See Anybody Special??

[1Boner]

Is it Minnesota Slim?

The famous Pocket Pool player??? 

[1Boner]

Or could it be that Openheimer guy?

[Cthulhu]

Is it Minnesota Slim?

The famous Pocket Pool player??? 

Or could it be that Openheimer guy?

Nope & Nope 

You might say this guy helped to inspire a nation when things were starting to look bleak.   
And we're all familiar with his work. Though most people probably don't know his name.   

[Gianlupo]

Be careful what you laugh at

Wtg Gian  , Sgt. Shultz... John Banner

You gotta be kidding me! I posted that only as a joke!

Well, Fortune helps the unawares....

Wait..... I shouldn't have confessed....

[Charge]

I'd say he is a composer.

-C+

[Charge]

Yup. Aaron Copland.

-C+

[Cthulhu]

Yup. Aaron Copland.

-C+

WTG  Charge , Aaron Copland

Conducting With fellow composer Leonard Bernstein

Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American composer of concert and film music, as well as an accomplished pianist. Instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, he was widely known as “the dean of American composers.” Copland's music achieved a balance between modern music and American folk styles. The open, slowly changing harmonies of many of his works are said to evoke the vast American landscape. His pieces Lincoln Portrait and Fanfare for the Common Man have become patriotic standards. Fanfare for the Common Man Fanfare for the Common Man is a work by American composer Aaron Copland, and one of the most recognizable pieces of 20th century American classical music. The piece was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugène Goossens. Copland, in his autobiography, wrote of the request: "Eugene Goossens, conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, had written to me at the end of August about an idea he wanted to put into action for the 1942-43 concert season. During World War I he had asked British composers for a fanfare to begin each orchestral concert. It had been so successful that he thought to repeat the procedure in World War II with American composers". A total of eighteen fanfares were written at Goossens' behest, but Copland's is the only one which remains in the standard repertoire. Goosens had suggested titles such as Fanfare for Soldiers, or sailors or airmen, and he wrote that "it is my idea to make these fanfares stirring and significant contributions to the war effort...." Copland considered several titles including Fanfare for a Solemn Ceremony and Fanfare for Four Freedoms; to Goossens' surprise, however, Copland titled the piece Fanfare for the Common Man. Goossen wrote "Its title is as original as its music, and I think it is so telling that it deserves a special occasion for its performance." Fanfare for the Common Man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiB8B4XsBRk Lincoln Portrait The work involves a full orchestra, with particular emphasis on the brass section at climactic moments. The work is narrated with the reading of excerpts of Abraham Lincoln's great documents, including the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln Portrait was written by Copland as part of the World War II patriotic war effort in 1942. Copland was asked to write a musical portrait of an "eminent American", by the conductor Andre Kostelanetz. Originally, Copland wanted to portray Walt Whitman, but it was decided that a political figure was needed. "From this moment, Lincoln seemed inevitable" (Copland). Copland used material from speeches and letters of Lincoln and quoted original folk songs of the period, including "Camptown Races" and "Springfield Mountain". He finished the piece in April 1942 and its first performance was by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on May 14, 1942, with William Adams as the narrator. Lincoln Portrait (Gregory Peck narrating. IMHO James Whitmore does the best job) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJLJdrS_Go Famous Narrators The piece has been narrated by a variety of famous people, including: James Bultman (President of Hope College), Hope College Wind Symphony Richard Butler (Governor of Tasmania), Sydney Symphony Walter Cronkite, U.S. Air Force Symphony Orchestra Henry Fonda, London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Aaron Copland Al Gore, New York Philharmonic Edward Heath, Cleveland Orchestra Katharine Hepburn, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra Charlton Heston, Utah Symphony Orchestra James Earl Jones, Seattle Symphony Orchestra William Clarence Marshall, Cleveland Orchestra Walter Mondale, Minnesota Orchestra Paul Newman, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Barack Obama, Chicago Symphony Orchestra James L. Oberstar MC, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra Gregory Peck, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra Vincent Price, Yale Symphony Orchestra Carl Sandburg, New York Philharmonic, conducted by Andre Kostelanetz Norman Schwarzkopf, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Adlai Stevenson, Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy James Taylor, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra Margaret Thatcher, London Symphony Orchestra Samuel L. Jackson, Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by James Levine Gore Vidal, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas William Warfield, several orchestras and conductors

[Cthulhu]

Next:

[lowZX14]

I know that face.

[lowZX14]

Bill Mauldin, the famous Willie and Joe cartoonist

I'm getting better 

[Cthulhu]

Yep, Bill Mauldin

Pulitzer Prize winning cartoon

William Henry "Bill" Mauldin (October 29, 1921 – January 22, 2003) was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist from the United States. He was most famous for his World War II cartoons depicting American soldiers, as represented by the archetypal characters Willie and Joe. These cartoons were broadly published and distributed in the American army abroad and in the United States. Mauldin entered the U.S. Army via the Arizona National Guard in 1940. While in the 45th Infantry Division, Mauldin volunteered to work for the unit's newspaper, drawing cartoons about regular soldiers or "dogfaces". Eventually he created two cartoon infantrymen, Willie (who was modeled after his fellow comrade and friend Irving Richtel) and Joe, who became synonymous with the average American GI. His cartoon work continued as he fought in the July 1943 invasion of Sicily and the Italian campaign. Mauldin began working for Stars and Stripes, the American soldiers' newspaper; by March 1944 he was given his own jeep by which he roved the front, collecting material and producing 6 cartoons a week. His cartoons were viewed by soldiers all over Europe during World War II, and also published in the United States. Willie was on the cover of Time Magazine in 1945, and Mauldin himself made the cover in 1958. Those officers who were raised in the army during peacetime were generally offended by Mauldin, who parodied the spit-shine and obedience-to-order-without-question view that was more easily maintained during that time of peace. General George Patton once summoned Mauldin to his office and threatened to "throw his bellybutton in jail" for "spreading dissent," this after one of Mauldin's cartoons made fun of Patton's demand that all soldiers must be clean-shaven at all times, even in combat. But Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander, told Patton to leave Mauldin alone, because he felt that Mauldin's cartoons gave the soldiers an outlet for their frustrations. Mauldin told an interviewer later, "I always admired Patton. Oh, sure, the stupid bastard was crazy. He was insane. He thought he was living in the Dark Ages. Soldiers were peasants to him. I didn't like that attitude, but I certainly respected his theories and the techniques he used to get his men out of their foxholes." Mauldin's cartoons made him a hero to the common soldier. GIs often credited him with helping them to get through the rigors of the war. Mauldin himself served on the front lines, landing at Anzio, and receiving a Purple Heart after being wounded by an artillery shell fragment. He attained the rank of sergeant and was awarded the Army's Legion of Merit for his cartoons. In 1945, at the age of 23, Mauldin won the Pulitzer Prize.

I already got the Purple Heart, just give me the aspirin"

[lowZX14]

So now we're in a more of a supported the troops mood?

[Cthulhu]

So now we're in a more of a supported the troops mood?

We're in a "what I can find" mood. Figured I'd tell a broader story than just soldiers.

[lowZX14]

Ahhhhhh, well it is much appreciated.   

[lowZX14]

I've got one....