History.

The first commercial two-stroke engine involving in-cylinder compression is attributed to Scottish engineer Dugald Clerk, who patented his design in 1881. However, unlike most later two-stroke engines, his had a separate charging cylinder. The crankcase-scavenged engine, employing the area below the piston as a charging pump, is generally credited to Englishman Joseph Day. On 31 December 1879, German inventor Karl Benz produced a two-stroke gas engine, for which he received a patent in 1880 in Germany. The first truly practical two-stroke engine is attributed to Yorkshireman Alfred Angas Scott, who started producing twin cylinder water cooled motorcycles in 1908.  Gasoline (spark ignition) versions are particularly useful in lightweight or portable applications such as chainsaws and motorcycles. However, when weight and size are not an issue, the cycle's potential for high thermodynamic efficiency makes it ideal for diesel compression ignition engines operating in large, weight-insensitive applications, such as marine propulsion, railway locomotives and electricity generation. In a two-stroke engine, the exhaust gases transfer less heat to the cooling system than a four-stroke, which means more energy to drive the piston and, if present, a turbocharger.

Emissions.

Crankcase-compression two-stroke engines, such as common small gasoline-powered engines, are lubricated by a petroil mixture in a total-loss system. Oil is mixed in with their petrol fuel beforehand, in a ratio of around 1:50. This oil then forms emissions, either by being burned in the engine or as droplets in the exhaust, resulting in more exhaust emissions, particularly hydrocarbons, than four-stroke engines of comparable power output. The combined opening time of the intake and exhaust ports in some 2-stroke designs can also allow some amount of unburned fuel vapors to exit in the exhaust stream. The high combustion temperatures of small air-cooled engines may also produce NO emissions.

Applications.

Two-stroke petrol engines are preferred when mechanical simplicity, light weight, and high power-to-weight ratio are design priorities. With the traditional lubrication technique of mixing oil into the fuel, they also have the advantage of working in any orientation, as there is no oil reservoir dependent on gravity; this is an essential property for hand-held power tools such as chainsaws.  A number of mainstream automobile manufacturers have used two-stroke engines in the past, including the Swedish Saab and German manufacturers DKW, Auto-Union, VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau, VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach and. The Japanese manufacturers Suzuki and Subaru did the same in the 1970s. Production of two-stroke cars ended in the 1980s in the West, due to increasingly stringent regulation of air pollution. Eastern Bloc countries continued until around 1991, with the Trabant and Wartburg in East Germany. Two-stroke engines are still found in a variety of small propulsion applications, such as outboard motors, high-performance, small-capacity motorcycles, mopeds, and dirt bikes, underbones, scooters, tuk-tuks, snowmobiles, karts, ultralight airplanes, and model airplanes and other model vehicles. They are also common in power tools used outdoors, such as lawn mowers, chainsaws, and weed-wackers.  With direct fuel injection and a sump-based lubrication system, a two-stroke engine produces air pollution no worse than a four-stroke, and it can achieve higher thermodynamic efficiency. Therefore, the cycle has historically also been used in large diesel engines, mostly large industrial and marine engines, as well as some trucks and heavy machinery. There are several experimental designs intended for automobile use: for instance, Lotus of Norfolk, UK, had in 2008 a prototype direct-injection two-stroke engine intended for alcohol fuels called the Omnivore which it is demonstrating in a version of the Exige.

Different two-stroke design types.

Although the principles remain the same, the mechanical details of various two-stroke engines differ depending on the type. The design types vary according to the method of introducing the charge to the cylinder, the method of scavenging the cylinder (exchanging burnt exhaust for fresh mixture) and the method of exhausting the cylinder.

Piston-controlled inlet port.

Piston port is the simplest of the designs and the most common in small two-stroke engines. All functions are controlled solely by the piston covering and uncovering the ports as it moves up and down in the cylinder. In the 1970s, Yamaha worked out some basic principles for this system. They found that, in general, widening an exhaust port increases the power by the same amount as raising the port, but the power band does not narrow as it does when the port is raised. However, there is a mechanical limit to the width of a single exhaust port, at about 62% of the bore diameter for reasonable ring life. Beyond this, the rings will bulge into the exhaust port and wear quickly. A maximum 70% of bore width is possible in racing engines, where rings are changed every few races. Intake duration is between 120 and 160 degrees. Transfer port time is set at a minimum of 26 degrees. The strong low pressure pulse of a racing two-stroke expansion chamber can drop the pressure to -7 PSI when the piston is at bottom dead center, and the transfer ports nearly wide open. One of the reasons for high fuel consumption in two-strokes is that some of the incoming pressurized fuel-air mixture is forced across the top of the piston, where it has a cooling action, and straight out the exhaust pipe. An expansion chamber with a strong reverse pulse will stop this out-going flow. A fundamental difference from typical four-stroke engines is that the two-stroke's crankcase is sealed and forms part of the induction process in gasoline and hot bulb engines. Diesel two-strokes often add a Roots blower or piston pump for scavenging.

Reed inlet valve.

The reed valve is a simple but highly effective form of check valve commonly fitted in the intake tract of the piston-controlled port. It allows asymmetric intake of the fuel charge, improving power and economy, while widening the power band. Such valves are widely used in motorcycle, ATV, and marine outboard engines.

Rotary inlet valve.

The intake pathway is opened and closed by a rotating member. A familiar type sometimes seen on small motorcycles is a slotted disk attached to the crankshaft which covers and uncovers an opening in the end of the crankcase, allowing charge to enter during one portion of the cycle (aka disc valve).  Another form of rotary inlet valve used on two-stroke engines employs two cylindrical members with suitable cutouts arranged to rotate one within the other - the inlet pipe having passage to the crankcase only when the two cutouts coincide. The crankshaft itself may form one of the members, as in most glow plug model engines. In another embodiment, the crank disc is arranged to be a close-clearance fit in the crankcase, and is provided with a cutout which lines up with an inlet passage in the crankcase wall at the appropriate time, as in Vespa motor scooters.  The advantage of a rotary valve is that it enables the two-stroke engine's intake timing to be asymmetrical, which is not possible with piston-port type engines. The piston-port type engine's intake timing opens and closes before and after top dead center at the same crank angle, making it symmetrical, whereas the rotary valve allows the opening to begin and close earlier.  Rotary valve engines can be tailored to deliver power over a wider speed range or higher power over a narrower speed range than either piston port or reed valve engine. Where a portion of the rotary valve is a portion of the crankcase itself, it is particularly important that no wear is allowed to take place.

Cross-flow-scavenged.

In a cross-flow engine, the transfer and exhaust ports are on opposite sides of the cylinder, and a deflector on the top of the piston directs the fresh intake charge into the upper part of the cylinder, pushing the residual exhaust gas down the other side of the deflector and out the exhaust port. The deflector increases the piston's weight and exposed surface area, affecting piston cooling and also making it difficult to achieve an efficient combustion chamber shape. This design has been superseded since the 1960s by the loop scavenging method (below), especially for motorbikes, although for smaller or slower engines, such as lawn mowers, the cross-flow-scavenged design can be an acceptable approach.

Loop-scavenged.

This method of scavenging uses carefully shaped and positioned transfer ports to direct the flow of fresh mixture toward the combustion chamber as it enters the cylinder. The fuel/air mixture strikes the cylinder head, then follows the curvature of the combustion chamber, and then is deflected downward.  This not only prevents the fuel/air mixture from traveling directly out the exhaust port, but also creates a swirling turbulence which improves combustion efficiency, power and economy. Usually, a piston deflector is not required, so this approach has a distinct advantage over the cross-flow scheme (above).  Often referred to as "Schnuerle" (or "Schnürle") loop scavenging after Adolf Schnürle, the German inventor of an early form in the mid-1920s, it became widely adopted in that country during the 1930s and spread further afield after World War II.  Loop scavenging is the most common type of fuel/air mixture transfer used on modern two-stroke engines. Suzuki was one of the first manufacturers outside of Europe to adopt loop-scavenged two-stroke engines. This operational feature was used in conjunction with the expansion chamber exhaust developed by German motorcycle manufacturer, MZ and Walter Kaaden.  Loop scavenging, disc valves and expansion chambers worked in a highly coordinated way to significantly increase the power output of two-stroke engines, particularly from the Japanese manufacturers Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki. Suzuki and Yamaha enjoyed success in grand Prix motorcycle racing in the 1960s due in no small way to the increased power afforded by loop scavenging.  An additional benefit of loop scavenging was the piston could be made nearly flat or slightly dome shaped, which allowed the piston to be appreciably lighter and stronger, and consequently to tolerate higher engine speeds. The "flat top" piston also has better thermal properties and is less prone to uneven heating, expansion, piston seizures, dimensional changes and compression losses.  SAAB built 750 and 850 cc 3-cylinder engines based on a DKW design that proved reasonably successful employing loop charging. The original SAAB 92 had a two-cylinder engine of comparatively low efficiency. At cruising speed, reflected wave exhaust port blocking occurred at too low a frequency. Using the asymmetric three-port exhaust manifold employed in the identical DKW engine improved fuel economy.  The 750 cc standard engine produced 36 to 42 hp, depending on the model year. The Monte Carlo Rally variant, 750 cc (with a filled crankshaft for higher base compression), generated 65 hp. An 850 cc version was available in the 1966 SAAB Sport (a standard trim model in comparison to the deluxe trim of the Monte Carlo). Base compression comprises a portion of the overall compression ratio of a two-stroke engine. Work published at SAE in 2012 points that loop scavenging is under every circumstance more efficient than cross-flow scavenging.

Uniflow-scavenged.

In a uniflow engine, the mixture, or "charge air" in the case of a diesel, enters at one end of the cylinder controlled by the piston and the exhaust exits at the other end controlled by an exhaust valve or piston. The scavenging gas-flow is therefore in one direction only, hence the name uniflow. The valved arrangement is common in on-road, off-road and stationary two-stroke engines (Detroit Diesel), certain small marine two-stroke engines (Gray Marine), certain railroad two-stroke diesel locomotives (Electro-Motive Diesel) and large marine two-stroke main propulsion engines (Wärtsilä). Ported types are represented by the opposed piston design in which there are two pistons in each cylinder, working in opposite directions such as the Junkers Jumo 205 and Napier Deltic. The once-popular split-single design falls into this class, being effectively a folded uniflow. With advanced angle exhaust timing, uniflow engines can be supercharged with a crankshaft-driven (piston or Roots) blower.

Stepped piston engine.

The piston of this engine is "top-hat" shaped; the upper section forms the regular cylinder, and the lower section performs a scavenging function. The units run in pairs, with the lower half of one piston charging an adjacent combustion chamber.  This system is still partially dependent on total loss lubrication (for the upper part of the piston), the other parts being sump lubricated with cleanliness and reliability benefits. The piston weight is only about 20% heavier than a loop-scavenged piston because skirt thicknesses can be less. Bernard Hooper Engineering Ltd. (BHE) is one of the more recent engine developers using this approach.

Power valve systems.

Many modern two-stroke engines employ a power valve system. The valves are normally in or around the exhaust ports. They work in one of two ways: either they alter the exhaust port by closing off the top part of the port, which alters port timing, such as Rotax R.A.V.E, Yamaha YPVS, Honda RC-Valve, Kawasaki K.I.P.S., Cagiva C.T.S. or Suzuki AETC systems, or by altering the volume of the exhaust, which changes the resonant frequency of the expansion chamber, such as the Suzuki SAEC and Honda V-TACS system. The result is an engine with better low-speed power without sacrificing high-speed power. However, as power valves are in the hot gas flow they need regular maintenance to perform well.

Direct injection.

Direct injection has considerable advantages in two-stroke engines, eliminating some of the waste and pollution caused by carbureted two-strokes where a proportion of the fuel/air mixture entering the cylinder goes directly out, unburned, through the exhaust port. Two systems are in use, low-pressure air-assisted injection, and high pressure injection.  Since the fuel does not pass through the crankcase, a separate source of lubrication is needed.

Diesel.

Diesel engines rely solely on the heat of compression for ignition. In the case of Schnuerle ported and loop-scavenged engines, intake and exhaust happens via piston-controlled ports. A uniflow diesel engine takes in air via scavenge ports, and exhaust gases exit through an overhead poppet valve. Two-stroke diesels are all scavenged by forced induction. Some designs use a mechanically driven Roots blower, whilst marine diesel engines normally use exhaust-driven turbochargers, with electrically driven auxiliary blowers for low-speed operation when exhaust turbochargers are unable to deliver enough air.  Marine two-stroke diesel engines directly coupled to the propeller are able to start and run in either direction as required. The fuel injection and valve timing is mechanically readjusted by using a different set of cams on the camshaft. Thus, the engine can be run in reverse to move the vessel backwards.

Lubrication.

Most small petrol two-stroke engines cannot be lubricated by oil contained in their crankcase and sump, since the crankcase is being used to pump fuel-air mixture into the cylinder. Over a short period, the constant stream of fuel-air mixture would carry away the lubricating oil into the combustion chamber while thinning the remainder with condensing petrol. Traditionally, the moving parts (both rotating crankshaft and sliding piston) were instead lubricated by a premixed fuel-oil mixture (at a ratio between 16:1 and 100:1). As late as the 1970s, petrol stations in the US would often have a separate pump to deliver such a premix fuel to motorcycles. Even then, in many cases, the rider would carry a bottle of their own two-stroke oil.  Two-stroke oils which became available worldwide in the 1970s are specifically designed to mix with petrol and be burnt in the combustion chamber without leaving undue unburnt oil or ash. This led to a marked reduction in spark plug fouling, which had previously been a factor in two-stroke engines.  More recent two-stroke engines might pump lubrication from a separate tank of two-stroke oil. The supply of this oil is controlled by the throttle position and engine speed. Examples are found in Yamaha's PW80 (Pee-wee), a small, 80cc two-stroke dirt bike designed for young children, and many two-stroke snowmobiles. The technology is referred to as auto-lube. This is still a total-loss system with the oil being burnt the same as in the pre-mix system; however, given that the oil is not properly mixed with the fuel when burned in the combustion chamber, it translates into a slightly more efficient lubrication. This lubrication method also pays dividends in terms of user friendliness by eliminating the user's need to mix the gasoline at every refill, makes the motor much less susceptible to atmospheric conditions (Ambient temperature, elevation) and ensures proper engine lubrication, with less oil at light loads (such as idle) and more oil at high loads (such as full throttle). Some companies, such as Bombardier, had some oil pump designs have no oil injected at idle to reduce smoke levels, as the loading on the engine parts was light enough to not require additional lubrication beyond the low levels that the fuel provides. Ultimately oil injection is still the same as premixed gasoline in that the oil is burnt in the combustion chamber (albeit not as completely as pre-mix) and the gas is still mixed with the oil, although not as thoroughly as in pre-mix. In addition, this method requires extra mechanical parts to pump the oil from the separate tank, to the carburetor or throttle body. In applications where performance, simplicity and/or dry weight are significant considerations, the pre-mix lubrication method is almost always used. For example, a two-stroke engine in a motocross bike pays major consideration to performance, simplicity and weight. Chainsaws and brush cutters must be as light as possible to reduce user fatigue and hazard, especially when used in a professional work environment.  All two-stroke engines running on a petrol/oil mix will suffer oil starvation if forced to rotate at speed with the throttle closed, e.g. motorcycles descending long hills and perhaps when decelerating gradually from high speed by changing down through the gears. Two-stroke cars (such as those that were popular in Eastern Europe in the mid-20th century) were in particular danger and were usually fitted with freewheel mechanisms in the powertrain, allowing the engine to idle when the throttle was closed, requiring the use of the brakes in all slowing situations.  Large two-stroke engines, including diesels, normally use a sump lubrication system similar to four-stroke engines. The cylinder must still be pressurized, but this is not done from the crankcase, but by an ancillary Roots-type blower or a specialized turbocharger (usually a turbo-compressor system) which has a "locked" compressor for starting (and during which it is powered by the engine's crankshaft), but which is "unlocked" for running (and during which it is powered by the engine's exhaust gases flowing through the turbine).

Two-stroke reversibility.

For the purpose of this discussion, it is convenient to think in motorcycle terms, where the exhaust pipe faces into the cooling air stream, and the crankshaft commonly spins in the same axis and direction as do the wheels i.e. "forward". Some of the considerations discussed here apply to four-stroke engines (which cannot reverse their direction of rotation without considerable modification), almost all of which spin forward, too.  Regular gasoline two-stroke engines will run backward for short periods and under light load with little problem, and this has been used to provide a reversing facility in microcars, such as the Messerschmitt KR200, that lacked reverse gearing. Where the vehicle has electric starting, the motor will be turned off and restarted backward by turning the key in the opposite direction. Two-stroke golf carts have used a similar kind of system. Traditional flywheel magnetos (using contact-breaker points, but no external coil) worked equally well in reverse because the cam controlling the points is symmetrical, breaking contact before top dead center (TDC) equally well whether running forward or backward. Reed-valve engines will run backward just as well as piston-controlled porting, though rotary valve engines have asymmetrical inlet timing and will not run very well.  There are serious disadvantages to running many engines backward under load for any length of time, and some of these reasons are general, applying equally to both two-stroke and four-stroke engines. This disadvantage is accepted in most cases where cost, weight and size are major considerations. The problem comes about because in "forward" running the major thrust face of the piston is on the back face of the cylinder which, in a two-stroke particularly, is the coolest and best-lubricated part. The forward face of the piston in a trunk engine is less well-suited to be the major thrust face since it covers and uncovers the exhaust port in the cylinder, the hottest part of the engine, where piston lubrication is at its most marginal. The front face of the piston is also more vulnerable since the exhaust port, the largest in the engine, is in the front wall of the cylinder. Piston skirts and rings risk being extruded into this port, so it is always better to have them pressing hardest on the opposite wall (where there are only the transfer ports in a crossflow engine) and there is good support. In some engines, the small end is offset to reduce thrust in the intended rotational direction and the forward face of the piston has been made thinner and lighter to compensate; but when running backward, this weaker forward face suffers increased mechanical stress it was not designed to resist. This can be avoided by the use of crossheads and also using thrust bearings to isolate the engine from end loads.  Large two-stroke ship diesels are sometimes made to be reversible. Like four-stroke ship engines (some of which are also reversible) they use mechanically operated valves, so require additional camshaft mechanisms. These engines use crossheads to eliminate sidethrust on the piston and isolate the under-piston space from the crankcase.  On top of other considerations, the oil-pump of a modern two-stroke may not work in reverse, in which case the engine will suffer oil starvation within a short time. Running a motorcycle engine backward is relatively easy to initiate, and in rare cases, can be triggered by a back-fire. It is not advisable.  Model airplane engines with reed-valves can be mounted in either tractor or pusher configuration without needing to change the propeller. These motors are compression ignition, so there are no ignition timing issues and little difference between running forward and running backward.

A two-stroke (or two-cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine which completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during only one crankshaft revolution. This is in contrast to a "four-stroke engine", which requires four strokes of the piston to complete a power cycle during two crankshaft revolutions. In a two-stroke engine, the end of the combustion stroke and the beginning of the compression stroke happen simultaneously, with the intake and exhaust (or scavenging) functions occurring at the same time.

Dvoudobý (zážehový) spalovací motor (také "dvoutaktní motor", "dvoutakt") je pístový spalovací motor, jehož pracovní cyklus proběhne za jednu otáčku klikové hřídele neboli během dvou zdvihů pístu proběhnou čtyři pracovní fáze a směs paliva a vzduchu ve válci je zapálena (zažehnuta) elektrickou jiskrou, kterou obvykle vytvoří zapalovací svíčka. Tím se liší od dvoudobého vznětového motoru, kde dochází k samovznícení vstříknutého paliva samotnou teplotou stlačeného vzduchu.


Early life and education.

Born in Winchester, Kentucky, Thomas was the seventh of the nine children of George and Mary (Rowady) Thomas, Lebanese immigrants from Tripoli in what was, at the time, part of the Ottoman Empire (later, the area became Lebanon). Thomas said her father's surname, "Antonious", was anglicized to "Thomas" when he entered the U.S. at Ellis Island, and that her parents could neither read nor write. Thomas was raised mainly in Detroit, Michigan, where her family moved when she was four years old, and where her father ran a grocery store. Of her experience growing up, Thomas said: She also said that in Detroit in the 1920s, she came home crying from school, "They wanted to make you feel you weren't 'American'... We were called 'garlic eaters' ". She was a member of the Antiochian Orthodox Church.  Thomas attended Detroit Public Schools, and decided to become a journalist while attending Eastern High School. She enrolled at Wayne University in Detroit, receiving a bachelor's degree in English in 1942, as the school did not yet offer a degree in journalism.

Early career.

Thomas moved to Washington, D.C.. Her first job in journalism was as a copygirl for the now-defunct "Washington Daily News". After eight months at the paper, she joined with her colleagues in a strike action and was fired.  Thomas joined United Press in 1943 and reported on women's topics for its radio wire service. Her first assignments focused her on societal issues, women's news and celebrity profiles. Later in the decade, and in the early fifties, she wrote UP's "Names in the News" column, for which she interviewed numerous Washington celebrities. In 1955, she was assigned to cover the United States Department of Justice. She later was assigned to cover other agencies, including the United States Department of Health, as well as Capitol Hill.  Thomas served as president of the Women's National Press Club from 1959 through 1960. In 1959, she and a few of her fellow female journalists forced the National Press Club, then barred to women, to allow them to attend an address by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.

Presidential correspondent.

In November 1960, Thomas began covering then President-elect John F. Kennedy, taking the initiative to switch from reporting the "women's angle" to reporting the news of the day. She became a White House correspondent for UPI in January 1961. Thomas became known as the "Sitting Buddha," and the "First Lady of the Press." It was during Kennedy's administration that she began ending presidential press conferences with a signature "Thank you, Mr. President," reviving a tradition started by UPI's Albert Merriman Smith during the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt.  “I don’t think a tough question is disrespectful,” Thomas said in an interview by Adam Hold in March 2004. Thomas was a familiar figure in many presidential conferences, always seated in the front row and invariably the first or second reporter to be called on by the president. This honor, given to her due to her lengthy career in Washington, enabled her to ask many blunt and challenging questions to politicians and officials. In a 2008 article, "The Christian Science Monitor" wrote: "Thomas, a fixture in American politics, is outspoken, blunt, demanding, forceful and unrelenting. Not only does she command respect by the highest powers in the US, her reputation is known worldwide." When Cuban leader Fidel Castro was asked in the early 2000s what was the difference between democracy in Cuba and democracy in the United States, Castro reportedly replied, "I don't have to answer questions from Helen Thomas." Thomas considered Castro's reply to be "the height of flattery."  In 1962, Thomas convinced President Kennedy not to attend the annual dinners held for the White House correspondents and photographers if they disallowed women from attending. President Kennedy moved for the dinners to be combined into one event, with women allowed to attend. In 1970, UPI named Thomas their chief White House correspondent, making her the first woman to serve in the position. She was named the chief of UPI's White House bureau in 1974.  Thomas was the only female print journalist to accompany President Richard Nixon during his 1972 visit to China. During the Watergate scandal, Martha Mitchell, wife of United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell, frequently called Thomas to discuss how the Nixon administration was using Mitchell as a scapegoat.  In 1994, Thomas covered the Whitewater controversy at Hillary Rodham Clinton's first news conference as the First Lady. Nobody was sure of how to start the session, so all eyes pointed toward Thomas. Mrs. Clinton waited for Helen Thomas to ask her the first question as she is famously known for doing. She finally did, asking about reports that money from the Whitewater Development Company might have gone to her husband's campaign for Governor.  Thomas circled the globe several times, traveling with every U.S. president from Richard Nixon through Barack Obama. She covered every Economic Summit since 1975, working up to the position of UPI's White House Bureau Chief, a post she would hold for over 25 years. While serving as White House Bureau Chief, she authored a regular column for UPI, "Backstairs at the White House." The column provided an insider's view of various presidential administrations.  In 1975, the Washington Press Corps club, known as the Gridiron Club, admitted Thomas, making her the first woman to become a member. From 1975 through 1976, she served as the first female president of the White House Correspondents Association.  Thomas was the only member of the White House Press Corps to have her own seat in the White House Briefing Room. All other seats are assigned to media outlets.  In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Thomas's name and picture.

Departure from UPI.

On May 17, 2000, the day after it was announced that the UPI had been acquired by News World Communications Inc., an international media conglomerate founded and controlled by Unification Church leader Reverend Sun Myung Moon which owns "The Washington Times" and other news media, Thomas resigned from the UPI after 57 years with the organization. She later described the change in ownership as "a bridge too far." Less than two months later, she joined Hearst Newspapers as an opinion columnist, writing on national affairs and the White House.  After leaving her job as a reporter at the UPI, Thomas became more likely to air her personal, negative views. In a speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she quipped, "I censored myself for 50 years when I was a reporter. Now I wake up and ask myself, 'Who do I hate today?'"

George W. Bush administration.

During President George W. Bush's first term, Thomas reacted to Press Secretary Ari Fleischer's statements about arms shipments to the terrorists by asking: "Where do the Israelis get their arms?"  He responded: "There's a difference, Helen, and that is—"  "What is the difference?" she asked.  He responded: "The targeting of innocents through the use of terror, which is a common enemy for Yasir Arafat and for the people of Israel, as well as—"  She interrupted him, saying: "Palestinian people are fighting for their land."  He responded: "I think that the killing of innocents is a category entirely different. Justifying killing of innocents for land is an argument in support of terrorism."  In January 2003, following a speech at a Society of Professional Journalists banquet, Thomas told an autograph seeker, "I'm covering the worst president in American history." The autograph-seeker was a sports writer for "The Daily Breeze" and her comments were published. After that she was not called upon during a press conference for the first time in over four decades. She wrote to the President to apologize.  For many years, Thomas sat in the front row and asked the first question during White House press conferences. However, according to Thomas in a 2006 "Daily Show" interview, this ended because she no longer represented a wire service. During the Bush administration, Thomas was moved to the back row during press conferences; she was called upon at briefings on a daily basis but no longer ended presidential news conferences by saying, "Thank you, Mr. President." When asked why she was seated in the back row, she said, "They didn't like me.... I ask too mean questions." On March 21, 2006, Thomas was called upon directly by President Bush for the first time in three years. Thomas asked Bush about the War in Iraq: I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, [about] your decision to invade Iraq... Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is: Why did you really want to go to war?... You have said it wasn't oil... quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it?  Bush responded by discussing the War on Terror, stating as a reason for the invasion that Saddam Hussein chose to deny inspectors and not to disclose required information. Thomas was criticized by some commentators for her exchange with Bush.  In July 2006, she told "The Hill", "The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself. All we need is another liar... I think he'd like to run, but it would be a sad day for the country if he does."  At the July 18, 2006, White House press briefing, Thomas remarked: "The United States... could have stopped the bombardment of Lebanon. We have that much control with the Israelis... we have gone for collective punishment against all of Lebanon and Palestine."  Press Secretary Tony Snow responded: "Thank you for the Hezbollah view." Other members of the press weighed in.  In a press conference on November 30, 2007, Thomas questioned White House Press Secretary Dana Perino as to why Americans should depend on General David Petraeus in determining when to re-deploy U.S. troops from Iraq. Perino began to answer, when Thomas interjected with "You mean how many more people we kill?"  Perino immediately took offense, responding:  Helen, I find it really unfortunate that you use your front row position, bestowed upon you by your colleagues, to make such statements. This is a...it is an honor and a privilege to be in the briefing room, and to suggest that we, the United States, are killing innocent people is just absurd and very offensive. Refusing to back down, Thomas responded immediately by asking Perino if she knew how many innocent Iraqis had been killed and then questioned the worth of regret when Perino responded that the administration regretted the loss of all innocent Iraqi lives.

Obama administration.

On February 9, 2009, Thomas was present in the front row for newly elected President Obama's first news conference. President Obama called on her with the statement, "Helen. I'm excited, this is my inaugural moment," seemingly a reference to her long-term presence in the White House Press Corps. Thomas asked if he knew of any Middle Eastern country that possessed nuclear weapons, implicitly asking him to confirm or deny Israel's alleged nuclear arsenal, despite Israel's long held stance of "nuclear ambiguity". Obama replied that he did not want to "speculate" on the matter.  On July 1, 2009, Thomas commented on the Obama administration's handling of the press, "we have had some control but not this control. I mean I'm amazed, I'm amazed at you people who call for openness and transparency and you have controlled...". She also said that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press as much as President Obama.  On August 4, 2009, Thomas celebrated her 89th birthday. President Obama, whose birthday is on the same day, presented Thomas with birthday cupcakes and sang "Happy Birthday" to her before that day's press conference.

Comments on Jews in Israel and allegations of antisemitism.

Rabbi David Nesenoff of RabbiLive.com, on the White House grounds with his son and a teenage friend for a May 27, 2010, American Jewish Heritage Celebration Day, questioned Thomas as she was leaving the White House via the North Lawn driveway. When asked for comments on Israel, she replied: "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine." and "Remember, these people are occupied and it's their land. It's not German, it's not Poland..." When asked where Israeli Jews should go, she replied they could "go home" to Poland or Germany or "America and everywhere else. Why push people out of there who have lived there for centuries?" When accused of being an antisemite, she responded that she is a Semite, having an Arab background. A one-minute excerpt of the May 27, 2010, interview was posted on Nesenoff's website on June 3.  In a later interview on CNN, on "", Thomas defended her comments. In response to Behar's question of whether she was an antisemite, Thomas replied: "Hell no! I'm a Semite, of Arab background." She then said of Israelis: "They're not Semites."  In addition, Thomas said in the CNN interview: "Why do they [Jews] have to go anywhere? They aren't being persecuted! They don't have the right to take other people's land." When asked if she regretted the comment, she said: "We have organized lobbyists in favor of Israel, you can't open your mouth. I can call the president of the United States anything in the book, but you say one thing about Israel and you're off limits."  Because of her controversial statements, The Executive Committee of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) voted to recommend that the organization retire her self-titled award on January 15, 2011, which initiated in 2000, Helen Thomas Award for Lifetime Achievement meaning that they recommend to not give the lifetime achievement award but still keep Thomas’ name attached. Thomas was the first recipient of this award and the retirement of the award does not remove any honor from it or its recipients. The committee consists of the executive committee consists of the president, president-elect, secretary-treasurer, vice president for campus chapter affairs, immediate-past president, and two additional directors chosen annually by the full board of directors.  The committee was in support of Helen Thomas exercising her freedom of speech; however, they condemned her statements as they were deemed offensive and inappropriate. The committee decided it was best to distance itself from the controversy surrounding the award. This was the second time in nearly six months the executive committee held a meeting to consider removing Thomas’ name stemming from her earlier 2010 incident.  On June 4, Thomas posted the following response on her website: "I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon".

Resignation.

Thomas's agency, Nine Speakers, Inc., immediately dropped her as a client because of her remarks. Nine Speakers, as they said it would no longer represent her. “Ms. Thomas has had an esteemed career as a journalist, and she has been a trailblazer for women, helping others in her profession, and beyond. However, in light of recent events, Nine Speakers is no longer able to represent Ms. Thomas, nor can we condone her comments on the Middle East,” the agency said in a statement published by Politico. Craig Crawford, who co-authored "Listen up, Mr. President", said "I... will no longer be working with Helen on our book projects." Her scheduled delivery of a commencement speech at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland, was canceled by the school. The White House Correspondents' Association, over which she once presided, issued a statement calling her remarks "indefensible". In January 2011, the Society of Professional Journalists voted to retire the Helen Thomas Award for Lifetime Achievement.  On June 7, Thomas abruptly tendered her resignation from Hearst Newspapers. The next day, in an interview on NBC's "Today Show", President Obama called her remarks "offensive" and "out of line" and said her retirement was "the right decision." He remarked that it was a "shame" her celebrated career had to end in such controversy, and at the same time he recognized her long service covering U.S. presidents, calling her "a real institution in Washington". Her comments also garnered rebukes from numerous others, including White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, former special counsel to and White House spokesman for President Bill Clinton, Lanny Davis, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson.  Thomas did have defenders who felt she was being attacked too harshly, including former Presidential candidate Ralph Nader, Fox News contributor Ellen Ratner, former UPI managing editor Michael Freedman and "The Nation" editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel. Nader noted the "double standard" where one off-hand "ill-conceived remark" ended Helen Thomas' career while "ultra-right wing radio and cable ranters" engaged in "bigotry, stereotypes and falsehoods directed wholesale against Muslims, including a blatant antisemitism against Arabs."  In an October 2011 radio interview with Scott Spears of WMRN, Thomas said she realized soon after making the comments that she would be fired, stating, "I hit the third rail. You cannot criticize Israel in this country and survive." She added that she issued an apology because people were upset, but that ultimately, she still "had the same feelings about Israel's aggression and brutality."

Later career.

2010 speech and further allegations of antisemitism.

On December 2, 2010, shortly before a speech for the eighth annual "Images and Perceptions of Arab Americans" conference in Dearborn, Michigan, Thomas told reporters that she still stood by the comments she had made to Nesenoff. Referring to her resignation, she said "I paid a price, but it's worth it to speak the truth." During the speech, Thomas said: "Congress, the White House, Hollywood and Wall Street are owned by Zionists. No question, in my opinion." (Video of her full speech can be seen here.) Thomas defended her comments on December 7, telling Scott Spears of Marion, Ohio radio station WMRN, "I just think that people should be enlightened as to who is in charge of the opinion in this country."  The next day, the Anti-Defamation League called for journalism schools and organizations to rescind any honors given to Thomas. The organization said that Thomas had "clearly, unequivocally revealed herself as a vulgar antisemite" in the speech. Wayne State University in Detroit discontinued the Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity in Media Award, which it had been granting for more than ten years, citing what it called her antisemitic remarks. Thomas objected, saying that "the leaders of Wayne State University have made a mockery of the First Amendment and disgraced their understanding of its inherent freedom of speech and the press." Asked by the "Detroit Free Press" how she would respond to people who say she is antisemitic, Thomas responded: 'I'd say I'm a Semite. What are you talking about?'".

"Playboy" Interview.

Thomas was interviewed for the April 2011 issue of "Playboy" magazine, and once more made contentious statements. When asked "Do you actually think there’s a secret Jewish conspiracy at work in this country [the US]?", Thomas replied, "Not a secret. It’s very open."

Subsequent employment.

Thomas was employed as a columnist by the Virginia "Falls Church News-Press" from January 2011 to January 2012. Owner-Editor Nicholas Benton repeatedly defended the decision to hire her despite her previous comments. He said in 2011 that he was "outraged" when the Society of Professional Journalists voted on retiring a scholarship award named for Thomas. Benton defended Thomas from antisemitism by saying that Thomas "is herself a Semite" and was "expressing a political point of view [in the interview with Nesenoff above], and not a bigoted racial sentiment."

Personal life.

Thomas described herself as a liberal. For most of her adult life, she chose her work over her personal life. At age 51, Thomas married a colleague, Douglas Cornell, who was just retiring as the White House reporter for the Associated Press. Four years later he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and she cared for him until his death in 1982.

Death.

Thomas died on July 20, 2013, at her home in Washington, D.C. at the age of 92. Many female journalists memorialized Thomas on Twitter, including Judy Woodruff, who called her a "trailblazer", and Lynn Sweet, who said she was a "glass ceiling breaking journalist". Andrea Mitchell tweeted that Thomas "made it possible for all of us who followed." Dana Perino, who served as press secretary to President George W. Bush, remembered that on her first day as press secretary, Thomas approached her to give her words of encouragement. President Obama released a statement calling her "a true pioneer" who "never failed to keep presidents—myself included—on their toes.". Thomas was cremated and her ashes were buried in Detroit, following a traditional Antiochian Orthodox funeral service.

Awards.

Thomas received numerous awards and more than 30 honorary degrees. In 1976, Thomas was named one of the "World Almanac's 25 Most Influential Women in America."  Despite her checkered career, Thomas received many awards during her time in the field. In 1985, Thomas received the Columbia University Journalism Award and in 1984 was honored with the National Press Club Fourth Estate Award. In 2000, Thomas was presented with the Kiplinger Distinguished Contributions to Journalism Award.  In 1986 she received the William Allen White Foundation Award for Journalistic Merit from the University of Kansas. In 1993, Thomas won the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. Thomas received an Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media from the Freedom Forum in 1991. The White House Correspondent's Association honored her in 1998 by establishing the "Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award". In 2000, her alma mater, Wayne State University, established an award for journalists in her honor, the "Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity award". In December 2010, the award was discontinued by Wayne State which cited her renewed remarks similar to those in May 2010. Speaking for Wayne State, Matthew Seeger, its interim dean said, that the award is given to promote the importance of diversity in the media and that this award "is no longer helping us achieve our goals." In 2007, Thomas received a Foremother Award from the National Center for Health Research.  In October 2010, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) honored Thomas with a lifetime achievement award.  In April 2012, Thomas received an award from the Palestine Liberation Organization's General Mission to the United States. The award was presented by PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi to "recognize Thomas's long career in the field of journalism, during which she defended the Palestinian position every step of the way."  The Society of Professional Journalists had an annual award for top journalists named after Thomas but decided to retire the award in 2011. The SPJ executive board initially said it would keep the award after Thomas's May 2010 comments calling for Jews to leave Israel to the Palestinians and return to "Europe, Russia and America," but the board decided to retire the award after Thomas's remarks later in 2010 about the alleged control of the United States by Zionists. Several pro-Thomas individuals in SPJ leadership roles campaigned to have the award reinstated, but the retirement decision was upheld by SPJ's regional leadership that year and by an 85-77 margin at the national SPJ convention, also that year, marking the permanent end of any ties between Thomas and SPJ.

Helen Amelia Thomas (August 4, 1920 – July 20, 2013) was an American reporter and author best known for her longtime membership of the White House press corps. She covered the White House during the administrations of ten U.S. presidents—from the start of the Kennedy administration to the second year of the Obama administration. She is best known as the “dean of Washington D.C.” and for coining the phrase, “Thank you, Mr. President”.

Helen Thomasová (8. srpna 1920 - 20. července 2013) byla americká novinářka, sloupkařka v titulech Hearstovy korporace a členka White House Press Corp. 57 let pracovala pro agenturu United Press International (UPA) a proslula jako korespondentka z Bílého domu, kterou se stala v roce 1961. Za celou dobu kladla své dotazy devíti prezidentům počínaje Johnem Fitzgeraldem Kennedym.


Early life.

Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Yemeni-Jewish parents who immigrated to Israel. She was the youngest of nine children (six sisters and two brothers) to Yefet and Shoshana Haza. They were raised in a Masorti household in the Hatikva Quarter, then an impoverished neighborhood of Tel Aviv.  At age 12, Haza joined a local theater troupe, and manager Bezalel Aloni noticed her singing talent. He spotlighted her in many of his productions, and later became her manager and mentor. At 19, she was Israel's foremost pop star, and music journalists retrospectively described her as "the Madonna of the East".  Haza completed her Israeli military service in 1979.

Career.

Her first album, entitled "Al Ahavot Shelanu" ("About Our Loves"), was released in 1980 and yielded a string of popular radio hits, including "Hageshem" ("The Rain"), "Shir Ahava La'chayal" ("Love Song For The Soldier"), "Kmo Tzipor" ("Like A Bird") and what ultimately became her signature song in Israel, "Shir Ha'frecha" ("The Bimbo Song"). The latter was written for the film "Schlager" (1979) in which Haza played a leading role. At first, radio stations across the country refused to play the song due to its lyrics, which at the time were unacceptable, but it quickly climbed the charts and reached No. 1, where it stayed for five consecutive weeks. Later in the year, the album attained gold status.  A second album soon followed, "Bo Nedaber" ("Let's Talk"), eventually going gold. The album included the singles "Tfila" ("Prayer") and "Simanim Shel Ohavim" ("Lovers Signs").  Her third album, "Pituyim" ("Temptations") came out in 1982, reaching gold status as well, with such singles as "Gabriel" and "Kol Yom Matchila Shana" ("A New Year Starts Every Day"). With this album, more well-known writers agreed to write her songs, including Tzvika Pick and Nurit Hirsh.  At the Eurovision Song Contest, Haza came in a close second to the Luxembourg entry with the song "Chai" ("Alive"). Her first platinum album, "Chai", released in 1983, became the biggest-selling album of her career, and the title track was voted the No. 1 song of the year. Additional songs from the album included "Amen Lamilim" ("Amen For Words") and "Sof Hakayitz" ("End Of Summer"). Haza was voted "Female Vocalist Of The Year" four years in a row, from 1980 through 1983. Later that year, Haza released "Shirey Moledet" which consisted of her renditions of Israeli folk songs, eventually going platinum. Haza released two additional volumes in 1985 and 1987.  "Bait Ham" ("Warm House") was released in 1984 and included the singles "Yad Beyad" ("Hand In Hand"), "Itcha Halayla" ("With You Tonight") and the title track. The album went gold. In December that year, Haza released a collection of Yemenite songs, simply titled "Yemenite Songs". Despite lukewarm radio airplay, the album went on to become a best-seller, reaching platinum status. This LP was reissued in the United States by Shanachie Records under the title "Fifty Gates of Wisdom".  The album "Adama" ("Earth") followed in 1985 and saw writers in the country contributing to the album such as Sasha Argov, Naomi Shemer, Ya'akov Orland and Ehud Manor, among others. The album produced the singles "Adama", "Goral Echad" ("One Destiny") and "Mishehu Holech Tamid Iti" ("Someone Always Walks With Me"), and reached gold status. Later that year, Ofra released "Shirey Moledet B", a continuation of her renditions of Israeli folk songs. The album went gold.  In 1986, Haza worked with producer Izhar Ashdot to create "Yamim Nishbarim" ("Broken Days"). The album's lyrics were written by Haza herself. The album went gold and produced the singles "Kol Haklafim" ("Open Your Cards"), "Bo Ve-Nagen Oti" ("Come and Play Me") and "Hake'ev Haze" ("This Pain").

International artist.

Her major international breakthrough came in the wake of the album "Shirei Teiman" ("Yemenite songs"), which she recorded in 1984. The album consisted of songs that Haza had heard in childhood, using arrangements that combined authentic Middle Eastern percussion with classical instruments. Further recognition came with the single "Im Nin'alu", taken from the album "Shaday" (1988), which won the New Music Award for Best International Album of the Year. The song topped the Eurochart for two weeks in June that year and was on heavy rotation on MTV channels across the continent. In the annals of classical hip-hop this song would be extensively re-released, re-mixed and sampled, for example on Coldcut's remix of Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid in Full". The single made only a brief appearance in the UK top 40 singles chart, but became a dance floor favorite across Europe and the USA, topping the German charts for nine weeks. Subsequent singles were also given the dance-beat / MTV-style video treatment, most notably, "Galbi", "Daw Da Hiya" and "Mata Hari", but none quite matched the runaway success of her first hit. "Im Nin'alu" would go on to be featured on an in-game radio playlist of the video game "", released in 2005 and featured on Panjabi MC's album "Indian Timing" in 2009.  Haza also received critical acclaim for the albums "Fifty Gates of Wisdom" (1988), "Desert Wind" (1989), "Kirya" (1992) and "Ofra Haza" (1997).  In 1992, "Kirya" (co-produced by Don Was) received a Grammy nomination.  In 1994, Haza released her first Hebrew album in seven years, "Kol Haneshama" ("The Whole Soul"). Though not an initial chart success, the album produced one of her biggest hits to date, "Le'orech Hayam" ("Along The Sea"), written by Ayala Asherov. The song did not have any substantial chart success upon its release to radio but became an anthem after Haza performed it on the assembly in memorial to deceased Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, a week after he was assassinated. Radio stations around the country began to play it. Its lyrics became even more symbolic following Haza's own death in 2000.

Collaborations and performances.

Her collaborative work with internationally established acts included the single "Temple of Love (Touched by the Hand of Ofra Haza)", recorded with The Sisters of Mercy in 1992. Thomas Dolby co-produced "Yemenite Songs" and "Desert Wind", where he was also a guest musician. Haza guested on Dolby's album "Astronauts And Heretics" (1992), singing on the track "That's Why People Fall In Love". She recorded "My Love Is for Real" with Paula Abdul in 1995 and on Sarah Brightman's album "Harem", Haza's vocals were included on "Mysterious Days", thanks to an idea by Brightman's partner Frank Peterson (ex-Enigma), who produced both "Harem" (2003) and the album "Ofra Haza" (1997). Haza also sang backing vocals on the song "Friend of Stars" by the German electro-pop band And One, from the "Spot" (1993) album.  For the "Kirya" album, Iggy Pop, a friend of Don Was, performed the narration on "Daw Da Hiya" and Haza joined him and a host of other stars for the video and single release "Give Peace A Chance" in 1991. She also sang on the soundtracks of "Colors" (1988), "Dick Tracy" (1990), "Wild Orchid" (1990), "Queen Margot" (1994) and "The Prince of Egypt" (1998).  In "The Prince of Egypt", she voiced the small role of Yocheved, singing "Deliver Us". When Hans Zimmer, who was working with Haza on the music for "The Prince of Egypt", introduced her to the artists, they thought that she was so beautiful that they drew Yocheved to look like the singer. For the film's soundtracks, Haza sang the song "Deliver Us" in 18 languages, about half of which were sung phonetically, including:  On the soundtrack of "The Governess" (1998), Haza is the featured singer on seven of the twelve tracks and worked closely with film music composer Edward Shearmur. In 1999, she performed (together with late Pakistani artist Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) the track "Forgiveness", on the contemporary symphony album "The Prayer Cycle" by Jonathan Elias. As a featured background vocalist, Haza's voice has been recorded, re-mixed or sampled for Black Dog's "Babylon" single, Eric B and Rakim's "Paid In Full (Coldcut Remix)", "Temple of Love (1992)" by The Sisters of Mercy, and for the M/A/R/R/S hit "Pump Up The Volume". The single "Love Song" has been re-mixed by DJs many times, its powerful vocal performance and comparatively sparse musical arrangement making it the perfect vehicle for a dance-rhythm accompaniment.  Covers of songs by other artists included the Carole King/James Taylor song "You've Got a Friend", Madonna's "Open Your Heart", Gary Moore's "Separate Ways", and Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir".  There were many live performances and Haza spoke with fond memories of her visits to Japan and Turkey. She performed at the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, where she appeared alongside Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor. "Paint Box" was written specially for the event. Her 1990 live recording, "Ofra Haza At Montreux Jazz Festival" was released in 1998.  Haza shared duets and concert performances with Glykeria, Yehudit Ravitz, Paul Anka, Paula Abdul, Michael Jackson, Iggy Pop, Hoite, Buddha Bar, Ishtar, Gidi Gov, Whitney Houston, Tzvika Pick, Khaled, Prachim Yerushalaim, The Sisters of Mercy, Thomas Dolby, Stefan Waggershausen, Eric B and Rakim, Gila Miniha, Hans Zimmer, Hagashash Hachiver, Yaffa Yarkoni, Dana International, Shoshana Damari and posthumously with Sarah Brightman.  In late 1999, Haza recorded new material for a new album that she worked on with Ron Aviv, a music producer from Petah Tikva. At the time, she also worked with the Finnish violinist Linda Brava, who released a previously unreleased track called "Tarab" on her MySpace page on 14 May 2010. On the track, Haza sings in English, Arabic and Hebrew, while Brava plays the electric violin. The track is possibly Haza's last recording.

Marriage.

On July 15, 1997, Haza married businessman Doron Ashkenazi. The couple had no children, but Ashkenazi had an adopted son, Shai, and a biological daughter from his first marriage.

Death.

Ofra Haza died on February 23, 2000, at the age of 42, of AIDS-related pneumonia. While the fact that she was HIV positive is now generally known, the decision by the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" to report it shortly after her death was controversial in Israel.  After Haza's death was announced, Israeli radio stations played non-stop retrospectives of her music and then Prime Minister Ehud Barak praised her work as a cultural emissary, commenting that she also represented the Israeli success story — "Ofra emerged from the Hatikvah slums to reach the peak of Israeli culture. She has left a mark on us all."  The fact that Haza died because of an AIDS-related illness added another layer to the public mourning. The revelation of Haza's illness caused much surprise among fans, along with debate about whether the media invaded her privacy by reporting it. There was also speculation about how she had acquired the virus. Immediately after her death, the media placed blame on her husband, Tel Aviv businessman Doron Ashkenazi, for infecting her with the disease. Haza's manager Bezalel Aloni supported this belief, writing in his book that Haza acquired AIDS through sex with her husband. Later, it was revealed that her husband believed Haza became infected because of a blood transfusion she received in a hospital following a miscarriage. Ashkenazi himself died of a drug overdose roughly one year later on April 7, 2001, leaving a daughter from a prior marriage and a 14-year-old adopted son, Shai Ashkenazi.  Haza is buried in the Artists section of Yarkon Cemetery in Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv.

Legacy.

Bezalel Aloni, Haza's manager and producer of 28 years, published a book "Michtavim L'Ofra" (Letters to Ofra) in 2007. The book is partly Aloni's autobiography and partly a biography of Haza, and includes letters written by Aloni.  On 22 March 2007, on the seventh anniversary of her death, the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality and the Tel Aviv Development Fund renamed part of the public park in the Hatikva Quarter "Gan Ofra" (Ofra's Park) in her honor. The park is placed at the end of Bo'az street where Haza's childhood home was. The park features a children's playground, symbolizing her love for children and the old quarter she grew up in and always came back to.  On November 19, 2014, Google celebrated her 57th birthday with a Google Doodle. Pakistani blogger Sarmad Iqbal who is known for his pro-peace stance, immensely praised Ofra Haza in his blog post titled "A Pakistani’s love letter to Israeli pop music and cinema" for The Times of Israel in 2017. Sarmad wrote "She was more than just a cultural icon of Israel as she also tried to bridge the wide gap between Israel and her Arab neighbors as her songs spread to a wider Middle-Eastern audience defying all the barriers to peace and friendship between Arabs and Israel.".

Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza-Ashkenazi, known professionally as Ofra Haza (; 19 November 1957 23 February 2000) was an Israeli singer, actress and Grammy Award-nominee recording artist, commonly known in the Western world as "The Israeli Madonna", or "Madonna of the East". Her voice has been described as a "tender" mezzo-soprano.

Ofra Haza (19. listopadu 1957 – 23. února 2000) byla izraelská herečka a zpěvačka jemensko-židovského původu. Stala se mezinárodně uznávanou zpěvačkou, předmětem pýchy především Izraelců jemenského původu. Její hlas byl označován jako dokonalý mezzosoprán, schopný bezproblémového přechodu mezi různými styly a s obrovským rozsahem. Díky své lásce k jemenské židovské kultuře se Ofra Haza rychle stala miláčkem širokého publika Středního východu. Mnoho z jejích fanoušků ji vnímalo jako most mezi izraelským a arabským světem. Lásku publika si dokázala udržet, i když její hvězda stoupala a Ofra Haza přecházela i k více komerčnímu stylu zpívání. Její jméno nezůstalo neznámé ani Evropanům a Američanům a i díky úspěchům na těchto kontinentech během své kariéry nasbírala mnoho platinových a zlatých desek.


Reproduction.

Firebugs generally mate in April and May. Their diet consists primarily of seeds from lime trees and mallows (see below). They can often be found in groups near the base of lime tree trunks, on the sunny side.  They can be seen in tandem formation when mating which can take from 12 hours up to 7 days. The long period of copulating is probably used by the males as a form of ejaculate-guarding under high competition with other males.

Development.

"P. apterus" was the subject of an unexpected discovery in the 1960s when researchers who had for ten years been rearing the bugs in Prague, Czechoslovakia attempted to do the same at Harvard University in the United States. After the 5th larval instar, instead of developing into adults, the bugs either entered a 6th instar stage, or became adults with larval characteristics. Some of the 6th instars went on to a 7th instar, but all specimens died without reaching maturity.  The source of the problem was eventually proven to be the paper towels used in the rearing process; the effect only happened if the paper towels were made in America. The researchers could replicate these results with American newspapers such as the "New York Times", but not European newspapers such as "The Times". The cause was found to be hormones found in the native balsam fir tree ("Abies balsamea") used to manufacture paper and related products in America, and in some other North American conifers. This hormone happened to have a profound effect on "P. apterus", but not on other insect species, showing the diversification of hormone receptors in the insects. The most potent chemical component was later identified as juvabione, the methyl ester of todomatuic acid, which is produced by the trees in response to wounding; it mimics juvenile hormone closely at the chemical level, defending against vulnerable pests.

The firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus, is a common insect of the family Pyrrhocoridae. Easily recognizable due to its striking red and black coloration, but may be confused with the similarly coloured though unrelated "Corizus hyoscyami" (cinnamon bug, squash bug) (see comparison). "Pyrrhocoris apterus" is distributed throughout the Palaearctic from the Atlantic coast of Europe to northwest China. It has also been reported from the US, Central America and India. It has been reported as recently expanding its distribution northwards into mainland UK and eastward on to the coast of the Mediterranean sea.

Ruměnice pospolná ("Pyrrhocoris apterus)", starším názvem ruměnice bezkřídlá – "apterus" znamená „bezkřídlý“) je ve střední Evropě hojně rozšířený druh ploštice. Dorůstá velikosti okolo 1 cm a živí se sáním semen rostlin, mrtvých živočichů či vajíček hmyzu. Velmi často se vyskytuje ve větších skupinách.


Types.

There are multiple approaches within the theoretical branch of reader-response criticism, yet all are unified in their belief that the meaning of a text is derived from the reader through the reading process. Lois Tyson endeavors to define the variations into five recognized reader-response criticism approaches whilst warning that categorizing reader-response theorists explicitly invites difficulty due to their overlapping beliefs and practices. Transactional reader-response theory, led by Louise Rosenblatt and supported by Wolfgang Iser, involves a transaction between the text's inferred meaning and the individual interpretation by the reader influenced by their personal emotions and knowledge. Affective stylistics, established by Fish, believe that a text can only come into existence as it is read; therefore, a text cannot have meaning independent of the reader. Subjective reader-response theory, associated with David Bleich, looks entirely to the reader's response for literary meaning as individual written responses to a text are then compared to other individual interpretations to find continuity of meaning. Psychological reader-response theory, employed by Norman Holland, believes that a reader's motives heavily affect how they read, and subsequently use this reading to analyze the psychological response of the reader. Social reader-response theory is Stanley Fish's extension of his earlier work, stating that any individual interpretation of a text is created in an interpretive community of minds consisting of participants who share a specific reading and interpretation strategy. In all interpretive communities, readers are predisposed to a particular form of interpretation as a consequence of strategies used at the time of reading.  An alternative way of organizing reader-response theorists is to separate them into three groups: those who focus upon the individual reader's experience ("individualists"); those who conduct psychological experiments on a defined set of readers ("experimenters"); and those who assume a fairly uniform response by all readers ("uniformists"). One can therefore draw a distinction between reader-response theorists who see the individual reader driving the whole experience and others who think of literary experience as largely text-driven and uniform (with individual variations that can be ignored). The former theorists, who think the reader controls, derive what is common in a literary experience from shared techniques for reading and interpreting which are, however, individually applied by different readers. The latter, who put the text in control, derive commonalities of response, obviously, from the literary work itself. The most fundamental difference among reader-response critics is probably, then, between those who regard individual differences among readers' responses as important and those who try to get around them.

Individualists.

In the 1960s, David Bleich's pedagogically inspired literary theory entailed that the text is the reader's interpretation of it as it exists in their mind, and that an objective reading is not possible due to the symbolization and resymbolization process. The symbolization and resymbolization process consists of how an individual's personal emotions, needs and life experiences affect how a reader engages with a text; marginally altering the meaning. Bleich supported his theory by conducting a study with his students in which they recorded their individual meaning of a text as they experienced it, then response to their own initial written response, before comparing it with other student's responses to collectively establish literary significance according to the classes "generated" knowledge of how particular persons recreate texts. He used this knowledge to theorize about the reading process and to refocus the classroom teaching of literature.  Michael Steig and Walter Slatoff have, like Bleich, shown that students' highly personal responses can provide the basis for critical analyses in the classroom. Jeffrey Berman has encouraged students responding to texts to write anonymously and share with their classmates writings in response to literary works about sensitive subjects like drugs, suicidal thoughts, death in the family, parental abuse and the like. A kind of catharsis bordering on therapy results. In general, American reader-response critics have focused on individual readers' responses. American magazines like "Reading Research Quarterly" and others publish articles applying reader-response theory to the teaching of literature.  In 1961, C. S. Lewis published "An Experiment in Criticism", in which he analyzed readers' role in selecting literature. He analyzed their selections in light of their goals in reading.  In 1967, Stanley Fish published "Surprised by Sin", the first study of a large literary work ("Paradise Lost") that focused on its readers' experience. In an appendix, "Literature in the Reader", Fish used "the" reader to examine responses to complex sentences sequentially, word-by-word. Since 1976, however, he has turned to real differences among real readers. He explores the reading tactics endorsed by different critical schools, by the literary professoriate, and by the legal profession, introducing the idea of "interpretive communities" that share particular modes of reading.  In 1968, Norman Holland drew on psychoanalytic psychology in "The Dynamics of Literary Response" to model the literary work. Each reader introjects a fantasy "in" the text, then modifies it by defense mechanisms into an interpretation. In 1973, however, having recorded responses from real readers, Holland found variations too great to fit this model in which responses are mostly alike but show minor individual variations.  Holland then developed a second model based on his case studies "5 Readers Reading". An individual has (in the brain) a core identity theme (behaviors then becoming understandable as a theme and variations as in music). This core gives that individual a certain style of being—and reading. Each reader uses the physical literary work plus invariable codes (such as the shapes of letters) plus variable canons (different "interpretive communities", for example) plus an individual style of reading to build a response both like and unlike other readers' responses. Holland worked with others at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Murray Schwartz, David Willbern, and Robert Rogers, to develop a particular teaching format, the "Delphi seminar," designed to get students to "know themselves".

Experimenters.

Reuven Tsur in Israel has developed in great detail models for the expressivity of poetic rhythms, of metaphor, and of word-sound in poetry (including different actors' readings of a single line of Shakespeare). Richard Gerrig in the U.S. has experimented with the reader's state of mind during and after a literary experience. He has shown how readers put aside ordinary knowledge and values while they read, treating, for example, criminals as heroes. He has also investigated how readers accept, while reading, improbable or fantastic things (Coleridge's "willing suspension of disbelief"), but discard them after they have finished.  In Canada, David Miall, usually working with Donald Kuiken, has produced a large body of work exploring emotional or "affective" responses to literature, drawing on such concepts from ordinary criticism as "defamiliarization" or "foregrounding". They have used both experiments and new developments in neuropsychology, and have developed a questionnaire for measuring different aspects of a reader's response.  There are many other experimental psychologists around the world exploring readers' responses, conducting many detailed experiments. One can research their work through their professional organizations, the International Society for the Empirical Study of Literature and Media, and International Association of Empirical Aesthetics, and through such psychological indices as PSYCINFO.  Two notable researchers are Dolf Zillmann and Peter Vorderer, both working in the field of communications and media psychology. Both have theorized and tested ideas about what produces emotions such as suspense, curiosity, surprise in readers, the necessary factors involved, and the role the reader plays. Jenefer Robinson, a philosopher, has recently blended her studies on emotion with its role in literature, music, and art.

Uniformists.

Wolfgang Iser exemplifies the German tendency to theorize the reader and so posit a uniform response. For him, a literary work is not an object in itself but an effect to be explained. But he asserts this response is controlled by the text. For the "real" reader, he substitutes an implied reader, who is the reader a given literary work requires. Within various polarities created by the text, this "implied" reader makes expectations, meanings, and the unstated details of characters and settings through a "wandering viewpoint". In his model, the text controls. The reader's activities are confined within limits set by the literary work.  Two of Iser's reading assumptions have influenced reading-response criticism of the New Testament. The first is the role of the reader, who is active, not passive, in the production of textual meaning. The reader fills in the “gaps” or areas of “indeterminacy” of the text. Although the “text” is written by the author, its “realization” ("Konkritisation") as a “work” is fulfilled by the reader, according to Iser. Iser uses the analogy of two people gazing into the night sky to describe the role of the reader in the production of textual meaning. “Both [may] be looking at the same collection of stars, but one will see the image of a plough, and the other will make out a dipper. The ‘stars’ in a literary text are fixed, the lines that join them are variable." The Iserian reader contributes to the meaning of the text, but limits are placed on this reader by the text itself.  The second assumption concerns Iser’s reading strategy of anticipation of what lies ahead, frustration of those expectations, retrospection, and reconceptualization of new expectations. Iser describes the reader’s maneuvers in the negotiation of a text in the following way: “We look forward, we look back, we decide, we change our decisions, we form expectations, we are shocked by their nonfulfillment, we question, we muse, we accept, we reject; this is the dynamic process of recreation."  Iser's approach to reading has been adopted by several New Testament critics, including Culpepper 1983, Scott 1989, Roth 1997, Darr 1992, 1998, Fowler 1991, 2008, Howell 1990, Kurz 1993, Powell 2001, and Resseguie 1984, 2016.  Another important German reader-response critic was Hans-Robert Jauss, who defined literature as a dialectic process of production and reception ("Rezeption"—the term common in Germany for "response"). For Jauss, readers have a certain mental set, a "horizon" of expectations ("Erwartungshorizont"), from which perspective each reader, at any given time in history, reads. Reader-response criticism establishes these horizons of expectation by reading literary works of the period in question.  Both Iser and Jauss, along with the "Constance School," exemplify and return reader-response criticism to a study of the text by defining readers in terms of the text. In the same way, Gerald Prince posits a "narratee", Michael Riffaterre posits a "superreader", and Stanley Fish an "informed reader." And many text-oriented critics simply speak of "the" reader who typifies all readers...

Objections.

Reader-response critics hold that in order to understand a text, one must look to the processes readers use to create meaning and experience. Traditional text-oriented schools, such as formalism, often think of reader-response criticism as an anarchic subjectivism, allowing readers to interpret a text any way they want. Text-oriented critics claim that one can understand a text while remaining immune to one's own culture, status, personality, and so on, and hence "objectively."  To reader-response based theorists, however, reading is always both subjective and objective. Some reader-response critics (uniformists) assume a bi-active model of reading: the literary work controls part of the response and the reader controls part. Others, who see that position as internally contradictory, claim that the reader controls the whole transaction (individualists). In such a reader-active model, readers and audiences use amateur or professional procedures for reading (shared by many others) as well as their personal issues and values.  Another objection to reader-response criticism is that it fails to account for the text being able to expand the reader's understanding. While readers can and do put their own ideas and experiences into a work, they are at the same time gaining new understanding through the text. This is something that is generally overlooked in reader-response criticism.

Extensions.

Reader-response criticism relates to psychology, both experimental psychology for those attempting to find principles of response, and psychoanalytic psychology for those studying individual responses. Post-behaviorist psychologists of reading and of perception support the idea that it is the reader who makes meaning. Increasingly, cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics, neuroscience, and neuropsychoanalysis have given reader-response critics powerful and detailed models for the aesthetic process. In 2011 researchers found that during listening to emotionally intense parts of a story, readers respond with changes in heart rate variability, indicative of increased activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Intense parts of a story were also accompanied by increased brain activity in a network of regions known to be involved in the processing of fear, including the amygdala.  Because it rests on psychological principles, a reader-response approach readily generalizes to other arts: cinema (David Bordwell), music, or visual art (E. H. Gombrich), and even to history (Hayden White). In stressing the activity of the reader, reader-response theory may be employed to justify upsettings of traditional interpretations like deconstruction or cultural criticism.  Since reader-response critics focus on the strategies readers are taught to use, they may address the teaching of reading and literature. Also, because reader-response criticism stresses the activity of the reader, reader-response critics may share the concerns of feminist critics, and critics of Gender and Queer Theory and Post-Colonialism.

Reader-response criticism is a school of literary theory that focuses on the reader (or "audience") and their experience of a literary work, in contrast to other schools and theories that focus attention primarily on the author or the content and form of the work.

Recepční estetika, v originále "Rezeptionsästhetik", je směr literární vědy, který vznikl v 60. letech 20. století v Západním Německu a který byl systematicky rozvíjen kostnickým romanistou Hansem Robertem Jaußem. Jejím cílem je obnovení literární historie zavedením čtenáře jako výchozího bodu literárněhistorického vývoje. Estetický účinek díla spočívá v rozdílu mezi ním a horizontem očekávání čtenáře.


Translations.

At least five English translations have been made. Of those, Ralph Parker's translation (New York: Dutton, 1963) was the first to be published, followed by Ronald Hingley and Max Hayward's (New York: Praeger, 1963), Bela Von Block's (New York: Lancer 1963), and Gillon Aitken's (New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1971). The fifth translation, by H.T. Willetts (New York: Noonday/Farrar Straus Giroux, 1991), is the only one that is based on the canonical Russian text and the only one authorized by Solzhenitsyn. The English spelling of some character names differs slightly among the translations.

Plot.

Ivan Denisovich Shukhov has been sentenced to a camp in the Soviet gulag system. He was accused of becoming a spy after being captured briefly by the Germans as a prisoner of war during World War II. He is innocent, but is sentenced to ten years in a forced labor camp.  The day begins with Shukhov waking up sick. For waking late, he is forced to clean the guardhouse, but this is a comparatively minor punishment. When Shukhov is finally able to leave the guardhouse, he goes to the dispensary to report his illness. It is relatively late in the morning by this time, however, so the orderly is unable to exempt any more workers and Shukhov must work.  The rest of the novel deals mainly with Shukhov's squad (the 104th, which has 24 members), their allegiance to the squad leader, and the work that the prisoners ("zeks") do in hopes of getting extra food for their performance. For example, they are seen working at a brutal construction site where the cold freezes the mortar used for bricklaying if not applied quickly enough. Solzhenitsyn also details the methods used by the prisoners to survive; the whole camp lives by the rule of survival of the fittest.  Tiurin, the foreman of gang 104, is strict but kind, and the squad's fondness of Tiurin becomes more evident as the book progresses. Though a morose man, Tiurin is liked because he understands the prisoners, he talks to them, and he helps them. Shukhov is one of the hardest workers in the squad, possessing versatile skills that are in great demand, and he is generally well-respected. Rations are meagre at the camp – given to the prisoners on the basis of how productive their work units are (or the authorities think they have been) – but they are one of the few things that Shukhov lives for. He conserves the food that he receives and is always watchful for any item that he can hide and trade for food at a later date, or for favors and services he can do prisoners that they will thank him for in small gifts of food.  At the end of the day, Shukhov is able to provide a few special services for Tsezar (Caesar), an intellectual who does office work instead of manual labor. Tsezar is most notable, however, for receiving packages of food from his family. Shukhov is able to get a small share of Tsezar's packages by standing in lines for him. Shukhov reflects on his day, which was both productive and fortuitous for him. He did not get sick, his group had been assigned well paid work, he had filched a second ration of food at lunch, and he had smuggled into camp a small piece of metal he would fashion into a useful tool.

Main characters.

The 104th is the labor-camp team to which protagonist Ivan Denisovich belongs. There are over 24 members, though the book describes the following characters the most thoroughly:

Themes.

The main themes of "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" are totalitarian oppression and camp survival. Specifically discussed are the prison officials' cruelty and spite towards their fellow man. Solzhenitsyn explains through Ivan Denisovich that everything is managed by the camp commandant to the point that time feels unnoticed; the prisoners always have work to do and never have any free time to discuss other issues.  Survival is of the utmost importance to prisoners. Attitude is another crucial factor in survival. Since prisoners are each assigned a grade, it is considered good etiquette to obey. This is outlined through the character of Fetiukov, a ministry worker who has let himself into prison and scarcely follows prison etiquette. Another such incident involves Buinovsky, a former naval captain, who is punished for defending himself and others during an early morning frisking.

History.

"One Day" is a sparse, tersely written narrative of a single day of the ten-year labor camp imprisonment of a fictitious Soviet prisoner, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn had first-hand experience in the Gulag system, having been imprisoned from 1945 to 1953 for writing derogatory comments in letters to friends about the conduct of the war by Joseph Stalin, whom he referred to by epithets such as "the master" and "the boss". Drafts of stories found in Solzhenitsyn's map case had been used to incriminate him (Frangsmyr, 1993). Solzhenitsyn claimed the prisoners wept when news of Stalin's death reached them. He uses the epithet "batka usaty" () in his novel, which translates to "Old Whiskers" or "Old Man Whiskers". This title was considered offensive and derogatory, but prisoners were free to call Stalin whatever they liked: "Somebody in the room was bellowing: 'Old Man Whiskers won't ever let you go! He wouldn't trust his own brother, let alone a bunch of cretins like you!"  In 1957, after being released from the exile that followed his imprisonment, Solzhenitsyn began writing "One Day". In 1962, he submitted his manuscript to "Novy Mir", a Russian literary magazine. The editor, Aleksandr Tvardovsky, was so impressed with the detailed description of life in the labor camps that he submitted the manuscript to the Communist Party Central Committee for approval to publish it--until then Soviet writers had not been allowed to refer to the camps. From there it was sent to the de-Stalinist Nikita Khrushchev, who, despite the objections of some top party members, ultimately authorized its publication with some censorship of the text. After the novel was sent to the editor, Aleksandr Tvardovsky of "Novy Mir", it was published in November 1962.  The labor camp described in the book was one that Solzhenitsyn had served some time at, and was located in Karaganda in northern Kazakhstan.

Reception.

"One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" was specifically mentioned in the Nobel Prize presentation speech when the Nobel Committee awarded Solzhenitsyn the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970. Following the publication of "One Day..." Solzhenitsyn wrote four more books, three in 1963 and a fourth in 1966 which cataclysmically led to the controversy of his publications. In 1968, Solzhenitsyn was accused by the "Literary Gazette", a Soviet newspaper, of not following Soviet principles. The "Gazette"'s editors also made claims that Solzhenitsyn was opposing the basic principles of the Soviet Union, his style of writing had been controversial with many Soviet literary critics especially with the publication of "One Day... ". This criticism made by the paper gave rise to further accusations that Solzhenitsyn had turned from a Soviet Russian into a Soviet enemy, therefore he was branded as an enemy of the state, who, according to the "Gazette", had been supporting non-Soviet ideological stances since 1967, perhaps even longer. He, in addition, was accused of de-Stalinisation. The reviews were particularly damaging. Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the Soviet Writers' Union in 1969. He was arrested, then deported in 1974. The novella had sold over 95,000 copies after it was released and throughout the 1960s. While Solzhenitsyn and his work were originally received negatively, under the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev, the book's mass publication was allowed in order to undermine the influence of Josef Stalin on the Soviet Union. However, critics of this action argue that this action unleashed liberalization that would cause the publication of more radical works and eventually the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Influence.

"One Day" is often considered the most powerful indictment of the USSR's gulag ever made, having for instance appeared on the "Independent" newspaper's poll of the Top 100 books, which surveyed more than 25,000 people.  Vitaly Korotich declared: "The Soviet Union was destroyed by information - and this wave started from Solzhenitsyn's "One Day"".

Film.

A one-hour dramatization for television, made for NBC in 1963, starred Jason Robards Jr. in the title role and was broadcast on November 8, 1963. A 1970 film adaptation based on the novella starred British actor Tom Courtenay in the title role. Finland banned the film from public view, fearing that it could hurt external relations with its eastern neighbor.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich ( "Odin den' Ivana Denisovicha" ) is a novel by the Russian writer and Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, first published in November 1962 in the Soviet literary magazine "Novy Mir" ("New World"). The story is set in a Soviet labor camp in the 1950s and describes a single day in the life of ordinary prisoner, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov.

Jeden den Ivana Děnisoviče (rusky "Один день Ивана Денисовича") je novela ruského autora Alexandra Solženicyna vydaná původně v listopadu 1962 v sovětském časopise "Novyj Mir". Děj se odehrává v 50. letech v pracovním táboře. Autor ji napsal v roce 1959 a původní název byl "Šč-854" ("Jeden den jednoho mukla"). Pro ruské vydání byla upravena, přesná verze vyšla poprvé ve Francii v roce 1973.


Early life.

De Ravin was born in Mount Eliza, Victoria, Australia, an outer southeastern suburb of Melbourne. Having studied ballet since the age of nine at Christa Cameron School of Ballet in Melbourne, and being home schooled by her mother, she was accepted into the Australian Ballet School at fifteen, where she performed in productions with The Australian Ballet as well as Danceworld 301.  She studied acting at Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art, and with the Prime Time Actors Studio in Los Angeles.

Career.

De Ravin's first major role was a recurring part as Curupira in the TV series "Beastmaster". She went on to appear as alien/human hybrid Tess Harding in the teen television series, "Roswell". She landed this role one month after moving to Los Angeles at the age of 18.  In 2004, De Ravin was cast to portray Claire Littleton on the hit ABC drama "Lost." Speaking about the success of "Lost", she said: "It's sort of hard to say. You read something and have a good feeling about it, it sounds great, ties nicely together and then shooting something, editing it, the music, the actors involved, everything sort of plays a huge part. Everyone involved had a great feeling towards it, but you never really know." De Ravin was a series regular for the first four seasons and the sixth and final season. She was not a regular in season five but was under a holding contract with ABC Network.  In 2005, De Ravin was cast to portray Emily Kostich, the heroin-addicted ex-girlfriend of Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), in the neo-noir film "Brick". In an interview about the film, Ravin told that she was attracted by the script because it was original and the teens in the film are very deep and emotional for their age.  A year later, De Ravin had a lead role and was cast as Brenda Carter in the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes". The film performed well at the box office. In 2007, "Variety" reported that she would be starring in the film "Ball Don't Lie," which premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, which arrived in cinemas early 2009. De Ravin appeared in William Dear's "The Perfect Game", and appeared in the 2009 film "Public Enemies" as a bank teller named Barbara Patzke.  De Ravin was cast in the movie adaption of the video game "Onimusha", but due to producer Samuel Hadida's other project "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus", and star Heath Ledger's death, Hadida was forced to push back the release date of the film. "Onimusha" is postponed for an unknown amount of time and there is not any confirmation if De Ravin will continue the project. De Ravin filmed "Remember Me" in the summer of 2009. The film received its wide release on 12 March 2010.  In 2012 she guest-starred as Belle on the ABC fantasy drama, "Once Upon a Time". After sporadic appearances in the first season, she was promoted to a series regular in the second. In May 2017, it was announced that De Ravin would be departing the series after six seasons along with her co-stars Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Jared S. Gilmore and Rebecca Mader. Two months later, it was reported that De Ravin would be guest-starring in at least one episode of the series' seventh season. That episode turned out to be the season's fourth, "Beauty". De Ravin also returned as Belle for the series finale, "Leaving Storybrooke".  She was to star as Anthony LaPaglia's character's daughter in the new drama series "Americana" in 2012, but ABC passed on the pilot. She starred in the 2015 indie film "The Submarine Kid".

Other projects.

De Ravin has graced the covers of numerous international fashion magazines, including US' "Entertainment Weekly", "FHM", "InStyle Weddings, 944, Life, Where, LA Baby" and "Giant;" Finland's "Demi" Belgium's "Ciné Télé Revue"; Australia's "Sunday" and "People"; and UK's "Fabric". She has also modeled for "CosmoGirl, Stuff" and "BPM Culture." She has appeared in advertising campaigns for JCPenney and Hanes. In 2005, she ranked #47, #65 in 2006 and #68 in 2008 on "Maxim"'s Hot 100 list.

Personal life.

After three years of dating, actor Josh Janowicz proposed to De Ravin on New Year's Day 2003 in Melbourne, which she said "was very impromptu and very sweet". She met Janowicz in Los Angeles, and said that "our life together always comes before work. You can't buy love or family." While filming "Lost", De Ravin flew to and from Hawaii "once or twice a week" to return to her home in Burbank, California, which she shared with Janowicz and their poodle.  The couple married 19 June 2003 (not 2006, when they had a public celebration) in Melbourne, Australia. They separated six months after they married, and then reconciled. In June 2009, it was reported that they were living separately and had filed for divorce. In October 2009, she called off the divorce after a trip to Japan with her husband. On 8 July 2014, de Ravin filed for divorce from Janowicz. According to court documents, the pair wed on 19 June 2003, despite their wedding ceremony on 26 June 2006; the documents further confirm that the couple separated on 1 November 2013.  On 3 October 2015, de Ravin announced via Twitter that she was expecting her first child with her boyfriend Eric Bilitch. In 2016, she gave birth to a daughter. The couple announced their engagement on 6 July 2016. On 29 June 2018, de Ravin announced her pregnancy with the couple's second child, a son, via social media. He was born in December 2018.  On 18 January 2018, Bilitch tweeted that de Ravin had become an American citizen.

Emilie de Ravin (; born December 27, 1981) is an Australian-American actress. She starred as Tess Harding on "Roswell" (2000–2002), Claire Littleton on the ABC drama "Lost" (2004–2010), and as Belle on the ABC drama "Once Upon a Time" (2012–2018). De Ravin's film credits include "Santa's Slay" (2005), "The Hills Have Eyes" (2006) and "Ball Don't Lie" (2008). She starred as Emily, the heroin-addicted ex-girlfriend of Brendan Frye, in the neo-noir film "Brick" (2005). She had a cameo in "Public Enemies" (2009) and starred in "Remember Me" (2010). De Ravin has been included on "Maxim"s Hot 100 list three times: in 2005 (No. 47), 2006 (No. 65), and 2008 (No. 68).

Emilie de Ravin (* 27. prosince 1981 Mount Eliza) je australská herečka, která se narodila ve státě Victoria. Již od svých devíti let tvrdě dřela balet, za pár let se dostala do elitní školy baletu. Zde účinkovala v představeních s Australskou baletní společností (Australian Ballet Company) a taneční skupinou Danceworld 301. Později studovala herectví na Australském národním institutu divadelních umění (National Institute of Dramatic Art) a také spolupracovala s Prime Time Actors Studio v Los Angeles.