Robert Downey Jr

I've always admired Robert Downey Jr as an actor. He gives credible performances to roles that seem tough. I loved him in Chaplin and due to his great performance but in US Marshalls 'hated' him (the character). It seems a shame when ones personal life affects ones professional career. Ally McBeal, again hit the high notes and gave Downey recognition for his acting...

Robert John Downey, Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor, film producer, and musician. (Wiki)

Downey made his screen debut at the age of five when he appeared in one of his father's films, and has worked consistently in film and television ever since.

During the 1980s, he had roles in a series of coming of age films associated with the Brat Pack.

Less Than Zero (1987) is particularly notable, not only because it was the first time Downey's acting would be acknowledged by critics, but also because the role pushed Downey's already existing drug habit one step further.

After Zero, Downey started landing roles in bigger films such as Air America (1990) and Soapdish (1991).

These higher-profile roles eventually led to his being cast as Charlie Chaplin in the 1992 film Chaplin, for which he gained an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Between 1996 and 2001, Downey was frequently arrested on drug-related charges and went through several drug treatment programs, but had difficulty staying sober.

After being released from the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in 2000, Downey joined the cast of the hit television series Ally McBeal, playing the new love interest of Calista Flockhart's title character.

His performance was praised and he was nominated for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category and won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a mini-series or TV Film, but his character was written out when Downey was fired after two drug arrests in late 2000 and early 2001.

After one last stay in a court-ordered drug treatment program, Downey finally achieved lasting sobriety and his career began to take off again.

He appeared in semi-independent films such as The Singing Detective (2003), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), and A Scanner Darkly (2006). He also had supporting roles in the mainstream films Gothika (2003) and Zodiac (2007).

In 2004, Downey released his debut studio album The Futurist.

Catalogue of Arrests:

June 23, 1996 - Robert Downey, Jr. was arrested for driving drunk and being in possession of Mexican Black Tar heroin, crack, cocaine and an unloaded .357 Magnum revolver. He was sentenced to three years probation.

December 8, 1997 - Downey was sentenced to six months in jail for violating parole.

November 25, 2000 - Downey was arrested for cocaine and Valium possession and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

April 24, 2001 - Downey was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance.

In summary, Robert Downey Jr seemingly WAS but is no longer a dick, Ted!

Was it my multi-blogged moan?

Was it my multi-blogged moan that un-locked my new blog http://sequels-and-trilogies.blogspot.com/ ?
I know that blogger took the full 20 days to un-lock a blog of a friend of mine. Now his block WAS highly political but there should be no difference.
Perhaps it was my genuine threat to move to wordpress?

Who knows?

Thank You blogger for acting quickly

Bob de Bilde

in reference to: Prequels, Sequels & Trilogies (view on Google Sidewiki)

Top 20 Drug-Induced Celebrity Deaths

Consequences of Drug Abuse

Drug abuse and addiction are both very devastating problems. In serious cases, help offered by a drug rehab facility is strongly recommended. Complications with physical health, relationship problems, poor work and school performance, as well as a number of other problems can occur as a result of drug use. Drug treatment offered at a drug treatment center can provide recovery for those who cannot overcome drug use on their own. In rare cases of drug addiction, death occurs. The following examples tell the stories of those who have died as a result of drug abuse:

1. John Belushi – Belushi was an actor, comedian, and musician. He has starred in television shows such as Saturday Night Live, The Blues Brothers, and programs put on by National Lampoon. Throughout his life, John was known for drug abuse. Eventually, he died of accidental drug overdose as a result of taking 11 speedballs (a combination of cocaine and heroin).
2. Paula Yates – Paula was a television celebrity and writer. She had four children, all of them girls. Yates was known for naming her children rather unusual names which include Pixie and Fifi. Television shows Paula held roles in include, The Tube, Have I Got News For You, and The Big Breakfast. She died at the age of 40 as a result of accidental heroin overdose.
3. Hillel Slovak – Slovak was a guitarist for the famous band, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Hillel also played in a band called What Is This? but eventually left it to continue with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. During his lifetime, Hillel became addicted to drugs, primarily heroin. He eventually died as a result of his drug habits. The cause was an accidental speedball overdose. Today, the Red Hot Chili Peppers continues without Hillel Slovak or drummer Jack Irons, who resigned after Slovak’s death.
4. Marilyn Monroe – She is known as a famous actress, model, and American sex symbol. She was born as Norma Jean Mortenson and was married 3 times, all of which ended in divorce. Today, Monroe is the only woman listed on Forbes list of top earning dead celebrities. At the age of 36, Marilyn died in her sleep of barbiturate poisoning (an overdose of sleeping pills). To this day, no one knows for sure whether her death was a suicide or homicide.
5. Billie Holiday – Billie was a famous female jazz singer. She was originally named Eleanora Fagan. This singer used hard drugs (primarily heroin) and was involved in unhealthy relationships where abuse took place. Eventually she developed heart disease and liver complications. She died at the age of 44 from cirrhosis of the liver, a problem which arose from long-term drug and alcohol abuse.
6. Ken Caminiti – This famous baseball player is known as the first player to have announced steroid use during their career to the public. Alcohol and cocaine abuse were other problems Caminiti struggled with during his life. This sports professional played third base and was chosen to be MVP for the National League in 1996. Unfortunately, Ken died of a heart attack at the age of 41 (he had already retired from baseball). The cause of death was an overdose of cocaine.
7. Bridgette Anderson – This actress is primarily remembered as a child actress. She is most famous for her starring role in the film, Savannah Smiles. Throughout her life, this actress struggled with an addiction to heroin. Bridgette died as a result of accidental drug and alcohol overdose at the age of 21.
8. River Phoenix – This actor was the oldest of five children, one of whom is actor Joaquin Phoenix. He acted in films such as Stand By Me, Little Nikita, The Thing Called Love, and Running on Empty. Throughout his life he was a proud supporter of animal rights and refused to use animal products in the films he acted in. Phoenix died as a result of speedballs (a combination of cocaine and heroin) outside of the night club The Viper Room. He was 23 years old.
9. Anna Nicole Smith – Smith was an actress and model. In fact, she was named Playmate of the Year in 1993. She was married three times during her lifetime, the most famous of which was to J. Howard Marshall. This oil executive was a billionaire and 63 years older than Smith. Anna Nicole Smith died at the age of 39 from accidental overdose of chloral hydrate and other prescription drugs.
10. Jim Morrison – He is most famous for being a singer, but he also wrote a number of poems, directed films, and wrote his own songs. Morrison was a lead singer for the famous band, The Doors. Throughout his life, the singer struggled with both drug and alcohol abuse. He died at the age of 27. Although several stories have circulated regarding his death, the general consensus is that he died of a heart attack triggered by accidental heroin overdose.
11. Chris Farley – Farley was an actor. He acted in the television show Saturday Night Live for a number of years and starred in movies including Tommy Boy and Beverly Hills Ninja. Drug and alcohol abuse were a constant part of Farley’s life and eventually caused problems with his career. Farley died at the age of 33 as a result of an accidental speedball overdose. Long term drug and alcohol addiction (and possibly his obesity) contributed to his death.
12. Tim Hardin – Hardin was a singer as well as a song writer. He sang songs which include, “If I Were a Carpenter”, “Reason to Believe”, “Bird on a Wire”, and “A Simple Song of Freedom”. Unfortunately, Tim was known to have struggled with heroin abuse. In fact, an overdose of heroin combined with morphine caused his ultimate death.
13. Elvis Presley – Presley was known as an American singer, actor and sex symbol. He is often called the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”. Elvis was addicted to prescription drugs and eventually died of a heart attack brought on by long-term drug use. He was 42 years old.
14. Donyale Luna – Luna was a famous African American Supermodel and the first black woman to grace the cover of a Vogue magazine. She also had roles in several films. Some have said she was ashamed of her black heritage. On occasion, she was known to wear colored contact lenses and blond wigs. Donyale, born Peggy Anne Freeman, died of drug overdose in her 30’s.
15. John Kordic – Kordic was a hockey player. He was famous for his temper and was known for instigating fights. Throughout his life he struggled with drug and alcohol abuse and was admitted to drug and alcohol rehab centers on occasion. He eventually died at the age of 27 after police were called to his hotel room and a fight broke out. His official cause of death was heart failure due to long term drug and alcohol abuse as well as steroid use.
16. Janis Joplin – Joplin was an American singer and songwriter. At one point in time she was a part of the band Big Brother and The Holding Company, but later began a solo career during which she played at the Woodstock Festival. Throughout her short life, Joplin experimented with a variety of drugs and drank heavily. At the age of 27, Janis died as a result of heroin overdose and alcohol consumption.
17. Len Bias – This basketball star was selected to play for the Celtics in the NBA draft just hours before his death. Len, born Leonard Kevin Bias, was the second player chosen to be drafted, at the time he was playing college basketball. He also signed a contract with the shoe company, Adidas. Unfortunately, Len Bias died from cocaine overdose less than 48 hours after the NBA draft took place. He was only 22 years old.
18. Jimi Hendrix – Hendrix was a famous singer and guitar player. He was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame and also holds a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Jimi Hendrix also had the opportunity to headline for the music festival, Woodstock. Throughout his life, Jimi experimented with drugs such as LSD, marijuana, speed, and sleeping pills. He died as a result of taking sleeping pills and alcohol which later caused asphyxiation by his own vomit while sleeping.
19. Judy Garland – This singer and actress struggled with weight gain as well as drug addiction for a great deal of her life. She is perhaps best remembered for her lead role in the movie The Wizard of Oz. Judy was married 5 times in her life and divorced 4 times. At several points in life, Garland attempted suicide but eventually died of an accidental drug overdose of barbiturates, she was 47.
20. John Bonham – This drummer played for the famous band, Led Zeppelin. He learned to play drums at a young age and soon became a drumming legend due to his incredible speed and powerful style of hitting. Unfortunately, Bonham was also an alcoholic. He died at the age of 32 due to asphyxiation from vomiting. This was caused by heavy alcohol consumption. The band Led Zeppelin decided against continuing with a different drummer after his death.

PART 1 LINK HERE (1-10)
PART 2 LINK HERE (11-20)

Bob de Bilde gets his 15 minutes of fame...

on IS A C*NT...

http://isacunt.blogspot.com/2010/01/bob-de-bilde.html

Thanks to GOT & the crew

in reference to: Bob De Bilde (view on Google Sidewiki)

My Disgust at Blogger

Blogger has marked one of my blogs (Prequels, Sequels & Trilogies) as spam...

It will be deleted within 20 days if I do not lodge a review

WTF Blogger... I am seriously considering moving all my blogs to the more versatile Wordpress !

I am reposting this on ALL my other open blogs using the sidewikibar thingy!!!

in reference to: My Sony Ericsson Sucks: My Disgust at Blogger (view on Google Sidewiki)

Oliver Reed

Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. He famously appeared on TV chat shows and other live TV occasions extremely drunk. Despite attempts to control his booze intake, Oliver Reed was a dick, Ted!

Oliver Reed was famous for his excessive drinking, which fitted in with the "social" attitude of many rugby teams in the 1960s and 1970s, and there are numerous anecdotes such as Reed and 36 friends drinking, in an evening, 60 gallons of beer, 32 bottles of Scotch, 17 bottles of gin, four crates of wine and one bottle of Babycham. He subsequently revised the story, claiming he drank 106 pints of beer on a 2-day binge before marrying Josephine; "The event that was reported actually took place during an arm-wrestling competition in Guernsey about 15 years ago, it was highly exaggerated." Steve McQueen told the story that in 1973 he had flown to the UK to discuss a film project with Reed and suggested the pair go to a nightclub in London. This led to a marathon pub crawl during which Reed threw up on McQueen. Reed's face had been carved up ten years previously during a 1963 bar fight after which he received 63 stitches and was in danger of having his film career cut short in his 20s.

Reed was often irritated that his appearances on TV chat shows concentrated on his drinking feats, rather than his latest film. David Letterman cut to a commercial when it appeared Reed might get violent after being asked too many questions about his drinking. He was held partly responsible for the demise of BBC1's Sin on Saturday after some typically forthright comments on the subject of lust, the sin featured on the first programme. The show had many other problems and a fellow guest revealed that Reed recognised this when he arrived and had to be virtually dragged in front of the cameras. Near the end of his life he was brought onto some TV shows specifically for his drinking; for example The Word put bottles of drink in his dressing room so he could be secretly filmed getting drunk. He was forced to leave the set of the Channel 4 television discussion programme After Dark after arriving drunk and attempting to kiss feminist writer Kate Millett, uttering the memorable phrase "give us a kiss, big tits". He was seemingly very drunk on the Michael Aspel chat show, to many highly entertaining, to others a waste of a great acting talent. However, author Cliff Goodwin, in his biography of Reed titled Evil Spirits, offers the theory that Reed was not always as drunk on chat shows as he appeared to be, but rather was acting the part of an uncontrollably sodden former star to liven things up, at the producers' behests.

In 1987 Reed became seriously ill with kidney problems as a result of his alcoholism, and had to completely stop drinking for a year.

In later years, Reed could often be seen quietly drinking with his wife Josephine Burge, at the bar of the White Horse Hotel in the High Street in Dorking, Surrey, not far from his home in Oakwoodhill. He had sold his larger house, 'Broome Hall', between the villages of Coldharbour and Ockley some years earlier.

Jonathan Ross

Not known for any alcohol or substance abuse, I have loathed this person ever since I first saw him on TV. Overpaid and obnoxious, he has recently announced he will give up his BBC golden handcuff contract in July 2010. I've included him here because he is an obnoxious dick, Ted.

Controversies

BBC contract

In April 2006, Ross, along with other BBC personalities, had details of his fees leaked to the tabloid press. It was claimed at the time by a then unidentified BBC mole, that Ross earned £530,000 (equivalent to £10,000 per show) per year for hosting his Radio 2 show. This was a controversial revelation. For some, the BBC was abusing its dominant position over commercial rivals in paying popular personalities such high fees, and for others debasing its public service remit. While refusing to comment specifically on the leak in line with the BBC policy on the matter, Ross did hint during his radio show that the figure was exaggerated; in addition to this, any pay highlighted as being 'his' would actually be split between himself and his producer/co-presenter on the show, Andy Davies.

David Cameron interview

In June 2006, when Conservative party leader David Cameron appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Ross began a line of questioning relating to Conservative ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, culminating in the question "Did you or did you not have a wank thinking of Margaret Thatcher?". Ross was defended by the BBC publicly but repeat showings of the interview have been banned.

Heather Mills comment

In 2006, Ross was criticised when he made a joke against Heather Mills, soon after she and Paul McCartney announced they were to divorce. He branded Mills, who only has one leg, a "fucking liar" and that he "wouldn't be surprised if we found out she's actually got two legs".

"1,000 journalists" comment

On 5 December 2007, Ross joked at the British Comedy Awards that his salary meant that he was "worth 1,000 BBC journalists". His quip came shortly after the BBC had announced plans for more than 2,000 jobs cuts, and was condemned as "obscene" by the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists.^[23]

The Russell Brand Show and Andrew Sachs

Main article: Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row

Following a guest appearance by Ross on the The Russell Brand Show broadcast on 18 October 2008, Ross was suspended for 12 weeks without pay by the BBC on 29 October, after a series of answer phone messages were left for 79-year-old actor Andrew Sachs by Russell Brand and Ross, which were broadcast on the pre-recorded show. After little initial interest, a media story about the calls generated a high number of complaints. Brand resigned from the BBC, while Ross was suspended without pay. BBC director general Mark Thompson stated that Ross should take the disciplinary action as a "final warning". The BBC was later fined 150,000 pounds by Britain's broadcast regulator for airing the calls.

On 21 November 2008 the BBC Trust said that the phone calls were a "deplorable intrusion with no editorial justification". The trust gave its backing to Ross's 12 week suspension but recommended that no further action be taken against him. He returned to work in January, and the first episode of a new series of Friday Night With Jonathan Ross with guests Tom Cruise, Stephen Fry and Lee Evans, and music from Franz Ferdinand, was broadcast on 23 January 2009.

Gwyneth Paltrow interview

The BBC Trust ruled that Ross’ interview with Gwyneth Paltrow, broadcast on 2 May 2008, breached editorial guidelines. They ruled that bad language in an episode of Ross's pre-recorded BBC1 chatshow, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, in which the presenter told Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow he "would fuck her" was "gratuitous and unnecessarily offensive". The trust said it disagreed with the judgment made by BBC management that the episode should be broadcast uncensored, adding that the comment was made in an "overly sexual way" and that it had upheld a number of complaints made about the edition of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.^[29] The trust reminded BBC staff that "the casual gratuitous use of the most offensive language is not acceptable on the BBC in accordance with the BBC's existing guidelines and practices", adding that "this particularly applies in entertainment programmes".

"Hannah Montana" comment

On 13 May 2009, Ross was accused of homophobia after a comment he made on his radio show. In which he said,

If your son asks for a Hannah Montana MP3 player, then you might want to already think about putting him down for adoption in later life, when they settle down with their partner.

An incorrect version of this quote was also circulated, in which Ross was accused of saying:

If your son asks for a Hannah Montana MP3 player, you might want to already think about putting him down for adoption before he brings his … erm … partner home.

Ofcom received 61 complaints following the comment. A representative from the BBC defended Ross saying the comment was made "purely in jest" and that "Jonathan is not homophobic in any sense and never meant for his comments to be taken seriously." On 7 July 2009 Ofcom ruled that Ross did not breach the broadcasting code. They wrote in their opinion that "the comment was clearly presented as a joke intended to make light of the reactions that some parents may have if their child chooses a toy that is very widely recognised to be designed and marketed for the opposite sex" and that the nature of the joke and tone and manner in which it was presented "made clear that it was not intended to be hostile or pejorative towards the gay community in general." Stonewall criticised the ruling; saying "the fact that a comment is light-hearted does not absolve it from perpetuating the stereotypes that lead to homophobic bullying."