William Shakespeare Biography 2

Establishing Himself

By 1597, 15 of the 37 plays written by William Shakespeare were published. Civil records show that at this time he purchased the second largest house in Stratford, called New House, for his family. It was a four-day ride by horse from Stratford to London, so it is believed that Shakespeare spent most of his time in the city writing and acting and came home once a year during the 40-day Lenten period, when the theaters were closed.

By 1599, William Shakespeare and his business partners built their own theater on the south bank of the Thames River, which they called the Globe. In 1605, Shakespeare purchased leases of real estate near Stratford for 440 pounds, which doubled in value and earned him 60 pounds a year. This made him an entrepreneur as well as an artist, and scholars believe these investments gave him the time to write his plays uninterrupted.

Writing Style

William Shakespeare's early plays were written in the conventional style of the day, with elaborate metaphors and rhetorical phrases that didn't always align naturally with the story's plot or characters. However, Shakespeare was very innovative, adapting the traditional style to his own purposes and creating a freer flow of words. With only small degrees of variation, Shakespeare primarily used a metrical pattern consisting of lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter, or blank verse, to compose his plays. At the same time, there are passages in all the plays that deviate from this and use forms of poetry or simple prose.

Early Works: Histories and Comedies

With the exception of Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare's first plays were mostly histories written in the early 1590s. Richard II, Henry VI (parts 1, 2 and 3) and Henry V dramatize the destructive results of weak or corrupt rulers, and have been interpreted by drama historians as Shakespeare's way of justifying the origins of the Tudor Dynasty.
Shakespeare also wrote several comedies during his early period: the witty romance A Midsummer Night's Dream, the romantic Merchant of Venice, the wit and wordplay of Much Ado About Nothing, the charming As You Like It and Twelfth Night. Other plays, possibly written before 1600, include Titus Andronicus, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew and The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Later Works: Tragedies and Tragicomedies

It was in William Shakespeare's later period, after 1600, that he wrote the tragedies Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and Macbeth. In these, Shakespeare's characters present vivid impressions of human temperament that are timeless and universal. Possibly the best known of these plays is Hamlet, which explores betrayal, retribution, incest and moral failure. These moral failures often drive the twists and turns of Shakespeare's plots, destroying the hero and those he loves.
In William Shakespeare's final period, he wrote several tragicomedies. Among these are Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. Though graver in tone than the comedies, they are not the dark tragedies of King Lear or Macbeth because they end with reconciliation and forgiveness.

Death

Tradition has it that William Shakespeare died on his birthday, April 23, 1616, though many scholars believe this is a myth. Church records show he was interred at Trinity Church on April 5, 1616.
In his will, he left the bulk of his possessions to his eldest daughter, Susanna. Though entitled to a third of his estate, little seems to have gone to his wife, Anne, whom he bequeathed his "second-best bed." This has drawn speculation that she had fallen out of favor, or that the couple was not close. However, there is very little evidence the two had a difficult marriage. Other scholars note that the term "second-best bed" often refers to the bed belonging to the household's master and mistres—the marital bed—and the "first-best bed" was reserved for guests.

William Shakespeare Biography

William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. From roughly 1594 onward he was an important member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men company of theatrical players. Written records give little indication of the way in which Shakespeare’s professional life molded his artistry. All that can be deduced is that over the course of 20 years, Shakespeare wrote plays that capture the complete range of human emotion and conflict.

Mysterious Origins

Known throughout the world, the works of William Shakespeare have been performed in countless hamlets, villages, cities and metropolises for more than 400 years. And yet, the personal history of William Shakespeare is somewhat a mystery. There are two primary sources that provide historians with a basic outline of his life. One source is his work—the plays, poems and sonnets—and the other is official documentation such as church and court records. However, these only provide brief sketches of specific events in his life and provide little on the person who experienced those events.

Early Life

Though no birth records exist, church records indicate that a William Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564. From this, it is believed he was born on or near April 23, 1564, and this is the date scholars acknowledge as William Shakespeare's birthday.
Located 103 miles west of London, during Shakespeare's time Stratford-upon-Avon was a market town bisected with a country road and the River Avon. William was the third child of John Shakespeare, a leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a local landed heiress. William had two older sisters, Joan and Judith, and three younger brothers, Gilbert, Richard and Edmund. Before William's birth, his father became a successful merchant and held official positions as alderman and bailiff, an office resembling a mayor. However, records indicate John's fortunes declined sometime in the late 1570s.
Scant records exist of William's childhood, and virtually none regarding his education. Scholars have surmised that he most likely attended the King's New School, in Stratford, which taught reading, writing and the classics. Being a public official's child, William would have undoubtedly qualified for free tuition. But this uncertainty regarding his education has led some to raise questions about the authorship of his work and even about whether or not William Shakespeare ever existed.

Married Life

William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582, in Worcester, in Canterbury Province. Hathaway was from Shottery, a small village a mile west of Stratford. William was 18 and Anne was 26, and, as it turns out, pregnant. Their first child, a daughter they named Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583. Two years later, on February 2, 1585, twins Hamnet and Judith were born. Hamnet later died of unknown causes at age 11.
After the birth of the twins, there are seven years of William Shakespeare's life where no records exist.
 Scholars call this period the "lost years," and there is wide speculation on what he was doing during this period. One theory is that he might have gone into hiding for poaching game from the local landlord, Sir Thomas Lucy. Another possibility is that he might have been working as an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire. It is generally believed he arrived in London in the mid- to late 1580s and may have found work as a horse attendant at some of London's finer theaters,
 a scenario updated centuries later by the countless aspiring actors and playwrights in Hollywood and Broadway.

Theatrical Beginnings

By 1592, there is evidence William Shakespeare earned a living as an actor and a playwright in London and possibly had several plays produced. The September 20, 1592 edition of the Stationers' Register (a guild publication) includes an article by London playwright Robert Greene that takes a few jabs at William Shakespeare: "...There is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tiger's heart wrapped in a Player's hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country," Greene wrote of Shakespeare.
Scholars differ on the interpretation of this criticism, but most agree that it was Greene's way of saying Shakespeare was reaching above his rank, trying to match better known and educated playwrights like Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Nashe or Greene himself.

By the early 1590s, documents show William Shakespeare was a managing partner in the Lord Chamberlain's Men, an acting company in London. After the crowning of King James I, in 1603, the company changed its name to the King's Men. From all accounts, the King's Men company was very popular, and records show that Shakespeare had works published and sold as popular literature. The theater culture in 16th century England was not highly admired by people of high rank. However, many of the nobility were good patrons of the performing arts and friends of the actors. Early in his career, Shakespeare was able to attract the attention of Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton, to whom he dedicated his first- and second-published poems: "Venus and Adonis" (1593) and "The Rape of Lucrece" (1594).

Mel Gibson Biography

Born to Hutton Gibson and Anne Reilly Gibson, Mel is the sixth of eleven children. In 1968, when Gibson was 12-years-old, the family emigrated to Sydney, Australia. 

His father had won $21,000 as a contestant on international game show ‘Jeopardy’ and had also received $145,000 compensation for a 1964 work accident that had caused him to lose his job as brakeman for New York City Railroad.
It was an opportunity for Hutton to get his sons away from the cultural changes of 1960s America, which he felt were immoral. He chose Australia, as it was his wife’s homeland, her mother having been an opera singer who had emigrated to the US years before, and she had extended family living there. Gibson kept his American citizenship and acquired an Australian accent.
Gibson attended school at St Leo’s College, run by Christian Brothers but constantly rebelled against their rules. His exasperated father eventually moved him to Asquith High state school, where he settled in to become a typical Aussie teenager. Gibson had no particular vocational yearning, thinking perhaps he may become a priest at one stage and then considering journalism. Extremely shy, he dated little, and usually took his friends along for moral support. He did however enjoy elaborately staged practical jokes and was an excellent mimic, having a penchant for different accents.
It was these skills that made his sister apply, on his behalf but without his knowledge, to the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. At the time, Gibson had graduated from school and was working at an orange juice-bottling factory. When he was offered a place to study acting at the Institute of Dramatic Art, he gladly accepted, moving out of his parents’ home and in with three of his friends, one of whom was Geoffrey Rush (now an Oscar winning actor). He overcame his stage fright (a result of his shyness) and put all his effort into the course, thoroughly enjoying the theatrical work. Gibson graduated in 1977 and began working on the small screen, appearing in television series ‘The Sullivans’ (1976-1983), ‘Cop Shop’ (1977-1984) and ‘Punishment’ (1981).

However, he hated television work as compared to the theatre, maintaining that good acting was only done within time constraints. He joined the South Australia Theatre Company and toured with ‘Waiting for Godot’. It was during this tour, whilst in Adelaide, that he met his future wife, Robyn Moore, who was working as a dental nurse. They were married on 7 June 1980 and went on to have seven children, first a daughter Hannah (b. 1980) and then six sons, twins Edward and Christian (b. 1982), Willie (b. 1985), Louis (b. 1988), Milo (b. 1990) and Tommy (b. 1999).
Gibson’s first big screen debut came in the form of an uncredited role as a baseball player in ‘I Never Promised You a Rose Garden’ (1977). However, it wasn’t long before he met director Phil Avalon and was cast in his low-budget surfer movie called ‘Summer City’ (1977), enjoying a brief relationship with co-star Deborah Foreman.

Two years later, Gibson was offered the lead role in George Miller’s sensational ‘Mad Max’ (1979). In a strange twist of fate, on the night before the audition Gibson was involved in a boozy fight, which left him with stitches in his head and a badly bruised and beaten face. It was the last thing he needed when trying to impress a casting crew, but it was in fact this ‘look’ that clinched the deal. In a role that secured his arrival as a star, Gibson played ‘Mad’ Max Rockatansky, a ruthless, leather-clad survivor in the savage post-apocalyptic Australian Outback. The film became a cult hit that has since been followed by sequels.

Playing the title role in ‘Tim’ (1979) won Gibson his first Best Actor in a Lead Role Award from The Australian Film Institute and playing Frank Dunne in Peter Weir’s WW1 drama ‘Gallipoli’ (1981) won him his second. Not only was Gibson gaining big screen experience, his acting efforts were being noticed and rewarded, at least in Australia. With his offbeat charm, his magnetism, his piercingly blue eyes and his boyish good looks, he was becoming an obvious choice for male lead roles.
‘Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior’ (1981) was another runaway hit and finally made a star of Gibson in America. To follow were two more war dramas, the mediocre ‘Attack Force Z’ (1982) and the ‘The Year of Living Dangerously’ (1982) with Sigourney Weaver. He starred as Fletcher Christian with Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Daniel Day-Lewis and Liam Neeson in ‘The Bounty’ (1984). At this stage, Gibson was already struggling with alcoholism, finding that the inebriation took away his shyness and that he generally drank a whole lot more when he was away from his family, when filming. This caused an on-set rift between himself and Hopkins, a teetotaller at the time. In fact, in Toronto 1984, an inebriated Gibson rear-ended another driver. He pleaded guilty to drunk driving and was fined $300.
Gibson then worked on his first film with an American director and for the first time, adopted an American accent. It was New Yorker Mark Rydell’s epic love story ‘The River’ (1984), in which Gibson starred opposite Sissy Spaceck. He played prisoner Ed Biddle, with Diane Keaton and Matthew Modine, in the romantic drama ‘Mrs Soffel’ (1984) before returning once more to Australia and his Mad Max role, to film the third in the series. It was ‘Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome’ (1985) with Tina Turner as Aunty Entity.
Unbeknownst to Gibson, he was about to become one of the biggest action heroes of all time. Upon his return to America, he was offered the role of Sergeant Martin Riggs in the ‘Lethal Weapon’ series. His partner in this “buddy film” genre was Danny Glover, with whom he shared great onscreen chemistry, helping the series that has spanned almost two decades, to become enormously successful. Between ‘Lethal Weapon’ (1987) and ‘Lethal Weapon 2’ (1989), Gibson starred in the action romance ‘Tequila Sunrise’ (1988) with Michele Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell. Then came adventure comedy ‘Bird on a Wire’ (1990) with David Carradine and the delightful Goldie Hawn, and action comedy ‘Air America’ (1990) with Robert Downey Jr, about the Vietnam War.

In an unusual switch of genres, from action to classical, Gibson played the Danish Prince in Franco Zeffirelli’s ‘Hamlet’ (1990) with co-stars Glenn Close, Alan Bates and Paul Schofield, and certainly held his own. During the filming of ‘Hamlet’, chain-smoking Gibson changed to nicotine gum in an effort to better control his breathing, for the improved delivery of his lines. In 1991 he began treatment for alcoholism, with his wife threatening to leave him if he refused. He then starred with Elijah Wood and Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘Forever Young’ (1992) for which he was also Executive Producer but this role went uncredited. ‘Lethal Weapon 3’ (1992) scored its by-now-usual box-office hit and Gibson made his directorial debut with ‘The Man Without a Face’ (1993). In this heart-warming drama he starred as Justin McLeod. Next was his role as the gambling Bret Maverick Jr in ‘Maverick’ (1994), with charming lady thief played by Jodie Foster.
The unforgettable historical epic ‘Braveheart’ (1995) was Gibson’s second opportunity as Director, in which he played the lead role of 13th century Scottish rebel and hero William Wallace. The film was signed by Icon Productions, a company co-owned by Gibson and Bruce Davey, and Gibson achieved invigorating performances, brutal battle scenes and touching story telling. In short, with very little prior experience at Directing, Gibson surpassed everyone’s expectations by winning two Oscars at the 1996 Academy Awards, for Best Picture and Best Director, as well as a 1996 Golden Globe Award for Best Director. Also released in 1995 was Disney’s animated movie ‘Pocahontas’ for which Gibson provided the voice of John Smith, proving his singing abilities.
‘Ransom’ (1996) was a fast-paced kidnap story that had Gibson playing rich airline owner Tom Mullen, with Rene Russo and Gary Sinese. Julia Roberts starred with Gibson in romantic thriller ‘Conspiracy Theory’ (1997). Also that year were two uncredited cameo roles, as Scott the Body Piercer in ‘Fathers' Day’ (1997) and as Frances’ father in ‘FairyTale: A True Story’ (1997). In 1997, he was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia, the country’s highest honour. Then came ‘Lethal Weapon 4’ (1998) and the next year, Gibson provided the voice for one episode of the cult television series ‘The Simpsons’ (1999). He played Porter in ‘Payback’ (1999), a remake of the 1968 crime thriller that starred Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson.
Wim Wenders directed ‘The Million Dollar Hotel’ (2000) in which Gibson played FBI agent Detective Skinner alongside Milla Jovovich and Jeremy Davies. He then provided the voice of Rocky Rhodes the Rhode Island Red Rooster in the much loved animated film ‘Chicken Run’ (2000). ‘The Patriot’ (2000) was a slightly sentimental take on the American revolutionary war and then Gibson played a chauvinistic executive who, after an accident, is able to hear what women are thinking in ‘What Women Want’ (2000) with Helen Hunt, Marissa Tomei, Alan Alda and Bette Midler.

Gibson played Lt. Col. Hal Moore opposite Madeleine Stowe as Julie Moore in ‘We Were Soldiers’ (2002), a true story about the Vietnam War. In ‘Signs’ (2002) he was the Reverend Graham Hess and Joaquin Phoenix played his brother, Merrill Hess, in a story involving crop circles, car accidents and tests of faith. Gibson won a Global Achievement Award from the Australian Film Institute in 2002 in recognition of his contribution to acting. ‘The Singing Detective’ (2003), in which Gibson played a psychotherapist with Robert Downey Jr, Robin Wright Penn and Katie Holmes, topped the box office charts and was America’s biggest summer hit of 2003.
In ‘Paparazzi’ (2004), which he produced, Gibson played an uncredited role as an Anger Management Therapy patient. He admitted to drug and alcohol abuse in a 2004 Primetime interview with Diane Sawyer. Gibson committed himself to rehabilitation, having reached a low point of depression and guilt surrounding his behaviour and having even considered suicide. The need to reconnect with his spiritual side and his own strongly religious upbringing inspired him to direct and produce the film ‘The Passion of the Christ’ (2004). It had been ten years in the research and making and Gibson reportedly spent $25 million of his own money on the project. The blockbuster, created by Icon Productions, the production company co-owned by Gibson and Bruce Davey, was surrounded by controversy before the film was even released. Not since Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ (1988) had a religious movie caused such a stir.
Gibson’s father was accused of having denied the Holocaust, to which Gibson replied that his father had been questioning the number of Jewish deaths rather than having denied it ever happened. Jewish pressure groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, responded immediately. Not to be left out, a group of Catholic ecumenists, activists and scholars compiled a list of transgressions in the script and demanded that the film be entirely remade. Some people in Hollywood even turned against Gibson during this difficult time. Determined to see his dream to fruition, he held his ground, even daring to have his actors speak entirely in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin (although it was all subtitled).
The film told the story of the last hours of Christ in harrowing detail, vividly portraying his violent beatings and humiliation and made for intensely disturbing viewing. The Catholic Church distanced itself from the entire issue, which meant the film remained uncensored. Despite all the controversy, Gibson’s instincts had been correct and the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Music Score, Best Cinematography and Best Makeup and won the People’s Choice Award for Best Drama. ‘The Passion of the Christ’ (2004) became the highest grossing R-rated film in American history and the 8th highest grossing movie of all time.

Inspired by this success, Gibson went on to direct the epic ‘Apocalypto’ and was also Executive Producer, Producer and Writer. The title is Greek for “new beginning” or “unveiling”. The film is set during the time of the decline of the Mayan civilization 600 years ago. As in ‘The Passion of the Christ’ (2004), Gibson used local dialect - in this case, Yucatec Maya – and unknown actors. Once again this was self-financed by Gibson, with Icon Productions retaining the international rights whilst Disney will distribute the film in the US.
The man who began his career being typecast as an action hero but who soon proved his great versatility as an actor, is certainly not slowing down after nearly three decades in the business. There is talk of the release of the fourth Mad Max movie, which is in the pre-production stage, with the working title of ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’. ‘Sam and George’, a drama directed by Richard Donner, is due for release in 2008. In the story about old friends reuniting, Gibson plays a man released from prison after serving twenty years for a crime he did not commit.
This award winning actor, director and producer is actually a fiercely private man who genuinely loves his wife and children. He and his wife donate to various charities, particularly those helping needy children around the world. His company, Icon Productions now has offices worldwide and produces international films and television shows. Brought up by strictly Catholic parents, Gibson spent years of drinking, smoking, brawling, gambling and womanising before battling his addictions and the controversy surrounding his personal views and behaviour. He has, at times, voiced prejudiced, anti-Semitic and homophobic statements and been fined more than once for driving misdemeanours involving alcohol, yet he always manages to recover from these incidents.
On 28th July 2006 Gibson fell foul of the law in a return to his old drinking habits. After being pulled over for speeding and drunk driving on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, he swore and made a number of sexist and anti-Semitic statements, one of which was, “F***ing Jews… Jews are responsible for all wars in the world.” He was arrested and charged with DUI (Driving Under the Influence) with a blood alcohol level above California’s 0.08 legal limit. He was also cited for a vehicle code infraction for having an open bottle of Tequila in his car when he was stopped. The following day, he issued two formal apologies for his behaviour and his comments upon being arrested, specifically apologising to the Jewish community in the second one. On 17th August 2006, he pleaded guilty to his charges and was sentenced to three years on probation, his licence was restricted for 90 days and he was fined $1 300. The Superior Court Judge also ordered Gibson to attend regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and to enter a rehabilitation programme.
With such talent and potential to keep achieving in the world of entertainment, here’s hoping Gibson manages to conquer his addictions once and for all and that his desire to become more spiritual will help him through the process and eradicate the controversy that often clouds an otherwise bright and ambitious character.
After 26 years of marriage, Mel and Robyn Gibson separated on 29 July 2006. In a 2011 interview, Gibson revealed that the separation occurred the day after his drunk driving arrest.
In a joint statement, the couple said: "Throughout our marriage and separation we have always strived to maintain the privacy and integrity of our family and will continue to do so."
Robyn cited irreconcilable differences and filed for divorce on 13 April 2009 after the publication of Mel embracing Russian pianist Oksana Grigorieva on a beach.
The divorce was finalised on 23 December 2011, with the settlement reaching $400,000,000 - one of the largest in Hollywood history.
Gibson made his first red carpet appearance with Grigorieva on 28 April 2009 and she gave birth to their daughter Lucia on 30 October 2009. In April 2010, it was revealed the pair had split and each party took out a restraining order on the other.
He returned to film in 'The Edge of Darkness' as a homicide detective investigating his daughter's death in 2010.
Gibson starred alongside Jodie Foster, who also directed 'The Beaver' in 2011 as a troubled husband and executive who adopts a beaver hand puppet as his sole mean of communication.

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