title: Irving Berlin

texts:
 lyrics are as tersely all-knowing as its melody, which is nailed down in brassy syncopated lines that have been copied—but never equaled in sheer melodic memorability—by hundreds of theater composers ever since."Singer and musicologist, Susannah McCorkle writes that the score "meant more to me than ever, now that I knew that he wrote it after a grueling world tour and years of separation from his wife and daughters." Historian and composer Alec Wilder says that the perfection of the score, when compared to his earlier works, was "a profound shock". Apparently the "creative spurt" in which Berlin turned out several songs for the score in a single weekend was an anomaly. According to his daughter, he usually "sweated blood" to write his songs. Annie Get Your Gun is considered to be Berlin's best musical theatre score not only because of the number of hits it contains, but because its songs successfully combine character and plot development. The song "There's No Business Like Show Business" became "Ethel Merman's trademark". Final shows
Berlin's next show, Miss Liberty (1949), was disappointing, but Call Me Madam in 1950, starring Ethel Merman as Sally Adams, a Washington, D.C. socialite, loosely based on the famous Washington hostess Perle Mesta, fared better, giving him his second greatest success.<mask> made two attempts to write a musical about his friend, the colorful Addison Mizner, and Addison's con man brother Wilson. The first was the uncompleted The Last Resorts (1952); a manuscript of Act I is in the Library of Congress. Wise Guy (1956) was completed but never produced, although songs have been published and recorded on The Unsung Irving Berlin (1995). After a failed attempt at retirement, in 1962, at the age of 74, he returned to Broadway  with Mr. President. Although it ran for eight months, (with the premiere attended by President John F. Kennedy), it was not one of his successful plays. Afterwards, <mask> officially announced his retirement and spent his remaining years in New York. He did, however, write one new song, "An Old-Fashioned Wedding", for the 1966 Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun starring Ethel Merman.Though he lived 23 more years, this was one of Berlin's final published compositions. Berlin maintained a low profile through the last decades of his life, almost never appearing in public after the late 1960s, even for events held in his honor. However, he continued to maintain control of his songs through his own music publishing company, which remained in operation for the rest of his life. Film scores

1920s–1950s

In 1927, his song "Blue Skies", was featured in the first feature-length talkie, The Jazz Singer, with Al Jolson. Later, movies such as Top Hat (1935) became the first of a series of distinctive film musicals by Berlin starring performers Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, and Alice Faye. Top Hat featured a brand new score, as did several more, including Follow the Fleet (1936), On the Avenue (1937), Carefree (1938), and Second Fiddle (1939). Starting with Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), he often blended new songs with existing ones from his catalog.He continued this process with the films Holiday Inn (1942), Blue Skies (1946) and Easter Parade (1948), with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, and There's No Business Like Show Business (1954). "White Christmas" (1942)
The 1942 film Holiday Inn introduced "White Christmas", one of the most recorded songs in history. First sung in the film by Bing Crosby (along with Marjorie Reynolds, whose voice was dubbed by Martha Mears), it has sold over 50 million records and stayed no. 1 on the pop and R&B charts for 10 weeks. Crosby's version is the best-selling single of all time. Music critic Stephen Holden credits this partly to the fact that "the song also evokes a primal nostalgia—a pure childlike longing for roots, home and childhood—that goes way beyond the greeting imagery." Richard Corliss also notes that the song was even more significant having been released soon after America entered World War II: [it] "connected with... GIs in their first winter away from home.To them it voiced the ache of separation and the wistfulness they felt for the girl back home, for the innocence of youth...." Poet Carl Sandburg wrote, "We have learned to be a little sad and a little lonesome without being sickly about it. This feeling is caught in the song of a thousand jukeboxes and tune whistled in streets and homes. "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas'. When we sing that we don't hate anybody. And there are things we love that we're going to have sometimes if the breaks are not too bad against us. Way down under this latest hit of his, <mask> catches us where we love peace." "White Christmas" won Berlin the Academy Award for Best Music in an Original Song, one of seven Oscar nominations he received during his career.In subsequent years, it was re-recorded and became a top-10 seller for numerous artists: Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Ernest Tubb, The Ravens and The Drifters. It would also be the last time a Berlin song went to no. 1 upon its release. Berlin is the only Academy Award presenter and Academy Award winner to open the "envelope" and read his or her own name (for "White Christmas"). This result was so awkward for <mask> (since he had to present the Oscar to himself) that the Academy changed the rules of protocol the following year to prevent this situation from arising again. Talking about <mask>'s "White Christmas", composer–lyricist Garrison Hintz stated that although songwriting can be a complicated process, its final result should sound simple. Considering the fact that "White Christmas" has only eight sentences in the entire song, lyrically Mr. <mask> achieved all that was necessary to eventually sell over 100 million copies and capture the hearts of the American public at the same time.Songwriting methods
According to Saul Bornstein (a.k.a. Sol Bourne, Saul Bourne), Berlin's publishing company manager, "It was a ritual for Berlin to write a complete song, words and music, every day." Berlin said that he "did not believe in inspiration," and felt that although he might be gifted in certain areas, his most successful compositions were the "result of work". He said that he did most of his work under pressure. He would typically begin writing after dinner and continue until 4 or 5 in the morning. "Each day I would attend rehearsals," he said, "and at night write another song and bring it down the next day." Not always certain about his own writing abilities, he once asked a songwriter friend, Victor Herbert, whether he should study composition."You have a natural gift for words and music," Mr. Herbert told him. "Learning theory might help you a little, but it could cramp your style." Berlin took his advice. Herbert later became a moving force behind the creation of ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. In 1914, Berlin joined him as a charter member of the organization that has protected the royalties of composers and writers ever since. In 1920, <mask> became a member of SACEM, the French Society of Authors, Composers, and Publishers. In later years, Berlin emphasized his conviction, saying that "it's the lyrics that makes a song a hit, although the tune, of course, is what makes it last."He played almost entirely in the key of F sharp so that he could stay on the black keys and owned three transposing pianos so as to change keys by moving a lever. Though Berlin eventually learned how to produce written music, he never changed his method of dictating songs to a "musical secretary". As a result, Wilder says that many admirers of the music of Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers and Cole Porter were unlikely to consider Berlin's work in the same category because they forgot or never realized that Berlin wrote many popular tunes, such as "Soft Lights and Sweet Music", "Supper Time", and "Cheek to Cheek". Some are even more confused because he also wrote more romantic melodies, such as "What'll I Do?" and "Always". Wilder adds that "in his lyrics as in his melodies, Berlin reveals a constant awareness of the world around him: the pulse of the times, the society in which his is functioning. There is nothing of the hothouse about his work, urban though it may be."Music styles

Composer Jerome Kern recognized that the essence of <mask>'s lyrics was his "faith in the American vernacular" and was so profound that his best-known songs "seem indivisible from the country's history and self-image". Kern, along with George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II and Cole Porter, brought together Afro-American, Latin American, rural pop, and European operetta. Berlin, however, did not follow that method. Instead, says music critic Stephen Holden, Berlin's songs were always simple, "exquisitely crafted street songs whose diction feels so natural that one scarcely notices the craft....they seem to flow straight out of the rhythms and inflections of everyday speech." It led composer George Gershwin to claim that he learned from Berlin that ragtime, which later became jazz, "was the only musical idiom in existence that could aptly express America". Among Berlin's contemporaries was Cole Porter, whose music style was often considered more "witty, sophisticated, [and] dirty," according to musicologist Susannah McCorkle. Of the five top songwriters, only Porter and Berlin wrote both their own words and music.However, she notes that Porter, unlike Berlin, was a Yale-educated and wealthy Midwesterner whose songs were not successful until he was in his thirties. She notes further that it was "Berlin [who] got Porter the show that launched his career." Personal life

Marriages
In February 1912, after a brief whirlwind courtship, he married 20-year-old Dorothy Goetz of Buffalo, New York, the sister of one of Berlin's collaborators, E. Ray Goetz. During their honeymoon in Havana, she contracted typhoid fever, and doctors were unable to treat her illness when she returned to New York. She died July 17 of that year. Left with writer's block for months after Goetz's death, he eventually wrote his first ballad, "When I Lost You", to express his grief. Years later in the 1920s, he fell in love with a young heiress, Ellin Mackay, a daughter of Clarence Mackay, the socially prominent head of the Postal Telegraph Cable Company, and an author in her own right.Because Berlin was Jewish and she was a Catholic of Irish descent, their life was followed in every possible detail by the press, which found the romance of an immigrant from the Lower East Side and a young heiress a good story. They met in 1924, and her father opposed the match from the start. He went so far as to send her off to Europe to find other suitors and forget Berlin. However, Berlin wooed her with letters and song over the airwaves such as  "Remember" and "All Alone", and she wrote him daily. Biographer Philip Furia writes that newspapers rumored they were engaged before she returned from Europe, and some Broadway shows even performed skits of the "lovelorn songwriter". After her return, she and Berlin were besieged by the press, which followed them everywhere. Variety reported that her father vowed that their marriage "would only happen 'over my dead body.'"As a result, they decided to elope and were married in a simple civil ceremony at the Municipal Building away from media attention. The wedding news made the front page of The New York Times. The marriage took her father by surprise, and he was stunned upon reading about it. The bride's mother, however, who was at the time divorced from Mackay, wanted her daughter to follow the dictates of her own heart. Berlin had gone to her mother's home before the wedding and had obtained her blessing. There followed reports that the bride's father disowned his daughter because of the marriage. In response, Berlin gave the rights to "Always", a song still played at weddings, to her as a wedding present.Ellin was thereby guaranteed a steady income regardless of what might happen with the marriage. For years, Mackay refused to speak to the <mask>s, but they reconciled after the passing of the <mask>s' son, <mask> Jr., on Christmas Day in 1928, less than one month after he was born. Their marriage remained a love affair and they were inseparable until she died in July 1988 at the age of 85. They had four children during their 63 years of marriage: Mary Ellin Barrett in 1926; <mask>, Jr., who died in infancy in 1928; Linda Louise Emmet in 1932;  <mask> Peters in 1936. Lifestyle
In 1916, in the earlier phase of Berlin's career, producer and composer George M. Cohan, during a toast to the young Berlin at a Friar's Club dinner in his honor, said, "The thing I like about Irvie is that although he has moved up-town and made lots of money, it hasn't turned his head. He hasn't forgotten his friends, he doesn't wear funny clothes, and you will find his watch and his handkerchief in his pockets, where they belong." Furia says that throughout Berlin's life he often returned on foot to his old neighborhoods in Union Square, Chinatown, and the Bowery.He never forgot those childhood years when he "slept under tenement steps, ate scraps, and wore secondhand clothes," and described those years as hard but good. "Every man should have a Lower East Side in his life," he said. He used to visit The Music Box Theater, which he founded and which still stands at 239 West Forty-Fifth St. From 1947 to 1989, Berlin's home in New York City was 17 Beekman Place. George Frazier of Life magazine found Berlin to be "intensely nervous," with a habit of tapping his listener with his index finger to emphasize a point, and continually pressing his hair down in back" and "picking up any stray crumbs left on a table after a meal". While listening, "he leans forward tensely, with his hands clasped below his knees like a prizefighter waiting in his corner for the bell.... For a man who has known so much glory," writes Frazier, "Berlin has somehow managed to retain the enthusiasm of a novice." Berlin's daughter wrote in her memoir that her father was a loving, if workaholic, family man who was "basically an upbeat person, with down periods". In his final decades he retreated from public life.As such, he did not attend the televised 100th birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall. Her parents liked to celebrate every single holiday with their children, and "They seemed to understand the importance, particularly in childhood, of the special day, the same every year, the special stories, foods, and decorations and that special sense of well-being that accompanies a holiday." Although he did comment to his

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title: Irving Berlin

type: original

texts:
 daughter about her mother's lavish Christmas spending, "I gave up trying to get your mother to economize. It was easier just to make more money." Berlin voted for both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, but he supported the presidential candidacy of General Dwight Eisenhower, and his song "I Like Ike" featured prominently in the Eisenhower campaign. In his later years he also became more conservative in his views on music. According to his daughter, "He was consumed by patriotism."He often said, "I owe all my success to my adopted country" and once rejected his lawyers' advice to invest in tax shelters, insisting, "I want to pay taxes. I love this country." Berlin was a Freemason, and was a member of Munn Lodge no. 190, New York City, the Scottish Rite Valley of New York City, and Mecca Shrine Temple. Berlin was a staunch advocate of civil rights. Berlin was honored in 1944 by the National Conference of Christians and Jews for "advancing the aims of the conference to eliminate religious and racial conflict". His 1943 production "This Is The Army", was the first integrated division army unit in the United States.In 1949, the Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA) honored him as one of the twelve "most outstanding Americans of Jewish faith". While he was ethnically and culturally Jewish, he was religiously agnostic. Berlin's Civil Rights Movement support also made him a target of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who continuously investigated him for years. Investments
In 1929 he bought 100 shares of B&O Railroad stock held at Gruntal Lilienthal & Co.

Death

Berlin died in his sleep at his 17 Beekman Place town house in Manhattan on September 22, 1989, of heart attack and natural causes at the age of 101. He was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. On the evening following the announcement of his death, the marquee lights of Broadway playhouses were dimmed before curtain time in his memory. President George H. W. Bush said Berlin was "a legendary man whose words and music will help define the history of our nation".Just minutes before the President's statement was released, he joined a crowd of thousands to sing Berlin's "God Bless America" at a luncheon in Boston. Former President Ronald Reagan, who costarred in Berlin's 1943 musical This Is the Army, said, "Nancy and I are deeply saddened by the death of a wonderfully talented man whose musical genius delighted and stirred millions and will live on forever." Morton Gould, the composer and conductor who was president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), of which Berlin was a founder, said, "What to me is fascinating about this unique genius is that he touched so many people in so many age groups over so many years. He sounded our deepest feelings—happiness, sadness, celebration, loneliness." Ginger Rogers, who danced to Berlin tunes with Fred Astaire, told The Associated Press upon hearing of his death that working with Berlin had been "like heaven". Legacy and influence

The New York Times, after his death in 1989, wrote, "<mask> set the tone and the tempo for the tunes America played and sang and danced to for much of the 20th century." An immigrant from Russia, his life became the "classic rags-to-riches story that he never forgot could have happened only in America".During his career he wrote an estimated 1,500 songs and was a legend by the time he turned 30. He went on to write the scores for 20 original Broadway shows and 15 original Hollywood films, with his songs nominated for Academy Awards on eight occasions. Music historian Susannah McCorkle writes that "in scope, quantity, and quality his work was amazing." Others, such as Broadway musician Anne Phillips, says simply that "the man is an American institution." During his six-decade career, from 1907 to 1966, he produced sheet music, Broadway shows, recordings, and scores played on radio, in films and on television, and his tunes continue to evoke powerful emotions for millions around the world. He wrote songs like "Alexander's Ragtime Band", "Cheek to Cheek", "There's No Business Like Show Business", "Blue Skies" and "Puttin' On the Ritz". Some of his songs have become holiday anthems, such as "Easter Parade", "White Christmas" and "Happy Holiday"."White Christmas" alone sold over 50 million records, the top single selling song in recording history, won an ASCAP and an Academy Award, and is one of the most frequently played songs ever written. In 1938, "God Bless America" became the unofficial national anthem of the United States, and on September 11, 2001, members of the House of Representatives stood on the steps of the Capitol and solemnly sang "God Bless America" together. The song returned to no. 1 shortly after 9/11, when Celine Dion recorded it as the title track of a 9/11 benefit album. The following year, the Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp of Berlin. By then, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of New York had received more than $10 million in royalties from "God Bless America" as a result of Berlin's donation of royalties. According to music historian Gary Giddins, "No other songwriter has written as many anthems.... No one else has written as many pop songs, period... [H]is gift for economy, directness, and slang, presents Berlin as an obsessive, often despairing commentator on the passing scene."In 1934, Time put him on its cover and inside hailed "this itinerant son of a Russian cantor" as "an American institution". And again, in 1943, the same magazine described his songs as follows:

They possess a permanence not generally associated with Tin Pan Alley products and it is more than remotely possible that in days to come Berlin will be looked upon as the Stephen Foster of the 20th century. At various times, his songs were also rallying cries for different causes: He produced musical editorials supporting Al Smith and Dwight Eisenhower as presidential candidates, he wrote songs opposing Prohibition, defending the gold standard, calming the wounds of the Great Depression, and helping the war against Hitler, and in 1950 he wrote an anthem for the state of Israel. Biographer David Leopold adds that "We all know his songs... they are all part of who we are." At his 100th-birthday celebration in May 1988, violinist Isaac Stern said, "The career of <mask> and American music were intertwined forever—American music was born at his piano," while songwriter Sammy Cahn pointed out: "If a man, in a lifetime of 50 years, can point to six songs that are immediately identifiable, he has achieved something. <mask> can sing 60 that are immediately identifiable... [Y]ou couldn't have a holiday without his permission." Composer Douglas Moore added:

It's a rare gift which sets <mask> apart from all other contemporary songwriters.It is a gift which qualifies him, along with Stephen Foster, Walt Whitman, Vachel Lindsay and Carl Sandburg, as a great American minstrel. He has caught and immortalized in his songs what we say, what we think about, and what we believe. ASCAP's records show that 25 of Berlin's songs reached the top of the charts and were re-recorded by dozens of famous singers over the years, such as Eddie Fisher, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day, Diana Ross, Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald. In 1924, when Berlin was 36, his biography, The Story of <mask>, was being written by Alexander Woollcott. In a letter to Woollcott, Jerome Kern offered what one writer said "may be the last word" on the significance of <mask>:

<mask> has no place in American music—he is American music. Emotionally, he honestly absorbs the vibrations emanating from the people, manners and life of his time and, in turn, gives these impressions back to the world—simplified, clarified and glorified. Composer George Gershwin (1898–1937) also tried to describe the importance of Berlin's compositions:

I want to say at once that I frankly believe that <mask> is the greatest songwriter that has ever lived.... His songs are exquisite cameos of perfection, and each one of them is as beautiful as its neighbor.<mask> remains, I think, America's Schubert. But apart from his genuine talent for song-writing, <mask> has had a greater influence upon American music than any other one man. It was <mask> who was the very first to have created a real, inherent American music.... <mask> was the first to free the American song from the nauseating sentimentality which had previously characterized it, and by introducing and perfecting ragtime he had actually given us the first germ of an American musical idiom; he had sown the first seeds of an American music. Awards and honors
Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1943 for "White Christmas" in Holiday Inn. US Army Medal of Merit from General George Marshall at the direction of President Harry S. Truman. Tony Award in 1951 for Best Score for the musical Call Me Madam. Congressional Gold Medal in 1954 from President Dwight D. Eisenhower for contributing many patriotic songs, including "God Bless America".Special Tony Award in 1963. Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1968. Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, which "celebrated its First annual Induction and Awards Ceremony in New York City". Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 by President Gerald Ford. The citation reads, in part: "Musician, Composer, Humanitarian, And Patriot, <mask> Has Captured The Fondest Dreams And Deepest Emotions Of The American People In The Form Of Popular Music." Lawrence Langner Tony Award in 1978. Medal of Liberty during centennial celebrations for the Statue of Liberty in 1986.100th-birthday celebration concert was for the benefit of Carnegie Hall and ASCAP on May 11, 1988. Jewish-American Hall of Fame in 1988. Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 1, 1994. American Theater Hall of Fame. Musical scores
The following list includes scores mostly produced by Berlin. Although some of the plays using his songs were later adapted to films, the list will not include the film unless he was the primary composer. Stage

 Watch Your Step (1914)
 Stop!Look! Listen! "Gambling with Chromaticism? Extra-Diatonic Melodic Expression in the Songs of <mask>," Theory and Practice 26, 21–85. Berry, David Carson (1999). "Dynamic Introductions: The Affective Role of Melodic Ascent and Other Linear Devices in Selected Song Verses of <mask>," Intégral 13, 1–62. Hamm, Charles, ed.(1994). Early Songs, 1907–1914. Music of the United States of America (MUSA) vol. 2. Madison, Wisconsin: A-R Editions. Magee, Jeffrey (2012). <mask>'s American Musical Theatre.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. .

 Sears, Benjamin, ed. (2012). The Irving Berlin Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. . External links

Official Irving Berlin Website
Irving Berlin Collection at the Library of Congress
Papers of <mask>, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library

Irving Berlin recordings at the Discography of American Historical

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title: Don Kent (wrestler)

texts:
Leo Joseph "Joe" Smith Jr. (June 24, 1933 – June 7, 1993) was an American professional wrestler who wrestled as <mask> and also as The Black Dragon, <mask>, Joe Smith and Super Medico III during his 36 years in professional wrestling. <mask> is one half of The Fabulous Kangaroos alongside partners Al Costello, Bruno Bekkar or Johnny Heffernan. Despite being born in America, <mask> was billed as Australian when he competed as a Kangaroo using the Kangaroos' "Ultra Australian" gimmick, complete with boomerangs, bush hats and "Waltzing Matilda" as their entrance music. When <mask> was not one half of the Kangaroos, he mainly worked as "Bulldog" <mask> in NWA Mid-America and Big Time Wrestling in the singles and the tag team divisions until his retirement in 1986. Professional wrestling career
<mask> attended St. Philip Catholic Central High School in Battle Creek, Michigan. He was recruited by the Boston Red Sox as a catcher right out of high school. <mask>'s father thought that <mask> was too young to play professional baseball and insisted that he go to St. Benedict's College in Kansas.After graduating, <mask> worked at a Veterans Administration Medical Center in his hometown of Battle Creek while being trained by Leapin’ Larry Chene for a professional wrestling career. Early Career (1956-1967)
<mask> made his professional wrestling debut in 1956 working under such names as "<mask>", "Joe Smith" and "The Black Dragon", generally working as a heel (bad guy) in the Michigan area. In the first half of the 1960s <mask> went to Arizona and worked in the local wrestling promotion, where he was booked as a sadistic heel. In Arizona, <mask> worked a storyline that drew full houses at the Phoenix Madison Square Garden against local face (good guy) Tito Montez. The two faced off week after week in a variety of specialty matches such as a chain match, "Arizona death match" and falls count anywhere match. The angle ended with a steel cage match that saw Montez win after overcoming <mask>'s cheating ways. One week after the storyline ended, attendance dropped by half and <mask> soon left the area.Fabulous Kangaroos (1967-1974)

In 1967, Al Costello reformed the tag team The Fabulous Kangaroos with Ray St. Clair who retired after six months with knee problems. A few months after St. Clair retired, Costello found <mask> to don the bush hat. <mask>, who was from Michigan, adopted the Ultra-Australian gimmick (but retained his American accent) and a second version of the Fabulous Kangaroos was formed. Costello and <mask> teamed together on a regular basis from 1968 until 1974, approximately the same amount of time that Costello spent teaming with his original partner Roy Heffernan. The Kangaroos won their first tag team championship a few months after teaming up, during a tour of Japan for International Wrestling Enterprise. Over the years, they defended their title in promotions around the globe. In Canada, they were the first Eastern Sports Association International Tag Team Champions; in the World Wrestling Association, they held the WWA World Tag Team Championship twice.In addition to winning titles all over North America, they also made appearances for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (now known as World Wrestling Entertainment. The Kangaroos frequented NWA Detroit, where they held the Detroit version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship for most of 1971. By the end of 1972, the Kangaroos began working for Nick Gulas’ NWA Mid-America. In Mid-America, they held the local version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, the Mid-America version, on three occasions. After a match in the Cincinnati Gardens in 1974, Costello's hip was damaged when an enraged fan threw a fire extinguisher from the balcony. Costello had hip replacement surgery later that year. The fan was arrested, served 15 days in jail, and was fined fifty dollars for damaging the fire extinguisher.With Costello unable to compete, the Fabulous Kangaroos split up. After the Kangaroos went their separate ways <mask> returned to NWA Mid-America as a singles wrestler. Working alone (1974-1981)
When Costello retired, <mask> remained with Mid-America where he developed into a main heel as the "Dog Collar" wearing, barking "Bulldog" <mask>. <mask> teamed with Chris Gallagher and won the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship on two occasions, beating the teams of Frank Monte and Nick DeCarlo as well as Steve Kovac and Ricky Gibson for the title. <mask> teamed up with Count Drummer to win the Mid America Tag Team title once more, defeating Jackie Fargo and George Gulas on November 6, 1974, losing the title to Fargo and Gulas three weeks later. <mask> won the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship, the main title of the promotion, in October 1974 by defeating Tony Charles. <mask> lost his first Mid-America title to Jackie Fargo and won it twice more in 1975, first from Fargo and then later from "Crazy" Luke Graham.Graham defeated <mask> on May 7, 1975, to end his third and final reign with the title. In late 1975, <mask> moved closer to home and work for The Sheik’s "NWA Detroit" (also known as "Big Time Wrestling") using his "Bulldog" <mask> persona. On November 1, 1975, <mask> defeated Mark Lewin to win the Detroit version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship. Lewin regained the title in December. On October 16, 1976, <mask> regained the title in a bloody brawl against Pampero Firpo and held on to it until January 8, 1977, when he lost it to Gino Hernandez. <mask> developed into a long running enemy of the Sheik, who was the most popular man in the promotion, with the two clashing many times in wild and bloody brawls. In 1977, having recovered from hip surgery, Al Costello teamed up with <mask> as The Fabulous Kangaroos for a tour of Puerto Rico with the World Wrestling Council (WWC).In Puerto Rico, the Kangaroos were billed on arrival as the WWC World Tag Team Champions. The Kangaroos lost the title to Carlos Colón and Jose Rivera on March 12, 1977. The Kangaroos remained in WWC throughout 1977 and into 1978, never regaining the WWC World Tag Team Championship. After their tour in Puerto Rico ended, <mask> returned to singles wrestling and Costello focused more on managing due to his bad hip. In 1977 <mask> returned to the Alabama area to work for NWA Mid-America once more. <mask> defeated Lanny Poffo to win his fourth Mid-America Heavyweight title in December 1977 and lost it to Poffo's brother Randy Savage on January 3, 1978. In 1979, <mask> wrestled in Puerto Rico as a singles wrestler, winning the WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship from Chief War Cloud on January 6, 1979, and holding it for over 6 months until he lost it to Hurricane Castillo on July 21, 1979.Shortly after losing the Caribbean title, <mask> moved up a level and defeated Puerto Rican legend Carlos Colón on August 3, 1979, only to lose the title to Invader I three weeks later in Ponce, Puerto Rico. In the early to mid 80s, <mask> returned sporadically to Big Time Wrestling to wrestle the Sheik's nephew Sabu. Kangaroo return (1981-1983)

In 1981, Costello teamed <mask> with Bruno Bekkar, who was best known for working in his native New Zealand and Australia, and work a tour as The Kangaroos for the WWC with Costello serving as their manager. <mask> and Bekkar won the WWC North American Tag Team title from the team of Jack and Jerry Brisco on October 22, 1981. This version of the Kangaroos first lost to, then regained the titles from, Invader I and Super Gladiador before losing them for good on January 26, 1982, to Invader and Gladiador. After this tour of the Caribbean, Bruno Bekkar returned to Australia and New Zealand to work for the local promotions there. Bekkar was replaced with "Johnny Heffernan" (Canadian Bob Della Serra), a storyline cousin of Roy Heffernan for what was the final Kangaroo version to compete.The team ended Terry and  Dory Funk, Jr.’s year and a half long run with the WWC World Tag Team championship when they defeated them on May 1, 1982. The team held the gold for less than 2 months before losing the belts again. After ending their tour in Puerto Rico, <mask> and Heffernan returned to mainland USA to work for Championship Wrestling from Florida, a promotion the Kangaroos had worked in 1962. In Florida, The Kangaroos won the NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship four times. The final storyline involving the Fabulous Kangaroos saw Al Costello bring in J.J. Dillon to act as his short term replacement as he "took care of business". When Costello returned from his business trip, Dillon refused to give up the Kangaroos' contracts and was backed up by both <mask> and Heffernan (in storyline terms). This storyline was designed to write Al Costello out of The Fabulous Kangaroos storyline and allow him to retire from wrestling altogether.Not long after Costello retired, <mask> and Della Serra went their separate ways. Later Career (1983-1992)
After The Kangaroos split up for the last time, <mask> worked mainly in Michigan with tours of Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, <mask> donned a mask and worked under the name "Super Médico III" alongside Super Médico I. <mask> was brought in as a storyline replacement for the real Super Médico III, who was played by Jose Estrada, Jr. Médicos I & III won the WWC World Tag Team Championship on August 4, 1984, from King Tonga and Gran Apollo. When Super Médico III was unmasked in October and revealed to NOT be Jose Estrada Jr., the team was stripped of their titles because they used an illegal man to help defend the title. After being exposed as the fake "Medico III" <mask> returned to the United States and worked primarily in the Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association where he continued to wrestle until 1989 holding the tag team title on several occasions in a criminally underrated team with Dr Jerry Graham Jr when he went into semi-retirement. By 1988, <mask> was back wrestling tours of Puerto Rico's WWC as a single. He would continue to wrestle sporadically over the years to follow, stepping into the ring as late as 1992 at the age of 59.Death
<mask> died on June 14, 1993, after suffering from Leukemia for a long period of time.

masks:
Don Kent
Doug Kent
Don Kent
Kent
Kent
Don Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Don Kent
Don Kent
Kent
Kent
Don Kent
Don Kent
Kent
Kent
Don Kent
Kent
Don Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Don Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Don Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Don Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Don Kent
Kent
Kent
Kent
Don Kent


title: William J. Donovan

texts:
<mask> "Wild Bill" <mask> (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat, best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the Central Intelligence Agency, during World War II. He is regarded as the founding father of the CIA, and a statue of him stands in the lobby of the CIA headquarters building in Langley, Virginia. A decorated veteran of World War I, <mask> is the only person to have received all four of the United States' highest awards: the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Security Medal. He is also a recipient of the Silver Star and Purple Heart, as well as decorations from a number of other nations for his service during both World Wars. Early life
Of Irish descent, <mask> was born in Buffalo, New York, to Anna Letitia "Tish" <mask> (née Lennon) and Timothy P<mask>, both American-born children of Irish immigrants. The Lennons were from Ulster, the <mask>s from County Cork. <mask>'s grandfather Timothy O'<mask> (Sr.) was from the town of Skibbereen; raised by an uncle who was a parish priest, he married <mask>'s grandmother Mary Mahoney, who belonged to a propertied family of substantial means that disapproved of him.They first moved to Canada and then to Buffalo, New York, where they dropped the "O" from their name. <mask>'s father, born in 1858, worked as the superintendent of a Buffalo railroad yard, then as secretary for Holy Cross Cemetery, and also would attempt to engage in a political career, but with little success. <mask> was born on New Year's Day in 1883. (Named <mask>, he chose his middle name, <mask>, at the time of his confirmation.) He had two younger brothers and two younger sisters who survived into adulthood and several additional younger siblings who died in infancy or childhood. "From Anna's side of the family came style and etiquette and the dreams of poets," <mask>'s biographer, Douglas Waller, has written. "From Tim came toughness and duty and honor to country and clan."<mask> attended St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, a Catholic institution at which he played football, acted in plays, and won an award for oratory. He went on to Niagara University, a Catholic university and seminary where he undertook a pre-law major. Considering the priesthood, he ultimately decided "he wasn't good enough to be a priest," although he did win another oratorical contest, this time with a speech warning of corrupt, anti-Christian forces that threatened the United States. With the expectation of studying law, <mask> eventually transferred to Columbia University, where he looked beyond "Catholic dogma" and attended Protestant and Jewish worship services to decide whether he wanted to change religions. He joined the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, rowed on varsity crew, again won a prize for oratory, was a campus football hero, and was voted the "most modest" and one of the "handsomest" members of the graduating class of 1905. After earning his bachelor of arts, <mask> spent two years at Columbia Law School, where he was a classmate of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and studied under Harlan Fiske Stone. Returning to Buffalo, he joined the respected law firm of Love & Keating in 1909 and, two years later, opened his own Buffalo firm in partnership with a Columbia classmate, Bradley Goodyear.In 1914, their firm merged with another, becoming Goodyear & O'Brien. In 1912, <mask> helped form, and became the leader of, a troop of cavalry of the New York National Guard. This unit was mobilized in 1916 and served on the U.S.–Mexico border during the American government's campaign against Pancho Villa. He studied military strategy and combat tactics. He also took acting courses in New York City from a stage star of the day, Eleanor Robson. In 1914, he married Ruth Rumsey, a Buffalo heiress who had attended Rosemary Hall. In 1916, <mask> spent several months in Berlin on behalf of the Rockefeller Foundation, seeking to persuade the governments of Britain and Germany to allow the shipment of food and clothing into Belgium, Serbia, and Poland.In July of that year, at the behest of the State Department, he returned to the U.S. and took his cavalry troop to the Texas border to join Brigadier General <mask>. Pershing's army in the hunt for Pancho Villa. Promoted to major in the field, he returned to Buffalo, then joined the 69th Regiment, also known as the "Fighting Irish Regiment". This was the same 69th of Civil War fame, later called the 165th, which was training for America's expected entry into World War I, and which became part of the 42d Division, also known as the "Rainbow Division". Douglas MacArthur was the 42d Division's chief of staff. <mask>'s son David was born in 1915, and a daughter, Patricia, was born in 1917. (Patricia died in an accident in 1940.) World War I

During World War I, Major <mask> led the 1st battalion, 165th Infantry of the 42d Division.Serving in France, he suffered a shrapnel wound in one leg and was almost blinded by gas. After performing a rescue under fire, he was offered the Croix de Guerre, but turned it down because a Jewish soldier who had taken part in the rescue had not also been awarded the honor. When this insult was corrected, <mask> accepted the distinction. He also was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for leading an assault during the Aisne-Marne campaign, in which hundreds of members of his regiment died, including his acting adjutant, the poet <mask>. The 1940 <mask> movie, The Fighting 69th, dramatised the events of this battle and the 69th Infantry Regiment's role in it. <mask>'s remarkable level of endurance, which far exceeded that of the much younger soldiers under his command, led those men to give him the nickname "Wild Bill", which stuck with him for the rest of his life. Although he "professed annoyance with the nickname", his wife "knew that deep down he loved it".Assigned commanding officer of the 165th Regiment, <mask> fought in another battle that took place near Landres-et-Saint-Georges on October 14–15, 1918. Going into battle, <mask> "ignored the officers' custom of covering or stripping off insignia of rank (targets for snipers) and instead sallied forth wearing his medals", according to Evan Thomas. "They can't hit me and they won't hit you!" he told his men. Struck in the knee by a bullet, he "refused to be evacuated and continued to direct his men until even American tanks were turning back under withering German fire". After lobbying by his friend Father Francis Duffy, a famous and widely revered Army chaplain, <mask> was awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster of the Distinguished Service Cross (i.e., a second DSC) for his service in that battle. After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 <mask> remained in Europe as part of the occupation.On returning to New York in April 1919, <mask>, now a colonel, was widely discussed as a possible candidate for governor, but he rejected the idea, proclaiming his intention to return to Buffalo and resume the practice of law. Interwar years

Following his return to the U.S., <mask> took his wife on a combined vacation, business trip, and intelligence mission to Japan, China, and Korea, then went on alone to Siberia during the Russian Civil War. He went back to work at his law firm, but also took an extensive journey to Europe, where he did business on behalf of J. P. Morgan and gathered intelligence about international Communism. From 1922 to 1924, while maintaining his private law practice, he also served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York. A high point came in 1923, when, as a result of continued pressure from Father Duffy, <mask> was finally awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic acts in the battle at Landres-et-Saint-Georges. Presented with the medal at a New York City ceremony that was attended by about four thousand veterans, <mask> refused to keep it, saying that it belonged not to him but "to the boys who are not here, the boys who are resting under the white crosses in France or in the cemeteries of New York, also to the boys who were lucky enough to come through." As US Attorney, he was becoming well known as a vigorous crime-fighter.He was especially famous (and, in some circles, notorious) for his energetic enforcement of Prohibition. There were a number of threats to assassinate him and to dynamite his home, but he was not deterred. The climax of his war on alcohol came in August 1923, when his agents raided Buffalo's upmarket Saturn Club (of which <mask> himself was a member) and confiscated large amounts of illegal liquor. The club's members, who formed much of the city's upper crust, were outraged, having assumed that Prohibition did not apply to people such as themselves. Some regarded <mask> as a traitor to their class, and recalled that <mask> had not, after all, been born to high station but was, in fact, an Irish Catholic who had married into the world of privileged, professional Protestants. <mask>'s law partner, Bradley Goodyear, quit their firm in anger over the raid, and <mask>'s own wife never forgave him for it. Many working class residents of Buffalo cheered the raid as an example of equal justice before the law, however.In 1924, when President Calvin Coolidge cleaned house at the Department of Justice in the wake of the late President Warren G. Harding's Teapot Dome scandal, he appointed <mask>'s former professor Harlan Stone as Attorney General and named <mask> as Stone's assistant, in charge of the criminal division. <mask> and his wife split their time between Washington and Buffalo, where he continued to run his law firm. At the Justice Department, <mask> hired women and eschewed yes-men. He and his wife became a popular Washington couple, although <mask>'s relationship with the acting Director of the Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, briefly one of his underlings, was fraught with friction. When Stone was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1925, <mask> was put in charge of the Department of Justice's antitrust division, often serving as de facto Attorney General during the frequent absences of Stone's successor, <mask> Sargent. <mask> was admired for his energetic and effective arguments before the Supreme Court, and was a favorite off-the-record source for the Washington press corps. He was talked up as a possible candidate for Governor of New York in 1926 and for the Vice Presidency in 1928; Herbert Hoover promised to make him Attorney General if Hoover won the Presidency in 1928, but instead, under the influence of anti-Catholic Southerners, among others, Hoover ended up offering him the governorship of the Philippines, a post <mask> turned down.Resigning from the Department of Justice in 1929, <mask> moved to New York City and formed a new law firm, Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine, in partnership with Frank Raichle. Despite the stock market crash, he made a success of handling many of the mergers and acquisitions and bankruptcies that then resulted; he also acquired celebrity clients, such as Mae West and <mask>. <mask> ran on the Republican line in 1932 to succeed Franklin D. Roosevelt as Governor of New York. Assisting <mask> in his 1932 campaign was journalist <mask>. Montague, who served as "personal adviser and campaign critic". But despite <mask>'s offstage charm and force, he proved to be an uninspiring campaigner on the stump. He ran a disorganized, strategy-free campaign, and in the end lost to the Democratic nominee, Herbert Lehman. World War II
During the interwar years, as "part of an informal network of American businessmen and lawyers who closely tracked and collected intelligence on foreign affairs," <mask> traveled extensively in Europe and Asia, "establishing himself as a player in international affairs – and honing his skills as an intelligence gatherer overseas."He met with such foreign leaders as Benito Mussolini, with whom he discussed World War I, the expansionist ideology of Italian Fascism, and Roosevelt's prospects for re-election in 1936. Mussolini granted <mask> permission to visit the Italian front in Ethiopia, where he found Italy's military much improved since the war and predicted an Italian victory. <mask> also made connections with leading figures in Nazi Germany. But he was no friend of the dictators, publicly assailing Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin as totalitarians and taking steps to protect his Jewish clients in Europe from the Nazis. <mask> openly believed during this time that a second major European war was inevitable. His foreign experience and realism earned him the friendship of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, notwithstanding their extreme differences in domestic policy and despite the fact that <mask>, during the 1932 election campaign, had harshly criticized Roosevelt's record as Governor of New York. The two men were from opposing political parties, but were similar in personality.Roosevelt respected <mask>'s experience, felt that Hoover had done <mask> wrong on the Attorney General appointment, and believed that if <mask> had been a Democrat he could have been elected president. Also, <mask>'s national profile had risen considerably thanks to the 1940 Warner Brothers film The Fighting 69th, in which Pat O'Brien played Father Duffy and George Brent played <mask>, and Roosevelt recognized a useful opportunity to exploit <mask>'s newfound popularity. As the two men began exchanging notes about developments abroad, Roosevelt recognized that <mask> could be an important ally and adviser. Roosevelt came to place great value on <mask>'s insight. Following Germany's and the USSR's invasions of Poland in September 1939 and the start of World War II in Europe, President Roosevelt began to put the United States on a war footing. This was a crisis of the sort that <mask> had predicted, and he sought out a responsible place in the wartime infrastructure. On the recommendation of <mask>'s friend, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, Roosevelt gave him a number of increasingly important assignments.In 1940 and 1941, <mask> traveled as an informal emissary to Britain, where he was urged by Knox and Roosevelt to gauge Britain's ability to withstand Germany's aggression. During these trips, <mask> met with key officials in the British war effort, including Winston Churchill and the directors of Britain's intelligence services. He also had lunch with King George VI. <mask> and Churchill got along famously, sharing war stories and reciting in unison the nineteenth-century poem "The Cavalier's Song" by <mask>. Impressed by <mask> and cheered by his eagerness to help Britain, Churchill ordered that he be given unlimited access to classified information. <mask> returned to the U.S. confident of Britain's chances and enamored of the possibility of founding an American intelligence service modeled on that of the British. He strongly urged Roosevelt to give Churchill the aid he requested.Roosevelt wanted to provide such aid, and asked <mask> to use his knowledge of the law to figure out how to skirt the congressional ban on selling armaments to the United Kingdom. British diplomats, who shared Churchill's admiration for <mask>, expressed the wish to State Department officials that <mask> replace U.S. Ambassador to Britain <mask>. Kennedy, who favored the appeasers and was defeatist regarding British prospects. In the view of Walter Lippmann, a political columnist, <mask>'s findings about Britain's fighting capability "almost singlehandedly overcame the unmitigated defeatism which was paralyzing Washington." <mask> also examined U.S. naval defenses in the Pacific (which he found wanting) and visited several countries along the Mediterranean and in the Middle East, serving as an unofficial envoy for both the U.S. and Britain and urging leaders there to stand up to the Nazis. He also met frequently in New York with <mask>, a spy for MI6 who was known as "Intrepid". <mask> and Stephenson, according to Evan Thomas, "eventually became so close that they were known as 'Big Bill' and 'Little Bill'."<mask>, Douglas Waller has said, "could not have formed the OSS without the British, who provided intelligence, trainers, organizational charts and advice – all with the idea of making OSS an adjunct to British intelligence. But <mask> wanted to mount his own operations." OSS

On July 11, 1941, Roosevelt signed an order naming <mask> Coordinator of Information (COI). "At the time," Evan Thomas has written, "the U.S. government had no formal spy agency. In 1929, the Secretary of State, Henry L. Stimson, had abolished the highly effective Black Chamber, a code-breaking organization left over from World War I." In Stimson's view, "Gentlemen do not read each other's mail." To be sure, the Army, Navy, FBI, State Department, and other entities all ran their own intelligence units, but they were feeble and isolated from one another.They also saw <mask>'s new operation as a threat to their turfs. Nevertheless, <mask> began to lay the groundwork for a centralized intelligence program. It was he who organized the COI's New York headquarters in Room 3603 of Rockefeller Center in October 1941 and asked Allen Dulles to head it; the offices Dulles took were on the floor immediately above the location of the operations of Britain's MI6. Evan Thomas has described the OSS as an "informal" and "freewheeling" place where "[r]ank meant little." David Bruce later recalled: "Woe to the officer who turned down a project because, on its face, it seemed ridiculous or at least unusual  ... His [referring to the ideal officers in the OSS, contrasting with the aforementioned officers, who turned down such projects] imagination was unlimited. Ideas were his plaything. Excitement made him snort like a race horse."Throughout the war, the OSS would endure criticism by segments of the U.S. media and by many highly placed figures in the U.S. government and military. General George Marshall was an early critic but later changed his mind. Eisenhower was always supportive, as was George Patton. On December 7, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, <mask> met privately with Roosevelt and Edward R. Murrow, and FDR told <mask>, apropos of the COI, "It's a good thing you got me started on this." When Hitler gave a speech declaring war on the United States, he mentioned <mask>, whom he called "utterly unworthy". <mask> urged Roosevelt not to intern Japanese-Americans, warning that such an action would address a problem that did not exist, do harm to loyal Americans, and provide the Japanese with ammunition for their propaganda. <mask> set up espionage and sabotage schools, established front companies, arranged clandestine collaborations with international corporations and the Vatican, and oversaw the invention of new, espionage-friendly guns, cameras, and bombs.<mask> also recruited agents, selecting individuals with a wide range of backgrounds – ranging from intellectuals and artists to people with criminal backgrounds. He hired a great many female spies, dismissing criticism by those who felt women were unsuited to such work. Among his prominent recruits were film director <mask>, actor Sterling Hayden, author Stephen Vincent Benet, and Eve Curie, daughter of the scientists Marie and Pierre

masks:
William Joseph
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
. Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
William
Joseph
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
John J
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Joyce Kilmer
James Cagney
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
John Garibaldi
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Jane Wyman
Donovan
Donovan
James J
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
William Motherwell
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Joseph P
Donovan
Donovan
William Stephenson
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
John Ford


title: William J. Donovan

texts:
 Curie. Other OSS recruits included poet Archibald MacLeish, banker Paul Mellon, businessman Alfred V. du Pont (son of industrialist Alfred I. du Pont), chef <mask>, psychologist <mask> (who helped with the effort to analyze the psyches of Hitler and other Nazi leaders), author Walter Lord, and members of the Auchincloss and Vanderbilt families. There were so many aristocrats in the agency that the joke went around that OSS stood for "Oh So Social". In 1942, the COI ceased being a White House operation and was placed under the aegis of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Roosevelt also changed its name to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).<mask> was returned to active duty in the U.S. Army in his World War I rank of colonel. He was promoted to brigadier general in March 1943 and to major general in November 1944. Under his leadership the OSS would eventually conduct successful espionage and sabotage operations in Europe and parts of Asia, but continued to be kept out of South America owing to J. Edgar Hoover's hostility to <mask>, which also had a deleterious impact on efforts to share information between the two agencies. In addition, the OSS was blocked from the Philippines by the antipathy of General Douglas MacArthur, the commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater. OSS espionage and other on-site activities helped prepare the ground for the 1942 Allied invasion of North Africa, however, and <mask> himself took part in the Allied landing at Salerno, Italy, on September 3, 1943,  and at the Anzio landing on January 22, 1944. <mask> was in fact very active in virtually every theater of World War II. He spent a good deal of time in the Balkans, to which he had urged both Roosevelt and Churchill to pay more attention.He met in Europe with highly placed anti-Nazi Germans to broker an early peace that would allow for occupation by the Western Allies, establish a democratic Germany, and leave the Soviets out in the cold. In China, he struggled with Chiang Kai-shek and his underlings for permission to carry out espionage activities in their territory. He inspected OSS operations in Burma, met with Vyacheslav Molotov in Moscow to arrange for cooperation between the OSS and NKVD, and was present for MacArthur's successful April 1944 invasion of Hollandia on the northern coast of New Guinea. Overall, the OSS was most effective in the Balkans, China, Burma, and France. By 1943, <mask>'s relations with British officials were becoming increasingly strained as a result of turf wars, strategic and tactical disagreements, radical differences in style and temperament (the British accused the OSS of playing "cowboys and red Indians"), and contrasting visions of the postwar world. (The British wanted to retain their empire; <mask> saw the empire, at least in some instances, as an impediment to democracy and economic development.) MI6 chief Stewart Menzies was extremely hostile towards the idea of OSS operations anywhere in the British Empire, and categorically forbade the OSS to operate within the UK, or to deal with allied governments in exile which were based in London.Nonetheless, as of May 1944, <mask> had "some eleven thousand American officers and foreign agents scattered in every important capital." During the war he also received intelligence from a network of Catholic priests across Europe who engaged in espionage without the Pope's knowledge. On D-Day, <mask> was on one of the ships that took part in the Normandy landing. Going ashore, he and his commander of covert operations in Europe, Colonel David Bruce, were shot at by a German plane, then moved on toward the American front lines and encountered German machine-gun fire. As they lay on the ground, Bruce later recalled, <mask> said, "David, we mustn't be captured. We know too much." <mask> said that he had two suicide pills, but then discovered he didn't."I must shoot first," <mask> said. Bruce replied, "Yes, sir, but can we do much against machine guns with our pistols?" <mask> explained: "Oh, you don't understand. I mean, if we are about to be captured, I'll shoot you first. After all, I am your commanding officer." Eventually, they found their way to General Omar Bradley's newly set-up tent headquarters on the beach. Upon returning to Washington, <mask> reported directly to Roosevelt on what he had observed.The success of the invasion, he said, showed that German naval and air forces were definitely no longer "Big League" and that "something has died in the German machine." Before the month was over, he was in Italy, implementing reforms in the OSS operation in that theater. He also met with Pope Pius XII, telling him about the activities of intelligence agents working out of the Japanese embassy at the Vatican. During the weeks leading up to the Valkyrie plot to kill Hitler, Allen Dulles, <mask>'s man in Switzerland, who was in contact with the plotters, kept him abreast of developments. A particular triumph for the OSS was the role it played in conveying intelligence from southern France in the run-up to the Allied landing on the French Riviera on August 15, 1944. Thanks to <mask>'s spies, said Colonel <mask>, the invading army "knew everything about that beach and where every German was." <mask> was present for that invasion, too, after which he returned to Rome for a secret meeting with Hitler's envoy to the Vatican, Ernst von Weizsäcker.Shortly afterwards, he met with Marshal Tito to discuss OSS operations in Yugoslavia. Also in August 1944, <mask> came into conflict with Churchill over the OSS's support for Greek anti-royalists. In the closing days of the war in Europe, <mask> spent much of his time in London, where he worked out of a command center that took up an entire floor of Claridge's Hotel. He fielded reports from across the continent, where the Wehrmacht was in such chaos that he "knew their positions on the battlefield better than German generals did." In one of many initiatives, he sent out "teams of French, Danish, Norwegian, and Polish nationals" to identify Gestapo officers who had tortured them and who now were trying to blend in with civilians in Allied-controlled areas of Germany. Acting on <mask>'s orders, Dulles oversaw the surrender of the remaining Nazi forces in Italy several days in advance of the final German capitulation. Postwar plans
As World War II began to wind to a close in early 1945, <mask> began to focus on preserving the OSS beyond the end of the war.A February 19 article in the Washington Times-Herald revealed his plans for a postwar intelligence agency and published a secret memo he had sent to Roosevelt proposing its creation. The article compared the proposed agency to the Gestapo. Knowing that Americans wanted a smaller federal government after the war, Roosevelt was not entirely sold on <mask>'s proposal, although <mask> felt reasonably confident he could talk the president into the idea. J. Edgar Hoover disapproved of <mask>'s plan, which he saw as a direct threat to FBI authority, even though <mask> had stressed that his agency would operate only abroad, not domestically. After Roosevelt's death in April, however, <mask>'s political position was substantially weakened. Although he argued forcefully for the OSS's retention, he found himself opposed by the new president, Harry S. Truman. While the OSS got "glowing reviews" from many wartime commanders, notably Eisenhower, who described its contributions as "vital", critics dismissed it as "an arm of British intelligence" and, like the Times-Herald reporter, painted dark pictures of it as an American Gestapo in the making.Nuremberg trials
While British authorities and the US military and State Department were relatively indifferent to the question of trying war criminals after the war, <mask> was lobbying Roosevelt as early as October 1943 to arrange for such prosecutions. Roosevelt tasked <mask> with looking into the legalities and technicalities, and in the months that followed <mask> collected testimonies about war criminals and related information from a wide range of sources. In addition to seeking justice, <mask> wanted to exact retribution for the torture and killing of OSS agents. When Truman named Supreme Court Justice <mask> to serve as chief U.S. counsel in the prosecution of Nazi war criminals, <mask>, discovering that the OSS was the only agency that had seriously explored the issue, invited <mask> to join his trial staff. On May 17, 1945, <mask> flew to Europe to prepare for the prosecutions, and eventually brought 172 OSS officers onto <mask>'s team, interviewing Auschwitz survivors, tracking down SS and Gestapo documents, and uncovering other evidence. <mask>, whose idea it was to hold the trials in Nuremberg, also introduced <mask> to useful foreign officials and even released OSS funds to bankroll the prosecution effort. Eventually, <mask>, who had been a political rival of <mask>'s in New York State, considered him a "godsend"; in return for <mask>'s help, but also because the OSS had proven "vital for the prosecution team," <mask> lobbied Truman in person to approve of <mask>'s plans for a permanent postwar intelligence agency.The effort was unsuccessful, however. On September 20, 1945, Truman signed an executive order abolishing the OSS. As was only revealed 60 years later, <mask> succeeded in getting the Americans to block the Soviet attempt to add the Katyn massacre to the list of German war crimes. He had been convinced by the German opponent of Hitler, Fabian von Schlabrendorff, unofficially included on his staff, that it was not the Germans but the Soviet secret service NKVD that had murdered some 4,000 Polish officers in the Katyn forest. But shortly afterwards <mask> came into conflict with <mask>. In Nuremberg, <mask> interrogated many prisoners, including Hermann Göring, whom he spoke with ten times. But eventually <mask> fell out with <mask>.The latter wanted to indict the entire German High Command, not just men who had personally ordered or committed war crimes; <mask> considered this a violation of American principles of fairness. <mask>, a former prosecutor, also criticized <mask>'s lack of skill and experience at putting together a strong case and at courtroom examination and cross-examination. <mask> removed him from the team, and <mask> returned to the U.S., where in January 1946 Truman presented him with the Distinguished Service Medal. CIA
In 1946, <mask> resumed the practice of law and began writing a history of American intelligence since the Revolution – a book he never completed. He traveled extensively in Europe and Asia and ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. He also became chairman of the newly founded American Committee on United Europe (ACUE), which worked to counter the new Communist threat to Europe by promoting European political unity. The vice-chairman was Allen Dulles, and Walter Bedell Smith sat on the board as well.The ACUE financed the European Movement, the most important federalist organization in the immediate postwar years. (In 1958, the ACUE provided 53.5% of the movement's funds.) In addition, the ACUE provided all of the funding for the European Youth Campaign, in which <mask>, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak were involved. Meanwhile, Truman moved forward with plans for a new intelligence agency, finally giving approval in 1946 for a watered-down interdepartmental "Central Intelligence Group." <mask> warned that it would be ineffectual – he compared it to a "debating society" – and he soon proved to be right. As the Cold War quickly intensified, Truman recognized the need for a far stronger intelligence service, and in February 1947 asked Congress to approve plans for a Central Intelligence Agency along the lines <mask> had proposed. <mask> himself lobbied Congress privately to pass the enabling legislation, the National Security Act of 1947.It was, in Waller's words, "a vindication of <mask>'s vision". Among the OSS members who went on to become major CIA figures were Allen Dulles, <mask>, <mask>, and <mask> Angleton. <mask> wanted to lead the CIA, and had many supporters who urged Truman to put him in charge. Instead, the president gave the job to Admiral Roscoe Hillenkoetter, whom Waller described as "lackluster". Meanwhile, <mask> accepted a Truman appointment to head a committee studying the country's fire departments. But he worked behind the scenes to aid in the formation of the CIA, recommending that Hillenkoetter hire Dulles and other OSS veterans, suggesting various covert operations, and sharing contacts and information from behind the Iron Curtain. After returning from abroad, U.S. businessmen and ambassadors passed information to <mask> that he shared with the CIA.Instead of being grateful for <mask>'s help, Truman was furious, considering him an intrusive meddler. In the 1952 presidential election, <mask> campaigned for Eisenhower, who had become a good friend since the war. After his victory, <mask> hoped to be named CIA head, but instead Eisenhower appointed Allen Dulles, whose brother, <mask> Dulles, was the new Secretary of State. Eisenhower offered to make <mask> the Ambassador to France, but <mask> turned down the offer, not wanting to work closely with <mask> Dulles, for whom he had little respect. In August 1953, however, he did accept the post of Ambassador to Thailand, because the country was an important Cold War front and the position was one in which he felt he could operate with relative independence from Secretary Dulles. <mask> took up that post on September 4. While in Thailand, he frequently traveled to Vietnam, which was vulnerable to Communist takeover, a fate he felt the U.S. ambassador to that country, Donald Heath, lacked the energy and vision to prevent.One source says that he "was deeply involved in setting up C.I.A. operations in Vietnam and throughout Southeast Asia." Although his performance as ambassador received glowing reviews from the Thai government, he resigned from his position effective August 21, 1954. After returning to the U.S., he resumed his law practice and registered as a lobbyist for the Thai government. Eisenhower made him chairman of the People to People Foundation, a group that arranged international citizen exchanges; <mask> also worked with the International Rescue Committee, co-founded American Friends of Vietnam, and in 1956 raised a large sum of money for Hungarian refugees. Death and legacy

<mask> had begun experiencing symptoms of dementia while in Thailand, and he was hospitalized in 1957. While in the hospital, he "imagined he saw the Red Army coming over the 59th Street bridge, into Manhattan, and in one memorable last mission, fled the hospital, wandering down the street in his pajamas."Shortly before his death, he was visited by Eisenhower, who later told a friend that <mask> was "the last hero". <mask> died at the age of 76 from complications of vascular dementia on February 8, 1959, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Upon learning of his death, the CIA sent a cable to its station chiefs: "The man more responsible than any other for the existence of the Central Intelligence Agency has passed away." He is buried in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery. After his death, <mask> was awarded the Freedom Award of the International Rescue Committee. The law firm he founded, Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine, was dissolved in 1998. His home in Chapel Hill near Berryville, Virginia, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.In 2011, it was suggested that a new federal courthouse in Buffalo be named after <mask>, but instead, it was named after Robert H<mask>, his rival prosecutor at Nuremberg. In 2014, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer asked the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to name an upstate New York cemetery after <mask>. In 2016, however, the VA decided against using <mask>'s name. "It is outrageous that nothing has been done to honor Gen. <mask>, one of America's greatest patriots, in Buffalo or western New York," declared Charles Pinck, president of the OSS Society, who had thought the naming of the cemetery after <mask> was "a done deal". <mask> is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame. He is also known as the "Father of American Intelligence" and the "Father of Central Intelligence"."The Central Intelligence Agency regards <mask> as its founding father," according to journalist Evan Thomas in a 2011 Vanity Fair profile. The George Bush Center for Intelligence, the CIA headquarters building in Langley, Virginia, has a statue of <mask> in the lobby. Thomas observed that <mask>'s "exploits are utterly improbable but by now well documented in declassified wartime records that portray a brave, noble, headlong, gleeful, sometimes outrageous pursuit of action and skulduggery." <mask> J<mask> Award
The <mask> J. <mask> Award was created by the OSS Society, which was founded by <mask> in 1947. The award is presented by the OSS Society to "someone who has exemplified the distinguishing features that characterized General <mask>'s lifetime of public service to the United of States of America as a citizen and a soldier". Notable recipients include Allen W. Dulles, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Margaret Thatcher, President George H. W. Bush, and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Gina Haspel. Personal life
<mask>'s son, David Rumsey <mask>, was a naval officer who served with distinction in World War II.His grandson, <mask> <mask>, served as an enlisted soldier in Vietnam and is also buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Awards and decorations
U.S. awards

Foreign awards

Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, 165th Infantry, 42d Division. Place and date: Near Landres-et-St. Georges, France, 14–15 October 1918. Entered service at: Buffalo, N.Y. Born: 1 January 1883, Buffalo, N.Y. G.O., No. : 56, W.D., 1922. Lt. Col. <mask> personally led the assaulting wave in an attack upon a very strongly organized position, and when our troops were suffering heavy casualties he encouraged all near him by his example, moving among his men in exposed positions, reorganizing decimated platoons, and accompanying them forward in attacks.When he was wounded in the leg by machine-gun bullets, he refused to be evacuated and continued with his unit until it withdrew to a less exposed position. See also

 List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War I
 List of members of the American Legion
 List of U.S. political appointments that crossed party lines
 Special Activities Division
 Tightrope Walker (1979), sculpture on the Columbia University campus commemorating <mask>

Notes

References
 Waller, Douglas (2011). Wild Bill <mask>: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage. New York: Free Press. .

Further reading

 Chalou, George C. ed. The Secrets War: The Office of Strategic Services in World War II (1992) 24 scholarly essays

 Duffy, Francis Patrick Fr. (1919). Father Duffy's Story, New York: George H. Doran Company.Reilly, Henry J.; Heer, F. J. (1936). Americans All, the Rainbow at War: The Official History of the 42nd Rainbow Division in the World War. Troy, Thomas F (1981). <mask> and the CIA: A History of the Establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA Center for the Study of

masks:
Julia Child
Carl Jung
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
William Quinn
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Robert Jackson
Jackson
Donovan
Donovan
Jackson
Donovan
Jackson
Jackson
Donovan
Donovan
Jackson
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Jackson
Donovan
Donovan
Jackson
Donovan
Donovan
Jackson
Jackson
Donovan
Donovan
Joseph Retinger
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
William Casey
William Colby
James Jesus
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
John Foster
Donovan
Donovan
John Foster
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
. Jackson
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
William
. Donovan
William
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
William James
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan
Donovan


title: Steve Livingstone

texts:
<mask> (born 8 September 1969) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward and makeshift defender from 1986 to 2004. He began his career at Coventry City in 1986, though had little impact at the club before he joined Blackburn Rovers for a £450,000 fee in January 1991. He helped Rovers to win promotion to the top-flight via the play-offs 1992. In March 1993 he was sold on to Chelsea for a £350,000 fee, but only played the one league game for the club. He was loaned out to Port Vale in September 1993, before being moved on to Grimsby Town for £140,000 the following month. He spent the next ten years at the club, helping the "Mariners" to win promotion out of the Second Division via the play-offs in 1998, as well as the Football League Trophy title, again in 1998. He joined Carlisle United in 2003, before retiring due to injury in January 2004.Playing career

Early career
Livingstone was promoted to the first team squad at Coventry City in July 1986 following one year on a Youth Training Scheme. He went on to make just under 50 appearances for the "Sky Blues" in all competitions between 1986 and 1991, including 31 in the First Division. He proved an able stand in for Kevin Drinkell, but despite scoring in the League Cup semi-final defeat to Nottingham Forest, he failed to establish himself in the starting eleven. He played under George Curtis, John Sillett, and Terry Butcher. In January 1991, Livingstone was signed by Don Mackay of Second Division side Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £450,000. He scored seven goals in his first ten games for Blackburn during the second half of the 1990–91 season, though would later lose his spot due to questions over his fitness. Rovers occupied the final play-off spot at the end of the 1991–92 season under new manager Kenny Dalglish, and went on to beat Leicester City 1–0 in the Wembley final.However Livingstone featured just twice in the 1992–93 Premier League campaign, in a 2–1 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park and a 1–1 draw with Middlesbrough at Ewood Park. He moved to Stamford Bridge in March 1993 after Chelsea manager David Webb paid out a £350,000 fee. While with the "Blues", Livingstone went on to only make one substitute appearance, playing in a 3–0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford on 17 April; he replaced Neil Shipperley in the 55th minute of the game. Chairman Ken Bates did not renew Webb's contract, and Livingstone did not feature in new boss Glenn Hoddle's first team plans. In September 1993, he was signed by Port Vale manager John Rudge on a one-month loan; he played five Second Division games before returning to London. Grimsby Town
In October 1993, Livingstone was loaned out to Grimsby Town, with the deal being made permanent for a £140,000 fee two months later. Grimsby were a small club struggling to survive in the First Division under Alan Buckley.He was an instant hit at Blundell Park and his performances earned him respect amongst the "Mariners" fans, he formed notable impressive strike partnerships with Clive Mendonca, Jack Lester and Lee Nogan. "Livvo" as he was known to Grimsby supporters, was able to use his frame and weight to make himself a handy target man, and was a frequent goalscorer in his ten years with the club. Despite recording just seven home wins in 1993–94, Town remained safely in mid-table. They then finished tenth in 1994–95 under new manager Brian Laws. Livingstone was the club's joint-top scorer in 1995–96 with ten goals, along with Paul Groves. Grimsby were relegated at the end of the 1996–97 campaign, despite Livingstone scoring six goals in 34 appearances, including a brace against Sheffield United. With Alan Buckley returning as manager, the "Mariners" won immediate promotion in 1997–98 after beating Northampton Town 1–0 in the Second Division play-off final at Wembley.Grimsby also found success at Wembley in the Football League Trophy final after beating AFC Bournemouth 2–1 after extra time; Livingstone was a 55th-minute substitute for Daryl Clare. Throughout the campaign Livingstone hit nine goals in 59 games, scoring twice in clashes with Fulham, Leicester City, and Bristol Rovers. He played 30 games without scoring in 1998–99, as Town recorded an eleventh-place finish in the second tier. Livingstone played 34 games in the 1999–2000 campaign, as Grimsby finished two places above the relegation zone; he scored just two goals, both coming against Stockport County in the FA Cup. New manager Lennie Lawrence was appointed for the 2000–01 campaign, and Livingstone continued to be a key player, finishing as the club's top-scorer with seven goals in 36 games. His last four years with Grimsby were hampered with injury, and he only made a cameo role in each season. He appeared in just three games in April in the 2001–02 season.On 17 August 2002, he collided badly with Derby County defender Danny Higginbotham and was knocked unconscious; this left Livingstone with a head injury that would see him out of action for a couple of months. His old target man status returned briefly, as he helped Grimsby edge a thrilling 6–5 win over Burnley in an impressive performance alongside fellow striker <mask>. He posted 31 appearances in 2002–03, scoring three goals; however Grimsby were relegated in last place. Carlisle United
Carlisle United manager Roddy Collins came in for the veteran forward and initially signed him on a free transfer in July 2003. However, Livingstone struggled with his fitness, and made a total of nine appearances for the club, with two red cards, one of them on his debut against York City, the other against Lincoln City. He also collected three yellow cards in this time, and all this without scoring a goal. He was placed on the transfer list four months after signing with the club, but due to a persistent back problem, he retired in January 2004.The "Cumbrians" went on to suffer relegation out of the Third Division, thereby losing their Football League status. Personal life
Livingstone's father, <mask>, also played professional football. His son, Jed, had a trial with Grimsby Town in 2009. He now lives in his native Middlesbrough and buys and sells properties. Statistics
Source:

Honours
Blackburn Rovers
Football League Second Division play-offs: 1992

Grimsby Town
Football League Second Division play-offs: 1998
Football League Trophy: 1998

References

1969 births
Living people
Footballers from Middlesbrough
English footballers
Association football forwards
Coventry City F.C. players
Blackburn Rovers F.C. players
Chelsea F.C.players
Port Vale F.C. players
Grimsby Town F.C. players
Carlisle United F.C. players
Premier League players
English Football League players

masks:
Stephen Carl Livingstone
Steve Kabba
Joe Livingstone


title: Iris Robinson

texts:
<mask> (née Collins; born 6 September 1949) is a former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician in Northern Ireland. She is married to <mask>, who was First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2008 to 2016. <mask> was first elected councillor for Castlereagh Borough Council in 1989, and served as Mayor in 1992 and 1995. She was a member of the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue from 1995 to 1997. In 1998 she was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for the Democratic Unionist Party as member for Strangford, acting as Deputy Whip and health spokesperson. She was elected as DUP Member of Parliament for Strangford at the 2001 general election, replacing the Ulster Unionist Party's John Taylor. She was re-elected at the 2005 general election.<mask> describes herself as a born-again Christian, and has publicly stated that "the government has the responsibility to uphold God's laws". In light of this, she was criticised for her views on homosexuality in 2008. In December 2009, <mask> announced that she would leave politics and withdraw from public life following prolonged periods of mental illness. In January 2010, it emerged that <mask> had an extramarital affair with a 19-year-old in 2008, and she and her husband were faced with allegations of financial impropriety related to the affair. It was announced on 9 January 2010 that her membership of the DUP had been terminated, and that she would stand down from elected office. On 12 January 2010 she resigned from the Northern Ireland Assembly, and on 13 January 2010, she resigned from the House of Commons and Castlereagh (borough). Personal life
The oldest of seven children, <mask> was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland to Mary McCarten and Joseph Collins, an English soldier.She grew up in a working-class area in the east of the city. She describes herself as a born again Christian and attends Metropolitan Tabernacle Church in Belfast. She comes from family with a mixed religious background as ten of her first cousins are Roman Catholics. She attended Cregagh Primary School, Knockbreda Intermediate School and Cregagh Technical College before becoming a secretary. She married <mask> on 26 July 1970. They were the first husband and wife ever to represent Northern Ireland constituencies in Parliament at the same time. They have three grown-up children: Jonathan, Gareth and Rebekah.<mask> is also a former Councillor on Castlereagh Borough Council. Outside politics <mask> listed her interests as charity fundraising for multiple sclerosis, interior design and horseriding. Political career
<mask> was first elected councillor for Castlereagh (borough) in 1989. She became the Council's first woman mayor in 1992 and served as mayor again in 1995. She was a member of the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue from 1995 to 1997. She was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998, representing the constituency of Strangford. She acted as the DUP health spokesperson.<mask> was elected as the DUP Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Strangford at the 2001 general election, replacing the Ulster Unionist Party's John Taylor. She was re-elected at the 2005 general election. Since taking up her seat in the House of Commons, <mask> has voted in 32 percent of votes in parliament, below the average among MPs. In her maiden speech she spoke about the "betrayal" felt by the Royal Ulster Constabulary, criticising the Government's policy on policing. <mask>'s voting record shows that she voted strongly against introducing foundation hospitals, very strongly for the Iraq War, moderately for an investigation into said war, voted moderately against LGBT rights, and never voted on transparent Parliament or on replacing Trident. <mask> also voted for Labour's 42-day terror detention, part of the Counter-Terrorism Bill. <mask> was suspended from Stormont for a day on 19 November 2007 after refusing to withdraw "unparliamentary" comments she had made about the health minister, Michael McGimpsey.In an interview with the Sunday Tribune in April 2008, anticipating becoming "First Lady" of Northern Ireland, <mask> spoke out against Hillary Clinton alluding to her husband's affair with Monica Lewinsky: "No woman would put up with what she tolerated from her husband when he was president. She was thinking only of her future political career. It's all about power and not principle." Comments about homosexuality
In June 2008, shortly after a physical assault on a homosexual man in Northern Ireland, she made comments on the BBC Radio Ulster's Stephen Nolan Show offering to recommend homosexuals to psychiatric counselling. While condemning the attack, she called homosexuality an "abomination" that made her feel "sick" and "nauseous", and offered to refer homosexuals to a psychiatrist she knew. In a subsequent interview, <mask> defended her views and denied prejudice against homosexuals, saying that "just as a murderer can be redeemed by the blood of Christ, so can a homosexual.... If anyone takes issue, they're taking issue with the word of God".Her comments were rebuffed by representatives of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Rainbow Project, the Alliance Party, Sinn Féin, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party. The psychiatrist in question, Dr. Paul Miller later resigned as her adviser and stood down from his post of consultant psychiatrist at Belfast's Mater hospital. He is no longer a consultant psychiatrist within the NHS and has been reported to the General Medical Council (GMC). A police investigation followed these comments, over 100 complaints were made, and gay rights activist Robert Toner also made a complaint to the Equality Commission. <mask> subsequently repeated her views in parliamentary session. Speaking in a 17 June 2008 Northern Ireland Grand Committee session on Risk Assessment and Management of Sex Offenders, she said: "There can be no viler act, apart from homosexuality and sodomy, than sexually abusing innocent children." She reiterated her statement to the Belfast Telegraph on 21 June 2008, but later stated that she had been "misrepresented" in Hansard.<ref>BBC', 21 July 2008, "Gay comment inaccurate" – <mask></ref> This statement was challenged when Alliance Party Executive Director Gerry Lynch confirmed with Hansard staff that <mask>'s comments were in fact correctly quoted.Further controversy was caused on 17 July 2008 when on the Stephen Nolan Show <mask> stated "it is the government's responsibility to uphold God's law". In the Northern Ireland Assembly on 30 June 2008, in a discussion about "LGBT Groups: Mental-Health Needs", <mask> said that "Homosexuality, like all sin, is an abomination", and suggested that teenagers needed help deciding whether they were homosexual or heterosexual.BBC, 30 June 2008, "Gay comments twisted" During this period, <mask> herself was having an extra-marital affair with a 19-year-old man. By late July 2008, the Belfast Telegraph reported that "[A]lmost 11,000 people have signed a petition calling on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to reprimand DUP MP <mask> over her controversial remarks about homosexuality" and "[Fewer than] 30 people have signed an opposing petition calling on the Prime Minister to allow the comments to go un-reprimanded as a matter of personal opinion and religion". As a result of her comments, <mask> was named "Bigot of the Year" for 2008 by Stonewall. "Gay cure" MP <mask> voted Bigot of the Year at Stonewall Awards

Parliamentary expenses
In April 2009, both <mask> and <mask> came under fire after Commons MPs' expenses accounts were leaked to the press. The couple were described as the "swish family <mask>" by the News of the World and Daily Mail after claims that they were receiving £571,939.41 a year in various salaries and expenses. Extramarital affair and financial investigation

On 28 December 2009, and immediately prior to the airing of an investigative BBC programme looking at her personal life and financial dealings, <mask> announced her decision to retire from politics after claiming that she had been suffering serious bouts of stress and depression.At the time she said the stress and strain of public life came at a cost, and that her health had suffered. On 6 January 2010, <mask> issued a statement in which she said that she had attempted suicide on 1 March 2009. BBC's Spotlight programme revealed on 7 January 2010 that <mask> had had an affair with Kirk McCambley, who was 19 years old at the time. It is also alleged that she encouraged friends to provide financial backing to assist her lover in a business venture. According to a BBC investigation, the payments she arranged from two property developers to McCambley were £50,000. As the £50,000 was not declared to the Northern Ireland Assembly, this action broke the law. <mask> subsequently asked McCambley for £5,000 in cash; as well as a cheque made out to Dundonald's Light 'n Life Church, where <mask>'s sister, Rev.Pat Herron is pastor. It is alleged that Peter pressed his wife to return this money – however, he did not inform the proper authorities about the large monetary transactions, which is a breach of his duty and responsibility as First Minister of Northern Ireland. Reports have been made of further affairs, with among others, Kirk McCambley's father Billy, who died in 2008. <mask>'s intention to retire from elected office was announced on 11 January 2010 and she resigned on 13 January 2010. Castlereagh Borough Council announced on 14 January 2010 that it had voted to carry out an external investigation in the catering contract awarded to Kirk McCambley. Terms of reference for the investigation include identifying if the Council incurred any financial loss and whether officers and elected representatives complied with the requirements of all relevant local government legislation and guidance in the awarding the lease for the Lock-Keeper's Inn. On 26 May 2011, the DUP announced that an independent investigation has "cleared <mask> of any wrongdoing in connection with the awarding of a contract to her former teenage lover", though the findings of the investigative report have not been publicly circulated.The PSNI announced on 21 January 2010 that they were to conduct an investigation into <mask>'s financial affairs. On 20 February 2010 officers from PSNI searched the offices of Castlereagh Borough Council as part of this investigation. On 25 June 2010, it became public that <mask> had been interviewed as part of a police investigation over money she obtained from two developers. <mask> reportedly received "acute psychiatric treatment" and was under 24-hour suicide watch following the BBC Spotlight'' documentary. Later years
It was reported that <mask> had been receiving psychiatric treatment in a London clinic from January 2010 and returned to Northern Ireland on 19 September 2010 to continue treatment. <mask> made her first appearance in public almost seven months after her return, at the funeral of her mother at Bethany Free Presbyterian Church in County Armagh on 14 April 2011. Among the mourners was deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness who embraced <mask> on the steps of the church.Her husband stated his wife was too ill to attend the wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton on 29 April 2011. <mask> did, however, attend the state banquet in Dublin during the Queen's visit to the Republic of Ireland 20 days later on 18 May 2011. References

External links
Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: <mask>
Guardian – Special Report
Maiden Speech : House of Commons – 25 June 2001

1949 births
Members of Castlereagh Borough Council
Democratic Unionist Party MPs
Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Northern Irish constituencies
Living people
Mayors of places in Northern Ireland
Members of the Northern Ireland Forum
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (since 1922)
Elim Pentecostals from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland MLAs 1998–2003
Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007
Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011
Politicians from Belfast
Women mayors of places in Northern Ireland
UK MPs 2001–2005
UK MPs 2005–2010
Democratic Unionist Party MLAs
Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
20th-century women politicians from Northern Ireland
21st-century women politicians from Northern Ireland
Women councillors in Northern Ireland

masks:
Iris Robinson
Peter Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Iris Collins
Peter Robinson
Gareth Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Iris
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Iris Robinson
Robinson
Iris Robinson
Iris
Peter Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Peter Robinson
Robinson
Iris Robinson
Iris Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Robinson
Iris Robinson