Joe Ball (1896 - 1938)

Joe Ball (January 5, 1896 – September 24, 1938) was an American serial killer, sometimes referred to as “The Alligator Man”, the “Butcher of Elmendorf” and the “Bluebeard of South Texas”. He is known to have killed two and is said to have killed as many as 20 women in the 1930s. His existence was […]

Joe Barbera (1911 - 2006)

American Animator, Director and Producer. Born on Delancey Street in the Little Italy Lower East Side section of Manhattan, New York. The son of Vincent Barbera and Francesca Calvacca. Joseph displayed a talent for drawing as early as the first grade. While in high school, Joseph won several boxing titles. He graduated from Erasmus Hall […]

Joe Ben Wheat (1916 - 1997)

Scholar and Author. Curator of Anthropology Emeritus at the University of Colorado at Boulder (tenure: 1953-1986). Also served during the same time period as Assistant Professor of Natural History at the University of Colorado Museum. Wheat contributed to Mogollon and Anasazi, Plains Paleo-indian, and African Paleolithic archaeology. Also made contributions to the study of Southwestern […]

Joe Besser (1907 - 1988)

Actor. He was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and from a very early age knew he wanted a career in show business. His parents, who had immigrated from Poland in 1895, encouraged his love of magic and the theatre. As he would remark later in life, he spent most of his time attending […]

Joe Brainard (1942 - 1994)

Artist. He was born in Salem (Arkansas) and died in New York. In 1964, he made his first New York solo exhibition, at the Alan Gallery. Subsequently he showed regularly at the Landau-Alan and Fischbach galleries, and took part in many group shows around the country and abroad, including those at the Museum of Modern […]

Joe Brooks (1923 - 2007)

Actor. He is best remembered for his role as the near-sighted Trooper Vanderbilt on the classic television series, “F Troop” from 1965 to 1967. Born John Joseph Brooks Jr., in Los Angeles, he began his acting career after graduating from high school and had his first speaking part in the 1944 John Wayne film, “The […]

Joe Cesare Colombo (1930 - 1971)

Cesare “Joe” Colombo was until 1949 educated at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, the academy of fine arts, in Milano as a painter and studied afterwards until 1954 Architecture at Politecnico di Milano University. In 1951 he joined the Movimento Nucleare, founded by Sergio D´Angelo and Enrico Baj. The following four years Colombo was […]

Joe Cocker (1944 - 2014)

Joe Cocker John Robert “Joe” Cocker, OBE (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English rock and blues singer and musician who came to popularity in the 1960s. He was known for his gritty voice, spasmodic body movement in performance, and cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles.  Cocker’s cover […]

Joe Cole (1961 - 1991)

Joe Cole Actor. He is best remembered for his role of Tex Watson in the movie “The Book of Manson” (1989).  The son of movie actor Dennis Cole and Sally Bergeron Cole, Joe Cole was a minor actor just beginning his career, and had first appeared in the movie “Weatherman ’69” (1989).  He continued to […]

Joe Colombo (1923 - 1978)

Organized Crime Figure. He was the head of the Colombo crime family (named after him) from 1963 until he was shot in the head and critically wounded at a rally for the Italian American Civil Rights League (which he started) at Columbus Circle in New York City, New York on June 28, 1971. His shooting […]

Joe Conley (1928 - 2013)

Joe Conley (March 3, 1928 – July 7, 2013) was an American actor who played many small roles on television and is most remembered for his role as the storekeeper Ike Godsey on The Waltons. Joe Conley was born in Buffalo, New York. He started acting after returning from military service in Korea, and was running […]

Joe De Stefani (1879 - 1940)

Italian-born stage and motion picture actor of the 1910s thru 1940s. He was sometimes credited as Joseph Stefani. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Spouse:  Helen Keers De Stefani (1879 – 1938)* *Calculated relationship

Joe DeRita (1909 - 1993)

Joe DeRita Actor, Comedian. Born into a show-business family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Florenz (DeRita) and Frank Wardell. His given name was Joseph Wardell. Joe began performing at the age of 7. He played the Burlesque circuit until 1942 when he went to headline in California stage shows. He toured with Randolph Scott […]

Joe Di Reda (1928 - 2007)

Joe Di Reda Joseph James di Reda, veteran character actor and screenwriter, passed away peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his loving family on Saturday, June 16th, in UMass Memorial Hospital, Worcester, of melanoma. He was born September 16, 1928 in Worcester to Grazia (Ricchiuti) and Salvatore di Reda. Joseph appeared in numerous films and […]

Joe Diffie (1958 - 2020)

Joe Diffie he beauty of country music is its ability to reflect the lives of its listeners, and few artists have celebrated life’s challenges and triumphs with more heartfelt eloquence than Joe Diffie. Whether singing about untarnished love in the enduring hit “John Deere Green,” the perennial appeal of “Pickup Man” or the heartbreak of […]

Joe DiMaggio (1914 - 1999)

Joe DiMaggio DiMaggio was born in Martinez, California, the eighth of nine children born to Italian immigrants Giuseppe (1872–1949) and Rosalia (Mercurio) DiMaggio (1878–1951). He was delivered by a midwife identified on his birth certificate as Mrs. J. Pico. He was named after his father; “Paolo” was in honor of Giuseppe’s favorite saint, Saint Paul. The family moved to nearby San Francisco when […]

Joe Dowell (1940 - 2016)

Joe Dowell (January 23, 1940 – February 4, 2016) was an American pop singer. He was born in Bloomington, Indiana, but moved to Bloomington, Illinois, as a child. He first performed at a ninth-grade talent show, and later attended the University of Illinois. At his first recording session (backed by organist Ray Stevens), he sang the […]

Joe E. Brown (1892 - 1973)

Actor, Comedian.  Born in Holgate, Ohio, he exhibited natural athletic ability as a boy, and joined a tumbling act which toured and appeared with circuses and area vaudeville theaters. After spending a number of years as a youth touring and performing, he returned to Toledo, Ohio at age fourteen.  He played on many Toledo amateur […]

Joe Esposito (1938 - 2016)

Joe Esposito Joe Esposito (born January 22, 1938-November 23,2016) was a veteran author and publisher, who along with his long-time business partner Daniel Lombardy, have several best selling books to their credit. Joe Esposito is best known for his association with Elvis Presley. He first met Presley while serving in the military in 1958. They […]

Joe Frank Cobb (1916 - 2002)

Joe Frank Cobb (November 7, 1916 – May 21, 2002) was an American child actor, most notable for appearing as the original “fat boy” in the Our Gang comedies from 1922 to 1929. Some sources such as the first edition (1977) of Our Gang: The Life and Times of the Little Rascals documented him as […]

Joe Frazier (1944 - 2011)

Joe Frazier Hall of Fame Professional Boxer. Olympic Gold Medalist. World Heavyweight Champion (1970 until 1973). Regarded by may as being one of the greatest fighters of his era, he is famed for his epic bouts against Muhammad Ali, notably the contest referred to as the “Thrilla in Manila”. The son of a sharecropper, he […]

Joe Gans (1874 - 1910)

Joe Gans Gans started boxing professionally about 1891 in Baltimore. He shocked the boxing world with his “scientific” approach to fighting. Finding an opponents strengths and weaknesses, then competing with a game-plan was Gan’s specialty. Known as a true student of the sport. In 1900, Gans quit with an eye cut in the twelfth round […]

Joe Garagiola Sr (1926 - 2016)

Joe Garagiola Sr Joe Garagiola, who spent nine forgettable seasons in the major leagues as a weak-hitting catcher and then parlayed his witty tales of life as a baseball underachiever into a far more notable career as a folksy broadcaster and television personality, died on Wednesday in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 90. Major League Baseball […]

Joe Grant (1908 - 2005)

Born in New York City, New York, Joe Grant worked for The Walt Disney Company as a character designer and story artist beginning in 1933 on the Mickey Mouse short, Mickey’s Gala Premier. He was a Disney legend. He created the Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He co-wrote Dumbo. He also led […]

Joe H. Astroth, Sr (1922 - 2013)

Major League Baseball Player. For ten seasons (1945 to 1946 and 1949 to 1956), he played at the catcher position with the Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics. Born Joseph Henry Astroth, he attended Alton High School in Illinois and during his collegiate years at the University of Illinois, he excelled as a multi-sport athlete whom lettered in […]

Joe Henderson (1937 - 2001)

Joe Henderson spent two years (1960–62) in the U.S. Army: first in Fort Benning, where he even competed in the army talent show and won first place, then in Fort Belvoir, where he was chosen for a world tour, with a show to entertain soldiers. While in Paris, he met Kenny Drew and Kenny Clarke. […]

Joe Higgs (1940 - 1999)

Joe Higgs was instrumental in the foundation of modern Jamaican music, first recording in 1958 for producer and businessman (and later Jamaican Prime Minister) Edward Seaga, both as a solo artist and with Roy Wilson. He is often called the “Godfather of Reggae”. His first release (with Wilson) was “Oh Manny Oh” in 1958, which […]

Joe Hyams (1923 - 2008)

Joe Hyams was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 6, 1923, and grew up in nearby Brookline, Massachusetts. While attending Harvard University, he enlisted in the United States Army in 1942. He received a Purple Heart and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal while serving in the South Pacific. He later covered the war for […]

Joe Louis (1914 - 1981)

Joe Louis Professional Boxer. Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1937 to 1949. He began his pro career in 1934, and by 1936 he had beaten such great heavyweights as Stanley Poreda, Natie Brown, and Rosco Toles. He was seemingly invincible, until his meeting with Max Schmeling on June 19, 1936. Schmeling was the underdog […]

Joe May (1880 - 1954)

After studying in Berlin and a variety of odd jobs, Joe May began his career as a stage director of operettas in Hamburg. In 1902 he had married the actress Mia May (born Hermine Pfleger) and took his stage name from hers. As Joe May, he made ten films for Continental-Art Film GmbH in Berlin; the […]