A curtain call occurs at the end of a performance when individuals return to the stage to be recognized by the audience for their performance. In musical theater, the performers typically recognize the orchestra and its conductor at the end of the curtain call. Luciano Pavarotti

Luciano Pavarotti

right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...

 holds the record for receiving 165 curtain calls, more than any other artist.

Curtain calls are not solely limited to actors in theaters. Athletes who also perform well may return to the field of play after a big play or at the conclusion of the game for recognition. Professional baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 players usually take their cap or helmet by the brim and hold it in the air.

In film, the term "curtain call" is used to denote the film's end credits showing clips, stills, or outtakes of each character with the actor's name captioned. This sequence results in a similar individual recognition by the audience as a stage curtain call. This is usually only done in films that are light-hearted and have many characters, or perhaps a long list of cameo appearances.

Films that use curtain calls during their end credits

• 12 Angry Men: A curtain call was necessary since the characters' names are never revealed in the film.
• 1941 (film)
• Airplane!
  Airplane!
  Airplane! is a 1980 American satirical comedy film directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and released by Paramount Pictures...
  
  
• Born on the Fourth of July
  Born on the Fourth of July
  Born on the Fourth of July is the best selling autobiography of Ron Kovic, a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran who became an anti-war activist. Kovic was born on July 4, 1946, and his book's ironic title echoed a famous line from George M. Cohan's patriotic 1904 song, "The Yankee Doodle Boy"...
  
  
• Chaplin This film combined images of the actors and the characters they portrayed with biographical texts regarding the fates of the real-life individuals portrayed.
• Chicago (2002 film)
  Chicago (2002 film)
  Chicago is a 2002 musical film adapted from the satirical stage musical of the same name, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Jazz-age Chicago....
  
  
• Citizen Kane
  Citizen Kane
  Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
  
  : The first film to ever use a curtain call.
• Con Air
  Con Air
  Con Air is an Academy Award–nominated 1997 American action-thriller film directed by Simon West and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich...
  
  
• Dreamgirls
  Dreamgirls (film)
  Dreamgirls is a 2006 musical drama film, directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures. The film debuted in three special road show engagements beginning December 15, 2006 before its nationwide release on December 25, 2006...
  
  
• Dogma
  Dogma (film)
  Dogma is a 1999 American adventure fantasy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also stars in the film along with an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Bud Cort, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo,...
  
  
• Finding Nemo
  Finding Nemo
  Finding Nemo is a 2003 American comi-drama animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who, along with a regal tang called Dory , searches for his abducted son Nemo...
  
  
• Galaxy Quest
  Galaxy Quest
  Galaxy Quest is a 1999 science-fiction comedy parody about a troupe of human actors who defend a group of aliens against an alien warlord. It was directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth produced the film for DreamWorks, and David...
  
  
• Hannah Montana The Movie
• High School Musical 3: Senior Year
  High School Musical 3: Senior Year
  High School Musical 3: Senior Year is a 2008 American romantic musical film and the third and final installment in the High School Musical trilogy. Its theatrical release in the United States began on October 24, 2008...
  
   This curtain call shows the "High School Musical" logo and plays the song "High School Musical"
• In and Out
• Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
  Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
  Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...
  
  
• Kelly's Hero's
• Kill Bill: Vol. 2: Characters from both films in the series are listed in order of appearance, suggesting finality.
• Many of Mel Brooks
  Mel Brooks
  Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
  
  's films, including both versions of The Producers (1968
  The Producers (1968 film)
  The Producers is a 1968 American satirical dark comedy cult classic film written and directed by Mel Brooks. The film is set in the late 1960s and it tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who want to produce a sure-fire Broadway flop...
  
   and 2005
  The Producers (2005 film)
  # "Overture" - Orchestra# "Opening Night" - Opening Nighters# "We Can Do It" - Max and Leo# "I Wanna Be a Producer" - Leo, Accountants, Mr. Marks and Dancing Chorus Girls# "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop" - Franz, Max, and Leo...
  
  ), Spaceballs
  Spaceballs
  Spaceballs is a 1987 American science fiction comedy parody film co-written by, directed by, Mel Brooks and starring Bill Pullman, John Candy, Mel Brooks & Rick Moranis. It also features, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, and the voice of Joan Rivers. The film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on...
  
  , and Dracula: Dead and Loving It
  Dracula: Dead and Loving It
  Dracula: Dead and Loving It is a 1995 comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen, directed by Mel Brooks. It is a parody of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, and of some of the films it inspired....
  
  . (Robin Hood: Men In Tights
  Robin Hood: Men in Tights
  Robin Hood: Men in Tights is a 1993 French-American adventure comedy film and a parody of the Robin Hood story. Produced and directed by Mel Brooks, the film stars Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, and Dave Chappelle in his film debut...
  
   only contains a curtain call for the cameos in the film, not for the main actors.)
• Little Shop of Horrors
  Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)
  Little Shop of Horrors is a 1986 American comedy musical film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical comedy of the same name by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a nerdy florist shop worker who raises a vicious plant that feeds on human blood...
  
  
• MASH
  MASH (film)
  MASH is a 1970 American satirical dark comedy film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner, Jr., based on Richard Hooker's novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. It is the only feature film in the M*A*S*H franchise...
  
  : This curtain call used a voice-over (of the film's PA
  Public address
  A public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
  
   announcer) to announce the names of the cast instead of captions.
• Michael Jackson's This Is It
  Michael Jackson's This Is It
  Michael Jackson's This Is It is a 2009 American documentary–concert film directed by Kenny Ortega that documents Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, but canceled due to his death eighteen days prior on June 25. It...
  
   The curtain call features Michael Jackson with the cast and crew of what was to be his final performances.
• Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)
  Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)
  Murder on the Orient Express is a 1974 British mystery film directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, and based on the1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.-Overview:...
  
   There is no curtain call during the end credits, but one of the film's final scenes highlights each cast member one at a time. Director Sidney Lumet
  Sidney Lumet
  Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
  
   said in an interview included in the DVD that he conceived this scene as a curtain call to highlight the film's all-star cast.
• Nixon (film)
  Nixon (film)
  Nixon is a 1995 American biographical film directed by Oliver Stone for Cinergi Pictures that tells the story of the political and personal life of former US President Richard Nixon, played by Anthony Hopkins....
  
  
• Not Another Teen Movie
  Not Another Teen Movie
  Not Another Teen Movie is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Joel Gallen, released on December 14, 2001 by Columbia Pictures. It is a parody of teen movies which have accumulated in Hollywood over the last few decades...
  
  
• Notorious
  Notorious (2009 film)
  Notorious is a 2009 American biographical film about the life of iconic hip hop star The Notorious B.I.G. who is played by Jamal Woolard. The film co-stars Angela Bassett as his mother Voletta Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur...
  
   This film is based on the life of late gangster rapper Christopher Wallace aka The Notorious BIG. The curtain call features the cast members and photos of the people they portray.
• Platoon
  Platoon
  A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
  
  
• Predator
  Predator (film)
  Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox....
  
  
• Role Models
  Role Models
  Role Models is a 2008 American comedy film directed by David Wain about two energy drink salesmen who are ordered to perform 150 hours of community service as punishment for various offenses. For their service, the two men work at a program designed to pair kids with adult role models. The film...
  
  
• Seed of Chucky
  Seed of Chucky
  Seed of Chucky, also known as Child's Play 5: Seed of Chucky or Child's Play 5, is a 2004 horror comedy film, which is the fifth entry in the Child's Play series. The film was written and directed by Don Mancini, who created Child's Play and has written all sequels to date...
  
  
• Sonny With a Chance
  Sonny With a Chance
  Sonny with a Chance is an American children's sitcom which aired on Disney Channel, created by Steve Marmel, that follows the experiences of teenager Sonny Munroe, portrayed by Demi Lovato, who becomes the newest accepted cast member of her favorite live comedy show, So Random!.The series debuted...
  
  
• Shrek 2
  Shrek 2
  Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...
  
  
• Shrek the Third
  Shrek the Third
  Shrek the Third is a 2007 American animated film, and the third film in the Shrek series. It was produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg for DreamWorks Animation, and is distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was released in U.S. theaters on May 18, 2007...
  
  
• Shrek the Final Chapter
  Shrek Forever After
  Shrek Forever After, taglined as The Final Chapter, is a 2010 animated fantasy-comedy film, and the fourth and final installment in the Shrek film series, produced by DreamWorks Animation. The film was released by Paramount Pictures in cinemas on May 20, 2010 in Russia, and on May 21 in the United...
  
  
• Slumdog Millionaire
  Slumdog Millionaire
  Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British epic romantic drama adventure film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup...
  
  
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
  
  : Scrawled signatures of the cast are superimposed over a star field, suggesting the finality of this series.
• Shark Tale
  Shark Tale
  Shark Tale is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation. In the story, a young fish named Oscar falsely claims to have killed the son of a shark mob boss to win favour with the mob boss' enemies and advance his own community standing...
  
  
• The Bad Seed
  The Bad Seed (film)
  The Bad Seed is a 1956 American horror-thrillerfilm directed by Mervyn LeRoy. It is based upon a play by Maxwell Anderson, which in turn is based upon William March's 1954 novel The Bad Seed. The play was adapted by John Lee Mahin for the screenplay of the film...
  
  : A curtain call (as well as a humorous blooper
  Blooper
  A blooper, also known as an outtake or boner is a short sequence of a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms of misspoken words...
  
  ) was specifically added at the request of the Production Code
  Production Code
  The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral censorship guidelines that governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Hollywood's chief censor of the...
  
   to reassure the audience after the intense film)
• The Blues Brothers
  The Blues Brothers (film)
  The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy film directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James...
  
  
• The Deer Hunter
  The Deer Hunter
  The Deer Hunter is a 1978 drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Russian American steel worker friends and their infantry service in the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Savage, John Cazale, and George Dzundza...
  
  : A rare occurrence for a downbeat film, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture
  Academy Award for Best Picture
  The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
  
  .
• The Fighting Temptations
  The Fighting Temptations
  The Fighting Temptations is a 2003 American musical dramedy film produced by Paramount Pictures and MTV Films. It stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. as the film's protagonist as he attempts to revive a church choir in order to enter a gospel competition with the help of a beautiful lounge singer with whom he...
  
  
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
  
  : Sketches of the actors' faces are presented with their names, suggesting finality in this third film of the trilogy.
• The Princess Bride
  The Princess Bride
  The Princess Bride is a 1973 fantasy novel written by William Goldman. It was originally published in the United States by Harcourt Brace, while in the UK it is/was published by Bloomsbury Publishing....
  
  
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show
  The Rocky Horror Picture Show
  The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
  
  
• The Scream
  Scream (film)
  Scream is a 1996 American slasher film written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven. The film stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore, and David Arquette...
  
   Trilogy
• Top Gun
  Top Gun
  Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
  
  
• The Simpsons Movie
  The Simpsons Movie
  The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
  
  
• Tropic Thunder
  Tropic Thunder
  Tropic Thunder is a 2008 American action satire comedy film written, produced, and directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., and Jack Black. The main plot revolves around a group of prima donna actors who are making a Vietnam War film...
  
  
• Uncommon Valour
• Zatoichi (2003 film)
  Zatoichi (2003 film)
  is a 2003 Japanese samurai drama and action film, directed, written, co-edited, and starring Takeshi Kitano as his eleventh film. Kitano plays the role of the blind swordsman....
  
  : This curtain call is in the form of a tap dance number.

TV series that used a curtain call

On occasion, television series have included curtain calls at the conclusion of their runs, with the cast breaking character and often showing the audience and crew:

• In 1977, the Australian prime time
  Prime time
  Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
  
   soap opera
  Soap opera
  A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
  
  , Number 96
  Number 96 (TV series)
  Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for Network Ten, which requested a Coronation Street-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects...
  
  , paid homage to both its cast and loyal audience by devoting a significant part of its final episode (#1218) to a curtain call of many of the series' regular stars, past and present.
• Also in 1977, the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show
  The Mary Tyler Moore Show
  The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
  
  , entitled "The Last Show
  The Last Show (Mary Tyler Moore Show episode)
  The Last Show is the 168th episode and series finale of the television sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and was written by Allan Burns, James L. Brooks, Ed Weinberger, Stan Daniels, David Lloyd and Bob Ellison...
  
  " ended with Mary Tyler Moore
  Mary Tyler Moore
  Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
  
   addressing the studio audience and introducing and paying tribute to her castmates. Discounting live broadcasts of the past and shows-within-shows such as The Honeymooners
  The Honeymooners
  The Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
  
  , this was one of the first times a filmed American network series had broken character in this fashion.
• In 1990 the final episode of Cop Rock
  Cop Rock
  Cop Rock is an American musical police drama series that aired on ABC in 1990. The show, a police drama presented as a musical, was co-created by Steven Bochco, who also served as executive producer...
  
  , a short-lived attempt at a musical police procedural
  Police procedural
  The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
  
   series, ended with the cast and crew breaking character and gathering to perform a closing song.
• Also, in 1990, The finale episode of Newhart
  Newhart
  Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990...
  
   titled, "The Last Newhart" ended with a curtain call, very reminiscent of the "Mary Tyler Moore" finale as originally broadcast, with Bob thanking the studio audience, and the cast members, to thunderous applause. Unlike the "Mary" finale, whose credits were replaced with the generic type in syndication, but recently restored on the season 7 set, "Newhart"'s finale has always aired in reruns with it's curtain call end credits intact.
• In 1992, the final episode of The Cosby Show
  The Cosby Show
  The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
  
   ended with actors Bill Cosby
  Bill Cosby
  William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
  
   and Phylicia Rashād
  Phylicia Rashad
  Phylicia Rashād is an American Tony Award winning actress and singer, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show....
  
   breaking the fourth wall
  Fourth wall
  The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
  
   and dancing past the cameras and towards the studio audience.
• In 1995, the final episode of Full House
  Full House
  Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
  
   ended with the main cast all coming to take a bow as the words "Our Thanks, Our Love" appear on the screen.
• In 1999 the final episode of the sitcom Home Improvement used the same curtain call technique as The Mary Tyler Moore Show by having the cast break character and take a bow after the story ended.
• In 2009 and 2010 after every episode of the UK comedy series Miranda
  Miranda (TV series)
  Miranda is a BBC television series co-written by and starring comedienne Miranda Hart, which first aired on BBC Two on 9 November 2009. The situation comedy also features Sarah Hadland, Tom Ellis, Patricia Hodge, James Holmes and Sally Phillips...
  
  . Each main character waves farewell followed by a bow.

Sports curtain calls

According to baseball historian Peter Morris, in May 1881 Detroit fans cheered a home run by Charlie Bennett until he bowed to them.

On October 3, 1951, after Bobby Thomson

Bobby Thomson

Robert Brown "Bobby" Thomson was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot", he was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants , Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles .His season-ending three-run...

 hit the pennant-winning home run

Shot Heard 'Round the World (baseball)

In baseball, the "Shot Heard 'round the World" is the term given to the walk-off home run hit by New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca at the Polo Grounds to win the National League pennant at 3:58 p.m...

 for the New York Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

 in the ninth inning of the third game of the National League playoff, jubliant Giant fans swarmed the playing field of the Polo Grounds

Polo Grounds

The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...

, running after the triumphant Giant players, who raced towards the clubhouse which was located in center field. Author Joshua Prager

Joshua Prager (writer)

Joshua Harris Prager is an American journalist and author. His book The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca and the Shot Heard Round the World, is about the Shot Heard 'Round the World, a famous 1951 baseball playoff game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York...

, in his definitive volume of Thomson's homer The Echoing Green, wrote, "(T)housands of fans hungry for a curtain call stood now outside a green clubhouse chanting 'We want Thomson!' We want Thomson!'" Several minutes later (about 15 minutes after the actual home run), "word reached Thomson that he was wanted outside, that only a curtain call might dissipate the stubborn throng (...) And so out Thomson went, wading through the packed clubhouse to its top outdoor step." New York Times sportswriter John Drebinger called the crowd's response "the most frenzied 'curtain calls' ever afforded a ballplayer."

Curtain calls in games

Curtain calls showing the characters in video games are fairly uncommon. "Parades" showing the characters without naming them is used in a variety of games, including Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario

Paper Mario

Paper Mario, known in Japan as , is a role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 game console. It was first released in Japan on August 11, 2000, in North America on February 5, 2001, and in Europe and Australia on October 5, 2001...

, both of which featured actual parades. Curtain rolls showing the names of the characters are also used, notably in Mother 2 and its sequel Mother 3

Mother 3

Mother 3 is a role-playing video game developed by Nintendo, Brownie Brown and HAL Laboratory, and published for the Game Boy Advance handheld game console. It has only been released in Japan, alongside a limited supply bundle. It is the third video game in the Mother series, following EarthBound...

, in which the characters scroll from bottom to top with their name underneath. Some games, including the Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...

's Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country is a side-scrolling platformer video game developed by Rare, featuring the character Donkey Kong. It was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. Following an intense marketing campaign, the original SNES version sold over 8 million copies worldwide, making...

 and Art of Fighting

Art of Fighting

is a trilogy of competitive fighting game titles that were released for the Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It was the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the Fatal Fury series and is set in the same fictional universe...

 2, show characters performing a typical special attack or delivering characteristic lines of dialogue in the character's level as part of the credits.