title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Loughner's former classmate and friend Tong Shan stated that her last encounter with Loughner was in October 2010, after he was suspended and dropped out of college and just before he purchased the semi-automatic handgun used in the shooting. She said that while Loughner was "anti-government," he never appeared violent, nor did he mention his plans to buy a gun.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: According to court records, Loughner had two previous offenses: in October 2007, he was cited in Pima County for possession of drug paraphernalia and on October 13, 2008, he was charged after defacing a street sign in Marana, near Tucson (a charge that was dismissed following the completion of a diversion program in March 2009). The police report noted that he drew a stylized CX, which Loughner said were Christian symbols.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Zach Osler, a high-school classmate of Loughner's and his closest friend, indicated that Loughner's life began to unravel after his high-school girlfriend broke up with him. He began to abuse alcohol and other drugs, including cannabis (marijuana), cocaine, psychedelic mushrooms, LSD, and "Salvia divinorum" (a hallucinogen legal in Arizona).


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: After struggling with drugs for more than two years, Loughner gave up alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs in late 2008 and has not used since, according to one of his longtime friends. The U.S. Army confirmed that Loughner had been rejected as "unqualified" for service in 2008. According to military sources, Loughner admitted to marijuana use on numerous occasions during the application process.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Former classmate Caitie Parker remembers Loughner as a "pot head". Loughner has a history of drug use, having been arrested in September 2007 for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. "I haven't seen him in person since '07," Parker recalled in early 2011. "I'm looking back at this [as] a 14–19-year-old...who knows if any of us knew what for sure we were yet."


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: In the months leading up to the shooting, Loughner's parents became increasingly alarmed at their son's behavior; at one point, they resorted to disabling his car every night in order to keep him at home. On one occasion, his father confiscated his shotgun and both parents urged him to get help. Loughner also became obsessed with controlling what he perceived to be lucid dreams.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: From February to September 2010, while a student at Pima Community College, Loughner had five contacts with campus police for classroom and library disruptions. Some of his teachers complained to the administration about his disruptions and bizarre behavior, as they thought it a sign of mental illness and feared what he might do. On September 29, 2010, college police also discovered a YouTube video shot by Loughner, in which his spoken commentary stated that the college was illegal according to the United States Constitution. He described his school as "one of the biggest scams in America".


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: The college decided to suspend Loughner and sent a letter to his parents, to consult with them and him together. The college told Loughner that if he wanted to return, he needed to resolve his code of conduct violations and obtain a mental health clearance (indicating, in the opinion of a mental health professional, that his presence did not constitute a danger to himself or others). On October 4, Loughner and his parents met with campus administrators and Loughner indicated he would withdraw from the college. During Loughner's time at Pima, a classmate said she worried that he might commit a school shooting. One of his teachers has claimed a similar suspicion after the Tucson shooting. He never submitted to a mental health evaluation and did not return to the college.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Several college classmates recalled an incident in which Loughner, during a class discussion, had mocked and laughed at a young woman who was describing her abortion. One classmate described Loughner's reaction as "wildly inappropriate". started making comments about terrorism and laughing about killing the baby," former classmate Don Coorough recalled to ABC News. Yet another classmate, Lydian Ali, recalled that "a girl had written a poem about an abortion. It was very emotional and she was teary eyed and he said something about strapping a bomb to the fetus and making a baby bomb out of it."


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Records show that Loughner was registered as an independent and voted in 2006 and 2008, but not in 2010.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Loughner's high-school friend Zach Osler said, "He did not watch TV; he disliked the news; he didn't listen to political radio; he didn't take sides; he wasn't on the Left; he wasn't on the Right." The tone of Loughner's online writings and videos from immediately before the attack was described by "The Guardian" as "almost exclusively conservative and anti-government, with echoes of the populist campaigning of the Tea Party movement".


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: According to a former friend, Bryce Tierney, Loughner had expressed a longstanding dislike for Gabby Giffords. Tierney recalled that Loughner had often said that women should not hold positions of power. He repeatedly derided Giffords as a "fake". This belief intensified after he attended her August 25, 2007 event when she did not, in his view, sufficiently answer his question: "What is government if words have no meaning?" Loughner kept Giffords' form letter, which thanked him for attending the 2007 event, in the same box as an envelope which was scrawled with phrases like "die bitch" and "assassination plans have been made". Zane Gutierrez, a friend, later told "The New York Times" that Loughner's anger would also "well up at the sight of President George W. Bush, or in discussing what he considered to be the nefarious designs of government."


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: His friend Zach Osler noted that conspiracy theories had a profound effect on Loughner. He was a member of the message board Above Top Secret, which discusses conspiracy theories; members of the site did not respond warmly to posts believed to be from his account. Loughner espoused conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks, the New World Order, and believed in a 2012 apocalypse, among other controversial viewpoints.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: In the aftermath of the shooting, the Anti-Defamation League reviewed messages by Loughner, and concluded that there was a "disjointed theme that runs through Loughner's writings", which was a "distrust for and dislike of the government." It "manifested itself in various ways" – for instance, in the belief that the government used the control of language and grammar to brainwash people, the notion that the government was creating "infinite currency" without the backing of gold and silver, or the assertion that NASA was faking spaceflights. Kathryn Olmsted of UC Davis wrote that Loughner possessed a "toxic jumble of left- and right-wing conspiracy theories, his sources ranging from Marx to Hitler to heavy metal."


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Journalists had speculated that Loughner was anti-Semitic due to his attack on Rep. Giffords, who is Jewish, but the Anti-Defamation League's analysis of the messages by Loughner found that he had a more generalized dislike of religion, and of government. A police report noted that he had previously been caught making graffiti associated with Christian anti-abortion groups.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Loughner has been described as an anti-theist by those who knew him. Loughner declined to state his religion in his Army application. In his "Final Thoughts" video, Loughner stated, "No, I don't trust in God!", in reference to the United States national motto printed on coins and paper currency, "In God We Trust". He expressed a dislike for all religions, and was particularly critical of Christians.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Loughner allegedly purchased the 9mm Glock pistol used in the shooting from a Sportsman's Warehouse in Tucson on November 30, 2010. The night before the shooting, at 2:05 a.m. he left a message on a friend's voicemail saying, "Hey man, it's Jared. Me and you had good times. Peace out. Later." In a MySpace post the morning of the shooting at 4:12 a.m. he wrote, "Goodbye friends. Please don't be mad at me. The literacy rate is below 5%. I haven't talked to one person who is literate. I want to make it out alive. The longest war in the history of the United States. Goodbye. I'm saddened with the current currency and job employment. I had a bully at school. Thank you. P.S. – plead the fifth!"


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: The MySpace page showed a close-up photo of a handgun sitting atop a document titled "United States History."


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: On January 8, 2011, at 7:04 a.m. MST, Loughner went to a Walmart store near the Foothills Mall to purchase ammunition, but left that store and completed his purchase at Walmart on North Cortaro Road at 7:28 a.m. He was stopped by Arizona Game and Fish Department officer Alen Edward Forney at 7:34 a.m. for running a red light, but once the officer determined there were no outstanding warrants for Loughner, he was allowed to proceed to his destination with a warning to drive carefully. Loughner took a taxi to a Safeway supermarket location in Casas Adobes, where Rep. Giffords was holding a constituents meeting. The shooting occurred at 10:10 a.m. MST.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Loughner opened fire on Giffords from close range, hitting her as well as numerous bystanders, and killing six people. Thirteen other people were injured by gunfire, and one person was injured while fleeing the scene of the shooting. Giffords, the apparent target of the attack, was shot in the head and critically injured.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Loughner was stopped by bystanders and was arrested by police, saying, "I plead the Fifth," as he was taken into custody. A photograph taken by the Pima County Sheriff's Office's forensic unit was released to the media on January 10, 2011 and published on front pages nationwide. "The Washington Post" described Loughner's expression in the photo as "smirking and creepy, with hollow eyes ablaze," while the art director for "The New York Times" said the photo was featured on the front page because it "was the picture of the day [...] it was intense and arresting. It invited you to look and study, and wonder."


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Loughner was charged in federal court with one count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of murder of a federal employee (Giffords' aide and Judge Roll), and two counts of attempting to murder a federal employee, based on his injury of two of Giffords' aides. He was indicted on three of the charges on January 19, 2011. Loughner was held without bail in the Federal Correctional Institution at Phoenix, kept isolated from other inmates 23 hours a day and allowed out of his cell for one hour a day to shower and exercise. On February 24, 2011, he was transferred to the United States Penitentiary in Tucson.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Attorney Judy Clarke, a former federal public defender who in the past had represented suspects in several high-profile murder and terrorism cases, was appointed to represent Loughner in federal court. The entire federal judiciary of Arizona recused themselves from hearing the case because of their ties to fellow judge John Roll, who was killed. Federal prosecutors opposed motions to move the case outside of Arizona because of pre-trial publicity. At the direction of Ninth Circuit Appeals court Chief Judge Kozinski, the federal case was assigned to Larry Alan Burns, a San Diego-based judge from the Southern District of California.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Prosecutors representing the State of Arizona, which has concurrent jurisdiction in the matter, announced they intended to file murder and attempted murder charges on behalf of the victims who were neither members of Congress nor federal employees (although they could legally file charges on behalf of all victims, at their discretion). Arizona state prosecutors normally have ten days from the time a suspect is brought into custody to file charges, but time spent in federal custody does not count towards this limitation. Arizona law does not permit a verdict of "not guilty by reason of insanity", but does allow for a verdict of "guilty but insane."


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: On January 24, 2011, Loughner appeared at the Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix, before Judge Larry Alan Burns from San Diego. Loughner, whose hair had partially regrown since his arrest, smiled while presented with the charges related to the shooting, including the attempted killing of Giffords and two of her aides. Loughner's attorney, Judy Clarke, requested that Judge Burns select a plea on her client's behalf, to which a plea of not guilty was recorded. When Burns asked Clarke if Loughner understood the charges against him, she replied that they were "not raising that issue" at the time. She did not object to a request by prosecutors to have future hearings moved back to Tucson. On March 3, 2011, a federal grand jury indicted Loughner on additional charges of murder and attempted murder for a total of 49 counts. On March 9, 2011, Loughner pleaded not guilty to all 49 charges.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: On May 25, 2011, Judge Burns stated, "I got some letters declaring some conflict with his counsel...I intend to table them at this time. At such a point that his competency is restored, if he wants to bring up the matter of counsel, he can renew it then." The judge suppressed the letters from the court record.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: On May 25, 2011, Judge Burns ruled Loughner was then incompetent to stand trial, based on two medical evaluations. Court proceedings were suspended while Loughner, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, received psychiatric treatment at the psychiatric wing of the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. He was scheduled to appear in court on September 21, 2011, but that hearing was delayed until September 28, 2011, when the judge reviewed whether he could understand the charges against him and could assist in his own defense. (Loughner's lawyers unsuccessfully objected to him appearing at the hearing.)


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Loughner disrupted the court hearing with an outburst, and was carried from the courtroom. According to "The New York Times", Loughner believed he succeeded in killing Giffords, and clashed with his lawyer when she informed him that the congresswoman had survived.<ref name="NYT25/05/11"></ref> He was judged still incompetent to stand trial following medical evaluations and a hearing in May 2011.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: On June 26, 2011, Judge Burns ruled that prison doctors could forcibly medicate Loughner with antipsychotic drugs in order to treat him to restore him to competency for trial, but on July 12, 2011, a three-judge federal appeals panel from the Ninth Circuit ruled that Loughner could refuse anti-psychotic medication, since he "has not been convicted of a crime, is presumptively innocent and is therefore entitled to greater constitutional protections than a convicted inmate." However, the ruling stated that it "does not preclude prison authorities from taking other measures to maintain the safety of prison personnel, other inmates and Loughner himself, including forced administration of tranquilizers".


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: A week after the ruling, prison medical authorities resumed forcible treatment of Loughner with the antipsychotic risperidone, this time citing "Washington v. Harper" and stating the purpose of treatment was the need to control the danger he posed to himself and others in prison, rather than rendering him fit for trial. Loughner's defense team submitted an emergency motion to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, claiming that this treatment was in violation of their ruling and seeking an immediate injunction to halt treatment. The request for an injunction was denied by the court, allowing treatment to continue pending a full hearing into the matter. Arguments began on August 30 as to the lawfulness of this treatment. In March 2012, a federal appeals court denied a request by Loughner's lawyers to halt his forced medication.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: On May 24, 2012, a federal judge ordered a competency hearing for June 27 (later postponed until August 7) to determine Loughner's mental fitness to stand trial. He remained at a federal prison hospital in Missouri pending the entry of his plea. A request by Loughner's lawyers to rehear arguments on forced medication was denied on June 5, 2012.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: On August 7, 2012, Judge Burns found Loughner competent to stand trial based on medical evaluations. Loughner pleaded guilty to 19 counts at the hearing, which spared him the death penalty. The hearing began with Loughner listening to testimony from Christina Pietz, Loughner's forensic psychologist, who testified that he had displayed depressive symptoms in 2006 and was formally diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2011. Pietz said that she believed that, after having been forcibly medicated for more than a year, Loughner had expressed remorse and was a changed individual. She said that he was competent to stand trial and agree to a plea. Sentencing was set for November 15, 2012 at 10 a.m. local time. The sentence could not include the death penalty, because the guilty plea bargain was made with an assurance that it would not be sought; Loughner under the law faced a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, U.S. Representative Ron Barber, a former aide to Mrs. Giffords who was shot in the attack, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, John S. Leonardo, had all approved the plea. It was offered and accepted after consultation with them and with the families of the other victims.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: By pleading guilty in the deal, Loughner automatically waived his right to any further appeals and cannot later alter his plea to an insanity plea. Loughner must pay a restitution of $19 million, $1 million for each of the victims. He forfeited the weapons he used in the incident, and any money earned from efforts to sell his story. Loughner answered that he understood each charge, and signed his initials after each page of the agreement and signed his name to it, dated August 6.


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: On November 8, 2012, Loughner appeared in front of U.S. District Court Judge Larry Alan Burns in a court in Tucson. He was sentenced to serve seven consecutive life terms plus 140 years in prison without parole. Even though he was convicted and sentenced in federal court, there was still a possibility that Loughner could be tried for murder and other crimes in Arizona court. Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall declared later that afternoon that she would not prosecute Jared Loughner on behalf of the State of Arizona. LaWall explained that her decision would afford the victims and their families, as well as the community in Tucson and Pima County, an opportunity to move forward with their lives. She said that, after speaking and consulting personally with each of the surviving victims and with the family members of those killed, it was clear that they would not be benefitted by a State prosecution. Surviving victims and family members told LaWall that they are "completely satisfied with the federal prosecution", that "justice has been served", and that the federal sentence is "suitably severe".


title: Jared Lee Loughner

text: Loughner is currently serving his life sentence at the Federal Medical Center, Rochester, Minnesota, a prison for inmates with specialized health issues.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: Amelia Frances Shepherd, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character on the ABC American television "Grey's Anatomy "medical drama and the spin-off series "Private Practice", portrayed by Caterina Scorsone. In her debut appearance in season three, Amelia visited her former sister-in-law, Addison Montgomery, and became a partner at the Oceanside Wellness Group. In July 2010, it was reported that she was promoted to series regular for the fourth season, after appearing in the final five episodes of season three. She remained in the series until the final episode.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: Scorsone crossed over as a special guest in one episode each of the seventh (2010–11) and eighth seasons (2011–12) of "Grey's Anatomy", which ran concurrently with the fourth (2010–11) and fifth seasons (2011–12) of "Private Practice", in both 2010 and 2012. After "Private Practice" ended its six-season run in January 2013, Scorsone returned to the "Grey's Anatomy" universe in its parent show, recurring in the final four episodes of the tenth season in 2014. She was then promoted to series regular for season eleven (2014–15), and has appeared as a main cast member for all of its subsequent seven seasons.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: Amelia is the youngest sibling of Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey)'s family, and a recovering drug addict. Her storylines in both shows revolve around her struggle with sobriety, recklessness, and ambition as a neurosurgeon. Scorsone has been a part of the "Grey's" universe for over ten years and has appeared in a total of eleven seasons as a series regular. She has also appeared as a guest star in the second spin-off, "Station 19". The actress has been lauded by critics and fans alike.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: Scorsone describes her character's “hero” journey as showing the “full Phoenix-ing of a woman who was so broken and traumatized by loss and addiction”.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: On March 2, 2010, Scorsone was recruited to join the cast of Shonda Rhimes' drama series "Private Practice" in the recurring role of Amelia Shepherd, the sister of Derek Shepherd from its parent show, "Grey's Anatomy". Eric Stoltz, who was directing Scorsone's debut episode "Eyes Wide Open" heard about the role of Amelia and recommended Scorsone portray her, as he knew her from working with her during her child actress days on "My Horrible Year!" a decade prior. Shonda Rhimes agreed to bring her in after Stoltz noted her acting chops and resemblance to Patrick Dempsey, who plays Derek Shepherd. Scorsone mentioned that she still had to do the regular auditioning process to get cast. She ended up appearing in five episodes of the third season of "Private Practice". As of July 2010, Scorsone was promoted to series regular for "Private Practice".


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: On top of her sister being a big fan of the parent show, she later revealed she considered becoming a doctor after binge-watching the first season of "Grey's" when she was finishing her bachelor's degree saying, "I would unwind after exams by binge-watching the first season of "Grey's Anatomy". When I got to the end of it, I was under the misapprehension that I wanted to become a doctor. So I went to this medical faculty lecture series and by the end, I said, ‘I don't want to be a doctor. In fact, I just want to be on Grey's Anatomy.’"


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: In an interview with "The Hollywood Reporter", Scorsone spoke about Amelia's past as an addict being exposed in the season eleven episode, "Could We Start Again, Please?" She elaborated further, "There's the shock and sadness of seeing that all of the work that she's done to build this new life in Seattle is being destroyed, as everybody is finding out about her past in a way that she's not in control of," she continues. "It's not as though she decided that she's comfortable with revealing her history and was able to tell the story sensitively; it was taken from her and exposed in a way that she wasn't in control of and that she wouldn't have chosen. It's a pretty exposing and disempowering experience for her."


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: Scorsone describes Amelia as being “really intense” and requiring “lots of emotional energy to play”. She said, “To kind of shake it out and get back to my real personality, it helps to kind of go away and explore new things and see the world a little bit”. Regarding her fifth season storyline on "Private Practice", Scorsone commented on her troubled character in 2011, "Yes, at this point she suffers emotionally and chemically. She had her surgical privileges revoked because she fell off the wagon. So I explore depression, grief and substance abuse. I think – speaking of wanting to help people – I do get to articulate and illustrate for people what a struggle with substance abuse and mental health looks like."


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: The loss of her newborn son in "Private Practice" transmits into her storyline on "Grey's". In the thirteenth season (2016–17), Amelia experiences a rift with her newly wedded spouse Owen Hunt, portrayed by Kevin McKidd. Caterina Scorsone offered to rationalize Shepherd's fears of having another child, causing the rift, despite Owen being somewhat aware of the loss of her firstborn son. She said, “...he's been very accepting but this is a very core trauma for Amelia and there's something about trauma that goes beyond logic. When someone has undergone serious trauma, regardless of whether you think objectively — "Yes, this person is going to be very patient and accepting of it" — but there's something like trauma itself that makes whatever it was that traumatized the person almost unsayable. I think that's what she's experiencing: even to speak it is to re-traumatize herself in some ways. I think this is a powerful combination of perfect storm factors in her paralysis. She doesn't want to disappoint him, she loves him so much and she is also totally paralyzed by the fear and trauma she went through in Los Angeles."


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: Despite Owen and Amelia breaking up over having children, the two share a bond by co-parenting Betty and her son, Leo, who Owen later adopts. In the sixteenth season (2019–20), Amelia discovers she is pregnant again. Scorsone felt Shepherd was more prepared now that she had experienced parenting Leo and fellow addict Betty in the previous two seasons, as well as her articulating the loss of her son Christopher aloud. The sixteenth season sees Amelia in a healthier, happier place. Scorsone felt that the character had come into her “authentic self”, with her career, community, and support of sisters Meredith and Maggie Pierce portrayed by Kelly McCreary. She said, ”She doesn't want or need to lose herself in anything or anyone anymore“ and that her motherhood isn't depending on the relationship with her new boyfriend Link, portrayed by Chris Carmack, lasting”. Scorsone also mentioned her uncertainty of Amelia's true love for Link, possibly due to pregnancy hormones, but said Amelia admired his commitment to having the child regardless.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: As explained by Amelia in "In the Name of Love", she and her brother Derek watched her father get shot dead at his store when she was merely five years old.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: Amelia comes to the show as part of a team of neurosurgeons visiting Los Angeles to do a consult in the season three episode “Eyes Wide Open”. She joined the team despite knowing she would encounter her former sister-in-law, Addison Montgomery. However, Amelia is soon fired from the team after offering the patient's family hope in the form of experimental surgery, but the patient's husband requests Amelia to perform it despite the risks. Her boss, Dr. Geraldine Ginsberg, does not believe that the surgery will work and neither does Derek Shepherd, Amelia's older brother.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: Amelia later asks Naomi Bennett for a place at Oceanside as the primary neurosurgeon. In the season three finale, Amelia performs surgery on Maya, Sam, and Naomi's pregnant daughter. As soon as Amelia finishes surgery on Maya, she rushes to perform surgery to repair brain bleeds in Dell, another employee of the hospital. However, Dell dies on the table, and Amelia takes it very hard. A friend from college comes to visit, whose mother died from Huntington's disease. Amelia pushes her friend to find out if she also has the gene. When her friend's results come back positive for Huntington's gene, she asks Amelia to help her kill herself in assisted suicide, because she did not want to die the way her mother did. Amelia refuses which leads to her old friend taking matters into her own hands and completing suicide. Amelia then ends up relapsing on drugs along with a man named Ryan whom she had met one night while grieving. They fall in love with each other and Ryan proposes to her, she accepts and in return gifts, Ryan her father's watch, which has much significance because her father lost his life while being robbed because he refused to give up the watch (it was present from Amelia's mother to him and signified their love). Addison then stages an intervention with her coworkers for Amelia. Amelia and Ryan start discussing their future, and children which lead to them deciding to stop doing drugs but not without one last final high. Unfortunately, Ryan overdoses and dies. Amelia wakes up next to her dead fiancé and later learns she is pregnant with his child. However, the baby, who Amelia names Christopher, is born without a frontal lobe, causing him to die in Amelia's arms soon after his birth. Amelia donates all of Christopher's organs to ensure his death was not in vain.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: She appeared in the third episode of the seventh season of "Grey's Anatomy" where Amelia and Derek started to reconcile their differences, as part of a cross-over. She reprised her role in the fifteenth episode of the eighth season, working a neuro case with Lexie Grey, portrayed by Chyler Leigh. In this episode, Amelia disputes with Derek yet again on surgery, this time about Cooper's son's mom, who has a brain tumour.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: Following the end of "Private Practice" in January 2013, the character of Amelia was added to its progenitor show "Grey's Anatomy". In season ten, she was seen in the season's last four episodes visiting her brother Derek and his wife Meredith Grey in their Seattle home and helping care for their children. Previously, she had only made one-off guest appearances on the show when storylines crossed over between the two series.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: On June 23, 2014, Scorsone and her character were permanently added to the regular cast for season eleven, which began airing in September 2014.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: In the eleventh season, Amelia has ended her engagement with James and develops a secret fling with Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), which she later confides in Derek about. However, after Derek's death, Owen goes to the army. He later returns, and she grieves her brother's loss with him. The twelfth season sees Amelia and Owen's romance developing further, as Amelia expresses repressed anger over Meredith unplugging Derek before she could say goodbye. She is also angry over Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) hiring Penny Blake (Samantha Sloyan), one of Derek's doctors on the day he died. Later, she marries Owen but expresses doubt and second thoughts before the wedding in the season 12 finale. The thirteenth season sees Amelia and Owen's marriage face problems when the idea of pregnancy brings repressed memories of the death of her firstborn son, Christopher. They divorce early in the fourteenth season civilly, after Amelia's brain tumor is removed, explaining some of her erratic behavior late in the thirteenth season. Late in the fourteenth season sees Amelia helps a teenage addict named Betty and her six-month son, Leo. Owen eventually adopts Leo, and Betty returns home to her parents for stability. Despite Owen and Amelia rekindling romantic feelings, Owen discovers former flame Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) is pregnant with his baby. Amelia starts sleeping with Link and later discovers she is pregnant with his child. She expresses uncertainty about revealing the paternity of the baby, as it might have been Owen's, but Link's affirmation of loving the child regardless of whether he is the father soothes her. She gives birth to their son in the sixteenth-season finale, who was later named Scout Derek Shepherd Lincoln in the season premiere of season 17. At the end of Season 17, Link proposes to Amelia, but she turns him down. In season 18, Amelia was part of a storyline with Meredith which saw them travel to Minnesota to take part in Parkinson’s Disease research with the hope of curing the disease. Whilst in Minnesota, Amelia met a fellow Hopkins Alumni, Neuroscientist Dr. Kai Bartley who identifies as non-binary. During the Season 18 mid-season finale, Kai traveled to Seattle with Dr. David Hamilton the Doctor who has Parkinson’s Disease and the person who is funding the research into curing the disease. Amelia guide meditates Kai outside Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital as David is having surgery and the pair finally share a kiss.


title: Amelia Shepherd

text: Tanner Transky for "Entertainment Weekly" felt Scorsone's appearance in the "Grey's" season eight cross-over episode, “Have You Seen Me Lately?” was one of the weaker cross-over episodes for its parent show, but praised the “dramatic” nature in its "Private Practice" section, evaluating that “For characters, I don't really care about that much, I did care... a little bit”. She also said Amelia “proved her strength”, despite the “demons in her life”.


title: Bill Duke

text: William Henry Duke Jr. (born February 26, 1943) is an American actor and film director. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke works primarily in the action and crime drama genres often as a character related to law enforcement. Frequently a character actor, he has starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Commando" and "Predator", and has appeared in films like "American Gigolo", "No Man's Land", "Bird on a Wire", "Menace II Society", "Exit Wounds", "Payback", "", and "Mandy". In television, he is best known as Agent Percy Odell in "Black Lightning".


title: Bill Duke

text: He has directed episodes of numerous television series including "Cagney & Lacey", "Dallas", "Hill Street Blues", "Miami Vice", "The Twilight Zone," and "American Playhouse". He has also directed the crime films "Deep Cover" and "A Rage in Harlem", for which he was nominated for a Palme d'Or, as well as the comedy "Sister Act 2".


title: Bill Duke

text: Duke was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of Ethel Louise ("née" Douglas) and William Henry Duke Sr. He attended Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park and later received his first instruction in the performing arts and in creative writing at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie. Duke worked menial jobs 7 days a week to cover his living expenses and intended to halt his education until Dr. James Hall, a DCC Dean gave Duke a personal check to cover room, board and books for his next 3 years at Boston University, where (Duke) had secured an academic-based scholarship, intending to pursue medical school after graduation, to please his parents. "My room smelled like formaldehyde." He later switched to English Education and then instruction in dance and drama for the completion of his B.A.


title: Bill Duke

text: Duke then did graduate work at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Unable to secure quite enough acting working, he pan-handled, as well as shop-lifted groceries. He did, however, appear on Broadway in the 1971 Melvin Van Peebles musical "Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death". With acting roles dried up, Duke next attended AFI Conservatory to study filmmaking.


title: Bill Duke

text: Standing at an imposing and with a closely shaved head, Duke first became a familiar face to moviegoers in "Car Wash" (1976), where he portrayed fierce young Black Muslim revolutionary Abdullah Mohammed Akbar (formerly known as Duane). He expanded his repertoire with "American Gigolo" (1980), where he played a gay pimp, who co-orchestrates a murder, pinned on star Richard Gere.


title: Bill Duke

text: As the action-film-oriented genre became more popular, Duke portrayed a string of tough guys. He worked opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger with a small role in "Commando". Then he acted alongside Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers and Jesse Ventura in the scifi action thriller "Predator", followed by a role as a police chief in the 1988 Carl Weathers vehicle "Action Jackson".


title: Bill Duke

text: Duke appeared uncredited as a DEA officer in "The Limey" (1999), as well as a police chief opposite Steven Seagal in "Exit Wounds". In "Menace II Society" (1993), he played a police investigator who tricks the main character into contradicting himself during an interrogation, then tries to rattle him by repeating the line, "You done fucked up, you know that, don't you?" The line became often-quoted. He played a corrupt law enforcement agent in two films opposite Mel Gibson—"Bird on a Wire" (as an FBI agent) and "Payback" (as a police detective). Duke appeared as Trask in "", Washington in "National Security", Levar in "Get Rich or Die Tryin'", Nokes in "Bad Country" and Caruthers in "Mandy".


title: Bill Duke

text: In the early 1980s, Duke accidentally secured a directing job on "Knots Landing", due to a secretarial or clerical error at AFI Conservatory. However, the producers were pleased with his work, and he was kept on, eventually directing 10 episodes of the show. This made him one of the first four black television directors. Duke then directed episodes of "Knots Landing"'s mother show "Dallas" and its sister show "Falcon Crest" (6 episodes). Next came action and cop shows "Hill Street Blues", "Miami Vice" and "Starman". He credits the benevolence and humanity of people like Larry Hagman and Jane Wyman for his early TV directing success, while he occasionally heard derogatory remarks, and even racial slurs, from crew members, including the Teamsters.


title: Bill Duke

text: Duke directed the TV movie "The Killing Floor" in 1984. He began directing theatrical films in the 1990s with crime dramas "A Rage in Harlem" (1991), "Deep Cover" (1992) and "Hoodlum" (1997). He also directed "The Cemetery Club" (1993) and the Whoopi Goldberg comedy sequel "" (1993).


title: Bill Duke

text: For television, Duke directed the A&E Network original film, "" (2000). In 2007 he directed the historical reenactments in the award-winning PBS-broadcast documentary "Prince Among Slaves".


title: Bill Duke

text: Duke teamed with screenwriter Bayard Johnson to co-produce "Cover", a 2007 film which explores the HIV epidemic.


title: Bill Duke

text: He is set to direct "The Power of One: The Diane Latiker Story", a film based on Chicago activist Diane Latiker.


title: Bill Duke

text: Duke made an appearance on "Kojak" in 1976, as Sylk in the episode "Bad Dude", in the third season of the series. He guest-starred in the fourth episode of "Lost" in its third season as Warden Harris, in the episode "Every Man for Himself".


title: Bill Duke

text: Duke had a starring role in the short-lived TV series "Palmerstown, U.S.A.", produced by Norman Lear and "" author, Alex Haley. Although the series was critically acclaimed and won an Emmy, it ran for only 17 episodes in the 1980–81 television season.


title: Bill Duke

text: Duke was cast as recurring character Capt. Parish in the action television series/crime drama "Fastlane". He made a guest appearance on "Baisden After Dark" in the episode broadcast on July 18, 2008 and guest-starred on "Cold Case" as Grover Boone, a corrupt politician, in the 2008 episode "Street Money". Duke voiced a detective in the episode "Thank You for Not Snitching" of the animated television series "The Boondocks." The character and his entire scene were references to "Menace II Society". Duke appears in Busta Rhymes' music video "Dangerous". Duke also appears in an episode of "" as a lawyer. In May 2017, Duke appeared on episode 6 of the first season of the Outdoor Channel show "Hollywood Weapons: Fact or Fiction?". Duke discussed with host Terry Schappert his time filming "Predator", his character Sgt. Mac Elliot, and what it was like to fire an M134 Minigun.


title: Bill Duke

text: In 2018, Duke joined the second season of The CW superhero drama series "Black Lightning" as recurring character Agent Percy Odell, a dedicated A.S.A. government official.


title: Bill Duke

text: He has served on the board of trustees of the American Film Institute, as a member of the California Film Commission board, appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger, in the Time Warner Endowed Chair in the Department of Radio Television and Film at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and as a member of the National Endowment for the Humanities, appointed by President Bill Clinton.


title: Bill Duke

text: In 2011 he directed the documentary Dark Girls, which was nominated for an NAACP Award, followed by 2015's Light Girls.


title: Bill Duke

text: Duke is also the founder & owner of the "Duke Media Foundation" that helps prepare young people for a career in all aspects of film, video and TV production. Duke became a teacher of Transcendental Meditation in Ethiopia in 1973 under the guidance of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.


title: The Cowsills

text: The Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island, six siblings noted for performing professionally and singing harmonies at an early age, later with their mother.


title: The Cowsills

text: The band was formed in early 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and Barry Cowsill; their brother John joined shortly thereafter. Originally Bill and Bob played guitar and Barry played the drums. When John learned to play drums and joined the band, Barry began playing bass. After their initial success, the brothers were joined by their siblings Susan and Paul along with their mother, Barbara. A seventh sibling, Bob's fraternal twin brother Richard, was never part of the band during its heyday, although he occasionally appeared with them in later years.


title: The Cowsills

text: The band's road manager for most of their career was Richard "Biggie" Korn. When the group expanded to its full family membership by 1967, the six siblings ranged in age from 8 to 19. Joined by their mother, Barbara Cowsill (née Russell), the group inspired the 1970s television show "The Partridge Family".


title: The Cowsills

text: The Cowsills' musical interest started while their father, William "Bud" Cowsill, was stationed in Canton, Ohio, in the late 1950s, as a US Navy recruiter. Bill and Bob taught themselves how to play the guitar. As the boys' musical and vocal abilities developed they began performing at church school dances in Stark County, Ohio. These, and other performances, led to the boys' first television appearance on the "Gene Carroll Show" on WEWS in Cleveland.


title: The Cowsills

text: In late 1965, the Cowsills were hired as a regular act on Bannisters Wharf in Newport. The group performed many of the popular songs of the day including the music of the Beatles. A handful of singles were released on JODA Records, a label owned by Danny Sims and Johnny Nash (of I Can See Clearly Now fame), and Philips Records in 1965 and 1966, to only modest success. After Leonard Stogel took over management of the band, they were signed to MGM Records in 1967 through his efforts on their behalf. Barbara, who would become known to their fans affectionately as "Mini-Mom" due to her diminutive stature, joined the group just in time to record the band's first album, including the hit single "The Rain, The Park & Other Things" with Bill on lead vocals. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold record. With the success of "The Rain ...", the band quickly became a popular act in the U.S., and achieved significant airplay in England and other parts of Europe. "The Rain, The Park and Other Things" reached No. 2 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: The Cowsills

text: Although Bill and I performed at a very young age, and Bill, I, Barry and John did a lot of frat parties at Brown University and clubs in Newport ... the most memorable performance of what I would view as the precursor of what The Cowsills would be was at Kings Park in Newport (right at the foot of Halidon Hall) at some carnival. The family angle just evolved ... first Bill and me, then Bill me and Barry, then Bill, me, Barry and John, then Bill, me, Barry, John and Mom, then Bill, me, Barry, John, Mom and Paul, then later, me, Paul, John, Barry, Mom and Susan, then back to Bill, me, Barry and John (very briefly in the end) and then to me, Paul, John and Susan. Our first real break came when we were playing the MK Hotel in Newport (in the basement there) and a guy from the "Today Show" saw us and asked if we wanted to be on the "Today" show. We weren't famous or anything but we were young and we were related and we were quite good. So we went on "The Today Show" (I doubt a tape exists of that but if it did it would be priceless to see) and someone from Mercury Records saw us, which ultimately led to our signing with that label and putting out "Most Of All" (a great "school's out" song that should have been our first hit in my opinion), which led to Artie Kornfeld and Steve Duboff. Mercury dropped us, but Artie and Steve had written "The Rain, The Park and Other Things" and we went in and recorded that song at A&R studios in New York and took the whole package to MGM, who decided wouldn't it just be terrific if their mother performed with them and, voila, the rest, as they say, is history.


title: The Cowsills

text: The Cowsills released five albums in all for MGM records between 1967 and 1970. Following the success of "Rain" and their eponymous album, the title track from their second album, "We Can Fly", peaked at #21 in the spring of 1968; by that time Susan was added to the group. Later that same year they scored another Top 10 hit with the song "Indian Lake", produced by Wes Farrell, which reached No.10 on the US charts. "Captain Sad and his Ship of Fools", the album it appeared on, was produced by Bill and Bob and had added Paul to the group.


title: The Cowsills

text: In September 1968, after the group's summer tour, the family relocated to Santa Monica, California. Shortly after arriving, they received a copy of the "Hair" soundtrack album in the mail from the famed writer-producer-actor Carl Reiner, who was putting together a special for television called "Wonderful World of Pizzazz". The special was to be a celebration of the hippie fashion and music of that time. Reiner wanted the group to appear on the show performing "Hair", the title track from the current hit musical, and indicated that their performance would also have a satirical edge thanks to the juxtaposition of the squeaky-clean family group performing a song about long-haired hippies. At that time, the group had not heard of the musical and considered the request from Reiner as more of an assignment.


title: The Cowsills

text: Following rehearsals at their home, and demo sessions at SIR Studios on Santa Monica Boulevard, The Cowsills' version of "Hair" was recorded over two days in early October 1968 at TTG Studios in Hollywood, where the TV company producing the special were regular clients. A key attraction of TTG was its custom-built 16-track recorder, the only such machine available in Los Angeles at the time, which attracted leading rock acts like Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa. Working with house engineer Angel Balestier, the track was arranged and produced by Bob and Bill, who made sure that each member of the group got to contribute an individual vocal part to the recording, both in lead and background vocals, ensuring that each of the group's members would feature on screen when they performed it for the TV special.


title: The Cowsills

text: Interviewed in 2018, Bob Cowsill recalled the intensive recording process, which was complicated by the fact that the group had not been in a recording studio for several months. The basic rhythm track was laid down first by Bill, Bob, John and Barry, but John (who was only 12 at the time) had difficulty mastering the time changes in the song, especially during the bridge ("Oh say can you see") section, and it reportedly required over 100 takes to achieve a satisfactory version. The group then proceeded to record the elaborate backing and lead vocal tracks, which were intricately arranged and engineered. The backing vocals were all double-tracked, and Balestier added additional "sparkle" to each vocal pass by sending the signal from the vocal microphone first through a Leslie speaker, then to the TTG echo chamber. The clean vocal signal, the "Leslie-ed" vocal signal and the Leslie-plus-echo signal were then all separately fed back to the console and mixed onto one track of the master. Each section of backing vocal was then double-tracked onto a second track, using the same setup of Leslie and echo, creating a very dense and lush sound. Another notable feature of the arrangement was dictated by the purpose of the recording - the network was concerned that some lyrics in the song might be problematic for viewers in the more socially conservative areas of the United States, so the group omitted the original final verse (which mentions God, Jesus and the Bible) and replaced it with a repeat of the first verse.


title: The Cowsills

text: Balestier mixed the mono track for the group to use during the filming of the special at the end of the final day of recording, but MGM records had no interest in releasing the song at that time. Bill had an acetate of the song cut at DCT Recorders which ended up being played for a DJ at WLS (AM) in Chicago where it generated significant attention. The TV special was taped on January 5, 1969, in San Francisco. As the air date of March 18 approached, MGM changed their minds and released the single. At this same time Bill and Bob were working on a live album, "The Cowsills in Concert" (released May 3), which included a stereo mix of "Hair" and became the group's best selling album. The band had a No.2 US hit and million seller with this version of the title song from the musical "Hair".


title: The Cowsills

text: From 1968 through 1972, the band played an average of 200 performance dates per year. They had their own comic book published by Harvey Comics in 1968.


title: The Cowsills

text: According to the documentary, "Family Band: The Cowsills Story", Bill was fired by his father during the group's tenure at a Las Vegas hotel, after they had an argument over Bill's association with Waddy Wachtel (whom Bud did not approve of) which ended with a physical confrontation, with Bud being arrested for assault. With Bob now bearing the responsibility for leading the group, the Cowsills continued as a group releasing three more albums—two with MGM including a greatest hits compilation, and then one with London Records. By 1972, Barbara, Paul and Susan had left the group, and Bill returned, reforming the original quartet; they released one more single, "Covered Wagon", which failed to chart. Shortly afterward, The Cowsills stopped playing together as a band amid a series of interpersonal squabbles. The individual members went on to various career attempts in and out of the music industry, but they did appear at Madison Jr. High School in Tampa, Florida as "The Cowsills" for one performance during the mid-1970s. Some produced albums and performed from time to time, albeit not as The Cowsills, during the remainder of the 1970s and into the 1990s. One project in particular was a band called Bridey Murphy, which was formed in the mid-'70s and featured Paul, Bill, Barry, and Waddy Wachtel, and performed to varying degrees of success.


title: The Cowsills

text: In 1978, several of the Cowsills—including Paul, John, Barry, Bob and Susan—recorded an album called "Cocaine Drain" with producer Chuck Plotkin. In March 2008 a version of the album was finally released, remastered from an acetate under Bob Cowsill's direction. Several other previously unreleased tracks were included on the 2008 release.


title: The Cowsills

text: The central four members of the group created the power pop tune "Is It Any Wonder?" in 1993, which was released in the critically praised multi-artist collection "Yellow Pills, Vol. 1: The Best of American Pop".


title: The Cowsills

text: In the years following the group's split, Susan continued her musical career as a member of The Continental Drifters, along with both her first husband Peter Holsapple and her second husband, Russ Broussard. She was a member of Dwight Twilley's band in the mid-1980s, and currently leads her own band, the Susan Cowsill Band. Her first solo album, "Just Believe it", was released in late 2005 by Blue Corn Music. In 2011, she was featured in an episode of the HBO series, "Tremé".


title: The Cowsills

text: John Cowsill has also continued his performing career. Since December 2000 John has been a regular member of The Beach Boys touring band, playing drums and keyboards and singing lead on some of their tunes. In earlier years, he performed with artists such as Jan & Dean and Dwight Twilley.


title: The Cowsills

text: Bill Cowsill moved to Canada in the 1970s and did well in that country as a solo artist, and as a member of Vancouver, British Columbia's Blue Northern, before forming The Blue Shadows, who recorded two albums for Sony Canada.


title: The Cowsills

text: After working as a sound engineer for Helen Reddy, Paul Cowsill left music for a career in the construction industry. He worked as a landscaper on several movies and television shows including the "Twilight" series and "Grimm".


title: The Cowsills

text: In 1990, Bob, Paul, John, and Susan again regrouped as The Cowsills after the family appeared in concert for the syndicated radio show, "The Lost 45s with Barry Scott". The original plan was to simply hit the "oldies circuit", but after some deliberation, they decided to showcase new material written by Bob and his wife, Mary Jo. This incarnation of the band started playing small clubs and showcases in the Los Angeles area and eventually spread out to similar venues across the country and into Canada. Their performances generated positive reviews from critics and fans alike, including a very well received performance on "The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers".


title: The Cowsills

text: The success of this reunion led The Cowsills back into the recording studio, which resulted in the album "Global". This has also led to several reunions over the years in various forms, ranging from a few concerts to special feature performances at major events. Most notable of these events were "A Taste of Rhode Island in 2000", which featured all seven surviving Cowsills, and "A Family Thing 2", which was a benefit concert in 2004 for Bill's medical and financial difficulties at the time. This concert took place at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles and included an appearance by Shirley Jones, who introduced the band. It was the first time they had ever met. As the mother on the TV show inspired by the Cowsills, Shirley made a point of calling them "the real thing". Though she did not sing with them that night, immediately after her announcement the Cowsills played "I Really Want to Know You"; it is the one song recorded by both The Cowsills and The Partridge Family. During this period, Barry also released a solo CD, "As Is".


title: The Cowsills

text: In October 2004, Bob, Paul, Barry, Susan and Richard reunited to sing the national anthem at Fenway Park before Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. This performance and rehearsals for it can be seen in the 2011 documentary, "Family Band: The Cowsills Story".


title: The Cowsills

text: Susan's first solo release, "Just Believe It", was released in 2004 in Europe and 2005 in the United States.


title: The Cowsills

text: Susan Cowsill continues to play live in New Orleans with her husband Russ Broussard and their band, playing "Covered In Vinyl" performances that have featured classic rock albums played live in their entirety. Some of these performances have been recorded at New Orleans venues like Carrollton Station and Chickie Wah Wah.


title: The Cowsills

text: Susan Cowsill's second solo album, "Lighthouse" was released in 2010 with support from the New Orleans musicians' organization Threadheads. It is a concept album in which she reflects on her losses, mainly through Hurricane Katrina and the deaths of brothers Barry and Bill. The album features harmonies from her surviving brothers (Bob, Paul and John) as well as appearances by Jackson Browne and Vicki Peterson, and was released May 18, 2010.


title: The Cowsills

text: As of June 2021, the group consisting of Bob, Paul and Susan and occasionally John, still perform and are set to appear on the "Happy Together" package tour with the Turtles and several other sixties era bands.


title: The Cowsills

text: The Cowsills released "Rhythm of the World", their first studio album of new material since 1998, on September 30, 2022.


title: The Cowsills

text: The Cowsills made many television appearances throughout the late 1960s and into the early 1970s. Their appearances included:


title: The Cowsills

text: The Cowsills made their first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on October 29, 1967. Although contracted for ten appearances, their second and final appearance was on December 24, 1967, after Bud confronted the Sullivan production team over a technical glitch during the performance.


title: The Cowsills

text: Game show appearances included "The Generation Gap" with Barbara and Bob, and "To Tell the Truth" in which the panel had to identify the real Barbara Cowsill, which was #2; she received two votes while one of the two "imposters" also received two votes. During game play, the siblings stood behind the three contestants.


title: The Cowsills

text: They starred in their own television special, called "A Family Thing", in November 1968 on NBC, which guest-starred Buddy Ebsen. By 1969 Screen Gems approached the family to portray themselves in their own TV sitcom, but when they were told that their mother was to be replaced by actress Shirley Jones the deal fell through. Screen Gems later hired Jones' stepson David Cassidy to join the TV show "The Partridge Family", and to have a four-year run on ABC Television.


title: The Cowsills

text: The Cowsills were also known as spokespeople for the American Dairy Association, appearing in advertisements promoting milk. They performed the theme for the David Niven film "The Impossible Years" (1968), and also sang the theme for "Love American Style" during the first season (1969).


title: The Cowsills

text: On August 10, 2010, the documentary film, "Family Band: The Cowsills Story" debuted at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. On March 6, 2013, the film made its network television debut on Showtime. The film, directed by Louise Palanker and co-directed / edited by Bill Filipiak, tells the behind the scenes story of the family, their rise to fame and subsequent fall due to their father's controlling and abusive nature. The film features interviews with Tommy James, Shirley Jones, and radio personality Cousin Brucie.


title: The Cowsills

text: In 2019, Bob, Paul, and Susan Cowsill were interviewed by journalist Rod Labbe for "RetroFan" magazine, in which they discussed their careers and lives together and apart.


title: Len Cariou

text: Leonard Joseph Cariou (; born September 30, 1939) is a Canadian actor and stage director, best known for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of "", for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, and for playing the patriarch Henry Reagan, NYPD Police Commissioner (retired), in the multi-generational television series "Blue Bloods" on CBS.


title: Len Cariou

text: Cariou's father was Breton and his mother was of Irish descent. Cariou attended Miles Macdonell Collegiate for grades 10 and 11, where he directed and starred in the school plays, and he later attended St Paul's College.


title: Len Cariou

text: Cariou made his first appearance in "Damn Yankees" at Rainbow Stage in Winnipeg in 1959, and was a founding member of the Manitoba Theatre Centre. He was offered a scholarship at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal but, married with a young child and financial responsibilities, he was forced to decline the honor. Instead, he learned his craft by spending two years at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario, and returned in 1981 to lead the company as Prospero, Coriolanus, Brutus, and Petruchio.


title: Len Cariou

text: Cariou also became a lead actor at the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis in the 1960s, where he played Orlando in "As You Like It"; Agamemnon in Tyrone Guthrie's compilation of "The House of Atreus"; Iago; Oberon; and the title roles in "Henry V", "Oedipus the King", and "King Lear". He also was an associate director.


title: Len Cariou

text: In 1968, Cariou made his Broadway debut in "The House of Atreus". Two years later, Cariou landed his first starring role opposite Lauren Bacall in "Applause", a musical adaptation of the film "All About Eve". It earned him a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Musical and won him the Theatre World Award. In 1973, he received his second Tony nomination for "A Little Night Music"; he reprised the role of Fredrik for the 1977 film version opposite Elizabeth Taylor. Six years later he won both the Tony and Drama Desk Award for his portrayal of "" in the Stephen Sondheim musical opposite Angela Lansbury. During these years, Cariou also appeared in a number of benefits, including "A Christmas Carol" for the Riverside Shakespeare Company in New York, playing Scrooge, with Helen Hayes, Raul Julia, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, directed by W. Stuart McDowell at the Symphony Space in 1985. His next projects included the Alan Jay Lerner–Charles Strouse musical "Dance a Little Closer" (1983), Arthur Miller's sole musical, "Up from Paradise" (1983), "Teddy & Alice" (1987), and "Ziegfeld" (1988). Cariou also appeared on Broadway in "Night Watch", "Cold Storage", "The Speed of Darkness", Neil Simon's "The Dinner Party" (with Henry Winkler and John Ritter) and "Proof" (with Anne Heche and Neil Patrick Harris). He directed "Don't Call Back" on Broadway as well. His off-Broadway appearances include "Master Class", "Papa" (an Ernest Hemingway one-man show) and "Mountain" (Justice William O. Douglas). He appeared as Cap'n Andy in the Broadway national tour of "Show Boat" opposite Cloris Leachman.


title: Len Cariou

text: Regionally, Cariou has starred in many productions at theatres throughout North America, including The Kennedy Centre, the Mark Taper Forum, Lincoln Centre, the Long Wharf Theatre and the Old Globe. He has played the title role of Macbeth for Toronto Arts Productions, and Richard Nixon in "Frost/Nixon" for Canadian Stage in Toronto. He has appeared multiple times throughout his career at the Manitoba Theatre Centre. In 1984, having directed "Death of a Salesman" at the Citadel Theater, Edmonton, he played the lead in "King Lear" and was appointed associate director. In 1985 he played Stalin there in David Pownall's "Master Class". Cariou appeared at The Geffen Theatre as Joe Keller in a notable production of "All My Sons", a role he reprised in 2009 at the Gate Theatre in Dublin, where it was the longest-running, highest-grossing run of a play in that theatre's history. He also appeared at The Geffen in Neil Simon's "Rose and Walsh" and "Heroes" with George Segal.


title: Len Cariou

text: From 1985 to 1992, Cariou appeared in multiple episodes of the popular television mystery series "Murder, She Wrote" with his friend and former "Sweeney Todd" co-star Angela Lansbury. Cariou portrayed the recurring character of Michael Hagarty, characterized as an Irish international man of mystery who worked as a secret agent for British MI-6. He would get Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), the title character of the show, involved in mysteries involving international intrigue.


title: Len Cariou

text: In 1993, Cariou was in the TV movie "Miracle on Interstate 880". He played Buck Helm. He also guest-starred in an episode of "North of 60" when he portrayed Sarah Birkett's estranged father.


title: Len Cariou

text: In 1995, Cariou became the first actor to portray Walt Disney in the Annette Funicello biography "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story", based on her book of the same name.


title: Len Cariou

text: In 1997, Cariou appeared in the "" episode "". He appeared to Captain Kathryn Janeway as an alien disguised as Admiral Janeway, her deceased father.


title: Len Cariou

text: In 2010, Cariou appeared as Madoff-like Ponzi scheme man Louis Tobin in the drama "Damages", the main antagonist in season three. Cariou has appeared in episodes of "The West Wing", "Law & Order", "The Practice", and "The Outer Limits". He had a continuing role in 2006–2007 as power broker Judd Fitzgerald in the series "Brotherhood".


title: Len Cariou

text: He currently appears as Henry Reagan, the former New York City Police Commissioner and patriarch of the current commissioner's family on "Blue Bloods".


title: Len Cariou

text: Cariou's film credits include "One Man", "Flags of Our Fathers", "About Schmidt", "Thirteen Days", "The Four Seasons", the Harold Prince-directed screen adaptation of "A Little Night Music" with Elizabeth Taylor, and "Secret Window" in which he starred alongside Johnny Depp, who would later go on to play Sweeney Todd in "", the Tim Burton-directed musical based on the Broadway show in which Cariou starred. He played the father in the 2007 film "1408", and the nominal lead role in "The Onion Movie", based on the satirical newspaper. In 2018 he starred alongside Bruce Willis in "Death Wish" as Dr. Paul Kersey's father-in-law.


title: Len Cariou

text: Cariou narrated Major League Baseball's World Series films from 1992 to 1997. In addition, he was the narrator of "An Amazin' Era", a video commemorating the 25th anniversary of the New York Mets franchise. He narrated both the original 1986 version and an update that was produced in 1989. He has recorded a number of books, including several by Michael Connelly, for audiotape release. He also narrated the 1989 Academy Award-winning documentary "The Johnstown Flood". In 2009, Cariou portrayed Franklin D. Roosevelt in the HBO movie "Into the Storm", earning an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. He played an American naval officer in 2013's "den Orolige Mannen" (the Troubled Man), adapted from one of Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander novels.


title: Len Cariou

text: More recently, Cariou portrayed Cardinal Law in "Spotlight", which won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 2015. He also starred in the short play "Happy Birthday, Mr. Abernathy" by Lloyd Suh for a public radio show and podcast, "Playing On Air".


title: Len Cariou

text: On Broadway, Cariou has earned three Tony nominations for 'Best Actor in a Musical' in 1970 for "Applause", in 1973 for "A Little Night Music", and in 1979 for "Sweeney Todd". He won the Tony for Best Performance By A Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance in "Sweeney Todd".


title: Len Cariou

text: In 2009, Cariou portrayed Franklin D. Roosevelt in the HBO movie "Into the Storm", earning an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.


title: Len Cariou

text: On June 23, 2012, Cariou was honored by having his name added to the Miles Macdonell Collegiate Alumni of Distinction, for his contribution to theater and arts. His introduction to the theater started with a starring role in the school production of "The Pirates of Penzance". He holds the Order of Manitoba and has been invested with honorary degrees from the University of Windsor and the University of Winnipeg.


title: Len Cariou

text: On December 27, 2018, Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, announced that Cariou would be one of 103 recipients becoming an Officer of the Order of Canada for his achievements as an actor of stage and screen, and for his commitment to Canadian cultural institutions.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: In the United States Armed Forces, the ranks of warrant officer (grades W‑1 to W‑5; see "NATO: WO1–WO5") are rated as officers above all non-commissioned officers, candidates, cadets, and midshipmen, but subordinate to the lowest officer grade of O‑1 (NATO: OF‑1). This application differs from the Commonwealth of Nations and other militaries, where warrant officers are the most senior of the other ranks (NATO: OR‑8 and OR‑9), equivalent to the U.S. Armed Forces grades of E‑8 and E‑9.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Warrant officers are highly skilled, single-track specialty officers. While the ranks are authorized by Congress, each branch of the uniformed services selects, manages, and uses warrant officers in slightly different ways. For appointment to the rank of warrant officer one (W‑1), normally a warrant is approved by the secretary of the respective service. However, appointment to this rank can come via commission by the service secretary, the department secretary, or by the president, but this is less common. For the chief warrant officer ranks (CW‑2 to CW‑5), these warrant officers are commissioned by the president. Both warrant officers and chief warrant officers take the same oath as other commissioned officers (O‑1 to O‑10).


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Warrant officers can and do command detachments, units, vessels, aircraft, and armored vehicles, as well as lead, coach, train, and counsel subordinates. However, the warrant officer's primary task as a leader is to serve as a technical expert, providing valuable skills, guidance, and expertise to commanders and organizations in their particular field.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The Army warrant officer traces lineage to 1896 with the War Department's creation of civilian Headquarters Clerks and Pay Clerks. In 1916, an Army Judge Advocate General review determined that field clerks should be members of the military. Legislation in 1916 authorized those positions as military rather than civilian and created the ranks of Army Field Clerk (the former rank of Headquarters Clerk) and Quarter Master Corps Field Clerk (the former rank of Pay Clerk). In July, 1917, all Field Clerks were considered enlisted and were assigned an enlisted uniform. Their branch insignia was two crossed quill pens (worn on a disk pin on the left side of the standing collar and a freework insignia on the visored cap).


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: On 19 December 1917, "Special Regulation 41" stated that the Army Field Clerk and Quarter Master Corps Field Clerk ranks were authorized the same uniform as an officer. Their rank insignia was now a freework pin of crossed quill pens on either side of the freework "U.S." pins worn on the standing collar of the M1909 tunic. They were not permitted the brown mohair cuff braid band of an Army officer, but were authorized a silver-and-black braid hatcord for wear with the M1911 Campaign Hat and the officer's "G.I. Eagle" on the M1902 peaked cap.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: On 9 July 1918, Congress established the rank and grade of warrant officer concurrent with establishing the Army Mine Planter Service (AMPS) within the Coast Artillery Corps. Creation of the Mine Planter Service replaced an informal service crewed by civilians, replacing them with military personnel, of whom the vessel's master, mates, chief engineer, and assistant engineers were Army warrant officers. Warrant officer rank was indicated by rings of brown cord worn on the lower sleeve of the uniform jacket: two for 2nd Mate and 2nd Assistant Engineer, three for 1st Mate and Assistant Engineer, and four for Ship's Master and Chief Engineer.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Since that time, the position of warrant officer in the Army has been refined. On 21 August 1941, under , Congress authorized two grades: warrant officer (junior grade) and chief warrant officer. In 1942, temporary appointments in about 40 occupational areas were made.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The insignia for warrant officer (junior grade) was a gold bar wide and long, rounded at the ends with brown enamel on top and a latitudinal center of gold (0.32 cm) inch wide. The insignia for chief warrant officer was a gold bar in width and in length with rounded ends, brown enamel on top with a longitudinal center stripe of gold wide. The brown enamel backing of the warrant officer insignia was based on the color of the sleeve insignia of rank for ship's officers of the AMPS.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: On 18 July 1942 , the Flight Officer Act, was enacted, creating the rank of flight officer, equivalent to warrant officer (junior grade) and assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF). Insignia was the same as for a warrant officer (junior grade), except the backing was in blue enamel rather than brown. Most flight officers were graduates of various USAAF flight-training programs, including power and glider pilots, and navigator and bombardier ratings. Graduates were appointed to the rating of flight officer, but some of each graduating class were commissioned as second lieutenants. Once reaching operational units and after gaining flying experience, flight officers were later offered direct commissions as lieutenants.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Flight sergeants, who were assigned as transport and glider pilots, were appointed as flight officers when the new rank was created. Some of the first eligible flight officers were Americans who had served as sergeant pilots in the Royal Air Force and who transferred to the USAAF after the U.S. entered the war.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: In November 1942, the War Department defined the rank order as having warrant officers above all enlisted grades and below all commissioned grades. In March 1944, the first six women were appointed to the warrant officer grades as Band Leaders and administrative specialists.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: In 1947, legislation was sought to introduce four grades of warrant officers. Proposed rank titles were: chief warrant officer, senior warrant officer, warrant officer first class, and warrant officer.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: In 1949, , the Career Compensation Act, created four pay grades, W-1 through W-4, for all the armed services. The two warrant ranks were unchanged, but warrant officer (junior grade) was pay grade W-1, while chief warrant officer started at W-2 and could advance to W-3 and -4.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: In late 1949, the Warrant Officer Flight Program was created, which trained thousands of warrant officer pilots. The personnel were to be trained by the US Air Force, but controlled by the US Army Transportation Corps. The first helicopter pilot class was 51A (April 1951 to December 1951), which was trained to fly H-19 Chickasaws. The program was temporarily cancelled in 1959 due to military budget cuts, but was reinstated in 1963 to meet the increased demand.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: In 1954, the Warrant Officer Act, , created separate ranks for each pay grade, W-1 through W-4. On 10 September 1956, AR 670-5 authorized the approved insignia for the new ranks that consisted of a metal frame around a brown enamel bar. The insignia for warrant officer 1 (Grade W-1) and chief warrant officer 2 (Grade W-2) was a gold metal frame with one or two horizontal metal bands across it. Chief warrant officer 3 and chief warrant officer 4 had a silver frame with one or two horizontal bands across it.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Due to the demand for helicopter pilots in Vietnam, the number of warrant officer pilots grew from about 2,960 in 1966 to more than 12,000 by 1970. In 1973, a reduction in force began and chief warrant officer helicopter pilots were offered promotion to the rank of first lieutenant to retain combat veterans.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: On 10 June 1970, the Army adopted a redesigned warrant officer insignia that was easier to identify. It was a silver bar with one to four black enamel squares on it (one per level of rank). "In July 1972, Army Warrant Officers began wearing the newly designed silver rank insignia, with black squares..." (Although wear of the new grade of rank insignia was not mandatory until August, 1973.)


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Beginning in 1977 the Army began commissioning "chief warrant officers" (CWOs) upon appointment/promotion to the grade of "chief warrant officer two" (W-2) and above. This brought Army CWOs in-line with those of the "Sea Services" (i.e., Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard) whom had always been "commissioned warrant officers."


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: On 8 April 1988, the rank of master warrant officer (MW4) was created in the grade of W-4. Candidates were drawn from chief warrant officer 4s (CW4) who had attended a special course at the warrant officer school at Fort Rucker. The first class graduated on 8 December 1988. The Warrant Officer Management Act of 5 December 1991, created the paygrade of W5 and the separate rank of master warrant officer (CW5), since renamed as chief warrant officer five.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: On 9 July 2004 the warrant officer branch insignia (also known as the "Eagle Rising" or "Squashed Bug") was discontinued. The warrant officer's branch of assignment will now be worn instead.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Army warrant officers are technical experts, combat leaders, trainers, and advisors. They serve in 17 branches and 67 warrant officer specialties, spanning the Active Component (i.e., Regular Army), the Army National Guard, and the U.S. Army Reserve. Warrant officers command the Army's waterborne and seagoing vessels, most Army bands, and as aircraft commanders of most Army Aviation aircraft. In addition, they may be found in command of various small units and detached teams.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The Army uses warrant officers to serve in specific positions which require greater longevity than the billet duration of commanders and other staff officers. The duration of these assignments results in increased technical expertise, as well as increased leadership and management skills.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Army warrant officers are officially addressed as Mister or Miss/Misses and warrant officers of grades CW2-CW5 can also be referred to as "Chief."


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The body of warrant officers in the Army is composed of two communities: technicians and aviators. Technicians typically must be sergeants (E-5, 'NATO: OR-5")" or above in a related specialty to qualify to become a warrant officer. A waiver may be granted on a case-by-case basis if the applicant has comparable experience in the government service or the civilian sector. The aviation field is open to all applicants, military or civilian, who meet the stringent medical and aptitude requirements. The aviation warrant officer route from the civilian sector is called the High School to Flight School Program, also known as "Street to Seat," where high school graduates or those actively serving that have a high school diploma are able to undergo Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS) and then proceed to aviation training at Fort Rucker, Alabama to commit ten years of military service as a U.S. Army aviator.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: After selection to the warrant officer program, candidates attend WOCS, which is developed and administered by the Warrant Officer Career College (USAWOCC) at Fort Rucker. Army candidates on active duty must attend the course at Fort Rucker. Candidates in the United States National Guard attend the course either at Fort Rucker, or one of the National Guard's Regional Training Institutes. After graduation, all candidates are promoted to warrant officers (WO1). Technicians attend training at their respective branch's warrant officer basic course (WOBC), where they study advanced subjects in their technical area before moving on to their assignments in the Army. Aviation-branched warrant officers remain at Fort Rucker to complete flight training and the aviation WOBC.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Special Forces warrant officer candidates from both the active and national guard components attend the Special Forces Warrant Officer Technical and Tactical Certification Course (SFWOTTC) at the Special Forces Warrant Officer Institute, John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The course includes both WOCS and WOBC, tailored to the unique training and experience of the Special Forces Sergeant. Candidates must be a staff sergeant (E-6, "NATO: OR-6") and above, and have served three years on an operational detachment.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: In 2008, the Army tested limited training of warrant officers at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, a course normally reserved exclusively for majors. The CGSC Class of 2009 included five warrant officers, and the Class of 2010 included nine warrant officers. Three 2010 graduates continued on to higher-level training at the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) in 2011.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The Army warrant officer is a self-aware and adaptive technical expert, combat leader, trainer, and advisor. Through progressive levels of expertise in assignments, training, and education, the warrant officer administers, manages, maintains, operates, and integrates Army systems and equipment across the full spectrum of Army operations. Warrant officers are innovative integrators of emerging technologies, dynamic teachers, confident warfighters, and developers of specialized teams of soldiers. They support a wide range of Army missions throughout their careers. Warrant officers in the Army are accessed with specific levels of technical ability. They refine their technical expertise and develop their leadership and management skills through tiered progressive assignment and education. The following are specific characteristics and responsibilities of the separate, successive warrant officer grades:


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: A. Warrant officer one (WO1) / chief warrant officer two (CW2): A WO1 is an officer appointed by warrant with the requisite authority pursuant to assignment level and position given by the Secretary of the Army. CW2s and above are commissioned officers with the requisite authority pursuant to assignment level and position as given by the President of the United States. WO1's and CW2's primary focus is becoming proficient and working on those systems linked directly to their AOC/MOS, that is, their area of concentration (officer AOC), or an enlisted rank's military occupational specialty (MOS). Warrant officers are classified by warrant officer military occupational specialty, or WOMOS. As they become experts on the systems they operate and maintain, their focus migrates to integrating their systems with other branch systems.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: B. Chief warrant officer three (CW3): The CW3s are advanced level technical and tactical experts who perform the primary duties of technical leader, trainer, operator, manager, maintainer, sustainer, integrator, and advisor. They also perform any other branch-related duties assigned to them. As they become more senior, their focus becomes integrating branch systems into larger Army systems.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: C. Chief warrant officer four (CW4): The CW4s are senior-level technical and tactical experts who perform the duties of technical leader, manager, maintainer, sustainer, integrator, and advisor and serve in a wide variety of branch level positions. As they become more senior, they focus on integrating branch and Army systems into joint and national-level systems.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: D. Chief warrant officer five (CW5): The CW5s are master-level technical and tactical experts who perform the primary duties of technical leader, manager, integrator, and advisor. They are the senior technical experts in their branches and serve at brigade and higher levels. They also serve as Command Chief Warrant Officers (CCWO) for large commands at the brigade level and higher.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Note: Chief warrant officer six was approved by the Army Chief of Staff in 1970 with the anticipation of Congress approving two new grades, W-5 and W-6. However, Congress did not authorize W-5 until 1991 and has still not approved W-6. The original W-5 insignia consisted of a single silver bar superimposed with four equally spaced silver squares with each square bordered in black. In 2004, this insignia was changed to a single silver bar surmounted by a single, narrow, vertical, black stripe, in harmony with the Navy and Marine Corps. The proposed CW6 insignia had two narrow, vertical, parallel, black stripes.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The Marine Corps has had warranted officers since 1916, when the Commandant of the Marine Corps made a request to the Secretary of the Navy for the creation of two warrant grades, marine gunner and quartermaster clerk. Those appointed would be selected from the noncommissioned officer ranks.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: On 26 August 1916, Congress increased the Marine Corps strength, which included adding the rank of warrant officer; 43 marine gunners and 41 quartermaster clerks would be appointed. The first marine gunner is believed to have been Henry L. Hulbert. On 22 May 1917, due to commissioned officer shortages, all but three of the appointees were commissioned as temporary second lieutenants. In 1918, the grade of pay clerk was added.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: In June, 1926, Congress created the commissioned warrant grades of chief marine gunner, chief quartermaster clerk, and chief pay clerk. Requirements for promotion to chief warrant officer were six years of service as a warrant officer and an examination to qualify.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: During World War II, Congress abolished the titles of marine gunner, chief marine gunner, quartermaster clerk, chief quartermaster clerk, pay clerk, and chief pay clerk. Instead, they would be designated warrant officer or commissioned warrant officer. In 1943, all Marine warrant officer ranks were aligned with the other services. They were warrant officer and commissioned warrant officer.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Then in 1949, the grade of WO (paygrade W-1) was created for warrant officers and CWO-2, CWO-3, and CWO-4 (paygrades W-2, W-3, and W-4) were created for commissioned warrant officers. In 1954, title "chief warrant officer" replaced "commissioned warrant officer" for those in grades CWO-2, CWO-3 and CWO-4.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: On 1 February 1992, the grade of CWO-5 (paygrade W-5) was created and those who are appointed serve on the highest unit echelon levels. Only 5% of chief warrant officers occupy this grade.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The present role and purpose of a chief warrant officer in the United States Marine Corps is to fulfill the responsibilities as a high-rank "subject matter expert" within their chosen military occupation specialty, with the additional authority of a commissioned officer.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The chief warrant officers commonly provide their respective Marine units and sections, valuable practical experience, and a master level of technical proficiency. Normally, an unrestricted officer (second lieutenant – general) would not have the opportunity to achieve such specialized skills due to their career progression track being more command-centric and less technical as they advance through the ranks.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Currently, there are three selection program distinctions, with each its own separate qualifications: infantry, recruiter and regular warrant officer. Both active-duty and reserve enlisted (non-commissioned officers) are accepted into the regular program, but infantry weapons officers—commonly known as Marine Gunners—and recruiters are only selected from the active-duty component.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The regular Warrant Officer Selection Program requires a minimum of eight years of enlistment upon date of appointment (not commissioned), proof and/or demonstration of their exceedingly technical proficiency within their MOS field, and achieved the rank and pay grade of sergeant (E-5) or above.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: However, the duties of an infantry weapons officer are much more demanding. The Infantry Weapons Officer Program requires a minimum of sixteen years in MOS 0300 (Infantry) and achieved at least the rank and grade of gunnery sergeant (E-7). Given the extended time in service requirements and expertise, these gunners are commissioned as a chief warrant officer 2 directly from enlisted and wear the Bursting Bomb on their left collar.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Recruiter's selection is slightly different being they must be a minimum rank of staff sergeant (E-6) and hold the MOS 8412, career recruiter, as well as have served a successful recruiting tour as a 8412. Staff sergeants will appoint to the rank of WO, while the gunnery sergeants will commission as a CWO2. The time in service requirements remain the same of 8 years.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: When the marines are selected for the program, they are given additional leadership and management training during the Warrant Officer Basic Course (WOBC), conducted at The Basic School, in Quantico, Virginia.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: In the United States Navy, the warrant and chief warrant officer ranks are held by technical specialists who direct specific activities essential to the proper operation of the ship, which also require commissioned officer authority. Navy warrant officers serve in 30 specialties covering five categories. Warrant officers should not be confused with the limited duty officer (LDO) in the Navy. Warrant officers perform duties that are directly related to their previous enlisted service and specialized training. This allows the Navy to capitalize on the experience of warrant officers without having to frequently transition them to other duty assignments for advancement. With the exception of the Navy's short-lived flying chief warrant officer program, all Navy warrant officers are accessed from the chief petty officer pay grades, E-7 through E-9, analogous to a senior noncommissioned officer in the other services, and must have a minimum 14 years time in service.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The Navy has had warrant officers among its ranks since 23 December 1775, when John Berriman received a warrant to act as purser aboard the brigantine, USS "Andrew Doria". That warrant was considered a patent of trust and honor, but was not considered a commission to command. Since this first appointment, Navy warrant officers have held positions as masters, masters' mates, boatswains, gunners, carpenters, surgeons, and chaplains. Until 1912, a midshipman graduating from the United States Naval Academy was required to have two years of sea duty as a warrant officer before receiving a commission as an ensign. Although based on the British Royal Navy warrant officer ranks that were in place until 1949, the United States had never needed to address an issue of social class, which resulted in warranted officers in the Royal Navy. However, the United States Navy experienced a similar issue of rank, where highly competent senior noncommissioned officers are required to report to inexperienced junior officers, giving rise to special status to the Navy's chief warrant officers.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: In 1995, the Navy ceased using the rank of warrant officer 1 (WO-1), also known as pay grade W-1. The Navy appoints their warrant officers directly to the rank of CWO2 (i.e., as chief warrant officers), and are "commissioned" officers, with the Navy Personnel Command/Bureau of Personnel (NAVPERSCOM/BUPERS) managing all grades (CWO2 through CWO5) by billets appropriate for each rank. In past years, some CWOs resigned their warrant commission prior to retirement to receive greater retirement pay at their former senior enlisted rank. However, this pay disparity has effectively disappeared in recent years and all Navy CWOs now retire at the appropriate officer grade.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The Navy started a Flying Chief Warrant Officer Program in 2006 to acquire additional naval aviators (pilots) and naval flight officers (NFOs), who would fly naval aircraft, but who would not compete with traditional unrestricted line (URL) officers in naval aviation for eventual command of squadrons, air wings, air stations, etc., the numbers of such commands which had been greatly reduced in the post-Cold War era, thereby limiting the command opportunity for URL pilots and NFOs.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Upon being commissioned as CWO2, selectees underwent warrant officer indoctrination and then flight school for 18 to 30 months. After completion of flight school, selectees were placed in one of four types of squadrons: ship-based Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM) or Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC) squadrons, and land-based fixed-wing maritime patrol and reconnaissance (VP) and fleet air reconnaissance (VQ). These pilots and NFOs were then trained to operate the P-3 Orion, the EP-3E Aries II, the E-6 Mercury, or variants of the MH-60 Seahawk. Those in the VP community would also eventually qualify to fly the P-8 Poseidon once that aircraft began replacing the P-3 in 2012. The Navy re-evaluated the program in 2011, when the last of the "flying" chief warrant officers reported to their operational fleet squadrons and opted to subsequently terminate the program. Enlisted sailors in the grades E-5 through E-7 who had at least an associate degree and were not currently serving in the diver, master-at-arms, nuclear, SEAL, SWCC, or EOD communities were eligible to apply.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: On 4 June 2018, the Chief of Naval Operations announced the reestablishment of the rank of warrant officer one (pay grade W-1), for cyber warrant officers, and solicited applications for the rank/grade. These warrant officers will receive their appointment via warrant and not via commission. They will incur a six-year service obligation once promoted to W-1. A minimum of three-years in grade with a total service time of 12 years must be achieved before appointment and commission to chief warrant officer (W-2). However, the President also may grant appointments of warrant officers in the grade of W-1 via commission at any time, and the Secretary of the Navy may also appoint warrant officers in that grade via commission, through additional regulations. In mid-December 2018, the Navy announced that six selectees had been named. They will wear a distinctive cap badge with two crossed anchors.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The United States Air Force no longer uses the warrant officer grade. The USAF inherited warrant officer ranks from the Army at its inception in 1947, but their place in the Air Force structure was never made clear. When Congress authorized the creation of two new senior enlisted ranks in each of the five services in 1958 (implementing them in 1959–1960), Air Force officials privately concluded that these two new "super grades" of senior master sergeant and chief master sergeant (styling the incumbents as "superintendents" vice senior or staff NCOICs as does the and USMC) could fill all Air Force needs then performed at the warrant officer level. This was not publicly acknowledged until years later. The Air Force stopped appointing warrant officers in 1959.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: The last active-duty Air Force chief warrant officer, CWO4 James H. Long, retired in 1980. The last Air Force Reserve chief warrant officer, CWO4 Bob Barrow, retired in 1992. Upon his retirement, Barrow was honorarily promoted to CWO5, the only person in the Air Force ever to hold this grade.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: Due to the small size and decentralized organizational structure of the Coast Guard, warrant officers often fill command roles. Warrant officers may serve as officers-in-charge of Coast Guard Stations, or even as command warrant officers. Chief warrant officers fill a variety of billets as they can command larger small boat stations and patrol boats, as specialists and supervisors in other technical areas, and as special agents in the Coast Guard Investigative Service. They wear insignia essentially like that of their Navy counterparts, but with the USCG shield between the rank insignia and the specialty mark, as Coast Guard commissioned officers do with their rank insignia. Like their Navy counterparts, candidates for the rank of chief warrant officer must typically be serving in the chief petty officer grades (E-7 through E-9), however, the Coast Guard also permits selection of first class petty officers (E-6) who are chief petty officer selectees and who are in the top 50% on their advancement list to E-7. The Coast Guard does not use the rank of warrant officer (WO-1). Although authorized in 1994, the Coast Guard has not promoted any of its warrant officers to CWO5.


title: Warrant officer (United States)

text: , and of the U.S. Code of law establishes the use of warrant officers (W-1 to W-4) with specific specialties to the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps for the purpose of providing support to the health and delivery systems maintained by the service, however the grades have never been used in Public Health Service history to date.