title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Whyte identifies an oil platform off the coast of Baja California as Blofeld's base of operations. After Bond's attempt to change the cassette containing the satellite control codes fails due to a mistake by Tiffany, a helicopter attack on the oil rig is launched by Leiter and the CIA. Blofeld tries to escape in a midget submarine. Bond gains control of the submarine's launch crane and uses the sub as a wrecking ball, destroying both the satellite control and the base. Bond and Tiffany then head for Britain on a cruise ship, where Wint and Kidd pose as room-service stewards and attempt to kill them with a hidden bomb. Bond kills them instead.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Lola Larson and Trina Parks portray Bambi and Thumper, Whyte's bodyguards. Ed Bishop portrayed Klaus Hergersheimer, a scientist involved with building the satellite. In uncredited roles, Shane Rimmer appeared as Tom, the director of Whyte's astronautics facility; Marc Lawrence portrayed a Slumber Inc. attendant, Henry Rowland as Doctor Tynan, and Cassandra Peterson as a dancer.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: The producers originally intended to have "Diamonds Are Forever" re-create commercially successful aspects of "Goldfinger", including hiring its director, Guy Hamilton. Peter R. Hunt, who had directed "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and worked in all previous Bond films as editor, was invited before Hamilton, but due to involvement with another project could only work on the film if the production date was postponed, which the producers declined to do. As a condition for Hamilton directing after his difficulties with trade unions during the filming of "Battle of Britain", "Diamonds Are Forever" was the first Bond production to be primarily based in the United States rather than the United Kingdom.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: While "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was in post-production, Richard Maibaum wrote several drafts about Bond avenging the death of his wife Tracy. The characters Irma Bunt and Marc-Ange Draco were set to return. Harry Saltzman had suggested Thailand and India as potential filming locations. When George Lazenby departed from the role prior to the film's release, a complete rewrite was requested, in addition to Maibaum's script failing to impress Albert R. Broccoli and Saltzman. Following this, Maibaum wrote an original script with Auric Goldfinger's twin seeking revenge for the death of his brother. In this version, Goldfinger's brother was a Swedish shipping magnate armed with a laser cannon held within the hull of a supertanker. The idea was borrowed from an early draft of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" in which Ernst Stavro Blofeld was to be Goldfinger's twin brother, with Gert Fröbe set to return. The film would have ended with a boat chase of Chinese junks and Roman galleys on Lake Mead. The plot was later changed after Broccoli had a dream, where his close friend Howard Hughes was replaced by an imposter. Hence, the character of Willard Whyte was created, and Tom Mankiewicz was chosen to rework the script.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Mankiewicz says he was hired because Broccoli wanted an American writer to work on the script, since so much of it was set in Las Vegas "and the Brits write really lousy American gangsters" – but it had to be someone who also understood the British idiom, since it had British characters. David Picker, then-president of United Artists, had seen the stage musical "Georgy" written by Mankiewicz, and recommended him; he was hired on a two-week trial and kept on for the rest of the movie. The idea of Goldfinger's brother was scrapped, and Blofeld was written back into the script. Mankiewicz later estimated the novel provided around 45 minutes of the film's final running time. The adaptation eliminated the main villains from the source Ian Fleming novel, mobsters called Jack and Seraffimo Spang, but used the henchmen Shady Tree, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: George Lazenby was originally offered a contract for seven Bond films but declined and left after just one, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", on the advice of his agent Ronan O'Rahilly. Producers contemplated replacing him with John Gavin, though actors Clint Eastwood, Adam West, Burt Reynolds, Robert Wagner, Brett Halsey, Malcolm Roberts, and Ranulph Fiennes had also been considered; Eastwood, Reynolds, and West had stated that Bond should not be played by an American actor. Michael Gambon rejected an offer, telling Broccoli that he was "in terrible shape". Producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman wanted to cast Roger Moore, but he was busy filming "The Persuaders!".


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Picker was unhappy with this decision and made it clear that Connery was to be enticed back to the role and that money was no object. When approached about resuming the role of Bond, Connery demanded the fee of $1.25 million. To entice the actor to play Bond once more, United Artists offered two back-to-back films of his choice. After both sides agreed to the deal, Connery used the fee to establish the Scottish International Education Trust, where Scottish artists could apply for funding without having to leave their country to pursue their careers. Since John Gavin was no longer in the running for the role, his contract was paid in full by United Artists. The first film made under Connery's deal was "The Offence", directed by his friend Sidney Lumet.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Charles Gray was cast as villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, after playing a Bond ally named Dikko Henderson in "You Only Live Twice" (1967). Jazz musician Putter Smith was invited by Saltzman to play Mr. Kidd, after a Thelonious Monk Band show. Musician Paul Williams was originally cast as Mr. Wint. When he couldn't agree with the producers on compensation, Bruce Glover replaced him. Glover said he was surprised at being chosen, because at first producers said he was too normal and that they wanted a deformed, Peter Lorre-like actor. Bruce Cabot, who played the part of Bert Saxby, died the following year; "Diamonds" turned out to be his final film role. Jimmy Dean was cast as Willard Whyte after Saltzman saw a presentation of him. Dean was very worried about playing a Howard Hughes pastiche, because he was an employee of Hughes at the Desert Inn.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Jill St. John had originally been offered the part of Plenty O'Toole but landed the female lead after Sidney Korshak, who assisted the producers in filming in Las Vegas locations, recommended his client St. John, who became the first American Bond girl. Linda Thorson met with Cubby Broccoli, hoping to be considered for the part of Case, but he never considered her for the role, although he did briefly list her as a possibility for the part of Plenty O'Toole. Some time later, Broccoli told Thorson she was never cast in a Bond film because she didn't have long hair. Lana Wood was cast as Plenty O'Toole, following a suggestion of screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz. Wood modeled her performance after Leigh Taylor-Young and Minnie Mouse. Denise Perrier, Miss World 1953, played "Marie", the woman in the bikini who is forced by Bond to disclose the location of Blofeld.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: A cameo appearance by Sammy Davis Jr. playing on the roulette table was filmed, but his scene was eventually deleted.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Initially, the character of Miss Moneypenny did not feature in the movie, partly because Lois Maxwell had held out for a pay increase, but it was decided during production to add the scene where, disguised as a customs officer, Moneypenny gives Bond his travel documents at the port of Dover. The additional scene was a last-minute rewrite, as the producers felt it important to incorporate Maxwell after her issue was resolved. Maxwell and Connery filmed their lines separately for the short scene.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Filming began on 5 April 1971, with the South African scenes actually shot in the desert near Las Vegas. The scene was originally written to include Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd killing Dr. Tynan by forcing a scorpion down his mouth, but it was rewritten in order to be approved by British censors. The film was shot primarily in the United States, with locations including the Los Angeles International Airport, Universal City Studios and eight hotels of Las Vegas. Besides Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, other places in England were Dover and Southampton. The climactic oil rig sequence was shot off the shore of Oceanside, California. Other filming locations included Cap D'Antibes in France for the opening scenes, Amsterdam and Frankfurt Airport.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Filming in Las Vegas took place mostly in hotels owned by Howard Hughes, for he was a friend of Cubby Broccoli's. Getting the streets empty to shoot was achieved through the collaboration of Hughes, the Las Vegas police, and the shopkeepers' association. The Las Vegas Hilton doubled for the Whyte House, and since the owner of the Circus Circus was a Bond fan, he allowed the Circus to be used on film and even made a cameo. The cinematographers said filming in Las Vegas at night had an advantage: no additional illumination was required due to the high number of neon lights. Sean Connery made the most of his time on location in Las Vegas. "I didn't get any sleep at all. We shot every night, I caught all the shows and played golf all day. On the weekend I collapsed – boy, did I collapse. Like a skull with legs." He also played the slot machines, and once delayed a scene because he was collecting his winnings. While shooting in Las Vegas, Connery dated his co-star Lana Wood.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: The home of Kirk Douglas was used for the scene in Tiffany's house, while the Elrod House in Palm Springs, designed by John Lautner, became Willard Whyte's house. The exterior shots of the Slumber Mortuary were of the Palm Mortuary in Henderson, Nevada. The interiors were a set constructed at Pinewood Studios, where Ken Adam imitated the real building's lozenge-shaped stained glass window in its chapel. The Garden of Remembrance scene was shot at Palm Downtown Cemetery, Las Vegas. During location filming, Ken Adam visited several funeral homes in the Las Vegas area, and the inspiration behind the gaudy design of the Slumber Mortuary, for example the use of tasteless Art Nouveau furniture and Tiffany lamps came from these experiences. Production wrapped with the crematorium sequence, on 13 August 1971.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Since the car chase in Las Vegas would have many car crashes, the filmmakers had a product placement arrangement with Ford to use their vehicles. Ford's only demand was that Sean Connery had to drive the 1971 Mustang Mach 1 which serves as Tiffany Case's car. A Mustang was used in "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball", while a Mercury Cougar was used in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", and "Bond girls" drove each one. The moon buggy was inspired by the NASA lunar rover, but with additions such as flailing arms since the producers didn't find the design "outrageous" enough. Built by custom car fabricator Dean Jeffries on a rear-engined Corvair chassis, it was capable of road speeds. The fibreglass tires had to be replaced during the chase sequence because the heat and irregular desert soil ruined them.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Hamilton had the idea of making a fight scene inside a lift, which was choreographed and performed by Sean Connery and stuntman Joe Robinson. During a car chase scene, where the police are chasing Bond in a small parking lot, the Mustang was to jump a small ramp over several cars. The hired stunt driver they had couldn't perform this and wrecked two or three cars in the process. The stunt team had only one automobile left so they called Bill Hickman, who drove for hours to the location, jumped into the Mustang, and did the stunt in one take. A continuity mistake during the same car chase made it into the film's final cut: when Bond drives the Mustang on two wheels through a narrow alley, the car enters the alley on its right side tires and exits driving on its left side.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: While filming the scene of finding Plenty O'Toole drowned in Tiffany's swimming pool, Lana Wood actually had her feet loosely tied to a cement block on the bottom. Film crew members held a rope across the pool for her, with which she could lift her face out of the water to breathe between takes. The pool was steeped in a way that made the block move deeper with each take. Eventually, Wood was submerged but was noticed by on-lookers and rescued before actually drowning. Wood, being a certified diver, took some water but remained calm during the ordeal, although she later admitted to a few "very uncomfortable moments and quite some struggling until they pulled me out."


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: The original soundtrack was once again composed by John Barry, his sixth time composing for a Bond film. "Diamonds Are Forever", the title song, was the second James Bond theme to be performed by Shirley Bassey, after "Goldfinger" in 1964.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: With Connery back in the lead role, the "James Bond Theme" was played by an electric guitar in the somewhat unusual, blued gun barrel sequence accompanied with prismatic ripples of light, in the pre-credits sequence, and in a full orchestral version during a hovercraft sequence in Amsterdam.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: "Diamonds are Forever" was released on 14 December 1971 in Munich, West Germany and on 16 December in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, before opening in 44 other cities in the United States, Canada and Europe on 17 December and 11 more cities in Japan, New Zealand and Europe on 18 December 1971. It grossed $2,242,557 in its opening six days worldwide, including $1,569,249 in its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, where it finished number one at the box office for the week. The film had its UK premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square on 30 December 1971. In its first 17 days in the United States and Canada to 2 January 1972 it grossed $16,238,915 and had grossed $8,330,000 overseas to the same date, for a worldwide total of $24,568,915, which United Artists claimed was a record in such a short period.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: "Diamonds are Forever" was number one in the United States for seven consecutive weeks and went on to gross $116 million worldwide, of which $43 million was from the United States and Canada. In the United Kingdom "Diamonds are Forever" was the second highest grossing film of 1971, being beaten by "On the Buses.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" noted, in a positive review, the irrelevance of the plot and "moments of silliness", such as Bond finding himself driving a moon buggy with antennae revolving and robot arms flapping. He praised the Las Vegas car chase scene, particularly the segment when Bond drives the Ford Mustang on two wheels. Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" enthusiastically praised the film as: Jay Cocks, reviewing for "Time" magazine, felt "Diamonds Are Forever" was "in some ways the best of the lot. It is by all odds the broadest—which is to say wackiest, not sexiest." He praised Connery as "a fine, forceful actor with an undeniable presence [who] turns his well-publicized contempt for the Bond character into some wry moments of self-parody. He is capable of doing better things, but whether he likes it or not, he is the perfect, the only James Bond." Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" wrote the film is "not merely bad Bond, it is a bad movie. A disjointed script competes with, of all things, a lack of action for responsibility for this failure. The women are unappealing even to Bond, judging from his lack of ardor and the villains are hardly threatening."


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Peter Schjeldahl of "The New York Times" described "Diamonds Are Forever" as "a pretty good movie—not great art, but fantastic packaging. The best (or, anyway, the best worst) of the classic formulae—notably, gimmickry and exoticism a go go—have been retained, some up‐dating elements have been added and other elements have been fudged." "Variety" wrote that James Bond "still packs a lethal wallop in all his cavortings, still manages to surround himself with scantily-clad sexpots. Yet "Diamonds Are Forever" doesn't carry the same quality or flair as its many predecessors. Apparently Messrs. Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, who have made a fortune producing these Ian Fleming-inspired mellers, have reached that point where a sustained story means little in prepping an 007 picture. That is what this latest in the series lacks, and for this reason there can be no suspense. But action there is, plenty of it in the familiar Bond manner."


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound for Gordon McCallum, John W. Mitchell and Al Overton.


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: Twenty-five years after its release, James Berardinelli criticised the concept of a laser-shooting satellite, and the performances of Jill St. John, Norman Burton and Jimmy Dean. Christopher Null called St. John "one of the least effective Bond girls – beautiful, but shrill and helpless".


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: According to Danny Peary, "Diamonds are Forever" is "one of the most forgettable movies of the entire Bond series" and that "until Blofeld's reappearance we must watch what is no better than a mundane diamond-smuggling melodrama, without the spectacle we associate with James Bond: the Las Vegas setting isn't exotic enough, there's little humour, assassins Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint are similar to characters you'd find on "The Avengers", but not nearly as amusing – and the trouble Bond gets into, even Maxwell Smart could escape." IGN chose it as the third worst James Bond film, behind only "The Man with the Golden Gun" and "Die Another Day". "Total Film" listed Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, and Bambi and Thumper, as the first and second worst villains in the Bond series (respectively).


title: Diamonds Are Forever (film)

text: On the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 66% based on 47 reviews with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's consensus states ""Diamonds are Forever" is a largely derivative affair, but it's still pretty entertaining nonetheless, thanks to great stunts, witty dialogue, and the presence of Sean Connery."


title: Lee Soo-hyuk

text: Born Lee Hyuk-soo, he debuted as a model in designer Jung Wook-jun's "Lone Costume" fashion show in 2006. He walked down the runways of the nation's famous fashion brands including "General Idea" and "Song Zio", and did cover shoots for several renowned fashion magazines such as "GQ", "Bazaar" and "Elle".


title: Lee Soo-hyuk

text: After appearing in music videos of girl groups Gavy NJ and 2NE1 in 2009 and 2010, he expanded his career into acting. Using the stage name Lee Soo-hyuk, his credits include the television series "White Christmas" (2011), "What's Up" (2011), "Vampire Idol" (2011-2012) and "" (2013).


title: Lee Soo-hyuk

text: He also appeared in the films "The Boy from Ipanema" (2010), "Runway Cop" (2012), and "Horror Stories 2" (2013).


title: Lee Soo-hyuk

text: In 2013, he went to Europe for Paris Fashion Week and London Fashion Week, where he walked catwalks for numerous fashion runway shows such as Balenciaga, J.W. Anderson, and Balmain. He was also named one of the "13 Top Breakout New Male Faces of F/W2013" in the online fashion magazine "Style Minutes", being the only Asian model to make the cut among other newbies from Holland, Canada, Brazil, Australia, England, Hungary, Germany and Lithuania.


title: Lee Soo-hyuk

text: In 2014, he was a guest judge in the 4th season of Korea's Next Top Model, and was also invited by Tyra Banks to participate in the 21st season's finale of America's Next Top Model. That same year, Lee signed with Star J Entertainment, leaving his former agency SidusHQ. He then starred as the second male lead in the cable romantic comedy series "High School King of Savvy" and "Righteous Love" (both from tvN). In 2015, Lee was cast in the period vampire romance "Scholar Who Walks the Night", based on the webtoon of the same title. In 2016, Lee played secondary roles in OCN's espionage drama "Local Hero", MBC's romantic comedies "Lucky Romance" and "Sweet Stranger and Me".


title: Lee Soo-hyuk

text: In 2020, Lee was cast in the mystery romance drama "Born Again" alongside Jang Ki-yong and Jin Se-yeon. He was also the main male lead in the mini web series "Handmade Love".


title: Lee Soo-hyuk

text: Lee then co-starred in the tvN fantasy-romance drama "Doom At Your Service" in 2021 and MBC fantasy drama "Tomorrow" in 2022.


title: Lee Soo-hyuk

text: On August 10, 2017 Lee began his mandatory military service. After the basic military training, he continued his service as a public service officer for two years.


title: Lee Soo-hyuk

text: He is still often booked for fashion editorials in magazines such as GQ, Elle, Harpars Bazaar, W, Esquire. In 2020, he did fashion editorials for Dior Homme, Balenciaga, and other labels.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called "Mark Twain Tonight!" while studying at Denison University. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1966 for his portrayal of Twain. He continued to perform his signature role for over 60 years, only retiring the show in 2017 due to his failing health. Throughout his career, he also won five Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on television and was nominated for an Academy Award for his work in film.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook made his film debut in Sidney Lumet's "The Group" (1966). He later gained international fame for his performance as Deep Throat in the 1976 film "All the President's Men". He played Abraham Lincoln in the 1973 miniseries "Lincoln" and 1985 miniseries "North and South". He also appeared in such films as "Julia" (1977), "The Fog" (1980), "Creepshow" (1982), "Wall Street" (1987), "The Firm" (1993), "Hercules" (1997), and "Men of Honor" (2000).


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook's role as Ron Franz in Sean Penn's "Into the Wild" (2007) earned him both an Academy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 2009, he received critical acclaim for his performance as recently retired farmer Abner Meecham in the independent film "That Evening Sun". He also portrayed Francis Preston Blair in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" (2012).


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. was born on February 17, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Aileen (née Davenport) Holbrook (1905–1987), a vaudeville dancer, and Harold Rowe Holbrook Sr. (1902–1982).


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook and his two older sisters were abandoned by their parents when he was two years old. The three children were raised by their paternal grandparents, first in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and later in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood, Ohio. He graduated from Culver Military Academy (now part of the Culver Academies) and then from Denison University, where an honors project about Mark Twain led him to develop the one-man show for which he was best known, a series of performances called "Mark Twain Tonight!". He also studied acting at HB Studio in New York City.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: From 1942 through 1946, Holbrook served in the United States Army in World War II, achieving the rank of staff sergeant; he was stationed in Newfoundland, where he performed in theater productions such as the play "Lady Precious Stream".


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook's first solo performance as Twain was at Lock Haven State Teachers College in Pennsylvania in 1954. Ed Sullivan saw him and gave 31-year-old Holbrook his first national exposure on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on February 12, 1956. Holbrook was also a member of the Valley Players (1941–1962), a summer-stock theater company based in Holyoke, Massachusetts, which performed at Mountain Park Casino Playhouse at Mountain Park. He joined The Lambs Club in 1955, where he began developing his one-man show. He was a member of the cast for several years and performed "Mark Twain Tonight!" as the 1957 season opener. The State Department even sent him on a European tour, which included pioneering appearances behind the Iron Curtain.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: In 1959, Holbrook first played the role off-Broadway. Columbia Records recorded an LP of excerpts from the show.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook performed in a special production for the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair for the Bell Telephone Pavilion. Jo Mielziner created an innovative audio-visual ride experience and used Holbrook's acting talents on 65 different action screens for "The Ride of Communications" with the movie itself known as "From Drumbeats to Telstar".


title: Hal Holbrook

text: In 1967, "Mark Twain Tonight!" was presented on television by CBS and Xerox, and Holbrook received an Emmy for his performance. Holbrook's Twain first played on Broadway in 1966, and again in 1977 and 2005; Holbrook was 80 years old during his final Broadway run, older (for the first time) than the character he was portraying. Holbrook won a Tony Award for the performance in 1966. Until Holbrook retired in 2017, aged 92, "Mark Twain Tonight!" toured the country, which amounted to over 2,100 performances. This included one of his first performances in the spring of 1962 and one of his last in September, 2014, at his high-school" alma mater" in Indiana. He portrayed Twain longer than Samuel Langhorne Clemens did.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: In 1964, Holbrook played the role of the Major in the original production of Arthur Miller's "Incident at Vichy". In 1968, he was one of the replacements for Richard Kiley in the original Broadway production of "Man of La Mancha", although he had limited singing ability. In 1966, Holbrook starred opposite Shirley Booth in the acclaimed CBS Playhouse production of "The Glass Menagerie".


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook co-starred with Martin Sheen in the controversial and acclaimed 1972 television film "That Certain Summer". In 1973, Holbrook appeared as Lieutenant Neil Briggs, the boss and rival of Detective "Dirty" Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) in "Magnum Force", an "obsessively neat and prim fanatic" who supports the obliteration of San Francisco's criminals and who is the leader of a rogue group of vigilante officers.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: In 1976, Holbrook won acclaim for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in a series of television specials based on Carl Sandburg's acclaimed biography. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the 1970 series "". In 1979, he starred with Katharine Ross, Barry Bostwick, and Richard Anderson in the made-for-TV movie "Murder by Natural Causes". Holbrook also had a major role on the sitcom "Evening Shade" throughout its entire run.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Early on in his career, Holbrook worked onstage and in a television soap opera, "The Brighter Day". He was also famous for his role as the enigmatic Deep Throat (whose identity was unknown at the time) in the film "All the President's Men". Holbrook was the narrator on the Ken Burns documentary "" in 1997.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: From 1986 to 1989, Holbrook had a recurring role as Reese Watson on "Designing Women", opposite his wife Dixie Carter. Over a short period between 1988 and 1990, Holbrook directed four episodes of the series.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: In 1999, Holbrook was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. A year later, Holbrook appeared in" Men of Honor", where he portrayed a racist and hypocritical officer who endlessly tries to fail an African-American diver trainee. Holbrook played the role of Albie Duncan in two episodes of "The West Wing".


title: Hal Holbrook

text: He appeared in Sean Penn's critically acclaimed film "Into the Wild" (2007) and received an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role at the 80th Academy Awards. At the time, this rendered Holbrook, at age 82, the oldest nominee in Academy Award history in the Best Supporting Actor category. Holbrook was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work in the film. From late August through mid-September 2007, he starred as the narrator in the Hartford Stage production of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town", a role he had once played on television.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook appeared with wife Dixie Carter in "That Evening Sun", filmed in East Tennessee in the summer of 2008. The film, produced by Dogwood Entertainment, is based on a short story by William Gay. "That Evening Sun" premiered in March 2009 at South By Southwest, where it received the Audience Award for Narrative Feature and a special Jury Prize for Ensemble Cast. Joe Leydon of "Variety" hailed Hollbrook's performance in the film as a "career-highlight star turn as an irascible octogenarian farmer who will not go gentle into that good night". "That Evening Sun" also was screened at the 2009 Nashville Film Festival, where Holbrook was honored with a special Lifetime Achievement Award, and the film itself received another Audience Award.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook appeared as a featured guest star in a 2006 episode of the HBO series "The Sopranos" and the "NCIS" episode "Escaped". On April 22, 2010, Holbrook signed on to portray Katey Sagal's character's father on the FX original series" Sons of Anarchy" for a four-episode arc in their third season, as well as appearing in additional fifth episode in the final season. He also had a multiple-episode arc on "The Event", an American television series on NBC, appearing in the 2010–2011 season.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: In 2011, Holbrook appeared in "Water for Elephants". In 2012, Steven Spielberg cast Holbrook to play Francis Preston Blair in "Lincoln". His film roles were in Gus Van Sant's "Promised Land" (2012), the animated film "Planes: Fire & Rescue" (2014), and in the minor role as Whizzer in the drama film "Blackway" (2016). In 2014, Holbrook was the subject of Scott Teems' documentary "Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey" depicting Holbrook's long-lasting career portraying Twain. It was premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival that same year.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: In 2016, Holbrook was cast as Red Hudmore and appeared in the final season of "Bones" on January 17, 2017. On March 23, 2017, he appeared on an episode on "Grey's Anatomy" playing a retired thoracic surgeon whose wife is a patient, and on "Hawaii Five-0" later in the year.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: In September 2017, after six decades of playing the role of Mark Twain, Holbrook announced his retirement from "Mark Twain Tonight!" Holbrook indicated that he would like to continue working on movies and television.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook was married three times and had three children. He married a Newfoundlander, Ruby Elaine Johnston, in 1945 and they had two children. They divorced in 1965. In 1966, he married Carol Eve Rossen. They had one child and they divorced in 1983.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook married actress and singer Dixie Carter in 1984 and the couple remained married until Carter's death from endometrial cancer on April 10, 2010. Holbrook appeared as a recurring character on Carter's TV series, "Designing Women".


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook said of his home in McLemoresville, Tennessee, that it had the "feel" of the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut, and that there was no other place to which he felt so ideally suited. He also had a residence in Beverly Hills, California. Holbrook had a recurring role on his wife's hit sitcom "Designing Women," appearing in nine episodes between 1986 and 1989 as Carter's on-screen significant other. In 2011, Holbrook's memoir, "Harold: The Boy Who Became Mark Twain", was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: In October 2016, Holbrook wrote a letter to "The New York Times" defending actor director Nate Parker over his alleged 1999 rape of a woman and Parker's controversial film "The Birth of a Nation". He urged others to "move on" from Parker's past and to view the film, which was "an exceptional piece of artistry and a vital portrait of our American experience".


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook occasionally criticized the politicization of religion. He was a registered independent, but leaned towards the liberal end of the U.S. political spectrum. He criticized the Republican Party while Barack Obama was in office.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: In 2016, he castigated then-Republican candidate Donald Trump for not having "the maturity to run the country". Holbrook praised Senator Bernie Sanders as the only politician who does not "say what they think might get them elected" and praised his honesty.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: Holbrook died at his home in Beverly Hills on January 23, 2021, at age 95; no cause was given. His death was announced more than a week later, on February 2. He was buried in McLemoresville Cemetery in McLemoresville, Tennessee, alongside his wife, Dixie Carter.


title: Hal Holbrook

text: In 2003, President George W. Bush honored Holbrook with a National Humanities Medal for "charming audiences with the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain as Twain's outlook never fails to give Holbrook a good show to put on".


title: Hal Holbrook

text: The local community of McLemoresville, hometown of his wife Dixie Carter, constructed the Dixie Theatre for Performing Arts in nearby Huntingdon, Tennessee, which features the Hal Holbrook Auditorium. Upon his retirement from his Mark Twain persona, "The HuffPost" hailed Holbrook as "the man who has done more to keep Mark Twain on people's minds than anyone else".


title: Jay Chou

text: Jay Chou (; born January 18, 1979) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, actor, and television personality. Dubbed the "King of Mandopop", and having sold over 30 million records, Chou is one of the best-selling artists in Taiwan and is known for his work with lyricist Vincent Fang, with whom he has frequently collaborated on his music.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2000, Chou released his debut studio album, "Jay" (2000), under the record company Alfa Music. Chou rose to fame with the release of his second studio album, "Fantasy (范特西)" (2001), which combined Western and Eastern music styles. The album won five Golden Melody Awards, including Album of the Year. He has since further released twelve more studio albums, spawning a string of hit singles and gaining significant prominence in Asian communities such as Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR, China Mainland, Malaysia, and Singapore. Chou has embarked on six world tours, performing in cities around the world to more than 10 million spectators as of 2019.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2007, Chou established his own record and management company JVR Music. Outside of music, Chou has served as the President of his own fashion brand PHANTACi since 2006. As an actor, Chou made his acting debut in the film "Initial D" 頭文字D(2005), followed shortly by a starring role in the epic "Curse of the Golden Flower" (2006). He has since starred in a number of movies, becoming known to Western audiences when he made his Hollywood debut in 2011 with "The Green Hornet", starring alongside Seth Rogen and Christoph Waltz, followed by "Now You See Me 2" (2016).


title: Jay Chou

text: Jay Chou was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. Both his parents were secondary school teachers: his mother, Yeh Hui-Mei (), who was an art teacher who taught fine arts, while his father, Chou Yao-Chung (), is a biomedical researcher. His mother noticed his sensitivity to music and took him to piano lessons at the age of four. During his childhood, he was fascinated with capturing sounds and songs with his tape recorder, which he carried everywhere with him. In the third grade, he became interested in music theory and also started cello lessons. He was an only child and loved to play piano, imitate TV actors, and perform magic tricks. His favorite composer was, and is still to this day, Chopin. Jay graduated from Taipei Jinhua High School. His parents divorced when he was 14 and he was teased by his classmates, which caused him to become reclusive and introverted. He had no friends and preferred to be alone, listening to music, contemplating and daydreaming. At , he majored in piano and minored in cello. He showed a talent for improvisation, became fond of pop music, and began to write songs.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou was conscripted for mandatory military service after graduating from high school with inadequate grades for university. However, severe back pain triggered by sports eventually led to the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (HLA-B27), and he was exempted from military service. Meanwhile, he found a job as a waiter.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou's mother initially inspired Chou to become a music teacher, while Chou remained relatively clueless on what to do with his life. Without his knowledge, a friend registered both their names in a talent show called "Super New Talent King" in 1998. Chou played the piano accompaniment for his friend, whose singing was described as "lousy". Although they did not win, the show's host, Jacky Wu – an influential character in Taiwan's entertainment business – happened to glance at the music score and was impressed with its complexity. Wu then asked who wrote it, discovered Chou and hired him as a contract composer and paired him with the novice lyricist Vincent Fang. for his then record company, Alfa Music. Chou then spent most of his time in Wu's studio learning music producing, sound mixing, recording, and writing songs. Although he was trained in classical music, Chou combines Chinese and Western music styles to produce songs that fuse R&B, rock and pop genres. However, Wu told Chou that he would help Chou release an album after he wrote 50 songs and he would pick 10 from there. Chou already had an arsenal of songs he wrote for others but had been rejected, so among those he chose 10 for his debut CD album, "Jay", released in 2000. The album established his reputation as a musically gifted singer-songwriter whose style is a fusion of R&B, rap, classical music, and yet distinctly Chinese. His fame spread quickly in Chinese-speaking regions throughout Southeast Asia.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2000, under the recommendation of JR Yang (楊峻榮), Jay Chou began to sing his own songs. Chou launched his debut album "Jay" under Alfa Music in 2000. Chou arranged the compilation, harmony, and production of all the songs. The album combines R&B, hip-hop, and other musical styles. Among them, the hit song "星晴" won the 24th China Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs. The album was promoted heavily by Jacky Wu in the entertainment shows he hosted. Chou himself also appeared on a few television programs to promote the album. Chou was marketed as a talented singer-composer with a unique tune. His collaboration with Vincent Fang and Vivian Hsu on the release brought about a few hits.


title: Jay Chou

text: After promoting his debut album, Chou returned to the studio for the next twelve months to record and produce his next album, 范特西"Fantasy", which helped him become an established star. This album was released in September 2001 and became a big hit, selling an estimated two million copies in Taiwan alone. "Fantasy" helped Chou secure ten nominations and five wins at the 13th Golden Melody Awards in 2002. R&B hits such as "簡單愛" (Simple Love) "愛在西元前" (Love before BC), which won Chou the Best Composer award, and "開不了口" (Can't Express Myself) are considered Chou's signature songs and are still sung in concerts today.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou's music has been a much-discussed topic across Chinese regions because it differed greatly from mainstream popular Chinese music released at that time. His pieces combine ancient themes with futuristic ones, including things like space ships, all while employing graphic storytelling skills to evoke vivid imagery to his audience. His enunciation, or lack thereof, whether rapping or singing, was also critiqued when listeners often found that they could not decipher the words sung until they looked up the lyrics. Critics referred to his singing as "mumbling". This garnered a lot of attention and reporters often quiz Chou on his singing style. Chou defended this as his signature style to infuse the vocals with the music and "make it blend" well together. Chou also stated that he wants the listeners to look at the lyrics stating the lyrics written by Vincent Fang are very deep.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou's third album, "The Eight Dimensions"八度空间, became another commercial success and is similar in style to his second. Another collaboration with Fang, "The Eight Dimensions"八度空间 included songs that invoke imagery, Chou's "mumbling" style, and mainly R&B tunes. The singer has sold over 750,000 copies of "Fantasy" as of 2002, throughout the region. In the same year, Chou held his debut concert tour "The One". There was also more crossover activity between Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as steadily increasing activity by Japanese acts in the region.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2003, Chou released his fourth album "Yeh Hui-mei" named after his own mother. After the release of this album, he attended the Golden Melody Awards for his previous album's nomination. The album "The Eight Dimensions" was nominated for 5 categories but won none. Chou didn't take this too lightly, as he wrote on his next album the song "外婆" (Grandmother) that he actually takes the Golden Melody Awards too seriously. Ironically, his then-current album "Yeh Hui-mei" would go on to win a Golden Melody "Best Album of the year " award in 2004.


title: Jay Chou

text: "Yeh Hui-mei" was both a commercial and musical success. The album features songs on Mafia and drug lords "以父之名" (In the name of the father) which at first hearing was very unorthodox but displays Jay's creative writing and producing ability. This album can be seen as Jay's second milestone because it gained an extremely positive reaction from both critics and supporters of his music. Jay also wanted to prove that he is a versatile artist and does not only write R&B songs, but he also ventured into more rock-flavored tunes such as "晴天" which was one of the most played songs of the year. This song gained widespread popularity and high school students started learning guitar to play the drift of the song's intro.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2004, his album 七里香"Common Jasmin Orange", released by Sony Music, excelled in the Greater China region. In 2004, his album 七里香 Qilixiang, or Jasmine, released by Sony Music, excelled in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China Mainland. Despite overwhelming piracy in Taiwan-which has reduced the recording industry to 5 to 10 percent from its heyday-as a Taiwan singer, Jay produced an album that sold a record 300,000 copies. In Hong Kong, his album surpassed local albums with sales of 50,000 units. In China the official figure reached 2.6 million units, a figure no other Chinese artist has attained. The World Music Awards in September 2004 held in Las Vegas acknowledged him as the most popular Chinese singer based on sales.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2005, his album 11月的蕭邦"Chopin of November" continued this record of success with sales of 2.5 million units in Asia.


title: Jay Chou

text: He published his new single 'Waiting For You'. He released the song on his birthday, January 18. The content is about a young man who secretly fell in love with a girl. He regretted that he didn't study well and couldn't enter the same university with her. In order to wait for her to finish class, he rented a house near the girl's residence, waited for her silently, played the piano and wrote a love letter. He just wanted to convey his mind to her, but he couldn't find the time and way. He had to wait for the girl to finish class every day.


title: Jay Chou

text: He recently made his chart comeback after a three-year hiatus with his long-awaited new single "Won't cry". The song, which features Mayday vocalist, Ashin, was released on 16 September 2019, and its music video has since been viewed over 22 million times on YouTube.


title: Jay Chou

text: In fact, the song was streamed so many times that it was reported to have caused QQ music – China's biggest streaming platform – to crash on the day of its release.


title: Jay Chou

text: He published his new single "Mojito". It caused a sensation on the Internet. The song, which effuses amorous feelings of Cuba, was released as a single album on June 12, 2020.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou's compositions are loosely categorized as pop music. While many of his works fall into contemporary R&B, rap, and rock genres, the term "Chou Style" () has been popularized to describe his trademark cross-cultural music and insistence on singing with slurred enunciation. The "Taipei Times" once described the meaning of "Chou Style": "In what has become the archetypal Chou style, Taiwan's favorite son blends pop, rap, blues and a smorgasbord of esthetic elements of world music to create his dream-like never-never land..."


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou regularly fuses traditional Chinese instruments and styles with R&B or rock to form a new genre called "Zhongguo feng" (), which literally means "Chinese Style Music", some of which are written in the Pentatonic Scale as opposed to the more common seven-note scale (Diatonic scale) to accentuate an oriental style. Chou's most popular songs all contain some elements of Chinese culture. Besides his own culture and Chinese culture, he also incorporated Spanish guitar in "Red Imitation" (), American techno/electronica in "Herbalist's Manual" (), rap with subtle classical music undertones in "Reverse Scales" (), Blues style in "Free Tutorial Video" () and Bossanova style in "Rosemary" (), to name a few. Sound effects from everyday life are frequently woven into his music, such as bouncing ping pong balls, touch tone phone dialing, helicopter blades, dripping rain, and radio static noise (Musique concrète).


title: Jay Chou

text: His formal musical training is evident by the use of classical textures in his compositions. For example, counterpoint was used in "Perfection" () and "Sorry" (), while polyphony can be found in "The Wound That Ends War" () and "Twilight's Chapter Seven" ().


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou's albums have been noted for the lack of change compared to his earlier works, yet he firmly stated that he will not alter his style: "They say I've been standing still ... but this is the music I want, and I don't see what I want by moving ahead." To demonstrate his point, he named his 2006 album 依然范特西 "Still Fantasy" after his 2001 album "Fantasy". His use of relaxed enunciation has been criticized as "mumbling" which he also insisted will not change; however, recently he has adopted clearer pronunciation for certain songs, particularly more traditional Chinese style songs, such as "Faraway" () which features Fei Yu-ching and "Chrysanthemum Terrace" ().


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou is considered more of a singer-composer than a lyricist. Several "regulars" write the lyrics for most of his music, but the content and style is unified with his own personality and image, covering a diverse range of topics and ideas. Vincent Fang accounts for more than half of the lyrics in his albums, helping to establish an important element in Chou's music: the use of meaningful, imagery- and emotionally rich lyrics, sometimes written in the form of ancient Chinese poetry with reference to Chinese history or folklore. In addition to writing romantic hits, he also touches on war, the Bible, sports, and martial arts. Vivian Hsu is a singer herself and has helped with Chou's earlier hits.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou himself has written lyrics for many ballads, but has also discussed societal ills such as drug addiction in "Coward" () and loss of the rural countryside to urbanization in "Terrace fields" (). Domestic violence discussed in "Dad, I am back" () received a great deal of commotion since he was the first to bring up this taboo subject in Sanscript music.


title: Jay Chou

text: "In the Name of Father" detailing the cruelty and brutality of the violence, this song is not Jay's personal experience. Jay describes the phenomenon of domestic violence in society, and wants to appeal the public pay more attention to domestic violence.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou leads a new trend of music which combines western musical elements and Chinese literature terms. Because of this unique combination, he makes distinction between himself and other musicians by leading a ""Zhongguo feng"" in Asian music history. The success of his Western-Chinese musical combination is built on his marketing strategies and the musical elements involved in his works.


title: Jay Chou

text: In early 21st century, the People's Republic of China was in an economic transition model. The new generation was looking for a consumption pop culture which would reflect individual uniqueness in the social circumstance.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou has successfully generated airtime on CCTV by fitting in with the mainland's political and cultural agenda and celebrating traditional Chinese values.


title: Jay Chou

text: The traditional Chinese cultural elements involved in Chou's music contribute to his status in Asian popular music culture. The blowing "Chinese style" (中國風) in his music leads a new trend of Chinese pop music that involves a vast amount of traditional Chinese components, rather than simply following Western music format. Chou's "Zhongguo feng" is highlighted in his lyrics and the use of traditional musical instruments in his music. Lyricist Vincent Fang has worked with Jay Chou since 2000. Fang's work is featured by addressing Chinese traditional elements, such as poetry and Confucianism. His representative work "Chrysanthemum Terrace" (), released in 2006, shows a vast amount of cultural elements. In this work, Fang puts images which indicate certain traditional ideas to build an ancient monarchy setting. He uses chrysanthemum as a metaphor of love. In the line "Chrysanthemums broken, scattered across the floor, your smile has faded" (), as well with "Blue and White Porcelain" (Chinese: 青花瓷) and "Orchid Pavilion" (Chinese: 蘭亭序).


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou performs in a rhythm and blues style, but within this western form, he has inserted Chinese melodies, themes, and rhythms. His 2003 song "East Wind Breaks" (Chinese: 东风破; Dong Feng Po) features a typical Chinese melody performed in R&B style; its instrumentation also creates a Chinese atmosphere with the pipa (琵琶). In the lyrics, Chou expresses sadness and loneliness subtly, similar to traditional Chinese poetry.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou also uses traditional musical instruments, combining traditional Chinese elements of music with Western pop.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou's career started as a songwriter for other singers, a practice he would continue even after starting his own successful singing career. He frequently composed for Jolin Tsai and Landy Wen, and occasionally for other singers like Coco Lee, S.H.E, Vivian Hsu, Fish Leong, Evonne Hsu, A-Mei, Selina Ren, Leehom Wang, Will Liu, Will Pan, Show Lo, Valen Hsu, and Hong Kong pop stars Edmond Leung, Twins, TPE48, Jordan Chan, Edison Chen, Karen Mok, Leo Ku, Gigi Leung, Eason Chan, and Joey Yung, as well as a one-time collaboration with Howard Su. He has also written for singers outside of his generation — over one dozen songs for his mentor Jacky Wu, Taiwanese singer Jody Chiang, and Hong Kong singers Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, and Kenny Bee.


title: Jay Chou

text: He started the band Nan Quan Mama (南拳媽媽) in 2004, selecting band members and overseeing their album production. The group has been noted for sounding too similar to their mentor; as a result, Chou has reduced his involvement in the band, though he continues to increase their exposure by inviting them as guests performers for his concerts and music videos.


title: Jay Chou

text: He has performed live duets with Landy Wen, Jolin Tsai, and former girlfriend and news anchor Patty Hou, but only two studio recordings of duets have been officially placed in his albums: "Coral Sea" () in 2005 with Lara Veronin (of Nan Quan Mama) and "Faraway" () in 2006 featuring Fei Yu-ching.


title: Jay Chou

text: On 9 July 2001, songwriters Jay and Yungai Hayung (溫嵐) performed "The Roof"(屋頂), which was included in the album "A Little Wild" (《有點野》) by Yungai Hayung.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2016, Jay and A Mei (張惠妹) sang "Shouldn't Be" (不該), which was included in Jay Chou's 2016 album "Jay Chou's Bedtime Stories" (《周杰倫的床邊故事》). The song won the 2016 Top 20 Golden Melody Awards in the Global Pop Music Gold List.


title: Jay Chou

text: Not including singers, Chou's longest-running collaboration is with lyricist Vincent Fang, as they both started their music career in 1998. The compilation album "Partners" () featured 12 songs, each consisting of Chou's musical and Fang's lyrical compositions. Fang has written the words to more than 40 of Chou's songs, was the chief editor of Chou's book "Grandeur de D Major" (), and is now Chou's business partner (together with Chou's manager JR Yang) for the record company JVR Music.


title: Jay Chou

text: Jay Chou collaborated with Kobe Bryant on "The Heaven and Earth Challenge" (天地一鬥) to "promote youth creativity, as well as an upcoming slam-dunk competition in China." The song was released at a press conference before the NBA All-Star Game on 20 February 2011.


title: Jay Chou

text: Jay held his first series of five solo concerts, titled "Fantasy Concert" (范特西演唱會), with the first stop on 11 January 2001 at Taoyuan Arena, Taiwan. Followed by two shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, one in Malaysia and ended in Singapore on 10 February 2002. His second concert tour, "The One Concert" (The One 演唱會) commenced on 28 September 2002 at Taipei Municipal Stadium, followed by 11 stops and ended at Shenzhen Stadium, China on 3 January 2004.


title: Jay Chou

text: Two more series of world tours followed: "Incomparable Concert" (無與倫比演唱會) in 2004 and "Jay Chou 2007", Las Vegas, Toronto and Vancouver.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2010, to celebrate Jay's 10-year career in the entertainment industry, he embarked on his fifth series of concert tour titled, "New Era World Tour" (超時代演唱會), with the first stop of three concerts from 11 to 13 June 2010 at Taipei Arena, followed by 40 stops ending from 17 to 18 December 2011 at Kaohsiung Arena.


title: Jay Chou

text: He has kicked off his World Tour, "Opus Jay World Tour" starting with Shanghai as its first stop from 17 to 19 May 2013. Due to the success of his "Opus Jay World Tour" concerts, Jay Chou announced a sequel to the concert, titled "Opus II Jay World Tour". The first stop of this new world tour opened in the same city as its preceding world tour (Shanghai) on 2 May 2014, with more stops opening in same destinations. His seventh World Tour, "The Invincible Concert Tour" also held its first concert stop in Shanghai on 30 June 2016, and ending in December 2017. Similar to his previous World Tour, "The Invincible 2 Concert Tour" also had a sequel that had its first stop in Singapore on 6 January 2018.


title: Jay Chou

text: To celebrate his 20th year in the entertainment industry, the eight World Tour "20 Carnival World Tour" held its first concert in Shanghai on 17 October 2019, with more stops to be announced.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou formally entered the film industry in 2005 with the release of the movie "Initial D" (頭文字Ｄ). He has since acted in three other movies, directed one film and more than a dozen music videos. Chou, who once said "I live because of music", ventured into movies because he felt the need for a new challenge. As fans have grown concerned that movies will compromise his music career, Chou has repeatedly reassured that movies are a source of inspiration and not a distraction; at the same time, he realizes the need to balance both careers and maintain his place in the music field to garner the continued support of fans.


title: Jay Chou

text: Entry into acting was an unexpected move for Chou. His high school English teacher thought he was capable of very few facial expressions, and the director of "Hidden Track" (2003, a movie in which Chou had a cameo role) said that his strong individualistic personality will not make him a good actor. In 2005, Chou's first role as the lead actor in 头文字D "Initial D" served two purposes: to launch his acting debut, and to increase his exposure to Japanese audiences. This film is based on the Japanese comic "Initial D", where Chou played Takumi Fujiwara, a gifted touge racer who is quiet and rarely shows expression. Some reviewers criticized his bland acting while others felt he performed naturally, but only because the character's personality closely mirrored his own. His performance in "Initial D" won him Best Newcomer Actor in Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards. Chou's second film was "Curse of the Golden Flower" (2006). As a supporting character, he drew much of the attention of Chinese reporters; Chou's involvement in this movie was announced in its own press conference, separate from the meeting held for Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, and the other actors. Chou portrayed Prince Jai, the ambitious second eldest prince and general of the Imperial army whose personality epitomizes Xiao (孝), the Chinese virtue of filial piety. In this internationally released film, North American audiences saw Chou for the first time. According to Chinese movie critics, comments about his acting ranged from "lacks complexity" to "acceptable," but was critically praised by Western reviewers. His performance in "Curse of the Golden Flower" was nominated Best Supporting Actor in the Hong Kong Film Awards. In the 2008 film "Kung Fu Dunk", Chou portrayed a kung fu student and dunking prodigy, and the film earned over ¥100 million (US$14.7 million).


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou portrayed 青蜂侠 Kato in "The Green Hornet", directed by Michel Gondry and released in January 2011, after Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow withdrew from the project; the film grossed over $228 million worldwide. MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named him one of the "Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011".


title: Jay Chou

text: In May 2011, Chou started filming for a new movie, "The Viral Factor" directed by Dante Lam and starred various well known artistes such as Nicholas Tse. The movie was released in theatres over Asia on 17 January 2012. With most of the scenes shot in the Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries, earlier filming process has been slightly disrupted due to political conflicts in the Middle East.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2021, Chou was briefly starred in Nezha, where he was the executive producer for the film. With a budget reportedly up to more than 400 million yuan ($61.8 million), the film used some expensive racing cars for the action sequences, accounting for about 80% of the entire content. Directed by Chen Yi-xian, the film also stars Tsao Yu-ning, Van Fan, and Alan Kuo. Chou and pop idol Wang Junkai show up in the film in cameo appearances.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou acquired his first directing experience in 2004 through music videos. He initially experimented with a song by the group Nan Quan Mama titled "Home" () where he was involved throughout the entire process from research to editing. After learning the difficulties of being a director, he refused to direct again even at the request of his record company. However, his interest resurfaced again as he directed music videos for 4 of the 12 songs in own album "November's Chopin" in 2005, and later television advertisements. By 2006, he had taken responsibility for the storyboard, directing, and editing of music videos for all his songs. It is unclear how the public appraises his work, since music videos are rarely the subject of critical review; however, director Zhang Yimou said that Chou's directing abilities may surpass his own in the future, after viewing several of Chou's music videos.


title: Jay Chou

text: In February 2007, Chou began directing his first film "Secret". The script written by Chou was inspired by his relationship with a high school girlfriend, with a plot focused on music, love, and family. He stars as the lead actor of the film with Gwei Lun-mei as the female lead, and Hong Kong veteran actor Anthony Wong as Chou's father. Despite previous experience in filming music videos, Chou admits that movies are more challenging due to storyline and time constraints. This movie was released in July 2007.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2013, Jay Chou released his second directorial film, a musical drama titled 天台爱情"The Rooftop". It generated a more muted response compared to his directorial debut, the box office receipts in mainland China, on the other hand were positive.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou published his first book titled "Grandeur de D Major" () on 25 November 2004. This 200-page book features a prologue written by his family, friends, and co-workers; the main section is a compilation of his personal attitudes, philosophies, and recollections of childhood experiences along with pictures from his music videos, many of which have never been released; and lastly, a list of the artist's major awards, musical and lyrical compositions, and discography. For the usually low-profile singer, this book revealed his personality and convictions that has served as the basis of his musical and public image. He demonstrated a strong appreciation of family values with an especially deep connection with his mother and maternal grandmother. His confidence and dedication towards music is evident as he dedicated 2 out of 7 chapters to music: the current state of the industry, his composition methodology, and the importance of individualism to his success in music. This pride is contrasted against his modesty and self-assessed naïveté about many aspects in life, particularly regarding relationships and marriage.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou has been a spokesperson for popular brands such as Pepsi (2002–2007), Panasonic (2001–2005), Motorola (since 2006), M-Zone/China Mobile (since 2003), Levi's (2004–2005), Deerhui (sporting goods, since 2003), Metersbonwe Group (casual wear, since 2003), Colgate (2004–2005), popular computer game "" (2002), and science and nature magazine "National Geographic" (2005). To maximize the celebrity branding effect, advertisements are nearly always linked to his music and TV commercials are occasionally directed by him. He acted as the tourism ambassador for Malaysia in 2003. In April 2008, Jay signed with Sprite and collaborated with artistes such as Angela Chang and JJ Lin in commercials. He also did a Sprite commercial with Kobe Bryant and specially wrote a song named "天地一鬥 (Battle of the Incomparable)" featuring Kobe Bryant for the commercial. In June 2011, Jay expanded his area of endorsement into the field of technology, becoming the designer and spokesperson of the "N43SL Jay Chou Edition" laptop of ASUS Computers. The laptop is most notable for its lid design, sound system, start-up and shut-down tones, and a unique "J" font for its key. All of which, except for the sound system, are designed and composed by Jay himself. In 2015, Jay endorses Luxgen.


title: Jay Chou

text: Jay has been the spokesperson for "Angel Heart Foundation" since 2012, a non-profit charity for children with intellectual disability. In 2013, he hosted a voluntary concert for them.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2014, Jay accepted the Ice Bucket Challenge from Andy Lau, and also donated NT$100,000 to Taiwanese ALS Foundation, and also donated NT$2 million in the aftermath of 2014 Kaohsiung gas explosions. He also attended the charity event from Fubon Charity Foundation, and


title: Jay Chou

text: has been the ambassador for the charity, which helps school children with disabilities, hardship or giving children living in poverty a scholarship for their education. He had already donated NT$970 million in the last 5 years, sponsoring over 300 of the thousand benefactors, and would extend the offer by 5 years, and opened 300 more scholarships, and donated a lump sum of NT$10.8 million in the next 5 years worth NT$2.16 million each year. In June, 2014, he also went on tour with Will Liu to visit many schoolchildren in remote areas of Taiwan. Jay's second tour is scheduled in August 2015, two months after he officially became the spokesperson for the scholarship plan.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2016, Jay Chou bought the eSports (League of Legends) team Taipei Assassins and renamed it J Gaming. Chou only serves as an investor and owner, and despite holding the title of a 'captain/leader', he will only play in celebrity matches, and would not involve in the day-to-day operating and coaching of the team.


title: Jay Chou

text: In 2017, Jay Chou spent about 18 million RMB to build a Jay eSports building in 深圳 Shenzhen, which provided updated computer devices and the streaming areas for eSports players in China. More importantly, Jay decides to hold more and more eSports events in the Jay eSports building, which is helpful for the development of eSport industry in China.


title: Jay Chou

text: Despite living under continual media scrutiny, Chou's public image has changed little over the years as he emphasizes individuality as his "personal philosophy". In his music, this is also evident as he fuses Chinese and Western styles and explores topics unconventional for a pop singer, which have been described as "authentic" and "revolutionary". The media describes a hard-working perfectionist with clear self-direction who is occasionally regarded as competitive and a "control freak". There is a misunderstanding about his nickname "President Chou" (), used by both the press and fans to underscore his domineering personality and impact on Asian music, but also points at his musical talent. It also points to the fact that he is the CEO, spokesperson and chairperson of his many business ventures like clothing lines and his own talent agency (JVR Music). Yet the origin of this nickname emerges from his fever of collecting antiques as the word "董" comes from "antique" in Chinese (古董), and according to JJ Lin, they both like to collect and drive antique cars (古董車). When he initiated Nan Quan Mama (南拳媽媽), it was also based on his pen name in his high school years, and the band's name was also dedicated to his mother. In fact, Nanquan is an actual style of martial arts from south of the Yangtze River. As Jay was influenced by action movies, he also wrote songs about martial arts, even when he had no formal training in any martial arts discipline. Outside of music, Chou is reported as shy, quiet, modest, and views filial piety as ""the most important thing"". In line with his aim to present a positive image, he is a non-smoker and non-drinker and does not go to nightclubs. Government officials and educators in Asia have awarded him for his exemplary behaviour, designated him a spokesperson in the youth-empowerment project "Young Voice" in 2005 and an anti-depression campaign in 2007. His lyrics for two songs have been incorporated into the school syllabus to inspire motivational and filial attitudes. In November 2007, Chou was criticized by some for attending the funeral of Taiwanese gang leader Chen Chi-li to console Chen's son Baron Chen, whom Chou met while filming "Kung Fu Dunk". In 2011 Chou performed on the New Year's Gala program on China's Central Television.


title: Jay Chou

text: As with other stars, Chou has expressed a strong dislike of the paparazzi. In the early years of his career, unwanted attention by the media was usually dealt with by avoidance. In-line with his quiet nature, he frequently wore baseball caps and hoods while lowering his head and evading eye contact during interviews. In recent years however, he has been less passive about the invasion of his privacy. To discourage the paparazzi from taking unsolicited pictures, Chou is known to photograph the paparazzi that follow him. He openly calls the paparazzi "dogs" and tabloids "dog magazines", as shown in his lyrics for "Besieged From All Sides" (). The media have also accused Chou of evading compulsory military service by feigning to suffer from ankylosing spondylitis. Later that year he was acquitted after providing the relevant medical records and letters from the army confirming a lawful exemption from draft dated before the start of his music career.


title: Jay Chou

text: Despite constant harassment and stalking by the media, he does acknowledge that not all media attention is unwelcome. Coverage by international journals and news agencies such as "Time", "The Guardian", and Reuters help ascertain his influence on mainstream culture. An editorial written by Kerry Brown of Chatham House named Chou as one of China's 50 most influential figures in 21st century, one of only three singers on a list dominated by politicians and corporate owners.


title: Jay Chou

text: It is difficult to estimate the size and global spread of Chou's fanbase. Jay's fanbase originated from Taiwan and grew extensively to other Mandarin-speaking regions. The Chinese-speaking populations of China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and Malaysia make up a significant percentage of Chou's fans. Despite rampant piracy issues in this region of Asia, particularly in China, every album Chou has released so far has surpassed 2 million sales. According to Baidu, the most popular internet search engine in China, Chou is the number one searched male artist in 2002, 05, 06 and 07.


title: Jay Chou

text: Currently, Chou remains largely unknown outside of Asia, except in cities with large Chinese speaking immigrant populations such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. He has held concerts in major venues such as the Acer Arena (Sydney – 3 July 2009), HP Pavilion at San Jose (San Jose – 31 December 2010), Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (Los Angeles – 8 January 2011), MGM Grand (Las Vegas – 25 December 2002), Rogers Arena (Vancouver – 23 December 2010), Shrine Auditorium (Los Angeles – 18 December 2004), Galen Center (Los Angeles – 24 December 2007), the Air Canada Centre (Toronto – 18 December 2008), and Wembley Arena (London – 17–18 March 2017). His intention to increase his prominence in the Western world beyond Chinese audiences is clear. In 2006, Chou composed and sang the theme song for "Fearless", a movie released in major theatres in most English-speaking countries, though the impact to his fame has been minimal. His role in "Curse of the Golden Flower" (limited release) marks his acting debut in North America. Despite having a supporting but important role in the story's plot, the North American version of the official posters only featured a view of his back, greatly contrasting the Asian versions where his face and name were clear and placed between the leading actor and actress. Although Chou is still far from being well known to English audiences, this movie has brought him international exposure. Chou gained further exposure to western audiences in his starring role as crimefighter Kato in January 2011's "The Green Hornet".


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou was rumored to have a relationship with Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai with the former being featured on Tsai's song "Can't Speak Clearly", which appeared on her fourth studio album "Lucky Number" (2001).


title: Jay Chou

text: In December 2001, Tsai and Chou were first spotted dining at an izakaya in Shinjuku, Japan. Although they did not admit to their relationship, their romance was an open secret in those years.


title: Jay Chou

text: In February 2005, Chou was spotted shopping intimately with Taiwanese news presenter Patty Hou in Shibuya, Japan. After that, Tsai deliberately avoided meeting Chou and Hou during public events.


title: Jay Chou

text: In June 2010, Tsai and Chou finally made amends, and Tsai appeared as a special guest at Chou's concert in Taipei, which shocked the public.


title: Jay Chou

text: In July 2013, when being interviewed by Taiwanese TV host Matilda Tao, for the first time, Tsai admitted she used to be in love with Chou, and that she broke up with him after he cheated on her.


title: Jay Chou

text: In November 2014, Chou confirmed his relationship with model Hannah Quinlivan. The pair had been dating since 2010, but Hannah first met Jay when she was 14 and had been working as his employee as a clothing shop assistant since 2007.


title: Jay Chou

text: The couple married on 17 January, 2015, one day before Chou's birthday. A separate private wedding ceremony open to friends and family occurred on 9 February in Taipei. A third reception, this time in Australia, was held in March. According to Chou's official Facebook page, the couple has been registered for marriage since July 2014.


title: Jay Chou

text: The couple has three children: daughter Hathaway (born July 2015), son Romeo (born June 2017), and Jacinda (born May 2022).


title: Jay Chou

text: Jay Chou became an Evangelical Protestant Christian as his wife, his mother and some of his friends, including Will Liu and Vanness Wu, are Protestants. In 2012, he was baptised.


title: Jay Chou

text: From the launch of his music career in 2000, Chou has won singer-songwriter and producer awards in Asia. The highly coveted Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan awarded "Best Album" for his debut CD "Jay" (2000) in 2001, and five awards (including "Best Album", "Best Composer", and "Best Producer") in the following year for the album "Fantasy" (2001). However, failure to win "Best Album" for three consecutive years has left him disheartened with award ceremonies. Although he continues to win more than 20 awards per year from various organizations in Asia, Chou has stated he will rely more on album sales as an indicator of his music's quality and popularity. In 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008, he was awarded Best-Selling Chinese Artist by World Music Awards for the albums "Common Jasmin Orange", 依然范特西 "Still Fantasy" and "On the Run".


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou dominated the 12th annual Channel V Music Awards ceremony, which was held 11 January 2006 at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong. In the Taiwan/Hong Kong category, the Sony BMG Hong Kong-signed artist was named best male singer, most popular male singer and best singer/songwriter. Chou also collected the best music video award and received one of the best song of the year awards, both for "Night Song."


title: Jay Chou

text: Taiwanese vocalist Jay Chou was named the best Asian artist at the eighth annual CCTV/MTV Music Awards, held 12 October 2006 at the Beijing Exhibition Centre Auditorium.


title: Jay Chou

text: Five Chinese musicians gained exposure for their participation in events associated with the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, including Jay Chou.


title: Jay Chou

text: Chou won the Favorite Male Artist of the 20th Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan. He did not attend the event to collect the award as he was on tour in China at the time.


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern coast of the country, on the northeastern bank of the Río de la Plata.


title: Montevideo

text: The city was established in 1724 by a Spanish soldier, Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst the Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region. It was also under brief British rule in 1807, but eventually the city was retaken by Spanish criollos who defeated the British invasions of the River Plate. Montevideo is the seat of the administrative headquarters of Mercosur and ALADI, Latin America's leading trade blocs, a position that entailed comparisons to the role of Brussels in Europe.


title: Montevideo

text: The 2019 Mercer's report on quality of life, rated Montevideo first in Latin America, a rank the city has consistently held since 2005. , Montevideo was the 19th largest city economy in the continent and 9th highest income earner among major cities. In 2022, it has a projected GDP of $53.9 billion, with a per capita of $30,148.


title: Montevideo

text: In 2018, it was classified as a beta global city ranking eighth in Latin America and 84th in the world. Montevideo hosted every match during the first FIFA World Cup, in 1930. Described as a "vibrant, eclectic place with a rich cultural life", and "a thriving tech center and entrepreneurial culture", Montevideo ranked eighth in Latin America on the 2013 MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index.


title: Montevideo

text: It is the hub of commerce and higher education in Uruguay as well as its chief port. The city is also the financial hub of Uruguay and the cultural anchor of a metropolitan area with a population of around 2 million.


title: Montevideo

text: There are several explanations about the word "Montevideo". All agree that "Monte" refers to the Cerro de Montevideo, the hill situated across the Bay of Montevideo, but there is disagreement about the etymological origin of the "video" part.


title: Montevideo

text: Between 1680 and 1683, Portugal founded the city of Colonia do Sacramento in the region across the bay from Buenos Aires. This city met with no resistance from the Spanish until 1723, when they began to place fortifications on the elevations around Montevideo Bay. On 22 November 1723, Field Marshal of Portugal built the Montevieu fort.


title: Montevideo

text: A Spanish expedition was sent from Buenos Aires, organized by the Spanish governor of that city, Bruno Mauricio de Zabala. On 22 January 1724, the Spanish forced the Portuguese to abandon the location and started populating the city, initially with six families moving in from Buenos Aires and soon thereafter by families arriving from the Canary Islands who were known as Guanches or Canarians. There was also one significant early Italian resident by the name of Jorge Burgues.


title: Montevideo

text: A census of the city's inhabitants was performed in 1724 and then a plan was drawn delineating the city and designating it as "San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo", later shortened to Montevideo. The census counted more than 100 families of Galician and Canary Islands origin, more than 1000 indigenous people, mostly Guaraní, as well as some Black African slaves of Bantu origin.


title: Montevideo

text: A few years after its foundation, Montevideo became the main city of the region north of the Río de la Plata and east of the Uruguay River, competing with Buenos Aires for dominance in maritime commerce. The importance of Montevideo as the main port of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata brought it in confrontations with the city of Buenos Aires in various occasions, including several times when it was taken over to be used as a base to defend the eastern province of the Viceroyalty from Portuguese incursions.


title: Montevideo

text: In 1776, Spain made Montevideo its main naval base ("Real Apostadero de Marina") for the South Atlantic, with authority over the Argentine coast, Fernando Po, and the Falklands.


title: Montevideo

text: Until the end of the 18th century, Montevideo remained a fortified area, today known as Ciudad Vieja.


title: Montevideo

text: On 3 February 1807, British troops under the command of General Samuel Auchmuty and Admiral Charles Stirling occupied the city during the Battle of Montevideo (1807), but it was recaptured by the Spanish in the same year on 2 September when John Whitelocke was forced to surrender to troops formed by forces of the Banda Oriental—roughly the same area as modern Uruguay—and of Buenos Aires. After this conflict, the governor of Montevideo Francisco Javier de Elío opposed the new viceroy Santiago de Liniers, and created a government Junta when the Peninsular War started in Spain, in defiance of Liniers. Elío disestablished the Junta when Liniers was replaced by Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros.


title: Montevideo

text: During the May Revolution of 1810 and the subsequent uprising of the provinces of Rio de la Plata, the Spanish colonial government moved to Montevideo. During that year and the next, Uruguayan revolutionary José Gervasio Artigas united with others from Buenos Aires against Spain. In 1811, the forces deployed by the Junta Grande of Buenos Aires and the gaucho forces led by Artigas started a siege of Montevideo, which had refused to obey the directives of the new authorities of the May Revolution. The siege was lifted at the end of that year, when the military situation started deteriorating in the Upper Peru region.


title: Montevideo

text: The Spanish governor was expelled in 1814. In 1816, Portugal invaded the recently liberated territory and in 1821, it was annexed to the Banda Oriental of Brazil. It was named by Emperor Pedro I when the city was part of the Empire of Brazil as capital of the Cisplatina province. Juan Antonio Lavalleja and his band called the "Treinta y Tres Orientales" ("Thirty-Three Orientals") re-established the independence of the region in 1825. Uruguay was consolidated as an independent state in 1828, with Montevideo as the nation's capital. In 1829, the demolition of the city's fortifications began and plans were made for an extension beyond the Ciudad Vieja, referred to as the "Ciudad Nueva" ("new city"). Urban expansion, however, moved very slowly because of the events that followed.


title: Montevideo

text: Uruguay's 1830s were dominated by the confrontation between Manuel Oribe and Fructuoso Rivera, the two revolutionary leaders who had fought against the Empire of Brazil under the command of Lavalleja, each of whom had become the "caudillo" of their respective faction. Politics were divided between Oribe's "Blancos" ("whites"), represented by the National Party, and Rivera's "Colorados" ("reds"), represented by the Colorado Party, with each party's name taken from the color of its emblems. In 1838, Oribe was forced to resign the presidency; he established a rebel army and began a long civil war, the Guerra Grande, which lasted until 1851.


title: Montevideo

text: The city of Montevideo suffered a siege of eight years between 1843 and 1851, during which it was supplied by sea with British and French support. By 1843 Montevedio's population of thirty thousand inhabitants was highly cosmopolitan with Uruguayans making up only a third of it. The remaining were chiefly Italian (4205), Spanish (3406), Argentine (2.553), Portuguese (659), English (606) and Brazilians (492). Oribe, with the support of the then conservative Governor of Buenos Aires Province Juan Manuel de Rosas, besieged the Colorados in Montevideo, where the latter were supported by the French Legion, the Italian Legion, the Basque Legion and battalions from Brazil. Finally, in 1851, with the additional support of Argentine rebels who opposed Rosas, the Colorados defeated Oribe. The fighting, however, resumed in 1855, when the Blancos came to power, which they maintained until 1865. Thereafter, the Colorado Party regained power, which they retained until past the middle of the 20th century.


title: Montevideo

text: After the end of hostilities, a period of growth and expansion started for the city. In 1853 a stagecoach bus line was established joining Montevideo with the newly formed settlement of Unión and the first natural gas street lights were inaugurated. From 1854 to 1861 the first public sanitation facilities were constructed. In 1856 the Teatro Solís was inaugurated, 15 years after the beginning of its construction. By Decree, in December 1861 the areas of Aguada and Cordón were incorporated to the growing "Ciudad Nueva" (New City). In 1866, an underwater telegraph line connected the city with Buenos Aires. The statue of Peace, "La Paz", was erected on a column in Plaza Cagancha and the building of the Postal Service as well as the bridge of Paso Molino were inaugurated in 1867.


title: Montevideo

text: In 1868, the horse-drawn tram company "Compañía de Tranvías al Paso del Molino y Cerro" created the first lines connecting Montevideo with Unión, the beach resort of Capurro and the industrialized and economically independent Villa del Cerro, at the time called "Cosmopolis". In the same year, the Mercado del Puerto was inaugurated. In 1869, the first railway line of the company "Ferrocarril Central del Uruguay" was inaugurated connecting Bella Vista with the town of Las Piedras. During the same year and the next, the neighborhoods Colón, Nuevo París and La Comercial were founded. The Sunday market of Tristán Narvaja Street was established in Cordón in 1870. Public water supply was established in 1871. In 1878, "Bulevar Circunvalación" was constructed, a boulevard starting from Punta Carretas, going up to the north end of the city and then turning west to end at the beach of Capurro. It was renamed Artigas Boulevard in 1885. By Decree, on 8 January 1881, the area "Los Pocitos" was incorporated to the "Novísima Ciudad" (Most New City).


title: Montevideo

text: The first telephone lines were installed in 1882 and electric street lights took the place of the gas operated ones in 1886. The Hipódromo de Maroñas started operating in 1888, and the neighborhoods of Reus del Sur, Reus del Norte and Conciliación were inaugurated in 1889. The new building of the School of Arts and Trades, as well as Zabala Square in Ciudad Vieja were inaugurated in 1890, followed by the Italian Hospital in 1891. In the same year, the village of Peñarol was founded. Other neighborhoods that were founded were Belgrano and Belvedere in 1892, Jacinto Vera in 1895 and Trouville in 1897. In 1894 the new port was constructed, and in 1897, the Central Railway Station of Montevideo was inaugurated.


title: Montevideo

text: In the early 20th century, many Europeans (particularly Spaniards and Italians but also thousands from Central Europe) immigrated to the city. In 1908, 30% of the city's population of 300,000 was foreign-born. In that decade the city expanded quickly: new neighborhoods were created and many separate settlements were annexed to the city, among which were the Villa del Cerro, Pocitos, the Prado and Villa Colón. The Rodó Park and the Estadio Gran Parque Central were also established, which served as "poles" of urban development.


title: Montevideo

text: During the early 20th century, Uruguay saw huge social changes with repercussions primarily in urban areas. Among these changes were the right of divorce (1907) and women's right to vote.


title: Montevideo

text: The 1910s saw the construction of Montevideo's Rambla; strikes by tram workers, bakers and port workers; the inauguration of electric trams; the creation of the Municipal Intendencias; and the inauguration of the new port.


title: Montevideo

text: In 1913, the city limits were extended around the entire gulf. The previously independent localities of the Villa del Cerro and La Teja were annexed to Montevideo, becoming two of its neighborhoods.


title: Montevideo

text: During the 1920s, the equestrian statue of Artigas was installed in Plaza Independencia; the Palacio Legislativo was built; the Spanish Plus Ultra flying boat arrived (the first airplane to fly from Spain to Latin America, 1926); prominent politician and former president José Batlle y Ordóñez died (1929); and ground was broken (1929) for the Estadio Centenario (completed 1930).


title: Montevideo

text: During World War II, a famous incident involving the German pocket battleship "Admiral Graf Spee" took place in Punta del Este, from Montevideo. After the Battle of the River Plate with the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy on 13 December 1939, the "Graf Spee" retreated to Montevideo's port, which was considered neutral at the time. To avoid risking the crew in what he thought would be a losing battle, Captain Hans Langsdorff scuttled the ship on 17 December. Langsdorff committed suicide two days later. The eagle figurehead of the "Graf Spee" was salvaged on 10 February 2006; to protect the feelings of those still sensitive to Nazi Germany, the swastika on the figurehead was covered as it was pulled from the water.


title: Montevideo

text: Uruguay began to stagnate economically in the mid-1950s; Montevideo began a decline, later exacerbated by widespread social and political violence beginning in 1968 (including the emergence of the guerrilla Movimiento de Liberación Nacional-Tupamaros) and by the Civic-military dictatorship of Uruguay (1973-1985). There were major problems with supply; the immigration cycle was reversed.


title: Montevideo

text: From the 1960s to the end of the dictatorship in 1985, around one hundred people died or disappeared because of the political violence. In 1974 another hundred Uruguayans also disappeared in Argentina. In 1980, the dictatorship proposed a new constitution. The project was submitted to referendum and rejected in the first polls since 1971, with 58% of the votes against and 42% in favor. The result weakened the military and triggered its fall, allowing the return of democracy.


title: Montevideo

text: In the 1980s, Pope John Paul II visited the city twice. In April 1987, as head of state of Vatican, he signed a mediation agreement for the conflict of the Beagle Channel. He also held a large mass in Tres Cruces, declaring the cross located behind the altar as a monument. In 1988, he returned to the country, visiting Montevideo, Florida, Salto and Melo.


title: Montevideo

text: The 2002 Uruguay banking crisis affected several industries of Montevideo. In 2017, the city has maintained 15 years of economic growth, with a GDP of $44 billion, and a GDP per capita of $25,900.


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo has consistently been rated as having the highest quality of life of any city in Latin America: by 2015 it held this rank every year during the decade through 2014.


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo is situated on the north shore of the Río de la Plata, the arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the south coast of Uruguay from the north coast of Argentina; Buenos Aires lies west on the Argentine side. The Santa Lucía River forms a natural border between Montevideo and San José Department to its west. To the city's north and east is Canelones Department, with the stream of Carrasco forming the eastern natural border. The coastline forming the city's southern border is interspersed with rocky protrusions and sandy beaches. The Bay of Montevideo forms a natural harbor, the nation's largest and one of the largest in the Southern Cone, and the finest natural port in the region, functioning as a crucial component of the Uruguayan economy and foreign trade. Various streams crisscross the town and empty into the Bay of Montevideo. Its coastline near the emptying rivers are heavily polluted.


title: Montevideo

text: The city has an average elevation of . Its highest elevations are two hills: the Cerro de Montevideo and the Cerro de la Victoria, with the highest point, the peak of Cerro de Montevideo, crowned by a fortress, the Fortaleza del Cerro at a height of . Closest cities by road are Las Piedras to the north and the so-called Ciudad de la Costa (a conglomeration of coastal towns) to the east, both in the range of 20 to from the city center. The approximate distances to the neighboring department capitals by road are, to San Jose de Mayo (San Jose Department) and to Canelones (Canelones Department).


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo has a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa", according to the Köppen climate classification). Being in a middle latitude, the city experiences the four seasons. It has cool Winters (June to August), warm-hot Summers (December to February), mild Autumns (March to May) and volatile Springs (September to November); The climate is characterized for having mild temperatures, without harsh cold or extreme heat. There are numerous thunderstorms but no tropical cyclones. Rainfall is regular and evenly spread throughout the year, reaching around .


title: Montevideo

text: Winters are generally cool, wet, windy and overcast. The average temperature during this season is just above . Daytime temperatures are generally between and , and night lows between and . During this season, there are bursts of icy and relatively dry winds of continental polar air masses, giving an unpleasant chilly feeling to the everyday life of the city, with daytime temperatures around or below and possible night frosts. These occur few times during winter, with temperatures generally not falling below because of the oceanic influence that moderates the temperature; a few kilometres inland, frosts are more common and colder. On the other hand, even in the middle of winter it's not uncommon to have temperatures above for a few days. Rainfall and sleet are a frequent winter occurrence, but snowfall is extremely rare: flurries have been recorded only four times but with no accumulation, the last one on 13 July 1930 during the inaugural match of the World Cup, (the other three snowfalls were in 1850, 1853 and 1917); the alleged 1980 Carrasco snowfall was actually a hailstorm.


title: Montevideo

text: Summers are warm-hot and humid, with less wind than other seasons. The average temperature in this season is


title: Montevideo

text: . Daytime temperatures are usually between and , while night lows between and . During this season, a moderate wind often blows from the sea in the evenings which has a pleasant cooling effect on the city, in contrast to the more severe summer heat of nearby cities like Buenos Aires. Heat waves come with the north winds, which bring humid and hot air masses from the tropical interior of the continent; temperatures can rise above . These warm periods are usually followed by thunderstorms, generated by cold fronts from the southwest that lowers temperatures considerably. This phenomenon is regional, and can occur several times all year long.


title: Montevideo

text: The autumn in Montevideo is quite pleasant and not so unstable. Daytime temperatures are in general around and nights around .


title: Montevideo

text: Spring average temperatures are very similar to the autumn, but the weather in that season tends to be more windy and volatile, with more dramatic changes in a short period of time.


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo has an annual average temperature of . The lowest recorded temperature is while the highest is .


title: Montevideo

text: , the city of Montevideo has been divided into 8 political municipalities ("Municipios"), referred to with the letters from A to G, including CH, each presided over by a mayor elected by the citizens registered in the constituency. This division, according to the Municipality of Montevideo, "aims to advance political and administrative decentralization in the department of Montevideo, with the aim of deepening the democratic participation of citizens in governance." The head of each "Municipio" is called an "alcalde" or (if female) "alcaldesa".


title: Montevideo

text: Of much greater importance is the division of the city into 62 "barrios": neighborhoods or wards. Many of the city's "barrios"—such as Sayago, Ituzaingó and Pocitos—were previously geographically separate settlements, later absorbed by the growth of the city. Others grew up around certain industrial sites, including the salt-curing works of Villa del Cerro and the tanneries in Nuevo París. Each "barrio" has its own identity, geographic location and socio-cultural activities. A neighborhood of great significance is Ciudad Vieja, that was surrounded by a protective wall until 1829. This area contains most important buildings of the colonial era and early decades of independence.


title: Montevideo

text: The architecture of Montevideo ranges from Neoclassical buildings such as the Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral to the late-modern style of the World Trade Center Montevideo or the ANTEL Telecommunication Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the country. Along with the Telecommunications Tower, the Palacio Salvo dominates the skyline of the Bay of Montevideo. The building facades in the Old Town reflect the city's extensive European immigration, displaying the influence of old European architecture. Notable government buildings include the Legislative Palace, the City Hall, Estévez Palace and the Executive Tower. The most notable sports stadium is the Estadio Centenario within Parque Batlle. Parque Batlle, Parque Rodó and Parque Prado are Montevideo's three great parks.


title: Montevideo

text: The Pocitos district, near the beach of the same name, has many homes built by Bello and Reboratti between 1920 and 1940, with a mixture of styles. Other landmarks in Pocitos are the "Edificio Panamericano" designed by Raul Sichero, and the "Positano" and "El Pilar" designed by Adolfo Sommer Smith and in the 1950s and 1960s. However, the construction boom of the 1970s and 1980s transformed the face of this neighborhood, with a cluster of modern apartment buildings for upper and upper middle class residents.


title: Montevideo

text: The Palacio Legislativo in Aguada, the north of the city center, is the seat of the Uruguayan Parliament. Construction started in 1904 and was sponsored by the government of President José Batlle y Ordóñez. It was designed by Italian architects Vittorio Meano and , who planned the building's interior. Among the notable contributors to the project was sculptor José Belloni, who contributed numerous reliefs and allegorical sculptures.