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<mask> (17 August 1946 – 2 July 2016) was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago; his terms ran from 17 December 1991 to 9 November 1995 and from 24 December 2001 to 26 May 2010. He was also Political Leader of the People's National Movement (PNM) from 1987 to 2010. A geologist by training, <mask> served as Member of Parliament for the San Fernando East constituency from 1971 until 2015 when he was replaced by Randall Mitchell and was the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives. He was the Leader of the Opposition from 1986 to 1990 and again from 1995 to 2001. <mask> was born in San Fernando and received his secondary education at Presentation College, San Fernando, and his bachelor's degree from the University of the West Indies at Mona, in 1969. After graduation, he returned to Trinidad where he worked as a geologist for Texaco. He entered Parliament in 1971 representing the San Fernando East constituency.Life

Early career
After graduating from the University of the West Indies, <mask> worked as a geologist with Texaco Trinidad Ltd., until he ran for Parliament in 1971. Between 1971 and 1978 he served as Parliamentary Secretary in various Ministries before being appointed junior Minister in the Ministry of Finance in the government of Eric Williams. In 1979 he was given the additional position of junior Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister. In 1981 he was given a full Cabinet position of Minister of Information and Minister of Industry and Commerce. Between 1981 and 1986 he served as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. The 1986 general elections saw the ruling PNM suffer an almost total defeat. Only three candidates won their seats; the Prime Minister, George Chambers, was among the losing candidates.As one of the three successful PNM candidates, <mask> was appointed Leader of the Opposition. In 1987, he was elected political leader of the PNM. A split in the ruling National Alliance for Reconstruction in 1988 left the PNM as the minority Opposition party, and, in 1990, Basdeo Panday requested that he be appointed Leader of the Opposition. Second term as Prime Minister
In 1995, <mask> called a General Election one full year before it was constitutionally due. In this election both the PNM and the UNC won 17 seats each and the NAR won 2 seats. The UNC and the NAR united in a coalition and formed the government; Basdeo Panday replaced <mask> as Prime Minister. <mask> served as Leader of the Opposition once again, also losing the 2000 elections.The 2001 elections ended in a tie, with both the Opposition PNM and the governing United National Congress winning 18 seats. President A. N. R. Robinson appointed <mask> as Prime Minister. In addition to prime ministership, <mask> was also Minister of Finance from 2001 to 2007. Unable to elect a Speaker of the House of Representatives, <mask> proceeded to rule without Parliament until the need to pass a Budget forced him to call elections in October 2002. His party won this election with 20 seats to 16 for the UNC and formed the new government. Under the PNM administration, income taxes were substantially reduced and the Corporation Tax reduced from 35% to 25% of profits for most companies. The Government also instituted free university education.The economy grew a pace, primarily due to high natural gas and oil prices and to significant increases in natural gas production. In September 2007, <mask> received an honorary doctorate from Medgar Evers College, CUNY. Third term as Prime Minister
In 2007, <mask> called for a general election to be held on 4 November. The PNM won this election with 26 of the 41 seats and <mask> began his third term as Prime Minister. Subsequently, the country experienced a slow down in the economy. Despite this the economic ratings of the country came in for high praises mainly from the Standards and Poor report on 15 August 2008 which raised Trinidad and Tobago from an "A-" to an "A". The Government of Trinidad and Tobago also hosted King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain on 30 November to 2 December 2008.The purpose of the visit was to strengthen the economic ties between Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean and also to open new markets and possibility for increase trading and the opening of new markets. The country also hosted two world summits in 2009: the 5th Summit of the Americas on 17 to 19 April 2009 as well as The Commonwealth Heads of Government on 27 to 29 November 2009. The Chilean President Michelle Bachelet paid Prime Minister <mask> and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago a visit in 2010. The purpose was to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries and as a result a formal agreement was signed in an effort to unite the two countries. Despite economic growth, crime was considered a serious problem. The number of murders increased sharply from 93 in 1999 to 509 in 2009. Additionally, 2008 saw the country's highest number of murders with 550.The Prime Minister's explanation was that the crime problem was a result of the illegal drug and arms trade. His speech at the 5th summit of the Americas points to the fact that the Caribbean is situated between the narcotic producing South American continent and the narcotic consuming North American continent. Some of his crime detection and prevention methods included the introduction of the Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (SAUTT), two surveillance airships (commonly referred to as blimps), and the inclusion of six high speed off-shore patrol vessels for better control of the country's maritime borders and coastlines on 15 February 2010. <mask> was quoted as saying that the country could expect to see a 50% decrease in crime because of this effort. 2010 elections
On 9 April 2010 Prime Minister <mask> advised President George Maxwell Richards to dissolve Parliament resulting in a General Election to be held two years sooner than was constitutionally mandated. <mask> later announced 24 May 2010 as the date for general elections. <mask> and the PNM lost the election to The People's Partnership (UNC, COP, TOP, NJAC, MSJ).Following the defeat, <mask> officially resigned as Political Leader of the Party on 27 May 2010 but remained as the Parliamentary Representative for San Fernando East. <mask> was sent to the Privileges Committee following statements he made in Parliament on 19 November 2010, during a debate on the Interception of Communications Bill. <mask> had made certain allegations about the private residence of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on the San Fernando/Siparia/Erin Road. On 24 November 2010, Speaker of the House Wade Mark ruled that a prima facie case of contempt or breach of privilege had been made out against <mask> and referred the matter to the Committee for consideration. <mask> was accordingly suspended from the service of the House of Representatives with immediate effect on 16 May 2011, as declared by House Speaker Wade Mark. During this period, <mask> wouldn't be able to represent his San Fernando East constituency in Parliament. <mask> is the second Prime Minister to be suspended from the House of Representatives in Trinidad and Tobago.Illness and death
On 24 September 2007, <mask> went to Cuba for a routine medical evaluation. For many years, he had engaged in a regular exercise program. On 23 January 2012, <mask> suffered a stroke. Diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia was confirmed on 30 June 2016 and he died at 8:15 AM on July 2, 2016 at the San Fernando General Hospital, six weeks before his 70th birthday. <mask> (Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago) Initiative

<mask> (Eastern Caribbean Pipeline) Initiative

<mask> (Trinidad & Tobago—Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States) Initiative

References

Further reading

External links

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1946 births
2016 deaths
Commonwealth Chairpersons-in-Office
Members of the House of Representatives (Trinidad and Tobago)
People's National Movement politicians
Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago
Energy ministers of Trinidad and Tobago
Finance ministers of Trinidad and Tobago
Industry ministers of Trinidad and Tobago
Trade ministers of Trinidad and Tobago
Texaco people
Trinidad and Tobago geologists
Trinidad and Tobago Anglicans
University of the West Indies alumni
Deaths from leukemia
Deaths from cancer in Trinidad and Tobago
People from San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago

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<mask> (born March 22, 1990) is an American former running back football player. He played college football for the University of Maryland. He has also been a member of the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. Early life
Meggett was born in Clinton, Maryland on March 22, 1990 to Super Bowl champion and two-time Pro Bowl selection <mask> and mother Victoria Davis. He grew up in Upper Marlboro, Maryland with his mother and stepfather John Davis. At the age of 9, Meggett switched from his preferred sport of soccer to football because his childhood friend played the game. Meggett, however, was doubtful that he was of large enough stature to play intercollegiate football for a major college program.At Surrattsville High School, Meggett was a three-year starting running back. As a junior in 2006, he ran for 1,150 yards on 156 attempts, rushed for ten touchdowns, and garnered second-team all-county and honorable mention all-state honors. Meggett experienced a breakout year as a senior in 2007, during which he led the Surratsville Hornets to its first playoff berth since the establishment of the team in 1960. He was an accomplished track runner placing well at the regional tournament and setting several high school weight-lifting records under Coach Richard S. Hensel. He finished the regular season as the second-leading rusher in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. On the season, Meggett rushed 169 times for 1,784 yards and scored 26 rushing touchdowns and six receiving touchdowns. Rivals.com named him the 16th-ranked player in the state of Maryland.He was honored as a first-team All-Prince George's County, All-Met, and all-league player. Surrattsville High finished with a 10–2 record and a state playoffs berth. Meggett also ran track in high school and earned a letter all four years. He was honored as all-county and the team's field athlete of the year as a junior. Meggett was recruited by Notre Dame, Virginia, and Rutgers, but Maryland was the only Division I FBS school to offer him a scholarship. He also received scholarship offers from Division I FCS programs , Old Dominion, and James Madison. Meggett, who grew up a Maryland fan, accepted the school's offer and later said, "This is a dream.Is this really happening? ... I'm going to go ahead, commit and live out a fantasy." College career
At the University of Maryland, Meggett studies government and politics. As a true freshman in 2008, he saw action in each game of the season. Short-statured and muscular, his smashmouth rushing style is characterized by achieving yards after contact. In 2008, Meggett recorded 422 rushing yards on 79 attempts with a long of 38 against California, and four touchdowns.After starting tailback Da'Rel Scott suffered a lingering shoulder injury against California game, Meggett gained increased playing time. Offensive coordinator, James Franklin, called the run-intensive, rain-soaked North Carolina match "a Meggett type of game ... Downhill, not a whole lot of dancing." In that game, Meggett made a one-yard rushing touchdown and the 31-yard reception which helped put the Terps within range for the game-winning field goal. Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said, "He's a freshman, but he doesn't play like a freshman." Against NC State, Meggett had eight carries for 34 yards and a one-yard touchdown run. He replaced Scott after an injury late in the game, and then caught a screen pass for 31 yards to set up the game-winning field goal by kicker Obi Egekeze.Maryland secured bowl eligibility with the 27 24 victory. In the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl against Nevada, he caught a pass for a two-point conversion, and rushed ten times for 35 yards. Alongside leading rusher Scott, Meggett helped Maryland to come the closest it ever has to having both a 1,000- and 500-yard rusher in the same season. Meggett fell just 43 yards shy of the 500-yard mark. He led all Atlantic Coast Conference freshman with 5.13 yards per carry. In 2009, Meggett entered preseason camp behind Scott and Morgan Green, but his camp performance was impressive enough to garner a share of the number-one position alongside Scott. He saw action in all 12 games including four starts, and recorded 338 yards on 99 carries and six touchdowns.Meggett and Scott again split time as the number-one back during the 2010 season. Head coach Friedgen said, "At this point in time, I would say Scott and Meggett are 1A and 1B." He saw action in all 13 games and recorded 720 yards on 126 carries and four touchdowns. In the season opener against Navy, Meggett rushed eight times for a career-high 105 yards, including a career-long 67-yard run, and one touchdown. Meggett extended his career-long against Florida International with a 76-yard touchdown run to ensure a Maryland victory. Against Duke, Meggett had 18 carries for 57 yards, including a three-yard touchdown run. Against Wake Forest, Meggett rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown.Prior to the 2011 season, <mask> Walker Award watch list. He assumed the starting position after the graduation of Da'Rel Scott and was named a team captain. In the opener against Miami, he had 21 carries for 92 yards. Statistics

Professional career

Houston Texans
Meggett was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent to an undisclosed three-year contract on April 29, 2012. He was released on August 26, 2012. On September 27, the Texans signed Meggett to the practice squad. He was released on November 27.Indianapolis Colts
On December 11, 2012, Meggett was signed to the practice squad of the Indianapolis Colts. On August 25, 2013, he was waived by the Colts. Dallas Cowboys
On October 15, 2013, <mask> was signed to the practice squad of the Dallas Cowboys. He was released on October 29. Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins signed Meggett to their practice squad on November 12. He signed a reserve/future contract with the team on December 31, 2013. He was released on March 4, 2014.Second Stint with Colts
Meggett re-signed with the Indianapolis Colts on July 27, 2014. He was waived on August 17, 2014. Post-football

After his football career ended, Meggett became an 8th grade language arts teacher at Sugar Grove Academy in Houston, Texas. References

External links
 Indianapolis Colts bio
 Maryland Terrapins bio
 ESPN Stats

1990 births
Living people
American football running backs
Maryland Terrapins football players
People from Clinton, Maryland
People from Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Players of American football from Maryland
Sportspeople from the Washington metropolitan area

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Davin Meggett
Dave Meggett
Meggettak
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<mask> (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler and trainer currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name <mask>. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE from 1995 to 2019 under the gimmick and ring name Goldust. The son of WWE Hall of Famer <mask> and the half-brother of fellow wrestler <mask>, he is also known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA, now Impact Wrestling). Between WWF/E and WCW, Runnels has won 23 total championships. In WCW, he was a two-time United States Heavyweight Champion, a one-time Six-Man Tag Team Champion, and a two-time World Tag Team Champion. In WWF/E, he is a three-time Intercontinental Champion, nine-time Hardcore Champion, one-time World Tag Team Champion, and two-time WWE Tag Team Champion. Runnels has also appeared in the second most Royal Rumble matches, at 13.<mask> headlined multiple pay-per-view events for the WWF and WCW during the 1990s. He is also a former Sammy Guevara Vlog champion. Professional wrestling career

Championship Wrestling from Florida (1988–1989)
Runnels made his professional wrestling debut on September 13, 1988, as "<mask>", defeating Bob Cook in a match for the Tampa-based Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) promotion. The promotion was renamed the Professional Wrestling Federation in February 1989 after Runnels' father, <mask>, began wrestling there. Runnels captured the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship from Al Perez on May 23, 1989, holding it for a month. World Championship Wrestling (1988−1989)
In December 1988, Runnels debuted in World Championship Wrestling. <mask> teamed with Kendall Windham in an undercard tag team called The Texas Broncos that saw success against The Cruel Connection and The Commandos.Their first defeat came against The Original Midnight Express at a house show on December 10, 1988, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. <mask>'s first singles match came two days later at a television taping in Atlanta, Georgia when he defeated Trent Knight. <mask>' initial WCW run lasted only a few months, as he exited the company two months after his father. After suffering a loss to Butch Reed during a dark match for an NWA Main Event taping in The Omni on February 12, 1989, <mask> closed out his initial WCW run with a win over Trent Knight in Walterboro, South Carolina on February 24. Japan and Memphis (1989–1990)
In March 1989, Runnels toured Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in its annual Champion Carnival, under the name <mask> Jr. He returned to AJPW for a ten and a twenty-day tour in the spring and summer of 1990. Runnels began wrestling in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) in July 1989.There he feuded mainly with Tony Anthony for Anthony's CWA Heavyweight Championship but never won the belt. He left the USWA in the spring of 1990. World Wrestling Federation (1990–1991)
Runnels debuted as a fan favorite in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in late 1990, wrestling as <mask>. His first match in the WWF (now WWE) was against Paul Diamond on September 21, 1990. In December 1990, <mask> defeated Ted DiBiase in a televised ten-minute challenge match. On January 19, 1991, at the Royal Rumble, <mask> and his father Dusty lost to Ted DiBiase and Virgil in a tag team bout, and both left immediately after. Return to WCW

Teaming with Barry Windham (1991–1992)
In February 1991, Runnels joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW), wrestling as "The Natural" <mask>.He feuded with Larry Zbyszko until April 1991, when he refused to join Alexandra York's York Foundation, thus beginning a feud with Foundation member Terrence Taylor. In late 1991, <mask> formed a tag-team with Barry Windham and began pursuing WCW Tag Team champions The Enforcers (Arn Anderson and Zbyszko). The pair received a title shot at Clash of the Champions XVII, but Windham was injured prior to the event. A returning Ricky Steamboat was chosen to partner <mask>, and the makeshift duo won the WCW World Tag Team Championship. They lost the belts on January 16, 1992, to Arn Anderson and fellow Dangerous Alliance member Bobby Eaton. On a taped edition of WCW Saturday Night on September 2, 1992, <mask> teamed with Windham to defeat Steve Williams and Terry Gordy for the unified WCW World Tag Team Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship (their NWA title reign is not recognized by NWA); the match would air on October 3. They held the belts for about two months before losing them to Steamboat and Shane Douglas in a memorable match on the November 18 edition of Clash of the Champions XXI.Windham turned on <mask> after the match when <mask> refused to pin Steamboat after an accidental low blow. United States Heavyweight Champion (1993–1995)
In January 1993, <mask> reached the final of a tournament to decide the number one contender for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. The champion Rick Rude was stripped of his title that same month, meaning the tournament final would be for the title. <mask> faced his old partner Ricky Steamboat to win his first United States Heavyweight title. He successfully defended the title the following month at SuperBrawl III against Maxx Payne. Rude returned that April and quickly challenged <mask>. Their first encounter resulted in a controversial double pin, with Rude initially being awarded the title.The championship was held up two weeks later. After a 30-minute Iron Man Match ended in a 1–1 draw at Beach Blast on July 18, a best-of-three series was set between the two on Saturday Night; <mask> lost the first match on August 28, but defeated Rude twice on September 4 and 11 to claim his second United States Heavyweight Championship. At Fall Brawl, <mask> teamed with Sting, Davey Boy Smith and The Shockmaster to defeat Big Van Vader, Sid Vicious and Harlem Heat in a WarGames match. <mask> lost the title to Steve Austin in a Two out of three falls match at Starrcade, after losing both falls. In March 1994, <mask> started feuding with Bunkhouse Buck and Col. Robert Parker. After Parker introduced Arn Anderson and Terry Funk as adversaries for Runnels, Runnels responded by bringing his father, a former enemy of Funk, back into the ring to team with him again against Parker's Stud Stable. In December 1994, Parker introduced another opponent for <mask>, The Blacktop Bully.At the Uncensored pay-per-view on March 19, 1995, <mask> lost to The Blacktop Bully in the only King of the Road match in the company's history. The match, which was filmed several days earlier, resulted in both <mask> and The Blacktop Bully being fired from the company, as the two had bladed during the match after being instructed to by one another, which was against corporate policy at the time in WCW. Return to WWF

Debut of Goldust (1995–1996)

In August 1995, Runnels returned to the WWF, wrestling as a then-villain Goldust, nicknamed "the bizarre one" because of his somewhat spooky, mysterious, mixed-message sending, sexually suggestive turned violent behaviors. In communication, Goldust frequently took to comically flirtatious remarks yet maintaining a deadpan and monotone delivery and presence. Using in-ring psychology to his advantage, Goldust often used lewd and flirtatious mind games to anger, confuse, and distract his opponents. He utilized such tactics as groping and excessive physical affection towards his opponent in the midst of delivering his onslaught. To that end, one of Goldust's trademarks was his exaggerated, suggestively breathy inhalation whilst caressing his own body; this all ends in him exhaling through a vicious biting sound at his adversary, intended to startle.The character was portrayed as a drag queen obsessed with films and everything gold, which is a parody of the Oscars statuette. Adding to this aspect of the gimmick, Goldust often quoted or made reference to classic Hollywood films during his promos. Under the gimmick, Runnels wore a predominately gold jumpsuit (with tidbits of other colors, such as white and black); black and gold face paint; and during entrances and promos, a glittery gold robe and a platinum blonde wig over his short platinum blonde hair. Years later, Runnels stated that Vince McMahon called him and offered him the gimmick and mentioned "androgynous" several times; Runnels, wanting a separate identity from his father at the time, promptly accepted without knowing what the word "androgynous" meant, then promptly looked it up in the dictionary after getting off the phone with McMahon and shocked to see what it meant said to himself "What did I get myself in to?" Runnels himself admitted that the first few months of the gimmick were uncomfortable for him as it didn't match his personality at all, but decided to work with what was given to him and "run with it". Goldust won his debut match on October 22, 1995, against Marty Jannetty at the In Your House 4 pay-per-view. He defeated the departing Bam Bam Bigelow in Bigelow's last WWF match at the Survivor Series.He then feuded with Razor Ramon, whom he stalked and sent messages to throughout late 1995. The feud culminated at the Royal Rumble on January 21, 1996, where Goldust defeated Ramon for the Intercontinental Championship due to interference from the 1–2–3 Kid. This match also marked the debut of Goldust's valet, Marlena, portrayed by his then wife Terri. With her seductive, coolly unconcerned and mysterious character, Marlena complemented Goldust. Her gimmick consisted of sitting at ringside in a director's chair during Goldust's matches, advising him while smoking large brown cigars. A rematch between Goldust and Ramon at WrestleMania XII was canceled after Ramon was suspended, with Goldust instead fighting Roddy Piper in a Hollywood Backlot Brawl. At the end of the fight, Piper stripped Goldust of his ring attire to reveal him wearing women's lingerie; Runnels revealed in 2018 (while making jokes at his own butt) that it was his idea just three days before WrestleMania XII to wear a slip and thong underneath his ring attire and to have Piper strip him down, getting the approval from McMahon.Goldust defended his Intercontinental Championship in bouts against Savio Vega and The Ultimate Warrior before losing to Ahmed Johnson at King of the Ring on June 23, 1996. In August 1996, Goldust briefly gained control over Mankind and feuded with The Undertaker. His attention soon turned to Marc Mero and his then wife Sable. Goldust and Marlena attempted to get Sable to join their team, but Mero won the feud and kept her by his side. He also had a Ladder match with Shawn Michaels at internet pay-per-view (iPPV) Xperience for the WWF Championship but lost the match. In December 1996, Goldust entered a feud with Hunter Hearst Helmsley, when Helmsley began flirting with Goldust's valet: Marlena. This feud lead to the debut of Chyna as Helmsley's new bodyguard, who would manhandle Marlena and cause sympathy for Marlena & Goldust.This marked the first time Goldust changed into a fan favorite rather than the villainous character he was prior. Various gimmicks (1997–1999)
In May 1997, Goldust revealed his identity as <mask>, the son of <mask>. In the summer and fall of that year, he joined other wrestlers in their conflict with The Hart Foundation, feuding in particular with Brian Pillman. Goldust defeated Pillman at SummerSlam in which Pillman was forced to wear a dress for a month, then Pillman challenged Goldust again to a match at Ground Zero: In Your House, Goldust agreed that if he lost, he would lose Marlena to Pillman for 30 days, Goldust lost the match to Pillman and was forced to lose Marlena, had Goldust won, Pillman would leave the WWF. Just before the thirty days were up, Pillman died of heart disease hours before the Badd Blood event on October 5, 1997. In November 1997, Goldust split with Marlena and refused to cooperate with his Survivor Series teammates, which once again turned him into a heel. This led to a feud with Vader in December 1997 and the appearance of The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust (a reference to Prince), managed by Luna Vachon.He began mimicking celebrities and fellow wrestlers with characters such as "Chynadust", "Dust Lovedust", "Dustydust", "Hunterdust", "Flashdust", "Marilyn Mansondust", "Sabledust", and "Vaderdust" in early 1998. Around this time, he made a legitimate push to management to get breast implants as part of the gimmick before being talked out of it by McMahon. By June 1998, Goldust feuded with Val Venis, who had been involved with Terri during their separation. Now going by his real name, Runnels began speaking out (mostly in taped vignettes) on the increasingly edgy WWF product and promoting alternatives to watching the show such as reading the Bible. These vignettes were sponsored by the fictional group, "Evangelists Against Television, Movies and Entertainment", the acronym for which reads "EATME" – a thinly veiled joke on the WWF's part. Runnels declared himself a born again Christian, alluding to "his" return, and walking through the crowd with signs reading "he's coming back!". While the return of Christ was clearly implied, Runnels was in fact referencing the return of the Goldust gimmick, which he reprised in October 1998 against Val Venis and then in November 1998, he began feuding with Jeff Jarrett over the attention of his manager, Debra.In early 1999, Goldust feuded with Al Snow, upon stealing the mannequin Head, Snow's mascot, and The Blue Meanie, who had recently renamed himself "Bluedust" and adopted many of Goldust's mannerisms. After Goldust defeated Meanie at St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Meanie became Goldust's apprentice. After Ryan Shamrock became Goldust's valet, Meanie and Shamrock began vying for Goldust's attention. In the same time period, Goldust won the Intercontinental Championship again from Road Dogg and then lost it to The Godfather two weeks later. He would team up with The Blue Meanie having a few matches against The Hardy Boyz until Goldust left the company in June 1999. Second return to WCW

Seven and "The American Nightmare" (1999–2001)
Runnels returned to World Championship Wrestling on the November 8, 1999 edition of WCW Monday Nitro, filming several vignettes for a fantastical, face-painted character named Seven. These vignettes contained ominous footage of <mask> in full makeup standing outside a child's bedroom window.The gimmick was reported to have been based on "The Strangers" from the 1998 film noir Dark City. The character was dropped after Turner Standards and Practices expressed concern that this gimmick could be misinterpreted as a child abductor. Upon returning to WCW television, <mask> removed his costume and delivered a worked shoot in which he mocked unrealistic gimmicks as well as his time as Goldust in the WWF. After turning heel upon his return, Runnels began wrestling as "The American Nightmare" <mask>, with his nickname a reference to his father's nickname, "The American Dream". <mask> feuded with Jeff Jarrett before feuding with Terry Funk. He was (kayfabe) fired by Vince Russo at Spring Stampede in April 2000 for failing to prevent Terry Funk from winning the vacant Hardcore Championship, against Norman Smiley. Various feuds (2001)
Runnels returned to WCW television in January 2001, assisting his father in his feud with Jarrett and, eventually, Ric Flair.He wrestled on the final WCW pay-per-view, Greed on March 18, 2001. In March 2001, WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation, but the WWF did not acquire Runnels' contract. Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling (2001–2002)

In July 2001, Runnels, while still under contract to AOL Time Warner, began wrestling for his father's newly created Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling promotion, winning the promotion's Heavyweight Championship. Runnels competed on the independent circuit, first appearing for his father's promotion, Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling. Competing as <mask>, he captured the TCW Heavyweight Championship from Scotty Riggs on January 26, but vacated the title immediately afterwards after it was confirmed that he would be returning to WWE. Following his return to the WWE at the 2002 Royal Rumble, he made two more appearances with TCW, the first in a six-man tag team match with his father Dusty and Ron Studd against Riggs, Fake Goldust, and Jason Sugarmann, and the second in a singles victory over Steve Corino. Second return to WWF/E

Hardcore Champion (2001–2002)
In December 2001, Runnels accepted a buyout from his AOL Time Warner contract and was re-signed by the World Wrestling Federation to a two-year deal.Promos immediately began airing on WWF television advertising the return of Goldust. On January 20, 2002, he officially returned by taking part in the Royal Rumble, reprising his Goldust character. Shortly after returning, promos began airing for a few weeks of Goldust saying that there was a certain wrestler whose "star was shining brighter" than he would like. He eventually revealed the person he was talking about was Rob Van Dam by attacking him on Raw, turning heel in the process. Van Dam defeated him in a singles match at No Way Out. After the loss, he moved on to the hardcore division, where he won the Hardcore Championship on nine occasions. Teaming with Booker T (2002–2003)

When the

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Dustin Patrick Runnels
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Cody Rhodes
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 World Wrestling Federation was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment and the roster was divided into two brands, Raw and SmackDown!, Goldust was assigned to the Raw brand, where he formed a tag team with Booker T. The duo engaged in numerous comedic vignettes, on one occasion hosting a segment titled Booker T and Goldust at the Movies and delivering reviews of The Scorpion King, a film starring The Rock.In May 2002, Booker joined the New World Order (nWo), with Goldust's request to join the faction rejected. In June 2002, Booker was ejected from the nWo by Shawn Michaels, sparking a feud between the nWo and Booker and Goldust. Booker and Goldust went on to compete in the tag team division, winning the World Tag Team Championship at Armageddon before being forced to split up on the February 3, 2003, episode of Raw by Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff for failing to win back the World Tag Team Championship. Following the dissolution of the tag team, Goldust contracted a stutter and Tourette's-like symptoms, upon receiving a shock from a Round Tube during an attack at the hands of Batista and Randy Orton. Goldust appeared in character on The Howard Stern Show in March 2003. He appeared sporadically thereafter, forming a tag team with Lance Storm in August 2003. In fall 2003, Booker T began receiving mysterious, haunting messages for a few weeks from somebody.The messages only said "I remember". It was rumored that the messages would be from Goldust, which would have begun a feud between the two. Suddenly, the angle was never mentioned again on television and the company announced on their website that they would not be renewing <mask>' contract. WWE allowed his contract to expire in December 2003. Independent circuit (2003–2005)
Following his release from WWE in December 2003, Runnels returned to the independent circuit while concurrently competing in his first stint with TNA. He first appeared for the Japanese promotion WORLD-1, as <mask> Jr., working three dates in early April, all singles matches and all victories. In July, Runnels returned to the United States and appeared for Full Impact Pro, tag teaming with Barry Windham and defeating the Cuban Assassin and Ryze.Runnels did not appear on the independent circuit for the rest of 2004 and much of 2005, until the first WrestleReunion, teaming with his father and Mike Graham against Abdullah the Butcher, Kevin Sullivan, and CM Punk. After his departure from TNA, he made a few appearances with Dusty for CCW against Phi Delta Slam. Runnels also competed on the Tribute to Starrcade show on November 19 in a match against Terry Funk, which ended in a No-Contest. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004–2005)
On February 4, 2004, he debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as "The Lone Star" <mask>, unsuccessfully challenging Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On February 18, Runnels and El Leon defeated Kevin Northcutt and Legend in a tag team bout. In December 2004, he returned to TNA, once again wrestling as <mask>. on the January 7, 2005, episode of Impact, <mask> and Jeff Hardy defeated Kash and Dallas.On the January 14 episode of Impact, <mask> defeated Chris Candido. At Final Resolution, <mask> defeated Kid Kash. on the February 11 episode of Impact Wrestling, <mask> and America's Most Wanted defeated Kid Kash, Dallas and Raven in a six-man tag team match. at Against All Odds, <mask> lost to Raven but got payback at Destination X when he defeated Raven in a bullrope match. He then entered a feud with Bobby Roode and at Lockdown, <mask> defeated Roode in a 2 out of 3 falls Prince of Darkness cage match. His TNA contract expired in April 2005 and he chose not to renew it, leaving TNA. Third return to WWE (2005–2006)
Runnels returned to World Wrestling Entertainment on October 31, 2005, as a heel and back under the Goldust attire, as Jonathan Coachman enlisted him and Vader to attack Batista.Goldust and Vader unsuccessfully interfered in a Street Fight between Batista and Coachman on behalf of Coachman at Taboo Tuesday. Following the event, Goldust once again disappeared from television. In January 2006, Goldust took part in the Royal Rumble match and was assigned once again to the Raw brand until he was released from his WWE contract on June 14, 2006, for no-showing an appearance. Runnels made a short appearance at WrestleMania 22 to give Booker T advice on his match against The Boogeyman where he insinuated that the only way he could beat The Boogeyman was to put worms in his anus. Independent circuit (2006–2007)
After returning to his fourth stint with WWE, Runnels once again disappeared from the indies, but made a special appearance with Jerry Lawler's Memphis Wrestling on March 3, 2006, as Goldust, in a match against Lawler, which he lost after Lawler hit him with a steel chain. Runnels was released from his fourth stint with WWE on June 14. Two weeks and six days later, on July 1, he returned to WORLD-1, defeating Tully Blanchard in the main event.On October 14, he appeared with the UK promotion One Pro Wrestling, under the name <mask> (the name he would use in AJPW) with a victory over Curry Man. While competing for AJPW in 2007, Runnels returned to CCW to feud with Phi Delta Slam, mainly in tag team matches with a variety of partners, including Kip James. In mid-2007, he made several appearances with Hermie Sadler's UWF promotion to hype his return to TNA, making his debut on March 2 with a victory over Steve Corino. He appeared with UWF throughout his second tenure with TNA, facing the likes of Scott Steiner, Sabu, David Flair, Andrew Martin, and D'Lo Brown. His tenure in UWF also saw him compete in the often-considered "cross-promotional" War Games match against Team JBL (managed by John Bradshaw Layfield, who was signed to WWE as a commentator at the time) consisting of Steve Corino, C.W. Anderson, the Latin American Xchange, and Elix Skipper. Runnels was a member of Sgt.Slaughter's Team Slaughter, along with the Steiner Brothers and the Mack Brothers. Team Slaughter won the bout. Runnels' final appearance with UWF was on September 22, 2007, where he and Abyss were on the losing end of a tag team bout against D'Lo Brown and a local football coach. Return to Japan (2007)
On January 28, 2007, it was announced that <mask> would appear at the February 17, 2007, All Japan Pro Wrestling show in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. On February 15, <mask>, identified as <mask>, appeared at ringside during a match involving The Great Muta, resulting in a brawl between <mask> and The Great Muta. On February 17, <mask> and Jinsei Shinzaki were defeated by The Great Muta and Yoshihiro Tajiri in a tag team bout. Return to TNA (2007–2008)
On July 15, 2007, <mask> returned to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling at Victory Road and aligned himself with Christian Cage by helping him defeat "Wildcat" Chris Harris.In an interview on TNA Impact! conducted by Mike Tenay, <mask> discussed accusations of having a split personality and stated that he was going to embrace it and let it out. TNA presented the interview as being an emotional breakdown on the part of <mask>. On August 12 at Hard Justice, <mask> debuted his new ring name, Black Reign, and a "new, darker and bizarre look". At Hard Justice, Harris defeated Black Reign via disqualification when Black Reign attacked several referees. The next week, the gimmick was explored even further, saying that <mask> constantly switched between <mask> and Black Reign. He was featured at Bound for Glory in a Monster's Ball match against Rhino, Abyss, and Raven, which he lost.Black Reign challenged Abyss to a "Shop of Horrors" match at Genesis and lost. At Genesis, Black Reign's new partner, Rellik (which is "Killer" spelled backwards), made his debut after attacking Abyss. At Turning Point, Abyss and Raven defeated Black Reign and Rellik in a Match of 10,000 Tacks. Originally, this match was signed to be Abyss and Rhino versus Rellik and Black Reign but, due to an injury, Rhino was replaced by Raven for this match. On Impact!, he helped Rellik beat up Kaz. Later the same night, he appeared for an interview, as <mask>, without his Black Reign make-up and stated that his "alter ego" has been scaring him since when he was a little kid. His interview was interrupted by the furious Kaz.This led to a match between the two at Final Resolution where Kaz won. Reign and his partner Rellik then began feuding with Eric Young and his new superhero gimmick Super Eric. At Destination X, Black Reign and Rellik faced Eric Young and Kaz in a losing effort. At Lockdown, Black Reign and Rellik competed in a Six Team Cuffed in the Cage match which was won by Kaz and Super Eric. After three months of not showing up on television, Black Reign's profile was removed from the TNA roster page and he was released from his TNA contract. Independent circuit (2008)
Following his release from TNA in early 2008, Runnels briefly returned to Coastal Championship Wrestling to face the members of Phi Delta Slam (Bruno Sassi and Big Tilly) before beginning his fifth stint in WWE in October 2008. Fourth return to WWE

Various appearances (2008–2009)

On October 26, 2008, Runnels returned to the WWE at Cyber Sunday under his Goldust persona as part of the three choices (the other two being Roddy Piper and The Honky Tonk Man) that the fans could choose to face Santino Marella for the Intercontinental Championship.After Honky Tonk Man was chosen and won via disqualification, Goldust and Piper entered the ring and the three candidates fought Marella, afterwards celebrating together in the ring. The following night on Raw, Goldust appeared again with Piper and the Honky Tonk Man as guest commentators for Marella's match with Charlie Haas. The match ended when Goldust and Piper distracted Marella so that Honky Tonk Man could smash his guitar over Marella's head. Goldust appeared on the celebration of the 800th episode of Raw on November 3, 2008, dancing alongside his father <mask>, Lilian Garcia and several other wrestlers. A noticeably slimmer and quicker Goldust finally made a full-time return on the Raw roster once again on the November 24, 2008 episode of Raw, where he defeated Santino Marella. Goldust participated in the 2009 Royal Rumble match and stared down his real-life half-brother, <mask>, but was eliminated by him later. Goldust participated at WrestleMania XXV as a lumberjack during the tag team championship unification match between The Colóns and John Morrison and The Miz.On the May 25 episode of Raw, Goldust teamed up with Hornswoggle in a tag team match, where they defeated Festus and The Brian Kendrick. Goldust then teamed with Hornswoggle on multiple occasions, mainly feuding with Kendrick, where they had many matches both on WWE Superstars and Raw. Brand switches and NXT (2009–2010)
The team of Goldust and Hornswoggle came to an end on June 29, 2009, when Goldust was traded to the ECW brand via a 15-man trade,. His debut match for the brand came on the July 14 episode of ECW, in which he lost to Zack Ryder. In the upcoming weeks, he started a feud with Sheamus leading to his first televised singles win in several months on Superstars against Sheamus pinning him using an inside cradle. After several weeks of feuding, Sheamus defeated Goldust in a "No Disqualification" match on the September 1 episode of ECW on Syfy to end the feud. Following this loss, he garnered his first number one contender's match for the ECW Championship on the September 15, 2009, episode of ECW on Syfy in a 10-Man Battle Royal where he was the seventh participant eliminated and Zack Ryder earning the title shot in the end.The September 29, 2009, episode of ECW on Syfy saw Goldust win his first match on ECW in an eight-man tag team match where Yoshi Tatsu pinned William Regal to score the win for their team. On the November 10 episode of ECW on Syfy, Goldust won his first televised singles match on the ECW brand by pinning Paul Burchill. Goldust participated in an "ECW Homecoming" Match on the December 22 episode of ECW on Syfy to determine who got an opportunity to challenge Christian for the ECW Championship, but was defeated by Vance Archer. In early January, he teamed with Yoshi Tatsu and began a feud with ECW newcomers Trent Barreta and Caylen Croft. The duos exchanged victories in singles and tag team competition until the feud came to an end on the February 9 episode of ECW, when Goldust and Tatsu defeated Barreta and Croft in a match to determine the number one contenders to the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship. However, Goldust and Tatsu failed in capturing the titles on the final episode of ECW on Syfy. The team of Goldust and Yoshi Tatsu came to an end when Tatsu signed with the Raw brand after ECW on SyFy was canceled.On March 3, 2010, Goldust joined the SmackDown brand, He made his debut for the brand on the March 4 episode of Superstars in a losing effort against Chris Jericho. The following week on Superstars, he won his first match as a SmackDown star after defeating Mike Knox using his finishing move, the Final Cut, as well as beating William Regal also using the Final Cut soon afterwards. He appeared in a dark 26-man battle royal match at WrestleMania XXVI, but failed to win, although his past ally Yoshi Tatsu won. As part of the 2010 WWE Supplemental Draft, Goldust was drafted back to the Raw brand. On the May 3 episode of Raw, Goldust made his re-debut for the brand in a backstage segment with the guest host for that week, Wayne Brady. In late September, a mysterious stalker was sending messages to Maryse and Ted DiBiase Jr., but it was unsure who they were aimed at. On the October 4 episode of Raw, Goldust was revealed as the mystery stalker, but the messages were not directed to Maryse, but at DiBiase's Million Dollar Championship, which he then took.During the season 2 finale of NXT on August 31, 2010, it was announced that Goldust would take part in NXT's third season as a Pro with Aksana as his Rookie. On the October 12 episode of NXT Goldust proposed to Aksana, who was facing deportation from the country, so she could stay in America. On the October 18 episode of Raw, DiBiase tried to reclaim his Million Dollar Championship after Goldust's match with Zack Ryder by attacking him, but he was unsuccessful in retrieving his belt. At Bragging Rights, DiBiase defeated Goldust, but Goldust still left with the title after Aksana distracted DiBiase long enough for Goldust to hit his finisher on him. Goldust and Aksana were married on the November 2 episode of NXT with father <mask> and real-life half-brother "Dashing" <mask> in attendance. Immediately afterwards Aksana slapped Goldust and walked out on him. The following Monday on Raw Aksana stole the Million Dollar Championship belt during Goldust's match with Ted DiBiase.The following week on Raw Goldust managed to steal the Million Dollar Championship belt back from Aksana and then returned it to Ted DiBiase Sr., and on NXT he asked Aksana for a divorce after she was eliminated. Backstage producer and departure (2011–2012)
On December 7, 2010, it was reported that Runnels had suffered a shoulder injury. He underwent surgery to repair the injury on December 10 and, as a result, was expected to be out of action for five to six months. On the April 11, 2011, episode of Raw, he was seen (without makeup) hugging Edge after his retirement speech. On July 11, Runnels began working backstage as a producer. On the November 29 episode of the Smackdown Live Holiday Special Goldust made his surprise return on a backstage segment with his father <mask>. On the December 12 episode of the WWE Slammy Awards he appeared to announce the Slammy for A-Lister of The Year with Vickie Guerrero.On the December 30, 2011, episode of SmackDown <mask> appeared in his suit attire and no make up, to defend Booker T and confront his half brother, <mask>. <mask> made an appearance on the April 9, 2012 edition of Raw where he, along with numerous other WWE officials and superstars, were attempting to break up a brawl between Brock Lesnar and John Cena. On May 6, 2012, WWE acknowledged Goldust's departure from the company. Return to the independent circuit (2012–2013)
Runnels returned to professional wrestling on April 11, 2012, in Port St. Lucie, Florida, for Championship Wrestling Entertainment's event "WrestleFest", defeating JD Maverick in the main event. He then wrestled on July 14, 2012, in Hollywood, Florida, for the NWA Ring Warriors (part of NWA territories) promotion as Goldust, losing to Vordell Walker via disqualification when "Iceman" Buck Q interfered in the match. Runnels appeared for the Dreamwave Wrestling on September 15 in LaSalle, Illinois. Runnels continued to use the Goldust name outside WWE.Runnels appeared on Mr. Chainsaw Pro Wrestling's Battle Ground 5 event on May 18, 2013, in Kalkaska, Michigan, and billed as <mask> "Goldust" <mask>. Fifth return to WWE

Teaming with <mask> (2013–2015)

Runnels returned to WWE as Goldust at the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2013, as the eighth participant in the Rumble match. He was eliminated by his half-brother, <mask>, teasing a possible feud. but Goldust later confirmed that his return was a one night only deal. When Cody was (kayfabe) fired for speaking out against chief operating officer Triple H and then losing

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Dusty Rhodes
Dustin Rhodes
Dustin Rhodes
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Gold Dustin
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Gold Dustin
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Dustin Rhodes
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Dusty Rhodes
Cody Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes
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Rhodes
Dustin
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Cody Rhodes


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 to the WWE Champion Randy Orton, Goldust returned on the September 9 Raw to face Orton in a match to get his half-brother <mask> rehired, but was defeated. Following this, Goldust's father <mask> returned to WWE to ask Stephanie McMahon for Cody to be rehired. After much dialogue in which The Shield and Big Show interrupted, Stephanie McMahon gave Dusty two choices, which were to get knocked out by an unwilling Big Show or get "mauled by The Shield."Big Show then knocked Dusty out and stayed with Dusty while the paramedics arrived. In return, the <mask> brothers gatecrashed Raw by attacking the Shield. At Battleground, Cody and Goldust won their jobs back when they defeated the WWE Tag Team Champions, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in a non-title match. The <mask> brothers heaped more misery on the Shield by winning a no disqualification match on the October 14 Raw (with the help of Big Show) to capture the tag titles, marking Goldust's first title in WWE in nearly 11 years. By this point, many longtime Goldust mannerisms such as wearing a robe and platinum blonde wig to the ring were dropped in exchange for wearing a jacket similar to his brother; additionally, Goldust would now speak with his normal Texan voice. At Hell in a Cell, the <mask> brothers' first successful title defense came with winning a triple threat match against the Usos and Rollins and Reigns. At Survivor Series, Goldust alongside his half-brother Cody, participated in the traditional Survivor Series Tag Team match where Goldust survived till the final two alongside Rey Mysterio.However, he got eliminated by Roman Reigns and his team lost. At TLC: Tables Ladders and Chairs, the Rhodes Brothers retained the title in a fatal-4-way elimination match against Curtis Axel and Ryback, The Real Americans and Big Show and Rey Mysterio, but they lost the title to The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) at the Royal Rumble. Later in the Royal Rumble match, he would accidentally eliminate <mask>. After continuing to team together for months, Goldust and Cody broke up in June, after mounting losses. Cody prompted Goldust to find a new partner to replace him. On the June 16 episode of Raw, Cody debuted a new character, Stardust, wearing face paint and a bodysuit and adopting mannerisms similar to those of Goldust. At Money in the Bank, Goldust and Stardust defeated RybAxel (Curtis Axel and Ryback).Goldust and Stardust appeared in backstage segments, speaking of a "Cosmic Key". On the August 25 episode of Raw, Goldust and Stardust defeated The Usos in a title match via count-out, but, as a result, they did not win the title. The duo would then attack the Usos out of frustration, turning heel in the process. They confirmed their heel turn after attacking El Torito the following night on Main Event, having defeated Los Matadores in their tag team match. At Night of Champions they won the WWE Tag Team Championships once again by beating The Usos. At Hell in a Cell they retained their title by beating The Usos. At Survivor Series they lost the title to The Miz and Damien Mizdow.They had a rematch for the tag team titles the following night on Raw, but were unsuccessful. On the February 2, 2015 episode of Raw, after being defeated by The Ascension, Stardust would start to show his frustrations toward Goldust. On the February 16 episode of Raw, following a loss to The New Day members Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, Stardust would turn on Goldust by using his old finisher, <mask> on him, marking the end of Gold and Stardust, turning Goldust face in the process. This led to a match at Fastlane, where Goldust defeated Stardust. Later that night, while speaking to their father, <mask>, Goldust would be attacked by Stardust again. At WrestleMania 31, Goldust participated in the 2nd annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, where he was eliminated by Ryback. On the March 30, 2015 episode of Raw, Goldust lost via submission to Rusev.In May, Goldust announced that he would undergo surgery to address a shoulder injury and that he would be out of action for 2–4 months. Goldust made an appearance at NXT TakeOver: Respect without any facepaint to congratulate Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe after they won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament. Goldust returned from injury at Survivor Series, competing in a 5-on-5 traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match during the pre-show, teaming with The Dudley Boyz, Neville and Titus O'Neil, where they defeated the team of Stardust, The Ascension, The Miz and Bo Dallas. Goldust would continue feuding with his brother, Stardust, on Raw and SmackDown during the months of November and December. On the December 17 episode of SmackDown, Goldust would cost Tyler Breeze his match against O'Neil after distracting Breeze by appearing at ringside. On the December 31 episode of SmackDown, Goldust would be defeated by Breeze. The Golden Truth (2016–2017)

In early 2016, during various episodes of Raw and SmackDown, Goldust approached R-Truth and proposed they form a tag team to no avail.At Fastlane, Goldust inadvertently cost R-Truth his match against Curtis Axel. Following Fastlane, R-Truth began to apologize and attempt to form a tag team with Goldust, with Goldust rejecting. On the March 21 episode of Raw, Goldust came to R-Truth's aid after Truth was defeated by Bubba Ray Dudley. At WrestleMania 32, Goldust took part in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in a losing effort. On the April 11 episode of Raw, Shane McMahon announced a number one contenders tournament for the WWE Tag Team Championship, which included Goldust and Truth teaming together. On the April 14 episode of SmackDown, Goldust would tell R-Truth before their match they would not team together, with Goldust instead teaming with Fandango, where they were defeated by The Vaudevillains in the first round. On the April 22 episode of Smackdown, Goldust was the special referee for the match of R-Truth and Fandango, which R-Truth won.On the May 2 episode of Raw, Goldust faced off against R-Truth's new partner, Tyler Breeze, in a losing effort following a distraction from R-Truth. On the May 12 episode of SmackDown, the two teams would face each other, with Goldust and Truth refusing to fight each other, resulting in Fandango and Breeze forming an alliance and attacking Goldust and R-Truth, with Fandango subsequently allowing Breeze to pin Goldust. On the May 16 episode of Raw, Goldust and Truth began teaming together, where they were defeated by the newly dubbed Breezango (Fandango and Breeze). The week after on SmackDown, Golden Truth started a losing streak, losing to the likes of Breezango and The Dudley Boyz. Golden Truth earned their first victory on the Money in the Bank pre-show after defeating Breezango. In the 2016 WWE Draft, Goldust, along with R-Truth, was drafted to Raw. The Golden Truth later entered into a feud with The Shining Stars.On the July 25 episode of Raw, The Golden Truth would enter the ring during a tag team match between Enzo and Cass and The Shining Stars, playing Pokémon Go! Over a number of months The Shining Stars would attempt to persuade R-Truth into purchasing a one-way ticket to Puerto Rico which saw Goldust continually but in and save R-Truth from being conned. On the August 1 episode of Raw, The Golden Truth would be defeated by The Shining Stars. On the October 17 episode of Raw, The Golden Truth were joined by Mark Henry in their feud against the Shining Stars. They would go on to defeat The Shining Stars & Titus O'Neil in an 8-man tag team match on the same episode of Raw. On the October 31 episode of Raw, Goldust would compete in a battle royal with the winner being added to Team Raw at Survivor Series. Goldust was unsuccessful with Braun Strowman winning the battle royal and joining Team Raw in the process.The Golden Truth were later announced as members of the 10-man Survivor Series Raw Tag Team stable but later lost their spots a week later when it was revealed R-Truth had sold their spots on the team to the Shining Stars for tickets to Puerto Rico. On the November 7 episode of Raw, The Shining Stars defeated The Golden Truth to join Team Raw. On the November 28 episode of Raw, Goldust attacked Braun Strowman after his victory over R-Truth. Sami Zayn would then run into the ring and help in attacking Strowman. At WWE Tribute to the Troops on December 14, The Golden Truth competed in a Fatal 4-Way tag team match to determine the #1 contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship against Cesaro and Sheamus, Gallows and Anderson, and The Shining Stars, which was won by Cesaro and Sheamus. On the March 27, 2017 episode of Raw, the Golden Truth was confirmed for the 4th annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33, however neither one of them was successful in winning. On the April 17 episode of Raw, The Golden Truth were going to compete against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson but were attacked backstage by Braun Strowman, leaving Enzo Amore and Big Cass to take The Golden Truth's place in the match.On the May 8 episode of Raw, The Golden Truth participated in the tag team turmoil match for the No. 1 Contenders spot against The Hardy Boyz, but lost to Cesaro and Sheamus. On the May 15 episode of Raw, R-Truth apologized to Goldust for "letting the team down". Goldust replied by saying they "win and lose as a team". However, later that night, Goldust attacked R-Truth before a match against Gallows and Anderson, turning heel for the first time since 2015, and breaking up The Golden Truth. Heel turn and departure (2017–2019)
On the May 22 episode of Raw, a vignette was aired with Goldust, stating that he was in the director's chair and that "the Golden Age is back", starting a feud with R-Truth. On the July 10 episode of Raw, Goldust defeated R-Truth, concluding their feud.On the August 28 episode of Raw, Goldust participated in the 15-man battle royal for a shot at the Intercontinental Championship. Goldust was unsuccessful though, as he was eliminated by Luke Gallows. On the September 11 episode of Raw, Goldust faced Bray Wyatt in a losing effort. After the match, Wyatt used a towel to remove his facepaint, saying he was "just a man", as a shot towards the face and body paint Wyatt's rival Finn Bálor would use. The next week on Raw, under his real name and without his signature facepaint (although still using Goldust's theme and ring attire), <mask> faced Wyatt once again in a losing effort. Bálor ran down to help <mask> after the match, when Wyatt continued to attack him. <mask>, however, resented the help and attacked Bálor during a confrontation backstage on the September 25 episode of Raw.He had a match against Bálor later that night, but was defeated. At Starrcade, he competed as "The Natural" <mask>, defeating Dash Wilder with the bulldog. On the January 1, 2018 episode of Raw, <mask>, now back as Goldust, teamed with Cedric Alexander to defeat Drew Gulak and Ariya Daivari. A rematch took place on the January 2 episode of 205 Live, a show usually reserved for competitors under 205 pounds. At the Royal Rumble, Goldust entered the Royal Rumble match at number 29, but was eliminated by Dolph Ziggler. In January, Goldust was announced as a competitor in the WWE Mixed Match Challenge alongside Alicia Fox. Fox was replaced by Mandy Rose after an injury, and Goldust and Rose lost in the first round to Jimmy Uso and Naomi on February 6.On the March 5 episode of Raw, Goldust would confront and attack John Cena during a promo, stating he would "shatter his dreams", but was subsequently defeated by Cena that same night. On the April 2 episode of Raw, Goldust cut a backstage promo where he announced his participation in the upcoming André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal match at WrestleMania 34, and lost a match to "Woken" Matt Hardy that same night. At Wrestlemania 34, Goldust participated in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, where he eliminated R-Truth. At the Greatest Royal Rumble, Goldust entered the aforementioned match at number 18 and lasted 10 minutes before being eliminated by Bobby Roode. In July, Goldust underwent surgery on both knees. On March 28, 2019, it was reported by Pro Wrestling Sheet that Runnels left the WWE after his contract expired, thus ending his six-year tenure with the promotion. Runnels confirmed his departure on April 21, 2019, stating he asked for his release.All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)

On April 20, 2019, it was revealed on "Road to Double or Nothing" that Runnels would face his real life half-brother, Cody, at All Elite Wrestling (AEW)'s Double or Nothing pay-per-view. At Double or Nothing on May 25, Runnels, under his old gimmick as "The Natural", failed to win. Post-match, the brothers embraced after the announcement they would reunite to face The Young Bucks at the Fight for the Fallen event on July 13. On August 2, 2019, it was announced that <mask> had signed a multi-year deal with All Elite Wrestling as wrestler and coach. On the premiere episode of AEW Dynamite on October 2, <mask> returned to TNT for the first time in over 18 years, <mask>, The Young Bucks and his half-brother Cody were attacked by The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Santana and Ortiz, Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager). On the October 22, 2019, episode of AEW Dark, Runnels picked up his first victory, by pinning Cima, in an 8-Man Tag Team Match. On the October 23, 2019, episode of Dynamite where he helped his brother Cody and MJF attack Chris Jericho and his stable The Inner Circle.Runnels' feud with The Inner Circle concluded when he lost to Jake Hager in Hager's AEW debut match at Revolution. On the Road to Double or Nothing special, <mask> announced that if he were to lose to Kip Sabian in the first round of the TNT Championship tournament then he would retire. On the April 22, 2020, episode of Dynamite, <mask> defeated Kip Sabian to win the quarterfinals match and advance to the second round of the TNT Championship Tournament. The second round saw him facing "The Murderhawk" Lance Archer, with <mask> losing the match. During the May 20 broadcast of Dynamite, Shawn Spears insulted <mask> and the <mask> family during a segment, setting up a match between the two at the Double or Nothing on May 23, 2020. During his Double or Nothing return match, <mask> ripped Spears' clothes and won via pinfall after hitting the Final Reckoning (Curtain Call). <mask> and QT Marshall who first teamed as "The Natural Nightmares" on February 19, unsuccessfully challenged for the AEW World Tag Team Championship against Kenny Omega and Adam Page on the June 17 Dynamite.To avenge Cody losing the TNT Championship to Brodie Lee, <mask> and Marshall teamed with Matt Cardona and Scorpio Sky at All Out, defeating The Dark Order (Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana, Evil Uno and Stu Grayson). After the match, <mask> challenged Brodie for the TNT Championship on the following Dynamite, which he lost. On the November 11, 2020, episode of Dynamite, "The Natural Nightmares" teamed up again to defeat Butcher and Blade in a Bunkhouse match. On the December 9, 2020, episode of Dynamite, "The Natural" <mask> wrestled in a singles match, defeating the Dark Order's 10 by pinfall. Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Other media
He also appears in Black Moth Super Rainbow's video for "Hairspray Heart", from their album Cobra Juicy. Personal life
Runnels is the son of Virgil Runnels, better known as "The American Dream" <mask> (1945–2015), and his first wife Sandra. His half-brother is fellow wrestler <mask>.He has two sisters, Kristin Runnels Ditto, who is a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, and Teil Gergel. Runnels was previously married to Terri Runnels. They have a daughter, Dakota Avery, who was born in 1994. The couple divorced after six years of marriage on October 18, 1999. Runnels also has a step son. Runnels' autobiography, Cross Rhodes: Goldust, Out of the Darkness, was released on December 14, 2010. In the book, Runnels mentioned that he was married a second time to an unnamed woman."I also had a short-lived and highly volatile second marriage. We only dated for a few months, then, one day, we just went to the justice of the peace and did the deed." He was referring to Milena Martelloni, whom he married on December 18, 2002; they divorced in 2003. Runnels married his third wife, Ta-rel Marie Roche, on June 22, 2012. Controversies
<mask> was part of the infamous 2002 Plane Ride from Hell. He was accused of sexual misconduct by one of the flight attendants. The flight attendants sued the WWE claiming that <mask> said that they were going to have sex.The case was settled out of court. <mask> was also credited with stopping a sexual assault by Ric Flair against another flight attendant aboard the same flight. Championships and accomplishments

 American Combat Wrestling
 ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 Championship Wrestling from Florida
 NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 FCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mike Graham
 Coastal Championship Wrestling
 CCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Professional Wrestling Federation
PWF Florida Championship (1 time)
 Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 Comeback of the Year (2013)
Match of the Year (2019) –
 Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1991)
 Ranked No. 11 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1996

masks:
Cody Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes
Cody Rhodes
Cross Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes
Dustin Rhodes
Rhodes
Dustin Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes
Dustin Rhodes
Dustin
Dustin
Dustin
Rhodes
Dustin
Dustin
Dustin
Dustin
Dustin Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes
Cody Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes


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<mask> (born 12 June 1946) is a Dutch blues guitarist. <mask> played with Cuby + Blizzards (which he co-founded together with Harry Muskee) until 1976. Cuby + Blizzards (1966–1974)
Cuby + Blizzards (C+B) was founded by <mask> and Harry Muskee in 1964. Their first single was released in 1965 followed by a string of albums starting in 1966. During his time with Cuby + Blizzards the band became famous in Holland, Germany and the UK. They played, recorded and toured with Eddie Boyd, Van Morrison and Alexis Korner. In 1966 they toured with John Mayall and when Mayall came over to the Netherlands to stay for a couple of days, he asked <mask> to join the Bluesbreakers.<mask> did not agree and stayed with Cuby + Blizzards. The 1969 album Appleknockers Flophouse is considered one of the greatest Dutch Blues albums. The guitar work rivals that of many great players like Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor. The band recorded their last album in 1974, named Het Afscheidsconcert (The Farewell Concert). Harry Muskee and Eelco formed Red, White 'n Blue but after two singles and an album reunited with Herman Brood in 1976 for a short period to record two more Cuby albums Kid Blue and Old times, Good times. In the early 1990s C+B was re-formed this time without <mask>. Golden Earring (1977-1979)
In 1977, he joined Golden Earring who he played with for several years.He first appeared as a fully fledged member on "Contraband" (released in the U.S. under the title "Mad Love"). Eelco's haunting slide work is highlighted on the tracks "Sueleen" and "Bombay". While out on tour the group recorded their first live album "Golden Earring Live". Eelco helps the group deliver many of their classics including an extended version of the group's smash hit "Radar Love". <mask> also plays on the group's "Grab it for a Second" album. During a tour in the United States he left the band; after discussions about musical style and after his favorite guitar (a Gibson Les Paul) was stolen from a cab in New York, he quit Golden Earring and went back to the Netherlands. 80's and 90's
When Eelco returned to Holland, Harry Muskee asked him to join the Muskee Gang, during a recording session Eelco was fired and left for The Hague to join the Freelance band.He played in several bands and after a few years started his own, the Eelco Gelling Band. 2000's and onwards
In 2000 <mask> joined The Hague local band, Xray for a show in Doornroosje in Nijmegen. A live recording with two original songs was released in early 2001. On 25 June 2010 the Eelco Gelling Band performed for the last time, since then the band continued as Kroppo's Blues Band, without <mask>. In 2010, C+B Classic, Window of my eyes was used in the movie The American featuring George Clooney. In 2012, <mask> appeared in the documentary 'Gitaar Jongens' (Guitar Guys) by Henny Vrienten. <mask> was interviewed at home and appeared on stage at the Royal Carre to play with Jan Akkerman.Eelco hadn't played for a couple of years and has since been working to get back in shape. In 2013 and 2014, Jan Akkerman asked Eelco to join him for some shows in Zoetermeer and Groningen. On April 14, 2015, Eelco was inducted in the Dutch Blues Hall of Fame and presented with a trophy by former C+B manager Johan Derksen. He also received a 45-year-overdue Gold Record for Groeten uit Grolloo. Eelco played a surprise set with Ruben Hoeke and Raymond van Kuijen. On April 29, 2015, Eelco opened the exposition, "Eelco Gelling, Geweldenaar op de Gitaar" (Savage or Giant on Guitar) at the C+B Museum in Grolloo. Guitars and amps
Eelco's favorite guitar is his longtime companion the famous sunburst 1960 Gibson Les Paul.Eelco has owned this guitar since the early Cuby days when he traded his Gibson ES-330 for it. The guitar has been stolen, broken, abused and was recently restored to former glory. Eelco used a Fender Concert (4x10) or a Marshall 100 watt stack to amplify his guitar. In the 1980s, when Eelco played with Blues Connection, he usually resorted to playing on his Acoustic Control Corporation Model 165 combo. After departing from Blues Connection in the early 1990s, Eelco started using both the Koch KC50 and the Koch Multitone amplifiers. Recently he has switched back to Marshalls and now uses a small Marshall Class 5 combo.

masks:
Eelco Gelling
Gelling
Eelco Gelling
Gelling
Gelling
Gelling
Gelling
Eelco
Gelling
Eelco
Eelco


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<mask> (; 29 October 1925 – 9 August 2019), also known as Takis (), was a self-taught Greek artist known for his kinetic sculptures. He exhibited his artworks in Europe and the United States. Popular in France, his works can be found in public locations in and around Paris, as well as at the Athens-based Takis Foundation Research Center for the Arts and Sciences. Early life
Takis was born in 1925 in Athens. Because of the previous Greco-Turkish War, his family struggled financially. His childhood and teen years were also shadowed by war. World War II brought along the Axis Occupation of Greece which was in effect from 1941 until October 1944, and this was then followed by the Greek Civil War from 1946 to 1949.During these, Takis kept his focus on his artwork, although his family did not approve. Career
Takis' artistic career started when he was around 20 years old in a basement workshop. This is where he first became aware of the works of Picasso and Giacometti. He was intrigued by the long, exaggerated features that Giacometti would use in his sculptures. He created his first atelier with his childhood friends, and fellow artists, Minos Argyrakis and Raimondos, in Anakassa, Athens. His first sculptures were influenced by both Giacometti's elongated sculptures and the Greek sculptures that he grew up around. The first sculptures that he created were plaster busts and combinations of plaster and wrought iron.In 1952 he sculpted Quatre Soldats (The Four Soldiers). In 1954, Takis moved to Paris where he learned to forge, weld, and cast metal. While there, he created small sculptures inspired by early Greek Cycladic and Egyptian art. In Paris he also met artists like Yves Klein and Jean Tinguely who were experimenting with kinetic sculptures, which began to shift his interest from the static to the kinetic. Those two artists weren't the only influences on Takis' work in kinetics. Because of his nearly constant travel via train station, as well as his interest in the recently invented radar, Takis became fascinated with energies and things that cannot be seen, but are integral parts of our lives. In 1957, Takis was waiting at a train station and noticed how the lights and energies of the station melded together.This influenced the creation of a series of sculptures, Signaux (Signals). Signals are sculptures that are made of long thin metal rods that vibrate and bend as wind passes through them, similar to energy caught by radar transmitters. Takis saw these Signals as capturing the energies of the wind and sky. His first Signals were much more rigid than later creations in the same series. To show the distribution of energy, as well as provide a street show, Takis would put fireworks on the top of these sculptures. Later on, as the sculptures in the series gained more flexibility, the rods would bend and vibrate, and at times collide with each other, creating sounds that give the sense of chords and the melody of a harp. In the 21st century, the sculptures have sold for around €100,000.In 1958, Takis started to experiment with other energies not visible to the naked eye, particularly magnets. He explored the magnetic forces and energy of the magnetic fields, which became a foundation of his future works. He also had a child with English artist Sheila Fell in 1958. A year later, he created a piece that depicts a nail tied to a nylon string which is suspended in mid-air by the attraction of a magnet. This piece is the first of his télémagnétiques sculptures. It came to be known as Télésculpture. Takis also began a relationship with American artist Liliane Lijn this year.In 1960, Takis moved on from floating nails to a floating man. At the Iris Clert Gallery in Paris, Takis set up a series of magnets, and outfitted the South African poet, Sinclair Beiles, with a line of magnets on his belt. In the performance, Beiles read from his magnetic manifest: " I am a sculpture... There are more sculptures like me. The main difference is that they cannot talk... I would like to see all nuclear bombs on Earth turned into sculptures..." and he then "threw" himself into the air, and was briefly suspended by the magnetic field interacting between the different magnet sets. Takis continued to do experimental work with different energies in the world.Along with his work in magnetics, he also experimented with electricity, sound and light. With these new influences, he created Telepeintures (Telepaintings), Telelumieres (Telelights), Cadrans, and Musicals. While learning about these different energies and experimenting with them, he traveled often to the major artistic and metropolitan centers of the world. One such trip was in 1961, where he traveled to America and met his future friend, Marcel Duchamp. In 1966, Takis began to use his magnets to create art with sounds, as well as visuals. His installation Electro-Magnetic Musical is a series of white panels with guitar strings stretched across their width, and a long needle suspended in front of the strings. Each string is attached to an amplifier and an electro magnet is concealed behind each panel.The magnets cause the metal needles to sway back and forth, and at times hit a string which creates vibrations that are amplified and played through various speakers. These vibrations release sound waves that form mysterious and serene humming music. Takis likened the music to the sound of the natural forces of the cosmos. Two years later Takis moved to Massachusetts, where he received a researcher's scholarship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the Center of Advanced Visual Studies as a visiting researcher, and began creating the series of Sculptures électromagnétiques. He studied hydrodynamic energy here, and his invention, Sculpture hydromagnétique, is the result of his research at MIT. The liquid is suspended because of electromagnetic forces, and this energy inspired Sea Oscillation Hydrodynamics. Takis' second aspect in this work is inspired by "the perpetual moving bicycle wheel of Marcel Duchamp".In January 1969 during the exhibition The Machine as Seen at the End of the Mechanical Age, at MOMA in New York City, Takis stormed into the museum and removed one of his Télésculptures which he claimed was being exhibited without his permission. The artist considered this action as a symbolic one, which would begin a better dialogue between museum directors, artists, and the public. Takis, along with other artists as well as art critics like Nicolas Calas, established the Art Workers Coalition group to defend the rights of artists. He inspired a group of people to start a chip company of the same name. In 1974, Takis returned to Paris and started creating his Erotic sculptures. He returned to Greece in 1986 where he established the Research Center for Art and the Sciences in Gerovouno, Attica, although its official inauguration wasn't until 1993. Even though he was known for his musical sculptures, they are not the only musical pieces made by Takis.Takis also provided musical curation for plays and performances, including when he collaborated with Costa Gavras for the film Section Spéciale (Special Court) in 1975, with Michael Cacoyannis for the play Electra of Sophocles in 1983, with Nam June Paik in 1979, with Joelle Léandre, with a dancer, Martha Zioga, for the performance titled "Ligne Paralléle Erotique" in 1986, and with Barbara Mayrothalassiti for "Isis Awakening" in 1990. He created scenery for these performances as well. In an interview published in the Tate catalogue, issued for the major retrospective held in Tate Modern in 2019, just one month before his death, Takis explains his role as one of demystification. "It’s only about revealing, in one way or another, the sensory vibrations or the interlacing potentials for energy that exist in the universe," he explains. "I think that’s the role of an artist, whether painter, sculptor or musician. ... I don’t think this energy should be considered as something abstract."Works

 1952 - Quatre Soldats
 1955 - Oedipus and Antigone, Sphinx and Eidolon
 1957 - Signaux
 1957 - Espaces Intérieurs, Plants
 1959 - Télésculpture
 1961 - Ballets Magnétiques, Télépeintures, Télélumieres
 1965 - First Sculptures Musicales
 1974 - First Espace Musical, Sculptures Erotiques
 1981 - 3 Totems - Espace Musical
 1990 - Signaux Lumineux

Performances and Exhibits

 1955 - First one-man show abroad: Figures of plaster and iron at the Hanover Gallery in London. 1956 - Participated in the First International Exhibition of the Plastic Arts. 1960 - Performance at the Iris Clert Gallery in Paris under the title The Impossible, A Man Within Space. 1961 - His Sculptures Télémagnétiques go on show at the Art Gallery of Alexandros Iolas in New York City
 1963: Takis created his first musical in collaboration with Earle Brown, entitled the "Sound of Void". It is exhibited one year later in Cordier-Ekstrom Gallery in New York City, in an exposition titled For Eyes and Ears. The Sound of Void is the predecessor of the Musical Sculpture. 1966: Cadrans.– Takis' Electro-musical relief at Indica Gallery in London. 1967: Participated in the Light and Motion exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. 1972: Retrospective at the Centre National d'Art Contemporain in Paris. 1973: Holland Festival Ballet: Takis's Light Signals and Sound Sculptures form the stage setting and inspire the choreography of Jaap Flier's dance group "Elkesis" of the Nederlands Dans Theater. – Théâtre de l'Odéon in Paris: Cacoyiannis directs the Vacantes while Takis composes the performance's music. 1974: The first Espace Musical goes on exhibition at the Kunstverein in Hanover. Takis composes the music for Costas Gavras' film Section spéciale.1977: Participates in Documenta VI at Kassel, exhibiting an Espace Musical
 1979: Performance with Charlemagne Palestine at the Musée Rath in Geneva. – Kölnischer Kunstverein, performance with Nam June Paik in Cologne inspired by Takis's Espace Musical. 1981: 3 totems – Espace Musical at the Forum of the Centre Georges Pompidou. 1983: Takis creates the music and the stage design for Sophocles' Electra directed by Michael Cacoyannis, in Epidaurus. 1984: Participates in the exhibition The Century of Kafka at the Centre Georges Pompidou. 1985: The Centre Georges Pompidou orders a Mur Magnétique for the entrance to the Galeries Contemporaines. – First prize at the Paris Biennale.1986: "Parallel Erotic Line": a performance with Joelle Leandre (musician) and Martha Zioga (dancer) at the Musée Rath, in Geneva. 1987: The defense public authority grants Takis the use of the largest space that has ever been given to any artist in the history of Paris: 3,500 m2 (26,840 sq ft) for a forest of 76 Signaux,  high. 1988: Wins the French Grand Prix for Sculpture. – Creates a signal for the Seoul Olympic park. – "Jocasta": performance and exhibition "Electra 88", in Stavros Mihalarias Art Center. Takis designs the costumes, composes the music, sets the scenery and directs the performance. 1990: Commissioned for Signaux lumineux for the Grande Arche de la Défense.– Takis's representative works at Galerie Xippas in Paris. – "Isidos Awakening": performance with Barbara Maurothalasiti. 1992: Transforms the Beauvais waterworks into a 65 m (211 feet) musical sculpture. 1993: Retrospective at the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume. – Inauguration of K.E.T.E. in Athens. Five Aeolian Signals ornament UNESCO's garden.– The Minister of Greek Culture, Melina Mercouri, described them as "totems of the 21st century". – French Republic honors Takis with the special edition of a stamp depicting Takis' spiral. 1994: The Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume exhibition is shown at the School for Fine Arts in Athens. 1995: Takis is elected to represent Greece at the 46th Venice Biennale where he declares: "I am a citizen of the world" and "annuls" the Greek pavilion as a symbolic gesture of the annulment of frontiers in art; choosing to exhibit in the open space before the pavilion. 1999: The Attiko Metro authority commissions the creation of a work for the Syngrou Fix station in Athens. 2000: The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) and the Hayward Gallery in London put Takis' artworks on show. – Takis exposes his "solar energy sculpture" in Delphi.2001: The European Parliament awards the "Research Center for the Art and the Sciences" an Honorary Plaque for its contribution to the field of renewable energy sources. – Takis donates three signals for the permanent collection of Centre Pompidou in Paris. The signals are placed in the terrace of the building in the 5th floor. Four years later, the picture of the three artworks is used for Centre Pompidou's Christmas card. – The Galerie Xippas exhibits Takis's artworks within the framework of manifestations for the Art Athina 2001 project. 2003: Takis participates in the exhibition Music Mirrors – History Conscience commissioned by the Company for the Creation of a New Building for the Greek Lyric Stage and Academy – "Maria Kallas". He offers a "musical" as a symbolic gesture for the New Greek Opera.– Takis's Ligne paralléle vibrative (1972) and Colonne magnétique (2003) are presented at Xippas gallery in Athens. – Exhibition at the European Cultural Center of Delphi: Takis participates with the Dedication to Apollo (study 1). 2004: The Musical Spheres are displayed in the Atomium's exposition en equilibre et en movement. – Takis new work the Music of Spheres: Musical Space 1 is shown in Larissa Contemporary Art Center in Greece. – Magnetic Walls, Aeolian Signals, Antigravity Spheres, and Musical Spheres are exhibited in one art show in Sicily (Galleria Credito Siciliano) and Milan (Galleria Gruppo). – The Olympic Games in Athens inspires Takis to exhibit his Olympic Spirals and Aeolian Signals in the National Glyptotheque as well as in the exhibition Athens by Art organized by the Athenian municipality. Takis's poster inspired by the Athens 2004 Games and commissioned by the Musée d'art contemporain du Val-de-Marne.– He puts out of use four of his Musicals exhibited in Athens by the Bonham's auction house. He arranges that these are not sold by auction in London. 2005: Solar Magnetic Fields exhibition at Stavros Mihalarias Art Center in Athens. 2015: "The Fourth Dimension" exhibition at The Menil Collection, Houston, TX – "Takis, Magnetic Fields", Solo exhibition at Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
 2016: "The Signals and The Fourth Dimension" at Xippas Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland
2019: Takis retrospective at TATE Modern; the largest exhibition of Takis's work ever held in the UK, bringing together over 70 works. The exhibition, after Tate was presented in MACBA Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona and the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens. 2020: Takis exhibition at White Cube in Hong Kong, marking the late artist's first exhibition in Asia. References

Notes

Other sources

Busch, Julia M.; A Decade of Sculpture: the New Media in the 1960s (The Art Alliance Press: Philadelphia)
Associated University Presses: London, (1974)

External links
 Update on his work

Greek contemporary artists
Greek sculptors
1925 births
2019 deaths
Artists from Athens


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<mask> (née Okuboye, 28 September 1961) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidstone and The Weald since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, she succeeded Ann Widdecombe, who was first elected in 1997. <mask> was the first black woman of mixed heritage to be elected as a Conservative MP and selected as a candidate to stand for a Conservative-held parliamentary seat. She first served in government as jointly Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities (2012–2015) and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (2012–2013). She also became Minister for Sport and Tourism in 2013, a post she held until after the 2015 general election. In January 2021, she was appointed as Special Envoy of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Girls' Education. Early life and career
<mask> was born in Willesden, now in north London to an English mother and a Nigerian father, who was an orthopedic surgeon.She grew up in a single parent family after her parents separated and her father emigrated to the United States. She was raised in Carlisle where she lived on the city's Raffles council estate with her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. In a 2010 interview she spoke fondly of her childhood, and the house in which she grew up. "I had happy memories in that house and it gave me a good start in life, [...] There was deprivation around, there was certainly need, there was some domestic violence and there were some fights. But my memory of the square where we lived is that there was pride in people." At St Aidan's County High School (since 2008 the Richard Rose Central Academy) she was captain of the school tennis and hockey teams, and represented Cumbria in hockey, tennis, athletics, and cross-country. She was also an under-16 judo champion for the north of England and southern Scotland.She studied law at the University of Hull, after which she planned to take specialist legal qualifications. When it appeared unlikely that her local education authority would fund a place at her preferred college, her local MP Willie Whitelaw championed her cause, and she took a place at the College of Law in Guildford. <mask> undertook her articles of clerkship at Cartmell, Mawson & Main solicitors in Carlisle, where she qualified as a solicitor. She then joined a legal practice in Wimbledon specialising in family law. She established her own practice, Grants Solicitors, in 1996, which also specialises in family law. She has subsequently said that as a practising lawyer she saw a 'huge amount' of domestic violence, and that it had a 'huge effect' on her subsequent Ministerial role. <mask> joined the Labour Party in 2004 and was asked by a senior local party figure to consider becoming a local councillor, but she rejected the idea.She offered the local party the use of her company's telephones in late 2004 prior to the 2005 general election. She claimed, however, they showed little interest, and that this left her feeling disillusioned with Labour. She joined the Conservatives in 2006, and later said of her membership of Labour: "It was almost looking in the biscuit barrel, not liking the look of the biscuits, and slamming the lid shut". <mask> was a non-executive director of the Croydon NHS Primary Care Trust from January 2005 to March 2007 before stepping down to concentrate on her political career. In 2006, <mask> worked with Iain Duncan Smith's Centre for Social Justice in the formation of Conservative policy to deal with family breakdown. <mask> was one of the authors of the Social Justice Policy Group Report 'State of the Nation – Fractured Families' published in December 2006, and the follow-up solutions report 'Breakthrough Britain' published in July 2007. Parliamentary career
<mask> applied to become a parliamentary candidate, and was approved as a candidate in May 2006.She was selected by the Conservative Party as the prospective candidate for Maidstone and The Weald in January 2008, as the candidate to succeed longstanding MP Ann Widdecombe who had announced that she would be stepping down at the next general election. She was the first black woman to be selected to defend a Conservative seat, which at the time had a majority of 15,000. She was selected as an A-List candidate and, although she was publicly supported by the sitting MP, Widdecombe criticised David Cameron's  policy of ensuring 50% of the Conservatives' A-list candidates were women—a policy thought to have helped <mask> win the nomination. This was quickly followed by revelations from a Sunday newspaper regarding her previous membership of Labour. <mask> was elected as the Conservative MP for Maidstone and The Weald at the 2010 general election on 6 May 2010, achieving a reduced majority of 5,889. Her election made her the Conservative Party's first black woman MP. In June 2010, she was elected to the Justice Select Committee, a House of Commons select committee which oversees the policy, administration, and spending of the UK's Ministry of Justice.On 4 September 2012, following a Government reshuffle, <mask> was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, and Women and Equality. She has been described as the 'Minister for Victims' of crime, and states her role as to 'look after the interests of victims and witnesses of any crime, including domestic violence, sexual violence and rape.'. On 7 October 2013, <mask> was appointed Sports and Equalities minister succeeding Hugh Robertson. She is a former judo champion, and told The Independent newspaper that sport was "very much in my DNA". However, the following month when quizzed by her regional news television station ITV Meridian, she failed to answer a single question correctly on the subject. On 12 May 2015, following the general election, <mask> was removed from her position as Sports Minister and was replaced by her neighbouring MP and colleague Tracey Crouch. <mask> was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 EU membership  referendum.<mask> is the Parliamentary Chair for the Conservative Friends of the Commonwealth. Expenses controversy 2012
<mask> attracted controversy in November 2012 when an edition of the Channel 4 documentary series Dispatches  reported that she was according to published records claiming the full £1,666.67/month under MPs expenses – the maximum allowed within the IPSA rules – for a flat in London, when she has a home in Kingswood, Surrey, near Reigate. Kingswood  is located within a zone around London in which MPs cannot claim expenses for a London rental, but it is allowed in her case because she represents Maidstone and the Weald, which is outside the exclusion zone. At that time <mask> used a base bordering her constituency, where her mother lives and her son also lived while at school in Maidstone until 2013. IPSA confirmed that <mask> was entitled to a second-home allowance on Parliamentary expenses because her constituency was outside London, and her claim was within the rules. However, Labour MP John Mann, a long-standing campaigner on MPs' expenses, described the minister's actions as "outrageous" and a "farce":

However, Mann's comments were countered by the Reigate MP Crispin Blunt. He said: "<mask> has a substantial ministerial portfolio, constituents, a constituency and family responsibilities to manage.Her arrangements are not analogous to mine". "These are part of the trade-offs that MPs and ministers have to make all the time to try to meet all the competing demands on them. Frankly, I think this is a pretty cheap shot by Dispatches and I would hope you would be sympathetic to someone who has done a considerable public service, by moving from a successful professional service business into public service at significant expense to herself and her family". IPSA controversy
<mask> was also involved in controversy after the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority found that the standard employment contract template for the majority of her staff had been amended although her husband, who was also employed by her, remained on an unaltered contract. A member of staff requiring time off for a medical condition discovered their contract had been amended to offer only two weeks' sick pay rather than the IPSA contract standard of 26 weeks. <mask> initially refused to comment on the claim although the Ministry of Justice stated that the changes to contracts were an attempt to provide a "fairer deal" for taxpayers. IPSA stated that the contract should not have been changed.<mask>'s husband resigned from his position after it was revealed he remained on an unaltered contract, and had known about the discrepancy for two months without informing his wife. It was claimed that this was due to "oversight on his part rather than design" and he had not received any benefits from remaining on the unaltered contract. Personal life
<mask> met her husband, Simon, in 1990, and the couple, who married in 1991, have two sons, one of whom was serving in the Royal Marines in April 2013. They have a home in Kingswood, Surrey and in the constituency in Marden, Kent. References

External links
 <mask> Official website
 <mask> at Conservatives.com

1961 births
Living people
Alumni of The College of Law
Alumni of the University of Hull
Black British women politicians
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
English people of Nigerian descent
English solicitors
Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Labour Party (UK) people
Politicians from Carlisle, Cumbria
People from Willesden
UK MPs 2010–2015
UK MPs 2015–2017
UK MPs 2017–2019
UK MPs 2019–present
21st-century British women politicians
People from Marden, Kent
People from Reigate and Banstead (district)
Black British MPs

masks:
Helen Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Helen Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Helen
Grant
Grant
Grant
Grant
Helen Grant
Helen Grant