Vic Romano
''Most Extreme Elimination Challenge'' (''MXC'') is an American comedy television program that aired on TNN/Spike TV from April 19, 2003 to February 9, 2007. It is a re-purpose of footage from the Japanese game show ''Takeshi's Castle'', which originally aired in Japan from 1986 to 1990. The re-purposed ''MXC'' created a completely new premise, storyline, and characters, with two teams competing against each other ''à la'' a typical team sports broadcast and players trying to win points for their teams by surviving through different challenges. In the original program the Count and his underlings would follow the progress of the players as they moved through the course. In the re-purpose Count Takeshi became veteran network announcer Vic Romano and the Count's flunky became young upstart Kenny Blankenship. ''Most Extreme Elimination Challenge'' was created and produced by RC Entertainment, Inc. (Paul Abeyta and Peter Kaikko) in Los Angeles, California, and Larry Strawther (a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Takeshi's Castle
is a Japanese game show that aired between 1986 and 1990 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). It features the Japanese comedian Takeshi Kitano (also known as Beat Takeshi) as a count who sets up difficult physical challenges that players (or a volunteer army) must overcome in order to reach him in his castle. The show became a cult television hit around the world. It was highly influential on global popular culture, inspiring a genre of game shows involving physical challenges and painful entertainment, as well as other media. On 2 April 2005, a special live "revival" was broadcast for TBS's 50th anniversary celebrations. A reboot of the show was released on Amazon Prime Video on 21 April 2023. German-Japanese actor Subaru Kimura joined the returning Tani as co-leader of the contestants. Original ''Takeshi's Castle'' The original show involved between 86 and 142 contestants whom General Tani ( Hayato Tani) "forced" into a series of elimination-style physical challen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando Resort, often shortened to Universal Orlando, is a theme park and entertainment resort complex located in Orlando, Florida. It is the flagship of the Universal Destinations & Experiences theme park chain. Following the success of Universal Studios Florida, which opened in 1990, NBCUniversal shifted into transforming the area into a large resort with the intention of competing with Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort. The first major expansion occurred in 1999 with the opening of a second theme park, Universal Islands of Adventure, along with a shopping promenade and nightlife district called Universal CityWalk. Both additions helped to form the new resort, which was briefly dubbed Universal Studios Escape. The resort expanded further in 2017 with the addition of Volcano Bay, a water theme park, and again in 2025 with a fourth theme park, Universal Epic Universe. Notable additions over the years include Woody Woodpecker's KidZone at Universal Studios, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Danny Gans
Danny Davies Gans (October 25, 1956 – May 1, 2009) was an American singer, comedian and vocal impressionist. Career Gans was a performer on the Las Vegas Strip and the surrounding area, where he was billed as "The Man of Many Voices." He had been named Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year, and his production had been awarded Show of the Year for 10 straight years, from 1998 to 2008. Prior to entering show business, Gans was a professional baseball player. He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox after being named an All-America at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo where he was a Physical Education major. It was at Cal Poly that he met his wife, Julie. Later, he held a small role as a third baseman in the romantic comedy ''Bull Durham'' (1988). After an injury ended his sporting career—a player's spikes tore his Achilles tendon while he was fielding a ground ball—Gans turned to the entertainment industry. Gans began his career on the road, perform ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-largest in the Southwestern United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had 641,903 residents in 2020, with a metropolitan population of 2,227,053, making it the 24th-most populous city in the United States. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. Most of these venues are located in downtown Las Vegas or on the Las Vegas Strip, which is outside city limits in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester. The Las Vegas Valley serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center in Nevada. Las Vegas was settled in 1905 and officially incorporated in 1911. At the close of the 20th centu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lyndon LaRouche
Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche Jr. (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2019) was an American political activist who founded the LaRouche movement and its main organization, the National Caucus of Labor Committees (NCLC). He was a prominent conspiracy theorist and perennial presidential candidate. He began in far-left politics in the 1940s and later supported the civil rights movement; however, in the 1970s, he moved to the far-right. His movement is sometimes described as, or likened to, a cult. Convicted of fraud, he served five years in prison from 1989 to 1994. Born in Rochester, New Hampshire, LaRouche was drawn to socialist and Marxist movements in his twenties during World War II. In the 1950s, while a Trotskyist, he was also a management consultant in New York City. By the 1960s, he became engaged in increasingly smaller and more radical splinter groups. During the 1970s, he created the foundation of the LaRouche movement and became more engaged in conspiratorial beliefs and vi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pith Helmet
The pith helmet, also known as the safari helmet, salacot, sola topee, sun helmet, topee, and topi is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith. The pith helmet originates from the Spanish Empire, Spanish military adaptation of the native salakot headgear of the Philippines. It was often worn by European travellers and explorers in the varying climates found in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the tropics, but it was also used in many other contexts. It was routinely issued to colonial military personnel serving in warmer climates from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. The headdress remains in use in several military services in the 21st century. Definition Typically, a pith helmet derives from either the sola or "pith" plant, ''Aeschynomene aspera'', an Indian swamp plant, or from ''Aeschynomene paludosa''. In the narrowest definition, a pith helmet is a type of sun hat made from the wood of the pith plant. However, pith helmet may more broadly refer to this ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hayato Tani
is a Japanese actor, singer and television presenter best known for his career as General Tani in Takeshi's Castle and Commander Sugata in Hikari Sentai Maskman. Biography He was born in Kirishima, Kagoshima, Japan and raised in Sasebo, Nagasaki. He married his first wife in 1971 and married his second wife, Kikko Matsuoka, in 1981, after they appeared in several television shows together. Tani is currently writing a dining guide wherein he discusses maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Tani's roles include General Tani (General Lee in UK and Indian versions) in ''Takeshi's Castle'' ("Captain Tenneal" in the U.S. version '' MXC'') and Commander Sugata in the 1987 ''Super Sentai'' series '' Hikari Sentai Maskman''. He is also sometimes credited as Hayati Tani. Filmography Film *'' Abashiri Prison: Northern Seacoast Story'' (網走番外地 荒野の対決) (1966) *'' Abashiri Prison: Duel in the South'' (網走番外地 南国の対決) (1966) *'' Rampaging Dragon of the North'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On September 25, 2000, after an attempt to attract younger viewers failed, TNN's country music format was changed and the network was renamed The National Network, and eventually became Spike TV in 2003 and Paramount Network in 2018. On November 1, 2012, the network was revived as a digital broadcast television network. However, this lasted only 11 months, and the channel changed its name to Heartland on October 9, 2013. History Beginnings The Nashville Network was launched as a basic cable and satellite television network on March 7, 1983, operating from the now-defunct Opryland USA theme park near Nashville, Tennessee. Country Music Television (CMT), founded by Glenn D. Daniels, beat TNN's launch by two days to become the first country music c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mills Lane
Mills Bee Lane III (November 12, 1937 – December 6, 2022) was an American referee (boxing), boxing referee and professional boxer, a two-term Washoe County, Nevada district court judge, and television personality. Lane was best known for having officiated several major heavyweight championship boxing matches in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and for starring in the syndicated court show ''Judge Mills Lane''. On June 9, 2013, Lane was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame on August 10 the same year. Early life Lane was born in Savannah, Georgia, on November 12, 1937. He hailed from a prominent Georgia family: his grandfather founded the largest bank in Georgia, and his Mills Lane (banker), uncle (and namesake) was the president of Citizens & Southern National Bank. Lane attended Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, where he played American football as a linebacker and ice hockey as a goaltender. Lane jo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Captain & Tennille
Captain & Tennille were an American recording duo whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille (born 1940). They have five albums certified gold or platinum and scored numerous hits on the US singles charts, the most enduring of which included "Love Will Keep Us Together", "Do That to Me One More Time", and "Muskrat Love". They hosted their own television variety series on ABC in 1976–77. History Background and early collaboration In 1972, Toni Tennille was the co-writer of an ecology-themed musical, ''Mother Earth''. At that time, Daryl Dragon (son of composer Carmen Dragon) played keyboards as a member of the Beach Boys, where he got his stage name "Captain Keyboard" because he wore a ship captain's hat while performing. When Tennille's show was preparing to move from San Francisco's Marines Memorial Theatre to Southern California's South Coast Repertory, a call was put out for a replacem ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hideo Higashikokubaru
is a Japanese politician. He originally rose to fame as a comedian and actor under the stage name , and was known for his role in the popular game show ''Takeshi's Castle''. He served as the governor of Miyazaki Prefecture from 2007 to 2011, resigning to run against incumbent Shintarō Ishihara for Governor of Tokyo in the 2011 election, where he came in second. He was elected to the House of Representatives in the general election of 2012, but resigned in December 2013. Early life Higashikokubaru was born in Miyakonojō, a city in Miyazaki Prefecture and attended Senshu University from 1976 to 1980, where he majored in economics. After graduating from Senshu, Higashikokubaru apprenticed to Takeshi Kitano and became a comedian in 1982. He appeared on ''Takeshi's Castle'', which was dubbed on United States television as ''Most Extreme Elimination Challenge'' ('' MXC''); Higashikokubaru was dubbed as "Kenny Blankenship" in the American version. Incidents On December 9, 19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Volkswagen Jetta
The Volkswagen Jetta () is a compact car/small family car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen since 1979. Positioned to fill a sedan (automobile), sedan niche slightly above the firm's Volkswagen Golf, Golf hatchback, it has been marketed over seven generations, variously as the Atlantic, Volkswagen Vento, Vento, Volkswagen Bora, Bora, City Jetta, Jetta City, GLI, Jetta, Clasico, and Sagitar (in China). The Jetta has been offered in two- and four-door saloon / sedan and sometimes as five-door station wagon, wagon / estate versions. Since the original version in 1980, the car has grown in size and power with each generation. By mid-2011, almost 10 million Jettas have been produced and sold all over the world. As of April 2014, Volkswagen marketed over 14 million, becoming its top selling model. Nameplate etymology Numerous sources note that the Jetta nameplate derives from the Atlantic 'jet stream' during a period when Volkswagen named its vehicles after prominent winds and c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |