Thomas Kinkade was America's most prolific and successful popular artist of the last 100 years. Calling himself the "Painter of Light", a term he trademarked, he claimed to have an example of his work in one in 20 of the country's homes. Kinkade turned the production of his sentimentally themed paintings, prints and posters, mugs and calendars into an enterprise, the Media Arts Group, which made him over $50m between 1997 and 2005. Explaining his motivation, he said, "There's been million-seller books and million-seller CDs. But there hasn't been, until now, million-seller art. We have found a way to bring to millions of people an art that they can understand."

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Guilt trips?: To make celebrities - such as Larry David - do your bidding, public encouragement, or indeed bribery, might help

Charity: How to make celebrities do what you want

Want Larry David to join Twitter? It's just a click away... if you're willing to make a donation. Luke Blackall reports on high-level bribery

Harvard goes Gaga for new human rights star

The hallowed lectern at Harvard University's Sanders Theatre has, over the years, been graced by such speakers as Sir Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, Martin Luther King and Mikhail Gorbachev. Yesterday, a very different sort of global opinion-former joined their lofty ranks: Lady Gaga.

Actress Demi Moore has suffered from 'exhaustion'

Moore seeking help for exhaustion

Demi Moore is seeking professional help to treat her exhaustion and improve her health.

Marc Maron: Live from the comedy garage

In a spider-ridden Los Angeles garage, surrounded by half-read self-help books and the whiff of stale cat's-pee, a stand-up comedian called Marc Maron has for the past two years been taking listeners on a twice-weekly journey behind the red velvet curtains of his profession.

Ashton Kutcher's Two and a Half Men character revealed

Ashton Kutcher will play broken hearted internet billionaire Walden Schmidt on 'Two and a Half Men'.

Hugh Hefner didn't expect split from Crystal

Hugh Hefner "didn't see" the break-up of his relationship with Crystal Harris coming.

Orlando Bloom not allowed toilet break during labour

Orlando Bloom had to "pee in a bottle" when wife Miranda Kerr was in labour.

Larry King: Morgan 'was oversold'

The veteran US chat show host Larry King has given his verdict on his successor, Piers Morgan: the British former tabloid editor "may have been oversold" to the Americans public, he told BBC Radio 4 .

Oprah bets her chat show on an entire TV network

Winfrey launches a $400m cable channel dedicated to her brand

Oprah Winfrey audience taken on holiday

Oprah Winfrey has surprised the audience at the premiere of the 25th and final season of her talk show with an all-expenses-paid trip to Australia.

Killers (12A)

A profoundly silly and boring non-com in which domesticity collides with professional death-dealing, a la Grosse Point Blank.

O'Brien ends 'Tonight Show' stint on a high

Early ratings suggest that Conan O'Brien won a hefty audience for his final hour hosting The Tonight Show, which he has been forced to give up to the former host Jay Leno after tumultuous negotiations with the NBC network that have been plastered across the American press.

Presenter gives a new twist to 'Tonight' saga

Conan O'Brien protests over NBC plan to move show to after midnight

Love the Beast (15)

Eric Bana (92 mins)
Career Services

Day In a Page

Crossrail: Celebrating 60 years in transport

Jubilant Crossrail

Celebrating 60 years in transport
Grace Dent: If you were on your first foreign trip for 24 years, would you want Bono to be a part of the package?

Grace Dent

If you were on your first foreign trip for 24 years, would you want Bono to be a part of the package?
Ireland's austerity D-Day: How much pain can it take?

Ireland's austerity D-Day: How much pain can it take?

After years of savage cuts, the Irish now face a stark choice: do they hand over control of their economy to Europe โ€“ or go it alone without the safety net of future bailouts?
Is doctors' fixation on treatment making us ill?

Is doctors' fixation on treatment making us ill?

Advances in medicine have made the impossible, possible. But an over-reliance on healthcare threatens to bankrupt the world โ€“ and make all of us sick
The most complained-about advertisements of all time

The most complained-about advertisements of all time

The ASA has received 430,000 complaints during its existence, with a record 31,548 in 2011
Olympians: They're fit and don't we just know it

Olympians: They're fit and don't we just know it

From Tom Daley's six-pack to scantily clad volleyball players, Olympic athletes are being sold on their sex appeal. Why can't we appreciate talent, not totty?
Return of the unacceptable face of capitalism?

Return of the unacceptable face of capitalism?

Sir Richard Needham's resignation from the board of Lonrho brings back bad memories of the group's controversial past
Off the rails in Bermuda

Off the rails in Bermuda

Best known for beaches, it's also home to a stunning hiking trail that follows the route of an old railway line
Get ready for a royal good time

Get ready for a royal good time

There are plenty of events to help you fly the flag during the Diamond Jubilee long weekend and half term
Spain: World football's marathon men

Marathon men: Are Spain running out of puff?

They have every right to be exhausted after four taxing years of almost non-stop action but the chance to claim a unique treble is spurring them on
Usain Bolt: The Bolt show runs on

Usain Bolt: The Bolt show runs on

Friday's 'slow' 100m has done nothing to dent Jamaican's supreme confidence he will triumph in London
The weirdest and most wonderful Diamond Jubilee memorabilia

Weird and wonderful Jubilee memorabilia

Coronation Chicken ice cream and Jubilee jelly moulds
'I may be deaf, but you can still talk to me'

'I may be deaf, but you can still talk to me'

Being a teenager is hard enough โ€“ for those with hearing loss, it can be even more complicated
A right royal trip down the river

A right royal trip down the river

A new exhibition celebrates the glory days of London's mighty Thames
The 10 Best lawn mowers

The 10 Best lawn mowers

From petrol-fuelled to self-propelled