Elliott Daingerfield (1859 - 1932)

Painter. The son of Captain John Elliott Daingerfield and Matilda Wickham DeBrau Daingerfield. Raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. At 21 he moved to New York to study art. during his first year in New York, Daingerfield exhibited his work The Monk Smelling a Bottle of Wine at the National Academy of Design. He left Satterlee […]

Elliott Dexter (1870 - 1941)

Actor. He started his career as a stage and vaudeville performer, before making his first film appearance at 45 in “Helene of the North” (1915). A popular figure during the silent era he appeared in 58 films before retiring from acting in 1925. His credits include “The Whispering Chorus” (1918), “Behold My Wife” (1920), “The […]

Elliott Reid (1920 - 2013)

Elliott Reid was born in Manhattan, New York, the son of artist Christine Challenger Reid and banker Blair Reid. In 1935, Reid debuted on the radio program The March of Time, which led to him working regularly on radio dramas during the Golden Age of radio. Early on he took “Elliott” as his stage name. His […]

Ellis Gimbel (1865 - 1950)

Department Store Founder.  Family links:  Parents:  Adam Gimbel (1816 – 1896)  Fridoline Kahnweiler Gimbel (1830 – 1886)  Children:  Fridolyn Gimbel Graham (1891 – 1971)*  Ellis A Gimbel (1898 – 1964)*  Richard Gimbel (1898 – 1970)*  Siblings:  Harriet Gimbel Labe (1848 – 1909)*  Julia Gimbel Greenewald (1849 – 1903)*  Jacob Gimbel (1851 – 1922)*  Sallie Gimbel […]

Ellison Onizuka (1946 - 1986)

Ellison Onizuka was selected for the astronaut program in January 1978, and completed one year of evaluation and training in August 1979. Later, he worked in the experimentation team, Orbiter test team, and launch support crew at Kennedy Space Center for the STS-1 and STS-2. At NASA, he worked on the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory […]

Ellison Shoji Onizuka (1946 - 1986)

Astronaut. Born in Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii, he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force and served as a NASA Mission Specialist Astronaut. At Kennedy Space Center, Florida, January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after the launch taking the life of Onizuka and six other crew members. (bio by: John […]

Ellsworth Johnson (1905 - 1968)

Organized Crime Figure. Ellsworth Raymond “Bumpy” Johnson was a notorious gangster who operated one of the largest numbers rackets headquartered in Harlem, NY. His criminal career spanned three decades from the early 1930’s until his death in 1968. He was one of the first African Americans of his era to become a millionaire, albeit through […]

Ellsworth Milton Statler (1863 - 1928)

Hotel Pioneer. At the age of 13, he obtained a job as belle boy at the McLure House Hotel, Virginia, starting a life long interest in the hotel business. With experience, he worked his way up applying methods to develop ideas to improve hotel service, efficiency and business. Through the McLure House, he turned an […]

Elmer Bernstein (1922 - 2004)

Bernstein was born in New York City, the son of Selma (née Feinstein, 1901-1991), from Ukraine, and Edward Bernstein (1896-1968), from Austria-Hungary. He was not related to the celebrated composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein; but the two men were friends, and even shared a certain physical similarity. Within the world of professional music, they were […]

Elmer Booth (1882 - 1915)

Actor. He starred in D. W. Griffith’s “The Musketeers of Pig Alley” (1912), cited by many film experts as the first gangster flick. Playing The Snapper Kid, a Manhattan street tough engaged in a turf war on the Lower East Side, Booth interpreted the gangster as a cocky,  enterprising antihero,  far different from the standard […]

Elmer Grey (1872 - 1963)

American Architect, Artist. Grey, who designed many noted landmarks in Southern California, is credited with being a pioneer in the development of the new American architecture in the early 20th century. Grey, who did not attend college, worked as an apprentice for a Milwaukee architectural firm from 1887 to 1899. He eventually moved to California […]

Elmer L. Ralphs (1886 - 1930)

Supermarket chain executive. Elmer Ralphs was the nephew of George A. Ralphs, founder of the Ralphs grocery store chain. After George Ralphs died in 1914, management of the chain was passed to his son, Albert, and his two nephews, Elmer and Walter W. Ralphs. At the time of his death, from blood poisoning at the […]

Elmore Leonard (1925 - 2013)

Leonard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Flora Amelia (née Rive) and Elmore John Leonard, Sr. Because his father worked as a site locator for General Motors, the family moved frequently for several years. In 1934, the family settled in Detroit.  He graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in […]

Elof Ahrle (1900 - 1965)

Actor, Motion Picture Director. Educated at missionary Elin Svensson´s Teaterskola (Theatre School) in Nyköping, Sweden, he appeared in 77 motion pictures during his career, and directed several films as well. He is especially will be remembered for his roles in “Krigsmans erinran” (1947), “Jazzgossen” (1958) and “Mälarpirater” (1959). He also acted on stage in comedies […]

Eloísa Cañizares (1970 - 2002)

Actress, Director. She was born in Valencia, Spain. Her parents were actors in the prestigious Margarita Xirgu stage company and soon they was forced into exile at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. On stage she debuted at the age of nine and toured South America, particularly in the plays of dramatist Federico García […]

Elouise Pepion Cobell (1945 - 2011)

Native American Leader. An elder of the Niitsi’tapi people, she worked as treasurer of the Blackfeet Nation. During the course of her job, she noticed irregularities that led her to question the federal government’s management of Indian trust funds. As a result, she became the lead plaintiff in Cobell v. Salazar, a class-action lawsuit against […]

Elsa Berenguer (1932 - 2006)

Actress. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. An award-winning stage, screen and television actress, Berenguer was a member of the stage group “La Nueva Máscara”, in the late 1950s. She received the prestigious Molière Award in 1974 for her work on the play “Sabor a Miel” and in 1981 the Estrella de Mar Award […]

Elsa Lanchester (1902 - 1986)

Elsa Lanchester made her film debut in The Scarlet Woman (1925) and in 1928 appeared in three ‘silent shorts’ written for her by H.G. Wells and directed by Ivor Montagu (Bluebottles, Daydreams and The Tonic) in which Laughton made brief appearances. They also appeared together in a 1930 ‘film revue’ entitled Comets, featuring British stage, […]

Elsa Maartman Beskow (1874 - 1953)

Children’s book writer, artist. She both wrote and illustrated numerous children’s books, many of which have reached international fame. (bio by: Klas Grönqvist)

Elsa Martinelli (1935 - 2017)

Born Elisa Tia in Grosseto, Tuscany, she moved to Rome with her family and in 1953 was discovered by Roberto Capucci who introduced her to the world of fashion. Elsa Martinelli became a model and began playing small roles in films. She appeared in Claude Autant-Lara’s Le Rouge et le Noir (1954), but her first […]

Elsa O’Connor (1906 - 1947)

Actress. Born Elsa Asunción Celestino in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she was a popular film drama figure in the 1930’s and 40s. Her many film credits included “Toolbar Mendoza” (1935), “Which Did not Spare” (1938), “Lady Companion” (1940), “I Knew That Woman” (1942), “Desire” (1944) and “The Dark Path” (1947). (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)

Elsie “Poppy” Mackay (1970 - 1928)

Actress, Interior Designer, and Aviation Pioneer. She is remembered as a British actress, interior decorator and aviator who died attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean with Captain Walter Hinchliffe. She was regarded as a contemporary role model among women, with dark looks, graceful manner, and a habitually well-gowned and bejeweled appearance. Born Elsie Mackay in […]

Elsie Ferguson (1883 - 1961)

Born in New York City, Elsie Ferguson was the only child of Hiram and Amelia Ferguson, her father was a successful attorney. Raised and educated in Manhattan, she became interested in the theater at a young age and made her stage debut at seventeen as a chorus girl in a musical comedy. She quickly became […]

Elsie Ferguson Ferguson (1883 - 1961)

Actress. Known as “The Aristocrat of the Silent Screen,” she starred in many popular films of the early silent cinema. She was married for a time to British screen actor Frederick Worlock. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Spouse:  Frederick Worlock (1886 – 1973)* *Calculated relationship

Elsie Frost (1951 - 1965)

Elsie Frost had spent the afternoon at Snapethorpe School’s sailing club on Horbury Lagoon, a lake next to the Calder and Hebble canal. When Elsie and her friends left between 3:50 pm and 4:00 pm, she took a different route to the others, avoiding the canal towpath to prevent her new shoes getting muddy. She […]

Elsie Janis (1889 - 1956)

American writer, actress, and composer. Daughter of Lou Bierbauer.  She was an excellent screenwriter and Broadway muscial comedy star and earned international acclaim for her talents in France and England, but she also lead hundred of United States Government War Bond rallies during World War I as well as being the forerunner of modern troop […]

Elspet Gray (1929 - 2013)

Elspet Gray appeared in many television programmes, her first appearance being in Love in Waiting in 1948. She had several roles in the 1970s including parts in Fawlty Towers, as the wife of a psychiatrist baffled by Basil’s behaviour, The Crezz, Catweazle, and in the 1980s with Doctor Who story Arc of Infinity and the […]

Elspeth Dudgeon (1871 - 1955)

Character Actress. She had numerous movie roles from the 1930s through the 1950s, many of which were uncredited. Acted in Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Last Outpost (1935), Show Boat (1936), The Prince and the Pauper (1937), The Story of Vernon & Irene Castle (1939), Bulldog Drummond’s Secret Police (1939), Calling Dr. Kildare (1939), Pride […]

Elswyth Thane Ricker Beebe (1900 - 1984)

Writer. Elswyth Thane was a twentieth century romantic historical novelist. Her most recognized work was a seven-novel series entitled “Williamsburg”, which was about a family from the Revolutionary War to World War II. Born Helen Ricker, her parents were Edith and Maurice Ricker, both educators. In 1918, the family moved form Iowa to New York […]

Elvia Allman (1904 - 1992)

Elvia Allman (September 19, 1904 – March 6, 1992) was a character actress and voice over performer in Hollywood films and television programs for over 50 years. She is best remembered for her semi-regular roles on The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction and for being the voice of Walt Disney’s Clarabelle Cow. Her mark in […]