Succes 2011: Claire Martin, english jazz singer. Winner of British Jazz Awards and BBC Jazz Awards for Best Vocalist

Claire Martin is an English jazz singer, born in Wimbledon, South London, England.
Claire Martin grew up in a house "full of music", and claims to have learned all of Judy Garland´s songs by the time she was 12. She cites Ella Fitzgerald´s Song Books as being the life changing influence which inspired her to attend Stage School and later to study singing in both New York and London. Her professional career started with her first engagement, aboard the QE2, where she sang in the Theater Bar for two years.

In 1991, at the age of 21, Martin formed her own jazz quartet, and was signed by the Scottish jazz label Linn Records. Her debut album, The Waiting Game, was extremely well reviewed and was selected by The Times as one of their "Albums of the Year". Later that year, she opened for Tony Bennett at the Glasgow International Jazz Festival.

Martin continued performing and recording, garnering numerous awards and rave reviews, throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, including awards from the British Jazz Awards and BBC Jazz Awards for Best Vocalist. She recorded a total of 11 albums (all on the Linn label). Apart from touring Europe, she also works as a co-presenter for Jazz Line Up on BBC Radio 3.

She has collaborated with the jazz composer and performer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett.
Discography

* 1992 The Waiting Game
* 1993 Devil May Care
* 1994 Old Boyfriends
* 1995 Off Beat
* 1997 Make This City Ours
* 1999 Take My Heart
* 2000 Perfect Alibi
* 2001 The Very Best of Claire Martin: Every Now and Then
* 2002 Too Darn Hot
* 2004 Secret Love
* 2005 When Lights Are Low
* 2007 He Never Mentioned Love
* 2009 A Modern Art

Succes 2011: Béla Lugosi Jr, fiul celebrului "vampir" hollywoodian născut la Lugoj

Bela George Lugosi also known as Bela Lugosi, Jr. is the son of Béla Lugosi. A California attorney, his legal actions in Lugosi v. Universal Pictures, led to the creation of the California Celebrities Rights Act. He was an executive at Comedy III Productions, which owned the licensing rights to the Three Stooges.

Béla Lugosi, Jr. has been among those who felt notorious filmmaker Edward D. Wood, Jr. exploited his father's stardom, taking advantage of the fading actor when he could not refuse any work.
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (20 October 1882 – 16 August 1956) commonly known as Béla Lugosi, was an actor of stage and screen. He was best known for playing Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version. In the last years of his career he was featured in several of Ed Wood's low budget films.
Through his association with Dracula (in which he appeared with minimal makeup, using his natural, heavily accented voice), Lugosi found himself typecast as a horror villain in such movies as Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Raven, and Son of Frankenstein for Universal, and the independent White Zombie. His accent, while a part of his image, limited the roles he could play.

Lugosi did attempt to break type by auditioning for other roles. He lost out to Lionel Barrymore for the role of Rasputin in Rasputin and the Empress; C. Henry Gordon for the role of Surat Khan in Charge of the Light Brigade; Basil Rathbone for the role of Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko in Tovarich (a role Lugosi had played on stage). He did play the elegant, somewhat hot-tempered Gen. Nicholas Strenovsky-Petronovich in International House.

It is an erroneous popular belief that Lugosi declined the offer to appear in Frankenstein due to make-up (other roles he desired which also required make-up were Cyrano de Bergerac and Quasimodo the bell ringing hunchback). Lugosi may not have been happy with the onerous makeup job and lack of dialogue.


Regardless of controversy, five films at Universal — The Black Cat, The Raven, The Invisible Ray, Son of Frankenstein, Black Friday (plus minor cameo performances in 1934's Gift of Gab) and one at RKO Pictures, The Body Snatcher — paired Lugosi with Boris Karloff. Despite the relative size of their roles, Lugosi inevitably got second billing, below Karloff. Lugosi's attitude toward Karloff is the subject of contradictory reports, some claiming that he was openly resentful of Karloff's long-term success and ability to get good roles beyond the horror arena, while others suggested the two actors were — for a time, at least — good friends. Karloff himself in interviews suggested that Lugosi was initially mistrustful of him when they acted together, believing that the Englishman would attempt to upstage him. When this proved not to be the case, according to Karloff, Lugosi settled down and they worked together amicably (though some have further commented that Karloff's on-set demand to break from filming for mid-afternoon tea annoyed Lugosi).

Universal tried to give Lugosi more heroic roles, as in The Black Cat, The Invisible Ray, and a romantic role in the adventure serial The Return of Chandu, but his typecasting problem was too entrenched for those roles to help.


Lugosi addressed his plea to be cast in non-horror roles directly to casting directors through his listing in the 1937 Players Directory, published by the Motion Picture Academy, in which he (or his agent) calls the idea that he is only fit for horror films "an error."


Mr Bela Lugosi, Jr was kind enough to send me a photo of his father in the role of Dracula, signed by him.

Johnny Depp, un excentric premiat cu Golden Globe şi Screen Actors Guild Award

John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician known for his portrayals of offbeat, eccentric characters in a wide variety of dramas and fantasy films. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for major roles in recent films.

Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, quickly becoming a teen idol. Turning to film, he was notable as the title character of Edward Scissorhands (1990), and later found box office success in films such as Sleepy Hollow (1999), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and Rango (2011).

He has collaborated with director and close friend Tim Burton in seven films, the most recent of which are Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Alice in Wonderland (2010). Depp has gained acclaim for his portrayals of people such as Edward D. Wood, Jr., in Ed Wood, Joseph D. Pistone in Donnie Brasco, Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and George Jung in Blow. More recently, he portrayed the bank robber John Dillinger in Michael Mann's 2009 film Public Enemies.

Films featuring Depp have grossed over $2.6 billion at the United States box office and over $6 billion worldwide. He has been nominated for top awards numerous times; he won the Best Actor Awards from the Golden Globes for his role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and from the Screen Actors Guild for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Depp's first major role was in the 1984 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street, playing the heroine's boyfriend and one of Freddy Krueger's victims. In 1986, he appeared in a secondary role as a Vietnamese-speaking private in Oliver Stone's Platoon. In 1990 he undertook the quirky title role of the Tim Burton film, Edward Scissorhands. The film's success began his long association with Burton.


Depp, a fan and long-time friend of writer Hunter S. Thompson, played a version of Thompson (named Raoul Duke) in 1998's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, based on the writer's pseudobiographical novel of the same name. Depp accompanied Thompson as his road manager on one of the author's last book tours. In 2006, Depp contributed a foreword to Gonzo: Photographs by Hunter S. Thompson, a posthumous biography published by ammobooks.com. Depp paid for most of Thompson's memorial event, complete with fireworks and the shooting of Thompson's ashes by a cannon, in Aspen, Colorado, where Thompson lived.

Critics have described Depp's roles as characters who are "iconic loners." Depp has noted this period of his career was full of "studio defined failures" and films that were "box office poison," but he thought the studios never understood the films and did not do a good job of marketing.Depp has chosen roles which he found interesting, rather than those he thought would succeed at the box office.


The 2003 Walt Disney Pictures film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was a major success, in which Depp's performance as the suave pirate Captain Jack Sparrow was highly praised. Studio bosses were more ambivalent at first, but the character became popular with the movie-going public. According to a survey taken by Fandango, Depp was a major draw for audiences. The film's director, Gore Verbinski, has said that Depp's character closely resembles the actor's personality, but Depp said he modelled the character after Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. Depp was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for the role.

In 2004, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, for playing Scottish author J. M. Barrie in the film Finding Neverland. Depp next starred as Willy Wonka in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a major success at the box office and earning him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.

Depp returned to the role of Jack Sparrow for the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which opened on July 7, 2006 and grossed $135.5 million in the first three days of its U.S. release, breaking a box office record of the highest weekend tally. The next sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean, At World's End, was released May 24, 2007. Depp has said that Sparrow is "definitely a big part of me", and he wants to play the role in further sequels. Depp voiced Sparrow in the video game, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp's swashbuckling sword talents as developed for the character of Jack Sparrow, were highlighted in the documentary film Reclaiming the Blade. Within the film, Swordmaster Bob Anderson shared his experiences working with Depp on the choreography for The Curse of the Black Pearl. Anderson, who also trained Errol Flynn, another famous Hollywood pirate, described in the film Depp's ability as an actor to pick up the sword to be "about as good as you can get."


Depp and Gore Verbinski were executive producers of the album Rogues Gallery, Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys. Depp played the title role of Sweeney Todd in Tim Burton's film adaptation of the musical, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Depp thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and praised Tim Burton for his "unwavering trust and support."




Depp played the former Heath Ledger character in the 2009 film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus along with Jude Law and Colin Farrell. All three actors gave their salaries from the film to Ledger's daughter, Matilda. He portrayed the Mad Hatter in Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and the titular character in Rango.

Liz Hurley: Sensuous, Intuition and Pleasures

Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los Angeles premiere in a plunging black Versace dress held together with gold safety pins, which gained her instant media attention.

Hurley has been associated with the cosmetics company Estée Lauder for over fifteen years since the company awarded Hurley her first modelling job at the age of 29. They have featured her as a representative and model for its products, especially perfumes such as Sensuous, Intuition, and Pleasures, since 1995. As an actress, her best known cinematic works to date have been as Vanessa Kensington in Mike Myers' hit spy comedies, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) and as the Devil in Bedazzled (2000).

Hurley started working as an actress in the late 1980s and became a model in 1995.


Hurley made her first film appearance in Aria (1987). She has since appeared in the movies Passenger 57, EDtv, Bedazzled, and Serving Sara. In 1997, she received her first and only acting award, the ShoWest Supporting Actress of the Year, for her performance in the spy spoof Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. When Hugh Grant founded and became the director of Simian Films in 1994, Hurley was credited as one of the producers for the company's two Grant vehicles, Extreme Measures (1996) and Mickey Blue Eyes (1999). In 2000, she was publicly criticised for breaking a five-month acting strike to film an Estée Lauder advertisement, for which she was fined $100,000 (£70,000 in 2000) by the Screen Actors Guild and labeled "Elizabeth Scably" by protesters.

Hurley is godmother to Patsy Kensit's son Lennon and two of David Beckham and Victoria Beckham's sons.

Internaționali români de fotbal: Ioan Andone, zis Fălcosul

Ioan Andone (n. 15 martie 1960, Șpălnaca, Alba) este un antrenor român de fotbal, care în prezent pregătește echipa FC Dinamo București. În cariera de jucător, a evoluat pentru Echipa națională de fotbal a României la Campionatul Mondial de Fotbal din 1990 și, printre altele, pentru Dinamo București, fiind unul din jucătorii emblematici ai acestei echipe.

A fost component al clubului Corvinul Hunedoara. Din 1983 s-a transferat la FC Dinamo București. Are la activ un număr de 55 de selecții în prima reprezentativă, 255 meciuri în Divizia A și 35 de goluri marcate.


Ca antrenor, Andone a pregătit pînă acum Sportul Studențesc (1993-1994, 1996, 2001-2003), Universitatea Cluj (1994-1996), Petrolul Ploiești (1996-1997), Farul Constanța (1998-1999), FC Brașov (1999-2000), FC Bihor Oradea (2000-2001), Dinamo București (2003-2006), Omonia Nicosia (2006-2007), CFR Cluj (2007-2008), Al-Ettifaq (2008-2009), Al-Ahli (2009), ȚSKA Sofia (2010).

Andone a cîștigat pînă acum eventul cu două formații diferite, cu Dinamo (2004) și CFR Cluj (2008), fiind unul dintre puținii antrenori români care au reușit această performanță. În afară de acestea, a mai cîștigat în 2003 și în 2005 Cupa României cu Dinamo București.



Ioan Andone (born 15 March 1960) is a Romanian football coach and former player, who is the manager of Dinamo Bucureşti.
He made his Divizia A debut with Corvinul Hunedoara in 1979. He later went to Dinamo Bucureşti where he helped win the league title in 1984 and 1990 and the cup title in 1984, 1986 and 1990. In 1990 he was bought by Spanish team Elche for 125.000 $. Then he went on to play two seasons in the Netherlands for SC Heerenveen til 1993 where he finished his playing career.

Andone was capped 55 times and scored 2 goals for the national team, and represented his country at the 1990 World Cup.

CNN's Play Of The Day Hero: Romulus Buia, singurul fotbalist român remarcat la FAZA ZILEI, pe postul tv american CNN

Romulus Buia (born June 15, 1970 in Baia Mare) is a Romanian football player. He was nicknamed "Figo from Berceni" by the fans of Rocar Bucharest which played the home games on a field in the Berceni Neighborhood in Bucharest, because of the similarities with the Portuguese football star Luís Figo.

Buia made his professional debut at the age of 18, playing for Minerul Cavnic in the Romanian Divizia B, before joining FC Baia Mare at the age of 19, a club also from Divizia B.

In 1991, at the age of 21, he made international debut against United States in a friendly game. He also played for Romania national football team in 1992, this time against Mexico.

FC Barcelona paid a close attention to him during the 1991-92 season. In the summer of 1992, Johan Cruijff, the Catalan side coach, invited him to train with the team but in the end the transfer did not materialised.

Buia started the 1992-93 at FC Baia Mare but was then transferred to Germinal Ekeren (3550) of Belgium during the season. He played in Belgium for two years, before being loaned back to Romania, this time at Universitatea Craiova, therefore making his debut in Romanian top league, Divizia A. In 1995 he returned to Ekeren but after at half season he terminated his contract and returned in Romania, signing a contract with Sportul Studenţesc of Bucharest, before joining again Universitatea Craiova for two seasons.

In 1998 his contract with Universitatea Craiova terminated and he failed to find another one with a top team, and therefored played for Progresul Şomcuta Mare, a team from the Romanian fourth division.



In 2000 he returned to Divizia A after signing a contract with Rocar Bucharest. After only a year he joined Dinamo Bucharest but left the team at the end of 2001 to play for Gloria Bistriţa.

In 2002 he was signed by FCU Politehnica Timişoara, where he stayed until 2005, before being sacked by the new Timişoara coach, Cosmin Olăroiu and subsequently joining Pandurii Târgu Jiu.

In the season 2005-06 he played at Minerul Valea Copcii in Liga III before signing for AS Covaci in Romanian Liga IV.

After retiring from professional football, Romulus Buia became a businessman specialising in retail.

World Boxing Champions : Leonard Doroftei versus Paul Spadafora

Leonard Dorin Doroftei (n. 10 aprilie 1970) este un fost pugilist român, campion mondial WBA la categoria semi-ușoară (61,9 kg) între 5 ianuarie 2002 și 24 octombrie 2003.

Născut la Ploiești, Leonard a început să practice boxul la vârsta de 14 ani la clubul Prahova Ploiești. Între 1986 și 1988 a cucerit în fiecare an titlul național la juniori. Mai târziu a obținut cinci titluri naționale la seniori în 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 și 1997. A câștigat medalii de bronz la Jocurile Olimpice de la Barcelona în 1992 și la Atlanta în 1996. De asemenea, a fost campion mondial în 1995 și campion european în 1996 și 1997. Palmaresul său la amatori este de 239 de victorii și 15 înfrângeri.

În 1997 Doroftei a devenit boxer profesionist făcând un contract cu clubul canadian Interbox. Pe 5 ianuarie 2002 a cucerit titlul de campion mondial profesionist la categoria semi-ușoară a versiunii WBA, învingându-l la puncte pe argentinianul Raul Horacio Balbi. Pe 31 mai, la București, Doroftei a luptat din nou împotriva lui Balbi și de data aceasta românul s-a impus în mod clar.

Leonard Dorin Doroftei (known also as Leonard Dorin, though his family name is Doroftei; born 10 April 1970) is a Romanian former boxer, the WBA lightweight world champion from 5 January 2002 to 24 October 2003.

Born in Ploieşti, Doroftei began boxing, at the age of 14, at the Prahova Ploieşti boxing club. From 1983 to 1984, he won every Romanian national junior title. He went on to win five national senior titles in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, and 1997. He won bronze medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, he was declared World Champion in 1995 and European Champion in 1993 and 1992. His record as an amateur was 239 victories and 15 defeats.

In 1997, Doroftei became a professional boxer, signing with the Canadian club Interbox. On 5 January 2002 he won the WBA world lightweight title, winning in a split decision over Argentinian boxer Raul Horacio Balbi 112-115, 114-113, 115-112. On 31 May the two fought again in Bucharest; this second fight was a unanimous decision for Doroftei, 118-111, 117-112 and 118-110.
A lightweight title unification bout on 17 May 2003 with American boxer Paul Spadafora, the IBF champion, ended in a draw, 114-114, 115-113, 114-115.

On 24 October 2003, Doroftei was to fight a match against Panamanian boxer Miguel Callist. Doroftei had already announced that this would be his last professional match regardless of the result. As it turned out, the match was cancelled after Doroftei exceeded the maximum weight for lightweights at the weigh-in: he was 4¼ lb (1.9 kg) over the 135 lb (61.2 kg) weight limit, so he lost his WBA title.

On 24 July 2004, Doroftei lost his undefeated mark when he tried to get the interim WBC title, getting knocked out in two rounds by Arturo Gatti.

His record consisted of 22 wins, 1 loss and one draw, with 8 knockout wins.