Joe Franklin (March 9, 1926 – January 24, 2015), born Joseph Fortgang , was an American radio and television host personality, author and actor from New York City . Franklin is noted for having the first talk show and inventing the format. His television series debuted in January 1951 on WJZ-TV (later WABC-TV ), moving to WOR-TV (later WWOR-TV ) in 1962, remaining there until 1993, one of the longest running uninterrupted careers in broadcasting history.
158-525: Franklin was born Joseph Fortgang on March 9, 1926, in The Bronx , New York, the elder of two children, to Austrian Jewish parents, Anna (Heller) and Martin Fortgang. He acknowledged in his memoirs, Up Late With Joe Franklin, (which was written with R. J. Marx), that his press materials had long said, purposely, that he had been born in 1928, but he planned to come clean about his real birth date. As
316-731: A Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media . Madonna starred in the 2000 comedy-drama film The Next Best Thing , directed by John Schlesinger . The film opened at number two on the US box office with $ 5.9 million grossed in its first week, but this quickly diminished. She also contributed two songs to the film's soundtrack—a cover of Don McLean 's 1971 song " American Pie " and an original song "Time Stood Still"—the former became her ninth UK number-one single. Madonna released her eighth studio album, Music , in September 2000. It featured elements from
474-612: A cameo role , described by Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian as "incredibly wooden". The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for both a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song . In 2003, Madonna collaborated with fashion photographer Steven Klein for an exhibition installation named X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS, which ran from March to May in New York's Deitch Projects gallery, and also travelled
632-431: A Dance Floor (2005). She has amassed a catalog of various high-charting songs, including " Holiday ", " Like a Virgin ", " La Isla Bonita ", " Like a Prayer ", " Vogue ", " Take a Bow ", " Frozen ", " Music ", " Hung Up " and " 4 Minutes ". Madonna's popularity was enhanced by roles in films such as Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Dick Tracy (1990), A League of Their Own (1992) and Evita (1996). While
790-463: A Prayer ", the lead single and title track from her fourth studio album . The music video featured Catholic symbols such as stigmata and cross burning , and a dream of making love to a saint, leading the Vatican to condemn the video. Religious groups sought to ban the commercial and boycott Pepsi products. Pepsi revoked the commercial and canceled her sponsorship contract. "Like a Prayer" topped
948-521: A Public Service Announcement (PSA) supporting Rock the Vote 's efforts in voter registration. Madonna's first greatest-hits compilation album , The Immaculate Collection (1990), was released in November including two new songs, " Justify My Love " and " Rescue Me ". The album was certified diamond by RIAA and sold over 30 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling compilation album by
1106-428: A Virgin", during which two male dancers caressed her body before she simulated masturbation. In response, Madonna said, "The tour in no way hurts anybody's sentiments. It's for open minds and gets them to see sexuality in a different way. Their own and others". The live recording of the tour won Madonna her first Grammy Award , in the category of Best Long Form Music Video . In October 1990, Madonna lent her voice to
1264-578: A boom period during 1900–1929, with a population growth by a factor of six from 200,000 in 1900 to 1.3 million in 1930. The Great Depression and post World War II years saw a slowing of growth leading into an eventual decline. The mid to late century were hard times, as the Bronx changed during 1950–1985 from a predominantly moderate-income to a predominantly lower-income area with high rates of violent crime and poverty in some areas. The Bronx has experienced an economic and developmental resurgence starting in
1422-697: A career in dance. Madonna later attended Rochester Adams High School and became a straight-A student as well as a member of its cheerleading squad. After graduating in January 1976, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan and studied over the summer at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina . In 1978, Madonna dropped out of college and relocated to New York City. She said of her move to New York, "It
1580-676: A child, both in the same year. She had reached another turning point in her career, reinventing herself and her image with the public." Her relationship with Carlos Leon ended in May 1997 and she declared that they were "better off as best friends". After Lourdes's birth, Madonna became involved in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah , introduced to her by actress Sandra Bernhard . Her seventh studio album, Ray of Light , (1998) reflected this change in her perception and image. She collaborated with electronica producer William Orbit and wanted to create
1738-987: A co-host, but his producer, Richie Ornstein, was a standard feature on the Joe Franklin Show who interacted with guests and discussed trivia. Woody Allen, Andy Kaufman , Liza Minnelli , Barbra Streisand, Julia Roberts , Bruce Springsteen , Robin Williams , John Belushi , Richard Pryor , and They Might Be Giants got their first television exposure on The Joe Franklin Show . Frank Sinatra reportedly appeared four times. Franklin frequently appeared at his restaurant, where he conducted live, in-person interviews with entertainers such as Carol Channing , Anita O'Day and Billy Crystal , who impersonated Franklin on Saturday Night Live . Franklin appeared as himself in such New York-based films as Ghostbusters , Broadway Danny Rose , and 29th Street . Franklin appeared on
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#17327904361511896-604: A confirmation name when getting confirmed in the Catholic Church in 1966. In 1966, Tony married the family's housekeeper Joan Gustafson; they remained married for 58 years until Joan's death in 2024. They had two children, Jennifer (born 1967) and Mario (born 1968). Madonna attended St. Frederick's and St. Andrew's Catholic Elementary Schools, and West Middle School. She was known for her high grade point average (GPA) and achieved notoriety for her unconventional behavior. Madonna would perform cartwheels and handstands in
2054-718: A cover of Marvin Gaye 's " I Want You ". An enthusiastic collector of modern art , Madonna sponsored the first major retrospective of Tina Modotti 's work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1995. The following year, she sponsored an exhibition of Basquiat's paintings at the Serpentine Gallery in London. The following year, she sponsored artist Cindy Sherman 's retrospective at the MoMA in New York. This
2212-472: A documentary on the problems faced by Malawians; it was directed by Nathan Rissman, who worked as Madonna's gardener. She also directed her first film, Filth and Wisdom . The plot of the film revolved around three friends and their aspirations. The Times said she had "done herself proud" while The Daily Telegraph described the film as "not an entirely unpromising first effort [but] Madonna would do well to hang on to her day job." On March 10, 2008, Madonna
2370-799: A free bridge across the Harlem River. After the American Revolutionary War , the King's Bridge toll was abolished. The territory now contained within Bronx County was originally part of Westchester County , one of the 12 original counties of the English Province of New York . The present Bronx County was contained in the town of Westchester and parts of the towns in Yonkers , Eastchester , and Pelham . In 1846,
2528-752: A giant wedding cake and then rolled around suggestively on the floor. MTV retrospectively considered it one of the "most iconic" pop performances of all time. The second single, " Material Girl ", reached number two on the Hot 100. While filming the single's music video, Madonna started dating actor Sean Penn . They married on her birthday in 1985. Madonna entered mainstream films in February 1985, beginning with her cameo in Vision Quest . The soundtrack contained two new singles, her US number-one single, " Crazy for You ", and another track " Gambler ". She also played
2686-541: A global audience of 1.2 million and grossed over $ 193.7 million, becoming the highest-grossing tour to that date for a female artist. Madonna used religious symbols, such as the crucifix and Crown of Thorns , in the performance of "Live to Tell". It caused the Russian Orthodox Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia to urge all their members to boycott her concert. At
2844-430: A kaleidoscopic rush of color, technique, style and substance. It has so many depth and layers that it's easily as self-aware and earnest as Ray of Light ." The album took the number-one position in more than 20 countries worldwide and sold four million copies in the first ten days. In the US, Music debuted at the top, and became her first number-one album in eleven years since Like a Prayer . It produced three singles:
3002-403: A lot to get off my chest. I made a lot of political statements. But now, I feel that I just want to have fun; I want to dance; I want to feel buoyant. And I want to give other people the same feeling. There's a lot of madness in the world around us, and I want people to be happy. —Madonna talking about Confessions on a Dance Floor . Her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor ,
3160-568: A meeting with Madonna and Seymour Stein , the president of Sire Records , a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records . Madonna signed a deal for a total of three singles, with an option for an album. Kamins produced her debut single, " Everybody ", which was released in October 1982. In December 1982, Madonna performed the song live for the first time at Danceteria. She made her first television appearance performing "Everybody" on Dancin' On Air in January 1983, although it had actually been filmed
3318-608: A month prior. In February 1983, she promoted the single with nightclub performances in the United Kingdom. Her second single, the double A-side " Burning Up " / " Physical Attraction ", was released in March 1983. Both this single and "Everybody" reached number three on Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Club Songs chart. "Burning Up" / "Physical Attraction" also charted at number 13 in Australia. During this period, Madonna
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#17327904361513476-558: A mostly poor African American and Hispanic (largely Puerto Rican ) population in the West Bronx. One significant factor that shifted the racial and economic demographics was the construction of Co-op City , built to house middle-class residents in family-sized apartments. The high-rise complex played a significant role in draining middle-class residents from older tenement buildings in the borough's southern and western fringes. Most predominantly non-Hispanic White communities today are in
3634-426: A new town was created by division of Westchester, called West Farms. The town of Morrisania was created, in turn, from West Farms in 1855. In 1873, the town of Kingsbridge was established within the former borders of the town of Yonkers, roughly corresponding to the modern Bronx neighborhoods of Kingsbridge, Riverdale , and Woodlawn Heights , and included Woodlawn Cemetery . Among the famous people who settled in
3792-635: A number of nude photos of Madonna, taken when she moonlighted as an art model in 1978. She had posed for the photographs because she needed money at the time, and was paid as little as $ 25 a session. The publication of the photos caused a media uproar, but Madonna remained "unapologetic and defiant". The photographs were ultimately sold for up to $ 100,000. She referred to these events at the 1985 outdoor Live Aid charity concert, saying that she would not take her jacket off because "[the media] might hold it against me ten years from now." In June 1986, Madonna released her third studio album, True Blue , which
3950-407: A place for "the vicious elements, bootleggers, gamblers and their friends in all walks of life" to cooperate and to "evade the law, escape punishment for their crimes, [and] to deter the police from doing their duty". Between 1930 and 1960, moderate and upper income Bronxites (predominantly non-Hispanic Whites) began to relocate from the borough's southwestern neighborhoods. This migration has left
4108-631: A place in Guinness World Records . The song contained a sample of ABBA 's " Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) ", only the second time that ABBA has allowed their work to be used. ABBA songwriter Björn Ulvaeus remarked "It is a wonderful track—100 per cent solid pop music." " Sorry ", the second single, became Madonna's twelfth number-one single in the UK. Madonna embarked on the Confessions Tour in May 2006, which had
4266-462: A population of 1,472,654 at the 2020 census . Of the five boroughs, it has the fourth-largest area, fourth-highest population, and third-highest population density . The Bronx is divided by the Bronx River into a hillier section in the west , and a flatter eastern section. East and west street names are divided by Jerome Avenue . The West Bronx was annexed to New York City in 1874, and
4424-536: A production of David Rabe 's Goose and Tom-Tom ; the film and play both co-starred Penn. The next year, Madonna was featured in the film Who's That Girl . She contributed four songs to its soundtrack, including the title track and " Causing a Commotion ". Madonna embarked on the Who's That Girl World Tour in June 1987, which continued until September. It broke several attendance records, including over 130,000 people in
4582-807: A promontory on the Hudson in Riverdale . Nearer the borough's center, and along the Bronx River , is Bronx Park ; its northern end houses the New York Botanical Gardens , which preserve the last patch of the original hemlock forest that once covered the county, and its southern end the Bronx Zoo , the largest urban zoological gardens in the United States. In 1904 the Chestnut Blight pathogen ( Cryphonectria parasitica )
4740-558: A record picker on radio sensation Martin Block 's Make Believe Ballroom where he became known as "The Young Wreck with the Old Records". By the time he was 21, he embarked on a radio career. He was also considered to be an authority on popular culture of the first half of the 20th century, including silent films. He was called "The King of Nostalgia" and "The Wizard of Was" for focusing on old-time show-business personalities. Franklin
4898-562: A relief to say that Evita is pretty damn fine, well cast and handsomely visualized. Madonna once again confounds our expectations." For the role, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy . The Evita soundtrack , containing songs mostly performed by Madonna, was released as a double album . It included " You Must Love Me " and " Don't Cry for Me Argentina ";
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5056-465: A show near Paris, which was then a record for the highest-attended female concert of all time . Later that year, she released a remix album of past hits, You Can Dance , which reached number 14 on the Billboard 200. After a tumultuous two years' marriage, Madonna filed for divorce from Penn on December 4, 1987, but withdrew the petition a few weeks later. She made her Broadway debut in
5214-515: A singer-songwriter, really. And William Orbit provided her with that." The album garnered critical acclaim, with Slant Magazine calling it "one of the great pop masterpieces of the '90s" Ray of Light was honored with four Grammy Awards —including Best Pop Album and Best Dance Recording —and was nominated for both Album of the Year and Record of the Year . Rolling Stone listed it among " The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time ". Commercially,
5372-431: A softer image to try to improve the public perception. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and generated two US top-five hits, " Secret " and " Take a Bow ", the latter topping the Hot 100 for seven weeks, the longest period of any Madonna single. Something to Remember , a collection of ballads, was released in November 1995. The album featured three new songs: " You'll See ", " One More Chance ", and
5530-467: A solo artist in history. "Justify My Love" reached number one in the US becoming her ninth number-one on the Hot 100. Her then-boyfriend model Tony Ward co-starred in the music video, which featured scenes of sadomasochism , bondage , same-sex kissing, and brief nudity. The video was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV and was banned from the network. Her first documentary film, Truth or Dare (known as In Bed with Madonna outside North America),
5688-468: A sound that could blend dance music with pop and British rock. American music critic Ann Powers explained that what Madonna searched for with Orbit "was a kind of a lushness that she wanted for this record. Techno and rave were happening in the 90s and had a lot of different forms. There was very experimental, more hard stuff like Aphex Twin . There was party stuff like Fatboy Slim . That's not what Madonna wanted for this. She wanted something more like
5846-548: A system of major Bronx parks connected by park-like thoroughfares is usually attributed to John Mullaly . Woodlawn Cemetery , located on 400 acres (160 ha) and one of the largest cemeteries in New York City, sits on the western bank of the Bronx River near Yonkers . It opened in 1863, in what was then the town of Yonkers, at the time a rural area. Since the first burial in 1865, more than 300,000 people have been interred there. The borough's northern side includes
6004-543: A teenager, Franklin "followed around" Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor , the latter of whom eventually began buying jokes from the young Franklin and whose Carnegie Hall show he later produced. At age 18, Franklin was drafted into the United States Army , serving in World War II . At 14, Franklin began writing skits for The Kate Smith Hour ; and at 16, Franklin officially began his entertainment career as
6162-534: A thing I cannot do for I know what I agreed with Madonna and her husband." The adoption was finalized in May 2008. Madonna released and performed the song " Hey You " at the London Live Earth concert in July 2007. She announced her departure from Warner Bros. Records, and declared a new $ 120 million, ten-year 360 deal with Live Nation . In 2008, Madonna produced and wrote I Am Because We Are ,
6320-517: Is New York City's largest remaining tract of the original forest that once covered the city. These open spaces are primarily on land reserved in the late 19th century as urban development progressed north and east from Manhattan. The word "Bronx" originated with Swedish -born (or Faroese -born) Jonas Bronck , who established the first European settlement in the area as part of the New Netherland colony in 1639. European settlers displaced
6478-413: Is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as the " Queen of Pop ", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting and visual presentation. Madonna's works, which incorporate social, political, sexual , and religious themes, have generated both controversy and critical acclaim. A cultural icon spanning both the 20th and 21st centuries,
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6636-412: Is an album that is among her most adventurous and lyrically intelligent", while also condemning it as "a lazy, half-arsed effort to sound and take her seriously." The original music video of its title track caused controversy due to its violence and anti-war imagery, and was withdrawn after the 2003 invasion of Iraq started. Madonna voluntarily censored herself for the first time in her career due to
6794-409: Is based on the Bronx River , while the other strictly separates South Bronx from the rest of the borough. The Bronx River divides the borough nearly in half, putting the earlier-settled, more urban, and hillier sections in the western lobe and the newer, more suburban coastal sections in the eastern lobe. It is an accurate reflection on the Bronx's history considering that the towns that existed in
6952-601: Is directly connected to its strategic location between New England and New York ( Manhattan ). Control over the bridges across the Harlem River plagued the period of British colonial rule. The King's Bridge, built in 1693 where Broadway reached the Spuyten Duyvil Creek , was a possession of Frederick Philipse , lord of Philipse Manor . Local farmers on both sides of the creek resented the tolls, and in 1759, Jacobus Dyckman and Benjamin Palmer led them in building
7110-691: Is land and 15 square miles (39 km ) (27%) is water. The Bronx is New York City's northernmost borough, New York State's southernmost mainland county and the only part of New York City that is almost entirely on the North American mainland, unlike the other four boroughs that are either islands or located on islands. The bedrock of the West Bronx is primarily Fordham gneiss , a high-grade heavily banded metamorphic rock containing significant amounts of pink feldspar . Marble Hill – politically part of Manhattan but now physically attached to
7268-566: Is the northernmost borough of New York City , coextensive with Bronx County , in the U.S. state of New York . It is south of Westchester County ; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan , across the Harlem River ; and north of the New York City borough of Queens , across the East River . The Bronx, the only New York City borough not primarily located on an island, has a land area of 42 square miles (109 km ) and
7426-641: Is the role I was born to play. I put everything of me into this because it was much more than a role in a movie. It was exhilarating and intimidating at the same time. And I am prouder of Evita than anything else I have done. —Madonna talking about her role in Evita In February 1996, Madonna began filming the musical Evita in Argentina. For a long time, Madonna had desired to play Argentine political leader Eva Perón and wrote to director Alan Parker to explain why she would be perfect for
7584-538: The Billboard 200 . It yielded two top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 , " Borderline " and " Lucky Star ". In late 1983, Madonna's new manager, Freddy DeMann , secured a meeting for her with film producer Jon Peters , who asked her to play the part of a club singer in the romantic drama Vision Quest . In January 1984, Madonna gained more exposure by performing on American Bandstand and Top of
7742-511: The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time , featuring an article about her written by Britney Spears. In January 2005, Madonna performed a cover version of the John Lennon song " Imagine " at Tsunami Aid . She also performed at the Live 8 benefit concert in London in July 2005. When I wrote American Life , I was very agitated by what was going on in the world around me, ... I was angry. I had
7900-510: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater , and eventually performing with Pearl Lang Dance Theater. She also studied dance under the tutelage of the noted American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham . Madonna started to work as a backup dancer for other established artists. One night, while returning from a rehearsal, a pair of men held her at knifepoint and forced her to perform fellatio . She later found
8058-508: The Bedford Park neighborhood; the reservoir was built in the 1890s on the site of the former Jerome Park Racetrack . Further south is Crotona Park , home to a 3.3-acre (1.3 ha) lake, 28 species of trees, and a large swimming pool. The land for these parks, and many others, was bought by New York City in 1888, while land was still open and inexpensive, in anticipation of future needs and future pressures for development. Some of
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#17327904361518216-497: The Billboard Hot 100. The 1998 edition of Guinness Book of World Records documented that "no female artist has sold more records than Madonna around the world". Madonna founded Ray of Light Foundation which focused on women, education, global development and humanitarian. She recorded the single " Beautiful Stranger " for the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me , which earned her
8374-1285: The Bloomberg Radio Network until mid-January 2015, shortly before his death. Franklin's guests included an eclectic mix of actual celebrities and low level performers, sometimes on the same panel. He claimed to have had Charlie Chaplin on his program, a dubious statement since Chaplin left the United States in 1952, shortly after Franklin's TV debut. Franklin took credit for discovering or giving early exposure to Al Pacino , Bette Midler , Barbra Streisand , Michael Jackson , Garth Brooks and Woody Allen . He interviewed Andy Warhol and Howard Stern , William F. Buckley and Abbie Hoffman , Jack LaLanne and Muhammad Ali , Fred Astaire and John Wayne . Other guest claims include Judy Garland , Marilyn Monroe (with whom Franklin co-authored "The Marilyn Monroe Story" in 1953), Jayne Mansfield , The Beastie Boys , Cary Grant , Sam Levene , Lena Horne , Tony Bennett , Salvador Dalí , Rudy Vallee , Jimmy Durante , Madonna , John Lennon and Yoko Ono , Bing Crosby , Jerry Lewis , Roger Williams , The Belmonts , Elvis Presley , The Ramones , Lou Albano , Anita O'Day , and five US presidents (including John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon ). As with
8532-712: The Breakfast Club , for which Madonna sang and played drums and guitar. While with the band, Madonna briefly worked as a hat-check girl at the Russian Tea Room, and she made her acting debut in the low-budget indie film A Certain Sacrifice , which was not released until 1985. In 1980, Madonna left the Breakfast Club with drummer Stephen Bray , who was her boyfriend in Michigan, and they formed
8690-595: The Hutchinson River (named after the religious leader Anne Hutchinson , killed along its banks in 1641), passes through the East Bronx and empties into Eastchester Bay . The Bronx also includes several small islands in the East River and Long Island Sound , such as City Island and Hart Island . Rikers Island in the East River, home to the large jail complex for the entire city, is also part of
8848-514: The New York City Subway contributed to the increase in population as thousands of immigrants came to the Bronx, resulting in a major boom in residential construction. Among these groups, many Irish Americans , Italian Americans , and especially Jewish Americans settled here. In addition, French , German , Polish , and other immigrants moved into the borough. As evidence of the change in population, by 1937, 592,185 Jews lived in
9006-548: The Ray of Light Foundation in 1998 and Raising Malawi in 2006, and advocates for gender equality and LGBT rights . With sales of over 300 million records worldwide, Madonna is the best-selling female recording artist of all time . She is the most successful solo artist in the history of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and has achieved 44 number-one singles in between major global music markets . She became
9164-645: The Re-Invention World Tour in the US, Canada and Europe. It became the highest-grossing tour of 2004, earning around $ 120 million and became the subject of her documentary I'm Going to Tell You a Secret . In November 2004, she was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame as one of its five founding members, along with the Beatles , Elvis Presley , Bob Marley and U2 . Rolling Stone ranked her at number 36 on its special issue of
9322-463: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame called her one of the most "well-documented figures of the modern age" in 2008. Various scholarly reviews, literature , and art works have been created about her along with an academic mini subdiscipline devoted to her called Madonna studies . Madonna moved to New York City in 1978 to pursue a career in dance. After performing as a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in
9480-479: The Southern United States , Nicaraguans , Panamanians , Hondurans , and South Asians . The Bronx contains the poorest congressional district in the United States , New York's 15th . The borough also features upper- and middle-income neighborhoods, such as Riverdale , Fieldston , Spuyten Duyvil , Schuylerville , Pelham Bay , Pelham Gardens , Morris Park , and Country Club . Parts of
9638-465: The Spuyten Duyvil Creek ; Marble Hill's postal ZIP code , telephonic area codes and fire service, however, are shared with the Bronx and not Manhattan. The Bronx River flows south from Westchester County through the borough, emptying into the East River; it is the only entirely freshwater river in New York City. It separates the West Bronx from the schist of the East Bronx . A smaller river,
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#17327904361519796-470: The definite article as "the Bronx" or "The Bronx", both legally and colloquially. The "County of the Bronx" also takes "the" immediately before "Bronx" in formal references, like the coextensive "Borough of the Bronx". The United States Postal Service uses "Bronx, NY" for mailing addresses. The region was apparently named after the Bronx River and first appeared in the "Annexed District of The Bronx", created in 1874 out of part of Westchester County . It
9954-427: The electronica -inspired Ray of Light era, and like its predecessor, received acclaim from critics. Collaborating with French producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï , Madonna commented: "I love to work with the weirdos that no one knows about—the people who have raw talent and who are making music unlike anyone else out there. Music is the future of sound." Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic felt that " Music blows by in
10112-520: The greatest woman in music by VH1 , and as the greatest music video artist ever by MTV and Billboard . She was also listed among Rolling Stone ' s greatest artists and greatest songwriters of all time. Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan on August 16, 1958, to Catholic parents Madonna Louise (née Fortin) and Silvio Anthony "Tony" Ciccone. Her father's parents were Italian emigrants from Pacentro while her mother
10270-438: The 62nd and last county to be created by the state, effective in 1914. Bronx County's courts opened for business on January 2, 1914 (the same day that John P. Mitchel started work as Mayor of New York City ). Marble Hill, Manhattan , was now connected to the Bronx by filling in the former waterway, but it is not part of the borough or county. The history of the Bronx during the 20th century may be divided into four periods:
10428-488: The Bronx (43.9% of the borough's population), while only 54,000 Jews lived in the borough in 2011. Many synagogues still stand in the Bronx, but most have been converted to other uses. Bootleggers and gangs were active in the Bronx during Prohibition (1920–1933). Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Polish gangs smuggled in most of the illegal whiskey, and the oldest sections of the borough became poverty-stricken. Police Commissioner Richard Enright said that speakeasies provided
10586-557: The Bronx began in 1639. The Bronx was originally part of Westchester County , but it was ceded to New York County in two major parts ( West Bronx , 1874 and East Bronx , 1895) before it became Bronx County. Originally, the area was part of the Lenape 's Lenapehoking territory inhabited by Siwanoy of the Wappinger Confederacy. Over time, European colonists converted the borough into farmlands. The Bronx's development
10744-404: The Bronx during the 19th and early 20th centuries were author Willa Cather , tobacco merchant Pierre Lorillard , and inventor Jordan L. Mott , who established Mott Haven to house the workers at his iron works. The consolidation of the Bronx into New York City proceeded in two stages. In 1873, the state legislature annexed Kingsbridge, West Farms, and Morrisania to New York, effective in 1874;
10902-407: The Bronx saw a steep decline in population, livable housing, and quality of life starting from the mid-to-late 1960s, continuing throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, ultimately culminating in a wave of arson in the late 1970s, a period when hip hop music evolved. The South Bronx , in particular, experienced severe urban decay . The borough began experiencing new population growth starting in
11060-629: The Bronx was designated an All America City by the National Civic League , acknowledging its comeback from the decline of the mid-century. In 2006, The New York Times reported that "construction cranes have become the borough's new visual metaphor, replacing the window decals of the 1980s in which pictures of potted plants and drawn curtains were placed in the windows of abandoned buildings." The borough has experienced substantial new building construction since 2002. Between 2002 and June 2007, 33,687 new units of housing were built or were under way and $ 4.8 billion has been invested in new housing. In
11218-418: The Bronx – is so-called because of the formation of Inwood marble there as well as in Inwood, Manhattan , and parts of the Bronx and Westchester County. The Hudson River separates the Bronx on the west from Alpine , Tenafly and Englewood Cliffs in Bergen County, New Jersey ; the Harlem River separates it from the island of Manhattan to the southwest; the East River separates it from Queens to
11376-508: The Bronx's decline may have been the development of high-rise housing projects , particularly in the South Bronx . Yet another factor may have been a reduction in the real estate listings and property-related financial services offered in some areas of the Bronx, such as mortgage loans or insurance policies—a process known as redlining . Others have suggested a " planned shrinkage " of municipal services, such as fire-fighting. There
11534-542: The Bronx-based organization Great and Glorious Grand Army of The Bronx, arguing the definite article is part of the proper name. In particular, the Great and Glorious Grand Army of The Bronx is leading efforts to make the city refer to the borough with an uppercase definite article in all uses, comparing the lowercase article in the Bronx's name to "not capitalizing the 's' in 'Staten Island ' ". European colonization of
11692-577: The Bronx. The Bronx's highest elevation at 280 feet (85 m) is in the northwest corner, west of Van Cortlandt Park and in the Chapel Farm area near the Riverdale Country School . The opposite (southeastern) side of the Bronx has four large low peninsulas or "necks" of low-lying land that jut into the waters of the East River and were once salt marsh : Hunt's Point, Clason's Point, Screvin's Neck and Throggs Neck . Further up
11850-476: The Chaplin claim, some of these appearances were unable to be independently confirmed based on a lack of evidence, since still pictures taken on the set do not exist for several of the people listed, and little video from before the 1970s survives. Bette Midler was the show's in-house singer for a time, and Barry Manilow her accompanist. Elizabeth Joyce was his in-house psychic/astrologer. Franklin never employed
12008-609: The Eighties." Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 15 million copies worldwide. Other successful singles from the album were " Express Yourself " and " Cherish ", which both peaked at number two in the US, as well as the UK top-five " Dear Jessie " and the US top-ten " Keep It Together ". By the end of the 1980s, Madonna was named as the "Artist of the Decade" by MTV, Billboard and Musician magazine. Madonna starred as Breathless Mahoney in
12166-463: The Hot 100 chart for six consecutive weeks. It attracted the attention of conservative organizations who complained that the song and its accompanying video promoted premarital sex and undermined family values, and moralists sought to have the song and video banned. Madonna received huge media coverage for her performance of "Like a Virgin" at the first 1984 MTV Video Music Awards . Wearing a wedding dress and white gloves, Madonna appeared on stage atop
12324-473: The Hot 100 number-one " Music ", " Don't Tell Me ", and " What It Feels Like for a Girl ". The music video of "What It Feels Like for a Girl" depicted Madonna committing acts of crime and vandalism, and was banned by MTV and VH1 . Madonna met director Guy Ritchie in mid-1998, and gave birth to their son Rocco John Ritchie in Los Angeles on August 11, 2000. Rocco and Madonna suffered complications from
12482-468: The Pops . Her image, performances and music videos influenced many young girls and women. Madonna's style became one of the female fashion trends of the 1980s . Created by stylist and jewelry designer Maripol , the look consisted of lace tops, skirts over capri pants , fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the crucifix , bracelets and bleached hair. Madonna's popularity continued to rise globally with
12640-510: The South Bronx. The IRT White Plains Road Line ( 2 and 5 trains) began to show an increase in riders. Chains such as Marshalls , Staples , and Target opened stores in the Bronx. More bank branches opened in the Bronx as a whole (rising from 106 in 1997 to 149 in 2007), although not primarily in poor or minority neighborhoods, while the Bronx still has fewer branches per person than other boroughs. In 1997,
12798-553: The Third Avenue Bridge as people buy apartments and renovate them. Several boutique and chain hotels opened in the 2010s in the South Bronx . New developments are underway. The Bronx General Post Office on the corner of the Grand Concourse and East 149th Street is being converted into a market place, boutiques, restaurants and office space with a USPS concession. The Kingsbridge Armory , often cited as
12956-595: The UK, the film was a commercial and critical failure. In May 2002 she appeared in London in the West End play Up for Grabs at the Wyndhams Theatre (billed as 'Madonna Ritchie'), to universally bad reviews and was described as "the evening's biggest disappointment" by one. That October, she released " Die Another Day ", the title song of the James Bond film Die Another Day , in which she also had
13114-607: The Virgin Tour , with the Beastie Boys as her opening act. The tour saw the peak of Madonna wannabe phenomenon, with many female attendees dressing like her. At that time, she released two more songs, " Angel " and " Dress You Up ", making all four singles from the album peak inside the top five on the Hot 100 chart. "Angel" also topped the Australian charts. In July, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published
13272-687: The acquired land was set aside for the Grand Concourse and Pelham Parkway , the first of a series of boulevards and parkways ( thoroughfares lined with trees, vegetation and greenery). Later projects included the Bronx River Parkway , which developed a road while restoring the riverbank and reducing pollution, Mosholu Parkway and the Henry Hudson Parkway . In 2006, a five-year, $ 220-million program of capital improvements and natural restoration in 70 Bronx parks
13430-408: The album peaked at number-one in numerous countries and sold more than 16 million copies worldwide. The album's lead single, " Frozen ", became Madonna's first single to debut at number one in the UK, while in the US, it became her sixth number-two single, setting another record for Madonna as the artist with the most number-two hits. The second single, " Ray of Light ", debuted at number five on
13588-586: The area prior to annexation to the City of New York generally did not straddle the Bronx River. In addition, what is today the Bronx was annexed to New York City in two stages: areas west of the Bronx River were annexed in 1874 while areas to the east of the river were annexed in 1895. Under this system, the Bronx can be further divided into the following regions: Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( / tʃ ɪ ˈ k oʊ n i / ; born August 16, 1958)
13746-645: The areas east of the Bronx River in 1895. Bronx County was separated from New York County (modern-day Manhattan) in 1914. About a quarter of the Bronx's area is open space, including Woodlawn Cemetery , Van Cortlandt Park , Pelham Bay Park , the New York Botanical Garden , and the Bronx Zoo in the borough's north and center. The Thain Family Forest at the New York Botanical Garden is thousands of years old and
13904-533: The audience. In March 1994, she appeared as a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman , using profanity that required censorship on television, and handing Letterman a pair of her panties and asking him to smell it. The releases of her sexually explicit book, album, and film, and the aggressive appearance on Letterman all made critics question Madonna as a sexual renegade. Critics and fans reacted negatively, commenting that "she had gone too far" and her career
14062-594: The author of five children's books. The first of these books, titled The English Roses , was published in September 2003. The story was about four English schoolgirls and their envy and jealousy of each other. The book debuted at the top of The New York Times Best Seller list , and became the fastest-selling children's picture book of all time. Madonna donated all of its proceeds to a children's charity. The next year Madonna and Maverick sued Warner Music Group and its former parent company Time Warner, claiming that mismanagement of resources and poor bookkeeping had cost
14220-792: The band Emmy and the Emmys. They rekindled their romance and moved into the Music Building in Manhattan. The two began writing songs together and they recorded a four-song demo tape in November 1980, but soon after, Madonna decided to promote herself as a solo artiste. In March 1981, Camille Barbone, who ran Gotham Records in the Music Building, signed Madonna to a contract with Gotham and worked as her manager until February 1982. Madonna frequented nightclubs to get disc jockeys to play her demo. DJ Mark Kamins at Danceteria took an interest in her music and they began dating. Kamins arranged
14378-454: The birth due to her experiencing placenta praevia . He was christened at Dornoch Cathedral in Dornoch , Scotland, on December 21, 2000. Madonna married Ritchie the following day at nearby Skibo Castle . After an eight-year absence from touring, Madonna started her Drowned World Tour in June 2001. The tour visited cities in the US and Europe and was the highest-grossing concert tour of
14536-492: The borough's name is sometimes disputed. Generally, the definite article is lowercase in place names ("the Bronx") except in some official references. The definite article is capitalized ("The Bronx") at the beginning of a sentence or in any other situation when a normally lowercase word would be capitalized. However, some people and groups refer to the borough with a capital letter at all times, such as Bronx Borough Historian Lloyd Ultan , The Bronx County Historical Society , and
14694-404: The building they lived in so they could qualify for emergency relocations by city social service agencies to better residences, sometimes being relocated to other parts of the city. Out of 289 census tracts in the Bronx borough, 7 tracts lost more than 97% of their buildings to arson and abandonment between 1970 and 1980; another 44 tracts had more than 50% of their buildings meet the same fate. By
14852-418: The charts in many countries, becoming her seventh number-one on the Hot 100. Madonna co-wrote and co-produced the album Like a Prayer with Patrick Leonard , Stephen Bray , and Prince . Music critic J. D. Considine from Rolling Stone praised it "as close to art as pop music gets ... proof not only that Madonna should be taken seriously as an artist but that hers is one of the most compelling voices of
15010-577: The city in 1896. Following these two annexations, the Bronx's territory had moved from Westchester County into New York County, which already included Manhattan and the rest of pre-1874 New York City. On January 1, 1898, the consolidated City of New York was born, including the Bronx as one of the five distinct boroughs . However, it remained part of New York County until Bronx County was created in 1914. On April 19, 1912, those parts of New York County which had been annexed from Westchester County in previous decades were newly constituted as Bronx County,
15168-514: The coastline, Rodman's Neck lies between Pelham Bay Park in the northeast and City Island . The Bronx's irregular shoreline extends for 75 square miles (194 km ). Although Bronx County was the third most densely populated county in the United States in 2022 (after Manhattan and Brooklyn ), 7,000 acres (28 km ) of the Bronx—about one fifth of the Bronx's area, and one quarter of its land area—is given over to parkland. The vision of
15326-504: The company millions of dollars. In return, Warner filed a countersuit alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own. The dispute was resolved when the Maverick shares, owned by Madonna and Ronnie Dashev, were purchased by Warner. Madonna and Dashev's company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Warner Music, but Madonna was still signed to Warner under a separate recording contract. In mid-2004, Madonna embarked on
15484-412: The early 1980s, the Bronx was considered the most blighted urban area in the country, particularly the South Bronx which experienced a loss of 60% of the population and 40% of housing units. However, starting in the 1990s, many of the burned-out and run-down tenements were replaced by new housing units. In May 1984, New York Supreme Court justice Peter J. McQuillan ruled that Marble Hill, Manhattan ,
15642-497: The eastern and northwestern sections of the borough . From the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, the quality of life changed for some Bronx residents. Historians and social scientists have suggested many factors, including the theory that Robert Moses ' Cross Bronx Expressway destroyed existing residential neighborhoods and created instant slums, as put forward in Robert Caro 's biography The Power Broker . Another factor in
15800-478: The film Dangerous Game , which was released straight to video in North America. The New York Times described the film as "angry and painful, and the pain feels real." In September 1993, Madonna embarked on The Girlie Show , in which she dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix surrounded by topless dancers. In Puerto Rico she rubbed the island's flag between her legs on stage, resulting in outrage among
15958-441: The film Dick Tracy (1990), with Warren Beatty playing the title role. The film went to number one on the US box office for two weeks and Madonna received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actress . To accompany the film, she released the soundtrack album, I'm Breathless , which included songs inspired by the film's 1930s setting. It also featured the US number-one song " Vogue " and " Sooner or Later ". While shooting
16116-469: The film, Madonna began a relationship with Beatty, which dissolved shortly after the premiere. In April 1990, Madonna began her Blond Ambition World Tour , which ended in August. Rolling Stone called it an "elaborately choreographed, sexually provocative extravaganza" and proclaimed it "the best tour of 1990". The tour generated strong negative reaction from religious groups for her performance of "Like
16274-434: The first episode of This American Life giving host Ira Glass advice on how to have a successful show. He was also a guest on (4th) an early episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast . He also made appearances in various works by New York low-budget film company Troma Entertainment , making a cameo as himself in their 1999 meta-fictional slasher film Terror Firmer , as well as the 1993 infomercial The Troma System as
16432-451: The first ever woman to accumulate US$ 1 billion in concert revenue , with six of her solo headlining tours having grossed over US$ 100 million each. Forbes has named her the world's highest-paid female musician a record 11 times across four separate decades (1980s–2010s). Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, her first year of eligibility. She was ranked as
16590-465: The first museum retrospective for her former boyfriend artist Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. In October 1992, Madonna simultaneously released her fifth studio album, Erotica , and her coffee table book , Sex . Consisting of sexually provocative and explicit images, photographed by Steven Meisel , the book received strong negative reaction from
16748-480: The first six months of 2007 alone total investment in new residential development was $ 965 million and 5,187 residential units were scheduled to be completed. Much of the new development is springing up in formerly vacant lots across the South Bronx. In addition there came a revitalization of the existing housing market in areas such as Hunts Point, the Lower Concourse, and the neighborhoods surrounding
16906-682: The hallways between classes, dangle by her knees from the monkey bars during recess, and pull up her skirt during class—all so that the boys could see her underwear. She later admitted to seeing herself in her youth as a "lonely girl who was searching for something. I wasn't rebellious in a certain way. I cared about being good at something. I didn't shave my underarms or legs, and I didn't wear make-up like normal girls do. But I studied and I got good grades... I wanted to be somebody." Madonna's father put her in classical piano lessons, but she later convinced him to allow her to take ballet lessons. Christopher Flynn, her ballet teacher, persuaded her to pursue
17064-751: The incident to be "a taste of my weakness, it showed me that I still could not save myself in spite of all the strong-girl show. I could never forget it." In 1979, Madonna became romantically involved with musician Dan Gilroy . Shortly after meeting him, she successfully auditioned to perform in Paris with French disco artist Patrick Hernandez as his backup singer and dancer. During her three months with Hernandez's troupe, she also traveled to Tunisia before returning to New York in August 1979. Madonna moved into an abandoned synagogue where Gilroy lived and rehearsed in Corona, Queens . Together they formed her first band,
17222-411: The largest armory in the world, is currently slated for redevelopment. Under consideration for future development is the construction of a platform over the New York City Subway 's Concourse Yard adjacent to Lehman College . The construction would permit approximately 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m ) of development and would cost US$ 350–500 million . Despite significant investment compared to
17380-546: The largest park in New York City— Pelham Bay Park , which includes Orchard Beach —and the third-largest, Van Cortlandt Park , which is west of Woodlawn Cemetery and borders Yonkers . Also in the northern Bronx, Wave Hill , the former estate of George W. Perkins —known for a historic house, gardens, changing site-specific art installations and concerts—overlooks the New Jersey Palisades from
17538-438: The late 1980s that continues into today. The Bronx was a mostly rural area for many generations, with small farms supplying the city markets. In the late 19th century, however, it grew into a railroad suburb. Faster transportation enabled rapid population growth in the late 19th century, involving the move from horse-drawn street cars to elevated railways and the subway system, which linked to Manhattan in 1904. The South Bronx
17696-650: The late 1990s and continuing to the present day. The Bronx was called Rananchqua by the native Siwanoy band of Lenape (also known historically as the Delawares ), while other Native Americans knew the Bronx as Keskeskeck . It was divided by the Aquahung River (now known in English as the Bronx River ). The Bronx was named after Jonas Bronck ( c. 1600–1643 ), a European settler whose precise origins are disputed. Documents indicate he
17854-616: The latter reached number one in countries across Europe. Madonna was presented with the Artist Achievement Award by Tony Bennett at the 1996 Billboard Music Awards . On October 14, 1996, she gave birth to Lourdes "Lola" Maria Ciccone Leon , her daughter with fitness trainer Carlos Leon. Biographer Mary Cross writes that although Madonna often worried that her pregnancy would harm Evita , she reached some important personal goals: "Now 38 years old, Madonna had at last triumphed on screen and achieved her dream of having
18012-426: The lattermost won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress , many of her other films were not as well received. As a businesswoman , she founded the company Maverick in 1992, which included Maverick Records, one of the most successful artist-run labels in history. Madonna's other ventures include fashion brands , written works , health clubs and filmmaking. She contributes to various charities , having founded
18170-569: The mainland immediately north of the Dutch settlement of New Haarlem (on Manhattan Island ), and bought additional tracts from the local tribes. He eventually accumulated 500 acres (200 ha) between the Harlem River and the Aquahung, which became known as Bronck's River or the Bronx [River] . Dutch and English settlers referred to the area as Bronck's Land . The American poet William Bronk
18328-461: The media and the general public, but sold 1.5 million copies at $ 50 each in a matter of days. The widespread backlash overshadowed Erotica , which ended up as her lowest selling album at the time. Despite positive reviews, it became her first studio album since her debut album not to score any chart-topper in the US. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number two. It yielded the Hot 100 top-ten hits " Erotica " and " Deeper and Deeper ". At
18486-645: The native Lenape after 1643. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Bronx received many immigrant and migrant groups as it was transformed into an urban community, first from European countries particularly Ireland , Germany , Italy , and Eastern Europe , and later from the Caribbean region (particularly Puerto Rico , Trinidad , Haiti , Guyana , Jamaica , Barbados , and the Dominican Republic ), and immigrants from West Africa (particularly from Ghana and Nigeria ), African American migrants from
18644-566: The official maps of the city. Since the late 1980s, significant development has occurred in the Bronx, first stimulated by the city's "Ten-Year Housing Plan" and community members working to rebuild the social, economic and environmental infrastructure by creating affordable housing . Groups affiliated with churches in the South Bronx erected the Nehemiah Homes with about 1,000 units. The grass roots organization Nos Quedamos' endeavor known as Melrose Commons began to rebuild areas in
18802-489: The part. After securing the title role, she received vocal coaching and learned about the history of Argentina and Perón. During filming Madonna became ill several times, after finding out that she was pregnant, and from the intense emotional effort required with the scenes. Upon Evita ' s release in December 1996, Madonna's performance received praise from film critics. Zach Conner of Time magazine remarked, "It's
18960-480: The political climate of the country, saying that "there was a lynch mob mentality that was going on that wasn't pretty and I have children to protect." The song stalled at number 37 on the Hot 100, while the album became her lowest-selling album at that point with four million copies worldwide. Madonna gave another provocative performance later that year at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards , when she kissed singers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera while singing
19118-427: The post war period, many exacerbated social problems remain including high rates of violent crime, substance abuse, overcrowding, and substandard housing conditions. The Bronx has the highest rate of poverty in New York City, and the greater South Bronx is the poorest area. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , Bronx County has a total area of 57 square miles (150 km ), of which 42 square miles (110 km )
19276-700: The production of Speed-the-Plow at the Royale Theatre from May to August 1988. According to the Associated Press , Madonna filed an assault report against Penn after an alleged incident at their Malibu home during the New Year's weekend. Madonna filed for divorce on January 5, 1989, and the following week she reportedly asked that no criminal charges be pressed. In January 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft-drink manufacturer Pepsi . In one Pepsi commercial, she debuted " Like
19434-697: The release of her second studio album, Like a Virgin , in November 1984. It became her first number-one album in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, the UK and the US. Like a Virgin became the first album by a female to sell over five million copies in the US. It was later certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold over 21 million copies worldwide. The album's title track served as its first single, and topped
19592-658: The restaurant closed in 2003 it reopened the following year as "Joe Franklin's Comedy Club" on West 50th Street. Many name comedians came to the club and performed on stage to break in their new material, and many aspiring comics got their first stage time there. It closed in 2005. After retiring from his television show, Franklin concentrated on his overnight radio show, playing old records on WOR-AM on Saturday evenings and mentoring thousands of aspiring entertainers who for decades sought an audience with him at his notoriously cluttered Times Square office. Franklin's celebrity interviews, known as "Nostalgia Moments", appeared daily on
19750-513: The result of the commercial's host transforming into "the ultimate talk show host". Franklin appeared as himself in comedian Tracey Ullman ’s 1993 HBO comedy special Tracey Ullman Takes on New York , interviewing character Linda Granger on his talk show. Franklin's show was first parodied by Billy Crystal during the 1984–1985 season of Saturday Night Live . On the locally produced program The Uncle Floyd Show , host Floyd Vivino parodied Franklin as "Joe Frankfurter". In 1997, Franklin
19908-439: The rock bands Breakfast Club and Emmy & The Emmys, she rose to solo stardom with her 1983 eponymous debut studio album . Madonna followed it with a series of successful albums , including all-time bestsellers Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986), and The Immaculate Collection (1990), the critically acclaimed Like a Prayer (1989), as well as Grammy Award winners Ray of Light (1998) and Confessions on
20066-1265: The same time, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announced officially that Madonna had sold over 200 million copies of her albums alone worldwide. While on tour, Madonna founded the charitable organization Raising Malawi , and partially funded an orphanage in and traveling to that country. While there, she decided to adopt a boy named David Banda in October 2006. The adoption raised strong public reaction, because Malawian law requires would-be parents to reside in Malawi for one year before adopting, which Madonna did not do. She addressed this on The Oprah Winfrey Show , saying that there were no written adoption laws in Malawi that regulated foreign adoption. Madonna described how Banda had been suffering from pneumonia after surviving malaria and tuberculosis when they first met. Banda's biological father, Yohane, commented: "These so-called human rights activists are harassing me every day, threatening me that I am not aware of what I am doing ... They want me to support their court case,
20224-457: The southeast; and to the east, Long Island Sound separates it from Nassau County in western Long Island. Directly north of the Bronx are (from west to east) the adjoining Westchester County communities of Yonkers , Mount Vernon , Pelham Manor and New Rochelle . There is also a short southern land boundary with Marble Hill in the Borough of Manhattan, over the filled-in former course of
20382-457: The three towns were soon abolished in the process. The whole territory east of the Bronx River was annexed to the city in 1895, three years before New York's consolidation with Brooklyn , Queens , and Staten Island . This included the Town of Westchester (which had voted against consolidation in 1894) and parts of Eastchester and Pelham. The nautical community of City Island voted to join
20540-427: The time Madonna had been dating rapper Vanilla Ice and she at one point proposed to him; they broke up following the release of Sex , with Ice claiming that he was included in the book without his consent. Madonna continued her provocative imagery in the 1993 erotic thriller , Body of Evidence , a film which contained scenes of sadomasochism and bondage . Critics poorly received the film. She also starred in
20698-414: The time, and remains Madonna's bestselling studio album, with sales of 25 million copies. True Blue was featured in the 1992 edition of Guinness World Records as the bestselling album by a woman of all time. Madonna starred in the critically panned film Shanghai Surprise in 1986, for which she received her first Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress . She made her theatrical debut in
20856-569: The title role in the 1985 comedy Desperately Seeking Susan , a film which introduced the song " Into the Groove ", her first number-one single in the UK. Her popularity caused the film to be perceived as a Madonna vehicle, despite how she was not billed as a lead actress . The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby named it one of the ten best films of 1985. Beginning in April 1985, Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in North America,
21014-544: The track " Hollywood ". In October 2003, she provided guest vocals on Spears' single " Me Against the Music ". It was followed with the release of Remixed & Revisited . The EP contained remixed versions of songs from American Life and included "Your Honesty", a previously unreleased track from the Bedtime Stories recording sessions. Madonna also signed a contract with Callaway Arts & Entertainment to be
21172-412: The world in an edited form. The same year, Madonna released her ninth studio album, American Life , which was based on her observations of American society. She explained that the record was "like a trip down memory lane, looking back at everything I've accomplished and all the things I once valued and all the things that were important to me." Larry Flick from The Advocate felt that " American Life
21330-413: The year by a solo artist, earning $ 75 million from 47 sold-out shows. She also released her second greatest-hits collection, GHV2 , which compiled 15 singles during the second decade of her recording career. The album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 and sold seven million units worldwide. Madonna starred in the film Swept Away , directed by Ritchie. Released direct-to-video in
21488-475: The year in the US. She recorded the film's theme song, " This Used to Be My Playground ", which became her tenth number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, the most by any female artist at the time. In April, Madonna founded her own entertainment company, Maverick , consisting of a record company (Maverick Records), a film production company (Maverick Films), and associated music publishing, television broadcasting, book publishing, and merchandising divisions. The deal
21646-598: Was a Swedish-born immigrant from Komstad, Norra Ljunga parish in Småland , Sweden, who arrived in New Netherland during the spring of 1639. Bronck became the first recorded European settler in the present-day Bronx and built a farm named "Emmaus" close to what today is the corner of Willis Avenue and 132nd Street in Mott Haven . He leased land from the Dutch West India Company on the neck of
21804-526: Was a descendant of Pieter Bronck, either Jonas Bronck's son or his younger brother, but most probably a nephew or cousin, as there was an age difference of 16 years. Much work on the Swedish claim has been undertaken by Brian G. Andersson, former Commissioner of New York City's Department of Records, who helped organize a 375th Anniversary celebration in Bronck's hometown in 2014. The Bronx is referred to with
21962-496: Was a joint venture with Time Warner and paid Madonna an advance of $ 60 million. It gave her 20% royalties from the music proceedings, the highest rate in the industry at the time, equaled only by Michael Jackson 's royalty rate established a year earlier with Sony . Her company later went on to become one of the most successful artist-run labels in history, producing multi-platinum artists such as Alanis Morissette and Michelle Branch . Later that year, Madonna co-sponsored
22120-416: Was a manufacturing center for many years and was noted as a center of piano manufacturing in the early part of the 20th century. In 1919, the Bronx was the site of 63 piano factories employing more than 5,000 workers. At the end of World War I , the Bronx hosted the rather small 1918 World's Fair at 177th Street and DeVoe Avenue. The Bronx underwent rapid urban growth after World War I. Extensions of
22278-740: Was also a pioneer in promoting products such as Hoffman Beverages and Canada Dry ginger ale on the air. A&E 's documentary It's Only Talk, The Real Story Of America's Talk Shows credits Franklin as the creator of the television talk show. Franklin was listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest running continuous on-air TV talk show host, more than a decade longer than Johnny Carson 's run. In 1999, Franklin partnered with Producer Steve Garrin and Restaurant Mogul Dennis Riese to open Joe Franklin's Memory Lane Restaurant on West 45th Street in Broadway's theater district. After
22436-411: Was also much debate as to whether rent control laws had made it less profitable (or more costly) for landlords to maintain existing buildings with their existing tenants than to abandon or destroy those buildings. In the 1970s, parts of the Bronx were plagued by a wave of arson. The burning of buildings was predominantly in the poorest communities, such as the South Bronx. One explanation of this event
22594-485: Was begun (financed by water and sewer revenues) as part of an agreement that allowed a water filtration plant under Mosholu Golf Course in Van Cortlandt Park. One major focus is on opening more of the Bronx River 's banks and restoring them to a natural state. The Bronx adjoins: There are two primary systems for dividing the Bronx into regions, which do not necessarily agree with one another. One system
22752-478: Was continued in the "Borough of The Bronx", created in 1898, which included a larger annexation from Westchester County in 1895. The use of the definite article is attributed to the style of referring to rivers. A time-worn story purportedly explaining the use of the definite article in the borough's name says it stems from the phrase "visiting the Broncks", referring to the settler's family. The capitalization of
22910-439: Was dissatisfied with the completed tracks and disagreed with Lucas' production techniques, so she decided to seek additional help. She asked John "Jellybean" Benitez , the resident DJ at Fun House, to help finish the album's production and a romance ensued. Benitez remixed most of the tracks and produced " Holiday ", which was her first international top-ten song. The album was released in July 1983, and peaked at number eight on
23068-546: Was found for the first time outside of Asia , here, at the Bronx Zoo. Over the next 40 years it spread throughout eastern North America and killed back essentially every American Chestnut ( Castanea dentata ), causing ecological and economic devastation. Just south of Van Cortlandt Park is the Jerome Park Reservoir , surrounded by 2 miles (3 km) of stone walls and bordering several small parks in
23226-507: Was in a relationship with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and living at his loft in SoHo . Basquiat introduced her to art curator Diego Cortez , who had managed some punk bands and co-founded the Mudd Club . Madonna invited Cortez to be her manager, but he declined. Following the success of the singles, Warner hired Reggie Lucas to produce her debut album, Madonna . However, Madonna
23384-717: Was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility. She did not sing at the ceremony but asked fellow Hall of Fame inductees and Michigan natives the Stooges to perform her songs "Burning Up" and "Ray of Light". Madonna released her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy , in April 2008. Containing R&B and urban pop influences, the songs on Hard Candy were autobiographical in nature and saw Madonna collaborating with Justin Timberlake , Timbaland , Pharrell Williams and Nate "Danja" Hills . The album debuted at number one in 37 countries and on
23542-435: Was inspired by and dedicated to her husband Penn. Rolling Stone was impressed with the effort, writing that the album "sound[s] as if it comes from the heart". Five singles were released—" Live to Tell ", " Papa Don't Preach ", " True Blue ", " Open Your Heart ", and " La Isla Bonita "—all of which reached number one in the US or the UK. The album topped the charts in 28 countries worldwide, an unprecedented achievement at
23700-671: Was of French-Canadian descent. Tony Ciccone worked as an optics engineer for Chrysler Defense and its successor, General Dynamics Land Systems , on military projects. Since Madonna had the same name as her mother, family members called her "Little Nonnie". Her mother died of breast cancer on December 1, 1963. She was raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township (now Rochester Hills ), alongside her two older brothers—Anthony (1956–2023) and Martin (born 1957) —and three younger siblings—Paula (born 1959), Christopher (1960–2024), and Melanie (born 1962). Madonna adopted Veronica as
23858-601: Was over. Around this time, Madonna briefly dated rapper Tupac Shakur and basketball player Dennis Rodman . Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli described her ballad " I'll Remember " (1994) as an attempt to tone down her provocative image. The song was recorded for Alek Keshishian 's 1994 film With Honors . She made a subdued appearance with Letterman at an awards show and appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno after realizing that she needed to change her musical direction to sustain her popularity. With her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994), Madonna employed
24016-702: Was profiled in the documentary film 50,000,000 Joe Franklin Fans Can't Be Wrong (1997), directed by Joshua Brown. Also in 1997, Franklin was satirized by Drew Friedman in * Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead is Purely Coincidental (with Josh Alan Friedman) (Fantagraphics Books, 1997) Franklin appears in the 2005 documentary The Aristocrats , an anthology of absurdly crude humor. In 2014, Franklin starred in Owen Kline and Andrew Lampert's comedic short film Jazzy for Joe , which featured Franklin raising an abandoned baby discovered on his doorstep. The film
24174-509: Was programmed by Robert Downey Sr. and run as the finale of a 2014 retrospective of his own filmography at the late West Hollywood theater Cinefamily . Franklin married Lois Meriden, a onetime performer with Sally Rand 's burlesque-style "fan dancers". They had a son, Bradley. Later, Franklin's longtime companion was Jodi Fritz. Franklin died of prostate cancer at a Manhattan hospice on January 24, 2015, aged 88. The Bronx The Bronx ( / b r ɒ ŋ k s / BRONKS )
24332-409: Was released in May 1991. Chronicling her Blond Ambition World Tour, it became the highest-grossing documentary of all time (surpassed eleven years later by Michael Moore 's Bowling for Columbine ). In 1992, Madonna starred in A League of Their Own as Mae Mordabito, a baseball player on an all-women's team. It reached number one on the box-office and became the tenth-highest-grossing film of
24490-503: Was released in November 2005. Musically the album was structured like a club set composed by a DJ. It was acclaimed by critics, with Keith Caulfield from Billboard commenting that the album was a "welcome return to form for the Queen of Pop." The album won a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album . Confessions on a Dance Floor and its lead single, " Hung Up ", went on to reach number one in 40 and 41 countries respectively, earning
24648-525: Was simultaneously part of the Borough of Manhattan (not the Borough of the Bronx) and part of Bronx County (not New York County) and the matter was definitively settled later that year when the New York Legislature overwhelmingly passed legislation declaring the neighborhood part of both New York County and the Borough of Manhattan and made this clarification retroactive to 1938, as reflected on
24806-423: Was that landlords decided to burn their low property-value buildings and take the insurance money, as it was easier for them to get insurance money than to try to refurbish a dilapidated building or sell a building in a severely distressed area. The Bronx became identified with a high rate of poverty and unemployment, which was mainly a persistent problem in the South Bronx. There were cases where tenants set fire to
24964-672: Was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi cab. I came here with $ 35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done." Madonna soon found an apartment in the Alphabet City neighborhood of the East Village and had little money while working as a hatcheck girl for the Russian Tea Room , an elevator operator at Terrace on the Park , and with modern dance troupes, taking classes at
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