Famous families
Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:03 pmTHE KENNEDYS
The Kennedy family is a family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, and prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the Democratic Party and more recently, its liberal wing. Harvard educations have been frequent among them, and they have contributed heavily to that university's Kennedy School of Government. The wealth, glamour, and photogenic quality of the family members, as well as their extensive and continued commitment to public service, has elevated them to iconic status over the past half-century.
With the election of President John F. Kennedy, he and his two then surviving brothers all held prominent positions in the Federal government, and received intensive publicity, often emphasizing their youth (relative to comparably influential politicians), allure, education and their collective future in politics.
The family has undergone (then, before, and since) a series of deaths and other reverses that could not be fully remedied by wealth, sometimes called "the Kennedy curse"; it has included the assassinations of brothers John and Robert, four aircraft crashes (Joe Jr, Kathleen, Edward, and John Jr), a failed prefrontal lobotomy on Rose Marie, carried out in the hope of calming the young woman's violent outbursts but resulting in severe mental retardation, and at least three sets of allegations against individual family members and their relatives by marriage, including a murder conviction and a controversial fatal single-car crash. Just how severely these events restricted the family's influence is unknowable, but the assumption that even the last surviving brother's role was diminished is a theory. On the other hand, a number of Kennedy family members have since held high office, and the idea that the family's influence was snuffed out in the 1960s is seen as a gross exaggeration.
THE SIMPSONS
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its titular family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield, and lampoons many aspects of the human condition including American culture, society, and television.
The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of animated shorts with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and was an early hit for Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1992–1993).
Since its debut on December 17, 1989 the show has broadcast 430 episodes and the twentieth season began airing on September 28, 2008.[1] The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 26 and July 27, 2007, and has grossed approximately US$526.2 million worldwide to date.
The Simpsons has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 24 Emmy Awards, 26 Annie Awards and a Peabody Award. Time magazine's December 31, 1999 issue named it the 20th century's best television series, and on January 14, 2000 the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program and as of 2008 is tied with Gunsmoke as the longest running American primetime entertainment series. Homer's annoyed grunt "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English lexicon, while The Simpsons has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms.
THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in his or her role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with official national terms for the family. Members of the royal family belong to, or are married into, the House of Windsor, since 1917, when George V changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Although in the United Kingdom there is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member of the Royal Family, and different lists will include different people, those carrying the style His or Her Majesty (HM), or His or Her Royal Highness (HRH) are always considered members, which usually results in the application of the term to the monarch, the consort of the monarch, the widowed consorts of previous monarchs, the children of the monarch, the male-line grandchildren of the monarch, and the spouses and the widowed spouses of a monarch's son and male-line grandsons.
Members and relatives of the British Royal Family historically represented the monarch in various places throughout the British Empire, sometimes for extended periods as viceroys, or for specific ceremonies or events. Today, they often perform ceremonial and social duties throughout the United Kingdom and abroad on behalf of the UK, but, aside from the monarch, have no constitutional role in the affairs of government. This is the same for the other realms of the Commonwealth though the family there acts on behalf of, is funded by, and represents the sovereign of that particular state, and not Britain.
This is a list of current members of the Royal Family:
* HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (her consort)
* TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (The Queen's eldest son and his wife)
o HRH Prince William of Wales (The Prince of Wales's elder son)
o HRH Prince Harry of Wales (The Prince of Wales's younger son)
* HRH The Duke of York (The Queen's second son)
o HRH Princess Beatrice of York (The Duke of York's elder daughter)
o HRH Princess Eugenie of York (The Duke of York's younger daughter)
* TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex (The Queen's third son and his wife)
o Viscount Severn (The Earl of Wessex's son)
o Lady Louise Windsor (The Earl of Wessex's daughter)
* HRH The Princess Royal (The Queen's daughter)
* TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester (The Queen's cousin and his wife)
* TRH The Duke and Duchess of Kent (The Queen's cousin and his wife)
* TRH Prince and Princess Michael of Kent (The Queen's cousin and his wife)
* HRH Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (The Queen's cousin)
THE OSBOURNES
Ozzy Osbourne married Sharon Arden and had three children with her. They are Aimee Osbourne (2 September 1983), Kelly Osbourne (27 October 1984) and Jack Osbourne (8 November 1985). They also took in the family's friend Robert Marcato after his mother died, but never legally adopted him. Osbourne also has three grandchildren, Isabelle and Harry from his daughter Jessica and granddaughter Maia from son Louis. He wrote a song for his daughter, Aimee, which appeared as a b-side on the album Ozzmosis. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Buckinghamshire, England.
Osbourne achieved greater celebrity status by the unlikely success of his own brand of reality television. The Osbournes, a series featuring the domestic life of Osbourne and his family (wife Sharon, children Jack and Kelly and special guest appearances from his son Louis, but not Ozzy and Sharon's eldest daughter Aimee, who declined to participate). The program became one of MTV's greatest hits. It premiered on 5 March 2002, and the final episode aired 21 March 2005.
Ozzy Osbourne, Frank Bruno and Billy Connolly provided lead vocals on The War Song of the Urpneys single and album track, although the version heard in the series was largely sung by composer Mike Batt.
In 2002, Osbourne and wife Sharon were invited to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner by Fox News Channel correspondent Greta Van Susteren for that year's event. President Bush noted Ozzy's presence by joking: "The thing about Ozzy is, he's made a lot of big hit recordings – 'Party with the Animals', 'Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath', 'Facing Hell', 'Black Skies' and 'Bloodbath in Paradise'. Ozzy, Mom loves your stuff."[17]
During 2003, a member of Birmingham City Council campaigned for him to be given Freedom of the City.
He has over 15 tattoos, the letters OZZY across the knuckles of his left hand was the first he had done as a teenager, by means of a sewing needle and pencil lead [5].
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are one of the UK's richest couples, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. They ranked at number 458 in 2005, with an estimated £100 million earned from recording, touring and TV shows. They ranked above most British music stars, such as Rod Stewart, George Michael, Robbie Williams, the Rolling Stones' Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, and Pink Floyd, Queen, and Dire Straits members.
Osbourne experienced tremors for some years and linked them to his continuous drug abuse. In May 2005 he found out it was actually Parkin Syndrome, a genetic condition, the symptoms of which are very similar to Parkinson's disease. Osbourne will have to take daily medication for the rest of his life to combat the involuntary shudders associated with the condition.[18] Osbourne has shown symptoms of a mild hearing loss, as evidenced in the television show, The Osbournes, as he often asks his family members to repeat what they say.
The Kennedy family is a family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, and prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the Democratic Party and more recently, its liberal wing. Harvard educations have been frequent among them, and they have contributed heavily to that university's Kennedy School of Government. The wealth, glamour, and photogenic quality of the family members, as well as their extensive and continued commitment to public service, has elevated them to iconic status over the past half-century.
With the election of President John F. Kennedy, he and his two then surviving brothers all held prominent positions in the Federal government, and received intensive publicity, often emphasizing their youth (relative to comparably influential politicians), allure, education and their collective future in politics.
The family has undergone (then, before, and since) a series of deaths and other reverses that could not be fully remedied by wealth, sometimes called "the Kennedy curse"; it has included the assassinations of brothers John and Robert, four aircraft crashes (Joe Jr, Kathleen, Edward, and John Jr), a failed prefrontal lobotomy on Rose Marie, carried out in the hope of calming the young woman's violent outbursts but resulting in severe mental retardation, and at least three sets of allegations against individual family members and their relatives by marriage, including a murder conviction and a controversial fatal single-car crash. Just how severely these events restricted the family's influence is unknowable, but the assumption that even the last surviving brother's role was diminished is a theory. On the other hand, a number of Kennedy family members have since held high office, and the idea that the family's influence was snuffed out in the 1960s is seen as a gross exaggeration.
THE SIMPSONS
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its titular family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield, and lampoons many aspects of the human condition including American culture, society, and television.
The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of animated shorts with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and was an early hit for Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1992–1993).
Since its debut on December 17, 1989 the show has broadcast 430 episodes and the twentieth season began airing on September 28, 2008.[1] The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 26 and July 27, 2007, and has grossed approximately US$526.2 million worldwide to date.
The Simpsons has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 24 Emmy Awards, 26 Annie Awards and a Peabody Award. Time magazine's December 31, 1999 issue named it the 20th century's best television series, and on January 14, 2000 the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program and as of 2008 is tied with Gunsmoke as the longest running American primetime entertainment series. Homer's annoyed grunt "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English lexicon, while The Simpsons has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms.
THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in his or her role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with official national terms for the family. Members of the royal family belong to, or are married into, the House of Windsor, since 1917, when George V changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Although in the United Kingdom there is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member of the Royal Family, and different lists will include different people, those carrying the style His or Her Majesty (HM), or His or Her Royal Highness (HRH) are always considered members, which usually results in the application of the term to the monarch, the consort of the monarch, the widowed consorts of previous monarchs, the children of the monarch, the male-line grandchildren of the monarch, and the spouses and the widowed spouses of a monarch's son and male-line grandsons.
Members and relatives of the British Royal Family historically represented the monarch in various places throughout the British Empire, sometimes for extended periods as viceroys, or for specific ceremonies or events. Today, they often perform ceremonial and social duties throughout the United Kingdom and abroad on behalf of the UK, but, aside from the monarch, have no constitutional role in the affairs of government. This is the same for the other realms of the Commonwealth though the family there acts on behalf of, is funded by, and represents the sovereign of that particular state, and not Britain.
This is a list of current members of the Royal Family:
* HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (her consort)
* TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (The Queen's eldest son and his wife)
o HRH Prince William of Wales (The Prince of Wales's elder son)
o HRH Prince Harry of Wales (The Prince of Wales's younger son)
* HRH The Duke of York (The Queen's second son)
o HRH Princess Beatrice of York (The Duke of York's elder daughter)
o HRH Princess Eugenie of York (The Duke of York's younger daughter)
* TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex (The Queen's third son and his wife)
o Viscount Severn (The Earl of Wessex's son)
o Lady Louise Windsor (The Earl of Wessex's daughter)
* HRH The Princess Royal (The Queen's daughter)
* TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester (The Queen's cousin and his wife)
* TRH The Duke and Duchess of Kent (The Queen's cousin and his wife)
* TRH Prince and Princess Michael of Kent (The Queen's cousin and his wife)
* HRH Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (The Queen's cousin)
THE OSBOURNES
Ozzy Osbourne married Sharon Arden and had three children with her. They are Aimee Osbourne (2 September 1983), Kelly Osbourne (27 October 1984) and Jack Osbourne (8 November 1985). They also took in the family's friend Robert Marcato after his mother died, but never legally adopted him. Osbourne also has three grandchildren, Isabelle and Harry from his daughter Jessica and granddaughter Maia from son Louis. He wrote a song for his daughter, Aimee, which appeared as a b-side on the album Ozzmosis. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Buckinghamshire, England.
Osbourne achieved greater celebrity status by the unlikely success of his own brand of reality television. The Osbournes, a series featuring the domestic life of Osbourne and his family (wife Sharon, children Jack and Kelly and special guest appearances from his son Louis, but not Ozzy and Sharon's eldest daughter Aimee, who declined to participate). The program became one of MTV's greatest hits. It premiered on 5 March 2002, and the final episode aired 21 March 2005.
Ozzy Osbourne, Frank Bruno and Billy Connolly provided lead vocals on The War Song of the Urpneys single and album track, although the version heard in the series was largely sung by composer Mike Batt.
In 2002, Osbourne and wife Sharon were invited to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner by Fox News Channel correspondent Greta Van Susteren for that year's event. President Bush noted Ozzy's presence by joking: "The thing about Ozzy is, he's made a lot of big hit recordings – 'Party with the Animals', 'Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath', 'Facing Hell', 'Black Skies' and 'Bloodbath in Paradise'. Ozzy, Mom loves your stuff."[17]
During 2003, a member of Birmingham City Council campaigned for him to be given Freedom of the City.
He has over 15 tattoos, the letters OZZY across the knuckles of his left hand was the first he had done as a teenager, by means of a sewing needle and pencil lead [5].
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are one of the UK's richest couples, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. They ranked at number 458 in 2005, with an estimated £100 million earned from recording, touring and TV shows. They ranked above most British music stars, such as Rod Stewart, George Michael, Robbie Williams, the Rolling Stones' Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, and Pink Floyd, Queen, and Dire Straits members.
Osbourne experienced tremors for some years and linked them to his continuous drug abuse. In May 2005 he found out it was actually Parkin Syndrome, a genetic condition, the symptoms of which are very similar to Parkinson's disease. Osbourne will have to take daily medication for the rest of his life to combat the involuntary shudders associated with the condition.[18] Osbourne has shown symptoms of a mild hearing loss, as evidenced in the television show, The Osbournes, as he often asks his family members to repeat what they say.