Irving Applebaum Allen (1905 - 1987)

Film and Television Producer,  Director. He is best remembered today for the break up of his partnership with Albert “Cubby” Broccoli,  when he disagreed with Broccoli that the James Bond novel series would translate over to film. Allen reportedly told Bond author Ian Fleming during their initial meeting that his stories weren’t even good enough […]

Fred Allen (1894 - 1956)

Radio Entertainer, Actor. Born John Florence Sullivan on May 31, 1894, Fred Allen began his career in vaudeville before becoming one of radio’s most original and admired comedians. Allen began his radio career on October 23, 1932, starring on The Linit Bath Club Revue. By 1934, Allen was starring on Town Hall Tonight, a one-hour […]

Emilio Alfaro (1933 - 1998)

Actor. He had a career that lasted more than 30 years in theater, TV and cinema (participated in 14 movies).

Leonard Harrison “Lennie” Aleshire (1890 - 1987)

Entertainer, Musician. He teamed up with Floyd Rutledge as the musical comedy due “Lennie and Goo Goo”, and were pioneers that set the stage for became known as “hillbilly music.” Famous for their comedy and musical talent by playing cow bells and their crude homemade instruments, their career spanned from the 1920s to the 1960. […]

Francesco Albanese (1912 - 2005)

Opera Singer. A lyric tenor, he had a two decade-long career that saw him perform in a number of leading venues. A native of Naples, he initially studied in Boston where he won a major vocal competition, then in Rome with Francesco Salfi. Albanese began performing Neapolitan Songs, for which he was known throughout his […]

Albert Akst (1899 - 1958)

Musician, Motion Picture Film Editor.  A former saxophone player in one of the Meyer Davis Orchestra, he worked as a musician in vaudeville until 1930. He joined Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios as a short subjects motion picture cutter and worked his way up to one of the top editors of the company, editing fifty three […]

Chantal Akerman (1950 - 2015)

Filmmaker and Director. Akerman was a director whose observation of women’s inner lives, often using long takes, made her a pioneer in feminist and experimental filmmaking. Born to Polish Holocaust survivors, she was inspired to begin making films as a teenager after seeing Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Pierrot le Fou’ (1965).  Her first film, ‘Saute Ma Ville’ […]

David “Stringbean” Akeman (1916 - 1973)

Comedian, Country Musician. One of the top musical stars of Nashville, Tennessee’ Grand Old Opry during his career, he is best known for being one of the original members the comedy and country music television variety show “Hee Haw”, which he starred in from 1969 until his murder in 1973. He and his wife were […]

Roy E. Aitken (1882 - 1976)

Motion Picture Executive.  A movie industry pioneer, he was one of the first to produce movies independent of Thomas Edison and the Motion Picture Patents Company. Along with his brother Harry, he founded a number of early motion picture production and distribution companies, most notable being the Mutual Film Corporation, the Epoch Producing Corporation, and […]

Harry E. Aitken (1877 - 1956)

Motion Picture Executive.  A movie industry pioneer, he was one of the first to produce movies independent of Thomas Edison and the Motion Picture Patents Company. Along with his brother Roy, he founded a number of early motion picture production and distribution companies, most notable being the Mutual Film Corporation, the Epoch Producing Corporation, and […]

Alvin Ailey, Jr (1931 - 1989)

Dancer, Choreographer. Born in Rogers, Texas, he was the founder of the renown dance company the “Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater”.  Starting in 1949, he studied with influential choreographer Lester Horton in Los Angeles, California. When Horton died in 1953, Alvin Ailey took over the Lester Horton Dance Theater and became the director and resident […]

Perro Aguayo, Jr (1979 - 2015)

Professional Wrestler. A Luchador, a performer known for high-flying ring moves, he shall be remembered as a star of his sport for 20 years. Born Pedro Aguayo Ramirez, he was the son of Hall-of-Fame Lucha Libre competitor Perro Aguayo, Sr. and thus was raised within the wrestling milieu; trained by his father, he made his […]

John G. Adolfi (1881 - 1933)

Motion Picture Director.  Best known for his early 1930s films starring famed British actor George Arliss.  Born in New York City,  he began as an actor in stock and made his screen debut in the Vitagraph one-reeler “The Spy” (1907). He switched to directing in 1913 and turned out scores of silent potboilers for Fox […]

Buddy Adler (1908 - 1960)

Motion Picture Producer. Born E. Maurice Adler, he began his career writing short motion pictures for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studios. He became a producer for Columbia Studios in 1947 and after Darryl Zanuck left 20th Century Fox studios Buddy Adler took over as head of production. He then served as Production chief at Fox from 1956 […]

Diana Adams (1926 - 1993)

Ballerina. She was a leading dancer in the New York City Ballet from 1950 to 1963, and was a favorite of choreographer George Balanchine. She appeared in several motion pictures, including “Knock on Wood”. In later years she taught at the School of American Ballet, where she was the Dean.

Carol Adams (1918 - 2012)

Entertainer. Born Lurline Uller within the focal point of the entertainment industry, she caught the attention of a studio executive at the age of five which led to her taking up both dancing and acting lessons. Her experience in films could be traced back to appearances in the Mickey Rooney picture series “Mickey McGuire” which […]

Brian “Crush” Adams (1964 - 2007)

Professional Wrestler. Born in Kona, Hawaii, he was raised and educated in Kealakekua. After graduating from Konawaena High School, he joined the United States Army, and while he was stationed in Japan he became interested in wrestling. Upon his discharge he was trained by the Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, and made his wrestling debut […]

Harry Stephen Ackerman (1912 - 1991)

Television Producer. He was an executive who produced shows from the 1960s to the 1980s, and was responsible for such successful series as “Bewitched,” “Gidget,” and “The Flying Nun.” He was married to actress Elinor Donahue (best known for her role of ‘Betty Anderson’ on the comedy series “Father Knows Best”). (bio by: A.J. Marik) […]

David Abel (1883 - 1973)

Motion Picture Cinematographer.  Born in Amsterdam, Netherlands of Russian parents,  he came to the United States as a child and worked as a portrait photographer before entering films with the Flying A studio in 1913.  A solid craftsman,  he was considered particularly good with complex action scenes.  At RKO Radio studios during the 1930s,  Abel […]

George Francis Abbott (1887 - 1995)

Playwright, Theatrical Director. He became one of the most prominent American theatrical writers with works that include the plays “On Your Toes,” “Beat The Band,” “The Boys From Syracuse,” “Pal Joey,” “On The Town,” “A Funny Thing is Happened in the Way to the Forum,” “Three Men on a Horse,” and the adaption of “All […]

Vincent John Fuller (1931 - 2006)

Attorney. He was a prominent defense lawyer whose clients included boxer Mike Tyson, fight promoter Don King and union leader Jimmy Hoffa. His most notable case occurred in 1982 representing John Hinckley Jr., accused in the March 1981 attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. During the eight week trial he successfully argued on behalf of […]

John William Fritz (1896 - 1984)

Lawman, Kennedy Assassination Figure. As head of the Dallas Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide unit in 1963, he was Lee Harvey Oswald’s primary interrogator.  Law enforcement officers led by him interrogated Oswald over the less than 48 hours between his arrest and death. John Fritz was present for more of the questioning than any other officer.  Family […]

Rose Fortune (1774 - 1864)

Police Officer and Business Woman. Born into slavery in Virginia.  She and her family escaped to New York City then the Nova Scotia (Canada) town of Annapolis Royal in 1783 when she was ten years old. In 1825, she started her own business, carting luggage with a wheelbarrow between the ferry docks and nearby homes […]

Percy Eugene Foreman (1902 - 1988)

Legendary Texas criminal defense attorney.  Known for his unconventional trial strategies, he handled society divorces, and in sixty years of practice defended more than 1,000 accused murderers, only one of whom was executed. (Foreman was quoted as saying, “He deserved it.”) Among his most famous clients were James Earl Ray, whom he persuaded to plead […]

Col John Salmon “Rip” Ford (1815 - 1897)

Civil War Confederate Army Officer. Born in South Carolina to William and Harriet Ford. He grew up on a plantation in Lincoln County, Tennessee. John was a good student and by the age of 16 was qualified to teach, but instead he went on to study medicine in Shelbyville, Tennessee, this is where he would […]

Geraldine Bledsoe Ford (1926 - 2003)

Judge. She was the first female African-American elected to a judgeship in the United States. Although she was known by many as “Mean Geraldine” for her strict interpretation of the law and tough sentences, she was also considered fair and just. She earned a BA from the University of Michigan in 1948, and then graduated […]

Richmond McDavid Flowers (1918 - 2007)

Alabama Attorney General, Civil Rights Figure. Flowers attracted national attention when he began challenging Alabama Governor George C. Wallace’s segregationist stands in the 1960’s. Elected to office in 1962, the same year as his old friend, Wallace; he ran as an avowed segregationist himself. He soon started parting ways with Wallace, however, following Wallace’s “stand […]

Arthur Milo Fleming (1888 - 1971)

Lawyer. He was the defense attorney for Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, who were convicted of murdering the Clutter Family in Holcomb, Kansas on November 15, 1959. The story around the Clutter murders and subsequent trial of their killers was made famous when they were depicted in writer Truman Capote’s 1966 true crime novel “In […]

Evelyn Finley (1916 - 1989)

Actress. She was an extraordinary horsewoman, beginning her career as a stuntwoman in films of the 1930s. Her first title role was in “Arizona Frontier” (1940) and she went on to be a regular in many B-Western movies. Among her credits are “Trail Riders” (1942), “Cowboy Commandos” (1943), “Ghost Guns” (1944), “Prairie Rustlers” (1945), “Sundown […]

John Fielding (1970 - 1780)

Magistrate and Social Reformer. The brother of ‘Tom Jones’ author Henry Fielding. In his late teens, John was blinded in an accident while serving in the Navy, but did not allow this disability to blight his life. With assistance from Henry he studied law, and the duo worked together as magistrates, fighting corruption within the […]