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95-472: The Expendables may refer to: Films [ edit ] The Expendables (1962 film), a made-for-TV film starring Mike Connors The Expendables (1989 film) , by Cirio H. Santiago The Expendables (2000 film) , a made-for-TV film starring Brett Cullen The Expendables (franchise) , an American ensemble action film series co-written and developed by Sylvester Stallone The Expendables (2010 film) ,

190-479: A "good all-American name." Connors later stated he hated the name "from day one" and considered not using his real name the only big regret of his career. After getting the starring role in Tightrope! , Connors wanted to be credited as Ohanian, but Columbia Pictures told him that he had already done too much work as Connors, though he was allowed to change his first name to Mike. Connors's film career started in

285-477: A 75–74 overtime victory over former player and former assistant coach Denny Crum and Louisville in the 1975 NCAA Tournament semifinal game, Wooden announced that he would retire at age 64 immediately after the championship game. His legendary coaching career concluded triumphantly when Richard Washington and David Meyers combined for 52 points as UCLA responded with a 92–85 win over Joe B. Hall and Kentucky to claim Wooden's first career coaching victory over

380-515: A 93-year-old Wooden stated that he would not mind coming back as an assistant who could help players with practices and other light duties. During his tenure with the Bruins, Wooden became known as "the Wizard of Westwood ", though he personally disdained the nickname. He gained lasting fame with UCLA by winning 620 games in 27 seasons and 10 NCAA titles during his last 12 seasons, including seven in

475-459: A Bruins team that had posted a 12–13 record the previous year and transformed it into a Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) Southern Division champion with a 22–7 record, the most wins in a season for UCLA since the school started playing basketball in 1919. He surpassed that number the next season with 24–7 and a second division title and overall conference title in 1950, and would add two more in his first four years. Up to that time, UCLA had collected

570-556: A German villager played by Alec Guinness . Connors played the card sharp in the remake of Stagecoach (1966). Connors was strongly considered to play Matt Helm in The Silencers (1966), but that role had eventually gone to Dean Martin . However, his audition had impressed Columbia Pictures, so Connors was instead cast in the similar James Bond spoof film Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966). Connors himself performed

665-483: A Wooden-coached team ever lost. That year, Walker became the first African-American to play in any post-season intercollegiate basketball tournament. In the 1948–1949 season, Wooden was hired by the University of California, Los Angeles , to be the fourth basketball coach in the school's history. He succeeded Fred Cozens , Caddy Works , and Wilbur Johns ; Johns became the school's athletic director. Wooden signed

760-455: A book, "Coach Wooden and Me", which details their long-standing friendship. A sportswriter commented that everybody outside of UCLA would be happy that glorious day in June when Alcindor finally graduated and college basketball could go back to the routine method of determining a national champion. This prophecy would prove to be ludicrous over the next six years. The 1970 squad proved that nobody

855-439: A cross-promotion episode of her Here's Lucy series in 1971. The episode, which opened Lucy's fourth season, is titled "Lucy and Mannix are Held Hostage". This was notable as the first episode shot at Universal Studios, after Ball ceased producing her program at Paramount Studios. Mannix remained a hit show through its final season. The show was taken off the air due to a dispute between CBS and Paramount. Paramount had sold

950-414: A large Los Angeles detective agency run by his superior Lew Wickersham ( Joseph Campanella ). From the second season onward, Mannix opened his own detective agency and is assisted by his secretary Peggy Fair ( Gail Fisher ). Mannix was originally produced by Desilu Productions (later absorbed by Paramount Television ). Then-president Lucille Ball pushed for CBS to keep the show on the air by removing

1045-493: A member of UCLA's 1968 team. Lew Alcindor finished his career at UCLA in 1969 with a third consecutive national championship when the Bruins beat George King 's Purdue team 92–72 in the title game. The three straight titles were matched by three consecutive MVP awards in the tournament as Alcindor established himself as college basketball's superstar during the three-peat performance. Alcindor and Wooden would continue their communication even after he left UCLA. In 2017, Jabbar wrote

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1140-781: A member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame . He was one of five people—along with Oscar Robertson , Bill Russell , Dean Smith and Dr. James Naismith —who were selected to represent the inaugural class. In 2009, he was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Athletics Hall of Fame in St. Louis. Coach Wooden was the ninth honouree in the Missouri Valley Conference's Lifetime Achievement category. Wooden said

1235-535: A much larger on-campus facility, Pauley Pavilion , was built in time for the 1965–66 season. The building in Westwood was christened on November 27, 1965, in a special game that pitted the UCLA varsity against the UCLA freshmen. It was Lew Alcindor 's (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) freshman season (freshmen were ineligible to play on the varsity in those days). UCLA was the defending national champion and ranked number 1 in

1330-532: A record seven in a row. No other team has won more than four in a row in Division I college men's or women's basketball. Within this period, his teams won an NCAA men's basketball record 88 consecutive games. Wooden won the prestigious Henry Iba Award as national coach of the year a record seven times and won the Associated Press award five times. As a 5-foot-10-inch (1.78 m) guard with

1425-467: A row from 1967 to 1973. His UCLA teams also established an NCAA men's basketball record winning streak of 88 games and four perfect 30–0 seasons. They also won 38 straight games in NCAA tournaments and 98 straight home wins at Pauley Pavilion, where Wooden compiled a 150–3 record over 10 seasons. "He never made more than $ 35,000 a year salary (not including camps and speaking engagements), including 1975,

1520-676: A row. He was named to the All-NBL First Team for the 1937–38 season. During World War II in 1942, he joined the United States Navy . He served until 1946 and left the service as a lieutenant . Wooden coached two years at Dayton High School in Dayton, Kentucky . His first year at Dayton, the 1932–33 season, marked the only time he had a losing record (6–11) as a coach. After Dayton, he returned to Indiana, where he taught English, coached basketball and served as

1615-552: A small farm in Centerton in 1918. He had three brothers: Maurice, Daniel, and William, and two sisters, one (unnamed) who died in infancy, and another, Harriet Cordelia, who died from diphtheria at the age of two. When he was a boy, Wooden's role model was Fuzzy Vandivier of the Franklin Wonder Five , a legendary team that dominated Indiana high school basketball from 1919 to 1922. After his family moved to

1710-507: A son, Matthew Gunnar Ohanian, and a daughter, Dana Lee Connors. Matthew was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 15. Matthew predeceased his father, dying of heart failure in 2007. Through his daughter Dana, he had one granddaughter. After his son's diagnosis, Connors became active in charitable organizations for patients diagnosed with mental disorders. He was a spokesperson for the National Alliance on Mental Illness . In 1998,

1805-608: A street on campus after him. On October 14, 2010, the Undergraduate Student Association Council of UCLA held a "John Wooden Day Celebration" to honor Wooden's 100th birthday and to commemorate his contributions to the university. A portion of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame at Morgan Centre is a recreation of Wooden's den office in honor of his memory on campus. Golf Digest lists Wooden as one of four people to score both

1900-464: A success in life as well as in basketball. Wooden's 29-year coaching career and overwhelming critical acclaim for his leadership have created a legacy not only in sports but also extending to business, personal success, and organizational leadership. John Robert Wooden was born on October 14, 1910, in Hall, Indiana , the son of Roxie (1887–1959) and Joshua Wooden (1882–1950), and moved with his family to

1995-480: A tabletop role-playing game Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title The Expendables . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Expendables&oldid=1257185680 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

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2090-586: A three-year contract for $ 6,000 in the first year. Prior to being hired at UCLA, he had been pursued for the head coaching position at the University of Minnesota , and it was his and his wife's desire to remain in the Midwest , but inclement weather in Minnesota prevented Wooden from receiving the scheduled phone offer from the Golden Gophers. Thinking that they had lost interest, Wooden instead accepted

2185-676: A total of two division titles since the PCC began divisional play, and had not won a conference title of any sort since winning the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1927. In spite of these achievements, Wooden reportedly did not initially enjoy his position, and his wife did not favor living in Los Angeles. When Mel Taube left Purdue in 1950, Wooden's inclination was to return to West Lafayette and finally accept

2280-591: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Mike Connors Connors was born Krekor Ohanian Jr. ( Armenian : կրեկոր ոհանիան ) on August 15, 1925, in Fresno, California , to Armenian parents Krekor and Alice ( née Surabian) Ohanian. His father had escaped the Armenian genocide . They married in 1915 and had six children: Paul I (died in childhood), Paul II, Dorothy M., Arpesri A., Krekor, and Eugene. His father

2375-513: The Game of the Century in the nation's first nationally televised regular season college basketball game. Houston upset UCLA 71–69, as Hayes scored 39 points. In a post-game interview, Wooden said, "We have to start over." UCLA went undefeated the rest of the year and thrashed Houston 101–69 in the semi-final rematch of the NCAA tournament en route to the national championship. Sports Illustrated ran

2470-632: The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama . He was nominated for the Golden Globe Award six times from 1970 to 1975 and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series four times from 1970 to 1973. When discussing the success of the series in an interview, Connors stated: "The show itself started a whole new era of detective shows, because this wasn't

2565-684: The Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Poretta Power Poll . John Wooden was named All-Big Ten and All-Midwestern (1930–32) while at Purdue, and he was the first player ever to be named a three-time consensus All-American. In 1932, he was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor , recognizing one student athlete from the graduating class of each Big Ten member school, for demonstrating joint athletic and academic excellence throughout their college career. He

2660-823: The Indiana Intercollegiate Conference title and received an invitation to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) National Tournament in Kansas City. Wooden refused the invitation, citing the NAIB's policy banning black players. One of Wooden's players, Clarence Walker , was a black man from East Chicago, Indiana . That same year, Wooden's alma mater Purdue University asked him to return to campus and serve as an assistant to then-head coach Mel Taube until Taube's contract expired, when Wooden would take over

2755-751: The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Memorial Court of Honor because his UCLA basketball teams played six seasons in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena . On November 8, 2008, Indiana State officially named the floor at the Hulman Centre The Nellie and John Wooden Court in honor of the legendary coach and his late wife, Nellie. The ceremony included taped comments from Coach Wooden and the participation of members of his 1946–47 and 1947–48 teams. The Sycamores christened

2850-563: The Pete Newell -coached teams of the California Golden Bears took control of the conference and won the 1959 NCAA tournament . Also hampering the fortunes of Wooden's team during that time period was a probation that was imposed on all UCLA sports teams in the aftermath of a scandal that involved illegal payments made to players on the school's football team. The probation was also extended to three additional schools:

2945-627: The Purdue Boilermakers , Wooden was the first college basketball player to be named an All-American three times, and the 1932 Purdue team on which he played as a senior was retroactively recognized as the pre- NCAA tournament national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll . He played professionally in the National Basketball League (NBL). Wooden

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3040-786: The UC Irvine College of Medicine 's Brain Imaging Center Committee awarded Connors the Silver Ribbon Award for his contributions. Connors made a public service announcement for the Armenian Eye Care Project. Connors was a Republican . He endorsed Ronald Reagan for President in 1980 and 1984 and endorsed George Deukmejian for Governor of California in 1982 and 1986 . Connors died in Tarzana, California , at

3135-662: The United States Navy ; Sheriff of Cochise , a Western series; Whirlybirds , an aviation adventure series; and Rescue 8 , based on stories of the Los Angeles County Fire Department . An episode of Studio 57 starring Connors and titled "Getaway Car" was proposed as a pilot for a series about the CHP to be called Motorcycle Cop . Connors starred as an undercover police officer who infiltrated organized crime in Tightrope! (1959–1960). Despite

3230-479: The high school ranks. During one 46-game stretch, he made 134 consecutive free throws, which is still a professional record to this day (the NBA record is 97 made by Micheal Williams in 1993). One notable instance made after hitting his 100th consecutive free throw had Kautskys owner Frank Kautsky pay $ 100 to Wooden directly during a game after briefly stopping it to celebrate his 100th professional free throw made in

3325-419: The 1948–1949 season, he inherited a little-known program that played in a cramped gym. He left it as a national powerhouse with 10 national championships— the most successful rebuilding project in college basketball history. John Wooden ended his UCLA coaching career with a 620–147 overall record and a winning percentage of .808. These figures do not include his two-year record at Indiana State prior to taking over

3420-486: The 2001 book Be Quick—But Don't Hurry! Finding Success in the Teachings of a Lifetime . The bestseller details how Hill applied his experience as a player under Wooden to achieve success in his career as a television executive. His goal was to demonstrate the relevance of Wooden's coaching style to the business world. The book also delves into his personal relationship with Wooden as his coach and mentor. In 2004,

3515-479: The Bruins had played at the Men's Gym . It normally seated 2,400, but had been limited to 1,500 since 1955 by order of the city fire marshal. This forced the Bruins to move games to Pan Pacific Auditorium , the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and other venues around Los Angeles when they were expected to attract larger crowds—something that happened fairly often after the Bruins' first national title. At Wooden's urging,

3610-494: The Bruins' speed and zone press forced 29 turnovers and nullified the height advantage of Duke's Hack Tison and Jay Buckley, two 6-foot, 10-inch players. In the 1964-1965 campaign, the defending NCAA champions got off to an ominous start when UCLA lost to Illinois by 27 points in its opening game. It was all uphill after that as the squad repeated as national champions with Gail Goodrich, Kenny Washington , and Doug McIntosh . The Bruins upended Dave Strack 's Michigan team 91–80 in

3705-626: The Cougar" on the NBC modern Western series, Redigo , starring Richard Egan . In 1964, Connors appeared in a pinch-hit role for Raymond Burr as attorney Joe Kelly in the Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Bullied Bowler". Connors was invited to take on a lead role in the series on an ongoing basis, but the producers had actually wanted to pressure Burr into resigning his contract with

3800-501: The Final Four of the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. A narrow loss, due largely to a controversial foul call in a 1962 semi-final game against Ed Jucker 's eventual national champion Cincinnati team, convinced Wooden that his Bruins were ready to contend for national championships. Two seasons later in 1964, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place when assistant coach Jerry Norman persuaded Wooden that

3895-737: The Hardwood Breakfast, which is held each year at the Final Four and is hosted by Athletes in Action. On February 3, 1984, Wooden was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2000, Wooden was honored with the "Lombardi Award of Excellence" from the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation. The award was created to honor Coach Lombardi 's legacy, and is awarded annually to an individual who exemplifies

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3990-804: The John Wooden Ethics in Leadership Award in 2009, with Wooden being the inaugural recipient. In 1986, John Wooden was honored as an Outstanding Alumnus of the School of Liberal Arts at Purdue University – the first year the award was given. In 1976, Wooden received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement . On May 17, 2004, Wooden was awarded the Ambassador Award of Excellence by

4085-676: The LA Sports & Entertainment Commission at the Riviera Country Club . On Wooden's 96th birthday in 2006, a post office in Reseda, California , near where Wooden's daughter lives, was renamed the Coach John Wooden Post Office. This act was signed by President George W. Bush based on legislation introduced by Congressman Brad Sherman . In July 2010, Wooden's alma mater, Purdue University, named

4180-652: The Los Angeles Athletic Club. The MVP award for the McDonald's All-American Game in high-school basketball is named the "John R. Wooden Most Valuable Player Award". The Wooden Legacy is held in his honour. In 1998 the Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award was created to be given to a former player or coach who exemplifies character, leadership and faith. This Award is presented at the Legends of

4275-468: The University of Southern California, California and Stanford. The scandal resulted in the dismantling of the PCC conference. By the 1961–1962 season, the probation was no longer in place and Wooden returned his team to the top of the conference. This time, however, they would take the next step, and in so doing, unleash a run of dominance unparalleled in the history of college basketball. UCLA reached

4370-548: The Wildcats and his unprecedented 10th national championship. Marques Johnson and Andre McCarter were also key contributors on Wooden's final championship team. The success of Wooden's last team was particularly impressive because it had no marquee stars such as Alcindor, Walton, Hazzard, and Goodrich; the team was a group of rugged opportunists. Andy Hill , who was on three Bruin teams under Wooden that won NCAA championships from 1970 to 1972, decades later co-wrote with Wooden

4465-672: The World Ended (1955), Swamp Women (1956), and The Oklahoma Woman (1956). Connors starred in and was the executive producer of Flesh and the Spur (1956). He raised $ 117,000 for the film. In 1958, Connors appeared in the title role of the episode "Simon Pitt", the series finale of the NBC Western Jefferson Drum , starring Jeff Richards as a frontier newspaper editor. He appeared in another NBC Western series, The Californians . That same year, Connors

4560-547: The Year " award with Billie Jean King . In 1960, he was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame for his achievements as a player and as a coach in 1973, becoming the first to be honored as both a player and a coach. After his coaching career ended, UCLA continued to honor Wooden with the title of Head Men's Basketball Coach Emeritus . On November 17, 2006, Wooden was recognised for his impact on college basketball as

4655-517: The Year again. Keith Wilkes , Greg Lee , and Larry Hollyfield were members of that team, and Wilkes would go on to win four NBA championships as well. UCLA's two big streaks came to an end during the 1973–1974 season. In January, the winning streak stopped at 88 games when Digger Phelps 's Notre Dame squad upended the Bruins 71–70 in South Bend. Two months later, Norm Sloan 's North Carolina State team defeated UCLA 80–77 in double overtime in

4750-479: The age of 91 on January 26, 2017, a week after being diagnosed with leukemia . John Wooden As head coach: John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed " the Wizard of Westwood ", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head coach for the UCLA Bruins , including

4845-770: The athletic director at South Bend Central High School until entering the Armed Forces . Wooden spent two years at Dayton and nine years at Central. His high school coaching record over 11 years was 218–42. After World War II, Wooden coached at Indiana State Teachers College , later renamed Indiana State University , in Terre Haute, Indiana , from 1946 to 1948, succeeding his high school coach, Glenn M. Curtis . In addition to his duties as basketball coach, Wooden also coached baseball and served as athletic director, all while teaching and completing his master's degree in education. In 1947, Wooden's basketball team won

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4940-474: The change from the original proposal of the "John & Nell Wooden Court", insisting that his wife's name should come first. In 2008, Indiana State also bestowed this honour on Wooden by naming their home court in the Hulman Center the "Nellie and John Wooden Court". The student recreation centre at UCLA is also named in his honor. Also in 2008, Wooden was honoured with a commemorative bronze plaque in

5035-520: The duties at UCLA. In 2009, Wooden was named The Sporting News "Greatest Coach of All Time". Wooden was recognized numerous times for his achievements. He was named NCAA College Basketball's Coach of the Year in 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973. In 1967, he was the Henry Iba Award USBWA College Basketball Coach of the Year. In 1972, he shared Sports Illustrated magazine's " Sportsman of

5130-439: The early sitcoms , Hey, Jeannie! and The People's Choice and in two Rod Cameron syndicated crime dramas , City Detective and the Western-themed State Trooper , and played the villain in the first episode filmed (but second one aired) of ABC's smash hit Maverick , opposite James Garner in 1957. Connors had roles in several of the earliest films Roger Corman directed: Five Guns West (1955), The Day

5225-399: The early 1950s, when he made his acting debut in a supporting role opposite Joan Crawford and Jack Palance in the thriller Sudden Fear (1952). He had initially been rejected for an audition by producer Joseph Kaufman due to his lack of experience, but after sneaking into Republic Pictures and meeting director David Miller , Connors was given a chance to read the script and was offered

5320-429: The final. Walt Hazzard fouled out of the game late in the second half on a player control foul, but this proved to be insignificant when he cut down the net in celebration and was named tournament most valuable player. Gail Goodrich (27 points), Keith Erickson , Fred Slaughter , Jack Hirsch , and reserve Kenny Washington (26 points, 12 rebounds) contributed to the UCLA win. With no player taller than 6 feet, 5 inches,

5415-405: The finals of the NCAA tournament. Goodrich shared Player of the Year honors with Princeton 's Bill Bradley . The 1966 squad was denied a chance at a triple crown when it finished second to Oregon State in the Athletic Association of Western Universities (now the Pac-12 ). UCLA was ineligible to play in the NCAA tournament that year because in those days only conference champions received a bid to

5510-487: The first film in the series The Expendables 2 , the sequel to the 2010 film The Expendables 3 , the sequel to the 2012 film Expend4bles , the sequel to the 2014 film Other uses [ edit ] The Expendables Go to Hell , a comic/graphic novel based on the film franchise The Expendables (American band) The Expendables (New Zealand band) See also [ edit ] Expendable (disambiguation) Expendables (role-playing game) ,

5605-441: The first full-length features on the Armenian genocide . The documentary was nominated for two Emmys . In 1995, Connors narrated another Armenian documentary by Hagopian, Ararat Beckons . In 1976, Connors played Karl Ohanian in the television film The Killer Who Wouldn't Die . Producers and writers Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts , who were also producers for Mannix , wanted the character to have Connors' real last name. The film

5700-443: The front cover headline Lew's Revenge. The rout of Houston . UCLA limited Hayes to only 10 points; he had been averaging 37.7 points per game. Wooden credited Norman for devising the diamond-and-one defense that contained Hayes. The Game of the Century is also remembered for an incident involving Wooden and Edgar Lacy . Lacy was ineffective on defense against Elvin Hayes, and Wooden benched him after 11 minutes. Lacy never re-entered

5795-399: The game. Furious with Wooden, Lacy quit the team three days later, telling the Los Angeles Times "I've never enjoyed playing for that man." UCLA's talent during the 1968 NCAA tournament was so overwhelming that they placed four players on the All-Tournament team. In addition to Alcindor, Lucius Allen , Mike Warren , and "Lefty" Lynn Shackelford were given accolades. Kenny Heitz was also

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5890-458: The head coaching job there. He was ultimately dissuaded when UCLA officials reminded him that it was he who had insisted upon a three-year commitment during negotiations in 1948. Wooden felt that leaving UCLA prior to the expiration of his contract would be tantamount to breaking his word, even though Purdue offered more money, a car and housing. By the 1955–56 season, Wooden had established a record of sustained success at UCLA. That year, he guided

5985-435: The head coaching job with the Bruins . Officials from the University of Minnesota contacted Wooden immediately after he accepted the position at UCLA, but he declined their offer because he had already given his word to UCLA. Wooden had immediate success, fashioning the mark of the rarest of coaches, an "instant turnaround" for an undistinguished, faltering program. Part of this success was due to his unique offensive system,

6080-436: The high-tech computers and making Mannix an independent detective. This move enabled the show to become a long-running hit for the network. Connors performed his own stunts on the series. During the filming of the pilot episode, he broke his wrist and dislocated his shoulder. Joe Mannix was an Armenian-American, like Connors. He spoke Armenian in a number of episodes and often quoted Armenian proverbs. In 1970, Connors won

6175-411: The honour he was most proud of was "Outstanding Basketball Coach of the U.S". by his denomination, the Christian Church. Since 1977, the John R. Wooden Award has been the most coveted of the four college basketball player-of-the-year awards. This award has attained the status of being the equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy for college basketball, with the winner announced during a ceremony held at

6270-556: The independent horror film Too Scared to Scream (1985). He played Colonel Harrison "Hack" Peters in the 1988 miniseries War and Remembrance . Connors hosted the 1989 series Crimes of the Century . He voiced the character Chipacles in the Disney animated series Hercules from 1998 to 1999. Connors' final appearance was in a 2007 Two and a Half Men episode, as a love interest of Evelyn Harper ( Holland Taylor ). Connors married Mary Lou Willey on September 10, 1949, when they were both UCLA students. They had two children,

6365-428: The most memorable campaigns in the history of UCLA basketball. Freshmen became eligible to play varsity ball again, and the Bruins went 30–0 and stretched their winning streak to a record 75 straight in breezing through the NCAA tournament by blowing out Gene Bartow 's Memphis State team 87–66 in the final, as Bill Walton hit an incredible 21 of 22 field goal attempts. Walton and Wooden were everybody's Player and Coach of

6460-443: The newly named floor by defeating the Albion College (MI) Britons in an exhibition game. On July 23, 2003, John Wooden received the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the nation's highest civilian honor. It was presented by George W. Bush after a three-year campaign by Andre McCarter , who was on Wooden's 1975 National Championship team. The Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership at California State University, Long Beach established

6555-421: The part. Connors was cast in the John Wayne film, Island in the Sky in which he played a crewman on one of the search-and-rescue planes. In 1956, he played an Amalekite herder in Cecil B. DeMille 's The Ten Commandments . Connors appeared in numerous television series, including the co-starring role in the 1955 episode "Tomas and the Widow" of the anthology series Frontier . He guest-starred on

6650-411: The pre-season poll. The freshmen easily won the game by a score of 75–60. It was a powerful indication of things to come. A rule change was instituted for the 1967–1968 season, primarily because of Alcindor's towering play near the basket. The dunk shot was outlawed and would not be reinstated until the 1976–1977 season, which was shortly after Wooden's retirement. This was at least the second time that

6745-408: The press. In the 1971 NCAA championship game, Steve Patterson outscored Howard Porter of Jack Kraft 's scandal-plagued Villanova squad as UCLA won 68–62. The following year, UCLA had its closest game in all of Wooden's 10 championships, beating Hugh Durham 's Florida State team 81–76 to take the 1972 title. After the game, Bill Walton said, "We didn't play well." The 1972–1973 season was one of

6840-407: The program would lose the suspense element, "Because the whole premise was this guy, all by himself, 'on a tightrope.' ... When he gets a sidekick, it loses the threat and the danger, and the whole premise is in the toilet." Later, he was cast in the episode "The Aerialist" of the anthology series, Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond . In 1963, he guest-starred as Jack Marson in the episode "Shadow of

6935-485: The program. Citing his loyalty to Taube, Wooden declined the offer, because this would have effectively made Taube a lame-duck coach. In 1948, Wooden again led Indiana State to the conference title. The NAIB had reversed its policy banning African-American players that year, and Wooden coached his team to the NAIB National Tournament final, losing to Louisville . This was the only championship game

7030-450: The rights to air Mannix reruns to rival network ABC without informing CBS. When CBS discovered the deal, the executives quickly decided to cancel Mannix to avoid losing viewership for new episodes to the reruns. He later reprised the role of Joe Mannix in a 1997 episode of Diagnosis: Murder and in the 2003 comedy film Nobody Knows Anything! He narrated J. Michael Hagopian 's 1975 documentary film The Forgotten Genocide , one of

7125-561: The rules committee had initiated change in response to the domination of a superstar player; in 1944, the goaltending rule was instituted to counter George Mikan 's dominant defensive play near the basket. In January, UCLA took its 47-game winning streak to the Astrodome in Houston , where the Bruins met Guy Lewis ' Houston squad, who had Elvin Hayes , Don Chaney , and Ken Spain , in

7220-429: The same system that countless coaches use today. John Wooden stated, "I believe my system is perfectly suited to counter all the modern defenses I have seen, and that includes run-and-jump, 1–3–1 trapping, box-and-one, triangle-and-two, and switching man-to-man." Prior to Wooden's arrival at UCLA, the basketball program had only had two conference championship seasons in the previous 18 years. In his first season, he took

7315-595: The semifinals of the NCAA tournament. David Thompson was NC State's All-American, and Tom Burleson did an excellent job on defense against Bill Walton. UCLA had beaten the Wolfpack by 18 points early in the season, but things were different when they met in March. Wooden coached what would prove to be his final game in Pauley Pavilion on March 1, 1975, a 93–59 victory over Stanford . Four weeks later, following

7410-593: The series. In 1964, Connors had a role in the Jack Lemmon comedy Good Neighbor Sam and was the leading man to Susan Hayward and Bette Davis in Where Love Has Gone . He co-starred with Robert Redford in one of his earliest film roles, the World War II black comedy Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965), in which Connors and Redford played American soldiers taken prisoner by

7505-442: The show's popularity, it was canceled after only one season. Connors stated in an interview that the show's primary sponsor, J.B. Williams, refused CBS president James Aubrey 's request to move it to a later time slot on a different day. The sponsor dropped Tightrope! and underwrote another program on another network. Connors also did not agree with the suggested change to add a sidekick , to be played by Don Sullivan. He thought

7600-638: The spirit of the Coach. Wooden has schools and athletic facilities named after him. The gym at his alma mater Martinsville High School bears his name, and in 2005 a high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District was renamed to John R. Wooden High School . In 2003, UCLA dedicated the basketball court in Pauley Pavilion in honor of John and Nell Wooden. Named the "Nell & John Wooden Court", Wooden asked for

7695-570: The stuntwork of dangling from a rope ladder attached to a helicopter flying off the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro when the local stuntman refused to do it. Connors became best known for playing the private investigator Joe Mannix in the detective series Mannix . The series ran for eight seasons from 1967 to 1975. During the first season of the series, Joe Mannix worked for Intertect,

7790-480: The team to its first undefeated PCC conference title and a 17-game winning streak that came to an end only at the hands of Phil Woolpert 's University of San Francisco team (who had Bill Russell and K.C. Jones ) that eventually won the 1956 NCAA tournament . However, UCLA was unable to advance from this level over the immediately ensuing seasons, finding itself unable to return to the NCAA Tournament, as

7885-461: The team's small-sized players and fast-paced offense would be complemented by the adoption of a zone press defense, which increased the probability of turnovers by the opposing team. The result was a dramatic increase in scoring, giving UCLA a powerhouse team that went 30–0 on its way to the school's first basketball national championship and first undefeated season as the Bruins beat Vic Bubas ' taller and slower racially segregated Duke team 98–83 in

7980-411: The tournament. The Bruins' 1967 incarnation returned with a vengeance with sophomore star Alcindor, reclaiming not only the conference title, but the national crown with another 30–0 season, and then retaining it every season but one until Wooden's retirement immediately following the 1975 NCAA championship. The resurgence of the Bruins under Wooden made it obvious that they needed a new home. Since 1932,

8075-408: The town of Martinsville when he was 14, Wooden led his high school team to a state tournament title in 1927. He was a three-time All-State selection. After graduating from high school in 1928, he attended Purdue University and was coached by Ward "Piggy" Lambert . The 1932 Purdue team on which he played as a senior was retroactively recognized as the pre- NCAA tournament national champion by

8170-410: The usual cynical private eye à la Humphrey Bogart . It was more a show about an all-round normal human being. The character of Joe Mannix could be taken advantage of by a pretty face, he could shed a tear on an emotional level, he was very close to his father and his family, so he was more a normal personality with normal behavior." Connors was able to work with his boss Lucille Ball on-screen during

8265-541: The war, he attended the University of California at Los Angeles on both a basketball scholarship and the G.I. Bill , where he played under coach John Wooden . Connors went to law school, where he studied to become an attorney, taking after his father. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After a basketball game, coach Wilbur Johns introduced Connors to his friend, director William A. Wellman , who liked Connors' voice and expressive face while he

8360-1069: The year he won his 10th national championship, and never asked for a raise", wrote Rick Reilly of ESPN . He was given a Bruin powder blue Mercedes that season as a retirement gift. According to his own writings, Wooden turned down an offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers from owner Jack Kent Cooke that may have been ten times what UCLA was paying him.        National champion          Postseason invitational champion          Conference regular season champion          Conference regular season and conference tournament champion        Division regular season champion        Division regular season and conference tournament champion        Conference tournament champion When Wooden arrived at UCLA for

8455-764: Was also selected for membership in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Wooden is also an honorary member of Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity. Wooden was nicknamed "The Indiana Rubber Man" for his suicidal dives on the hardcourt. He graduated from Purdue in 1932 with a degree in English . After college, Wooden spent several years playing professional basketball in the NBL with the Indianapolis Kautskys , Whiting Ciesar All-Americans , and Hammond Ciesar All-Americans , while he taught and coached in

8550-510: Was an attorney and represented many Armenians who had little money and could not speak English. Connors spoke three languages: Armenian , English , and French . Connors was a cousin of French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour . Connors was an avid basketball player in high school, nicknamed "Touch" by his teammates. During World War II , he served as an enlisted man in the United States Army Air Forces . After

8645-407: Was cast as Miles Borden, a corrupt US Army lieutenant bitter over his $ 54 monthly pay, on NBC's Wagon Train in the episode "The Dora Gray Story" with Linda Darnell in the title role. About this time, he also appeared on an episode of NBC's Western series Cimarron City . Other syndicated series in which he appeared were The Silent Service , based on true stories of the submarine section of

8740-517: Was indispensable to the success of the UCLA program, not even Alcindor, as Sidney Wicks , Henry Bibby , Curtis Rowe , John Vallely , and Kenny Booker carried the Bruins to their fourth consecutive NCAA title with an 80–69 win over upstart Jacksonville , coached by Joe Williams . Wicks and Rowe double teamed 7-foot Artis Gilmore on defense and shut down the high-powered Jacksonville offense, which had been averaging 100 points per game. Gilmore and 5'10" Rex Morgan had been dubbed "Batman and Robin" by

8835-583: Was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player (1960) and as a coach (1973), the first person to be enshrined in both categories. One of the most revered coaches in the history of sports, Wooden was beloved by his former players, among them Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ) and Bill Walton . Wooden was renowned for his short, simple inspirational messages to his players (including his "Pyramid of Success") many of which were directed at how to be

8930-510: Was intended to be the pilot for a new ABC series titled Ohanian , about an Armenian-American former homicide detective who is now a charter-boat skipper. However, the series was not picked up. Connors had roles in the thriller films Avalanche Express (1979) and Nightkill (1980). He starred as a bureau veteran who mentors a team of agents in Today's FBI (1981–1982). The series only lasted one season. Connors both starred in and produced

9025-416: Was playing basketball, and encouraged him to consider acting. He was considered for the role of Tarzan by casting director Ruth Burch, who found him an acting coach. After Connors became an actor, his agent Henry Willson thought the name "Ohanian" was too similar to the actor George O'Hanlon and gave him the stage name "Touch Connors" based on his basketball nickname. Willson considered "Connors" to be

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