Succes 2011: Terry Fator, famous ventriloquist, headliner at The Mirage hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Winner of America's Got Talent

Terry Wayne Fator is a ventriloquist, impressionist, comedian, and singer from Mesquite, Texas. Fator is capable of doing over 100 ventriloquial impersonations, and uses 16 different puppets in his act. He was the winner of Season 2 of America's Got Talent, and received the million dollar prize. The following year, he was signed on as the headliner at The Mirage hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Terry Fator was born June 10, 1965 in Dallas, Texas. Terry's second cousin is Chris Sligh, an American Idol season 6 finalist. Terry Fator says in his audio commentary of Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas (2009) that he went to college at Liberty University in Lynchburg VA. The beginning of Fator's ventriloquism career dates back to when he was in fifth grade. While searching for a book for an assignment on Valentine's Day, he came across a book about ventriloquism titled, Ventriloquism for Fun and Profit, by Paul Winchell. Fator checked out the book and started learning about ventriloquism. A few weeks later, Fator purchased a Willie Talk dummy from Sears and soon won a $25 prize for a performance at a church picnic.

Fator got his first ventriloquism dummy when he was ten years old. Throughout his childhood, Fator entertained family and friends with his ventriloquism and did impersonations of singers and actors. When Fator was in sixth grade, he appeared on a popular children's show in Dallas called Peppermint Place that starred "Mr. Peppermint" Jerry Haynes. Fator was able to save his money and got his first professional ventriloquism dummy when he was eighteen.

Fator says he found he had the ability to impersonate singers by practicing ventriloquism while driving his car. "One of the reasons I learned how to sing as a ventriloquist was because I like singing in the car," Fator says. "I’d see other people singing in the car, and they looked goofy, so I’d do it without moving my lips."

Fator got his first ventriloquism dummy when he was ten years old. Throughout his childhood, Fator entertained family and friends with his ventriloquism and did impersonations of singers and actors. When Fator was in sixth grade, he appeared on a popular children's show in Dallas called Peppermint Place that starred "Mr. Peppermint" Jerry Haynes.[citation needed] Fator was able to save his money and got his first professional ventriloquism dummy when he was eighteen.

Fator says he found he had the ability to impersonate singers by practicing ventriloquism while driving his car. "One of the reasons I learned how to sing as a ventriloquist was because I like singing in the car," Fator says. "I’d see other people singing in the car, and they looked goofy, so I’d do it without moving my lips."

Fator got his start touring as the lead singer of a band called "Freedom Jam" in 1987-88, produced by Young American Showcase. They performed at over 200 high schools and middle schools across the United States, averaging three performances per school day.
Terry Fator with Freedom Jam in Young American Showcase.

In mid 1988, he was the lead singer of a show band called 'Texas the Band'[8] when he was 20, and incorporated his puppet Walter T. Airedale into his shows. Fator's band at one point was about to sign with a major record label and one of the label's representatives came to hear the band. Fator sang the songs impersonating the original vocalists. "He told me 'you gotta stop doing those impressions,' and wanted me to sing in my own voice," Fator says. "I tried it for a few weeks, and absolutely hated it. We told the record company 'no thanks'."

Fator left the band and did a solo act combining comedy and ventriloquism but for many years had little success. "Fairs would stick me on a little stage in the back of fair and have me do three shows in the hottest part of the afternoon," says Fator. "I had heat stroke a couple of times, almost passed out."

In May 2007, before appearing on America's Got Talent, Fator was performing at a fair near Houston, Texas and the only spectator was a 12 year old boy. Discouraged, Fator contemplated pursuing another career, but his family encouraged him to hang in there. Terry entered the America's Got Talent competition with the hope that the exposure if he made it to the Top 20 might help his career and cause people to want to attend his shows. But Fator says the low point of his career was when he appeared at a 1,000 seat theater and had only one customer.

Fator's success stems from combining singing and ventriloquism. Fator had been the lead singer in a band and often did impersonations of singers Garth Brooks, Etta James, James Taylor and Dean Martin while ventriloquism was just a comic side gig for Fator. In 2005 Fator decided to join his two talents, ventriloquism and impersonations. "I had one of my characters sing Garth Brooks' "Friends in Low Places" and the audience went bananas," Fator says. "Boy, that was where my life changed." After his initial success Fator revamped his act. "It took me six months and I completely rewrote the show," says Fator. "It was then that people really noticed and I started getting standing ovations at the end of every show."

Prior to winning America's Got Talent, Fator was an opening act for Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, Neal McCoy, and Styx. Fator also made corporate appearances at General Motors and AT&T.

Before appearing on America's Got Talent, Fator had almost given up on achieving success in show business as a ventriloquist. "It wasn't easy trying to keep going all these years, and by the time I was in my late 30s, I wasn't sure it was ever going to happen," says Fator.

On June 19, 2007, Fator made his first national appearance on America's Got Talent. Fator never dreamed that he would win the show. "Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would win that show," says Fator. "Essentially I auditioned because the guy that was the ventriloquist the first season got on ('The Late Show with) David Letterman.' ... So I figured I'd do three episodes like he did and end up on 'David Letterman.'" After winning the show Fator actually had to turn the Letterman gig down four times before he could appear. "My schedule got so packed, and it broke my heart every time I had to turn him down," Fator says.

When Fator first came onstage judge David Hasselhoff said "Oh, no, a ventriloquist." "I was thinking, there's no way I would win," Fator says. "I gave myself zero percent [chance]." The judges, Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff loved Fator and he won the competition. Judge Piers Morgan told Fator "You’re a great impersonator, a great singer and a great comedian." "You put a twist on the whole being a ventriloquist thing," added Judge Sharon Osborne. Even Simon Cowell approved. "Simon Cowell said I was one of the top two entertainers on the planet," says Fator. "And getting a compliment from Simon Cowell, well, not many people get a compliment like that."

After Fator won the $1 million prize, he bought his wife an expensive wedding ring and a dream house in Trophy Club, Texas near Dallas, Texas.

Succes 2011: Jarno Trulli, Italian Formula One racing driver

Jarno Trulli (born July 13, 1974 in Pescara, Abruzzo) is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert. After Toyota pulled out of the sport, following the 2009 season, having received no offers from any of the remaining teams, he signed up to race for Lotus Racing in 2010.

After winning the Italian and then European kart championships he won the German Formula Three championship in 1996, and in 1997 made his debut in F1 with Minardi. After 7 races he replaced the injured Olivier Panis at Prost and impressed immediately, finishing fourth in Germany and even leading in Austria, looking set to finish second until his engine blew. He stayed at the Prost team for the next two seasons and eventually scored his first podium in wet conditions at the 1999 European Grand Prix. However, this was a rare highlight in a race few of the main front-runners finished, and the poor performance of the Prost team convinced him that a switch to Jordan would bring improved results.

In 2000 he moved to the Irish squad, but the team was no longer the force it had been in the late 1990s. In his two years with Jordan, Trulli failed to score a podium, but did impress with a series of brilliant qualifying displays. During this period suggestions were made that Trulli was more of a qualifying specialist than an out-and-out fast race driver, a charge he frequently denied. Under long-term contract to personal manager (and Renault manager) Flavio Briatore, Trulli secured a contract with the Anglo-French squad for 2002.

Jarno Trulli driving for Renault at the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis in 2003

Alongside Jenson Button, he often outqualified his British teammate, but was generally shaded in races. Regardless of Button's improved pace that season, it was Trulli who stayed at Renault for 2003 to partner promoted test-driver Fernando Alonso. The 2003 Renault was a strong car and in Alonso's hands won in Hungary. Trulli struggled to attain similar results, but did achieve a podium in Germany, his first since leaving Prost.

Mindful of how much Alonso had outperformed him in 2003, Trulli improved markedly the next year. For the first half of the season he was the better of the two Renault drivers, racking up regular points and podiums. At Monaco he finally took his first victory after a brilliant display from pole position. Having performed so well, the Italian was eager to stick with the team for 2005, but his relationship with team-boss Briatore soured. A last corner error which allowed Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello onto the podium in France enraged the team, and from that point his days with the French manufacturer were numbered. For the second half of 2004, Trulli failed to gain any points and was consistently off the pace during races. He later accused the team of favouring Alonso, but the reasons why his 2004 season deteriorated have never been properly identified. He was sacked three races before the end of the season and replaced by 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve. Trulli had already agreed to drive for Toyota in 2005, and his early exit from Renault allowed him to take up his new seat for the last two races of the 2004 season, replacing Ricardo Zonta.

In 2006, Trulli suffered a very poor start to the season. On the first lap of the 2006 Australian Grand Prix, he was taken out by David Coulthard. He seemed to be outpaced by team-mate Ralf Schumacher more often than not, but his reputation was restored when he raced to 6th from 4th on the grid at the Canadian Grand Prix. Following this was a 4th place in the United States Grand Prix. From then on, he would only score 3 more times, with a couple of 7th place finishes in the German Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix and also a 6th place in the Japanese Grand Prix. There was even bad luck here, as his car became troublesome to drive mid-race, and Ralf Schumacher was delayed in the process. Trulli was racing very well in the season finale at Interlagos, but bad luck robbed him again, as his car suffered suspension failure in only the first 10 laps, a fate which befell his team-mate at the same time. He finished 12th overall.

Trulli scored his first points of 2007 in Malaysia, finishing in 7th place after qualifying 8th. A couple more points followed in Bahrain, but he stalled on the grid at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix and dropped out during the early laps due to mechanical failure. Monaco brought no better fortune for Trulli, as he finished down in 15th place, just ahead of team-mate Schumacher, after qualifying his season-worst 14th. Points were collected by Trulli at the Indianapolis for 6th place. After a series of non-scoring runs, Trulli said that the result was 'incredible'. He also qualified well for the French Grand Prix but crashed with the Renault of Heikki Kovalainen on the opening lap, and duly retired because of the damage. Trulli accepted the blame for the incident. The second half of the season was disappointing with Trulli's only point coming in the final race of the season at Brazil.

Post season there had been reports that Trulli's contract was not safe, and that he may have be replaced in the Toyota team for 2008 by Heikki Kovalainen. These proved unfounded as Kovalainen signed for McLaren.

In 2008, Trulli was hoping Toyota would make a big step forward. Timo Glock was confirmed as his team-mate for the season.Trulli started the season quite well, with several points scoring finishes, the height of which was a fourth place finish in Malaysia. Trulli's qualifying performances were also very good throughout the first few rounds of the Championship. His form then slumped a little, with disappointing performances in Turkey and Monaco, as he finished in non-points scoring positions.

However, he bounced back from this with a 6th place finish in Montreal. He then topped that in France by finishing on the podium in 3rd place, holding off the challenge of Heikki Kovalainen and Robert Kubica in the closing laps.

He qualified on the front row alongside pole-sitter Felipe Massa for the season-ending Brazilian GP, which was to decide the 2008 world championship between Massa and Lewis Hamilton. During the race, Trulli had several close shaves in the changeable weather conditions, and eventually finished 8th. His team-mate Glock played a pivotal part in the title outcome as he was passed by Hamilton on the last corner of the race, which gave the Englishman the championship by one point from Massa, who won easily.

Trulli was confident going into 2009. In the first race of the 2009 season, the Toyotas of Trulli and Glock started the race from the pitlane as their qualifying times were disallowed due to Toyota's flexible rear wing breaching regulations. Although Trulli started from the pit lane, he finished in an impressive 3rd place before being penalised 25 seconds, dropping him to 12th position for passing Lewis Hamilton under the safety car. A few days after this decision, Hamilton was disqualified from the race results for 'misleading' the race stewards by insisting that Jarno Trulli had passed him under the Safety Car although Hamilton in fact let him pass on purpose due to an order given by the team from the pitlane. Jarno Trulli therefore regained his third place finish.[5] At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Trulli qualified on pole position but due to an unconventional tyre strategy finished third. However he did record the fastest lap, the only time he has achieved this in his career. He holds the record of having started the most Grands Prix before recording a fastest lap.

He crashed out of the Spanish Grand Prix after being forced off the track at the second corner and being collected by Adrian Sutil, and then had a poor performance in Monaco as the Toyotas qualified on the back row of the grid. Improvements saw him score points in three of the next four races, before the following four rounds saw him struggle again as he failed to finish in the Top 10. At the Singapore Grand Prix he placed 12th while team-mate Glock was second. Trulli then fought back at the Japanese Grand Prix (which would prove to be Toyota's last home race) by qualifying and finishing second. He then qualified fourth in torrential conditions in Brazil, but like in Spain collided with Adrian Sutil on the opening lap of the race, an incident which enraged Trulli as he blamed Sutil for the crash. His obvious display of anger towards Sutil (who also retired) afterwards earned him a $10,000 fine. Trulli finished seventh at the season finale in Abu Dhabi – Toyota F1's last race.

On 14 December 2009, Trulli was confirmed as one of the newly-formed Lotus team's drivers, joining former McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen.[6] He only finished one of the opening four races, a weaker reliability record than Kovalainen, leading him to note that "everything happens on my car and my car only – so to this day, my expectations have not been met".

At the launch of the Lotus T127, Trulli admitted in an interview with Autosport that US F1 and Sauber had been in contact with him.

In late 2009, Trulli was asked to test a NASCAR stock car in North America for Toyota. The car was set-up by Michael Waltrip Racing.


Trulli continues to drive for Lotus in 2011, with Lotus Racing being renamed Team Lotus. He is again partnering Heikki Kovalainen.

25 de ani de la cea mai bună performanță a unei echipe de fotbal din România. Helmuth Duckadam, eroul de la Sevilla. Singurul portar din lume care a apărat toate penalty-urile unei finale de Cupa Campionilor

Helmuth Duckadam (n. 1 aprilie 1959, Semlac, județul Arad), este un fost portar de fotbal al României, supranumit „Eroul de la Sevilla”. A jucat la echipele Steaua București și Constructorul Arad.
Tatăl său, Josef Duckadam, este de loc din Șagu German, județul Arad. Mama sa, Elisabeth Kálmán, este originară din Semlac, care este și locul nașterii lui Helmut Duckadam. În timpul copilăriei a fost educat în special de bunica sa maternă, Elisabeth Kálmán (născută Schmidt, Germania).
Primii pași în fotbal i-a făcut în comuna natală, la echipa Semlacana, în 1974 când ajunge la Școala Sportivă Gloria Arad. În anul 1977, a debutat ca portar la Constructorul Arad, în Divizia C. Un an mai târziu este transferat de UTA, unde debutează în Divizia A (17 septembrie 1978, CS Târgoviște - UTA 2-0).

După 4 sezoane la gruparea arădeană, este transferat la Steaua București, unde se impune treptat ca titular. Este supranumit „Eroul de la Sevilla”, după ce în finala Cupei Campionilor Europeni cu FC Barcelona apără toate cele patru lovituri de departajare, executate de Alesanco, Pedrazza, Alonso și Marcos, având o contribuție enormă la câștigarea trofeului de către Steaua București. Performanța reușită de Helmuth Duckadam pe stadionul "Sanchez Pizjuan" din Sevilla este înscrisă în celebra Carte a Recordurilor.

În același sezon în care a reușit cea mai bună performanță a unei echipe românești, cariera sa a fost înteruptă brusc, din cauza unui anevrism care a impus o intervenție chirurgicală la brațul drept, aceasta determinându-l să iasă definitiv din fotbalul de performanță la vârsta de 27 de ani.

La 3 ani de la finala de la Sevilla, în anul 1989, Duckadam s-a reîntors pe teren, pentru ultimele două sezoane, la divizionara B, Vagonul Arad. În total are 133 de apariții în divizia A, 13 în Cupa României și 9 în Cupa Campionilor Europeni

După încheierea activității de fotbalist, Duckadam s-a angajat la Poliția de frontieră în localitatea de naștere, Semlac, din județul Arad. A ocupat funcția de maior în cadrul Poliției. S-a pensionat însă pe caz de boală.

În anul 2003, fostul portar a câștigat Loteria vizelor, primind dreptul de a emigra legal în Statele Unite ale Americii, și s-a stabilit alături de prima soție, Ildiko, și de fiica lor, Brigitte, în orașul Phoenix, Arizona, în toamna aceluiași an, dar a revenit după doar un an în țară.

În anul 2004, devine membru al Partidului Noua Generație, fiind ales ca vicepreședinte al PNG și președinte al filialei județene Arad.

La data de 25 martie 2008, Duckadam a fost decorat de către Președintele României, Traian Băsescu, cu Ordinul „Meritul Sportiv” pentru rolul avut în câștigarea Cupei Campionilor Europeni de către Steaua, în 1986.
Din 11 august 2010, Duckadam ocupă funcția de președinte la FC Steaua București.

Helmuth Duckadam (born 1 April 1959 in Semlac, Arad County) is a retired Romanian footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

He was dubbed "the hero of Seville" due to his heroics in the 1986 European Cup Final, won by his main club, Steaua Bucureşti. He represented other three teams in an 11-year senior career.
Duckadam started his career playing in the regional league of Arad County, before moving to FC UTA Arad in 1978 to become professional. In 1982, he played twice for Romania and, subsequently, was signed by country giants FC Steaua Bucureşti.

Duckadam, who was instrumental in helping the capital side to two consecutive league titles, was also between the posts for the 1986 European Cup final against FC Barcelona, which was played in Seville, on 7 May 1986. Amazingly, he saved four consecutive penalty shots in the shootout, from José Ramón Alexanko, Ángel Pedraza, Pichi Alonso and Marcos, being the first one to do so in an official European competition. Steaua won it 2–0, and the main European trophy for the first time, and much of the credit for the surprise victory was given to Duckadam. He scored one goal for his main club, through a penalty kick against AFC Progresul Bucureşti in the domestic cup.

In 1986, Duckadam suffered a rare blood disorder only few weeks after the Seville performance, and would only resume his career three years later, finishing it with lowly Vagonul Arad, in the second division. According to a personal interview given in 1999, Duckadam had become a major with the Romanian Border Police (Poliţia de Frontieră) in his hometown of Semlac, in Arad County. Also, he opened a football school in the city, named after himself.

On 25 March 2008, Duckadam was decorated by the president of Romania, Traian Băsescu, with Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" — ("The Sportive Merit" Order - class II), for his part in winning the of 1986 European Cup. Two years later, on 11 August, he was named Steaua's president.

Robert De Niro (Casino)

Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese. Although not a follow-up, the movie is produced by Scorsese and Pileggi in the same vein as their previous gangster movie hit, Goodfellas, even using the same two main actors (De Niro and Pesci) in similar roles, and it is set roughly in the same time frame.

Robert De Niro stars as Sam "Ace" Rothstein, a Jewish-American top gambling handicapper who is called by the Mob to oversee the day-to-day operations at the fictional Tangiers casino in Las Vegas. The story is based on Frank Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust, Fremont and the Hacienda casinos in Las Vegas for the Chicago Outfit from the 1970s until the early 1980s.

Joe Pesci plays Nicky Santoro, based on real-life mob enforcer Anthony Spilotro. Nicky is sent to Vegas to make sure that money from the Tangiers is skimmed off the top and that the mobsters in Vegas are kept in line. Sharon Stone plays Ginger, Ace's self-obsessed and devious wife, a role that earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

In 1983, Sam "Ace" Rothstein (De Niro) exits a restaurant and gets into his car, which explodes when he starts the engine. The film then shifts back 10 years, and Sam narrates most of the story, with occasional scenes narrated by Nicky Santoro.

Ten years earlier, Sam, then a sports handicapper for the mob, is entrusted by organized crime bosses to run the Tangiers Casino, which is under their control through corrupt representatives of the Teamsters. (Although Sam's real-life counterpart worked for the Chicago Outfit, the film never specifically states Chicago as Sam's bosses' home base. Instead, throughout the film the characters refer to "back home" and "The Midwest bosses," with occasional references to Detroit and Kansas City.)

Sam is at first reluctant to manage the Tangiers due to his criminal record, but is able to do so through lax gaming laws which simply require employees to make an application for a casino license; and can work at the casino while awaiting a license hearing, which often take years due to a large backlog. Sam's expertise enables him to quickly double the casino's profits, which are skimmed by the mafia before the records are reported to income tax agencies. Impressed with Sam's work, the bosses send Sam's friend, enforcer Nicholas "Nicky" Santoro (Pesci), to protect Sam and the whole business. Nicky, however, begins to become more of a liability than an asset, as his brash attitude quickly gets him banned by the gaming board from every casino, and his name is placed in the black book. Nicky then gathers his own crew and begins his own businesses, such as a restaurant and a jewelry store, but also engages in burglary, which is not sanctioned by the bosses.

Sam, meanwhile, meets and falls in love with a hustler, Ginger McKenna (Stone). Despite Ginger's reluctance, they soon conceive a daughter, Amy, and marry. But their relationship slowly begins to fall apart when Ginger is caught by Sam and Nicky aiding her former boyfriend, a con man named Lester Diamond (James Woods). Sam also makes an enemy in Clark County Commissioner Pat Webb (L. Q. Jones) by firing Webb's brother-in-law Donald Ward (Joe Bob Briggs) from the casino for his incompetence and resisting pressure from Webb to reinstate him. Webb retaliates by pulling Sam's casino license application from the backlog, forcing Sam to have a license hearing, but secretly arranges for the gaming board and State Senator Harrison Roberts of the State of Nevada (Dick Smothers) to reject the license. Sam responds by appearing on television and openly accuses the city government of corruption. The bosses, unappreciative of Sam's publicity, ask him to return home, but he stubbornly blames Nicky's reckless lawbreaking for his mess. In a heated argument in the desert, Nicky chastises Sam to never "go over his head".

The bosses soon notice that the suitcases of money from the skim have decreasing amounts of money, meaning that the money counters have begun skimming some for themselves. They put Artie Piscano in charge of overseeing the skims, but he complains about the expensive costs. Despite the bosses warning Piscano not to keep financial records, he secretly starts writing down how much he spends in a ledger. Piscano's rants about the extra work and the costs are overheard by the FBI, who had earlier bugged his grocery store. (Sam mentions that ironically they were looking for evidence on an unrelated crime.) Sam finally reaches the end of his patience with Ginger after she and Lester are in Los Angeles with plans to run away to Europe with his daughter Amy. Sam talks Ginger into bringing Amy back, but her addictions anger Sam so much that he kicks her out of the house. She returns, on Sam's condition that she carry a beeper on her for Sam to contact her whenever he must. Ginger turns to Nicky for help in getting her share of her and Sam's money from the bank, and they begin a sexual affair, which according to mob rules, could get the two of them killed (as well as Nicky's crew for covering it up). Sam reaches his limit with Ginger when she ties Amy to her bedposts to have a night with Nicky. Sam confronts Ginger in the restaurant and disowns her. She turns to Nicky, but he has lost patience with her as well. The next morning, Ginger goes to Sam's house, creates a domestic disturbance, and uses the distraction to take the key to their bank deposit box. She takes some of the savings, but is then arrested by FBI agents.

With Ginger's arrest and the FBI's discovery of Piscano's records, which are then matched with the skimming operation, the casino empire crumbles and the bosses are arrested. During a meeting, they decide to eliminate anyone involved in order to keep them from testifying. The slain include Andy Stone, the head of the Teamsters Pension Fund; John Nance, the money courier; and three casino executives. Ginger, who runs away from Sam to Los Angeles, sinks deeper into drug and alcohol addiction and dies almost penniless of a drug overdose. During the voiceover Sam comments that he had a second autopsy done on Ginger, and she died from "...a hot dose..." implying that she was also deliberately killed.

Nicky and his brother, Dominick, arrange a clandestine meeting in a cornfield, but are suddenly turned on and severely beaten with baseball bats by their own crew. Nicky is restrained while Dominick is beaten unconscious, then he is next. The brothers are stripped and buried in a freshly dug grave while still breathing. Sam narrates that the bosses ordered the hit on account of being fed up with Nicky's hotheadedness and disregard for order, and apparently granted Nicky's crew clemency in exchange for it.

Returning to the film's opening scene, Sam survives the car bomb, but knows that the bosses were not responsible for it. With the mob now out of power, the old casinos are purchased by big corporations and demolished to make way for much gaudier gambling attractions financed by junk bonds. Sam laments that this new "family friendly" Las Vegas lacks the same kind of catering to the players than the older and, to his perception, classier Vegas he saw when he ran the Tangiers. In the final scene, an older Sam is shown living in San Diego, once again as a sports handicapper for the mob, or in his words, "...right back where I started".

Succes 2011: Ulrich Walter, astronaut german

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hans Walter is a German physicist/engineer and a former DFVLR astronaut.

Walter was born in Iserlohn, Germany. After finishing secondary school there and two years in the Bundeswehr, he studied physics at the University of Cologne. In 1980, he was awarded a diploma degree, and five years later a doctorate, both in the field of solid state physics.

After two post-doc positions at the Argonne National Laboratory, Chicago, Illinois, and the University of California at Berkeley, California, he was selected in 1987 to join the German astronaut team. From 1988 to 1990, he completed basic training at the German German Aerospace Center, and was then nominated to be in the prime crew for the second German Spacelab mission.

In 1993, he flew on board the Space Shuttle Columbia on mission STS-55 (Spacelab D-2) as a Payload Specialist. He spent 9 days, 23 hours, and 40 minutes in space.

After his spaceflight. he worked for another four years at DLR, managing a space imaging database project. When the German astronaut team was merged into a European Space Agency, he did not transfer, but resigned to work at IBM Germany.

Since 2003, he has been a full professor at the Technische Universität München (Munich, Germany), holding the chair for spacefare technology at the University's faculty of mechanical engineering.

He is author of several books, and also does work as presenter of a popular science magazine show on Bavarian TV.

Succes 2011: Prem Joshua, pioneer of World Fusion Music. Multi-instrumentalist and composer. Sitar expert

Prem Joshua (Hindi: प्रेम जोशुआ) is a German musician, active since 1991.

Born in Germany, Joshua learned the flute at the age of five and played the flute and the saxophone for various local bands. At the age of 18, he traveled overland to India studying the indigenous folk music of countries along the way. Joshua was the name his parents gave him, he later added Prem to it, dropping the family name, to remind him of the essence of love (Prem literally means love in Hindi).

On reaching India, Joshua learned to play the sitar from Ustad Usman Khan and Osho. Osho inspired him and his music. His website states that "In the presence of this man with a long white beard, eyes as deep as the ocean and a strong sense of humor, he came in touch with the art of the “inner music” - Silence. This was really coming home!"



Throughout his career, he has experimented with various forms of music, creating a blend of the East and the West. He has also worked extensively with other producers, making remixes of his own songs and infusing traditional Hindustani acoustic instruments with lounge and trance beats. His music has immensely contributed to the Asian Underground and fusion scene.

In 1991, Joshua launched his first project, “Terra Incognita”, with Kora player, Ravi, and British Sarod player, Chinmaya Dunster, with which he released two albums. He subsequently released four solo albums and formed the band, “Hamsafar”, with which he released one album. Following this, Joshua began to experiment with genres like drum and bass, lounge, and trance, while still focusing on traditional Hindustani music.

Despite this breaking of boundaries, Prem Joshua’s ‘World of Fusion’ nevertheless retains a deep reverence towards its musical roots. One hears Indian temple chants with reminiscences of urban jazz; sufi poems set to reggae rhythms; unfettered and complex Indian classical music on sitar and tabla… and soaring melodies on the bamboo flute over driving trance loops sending the listener effortlessly spinning into dervish-like heights of ecstasy.

For his timely interpretation of the music traditions of the East, Prem Joshua has been especially honored in India. His music seems to touch the “mood of the moment” and one hears his music everywhere - from the Himalayas in the north, down to Delhi and Bombay, then south to the beaches of Goa and Kerala. The foremost Indian newspaper - the Times of India - has even lauded him as the 'New Guru of World Fusion Music’.

In 2005 his band played live on 'MTV Asia'.
In 2006 he and his band gave a private performance for the President of Malaysia.
In 2007 Joshua received the award "Best Film Music on Indian TV" at the Indian TV Awards in Mumbai. And more recently his band performed for the President of India, the Prime Minister of India, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and legendary Indian singers, Asha Bhonsle and Lata Mangeshkar.

Today he is the number one best-selling World Music artist in India. However, his music is not only appreciated in the East. It has also ‘come West’. Most notably, in 2007 his band gave a private concert for the UK’s Prince Edward at the Royal Palace in London - and the 'BBC' nominated him for their ‘World music listeners award.’

Always a passionate live performer, Joshua tours the globe with his band for almost 10 months each year and is as much at home on the stages of Bombay and Dubai as in the clubs of New York and Paris. For the last 15 years he has shared the stage with internationally acclaimed musicians from East and West, and has performed in India, the Middle East, South East Asia, USA, Japan, Israel and all over Europe.

Succes 2011: Jim Bagnola, coach motivaţional al NASA. Expert aflat în topul mondial al celor mai bine cotaţi speakeri în materie de leadership

Jim Bagnola este Senior Partner la The Leadership Group, activand ca expert motivational din 1974. Cu peste 30 de experienta el este un coach authentic si unul din cei mai cunoscuti speaker internationali, ocupand locul 26 la nivel mondial conform Leadership Gurus, topul celor mai bine cotati speakeri in materie de leadership.

În Romania, Jim Bagnola a fost apreciat de peste 30 de companii lider de piata printre care Administratia Prezidentiala, Alliantz Tiriac, GFK, Lafarge, Leaders Romania, McCann Erickson, OMV, Solectron, ASE. In mediul international a ajutat multinationale ca Shell Oil Company, Kroger Company, Siemens, dar si organizatii ca NASA, NATO si Departamentul de Stat al SUA.

Cele doua evenimente se adreseaza Middle si Top managementului, manageri de comunicare si PR, companiilor mici si medii, antreprenorilor si persoanelor care aspira la o pozitie de conducere. Organizatorii acestui eveniment sunt HPDI (Human Performance Development International) si LEADERS Romania. Photo: jimbagnola.ro

Jim Bagnola’s expertise and passion is in the field of leadership and body-mind management with emphasis on the influence of thinking patterns on health, happiness, success, and the capacity to lead.

He has been speaking and educating worldwide—on six continents, as well as across the United States for over twenty-five years.

Jim’s workshop topics include Leadership, Stress Management, Customer Service, Coaching Skills, and Change—all in relation to “The Secrets of the Mind-Body Connection.” He inspires listeners to turn within and awaken to the reality of their own greatness. Jim’s goal is simple: to build Professional Human Beings.

Born in Canton, Ohio, and now residing in Austin, Texas, Jim has traveled to more than 70 countries for both adventure and work. He is an avid sports fan, health enthusiast, and lifelong reader.

He was educated in political science and communications at the University of Akron and has been a certified stress-management instructor since 1975. He is also an executive coach to Fortune 500 company leaders.

He has had varied professions throughout his life: He owned his own business, held corporate VP positions, served on university administrations, and managed world-famous magician, Doug Henning.

Jim is a member of the National Speakers Association and has earned the designation of Certified Speaking Professional, which qualifies him as one of North America’s top-rated speakers. Fewer than five hundred professional speakers worldwide have been awarded this designation.

He is also currently a senior partner with the consulting firm, The Leadership Group, and is a visiting faculty member of Western Management Development Center in Denver. He sits on the board of advisors for Leaders Romania and gives much of his time as a frequent lecturer for AIESEC, an international educational foundation based in Rotterdam. He is also a member of the board of trustees of Olive Branch Foundation in Ohio.

Jim highly values his on-going opportunity of influencing and interacting meaningfully with thousands of people in both private- and public-sector organizations, including Shell Oil Company, Kroger Company, U.S. Department of State, Department of the Air Force, NASA, NATO, and United Nations.

The Curious Case of Brad Pitt. A sex-symbol waiting for an Oscar

William Bradley „Brad” Pitt (n. 18 decembrie 1963) este un actor american, producător de film și activist social. A devenit celebru la mijlocul anilor 1990 după ce a interpretat rolurile principale din filmele Interviu cu un vampir în 1994 și Seven în 1995. Pitt a fost nominalizat la Premiile Oscar pentru rolul său din filmul Twelve Monkeys din 1996 și pentru rolul din Strania poveste a lui Benjamin Button din 2009. El a fost etichetat ca fiind unul dintre cei mai atrăgători bărbați din industria filmului.

În timp ce se chinuia să se stabilească în Los Angeles, Pitt a luat lecții de actorie de la actorul Roy London. A avut diverse profesii ocazionale, fiind pentru o perioadă șofer și purtând costumul cocoșului "EL Pollo Loco" pentru a-și plăti lecțiile. Cariera pe ecran a lui Pitt a început în 1987 cu roluri minore în filmele No Way Out, No Man's Land și Less Than Zero. Debutul său la televiziune a fost în noiembrie, același an, cu apariția specială în sitcomul Growing Pains, de pe ABC.

A apărut în patru episoade din serialul Dallas, de pe CBS, între Decembrie 1987 și Februarie 1988, cu rolul lui Randy, iubitul lui Charlie Wade (interpretat de Shalane McCall). Pitt și-a descris caracterul ca fiind un iubit idiot care este prins în faptă. Discutând despre scenele sale cu McCall, Pitt a spus mai târziu că era cam sălbatic, pentru că eu nu aș fi întâlnit-o vreodată înainte. Mai târziu în 1988, Pitt a avut un rol surpziă în drama 21 Jump Street, de pe canalul Fox. În același an, co-producția Iugoslavia-US The Dark Side of the Sun, 1988, i-a dat lui Pitt primul său rol principal într-un film, interpretând un tânăr american dus de familia sa la Marea Adriatică, pentru a-i trata boala de piele. Totuși, filmul a fost pus deoparte datorită Războiului de Independență Croat și a fost lansat tocmai în 1997.

Pitt a avut două roluri în 1989: primul, într-un rol din comedia Happy Together; al doilea, un rol în filmul horror Cutting Class, primul dintre filmele în care a jucat Pitt și care a fost jucat pe scena teatrelor. A mai avut roluril în serialele TV Head of the Class, Freddy's Nightmares, Thirthysomething și, pentru a doua oară, Growing Pains. Pitt a jucat rolul lui Billy Canton, un dependent de droguri care profită de o tânără fugară, jucată de Juliette Lewis, în 1990, în filmul TV de pe NBC, Too Young to Die?, povestea unui adolescent abuzat, condamnat la moarte pentru crimă. Ken Tucker, recenzor pentru Enterainment Weekly, a scris: Pitt este, în rolul iubitului ei, un gunoi magnific; arătând și sunând ca un pizmaș John Cougar Mellencamp, e chiar înfricoșător. În același an, Pitt a jucat în șase episoade în scurt-metrajul de pe canalul Fox, drama Glory Days și a luat în sprijinire rolul în filmul The Image, de pe HBO. Următoarea sa apariție a fost în 1991, în filmul Across the Tracks; Pitt l-a impersonat pe Joe MAloney, un director de liceu cu un frate criminal, interpretat de Ricky Schroder. După ani de roluri ajutătoare în filme și apariții surpriză în seriale TV, publicul de peste graniță l-a recunoscut pe Pitt cu rolul său în filmul din 1991, Thelma & Louise. El a avut rolul lui J.D., un hoț mărunt care o ocrotea pe Thelma (Geena Davis). Scena în care el făcea dragoste cu Davis a fost citat ca fiind momentul în care Brad Pitt a fost văzut ca un sex-simbol.

După Thelma & Louise, Pitt a apărut în rol principal în filmul din 1991 Johny Suede, un film cu buget redus despre un star rock ce aspiră la faimă, și în filmul din 1992, Cold World, deși niciunul dintre acestea nu i-au furnizat lui Pitt succes necesar carierei acestuia, datorită recenziilor negative primite la box office. Pitt a obținut rolul lui Paul Maclean, în filmul biografic din 1992, A River Runs Through It, regizat de Robert Redford. Portretizarea caracterului a fost descrisă ca fiind una făcătoare de carieră, în sensul de a-l ajuta în ascensiunea sa ca actor, demonstrând că Pitt poate fi mai mult decât un cow-boy urât de toți, deși el a recunoscut că a fost sub presiune atunci când a făcut filmul.

Pitt a mai adăugat că a fost una dintre cele mai slabe performanțe ale sale și este ciudat că a fost singurul rol pentru care i-a fost acordată atâta atenție. Pitt a crezut că a avut de câștigat de pe urma colaborării cu o echipă atât de talentată, mergând până la a-l compara pe Redford tenis, spunând când joci cu cineva mai bun decât tine, stilul tău de a juca se îmbunătățește. În 1993, Pitt s-a reunit cu Juliette Lewis, co-star din Too Young to Die?, pentru filmul Kalifornia. El a avut rolul lui Early Grace, un criminal în serie și iubitul personajului Lewisei, cu o performanță pe care Peter Travers, jurnalist la Rolling Stone, a descris-o ca fiind "extraordinară, tot șarmul băiețesc, pentru ca apoi acesta să devină amenințare pură". Pitt a atras de asemenea atenția printr-o scurtă apariție în True Romance, cu rolul unui pietrar pe nume Floyd, aducând mult căutatul umor pentru filmul de acțiune, echilibrând astfel acțiunea filmului. A atins topul în anul respectiv prin câștigarea premiului ShoWest Award for Male Star of Tomorrow.

În 1995, a primit critici de succes pentru thrillerul Seven și SF-ul Twelve Monkeys, mai târziu aducându-i Globul de Aur pentru Best Supporting Actor și nominalizarea la Academy Award. In acelasi an a jucat alaturi de Anthony Hopkins in "Legendele toamnei" Patru ani mai târziu, în 1999, Pitt a jucat în filmul de succes Fight Club. In 1998 primeste rolul lui Joe Black din filmul "Meet Joe Black", jucand din nou alaturi de Anthony Hopkins.

Brad Pitt a avut 2 roluri principale în 2004 începand cu Ahile din filmul Troia și continuându-și succesul cu rolul Rusty Ryan în continuarea filmului Ocean's Twelve. El a petrecut 6 luni numai ca să se antreneze cu sabia, special pentru rolul din Troia. Cu un câștig de 497 de milioane de dolari în toată lumea, Troia rămâne cel mai mare succes comercial a lui Pitt. Filmul a reușit să câstige 133 milioane de dolari în Statele Unite și 364 milioane de dolari în restul lumii. Stephen Hunter a specificat că Pitt a reușit să se ridice la așteptări într-un rol așa de solicitant.

În 2005 Brad a început filmările pentru comedia Mr. & Mrs. Smith în care acțiunea principală se bazează pe o familie complet plictisitoare care era alcătuită din domnul Smith (Bradd Pit) și doamna Smith (Angelina Jolie).Amândoi descoperă În mod șocant că fiecare este un asasin plătit să îl omoare pe celălalt. Acest film a reușit să strângă 478 de milioane de dolari apropiindu-se de recordul deținut de rolul său din filmul Troia.

In 2006 Brad Pitt a fost repartizat în drama Babel. Filmul a fost lansat cu ocazia festivalului de film de la Cannes din 2006.

În 2007 el a fost distribuit în deja binecunoscutul rol Rusty Ryan în continuarea filmului Ocean's Thirteen.Apoi el și-a continuat cariera cinematografică în The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford adaptată după romanul lui Ron Hansen din 1983 cu același nume.

În 2008 el a avut rolul principal în filmul "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".

Pitt deține o companie de producție numită Plan B Entertainment, care a produs filmul The Departed, în 2007, ce a câștigat premiul Academy Award pentru Best Picture și nominalizare pentru premiul BAFTA.

Sin City: Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro, Rosario Dawson, Clive Owen & Bruce Willis

Sin City is the title for a series of neo-noir comics by Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in "Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special" (April, 1991), and continued in Dark Horse Presents #51–62 from May 1991 to June 1992, under the title of Sin City, serialized in thirteen parts. Several other stories of variable lengths have followed. All stories take place in Basin City, with frequent recurring characters and intertwining stories.

A movie adaptation of Sin City, co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller with "special guest director" Quentin Tarantino, was released on April 1, 2005. A planned sequel was announced soon after, but has since been delayed indefinitely.

Basin City, almost universally referred to by the nickname Sin City, is a fictional town in the American west. The climate is hot and arid, although Sacred Oaks is characterized as being heavily wooded. A major river runs through the city, which has an extensive waterfront. Usually twice a year, a major downpour comes, and (in That Yellow Bastard) the city gets heavy snowfall in the winter. In the comics, Basin City has a surreal, Pan-American feel. Desert lizards and palm trees are common, while tar pits, desert areas, mountain ranges and flat farmland make up the landscape around the city.

The Basin City Police are more or less along the lines of paramilitary or SWAT, as they have to deal with incredibly high crime rates among criminals and civilians alike, which is why they have access to what most would consider "heavy weaponry" and full body armor. Those who make up the force have been described as commonly being lazy, cowardly and/or corrupt. Only a handful of the cops are honest, though frequently the wealthy of the city bribe the corrupt members of the police into performing their duty (usually as a result of some crime being committed (or threatened) against a member of their family).

During the California Gold Rush, the Roark family "imported" a large number of attractive women to keep the miners happy, making a fortune and turning a struggling mining camp into a thriving, bustling city. Over the years, as the Roark family migrated into other areas of business and power, these women ended up forming the district of Old Town, the prostitute quarter of the city where they rule with absolute authority. In addition, the people charged with governing the city, most of them from the Roark line, remained in power for generations, running it as they saw fit.

As the various yarns progress, the audience gradually becomes familiar with key locations in and around Basin City.

* The Projects, the run-down and poor side of Sin City, is a tangle of high-rise apartments where crime runs rampant. Its inhabitants have apparently evolved their own independent society with almost no legal contact with the outside world. Marv was born in the Projects and they make Dwight sick.
* The Docks, a collection of wharfs and warehouses that are local to the Projects. Hartigan and Roark Junior have their first confrontation here in That Yellow Bastard, and Marv drives a stolen police car off one of the piers at the beginning of The Hard Goodbye.
* Kadie's Club Pecos, a strip club/bar where Nancy Callahan and Shellie work, and Dwight McCarthy and Marv hang out. Though filled almost solely with drunk and violent men, Kadie's bar is one of the safest areas in Sin City. Marv, who possesses an extraordinarily high sense of chivalry, protects the female employees of Kadie's from any violence that makes its way inside.

* Roark Family Farm (a.k.a. "The Farm") is located at North Cross and Lennox and shows up in several stories, including The Hard Goodbye, That Yellow Bastard, The Babe Wore Red and Hell and Back. It was also home to Kevin, a serial killer with ties to the Roark family. Marv burns down one of the buildings, and the Farm is abandoned sometime after the initial Sin City storyline.
* Old Town is the red-light district and is off limits to the police, unless they're 'shopping'. This is where the city's population of prostitutes reside; it recently came under the control of the twins Goldie and Wendy. Though perfectly willing to engage in almost any sexual act for the right price, the women of Old Town show no mercy to those who "break the rules" and back up their independence with lethal force. The mob and pimps were thrown out after a period of fighting.
* Sacred Oaks, home to the rich and powerful of Basin City. This suburb lies beyond the city proper, a half an hour drive uphill. A university of some sort is also located there, and the entire area is patrolled by armed employees of its wealthy inhabitants.
* Basin City Central Train Station, which has a direct connection to Phoenix.
* The Santa Yolanda Tar Pits, an abandoned amusement park of sorts outside the city, where several tar pits are located and dinosaur bones were excavated at some time. After a 'big-budget dinosaur movie' (presumably a reference to Jurassic Park) caused a sensation, the county put up concrete statues of dinosaurs there to draw crowds. However, after an old lady fell through a railing into one of the pits and had a heart attack, the place was shut down indefinitely. They are frequently used as a place to dump things that people don't want found; high-schoolers also tend to sneak in there a lot. This is where Delia tells Phil to drive in Wrong Turn and where Dwight takes the corpses of Jackie Boy and his friends in The Big Fat Kill. Frank Miller has admitted the main reason the Tar Pits exist is as an excuse to draw the dinosaur statues.

Succes 2011: Marco Lazzara, contratenor italian

Marco Lazzara (born 1962) is an Italian countertenor who sings a wide-ranging repertoire from baroque composers to those of the 20th century and has performed in a number of notable premieres and revivals of rarely performed operas.He has recorded widely on the Bongiovanni, Ricordi, Nuova Era, Forlane, Opera Rara and Dynamic labels.

Lazzara received diplomas in piano, organ, harpsichord and singing, followed by studies at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, and made his professional debut in 1989. In the field of baroque music, Lazzara has sung as a leading soloist with the Alessandro Stradella Consort in a series of performances and world premiere recordings, including, Stradella's Il barcheggio, Moro per amore, and Esule dalle sfere and Nicola Porpora's Dorindo dormi ancor? on the Bongiovanni label. He also appears in the world premiere recording of Niccolò Piccinni's Salve Regina and Dixit Dominus on Bongiovanni. Lazzara was the first countertenor to sing the role of Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice in Italy with a series of 1996 performances in Mantua, Pisa and Ravenna. In 2001, he sang the title role of Antonio Cesti's Il Tito in its first modern revival since 1983. The production at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants premiered a newly edited score by music scholar Alan Curtis.

In the bel canto repertoire, Lazzara sang the role of Lurcanio in Simone Mayr's Ginevra di Scozia in a series of performances (and world premiere recording) in April 2001 at the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste to mark the bicentenary of the opera's premiere and its first performance in modern times. Lazzara has also recorded an album of arias and duets by Rossini with Annick Massis (Duo d'amore) on the Forlane label, and a solo album of arias and songs by Bellini on the Dynamic label. The latter contains the first recording of Francesco Florimo's "Tu che al pianger" based on a theme from Bellini's La straniera.

Lazzara's performances in 20th century works include the role of Edgar in the Italian premiere of Aribert Reimann's Lear at the Teatro Regio di Torino in October 2001; Manichino di Donna in the world premiere of Azio Corghi's Il Dissoluto Assolto at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon in March 2006 (reprised for its Italian premiere at La Scala the following September); Il delegato in the world premiere of Bruno de Franceschi's Il paradiso degli esuli (Pisa, 27 October 1994);[10] and Sesto Simbolo in the world premiere of Adriano Guarnieri's Pietra di diaspro at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma on 10 June 2007 (reprised for the Ravenna Festival later that year). Lazzara has also performed as a soloist in Giacomo Manzoni's Trame d'Ombre (Webs of Shadows) at Carnegie Hall (April 2000)and in the first Italian performance of Alfred Schnittke's cantata based on the Faust legend, Seid nüchtern und wachet. The latter performance was broadcast live by RAI Radio 3 on 22 April 2007.

Succes 2011: Niki Lauda, a living Formula 1 legend

Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (n. 22 februarie 1949) este un om de afaceri austriac și fost pilot de Formula 1, campion mondial în anii 1975, 1977 și 1984.

Dupa prima sa retragere din Formula 1 a fondat linia aeriana Lauda Air, care a devenit in timp una din cele mai mari linii aeriene din lume. Lauda a fost unul din primii piloti ale propriilor avioane.

În anul 1982 când s-a reîntors în Formula 1 după o absență de două sezoane a devenit primul pilot din lume plătit cu peste 1 milion de dolari pe sezon de către echipa sa.
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (born February 22, 1949 in Vienna) is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.

Born in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy family. Although it is often reported in Spain that his paternal grandfather was Juan Lauda Crespo, from Galicia, according to Austrian sources his paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born businessman Hans Lauda.

Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. His career seemed to be going nowhere in particular until he took out a large bank loan, secured by a life insurance policy, to buy his way into the fledgling March team as a Formula 2 (F2) driver in 1971. He was quickly promoted to the F1 team and drove for March in both F1 and F2 in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's test-driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic and Lauda, in despair and deep debt, briefly contemplated suicide but finally took out yet another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick but the team was in decline; his big break came when his BRM team-mate Clay Regazzoni rejoined Ferrari in 1974 and team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke favourably of Lauda, so Ferrari promptly went and signed him, paying Niki enough to clear his debts.
After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his début race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – followed only three races later in Spain. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car.

The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda, but after nothing better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races he then won four out of the next five races in the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP. He also became the first and only driver to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under 7 minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nürburgring was 2 miles longer than it is today.

Unlike 1975, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It would be a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963.

A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the fearsome Nürburgring, (even though he was the fastest driver on the circuit at that time) Lauda tried to boycott the circuit, largely due to the safety arrangements. Most of the other drivers voted against it and the race went ahead. On the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda's Ferrari swerved off the track, due to a suspected rear suspension failure, hit an embankment and rolled back into the path of Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Lauda's Ferrari burst into flames, but, unlike Lunger, he was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Brett Lunger, Guy Edwards and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before they and Lunger were able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma.

Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns, which became possibly his most famous attribute in the eyes of the public. He only had enough reconstructive surgery to get his eyelids to work properly, but never felt a need to do any more. His right ear is mostly gone. Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising.

With Lauda out of the contest, Ferrari boycotted the Austrian GP in protest at what they saw a preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British GPs. Carlos Reutemann was even taken on as a potential replacement.

Lauda returned to race only six weeks (two races) later, finishing fourth in the Italian GP. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had reduced his lead in the World Championship standings. Following wins in the Canadian and United States GPs, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese GP.

Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after 2 laps, stating that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions. Hunt led much of the race before a late puncture dropped him down the order. He recovered to 3rd, thus winning the title by a single point. In spite of this, Lauda's move is seen as one of the bravest examples in motor racing.

Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the race, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left early due to the team's decision to run the then unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Having joined Brabham in 1978 for a $1 million salary, Lauda endured two unsuccessful seasons, notable mainly for his one race in the Brabham BT46B, a radical design known as the Fan Car: it won its first race, but Brabham did not use the car in F1 again, not wanting the car to be banned outright. At the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda informed B

rabham owner Bernie Ecclestone that he wished to retire immediately, as he had no more desire to "drive around in circles". Lauda, who had founded a charter airline, returned to Austria to run the company full-time.

Needing money to shore up his new business, in 1982 Lauda returned to racing, feeling that he still had a career in Formula One. After a successful test with McLaren, the only problem was in convincing then team sponsor Marlboro that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was still quite capable when, in his third race back, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix. Lauda won a third world championship in 1984 by half a point over teammate Alain Prost, due to only half points being awarded for the shortened 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. His Austrian Grand Prix victory that year is the most recent time an Austrian has won his home Grand Prix.

1985 was a poor season for Lauda, with thirteen retirements from the sixteen races. He did manage 4th at the 1985 San Marino Grand Prix, 5th at the 1985 German Grand Prix, and a single race win at the 1985 Dutch Grand Prix. This proved to be his last Grand Prix victory and also the last Formula One Grand Prix held in the Netherlands. He retired for good at the end of that season.

Lauda returned to running his airline, Lauda Air, on his second Formula One retirement in 1985. During his time as airline manager, he was appointed consultant at Ferrari as part of an effort by Montezemolo to rejuvenate the team.[8] Ousted from his airline by boardroom politics after a sale to majority partner Austrian Airlines in 1999, he managed the Jaguar Formula One racing team from 2001 to 2002. In late 2003, he started a new airline, Niki. Lauda holds a commercial pilot's license and from time to time acts as a captain on the flights of his airline.

He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and since 1996 has provided commentary on Grands Prix for Austrian and German television on RTL. He was, however, rapped for calling Robert Kubica a "polack" on air in May 2010 at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Niki Lauda has written five books: The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (titled Formula 1: The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving in some markets) (1975); My Years With Ferrari (1978); The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984); Meine Story (titled To Hell and Back in some markets) (1986); Das dritte Leben (1996). Lauda credits Austrian journalist Herbert Volker with editing the books.

Lauda is sometimes known by the nickname "the rat" or "SuperRat" because of his prominent bucked teeth. He has been associated with both Parmalat and Viessmann, sponsoring his ever faithful 'cappy' from 1976 onwards, used to hide the severe burns he sustained in his 1976 accident. Lauda admitted in a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit that an advertiser currently pays €1.2m for the space on his famous red cap.

In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 22nd on their top drivers of all-time. In 2005 the Austrian post office issued a stamp honouring him.

Lauda had two sons with his first wife, Marlene: Mathias, a racing driver himself, and Lukas, his brother's manager. They divorced in 1991. He also has an illegitimate son, Christoph. In 2008 he married Birgit, who was 30 years his junior and was formerly a stewardess for his airline. She had also donated a kidney to Lauda when the kidney he received in a transplant from his brother years earlier failed. In September 2009 Birgit gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.

Succes 2011: Peter Wingfield (Highlander, 24)

Peter Wingfield (born 5 September 1962) is a Welsh born television actor, well known for his television roles as Dan Clifford in Holby City, Dr. Robert Helm in Queen of Swords and Inspector Simon Ross in Cold Squad. But he is internationally best known for his role as the 5000-year-old Immortal Methos in the hit syndicated series Highlander: The Series.

Wingfield was born in Cardiff and grew up in the Grangetown community, a good student, initially educated at The Cathedral School, Llandaff he enjoyed athletics, music, outdoor activities, and drama. At the age of fifteen he was the Welsh National Trampoline champion. After his A-levels he entered Brasenose College, Oxford, and in 1982 began medical training at the prestigious St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. His time, however, was not devoted solely to medicine. In 1980 he spent his summer break at the National Youth Theatre of Wales where he discovered the sense of camaraderie and belonging that characterise truly outstanding acting troupes. His four-week stint with this youth theatre changed him in ways he didn’t fully appreciate at the time, but which were to have a lasting impact. He also worked during his college years at the Brasenose Little Theatre, both performing in, and producing, a variety of plays.

Shortly before completing his fifth and final year at St Bartholomew’s in 1987, Wingfield realised that the practice of modern medicine was not for him.One month before he was due to graduate, he made the decision to leave medical school and pursue acting as a full-time career.
Wingfield began his formal acting training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, coincidentally located just across the street from St Bart’s Hospital in London. His training covered the range of an actor’s repertoire, including voice, movement, and the acting skills necessary to be successful in arenas ranging from radio to mime. Peter was chosen in 1990 to compete for the BBC’s Carleton Hobbs Award for radio, which he won.

In 1990, shortly after leaving drama school, he landed his first television acting part as a taxi driver in the film Antonia and Jane. The qualification that led to his selection for the part was that he knew how to drive.

Wingfield appeared regularly on British television, and starred in numerous productions. His last major role in British television was as Tom Kirby in the series Noah’s Ark in 1997. Portraying a vet in the series, Wingfield had to take medication to combat his animal allergies. One positive outcome of this short-lived series is that the constant exposure to animals has apparently reduced his allergic reactions.

In the late 1990s Peter played Simon Pemberton in BBC Radio 4's serial The Archers.
A large international audience came to know him as Methos, the oldest living Immortal in Highlander: The Series. Since that series ended, Wingfield has appeared in numerous North American television productions for both Canadian and U.S. companies, including the portrayal of Dr Robert Helm on Fireworks Entertainment production's syndicated show Queen of Swords filmed at Texas Hollywood studios, Tabernas southern Spain home of the spaghetti western. A Canadian/Spanish/United Kingdom production. He reprised his role as Methos in Highlander: Endgame in 2000.

In addition to Antonia and Jane, Wingfield has appeared in the feature films X2: X-Men United, Highlander: Endgame (reprising the role of Methos), The Edge of Madness, Baby Geniuses 2, Catwoman and Uncovered. He also appeared on Stargate SG-1 as Tanith, and as Lach on Andromeda's fourth season episode The Others. Another notable appearance was in the TV movie Halloweentown 2: The Rise of Kalabar, where he played Alex. He also recently appeared in episodes of Caprica on the SyFy Channel.

While filming the fifth Highlander movie Highlander: The Source, Wingfield related his love for Methos:
“And I have to say, the first day of filming was unexpectedly emotional for me. As I put on the long black coat and drove to the set in the pre-dawn gloom, I could feel the presence of an old friend I have not seen for some years now. Really, in a very physical way, I could 'feel' him. And I was overwhelmed, possessed even, by the sense of him, tears welling up in my eyes as I formed the words in my head, over and over again, "Methos is alive."

From August 2006 to October 2007, he appeared in the BBC medical drama Holby City, playing General Surgical Consultant Daniel Clifford.

Although officially retired as a Trampoline National Champion, Wingfield is still a focused athlete. He runs as often as his schedule allows, his most recent major run being the New York City ING Marathon in November, 2009, which he ran in support of UNICEF.

Wingfield played the recurring role of David Emerson on Season 7 of the Fox TV series 24, which premiered on 11 January 2009. He also played Dr. Watson on the science fiction series Sanctuary.

In 2010, Wingfield starred in the remake of Riverworld for the SyFy Channel, playing Sir Richard Francis Burton. He also played Dr. John Trousdale in the Syfy original film Stonehenge Apocalypse. He also had guest roles in Human Target and NCIS Los Angeles.