Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. He was born in Leeds and attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with the Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research medieval history at the university for several years. His collaboration as writer and performer with Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Peter Cook in the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival brought him instant fame. He gave up academia, and turned to writing full-time, his first stage play Forty Years On being produced in 1968.

His work includes The Madness of George III and its film adaptation, the series of monologues Talking Heads, the play and subsequent film The History Boys, and popular audio books, including his readings of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Winnie-the-Pooh.

Early life

Bennett was born in Armley in Leeds. The son of a co-op butcher, Walter, and his wife Lilian Mary (née Peel), Bennett attended Christ Church, Upper Armley, Church of England School (in the same class as Barbara Taylor Bradford), and then Leeds Modern School (now Lawnswood School).

Alan John Bennett (born 4 October 1981) is an Irish professional footballer who plays for Cork City as a defender. He has represented the Republic of Ireland national team.

Club career

Cork City

Bennett was born in Cork, Republic of Ireland on 4 October 1981. He began his footballing career at his local club Richmond, based in Waterfall, County Cork, which competes in the West Cork League. He was coached by highly regarded coach Colm Donovan. Bennett subsequently joined League of Ireland Premier Division club Cork City in 2000 at the age of 18. He initially played as a midfielder, but was converted to the defensive role of centre-back during the 2004 season. He made more than 150 appearances for the "Rebel Army", scoring ten goals. During his time at Cork City, Bennett played in The UEFA Cup and Champions league and also won a Youths FAI medal in 2000, National league Medal in 2005 and 3 Munster Senior Cup medals.

Reading

Following several bids, Bennett joined Reading on a two and a half-year contract for an undisclosed fee thought to be £250,000 on 30 January 2007.

Alan Bennett (born 1962) is an American lyric tenor known mostly for his performances in concert and oratorio work. He is particularly admired for his interpretations of the works of Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Mozart.

Career

Bennett attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he studied vocal performance. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1984 and a master's degree in 1987. He studied voice with Charles Lynam, Paul Elliott, and the late Norman Farrow.

He has performed extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and South America, singing at many prominent festivals and with many of the world's leading orchestras. He has sung with the Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Handel and Haydn Society, Tafelmusik, and Les Violons du Roy among many others.

The Hartford circus fire, which occurred on July 6, 1944, in Hartford, Connecticut, was one of the worst fire disasters in the history of the United States. The fire occurred during an afternoon performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus that was attended by 6,000 to 8,000 people. 167 people died and more than 700 were injured.

Background

In mid-20th century America, a typical circus traveled from town to town by train, performing under a huge canvas tent commonly called a "big top". The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus was no exception: what made it stand out was that it was the largest circus in the country. Its big top could seat 9,000 spectators around its three rings; the tent's canvas had been coated with 1,800 pounds (820 kg) of paraffin wax dissolved in 6,000 US gallons (23,000 l) of gasoline, a common waterproofing method of the time.

The circus had been experiencing shortages of personnel and equipment as a result of the United States' involvement in World War II. Delays and malfunctions in the ordinarily smooth order of the circus had become commonplace; on August 4, 1942, a fire had broken out in the menagerie, killing a number of animals. When the circus arrived in Hartford, Connecticut, on July 5, 1944, the trains were so late that one of the two shows scheduled for that day had been canceled. In circus superstition, missing a show is considered extremely bad luck, and although the July 5 evening show ran as planned, many circus employees may have been on their guard, half-expecting an emergency or catastrophe.

"Little Miss" is a song written and recorded by Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, of the American country music duo Sugarland. It was released in November 2010 as the second single from album The Incredible Machine. Before the album's release, the song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 80, due to digital downloads. It has also reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The song was featured in the pilot of The CW TV series Hart of Dixie.

Critical reception

Blake Boldt of Engine 145 gave the song a thumbs up, saying "There’s hope and heart and a whole lot to like about this, one of the year’s best singles and an odd bright spot on Sugarland’s ambitious fourth album. The Incredible Machine may be an unruly mess, but "Little Miss" is a hit." Mark Erickson of Roughstock was also favorable of the song, giving the song four stars, saying "The melody is inviting and the lyrics are some of the duo’s best of the album". Although he was in very critical of the album altogether, Jonathan Keefe with Slant Magazine was high praise of the song, calling the "album's best song; [it's] the only one that even hints at Sugarland's roots as a country act [...] it's also the most restrained cut on the album in terms of both its production and performance makes it an obvious standout, but it's a strong enough song that it can stand on its own merits." Sarah Rodman with The Boston Globe called it an "amiable shuffle", saying it "fit squarely in the country pop arena."

Alan Alex Symington Bennett (born 29 September 1949) was a Scottish footballer who played for Crystal Palace, Morton, Hamilton, Dumbarton and East Stirling.

References

Alan Bennett (born 1934) is an English author and actor.

Alan Bennett may also refer to:

See also