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"Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988)Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940–1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000.Passenger list, S.S. Britannic, September 17, 1934. Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820–1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. was an American singer, radio, television and film personality and comedian of Irish descent. Early life Day was born and raised in the Throggs Neck section of The Bronx, New York City, the second of five children born to Irish immigrants Patrick McNulty and Mary (née Grady) McNulty. His father was a factory electric power engineer.U.S. Census, January 1, 1920, State of New York, County of Bronx, enumeration district 393, p. 13-B, family 257.Patrick Jos. McNulty, Bronx, New York, born July 18, 1881. Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918 [database on- line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005. Day graduated from Cathedral Preparatory Seminary in New York City, and attended Manhattan College in the Bronx, where he sang in the glee club. In 1939 Gene McNulty, as Day was then known, sang on network radio with bandleader Larry Clinton. The Clinton broadcasts were aimed at the collegiate audience, and were often broadcast from a college campus. The 23-year-old McNulty won an audience poll as a favorite vocalist. Radio Day appeared for the first time on Jack Benny's radio show on October 8, 1939, taking the place of another tenor, Kenny Baker. He remained associated with Benny's radio and television programs until Benny's death in 1974. He was introduced (with actress Verna Felton playing his overbearing mother) as a young (nineteen-year-old), naive boy singer – a character he kept through his whole career. Mary Livingstone, Benny's wife, brought the singer to Benny's attention after hearing Day on the radio during a visit to New York. She took a recording of Day's singing to Benny, who then went to New York to audition Day. The audition resulted in Day's role on the Benny program. Day's first recorded song was "Goodnight My Beautiful". Besides singing, Day was a mimic. On the Benny program, Day performed impressions of various celebrities of the era, including Ronald Colman, Jimmy Durante and James Stewart. Sam Berman's caricature of Dennis Day for a 1947 NBC promotional book From 1944 through 1946 he served in the United States Navy as a Lieutenant. While in service he was temporarily replaced on the Benny radio program by fellow tenor Larry Stevens. On his return to civilian life, he continued to work with Benny while also starring on his own NBC show, A Day in the Life of Dennis Day (1946–1951). On Benny's show, Day's having two programs in comparison to Benny's one was the subject of numerous jokes and gags, usually revolving around Day rubbing Benny's, and sometimes other cast members' and guest stars' noses in that fact (e.g., "Dennis, why do you have two horns on your bicycle?" "Why shouldn't I? I've got two shows!"). His last radio series was a comedy and variety show that aired on NBC's Sunday afternoon schedule during the 1954–55 season. A Day in the Life of Dennis Day When Day got his own radio sitcom, he continued to play essentially the same character that he originated on Benny's program. However, for this series, Day lived in the fictional town of Weaverville. He stayed at a boarding house run by Clara Anderson, played by Bea Benaderet. Her henpecked husband, Herbert Anderson, was voiced by Dink Trout. Day was engaged to their daughter Mildred, played by Barbara Eiler. His character worked at Willoughby's Drug Store, where his boss was Mr. Willoughby. The show was sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive. Verne Smith was the announcer, while music was provided by Bud Dant and his orchestra. The format of the show would begin with a song by Day, followed by the first half of the plot, a second song by Day in the middle of the episode, the rest of the plot, and then a third song by Day to finish the episode. Episodes can be heard regularly on the Sirius XM Radio Classics Channel. Television An attempt was made to adapt A Day in the Life Of Dennis Day as an NBC filmed series (Sam Berman's caricature of Dennis was used in the opening and closing titles), produced by Jerry Fairbanks for Dennis' sponsor, Colgate-Palmolive, featuring the original radio cast, but got no farther than an unaired 1949 pilot episode. In late 1950, a sample kinescope was produced by Colgate and their ad agency showcasing Dennis as host of a projected "live" comedy/variety series (The Dennis Day Show) for CBS, but that, too, went unsold. He continued to appear as a regular cast member when The Jack Benny Program became a TV series, staying with the show until it ended in 1965. Eventually, his own TV series, The Dennis Day Show (aka The RCA Victor Show), was first telecast on NBC on February 8, 1952, and then in the 1953–1954 season. Between 1952 and 1978, he made numerous TV appearances as a singer and actor (such as NBC's The Gisele MacKenzie Show and ABC's The Bing Crosby Show and Alfred Hitchcock Presents) and voice for animation. During the final season of The Jack Benny Program (1964–65), Day was nearly 49 years old, although Benny was still delivering such lines as "That crazy kid drives me nuts ..." His last televised work with Benny was in 1970, when they appeared in a public service announcement together to promote savings and loans. This was shortly after the whole cast and crew of The Jack Benny Show had joined for Jack Benny's Twentieth Anniversary Special. In 1972, he co-starred with June Allyson and Judy Canova in the First National Tour of the Broadway musical No, No, Nanette. In 1976, Day was the voice of "The Preacher" in the Rankin-Bass production Frosty's Winter Wonderland and again worked with them in 1978, when he voiced Fred in The Stingiest Man in Town, which was their animated version of Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol. He also appeared in Date with the Angels – Season 1, Episode 13 as himself. Aired Friday 9:30 pm October 25, 1957 on ABC – some records show it was episode 19, titled Star Struck. Film Although his career was mainly radio and TV-based, Day also appeared in a few films. These included Buck Benny Rides Again (1940) opposite Jack Benny, Sleepy Lagoon (1943), Music in Manhattan (1944), I'll Get By (1950), Golden Girl (1951), The Girl Next Door (1953), and Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) as a singing telegraph man. For the soundtrack of My Wild Irish Rose (1947), a biopic about Chauncey Olcott, Day provided the singing voice to the acting of Dennis Morgan. Day also provided the voices of Johnny Appleseed, Johnny's Angel and the Old Settler in the Johnny Appleseed segment in Walt Disney's Melody Time (1948). Personal life In 1948, Day married Peggy Almquist; the marriage lasted until his death in 1988. The couple had ten children. His brother Jim McNulty, two years younger, was married to actress and singer Ann Blyth. A Republican, Day was supportive of Dwight Eisenhower's campaign during the 1952 presidential electionMotion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 34, Ideal Publishers and Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election. Day died on June 22, 1988, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease), in Los Angeles, California. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6646 Hollywood Boulevard. He is interred in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery. Discography (partial) *From Walt Disney's "Melody Time" – Johnny Appleseed – All Voices by Dennis Day (1949, RCA/Camden) *Dennis Day Sings Christmas Is for the Family (1957, Design) *At Hollywood's Moulin Rouge (1957, Masterseal) *That's an Irish Lullaby (1959, RCA) *"The Story of Johnny Appleseed" Cricketone Chorus & Orchestra and Playhour Players (1959, Pickwick International K.M. Corporation) *Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1960, RCA/Camden) *"Camp St. Malo Sings" Dennis Day with the Cathedral Men and Boys Vested Choir (1961, RCA) *Shillelaghs and Shamrocks (1963, Reprise) *Dennis Day Narrates Johnny Appleseed (1963, Bellflower) *Walt Disney Presents Dennis Day in the Story of Johnny Appleseed (1964, Disneyland) *White Christmas (1965, Design) [reissue of Christmas Is for the Family] *My Wild Irish Rose (1966, RCA Camden) [reissue of earlier RCA Victor recordings] *Clancy Lowered the Boom (1947 RCA Victor single) *Dear Hearts and Gentle People (1949 RCA Victor single) *Christmas in Killarney (1950 RCA Victor single) References External links * Category:1916 births Category:1988 deaths Category:People from Throggs Neck, Bronx Category:American tenors Category:American radio personalities Category:American male radio actors Category:American male television actors Category:American male musical theatre actors Category:American naval personnel of World War II Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Deaths from motor neuron disease Category:Disease-related deaths in California Category:Manhattan College alumni Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Category:United States Navy officers Category:20th-century American male actors Category:20th-century American singers Category:Catholics from New York (state) Category:20th-century male singers Category:California Republicans Category:New York (state) Republicans "
"is a 1997 combat flight simulator video game developed and published for the PlayStation by Namco. The player controls one of 24 different fighter jets through 21 different missions with certain objectives to fulfill, such as protecting a base from enemy fire, intercepting a squadron of enemies, or taking down an aircraft carrier. It is the sequel to Air Combat and the second in the Ace Combat franchise, with gameplay being presented in a more arcade- like format. Conceived by Namco designer Masanori Kato, Ace Combat 2 was created out of Kato's dissatisfaction with the original Air Combat, feeling from a technical standpoint it was severely lacking. Along with a small group of others, Kato set out to create a follow-up that greatly improved on the original, featuring improved graphics, a variety in missions, and providing a true sense of flight for the player. Missions were created to be exciting and fun to play, with the gameplay itself being designed to mimic the typical style of arcade games. The team used aircraft books and aviation magazines as reference material when designing new aircraft. Fighters were intentionally made to not be exact replicas of real-world fighters as it would make the game overly-complex for their target audience. Much of the music was provided by Kohta Takahashi, being heavily inspired by Top Gun. Ace Combat 2 was a commercial success, selling over 500,000 copies in Japan alone by May of 1998. It was commended by critics for its gameplay, graphics, variety in missions and for being a major improvement over its predecessor. Some also called it one of the best flight-sim games on the PlayStation. The lack of a multiplayer mode and its high-difficulty level were the subject of criticism. It was re- released as a budget title in Japan in 1999 under Sony's The Best label, and was included in the 2005 compilation NamCollection for the PlayStation 2. A remake for the Nintendo 3DS, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy, was released in 2011. Gameplay In-game screenshot, showing the player targeting a squadron of enemies. The player's fuel meter is shown at the top-left. Ace Combat 2 is a combat flight simulator video game. It is presented in a more arcade-like format in contrast to other flight-sim games. The player controls one of 24 different fighter jets through 21 different missions, each having different objectives to complete; these include intercepting a squadron of enemies, destroying a specific aircraft carrier, or protecting a base from enemy fire. Completing missions awards the player money which can be spent on new aircraft in their personal hangar. Beginning at the game's fourth mission is the ability to allow a wingman to fly with the player, which provide additional support and will help them in completing the objective. The game begins in a mostly linear format, with branching mission paths being available later on. A fuel meter acts as a time limit and will deplete as the player flies around the level and attacks enemies; the mission will automatically end if the meter fully depletes. New to this game are "aces", elite enemy pilots that can be fought to unlock special medals and their special aircraft for play later. Two difficulty options are present, "Novice" and "Expert", with Expert allowing for realistic aircraft maneuvers such as rolls and high-g turns. Development The development team of Ace Combat 2 intentionally chose not to use the exact statistics for real-world aircraft as they felt it would make the game too complex for their target audience. Ace Combat 2 was the creation of Namco designer Masanori Kato, who previously worked on the game's predecessor Air Combat, and a small team of others. The idea for the game came from Kato's dissatisfaction with the outcome of Air Combat, which he saw as incomplete from a technical point of view. Kato and his team decided to create a follow-up to make the best use of the PlayStation's hardware as possible, with an emphasis on graphics and making the player feel as if they're really flying a fightercraft. One of the first things the team wanted to improve on were the graphics, doing technical research on how many polygons the console could display. The team created a program that was able to output as many polygons as possible without causing restraint on the hardware, which allowed the graphics to be of significantly higher-quality than most other games. The team also looked into including a large variety of missions, as opposed to Air Combats two mission types. Missions were designed to be exciting and fun to play, and when new fighters were added the team determined if they would make the missions more interesting or not. The gameplay itself was designed in the style of an arcade game instead of being strictly a flight-simulation game, which they felt made the game much more fun. Kato and his team used books on planes and aviation-related magazines as reference when creating new fighters. They also watched several films on air combat and traveled to the American Armed Force airshow to take photographs of the planes on display. To make the game less complex for their target audience, the team decided that the fighters would have different data from that of their real- world counterparts. A simplistic law of physics system was implemented in their place, which kept the game's realism while still providing a user- friendly experience. The team looked into getting advice from a real airplane pilot to refine the gameplay, but were unable to do so. Ideas for missions were from Kato and the team's imaginations, although he stated he wished they were able to travel to real-world places to gather data and references. Environments were created to be visually-impressive and interesting. The development team experimented with a level design that would involve the player attempting to de-rail a trail through a mountain valley, but it was ultimately dropped due to technical and graphical restraints. The overall level structure was tweaked slightly so that the strategy in missions would not feel awkward or unnatural. At the beginning of development, the team wanted the game to support analogue control, adding support for both the PlayStation DualShock and the Namco NeGcon, and later the PlayStation Analog Joystick. The soundtrack for Ace Combat 2, composed by Kohta Takahashi and a team of five others, was heavily inspired by Top Gun. Takahashi wanted the music to be 'simulating' and intense, but made sure it had its own distinct flare to prevent it from sounding too similar to Top Gun. The composers also made sure it reflected the designs and objectives of each mission. Most of the sound effects were directly taken from a special-effects CD one of the composers had, while others were entirely original. Ace Combat 2 was released in Japan on May 30, 1997, later released in North America on July 31 and in Europe on October 24. The game was re-released as a budget title in Japan on July 29, 1999 as part of Sony's The Best budget label. It is included in the 2005 video game compilation NamCollection for the PlayStation 2 alongside four other Namco PlayStation game ports, in celebration of the company's 50th anniversary. Reception Ace Combat 2 was a commercial success; in May 1998, Sony gave the game the "Gold Prize" award for selling over 500,000 copies in Japan. It won several awards from video game publications, including the "Silver Hall of Fame" from Famitsu, "Editor's Choice" from IGN, and "Game of the Month" from Electronic Gaming Monthly. It holds an 83 out of 100 on reviewer aggregator website Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The game was well-received by critics. Crispin Boyer of Electronic Gaming Monthly applauded the draw distance, while Computer and Video Games called it "The most intense flight experience to ever grace a console". Next Generation said that it would "keep a whole bunch of weekend warriors strapped in to the TV", while IGN labeled it "one of the best flight simulators ever to come to the PlayStation" and said that Namco went "all out" with its visuals. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly felt the game's strongest point was its variety, with multiple planes to choose from and unlock and widely varying mission objectives. Publications commended the quality of the gameplay for its fast-pace and variety in missions, although AllGame and Computer and Video Games felt it became "monotonous" and tiring after a while. Jeff Gerstmann of Gamespot argued that the low difficulty level ensures the game is over too quickly in spite of the large number of missions. However, the majority of critics contended that the enemy artificial intelligence is extremely advanced and responds to player movements, making the game's difficulty, if anything, overly high. The game's consistently high frame rate and environmental visuals were subjects of praise. Many publications agreed that Ace Combat 2 was a vast improvement over its predecessor, with IGN, Electric Playground and GamePro all commending Namco for successfully updating the gameplay in the original to make it much more action-packed and entertaining. Next Generation said it was an excellent follow-up to Air Combat, with Famitsu adding that it made for one of the best sequel games the company had put out on the PlayStation. Several also liked the game's controls for being responsive and smooth; Next Generation credited the game's support for the PlayStation Analog Joystick, which they felt made the game even more realistic than it was before. While some criticized the lack of a multiplayer mode, Computer and Video Games argued that the removal of a two-player option was a good idea, feeling that it allowed Namco to refine the gameplay and stages in general. Electric Playground and AllGame both praised the large selection of playable fighters, with AllGame also applauding its usage of secrets and unlockable extras. Remake A remake for the Nintendo 3DS, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy, was released in 2011 in North America and Europe, and in 2012 in Japan, where it was renamed Ace Combat 3D: Cross Rumble. Assault Horizon Legacy features a complete revamp of the game's storyline, alongside the addition of cutscenes, voice acting and remade level designs. It also adds several new fighters not found in the original, including the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle and the Sukhoi PAK FA. Despite its namesake, it has very little in common with its predecessor Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. It was followed by a 2015 update called Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy +, adding amiibo support and updated control handling for the New Nintendo 3DS. Notes References External links *Official Japanese website Category:1997 video games Category:Namco games Category:Ace Combat Category:Combat flight simulators Category:PlayStation (console) games Category:Video games developed in Japan Category:Single-player video games "
"Air Combat is a 1995 combat flight simulator video game developed and published for the PlayStation by Namco. It was released as a launch title for the system in North America. Gameplay The player firing a missile at an enemy. Air Combat is a combat flight simulator video game. It is presented in a more arcade-like format in stark contrast to other flight sim games. The player controls one of sixteen different aircraft, including the F-4 Phantom, Su-27 Flanker, and even Stealth aircraft, and must complete each of the game's seventeen levels, each having mission objectives that must be fulfilled. Missions range from destroying a squadron of enemy fighters, protecting an allied base from enemy fire, or destroying a massive battleship. Completing missions awards the player money, which can be used to purchase new fighters in their own personal hangar. Extra money can also be earned by destroying optional, "non-target" enemies. Beginning at the game's fourth mission, a wingman can be employed into battle that will help protect the player and fight alongside them. Additional wingmen can be hired by earning additional money during combat. The game progresses in a linear format. Alongside the main single-player campaign, there is also a split-screen multiplayer deathmatch mode, where two players attempt to destroy each other in the quickest time possible. Players can also unlock new fighters and special minigames by completing specific objectives at various points throughout the game. Players can also swap between a first-person and third-person camera option. Plot A terrorist force starts an uprising (and inflicts massive damage across an unidentified country, later retconned to Skully Island which is part of the continent of Usea); efforts to defeat these terrorists through conventional means have failed and the situation turns desperate. In response, a mercenary air force is assembled to take the fight against the enemy and free the nation from the terrorist forces. Reception Air Combat proved to be a commercial success for Namco. In Japan alone, the game sold over 246,000 copies in its first week, and nearly 600,000 overall. By 2008 the game sold over 2.23 million copies, making it the second best-selling game in the franchise behind Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies. Famitsu awarded it the "Silver Hall of Fame" award, while Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded it "Best Flight Sim of 1995". Critics focused primarily on the gameplay, who felt it had an addictive, arcade-like nature. GameFan described it as "easily the ultimate flight simulator". IGN, who compared it favorably to Warhawk, praised its gameplay for being action-packed, as did Allgame and Coming Soon. Allgame also liked the game's addictiveness and longevity. Famitsu stated that the game was fun and had a lot of variety and action, but could have used additional levels. Several critics argued that the game started off at a slow and boring pace at the beginning, but became very fun after a while; GamePro wrote that patient players would "gradually get caught up in the gripping gameplay". In their brief coverage of the game in 1997, Next Generation argued that the game didn't hold up well in comparison to other games, saying that it was a decent flight sim but not as fun as its competitors. The controls were also praised, with Coming Soon and Famitsu saying it made it one of the most realistic flight sims for a console. Air Combat was also praised for its cinematic cutscenes, realistic sound effects, and amount of unlockables. The graphics and presentation of Air Combat were criticized, with reviewers finding them to be of poor quality. Allgame showed confusion towards this, due to Namco's other PlayStation games from the time having high-resolution graphics. IGN said the graphics, which they criticized for their constant flickering, were the game's weakest point, alongside its poor presentation. GamePro also criticized the visuals for being bland and unappealing. By a stark contrast, both GameFan and Coming Soon praised them for their realism and detail. Like IGN, Famitsu also stated the graphics were the game's low point, arguing that its arcade predecessor Air Combat 22 had much better visuals. Critics liked the game's mission variety in later levels for not simply repeating previous ones. Allgame in particular said that it gave the game a lot of replay value for this reason, as did Famitsu. GamePro labeled them as being "polished", but argued that the earlier ones were rather boring. The soundtrack also received praise, with Allgame listing it among the game's best features. Legacy Air Combat spawned one of Namco's most-successful franchises, which retained the Japanese name of Ace Combat for all regions. It laid down the basic foundations for the series, and is seen as an important and influential game in the combat flight simulator genre. The first sequel was Ace Combat 2 in 1997, adding new missions, fightercraft, and the ability to perform high-g turns. It was followed by the futuristic-themed Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere in 1999, which employed a branching storyline that changed based on player decision. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies was published for the PlayStation 2 in 2001, succeeded by Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War in 2004, the final Ace Combat game developed by Namco. The then-newly-formed Namco Bandai Games released Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War in 2006 for the PlayStation 2, and Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation for the Xbox 360 in 2007, the latter being the first in the series to incorporate online multiplayer and downloadable content. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon was released in 2011 for multiple platforms, followed by the online multiplayer game Ace Combat Infinity in 2012. Bandai Namco Entertainment released Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown in 2019, which added virtual reality support. Several handheld spin- offs were also produced. Ace Combat Advance was released in 2005 for the Game Boy Advance in North America and Europe, being the only game in the series to not see a release in Japan. In 2006, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception was released for the PlayStation Portable, utilizing the system's download play functionality to support multiplayer. Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion was published in 2009 for iOS devices; it has since been removed from the App Store. A sequel to Ace Combat, titled Ace Combat: Joint Assault, was released in 2010 for the PlayStation Portable. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2012; despite the title, it bears little to no relation with the original Assault Horizon. Legacy was re-released in 2015 as Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy +, adding support for amiibo and control handling for the New Nintendo 3DS. Notes References Category:1995 video games Category:Ace Combat Category:Combat flight simulators Category:PlayStation (console) games Category:PlayStation (console)-only games Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games Category:Namco games Category:Video games developed in Japan "