1.
Owensboro, Kentucky
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Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population and it is located on U. S. Route 60 about 107 miles southwest of Louisville, and is the principal city of the Owensboro metropolitan area. The metropolitan population was estimated at 116,506, evidence of American Indian settlement in the area dates back 12,000 years. Following a series of failed uprisings with British support, however, the first European descendant to settle in Owensboro was frontiersman William Smeathers or Smothers in 1797, for whom the riverfront park is named. The settlement was known as Yellow Banks from the color of the land beside the Ohio River. The Lewis and Clark Expedition wintered at what is todays Owensboro prior to departing on their famous travels, in 1817, Yellow Banks was formally established under the name Owensborough, named after Col. Abraham Owen. In 1893, the spelling of the name was shortened to its current Owensboro, in August 1864, Owensboro was subject to a raid by a band of Confederate guerrillas from Tennessee led by Captain Jack Bennett, an officer in Stovepipe Johnsons Partisan Rangers. Another major battle occurred 8 miles south of Owensboro and is signified by a monument marking the battle located beside US Highway 431. Several distillers, mainly of bourbon whiskey, have been in, the major distillery still in operation is the Glenmore Distillery Company, now owned by the Sazerac Company. On August 14,1936, downtown Owensboro was the site of the last public hanging in the United States, rainey Bethea was executed for the rape and murder of 70-year-old Lischa Edwards. The execution was presided over by a sheriff, Florence Shoemaker Thompson. The end of the Second World War brought civil engineering projects which helped turn Owensboro from an industrial town into a modern. The Owensboro Wagon Company, established in 1884, was one of the largest and most influential companies in the nation. With eight styles or sizes of wagons, the set the standard of quality at the turn of the 20th century. Frederick A. Ames came to Owensboro from Washington, Pennsylvania and he started the Carriage Woodstock Company to repair horse-drawn carriages. In 1910, he began to manufacture a line of automobiles under the Ames brand name, Ames hired industrialist Vincent Bendix in 1912, and the company became the Ames Motor Car Company. Despite its product being called the best $1500 car by a Texas car dealer, the company then began manufacturing replacement bodies for the more widely sold Ford Model T. In 1922, the company itself and started to manufacture furniture under the name Ames Corporation
2.
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
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Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California. Woodland Hills is an affluent neighborhood in the region of the San Fernando Valley which is located east of Calabasas. On the north it is bordered by West Hills, Canoga Park, and Winnetka, some neighborhoods are in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Running east–west through the community are U. S. Route 101 and Ventura Boulevard, the first Europeans to enter the San Fernando Valley were the Portola Expedition in 1769, exploring Alta California for Spanish missions and settlements locations. Seeing it from present-day Sepulveda Pass, the oak savanna inspired them to call the area El Valle de Santa Catalina de Bononia de Los Encinos, the Mission San Fernando Rey de España was established in 1797 and controlled the Valleys land, including future Woodland Hills. Ownership of the half of the valley, south of present-day Roscoe Boulevard from Toluca Lake to Woodland Hills. Moses Sherman and others in 1910, victor Girard Kleinberger bought 2,886 acres in the area from Chandlers group and founded the town of Girard in 1922. He sought to attract residents and businesses by developing an infrastructure, advertising in newspapers and his 300 pepper trees formed a canopy over Canoga Ave. between Ventura Boulevard and Saltillo St. became Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #93 in 1972. The community of Girard was eventually incorporated into Los Angeles, Woodland Hills has a firmly subtropical mediterranean climate. Within the San Fernando Valley, Woodland Hills generally experiences some of the extreme temperature changes season to season than other regions. During the summer, temperatures are very hot, while during the winter. On July 22,2006, Woodland Hills recorded the highest temperature ever in Los Angeles County, the climate is classified as a Csa in the Köppen climate classification, which is characterized by mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. This climate is referred to as mediterranean. Precipitation in Woodland Hills averages much the same as most other regions of the west San Fernando Valley, in 2008 the population of Woodland Hills was approximately 63,000. The median age in 2000 was 40, considered old when compared to city and county jurisdictions. As of the 2000 census, and according to the Los Angeles Almanac, there were 67,006 people and 29,119 households residing in Woodland Hills. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 79. 90% White,6. 97% Asian,0. 13% Pacific Islander,3. 34% African American,0. 33% Native American,4. 80% from other races, and 4. 52% from two or more races. 11. 94% of the population were Hispanic of any race, in population, it is one of the least dense neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and the percentage of white people is high for the county
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
The Seven Year Itch
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The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American romantic comedy film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell and it contains one of the most iconic images of the 20th century – Monroe standing on a subway grate as her white dress is blown upwards by a passing train. The titular phrase, which refers to declining interest in a relationship after seven years of marriage, has been used by psychologists. Richard Sherman is a nerdy, faithful, middle-aged publishing executive with an imagination and a mid-life crisis, whose wife, Helen. That evening, he works on reading the manuscript of a book in which psychiatrist Dr. Brubaker claims that almost all men are driven to have affairs in the seventh year of marriage. A tomato plant then crashes into his chair, the woman upstairs apologizes for accidentally knocking it off the balcony. He waits for her to get dressed, including in underwear she says she keeps cool in her icebox, when she arrives, a vision in pink, they have a drink and he lies about being married. When she sees his wedding ring, he backtracks but she is unconcerned, having no designs on him and he has a fantasy that she is a femme fatale overcome by his playing of Rachmaninoffs Second Piano Concerto. In reality, she prefers Chopsticks, which play together. Richard, overcome by his fantasies, awkwardly grabs at her and he apologizes for his indiscretion but she says it happens to her all the time. Guilt-ridden, however, he asks her to leave, over the next few days, they spend more time together and Richard imagines that they are growing closer, although she is immune to his imagined charms. Helen continually calls her husband, asking him to send the paddle so Ricky can use the kayak and his waning resolve to resist temptation fuels his fear that he is succumbing to the Seven Year Itch. He seeks help from Dr. Brubaker, but to no avail, Richard imagines his wife with McKenzie on a hayride which actually takes place but into which he injects his paranoia, guilt and jealousy. The characters of Elaine, Marie, and the voices of Sherman and The Girl were dropped from the play, the characters of the Plumber, Miss Finch, the Waitress. Many lines and scenes from the play were cut or re-written because they were deemed indecent by the Hays office, Axelrod and Wilder complained that the film was being made under straitjacketed conditions. This led to a plot change, in the play, Sherman and The Girl had sex, in the movie. Footage of Walter Matthau and Ewells screen tests for Sherman is featured in the DVD of the film, nicolas Roegs film Insignificance features a character based on Monroe and a re-enactment of the subway/dress scene. The exterior shooting location of Richards apartment was 164 East 61st Street in Manhattan, saul Bass created the opening animated title sequence for the film, his only title sequence for a Wilder movie
5.
Don Ameche
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Don Ameche was an American actor and voice artist. After touring in vaudeville, he featured in many biographical films and he continued to appear on Broadway, as well as on radio and TV, where he was host and commentator for International Showtime, covering circus and ice-shows all over Europe. Ameche was married to his wife Honore for 54 years, Ameche won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Cocoon. Ameche was born Dominic Felix Amici in Kenosha, Wisconsin on May 31,1908 and his father, Felice Amici, was a bartender from Italy from Montemonaco, Ascoli Piceno, Marche. His mother, Barbara Etta Hertel, was of Scottish, Irish and he had three brothers, Umberto, James, and Louis, and four sisters, Elizabeth, Catherine, Mary and Anna. Ameche attended Marquette University, Loras College, and the University of Wisconsin, Ameche had intended to study law, but he found theatricals more interesting and decided on a stage career. He was instrumental in forming and leading the group the year before play began. Ameche was married to Honore Prendergast from 1932 until her death in 1986, one, Ron Ameche, owned a restaurant, Ameches Pumpernickel in Coralville, Iowa. He had two daughters, Connie and Bonnie, Ameches younger brother, Jim Ameche, was also a well-known actor. His brother Bert was an architect who worked for the U. S. Navy in Port Hueneme, California, and then the U. S. Postal Service in Los Angeles, California. He enjoyed the experience and got a lead in Jerry For Short in New York, followed by a tour in vaudeville with Texas Guinan until she dropped him from the act. He made his debut in 1935, and by the late 1930s, had established himself as a major actor in Hollywood. He appeared in films as Alexanders Ragtime Band, and as the title character in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell. In the 1940 film Go West, Groucho Marx proclaims, Telephone and this is 1870, Don Ameche hasnt invented the telephone yet. While in the 1941 film Ball of Fire, Barbara Stanwycks character discusses the ameche slang usage, Do you know what this means, another highlight was co-starring with Gene Tierney in Ernst Lubitschs Heaven Can Wait in 1943, a film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 1940, he was voted the 21st-most-popular star in Hollywood, in 1944 he reportedly earned $247,677 for 1943, making him the second highest earner at 20th Century Fox after Spyros Skouras. Ameche played so many roles based on people that on one of his radio broadcasts, Fred Allen joked. Soon afterwards, in Its in the Bag. which starred Allen, Ameche and fellow veteran actor Ralph Bellamy were eventually cast in John Landis Trading Places in 1983, playing rich brothers intent on ruining an innocent man for the sake of a one-dollar bet
6.
Broadway theatre
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Along with Londons West End theatres, Broadway theatres are widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. The Theater District is a popular tourist attraction in New York City, the great majority of Broadway shows are musicals. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The Beggars Opera, in 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice, the company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed in 1798, the Bowery Theatre opened in 1826, followed by others. Blackface minstrel shows, a distinctly American form of entertainment, became popular in the 1830s, by the 1840s, P. T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblos Garden opened, the 3, 000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. In 1844, Palmos Opera House opened and presented opera for four seasons before bankruptcy led to its rebranding as a venue for plays under the name Burtons Theatre. The Astor Opera House opened in 1847, booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865, and would later revive the role at his own Booths Theatre. Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving, Tommaso Salvini, Fanny Davenport, lydia Thompson came to America in 1868 heading a small theatrical troupe, adapting popular English burlesques for middle-class New York audiences. Thompsons troupe called the British Blondes, was the most popular entertainment in New York during the 1868–1869 theatrical season, the six-month tour ran for almost six extremely profitable years. Theatre in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown beginning around 1850, in 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square, and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square. Broadways first long-run musical was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857, New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keenes musical burletta The Seven Sisters shattered previous New York records with a run of 253 performances. It was at a performance by Keenes troupe of Our American Cousin in Washington, the production was a staggering five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, The Black Domino/Between You, Me and the Post was the first show to call itself a musical comedy, Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham. They starred high quality singers, instead of the women of repute who had starred in earlier musical forms. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits, as in England, during the latter half of the century, the theatre began to be cleaned up, with less prostitution hindering the attendance of the theatre by women
