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<mask>, also known as <mask> (21 December 1746 – 22 August 1766) was a French-born poet, playwright, correspondent and multi-language translator. Biography
Geneviève-<mask> was born into a well-off Paris family. Her father was Jean-<mask> (d. 7 October 1763), cashier of the sub-farms of aid and estates successively in Amiens, Soissons, and then Tours, and her mother was <mask>pré, daughter of a secretary to the king, Louis XV of France. The couple lived in a private mansion on Rue de Paradis (Paradise Street) in Paris and raised three children: Geneviève-Françoise, the eldest, and two younger boys, Charles-<mask> and Louis-<mask>, future Vicar general of Nantes. Geneviève-Françoise, also known as <mask>, was tutored at home starting in natural history and mathematics as well as a number of languages in which she became fluent: German, English, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Latin. In 1764, she began lessons in drawing and dancing. Among her instructors was the naturalist Jacques-<mask> who was hired to give her, and her cousins, a science education.According to a letter written in 1762, her enthusiasm for the theater began at the age of five after attending a performance of Inès de Castro by Antoine Houdar <mask> Motte. Later, as a passionate theater-goer, she rented a box at the Comédie-Française three times a week and at the Comédie-Italienne as well as the famed Opéra Garnier, located at the Place de l'Opéra in Paris. Avid reader
According to Sonnet, "In terms of reading, Geneviève 'devours,' closely following literary news and even getting banned books," which was a passion she shared with her mother. In correspondence, Geneviève wrote: "My mother is currently reading the Memoirs of M. d'Eon. What a madman, or rather what a reckless traitor! This work is forbidden and is not found in Paris; we have to bring it from England." She goes on to say, "If censorship forces you to be tricky by getting your supplies under the coat, you should also know to read some books very quickly, before a possible condemnation."She wrote in letters to her childhood friend <mask> Méliand, whose father was Councilor of State and whose family lived on the same block of the Marais neighborhood, that she learned this lesson in 1762 when the book she was reading was banned by judgment of the Parliament of Paris and was soon found to be "lacerated and burned." Writer
<mask> started writing by the age of 15 but reached her peak around 18, writing 33 known works in the last five years of her life. Having mastered multiple languages, she personally translated fragments of her favorite works, including The History of Scotland by William Robertson and The Origin and Advancement of the Arts and Sciences by David Hume. For her writing, Randon drew from sources both new and old. Often, she applied herself to works, both French and foreign, that she read or saw on stage and about subjects that connected her to a wide range of genres. Her significant production was credited to her exposure to a vast library of  literary and theatrical culture, as well as her mastery of multiple contemporary and ancient languages. Her writings included translations, natural history works, a dozen poems scattered throughout her correspondence, and above all plays, which for the most part, were read aloud in small gatherings or performed in society.Among her plays were at least twelve comedies, four tragedies, a pastoral, an opera libretto and a fragment of a comic opera. However, only two of her works have been published: the comedy Ilphis and Zulie, published in 1766; and her correspondence, collected posthumously and published many years later in 1866 and in 1925. During her lifetime, Randon gained international renown and the admiration of established writers Friedrich Melchior Grimm and David Hume. At the age of 18, (about 1764), she fell in love with Jean-Louis Dutartre, son of a Châtelet notary, but they never married. Death
Randon died at her home on Rue de Paradis of measles on 22 August 1766, just two months shy of her 20th birthday, and almost a year after the death of her fiancé (20 October 1765) from the same disease. Shortly after her death, noted author Friedrich Melchior Grimm marked the sad occasion in his correspondence as "a loss that deserves to be noticed." Only two of her works were published, both posthumously: the comedy Ilphis et Zulie (1766), published in a collection of texts by her former German tutor, Michaël Huber; as well as some of her correspondence with her childhood friend <mask> Méliand.Between November 1763 and December 1765, <mask> was known to have sent up to 10 letters each month to Méliand. The correspondence, published in 1866 and 1925, contained 295 exchanged letters, written between 19 August 1761 and <mask>'s death in 1766. Selected works

Published work
 1766: Ilphis and Zulie (a comedy in one act)
 1866: Laurette <mask>issière: lettres d'une jeune fille du temps de Louis XV (Laurette <mask>issière: Letters of a young girl from the time of Louis XV) (1761-1766) (correspondence)
 1925: An au xviii e  century. Letters from Geneviève <mask> to <mask> Méliand (1761-1766) (correspondence)

Unpublished work
Private archives of the Marquis de Luppé, Château de Beaurepaire, Department of Oise (France): Méliand and La Grange fonds:

 1761: Translation of Cato by Joseph Addison, 43 p. in-8. 1763: Translation of the beginning of the History of <mask> Quinte-Curce (l. III, ch. I-IX), 31 p. in-8, unpublished. 1764: Translation of From the origin and progress of the arts and sciences, by David Hume, 27 p. in-8.1764: Translation of the beginning of the History of Scotland by William Robertson, 14 p. in-fol, unpublished. nd: Sketches of songs and small verses. nd: Fragments of Grégoire, cobbler, (comic opera). nd: Translation of the beginning of the Arcadia, by Jacopo Sannazaro,

Unpublished works referenced in her letters but not yet found. 1762: Translation into English of the Manners of Saurin's time. 1762: Translation into Italian and Spanish of the Natural Son of Diderot. 1762: English translation of L'époux par supercherie de Boissy.1763: Medea (tragedy in verse). 1764: The grieving wife (tragedy in verse). 1764: The Happy Heiress (Miss Melliand's comedy reduced by five acts in two). 1764: A tender engagement goes further than we think, (comedy). 1764: The force of education, (comedy based on the novel by Father Aunillon). 1764: The young widow (comedy). 1764: The exchange (comedy).1764: The dream (comedy). 1764: Chloris (comedy in two acts). 1764: Elfrida (heroic comedy in three acts, from L'Histoire de la maison de Plantagenet de Hume). 1764: The generous rival (comedy). 1764: The speech of Adam and Eve. 1764: Farewell to Hector and Andromache (date uncertain). 1764: Amanda, November (date uncertain).1765: Jeanne Gray (tragedy in verse). 1765: Antigone (tragedy in verse). 1765: The blind man (comedy in five scenes), from a tale by Mme Riccoboni. 1765: Daphnis and Laurette (pastoral in one act and prose after Gessner). 1765: Palmir and Nisa (opera). 1765: Writings on Natural History, reviewed by Valmont <mask>. Tributes
 A marble bust of Randon was sculpted by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne in 1768 that is preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.The museum notes that her bust includes a rose laurel garland in tribute to the character, named Laurette, who appeared in a pastoral play written by Randon. From page 106, Correspondence littéraire, philosophique et critique, by Grimm, <mask>t, Raynal, Meister, éd. M. Tourneux, Paris, Garnier Frères, 1877–1882, t. VII [sept 1766]):

“We recently made a loss that deserves to be noticed. Miss <mask> de Malboissière has just died at the flower of her age. She was about eighteen or nineteen years old. […] She was already famous in Paris for her knowledge. She understood and perfectly understood seven languages, namely: Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, German and English; she spoke modern languages perfectly.Her parents are said to be inconsolable about the loss, and it's easy to understand." References

External sources
Gargam, <mask>e, "Geneviève <mask> (1746-1766): a young polygraph in the 18th century," in Between erudition and creation, dir. P. Hummel, Paris, Ed. Philologicum, 2013, p. 77-93. Sonnet, Martine, "The Knowledge of a Quality Young Lady: Geneviève <mask> <mask>issière." in Memoire dell 'Academia delle Scienze di Torino Classe di Scienze Morali storiche e filologiche, 3, 2000, vol. 24, p. 167-185.1746 births
1766 deaths
18th-century French writers
18th-century French women writers
18th-century French dramatists and playwrights
French women dramatists and playwrights
Writers from Paris

masks: Françoise Marie Jeanne Picquefeu de Long


type: original

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<mask> (3 June 1921 – 26 January 2007) was an Italian painter, production designer, illustrator, film director and animator. He was nominated for Academy Awards for two of his short films, La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) (1965) and Pulcinella (1973). Biography
He was born in Genoa and turned to drawing in 1938 when, as a son of a Jew (from the part of his father), his academic studies were interrupted by the introduction of the Fascist racial laws. He moved to Switzerland with his family and studied in Lausanne, where he obtained his degree at the local École des Beaux-Arts. He designed his first production of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba in 1944, a collaboration with his friends Alessandro Fersen, Aldo Trionfo and Guido Lopez. He returned to Italy after the war. His first work as an animator was the short film I paladini di Francia, together with Giulio Gianini, in 1960.He provided designs for the London Festival Ballet, the Chicago Opera House, the Vienna Staatsoper and the Glyndebourne Festival, including several Mozart productions and Verdi's Macbeth produced by Michael Hadjimischev in 1972. Luzzati was interested in tarot symbolism, which he used in scenographies for Fabrizio de André concerts in the 1990s. One of Luzzati's books (based on a theatre production) was, in the English-language version, Ronald and the Wizard Calico, a fairy tale in verse (translated English). The Picture Lion paperback edition (William Collins, London, 1973) is a paperback imprint of the Hutchinson Junior Books edition (1969), which credits the English translation to Hutchinson Junior Books, and cites Ugo Mursia Editore 1962 as the Italian language first published version. (The title in Italian is “I Paladini de Francia ovvero il tradimento di Gano di Maganza”, which translates literally as “The Paladins of France or the treachery of Gano of Maganz”.) This story is an ancient one / That minstrels often tell,
Of battles, love and treachery, / And magic things as well. The story (the English version, but with the same illustrations as the Italian original) of Ronald and the Wizard Calico, is about the knight, brave Captain Ronald, his valiant charger (a horse) called Fred, and Ronald's golden knights, who are the good guys, guarding the lovely Rosalie in their castle fort.Nearby, in a “lovely lake” Wizard Calico makes his (good) magic, and flies around on the back of his magic bluebird. However, “wicked green knights in green / [have] Crept up and hid behind a hill”. They plan to kidnap Rosalie and take her to become “the reluctant wife of Sultan Suhlimann”. Alas, Gano, a wicked traitor in Ronald's fort, makes his own magic, creating the illusion of another castle on a nearby hill: “At all the open windows there / Stood many lovely girls / With blue eyes and with hair which hung / In long and golden curls. / The damsels called to Ronald's knights / And asked round for tea, / So all the army marched away / And left poor Rosalie”. Gano opens the gates to the green knights, and rush away with Rosalie. “No doubt you'll have forgotten now / The Wizard Calico, / But luckily for everyone / He saw the traitor go.”

The plot thickens.More magic spells are cast; battle ensues; villains are brought to justice – and “Then Ronald married Rosalie, / As all had hoped he would. / So this tale has a happy end, / As all the best tales should ... / So there it is, a stirring tale, / As at the start I said. / But now it's time to close the book / And quietly go to bed”. (This antepenultimate page includes a gem-like image of Wizard Calico, himself, riding on the back of his magic bluebird, brandishing a flag with the word “END” – or “FINE” in the original Italian. Indeed!) The attractive and amusing illustrations, by <mask> Luzatti (the famous Twentieth century Italian-Swiss artist, theatre set and costume designer, film animator, and more), resemble a Punch and Judy booth and puppets, as if drawn and coloured by Georges Rouault, with a black-edged folk-naïve style and stained-glass window-like colours. (The Bayeux tapestry also comes to mind.)The third-last page in the original Italian is:
Viva Rinaldo, il vincitore, / viva la sposa sua, Biancofiore, / viva Ricardo e i paladini, / viva la chioccia col suoi pulcini, / viva il catello che non c’e piu, / viva il mago Urluberlu. [Literally, Viva, or Long live, or Hooray for Rinaldo, the winner, viva his bride, Biancifiore, viva Ricardo and his paladins or knights, long live the mother hen with her chicks, long live the chateau and there is more, long live the Urluberlu magician.] Abbasso i mori, abasso il sultano, morte, supplizio, tortura per Gano, chi vuol esser lieto sia, larga la foglia, lunga la via. [Literally, Down with the Moors, down with the Sultan; death, torture, torture to Gano, who wants be happy, the leaf wide, long the way.] The original Italian story was also in simple rhymed verse, and seems to have been about a beautiful maiden called Biancofiore – Whiteflower, or Blanche – and her brave hero, Captain Rinaldo, and Ricardo and his paladins – the term used for Christian knights engaged in Crusades against the Saracens and Moore. Against these good people are the wicked Moors – North African Muslims and Arabs – and their Sultan. The catalyst for victory seems to have been the magician called Urlubulu, who may have had help from a mother hen and her chickens, possibly also magic.Clearly the English translators, using the original illustrations, and the basic rhyme patterns, have slightly simplified the plot, and eliminated the Christians-versus-Muslim-Moors conflict, replacing it with gold versus green. In other words, we have a retelling, or re-imagining of one of the legends of Roland, the famous French knight, or paladin, who fought the Moors, as they were known, in Spain, and, famously, stopped the conquest of France, as recorded in the verse saga, The Song of Roland, or La Chanson de Roland, and the legendary hero of the Orlando stories, such as Orlando Furioso, retold, or re-imagined for children. Scenografo, Genoa, Tormena,1996

External links
  Luzzati Museum in Genoa

Obituary - The Guardian
Obituary - La Repubblica

1921 births
2007 deaths
20th-century Italian Jews
20th-century Italian artists
20th-century Italian painters
20th-century male artists
Italian male painters
Italian scenic designers
Italian illustrators
Italian animators
Italian animated film directors
Jewish painters
People from Alessandria
Italian expatriates in Switzerland

masks:
Emanuele Luzzati
Emanuele


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<mask> (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of Late Night with <mask>man on NBC, and ending with the May 20, 2015, broadcast of Late Show with <mask>man on CBS. In total, Letterman hosted 6,080 episodes of Late Night and Late Show, surpassing his friend and mentor Johnny Carson as the longest-serving late night talk show host in American television history. In 1996, <mask> was ranked 45th on TV Guides 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. In 2002, The Late Show with <mask>man was ranked seventh on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. He is also a television and film producer. His company, Worldwide Pants, produced his shows as well as The Late Late Show and several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was Everybody Loves Raymond, now in syndication.Several late-night hosts have cited <mask>'s influence, including Conan O'Brien (his successor on Late Night), Stephen Colbert (his successor on The Late Show), Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, and Seth Meyers. <mask> currently hosts the Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with <mask>. Early life and career
<mask> was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1947, and has two sisters, one older and one younger. His father, Harry Joseph <mask> (April 15, 1915 – February 13, 1973), was a florist. His mother, Dorothy Marie <mask> Mengering (née Hofert; July 18, 1921 – April 11, 2017), a church secretary for the Second Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis, was an occasional figure on Letterman's show, usually at holidays and birthdays. <mask> grew up on the north side of Indianapolis, in the Broad Ripple area, about 12 miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He enjoyed collecting model cars, including racers.In 2000, he told an interviewer for Esquire that, while growing up, he admired his father's ability to tell jokes and be the life of the party. Harry Joseph <mask> survived a heart attack at the age of 36 when <mask> was a young boy. The fear of losing his father was constantly with Letterman as he grew up. The elder <mask> died of a second heart attack in 1973, at the age of 57. Letterman attended his hometown's Broad Ripple High School and worked as a stock boy at the local Atlas Supermarket. According to the Ball State Daily News, he originally wanted to attend Indiana University, but his grades were not good enough, so he instead attended Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana. He is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, and graduated in 1969 from what was then the Department of Radio and Television.A self-described average student, <mask> later endowed a scholarship for what he called "C students" at Ball State. Though he registered for the draft and passed his physical after graduating from college, he was not drafted for service in Vietnam because he received a draft lottery number of 346 (out of 366). Letterman began his broadcasting career as an announcer and newscaster at the college's student-run radio station—WBST—a 10-watt campus station that is now part of Indiana Public Radio. He was fired for treating classical music with irreverence. He then became involved with the founding of another campus station—WAGO-AM 570 (now WCRD, 91.3). He credits Paul Dixon, host of the Paul Dixon Show, a Cincinnati-based talk show also shown in Indianapolis while he was growing up, for inspiring his choice of career:
I was just out of college [in 1969], and I really didn't know what I wanted to do. And then all of a sudden I saw him doing it [on TV].And I thought: That's really what I want to do! Weatherman
Soon after graduating from Ball State in 1969, Letterman began his career as a radio talk show host on WNTS (AM) and on Indianapolis television station WLWI (which changed its call sign to WTHR in 1976) as an anchor and weatherman. He received some attention for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included congratulating a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane and predicting hailstones "the size of canned hams." He also occasionally reported the weather and the day's very high and low temps for fictitious cities ("Eight inches of snow in Bingree and surrounding areas"), on another occasion saying that the state border between Indiana and Ohio had been erased when a satellite map accidentally omitted it, attributing it to dirty political dealings. ("The higher-ups have removed the border between Indiana and Ohio, making it one giant state. Personally, I'm against it. I don't know what to do about it.")He also starred in a local kiddie show, made wisecracks as host of a late-night TV show called "Freeze-Dried Movies" (he once acted out a scene from Godzilla using plastic dinosaurs), and hosted a talk show that aired early on Saturday mornings called Clover Power, in which he interviewed 4-H members about their projects. In 1971, Letterman appeared as a pit road reporter for ABC Sports' tape-delayed coverage of the Indianapolis 500, which was his first nationally telecast appearance (WLWI was the local ABC affiliate at the time). He was initially introduced as Chris Economaki, but this was corrected at the end of the interview (Jim McKay announced his name as <mask>). Letterman interviewed Mario Andretti, who had just crashed out of the race. Move to Los Angeles

In 1975, encouraged by his then-wife Michelle and several of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, Letterman moved to Los Angeles, California, with the hope of becoming a comedy writer. He and Michelle packed their belongings in his pickup truck and headed west. As of 2012, he still owned the truck.In Los Angeles, he began performing comedy at The Comedy Store. Jimmie Walker saw him on stage; with an endorsement from George Miller, Letterman joined a group of comedians whom Walker hired to write jokes for his stand-up act, a group that at various times also included Jay Leno, Paul Mooney, Robert Schimmel, Richard Jeni, Louie Anderson, Elayne Boosler, Byron Allen, Jack Handey, and Steve Oedekerk. By the summer of 1977, <mask> was a writer and regular on the six-week summer series The Starland Vocal Band Show, broadcast on CBS. He hosted a 1977 pilot for a game show called The Riddlers (which was never picked up), and co-starred in the Barry Levinson-produced comedy special Peeping Times, which aired in January 1978. Later that year, <mask> was a cast member on Mary Tyler Moore's variety show, Mary. He made a guest appearance on Mork & Mindy (as a parody of EST leader Werner Erhard) and appearances on game shows such as The $20,000 Pyramid, The Gong Show, Hollywood Squares, Password Plus, and Liar's Club, as well as the Canadian cooking show Celebrity Cooks (November 1977), talk shows such as 90 Minutes Live (February 24 and April 14, 1978), and The Mike Douglas Show (April 3, 1979 and February 7, 1980). He was also screen tested for the lead role in the 1980 film Airplane!, a role that eventually went to Robert Hays.<mask>'s brand of dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of scouts for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and he was soon a regular guest on the show. He became a favorite of Carson and was a regular guest host for the show beginning in 1978. Letterman credits Carson as the person who influenced his career the most. NBC

Morning show

On June 23, 1980, <mask> was given his own morning comedy show on NBC, The David Letterman Show. It was originally 90 minutes long but was shortened to 60 minutes in August 1980. The show was a critical success, winning two Emmy Awards, but was a ratings disappointment and was canceled, the last show airing October 24, 1980. Late Night with <mask>man

NBC kept <mask> on its payroll to try him in a different time slot.Late Night with <mask>man debuted February 1, 1982; the first guest was Bill Murray. Murray went on to become one of Letterman's most recurrent guests, guesting on his later CBS show's celebration of his 30th anniversary in late-night television, which aired January 31, 2012, and on the final CBS show, which aired May 20, 2015. The show ran Monday through Thursday nights at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time, immediately following The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (a Friday night broadcast was added in June 1987). It was seen as edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following (particularly among college students). <mask>'s reputation as an acerbic interviewer was borne out in verbal sparring matches with Cher (who even called him an "asshole" on the show), Shirley MacLaine, Charles Grodin, and Madonna. The show also featured comedy segments and running characters, in a style heavily influenced by the 1950s and 1960s programs of Steve Allen. The show often featured quirky, genre-mocking regular features, including "Stupid Pet Tricks" (which had its origins on Letterman's morning show), Stupid Human Tricks, dropping various objects off the roof of a five-story building, demonstrations of unorthodox clothing (such as suits made of Alka-Seltzer, Velcro and suet), a recurring Top 10 list, the Monkey-Cam (and the Audience Cam), a facetious letter-answering segment, several "Film[s] by My Dog Bob" in which a camera was mounted on <mask>'s own dog (often with comic results) and Small Town News, all of which moved with <mask> to CBS.Other episodes included <mask> using a bullhorn to interrupt a live interview on The Today Show on August 19, 1985, announcing that he was the NBC News president Lawrence K. Grossman and that he was not wearing any pants; walking across the hall to Studio 6B, at the time the news studio for WNBC-TV, and interrupting Al Roker's weather segments during Live at Five; and staging "elevator races", complete with commentary by NBC Sports' Bob Costas. In one appearance, in 1982, Andy Kaufman (who was wearing a neck brace) appeared with professional wrestler Jerry Lawler, who slapped and knocked the comedian to the ground (Lawler and Kaufman's friend Bob Zmuda later revealed that the incident was staged). CBS

Late Show with <mask>man

In 1992, Johnny Carson retired and many fans believed that <mask> would become host of The Tonight Show. When NBC instead gave the job to Jay Leno, <mask> departed NBC to host his own late-night show on CBS, opposite The Tonight Show at 11:30 p.m., called the Late Show with <mask>. The new show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was taped at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater, where Ed Sullivan broadcast his eponymous variety series from 1948 to 1971. For <mask>'s arrival, CBS spent $8 million in renovations. CBS also signed <mask> to a three-year, $14 million/year contract, doubling his Late Night salary.But while the expectation was that <mask> would retain his unique style and sense of humor with the move, Late Show was not an exact replica of his old NBC program. The monologue was lengthened. Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band followed Letterman to CBS, but they added a brass section and were rebranded the CBS Orchestra (at Shaffer's request); a small band had been mandated by Carson while Letterman occupied the 12:30 slot. Additionally, because of intellectual property disagreements, <mask> was unable to import many of his Late Night segments verbatim, but he sidestepped this problem by simply renaming them (the "Top Ten List" became the "Late Show Top Ten", "Viewer Mail" became the "CBS Mailbag", etc.). Time magazine wrote, "<mask>'s innovation ... gained power from its rigorous formalism"; as his biographer Jason Zinoman puts it, he was "a fascinatingly disgruntled eccentric trapped inside a more traditional talk show." Popularity
The  Late Show's main competitor was NBC's The Tonight Show, which Jay Leno hosted for 22 years, except from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, when Conan O'Brien hosted. In 1993 and 1994, the Late Show consistently gained higher ratings than The Tonight Show.But in 1995, ratings dipped and Leno's show consistently beat <mask>'s in the ratings from the time that Hugh Grant came on Leno's show after Grant's arrest for soliciting a prostitute. Leno typically attracted about five million nightly viewers between 1999 and 2009. The Late Show lost nearly half its audience during its competition with Leno, attracting 7.1 million viewers nightly in its 1993–94 season and about 3.8 million per night as of Leno's departure in 2009. In the final months of his first stint as host of The Tonight Show, Leno beat <mask> in the ratings by a 1.3 million-viewer margin (5.2 million to 3.9 million), and Nightline and the Late Show were virtually tied. Once O'Brien took over Tonight, Letterman closed the gap in the ratings. O'Brien initially drove the median age of Tonight Show viewers from 55 to 45, with most older viewers opting to watch the Late Show instead. After Leno returned to The Tonight Show, Leno regained his lead.<mask>'s shows have garnered both critical and industry praise, receiving 67 Emmy Award nominations, winning 12 times in his first 20 years in late night television. From 1993 to 2009, <mask> ranked higher than Leno in the annual Harris Poll of Nation's Favorite TV Personality 12 times. For example, in 2003 and 2004 <mask> ranked second in that poll, behind only Oprah Winfrey, a year that Leno was ranked fifth. Leno was higher than <mask> on that poll three times during the same period, in 1998, 2007, and 2008. Hosting the Academy Awards
On March 27, 1995, <mask> hosted the 67th Academy Awards ceremony. Critics blasted what they deemed his poor performance, noting that his irreverent style undermined the traditional importance and glamor of the event. In a joke about their unusual names (inspired by a celebrated comic essay in The New Yorker, "Yma Dream" by Thomas Meehan), he started off by introducing Uma Thurman to Oprah Winfrey, and then both of them to Keanu Reeves: "Oprah...Uma.Uma...Oprah," "Have you kids met Keanu?" This and many of his other jokes fell flat. Although Letterman attracted the highest ratings to the annual telecast since 1983, many felt that the bad publicity he generated caused a decline in the Late Shows ratings. <mask> recycled the apparent debacle into a long-running gag. On his first show after the Oscars, he joked, "Looking back, I had no idea that thing was being televised." He lampooned his stint two years later, during Billy Crystal's opening Oscar skit, which also parodied the plane-crashing scenes from that year's chief nominated film, The English Patient. For years afterward, Letterman recounted his hosting the Oscars, although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continued to hold <mask> in high regard and invited him to host the Oscars again.On September 7, 2010, he made an appearance on the premiere of the 14th season of The View, and confirmed that he had been considered for hosting again. Heart surgery hiatus
On January 14, 2000, a routine check-up revealed that an artery in <mask>'s heart was severely obstructed. He was rushed to emergency surgery for a quintuple bypass at New York Presbyterian Hospital. During the initial weeks of his recovery, reruns of the Late Show were shown and introduced by friends of Letterman including Norm Macdonald, Drew Barrymore, Ray Romano, Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Megan Mullally, Bill Murray, Regis Philbin, Charles Grodin, Nathan Lane, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, Jerry Seinfeld, Martin Short, Steven Seagal, Hillary Clinton, Danny DeVito, Steve Martin, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Subsequently, while still recovering from surgery, Letterman revived the late-night talk show tradition of "guest hosts" that had virtually disappeared on network television during the 1990s, allowing Bill Cosby, Kathie Lee Gifford, Dana Carvey, Janeane Garofalo, and others to host new episodes of the Late Show.

masks:
David Michael Letterman
David Letter
David Letter
Letterman
David Letter
Letterman
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David Letterman
Letterman
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Letterman
Letterman
David
Letterman
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Dave Letterman
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David Letter
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David Letter
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David Letter
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David Letterman
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 Upon his return to the show on February 21, 2000, Letterman brought all but one of the doctors and nurses on stage who had participated in his surgery and recovery (with extra teasing of a nurse who had given him bed baths—"This woman gave me a bath! "), including Dr. O. Wayne Isom and physician Louis Aronne, who frequently appeared on the show.In a show of emotion, <mask> was nearly in tears as he thanked the health care team with the words "These are the people who saved my life!" The episode earned an Emmy nomination. For a number of episodes, <mask> continued to crack jokes about his bypass, including saying, "Bypass surgery: it's when doctors surgically create new blood flow to your heart. A bypass is what happened to me when I didn't get The Tonight Show! It's a whole different thing." In a later running gag, he lobbied Indiana to rename the freeway circling Indianapolis (I-465) "The David Letterman Bypass". He also featured a montage of faux news coverage of his bypass surgery, which included a clip of <mask>'s heart for sale on the Home Shopping Network.Letterman became friends with his doctors and nurses. In 2008, a Rolling Stone interview stated he hosted a doctor and nurse who'd helped perform the emergency quintuple-bypass heart surgery that saved his life in 2000. 'These are people who were complete strangers when they opened my chest,' he says. 'And now, eight years later, they're among my best friends.' Additionally, Letterman invited the band Foo Fighters to play "Everlong", introducing them as "my favorite band, playing my favorite song." During <mask>'s last show, on which Foo Fighters appeared, <mask> said that Foo Fighters had been in the middle of a South American tour which they canceled to come play on his comeback episode. Letterman again handed over the reins of the show to several guest hosts (including Bill Cosby, Brad Garrett, Whoopi Goldberg, Elvis Costello, John McEnroe, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, Bonnie Hunt, Luke Wilson, and bandleader Paul Shaffer) in February 2003, when he was diagnosed with a severe case of shingles.Later that year, <mask> made regular use of guest hosts—including Tom Arnold and Kelsey Grammer—for new shows broadcast on Fridays. In March 2007, Adam Sandler, who had been scheduled to be the lead guest, served as a guest host while <mask> was ill with a stomach virus. Re-signing with CBS

In March 2002, as <mask>'s contract with CBS neared expiration, ABC offered him the time slot for long-running news program Nightline with Ted Koppel. <mask> was interested, as he believed he could never match Leno's ratings at CBS due to <mask>'s complaint of weaker lead-ins from the network's late local news programs, but was reluctant to replace Koppel. He addressed his decision to re-sign on the air, stating that he was content at CBS and that he had great respect for Koppel. On December 4, 2006, CBS revealed that Letterman signed a new contract to host Late Show with <mask>man through the fall of 2010. "I'm thrilled to be continuing on at CBS," said <mask>."At my age you really don't want to have to learn a new commute." Letterman further joked about the subject by pulling up his right pants leg, revealing a tattoo, presumably temporary, of the ABC logo. "Thirteen years ago, <mask>man put CBS late night on the map and in the process became one of the defining icons of our network," said Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corporation. "His presence on our air is an ongoing source of pride, and the creativity and imagination that the Late Show puts forth every night is an ongoing display of the highest quality entertainment. We are truly honored that one of the most revered and talented entertainers of our time will continue to call CBS 'home.'" According to a 2007 article in Forbes magazine, Letterman earned $40 million a year. A 2009 article in The New York Times, however, said his salary was estimated at $32 million.In June 2009, Letterman's Worldwide Pants and CBS reached an agreement to continue the Late Show until at least August 2012. The previous contract had been set to expire in 2010, and the two-year extension was shorter than the typical three-year contract period negotiated in the past. Worldwide Pants agreed to lower its fee for the show, though it had remained a "solid moneymaker for CBS" under the previous contract. On the February 3, 2011, edition of the Late Show, during an interview with Howard Stern, <mask> said he would continue to do his talk show for "maybe two years, I think." In April 2012, CBS announced it had extended its contract with <mask> through 2014. His contract was subsequently extended to 2015. Retirement from Late Show
During the taping of his show on April 3, 2014, <mask> announced that he had informed CBS president Leslie Moonves that he would retire from hosting Late Show by May 20, 2015.Later in his retirement <mask> occasionally stated, in jest, that he had been fired. It was announced soon after that comedian and political satirist Stephen Colbert would succeed <mask>. <mask>'s last episode aired on May 20, 2015, and opened with a presidential sendoff featuring four of the five living American presidents, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, each mimicking the late president Gerald Ford's statement "Our long national nightmare is over." It also featured cameos from The Simpsons and Wheel of Fortune (the latter with a puzzle saying "Good riddance to <mask>"), a Top Ten List of "things I wish I could have said to <mask>" performed by regular guests including Alec Baldwin, Barbara Walters, Steve Martin, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, Chris Rock, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Peyton Manning, Tina Fey, and Bill Murray, and closed with a montage of scenes from both his CBS and NBC series set to a live performance of "Everlong" by Foo Fighters. The final episode of Late Show with <mask>man was watched by 13.76 million viewers in the United States with an audience share of 9.3/24, earning the show its highest ratings since following the 1994 Winter Olympics on February 25, 1994, and the show's highest demo numbers (4.1 in adults 25–54 and 3.1 in adults 18–49) since Oprah Winfrey's first Late Show appearance following the ending of her feud with <mask> on December 1, 2005. Bill Murray, who had been his first guest on Late Night, was his final guest on Late Show. In a rarity for a late-night show, it was also the highest-rated program on network television that night, beating out all prime-time shows.In total, <mask> hosted 6,080 episodes of Late Night and Late Show, surpassing friend and mentor Johnny Carson as the longest-serving late-night talk show host in U.S. television history. Post-Late Show

In the months following the end of Late Show, <mask> was seen occasionally at sports events such as the Indianapolis 500, during which he submitted to an interview with a local publication. He made a surprise appearance on stage in San Antonio, Texas, when he was invited up for an extended segment during Steve Martin's and Martin Short's A Very Stupid Conversation show, saying "I retired, and...I have no regrets," Letterman told the crowd after walking on stage. "I was happy. I'll make actual friends. I was complacent. I was satisfied.I was content, and then a couple of days ago Donald Trump said he was running for president. I have made the biggest mistake of my life, ladies and gentlemen" and then delivering a Top Ten List roasting Trump's presidential campaign followed by an onstage conversation with Martin and Short. Cellphone recordings of the appearance were posted on YouTube by audience members and widely reported in the media. In 2016, <mask> joined the climate change documentary show Years of Living Dangerously as one of its celebrity correspondents. In season two's premiere episode, Letterman traveled to India to investigate the country's efforts to expand its inadequate energy grid, power its booming economy, and bring electricity to 300 million citizens for the first time. He also interviewed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and traveled to rural villages where power is a scarce luxury and explored the United States' role in India's energy future. On April 7, 2017, Letterman gave the induction speech for the band Pearl Jam into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame at a ceremony held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City.Also in 2017, <mask> and Alec Baldwin co-hosted The Essentials on Turner Classic Movies. <mask> and Baldwin introduced seven films for the series. Netflix
In 2018, Letterman began hosting a six-episode monthly series of hour-long programs on Netflix consisting of long-form interviews and field segments. The show, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with <mask>, premiered January 12, 2018, with Barack Obama as its first guest. The second season premiered on May 31, 2019. Season 3 premiered on October 21, 2020, and includes Kim Kardashian West, Robert Downey Jr., Dave Chappelle and Lizzo as guests. Notable exchanges and incidents

 NBC and Johnny Carson
In spite of Johnny Carson's clear intention to pass his title to <mask>, NBC selected Jay Leno to host The Tonight Show after Carson's departure.<mask> maintained a close relationship with Carson through his break with NBC. Three years after he left for CBS, HBO produced a made-for-television movie called The Late Shift, based on a book by The New York Times reporter Bill Carter, chronicling the battle between <mask> and Leno for the Tonight Show hosting spot. Carson later made a few cameo appearances as a guest on <mask>'s show. Carson's final television appearance was on May 13, 1994, on a Late Show episode taped in Los Angeles, when he made a surprise appearance during a Top 10 list segment. In early 2005, it was revealed that Carson occasionally sent jokes to <mask>, who used them in his monologue; according to CBS senior vice president Peter Lassally (a onetime producer for both men), Carson got "a big kick out of it." <mask> would do a characteristic Carson golf swing after delivering one of his jokes. In a tribute to Carson, all the opening monologue jokes during the first show after Carson's death were by Carson.Lassally also claimed that Carson had always believed <mask>, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor". During the early years of the Late Shows run, <mask> occasionally used some of Carson's trademark bits, including "Carnac the Magnificent" (with Paul Shaffer as Carnac), "Stump the Band", and the "Week in Review". Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey appeared on <mask>'s show when he was hosting NBC's Late Night on May 2, 1989. After that appearance, the two had a 16-year feud that arose, as Winfrey explained to <mask> after it had been resolved, as a result of the acerbic tone of their 1989 interview, of which she said that it "felt so uncomfortable to me that I didn't want to have that experience again". The feud apparently ended on December 2, 2005, when Winfrey appeared on CBS's Late Show with <mask>man in an event <mask> jokingly called "the Super Bowl of Love". Winfrey and <mask> also appeared together in a Late Show promo aired during CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLI in February 2007, with the two sitting next to each other on a couch watching the game. Since the game was played between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, the Indianapolis-born Letterman wore a Peyton Manning jersey, while Winfrey, whose show was taped in Chicago, wore a Brian Urlacher jersey.On September 10, 2007, <mask> made his first appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Three years later, during CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLIV between the Colts and the New Orleans Saints, the two appeared again in a Late Show promo, this time with Winfrey sitting on a couch between <mask> and Leno. Letterman wore the retired  70 jersey of Art Donovan, a member of the Colts' Hall of Fame and a regular <mask> guest. The appearance was <mask>'s idea: Leno flew to New York City on an NBC corporate jet, sneaking into the Ed Sullivan Theater during the Late Shows February 4 taping wearing a disguise and meeting Winfrey and <mask> at a living room set created in the theater's balcony, where they taped their promo. Winfrey interviewed <mask> in January 2013 on Oprah's Next Chapter. They discussed their feud and Winfrey revealed that she had had a "terrible experience" while appearing on <mask>'s show years earlier. Letterman could not recall the incident but apologized.2007–2008 writers' strike
Late Show went off air for eight weeks in 2007 during November and December because of the Writers Guild of America strike. Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, was the first company to make an individual agreement with the WGA, allowing his show to come back on the air on January 2, 2008. In his first episode back, he surprised the audience with a newly grown beard, which signified solidarity with the strike. His beard was shaved off during the show on January 7, 2008. Palin joke
On June 8 and 9, 2009, Letterman told two sexually themed jokes about a daughter (never named) of Sarah Palin on his TV show. These included a statutory rape joke about Palin's then 14-year-old daughter, Willow, and MLB player Alexander Rodriguez Palin was in New York City at the time with Willow, and none of her other children were at the game. Some contemporaries questioned the racial connotations of joking about a Latino player of Dominican descent committing statutory rape.In a statement posted on the Internet, Palin said, "I doubt [<mask> would] ever dare make such comments about anyone else's daughter" and that "laughter incited by sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is disgusting." On his June 10 show, <mask> responded to the controversy, saying the jokes were meant to be about Palin's 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, whose pregnancy as an unmarried teenager had caused some controversy during the United States presidential election of 2008. "These are not jokes made about [Palin's] 14-year-old daughter ... I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl." His remarks did not end public criticism. The National Organization for Women (NOW) released a statement supporting Palin, noting that <mask> had made "[only] something of an apology." When the controversy failed to subside, <mask> addressed the issue again on his June 15 show, faulting himself for the error and apologizing "especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke."Rodriguez demanded an apology for implying that he was a child molester. Letterman never specifically apologized to Rodriguez. Al-Qaeda death threat
On August 17, 2011, it was reported that an Islamist militant had posted a death threat against <mask> on a website frequented by Al-Qaeda supporters, calling on American Muslims to kill him for making a joke about the death of Ilyas Kashmiri, an Al-Qaeda leader who was killed in a June 2011 drone strike in Pakistan. In his August 22 show, Letterman joked about the threat, saying "State Department authorities are looking into this. They're not taking this lightly. They're looking into it. They're questioning, they're interrogating, there's an electronic trail—but everybody knows it's Leno."Appearances in other media

<mask> appeared in the pilot episode of the short-lived 1986 series Coach Toast, and appears with a bag over his head as a guest on Bonnie Hunt's 1990s sitcom The Building. He appeared in The Simpsons as himself in a couch gag when the Simpsons find themselves (and the couch) in Late Night with <mask>. He had a cameo in the feature film Cabin Boy, with Chris Elliott, who

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 worked as a writer for Letterman. In this and other appearances, <mask> is listed in the credits as "Earl Hofert", the name of <mask>'s maternal grandfather. He also appeared as himself in the Howard Stern biographical film Private Parts and the 1999 Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon, in a few episodes of Garry Shandling's 1990s TV series The Larry Sanders Show, and in "The Abstinence", a 1996 episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. Letterman provided vocals for the Warren Zevon song "Hit Somebody" from My Ride's Here, and provided the voice for Butt-head's father in the 1996 animated film Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, again credited as Earl Hofert. Letterman was the focus of The Avengers on "Late Night with <mask>man", issue 239 (January 1984) of the Marvel comic book series The Avengers, in which the title characters (specifically Hawkeye, Wonder Man, Black Widow, Beast, and Black Panther) are guests on Late Night.A parody of Letterman named <mask> is gassed to death along with his bandleader, Paul, and their audience in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. In SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, Letterman was parodied as "<mask>tterbin". <mask> appears in issues 13–14 and 18 of Harvey Pekar's autobiographical comic book American Splendor. Those issues show Pekar's accounts of appearances on Late Night. In 2010, a documentary directed by Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina, Dying to do Letterman, was released, featuring Steve Mazan, a standup comic, who has cancer and wants to appear on Letterman's show. The film won best documentary and jury awards at the Cinequest Film Festival. Mazan published a book of the same name (full title Dying to Do Letterman: Turning Someday into Today) about his own saga.Letterman appeared as a guest on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight on May 29, 2012, when he was interviewed by Regis Philbin, the guest host and <mask>'s longtime friend. Philbin again interviewed <mask> (and Shaffer) while guest-hosting CBS's The Late Late Show (between the tenures of Craig Ferguson and James Corden) on January 27, 2015. In June 2013, <mask> appeared in the second episode of season two of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. On November 5, 2013, he and Bruce McCall published a fiction satire book, This Land Was Made for You and Me (But Mostly Me), . In Week 13 of the 2021 NFL season, <mask> joined Peyton and Eli Manning on their ESPN2 feed of the Monday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills. Letterman mocked Bill Belichick after he was caught on camera wiping his nose with his shirt and was in the middle of recalling being with Roger Goodell when Goodell was booed at the unveiling of Peyton Manning's statue in Indianapolis when ESPN suddenly cut to commercials. On January 25, 2022, current Late Night host Seth Meyers announced that <mask> would be the guest on the February 1 show, marking the 40th anniversary of the franchise's debut.Business ventures

Letterman started his production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated, which produced his show and several others, in 1991. The company also produces feature films and documentaries and founded its own record label, Clear Entertainment. Worldwide Pants received significant attention in December 2007 after it was announced that it had independently negotiated its own contract with the Writers Guild of America, East, thus allowing Letterman, Craig Ferguson, and their writers to return to work, while the union continued its strike against production companies, networks, and studios with whom it had not yet reached agreements. <mask>, Bobby Rahal, and Mike Lanigan co-own Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, an auto racing team competing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and NTT IndyCar series. The team has twice won the Indianapolis 500: in 2004 with driver Buddy Rice, and in 2020 with Takuma Sato. The Letterman Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming is a private foundation through which Letterman has donated millions of dollars to charities and other nonprofit organizations in Indiana and Montana, celebrity-affiliated organizations such as Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, Ball State University, the American Cancer Society, the Salvation Army, and Médecins Sans Frontières. Influences
Letterman's biggest influence and mentor was Johnny Carson.Other comedians who influenced Letterman were Paul Dixon, Steve Allen, Jonathan Winters, Garry Moore, Jack Paar, Don Rickles, and <mask>. Although Ernie Kovacs has also been mentioned as an influence, Letterman has denied this. Comedians influenced by Letterman include Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Ray Romano, Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, Arsenio Hall, Larry Wilmore, Seth Meyers, Norm Macdonald, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, and James Corden. Personal life

Letterman suffers from tinnitus, a symptom of hearing loss. On the Late Show in 1996, he talked about his experience with tinnitus during an interview with William Shatner, who has severe tinnitus caused by an on-set explosion. Letterman has said that he was initially unable to pinpoint the noise inside his head and that he hears a constant ringing in his ears. Letterman no longer drinks alcohol.On more than one occasion, he said that he had once been a "horrible alcoholic" and had begun drinking around the age of 13 and continued until 1981 when he was 34. He has said that in 1981, "I was drunk 80% of the time ... I loved it. I was one of those guys, I looked around, and everyone else had stopped drinking and I couldn't understand why." When he was shown drinking what appears to be alcohol on Late Night or the Late Show, it was actually apple juice. In 2015, Letterman said of his anxiety: "For years and years and years—30, 40 years—I was anxious and hypochondriacal and an alcoholic, and many, many other things that made me different from other people." He became calmer through a combination of Transcendental Meditation and low doses of medication.<mask> is a Presbyterian, a religious tradition he was originally brought up in by his mother, though he once said he was motivated by "Lutheran, Midwestern guilt". Marriages, relationships, and family
On July 2, 1968, <mask> married his college sweetheart, Michelle Cook, in Muncie, Indiana; they divorced by October 1977. He also had a long-term cohabiting relationship with the former head writer and producer on Late Night, Merrill Markoe, from 1978 to 1988. Markoe created several Late Night staples, such as "Stupid Pet/Human Tricks". Time magazine wrote that theirs was the defining relationship of <mask>'s career, with Markoe also acting as his writing partner. She "put the surrealism in Letterman's comedy." <mask> and Regina Lasko started dating in February 1986, while he was still living with Markoe.Lasko gave birth to their son, Harry Joseph <mask>, on November 3, 2003. Harry is named after Letterman's father. In 2005, police discovered a plot to kidnap Letterman's son and demand a $5 million ransom. Kelly Frank, a house painter who had worked for Letterman, was charged in the conspiracy. <mask> and Lasko wed on March 19, 2009, in a quiet courthouse civil ceremony in Choteau, Montana, where he had purchased a ranch in 1999. Letterman announced the marriage during the taping of his show of March 23, shortly after congratulating Bruce Willis on his marriage the week before. Letterman told the audience he nearly missed the ceremony because his truck became stuck in mud two miles from their house.The family resides in North Salem, New York, on a  estate. Extortion attempt and revelation of affairs
On October 1, 2009, <mask> announced on his show that he had been the victim of a blackmail attempt by a person threatening to reveal his sexual relationships with several of his female employees—a fact Letterman immediately thereafter confirmed. He said that someone had left a package in his car with material he said he would write into a screenplay and a book if Letterman did not pay him $2 million. <mask> said that he contacted the Manhattan District Attorney's office and partook in a sting operation that involved the handover of a fake check to the extortionist. Joe Halderman, a producer of the CBS news magazine television series 48 Hours, was arrested around noon (EST) on October 1, 2009, after trying to deposit the check. He was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury following testimony from Letterman and pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted grand larceny on October 2, 2009. Halderman pleaded guilty in March 2010 and was sentenced to six months in prison, followed by probation and community service.A central figure in the case and one of the women with whom Letterman had had a sexual relationship was his longtime personal assistant Stephanie Birkitt, who often appeared on the show. She had also worked for 48 Hours. Until a month before the revelations, she had shared a residence with Halderman, who allegedly had copied her personal diary and used it, along with private emails, in the blackmail package. In the days following the initial announcement of the affairs and the arrest, several prominent women, including Kathie Lee Gifford, co-host of NBC's Today Show, and NBC news anchor Ann Curry, questioned whether Letterman's affairs with subordinates created an unfair working environment. A spokesman for Worldwide Pants said that the company's sexual harassment policy did not prohibit sexual relationships between managers and employees. According to business news reporter Eve Tahmincioglu, "CBS suppliers are supposed to follow the company's business conduct policies" and the CBS 2008 Business Conduct Statement states that "If a consenting romantic or sexual relationship between a supervisor and a direct or indirect subordinate should develop, CBS requires the supervisor to disclose this information to his or her Company's Human Resources Department". On October 3, 2009, a former CBS employee, Holly Hester, announced that she and Letterman had engaged in a yearlong secret affair in the early 1990s while she was his intern and a student at New York University.On October 5, 2009, <mask> devoted a segment of his show to a public apology to his wife and staff. Three days later, Worldwide Pants announced that Birkitt had been placed on a "paid leave of absence" from the Late Show. On October 15, CBS News announced that the company's chief investigative correspondent, Armen Keteyian, had been assigned to conduct an "in-depth investigation" into <mask>. Stalkers
Beginning in May 1988, Letterman was stalked by Margaret Mary Ray, a woman suffering from schizophrenia. She stole his Porsche, camped out on his tennis court, and repeatedly broke into his house. Her exploits drew national attention, with <mask> occasionally joking about her on his show, though he never named her. After she killed herself at age 46 in October 1998, <mask> told The New York Times that he had great compassion for her.A spokesperson for Letterman said: "This is a sad ending to a confused life." In 2005 another person was able to obtain a restraining order from a New Mexico judge, prohibiting Letterman from contacting her. She claimed he had sent her coded messages via his television program, causing her bankruptcy and emotional distress.Judge Daniel Sanchez's restraining order, from the Volokh Conspiracy accessed 15 June 2019 Law professor Eugene Volokh called the case "patently frivolous". Interests
Letterman is a car enthusiast and owns an extensive collection. In 2012, it was reported that the collection consisted of ten Ferraris, eight Porsches, four Austin-Healeys, two Honda motorcycles, a Chevy pickup, and one car each from automakers Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, MG, Volvo, and Pontiac. In his 2013 appearance on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, part of Jerry Seinfeld's conversation with Letterman was filmed in Letterman's 1995 Volvo 960 station wagon, which is powered by a 380-horsepower racing engine. Paul Newman had the car built for Letterman.<mask> shares a close relationship with the rock and roll band Foo Fighters since its appearance on his first show upon his return from heart surgery. The band appeared many times on the Late Show, including a week-long stint in October 2014. While introducing the band's performance of "Miracle" on the show of October 17, 2014, <mask> told the story of how a souvenir video of himself and his four-year-old son learning to ski used the song as background music, unbeknownst to Letterman until he saw it. He stated: "This is the second song of theirs that will always have great, great meaning for me for the rest of my life". This was the first time the band had heard this story. Worldwide Pants co-produced Dave Grohl's Sonic Highways TV series. "<mask> was the first person to get behind this project," Grohl said.Filmography
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Awards, honors and legacyDavid Letterman Communication and Media BuildingOn September 7, 2007, Letterman visited his alma mater, Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, for the dedication of a communications facility named in his honor for his dedication to the university. The $21 million,  David Letterman Communication and Media Building opened for the 2007 fall semester. Thousands of Ball State students, faculty, and local residents welcomed Letterman back to Indiana. <mask>'s emotional speech touched on his struggles as a college student and his late father, and also included the "top ten good things about having your name on a building", finishing with "if reasonable people can put my name on a $21 million building, anything is possible." Over many years Letterman "has provided substantial assistance to [Ball State's] Department of Telecommunications, including an annual scholarship that bears his name." At the same time, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels gave <mask> a Sagamore of the Wabash award, which recognizes distinguished service to the state of Indiana.Awards and nominations'''

In his capacities as either a performer, producer, or as part of a writing team, <mask> is among the most nominated people in the history of the Emmy Awards, with 52 nominations, winning two Daytime Emmys and ten Primetime Emmys since 1981. He won four American Comedy Awards and in 2011 became the first recipient of the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence at The Comedy Awards.<mask> was a recipient of the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors, where he was called "one of the most influential personalities in the history of television, entertaining an entire generation of late-night viewers with his unconventional wit and charm." On May 16, 2017, <mask> was named the next recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the award granted annually by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He received the prize in a ceremony on October 22, 2017. References

Further reading
 , "Book Review: The Legacy of <mask>, Icon of the Grizzled Generation" by Tom Carson, The New York Times'', April 10, 2017

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1947 births
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George Frederick "Foghorn or Calliope<mask> (August 15, 1864 – April 6, 1909) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1884 through 1896 for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys / Pirates, St. Louis Browns, and Louisville Colonels. In 1894, he was a player-manager for the Browns. Born in Brooklyn, <mask> entered minor league baseball at the age of 18 and advanced to the major leagues the next season. Primarily a catcher, <mask> shunned the protective equipment that was becoming standard for that position, and that made catching too physically demanding to do every day. As a result, on days when his team was resting him as a catcher, they used him almost anywhere else on the field. He became the first major league player to appear in 20 or more games at all eight non-pitching positions.After his last major league appearance in 1896, he was a minor league player, manager and part-owner at various points through 1903. Not much is known about the few years that <mask> spent in retirement from professional baseball. He died in Brooklyn of kidney disease in 1909. Early career
In 1883, an 18-year-old <mask> debuted in professional baseball with the Harrisburg squad in the Interstate Association. A year later, he made the major leagues with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys of the American Association (AA). He spent ten seasons in Pittsburgh, staying with the team in 1887 when the team joined the National League (NL), ultimately becoming known as the Pirates. In the AA, players and coaches often kept up lively chatter during the games, but <mask> was even more energetic than most of his peers.When Pittsburgh came to the NL, their opponents were often taken aback by the 5'6" catcher's steady stream of booming exclamations. His nickname, "<mask>", alluded to his hobby of dog breeding, but <mask> was sometimes also known as "Calliope" or "Foghorn" – references to his gruff voice and boisterous manner – especially early in his career. He became known for some characteristic mannerisms, including what sportswriter Hugh Fullerton described as "a funny little ballet girl kick" just before he swung the bat. <mask> could play almost any position on the field, but he was most comfortable as a catcher. However, overhand pitching had been introduced in professional baseball around the time that <mask>'s career started, and most catchers had started to wear protective equipment such as a chest protector. <mask>'s refusal to don the chest protector made that position more physically demanding, limiting his playing time at that position. While he could not catch every day, <mask>'s defense at any other position was often subpar."[<mask>] covered about as much ground as a woodshed, and threw to first like a drunkard with a cork leg," writer Len Washburn once said of a game in which <mask> played shortstop for Pittsburgh. Still, he became the first major league player to spend 20 or more games at each non-pitching position. Move to the National League
When the upstart Players' League emerged before the 1890 season, nearly all of Pittsburgh's roster moved over to the new league or to other teams; only <mask> and Billy Sunday remained on the NL team, so the roster was filled by minor league or semipro replacement players and the team finished 23–113 that year. With Pittsburgh that year, <mask> played in an extremely rare tripleheader; as of 2018, it is one of three times in baseball history that three games were played by the same teams on the same day. The hapless Pittsburgh team lost all three games to the Brooklyn squad; with Pittsburgh trailing by one run in the first game, <mask> hit a triple and was thrown out trying to stretch the triple into a home run. After the Players' League's lone season, players like Jake Beckley returned to the NL and Pittsburgh achieved a winning record within two seasons. In 1892, <mask>'s batting average was an unremarkable .254, but he was the hardest player in the league to strike out, batting 44.5 times for every time that he struck out.By 1893, he was struggling to hit well enough to stay in the major leagues. After 41 games that season, <mask> had a .182 batting average when he was demoted to the minor leagues. Playing for the Harrisburg Hustlers of the Pennsylvania State League, <mask> rebounded well, hitting .364 in 39 games. In 1894, looking at <mask>'s experience as a team captain and his improved performance once in the minor leagues the year before, St. Louis Browns owner Chris von der Ahe hired <mask> as a player-manager, adding him to the carousel of men who managed the team for a season or less in the 1890s. Von der Ahe, notorious for meddling in the field management of his teams, promised <mask> that he would not interfere. <mask> promised von der Ahe that he would avoid drinking. "Neither man was true to his word," researcher J. Thomas Hetrick wrote in a biography of von der Ahe.During one game that year, von der Ahe sent the team's official scorer down to the field to replace a hungover <mask> as manager for the day. <mask> did implement a stark change for the Browns shortly after taking the job. He thought that rifle shooting would help with eye–hand coordination, so he took his players to a shooting range each morning. On defense, <mask> began catching much less frequently; he played more often at third base and at a few other positions. When he was not on the field, <mask> performed in the Wild West show that von der Ahe had bought from Buck Taylor. His team finished 56–76–1. <mask> came back as a player in 1895, but von der Ahe hired Al Buckenberger to step in as manager.Later life
In 1896, <mask> spent the season with the Louisville Colonels, playing in 98 games that year. They released him after that season, and he signed with the Minneapolis Millers of the Western League for 1897. Early that year, newspaper reports held that Cap Anson was interested in signing him to a major league contract. However, <mask> played a full season for the Millers, hitting .338 and stealing 45 bases, and he never returned to the major leagues. His career statistics are mostly unremarkable, except that as of 2018 he ranks 12th all-time in career at-bat-to-strikeout ratio (33.7). <mask> finished his playing career with a two-year stint in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There, after he was ejected from a 1900 game, he accosted the umpire after the game and bloodied the umpire's face.<mask> was arrested and was fined $100 by the team, and a newspaper report speculated that he might not be allowed to play professionally anymore. He was allowed to continue playing with the Fort Wayne team through the 1901 season. In 1902, <mask> was co-owner and player-manager of the Saginaw White Sox (Saginaw, Michigan) of the Michigan State League during some unusual events that led to the team's relocation to another city in the middle of the season. <mask>'s co-owner, C. F. Baker of Fort Wayne, Indiana, failed to pay salaries, league fees and other bills. <mask> was said to have been an innocent victim of Baker's attempt to pocket extra money. In July 1902, <mask> had the team transferred to W. W. Todd of the drug company known as Waldron & Todd. Todd lived in Jackson, Michigan, and the team relocated there with its roster unaffected and with <mask> staying on as manager.<mask> managed and played for the Dayton Veterans of the new Central League in 1903. This appears to have been his last appearance in professional baseball. Relatively little is known about his life after that, though there is a reference to <mask> pursuing umpiring on some level. He died of kidney disease in his Brooklyn home in 1909. He was buried at Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery in Brooklyn. See also
List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders

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1864 births
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Pittsburgh Alleghenys players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Louisville Colonels players
St. Louis Browns (NL) players
Major League Baseball catchers
Major League Baseball outfielders
Major League Baseball third basemen
Baseball players from New York (state)
19th-century baseball players
Minor league baseball managers
Harrisburg (minor league baseball) players
Harrisburg Senators players
St. Paul Apostles players
St. Paul Saints (Western League) players
Omaha Omahogs players
St. Joseph Saints players
Fort Wayne Indians players
Reading Coal Heavers players
Fort Wayne Railroaders players
Saginaw White Sox players
Jackson White Sox players
Dayton Veterans players

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<mask> of Castile (; 4 March 1188 – 27 November 1252) was Queen consort of France by marriage to Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX: during his minority from 1226 until 1234, and during his absence from 1248 until 1252. She was born in Palencia, Spain, 1188, the third daughter of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, and Eleanor of England. Early life
In her youth, she visited the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, founded by her parents, several times. In consequence of the Treaty of Le Goulet between Philip Augustus and John of England, <mask>'s sister, Urraca, was betrothed to Philip's son, Louis. After meeting the two sisters, their grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine (who had been a queen consort of France herself) judged that <mask>'s personality was more fit to fulfil the role. In the spring of 1200, Eleanor crossed the Pyrenees with her and brought her to France instead.Appearance
Eleanor of Aquitaine judged that Urraca, <mask>'s sister, was more beautiful than <mask>, although Catherine Hanley states we have no knowledge what <mask> looked like. Marriage
On 22 May 1200 the treaty was finally signed, John ceding along with his niece the fiefs of Issoudun and Graçay, together with those that André de Chauvigny, lord of Châteauroux, held in Berry, of the English crown. The marriage was celebrated the next day, at Port-Mort on the right bank of the Seine, in John's domains, as those of Philip lay under an interdict. <mask> was twelve years of age, and Louis was only a year older so the marriage was consummated a few years later. <mask> bore her first child in 1205. During the English barons' rebellion of 1215–16 against King John, it was <mask>'s English ancestry as granddaughter to Henry II that led to Louis being offered the throne of England as Louis I. However, with the death of John in October 1216, the barons changed their allegiance to John's son, the nine-year-old Henry.Louis continued to claim the English crown in her right, only to find a united nation against him. Philip Augustus refused to help his son, and <mask> was his sole support. <mask> raised money from her father-in-law by threatening to put up her children as hostages. She established herself at Calais and organized two fleets, one of which was commanded by Eustace the Monk, and an army under Robert of Courtenay. With French forces defeated at Lincoln in May 1217 and then routed on their way back to their London stronghold, Louis desperately needed the reinforcements from France. On 24 August, the English fleet destroyed the French fleet carrying those reinforcements off Sandwich and Louis was forced to sue for peace. Regency
Philip died in July 1223, and Louis VIII and <mask> were crowned on August 6.Upon Louis' death in November 1226 from dysentery, he left <mask>, by then 38, regent and guardian of his children. Of her twelve or thirteen children, six had died, and Louis, the heir — afterwards the sainted Louis IX — was but twelve years old. She had him crowned within a month of his father's death in Reims and forced reluctant barons to swear allegiance to him. The situation was critical, since Louis VIII had died without having completely subdued his southern nobles. The king's minority made the Capetian domains even more vulnerable. To gain support, she released Ferdinand, Count of Flanders, who had been in captivity since the Battle of Bouvines. She ceded land and castles to Philip I, Count of Boulogne, son of Philip II and his controversial wife, Agnes of Merania.Several key barons, led by Peter Mauclerc, refused to recognize the coronation of the young king. Shortly after the coronation, <mask> and Louis were traveling south of Paris and nearly captured. <mask> appealed to the people of Paris to protect their king. The citizens lined the roads and protected him as he returned. Helped by Theobald IV of Champagne and the papal legate to France, Romano Bonaventura, she organized an army. Its sudden appearance brought the nobles momentarily to a halt. Twice more did <mask> have to muster an army to protect Capetian interests against rebellious nobles and Henry III of England.<mask> organized a surprise attack in the winter. In January 1229, she led her forces to attack Mauclerc and force him to recognize the king. She accompanied the army herself and helped collect wood to keep the soldiers warm. Not everyone was happy with her administration. Her enemies called her “Dame Hersent” (the wolf in the Roman de Renart)

In 1229, she was responsible for the Treaty of Paris, in which Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse, submitted to Louis. By the terms of the agreement, his daughter and heir, Joan, married <mask>'s son, Alphonse, and the county could only pass to his heirs. He gave up all the lands conquered by Simon de Montfort to the crown of France.It also meant the end of the Albigensian Crusade. To prevent Henry III of England from gaining more French lands through marriage, <mask> denied him the first two brides he sought. In 1226, he sought to marry Yolande of Brittany, Mauclerc's daughter. <mask> instead forced her father to give Yolande to <mask>'s son John. When Henry became engaged to Joan, Countess of Ponthieu, <mask> lobbied the Pope to deny the marriage based on consanguinity, denying the dispensation Henry sought. In 1230, Henry III came to invade France. At the cost of some of the crown's influence in Poitou, <mask> managed to keep the English Queen mother Isabelle, Countess of Angoulême and her second husband, Hugh X of Lusignan, from supporting the English side.However Mauclerc did support the English and Brittany rebelled against the crown in 1230. Originally the English landed in Brittany with 275 knights, men at arms, and barons to meet his ally Peter I, Duke of Brittany. The campaign began well for Henry III who probably recruited foot soldiers on the continent as he brought 7,800 marks with him. On the other hand, <mask>'s troops were insubordinate to her and refused to serve beyond the 40 day feudal contract- most disbanded after 40 days. Philip I, Count of Boulogne left the royal forces and proceeded to raid Champagne. <mask> had to chase Philip to try and stop him from raiding the important county leaving Henry III to proceed without serious resistance. Meanwhile, the Norman nobles were also in open rebellion against <mask>.However, instead of marching to help the Norman rebels, he followed his vassal, advisor, and former regent  Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent's advice and marched into Poitou. However it appears that Henry's excursion to Aquitaine was not necessary despite the calls for help by <mask> who probably panicked due to a slight rise in unrest in Aquitaine. Henry besieged Mirabeau and proceeded to Bordeaux, apparently "securing" the south while also losing massive amounts of money and being forced to take loans. What made it worse was that Aquitaine was not in any serious danger of being taken by the French because what remained of the French royal army was trying to quash a rebellion in Champagne, nowhere near Aquitaine. However it was not a complete loss. Henry was able to get money, military engines, and bolts for crossbows along with the militia of La Réole. Henry marched north into Poitou but the gifts which <mask> had sent to the count of La Marche and the viscount of Thouars kept them loyal to the French.Although the local lords could not see Henry off, he was either unable or unwilling to commit to a large offensive investment and decided to return to Brittany where he spent the remainder of his money on feasts. He proceeded to England having accomplished little. He lost money and prestige even if he had not taken significant casualties. Thus the rebellion died out, which helped establish <mask> and Louis as more stable rulers. Henry's failure to make any significant impact with his invasions ultimately discouraged Mauclerc's rebellion, and by 1234 he was firm in his support of Louis. St. Louis owed his realm to his mother and remained under her influence for the duration of her life. Queen mother
In 1233, Raymond of Toulouse was starting to chafe under the terms of the treaty of Paris, and so <mask> sent one of her knights, Giles of Flagy, to convince him to cooperate.<mask> had also heard through troubadours of the beauty, grace, and religious devotion of the daughters of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence. So she assigned her knight a second mission to visit Provence. Giles found a much better reception in Provence than in Toulouse. Upon his return to Paris, <mask> decided that a Provençal marriage would suit her son and help keep Toulouse in check. In 1234, Louis married Margaret of Provence, who was the eldest of the four daughters of Ramon, Count of Provence, and Beatrice of Savoy. She did not have a good relationship with her daughter-in-law, perhaps due to the controlling relationship she had with her son. To maintain better control over the new queen, <mask> dismissed the family and servants who had come to her wedding before the couple reached Paris.Prior to the arrival of the new queen, <mask> was considered the beauty of the court, and had poems written about her beauty by the count of Champagne. In 1230, it was even rumoured that she was pregnant by Romano Bonaventura. The new queen drew the attention of the court and the king away from <mask>, so she sought to keep them apart as much as she could. Jean de Joinville tells of the time when Queen Margaret was giving birth and <mask> entered the room telling her son to leave saying "Come ye hence, ye do naught here". Queen Margaret then allegedly fainted out of distress. One contemporary biographer notes that when Queen <mask> was present in the royal household, she did not like Margaret and Louis to be together "except when he went to lie with her". In 1239, <mask> insisted on a fair hearing for the Jews, who were under threat by increasing anti Judaism in France.She presided over a formal disputation in the king's court. Louis insisted on the burning of the Talmud and other Jewish books, but <mask> promised Rabbi Yehiel of Paris, who spoke for the Jews, that he and his goods were under her protection. Second regency and death
In 1248, <mask> again became regent, during Louis IX's absence on the Crusade, a project which she had strongly opposed. In the disasters which followed she maintained peace, while draining the land of men and money to aid her son in the East. She fell ill at Melun in November 1252, and was taken to Paris, but lived only a few days. She was buried at Maubuisson Abbey, which she had founded herself. Louis heard of her death in the following spring and reportedly did not speak to anyone for two days afterwards.Patronage and learning
<mask> was a patron of the arts and owned a variety of books, both in French and in Latin. Some of these were meant as teaching tools for her son. Le Miroir de l'Ame was dedicated to <mask>. It instructs queens to rigorously practice Christian virtues in daily life. She oversaw the education of her children, all of whom studied Latin. She also insisted on lessons in Christian morals for all of them. Both Louis and Isabelle, her only surviving daughter, were canonized.The chanson Amours ou trop tard me suis pris, a prayer to the Virgin Mary, is often attributed to <mask>. Issue
 <mask> (1205 – died soon after). Philip (9 September 1209 – before July 1218), betrothed in July 1215 to Agnes of Donzy. Alphonse (b. and d. Lorrez-le-Bocage, 26 January 1213), twin of John. John (b. and d. Lorrez-le-Bocage, 26 January 1213), twin of Alphonse. Louis IX (Poissy, 25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270, Tunis), King of France as successor to his father. Robert (25 September 1216 – 9 February 1250, killed in battle, Manssurah, Egypt), Count of Artois.Philip (20 February 1218 – 1220). John (21 July 1219 – 1232), Count of Anjou and Maine; betrothed in March 1227 to Yolande of Brittany. Alphonse (Poissy, 11 November 1220 – 21 August 1271, Corneto), Count of Poitou and Auvergne, and by marriage, of Toulouse. Philip Dagobert (20 February 1222 – 1232). Isabelle (March 1224 – 23 February 1270). Etienne (end 1225 – early 1227). Charles (end 1226/early 1227 – 7 January 1285), Count of Anjou and Maine, by marriage Count of Provence and Folcalquier, and King of Sicily.Literature
<mask> of Castile is mentioned in François Villon's 15th century poem Ballade des Dames du Temps Jadis (Ballad of Ladies of Times Past), together with other famous women of history and mythology. <mask>'s selection as bride for Louis and travel to France is noted in Elizabeth Chadwick's The Autumn Throne. <mask> and Isabella of Angoulême are the main characters in Jean Plaidy's novel The Battle of the Queens, and she is briefly mentioned in Marcel Proust's Swann's Way. <mask> is a key character in the novel "Four Sisters, All Queens", by Sherry Jones. She is also a central antagonist in the fictional middle grade novel, 'The Inquisitor's Tale', Written by Adam Gidwitz. The character <mask> of Castile is featured in the Shakespearean history play King John. <mask> is mentioned disparagingly by a character (Doctor Cottard) in Proust's novel, “Swann’s Way”.In popular culture
An image of <mask> of Castile has been used on the home kit of French Rugby Union team Stade Français since the 2008 season. During the 1950s French restaurateur Noël Corbu claimed that Blanche of Castile had deposited a treasure in Rennes-le-Château that was later discovered by Bérenger Saunière during the late 19th century. This was later utilised by Pierre Plantard in his development of the Priory of Sion mythology. Notes

Sources

Further reading
Aside from the works of Joinville and William of Nangis, see Élie Berger, "Histoire de Blanche de Castille, reine de France", in Bibliothèque des Ecoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome, vol. lxx. (Paris, 1895); Le Nain de Tillemont, "Vie de Saint Louis", ed. by J. de Gaulle for the Société de l'histoire de France (6 vols., 1847–1851); and Paulin Paris, "Nouvelles recherches sur les mœurs de la reine Blanche et de Thibaud", in Cabinet historique (1858).External links

 Women's Biography: <mask> of Castile, queen of France, epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu; accessed 14 April 2014. 1188 births
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13th-century women rulers
13th-century French people
13th-century French women
13th-century rulers in Europe
12th-century nobility from León and Castile
13th-century Castilians
Castilian infantas
Countesses of Artois
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Castilian House of Burgundy
House of Capet
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Regents of France
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Women in medieval European warfare
Women in war in France
Women in 13th-century warfare
Louis VIII of France
Daughters of kings

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Sir <mask> (31 March 1930 – 10 October 2006) was Secretary-General of the General Synod of the Church of England from 1972 until 1990. Early life
<mask> was born at Barrow-in-Furness, the only child of civil servant <mask> (1898–1970) and Elizabeth (née Burgess; 1895–1986), a primary school teacher. He was educated at the County Grammar School, Whitehaven and at The Queen's College, Oxford, where, despite having won the Stanhope Historical Essay Prize, he obtained only Second Class in the Final Honour School of Modern History. He received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1952 and Master of Arts in 1956. He had been a member of the Church of England since his childhood but during his time at Oxford he moved from the Low Church to Anglo-Catholicism. An alternative version states that he grew up an Anglo-Catholic, that his religious enthusiasm waned at Oxford, and that he returned to the Church when working as a civil servant. Career

Civil Service
He entered HM Civil Service, working in the Inland Revenue from 1952 until 1962 and HM Treasury from 1962 until 1965, returning in 1965 as Assistant Secretary in the Inland Revenue, and transferring back to HM Treasury in 1968.General Synod
In 1970 Gerald Ellison, then Bishop of Chester, suggested that he should apply for the position of Associate Secretary-General of the General Synod of the Church of England, with the intention that, if appointed, he should succeed as Secretary-General on the retirement of Sir John Scott. He was appointed to the Associate's position and he was Secretary-General from 1972 until 1990. It is said that he enjoyed better relations with the Anglo-Catholic archbishops Michael Ramsey and Robert Runcie than he did with the evangelical Donald Coggan, for reasons of both Churchmanship and administrative style. He was not enthusiastic about the ordination of women but regarded it as inevitable and was quite happy with women priests when they were eventually ordained. He was a keen promoter of black and other ethnic minority members of the synod. He was also a key figure in the establishment of the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe. He was first touched by scandal in 1987 in connection with the Preface to Crockford's Clerical Directory, written anonymously by his friend the Revd Canon Gareth Bennett, Dean of Divinity of New College, Oxford, who committed suicide as a result of the controversy it caused.<mask> was responsible for commissioning the Preface and was thought to have failed to predict the outcome of publishing it. The Standing Committee of the General Synod decided that he was without blame in the incident. Shortly before his retirement in 1990 he was appointed Knight Bachelor by the Queen in the Queen's Birthday Honours, and he received the accolade on 6 November 1990. At this point he was thinking about ordination and, since Church of England clergy are not allowed to receive the accolade, it has been suggested that it was impolitic of him to accept the honour. However, correspondence with Buckingham Palace in November 1991 accepted Sir <mask>'s use of the accolade without setting a precedent for others. A less formal honour marking his retirement was the singing, in the General Synod, of a variation on the Major-General's Song from The Pirates of Penzance with the line, "He was the very model of a Secretary-General". Ordination
Despite not having attended a bishops' selection conference, he was accepted for ordination.He trained for two terms at St Deiniol's Library and was ordained deacon in 1991 by Graham Leonard. The service was threatened with interruption by a journalist from The Daily Mail who wanted to know whether Sir <mask> was gay. Following a further term at the College of the Resurrection he was ordained priest in 1992 by David Hope. Both services took place at St Gabriel's Church in Pimlico, in central London where he was non-stipendiary priest from 1991 until 2000. Private life
On 30 November 1992 Barnaby Miln - a homosexual activist, Justice of the Peace, and former member of the House of Laity of the General Synod of the Church of England - was asked to afternoon tea with the Bishop of London who asked about Sir <mask>'s drinking problem following reports he had received. They agreed, that for the sake of Barnaby Miln's well-being, he and Sir <mask> should no longer live together. The bishop thanked Barnaby Miln for looking after Sir <mask> and assisted him in finding alternative accommodation.The bishop arranged that Barnaby Miln take Sir <mask>, on 1 December 1992, to a consultant in Harley Street in the expectation that he would be sent to a clinic for specialist treatment. The consultant failed to persuade Sir <mask> who, the following day, attended a local clergy chapter at Westminster Abbey which happened to be attended by the bishop. Seeing the state he was in, on 3 December 1992 the bishop wrote to Sir <mask> suspending his license for an initial period of six weeks. On 4 December 1992, The Independent claimed that Sir <mask> had been living with Barnaby Miln. Barnaby Miln returned in September 2000 to live with and care for Sir <mask> whose health had deteriorated. In the last edition of Who's Who published before Sir <mask>'s death Barnaby Miln was named as his partner, and was the executor of his estate. <mask> was a Freemason, initiated in 1960 in the Kaisar-i-Hind Lodge (London), and became a Royal Arch Mason in 1962 in the Oxford & Cambridge University Chapter (London).He was an officer of the United Grand Lodge of England from 1979. He was a member of the Athenaeum Club and the Savile Club. He became a Freeman of the City of London in 1973 and was a member of the Woolmen's Company and of the Parish Clerks' Company, of which he was Master 1986/7. Death and legacy
Sir <mask> was diagnosed with hydrocephalus in 2000. He died in London on 10 October 2006 and his ashes are buried in Westminster Abbey. He had held numerous other appointments including membership of the Archbishops' Commission on Church and State (1966–70) and the British Council of Churches (1972–90), the vice-chairmanship of the Grosvenor Chapel Committee (1973–81), the chairmanship of Liddon Trustees (1972–2001), the William Temple Association, and of the English Friends of the Anglican Centre in Rome (1985–2001), and the principalship of the Society of the Faith (1992–2001). He was Churchwarden of St Michael's, Cornhill and Parish Clerk of St Luke's, Old Street.References

Further reading
Debrett's People of Today (12th edn, London: Debrett's Peerage, 1999), pp. 1516–17
Crockford's Clerical Directory (97th edn, London: Church House Publishing, 2001), p. 576
Michael De-la-Moy, The Church of England: A Portrait (London: Simon & Schuster, 1993)

External links

'The Rev Sir <mask>', The Times, 14 October 2006
'The Revd Sir <mask> RIP', The Church of England, 13 October 2006
Jennifer Gold, 'Church of England Mourns Death of Sir <mask>', Christian Today, 14 October 2006

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English Anglo-Catholics
LGBT Anglican clergy
20th-century English Anglican priests
Knights Bachelor
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