Phineas Banning (1830 - 1885)

Financier. He was a major developer of the Los Angeles Harbor.  Family links:  Parents:  John Alford Banning (1790 – 1854)  Elizabeth Lowber Banning (1794 – 1861)  Spouses:  Rebecca Sanford Banning (1837 – 1868)  Mary Hollister Banning (1846 – 1919)  Children:  Bessie Banning (____ – 1866)*  Francenia Allibone Banning (1855 – 1857)*  John Griffin Banning (1856 […]

Phineas Taylor “P.T.” Barnum (1810 - 1891)

Legendary 19th Century American showman and circus promoter.  Best remembered for founding the first modern three-ring circus, which also would eventually became the biggest and most important circus in the world, the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. He was born Phineas Taylor Barnum on July 5, 1810 in Bethel, Connecticut, the oldest of five […]

Phineas Warren Hitchcock (1831 - 1881)

Phineas Hitchcock attended prep school at Great Barrington, Maine and then attended Williams College, graduating in 1855. After graduation he remained in New York for two years; part of the time as a reporter in central New York and part of the time in law practice. He came to Omaha in 1857 and opened a […]

Phocion McCreery (1817 - 1861)

Son of Dr. Charles McCreery & Ann Crow (Wayman Crow’s sister, Phocion was in the wholesale dry good business with his uncle Wayman Crow at Crow McCreery & Company. Phocion was an original member of the corporation of Washington University in St. Louis. (bio by: Connie Nisinger)  Family links:  Spouse:  Mary Jane Hynes McCreery (1827 […]

Phoebe Brand (1907 - 2004)

Actress. Born in Ilion, New York, she was a founding member of the legendary Group Theatre of New York City in 1931, appearing in several of its productions, including Clifford Odets’ “Awake and Sing!” and “Golden Boy.” Spent most of her professional life in New York, although she and her husband, actor Morris Carnovsky, moved […]

Phoebe Cary (1824 - 1871)

Poet. Her first poem was published in 1838 in a newspaper when she was just 14. She had success in Scribner’s Monthly, Galaxy, and Putnam’s Monthly. She edited “Hymns for All Christians” (1869), and published two books of poetry, “Poems and Parodies” (1854), and “Poems of Faith, Hope, and Love” (1868). Her inspirational lyrics appeared […]

Phoebe Prince (1994 - 2010)

Phoebe Prince was born on 24 November 1994 in Bedford, England, United Kingdom, and moved to the seaside community of Fanore in County Clare, Ireland, when she was two. Prince attended Villiers Secondary School, a private school in County Limerick. She immigrated to the U.S. in the autumn of 2009 with her mother and four […]

Phyllis Ada Driver Diller (1917 - 2012)

Comedienne, Actress. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes self-deprecating jokes about her age and appearance, her terrible cooking, and a husband named “Fang”. She began her career at a radio station in Oakland, California, in 1952. In November of that year, she began filming a television show titled […]

Phyllis Avery (1924 - 2011)

Actress. Born in New York City, daughter of screenwriter Stephen Morehouse Avery, she marked her professional acting debut at the age of twelve on the Broadway stage in the musical “Orchids Preferred” (1937), followed by “Three Waltzes” (1937 to 1938) and “Charley’s Aunt” (1940 to 1941). She broadened her skills at the American Academy of […]

Phyllis Calvert (1915 - 2002)

Born Phyllis Hannah Bickle in Chelsea, she trained at the Margaret Morris School of Dancing and performed from the age of ten, gaining her first film role at the age of 12, in The Arcadians (1927), also known as The Land of Heart’s Desire. Calvert performed in repertory theatre and in several films, before making […]

Phyllis Curtin (1921 - 2016)

Born Phyllis Smith in Clarksburg, West Virginia, Phyllis Curtin studied singing with Olga Averino at Wellesley College where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. She pursued graduate studies in vocal performance under Boris Goldovsky at the New England Conservatory. In 1946 she made her professional opera debut with Goldovsky’s opera company, the New […]

Phyllis Davis (1940 - 2013)

Actress. Born Phyllis Ann Davis, she is best remembered for her role as Bea (Beatrice) Travis in the television series “Vega$.” The series aired on ABC TV from 1978 to 1981 and co-starred actor Robert Urich. She briefly attended Lamar College in Texas, where she began her education studying drama. Dropping out of school and […]

Phyllis Diller (1917 - 2012)

Diller was born Phyllis Ada Driver in Lima, Ohio on July 17, 1917, the only child of Perry Marcus Driver (June 13, 1862 – August 12, 1948), an insurance agent, and Frances Ada (née Romshe; January 12, 1881 – January 26, 1949). She had German and Irish ancestry (the surname “Driver” had been changed from […]

Phyllis Frelich (1944 - 2014)

Frelich was born in Devils Lake, North Dakota to deaf parents Esther (née Dockter) and Phillip Frelich, and was the eldest of nine siblings (all deaf). She attended North Dakota School for the Deaf, graduating in 1962, and then went on to study at Gallaudet College (now known as Gallaudet University), a school for the […]

Phyllis Grayce Cox (1928 - 2004)

Actress. She was Shirley Temple’s understudy and was an original member of the “Our Gang” comedy series. She studied dance with Bill “Beaujangles” Robinson, and danced with Gene Kelly. She could have been a star, but chose instead to fulfill her life’s role as a daughter, niece, wife, mother and grandmother. (bio by: John “J-Cat” […]

Phyllis Grayce Cox (1928 - 2004)

Actress. She was Shirley Temple’s understudy and was an original member of the “Our Gang” comedy series. She studied dance with Bill “Beaujangles” Robinson, and danced with Gene Kelly. She could have been a star, but chose instead to fulfill her life’s role as a daughter, niece, wife, mother and grandmother. (bio by: John “J-Cat” […]

Phyllis Haver (1899 - 1960)

She was born Phyllis Haver in Douglass, Kansas. When she was young, her family moved to Los Angeles, California, then a city of less than half a million people. Haver attended Los Angeles Polytechnic High. After graduating, she played piano to accompany the new silent films in local theaters. Phyllis Haver auditioned for comedy producer Mack […]

Phyllis Hill (1920 - 1993)

American actress and dancer of the 1940s through 1970s. She appeared with the Metropolitan Opera Company’s ballet group and the Radio City Music Hall Ballet. Married to actor José Ferrer, then later to actor Frank Overton. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Spouses:  Frank Emmons Overton (1918 – 1967)  José Ferrer (1909 – 1992)* *Calculated […]

Phyllis Kennedy (1914 - 1998)

Actress. After graduating from high school in 1932, she obtained a job as a model in a local department store. On the recommendation of one of her friends, she decided to pursue an acting career and moved to New York City, New York where she got a small stage role in a 1935 production of […]

Phyllis Kirk (1927 - 2006)

Phyllis Kirk was born in Syracuse, New York, though some sources state her birthplace as Plainfield, New Jersey. She contracted polio as a child, which resulted in health problems for the rest of her life. As a teenager, Kirk moved to New York City to study acting and changed her last name from Kirkegaard to Kirk. […]

Phyllis Love (1925 - 2011)

Following her graduation in 1948 from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Institute of Technology (which later would merge with Mellon Institute of Industrial Research to form Carnegie Mellon University), Phyllis Love made her way to New York, where, in short order, Phyllis Love  would gain entry into the recently formed Actors Studio. Her small screen debut would come […]

Phyllis McGuire (1931 - 2020)

Phyllis McGuire Phyllis McGuire, the last of the popular McGuire Sisters singing trio and onetime girlfriend of Chicago Outfit boss Sam Giancana, died December 29 at her Las Vegas home. She was 89. The McGuire Sisters, whose sweet harmonies made them big stars in the 1950s, had chart-topping hits such as “Sincerely” and “Goodnight, Sweetheart, […]

Phyllis Povah (1893 - 1975)

Phyllis Povah (July 21, 1893 – August 7, 1975) was an American stage and film actress. Povah made her Broadway theatre debut in Mr. Pim Passes By in 1921 and acted in minor roles in several productions over the next two decades. She achieved a notable success in a featured role in the stage production of […]

Phyllis Thaxter (1919 - 2012)

Actress. Born Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter, her father served as a justice of the Maine Supreme Court, her mother was a Shakespearean actress, she chose to pursue a career in show business and first gained experience in summer stock productions, followed by further preparation at the Montreal Repertory Theatre. This led to her Broadway association, […]

Piaras Beaslai (1881 - 1965)

Irish author, playwright, biographer and translator. born in Liverpool (England). Fought in the Easter Rising of 1916; later director of publicity for IRA  before dedicating himself to literature. (bio by: David Conway)

Pier Angeli (1932 - 1971)

Born Anna Maria Pierangeli in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. Her twin sister is the actress Marisa Pavan. Pier Angeli made her film debut with Vittorio De Sica in Domani è troppo tardi (1950), after being spotted by director Léonide Moguy and De Sica. She was discovered by Hollywood, and MGM launched her in her first American […]

Pierce Butler (1866 - 1939)

Butler was born to Patrick and Mary Ann Butler, Catholic immigrants from County Wicklow, Ireland. (The pair met in Galena, Illinois, after having left the same part of Ireland because of the Irish Potato Famine.) Soon, the couple settled in Sciota, then Waterford, Dakota County, Minnesota. Their son Pierce Butler was the sixth of nine […]

Piero Sraffa (1908 - 1983)

Italian economist, resident in Cambridge, friend of Keynes, Gramsci and Wittgenstein, his discussions with whom helped change the latter’s philosophical theories. (bio by: David Conway)

Pierre Bachelet (1944 - 2005)

French singer and songwriter. Born in Roubaix in northern France, he spent his childhood and youth in Calais. Initially concentrating on film projects, the first record he made in 1974 was the song “L’Atlantique”. He continued his success with the release of “Les corons”, “Elle est d’ailleurs”, “Ecris moi” and “Sans amour”, all of which […]

Pierre Batcheff (1901 - 1932)

Actor. He appeared in Abel Gance’s “Napoleon” (1927) and Rex Ingram’s “Baroud” (1931), but he is chiefly remembered as the twisted hero of Bunuel’s surrealistic classic “Un Chien Andalou” (1929). He committed suicide at 30. (bio by: Bobb Edwards)