title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: The 1997 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 51st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It commenced on 9 March and ended on 26 October after seventeen races. The Drivers' Championship was won by Jacques Villeneuve and the Constructors' Championship was awarded to Williams-Renault.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: The 1997 Formula One calendar featured two new events in the Luxembourg Grand Prix, as well as the Austrian Grand Prix, the latter of which returned to the calendar after a ten-year absence. The only race exiting the calendar was the Portuguese Grand Prix after 13 years raced at the Autódromo do Estoril.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: The championship was decided under highly controversial circumstances as championship leader Michael Schumacher deliberately rammed Villeneuve whilst trying to defend his race lead in the final round of the championship at the European Grand Prix at Jerez, Spain. Schumacher came to a halt in the gravel trap and was deemed at fault for the accident by FIA – being punished by being stripped of his 2nd place in the championship. Villeneuve finished third in the race in spite of the contact. Schumacher still kept his five race wins. Villeneuve won seven races, but would never win a Formula One Grand Prix again before his 2006 retirement. 1997 also saw the retirement of Gerhard Berger after many years in the sport, as well as the first race win for Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Mika Häkkinen.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: As of 2022, this is the last championship for a non-European driver, the last Constructors' and Drivers' championships for Williams. It was also the last championship for a Renault-powered driver, until Fernando Alonso's championship in .


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: Two new teams came into Formula One in 1997: Stewart, who arrived with the backing of the Ford Motor Company; and Lola, which only entered the 1997 Australian Grand Prix after the team's dismal performance in the Grand Prix which saw a lack of sponsorship for the next Grand Prix in Brazil. The former Ligier was sold from Flavio Briatore to Alain Prost and became Prost; while Footwork reverted to the "Arrows" name and switched from the Hart engines used in to Yamaha engines. Tyrrell changed their engines as well, swapping the Yamaha engines in preference to the Ford engines. Jordan-Peugeot signed up highly rated British engineer Dr John Davis. He helped the team with its new windtunnel facility at Brackley, the tunnel itself was funded by Ferrari in exchange for Eddie Irvine who moved to Ferrari the previous year. Sauber, in partnership with new sponsor Petronas, formed Sauber Petronas Engineering and through the newly established engineering company secured the licensing rights to engine and gearbox components from Ferrari, allowing them to build and run nearly identical units to those used in the Ferraris. The engines were branded as "Petronas", in deference to the role the company played in their development.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: The season started in Australia, with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve taking the first pole position of the season. The moment was short-lived, however, as Villeneuve was out of the race at the first corner after colliding with Johnny Herbert. McLaren's David Coulthard went on to win the race, the second of his career, with Michael Schumacher finishing second and Mika Häkkinen finishing in third place.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: Villeneuve once again took pole position in Brazil, and once again he was off at the first corner. Luckily for him the race was restarted, and the Canadian took the lead on lap 49 from Gerhard Berger. The Austrian finished second and Olivier Panis continued his impressive form from 1996 with third place.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: For the third time in a row, Jacques Villeneuve was again on pole position for Argentina. However, he was spared another first corner collision, and instead it was Michael Schumacher who collided with Rubens Barrichello. With Schumacher out, Eddie Irvine went on to challenge Villeneuve for the lead, and he made several attempts to pass the Canadian's Williams but failed on all his attempts and had to settle for second. Ralf Schumacher, in his first full season, managed to get onto the podium after he finished third.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: Villeneuve continued his run of consecutive pole positions in San Marino. Villeneuve's German teammate, Frentzen, won his first and only Grand Prix for Williams after he finished just over a second ahead of Michael Schumacher, with Eddie Irvine coming third.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: Frentzen managed to end Villeneuve's run of pole positions in Monaco. For the second time in successive seasons, the Monaco Grand Prix was raced under very wet conditions. Michael Schumacher won his first race of the season with his future Ferrari teammate, Rubens Barrichello finishing in second and earning Stewart not only their first podium finish, but their first points finish and their first finish of any kind. Irvine took the final step on the podium for the second time in a row.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: In Spain, Williams continued to dominate the qualifying session, as Villeneuve, for the fifth time this season, took pole and Frentzen made sure Williams occupied both slots on the front row. Villeneuve went on to win the Grand Prix, with fellow French-speaking drivers, Olivier Panis and Jean Alesi, coming second and third respectively.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: Williams's run of consecutive pole positions was broken in Canada where Michael Schumacher took pole; Rubens Barrichello's Stewart split the two Williams in third place. Schumacher went on to win the Grand Prix, with ex-Ferrari driver Jean Alesi finishing second and Giancarlo Fisichella coming in third. Schumacher earned his second pole of the season in France; he was accompanied by Frentzen on the front row. The two would stay in their respective positions at the end of the race, with Eddie Irvine in third.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: Villeneuve earned his sixth pole of the season in Britain, with teammate Frentzen partnering him on the front row. After Häkkinen retired from the lead, Villeneuve went on to win the race with Alesi and young Alexander Wurz coming third to make it an all Renault-powered podium. Michael Schumacher failed to complete the race after he retired with a wheel bearing problem.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: Gerhard Berger, who had not competed at the previous Grand Prix because of the illness and the death of his father, managed to get pole position for the German Grand Prix. Fastest lap and race victory followed, which would ultimately be Berger's and Benetton's final win. Michael Schumacher came second and Mika Häkkinen came third.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: The next race, in Hungary, was one of the most memorable races in the 1997 season. Michael Schumacher took pole with Villeneuve partnering him on the front row. Damon Hill, in an Arrows which had not qualified as high as ninth before the Hungarian Grand Prix, qualified up in third place. The start of the race saw Hill overtake Villeneuve's Williams and on lap ten, the Brit overtook Schumacher to take the lead. Hill kept the lead for the final rounds of pit stops, but coming into the finale of the race, Hill reported that his Arrows was having problems, and in the end, Jacques Villeneuve took the lead on the final lap of the race and went on to win the race, achieving the milestone 100th Grand Prix victory for Williams.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: After two very exciting Grands Prix, fans were hoping that Belgium would prove to be an exciting one as well. Villeneuve took pole position with Alesi's Benetton completing the front row. The race was wet and Villeneuve dropped down to fifth place, while his championship rival, Michael Schumacher, won the race by starting on intermediate tyres (as opposed to full wet). Fisichella came second, followed by Frentzen in third.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: Alesi got his first, and only, pole position of the season in Italy with Frentzen coming second. David Coulthard won the race, his second of the season; pole sitter Alesi came second and Frentzen came third.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: In Austria, Villeneuve managed to get his seventh pole position of the 1997 season; the Canadian was partnered on the front row by Finnish driver Mika Häkkinen. Villeneuve went on to win the Grand Prix with Coulthard and Frentzen joining him on the podium in second and third respectively. Michael Schumacher finished 6th after receiving a 10-second stop/go penalty for overtaking under yellow flag conditions.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: The next race was the so-called ""Luxembourg Grand Prix"", actually staged at the Nürburgring in Germany. Mika Häkkinen, who had qualified second at the previous Grand Prix, managed to earn pole. McLaren looked set for a 1–2 finish until both cars broke down in quick succession. Villeneuve was therefore gifted a win, which would end up being his last in F1, while title rival Michael Schumacher was taken out at the first corner. Alesi and Frentzen completed the podium, making it, for the second time in the 1997 season, an all Renault-powered podium.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: Japan saw Villeneuve, for the eighth time that season, take pole position. Villeneuve was disqualified from the race, after failing to slow down under yellow flags during qualifying. He raced under appeal, but finished only fifth. Michael Schumacher won the race, while Frentzen came second and Irvine came third. Villeneuve's Williams team dropped his appeal after the race, leaving Schumacher one point ahead of Villeneuve in the Drivers' Championship, meaning that the title would be decided at the season finale in Jerez.


title: 1997 Formula One World Championship

text: The 1994 finale saw a title deciding collision between Schumacher and Damon Hill. At Jerez, the qualifying session was noteworthy, as three drivers, Villeneuve, Schumacher, and Frentzen, all registered the same fastest qualifying time. Villeneuve was awarded pole position since he had set the time first, and this would be the final pole of his F1 career. At the start of the race, Schumacher had a good start, overtaking Villeneuve to take the lead. By lap 48 Villeneuve was catching up to Schumacher and attempted to overtake. Braking later than the German at the "Dry Sac" corner, Villeneuve had the inside line and was slightly ahead when Schumacher turned into him, his front right wheel connecting with the sidepod of the Williams car. Schumacher retired on the spot and Villeneuve went to take third place and earn four points, enough to take the 1997 title. Schumacher was later punished by the FIA for causing an avoidable accident and was disqualified from the championship, although his race results (grid position, finishing position, points) still counted towards his official statistics. In the race itself, Mika Häkkinen went on to take his first ever career victory.


title: Missile

text: In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket is made guided). Missiles have five system components: targeting, guidance system, flight system, engine and warhead. Missiles come in types adapted for different purposes: surface-to-surface and air-to-surface missiles (ballistic, cruise, anti-ship, anti-submarine, anti-tank, etc.), surface-to-air missiles (and anti-ballistic), air-to-air missiles, and anti-satellite weapons.


title: Missile

text: Airborne explosive devices without propulsion are referred to as shells if fired by an artillery piece and bombs if dropped by an aircraft. Unguided jet- or rocket-propelled weapons are usually described as rocket artillery.


title: Missile

text: Historically, the word "missile" referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this usage is still recognized today.


title: Missile

text: The first missiles to be used operationally were a series of missiles developed by Nazi Germany in World War II. Most famous of these are the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket, both of which used a mechanical autopilot to keep the missile flying along a pre-chosen route. Less well known were a series of Anti-Ship and Anti-aircraft missiles, typically based on a simple radio control (command guidance) system directed by the operator. However, these early systems in World War II were only built in small numbers.


title: Missile

text: The most common method of guidance is to use some form of radiation, such as infrared, lasers, or radio waves, to guide the missile onto its target. This radiation may emanate from the target (such as the heat of an engine or the radio waves from an enemy radar), it may be provided by the missile itself (such as radar), or it may be provided by a friendly third party (such as the radar of the launch vehicle/platform, or a laser designator operated by friendly infantry). The first two are often known as fire-and-forget as they need no further support or control from the launch vehicle/platform in order to function. Another method is to use TV guidance, with visible light or infrared pictures produced in order to see the target. The pictures may be used either by a human operator who steers the missile onto its target or by a computer doing much the same job. One of the more bizarre guidance methods instead used a pigeon to steer a missile to its target. Some missiles also have a home-on-jam capability to guide itself to a radar-emitting source. Many missiles use a combination of two or more methods to improve accuracy and the chances of successful engagement.


title: Missile

text: Another method is to target the missile by knowing the location of the target and using a guidance system such as INS, TERCOM, or satellite guidance. This guidance system guides the missile by knowing the missile's current position and the position of the target and then calculating a course between them. This job can also be performed somewhat crudely by a human operator who can see the target and the missile and guide it using either cable- or radio-based remote control, or by an automatic system that can simultaneously track the target and the missile.


title: Missile

text: Furthermore, some missiles use initial targeting, sending them to a target area, where they will switch to primary targeting, using either radar or IR targeting to acquire the target.


title: Missile

text: Whether a guided missile uses a targeting system, a guidance system or both, it needs a flight system. The flight system uses the data from the targeting or guidance system to maneuver the missile in flight, allowing it to counter inaccuracies in the missile or to follow a moving target. There are two main systems: vectored thrust (for missiles that are powered throughout the guidance phase of their flight) and aerodynamic maneuvering (wings, fins, canard (aeronautics), etc.).


title: Missile

text: Missiles are powered by an engine, generally either a type of rocket engine or jet engine. Rockets are generally of the solid-propellant type for ease of maintenance and fast deployment, although some larger ballistic missiles use liquid-propellant rockets. Jet engines are generally used in cruise missiles, most commonly of the turbojet type, due to its relative simplicity and low frontal area. Turbofans and ramjets are the only other common forms of jet engine propulsion, although any type of engine could theoretically be used. Long-range missiles may have multiple engine stages, particularly in those launched from the surface. These stages may all be of similar types or may include a mix of engine types − for example, surface-launched cruise missiles often have a rocket booster for launching and a jet engine for sustained flight.


title: Missile

text: Some missiles may have additional propulsion from another source at launch; for example, the V1 was launched by a catapult, and the MGM-51 Shillelagh was fired out of a tank gun (using a smaller charge than would be used for a shell).


title: Missile

text: Missiles generally have one or more explosive warheads, although other weapon types may also be used. The warheads of a missile provide its primary destructive power (many missiles have extensive secondary destructive power due to the high kinetic energy of the weapon and unburnt fuel that may be on board). Warheads are most commonly of the high explosive type, often employing shaped charges to exploit the accuracy of a guided weapon to destroy hardened targets. Other warhead types include submunitions, incendiaries, nuclear weapons, chemical, biological or radiological weapons or kinetic energy penetrators. Warheadless missiles are often used for testing and training purposes.


title: Missile

text: Missiles are generally categorized by their launch platform and intended target. In broadest terms, these will either be surface (ground or water) or air, and then sub-categorized by range and the exact target type (such as anti-tank or anti-ship). Many weapons are designed to be launched from both surface or the air, and a few are designed to attack either surface or air targets (such as the ADATS missile). Most weapons require some modification in order to be launched from the air or surface, such as adding boosters to the surface-launched version.


title: Missile

text: After the boost stage, ballistic missiles follow a trajectory mainly determined by ballistics. The guidance is for relatively small deviations from that.


title: Missile

text: Ballistic missiles are largely used for land attack missions. Although normally associated with nuclear weapons, some conventionally armed ballistic missiles are in service, such as MGM-140 ATACMS. The V2 had demonstrated that a ballistic missile could deliver a warhead to a target city with no possibility of interception, and the introduction of nuclear weapons meant it could efficiently do damage when it arrived. The accuracy of these systems was fairly poor, but post-war development by most military forces improved the basic Inertial navigation system concept to the point where it could be used as the guidance system on Intercontinental ballistic missiles flying thousands of kilometers. Today, the ballistic missile represents the only strategic deterrent in most military forces; however, some ballistic missiles are being adapted for conventional roles, such as the Russian Iskander or the Chinese DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile. Ballistic missiles are primarily surface-launched from mobile launchers, silos, ships or submarines, with air launch being theoretically possible with a weapon such as the cancelled Skybolt missile.


title: Missile

text: The V1 had been successfully intercepted during World War II, but this did not make the cruise missile concept entirely useless. After the war, the US deployed a small number of nuclear-armed cruise missiles in Germany, but these were considered to be of limited usefulness. Continued research into much longer-ranged and faster versions led to the US's SM-64 Navaho and its Soviet counterparts, the Burya and Buran cruise missile. However, these were rendered largely obsolete by the ICBM, and none were used operationally. Shorter-range developments have become widely used as highly accurate attack systems, such as the US Tomahawk missile and Russian Kh-55. Cruise missiles are generally further divided into subsonic or supersonic weapons - supersonic weapons such as BrahMos (India, Russia) are difficult to shoot down, whereas subsonic weapons tend to be much lighter and cheaper, allowing more to be fired.


title: Missile

text: Cruise missiles are generally associated with land-attack operations, but also have an important role as anti-shipping weapons. They are primarily launched from air, sea or submarine platforms in both roles, although land-based launchers also exist.


title: Missile

text: Another major German missile development project was the anti-shipping class (such as the Fritz X and Henschel Hs 293), intended to stop any attempt at a cross-channel invasion. However, the British were able to render their systems useless by jamming their radios, and missiles with wire guidance were not ready by D-Day. After the war, the anti-shipping class slowly developed and became a major class in the 1960s with the introduction of the low-flying jet- or rocket-powered cruise missiles known as "sea-skimmers". These became famous during the Falklands War, when an Argentine Exocet missile disabled a Royal Navy destroyer.


title: Missile

text: A number of anti-submarine missiles also exist; these generally use the missile in order to deliver another weapon system such as a torpedo or depth charge to the location of the submarine, at which point the other weapon will conduct the underwater phase of the mission.


title: Missile

text: By the end of WWII, all forces had widely introduced unguided rockets using high-explosive anti-tank warheads as their major anti-tank weapon (see Panzerfaust, Bazooka). However, these had a limited useful range of 100 m or so, and the Germans were looking to extend this with the use of a missile using wire guidance, the X-7. After the war, this became a major design class in the later 1950s and, by the 1960s, had developed into practically the only non-tank anti-tank system in general use. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and Egypt, the 9M14 Malyutka (aka "Sagger") man-portable anti-tank missile proved potent against Israeli tanks. While other guidance systems have been tried, the basic reliability of wire guidance means this will remain the primary means to control anti-tank missiles in the near future. Anti-tank missiles may be launched from aircraft, vehicles or by ground troops in the case of smaller weapons.


title: Missile

text: By 1944, US and British air forces were sending huge air fleets over occupied Europe, increasing the pressure on the Luftwaffe day and night fighter forces. The Germans were keen to get some sort of useful ground-based anti-aircraft system into operation. Several systems were under development, but none had reached operational status before the war's end. The US Navy also started missile research to deal with the Kamikaze threat. By 1950, systems based on this early research started to reach operational service, including the US Army's MIM-3 Nike Ajax and the Navy's "3T's" (Talos, Terrier, Tartar), soon followed by the Soviet S-25 Berkut and S-75 Dvina and French and British systems. Anti-aircraft weapons exist for virtually every possible launch platform, with surface-launched systems ranging from huge, self-propelled or ship-mounted launchers to man-portable systems. Subsurface-to-air missiles are usually launched from below water (usually from submarines).


title: Missile

text: Like most missiles, the S-300, S-400, Advanced Air Defence and MIM-104 Patriot are for defense against short-range missiles and carry explosive warheads.


title: Missile

text: In the case of a large closing speed, a projectile without explosives is used; just a collision is sufficient to destroy the target. See Missile Defense Agency for the following systems being developed:


title: Missile

text: Le Prieur rockets (French "Fusées Le Prieur") were a type of incendiary air-to-air rocket used in World War I against observation balloons and airships. The solid-fuel stick-guided rocket was first deployed during the Battle of Verdun in April 1916, later, in the summer of 1939 during the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. On August 20, 1939, the Japanese Nakajima Ki-27 fighter was attacked by the Soviet Polikarpov I-16 fighter of Captain N. Zvonarev. He fired a rocket salvo from a distance of about a kilometer, after which the Ki-27 crashed to the ground. A group of Polikarpov I-16 fighters under command of Captain N. Zvonarev were using RS-82 rockets against Japanese aircraft, shooting down 16 fighters and 3 bombers in total.


title: Missile

text: German experience in World War II demonstrated that destroying a large aircraft was quite difficult, and they had invested considerable effort into air-to-air missile systems to do this. Their Messerschmitt Me 262's jets often carried R4M rockets, and other types of "bomber destroyer" aircraft had unguided rockets as well. In the post-war period, the R4M served as the pattern for a number of similar systems, used by almost all interceptor aircraft during the 1940s and 1950s. Most rockets (except for the AIR-2 Genie, due to its nuclear warhead with a large blast radius) had to be carefully aimed at relatively close range to hit the target successfully. The United States Navy and U.S. Air Force began deploying guided missiles in the early 1950s, most famous being the US Navy's AIM-9 Sidewinder and the USAF's AIM-4 Falcon. These systems have continued to advance, and modern air warfare consists almost entirely of missile firing. In the Falklands War, less powerful British Harriers were able to defeat faster Argentinian opponents using American AIM-9L missiles. The latest heat-seeking designs can lock onto a target from various angles, not just from behind, where the heat signature from the engines is strongest. Other types rely on radar guidance (either on board or "painted" by the launching aircraft). Air-to-air missiles also have a wide range of sizes, ranging from helicopter-launched self-defense weapons with a range of a few kilometers, to long-range weapons designed for interceptor aircraft such as the R-37 (missile).


title: Missile

text: In the 1950s and 1960s, Soviet designers started work on an anti-satellite weapon as part of the Istrebitel Sputnikov program ("istrebitel sputnikov" literally means "destroyer of satellites"). After a lengthy development process of roughly twenty years, it was finally decided that the testing of these weapons be canceled. This was when the United States started testing their own systems. The Brilliant Pebbles defense system proposed during the 1980s would have used kinetic energy collisions without explosives. Anti-satellite weapons may be launched either by an aircraft or a surface platform, depending on the design. To date, only a few known tests have occurred. As of 2019, only 4 countries - China, India, United States, and Russia have operational anti-satellite weapons.


title: The Fame

text: The Fame is the debut studio album by American singer Lady Gaga. It was released on August 19, 2008, by Interscope Records. After joining Kon Live Distribution and Cherrytree Records in 2008, Gaga began working on the album with different producers, primarily RedOne, Martin Kierszenbaum, and Rob Fusari. Musically, "The Fame" is an electropop, synth-pop, and dance-pop record that displays influences from 1980s music. Lyrically, it visualizes Gaga's love of fame in general, while also dealing with subjects such as love, sex, money, drugs, and sexual identity. The album was primarily promoted through The Fame Ball Tour and multiple television appearances, and was reissued as a deluxe edition with "The Fame Monster" on November 18, 2009.


title: The Fame

text: The album received generally favorable reviews from critics, who commended its lyrical content, Gaga's musicianship and vocal ability. It was a commercial success, topping the charts in several countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Poland, and Switzerland. In the United States, it peaked at number two on the "Billboard" 200, and also topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart for 175 non-consecutive weeks, the most time on top in history. "The Fame" became the fifth best-selling album of 2009, and has sold over 4.9 million copies in the United States as of January 2019. Combined with "The Fame Monster", the album had sold over 18 million copies worldwide as of August 2019.


title: The Fame

text: The first two singles off the album, "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" gained international success, topping the charts in several countries worldwide including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The subsequent singles "LoveGame" and "Paparazzi" were commercial successes as well, charting within the top-ten of over ten countries worldwide. "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" had a limited single release, while "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" served as a promotional single.


title: The Fame

text: "The Fame" has won multiple awards since its release. In the United States, the album was nominated for a total of five Grammy Awards at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It won the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album and the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for the single "Poker Face", and also won Best International Album at the 2010 Brit Awards. In 2013 and 2022, "Rolling Stone" named "The Fame" as one of the "100 Greatest Debut Albums of All-Time". As of 2022, it is the 12th biggest album of all time on the "Billboard" 200 in the United States.


title: The Fame

text: While establishing herself as an artist and working her way up through the New York underground club scene, Lady Gaga released her debut studio album, "The Fame". Speaking about the title and concept of the album, Gaga explained: ""The Fame" is about how anyone can feel famous. [...] Pop culture is art. It doesn't make you cool to hate pop culture, so I embraced it and you hear it all over "The Fame". But, it's a sharable fame. I want to invite you all to the party. I want people to feel a part of this lifestyle." Gaga stated in an interview with MTV UK that she had been working on the album for two and a half years and completed half of it during the first week of January 2008. As well as writing the lyrics, Gaga worked on the melodies and synth work of the album, with record producer RedOne. According to Gaga, the first track "Just Dance" is a joyous, heart-themed song, which appeals to people going through tough times in their life. "LoveGame", the second track, was inspired by Gaga's sexual crush on a stranger in a night club to whom she said, "I wanna ride on your disco stick". It was written in four minutes based on the disco stick hook. "Paparazzi" has been interpreted with different meanings. However Gaga explained in an interview with About.com, that the song was inspired by her struggles and hunger for fame and love. Essentially a love song, "Paparazzi" dealt with enticing the media and asked the question, whether one can have both fame and love.


title: The Fame

text: "Poker Face" was inspired by Gaga's boyfriends who enjoyed gambling, and also dealt with her personal experience of bisexuality; her fantasies about women while having sex with men, thus representing her 'poker face'." "Boys Boys Boys" was inspired by the similarly titled Mötley Crüe song "Girls, Girls, Girls". Gaga explained that she wanted a female version of the song that rockers would like too. "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" summed up her time of self-discovery, living in the Lower East Side and dabbling in drugs and the party scene. "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" was about breaking up with a boyfriend and finding someone new. "Brown Eyes" was inspired by the British rock band Queen and, according to Gaga, is the most vulnerable song on the album.


title: The Fame

text: Gaga further clarified the ideas behind "The Fame", and her inspirations and visions for the album. She believed that the most important thing missing from contemporary pop music was the combination of the visual imagery of the artist with the music. Gaga incorporated theatrics in her live performances of the songs from the album. Hence she hoped that people would take notice of the performance art, which she was trying to bring back with the album and its music; according to her, the music put the lifestyle in front of it.


title: The Fame

text: "I just feel like this record is really different- you[']ve got club bangers to more 70s glam to more singer-songwriter records to rock music. [...] "The Fame" is not about who you are—it's about how everybody wants to know who you are! Buy it and listen to it before you go out or in the car. [...] I think you've really got to allow artists' creativity to marinate. It took me a while but really delving into myself I finally got it. I couldn't be more proud of it. It's not just a record[,] it's a whole pop art movement[.] It's not just about one song."


title: The Fame

text: Musically, the album combines electropop, synth-pop, and dance-pop, while drawing influences from 1980s music. Songs like "Poker Face", "Just Dance" and "LoveGame" are uptempo dance songs, with "Poker Face" carrying a dark sound with clear vocals on the chorus and a pop hook. "Just Dance" is synth-based while "LoveGame" has a more dance-oriented beat, and "Money Honey" has a moderate techno groove. All of them combined synths of clipped marching beats, sawing electronics and contained mild R&B-infused beats. "Paparazzi" carried a sultry beat while "Summerboy" had influences of the music of Blondie. "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" is credited as a ballad compared to the rest of the dance-fueled tracks from "The Fame". The song has a 1980s synth-pop feel to it, while incorporating the "Eh, Eh" hook from Rihanna's single "Umbrella" (2007).


title: The Fame

text: Lyrically, the songs on "The Fame" talk about being famous and achieving popularity; "Poker Face" is about sexual innuendo and teasing. Gaga explained to the "Daily Star" that the lyrics carry a bit of an undertone of confusion about love and sex. According to the BBC, the "Mum-mum-mum-mah" hook used in the song is sampled from Boney M.'s 1977 hit "Ma Baker". "Just Dance" talks about being intoxicated in a party, with lyrics like "What's going on on the floor? / I love this record, baby but I can't see straight anymore". "LoveGame" portrays a message about love, fame and sexuality. "Paparazzi" portrays a stalker who is following somebody being their biggest fan. The lyrics also portray the desire of capturing the attention of the camera as well as achieving fame. Gaga explained that,


title: The Fame

text: "This idea of "The Fame" runs through and through. Basically, if you have nothing—no money, no fame—you can still feel beautiful and dirty rich. It's about making choices, and having references—things you pull from your life that you believe in. It's about self-discovery and being creative. The record is slightly focused, but it's also eclectic.[...] The music is intended to inspire people to feel a certain way about themselves, so they'll be able to encompass, in their own lives, a sense of inner fame that they can project to the world, and the carefree nature of the album is a reflection of that aura. I like to funnel interesting ideas to the rest of the world through a pop lens."


title: The Fame

text: "Just Dance" was released as the album's lead single commercially worldwide on June 17, 2008, through digital distribution. The song was critically acclaimed with reviewers complimenting its club anthem-like nature and the synth-pop associated with it. It achieved commercial success by topping charts in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, as well as reaching the top 10 in 16 other countries. The song received a Grammy nomination in the Best Dance Recording category but lost to electronic duo Daft Punk for their song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger".


title: The Fame

text: "Poker Face" was released as the second single from the album. It was also well received by critics, most of whom have praised the robotic hook and the chorus. The single achieved greater success than "Just Dance" by topping the charts in almost all the countries it was released to. "Poker Face" became Gaga's second consecutive number one on the Hot 100. On December 2, 2009, "Poker Face" received three Grammy nominations in the categories of Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and won for Best Dance Recording.


title: The Fame

text: "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" was the album's third single in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and Denmark and fourth in France. The song received mixed reviews. Some critics compared it to nineties Europop while the others criticized it for bringing the party-like nature of the album to a halt. It failed to match the success of the previous singles in Australia and New Zealand by reaching 15 and nine, respectively. It peaked at two in Sweden and at seven in France.


title: The Fame

text: "LoveGame" was released as the third single in the United States, Canada and some European nations. It was the fourth single in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The song was critically appreciated for its catchy tune and the "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick" hook. The song has reached the top 10 in countries such as the United States, Australia and Canada and the top 20 in others.


title: The Fame

text: "Paparazzi" was announced as the third single in the United Kingdom and Ireland with a release date of July 6, 2009, the fourth single in the United States, and the fifth single overall. The song has reached the top five in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. It also reached the top 10 in the United States. The song has received critical acclaim for its fun-filled, club-friendly nature and is deemed the most memorable and telling song from the album. The associated music video for the song was shot as a mini-movie with Gaga starring as a doomed starlet who is almost killed by her boyfriend, but in the end takes her revenge and reclaims her fame and popularity.


title: The Fame

text: To promote the album, Gaga did several performances worldwide. Her first televised appearance was on Logo's NewNowNext Awards on June 7, 2008. She also performed on Michalsky StyleNite at Berlin Fashion Week, "So You Think You Can Dance", "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", as well as in Vietnam for the 57th Miss Universe beauty pageant during the swimsuit competition. On January 31, 2009, she performed on television in Ireland on RTÉ One's show "Tubridy Tonight". Three songs from "The Fame" were used in the second season of The CW's series "Gossip Girl": "Paparazzi" in the episode "Summer, Kind of Wonderful", "Poker Face" in "The Serena Also Rises", and "Money Honey" in "Remains of the J". Gaga also performed "Poker Face" on "American Idol" on April 1, 2009. At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, the singer performed "Paparazzi". Her gig involved choreographed dance moves, playing on the piano, theatrical blood dripping from her ribcage, and ended with the singer hung lifeless with one hand rising above her dancers and blood smeared on her face. It is widely considered to be one of Gaga's greatest performances to date, and according to "Billboard" Ashley Laderer, "this was the performance that really made Lady Gaga. It proved she was more than just a superficial pop star—she was an artist".


title: The Fame

text: To celebrate the launch of the show "Dirty Sexy Money", ABC created a music video of Gaga's song "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich", directed by Melina Matsoukas. It was initially announced as Gaga's second single, but "Poker Face" was chosen instead, with "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" being released as a promotional single. There were two videos released for the song – the first was composed of clips from "Dirty Sexy Money", and the second was the actual music video. The song charted on the UK Singles Chart due to digital downloads and peaked at number 83.


title: The Fame

text: The album received further promotion from her first headlining concert tour, The Fame Ball Tour, which started on March 12, 2009, in San Diego, California. It was Gaga's first concert tour with North American shows in March, followed by dates in Oceania and a solo trek through Europe. Dates in Asia soon followed, as well as two performances at England's V Festival and two shows in North America that had been postponed from April. Gaga described the tour as a traveling museum show incorporating artist Andy Warhol's pop-performance art concept. Tickets were distributed for charity also. Alternate versions of the show with minimal variations were planned by Gaga to accommodate different venues.


title: The Fame

text: The show consisted of four segments, with each segment being followed by a video interlude to the next segment, and it ended with an encore. The set list consisted of songs from "The Fame" only. Gaga appeared on the stage in new costumes including an innovative dress made entirely of plastic bubbles and premiered an unreleased song called "Future Love". An alternate set list with minor changes was performed for European dates. The show received positive critical appreciation with critics complimenting Gaga's vocal clarity and fashion sense as well as her ability to pull off theatrics like a professional artist.


title: The Fame

text: "The Fame" received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71, based on 13 reviews. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album "music that sounds thickly sexy with its stainless steel synths and dark disco rhythms", and wrote that it is "glorious pop trash and a wicked parody of it." Nicole Powers of "URB" complimented its "irony-laden lyrics, delivered in a style that owes a little something to Gwen Stefani," as well as the album's "deluxe ditties". Mikael Wood of "Entertainment Weekly" called it "remarkably (and exhaustingly) pure in its vision of a world in which nothing trumps being beautiful, dirty, and rich. In this economy, though, her high-times escapism has its charms".


title: The Fame

text: Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian" found it "packing an immensely addictive melody or an inescapable hook, virtually everything sounds like another hit single", and predicted that it "certainly sounds like it could be big." Daniel Brockman from "The Boston Phoenix" wrote that "Gaga ups the ante in terms of catchy songwriting and sheer high-in-the-club-banging-to-the-beat abandon." Ben Hogwood of "musicOMH" praised Gaga's "blend of sassy attitude, metallic beats and sharp, incisive songwriting", elements which he felt are integral to "creating pop music".


title: The Fame

text: Although he panned "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)", "Paper Gangsta", and "Brown Eyes", Evan Sawdey of "PopMatters" called "The Fame" "a solid dance album" and wrote that "much of the album's success can be attributed to rising club producer RedOne." Joey Guerra from the "Houston Chronicle" felt that although the songs present in the album are not innovative, Gaga deserved credit for bringing real dance music to the mass. Genevieve Koski of "The A.V. Club" felt that the "whole point" of the album is "glitter-laced, dance-inciting energy that bodes well for extended club play". "Slant Magazine"s Sal Cinquemani viewed that Gaga's lyrics veer between "cheap" and "nonsensical drivel", while her singing is "uneven at best". He added that the highlights such as "Poker Face", "Starstruck", "Paper Gangsta", and "Summerboy" rely "almost solely on their snappy production and sing-along hooks."


title: The Fame

text: Freedom du Lac from "The Washington Post" criticized the album for lacking originality. "MSN Music"s Robert Christgau gave the album an "honorable mention" and quippedly referred to it as "shallowness at its most principled." "The Fame" garnered five Grammy nominations at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards on December 2, 2009. The album itself was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Electronic/Dance Album. It also won Best International Album at the 2010 Brit Awards. In 2013 and 2022, "Rolling Stone" named "The Fame" as one of the "100 Greatest Debut Albums of All-Time".


title: The Fame

text: In the United States, "The Fame" debuted at number 17 on the "Billboard" 200 with sales of 24,000 on the issue dated November 15, 2008. After fluctuating down the charts, the album reached number 10 on the issue dated March 7, 2009. The album also topped "Billboard"s Dance/Electronic Albums chart; it has stayed at the number-one spot for 175 non-consecutive weeks, as of week of November 5, 2022, and holds the record for the most time on top in the chart's history. In March 2020, the album was certified six-times platinum for shipments of six million copies, by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). With the release of "The Fame Monster", which was also combined with "The Fame" as a deluxe edition, the album jumped from 34 to 6 on the "Billboard" 200 with sales of 151,000. It reached its highest sales week on the issue dated January 9, 2010 with 169,000 copies sold. On the issue dated January 16, 2010, "The Fame" moved to a new peak of two on the "Billboard" 200 after being on the charts for 62 weeks. By the end of 2009, "The Fame" became the fifth best-selling album of the year.


title: The Fame

text: "The Fame" has sold 4.9 million copies in the United States as of March 2019 and is the seventh best-selling digital album, selling 1.086 million digital copies. Including equivalent album units, "The Fame" has sold 8.8 million in the country. It was ranked at number 12 on the "Billboard" Top 200 Albums of All Time list. Following Gaga's Super Bowl LI halftime show performance, "The Fame" re-entered the "Billboard" 200 at number 6, selling 17,000 copies and 38,000 total album-equivalent units. It has spent a total of 286 weeks on the chart.


title: The Fame

text: In Canada, the album reached number-one, and has been certified seven times platinum by Music Canada for shipment of 560,000 copies. It had sold 476,000 copies as of March 2011. The album debuted at number six, and peaked at number two in New Zealand as well as being certified double platinum. In Australia, the album debuted at number 12 and peaked at number three. The album has been certified sextuple platinum in Australia, by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 420,000 copies.


title: The Fame

text: "The Fame" debuted in the United Kingdom at number three with first week sales of 25,228 copies. After spending 10 weeks in the top 10, it replaced Ronan Keating's "Songs for My Mother" at the top position. Since then, the album spent four consecutive weeks at the number-one spot. It has since been certified ten-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and has sold 3 million copies as of October 2018. It also became the first album to reach the platinum certification based on digital sales after selling 300,000 units in the UK. The album is the ninth best-selling album in the UK of the 21st century, and the 31st best-selling album in UK chart history.


title: The Fame

text: In France, "The Fame" debuted at number 73 and peaked at number two for five weeks. It has been certified diamond status by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique and, as of February 2012, has sold 630,000 copies. In Ireland, the album entered the charts at number-eight, and in its fifth week climbed to number-one for two consecutive weeks. In mainland Europe, the album peaked at number one on the European Top 100 Albums, the Austrian Albums Chart and the German Album Chart. In Germany, it became the fourth most downloaded album ever. It also reached the top 20 in Mexico, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, and Switzerland. Combined with its reissue, "The Fame Monster", the album has sold over 18 million copies worldwide.


title: The Fame

text: With the release of "The Fame", Gaga was credited for reviving electronic dance music during the late 2000s on radio. Jonathan Bogart from "The Atlantic" stated, "EDM came in by no back door but right through the front gate, with Lady Gaga's 'Just Dance' in 2008" and that "the sound didn't take long to spread". DJ Tommie Sunshine told MTV that "there wouldn't be a David Guetta top 10 hit... there wouldn't be this Black Eyed Peas record, if it wasn't for "The Fame". The influence of that record is epic, and we are hearing talking about all of this because of that." "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" journalist Kevin C. Johnson with his article "Lady Gaga helps bring EDM to the masses", acknowledges the impact. In the article, Rob Lemon said Gaga "definitely has had influence" and that she "is exposing people to the music, and anybody exposing people to it is part of the machine." Radio personality Zane Lowe and record producer/DJ Calvin Harris, addressed the impact of the album in a Beats 1 radio interview. Lowe stated: "Mike Skinner told me this, cause we were having a debate about Lady Gaga and he was like 'One thing you gotta remember about Lady Gaga, she put four-on-the-floor back on American radio'" and that "up until that moment there was nothing resembling four-on-the-floor in pop music." Harris added: "A 100%. They even had a hip-hop version of 'Poker Face', for radio" and that "it was the 4/4 one that hit, and then it just went ridiculous." In 2020, Stephen Daw from "Billboard" stated that ""The Fame" not only changed the course of Gaga's career, but corrected the course of modern pop music for generations to come.


title: The Fame

text: "The Fame Monster" is a reissue of "The Fame", released on November 18, 2009. Initially planned solely as a part of the deluxe edition of "The Fame", Interscope later decided to release the eight new songs as a standalone EP in select territories. The decision was also due to Gaga believing the re-release was too expensive and that the albums were conceptually different, describing them as yin and yang. The deluxe edition of the album contains "The Fame" in its entirety along with "The Fame Monster". The album deals with the darker side of fame, as experienced by Gaga over the course of 2008–09 while travelling around the world, and are expressed through a monster metaphor. Cover artwork was done by Hedi Slimane and has a gothic look which Gaga had to convince her record company to allow her to shoot. The composition takes its inspiration from Gothic music and fashion shows. Contemporary critics gave mostly positive reviews of the album, with the majority of them complimenting the songs "Bad Romance", "Telephone", "Dance in the Dark", and "Monster". In some countries the album charted together with "The Fame" while in others like the United States, Canada and Japan, it charted as a separate album. It has reached top 10 in most of the major markets. She announced The Monster Ball Tour supporting the album, which started on November 27, 2009, in Montreal, Canada, and finished on May 6, 2011, in Mexico City, Mexico.


title: Elvis Presley singles discography

text: The singles discography of Elvis Presley began in 1954 with the release of his first commercial single, "That's All Right". Following his regional success with Sun Records, Presley was signed to RCA Victor on November 20, 1955. Presley's first single with RCA, "Heartbreak Hotel", was a worldwide hit, reaching the No. 1 position in four countries and the top 10 in many other countries. Other hit singles from the 1950s include "Hound Dog", "Don't Be Cruel", "Love Me Tender", Too Much", "All Shook Up", "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear", "Jailhouse Rock", "Don't", "Hard Headed Woman" and "A Big Hunk o' Love". On March 24, 1958, Presley entered the United States Army at Memphis, Tennessee, and was stationed in Germany. He left active duty on March 5, 1960.


title: Elvis Presley singles discography

text: Following his return to civilian life, Presley released his first new single, "Stuck on You", which was a No. 1 hit in the United States and reached the top 10 in ten other countries around the world. The follow-up single, "It's Now or Never", was another worldwide hit, peaking no lower than No. 2 in 13 countries. 1960 and 1961 saw the release of two more U.S. No. 1 hits, "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and "Surrender". Beginning in late 1961 the majority of Presley's singles were released to promote his films and their associated soundtrack albums. Hit singles from this period include "Can't Help Falling in Love", "Return to Sender", "Bossa Nova Baby" and "Kissin' Cousins". As Presley's success with singles from his movie soundtracks began to diminish in the late 1960s, he released "If I Can Dream", from his 1968 NBC-TV special, "Elvis". The success of the song and television special brought about a resurgence of interest in Presley and his recordings, bringing him two top 10 hits in 1969, "In the Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds".


title: Elvis Presley singles discography

text: In the 1970s, Presley's chart success began to diminish slightly. He had only three U.S. top 10 singles in that decade: "Don't Cry Daddy", a live recording of "The Wonder of You" and "Burning Love". Other top 40 hits from the 1970s include "Kentucky Rain", "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me", "Separate Ways", "T-R-O-U-B-L-E", "Hurt", "Moody Blue" and "Way Down".


title: Elvis Presley singles discography

text: Following Presley's death on August 16, 1977, new posthumous singles have been released in addition to many of his original singles being reissued around the world. The first single to be issued following Presley's death was a live recording of "My Way", taken from the soundtrack of his final television special, "Elvis in Concert". In 1978 another live recording was issued as a single, "Unchained Melody". In 2002, a remix of "A Little Less Conversation" by DJ Junkie XL was released to promote the compilation album "". It was a worldwide hit and returned Presley to the top 10 in many countries around the world. In 2003, a remix of "Rubberneckin' by DJ Paul Oakenfold was released to promote the compilation album "". It reached the top 10 in a few countries but overall was not as successful as its predecessor.


title: Elvis Presley singles discography

text: Presley has 54 singles certified by the Recording Industry Association of America totaling 50 million in sales. In 2012, Presley was ranked second best selling singles artist in United Kingdom with 21.6 million singles sold. Music historian Joel Whitburn ranked Presley as the number 1 charting singles artist of all time in the US.


title: Elvis Presley singles discography

text: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) began to certify gold albums and singles in 1958, and Elvis Presley's first RIAA award, a gold single for "Hard Headed Woman", was certified on August 11, 1958. In August 1992, he was awarded with 110 gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums and singles, the largest presentation of gold and platinum record awards in history. According to Presley's record label, RCA, he is the best selling artist of all time, with sales over 1 billion records worldwide in all formats (600 million in the United States alone).


title: Elvis Presley singles discography

text: The RIAA does not certify sales of less than 500,000 units for albums and singles. Elvis has had numerous albums and singles which have sold hundreds of thousands of units each but have not reached the 500,000 threshold. Taken together, these could add up to millions in total sales that are not recognized by the RIAA.


title: Elvis Presley singles discography

text: RIAA sales certifications are not automatic. The record company must pay a fee and request an audit from the RIAA in order to certify sales. During Elvis' life, RCA submitted few of Elvis' recordings for RIAA certification. Instead of paying for RIAA certification, RCA and other companies would simply award their own "Gold Record" to artists based on their internal sales figures. As a consequence, some of Elvis' early sales information has been lost. RCA and BMG have researched archives and old files in an effort to reconstruct Elvis' sales figures. This has led to Elvis receiving numerous RIAA certifications posthumously.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: Anurag Singh Thakur (born 24 October 1974) is an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party and a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh. He is the current Minister of Sports, Youth Affairs and Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the Second Modi ministry. Previously, Thakur served as a Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in May 2008 in a by poll as a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Coming from a political family of Himachal Pradesh, he is a long serving, four time Member of Parliament, being a member of 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th Lok Sabha.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: Previously, he was the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from May 2015 to February 2017, and had to leave that position after the Supreme Court order on BCCI governance. On July 29, 2016, he became the first serving Member of Parliament from the BJP to become a regular commissioned officer in the Territorial Army and on March 10, 2021 became the first serving Member of Parliament to become Captain in Territorial Army as a regular commissioned officer. He was involved in a legal struggle between the Himachal Pradesh State Government and the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) over the rights to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium at Dharamshala wherein the Himachal Pradesh High Court ruled against the then Himachal Pradesh State Government.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: Thakur was born on 24 October 1974 in Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh and his family belongs to the Hindu Rajput community. He is the younger son of Prem Kumar Dhumal and Sheela Devi. His father, Prem Kumar Dhumal was former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. He completed his Bachelor's B.A. degree from Doaba College, Jalandhar, Punjab.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: In May 2008, Thakur succeeded his father Prem Kumar Dhumal when he was elected for the first time as Member of Parliament in India's 14th Lok Sabha from Hamirpur constituency. He was re-elected to the 15th Lok Sabha in 2009, 16th Lok Sabha in 2014, and 17th Lok Sabha in 2019.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: On January 19, 2019 he was awarded the Sansad Ratna Award, established in 2010 for recognizing contributions by parliamentarians. He was the first Bharatiya Janata Party MP to have been awarded the Jury Committee Special Award.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: In 2010, Thakur was appointed the National President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of Bharatiya Janata Party. He has been the only National President to be appointed for three consecutive terms in the Bharatiya Janata Party and also the first BJYM National President to have worked under three different BJP Presidents: Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: On 7 July 2021, Thakur was appointed as the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports and Minister of Information & Broadcasting. in the Second Modi ministry as part of changes in the Union Council of Ministers.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: Anurag Thakur played a Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir in November 2000 when he was the president of HPCA. He has played one match in first-class cricket representing Himachal Pradesh and leading the team as captain in a match against Jammu and Kashmir in the 2000/2001 season. Jammu and Kashmir won by 4 wickets. He "picked himself" for the match so as to fulfill the BCCI criterion (which requires state administrators to have at least one first-class match experience) for becoming a selector at the state level. After the match, he appointed himself as the chairman of selectors of HPCA Ranji trophy cricket team.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: This debut was his one and only first-class cricket match. This experience in first-class cricket enabled his induction into the BCCI national junior selection committee, satisfying the condition that only first-class players could be national selectors.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: In the year 2000, Thakur took over as President of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association and served for four straight terms since that year. His tenure saw the development of five stadiums including the international Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium at Dharamsala.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: In 2016, he was unanimously elected as President of Board of Control for Cricket in India, becoming the youngest President of BCCI in post-independence India. His candidature was supported by all six East Zone cricket associations: Cricket Association of Bengal, Assam Cricket Association, Jharkhand State Cricket Association, Odisha Cricket Association, Tripura Cricket Association and the National Cricket Club.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: Thakur rose through the ranks in cricketing administration bodies to the position of secretary for BCCI. On 22 May 2016, Thakur became the president of BCCI, but his tenure was cut short when the Supreme Court of India ruled on the Lodha Committee's third status report, submitted on 14 November 2016, asking for the disqualification of office-bearers of the BCCI and all state associations, who became ineligible as per the Apex Court's 18 July 2016 order.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: The court dismissed Thakur on 2 January 2017 for defying its 2016 order to implement the Lodha Committee reforms. It also initiated contempt proceedings against Thakur for what it "prima facie" deemed as perjury about his correspondence with the International Cricket Council. He submitted an affidavit of apology to the court which was rejected, following which he filed an unconditional and unequivocal apology. The court finally relented and dropped its contempt and perjury proceedings against him.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: Thakur married Shefali Thakur, daughter of Gulab Singh Thakur, former Minister in the Government of Himachal Pradesh, on 27 November 2002.


title: Anurag Thakur

text: In July 2016, Anurag Thakur became a part of the Territorial Army (TA), becoming the first serving BJP Member of Parliament to become a TA Officer. On promotion as Captain in the 124 Sikh Regiment, Anurag Thakur became the first serving Member of Parliament to be appointed as Captain in Territorial Army as a regular commissioned officer.


title: Vampire bat

text: Vampire bats, species of the subfamily Desmodontinae, are leaf-nosed bats found in Central and South America. Their food source is blood of other animals, a dietary trait called hematophagy. Three extant bat species feed solely on blood: the common vampire bat ("Desmodus rotundus"), the hairy-legged vampire bat ("Diphylla ecaudata"), and the white-winged vampire bat ("Diaemus youngi"). All three species are native to the Americas, ranging from Mexico to Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina.


title: Vampire bat

text: Due to differences among the three species, each has been placed within a different genus, each consisting of one extant species. In the older literature, these three genera were placed within a family of their own, Desmodontidae, but taxonomists have now grouped them as a subfamily, Desmodontinae, in the New World leaf-nosed bat family, Phyllostomidae.


title: Vampire bat

text: The three known species of vampire bats all seem more similar to one another than to any other species. That suggests that hematophagy evolved only once, and the three species share this common ancestor.


title: Vampire bat

text: The placement of the three genera of the subfamily Desmodontinae within the New World leaf-nosed bat family Phyllostomidae Gray, 1825, may be summarized as:


title: Vampire bat

text: Vampire bats are in a diverse family of bats that consume many food sources, including nectar, pollen, insects, fruit and meat.


title: Vampire bat

text: The three species of vampire bats are the only mammals that have evolved to feed exclusively on blood (hematophagy) as micropredators, a strategy within parasitism.


title: Vampire bat

text: Hematophagy is uncommon due to the number of challenges to overcome for success: a large volume of liquid potentially overwhelming the kidneys and bladder, the risk of iron poisoning, and coping with excess protein.


title: Vampire bat

text: The vampire bat lineage diverged from its family 26 million years ago. The hairy-legged vampire bat likely diverged from the other two species of vampire bats 21.7 million years ago.


title: Vampire bat

text: Because the hairy-legged vampire bat feeds on bird blood and it is the most basal of living vampire bats, it is considered likely that the first vampire bats fed on bird blood as well.


title: Vampire bat

text: Recent analyses suggest that vampire bats arose from insectivores, which discount the frugivore, carnivore, and nectarivore hypotheses of origin. Within 4 million years of diverging from other Phyllostomidae, vampire bats had evolved all necessary adaptations for blood-feeding, making it one of the fastest examples of natural selection among mammals.


title: Vampire bat

text: Unlike fruit bats, the vampire bats have short, conical muzzles. They also lack a nose leaf, instead having naked pads with U-shaped grooves at the tip. The common vampire bat, "Desmodus rotundus", also has specialized thermoreceptors on its nose, which aid the animal in locating areas where the blood flows close to the skin of its prey. A nucleus has been found in the brain of vampire bats that has a similar position and similar histology to the infrared receptor of infrared-sensing snakes.


title: Vampire bat

text: A vampire bat has front teeth that are specialized for cutting and the back teeth are much smaller than in other bats. The inferior colliculus, the part of the bat's brain that processes sound, is well adapted to detecting the regular breathing sounds of sleeping animals that serve as its main food source.


title: Vampire bat

text: While other bats have almost lost the ability to maneuver on land, vampire bats can walk, jump, and even run by using a unique, bounding gait, in which the forelimbs instead of the hindlimbs are recruited for force production, as the wings are much more powerful than the legs. This ability to run seems to have evolved independently within the bat lineage.


title: Vampire bat

text: Vampire bats also have a high level of resistance to a group of bloodborne viruses known as endogenous retroviruses, which insert copies of their genetic material into their host's genome.


title: Vampire bat

text: Vampire bats use infrared radiation to locate blood hotspots on their prey. A recent study has shown that common vampire bats tune a TRP-channel that is already heat-sensitive, TRPV1, by lowering its thermal activation threshold to about 30 °C. This is achieved through alternative splicing of TRPV1 transcripts to produce a channel with a truncated carboxy-terminal cytoplasmic domain. These splicing events occur exclusively in trigeminal ganglia, and not in dorsal root ganglia, thereby maintaining a role for TRPV1 as a detector of noxious heat in somatic afferents. The only other known vertebrates capable of detecting infrared radiation are boas, pythons and pit vipers, all of which have pit organs.


title: Vampire bat

text: Vampire bats tend to live in colonies in almost completely dark places, such as caves, old wells, hollow trees, and buildings. They range in Central to South America and live in arid to humid, tropical and subtropical areas. Vampire bat colony numbers can range from single digits to hundreds in roosting sites. The basic social structure of roosting bats is made of female groups and their offspring, a few adult males, known as "resident males", and a separate group of males, known as "nonresident males". In hairy-legged vampire bats, the hierarchical segregation of nonresident males appears less strict than in common vampire bats. Nonresident males are accepted into the harems when the ambient temperature lowers. This behavior suggests social thermoregulation.


title: Vampire bat

text: Resident males mate with the females in their harems, and it is less common for outside males to copulate with the females. Female offspring often remain in their natal groups. Several matrilines can be found in a group, as unrelated females regularly join groups. Male offspring tend to live in their natal groups until they are about two years old, sometimes being forcefully expelled by the resident adult males.Vampire bats on average live about nine years when they are in their natural environment in the wild.


title: Vampire bat

text: Vampire bats form strong bonds with other members of the colony. A related unique adaptation of vampire bats is the sharing of food. A vampire bat can only survive about two days without feeding, yet they cannot be guaranteed of finding food every night. This poses a problem, so when a bat fails to find food, it will often "beg" another bat for food. A "donor" bat may regurgitate a small amount of blood to sustain the other member of the colony. For equally familiar bats, the predictive capacity of reciprocity surpasses that of relatedness. This finding suggests that vampire bats are capable of preferentially aiding their relatives, but that they may benefit more from forming reciprocal, cooperative relationships with relatives and non-relatives alike. Furthermore, donor bats were more likely to approach starving bats and initiate the food sharing. When individuals of a population are lost, bats with a larger number of mutual donors tend to offset their own energetic costs at a higher rate than bats that fed less of the colony before the removal. Individuals that spend their own energy as a social investment of sorts are more likely to thrive, and higher rates of survival incentivize the behavior and reinforce the importance of large social networks in colonies. These findings contradict the harassment hypothesis—which claims that individuals share food in order to limit harassment by begging individuals. All considered, vampire bat research should be interpreted cautiously as much of the evidence is correlational and still requires further testing.


title: Vampire bat

text: Another ability that some vampire bats possess is identifying and monitoring the positions of conspecifics (individuals of the same species) simply by antiphonal calling. Similar in nature to the sound mother bats make to call to their pups, these calls tend to vary on a bat to bat basis which may help other bats identify individuals both in and outside of their roost.


title: Vampire bat

text: Vampire bats also engage in social grooming. It usually occurs between females and their offspring, but it is also significant between adult females. Social grooming is mostly associated with food sharing.


title: Vampire bat

text: Vampire bats hunt only when it is fully dark. Like fruit-eating bats, and unlike insectivorous and fish-eating bats, they emit only low-energy sound pulses. The common vampire bat feeds primarily on the blood of mammals (occasionally including humans), whereas both the hairy-legged vampire bat and white-winged vampire bat feed primarily on the blood of birds. Once the common vampire bat locates a host, such as a sleeping mammal, it lands and approaches it on the ground while on all fours. It then likely uses thermoception to identify a warm spot on the skin to bite. They then create a small incision with their teeth and lap up blood from the wound.


title: Vampire bat

text: Vampire bats, like snakes, have developed highly sensitive thermosensation, with specialized systems for detecting infrared radiation. Snakes co-opt a non-heat-sensitive channel, vertebrate TRPA1 (transient receptor potential cation channel A1), to produce an infrared detector. However, vampire bats tune a channel that is already heat-sensitive, TRPV1, by lowering its thermal activation threshold to about 30 °C, which allows them to sense the target.


title: Vampire bat

text: As noted by Arthur M. Greenhall: If there is fur on the skin of the host, the common vampire bat uses its canine and cheek teeth like a barber's blades to shave away the hairs. The bat's razor-sharp upper incisor teeth then make a 7 mm wide and 8 mm deep cut. The upper incisors lack enamel, which keeps them permanently razor sharp. Their teeth are so sharp, even handling their skulls in a museum can result in cuts.


title: Vampire bat

text: The bat's saliva, left in the victim's resulting bite wound, has a key function in feeding from the wound. The saliva contains several compounds that prolong bleeding, such as anticoagulants that inhibit blood clotting, and compounds that prevent the constriction of blood vessels near the wound.


title: Vampire bat

text: A typical female vampire bat weighs 40 grams and can consume over 20 grams (1 fluid ounce) of blood in a 20-minute feed. This feeding behavior is facilitated by its anatomy and physiology for rapid processing and digestion of the blood to enable the animal to take flight soon after the feeding.


title: Vampire bat

text: The stomach and intestine rapidly absorb the water in the blood meal, which is quickly transported to the kidneys, and on to the bladder for excretion. A common vampire bat begins to expel urine within two minutes of feeding.


title: Vampire bat

text: While shedding much of the blood's liquid facilitates flight takeoff, the bat still has added almost 20–30% of its body weight in blood. To take off from the ground, the bat generates extra lift by crouching and flinging itself into the air. Typically, within two hours of setting out in search of food, the common vampire bat returns to its roost and settles down to spend the rest of the night digesting its meal. Digestion is aided by their microbiome, and their genome protects them against pathogens in the blood. Its stool is roughly the same as that from bats eating fruits or insects.


title: Vampire bat

text: Rabies can be transmitted to humans by vampire bat bites. Since dogs are now widely immunized against rabies, the number of rabies transmissions by vampire bats exceeds those by dogs in Latin America, with 55 documented cases in 2005. The risk of infection to the human population is less than to livestock exposed to bat bites. Only 0.5% of bats carry rabies, and those that do may be clumsy, disoriented, and unable to fly.


title: Vampire bat

text: The unique properties of the vampire bats' saliva have found some positive use in medicine. A study in the January 10, 2003, issue of "Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association" tested a genetically engineered drug called desmoteplase, which uses the anticoagulant properties of the saliva of "Desmodus rotundus", and was shown to increase blood flow in stroke patients.


title: Susanna Reid

text: Susanna Reid (born 10 December 1970) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was a co-presenter of "BBC Breakfast" from 2003 until 2014 alongside Bill Turnbull and Charlie Stayt. In 2013, she finished as a runner-up on the eleventh series of "Strictly Come Dancing." Since 2014, Reid has been the lead presenter of the ITV Breakfast programme "Good Morning Britain" alongside Ben Shephard, Kate Garraway and formerly Piers Morgan. She also presented "Sunday Morning Live" on BBC One from 2010 to 2011.


title: Susanna Reid

text: The youngest of three children, Reid was born in Croydon, South London. She was educated at the independent Croham Hurst School, from 1975 to 1981, followed by the independent Croydon High School (1981–87) and St Paul's Girls' School (1987–89) in London. Her parents separated and divorced when she was aged 9. Her father was a management consultant, her mother was a nurse. Reid appeared as an actress while an adolescent, in a stage production of Agatha Christie's "Spider's Web" (1982) with Shirley Anne Field, and then alongside Peter Barkworth and Harriet Walter in "The Price" (1985) on Channel 4.


title: Susanna Reid

text: Reid studied Politics and Philosophy at the University of Bristol (1989–92), where she was editor of "Epigram", the student newspaper, and then trained as a journalist at Cardiff University's Centre for Journalism, earning a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism.


title: Susanna Reid

text: Reid began her career at BBC Radio Bristol and then became a reporter for Radio 5 Live, as well as a producer. She then joined BBC News 24, where she spent two years as a reporter. When the 23:00 presenter did not arrive one night, Reid became a stand-in presenter for an hour (while three months pregnant with her first child), which turned into a permanent position.


title: Susanna Reid

text: Reid was one of the main presenters on "BBC Breakfast", presenting with Bill Turnbull on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and previously presenting with Charlie Stayt on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. She held that role from 2012, when she replaced lead presenter Sian Williams. In 2010, Reid stepped down from presenting "Breakfast" on Saturdays and Sundays to take a role on a new programme "Sunday Morning Live". As of the final episode of the first series on 21 November 2010, she resumed her weekend presenting duties on "BBC Breakfast" within 2 weeks.


title: Susanna Reid

text: Reid was also previously the regular newsreader during the headlines on "The Andrew Marr Show". On 16 May 2010, she stood in briefly for Andrew Marr for the Sunday newspaper review, when he arrived late for the programme after interviewing the new Prime Minister David Cameron. Reid handed back to Marr following the paper review. Reid presented the main show for the first time on 10 March 2013 following Marr's extended absence after suffering a stroke in January 2013. On 22 February 2009, Reid presented the BBC's live coverage of the 2009 Oscars from Los Angeles and also presented coverage of the 2010 Oscars on 7 March.


title: Susanna Reid

text: In 2013, Reid took part in Strictly Come Dancing (series 11). Her professional dance partner was Kevin Clifton. The couple finished as one of the joint runners-up.


title: Susanna Reid

text: In February 2014, it was reported that ITV were attempting to recruit Reid for their new breakfast programme, with a £1 million salary. Reid had previously rejected claims of moving to ITV in December 2013, during her "Strictly Come Dancing" stint, saying she would "bleed BBC" if cut open. On 3 March 2014, the BBC confirmed Reid's move to ITV to front rival breakfast programme "Good Morning Britain", which replaced its former breakfast show "Daybreak". She co-hosts the show alongside rotating male presenters Monday-Wednesday and with Ben Shephard every Thursday. She hosts the show from 6 am to 9 am.


title: Susanna Reid

text: On 19 December 2014, Reid appeared on a special "Text Santa" episode of "Tipping Point" with fellow "Good Morning Britain" presenters. In 2017, Reid co-presented "Save Money: Good Food" alongside Matt Tebbutt.


title: Susanna Reid

text: In March 2014, the Television and Radio Industries Club named Reid Newsreader of the Year at their annual awards, the week after it was announced she would join ITV. In 2015, she again won the same award. In 2015, she also received an Honorary Fellowship from her alma mater, Cardiff University.


title: Susanna Reid

text: Reid separated from partner, former sports correspondent Dominic Cotton in 2014 after 16 years together. Reid lives in South London with her three children. Reid is a supporter of Crystal Palace, visiting the club's Selhurst Park ground with her dance partner while taking part in "Strictly Come Dancing", in 2013. In November 2018, Reid revealed that she was in a relationship with Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish. However it was announced in April 2019 that the relationship had ended.


title: Susanna Reid

text: Reid is a pescetarian, something she used to discuss occasionally with chef James Martin when commenting on the dishes on "Saturday Kitchen". In 2015, she said she suffers "very mild tinnitus".


title: Susanna Reid

text: Reid is a regular contributor to Media Trust, a charity linking other charities to the media industry, and has hosted events for the Myotubular Trust and Voluntary Arts England. In 1998, just before she became a reporter for "Breakfast News", she worked for three months in Sri Lanka as a voluntary media consultant for a charity which counsels victims of the civil war and operates orphanages and social development programmes.


title: Susanna Reid

text: On 22 April 2012, Reid took part in the London Marathon, raising money for Sport Relief, completing the course in just over five hours.


title: Ray Milland

text: Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder's "The Lost Weekend" (1945) and also for such roles as a sophisticated leading man opposite John Wayne's corrupt character in "Reap the Wild Wind" (1942), the murder-plotting husband in Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" (1954) and Oliver Barrett III in "Love Story" (1970).


title: Ray Milland

text: Before becoming an actor, Milland served in the Household Cavalry of the British Army, becoming a proficient marksman, horseman and aeroplane pilot. He left the army to pursue a career in acting and appeared as an extra in several British productions before getting his first major role in "The Flying Scotsman" (1929). This led to a nine-month contract with MGM, and he moved to the United States, where he worked as a stock actor. After being released by MGM, Milland was picked up by Paramount, which used him in a range of lesser speaking parts, usually as an English character. He was loaned to Universal for the Deanna Durbin musical "Three Smart Girls" (1936), and its success had Milland given a lead role in "The Jungle Princess" (also 1936) alongside new starlet Dorothy Lamour. The film was a big success and raised both to stardom. Milland remained with Paramount for almost 20 years.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland appeared in many other notable films, including "Easy Living" (1937), "Beau Geste" (1939), Billy Wilder's "The Major and the Minor" (1942), "The Uninvited" (1944), Fritz Lang's "Ministry of Fear" (1944), "The Big Clock" (1948) and "The Thief" (1952), for which he was nominated for his second Golden Globe. After leaving Paramount, he began directing and moved into television acting. Once Paramount Pictures' highest-paid actor, Milland co-starred alongside many of the most popular actresses of the time, including Gene Tierney, Jean Arthur, Grace Kelly, Lana Turner, Marlene Dietrich, Maureen O'Hara, Ginger Rogers, Jane Wyman, Loretta Young and Veronica Lake.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland was born Alfred Reginald Jones on 3 January 1907 in Neath, Wales, the son of Elizabeth Annie (née Truscott) and steel mill superintendent Alfred Jones. He was schooled independently before attending the private King's College School in Cardiff. He also worked at his uncle's horse-breeding farm before leaving home at age 21. Of his parents, he wrote in his 1974 autobiography:


title: Ray Milland

text: Prior to becoming an actor, Milland served in the Household Cavalry. An expert shot, he became a member of his company's rifle team, winning many prestigious competitions, including the Bisley Match in England. He won the British Army Championship in both pistol and rifle marksmanship.


title: Ray Milland

text: While stationed in London, Milland met dancer Margot St. Leger, and through her was introduced to American actress Estelle Brody. Brody queried Milland's commitment to an army career, which led him into buying himself out of the forces in 1928 with the hope of becoming an actor. (According to one account, he was able to support himself with a $17,000 inheritance from his aunt. Another said he was forced to drop out when his father refused to continue subsidising him.)


title: Ray Milland

text: His first appearance on film was as an uncredited extra on the E.A. Dupont film "Piccadilly" (1929). After some unproductive extra work, which never reached the screen, he signed with a talent agent named Frank Zeitlin on the recommendation of fellow actor Jack Raine.


title: Ray Milland

text: His prowess as a marksman earned him work as an extra at the British International Pictures studio on Arthur Robison's production of "The Informer" (1929), the first screen version of the Liam O'Flaherty novel. While he was working on "The Informer", he was asked to test for a production being shot on a neighbouring stage. Milland made a favourable impression on director Castleton Knight, and was hired for his first acting role as Jim Edwards in "The Flying Scotsman" (also 1929). In his autobiography, Milland recalls that on this film set, it was suggested that he adopt a stage name; he chose Milland from the "mill lands" area of his Welsh hometown of Neath.


title: Ray Milland

text: His work on "The Flying Scotsman" resulted in him being granted a six-month contract, over the course of which Milland starred in two more Knight-directed films, "The Lady from the Sea" and "The Plaything" (both 1929). Believing that his acting was poor, and that he had won his film roles through his looks alone, Milland decided to gain some stage experience to improve his ability. After hearing that club owner Bobby Page was financing a touring company, Milland approached him in hopes of work. He was given the role of second lead in a production of Sam Shipman and Max Marcin's "The Woman in Room 13". Despite being released from the play after five weeks, Milland felt that he had gained valuable acting experience.


title: Ray Milland

text: In between plays, Milland was approached by MGM vice-president Robert Rubin, who had seen the film "The Flying Scotsman". MGM offered Milland a nine-month contract at $175 a week, based in Hollywood. He accepted, leaving the United Kingdom in August 1930. MGM used Milland as a 'stock' player, selecting him for small speaking parts in mainstream productions.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland's first experience in making a Hollywood film resulted in a humiliating scene on the set of "Son of India" (1931), when the film's director Jacques Feyder berated Milland's acting in front of the entire crew. Despite this setback, the studio executives talked Milland into staying in Hollywood, and in 1930, he appeared in his first US film "Passion Flower". Over the next two years, Milland appeared in minor parts for MGM and a few films for which he was lent to Warner Bros.; he was often uncredited. His largest role during this period was as Charles Laughton's nephew in "Payment Deferred" (1932).


title: Ray Milland

text: While in this first period working in the United States, Milland met Muriel Frances Weber, whom he always called "Mal", a student at the University of Southern California. Within eight months of first meeting, the two were married. The ceremony took place on 30 September 1932 at the Riverside Mission Inn. The couple had a son, Daniel, and adopted a daughter, Victoria.


title: Ray Milland

text: Shortly after making "Payment Deferred", Milland found himself out of work when MGM failed to renew his contract. He spent five months in the US attempting to find further acting work, but after little success, and a strained relationship with his father-in-law, he decided to head back to Britain, hoping that two years spent in Hollywood would lead to roles in British films. Milland cashed in his contracted first-class return ticket to Britain and found an alternative, cheaper way back home. Muriel remained in the States to finish her studies, and Milland found temporary accommodation in Earl's Court in London.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland found life in Britain difficult, receiving little regular work, although he finally found parts in two British films, "This is the Life" and "Orders Is Orders" (both 1933). Neither was a breakthrough role.


title: Ray Milland

text: Then, in 1933, Roosevelt's reforms to the U.S. banking sector led to a temporary weakness in the dollar, allowing Milland to afford a return to the United States. He returned to California, and found a small flat on Sunset Boulevard, promising Muriel that he would buy a home once he was financially stable.


title: Ray Milland

text: With little prospect of finding acting work, Milland took on menial jobs, including working for a bookie. He decided to find regular employment and through connections made in his time in the UK, he was offered the job of an assistant manager of a Shell gas station on Sunset and Clark.


title: Ray Milland

text: On his return from his successful Shell interview, he passed by the gates of Paramount Pictures, where he was approached by casting director Joe Egli. Paramount was filming the George Raft picture "Bolero" (released in February 1934), but an injury to another British actor had left the studio looking for an urgent replacement. Egli offered Milland a two-week contract, at ten times the salary the assistant job would pay. Milland took the acting role.


title: Ray Milland

text: After completing "Bolero", Milland was offered a five-week guarantee by Benjamin Glazer to work on an upcoming screwball comedy starring Bing Crosby and Carole Lombard entitled "We're Not Dressing" (also 1934). During filming, he appeared in a scene with George Burns and Gracie Allen, which Milland recalls as falling into an "ad-libbed shambles" that he felt was better than the original script.


title: Ray Milland

text: The film's director Norman Taurog was so impressed, he rang the chief production executive and suggested that Milland be placed on a long-term contract. After a short meeting, Milland was offered a seven-year deal with Paramount starting at $175 a week. The contract gave Milland a secure income, and Muriel and he moved into an apartment on Fountain Avenue.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland later said "It all happened by luck and I was just there at the right place at the right time."


title: Ray Milland

text: During his first contract with Paramount, Milland was used as part of the speaking cast, but never as a top-of-the-bill actor. He had a supporting role, for instance, in the original "The Glass Key" (1935) with George Raft.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland was lent to Universal for "Next Time We Love" (1936), with Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart. Back at Paramount he was in "The Return of Sophie Lang " (1936) and "The Big Broadcast of 1937" (1936).


title: Ray Milland

text: He was contacted by Joe Pasternak, who was looking for an 'English' actor for the lead in his new picture, "Three Smart Girls" (1936). Although Pasternak worked for Universal Studios, Paramount had agreed to lend Milland out for the film.


title: Ray Milland

text: On returning to Paramount after "Three Smart Girls" was wrapped, Milland was used as a test actor to find a new starlet for "The Jungle Princess" (1936). When the studio chose Dorothy Lamour for the lead, Milland wrote in his autobiography that Lamour was confused to find that he was not to be her male lead and she requested Milland to be her co-star. Paramount was not keen, but when "Three Smart Girls" was released to rave reviews, they gave Milland the role. By the end of 1936, Milland was being considered for leading roles, and Paramount rewrote his contract, resulting in the tripling of his salary.


title: Ray Milland

text: After returning from a break in Europe, Milland was cast as Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond in "Bulldog Drummond Escapes" (1937).


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland was then in "Wings over Honolulu" (1937) with Wendy Barrie, and thereafter in "Easy Living" (1937), a classic comedy with Jean Arthur directed by Mitchell Leisen.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland did "Ebb Tide" (1937) with Frances Farmer and was then loaned to RKO for "Wise Girl" (1937) with Miriam Hopkins.


title: Ray Milland

text: Back at Paramount, Milland was reunited with Lamour in "Her Jungle Love" (1938) and "Tropic Holiday" (1938). He then did a military drama for William Wellman, "Men with Wings" (1938), co-starring Fred MacMurray.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland did a comedy, "Say It in French" (1938), and then "Hotel Imperial" (1939) with Marlene Dietrich, during the production of which Milland suffered a near-fatal accident on the set. One scene called for him to lead a cavalry charge through a small village. An accomplished horseman, Milland insisted upon doing this scene himself. As he was making a scripted jump on the horse, his saddle came loose, sending him flying straight into a pile of broken masonry. Milland awoke in hospital, where he remained for a week with a badly damaged left hand, a three-inch gash to his head, and a concussion.


title: Ray Milland

text: After recovering, he appeared as John Geste in "Beau Geste" (1939), alongside Gary Cooper and Robert Preston and directed by Wellman. The film was a huge hit. 20th Century Fox then borrowed him for "Everything Happens at Night" (1939) opposite Sonja Henie.


title: Ray Milland

text: According to Milland, a second injury to his left hand occurred in 1939. As well as horse-riding, Milland enjoyed piloting aircraft and in his early career would lease single-seater planes. As a contracted starring actor, Paramount had insisted he give up this hobby. Instead, Milland took up woodworking and outfitted a machine shop at the back of his newly built house. While operating a circular saw, he slipped, catching one of his hands on the saw. The injury resulted in Milland losing a part of his thumb and severely damaging his tendons.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland believed that the injury left him with only 50% usage of his hand, but within weeks of the incident, he flew to Britain to star in "French Without Tears". By the time he returned to America, war was declared in Europe. The year finished with the news that Muriel was pregnant with their son Daniel.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland appeared in a selection of romantic comedies and dramas alongside some of the leading ladies of the time in films released in 1940. These included "Irene" opposite Anna Neagle, "The Doctor Takes a Wife" opposite Loretta Young at Columbia, "Arise, My Love" opposite Claudette Colbert, and "Untamed" opposite Patricia Morison. He was a last minute replacement for Joel McCrea on "Arise" which meant he had to drop out of another film, "Virginia".


title: Ray Milland

text: When the United States entered World War II, Milland tried to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Forces, but was rejected because of his impaired left hand. He worked as a civilian flight instructor for the Army, and toured with a United Service Organisation South Pacific troupe in 1944.


title: Ray Milland

text: As the Second World War continued, Milland found himself now appearing in more action-orientated pictures. He starred as a wannabe pilot in "I Wanted Wings" (1941) with Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, and William Holden. This was followed by "Skylark" (1942) with Claudette Colbert, and two films with Paulette Goddard: "The Lady Has Plans" (1942) and Cecil B. DeMille's "Reap the Wild Wind" (1942) alongside John Wayne, in which he was top billed above Wayne.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland starred in "Are Husbands Necessary?" (1942) and subsequently Billy Wilder's directorial debut, "The Major and the Minor" (1942) opposite Ginger Rogers.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland appeared in the all-star musical "Star Spangled Rhythm" (1943), in which he appeared as himself, singing "If Men Played Cards as Women Do," alongside Fred MacMurray, Franchot Tone, and Lynne Overman. He also made an appearance in the collaborative drama, "Forever and a Day" (1943).


title: Ray Milland

text: He and Goddard then made "The Crystal Ball" (1943); thereafter, he was Ginger Rogers' leading man in "Lady in the Dark" (1944).


title: Ray Milland

text: In 1944, Milland starred in the supernatural horror film, "The Uninvited", which was notable for its serious treatment of ghosts and haunting main theme, and for making a star of Gail Russell. He then starred in Fritz Lang's film noir production of Graham Greene's "Ministry of Fear" (also 1944).


title: Ray Milland

text: He also toured war theatres with USO Shows. At one performance a soldier heckled him, asking why he was not in the army; Milland replied, "With a war on? Are you crazy?"


title: Ray Milland

text: The pinnacle of Milland's career and acknowledgment of his serious dramatic abilities came when he starred in "The Lost Weekend" (1945). Milland recalled how after returning from an emcee engagement in Peru, he found a book delivered to his home, with a note from Paramount's head of production Buddy DeSylva that read, "Read it. Study it. You're going to play it." Milland found the book unsettling and felt its subject matter, that of an alcoholic writer, to be challenging and alien to him. He was also concerned that it would require 'serious acting', something that he believed he had not undertaken up to that point in his career. The film was to be produced by Charles Brackett and directed by Billy Wilder; the pair were also collaborating to write the screenplay. Milland had already worked with both men, having starred in the comedy "The Major and the Minor" (1942), and he was excited by their involvement.


title: Ray Milland

text: Milland's first concern with taking on the role of Don Birnam in "The Lost Weekend" was that he might overact and look amateurish. After a shambolic attempt to act parts of the script while actually drunk, Milland quickly realized that he needed to understand alcoholism. After the cast and crew had arrived on location in New York, Milland was allowed to spend a night in a psychiatric ward of Bellevue Hospital, where the patients were suffering from alcoholism and delirium tremens. He found the experience extremely disturbing and left at three in the morning. Milland lost eight pounds for the role and spoke with the book's author, Charles R. Jackson, to gain insight into the illness. After the external shots in New York were complete, in which hidden cameras were used to capture Milland walking the streets, the crew returned to Hollywood. Milland found the set work far more challenging, knowing that the close-ups would give his acting no place to hide. Between the strain of acting and the morbidity of the subject, Milland's home life deteriorated and he left for a period of two weeks. When the shoot was over, Muriel and he left for a vacation in Canada. He later said his role in "The Lost Weekend" "was the only part [he was] really proud of."