Coordinates	43°40′50″N114°20′34″N
Show name	Today
genre	NewsTalk
creator	Sylvester L. Weaver, Jr.
Presenter	Weekday editionMatt Lauer (1997–present)Ann Curry (2011–present)Natalie Morales (2011–present)Al Roker (1996–present)Savannah Guthrie (2011–present)Hoda Kotb (2007–present)Kathie Lee Gifford (2008–present)Other:Willard Scott (1980–present)Weekend ''Today'' Lester Holt (2003–present) Saturdays: Amy Robach (2007–present)Jenna Wolfe (2007–present)Bill Karins (2009–present)Janice Huff (1995–present)
narrated	Dick Dudley (former)Fred Facey (1984–2006)Les Marshak (current)
theme music composer	John Williams
country	United States
num episodes	17,694 (as of May 14, 2011)
executive producer	Jim Bell
location	NBC StudiosNew York, New York
runtime	240 minutes (4 hours)
network	NBC
picture format	480i (16:9 SDTV),1080i (HDTV)
first aired	January 14, 1952
last aired	present
status	Returning series
related	Early Today
website	http://www.todayshow.com
directed by	Joe Michaels
slogan	Your day is Today }}

''Today'' (also referred to as ''The Today Show'') is an American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series. Originally a two-hour program on weekdays, it expanded to Sundays (currently one hour) in 1987 and Saturdays (two hours) in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and a fourth hour launched in 2007.

''Today'''s dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's ''Good Morning America''. ''Today'' retook the Nielsen ratings lead the week of December 11, 1995, and has held onto that position every week since.

In 2002, ''Today'' was ranked #17 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

Current cast

The first two hours of the show are anchored by Matt Lauer and Ann Curry, with broadcast meteorologist Al Roker, news anchor Natalie Morales, and Chief Legal Analyst Savannah Guthrie. Roker, Morales and Guthrie also serve as co-hosts of the third hour, while Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford co-host the fourth hour. Lauer and Curry typically appear with Roker, Morales and Guthrie at the very beginning of the third hour, occasionally staying on if breaking news warrants it. Weekend editions are anchored by Lester Holt, Amy Robach (Saturdays) and Jenna Wolfe (Sundays), all three of whom frequently contribute to the weekday show.

Guthrie and Morales substitute for Curry, while Guthrie, Holt, MSNBC host Willie Geist and ''Meet the Press'' anchor David Gregory cover for Lauer. CNBC anchor Carl Quintanilla and Saturday co-host Robach occasionally host, mainly during holidays.

Guthrie is also the main fill-in for Morales at the news desk, while Geist, Kotb, MSNBC host Tamron Hall, Quintanilla, Robach and Wolfe have also appeared as news anchor. Various NBC News correspondents appear at the news desk at weekends.

Regular correspondents include Chief White House correspondent and NBC Political Director Chuck Todd, Mike Leonard, Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O'Donnell, Bob Dotson, Jamie Gangel, and Peter Alexander. Dr. Nancy Snyderman is the network's chief medical correspondent. Jean Chatzky, editor-at-large for Money Magazine, provides weekly financial segments. Sarah Haines is the online correspondent. CNBC correspondents, including Burnett, Amanda Drury, Melissa Francis and Melissa Lee, regularly report from the New York Stock Exchange, while MSNBC and Weather Channel correspondents are frequent contributors. Jenna Bush Hager is a special correspondent for the program.

History

The show's first broadcast aired on January 14, 1952. It was the brainchild of Sylvester L. Weaver, Jr., who was then vice-president of NBC. Weaver was president of the company from 1953 to 1955, during which time ''Today's'' late-night companion ''The Tonight Show'' premiered. In pre-production, the show's proposed title was ''The Rise and Shine Revue''.

''Today'' was the first show of its genre when it signed on with original host Dave Garroway. The show blended national news headlines, interviews with newsmakers, lifestyle features, other light news and gimmicks (including the presence of the chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs as the show's mascot during the early years), and local station news updates. It has spawned several other shows of a similar type, including ABC's ''Good Morning America'', and CBS' ''The Early Show''. In other countries the format was copied – most notably in the United Kingdom with the BBC's ''Breakfast'' and ITV's ''Good Morning Britain''. In Canada with ''Canada AM'' on CTV and in Australia with the Sunrise (TV program) on the Seven Network.

When ''Today'' started, it was seen live only in the Eastern and Central time zones, broadcasting three hours per morning but seen for only two hours in each time zone. Since 1958, ''Today'' is tape-delayed for the different time zones. Partly to accommodate host Dave Garroway's declining health, the program ceased live broadcasts in the summer of 1958, opting instead to broadcast an edition taped the prior afternoon. The experiment, which drew criticism from many sides, ended when John Chancellor replaced Garroway in July 1961. For many years ''Today'' was a two-hour program, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in all time zones except for Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. Virgin Islands, until NBC expanded it to three hours on October 2, 2000. A fourth hour was added on September 10, 2007. In some markets (such as Boston, Massachusetts, on WHDH-TV), the third and fourth hours of ''Today'' are aired on further tape delay.

During the first three hours, local affiliates are offered a five-minute window at :25 and :55 to insert a local newsbreak, although the show provides additional segments for those affiliates who do not do so.

When breaking news stories warrant, ''Today'' will broadcast a live West Coast edition. The live updates typically do not last longer than the 7:00 a.m. (PT) hour and once completed, will return to the taped East Coast feed. When the anchors welcome the viewers to the show, they will note the current time as being "Pacific Time" and continue to note it as such until the tape delay is started. In some instances, when NBC Special Reports occur during the ''Today'' timeslot, the show's anchors will assume hosting responsibilities.

For the most part, ''Today'' is aired live in the Eastern Time Zone in most markets while taped delayed in the remaining time zones.

Studio

The ''Today'' program first originated from the RCA Exhibition Hall on 49th Street in a space now occupied by the Christie's auction house, just down the block from the current studio. The first set placed a functional newsroom in the studio, which Garroway called "the nerve center of the world." The barrier between backstage and on-stage was virtually nonexistent. Garroway and the on-air staff often walked through the newsroom set. Glimpses of camera crew and technicians were a frequent occurrence, as were off-screen voices conversing with Garroway. Gradually, machines and personnel were placed behind the scenes to assemble the news and weather reports, and the newsroom was gone by 1955. In 1958, the show moved across the street to Studio 3K in the RCA Building, where it remained through the early 1960s.

On July 9, 1962, the show returned to a streetside studio in the space then occupied by the Florida Showcase. On September 13, 1965, ''Today'' moved back to the RCA Building. The network's news programming went to all-color broadcasts at that time, and NBC could not justify allocating four (then-expensive) color cameras to the Florida Showcase studio.

For the next twenty years, the show occupied a series of studios on the third, sixth, and eighth floors of NBC's headquarters; most notably Studio 3K in the 1970s, Studio 8G (adjacent to Studio 8H, home to ''Saturday Night Live'') in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and finally Studio 3B from 1983 to 1994. ''Today'' moved to the current streetside studio on June 13, 1994, providing a link to the show's 1950s origins.

Since the premiere of the 1990s set, the morning shows of each of the major broadcast and cable-news networks has moved streetside—including two of ''Today's'' Rockefeller Center neighbors, Fox News' ''Fox & Friends'' (at Avenue of the Americas) and CNN's ''American Morning''. (In summer 2005, CNN reversed the trend, abandoning its street-level studio and moving upstairs in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle.) ABC's ''Good Morning America'' broadcasts from Times Square Studios. In 2006, Studio 1A underwent a major renovation to prepare for 1080i high-definition broadcasting. After the departure of Katie Couric and while a new set was readied (summer of 2006), the program was broadcast from a temporary outdoor studio in Rockefeller Plaza, the same set NBC used at the Olympic Games since 2004 (Athens (2004), in Torino, Italy, (2006), and would be re-used for Beijing (2008). However, it would not be used during in Vancouver (2010), as their studio was the atrium at Grouse Mountain.) During the week of August 28, 2006, the show was moved to a temporary location outside of Studio 1A because MTV was converting the Outdoor Studio into their Red Carpet booth for the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. A mock set was set up in ''Dateline'''s studio, also used during inclement weather. Also, they used a temporary outdoor set at 30 Rock,and MSNBC's ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' (which joined at Studio 1A in 30 Rock on October 22, 2007).

On September 13, 2006, ''Today'' moved into its brand new set. The new studio is divided into five different parts on the lower level. It includes the interview area, the couch area, the news desk, the performance/interview/extra space area, and home base, which is where the anchors start the show. A gigantic Panasonic 103-inch plasma monitor is often used for graphic display backgrounds. A kitchen set is located upstairs from the main studio. The blue background that is seen in the opening of the show in home base moves up and down to allow a view of the outside from the home base. New graphics were introduced, which underwent only minor changes until they were updated on September 8, 2009, with the introduction of the new ''Your day is Today'' slogan.

Current on-air staff

Anchors

''Today'' anchors started out as "Communicators." Creator Pat Weaver envisioned a person whose responsibilities would go beyond the bounds of traditional sit-down news anchors. The Communicator would interview, report, moderate dialogue and generally tie the show together into a coherent whole. Garroway and his successors have all followed that model, with little variation. Today, the hosts are expected to do much the same, and on any given day will talk with correspondents, newsmakers and lifestyle experts; introduce and close each half-hour; conduct special segments (such as cooking or fashion) and go on-assignment to host the program from different locations. Although the "Communicator" nomenclature has since dropped out of favor, the job remains largely the same. The principal anchors/hosts of the show include:

Matt Lauer, anchor (1997–present)

Ann Curry, anchor (2011–present)

Natalie Morales, news anchor (2011–present), third-hour anchor (2006–present)

Al Roker, weather anchor (1996–present), third-hour anchor (2006–present)

Savannah Guthrie, third-hour anchor (2011–present)

Hoda Kotb, fourth-hour anchor (2007–present)

Kathie Lee Gifford, fourth-hour anchor (2008–present)

Willard Scott, other (1980–present)

Former on-air staff

Anchors

Dave Garroway (1952–1961)

John Chancellor (1961–1962)

Hugh Downs (1962–1971)

Barbara Walters (1966–1976)

Frank McGee (1971–1974)

Jim Hartz (1974–1976)

Tom Brokaw (1976–1982)

Jane Pauley (1976–1989)

Bryant Gumbel (1982–1997)

Deborah Norville (1990–1991)

Katie Couric (1991–2006)

Meredith Vieira (2006–2011)

News anchors

From the show's inception, the idea of providing the latest news has been critical to the function of the program. In that vein, there has always been at least one person on set whose job it is to prepare and deliver newscasts. In 1952, that person was called ''Today'''s "news editor" or (informally) "news chief." In modern parlance, the term "newsreader" or "news anchor" is preferred. Under the two-hour format, four newscasts would be delivered, once every half-hour. Now there are only three newscasts, delivered at the top of each of the first three hours. Some anchors, including Jim Fleming, Lew Wood, Floyd Kalber and John Palmer, were seasoned journalists before joining the program. Others, including Ann Curry, have used the position to increase their journalistic acumen, at times leaving the newsdesk behind to venture into the field. News anchors have included the following:

Jim Fleming, news anchor (1952–1953)

Merrill Mueller, news anchor (1953)

Frank Blair, news anchor (1953–1975)

Lew Wood, news anchor (1975–1976)

Floyd Kalber, news anchor (1976–1979)

Tony Guida, news anchor (1979)

None (1979–1981; Brokaw and Pauley read headlines during this period.)

Chris Wallace, news anchor (1982)

John Palmer, news anchor (1982–1989)

Deborah Norville, news anchor (1989)

Steven Frazier, news anchor (1990)

Faith Daniels, news anchor (1990–1992)

Margaret Larson, news anchor (1992–1994)

Matt Lauer, news anchor (1994–1997)

Ann Curry, news anchor (1997–2011)

Weather anchors

For the program's first 25 years, weather reports were delivered by the host or newsreader. Dave Garroway would draw the day's weather fronts and areas of precipitation on a big chalkboard map of the United States, based on information gathered earlier in the morning from the U.S. Weather Bureau in Washington, D.C. Subsequent hosts John Chancellor and Hugh Downs dropped the chalkboard weather map concept and instead read a prepared weather summary over a still image of a weather map. When the show went to all-color broadcasts in 1965, weather maps were prepared and projected on a screen behind Frank Blair, who would deliver the forecast immediately after his news summaries. Following Blair's retirement in 1975, Lew Wood took over the newsreader and weather reporting duties. When Floyd Kalber became news anchor in 1976, Wood continued to do the weather (in addition to doing other news, sports, and commercials) until 1978. The weather is reported every half-hour during the program's first three hours, though since Al Roker took over as weather reporter, this is not always the case as an interview by Al at the beginning of the show may air in place of the national weather forecast at least once during the show at certain times during the week, leaving only the local weather inserts by NBC stations.

With the purchase of The Weather Channel by NBC in association with two private equity groups in 2008 and the July 2009 launch of pre-''Today'' program ''Wake Up with Al'' on that network, the forecast segment is now often augmented with reports and observations by Weather Channel staff at the site of a weather event or from the Weather Channel's suburban Atlanta headquarters.

Until the hiring of Bob Ryan in 1978, however, no one on the show had practical experience or academic credentials in meteorology.

''Today'' weather reporters have included:

Bob Ryan, weather anchor (1978–1980)

Willard Scott, weather anchor (1980–1996)

Al Roker, weather anchor (1996–present)

NBC affiliate stations are given a 30 second window to insert a local forecast into the program following the national weather report; Roker's outcue for the local break is ''"That's what's going on around the country, here’s what’s happening in your neck of the woods."'' (A national summary of temperatures from Roker is shown if no local forecast is inserted in the area, international viewers and to those watching outside Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza.)

The semi-retired Scott, who gained fame through his antics that included costumes and props, still occasionally appears as Roker's fill-in, and to continue his tradition of wishing "happy birthday" to centenarians. Scott's traditional local cue is ''"Here's what's happening in your world, even as we speak."''

Regular panelists

The job of "panelist" has no set definition. Panelist duties can range from conducting interviews to reporting on a number of topics in-studio and in the field. Regular panelists on the program include the following:

Jack Lescoulie (1952–1965)

Edwin Newman (1952–1984)

Barbara Walters (1966–1974 as ''de facto'' co-anchor; officially titled "co-host" in 1974)

Judith Crist (1964–1973)

Joe Garagiola (1967–1973, 1990–1992)

Gene Shalit (1973–2010)

Jane Pauley (2010-present)

''Today'' Girls

From 1952 to 1964, a notable member of the cast was a woman, often an entertainer, the ''Today'' Girl. Usually, she would discuss fashion and lifestyle, report the weather, cover lighter-fare stories or engage in verbal jousting with Garroway. Estelle Parsons was the first to hold the job, though her title at the time was "Women's Editor". Upon her departure in 1955, the ''Today'' Girl name was adopted. The last to hold the position, Barbara Walters, discussed the job in her autobiography ''Audition: A Memoir''. She wrote that the era was before the Women's Movement, and it was believed that nobody would take a woman seriously reporting "hard news"; Walters described the position as a "tea pourer". In 1966, Walters was promoted to co-host alongside Hugh Downs, and the ''Today'' Girl position was eliminated. Those who held the position were:

Estelle Parsons (official title: "Women's Editor") (1952–1955)

Lee Meriwether (1955–1956)

Helen O'Connell (1956–1958)

Betsy Palmer (1958)

Florence Henderson (1959–1960; co-hosted ''Later Today'' in 1999–2000)

Beryl Pfizer (1960–1961)

Robbin Bain (1961)

Louise King (1962)

Pat Fontaine (1963–1964)

Maureen O'Sullivan (1964)

Barbara Walters (1964–1966)

Controversies and transitions

Gumbel-"Memogate"

In 1989, Gumbel wrote a memo to ''Today Show'' executive producer Marty Ryan which was critical of other ''Today'' personalities. This memo was leaked to the press. In the memo, Gumbel commented that Willard Scott "holds the show hostage to his assortment of whims, wishes, birthdays and bad taste...This guy is killing us and no one's even trying to rein him in". He commented that Gene Shalit's movie reviews "are often late and his interviews aren't very good."

There was enough negative backlash in regard to Gumbel's comments toward Scott that Gumbel was shown making up with Scott on ''Today''.

Exit Jane Pauley, enter Deborah Norville

By 1989, Deborah Norville replaced John Palmer at the ''Today'' newsdesk and he assumed her previous role on ''Sunrise''. She also began substituting for Tom Brokaw on ''NBC Nightly News''. Shortly after Norville's appointment as ''Today'''s news anchor, the decision was made to feature Norville as an unofficial third host. Whereas Palmer had read the news from a desk separate from where Gumbel and Pauley sat, Norville was seated alongside the program's hosts at the opening and closing of every show. Before long, gossip columns and media observers predicted that NBC would remove Jane Pauley from the program and replace her with Norville in an effort to improve the program's recently declining viewership by young women, the demographic most coveted by morning shows. During this period ''Saturday Night Live'' featured a skit titled "All About Deborah Norville" (a takeoff on the classic film ''All About Eve''), which depicted Norville as ruthlessly scheming to take Pauley's place as ''Today'' co-host.

By late 1989, it was announced that 13-year veteran Pauley would leave ''Today'' at the end of the year. NBC, as expected, announced that Norville would become co-host. An emotional Norville hugged Pauley on the air after the announcement was made, and many at NBC hoped the negative press generated by Norville's increased presence on the program would end. It did not. Prior to the announcement of Pauley's departure, much of the criticism had focused on Norville's youth and beauty, with many branding her "the other woman" and a "home wrecker," in a reference to what some felt seemed like her intent on "breaking up" the television marriage of Gumbel and Pauley.

Negative press only heightened after the announcement of Pauley's resignation, and Norville was put under a gag order by NBC brass which prevented her from defending herself from the widespread and erroneous reports that she somehow orchestrated her rise on ''Today''. In January 1990, the new anchor team of Bryant Gumbel and Deborah Norville, minus Jane Pauley, debuted with disastrous results. Ratings for the program began to plummet. Critics felt that Gumbel and Norville lacked chemistry and many loyal viewers began turning to rival ABC's ''Good Morning America'' (''GMA'').

By the end of 1990, ''Today'', the longtime dominant program, was officially the second place morning show behind ''GMA,'' and most of the blame was pinned on Norville. By the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Norville saw her role as co-host continually minimized. ''Today'' aired special editions of the program called ''America at War'', with Gumbel anchoring most of the show alone. It was not uncommon for Norville not to even make an appearance until the two hour show's second half hour. In addition, she was directed not to initiate conversation on the show and only speak when asked a question by Gumbel. Norville left the show for maternity leave in February 1991. It was announced that Katie Couric would substitute co-host during Norville's absence. Ratings for the program rose immediately following Norville's departure and Couric's arrival.

Midway though her maternity leave, Norville was interviewed by ''People''. In the story, she avoided conversation about her recent trouble on ''Today'', and instead focused on her newborn baby boy. She was photographed breastfeeding her son, a seemingly innocuous event, but NBC management was said to be greatly displeased by this, believing the photo to be in poor taste. By April 1991, in light of improved ratings on ''Today'' and NBC's displeasure at the ''People'' photograph, it was announced that Norville would not return to ''Today'' and that Katie Couric had been named the program's co-host. Norville, it was disclosed, would continue to be paid in accordance with her contract, although she would no longer appear on any NBC News programs.

Rumored Couric-Lauer feud

Beginning in 2003 there were rumors that Katie Couric and Matt Lauer were in the midst of a feud. Reports say that this was due to Katie Couric's prominence, that she was generally perceived as handling the news program, and that she was the only person who could guarantee high ratings for a morning news program.

Couric leaves, Vieira enters

On Wednesday April 5, 2006, Katie Couric announced on her fifteenth anniversary as co-host of ''Today'' that she would leave ''Today'' and NBC News at the end of May to become the new anchor and managing editor of the ''CBS Evening News''. Katie Couric's final broadcast was aired on May 31, 2006. The day's show was dedicated to Couric's fifteen years as one of the show's co-hosts, and celebrated her move to the anchor chair at CBS, where she also became a correspondent for the network's Sunday night program ''60 Minutes''. Couric said during the show, "It's been a pleasure hosting this program, and thank you for fifteen great years." A special video presentation was broadcast, recapping her best moments and news stories on Today during her fifteen years.

The day after Couric's announcement, Meredith Vieira, then a host of ABC's ''The View'' announced on that show that she would take over as Lauer's co-anchor in September. Lauer and Vieira began co-hosting together on September 13, 2006.

On June 1, 2006 (the day after Couric's departure), NBC News announced that for the summer of 2006 ''Today'' would move to a temporary outdoor studio as Studio 1A was going through renovations to prepare for high-definition. On that same day, NBC News launched a new advertisement promoting Vieira's arrival. For the summer of 2006, Couric's anchor seat was filled with various hosts, consisting of Curry, Morales and Campbell Brown (all of whom were considered candidates to replace Couric), until Vieira took over that fall.

Lauer's contract has been secured for the future years. He has signed through 2012 and has received a sizable salary increase.

In March 2010, Vieira signed a contract that would keep her with the program until at least September 2011, though reports state that she will not renew her contract when it expires at that time. Vieira announced on May 9, 2011 that she would depart as co-host in the following month, but would remain at NBC News in an as-yet undetermined role.

Vieira exits, Curry takes over

After announcing her resignation, Vieira departed the program on June 8th, 2011. Former news anchor Ann Curry replaced her, appearing alongside Matt Lauer as co-host. Correspondent Natalie Morales replaced Curry as news anchor, with Al Roker remaining as the weather anchor. Savannah Guthrie joins Morales and Roker as co-host of the third, 9am hour.

Expansion

''Early Today'' and ''Later Today''

The first brand extension was created in 1982. ''Early Today'' was conceived as a lead-in for ''Today''. It even had the same anchors, Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley. The program was conceived so local stations could carry the full hour or one of the two half-hours. After a year NBC replaced it with ''NBC News at Sunrise'', anchored by Connie Chung.

In 1999, NBC cancelled ''Sunrise'' and created two brand extensions for ''Today''. One was ''Early Today'' (not to be confused with the earlier incarnation); the program originally was produced by CNBC and focused on business and financial news before switching to general news under the same production staff as ''MSNBC First Look''; it continues to air on many NBC affiliates. Also in the of fall 1999, ''Later Today'', a talk show that was intended to air immediately following the then two-hour ''Today'', was launched with hosts Jodi Applegate, Florence Henderson and Asha Blake. Sagging ratings for that show caused its cancellation in August 2000; it was replaced two months later by the current third hour of ''Today''.

Fourth hour

On September 10, 2007, NBC expanded the show length to four hours, as announced on January 17, 2007 at its press tour sessions. The fourth hour was originally hosted by Curry, Morales, and Hoda Kotb; Kathie Lee Gifford replaced Curry and Morales on April 7, 2008. Without news segments or input from the earlier hosts, the fourth hour operates virtually as a standalone talk show, with an opening "host chat" segment reminiscent of the one popularized by Gifford and Regis Philbin on ''Live with Regis and Kathie Lee'', as well as features focusing on entertainment, fashion and other topics intended to draw in female viewers.

NBC had aired the daytime soap opera ''Passions'' from 1999 to 2007 but dropped it to make room on its schedule for the extended version of ''Today''. The fourth hour of ''Today'' competes with ABC's ''The View'' and CBS's ''The Price Is Right'' in most markets in the Central and Pacific time zones, but most Eastern time stations air it live one hour before those programs. Not all NBC affiliates carry the new hour, including Hearst-owned affiliates KCRA-TV, Sacramento, California; KSBW in Salinas, California; WBAL-TV, Baltimore, Maryland; and WYFF, Greenville, South Carolina.

Today in Two Minutes

On May 3, 2010, the show launched a new online-only feature called "Today in Two Minutes," anchored by ''Today'' News Anchor Natalie Morales. The video provides brief updates on the day's weather, news headlines and other stories, while giving a look ahead to segments appearing later in the morning on the television broadcast. It appears on the program's website each weekday morning. While it shares a name with a news segment on ''Today'' during Dave Garroway's tenure, the current "Today in Two Minutes" otherwise bears little resemblance to its 1952 forebear.

Music

''Today Show'' host Dave Garroway selected Les Brown's ''Sentimental Journey'' as the program's very first theme, used during the entire Garroway era from 1952 to 1961. In 1962, when Hugh Downs became host, Django Reinhardt's "Melodie au Crepuscule" was chosen as the new theme; it was replaced in 1963 by ''Misty'', an instrumental ballad composed by Erroll Garner and performed by Bobby Hackett and John B. Seng.

''Misty'' served as ''Today’s'' theme until 1971, when NBC News correspondent Frank McGee joined the show. Composer Ray Ellis penned an entirely new instrumental theme entitled "This is Today", a jazzy, up-tempo piece that served as the program's main theme until 1978. Because ''This is Today'' closely resembled the theme ''Day by Day'' from the musical ''Godspell'', Ellis was successfully sued for copyright infringement and ''This is Today'' was revised. The second version of ''This is Today'' incorporated the familiar NBC chime signature (G-E-C) in a bright, appropriately sunny arrangement that was used until 1981, at the close of the Tom Brokaw-Jane Pauley era. The G-E-C signature was also used throughout the program to introduce and conclude segments, usually in combination with the familiar ''Today Show'' sunburst.

By 1982, ''Today'' had a new anchor, Bryant Gumbel, and a new version of Ellis' ''This is Today'' theme, a looser, more relaxed arrangement that continued to feature the NBC chimes in its melody. A shorter arrangement of ''This is Today'' was used for the show open (featuring a rotating globe and ''Today'' sunburst) from 1983 to 1985. The main theme was used until 1985, and due to its popularity with viewers was resurrected as the show's secondary theme in January 1993. The 1982 theme now serves as the program's official "anniversary" music, used to open and close retrospective segments as ''Today'' approaches its 60th anniversary.

1985 saw the end of the synthesizer era at NBC as composer John Williams wrote a series of themes for all NBC News programs, with a cut entitled ''The Mission'' serving as the principal theme for ''NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw''. Williams also composed two themes for ''Today'': an opening fanfare for the program that was derived from the opening of ''The Mission''; and a two-minute closing theme for the show entitled ''Scherzo for Today'', a dramatic arrangement that made heavy use of strings and flutes. In the late 1980s, ''Scherzo'' was played in its entirety multiple times daily during the weather scrolls that ran during local commercial breaks; however, most NBC affiliates preempted these segments with advertising. The new ''Today'' themes—used in tandem with the show's new opening sequence featuring the Statue of Liberty and a new living room studio set—gave the program a distinctly modern look and sound beginning in September 1985. A series of Williams-penned bumpers featuring the ''Mission'' signature were also used to open and close segments.

''Scherzo for Today'' was used as the program's closing theme until 1990, and the ''Mission'' bumpers were used until 1993. (One of them could be heard as a station break lead-in on NBC's ''Meet The Press'' until 2004.) Meanwhile, Williams' opening fanfare has opened the program ever since its 1985 introduction, with two brief interruptions; new opening themes were briefly introduced and quickly discarded in the summer of 1994 (to mark the debut of Studio 1A) and in 2004. The fanfare was iconically accompanied by Fred Facey announcing "From NBC News, this is ''Today''... with (anchor) and (anchor)." Although Facey died in April 2003, His introduction of the Couric/Lauer team was used for the duration of Couric's era (except for special editions requiring special introductions). ''Weekend Today'' announcer Les Marshak became the new voice of the weekday program on September 13, 2006.

Currently, a lighter theme employing the NBC chimes is used to open the show's 7:30 through 9:30 half-hour segments, and also used as a closing theme.

''Weekend Today''

The Sunday edition of ''Today'' debuted on September 20, 1987. Five years later on August 1, 1992, the Saturday edition debuted expanding the ''Today'' schedule to seven days a week. The Sunday broadcast airs for one hour (originally 90 minutes, until the expansion of ''Meet the Press'' to a full hour in 1992), and the Saturday broadcast airs for two hours.

The weekend broadcasts continue the ''Today'' tradition of covering breaking news, interviewing newsmakers, reporting on a variety of popular-culture and human-interest stories, covering health and finance issues and presenting the latest weather reports. NBC feeds the Saturday edition from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and the Sunday edition from 8:00 a.m to 9:00 a.m. (both Eastern Time), although many of the network's affiliates air local newscasts in those time slots and carry the network broadcast later in the morning. NBC's New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles owned and operated stations air ''Weekend Today'' simultaneously (but not live) at 9:00 a.m ET, 8:00 a.m. CT and 6:00 am PT.

Weekend editions are tailored to the priorities and interests of weekend viewers—offering special series such as "''Saturday Today'' on the Plaza", featuring live performances by the biggest names in music and Broadway outside the studio throughout the summer.

Current on-air staff

Anchors

Lester Holt, weekend anchor (2003–present)

Amy Robach, Saturday weekend anchor (2007–present)

Jenna Wolfe, Sunday weekend anchor (2007–present)

Bill Karins, Saturday weekend weather anchor (2009–present)

Janice Huff, Sunday weekend weather anchor (1995–present)

Former on-air staff

Anchors

''Sunday Today'' anchors included:

Boyd Matson, weekend anchor (1987–1988)

Maria Shriver, weekend anchor (1987–1990)

Garrick Utley, news anchor (1987–1988) weekend anchor (1988–1992)

Al Roker, weekend anchor (1989–1992)

Katie Couric, weekend anchor (1990–1991)

Mary Alice Williams, weekend anchor (1991–1992)

''Weekend Today'' anchors included:

Scott Simon, weekend anchor (1992–1993)

Jackie Nespral, weekend anchor (1992–1995)

Mike Schneider, weekend anchor (1993–1995)

Giselle Fernandez, weekend anchor (1995–1996)

Jack Ford, weekend anchor (1995–1999)

Carol Martin, weekend anchor (1996)

Jodi Applegate, weekend anchor (1996–1999)

Soledad O'Brien, weekend anchor (1999–2003)

David Bloom, weekend anchor (1999–2003)

Campbell Brown, weekend anchor (2003–2007)

Special editions

Ratings

Week of April 25, 2011/ Day of April 29, 2011 (Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton)

''Today'': 6,424,000/ 9,628,000 viewers

''Good Morning America'': 5,735,000/ 8,650,000 viewers

''The Early Show'': 2,650,000/ unknown viewers

This week was Today's best week since August 11, 2008, which was week of the Beijing Olympics. Also, April 29, was the best single day rating since November 8, 2000, which was the day after the 2000 presidential election.

Week of April 11, 2011

''Today'': 5,662,000 viewers

''Good Morning America'': 4,812,000 viewers

''The Early Show'': 2,659,000 viewers

This week was Today's 800th week at the number one spot. At ABC, Good Morning America compared to last year has closed the gap by 35%, the smallest gap since 2006-2007. However NBC is calling this week the widest margin in six weeks.

Week of January 4, 2009: ''Today'' (8am) averaged 5,998,000 millon viewers, ''Today II'' (9:00am) averaged 4,447,000 total viewers and a 1.4 rating in the A25-54 demo. It was the hour's best ratings since the week of August 11, 2008. ''Today III'' (10:00am) averaged 2,412,000 total viewers and a .8 rating in the demo. It was the most total viewers for the program since the week of December 31, 2007.

Week of October 12, 2008

''Today'': 4,910,000 viewers

''Good Morning America'': 4,250,000 viewers

''The Early Show'': 2,660,000 viewers

Only the first two hours of ''Today'' are counted above. For the sake of Nielsen ratings (but not on-air), NBC refers to the third and fourth hours as ''Today II'' and ''Today III'', respectively. For the week above, ''Today II'' drew 2.9 million viewers and ''Today III''' delivered 1.7 million.

Week of June 30, 2008

''Today'': 4,900,000 viewers

''Good Morning America'': 3,800,000 viewers

''The Early Show'': 2,400,000 viewers

Week of September 11, 2006

''Today:'' 6,320,000 viewers

''Good Morning America'': 4,730,000

''The Early Show'': 2,800,000

International broadcasts

NBC News programming is shown daily on the 24 hour news network Orbit News in Europe and the Middle East. This includes a live broadcast of ''Today''.

In Australia, ''NBC Today'' (titled as such locally to avoid confusion with the local Nine Network program of the same name) airs from 4am Tuesday to Saturday on the Seven Network. Sunday's edition is broadcast at 5:00am on Mondays, following ''Meet The Press''. The program is condensed into a 90 minute broadcast (except for Saturday mornings where the full 2-hour edition is shown), with no local news inserted. However, a news ticker appears at the bottom of the screen, containing National headlines, as well as upcoming information for the Sunrise breakfast show. A national weather map of Australia is inserted during cut-aways to local affiliates for weather. ''Today'' is pre-empted by paid programming on regional Seven affiliates Prime7 and GWN7. The top three U.S. breakfast programs air simultaneously on Australian television with the ''CBS Early Show'' airing on Network Ten and ''Good Morning America'' on the Nine Network.

''Today'' is also shown in the Philippines on Talk TV with the weekday editions which airs at 7.00 pm local time on Mondays to Fridays. Weekend Today airs Saturdays at 7:00pm and Sundays at 8:00 pm local time.

In the United Kingdom and across Europe, ''Today'' originally aired on Sky News between 1989 and 1993, and from 1993 and 1998 on NBC Europe. The show was initially aired live in the afternoons until 1995, when it was delayed until the next morning.

In Australia, ''NBC Today'' is shown on 7mate at 9am as a two-hour condensed edition.

See also

"Where in the World is Matt Lauer?"

Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda

References

External links

''“Today”'' official site

''“The Today Show viewers home page and forum”'' The Today Show viewers home page and forum

''Today'' at the Internet Movie Database

''Weekend Today'' official site

“Today” Music History page

''“Today”'' show book with quotes from show staff & backstage personnel on parenting

Category:1952 television series debuts Category:1950s American television series Category:1960s American television series Category:1970s American television series Category:1980s American television series Category:1990s American television series Category:2000s American television series Category:2010s American television series Category:American news television series Category:Black-and-white television programs Category:English-language television series Category:NBC network shows Category:NBC News

da:Today (NBC-program) de:Today (NBC) fa:امروز (برنامه کانال ان‌بی‌سی) fr:Today (NBC) id:Today (program berita NBC) ja:トゥデイ (テレビ番組) pl:Today (program telewizyjny NBC) pt:Today (programa de TV) sh:The Today Show fi:Today (NBC) sv:The Today Show zh:今天 (NBC)

Coordinates	43°40′50″N114°20′34″N
name	Penn Jillette
birth name	Penn Fraser Jillette
birth date	March 05, 1955
birth place	Greenfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
residence	Las Vegas, Nevada
nationality	American
known for	Half of the comedy magic duo known as ''Penn & Teller''
occupation	Magician, illusionist, writer, actor, inventor
years active	1974–present
height
party	Libertarian Party
religion	None
website	Penn and Teller.com
footnotes	}}

Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American magician, comedian, illusionist, juggler, bassist and writer known for his work with fellow illusionist Teller in the team Penn & Teller, and advocacy of atheism, libertarian philosophy, free-market economics, and scientific skepticism.

Early life

Jillette was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts. His mother, Valda R. Jillette (née Parks), was a secretary, and his father, Samuel H. Jillette, worked at a correctional facility. Jillette became disenchanted with traditional illusionist acts that presented the craft as authentic magic, such as The Amazing Kreskin on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. At age eighteen, he saw a show by illusionist James Randi, and became enamored of his approach to magic that openly acknowledged deception as entertainment rather than a mysterious supernatural power. Jillette regularly acknowledges Randi as the one person on the planet he loves the most besides members of his family.

Jillette worked with high school classmate Michael Moschen in developing and performing a juggling act during the years immediately following their 1973 graduation. In 1974, Jillette graduated from Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. That same year, he was introduced to Teller by Weir Chrisimer, a mutual friend. Jillette purchased a home in Las Vegas and dubbed it "The Slammer". It has been featured in dozens of television shows and articles and was designed by his friend Colin Summers. He currently records music there, and previously conducted his radio show at the studio inside "The Slammer".

Jillette was also a regular contributor to the now-defunct ''PC/Computing'' magazine in the early 1990s, having a regular back section column between 1990 and 1994. True to form, the columns were often as much about Uma Thurman as actual PC computing issues. Jillette and ''PC Computing'' parted ways over a dispute with a new editor. Jillette felt the new editor was trying to tell him how to write his column and what topics he should be covering. Jillette asserts that he is unsure if he was fired or if he actually quit.

Jillette was the primary voice announcer for the U.S. based cable network Comedy Central in the 1990s.

Starting in 1996, he had a recurring role on ''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (TV series)'' as Drell, the head of the Witches' Council. He and Teller both appeared in the pilot with Debbie Harry as the third member of the Council. The show was created by Jillette's friend Nell Scovell.

For a brief time in 1997, Jillette wrote bi-weekly dispatches for the search engine Excite.com. Each column ended with a pithy comment identifying which of the Penn & Teller duo he was. (For example: "Penn Jillette is the half of Penn & Teller that's detained at airports.") Jillette made a habit of linking many words in his online column to wacky sites that generally had nothing to do with the actual words. The columns are no longer available on the current Excite.com site, but have been republished with permission at PennAndTeller.com.

Starting in 2003, Jillette, along with his partner Teller, began producing and hosting the show, ''Penn & Teller: Bullshit!''. In the show, the two analyze cultural phenomena, debunk myths, criticize people and aspects of society they deem "bullshit".

In 2005 with actor Paul Provenza, Jillette co-produced and co-directed ''The Aristocrats'' (2005), a documentary film tracing the life of a dirty joke known as "The Aristocrats".

From January 3, 2006 to March 2, 2007, Jillette hosted, along with fellow atheist, skeptic, and juggler Michael Goudeau, a live, hour-long radio talk show broadcast on the radio station brand known as Free FM. The show, ''Penn Radio'', broadcast from his Vintage Nudes Studio in Jillette's Las Vegas home. The most notable recurring segment of the show was "Monkey Tuesday" and later "The Pull of the Weasel". On March 2, 2007, Jillette, on Free FM, announced that he would no longer be doing his radio show. He stated that he is a "show biz wimp" and decided to stop doing the show so he could spend more time with his kids Zolten Penn Jillette and Moxie CrimeFighter Jillette. He made very clear that he was not fired.

During the 2006–07 television season, Jillette hosted the prime time game show "Identity" on NBC-TV. As of now, NBC states on its website that it plans for "Identity" to return to its prime time schedule soon, although a firm premiere date for the show's second season has not been announced.

In 2008, Jillette was a contestant on ''Dancing with the Stars''. He was the first celebrity to be eliminated. A reference to his large feet as a sign of another large body part was bleeped in the West Coast airing.

In 2009, Jillette did a spoken guest appearance on a song by Pakistani rapper Adil Omar. The song was titled "Spookshow" and produced by DJ Solo of Soul Assassins. The lyrics condemn religious extremism and encourage skepticism. It is set to be featured on a compilation album by Thick Syrup Records alongside artists like Matt Cameron of Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Half Japanese and more.

On May 24, 2010, Jillette began a daily show on Revision3 called Penn Point.

An avid upright bassist, Penn frequently accompanies jazz pianist Mike Jones, who opens for the magician's Las Vegas show.

Jill-Jet

In July 1999, Jillette was granted for the "Jill-Jet", a hot-tub jet specially angled for a woman's pleasure. He has credited Debbie Harry of Blondie for suggesting the idea, as the two of them were once in a hot-tub and Harry made a remark about changing the jets for a woman's pleasure. Jillette liked the idea enough to pursue patent application at the USPTO under the patent title "Hydro-therapeutic stimulator". The abstract of the patent explains that a "discharge nozzle is located within the tub and connected to the outlet, mounted to the seat so that the discharged water from the circulation pump automatically aligns with and is directed to stimulation points (e.g., the clitoris) of the female user when the female user sits in the seat." An article in the June 2006 issue of ''Playboy'' shed additional light on the invention. Originally, it was to be called the "ClitJet", however he stated that "Jill-Jet" was more suitable because it included his name in the title.

On the ''Penn Radio'' show, telling the listeners about the photo shoot for the ''Playboy'' article, Jillette mentioned that he has a Jill-Jet installed in a tub at "The Slammer", and that several of his female friends and friends' spouses enjoy it a lot, but he is not aware of any other installations of a water jet in such a configuration anywhere else.

Personal life

He occasionally notes with irony that he lives and works in Las Vegas, but he does not gamble (though he did lend his name to a book on how to cheat at poker).

He has never used recreational drugs or alcohol. He is, however, an advocate of the legalization of all drugs and discontinuing the War on Drugs.

Jillette is married to Emily Zolten and has a daughter Moxie CrimeFighter and a son Zolten Penn.

Jillette is an atheist, libertarian (he has stated that he may consider himself to be an Anarcho-capitalist), and skeptic, as well as an adherent to Ayn Rand's Objectivist philosophy, as stated on his ''Penn Says'' podcast. Jillette is a Fellow at the libertarian think tank, the Cato Institute, and has stated that he "always" votes Libertarian. In January 2007, Jillette took the "Blasphemy Challenge" offered by the Rational Response Squad and publicly denied the existence of a holy spirit. His cars' license plates read "atheist", "nogod", and "godless". "Strangely enough, they wouldn't give me 'Infidel,'" he says.

In 2005 he wrote and read an essay for National Public Radio claiming that he was "beyond atheism. Atheism is not believing in God ... I believe there is no God." His atheism, he has explained, has informed every aspect of his life and thoughts, and as such is as crucial to him as theistic beliefs are to the devout. Jillette welcomes and even encourages open discussion, debate, and proselytizing on the issue of God's existence, believing that the issue is too important for opinions about it to remain private. Jillette does not, however, dismiss all who do believe in God: A 2008 edition of his ''Penn Says'' podcast expresses his appreciation for a fan who brought him the gift of a pocket Gideon Bible after a performance because he realized that this individual sincerely cared enough about him to try to help him.

Jillette has stated that there is not enough information to make an informed decision on global warming, and that it is an emotion versus logic issue. However, he has later accepted anthropogenic factors as a likely component in the current warming as well as the imperative to act on it, but clarified that his ignorance and reluctance to make a complete judgment is related to the political side of the debate.

Red fingernail

Speculation arises from Jillette's red fingernail on his left hand. From a FAQ from Penn & Teller's official website, there are three common answers:

# It means he once shot a man for asking personal questions. # When Jillette first began performing, his mother told him to get a manicure because people would be looking at his hands. In response to this, he had all of his nails painted red as a joke. The one remaining red fingernail is in honor of his mother. # It's just cool and can also sometimes provide excellent misdirection.

On the episode of ''Penn Radio'' broadcast on November 29, 2006, Jillette related the real story behind his red fingernail. It began as a joke with his mother. When he was 18 years old, his mother advised him to keep his hands looking nice, since he then was working as a magician and his audience would be looking at his hands. Jillette colored the single nail red and showed it to his mother. He has continued to paint that single nail to the present. The color he uses is Jelly Apple Red (#054) by Essie.

On the 26 March 2009 Penn Says titled "Painting My Fingernail" he said: "You know, I've been wearing my fingernail red on my left hand for probably close to forty years now. Certainly the vast majority of my life. And when people ask me why I have a red fingernail, I usually answer that it means that I killed a person for asking personal questions. You know, that's the joke I always use. But the real reason is, and the real reason has been distorted over the years. It's changed, the real reason. My mom, when I was first starting doing magic and juggling when I was a teenager, I was doing little card tricks for her and juggling. You know, go into the back yard and make her watch a trick fifty times till I happened to hit it. Very indulgent she was. She told me, her suggestion on show business was that I should keep my hands really nice. If you want people to be staring at your hands with these tricks you're doing you should keep your hands really nice. You should take really good care of them. Make sure the nails look really nice. So I took some of her nail polish. And in order to mock her, to annoy her, to irritate her, I don't even remember now whether I painted all my nails red, or I painted that one nail red. And said is this what you mean? Doesn't that look nice? Isn't that pretty. And of course she was jokingly disgusted. And I decided I liked it. And I kept it. And I kept it. And I kept it, and now my mom died almost ten years ago. And now it's kind-of morphed into this kind-of memory. When I look at the red fingernail I think about it being my mom's nail color. Which I don't think it is. I don't even know how much nail polish she wore."

Appearances

Filmography

''Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder'' (2009)

''The Growth'' (2009)

''The Aristocrats'' (2005)

''Michael Moore Hates America'' (2004)

''Fantasia 2000'' (2000)

''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' (1998)

''Toy Story'' (1995)

''Hackers'' (1995)

''Car 54, Where Are You?'' (1994)

''Half Japanese - The Band That Would Be King'' (1991)

''Penn & Teller Get Killed'' (1989)

''Gandahar'' (1988)

''Tough Guys Don't Dance'' (1987)

''My Chauffeur'' (1986)

''Savage Island'' (1985)

Television

''Miami Vice''

* "Prodigal Son" (1985) TV episode ... Jimmy Borges

''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''

* "Illusions of Grandeur" (1 episode, 1994) ... Romick

''VR 5''

* "Pilot" (1 episode, 1995) ... Mr.Orwell Kravitz

''Friends''

* "The One With the Cuffs" (1 episode, 1997) ... Encyclopedia Salesman

''The Drew Carey Show''

* "See Drew Run" (1997) TV episode ... Archibald Fenn

* "Drew Meets Lawyers" (1995) TV episode ... Archibald Fenn

''Sabrina The Teenage Witch''

* "First Kiss" (1997) TV episode .... Drell

* "Jenny's Non-Dream" (1997) TV episode ... Drell

* "Terrible Things" (1996) TV episode ... Drell

* "Pilot" (1996) TV episode ... Drell

''Babylon 5''

* "Day of the Dead" (1998) TV episode ... Rebo

''Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular'' 1998–99

"Hollywood Squares" (1999–2004) regular

''The Simpsons''

* "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder"

* "The Great Simpsina" (2 episodes, 1999, 2011) ... himself

''Dharma & Greg'' (2001)

''The West Wing''

* "In the Room" (2004) ... himself

''Penn & Teller: Bullshit!'' (2003 - 2010)

''The Moxy Show'' (original voice of Flea; later replaced by an unidentified actor in some episodes)

''Identity'' (premiered in December 2006); returned on March 16, 2008 on NBC and will air for seven weeks every Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

''Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2006) TV episode ... himself

''Dancing with the Stars'' (2008) ... himself

''Numb3rs''

* "Magic Show" (2008) TV episode ... himself

''"Glenn Beck" (Fox News)

''Handy Manny''

* "Halloween/Squeeze's Magic Show" (2008) TV episode ... Magic Marty

''Penn & Teller Go Public'' (1985) TV program produced by Community Television of Southern California and aired on Public Television stations.

''The Defenders''

* "Whitten v. Fenlee" (2010) TV episode ... Ruben Charters

Fetch with Ruff Ruffman

* "You Can't Teach an Orange Dog New Tricks" (2009) TV episode...Himself

Music videos

Ramones - "Something to Believe In"

Run D.M.C. - "It's Tricky"

Katy Perry - "Waking Up in Vegas"

Too Much Joy - "Donna Everywhere"

Rascal Flatts - "Why Wait"

Music

"The Horse You Rode In On" by Pigface

"Spookshow" by Adil Omar

Books by Jillette

References

External links

Penn & Teller's official website

Penn's old YouTube channel (Available only in the United States, discontinued Apr 23, 2010)

Penn's new YouTube channel (Available everywhere)

Penn Point Jillette's video blog on Revision3

Penn Says Jillette's video blog on Crackle.com

Penn Jillette columns includes Jillette's PC-Computing columns

Penn Jillette/The magician-comedian-writer's secrets revealed! - ''Slate'', February 4, 2006

Penn Jillette/Telling It Like It Is, With Teller - ''AskMen.com'' ''interview''

"Voodoo and Violence", interview in ''Reason'' by Steve Kurtz

Jillette's home "The Slammer" -

Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:American film actors Category:American game show hosts Category:American libertarians Category:American atheists Category:American humanists Category:American magicians Category:American novelists Category:American podcasters Category:American skeptics Category:American television actors Category:American talk radio hosts Category:Drug policy reform activists Category:Jugglers Category:Actors from Massachusetts Category:People from the Las Vegas metropolitan area Category:Professional magicians Category:Pigface members Category:American bass guitarists Category:Members of the Libertarian Party (United States) Category:Objectivists Category:People from Greenfield, Massachusetts Category:American SubGenii Category:American people of Canadian descent

id:Penn Jillette no:Penn Jillette sv:Penn Jillette

Coordinates	43°40′50″N114°20′34″N
name	Brian Doerksen
background	solo_singer
origin	Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Christian, Worship music
occupation	Songwriter and singer
years active	- present
label	Integrity Music
website	www.briandoerksen.com
notable instruments	}}

Brian Robert Doerksen (pronounced "durkson") is a Canadian Christian singer-songwriter and worship leader from Abbotsford, British Columbia born in 1965.

Musical career

For many years Doerksen was part of the Vineyard Churches as well as Vineyard Music Group. In that context he has been extremely influential in the area of contemporary Christian worship music. He was a featured worship leader on many Vineyard worship CDs and has also taught extensively on worship leading and song writing. Brian's worship recordings are known for their high production values and quality songwriting.

Notable songs written by Doerksen include: "Refiner's Fire" (1990), "Faithful One", "Come Now is the Time to Worship" (1998), "Hope of the Nations," (2003), "Holy God", and "Today (As For Me and My House)".

More recently Brian Doerksen has been producing worship music through Integrity's Hosanna Music, including his albums ''You Shine'' (2002), ''Today'' (2004), ''Live In Europe'' (2005), ''Holy God'' (2006) and ''It's Time'' (2008).

Brian Doerksen received a Gospel Music Association Dove Award in 2003, only the second Canadian to be so honoured. He has also won a string of Covenant Awards during his career including four in 2005, among them: ''Artist of the Year'', ''Praise And Worship Album Of The Year'' and ''Praise And Worship Song Of The Year''. Three more Covenant Awards followed in 2006, and a further six in 2007. In 2008 he won a Juno Award for the album ''Holy God''.

Doerksen's most recent project was to co-write a musical titled ''Prodigal God'' with playwright and worship pastor Christopher Greco. The production will have its debut performance in February 2010 in Vancouver, before going on tour.

Ministry

Brian Doerksen is currently one of three co-pastors along with Dean Richmond and Dave Hensman at a church they started together on Mother's Day 2006 called The Bridge. The church meets in Matsqui Village. Brian is a teaching and worship arts pastor and oversees the church's growing team of worship leaders.

Personal life

He was married in 1985 at age nineteen to his wife Joyce. The couple have six children, four daughters and two sons. His sons both have fragile X syndrome. The family lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.

Discography

;Vineyard Music albums

''Changed by Your Glory'' (1989)

''Hear Our Cry'' (1990)

''We Behold You'' (1990)

''Your Kingdom Come'' (1990)

''Jesus Alone'' (1991)

''Save Us Oh God'' (1991)

''Worship Festival Live'' (1992)

''In Deiner Gegenwart Vol 1 & 2'' (1993)

''Light the Fire Again'' (1994)

''Father’s House'' (1994, review)

''Winds of Worship 4'' (1995)

''Isn't He'' (1995, review)

''Winds of Worship 5'' (1996)

''Faithful Father'' (1996)

''Winds of Worship 8'' (1997)

''Come, Now is the Time'' (1998)

''Father'' (1998)

''Intimacy'' (1998)

''Hungry'' (1999)

''God is Love'' (2000)

''Rise Up Europe'' (2000)

''Believe'' (2000)

''Change Me on the Inside'' (2001)

''Come and Follow'' (2001, review)

''Love Abbotsford Live'' (2001)

''All I Need'' (2002)

;Solo albums ''You Shine'' (2002, reviews) ''Today'' (2004, review) ''Live in Europe'' (2005, review) ''Holy God'' (2006, review) ''It's Time'' (2008, review)

''Level Ground'' (2010)

;Books

''The Brian Doerksen Guitar Songbook'' (2004, includes a DVD)

''Make Love, Make War: NOW is the Time to Worship'' (David C. Cook, 2009)

;Songs in other projects

''WoW Worship (Blue)'', "Refiner's Fire" and "Come, Now Is The Time To Worship" (1999)

''WoW Worship (Orange)'', "Light the Fire Again" (2000)

''WoW Worship (Green)'', "Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)" Brenton Brown & Brian Doerksen (2001)

iWorship, ''Double CD'', "Come, Now Is The Time To Worship", "You Shine", "Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)" (Integrity, 2002)

''Real Men Worship'', "Come Now Is The Time To Worship" (Integrity, 2003)

iWorship: ''Next'', "Refiner's Fire" (Integrity, 2004)

''Sea to Sea: Filled With Your Glory'', "Today" (CMC, 2004)

''WoW Worship (Red)'', "Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)" (2004)

''Sea to Sea: I See The Cross'', "I See the Cross" (CMC, 2005)

''27th Annual Covenant Hits'', "Today" (CMC, 2006)

Canadian Bible Society centennial CD: ''Good News Celebration'', "Fortress 144" (CMC, 2006)

''Maximum Worship - Canada's Top 25 Worship Songs'', "Come, Now Is The Time To Worship" (Hosanna, 2006)

''Sea to Sea: For Endless Days'', "When You Shepherd Me" (CMC, 2006)

''YourMusicZone.com #1s'', "Holy God" (CMC, 2007)

''28th Annual Covenant Hits'', "When You Shepherd Me" (CMC, 2007)

iWorship: ''24:7'', "Holy God" (2007)

''Maximum Worship Blue - Canada's Top 25 Worship Songs'', "Holy God", "Faithful One" and "Refiner's Fire" (Hosanna, 2007)

''Sea to Sea: The Voice of Creation'', "Holy God" (CMC, 2007)

Celtic Worship Live From Ireland: ''Hope Of The Nations'', "Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)", "You Surround Me", "You Shine", "Faithful One" with Kathryn Scott, "It Is Well" (Integrity, 2007)

''Worship '09'', "Holy God" (Promise Keepers Canada / Integrity, 2008)

''GMA Canada presents 30th Anniversary Collection'', "Today (As For Me And My House)" (CMC, 2008)

''Maximum Worship Christmas'', "You Shine" (Hosanna, 2008)

''Find Me/Blessed Are The Lost Ones'', "You Alone" (2009)

;Video ''Today'' (2004, review)

''Level Ground'' (2010)

Awards and recognition

;Gospel Music Association Dove Award 2003 International Award

;GMA Canada Covenant Awards

2005 Male Vocalist Of The Year

2005 Praise And Worship Album Of The Year: ''Today''

2005 Special Events/Compilation Of The Year: ''Sea to Sea: Filled With Your Glory''

2005 Praise And Worship Song Of The Year: "Today" (written with Sandra Gage)

2006 Male Vocalist Of The Year

2006 Artist Of The Year

2006 Inspirational Song Of The Year: "When You Shepherd Me"

2007 Artist Of The Year

2007 Male Vocalist Of The Year

2007 Album Of The Year: ''Holy God''

2007 Praise And Worship Album Of The Year: ''Holy God''

2007 Song Of The Year: "Holy God"

2007 Praise And Worship Song Of The Year: "Holy God"

2009 Praise And Worship Song Of The Year: "It’s Time For The Reign Of God" (written with Steve Mitchinson)

;Juno Awards

2008 Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album Of The Year: "Holy God"

;Praise Awards

2001 Best Worship Project: Hungry

;Shai Awards (formerly The Vibe Awards)

2004 nominee, Artist Of The Year

2004 nominee, Male Soloist Of The Year

2005 Male Soloist Of The Year

2005 Worship Album of the Year: ''Today''

References

External links

Official Brian Doerksen website

Brian Doerksen's MySpace

Brian Doerksen's church website

Category:Canadian performers of Christian music Category:Canadian songwriters Category:Canadian Mennonites Category:Juno Award winners Category:Contemporary worship music Category:Promise Keepers Category:Living people Category:1965 births Category:Vineyard Churches

de:Brian Doerksen nl:Brian Doerksen

This is a list of people whose names in English are commonly appended with the phrase "''the Great''", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as ''e Bozorg'' and ''e azam'' in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus) assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "''the Great''".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers

Abbas I of Persia (1571-1629), Shah of Iran

Akbar (1542-1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India

Alain I of Albret (1440-1522), French aristocrat

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia

Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia

Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias

Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex

Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire

Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty

Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),

Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire

Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand

Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)

Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736-1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)

Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden

Casimir III the Great (1310-1370), King of Poland

Catherine the Great (1729-1796), Empress of Russian

Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India

Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans

Chulalongkorn (1853-1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)

Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks

Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen

Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman Emperor

Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire

Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire

Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent

Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse

Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile

Frederick the Great (1712-1786), King of Prussia

Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire

Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594-1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader

Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea

Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC

Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)

Henry IV of France (1553-1610), King of France and King of Navarre

Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea

Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris

Hugh Magnus of France (1007-1025), co-King of France

Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057-1101)

Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat

Ivan III of Russia (1440-1505), Tsar of Russia

John I of Portugal (1358-1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve

John II of Aragon (1398-1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre

Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor

Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i

Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India

Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010-1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia

Kublai Khan (1215-1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty

Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales

Louis I of Hungary (1326-1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland

Mangrai the Great (1238-1317), Lanna, northern Thailand

Emperor Meiji (1852-1912), Emperor of Japan

Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)

Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)

Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom

Mstislav I of Kiev (1076-1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus

Narai (1633-1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)

Naresuan (1555-1605), King of Ayutthaya

Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)

K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque

Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka

Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia

Peter the Great (1672-1725), Tsar of Russia

Peter III of Aragon (1239-1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily

Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar

Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar

Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.

Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014-1044), Tamil King of India

Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)

Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082-1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties

Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)

Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev

Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent

Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre

Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire

Sejong the Great (1397-1450), Korean king

Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia

Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire

Stephen III of Moldavia (1433-1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)

Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks

Taksin (1734-1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)

Timur (1336-1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty

Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie

Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire

Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor

Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia

Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia

Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire

Valdemar I of Denmark (1131-1182), King of Denmark

Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor

Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus

Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy

William I, Count of Burgundy (1020-1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon

William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou

Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)

Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures

Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East

Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia

Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian

Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt

Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader

Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)

Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint

Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint

Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)

Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine

Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)

Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit

Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)

Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople

William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other

Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies

Emmy the Great, folk singer

Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III

Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also

Epithet

List of monarchs by nickname

List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I

James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus

Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater

Notes

Category:Monarchs Great, List of people known as The Category:Greatest Nationals Category:Epithets

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Coordinates	43°40′50″N114°20′34″N
name	Rube Goldberg
birth name	Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg
birth date	July 04, 1883
birth place	San Francisco, California, United States
death date	December 07, 1970
resting place	Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Hawthorne in Hawthorne, New York
known for	Rube Goldberg machines
occupation	Cartoonist, inventor }}

Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970) was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.

He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complex gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. These devices, now known as Rube Goldberg machines, are similar to those drawn by W. Heath Robinson in the UK and Storm P in Denmark. Goldberg received many honors in his lifetime, including a Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning in 1948 and the Banshees' Silver Lady Award 1959.

Goldberg was a founding member and the first president of the National Cartoonists Society, and he is the namesake of the Reuben Award, which the organization awards to the Cartoonist of the Year. He is the inspiration for various international competitions, known as Rube Goldberg Machine Contests, which challenge participants to make a complex machine to perform a simple task.

Life

Goldberg was born July 4, 1883, in San Francisco, California, to Jewish parents Max and Hannah Goldberg. He was the second of four children (older brother Garrett, younger brother Walter, and younger sister Lillian). Rube married Irma Seeman in 1916. They lived at 88 Central Park West in New York City and had two sons named Thomas and George. Goldberg did not share a surname with his children because of the amount of hate mail he received during World War II from the political nature of his cartoons. He ordered his sons to change their names from Goldberg for safety reasons. Both of his sons chose the last name of George, wanting to keep a sense of family cohesiveness. Thomas and George's children now run a company called RGI (Rube Goldberg Incorporated) to maintain the Goldberg name. John George (Thomas's son) is assisted by his cousin Jennifer George (George's daughter) and John's son Joshua George to keep the family name alive. Reuben died in 1970 at the age of 87, while his widow, Irma, died 20 years later on April 26, 1990 at the age of 95.

Career

Goldberg's father was a San Francisco police and fire commissioner, who encouraged the young Reuben to pursue a career in engineering. Rube graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1904 with a College of Mining degree and was hired by the city of San Francisco as an engineer for the Water and Sewers Department. After six months he resigned his position with the city to join the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' where he became a sports cartoonist. The following year, he took a job with the ''San Francisco Bulletin'', where he remained until he moved to New York City in 1907.

Goldberg drew cartoons for five newspapers, including the ''New York Evening Journal'' and the ''New York Evening Mail''. His work entered syndication in 1915, beginning his nationwide popularity. He was syndicated by the McNaught Syndicate from 1922 until 1934.

A prolific artist, Goldberg produced several cartoon series simultaneously, including ''Mike and Ike (They Look Alike)'', ''Boob McNutt'', ''Foolish Questions'', ''Lala Palooza'' and ''The Weekly Meeting of the Tuesday Women's Club''. The cartoons that brought him lasting fame involved a character named Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts. In that series, Goldberg drew labeled schematics of the comical "inventions" that would later bear his name.

Cultural legacy

right|thumb|450px|This postcard book, ''Rube Goldberg's Inventions!'', was compiled by Maynard Frank Wolfe from the Rube Goldberg Archives. The cover illustration shows Professor Butts and the Self-Operating Napkin. The "Self-Operating Napkin" is activated when the soup spoon (A) is raised to mouth, pulling string (B) and thereby jerking ladle (C), which throws cracker (D) past parrot (E). Parrot jumps after cracker and perch (F) tilts, upsetting seeds (G) into pail (H). Extra weight in pail pulls cord (I), which opens and lights automatic lighter (J), setting off skyrocket (K), which causes sickle (L) to cut string (M) and allow the pendulum with the attached napkin to swing back and forth, thereby wiping chin.

In 1931 the Merriam-Webster dictionary adopted the word "Rube Goldberg" as an adjective defined as accomplishing something simple through complex means.

Predating Goldberg, the corresponding term in the U.K. was, and still is, "Heath Robinson", after the English illustrator with an equal devotion to odd machinery (although Heath Robinson's creations did not have the same emphasis on the sequential or chain reaction element).

Goldberg's work was commemorated posthumously in 1995 with the inclusion of ''Rube Goldberg's Inventions'', depicting Professor Butts' "Self-Operating Napkin" in the Comic Strip Classics series of U.S. postage stamps.

Film and television

Rube Goldberg wrote a feature film featuring his machines and sculptures called ''Soup to Nuts'', which was released in 1930 and starred Ted Healy and The Three Stooges.

In the 1962 John Wayne movie ''Hatari!,'' an invention to catch monkeys by character Pockets, played by Red Buttons, is described as a "Rube Goldberg."

Various other films and cartoons have included highly complex machines that perform simple tasks. Among these are ''Flåklypa Grand Prix'', ''Looney Tunes'', ''Tom and Jerry'', ''Wallace and Gromit'', ''Pee-wee's Big Adventure'', ''The Way Things Go'', ''Edward Scissorhands'', ''Back to the Future'', ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'', ''The Goonies'', ''Gremlins'', the ''Saw'' film series, ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'', ''The Cat from Outer Space'', ''Malcolm'', ''Family Guy'', and ''Waiting...''

Also in the ''Final Destination'' film series the characters often die in Rube Goldberg-esque ways. In the film ''The Great Mouse Detective'', the villain Ratigan attempts to kill the film's heroes, Basil of Baker Street and David Q. Dawson, with a Rube Goldberg style device. The classic video in this genre was done by the artist duo Peter Fischli & David Weiss in 1987 with their 30 minute video "Der Lauf der Dinge" or "The Way Things Go".

Honda produced a video in 2003 called "The Cog" using many of the same principles that Fischli and Weiss had done in 1987.

In 2005, the American indie/alternative rock band The Bravery released a video for their debut single, "An Honest Mistake," which features the band performing the song in the middle of a Rube Goldberg machine.

In 1999, an episode of ''The X-Files'' was titled "The Goldberg Variation". The episode intertwined characters FBI agents Mulder and Scully, a simple apartment super, Henry Weems (Willie Garson) and an ailing young boy, Ritchie Lupone (Shia LaBeouf) in a real-life Goldberg device.

The 2010 music video "This Too Shall Pass - RGM Version" by the rock band OK Go features a machine that, after four minutes of kinetic activity, shoots the band members in the face with paint. "RGM" presumably stands for Rube Goldberg Machine.

In 2011, Toronto based photography studio 2D Photography created a machine for taking two portraits.

Games

The popular 1963 board game ''Mouse Trap'', as well as its sequels ''Crazy Clock'' (1964), and ''Fish Bait'' (1965) are based on Rube Goldberg machines. Some examples of Goldberg-inspired videogames are ''Incredibots'', ''LittleBigPlanet 2'', the 1990s-era series of ''The Incredible Machine'' games, and ''Crazy Machines''. It is also possible to construct a Rube Goldberg Machine by using Garrys Mod, a game mod for Half Life 2 and other computer video games that use the Source game engine by Valve.

See also

Chindōgu

Deathtrap (plot device)

Domino effect

Frederick Roland Emett

Jean Tinguely, Swiss artist who created Rube Goldberg-like sculptures

''Mickey One''

PythagoraSwitch

Robert Storm Petersen (Storm P.), a Danish contemporary artist who drew "inventions" similar to Rube Goldberg's

Steampunk

William Heath Robinson, English cartoonist and illustrator best known for drawings of eccentric machines.

References

External links

Toonopedia entry

Smithsonian Archives of American Art: Oral History Interview, 1970

Annual National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest

NCS Awards

Rube Goldberg in 'Creative Contraptions'

IMDB biography

Rube Goldberg Honda Commercial, "Cog", at Snopes.com

Guide to the Rube Goldberg Papers at The Bancroft Library

10 Viral Rube Goldberg clips at Salon.com

Category:1883 births Category:1970 deaths Category:American cartoonists Category:American comic strip cartoonists Category:American engineers Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:American humorists Category:American journalists Category:People from New York City Category:People from San Francisco, California Category:Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning winners Category:Reuben Award winners Category:American Jews Category:Archives of American Art related

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