Cissy Houston Grammy Award winning American soul and gospel singer.

Emily "Cissy" Houston (born September 30, 1933) is a Grammy Award–winning American soul and gospel singer. She led a successful career as a backup singer for such artists as Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, Wishbone Ash and Aretha Franklin, and is now primarily a solo artist. She is mother to the late singer and actress Whitney Houston and aunt of Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick.

The Drinkard Singers
Houston's singing career began in 1938 when she joined her sister Anne and brothers Larry and Nicky in the gospel singing group the Drinkard Four. Houston's sister, Lee (who would later become the mother of singers Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick), later joined the group along with Ann Moss and Marie Epps, and the group was renamed The Drinkard Singers. Houston and the Drinkard Singers regularly performed at New Hope Baptist Church and later recorded a live album for RCA called A Joyful Noise.[11]
[edit]Sweet Inspirations
In 1963, then about to give birth to daughter Whitney Houston, she formed the Sweet Inspirations with Doris Troy and niece Dee Dee Warwick. Later, under contract to Atlantic Records, Sylvia Shemwell, Estelle Brown and Myrna Smith form the line-up.
During the mid-1960s, the Sweet Inspirations provided backup vocals for a variety of artists, including Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Lou Rawls, The Drifters, Dusty Springfield and Houston's niece Dionne Warwick. They appeared on Van Morrison's single Brown Eyed Girl. Houston performed the operatic soprano melody on the Aretha Franklin hit, Ain't No Way.[12]
In 1967, The Sweet Inspirations sang background vocals for The Jimi Hendrix Experience on the track The Burning of the Midnight Lamp.[13]
In 1969 they were hired to sing backing vocals for Elvis Presley in Las Vegas on his return to live performances during July and August 1969. Presley often introduced them at shows by saying, "They really live up to their name ladies & gentleman, The Sweet Inspirations!" [14] Many of these performances can be heard on the All Shook Up and Live In Las Vegas live records.[15]
Performing with Elvis Presley was Houston's final gig with The Sweet Inspirations. As her children were growing bigger, she decided to stop touring and focus on her career as a recording artist.

Solo career
In 1969, Houston signed a recording contract with Commonwealth United Records and recorded her solo debut Presenting Cissy Houston which was released in 1970.[17] It contained several well received singles, including covers of "I'll Be There" and "Be My Baby".
After her contract was sold to Janus Records, Houston recorded several more singles in the early 1970s and another album, which included the original recording of Jim Weatherly's "Midnight Train to Georgia", later a number one hit for Gladys Knight & The Pips. Houston later blamed poor promotion for the failure of her earlier version.
In 1977, Houston was signed by Private Stock, working with arranger/producer Michael Zager on three albums. The second included her big disco hit "Think It Over", which climbed to #32 on the Billboard R&B chart and just missed the Hot 100 in 1979. She represented USA at the World Popular Song Festival in 1979 with a track called "You're the Fire", landing second place and winning the "Most Outstanding Performance Award". This also appeared on her 1980 disco-flavored album, "Step Aside for a Lady", again produced by Michael Zager, but released on Columbia (on EMI in the UK).
[edit]Session musician
Houston's cross genre singing style has kept her highly in demand as a session musician with some of the world's most successful recording artists.
She sang back-up on Bette Midler's 1972 debut album, The Divine Miss M. In 1974 she sang back-up on Linda Ronstadt's Heart Like A Wheel, an album that topped Billboards Pop and Country Album Charts in early 1975.
In 1971, Houston was featured on three tracks on Burt Bacharach's solo record: Mexican Divorce, All Kinds of People and One Less bell to Answer.
During 1975 and 1976, she worked with jazz flute-player Herbie Mann on two Atlantic albums Waterbed and Surprises featuring on three tracks "Violet Don't Be Blue", JJ Cale's "Cajun Moon" and "Easter Rising".
In addition to her work as choirmaster at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ, Cissy performed frequently at clubs in NYC including Mikell's, Sweetwaters, Seventh Avenue South, and Fat Tuesday from the late 1970s through the 1980s.
Whitney Houston, her daughter and backup singer, increasingly sang solos with Cissy's band, including the Streisand hit Evergreen. They would collaborate on Ain't No Way (originally a Cissy Houston and Aretha Franklin vehicle), on which Cissy sang "Cissy" and Whitney "Aretha".
Whitney's "coming-out" performance took place at Sweetwaters,[18] whereupon she was signed by Clive Davis for Arista Records.
In 1985, the small UK independent label Glitter released a single, With You I Could Have It All and Whatcha Gonna Do About Our Love. The 12-inch single featured both a ballad and a dance version of the song.
[edit]Gospel soloist and duets
In 1996 Houston received the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album for Face to Face, an album that contained a Gospel version of "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)".
In 1996 she also contributed one song to the gospel soundtrack album for the film The Preacher's Wife, which starred her daughter Whitney Houston.
In 1998 she won her second Grammy for her album He Leadeth Me.
She has also continued to record infrequent secular material and in 1987, Houston and her daughter Whitney recorded a duet titled "I Know Him So Well", a cover of the original by Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige from the Broadway show, Chess. This song also became a single in early 1989 as the 6th and last single release (in selected European countries) from Whitney's album Whitney. In 1992 she teamed up with Chuck Jackson for an album of solo and duet recordings entitled I'll Take Care of You.
In 2006, she recorded the song "Family First" with niece Dionne Warwick and daughter Whitney Houston for the soundtrack to the movie Daddy's Little Girls.
In 2010 Cissy attended the third annual BET Honors on behalf of her daughter Whitney, who received the entertainment award.
[edit]New Hope Baptist Church Youth Inspirational Choir
For more than fifty years, Houston has led the 200 member Youth Inspirational Choir at the New Hope Baptist Church.

Saif arrested in assault case, brought to Colaba police station

Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 20:27:36 (IST)



NEWS FLASH

Saif Ali Khan was arrested by the police at his lawyer's chamber in south Mumbai's Nariman Point. He has taken to the Colaba police station where a case has been registered by Iqbal Sharma, a South African businessman of Indian origin.

Mr Sharma claims that the actor assaulted him and fractured his nose at at Wasabi, a restaurant at the fancy Taj hotel, last night.

Saif will most likely be granted bail. He has been booked under Section 325 of the Indian Penal Code(voluntarily causing grievous hurt), a bailable offence.



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Jennifer Aniston

Thanks to a rare combiniation of winsome girl-next-door charm and vulnerability, wholesome sex appeal and whip-smart comic timing, Jennifer Aniston found TV stardom playing Rachel Green, the spoiled rich girl making her way in life as a waitress and fashion buyer who relies on her "Friends" in the hit NBC sitcom, becoming one of the most popular actresses of her era. The petite, attractive actress grew up around show business; her godfather was actor Telly Savalas, her mother was a model and actress and her father had a career as a soap opera player....

Full Bio , Awards & Milestones

Filmography

A Million Little Pieces - ( Producer / / Announced / )

A Soap Box Opera - ( / / Announced / )

Act V - ( Producer / / Announced / )

Bush Falls - ( Producer / / Announced / )

Chemisty - ( Producer / / Announced / )

Counter Clockwise - ( Producer / / Announced / )

Counter Clockwise - ( - Cast / / Announced / )

Diary - ( / / Announced / )

Gambit - ( / / Announced / )

Getting Rid of Matthew - ( Producer / / Announced / )

Getting Rid of Matthew - ( - Cast / / Announced / )

Goree Girls - ( Producer / / Announced / )

Goree Girls - ( - Cast / / Announced / )

Hatfields and McCoys - ( Producer / / Announced / )

Lou Zamperini (Universal) - ( Producer / / Announced / )

Love: Todd - ( Producer / / Announced / )

My Losing Season - ( Producer / / Announced / )

On the Nature of Human Romantic Interaction - ( Producer / / Announced / )

Peace Like A River - ( Producer / / Announced / )

The Case Study - ( Producer / / Announced / )

The Case Study - ( / / Announced / )

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - ( Producer / / Announced / )

The Divorce Party - ( Producer / / Announced / )

The Loner - ( Producer / / Announced / )

The Senator's Wife - ( / / Announced / )

The Senator's Wife - ( Producer / / Announced / )

Untitled (Warner Bros./Jennifer Aniston/Dickey Chapelle Biopic Project) - ( Producer / / Announced / )

Untitled (Warner Bros./Jennifer Aniston/Dickey Chapelle Biopic Project) - ( Dickey Chapelle / / Announced / )

Valley of the Dolls: The Relapse - ( / / Announced / )

Wanted - ( - Cast / / Announced / )

Zora - ( Producer / / Announced / )

Zora - ( / / Announced / )

He's Just Not That Into You - ( Beth / 2008 / Lensing/Awaiting Release / )

Management - ( - Cast / 2008 / Lensing/Awaiting Release / )

Marley & Me - ( Jennifer Grogan / 2008 / Lensing/Awaiting Release / )

Traveling - ( - Cast / / Lensing/Awaiting Release / )

Friends With Money - ( Olivia / 2006 / Released / )

The Break-Up - ( Brooke Meyers / 2006 / Released / )

Derailed - ( Lucinda Harris / 2005 / Released / )

Rumor Has It... - ( Sarah Huttinger / 2005 / Released / )

Along Came Polly - ( Polly Prince / 2004 / Released / )

Bruce Almighty - ( Grace Connelly / 2003 / Released / )

The Good Girl - ( Justine Last / 2002 / Released / )

Rock Star - ( Emily Poule / 2001 / Released / )

Office Space - ( Joanna / 1999 / Released / )

The Iron Giant - ( of Annie Hughes / 1999 / Released / )

Dream For an Insomniac - ( Allison / 1998 / Released / )

The Object of My Affection - ( Nina Borowski / 1998 / Released / )

'til There Was You - ( Debbie / 1997 / Released / )

Picture Perfect - ( Kate / 1997 / Released / )

She's The One - ( Renee / 1996 / Released / )

Leprechaun - ( Tory / 1993 / Released / )

TV Credits

Oprah's Big Give ( 2008 / Released ): Actor

Stand Up To Cancer ( 2008 / Released ): Actor

Dirt ( 2007 / Released ): Actor

30 Rock ( 2006 / Released ): Actor

The 2006 Teen Choice Awards ( 2006 / Released ): Actor

The 78th Annual Academy Awards ( 2006 / Released ): Actor

Red Carpet Confidential ( 2005 / Released ): Actor

Shelter From the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast ( 2005 / Released ): Actor

2004 IFP/Independent Spirit Awards ( 2004 / Released ): Actor

A Farewell to Friends: A Dateline Special ( 2004 / Released ): Actor

Growing Up Grizzly 2 ( 2004 / Released ): Host / Narrator

The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards ( 2004 / Released ): Actor

The One With All The Other Ones: A Friends Retrospective ( 2004 / Released ): Actor

E! Entertainer of the Year 2003 ( 2003 / Released ): Actor

John Ritter Remembered ( 2003 / Released ): Actor

The Stars' First Time . . . On Entertainment Tonight With Mary Hart ( 2003 / Released ): Actor

TV Guide's Greatest Moments 2003 ( 2003 / Released ): Special Appearance

TV's Most Memorable Weddings ( 2003 / Released ): Actor

Friends: The Stuff You've Never Seen ( 2001 / Released ): Actor

Intimate Portrait: Kathy Najimy ( 2000 / Released ): Actor

The 52nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards ( 2000 / Released ): Actor

Intimate Portrait: Olympia Dukakis ( 1999 / Released ): Actor

The Making of: The Iron Giant ( 1999 / Released ): Actor

Celine, Aretha, Gloria, Shania and Mariah: Divas Live ( 1998 / Released ): Actor

Disney's Hercules ( 1998 / Released ): Voice

King of the Hill ( 1997 / Released ): Voice

South Park ( 1997 / Released ): Voice

The 10th Annual American Comedy Awards ( 1996 / Released ): Actor

47th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards ( 1995 / Released ): Actor

Comic Relief VII ( 1995 / Released ): Actor

The 22nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards ( 1995 / Released ): Actor

Muddling Through ( 1994 / Released ): Actor

The Edge ( 1992 / Released ): Actor

The Larry Sanders Show ( 1992 / Released ): Actor

Camp Cucamonga ( 1990 / Released ): Actor

Ferris Bueller ( 1990 / Released ): Actor

Molloy ( 1990 / Released ): Actor

Burke's Law ( Released ): Actor

Ellen ( Released ): Actor

Friends ( Released ): Actor

The One With The Cake ( 2006 )

TV Episode Rachel Green

The Last One ( 2004 )

TV Episode Rachel Green

The One With Rachel's Going Away Party ( 2004 )

TV Episode Rachel Green

The One Where Estelle Dies ( 2004 )

TV Episode Rachel Green

The One With Princess Consuela ( 2004 )

TV Episode Rachel Green

(225 more)

Herman's Head ( Released ): Actor

Movie House ( Released ): Actor

Partners ( Released ): Actor

Quantum Leap ( Released ): Actor

Full Biography

Thanks to a rare combiniation of winsome girl-next-door charm and vulnerability, wholesome sex appeal and whip-smart comic timing, Jennifer Aniston found TV stardom playing Rachel Green, the spoiled rich girl making her way in life as a waitress and fashion buyer who relies on her "Friends" in the hit NBC sitcom, becoming one of the most popular actresses of her era. The petite, attractive actress grew up around show business; her godfather was actor Telly Savalas, her mother was a model and actress and her father had a career as a soap opera player. After graduating from NYC's famed High School for the Performing Arts in 1987, Aniston embarked on her career which consisted of TV commercials and a handful of Off-Broadway productions.

At age 20, she headed west and soon landed roles in a string of short-lived sitcoms, generally cast as spoiled or bratty siblings as in "Molloy" (Fox, 1989) and "Ferris Bueller" (NBC, 1990-91). A stint on the Fox variety sketch series "The Edge" (1992-93) further honed her comedic skills; she is perhaps best-recalled as a member of the paranoid, weapons-toting 'Armed Family'. After an agent suggested she lose weight, Aniston shed 30 pounds and won the role of Rachel on "Friends" (1994-2004). Although her shag hairdo got a lot of attention, she proved to be a gifted light comedienne, skillfully moving her character from a pampered girl to a self-reliant woman, along the way, engaging in a romance with the divorced Ross Geller (played by David Schwimmer), and later with the thick but loveable Joey (Matt LeBlanc). The role made Aniston a superstar and earned her four successive Emmy nominations (2000-2003), twice as Best Supporting Actress and twice as Best Lead Actress--she would take home the Lead Actress Emmy in 2002, as well as a Golden Globe in 2003.

While Aniston had appeared in the low-budget schlocky horror outing "Leprechaun" (1993), her small screen success led to feature offers. She tried to move slowly away from her TV image with supporting turns as the unhappily married wife of a womanizing stockbroker in Edward Burns' "She's the One" (1996) and an acerbic cameo as an overwhelmed young woman juggling career and motherhood in the otherwise forgettable "'Til There Was You" (1997). Her first lead, as an ambitious advertising executive who creates a fake boyfriend to insure her climb up the corporate ladder, in "Picture Perfect" (1997) proved both a critical and box-office disappointment but Aniston bounced back in the more serious role of a pregnant woman who forms a bond with her gay roommate in "The Object of My Affection" (1998). She had what was essentially a supporting role in "Office Space" (1999) and voiced the mother of the boy who discovers "The Iron Giant" (also 1999) in that underrated animated feature.

In 1997 Aniston became romantically to the handsome movie actor Brad Pitt, placing them on magazine covers as Hollywood's reigning "It" Couple for years to come. They married in July 2000 in a storybook Malibu wedding illuminated by fireworks. The couple worked together professionally only once, when Pitt appeared on a 2001 episode of "Friends" as a formerly fat high school class mate and onetime pal of Courteney Cox's Monica with a long-simmering resentment of Aniston's Rachel.

Aniston next appeared as the love interest to a salesman (Mark Wahlberg) who joins a heavy metal band in "Rock Star" (2001), anchoring the lightweight, high-concept film with its most convincing and emotional presence. In 2002, Aniston made an impressive debut on the indie-film scene as a conflicted housewife/retail worker in "The Good Girl," playing a bored and forlorn Midwestern housewife who discovers that throwing caution to the wind and bucking her staid life is not everthing she imagined it would. The following year, Aniston paired with Jim Carrey for the hit comedy feature "Bruce Almighty" (2003) as the girlfriend of a man gifted with God's powers. She fared even better in her follow-up "Along Came Polly" (2004), playing against type as a free spirit who teaches her risk-fearing new beau (Ben Stiller) how to take chances. The role cemented Aniston's status as a potential A-list movie star just as "Friends" drew to an end in May 2004.

As she moved on to her next projects, Aniston found herself in the center of a media tempest when she announced her split from Pitt, who subsequently appeared to responsible for the breakup when it appeared he began a romance with actress Angelina Jolie on the set of their film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (2005). The drama played out in the entertainment media for several months, with Aniston finally giving a teary-eyed interview to Vanity Fair that, while taking some pains to play fair and amicable, decidely cast her as the unsuspecting victim and Pitt as the cad. Ironically, during the media firestorm Aniston was shooting "The Break-Up" (lensed 2005) in Chicago with actor Vince Vaughn, playing a divorcing couple struggling to continue to cohabitate. Rumors swirled of a budding relationship between the two stars, and despite denials they did appear to be a couple by fall of 2005 when Aniston had two films hitting theaters: the first, "Derailed," cast the actress and Clive Owen as two married business executives having an affair who are blackmailed by a violent criminal and must turn the tables to save their families; the second, director Rob Reiner's "Rumor Has It," saw Aniston playing Sarah Huttinger, who learns that her family was the inspiration for the book and film "The Graduate" -- and that she just might be the offspring of the notorious storyline.

Profession(s):

actress, producer, director, waitress, bike messenger, telemarketer

Sometimes Credited As:

Jennifer Joanne Aniston

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Family

father:John Aniston (Born c. 1933; appeared in NBC daytime serial "Days of Our Lives"; divorced Aniston's mother in 1980, leaving her for another woman; family name was originally Anastassakis)

godfather:Telly Savalas (Born in 1924; was her father's best friend; died in 1994)

half-brother:John Melick (Born c. 1959; mother, Nancy Aniston)

husband:Brad Pitt (Met in 1998; married July 29, 2000 in Malibu, CA; announced separation Jan. 6, 2005, after more than fours years of marriage; Aniston filed for divorce in March 2005; their divorce was finalized in October 2005)

mother:Nancy Aniston (Born c. 1936; previously married before her 1965 marriage to John Aniston; divorced from Aniston in 1980; because of comments made in a TV interview c. 1995, daughter has ceased contact; wrote book From Mother and Daughter to Friends (1999))

Companion(s)

Adam Duritz , Companion , ```..With the band Counting Crows; briefly dated in 1995

Charlie Schlatter , Companion , ```..Dated when they co-starred together on "Ferris Bueller" (NBC) in 1990

Daniel MacDonald , Companion , ```..Dated in the 1990s; split just before Aniston was cast in "Friends" (NBC) in 1994

John Mayer , Companion , ```..Began dating in April 2008; split in August 2008

Paul Sculfor , Companion , ```..Rumored to have dated for a few months in 2007

Tate Donovan , Companion , ```..Born in 1963; together from 1995-1998

Vince Vaughn , Companion , ```..Rumors of the pair dating began while filming "The Break Up" (2006); they were first spotted kissing at a wrap party in August 2005; relationship troubles reported in September 2006 with an "official" split by December 2006

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Education

Rudolph Steiner School New York, NY

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts New York, NY 1987

Awards (Back to top)

CineVegas International Film Festival Award Best Short Film "Room 10" 2007

ShoWest Award Female Star of the Year 2005

Golden Globe Award Best Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy "Friends" 2003

Emmy Award Outstanding Female Actress in a Comedy Series "Friends" 2002

Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Series "Friends" 1995

Milestones

2008 Formed the production company Echo Films, with a first-look deal with Universal

2007 Appeared in the season finale of Courteney Cox's FX series "Dirt" as a rival magazine editor

2007 Made co-directorial debut with the short, "Room 10"; part of the Glamour Reel Moments short film series; screened film at the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films

2006 Appeared in the low-budget drama, "Friends with Money"; premiered at the Cannes Film Festival

2006 Co-starred with Vince Vaughn (who also wrote and produced) in "The Break Up"

2005 Co-starred with Clive Owen in the Hitchcockian thriller "Derailed"

2005 Co-starred with Kevin Costner in the Rob Reiner directed "Rumor Has It"

2004 Co-starred with Ben Stiller in the romantic comedy "Along Came Polly"

2003 Played the girlfriend of title character (Jim Carrey) in "Bruce Almighty"; her biggest box office success to date

2002 Earned critical acclaim playing an unglamorous cashier in a small town in the low-budget, "The Good Girl"; directed by Miguel Arteta; earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination

2001 Co-starred with Mark Wahlberg in "Rock Star"

1999 Cast in Mike Judge's first live-action feature "Office Space"

1998 Played a pregnant woman who falls in love with her gay roommate in "The Object of My Affection"

1997 First leading role in the romantic comedy "Picture Perfect"

1996 Made guest appearance on the short-lived Fox series "Partners"; featured her then boyfriend Tate Donovan

1996 Returned to features in Edward Burns' "She's the One"

1994 - 2004 Breakthrough role as Rachel Green in the NBC ensemble comedy, "Friends"; earned Emmy (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004), Golden Globe (2002) and SAG (2002, 2003) nominations for Best Actress

1993 Feature acting debut, "Leprechaun"

1992 - 1993 Cast as a regular in the FOX sketch variety series, "The Edge"

1992 Appeared in two episodes of FOX sitcom "Herman's Head"

1990 TV series debut, "Molloy" (FOX) playing the spoiled stepsister of the title character

1990 - 1991 Cast as Jeannie Bueller in "Ferris Bueller" (NBC) a TV adaptation of the 1986 hit movie

1990 TV-movie debut, "Camp Cucamonga" (NBC)

1989 Moved to Los Angeles

Lost 30 pounds after her agent suggested she wasn't being cast because of her weight

Born in Sherman Oaks, CA

Raised in New York City after parents' divorce

Appeared Off-Broadway in "For Dear Life" at New York's Public Theater