The Biography Thread

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Mike Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight world champion boxer. As of the year 2012, he remains the youngest man to win the International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Council (WBC) titles at the age of 20. He was also the first to hold all three titles concurrently. Michael Gerard “Mike” Tyson was born on June 30, 1966, in Brooklyn, New York. His father was listed on his birth certificate as Percell Tyson, but Mike considers Jimmy Kirkpatrick his true father because Kirkpatrick was living with his mother, Lorna Smith Tyson, at the time of his birth. Shortly thereafter, Kirkpatrick abandoned Mike, along with his mother, brother, and sister.

Mike Tyson was exposed to a criminal element early in his life while living in high crime areas. He indulged in petty thefts and fighting. His high voice and lisp were a frequent catalyst to engage in fisticuffs on the street, which he did often. By the time he was 13, he had been arrested more than three dozen times. He was reprimanded to the custody of a juvenile detention center in Johnstown, N.Y., where he began to hone his boxing skills. When Mike as only 16, his mother passed away and he was all but left in the custody of Cus D’Amato, someone who became a true father figure to him. D’Amato was a boxing trainer who took young Mike under his wing, seeing the potential in the future champ.

Tyson’s sister died of a heart attack at the age of 24. His brother went on to become a doctor’s assistant at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. He and Mike have remained in contact with one another, although their visits are infrequent. He also considers Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick, son of Jimmy Kirkpatrick, his half brother. Tyson’s positive notoriety began with a 91-second knockout of reigning heavyweight champion Michael Spinks in 1988. He went on to defend that crown successfully on nine more occasions. These included triumphs over Frank Bruno, a renowned fighter from Britain, and Larry Holmes, who went on to compile a career mark of 69-6 with 44 KO’s.

Tyson’s life took a turn for the worse when he was upset by James “Buster” Douglas in a 1990 championship match. Douglas pummeled Tyson into submission and a round 10 knockout. Afterwards, the now former world champion attempted a comeback. He beat Donovan Ruddock twice in 1991, but then had to withdraw from a scheduled bout with the reigning heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield due to an injury.Less than a year later, Tyson was charged and convicted of rape and served three years of a six year sentence. Another comeback attempt followed his release and he once again captured the WBC and WBA titles by defeating Frank Bruno again and Bruce Seldon.

Even after a somewhat successful comeback after being released from prison, Mike Tyson could not escape the negative public perception of him following his 1992 rape conviction. Allegations of continued abuse toward women followed him, including during his first marriage to actress Robin Givens. Tyson was again incarcerated for a year after being convicted of assaulting two motorists during a road rage incident in Las Vegas. He has been convicted of at least two DUIs and other minor drug possession charges during his fall from grace. He filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and officially retired from professional boxing in 2006, following another comeback attempt.

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Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, the son of a Russian peasant, was born in Pokrovskoye, Siberia, on 10th January 1869. His mother gave birth to seven other children but they all died in childbirth. His father, Yefim Rasputin, was described as "a typical Siberian peasant... chunky, unkempt and stooped". He served as an elder in the village church, and one local spoke of his "learned conversations and wisdom".

Although he briefly attended school he failed to learn how to read or write. As a child he went with his parents to nearby monasteries and it is claimed that he wanted to become a monk. One biographer, Joseph T. Fuhrmann, points out: "Grigori's personality embodied divergent and contrasting strains - the religious seeker and the debauched hell-raiser."

In 1886, Rasputin met the 20 year-old Praskovia Dubrovina. They were married five months later on 2nd February 1887, three weeks after his 18th birthday: "She was plump with dark eyes, small features and thick blonde hair. Though short, she was strong, an important asset in a wife expected to bear children while tackling the harvest." The first child was born the following year, but died at six months of scarlet fever. They then had twins, who both died of whooping cough. Another child also died but three children survived childhood: Dimitri (1895), Maria (1898) and Varya (1900).

Rasputin became a "holy wanderer" and a visitor to holy sites. On his return he developed a small group of followers. He became a vegetarian and argued against drinking alcohol. He also built a chapel in his father's cellar. It was rumored that female followers were ceremonially washing him before each meeting and that the group was involved self-flagellation and sexual orgies. It has been claimed that he visited "Jerusalem, the Balkans and Mesopotamia". (5) He claimed he had special powers that enabled him to heal the sick and lived off the donations of people he helped. Rasputin also made money as a fortune teller. In about 1902 he travelled to the city of Kazan on the Volga river, where he acquired a reputation as a holy man. Despite rumors that Rasputin was having sex with some of his female followers, he gained the support of senior figures of the church and was given a letter of recommendation to Bishop Sergei, the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary.

Soon after arriving in St. Petersburg in 1903, Rasputin met Hermogen, the Bishop of Saratov. He was impressed by Rasputin's healing powers and introduced him to Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra Fedorovna. The Tsar's only son, Alexei, suffered from hemophilia (a disease whereby the blood does not clot if a wound occurs). When Alexei was taken seriously ill in 1908, Rasputin was called to the royal palace. He managed to stop the bleeding and from then on he became a member of the royal entourage.

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Elon Musk co-founded and leads Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company. As the co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Elon leads all product design, engineering and global manufacturing of the company's electric vehicles, battery products and solar energy products.

Since the company’s inception in 2003, Tesla’s mission has been to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. The first Tesla product, the Roadster sports car, debuted in 2008, followed by the Model S sedan, which was introduced in 2012, and the Model X SUV, which launched in 2015. Model S received Consumer Reports’ Best Overall Car and has been named the Ultimate Car of the Year by Motor Trend, while Model X was the first SUV ever to earn 5-star safety ratings in every category and sub-category in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s tests. In 2017, Tesla began deliveries of Model 3, a mass-market electric vehicle with more than 320 miles of range, and unveiled Tesla Semi, which is designed to save owners at least $200,000 over a million miles based on fuel costs alone. In 2019, Tesla unveiled Cybertruck, which will have better utility than a traditional truck and more performance than a sports car, as well as the Model Y compact SUV, which began customer deliveries in early 2020.

Tesla also produces three energy storage products, the Powerwall home battery, the Powerpack commercial-scale battery, and Megapack, which is designed for utility-scale installations. In 2016, Tesla became the world’s first vertically-integrated sustainable energy company with the acquisition of SolarCity, the leading provider of solar power systems in the United States, and in 2017 released Solar Roof – a beautiful and affordable energy generation product.

As lead designer at SpaceX, Elon oversees the development of rockets and spacecraft for missions to Earth orbit and ultimately to other planets. In 2008, the SpaceX Falcon 1 was the first privately developed liquid fuel rocket to reach orbit, and SpaceX made further history in 2017 by re-flying both a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft for the first time. Soon after, Falcon Heavy, the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two, completed its first flight in 2018. In 2019, SpaceX’s crew-capable version of the Dragon spacecraft completed its first demonstration mission, and the company will fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time in 2020.

Building on these achievements, SpaceX is developing Starship – a fully reusable transportation system that will carry crew and cargo to the Moon, Mars and beyond – and Starlink, which will deliver high speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable. By pioneering reusable rockets, SpaceX is pursuing the long-term goal of making humans a multi-planet species by creating a self-sustaining city on Mars.

Elon is also CEO of Neuralink, which is developing ultra-high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect the human brain to computers. He also launched The Boring Company, which combines fast, affordable tunneling technology with an all-electric public transportation system in order to alleviate soul-crushing urban congestion and enable high-speed, long-distance travel. The Boring Company built a 1.15 mile R&D tunnel in Hawthorne, and is currently constructing Vegas Loop, a public transportation system at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Previously, Elon co-founded and sold PayPal, the world's leading Internet payment system, and Zip2, one of the first internet maps and directions services.

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Pablo Escobar was born into a poor family in a village outside Medellín, Colombia. He was forced to drop out of school because his family couldn’t pay for his education. Leaving school was the first step towards a life of crime. He and his brother would steal headstones from cemeteries and sand the names off so they could sell them as new tombstones. They committed other petty crimes to make a small amount of money. He began working for a smuggler after dropping out of college and made his first million dollars by age 22. In 1975, Escobar ordered the murder of Medellín’s most powerful drug lord, Fabio Restrepo. The first time Escobar was arrested came soon after this, though the case was dropped when he ordered the murder of all the arresting officers. People quickly grew terrified of Escobar.

As his control over the drug trade grew, so did his control in Colombia, he was even elected to Congress in 1982. At this point, 80% of the world’s cocaine trade was going through Escobar, and his estimated net worth was $25 billion. Despite being a known criminal, his public persona was a positive one to the people of Colombia. He wanted to be liked by the common people, so he built churches, sports fields, and public parks. People regarded him as their own personal “Robin Hood”.

While in Congress, Escobar became known for his plata o plomo tactic, which roughly means “bribery or death”. He would try to bribe fellow politicians to get policy to sway in his favor, and if the bribery (plata or silver) was refused, he would order the death (plomo or lead) of the opposition. Some of the most prominent men in Colombia fell victim to Escobar’s murderous plots, such as the Colombian Justice Minister, and the head of Colombia’s National Police Anti-Narcotics Unit. Escobar ordered the death of an estimated 600 police officers during his lifetime.

In 1991, Escobar faced multiple drug charges, so his lawyers came up with an unprecedented compromise. Escobar would build his own prison, and choose his own guards. Needless to say, the prison was essentially a mansion, with a Jacuzzi and other luxurious add-ons, and the guards let him carry out business from prison. This lasted until 1992 when the public found out that Escobar tortured and murdered people inside his prison. The Colombian government decided to place Escobar in a real prison, but before they could act Escobar disappeared.

Two organizations were looking for Escobar, one a US trained Colombian task force called Search Bloc, the other Los Pepes, made up of family members of Escobar’s victims and men from a rival Colombian drug cartel. On December 2, 1993, police forces found Escobar hiding in a middle-class house in Medellín and shot and killed him on the roof. Escobar was destined to die no matter which group found him first.

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Conor McGregor rose from a tough neighborhood to become the biggest star in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). After joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2013, "The Notorious" unified the featherweight division with his title win in 2015, and the following year he became a two-division champion by winning the lightweight title. McGregor also famously fought boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017. He abruptly retired from MMA in March 2019, before returning with a victory in January 2020.Conor Anthony McGregor was born to parents Tony and Margaret McGregor on July 14, 1988, in Dublin, Ireland. Raised in the rough working-class section of Crumlin, McGregor enjoyed playing soccer as a boy before finding an outlet for his aggression in boxing. He was a member of the Crumlin Boxing Club from age 11 to 17, winning a Dublin Novice Championship during that time.

In his later teen years, McGregor began training in the still little-known sport of mixed martial arts, under John Kavanagh. He also found a job as an apprentice plumber but elected to forego the profession, over his parents' objections, to pursue his dream of becoming a professional fighter. McGregor made his professional debut on March 8, 2008, for the London-based promotion Cage Warriors, winning by TKO. He lost two of his first six fights before reeling off an impressive winning streak, claiming both the featherweight championship and the lightweight championship in 2012.

Signed by UFC President Dana White in early 2013, McGregor impressed with a first-round knockout in his April debut for the organization. He continued his winning ways through July 2015, when he defeated Chad Mendes for the interim featherweight title. That December, he knocked out Jose Aldo in a record 13 seconds to unify the featherweight title. McGregor stands 5'9" and has a 74" reach, measurements that usually give him an advantage in his matches. He has mostly fought as a featherweight (145 pounds) and lightweight (155 pounds) but has beefed up to 170 pounds for his welterweight bouts.

McGregor has trained in a variety of disciplines, including Capoeira, Tae Kwon Do and Karate, and holds a brown belt with the grappling techniques of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. However, he is primarily known for his pure punching power, specifically for a left hook that has sent numerous opponents to the mat.

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Pablo Escobar was born into a poor family in a village outside Medellín, Colombia. He was forced to drop out of school because his family couldn’t pay for his education. Leaving school was the first step towards a life of crime. He and his brother would steal headstones from cemeteries and sand the names off so they could sell them as new tombstones. They committed other petty crimes to make a small amount of money. He began working for a smuggler after dropping out of college and made his first million dollars by age 22. In 1975, Escobar ordered the murder of Medellín’s most powerful drug lord, Fabio Restrepo. The first time Escobar was arrested came soon after this, though the case was dropped when he ordered the murder of all the arresting officers. People quickly grew terrified of Escobar.

As his control over the drug trade grew, so did his control in Colombia, he was even elected to Congress in 1982. At this point, 80% of the world’s cocaine trade was going through Escobar, and his estimated net worth was $25 billion. Despite being a known criminal, his public persona was a positive one to the people of Colombia. He wanted to be liked by the common people, so he built churches, sports fields, and public parks. People regarded him as their own personal “Robin Hood”.

While in Congress, Escobar became known for his plata o plomo tactic, which roughly means “bribery or death”. He would try to bribe fellow politicians to get policy to sway in his favor, and if the bribery (plata or silver) was refused, he would order the death (plomo or lead) of the opposition. Some of the most prominent men in Colombia fell victim to Escobar’s murderous plots, such as the Colombian Justice Minister, and the head of Colombia’s National Police Anti-Narcotics Unit. Escobar ordered the death of an estimated 600 police officers during his lifetime.

In 1991, Escobar faced multiple drug charges, so his lawyers came up with an unprecedented compromise. Escobar would build his own prison, and choose his own guards. Needless to say, the prison was essentially a mansion, with a Jacuzzi and other luxurious add-ons, and the guards let him carry out business from prison. This lasted until 1992 when the public found out that Escobar tortured and murdered people inside his prison. The Colombian government decided to place Escobar in a real prison, but before they could act Escobar disappeared.

Two organizations were looking for Escobar, one a US trained Colombian task force called Search Bloc, the other Los Pepes, made up of family members of Escobar’s victims and men from a rival Colombian drug cartel. On December 2, 1993, police forces found Escobar hiding in a middle-class house in Medellín and shot and killed him on the roof. Escobar was destined to die no matter which group found him first.

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Ronald Reagan and Ollie North make Pablo richer then God

 

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Vince McMahon is the professional wrestling promoter, film producer, commentator, actor, announcer and an occasional wrestler from America who took WWE to new heights of success. He is a very versatile personality who worked hard his whole life to reach the top.

McMahon was born on 24th August 1945 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. His father had left him when he was still a baby and McMahon did not meet him till the age of twelve. His father, Vincent J. McMahon was a promoter of the Capitol Wrestling Corporation inspired his son to follow his lead. McMahon studied at the East Carolina University and graduated in 1968 with a degree in business. He was very interested in joining his father’s profession however his father was not very excited about the idea. McMahon began as a travelling salesman and made his first appearance as a WWF’s All-Star Wrestling announcer in 1969. His interest in this profession piqued even more after this job.

By 1970s, Vince McMahon had become a strong force in his father’s firm and in the next ten years he was assisting him in augmenting TV syndication. He was the one who forced his father to change the company’s name to World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He bought the Cape Cod Coliseum and along with wrestling, promoted concerts and hockey games. McMahon became chairman of the company in 1980. In 1982, McMahon Sr. retired and sold his company to his son. Under his superb management WWF thrived more than ever before. McMahon wanted to give the federation board a greater appeal and a bigger audience. He created Macho Man and Hulk Hogan who made the audiences go wild. He also came with the idea of charging people to gather in an arena and watch the matches on a large screen. This idea was implemented first in the 1985 WrestleMania.

To battle the gigantic wrestling corporation and the need of the WWF’s star wrestlers infinite resources Vince McMahon decided to completely change the way people saw WWF. What was once a form of entertainment for the entire family became filled with storylines containing sex, smut, vulgarity and crude behavior changing the audience to teenage boys and men. McMahon also introduced himself in the stories as an evil boss named ‘Mr. McMahon’. This new formula proved extremely successful. Titan Sports is a top merchandiser and pay-per-click viewer producer worldwide. He made the company public in 1999.

According to Forbes, Vince McMahon had a net worth of $1.1 billion in 2001 however now he is not on the billionaire list. He got married to Linda McMahon in 1966. He is now a grandfather of six children. He owns a penthouse in Manhattan worth $12 million, a mansion in Greenwich worth $40 million, a vacation home of $20 million and a yacht named ‘sexy bitch’. His wife Linda is the chief executive and president of WWE and both his children also work for the company.

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**MILDLY GRAPHIC IMAGE BELOW


When Issei Sagawa murdered, dismembered, and devoured Renée Hartevelt in 1981, he was fulfilling a dream 32 years in the making. Sagawa, who was born in Kobe, Japan, was studying comparative literature in Paris at the time of his crime. He was almost immediately arrested and sentenced to a psychiatric hospital. But after his extradition to Japan, he was able to check himself out of a different psychiatric hospital due to a legal loophole — and remains free to this day.

In the years since, he has effectively made a living off his crime, and he’s even become something of a minor celebrity in Japan. He has appeared on numerous talk shows and written manga novels that graphically depict killing and eating Hartevelt. He has even starred in soft-core porn reenactments where he bites actors.

And throughout his life, he has been chillingly unrepentant. When he discusses his crime, it’s as if he believes it’s the most natural thing in the world. And he plans to do it again. Issei Sagawa was born on April 26, 1949. And for as long as he can remember, he possessed cannibalistic urges and a fascination with eating human flesh. He remembered with fondness his uncle dressing up as a monster and lowering him and his brother into a stew pot for eating.

He sought out fairy tales that involved humans being eaten, and his favorite was Hansel and Gretel. He even recalls noticing classmates’ thighs in the first grade and thinking, “Mmm, that looks delicious.” He blames the media’s representation of Western women like Grace Kelly for sparking his cannibalistic fantasies, equating it with what most people would call sexual desire. Where other people dreamed of bedding these beautiful women, Sagawa dreamed of eating them.

Issei Sagawa says the reasons behind his cannibalistic tendencies can’t be explained to or conceptualized by anyone who doesn’t share his exact urges.

“It’s simply a fetish,” he said. “For example, if a normal man fancied a girl, he’d naturally feel a desire to see her as often as possible, to be close to her, to smell her and kiss her, right? To me, eating is just an extension of that. Frankly, I can’t fathom why everyone doesn’t feel this urge to eat, to consume, other people.”

He maintains, however, that he never thought of killing them, only “gnaw[ing] on their flesh.”

He was always short and skinny with legs that “looked like pencils,” he wrote in his best-selling book In the Fog. And he believed that at just under five-feet tall, he was too repulsive to attract the kind of physical intimacy that would have tempered his desires.

Although Sagawa did once attempt to see a psychiatrist for his urges at age 15, he found it unhelpful and retreated further into his isolated psyche. Then, in 1981, after repressing his desires for 32 years, he finally acted on them. Issei Sagawa had moved to Paris to study literature at the Sorbonne, a public research university. Once there, he said, his cannibalistic urges took over. “Almost every night I would bring a prostitute home and then try to shoot them from behind,” he wrote in In the Fog. “It became less about wanting to eat them, but more an obsession with the idea that I simply had to carry out this ‘ritual’ of killing a girl no matter what.” Eventually, he found the perfect victim.

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Few names have cast more terror into the human heart than Dracula. The legendary vampire, created by author Bram Stoker for his 1897 novel of the same name, has inspired countless horror movies, television shows and other bloodcurdling tales of vampires.

Though Dracula may seem like a singular creation, Stoker in fact drew inspiration from a real-life man with an even more grotesque taste for blood: Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia or — as he is better known — Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Tepes), a name he earned for his favorite way of dispensing with his enemies.

Vlad III was born in 1431 in Transylvania, a mountainous region in modern-day Romania. His father was Vlad II Dracul, ruler of Wallachia, a principality located to the south of Transylvania. Vlad II was granted the surname Dracul ("dragon") after his induction into the Order of the Dragon, a Christian military order supported by the Holy Roman emperor. [8 Grisly Archaeological Discoveries]

Situated between Christian Europe and the Muslim lands of the Ottoman Empire, Transylvania and Wallachia were frequently the scene of bloody battles as Ottoman forces pushed westward into Europe, and Christian Crusaders repulsed the invaders or marched eastward toward the Holy Land.

When Vlad II was called to a diplomatic meeting in 1442 with Sultan Murad II, he brought his young sons Vlad III and Radu along. But the meeting was actually a trap: All three were arrested and held hostage. The elder Vlad was released under the condition that he leave his sons behind.

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[Holliday Unchained]

Scorcese doc on David Johansen. Very good. I you haven't caught it try again.
David Jo sort of an old guy now, not as much power in his voice, but still a great singer.



..a very nice tribute song/cover to Lou Reed and Velvet Underground:

 

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Robert Pershing Wadlow was born, educated and buried in Alton, Illinois. His height of 8' 11.1" qualifies him as the tallest person in history, as recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. At the time of his death he weighed 490 pounds.
Robert was born on February 22, 1918, and weighed a normal eight pounds, six ounces. He drew attention to himself when at six months old, he weighed 30 pounds. A year later at 18 months, he weighed 62 pounds. He continued to grow at an astounding rate, reaching six feet, two inches and 195 pounds by the time he was eight years old.His middle name, Pershing, was in honor of the World War I General Pershing, then commanding officer of the European conflict.

Robert was the first born of Addie and Harold Wadlow. Later the Wadlow family grew with the addition of two sisters, Helen and Betty, and two brothers, Eugene and Harold Jr. Despite Robert's size, all of his family members (photo) were of normal height and weight.At age 18, he had reached eight feet, four inches tall, and weighed 390 pounds. His clothing required three times the normal amount of cloth, and his size 37 shoes cost $100.00 a pair (a lot of money back in the 1930's). Two years later his shoes were provided free by the International Shoe Company.

When he turned 20 Robert traveled for the shoe company, visiting over 800 towns and 41 states. His father had to modify the family car, removing the front passenger seat so Robert could sit in the back seat and stretch out his long legs. The father and son team traveled over 300,000 miles on their goodwill tour for the shoe company. He established his place in the history books when he exceeded eight feet, four inches in 1937, surpassing the record previously held by an Irishman who died in 1877.
Robert was very fond of his mother Addie, and there was a quiet manner about him that earned him the title 'Gentle Giant'.

Robert's unique size was attributed to an over active pituary gland, which produced much higher than normal levels of growth hormone. Today's medical science can compensate for such problems - but in the 1920s there was no therapy available.

As a youth, Robert had enjoyed good health, but his large feet had troubled him for many years. He had little sensation in his feet and did not feel any chafing until blisters formed. While making an appearance in Manistee, Michigan in July 1940, a fatal infection set in when such a blister formed. On July 4th, doctors had Robert confined to a hotel bed, unable to find suitable accommodations at the local hospital. Days later, after emergency surgery and blood transfusions, the infection lingered and his temperature continued to rise. At 1:30 a.m., on the 15th of July, Robert Wadlow passed away in his sleep.

Robert's body was brought back to his home town of Alton for burial. The 1,000-pound casket required a dozen pallbearers, assisted by eight other men. Out of respect for Alton's Gentle Giant, all city businesses closed for the funeral. Over 40,000 people signed the guest register. Robert's gravestone simply reads "At Rest."

Robert Wadlow holds a special place in Alton's history. He is remembered as a quiet young man who overcame a unique handicap, and who was an inspiration to all of those that knew him.

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Comedian Chris Farley studied improv before joining Saturday Night Live in 1990. He turned his small-screen success into a film career with projects like Wayne's World and Coneheads, and later took the lead in Tommy Boy, Black Sheep and Beverly Hills Ninja. Farley abused drugs and alcohol heavily, and was found dead from an overdose on December 18, 1997, in Chicago. Actor and comedian Christopher Crosby Farley was born on February 15, 1964, in Madison, Wisconsin, the middle child of five siblings. A boy who took to making other students laugh during his Catholic grade school years, he later studied theater and communications at Marquette University. Post-graduation, Farley performed with the Ark Improv theater group and the Improv Olympic Theater in Chicago. There, he was mentored by Del Close, who also taught John Belushi, the famed comedian whom Farley looked up to.

After joining the cast of the Second City theater, Farley was discovered by Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. He made his cast debut in 1990 and quickly became known for skits that included doing a Chippendales dance alongside Patrick Swayze, playing motivational honcho Matt Foley (named after a real-life reverend who was friends with Farley) and hosting "The Chris Farley Show," in which he fumblingly interviewed guests like Jeff Daniels and Martin Scorsese. Farley often had a distinctly physical brand of comedy that self-deprecatingly played upon his large size.After joining the cast of the Second City theater, Farley was discovered by Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. He made his cast debut in 1990 and quickly became known for skits that included doing a Chippendales dance alongside Patrick Swayze, playing motivational honcho Matt Foley (named after a real-life reverend who was friends with Farley) and hosting "The Chris Farley Show," in which he fumblingly interviewed guests like Jeff Daniels and Martin Scorsese.

Farley often had a distinctly physical brand of comedy that self-deprecatingly played upon his large size.Outside of his movie stardom, the comedian had major personal demons. Farley was consumed by fame's spotlight, struggled with drugs and liquor, was in and out of rehab more than a dozen times within a two-year span, and regularly engaged in highly excessive, out-of-control behavior. Farley spoke of feeling pressured to constantly be an attention-getter, even when not in front of the camera. His manager publicly expressed concern over his client's well-being via a magazine article, and Spade shared similar sentiments over his friend's health in an interview.On December 18, 1997, Farley was found dead in his Chicago apartment after an extreme binge of substance use and party-hopping. It was later declared that he died of an overdose of cocaine and morphine exacerbated by advanced heart disease. He was 33, the same age at which Belushi died from an overdose.

Before his death, Farley had completed two films, Almost Heroes and Dirty Work, both of which were released in 1998. Years later, in the summer of 2005, the actor received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A book on Farley's career, The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts, was published in 2008 under Viking, with writing by Tommy Farley Jr. (Chris's older brother) and Tanner Colby.

Farley's name returned to the news in 2017 when Make Him Smile, a company operated by the comedian's family to protect his property rights, sued the Wisconsin-based Trek Bicycle Corporation for naming its "fat bike" line "Farley." The suit alleged that Trek misappropriated Farley's name and traded on his "fat guy" brand of comedy. The two sides reached a settlement in June 2018 that reportedly allowed Trek to continue making Farley bikes.

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Death Photos: (Mildly Graphic)

Spoiler

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The Mara Salvatrucha, or MS13, is perhaps the most notorious street gang in the Western Hemisphere. While it has its origins in the poor, refugee-laden neighborhoods of 1980s Los Angeles, the gang’s reach now spans from Central America to Europe. While they are largely a predatory criminal organization, living mostly from extortion, the gang’s resilience owes to its strong social bonds, which are created and strengthened via acts of violence against mostly their rivals and one another.

Their activities have helped make the Northern Triangle — Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras — the most violent place in the world that is not at war. In October 2012, the US Department of the Treasury labeled the group a “transnational criminal organization,” the first such designation for a US street gang, but their criminal proceeds do not even approach those of their counterparts on that list.

The US government has since gone one step further, in late 2020 charging over a dozen MS13 leaders in El Salvador with terrorism, marking an unprecedented escalation in the country’s fight against international street gangs.The MS13 was founded in the poor, marginalized neighborhoods of Los Angeles in the 1980s. As a result of the civil wars wracking El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, refugees flooded northward. Many of them wound up in California, living among the mostly Mexican neighborhoods of East and Central Los Angeles, as well as the San Fernando Valley.

While the Mexican gangs reigned in the local underworld, the war-hardened immigrants quickly organized themselves into competing groups, the strongest of which was called the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners or MSS. The origins of the name are still disputed, but “mara” is a Central American term for gang. “Salva” refers to El Salvador. “Trucha” is a slang term for “clever” or “sharp.”

Salvatruchas was also the name given to the locals who fought against William Walker, an ambitious businessman and proponent of slavery from the United States who tried to subdue various parts of Central America with a small army in the 1850s. Walker, after a brief stint as the self-proclaimed president of Nicaragua, was overrun and executed by Honduran locals. For their part, the Stoners were composed of refugees from El Salvador in the Pico Union neighborhood who spent most of their time listening to heavy metal music, drinking and smoking. With time, the gang evolved, shedding their original Stoner name and image: The MSS became the MS.

The gang’s rivals took note. Conflict between the MS and the 18th Street, or Barrio 18, was particularly fierce in and around Los Angeles. The fighting put the gang on the radar of officials who began to jail them in large numbers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Inside prison, the MS was forced to bow to another master, the Mexican Mafia, or “la eMe” for short, whose power extended from the jails to the streets. The Mafia’s umbrella, known as the “Sureños,” included many prominent gangs and stretched into much of the southwest of the United States and Mexico.

The MS13’s subservience afforded the gang more protection in the streets and in prison. In return, the MS provided hitmen and paid the Mafia regular quotas from their criminal proceeds. It also added the number 13, the position M occupies in the alphabet, to their name. Thus, the MS became the MS13.

By the mid-1990s, partly as a way to deal with the gangs and partly as a product of the get-tough immigration push toward the end of the presidency of Bill Clinton, the US government began a program of deportation of foreign-born residents convicted of a wide range of crimes. This enhanced deportation policy vastly increased the number of gang members being sent home to El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and elsewhere. According to one estimate, 20,000 criminals returned to Central America between 2000 and 2004. That trend continues US immigration authorities removed nearly 6,000 suspected gang members in 2018 alone – around 1,300 of them from the MS13.

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God had made Heaven and the Earth and all the Angels and all the extra important Angels,called Archangels. (Like an extra important Bishop is called an Archbishop.) The Archangels were God's very special friends and were Shining and Strong and Powerful. One Archangel was called Gabriel. He was the one that God sent to tell Our Blessed Lady that She was to become the Mother of God, the Mother of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Another Angel was called Raphael; he was the one who helped Tobias in the Bible. Another Archangel was called Michael. Michael was "the Angel of the Lord", who was sent to Moses and Jacob and Abraham and to other people throughout the history of the world. Another Archangel was Lucifer, who was so beautiful that the other Angels called him the Son of the Morning.

Well, everybody was very happy because they were with God, and they all loved him, because he had made them so Strong and Shining and Lovely. Then one day Lucifer, Son of the Morning, said to himself: "Why should God be the most important person in Heaven? Why, shouldn't I be? I can fly and I can change into other things, and I am beautiful and I am powerful. In fact, I am just as Important as God, and I shan't do what He tells me ever again. I shall fight Him and have Heaven for mine!"

So, Lucifer went around Heaven, and he collected a lot of other Angels who also didn't want to be less Important than God, until he had a Great Army. Then they marched up to the Throne of God and said Proudly: "We are just as Important as You. Why should You be the King of Heaven any more than one of us? We are Strong and Proud and Beautiful, and we will fight You for the Kingdom of Heaven." God looked at them; then He said: "Lucifer, I thought that you were My friend, and I trusted you. Be sensible now, and think about what you are doing." "I have thought," said Lucifer, "and, I'd rather not be in Heaven at all than have You for my King, and so would all of us!" And behind him all the Rebel Angels shouted with a great shout: "We will follow Lucifer! Long live Lucifer! Let him reign over us in Heaven! WE DO NOT WANT GOD!" "Very well," said God, "if you don't want Me, you needn't have Me. But, if you want to fight for Heaven, you can if you think it will be any good." Then, God called Michael the Archangel, and made him gather together a Mighty Army of Angels who were on God's side.

So, now you know why we sometimes say in our prayers, "Holy St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the Day of Battle," because he is so good at battles.

But, what happened to Lucifer and his Rebel Angels? Well, he was so furious and enraged at having lost his Battle with God that he has never gotten over it. You see, he is never allowed inside Heaven anymore forever and ever and ever; and, now that he can't go into Heaven anymore, he is angry about it. So, in Revenge, he does everything horrible to God that he can. His worst feeling is Jealousy; whom do you suppose he is jealous of? Us! Why? Because when Our Lord Jesus was Crucified, He opened the Kingdom of Heaven for us to go in! So Lucifer, whose other name is Satan, or the Devil, is furious because we Ordinary People are allowed into Heaven, and he, an Archangel, is not. So, he and his angels (or demons) try always and always to stop us going into Heaven by giving us bad Ideas, and making us do things that we know are wrong, so as to hurt God. So, whenever you want to do or say something horrid, think of the Great Battle in Heaven and remember that it is Lucifer trying to keep you on his side. If you don't do or say it, you have won and have stayed on God's side.

St. Michael's Special Day is September 29th; it is the Feast of St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael, and of All Angels, because of all the Angels who helped him win the Battle with Lucifer.

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With more than 148 million in certified album sales, Garth Brooks is the No. 1 selling solo artist in United States history — ahead of Elvis Presley and second overall only to The Beatles. He has received countless accolades, including induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the International Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and, most recently, the Musicians Hall of Fame.

Brooks grew up in Yukon, Oklahoma in the 1960s and ‘70s, the youngest of six children. His mother, Colleen, had appeared on the Ozark Jubilee in the 1950s and recorded briefly for Capitol Records. He attended Oklahoma State University on a track scholarship. At nights, he worked as a bouncer at a local bar and formed his own band, Santa Fe, learning to play whatever the college audience wanted.

The greatest thing about clubs is there’s no one in between you and the people you’re playing for. There’s no “yes men” between you and them; it’s just honesty. They’re going to let you know. And they’re going to let you know right away. So you learn quick what works and what doesn’t.In 1987, Brooks moved to Nashville, where he worked as the manager of a store selling cowboy boots, got paid by other songwriters to sing on demo tapes, and began making the rounds at publishers and record labels. All of them turned him down. But in the spring of 1988, an executive who had only recently rejected him heard Brooks perform at the Bluebird Café and offered him a modest contract.

With producer Allen Reynolds, Brooks released a series of albums that were critical and commercial successes — and ultimately not only broke every previous sales record but elevated the prominence of country music in American culture. Throughout his career, he has acknowledged the influence of an eclectic array of musicians, from George Jones and George Strait to Queen and KISS. Forbes featured him on its cover, proclaiming “Led Zeppelin meets Roy Rogers . . . country conquers rock.” But Garth has stayed true to his country roots.

Country music comes from right in here, this heart and soul that we all have. It’s great music that really hits us, because we’re all human. Country music is the voice of the human race. Adding to his superstar status has been Garth’s high-energy arena shows. On his first world tour, he sold out massive venues like London's Wembley Arena, an achievement never before realized by a country music artist. In late 2017, Brooks and his wife Trisha Yearwood completed a 40-week, 390-show tour, smashing records previously held by such acts as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Brooks himself. The tour sold over 6.3 million tickets, making it the biggest North American tour in history.

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Al Capone, byname of Alphonse Capone, also called Scarface, (born January 17, 1899,

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,

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, U.S.—died January 25, 1947, Palm Island,

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, Florida), American Prohibition-era gangster, who dominated

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in

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from 1925 to 1931 and became perhaps the most famous gangster in the United States.


Capone’s parents immigrated to the

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from

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in 1893. Al, the fourth of nine children, grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He

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school until the sixth grade, whence he dropped out at age 14 after striking a teacher. He worked a variety of odd jobs—as a candy store clerk, a

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alley pinboy, a labourer in an ammunition plant, and a cutter in a

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—all the while serving in the South Brooklyn Rippers and Forty Thieves Juniors, two “kid gangs”—that is, bands of

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children known for vandalism and petty

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that were common in New York at the time.

 

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At 7’4″ and 500 pounds, Andre the Giant could have been famous for his size alone. His drive, talent, and ambition, however, proved to be as big as Andre himself, and the wrestler became legendary for his achievements in and out of the ring.

Andre was born Andre Rene Roussimoff in Grenoble, France on May 19, 1946. His parents, Boris and Marian Roussimoff, and four siblings were of average size. Andre, however, suffered from acromegaly, a disease that results in an over abundance of growth hormones. Also known as Giantism, this disease caused Andre’s body to continue growing his whole life, and by the time he was 17, he stood 6’7″.

Due to his immense stature, it seemed inevitable that Andre would excel in the wrestling world. He had just started to make a name for himself in the ring as “Monster Eiffel Tower” or “Monster Roussimoff” when French-Canadian wrestler Edouard Carpentier first laid eyes on him. Carpentier was impressed with Andre’s raw talent and decided to bring him to North America. Andre began wrestling under the name Jean Ferré in Canada for Grand Prix Promotions. In a short time, Andre went from the undercard to being a headlining name. Inspired by the movie King Kong he acquired the nickname, “The 8th Wonder of the World,” which stayed with him for the rest of his career.

By the time Andre had performed in front of 20,000 wrestling fans in Montreal, his legend had reached Vince McMahon, Sr. at the World Wide Wrestling Federation’s (WWWF) headquarters. McMahon would forever alter Andre’s life. In 1972, McMahon signed Andre to wrestle for the WWWF and changed his name to capitalize on his colossal size. “Andre the Giant” became one of the most recognizable names in wrestling. Andre performed under his new name at Madison Square Garden, where he easily defeated his opponent, Buddy Wolfe, without breaking a sweat. Before long, Andre’s venues were sold out and wrestlers lined up to perform in his shadow. As Andre’s fame grew to stardom, he was featured in Sports Illustrated in the largest feature they had ever published.

In 1987, Andre drew the biggest crowd in WWF (formerly WWWF) history thus far. A record 90,000 fans packed the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan to watch Andre wrestle fellow legend Hulk Hogan in the main event of WrestleMania III. In all, Andre participated at six WrestleManias and faced some of the toughest opponents in the business, including Big John Studd and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. For many years, he was known as the “Uncrowned Champion,” until he found his place in infamy and held the WWF title for the shortest reign in history. This wasn’t the only championship Andre captured – he also won titles in the (NWA), (IWA) and the WWF Tag Team Championship.

Andre’s fame also opened the door to Hollywood. He made his acting debut in 1975 as “Big Foot” in The Six Million Dollar Man. Andre enjoyed the experience and went on to appear in television shows including B.J. and the Bear, The Fall Guy, and The Greatest American Hero, and movies such as Conan the Destroyer, Micki and Maude, and Trading Mom. His favorite role, and the one for which he is best remembered, was the lovable giant “Fezzik” in Rob Reiner’s classic, The Princess Bride.

Andre’s last television appearance was on a celebration of 20 years of NWA/WCW wrestling on TBS. Sadly, over the years, the effects of acromegaly had continued to wear down his body. Eventually, his immense size was just too much for his heart, and Andre the Giant died in Paris, France in his hotel room on January 27, 1993. His ashes were later taken home and spread over his North Carolina ranch.

Though professionally Andre will always be remembered as The 8th Wonder of the World, he is known and loved by fans across the globe as The Gentle Giant.

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Robert Pershing Wadlow was born, educated and buried in Alton, Illinois. His height of 8' 11.1" qualifies him as the tallest person in history, as recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. At the time of his death he weighed 490 pounds.

Robert was born on February 22, 1918, and weighed a normal eight pounds, six ounces. He drew attention to himself when at six months old, he weighed 30 pounds. A year later at 18 months, he weighed 62 pounds. He continued to grow at an astounding rate, reaching six feet, two inches and 195 pounds by the time he was eight years old. His middle name, Pershing, was in honor of the World War I General Pershing, then commanding officer of the European conflict.

Robert was the first born of Addie and Harold Wadlow. Later the Wadlow family grew with the addition of two sisters, Helen and Betty, and two brothers, Eugene and Harold Jr. Despite Robert's size, all of his family members (photo) were of normal height and weight. Trying to maintain a normal life, Robert enjoyed collecting stamps, photography, and become the world's tallest Boy Scout at seven feet, four inches, when he was 13 years of age. Later he became a member of DeMolay and the Masons.At age 18, he had reached eight feet, four inches tall, and weighed 390 pounds. His clothing required three times the normal amount of cloth, and his size 37 shoes cost $100.00 a pair (a lot of money back in the 1930's). Two years later his shoes were provided free by the International Shoe Company.

He established his place in the history books when he exceeded eight feet, four inches in 1937, surpassing the record previously held by an Irishman who died in 1877. Robert was very fond of his mother Addie, and there was a quiet manner about him that earned him the title 'Gentle Giant'. Robert's unique size was attributed to an over active pituitary gland, which produced much higher than normal levels of growth hormone. Today's medical science can compensate for such problems - but in the 1920s there was no therapy available.

As a youth, Robert had enjoyed good health, but his large feet had troubled him for many years. He had little sensation in his feet and did not feel any chafing until blisters formed. While making an appearance in Manistee, Michigan in July 1940, a fatal infection set in when such a blister formed. On July 4th, doctors had Robert confined to a hotel bed, unable to find suitable accommodations at the local hospital. Days later, after emergency surgery and blood transfusions, the infection lingered and his temperature continued to rise. At 1:30 a.m., on the 15th of July, Robert Wadlow passed away in his sleep.

Robert's body was brought back to his home town of Alton for burial. The 1,000-pound casket required a dozen pallbearers, assisted by eight other men. Out of respect for Alton's Gentle Giant, all city businesses closed for the funeral. Over 40,000 people signed the guest register. Robert's gravestone simply reads "At Rest."

Robert Wadlow holds a special place in Alton's history. He is remembered as a quiet young man who overcame a unique handicap, and who was an inspiration to all of those that knew him. In 1984 a citizens committee organized efforts to immortalize Robert, and in 1985 a bronze statue (photo), was erected on the campus of the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine. Upon Robert's death in 1940, his family had almost all of his belongings destroyed. They did not want collectors to obtain his clothes or personal items, and be displayed as 'freak' memorabilia. We want to continue to honor their wishes, and are displaying what items we have in our museum with pride and dignity.

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Edward Regan Murphy was born on April 3, 1961 in New York City to a telephone operator mother and transit police officer father, who was also an amateur actor and comedian. His parents split when he was three and his father was murdered when he was eight.

For a year, Murphy and his brother Charlie lived in the foster care system when their mother was ill, which influenced Murphy's comedy in his later years. They eventually returned home and were raised by his mother and stepfather. He first started performing at local events in 1976, secretly skipping school, but was forced into summer school once his mother discovered his deceit. His big break came in 1980, when he became part of the cast of Saturday Night Live, remaining till 1984 and being credited for helping revitalize the sketch comedy show. He made his movie debut in 1982 with 48 Hrs and became a superstar of the 1980s with roles in Trading Places (1983), the Beverly Hills Cop franchise (first beginning in 1984), and Coming to America (1988), attracting box office success and critical acclaim.

He made his directorial debut with the 1989 film Harlem Nights, which was panned then but now considered a cult classic, and his biggest successes of the '90s were 1996's The Nutty Professor, for originating the role of Mushu in Disney's animated Mulan (1998), and Dr. Dolittle the same year. In the '00s, he pivoted to family-friendly fare, with his biggest commercial blockbusters coming through the Shrek franchise (starting in 2001) and The Haunted Mansion (2003).

He received significant attention for his dramatic turn in 2006's theatrical adaptation of Dreamgirls and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. While the rest of the 2000s-2010s remained slow, he achieved a career resurgence thanks to 2019's Dolemite Is My Name, garnering him more critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nod, and the sequel to Coming to America, Coming 2 America, in 2021. He followed that up with a return to SNL in December 2019, his first time hosting since 1984, which was met with rave reviews.

Murphy's private life has been the subject of much tabloid fodder due to his relationships and family. He welcomed his first child in 1989 with girlfriend Paulette McNeely and another in 1990 with then-girlfriend Tamara Hood. In 1993, he tied the knot with Nicole Mitchell, with whom he had five more children. In 2005, they announced their separation, and they were divorced the following year.

He had a short-lived relationship with Spice Girl Melanie Brown aka Mel B, during which she became pregnant. He asserted the child was not his, but later paternity tests proved her newborn daughter was, indeed, his own. While he almost tied the knot with film producer Tracey Edmonds in 2008, they broke up soon after. Since 2012, he has been in a relationship with Australian model Paige Butcher, with whom he has two more children, and they announced their engagement in 2018.

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Born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 6, 1972, Shaquille O'Neal is considered to be one of the most dominant basketball players in NBA history. At 7 ft 1 in tall and weighing 325 pounds, Shaq's larger-than-life personality and powerful athleticism have resulted in worldwide adulation and one of the most passionate fan bases in sports and entertainment.

O'Neal played for six teams throughout his 19-year NBA career and was announced as a nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on December 21, 2015. Following his career at Louisiana State University, O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and later leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals. After four years with the Magic, O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. In 2004, O'Neal moved on to the Miami Heat and won his fourth NBA championship in 2006. Between 2007 and 2011, Shaq took his talents to Phoenix, Cleveland and finally Boston where he finished out is illustrious basketball career.

Shaq's individual accolades include the 1999–2000 MVP award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections. He is one of only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year. He ranks 7th all-time in points scored, 5th in field goals, 13th in rebounds, and 7th in blocks. Largely due to his ability to dunk the basketball, O'Neal also ranks 3rd all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%).

Shaquille O'Neal's off-court accolades rival his athletic accomplishments, having found success in acting, music, television and gaming. Currently, Shaq is an analyst on Inside The NBA. Philanthropically, Shaquille's relationship with the Boys & Girls Club of America dates back to his youth in New Jersey. As a national spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, he has been participating in campaigns with the non-profit company for the past 15 years.

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Samuel “Sam” Burl Kinison (December 8, 1953 – April 10, 1992) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was famous for his raunchy humor and wild, colorful outfits. A former revival-style preacher, his standup routines were most often characterized by intense, angry ranting punctuated by a trademark primal scream.

Kinison was born in Yakima, Washington, and originally became a preacher. Upon obtaining a divorce from his wife, he was forced to leave preaching. However, his background as a preacher proved to be highly influential upon his new career as a comic. This was particularly evident in the near-fire and brimstone style of screaming used in his routines. Shortly before his death he took to the pulpit one last time.

Kinison’s appearance on Late Night with David Letterman on November 14, 1985 is widely considered to be his breakthrough performance. Letterman’s introduction of Kinison would prove to be prescient: “Brace yourselves. I’m not kidding. Sam Kinison.”

Kinison might be considered a “rock and roll comedian” since he occasionally was accompanied by a touring band, as well as having a prodigious appetite for drugs and alcohol. In 1988, he had a hit song with his novelty version of the Troggs’ “Wild Thing.” The video for his version of “Wild Thing” played like a who’s who of rock artists, from bad boy Billy Idol, and rock guitar god Steve Vai, to guitar god Frank Zappa’s son Dweezil Zappa, and a raunchy “roll on the mat” dance with Jessica Hahn. Sam hammered out some licks on a custom Stratocaster with an airbrush picture of his face frozen in his famous scream. One of his albums featured four songs performed by him and his band, and during one notable The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson performance, he delivered what began as a beautifully rendered version of Elvis Presley’s “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” but which descended into angry ranting during the spoken breakdown.

Some of Kinison’s most spontaneous moments came during his frequent appearances on Howard Stern’s radio show. He made an angry phone call on-air to Bobcat Goldthwait. He embarrassed comedienne Judy Tenuta to the point of driving her off the show, as he sat in with Penn Jillette, Chuck McCann, and Jack Riley. His most notorious stunt resulted in a highly entertaining on-air feud with Stern: he made an on-air promise to bring to the show members of the rock-n-roll band Bon Jovi, with whom Stern was feuding, but they never showed up. It turned out that Bon Jovi had no intention of going. Kinison, upon discovering this, decided not to call Stern out of fear of embarrassing Bon Jovi. Stern’s reaction was swift and vindictive, bringing about the eventual apology of Kinison, but not before one of the show’s funniest moments in which comedian Gilbert Gottfried and Stern both savaged an emotionally charged phone call Stern had with Kinison, during which both stars used the words “man” and “dude” toward one another so often that Gottfried and Stern went into stitches on hearing the playback. Stern and Kinison eventually made up, and paired on Stern’s pay-per-view special, U.S. Open Sores. Today Howard Stern remembers Kinison fondly and acknowledges his comedic genius.

Even as Kinison sometimes seemed a romantic at heart, his routines mostly expressed a dim view of love, possibly as a result of a string of failed relationships, but more plausibly because of the kind of women he attracted.

He was working to get himself clean and sober in the months immediately before his death and married his girlfriend Malika Souiri in 1992. But just six days after the wedding, he was killed tragically when his car was struck by a drunk driver on a two lane highway in the Mojave Desert near Needles, California.

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Born and raised in Queens, New York to Jewish parents Miriam and Max Weinstein, Harvey and his younger brother Bob developed a strong business sense from their father, a diamond cutter, and a passion for movies. Throughout the 1970s, Harvey, Bob and Corky Burger produced rock concerts. They purchased a theater in Buffalo where they screened concert films. It was from there that Harvey and Max made the money needed to create the independent film distribution company Miramax, named after their parents.

Within 10 years, Miramax had made a name for itself by distributing the critical hit movies My Left Foot (1989), for which Daniel Day-Lewis won his first Oscar, and the box office hit Sex, Lies, and Videotapes (1989). Weinstein married his assistant Eve Chilton in 1997. The couple had three children together before divorcing in 2004. Miramax was acquired by Disney in 1993, and with Harvey and Bob still at the helm, they released a string of hits, starting with Pulp Fiction (1994) and Good Will Hunting (1997). Three of their releases in the following decade also went on to win Oscars for Best Picture: The English Patient (1996), Shakespeare in Love (1998), and Chicago (2002).

In 2005, Weinstein left Miramax and formed his own production company, The Weinstein Company, again with his brother Bob. TWC has produced, and co-produced, a number of acclaimed titles including Inglourious Basterds (2009), The King’s Speech (2010), Django Unchained (2012), Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and The Butler (2013). Weinstein married again in 2007, this time to English fashion designer and actress Georgina Chapman. They have two children, a son and a daughter. Chapman announced she was filing for divorce as allegations of Weinstein's sexual misconduct began flooding in after Ashley Judd went public in October 2017.

In October 2017, both The New York Times and The New Yorker reported that more than a dozen women came forward to accuse Weinstein of sexually harassing, assaulting and/or raping them. Since the initial report many other women in film have come forward and reported being victims of similar behavior from Weinstein. He has denied any non-consensual acts occurred. As a result of those accusations Weinstein resigned from the board of The Weinstein Company. Celebrities and political figures the world over have distanced themselves from him, and/or publicly denounced him. He also became the second person in the 88-year history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the organization that awards the Oscars) to have his membership revoked.

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Donald John Trump was born in Queens, New York, on June 14, 1946. His father, Fred Trump was a successful real estate developer. Trump was educated at the New York Military Academy and the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1971, he took over his father’s real estate company, renaming it the Trump Organization. The business soon became involved in variety of projects, including hotels, resorts, residential and commercial building, casinos, and golf courses. His first of many books was The Art of the Deal, published in 1987. In 2004, he launched the reality television show The Apprentice. In 2005, Donald Trump married Melania Knauss. They have one son, Barron. Trump also has four adult children from previous marriages: Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, and Tiffany.

During the 2016 primary, Trump defeated more than a dozen rivals to win the Republican nomination. While he lost the popular vote, Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the general election by winning a majority of Electoral College votes. His campaign slogan was “Make America Great Again.”

Without previous elected political experience, President Trump used unconventional methods to communicate his priorities. Most notably, he used the social media platform Twitter as a primary mechanism for direct communication with the American public, other politicians, and the press corps.

As president, he signed a major tax reform bill into law and oversaw a reduction of federal regulations. His protectionist trade policies included tariffs in foreign aluminum, steel, and other products. The Trump administration also renegotiated trade agreements with Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, and South Korea. Other domestic priorities included Supreme Court and federal judiciary appointments, increased military budgets, aggressive border and immigration control, criminal justice reform, and the reduction of prescription drug prices.

In foreign policy, the Trump administration moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and brokered normalization agreements between Israel and a number of countries. In 2018, President Trump attended a summit with Kim Jong Un, marking the first time a sitting president met with a North Korean leader. In 2018, there was a partial government shutdown as Trump disagreed with Congress over funding for a border wall between the United States and Mexico. The funding lapse lasted thirty-five days before it was resolved.

In 2019, a federal whistleblower filed a complaint that Trump had pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, who had served on the board of Bursima Holdings, a natural gas company in Ukraine. Later that year, the House of Representatives impeached President Trump based upon allegations of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power. In 2020, the Senate acquitted Trump on both articles of impeachment.

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in the United States on January 20, 2020. The remainder of Trump’s presidency was consumed with the coronavirus pandemic. Critics argued that Trump’s response to the pandemic was delayed and did not sufficiently encourage public health practices to reduce the spread of the virus. However, the Trump administration’s program “Operation Warp Speed” assisted in the private sector development of two approved vaccines. Nonetheless, by the time Trump left office, more than 400,000 Americans had died of COVID-19.

Trump lost reelection to Democratic candidate Joe Biden, but publicly claimed widespread voter fraud had affected the outcome. Supporters of President Trump traveled to Washington, D.C. for a “Save America” rally on January 6, 2021. Trump spoke to the large crowd on the Ellipse near the White House and encouraged attendees to protest the counting of the Electoral College votes in Congress. The rally turned violent when the president’s supporters overwhelmed law enforcement, breaching the United States Capitol and disrupting the vote count. Five people died as a result of the violence, and the Capitol complex suffered millions of dollars in damage.

On January 13, 2021, Trump’s actions resulted in the House of Representatives approving another article of impeachment: the incitement of insurrection. He is the only president in American history to be impeached twice by Congress.

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Taylor Alison Swift is a singer-songwriter born on December 13, 1989, in West Reading, Pennsylvania. Her father, Scott Swift, is a stockbroker; her mother, Andrea Swift, is a homemaker who previously worked as a fund marketing executive; and her brother, Austin, is an actor. Swift spent her early years on a Christmas tree farm with her parents.
At age 9, Swift started taking vocal and acting lessons in New York City and later decided to shift her focus toward country music, inspired by Shania Twain and Faith Hill.

When the rising star was around 12 years old, a computer repairman named Ronnie Cremer taught her to play guitar and helped with her first efforts as a songwriter, leading Taylor to write "Lucky You", her first song ever. In 2003, with the help of a family friend manager, she modeled for Abercrombie & Fitch and had an original song included on the show's compilation CD. With it, came the opportunity to attend meetings with major record labels. To help Taylor's break into country music, her father transferred his job to an office in Nashville when she was 14, and the family relocated to a lakefront house in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where Taylor attended high school. Two years later, she transferred to Aaron Academy to better accommodate her touring schedule through homeschooling. She graduated high school a year early because of that. In Nashville, Taylor started working with songwriter Liz Rose during two-hour writing sessions every Tuesday afternoon after school.

Later, she became the youngest artist signed by Sony/ATV publishing house, but left the group at age 14. She believed she was running out of time because she wanted to capture the early years of her life on an album while it still represented what she was going through. At a showcase in Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in 2005, Swift caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, a record executive who was preparing to form an independent record label, Big Machine Records. She became one of Big Machine's first signings, with her father purchasing a three percent share of the company.

Taylor then started working on her debut album and persuaded Big Machine to hire Nathan Chapman to produce her songs. Her first lead single “Tim McGraw” was released in June 2006, and Taylor Swift’s self titled album was released later that year, on October 24, 2006. It peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard 200, where it spent 275 weeks. Swift was also the opening act for Brad Paisley’s 2007 tour to promote her album and spent 2006 and 2007 doing promotion on radios, television, and being the opening act for country artists in the US. Throughout 2007 and 2008, Taylor released four more singles from her debut album and all of them appeared on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Swift released her first two EPs "The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection" and "Beautiful Eyes" in October 2007 and July 2008, respectively, winning accolades for all of her first three projects. She became the youngest person to be honored with the BMI Songwriter of the Year title in 2007. She won awards at the CMAs, ACMs and AMAs while also securing a nomination for Best New Artist at the 50th Grammy Awards.

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English strongman, social media star, and TV and film personality Eddie Hall is best known for winning the World’s Strongest Man title in 2017. He has also won the UK’s Strongest Man title six times and holds the 500 kg deadlift world record. Also known as The Beast, he is immensely popular on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. He has also forayed into acting. Strongman and internet celebrity Edward Stephen Hall, better known as Eddie Hall, had an interesting childhood. Eddie was apparently expelled from school. As a child, he was a talented swimmer. By 10, he had won several UK junior swimming championships. He skipped his GCSE exams to train in the gym, aiming at becoming the next strongman.

Before stepping into bodybuilding, Eddie worked as a truck mechanic for the Robert Wiseman Dairies garage in Shropshire’s Market Drayton. In 2010, much before he became a social media sensation, Eddie Hall won the title of Britain’s Strongest Man for the first time. In fact, he could be a part of the Elite Strongman-organized England championship that year when Dave Meer withdrew because of an injury and recommended Eddie to fill in for him. In July 2016, Eddie scripted history as the first person to deadlift 500 kg as a professional strongman contestant. He was so exhausted after the deadlift that he passed out soon after achieving the feat. In 2017, he won the World’s Strongest Man title.

Over the years, he shot to fame on social media platforms. His content mostly features clips of him training in the gym, lifting weights, or working out. He also posts vlogs from his daily life. Both his YouTube channel, Eddie Hall The Beast, and his Instagram account, eddiehallwsm, have amassed millions of subscribers and followers. He has been equally popular on TikTok too.

Eddie stepped into mainstream showbiz in 2015, when he appeared in the TV series Keep It in the Family. He made his film debut with the 2018 horror movie Rotten Cotton. Through the years, Eddie has been seen in multiple small- and big-screen projects, such as Beasted, A League of Their Own, Eddie: Strongman, The Chris Moyles Show (on Radio X), The Strongest Man in History, Transformers: The Last Knight, Born Strong, Eddie Eats America, The Chase, and Eddie Eats Christmas.

Eddie also promotes fitness gear and health-related products on his social media channels. He sells his own brand of merchandise on his website too. Eddie Hall is happily married to Alexandra Hall and is a proud father of two children: a son and a daughter. Apart from his muscular frame, he is also known for his signature beard. His training schedule is strict, and he even has a professional mobility expert to help him. He works out regularly at Stoke’s Strength Asylum. His daily diet includes food such as sausages, coconut oil, peanut butter ice cream, avocados, protein shake, dry oats, and Greek yogurt.

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Don’t large men like that die young?

 

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Don’t large men like that die young?

There have been a couple of strongmen who have died due to heart related issues because of the stress they're putting their bodies under. Much the same with sumo wrestlers.

 

[Seamajor]

I knew this kid growing up. Kind of a shy meek type. He became a photographer in LA. Became successful. He also became a body builder. This included growth hormones, steroids, and a host of other additives. Never smoked or drank. Got up one morning and died. I never heard much after. I’d say, these chemicals are super bad for ya, day after day.

 

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I knew this kid growing up. Kind of a shy meek type. He became a photographer in LA. Became successful. He also became a body builder. This included growth hormones, steroids, and a host of other additives. Never smoked or drank. Got up one morning and died. I never heard much after. I’d say, these chemicals are super bad for ya, day after day.

Anyone who takes steroids to help build muscle is too lazy to put in the work. That's some dangerous shit he was into and it killed him, sadly.

 

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Anyone who takes steroids to build muscle is too lazy to put in the work. That's some dangerous shit he was into and it killed him, sadly.

I see young men down here in the Pharmacy trying to buy steroids all the time. The pharmacist rolls his eyes and say no, nada. These are usually white overweight tatted out gringos. Nutty.