``Silent Standing Ovation'' Urged for Historic ``Shakespeare'' Milestone on June 24, 2004 - 400th Anniversary of the Death of Edward De Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- The Shakespeare-Oxford Society (SOS) urges all Shakespeare lovers around the world to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, with a "silent standing ovation" at 12:00 noon (ET), June 24, 2004.

The Society points to the growing body of evidence supporting Oxford (1550-1604) as the true author of the Shakespearean cannon who used the name "William Shakespeare" as a penname.

"After 400 years of attributing the plays and poems to the wrong person," commented SOS President Frank Davis, "the Society believes it's time, at long last, to honor the true author of these immortal works. That's why we're calling on true Shakespeareans around the world to offer a 'silent standing ovation' at 12:00 noon (ET) in recognition of the Bard."

There is a distinguished history of doubting the traditional "Stratfordian" attribution of the "Shakespeare" works. Noted doubters over the years include Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Henry James, Charlie Chaplin, Sigmund Freud, Charles Dickens, and Orson Welles. According to historian David McCullough: "The strange, difficult, contradictory man who emerges as the real Shakespeare, Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, is not just plausible but fascinating and wholly believable."

ScreenDaily reported in May that filmmaker Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow) will direct The Soul of the Age, a $30 to $35 million drama "about the question of the authorship of Shakespeare." ScreenDaily explains that Soul "is the story of Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford ... considered one of the finest poets and dramatists in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Only in the 20th century did theories emerge that he was the true author of the works of William Shakespeare." Emmerich called The Soul of the Age "a very serious drama" and compared it to Amadeus, a movie biography of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

About the Shakespeare-Oxford Society

Founded in 1957, the Shakespeare Oxford Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, educational organization. For more information, visit www.shakespeare-oxford.com.