BIO GRAPHY

Trivia

Son of Bruce Lee.

Killed while filming the movie The Crow (1994) by a projectile shot from a gun firing blanks.

Lived in Hong Kong for a couple of years as a little boy.

Spoke Cantonese.

At the time of his death, was engaged to Eliza Hutton.

Mother is Linda Lee Cadwell

Brother of Shannon Lee

Interred at Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Had blonde hair as a baby.

His Chinese star sign is the Dragon. He was born on Chinese New Year's eve, last day of the dragon.

Was first asked to play the role of Bruce Lee in his father's biopic. The role was later given to Jason Scott Lee.

Was in talks with filmmakers about making Rapid Fire 2.

Was to be married in Mexico on April 17th 1993.

Dedication at the end of Lee's last film, The Crow, reads "For Brandon and Eliza (Hutton)".

He is of Chinese, Swedish descent, English and German descent.

Since his father (Bruce) is of German-Chinese descent and his mother (Linda) is of Swedish and English descent (she has blonde hair and blue eyes), Brandon was born with blond hair which is very unusual for a person of mixed race. However, as he aged, his hair color changed to brown.

The apple never falls far from the tree: Brandon played the character "Jake Lo" in Rapid Fire (1992); his father Bruce Lee played the character "Billy Lo" in Game of Death (1978).

Nephew of Robert Lee

Grandson of actor Hoi-Chuen Lee.

Growing up in Bruce's shadow wasn't always easy for the younger Lee. As a child, Brandon was about to sign up with a local martial-arts studio...until he noticed a large poster of his dad on the wall; Brandon ran from the dojo in tears. Later, as a teenager, he dropped out of two different high-schools (once, after an "altercation" with the vice-principal).

He was a troubled youngster but an outstanding surrogate-parent. When his actress-sister Shannon Lee and a friend were arrested for underage- joyriding in their mom's car, Brandon sat her down and gave her a classic "It's Okay To Have Fun But Don't Ever Take It Too Far" lecture. Indeed, Shannon claims that if Brandon had lived to see her wedding day, he would have walked her down the aisle.

Personal Quotes

"I don't want to be remembered as 'the son of Bruce Lee'"

"I always had a pretty good knack for raising hell."

"Because we do not know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you cannot conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless."

[About "The Crow"] "It's a story about justice for victims."

[About "The Crow"] "I've done other films with violence in them, but I must say I've never done anything where I felt the violence was as justified as it is in this...This is justice."

"I've done my work and I'm happy with it...I respect my father very much, but I'm a very different person than he was."

"I don't know if I was destined to play this role, but I feel very fortunate to be doing so." (on his last film, "The Crow")

"The trip reinforced my suspicions that, despite my Pacific Rim heritage, I'm about as American as you get." (explaining that he feels no particular affinity for Asia and does not want to live there)

"It's either in the genes, or I watched too many of his movies as a kid" (on why his film roles echo those of his dad)

"It's such an intensely personal thing for me.. I'd probably have been a little too crazy." (on why he refused the role in "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story")

"A fight can express things people might not be able to say with words."

"It's funny, [...] for that sequence the director just said, say something insulting to him, it doesn't matter what. So I said something pretty insulting, and they didn't subtitle it, and they never asked me what it meant. [..] (Laughter)" (on the insult he says in Cantonese in the movie "Rapid Fire")

"You only have the burdens on you that you choose to put there."

"All I can tell you is that you cannot make choices in your own career, either career choices or choices when you're actually working as an actor, based on trying to downplay or live up to a comparison with somebody else. You just can't do that. You have to do your own work based on your own gut, your own instincts, and your own life."

[About "The Crow"] "It's a story about justice for victims."

[About Eric Draven] He has something he has to do and he is forced to put aside his own pain long enough to go do what he has to do."

Date of Death

Personal Quotes

On late husband Bruce Lee: "No one quite knows how he died, but I'd rather remember the way he lived."

The influence of Asian martial arts cinema can be seen today in so many other film genres including comedies, action, drama, science fiction, horror and animation.....and they all have their roots in the phenomenon that was Bruce Lee Bruce Lee was born "Lee Juan Fan" in November 1940 in San Francisco, the son of Lee Hoi Chuen, a singer with the Cantonese Opera. Approximately, one year later the family returned to Kowloon in Hong Kong and at the age of 5, a young Bruce begins appearing in children's roles in minor films including The Birth of Mankind (1946) and Fu gui fu yun (1948). At the age of 12, Bruce commenced attending La Salle College, and was later beaten up by a street gang, which inspires him to take up martial arts training under the tuition of "Sifu Yip Man" who schools Bruce in wing chun kung fu for a period of approximately five years (this was the only formalized martial arts training ever undertaken by Lee). The talented & athletic Bruce also took up cha-cha dancing, and at the age of 18 won a major dance championship in Hong Kong. However, his temper and quick fists saw him fall foul of the HK police on numerous occasions, and his parents suggested that he head off to the United States. Lee landed in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1959 and worked in a relative's restaurant, however he eventually made his way to Seattle, Washington where he enrolled at university to study philosophy, and found the time to practice his beloved kung fu techniques. In 1963, Lee met Linda Emery (later his wife) and in addition he opened his first kung fu school at 4750 University Way. During the early half of the 1960s, Lee became associated with many key martial arts identities in the USA including kenpo karate expert Ed Parker and tae kwon do master Jhoon Rhee. He made guest appearances at notable martial arts events including the Long Beach Nationals. Through one of these tournaments, Bruce met Hollywood hair stylist Jay Sebring who introduced him to TV producer William Dozier. Based on the runaway success of "Batman", Dozier was keen to bring the cartoon character of "The Green Hornet" to TV and was on the lookout for an Oriental actor to play the Green Hornet's sidekick, "Kato". Around this time, Bruce also opened a second kung fu school in Oakland, California and relocated to Oakland to be closer to Hollywood. Bruce's screen test was successful, and "The Green Hornet" starring Van Williams went to air in early 1966 to mixed success. However, the show was surprisingly terminated after only one season (30 episodes), but by this time he was receiving more fan mail than the show's star. He then opened a third branch of his kung fu school in Los Angeles, and began providing personalized martial arts training to film stars including Steve McQueen and James Coburn. In addition, he refined his prior knowledge of wing chun, plus incorporating aspects of other fighting styles such as traditional boxing and okinawan karate. He also developed his own unique style "Jeet Kune Do" (Way of the Intercepting Fist). Another film opportunity then comes his way, as he landed the small role of a stand over man named "Winslow Wong" intimidating private eye James Garner in Marlowe (1969). Wong paid a visit to Garner and proceeded to demolish the investigator's office with his fists and feet, finishing off with a spectacular high kick that shattered the light fitting. With this further exposure of his talents, Bruce then scored several guest appearances as a martial arts instructor to blind private eye James Franciscus on the TV series "Longstreet" (1971). With his minor success in Hollywood and money in his pockets, Bruce returned for a visit to Hong Kong and was approached by film producer Raymond Chow who had recently started "Golden Harvest" productions. Chow was keen to utilize Lee's strong popularity amongst young Chinese fans, and offered him the lead role in _Tang sha da xiong (1971)_ ( aka "Fists of Fury", aka "The Big Boss"). The film was directed by Wei Lo, shot in Thailand, on a very low budget and in terrible living conditions for cast and crew. However when it opened in Hong Kong, the film was an enormous hit! Young Chinese flocked in their thousands to see this ground breaking film starring a tough, athletic Chinese hero who dispensed justice with his fists and feet. Chow knew he had struck box office gold with Lee, and quickly assembled another script entitled Jing wu men (1972) (aka "The Chinese Connection", aka "Fist of Fury"). The second film (with a slightly improved budget) was again directed by Wei Lo and was set in Shanghai in the year 1900, with Lee returning to his school to find his beloved master has been poisoned by the local Japanese karate school. Once again, he uncovered the evil doers and set about seeking revenge on those responsible for murdering his teacher. The film featured several superb fight sequences, and at the film's conclusion, Lee refuses to surrender to the Japanese law and seemingly leaps to his death in a hail of police bullets! Once more, Hong Kong streets were jammed back with thousands of fervent Chinese movie fans who could not get enough of the fearless Bruce Lee, and his second film went on to break the box office records set by the first! Lee then set up his own production company, Concord Productions, and set about guiding his film career personally by writing, directing and acting in his next film, _Meng long guojiang (1972)_ (aka "Way of the Dragon", aka "Return of The Dragon"). A bigger budget, meant better locations and opponents, with the new film set in Rome, Italy and additionally starring hapkido expert Ing-Sik Whang, karate legend Robert Wall and seven times US karate champion Chuck Norris. Bruce played a seemingly simple country boy sent to assist at a cousin's restaurant in Rome, and finds his cousins are being bullied by local thugs for protection. By now, Lee's remarkable success in the Orient had come to the attention of Hollywood film executives and a script was hastily written pitching him as a secret agent penetrating an island fortress. Warner Bros. financed the film, and also insisted on B-movie tough guy John Saxon co-starring alongside Lee to give the film more Western appeal. The film culminated with another show stopping fight sequence between Lee and the key villain, Han, in a maze of mirrors. Shooting was completed in and around Hong Kong in early 1973 and in the subsequent weeks, Bruce was involved in completing over dubs and looping for the final cut. Various reports from friends and co-workers cite how he was not feeling well during this period, and on July 20th 1973 he lay down at the apartment of actress Betty Ting Pei after taking a headache tablet, and was later unable to be revived. A doctor was called, and he was then taken to hospital by ambulance and pronounced dead that evening. The official finding was death was due to a cerebral edema, caused by a reaction to the headache tablet. In other words, death by misadventure. Chinese movie fans were absolutely shattered that their virile idol, had passed away at such a young age, and nearly 30,000 fans filed past his coffin in Hong Kong. A second, much smaller ceremony was held in Seattle, Washington and Bruce was laid to rest at Lake View Cemetary in Seattle with pall bearers including Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Dan Inosanto. Enter the Dragon (1973) was later released in the mainland United States, and was a huge hit with American audiences, which then prompted National General films to actively distribute his three prior movies to US theaters...each of them was a box office smash. Bruce Lee was an international film star after he had died! Fans worldwide were still hungry for more Bruce Lee films, and thus remaining footage (completed before his death) of Lee fighting several opponents including Dan Inosanto, Hugh O'Brian and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was crafted into another film titled Game of Death (1978). The film used a look alike actor and shadowy camera work to be substituted for the real Lee in numerous scenes. The film is a poor addition to the line up, and is only saved by the final twenty minutes and the footage of the real Bruce Lee battling his way up the tower. Amazingly, this same shoddy process was used to create Si wang ta (1981) (aka "Game of Death II"), with more look alike and stunt doubles interwoven with a few brief minutes of footage of the real Bruce Lee. Family:

Linda Lee Cadwell(wife)

branden Lee(son)

Shannon Lee(daughter)

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Initially, W's prospects of living up to his illustrious pedigree were dim. Possibly hobbled by dyslexia (a condition little understood and seldom treated during his childhood), Bush proved an uninspired student. He did maintain a gentlemanly "C" average at Yale and acquired a Masters of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School, but until he turned 40, he seemed to be floundering. He admittedly had a drinking problem in his youth, but a late marriage to Laura Welch helped stabilize him, His rebirth as a believing Christian (he is a Methodist whereas his parents were Episcopalian) helped put him on the straight and narrow path that led him to the Presidency. Bush has been discounted many times in his life and career for being unintelligent due to his fractured speaking style, but in fact, his academic performance was on par if not slightly better than that of his better-spoken, fellow Yalie John Kerry. As Bush's test scores and subsequent achievements suggest an above average intelligence, it is appropriate to believe that he likely has benefited from other's underestimation of his gifts. This was apparent in the first televised debate with Al Gore in 2000, when Bush held his own against the condescending vice president, and in doing so, triumphed in the eyes of the political handicappers. After W. turned his life around in the late 1980s, he began achieving success on his own, though that success inevitably was indebted to his social position and his father's business and political connections, particularly after he himself ascended to the Presidency after the expiration of Ronald Reagan's second term. The first President Bush (Bush 41, as he is colloquially known) had great connections in the Middle East, particularly with the Saudi royal family and the powerful Bin Laden clan. Using his father's Saudi connections, Bush fils became a millionaire twice over through Middle Eastern oil projects. His most notable achievement in private life was in becoming president and chief operating partner of the Texas Rangers professional baseball team, which was financially invigorated by the building of a new stadium with taxpayers' funds. For a man whose greatest ambition was not the presidency but to be baseball commissioner, the "job" of Rangers owner suited him just fine, and his stint as the amiable owner of the team helped generate good publicity that wiped out his past image as a playboy. When he cashed out his ownership stake, Bush had a $14 million profit. More importantly, ownership of the Rangers positioned him financially and in the public eye for a successful run for the governorship of Texas, which proved to be his springboard to the presidency. Under the quirky Texas constitution, the governor of Texas is primarily a ceremonial position, somewhat akin to that of the president in a Parliamentary system. The true political power in Texas lies with the lieutenant governor, who acts as a prime minister (or provincial premier in Canada) in that that he/she runs the legislature. In a life characterized by luck, the capricious Bush was luckier still in that he was told by the lieutenant governor, a Democrat, that he would make Bush a great governor if he would let him. Bush did and established an enviable reputation, one that crossed both party lines in Texas, where it would have been futile for the governor to act in a partisan fashion. With his father's Eastern Establishment credentials that linked him to the "Rockefeller Republicans" (conservative on financial matters, liberal on social issues) and his mother's own noted social liberalism, Bush was seen as being a moderate with a difference. That difference was his connections to the powerful evangelical Christian wing of the Republican Party, due to his own rebirth as a believing Christian and his immersion in day-to-day Texas politics. In the Sun Belt, fundamentalists and evangelicals were considered ordinary, run-of-the-day folk, not the exotics that Washington and the Eastern Establishment looked at them as. With a foot in both wings of the party, Bush was seen as a natural candidate for president after Bob Dole's dolorous 1996 candidacy. That he was a "straight shooter" with no scandal attached to him since his misbegotten youth (which he had confessed to and had put behind him) made him attractive to the Republicans, who had tried to terminate William Jefferson Clinton's presidency through impeachment due to his lies linked to his "bimbo eruptions." Bush seemed like a "Man for All Seasons" that would be the GOP's best shot of unseating the Clintonistas as represented by Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election. With the Republican Establishment firmly behind him as a kind of "Great White Hope" of the Grand Old Party, Bush managed to wrap up the nomination easily, after stumbling initially when confronted with the candidacy of the renegade Republican senator from Arizona, John McCain. Although viewed by most Republicans as a RINO (Republican in name only), McCain dominated the early primaries in states that allowed cross over voting by attracting middle-of-the-road independents and conservative Democrats, but stumbled himself when the primary season headed South. He was badly defeated by Bush in South Carolina, a deeply conservative state that had voted for favorite son (and segregationist) Strom Thurmond in 1948, uber-conservative Barry Goldwater in 1964, and segregationist George Wallace in '68. McCain also was victimized by smear tactics, such as the whispering campaign started by Mississippi Senator Trent Lott that claimed the renegade McCain had been mentally discombobulated by his seven years as a POW in Vietnam. The dirty tricks used against McCain by Bush campaign manager/ major domo Karl Rove would prove to be harbingers of the paranoid style of politics that would come to fruition during Bush's first term.) McCain, a maverick senator with the support of many moderate Republicans and Independents as well as a following among conservative Democrats, was not only smeared, but his attempts to get on the ballot in such states as New York were stymied until the federal courts stepped in. (In 2004, even though he endorsed Bush against Kerry, McCain found himself smeared again by elements connected with Karl Rove when he defended Kerry's war record and patriotism.) The Republican Establishment were determined to give the nomination to a true blue Republican who could win (the color red was not associated with the GOP until Election Night 2000, when it was used as the map color for the Party after a century wherein the Republicans were blue and the Democrats red). After his defeat of McCain in South Carolina, Bush had as easy a time wrapping up the nomination as if he had been an incumbent. At the beginning of the fall campaign, what with the U.S. still enjoying the tail end of almost eight years of prosperity under President Bill Clinton, his vice president, Al Gore, started out as a prohibitive favorite to win the presidency. Gore, whoever, turned out to be unable to shed his past reputation as an uninspiring campaigner, and failed to fire up the uncommitted. Bush, on the other hand, a relative unknown commodity who had enjoyed good press for the past decade as a baseball owner and governor, did not make many errors after appearing at Bob Jones University several weeks after it had banned interracial dating during the early Republican primaries (for which he apologized). He capitalized on the low expectations others had for him, and won respect - and votes - for going the distance without stumbling or embarrassing himself, while Gore had to live down the bimbo eruptions of his past running mate and his own faux pas, such as his claim to have invented the "Information Superhighway" (Internet). His stiff, "Wooden Indian" style came off as pompous on the campaign trail, giving Bush's persona a boost as it could have been portrayed as bumbling if he had been up against a natural born campaigner such as Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan. In the game of politics as played in the US, Gore had everything to lose and Bush had everything to gain. Gore had to rise and exceed expectations while Bush merely had to live up to lowered expectations to rise above them and gain credence, and he did, beginning with the first debate. Going into the first debate, pundits expected the better-spoken Gore to eviscerate the syntactically challenged Bush (whose intelligence they disparaged), but it did not happen. Gore was haughty, and since Bush held his own, the governor of Texas was adjudged the winner. From there to the end of the campaign, Gore could never consolidate his early lead, which slipped away. On election day, Bush and Gore were locked in a dead heat. In the closest election in a century, it all came down to a matter of 537 votes in Florida. Out of the nearly six million votes cast in the Sunshine State (5,861,785 total, only 36,742 of which were won by third party candidates), Bush won by a margin representing 0.0087%. That's less than nine one-thousandths of a percentage point. After a long drawn-out process involving recounts and court challenges, Bush took the oath of office on January 20, 2001 and won re-election in November 2004 to become the first son of a president to win two terms in office.

Elected to two terms as Texas Governor.

Served in the Texas Air National Guard.

Arrested in 1976 for driving under the influence of alcohol, in Kennebunkport, Maine. Pled guilty, paid fine, and had driver's license suspended for 30 days.

He began his career in the oil and gas business in Midland, Texas in 1975 and worked in the energy industry until 1986.

Twin daughters, Barbara Bush and Jenna Bush, born 25 November 1981.

He was the managing general partner of the Texas Rangers baseball team from 1989-1994.

Graduated from Yale University with a degree in history, and then earned an MBA from Harvard University.

Only the second President in history to be the son of a former President.

Named Time magazine's "Person of the Year 2000" on 18 December 2000.

Collects autographed baseballs and owns over 250.

Daughter Barbara Bush is attending Yale University, her father's alma mater. [Fall 2000]

Portrayed by Will Ferrell on "Saturday Night Live" (1975).

Arrested twice for college pranks (charges dropped) for celebrating a Yale football victory by pulling up Princeton goal posts and for "borrowing" a large Christmas wreath from a store door (source: Washington Post).

Is the only U.S. president ever to father twins.

His twin daughters have been in trouble with the law in recent months. In October 2000, Barbara Bush tried to use a fake ID to buy alcohol at a bar in New Haven, CT, but was not served and was not arrested. In February 2001, Jenna Bush sent her Secret Service agents to bail her friend out of jail after he had been arrested for underage drinking. In April 2001, Barbara gave her Secret Service agents the slip while on her way to a WWF match in NYC. Also in April 2001, Jenna was cited for underage drinking at an Austin bar and pleaded no contest to the charges. She paid $51.25 in court costs, performed eight hours of community service doing clerical and research work at the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, and attended eight hours of alcohol awareness classes. In May 2001 both Barbara and Jenna were cited for alcohol offenses. Barbara pleaded no contest to being a minor in possession of alcohol and was sentenced to probation, eight hours of community service, alcohol awareness classes, and a $100 fine. Jenna pleaded innocent to trying to buy alcohol with a fake ID and will be tried in Austin on July 31, 2001. [June 2001]

Born on the same day as actors Sylvester Stallone and Fred Dryer.

Named one of People Magazine's "25 Most Intriguing People of 2001."

Is the first US president to hold an MBA.

His 1500-acre Crawford, TX, ranch is named Prairie Chapel.

Is the cousin of Billy Bush.

Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Les guignols de l'info" (1988).

His succession to the Presidency was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court, after a month-long battle over who actually won the election.

Lost the popular vote, just like John Quincy Adams, the first president to be the son of a former president. However, Adams did not win the electoral college; that election was decided by Congress. Bush was able to win the electoral college.

Calls all regular White House strategy meetings "strategery" meetings in honor of Will Ferrell's portrayal of him on "Saturday Night Live" (1975).

Recognized as President-elect of the United States on December 13, 2000, following a concession of Vice President Al Gore, ending over a month of controversy over the result of the election.

He played baseball and was a cheerleader at Phillips Andover.

Enjoys playing golf.

He, his father, and grandfather, all hold membership in Yale University's Skull and Bones.

9th cousin twice removed of John Kerry, his rival in the 2004 election. Both are descended from Edmund Reade (1563-1623).

His SAT score was 1206 (566 verbal, 640 math).

His cumulative undergraduate GPA at Yale was 2.35.

Was the first president in over a decade to win the majority of the popular vote (51%). The last Presidential nominee to do so was his father, George Bush.

Is the first father or son of a president to serve two terms. John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and his own father, George Bush, all lost their bids for re-election.

Since 1932, the fate of the incumbent party has always paralleled the outcome of the final pre-election football game played by the Washington Redskins. In 2004, he became the first presidential candidate to break that pattern, by winning a second term as president despite a Redskins loss.

Was re-elected as President of the United States on Tuesday, November 2, 2004, receiving 59,459,765 votes (51% of the popular vote) and 286 electoral votes to Democratic challenger John Kerry's 55,949,407 votes (48% of the popular vote) and 252 electoral votes. Headed a Republican Party that controlled the White House, Senate and Congress, and also has a majority (28 of 49, with one to-be-announced) of Governors in the U.S. until the 2006 mid-term congressional elections, at which time the Republican party lost control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Brother of Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida.

He has been portrayed on "Saturday Night Live" (1975) by Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond, Chris Parnell and Will Forte.

According to Karl Rove, his favorite science fiction TV series is "Babylon 5" (1994).

Named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2004.

Is the first U.S. President to receive an acting nomination and then subsequently the win, from the Razzie Awards. He was nominated for and won Worst Actor in the film Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004). Though technically he was not acting in the film, merely playing himself via archive footage.

He is the first president whose actions have prompted the release of a major motion picture (Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)), the launch of an entire radio network (Air America Radio), and the premiere of a television series (Sundance Channel's "The Al Franken Show" (2004)).

Unlike his father, he has no sons to pass on the name of George Bush. Instead, he has a nephew named George P. Bush, who is the son of his brother Jeb Bush.

His favorite movie is Saving Private Ryan (1998).

His favorite actors are Chuck Norris and Sylvester Stallone. Both attended his first inauguration in 2001.

Is a member of the Phi chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity from his days at Yale.

A statement Bush made in January 2001 referred to the "operating location near Groom Lake", which is the first official recognition of the existence of Area 51.

Is the only U.S. President to date to have multiple African-American cabinet members.

In the late 1960s attended Yale University along with future Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau and both served on the same dormitory social committee together.

Is the only serving U.S. President to never have been portrayed on "The Simpsons" (1989). The only exception was when Homer Simpson used a crude cut-out of him to fool his father, ex-President George Bush, in episode "The Simpsons: Two Bad Neighbors (#7.13)" (1996). At the time, he was the Governor of Texas.

Has been portrayed by Brent Mendenhall, Timothy Bottoms, Darrell Hammond, Will Ferrell, Chris Parnell, Will Forte, Christian Duguay, Will Sasso, Frank Caliendo, Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, James Adomian, Steve Bridges, Roger Abbott, Elon Gold, Jon Culshaw and many others.

Born in Yale New Haven Hospital - New Haven, CT; the same hospital actor Girard Swan was born in - who is also the first cousin of current FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III.

Is the only U.S. president to enter office with a felony conviction on his record.

Is the second youngest living US president, born 44 days earlier in 1946 than Bill Clinton.

Is the only US President to visit the Olympic games outside the United States while in office. He went to the 2008 Games in Beijing, China.

Is the only U.S. President in history to leave office with both parents still living. All previous exiting Presidents had at least one deceased parent (often both) by the time they left office.

Went to Yale University with Lanny J. Davis. They were close friends and fraternity brothers.

Personal Quotes

[Lacrosse, WI, Oct. 18, 2000] Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.

[Greensboro, NC, Oct. 10, 2000] Our priorities is our faith.

[St. Louis, MO, Oct. 18, 2000] If affirmative action means what I just described, what I'm for, then I'm for it.

Quotas are bad for America. It's not the way America is all about.

Mr. Vice President, in all due respect, it is - I'm not sure 80 percent of the people get the death tax. I know this: 100 percent will get it if I'm the president.

I think we ought to raise the age at which juveniles can have a gun.

It's one thing about insurance, that's a Washington term.

Drug therapies are replacing a lot of medicines as we used to know it.

If I'm the president, we're going to have emergency-room care, we're going to have gag orders.

The very act of spending money can be expensive.

I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe - I believe what I believe is right.

Actually, I--this may sound a little West Texan to you, but I like it. When I'm talking about--when I'm talking about myself, and when he's talking about myself, all of us are talking about me.

More and more of our imports come from overseas.

The California crunch really is the result of not enough power-generating plants and then not enough power to power the power of generating plants.

This administration is doing everything we can to end the stalemate in an efficient way. We're making the right decisions to bring the solution to an end.

It's your money. You paid for it.

I think if you know what you believe, it makes it a lot easier to answer questions; I can't answer your question.

I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.

One of the common denominators I have found is that expectations rise above that which is expected.

[To rescue workers at the World Trade Center, New York, September 14, 2001] I can hear you! I hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked down these buildings will hear all of us soon!

The United States has no truer friend than Great Britain.

America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.

[During a televised address on the night of September 11, 2001] We will prevail.

I hope I stand for anti-bigotry, anti-Semitism, anti-racism. This is what drives me.

[June 14, 2001, speaking to Swedish Prime Minister Lars Göran Persson, unaware that a live TV camera was running] It's amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity, and incumbency.

Is our children learning?

The presidency is more than an honor, it is more than an office, it is a charge to keep and I will give it my all.

I was not elected to serve one party, but to serve one nation.

I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging the struggle for freedom and security for the American people.

Our priorities are our faith. Our priorities are our family. Our priority is a country we love dearly called America.

[On his hopes for Saddam Hussein's interrogation] He's a deceiver, he's a liar, he's a torturer, he's a murderer. I can't imagine why he would change his attitude, since he'll be treated humanely by US troops. And, you know, I would be very skeptical of anything he said one way or the other.

[On the fate of Saddam Hussein after trial] I've got my own personal views. This is a brutal dictator. He's a person who killed a lot of people. But my personal views are not important in this matter. It's going to be up to the Iraqis to make those decisions.

[On his hopes for Saddam Hussein's interrogation] I don't believe he'll tell the truth. He didn't tell the truth for over a decade. I just can't believe he's going to change his ways now just because he happens to be captured.

[Announcing his run for re-election] I have come to realize this job is a magnificent job.

[On Saddam Hussein's fate] This is a disgusting tyrant who deserves justice, the ultimate justice.

[State of the Union address, Jan. 28, 2003] Freedom is not America's gift to the world. It is God's gift to humanity.

[October 2002] If we know Saddam has WMDs - and we do - does it make sense for the world to wait to confront him?

We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease, and it suffers from poverty as well.

This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses.

[Discussing the website GWbush.com, which parodies him] There ought to be limits to freedom. We're aware of this site, and this guy is just a garbage man, that's all he is.

[Regarding 9/11, from the 2004 State of the Union address] In grief, we found the grace to go on.

[During an interview about the recent death of Ronald Reagan, former US President and former Governor of California] . . . of course I think he was underestimated. People, mostly people on the East Coast, were saying that an actor couldn't be President. But what they were forgetting was that he was the governor of the largest state in the Union.

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.

If we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long.

I don't think I was clinically an alcoholic; I didn't have the genuine addiction. I don't know why I drank. I liked to drink, I guess.

In the corporate world, sometimes things aren't exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures.

My job is to lead.

My job is to, like, think beyond the immediate.

My views are one that speaks to freedom.

The signal we ought to send to our children is that in spite of what happened in the '60s and '70s, we have learned some lessons. And the lessons ought to be: don't be using drugs and alcohol.

Tribal sovereignty means that, it's sovereign. You're a -- you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And, therefore, the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities.

Uh, I never ran for governor of Texas to be president. It didn't enter my mind when I was 21. It didn't enter my mind when I was 31 or 41. Truthfully. I mean, I didn't conduct my life to try to figure out how to be president. And so when all this speculation started, it caught me, and my mother, totally by surprise. But I am interested. I'm interested because, um, I'm concerned about the future of our country. That's why I'm interested.

We've been attacked for where I was born, for who my family is, and where my money has come from. I don't think that's fair.

You can disagree with me on issues, John [John McCain], but do not question - do not question my trustworthiness. And do not compare me to Bill Clinton.

[March 11, 2004] Human life is a creation of God, not a commodity to be exploited by man.

[September 20, 2001] I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people.

We will stay the course, we will complete the job in Iraq. And the job is this: We'll help the Iraqis develop a democracy.

[Washington, DC, May 17, 2007] We understand the fright that can come when you're worried about a rocket landing on top of your home.

[on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Washington, D.C., May 17, 2007] My relationship with this good man is where I've been focused, and that's where my concentration is. And I don't regret any other aspect of it. And so I--we filled a lot of space together.

Washington, DC, May 2, 2007] The question is, who ought to make that decision? The Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear--I'm a commander guy.

[On benefits provided to military personnel, Tipp City, OH, April 19, 2007] One of my concerns is that the health care not be as good as it can possibly be.

[Discussing the continuing need for heightened airline security, Washington, DC, April 3, 2007] That's why we are inconveniencing air traffickers, to make sure nobody is carrying weapons on airplanes.

[Washington, DC, April 3, 2007] Iraq is a very important part of securing the homeland, and it's a very important part of helping change the Middle East into a part of the world that will not serve as a threat to the civilized world, to people like-or to the developed world, to people like-in the United States.

[on comparisons between the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, Tipp City, OH, April 19, 2007] There are some similarities, of course-death is terrible.

[Tipp City, OH, April 19, 2007] My job is a job to make decisions. I'm a decision- if the job description were, what do you do-it's decision maker.

[Washington, DC, May 2, 2007] Information is moving-you know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it's also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets.

[Tipp City, OH, April 19, 2007] And everybody wants to be loved-not everybody, but-you run for office, I guess you do. You never heard anybody say, 'I want to be despised, I'm running for office.'

[September 20, 2001 - Speech to joint session of Congress]: Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice *will* be done.

[to a reporter who asked him, after the Lewis 'Scooter' Libby trial was over, to talk about the Valerie Plame leak case--Plame was an undercover CIA officer whose identity was leaked by Bush administration sources--which he promised he would do after the trial was over] It's run its course. Now we're going to move on. Next question.

I do tears. I've got God's shoulder to cry on. And I cry a lot. I do a lot of crying in this job. I'll bet I've shed more tears than you can count, as president. I'll shed some tomorrow.

Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is -- the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.

Barack Obama was born to a white American mother, Ann Dunham, and a black Kenyan father, Barack Obama, Sr., who were both young college students at the University of Hawaii. When his father left for Harvard, she and Barack stayed behind, and his father ultimately returned alone to Kenya, where he worked as a government economist. Barack's mother remarried an Indonesian oil manager and moved to Jakarta when Barack was six. He later recounted Indonesia as simultaneously lush and a harrowing exposure to tropical poverty. He returned to Hawaii, where he was brought up largely by his grandparents. The family lived in a small apartment - his grandfather was a furniture salesman and an unsuccessful insurance agent and his grandmother worked in a bank - but Barack managed to get into Punahou School, Hawaii's top prep academy. His father wrote to him regularly but, though he traveled around the world on official business for Kenya, he visited only once, when Barack was ten. Obama attended Columbia University, but found New York's racial tension inescapable. He became a community organizer for a small Chicago church-based group for three years, helping poor South Side residents cope with a wave of plant closings. He then attended Harvard Law School, and in 1990 became the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He turned down a prestigious judicial clerkship, choosing instead to practice civil-rights law back in Chicago, representing victims of housing and employment discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation. He also began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School. Eventually he ran as a Democrat for the state senate seat from his district, which included both Hyde Park and some of the poorest ghettos on the South Side, and won. In 2004 Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat, representing Illinois, and gained national attention by giving a rousing and well-received keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. In 2008 he ran for president as a democrat and won. He is set to become the 44th president of the Unites States and the first African-American ever elected to that position.

Trivia

His first name comes from the word that means "blessed by God" in Arabic.

In the Kenyan town where his father was born, the long-brewed "Senator" brand of beer has been nicknamed "Obama."

U.S. Senator from Illinois since 3 January 2005.

Won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word for the CD version of his autobiography "Dreams From My Father" (2006).

Lives in Hyde Park (Chicago).

On "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993), he revealed that President George W. Bush nicknamed him "Bama" and "Rock".

The movie he saw on his first date with Michelle Obama was Do the Right Thing (1989).

Related to Park Overall.

Has two daughters, Malia Obama (born in 1998) and Sasha Obama (born in 2001).

Candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 US presidential election.

Several celebrities including; Halle Berry, George Clooney, Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, Topher Grace, Macy Gray, Bruce Springsteen, Oprah Winfrey Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Hayden Panettiere, Zachary Quinto, Eddie Murphy and John Cleese support his 2008 presidential campaign.

Robert De Niro gave his endorsement at the same rally where Barack was endorsed by Caroline and Ted Kennedy.

Enjoys playing basketball and poker.

At his wife's suggestion, he quit smoking before his campaign to win the Democratic nomination began.

His paternal relatives still live in Kenya.

Confessed teenage drug experiences in his memoirs "Dreams from My Father".

One of his ancestors was Mareen Duvall, also an ancestor of actor Robert Duvall.

Shares his surname with a small city in western Japan, which means "small shore" in Japanese.

Plays basketball.

Born to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. (1936-1982) and Ann Dunham (1942-1995), married from 1960 to 1965.

Named one of Time magazine's "100 most influential people in the world" list in 2005 and 2007.

Chosen as one of "10 people would change the world" by New Statesman magazine (2005).

Won his second Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for "The Audacity of Hope" (2008).

On June 3, 2008 he won the Montana primary election giving him enough delegates to become the first Black American presidential candidate to win a major political party's presumptive nomination for the office of President of the United States.

Is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan.

More than 215,000 people attended his speech in Berlin on 24 July 2008.

Has one half-sister, Maya, born to his mother and stepfather in 1970.

Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Les guignols de l'info" (1988).

Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham died Sunday November 2, 2008 in the early evening in Honolulu from cancer. She was 86.

Is the first African-American man to be elected President of the United States (November 2008).

When elected President, he won the battleground states of Florida, Virginia and Colorado - all of which had voted Republican in 2004.

Is the first American president to be born in Hawaii.

Was the 27th lawyer to be elected American president.

Was elected to be the 44th president of the Unites States of America on 4 November, 2008.

As a child growing up in Hawaii, his classmates knew him as Barry.

Presidential campaign slogan: "Change we can believe in".

Is primarily of Kenyan, Irish, and English ancestry.

Favorite movies are Casablanca (1942),

Personal Quotes

(from DNC keynote speech) "There's not a liberal America and a conservative America. There's the United States of America. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states, and have gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war, and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."

And it lives on in those Americans -- young and old, rich and poor, black and white, Latino and Asian and Native American, gay and straight -- who are tired of a politics that divides us and want to recapture the sense of common purpose that we had when John Kennedy was President of the United States of America.

Sometimes I don't know who I'm running against. (about Bill Clinton's support for Hillary Clinton)

[When asked whether he would call on the Clintons to release their tax returns, after Hilary loaned $5 million of her own money to her campaign] I'll just say that I've released my tax returns. That's been a policy I've maintained consistently. I think the American people deserve to know where you get your income from. But I'll leave it up to you guys to chase it down... I think we set the bar in terms of transparency and disclosure that has been a consistent theme of my campaign and my career in politics.

In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

When I am this party's nominee, my opponent will not be able to say that I voted for the war in Iraq; or that I gave George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran; or that I supported Bush-Cheney policies of not talking to leaders that we don't like. And he will not be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental as whether or not it is ok for America to torture - because it is never ok. That's why I am in it. As President, I will end the war in Iraq. We will have our troops home in sixteen months. I will close Guantanamo. I will restore habeas corpus. I will finish the fight against Al Qaeda. And I will lead the world to combat the common threats of the 21st century - nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. And I will send once more a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, "You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now."

This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

Where Are They Now

(November 2008) Elected the 44th President of the United States of America

Biography

Born and brought up in an obscure village near Kambam in Southern Tamil Nadu, Ilayaraja became the first Asian to score a symphony for the London Philharmonic Orchestra, besides scoring over 500 feature films in a period of 20 years. Raja, as he is popularly known and affectionately called, comes from a family of musicians. His mother, a huge repository of Tamil folk songs, seems to be a very strong influence in his music. He learned to play the harmonium, the typical musical instrument used in street performances. The team of the brothers, the eldest being Pavalar Varadharajan, a poet, worked as a group of musicians traveling across the state, accompanying theater artists. Raja picked up most of his acumen for audience tastes during this period. In 1969, Raja migrated to the city of Madras, the Southern Movie capital, when he was 29 years old, looking for a break into music making for the public. He studied under Dhanraj Master, playing the guitar and piano in the Western style. He later earned a diploma in music from Trinity College in London. Ilayaraja's break into music for films came with Annakili (1976). The film dealt with a village story, to which Ilayaraja composed great melodies. The songs offered simplicity and musicality typical of Tamil folk in an authentic way, and they offered new sounds--rich orchestration typical of Western music. The songs became an instant hit, the most popular being "Machchana Partheengala" sung by a female voice, S. Janaki. This was followed by a series of films that portrayed contemporary Tamil villages in an authentic way, against stylistic shallow portrayals before. For all of these films Raja created memorable songs. Most popular were the songs "Senthoorappove" and "Aatukkutti Mutaiyittu" from Pathinaru Vayathinile (1977), and "Samakkozhi" and "Oram Po" from Ponnu Oorukku Pudhusu (1979). Raja soon proved his abilities in other styles as well. classical Karnatic melodies were used in Kannan Oru Kai Kuzhandhai (1978) (Rag Mohanam), Mayile Mayile (Ragam Hamsadhwani), and Chinna Kannan Azhaikiran (Reethi Gowlai). Raja's grasp of Western classical structure became evident with his masterful use of the piano, guitar, and string ensembles. Some of the numbers that show his orchestral genius are "Pon malai Pozhudu" and "Poongadhave" from Nizhalgal (1980), Kanmaniye Kadhal from Aarilirindhu Aruvathu Varai (1979), "Ramanin Mohanam" from Netri Kann (1981), "En Iniya Pon nilave from Moodupani (1980), "Paruvame Pudhiya" from Nenjathai Killathe (1981), and "Edho Moham" from Kozhi Koovuthu (1982). These songs could literally be heard coming from every doorstep in Tamil Nadu state every day for at least a year after being released. Raja composed film music prolifically for the next fifteen years, at a rate of as many as three new songs a day. After a few years as a film composer, he could write all the parts to a score as they came to him, and his assistants would make fair copies, which would be recorded immediately. Raja went for a trip abroad to Europe, partly to visit places where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Ludwig van Beethoven lived. They were his Manasika Gurus or non-physical teachers, he wrote once. He also met contemporary composers and arrangers including Paul Mauriat. His listeners were awestruck by the quality and quantity of his musical output. He also scored a few films abroad. Ilayaraja's image grew to be a unique one in the history of Tamil cinema: stories, themes, and castes would be changed to fit his music, which swept away the minds of millions of Indians in hundreds of films. Ilayaraja also recorded non-film albums, such as "How to Name It" and "Nothing But Wind," which were well-received in India and abroad. In 1993, he wrote a symphony for the London Philharmonic Orchestra in an amazing one-month span. To many people who know him, Raja represents more than his music. He is a mark of great achievement that is possible by hard work, yet he is seen in most of his interviews as talking very philosophically. He is very much attracted by the philosophy of Ramana Maharishi of Thiruvanna Malai, who lived in the early 20th Century. Raja once referred to Ramana as "our Zen master."

He won a gold medal from London's Trinity College in the guitar category. His notable works include Nayakan (1987) (his 400th film) and Anjali (1990) (his 500th film). His other musical works include "Nothing But the Wind," "How to Name It," and "Singing Skylarks." He also invented a new Carnatic raga known as Panchamukhi.

"About 10 years ago I undertook to construct the principal towers of the Siva temple at Thiruvanamalai and the Vaishnavite temple at Srirangam; I spent my own money on the projects - I did not collect money from others. I could have completed Thiruvasagam also without financial assistance from others, but did not wish to do so. Because, when the project was conceived, I was reminded of a remark made by the late Kanchi Senior Acharya. He said that in the olden days, even if a king wanted to construct a temple tower, he would not do it with his own money, but collected finds from the people for the purpose. The idea was that there should be participation by the people. That was why I was keen that others should also join in this venture."

"Give me half an hour and I can finish a film."

"Western classical music is perspective - look at the number of people involved in a symphony! Our traditional music is lonely."

About Budapest: "For the last 3 years, I have been doing most of my recordings there. The artistes there are very talented - it's a renowned organization with 100 years of experience and is among the world's best orchestras. The conductor, Loslo Kovacs, has been very close to me - I find it easier to work with him than my own brother! Vienna is where most of the world's greatest composers have worked. From the classical to the romantic periods, great figures like [Wolfgang Amadeus] Mozart, [Johann] Strauss, [Johann Sebastian] Bach and [Ludwig von] Beethoven had Vienna connections. Those veterans would have visited Hungary and conducted performances here. My attachment and respect for that soil have also influenced by decision in selecting the Budapest Symphony Orchestra for Thiruvasagam."

About Thiruvasagam: "Like most Tamils, I have great admiration and reverence for Thiruvasagam. It is one of our great treasures. Its unique feature is its emotional appeal to readers. Manickavasagar sings the praise of Shiva and profusely thanks Him. While doing so he calls himself "meaner than a dog," "man of evil deeds," and so on. Manickvasagar, the prime minister of a Pandya king, should have overcome his ego before doing this. In moving, bone-melting words, he makes a sort of confession to God. Because of their very emotional nature, his poems reach the people. All his works are highly emotional and are bound to appeal to every reader. If his songs were mere statements of facts, without an appeal to your heart, they would have had no impact. Thiruvasagam, therefore, occupies a special place in Tamil literature. Hence the traditional saying: "Those who are not moved by Thiruvasagam will not be moved by any other work." I started working on the project as early as 2000. When I approached big people for funds (I won't mention any names), many could not even understand the concept or its significance - they did not realize that it would get a place in history later. They saw it only as scoring music for some devotional songs and wondered why it should be so expensive. They did not respond. More than their refusal to participate, I was hurt by the way they approached the project. Generally I do not go for such help."

Before starting his career in the film industry, he had to take up all sorts of odd jobs. He served as a bus conductor for Karnataka state transport corporation in Bangalore. It was during this time that he nurtured his acting interests by performing in various stage plays.

Rajini, the real mantra of Tamil Nadu. Rajinikanth, the carpenter-turned-coolie-turned-conductor-turned Super Star says: "I couldn't have asked God for more."

A bit of a recluse, Rajni may be. But everyone who's had the privelege of a darshan with the thalaivar has come away with a spring in his step and a warm glow in the heart. Warm, friendly and affable, he's the sort who deserves all the superstardom he's earned. Such men, indeed, are rare...

The evergreen unique actor and the Superstar of Tamil industry, Rajinikanth was introduced by the renowned director, K.Balachandar in the movie Aboorva raagangal as a co-artist. It's been 25 years, believe it or not, since the Super Star made his debut with an inconsequential role in a Tamil film. From villain and antihero to blockbuster supernova, the gifted actor has made the most of every outing. And he's deserved every bit of the success. SCREEN analyses why...

It's a wide angle shot. A man is seen opening a gate, dressed in rags and smoking a beedi. A terminally ill disease writ large on his face. Precisely on that frame appears the Sanskrit term shruthi bedham, coupled with an off screen voice, an undoubtedly inauspicious start to any debutante's first screen appearance, especially in the maiden frame.

The film was Apoorva Raagangal (1975). The film itself was thick in controversy, and nobody took notice of the young newcomer, who was on screen barely for fifteen minutes, muttered a few apologetic words to the wronged woman and ultimately died an unsung, unheroic death.

No one in the audience, even in his wildest imagination, would have thought this nondescript man, who had won the least attention in the film would ever win over millions of hearts in Tamil Nadu. Or ride the state like a colossus. Or even that his sway over the masses would be so intense that he could rewrite the fate of Tamil Nadu politics, exactly two decades after the release of his first film.

K Balachander, the director who has an uncanny knack of creating stars, first met Rajnikant at the film institute, where he was a student. Balachander glanced at the dark young man and crisply asked him to meet him in his office the next day. When Rajnikant walked into his office gingerly, Balachander informed him he was going to act in his next film. Overwhelmed by the sudden offer from a big director, Rajnikant just could not believe his ears. It's a feeling Rajni still recounts whenever in the mood of reminiscence.

Later, Balachander confided in his close friend and associate Ananthu, Watch out! There is a fire in the young man's eyes. One day he will take Tamil Nadu by storm. How true the prediction turned out!

Producers went all out to capitalise on this new wonder called Rajnikant, and a string of films projecting him as an anti-hero, with all his stylish mannerisms in full swing, were released in quick succession. Gayathri had him shooting blue films of his wife without her knowledge, Bhairavi, Shankar Salim Simon and the like. Rajni had, by now, become an indisputable star in his own right, a force to reckon with.

Though Rajnikant persistently refers to K. Balachander as his guru, it was director SP Muthuraman who actually revamped Rajni's image entirely. Muthuraman first experimented with him in a positive role in Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri, as a villain in the first half and a refined man in the second, accepting a woman with a child ditched by her lover. The success of Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri prompted SPM to make a mushy melodrama with Rajni as a hero sacrificing everything for his siblings, a role ideally tailormade for Sivaji Ganesan! That film was Arulirunthu Arupathu Varai, in which Rajni's mannerisms were totally missing and he even appeared as an old man in the last few frames. Even while the film was in the making, Rajni had misgivings about whether the audience would accept him in tear jerkers of this kind. But the film got made and its box-office success made Rajni popular among women audiences, too. These two films were a turning point in Rajni's career he changed from an actor who merely enthralled the audiences, to one who also made them weep. The acceptance of Rajni sans his mannerisms proved he'd at last become an actor from a star. Around this time came Mullum Malarum, directed by J Mahendran, which established Rajni as a hero with a slight tinge of the negative.

Rajnikant's entry may have been humble, in an insignificant role but the success he achieved in a very short span was unimaginable. A popular Tamil magazine brought out a special supplement at a time when his still on the make, and, he presto, the magazine's sales doubled with that issue alone.

Such mass adulation, the thunderous rain of applause when Rajni delivered his lines, all put together, made him a phenomenon. It was at this point that Rajni realised the onus had been thrust on him. The fate of producers hinged on him alone. This sudden exposure to the glare of the media and the popularity and money he never imagined would be his, created a lot of stress in his mind. At that crucial time in his career when his market price had just begun to zoom, he decided to opt out of films completely, sending shock waves to his fans. Balachander, Kamalhaasan and his other well-wishers somehow, coaxed him into staying on.

The second phase of his life started with K Balaji's Billa, a superhit disproving the canard spread by detractors that Rajnikant was finished. He was accepted as a full-fledged hero. Billa was followed by a row of hits like Pokkiri Raja, Thanikkattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla and the all-important Moondru Mugham, in which Rajni essayed a triple role. Even two decades after its release, the last continues to be a box-office draw and Rajni's fans can never tire of the thalaivar's verbal clash with villain Senthamarai. K Balachander's first home production, Nettrikkam proved to be yet another milestone in Rajni's career.

An analysis of Rajni's career graph shows a remarkable absence of fits and starts. It has been a slow and steady rise to the very top. As Rajni sings in a hit song from Badshah, a man's life may be divided into eight divisions. Rajni's own career may be divided into three segments. The first as a villain, the second as a hero with negative traits, and the third and present phase, as the reigning czar of Tamil filmdom. With Rajni's films fetching crores and his market price skyrocketing, the costs of production of his films became unmanageable. And Rajni has since had to stick to a one film per year formula, sometimes, he could do a film once in two years.

The new trend where his films' collections exceed normal regional film expectations started off with Badshah, followed by Annamalai, Arunachalam, Ejaman, Muthu and Padayappa. It's now an accepted fact that only a Rajnikant film can break records set by his own films.

As an actor, Rajnikant's greatest asset, apart from his style is his sense of humour and comic timing. Like Amitabh Bachchan is popular for his drunken soliloquies, Rajnikant is famous for his comic encounters with snakes, repeated umpteen times.

In the early 80s, Rajnikant made a foray into Bollywood with Andhaa Kanoon, a superhit. But Rajnikant could not concentrate on Hindi films because he was already safely ensconced down South. He still made a few films in Hindi, to mention specially Chaalbaaz which had Sridevi in a dual role. Rajni also enjoys a special kind of popularity in Telugu films and his Peddarayudu (remake of Tamil hit Nattammai) seems to have broken all previous records. The Telugu version of Padayappa has been a money-spinner, too. Rajnikant became a trendsetter recently with his Muthu and its songs becoming a rage in Japan and now, Padayappa running to packed houses in the UK and USA.

Basically a religious person, Rajnikant has always owned up his faith. "I was brought up by the Ramakrishna Mission and it's from there that I have inherited this religious frame of mind," he keeps saying. Even his films have him openly sharing his faith. In Arunachalam he mouths that famous line, "God decides and Arunachalam executes it." His public meetings are always spiced with humour and embellished with anecdotes from mythology.

Married to Lata, an English literature graduate, hailing from an elite Iyengar family in 1980, Rajni has two daughters who are carefully kept away from the limelight. Lata herself a versatile singer, now runs a school called The Ashram. The couple indulges in a lot of charity, the latest being converting his Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam into a charitable trust to help the poor and needy.

Ego and starry airs are unknown to Rajnikant. During breaks he hardly ever rushes to his air-conditioned makeup room. Instead, he prefers to sleep on the sets, even without a pillow, merely covering his eyes with a wet cloth. He never comes to functions with a retinue behind him and even prefers to drive his own car.

Rajnikant's phenomenal success and his sway over the masses make people speculate whether he will follow the footsteps of the late MGR and enter politics. Though there has been a lot of pressure on him to enter politics by the likes of actor turned journalist, Cho Ramaswamy ("Rajnikant is the best choice for chief ministership because he has a basic integrity and simplicity, a quality which is very rare these days") Rajnikant has persistently maintained a diplomatic silence, except for the fact that he openly supported the ruling DMK in the last assembly elections and discreetly in the recent Lok Sabha elections. When pressed, Rajnikant answers in his own inimitable style, "Yesterday I was a conductor, today I'm a star, tomorrow what I'll be only He knows!"

A bit of a recluse, he may be at heart, but everyone who's had the privilege of a darshan with the thalaivar has come away with a spring in his step, and a warm glow in his heart. Warm, friendly and affable, he's the sort who deserves all the superstardom he's earned. Such men, indeed, are rare.

MGR was a member of the Congress Party till 1953 and he used to wear kathar and wear vibhuti on his forehead. In 1953 MGR joined the DMK. He became a vocal Tamil and Dravidian nationalist and prominent member of the DMK (Dravidian Progressive Federation). He added glamour to the Dravidian movement which was sweeping Tamil Nadu. He became a member of the state Legislative Council in 1962. He was first elected to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 1967. After the death of his mentor, Annadurai, MGR became the treasurer of DMK in 1969 after Karunanidhi became the chief minister.

In 1967, he was shot in the neck by fellow actor and political aspirant M.R. Radha. The bullet was permanently lodged in his neck and his voice damaged. He wanted the financial details of the party to be publicised which enraged the leadership of DMK and in 1972, MGR was expelled from the party. MGR then floated a new party named Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) which was later renamed All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the only powerful opponent of the DMK. He became Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in 1977, and remained in office till his death in 1987. In 1979, Members of his party became the first dravidian and non-congress party from Tamil Nadu to become ministers in the Union Cabinet. It is to be noted that the AIADMK won every state assembly election as long as MGR was alive. He was the first film actor to be a Chief Minister in India

SOCIAL WORK

MGR was always the first to personally offer relief in disasters and calamities like fire, flood, drought, and cyclones, he was the first donor during the war with China in 1962, donating Rs. 75,000 to the war fund. He was the founder and editor of THAI weekly magazine and ANNA daily newspaper in Tamil. He was the owner of Sathya Studios and Emgeeyar Pictures which produced many of the films he acted in. He also founded the MGR Schools in Kodambakkam giving free education and food for the film workers children in 1953. He was the president of Nadigar Sangam - South India Film Artists Association for four terms. He willed all his property for the welfare of the poor and hearing impaired people of Tamil Nadu.