Maxine Doyle (1915 - 1973)

Actress. She was in vaudeville and a radio actress prior to appearing in her first film “Babbitt” (1934). In 1937, she was featured in the Republic Pictures 12-chapter serial “S.O.S. Coast Guard” when she met and later married director William Witney. She spent most of her remaining career in Republic Pictures Westerns to include “The […]

Maxine Elliott Hicks (1904 - 2000)

Actress. She started her career performing on the stage at age 5 in Denver, Colorado and made her screen debut in the silent film “The Borrowed Finery” (1914). A veteran of over 200 films, her credits included “Neighbors” (1918), “The County Fair” (1920), “Babbitt” (1924), “Navy Blues” (1929) and “Private Number” (1936). For television she […]

Maxine Hirsch (1917 - 2000)

Actress. Hosted the television interview show “Hidden Talents,” on which she had guests ranging from actress Barbara Billingsley to the Dali Lama.  Family links:  Parents:  Mabel Lund Greene (1899 – 1987)  Spouse:  Clement Lang Hirsch (1914 – 2000)  Siblings:  Maxine Hirsch (1917 – 2000)  Mark Charles Jelmeland (1919 – 2012)*  Olive Joyce Jelmeland Kelly (1921 […]

Maxine Stuart (1918 - 2013)

Actress. A versatile performer with numerous television credits over a long career, she shall perhaps be best remembered for a classic 1960 episode of “The Twilight Zone”. Born Maxine Shlivek, she was raised in the New Jersey suburbs, took to show business from a young age, bowed on Broadway in 1937’s “Western Waters”, made her […]

Maxwell Anderson (1888 - 1959)

American Journalist, Author, Playwright, and Pulitzer Prize Winner.  He became one of the first modern playwrights to use blank verse extensively in his literary works. Born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, he was the son of a Baptist minister, whose family frequently relocated throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Dakota to follow the father’s ministerial posts. Sickly as […]

Maxwell Bodenheim (1892 - 1954)

Novelist and Poet. Once considered a leading modernist author of the early 20th Century, he is credited with introducing the spirit of French Naturalism into American Literature. His novel “Replenishing Jessica” (1925), a brutally frank tale about a young woman’s sexual liberation among seedy bohemians, was the subject of a famous obscenity trial that helped […]

Maxwell Wilbur Becton (1970 - 1951)

Businessman. Co-founder of Fortune 500 Company Becton Dickson.  Family links:  Spouse:  Valerie Prentiss Becton (1882 – 1938)

May Allison (1890 - 1989)

Allison was born in Rising Fawn, Georgia, the youngest of five children born to Dr. John Simon (Sam) Allison and Nannie Virginia (Wise) Allison.  Violet eyed, Allison made her Broadway stage debut in the 1914 production of Apartment 12-K before settling in Hollywood, California in the early days of motion pictures. Allison’s screen debut was […]

May Baxter (1970 - 1934)

Actress. She appeared in the films, “Penrod” (1922), and “The Sins Of St. Anthony” (1920).  Family links:  Spouse:  Leeds Lincoln Baxter (1883 – 1933)* *Calculated relationship

May Boley (1881 - 1963)

American motion picture actress of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. Appeared with John Barrymore in the 1930 drama “Moby Dick.” (bio by: A.J. Marik)

May Foster (1873 - 1951)

Actress of the Silent Screen. She appeared in “The Midnight Alarm” (1923), “The Crown of Lies” (1926), and “The Scarlett Empress,” among many other popular films of the era. (bio by: A.J. Marik)

May McAvoy (1899 - 1984)

May McAvoy Petite at only four feet, eleven inches tall, weighing in at only eighty-nine pounds, the silent movie star May McAvoy never let her small stature interfere with her professional ambitions. She was born in New York City on September 8th, 1899. Her family owned a livery stable where the Waldcorf-Astoria hotel now stands. […]

May Robson (1858 - 1942)

On 17 September 1883, May Robson became an actress in Hoop of Gold at the Brooklyn Grand Opera House stage. Her name was incorrectly spelled “Robson” in the billing, which she used from that point forward “for good luck”. Over the next several decades, she flourished on the stage as a comedienne and character actress. […]

Maya Angelou (1928 - 2014)

Maya Angelou Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. Hailed as a global renaissance woman, Dr. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.  Born on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Angelou was raised in […]

Maya Plisetskaya (1925 - 2015)

Maya Mikhaylovna Plisetskaya (Russian: Ма́йя Миха́йловна Плисе́цкая; 20 November 1925 – 2 May 2015) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet director, and actress, who held Spanish and Lithuanian citizenship. She danced during the Soviet era at the same time as another famed Russian ballerina Galina Ulanova, and in 1960 took over Ulanova’s title as […]

Maybelle Carter (1909 - 1978)

Maybelle Carter Affectionately and even reverently known as “Mother” Maybelle, Maybelle Carter was one-third of country music’s original first family, the Carters. Born Maybelle Addington in May of 1909, she was related by marriage to A.P. and Sara Carter — she married A.P.’s brother Ezra. Maybelle Carter was the group’s guitarist and also played autoharp […]

Mayme Kelso (1867 - 1946)

Actress. She appeared in “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” with Mary Pickford (1917) and in “Whispering Wires.” (1926). (bio by: MC)

Mayo Methot (1904 - 1951)

Mayo Methot was married three times and had no children. At the age of 19, she married Cosmopolitan Productions cameraman Jack Lamond. They divorced in 1927. In 1931, Methot married Percy T. Morgan, the co-owner of the Cock n’ Bull restaurant on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard. Methot divorced Morgan in February 1937, claiming that Morgan would […]

Mayra Alejandra (1955 - 2014)

Actress. A regular presence in her country’s media for 35 years, she is remembered for her numerous appearances on Venezuelan television soaps. Born Mayra Alejandra Rodriguez Lezema to a show business family, she finished high school at 17 and made her professional bow in the 1975 “Valentina”, a series written by her mother, Ligia Lezema. […]

Mayrata O’Wisiedo (1930 - 1998)

Actress. On screen she appeared in “Lola, Espejo Oscuro” (1966), “El Crack” (1981), “Tacones Lejanos” (1991), “Una Mujer Bajo la Lluvia” (1991) and “El Juego de los Mensajes Invisibles” (1992). On stage she began her career in the 50s appearing on “Las Criadas,” “Salomé,” “Hijos de un Dios Menor” and “Antígona entre Muros.” She also […]

McClelland Barclay (1891 - 1943)

American Artist and Naval Officer. He was already a very successful artist and illustrator prior to becoming a Lieutenent Commander in the United States Naval Reserve. He studied under such prominent artists as Halsey Cooley Ives, George B. Bridgman and Thomas Fogarty and his illustrations were regularly seen on the covers of magazines such as […]

Medgar Evers (1925 - 1963)

Medgar Wiley Evers (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963) was an American civil rights activist from Mississippi who worked to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi and to enact social justice and voting rights. He is remembered for saying “You can kill a man, but you can’t kill an idea.” A World War II […]

Meena Kumari (1932 - 1972)

Meena Kumari was the third daughter of Ali Baksh and Iqbal Begum. Khursheed and Madhu were her two elder sisters. At the time of her birth, her parents were unable to pay the fees of the doctor who had delivered her, so her father left her at a Muslim orphanage. However, he picked her up […]

Meg Mundy (1915 - 2016)

Meg Mundy was born in Marylebone, London. Her mother, Australian opera singer Clytie Hine (1887–1983), studied at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide, South Australia. Her father was English cellist John Mundy. The couple emigrated to the United States in 1921 with their two children. Their father became orchestra manager of the Metropolitan Opera. […]

Meg Wyllie (1917 - 2002)

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, she grew up in the Philippines, where her father worked as an engineer in sugar plantations and moved to New York City in the 1940s. In 1960, she was cast as Mrs. Shafer in the episode “The Captain’s Dilemma” of the CBS military sitcom/drama series, Hennesey, starring Jackie Cooper as a United […]

Megan Kanka (1986 - 1994)

Jesse Timmendequas lured Megan Kanka into his house, raped her, and then killed her from strangulation with a belt. He then placed her body in nearby Mercer County Park. The next day, he confessed to investigators and led police to the site. Evidence included bloodstains, hair, and fiber samples, as well as a bite mark matching […]

Megan Mingyu Williams (1956 - 2000)

Actress. Best known for her performances in the Australian mini series Anzacs (1985), Return to Eden (1986) and her role as Alice Sullivan in the Australian TV series the “Sullivans” (1976). Her first major role occurred in 1974 in the Australian soap opera “Class of 74.” Her other notable acting credits include “All at Sea” […]

Mei-Ling Barbara Yung (1959 - 1985)

Actress. Barbara Yung was a big star in Hong Kong prior to her suicide in 1985, and details of her funeral arrangements were widely publicised in the media. She was cremated in Hong Kong and her ashes taken back to Cambridge, England by her mother to be buried in a cemetery not far from where […]

Meinhardt Raabe (1915 - 2010)

Raabe was born in Watertown, Wisconsin. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1937, with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He later went on to get his MBA at Drexel University.  Raabe did not hear the words “midget” or “dwarf” until young adulthood, and for a long time believed no one else might also […]

Mel Agee (1968 - 2008)

Melvin “Mel” Agee (November 22, 1968 – June 15, 2008) was a professional American football defensive lineman who played in the National Football League, NFL Europe, and the Arena Football League. In his 10-year professional career he played for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts (1991–1992) and Atlanta Falcons (1993–1995); NFL Europe’s Frankfurt Galaxy (1998); and the […]