Bill Bixby (1934 - 1993)

Bill Bixby whose long career in television included starring roles in three popular series, died on Sunday at his home in Century City. He was 59. The cause was prostate cancer, said Pamela Golum, a spokeswoman for the NBC-TV show “Blossom.” Mr. Bixby, the show’s director, was on the job until last week. In the […]

Bill Blass (1922 - 2002)

Designer. Born William Ralph Blass in Fort Wayne, Indiana to a part-time dressmaker and a traveling hardware salesman. Blass’s father committed suicide when Blass was five. At 15, Blass began selling sketches of evening gowns for $25 each to a New York manufacturer. At 17 he left home to attend fashion school in New York. […]

Bill Brundige (1915 - 2004)

Actor. Brundige is best known for his role as ‘Sergeant Hawk Wild’ in the original ‘Dragnet’ from 1953 to 1954. The original television series’ was directed by Jack Webb, before he appeared in the television series, by the same name. Brundige also appeared in the film, “Crazylegs” in 1953, and appeared on television in guest […]

Bill Burton (1925 - 1995)

William Havon Bruton (November 9, 1925 – December 5, 1995) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder who played for the Milwaukee Braves in 1953 through 1960, and for the Detroit Tigers in 1961 through 1964. Bruton batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Bruton was born in Panola, Alabama. Bill Bruton started his career right […]

Bill Cardille (1928 - 2016)

Bill Cardille had a nightly record program on WDAD radio in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, in 1951. He first worked in television at WICU in Erie, Pennsylvania, beginning January 19, 1952. He was for many years a fixture on Channel 11 (formerly call letters WIIC, now WPXI), the NBC affiliate in Pittsburgh, and was the first […]

Bill Carlisle (1908 - 2003)

Bill Carlisle Yodeling singer/songwriter/guitarist Bill Carlisle was the younger brother of popular 1930s country singer Cliff Carlisle. During the ’30s, Bill established himself as an expert purveyor of racy, blues-tinged country songs, but during the ’50s and ’60s, he was best-known for his novelty songs as he and his family band, the Carlisles, became regulars […]

Bill Christy (1925 - 1946)

Actor. Born William Meikle Christy in Seattle, Washington, he was a radio performer before joining the US Marines Corps reserves at the out break of World War II. After his service, he appeared in only three films “Song of the Open Road” (1944), “Live Wires” (1946) and “Behind the Mask Copy Boy” (1946), before his […]

Bill Cody (1891 - 1948)

Actor. He was a B western cowboy star of silents and early talkies. Cody’s diminutive stature gave him a likable, underdog quality, and he was pitted against much bigger bad guys in such oaters as “Cold Nerve” (1925), “King of the Saddle” (1926),  “Born to Battle” (1927),  “Slim Fingers” (1929),  “The Montana Kid” (1931),  “Frontier […]

Bill Cody, Jr (1925 - 1989)

Actor. Cody was the son of B-Western star Bill Cody (not to be confused with Western figure Buffalo Bill Cody). He entered films in 1934, and appeared with his father in several westerns. He made his last film in 1942, just before entering the service in World War II. (bio by: Scott G)

Bill Couch (1926 - 1999)

American motion-picture/television actor and stuntman of the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. (bio by: A.J. Marik)

Bill Cullen (1920 - 1990)

Cullen was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the only child of William and Lillian Cullen. He survived a childhood bout with polio that left him with significant physical limitations for the rest of his life (see medical history). He also wore spectacles, which became his trademark. Cullen’s broadcasting career began in Pittsburgh at WWSW radio, where he […]

Bill Daily (1927 - 2018)

Bill Daily William Edward Daily was born on Aug. 30, 1927, in Des Moines, Iowa. He once said that when he was just a baby, his father went out “for a loaf of bread” and never returned. An only child, Daily grew up in Chicago and discovered that people might not notice his dyslexia if […]

Bill Dean (1921 - 2000)

British Actor. He was born in Liverpool, England and died in Wirral, Merseyside, England. Film and television credits include “The Liver Birds,” “Heartbeat,” “Brookside,” “Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime,” “Juliet Bravo,” “Minder,” “Z Cars,” “Pennies from Heaven,” “Softly Softly,” “Dixon of Dock Green,” “The Tomorrow People,” “Gumshoe,” and “Kes.” (bio by: Genet)

Bill Doolin (1970 - 1896)

Outlaw. The exact date of his birth has been lost over time and the date of his death, while not a true controversy, is listed as August 25th as often as August 24th, but the year is definitely 1896. At the age of 23, he left his sharecropping family in Arkansas and moved to the […]

Bill Durnan (1916 - 1972)

Bill Durnan, whom John McGourty of NHL.com refers to as “the greatest nearly forgotten player in the history of the NHL,” only played seven seasons in the NHL due to him being 27 upon entering the league, but accomplished much in his short career. Durnan was the recipient of the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender […]

Bill Erwin (1914 - 2010)

Erwin was born in Honey Grove, Texas. He attended San Angelo College before earning his bachelor’s degree in journalism at University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1935. He completed a masters of theater arts in California at the Pasadena Playhouse in 1941. After serving as a Captain in the United States Army Air Corps […]

Bill Eyden (1930 - 2004)

Bill Eyden (born William James Eyden, 4 May 1930, Hounslow, Middlesex – 15 October 2004, Isleworth, Middlesex) was an English jazz drummer. The son of James Eyden and Ivy (née Tiller), of 129 Martindale Road, Hounslow, London, his first professional gig was in 1952 with the Ivor and Basil Kirchin Band. He was soon working with […]

Bill Finegan (1917 - 2008)

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Bill Finegan grew up in a household full of piano players. While growing up in Rumson, New Jersey, he taught orchestration to schoolmate Nelson Riddle, and he studied piano with Elizabeth Connelly, piano and musicianship with flautist/alto saxophonist Rudolph John Winthrop (1883–1959), himself a student of Engelbert Humperdinck. He spent time […]

Bill Fraser (1908 - 1987)

Actor. Born William Simpson Fraser in Perth, Scotland, he began his career as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the British National Theatre in the 1930s. For feature films, he was concentrated in comedy cameos in “The Captain’s Paradise” (1951), “Army Game” (1957), “The Americanization of Emily” (1964), “Up Pompeii” (1971) and “The […]

Bill Goodwin (1910 - 1958)

Television Announcer, Actor. He was the announcer for the “Burns & Allen Show” radio show for nine years. He also announced for “The Bob Hope Show”, and appeared in 33 films including: “Blondie in Society,” “Spellbound,” “To Each His Own,” “The Jolson Story,” “Tea for Two” and “The Opposite Sex.” (bio by: TLS)

Bill Graham (1931 - 1991)

Businessman. He was a pioneering music talent promotor and impresario who is considered by many to be the “Father of the Modern Music Business”. The many musical singers and acts he promoted and stages shows for at his music venues include Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Led Zepplin, Cream, Crosby, Stills, Nash & […]

Bill Hart (1934 - 2015)

Actor, Stuntman. Born Billy Gene Welch, he was regarded as one of the best stuntmen in Hollywood, who acted and appeared in over 150 movies and numerous television shows. After serving in the US Marine Corps in Korea, he moved to North Hollywood, California, in the late 1950s and began a career in the movie […]

Bill Hunter (1940 - 2011)

Hunter was born in Ballarat, a son of William and Francie Hunter. He had a brother, John, and a sister, Marie Ann. During his teens, Hunter was a champion swimmer, and briefly held a world record for the 100 yards freestyle until his record was broken by John Devitt in the very next heat ten minutes […]

Bill Justis (1926 - 1982)

William Everett “Bill” Justis, Jr. (October 14, 1926 – July 15, 1982) was an American pioneer rock and roll musician, composer, and musical arranger, best known for his 1957 Grammy Hall of Fame song, “Raunchy.” As a songwriter, he was also often credited as Bill Everette. Bill Justis was born in Birmingham, Alabama but grew up […]

Bill Kerr (1922 - 2014)

Bill Kerr was born William Henry Kerr in Cape Town, South Africa, on 10 June 1922 to an Australian performing arts family, growing up in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. His career in show business began when he was very young. Wilton, his son, recalled: “His mum used him instead of using a prop, […]

Bill Mazer (1920 - 2013)

Mazer’s family left Kiev, emigrating before his first birthday. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. A graduate of Yeshiva University High School for Boys, he received a BA at University of Michigan for premed before being drafted. During World War II, he served the majority of his time in the Armed Forces-Air Force Transport […]

Bill McKinney (1931 - 2011)

William Denison McKinney was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He had an unsettled life as a child, moving 12 times. Once, when his family moved from Tennessee to Georgia, he was beaten by a gang and thrown into a creek. At the age of 19, he joined the Navy during the Korean War. He served two […]

Bill Melendez (1916 - 2008)

A native of the Mexican city of Hermosillo, Sonora, Melendez was educated in U.S. public schools in Douglas, Arizona. He was a very good student, and later attended the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles (which would later become California Institute of the Arts). Following the 1941 Disney strike, Bill was hired by Leon Schlesinger to animate in Bob Clampett’s unit. After Clampett’s departure, […]

Bill Monroe (1911 - 1996)

Bill Monroe Musical pioneer Bill Monroe is known as “the father of bluegrass music.” While Monroe would humbly say, “I’m a farmer with a mandolin and a high tenor voice,” he and His Blue Grass Boys essentially created a new musical genre out of the regional stirrings that also led to the birth of such […]

Bill Nojay (1956 - 2016)

Bill Nojay was born and raised in Rochester, New York, where his father worked at Eastman Kodak. His surname was originally “Nogaj”, but he changed the spelling to match the pronunciation. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and graduated from Columbia University with degrees from their law school and business school. In 1996, […]