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John Shea

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For other people with the same name, see John Shea (disambiguation).
John Shea
Born
John Victor Shea III

(1949-04-14) April 14, 1949 (age 75)
North Conway, New Hampshire, U.S.
Education
Occupation(s)Actor, film producer, stage director
Years active1975–present
Known forLois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Spouses
  • Laura Pettibone
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1971; div. 2000)​
  • Melissa MacLeod
    ​
    (m. 2001)​
    [1]
Children3

John Victor Shea III (/ʃeɪ/ SHAY;[2] born April 14, 1949)[3] is an American actor, film producer, and stage director. His career began on Broadway where he starred in Yentl, subsequently winning his first major award, the 1975 Theatre World Award. Shortly after his Off-Broadway career began, Lee Strasberg invited Shea to join the Actors Studio where he spent several years studying method acting.

He made his television film debut in The Nativity (1978), alongside Madeleine Stowe. Billed alongside Helen Mirren, he starred in the noir film Hussy (1980)[4] and the Academy Award-winning drama Missing (1982). In 1988, Shea won his first Emmy for his performance as William Stern in Baby M. Shea's subsequent films include the comedy thriller Coast to Coast (1987), the drama Windy City (1984), the dark crime feature Small Sacrifices (1989), the political thriller The Insurgents (2006), the Tamil language thriller Achchamundu! Achchamundu! (2009), the drama An Invisible Sign (2010), and the Finnish film The Italian Key (2011).

His breakthrough came when he was cast as Lex Luthor in the 1990s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, subsequently being cast as Adam Kane in the 2000s Mutant X series. Shea's public profile increased in 2012 after his five-year role as Harold Waldorf, Blair Waldorf's father on Gossip Girl.

Shea has been noted for his political involvement in social equity, which in 1984 led him to organize the largest peace rally in the history of the United States, garnering praise by various non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International.[citation needed] In 2014, Shea announced his directorial debut with Grey Lady, released in mid-2017.

Early life

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Shea was born in North Conway, New Hampshire, near where his father was teaching at Fryeburg Academy, Maine, and was raised in the Sixteen Acres area of Springfield, Massachusetts, with four siblings. His parents were Elizabeth Mary (née Fuller) and Dr. John Victor Shea, Jr.,[5] who served in the U.S. Army during World War II, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, and who became a teacher, coach and later assistant Superintendent of Schools. Elizabeth Shea introduced John to literature, poetry, classical music, and art and urged him to study the piano.

Education

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Shea attended Roman Catholic schools in Springfield, graduating from Cathedral High School, where he captained the varsity debate team and played varsity football and track. Shea studied at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where he earned a bachelor's degree in theatre. He performed on the varsity debating and football teams and co-edited the college literary magazine, Puffed Wheat, before graduating in 1970.[1][6]

He studied acting and directing at the Yale School of Drama of Yale University under Dean Robert Brustein, gaining an M.F.A in Directing in 1973.[1] During his time at the School of Drama, he also performed at the Yale Repertory Theatre, in the Yale cabaret with schoolmates Joe Grifasi and Meryl Streep, and studied film making with Arthur Penn, Sidney Lumet, and George Roy Hill in the film program at the Art and Architecture School.[6][7]

Career

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Early work and film debut

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After a directing apprenticeship at both the Chelsea Theatre under Robert Kalfin and the Public Theater with Joseph Papp, he made his Broadway debut at the age of 26 in Kalfin's production of Isaac B. Singer's Yentl opposite Tovah Feldshuh, for which he received the Theatre World Award. Yentl started Off Broadway at the Chelsea Theatre Center at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and, after a favorable reception, was moved to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre by producer and Actors Studio co-founder, Cheryl Crawford, and was later made into a film starring Barbra Streisand. After seeing his performance Lee Strasberg invited Shea to join the Actors Studio where he spent several years studying method acting. Since his Broadway debut in the mid 1970s, Shea has continued to work in Off-Broadway and Broadway theatre productions, starring in Arthur Kopit's End of the World starring with Linda Hunt and Barnard Hughes. In 1977, during his first trip to Los Angeles to get experience in front of a camera, he played guest roles in such TV series as Eight Is Enough and Man from Atlantis, and co-starred in The Last Convertible, a miniseries for Universal.

Early career: 1978–1982

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He made his television film debut as Joseph in The Nativity (1978) opposite Madeleine Stowe as Mary, a biblical epic shot in Spain. His feature film debut came in Matthew Chapman's English film noir Hussy (1980), opposite Helen Mirren.[4] His American film debut was in Constantin Costa-Gavras's Academy Award-winning Missing (1982), which starred Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek.[8] The film, shot on locations in Mexico, also won the Palme d'Or at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and helped launch Shea's international acting career.[9]

During the early 1980s, Shea was asked to join the billed cast of Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize winning How I Learned to Drive along with Molly Ringwald as well as the following: Anne Meara's Down the Garden Paths, Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night, the original production of A. R. Gurney's The Dining Room, Peter Parnell's The Sorrows of Stephen, Stephen Poliakoff's American Days, Theodore Mann's production of Romeo and Juliet, Philip Barry's The Animal Kingdom opposite Sigourney Weaver. Shea went on to be cast in the title role in Nancy Hasty's The Director, and, later, in Israel Horovitz's The Secret of Madame Bonnard's Bath.

In 1983, Shea co-starred as Robert F. Kennedy in the critically acclaimed NBC miniseries Kennedy, alongside Martin Sheen as John F. Kennedy and Blair Brown as Jacqueline Kennedy.

Breakthrough roles: 1984–2004

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In 1984 Shea starred in Armyan Bernstein's Windy City along with Kate Capshaw. He won the "Best Actor" award at the Montreal World Film Festival in 1984.[10]

In 1982, he co-hosted, with Kathryn Walker, the June 12th Anti-Nuclear Rally in Central Park, the largest peace rally in the history of the United States.[11] This rally was the subject of the 1984 documentary film In Our Hands by Robert Richer and Stan Warnow, in which Shea made a cameo appearance.[12]

Shea made his Carnegie Hall debut playing "The Soldier" in Tom O'Horgan's 1985 production of Igor Stravinsky's L'Histoire du Soldat, with Pinchas Zukerman and Andre de Shields. That year, he also starred in a French language speaking role in Lune de miel. In 1986, he made his London West End debut starring in Joseph Papp's production of Larry Kramer's drama The Normal Heart at the Albery Theatre.[13]

In 1987 ABC contracted a network miniseries titled Baby M, in which Shea was cast.[14] His portrayal of William "Bill" Stern received critical acclaim and resulted in him being nominated and winning his first Emmy Award for Supporting Drama Actor.[15] He starred in Small Sacrifices alongside Farrah Fawcett in 1989.

In Grant Tinker's 1990 CBS series WIOU, written by John Eisendrath and Kathryn Pratt, Shea led an ensemble cast briefly before the show's cancellation.[16][17]

In 1993, Shea was cast as Lex Luthor in the television show, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.[18] His portrayal of the DC Comics supervillain received positive reviews, but he left after the first season occasionally returning in later seasons in a guest role. Shea said of the role:

This villain is written as a human being, and not just a one dimensional comic villain or a two dimensional comic villain, the way he might have been portrayed in the comic books or even other films. I thought Gene Hackman was brilliant, but it was a different kind of comic villain.[19]

His starring run of the series ended on an enjoyable note for Shea; the series finale includes a virtual reality sequence in which Luthor flies over Metropolis in a modified Superman costume. Shea recalled, "One day I read the script and I thought, 'Oh my God! I'm really going to get to do this?' And they said yes. You're going to get to fly. ... They just took me out on this boom and they flew me back and forth across the green screen. And they had wind machines blowing and smoke machines, and, oh my God, I felt like I was reborn."[20] After leaving Lois & Clark, Shea starred in a new X-Men inspired series, Mutant X, where he was cast as Adam Kane.[21] The show aired for three seasons before being cancelled.

In 1998 Shea co-wrote and directed the independent film Southie, starring Donnie Wahlberg, Rose McGowan, Amanda Peet, Anne Meara, Will Arnett and Lawrence Tierney. The film won the Seattle International Film Festival award for Best Film, represented the United States at the Montreal International Festival, and was distributed by Lions Gate Films.[22] Shea appeared on Sex and the City as Dominic a month later.[23][24] He also starred in the independent film The Adventures of Sebastian Cole.[25] Shea was contracted later that year to be a reader on Selected Shorts for Symphony Space, broadcast nationwide on Public Radio International. His reading of Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory" won AudioFile Magazine's Earphones Award in 1999, as part of the anthology Selected Shorts: Classic Tales, Vol. XII.[26]

Mainstream success: 2005–2012

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In 2005 he was cast as Trevor Lipton in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.[27]

When casting for Gossip Girl began in 2007, Shea was asked to join the recurring cast as Harold Waldorf, Blair Waldorf's father.[28] His portrayal of the character garnered him increased name recognition among millennials and contributed to his presence in American meme and popular culture.[29][30][31] He was cast in Scott Dacko's 2006 political thriller The Insurgents with Mary Stuart Masterson.[32]

Later in 2009 he was cast as Cary Ago's father, Jeffery, a recurring character on The Good Wife.[33] He made his debut into Indian cinema with the 2009 Tamil drama Achchamundu! Achchamundu!, directed by Indo-American film director Arun Vaidyanathan, becoming the first American actor to work in a Tamil film. The film garnered widespread praise and critical acclaim.[34][35][36]

Shea voiced the central character Sylvain in the English dub of the animated feature film Gandahar.[37] He was cast in the 2010 American drama film An Invisible Sign with Jessica Alba.[38]

Continued work: 2012–present

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Shea was cast alongside Lea Thompson in the 2012 romantic comedy The Trouble With the Truth. In the summer of 2013 he directed a 40th anniversary production of Edward Gorey's Dracula.[39]

At the start of 2014, Shea appeared in Madam Secretary as Ted Graham.[40] Later that year, he wrote and directed Grey Lady, a romantic thriller set on Nantucket, starring Eric Dane, Natalie Zea, Adrian Lester, Carolyn Stotesbury, Chris Meyer, and Amy Madigan. The independent film, produced by Beacon Pictures and shot by Andrzej Bartkowiak, had its first charity screening in August 2015.[41] It was released on DVD and various streaming services in the summer of 2017.

In 2015, Shea joined the cast of Agent X as Thomas Eckhart.[42] It was announced that Shea would play Dr. Marcus Eldridge in a 2016 episode of Bones.[43]

Personal life

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Shea has been married twice. He and his first wife, photographer Laura Pettibone, had one child together, Jake. He and his current wife, the artist Melissa MacLeod, a co-founder of the cooperative (X) Gallery on Nantucket, have two children, Miranda and Caiden.[44]

Shea is the Artistic Director Emeritus of the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, where he helped produce 40 productions.[45]

Filmography

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According to IMDB, Shea has been in a total of 81 movies as an actor, has written, and directed two screenplays that have turned into film (Grey Lady and Southie), and has served as an associate producer on Achchamundu! Achchamundu! as well as an executive producer on his directorial debut, Grey Lady.[3]

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1980 Hussy Emory
1982 Missing Charles Horman
1984 Windy City Danny
1985 Honeymoon Zachary "Zack" Freestamp
1987 Once We Were Dreamers Marcus
1987 Gandahar Sylvain Voice, English version
1988 A New Life Doc
1988 Stealing Home Sam Wyatt
1992 Freejack Morgan
1992 Honey, I Blew Up the Kid Hendrickson
1994 Backstreet Justice Nick Donovan
1998 Nowhere to Go George
1998 Getting Personal Mr. DeMarco
1998 The Adventures of Sebastian Cole Hartley Cole
1999 Southie Peter Binda Also writer
2000 Catalina Trust Deet Offerman
2000 The Birthday Party Dudley Short film
2002 Heartbreak Hospital Milo Henderson / Dr. Jonathan
2006 Pitch White Man Short film
2006 A Broken Sole Bob
2006 The Insurgents Robert
2008 Framed David Murray
2009 Achchamundu! Achchamundu! Theodore Robertson Also producer
2010 An Invisible Sign Dad
2010 Julius Caesar Julius Caesar
2011 51 Sam Whitaker
2011 The Italian Key Older Alexander
2012 The Trouble with the Truth Robert
2012 A Deadly Obsession Dr. Egan
2013 Northern Borders Doc Harrison
2013 Anatomy of the Tide Davis Harriman
2015 The Picture of Dorian Grey Lord Wotton Short film
2017 Grey Lady Chief Maguire Also producer and writer
2018 Dr. Sugar Dr. Jack Saccharine Short film
2018 Boyfriend's Deceit Mr. Stein
2020 Dead Reckoning FBI Agent Hanley
2022 Cape Carl Francis Hamilton Also producer

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1977 Eight Is Enough Jonathan Moraacci Episode: "Triangles"
1977 Barnaby Jones Max Tate Episode: "Gang War"
1977 Man from Atlantis Romeo Episode: "The Naked Montague"
1978 The Rock Rainbow Speed Television film
1978 The Nativity Joseph Television film
1979 The Convertible Terry Garrigan Miniseries (3 episodes)
1981 Family Reunion James Cookman Television film
1982 CBS Library Hondo Bill Episode: "Robbers, Rooftops and Witches" (segment: "The Chaparral Prince")
1983 Kennedy Robert F. Kennedy Miniseries (7 episodes)
1984 The Dining Room Client / Howard / Psychiatrist Television film
1985 Hitler's S.S.: Portrait of Evil Karl Hoffman Television film
1985 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Brian Whitman Episode: "The Human Interest Story"
1986 A Case of Deadly Force Michael O'Donnell Television film
1987 Screen Two John Carloff Episode: "Coast to Coast"
1987 The Hitchhiker Jeremy Episode: "Minuteman"
1987 The Impossible Spy Elie Cohen Television film
1989 Magic Moments Troy Gardner Television film
1989 Do You Know the Muffin Man? Roger Dollison Television film
1989 Small Sacrifices Frank Joziak Miniseries
1990–1991 WIOU Hank Zaret Recurring role (18 episodes)
1992 Notorious Devlin Television film
1992 Ladykiller Jack Packard Television film
1992 Lincoln John Barnes Voice, television film
1993 Tales from the Crypt Father John Sejac Episode: "As Ye Sow"
1993–1997 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Lex Luthor / Dragonetti Recurring role (25 episodes)
1994 Justice in a Small Town Tommy Marchant Television film
1994 Leslie's Folly Daniel Television film
1995 See Jane Run Dr. Michael Ravenson Television film
1995 Almost Perfect Paul Sterling Episode: "The Ex-Files"
1996 Forgotten Sins Sheriff Matthew Bradshaw Television film
1996 A Weekend in the Country Michael Kaye Television film
1997 The Apocalypse Watch Harry Latham / Lassiter Television film
1998 A Will of Their Own Jonathan Abbott Miniseries
1999 Sex and the City Dominic Episode: "Evolution"
2001 That's Life Ashley Wilkinson Episode: "Miracle at the Cucina"
2001–2004 Mutant X Adam Kane Recurring role (50 episodes)
2003, 2005 Law & Order John David Myers, Isaac Waxman 2 episodes
2005 Medium David Morrow Episode: "Still Life"
2005, 2008 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Trevor Lipton, Mr. Walker 2 episodes
2009 Eleventh Hour Kristopher Merced Episode: "Olfactus"
2007–2012 Gossip Girl Harold Waldorf Recurring role (6 episodes)
2012 Common Law Judge Franklin Whitaker Episode: "Pilot"
2012 The March Sisters at Christmas Mr. Lawrence Television film
2012–2013 The Good Wife Jeffrey Agos 2 episodes
2014 Madam Secretary Ted Graham Episode: "Passage"
2015 Elementary Bill Wellstone Episode: "The Cost of Doing Business"
2015 Agent X Thomas Eckhart 10 episodes
2016 Bones Dr. Marcus Eldridge Episode: "The Stiff in the Cliff"
2017 Love at First Glance Marshall Television film
2018 Deception Abe Dietrich Episode: "Escapology"
2019 Proven Innocent Sam Marshall Episode: "The Struggle for Stonewall"
2021 The Blacklist Senator Brian Warwick Episode: "Ogden Greeley (No. 40)"
2022 Blue Bloods Dr. Kirk Connor Episode: "Tangled Up in Blue"

Theater

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Year Title Role Notes
1975–1976 Yentl Avigdor
1977 Long Day's Journey Into Night Edmund Tyrone
1977 Romeo and Juliet Paris also Romeo understudy
1980 American Days unknown role
1984 End of the World Michael Trent

Awards and nominations

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Year Nominated work Award Category Result
1975 Yentl Theatre World Award Play or screenwriting[46] Won
1981 American Days Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play[9] Nominated
1984 Windy City Montreal World Film Festival's Best Actor Award Best Actor[10] Won
1988 Baby M Emmy Award for Supporting Drama Actor Lead Drama Actor[47] Won

References

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  1. ^ a b c John Shea profile, Hollywood.com; accessed May 25, 2008.
  2. ^ "How to say or pronounce Shea - PronounceNames.com". www.pronouncenames.com. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  3. ^ a b "John Shea". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  4. ^ a b Chapman, Matthew (1980-05-01), Hussy, retrieved 2016-09-17
  5. ^ John Shea profile, filmreference.com; accessed February 10, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Studwell, William E. (2000-11-26). "BACKTALK; Dynasties Come and Go, but Fight Songs Endure". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  7. ^ Staff, Hollywood.com (2015-02-03). "John Shea | Biography and Filmography | 1949". Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  8. ^ Costa-Gavras (1982-03-12), Missing, retrieved 2016-09-17
  9. ^ a b Costa-Gavras (1982-03-12), Missing, retrieved 2016-09-17
  10. ^ a b Maslin, Janet (September 21, 1984). "Windy City (1984) 'WINDY CITY'". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "Nantucket Today: John Shea's Grey Lady". www.nantuckettodayonline.com. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  12. ^ Richter, Robert; Warnow, Stanley (1984-02-16), In Our Hands, retrieved 2016-09-17
  13. ^ Henahan, Donal (1982-06-09). "MUSIC: 'HISTORIE DU SOLDAT' IN 'SERENADES' SERIES". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  14. ^ Sadwith, James Steven (1988-05-22), Baby M, retrieved 2016-09-17
  15. ^ Awards page for Baby M at the Internet Movie Database
  16. ^ WIOU, 1990-10-24, retrieved 2016-09-17
  17. ^ WIOU, 1990-10-24, retrieved 2016-09-17
  18. ^ Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, 1993-09-12, retrieved 2016-09-17
  19. ^ "The Cast of Lois & Clark: John Shea". www.kryptonsite.com. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  20. ^ Lois & Clark First Season DVD Set, "Taking Flight: The Visual Effects of Lois & Clark". Warner Bros. Entertainment. 2005.
  21. ^ Mutant X, 2001-10-06, retrieved 2016-09-17
  22. ^ Shea, John (1999-05-28), Southie, retrieved 2016-09-17
  23. ^ Sex and the City, 1998-06-06, retrieved 2016-09-17
  24. ^ Thomas, Pam (1999-08-15), Evolution, retrieved 2016-09-17
  25. ^ "'The Adventures of Sebastian Cole': When a Boy's Stepdad Is the Best Mother of All". partners.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  26. ^ "CLASSIC TALES by Truman Capote Edith Wharton Fran OConnor et al Read by John Shea Carrie Nye Malachy McCourt et al - Audiobook Review - AudioFile Magazine". Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  27. ^ Segonzac, Jean de (2005-04-03), The Good Child, retrieved 2016-09-17
  28. ^ "Harold Waldorf (Character)". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  29. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (2012-09-07). "Good Wife Exclusive: Gossip Guy John Shea Cast as Cary's Father". TVLine. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  30. ^ "Gossip Girl's John Shea Cast In Season 4 Of The Good Wife - CINEMABLEND". 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  31. ^ Wizard World (2013-03-27), John Shea interview: Lex Luthor, Gossip Girl, Mutant X and More at Wizard World St. Louis, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2016-09-17
  32. ^ Dacko, Scott (2007-11-09), The Insurgents, retrieved 2016-09-17
  33. ^ The Good Wife, 2009-09-22, retrieved 2016-09-17
  34. ^ "Achchamundu Achchamundu Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings at Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  35. ^ "Achchamundu Achchamundu review. Achchamundu Achchamundu Tamil movie review, story, rating - IndiaGlitz.com". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  36. ^ Achchamundu, Achchamundu, retrieved 2016-09-17
  37. ^ Vaidyanathan, Arun (2009-04-05), Achchamundu! Achchamundu!, retrieved 2016-09-17
  38. ^ Agrelo, Marilyn (2010-10-07), An Invisible Sign, retrieved 2016-09-17
  39. ^ "It Will Suck You Right In | Yesterday's Island/Today's Nantucket". 2013-08-22. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  40. ^ Madam Secretary, 2000-01-01, retrieved 2016-09-17
  41. ^ "SOS Grey Lady 082715". Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  42. ^ "Thomas Eckhart (Character)". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  43. ^ Gelman, Vlada (2016-06-24). "Bones Recap: The Killer in the Lab?". TVLine. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  44. ^ "John Shea". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  45. ^ "Theatre Workshop of Nantucket". Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  46. ^ "Theatre World Awards - Theatre World Awards". www.theatreworldawards.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-11. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  47. ^ Sadwith, James Steven (1988-05-22), Baby M, retrieved 2016-09-17
[edit]
Preceded by Actors portraying Lex Luthor
1993–1997
for Lois and Clark 		Succeeded by
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