title: 4chan

text: Through its association with Anonymous, 4chan has become associated with Project Chanology, a worldwide protest against the Church of Scientology held by members of Anonymous. On January 15, 2008, a 4chan user posted to /b/, suggesting participants "do something big" against the Church of Scientology's website. This message resulted in the Church receiving threatening phone calls. It quickly grew into a large real-world protest. Unlike previous Anonymous attacks, this action was characterized by 4chan memes including rickrolls and Guy Fawkes masks. The raid drew criticism from some 4chan users who felt it would bring the site undesirable attention.


title: 4chan

text: and subculture dedicated to the children's animated television series "" began on the "Comics & Cartoons" (/co/) board of 4chan. The show was first discussed with some interest around its debut in October 2010. The users of /co/ took a heightened interest in the show after a critical Cartoon Brew article was shared, resulting in praise for its plot, characters, and animation style. Discussion of the show extended to /b/, eventually to a point of contention. Discussion then spread forth to communities external to 4chan, including the establishment of the fan websites, causing the show to reach a wider audience across the internet.


title: 4chan

text: On July 30, 2014, an anonymous user made a reply in a thread on the board /pol/ "Politically Incorrect" of 4chan, criticizing modern art in an ironic fashion, saying:


title: 4chan

text: Less than an hour later the post was photographed off the screen and framed by another user who posted another reply in the thread with a photo of the framed quote. Later the user, after endorsement by other anonymous users in the thread, created an auction on eBay for the framed photo which quickly rose to high prices, culminating in a price of $90,900.


title: 4chan

text: According to "The Washington Post", "the site's users have managed to pull off some of the highest-profile collective actions in the history of the Internet."


title: 4chan

text: Users of 4chan and other websites "raided" Hal Turner by launching DDoS attacks and prank calling his phone-in radio show during December 2006 and January 2007. The attacks caused Turner's website to go offline. This cost thousands of dollars of bandwidth bills according to Turner. In response, Turner sued 4chan, 7chan, and other websites; however, he lost his plea for an injunction and failed to receive letters from the court.


title: 4chan

text: KTTV Fox 11 aired a report on Anonymous, calling them a group of "hackers on steroids", "domestic terrorists", and collectively an "Internet hate machine" on July 26, 2007. Slashdot founder Rob Malda posted a comment made by another Slashdot user, Miang, stating that the story focused mainly on users of "4chan, 7chan and 420chan". Miang claimed that the report "seems to confuse /b/ raids and motivational poster templates with a genuine threat to the American public", arguing that the "unrelated" footage of a van exploding shown in the report was to "equate anonymous posting with domestic terror".


title: 4chan

text: On July 10, 2008, the swastika CJK unicode character (卐) appeared at the top of Google's Hot Trends list—a tally of the most used search terms in the United States—for several hours. It was later reported that the HTML numeric character reference for the symbol had been posted on /b/, with a request to perform a Google search for the string. A multitude of /b/ visitors followed the order and pushed the symbol to the top of the chart, though Google later removed the result.


title: 4chan

text: Later that year, the private Yahoo! Mail account of Sarah Palin, Republican vice presidential candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election, was hacked by a 4chan user. The hacker posted the account's password on /b/, and screenshots from within the account to WikiLeaks. A /b/ user then logged in and changed the password, posting a screenshot of him sending an email to a friend of Palin's informing her of the new password on the /b/ thread. However, he forgot to blank out the password in the screenshot. A multitude of /b/ users attempted to log in with the new password, and the account was automatically locked out by Yahoo!. The incident was criticized by some /b/ users. One user commented, "seriously, /b/. We could have changed history and failed, epically." The FBI and Secret Service began investigating the incident shortly after its occurrence. On September 20 it was revealed they were questioning David Kernell, the son of Democratic Tennessee State Representative Mike Kernell.


title: 4chan

text: The stock price of Apple Inc. fell significantly in October 2008 after a hoax story was submitted to CNN's user-generated news site iReport.com claiming that company CEO Steve Jobs had suffered a major heart attack. The source of the story was traced back to 4chan.


title: 4chan

text: In May 2009, members of the site attacked YouTube, posting pornographic videos on the site. A 4chan member acknowledged being part of the attack, telling BBC News that it was in response to YouTube "deleting music". In January 2010, members of the site attacked YouTube again in response to the suspension of YouTube user lukeywes1234 for failing to meet the minimum age requirement of thirteen. The videos uploaded by the user had apparently become popular with 4chan members, who subsequently became angered after the account was suspended and called for a new wave of pornographic videos to be uploaded to YouTube on January 6, 2010. Later the same year, 4chan made numerous disruptive pranks directed at singer Justin Bieber.


title: 4chan

text: In September 2010, in retaliation against the Bollywood film industry's hiring of Aiplex Software to launch cyberattacks against The Pirate Bay, Anonymous members, recruited through posts on 4chan boards, subsequently initiated their own attacks, dubbed Operation Payback, targeting the website of the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America. The targeted websites usually went offline for a short period of time due to the attacks, before recovering.


title: 4chan

text: The website of the UK law firm , which was associated with an anti-piracy client, was affected by the cyber-attack. In retaliation for the initial attacks being called only a minor nuisance, Anonymous launched more attacks, bringing the site down yet again. After coming back up, the front page accidentally revealed a backup file of the entire website, which contained over 300 megabytes of private company emails, which were leaked to several torrents and across several sites on the Internet. It was suggested that the data leak could cost the law firm up to £500,000 in fines for breaching British Data Protection Laws.


title: 4chan

text: In January 2011, BBC News reported that the law firm announced they were to stop "chasing illegal file-sharers". Head of ACS:Law Andrew Crossley in a statement to a court addressed issues which influenced the decision to back down "I have ceased my work ... I have been subject to criminal attack. My e-mails have been hacked. I have had death threats and bomb threats."


title: 4chan

text: In August 2012, 4chan users attacked a third-party sponsored Mountain Dew campaign, "Dub the Dew", where users were asked to submit and vote on name ideas for a green apple flavor of the drink. Users submitted entries such as "Diabeetus", "Fapple", several variations of "Gushing Granny", and "Hitler did nothing wrong".


title: 4chan

text: On October 18, 2006, the Department of Homeland Security warned National Football League officials in Miami, New York City, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland, and Cleveland about a possible threat involving the simultaneous use of dirty bombs at stadiums. The threat claimed that the attack would be carried out on October 22, the final day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security expressed doubt concerning the credibility of the threats, but warned the relevant organizations as a precaution. The threat turned out to be an ill-conceived hoax perpetrated by a grocery store clerk in Wisconsin with no terrorist ties. The FBI considered it a clearly frivolous threat and the 20-year-old man was charged with fabricating a terrorist threat, sentenced to six months in prison followed by six months' house arrest, and ordered to pay $26,750 in restitution.


title: 4chan

text: Around midnight on September 11, 2007, a student posted photographs of mock pipe bombs and another photograph of him holding them while saying he would blow up his high school—Pflugerville High School in Pflugerville, Texas—at 9:11 am on September 11. Users of 4chan helped to track him down by finding the perpetrator's father's name in the Exif data of a photograph he took, and contacted the police. He was arrested before school began that day. The incident turned out to be a hoax; the "weapons" were toys and there were no actual bombs.


title: 4chan

text: Jarrad Willis, a 20-year-old from Melbourne, Australia was arrested on December 8, 2007, after apparently posting on 4chan that he was "going to shoot and kill as many people as I can until which time I am incapacitated or killed by the police". The post, accompanied by an image of another man holding a shotgun, threatened a shopping mall near Beverly Hills. While the investigation was still open, Willis was charged with criminal defamation for a separate incident but died before the case was heard.


title: 4chan

text: On February 4, 2009, a posting on the 4chan /b/ board said there would be a school shooting at St Eskils Gymnasium in Eskilstuna, Sweden, leading 1,250 students and 50 teachers to be evacuated. A 21-year-old man was arrested after 4chan provided the police with the IP address of the poster. Police said that the suspect called it off as a joke, and they released him after they found no indication that the threat was serious.


title: 4chan

text: On June 28, 2018, a man named Eric M. Radulovic was arrested following an indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice "on one count of transmitting in interstate and foreign commerce a threat to injure the person of another." The indictment alleged that Radulovic posted anonymously to /pol/ the day after the Unite the Right rally, communicating an intention to attack protestors at an upcoming right-wing demonstration, ostensibly to elicit sympathy for the alt-right movement. "I'm going to bring a Remington 700 and start shooting Alt-right guys. We need sympathy after that landwhale got all the liberals teary eyed, so someone is going to have to make it look like the left is becoming more violent and radicalized. It's a false flag for sure, but I'll be aiming for the more tanned/dark haired muddied jeans in the crowd so real whites won't have to worry," wrote Radulovic, according to the indictment.


title: 4chan

text: On August 31, 2014, a compromise of user passwords at iCloud allowed a large number of private photographs taken by celebrities to be posted online, initially on 4chan. As a result of the incident, 4chan announced that it would enforce a Digital Millennium Copyright Act policy, which would allow content owners to remove material that had been shared on the site illegally, and would ban users who repeatedly posted stolen material.


title: 4chan

text: Also in August 2014, 4chan was involved in the Gamergate controversy, which began with unsubstantiated allegations about indie game developer Zoë Quinn from an ex-boyfriend, followed by false allegations from anonymous Internet users. The allegations were followed by a harassment campaign against several women in the video game industry, organized by 4chan users, particularly /r9k/. Discussion regarding Gamergate was banned on 4chan due to alleged rule violations, and Gamergate supporters moved to alternate forums such as 8chan.


title: 4chan

text: According to court documents filed on November 5, 2014, there were images posted to 4chan that appeared to be of a murder victim. The body was discovered in Port Orchard, Washington, after the images were posted. The posts were accompanied by the text: "Turns out it's way harder to strangle someone to death than it looks on the movies." A later post said: "Check the news for Port Orchard, Washington, in a few hours. Her son will be home from school soon. He'll find her, then call the cops. I just wanted to share the pics before they find me." The victim was Amber Lynn Coplin, aged 30. The suspect, 33-year-old David Michael Kalac, surrendered to police in Oregon later the same day; he was charged with second-degree murder involving domestic violence. Kalac was convicted in April 2017 and was sentenced to 82 years in prison the following month.


title: 4chan

text: On July 14, 2019, 17-year-old Bianca Devins was murdered by 21-year-old Brandon Clark of Utica, New York after the two went to a concert together. The suspect took pictures of the victim's bloodied deceased body and posted it to Discord and his own Instagram page. The photos were widely shared on Instagram and other sites, particularly on 4chan, where many users mocked and celebrated her death, saying she deserved it and praising the killer while depicting Devins as a manipulative young woman. Devins had developed a small following online and was a 4chan user herself. Clark later pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years' imprisonment.


title: 4chan

text: A report of Jeffrey Epstein's death was posted on /pol/ around 40 minutes before ABC News broke the news. It was originally suspected that the unidentified person who made the posts may have been a first responder, prompting a review by the New York City Fire Department, who later stated that the post did not come from a member of its department.


title: 4chan

text: On May 14, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, USA. The accused, Payton S. Gendron, is reported to have written a racist manifesto released May 12 (two days before the shooting), with the manifesto including birth date and other biographical details, that match the suspect in custody. The author wrote that he began to frequent 4chan, including its Politically Incorrect message board /pol/, beginning in May 2020, where he was exposed to the Great Replacement conspiracy theory.


title: 4chan

text: On July 26, 2009, AT&T's DSL branch temporarily blocked access to the img.4chan.org domain (host of /b/ and /r9k/), which was initially believed to be an attempt at Internet censorship, and met with hostility on 4chan's part. The next day, AT&T issued a statement claiming that the block was put in place after an AT&T customer was affected by a DoS attack originating from IP addresses connected to "img.4chan.org", and was an attempt to "prevent this attack from disrupting service for the impacted AT&T customer, and... our other customers." AT&T maintains that the block was not related to the content on 4chan.


title: 4chan

text: Major news outlets have reported that the issue may be related to the DDoS-ing of 4chan, and that 4chan users suspected the then-owner of Swedish-based website "Anontalk.com".


title: 4chan

text: On February 4, 2010, 4chan started receiving reports from Verizon Wireless customers that they were having difficulties accessing the site's image boards. After investigating, Poole found out that only the traffic on port 80 to the "boards.4chan.org" domain was affected, leading members to believe that the block was intentional. Three days later, Verizon Wireless confirmed that 4chan was "explicitly blocked". The block was lifted several days later.


title: 4chan

text: On March 20, 2019, Australian telecom company Telstra denied access to millions of Australians to 4chan, 8chan, Zero Hedge and LiveLeak as a reaction to the Christchurch mosque shootings.


title: 4chan

text: Following the Christchurch mosque shootings, numerous ISPs temporarily blocked any site hosting a copy of the livestream of the shooting, including 4chan. The ISPs included Spark, Vodafone, Vocus and 2degrees.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT).


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand began her career by performing in nightclubs and Broadway theaters in the early 1960s. Following her guest appearances on various television shows, she signed to Columbia Records, insisting that she retain full artistic control, and accepting lower pay in exchange, an arrangement that continued throughout her career, and released her debut "The Barbra Streisand Album" (1963), which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Throughout her recording career, Streisand has topped the US "Billboard" 200 chart with 11 albums—a record for a woman—including "People" (1964), "The Way We Were" (1974), "Guilty" (1980), and "The Broadway Album" (1985). She also achieved five number-one singles on the US "Billboard" Hot 100—"The Way We Were", "Evergreen", "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", and "Woman in Love".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Following her established recording success in the 1960s, Streisand ventured into film by the end of that decade. She starred in the critically acclaimed "Funny Girl" (1968), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Additional fame followed with films including the extravagant musical "Hello, Dolly!" (1969), the screwball comedy "What's Up, Doc?" (1972), and the romantic drama "The Way We Were" (1973). Streisand won a second Academy Award for writing the love theme from "A Star Is Born" (1976), the first woman to be honored as a composer. With the release of "Yentl" (1983), Streisand became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major studio film. The film won an Oscar for Best Score and a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Musical. Streisand also received the Golden Globe Award for Best Director, becoming the first (and for 37 years, the only) woman to win that award. Streisand later directed "The Prince of Tides" (1991) and "The Mirror Has Two Faces" (1996).


title: Barbra Streisand

text: With sales exceeding 150 million records worldwide, Streisand is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the second highest-certified female artist in the United States, with 68.5 million certified album units. "Billboard" ranked Streisand as the greatest female artist on the "Billboard" 200 chart and the top Adult Contemporary female artist of all time. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, 10 Grammy Awards including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the Grammy Legend Award, five Emmy Awards, four Peabody Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and nine Golden Globes.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand was born on April 24, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of Diana Ida ( Rosen; 1908–2002) and Emanuel Streisand. Her mother had been a soprano in her youth and considered a career in music, but later became a school secretary. Her father was a high school teacher at the same school, where they first met. Streisand's family is Jewish. Her paternal grandparents emigrated from Galicia (modern-day Poland and Ukraine) in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and her maternal grandparents from the Russian Empire, where her grandfather had been a cantor.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In August 1943, a few months after Streisand's first birthday, her father died at age 34 from complications from an epileptic seizure, possibly the result of a head injury years earlier. The family fell into near-poverty, with her mother working as a low-paid bookkeeper. As an adult, Streisand remembered those early years as always feeling like an "outcast", explaining, "Everybody else's father came home from work at the end of the day. Mine didn't." Her mother tried to pay their bills but could not give her daughter the attention she craved: "When I wanted love from my mother, she gave me food," Streisand says.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand recalls that her mother had a "great voice" and sang semi-professionally on occasion. During a visit to the Catskills when Streisand was 13, she told Rosie O'Donnell, she and her mother recorded some songs on tape. That session was the first time Streisand ever asserted herself as an artist, which also became her "first moment of inspiration".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: She has an older brother, Sheldon, and a half-sister, singer Roslyn Kind, from her mother's remarriage to Louis Kind in 1950.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand began her education at the Jewish Orthodox Yeshiva of Brooklyn when she was five. She was considered bright and inquisitive about everything; however, she lacked discipline, often shouting answers to questions out of turn. She next entered Public School 89 in Brooklyn, and during those early school years began watching television and going to movies. "I always wanted to be somebody, to be famous ...You know, get out of Brooklyn."


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand became known by others in the neighborhood for her voice. With the other kids she remembers sitting on the stoop in front of their apartment building and singing: "I was considered the girl on the block with the good voice." That talent became a way for her to gain attention. She would often practice her singing in the hallway of her apartment building which gave her voice an echoing quality.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: She made her singing debut at a PTA assembly, where she became a hit to everyone but her mother, who was mostly critical of her daughter. Streisand was invited to sing at weddings and summer camp, along with having an unsuccessful audition at MGM records when she was nine. By the time she was 13, her mother began supporting her talent, helping her make a four-song demo tape, including "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", and "You'll Never Know".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Becoming an actress was her main objective. That desire was made stronger when she saw her first Broadway play, "The Diary of Anne Frank" when she was 14. The star in the play was Susan Strasberg, whose acting she wanted to emulate. Streisand began spending her spare time in the library, studying the biographies of various stage actresses such as Eleanora Duse and Sarah Bernhardt. In addition, she began reading novels and plays and studying the acting theories of Konstantin Stanislavski and Michael Chekhov.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: She attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn in 1956 where she became an honor student in modern history, English, and Spanish. She also joined the Freshman Chorus and Choral Club, where she sang with another choir member and classmate, Neil Diamond. Diamond recalls, "We were two poor kids in Brooklyn. We hung out in the front of Erasmus High and smoked cigarettes." The school was near an art-movie house, and he recalls that she was always aware of the films they were showing. She had a crush on 15-year-old US Chess Champion and fellow student Bobby Fischer, whom she found to be "very sexy".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: During the summer of 1957, she got her first stage experience as a walk-on at the Playhouse in Malden Bridge, New York. That small part was followed by a role as the kid sister in "Picnic" and one as a vamp in "Desk Set". In her second year, she took a night job at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village helping backstage. When she was a senior, she rehearsed for a small part in "Driftwood", a play staged in a midtown attic space.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: She graduated, aged 16, from Erasmus Hall in January 1959, and despite her mother's pleas that she stay out of show business, she set out trying to get roles on the New York City stage. After renting a small apartment on 48th street in the heart of the theater district, she accepted any job she could involving the stage, and at every opportunity, she "made the rounds" of the casting offices.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Aged 16 and living on her own, Streisand took various menial jobs to have some income. During one period, she lacked a permanent address, and found herself sleeping at the home of friends or anywhere else she could set up the army cot she carried around. When desperate, she returned to her mother's flat in Brooklyn for a home-cooked meal. However, her mother was horrified by her daughter's "gypsy-like lifestyle", wrote biographer Karen Swenson, and again begged her to give up trying to get into show business, but Streisand took her mother's pleadings as even more reason to keep trying: "My desires were strengthened by wanting to prove to my mother that I "could" be a star."


title: Barbra Streisand

text: She took a job as an usher at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater for "The Sound of Music" early in 1960. During the run of the play, she heard that the casting director was auditioning for more singers, and it marked the first time she sang in pursuit of a job. Although the director felt she was not right for the part, he encouraged her to begin including her talent as a singer on her résumé when looking for other work.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: She asked her boyfriend, Barry Dennen, to tape her singing, copies of which she could then give out to possible employers. Dennen found a guitarist to accompany her:


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Dennen grew enthusiastic and he convinced her to enter a talent contest at the Lion, a gay nightclub in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. She performed two songs, after which there was a "stunned silence" from the audience, followed by "thunderous applause" when she was pronounced the winner. She was invited back and sang at the club for several weeks. It was during this time that she dropped the second "a" from her first name, switching from "Barbara" to "Barbra", due to her dislike of her original name.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In the early days Streisand was repeatedly told she was too ugly to be a star and advised to get a nose job, which she did not do.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand was next asked to audition at the Bon Soir nightclub, after which she was signed up at $125 a week. It became her first professional engagement in September 1960, where she was the opening act for comedian Phyllis Diller. She recalls it was the first time she had been in that kind of upscale environment: "I'd never been in a nightclub until I sang in one."


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Dennen now wanted to expose Streisand to his vast record collection of female singers, including Billie Holiday, Mabel Mercer, Ethel Waters, and Édith Piaf. Streisand realized she could still become an actress by first gaining recognition as a singer. From his collection she drew the song that best defined her mission in singing: "A Sleepin' Bee", with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Truman Capote for the 1954 musical "House of flowers". "The lyrics to that song gave me the three acts of a play that I longed for as an actress," Streisand said. "And Harold was one of those writers who could write these magnificent melodies. That gave me what I needed." According to biographer Christopher Nickens, hearing other great female singers benefited her style, as she began creating different emotional characters when performing, which gave her singing a greater range.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: She improved her stage presence when speaking to the audience between songs. She discovered that her Brooklyn-bred style of humor was received favorably. During the next six months appearing at the club, some began comparing her singing voice to famous names such as Judy Garland, Lena Horne and Fanny Brice. Her conversational ability to charm an audience with spontaneous humor during performances became more sophisticated and professional. Theater critic Leonard Harris wrote: "She's twenty; by the time she's thirty she will have rewritten the record books."


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand accepted her first role on the New York stage in "Another Evening with Harry Stoones", a satirical comedy play in which she acted and sang two solos. The show received terrible reviews and closed the next day. With the help of her new personal manager, Martin Erlichman, she had successful shows in Detroit and St. Louis. Erlichman then booked her at an even more upscale nightclub in Manhattan, the Blue Angel, where she became a bigger hit during the period from 1961 to 1962. Streisand once told Jimmy Fallon, with whom she sang a duet, on the "Tonight Show", that Erlichman was a "fantastic manager" and still managed her career after 50 years.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: While appearing at the Blue Angel, theater director and playwright Arthur Laurents asked her to audition for a new musical comedy he was directing, "I Can Get It for You Wholesale". She got the part of secretary to the lead actor businessman, played by then unknown Elliott Gould. They fell in love during rehearsals and eventually moved into a small apartment together. The show opened on March 22, 1962, at the Shubert Theater, and received rave reviews. Her performance "stopped the show cold", wrote Nickens. Groucho Marx, while hosting the "Tonight Show", told her that 20 was an "extremely young age to be a success on Broadway". Streisand received a Tony Award nomination and New York Drama Critic's prize for Best Supporting Actress. The show was recorded and made into an album.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand's first television appearance was on "The Tonight Show", then credited to its usual host Jack Paar. She was seen during an April 1961 episode on which Orson Bean substituted for Paar. She sang Harold Arlen's "A Sleepin' Bee". During her appearance, Phyllis Diller, also a guest on the show, called her "one of the great singing talents in the world."


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Later in 1961, before she was cast in "Another Evening With Harry Stoones", she became a semi-regular on "PM East/PM West", a talk/variety series hosted by Mike Wallace and Joyce Davidson. Some of Streisand’s "PM East" segments survive as audio recordings, and still photos survive, but moving images do not.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In early 1962, she went into the Columbia Records studio for the cast recording of "I Can Get It for You Wholesale". Also that spring she participated in a 25th anniversary studio recording of "Pins and Needles," the classic popular front musical originated in 1937 by the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Reviews of both albums highlighted Streisand's performances.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In May 1962, Streisand appeared on "The Garry Moore Show" where she sang "Happy Days Are Here Again" for the first time. Her sad, slow version of the 1930s upbeat Democratic Party theme song became her signature song during this early phase of her career.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Johnny Carson had her on the "Tonight Show" half a dozen times in 1962 and 1963, and she became a favorite of his television audience and himself personally. He described her as an "exciting new singer." During one show, she joked with Groucho Marx who liked her style of humor.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In December 1962, she made the first of a number of appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show". She was later a cohost on the Mike Douglas Show, and also made an impact on a number of Bob Hope specials. Performing with her on "The Ed Sullivan Show" was Liberace who became an instant fan of the young singer. Liberace invited her to Las Vegas to perform as his opening act at the Riviera Hotel. Liberace is credited with introducing Barbra to audiences on the West Coast. The following September during her ongoing shows at Harrah's Hotel in Lake Tahoe, she and Elliott Gould took time off to get married in Carson City, Nevada. With her career and popularity rising so quickly, she saw her marriage to Gould as a "stabilizing influence."


title: Barbra Streisand

text: When she was 21, Streisand signed a contract with Columbia Records that gave her full creative control, in exchange for less money.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Lieberson relented and agreed to sign her. Nearly three decades later, Streisand said: The most important thing about that first contract – actually, the thing we held out for – was a unique clause giving me the right to choose my own material. It was the only thing I really cared about. I still received lots of pressure from the label to include some pop hits on my first album, but I held out for the songs that really meant something to me. She took advantage of this several times during her career.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Columbia wanted to call her first album, in early 1963, "Sweet And Saucy Streisand"; Streisand used her control to insist that it was called "The Barbra Streisand Album", saying "if you saw me on TV, you could just go [to the record shop] and ask for the Barbra Streisand album. It's common sense". It reached the top 10 on the "Billboard" chart and won three Grammy Awards. The album made her the best-selling female vocalist in the country. That summer she also released "The Second Barbra Streisand Album", which established her as the "most exciting new personality since Elvis Presley." She ended that breakthrough year of 1963 by performing one-night concerts in Indianapolis, San Jose, Chicago, Sacramento, and Los Angeles.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand returned to Broadway in 1964 with an acclaimed performance as entertainer Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl" at the Winter Garden Theatre. The show introduced two of her signature songs, "People" and "Don't Rain on My Parade." Because of the musical's overnight success, she appeared on the cover of "Time". In 1964, Streisand was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical but lost to Carol Channing in "Hello, Dolly!" Streisand received an honorary "Star of the Decade" Tony Award in 1970.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 1966, she repeated her success with "Funny Girl" in London's West End at the Prince of Wales Theatre. From 1965 to 1968 she appeared in her first four solo television specials, including the Emmy award-winning "My Name is Barbra".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand has recorded 50 studio albums, almost all with Columbia Records. Her early works in the 1960s (her debut "The Barbra Streisand Album", "The Second Barbra Streisand Album", "The Third Album", "My Name Is Barbra", etc.) are considered classic renditions of theatre and cabaret standards, including her pensive version of the normally uptempo "Happy Days Are Here Again". She performed this in a duet with Judy Garland on "The Judy Garland Show". Garland referred to her on the air as one of the last great belters. They also sang "There's No Business Like Show Business" with Ethel Merman joining them.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Beginning with "My Name Is Barbra", her early albums were often medley-filled keepsakes of her television specials. Starting in 1969, she began attempting more contemporary material, but like many talented singers of the day, she found herself out of her element with rock. Her vocal talents prevailed, and she gained newfound success with the pop and ballad-oriented Richard Perry-produced album "Stoney End" in 1971. The title track, written by Laura Nyro, was a major hit for Streisand.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: During the 1970s, she was also highly prominent on the pop charts, with Top 10 recordings such as "The Way We Were" (US No. 1), "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" (US No. 1), "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" (1979, with Donna Summer), which is reportedly still the most commercially successful duet, (US No. 1), "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (with Neil Diamond) (US No. 1) and "The Main Event" (US No. 3), some of which came from soundtrack recordings of her films. As the 1970s ended, Streisand was named the most successful female singer in the U.S. – only Elvis Presley and The Beatles had sold more albums. In 1980, she released her best-selling effort to date, the Barry Gibb-produced "Guilty". The album contained the hits "Woman in Love" (which spent several weeks on top of the pop charts in the fall of 1980), "Guilty", and "What Kind of Fool".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: After years of largely ignoring Broadway and traditional pop music in favor of more contemporary material, Streisand returned to her musical-theater roots. Columbia records objected that the songs she wanted to sing were not pop songs, but Streisand asserted the full creative control her contract gave her—'I've always had the right to sing what I want'— with 1985's "The Broadway Album", which was unexpectedly successful, holding the coveted No. 1 Billboard position for three straight weeks, and being certified quadruple platinum. The album featured tunes by Rodgers and Hammerstein, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, and Stephen Sondheim, who was persuaded to rework some of his songs especially for this recording. "The Broadway Album" was met with acclaim, including a Grammy nomination for album of the year and handed Streisand her eighth Grammy as Best Female Vocalist. After releasing the live album "One Voice" in 1986, Streisand was set to release another album of Broadway songs in 1988. She recorded several cuts for the album under the direction of Rupert Holmes, including "On My Own" (from "Les Misérables"), a medley of "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" and "Heather on the Hill" (from "Finian's Rainbow" and "Brigadoon", respectively), "All I Ask of You" (from "The Phantom of the Opera"), "Warm All Over" (from "The Most Happy Fella") and an unusual solo version of "Make Our Garden Grow" (from "Candide"). Streisand was not happy with the direction of the project and it was scrapped. Only "Warm All Over" and a reworked, lite FM-friendly version of "All I Ask of You" were ever released, the latter appearing on Streisand's 1988 effort, "Till I Loved You". At the beginning of the 1990s, Streisand started focusing on her film directorial efforts and became almost inactive in the recording studio. In 1991, a four-disc box set, "Just for the Record", was released. A compilation spanning Streisand's entire career to date, it featured over 70 tracks of live performances, greatest hits, rarities and previously unreleased material.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: The following year, Streisand's concert fundraising events helped propel President Bill Clinton into the spotlight and into office. Streisand later introduced Clinton at his inauguration in 1993. Streisand's music career, however, was largely on hold. A 1992 appearance at an APLA benefit as well as the aforementioned inaugural performance hinted that Streisand was becoming more receptive to the idea of live performances. A tour was suggested, though Streisand would not immediately commit to it, citing her well-known stage fright as well as security concerns. During this time, Streisand finally returned to the recording studio and released "Back to Broadway" in June 1993. The album was not as universally lauded as its predecessor, but it did debut at No. 1 on the pop charts (a rare feat for an artist of Streisand's age, especially given that it relegated Janet Jackson's "Janet" to the No. 2 spot). One of the album's highlights was a medley of "I Have A Love" / "One Hand, One Heart", a duet with Johnny Mathis, who Streisand said is one of her favorite singers.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 1993, "The New York Times" music critic Stephen Holden wrote that Streisand "enjoys a cultural status that only one other American entertainer, Frank Sinatra, has achieved in the last half century". In September 1993, Streisand announced her first public concert appearances in 27 years (discounting her Las Vegas nightclub performances between 1969 and 1972). What began as a two-night New Year's event at the MGM Grand Las Vegas led to a multi-city tour in the summer of 1994. Tickets for the tour sold out in under an hour. Streisand also appeared on the covers of major magazines in anticipation of what "Time magazine" named "The Music Event of the Century". The tour was one of the biggest all-media merchandise parlays in history. Ticket prices ranged from US$50 to US$1,500, making Streisand the highest-paid concert performer in history. "Barbra Streisand: The Concert" went on to be the top-grossing concert of the year and earned five Emmy Awards and the Peabody Award, while the taped broadcast on HBO was the highest-rated concert special in HBO's 30-year history. Following the tour's conclusion, Streisand once again kept a low profile musically, instead focusing her efforts on acting and directing duties as well as a burgeoning romance with actor James Brolin.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 1996, Streisand released "I Finally Found Someone" as a duet with Canadian singer and songwriter Bryan Adams. The song was nominated for an Oscar as it was part of the soundtrack of Streisand's self-directed movie "The Mirror Has Two Faces". It reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was her first significant hit in almost a decade and her first top 10 hit on the Hot 100 (and first gold single) since 1981.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 1997, she finally returned to the recording studio, releasing "Higher Ground", a collection of songs of a loosely inspirational nature which also featured a duet with Céline Dion. The album received generally favorable reviews and once again debuted at No. 1 on the pop charts. Following her marriage to Brolin in 1998, Streisand recorded "A Love Like Ours" the following year. Reviews were mixed, with many critics complaining about the somewhat syrupy sentiments and overly lush arrangements; however, it did produce a modest hit for Streisand in the country-tinged "If You Ever Leave Me", a duet with Vince Gill.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: On New Year's Eve 1999, Streisand returned to the concert stage, selling out in the first few hours, eight months before her return. At the end of the millennium, she was the number one female singer in the U.S., with at least two No. 1 albums in each decade since she began performing. A two-disc live album "" was released in 2000. Streisand performed versions of the "Timeless" concert in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, in early 2000. In advance of four concerts (two each in Los Angeles and New York) in September 2000, Streisand announced that she was retiring from playing public concerts. Her performance of the song "People" was broadcast on the Internet via America Online.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand's subsequent albums included "Christmas Memories" (2001), a somewhat somber collection of holiday songs, and "The Movie Album" (2003), featuring famous film themes and backed by a large symphony orchestra. "Guilty Pleasures" (called "Guilty Too" in the UK), a collaboration with Barry Gibb and a sequel to their "Guilty", was released worldwide in 2005.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In February 2006, Streisand recorded the song "Smile" alongside Tony Bennett at Streisand's Malibu home. The song is included on Bennett's 80th birthday album, "Duets". In September 2006, the pair filmed a live performance of the song for "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" directed by Rob Marshall. The special aired on NBC November 21, 2006, and was released on DVD the same day. Streisand's duet with Bennett opened the special.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: That same year Streisand announced her intent to tour again, in an effort to raise money and awareness for multiple issues. After four days of rehearsal at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey, the 2006 Streisand concert tour began on October 4 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, continued with a featured stop in Sunrise, Florida, and concluded at Staples Center in Los Angeles on November 20, 2006. Special guests Il Divo were interwoven throughout the show. Streisand's 20-concert tour set box-office records. At the age of 64, she grossed $92,457,062 and set house gross records in 14 of the 16 arenas played on the tour. She set the third-place record for her show of October 9, 2006 at Madison Square Garden, the first- and second-place records, of which are held by her two shows in September 2000. She set the second-place record at MGM Grand Garden Arena, with her December 31, 1999, show being the house record and highest-grossing concert of all time. This led many people to openly criticize Streisand for price gouging as many tickets sold for upwards of $1,000.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: A collection of performances culled from different stops on this tour, "Live in Concert 2006", debuted at No. 7 on the "Billboard" 200, making it Streisand's 29th Top 10 album. In the summer of 2007, Streisand gave concerts for the first time in continental Europe. The first concert took place in Zürich (June 18), then Vienna (June 22), Paris (June 26), Berlin (June 30), Stockholm (July 4, canceled), Manchester (July 10) and Celbridge, near Dublin (July 14), followed by three concerts in London (July 18, 22 and 25), the only European city where Streisand had performed before 2007. Tickets for the London dates cost between £100.00 and £1,500.00, and for Ireland, between €118 and €500. The Ireland date was marred by issues with serious parking and seating problems leading to the event's being dubbed a fiasco by "Hot Press". The tour included a 58-piece orchestra.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In February 2008, "Forbes" listed Streisand as the No.-2-earning female musician between June 2006 and June 2007 with earnings of about $60 million. On November 17, 2008, Streisand returned to the studio to begin recording what would be her 63rd album and it was announced that Diana Krall was producing the album. Streisand is one of the recipients of the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors. On December 7, 2008, she visited the White House as part of the ceremonies.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: On April 25, 2009, CBS aired Streisand's latest television special, "Streisand: Live in Concert", highlighting the featured stop from her 2006 North American tour in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On September 26, 2009, Streisand performed a one-night-only show at the Village Vanguard in New York City's Greenwich Village. This performance was later released on DVD as "." On September 29, 2009, Streisand and Columbia Records released the studio album "Love is the Answer", produced by Diana Krall. On October 2, 2009, Streisand made her British television performance debut with an interview on "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" to promote the album. This album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and registered her biggest weekly sales since 1997, making Streisand the only artist in history to achieve No. 1 albums in five different decades.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: On February 1, 2010, Streisand joined over 80 other artists in recording a new version of the 1985 charity single "We Are the World". Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie planned to release the new version to mark the 25th anniversary of its original recording. These plans changed, however, in view of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, and on February 12, the song, now called "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", made its debut as a charity single to support relief aid for the island nation.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand was honored as MusiCares Person of the Year on February 11, 2011, two days prior to the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. That same year Streisand sang "Somewhere" from the Broadway musical "West Side Story", with child prodigy Jackie Evancho, on Evancho's album "Dream with Me".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: On October 11, 2012, Streisand gave a three-hour concert performance before a crowd of 18,000 as part of the ongoing inaugural events of Barclays Center (and part of her current "Barbra Live" tour) in Brooklyn (her first-ever public performance in her home borough). Streisand was joined onstage by trumpeter Chris Botti, Italian operatic trio Il Volo, and her son Jason Gould. The concert included musical tributes by Streisand to Donna Summer and Marvin Hamlisch, both of whom had died earlier in 2012. Confirmed attendees included Barbara Walters, Jimmy Fallon, Sting, Katie Couric, Woody Allen, Michael Douglas and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, as well as designers Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors. In June 2013 she gave two concerts in Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand is one of many singers who use teleprompters during their live performances. Streisand has defended her choice in using teleprompters to display lyrics and, sometimes, banter.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In September 2014, she released "Partners", a new album of duets that features collaborations with Elvis Presley, Andrea Bocelli, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Billy Joel, Babyface, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, John Mayer, John Legend, Blake Shelton and Jason Gould. This album topped the "Billboard" 200 with sales of 196,000 copies in the first week, making Streisand the only recording artist to have a number-one album in each of the last six decades. It was also certified gold in November 2014 and platinum in January 2015, thus becoming Streisand's 52nd gold and 31st Platinum album, more than any other female artist in history.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In May 2016, Streisand announced the upcoming album "" to be released in August following a nine-city concert tour, "", including performances in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and a return to her hometown of Brooklyn. In June 2018, Streisand confirmed she was working on the new studio album "Walls", released November 2, 2018, just prior to the U.S. midterm election. The album's lead single "Don't Lie to Me" was written as a criticism of America's political climate amid the presidency of Donald Trump, while the title track alludes to Trump's frequent calls for a wall at the Mexico border.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand's first film was a reprise of her Broadway hit, "Funny Girl" (1968), an artistic and commercial success directed by Hollywood veteran William Wyler. She won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actress for the role, sharing it with Katharine Hepburn ("The Lion in Winter"), the only time there has been a tie in this Oscar category. Her next two movies were also based on musicals—Jerry Herman's "Hello, Dolly!", directed by Gene Kelly (1969); and Alan Jay Lerner's and Burton Lane's "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever", directed by Vincente Minnelli (1970)—while her fourth film was based on the Broadway play "The Owl and the Pussycat" (1970).


title: Barbra Streisand

text: During the 1970s, Streisand starred in several screwball comedies, including "What's Up, Doc?" (1972) and "The Main Event" (1979), both co-starring Ryan O'Neal, and "For Pete's Sake" (1974) with Michael Sarrazin. One of her most famous roles during this period was in the drama "The Way We Were" (1973) with Robert Redford, for which she received an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress. She earned her second Academy Award for Best Original Song (with lyricist Paul Williams) for the song "Evergreen", from "A Star Is Born" in 1976, in which she also starred.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Along with Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier and later Steve McQueen, Streisand formed First Artists Production Company in 1969 so actors could secure properties and develop movie projects for themselves. Streisand's initial outing with First Artists was "Up the Sandbox" (1972).


title: Barbra Streisand

text: From 1969 to 1980, Streisand appeared in Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll, the annual motion picture exhibitors poll of Top 10 Box Office attractions a total of 10 times, often as the only woman on the list. After the commercially disappointing "All Night Long" in 1981, Streisand's film output decreased considerably. She has acted in only eight films since.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand produced a number of her own films, setting up Barwood Films in 1972. The first film she made, "Yentl" (1983), was turned down by every Hollywood studio at least once when she asked to not only direct the picture, but also to star in the film, until Orion Pictures took on the project and gave the film a budget of $14 million. For "Yentl" (1983), she was producer, director, and star, an experience she repeated for "The Prince of Tides" (1991) and "The Mirror Has Two Faces" (1996). There was controversy when "Yentl" received five Academy Award nominations, but none for the major categories of Best Picture, actress, or Director. "The Prince of Tides" received even more Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, although not for director. Upon completion of the film, its screenwriter, Pat Conroy, who also authored the novel, called Streisand "a goddess who walks upon the earth."


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand also co-scripted "Yentl" (with Jack Rosenthal), something for which she is not always given credit. According to "The New York Times" editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal in an interview with Allan Wolper, "The one thing that makes Barbra Streisand crazy is when nobody gives her the credit for having written "Yentl"."


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 2004, Streisand made a return to film acting after an eight-year hiatus, in the comedy "Meet the Fockers" (a sequel to "Meet the Parents"), playing opposite Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, Blythe Danner and Robert De Niro.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 2005, Streisand's Barwood Films, Gary Smith, and Sonny Murray purchased the rights to Simon Mawer's book "Mendel's Dwarf". In December 2008, she stated that she was considering directing an adaptation of Larry Kramer's play "The Normal Heart", a project she has worked on since the mid-1990s.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In December 2010, Streisand appeared in "Little Fockers", the third film from the "Meet the Parents" trilogy. She reprised the role of Roz Focker alongside Dustin Hoffman.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: On January 28, 2011, "The Hollywood Reporter" announced that Paramount Pictures had given the green light to begin shooting the road-trip comedy "My Mother's Curse", with Seth Rogen playing Streisand's character's son. Anne Fletcher directed the project with a script by Dan Fogelman, produced by Lorne Michaels, John Goldwyn, and Evan Goldberg. Executive producers included Streisand, Rogen, Fogelman, and David Ellison, whose Skydance Productions co-financed the road movie. Shooting began in spring 2011 and wrapped in July; the film's title was eventually altered to "The Guilt Trip", and the movie was released in December 2012.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand has been set to star in a film adaptation of the musical "Gypsy" featuring music by Jules Styne, a book by Arthur Laurents and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim with Richard LaGravenese reportedly attached to the project as screenwriter. In April 2016, it was reported that Streisand was in advanced negotiations to star in and produce the film, which will be directed by Barry Levinson and distributed by STX Entertainment. Two months later, the film's script had been completed and production was scheduled to begin in early 2017.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 2015 plans emerged for Streisand to direct a feature biopic about the 18th-century Russian empress "Catherine the Great" based on the top 2014 Black List script produced by Gil Netter with Keira Knightley starring. nothing has come out of these plans.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range, which Howard Cohen of the "Miami Herald" describes as "peerless". Whitney Balliett wrote, "Streisand wows her listeners with her shrewd dynamics (in-your-ear soft here, elbowing-loud there), her bravura climbs, her rolling vibrato, and the singular Streisand-from-Brooklyn nasal quality of her voice – a voice as immediately recognizable in its way as Louis Armstrong's." Music writer Allegra Rossi adds that Streisand creates complete compositions in her head:


title: Barbra Streisand

text: While she is predominantly a pop singer, Streisand's voice has been described as "semi-operatic" due to its strength and quality of tone. According to Adam Feldman of "Time Out", Streisand's "signature vocal style" is "a suspension bridge between old-school belting and microphone pop." She is known for her ability to hold relatively high notes, both loud and soft, with great intensity, as well as for her ability to make slight but unobtrusive embellishments on a melodic line. The former quality led classical pianist Glenn Gould to call himself "a Streisand freak".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In recent years, critics and audiences have noted that her voice has "lowered and acquired an occasionally husky edge". However, "New York Times" music critic Stephen Holden noted that her distinctive tone and musical instincts remain, and that she still "has the gift of conveying a primal human longing in a beautiful sound". Paul Taylor of "The Independent "wrote that Streisand "has sounded a little scratchy and frayed, though the stout resolve and superb technique with which Streisand manages to hoist it over these difficulties has come to seem morally as well aesthetically impressive." Reviewing Streisand's most recent studio effort "Partners", Gil Naveh of "Haaretz "described Streisand's voice as "velvety, clear and powerful ... and the passing years have given it a fascinating depth and roughness."


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand has been married twice. Her first husband was actor Elliott Gould, whom she married on September 13, 1963. They announced their separation on February 12, 1969, and divorced on July 6, 1971. They had one child, Jason Gould, who appeared as her on-screen son in "The Prince of Tides".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: She started a relationship with hairdresser/producer Jon Peters in 1973. He went on to be her manager and producer. They broke up in 1982 during the making of "Yentl", but remain friends. She is the godmother of his daughters, Caleigh Peters and Skye Peters.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: From November 1983 to October 1987, Streisand lived with Baskin-Robbins ice cream heir Richard Baskin, who wrote the lyrics to "Here We Are At Last" on her 1984 album "Emotion".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: She dated actor Don Johnson from December 1987 through at least September 1988. The pair recorded a duet of "Till I Loved You".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand dated tennis champion Andre Agassi from 1992 to 1993. Writing about the relationship in his 2009 autobiography, Agassi said: "We agree that we're good for each other, and so what if she's twenty-eight years older? We're simpatico, and the public outcry only adds spice to our connection. It makes our friendship feel forbidden, taboo – another piece of my overall rebellion. Dating Barbra Streisand is like wearing Hot Lava."


title: Barbra Streisand

text: During the early-to-mid-1990s, Streisand was in romantic relationships with several high-profile men, including newscaster Peter Jennings as well as actors Liam Neeson, Jon Voight and Peter Weller.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Her second husband is actor James Brolin, whom she married on July 1, 1998. While they have no children together, Brolin has two sons from his first marriage, including actor Josh Brolin, and one daughter from his second marriage.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand is the owner of multiple dogs, and she loved her dog Samantha so much, that she had her cloned.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In March 2019, Streisand apologized for her controversial statements about Michael Jackson's accusers.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand changed her name from "Barbara" to "Barbra" because, she said, "I hated the name, but I refused to change it." Streisand further explained, "Well, I was 18 and I wanted to be unique, but I didn't want to change my name because that was too false. You know, people were saying you could be Joanie Sands, or something like that. (My middle name is Joan.) And I said, 'No, let's see, if I take out the 'a,' it's still 'Barbara,' but it's unique." A 1967 biography with a concert program said, "the spelling of her first name is an instance of partial rebellion: she was advised to change her last name and retaliated by dropping an "a" from the first instead."


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In the early years of her career, Streisand's interest in politics was limited, with the exception of her participation in activities of the anti-nuclear group Women Strike for Peace in 1961 and 1962. In 1968, her political activism increased, and she helped promote the presidential campaign of Eugene McCarthy who held an anti–Vietnam War stance. In July 1968, with Harry Belafonte and others, she performed at the Hollywood Bowl in a fundraising concert sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to benefit the poor.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand has been an active supporter of the Democratic Party and many of its causes. She was among the celebrities on President Richard Nixon's 1971 list of political enemies. In 1972, she assisted the presidential campaign of anti-war candidate George McGovern by headlining the benefit concert Four for McGovern, organized by actor Warren Beatty and record producer Lou Adler; her concert recording was released as "Live Concert at the Forum". The next year, in association with liberal activist Stanley Sheinbaum and the American Civil Liberties Union, Streisand performed a benefit at the mansion of film mogul Jennings Lang to pay for the legal defense of Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame. Accompanied by a small combo including Marvin Hamlisch on piano, Streisand took paid song requests from the star-studded audience and by telephone to bring the night's total to $50,000.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 1984, Streisand joined Jane Fonda and ten other television and film industry notables to establish the activist group Hollywood Women's Political Committee (HWPC), the membership eventually growing to 300. The HWPC fought for liberal causes for more than a decade, contributing to the Democratic Party taking majority control in the 1986 U.S. Senate elections, and in 1992 funding Bill Clinton's presidential election as well as helping to usher in the Year of the Woman by electing more women senators. In 1995 Streisand spoke at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government about the role of the artist as citizen, in support of arts programs and funding.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand is a supporter of LGBT rights and backed the "No on 8" campaign in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat California Proposition 8 of 2008.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 2012, Streisand stated, "The new laws requiring U.S. citizens to produce photo IDs at the poll are designed to deprive elderly and minority citizens of the precious right to cast their vote. These regressive laws are themselves the most dangerous voter fraud threatening American democracy." Streisand continued her voter rights advocacy in 2020, tweeting a link to VoteRiders, a nonprofit that assists citizens with obtaining voter ID.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In June 2013, she helped celebrate the 90th birthday of Shimon Peres held at Jerusalem's international convention center. She also performed at two other concerts in Tel Aviv that same week, part of her first concert tour of Israel.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In January 2017, she participated in 2017 Women's March in Los Angeles. Introduced by Rufus Wainwright, Streisand appeared on stage and made a speech.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In an October 2018 interview with Emma Brockes of "The Guardian", Streisand discussed the theme of her new album "Walls": the danger she believed President Donald Trump posed towards the United States. She said, "This is a dangerous time in this nation, this republic: a man who is corrupt and indecent and is assaulting our institutions. It's really, really frightening. And I just pray that people who are compassionate and respect the truth will come out and vote. I'm saying more than just vote. Vote for Democrats!"


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 1984, Streisand donated the Emanuel Streisand Building for Jewish Studies to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in the Mount Scopus campus, in memory of her father, an educator and scholar who died when she was young.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand has personally raised $25 million for organizations through her live performances. The Streisand Foundation, established in 1986, has contributed over $16 million through nearly 1,000 grants to "national organizations working on preservation of the environment, voter education, the protection of civil liberties and civil rights, women's issues and nuclear disarmament".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 2006, Streisand donated $1 million to the William J. Clinton Foundation in support of former President Bill Clinton's climate change initiative.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 2009, Streisand gifted $5 million to endow the Barbra Streisand Women's Cardiovascular Research and Education Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Women's Heart Center. In September that year, "Parade" magazine included Streisand on its Giving Back Fund's second annual Giving Back 30 survey, "a ranking of the celebrities who have made the largest donations to charity in 2007 according to public records", as the third most generous celebrity. The Giving Back Fund claimed Streisand donated $11 million, which The Streisand Foundation distributed. In 2012 she raised $22 million to support her women's cardiovascular center, bringing her own personal contribution to $10 million. The program was officially named the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: At Julien's Auctions in October 2009, Streisand, a longtime collector of art and furniture, sold 526 items, with all the proceeds going to her foundation. Items included a costume from "Funny Lady" and a vintage dental cabinet purchased by the performer at 18 years old. The sale's most valuable lot was a painting by Kees van Dongen.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand is regarded as the ""Queen of the Divas"" by various media outlets. The New York Times called her among the three of Americas Most Beloved Divas (alongside Dolly Parton and Patti Labelle). Vulture honored her enduring legacy saying her works influence "extends to Céline Dion, the 1980s output of Lionel Richie and Luther Vandross, and the more maudlin ballads of Mariah Carey, Adele, and Whitney Houston." Forbes hailed Streisand as the reigning "Queen of the Charts" for her unmistakable longevity on the Billboard charts. Los Angeles Times also hailed her as the 'most influential female vocalist' and 'the most revolutionary of performers' for being responsible for changing the rules for female performers to come. CNN listed her as one of the most romantic singers of the 20th century.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand was presented Distinguished Merit Award by "Mademoiselle" in 1964, and selected as Miss Ziegfeld in 1965. In 1968, she received the Israel Freedom Medal, the highest civilian award of Israel, and she was awarded Pied Piper Award by ASCAP and Prix De L'Academie Charles Cros in 1969, Crystal Apple by her hometown City of New York, Woman of Achievement in the Arts by Anti-Defamation League in 1978. In 1984, Streisand was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry. She received the Woman of Courage Award by the National Organization for Women (NOW), the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Scopus Award by American Friends of The Hebrew University.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: She received Breakthrough Awards for "making films that portray women with serious complexity" at the Women, Men and Media symposium in 1991. In 1992, she was given the Commitment to Life Award by AIDS Project Los Angeles(APLA), and the Bill of Rights Award by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the Dorothy Arzner Special Recognition by Women in Film, and the Golden Plate by the Academy of Achievement. She was honored with the Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award from the ASCAP in 1994 and the Peabody Award in 1995, the same year she was accorded an Honorary Doctorate in Arts and Humanities by Brandeis University. She was also awarded Filmmaker of the Year Award for "lifetime achievement in filmmaking" by ShowEast and Peabody Award in 1996, Christopher Award in 1998.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 2000, President Bill Clinton presented Streisand with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor specifically given for achievement in the arts, and Library of Congress Living Legend, she also received the highest honor for a career in film AFI Life Achievement Award from American Film Institute and Liberty and Justice Award from Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Gracie Allen Award, First Annual Jewish Image Awards in 2001, and Humanitarian Award "for her years of leadership, vision, and activism in the fight for civil liberties, including religion, race, gender equality and freedom of speech, as well as all aspects of gay rights" from Human Rights Campaign in 2004. In 2007, French President Nicolas Sarkozy presented Streisand with Legion of Honour, the highest decoration in France, and President George W. Bush presented her Kennedy Center Honors, the highest recognition of cultural achievement.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 2011, she was given Board of Governors Humanitarian Award for her efforts on behalf of women's heart health and her many other philanthropic activities." by Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. She received the L'Oréal Paris Legend Award in 18th "Elle" Magazine Women in Hollywood. In 2012, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women Film Critics Circle. She was accorded an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2013. In that year, she was also recipient of the Charlie Chaplin Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as the only female artist to direct, write, produce and star in the same major studio film, "Yentl," along with a Lifetime Achievement Glamour Awards.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 2014, Streisand was on one of eight different "New York Magazine" covers celebrating the magazine's "100 Years, 100 Songs, 100 Nights: A Century of Pop Music in New York". She also received the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Board of Governors Award, the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at The Hollywood Reporter's annual Women in Entertainment Breakfast, and came first in the 1010 Wins Iconic Celebrity Poll by CBS in 2015. In November 2015, President Barack Obama announced that Streisand would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand was inducted into and Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1976, Goldmine Hall of Fame in 2002, Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007, the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2009, National Museum of American Jewish History and California Hall of Fame in 2010.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 1970, she received a Special Tony Award named "Star of the Decade", and was selected "Star of the Decade" by the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) in 1980, "Star of Decade" by NATO/ShowWest and President's Award by NARM in 1988. That year she was also named as All-Time Favorite Musical Performer by People's Choice Awards. In 1986, "Life" named her as one of "Five Hollywood's Most Powerful Women". In 1998, Harris Poll reported that she is the "Most Popular Singer Among Adult Americans of All Ages." She was also featured on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll, Top 100 Singers of all time by "Mojo" magazine, named the century's best female singer in a Reuters/Zogby poll, and "Top Female Artist of the Century" by Recording Industry Association of America in 1999. In 2006, Streisand was one of honorees at Oprah Winfrey's white-tie Legends Ball.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In 2015, "The Daily Telegraph" ranked Streisand as one of the 10 top female singer-songwriters of all time. A&E's "Biography" magazine ranked Streisand as one of their favorite leading actress of all time, she was also featured on the Voices of the Century list by BBC, the "100 Greatest Movie Stars of Time" list compiled by "People", VH1's list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time", the "100 Greatest Entertainers of All Time", "ranked at #13" and the "Greatest Movie Star of all time list" by "Entertainment Weekly", "The 50 Greatest Actresses of All Tim" by AMC, and Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists. "Billboard" also ranked Streisand as the top female Jewish musician of all time. As a gay icon, Streisand was named by "The Advocate" as one of the "25 Coolest Women" and the "9 Coolest Women Appealing to Both Lesbians and Gay Men", and was also placed among the "12 Greatest Female Gay Icons of All Time" by "Out" magazine. She was recognized as one of the top gay icons of the past three decades by "Gay Times".


title: Barbra Streisand

text: During the first decade of the 21st century, the American Film Institute celebrated 100 years of the greatest films in American cinema. Four of Streisand's songs were represented on AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Songs, which highlighted "America's Greatest Music in the Movies": "The Way We Were" at #8, "Evergreen (Love Theme From "A Star Is Born")" at # 16, "People" at #13, and "Don't Rain on My Parade" at #46. Many of her films were represented on AFI's 100 Years ... series. AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs, highlighting "the films and film artists that have made audiences laugh throughout the century," ranked "What's Up, Doc?" at #61. AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Passions highlighted the top 100 greatest love stories in American cinema and placed "The Way We Were" at #8, "Funny Girl" at #41, and "What's Up, Doc?" at #68. AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals highlighted the 25 greatest American movie musicals, ranking "Funny Girl" at #16.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In December 2016, the film "Funny Girl" was marked for preservation by the Library of Congress in the National Film Registry. In March 2017, the song "People" was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry. Streisand said she was humbled to have the song honored "as part of the flow of our nation's culture."


title: Barbra Streisand

text: As one of the most acclaimed actresses, singers, directors, writers, composers, producers, designers, photographers and activists in every medium that she's worked in, Streisand is the only artist who is concurrently a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and Actors' Equity Association, as well as the honorary chairwoman of the board of directors of Hadassah's International Research Institute on Women.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: In a 2003 lawsuit, Streisand claimed that a website illustrating coastal erosion invaded her privacy because one of its 12,000 images happened to show her Malibu, California home; Streisand wanted the photo removed from the site. The suit was dismissed and the resultant publicity prompted hundreds of thousands of people to download the photo, which had been accessed only four times prior to Streisand initiating legal action.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: The term "Streisand effect" was coined to refer to an attempt to censor information which unintentionally publicizes that information.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand has been nominated 43 times for a Grammy Award, winning eight. In addition, she has received two special non-competitive awards; the 1992 Grammy Legend Award and the 1994 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She has also been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame four times. In 2011, she was honored as MusiCares Person of the Year by the Grammy Foundation for her artistic achievement in the music industry.


title: Barbra Streisand

text: Streisand has stated she is writing her autobiography but has stopped and started at various points. In May 2015, Viking Press announced it had bought Streisand's memoirs, which will cover her entire life and career, and would publish it in 2017. As of 2022, the book remains unpublished.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: Moonfall is a 2022 science fiction disaster film co-written, directed, and produced by Roland Emmerich. It stars Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Peña, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, and Donald Sutherland. It follows two former astronauts alongside a conspiracy theorist who discover the hidden truth about Earth's moon when it suddenly leaves its orbit. Shot in Montreal on a $138–146 million budget, it is one of the most expensive independently produced films ever made.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: The film was theatrically released in the United States on February 4, 2022, by Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment, and in the United Kingdom on the same day by Entertainment Film Distributors. It became one of the largest box-office bombs of all time, grossing only $67 million worldwide, and received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: In 2011, astronauts Brian Harper, Jocinda "Jo" Fowler, and newcomer Marcus are on a Space Shuttle mission to repair a satellite. A mysterious swarm of alien technology attacks the orbiter, killing Marcus and knocking Jo unconscious before tunneling into the surface of the Moon. Brian, the only witness to the swarm, returns the crippled shuttle to Earth, but his story is dismissed and he is fired from NASA.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: Ten years later, conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman, who believes that the Moon is an artificial megastructure, secretly uses time on a research telescope. He discovers that the Moon's orbit is veering closer to Earth, and tries to share his findings with the disgraced Brian. NASA also discovers the anomaly, but K.C. goes public on social media, leading to a global panic. Jo is now NASA's deputy director, launching a spacecraft on an SLS Block 1 rocket to investigate the abnormality. The same alien swarm attacks, killing all three lunar astronauts after they drop a probe into a kilometers-deep artificial shaft that has opened up on the Moon's surface.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: As lunar orbit deteriorates, the Moon falls closer and closer to Earth, causing seismic and gravitational disturbances. Jo meets former NASA official Holdenfield, who reveals that Brian was discredited due to a NASA coverup dating back to Apollo 11; during the first moon landing, a two-minute radio blackout was meant to conceal evidence of pulsating lights on the surface. Apollo 12 also revealed that the Moon is hollow, and a military EMP device created to kill the swarm was abandoned for budgetary reasons.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: With help from her ex-husband General Doug Davidson, Air Force Chief of Staff, Jo requisitions the EMP and rescues retired Space Shuttle "Endeavour" from a museum to serve the new mission: to correct the Moon's orbit and destroy the swarm. Brian, K.C., and Jo launch with the EMP, narrowly escaping to orbit as a tsunami destroys Vandenberg Air Force Base.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: They reach the interior of the Moon, revealed to be a Dyson sphere powered by a white dwarf at its center. The Dyson sphere's AI operating system explains to Brian that billions of years ago, humanity's technologically advanced ancestors were eradicated by a rogue AI; they built the Moon as a Interstellar ark to create and seed life on Earth, but the swarm — one of the malicious AIs — discovered the Moon and is siphoning energy from its power source, destabilizing its orbit.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: Meanwhile, Brian's son Sonny, Jo's son Jimmy, and his caretaker Michelle try to reach Doug's military bunker in the Colorado mountains, finding Brian's ex-wife and Sonny's mother Brenda, her husband Tom, and their step-family. Escaping disasters caused by the Moon's proximity and fighting off other survivors, the group finds safety in a mountain tunnel. When his youngest daughter runs out of oxygen, an injured Tom gives her his own, suffocating to death as the Moon strips away the local atmosphere. The president orders a nuclear strike on the approaching Moon, but Doug refuses to comply with debris collapsing the bunker shortly thereafter, presumably killing Doug and everyone inside.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: As the swarm only attacks organic life in the presence of electronic activity, K.C. lures the swarm away from their spacecraft with their lunar module, sacrificing himself to detonate the EMP. Jo and Brian return to Earth, reuniting with their families, and the Moon's power is restored, returning to its regular orbit, but now shed of its rocky exterior. Reconstructing K.C.'s consciousness, the Moon's operating system appears to him as his cat, Fuzz Aldrin, and his mother, remarking that they must now "get started".


title: Moonfall (film)

text: In May 2019, Roland Emmerich was announced to be writing and directing the film. With a $138–146 million budget (including $40 million from Huayi Brothers, $15 million from Lionsgate Films, and $15 million from Germany), it is one of the most expensive independent films ever produced. Emmerich said the project had previously been bought by Universal Pictures, and once he got the rights back, Emmerich and partner Harald Kloser went to the Cannes Film Festival to get financial backers, with the independent nature helping Emmerich get creative control and a 50% share of the film. The idea came after reading


title: Moonfall (film)

text: Christopher Knight and Alan Butler's book "Who Built the Moon?", which debated about the hollow moon hypothesis, a conspiracy theory about the Moon being an artificial construction, and the script was worked on for four years. In November 2019, Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment acquired the North American distribution rights, and AGC International acquired the international distribution rights.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: In May 2020, Josh Gad and Halle Berry were cast, with Patrick Wilson and Charlie Plummer added in June. In October, Stanley Tucci, John Bradley, Donald Sutherland and Eme Ikwuakor were added to the cast, with Bradley replacing Gad due to scheduling conflicts.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: Filming began in Montreal in October 2020, after previously being planned for a spring start, and lasted for a total of 61 days. Michael Peña, Carolina Bartczak, Maxim Roy and Stephen Bogaert were added in January 2021, with Peña replacing Tucci in his role due to COVID-19 travel restrictions preventing Tucci from traveling to the production. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film had to speed up its principal photography with an additional $5.6 million spent. Among the pandemic's restrictions were a lack of location shooting, forcing the construction of 135 different sets, built primarily on six stages on Grandé Studios. A museum in Florida contributed an original Space Shuttle cockpit, and NASA provided various data regarding the spacecraft.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: 1,700 visual effects shots were done for "Moonfall", primarily handled by four companies, Scanline VFX, Pixomondo, DNEG and Framestore. Scanline was involved as early as a teaser done during the production of "Midway" for the Cannes pitch, a shot of the Moon coming up behind the Earth that ended up in the finished film.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: The film held a premiere in Los Angeles on January 31, 2022. It was released theatrically in the United States on February 4, 2022. It was previously scheduled to be released on October 22, 2021. Despite having been advertised in 2021, the film's theatrical release in Canada was canceled because the local distributor, Mongrel Media, found it too risky to go forward with the release and spend the amount of money required on advertising when it was uncertain whether theaters in Ontario and Quebec, which account for a majority of film sales in the country and were shut down due to the pandemic, would be open in time. The film was released in China on March 25, 2022.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: Lionsgate spent approximately $35 million in promotions and advertisements, including $12.2 million on TV ads. Social media monitor RelishMix said online reactions were "mixed to negative" while "awareness stats" were below average. The film had a social media reach of 88.9 million interactions (including 51.1 million views on YouTube) from 31 videos shared online, which featured brand deals with Omega SA and Lexus. RelishMix also said "traction ran thin" and that online audiences "questioned the use of the Space Shuttle which has been out of commission since 2011 and chatted about rumors that the movie was heading straight to Netflix", while Emmerich was drawing backlash "for 'hating the earth'".


title: Moonfall (film)

text: The film was released for VOD platforms on April 1, 2022, followed by a Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD release on April 26, 2022 by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: , "Moonfall" has grossed $19.1million in the United States and Canada, and $48.2million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $67.3million.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: In the United States, "Moonfall" was released alongside "Jackass Forever", and was projected to gross $8–11 million from 3,446 theaters in its opening weekend, with "Boxoffice Pro" predicting a $9–14 million three-day debut. The film earned $3.4 million on its first day, including an estimated $700,000 from Thursday night previews. Around 300 theaters were closed on Thursday due to a winter storm impacting most of the Midwestern United States. It went on to gross $9.9 million in its opening weekend, finishing second. The film suffered a 70% decline in its second weekend after earning $2.9 million. "Moonfall" dropped out of the box office top ten in its third weekend with $1.1 million.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: Outside the U.S. and Canada, the film grossed an estimated $9.37 million overseas in its opening weekend. It made $9.7 million in its first weekend in China, debuting at the first position by displacing "The Batman". The film released in the country when a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic forced more than half of theaters to close. It retained its position during the following weekend with a gross of $3.2 million. In the third weekend it fell to the fourth place while grossing $900,000.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it a 66% positive score, with 49% saying they would definitely recommend it.


title: Moonfall (film)

text: In January 2022, Emmerich spoke about the possibility of filming two sequels back-to-back if the first film was a success. The following month, star John Bradley said that "if Roland goes down the direction that he wants to", the sequels would be "even more batshit crazy than the first".


title: Batman

text: Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book "Detective Comics" on March 30, 1939. In the DC Universe continuity, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. Batman's origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents Thomas and Martha as a child, a vendetta tempered with the ideal of justice. He trains himself physically and intellectually, crafts a bat-inspired persona, and monitors the Gotham streets at night. Kane, Finger, and other creators accompanied Batman with supporting characters, including his sidekicks Robin and Batgirl; allies Alfred Pennyworth, James Gordon, and Catwoman; and foes such as the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, and his archenemy the Joker.


title: Batman

text: Kane conceived Batman in early 1939 to capitalize on the popularity of DC's Superman; although Kane frequently claimed sole creation credit, Finger substantially developed the concept from a generic superhero into something more bat-like. The character received his own spin-off publication, "Batman", in 1940. Batman was originally introduced as a ruthless vigilante who frequently killed or maimed criminals, but evolved into a character with a stringent moral code and strong sense of justice. Unlike most superheroes, Batman does not possess any superpowers, instead relying on his intellect, fighting skills, and wealth. The 1960s "Batman" television series used a camp aesthetic, which continued to be associated with the character for years after the show ended. Various creators worked to return the character to his darker roots in the 1970s and 1980s, culminating with the 1986 miniseries "The Dark Knight Returns" by Frank Miller.


title: Batman

text: DC has featured Batman in many comic books, including comics published under its imprints such as Vertigo and Black Label. The longest-running Batman comic, "Detective Comics", is the longest-running comic book in the United States. Batman is frequently depicted alongside other DC superheroes, such as Superman and Wonder Woman, as a member of organizations such as the Justice League and the Outsiders. In addition to Bruce Wayne, other characters have taken on the Batman persona on different occasions, such as Jean-Paul Valley / Azrael in the 1993–1994 "" story arc; Dick Grayson, the first Robin, from 2009 to 2011; and Jace Fox, son of Wayne's ally Lucius, as of 2021. DC has also published comics featuring alternate versions of Batman, including the incarnation seen in "The Dark Knight Returns" and its successors, the incarnation from the "Flashpoint" (2011) event, and numerous interpretations from "Elseworlds" stories.


title: Batman

text: One of the most iconic characters in popular culture, Batman has been listed among the greatest comic book superheroes and fictional characters ever created. He is one of the most commercially successful superheroes, and his likeness has been licensed and featured in various media and merchandise sold around the world; this includes toy lines such as "Lego Batman" and video games like the "" series. Batman has been adapted in live-action and animated incarnations, including the 1960s "Batman" television series played by Adam West and in film by Michael Keaton in "Batman" (1989), "Batman Returns" (1992), and "The Flash" (2023), Val Kilmer in "Batman Forever" (1995), George Clooney in "Batman and Robin" (1997), Christian Bale in "The Dark Knight" trilogy (2005–2012), Ben Affleck in the DC Extended Universe (2016–present), and Robert Pattinson in "The Batman" (2022). Kevin Conroy, Diedrich Bader, Jensen Ackles, Will Arnett, Jimmy Kimmel, and Keanu Reeves, among others, have provided the character's voice.


title: Batman

text: In early 1939, the success of Superman in "Action Comics" prompted editors at National Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response, Bob Kane created "the Bat-Man". Collaborator Bill Finger recalled that "Kane had an idea for a character called 'Batman,' and he'd like me to see the drawings. I went over to Kane's, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with kind of ...reddish tights, I believe, with boots ...no gloves, no gauntlets ...with a small domino mask, swinging on a rope. He had two stiff wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign ...BATMAN". The bat-wing-like cape was suggested by Bob Kane, inspired as a child by Leonardo da Vinci's sketch of an ornithopter flying device.


title: Batman

text: Finger suggested giving the character a cowl instead of a simple domino mask, a cape instead of wings, and gloves; he also recommended removing the red sections from the original costume. Finger said he devised the name Bruce Wayne for the character's secret identity: "Bruce Wayne's first name came from Robert the Bruce, the Scottish patriot. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of gentry. I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism. I tried Adams, Hancock ...then I thought of Mad Anthony Wayne." He later said his suggestions were influenced by Lee Falk's popular "The Phantom", a syndicated newspaper comic-strip character with which Kane was also familiar.


title: Batman

text: Kane and Finger drew upon contemporary 1930s popular culture for inspiration regarding much of the Bat-Man's look, personality, methods, and weaponry. Details find predecessors in pulp fiction, comic strips, newspaper headlines, and autobiographical details referring to Kane himself. As an aristocratic hero with a double identity, Batman had predecessors in the Scarlet Pimpernel (created by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, 1903) and Zorro (created by Johnston McCulley, 1919). Like them, Batman performed his heroic deeds in secret, averted suspicion by playing aloof in public, and marked his work with a signature symbol. Kane noted the influence of the films "The Mark of Zorro" (1920) and "The Bat Whispers" (1930) in the creation of the character's iconography. Finger, drawing inspiration from pulp heroes like Doc Savage, The Shadow, Dick Tracy, and Sherlock Holmes, made the character a master sleuth.


title: Batman

text: Kane signed away ownership in the character in exchange for, among other compensation, a mandatory byline on all Batman comics. This byline did not originally say "Batman created by Bob Kane"; his name was simply written on the title page of each story. The name disappeared from the comic book in the mid-1960s, replaced by credits for each story's actual writer and artists. In the late 1970s, when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster began receiving a "created by" credit on the Superman titles, along with William Moulton Marston being given the byline for creating Wonder Woman, Batman stories began saying "Created by Bob Kane" in addition to the other credits.


title: Batman

text: Finger did not receive the same recognition. While he had received credit for other DC work since the 1940s, he began, in the 1960s, to receive limited acknowledgment for his Batman writing; in the letters page of "Batman" #169 (February 1965) for example, editor Julius Schwartz names him as the creator of the Riddler, one of Batman's recurring villains. However, Finger's contract left him only with his writing page rate and no byline. Kane wrote, "Bill was disheartened by the lack of major accomplishments in his career. He felt that he had not used his creative potential to its fullest and that success had passed him by." At the time of Finger's death in 1974, DC had not officially credited Finger as Batman co-creator.


title: Batman

text: Jerry Robinson, who also worked with Finger and Kane on the strip at this time, has criticized Kane for failing to share the credit. He recalled Finger resenting his position, stating in a 2005 interview with "The Comics Journal":


title: Batman

text: Although Kane initially rebutted Finger's claims at having created the character, writing in a 1965 open letter to fans that "it seemed to me that Bill Finger has given out the impression that he and not myself created the <nowiki>"</nowiki>Batman, t' as well as Robin and all the other leading villains and characters. This statement is fraudulent and entirely untrue." Kane himself also commented on Finger's lack of credit. "The trouble with being a 'ghost' writer or artist is that you must remain rather anonymously without 'credit'. However, if one wants the 'credit', then one has to cease being a 'ghost' or follower and become a leader or innovator."


title: Batman

text: In September 2015, DC Entertainment revealed that Finger would be receiving credit for his role in Batman's creation on the 2016 superhero film "" and the second season of "Gotham" after a deal was worked out between the Finger family and DC. Finger received credit as a creator of Batman for the first time in a comic in October 2015 with "Batman and Robin Eternal" #3 and "Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis" #3. The updated acknowledgment for the character appeared as "Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger".


title: Batman

text: The first Batman story, "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate", was published in "Detective Comics" #27 (cover dated May 1939). Finger said, "Batman was originally written in the style of the pulps", and this influence was evident with Batman showing little remorse over killing or maiming criminals. Batman proved a hit character, and he received his own solo title in 1940 while continuing to star in "Detective Comics". By that time, Detective Comics was the top-selling and most influential publisher in the industry; Batman and the company's other major hero, Superman, were the cornerstones of the company's success. The two characters were featured side by side as the stars of "World's Finest Comics", which was originally titled "World's Best Comics" when it debuted in fall 1940. Creators including Jerry Robinson and Dick Sprang also worked on the strips during this period.


title: Batman

text: Over the course of the first few Batman strips elements were added to the character and the artistic depiction of Batman evolved. Kane noted that within six issues he drew the character's jawline more pronounced, and lengthened the ears on the costume. "About a year later he was almost the full figure, my mature Batman", Kane said. Batman's characteristic utility belt was introduced in "Detective Comics" #29 (July 1939), followed by the boomerang-like batarang and the first bat-themed vehicle, the Batplane, in #31 (September 1939). The character's origin was revealed in #33 (November 1939), unfolding in a two-page story that establishes the brooding persona of Batman, a character driven by the death of his parents. Written by Finger, it depicts a young Bruce Wayne witnessing his parents' murder at the hands of a mugger. Days later, at their grave, the child vows that "by the spirits of my parents [I will] avenge their deaths by spending the rest of my life warring on all criminals".