title: Low-pressure area

text: Tropical cyclones form due to latent heat driven by significant thunderstorm activity, and are warm-core with well-defined circulations. Certain criteria need to be met for their formation. In most situations, water temperatures of at least are needed down to a depth of at least ; waters of this temperature cause the overlying atmosphere to be unstable enough to sustain convection and thunderstorms. Another factor is rapid cooling with height, which allows the release of the heat of condensation that powers a tropical cyclone. High humidity is needed, especially in the lower-to-mid troposphere; when there is a great deal of moisture in the atmosphere, conditions are more favorable for disturbances to develop. Low amounts of wind shear are needed, as high shear is disruptive to the storm's circulation. Lastly, a formative tropical cyclone needs a pre-existing system of disturbed weather, although without a circulation no cyclonic development will take place. Mesocyclones form as warm core cyclones over land, and can lead to tornado formation. Waterspouts can also form from mesocyclones, but more often develop from environments of high instability and low vertical wind shear.


title: Low-pressure area

text: In deserts, lack of ground and plant moisture that would normally provide evaporative cooling can lead to intense, rapid solar heating of the lower layers of air. The hot air is less dense than surrounding cooler air. This, combined with the rising of the hot air, results in a low-pressure area called a thermal low. Monsoon circulations are caused by thermal lows which form over large areas of land and their strength is driven by how land heats more quickly than the surrounding nearby ocean. This generates a steady wind blowing toward the land, bringing the moist near-surface air over the oceans with it. Similar rainfall is caused by the moist ocean-air being lifted upwards by mountains, surface heating, convergence at the surface, divergence aloft, or from storm-produced outflows at the surface. However the lifting occurs, the air cools due to expansion in lower pressure, which in turn produces condensation. In winter, the land cools off quickly, but the ocean keeps the heat longer due to its higher specific heat. The hot air over the ocean rises, creating a low-pressure area and a breeze from land to ocean while a large area of drying high pressure is formed over the land, increased by wintertime cooling. Monsoons resemble sea and land breezes, terms usually referring to the localized, diurnal (daily) cycle of circulation near coastlines everywhere, but they are much larger in scale - also stronger and seasonal.


title: Low-pressure area

text: Large polar cyclones help determine the steering of systems moving through the mid-latitudes, south of the Arctic and north of the Antarctic. The Arctic oscillation provides an index used to gauge the magnitude of this effect in the Northern Hemisphere. Extratropical cyclones tend to form east of climatological trough positions aloft near the east coast of continents, or west side of oceans. A study of extratropical cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere shows that between the 30th and 70th parallels there are an average of 37 cyclones in existence during any 6-hour period. A separate study in the Northern Hemisphere suggests that approximately 234 significant extratropical cyclones form each winter. In Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands, recurring extratropical low-pressure weather systems are typically known as depressions.


title: Low-pressure area

text: These tend to bring wet weather throughout the year. "Thermal lows" also occur during the summer over continental areas across the subtropics - such as the Sonoran Desert, the Mexican plateau, the Sahara, South America, and Southeast Asia. The lows are most commonly located over the Tibetan plateau and in the lee of the Rocky mountains.


title: Low-pressure area

text: Elongated areas of low pressure form at the monsoon trough or intertropical convergence zone as part of the Hadley cell circulation. Monsoon troughing in the western Pacific reaches its zenith in latitude during the late summer when the wintertime surface ridge in the opposite hemisphere is the strongest. It can reach as far as the 40th parallel in East Asia during August and 20th parallel in Australia during February. Its poleward progression is accelerated by the onset of the summer monsoon which is characterized by the development of lower air pressure over the warmest part of the various continents. The large-scale thermal lows over continents help create pressure gradients which drive monsoon circulations. In the southern hemisphere, the monsoon trough associated with the Australian monsoon reaches its most southerly latitude in February, oriented along a west-northwest/east-southeast axis. Many of the world's rainforests are associated with these climatological low-pressure systems.


title: Low-pressure area

text: Tropical cyclones generally need to form more than or poleward of the 5th parallel north and 5th parallel south, allowing the Coriolis effect to deflect winds blowing towards the low-pressure center and creating a circulation. Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer, when the difference between temperatures aloft and sea surface temperatures is the greatest. However, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns. On a worldwide scale, May is the least active month while September is the most active month. November is the only month that activity in all the tropical cyclone basins is possible. Nearly one-third of the world's tropical cyclones form within the western Pacific Ocean, making it the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth.


title: Low-pressure area

text: Wind is initially accelerated from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. This is due to density (or temperature and moisture) differences between two air masses. Since stronger high-pressure systems contain cooler or drier air, the air mass is denser and flows towards areas that are warm or moist, which are in the vicinity of low-pressure areas in advance of their associated cold fronts. The stronger the pressure difference, or pressure gradient, between a high-pressure system and a low-pressure system, the stronger the wind. Thus, stronger areas of low pressure are associated with stronger winds.


title: Low-pressure area

text: The Coriolis force caused by the Earth's rotation is what gives winds around low-pressure areas (such as in hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons) their counter-clockwise (anticlockwise) circulation in the northern hemisphere (as the wind moves inward and is deflected right from the center of high pressure) and clockwise circulation in the southern hemisphere (as the wind moves inward and is deflected left from the center of high pressure). A tropical cyclone differs from a hurricane or typhoon based only on geographic location. Note that a tropical cyclone is fundamentally different from a mid-latitude cyclone. A hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, and a tropical cyclone occurs in the south Pacific or Indian Ocean. Friction with land slows down the wind flowing into low-pressure systems and causes wind to flow more inward, or flowing more ageostrophically, toward their centers. Tornadoes are often too small, and of too short duration, to be influenced by the Coriolis force, but may be so-influenced when arising from a low-pressure system.


title: Kerris Dorsey

text: Kerris Dorsey (born January 9, 1998) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Paige Whedon in the television series "Brothers & Sisters", Casey Beane, Billy Beane's daughter, in the 2011 film "Moneyball", and as Emily Cooper in the 2014 film "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". Dorsey also portrayed Bridget Donovan, the daughter of the title character, in the television series "Ray Donovan".


title: Kerris Dorsey

text: In "Moneyball", she performs a cover of Lenka's song "The Show", which is included on the soundtrack to the film.


title: Kerris Dorsey

text: Dorsey has also appeared in the films "Walk the Line" and "Just Like Heaven". She played a supporting role in the "American Girl" film "" as McKenna Brooks's reading tutor, Josie.


title: Kerris Dorsey

text: Dorsey guest starred as Molly in one episode in "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23", and had a small role in "Sons of Anarchy" as Ellie Winston. In 2012, she gained a supporting role as Sadie in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Girl vs. Monster". Dorsey starred as Bridget Donovan on the Showtime crime drama series "Ray Donovan".


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. (February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006) was an American politician who was a four-term United States Senator (1971–1993) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served as the 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Born in Mission, Texas, Bentsen graduated from the University of Texas School of Law before serving in the Air Force during World War II. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in Europe. After the war, he won election to the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1948 to 1955. He defeated incumbent Senator Ralph Yarborough in the 1970 Democratic Senatorial primary and won the general election against George H. W. Bush. He was reelected in 1976, 1982, and 1988, and served as the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1987 to 1993. In the Senate, he helped win passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and played a role in the creation of the individual retirement account. Bentsen sought the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination but was unable to organize an effective national campaign.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis chose Bentsen as his running mate in the 1988 presidential election, while the Republicans nominated Vice President George H. W. Bush and Senator Dan Quayle. During the 1988 vice presidential debate, Quayle responded to a question about his purported inexperience by comparing his time in office up to that point to that of John F. Kennedy, leading Bentsen to famously castigate Quayle: "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." Though Dukakis hoped that the selection of Bentsen would help the Democratic ticket win Texas, the Republican ticket won the state and prevailed by a wide margin in the nationwide electoral and popular vote. Bentsen considered running for president in 1992 but chose not to challenge Bush, who was popular after the Gulf War.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: After Bill Clinton defeated Bush in the 1992 general election, Clinton offered Bentsen the position of Secretary of the Treasury. Bentsen accepted, though he told Clinton that he would not serve a full four-year term in the office. As Treasury Secretary, he helped win the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the passage of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. Bentsen retired in December 1994 and was succeeded by Robert Rubin. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen was born in Mission in Hidalgo County to Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Sr. (known as "Big Lloyd"), a first-generation Danish-American, and his wife, Edna Ruth (Colbath). The elder Bentsen's parents, Peter and Tena, had come from Denmark to be homesteaders and farmers at Argo Township, near White and Brookings, South Dakota; they experienced many hardships, including loss of their first dwelling and belongings to fire, crop failure, and poor medical care. Their son started out harvesting and taming mustangs for local farmers, then served in the United States Signal Corps during World War I. He and Edna accompanied his parents on their relocation to the "citrus and vegetable utopia" of Sharyland, Texas, where Peter Bentsen worked as a land agent for Sharyland's founder, John H. Shary, and started a nursery seedling business. Lloyd Sr. and his brother Elmer helped with the family business, investing in land purchase, becoming the "premier colonizers and developers of Hidalgo County", and gaining a substantial fortune from the "Pride O Texas" citrus trademark. The brothers were directors of the Elsa State Bank; Lloyd Sr. was also a principal at several First National banks, president of the Rio Grande Valley Chamber of Commerce from 1944 to 1946, and played a major role in the unity and development of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy Counties. Both brothers donated land that became the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. Eventually moving out of land development due to some disputes mainly resulting from crop failure due to a severe freeze, Lloyd Sr. invested $7 million in an insurance and financial holding company in Houston, of which his son, Lloyd Jr., served as chief executive until running for the U.S. Senate in 1971. In 1959, Texas Governor Allan Shivers appointed Lloyd Sr. major general in the Texas State Guard Reserve Corps. He died after a car accident, aged 95.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: At age 15, Lloyd Jr. graduated from Sharyland High School in Mission. He was an Eagle Scout and received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen graduated from the University of Texas School of Law with an LL.B. degree in 1942 and was admitted to the bar, but joined the military for World War II. (When law schools accredited by the American Bar Association began requiring a bachelor's degree for admission to law school in the 1950s and 1960s, law schools began awarding the Juris Doctor degree rather than the LL.B. As with most law school graduates of his era, Bentsen's LL.B. was amended to reflect award of the J.D.)


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: After brief service as a private in intelligence work in Brazil, he trained to be a pilot and in early 1944 began flying combat missions in B-24s from Foggia, Italy, with the 449th Bomb Group. At age 23, he was promoted to major and given command of a squadron of 600 men, overseeing the operations of 15 bombers, their crews, and their maintenance units. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel before being discharged in 1947.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen flew thirty-five missions against many heavily defended targets, including the Ploiești oil fields in Romania, which were critical to the Nazi war production. The 15th Air Force, which included the 449th Bomb Group, destroyed all petroleum production within its range, eliminating about half of Nazi Germany's sources of fuel. Bentsen's unit also flew against communications centers, aircraft factories and industrial targets in Germany, Italy, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Bentsen participated in raids in support of the Anzio campaign and flew missions against targets in preparation for the landing in southern France. He was shot down twice.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of the Air Force's highest commendations for achievement or heroism in flight. In addition to the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bentsen was awarded the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen served in the United States Air Force Reserve from 1950 to 1959, and was promoted to colonel in 1953. (His father, a World War I veteran, served as a major general in the Texas Home Guard during World War II.)


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: After the war, Bentsen returned to his native Rio Grande Valley. He served the people of his home area from 1946 to 1955, first as Hidalgo County Judge (a largely administrative post as opposed to a judicial one).


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: First elected in the Truman landslide of 1948, he served three successive terms in the United States House of Representatives. With the South, including Texas, still mostly home to Yellow dog Democrats, winning the Democratic nomination was tantamount to election, and Bentsen was unopposed by Republicans in each of his three House campaigns. He became a protégé of Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn and developed a reputation as an excellent poker player.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen upset incumbent Ralph Yarborough, a liberal icon, in a bruising primary campaign for the 1970 Texas Democratic Senatorial nomination. The campaign came in the wake of Yarborough's politically hazardous votes in favor of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and his opposition to the Vietnam War. Bentsen made Yarborough's opposition to the war a major issue. His television advertising featured video images of rioting in the streets at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, implying that Yarborough was associated with the rioters. While this strategy was successful in defeating Yarborough, it caused long-term damage to Bentsen's relationship with liberals in his party.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen's campaign and his reputation as a centrist Democrat served to alienate him not only from supporters of Yarborough, but from prominent national liberals, as well. Indeed, during the 1970 Senate race, the Keynesian economist John Kenneth Galbraith endorsed the Republican candidate, then U.S. Representative and future president George H. W. Bush, arguing that if Bentsen were elected to the Senate, he would invariably become the face of a new, more moderate-to-conservative Texas Democratic Party and that the long-term interests of Texas liberalism demanded Bentsen's defeat. Nevertheless, Bentsen convincingly won the general election against Bush with 53.5% of the vote.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Beginning in 1974, Bentsen campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination. In 1974 he visited 30 states and raised $350,000 at a single fundraiser in Texas. Bentsen formally announced his candidacy on February 17, 1975, and in the early part of that year he had already raised over $1 million for his campaign; only George Wallace of Alabama and Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson of Washington state had raised more money by that point. Bentsen did not organize effectively on a national level, and many observers believed the freshman senator was running without any real hope of winning the nomination, hoping instead to secure a vice-presidential nomination.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Wallace and Jackson were considered to be the two main contenders for the moderate to conservative voters to whom Bentsen would appeal; early in the campaign few foresaw Jimmy Carter of Georgia also effectively appealing to that group.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: By October 1975 Bentsen, generating little national attention or significance in the polls, scaled back his campaign to a limited effort in areas of 8 to 10 states, hoping for a deadlocked convention. In the first state contest Bentsen vigorously contested, Mississippi, he managed only 1.6% of the vote. Two weeks later Bentsen staked the remainder of his campaign and resources in neighboring Oklahoma but finished third with only 12%. A few days later Bentsen shut down his national campaign, staying in the race only as a favorite son in Texas. In the May 1, 1976, primary, Jimmy Carter won 92 of Texas's 98 delegates. The eventual nominee and president, Carter was later quoted as saying he had expected a much stronger showing by Bentsen but that Bentsen's failure to campaign nationally had ended his hopes.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen was overwhelmingly reelected to the Senate in 1976, 1982, and 1988. He defeated sitting Republican congressmen from safe House seats in all four of his Senate elections, including Bush in 1970. In 1976, he ended the career of Alan Steelman of Dallas. In 1982, he defeated James M. Collins of Dallas, who had first dispatched the strongly conservative State Senator Walter Mengden of Houston in the Republican primary. In 1988, he defeated Beau Boulter of Amarillo. Bentsen was also on the ballot as the Democratic vice presidential nominee that year; he could seek both offices under the 1960 "Johnson law" in Texas.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen was on Walter Mondale's short list of seven or eight possible vice presidential candidates in 1984 and was the only southerner and one of three white males considered. In the end, Mondale chose New York U.S. Representative Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: In 1988, Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts chose Bentsen to be his running mate in that year's presidential election, beating out Ohio Senator John Glenn, who was considered the early favorite. Bentsen was selected in large part to try to lure away the state of Texas and its electoral vote for the Democrats, even with fellow Texan George H. W. Bush at the top of the Republican ticket. Because of Bentsen's status as something of an elder statesman who was more experienced in electoral politics, many believed Dukakis's selection of Bentsen as his running mate was a mistake in that Bentsen, number two on the ticket, appeared more presidential than did Dukakis. During the vice presidential debate (see below), Republican vice presidential nominee Dan Quayle spent most of his speaking time criticizing Dukakis as too liberal while avoiding a match up with the seasoned Bentsen. One elector in West Virginia even cast a ballot for him rather than Dukakis, giving Bentsen one electoral vote for president.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen was responsible for one of the most widely discussed moments of the campaign during the vice presidential televised debate with fellow Senator Dan Quayle. In answering a question about his experience, Quayle stated that he had as much political experience as John F. Kennedy had when he ran for the presidency. Bentsen, at the age of 67, retorted, "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." Quayle replied, "That was really uncalled for, Senator." Bentsen responded, "You're the one that was making the comparison, Senator." Peter Goldman and Tom Mathews wrote in "The Quest for the Presidency 1988" that Bentsen "was the forgotten man" of the campaign until the exchange with Quayle. Thereafter, his "gray solidity" was "made luminescent by the pallor of the other three men. However, there have been questions raised as to how well Bentsen really knew Kennedy. Some have claimed they only had a nodding acquaintance." Bentsen had in fact considered in advance how to respond, because Congressman Dennis E. Eckart, who played Quayle in Bentsen's rehearsals, knew that Quayle had previously compared himself to Kennedy, so he worked it into Bentsen's debate preparation. Quayle had been prepped by Senator Bob Packwood, as Packwood served with Bentsen on the Senate Finance Committee.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: The Dukakis-Bentsen ticket lost the election. Bentsen was unable to swing his home state, with 43 percent of the Texas vote going for the Dukakis ticket while Bush and Quayle took 56 percent. But he was simultaneously reelected to the United States Senate with 59 percent of the vote.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen considered running for president in the 1992 presidential election, but he, along with many other Democrats, backed out because of Bush's apparent popularity following the 1991 Gulf War. A poor economy in 1991-92 eroded Bush's standing among voters and he ended up losing the election to Bill Clinton.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Appointed to Clinton's cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury, Bentsen helped win crucial Republican votes to pass the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Bentsen also was pivotal in winning passage of the 1994 crime bill which temporarily banned assault rifles.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: After the resignation of Les Aspin in early 1994, Bentsen was seriously considered for the position of Secretary of Defense. But this prospect did not materialize, and William Perry, then Deputy Secretary of Defense, was chosen to succeed Aspin. In early December 1994, Bentsen announced his retirement as Secretary of the Treasury. Before election day he had discussed with President Clinton that he was not prepared to stay in office through the end of Clinton's first term in 1997. He was succeeded in the position by Robert Rubin.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: In 1995, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said in an interview with Larry King when asked which Democrats she admired:


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: "I like Lloyd Bentsen very much indeed, I was sad when he resigned. He's a real marvelous politician, a person of great dignity, a person we can look up to respect and like as well."


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: In 1998, Bentsen suffered two strokes, which left him needing a wheelchair. In 1999 President Clinton awarded Bentsen the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the nation's highest honors given to civilians. President Clinton singled Bentsen out for applause during his final State of the Union address in 2000, saying: "In 1993 we began to put our fiscal house in order with the Deficit Reduction Act, which you'll all remember won passages in both Houses by just a single vote. Your former colleague, my first Secretary of the Treasury, led that effort and sparked our long boom. He's here with us tonight. Lloyd Bentsen, you have served America well, and we thank you." Bentsen appeared in the summer of 2004 at the portrait unveilings at the White House of former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Senator Hillary Clinton.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen died on May 23, 2006, at his home in Houston at the age of 85. He was survived by his wife, the former Beryl Ann Longino (February 4, 1922 — May 5, 2020), three children, and seven grandchildren. His memorial service was held on May 30 at the First Presbyterian Church of Houston, where Bentsen and his wife had been members for many years, and was presided by his then pastor, William Vanderbloemen. He is interred in Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery. Former president Bill Clinton, who was a close friend, delivered a eulogy.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: As a freshman Senator, Bentsen guided to passage the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), a long-stalled pension reform bill providing federal protections for the pensions of American workers. He also championed the creation of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), legislation improving access to health care for low income women and children, and tax incentives for independent oil and gas producers to reduce dependence on foreign oil. In recognition of his success in securing federal funding, two hundred seventy miles of U.S. Highway 59, from I-35 to I-45 in Texas (between Laredo and Houston, respectively), are officially named Senator Lloyd Bentsen Highway.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: As a primary architect of the Clinton economic plan, Bentsen contributed to a $500 billion reduction in the deficit, launching the longest period of economic growth since World War II. More than 5 million new jobs were created during his tenure as Secretary.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: His legacy also includes many water, wastewater and other infrastructure projects in the impoverished Colonia of south Texas, the preservation of natural areas across the state, and major funding for numerous medical facilities.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen's retort to Vice President Dan Quayle during the 1988 vice presidential debate, "You're no Jack Kennedy," has entered the lexicon as a widely used phrase to deflate politicians who are perceived as thinking too highly of themselves. Bentsen is also known for coining the term astroturfing.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: Bentsen's family continues to be active in politics. His nephew, Ken Bentsen Jr., was a U.S. Representative (D) from 1995 to 2003 in Texas's 25th District, and a U.S. Senate candidate in 2002. His grandson, Lloyd Bentsen IV, served on John Kerry's advance staff during Kerry's 2004 campaign for the presidency of the United States.


title: Lloyd Bentsen

text: On January 22, 2009, the Senator Lloyd and B.A. Bentsen Stroke Research Center officially opened in the Fayez S. Sarofim Research Building in the medical district of Houston, Texas as part of the University of Texas Health Science Center of Houston. Notable speakers included Dr. Cheng Chi Lee and Houston Mayor Bill White.


title: Vehicle registration plates of the United States

text: In the United States, vehicle registration plates, known as license plates, are issued by a department of motor vehicles, an agency of the state or territorial government, or in the case of the District of Columbia, the district government. Some Native American tribes also issue plates. The U.S. federal government issues plates only for its own vehicle fleet and for vehicles owned by foreign diplomats. Until the 1980s, diplomatic plates were issued by the state in which the consulate or embassy was located.


text: The appearances of plates are frequently chosen to contain symbols, colors, or slogans associated with the issuing jurisdiction. The term "license plate" is frequently used in statutes, although in some areas "tag" is informally used. The official three letter DSIT (coinciding with its ISO code) international code attributed to the United States is USA.


text: Plate designs often contain symbols, colors, or slogans associated with the issuing jurisdiction. Registration number formats, typically alphanumeric, are designed to provide enough unique numbers for all motor vehicles a jurisdiction expects to register. For example, the small states of Delaware and Rhode Island are able to use formats of 123456, while California uses the seven-character format 1ABC234, and several other populous states use seven-character ABC-1234 or AB-12345 formats. Other formats include those that incorporate a county coding system (e.g. Vehicle registration plates of Idaho) or a month of expiration into the plate number.


text: In the United States, many states distinguish their license plates through distinctive color schemes and logos, which persist over time. For example, the cowboy logo often associated with the state of Wyoming has appeared on that state's license plates continuously since 1936. Some early Tennessee plates were produced in a parallelogram shape approximating that of the state. Arizona has had the slogan "Grand Canyon State" on its license plates since 1939. Illinois has had the slogan “Land of Lincoln” on its license plates since 1954. North Carolina has had the slogan “First in Flight” on its license plates since 1982.


text: Vermont license plates have frequently featured a green and white color scheme, while Alaska has preferred yellow and blue. Other states and territories, such as California and Virginia, offer simpler schemes, often with a white background and little decoration.


text: Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia have placed the address of the state's official or tourism web site on their general issue plates. Most plates in District of Columbia contain the phrase "Taxation without representation" to highlight the District's lack of a voting representative in Congress.


text: As of 2019, the three oldest plate designs in use – each with slight to moderate cosmetic changes since inception – are that of Delaware (in production since 1959), Colorado (since 1960, continuously since 1978), and Minnesota (since 1978).


text: Typically, the registration number is embossedor, more rarely, impressedonto the license plate. Other identifying information, such as the name of the issuing jurisdiction and the vehicle class, can be either surface-printed or embossed; Virginia, for example, does the former for passenger cars and the latter for most non-passenger vehicles. However, it is increasingly common in the U.S. for the registration number to be surface-printed using digital printing technology. Colorado, Hawaii, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Oregon, and Washington do so only for certain types of license plates, such as vanity plates and special issues; Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia have switched to the so-called flat-plate technology for all their license plates with Ohio being the latest, changing in December 2021. Nevada formerly issued flat plates but has returned to making embossed plates. Delaware license plates have not been embossed for several decades. Wyoming normally issues flat plates but also issues embossed license plates for an extra fee.


text: In 2018, California started a pilot program in which the city of Sacramento issued license plates on battery-powered digital displays, for an extra fee. The registration number is displayed on an electronic paper screen that can theoretically update itself to display different messages. The license plate itself is also equipped with a beacon that can be tracked in case the car associated with the plate is stolen.


text: License plates originally were not embossed, but were merely flat plates in various forms, typically rectangular. In the 1930s the states found that the plates could be easily forged, and subsequently began embossing plates to thwart counterfeiting.


text: In 1956, U.S. states and Canadian provinces came to an agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association that fixed the size of all passenger vehicle plates at , with mounting holes spaced , although the dimensions may vary slightly by jurisdiction. In North America, only Saint Pierre and Miquelon (a French overseas territory) has not adopted these standards, as they use French/European standards instead (although the Northwest Territories has a plate shaped like a polar bear that is cut out of a standard rectangular plate). Smaller-sized plates are used for motorcycles and, in some jurisdictions, mopeds and certain types of trailers and construction equipment. Motorcycle plates are not standardized but have mostly come to be in nearly every state by the 1980s, with the exception of Minnesota, which still uses , with the most recent state to change being Maryland in 2008, which was previously . Furthermore, the US territory of Puerto Rico issues European sized plates for an extra fee.


text: Historically, license plates were replaced every year. Today, the most common practice is to issue new validation stickers every year or two, to indicate that the vehicle registration is still valid.


text: Expired vehicle registrations may attract the attention of law enforcement, because indicators of an expired plate, such as an old or invalid sticker, give officers probable cause to lawfully initiate a traffic stop. A delinquent registration tag is often an indicator that the vehicle may be stolen, that the vehicle's owner has failed to comply with the applicable law regarding emission inspection or insurance, or that the vehicle's owner has unpaid traffic or parking tickets. Most states historically required all license plates to be replaced every few years; that practice is being abandoned by many states because of the expense of continually producing large numbers of plates. Washington stopped the practice of mandatory replacement in 2015. Maryland previously mandated that all license plates be replaced every five years (except for apportioned trailers, which were registered on an eight-year schedule), but has not done so since 1986.


text: In jurisdictions that use validation stickers on the plate, the month and year of expiration may be separated into two decals, or issued in a single sticker. For example, North Carolina previously issued separate month and year decals, but recently switched to a single sticker. In others, such as Texas, the plate's validation is a decal displayed from the inside of the windshield. The colors of plate stickers and windshield decals often change annually, to support enforcement of registration laws.


text: Most validation stickers are either serialized (with the serial number recorded on the registration), or are printed by a special printer at the time of registration or renewal with the vehicle's license plate number on them to discourage fraudulent sticker use, as the sticker will be valid only for the plate for which it was intended. In the District of Columbia, the license plate is validated with a windshield sticker that indicates the expiration date in MM/DD/YY format, the license plate number, the year and make of vehicle, and part of the vehicle identification number, allowing easier fraud detection, in addition to serving as a parking permit for neighborhood residents.


text: New York, Texas, and the District of Columbia use windshield stickers exclusively, rather than plate stickers, for most vehicle classes. Their registration stickers include the month and year of expiration (and, in the District of Columbia, the day) in large type, so that an expired registration windshield sticker is obvious. In 2015, Texas eliminated the requirement to display a windshield vehicle inspection decal with the registration. Connecticut switched to windshield stickers in September 2006, and in August 2010, eliminated registration stickers completely, primarily to reduce costs. New Jersey required the use of plate decals for a few years, beginning with November 2000 expiration dates, but has not required them on passenger cars since October 1, 2004. New Jersey passenger vehicles do not display any registration information other than the license plate itself.


text: Pennsylvania issued validation stickers for Philadelphia residents that were displayed in the lower left corner of cars' rear windows for a few years to thwart sticker theft from plates; the practice ended in late 2003 with the last issued stickers bearing January 2005 expirations. As of January 2017, Pennsylvania no longer issues any registration stickers.


text: In Hawaii, counties compete over the cost of vehicle registration dues. Vehicles are purchased at a discount on Oahu compared to the neighboring islands where there is usually only one dealer per vehicle make. Because the outlying counties issue plates starting with M (Maui County), K (Kauai), or H (Big Island of Hawaii), the source of the vehicle can be identified.


text: In Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington state, license plate registration stickers are often called "tabs."


text: Under state laws, when a person moves to a new state with the intent to remain indefinitely, they are required to register personal vehicles in the new state. The new state will then issue a plate or plates that must be attached to the vehicle. One significant exception is active duty military service members; under federal law, they do not change their legal residence (domicile) upon moving to a new posting and are not obliged to obtain new vehicle registrations. Undergraduate students attending college or university in a state outside their state of legal residence are also typically exempted from transferring their registration, while graduate students are typically not exempt. Louisiana does not extend this privilege to leased vehicles used by students, and requires local registration.


text: When a vehicle is sold, the disposition of the license plates depends on state law and varies by state. In some states, license plates are transferred with the vehicle to its new owner. In other states, the license plates remain with the seller, who may, for a fee, transfer the license plates and any unused portion of the current registration to a new vehicle. Some states issue a new plate whenever the car is sold.


text: There are different schemes for reissuing license plates, a process known as "replating". In some jurisdictions, plates are issued on a permanent basis and are not replaced unless the owner requests a new plate or a remake of the current plate if the jurisdiction offers remakes. Other jurisdictions re-plate on a rolling basis, replacing a particular motorist's plate when it reaches a certain age. Still other jurisdictions may recall a particular series of plates for reissuance at regular or irregular intervals. This is particularly common in jurisdictions in which only one license plate series or design is valid at any given time. Optional-issue plates may or may not follow the same rules for replacement as standard-issue plates, depending on the jurisdiction. New plates may also be required when the existing plates are so physically degraded as to be illegible. Some states with county coding such as Nebraska or Mississippi may use replating to reset a format to prevent it from being exhausted.


text: In North Carolina in 2006, the legislature voted to require over 500,000 older plates to be recalled and replaced when a new design was introduced in 2007.


text: For passenger vehicle registrations, U.S. states require vehicles to display either one or two license plates (e.g., at the rear of the vehicle only or on the front and rear). In states that require two plates, limited exceptions may exist that allow for only a single plate to be displayed, such as for registration of commercial vehicles, government owned vehicles, diplomatic owned vehicles, dealer owned vehicles, or historic vehicles. In states like Missouri and California, two-plate jurisdictions, certain truck registrations actually require a single plate to be displayed, on the "front" of the vehicle only, leaving the rear with no license plate, while in California vehicles with occupational plates (dealers, dismantlers, etc.) only require one plate on the rear of a vehicle that would otherwise require two plates.


text: Some common exceptions include trailers, which are issued only one plate, even in states that otherwise issue two plates to all passenger vehicles, while certain other non-passenger types, such as apportioned, may be issued in pairs even in states that otherwise issue only rear plates to passenger vehicles. Pennsylvania, for example, requires a front plate for semi-trailer trucks. Some vanity and specialty plates in Arizona and Kansas are issued in pairs, but only the rear plate is required on the vehicle; the front plate is free and fully optional.


text: In January 2012, the Texas legislature inadvertently removed the penalty for driving without a front license plate. As a result, the law required front and rear license plates on passenger vehicles, but stated no penalty for non compliance. Realizing the mistake, the legislature eventually reinstated the $200 fine in September 2013.


text: Massachusetts is a unique case for license plate mounting as, under state law, motorists with Massachusetts registrations must display all plates issued to them. Before the introduction of the current "Spirit of America" base starting in 1986 for commercial vehicles, as well as vanity plates in 1988 for all other vehicles, the state issued only a single green-on-white plate to be mounted on the rear bumper. With the current-issue base, two plates are issued and are to be mounted on both the front and rear bumpers. In 2017, an estimated 900,000 drivers had plates on the green-on-white base.


text: In Nevada, all motor vehicles, with the exception of motorcycles and trailers, are issued two license plates. According to state law, most standard passenger vehicles issued two plates are required to display them on both the front and rear bumpers of the vehicle. Display of the front license plate, however, is optional for vehicles that either were not designed to have a front plate, or the manufacturer did not provide a plate bracket or other means for front display of a license plate. As a result, the law to display both the front and rear plates is rarely enforced, and it is not uncommon for owners of vehicles with Nevada license plates to remove the manufacturer-supplied front license plate brackets from their vehicles and display only the rear plate. In 2015, the Wyoming State Legislature amended state law, similar to Nevada, to remove the requirement that a front license plate be displayed on vehicles that either are not specifically designed to have a front plate, or the manufacturer did not provide a plate bracket or other means for front display of a license plate. The Nebraska Legislature amended state law in a similar manner in 2016. In 2017, the Montana State Legislature also amended state law in a similar manner, exempting such passenger vehicles from displaying a front plate but requiring motorists to first obtain approval from the Montana Highway Patrol.


text: South Dakota will issue passenger vehicles a single rear plate for a $25 fee, but only if the vehicle will be driven less than every year.


text: In 2016, the Iowa General Assembly attempted to pass a law that exempts "vintage" vehicles and two-seat, low-profile sports cars, like Corvettes, from the front license plate requirement. Originally, the bill was meant to repeal the front license plate requirement for all vehicles, but was amended as a compromise. The bill was later withdrawn.


text: In April 2019, the Ohio General Assembly amended state law to require the display of only a rear license plate starting in July 2020, marking the first time since World War II that Ohio has not had front plates.


text: In 2022, the Alaska State Legislature passed a law stating only one license plate would be issued per vehicle.


text: When a person buys a vehicle from a dealer, the dealer is typically authorized to issue a temporary registration to allow the buyer to drive the vehicle until the government agency in charge of vehicle registration processes the registration forms.


text: Similarly, when a person buys a vehicle outside their state or province of residence, they can usually obtain a "transit registration" from the authorities of the state or province where the purchase took place. This transit registration will allow the new owner to drive the vehicle and to properly register and obtain license plates for the vehicle from their state or province of residence.


text: The physical indicia of such temporary or transit registrations can take a variety of forms, such as:


text: In the United States, there are numerous types of license plates that are issued to special passenger, non-passenger, and non-private vehicles. Depending on the jurisdiction, such types may include:


text: In each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, motorists are given the option of extra-cost vanity plates (also known as personalized or prestige plates), which are license plates with a custom serial (sequence of letters and/or numbers). Generally, vanity plates may not contain profane or obscene messages, although standards as to what constitutes an unacceptable message vary widely among issuing jurisdictions. Namely, the state of Maine has no censorship of vanity plates at all, provided they do not promote hate or violence. In California, motorists may order symbolsa heart, hand, plus sign, or staron one type of specialty plate. Other states, such as New Hampshire and North Carolina, also permit the use of certain punctuation symbols. The state of Virginia offers more than 200 unique designs for license plates. A tenth of all U.S. vanity plates are in Virginia (which has 1.6 million vanity plate registrations), giving it the highest concentration of vanity plates issued by a state.


text: Certain classes of vanity plates may require proof of authorization, such as a person obtaining an amateur radio plate with their call sign must show their amateur radio license. Persons obtaining disabled veteran or Medal of Honor or Purple Heart medal recipients must show proof of their disability and military service or their award of the specific medal, respectively.


text: Vanity plates sometimes cause unexpected difficulties for their owners. In 1979, a Los Angeles resident received 2,500 parking citations from throughout the state because the DMV's computers matched his plate, “NULL", with citations for cars without license plates. Other such cases have been reported for plates that say "MISSING", "NOTAG", "VOID", "NONE" and "XXXXXXX".


text: Restrictions in the messages allowed on vanity plates have led to some major court cases. In 2001, Paula Perry, an administrator from Vermont, sued the DMV when her plates, SHTHPNS, were recalled. In another case from New Hampshire, the state attempted to recall the plate "PB4WEGO", but the owner of the plates successfully appealed.


text: Delaware's three-digit plates can bring $50,000 and two-digit plates can bring upwards of $400,000. These estimates have sometimes been exceeded: in 2008, plate number 6 brought $675,000 at auction, and in 2018, plate number 20 fetched $410,000 at auction. Bids have come from around the world, even though only drivers with Delaware licenses and residency can legally own the plates.


text: In Rhode Island, license plates with low serial numbers have been distributed by politicians and have become known as status symbols. The Rhode Island Governor's office instituted an official lottery for so-called "preferred plates" in 1995.


text: Low-digit, all-numeric plates are also available in Massachusetts, Illinois, and Washington, D.C. In these places, low-digit plates are seen as status symbols. In Illinois, as in Rhode Island, low-digit plates can also be distributed by politicians.


text: In some jurisdictions, vehicle owners may also pay extra for "specialty plates". With these, the plate serial is chosen by the licensing agencyas with regular platesbut the owners select a plate design that is different from the normal license plate. For example, an alumnus or student of a university or college might purchase a plate with the school's logo, or an outdoorsman might decide to pay extra for a plate depicting a nature scene. A portion of the extra cost of these license plates often ends up as a donation for a related school or non-profit organization.


text: Some jurisdictions allow for some or all of their specialty plates to also be vanity plates, usually for an additional fee on top of the cost of the plate.


text: States may also provide commemorative plates as a standard issue, for example for a state's 100th or 125th anniversary.


text: Normally such specialty plates can be purchased without proof of any particular status or affiliation, exceptions being plates which indicate membership or abilities of use in an emergency (e.g., firefighter, police, EMT, amateur radio operator). Also, some states require that university or college plates be ordered through alumni associations. Other specialty plates include those for motorists with specific accomplishments or backgrounds; for example, a veteran who was a prisoner of war or a Purple Heart recipient may obtain a POW or Purple Heart specialty plate, respectively, after presenting documentation of his or her status to the registrar. In many jurisdictions, there is no charge (or at least no extra charge) for such a plate, in recognition of the veteran's service.


text: Because specialty plates are government issued, they are required under First Amendment issues to be issued as a type to any group or organization that qualifies under the same terms as any other group to be issued a type of plate. The State of Maryland was going to revoke permission for use of the Confederate flag from a certain plate by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, but a court ruled that the only way the state could do that was to revoke permission on all specialty plates.


text: All U.S. states offer specialized license plates for licensed amateur radio operators, in many cases at no extra charge or at a discount compared to standard vanity plates. In some states statutes regarding amateur radio plates were enacted decades prior to vanity plate programs. Among the stated reasons in various state statutes for providing special amateur radio plates are to recognize amateur radio operators for their service, and to enhance visibility of amateur radio operators in an emergency. The owner's radio call sign is used instead of a standard-issue serial. Texas allows radio amateurs to have their call sign on the license plates of multiple vehicles that they own, in effect allowing more than one vehicle to share the same license plate number. As Amateur Radio call signs are standardized under the FCC and internationally under the ITU, it is highly plausible such registrations would not just be unique in the issuing state, but rather the entire country and internationally (a possible example of a de facto national license plate).


text: One example of a specialty license plate was a plate issued in 1987 by the state of Florida to commemorate the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Proceeds benefit the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, and funded the construction and maintenance of the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Merritt Island, Florida. The current version of the plate, and the second revision since its inception, introduced in 2004, commemorates both "Challenger" and "Columbia". It remained the most popular of all of Florida's specialty plates until it was overtaken by a plate to support the critically endangered Florida panther. In 2006, it was outsold by a plate for the University of Florida. Florida currently offers 122 specialty plates, more than any other state, while other states offer only a few.


text: There also exist standard-issue specialty plates. For instance, a number of states issued plates recognizing the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976. Several states have also issued plates commemorating milestones in their own state, such as when, in 1998, Alaska celebrated the Centennial of the Klondike Gold Rush with new license plates showing prospectors on the trail to the Yukon. Tennessee commemorated its 1996 bicentennial celebration by issuing standard plates labelled "BicenTENNial" in the place of the state's name; these plates remained standard issue until 2001, five years after the celebration had ended. States often issue plates with their motto or slogan, such as North Carolina's "First in Flight" and Ohio's "Birthplace of Aviation". These are arguably also general commemorative items. By law, all plates issued in Alabama must contain the words "Heart of Dixie" inside a small heart symbol. Over the years, due to sensitivities over the word "Dixie", the symbol (which currently resides in white letters inside a red heart) has been shrunken to the minimum size. In protest, proponents of the "Heart of Dixie" slogan often buy third-party decals with the slogan in much larger text, placing them over the current "Stars Fell On" slogan at the top of the plates.


text: New Jersey offers an optional "animal friendly" license plate. The second generation of this plate was first issued in 2001 and features characters from the comic strip "Mutts" by Patrick McDonnell. A portion of the revenue from the plates goes to the New Jersey State Department of Health's Animal Population Control Program. Some states where stock car racing is popular issue special NASCAR-themed plates; a NASCAR fan can purchase a plate with the name and car number of his or her favorite driver, along with the state-issued alphanumeric sequence. Here, a portion of the extra cost goes to NASCAR as compensation for licensing its trademarks. States offering NASCAR plates featuring designs for different drivers are Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia; Florida issues one NASCAR-themed plate.


text: In Indiana, a pilot program allows large fleet vehicle operators to customize an Indiana license plate specific to their organization. The United Parcel Service is the first such fleet operator to take advantage of this offering. This kind of specialty plate can only be purchased by the owner of the fleet and is not considered a general issue plate.


text: Because of the ubiquitousness of license plates, special plates – or even regular ones – can raise controversy. The state of Colorado, in recognition of the Columbine High School massacre, released a license plate with the picture of the eponymous state flower, the "Columbine", with the words "Respect Life." Some people complained that they felt the "Respect Life" saying was intended to be an anti-abortion message. Sometimes even ordinary plates can spark controversy. For instance, George Maynard did not like the state motto on his New Hampshire license plate, "Live free or die", because he and his wife felt it repugnant to their beliefs as Jehovah's Witnesses and chose to cover it with tape. He was prosecuted and convicted for defacing a license plate. The United States Supreme Court ruled in "Wooley v. Maynard", 430 U.S. 705 (1977), that since one is compelled to have a license plate on one's vehicle, they are permitted not to have to show a message from the state to which they have a moral objection, and overturned his conviction.


text: In New Jersey, people convicted of drunk driving can be banned from using vanity plates. In Ohio, convicted drunk drivers are mandated to drive with “Party Plates”, special red-on-yellow license plates in exchange for limited driving privileges such as work. In Georgia and Minnesota, drunk drivers may be ordered to display a plate with a special numbering system indicating restricted driving privileges. These are referred to as "Whiskey Plates" in Minnesota.


text: Nine U.S. states have issued commemorative or affinity license plates for the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) as a result of a national campaign for approval of plates commemorating the Confederate States. Starting in the late 1990s, the SCV took various states to court and each time won the right to issue plates and include their Confederate Battle Flag based logo on the basis it was a free speech issue however the 2015 US Supreme Court "Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans" allowed states to remove the Confederate flag from plates finding that the plates were speech by the state. The use of the Confederate Battle Flag and other Confederate symbols on the plates has stirred controversy but Jay Barringer, commander of the Maryland Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans countered "We're trying to divest ourselves of the negative associations" with the Confederate flag. In some states revenues are shared with the SCV organization.


text: In the United States, all states issue some special sort of license plate for vehicles which are owned by state and local governments. For the most part, the plates are similar to the regular passenger plates, except with a separate numbering sequence and/or with a message such as "government", "official", "state owned", "municipal", or "exempt" (from registration fees) replacing the slogan.


text: The federal government issues plates for vehicles it owns, with a few exceptions. Vehicles owned by a branch of the U.S. military may have a license plate issued by that branch of the military, although some utility vehicles will have no license plate at all, only an identification number applied directly to the body. The United States Postal Service adopts the same practice, especially for its delivery trucks. Vehicles owned by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) will have plates issued by the GSA in standard format. U.S. Government plates starting with "P" are USPS vehicles.


text: Many states issue license plates to members of certain professions who require some sort of special privileges, such as parking or going behind police lines. Examples include plates for members of the press, doctors, nurses, EMTs, paramedics, volunteer firemen, judges, medical examiners, and elected officials.


text: Some states use a distinctive color scheme to differentiate the plates from the regular issue. For example, in Virginia, state government license plates use the format "12-345S" and have a light blue background, while local government license plates use the format "123-456L" and have a tan background. The standard issue has a white background and a different numbering scheme. In Vermont, municipal government plates have a red background instead of the usual green background; State Police plates are green with yellow lettering instead of white, matching the color scheme of VSP patrol vehicles. Other state owned vehicles use brown with white lettering.


text: Old California government plates have the letter "E" inside of either an octagon or a diamond, which are no longer issued, but still valid. Old government vehicles will either have a diamond or octagon before 6 random digits while newer government vehicles say ¨CA EXEMPT" at the top of the license plate in red instead of the regular ¨California¨ in red cursive and will have seven random digits, beginning with the number "1".


text: Governmental vehicles in North Carolina are issued permanent black-on-yellow (state-owned) or black-on-orange/aluminum (all other governmental) license plates, however vehicles belonging to the State Highway Patrol are sometimes registered with normal passenger car plates or with special vanity plates (with stamped years instead of stickers) similar to normal plates, with the prefix SHP before a unique number (i.e. SHP1234). Government vehicles with black-on-orange/aluminum are the police (including sheriff and undercover police vehicles), school buses, public transportation buses, postal services, and county vehicles.


text: Government vehicles in South Carolina are issued a permanent white plate with black text, or formerly a permanent off-white plate containing the state seal inside the state outline with blue text. They are prefixed or sometimes suffixed by SG, RG, CG or MG for state-government, regional level government, county government, or municipal government respectively by a series of numbers. Examples include SG12345 or 56789SG. Vehicles belonging to the South Carolina Highway Patrol have plates that contain the logo of the highway patrol and prefix HP. For example HP1234 A similar format is also given to plates on South Carolina State Transport Police Division vehicles. For example STP1234


text: Pennsylvania issues a white on blue (blue on white on earlier plates, some still in use) plate for state-owned vehicles (PA prefix/suffix which carry the OFFICIAL USE legend), municipal (MG prefix or suffix) and vehicles that are owned by Penn State, which carry the STATE UNIVERSITY legend. State-owned and Penn State-owned vehicles are also issued front plates, as are press photographers, however, the press photographer plates are issued on the standard base and carry a PP prefix inside a large keystone.


text: Government vehicles in Georgia are issued a plate in the standard design but a numbering series prefixed by "GV" and a decal on the left side of the plate indicating what type of government the plate is issued to (authority, (school) board, city, county, or state), before that, vehicles were issued just numbers with the type of service the vehicle was used for and GOVT running horizontal beside the number and shown at right for reference. For example, plates can be formatted as GV12345, GV1234A, or formerly GOVT/12345. Also, Georgia State Patrol vehicles have special-issue plates they are required to display on both the front and rear of the vehicle – most other vehicles in Georgia only have rear plates – that have an image of the GSP's patch and the trooper's badge number.


text: Most Washington State Patrol vehicles use the same format as passenger cars, with the exception that the letters are all "WSP". For example: 123 WSP. The format "1234 SP" may also be seen on WSP vehicles but not as common. In this format only the numbers change, with the SP (State Patrol) designation remaining constant.


text: The District of Columbia issues special license plates to vehicles owned by the DC government and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority. While ambulances and other support vehicles of the District of Columbia Fire Department have special red and white plates, fire engines are not issued license plates. Vehicles belonging to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority display standard DC license plates appropriate to the class of vehicle, with special validation stickers. The transit authority police cars are issued ordinary District of Columbia passenger license plates, but the authority replaces them with self-issued number plates indicating the vehicle is with the transit police.


text: In Honolulu, Hawaii, the license plates on TheBus matches the fleet number of the bus they are assigned to, using a BUS-123 format. Similarly, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston, Massachusetts, places license plates on their buses featuring the agency's logo (a "T" inside a circle) followed by the bus number.


text: In Hawaii, state owned government vehicles use license plates that begin with State then letter and number, EX: State A175, however older state owned vehicles use just numbers, EX: State 8743.


text: Ohio's government-owned vehicles use red on white plates with the legend "City", "County", and "Government" with a special format of ABC123, and they use the legend "State Vehicle" with the format 12 3456. Just like in New York, Police vehicles are not issued license plates.


text: Michigan uses a unique "123456" format for municipal vehicles (including municipal transit buses, public school buses owned and operated by the school district, and police vehicles), "123456" for "in-transit repair" vehicles, "12345" for dealer vehicles, "123456" for vehicles owned by manufacturers of cars, "123456" for transporter vehicles and "123456" for vehicles owned by non-profit agencies, such as church buses, buses of private schools, and chapters of the American Red Cross. Michigan State Police plates have the State Police shield on the left side, followed by a four-digit fleet number. The first two digits of this fleet number indicate the State Police post number where the vehicle is assigned. County sheriff plates follow the 12*345 format (the asterisk representing a six-pointed star), but feature a black background and white letters; the left two digits represent the number of the county in alphabetical order. Vehicles owned by the State of Michigan can also have a plate using the format of "MSG 1234" (where MSG stands for Michigan State Government) or a plate with the format of "X12345" with the caption "STATE GOVT" under.


text: In New York State, local police vehicles are not issued license plates. In some cases, such as New York City, the fleet number of the vehicle is put on a flat license plate using heat transferred letters. In Yonkers, there is a special plate that appears similar to the specialized optional plates with the Yonkers Police logo and the fleet number. Other communities in the state have a license plate that looks like the regular issue vanity plate, but with the word "POLICE" on it. New York formerly indicated rental cars with the sequence beginning with "Z", but that apparently encouraged targeting by car thieves.


text: In Tennessee, state owned vehicles are given a green plate with white lettering in the S0A000 format with Gov't Service on the bottom of the plate and locally owned vehicles are given a white plate with black lettering with Gov't Service on the bottom in the 0000-AA format. Tennessee Highway Patrol cars are issued a green plate (usually placed in the trunk) and have displayed a gold plate with the officer's badge number assigned to it


text: Alabama issues plates with either 00000 CO (county) CM 000 (county motorcycle), 0000 PUD (public utility) MM 000 (municipal motorcycle) or 00000 MU (municipal) plates on a blue background with black lettering and state owned vehicles get a white plate with black lettering and the S0000A format, SM00 (state motorcycle) or SMP 000 (state pool)


text: Delaware uses plates that start with S for state owned vehicles and CY for county owned vehicles. Older versions spelled out State Owned or County Owned but have largely disappeared from use. Fire trucks get a white plate with red numbers starting with EV. Police cars get standard number plates however the registration sticker is slightly different (in the days of color coded stickers, the color patterns were inverted for police cars). Both regular and police vehicles owned by the Delaware River and Bay Authority (a joint agency with New Jersey) use standard Delaware license plates for most vehicles in both states.


text: Many states issue special plates to automobile dealers, auto repair shops, farms, and construction contractors, which are not tied to any particular vehicle. These users typically have many more vehicles on the premises than on the public streets, and it would not be practical to register and insure each individual vehicle. As a result, they hold a number of "floating" registrations that enable them to legally drive multiple vehicles on the public streets. States typically have rules about who is eligible and how the plates may be used, and may impose record keeping and audit requirements.


text: In every state, auto dealers are allowed to place a special dealer registration plate on a vehicle that the dealer is holding for sale or resale. Most states do not allow the use of dealer plates on vehicles that have already been sold. Most states allow dealer plates to be used only by a dealership owner, officer, or employee, or by a customer who is test driving an automobile. Most states do not allow dealer plates to be used by anyone who is not affiliated with the dealership. In addition, dealer plates are not allowed to be used as a way to avoid payment of sales tax on the purchase of a vehicle.


text: Diplomatic license plates are issued by the United States Department of State to accredited diplomats. This is an exception to the general rule in the U.S. that license plates are issued by states, and not the federal government. However, prior to the 1980s, diplomatic plates were issued by states, with New York issuing the most, followed by the District of Columbia.


text: Until 2007, plates issued to cars based in the District of Columbia followed the pattern of a letter identifying the status of the owner, followed by the two-letter country code, followed by a four-digit number (S LL NNNN). For member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS), a subset of that numbering pattern is allotted to vehicles based at those countries' missions to the OAS. Plates issued to cars based at the United Nations in New York City are reversed, with the four-digit number first, followed by the two-letter country code, followed by the status code (NNNN LL S). This is because representatives of certain countries are limited to travel to certain radii from their base, and the system allows the city of assignment to be identified easily.


text: The status codes used until 2007 were "C" for foreign consul; "D" for diplomat; "S" for non-diplomatic staff; and "A" for a UN employee. The status code indicates the type of diplomatic, consular, or other immunity enjoyed by the vehicle's registrant. The country codes are unique to each particular country, but do not correlate to ISO Country Codes or other standards format. For example, in the old system used until 2007, France is "DJ" not "F" and Australia is "XZ" not "AUS". This is to prevent the general public from targeting diplomats from particular countries. Diplomatic license plates are made in Virginia, so they use similar dies to those on that state's license plates.


text: Certain U.S. states issue honorary consul plates to U.S. citizens who have been appointed to that office and perform consular functions on a part-time basis.


text: For a list of serial formats of diplomatic plates, see the article about United States license plate designs and serial formats.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Thunderbirds is a 2004 science fiction action-adventure film directed by Jonathan Frakes, based on the 1960s TV series "Thunderbirds" created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. The film, written by William Osborne and Michael McCullers, was released on 20 July 2004 in the United Kingdom and 30 July 2004 in the United States.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: The film's plot concerns the Hood, who traps International Rescue (IR) leader Jeff Tracy and four of his sons on board the damaged "Thunderbird 5" to steal the other "Thunderbirds" vehicles and commit heists that IR will be blamed for, prompting Jeff's youngest son Alan and his friends Tin-Tin and Fermat to stop him. In contrast with the original TV series, which used a combination of puppetry and scale-model special effects dubbed "Supermarionation", this film was made in live action with CGI effects.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: The film received negative reviews from critics, who disparaged its wooden characters and thin plot, and was a box office bomb. Gerry Anderson was also negative about the film, describing it as "the biggest load of crap I have ever seen in my entire life", although Sylvia Anderson praised it as a "great tribute" to the series. The film's soundtrack includes the song "Thunderbirds Are Go" by pop-rock band Busted, which peaked at number one in the UK charts and later won the 2004 UK Record of the Year award.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: The Tracy family, led by former astronaut Jeff Tracy, operate International Rescue (IR), a secret organization that aids those in need during disasters using technologically advanced machines called Thunderbirds, operating out of Tracy Island in the South Pacific. Youngest son Alan lives at a boarding school in Massachusetts and dreams of being a Thunderbird pilot. He and his best friend Fermat Hackenbacker, son of the Thunderbirds’ engineer Brains, are extracted by Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, an IR agent, and her butler Aloysius Parker, using her limo FAB 1, as the Thunderbirds return from an oil rig fire off the Russian coast. Unbeknownst to them, the Hood, a psychic criminal mastermind who has a vendetta against Jeff for abandoning him in a collapsing illegal diamond mine when his brother Kyrano was rescued, has planted a tracking beacon on the hull of "Thunderbird 1".


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: The Hood's submarine locates Tracy Island and fires a missile at the orbiting "Thunderbird 5", sending Jeff and older sons Scott, Virgil and Gordon in "Thunderbird 3" to rescue John Tracy. The Hood and his minions, led by Mullion and Transom, take over the island's command centre, imprisoning the Tracys in "Thunderbird 5" as their oxygen runs out. The Hood reveals that he plans to use the "Thunderbirds" to rob ten of the major banks of the world, thus plunging the world's monetary system into chaos. The IR organization will be blamed and disgraced for it. Alan, Fermat and their friend Tin-Tin, Kyrano's daughter and Alan's crush, use a ventilation shaft to reach the Thunderbird silos. Fermat removes "Thunderbird 2"s guidance chip, delaying the Hood's plan, and the teenagers flee into the island's jungle.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: While traversing the jungle to find the island's remote transmitter, Tin-Tin displays psychic powers like her uncle. Alan insists on confronting the villains, but Jeff tells them to wait for Lady Penelope's arrival. The trio flees from Mullion and his men, but Fermat and Tin-Tin are captured when Alan tries to tow them to safety on hovercraft, after their riding compartment falls off. Lady Penelope and Parker arrive, engaging the Hood's minions in combat, but the Hood defeats them with his powers. When Alan appears, the Hood forces him to give up the guidance chip and locks him and the others in the compound's walk-in freezer. The Hood, Mullion, and Transom pilot "Thunderbird 2" to London and use the Mole to sink a monorail line into the Thames and drill into the Bank of England’s vaults. Alan and company escape and contact Jeff and his older sons, who regain control "Thunderbird 5". While the adults set out to stop the Hood, the teenagers and Lady Penelope fly to London in "Thunderbird 1".


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Arriving in London, Alan and Tin-Tin rescue a submerged monorail car using the aquatic "Thunderbird 4" before pursuing the Hood. Together, Fermat, Tin-Tin, and Parker defeat the Hood's henchmen. The Hood locks Jeff and Lady Penelope in a vault and challenges Alan to defeat him. Alan dangles from a catwalk over the Mole, but Tin-Tin appears, using her own powers to defeat the Hood. The Hood taunts Alan to let him die as his father did, but Alan, knowing that his father had in fact tried unsuccessfully to save the Hood, rescues him despite what he had done to them. The Hood and his minions are arrested, and International Rescue return to their island. Alan, Fermat, and Tin-Tin are inducted as official members of IR, and depart for their first mission.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: "Thunderbirds" was the third theatrical release based upon the series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. It was preceded by "Thunderbirds Are Go" in 1966 and "Thunderbird 6" in 1968, both films using the Supermarionation production techniques of the series.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Production of the film started in the mid-1990s when PolyGram Filmed Entertainment purchased the rights to the entire ITC Entertainment library, which included the original Thunderbirds series. Seeing the big-screen potential of the series, Peter Hewitt was signed on to direct, while Karey Kirkpatrick was signed on to write. While Hewitt was a lifelong fan of the series, Kirkpatrick was not, but watched all 32 episodes of the original series to immerse himself within the lore of the series. Hewitt and Kirkpatrick wrote a draft of the screenplay which was faithful to the series, but which they hoped would not alienate audiences who were unfamiliar with the franchise. Their script featured The Hood trying to steal Tracy Island's power core to power a device controlled by arch villain Thaddeus Stone, which would transfer all of Earth's gravity to the moon. After four drafts, Kirkpatrick left the project due to Working Title's concerns that the film would not play well in the US market. (Working Title was the unit of PolyGram, and later Universal Studios when that company in 1999 bought out PolyGram's assets, that produced films in Britain.) Hewitt also left the production shortly afterwards due to his dislike for the new direction the film was taking.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Hewitt was replaced by Jonathan Frakes, who was a big fan of the original series. whose credentials included another film in the science fiction family film genres, "Clockstoppers".


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Mike Trim, who had worked on the original Thunderbirds show, was hired as a concept artist. Ultimately, his work, which included a design for an original pod vehicle named the "Telehandler", went unused.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Bill Paxton took on the role of Alan's father, billionaire ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy. He had memories of watching the show as a child in Texas; a year before he was asked to join the film, he had been watching the show with his jetlagged family as it was the only English video he'd been able to find in Amsterdam. Of the role, Paxton said that he played "a kind of teacher, this father figure who has to teach his sons, particularly his youngest son Alan, these basic lessons of ethics and integrity, about doing the right thing". One reason that he was attracted to the role because it reminded him of 1960s non-profit vocationalism, and people "choosing life professions not for monetary gain but for something that would be good for their souls".


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Ben Kingsley accepted the part of the Hood because his children were "Thunderbirds" fans and, having just finished with "House of Sand and Fog", he was ready for a more lighthearted role. He described himself as feeling "totally at home" on set, but joked that he should have kept the original Hood's voice.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Sophia Myles was cast as Lady Penelope, who would recall Frakes as "lovely", and having a "great, positive energy". Much of her dialogue (and Ron Cook's as Parker) was rewritten by Richard Curtis, as it wasn't thought to be funny enough. It was because of watching the film with his son that Steven Moffat offered Myles a role in Series 2 of Doctor Who.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Anthony Edwards was cast as Brains; he joined the production imagining it was a "silly little kids' movie", but was impressed by Frakes', and production designer John Beard's, "reverence" for the original series. He also recalled the producers hoping Gerry Anderson would be a part of the production; conversely, Jamie Anderson claims that Gerry was "kept at an arm's length" from the project, and that only in the final stages of post-production was he offered a large sum of money to promote the film, which he declined.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Filming began on March 3, 2003 at North Island in the Seychelles. An initial 7-day schedule became 10 days after unexpected rain interfered with the shoot, and Fulton, who played Fermat, had to try and avoid developing a tan. Throughout production Corbet was vocal about what he saw as flaws in the script; Corbet would go on to write and direct films of his own.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Filming later moved to Pinewood Studios and on-location shooting in London. Upon arriving in London, Paxton, in order to immerse himself in the role, invited Winchester, Colenso, Torgersen, Corbet and Shrapnel for a meal. Shrapnel would later recall the experience positively, calling Paxton a "great role model and a very dear friend".


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: A number of scenes were excised from the final cut of the film. A different opening was filmed, with Alan partaking in some kind of motorcycle race; footage was included in trailers for the film. FAB-1 was also intended to be fired at by missiles when approaching Tracy Island for the second time, upon which a pedalo life raft would deploy; footage of this is utilised for a comedic scene at the end of the film. Versions of both scenes are present in novelizations and tie-in books.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: "Thunderbirds" is dedicated to the memory of Stephen Lowen, a rigger on the film, who died in a fall whilst dismantling one of the sets.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: There are numerous changes from the original series. The Thunderbirds fleet, Tracy Island, and the International Rescue uniforms have all been redesigned; Tracy Island is now referred to by name in dialogue, as is the Hood. International Rescue is also referred to as "Thunderbirds" by the general public.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Numerous promotional materials described this version of Jeff Tracy as having set up International Rescue in the year 2010. As such, a common misconception is that the film's setting was changed to this year from the original's 2065 setting. Working trailers confirm that the actual events of the film take place in March of 2020, but the mistake was proliferated enough to impact merchandise.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: In the original series, Alan and Tin-Tin are much closer to the age of the rest of the Tracy brothers. Fermat Hackenbacker and Onaha are new characters conceived for the film, with the latter taking the position of Grandma Tracy, who has been omitted from the film. The Kyrano change nationality in the film; they are Malaysian in the TV series but are depicted as being from India in the film.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Although the exact identities of the Thunderbirds remain secret, International Rescue now allows itself to be filmed and photographed on missions, which was forbidden in the original series.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: "Thunderbirds" grossed $28,283,637 worldwide, and with an estimated $57 million budget, the film was a box office bomb. Frakes attributed the film's box office failure to a combination of stiff competition from its contemporaries "Shrek 2" and "Spider-Man 2" and its poor critical reception.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: "Thunderbirds" received negative reviews. Those familiar with the series tended to be more negative. Sukhdev Sandhu of "The Daily Telegraph" called it "a quite cretinous travesty of the original series", saying that the film lacks the TV series's romantic approach to technology (particularly mentioning its rushed version of the countdown to the Thunderbirds takeoff) and suffers from thin plotting and dialogue. He also regarded the entire trend of making films based on decades-old TV series as good-intentioned but misguided, arguing, "Those programmes can be seen on terrestrial and cable TV. They're available on DVD. They don't need reviving and updating." The "Houston Chronicle"s Amy Biancolli similarly called the film a "rather breathtakingly misconceived attempt to revisit a vintage TV show that did not under any circumstances need to be revisited". She found the central character Alan "whiny and uninteresting", the script poor, the plot contrived and unsatisfying, and the acting wooden, though she noted that her three children enjoyed it much more than she did. She gave it a C−. Ian Freer, writing for "Empire", assessed that the film fails to either evoke nostalgia in the generation which watched "Thunderbirds" as children or provide snappy entertainment for the current generation of children. Like Sandhu, he felt the countdown sequence was so rushed that there is no sense of occasion to a Thunderbird taking to the sky. He also said that the child leads lack spirit and chemistry, and the adult characters suffer from excessive exposition and flat characterization. While he did praise Sophia Myles's performance and the vehicle designs, he considered the film an overall failure and gave it two out of five stars. On the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 19% "rotten" rating based on 106 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Live-action cartoon for kids." Critics widely described the film as a second-rate "Spy Kids" imitator.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: During development, creator Gerry Anderson was invited to act as creative consultant, but was left out when the studio felt there were enough employees on the payroll acting as part of the creative team. The studio offered him $750,000 (£432,000) to attend the premiere but Anderson could not accept money from people he had not worked for. He eventually saw the film on DVD and was disappointed, declaring "It was disgraceful that such a huge amount of money was spent with people who had no idea what "Thunderbirds" was about and what made it tick." He also said that it was "the biggest load of crap I have ever seen in my entire life".


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Co-creator Sylvia Anderson, and the one responsible for character development, was given a private screening of the film and attended the London premiere. She expressed a far different opinion to that of her former husband, stating "I felt that I'd been on a wonderful "Thunderbirds" adventure. You, the fans, will I'm sure, appreciate the sensitive adaptation and I'm personally thrilled that the production team have paid us the great compliment of bringing to life our original concept for the big screen. If we had made it ourselves (and we have had over 30 years to do it!) we could not have improved on this new version. It is a great tribute to the original creative team who inspired the movie all those years ago. It was a personal thrill for me to see my characters come to life on the big screen."


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Timed to coincide with the theatrical release of "Thunderbirds", the two prior films were released on DVD. The DVD versions of all three films include a number of extra features, including historical and production information.


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: Though "Thunderbirds" has a negative reputation with many fans of the original franchise, cast members frequently speak about the film having devoted fans, especially those who were children when the film was released. The film is occasionally critically reassessed, and castmembers frequently praise their time working on the film; Sophia Myles has said "It was amazing ... I only have the fondest of memories of making that film, [and] quite frankly I don't really care what anyone else thought ... for me it was one of the best times of my life." Dominic Colenso, who moved to a career as a communications expert, often describes himself as a "Former Thunderbird".


title: Thunderbirds (2004 film)

text: A 60-foot model of Thunderbird 3, based on Dominic Lavery's design for the film, was created to market it, and stood in Trafalgar Square close to the film's release. It was subsequently displayed in Blackpool (at one point being decorated with images from Pablo Picasso's "Guernica") until early 2008, when it was purchased by Eastern Airways; at present it remains on display at Humberside Airport.


title: Aldo Ray

text: Aldo Ray (born Aldo Da Re; September 25, 1926 – March 27, 1991) was an American actor of film and television. He began his career as a contract player for Columbia Studios before achieving stardom through his roles in "The Marrying Kind, Pat and Mike" (which earned him a Golden Globe nomination), "Let's Do It Again," and "Battle Cry." His athletic build and gruff, raspy voice saw him frequently typecast in "tough guy" roles throughout his career, which lasted well into the late 1980s. Though the latter part of his career was marked by appearances in low-budget B-movies and exploitation films, he still starred occasionally in higher-profile features, including "The Secret of NIMH" (1982) and "The Sicilian" (1987).


title: Aldo Ray

text: Ray was born Aldo Da Re in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania, to an Italian family with five brothers (Mario, Guido, Dante, Dino, and Louis) and one sister (Regina). His brother Mario Da Re (1933-2010) lettered in football at USC from 1952 to 1954 and appeared as a contestant on the May 12, 1955, edition of Groucho Marx's NBC-TV quiz show "You Bet Your Life". His family moved to the small town of Crockett, California, when Aldo was four years old. His father worked as a laborer at the C&H Sugar Refinery, the largest employer in the town. He attended John Swett High School, where he made the football team; he also coached swimming.


title: Aldo Ray

text: At age 18 during World War II in 1944, Ray entered the United States Navy, serving as a frogman until 1946; he saw action at Okinawa with UDT-17. Upon leaving the Navy in May 1946, he returned to Crockett. He studied and played football at Vallejo Junior College and then entered the University of California at Berkeley to study political science. (Ray later described himself as an "arch conservative" and a "right-winger".) He left college in order to run for the office of constable of the Crockett Judicial District in Contra Costa County, California. "I always knew I was going to be a big man, but I thought it would be in politics," he said.


title: Aldo Ray

text: In April 1950 Columbia Studios sent a unit to San Francisco to look for some athletes to appear in a film they were making called "Saturday's Hero" (1951). Aldo's brother Guido saw an item in the "San Francisco Chronicle" about the auditions and asked his brother to drive him there. Director David Miller was more interested in Ray than in his brother because of his voice; also, Ray was comfortable talking to the camera owing to his political experience. He later recalled, "They... said, 'What's wrong with your voice kid? Are you sick? If you're sick you don't belong here.' I said, 'No, no, no, this is the way I've always spoken.' And they loved it." Ray would later retell this story in the trailer for "Pat and Mike".


title: Aldo Ray

text: Ray signed a contract and was sent to Los Angeles for a screen test. He was cast in the small role of a cynical college football player opposite John Derek and Donna Reed.


title: Aldo Ray

text: Ray worked on the film between the primary and general elections. He was elected constable on 6 June. "I was 23 and a sort of child bride to the voters," he later said. "The guy I ran against was a 16-year incumbent, and I destroyed him with 80 percent of the vote! I was going to work my way up to the U.S. Senate, see, and I would've, too."


title: Aldo Ray

text: Columbia picked up its option on Ray's services and signed him to a seven-year contract. "Of all the people in the picture they took up only one option—mine," he said. "And I said, 'Thank you, goodbye. I'm going home where I can be a big fish in my small pond. You can take this town (Hollywood) and shove it."


title: Aldo Ray

text: Columbia refused to release him from his contract and put him under suspension, giving him a leave of absence to work as constable. "I told them I couldn't care less, they could give me whatever they wanted," he said. Ray started his new job in November 1950.


title: Aldo Ray

text: After several months, Ray found "the quiet life... monotonous", so he contacted Max Arnow, talent director at Columbia, and expressed interest in appearing in more movies. Four weeks later, Arnow called back, saying Columbia wanted to audition Ray for a small part in Judy Holliday's new movie "The Marrying Kind".


title: Aldo Ray

text: Ray went to Hollywood and did a screen test with the director, George Cukor. The first test went badly, but head of Columbia Harry Cohn liked Ray and asked for another test. The second one was done opposite (Miss) Jeff Donnell, whom Ray later married; it was more successful and Ray ended up being cast in the lead.


title: Aldo Ray

text: Harry Cohn felt the name "Aldo Da Re" was too close to "Dare" and wanted to change it to "John Harrison"; the actor refused and "Aldo Ray" was the compromise. He divorced his wife and resigned as constable in September 1951. His studio salary was $200 a week.


title: Aldo Ray

text: Cukor famously suggested that Ray go to ballet school because he walked too much like a football player. The director later talked about the actor:


title: Aldo Ray

text: He has a great advantage: the way his eyes are made. The light comes into them. There are certain people who have opaque eyes which refuse to catch the light. But his eyes had a certain glow and gave quite well in the photographed result. He did this silent scene very well lying there on the bed in the same room with Judy (Holliday). Then later he did comedy scenes with her—very difficult ones—and there were also emotional sequences where he broke down and cried. They were brilliant.


title: Aldo Ray

text: "Cukor is hypersensitive to reality", recalled Ray. "He told me exactly what to do and why. He explains everything and he knows exactly what he wants."


title: Aldo Ray

text: To give the performance he did in "The Marrying Kind" after so little previous experience was clear evidence that in Aldo Ray the screen had discovered one of its rare "naturals". This was no carefully edited, tricked out performance, but a strikingly sincere and imaginative interpretation: an exceptional talent responding to a finely intuitive director... There was about him none of the personality assurance that extracts a special consideration of the actor as distinct from his role.


title: Aldo Ray

text: Cukor then cast Ray in a supporting role in "Pat and Mike", starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Ray's work in "Pat and Mike" led to his nomination, along with Richard Burton and Robert Wagner, for a Golden Globe as Best Newcomer. Burton won the award that year, but Ray's career was launched. He said after two films with Cukor: "I never needed direction again."


title: Aldo Ray

text: Ray said Spencer Tracy told him: "Kid, I don't know what it is that you got, and I got, and some of us have, but you can work in this business forever." "That," said Ray, "made me feel good, you know, coming from a guy like him. I never bowed down to anybody at Columbia or anywhere else, but my overall idea was, I'll do whatever they tell me because it's their business, not mine, and I've got to learn it."


title: Aldo Ray

text: Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn liked Ray and wanted him for the role of Private Robert Prewitt in "From Here to Eternity" (1953), but Fred Zinnemann insisted Montgomery Clift be cast. However, other good roles followed instead. "Because of Harry, all my first pictures were big hits, tremendously popular", Ray recalled.


title: Aldo Ray

text: Ray starred opposite Jane Wyman in "Let's Do It Again" (1953), then followed this acting opposite Rita Hayworth in "Miss Sadie Thompson" (also 1953), the third film version of the W. Somerset Maugham story "Rain". He also appeared in a production of "Stalag 17" at La Jolla Playhouse.


title: Aldo Ray

text: Ray was loaned to Warner Bros to appear in "Battle Cry" (1955), which was directed by Raoul Walsh, who would become one of Ray's favorite directors. The film was a box-office hit—probably the most popular movie Ray ever made—although it led to his being typecast.


title: Aldo Ray

text: "In some ways the tough soldier role locked me in", reflected Ray later. "There were no sophisticated roles for me. I never seemed to get past master sergeant, though I always thought of myself as upper echelon."


title: Aldo Ray

text: Ray was meant to appear in "My Sister Eileen" (1955) as The Wreck, but he walked off the set, claiming his role was too small, and had to be replaced by Dick York.


title: Aldo Ray

text: "Battle Cry" was a big hit at the box office, so Columbia gave Ray a lead role as a sergeant who marries a Japanese girl in "Three Stripes in the Sun" (originally "The Gentle Wolfhound") (1955) and then loaned him to Paramount for "We're No Angels" (also 1955), in which he starred with Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, Basil Rathbone, Leo G. Carroll, and Joan Bennett.


title: Aldo Ray

text: Aldo Ray's technical advance in the four years since "The Marrying Kind" enables him now to work in subtler, more economical degree; there is an authoritative reserve and, still remarkably intact, the original rare lack of ostentation. All the same, his career seems to have become a nomadic drifting round the studios looking for the right kind of film. The good humour, the lenitive smile, the frog in the throat voice betray nothing of the disappointment the actor must feel after such exciting beginnings under Cukor's guidance.