Bob Marley was a Jamaican musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead guitarist, songwriter and singer for rocksteady, ska as well as reggae bands including “The Wailers” and “Bob Marley & the Wailers”. He remains to be one of the most popular and revered artist of reggae music. He is also responsible for spreading the Jamaican music as well as the Rastafri movement to a global audience. His last compilation album called “Legend” was released in 1984 and sold 20 millions copies across the globe.

Early Life

Bob Marley was born as “Robert Nesta Bob Marley” in a small village called “Nine Mile” in Saint Ann Parish on February 6, 1945. Norval Sinclair Marley, his father, was a Jamaican from the English descent, whose family belonged to Essex, England. He served as a captain in the Royal Marines and was a plantation overseer as well. He married an 18 years old Afro-American called Cedella Booker. His father often went out for long trips and hardly saw his family; however he continued to support them financially. His father died of a heart attack in the year 1955, when Bob Marley was only ten years old. Throughout his life, he was teased due to his mixed racial inheritance and he was often asked questions about his own identity. His mother was black and his father was white, however he claimed that he was only on the side of God who created him the way he is. Based on his contemporary beliefs, he self-identified himself as a black African. In some of his songs such as “Blackman redemption”, “Black survivor” as well as “Babylon system”, he speaks of struggles of Africans against the racial discrimination from the West.

Early Career

Bob Marley soon became friends with Neville Livingston (also known as Bunny Wailer) and started playing music with him. He left school by the age of 14 for the purpose of making some music with a local singer called Joe Higgs, who was also a devoted Rastafari. During one of the jam sessions with Livingston and Higgs, he met Peter McIntosh, who also shared the same musical ambitions. Marley came up with his first two singles in the year 1962 with Leslie Kong, namely “One Cup of Coffee” and “Judge Not”. These songs gained little attention when they were released; however they were included in the box set of Marley’s work.

Wife & Children

Bob Marley was married to Rita and had three children. His wife had two adopted children from her previous relationships. Marley also had children from other women. His official website acknowledges as many as eleven children.

The Wailers

Bob Marley, along with Junior Braithwaite, Bunny Wailer, Beverly Kelso, Peter Tosh and Cherry Smith found a rockstead group and named it “The Teenagers”. They later renamed themselves to “The Wailing Rudeboys” and then “The Wailing Wailers”. Coxsone Dodd, a record producer later discovered the troupe and they were finally named “The Wailers”. Kelso, Smith and Braithwaite left the group in 1966 and after that Marley had a conflict with the producer. This led to the formation of ‘The Upsetters’. Although the group did not survive for long, they recorded some of the finest works till date. There was a dispute about the recording rights, between Marley and Perry. They split later on, but remained friends for long. The Wailers broke off completely in 1974 and the remaining members went on to pursue solo careers. There were different rumours about the breakup within the group. Some believed that the members had issues with the copyrights, whereas some claimed that the members wanted to go solo. Marley still continued to record as “Bob Marley and The Wailers”, despite the break up. There were 11 albums recorded under this name, seven of them were studio albums and four of them were live albums.

Illness

Bob Marley was known to have acral lentiginious melanoma in 1977, which was a simple wound picked up during a football match. Despite the malignant melanoma, he completed a tour of Europe along with his band in 1980. Shortly after, his health started deteriorating and the cancer was spread all over the body. He sought treatment from the Bavarian clinic in Josef Issels and was given a special cancer therapy, which involved the avoidance of specific food items, drinks as well as other substances. He fought for eight more months, before boarding a plane for Jamaica.

Death and Posthumous Reputation

Marley almost accepted that he was going to die, while flying from Germany to Jamaica. His condition worsened thereafter and he was taken to the hospital for immediate assistance. He died in Miami on May 11, 1981 at the ‘Cedars of Lebanon’ hospital. The melanoma spread to his brains and lungs, which led to his death at the age of 36. He said his final words to his son, where he claimed that ‘money cannot buy life’. Bob Marley was given a state funeral in Jamaica that combined the elements of Rastafare tradition and Ethiopian Orthodoxy. He was buried close to his birthplace on May 21, 1981. He got the ‘Jamaican Order of Merit’, just a month before his death.

Bob Marley was inducted to the ‘Rock & Roll’ Hall of Fame in 1994, whereas Time Magazine chose ‘Exodus’ as the biggest album of the century. There was a feature-length documentary about him, made by Rebel Music, which won several Grammys. Also, he was given the posthumous ‘Lifetime Achievement Award” at the Grammys in the year 2001.

Religion

Bob Marley happened to be a member of the Rastafari tradition. The culture of this religion turned out to be instrumental in the development of reggae. He became the main proponent of the tradition, taking music from the socially deprived regions of Jamaica, on to the international scene. Marley was a vegetarian since Rastas practiced a diet that excluded meat.

Anna Nicole Smith, born as Vickie Lynn Marshall, was a popular American model, actress, sex symbol and a prominent television personality. She initially gained success with “Playboy” and became the “Playmate of the Year” in 1993. During her career, she modelled for recognized clothing companies such as Lane Bryant and Guess jeans. She also appeared in her own reality show called “The Anna Nicole Show”.

Early Life

Vickie Lynn Marshall was born in Harris County, Texas on November 8th, 1967. She was the only child of Virgie Mae and Donald Eugene Hogan. She later changed her stage name to “Anna Nicole Smith”. Her parents were divorced in 1969, when her father left the family. She was raised by her mother Virgie, who was a law enforcement officer in Texas for 28 years. Her mother married several times after that.

Anna attended the “Durkee Elementary School” as well as the “Aldine Intermediate School” in Houston, Texas. She went to live with her mother’s sister in Mexia while she was in grade 9. She attended the Mexia High School and failed her freshman year. Anna Nicole quit school as soon as she entered her sophomore year. She then started working at Jim’s Krispy Fried Chicken as a waitress in Mexia. During her tenure at the restaurant, she met Billy Wayne Smith, who happened to be the cook there. She was 17 and he was 16, when the couple got married on April 4th, 1985. She gave birth to their son, the very next year, and was named “Daniel Wayne Smith”.

Anna Nicole and Billy were separated in 1987 and she moved back to Houston with her year-old son Daniel. The couple got officially divorced in February, 1993. later on, Anna started working at Wal-Mart and then again as a waitress in Red Lobster. She then became an exotic dancer and started taking modelling as well as voice lessons in 1993. In October, 1993, she found an ad in the local newspaper about the auditions for the ‘Playboy’ magazine.

Marriage to J. Howard Marshall

While she was performing at the ‘Gigi’s’, a local strip club in Houston, she met an elderly oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall. They started dating in October 1991 and maintained a two year relationship. During this time, he reportedly sent her lavish gifts and asked her to marry several times. After officially getting divorced from Billy, she got married to Marshall on June 24th, 1994. Anna Nicole was 26, whereas Marshall was 89 when they got married in Houston. This led to a great deal of gossip and there were speculations that she married him for his money. Although she never lived with him, she maintained that she was in love with her husband and age was of no importance to her. 13 months after the wedding, Marshall died on 4th August, 1995.

PlayBoy and Modelling Career

There came a major turning point in the life of Anna Nicole Smith in the year 1992. She was chosen by Hugh Hefner as the new cover girl for the March 1992 issue. She was featured as Vickie Smith and wore an attractive low-cut gown. She gave a statement where she said she wished to become ‘the next Marilyn Monroe’. She became one of the most popular models of the ‘Playboy’ magazine and was larger and heavier than a typical model. She was chosen as the ‘Playmate of the Year’ in 1993. Before the award pictorial, she started using her name as “Anna Nicole Smith”.

Later on, she signed a contract to replace the existing supermodel Claudia Schiffer in the advertisement campaign for Guess Jeans. She became popular with her series of sensuous black and white photographs. Her team at Guess strongly capitalized on her resemblance to Jayne Mansfield, another sex symbol. Just before Christmas that year, she modelled for the clothing company from Sweden called Hennes & Mauritz. Her underwear seductive poses became popular in Norway and Sweden.

On August 24, 1994, New York magazine used a photo of Anna in an issue which was titled as the “White Trash Nation”. She was squatting in a short skirt in the picture with cowboy boots while eating chips. In October that year, Anna’s lawyer issued a $5,000,000 lawsuit in opposition to the magazine for the unauthorized use of her picture and that the article had greatly damaged her reputation. Her lawyer also stated that Anna was told that the magazine was going to cover the “All American Woman Look” and the cover picture was originally taken for fun during the break time.

Death and Funeral

On September 10, 2006, Anna Nicole Smith lost her 20 year old son Daniel, while he was visiting his mother in the hospital to see his newly born sister. After the second autopsy, it was confirmed that he died due to a drug overdose, supposedly consuming a lethal combination of Methadone, Lexapro and Zoloft.

Despite the rise in her career, she experienced a lot of tragedy in her personal life. At the age of 39, she was found dead in her hotel room on February 8, 2007. The authorities at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino Hotel confirmed, after several weeks, that the death may perhaps be a result of accidental drug overdose. She had been taking different kinds of medications before she died.

After her death, there were numerous speculations regarding the paternity of her newly born daughter DannieLynn, including one of the claims made by Prince Frederick Von Anhalt. After the DNA results in April 2007, it was announced that Larry Birkhead was the biological father of Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter. Her lawyer Howard K. Stern was also known to be romantically linked with her; however the custody was later granted to Birkhead. Anna Nicole Smith made headlines all across the world and was paid a tribute by the Playboy Magazine. At the same time as being ridiculed for her spacey persona, she was also admired for her journey to success, amidst several difficulties. After she died, she was compared to Jean Marlow as well as Marilyn Monroe.

“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day – Dalai Lama”

His holiness Dalai Lama, also known as Tenzin Gyatso, happens to be the 14th head of the state as well as the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born to a family of farmers on July 6th, 1935, in a small village situated in north-eastern part of Tibet: Taktset, Amdo. He was named Lhamo Dhondup and by the age of two, he was believed to be the reincarnation of Thubten Gyatso, Dalai Lama the 13th. The Dalai Lamas are the patron saints of Tibet, known to be the manifestations of Chenrezig or Avalokiteshvara.

Education

His holiness Dalai Lama initiated his ascetic education when he was six years old. His course structure included five minor and five major subjects. The major subjects included Tibetan art & culture, logic, medicine, Sanskrit and Buddhist ideology. The Buddhist philosophy was later divided into five different categories such as Prajnaparimita, Madhyamika, Vinaya, Abidharma and Pramana. He chose the five minor categories as astrology, music and drama, poetry, synonyms and phrasing. He appeared for his concluding examination at the age of 23 during the annual prayer festival of 1959 in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. He passed the examination with honours and was also awarded the highest level degree (Geshe Lharampa). Such a degree is equivalent to the doctorate of Buddhist ideology.

Leadership Responsibilities

His holiness, Dalai Lama was invited to grant complete political power in the year 1950, after China invaded Tibet in 1949. He later went to Beijing in 1954 and conducted peace talks with Chinese leaders such as Mao Zedong, Chou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping. However, in the year 1959, with the brutal revolt against the Tibet national uprising by the Chinese troops in Lhasa, Dalai Lama was required to exile. He then escaped to Dharamsala in Northern India, which is also the place for Tibetan administration in exile. Ever since the invasion of China, Dalai Lama has requested to the UN (United Nations) committee about the condition of Tibet.

Democratization Process

In the year 1963, Dalai Lama was given a draft of the democratic constitution of Tibet, which led to a number of reforms so as to democratise the administrative set-up. He issued some important guidelines in 1992, for the future constitution of free Tibet. He proclaimed that when Tibet would become free, it would require an interim government who would then elect the constitutional assembly to strategise the democratic constitution of Tibet. His holiness would then transfer all of his chronological and political authorities to the provisional President and continue to live his life as an ordinary man. According to him, he wanted all the three provinces of Tibet (Amdo, U-Tsang and Kham) to be democratic. The reforms formed by Dalai Lama, saw its realisation in May 1990. Another major step in democratisation was taken in September 2001, when the Tibetan electorate directly appointed the most senior minister of the cabinet, Kalon Tripa. He was the first minister to elect his own cabinet that had to be approved by the Tibetan Assembly. This was the first time in the history of Tibet that the masses appointed the leaders.

Peace Initiatives

His Holiness planned the “Five Point Peace Prize” in September 1987, which was considered to be the first step towards improving the worsening conditions in Tibet. He often spoke of his vision of Tibet, which involved the country to become a sanctuary. Dalai Lama worked towards making the country, a region of peace where all beings can survive in harmony and preserve the environment. So far, China has failed to respond to several peace proposals brought into existence by His Holiness. The “Five Year Peace Plan” comprised of the basic components such as bringing about peace in the country, abandoning the population transfer policy of China, respecting the fundamental and democratic rights of the Tibetans, protecting the natural environment of the country and abandoning the use of nuclear weapons and nuclear waste from China.

The Strasbourg Proposal

During his address to the European Parliament members on June 15, 1988 in Strasbourg, he elaborated on the peace plan. He proposed peace talks between Tibet and China, leading to democratic government entity for all the provinces of Tibet. Such an entity would be in association with the Chinese Government and would continue to be responsible for the foreign policy and defense of China.

Global Recognition

Dalai Lama is known to be the man of peace. In the year 1989, he was given the Nobel Prize for Peace to recognise his non-violent effort for the liberty and freedom of Tibet. He consistently propagated policies of truth and non-violence, while facing extreme aggression. He was one of the first Nobel Laureates identified for this concern over environmental problems all across the globe.

Dalai Lama has traveled across 62 countries, stretched across 6 continents. He has had meetings with rulers, prime ministers and presidents of prominent nations. He has also held conferences with different spiritual leaders and renowned scientists. Ever since 1959, he was won more than 84 awards, prizes and honorary doctorates for his efforts on peace, inter-religious tolerances, compassion as well as universal responsibility. He has authored 72 books so far and yet he addresses himself as a mere Buddhist monk.

Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan was born on 11th of October, 1942. He is one of the prominent Indian film actors who gained popularity as the ‘angry young man’ during the 1970s. Throughout his journey in the Indian cinema, he has won three national awards and thirteen Filmfare awards.

Early Life & Family

Amitabh Bachchan was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh and belongs to a Hindu-Sikh family. His father, Dr.Harivanshrai Bachchan was a famous poet and his mother Teji Bachchan belonged to Faisalabad. Amitabh was originally named ‘Inquilab’ inspired from the Indian independence struggle, however was later renamed as Amitabh, which means the ‘light that would never go off’. Although his surname was ‘Srivastava’, his father used ‘Bachchan’ as his pen name to publish all his works. Later on, Amitabh debuted in the film industry with the same last name.

Amitabh was the eldest of the two sons in the family, the other one being Ajitabh. His mother had some amount of influence on his career choice since she insisted that he should take up theatre. He attended Jnana Prabodhini and Boy’s High School in Allahabad, followed by the Sherwood College in Nainital where he took up majors in art. He later went to the Kirori Mal College of the Delhi University and completed his Bsc. During his twenties, he ended up with a job as a freight broker with Bird & Co in Kolkata. Amitabh Bachchan was married to film actress Jaya Bhaduri in the year 1973.

Career

Amitabh Bachchan made his Hindi film debut in the year 1969 and happened to be one of the seven protagonists in the film “Saat Hindustani”. Although the film did not do well commercially, he was awarded the National Film Award for the Best Newcomer. His first commercial success came with the film “Anand” in the year 1971, followed by “Parwana”, “Reshma Aur Shera” and a guest appearance in the film “Guddi”. He was recognised for his deep baritone voice and was offered to narrate the initial part of the film “Bawarchi”.

After “Bombay to Goa” in the year 1972, there was a significant progress in Amitabh’s career. Director Prakash Mehra offered him a lead role in the film “Zanjeer” in 1973. With this role, he was famously known as the “angry young man” of the Indian Cinema. The film was a huge hit all across India and there was no looking back thereafter. He also did non-conventional roles in the films like “Abhimaan”, “Namak Haram”, “Majboor”, “Mili”, “Chupke Chupke” and “Faraar”.

“Deewar”, released in the year 1975 went on to become one of the “Must-Watch Bollywood Films” of all times. In the same year, Amitabh was a part of the highest grossing film in the history of Indian cinema, “Sholay”, earning a total of $60 million. Bachchan became a pre-eminent action hero of India after the phenomenal success of Sholay and retained the top spot from 1976 to 1984. A series of comedies and romantic films attributed its success to Amitabh Bachchan, which includes “Amar Akbar Anthony”, “Kabhie Kabhie”, “Don”, “Trishul”, “Kasme Vaade” and “Muqaddar Ka Sikander”. François Truffaut, the French director referred to Indian cinema as a “One Man Industry” due to the unprecedented success of Amitabh Bachchan.

He continued to give breath-taking performances in films like “Kaala Patthar”, “Dostana”, “Mr.Natwarlal”, “Shaan”, “Ram Balram”, “Silsila”, “Lawaaris” and “Shakti”. Throughout his career, he was pitted against the other legendary actors of the Indian film industry and successfully carved a niche of his own.

The Crucial Injury of Coolie in 1982

While filming a fight scene in the film “Coolie” with the co-actor Punit Issar, he suffered intestinal injury. Bachchan was supposed to perform his own stunts in the movie and in one of the scenes, he was asked to fall on the table and then roll off on the ground. However, while jumping on the table, the angle of the table stuck hard on his abdomen, resulting into a splenic rupture and loss of blood. He was rushed to the hospital immediately and remained crucially ill for several months. The massive public response included prayers and long queues of fans outside the hospital.

Politics

Amitabh took a sabbatical from acting in the year 1984 and entered politics to support a long time family friend Rajiv Gandhi. He contested from Allahabad for the 8th Lok Sabha against the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, H.N. Bahuguna. His political career was pretty short lived and he resigned within three years. A newspaper implied his involvement in the “Bofors Scandal” and was later found not guilty in the ordeal.

The Decline

Amitabh Bachchan returned to films in the year 1988, with the film “Shahenshah”. After the success of this film, his star power started weakening since all the films thereafter failed at the box office. “Hum”, “Agneepath, “Khuda Gawah” and “Insaniyat” did not create the same success as before and he chose to retire for a while.

During his retirement, he became a producer by setting up ABCL (Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd.) in the year 1996. However, the company did not make any profits, instead lost a lot of funds on some events such as the “Miss World Beauty Pageant” in Bangalore. The company was declared bankrupt in the year 1997 and Bachchan decided to revive his acting career. “Bade Miyaan Chote Miyaan” was a moderately successful film followed by box office failures of “Lal Baadshah”, “Sooryavansham” and “Hindustan Ki Kasam”.

The Return

Amitabh Bachchan stepped up the television platform with the Indian version of the entertainment show “Who wants to be a millionaire?” He gained immense popularity with the show and soon returned to silver screen with the film “Mohabbatein”. With astonishing performances thereafter, he soon regained the losses of his company and was highly rewarded for his work in recent films like “Baghban”, “Black”, “Sarkar”, “Sarkar Raj”, “Aankhen”, “Baabul”, “Viruddh”, and “Bhootnath”. One of the latest films “Paa” happens to be the most challenging film of his career where he plays a character of a 12 year old.

Despite a few rough years of his life, Amitabh Bachchan remains to be one of the most identified names of Indian cinema all across the globe. His popularity and his dedication towards films are unparalleled even today.

Musician, actor and director Johnny Depp was born in Owensboro, Kentucky as John Christopher Depp, Jr. on June 9, 1963. His parents were Betty Sue and John Depp. At the same time as his father was a civil engineer, his mother was a waitress and a housewife. He happened to be the youngest of four children and was often withdrawn and a self-admitted oddball. Due to his father’s profession, they often moved to different places and finally landed in Miramar, Florida.

Early Life

At the age of 7, Johnny lived with his family in a motel in Miramar for 12 months, until his father found another job. At the age of 12, he began smoking and started experimenting with drugs. He was frequently disturbed by the stress of family problems. He would often lock himself in a room and play guitar for hours. When he was 15, his parents got divorced in the year 1978. It is known that the split caused a huge rift between his father and himself.

Johnny dropped out of school when he was 16 and joined the garage band called ‘The Kids’. The group became pretty popular and started opening for ‘Talking Heads’ and the ‘B-52’s’, however the income wasn’t enough. Johnny lived for months in his friend’s Chevy Impala. At the age of 20, in 1983, he met and later married the 25 year old make-up girl Lori Allison. The couple moved to LA in the same year, looking forward to the success of the band. With a small budget, the band mates would sell pens for a telemarketing firm, in order to make some extra money.

Career

His wife introduced Johnny to her ex-boyfriend, Nicolas Cage a year later. It is known that Cage sported a lot of potential in the young musician and introduced him to a Hollywood agent. After a few small roles, Johnny got his first legitimate movie role in the popular horror film called ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’. The garage band was broken apart by 1985 and he got divorced in the same year. After his divorce, he met Sherilyn Fenn on the set of his upcoming film, ‘Dummies’. The couple dated for a few months and then got engaged, but the affair was fairly short lived. After this break-up, Johnny was associated to actress Jennifer Gray; however that romance didn’t last long enough as well.

He then focused solely on acting and attended classes at the Loft Studios in LA. His dedication towards acting paid off in 1987 where he replaced the actor Jeff Yagher for the role of an undercover cop in the Canadian TV series ’21 Jump Street’. This role took him to an instant stardom and he soon became a teen-idol. He started pursuing better roles after the series ended in 1989. Johnny starred in the John Waters musical in 1990 called ‘Cry Baby’, which became a major cult hit and led to changing his image completely.

The Stardom

Johnny got to exhibit his flexibility as an actor in the movie called ‘Edwards Scissorhands’ in the year 1990. This movie not only brought him to the list of best actors, but also grossed about $54 million at the box office. He gradually engraved a niche for himself as a dark, serious and a characteristic performer, selecting only those roles that would click with the audiences. He met another actress Winona Ryder while shooting for this film and they soon became the next power couple of Hollywood. The couple split in 1993 when Winona’s parents forbade her to marry at the age of 17.

Besides his personal life, he continued to flourish as an actor and gained critical acclaim for his work. Some of his notable movies include ‘Benny & Joon’ as well as ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?’ Along with two other business partners, Johnny bought ‘The Viper Club’ in LA and it became one of the hottest spots in the Sunset Stripe. He used this club as a platform to introduce patrons to his newly formed musical band ‘P’. However actor River Phoenix experienced a drug overdose in this club and died on October 31.

The Depression

After the incident in the club, Johnny submerged himself into drugs and started losing control of his life. He then had a disparaging relationship with the model Kate Moss in the year 1994 and the couple started making headlines for their erratic behaviour. The happenings in his personal life didn’t seem to affect his professional life and he continued his critically acclaimed movies such as ‘Ed Wood’ and ‘Don Juan DeMarco’.

He split with Kate Moss in the year 1998 and was involved in a relationship with a French actress, Vanessa Paradis who later became the biological mother of his first daughter, ‘Lily-Rose Melody Depp’. He became popular with some of his movies thereafter such as ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’, ‘The Ninth Gate’, ‘The Astronaut’s Wife’ and ‘Sleepy Hollow’. A few of the big-budget films to follow include ‘Blow’, ‘From Hell’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’. His relationship with Vanessa continued and she gave birth to his second child called ‘Jack’.

The Academy Award Nominations

Jonny received an Academy Award nomination for his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the year 2004 for the movie ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. The film was a box office hit and he starred in another critically acclaimed movie called ‘Finding Neverland’. This movie received as many as 10 award nominations and he stared in both the sequels for the pirate series. He then emerged as a dark character in the movie called ‘Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’. He received a Golden Globe Award for his work in this movie. Three of his films are slated to release this year which also include the adaptation of the classic ‘Alice in Wonderland’.