Barbara Piasecka Johnson (1937 - 2013)

Piasecka Johnson was born in Staniewicze near Grodno, Poland (now in Belarus). Her father was a farmer. She graduated from Wroclaw University with a M.A. in Art History. She left Poland in 1968, with just $100.  Piasecka was hired as a cook by Esther Underwood Johnson, then wife of John Seward Johnson I. Her cooking […]

Barbara Ray (1914 - 1955)

Actress. Born in Harrisburg, Illinois, she began performing in traveling road shows in the mid west before relocating to California. She appeared in a few films and was most noted for her role in “Millions in the Air” (1935). She died in Los Angeles, California. (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)

Barbara Read (1917 - 1963)

Born in Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada, Barbara Read relocated to California during the mid-1930s. Read received her first movie contract while living with in Laguna Beach, California. She was watching a film production in Laguna when she was spotted and offered a screen test. She was given a six-month contract with the production company. When […]

Barbara Rudnik (1958 - 2009)

German actress. Made herself a name internationally with one of her first films, “Kopfschuss” which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Thanks to her good knowledge of both English and French, she was booked for foreign productions, amongst them “Douce France”. She starred in films such as “Zwei Wochen für uns”, “Sehnsucht nach Liebe”, […]

Barbara Ruick (1930 - 1974)

Barbara Ruick was the daughter of actors Lurene Tuttle and Melville Ruick. She grew up acting out scenes with dolls, employing her mother as an audience. She attended Roosevelt High School, Burbank High School in Burbank, and North Hollywood High School. She did little acting in high school but joined a school band at the […]

Barbara Sinatra (1927 - 2017)

Barbara Marx Sinatra (née Blakeley; March 10, 1927 – July 25, 2017) was an American model and showgirl who was married to Zeppo Marx from 1959 to 1973, and was the fourth and final wife of Frank Sinatra from 1976 until his death in 1998. Barbara Ann Blakeley was born on March 10, 1927, in Bosworth, Missouri, the […]

Barbara Stanwyck (1907 - 1990)

Barbara Stanwyck was born Ruby Catherine Stevens on July 16, 1907, in Brooklyn, New York. She was the fifth and youngest child of Catherine Ann (née McPhee) and Byron E. Stevens. Her parents were working class. Her father was a native of Massachusetts and her mother was an immigrant from Nova Scotia. Ruby was of […]

Barbara Stuart (1930 - 2011)

Stuart portrayed “Miss Bunny”, the girlfriend of Sergeant Vincent Carter, played by Frank Sutton, on three seasons of CBS’s Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. In 1969, Stuart was cast as “Wilma Winslow” on CBS’s The Queen and I. In 1985, she was cast as Marianne Danzig, the wife of a Mafia godfather in the ABC’s crime drama Our […]

Barbara Turner (1936 - 2016)

Actress, Screenwriter. Born Gloria Rose Turner, to Jewish parents who both immigrated from Europe. She studied at the University of Texas for one year, prior to returning to New York, where she took acting classes at the Dramatic Workshop, where she met actor Vic Morrow. After her and Morrow married they moved to Hollywood and […]

Barbara Werle (1928 - 2013)

Actress. Born Barbara May Theresa Werle, she attended parochial school and following graduation, she received training in professional ballroom dancing. She achieved national attention when along with her partner John Mansell (under her married name Barbara Branca), they won the Harvest Moon Ball title in 1955. This success led to multiple appearances on the “Ed […]

Barbara Whiting (1931 - 2004)

Movie Actress and Singer. She appeared in a few films such as “Centenial Summer” (1946), “City Across the River” (1949), “Beware my Lovely” (1952) and “Dangerous When Wet” (1953). (bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni)  Family links:  Parents:  Richard Armstrong Whiting (1891 – 1938)  Sibling:  Margaret Whiting (1924 – 2011)*  Barbara Whiting (1931 – 2004) […]

Barbarella “Haji” Catton (1946 - 2013)

Actress. A dark haired beauty known simply as “Haji”, she is remembered for her role in Russ Meyer’s 1965 sexploitation classic “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!”. Raised in Quebec City, she had the misfortune to be well-developed too early for her own good and by 14 was working as an exotic dancer, of necessity hiding her […]

Barbaro (2003 - 2007)

Barbaro (April 29, 2003 – January 29, 2007) was an American thoroughbred racehorse who decisively won the 2006 Kentucky Derby, but shattered his leg two weeks later in the 2006 Preakness Stakes, ending his racing career and eventually leading to his death. On May 20, 2006, Barbaro ran in the Preakness Stakes as a heavy […]

Barbette (1899 - 1973)

Actor, Trapeze Artist. At a young age he left home to become an acrobat. Later he formed a partnership with a woman trapeze artist assuming the role of her twin sister, who had died. As a solo-trapeze and wire-walker artist, he continued to dress as a woman, and in the mid-1920s he went to perform […]

Barbra Streisand (1942 - 1970)

Singer, Actress. This is the location of her future burial site.

Barbro Hiort af Ornas (1921 - 2015)

Swedish Actress. Hiort af Ornas was a well known actress who had a long career in both film and television. She starred in her first film “Kvinnor i fångenskap” in 1943 and would later appear in such works as “While the City Sleeps” (1950), “Sju vackra flickor” (1956), “Brink of Life” (1958), “All These Women” […]

Barend Barendse (1907 - 1989)

TV commentator “spel zonder Grenzen ( Game without Borders).

Barnard Hughes (1915 - 2006)

Hughes was born in Bedford Hills, New York, the son of Irish immigrants Marcella “Madge” (née Kiernan) and Owen Hughes. He attended La Salle Academy and Manhattan College in New York City. Hughes served in the United States Army during World War II. Hughes was married to actress Helen Stenborg. They married on April 19, […]

Barney Bernard (1877 - 1924)

American actor of film and stage. In the early 1900s with his friend, Alexander Carr, they created the comedy duo, ‘Potash and Perlmutter.’ Bernard appeared in the film and stage version by the same name. He also appeared in, “The Mother And The Law” (1919), “The Phantom Fortunes” (1916), “A Prince In A Pawnshop” (1916) […]

Barney Bigard (1906 - 1980)

Barney Bigard was born in New Orleans to a family of Creoles. The son of Alexander and Emanuella Bigard, he had two brothers, Alexander Jr. and Sidney. His uncle, Emile Bigard, was a jazz violinist. He attended local schools and studied music and clarinet with Lorenzo Tio. In the early 1920s he moved to Chicago, where […]

Barney Isaacs Barnato (1851 - 1970)

Financier and rogue. Born Barnett Isaacs in 1852, he made his first fortune in diamonds in South Africa and returned to England to become king of the market in gold shares (‘kaffirs’). His visiting card bore the inscription ‘I’ll stand you a drink but I won’t lend you a fiver’. Took to drink and commited […]

Barney Isaacs Barnato (1851 - 1970)

Financier and rogue. Born Barnett Isaacs in 1852, he made his first fortune in diamonds in South Africa and returned to England to become king of the market in gold shares (‘kaffirs’). His visiting card bore the inscription ‘I’ll stand you a drink but I won’t lend you a fiver’. Took to drink and commited […]

Barney Ross (1909 - 1967)

Barney Ross Dov-Ber (or Beryl) Rosofsky was born in New York City to Isidore “Itchik” Rosofsky and Sarah Epstein Rosofsky. His father was a Talmudic scholar who had emigrated to America from his native Brest-Litovsk after barely surviving a pogrom. The family then moved from New York to Chicago. Isidore became a rabbi and owner […]

Barney Rosset (1922 - 2012)

Rosset was born and raised in Chicago to a Jewish father, Barnet Rosset, and an Irish Catholic mother, Mary (née Tansey). He attended the progressive Francis Parker School, where he was best friends with renowned cinematographer Haskell Wexler. He went on to study at Swarthmore College, UCLA and the New School for Social Research. He […]

Barry Allan Ackerley (1934 - 2011)

Barry Allan Ackerley Sports Magnate. He was the principal owner of the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association, from 1983 to 2001. A graduate of the University of Iowa, he rose to the position of Chairman and Corporate Executive Officer (CEO) of Ackerley Communications, a media conglomerate operating television and radio stations in 20 […]

Barry Ashbee (1939 - 1977)

Barry Ashbee played his junior hockey with the Barrie Flyers in the Ontario Hockey Association, started his professional career by playing eight seasons with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, although he did play 14 games with the Boston Bruins of the NHL during the 1965–66 season. He became an NHL regular with […]

Barry Atwater (1918 - 1978)

The son of a renowned landscape painter of the same name, Barry Atwater was born in Denver, Colorado. He served as head of the UCLA Sound Department before he began his acting career. His work teaching audio techniques led to a role in the student film A Time Out of War, a Civil War allegory […]

Barry Barnes (1906 - 1965)

British actor who starred in “Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel” (1938) and “The Midas Touch” (1940). (bio by: Kieran Smith)

Barry Brown (1951 - 1978)

Born Donald Barry Brown in San Jose, California, he was the eldest child of Donald Bernard Brown and Vivian Brown (née Agrillo). His sister was the actress Marilyn Brown, who committed suicide in 1997 at the age of 44. His brother is the novelist James Brown (Final Performance, Hot Wire), who etched an intimate portrait […]

Barry Commoner (1917 - 2012)

Commoner was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 28, 1917, the son of Jewish immigrants from Russia. He received his bachelor’s degree in zoology from Columbia University in 1937 and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard University in 1938 and 1941, respectively.  After serving as a lieutenant in the United States Navy during […]