the Vietnam War, and made headlines for his opinions about social issues and race relations in the United States:


title: John Wayne

text: In the same "Playboy" interview, Wayne calls the two lead characters in "Midnight Cowboy" "fags" for the alleged "love of those two men". He also responded to questions about whether social programs were good for the country:


title: John Wayne

text: In February 2019, the "Playboy" interview resurfaced, which resulted in calls for John Wayne Airport to be renamed. John Wayne's son, Ethan, defended him, stating, "It would be an injustice to judge someone based on an interview that's being used out of context." The calls for changing the airport's name back to Orange County Airport were renewed during the George Floyd protests in June 2020.


title: John Wayne

text: In October 2019 USC student activists called for the removal of an exhibit dedicated to Wayne, citing the interview. In July 2020, it was announced that the exhibit would be removed.


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne was married three times and divorced twice. His three wives included one of Spanish American descent, Josephine Alicia Saenz, and two from Latin America, Esperanza Baur and Pilar Pallete. He had four children with Josephine: Michael Wayne (November 23, 1934April 2, 2003), Mary Antonia "Toni" Wayne LaCava (February 25, 1936December 6, 2000), Patrick Wayne (born July 15, 1939), and Melinda Wayne Munoz December 3, 1940April 13, 2022). He had three more children with Pilar: Aissa Wayne (born March 31, 1956), John Ethan Wayne (born February 22, 1962), and Marisa Wayne (born February 22, 1966).


title: John Wayne

text: His divorce from Esperanza Baur, a Mexican former actress, was stormy. She believed that Wayne and co-star Gail Russell were having an affair, a claim that both Wayne and Russell denied. The night the film "Angel and the Badman" (1947) wrapped, the usual party was held for cast and crew, and Wayne came home very late. Esperanza was in a drunken rage by the time he arrived, and she attempted to shoot him as he walked through the front door.


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne had several high-profile affairs, including one with Merle Oberon that lasted from 1938 to 1947. After his separation from Pilar, in 1973, Wayne became romantically involved and lived with his former secretary Pat Stacy (1941–1995) until his death in 1979. Stacy published a book about her life with him in 1983, titled "Duke: A Love Story".


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne's hair began to thin in the 1940s, and he had begun to wear a hairpiece by the end of the decade. He was occasionally seen in public without the hairpiece (such as, according to "Life", at Gary Cooper's funeral). During an appearance at Harvard University, Wayne was asked by a student, "Is it true that your toupée is real hair?" He responded: "Well sir, that's real hair. Not mine, but real hair."


title: John Wayne

text: A close friend, California Congressman Alphonzo E. Bell Jr., wrote of Wayne: "Duke's personality and sense of humor were very close to what the general public saw on the big screen. It is perhaps best shown in these words he had engraved on a plaque: 'Each of us is a mixture of some good and some not so good qualities. In considering one's fellow man, it's important to remember the good things. ... We should refrain from making judgments just because a fella happens to be a dirty, rotten S.O.B.'"


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne was fond of literature, his favorite authors being Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Agatha Christie. His favorite books were "David Copperfield", and Conan Doyle's historical novels "The White Company" and "Sir Nigel".


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne biographer Michael Munn chronicled Wayne's drinking habits. According to Sam O'Steen's memoir, "Cut to the Chase", studio directors knew to shoot Wayne's scenes before noon, because by afternoon, he "was a mean drunk". He had been a chain smoker of cigarettes since young adulthood and was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1964. He underwent successful surgery to remove his entire left lung and two ribs. Despite efforts by his business associates to prevent him from going public with his illness for fear that it would cost him work, Wayne announced he had cancer and called on the public to get preventive examinations. Five years later, Wayne was declared cancer-free. Wayne has been credited with coining the term "the Big C" as a euphemism for cancer.


title: John Wayne

text: He was a Freemason, a Master Mason in Marion McDaniel Lodge No. 56 F&AM, in Tucson, Arizona. He became a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason and later joined the Al Malaikah Shrine Temple in Los Angeles. He became a member of the York Rite. During the early 1960s, Wayne traveled often to Panama, and he purchased the island of Taborcillo off that nation's Pacific coast. It was sold by his estate at his death.


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne's yacht, the "Wild Goose", was one of his favorite possessions. He kept it docked in Newport Beach Harbor, and it was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2011.


title: John Wayne

text: In 1974, film critic Charles Champlin wrote of Wayne: "Wayne is a motion picture actor, first, last and always, who defined as powerfully as anyone else what that means. From the lean and intense early days, in those low-cost dusters which still play on morning television, Wayne has had a presence which got through the lenses and shutters and onto the film undiminished." John Ford said of him: "He's not something out of a book, governed by acting rules. He portrays John Wayne, a rugged American guy. He's not one of those method actors, like they send out here from drama schools in New York. He's real, perfectly natural." Lee Strasberg observed that Wayne was similar to fellow actors Spencer Tracy and Gary Cooper, who "try not to act but be themselves".


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne thought of himself as a reactor rather than an actor, and felt that the difference between good and bad acting was in acting and reacting. He explained this difference: "In a bad picture, you see them acting all over the place. In a good picture, they react in a logical way to a situation they're in, so the audience can identify with the actors." When asked about his approach to acting, Wayne commented: "I read dramatic lines undramatically and react to situations normally. This is not as simple as it sounds. I've spent a major portion of my life trying to do it well and I am not past learning it yet." Much like many actors of his generation, Wayne disliked method acting, and once said of them: "Let those actors who picked their noses get all the dialogue, just give me the close-up of reaction."


title: John Wayne

text: Howard Hawks, who directed him in five films, felt that after losing one of his lungs, Wayne became a much better actor. Hawks explained: "Because of the lung Wayne lost, he reads his lines differently. He pauses in the strangest places simply because he hasn't got the breath he used to have. This device is terribly effective, because you keep your eyes on him and wait for him to finish, because you don't know what's coming next." Raoul Walsh noted: "Wayne underacts, and it's mighty effective, not because he tries to underact–it's a hard thing to do if you try–but because he can't overact."


title: John Wayne

text: Despite his popularity at the box office, Wayne was often criticized for playing the same type of character during most of his career. In a 1969 interview with Roger Ebert, Wayne remarked: "Of course, they give me that John Wayne stuff so much, claim I always play the same role. Seems like nobody remembers how different the fellows were in "The Quiet Man" or "Iwo Jima," or "Yellow Ribbon," where I was 35 playing a man of 65. To stay a star, you have to bring along some of your own personality. Thousands of good actors can carry a scene, but a star has to carry the scene and still, without intruding, allow some of his character into it."


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne's enduring status as an iconic American was formally recognized by the U.S. government in the form of the two highest civilian decorations. On his 72nd birthday on May 26, 1979, Wayne was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Hollywood figures and American leaders from across the political spectrum, including Maureen O'Hara, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Mike Frankovich, Katharine Hepburn, General and Mrs. Omar Bradley, Gregory Peck, Robert Stack, James Arness, and Kirk Douglas, testified to Congress in support of the award. Robert Aldrich, president of the Directors Guild of America, made a particularly notable statement:


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on June 9, 1980, by President Jimmy Carter. He had attended Carter's inaugural ball in 1977 "as a member of the loyal opposition", as he described it. In 1998, he was awarded the Naval Heritage Award by the US Navy Memorial Foundation for his support of the Navy and military during his film career. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Wayne 13th among the Greatest Male Screen Legends of classic Hollywood cinema.


title: John Wayne

text: Various public locations are named in honor of Wayne, including the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, where a bronze equestrian statue of him stands at the entrance; the John Wayne Marina for which Wayne bequeathed the land, near Sequim, Washington; John Wayne Elementary School (P.S. 380) in Brooklyn, New York, which boasts a mosaic mural commission by New York artist Knox Martin entitled "John Wayne and the American Frontier"; and over a named the "John Wayne Pioneer Trail" in Washington's Iron Horse State Park. A larger-than-life-sized bronze statue of Wayne atop a horse was erected at the corner of La Cienega Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California, at the former offices of the Great Western Savings and Loan Corporation, for which Wayne had made a number of commercials. In the city of Maricopa, Arizona, part of Arizona State Route 347 is named John Wayne Parkway, which runs through the center of town.


title: John Wayne

text: In 2006, friends of Wayne and his former Arizona business partner, Louis Johnson, inaugurated the "Louie and the Duke Classics" events benefiting the John Wayne Cancer Foundation and the American Cancer Society. The weekend-long event each fall in Casa Grande, Arizona, includes a golf tournament, an auction of John Wayne memorabilia, and a team roping competition.


title: John Wayne

text: Several celebrations took place on May 26, 2007, the centennial of Wayne's birth. A celebration at the John Wayne birthplace in Winterset, Iowa, included chuck-wagon suppers, concerts by Michael Martin Murphey and Riders in the Sky, a Wild West Revue in the style of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, and a Cowboy Symposium with Wayne's costars, producers, and costumers. Wayne's films ran repetitively at the local theater. Ground was broken for the new John Wayne Birthplace Museum and Learning Center at a ceremony consisting of over 30 of Wayne's family members, including Melinda Wayne Muñoz, Aissa, Ethan, and Marisa Wayne. Later that year, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Wayne into the California Hall of Fame, located at the California Museum in Sacramento.


title: John Wayne

text: In 2016, Republican assemblyman Matthew Harper proposed marking May 26 as "John Wayne Day" in California. This resolution was struck down by a vote of 35 to 20, due to Wayne's views on race and his support of controversial organizations such as the John Birch Society and the House Un-American Activities Committee.


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne rose beyond the typical recognition for a famous actor to that of an enduring icon who symbolized and communicated American values and ideals. Using the power of communication through silent films and radio, Wayne was instrumental in creating a national culture from disparate areas of the US, and made the creation of a national hero possible. By the middle of his career, Wayne had developed a larger-than-life image, and as his career progressed, he selected roles that would not compromise his off-screen image. Wayne embodied the icon of strong American masculinity and rugged individualism in both his films and his life. At a party in 1957, Wayne confronted actor Kirk Douglas about the latter's decision to play the role of Vincent van Gogh in the film "Lust for Life", saying: "Christ, Kirk, how can you play a part like that? There's so goddamn few of us left. We got to play strong, tough characters. Not these weak queers." However, actor Marlon Brando was notably critical of Wayne's public persona and of the cultural insensitivity of Wayne's characters, arguing on "The Dick Cavett Show" that, "We [Americans] like to see ourselves as perhaps John Wayne sees us. That we are a country that stands for freedom, for rightness, for justice," before adding that "it just simply doesn't apply."


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne's rise to being the quintessential movie war hero began to take shape four years after World War II, when "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949) was released. His footprints at Grauman's Chinese theater in Hollywood were laid in concrete that contained sand from Iwo Jima. His status grew so large and legendary that when Japanese Emperor Hirohito visited the United States in 1975, he asked to meet John Wayne, the symbolic representation of his country's former enemy. Likewise when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States in 1959, he made two requests: to visit Disneyland and meet Wayne.


title: John Wayne

text: In the "Motion Picture Herald" Top Ten Money-Making Western Stars poll, Wayne was listed in 1936 and 1939. He appeared in the similar "Box Office" poll in 1939 and 1940. While these two polls are really an indication only of the popularity of series stars, Wayne also appeared in the Top Ten Money Makers Poll of all films from 1949 to 1957 and 1958 to 1974, taking first place in 1950, 1951, 1954, and 1971. With a total of 25 years on the list, Wayne has more appearances than any other star, surpassing Clint Eastwood (21) who is in second place.


title: John Wayne

text: Wayne is the only actor to appear in every edition of the annual Harris Poll of Most Popular Film Actors, and the only actor to appear on the list after his death. Wayne was in the top 10 in this poll for 19 consecutive years, starting in 1994, 15 years after his death.


title: John Wayne

text: Mylène Demongeot declared in a 2015 filmed interview: "Gary Cooper was sublime, there I have to say, now he, was part of the stars, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, John Wayne, those great Americans who I've met really were unbelievable guys, there aren't any like them anymore."


title: John Wayne

text: The John Wayne Cancer Foundation was founded in 1985 in honor of John Wayne, after his family granted the use of his name (and limited funding) for the continued fight against cancer. The foundation's mission is to "bring courage, strength, and grit to the fight against cancer". The foundation provides funds for innovative programs that improve cancer patient care, including research, education, awareness, and support.


title: John Wayne

text: Newport Beach, California-based John Wayne Enterprises, a business operated by Wayne's heirs, sells products, including Kentucky straight Bourbon, bearing the "Duke" brand and using Wayne's picture. When the company tried to trademark the image appearing on one of the bottles, Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, filed a notice of opposition. According to court documents, Duke has tried three times since 2005 to stop the company from trademarking the name. The company sought a declaration permitting registration of their trademark. The company's complaint filed in federal court said the university did "not own the word 'Duke' in all contexts for all purposes." The university's official position was not to object provided Wayne's image appeared with the name. On September 30, 2014, Orange County, California federal judge David Carter dismissed the company's suit, deciding the plaintiffs had chosen the wrong jurisdiction.


title: John Wayne

text: Between 1926 and 1977, Wayne appeared in over 170 films. According to Quigley Polling, which has taken place every year since 1932 to find the top box-office stars, John Wayne was named the top money maker (as of 2005).


title: John Wayne

text: In 1973, "The Harvard Lampoon", a satirical paper run by Harvard University students, invited Wayne to receive The Brass Balls Award, created in his "honor", after calling him "the biggest fraud in history". Wayne accepted the invitation as a chance to promote the recently released film "McQ", and a Fort Devens Army convoy offered to drive him into Harvard Square on an armored personnel carrier. The ceremony was held on January 15, 1974, at the Harvard Square Theater and the award was officially presented in honor of Wayne's "outstanding machismo and penchant for punching people". Although the convoy was met with protests by members of the American Indian Movement and others, some of whom threw snowballs, Wayne received a standing ovation from the audience when he walked onto the stage. An internal investigation was launched into the Army's involvement in the day.


title: Spy × Family

text: Spy × Family (stylized as SPY×FAMILY and pronounced "Spy Family") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo. The story follows a spy who has to "build a family" to execute a mission, not realizing that the girl he adopts as his daughter is a telepath, and the woman he agrees to be in a marriage with is a skilled assassin. The series has been serialized biweekly on Shueisha's "Shōnen Jump+" application and website since March 2019, with the chapters collected in ten "tankōbon" volumes as of October 2022. It was licensed in North America by Viz Media.


title: Spy × Family

text: An anime television series adaptation produced by Wit Studio and CloverWorks premiered on TV Tokyo and its affiliate stations in April 2022, and was licensed by Muse Communication in Asia and Crunchyroll worldwide. The second half premiered in October 2022. A second season and an anime film were announced in December 2022 and are both set to premiere in 2023.


title: Spy × Family

text: As of December 2022, "Spy × Family" had over 29 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series. The series has been praised for its storytelling, comedy, and artwork.


title: Spy × Family

text: In order to maintain the state of peace between the rival nations of Westalis and Ostania, a Westalian agent code-named "Twilight" is tasked with spying on Donovan Desmond, leader of the National Unity Party within Ostania. However, due to Desmond being notoriously reclusive, the only way Twilight can get close to him is to enroll a child in the same private school as Desmond's sons and pose as a fellow parent.


title: Spy × Family

text: To accomplish this and present the image of a happy family, he creates the alias of Loid Forger, adopts a young orphan girl named Anya, and marries a woman named Yor Briar. However, unbeknownst to him Anya can read minds and Yor is in fact a professional assassin. Neither Loid nor Yor are aware of each other's true identities, or that Anya knows their true professions. The family later takes in a dog with precognitive abilities whom they name Bond. Despite these unknown factors and Twilight's occasional lapses of common sense due to years of being a spy, he must learn to play the role of the perfect father and husband in order to carry out his mission.


title: Spy × Family

text: Tatsuya Endo and his editor Shihei Lin have known each other for over ten years; Lin was his initial editor on his first serial "Tista" (2007). When Lin was moved from the "Jump Square" editorial department to "Shōnen Jump+", Endo happily followed, and they began developing a new work. "Spy × Family" takes elements from three of Endo's "Jump Square" one-shots: , , and "I Spy". Lin said that its reception among the editorial department was so good that serialization was practically decided before the official meeting was even held.


title: Spy × Family

text: The initial draft was given a working title of "Spy Family" written in Japanese. When deciding the final name, Endo came up with over 100 options, but they ultimately decided to use the same title but in English and with a "cross" in between, the latter influenced by "Hunter × Hunter". Lin said that he and Endo are always conscious of the line where violence, a necessary aspect in a spy manga, is given a pass for comedy's sake. With "Tista" and "Gekka Bijin" both having a dark tone, the editor told Endo to give "Spy × Family" a more cheerful one. Anya was inspired by the main character of "Rengoku no Ashe". Her extrasensory perception was decided early on, and Lin cited its use for comedic effect as one of the series' strengths. Lin said that the series has a broad readership among all ages and genders. He also cited Endo's clean art and ability to convey emotions as part of the manga's appeal.


title: Spy × Family

text: Lin feels that the world and characters were firmly established as of volume two. As such, he revealed that he and Endo would start to include longer narratives in the series.


title: Spy × Family

text: Written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo, "Spy × Family" has been serialized biweekly on the "Shōnen Jump+" application and website since March 25, 2019. The chapters, which are released every other Monday, have been collected and published into "tankōbon" volumes by Shueisha. Shueisha also simultaneously publishes the series in English for free on the "Manga Plus" app and website.


title: Spy × Family

text: Viz Media began publishing "Spy × Family" in English digitally on their website for free on September 22, 2019. They released the first volume in print in Q2 2020.


title: Spy × Family

text: The manga series has one companion book, "Spy × Family Official Fanbook: Eyes Only". The book, serving as a collective information book, was published on May 2, 2022. It includes detailed information and analysis about the series' characters and worlds, colored artworks, early character designs, guests' art contributions, a long interview with Endo, and commentary on most chapters by Endo and Lin.


title: Spy × Family

text: The light novel , written by Aya Yajima, was published on July 2, 2021. The book contains four short story chapters and a seven-page "short novel". The first chapter, , tells the story of the time Anya and Damian got lost in the forest on their school nature camp. The second chapter, , recounts the day Yuri took Anya to experience a mock-up of future employment for kids. The third chapter, , tells the story of Franky's short-lived love with a blind opera singer from a prestigious family. The fourth chapter, , tells about the day the Forgers modeled for a famous painter in the park. In the "short novel" chapter, , two waitresses was talking about their ideal family, the Forgers, among many unhappy families they saw.


title: Spy × Family

text: On November 1, 2021, a website opened to announce an anime television series adaptation produced by Wit Studio and CloverWorks. The series is directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, with character designs handled by Kazuaki Shimada, and music produced by (K)now_Name. The series will run for two split cours. The first cour aired from April 9 to June 25, 2022, on TXN stations. The second cour premiered on October 1, 2022. The first opening theme song is by Official Hige Dandism, while the first ending theme song is by Gen Hoshino. The second opening theme song is "Souvenir" by Bump of Chicken, while the second ending theme song is by Yama. Crunchyroll licensed the series outside of Asia. Muse Communication licensed the series in Taiwan, South and Southeast Asia; they are streaming it on their YouTube channel (limited release in some of the available regions during the first-air run), Netflix, iQIYI, bilibili, Disney+ Hotstar and other regional streaming services. Netflix streamed the series in South Korea.


title: Spy × Family

text: On April 11, 2022, Crunchyroll announced that the series would receive an English dub. It had an early preview on Crunchyroll's Twitch channel on April 15, before premiering the following day.


title: Spy × Family

text: Accompanying the anime, the guidebook "Animation × 1st Mission", which includes anime character designs, storyboards, key animations, promotion images, interviews and comments from the staff and the voice actors, was released on April 4, 2022. The book acts as a starter guide for the anime series and does not contain many details about later episodes beside the first two. The second guide book "Mission Report:220409-0625", which provides in greater details of the first half of the first season, was released on September 2, 2022. It includes information for the main characters; details of the twelve first episodes; key arts for location settings and stories; storyboards; interviews and comments from the staff, the actors and the singers of the first opening and first ending songs, Official Hige Dandism and Gen Hoshino.


title: Spy × Family

text: On December 18, 2022, a second season and a theatrical film were announced at the Jump Festa '23 event, and will both premiere in 2023. The film will contain an original story written by Tatsuya Endo, who will also supervise the production and provide original character designs.


title: Spy × Family

text: A musical adaptation, titled , was reported to be in production under Toho Stage's production on May 1, 2022. The musical is set to premiere at Tokyo's Imperial Theatre in March 2023, with a nationwide tour following in April and May of the same year.


title: Spy × Family

text: On September 30, 2022, they announced the musical play will debut on March 8, 2023 with Win Morisaki and Hiroki Suzuki playing Loid Forger, while Fūka Yuzuki and Mirei Sasaki playing Yor Forger. For Anya's role, the actor(s) will be selected via audition. The cast also features Kurumu Okamiya and Tsubasa Takizawa as Yuri Briar, Kento Kinouchi as Franky Franklin, Manato Asaka as Sylvia Sherwood, Sōma Suzuki as Henry Henderson, and Nonoka Yamaguchi as Fiona Frost. They also announce that G2 will direct the musical and also write the screenplay and lyrics and Shuhei Kamimura will be in charge of composing, arranging, and directing the music. For the nationwide tour, the musical will be performed in the KOBELCO Grand Hall at Hyogo Performing Arts Center in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture in April and at Hakata-za Theatre in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in May. On December 14, 2022, the cast for Anya Forger is announced; she will be played interchangeably by 4 actresses: Risa Masuda, Aoi Ikemuda, Miharu Izawa, Miharu Fukuchi.


title: Spy × Family

text: In December 2019, "Brutus" magazine included the series on their "Most Dangerous Manga" list, which included works with the most "stimulating" and thought-provoking themes. Later that same month, "Polygon" included it on a list of the best comics of 2019. The 2020 edition of the "Kono Manga ga Sugoi!" guidebook named "Spy × Family" the best manga series for male readers. It came in first on Honya Club's Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2020 list, compiled by surveying 1,100 professional bookstore employees in Japan. It was named as the "No. 1 Popular Web Comic of 2019," the "No. 1 Popular "Shōnen Jump+" Work," and a "Signature Work of "Jump+"". In May 2022, as stated by the manga's editor Shihei Lin, the series reached 350 million views on "Shōnen Jump+." In August 2022, the series reached 480 million views. About a month later, the series reached 500 million views. Also in December of the same year, the manga topped the 2022 "Book of the Year" list by "Da Vinci" magazine.


title: Spy × Family

text: The anime had also received high TV rating percentage since its release in April, 2022 until the end of its first cour. With the premiere of its second cour on October 1, 2022, "Spy × Family" sets a new record for TV Tokyo in time shift audience ratings. The president of TV Tokyo reveals that the series' second part was the "best among all programs on all stations for the July 2022 season", including the first episode of the second cour into July quarter's statistics. Its debut episode was the second most watched in Japanese streaming site. The series took second place in April and later rose and remained in the first place for the next three month (from May to July) in the Japanese monthly streaming rank lists and VOD rank lists, despite the fact that the anime stopped releasing new episodes in July. In a survey conducted by FinT, "Spy × Family" and Anya were ranked no. 1 and no. 4 respectively on the top trending things among Generation Z in Japan for 2022. In the same survey, was the no. 1 trending phrase of the year in part due to music remixes on TikTok. In 2022, "Spy × Family" won in the anime category of the Yahoo! Japan Search Awards, based on the number of searches for a particular term compared to the year before.


title: Spy × Family

text: "Spy × Family" has also started gaining mainstream popularity with a wide range of age groups, from children to adults. An official from Takara Tomy Arts said: "[the series] is popular among a wide range of people, just like "". Anya is particularly popular. It is likely that there will be even more toys and goods in the future, including products for children."


title: Spy × Family

text: In 2019, "Spy × Family" had 300,000 copies in circulation, including digital and physical sales, less than a month after the release of its first volume. The series reached 800,000 copies 2 months later, upon the release of its second volume. This number exceeded 2 million with the release of volume three, and 3 million in circulation by volume four. Less than two weeks before the release of its fourth volume, "Spy × Family" became the second fastest and successful hit, behind "Assassination Classroom". According to Oricon, volumes three and four of the series were some of the top 30 best-selling manga volumes of 2020. It became the first "Shōnen Jump+" series to receive an initial print run of over 1 million copies with its sixth volume. With its 6th volume released in December 2020, "Spy × Family" had over 8 million digital and physical copies in circulation. At that time, it was the ninth best-selling manga in 2020, with over 4.5 million copies sold within that year.


title: Spy × Family

text: In 2020, the 3rd volume of "Spy × Family" had received an initial print run of 400,000 copies. Along with "Kingdom", it had an initial print run of 1 million copies, with its sixth volume in 2021. In May 2021, "Spy × Family" had reached 10 million copies in circulation and increased to 11 million copies by the next month. With 537,558 copies sold in its first week, volume six became the series' second consecutive volume to debut at number one on Oricon's weekly list of the best-selling manga. Volume six was among the top 30 best-selling manga volumes of 2021 according to Oricon. As of November 2021, the manga had over 12.5 million copies in circulation. It was the eighth best-selling manga in 2021, with over 4.9 million copies sold within that year. The series was ranked 10th on Rakuten's Top 20 Best Selling Digital Manga of 2020 and 16th in 2021.


title: Spy × Family

text: On April 3, 2022, on the eve of the release of volume 9 and the premiere of the anime, the manga was reported to have over 15 million copies in circulation. As of May 2022, the manga had over 21 million copies in circulation. It was tentatively the 3rd best-selling manga from the last month of 2021 to the first 5 months of 2022. In August 2022, the manga had over 25 million copies in circulation, doubling in number comparing with 9 months before. In October, right around the return of the anime's second cour and the release of volume 10, it was reported that the series had more than 26.5 million copies in circulation. As of October, the manga had over 27 million copies in circulation. It was the third best-selling manga series in 2022, with over 10.6 million copies sold; its first ten volumes were among the 25 best-selling manga volumes of the year. The series was also ranked 5th on Rakuten's Top 20 Best Selling Digital Manga of 2022. In December the same year, it is reported that the series has passed 29 million copies in circulation.


title: Spy × Family

text: The volumes of "Spy × Family" sold well in North America. They were ranked on NPD BookScan's monthly top 20 adult graphic novels list since June 2020. Several volumes of the manga were also ranked on "The New York Times" Graphic Books and Manga bestseller monthly list since May 2021. In the United States, the series' 6 volumes collectively sold 220,000 copies in 2021. In France, the series has had one million sold copies as of volume 6.


title: Spy × Family

text: In a positive review of the first 11 chapters, Antonio Mireles of "The Fandom Post" summed up "Spy × Family" as a great comedy about a dysfunctional family put into uncanny situations that never pan out as planned due to their unique personalities. He described the family setup of Loid as the straight man, Yor the "dumb character" and Anya the adorable child "that readers fall in love with," as the perfect recipe for a comedy. However, he felt the humor that comes from Yor being the dumb character was underutilized. Comic Book Resources' Hannah Collins hailed the first volume as one of the best manga releases of 2020. She had strong praise for Endo's art; writing that "Action-comedy is no mean feat even in animated or live-action mediums. To pull it off so well in still images takes real artistic talent." The reviewer called the artist's range of facial expressions his secret weapon, which he deploys to win over the hearts and minds of readers; particularity with those of Anya, whom Collins said, "steals every page she appears on."


title: Spy × Family

text: Morgana Santilli of "The Beat" stated that "Spy × Family" volume one does an excellent job balancing fun espionage action with heartwarming family moments. She called Endo's art "clean and appealing," which makes his parody of post-war Berlin easily recognizable. Santilli compared its comedy to that of "From Eroica with Love", another Cold War-centric series. In a review for "Polygon", Julia Lee stated that Endo takes a premise that could make a "typical, corny, action manga" and uses it to make one of the funniest series out right now. Like the other reviewers, Lee praised Endo's art, writing that he has a knack for action scenes, as well as "expressive panels that really show you how the characters are feeling."


title: Gary Oldman

text: Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy Film Awards. His films have grossed over $11 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time.


title: Gary Oldman

text: Oldman began acting in theatre in 1979 and made his film debut in "Remembrance" (1982). He continued to follow a stage career in London's Royal Court and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, with credits including "Cabaret", "Romeo and Juliet", "Entertaining Mr Sloane", "Saved", "The Country Wife" and "Hamlet". He rose to prominence in British film with his portrayals of Sid Vicious in "Sid and Nancy" (1986), Joe Orton in "Prick Up Your Ears" (1987) and Rosencrantz in "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead" (1990), while also attracting attention as the leader of a gang of football hooligans in the television film "The Firm" (1989). Regarded as a member of the "Brit Pack", he achieved greater recognition as a New York gangster in "State of Grace" (1990), Lee Harvey Oswald in "JFK" (1991) and Count Dracula in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992).


title: Gary Oldman

text: Oldman portrayed the villains in films such as "True Romance" (1993), "The Fifth Element" (1997), "Air Force One" (1997) and "The Contender" (2000); corrupt DEA agent Norman Stansfield, whom he played in "" (1994), was called one of cinema's best villains. He also played Ludwig van Beethoven in "Immortal Beloved" (1994) and later appeared in franchise roles such as Sirius Black in the "Harry Potter" series, James Gordon in "The Dark Knight Trilogy" (2005–2012) and a human leader, Dreyfus in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" (2014). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Winston Churchill in "Darkest Hour" (2017), and was nominated for his portrayals of George Smiley in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (2011) and Herman J. Mankiewicz in "Mank" (2020).


title: Gary Oldman

text: Oldman was executive producer of films like "The Contender", "Plunkett & Macleane" (1999) and "Nil by Mouth" (1997), the latter of which he also wrote and directed. He has featured in television shows such as "Slow Horses", "Fallen Angels", "Tracey Takes On..." and "Friends", voiced Ignitius and Viktor Reznov respectively in "The Legend of Spyro" and "Call of Duty" video games, and appeared in music videos for David Bowie, Guns N' Roses and Annie Lennox.


title: Gary Oldman

text: Gary Leonard Oldman was born in New Cross, London, on 21 March 1958, the son of Leonard Bertram Oldman (1921–1985), a former sailor who also worked as a welder, and Kathleen (née Cheriton; 1919–2018). He said his father was an alcoholic who left the family when Oldman was seven years old. His older sister, Maureen, is an actress better known as Laila Morse; she performed in Oldman's directorial debut "Nil by Mouth" (1997), before taking on her most famous role of Mo Harris in the BBC soap opera "EastEnders".


title: Gary Oldman

text: Oldman attended West Greenwich School in Deptford, leaving at the age of 16 to work in a sports shop. He played piano as a child, but he gave up his musical aspirations to pursue an acting career after seeing Malcolm McDowell's performance in the film "The Raging Moon" (1971). In a 1995 interview with Charlie Rose, he said, "Something about Malcolm just arrested me, and I connected, and I said, 'I wanna do that.'"


title: Gary Oldman

text: Growing up in south London, Oldman supported his local football club, Millwall F.C., but also followed Manchester United because he idolised George Best. In 2011, he learned from his mother that his father had played for Millwall just after World War II: "Just after the war, [my mother] ran a boarding house for football playersMillwall players. And I knew that my dad was involved somehow with the reserve team. But two weeks ago my mum said, 'Oh yeah, your dad played for Millwall. When he was young he had a couple of first team games.'"


title: Gary Oldman

text: Oldman studied with the Young People's Theatre in Greenwich during the mid-1970s, while working jobs on assembly lines, as a porter in an operating theatre, selling shoes and beheading pigs in an abattoir. He applied unsuccessfully to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), which welcomed him to try again the following year, but advised him to find something else to do for a living. When asked by Charlie Rose if he had reminded RADA of this, Oldman joked that "the work speaks for itself".


title: Gary Oldman

text: He won a scholarship to attend the Rose Bruford College in Sidcup, south-east London, from which he graduated with a BA in Acting in 1979. Oldman described himself as a "shy" but diligent worker during his time there, performing roles such as Puck in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".


title: Gary Oldman

text: After leaving drama school, Oldman was the first in his year to receive professional work; he stated that this was not a result of being the most talented actor, but rather diligence and application. In 1979, he starred in "Thark", opposite Annette Kerr, at York's Theatre Royal. Subsequent plays included "Cabaret", "Privates on Parade" and "Romeo and Juliet". In December 1979, Oldman appeared as Puss in "Dick Whittington and His Cat", staged at York. He also acted in Colchester, then with Glasgow's Citizens Theatre; Oldman's work ethic and trademark intensity would make him a favourite with audiences in Glasgow during the 1980s. He also toured Europe and South America with the Citizens Theatre company.