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Fonda, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Fonda, Peter, 1939–2019, American actor. The son of Henry Fonda and brother of Jane Fonda, he made his screen debut in a forgettable 1963 feature. Several movies later he co-wrote and starred in the...

West, Mae

(Encyclopedia)West, Mae, 1893–1980, American stage and movie comedienne, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Mary Jane West. The unparalleled mistress of double entendre, West began in burlesque and continued in vaudeville, st...

Hall, Donald

(Encyclopedia)Hall, Donald (Donald Andrew Hall, Jr.), 1928–2018, American poet, b. New Haven, Conn., grad. Harvard (B.A., 1951), Oxford (1953). He published more than 50 books, ranging from poetry, short stories,...

Amis, Sir Kingsley

(Encyclopedia)Amis, Sir Kingsley āˈmĭs [key], 1922–95, English novelist. He attended St. John's College, Oxford (B.A., 1949) and for some 20 years taught at Oxford, Swansea, and Cambridge and in the United Sta...

Brontë

(Encyclopedia)Brontë brŏnˈtē [key], family of English novelists, including Charlotte Brontë, 1816–55, English novelist, Emily Jane Brontë, 1818–48, English novelist and poet, and Anne Brontë, 1820–49, ...

Fonda, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Fonda, Henry, 1905–83, American actor, b. Grand Island, Nebr. He had considerable stage experience, appearing in such plays as Mr. Roberts (1948), The Caine Mutiny Court Martial (1958), and Two for ...

Kern, Jerome

(Encyclopedia)Kern, Jerome kûrn [key], 1885–1945, American composer of musicals, b. New York City. After studying in New Jersey and New York he studied composition in Germany and England. His first success was t...

destroyer

(Encyclopedia)destroyer, class of warship very fast relative to its length, generally equipped with torpedos, antisubmarine equipment, and medium-caliber and antiaircraft guns. The newest destroyers are equipped wi...

cruiser

(Encyclopedia)cruiser, large, fast, moderately armed warship, intermediate in type between the aircraft carrier and the destroyer. During World War II, battle cruisers operated as small battleships, combining in on...

hydrofoil

(Encyclopedia)hydrofoil, flat or curved finlike device, attached by struts to the hull of a watercraft, that lifts the moving watercraft above the water's surface. The term is often extended to include the vessel i...