Pinocchio 1940 premiere

1. Dickie Jones

Soundtrack | Avengers: Age of Ultron

American actor who achieved some success as a child and as a young adult, especially in B-Westerns and in television. The son of a Texas newspaper editor. Jones was a accomplished horseman from infancy. At the age of four he was billed as the World's Youngest Trick Rider and Roper. At the age of ...

2. Walt Disney

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Flora Disney (née Call) and Elias Disney, a Canadian-born farmer and businessperson. He had Irish, German, and English ancestry. Walt moved with his parents to Kansas City at age seven, where he spent the majority of ...

3. Lillian Disney

Self | The Colgate Comedy Hour

Lillian Disney was born on February 15, 1899 in Spalding, Idaho, USA. She is known for The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950), The 3rd Annual Television Academy Hall of Fame Awards (1986) and Hollywood goes to a World Premiere (1964). She was married to John Louis Truyens and Walt Disney. She died on ...

4. Irene Dunne

Actress | The Awful Truth

Irene Marie Dunne was born on December 20, 1898, in Louisville, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Joseph Dunne, who inspected steamships, and Adelaide Henry, a musician who prompted Irene in the arts. Her first production was in Louisville when she appeared in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the age...

5. Marlene Dietrich

Soundtrack | Witness for the Prosecution

Her father was a police lieutenant and imbued in her a military attitude to life. Marlene was known in school for her "bedroom eyes" and her first affairs were at this stage in her life - a professor at the school was terminated. She entered the cabaret scene in 1920s Germany, first as a spectator ...

6. Erich Maria Remarque

Writer | A Time to Love and a Time to Die

The German novelist Erich Maria Remarque was born in Osnabrück in 1898. His first novel, the famous anti-war epic All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), was written based on his experiences as a soldier in WWI, and published in 1929. He moved to Switzerland until 1939 and later emigrated to the US....

7. Ginger Rogers

Actress | Kitty Foyle

Ginger Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri on July 16, 1911, the daughter of Lela E. Rogers (née Lela Emogene Owens) and William Eddins McMath. Her mother went to Independence to have Ginger away from her husband. She had a baby earlier in their marriage and he ...

8. Harold Lloyd

Actor | Safety Last!

Born in Burchard, Nebraska, USA to Elizabeth Fraser and J. Darcie 'Foxy' Lloyd who fought constantly and soon divorced (at the time a rare event), Harold Clayton Lloyd was nominally educated in Denver and San Diego high schools and received his stage training at the School of Dramatic Art (San ...

9. Mildred Davis

Actress | A Sailor-Made Man

Mildred Davis was born on February 22, 1898 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for A Sailor-Made Man (1921), Safety Last! (1923) and Dr. Jack (1922). She was married to Harold Lloyd. She died on August 18, 1969 in Santa Monica, California, USA.

10. Harold Lloyd Jr.

Actor | Frankenstein's Daughter

Harold Lloyd Jr. was born on January 25, 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Frankenstein's Daughter (1958), Married Too Young (1962) and World of Comedy (1962). He died on June 9, 1971 in North Hollywood, California, USA.

11. Gloria Lloyd Roberts

Actress | Temptation

Gloria Lloyd Roberts was born on May 22, 1924 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Temptation (1946), American Masters (1985) and Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 4 (1942). She was married to William Guasti and John Roberts. She died on February 10, 2012 in Santa Monica, ...

12. Peggy Lloyd

Actress | Cover Girl

Peggy Lloyd was born on April 15, 1925 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Cover Girl (1944), Saturday Night Preview (1951) and Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 4 (1942). She was married to Robert Patten and Almon Bartlett Ross Jr.. She died on November 18, 1986 in Newport ...

13. Frank Capra

Director | It's a Wonderful Life

One of seven children, Frank Capra was born on May 18, 1897, in Bisacquino, Sicily. On May 10, 1903, his family left for America aboard the ship Germania, arriving in New York on May 23rd. "There's no ventilation, and it stinks like hell. They're all miserable. It's the most degrading place you ...

14. Lou Capra

Self | AFI Life Achievement Award

Lou Capra was born on April 23, 1903 in Oakland, California, USA. She was married to Frank Capra and Francis Clarke Reyburn. She died on July 1, 1984 in La Quinta, California, USA.

15. Howard Estabrook

Writer | Cimarron

Detroit-born Howard Estabrook entered show business as a stage actor in New York in 1904. He appeared in several films starting in 1914 and even directed a few in 1917. He left films for a career in the business world, but returned in 1921 in executive positions with various studios, then began ...

16. Spencer Tracy

Actor | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Spencer Tracy was the second son born on April 5, 1900, to truck salesman John Edward and Caroline Brown Tracy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While attending Marquette Academy, he and classmate Pat O'Brien quit school to enlist in the Navy at the start of World War I. Tracy was still at Norfolk Navy Yard...

17. Louise Treadwell

Self | Telephone Time

Louise Treadwell was born on July 31, 1896 in Pennsylvania, USA. She was married to Spencer Tracy. She died on November 13, 1983 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

18. Jack Holt

Actor | Cat People

Staunch, granite-jawed American leading man of silent and early talkie films, much associated with Westerns. A native of New York City, Holt often claimed to have been born in Winchester, Virginia, where he grew up. The son of an Episcopal minister, he attended Trinity School in Manhattan, then the...

19. Jack Cummings

Producer | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Although related to MGM head Louis B. Mayer, Cummings started his career at the studio as a low-paid office boy. He worked his way up to script supervisor and assistant director, and was eventually placed in charge of the studio's short-subjects department, where he personally produced most (and ...

20. Walter Connolly

Actor | It Happened One Night

The name may have been forgotten, especially today (seven decades later), but the portly, apoplectic, exasperated figure on the 1930s screen wasn't. While his film career, save a couple of silents, lasted a paltry seven years (1932-1939), character actor Walter Connolly certainly ran the distance. ...

21. Nedda Harrigan

Actress | Thank You, Mr. Moto

Nedda Harrigan was born on August 24, 1899 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937), Devil's Island (1938) and Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936). She was married to Joshua Logan and Walter Connolly. She died on April 1, 1989 in New York City, New York...

22. Rupert Hughes

Writer | Souls for Sale

Rupert Hughes was born on January 31, 1872 in Lancaster, Missouri, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Souls for Sale (1923), True As Steel (1924) and Look Your Best (1923). He was married to Patterson Dial, Mrs. Rupert Hughes and Agnes Wheeler Hedge. He died on September 9, 1956 in ...

23. Boris Morros

Music_department | Stagecoach

Boris Morros was born on January 1, 1891 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was a producer and writer, known for Stagecoach (1939), Souls at Sea (1937) and The General Died at Dawn (1936). He died on January 8, 1963 in New York City, New York, USA.

24. Walter Wanger

Producer | Cleopatra

A graduate of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, Walter Wanger was among the more literate and socially conscious American film producers of his time. At the peak of his career, his salary was exceeded only by that of Louis B. Mayer at MGM. Wanger had served in the air force on the Italian front ...

25. Joan Bennett

Actress | Suspiria

Joan Geraldine Bennett was born on February 27, 1910, in Palisades, New Jersey. Her parents were both successful stage actors, especially her father, Richard Bennett, and often toured the country for weeks at a time. In fact, Joan came from a long line of actors, dating back to the 18th century. ...

26. Eddie Cantor

Soundtrack | Kid Millions

Singer, songwriter ("Merrily We Roll Along"), comedian, author and actor, educated in public schools. He made his first public appearance in Vaudeville in 1907 at New York's Clinton Music Hall, then became a member of the Gus Edwards Gang, later touring vaudeville with Lila Lee as the team Cantor &...

27. Ida Tobias Cantor

Actress | The Eddie Cantor Story

Ida Tobias Cantor was born on May 15, 1892 in New York, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Eddie Cantor Story (1953), The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater (1955) and The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950). She was married to Eddie Cantor. She died on August 9, 1962 in Beverly Hills, California, ...

28. Marjorie Cantor

Self | This Is Your Life

Marjorie Cantor was born on March 31, 1915 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for This Is Your Life (1950). She died on May 17, 1959 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

29. Natalie Cantor

Self | It Takes Two

Natalie Cantor was born on April 27, 1916 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for It Takes Two (1968), This Is Your Life (1950) and It's Your Bet (1969). She was married to Robert Clary and Joseph Louis Metzger. She died on December 11, 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

30. Edna Cantor McHugh

Self | This Is Your Life

Edna Cantor McHugh was born on June 10, 1919 in the USA. She was married to James Francis McHugh Jr. (theatrical agent). She died on July 24, 2003 in West Hollywood, California, USA.

31. Marilyn Cantor Baker

Writer | Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend

Marilyn Cantor Baker was born on September 16, 1921 in New York City, New York, USA. She was a writer and actress, known for Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend (1981), The Loretta Young Show (1953) and Love, Sidney (1981). She was married to Mike Baker. She died on September 17, 2010 in New York ...

32. Janet Cantor Gari

Self | This Is Your Life

Janet Cantor Gari was born on October 8, 1927. She was married to Robert Gari. She died on January 29, 2018 in New York City, New York, USA.

33. Betty Blake Rogers

Writer | The Story of Will Rogers

Betty Blake Rogers was born on September 9, 1879 in Monte Ne, Arkansas, USA. She was a writer, known for The Story of Will Rogers (1952). She was married to Will Rogers. She died on June 21, 1944 in Santa Monica, California, USA.

34. Sidney Franklin

Director | The Good Earth

Sidney Franklin was involved in amateur filmmaking while still at school. With his brother Chester M. Franklin, he wrote, directed and edited a short film, The Baby (1915), at a cost of $400. Somehow it attracted the interest of D.W. Griffith, who decided to put the brothers to work making ...

35. Alice Moore

Actress | Fighting Lady

Alice Moore was born on November 23, 1915 in New York, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Fighting Lady (1935), Woman Against the World (1937) and Shopgirl's Evidence (1938). She was married to Felix Knight, Nicholas Semigradov "Nikolai" De Tolly and Stanley Arthur Miller . She died on ...

36. Freeman F. Gosden

Actor | Check and Double Check

Freeman F. Gosden was born on May 5, 1899 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Check and Double Check (1930), The Amos 'n Andy Show (1951) and The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935). He was married to Leta Marie Schreiber and Jane S. Gosden. He died on December 10, 1982 in Los...

37. Charles J. Correll

Actor | Check and Double Check

Charles J. Correll was born on February 2, 1890 in Peoria, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Check and Double Check (1930), The Amos 'n Andy Show (1951) and The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935). He was married to Alyce Mercedes McLaughlin (dancer). He died on September 26, 1972 in ...

38. Harry Brand

Writer | Making the Grade

Harry Brand was born on October 20, 1895 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and production manager, known for Making the Grade (1929), The Farmer's Daughter (1928) and Masked Emotions (1929). He was married to Sybil Susan Morris Leavy. He died on February 22, 1989 in Beverly Hills, ...

39. Joseph M. Schenck

Sherlock Jr.

People liked Joseph M. Schenck. Anyone who knew both him and his brother Nicholas Schenck would comment on how different they were. He came to New York in 1893 and, with his younger brother, built a drugstore business. They risked some profits and made more money in amusement parks. Marcus Loew ...

40. Leopold Stokowski

Soundtrack | Fantasia

Flamboyant, latterly white-maned, U.S. conductor known best for his popularization of classical music. (He is also known for teaching 'Mickey Mouse' a few things about music in Walt Disney's Fantasia (1940), in which Stokowski was featured with the Philadelphia Orchestra). He was a pioneer in the ...

41. Fritz Kreisler

Soundtrack | Testament of Youth

Violinist, composer and arranger, educated at the Vienna Conservatory (which he entered at age seven and won a Gold Medal at ten) with Auber and Hellmesberger, and at the Paris Conservatory with Massart and Delibes, where he graduated at age twelve with the Grand Prix. In 1888, at age thirteen, he ...

42. Hal Roach

Producer | One Million B.C.

Hal Roach was born in 1892 in Elmira, New York. After working as a mule skinner, wrangler and gold prospector, among other things, he wound up in Hollywood and began picking up jobs as an extra in comedies, where he met comedian Harold Lloyd in 1913 in San Diego. By all accounts, including his own,...

43. Billie Burke

Actress | The Wizard of Oz

Billie Burke was born Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke on August 7, 1885 in Washington, D.C. Her father was a circus clown, and as a child she toured the United States and Europe with the circus (before motion pictures and after the stage, circuses were the biggest form of entertainment in the...

44. Sol Lesser

Producer | Tarzan and the Leopard Woman

Sol Lesser entered the film industry as an exhibitor and the owner of a chain of movie theaters. His first "production" had an interesting story behind it. In 1915, while he was living in San Francisco, he learned that the authorities were about to clean out and close down the city's notorious ...

45. George Schaefer

George Schaefer was born on November 5, 1888 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was a producer. He died on August 8, 1981.

46. Ned Depinet

Self | World's Middleweight Championship: Randy Turpin vs. Sugar Ray Robinson

Ned Depinet was born on September 9, 1890 in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an executive. He died on December 29, 1974 in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.

47. Ethel Shannon

Actress | The Phantom Express

Ethel May Shannon's parents divorced when she was a child and her mother Agnes got a job as a housekeeper. After high school she moved to Los Angeles, California. A friend suggested that they should start working as film extras. In 1919 the lovely redhead co-starred with Bert Lytell in the comedy "...

48. Sid Rogell

Producer | Design for Death

Sid Rogell was born on January 16, 1900 in St. Joseph, Missouri, USA. He was a producer and production manager, known for Design for Death (1947), Murder, My Sweet (1944) and You May Be Next! (1936). He was married to June Clayworth. He died on November 15, 1973 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

49. June Clayworth

Actress | Live, Love and Learn

June Clayworth was born on June 9, 1905 in Passaic, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for Live, Love and Learn (1937), The Good Fairy (1935) and Beat the Band (1947). She was married to Sid Rogell and Benedict Erstein. She died on January 1, 1993 in Calabasas, California, USA.

50. Harry E. Edington

Producer | Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Harry E. Edington was born on March 16, 1888 in Washington, Kansas, USA. He was a producer and production manager, known for Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941), Green Hell (1940) and Kitty Foyle (1940). He was married to Barbara Kent and Arda O'Connor. He died on March 10, 1949 in Beverly Hills, Los ...

51. Alan Mowbray

Actor | My Darling Clementine

Alan Mowbray, the American film actor who was one of the founding members of the Screen Actors Guild, was born Ernest Allen on August 18, 1896, in London, England, to a non-theatrical family. He served in the British army during World War I and received the Military Medal and the French Croix De ...

52. Sam Zimbalist

Producer | Ben-Hur

Sam Zimbalist was born on March 31, 1904 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and editor, known for Ben-Hur (1959), King Solomon's Mines (1950) and Quo Vadis (1951). He was married to Mary Taylor and Margaret C. Donovan. He died on November 4, 1958 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

53. Bob Hope

Actor | The Ghost Breakers

Comedian Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, London, England, the fifth of seven sons of Avis (Townes), light opera singer, and William Henry Hope, a stonemason from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. His maternal grandmother was Welsh. Hope moved to Bristol before emigrating with his parents...

54. Vera Zorina

Actress | I Was an Adventuress

Practically born with ballet slippers on, the dark, lithe and exotic Vera Zorina had memorable careers with the Ballet Russe and, to a lesser degree, Hollywood. Born in Berlin, her father Fritz was German and mother Billie Hartwig Norwegian. She took to ballet at age 2 (she used to take her ballet ...

55. Louis D. Lighton

Producer | Captains Courageous

Louis D. Lighton was born on November 25, 1895 in Florence, Nebraska, USA. Louis D. was a writer and producer, known for Captains Courageous (1937), Wings (1927) and College Rhythm (1934). Louis D. was married to Hope Loring. Louis D. died on February 1, 1963 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

56. Harpo Marx

Actor | A Night at the Opera

With poofy, curly red hair, a top hat and a horn, the lovable mute was the favorite of the Marx Brothers. Though chasing women was a favorite routine of his in the movies, Harpo was a devoted father and husband. He adopted the mute routine in vaudeville and carried it over to the films. Harpo was ...

57. Groucho Marx

Actor | A Night at the Opera

The bushy-browed, cigar-smoking wise-cracker with the painted-on moustache and stooped walk was the leader of The Marx Brothers. With one-liners that were often double entendres, Groucho never cursed in any of his performances and said he never wanted to be known as a dirty comic. With a great love...

58. Anne Shirley

Actress | Murder, My Sweet

They didn't come packaged any sweeter or lovelier than Anne Shirley, a gentle and gracious 1930s teen film actress who didn't quite reach the zenith of front-rank stardom and retired all too soon at age 26. On film as a toddler, she went through a small revolving door of marquee names before ...

59. John Payne

Actor | Miracle on 34th Street

Perhaps not so surprisingly, John Payne maintained that his favorite movie of all time was one of his own -- Miracle on 34th Street (1947) -- simply because it reflected his own strong and spiritual belief system. Today, of course, the film, which co-stars beautiful Maureen O'Hara, Oscar-winning ...

60. Cary Grant

Actor | North by Northwest

Once told by an interviewer, "Everybody would like to be Cary Grant", Grant is said to have replied, "So would I."

Cary Grant was born Archibald Alec Leach on January 18, 1904 in Horfield, Bristol, England, to Elsie Maria (Kingdon) and Elias James Leach, who worked in a factory. His early years in ...

61. Charles Laughton

Actor | Witness for the Prosecution

Charles Laughton was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, to Eliza (Conlon) and Robert Laughton, hotel keepers of Irish and English descent, respectively. He was educated at Stonyhurst (a highly esteemed Jesuit college in England) and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (received gold medal). ...

62. Lucille Ball

Actress | I Love Lucy

The woman who will always be remembered as the crazy, accident-prone, lovable Lucy Ricardo was born Lucille Desiree Ball on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York, the daughter of Desiree Evelyn "DeDe" (Hunt) and Henry Durrell "Had" Ball. Her father died before she was four, and her mother worked ...

63. Alexander Hall

Director | Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Making his stage debut in 1898 at age four, Alexander Hall entered films in 1914 as an actor. Leaving the film industry to serve in the American army in World War I, he returned from military service in 1917 and re-entered the business, but this time as an editor and assistant director. He made his...

64. Ken Murray

Actor | The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

He wasn't a natural, instinctive talent but entertainer Ken Murray had solid breeding to rely on. Born in 1903 in New York City, his father was a vaudeville comic and Ken taught himself to dance, sing, tell jokes, and even perform rope tricks to try and get ahead. It paid off. Touring in an act ...

65. Lee S. Marcus

Producer | Wildcat Bus

Lee S. Marcus was born on December 7, 1893 in Buffalo, New York, USA. Lee S. was a producer and production manager, known for Wildcat Bus (1940), Pacific Liner (1939) and Conspiracy (1939). Lee S. died on January 30, 1969 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.

66. Robert Sisk

Producer | Pacific Liner

Robert Sisk was born on March 20, 1903 in Pokeshaw, New Brunswick, Canada (some sources say Maryland). He was a producer, known for Pacific Liner (1939), They Made Her a Spy (1939) and Five Came Back (1939). He was married to Cepha Day. He died on February 25, 1964 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

67. Howard Benedict

Producer | Slave Girl

Howard Benedict was born on June 10, 1902 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He was a producer, known for Slave Girl (1947), Men Against the Sky (1940) and Behind the Eight Ball (1942). He died on January 4, 1996 in California, USA.

68. Bert Gilroy

Producer | The Rookie Cop

Bert Gilroy was born on May 7, 1899 in Arizona, USA. He was a producer and assistant director, known for The Rookie Cop (1939), The Dice Woman (1926) and Ladies' Day (1943). He died on January 16, 1973 in San Bernardino County, California, USA.

69. Garson Kanin

Writer | Adam's Rib

Garson Kanin has worked as an actor on stage and as a director on Broadway and in Hollywood, but his best-known work is as a writer. During the Great Depression, he dropped out of high school to help support his family by working as a musician and later as a comedian. He attended the American ...

70. Randolph Scott

Actor | Roberta

Handsome American leading man who developed into one of Hollywood's greatest and most popular Western stars. Born to George and Lucy Crane Scott during a visit to Virginia, Scott was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina in a wealthy family. After service with the U.S. Army in France in World War I, ...

71. Bing Crosby

Actor | White Christmas

Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr. in Tacoma, Washington, the fourth of seven children of Catherine (Harrigan) and Harry Lincoln Crosby, a brewery bookkeeper. He was of English and Irish descent. Crosby studied law at Gonzaga University in Spokane but was more interested in playing the ...

72. Dixie Lee

Actress | Redheads on Parade

Dixie Lee was born on November 4, 1909 in Harriman, Tennessee, USA. She was an actress, known for Redheads on Parade (1935), Love in Bloom (1935) and Night Life in Reno (1931). She was married to Bing Crosby. She died on November 1, 1952 in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

73. William Goetz

Producer | Sayonara

William Goetz, a producer and studio boss who revolutionized the industry with the development of the profit participation deal, was born on 3/24/1903 in Philadelphia, PA, to ship's purser Theodore Goetz and his wife Fanny. William was the youngest in a brood of eight children (six boys and two ...

74. Edith Mayer

Edith Mayer was born on August 14, 1905 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Edith was married to William Goetz. Edith died on June 3, 1988 in Los Angeles, California, USA.