Roger Wolcott Sperry (1913 - 1994)

In 1942, Roger Wolcott Sperry began work at the Yerkes Laboratories of Primate Biology, then a part of Harvard University. There he focused on experiments involving the rearranging of motor and sensory nerves. He left in 1946 to become an assistant professor, and later associate professor, at the University of Chicago. In 1949, during a […]

Roger Youderian (1924 - 1956)

Roger Youderian was born in Sumatra, Montana, of Armenian descent. He contracted polio at the age of nine, crippling him slightly. He overcame the effects of the disease during high school, making it possible for him to play basketball. After graduating from Fergus High School in Lewistown, Montana in 1941, he attended Montana State College […]

Rogers Hornsby (1896 - 1963)

Rogers Hornsby, Sr. (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed “The Rajah”, was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 1933), New York Giants (1927), Boston Braves (1928), Chicago Cubs (1929–1932), and St. Louis Browns (1933–1937). Hornsby […]

Roland Alphonso (1931 - 1998)

Born in Havana, Cuba, Roland Alphonso came to Jamaica at the age of two with his Jamaican mother, and started to learn saxophone at the Stony Hill Industrial School. In 1948 he left school to join Eric Deans’ orchestra and soon passed through other bands in the hotel circuit and first recorded as a member of […]

Roland Drew (1900 - 1988)

Actor. Appeared as ‘Inspector Vernon’ in “From Nine to Nine,” As ‘Hans Memling’ in “Hitler Beast of Berlin,” as ‘Mr. Best’ in ” The Bermuda Mistery,” as ‘Steve Maitland’ in “Two O’Clock Courage.” (bio by: MC)

Roland Eli Coate (1890 - 1958)

American Architect.  Coate, who is credited with designing the first Monterey Colonial home in Southern California, first attended Earlham College for two years, then transferred to Cornell University where he earned his degree in architecture in 1914.  After serving in World War I as a 1st Lieutenant with the American Expeditionary Forces, he moved to […]

Roland Hanna (1932 - 2002)

Roland Pembroke Hanna (February 10, 1932 in Detroit, Michigan – November 13, 2002 in Hackensack, New Jersey) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and teacher. Hanna studied classical piano from the age of 11, but was strongly interested in jazz, having been introduced to it by his friend, pianist Tommy Flanagan. This interest increased after his […]

Roland Harrah, III (1973 - 1995)

Actor. Born in Denver, Colorado, he was a child performer in films and television. His big screen credits include “Kung Fu: The Movie” (1986), “Braddock: Missing In Action III” (1988) and “Shadow of China” (1990). For television, he was a regular on programs such as “Scarecrow and Mrs. King”, “Airwolf” and “Magnum, P.I.”. He died […]

Roland Joseph “Mighty Mite” McLenahan (1921 - 1984)

Professional Hockey Player. Also known as ‘Rollie.’ A native of Fredericton, New Brunswick, he played the position of Defense in the National Hockey League. At 5’07, and 170lbs, he played with th Detroit Red Wings from 1945 to 1946. Inthe Minor Leagues he was a member of the AHL First-All Star Team in 1950, and […]

Roland Young (1887 - 1953)

Actor. Young made his stage debut in 1911 with Arthur Bouries in “Find the Woman”.  After playing for some time in the English provinces he appeared in “Improper Peter” in London. So successful was he in this play that his next chance came from New York where he played in “Hindle Wakes” and in shorter […]

Rolf Herricht (1927 - 1981)

Rolf Herricht graduated from school in 1943 after passing a ‘War Abitur’, a form of an Abitur designated to free school pupils to be mobilized. In 1945, he was drafted to the Volkssturm and assigned as an anti-aircraft battery assistant. After the war’s end, he began working as property master and stage manager in a theater […]

Rolland Bedard (1913 - 1987)

Actor. Bedard is best remembered for his role as ‘Uncle Raoul’ on the television series, “The Forest Rangers” (1963-1966). He appeared in the films “Highpoint” (1984), “Maria Chapdelaine” (1983), “Fantastica” (1980), “Cordelia” (1980), “Partis Pour La Gloire” (1975), “Lies My Father Told Me” (1975), “Instant French” (1965), “Big Red” (1962), “The Promised Land” (1959), “Que […]

Romain Gary (1914 - 1980)

Gary was born in Vilna, Russian Empire (now Vilnius, Lithuania) under the name Roman Kacew (Yiddish: קצב‎, Russian: Рома́н Ка́цев). In his books and interviews, he presented many different versions of his parents’ origins, ancestry, occupation and his own childhood. His mother, Mina Owczyńska, was a Litvak actress from Švenčionys and his father was a […]

Romaine Brooks (1874 - 1970)

Painter. She was born Romaine Mary Goddard on May 1, 1874, in Rome, Italy. In 1905, after leaving her husband with a generous annuity, Brooks cut her hair, donned men’s clothes and returned to Paris, where she began painting the portraits for which she became renowned.  In 1915 Brooks met and fell in love with […]

Romaine Callender (1883 - 1976)

Actor. Born in in Sheffield, England as Alfred Romaine Callender, he was best remembered for his role as E.J. Easton in “Alibi for Murder” (1936) and as Ralph P. Snirley in “So They Were Married” (1936). He made his big screen debut during the silent film era appearing in “My Wife” (1918) and went on […]

Roman Andrejewich Rudenko (1907 - 1981)

Rudenko was one of main chargers (together with one American, French and English judge) at the international military court against the Nazis in Nuremberg (Germany) in the years 1945-1946, after the World War II . He was also in the years 1953-1974 General State Lawyer of U. S. S. R.  Family links:  Spouse:  Maria Fedorovna […]

Roman Bohnen (1901 - 1949)

After the failure of a play called Five Alarm Waltz in 1941, Roman Bohnen and [his daughter] Marina moved to Hollywood. His first film was the Vogues of 1938 (1937). By 1941, he was working almost exclusively in film. Among his better-known roles are Candy in Of Mice and Men (1939) and Pat Derry in […]

Romulus Linney (1930 - 2011)

Linney was born in Philadelphia, the son of Maitland (née Thompson) and Romulus Zachariah Linney III. His great-grandfather was Republican congressman Romulus Zachariah Linney.  Linney was raised in Boone, North Carolina and Madison, Tennessee. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College and an Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School […]

Romy Schneider (1938 - 1982)

Romy Schneider’s first film, made when she was 15, was Wenn der weiße Flieder wieder blüht (When the White Lilacs Bloom Again) in 1953, credited as Romy Schneider-Albach. In 1954, Schneider for the first time portrayed a royal, playing a young Queen Victoria in the Austrian film Mädchenjahre einer Königin (known in the U.S. as […]

Ron “Atch” Atchison (1930 - 2010)

Professional Football Player. Raised in Saskatoon, his lengthy association with football began in 1947, when he joined the Saskatoon Junior Hilltops and played with them until 1949. For seventeen seasons (1952 to 1968), he played at the middle-guard and defensive-tackle positions in the Canadian Football League with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Signed by the team as […]

Ron Banks (1951 - 2010)

R&B Vocalist. He was a founding member of the Detroit-based music group The Dramatics. Originally named The Dynamics, Banks formed the group as a teenager in the early 1960s,  along with William Howard, Larry Demps, Willie Ford and Elbert Wilkins;  their influences were Jackie Wilson and the Motown groups Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and […]

Ron Carey (1935 - 2007)

Ron Carey (December 11, 1935 – January 16, 2007) was an American film and television actor. The 5-foot 4-inch actor was best known for playing ambitious NYPD Police Officer Carl Levitt on TV’s Barney Miller, in which he was almost always surrounded by male actors (and sometimes female guest stars) who stood at least four […]

Ron Goldman (1968 - 1994)

Ron Goldman Murder Victim. He and a casual friend, Nicole Brown Simpson, were found murdered at her Brentwood condominium, just outside her front door. Ronald Goldman, a waiter at a nearby restaurant, was returning eyeglasses that she had accidentally left there at dinner that night. He is considered an accidental victim of the murder, either […]

Ron Goodwin (1925 - 2003)

Ron Goodwin is primarily known for his film music and worked on more than 70 scores during his career. He composed his first feature film, Man with a Gun in 1958 and was quickly followed by The Witness and Whirlpool (fr) a year later. Early minor film success followed with several films until 1961 when […]

Ron Mason (1940 - 2016)

Ron Mason played junior hockey with the Ontario Hockey Association’s Peterborough Petes and the Ottawa Junior Canadians. From there Mason enrolled at St. Lawrence University in the upstate town of Canton, New York where he lettered in hockey for three years. In his first season at SLU in 1960-61, Mason and the Skating Saints were […]

Ron Ormond (1910 - 1981)

Ron Ormond was born Vittorio Di Naro, anglicised to Vic Narro. He took his surname from his friend the magician and hypnotist Ormond McGill. Ron Ormond married the vaudeville singer and dancer June Carr (1912–2006) six weeks after he met her when they were performing on stage in 1935. Ormond was performing as a magician […]

Ron Santo (1940 - 2010)

Ronald Edward Santo (February 25, 1940 – December 3, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman who played for the Chicago Cubs from 1960 through 1973 and the Chicago White Sox in 1974. In 1990, Santo became a member of the Cubs broadcasting team providing commentary for Cubs games on WGN radio […]

Ron Silver (1946 - 2009)

Silver was born in New York City, the son of May (née Zimelman), a substitute teacher, and Irving Roy Silver, a clothing sales executive. Silver was raised Jewish on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and attended Stuyvesant High School.  Silver went on to graduate from SUNY at Buffalo, with a Bachelor of Arts in […]

Ron Vawter (1948 - 1994)

Vawter was born in Latham, New York, to Matilda (Buttoni) and Elton Lee Vawter. His maternal grandparents were Italian. He originated roles in Rumstick Road, Nayatt School, Point Judith (an epilog), Route 1 & 9, Hula, L.S.D. (…Just the High Points…), Frank Dell’s The Temptation of Saint Antony, North Atlantic, and Brace Up!. He appeared […]

Ron Woodroof (1950 - 1992)

Woodroof was born in Dallas, Texas, on February 3, 1950, to Garland Odell Woodroof (March 17, 1917, in Texas – December 3, 1983, in Dallas) and Willie Mae Hughes (November 25, 1917, in Oklahoma – November 19, 1996, in Dallas).  His first marriage was to Mary Etta Pybus on June 28, 1969, in Dallas; and […]