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~ Plato
This photo was taken at Bamboozle last May. The two gentlemen in this photo are Jackson Rathbone & Jerad Anderson. Both of these men are actors and musicians. The band that they belong to is 100 Monkeys and most of the members of this band play every instrument on their stage. During their set they switched from drums, to keyboard, to guitar, to whatever else they were using. It was a great show... Not to mention that it helped feed my Twilight addiction... Mr. Rathbone plays Jasper Hale in Twilight.
Was sad to hear of the recent passing of the actor Bernard Cribbins. So this is my small tribute to a fine actor who was the voice of "The Wombles" the annoying guest Mr Hutchinson in a Fawlty Towers episode and many other acting roles that a lot of us may remember from our childhood. But perhaps best remembered for playing Albert Perks the station porter in the 1970 all time great family film "The Railway Children" May he rest in peace.
Bernard Cribbins (1928- 2022)
© PJR 2022
German autograph card, 2017.
Jo Weil (1977) is a German actor and TV presenter. He is best known for his role as Oliver Sabel in the soap-opera Verbotene Liebe/Forbidden Love. He had played the character for 15 years before trying out other pursuits, including releasing 2 singles, acting in a musical, and several films.
Johannes 'Jo' Hermann Bruno Anton Weil was born in 1977 in Frankfurt, Germany. He is the son of a Degree in Business Administration owner and a physiotherapist. He grew up with a brother, Michael who is three years younger and a lawyer, in Petersberg. He finished his high school diploma at the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Schule in Fulda. After high school and community service, he attended drama school in Cologne and took private acting and singing lessons. He made his screen debut in the romantic drama series Geliebte Schwestern/Beloved sisters (1997), but the series was a flop. Then, throughout 1998 through 2006, he studied in drama workshops at the Arturo Drama School. Weil played in TV productions and on the stage. He also took over modeling (including his own calendars) and guest appearances jobs and worked as a (synchronous) speaker or voice-over artist.
In 2000, Jo Weil started playing a young bisexual waiter Oliver Sabel, a lead role in the evening drama series Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love). Oliver later falls in love with his roommate Christian Mann (Thore Schölermann), and with whom he has formed one of the leading couples of the series since 2007. The impact of Christian and Oliver's stories has spread outside Germany via the Internet, such as Brazil, the United States, Canada, Spain, China, and other countries, even though the series is not broadcast outside of German-speaking countries. They were also invited to attend Whistler in Canada for the Winterpride. He attended fashion shows and was in the jury for the election of the "Mr. Gay World ". From November 2007, Jo Weil, after a five-year break, returned to the role of 'Oliver'. In September 2010, 'Oliver' marries 'Christian' in a church wedding. In 2011, he and co-star Thore Schölermann won the 'most beautiful lovers' award at the German Soap Awards and he won the 'Fan Price Male' award. He won another soap award, in 2012, he won 'Fan Prize Male' again at the Soap Award in Berlin, Germany. In August 2012, due to other commitments, Thore Schölermann left the show, breaking up "Chrolli", as the couple was called by fans. Weil then left the show in February 2015.
Since 2009, Jo Weil wrote his own star column in the English lifestyle magazine "reFRESH". He volunteers as an ambassador for the "Aidshilfe Köln". From 2002 - 2004, he portrayed the character of Florian Lenz in the television series, Medicopter 117/Medicopter, about rescue operations. In 2010, Weil participated in the cooking show The Perfect Celebrity Dinner. He also appeared in such films as Das Leben ist keine Autobahn (Dennis Albrecht, 2011), Sodom (Mark Wilshin, 2017), and the horror film The Toymaker (Andrew Jones, 2017). Since August 2016, Weil presents format Lifestyle with Jo Weil, on the online channel Wirtschaft TV. In 2017, he participated with Mirja du Mont as a dance partner on the program Dance Dance Dance. In that year, he also starred in the film comedy Oskar - leave on a high note (Thomas Schwedler, 2018). From autumn 2018, he took over the role of 'Frank Farmer' in The Bodyguard at the Ronacher Theatre in Vienna. Jo Weil has kept his sexuality private, despite portraying gay characters.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, Nubdeb/Westf., no. 600. Photo: Warner Bros. Clark Gable in Band of Angels (Raoul Walsh, 1957). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.
With his natural charm and knowing smile, Clark Gable (1901-1959) was 'The King of Hollywood' during the 1930s. He often portrayed down-to-earth, bravado characters with a carefree attitude, and was seen as the epitome of masculinity. Gable won an Academy Award for Best Actor for It Happened One Night (1934), and was nominated for leading roles in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and for his best-known role as Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind (1939).
William Clark Gable was born in 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio, to Adeline (Hershelman) and William Henry Gable, an oil-well driller. He was of German, Irish, and Swiss-German descent. When he was seven months old, his mother died, and his father sent him to live with his maternal aunt and uncle in Pennsylvania, where he stayed until he was two. His father then returned to take him back to Cadiz. At 16, he quit high school, went to work in an Akron, Ohio, tire factory, and decided to become an actor after seeing the play The Bird of Paradise. He toured in stock companies, worked oil fields and sold ties. His acting coach Josephine Dillon, 15 years his senior, paid for him to have his teeth repaired and his hair styled. She also trained him to lower his voice and attain better body posture, attributes that that were instrumental in contributing to his later success and eventual iconic status. In 1924, with Dillon's financing, they went to Hollywood, where she became Gable's manager and first wife. He appeared as an extra in silent films between 1924 and 1926. However, he was not offered any major film roles, so he returned to the stage. While Gable acted on stage, he became a lifelong friend of Lionel Barrymore. He moved to New York City, where Dillon sought work for him on Broadway. He received good reviews in Machinal (1928). He gave an impressive appearance as the seething and desperate character Killer Mears in the Los Angeles stage production of The Last Mile. In 1930, Gable and Dillon divorced and a year later, he married Maria Langham (a.k.a. Maria Franklin Gable), also about 17 years older than him. After several failed screen tests, Gable was signed in 1930 by MGM's Irving Thalberg. He made his talking film debut as an archetypal villain named Brett in the Western The Painted Desert (Howard Higgin, 1931), starring William Boyd. Joan Crawford asked for him as co-star in Dance, Fools, Dance (Harry Beaumont, 1931) and the public loved him manhandling Norma Shearer in A Free Soul (Clarence Brown, 1931) the same year. His unshaven lovemaking with bra-less Jean Harlow in Red Dust (Victor Fleming, 1932) made him MGM's most important star. His acting career then flourished. At one point, he refused an assignment, and the studio punished him by loaning him out to (at the time) low-rent Columbia Pictures, which put him in Frank Capra's It Happened One Night (1934) opposite Claudette Colbert. He won an Academy Award for his performance. The next year saw a starring role in Call of the Wild (William A. Wellman, 1935) with Loretta Young, with whom he had an affair (resulting in the birth of a daughter, Judy Lewis). He returned to far more substantial roles at MGM, such as Fletcher Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty (Frank Lloyd, 1935) and Rhett Butler in the Oscar-winning epic Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939).
After divorcing Maria Langham, Clark Gable married Carole Lombard in 1939, but tragedy struck in January 1942 when the plane in which Carole and her mother were flying crashed into Table Rock Mountain, Nevada, killing them both. A grief-stricken Gable joined the US Army Air Force and was off the screen for three years, flying combat missions in Europe. When he returned the studio regarded his salary as excessive and did not renew his contract. He freelanced, but his films didn't do well at the box office. He starred in such films as The Hucksters (Jack Conway, 1947) and Homecoming (Mervyn LeRoy, 1948) with Lana Turner. He married Sylvia Ashley, the widow of Douglas Fairbanks, in 1949. Unfortunately this marriage was short-lived and they divorced in 1952. In July 1955 he married a former sweetheart, Kathleen Williams Spreckles (a.k.a. Kay Williams) and became stepfather to her two children, Joan and Adolph ("Bunker") Spreckels III. In 1959, Gable became a grandfather when Judy Lewis, his daughter with Loretta Young, gave birth to a daughter, Maria. In 1960, Gable's wife Kay discovered that she was expecting their first child. In early November 1960, he had just completed filming The Misfits (John Huston, 1961) with Marilyn Monroe, when he suffered a heart attack, and died later that month. Gable was buried shortly afterwards in the shrine that he had built for Carole Lombard and her mother when they died, at Forest Lawn Cemetery. In March 1961, Kay Gable gave birth to a boy, whom she named John Clark Gable after his father.
Sources Ed Stephan (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 34. Photo: Teddy Piaz.
Character actor Raymond Aimos (1891–1944) or simply Aimos was one of the familiar faces of the French cinema of the 1930s and early 1940s. During this golden age of poetic realism, he was the quintessential 'Titi Parisien' (Parisian kid) in at least 105 films. His film characters generally corresponded with himself: humble, poor, colourful, cheeky but with a heart of gold.
Raymond Aimos was born as Raymond Arthur Coudurier in La Fère in the North of France in 1891 (1889 (sic) according to IMDb and other sources). He was the son of a watchmaker-jeweler and was expected to work in the family business but young Raymond was uncontrollably attracted to show business. He managed to become an opera singer under the stage name Aimos. According to urban legends, retold by different sources, he made his first film appearance as a kid either in the Lumière brothers’ L’arroseur arose/The Sprinkler Sprinkled (1895, Louis Lumière) or in a film by another legendary film pioneer, Georges Méliès. (In the first film, the naughty boy was Benoît Duval). However, officially Aimos made his cinema debut in the short silent western Pendaison à Jefferson City/Hanging at Jefferson City (1910, Jean Durand) with Joë Hamman and Gaston Modot. He appeared in more early silent shorts, like the Onesime comedies Onésime et le nourrisson de la nourrice indigne/ Onesimus and the infant unworthy of the nurse (1912, Jean Durand), Onésime a un duel à l'américaine/Onesime has an American-style duel (1912, Jean Durand) and Onésime horloger/Onesime, Clockmaker (1912, Jean Durand), all starring Ernest Bourbon aka Onésime. A decade later, Aimos appeared in the Three Musketeers-sequel Vingt Ans après/Five Years Later (1922, Henri Diamant-Berger), based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas père. These film parts had all been modest, but Aimos’ lucky strike would be the coming of sound.
Aimos' physical appearance, his popular roots and mostly his gift of gab were in perfect harmony with the sound cinema of the 1930s. He was wonderful as a humble man of the people in two masterpieces by René Clair, Sous les toits de Paris/Under the Roofs of Paris (1930) starring Albert Préjean, and Quatorze juillet/July 14 (1933) with Annabella. It lead to more work for important directors. He appeared for Raymond Bernard as a soldier in the war drama Les croix de bois/Wooden Crosses (1932) with Pierre Blanchar, and a clochard in Amants et voleurs/Lovers and Thieves (1935) with Arletty, for Sacha Guitry as another clochard in Ils étaient neuf célibataires/Nine Bachelors (1939), for Marcel Carné as Quart-Vittel, the wreck in Quai des brumes/Port of Shadows (1938), and for Jean Grémillon in Lumière d'été/Summer Light (1943) starring Madeleine Renaud. His most memorable roles were in the films by Julien Duvivier, such as Mulot, the legionary friend of Jean Gabin in La Bandera, and Tintin, one of the five friends who build a riverside café after winning the jackpot in the lottery in La Belle Équipe with Jean Gabin and Charles Vanel. He also appeared in Duvivier’s Paquebot Tenacity and L’homme du jour. At IMDb, Guy Bellinger writes: “But even when he worked for less distinctive directors his presence was an asset for the film.” Some of these films now belong to the highlights of the Poetic realism, a French genre of the 1930s of lyrical, stylized and studio-bound films which offered a fatalistic view of life with their characters living on the margins of society, either as unemployed members of the working class or as criminals. Raymond Aimos was a courageous man in life. In August 1944, he decided to take part in the uprising against the Nazis which would lead to the Liberation of Paris. He was unfortunately hit by a stray bullet in the 10th Arrondissement. The exact circumstances of his death remain unclear and undetermined. He was only 53. Raymond Aimos never married and had no children. But he left an impressive film legacy, according to some sources he even appeared in nearly 450 films (IMDb only mentions 105 films)!
Sources: Simon Benattar-Bourgeay (Ciné-Artistes), Guy Bellinger (IMDb), Les Légendes du Cinéma (French), Wikipedia (French) and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
British postcard in the Celebrity Autograph Series, no. 268. Photo: J. Arthur Rank Film. Tony Wright in Tiger in the Smoke (Roy Ward Baker, 1956).
British actor Tony Wright (1925-1986) was a popular leading man during the 1950s and nicknamed 'Britain's Mr. Beefcake'. He was a Rank Organisation contract player for some years and played the role of London-based private detective Slim Callaghan in three French films.
Paul Anthony 'Tony' Wright was born in London, in 1925. He was the son of French-born British actor and screenwriter Hugh E. Wright. Tony got his start working in South African repertory theatre. In 1952, he made his screen debut in a BBC TV play, This Happy Breed (1952), based on a play by Noël Coward. In the cinema, he played a sexy, dangerous type in The Flanagan Boy (Reginald Le Borg, 1953) lured by Hollywood 'Bad Blonde' Barbara Payton to do her dirty work. The film made the hunky blond actor a beefcake pin-up of the 1950s. In France, he had success in the title role of the crime film À toi de jouer... Callaghan!!!/Amazing Mr. Callaghan (Willy Rozier, 1955), based on a novel by Peter Cheney. It was soon followed by Plus de whisky pour Callaghan!/No more whisky for Callaghan! (Willy Rozier, 1955) with Magali Vendeuil.
Tony Wright was contracted by the Rank Organisation and appeared in the Franke Howerd comedy Jumping for Joy (
John Paddy Carstairs, 1956) and a series of mediocre crime films. He married actress Janet Munro in 1957, though the couple was divorced in 1959. He returned as Callaghan in the French film Callaghan remet ça/Callaghan does it again (Willy Rozier, 1961) opposite Geneviève Kervine. In 1962, he married Shirley Clark, the daughter of writer Lesley Storm. During the 1960s he worked mostly for television and guest-starred in such popular series as The Avengers (1968) and The Saint. (1962-1968). Later he only played small roles in such B films as Clinic Exclusive (Doon Chaffey, 1971) and The Creeping Flesh (Freddie Francis, 1973) starring Christopher Lee. His final screen appearance was a bit role in the TV series Don't Wait Up (1983). Tony Wright passed away in 1986 in Wandsworth, London, in the aftermath of falling. He was 60. Wright was cremated at Putney Vale Crematorium.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Comiccon Brussels 2020 - Q&A Holly Marie Combs
Our next Charming guest comes from a truly magical place!
Charming and magical indeed, because she played a leading role in 179 episodes of the smash hit 90s and 2000s series CHARMED! Famed for playing Piper Halliwell in the original Charmed series, she was one of the Charmed Ones and considered the most powerful of the three sisters(after the death of Prue). We're of course talking about Holly Marie Combs! Holly also starred in the hit series Pretty Little Liars as Ella Montgomery.
( Comic Con Brussels is your celebration of geek culture in the heart of Europe!
You will find us at the beautiful Tour & Taxis site near the Brussels North train station. At Comic Con Brussels you will find Dealers, Artists, Actors, ... It's a Con that brings together all the things you love:
Comics, cosplay, gaming, films, manga, collectibles, anime, tv series, clothing, toys, gadgets and lots more!!! )
Vintage postcard Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1995. Mel Gibson and Catherine McCormack in Braveheart (Mel Gibson, 1995).
American-Australian actor Mel Gibson (1956) became known worldwide thanks to the small-budgeted action film Mad Max (1979). He went on to star in such acclaimed films as Gallipoli (1981) and The Bounty (1984). In 1987, he became a superstar with the buddy cop action-comedy film series Lethal Weapon (1987-1998). As director of Braveheart (1995), he won both the Academy Award for best director and best film. Gibson also produced and directed The Passion of the Christ (2004) about the last phase of Jesus Christ's life on earth.
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born in 1956 in Peekskill, New York, USA. He was the sixth of eleven children of Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman, and Anne Patricia (Reilly) Gibson. His mother was Irish, from County Longford, while his American-born father is of mostly Irish descent. His father moved the family from upstate New York to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in 1968 after winning as a contestant on the game show Jeopardy! The family settled in New South Wales, where Mel's paternal grandmother, contralto opera singer Eva Mylott, was born. After high school, Mel studied at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, performing at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts alongside future film thespians Judy Davis and Geoffrey Rush. Here, he starred opposite Judy Davis in a production of 'Romeo and Juliet'. After college, Mel had a few stints on stage and starred in TV shows. Eventually, he was chosen to star in the films Mad Max (George Miller, 1979) and Tim (Michael Pate, 1979), co-starring Piper Laurie. The small-budgeted Mad Max made him known worldwide, while Tim garnered him an award for Best Actor from the Australian Film Institute, the Australian equivalent to the Oscar. Gibson got a reputation as a serious, versatile actor. He was a part of the movement dubbed the 'Australian New Wave' by the press. They were a group of filmmakers and performers who emerged from Down Under at about the same time and found work in other parts of the world. Other members included actress Judy Davis and directors George Miller, Gillian Armstrong and Peter Weir.
Mel Gibson went on to star in the World War I drama Gallipoli (Peter Weir, 1981), which earned him a second award for Best Actor from the AFI. In 1980, he married Robyn Moore and had seven children. In 1984, Mel made his American debut in The Bounty (Roger Donaldson, 1984), which co-starred Anthony Hopkins. Then in 1987, Mel starred in what would become his signature series, Lethal Weapon (Richard Donner, 1987), in which he played Martin Riggs. In 1990, he took on the starring role in Hamlet (Franco Zeffirelli, 1990) with Glenn Close, which garnered him some critical praise. He also made the more endearing Forever Young (Steve Miner. 1992) with Jamie Lee Curtis and the somewhat disturbing The Man Without a Face (Mel Gibson, 1993). 1995 brought his most famous role as Sir William Wallace in Braveheart (Mel Gibson, 1995), for which he won two Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. From there, he made such box office hits as Ransom (Ron Howard, 1996), Payback (Brian Helgeland, 1999) and The Patriot (Roland Emmerich, 2000). His later films include Signs (M. Night Shyamalan, 2002), and Edge of Darkness (Martin Campbell, 2010). For The Passion of the Christ (2004), which he directed, wrote and produced, he spent 25 million dollars of his own money. Back in 1992, he started doing research for the film that was not released until 2004. That year, he was the highest-paid celebrity with a reported $210,000,000 salary from his The Passion of the Christ (2004) profits, plus a potential $150,000,000 that is yet to be accounted for. The way Gibson portrayed the suffering of Christ caused however much controversy. He received further critical notice for his directorial work of the action-adventure film Apocalypto (2006), which is set in Mesoamerica during the early 16th century. He separated from his wife Robyn in June 2006. At the end of July 2006, Gibson was arrested for drunk driving in Malibu, California. During his arrest, he made derogatory comments about Jews and women. On 1 August 2006, he checked himself into a recovery program for alcohol abuse. He did three-year probation following the misdemeanour drunken driving arrest. Robyn finally filed for divorce in April 2009 but it wasn't finalised until December 2011, reportedly because it took them all that time to divide Gibson's estimated assets of $850 million. It is considered the biggest divorce payout in Hollywood history. In 2009, he made a first public appearance together with his girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva who was then three months pregnant with his daughter Lucia. The couple split in 2010. In 2014, he started a relationship with Rosalind Ross with whom he had his ninth child.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Italian postcard by TV Stelle in the Star Collection, no. 7. Design: C. Rea.
Hunky Italian actor Kim Rossi Stuart (1969) started as a teen idol in B-films and TV movies,. He turned his career in a more serious direction with arthouse hits like Michelangelo Antonioni’s Al di là delle nuvole and Romanzo Criminale/Crime Novel (2005). He also became a notable film director himself.
Kim Rossi Stuart was born in Rome in 1969 and named after the Rudyard Kipling novel Kim. His father, Giacomo Rossi Stuart, was an actor of Italian and Scottish descent. Kim's mother, Klara Müller, is a former top model of German and Dutch descent. Kim has three sisters, two of them actresses: Loretta Rossi Stuart and Valentina Rossi Stuart, the latter also stunt-woman. Ombretta is his third sister. Kim began acting at the age of 5 with his father Giacomo in the film drama Fatti di gente perbene/The Murri Affair (Mauro Bolognini, 1974), starring Catherine Deneuve. In 1983, the 14-years-old left his parents' home and also left school to further his career as an actor. He studied theatre and in 1986 he began to act regularly for TV and film. He played a novice in Der Name der Rose (Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1986), the film version of Umberto Eco’s bestseller The Name of the Rose. He became popular with his lead in the martial arts film Il ragazzo dal kimono d'oro/Karate Warrior (Fabrizio De Angelis, 1987) and its sequels. Seymour Asses at IMDb: “It's a poorly made "young guy learns karate from old Asian master in order fight his arch nemesis over a girl" type movie. The plot is lifted from The Karate Kid 2, but Karate Warrior expands on this by adding magic to the mix. Really, really stupid magic.” More interesting was the dark and funny comedy Lo zio indegno/The Sleazy Uncle (Franco Brusati, 1989), starring Vittorio Gassman. Rossi-Stuart was again a smash among young Italian audiences as a dashing prince in the TV movie Fantaghirò/Cave of the Golden Rose (Lamberto Bava, 1991) with Alessandra Martines. and the success lead to several sequels. He began to focus on quality films, like Senza pelle/No Skin (Alessandro D'Alatri, 1994), where his role, a man with psychological problems, was appreciated by the critics. A popular film was the crime-drama Poliziotti/Policemen (Giulio Base, 1995), with Claudio Amendola and Michele Placido. Then he acted for legendary director Michelangelo Antonioni in Al di là delle nuvole/Beyond the Clouds (Michelangelo Antonioni, Wim Wenders, 1995).
In the mid 1990s, Kim Rossi Stuart returned to the theatre to play in William Shakespeare’s Re Lear (King Lear), directed by Luca Ronconi, and with Turi Ferro in Il visitatore (The Visitor) written by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt and directed by Antonio Calenda. On TV, he played Julien Sorel in the French-series Le Rouge et le Noir/The Red and the Black (Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe, 1997), based upon the famous book by Stendhal. In 2002 he participated in the film Pinocchio (Roberto Benigni, 2002) as Lucignolo. Then, he played in Le Chiavi di Casa/The Keys to the House (Gianni Amelio, 2004), as a young father who attempts to forge a relationship with his teenage, handicapped son after he meets him for the first time. The film and his performance won several awards. Later he played Mimmo in the TV-film Il tunnel della libertà/The tunnel of the Freedom (Enzo Monteleone, 2004) and he had one of the leading-roles in Michele Placido's Romanzo Criminale/Kings of Crime (Michele Placido, 2005). This film was also highly acclaimed and won 15 awards. Rossi Stuart wrote the screenplay, directed and acted in the film Anche libero va bene/Along the Ridge (Kim Rossi Stuart, 2006). It was followed by a lead role in Piano, solo (Riccardo Milani, 2007), a film based on the life of Italian jazz great Luca Flores, with Rossi Stuart playing Flores. He then starred in the comedy-drama Questione Di Cuore/A Question of the Heart (Francesca Archibugi, 2009). Then followed Vallanzasca - Gli Angeli Del Male/Angel of Evil (Michele Placido, 2011), based on the life of Renato Vallanzasca, a famous 1970s Italian bank robber. Wallys Chamber at IMDb: “Kim Rossi Stuart has a lot of charm, mixed with a crazy brutality and a great face to slap on the front of a newspaper. There's a fantastic scene where Vallanzasca dresses as a business man and just strolls straight through into the bank's back room to help himself and it's only with this charm that he manages to go through with it.” In the French romantic comedy L'ex de ma vie (Dorothée Sebbagh, 2014) he appeared as the Italian ex Nino of Géraldine Nakache. And he directed himself in the comedy-drama Tommaso (Kim Rossi Stuart, 2016). Kim Rossi Stuart was in a relationship with the actresses Veronica Logan and and Simona Cavallari. He speaks English, French and Italian, is an accomplished swimmer and also plays the trumpet. He has a son Ettore (2011) by his girlfriend Ilaria Spada.
Sources: Dante Balzano (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
Italian postcard by ASER, no. 201.
Andrea Checchi (1916–1974) was a prolific Italian film and television actor, who peaked in the early 1940s as a leading actor, while he had important supporting parts in post-war Neorealism and beyond.
Andrea Checchi was born in Florence in 1916. He was the son of painter Amedeo Checchi. At a very young age, he moved to Rome, where he frequented the film academy Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. At age 18, he debuted in the historical film 1860 (Alessandro Blasetti, 1934), and less than one year after he had a secondary role in Blasetti’s Vecchia guardia/Old Guard (Alessandro Blasetti, 1934). Many secondary parts in film followed until he had his breakthrough in the war propaganda film L'assedio dell'Alcazar/Alcazar (Augusto Genina, 1940) starring Fosco Giachetti, and even more in the comedy Ore 9 lezione di chimica/Schoolgirl Diary (Mario Mattòli, 1941), in which he had the male lead opposite Alida Valli, Irasema Dilian and Bianca Della Corte. Then came the realist romantic comedy Avanti c'è posto/Before the Postman (Mario Bonnard, 1941), in which he rivalled with Aldo Fabrizi for the hand of the young Adriana Benetti. The film was written by the young Federico Fellini. Other memorable parts were his leads in Via delle cinque lune/Street of the Five Moons (Luigi Chiarini, 1942), Malombra (Mario Soldati, 1942) starring Isa Miranda, and La contessa Castiglioni/The Countess of Castiglione (Flavio Calzavara, 1942) with Doris Duranti. By the mid-1940s, Checchi was one of the most wanted young Italian actors, both in dramatic and in comical parts. Checchi was considered a modern antihero, impersonating loss, resignation, and insecurity, and contrasting with the exuberance of young male actors like Rossano Brazzi, Roberto Villa, Massimo Serato, Leonardo Cortese, or the male star of the era, Amedeo Nazzari. His characters wore wrinkled clothes and his ties askew, rivalled with Massimo Girotti, even if less handsome, in the part of the tormented and fragile protagonist. Checchi was the natural heir of Fosco Giachetti (whom he had seconded in films like L’assedio dell’Alcazar), but he was less harsh and more flexible. Moreover, he gifted his characters with a vulnerability that was unusual for the cinema of the 1930s and early 1940s. It was because of actors like Checchi, Girotti, Anna Magnani, and up to a point Gino Cervi and Ignatio Lupi as well, that Italian cinema knew how to move more and more towards neorealism. Checchi had a raw but sensual voice, which considerably contributed to his image of a man with weaknesses but essentially good. He surely was a star in the Italian cinema of the 1940s, and thus he was photographed by the famous studio photographer Luxardo in Rome: with a cigarette between his lips and his face partly covered by his own smoke.
In the postwar era, things changed for Andrea Checchi. Though he won his first Nastro d'Argento for best actor in Due lettere anonime/Two Anonymous Letters (Mario Camerini, 1946), he received fewer opportunities to play leads. His face, which wore its signs at an early stage, was soon borrowed to represent losing, conquered persons, who don’t lose their dignity despite all. His sober and restrained acting resulted in memorable secondary parts that adorned films like Caccia tragica/Tragic Hunt (Giuseppe De Santis, 1947) – in which he played the bad guy as the leader of a gang that terrorises the local farmers Carla del Poggio and Massimo Girotti. Other important parts were Isa Miranda’s husband in Le mura di Malapaga/The Walls of Malapaga (René Clement, 1949), the antifascist in Achtung! Banditi!/Attention! Bandits (Carlo Lizzani, 1950), the film producing husband of Lucia Bosè in La signora senza camelie/Camille Without Camelias (1953) by Michelangelo Antonioni (which earned him a Grolla d'oro for best actor), and a part in L'assassino/The Assassin (1961) by Elio Petri, in which Marcello Mastroianni’s character is innocently accused of murder. In this new attire of supporting actor Checchi repeated his 1946 success in 1958, winning a second Nastro d'Argento for the best supporting actor in Parola di ladro/Honor Among Thieves (Gianni Puccini, Nanni Loy, 1957). Within this second phase of his film career, Checchi played countless supporting parts, which enabled him to work with the great directors of the post-war era and act in several neorealist films. Often he played military characters, and while he played fascist characters under Mussolini, he often played partisans and antifascists in the post-war Italian cinema. From the 1960s Checchi had an active career in television as well, in particular under the direction of Anton Giulio Majano. In 1962 he was Father McMillan in his series Una tragedia Americana/An American tragedy (after Theodore Dreiser). Later he played captain Ivan Mironov in La figlia del capitano/The Captain's Daughter (Leonardo Cortese, 1965) and that same year he acted as Valkov in Leo Tolstoi’s Resurrezione/Resurrection Franco Enriquez, 1965). In 1967 he was John Sedley in Majano's mini-series La fiera della vanità/Vanity Fair. He played the lead of Robert Fenwick in Majano's E le stelle stanno a guardare/The Stars Look Down (1971) opposite Giancarlo Giannini, and Head of Police Bonsanti in the popular mini-series Il segno del commando/The sign of the commando (Daniele D'Anza, 1971), where he reunited with Massimo Girotti nearly 25 years after Caccia tragica. Checchi also played in two episodes of the detective series Le inchieste del commissario Maigret/The investigations of Inspector Maigret (Mario Landi, 1965-1968), starring Gino Cervi. Andrea Checchi was married to the Hungarian Erika Schwarze with whom he had a son - Enrico Roberto Checchi – a television playwright. Like his father he also painted, exhibiting his work in various solo exhibitions. Afflicted by an auto-immune disease – knotty polyarteritis. After a treatment in a specialised clinic in Geneva, Checchi returned to Rome, where died in the Salvator Mundi hospital in 1974. He was 57.
Sources: Wikipedia (Italian, French, German, and English) and IMDb.
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Aspiring actor and model. I've been stepping out of my comfort zone and doing more photo shoots lately. Watch out for Matthew, I believe he has it in him to do well in the business. Learn more about him here
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Alejandro Ricardo Dolina (Baigorrita, partido de General Viamonte, provincia de Buenos Aires) es un escritor, músico, conductor de radio y de televisión y actor argentino. Realizó estudios de Derecho, Música, Letras e Historia.
Su programa "La venganza será terrible" sale al aire por Radio Nacional todos los días a las 0 hs. y es líder en su franja horaria desde hace años.
Trayectoria ver en: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandro_Dolina
Aquí un retrato que le hice durante la filmación de "El día que Maradona conoció a Gardel".1995. Argentina.
here in a portrait that I made during the filming of "The day that Maradona met Gardel" (1995)
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Snowdonia, or Eryri is a mountainous region and national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), which is 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) tall. These peaks are all part of the Snowdon, Glyderau, and Carneddau ranges in the north of the region. The shorter Moelwynion and Moel Hebog ranges lie immediately to the south.
The national park has an area of 823 square miles (2,130 km2) (the fourth-largest in the UK), and covers most of central and southern Gwynedd and the western part of Conwy County Borough. This is much larger than the area traditionally considered Snowdonia, and in addition to the five ranges above includes the Rhinogydd, Cadair Idris, and Aran ranges and the Dyfi Hills. It also includes most of the coast between Porthmadog and Aberdyfi. The park was the first of the three national parks of Wales to be designated, in October 1951, and the third in the UK after the Peak District and Lake District, which were established in April and May 1951 respectively. The park received 3.89 million visitors in 2015.
The name Snowdon means 'snow hill' and is derived from the Old English elements snāw and dūn, the latter meaning 'hill'. Snowdonia is simply taken from the name of the mountain.
The origins of Eryri are less clear. Two popular interpretations are that the name is related to eryr, 'eagle', and that it means 'highlands' and is related to the Latin oriri ('to rise'). Although eryri is not any direct form of the word eryr in the meaning 'eagle', it is a plural form of eryr in the meaning 'upland'.
Before the boundaries of the national park were designated, "Snowdonia" was generally used to refer to a smaller upland area of northern Gwynedd centred on the Snowdon massif. The national park covers an area more than twice that size, extending south into the Meirionnydd area.
This difference is apparent in books published before 1951. In George Borrow's 1907 Wild Wales he states that "Snowdon or Eryri is no single hill, but a mountainous region, the loftiest part of which is called Y Wyddfa", making a distinction between the summit of the mountain and the surrounding massif. The Mountains of Snowdonia by H. Carr & G. Lister (1925) defines "Eryri" as "composed of the two cantrefs of Arfon and Arllechwedd, and the two commotes of Nant Conwy and Eifionydd", which corresponds to Caernarfonshire with the exception of southwest Llŷn and the Creuddyn Peninsula. In Snowdonia: The National Park of North Wales (1949), F. J. North states that "When the Committee delineated provisional boundaries, they included areas some distance beyond Snowdonia proper".
Snowdonia National Park, also known as Eryri National Park in English and Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri in Welsh, was established in October 1951. It was the third national park in the United Kingdom, following the Peak District and Lake District in April and May of the same year. It covers 827 square miles (2,140 km2) in the counties of Gwynedd and Conwy, and has 37 miles (60 km) of coastline.
The park is governed by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, which has 18 members: 9 appointed by Gwynedd, 3 by Conwy, and 6 by the Welsh Government to represent the national interest. The authority's main offices are at Penrhyndeudraeth.
The park authority used Snowdonia and Snowdon when referring to the national park and mountain in English until February 2023, when it resolved to primarily use the Welsh names, Eryri and Yr Wyddfa. There will be a transitional period of approximately two years in which the authority will continue to use the English names in parentheses — for example "Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)" — where the context requires.
Unlike national parks in other countries, national parks in the UK are made up of both public and private lands under a central planning authority. The makeup of land ownership in the national park is as follows:
More than 26,000 people live within the park, of whom 58.6% could speak Welsh in 2011. While most of the land is either open or mountainous land, there is a significant amount of agricultural activity within the park.
The national park does not include the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, which forms a unique non-designated enclave within the park boundaries. The town was deliberately excluded from the park when it was established because of its slate quarrying industry. The boundaries of the Peak District National Park exclude the town of Buxton and its adjacent limestone quarries for a similar reason.
The geology of Snowdonia is key to the area's character. Glaciation during a succession of ice ages, has carved from a heavily faulted and folded succession of sedimentary and igneous rocks, a distinctive rocky landscape. The last ice age ended only just over 11,500 years ago, leaving a legacy of features attractive to visitors but which have also played a part in the development of geological science and continue to provide a focus for educational visits. Visiting Cwm Idwal in 1841 Charles Darwin realised that the landscape was the product of glaciation. The bedrock dates largely from the Cambrian and Ordovician periods with intrusions of Ordovician and Silurian age associated with the Caledonian Orogeny. There are smaller areas of Silurian age sedimentary rocks in the south and northeast and of Cenozoic era strata on the Cardigan Bay coast though the latter are concealed by more recent deposits. Low grade metamorphism of Cambrian and Ordovician mudstones has resulted in the slates, the extraction of which once formed the mainstay of the area's economy.
The principal ranges of the traditional Snowdonia are the Snowdon massif itself, the Glyderau, the Carneddau, the Moelwynion and the Moel Hebog range. All of Wales' 3000ft mountains are to be found within the first three of these massifs and are most popular with visitors. To their south within the wider national park are the Rhinogydd and the Cadair Idris and Aran Fawddwy ranges. Besides these well-defined areas are a host of mountains which are less readily grouped though various guidebook writers have assigned them into groups such as the 'Arenigs', the 'Tarrens' and the 'Dyfi hills'.
Snowdon's summit at 1085 metres (3560 feet) is the highest in Wales and the highest in Britain south of the Scottish Highlands. At 905 metres (2970 feet) Aran Fawddwy is the highest in Wales outside of northern Snowdonia; Cadair Idris, at 893 metres (2930 feet), is next in line.
Rivers draining the area empty directly into Cardigan Bay are typically short and steep. From north to south they include the Glaslyn and Dwyryd which share a common estuary, the Mawddach and its tributaries the Wnion and the Eden, the smaller Dysynni and on the park's southern margin the Dyfi. A series of rivers drain to the north coast. Largest of these is the Conwy on the park's eastern margin which along with the Ogwen drains into Conwy Bay. Further west the Seiont and Gwyrfai empty into the western end of the Menai Strait. A part of the east of the national park is within the upper Dee (Dyfrydwy) catchment and includes Bala Lake, the largest natural waterbody in Wales. A fuller list of the rivers and tributaries within the area is found at List of rivers of Wales.
There are few natural waterbodies of any size in Wales; Snowdonia is home to most. Besides Bala Lake, a few lakes occupy glacial troughs including Llyn Padarn and Llyn Peris at Llanberis and Tal-y-llyn Lake south of Cadair Idris. Llyn Dinas, Llyn Gwynant, and Llyn Cwellyn to the south and west of Snowdon feature in this category as do Llyn Cowlyd and Llyn Ogwen on the margins of the Carneddau. There are numerous small lakes occupying glacial cirques owing to the former intensity of glacial action in Snowdonia. Known generically as tarns, examples include Llyn Llydaw, Glaslyn and Llyn Du'r Arddu on Snowdon, Llyn Idwal within the Glyderau and Llyn Cau on Cadair Idris.
There are two large wholly man-made bodies of water in the area, Llyn Celyn and Llyn Trawsfynydd whilst numerous of the natural lakes have had their levels artificially raised to different degrees. Marchlyn Mawr reservoir and Ffestiniog Power Station's Llyn Stwlan are two cases where natural tarns have been dammed as part of pumped storage hydro-electric schemes. A fuller list of the lakes within the area is found at List of lakes of Wales. In 2023, the park standardised its Welsh language lake names, to be also used in English.
The national park meets the Irish Sea coast within Cardigan Bay between the Dovey estuary in the south and the Dwyryd estuary. The larger part of that frontage is characterised by dune systems, the largest of which are Morfa Dyffryn and Morfa Harlech. These two locations have two of the largest sand/shingle spits in Wales. The major indentations of the Dovey, the Mawddach and Dwyryd estuaries, have large expanses of intertidal sands and coastal marsh which are especially important for wildlife: see #Natural history. The northern tip of the national park extends to the north coast of Wales at Penmaen-bach Point, west of Conwy, where precipitous cliffs have led to the road and railway negotiating the spot in tunnels.
There are only three towns within the park boundary, though there are several more immediately beyond it. Dolgellau is the most populous followed by Bala on the eastern boundary and then Harlech overlooking Tremadog Bay. More populous than these is the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, which is within an exclave, that is to say it is surrounded by the national park but excluded from it, whilst the towns of Tywyn and Barmouth on the Cardigan Bay coast are within coastal exclaves. Llanrwst in the east, Machynlleth in the south and Porthmadog and Penrhyndeudraeth in the west are immediately beyond the boundary but still identified with the park; indeed the last of these hosts the headquarters of the Snowdonia National Park Authority. Similarly the local economies of the towns of Conwy, Bethesda, and Llanberis in the north are inseparably linked to the national park as they provide multiple visitor services. The lower terminus of the Snowdon Mountain Railway is at Llanberis. Though adjacent to it, Llanfairfechan and Penmaenmawr are less obviously linked to the park.
There are numerous smaller settlements within the national park: prominent amongst these are the eastern 'gateway' village of Betws-y-Coed, Aberdyfi on the Dovey (Dyfi) estuary and the small village of Beddgelert each of which attract large numbers of visitors. Other sizeable villages are Llanuwchllyn at the southwest end of Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid), Dyffryn Ardudwy, Corris, Trawsfynydd, Llanbedr, Trefriw and Dolwyddelan.
Six primary routes serve Snowdonia, the busiest of which is the A55, a dual carriageway which runs along the north coast and provides strategic road access to the northern part of the national park. The most important north–south route within the park is the A470 running from the A55 south past Betws-y-Coed to Blaenau Ffestiniog to Dolgellau. It exits the park a few miles to the southeast near Mallwyd. From Dolgellau, the A494 runs to Bala whilst the A487 connects with Machynlleth. The A487 loops around the northwest of the park from Bangor via Caernarfon to Porthmadog before turning in land to meet the A470 east of Maentwrog. The A5 was built as a mail coach road by Thomas Telford between London and Holyhead; it enters the park near Pentrefoelas and leaves it near Bethesda. Other A class roads provide more local links; the A493 down the Dovey valley from Machynlleth and up the coast to Tywyn then back up the Mawddach valley to Dolgellau, the A496 from Dolgellau down the north side of the Mawddach to Barmouth then north up the coast via Harlech to Maentwrog. The A4212 connecting Bala with Trawsfynydd is relatively modern having been laid out in the 1960s in connection with the construction of Llyn Celyn. Three further roads thread their often twisting and narrow way through the northern mountains; A4085 links Penrhyndeudraeth with Caernarfon, the A4086 links Capel Curig with Caernarfon via Llanberis and the A498 links Tremadog with the A4086 at Pen-y-Gwryd. Other roads of note include that from Llanuwchllyn up Cwm Cynllwyd to Dinas Mawddwy via the 545 metre (1788') high pass of Bwlch y Groes, the second highest tarmacked public road in Wales and the minor road running northwest and west from Llanuwchllyn towards Bronaber via the 531 metre (1742') high pass of Bwlch Pen-feidiog.
The double track North Wales Coast Line passes along the northern boundary of the park between Conwy and Bangor briefly entering it at Penmaen-bach Point where it is in tunnel. Stations serve the communities of Conwy, Penmaenmawr, Llanfairfechan and Bangor. The single-track Conwy Valley Line runs south from Llandudno Junction, entering the park north of Betws-y-coed which is served by a station then west up the Lledr valley by way of further stations at Pont-y-pant, Dolwyddelan and Roman Bridge. After passing through a tunnel the passenger line now terminates at Blaenau Ffestiniog railway station. Prior to 1961 the route continued as the Bala and Ffestiniog Railway via Trawsfynydd to Bala joining another former route along the Dee valley which ran southwest via Dolgellau to join the still extant coastal Cambrian Line south of Barmouth. The Pwllheli branch of the Cambrian Line splits from the Aberystwyth branch at Dovey Junction and continues via stations at Aberdovey, Tywyn, Tonfanau, Llwyngwril, Fairbourne and Morfa Mawddach to Barmouth where it crosses the Mawddach estuary by the Grade II* listed wooden Barmouth Bridge, a structure which also provides for walkers and cyclists. Further stations serve Llanaber, Tal-y-bont, Dyffryn Ardudwy, Llanbedr, Pensarn and Llandanwg before reaching Harlech. Tygwyn, Talsarnau and Llandecwyn stations are the last before the line exits the park as it crosses the Dwyryd estuary via Pont Briwet and turns westwards bound for Pwllheli via Penrhyndeudraeth, Porthmadog and Criccieth.
Many sections of dismantled railway are now used by walking and cycling routes and are described elsewhere. The Bala Lake Railway is a heritage railway which has been established along a section of the former mainline route between Bala and Llanuwchllyn. Other heritage railways occupy sections of former mineral lines, often narrow gauge and are described in a separate section.
The national park is served by a growing bus network, branded Sherpa'r Wyddfa (formerly Snowdon Sherpa). Together with the TrawsCymru network of buses this provides a car-free option to tourists and locals wishing to travel across the National Park.
The network was relaunched in July 2022 with a new brand, Sherpa'r Wyddfa, to reflect the National Park's new push for the promotion of Welsh place names. As such the publicity and websites for the newly branded service only use these Welsh names, even for English language users.
Snowdonia is one of the wettest parts of the United Kingdom; Crib Goch in Snowdonia is the wettest spot in the United Kingdom, with an average rainfall of 4,473 millimetres (176.1 in) a year over the 30-year period prior to the mid-2000s. (There is a rainfall gauge at 713 metres, 2340' on the slopes below Crib Goch.)
The earliest evidence for human occupation of the area dates from around 4000–3000 BCE with extensive traces of prehistoric field systems evident in the landscape. Within these are traces of irregular enclosures and hut circles. There are burial chambers of Neolithic and Bronze Age such as Bryn Cader Faner and Iron Age hillforts such as Bryn y Castell near Ffestiniog.
The region was finally conquered by the Romans by AD 77–78. Remains of Roman marching camps and practice camps are evident. There was a Roman fort and amphitheatre at Tomen y Mur. Roads are known to have connected with Segontium (Caernarfon) and Deva Victrix (Chester) and include the northern reaches of Sarn Helen.
There are numerous memorial stones of Early Christian affinity dating from the post-Roman period. The post-Roman hillfort of Dinas Emrys also dates to this time. Churches were introduced to the region in the 5th and 6th centuries. Llywelyn the Great and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd had various stone castles constructed to protect their borders and trade routes. Edward I built several castles around the margins including those at Harlech and Conwy for military and administrative reasons. Most are now protected within a World Heritage Site. Some of Snowdonia's many stone walls date back to this period too. In the Middle Ages, the title Prince of Wales and Lord of Snowdonia (Tywysog Cymru ac Arglwydd Eryri) was used by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd; his grandfather Llywelyn Fawr used the title Prince of north Wales and Lord of Snowdonia.
The 18th century saw the start of industrial exploitation of the area's resources, assisted by the appearance in the late part of the century of turnpike trusts making it more accessible. The engineer Thomas Telford left a legacy of road and railway construction in and around Snowdonia. A new harbour at Porthmadog linked to slate quarries at Ffestiniog via a narrow gauge railway. At its peak in the 19th century the slate industry employed around 12,000 men. A further 1000 were employed in stone quarrying at Graiglwyd and Penmaenmawr. Mining for copper, iron and gold was undertaken during the 18th and 19th centuries, leaving a legacy of mine and mill ruins today. Ruins of the gold industry are found at Cefn Coch on the Dolmelynllyn estate.
The Snowdonia Society is a registered charity formed in 1967; it is a voluntary group of people with an interest in the area and its protection.
Amory Lovins led the successful 1970s opposition to stop Rio Tinto digging up the area for a massive mine.
The park's entire coastline is a Special Area of Conservation, which runs from the Llŷn Peninsula down the mid-Wales coast, the latter containing valuable sand dune systems.
The park's natural forests are of the mixed deciduous type, the commonest tree being the Welsh oak. Birch, ash, mountain-ash and hazel are also common. The park also contains some large (planted) coniferous forested areas such as Gwydir Forest near Betws-y-Coed, although some areas, once harvested, are now increasingly being allowed to regrow naturally.
Northern Snowdonia is the only place in Britain where the Snowdon lily (Gagea serotina), an arctic–alpine plant, is found and the only place in the world where the Snowdonia hawkweed Hieracium snowdoniense grows.
One of the major problems facing the park in recent years has been the growth of Rhododendron ponticum. This fast-growing invasive species has a tendency to take over and stifle native species. It can form massive towering growths and has a companion fungus that grows on its roots producing toxins that are poisonous to any local flora and fauna for a seven-year period after the Rhododendron infestations have been eradicated. As a result, there are a number of desolate landscapes.
Mammals in the park include otters, polecats, feral goats, and pine martens. Birds include raven, red-billed chough, peregrine, osprey, merlin and the red kite. The rainbow-coloured Snowdon beetle (Chrysolina cerealis) is only found in northern Snowdonia.
Snowdonia has a particularly high number of protected sites in respect of its diverse ecology; nearly 20% of its total area is protected by UK and European law. Half of that area was set aside by the government under the European Habitats Directive as a Special Area of Conservation. There are a large number of Sites of special scientific interest (or 'SSSIs'), designated both for fauna and flora but also in some cases for geology. Nineteen of these sites are managed as national nature reserves by Natural Resources Wales. The park also contains twelve Special Areas of Conservation (or 'SACs'), three Special Protection Areas (or 'SPAs') and three Ramsar sites. Some are wholly within the park boundaries, others straddle it to various degrees.
There are numerous SSSIs within the park, the most extensive of which are Snowdonia, Migneint-Arenig-Dduallt, Morfa Harlech, Rhinog, Berwyn, Cadair Idris, Llyn Tegid, Aber Mawddach / Mawddach Estuary, Dyfi, Morfa Dyffryn, Moel Hebog, Coedydd Dyffryn Ffestiniog and Coedydd Nanmor.
The following NNRs are either wholly or partly within the park: Allt y Benglog, Y Berwyn (in multiple parts), Cader Idris, Ceunant Llennyrch, Coed Camlyn, Coed Cymerau, Coed Dolgarrog, Coed Ganllwyd, Coed Gorswen, Coed Tremadog, Coedydd Aber, Coedydd Maentwrog (in 2 parts), Coed y Rhygen, Cwm Glas Crafnant, Cwm Idwal, Hafod Garregog, Morfa Harlech, Rhinog and Snowdon.
The twelve SACs are as follows: Snowdonia SAC which covers much of the Carneddau, Glyderau, and the Snowdon massif, Afon Gwyrfai a Llyn Cwellyn, Corsydd Eifionydd / Eifionydd Fens (north of Garndolbenmaen), the Coedydd Derw a Safleoedd Ystlumod Meirion / Meirionydd Oakwoods and Bat Sites - a series of sites between Tremadog, Trawsfynydd, and Ffestiniog and Beddgelert and extending up the Gwynant. It also includes many of the oakwoods of the Mawddach and its tributaries. Afon Eden – Cors Goch Trawsfynydd, Rhinog, Cadair Idris (in 2 parts), Migneint-Arenig-Dduallt, River Dee and Afon Dyfrdwy a Llyn Tegid (Wales), Mwyngloddiau Fforest Gwydir / Gwydyr Forest Mines (north of Betws-y-Coed) and a part of the Berwyn a Mynyddoedd De Clwyd / Berwyn and South Clwyd Mountains SAC. The Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau / Lleyn Peninsula and the Sarnau SAC covers the entire Cardigan Bay coastline of the park and the sea area and extends above the high water mark at Morfa Harlech, Mochras and around the Dovey and Mawddach estuaries.
The three SPAs are Dovey Estuary / Aber Dyfi (of which a part is within the park), Berwyn (of which a part is within the park) and Migneint-Arenig-Dduallt.
The three designated Ramsar sites are the Dyfi Biosphere (Cors Fochno and Dyfi), Cwm Idwal and Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake).
The area's economy was traditionally centred upon farming and from the early 19th century increasingly on mining and quarrying. Tourism has become an increasingly significant part of Snowdonia's economy during the 20th and 21st centuries.
The extensive farming of sheep remains central to Snowdonia's farming economy.
Significant sections of the park were afforested during the 20th century for timber production. Major conifer plantations include Dyfi Forest, Coed y Brenin Forest between Dolgellau and Trawsfynydd, Penllyn Forest south of Bala, Beddgelert Forest and Gwydyr (or Gwydir) Forest near Betws-y-Coed which is managed as a forest park by Natural Resources Wales.
The region was once the most important producer of slate in the world. Some production continues but at a much reduced level from its peak. The park boundaries are drawn such that much of the landscape affected by slate quarrying and mining lies immediately outside of the designated area.
Construction of a nuclear power station beside Llyn Trawsfynydd began in 1959 with the first power produced in 1965. The site was operational until 1991 though it continues as an employer during its decommissioning phase. Pumped storage hydroelectric schemes are in operation at Llanberis and Ffestiniog.
Research indicates that there were 3.67 million visitors to Snowdonia National Park in 2013, with approximately 9.74 million tourist days spent in the park during that year. Total tourist expenditure was £433.6 million in 2013.
Many of the hikers in the area concentrate on Snowdon itself. It is regarded as a fine mountain, but at times gets very crowded; in addition the Snowdon Mountain Railway runs to the summit.
The other high mountains with their boulder-strewn summits as well as Tryfan, one of the few mountains in the UK south of Scotland whose ascent needs hands as well as feet are also very popular. However, there are also some spectacular walks in Snowdonia on the lower mountains, and they tend to be relatively unfrequented. Among hikers' favourites are Y Garn (east of Llanberis) along the ridge to Elidir Fawr; Mynydd Tal-y-Mignedd (west of Snowdon) along the Nantlle Ridge to Mynydd Drws-y-Coed; Moelwyn Mawr (west of Blaenau Ffestiniog); and Pen Llithrig y Wrach north of Capel Curig. Further south are Y Llethr in the Rhinogydd, and Cadair Idris near Dolgellau.
The park has 1,479 miles (2,380 km) of public footpaths, 164 miles (264 km) of public bridleways, and 46 miles (74 km) of other public rights of way. A large part of the park is also covered by right to roam laws.
The Wales Coast Path runs within the park between Machynlleth and Penrhyndeudraeth, save for short sections of coast in the vicinity of Tywyn and Barmouth which are excluded from the park. It touches the park boundary again at Penmaen-bach Point on the north coast. An inland alternative exists between Llanfairfechan and Conwy, wholly within the park. The North Wales Path, which predates the WCP, enters the park north of Bethesda and follows a route broadly parallel to the north coast visiting Aber Falls and the Sychnant Pass before exiting the park on the descent from Conwy Mountain. The Cambrian Way is a long-distance trail between Cardiff and Conwy that stays almost entirely within the national park from Mallwyd northwards. It was officially recognised in 2019, and is now depicted on Ordnance Survey maps.
The use of the English names for the area has been divisive, with an increase in protests against their use since 2020; these led to the national park authority deciding to use Welsh names as far as legally possible in November 2022. An early example of pressure to deprecate Snowdon and Snowdonia was a 2003 campaign by Cymuned, inspired by campaigns to refer to Ayers Rock as Uluru and Mount Everest as Qomolangma.
In 2020 an e-petition calling for the removal of the English names was put forward to the Senedd, but rejected as responsibility lies with the national park authority. In 2021 an e-petition on the same topic attracted more than 5,300 signatures and was presented to the national park authority.
On 28 April 2021 Gwynedd councillor John Pughe Roberts put forward a motion to use the Welsh names exclusively, calling this a "question of respect for the Welsh language". The motion was not considered and delayed, as the national park authority already appointed a "Welsh Place Names Task and Finish Group" to investigate the issue. The park authority however cannot compel other bodies and/or individuals to stop using the English names, with the proposals facing some criticism.
In May 2021, following the dismissal of the motion, YouGov conducted a poll on Snowdon's name. 60% of Welsh adults supported the English name Snowdon, compared to 30% wanting the Welsh name Yr Wyddfa. Separating by language, 59% of Welsh speakers preferred the Welsh name, but 37% of these still wanted Snowdon to be used as well. 69% of non-Welsh speakers firmly supported Snowdon as the Mountain's name. The proposals to rename Snowdon are usually accompanied with proposals to rename Snowdonia.
On 16 November 2022, Members of the Snowdonia National Park Authority committee voted to use the Welsh names Yr Wyddfa and Eryri to refer to the mountain and the national park, rather than the English names, in materials produced by the authority. The national park authority described the decision as "decisive action" and the authority's head of culture heritage stated that Welsh place names were part of the area's "special qualities" and that other public bodies, English-language press and filming companies have used the Welsh-language names. Before the decision the park had already prioritised the Welsh names by using them first and giving the English names in parentheses. The name "Snowdonia" cannot be abandoned entirely, as it is set in law and so must be used in statutory documents. The authority announced a review of the authority's branding in 2023 to adapt to the new approach to Welsh place names.
Gwynedd is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The city of Bangor is the largest settlement, and the administrative centre is Caernarfon. The preserved county of Gwynedd, which is used for ceremonial purposes, includes the Isle of Anglesey.
Gwynedd is the second largest county in Wales but sparsely populated, with an area of 979 square miles (2,540 km2) and a population of 117,400. After Bangor (18,322), the largest settlements are Caernarfon (9,852), Bethesda (4,735), and Pwllheli (4,076). The county has the highest percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales, at 64.4%, and is considered a heartland of the language.
The geography of Gwynedd is mountainous, with a long coastline to the west. Much of the county is covered by Snowdonia National Park (Eryri), which contains Wales's highest mountain, Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa; 3,560 feet, 1,090 m). To the west, the Llŷn Peninsula is flatter and renowned for its scenic coastline, part of which is protected by the Llŷn AONB. Gwynedd also contains several of Wales's largest lakes and reservoirs, including the largest, Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid).
The area which is now the county has played a prominent part in the history of Wales. It formed part of the core of the Kingdom of Gwynedd and the native Principality of Wales, which under the House of Aberffraw remained independent from the Kingdom of England until Edward I's conquest between 1277 and 1283. Edward built the castles at Caernarfon and Harlech, which form part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site. During the Industrial Revolution the slate industry rapidly developed; in the late nineteenth century the neighbouring Penrhyn and Dinorwic quarries were the largest in the world, and the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales is now a World Heritage Site. Gwynedd covers the majority of the historic counties of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire.
In the past, historians such as J. E. Lloyd assumed that the Celtic source of the word Gwynedd meant 'collection of tribes' – the same root as the Irish fine, meaning 'tribe'. Further, a connection is recognised between the name and the Irish Féni, an early ethnonym for the Irish themselves, related to fían, 'company of hunting and fighting men, company of warriors under a leader'. Perhaps *u̯en-, u̯enə ('strive, hope, wish') is the Indo-European stem. The Irish settled in NW Wales, and in Dyfed, at the end of the Roman era. Venedotia was the Latin form, and in Penmachno there is a memorial stone from c. AD 500 which reads: Cantiori Hic Iacit Venedotis ('Here lies Cantiorix, citizen of Gwynedd'). The name was retained by the Brythons when the kingdom of Gwynedd was formed in the 5th century, and it remained until the invasion of Edward I. This historical name was revived when the new county was formed in 1974.
Gwynedd was an independent kingdom from the end of the Roman period until the 13th century, when it was conquered by England. The modern Gwynedd was one of eight Welsh counties created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the entirety of the historic counties of Anglesey and Caernarfonshire, and all of Merionethshire apart from Edeirnion Rural District (which went to Clwyd); and also a few parishes of Denbighshire: Llanrwst, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, Eglwysbach, Llanddoged, Llanrwst and Tir Ifan.
The county was divided into five districts: Aberconwy, Arfon, Dwyfor, Meirionnydd and Anglesey.
The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 abolished the 1974 county (and the five districts) on 1 April 1996, and its area was divided: the Isle of Anglesey became an independent unitary authority, and Aberconwy (which included the former Denbighshire parishes) passed to the new Conwy County Borough. The remainder of the county was constituted as a principal area, with the name Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire, as it covers most of the areas of those two historic counties. As one of its first actions, the Council renamed itself Gwynedd on 2 April 1996. The present Gwynedd local government area is governed by Gwynedd Council. As a unitary authority, the modern entity no longer has any districts, but Arfon, Dwyfor and Meirionnydd remain as area committees.
The pre-1996 boundaries were retained as a preserved county for a few purposes such as the Lieutenancy. In 2003, the boundary with Clwyd was adjusted to match the modern local government boundary, so that the preserved county now covers the two local government areas of Gwynedd and Anglesey. Conwy county borough is now entirely within Clwyd.
A Gwynedd Constabulary was formed in 1950 by the merger of the Anglesey, Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire forces. A further amalgamation took place in the 1960s when Gwynedd Constabulary was merged with the Flintshire and Denbighshire county forces, retaining the name Gwynedd. In one proposal for local government reform in Wales, Gwynedd had been proposed as a name for a local authority covering all of north Wales, but the scheme as enacted divided this area between Gwynedd and Clwyd. To prevent confusion, the Gwynedd Constabulary was therefore renamed the North Wales Police.
The Snowdonia National Park was formed in 1951. After the 1974 local authority reorganisation, the park fell entirely within the boundaries of Gwynedd, and was run as a department of Gwynedd County Council. After the 1996 local government reorganisation, part of the park fell under Conwy County Borough, and the park's administration separated from the Gwynedd council. Gwynedd Council still appoints nine of the eighteen members of the Snowdonia National Park Authority; Conwy County Borough Council appoints three; and the Welsh Government appoints the remaining six.
There has been considerable inwards migration to Gwynedd, particularly from England. According to the 2021 census, 66.6% of residents had been born in Wales whilst 27.1% were born in England.
The county has a mixed economy. An important part of the economy is based on tourism: many visitors are attracted by the many beaches and the mountains. A significant part of the county lies within the Snowdonia National Park, which extends from the north coast down to the district of Meirionnydd in the south. But tourism provides seasonal employment and thus there is a shortage of jobs in the winter.
Agriculture is less important than in the past, especially in terms of the number of people who earn their living on the land, but it remains an important element of the economy.
The most important of the traditional industries is the slate industry, but these days only a small percentage of workers earn their living in the slate quarries.
Industries which have developed more recently include TV and sound studios: the record company Sain has its HQ in the county.
The education sector is also very important for the local economy, including Bangor University and Further Education colleges, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and Coleg Menai, both now part of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai.
The proportion of respondents in the 2011 census who said they could speak Welsh.
Gwynedd has the highest proportion of people in Wales who can speak Welsh. According to the 2021 census, 64.4% of the population aged three and over stated that they could speak Welsh,[7] while 64.4% noted that they could speak Welsh in the 2011 census.
It is estimated that 83% of the county's Welsh-speakers are fluent, the highest percentage of all counties in Wales.[9] The age group with the highest proportion of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd were those between ages 5–15, of whom 92.3% stated that they could speak Welsh in 2011.
The proportion of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd declined between 1991 and 2001,[10] from 72.1% to 68.7%, even though the proportion of Welsh speakers in Wales as a whole increased during that decade to 20.5%.
The Annual Population Survey estimated that as of March 2023, 77.0% of those in Gwynedd aged three years and above could speak Welsh.
Notable people
Leslie Bonnet (1902–1985), RAF officer, writer; originated the Welsh Harlequin duck in Criccieth
Sir Dave Brailsford (born 1964), cycling coach; grew up in Deiniolen, near Caernarfon
Duffy (born 1984), singer, songwriter and actress; born in Bangor, Gwynedd
Edward II of England (1284–1327), born in Caernarfon Castle
Elin Fflur (born 1984), singer-songwriter, TV and radio presenter; went to Bangor University
Bryn Fôn (born 1954), actor and singer-songwriter; born in Llanllyfni, Caernarfonshire.
Wayne Hennessey (born 1987), football goalkeeper with 108 caps for Wales; born in Bangor, Gwynedd
John Jones (c. 1530 – 1598), a Franciscan friar, Roman Catholic priest and martyr; born at Clynnog
Sir Love Jones-Parry, 1st Baronet (1832–1891), landowner and politician, co-founder of the Y Wladfa settlement in Patagonia
T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935), archaeologist, army officer and inspiration for Lawrence of Arabia, born in Tremadog
David Lloyd George (1863–1945), statesman and Prime Minister; lived in Llanystumdwy from infancy
Sasha (born 1969), disc jockey, born in Bangor, Gwynedd
Sir Bryn Terfel (born 1965), bass-baritone opera and concert singer from Pant Glas
Sir Clough Williams-Ellis (1883–1978), architect of Portmeirion
Owain Fôn Williams, (born 1987), footballer with 443 club caps; born and raised in Penygroes, Gwynedd.
Hedd Wyn (1887–1917), poet from the village of Trawsfynydd; killed in WWI
Actress and fight coordinator Katie Warner
Sword by Rogue Steel
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Port St. Lucie actor Megan Fox has recently appeared in a movie with the Olsen twins entitled "Holiday in the Sun" and has been working to start a career in acting by attending auditions all over the country. The film was shot over the summer and Megan spent seven days in the Bahamas working on it. Now she has become hungry for more roles and more work while balancing a decent academic record and a job mixing smoothies in Jensen Beach. Sharon Wernlund story. Staff photo by Chris Matula
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attends the 2009 World Football Challenge game Chelsea FC vs Inter Milan, at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California, on July 21, 2009
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