Origins.

During French control of the Low Countries, linguistic problems arose with the first language laws. After the invasion of the Austrian Netherlands, French revolutionaries began the "francisation" of the country. Under the Old Regime French coexisted with many languages, including Latin and English, but the decree of 2nd Thermidor Year II made French the official language of France and its territories. Revolutionary France differentiated between Flemish and Walloon provinces: "It seems the revolutionaries themselves consider the fact French was enough close to the Walloon language so as not to manage Wallonia as Brittany, Corsica, Alsace or Flanders." The French Consulate and Empire extended the francisation process by requiring all the civil servants of Flanders to become French citizens. Authorities sent members of the French bourgeoisie and clergy to Belgium to replace Belgian elites and moved Belgian elites to France to remove them from their roots and their culture. For example, Flemish seminarians were trained in Paris and Lyon under the direction of Jean-Armand de Roquelaure, the archbishop of Malines, a French clerk installed by French authorities.  After the fall of the French Empire, the Congress of Vienna united the Belgian provinces of the Austrian Netherlands with the former Dutch Republic, forming the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The new ruler of the United Kingdom, William I, gave Dutch the status of ""national language"" in order to reduce the influence of French ideas. On 15 September 1819, William I decreed Dutch as the official language for justice and governmental administration although he did not prohibit the use of other languages. According to Hervé Hasquin the goal of these policies was the 'cultural homogenization of our regions'. William I "believed or feigned to believe that French was introduced into the Walloon provinces only under the pressure of foreign influence." The linguistic barrier "acquired administrative significance for the first time in 1822 with William I's legislation on the use of Dutch in Flemish communes." William's linguistic policies were one of the contributing factors that led to the Belgian Revolution of 1830 and the linguistic legislation of the first unionist governments.  The young Belgian government officially recognized only the French language, though the Constitution allowed for the free use of all languages. In the 1840s the Flemish Movement appeared in response to the Belgian government's recognition of French as the official language. The Walloon Movement developed subsequently as a reaction to the claims of the Flemish Movement.

1880–1898: Opposition to official recognition of Dutch.

Born in Flanders and in Brussels, a "French-speaking movement" was set up within civil servant circles to combat the introduction of Dutch as the language of administration. For the first Walloon militants the recognition of Dutch meant job losses, the infantilisation of the culture, and an attack on national unity. In 1877 the first political Walloon association, the Walloon League of Ixelles, was formed. In 1883 the Walloon Beehive in Anvers, whose motto is "Walloon I am, Belgian first and foremost", was founded. The Walloon movement developed rapidly in the south but was mostly confined to the bourgeoisie. The liberal leading elements of the bourgeoisie consider the Flemish Movement as a machination proposing to keep the Dutch-speaking provinces under the heel of religion. Arnaud Pirotte disagreed with the notion that the Walloon movement started with the Walloon reaction to the success of the Flemish Movement.  The first members of the Walloon Movement promoted neither federalism nor separatism. Their rhetoric was confined to defending Belgium and the use of the French language. For the early Walloon Movement, the daily use of the French language was considered the cement holding the country together:  "The emerging Walloon Movement thus fits in a Belgian perspective as its contours and especially its linguistic identity was defined for this State in 1830. It regards the acquisition of the French language as a form of adhesion to Belgium and to the great principles of freedom in the Constitution."  During this period a variety of Walloon leagues fought against the use of Dutch as the official language. The most prominent was the Society of Walloon Propaganda, which was founded on 23 February 1888 by lawyer Édouard Termonia. The Society had three goals: to defend the acquired rights of the "Walloon" agents in civil service; to defend the French language and culture; and to unify the varied Walloon leagues of Brussels under a common banner. The Society organized the first Walloon congresses in Brussels in July 1890, in Namur in December 1891, in Liège in November 1892, and in Mons in November 1893. Yves Quairiaux writes that at the Mons congress delegates from Walloon provinces were in the minority and the assembly voted in favor of teaching Dutch in French-speaking provinces. The first congresses were unpopular, especially in southern Belgium, and the first members of the Walloon Movement were so disorganized that the fifth congress (to be held in 1894) was cancelled. In 1895 the Society of Walloon Propaganda asked deputies to leave an assembly when a French-speaking orator presented a speech in Dutch. In 1896, when the Coremans-De Vriendt law was first proposed, the Society of Walloon Propaganda and the Walloon League of Ixelles began a protest campaign. They sent petitions signed by communal administrations and members of the bar to the Senate. The first article of the Coremans-De Vriendt law declares that ""the laws are voted, sanctioned, promulgated and published in French language and Dutch language"". The law reminded the Walloon Movement that their privileges were endangered by the recognition of Dutch as an official language for administration and justice.

1898–1914: Political creation of Wallonia.

1898–1904: Political awakening.

The Coremans-De Vriendt law, called the ""law of Equality"" (""Gelijkheidswet"" in Dutch), was passed by a small majority in both the Chamber of the Deputies and the Senate. In the Chamber of the Deputies only twenty-one Wallooon Deputies voted yes, while nineteen voted no, and four abstained. In the Senate only three of the forty Walloon Senators present voted to pass the law. The law was promulgated on 18 April 1898, constituting a turning point in the history of the Walloon Movement. The Walloon Movement, once confined to Brussels and Flanders, grew because of increased participation from French-speaking Belgians living in the south. The Society of Walloon Propaganda, once the engine of the Walloon Movement, had faded and disappeared by the 1900s. The Walloon League of Liège, founded in 1897 by the liberal Julien Delaitte, assumed the leadership of the Walloon Movement.  After the passage of the Coremans-De Vriendt law, the Walloon League of Liège called for the creation of a Walloon National League. The Walloon National League, founded on 8 May 1898, led the Walloon Movement from 1898–1905, a period which saw the affirmation of a political Wallonia at the expense of French-speaking interests in Flanders and Brussels. In 1899 the Society of Walloon Propaganda asked for the seat of the Walloon National League to be transferred to Brussels, but the measure failed because "other towns of Wallonia estimat[ed] that Liège was the Walloon capital".  The political relationship between the Walloon language and the Walloon Movement also changed. Before the Coremans-De Vriendt law, the idea of the equality of all languages was not accepted by Walloon militants who considered Flemish to be an idiom. In their eyes the Flemings had to give up their idiom just as the Walloons had done. The recognition of Dutch pushed the Walloon Movement to more adamantly defend the Walloon language. This transition is indicated by the Walloon League of Liège beginning its publication of articles in Walloon. Before the Walloon League of Liège, the use of the Walloon language had been confined to religious and folk publications. The promotion of the Walloon language was never strong with Wallingants who were attached to French Jacobinism.  French-speaking elites, fearful of becoming a minority after the recognition of Dutch as the official language, began creating a French-speaking unilingual Wallonia. Promoted in 1844 by, the word "Wallonie" indicated a linguistic and cultural area. Gradually it acquired political significance. The acquisition of a political meaning began with the creation of federalistic projects in Belgium.

1905–1914: Political affirmations.

In 1905 the fifth Walloon congress, which took place in Liège at the "Liège International" exposition, was a new step for the Walloon Movement. After the congress separatist ideas began to mature. Julien Delaite, a leader of the Walloon Movement, explained what his vision of the Walloon Movement was in a speech at the "salle académique" of the University of Liège:  "We organized it apart from any spirit of party, to expose the right claims of the Walloons and to exalt the walloon spirit. We do want to criticize only what is criticizable, but we want to say everything, say it without fear. We do not attack the Flemings, but we intend to whip the flamingant exaggerations that threaten the integrity of the Belgian fatherland. We want also to clarify what the Walloons were in the past, what they carry out in the present, what they aspire for the future."  After this congress, the Walloon Movement increasingly embraced separatism. The congress of 1905 reunited twenty-five societies and liberal minded politicians, artists, and industrialists who were inhabitants of Liège. Another political shift started during this period with socialists joining the Walloon Movement in increasing numbers.  The massive arrival of socialists was caused not only by a linguistic cleavage, but also by a political cleavage. Since October 1884 Belgium saw a succession of catholic governments whose supporters were largely Dutch-speaking. The historian Maarten Van Ginderachter writes that Walloons were "excluded from national power. Between 1884 and 1902 there was only one Walloon in the Belgian government". Liberals and socialists agreed to organize nationally for the 1912 legislative and provincial elections. The defeat of the socialist-liberal political alliance by the Catholic Party initiated a profound change within the movement. The majority of Walloon militants, and this for a few years, have considered whereas the catholic conservative majority in North is installed for a long time and that makes sterile the leftist majority in the South, which the newspaper "Het Laatste Nieuws" underlined during the project of flemishisation of the University of Ghent: ""Again we draw the attention of everyone to the tactics of the opponents to Flemish Movement: they know that they are swept everywhere in Flemish areas—consequently they must excite the Walloons"".  This observation weighs heavy in "the passage from a unitarian antiflamingantism to the strictly Walloon claims". The congress of 1912 is then the occasion to clearly assert the administrative separation and the existence of Wallonia. This political proposal, already timidly advanced since 1897 and 1898 respectively per Albert Mockel and Julien Delaite, becomes one of the principal claims of Walloon Movement starting from this "Congress of combat" as its organizers define it. And it is during the same congress of 1912 that Walloon nationalism is really born: a Walloon Assembly is made up as an unofficial Walloon Parliament of which the goal first is the promotion of the idea of an administrative separation with the unilinguism in Wallonia and bilingualism in Flanders. This obvious imbalance in the Walloon claims will only radicalize the Flemish Movement.  The Walloon Assembly is really the first unified walloon organism and it acquired et it quickly acquires a great influence on the Walloon Movement that it keeps until the beginning of the 1930s. This unofficial parliament will be the symbol of the combat for the autonomy of the Walloon nation, it will define the walloon flag and also the way the country should be divided administratively in two with the choice of Namur as capital and the division of the province of Brabant. Choice what will follow the Germans within the framework of Flamenpolitik intended to destroy Belgium. In spite of the defense of unionistic theses, the policies of the Walloon movement are shown intended to irrevocably divide Belgium.  This is also in the spirit of these congress that socialist Jules Destrée write his "Lettre au Roi sur la séparation de la Wallonie et de la Flandre", letter that represents perfectly with the Walloon Assembly that period of the Movement. Extremely agitated period of toughening as show the events happened during the ""Joyeuse Entrée"" of king Albert I in Liège on 13 July 1913 when he is welcome by separatists demonstrations: The socialist and republican newspaper "Le Peuple" wrote "When, between provincial palate and the Town hall, crowd breaks the police cords protecting the king, the exasperated wallonisants benefit from the distress for to express with the royal family their aspirations of independence. Holding up the Walloon flag with the red cock, they precipitate towards the pram and balance under the nose of the king the new colors". It adds that "while flowers fall from the stages rises the dominating cry 'Lives Wallonia!'." Other newspapers as the "Gazette de Liège" minimized these demonstrations.  During World War I, on 3 May 1918, an informant of the Belgian Embassy in the Netherlands sent this report to this Embassy: "As determined by domestic policy, the ruling of the country belongs to a party which leans principally on the Flemish and agricultural regions of Belgium while the Walloon and industrial regions of the country are totally excluded from this running. It is an abnormal situation, which is caused by a bad application of the parliamentarian (...) which was already obvious before the war and which will deteriorate. The difference between the Flemish issue and the Walloon issue is that the Flemings are pursuing intellectual and moral goals while the Walloons are demanding the immediate abolition of a situation they consider improper and hurtful." This report was sent to King Albert and his Government in Sainte-Adresse (NPDC)

1915–1939: Interbellum.

1915–1929: Brakings and dissensions.

The First World War revived the patriotism in Belgium, especially after the application of the Flamenpolitik by German occupying forces during the war. Even though the majority of the wallingant and flamingant organizations ceased their activities, a minority of Walloon and Flemish militants collaborated with the Germans. Walloon activism is even more marginal than the Flemish side, but it seemed less handled by the German authorities than this last. At the end of the war, Walloon and Flemish activists will be severely judged but only Flemish activism will be used during the interbellum against Flemish revendications since Spring 1919, whereas Walloon activism sinks into oblivion, the French-speaking press and also Wallingant propaganda papers to buckle down to create an image of a "Flandre embochée" (German-friendly Flanders):It is true that French-speaking press won't cease to discredit on all flemish by amalgaming it with activists' actions led under the high patronage of the hatred Germany. Indeed, since Spring 1919, press articles begin to associate activism and Flemish Movement; that will create an image of a ""Flandre embochée"" [...] At the end of the war, walloon activists are judged with the same virulence that their flemish counterparts and for the same reasons. But, once condemned, they disappear from memories; whereas flemish activism is more and more used against flemish revendications.  The experience of World War I and the reviving of Belgian patriotism brake the Walloon Movement that only began to affirm itself few years early, and are a source of division in the Movement. The Walloon Assembly, at that time the standard-bearer of wallingant revendications, adopt a Belgian nationalist position, position opposed to its prime goal. That involves tensions with the more radicals wallingants who then leave the Assembly and its satellites. These tensions arrive at the moment of linguistic law of 31 July 1921 which envisages the constitution of 3 linguistic Regions, two unilingual—one Dutch-speaking and a French-speaking—and one bilingual. Even if in the facts the bilingual communes and of the Dutch-speaking Area and the French-speaking Area become all French-speaking and that the bilingualism of Brussels was also regarded as a victory by the French-speaking people, this law is felt as a threat by the Walloon militants because it blames the experiment up to now unilingual of Wallonia: the law provides indeed that the other language can be used in each linguistic Region. Despite every amendments brought to the law at the Senate, only three walloon deputies on fifty-nine with the Room will vote for it: fifty and one vote against and six abstain from. Since 1920, the Assembly undergoes a large disaffection and loses its more famous names whereas create for themselves dissenting leagues a little everywhere. The Action Committee of the Walloon Assembly in Liege becomes a new Walloon League of Liège and affirms itself more and more since 1923 as the new leader of the movement. This league undertakes then to do a hard work of propaganda: from 1924 to 1930, it organizes seven annual congresses from which is born a new gathering of walloon associations, the Walloon Concentration.

1930–1939: Walloon nationalism reaffirmed.

The supremacy of the new Walloon League of Liège and its Walloon Concentration represent this period of radicalization toward 'wallingantism'. The 1930s were a period of radicalization for many reasons: the linguistic law of 1921 stipulating the use of Dutch language in Wallonia, the reciprocal radicalization of the Flemish Movement, and an atmosphere heavy with the birth or consolidation of ideologies such as fascism, communism and Nazism.  The Walloon Concentration, initiated by the most radicalized factions, organized congresses within the Walloon Concentration. The first congress was organized in Liège on 27 and 28 September 1930, at the occasion of the Centennial of the independence of Belgium. The wish of the organizers was that all trends, both extremist and moderate, should be represented. The congress members all rallied in one intransigent motion: the French identity and integrity of Wallonia and the recognition to Flemish people of their own identity. Their position was total regional unilinguism. They decided that it is within the framework of Belgium, the solution for the Walloon-Flemish disagreement should be found, and a constitutional revision should be created. To this end, they decided to create a commission to work out a project to be presented at the next congress. At this next congress, the commission presented its choice: a federalist project, preferred to a provincialist project more moderated and to a simple separatism. A text of resolution was redesigned, and the unanimity of congress members ratified it, except 9 abstentions mainly from delegates of the Arrondissement of Brussels. This resolution is also the first important text where Christian leftists were involved, as Élie Baussart.  This returned to the ideas of 1912 and this inversion in the Walloon claimed to the profit of a unilingual Dutch-speaking area came mainly from the fear of the "Flemish islets"—a tool of the Flemish "imperialism" in wallingant speech—in the French-speaking provinces, because the linguistic law of 1921 envisaged the use of Dutch there. Moreover, many Dutch-speakers settle in the South of the country to work, a fact not appreciated by the wallingants because these new populations are often close to the Catholic Party and could call into question the unilinguism of Wallonia, as stated by the liberal :  Walloons! Beware of this aspect of the problem. The prolific Flanders is invading us slowly; if those who come to us and that we welcome fraternally isolate themselves in Flemish linguistic groups, if some fanaticism helps them to not be absorbed, if a blurred administrative legislation in linguistic matters favours this non-absorption, Walloons, beware; in fifty years your land won't be yours any more. It's hard, it's harsh to "drop" the French of Flanders, it would much harder and more dangerous to sacrifice our linguistic unity.  At the same time, the linguistic law is also regarded as dangerous by Flemish militants because according to them, it contributes to territorial nibbling in favour of the French language. The wallingants then put agreement with the flamingants. On 16 March 1929, wallingant Destrée and flamingant Camille Huysmans sign, with 26 other socialist deputies within the P.O.B, the ""Compromis des Belges"" ("Compromise of the Belgians") for the linguistic and cultural homogeneity of the Flanders and Wallonia, leading to the linguistic law of 14 July 1932. It prescribes Dutch as the official language of the Flanders, and French as official language of Wallonia, consciously sacrificing the linguistic rights of the French-speaking people of Flanders.  Other congresses of the Walloon Concentration are organized to the war, as the congress of 1935 during which the militants assert "the right for the Walloons to dispose of themselves". Those of 1933 and 1936 are the occasion to affirm the need of an economic collaboration between France and Belgium and to criticize the Belgian foreign policy of neutrality asserting which it is wished by Germany and that a bringing together with France was preferable, position registered in the Francophile tradition of the Walloon movement. The congress of 1937 is the abandonment of the federalist project for confederalism in order to favor a Walloon foreign policy, notoriously pro-French.  The end of the interbellum is also the time of the formation of the first Walloon political parties, for example the Nationalist Walloon Party-French Party and the Democratic Walloon Party both created for the anticipated elections of 2 April 1939. The first one created was the Walloon League of Deux-Houdeng in 1938, following Albert du Bois' rattachist thought, but disappeared rapidly. The second, Mahieu's Democratic Walloon Front, transformed into a political party a few weeks before the elections. Without any backup from Walloon associations and with only two important figures with Jules Mahieu and Arille Carlier, this wallingant party got only 10,000 votes in the seven counties where it was present.

The Walloon Movement traces its ancestry to 1856 when literary and folkloric movements based around the began forming. Despite the formation of the Society of Walloon Literature, it was not until around 1880 that a "Walloon and French-speaking defense movement" appeared, following the linguistic laws of the 1870s. The movement asserted the existence of Wallonia and a Walloon identity while maintaining the defense of the French language.


Early life.

Jackson was born at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, Washington, on July 12, 1975, to David and Sherri Jackson, and was named by his father after the 1950s Western series "Cheyenne". The third of four children, he was raised in Oldtown, Idaho, a "teeny mill town" in a rural area in northern Idaho near the Washington border. His father was Native American and a Vietnam veteran. His mother taught Jackson, his sister, and two brothers to sing and regularly played music by Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley at home. Throughout his childhood, Jackson lived with his family in a rural home that had an outhouse and no running water. He moved to Spokane as a teenager.  In Seattle, Jackson worked as an ad executive at a magazine and did some theater work on the side, earning his Equity card. "As soon as I found out what theater was, what Broadway was, I thought, 'Oh, that's what I'll do with my life.' Just a matter of getting all the pieces in place," he said. Inspired to rethink his career after the September 11 attacks, he moved to New York City to pursue his dream of being an actor: "[Acting] was something I always wanted to do but I was too scared and didn't have the confidence. 9/11 changed everything for all of us. It gave me the urgency."

Career.

Theatrical acting career.

In regional theaters, Jackson has appeared as Tony in "West Side Story", as Joey in "The Most Happy Fella", as Cain in "Children of Eden", as Berger in "Hair", as Billy Bigelow in "Carousel", as Joe Hardy in "Damn Yankees", as Rocky in "The Rocky Horror Show", and as The Poet in "Kismet", among many other productions.  Jackson made his Broadway debut understudying both male leads in the Tony Award-winning musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie". He later served as the standby for the character of Radames in "Aida", then originated the role of Matthew in the off-Broadway production of "Altar Boyz". In 2005, he originated his first Broadway leading role in the musical "All Shook Up", a tribute to Elvis Presley. His performance as Chad earned him much critical praise, the Theatre World Award, and nominations from the Drama League and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor. In 2006, he starred off-Broadway in playwright Nicky Silver's "The Agony and The Agony" with Victoria Clark. In June 2007, less than a week before the scheduled opening night, Jackson assumed the lead role of Sonny on Broadway in "Xanadu", replacing James Carpinello who had been injured during rehearsal. Previous workshop productions of the musical starred Jackson and Jane Krakowski. However, both Jackson and Krakowski opted out of the initial Broadway run, citing schedule conflicts. His performance as Sonny earned him nominations from the Drama League and Drama Desk for Outstanding Lead Actor. "Xanadu" had several Tony Award nominations including "Best New Musical" for which Jackson and the cast performed on the 62nd Tony Awards show.  In 2008, Jackson joined Jane Krakowski and Sean Hayes in the New York City Center's Encores! production of "Damn Yankees". He returned to Encores! in 2009, playing Woody Mahoney in the staged concert of "Finian's Rainbow" which critics praised. Jackson also starred in the development workshop of "The Book of Mormon" by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez, who co-wrote the music for "Avenue Q".  In October 2009, Jackson opened on Broadway to positive critical reviews reprising the role of Woody Mahoney in the Broadway revival of the 1947 musical "Finian's Rainbow" at the St. James Theatre, costarring with Jim Norton and Kate Baldwin. "The Wall Street Journal" raved, "The way that [Kate Baldwin] and Cheyenne Jackson sing "Old Devil Moon" is the stuff best-selling cast albums are made of." The show closed on January 17, 2010. Along with the company of "Finian's Rainbow", Jackson recorded the Broadway revival cast album in early December 2009, with a release date of February 2, 2010.  In September 2011, Jackson joined Morgan Freeman, Ellen Barkin, Matt Bomer, Christine Lahti, and John Lithgow as part of the premier Broadway Cast of Dustin Lance Black's new play "8", directed by Joe Mantello. In June 2012, Jackson starred opposite Krysten Ritter in Neil LaBute's "The Heart of The Matter" produced by MCC Theater at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.  In the 2012-2013 Broadway season, Jackson, Henry Winkler, Alicia Silverstone, Daniel Breaker, Jenni Barber and Ari Graynor starred in David West Read's play "The Performers" which started previews on October 23, 2012 at the Longacre Theatre. The play closed on November 18, 2012, after 23 previews and 7 regular performances. Critical reception for the overall play was mixed with an median Stage Grade of C. However, a majority of reviewers including "Entertainment Weekly", "The Hollywood Reporter", "The New York Times", and The Associated Press gave extremely positive reviews to both Jackson's and Ari Graynor's performances. Broadway producers cited the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the box office as the primary reason for the show's early closing.

Film career.

In films, Jackson most notably portrayed 9/11 victim and hero Mark Bingham in the 2006 Academy Award nominated "United 93" which earned him the Boston Society of Film Critics 2006 award for Best Ensemble Cast. He has also appeared in several other films including: "Curiosity" (2005), "Hysteria" (2010), "Smile" (2011) the critically lauded "The Green" (opposite Julia Ormond and Illeana Douglas), and 2012 Sundance Film Festival selection "Price Check" (with Parker Posey). He portrayed Greta Gerwig's boyfriend Roger in the 2012 Fox Searchlight Pictures film "Lola Versus". In 2013, he starred in the HBO biopic of Liberace, "Behind the Candelabra" with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. He also appeared in the independent films "Mutual Friends" (2013), "Lucky Stiff" (2014) and "A Beautiful Now" (2015). More recently, he played Hades in the Disney Channel original movie "Descendants 3" (2019).  Jackson had a lead role in the film version of "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks" in 2014. Jackson plays Michael Minetti, who is hired by retiree Lily Harrison (Gena Rowlands) to give her private dance lessons at her home for six weeks. The film is based on Richard Alfieri's Broadway play of the same name and is directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman.

Television career.

From 2009 through 2013, Jackson had a recurring role on the award-winning series, "30 Rock" playing Danny Baker. Jackson also portrayed Dustin Goolsby, the coach of "Vocal Adrenaline", the main rival of "New Directions" on the second season of FOX's show "Glee".  He has guest starred on several television series including "Lipstick Jungle", "Life on Mars", and "Ugly Betty", and was featured in a prominent guest role during Season 8 of "Curb Your Enthusiasm". His character "Terry" was the personal trainer to Larry David and Wanda Sykes. On March 15, 2010, Jackson made his guest-starring debut on the long-running NBC series, "Law & Order" in an episode entitled "Innocence".  In 2008, Jackson played series lead Sebastian Kinglare for the Lifetime Television pilot "Family Practice" opposite Anne Archer and Beau Bridges. The series was not picked up for distribution.  In 2010, Jackson filmed a sitcom pilot for ABC-TV called "It Takes a Village" co-starring Leah Remini, which was not picked up for the fall 2010 season.  In 2012, Jackson and Nathan Lane were cast as series leads in the USA Network comedy pilot "Local Talent". The series was not picked up for distribution.  Additionally, Jackson guest starred on the pilot episode of NBC's revamp of "The Munsters", "Mockingbird Lane", written by Bryan Fuller and directed by Bryan Singer. Jackson portrayed Scout Master Steve, a competing love interest for Portia de Rossi's character Lily Munster; the show also stars Eddie Izzard and Jerry O'Connell. NBC aired the pilot as a Halloween special on October 26, 2012.  Jackson also appeared in the season of "American Horror Story" as one of the leads, alongside Lady Gaga and Matt Bomer. Jackson returned to the show's season to play Network Executive, Sidney Aaron James, as well as the season to play psychiatrist Dr. Rudy Vincent Anderson, and the season of the show to play warlock, John Henry Moore.  In 2017, Jackson appeared on the 9th season of "RuPaul's Drag Race" (season 9, episode 3) alongside the queen herself RuPaul, the singing and acting mogul Todrick Hall, Michelle Visage and Carson Kressley. He popped up for a mini challenge in season 10, episode 11 where he judges and decides which dragged out pancake was the best. He then made his third appearance in 2019 on the 11th season (season 11, episode 8) alongside RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Fortune Feimster and Natasha Lyonne in which he took part in an improvisation acting challenge. He also appeared in the tenth episode of Season 2 of "Sense8" as Blake Huntington, an award-winning actor who is cast opposite Miguel Ángel Silvestre's Lito Rodríguez in a Hollywood film. In 2019, he played the role of Hades, Mal's father in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Descendants 3". Jackson has starred in several notable webisode series including "Cubby Bernstein" opposite Nathan Lane, "Legally Brown" with Allison Janney, and "The [title of show] Show" from the meta-fictional Broadway musical "[Title of Show]".  In 2020, Jackson portrayed Max in the Fox comedy series "Call Me Kat" opposite Mayim Bialik and Kyla Pratt.

Musical career.

Early in his career, Jackson worked as a back-up singer for Vanessa Williams, Heather Headley.  In March 2009, Jackson made his nightclub debut at Feinstein's at Loews Regency with a sold-out one-man show titled "Back to the Start". He later teamed up with Michael Feinstein to create a well-received nightclub act titled "The Power of Two". A CD of the show was released on November 3, 2009.  "The Power of Two", a concert reuniting Jackson and Feinstein, was presented at Carnegie Hall on October 29, 2010. Jackson was the guest artist performing with the New York Pops in concert, "Cheyenne Jackson's Cocktail Hour: Music of the Mad Men Era", at Carnegie Hall on November 18, 2011. Joe Dziemianowicz of "The New York Daily News" wrote, "There, in Judy (Garland)'s spot singing Joni (Mitchell)'s song, (Cheyenne) Jackson turned the bittersweet ballad into a beautiful highlight in an evening filled with luscious moments with the New York Pops."  On December 31, 2012, Jackson reprised "Music of the Mad Men Era" at The Kennedy Center Concert Hall with 96 members of the National Symphony Orchestra, and his special musical guest, Tony winner Nina Arianda The concert sold out within days and was hailed by critics as stunning, surprising, and a cool way to ring in 2013.  In March 2012, Jackson was signed to Sony/ATV publishing as a songwriter and given a developmental artist deal through Sony/ATV's Hickory Records and Red Distribution.  On May 10, 2012, Jackson released his single "Drive", his first non-theatrical single and his first music video release. The video was directed by Austrian music video director Christian Hörlesberger and the track produced by Thomas "Tawgs" Salter. It was the first single released from "I'm Blue, Skies", which was eventually released in June 2013. The album was co-written by Jackson himself with Sia Furler, Stephen "Stevie" Aiello, and Charlotte Sometimes.  On July 10, 2012, Jackson released his second single "I'm Blue, Skies", "Before You," also produced by Salter. In August 2012, "Before You" reached a peak of #31 on the Hot 100 AC chart. The music video for the single was directed by Nick Everhart and also stars Rachel Dratch and Christina Cole. It was inspired by the 1960s monster TV shows "The Addams Family" and "The Munsters" as well as classic cinema of the '30s, '40s, and '50s. The director said the film was a tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood.  In 2013, he released three singles "She's Pretty, She Lies", "Look at Me" and "I'm Blue Skies" followed in 2015, with the single "Don't Wanna Know" all accompanied by music videos. On June 3, 2016, Jackson released his new album, "Renaissance", an album on the PS Classics record label, adapted and expanded from his solo concert "Music of the Mad Men Era."

In the media.

Jackson appeared on the March 26, 2008, cover of "The Advocate". The magazine used the caption: "Hello, gorgeous! For leading man Cheyenne Jackson, coming out is a beautiful thing." In 2008, he was named "Entertainer of the Year" by "Out" and appeared alongside Gus Van Sant, Katy Perry, and Sam Sparro on the magazine's commemorative 100th issue in December. In April 2010, he appeared on the cover of Canadian "fab" magazine under the title "Cheyenne Jackson: I Love New York" with photographs by Mike Ruiz. He also appeared on "Out"s November 2010 issue. In July 2012, he appeared on the cover of "attitude".

Charity work.

Jackson is an LGBT rights supporter. He is an international ambassador for amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research).  Jackson is also a national ambassador and spokesperson for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, a non-profit organization devoted to serving the needs of LGBT youth.

Personal life.

Jackson is openly gay. He and Monte Lapka, a physicist, began dating in 2000 and married on September 3, 2011 in New York City. In July 2013, they announced plans to divorce. They filed for divorce in September 2013.  In October 2013, Jackson announced he was dating actor Jason Landau on his official Instagram account. They announced their engagement in February 2014, and married in Encino, California, in September 2014. Jackson and Landau welcomed twins, a girl and boy, in October 2016.  Jackson is a recovering alcoholic, having achieved sobriety in 2013.

Cheyenne David Jackson (born July 12, 1975) is an American actor and singer. His credits include leading roles in Broadway musicals and other stage roles, as well as film and television roles, concert singing, and music recordings.


Early life and education.

Heckerling was born in The Bronx, New York City, to a bookkeeper mother and an accountant father. She had a Jewish upbringing and remembers that the apartment building where she spent her early childhood was full of Holocaust survivors. "Most of them had tattoos on their arms and for me there was a feeling that all of these people had a story to tell. These were interesting formative experiences." Both of her parents worked full-time, so she frequently moved back and forth from her home in the Bronx, where Heckerling claims she was a latchkey kid sitting at home all day watching television, to her grandmother's home in Brooklyn which she enjoyed much better. Here, she frequented Coney Island and stayed up watching films all night with her grandmother. At this time Heckerling loved television, where she watched numerous cartoons and old black and white movies. Her favorites were gangster movies, musicals and comedies. She had a particular fondness for James Cagney.  After her father passed his CPA exam, the family became more financially stable and moved to Queens, where Heckerling felt more out of place than ever. She did not get along with other kids in her school there, nor did she want to continue to be classmates with them through high school, so she enrolled at the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan. On her first day of school there, Heckerling realized that she wanted to be a film director. During their first assignment, writing about what they wanted to do in life, Heckerling wrote that she wanted to be a writer or artist for "Mad". She noticed that a boy next to her, that she claimed copied from her papers later on, wrote that he wanted to be a film director.  She graduated from high school in 1970, focused on directing and studying film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Her father made just slightly over the cut-off for financial aid for the school, so Heckerling had to take out a large loan to cover her expenses. She claims this caused considerable stress in her life, and she was unable to pay them off until the end of her twenties. When Heckerling was in high school and focused on directing, her father was opposed to the idea, wishing that she had chosen a more practical aspiration. Despite this, he gave her Parker Tyler's book "Classics of the Foreign Film: A Pictoral Legacy". Heckerling pored over the book, marking off films that she had seen until she had eventually watched most of them. She claims that by the time she got to NYU, because of this book, she had seen almost all of the films that they had to watch in her classes. Though Heckerling considered her time at NYU to be a great time where she learned a lot and made great connections, such as Martin Brest and noted screenwriter and satirist Terry Southern who was one of her professors, she later reflects on her time at the school as sloppy and unprofessional, claiming that she used very low-quality equipment and had a lot of technical problems.  During her time at NYU, Heckerling was making mostly musicals. "I was the only one doing them and they were weird. It was the mid-70s and it was a bizarre combination of long hair with bell bottoms, the tail end of the hippie movement at its schlumpiest. With this, I sort of infused a 1930s idiotic grace that didn't go with the post-Watergate mentality that was prevalent at the time. They were weird films, but they got me into AFI."

Career.

After graduating from NYU, Heckerling decided that she wanted to follow her friend Martin Brest to the American Film Institute in Los Angeles where she felt there would be more opportunities to break into the business. Heckerling experienced severe culture shock upon moving to LA from NYC, especially because she had never learned to drive before but was still used to navigating the city, free to go wherever she wanted due to NYC's public transportation. When she did eventually learn to drive, she adjusted to LA life and started working. Her first studio job was lip-syncing dailies for a television show, where she started making connections in the business.  During her second year at AFI, Heckerling made her first short film, "Getting it Over With", about a girl that wants to lose her virginity before she turns twenty and the adventures she has before midnight of her twentieth birthday. Heckerling continued to work on the film after she graduated from AFI with her MFA, using the editing studios at night to finish the project after work. As soon as she finished the edit and sent it away to be processed, she was in a car collision with a drunk driver who hit the side of her car, landing her in the hospital with a collapsed lung, bruised kidney, and mild amnesia, causing her to be fired from her editing job because she could not remember where certain footage was.  In an interview with Michael Singer, when asked about film's ability to grant a form of immortality, Heckerling describes the experience during the accident: "There was the whole thing-the yellow light and all that stuff-and what went through my mind right then was, 'Well, at least I got the film to the lab.' So it's not going to save you from anything, obviously, but something about it pulls you forward." Eventually, she finished the film and held a screening that gained a very positive response, causing Heckerling to call it one of the best days of her life. Her next step was to use the film to get a job. Thom Mount, president of Universal Pictures, showed a lot of interest in Heckerling but because she was not backed by an agent they could not hire her. After months of struggling to find an agent, Mount called Heckerling up on the phone and asked her to make a film.

1980s.

Heckerling's first feature was "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982), based on the non-fiction account of a year-in-the-life of California high school students as observed by undercover "Rolling Stone" journalist Cameron Crowe. When Heckerling first signed on to do a feature for Universal, she read a lot of scripts, but it was Crowe's script for "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" that really stuck out to her as a great script. She notes that the characters felt so real. Though she loved the script, she did feel that there was too much studio interference, so she read the novel, figured out which parts were strongest, and sat down with Crowe to rework the script. The film helped launch the careers of numerous stars including Phoebe Cates, Judge Reinhold, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. In addition, it marks early appearances by several actors who later became stars, including Nicolas Cage, then billing himself as Nicolas Coppola, Forest Whitaker, Eric Stoltz, and Anthony Edwards. Most notable, however, is the appearance of Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli, who was launched into stardom with his iconic character. Heckerling describes casting Penn, whom she first met while he was sitting on the floor outside of the casting office, as a feeling of being overwhelmed by his intensity, even though all he had done was look up at her. She knew that this was her Spicoli, even though they had seen other people who had read better for the role. Penn had to do it. Ally Sheedy, whom Heckerling loved, read for the role of Leigh's character Stacy Hamilton, but Heckerling decided that she wanted someone that seemed younger and more fragile. Heckerling was very discriminating about the film's soundtrack. Originally, the film was supposed to have music in it by bands like the Eagles.  "I guess a lot of people like that stuff, but being young as I was at the time, I really wanted a new edgy eighties music soundtrack. I wanted Fear, Oingo Boingo, The Go-Gos, The Talking Heads, and the Dead Kennedys. I was one of those obnoxious teenagers that thought that the music I liked was great and everything else sucked. Getting that Oingo Boingo song in the film was a big fight. But I had to make some compromises and put in some songs that I didn't like at all."  The film's cinematographer, Matthew F. Leonetti, who shot "Poltergeist", was carefully chosen by Heckerling as well. The studio was unsure of how to market the film, and Heckerling guesses that they did not think that anyone would want to watch it. The studio decided to just open it in a few hundred or so theaters on the west coast without any advertisement. Once the film opened, it was a huge success so the studio quickly opened it at theaters around the country. It became an instant hit right out of the gate, eventually going on to become a pop culture touchstone. The film earned $27,092,880 at the box office in the USA. It also spawned a short-lived series on CBS called "Fast Times", with Heckerling writing, directing and producing.  After doing "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", Heckerling was bombarded with similar but lesser scripts. It was hard for her to find anything that wasn't about high school, preppy kids, or story about a girl losing her virginity. Eventually she found her next film. "Johnny Dangerously" (1984), with Michael Keaton, Joe Piscopo, Danny DeVito, Dom DeLuise, and Peter Boyle, was an "Airplane!"-style spoof of gangster movies, but it failed to catch fire at the box office upon its initial release. Heckerling attributes the film's failure to the public's lack of familiarity with the gangster movies that the film was poking fun at. "It was pure satire of something nobody remembers. I think that was the main problem, because all the actors and writers did great jobs. But we were definitely satirizing something... I mean, unless you watch 1930s movies on TV at night, people don't remember. Somebody told me that during a screening they were sitting next to Brian De Palma, who had just done "Scarface", and he was in hysterics. If you studied those movies, you know what we were doing." In subsequent years, however, it has garnered a substantial cult audience.  The following year, she directed "National Lampoon's European Vacation" (1985) with Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo, a sequel to the popular "National Lampoon's Vacation". With it, Heckerling scored her second solid hit, earning $74,964,621 at the box office. The film, like many of Heckerling's films, received poor reviews from critics but proved to be very popular with audiences who just wanted to watch a funny movie. Heckerling, despite being well educated and loving the work of such intellectual writers at Franz Kafka admits that she loves "silly things", which has proven to make her commercially successful in the comedy genre.  In 1989, Heckerling had her biggest success with "Look Who's Talking", starring John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and a baby voiced by Bruce Willis. Heckerling got the idea for the film while she was pregnant with her daughter and further developed it into a feature. Heckerling says that she loves to write comedies, such as "Look Who's Talking", because she notes that when a film is made, everyone working on it puts more than a year of their lives into making it, so she wants that year to be happy and fun. Heckerling, who loves Travolta, was ecstatic to work with him, though many people consider the film's release to be during the end of a low point in Travolta's career. The film has been Heckerling's highest-grossing film to date, earning $296,999,813. After the film's release, Heckerling was able to cross one of her two goals that she set for herself in college off of her list, the first being to make a studio feature, which she did with "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and the second being: "I wanted to have hits the way boys had hits, not like a 'girl hit' that made 50 million, but a boy hit that made 100s of million."

1990s.

Two "Look Who's Talking" sequels would follow—1990's "Look Who's Talking Too"—also directed by Heckerling and co-written with her then-husband Neal Israel. The film added another baby to storyline and was a moderate success. Heckerling then produced, but did not direct, the third and final sequel, "Look Who's Talking Now"—a flop. The films also spawned a brief television show called "Baby Talk" that was largely written by Heckerling.  In 1995, she wrote and directed "Clueless", reworking and updating Jane Austen's "Emma" as a 1990s teen comedy about wealthy teenagers living in Beverly Hills. Heckerling originally thought of "Clueless" as a television show because she loved to write the character of Cher who she described as a "happy, optimistic, California girl", and wanted to explore all of her adventures, but after she pitched it to her agent she was told that it would make a great feature. To research for the script, Heckerling sat in on classes at Beverly Hills High School where she observed how teenagers acted, though she admits that most of it was made up. She notes that teenagers at the high school did not dress in high fashion every day as the characters do in the film and that in reality the students there dressed just as frumpily as everyone else. She did, however draw on many of her observations, especially the tendency of teenage girls to groom themselves constantly. "You would think that within, you know, the few minutes that they've been in class, that their makeup wouldn't be needing so much repair and yet they're constantly painting and sculpting and... doing to themselves." As with "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", it quickly caught on with teenagers and went on to become a significant pop culture reference point. The film went on to gross $56,631,572 and helped launch the careers of most of the cast, including Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison, Breckin Meyer, and Stacey Dash. It was spun off into a moderately successful TV series, with Heckerling penning the pilot, as well as directing several episodes from the first season. Heckerling describes the show as basically the same as the film, only cleaner, and says that she still loves the characters.

2000–present.

Heckerling directed and produced "Loser" (2000), a romantic college comedy with Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari. The film was not a critical or commercial success. After a break, Heckerling's romantic comedy "I Could Never Be Your Woman" (2007), starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd, never opened in theaters; rather, it received a direct-to-video release, despite fairly good notices. Production of the film was troubled by financial issues, including the rights to distribution being sold off without Heckerling's knowledge, making it difficult for her to sell the film to a studio. At the time, Heckerling was also taking care of both of her parents who were very ill (her father was in the hospital and her mother had cancer). Though Heckerling dislikes the baggage that the film carries and is upset about it not being released theatrically, she says that the experience was significant for her because she loved working with Rudd and Pfeiffer in England. Heckerling also directed an episode of the NBC version of "The Office".  In 2011, Heckerling directed the horror-comedy film "Vamps" with Sigourney Weaver, Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter, about two vampires living in New York City as best friends and roommates. The film was released to theatres on November 2, 2012, followed by a DVD release on November 13.  On July 4, 2016, Gilbert Gottfried posted an in-depth 81-minute interview with Heckerling on his podcast.  In July 2017, a musical version of "Clueless" helmed by Tony nominee Kristin Hanggi received a developmental lab in New York City. A previous workshop starring Taylor Louderman ("Kinky Boots") and Dave Thomas Brown ("Heathers") took place in 2016. Heckerling wrote the libretto for the musical. The musical opened Off-Broadway on November 20, 2018.

Personal life.

Heckerling dated friend and fellow film director Martin Brest briefly when she first moved to Los Angeles. Though they later broke up, they remained good friends. Heckerling's first marriage was to David Brandt, from 1981 to 1983. In 1984, Heckerling married director Neal Israel, but divorced in 1990. The couple's daughter, Mollie Israel, was born in 1985. Mollie was led to believe Israel was her biological father until 2004, when it was revealed to her that in fact Harold Ramis was her biological father. Heckerling has included Mollie in some of her films in bit parts, including "Look Who's Talking" and "Loser", though Heckerling claims that her daughter never wanted to be a "girly girl" and distanced herself from much of her work, never adding any input to the lives of characters such as those in "Clueless". Despite this, the two get along very well and Mollie frequently introduces her mother to new music, such as OK Go and films. Today Mollie sings in the band The Lost Patrol. Heckerling lives in both Los Angeles and New York and continues to make films and do what she loves. Heckerling is one of the few women to have directed multiple box-office hits. When asked about the fact that only 5% of movies are directed by women, Heckerling states:

Sexual misconduct allegation.

Actor and comedian Chris Kattan claimed in his 2019 memoir "Baby, Don't Hurt Me: Stories and Scars from Saturday Night Live" that he was pressured by Lorne Michaels to have sex with Heckerling so she would direct the 1998 film "A Night at the Roxbury" (although she ultimately only produced, rather than directed it). Heckerling's daughter Mollie disputes his claims saying that, although Heckerling and Kattan had an affair, it was when the film was already shooting.

Awards and nominations.

In 1995, Heckerling won the National Society of Film Critics Best Screenplay award and was nominated for the Writers Guild of America award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for her screenplay, "Clueless". In 1998, she received the Franklin J. Schaffner Medal from the American Film Institute. In 1999, she received the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through endurance and excellence, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.

Amy Heckerling (born May 7, 1954) is an American film director. An alumna of both New York University and the American Film Institute, she directed the commercially successful films "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", "National Lampoon's European Vacation", "Look Who's Talking", and "Clueless".


History.

In the mid-1800s, Catholic priests took the existing LSF and ASL and combined the two to promote education of deaf children and adolescents. Several decades later, under the influence of Western thought, oralism became the primary mode of instruction in Quebec and the rest of North America. There, students were subjected to environments that discouraged and often outright banned LSQ use, instead promoting the use of whatever residual hearing the student had if any. Such an approach had varying effects where audism lead to lower literacy rates as well as lower rates of language acquisition seen in children sent to residential schools at an early age.  Around the 1960s, several schools for the Deaf were established in Montreal in response to the failed audistic education: Institution des Sourds de Montréal, Institution des Sourdes-Muettes, Institut des Sourds de Charlesbourg, none of which exist any longer. However, the MacKay School for the Deaf has existed since 1869 serving the anglophone and ASL-speaking communities in Montreal. Since the 1960s, there has been a growing population of LSQ speakers in Quebec and spreading across Canada. Due to the close nature of French and LSQ, Deaf members of francophone communities tend to learn LSQ even though ASL tends to be the majority language around those communities. Ontario has passed legislation making it the only region in Canada that recognizes LSQ in any capacity, noting that "The Government of Ontario shall ensure that [ASL, LSQ and First Nations Sign Language] may be used in the courts, in education and in the Legislative Assembly."  There have been calls to modify Quebec's Charter of the French Language to include provisions for LSQ. However, all bills have been rejected for one reason or another leaving the status of LSQ up in the air for Quebec and the rest of Canada.

Official status.

LSQ is recognized as an official language in Ontario only in domains of education, legislation and judicial activities after the passing of Bill 213 within the Ontario Legislative Assembly. Across the rest of Canada, there is no protection or oversight for the language as neither federal, provincial nor territorial governments recognize LSQ as a language other than Ontario.  In Quebec in 2002 following the passing of Bill 104, recommendations presented to Commission of the Estates-General were rejected. In 2013, the Québec Cultural Society for the Deaf presented additional recommendations during discussions on the update of Bill 14 which would ultimately modify the Charter of the French Language. Three recommendations were proposed modifying the Charter such that LSQ is recognized along the same lines as done for the language and culture of North American Aboriginal Peoples and the Inuit of Quebec. The first was noting that LSQ is the primary language of communication for Deaf Quebecois, the second that deaf youths be taught bilingually (French/LSQ) in all cadres of education and the third that French be rendered accessible to all d/Deaf people within the province. Bill 14 was never voted on by the National Assembly due to the minority party being unable to amass enough support from other parties.

Population.

The population of any sign-language-speaking community is difficult to ascertain due to a variety of factors, namely imprecise census data and lack of connection with the communities themselves. The same is true in Canada with LSQ speakers where census data through StatsCan captures basic information that renders comprehension of the situation difficult as the numbers do not accurately portray the language population. StatsCan reports as of 2011 just 455 speakers of LSQ, however it is estimated that 2.6% (or 5,030 people) of Quebec’s population possessed hearing deficiency. That is not to say that every person with hearing loss signs LSQ, but it also misses the many people who use LSQ daily who are also hearing: Children of Deaf Adults, interpreters, etc.

Geographic distribution.

LSQ is used primarily within Quebec. Outside, the largest communities of LSQ users is in Sudbury, Ottawa and Toronto with smaller notable communities in parts of New Brunswick. Additionally, LSQ can be found in francophone communities across the country, but no real data has been collected on hard numbers.  In Montreal, LSQ is displaced in certain areas by ASL where it co-habitates. Generally, ASL can be found in anglophone communities, however it is not uncommon to meet people bilingual in ASL and LSQ in much the same way one would meet a bilingual English-French person. While ASL is growing within Montreal, LSQ is still a strong language in the city, supported by speakers from across the province.

Quebec Sign Language, known in French as Langue des signes québécoise or Langue des signes du Québec (LSQ), is the predominant sign language of deaf communities used in francophone Canada, primarily in Quebec. Although named Quebec sign, LSQ can be found within communities in Ontario and New Brunswick as well as certain other regions across Canada. Being a member of the French Sign Language family, it is most closely related to French Sign Language (LSF), being a result of mixing between American Sign Language (ASL) and LSF. As LSQ can be found near and within francophone communities, there is a high level of borrowing of words and phrases from French, but it is far from creating a creole language. However, alongside LSQ, signed French and Pidgin LSQ French exist, where both mix LSQ and French more heavily to varying degrees.


History.

Formation and "96 Tears".

The band members were children of migrant farmers who settled in Michigan. The original trio, consisting of Larry Borjas (guitar), Robert Martinez (drums), and Bobby Balderrama (lead guitar), encountered one another and were motivated by surf rock musical acts Link Wray and Duane Eddy to form a group in 1962. The band played locally with the same line-up until the influence of the British Invasion with groups stressing lead vocals and dynamic stage performances. Rudy Martinez, aka Question Mark, was known for his dancing ability and was suggested to the band as he was Robert Martinez's brother. Question Mark was an eccentric figure, publicly stating that his soul had originated from Mars and that he once walked on Earth with the dinosaurs. "?" quickly cemented himself as the group's creative force, and they began to develop a blend of gritty rock and roll and pop rock with a repertoire that encompassed compositions penned by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. To correspond with the new line-up, the band took the name? and The Mysterians, which was inspired by the 1957 science fiction film "The Mysterians". When the band recruited keyboard player Frank Rodriguez, who was a part of another local group, the Trespassers, it was pivotal in Question Mark and the Mysterians' overall sound, especially in their song "96 Tears".  In February 1966, the band auditioned for an independent record label, resulting in the demos "Are You For Real?" and "I'll Be Back", which were only released later and boasted for their very good sound quality in the 1999 album "More Action". Afterwards, Larry Borjas and Robert Martinez received draft notices and opted to enlist to avoid being sent to Vietnam. The remaining band members continued while Rodriguez improvised an organ riff, and "?" introduced a composition he had been developing for a while in his head. Auditioning for a replacement drummer resulted in Eddie Serrato, originally trained in traditional Mexican music, joining the group. On March 13, 1966, Question Mark and the Mysterians recorded "96 Tears" along with "Midnight Hour" for the small Pa-Go-Go label with Fernando Aguilar, a bassist who was soon replaced by Frank Lugo.  When released in April 1966, "Midnight Hour" was originally the A-side for the band's debut single; however, "?" promoted the record across Michigan, encouraging radio stations to play "96 Tears" instead. CKLW, a major station in Windsor, Ontario, extensively played the song, thus generating a number one regional hit. The song drew the attention of Neil Bogart, president of Cameo-Parkway Records. The success of the song was attributed to the Vox Continental riff, and, as critic Greg Shaw explained, the simplicity and precise execution. Bogart purchased the rights to "96 Tears", distributed it on a national scale, and promoted the band by booking television appearances on "American Bandstand" and "Where the Action Is". On October 29, 1966, after a steady climb up the charts, the single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week before being overtaken by The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville". It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.

Other chart successes.

The next two singles for "Question Mark and the Mysterians", "I Need Somebody" and "Can't Get Enough of You Baby", also charted, but were nowhere near as successful as "96 Tears". These were compiled on the album "96 Tears" along with a handful of other songs.  Question Mark and the Mysterians' second album, "Action", featured the band at the peak of its musicianship, but the album was not a commercial success. The band then briefly recorded with Capitol Records, Tangerine Records and Super K. The band lineup changed as the original members left for other projects. Mel Schacher, future bass player for Grand Funk Railroad, briefly became the bass guitarist along with Frank Montoya on guitar and Jeff McDonald on drums until Richard Schultz took over on bass and co-wrote several songs with Question Mark; including "She Goes to Church on Sunday", which was licensed to Paul McCartney's publishing company.

1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

In the early 1970s, Question Mark and the Mysterians reformed with a different lineup consisting of two guitars and no keyboards. The band attracted the attention of rock critic Dave Marsh, who coined the term "punk rock" in a 1971 "Creem Magazine" article about Question Mark.  In 1984, the original lineup of Question Mark and the Mysterians held a reunion concert in Dallas, Texas. Original drummer Robert Martinez returned and replaced Eddie Serrato on drums after Serrato became ill with multiple sclerosis. The Dallas concert did not lead to a full revival for the band, but the concert was recorded and released by the New York record label ROIR, "96 Tears Forever: The Dallas ReUnion Tapes".  In 1992, Question Mark collaborated with rap artist Saltine aka The Mad Rapper on a hip hop remake of "96 Tears". The single was released on Pandisc Records following a huge industry buzz on radio. "Billboard" magazine gave the single a thumbs up.  In 1997, Question Mark and the Mysterians reformed again. They collaborated with New York promoter Jon Weiss, who made the band headliners at CaveStomp garage rock festivals. The festivals featured many revived 60's garage and psychedelic acts.  In 1998, the cover version of "Can't Get Enough of You, Baby" by Smash Mouth reached number 14 on the US record charts.

Re-release of "96 Tears".

During the 1990s, Question Mark and the Mysterians wanted to re-release their now out-of-print albums "96 Tears" and "Action", but were unable to because the song rights now belonged to record executive Allen Klein. In 1997, the band re-recorded their original 1966 album and released it on the Collectables Records label.  In 1998, Frank Rodriguez rejoined the band on keyboards and Question Mark and the Mysterians released the new live album "Do You Feel It, Baby?" on Norton Records and achieved moderate sales. In 1999, the band released a new studio album, "More Action", produced and recorded in New York City, with the album design by Michael Calleia at Industrial Strength Design. This design caused controversy as it was not approved by Question Mark prior to the release. Coinciding with the album release, Question Mark dissolved his business relationship with Weiss, allegedly due to dissatisfaction with the record and other business issues.

Collaborations.

In 2000, Question Mark began a collaboration with New York guitarist and rock promoter Gary Fury. This collaboration led to a series of live concerts featuring Question Mark with a backing band led by Fury, featuring musicians from other garage bands in the New York area. The first backing band lineup included Jim "Royale" Baglino of The Casino Royales and later Monster Magnet on bass, Sam Steinig of the Philadelphia band Mondo Topless on keyboards and original Mysterians drummer Robert Martinez. The new group billed itself as "Question Mark and the Mysterymen" and played the Limelight in New York and the Black Cat in Washington, D.C.  In 2002, Question Mark returned to New York to headline a two-night garage rock festival at the CBGB club. The band lineup featured Question Mark, Fury, Robert Martinez, Keith Hartel on bass and former Pat Benatar/David Johansen band and current E Street Band keyboardist Charlie Giordano. This new band was billed as "Question Mark and The New Mysterians". The new band created a multi-track recording in CBGB's studio, which is still unreleased.  On January 10, 2007, a fire destroyed Question Mark's house in Clio, Michigan, destroying all of his memorabilia and killing the Yorkshire Terrier dogs that he bred as his business. To help Question Mark, his friends held several benefit shows for him, with Question Mark and the Mysterians performing at some of these events.  In May 2007, Question Mark and Gary Fury revived their musical collaboration for a benefit show at New York's Highline Ballroom. The backup group, known as The Playthings, featured Fury on guitar, Jim Baglino on bass, Jimi Black of Cheetah Chrome and Sylvain Sylvain on drums, and Brian Leonard on keyboards. The concert encore featured CBS Orchestra leader Paul Shaffer on keyboards and Robert Martinez on drums.  Guitarist Dennis Dean Lack joined the band in 1985, and was Question Mark's main guitarist and music director, and still collaborates on new songs with Question Mark into 2017. Lack has been active in the band off and on for over 13 years; he now resides in Northern Michigan.

The originals.

In between these shows, Question Mark was still occasionally active with the original Mysterians. In 2001, Question Mark and the original Mysterians returned to New York City to play guitarist Steven Van Zandt's Underground Garage live event, selling out the Village Underground venue.  In 2006, the original members of? and the Mysterians were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.

Influence.

Many 1960s garage bands played "96 Tears" in their live performances. Cover versions of "96 Tears" have been recorded by a number of bands and musicians, including Aretha Franklin, Thelma Houston, Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop, The Texas Tornadoes, Eddie and the Hot Rods, the Stranglers, and Garland Jeffreys.

In the 2010s.

On February 24, 2011, former Mysterians drummer Eddie Serrato (born Eduardo Serrato, December 5, 1945) died from a heart attack at age 65.  In October 2017, lead guitarist Robert Balderrama was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

? and the Mysterians (also rendered Question Mark and the Mysterians) are an American garage rock band of Mexican descent from Bay City and Saginaw in Michigan who were initially active between 1962 and 1969. Much of the band's music consisted of electric organ-driven garage rock and an enigmatic image inspired by the 1957 Japanese science fiction film "The Mysterians". In addition, the band's sound was also marked by raw-resonating lead vocals of "?" (Question Mark, the stage name of Rudy Martínez), making Question Mark and the Mysterians one of the earliest groups whose musical style is described as punk rock. Through their music, the group was recognized as a template for similar musical acts to follow.


Club career.

Safri started his youth career at Olympique de Casablanca. The following year, he was promoted to the senior squad. He was a midfielder best known for his passing and tackling ability.  In 2001, he joined Coventry City where he played until 2004, scoring once against Sheffield Wednesday. In December 2003, he had come under fire after breaking the leg of Sunderland player Colin Healy. The next season, he joined Norwich City for an initial fee of £500,000 in the summer of 2004, after the Canaries had been promoted to the Premier League.  Safri became popular among the Norwich fans towards the end of the 2004–05 campaign and during the 2005–06 season following a series of impressive performances. He scored a 40-yard strike against Newcastle United in April 2005 during the team's fight against relegation from the Premiership. Safri was linked with a move to Feyenoord in the summer of 2005, but stayed at Carrow Road.  As a tribute to the player, Norwich City supporters devised a song which was sung regularly at home games, to the tune of Status Quo's 'Rocking all over the world' -  "Here we are, here we are and here we go, Youssef's better than Juninho, Moroccan all over the world!"  Following the 3–1 defeat at Plymouth Argyle in September 2006, Safri and teammate Dickson Etuhu were reported to have traded punches on the team bus during their return journey to East Anglia, although these reports are now thought to have been discredited. After Peter Grant was appointed Norwich manager in October 2006, Safri was not a regular selection. There was speculation that he would leave the club in January 2007, fuelled by his comments in the Eastern Daily Press on 29 December 2006 in which Safri indicated that he would seek a transfer if Grant continued to use him as a substitute. Safri remained at Carrow Road until the end of the 2006–07 season, but after falling out with manager Peter Grant, Grant stated in the press on 1 August that Safri would not play for the club again.  On 2 August 2007 he signed for Norwich's championship rivals Southampton on a two-year contract for a fee rumoured to be of the order of £250,000. On 24 October 2007 he was sent off in the 90th minute of Southampton's away defeat to Bristol City, for a heavy tackle on Lee Johnson, whose subsequent reaction to Safri pushing him by all accounts was exaggerated, resulting in a straight Red.  On 7 July 2008 he joined Qatar Sports Club, for a fee in the region of £300,000, stating his desire to move to the Persian Gulf region as the reason behind the move.

International career.

Safri was a key player with the Moroccan national team during the 2004 African Nations Cup, and was a member of the national squad competing at 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Coaching career.

At the end of 2013 season he retired and started a role of assisting coach in his first club Raja Casablanca. In the following 2015/16 season, he was assistant manager of Jamal Sellami at Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi.  In May 2018, Safri returned to Raja Casablanca, again as assistant manager, this time under manager Juan Carlos Garrido. Garrido was sacked on 28 January 2019, and Safri was appointed caretaker manager. It lasted for two days, before Patrice Carteron was appointed. Safri however, left the club on 12 June 2019. In November 2019, Safri returned to Raja Casablanca.

Personal life.

Safri is a Muslim.

Youssef Safri (, born 3 January 1977) is a Moroccan former footballer who currently is an assistant coach for Raja Casablanca. Scorer of an absolute belter for Norwich against Newcastle.


Biography.

The son of a secretary to King Henri III of France, Garnier was born in Paris in 1606. He attended the Collège de Clermont in Paris and joined the Jesuit seminary in Clermont in September 1624.  After his novitiate, he returned to the College of Clermont as Prefect. After finishing his studies in rhetoric and philosophy, he spent two years teaching at the College of Eu as a teacher. Completing years of studies in language, culture and theology, he was ordained as a priest in 1635. His father initially forbade him from travelling to Canada where he would face almost certain death as a missionary, but he was eventually allowed to go. Embarking on March 25, 1636, he described the crossing in a letter to his father,  We gave Viaticum to a sailor who had fallen from the top of the mizzenmast to the deck. He was well-disposed to die. However, as I saw him in great discomfort, unable to sleep, I gave him my cabin and went in with Father Chastelain in his, but the sick man found this cabin too stuffy so the next day I occupied it again but left him my mattress so he could sleep even in the midst of the cannons. Hearing this, the Captain made me take one of his.  He reached the colony of New France in June. He travelled immediately to the Huron mission with fellow Jesuit Pierre Chastellain. By early August he had arrived among the Nipissings.  He served for the rest of his life as a missionary among the Huron, never returning to France. The Huron nicknamed him "Ouracha", or "rain-giver", after his arrival was followed by a drought-ending rainfall. He was greatly influenced by fellow missionary Jean de Brébeuf, and was known as the "lamb" to Brebeuf's "lion". In 1639 and 1640 he wintered in the land of the Petun. From 1641 to 1646 Garnier was at the Saint-Joseph mission.  There were raids between Iroquois and Huron forces. When he learned that Brébeuf and Lalemant were killed in March 1649 by Iroquois after a raid on a Huron village, Garnier knew he too might soon die. On December 7, 1649, he was killed by musket fire from the Iroquois during an attack on the Petun village where he was living.  Charles Garnier was canonized in 1930 by Pope Pius XI with the other seven Canadian Martyrs (also known as the North American Martyrs.) His feast day is October 19.

Charles Garnier, S.J., (baptised at Paris, May 25, 1606 – December 7, 1649) was a Jesuit missionary working in New France. He was killed by Iroquois in a Petun (Tobacco Nation) village on December 7, 1649.


History.

Ridgefield was first settled by English colonists from Norwalk and Milford in 1708, when a group of settlers purchased land from Chief Catoonah of the Ramapo tribe. The town was incorporated under a royal charter from the Connecticut General Assembly issued in 1709. Ridgefield was descriptively named. The most notable 18th-century event was the Battle of Ridgefield on April 27, 1777. This American Revolutionary War skirmish involved a small colonial militia force (state militia and some Continental Army soldiers), led by, among others, General David Wooster, who died in the engagement, and Benedict Arnold, whose horse was shot from under him. They faced a larger British force that had landed at Westport and was returning from a raid on the colonial supply depot in Danbury. The battle was a tactical victory for the British but a strategic one for the Colonials because the British would never again conduct inland operations in Connecticut, despite western Connecticut's strategic importance in securing the Hudson River Valley. Today, the dead from both sides are buried together in a small cemetery on Main Street on the right of the entrance to Casagmo condominiums: "...foes in arms, brothers in death...". The Keeler Tavern, a local inn and museum, features a British cannonball still lodged in the side of the building. There are many other landmarks from the Revolutionary War in the town, with most along Main Street.  In the summer of 1781, the French army under the Comte de Rochambeau marched through Connecticut, encamping in the Ridgebury section of town, where the first Catholic mass in Ridgefield was offered.  For much of its three centuries, Ridgefield was a farming community. Among the important families in the 19th century were the Rockwells and Lounsburys, which intermarried. They produced two Connecticut governors, George Lounsbury and Phineas Lounsbury. The Ridgefield Veterans Memorial Community Center on Main Street, also called the Lounsbury House, was built by Gov. Phineas Chapman Lounsbury around 1896 as his primary residence. The Lounsbury Farm near the Florida section of Ridgefield is one of the only remaining operational farms in Ridgefield.  In the late 19th century, spurred by the new railroad connection to its lofty village and the fact that nearby countryside reaches above sea level, Ridgefield began to be discovered by wealthy New York City residents, who assembled large estates and built huge "summer cottages" throughout the higher sections of town. Among the more noteworthy estates were Col. Louis D. Conley's "Outpost Farm", which at one point totaled nearly, some of which is now Bennett's Pond State Park; Seth Low Pierrepont's "Twixthills", more than, much of which is now Pierrepont State Park; Frederic E. Lewis's "Upagenstit", that became Grey Court College in the 1940s, but is now mostly subdivisions; and Col. Edward M. Knox's "Downesbury Manor", whose included a 45-room mansion that Mark Twain often visited.  These and dozens of other estates became unaffordable and unwieldy during and after the Great Depression, and most were broken up. Many mansions were razed. In their place came subdivisions of one- and lots that turned the town into a suburban, bedroom community in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. However, strong planning and zoning has maintained much of the 19th- and early 20th-century charm of the town, especially along its famous mile-long Main Street.  In 1946, Ridgefield was one of the locations considered for the United Nations secretariat building, but was not chosen due to its relative inaccessibility.

Geography.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which is land and, or 1.52%, is water. The town is bordered by the towns of North Salem and Lewisboro in Westchester County, New York to the west, Danbury to the north, Wilton to the south and Redding to the east.  The town has a Metro-North Railroad station called Branchville in the Branchville corner of town. The census-designated place (CDP) corresponding to the town center covers a total area of, of which 0.16% is water. Other locales within the town include Titicus on Route 116 just north of the village; Ridgebury in the northern section of town; Scotland, which is south of Ridgebury; Farmingville, located northeast and east of the town center; Limestone, located northeast of the town center; Flat Rock, located south of the town center; and Florida, located just north of Branchville.

Geology.

Ridgefield consists of hilly, rocky terrain, ranging from above sea level (at Pine Mountain) to at Branchville. Its average village elevation is above sea level. The landscape is strewn with countless rocks deposited by glaciers, and among the town's bodies of water is Round Pond, formed in a kettle left by the last glacier 20,000 years ago. Another interesting body of water in the town is Lake Mamanasco an 86 acre lake near Ridgefield High School. A particularly interesting feature is Cameron's Line, named for Eugene N. Cameron, who discovered that rocks west of the line differed greatly from those east of it. This fault line was formed some 250 million years ago by the collision of "Proto North America" and "Proto Africa", and there are still occasional light earthquakes felt along its length. The line bisects the southern half of the town, running generally north of West Lane, across the north end of the village, past the south end of Great Swamp and generally easterly into Redding in the Topstone area. North of Cameron's Line, the town is rich in limestone. The mineral was extensively mined, and remnants of several limekilns exist today. Also mined here in the 19th century was mica, pegmatite, and quartz. Gold, as well as gemstones such as garnet and beryl, have been found here, and dozens of minerals have been unearthed at the old Branchville Mica Quarry. Uraninite, a source of uranium, is found here, too.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,643 people, 8,433 households, and 6,611 families residing in the town. The population density was 686.7 people per square mile (265.1/km2). There were 8,877 housing units at an average density of 257.8 per square mile (99.5/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.12% White, 0.62% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 2.08% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.97% of the population.  There were 8,433 households out of which 43.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.6% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.21.  In the town, the population was spread out with 30.6% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.  The median income for a household in the town was $107,351, and the median income for a family was $127,981 (these figures had risen to $125,909 and $154,346 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $50,236 for females. The per capita income for the town was $51,795. About 1.3% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, 5.3% of those age 65 or over.  As of the census of 2000, there were 7,212 people, 2,933 households, and 1,994 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,125.2 people per square mile (434.4/km). There were 3,078 housing units at an average density of 480.2 per square mile (185.4/km). The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.52% White, 0.54% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 2.44% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races, while 2.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.  There were 2,933 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. Of all households, 28.5% were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.05.  In the CDP the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males.  The median income for a household in the CDP was $81,179, and the median income for a family was $127,327. Males had a median income of $93,084 versus $47,232 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $46,843. 3.2% of the population and 1.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 1.6% of those under the age of 18 and 6.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Arts and culture.

The Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra, formerly called the Ridgefield Symphony Youth Orchestra, has performed at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center.  The Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra began as the "Ridgefield Symphonette" in 1965 with 20 players, only a third of them professionals. It became fully professional by the end of the decade and today has 75 musicians and draws soloists of international reputation. In 1984, Maxim Shostakovich, then a Ridgefielder, conducted a sold-out concert of music by his father, Dmitri Shostakovich, with the composer's grandson, Dmitri, performing as piano soloist.  The Keeler Tavern Museum preserves an early 18th-century house that, by the time of the Revolution, had become a tavern and inn. The tavern was a center of community activities, an early post office, and a stop on the northern New York to Boston post road. In the early 20th century, it was the home of noted architect Cass Gilbert. The tavern is open several days a week, offers tours, and has a gift shop.  The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is a leading venue for the world's best contemporary artists. Its exhibitions have attracted national attention and respect. The museum was redesigned and expanded in 2004, and offers many special programs, including concerts. The Ridgefield Playhouse, opened in December 2000, is housed in the former Ridgefield Alternate High School auditorium, and was remodeled as a playhouse. It is the year-round venue for dozens of concerts and other performances, many by internationally known artists. The Playhouse also shows movies, many of them first-run.  Weir Farm National Historic Site, which straddles the Ridgefield-Wilton border, preserves much of the farm of J. Alden Weir (1852–1919), a painter of the American Impressionism style. The property was later used by his son-in-law, Mahonri Young (1877–1957), noted sculptor and a grandson of Brigham Young. The site includes the Weir Farm Art Center and a gallery, and many special events take place there, including shows by visiting artists in residence. Weir Farm is one of only two official National Park Service units in the state.  The Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance was founded as the Ridgefield Studio of Classical Ballet in 1965 by Patricia Schuster. In 2002 it became the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. The Conservatory is home to three pre-professional performance companies: the Ridgefield Civic Ballet, The Junior Dance Ensemble, and the Contemporary Dance Ensemble. The conservatory presents "The Nutcracker" annually at the Ridgefield Playhouse. Thrown Stone Theatre Company is a professional theatre company in town that focuses primarily on new work.  Located at the intersection of West Lane and Route 35, the Peter Parley Schoolhouse (c. 1750), also known as the Little Red Schoolhouse or the West Lane Schoolhouse, is a one-room schoolhouse in use by the town until 1913. The site and grounds are maintained by the Ridgefield Garden Club. The building is open certain Sundays and displays the desks, slates, and books the children used.  Ridgefield's public open space includes Aldrich Park, Bennett's Pond State Park, Brewster Farm, Florida Refuge, Hemlock Hills/Lake Windwing, Pine Mountain, Seth Low Pierrepont State Park, and the Weir Farm National Historic Site. Its public open spaces make up, accounting for 23% of the towns overall land.  Ridgefield Golf Course is the town's municipal 18 hole golf course designed by George Fazio and Tom Fazio and opened in 1974.  The town's largest industry is Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, whose United States headquarters are located in the Ridgebury section of town.  In 2006, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree selected to be displayed in New York's Rockefeller Center for the Christmas season came from Ridgefield.  The town also features a skatepark, owned by the town and maintained by the town's parks and recreation service, in which both skateboarding and aggressive inline skating are done. In 2010 the skatepark was rebuilt and expanded as a result of the need to expand the Ridgefield Playhouse parking lot.

On the National Register of Historic Places.

Part of the town center is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as Ridgefield Center Historic District. The district was added to the Register in 1984 and includes representations of mid-19th-century revival, Late Victorian, and Colonial revival architectural styles. Noted architect Cass Gilbert purchased historic Keeler Tavern within the district and renovated it for his use as a summer home. Roughly bounded by Pound Street, Fairview Avenue, Prospect Ridge, and Whipstick Roads, the district was added on October 7, 1984. In addition to the town center historic district, there are a number of individual properties and at least one other historic district in the town that are NRHP-listed:

Government.

Ridgefield has a traditional New England Board of Selectmen–Town Meeting form of government, which is created by Town Charter and approved by the voters. The Charter calls for an annual Town and Budget Meeting to be held on the first Monday of May each year. The following are the elective offices of the Town of Ridgefield: Board of Selectmen, Town Clerk, Town Treasurer and Tax Collector. The following are the elective boards and commissions of the Town of Ridgefield: Board of Education, Planning and Zoning Commission, Board of Appeals on Zoning, Board of Tax Review, Board of Police Commissioners and Board of Finance. The chief executive is The First Selectman, who also serves a legislative function as a member of the Board of Selectmen. The current First Selectman, Rudy Marconi (D), was first elected in 1999.

Education.

Ridgefield has nine public schools and two private schools. The public schools are managed by Ridgefield Public Schools. The six public elementary schools are Veterans Park, Branchville, Farmingville, Scotland, Barlow Mountain, and Ridgebury. Scotts Ridge Middle School (Ridgefield's newest school) and East Ridge are the town's two middle schools. The high school is Ridgefield High School. The high school's teams are called the Tigers.  Ridgefield's Roman Catholic schools are St. Mary, serving preschool through eighth grade, and St. Padre Pio Academy, serving kindergarten through eighth grade and run by the Society of St. Pius X.  Ridgefield Academy is a co-educational, independent school serving preschool through eighth grade, situated on a turn-of-the-20th-century estate on West Mountain that was once home to the Congregation de Notre Dame.  There are also various preschools and a Montessori school.

Notable people.

Ridgefield has been associated with many people in different fields. A brief summary includes the late actor Robert Vaughn and actor/playwright Harvey Fierstein, who lives in town. Authors have included Eugene O'Neill, Howard Fast, Cornelius Ryan, and Maurice Sendak. In August 2016, the Maurice Sendak Memorial Highway was dedicated in honor of Sendak on Route 35 in town from the intersection of Limestone Road to the intersection of Route 7. Ridgefield is home to American portrait artist John Howard Sanden. Cartoonist Roz Chast, a frequent "New Yorker" magazine contributor, lives in town, as does singer Judy Collins. Conductor Maxim Shostakovich once lived in town, as did "Time" magazine owner Henry Luce and his wife, Clare Boothe Luce, who was also a playwright and Congresswoman, and comedian Chris Elliott. A notable metropolitan opera singer from the early 20th century, Geraldine Farrar, lived in a house on West Lane.  Kurt Waldheim, the former secretary-general of the United Nations, rested in town at the estate of a friend, and Theodore Sorensen, former advisor to President John F. Kennedy, was once a town resident. Ira Joe Fisher, a poet who is also a weatherman on CBS television, lives in town, as does veteran newsman Morton Dean and author and journalist Todd Brewster. Curt Onalfo, former head coach of the Kansas City Wizards, D.C. United and LA Galaxy, went to Ridgefield High School.  Silvio Bedini (1917–2007), a noted historian of American science, was born in Ridgefield and wrote the definitive history of Ridgefield, "Ridgefield in Review" (1958).  Callum Man (2003–present) a homegrown Ridgefield native turned teenage author.

Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 24,638 at the 2010 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place.