Celebrity Apocalypse 2015

1. Donna Douglas

An honest-to-goodness Southern Belle, similar to her most famous character role, "Elly May Clampett" on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Donna Douglas grew up in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area, loving "critters". She got married soon after high school, had a son, divorced and won a couple of beauty...

2. Mario Cuomo

Actor | The Ghosts

Mario Cuomo was born to Andrea and Immaculata Cuomo on June 15th, 1932, in Queens, New York. He was the son of Italian immigrants. In Cuomo's early years he attended Saint John's University, summa cum laude in 1953. He then attended St. John's School of Law, and graduated tied for the top of his ...

3. Little Jimmy Dickens

Soundtrack | Northern Exposure

Little Jimmy Dickens was born on December 19, 1920 in Bolt, West Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Northern Exposure (1990), More American Graffiti (1979) and Last Night's Party (2014). He was married to Mona Evans, Anne Ernestine Jones and Dorothy (Connie) Chapman. He died on January 2, ...

4. Rod Taylor

Actor | Inglourious Basterds

Suave and handsome Australian actor arrived in Hollywood in the 1950s, and built himself up from a supporting actor into taking the lead in several well-remembered movies. Arguably his most fondly remembered role was that as George (Herbert George Wells), the inventor, in George Pal's spectacular ...

5. Andraé Crouch

Music_department | The Color Purple

Andraé Crouch was born on July 1, 1942 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Color Purple (1985), Colors (1988) and Downsizing (2017). He died on January 8, 2015 in Northridge, California, USA.

6. Samuel Goldwyn Jr.

Producer | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Samuel Goldwyn Jr. was born on September 7, 1926 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a producer and director, known for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) and Mystic Pizza (1988). He was married to Patricia Strawn, Peggy Elliott and ...

7. Taylor Negron

Actor | Alienated

Taylor Negron was born Brad Stephen Negron in Glendale, California, to Lucy (Rosario) and Conrad Negron, who was mayor of Indian Wells, CA. His parents were both of Puerto Rican descent. Negron attended UCLA, studied acting with Lee Strasberg, and studied comedy at a private seminar taught by ...

8. Brian Clemens

Writer | The Avengers

Brian Clemens left school at the age of 14. After national service with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, he worked his way up from messenger boy to copywriter at an advertising agency, writing in his spare time. One of his scripts was accepted by the BBC in 1955. He joined a production company, ...

9. Anita Ekberg

Actress | La dolce vita

Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg was born on September 29, 1931 in Malmo, Sweden. Growing up with seven brothers and sisters was not an adventure, but Anita's adventure began when she was elected Miss Sweden in 1950. She did not win the Miss Universe contest but she got a modeling contract in the ...

10. Kim Fowley

Soundtrack | American Graffiti

Kim Fowley was born on July 21, 1939 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for American Graffiti (1973), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and RocknRolla (2008). He was married to Kara Wright and Cynthia Helen "Cindy" Wheelon. He died on January 15, 2015 in Los Angeles, ...

11. Barrie Ingham

Actor | The Great Mouse Detective

Barrie Ingham was born on February 10, 1932 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Great Mouse Detective (1986), The Day of the Jackal (1973) and Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965). He was married to Tarne Phillips. He died on January 23, 2015 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, ...

12. Joe Franklin

Actor | Ghostbusters

Joe Franklin was born on March 9, 1926 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Ghostbusters (1984), Broadway Danny Rose (1984) and The Boys Behind the Desk (2000). He was married to Lois Meridan. He died on January 24, 2015 in Manhattan, New York City, New ...

13. Rod McKuen

Soundtrack | Zodiac

Rod McKuen was born on April 29, 1933 in Oakland, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Zodiac (2007), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and Better Off Dead (1985). He died on January 29, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

14. Gary Owens

Actor | SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron

Gary Owens was an American voice actor, radio announcer and narrator who was known for being the original voice actor of Hanna-Barbera's Space Ghost, Powdered Toast Man from The Ren & Stimpy Show and Blue Falcon from Dynomutt, Dog Wonder. George Lowe became Owens' successor as the voice of Space ...

15. Louis Jourdan

Actor | Gigi

Louis Jourdan was born Louis Robert Gendre in Marseille, France to Yvonne (née Jourdan) and hotel owner Henry Gendre. He was educated in France, Britain, and Turkey. He trained as an actor with René Simon at the École Dramatique. He debuted on screen in 1939, going on to play cultivated, polished, ...

16. Lesley Gore

Soundtrack | Suicide Squad

Lesley Gore was born Lesley Sue Goldstein in Brooklyn, New York City, to Ronny and Leo Goldstein, a manufacturer of children's clothes and swimwear. Her family was Jewish. She grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey. Gore hit the music scene at 17 years of age in 1963 with the teen anthem "It's My Party". ...

17. Ben Woolf

Actor | American Horror Story

Ben Woolf was born on September 15, 1980 in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. He was an actor, known for American Horror Story (2011), Haunting Charles Manson (2014) and Woggie (2012). He died on February 23, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

18. Leonard Nimoy

Actor | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Leonard Simon Nimoy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Dora (Spinner) and Max Nimoy, who owned a barbershop. His parents were Ukrainian Jewish immigrants. Raised in a tenement and acting in community theaters since age eight, Nimoy did not make his Hollywood debut until he was 20, with a bit ...

19. Richard Bakalyan

Actor | Chinatown

Richard Bakalyan was born on January 29, 1931 in Watertown, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Chinatown (1974), The Fox and the Hound (1981) and Von Ryan's Express (1965). He was married to Elizabeth Lena (Betty Lee) Baumann. He died on February 27, 2015 in Elmira, New York,...

20. Daniel von Bargen

Actor | The Postman

A character actor who seems to pop up everywhere as the stereotypical cop, military officer and/or tough guy, von Bargen could turn in performances of stunning complexity when given the chance.

Daniel von Bargen was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 5, 1950 to Juanita (Bustle) and Donald L. von ...

21. Lynn Borden

Actress | Black Mama White Mama

Most famous for her role in the 1972 low-budget shocker Frogs (1972) (a far cry from her role on Hazel (1961)), Lynn Borden rarely garnered large or leading roles. She was originally going to play the lead in 1964's Roustabout (1964) but this did not materialize. She had a memorable role in the ...

22. Harve Bennett

Producer | Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Harve Bennett was born on August 17, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). He was married to Carole Patricia Oettinger and Jani. He died on ...

23. Sam Simon

Producer | The Simpsons

Sam Simon was born on June 6, 1955 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for The Simpsons (1989), The Tracey Ullman Show (1987) and Shanghai Noon (2000). He was married to Jami Ferrell and Jennifer Tilly. He died on March 8, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

24. Windell Middlebrooks

Actor | Scrubs

Windell Middlebrooks was born on January 8, 1979 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Scrubs (2001), Body of Proof (2011) and The Suite Life on Deck (2008). He died on March 9, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

25. Jim Greenspoon

Composer | Sins of the Midnight Sons

Keyboardist Jim Greenspoon was born on February 7, 1948 in Los Angeles, California. He began taking classical piano lessons at age seven. He attended both Beverly Hills High School and Hollywood Professional School. Greenspoon was a member of the early 1960s surf-rock band The New Dimensions. He ...

26. Daevid Allen

Soundtrack | Entre Oscuros Sueños

Daevid Allen was born on January 13, 1938 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was a composer and director, known for Entre Oscuros Sueños (2018), Near Orouet (1971) and The Black Balloon (2012). He was married to Gilli Smyth. He died on March 13, 2015 in Byron Bay, New South Wales, ...

27. Mike Porcaro

Music_department | Dune

Mike Porcaro was born on May 29, 1955 in South Windsor, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor, known for Dune (1984), Inside Moves (1980) and American Heart (1992). He was married to Cheryl. He died on March 15, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

28. Andy Fraser

Soundtrack | Wild

Andy Fraser was born on July 3, 1952 in Paddington, London, England, UK. He was a composer and writer, known for Wild (2014), American Beauty (1999) and The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015). He was married to Henrietta (Ri). He died on March 16, 2015 in Temecula, California, USA.

29. Gregory Walcott

Actor | Plan 9 from Outer Space

Gregory Walcott grew up in North Carolina and went into the Army just after the end of World War II. After leaving the service, he grew restless on the East Coast and, with $100 in his pocket, thumbed his way west to pursue an acting career. An agent who spotted him in a little theater play helped ...

30. John Renbourn

Soundtrack | Rebecca

John Renbourn was born on August 8, 1944 in Marylebone, London, England, UK. He was a composer and actor, known for Rebecca (2020), Downsizing (2017) and Driving Lessons (2006). He was married to Jo Watson and Judith Blanche Hills. He died on March 26, 2015 in Hawick, Scotland, UK.

31. Rik Battaglia

Actor | Esther and the King

Rik Battaglia was born on February 18, 1927 in Corbola, Veneto, Italy. He was an actor, known for Esther and the King (1960), Orlando e i Paladini di Francia (1956) and Duck, You Sucker! (1971). He died on March 27, 2015 in Corbola, Veneto, Italy.

32. Gene Saks

Actor | Deconstructing Harry

Gene Saks was born on November 8, 1921 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Deconstructing Harry (1997), The Odd Couple (1968) and I.Q. (1994). He was married to Keren Victoria Ettlinger and Bea Arthur. He died on March 28, 2015 in East Hampton, New York, USA.

33. Robert Z'Dar

Actor | Tango & Cash

Robert Z'Dar was born Robert James Zdarsky on June 3, 1950 in Chicago, Illinois. He caught the acting bug while attending Proviso West High School in Hillside. He received a BFA from Arizona State University. Prior to acting Z'Dar was a singer/keyboardist/guitar player for the Chicago-based rock ...

34. Cynthia Lennon

Actress | The Beatles: A Day in the Life

Cynthia Powell was born to Charles Edwin and Lillian Powell on September 10, 1939 in Blackpool, England. Is the mother of John Charles Julian Lennon, born April 8, 1963. John Lennon had planned to marry Cynthia Powell in a later date, but they had to get married too soon after she informed him that...

35. Tom Towles

Actor | Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Tom Towles was a character player, often cast as scumbags or obnoxious men, who worked for more than a decade in Chicago theatre, before establishing himself in films and TV beginning in the late 80s - often in lower-budget fare. Towles drifted into acting after serving in the Marine Corps. ...

36. Julie Wilson

Actress | This Could Be the Night

Julie Wilson was born on October 21, 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. She was an actress, known for This Could Be the Night (1957), Kiss Me, Kate (1958) and Monsters (1988). She was married to Michael McAloney, Harvey Bernhard and Barron Polan. She died on April 5, 2015 in Manhattan, New York City, ...

37. Milton Delugg

Soundtrack | Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Composer, songwriter ("Orange-Colored Sky"), "Just Another Polka", "Hoop Dee Doo"), accordionist and pianist, conductor and author, educated at UCLA and a student of Tibor Serly. He began as a staff musician with a Hollywood radio station, and with film studios. During World War II, he served in ...

38. James Best

Actor | The Dukes of Hazzard

American character actor and teacher. Born Jewel Guy in Powderly, Kentucky, on July 26, 1926, he was orphaned at three and adopted by Armen and Essa Knowland Best, who renamed him James Knowland Best and raised him in Corydon, Indiana. Following high school he worked briefly as a metalworker before...

39. Geoffrey Lewis

Actor | The Way of the Gun

Talented and highly capable character actor Geoffrey Lewis, with rustic (sometimes sour-faced) looks, grew up in Rhode Island but was moved out to California at the age of ten. Lewis was very keen on the dramatic arts at high school, but often preferred to put on his own one-man shows rather than ...

40. Stan Freberg

Actor | Lady and the Tramp

Stan Freberg grew up in Los Angeles, California. From an early age he was a big fan of radio and sound. He was blessed with the double abilities of being an amazing mimic and possessing a razor-sharp satirical mind. In the early 1940s he began to do voice work for both the Warner Brothers' cartoons...

41. Richard Dysart

Actor | The Thing

Richard Dysart served for four years in the Air Force during the Korean War. He was a founding member of the American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco. He received the Drama Desk Award in 1972 and a Emmy Award in 1992. He was good friends with Diana Muldaur, who played Rosalind Shays on L.A. Law.

42. Percy Sledge

Soundtrack | The Crying Game

Alabama-born Percy Sledge had a somewhat unusual introduction to the music business. Working as an orderly in a local hospital, he was touring with a local band called the Esquires Combo on weekends and working at the hospital during the week. A former patient at the hospital who knew both Sledge ...

43. Richard Corliss

Self | Life Itself

Richard Corliss was born on March 6, 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was married to Mary Corliss. He died on April 23, 2015 in New York City, New York, USA.

44. Sawyer Sweeten

Actor | Everybody Loves Raymond

Sawyer Sweeten was born on May 12, 1995 in Brownwood, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Everybody Loves Raymond (1996), Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002) and Even Stevens (2000). He died on April 23, 2015 in Austin, Texas, USA.

45. Jayne Meadows

Actress | City Slickers

One of four children (two older brothers, one younger sister) born to American missionaries, Jayne Meadows (née Jane Cotter) was born September 27, 1919, in China. The family returned to the US in the early 1930s wherein Jayne was forced to learn the English language, speaking Chinese and other ...

46. Suzanne Crough

Actress | The Partridge Family

Born at St. Judes Hospital at 8:45 am, in Fullerton, California, Suzanne Crough is the youngest of eight children. Her sibling's names are Lynda, Trudy, Kathleen, Loyleen, Gail, Timothy, and Patrick. She appeared in several commercials before she was cast as Tracy Partridge. After "The Partridge ...

47. Nigel Terry

Actor | Excalibur

British actor Nigel Terry primarily dedicated himself to the classical stage. When he extended himself into film and TV outings, it was mostly for historical or period roles. Over the years, he grew quite comfortable in both a pair of hose and a suit of armor.

Terry was born Peter Nigel Terry on ...

48. Ben E. King

Soundtrack | Stand by Me

Ben E. King was born on September 28, 1938 in Henderson, North Carolina, USA. He was a music artist and composer, known for Stand by Me (1986), Love and Monsters (2020) and Cloverfield (2008). He was married to Betty Nelson. He died on April 30, 2015 in Hackensack, New Jersey, USA.

49. Grace Lee Whitney

Actress | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Grace Lee Whitney was a versatile actress and vocalist born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Beginning as a "girl singer" on Detroit's WJR radio, she soon opened in nightclubs for Billie Holiday and Buddy Rich, and toured with the Spike Jones and Fred Waring Bands. Grace debuted on Broadway in "Top Banana",...

50. Elizabeth Wilson

Actress | The Graduate

Elizabeth Wilson was born April 4, 1921, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Marie Ethel and Dunning Wilson. She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Elizabeth's film debut was in Notorious (1946) in an uncredited ...

51. B.B. King

Actor | Blues Brothers 2000

Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 - May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato and staccato picking that influenced many ...

52. John Carter

Actor | The Andromeda Strain

John Carter was born on November 26, 1927 in Center Ridge, Arkansas, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Andromeda Strain (1971), Celebrity (1998) and Badlands (1973). He was married to Kendall Thompson Friede (Fewel) and Barbara Jane Williams. He died on May 23, 2015 in New York City,...

53. John Nash

Self | The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom

John Nash was an American mathematician who made fundamental contributions to game theory, differential geometry, and the study of partial differential equations. Nash's work has provided insight into the factors that govern chance and decision-making inside complex systems found in everyday life.

...

54. Anne Meara

Actress | Heavyweights

The incredibly gifted comedienne-actress Anne Meara is known for her comedic efforts alongside husband-comedian, Jerry Stiller; together, they were 'Stiller and Meara'; they were original members of the improvisational company, the Compass Players, which later evolved as the Second City Theater. ...

55. Mary Ellen Trainor

Actress | The Goonies

Mary Ellen Trainor was born in Chicago, Illinois. She appeared in many feature-films of the 1980s, notable characters include, Elaine, the kidnapped sister of Kathleen Turner and the catalyst for the entire plot in Romancing the Stone (1984), Dr. Stephanie Woods (LA Police Psychiatrist) in in all ...

56. Tanith Lee

Writer | Blake's 7

Tanith Lee was born on September 19, 1947 in North London, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Blake's 7 (1978) and The Hunger (1997). She was married to John Kaiine. She died on May 24, 2015 in St. Leonards-on-Sea, East-Sussex, England, UK.

57. Betsy Palmer

Actress | Friday the 13th

Betsy Palmer was probably best known for playing Jason Voorhees' mother in the horror film Friday the 13th (1980), but her career as an actress began many years before.

Palmer was born Patricia Betsy Hrunek in East Chicago, Indiana, to Marie (née Love), who launched the Chicago Business College, and...

58. Vincent Bugliosi

Writer | Parkland

Vincent Bugliosi was born on August 18, 1934 in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Parkland (2013), Helter Skelter (1976) and Helter Skelter (2004). He was married to Gail Bugliosi. He died on June 6, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

59. Christopher Lee

Actor | Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee was perhaps the only actor of his generation to have starred in so many films and cult saga. Although most notable for personifying bloodsucking vampire, Dracula, on screen, he portrayed other varied characters on screen, most of which were villains, whether it ...

60. Blaze Starr

Actress | Blaze Starr Goes Nudist

Legendary stripper and burlesque dancer Blaze Starr was born Fannie Belle Fleming in 1932 in Wilsondale, West Virginia. Her parents were Lora Evans and Goodlow Mullins. She had ten siblings. Blaze left home and moved to Washington, DC while only in her mid-teens. She was discovered by her first ...

61. Rick Ducommun

Actor | The 'Burbs

Once an overweight comic from Canada, Rick Ducommun slimmed down in the late 1980s and went on to tackle solid co-starring roles in feature films and TV, as well as headline several HBO and other pay-cable specials.

Ducommun grew up on a farm, the son of an entrepreneur father with whom he did not ...

62. Tony Longo

Actor | Sixteen Candles

Tony Longo was a working character actor for more than three decades. Born in New Jersey, he moved out to Los Angeles and within the first few weeks landed a recurring role on the hit TV series "Alice". In that same year he did his first 3 films, "16 Candles", "Splash" and "Fletch". Next he was ...

63. James Horner

Music_department | Titanic

James Horner began studying piano at the age of five, and trained at the Royal College of Music in London, England, before moving to California in the 1970s. After receiving a bachelor's degree in music at USC, he would go on to earn his master's degree at UCLA and teach music theory there. He ...

64. Dick Van Patten

Actor | Spaceballs

Dick Van Patten began acting as a child. He made his first of 27 Broadway appearances at age seven in "Tapestry in Grey". After, he appeared in numerous films, including Freaky Friday (1976), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), and Spaceballs (1987). His television credits include his best-known role...

65. Patrick Macnee

Actor | The Avengers

British actor Patrick Macnee was born on February 6, 1922 in London, England into a wealthy and eccentric family. His father, Daniel Macnee, was a race horse trainer, who drank and gambled away the family fortune, leaving young Patrick to be raised by his lesbian mother, Dorothea Mary, and her ...

66. Chris Squire

Soundtrack | Apollo 18

Born in London on March 4, 1948, Chris Squire engaged in a highly musical childhood, including singing in St. Paul's distinguished youth choir. In 1968, he was introduced to aspiring tenor vocalist Jon Anderson in a London bar, "La Chasse". They soon found that they shared similar ideas of how music...

67. Jack Carter

Actor | History of the World: Part I

Jack Carter was born on June 24, 1922 in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for History of the World: Part I (1981), Alligator (1980) and Amazing Stories (1985). He was married to Roxanne Wander, Paula Stewart and Joan Mann. He died on June ...

68. Amanda Peterson

Actress | Can't Buy Me Love

Amanda Peterson was born on July 8, in Greeley, Colorado. With a natural beauty, powerful charm and a strong personality this talented and truly gifted actress began her career in film industry at age 9, with the feature film Annie (1982), directed by Academy Award-winner John Huston. To ...

69. Jerry Weintraub

Producer | The Avengers

Jerry Weintraub was born on September 26, 1937 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and actor, known for The Avengers (1998), The Firm (1993) and Behind the Candelabra (2013). He was married to Jane Morgan and Janice Ivy Greenberg. He died on July 6, 2015 in Santa Barbara, ...

70. Irwin Keyes

Actor | The Flintstones

Large (6'1"), affable, and commanding character actor Irwin Keyes was born on March 16, 1952 in New York City. Keyes grew up in Amityville, New York and graduated from Amityville Memorial High School in 1970. He acted in his first play "The Lower Depths" by Maxim Grody while attending college. ...

71. Omar Sharif

Actor | Lawrence of Arabia

Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor best known for playing Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and the title role in Doctor Zhivago (1965), was born Michel Demitri Shalhoub on April 10, 1932 in Alexandria, Egypt to Joseph Shalhoub, a lumber merchant, and his wife, Claire (Saada). Of Lebanese and ...

72. Roger Rees

Actor | Frida

Like a number of British actors of the same generation (John Hurt and Alan Rickman, to name two), Roger Rees originally trained for the visual arts. He was born on May 5 1944 in Aberystwyth, Wales, and acted in church and Boy Scouts stage productions while growing up in South London, but studied ...

73. Aubrey Morris

Actor | A Clockwork Orange

He was one of those delightful, typically British actors with a penchant for playing eccentrics. Early in his career, Jeremy Brett once quaintly introduced Aubrey Morris to Noël Coward as "the finest small-part player in London". Born Aubrey Steinberg of Jewish-Ukrainian ancestry, he was one of ...

74. George Coe

Actor | Transformers: Dark of the Moon

George Coe was born on May 10, 1929 in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and The Stepford Wives (1975). He was married to Karen Foray, Nancy Baker and Susan Allsopp Massaron. He died...

75. Alex Rocco

Actor | The Godfather

Tough, gruff, thick-browed, volatile-looking character actor Alex Rocco was born Alessandro Federico Petricone, Jr. on February 29, 1936, to Italian immigrants in Cambridge, Mass. He grew up a member of Boston's Winter Hill gang (his nickname was "Bobo") and was briefly detained regarding a murder ...

76. E.L. Doctorow

Writer | Daniel

E.L. Doctorow was born on January 6, 1931 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Daniel (1983), Wakefield (2016) and Billy Bathgate (1991). He was married to Helen Setzer. He died on July 21, 2015 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.

77. Theodore Bikel

Actor | My Fair Lady

Theodore Bikel is one of the most versatile and respected actors and performers of his generation. A master of languages, dialects and accents, he has played every sort of film villain and semi-bad guy imaginable, and always adds depth, dimension and even sympathy to characters that would end up as...

78. Ann Rule

Writer | Danger in the Dorm

Ann Rule was born on October 22, 1931 in Lowell, Michigan, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for Danger in the Dorm, 12 Desperate Hours (2023) and Dead by Sunset (1995). She was married to William John Rule. She died on July 26, 2015 in Burien, Washington, USA.

79. Bobbi Kristina Brown

Actress | For Better or Worse

Bobbi Kristina Brown was born on March 4, 1993 in Livingston, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for For Better or Worse (2011), The Houstons: On Our Own (2012) and Being Bobby Brown (2005). She died on July 26, 2015 in Duluth, Georgia, USA.

80. Lynn Anderson

Soundtrack | Zodiac

Lynn Rene Anderson was a multi-award-winning American country music singer known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s, most notably her country-pop, worldwide mega-hit "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden". She charted 12 No. 1, 18 Top-10, and more than 50 Top-40 hits. Anderson's ...

81. Roddy Piper

Actor | They Live

Roddy Piper was born Roderick George Toombs on April 17, 1954 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was a pro wrestler from 1973-1987 in the NWA, Pacific Northwest, California. He was a longtime mainstay in the WWF, and was one of the biggest "bad guys" in the WWF during the early '80s, before ...

82. Cilla Black

Soundtrack | Last Night in Soho

Cilla Black was born on May 27, 1943 in Liverpool, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Last Night in Soho (2021), Hellboy (2019) and Cilla (1968). She was married to Bobby Willis. She died on August 1, 2015 in Estepona, Spain.

83. Frank Gifford

Actor | Jerry Maguire

Frank Gifford was born on August 16, 1930 in Santa Monica, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Jerry Maguire (1996), Viva Knievel! (1977) and Spin City (1996). He was married to Kathie Lee Gifford, Astrid Gifford and Maxine Avis Ewart. He died on August 9, 2015 in Riverside, Connecticut, ...

84. Yvonne Craig

Actress | Batgirl

Yvonne Joyce Craig was born on May 16, 1937 in Taylorville, Illinois. As a young teenager, Yvonne showed such promise as a dancer that she was accepted to Denham's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Her training progressed until she left the company in 1957 over a disagreement on casting changes. She ...

85. Melody Patterson

Actress | F Troop

Melody Patterson was born on April 16, 1949 in Inglewood, California. She started performing at the age of four, appearing in "Mrs. McThing" at the Downey Community Theatre in Downey, California. She attended the Hollywood Professional School and later studied at the American Academy of Dramatic ...

86. Wayne Dyer

Self | Gifts from Eykis

Wayne Dyer was born on May 10, 1940 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Gifts from Eykis, Tales of Everyday Magic (2012) and How to Get What You Really, Really, Really, Really Want (2000). He was married to Marcelene Rowan, Judy and Susan Casselman. He died on August 29, 2015 in ...

87. Wes Craven

Writer | A Nightmare on Elm Street

Wes Craven has become synonymous with genre bending and innovative horror, challenging audiences with his bold vision.

Wesley Earl Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Caroline (Miller) and Paul Eugene Craven. He had a midwestern suburban upbringing. His first feature film was The Last House on ...

88. Dean Jones

Actor | The Love Bug

Born in Decatur, Alabama and christened Dean Carroll Jones, the actor's father worked for a railroad company and the family moved often, living in Washington, DC, Nashville, and New Orleans. "It was in New Orleans I really learned how to sing", Jones told the Pittsburgh Press in 1969. Dropping out ...

89. Judy Carne

Actress | Laugh-In

Trained in music and dance, tiny-framed, pixie-like Judy Carne was born Joyce Botterill in Northampton, England on April 27, 1939, the daughter of a grocer. Trained in dance, she appeared in music revues as a teenager and changed her name at the advice of a dance teacher.

Slowly building up a career...

90. Martin Milner

Actor | Sweet Smell of Success

Martin Sam Milner was born December 28, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan. His mother, Jerre Martin, originally from Oregon, was a dancer with the Paramount Theater circuit. His father, Sam Gordon Milner, a Polish Jewish immigrant, was a film distributor. The Milners moved to Seattle when Martin was a baby...

91. Jackie Collins

Actress | Danger Man

Jackie Collins was born on October 4, 1937 in London, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for Danger Man (1960), The Saint (1962) and The Stud (1978). She was married to Oscar Lerman and Wallace Austin. She died on September 19, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

92. Jack Larson

Actor | Superman Returns

Jack Edward Larson was born in Los Angeles, California, to Anita (Calicoff) and George E. Larson. He was raised in Pasadena, and attended Pasadena Junior College (by coincidence, exactly as did his Adventures of Superman (1952) co-star George Reeves). He was a contract player at Warner Bros. ...

93. Yogi Berra

Actor | The Phil Silvers Show

One of baseball's greatest catchers of all time, Yogi Berra appeared in a record 14 World Series while calling the games for the New York Yankees. Berra proved invaluable to the Yankees as evidenced by his three American League Most Valuable Player awards. Berra was also one of the game's ...

94. Catherine E. Coulson

Actress | Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Catherine E. Coulson began her professional association with director David Lynch when she worked as assistant director on Lynch's legendary feature debut Eraserhead (1977). This is when the two began discussing the idea of a woman who carried a log around with her. Coulson spent much of her career...

95. Billy Joe Royal

Soundtrack | Glory Road

Singer Billy Joe Royal enjoyed a successful musical career which spanned over forty years and encompassed the pop, rock, and country music genres. He was born on April 3, 1942 in Valdosta, Georgia and raised in Marietta, Georgia. Royal hailed from a family of musical entertainers. Billy Joe made ...

96. Paul Prudhomme

Self | Food Paradise

Paul Prudhomme was born on July 13, 1940 in Opelousas, Louisiana, USA. He was married to Lori Bennett and Kay Hinrichs. He died on October 8, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

97. Joan Leslie

Actress | The Sky's the Limit

She was born of Irish ancestry as Joan Agnes Theresa Brodel, the daughter of an accountant and a pianist. She was educated at Catholic schools in Toronto, Montreal and Detroit. There were three sisters, her older siblings being Mary and Betty. Together, they made up a successful vaudeville act, the...

98. Bruce Hyde

Actor | Star Trek

Bruce Hyde (BA Northwestern University 1963; MS University of North Texas 1984; PhD University of Southern California 1990) divided his SCSU teaching duties between the Department of Theatre, Film Studies and Dance, where he taught Acting, and the Department of Communication Studies, teaching ...

99. Cory Wells

Actor | Three Dog Night: Try A Little Tenderness

Singer Cory Wells was born Emil Lowendowski on February 2, 1941 in Buffalo, New York. He grew up in a rough neighborhood and hailed from a musical family. Cory's father died when he was a little boy and his mother struggled for a while before getting remarried. In the early 1960's Wells played in a...

100. Marty Ingels

Actor | Pac-Man

Martin Ingerman was born on March 6, 1936 in New York City. He had an older brother named Arthur. He had a rough childhood and was often picked on. After he finished school, he went into the army. Later, he appeared in a couple of game shows and won. He wanted to be an actor so he went to ...