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"George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review, as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was also famous for "participatory journalism" which included competing in professional sporting events, acting in a Western, performing a comedy act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and playing with the New York Philharmonic OrchestraThe Best of Plimpton, p. 72 and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur. Early life Plimpton was born in New York City on March 18, 1927, and spent his childhood there, attending St. Bernard's School and growing up in an apartment duplex on Manhattan's Upper East Side located at 1165 Fifth Avenue.Aldrich, p. 18 During the summers, he lived in the hamlet of West Hills, Huntington, Suffolk County on Long Island. He was the son of Francis T. P. Plimpton and the grandson of Frances Taylor Pearsons and George Arthur Plimpton.Chase, p. 140Chase, p. 110Chase, p. 86Chase, p. 85Calvin Gay Plimpton and Priscilla G. Lewis were the parents of George Arthur Plimpton. see Chase pp. 85–86Miller, pp. 31–33 His father was a successful corporate lawyer and partner of the law firm Debevoise and Plimpton; he was appointed by President John F. Kennedy as U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, serving from 1961 to 1965.Aldrich, p. 19 His mother was Pauline Ames, the daughter of botanist Oakes Ames and artist Blanche Ames. Both of Plimpton's maternal grandparents were born with the surname Ames; his mother was the granddaughter of Medal of Honor recipient Adelbert Ames (1835-1933), an American sailor, soldier, and politician, and Oliver Ames, a US political figure and the 35th Governor of Massachusetts (1887–1890). She was also the great-granddaughter on her father's side of Oakes Ames (1804–1873), an industrialist and congressman who was implicated in the Crédit Mobilier railroad scandal of 1872; and Governor-General of New Orleans Benjamin Franklin Butler, an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts.He was widely reviled for years after the war by Southern whites, who gave him the nickname "Beast Butler." He is also credited with saving Baltimore, Maryland during the Civil War. George had three siblings: Francis Taylor Pearsons Plimpton Jr., Oakes Ames Plimpton, and Sarah Gay Plimpton. Education Plimpton attended St. Bernard's School, Phillips Exeter Academy (from which he was expelled just shy of graduation), and Mainland High School, where he received his high school diploma before entering Harvard College in July 1944. He wrote for the Harvard Lampoon, was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club, Pi Eta, the Signet Society, and the Porcellian Club. He majored in English. Plimpton entered Harvard as a member of the Class of 1948, but did not graduate until 1950 due to intervening military service. He was also an accomplished birdwatcher. Plimpton's studies were interrupted by military service lasting from 1945 to 1948, during which he served as a tank driver in Italy for the U.S. Army. After graduating from Harvard, he attended King's College at Cambridge University in England. He studied there from 1950 to 1952 and graduated with third class honors, BA in English. Career =Literary criticism= In 1953, Plimpton joined the influential literary journal The Paris Review, founded by Peter Matthiessen, Thomas H. Guinzburg, and Harold L. "Doc" Humes, becoming its first editor in chief. This periodical has carried great weight in the literary world, but has never been financially strong; for its first half-century, it was allegedly largely financed by its publishers and by Plimpton. Peter Matthiessen took the magazine over from Humes and ousted him as editor, replacing him with Plimpton, using it as his cover for his CIA activities. Jean Stein became his co-editor. Plimpton was associated with the literary magazine in Paris, Merlin, which folded because the State Department withdrew its support. Future Poet Laureate Donald Hall, who had met Plimpton at Exeter, was Poetry Editor. One of the magazine's most notable discoveries was author and screenplay writer Terry Southern, who was living in Paris at the time and formed a lifelong friendship with Plimpton, along with writer Alexander Trocchi and future classical and jazz pioneer David Amram. =Sports journalism= Outside the literary world, Plimpton was famous for competing in professional sporting events and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur. In 1958, prior to a post-season exhibition game at Yankee Stadium between teams managed by Willie Mays (National League) and Mickey Mantle (American League), Plimpton pitched against the National League. His experience was captured in the book Out of My League. (He intended to face both line-ups, but tired badly and was relieved by Ralph Houk.) Plimpton sparred for three rounds with boxing greats Archie Moore and Sugar Ray Robinson while on assignment for Sports Illustrated. In 1963, Plimpton attended preseason training with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League as a backup quarterback, and he ran a few plays in an intrasquad scrimmage. These events were recalled in his best-known book Paper Lion, which was later adapted into a 1968 feature film starring Alan Alda. Plimpton revisited pro football in 1971, this time joining the Baltimore Colts and seeing action in an exhibition game against his previous team, the Lions. These experiences served as the basis of another football book, Mad Ducks and Bears, although much of the book dealt with the off-field escapades and observations of football friends Alex Karras ("Mad Duck") and John Gordy ("Bear").Almond, Steve. "Mad Ducks and Bears," The Paris Review, April 26, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2019 Another sports book, Open Net, saw him train as an ice hockey goalie with the Boston Bruins, even playing part of a National Hockey League preseason game. Plimpton's The Bogey Man chronicles his attempt to play professional golf on the PGA Tour during the Nicklaus and Palmer era of the 1960s. Among other challenges for Sports Illustrated, he attempted to play top-level bridge, and spent some time as a high-wire circus performer. Some of these events, such as his stint with the Colts, and an attempt at stand-up comedy, were presented on the ABC television network as a series of specials. In 1994 Plimpton appeared several times in the Ken Burns series Baseball, in which he shared some personal baseball experiences as well as other memorable events throughout the history of baseball.Baseball: A film by Ken Burns, PBS, 2010, Retrieved December 27, 2013. =Sidd Finch= In the April 1, 1985 issue of Sports Illustrated, Plimpton pulled off a widely reported April Fools' Day prank. With the help of the New York Mets organization and several Mets players, Plimpton wrote a convincing account of a new unknown pitcher in the Mets spring training camp named Siddhartha Finch who threw a baseball over 160 mph, wore a heavy boot on one foot, and was a practicing Buddhist with a largely unknown background. The prank was so successful that many readers believed the story, and the ensuing popularity of the joke resulted in Plimpton writing an entire book on Finch. =Other writing= A friend of the New England Sedgwick family, Plimpton edited Edie: An American Biography with Jean Stein in 1982. He also appeared in a brief interview about Edie Sedgwick in the DVD extra for the film Ciao! Manhattan. He appeared in the PBS American Masters documentary on Andy Warhol. Plimpton also appeared in the closing credits of the 2006 film Factory Girl. Between 2000 and 2003, Plimpton wrote the libretto to a new opera, Animal Tales, commissioned by Family Opera Initiative, with music by Kitty Brazelton directed by Grethe Barrett Holby. He wrote, "I suppose in a mild way there is a lesson to be learned for the young, or the young at heart – the gumption to get out and try one's wings". =Acting= Plimpton also appeared in a number of feature films as an extra and in cameo appearances. He had a small role in the Oscar-winning film Good Will Hunting, playing a psychologist. Plimpton played Tom Hanks's antagonistic father in Volunteers. He was also notable for his appearance in television commercials during the early 1980s, including a memorable campaign for Mattel's Intellivision. In this campaign, Plimpton aggressively touted the superiority of Intellivision video games over those of competitors such as the Atari 2600. He hosted Disney Channel's Mouseterpiece Theater (a Masterpiece Theatre spoof which featured Disney cartoon shorts). In the "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can" episode of The Simpsons, he hosts the "Spellympics" and attempts to bribe Lisa Simpson to lose with the offer of a scholarship at a Seven Sisters College and a hot plate; "it's perfect for soup!" He had a recurring role as the grandfather of Dr. Carter on the NBC series ER. He also appeared in an episode of the NBC sitcom Wings. Plimpton appeared in the 1989 documentary The Tightrope Dancer which featured the life and the work of the artist Vali Myers. He was one of her original supporters and had published an article about her work in The Paris Review. He also appeared in the 1996 documentary When We Were Kings about the "Rumble in the Jungle" 1974 Ali-Foreman Championship fight opposite Norman Mailer crediting Muhammad Ali as a poet who composed the world's shortest poem: "Me? Whee!!" Plimpton was a member of the cast of the A&E; TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001–02). In 2013, the documentary Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself, directed by Tom Bean and Luke Poling, was released. The film used archival audio and video of Plimpton lecturing and reading to create a posthumous narration. =Fireworks= Plimpton was a demolitions expert in the post-World War II Army. After returning to New York from Paris, he routinely fired off fireworks at his evening parties. His enthusiasm for fireworks grew, and he was appointed Fireworks Commissioner of New York by Mayor John Lindsay, an unofficial post he held until his death. In 1975, in Bellport, Long Island, Plimpton, with Fireworks by Grucci attempted to break the record for the world's largest firework. His firework, a Roman candle named "Fat Man", weighed and was expected to rise to or more and deliver a wide starburst. When lit, the firework remained on the ground and exploded, blasting a crater wide and deep. A later attempt, fired at Cape Canaveral, rose approximately into the air and broke 700 windows in Titusville, Florida. With Felix Grucci, Plimpton competed in the 16th International Fireworks Festival in 1979 in Monte Carlo. After several problems with transporting and preparing the fireworks, Plimpton and Grucci became the first competitors from the United States to win the event. Plimpton later wrote the book Fireworks, and hosted an A&E; Home Video with the same name featuring his many fireworks adventures with the Gruccis of New York in Monte Carlo and for the 1983 Brooklyn Bridge Centennial. =Parodies of Plimpton's career= A November 6, 1971, cartoon in The New Yorker by Whitney Darrow Jr. shows a cleaning lady on her hands and knees scrubbing an office floor while saying to another one: "I'd like to see George Plimpton do this sometime." In another cartoon in The New Yorker, a patient looks up at the masked surgeon about to operate on him and asks, "Wait a minute! How do I know you're not George Plimpton?" A feature in Mad titled "Some Really Dangerous Jobs for George Plimpton" spotlighted him trying to swim across Lake Erie, strolling through New York's Times Square in the middle of the night, and spending a week with Jerry Lewis. Personal life Plimpton was married twice. His first wife, whom he married in 1968 and divorced in 1988, was Freddy Medora Espy, a photographer's assistant. She was the daughter of writers Willard R. Espy and Hilda S. Cole, who had, earlier in her career, been a publicity agent for Kate Smith and Fred Waring. They had two children: Medora Ames Plimpton and Taylor Ames Plimpton, who has published a memoir entitled Notes from the Night: A Life After Dark. Plimpton with Herb Caen and Ann Moller in 1993 In 1992, Plimpton married Sarah Whitehead Dudley, a graduate of Columbia University and a freelance writer. She is the daughter of James Chittenden Dudley, a managing partner of Manhattan-based investment firm Dudley and Company, and geologist Elisabeth Claypool. The Dudleys established the Highstead Arboretum in Redding, Connecticut. Plimpton and Dudley were the parents of twin daughters Laura Dudley Plimpton and Olivia Hartley Plimpton. =Friendship with Robert F. Kennedy= At Harvard, Plimpton was a classmate and close personal friend of Robert F. Kennedy. Plimpton, along with former decathlete Rafer Johnson and American football star Rosey Grier, was credited with helping wrestle Sirhan Sirhan to the floor when Kennedy was assassinated following his victory in the 1968 California Democratic primary at the former Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Kennedy died the next day at Good Samaritan Hospital. Death and tributes Plimpton died on September 25, 2003, in his New York City apartment from a heart attack later determined to have been caused by a catecholamine surge. He was 76.https://www.thenation.com/article/his-league-being-george-plimpton/ An oral biography titled George, Being George was edited by Nelson W. Aldrich Jr., and released on October 21, 2008. The book offers memories of Plimpton from among other writers, such as Norman Mailer, William Styron, Gay Talese and Gore Vidal, and was written with the cooperation of both his ex-wife and his widow. In the movie Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself, the writer James Salter said of Plimpton that "he was writing in a genre that really doesn't permit greatness." In 2006, the musician Jonathan Coulton wrote the song entitled "A Talk with George", a part of his 'Thing a Week' series, in tribute to Plimpton's many adventures and approach to life. Plimpton is the protagonist of the semi-fictional George Plimpton's Video Falconry, a 1983 ColecoVision game postulated by humorist John Hodgman and recreated by video game auteur Tom Fulp. Researcher and writer Samuel Arbesman filed with NASA to name an asteroid after Plimpton; NASA issued the certificate 7932 Plimpton in 2009.7932 Plimpton (1989 GP), ssd.jpl.nasa.gov; accessed October 26, 2015. His final interview appeared in The New York Sports Express of Oct. 2, 2003 by journalist Dave Hollander. Selected works =Publications= Author *Letters in Training (letters to home from Italy, privately printed, 1946) *The Rabbit's Umbrella (children's book, 1955) *Out of My League (baseball, 1961) *Go Caroline, (about Caroline Kennedy, privately printed, 1963) *Paper Lion (about his experience playing professional football with the Detroit Lions, 1966) *The Bogey Man (about his experiences travelling with the PGA Tour, 1967) *Mad Ducks and Bears (about Detroit Lions linemen Alex Karras and John Gordy, with extensive chapters focused on Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Layne and Plimpton's return to football, this time with the Baltimore Colts, 1973) *Shadow Box (about boxing, author's bout with Archie Moore, Ali-Foreman showdown in Zaire, 1977) *One More July (about the last NFL training camp of former Packer and future coach Bill Curry, 1977) *Fireworks: A History and Celebration (1984) *Open Net (about his experience playing professional ice hockey with the Boston Bruins, 1985) *The Curious Case of Sidd Finch (a novel that extends a Sports Illustrated April Fools piece about a fictitious baseball pitcher who could throw at over , 1987) *The X Factor: A Quest for Excellence (1990) *The Best of Plimpton (1990) *Truman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career (1997) *The Man in the Flying Lawn Chair: And Other Excursions and Observations (2004) Editor * Writers at Work (The Paris Review Interviews), several volumes * American Journey: the Times of Robert Kennedy (with Jean Stein) * As Told at the Explorers Club: More Than Fifty Gripping Tales of Adventure. Introductions * The Writer's Chapbook: A Compendium of Fact, Opinion, Wit, and Advice from the 20th Century's Preeminent Writers * Above New York, by Robert Cameron =Film appearances= *Lawrence of Arabia (1962) – Bedouin (uncredited) *Beyond the Law (1968) – Mayor *Hickory Hill (1968) – narrator in D. A. Pennebaker's documentary on the Annual Spring Pet Show at Robert F. Kennedy's Virginia estate, Hickory Hill (McLean, Virginia) *The Detective (1968) – Reporter (uncredited) *Paper Lion (1968) – Plimpton, played by Alan Alda, is the lead character in the largely fictional film, loosely based on the 1966 nonfiction book. Anecdotally, Plimpton appeared in the film in an uncredited cameo in a crowd scene. *Rio Lobo (1970) – 4th Gunman (Plimpton's preparation and filming for his role as "Fourth Gunman" was the subject of a television program.) *The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977) – Quentin Reynolds *If Ever I See You Again (1978) – Lawrence Lawrence *Reds (1981) – Horace Whigham *Garbo Talks (1984) – Himself (uncredited) *Volunteers (1985) – Lawrence Bourne Jr. *A Fool and His Money (1989) – God *Easy Wheels (1989) – Surgeon *The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) – Well Wisher *L.A. Story (1991) – Straight Weatherman *Little Man Tate (1991) – Winston F. Buckner *Ken Burns' Baseball (1994) – Himself *Just Cause (1995) – Elder Phillips *Nixon (1995) – President's Lawyer *When We Were Kings (1996) – Himself – Writer *Good Will Hunting (Miramax, 1997) – Henry Lipkin – Psychologist *The Last Days of Disco (1998) – Clubgoer *EDtv (1999) – Panel Member *Just Visiting (2001) – Dr. Brady *Sam the Man (2001) – Himself *The Devil and Daniel Webster (2003) – Himself (uncredited) *Factory Girl (2006) – Himself *Soul Power (2008) – Himself *Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself (2012) – Himself =Television appearances= *Plimpton! The Man on the Flying Trapeze, (documentary), himself, ABC, February 1971 *Mouseterpiece Theater, host, himself, Disney Channel, 1983–1984 *The Civil War, reading the diary of New Yorker, George Templeton Strong, 1990 *Wings, "The Shrink", Dr. Grayson 1994 * Voice, Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns, PBS 1994 *Married... with Children, 200 Episode Special Host "Best O' Bundy" 1995 *ER, playing "John Truman Carter, Sr.", 1998 and 2001 *Saturday Night Live, as himself, uncredited, 1999 and 2002. In the March 13 episode of Saturday Night Live Season 1, he is one of the audience cutaway shots (usually featured in the early seasons with comedic and fictitious non-sequitur captions as to whom the audience member was, or what they did). He is labelled as having "Roomed with Wendy Yoshimura". *Just Shoot Me, playing himself in the show's A&E; Biography of fictional character 'Nina Van Horn', 2000 *A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001–02) – Member of the repertory cast, playing various roles in "Eeny Meeny Murder Mo", "Over My Dead Body", "Death of a Doxy", "Murder Is Corny", "Help Wanted, Male", "The Silent Speaker" and "Immune to Murder" *The Simpsons, playing himself in the episode "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can", originally aired February 16, 2003 =Commercial appearances on television= *Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser, pitchman, himself, released by Oldsmobile in late 1968 for the 1969 model year *Intellivision, pitchman, himself, released by Mattel in 1980. Plimpton was featured in a string of Intellivision commercials and print ads in the early 1980s. * "Pop-Secret", pitchman, himself. =Literary characterizations= *Plimpton appears as a character in Philip Roth's novel, Exit Ghost. See also * Notes References *Aldrich, Nelson W. George, Being George: George Plimpton's Life as Told, Admired, Deplored, and Envied by 200 Friends, Relatives, Lovers, Acquaintances, Rivals—and a Few Unappreciative Observers New York. Publisher: Random House, Inc., 2009 . *Chase, Levi Badger. A genealogy and historical notices of the family of Plimpton or Plympton in America: and of Plumpton in England (1884) Publisher: Plimpton Mfg. Company 1884. *Miller, Alice Duer. A History of Barnard College: The First Fifty Years New York. Publisher: Columbia University Press (January 1, 1939). Further reading * Aldrich, Nelson W.George, Being George: George Plimpton's Life as Told, Admired, Deplored, and Envied by 200 Friends, Relatives, Lovers, Acquaintances, Rivals—and a Few Unappreciative Observers. New York: Random House, 2009. . * Chase, Levi Badger A genealogy and historical notices of the family of Plimpton or Plympton in America and of Plumpton in England. Plimpton Mfg. Company 1884. * Swetz, Frank, J. (1987). Capitalism and Arithmetic. La Salle: Open Court. * The author describes his years of working with Plimpton in Paris. * An essay by George Plimpton. External links * 1969 St. Louis Literary Award Recipient Animal Tales Official Site 1927 births 2003 deaths 20th- century American journalists 20th-century American writers 21st-century American journalists Alumni of King's College, Cambridge American expatriates in the United Kingdom American magazine editors American magazine founders American male actors American male journalists American memoirists American army personnel of World War II Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy Butler–Ames family Detroit Lions players Disease-related deaths in New York (state) The Harvard Lampoon alumni Harvard College alumni Mainland High School alumni Military personnel from New York City Journalists from New York City People from the Upper East Side People from West Hills, New York Phillips Exeter Academy alumni The Paris Review United States Army soldiers Writers from New York City World Football League announcers Hasty Pudding alumni St. Bernard's School alumni Sportswriters from New York (state) 20th-century memoirists "
"Pioneer Chicken (or Pioneer Take Out, as it is officially named) is an American fried chicken restaurant chain which was founded in Echo Park, Los Angeles in 1961 by H.R. Kaufman. When Kaufman sold the chain in 1987, there were 270 restaurants operated by 220 franchisees. During the 1970s, several locations operated in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. As of 2017, there are only two locations remaining, one in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles and the other in Bell Gardens, California, both unrelated former franchises. Origins It was named after Pioneer Market, a now-defunct small chain of supermarkets in Los Angeles. The original location in Echo Park was located next to the 1980s-era Pioneer Market (the original 1932 market was razed in the 1980s due to the Sylmar earthquake) at Echo Park Avenue and Sunset Boulevard, which was replaced by a Walgreens Pharmacy in 2004. Due to considerable redevelopment activity in the neighborhood, the original Pioneer Chicken location was shut down in March 2009 and replaced by a Little Caesar's Pizza the following year. During the 1980s, Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn and former football player O.J. Simpson advertised for the restaurant. Pioneer Chicken was remembered for its bright orange deep fried chicken, menu option of gizzards and livers as appetizers, Pioneer Pete the company mascot and main character in comic books that were provided with their kid's meals. Bankruptcy In 1988 founder H. R. Kaufman and business associate Terrence P. Goggin filed for Chapter 11 in Federal Bankruptcy Court. At that point, Pioneer Chicken had 220 franchise owners and 270 stores. The company faltered under competition pressure from Kentucky Fried Chicken. AFC Enterprises acquisition In 1993, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits owner AFC Enterprises purchased the franchise and converted most locations to Popeyes. Locations There are two remaining locations in the Los Angeles area: 1) 904 S. Soto Street, Los Angeles; 2) 6323 E. Florence Avenue, Bell Gardens. =In Indonesia= In 1983, three alumni from the University of Southern California decided to open a Pioneer Chicken franchise in Jakarta under the name California Fried Chicken. Link via LexisNexis. (English translation of webpage) via Google Translate. As of 2013, the parent company of the stores in Indonesia, Pioneerindo Gourmet International, have over 200 CFC restaurants throughout that nation. CFC had a few franchises in Shanghai during the 1990s, but they may not currently exist. Media Warren Zevon's song "Carmelita" refers to Pioneer Chicken: "I pawned my Smith Corona/And I went to meet my man / He hangs out down on Alvarado Street/By the Pioneer chicken stand". In The Aquabats 1997 song "Magic Chicken!", the singer invites the listener to "Do the Pioneer!" during a funk breakdown where various chicken restaurant franchises are named. The opening of the film The Last American Virgin shows a Pioneer Chicken location at the northeast corner of Hollywood & Western in the background as the protagonist Gary (Lawrence Monoson), drives off making a pizza delivery. The same location is shown in one scene in Death Wish II and towards the end of the music video for DeBarge's "Rhythm Of The Night" A Pioneer Chicken location is briefly shown in the background in the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High during the restaurant scene involving the dissatisfied customer. The site was located on San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood, Los Angeles. The Silverlake location can be seen in the background of The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher. A Pioneer Chicken outlet is shown at the beginning of Armed And Dangerous when one of the film's protagonists, Frank Dooley (John Candy) is on patrol just before he is framed. In the first season opening montage of the television series Full House, a jumbo pack box of chicken is shown next to baby Michelle with the slogan "Home of the Golden Pioneer Chicken" on the side. This montage is also seen in the first episode of the reboot Fuller House. The pilot episode of The White Shadow shows Pioneer Chicken in the last 15 minutes of the episode as the team travels down the boulevard. Pioneer Chicken was also seen in the "Brat Patrol" episode of the TV series CHiPs. In the Hughes Brothers documentary American Pimp the Pioneer Chicken 904 S. Soto Street is featured as described by Rosebudd, one of the pimps interviewed. In Straight Time, the character Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) is shown at a Pioneer Chicken stand counting his money after having robbed a grocery store. See also * List of fast-food chicken restaurants * Pioneer Chicken Commercials Further reading Vintage Pioneer Chicken Sign Heading to Museum Los Angeles Magazine March 2, 2016 References Fast-food poultry restaurants Fast-food chains of the United States Restaurants in Los Angeles History of Los Angeles Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1988 Restaurants established in 1961 1961 establishments in California Bell Gardens, California Chicken chains of the United States "
"A NZ Post box with slots for two classes of mail New Zealand Post () is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing postal service in New Zealand. History The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, banking, and telecommunications services in New Zealand until 1987. By the 1980s, however, economic difficulties made the government reconsider how it delivered postal services. For example, in 1987-1988, the postal division lost NZ$50 million. In 1985, the Labour Party government under Prime Minister David Lange launched a review, led by New Zealand Motor Corporation CEO Roy Mason and KPMG New Zealand Chairman Michael Morris, to find solutions to the Post Office's problems. In its final report, the team recommended transforming the New Zealand Post Office into three state-owned enterprises. The government in 1986 decided to follow the Mason-Morris review's recommendations, and passed through parliament the State-Owned Enterprises Act, which corporatised several government agencies into state- owned enterprises. The Post Office's corporatisation was then completed with the 1987 passage of the Postal Services Act. The two acts broke up the New Zealand Post Office into three corporations: the postal service firm New Zealand Post Limited, the savings bank Post Office Bank Limited, later rebranded as PostBank, and the telecommunications company Telecom New Zealand Limited. Today, only New Zealand Post remains a state-owned enterprise, as PostBank and Telecom were privatised in 1989 and 1990, respectively. In its first year of operation, New Zealand Post turned the losses of previous years into a NZ$72 million profit. A year after the 1987 Post Office Act, the Lange Government declared its plan to fully privatise the post. To prepare for privatisation, it decided to gradually reduce NZ Post's monopoly. When it was corporatised in 1987, New Zealand Post had a monopoly for mail up to 500 grams and NZ$1.75 value. This was first reduced to $1.35, then $1, and finally 80 cents. The government also let NZ Post downsize by closing a third of its locations. In 1991-1992, another review came out in support of the government's privatisation plan. However, by the end of 1993 the government abandoned its plan because of public opposition. New Zealand Post began its life with 1,244 post offices, later rebranded as PostShops, of which 906 were full post offices and 338 were postal agencies. After government subsidies expired in February 1988, 600 post offices or bank branches were downsized or closed. As of March 1998, there were 297 PostShops and 705 Post Centres. However, there are now more outlets than before corporatisation, with 2,945 other retailers of postage stamps. There was a reduction in the "real" price of postage, with a nominal drop of the postage rate from 45 cents to 40 cents in 1996, and restoration of the 45 cent rate in 2004. Since then the cost has risen to 50 cents in 2007, to 60 cents in 2010 and to 70 cents in 2012. On 1 July 2016 postage for standard letters will increase by 20 cents to $1.00 and Fastpost by 40 cents to $1.80. Regulation The Lange government's Postal Services Act 1987 reduced the monopoly of New Zealand Post to a limit of $1.75 and 500 grams. It was gradually reduced to 80 cents in December 1991 until the 1998 legislation took effect. Since the deregulation of the postal sector, different postal operators can install mail collection boxes in New Zealand's streets. The Postal Services Act 1998, passed by a National-New Zealand First coalition government, repealed the 1987 Act. The new law provides for any person to become a registered postal operator by applying to the Ministry of Economic Development (now Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment). Registration as a postal operator is compulsory for letters with postage less than 80 cents. Despite the Act, government regulation of the company still requires it to maintain certain minimum service levels, such as frequency of delivery. New Zealand Post's exclusive right to be the 'sole operator' under the Act for the purposes of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) expired on 1 April 2003. For practical purposes, this meant another postal operator could theoretically issue stamps identified simply as 'New Zealand' with UPU membership. At around the same time, New Zealand Post adopted a fern-shaped identifying mark on its postage stamps, to be used on the majority of its future issues. Since 1998 New Zealand Post has been legally obliged to deliver six days a week, but in 2013 the company outlined a plan to reduce this to three, in the wake of falling mail volumes. Prime Minister John Key backed the idea, saying people "genuinely understand that the world is changing". New Zealand Post is legally obligated to maintain a certain service level under a deed of understanding it signed with the New Zealand government following the post's corporatisation in 1987. According to the agreement, last amended in 2013, New Zealand Post has to operate at least 880 service points where basic postal services are available, and within this network 240 so-called “Personal Assistance Service Points,” where additional postal services, such as priority or parcel services, are available. As of 30 June 2016, New Zealand Post maintained 987 service points, 511 which were personal assistance service points. In all, the post operated 882 retail locations in mid-2016. The standard of signature/non-signature parcel delivery services, varies with their customers sometimes left a mailbox card instructing them to pick up parcels from the nearest NZ Post Depot or if a small address discrepancy/address damage is discovered, the parcel is invariably returned to the sender, usually with no efforts directed toward telephoning, emailing or looking up the recipient in a directory, whist more effort is prioritised into delivering miss-addressed letters. Operations New Zealand Post headquarters in Wellington. In 1989 New Zealand Post established CourierPost, a nationwide courier company designed to protect the company's parcel business from private competition. By 1998 CourierPost had become the number one player in the express courier market.CourierPost Profile. Web.archive.org (17 May 2000). Retrieved on 2013-07-16. In 1999 New Zealand Post launched a 50:50 joint operation with Blue Star. The new brand – Books and More – combined bookshop operations with the more traditional PostShop services. After acquiring 100% of the company in 2004 (by this stage the other 50% had been owned by WH Smith, owner of Whitcoulls bookshops) the entire operation was eventually sold to Paper Plus in 2005 and by 2006 all had been re-branded as Take Note.Media release – 2 February 2004 In 2002 New Zealand Post, as part of government policy, opened the bank Kiwibank Limited in the majority of its PostShop and Books and More (now Take Note) branches. Kiwibank is wholly owned by New Zealand Post through subsidiaries. In 2002 NZ Post bought The ECN Group which is now New Zealand Post's corporate venturing arm. Its purpose is to develop and market technologies and services that may replace or enhance New Zealand Post's traditional services. The ECN Group focuses on B2B messaging, business process management and systems integration, with a presence in New Zealand, Australia and Asia.ECN Group The Palms shopping centre in Shirley, Christchurch In 2004 New Zealand Post announced the formation of Express Couriers Ltd (ECL), a 50:50 joint venture with courier company DHL. In 2008 New Zealand Post and DHL commenced a similar joint venture in Australia called Parcel Direct Group Pty Limited (PDG). In 2012 New Zealand Post purchased DHL's holdings in these two companies.New Zealand Post Positions for the Future New Zealand Post. Nzpost.co.nz (25 June 2012). Retrieved on 2013-07-16. ECL operates extensive courier and logistics services throughout New Zealand and encompasses the CourierPost, Pace, RoadStar and Contract Logistics brands. New Zealand Post also owned 35% of IT firm Datacom Group until December 2012. New Zealand Post also runs the Electoral Enrolment Centre as a business unit under contract to the Ministry of Justice. Its function is to compile and maintain all electoral rolls for parliamentary and local government elections. On 6 July 2010, New Zealand Post registered a 100 percent stake in Localist Limited, a local directory and social media site focusing initially on the Auckland region.View All Details. Business.govt.nz. Retrieved on 16 July 2013. This holding was sold in 2014 in a management buyout led by the then CEO, Christine Domecq. By end of June 2011, New Zealand Post will have 910 postal outlets and 280 PostShop Kiwibank stores after shuts and downgrades more than a dozen branches nationwide. To compensate, the company was also planning to install new self-service kiosks similar to ATMs for handling letters, bill payments and parcels. One of the ways New Zealand Post is trying to make up for lost revenue due to fewer people sending letters is partnering with other companies. The Post on 3 April 2017 announced that it will work with fast food restaurant chain KFC to have postal drivers deliver KFC's food to customers. The partnership will be piloted in the northern city of Tauranga, then expanded to more locations across New Zealand. =Issue of stamps= New Zealand Post is responsible for deciding on stamp design and stamp production. Only New Zealand Post is allowed to “issue postage stamps that bear the words “New Zealand,” according to New Zealand law. Each year the Post's stamp business unit sets how many stamps it will issue and what the stamps will depict. The Post considers suggestions from New Zealand citizens and people around the world when deciding the subject of stamps. It also works with organizations to create commemorative stamps. For example, in 2014, the Post collaborated with Air New Zealand to issue a stamp for the airline's 75th anniversary. Once a decision on the stamp's subject is made, the Post asks at least two designers to draw a sketch, from which the final design is chosen. There are four things each stamp design must include: the stamp's denomination, the words New Zealand, a fern, one of the country's unofficial symbols, and a description of what the stamp depicts. Finally, the Post uses printers from around the world to print the stamps–it does not print them itself. New Zealand's first stamp was issued by New Zealand Post's predecessor, the Post Office Department of the New Zealand government, in 1855. The stamp depicted Queen Victoria, then the Queen of New Zealand, and was printed in one penny, two pence and one shilling denominations. See also * Postcodes in New Zealand * Royal Mail * Canada Post * Australia Post References External links * New Zealand Post Limited * Postal Policy at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment * Kiwibank Limited * New Zealand Post Stamps Centre Postal organizations Government-owned companies of New Zealand Postal system of New Zealand "