Missouri

Missouri (see pronunciations) is a state located in the Midwestern United States. It is the 21st most extensive, and the 18th most populous of the fifty states. The state comprises 114 counties and the independent city of St. Louis.

As defined by the 2010 US census, the four largest urban areas in order of population are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia. The mean center of the United States population at the 2010 census was in the town of Plato in Texas County. The state's capital is Jefferson City. The land that is now Missouri was acquired from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase and became known as the Missouri Territory. Part of this territory was admitted into the union as the 24th state on August 10, 1821.

Missouri's geography is highly varied. The northern part of the state lies in dissected till plains and the southern portion lies in the Ozark Mountains (a dissected plateau), with the Missouri River dividing the regions. The state lies at the intersection of the three greatest rivers of United States, with the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers near St. Louis, and the confluence of the Ohio River with the Mississippi north of the Bootheel. The starting points for the Pony Express, Santa Fe Trail, and Oregon Trail were all located in Missouri as well.

Music
Many well-known musicians were born or have lived in Missouri. These include guitarist and rock pioneer Chuck Berry, singer and actress Josephine Baker, "Queen of Rock" Tina Turner, pop singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers, and rappers Nelly, Chingy and Akon, all of whom are either current or former residents of St. Louis.

Country singers from Missouri include New Franklin native Sara Evans, Cantwell native Ferlin Husky, West Plains native Porter Wagoner, Tyler Farr of Garden City, and Mora native Leroy Van Dyke, along with bluegrass musician Rhonda Vincent, a native of Greentop.

Rapper Eminem was born in St. Joseph and also lived in Savannah and Kansas City.

Ragtime composer Scott Joplin lived in St. Louis and Sedalia.

Jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker lived in Kansas City.

Rock and Roll singer Steve Walsh of the group Kansas was born in St. Louis and grew up in St. Joseph.

The Kansas City Symphony and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra are the state's major orchestras. The latter is the nation's second-oldest symphony orchestra and achieved prominence in recent years under conductor Leonard Slatkin.

Branson is well known for its music theaters, most of which bear the name of a star performer or musical group. These facilities have made Branson one of America's most popular tourist destinations..

Literature
Missouri is the native state of Mark Twain. His novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are set in his boyhood hometown of Hannibal.

Kansas City-born writer William Least Heat-Moon currently resides in Rocheport. He is best known for Blue Highways, a chronicle of his travels to small towns across America. The book was on the New York Times Bestseller list for nearly a year in 1982-1983.

Famed authors Kate Chopin, T. S. Eliot and Tennessee Williams were all from St. Louis.

Film
Filmmaker, animator, and businessman Walt Disney spent part of his childhood in the Linn County town of Marceline before moving to Kansas City, Missouri. Disney began his artistic career in Kansas City, where he founded the Laugh-O-Gram Studio.

Several Film versions of Mark Twain's novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn have been made.

Meet Me in St. Louis, a musical involving the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, starred Judy Garland.

Part of the 1983 road movie National Lampoon's Vacation was shot on location in Missouri, for the Griswold's trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.

The Thanksgiving holiday film Planes, Trains, and Automobiles was partially shot at Lambert–St. Louis International Airport.

White Palace was filmed in St. Louis.

The award-winning 2010 film Winter's Bone was shot in the Ozarks of Missouri.

Up in the Air starring George Clooney was filmed in St. Louis.

John Carpernter's Escape from New York was filmed in Saint Louis in the early eighties, due to the high number of abandoned buildings in the city.

Part of the 1973 movie, Paper Moon, which starred Ryan and Tatum O'Neal, was filmed in St. Joseph.

Most of HBO's film "Truman" were filmed in Kansas City, Independence, and the surrounding area. Gary Sinise won an Emmy for his portrayal of Harry Truman in the 1995 film.

"Ride With the Devil" starring Jewel and Tobey Maguire were also filmed in the countryside of Jackson County (also where the historic events of the film took place).

Gone Girl, A 2014 film starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, and Tyler Perry was filmed in Cape Girardeau.