The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers centered on the Las Vegas casino scene. It originated in a group of friends that met at the Los Angeles home of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.[1] In the 1960s the group featured Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop among others. They appeared together on stage and in films in the early 1960s, including the movies Ocean's 11,[2] Sergeants 3, and Robin and the 7 Hoods (in the last film, Bing Crosby replaced Lawford). Sinatra, Martin, and Davis were regarded as the group's lead members after Bogart's death.[3][4]
The Three Stooges | |
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Medium | Vaudeville, film, television |
Nationality | American |
Years active | 1922–1970 |
Genres | Farce, slapstick, musical comedy |
Former members |
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best known for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures that have been regularly airing on television since 1958. Their hallmark was physical farce and slapstick. Six stooges appeared over the act's run (with only three active at any given time): Moe Howard and Larry Fine were mainstays throughout the ensemble's nearly fifty-year run and the pivotal "third stooge" was played by (in order of appearance) Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard again, Joe Besser, and "Curly" Joe DeRita.
The act began in the early 1920s as part of a vaudeville comedy act billed as "Ted Healy and His Stooges", consisting originally of Healy and Moe Howard. Over time, they were joined by Moe's brother Shemp Howard, and then Larry Fine. The four appeared in one feature film, Soup to Nuts, before Shemp left to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by his and Moe's younger brother, Jerome "Curly" Howard, in 1932. Two years later, after appearing in several movies, the trio left Healy and signed on to appear in their own short-subject comedies for Columbia Pictures, now billed as "The Three Stooges". From 1934 to 1946, Moe, Larry and Curly produced over 90 short films for Columbia. It was during this period that the three were at their peak popularity.
Curly suffered a debilitating stroke in May 1946, and Shemp returned, reconstituting the original lineup, until his death of a heart attack on November 22, 1955. Film actor Joe Palma was used as a stand-in to complete four Shemp-era shorts under contract (the maneuver thereafter became known as the "fake Shemp"). Columbia contract player Joe Besser joined as the third Stooge for two years (1956–57), departing in 1958 to nurse his ailing wife after Columbia terminated its shorts division. The studio then released all the shorts via Screen Gems, Columbia’s television studio and distribution unit. Screen Gems then syndicated the shorts to television, whereupon the Stooges became one of the most popular comedy acts of the early 1960s.
Comic actor Joe DeRita became "Curly Joe" in 1958, replacing Besser for a new series of full-length theatrical films. With intense television exposure, the act regained momentum throughout the 1960s as popular kids' fare, until Fine's paralyzing stroke in the midst of filming a pilot for a Three Stooges TV series in January 1970. Fine died in 1975 after a further series of strokes. Attempts were made to revive the Stooges with longtime supporting actor Emil Sitka in Fine's role in 1970, and again in 1975, but this attempt was cut short by Moe Howard's death on May 4, 1975.
The Sopranos | |
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Genre | Crime drama |
Created by | David Chase |
Written by |
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Starring | |
Opening theme | "Woke Up This Morning (Chosen One Mix)" by Alabama 3 |
Ending theme | Various |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 6 |
No. of episodes | 86 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
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Production location(s) | New Jersey Silvercup Studios, New York City |
Cinematography |
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Camera setup | Single camera[1] |
Running time | Approximately 50 minutes |
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Release | |
Original network | HBO |
Picture format | 480i (16:9 SDTV) (original broadcast) 1080p 16:9 (Blu-ray) |
Audio format |
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Original release | January 10, 1999 – June 10, 2007 |
External links | |
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The Sopranos is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying the difficulties that he faces as he tries to balance his family life with his role as the leader of a criminal organization. These are explored during his therapy sessions with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco). The series features Tony's family members, mafia colleagues, and rivals in prominent roles—most notably his wife Carmela (Edie Falco) and his protégé/distant cousin Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli).
The pilot was ordered in 1997, and the show premiered on HBO on January 10, 1999. It ran for six seasons totaling 86 episodes until June 10, 2007. Broadcast syndication followed in the U.S. and internationally.[2] The Sopranos was produced by HBO, Chase Films, and Brad Grey Television. It was primarily filmed at Silvercup Studios in New York City and on location in New Jersey. The executive producers throughout the show's run were David Chase, Brad Grey, Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess, Ilene S. Landress, Terence Winter, and Matthew Weiner.
The Sopranos is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time.[3][4][5][6][7] The series won a multitude of awards, including Peabody Awards for its first two seasons, 21 Primetime Emmy Awards, and five Golden Globe Awards. It has been the subject of critical analysis, controversy, and parody, and has spawned books,[8] a video game,[9] soundtrack albums, and assorted merchandise.[10] Several members of the show's cast and crew were largely unknown to the public but have since had successful careers.[11][12][13][14] In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named The Sopranos the best-written TV series of all time,[15] while TV Guide ranked it the best television series of all time.[16] In 2016, the series ranked first in the Rolling Stone list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time.[7]
Bada Bing! is a fictional strip club from the HBO drama television series The Sopranos. It was a key location for events in the series, named for the catchphrase "bada bing", a phrase popularized by James Caan's character Sonny Corleone in The Godfather.[1] The popularization of the fictional club benefited the real-life go-go bar where scenes were filmed. The Bada Bing is loosely based on Wiggles, a strip club owned by New Jersey mobster Vincent Palermo before it was shut down.[2]
Strippers at the Bada Bing were portrayed by extras including Elektra, Justine Noelle, Kelly Madison Kole, Luiza Liccini, Marie Athanasiou, Nadine Marcelletti, Rosie Ciavolino and Sonia Ortega. The "Bada Bing Girls" appeared in a photo spread in the August 2001 issue of Playboy magazine.[3][4] Michelle Eileen, another frequently portrayed Bada Bing extra, also appeared in Playboy Fall 2002 with photo spreads over 3 separate Playboy Special Edition magazines.
Abbey Road | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 26 September 1969 (UK) 1 October 1969 (US) | |||
Recorded | 22 February – 20 August 1969 | |||
Studio | EMI, Olympic and Trident Studios, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 47:03 | |||
Label | Apple | |||
Producer | George Martin | |||
The Beatles chronology | ||||
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The Beatles North American chronology | ||||
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Singles from Abbey Road | ||||
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Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969 by Apple Records. The recording sessions were the last in which all four Beatles participated. Let It Be was the final album that the Beatles completed and released before the band's dissolution in April 1970, but most of the album had been recorded before the Abbey Road sessions began.[1] The two-sided hit single from the album, "Something" backed with "Come Together", was released in October and topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.
Abbey Road incorporates genres such as blues, pop and progressive rock,[2] and makes prominent use of the Moog synthesizer and the Leslie speaker. Side two contains a medley of song fragments edited together to form a single piece. The album was recorded amid a more enjoyable atmosphere than the Get Back/Let It Be sessions earlier in the year, but there were still frequent disagreements within the band. John Lennon had privately left the group by the time that the album was released, and Paul McCartney publicly quit the following year.
Abbey Road was an immediate commercial success and reached number one in the UK and US, although it initially received mixed reviews, with some critics describing its music as inauthentic and bemoaning the production's artificial effects. Over time, the album became viewed as among the Beatles' best and many critics have ranked it as one of the greatest albums of all time. In particular, George Harrison's contributions in "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun" are considered to be among the best songs that he wrote for the group. The album's cover features the four band members walking across a zebra crossing outside Abbey Road Studios and has become one of the most famous and imitated images in popular music.
Budget | $2 million |
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Starring | Annette Bening Julianne Moore Mark Ruffalo Mia Wasikowska Josh Hutcherson Yaya DaCosta |
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Music by | Carter Burwell Nathan Larson Craig Wedren |