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Chris Elliott

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For other people with the same name, see Christopher Elliott (disambiguation).

Chris Elliott
Elliott at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Christopher Nash Elliott

(1960-05-31) May 31, 1960 (age 64)
New York City, U.S.
Occupations
Years active1982–present
Spouse
Paula Niedert
​
(m. 1986)​
Children
ParentBob Elliott (father)
RelativesSteve Higgins (brother-in-law)
John Higgins (nephew)

Christopher Nash Elliott (born May 31, 1960) is an American actor, comedian and writer known for his surreal sense of humor. He was a regular performer on Late Night with David Letterman while working as a writer there (1983–1988), created and starred in the comedy series Get a Life (1990–1992) on Fox, and wrote and starred in the film Cabin Boy (1994). His writing for Letterman won four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards.

His other television appearances include recurring roles on Everybody Loves Raymond (2003–2005) and How I Met Your Mother (2009–2014), and starring roles as Chris Monsanto in Adult Swim's Eagleheart (2011–2014) and Roland Schitt in Schitt's Creek (2015–2020).[1] He also appeared in many films, including Groundhog Day (1993), There's Something About Mary (1998), Snow Day (2000), and Scary Movie 2 (2001).

Early life

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Elliott was born in New York City, and is the youngest of five children of Lee (née Peppers), a model and TV director, and Bob Elliott, who was part of the successful comedy team Bob and Ray.[2][3][4] He grew up on the Upper East Side.[5] He attended the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center for a semester.[6]

Career

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Letterman Years

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Elliott was hired as a production assistant on Late Night with David Letterman,[6] and was with the show from its very beginning in February 1982.[7] In the middle of 1983, Elliott became a writer on the show and his on-camera appearances became more frequent. Elliott quickly became best friends and writing partners with Matt Wickline, another crew member on the show who was promoted to the writing staff in 1983.[8][9][10] Wickline and Elliott pitched Late Night's first theme show, an Emmy-winning interactive episode called "The Custom-Made Show[11] [10][8], leading the program to do a series of ambitious experimental one-off episodes. Along with the rest of the writing staff, he won four Emmys for his work on the show and was nominated for an additional six.[12]

Elliott became known in the mid-1980s for playing an assortment of recurring quirky, oddball characters on Late Night, each of which would usually last for a few weeks to a few months, before being retired amidst much mock-fanfare on the show. Elliott and Wickline co-wrote his early pieces on the show, often about characters who had "Guy" in the name, including:[13][14]

  • "The Conspiracy Guy":[15] During staged audience "question and answer" sessions with Dave, Elliott would approach the microphone and begin accusing Letterman of various plots and schemes, after which "security" would wrestle Elliott to the ground and drag him out of the studio while Elliott yelled threats to Dave.
  • "The Panicky Guy":[15] Elliott would pretend to be an audience member, who panics and runs from the studio at the slightest threat of danger (similar to doomed characters in disaster movies). Once in the hallway he would be run over and crushed by an advancing floor waxer, with his hands raised in terror. In one variation, he played a German Panicky Guy in Lederhosen, who was run over by a hand dolly full of cheese wheels.
  • "The Guy Under the Seats":[15] a short character-comedy bit followed by Elliott as himself (living under the seats, that is) who eventually becomes angry at Letterman and threatens him with some metaphorically articulated comeuppance in the future and always closing with the line "But until that day, I'm gonna be right here, making your life...a living hell."
  • "The Fugitive Guy":[15] a parody of the TV series The Fugitive
  • "The Regulator Guy":[15] a parody of The Terminator films. The Regulator Guy spoke with a vaguely Germanic accent and claimed to be "from the future". The Regulator Guy segments were usually pre-taped and presented by Letterman as the trailer for an upcoming television series. The font used for the title was similar to the font used for the then-popular American television series The Equalizer. Chris in fact appeared on an episode of The Equalizer playing a peeping Tom mildly assaulted by the Equalizer. In the Regulator Guy's only live, on-stage appearance, Elliott, carried by wires, "flew" over the audience via jet pack onto the Late Night set. The "jet pack" prop appeared to malfunction, which the Regulator Guy then blamed for ruining his dramatic appearance.
Chris Elliott at the 41st Emmy Awards in 1989

In 1987, while still working at Letterman, Elliott starred in two critically-acclaimed[16][9] Cinemax Comedy Experiment TV specials called FDR: A One Man Show and Action Family. He co-wrote both specials with Letterman writers Matt Wickline and Sandy Frank. FDR: A One Man Show was a fake play about the life and times of the president (influenced by Frank Perry's 1984 TV movie J.F.K.: A One-Man Show). Elliott looked and sounded nothing like the man; he portrayed events from Roosevelt's life that never happened, such as a Japanese bombing of the White House, and his crossing the Potomac in a rowboat. By the end of the show, he had performed Gallagher's shtick of smashing watermelons and other soft fruits on stage.

Following these specials, Elliott and Wickline had a falling-out and ceased working together, with Wickline frustrated with Elliott's lust for stardom.[10] Elliott switched to collaborating on his Letterman character bits with another writer, Adam Resnick. Elliott and Resnick's character bits found him playing self-involved show business people, both real and fake.[10] They include:

  • "Skylark": an obnoxious, generic, Las Vegas lounge lizard with similar flamboyant features and characteristics as Rip Taylor (including throwing confetti). Skylark debuted when Late Night went to Las Vegas for a week of shows.[17]
  • "Marlon Brando":[17] a recurring parody of Brando, whom Elliott portrays as a slovenly and semi-deranged version of the famous actor.
  • "Chris Elliott Jr.": a spoof of talk-show host Morton Downey Jr.[18]
  • "Marv Albert": Elliott's parody of the then-popular sportscaster.
  • "Jay Leno": Elliott's parody of the popular Late Night guest that he wore a prosthetic chin for.

As his career on Late Night blossomed, Elliott auditioned to join the cast of Saturday Night Live when Lorne Michaels returned to the program in 1985. He was offered the job but turned it down to stay at Letterman.[19][20] He then began taking small movie roles, often as a supporting actor in non-comedies such as Michael Mann's Manhunter and James Cameron's The Abyss. He also has a small supporting role in an episode of Miami Vice.

1990s

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Elliott left Late Night in early 1990 and moved to Los Angeles, though he would return as a guest interview subject many times on Late Night and Letterman's subsequent talk show The Late Show with David Letterman.

In 1990, Elliott starred in his own sitcom, Get a Life, which he co-created with Adam Resnick. The show was about a 30-year-old paperboy named Chris Peterson who lived at home with his parents. Elliott's real-life father, Bob Elliott, appeared in the show as Chris's father. The January 1999 issue of TV Guide called the "Zoo Animals on Wheels" episode the 19th funniest TV moment of all time.

In 1993, Elliott teamed up with producer Brad Hall and directed a series of critically acclaimed short films that Elliott showed when appearing on Late Show with David Letterman. That year he also appeared in a prominent supporting role as Bill Murray's cameraman in the Harold Ramis film Groundhog Day.

In the early 1990s, director Tim Burton became a fan of Get A Life, and, in an attempt to re-create the success of his film Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, hired Elliott and Resnick to write a movie for Elliott to star in. The two scripted Cabin Boy, which Burton was set to direct. Burton bowed out of his role as director so he could make Ed Wood, and Resnick became Cabin Boy's director.[21] Although it has since garnered a cult following, Cabin Boy, which also featured a short appearance by Elliott's old boss, David Letterman, opened in 1994 to bad reviews and scant box office returns.[22], and netted Elliott a Razzie Award for Worst New Star.

Following Cabin Boy's dismal reception, Elliott accepted an offer to join the cast of Saturday Night Live for the 1994 season and moved back to New York City. He had a "terrible time" on the show, finding himself to be "too old," and disliking the competitive environment and late hours.[23] The season was critically-reviled, and a New York magazine reporter who embedded with the show for four weeks wrote an infamously-scathing piece called "Comedy Isn't Funny," in which Elliott was quoted expressing his unhappiness at the show.[24] At the end of 94-95 season, Elliott left the show amidst a major overhaul in the cast and writer's room.

Following his departure from SNL, Elliott continue to appear in supporting parts in movies and TV shows. He joined the ensemble cast of the NBC sitcom The Naked Truth for its third season, but the show was subsequently canceled. He played Ben Stiller's best friend in the Farrelly Brothers hit comedy There's Something About Mary, reinvigorating his film career.

2000s

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Elliott began the decade with a major role as the villain in the Nickelodeon movie Snow Day. In the fall of 2000, he returned to a series regular role on television, starring alongside Steven Weber in the NBC sitcom Cursed. Cursed was given the coveted Must See TV timeslot post-Friends, but after being retooled and retitled The Weber Show, the program was canceled.[25]

Next, Elliott played prominent supporting parts in Scary Movie 2 and Osmosis Jones, which reunited him with Bill Murray and frequent collaborators The Farrelly Brothers. From 2003 to 2005, he had a recurring role as Robert's strange brother-in-law Peter MacDougall in the last three seasons of Everybody Loves Raymond.

Elliott spent much of the decade attempting to create another show for himself, selling a family sitcom to Fox in 2004[26] and one to CBS in 2006.[27] Neither made it to air. In 2007, he starred in Chrissy: Plain & Simple, a pilot for his own sketch show for Comedy Central.[28] Elliott ended the decade by landing a recurring role on How I Met Your Mother, playing the estranged father of character Lily Aldrin from 2009 to 2014.

2010s-Present

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In 2011, Chris Elliott returned to a leading role on TV for the first time since Get a Life, starring in the Adult Swim series Eagleheart. Created by Michael Koman and Andrew Weinberg and produced by Conan O'Brien, Eagleheart found Chris Elliott starring as U.S. Marshal Chris Monsanto in an exaggerated, dark version of a fake Walker, Texas Ranger-esque TV procedural. The show aired for three seasons and became a cult hit.[29]

In 2015, Elliott became part of the ensemble cast of Schitt's Creek, starring alongside Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara as town mayor Roland Schitt. The series ran for six seasons, winning nine Emmys, and netting Elliott a Screen Actors Guild Award.[30] In 2022, he was part of the cast of the short-lived Hulu series Maggie.[31]

Author

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Elliott has written four books spoofing history or pseudo-history. Daddy's Boy: A Son's Shocking Account of Life with a Famous Father is a comedic fictionalized biography about growing up with his famous father, spoofing Christina Crawford's Mommie Dearest. The Shroud of the Thwacker is a historical novel about Elliott's investigation of a serial killer in 1882 New York City, spoofing London's infamous Jack the Ripper case. Into Hot Air tells the story of Chris climbing Mount Everest with a group of celebrities tagging along to underwrite the trek as he investigates his Uncle Percy's failed Everest expedition. And The Guy Under The Sheets is an "unauthorized autobiography" that tells a comedically fictional version of Elliott's life in which Elliott "reveals" that he is the son not of comedian Bob Elliott, but, rather, of playwright Sam Elliott and actress Bette Davis.

Personal life

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Elliott has been married to Paula Niedert since 1986. Niedert worked as a talent coordinator on Late Night with David Letterman when they met. They have two daughters: Abby and Bridey. Abby was a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 2008 until 2012, making her the first SNL cast member to be the child of a previous cast member. His father Bob Elliott, of the popular comedy duo Bob & Ray, co-starred on an SNL Christmas episode in the 1978–1979 season.[32][33]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Film Role Notes
1983 Lianna Lighting Assistant
1984 Gremloids Hopper
1985 My Man Adam Mr. Spooner
1986 Manhunter Zeller
1989 The Abyss Bendix
New York Stories Robber
1993 The Travelling Poet Alan Squire Short film; also director
CB4 A. White
Groundhog Day Larry
1994 Cabin Boy Nathanial Mayweather Story by (with Adam Resnick), Razzie Award nominee for Worst New Star
Poolside Ecstasy The Pool Boy Short film; also director
Housewives: The Making of the Cast Album Chris the Diva Short film; also director
1996 Kingpin The Gambler
1998 There's Something About Mary Dom Woganowski
2000 The Sky is Falling Santa Claus
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps Restaurant Manager Cameo
Snow Day Roger "Snowplowman" Stubblefield
2001 Osmosis Jones Bob
Scary Movie 2 Hanson
2006 Scary Movie 4 Ezekiel
2007 Thomas Kinkade's Home for Christmas Ernie Trevor
I'll Believe You Eugene the Gator Guy
2009 Dance Flick Ron
2010 Speed-Dating Inspector Green
2012 The Dictator Mr. Ogden
The Library Himself
2014 The Rewrite Jim
2016 Better Off Single Angela's Dad
2017 Sandy Wexler Mr. Buttons
Frat Star Eugene Cooper
2018 Clara's Ghost Ted Reynolds
2021 Christmas vs. the Walters Dr. Tom
2023 Welcome to Redville Sheriff Brooks

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1982–1988 Late Night with David Letterman Various roles Also writer
1986 FDR: A One Man Show Franklin Delano Roosevelt Television film
1987 Action Family Chris Television film
1987 Miami Vice Danny Allred Episode: "Down for the Count: Part II"
1987 The Equalizer Rags Maloney Episode: "Coal Black Soul"
1987–1988 Friday Night Videos Host, various 3 episodes[34][35]
1989 Tattingers Spin 3 episodes
1990–1992 Get a Life Chris Peterson Series regular, 36 episodes
1992 Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful Andy Television film
1994 The Adventures of Pete & Pete Meterman Ray Episode: "Sick Day"
1994–1995 Saturday Night Live Various roles Series regular, 20 episodes
1995–1996 Murphy Brown Steve 2 episodes
1995 The Larry Sanders Show Himself Episode: "Larry's Sitcom"
1995 The Barefoot Executive Jase Wallenberg Television film
1996 Wings Steve Episode: "...Like a Neighbor Scorned"
1997 Duckman Dr. Reamus Elliott (voice) Episode: "All About Elliott"
1997 Sabrina the Teenage Witch Warren Episode: "Mars Attracts!"
1997–1998 The Naked Truth Bradley Crosby Series regular, 22 episodes
1998 Hercules Triton (voice) Episode: "Hercules and the Son of Poseidon"
1998 The Nanny Chris Malley Episode: "Oh, Say, Can You Ski?"
1999 Tracey Takes On... Gilbert Bronson Episode: "Books"
1999–2000 Dilbert Dogbert (voice) Series regular, 30 episodes
2000 The Outer Limits Jack Parson Episode: "Judgment Day"
2000–2001 Cursed Larry Heckman Series regular, 17 episodes
2001–2006 The King of Queens F. Moynihan / Pete 2 episodes
2001 Ed Chet Bellafiore Episode: "The New World"
2002–2004 According to Jim Reverend Pierson 3 episodes
2002 Still Standing Jeff Hackman Episode: "Still Spending"
2003–2005 Everybody Loves Raymond Peter MacDougall 10 episodes
2003–2008 King of the Hill Chris Sizemore / Ed Burnett / Rob Holguin (voice) 5 episodes
2004 Third Watch Jeffrey Barton 2 episodes
2005 That '70s Show Mr Bray Episode: "2000 Light Years from Home"
2006 Minoriteam Space Drifter (voice) Episode: "Space Driftin'"
2008 Code Monkeys Chris (voice) Episode: "Benny's Birthday"
2008–2015 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Anton Thibodeaux / Pete Matthews 2 episodes
2009–2014 How I Met Your Mother Mickey Aldrin 11 episodes
2010 Futurama V-Giny (voice) Episode: "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela"
2011–2014 Eagleheart Chris Monsanto Series regular, 34 episodes
2011 SpongeBob SquarePants Captain/Lord Poltergeist (voice) Episode: "Ghoul Fools"
2011 Bored to Death Fishman Episode: "Forget the Herring"
2012 Metalocalypse Klokateer / Dr. Commander Vermin Chuntspinkton (voice) 2 episodes
2014 Community Russell Borchert Episode: "Basic Sandwich"
2014 Hot in Cleveland Luke Episode: "Elka Takes a Lover"
2014 The Birthday Boys Dr. Gerard Loudon Episode: "The U.S. Healthcare System"
2015–2020 Schitt's Creek Roland Schitt Series regular, 79 episodes
2015 The Good Wife Adrian Fluke Episode: "Hail Mary"
2015 Nurse Jackie Vigilante Jones Episode: "Vigilante Jones"
2015 The Knick Port Authority Officer Episode: "There Are Rules"
2016 Graves Thomas Nash 3 episodes
2017 Friends from College Mentalist Episode: "A Night of Surprises"
2017 Difficult People Rick Episode: "Rabbitversary"
2017 Fresh Off the Boat Adam 2 episodes
2017 The Last Man on Earth Glenn 2 episodes
2017 At Home with Amy Sedaris Rich Uncle Episode: "Entertaining for Peanuts"
2020 The Shivering Truth (voice) Episode: "The Diff"
2022 Maggie Jack Series regular, 13 episodes
2023 Agent Elvis Timothy Leary (voice) 3 episodes

Awards

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Primetime Emmy Awards

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  • 1984 Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Comedy or Music Program for Late Night with David Letterman
  • 1985 Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Comedy or Music Program for Late Night with David Letterman
  • 1986 Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Comedy or Music Program for Late Night with David Letterman
  • 1987 Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Comedy or Music Program for Late Night with David Letterman

Canadian Screen Awards

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  • 2016 Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role or Guest Role in a Comedic Series for Schitt's Creek[36]

Screen Actors Guild Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "Schitt's Creek cast: Chris Elliott (1960–)". CBC Television. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  2. ^ "Chris Elliott Biography". Filmreference.com. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  3. ^ "Brooks Maine – Pilley House Donation Article". Brooks.govoffice2.com. June 3, 2005. Retrieved March 7, 2014 – via Bangor Daily News.
  4. ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths ELLIOTT, LEE K". The New York Times. April 29, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  5. ^ Koepp, Stephen. "Off-the-Wall Comedy Lands Chris Elliott on TV, and His Dad, Bob (of Bob and Ray), Is Hooked Too". People.com. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Koltnow, Barry (September 26, 2005). "A chip off the old block". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  7. ^ Evans, Bradford (November 19, 2013). "The Best of Chris Elliott on Letterman". Vulture.com.
  8. ^ a b Tribune, Chicago (September 8, 1985). "12 WHO MAKE SURE LETTERMAN GETS THE LAUGHS". Chicago Tribune.
  9. ^ a b LLC, New York Media (January 19, 1987). "New York Magazine". New York Media, LLC – via Google Books.
  10. ^ a b c d Zinoman, Jason (December 7, 2024) [2017]. Letterman: The Last Giant Of Late Night. Harper. ISBN 9780062377241.
  11. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20241122120409/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/arts/comedy-special-danny-jolles-vishnu-akella.html
  12. ^ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254402/awards/
  13. ^ "The 'Ghoul'-ish Cleveland underpinnings of 'Late Night with David Letterman'". Ideastream Public Media.
  14. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/02/07/chris-elliotts-ascent-into-madness/3e763b10-bfc9-4cc7-b019-ed1ff72f3fef/
  15. ^ a b c d e Senger, Trustman (February 7, 1987). "Chris Elliott's Ascent into Madness". The Washington Post.
  16. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/02/07/action-family-an-inspired-absurdity-on-cinemax/8664b80f-f8da-4593-a538-7d0a8a5f5972/
  17. ^ a b Baker, Kathryn (December 24, 1987). "The Wacky World According to Chris Elliott". Los Angeles Times.
  18. ^ Digiacomo, Frank (September 18, 2008). "Chris Elliott, Cabin Man: Rolling Stone's 2008 Feature". Rolling Stone.
  19. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1987/02/07/chris-elliotts-ascent-into-madness/3e763b10-bfc9-4cc7-b019-ed1ff72f3fef/
  20. ^ https://www.salon.com/2012/10/22/chris_elliott_snl_looks_like_a_lot_of_fun_but_youre_constantly_auditioning/
  21. ^ https://www.theringer.com/2018/12/05/movies/cabin-boy-chris-elliott-anniversary-adam-resnick-comedy-get-a-life
  22. ^ https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0109361/
  23. ^ https://www.salon.com/2012/10/22/chris_elliott_snl_looks_like_a_lot_of_fun_but_youre_constantly_auditioning/
  24. ^ https://nymag.com/arts/tv/features/47548/
  25. ^ https://www.tvguide.com/news/yellowstone-season-5-part-2-returns-when-ending-teaser-everything-else-to-know/
  26. ^ https://variety.com/2004/scene/markets-festivals/fox-tv-brings-elliott-back-into-family-1117911716/
  27. ^ https://variety.com/2006/scene/markets-festivals/cw-sez-yes-to-said-1117939465/
  28. ^ https://www.vulture.com/2012/09/chrissy-plain-and-simple-the-unaired-chris-elliott-sketch-show.html
  29. ^ https://www.cracked.com/article_43145_an-oral-history-of-eagleheart-chris-elliotts-overlooked-adult-swim-show.html
  30. ^ https://deadline.com/2021/04/schitts-creek-sag-awards-winners-interview-1234727475/
  31. ^ Petski, Denise (April 5, 2021). "David Del Rio, Chris Elliott, Ray Ford & Leonardo Nam Join Rebecca Rittenhouse In ABC Comedy Pilot 'Maggie'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  32. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 12, 2008). "'SNL' taps Abby Elliott, Michaela Watkins". The Hollywood Reporter.
  33. ^ Zuckerman, Ed (November 24, 2009). "A Professionally Funny Family". The New York Times.
  34. ^ "Friday Night (TV Series 1983–2000) - Episode list 1987 - IMDb". IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  35. ^ "Friday Night (TV Series 1983–2000) - Episode list 1988 - IMDb". IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  36. ^ Furdyk, Brent (January 19, 2016). "2016 Canadian Screen Awards Nominees Announced". ET Canada. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2016.

Books

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