Latest news with #JohnAdams
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Major character exit changes course of The Gilded Age Season 3
In Season 3, Episode 6 of The Gilded Age, titled If You Want to Cook an Omelette, the story takes a dramatic turn with the unexpected death of John Adams, portrayed by Claybourne Elder. The character dies in a carriage accident shortly after an emotional farewell with Oscar van Rhijn, with whom he shared a covert romantic relationship. John's death occurs during a quiet walk in Central Park, moments after a scene where the two part ways on seemingly hopeful terms. The loss not only marks the end of their storyline but also serves as a catalyst for Oscar's character arc as the season moves forward. The episode also weaves in growing tension between George and Bertha Russell, social maneuvering among New York's elite, and shifting dynamics for characters like Peggy Scott and Marian Brook. Against this backdrop, the departure of John Adams adds emotional weight and narrative complexity. According to the show's creative team, the decision to write off the character was a deliberate one, aimed at deepening Oscar's storyline and exploring the consequences of his choices in a repressive social era. Though sudden, the development aligns with the series' ongoing themes of secrecy, class pressure, and societal expectation.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Gilded Age EPs Defend That Tragic Twist in Episode 6: ‘I Jumped Out of My Skin When I Watched It'
The Gilded Age Oscar van Rhijn will never cross the street without looking both ways ever again. More from TVLine IT: Welcome to Derry Trailer: A Missing Child and Evil Spirit Cause a Small Maine Town to Freak - Plus, Get Premiere Month Save the Dates: Solar Opposites Swan Song, E! News Shuts Down and More The Gilded Age Star Takes Us Inside Marian and Larry's Romantic Moment in Episode 5: 'I Think Both of Us Cried' Sunday's episode ended with the shocking death of John Adams (Claybourne Elder), who was struck by a speeding horse carriage after sharing one last affectionate moment with Oscar on the streets of New York City. 'You've defied the odds,' John told Oscar after leaving an important meeting that set him back on the path to financial stability. 'You are my savior,' Oscar replied, practically bursting to express his love for John, yet forced to settle for a firm handshake. 'I thank you with all my heart.' Even if it wasn't the L-bomb per se, at least Oscar can take some solace in knowing that his final words to John were of affection; poor John stepped off the sidewalk moments later, leaving Oscar gasping for air as he watched his lover's limp body hit the ground. It was a bold swing, one viewers aren't necessarily accustomed to seeing on The Gilded Age. Sure, Ada lost her husband last season, but at least Luke's illness provided some warning, both for Ada and for the audience. John's sudden death on the city streets was brutal, shocking and, as many viewers are likely to point out, somewhat problematic. We weren't realistically expecting Oscar and John to live happily ever after as out gay men, certainly not in the late 1880s, but did their heartbreaking story really need to take yet another tragic turn? Even a life of secret trysts and unspoken love would be better than *checks sidewalk* no life at all. For what it's worth, co-showrunners Julian Fellowes and Sonja Warfield have no regrets about this particularly grim turn of events, as it apparently serves to propel Oscar's storyline in a significant way moving forward. That much will become clear in the next episode, once the initial shock of John's death has subsided. None of those upcoming developments 'would have been achievable if John Adams had lived,' Fellowes teases to TVLine, adding that they were 'quite careful to kill him with a straight accident, not with anything with political overtones. He's just killed in an accident, like anyone could be at any time.' 'Those shocking things are true in life,' adds Warfield. 'I've certainly experienced those traumas. They change you, and we wanted to bring about that change in Oscar.' Putting emotions aside, purely from a technical standpoint, Fellowes believes the show pulled off John's death 'quite well,' saying, 'I jumped out of my skin when I watched it for the first time.' Elsewhere in Season 3, Episode 6… Bertha made good on her promise to George, traveling to Buckingham to remind Lady Sarah who's really in charge now that Gladys and the Duke are married; rather than raking Maud across the coals, Oscar chose a more graceful path, giving her enough money to leave town and start over; furious that Larry lied about visiting an establishment of ill repute, Marian considered ending their engagement; Jack was awkwardly fired once Agnes learned how much he earned from his invention ('It's hard to believe there's a God in heaven!'); after realizing that her so-called 'psychic' is a total fraud, Ada found unexpected comfort in her sister's arms; and Peggy began to tell William about her complicated past, but he assured her that the present is far more important to him. If only his dear, sweet mother felt the same way. OK, let's talk: On a scale from one to 'WTF,' how surprised were you by John's death, and do you the think the show went too far by killing him off? Did you also relish Bertha's scenes with Lady Sarah in England? (She really has been in need of a worthy female sparring partner this season.) And which relationship has you more concerned — Peggy and William's, or Marian and Larry's? Drop a comment with your thoughts on all things below. Gilded Age IRL: See the Cast Out of Costume View List Best of TVLine Mrs. Maisel Flash-Forward List: All of Season 5's Futuristic Easter Eggs Yellowjackets Recap: The Morning After Yellowjackets Recap: The First Supper
BBC News
19-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Bridgnorth man credits grief education campaign to mum's death
At just 12 years old, John Adams lost his mum, his father openly talked about death and grieving afterwards, Mr Adams found that in school, communication around the subject was "non-existent".Becoming a funeral director at Perry & Phillips in his hometown of Bridgnorth, Shropshire, opened his eyes - he said adults appeared scared to get children involved in funerals, or to speak to them about death at was in 2022 that he started campaigning to get grieving education into the curriculum, and this week, he has achieved that goal. On Tuesday, the Department for Education published its statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education and health said by the end of primary school, pupils should be taught that change, loss and bereavement can provoke a range of feelings, that grief is a natural response to bereavement, and that everyone grieves the end of secondary school, they should be taught how families and relationships change over time, including through birth, death, separation and new relationships. "I received a phone call on Tuesday," Mr Adams said, "to say it's happened and it's now going into the guidance, and to congratulate me." "It's been relentless. I haven't stopped, it's become who I am. So it's a moment to pause and reflect on what's been achieved."I'm also aware there's more work to do now – it's about what it looks like in the curriculum." 'Death is the only guarantee in life' It was a long road to this point - Mr Adams became president of the National Association of Funeral Directors in 2022, and spoke then about his goal."The idea of it, is that we have more of an idea of the emotions that are affiliated with when someone dies," he said."It's the only guarantee in life, and therefore we should be more informed about what these emotions are and how we deal with them."In October 2022, he launched a parliamentary petition which amassed more than 11,000 signatures. It was debated in Parliament in December 2024."Having a base level within school, I recognise that's where it needs to start," he said."So, when these young people become adults, they have more awareness of knowing how to communicate about death dying and bereavement." Looking ahead, Mr Adams has been asked to help shape how the subject is told the BBC that the first steps would be to provide support and reassurance for teachers who would be delivering the education."The right sessions will come from that," he on the announcement, he said: "My mum, Maria, has been the fuel for the whole of this process and campaign – she's pushed me on. "I hope that she'd be pleased and proud that despite being such a sad time when I was 12, that something good has come of it to help other people." Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Japan Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Trump's rejection of America's founding principles
In late June and early July 1776, the Second Continental Congress framed, debated and adopted the Declaration of Independence. The document announced the creation of a new American republic and established its defining principles: a commitment to free trade, free immigration and internationalism. As the United States celebrated its 249th birthday on July 4, the determination of President Donald Trump's administration to abandon these founding principles has become starkly apparent. By doing so, they risk surrendering the key to America's prosperity and geopolitical influence at a moment when the world has never appeared so unstable. The Committee of Five — John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman — who drafted the Declaration of Independence condemned King George III for 'cutting off our trade with all parts of the world.' Since George III's accession in 1760, the British imperial government had erected tariffs and nontariff barriers on American trade with the French and Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and South America, depriving Americans of a vital outlet for their products and access to hard currency. This led Jefferson, in 1774, to implore Britain not 'to exclude us from going to other markets.' The following year, Franklin called on the monarchy 'to give us the same privileges of trade as Scotland received at the union (of 1707) and allow us a free commerce with all the rest of the world.' The declaration echoed these sentiments: Free trade was a central tenet of America's founding document, albeit accompanied by state support for the development of new industries. The authors of the declaration also condemned George III for his misguided restrictions on immigration. Well-designed states, America's founders believed, should promote the movement of people. They denounced George III for endeavoring to 'prevent the population of these states' and reversing generations of imperial policy by 'refusing to pass' laws 'to encourage... migrations hither.' By contrast, American patriots welcomed immigrants, who brought new skills to enhance production and immediately proved to be good consumers. 'New settlers in America,' Franklin maintained, cleared farms and established villages and towns, creating 'a growing demand for our merchandise, to the greater employment of our manufacturers.' America's founders declared their independence from Britain not because they wanted to turn their backs on Europe, but because, as the opening sentence of the declaration says, they wanted to situate themselves 'among the powers of the Earth.' That way, European imperial powers such as the Dutch Republic, France and Spain could support them in a global struggle against George III's tyranny. America's founders sought internationalism, not isolation — a goal that many of their successors shared. On July 4, 1821, U.S. President John Quincy Adams, the son of one of the declaration's framers, reflected on the importance of America's founding document when he claimed that its goal was 'to form connections of friendship and of commerce with foreign nations.' Adams concluded that 'never, never for a moment have the great principles, consecrated by the declaration of this day, been renounced or abandoned.' President Abraham Lincoln reinforced the view that the declaration, more than any other founding document, outlines the principles of American government. In his first inaugural address on March 4, 1861, Lincoln declared that the U.S. government was 'much older than the Constitution.' A few weeks earlier, in the hall where the declaration had been signed, Lincoln insisted that he had 'never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence.' Later, on July 4, 1864, Lincoln endorsed the free movement of people by signing into law the Act to Encourage Immigration. No one truly committed to the original meaning of America's constitutional document can abandon the principles of free trade, free immigration or internationalism, as framed by Franklin and Jefferson, embraced by Adams and Lincoln and presumably celebrated each year on the Fourth of July. But recent developments suggest that today's political leaders are doing just that. The Trump administration's flurry of tariffs and trade barriers, terrorization and deportation of immigrants and increasing isolationism are more reminiscent of George III's policies than of those defended by America's founders. Over the past 249 years, the U.S. was arguably at its greatest when it fervently pursued its founding mission to guarantee the free flow of people and goods and to build international alliances opposed to tyrannical and autocratic governments. As the country approaches its semiquincentennial, one fears that it is also approaching its nadir. Steve Pincus is professor of history at the University of Chicago and the author of "The Heart of the Declaration: The Founders' Case for Activist Government" (Yale University Press, 2016). © Project Syndicate, 2025
Irish Times
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Maureen Dowd: talking past our Foundering Father
I called my brother, Kevin, to ask if he would spend Independence Day with Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and me . Monticello has a new tour focusing on the fond and fractious relationship of Jefferson and Adams, which culminated in an exchange of 158 letters in their last 14 years of life. Historian David McCullough deemed this attempt of the fiery Bostonian and reticent Virginian to overcome their political feuds and understand each other 'one of the most extraordinary correspondences in American history'. My favourite anecdote about Adams and Jefferson, who loved Shakespeare and used the Bard's psychological insights as inspiration when they conjured the country, concerned their visit to Shakespeare's house in Stratford-upon-Avon. As Abigail Adams recalled, her husband cut a relic from Shakespeare's chair, while Jefferson 'fell upon the ground and kissed it'. READ MORE [ Musk announces forming of 'America Party' in further break from Trump Opens in new window ] Our family trip to Monticello on Wednesday was suggested by Jane Kamensky, a very cool historian of the American Revolution and the president and chief executive of Monticello and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. She thought that my Trump-supporting brother and I might appreciate the new tour, 'Founding Friends, Founding Foes,' as inspiration for 'a thoughtful dialogue across the divide'. Kevin laughed when I told him about the invitation. 'I'm amused,' he said, 'that we are the example of modern-day comity and civility.' Americans are at one another's throats, living in a world of insults, coarseness and cruelty – a world where Donald Trump and JD Vance excel. At Monticello, we talked to Ken Burns, who was giving a preview of his upcoming PBS documentary on the American Revolution. He is finishing it in the nick of time, given Trump's attempts to slash PBS' federal funding. 'The Revolution – no pictures, no newsreels, and more violent than we could possibly imagine,' the film-maker told us. 'The Revolution was not just a quarrel between Englishmen over Indian land and taxes and representation, but a bloody struggle that would involve more than two dozen nations, Europeans as well as Native Americans, that also somehow came to be about the noblest aspirations of humankind.' A year from now is the 250th birthday party for the country. In retrospect, the odds seem impossible. When the patriot militias engaged at sunrise at Lexington Green in April 1775, Burns noted, 'the chances of the success of the operation were zero.' Then, somehow, eight years later, 'we created something new in the world. We were the original anti-colonial movement. We turned the world upside down'. Adams and Jefferson constantly talked about virtue and what virtues would help mold our antimonarchical society. Trump, who plays at being a king, is not interested in virtue; only in humiliation, conflict, enrichment and revenge. (The popular president of the University of Virginia, the school here founded by Jefferson, just announced that he would resign because of Trump's anti-diversity, equity and inclusion pressure campaign.) As Trump rammed through his horrible bill, a humongous wealth transfer, he scoffed at those who suggested there was no virtue in hurting the most vulnerable to make the obscenely rich richer. He keeps insisting that no one will lose Medicaid benefits, but Republicans are cutting more than $1 trillion from the programme, so a lot of people are going to suffer. The Declaration of Independence aspired to equality, while Trump's bill deepens our inequality. He wanted it rushed through for a flashy July 4th ceremony so he could sign this dreckitude on the same day that our soaring origin statement was adopted. He timed it for maximum drama at 5pm, with military planes flying over the White House. I asked Burns if it was possible now to persuade anyone across the aisle of anything, or is everyone just howling into the storm? 'The best arguments in the world won't change a single person's point of view,' he said. 'The only thing that can do that is a good story. Good stories are a kind of benevolent Trojan horse. You let them in, and they add complication, allowing you to understand that sometimes a thing and its opposite are true at the same time.' Reading the Adams-Jefferson letters, I felt that these founders were able to resurrect their relationship the same way I'm able to preserve mine with my siblings. We approach politics carefully, without venom or overblown expectations of changing one another's minds. We look for slivers of common ground: None of us thought Joe Biden should cling to office when he was clearly declining, and none of us like it when Trump belittles people or cashes in with cheesy products like his new $249 perfume, 'Victory 45-47'. We talk about other things, movies and sports, just as Jefferson and Adams discussed wine, books and ancient Greek philosophers, with Jefferson sometimes throwing in Greek phrases. 'Lord! Lord!' Adams exclaimed with exasperation. 'What can I do, with So much Greek?' Burns said that his half-century of making documentaries about America's wars and pastimes has taught him to embrace contradictions. 'The binaries that we set up are the biggest trap, whether they come from the left or the right,' he said. 'When you see somebody making a 'them,' you have to be careful. That's antithetical to what the Declaration is saying. I hope that what we do on the Fourth of July is try to put the 'us' into the US.' – This article originally appeared in The New York Times
