title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer appeared in two cable television movies. At the age of 39, he was one of the producers for the VH1 movie "Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story", starring Romany Malco and Tangi Miller as his wife, which aired on December 19, 2001. The film is a biopic which chronicles the rise and fall of the artist. "2 Legit To Quit: The Life Story of M.C. Hammer" became the second highest-rated original movie in the history of VH1 and broadcast simultaneously on BET. "The whole script came from me," says Hammer, "I sat down with a writer and gave him all the information."


title: MC Hammer

text: In 2003, Hammer appeared on The WB's first season of "The Surreal Life", a reality show known for assembling an eclectic mix of celebrities to live together. He was also a dance judge on the 2003 ABC Family TV series "Dance Fever". Additionally, he appeared on VH1's "" (2004) as well as in "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s" (2008), a countdown which he was also commentator on. His eldest child, A'Keiba Burrell, was a contestant on MTV's "Rock the Cradle" in April 2008 (which Hammer also made appearances on).


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer had shown an interest in having his own reality show with specific television networks at one point. Already being a part of shows for VH1 and The WB ("I Married... M.C. Hammer" and "The Surreal Life"), it was later confirmed he would appear in "Hammertime" on A&E in the summer of 2009. This reality show was about his personal, business and family life. The following year, Hammer appeared on "" June 3, 2009, to promote his show which began June 14, 2009, at 10 PM Eastern Time Zone (EST).


title: MC Hammer

text: In August 2008, a new ESPN ad featured Hammer in it, showcasing his single "I Got Gigs'" (from his "DanceJamtheMusic" album). The commercial was for "Monday Night Football"'s upcoming football season. This is not the first commercial in more recent years that Hammer has been in, or his songs/raps/dancing was used for and included in such as Lay's, Hallmark Cards, Purell, Lysol, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Citibank, etc. On February 1, 2009, Hammer and Ed McMahon were featured in a Super Bowl XLIII commercial for Cash4Gold.


title: MC Hammer

text: In addition to appearing in television commercials, M.C. Hammer's music has also been used in television shows and movies, especially "U Can't Touch This" during: "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990), "Hot Shots!" (1990), "The Super" (1991), "Doogie Howser, M.D." (1992), "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood" (1996), "" (2003), "Into the Wild" (2007), "Tropic Thunder" (2008), "Dancing with the Stars" (2009), "Glee" (2010) and many more. Additionally, "This Is What We Do" was a 1990 track by Hammer (featuring B Angie B) for the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" film and . Tracks "That's What I Said" and "Feel My Power" were used for the "Rocky V" film and soundtrack. Some examples of other raps by Hammer used in movies and television were: "Addams Groove" ("The Addams Family"), "Pray" ("License to Wed"), "2 Legit 2 Quit" ("Hot Rod"), "I Got It From The Town" (""), "Help Lord, Won't You Come" ("Kingdom Come"), "Let's Go Deeper" ("Beverly Hills, 90210") and "Straight to My Feet" ("Street Fighter"), among others.


title: MC Hammer

text: Along with Betty White, Hammer was a voice actor on the September 17, 2010 episode of "Glenn Martin, DDS" called "Step-Brother". In 2016, MC Hammer appeared as himself in an episode of "Uncle Grandpa" on Cartoon Network.


title: MC Hammer

text: In June 2017, Hammer appeared during "Beat Shazam" on Fox. Hammer has most recently been a spokesman for 3M Command Strips and Starburst. In September 2020, Hammer appeared on "The Greatest AtHome Videos" via Zoom.


title: MC Hammer

text: M.C. Hammer's dance style not only helped pave the way for the San Francisco Bay Area movement called hyphy, but also helped to bring hip-hop and rap to the Bay Area. His dancing skills are still taught to this day. With his popular trademark Hammer pants, one phenomenal difference from Hammer versus other performers during his heyday was that he was an entertainer, both during live shows and in music videos. His flamboyant dancing was as much a part of his performances as rapping and musical instruments were. With high-energy dance routines, he is often considered one of the greatest dancers. While adding his own techniques, Hammer adopted styles from James Brown and Nicholas Brothers such as the splits, as well as feverishly choreographed dance routines including leaps and slides. His creation of such dances as the "Hammer dance" (or the "typewriter dance") and "the bump" from "U Can't Touch This", as well as the "running man" and the "butterfly", made his flashy and creative dance skills unlike any others at the time.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer's showmanship and elaborate stage choreography (involving fifteen dancers, twelve backup singers, seven live musicians and two disc jockeys), gave him a powerful visual appeal. Hammer was the first rap artist to put together a choreographed show of this type, and his visual flair attracted heavy airplay for his videos on MTV, which at the time had a predominantly white viewership that had aired little rap music before Hammer.


title: MC Hammer

text: During a 1990 visit from Hammer (accompanied by his friend Fab Five Freddy) on "Yo! MTV Raps", one of the dancers whom Hammer was holding auditions for was then-unknown Jennifer Lopez.


title: MC Hammer

text: At the height of his career, Hammer had his legs insured for a substantial amount of money (into the millions), as mentioned in an interview by Maria Shriver in 1990. He later suffered an injury to his knee that halted his dancing career for a period of time. Eventually, BET ranked Hammer as the 7th Best Dancer of All Time. Some of Hammer's entourage, or "posse" as he called them, were also trained/skilled dancers (including Tiffany Patterson). They participated in videos and at concerts, yet too many dancers and band members eventually contributed to Hammer's downfall, proving to be too much for him to finance.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer stayed active in the dance media/genre, both on television shows and as co-founder of DanceJam.com (which showcased dance competitions and instructional videos on all the latest dance styles) until he and his partner Geoffrey Arone sold it to Grind Networks. Well known for bringing choreography to hip-hop, many of his dancing skills can still be seen on dance-focused and social networking sites. "Dance is unlike any other social medium. It's the core of our culture", Burrell told "Wired".


title: MC Hammer

text: In addition to his websites and Internet presence, Hammer has also appeared demonstrating much of his dancing abilities on talk shows such as "The Arsenio Hall Show", "Soul Train", "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (performing O'Brien's famous "string dance" together as well), "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "The View". Hammer was also a dance judge on "Dance Fever". On June 3, 2009, he performed his "Hammer dance" on "" with Will Ferrell as co-host.


title: MC Hammer

text: While Hammer may have challenged and competed with Michael Jackson during the height of his career, they were friends, proven by a phone call Hammer had with Jackson about his "Too Legit to Quit" video which he shared on "The Wendy Williams Show" in July 2009. Hammer wanted to ensure he was not offended by the ending of the video where a purported Michael Jackson (seen only from behind) does the "2 Legit 2 Quit" hand gesture with his famous glove. They also appeared together at the funeral service for James Brown in 2006, where Hammer danced in honor of the "Godfather of Soul". After Jackson's death, Hammer posted his remembrance and sympathy of the superstar on Twitter. Michael's friend and fellow pop culture icon Hammer told Spinner that, "now that the "King of Pop" has passed, it's the duty of his fans and loved ones to carry Jackson's creative torch." He went on to say, "Michael Jackson lit the fuse that ignited the spirit of dance in us all. He gave us a song and a sweet melody that will never die. Now we all carry his legacy with joy and pride."


title: MC Hammer

text: In 2022, Bobby Brown claimed he started wearing the "diaper pants" that Hammer altered and made famous, on his A&E show "Bobby Brown: Every Little Step". However, Brown wore a less sagging variation during some concerts and in music videos, such as "My Prerogative" (1988) and "Every Little Step" (1989).


title: MC Hammer

text: At the time of his first album, M.C. Hammer opened his own music management firm. As a result of the success of his third album, "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em", Hammer had amassed approximately US$33 million.


title: MC Hammer

text: In 1997, Hammer sold his Fremont, California estate and mansion for US$5.3 million, after filing for bankruptcy in 1996.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer most recently resided in a large ranch-style abode home, situated on a two-acre corner lot in Tracy, California, with his wife Stephanie. They met at a church revival meeting and married December 21, 1985. They have three sons and two daughters, and also raised Hammer's nephew. It was reported in July 2012 that Hammer was encouraged to marry Whitney Houston by her father at the Super Bowl in 1991.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer frequently posted about his life and activities on his blog "Look Look Look", as well as other social websites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter (being one of the earliest celebrities to contribute and join). A self-described "super geek" who consulted for or investing in eight technology companies, Hammer claimed to spend 10–12 hours daily working on his technology projects, and tweeted 30-40 times a day as of 2012. He has been noted as a popularizer and defender of philosophy in his social media posts.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer was an endorser of the SAFE California Act, which, if passed in November 2012, would have replaced the death penalty. However, the proposition was defeated.


title: MC Hammer

text: Contrary to public rumor, Hammer claimed he was really never "down-and-out" as reported by the media (eventually expressed on "The Opie & Anthony Show" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2009). Originally having an estimated net worth of over $33 million according to "Forbes" magazine, speculations about Hammer's status first emerged during delays between albums "Too Legit to Quit" and "The Funky Headhunter", with Hammer having spent much of his money on staff and personal luxuries. In addition to excessive spending while supporting friends and family, Hammer ultimately became over $13 million in debt – due to dwindling album sales, unpaid loans, a large payroll and a lavish lifestyle. Therefore, Hammer eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Oakland, California, on April 1, 1996. The case was converted to Chapter 7 on September 23, 1998. However, Hammer was denied a bankruptcy discharge on April 23, 2002.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer's mansion was sold for a fraction of its former price. "My priorities were out of order," he told "Ebony". He said: "My priorities should have always been God, family, community and then business. Instead they had been business, business and business." Along with Felton Pilate and other group members, Rick James sued Hammer for infringement of copyright on "U Can't Touch This", but the suit was settled out of court when Hammer agreed to credit James as co-composer, effectively cutting James in on the millions of dollars the record was earning. By the late 1990s, Hammer seemed to stabilize himself and made himself ready to undertake new projects.


title: MC Hammer

text: In 1992, Hammer had admitted in depositions and court documents to getting the idea for the song "Here Comes the Hammer" from a Christian recording artist in Dallas named Kevin Christian. Christian had filed a 16-million-dollar lawsuit against Hammer for copyright infringement of his song entitled "Oh-Oh, You Got the Shing". This fact, compounded with witness testimony from both Hammer's and Christian's entourages, and other evidence (including photos), brought about a settlement with Capitol Records in 1994. The terms of the settlement remain sealed. Hammer settled with Christian the following year.


title: MC Hammer

text: In 1997, just prior to beginning his ministry, Hammer (who by that time had re-adopted "M.C.") was the subject of an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and the VH1 series "Behind the Music" (music from his album "Inside Out" was featured in this documentary). In these appearances, Burrell admitted "that [he] had already used up most of [his] fortune of over $20 million, proving that money is nothing if it doesn't bring peace and if priorities are wrong". He would go on to express a similar point in other interviews as well.


title: MC Hammer

text: During numerous interviews on radio stations and television channels throughout the years, Hammer was constantly questioned about his bankruptcy. During an interview by WKQI-FM (95.5) for the promotion of his "Pioneers Of Hip Hop 2009" gig at the Fox Theatre in Detroit (which featured 2 Live Crew, Naughty by Nature, Too Short, Biz Markie and Roxanne Shanté), Hammer was asked about his finances by the "Mojo in the Morning" host. Hammer responded on Twitter, saying that Mojo was a "coward" and threatened to cancel commercials for his upcoming show.


title: MC Hammer

text: On November 21, 2011, the U.S. government filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in California against Hammer to obtain a court judgment on his unpaid taxes for years 1996 and 1997. In December 2011, this litigation was reported in the media. Hammer owed $779,585 in back taxes from his earnings dating back to 1996–1997; during the years, Hammer was believed to be facing his worst financial problems. After years of public and media ridicule regarding his financial problem, Hammer tried to assure fans and "naysayers" via Twitter, saying that he had proof he had already taken care of his debt with the IRS. "700k – Don't get too excited .. I paid them already and kept my receipt. Stamped by a US Federal Judge", Hammer tweeted from his account @MCHammer. However, the District Court ruled against Hammer. He appealed, but, on December 17, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected Hammer's argument that because the government had not listed those taxes in the government's proof of claim filed with the Bankruptcy Court, the government should be stopped from collecting the taxes. According to a 2017 episode of the Reelz TV series "Broke & Famous", the situation was eventually resolved. As of the making of the aforementioned "Broke & Famous" episode, Hammer had a reported net worth of $1.5 million.


title: MC Hammer

text: M.C. Hammer was arrested in 2013 in Dublin, California, for allegedly obstructing an officer in the performance of his duties and resisting an officer (according to "stop and identify" statutes). Hammer claims he was a victim of racial profiling by the police, stating an officer pulled out his gun and randomly asked him: "Are you on parole or probation?" Hammer stated that as he handed over his ID, the officer reached inside the car and tried to pull him out. Police in Dublin, east of Oakland, said Hammer was "blasting music" in a vehicle with expired registration and he was not the registered owner. "After asking Hammer who the registered owner was, he became very argumentative and refused to answer the officer's questions," police spokesman Herb Walters typed in an e-mail to CNN. Hammer was booked and released from Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. A court date was scheduled, however, all charges were dropped in early March. Hammer tweeted that he was not bitter and considered what happened "a teachable moment."


title: MC Hammer

text: In 1984, Burrell began attending Bible studies, joined a street ministry, and formed a gospel rap group with Jon Gibson (or J.G.) known as the Holy Ghost Boy(s). In 1986, Burrell and Tramaine Hawkins performed with Gibson's band in concerts at various venues, such as the Beverly Theatre in Beverly Hills. Several songs were recorded together, collaborating on "The Wall" from Gibson's album "Change of Heart" (1988), prior to Hammer's mainstream success. This was CCM's first rap hit by a blue-eyed soul singer and/or duo. Burrell also produced "Son of the King" at that time, releasing it on his debut album "Feel My Power" (1986).


title: MC Hammer

text: Raised Pentecostal, Hammer strayed from his Christian faith during his success, before returning to ministry. His awareness of this can be found in a film he wrote and starred in called "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em: The Movie" (1990), in which he also plays the charismatic preacher character named "Reverend Pressure". Nonetheless, as a tribute to his faith, Hammer vowed/promised to dedicate at least one song on each album to God.


title: MC Hammer

text: During 1991, Hammer was featured on the single "The Blood" from the BeBe & CeCe Winans album, "Different Lifestyles". In 1992, the song peaked at No. 8 on the Christian charts.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer later reaffirmed his beliefs in October 1997, and began a television ministry called "M.C. Hammer and Friends" on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, as well as appearing on "Praise the Lord" programs where he went public about his devotion to ministry as an ordained minister. Hammer officiated at the celebrity weddings of actor Corey Feldman and Susie Sprague on October 30, 2002 (as seen on VH1's "The Surreal Life"), and also at Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil and Lia Gerardini's wedding in January 2005.


title: MC Hammer

text: During an interview on TBN (between 1997 and 1998), Hammer claimed he adopted the "M.C." back into his name which now stood for 'Man of Christ'. Hammer continued to preach while still making music, running a social media business and television show, and devotes time to prison and youth ministries.


title: MC Hammer

text: From 2009 to 2010, Hammer joined Jaeson Ma at a crusade in Asia. Minister and mentor to Ma for more than a decade, Hammer assisted and co-starred in his documentary film "1040", which explores the spread of Christianity throughout Asia.


title: MC Hammer

text: Widely considered the first "mainstream" rapper, Hammer continues to entertain while sharing his legacy with other rappers (as cited on BET.com). Hammer became a fixture of the television airwaves and the big screen, with his music being used in many popular shows, movies and commercials still to this day. Hammer appeared in major marketing campaigns for companies to the point that he was criticized as a "sellout", including commercials for British Knights during the height of his career. The shoe company signed him to a $138 million deal.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer's impression on the music industry appeared almost as instantaneously as Digital Underground's rap "The Humpty Dance," which was released when Hammer was still early in his career and included the lyrics "People say ya look like M.C. Hammer on crack, Humpty!", boasting about Hammer's showmanship versus Humpty Hump (Shock G)'s inability to match it in dance. Additionally, Hammer had several costly videos, two in particular were "Too Legit to Quit" or "2 Legit 2 Quit" (in which many celebrities appeared) and "Here Comes the Hammer".


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer is well known for his fashion style during the late 80s and early 90s. Hammer would tour, perform and record with his hype man 2 Bigg MC or Too Big (releasing a song in which he claimed "He's the King of the Hype"). This duo introduced the "shiny suit" and popularized Hammer pants to mainstream America, as seen in videos such as "(Hammer Hammer) They Put Me In A Mix", in which Hammer also claimed Too Big was the "King of Hype" and in an unspoken competition with Flavor Flav (hype man for Public Enemy) during the height of their careers.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer also established a children's foundation, which first started in Hammer's own community, called Help The Children (HTC was named after and based on his song by the same name which included a music video with a storyline from his film "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em: The Movie").


title: MC Hammer

text: A Sesame Street segment features Elmo taking on the persona of M.C. Hammer; nicknaming himself "MC Elmo" and along with two backup singers they rap a song about the number five called "Five Jive".


title: MC Hammer

text: In 1994, British TV presenter Mark Lamarr interrupted Hammer repeatedly with Hammer's catch phrase ("Stop! Hammer Time!") in an interview filmed for "The Word", which he took in good humor. He claimed Hammer was a "living legend". It was also within this interview that Hammer explained the truth about his relationship with "gangsta rap" and that he was merely changing with the times, not holding onto his old image nor becoming a "hardcore gangsta". By some accounts, this change contributed to his decline in popularity.


title: MC Hammer

text: In 2005, Hammer appeared in a commercial for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company which made a humorous reference to his career. First he is shown in his distinctive clothing with his dance troupe performing "U Can't Touch This" in front of a mansion representative of his former house with a monogram H on the gable. Then there is silence and a screen card saying "Fifteen Minutes Later" appears with a view of Hammer sadly sitting on the curb in front of the same house as a crane removes the monogram H and tow trucks pull away sports cars that were parked in front. After a large "Foreclosed" sign appears, the voice-over said "Life comes at you fast. Be ready with Nationwide!"


title: MC Hammer

text: In 2006, M.C. Hammer's music catalog (approximately 40,000 songs) was sold to the music company Evergreen/BMG for nearly $3 million. Evergreen explained that the collection was "some of the best-selling and most popular rap songs of all time." Speaking for Evergreen Copyrights, David Schulhof stated the songs "will emerge as a perfect fit for licensing in movies, television shows, and corporate advertising." According to VH1, "Hammer was on the money. Hit singles and videos like "U Can't Touch This" and "Too Legit To Quit" created a template of lavish performance values that many rap artists still follow today."


title: MC Hammer

text: In March 2009, Ellen DeGeneres made plans for Hammer to be on her show ("The Ellen DeGeneres Show") after he contacted her via Twitter.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer continued to give media interviews, such as being a guest on "Chelsea Lately" on June 16, 2009. There he discussed his relationship with Vanilla Ice, his stint on "The Surreal Life", his show "Hammertime", his family, his mansion, about him being in shape, his positive financial status and other "colorful topics" (subliminal jokes) regarding his baggy pants.


title: MC Hammer

text: In 2010, Rick Ross released "MC Hammer" from the "Teflon Don" album which samples Hammer's "2 Legit 2 Quit".


title: MC Hammer

text: To celebrate Hammer's 50th birthday, San Francisco game maker Zynga offered up some recent player's "Draw Something" drawings from his fans. Other sources/services offered "props" on behalf of his special occasion and to show appreciation for his memorable persona/gimmicks used during the peak of his career.


title: MC Hammer

text: In 2012, Slaughterhouse released a single called "Hammer Dance", along with a video. "Hammer Dance" was the from the "" album.


title: MC Hammer

text: During the 2013 Oakland Athletics season, the "2 Legit 2 Quit" music video played on the Diamond Vision in between innings, usually during the middle of the 8th inning. The video featured prominent players from the San Francisco Bay Area's sports championships, such as former A's players Jose Canseco and hall of fame inductee Rickey Henderson.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer appeared in a Cheetos commercial during the Super Bowl in 2020, the 30th anniversary of "U Can't Touch This".


title: MC Hammer

text: M.C. Hammer's career in rap and entertainment has influenced and been influenced by such artists as: Kool Moe Dee; Big Daddy Kane; James Brown; Prince; Michael Jackson; Kurtis Blow; Earth, Wind & Fire; Rick James; Doug E. Fresh, who joined Hammer's Bust It Records label in 1992 and issued the album "Doin' What I Gotta Do" with the track "Bustin' Out (On Funk)" sampling the Rick James single "Bustin' Out"; Run-DMC; and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer was followed by related musicians such as Will Smith, dc Talk, BB Jay, Diddy (aka "Puffy" or "Puff Daddy"), Young MC, B Angie B, M.C. Brains, MC Breed, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, C+C Music Factory, Mystikal, Bell Biv DeVoe, Kris Kross, Ho Frat Hoo!, and Oaktown's 357.


title: MC Hammer

text: Some critics complained of a lack of originality in Hammer's early productions. "Entertainment Weekly" described "U Can't Touch This" as 'shamelessly copying its propulsive riff from Rick James ("Super Freak"). Hammer admits, "When I look at Puffy with a choir, I say, 'Sure that's a take-off of what I do."


title: MC Hammer

text: Notable feuds and beefs Hammer had with other rappers included: LL Cool J, Vanilla Ice, Too Short, Redman, 3rd Bass, Jay-Z, Eminem, A Tribe Called Quest, and Run-DMC. Several diss tracks were featured on his albums, including "Let's Get It Started" and "The Funky Headhunter".


title: MC Hammer

text: Throughout the years, Hammer has been awarded for his music, videos and choreography. He has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. He has won three Grammy Awards (one with Rick James and Alonzo Miller) for Best Rhythm and Blues Song (1990), Best Rap Solo (1990) and Best Music Video: Long Form (1990) taken from "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em: The Movie". He also received eight American Music Awards, a People's Choice Award, an NAACP Image Awards and the "Billboard" Diamond Award (the first for a hip hop artist).


title: MC Hammer

text: The International Album of the Year validated Hammer's talent as a world-class entertainer. Additionally, Hammer was also honored with a Soul Train Music Award (Sammy Davis, Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year) in 1991. He has also been a presenter/performer at Soul Train's Music Awards several times, including The 5th Annual Soul Train Music Awards (1991), The 9th Annual Soul Train Music Awards (1995) and Soul Train's 25th Anniversary (1995).


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer appeared on gospel music's Stellar Awards show in 1997 and spoke of his renewed commitment to God. In the same interview, he promised to unveil the "second leg" of his career.


title: MC Hammer

text: During the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Hammer made a surprise appearance in the middle of the show with best friend Jermaine Jackson.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer gave his support to Warren Beatty by attending the 36th AFI Life Achievement Awards on June 12, 2008. In August 2008, at the World Hip Hop Dance Championship, Hammer won a Living Legends of Hip Hop Award from Hip Hop International in Las Vegas.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer, Gary Vaynerchuk, Shaquille O'Neal and Rick Sanchez (host) celebrated the Best of Twitter in Brooklyn at the first Shorty Awards on February 11, 2009, which honored the top short-form content creators on Twitter. In September 2009, Hammer made the "accomplishment appearance" in "Zombie Apocalypse" for the downloadable "Smash TV"/"Left 4 Dead" hybrid for the Xbox 360. Hammer attended the 2009 Soul Train Music Awards which aired on BET November 29, 2009.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer (along with Alyssa Milano and others) was a member of panel judges for the Real-Time Academy of Short Form Arts & Sciences at the Second Annual Shorty Awards on January 5, 2010. Hammer opened the 2010 BET Hip Hop Awards performing "2 Legit 2 Quit" in Atlanta along with Rick Ross, Diddy and DJ Khaled (all performing together during "MC Hammer" from the "Teflon Don" album as well) on October 2 (televised October 12).


title: MC Hammer

text: With over 2.6 million Twitter followers in 2010, his contribution to social media and as a co-founder of his own Internet businesses (such as DanceJam.com), Hammer was announced as the recipient of the first Gravity Summit Social Media Marketer of the Year Award. The award was presented to him at the 3rd Annual Gravity Summit on February 22, 2011 at the UCLA Covel Commons.


title: MC Hammer

text: At the 40th American Music Awards in November 2012, Hammer danced to a mashup of "Gangnam Style" and "2 Legit 2 Quit" along with South Korean pop star Psy, both wearing his signature Hammer pants. The collaboration was released on iTunes. The performance idea with Hammer came from Psy's management. They both performed it together again during "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" on December 31, 2012.


title: MC Hammer

text: Hammer received the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement (not to be mistaken for the Gershwin Prize), presented during the UCLA Spring Sing in Pauley Pavilion on May 17, 2013.


title: MC Hammer

text: Notable tours and concerts include: A Spring Affair Tour (1989), Summer Jam '89 (1989), Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em World Tour (1990 & 1991), Lawlor Events Center at University of Nevada, Reno (1990-2017), Too Legit World Tour (1992), Red, White and Boom (2003), The Bamboozle Festival (2007), Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (2008–2013), McKay Events Center with Vanilla Ice (2009), Illinois State Fair with Boyz II Men (2011), MusicFest (2012), Jack's Seventh Show at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (2012), Kool & the Gang Superjam at Outside Lands (2014) and Hammer's All-star House Party Tour (2019).


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a border war fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1978, which ended the rule of the Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge. Both China and Vietnam claimed victory in the last of the Indochina Wars.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Chinese forces invaded northern Vietnam and captured several cities near the border. On 6 March 1979, China declared that the gate to Hanoi was open and that their punitive mission had been achieved. Chinese troops then withdrew from Vietnam. As Vietnamese troops remained in Cambodia until 1989, China was unsuccessful in its goal of dissuading Vietnam from involvement in Cambodia. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Sino-Vietnamese border was finalized. Although unable to deter Vietnam from ousting Pol Pot from Cambodia, China demonstrated that its Cold War communist adversary, the Soviet Union, was unable to protect its Vietnamese ally.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The Sino-Vietnamese War is known by various names in Chinese and Vietnamese. The neutral names for the war are (Sino-Vietnamese war) in Chinese and (Vietnamese-Chinese border war) in Vietnamese. The Chinese government refers to the war as the "Self-defensive war against Vietnam" () or the "Self-defensive counterattack against Vietnam" (). The Vietnamese government calls it the "War against Chinese expansionism" ().


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Just as the First Indochina War—which emerged from the complex situation following World War II—and the Vietnam War both exploded from the unresolved aftermath of political relations, the Third Indochina War again followed the unresolved problems of the earlier wars.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The major allied victors of World War II, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union, all agreed that the area belonged to the French. As the French did not have the means to immediately retake Indochina, the major powers agreed that the British would take control and troops would occupy the south while Nationalist Chinese forces would move in from the north. Nationalist Chinese troops entered the country to disarm Japanese troops north of the 16th parallel on 14 September 1945. The parallel divided Indochina into Chinese and British controlled zones (see Timeline of World War II (1945)). The British landed in the south rearming the small body of interned French forces as well as parts of the surrendered Japanese forces to aid in retaking southern Vietnam, as there were not enough British troops immediately available.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: On the urging of the Soviet Union, Ho Chi Minh initially attempted to negotiate with the French, who were slowly reestablishing their control across the area, although still under British control until hostilities had ceased. Once hostilities had ended, the British handed over the territory to the French. In January 1946, the Viet Minh won elections across central and northern Vietnam. On 6 March 1946, Ho signed an agreement allowing French forces to replace Nationalist Chinese forces, in exchange for French recognition of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as a "free" republic within the French Union, with the specifics of such recognition to be determined by future negotiation. British forces departed on 26 March 1946, leaving Vietnam in the control of the French. The French landed in Hanoi by March 1946 and in November of that year they ousted the Viet Minh from the city. Soon thereafter, the Viet Minh began a guerrilla war against the French Union forces, beginning the first Indochina War.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Vietnam first became a French colony when France invaded in 1858. By the 1880s, the French had expanded their sphere of influence in Southeast Asia to include all of Vietnam, and by 1893 both Laos and Cambodia had become French colonies as well. Rebellions against French colonial power were common up to World War I. The European war heightened revolutionary sentiment in Southeast Asia, and the independence-minded population rallied around revolutionaries such as Hồ Chí Minh and others, including royalists.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Prior to their attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese occupied French Indochina, but left civil administration to the Vichy French administration. On 9 March 1945, fearing that the Vichy French were about to switch sides to support the Allies, the Japanese overthrew the Vichy administration and forces taking control of Indochina and establishing their own puppet administration, the Empire of Vietnam. The Japanese surrender in August 1945 created a power vacuum in Indochina, as the various political factions scrambled for control.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The events leading to the First Indochina War are subject to historical dispute. When the Việt Minh hastily sought to establish the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the remaining French acquiesced while waiting for the return of French forces to the region. The Kuomintang supported French restoration, but Viet Minh efforts towards independence were helped by Chinese communists under the Soviet Union's influence. The Soviet Union at first indirectly supported Vietnamese communists, but later directly supported Hồ Chí Minh. The Soviets nonetheless remained less supportive than China until after the Sino-Soviet split, during the time of Leonid Brezhnev when the Soviet Union became communist Vietnam's key ally.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The war itself involved numerous events that had major impacts throughout Indochina. Two major conferences were held to bring about a resolution. Finally, on 20 July 1954, the Geneva Conference resulted in a political settlement to reunite the country, signed with support from China, the Soviet Union, and Western European powers. While the Soviet Union played a constructive role in the agreement, it again was not as involved as China. The U.S. did not sign the agreement and swiftly moved to back South Vietnam.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The Chinese Communist Party and the Viet Minh had a long history. During the initial stages of the First Indochina War with France, the recently founded communist People's Republic of China continued the Soviet mission to expand communism. Therefore, they aided the Viet Minh and became the connector between Soviets and the Viet Minh. In early 1950, the Viet Minh fought independently from the Chinese Military Advisory Group under Wei Guoqing. This was one of the reasons for China to cut the arms support for the Viet Minh.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: After the death of Joseph Stalin in March 1953, relations between the Soviet Union and China began to deteriorate. Mao Zedong believed the new Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had made a serious error in his Secret Speech denouncing Stalin in February 1956, and criticized the Soviet Union's interpretation of Marxism–Leninism, in particular Khrushchev's support for peaceful co-existence and its interpretation. This led to increasingly hostile relations, and eventually the Sino-Soviet split. From here, Chinese communists played a decreasing role in helping their former allies because the Viet Minh did not support China against the Soviets.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Following worsening relations between the Soviet Union and China as a result of the Sino-Soviet split of 1956–1966, as many as 1.5 million Chinese troops were stationed along the Sino-Soviet border in preparation for a full-scale war against the Soviets.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Vietnam antagonized China by increasing its alignment with the Soviet Union by joining the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance and signing the Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation with the Soviet Union, which had the Soviet Union pledge to aid Vietnam if attacked.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Following the death of Mao in September 1976, the overthrow of the Gang of Four and the ascent of Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leadership revised its own positions to become compatible with market aspects, denounce the Cultural Revolution, and collaborate with the US against the Soviet Union.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: As France withdrew from a provisionally divided Vietnam in late 1954, the United States increasingly stepped in to support the South Vietnamese leaders due to the Domino theory, which theorized that if one nation would turn to communism, the surrounding nations were likely to fall like dominoes and become communist as well. The Soviet Union and North Vietnam became important allies together due to the fact that if South Vietnam was successfully taken over by North Vietnam, then communism in the far east would find its strategic position bolstered. In the eyes of the People's Republic of China, the growing Soviet-Vietnamese relationship was a disturbing development; they feared an encirclement by the less-than-hospitable Soviet sphere of influence.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The United States and the Soviet Union could not agree on a plan for a proposed 1956 election meant to unify the partitioned Vietnam. Instead, the South held a separate election that was widely considered fraudulent, leading to continued internal conflict with communist factions led by the Viet Cong that intensified through the late 1950s. With supplies and support from the Soviet Union, North Vietnamese forces became directly involved in the ongoing guerrilla war by 1959 and openly invaded the South in 1964.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The United States played an ever-increasing role in supporting South Vietnam through the period. The U.S. had supported French forces in the First Indochina War, sent supplies and military advisers to South Vietnam throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, and eventually took over most of the fighting against both North Vietnam and the Viet Cong by the mid-1960s. By 1968, over 500,000 American troops were involved in the Vietnam War. Due to a lack of clear military success and facing increasingly strident opposition to the war in the U.S., American forces began a slow withdrawal in 1969 while attempting to bolster South Vietnam's military so that they could take over the fighting. In accordance with the Paris Peace Accords by 29 March 1973 all U.S. combat forces had left South Vietnam, however North Vietnamese combat forces were allowed to remain in place. North Vietnam attacked South Vietnam in early 1975 and South Vietnam fell on 30 April 1975.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The People's Republic of China started talks with the United States in the early 1970s, culminating in high level meetings with Henry Kissinger and later Richard Nixon. These meetings contributed to a re-orientation of Chinese foreign policy toward the United States.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Although the Vietnamese Communists and the Khmer Rouge had previously cooperated, the relationship deteriorated when Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot came to power and established Democratic Kampuchea on 17 April 1975. The People's Republic of China, on the other hand, also supported the Maoist Khmer Rouge against Lon Nol's regime during the Cambodian Civil War and its subsequent take-over of Cambodia. China provided extensive political, logistical and military support for the Khmer Rouge during its rule. After numerous clashes along the border between Vietnam and Cambodia, and with encouragement from Khmer Rouge defectors fleeing purges of the Eastern Zone, Vietnam invaded Cambodia on 25 December 1978. By 7 January 1979 Vietnamese forces had entered Phnom Penh and the Khmer Rouge leadership had fled to western Cambodia.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The fall of the Khmer Rogue was not a surprise, but from China's perspective, Vietnam's occupation of Cambodia threatened China's interests on the Indochina peninsula and its position among non-communist ASEAN states of Southeast Asia. Members of ASEAN saw Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia as a blatant violation of international borders and an act of aggression.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: China supported the ethnic minority United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races against Vietnam during the FULRO insurgency against Vietnam.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The Vietnamese government also began persecuting overseas Chinese living in Vietnam in the late 1970s. Vietnamese authorities confiscated property owned by overseas Chinese, and expelled many Chinese from Vietnam and to a number of provinces in southern China.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The Chinese received a significant number of defectors from the Thu Lao ethnic minority in Vietnam during the war. During the war China received as migrants the entire A Lù based population of the Phù Lá ethnic minority. China received so many defectors from the ethnic minorities in Vietnam that it raised shock among Vietnam which had to launch a new effort to re-assert dominance over the ethnic minorities and classify them. Post Vietnam War, insurgency against Vietnam lasted among the indigenous Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesians of the Central Highlands. Assistance was sought from China by the Hmong ethnic minority. The border was frequently crossed by Chinese, Lao, Kinh, Hmong, Yao, Nung, and Tai. The Laotian Hmong and FULRO were both supported against Vietnam by China and Thailand.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: China, now under Deng Xiaoping, was starting the Chinese economic reform and opening trade with the West, in turn, growing increasingly defiant of the Soviet Union. On 3 November 1978, the Soviet Union and Vietnam signed a 25-year mutual defense treaty, which made Vietnam the "linchpin" in the Soviet Union's "drive to contain China." However, the Soviet Union had shifted from open animosity towards more normalized relations with China soon after.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: On 29 January 1979, Chinese Vice-premier Deng Xiaoping visited the United States for the first time and told American president Jimmy Carter: "The child is getting naughty, it is time he got spanked" (). On 15 February, the first day that China could have officially announced the termination of the 1950 Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance, Deng Xiaoping declared that China planned to conduct a limited attack on Vietnam. Thus, he further developed China's burgeoning cooperation with the United States against the Soviet Union and would take a similar stance later regarding Afghanistan.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The reason cited for the attack was to support China's ally, the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia, in addition to the mistreatment of Vietnam's ethnic Chinese minority and the Vietnamese occupation of the Spratly Islands which were claimed by China. To prevent Soviet intervention on Vietnam's behalf, Deng warned Moscow the next day that China was prepared for a full-scale war against the Soviet Union; in preparation for this conflict, China put all of its troops along the Sino-Soviet border on an emergency war alert, set up a new military command in Xinjiang, and even evacuated an estimated 300,000 civilians from the Sino-Soviet border. In addition, the bulk of China's active forces (as many as one-and-a-half million troops) were stationed along China's border with the Soviet Union.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Although the People's Liberation Army vastly outnumbered the Vietnamese forces, the Soviet-Vietnamese alliance compelled the Chinese to deploy the majority of their forces along China's northern frontier with the Soviet Union (as well as, to a lesser extent, Soviet-allied Mongolia) as a deterrent to Soviet intervention.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The Chinese force that engaged the Vietnamese consisted of units from the Kunming Military Region, Chengdu Military Region, Wuhan Military Region and Guangzhou Military Region, but commanded by the headquarters of Kunming Military Region on the western front and Guangzhou Military Region in the eastern front.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The Vietnamese government claimed they only had a force of about 70,000 including several army regular divisions in its northern area. However, the Chinese estimates indicate more than twice this number. Some Vietnamese forces used American military equipment captured during the Vietnam War.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: 1st Military Region: commanded by Major General Đàm Quang Trung, responsible for the defense at Northeast region.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: 2nd Military Region: commanded by Major General Vu Lap, responsible for the defense at Northwest region.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The Vietnam People's Air Force did not participate in the combat directly, instead they provided support to the ground troops, transported troops from Cambodia to northern Vietnam as well as performed reconnaissance purposes.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: On 17 February 1979, a People's Liberation Army (PLA) force of about 200,000 troops supported by 200 Type 59, Type 62, and Type 63 tanks entered northern Vietnam in the PLA's first major combat operation since the end of the Korean War in 1953.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Vietnam quickly mobilized all its main forces in Cambodia, southern Vietnam and central Vietnam to the northern border. From 18 to 25 February, the 327th Infantry Division of Military District 3 and the 337th Infantry Division of Military District 4 were deployed to join Military District 1 for the defense of northwestern region. From 6 to 11 March the Second Corp (Huong Giang Corp) stationed in Cambodia was deployed back to Hanoi.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The 372nd Air Division in central Vietnam as well as the 917th, 935th and 937th Air Regiments in southern Vietnam were quickly deployed to the north.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The PLA quickly advanced about 15–20 kilometres into Vietnam, with fighting mainly occurring in the provinces of Cao Bằng, Lào Cai and Lạng Sơn. The Vietnamese avoided mobilizing their regular divisions, and held back some 300,000 troops for the defence of Hanoi. The People's Army of Vietnam (VPA) tried to avoid direct combat and often used guerrilla tactics.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The initial PLA attack soon lost its momentum and a new attack wave was sent in with eight PLA divisions joining the battle. After capturing the northern heights above Lạng Sơn, the PLA surrounded and paused in front of the city in order to lure the VPA into reinforcing it with units from Cambodia. This was the main strategic ploy in the Chinese war plan as Deng did not want to risk escalating tensions with the Soviet Union. After three days of bloody house-to-house fighting, Lạng Sơn fell on 6 March. The PLA then took the southern heights above Lạng Sơn and occupied Sa Pa. The PLA claimed to have crushed several of the VPA regular units. Supporting attacks were also conducted by the PLA at Quảng Ninh Province in the Battle of Mong Cai and Battle of Cao Ba Lanh but were unsuccessful.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: According to Vietnam, since January 1979 Chinese forces performed numerous reconnaissance activities across the border and made 230 violations into Vietnamese land. To prepare for a possible Chinese invasion, the Central Military Committee of the Communist Party ordered all armed forces across the border to be on stand-by mode.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: On 6 March, China declared that the gate to Hanoi was open and that their punitive mission had been achieved. During the withdrawal, the PLA used a scorched-earth policy, destroying local infrastructure and looting useful equipment and resources (including livestock), this severely weakened the economy of Vietnam's northernmost provinces. The PLA crossed the border back into China on 16 March. Both sides declared victory with China claiming to have crushed the Vietnamese resistance and Vietnam claiming to have repelled the invasion using mostly border militias. Henry J. Kenny, a research scientist for US Center for Naval Analyses, noted most Western writers agree that while Vietnam outperformed the PLA on the battlefield, the PLA's seizure of Lang Son did allow the Chinese the option of moving into the Red River Delta and thence into Hanoi. However, Kenny also mentions that Lang Son is farther from Hanoi than it is from the Chinese border, and at least 5 PAVN divisions in the delta remained ready for a counterattack and thirty thousand additional PAVN troops from Cambodia along with several regiments from Laos were moving to their support. Thus, had the PLA decided to attack Hanoi, the PLA would have suffered huge losses.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The Soviet Union, although it did not take direct military action, provided intelligence and equipment support for Vietnam. A large airlift was established by the Soviet Union to move Vietnamese troops from Cambodia to Northern Vietnam. Moscow also provided a total of 400 tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs), 500 mortar artillery and air defense artillery, 50 BM-21 rocket launchers, 400 portable surface-to-air missiles, 800 anti-tank missiles and 20 jet fighters. About 5,000 to 8,000 Soviet military advisers were present in Vietnam in 1979 to train Vietnamese soldiers.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: During the Sino-Vietnamese War, the Soviet Union deployed troops at the Sino-Soviet border and Mongolian-Chinese border as an act of showing support to Vietnam, as well as tying up Chinese troops. However, the Soviets refused to take any direct action to defend their ally.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The Soviet Pacific Fleet also deployed 15 ships to the Vietnamese coast to relay Chinese battlefield communications to Vietnamese forces.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: While the Soviet Union deployed naval vessels and supplied materiel to Vietnam, they felt that there was simply no way that they could directly support Vietnam against China; the distances were too great to be an effective ally, and any sort of reinforcements would have to cross territory controlled by China or U.S. allies. The only realistic option would be to restart the unresolved border conflict with China. Vietnam was important to Soviet policy but not enough for the Soviets to go to war over. When Moscow did not intervene, Beijing publicly proclaimed that the Soviet Union had broken its numerous promises to assist Vietnam.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Another reason why Moscow did not intervene was because Beijing had promised both Moscow and Washington that the invasion was only a limited war, and that Chinese forces would withdraw after a short incursion. After moderation by the U.S., Moscow decided to adopt a "wait and see" approach to see if Beijing would actually limit their offense. Deng Xiaoping, because Vietnam's anti-air capabilities were among the best in the world at the time and in order to reassure Moscow it was conducting a limited war, ordered the Chinese navy and air force to remain out of the war; only limited support was provided by the air force. When Beijing kept its promise, Moscow did not retaliate.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: China and Vietnam each lost thousands of troops, and China lost 3.45 billion yuan in overhead, which delayed completion of their 1979–80 economic plan. Following the war, the Vietnamese leadership took various repressive measures to deal with the problem of real or potential collaboration. In the spring of 1979, the authorities expelled approximately 8,000 Hoa people from Hanoi to the southern "New Economic Zones", and partially resettled the Hmong tribes and other ethnic minorities from the northernmost provinces. In response to the defection of Hoàng Văn Hoan, the Communist Party of Vietnam removed from its ranks pro-Chinese elements and persons who had surrendered to the advancing Chinese troops during the war. In 1979, a total of 20,468 members were expelled from the party.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: After the invasion, Vietnam created a puppet government in Cambodia led by Heng Samrin. Samrin was obligated to consult with the Vietnamese on major decisions. Although Vietnam continued to occupy Cambodia, China successfully mobilized international opposition to the occupation, rallying such leaders as Cambodia's deposed king Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodian anticommunist leader Son Sann, and high-ranking members of the Khmer Rouge to deny the pro-Vietnamese Cambodian People's Party in Cambodia diplomatic recognition beyond the Soviet bloc. China improved relations with ASEAN by promising protection to Thailand and Singapore against "Vietnamese aggression". In contrast, Vietnam's decreasing prestige in the region led it to be more dependent on the Soviet Union, to which it leased a naval base at Cam Ranh Bay. On 1 March 2005, Howard W. French wrote in "The New York Times": Some historians stated that "the war was started by Mr. Deng (China's then paramount leader Deng Xiaoping) to keep the army preoccupied while he consolidated power..."


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Despite using a force that did not see major combat since the early 1950s and whose weaponry was inferior to the Vietnamese forces, the PLA was considered to have fought well. The PLA pushed Vietnamese forces from the border and succeeded in severely damaging the area they occupied.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: After the war, border skirmishes at the Chinese-Vietnamese border continued; the Vietnamese government intensified its discriminatory policies against the Chinese community in Vietnam; and the Vietnamese were not deterred from maintaining their occupation of Cambodia, and increasing its control over Laos and threatening the security of Thailand, making Vietnam a greater threat to ASEAN than before.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: However, China caused Vietnam to suffer from serious economic and military hardship by threatening to launch a second invasion, and by supporting Pol Pot guerrillas in Cambodia. The Vietnamese government had to spend money on maintaining a military presence at the Chinese-Vietnamese border, and on supporting its puppet government in Cambodia. Vietnam's scarce resources were drained, and economic conditions were bad throughout Vietnam.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The number of casualties during the war is disputed. Shortly after China had announced the withdrawal of its troops from Vietnam, the state-run Vietnam News Agency claimed that the PLA had suffered over 44,000 casualties, a figure which Western analysts at the time considered to be greatly inflated. Other Vietnamese sources claimed the PLA had suffered 62,500 total casualties, including 550 military vehicles, and 115 artillery pieces destroyed; while Chinese democracy activist Wei Jingsheng told western media in 1980 that the Chinese troops had suffered 9,000 dead and about 10,000 wounded during the war. Leaks from Chinese military sources indicate that China suffered 6,954 dead.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Deputy chief of the General Staff Wu Xiuquan revealed in a meeting with a French military delegation that Vietnam suffered 50,000 casualties, whereas China had suffered 20,000 casualties. Regardless of the accuracy of the Vietnamese casualties, it can be concluded that the Chinese losses were severe, according to Daniel Tretiak.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Like their Chinese counterparts, the Vietnamese government has never officially announced any information on its actual military casualties. China estimated that Vietnam lost 57,000 soldiers and 70,000 militia members during the war. The Vietnamese state newspaper "Nhân Dân" claimed that Vietnam suffered more than 10,000 civilian deaths during the Chinese invasion and earlier on 17 May 1979, reported statistics on heavy losses of industry and agricultural properties.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The Chinese held 1,636 Vietnamese prisoners and the Vietnamese held 238 Chinese prisoners; they were exchanged in May–June 1979.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The 238 Chinese soldiers surrendered after getting separated from their main unit during the withdrawal from Vietnam and became surrounded by Vietnamese. After surrendering, they were transferred by the Vietnamese soldiers to a prison. The Chinese prisoners reported that they were subjected to torturous and inhumane treatment, such as being blindfolded and having their bodies bound and restrained with metal wire.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: Border skirmishes continued throughout the 1980s, including a significant skirmish in April 1984 and a naval battle over the Spratly Islands in 1988 known as the Johnson South Reef Skirmish. Armed conflict only ended in 1989 after the Vietnamese agreed to fully withdraw from Cambodia. Both nations planned the normalization of their relations in a secret summit in Chengdu in September 1990, and officially normalized ties in November 1991.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: In 1999, after many years of negotiations, China and Vietnam signed a border pact. There was an adjustment of the land border, resulting in Vietnam giving China part of its land which was lost during the battle, including the Ai Nam Quan Gate which served as the traditional border marker and entry point between Vietnam and China, which caused widespread frustration within Vietnamese communities.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The December 2007 announcement of a plan to build a Hanoi–Kunming highway was a landmark in Sino-Vietnamese relations. The road will traverse the border that once served as a battleground. It is predicted to contribute to demilitarizing the border region, as well as facilitating trade and industrial cooperation between the nations.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: There are a number of Chinese songs, movies and TV programs depicting and discussing this conflict from the Chinese viewpoint. These vary from the patriotic song "Bloodstained Glory" originally written to laud the sacrifice and service of the Chinese military, to the 1986 film "The Big Parade" which carried veiled criticism of the war. The 1984 Xie Jin film "Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain" was the earliest mainland China film to depict the war, although its narrative was that the Chinese were on the defensive after Vietnamese attacked the Chinese border first with the objective of Nanning. The male protagonist of the television series "Candle in the Tomb" was a veteran of conflict. The 2017 Chinese movie "Youth" covers the period of the Sino-Vietnamese conflict from the perspective of the larger cultural changes taking place in China during that period of time.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The war was mentioned in the film "Đất mẹ" ("Motherland") directed by Hải Ninh in 1980 and "Thị xã trong tầm tay" ("Town at the Fingertips") directed by Đặng Nhật Minh in 1982. Besides in 1982, a documentary film called "Hoa đưa hương nơi đất anh nằm" ("Flowers over Your Grave") was directed by Truong Thanh, the film told a story of a Japanese journalist who died during the war.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: During the war, there were numerous patriotic songs produced to boost the nationalism of Vietnamese people, including "Chiến đấu vì độc lập tự do" ("Fight for Independence and Freedom") composed by Phạm Tuyên, "Lời tạm biệt lúc lên đường" ("Farewell When Leaving") by Vu Trong Hoi, "40 thế kỷ cùng ra trận" ("40 Centuries We Fought Side By Side") by Hong Dang, "Những đôi mắt mang hình viên đạn" ("The Eyes Shaped Like Bullets") by Tran Tien and "Hát về anh" (Sing for you) by The Hien.


title: Sino-Vietnamese War

text: The Sino-Vietnamese War also appeared in some novels such as: "Đêm tháng Hai" ("Night of February") written by Chu Lai in 1979 and "Chân dung người hàng xóm" ("Portrait of My Neighbors") written by Duong Thu Huong in 1979.


title: Omori (video game)

text: Omori is a 2020 role-playing video game developed and published by indie studio Omocat. In the story, the player controls a boy named Sunny and his dream world alter-ego Omori. They explore both the real world and a surreal dream world to overcome their fears and secrets. How they interact depends on choices made by the player, resulting in one of several endings. The game's turn-based battle system includes unconventional status effects based on the characters' emotions. Prominently featuring concepts such as anxiety, depression and trauma, the game has psychological horror elements.


title: Omori (video game)

text: The game is based on the director's webcomic series. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the game was delayed numerous times and experienced several development difficulties. It was eventually released for Windows and macOS in December 2020, six years after its initial funding. It would also see a release on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 4 with added content in June 2022. "Omori" was acclaimed by critics, who lauded it for its graphics, narrative elements, soundtrack, and depiction of anxiety and depression. The game was favorably compared to games such as "EarthBound" and "Yume Nikki", and went on to be nominated for several awards, winning DreamHack's "Daringly Dramatic" category in 2021.


title: Omori (video game)

text: "Omori"'s gameplay is inspired by traditional Japanese role-playing games. The gameplay is split between two settings, Headspace and Faraway Town. In Headspace, the player controls a party of four characters: Omori, Aubrey, Kel, and Hero. In Faraway, the player begins with only Sunny, and slowly gains party members as he reconnects with his friends. Each party member possesses their own unique skills for use both in battle and in overworld traversal.


title: Omori (video game)

text: The overworld portion is played from a top-down perspective. The game features side quests and puzzles for the player to solve, bestowing them with various rewards and skills upon completion. In Headspace, many beneficial weapons and items can be obtained, with some being purchasable using Headspace's currency, Clams. In Faraway, the currency is dollars, and most found or purchasable items have little practical use outside of progressing the story.


title: Omori (video game)

text: Battles are played out in a turn-based format in which each party member performs a move. After attacking, party members can work together to perform "follow up" attacks. Follow ups use "Energy," a collective resource which starts at 3 at the start of each battle, and is gained when a party member takes damage, up to a maximum of 10. Characters and enemies have Heart, which functions as health points; if damage is taken, it decreases, and if it reaches zero, the character is defeated and turns into toast. The Juice meter is used to perform skills, special abilities which aid in battle. Outside of battle, the party can heal and save by encountering a picnic blanket, associated with Omori's older sister Mari.


title: Omori (video game)

text: Unlike most role-playing games, status effects are based on a three-pointed emotion system. A party member or opponent's emotion can change throughout the course of a battle, usually due to moves by another party member or enemy. Neutral is the baseline and has no effects; Angry increases attack but lowers defense; Sad increases defense but lowers speed, as well as converting a portion of damage to Heart into damage to Juice; and Happy increases luck and speed but lowers accuracy. Emotions are either strong or weak against each other – Happy beats Angry, Angry beats Sad, and Sad beats Happy. Additionally, higher-intensity variants of each emotion also exist.


title: Omori (video game)

text: The titular main character, Omori, awakens in "White Space", a barren, infinitely-looping white void he has lived in "for as long as [he] can remember". He enters a door to the vibrant world of "Headspace", where he meets his friends, Aubrey, Kel, Hero, Basil and his older sister Mari. They look through their shared memories through Basil's photo album and then decide to visit his house, with Mari staying behind. Along the way Kel and Aubrey scuffle, damaging the album. When the kids arrive, Basil comes across an unfamiliar photo from the album and panics. Omori is suddenly teleported back to White Space alone. He stabs himself with his knife, revealing the previous events to be the dreams of a teenage boy, Sunny.


title: Omori (video game)

text: Waking up in bed, the player discovers that Sunny is moving out in three days. He goes downstairs for a midnight snack, but is confronted by a nightmarish hallucination symbolizing his fear. He is able to dispel it by taking deep breaths and returns to bed. Awakening once again in White Space, Omori reunites with Aubrey, Kel, and Hero. They discover that Basil has gone missing and set out to rescue him. The four explore the various regions of Headspace in search of Basil, with Mari assisting along the way. The group is continuously diverted from their search by various situations, leading their memory of Basil to gradually fade away.


title: Omori (video game)

text: Meanwhile, in the real world, Mari had committed suicide four years ago, which led to the friend group diverging. Although Kel and Hero have managed to recover to a limited degree, Sunny became an estranged shut-in (hikikomori), Aubrey left after feeling betrayed and angry by the group's apparent indifference to Mari's death, and Basil became neurotic and paranoid. Kel knocks on Sunny's door in an attempt to reconnect one last time before he moves away. The player can either ignore Kel or answer the door: if they choose the former, Sunny stays inside for the remaining three days, immersing himself in housework and his dreams, kick starting the "Hikikomori" route.


title: Omori (video game)

text: If the latter option is chosen, Sunny and Kel venture outside to find Aubrey and her new friends bullying Basil. The two find out that she had stolen Basil's real-life photo album, ostensibly to stop him from vandalizing it. After fighting Aubrey again they retrieve the album and return it to Basil, though some photos are missing. As he believes Sunny needs it more, he lends the album to him. While eating dinner together, Basil becomes mortified as he learns of Sunny's impending departure and rushes to the bathroom. Sunny finds him in the midst of a hallucinatory panic attack similar to his own, but refuses to help despite his distress. The next day, Kel and Sunny find Aubrey's gang surrounding Basil in their old hangout spot; after confronting her, she pushes Basil into a lake out of frustration. Sunny dives in to rescue Basil despite not knowing how to swim, and the two are saved from drowning by the arrival of Hero. In headspace, Omori and his friends return to Basil's now-dilapidated house. Omori jumps through a hole in the floor into the more disturbing "Black Space". Basil appears many times within it, repeatedly attempting to talk to him about something before dying gruesomely. In the final room, Omori kills Basil and places himself atop a throne of massive, red hands.


title: Omori (video game)

text: On the last day before Sunny's departure, the others reconcile with Aubrey and find the missing photos. Coming to terms with Mari's death, they decide to spend their final night together in Basil's house, despite him refusing to leave his room. In his sleep, Sunny confronts the truth in his dreams: in an argument before their recital, he accidentally pushed Mari down their staircase, killing her. In denial that Sunny did it, Basil helped him frame the death as suicide by hanging her corpse. As they left, they glanced at Mari's body and saw an open eye staring back at them, shaping their subsequent hallucinations. While Basil was consumed by guilt and self-loathing, Sunny's suicidal depression made him create Headspace and his dream persona Omori to repress his trauma. To hide the truth, Omori reset Headspace every time memories of the incident escaped from Black Space. Sunny then wakes up in the middle of the night, leaving the player with the choice of either confronting Basil or falling back to sleep.


title: Omori (video game)

text: If the player chooses to confront Basil, the latter cordially greets Sunny in his room. However, he quickly loses his temper over Sunny's absence after Mari's death, and the two boys enter a delusional state and start fighting. After Basil stabs Sunny with his garden shears, both of them pass out. While unconscious, Sunny recalls his childhood with his friends and Mari, giving him the strength to face Omori in the final boss fight. Refusing to die, Omori defeats Sunny, causing the player to receive a game over screen.


title: Omori (video game)

text: Alternatively, if the player ignores Basil on the final day, Sunny and his friends will wake up to discover that Basil has committed suicide. Depending on the player's choice, Sunny can then either kill himself with his knife or move away with his guilt still unabated as sirens ring out in the distance. If the player initially chooses to remain inside and avoid Kel, only a variant of this ending is available.


title: Omori (video game)

text: "Omori" was developed over the course of six and a half years, directed by pseudonymous artist Omocat. It is based on , a webcomic Tumblr blog Omocat created to "help [them] cope with [their] problems during a confusing part of [their] life." Initially planned as a graphic novel, they switched its medium to a video game to enable the audience to make choices in the story. For the game engine, they chose RPG Maker, as they deemed it important to support an accessible platform and community.


title: Omori (video game)

text: A Kickstarter campaign was launched in 2014, and was successfully funded within one day, with an initial projected release date of May 2015. A Nintendo 3DS port was promised as a stretch goal, but ultimately never came to fruition due to the discontinuation of the console; backers were instead offered a Nintendo Switch port. To aid the game's creation, Omocat hired several additional team members, including an RPG Maker expert, but still had a goal of keeping the team size small. Initially, they enlisted their musician friends Space Boyfriend and Slime Girls to help with the soundtrack; after being inspired by Bo En's "My Time" and coming up with the idea of hidden music tracks, they contacted him as well.


title: Omori (video game)

text: As development continued, the team had to change their version of the RPG Maker engine, using this opportunity to refine the game's visual style, story, and gameplay. After crowdfunding money was exhausted, they relied on merchandise sales to continue development. The game would be delayed into 2019 and early 2020, but would again miss both targets.


title: Omori (video game)

text: Later in 2020, "Omori" received its final release date of December 25, when it was released on Microsoft Windows and macOS via Steam. Initially available only in English, the Japanese localization was released on December 16, 2021. Following this, the support for Simplified Chinese and Korean languages was added on March 18, 2022.


title: Omori (video game)

text: The Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions of "Omori" were first announced during Playism's Tokyo Game Show 2019 presentation on September 11. Playism also announced it would be working on a Japanese release of the game, which was initially planned for 2020, but later delayed. During an Indie World presentation in December 2021, it was announced that a Nintendo Switch version would release in Q2 2022. The Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Series X/S ports, as well as the new port for Windows 10, were eventually released digitally on June 17, 2022. After a slight delay, the PlayStation 4 port followed on June 24, 2022. These versions were developed by MP2 Games, and feature additional content not found in the original Steam release. The physical edition by Fangamer for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 was initially planned to launch alongside the digital release, but did not launch until early July.


title: Omori (video game)

text: "Omori" received generally favorable reviews, with the PC version earning an aggregated score of 87 out of 100 on Metacritic. "PC Gamer" reviewer Rachel Watts praised both its combat and gameplay, saying the game had "all the makings of being a modern cult classic". Patrick Hancock of "Destructoid" stated that he didn't "know the last game that really hit me so emotionally like [it] did", but criticized many gameplay elements, stating that they could ruin the experience for some players.


title: Omori (video game)

text: Multiple publications positively reviewed the game's depiction of anxiety and depression, with "Rock Paper Shotgun" reviewer Kat Bailey comparing it to her real-life experiences. According to her, the game managed to take overused themes regarding the subject and create a "memorable darkness". Watts stated that the game "captures this sentiment [of overcoming anxiety] masterfully", but criticized some parts of the game for being too dark.


title: Omori (video game)

text: A majority of reviewers praised the game's writing and tone, comparing it to games such as "EarthBound", "Undertale", and "Yume Nikki". Writing for "Wired" magazine, reviewer Julie Fukunaga commended the depth and psychological themes of the narrative, stating that "it is in this medium that "Omori" thrives". Hancock praised the "juxtaposition" of serious and discomfiting themes with whimsical moments, stating he sometimes thought of the game's jokes "on a weekly basis".


title: Omori (video game)

text: Reviewers' opinion of the game's combat varied. Hancock criticized the lack of strategical depth, stating that he "found a strategy that worked and basically just repeated it ad nauseam", and claiming that the combat was "hardly necessary". Opposingly, Bailey praised the game's "well-executed" combat and "difficult" bosses, stating that they helped break up some of the dungeons. In her review, Rachel Watts complimented the way the game's abilities made the party feel like a cohesive unit.


title: Omori (video game)

text: The art direction also received positive reactions. Watts praised the art direction of the monsters, stating the mix of different art styles "really heightens the horror". The "anime-style cut-ins" were praised by Bailey, who called them "surprisingly well-animated". Despite his criticism of the game's battles, Hancock stated he often anticipated them due to the art style, calling it "nothing short of phenomenal".


title: Omori (video game)

text: "Omori" received two Honorable Mentions at the 2021 Independent Games Festival. It was also nominated for three categories in DreamHack's 2021 "Dreamies" awards, winning the "Daringly Dramatic" prize.


title: Omori (video game)

text: In Japan, the Nintendo Switch version of "Omori" sold 2,903 physical copies within its first week of release, making it the nineteenth bestselling retail game of the week in the county.


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, (born 20 May 1964), styled Viscount Althorp between 1975 and 1992, is a British peer, author, journalist, and broadcaster. He is the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and is the maternal uncle of William, Prince of Wales, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: Charles Edward Maurice Spencer was born in London on 20 May 1964. Queen Elizabeth II was his godmother. His parents were titled Viscount and Viscountess Althorp, as his paternal grandfather, Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, was still alive at the time of his birth. Spencer grew up with three older sisters, Sarah, Jane, and Diana. His infant brother, John, was born four years before him, but died within hours after his birth. Charles and Diana were very close to each other in their childhood. His parents' troubled marriage ended in divorce when he was three years old. Spencer became styled as Viscount Althorp when his father became Earl Spencer in 1975. He was educated at Eton College and read Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford.


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: Spencer worked as an on-air correspondent with NBC News from 1986 to 1995, primarily for the network's morning programme, "Today", and "NBC Nightly News." He wrote and presented the 12-part documentary series "Great Houses of the World" (1994–1995) for NBC Super Channel. He also worked as a reporter for Granada Television from 1991 to 1993.


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: Spencer has written several book reviews for "The Guardian" and "The Independent on Sunday" as well as feature stories for "The Guardian", "The Daily Telegraph", "The Sunday Telegraph" and American publications such as "Vanity Fair", "Verandah" and "Nest".


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: Upon his father's death on 29 March 1992, 27-year-old Spencer succeeded as 9th Earl Spencer, 9th Viscount Althorp, 9th Viscount Spencer of Althorp, 9th Baron Spencer of Althorp, and 4th Viscount Althorp. He also inherited Althorp, the family's ancestral seat in Northamptonshire. Since 2009, he has restored Althorp, re-roofing it and restoring its entire exterior for the first time since the 1780s. He has also helped establish Althorp Living History, a handmade fine-furniture line reproducing pieces from the collection at Althorp. The Spencer family's wealth derived from their profitable sheep farming in the Tudor era.


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: On 31 August 1997, his elder sister Diana died after a car crash in Paris and Spencer delivered the eulogy at her funeral service held at Westminster Abbey six days later. In his eulogy he rebuked both Britain's royal family and the press for their treatment of his sister. Spencer ruled out conspiracy theories concerning his sister's death, and called the alleged letter she wrote 10 months before her death in which she discussed her fears of a planned accident "just a bizarre coincidence rather than tied in with reality." Spencer received an apology from Tim Davie, the BBC's director general, in late 2020 for the unethical practices used by BBC staff to gain his sister's consent to be interviewed in November 1995 for the corporation's "Panorama" television programme. The Earl said a full inquiry should be conducted which Davie has said will happen.


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: The Earl was a member of the House of Lords from 29 March 1992 (the day his father died and he inherited the peerage) until the House of Lords Act 1999 excluded most hereditary peers on 11 November 1999.


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: On several occasions, Spencer has been accused of refusing to allow his sister Diana to live in a cottage on the Althorp estate, despite her request at the height of her emotional difficulties. These allegations have repeatedly been proven to be untrue, as seen in an apology published by "The Times" in 2021, admitting that “having considered his sister’s safety, and in line with police advice, the Earl offered the Princess of Wales a number of properties included Wormleighton Manor, the Spencer family’s original ancestral home”.


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: Diana was buried on Spencer's ancestral estate, Althorp, where he built a garden temple memorial and a museum to her memory, displaying her wedding dress and other personal effects. The museum was opened to the public in 1998 with all profits going to Diana's Memorial Fund, also set up by Spencer. At this stage, Spencer began writing a series of books dealing with the estate itself and with his family history, beginning with an account of his ancestral home, "Althorp: the Story of an English House", published in 1998.


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: In 2003, Spencer founded the Althorp Literary Festival. Speakers at the annual event have included the authors Bill Bryson, Helen Fielding, Antonia Fraser, and Boris Johnson. In 2004, he presented two documentaries for the History Channel on "Blenheim: Battle for Europe".


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: Spencer was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Northamptonshire in November 2005; the Spencer family have had a long association with the county, the home of the family seat. Spencer is also a patron of the Northamptonshire County Cricket Club.


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: On 16 September 1989, Spencer, then known by the courtesy title of Viscount Althorp, married Victoria Lockwood (born 20 November 1965). Spencer and Lockwood were divorced on 3 December 1997, with Diana’s death occurring while the case was in progress. After the divorce, Spencer returned to the United Kingdom from Cape Town, South Africa, where Spencer and Lockwood had relocated their family in 1995 to avoid media attention. The Earl has four children by Victoria Lockwood, three daughters and one son:


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: On 15 December 2001, he married Caroline Freud ("née" Hutton; born 16 October 1966), former wife of businessman Matthew Freud. They separated in 2007 and later divorced. They have two children:


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: On 18 June 2011 at Althorp, Spencer married Karen Gordon ("née" Villeneuve; born 30 November 1972), a Canadian philanthropist, the founder and chief executive of Whole Child International, a charity based in Los Angeles that works to improve the lot of orphaned, abandoned, or abused children. They have one child together:


title: Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer

text: The Earl resides at Althorp House, Northamptonshire. He inherited the estate at the age of 27, according to the letters patent, because he was the eldest male in the Spencer family.


title: Family Matters

text: Family Matters is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of "Perfect Strangers," the series revolves around the Winslow family, a middle class black family living in Chicago, Illinois. Midway through the first season, the show introduced the Winslows' nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel (Jaleel White), who was originally scripted to appear as a one-time character. However, he quickly became the show's breakout character (and eventually the main character), joining the main cast.


title: Family Matters

text: Running for nine seasons, "Family Matters" became the second-longest-running live action U.S. sitcom with a predominantly African-American cast, behind only "The Jeffersons" (11 seasons). It aired for 215 episodes, being ranked third, behind only "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (280+ as of 2021), and "The Jeffersons" (253). "Family Matters" was the last live-action scripted primetime show that debuted in the 1980s to leave the air; the only scripted show that started in the 1980s and lasted longer in continuous production was "The Simpsons".


title: Family Matters

text: The series was a spinoff from the ABC sitcom "Perfect Strangers"; both shows aired Friday nights on ABC's primetime slot called "TGIF". Jo Marie Payton played Harriette Winslow, the elevator operator at a newspaper where Larry Appleton and Balki Bartokomous also worked. Reginald VelJohnson, who was coming off of growing fame from his role in "Die Hard", made an appearance on the show as Harriette's husband Carl Winslow, a Chicago police officer. ABC and the producers loved the character Harriette for her great morale and quick-witted humor and decided to create a show that would focus on her and her family, husband Carl, son Eddie, elder daughter Laura, and younger daughter Judy (who appeared until the character was retconned after season four).


title: Family Matters

text: In the pilot episode, "The Mama Who Came to Dinner", the family had also opened their home to Carl's street-wise mother, Estelle (Rosetta LeNoire), usually known as "Mother Winslow". Prior to the start of the series, Harriette's sister, Rachel Crawford and her infant son, Richie, had moved into the Winslow household after the death of Rachel's husband. The Winslows' nerdy teenage next-door neighbor, Steve Urkel (Jaleel White), was introduced midway through the first season in the episode "Laura’s First Date" and quickly became the focus of the show.


title: Family Matters

text: The popular sitcom was a mainstay of ABC's TGIF lineup from 1989 until 1997, at which point it became part of the CBS Block Party lineup for its final season. "Family Matters" was produced by Bickley-Warren Productions (1991–1998) and Miller-Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar Television (1989–1993) and later Warner Bros. Television (1993–1998). As the show progressed, episodes began to center increasingly on Steve Urkel, and other original characters also played by White, including Steve's suave alter-ego, Stefan Urquelle, and his female cousin, Myrtle Urkel.


title: Family Matters

text: In early 1997, CBS picked up "Family Matters" and "Step by Step" in a $40 million deal to acquire the rights to the programs from ABC. ABC then promised to pay Miller-Boyett Productions $1.5 million per episode for a ninth and tenth season of "Family Matters". However, tensions had risen between Miller-Boyett Productions and ABC's corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company (which had bought the network in 1995 as part of its merger with ABC's then-parent Capital Cities/ABC Inc.). Miller-Boyett thought that it would not be a big player on ABC after the network's recent purchase by Disney.


title: Family Matters

text: Miller-Boyett Productions agreed to a $40 million offer from CBS for a 22-episode season for both "Family Matters" and "Step By Step". CBS scheduled "Family Matters" along with "Meego" and "Step By Step" as a part of its new Friday lineup, branded as the "CBS Block Party." The network scheduled the family-oriented block against ABC's "TGIF" lineup, where the two series originated. Jo Marie Payton's contract had just expired and she was reluctant to continue, feeling the show had jumped the shark years prior. She agreed to stay to keep continuity but left midseason shortly after very nearly getting into a physical altercation with White in what would be her last regular episode; in that episode, White (playing a gangster instead of his usual Urkel) was attempting to insert material that violated Broadcast Standards and Practices, angering Payton to the point where Darius McCrary had to separate the two. Payton would appear in only one more episode after that—a Christmas episode that also brought back several former characters from the ABC run who had been written out on CBS—before Judyann Elder took over as Harriette for the remainder of the season.


title: Family Matters

text: While "Family Matters" continued to lose viewership compared to previous years, it was initially a modest success on CBS, beating the show that replaced it, "You Wish". "Meego", however, was a ratings failure and was canceled after six weeks. Near the end of the ninth season, the cast was informed that a tenth and final season was planned, so scripts and plot synopses were written for the show. After the holiday special season, CBS replaced "Meego" with "Kids Say the Darndest Things", and with that show's child-centered focus, it was placed in "Family Matters" 8/7c time slot, with "Family Matters" pushed an hour later and paired with "Step by Step". The ratings for "Family Matters" fell even further in this later slot, and the entire block except for "Kids Say..." was canceled in spring 1998, with the remaining episodes burned off in the summer.


title: Family Matters

text: "Family Matters" was created by William Bickley and Michael Warren (who also wrote for, and were producers of parent series "Perfect Strangers") and developed by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett (who also served as executive producers on "Perfect Strangers"); all four also served as executive producers of the series. The series was produced by Miller-Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar Television who co-produced the show until 1993, when Warner Bros. Television absorbed Lorimar (a sister company under the co-ownership of Time Warner).


title: Family Matters

text: Starting with season three, the series was also produced by Bickley-Warren Productions. The series was filmed in front of a live studio audience; the Lorimar-produced episodes were shot at Lorimar Studios (later Sony Pictures Studios) in Culver City, California, while the Warner Bros.-produced episodes were filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in nearby Burbank.


title: Family Matters

text: The show's original theme was Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World"; it was scrapped after the fifth episode of season one ("Straight A's"), though it was heard only in the pilot episode in syndicated reruns. The second theme, "As Days Go By", written by Jesse Frederick, Bennett Salvay and Scott Roeme and performed by Frederick, was the theme for the majority of the series until 1995. The sixth season's opening credits was last used in the season seven episodes "Talk's Cheap" and "Fa La La La Laagghh", the only two episodes during the final three seasons to feature the theme song (this was heard in season one episodes in ABC Family and syndicated airings). A longer version of "As Days Go By" was used during the first three seasons, though in syndicated reruns the short version is heard (in ABC Family airings, the long theme was used for all of the episodes during the first three seasons).


title: Family Matters

text: "Family Matters" is set in the same fictional universe as several other TV shows related to ABC's TGIF or CBS's Block Party. Before "Family Matters," Harriette Winslow was originally the elevator operator at the "Chicago Chronicle" newspaper office in the third and fourth seasons of "Perfect Strangers." "Family Matters" was a spin-off series given to this character in 1989. Characters from "Family Matters" appeared on other shows, including "Full House", "Boy Meets World", "Step by Step" and "Meego".


title: Family Matters

text: In September 1993, Warner Bros. Television Distribution began distributing "Family Matters" for broadcast in off-network syndication; most television stations stopped carrying the show by around 2002, though some stations in larger markets such as WTOG in Tampa, Florida continued to air "Family Matters" until as recently as 2005 and New York's WPIX as 2006. In 1995, reruns of the series began airing on TBS Superstation, where it ran until 2003. TBS would air two episodes of Family Matters each weekday afternoon from October 1995 to September 1999. From 1999 to 2003, TBS only aired the series once per weekday typically playing in the early mornings. The series would return to TBS 17 years later on February 3, 2020 and airs in the early morning time slots paired with George Lopez Show.


title: Family Matters

text: From 1997 to 2003, reruns of the series aired on WGN America. In 2003, ABC Family picked up the series and aired it for five years until February 29, 2008. From 2004 to 2006, UPN aired the show for 2 years. BET aired reruns briefly in December 2009 and began airing the series on a regular basis on March 1, 2013. MTV2 also began airing reruns on September 7, 2013. The show aired on Nick at Nite from June 29, 2008 to December 31, 2012. ABC Family and Nick at Nite airings cut the tag scenes at the end of all episodes, despite the fact that many episodes during the series have tag scenes during the closing credits. In 2019, the series now airs on TVOne. In Canada, the series also aired on CTV, CBC and currently airs on Family Channel.


title: Family Matters

text: On September 29, 2017, "Family Matters" became available for streaming on Hulu. In the UK it aired on Sky One whilst "Perfect Strangers" aired on BBC One.


title: Family Matters

text: Reruns of the series also started airing on Cartoon Network's ACME Night block on September 19, 2021.


title: Family Matters

text: On October 1, 2021, "Family Matters" began streaming on HBO Max after its streaming rights expired from Hulu.,


title: Family Matters

text: In France, it aired as "" ("Family Life") as part of the show "" on January 1, 1995 and on RTL9 (from August 28, 1995), France 2 & M6 (from June 1, 2000).


title: Family Matters

text: In Italy, it aired as "" ("Eight under one roof") on Canale 5, Italia 1 in 1992, with subsequent airings on Fox Retro & Sky Atlantic.


title: Family Matters

text: Warner Home Video has released the first four seasons of "Family Matters" on DVD in Region 1 while the remaining five seasons were released by the Warner Archive Collection. On February 4, 2014, Warner Home Video released season 4 on DVD, but consumers complained when it was found that the season 4 set contained syndication edits rather than the original broadcast masters. Warner Bros. responded to the complaints, offered a replacement program to receive corrected discs and reissuing the set with corrected broadcast copies on April 4, 2014. All episodes are the original broadcast form, except for the episode "Number One With a Bullet", disc 1, episode 6. The entire series is also available for digital download on Amazon.com and the iTunes Store, all but season 6 remastered in both SD and HD.


title: Family Matters

text: On September 1, 2021, it was announced an animated Christmas film "Did I Do That to the Holidays? A Steve Urkel Story" would air on Cartoon Network as part of the block "ACME Night" in 2022. It was set to be released on HBO Max. However, on August 22, 2022, it was announced the film will not be moving forward on HBO Max and will be shopped elsewhere due to the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Current bidders are Apple TV+, Hulu and Netflix.


title: Turbocharger

text: In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement.


title: Turbocharger

text: The current categorisation is that a turbocharger is powered by the kinetic energy of the exhaust gasses, whereas a supercharger is mechanically powered (usually by a belt from the engine's crankshaft). However, up until the mid-20th century, a turbocharger was called a "turbosupercharger" and was considered a type of supercharger.


title: Turbocharger

text: Prior to the invention of the turbocharger, forced induction was only possible using mechanically-powered superchargers. Use of superchargers began in 1878, when several supercharged two-stroke gas engines were built using a design by Scottish engineer Dugald Clerk. Then in 1885, Gottlieb Daimler patented the technique of using a gear-driven pump to force air into an internal combustion engine.


title: Turbocharger

text: The 1905 patent by Alfred Büchi, a Swiss engineer working at Sulzer is often considered the birth of the turbocharger. This patent was for a compound radial engine with an exhaust-driven axial flow turbine and compressor mounted on a common shaft. The first prototype was finished in 1915 with the aim of overcoming the power loss experienced by aircraft engines due to the decreased density of air at high altitudes. However, the prototype was not reliable and did not reach production. Another early patent for turbochargers was applied for in 1916 by French steam turbine inventor Auguste Rateau, for their intended use on the Renault engines used by French fighter planes. Separately, testing in 1917 by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and Sanford Alexander Moss showed that a turbocharger could enable an engine to avoid any power loss (compared with the power produced at sea level) at an altitude of up to above sea level. The testing was conducted at Pikes Peak in the United States using the Liberty L-12 aircraft engine.


title: Turbocharger

text: The first commercial application of a turbocharger was in 1925, when Alfred Büchi successfully installed turbochargers on ten-cylinder diesel engines, increasing the power output from . This engine was used by the German Ministry of Transport for two large passenger ships called the "Preussen" and . The design was licensed to several manufacturers and turbochargers began to be used in marine, railcar and large stationary applications.


title: Turbocharger

text: Turbochargers were used on several aircraft engines during World War II, beginning with the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in 1938, which used turbochargers produced by General Electric. Other early turbocharged airplanes included the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and experimental variants of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.


title: Turbocharger

text: The first practical application for trucks was realized by Swiss truck manufacturing company Saurer in the 1930s. BXD and BZD engines were manufactured with optional turbocharging from 1931 onwards. The Swiss industry played a pioneering role with turbocharging engines as witnessed by Sulzer, Saurer and Brown, Boveri & Cie.