Ben Johnson, a Jamaican-born Canadian former sprinter

Benjamin Sinclair Johnson, CM OOnt (born December 30, 1961) is a Jamaican-born Canadian former sprinter, who was disqualified for doping after finishing third in two Olympic races and two consecutive 100 metres finishes under the world record time at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics and the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Benjamin Johnson was born in Falmouth, Jamaica, and immigrated to Canada in 1976, residing in Scarborough, Ontario.
Johnson met coach Charlie Francis and joined the Scarborough Optimists track and field club, training at York University. Francis was a Canadian 100 metres sprint champion himself (1970, 1971 and 1973) and a member of the Canadian team for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Francis was also Canada's national sprint coach for nine years.
Johnson's first international success came when he won 2 silver medals at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia. He finished behind Allan Wells of Scotland in the 100 metres with a time of 10.05 seconds and was a member of the Canadian 4 × 100 metres relay team which finished behind Nigeria. This success was not repeated at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, where he was eliminated in the semi-finals, finishing 6th with a time of 10.44, nor at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas where Johnson placed 5th in the 100 metres final with a time of 10.25.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he reached the 100 metres final; after a false start, he won the bronze medal behind Carl Lewis and Sam Graddy with a time of 10.22. He also won a bronze medal with the Canadian 4 × 100 m relay team of Johnson, Tony Sharpe, Desai Williams and Sterling Hinds, who ran a time of 38.70. By the end of the 1984 season, Johnson had established himself as Canada's top sprinter, and on August 22 in Zürich, Switzerland, he bettered Williams' Canadian record of 10.17 by running 10.12.
In 1985, after eight consecutive losses, Johnson finally beat Carl Lewis. Other success against Lewis included the 1986 Goodwill Games, where Johnson beat Lewis, running 9.95 for first place, against Lewis' third-place time of 10.06. He broke Houston McTear's seven-year-old world record in the 60 metres in 1986, with a time of 6.50 seconds.^[2] He also won Commonwealth gold at the 1986 games in Edinburgh, beating Linford Christie for the 100 metres title with a time of 10.07. Johnson also led the Canadian 4x100 metres relay team to gold, and won a bronze in the 200 metres. Also in 1986, Canadian sprinter Mike Dwyer expressed concern that the use of drugs had reached "epidemic proportions" among Canadian sprinters, particularly among those who trained in the Toronto area. Atlee Mahorn also speculated that many sprinters were on steroids.^[3]
On April 29, 1987, Johnson was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada. "World record holder for the indoor 60-meter run, this Ontarian has proved himself to be the world's fastest human being and has broken Canadian, Commonwealth and World Cup 100-meter records," it read. "Recipient of the Norton Crowe Award for Male Athlete of the Year for 1985, 'Big Ben' was the winner of the 1986 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete."
By the time of the 1987 World Championships, Johnson had won his four previous races with Lewis and had established himself as the best 100 metres sprinter. At Rome, Johnson gained instant world fame and confirmed this status when he beat Lewis for the title, setting a new world record of 9.83 seconds as well, beating Calvin Smith's former record by a full tenth of a second.
After Rome, Johnson became a lucrative marketing celebrity. According to coach Charlie Francis, after breaking the world record, Johnson earned about $480,000 a month in endorsements.^[4] Johnson won both the Lou Marsh Trophy and Lionel Conacher Award, and was named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year for 1987.
Following Johnson's defeat of Lewis in Rome, Lewis started trying to explain away his defeat. He first claimed that Johnson had false-started, then he alluded to a stomach virus which had weakened him. Finally, without naming names, Lewis said "There are a lot of people coming out of nowhere. I don't think they are doing it without drugs." This was the start of Lewis' calling on the sport of track and field to be cleaned up in terms of the illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs. While cynics noted that the problem had been in the sport for many years, they pointed out that it did not become a cause for Lewis until he was actually defeated, with some also pointing to Lewis's egotistical attitude and lack of humility. During a controversial interview with the BBC, Lewis said:

There are gold medallists at this meet who are on drugs, that [100 metres] race will be looked at for many years, for more reasons than one.

Johnson's response was:

When Carl Lewis was winning everything, I never said a word against him. And when the next guy comes along and beats me, I won't complain about that either.

This set up the rivalry leading into the 1988 Olympic Games.
In 1988, Johnson experienced a number of setbacks to his running career. In February of that year he pulled a hamstring, and in May he aggravated the same injury. Meanwhile, in Paris in June, Lewis ran a 9.99. Then in Zurich, Switzerland on August 17, the two faced each other for the first time since the 1987 World Championships; Lewis won in 9.93, while Johnson finished third in 10.00. "The gold medal for the (Olympic) 100 meters is mine," Carl Lewis said. "I will never again lose to Johnson."

Olympic games and subsequent disqualification

On September 24, 1988, Johnson was thought to be the first sprinter from Canada since Percy Williams in 1928 to win the 100 metres final at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, lowering his own world record to 9.79 seconds. Johnson would later remark that he would have been even faster had he not raised his hand in the air just before he hit the tape.^[6] However, Park Jong-sei of the Olympic Doping Control Center found that Johnson's urine sample contained stanozolol, and he was disqualified three days later.^[7] He later admitted having used steroids when he ran his 1987 world record, which caused the IAAF to rescind that record as well. Johnson and coach Francis complained that they used doping in order to remain on an equal footing with the other top athletes on drugs they had to compete against. In testimony before the Dubin inquiry into drug use, Francis charged that Johnson was only one of many cheaters, and he just happened to get caught. Later, six of the eight finalists of the 100 metres race tested positive for banned drugs or were implicated in a drug scandal at some point in their careers: Carl Lewis, who was given the gold medal; Linford Christie, who was moved up to the silver medal and who went on to win gold at the next Games; Dennis Mitchell, who was moved up to fourth place and finished third to Christie in 1992; and Desai Williams, Johnson's countryman who won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.^[8]
Johnson's coach, Charlie Francis, a vocal critic of the IOC testing procedures, is the author of Speed Trap, which features Johnson heavily. In the book, he freely admits that his athletes were taking anabolic steroids, as he claims all top athletes at the time were, and also claims that Johnson could not possibly have tested positive for that particular steroid since Johnson actually preferred furazabol. He thought stanozolol made his body "feel tight".^[9] The numerous athletes using performance-enhancing drugs at the time understood how long before a race, and possible drug test, they should stop using the drugs. Johnson later claimed that André A. Jackson, Lewis' Santa Monica Track Club teammate, who was inside the drug testing room in Seoul, may have placed the stanozolol in one of the beers Johnson drank in order to make urine for his test.^[10]
On 28 September 2018, the Toronto Star ran an article on the lab report which was created on Johnson sample during the 1988 Olympic Games. It was produced by the IOC doping control centre in Seoul two days after Johnson handed in a urine sample taken after the 100m run. The newspaper concluded that the assumed substance Stanozolol was traceable, but "inconsistencies" are found in the report. The Toronto Star goes on, that no Canadian Olympic team official saw the lab report in Seoul. The lab report was requested by Canada's chief medical officer, Dr. William Stanish. The Canadian team didn't object after the IOC medical commission assured "that its testing methods were unassailable."

Clint Hill, former US Secret Service agent who was in the presidential motorcade during the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He is the last surviving passenger of the presidential limousine

Clinton J. Hill (born 1932) is a former United States Secret Service agent who was in the presidential motorcade during the assassination of John F. Kennedy. After Kennedy was shot, Hill ran from the car immediately behind the presidential limousine and leapt onto the back of it, holding on while the car raced to Parkland Memorial Hospital. This action was documented in the famous Zapruder film. Hill is the last surviving passenger of the presidential limousine which arrived at Parkland.
Hill, a native of Washburn, ND, attended Concordia College (Moorhead) in Moorhead, MN where he played football, studied history, and was a 1954 graduate. After college he was assigned to the Denver office of Secret Service in 1958. After John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States, Hill was assigned to protect the First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy. Hill became a nationally-known figure upon the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963.
Hill remained assigned to Mrs. Kennedy and the children until after the 1964 presidential election. He then was assigned to President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House. In 1967, when Johnson was still in office, he became the Special Agent in Charge (SAIC) of Presidential protection. When Richard Nixon came into office, he moved over to SAIC of protection of Vice President Spiro Agnew. Finally, Hill was assigned to headquarters as the Assistant Director of the Secret Service for all protection. He retired in 1975.

President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, during a motorcade through the city while en route to a luncheon at the Dallas Trade Mart. The President and Mrs. Kennedy were riding in an open limousine containing three rows of seats. The Kennedys were in the rear seat of the car, and the Governor of Texas, John Connally, and his wife, Nellie Connally, were in the middle row. Secret Service agent William Greer was driving and the president's bodyguard, Roy Kellerman, was also in the front seat.

Hill was riding in the car that was immediately behind the presidential limousine. As soon as the shooting began, Hill jumped out and began running to overtake the moving car in front of him with the plan to climb on from the rear bumper and crawl over the trunk to the back seat where the President and First Lady were located.
Hill grabbed a small handrail on the left rear of the trunk that was normally used by bodyguards to stabilize themselves while standing on small platforms on the rear bumper. According to the Warren Commission's findings there were no bodyguards stationed on the bumper that day because

...the President had frequently stated that he did not want agents to ride on these steps during a motorcade except when necessary. He had repeated this wish only a few days before, during his visit to Tampa, FL. .

The notion that the President's instructions in Tampa jeopardized his security in Dallas has since been denied by Hill and other agents. Regardless of Kennedy's statement photos taken of the motorcade along earlier segments of the route show Hill riding on the step at the back of the car.Clinton J. Hill (born 1932) is a former United States Secret Service agent who was in the presidential motorcade during the assassination of John F. Kennedy. After Kennedy was shot, Hill ran from the car immediately behind the presidential limousine and leapt onto the back of it, holding on while the car raced to Parkland Memorial Hospital. This action was documented in the famous Zapruder film.

Jim Davis, an American cartoonist. Best known as the creator of the comic strips Garfield, one of the world's most widely syndicated comic strips

James Robert Davis (born July 28, 1945) is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the comic strips Garfield and U.S. Acres (a.k.a. Orson's Farm). Published since 1978, Garfield is one of the world's most widely syndicated comic strips.^[1] Davis's other comics work includes Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat and Mr. Potato Head.


Davis wrote or co-wrote all of the Garfield TV specials for CBS, originally broadcast between 1982 and 1991. He also produced the Garfield & Friends Saturday Morning series, which aired on the channel from 1988 to 1994. Davis was the writer and executive producer for a series of CGI direct-to-video feature films about Garfield, as well as an executive producer for the CGI animated TV series The Garfield Show.

Prior to creating Garfield, Davis worked for an advertising agency, and in 1969, he began assisting Tom Ryan's comic strip, Tumbleweeds. He then created a comic strip, Gnorm Gnat, that ran for three years (1973–1975) in The Pendleton Times, a newspaper in Pendleton, Indiana.^[8] When Davis attempted to sell it to a national comic strip syndicate, an editor told him: "Your art is good, your gags are great, but bugs—nobody can relate to bugs!"^[9] He then began studying the comic strips; still firmly believing that animals were funny, he took note of how Snoopy was not only a scene stealer in the Peanuts comic strips, but that he was far more of a marketing success than his owner Charlie Brown. Deciding that the comic market was oversaturated with dogs, he decided to create a cat character as the lead of his next strip instead.^[10]
From 1976 to early 1978, Davis then published a strip titled Jon in The Pendleton Times which would later become Garfield, starting syndication in 41 newspapers on June 19, 1978.^[8] Today it is syndicated in 2,580 newspapers and is read by approximately 300 million readers every day.^[11]
In the 1980s, Davis created the barnyard slapstick comic strip U.S. Acres. Outside the U.S., the strip was known as Orson's Farm. Davis, along with Brett Koth, also made a 2000–03 strip based on the Mr. Potato Head toy.
Davis founded the Professor Garfield Foundation to support children's literacy.^[12]
His influences include Mort Walker's Beetle Bailey and Hi and Lois, Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts, Milton Caniff's Steve Canyon and Johnny Hart's B.C

Peter Stormare, a Swedish actor, voice actor, musician, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles as Gaear Grimsrud in Fargo (1996) and John Abruzzi on Prison Break (2005–2007). He also appeared in the films The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Playing God (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998), Armageddon (1998), Dancer in the Dark (2000), Minority Report (2002)

Rolf Peter Ingvar Storm^[1] (born 27 August 1953),^[2] known professionally as Peter Stormare is a Swedish actor, voice actor, musician, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles as Gaear Grimsrud in Fargo (1996) and John Abruzzi on Prison Break (2005–2007). He also appeared in the films The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Playing God (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998), Armageddon (1998), Dancer in the Dark (2000), Minority Report (2002), Bad Boys II (2003), Constantine (2005), 22 Jump Street (2014) and the video game Until Dawn (2015).

Stormare began his career with the Royal Dramatic Theatre, to which he belonged for 11 years. During this period he was a favorite of famous Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, who had stopped making movies but still directed plays for Royal Dramatic Theatre. Stormare played, for example, the title role in Hamlet and Jean in Miss Julie, both directed by Ingmar Bergman. In 1992, he took a leading position as associate artistic director at the Tokyo Globe Theatre, and made a name for himself through various Shakespeare performances, including Hamlet. Four years later, he moved to New York City and mainly took part in English-language productions there. He played Carl Hamilton, a fictional Swedish secret agent. He was discovered by international audiences for his critically acclaimed role as one of the kidnappers in Fargo (1996). He portrayed Dieter Stark in the 1997 film The Lost World: Jurassic Park and later played sleazy, unlicensed "eye-doctor" Solomon Eddie in Minority Report.
In 1998, he appeared in "The Frogger", a Seinfeld episode where he played a rogue electrician known as Slippery Pete. He portrayed Uli Kunkel in the 1998 film The Big Lebowski, as well as playing Lev Andropov, a Russian cosmonaut in the 1998 film Armageddon. In 1999, he appeared as a villainous producer and director of hardcore porn in the film 8mm. He also portrayed Gunny in the 2002 film Windtalkers and Alexei in the 2003 film Bad Boys II. In 2003, he played Ernst Röhm in Hitler: The Rise of Evil. In the 2005 film Constantine, he played Lucifer. He played the torturer Cavaldi in the 2005 film The Brothers Grimm. His first major character in television was on the Fox series Prison Break in 2005 for the first two seasons, where he played the inmate mob boss John Abruzzi. He was originally cast in Fido, but opted out of the film upon being cast in Prison Break.

Stormare voiced Mattias Nilsson in the video games Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, Isair in the computer game Icewind Dale 2, and Johann Strauss in Quake 4. In February 2006, he starred as Wolfgang in Volkswagen's VDub series of television commercials. He played the main character in the film Svartvattnet, which was filmed in Sweden and Norway in 2007.^[4] He was offered a role in the ABC television series Lost for a period of one year,^[5] which he declined.^[6] In the 2007 film Premonition, he played Dr. Roth. In April 2007, he appeared in the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode "Ending Happy".
In December 2007, Stormare participated in the Swedish reality show Stjärnorna på slottet. He appears in the video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 as Dr. Zelinsky, a Russian scientist who builds a time machine. He starred as Walter in the Canadian independent crime thriller Small Town Murder Songs (2010). He appeared in the music video of the song "Uprising" by the Swedish power metal band Sabaton.^[7] He plays himself in the 2011 Norwegian comedy Hjelp, vi er i filmbransjen and appeared as a psychiatrist in the Swedish horror film Marianne (2011). He appeared in a trailer for the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II, made for the "Revolution" DLC pack. He has since reappeared in most trailers for the game and recent Call of Duty: Black Ops games as "The Replacer".
In 2014, Stormare appeared in episodes of Longmire, Arrow, and The Blacklist. In the same year, he also starred in the Eli Roth-produced film Clown,^[8] in which he portrayed Karlsson. He played mob boss Frank O'Connell, in Rage directed by Paco Cabezas. He also voices Arach Jalal in the Destiny video game franchise.
In 2015, Stormare voiced and motion captured the character Dr. Alan Hill, in the video game Until Dawn. In 2016, he played Rutger Burlin in the Swedish television series Midnattssol; he also co-created, and starred as Ingmar in, the web television series Swedish Dicks which was renewed for a second season in October 2016. In 2017, he played a minor role in John Wick: Chapter 2 and the part of Czernobog on the Starz series American Gods. He played the vampire Godbrand in the Netflix animated series Castlevania.

Piero Ferrari, an Italian billionaire businessman and sport personality

Piero Lardi Ferrari (born 22 May 1945) is an Italian billionaire businessman and sport personality. He is the second and only living son of Enzo Ferrari, and a 10.23% owner of the Ferrari automotive company, of which he is the vice chairman. He owns 13.2% of the Ferretti Group. As of August 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$4.6 billion.

In 1998, Ferrari teamed up with José Di Mase and purchased Piaggio Aero Engineering with the idea of bringing Piaggio back to its roots as a designer and producer of business aircraft. Ferrari was nominated president. He resigned in 2015 when he sold the final 1.95% of his shares to Mubadala Development Company. The connection proved fruitful as Ferrari was then able to persuade Mubadala to become a title sponsor of the Ferrari Formula One Team the following year. Ferrari is also the chairman of HPE COXA, a company he founded in 1998 with the aim of providing high end engineering services in the mechanical field. In 2009 HPE acquired COXA, a manufacturing firm founded in 1985 and specialized in the high precision manufacturing of niche volumes and prototypes.

Following Ferrari's IPO on 21 October 2015, his 10% stake was valued at US$1.1 billion. On 28 April 2016, he entered into the Ferretti Group with 13.2% of shares. In May 2019, he was ranked by Forbes at number 838 in the world's billionaires list with a net worth of $3.1 billion.  Also in 2019, he acquired the first mega yacht built by Riva that launched the new superyacht division of the Ferretti Group. In April 2020, he was ranked by Forbes at number 680 in the world's billionaires list with a net worth of $3.4 billion.In December 2020, his stake increased in Ferrari up to 10.23%. In June 2021, he was ranked by Forbes at number 705 in the world's billionaires list with a net worth of $4.7 billion.

Helmuth Duckadam, retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. "The Hero of Seville"

Helmuth Robert Duckadam (born 1 April 1959) is a Romanian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper and the current president of FC FCSB.
He was dubbed "the Hero of Seville" due to his display in the 1986 European Cup Final, won by his main club Steaua Bucureşti, where he saved all four penalties against Barcelona in the penalty shootout, for the first time in football history. He represented three other teams in a 14-year senior career.
Duckadam regularly appears as a studio guest on Digi Sport's "Fotbal Club" programme.

Born in Semlac, Arad County of Banat Swabian descent, Duckadam started playing in his regional leagues, before moving to FC UTA Arad in 1978 to become professional. He earned two full caps for Romania in 1982 and, subsequently, was signed by country giants FC Steaua Bucureşti.
Duckadam, who was instrumental in helping the capital side to two consecutive Liga I titles, was also between the posts for the 1986 European Cup final against FC Barcelona, which was played in Seville, on 7 May 1986. 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 the shootout 2–0 and Europe's most important club trophy for the first time, and much of the credit for the surprise victory was given to him; he scored one goal for his main club, through a penalty kick against AFC Progresul Bucureşti in the domestic cup.^[1]
In 1986, Duckadam suffered a rare blood disorder only few weeks after the Seville performance,^[2] 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, he had become a major with the Romanian Border Police (Poliția de Frontieră) in his hometown; additionally, he opened a football school in the city, named after himself.^[3]
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 1986 European Cup. Two years later, on 11 August, he was named Steaua's president.

Rod Laver, an Australian former tennis player widely regarded as one of the greatest in the history of the sport. He was the No. 1 ranked professional from 1964 to 1970

Rodney George Laver AC, MBE (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former tennis player widely regarded as one of the greatest in the history of the sport.^[b] He was the No. 1 ranked professional from 1964 to 1970, spanning four years before and three years after the start of the Open Era in 1968. He also was the No. 1 ranked amateur in 1961–62.^[3]
Laver's 200 singles titles are the most in tennis history. This included his all-time men's record of 10 or more titles per year for seven consecutive years (1964–70). He excelled on all of the court surfaces of his time: grass, clay, hard, carpet, and wood/parquet.
Laver won 11 Grand Slam singles titles, though he was banned from playing those tournaments for the five years prior to the Open Era. Laver is the only player to twice achieve the calendar-year Grand Slam, in 1962 and 1969, and the latter remains the only time a man has done so in the Open Era. He also won eight Pro Slam titles, including the "pro Grand Slam"^[13][14] in 1967, and he contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australia during an age when Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the Grand Slams.

Career

Amateur (1956–62)

Laver was a young boy when he left school to pursue a tennis career that lasted 24 years. He was coached in Queensland by Charlie Hollis and later by the Australian Davis Cup team captain Harry Hopman, who gave Laver the nickname "Rocket".
Laver was both Australian and US Junior champion in 1957. He had his breakthrough on the world stage in 1959, when he reached all three finals at Wimbledon, winning the mixed doubles title with Darlene Hard. As an unseeded player, he lost the singles final to Peruvian Alex Olmedo after surviving an 87-game semifinal against American Barry MacKay. His first major singles title was the Australian Championships in 1960, where he defeated fellow Australian Neale Fraser in a five-set final after coming back from two sets down and saving a Fraser championship point in the fourth set. Laver captured his first Wimbledon singles crown in 1961.
In 1962, Laver became the first male player since Don Budge in 1938 to win all four Grand Slam singles titles in the same year and won an additional 18 titles (22)^[23] in all. Among those titles were the Italian Championships and the German Championships, giving Laver the "clay court triple" of Paris, Rome, and Hamburg that had been achieved previously only by Lew Hoad in 1956. The biggest hurdle to Laver's winning the Grand Slam was the French Championships on slow clay, where Laver won three consecutive five-setters beginning with the quarterfinals. In his quarterfinal with Martin Mulligan, Laver saved a matchpoint in the fourth set with a backhand volley after coming to the net behind a second serve. In the final, Laver lost the first two sets and was down 0–3 in the fourth set before coming back to defeat Roy Emerson. At Wimbledon, his progress was much easier. Laver lost only one set the whole tournament, to Manuel Santana in a quarterfinal, who held a set point for a two set lead. At the US Championships, Laver lost only two sets during the tournament and defeated Emerson again in the final.
In February 1963, he appeared on the panel game show To Tell the Truth, where all four panelists identified him based on his knowledge of the history of tennis.^[24]

Professional

Before the Open Era (1963–68)

In December 1962 Laver turned professional after winning the Davis Cup with the Australian team. After an initial period of adjustment he quickly established himself among the leading professional players such as Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad and Andrés Gimeno, and also Pancho Gonzales when Gonzales returned to a full-time schedule in 1964. During the next seven years, Laver won the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships five times, including four in a row beginning in 1966.

In the beginning of 1963, Laver was beaten consistently by both Rosewall and Hoad on an Australasian tour. Hoad won the first eight matches against Laver, and Rosewall won 11 out of 13.^[25] By the end of the year, however, with six tournament titles, Laver had become the No. 2 professional player behind Rosewall.^[26]
In 1964, Laver and Rosewall both won seven important titles (in minor tournaments Laver won four and Rosewall won three), but Laver won 15 of 19 matches against Rosewall and captured the two most prestigious titles, the US Pro Championships over Gonzales and the Wembley Championships over Rosewall. In tennis week, Raymond Lee has described the Wembley match, where Laver came from 5–3 down in the fifth set to win 8–6, as possibly their best ever and one that changed tennis history. Lee regards this win as the one that began and established Laver's long reign as world number one. The other prestige title, the French pro, was won by Rosewall.
In 1965, Laver was clearly the No. 1 professional player,^[27] winning 17 titles^[28] and 13 of 18 matches against Rosewall. In ten finals, Laver won eight against the still dangerous Gonzales.
In 1966, Laver won 16 events,^[28] including the US Pro Championships, the Wembley Pro Championship, and eight other important tournaments.
In 1967, Laver won 19 titles,^[28] including the Wimbledon Pro, the US Pro Championships, the Wembley Pro Championship, and the French Pro Championship, which gave him a clean sweep of the most important professional titles, a professional Grand Slam. The tournament in 1967 on Wimbledon's Centre Court was the only professional event ever staged on that court before the Open Era began. Laver beat Rosewall in the final 6–2, 6–2, 12–10.

During the Open Era (1968–76)

With the dawn of the Open Era in 1968, professional players were once again allowed to compete in Grand Slam events. Laver became Wimbledon's first Open Era champion in 1968, beating the best amateur, American Arthur Ashe, in a semifinal and fellow-Australian Tony Roche in the final, both in straight sets.^[29][30] Laver was also the runner-up to Ken Rosewall in the first French Open. In this first "open" year, there were only eight open events besides Wimbledon and the French Open, where professionals, registered players, and amateurs could compete against each other. The professionals mainly played their own circuit, with two groups – National Tennis League (NTL) and World Championships Tennis (WCT) – operating. Laver was ranked No. 1 universally, winning the US Professional Championships on grass and the French Pro Championship on clay (both over John Newcombe).^[31] Laver also won the last big open event of the year, the Pacific Southwest in Los Angeles on hard courts.^[32] Ashe regarded Laver's 4–6, 6–0, 6–0 final win over Ken Rosewall as one of his finest performances.^[33] Laver's post-match comment was, "This is the kind of match you always dream about. The kind you play at night in your sleep."

In 1969, Laver won all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same calendar year for the second time, sealing the achievement with a four-set win over Roche in the US Open final. He won 18 of the 32 singles tournaments he entered (still the Open Era titles record) and compiled a 106–16 win-loss record. In beating Newcombe in four sets in the Wimbledon final, he captured the title at the All England Club for the fourth consecutive time that he had entered the tournament (and reached the final for the sixth consecutive time as he had been runner-up in 1959 and 1960). He set a record of 31 consecutive match victories at Wimbledon between 1961 and 1970, which lasted until 1980 when it was eclipsed by Björn Borg. Unlike his first Grand Slam year in 1962, Laver in 1969 played in events open to all the best professional and amateur players of the world. In the year's Grand Slam tournaments, Laver had five five-set-matches, twice coming back from two sets down in early rounds. In the four finals, however, he lost a total of only two sets. His hardest match was a marathon 90-game semifinal against Roche at the Australian Open under tropical hot conditions. Other opponents at the Australian Open included Roy Emerson, Fred Stolle, and Andrés Gimeno. At the French Open, Laver beat Gimeno, Tom Okker, and Rosewall. At Wimbledon, Laver overcame strong challenges from Stan Smith, Cliff Drysdale, Ashe, and Newcombe. At the US Open on slippery grass courts, he defeated Dennis Ralston, Emerson, Ashe, and Roche. Laver proved his versatility by winning the Grand Slam tournaments on grass and clay, plus the two most important hard court titles (South African Open at Ellis Park, Johannesburg and the US Professional Championships at Boston) and the leading indoor tournaments (Philadelphia US Pro Indoor and Wembley British Indoor). With US$124,000 in prize money, he was also the first player to break the US$100,000 barrier in a year.
In the early 1970s, Laver lost his grip on the major tournaments. He played only five Grand Slam tournaments from 1970 through 1972. This was partly because of his contracts with NTL and WCT. But on the WCT tours, he remained the leading player and by far the leading prize money winner.
In 1970, Laver won 15 titles^[28] and US$201,453 in prize money, including the rich "Tennis Champions Classic" and five other big events (Sydney Dunlop Open, Philadelphia, Wembley, Los Angeles, South African Open). Those were the equivalent of the modern day ATP Masters Series. With only two majors played by all the best players (Wimbledon and the US Open), there was no clear-cut World No. 1 in 1970. Wimbledon champion Newcombe, US champion Rosewall, and Laver (who won the most titles and had a 3–0 win-loss record against Newcombe and a 5–0 record against Rosewall) were ranked the highest by different journalists and expert panels. Although Newcombe was top ranked by Lance Tingay, Newcombe wrote later in his autobiography "Newk-Life on and off the Court" (2002) that the top honour in 1970 belonged to Laver.
In 1971 he won seven titles,^[28] including the Italian Open in Rome on clay over Jan Kodeš, the reigning French Open champion. Laver successfully defended his title at the "Tennis Champions Classic", winning 13 consecutive winner-take-all matches against top opponents and US$160,000. For the year, Laver won a then-record US$292,717 in tournament prize money and became the first tennis player to surpass US$1 million in career prize money. In 1971 and 1972, Laver finished as the points leader of the WCT tournament series but lost the playoff finals at Dallas to Rosewall. The last match is rated as one of the best of all time and drew a TV audience of over 20 million.

In 1972, Laver cut back his tournament schedule, partly because of back and knee injuries and his tennis camp businesses, but he still won five titles^[28] that year. In 1973, Laver won seven titles^[28] and successfully participated in the semifinals and final of the Davis Cup, where he won all six of his rubbers for Australia. In 1974 Laver won six titles^[28] from 13 tournaments and ended the year as World No. 4 on the computer. At 36, he was the oldest player during the Open Era to have been included in the year-ending top five.

In 1975, Laver set a record for WCT tournaments by winning four titles and 23 consecutive matches but in 1976, he semi-retired from the main tour, playing only a few selected events. He also signed with World Team Tennis, where he became "Rookie of the Year" at the age of 38 but won five titles^[34] overall that season.
Overall, despite turning 30 just months after the Open Era began, Laver had tremendous success, winning 74 singles titles, which remains sixth most of the era. Plus, like most players of his day, he regularly played doubles, winning 37 titles.

David Suchet, an actor that played the role of Agatha Christie's Poirot in 70 TV adaptations

He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial Oppenheimer (1980) and received the RTS and BPG awards for his performance as Augustus Melmotte in the British serial The Way We Live Now (2001). International acclaim and recognition followed his performance as Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot[4] in Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989–2013), for which he received a 1991 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nomination.

Whoopi Goldberg, an American actress, comedian, author and television host. She has been nominated for 13 Emmy Awards for her work in television and is one of the few entertainers who has won an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Oscar, and a Tony Award

Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg, is an American actress, comedian, author and television host. She has been nominated for 13 Emmy Awards for her work in television and is one of the few entertainers who has won an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Oscar, and a Tony Award. She was the second black woman in the history of the Academy Awards to win an acting Oscar.
In the period drama film, The Color Purple (1985), her breakthrough role was playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In the romantic fantasy film Ghost (1990), Goldberg played Oda Mae Brown, an eccentric psychic who helped a slain man (Patrick Swayze) save his lover (Demi Moore), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1992, she starred as a pretend nun in the comedy Sister Act. From 1998 to 2002, she was co-producer of the television game show Hollywood Squares. Since 2007, she has been the moderator of the daytime television talk show, The View.

oldberg starred in Penny Marshall's directorial debut Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) and began a relationship with David Claessen, a director of photography on the set; the couple married later that year. The film was a modest success, and during the next two years, three additional motion pictures featured Goldberg: Burglar (1987), Fatal Beauty (1987), and The Telephone (1988). Though these were not as successful as her prior motion pictures, Goldberg still garnered awards from the NAACP Image Awards. Goldberg and Claessen divorced after the poor box office performance of The Telephone, which Goldberg was under contract to star in. She tried unsuccessfully to sue the producers of the film. Clara's Heart did poorly at the box office, though her own performance was critically acclaimed. As the 1980s concluded, she participated in the numerous HBO specials of Comic Relief with fellow comedians Robin Williams and Billy Crystal.
In January 1990, Goldberg starred with Jean Stapleton in the situation comedy Bagdad Cafe. The show ran for two seasons on CBS. Simultaneously, Goldberg starred in The Long Walk Home, portraying a woman in the civil rights movement. She played a psychic in the 1990 film Ghost and became the first black woman to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in nearly 50 years, and the second black woman to win an Academy Award for acting (the first being Hattie McDaniel, for 1939's Gone with the Wind). Premiere named her character Oda Mae Brown in its list of Top 100 best film characters.^[20]
Goldberg starred in Soapdish (1991) and had a recurring role on Star Trek: The Next Generation as Guinan, which she would reprise in two Star Trek films. On May 29, 1992, Sister Act was released. The motion picture grossed well over US $200 million and Goldberg was nominated for a Golden Globe. Next, she starred in Sarafina!. During the next year, she hosted a late-night talk show titled The Whoopi Goldberg Show and starred in two more motion pictures: Made in America and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. From 1994 to 1995, Goldberg appeared in Corrina, Corrina, The Lion King (voice), The Pagemaster (voice), Boys on the Side, and Moonlight and Valentino. Goldberg guest starred on Muppets Tonight in 1996. She became the first African-American woman to host the Academy Awards show in 1994,^[21] and the first woman to solo host. She hosted the awards show again in 1996, 1999, and 2002.

George R. R. Martin, an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. Author of novels A Song of Ice and Fire, which were adapted into HBO series Game of Thrones

George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire, which were adapted into the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones (2011–2019) and its prequel series House of the Dragon (2022–present). He also helped create the Wild Cards anthology series, and contributed worldbuilding for the 2022 video game Elden Ring.

In 2005, Lev Grossman of Time called Martin "the American Tolkien", and in 2011, he was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. He is a longtime citizen of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he helped fund Meow Wolf and owns the Jean Cocteau Cinema. The city commemorates March 29 as George R. R. Martin Day.

Abraham Klein, international football referee. Klein refeered the Brazil v Italy fixture in the 1982 World Cup

Abraham Klein is an Israeli former international football referee. He refereed international matches between 1965 and 1982, including the 1968 and 1976 Olympics and important matches at the Mexico 1970, Argentina 1978 and Spain 1982 World Cup Finals. He was also a linesman (now assistant referee) for the 1982 World Cup Final in Spain.

Klein was also given the Brazil v Italy fixture in the 1982 World Cup, the game in which Paolo Rossi scored a hat-trick. He ran the line in the final to the Brazilian referee Arnaldo Coelho and was, reputedly, offered the chance to officiate in the event of that final being replayed.

Mario Andretti, an Italian-born American former racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport

Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport.^[1] He is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship, and NASCAR (the other being Dan Gurney). He also won races in midget cars and sprint cars.

During his career, Andretti won the 1978 Formula One World Championship, four IndyCar titles (three under USAC-sanctioning, one under CART), and IROC VI. To date, he remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), Daytona 500 (1967) and the Formula One World Championship, and, along with Juan Pablo Montoya, the only driver to have won a race in the NASCAR Cup Series, Formula One, and an Indianapolis 500. No American has won a Formula One race since Andretti's victory at the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix.^[2] Andretti had 109 career wins on major circuits.^[3]
Andretti had a long career in racing. He was the only person to be named United States Driver of the Year in three decades (1967, 1978, and 1984).^[4] He was also one of only three drivers to have won major races on road courses, paved ovals, and dirt tracks in one season, a feat that he accomplished four times.^[4] With his final IndyCar win in April 1993, Andretti became the first driver to have won IndyCar races in four different decades^[5] and the first to win automobile races of any kind in five.^[4]
In American popular culture, his name has become synonymous with speed, as with Barney Oldfield in the early twentieth century and Stirling Moss in the United Kingdom.
In 1986, he was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. In 2000, the Associated Press and RACER magazine named him Driver of the Century.^[53] He was the Driver of the Year (in the United States) for three years (1967, 1978, and 1984),^[54] and is the only driver to be Driver of the Year in three decades.^[16] Andretti was named the U.S. Driver of the Quarter Century in 1992.^[3] He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2001,^[3] the United States National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1996,^[7] the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America^[55] in 1990, the Hoosier Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1970,^[7] the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Diecast Hall of Fame in 2012.
On October 23, 2006, Andretti was awarded the highest civilian honor given by the Italian government, the Commendatore dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (known as the Commendatore), in honor of his racing career, public service, and enduring commitment to his Italian heritage.^[53] Enzo Ferrari is the only other recipient of the Commendatore from the world of automobile racing.
In 2007, Andretti was honored with the "Lombardi Award of Excellence" from the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation. The award was created to honor Coach Lombardi's legacy, and is awarded annually to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of the Coach.
From 2007 Mario Andretti is the "Mayor" (Sindaco) of the "Free Commune of Motovun in Exile" (Libero Comune di Montona in esilio), an association of Italian exiles from Motovun.