1-50 of 1,770 names.

Sort by: STARmeter▲ | A-Z | Height | Birth Date | Death Date
1. Dean Martin Dean Martin Soundtrack, Goodfellas Though best known for the 51 films he made, Dean Martin was a prizefighter, steel mill laborer, gas station attendant and card shark before seeing the first glimmer of fame. It came when he teamed up with comedian Jerry Lewis in 1946. Films such as At War with the Army sent the team toward superstardom...
2. Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine Actor, The Wild Bunch Ernest Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino on January 24, 1917 in Hamden, Connecticut. His parents were Charles who had emigrated from Ottiglio (AL), Italy and Anna who had emigrated from Carpi (MO), Italy. As an only child, Ernest enjoyed most sports, especially boxing, but took no real interest in acting...
3. Robert Mitchum Robert Mitchum Actor, The Night of the Hunter Underrated American leading man of enormous ability who sublimates his talents beneath an air of disinterest. Born to a railroad worker who died in a train accident when he was two, Robert Mitchum and his siblings (including brother John Mitchum, later also an actor) were raised by his mother and stepfather (a British army major) in Connecticut...
4. Raymond Burr Raymond Burr Actor, Rear Window Born Raymond William Stacy Burr on 21 May 1917 in New Westminster, British Columbia, Burr spent most of his early life traveling. As a youngster, his father moved his family to China, where the elder Burr worked as a trade agent. When the family returned to Canada, Raymond's parents separated. He and his mother moved to Vallejo...
5. Desi Arnaz Desi Arnaz Producer, Lucy Does a TV Commercial Desiderio Alberto Arnaz ye de Acha the Third was born in Santiago, Cuba on March 2, 1917. His father was the mayor of Santiago. The 1933 revolution led by Fulgencio Batista had landed his father in jail and stripped the family of its wealth, property and power. His father was released because of the intercession of U.S...
6. Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor Actress, Moulin Rouge Undoubtedly the woman who had come to epitomize what we recognize today as "celebrity", Zsa Zsa Gabor, is better known for her many marriages, personal appearances, her "dahlink" catchphrase, her actions, life gossip, and quotations on men, rather than her film career. It is unclear as to Zsa Zsa's birth year: sources vary from 1917 to 1919...
7. Joan Fontaine Joan Fontaine Actress, Rebecca Born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland on October 22, 1917, in Tokyo, Japan, in what was known as the International Settlement. Her father was a British patent attorney with a lucrative practice in Japan, but due to Joan and older sister Olivia de Havilland's recurring ailments the family moved to California in the hopes of improving their health...
8. George Gaynes George Gaynes Actor, Tootsie
9. June Allyson June Allyson Actress, Till the Clouds Roll By American leading lady whose sweet smile and sunny disposition made her the prototypical girl-next-door of American movies of the 1940s. Raised in semi-poverty in Bronx neighborhoods by her divorced mother, Allyson (nee Ella Geisman) was injured in a fall at age eight and spent four years confined within a steel brace...
10. Phyllis Diller Phyllis Diller Actress, A Bug's Life The indefatigable nonagenarian finally put out an autobiography in 2005 and entitled it "Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse", which pretty much says it all when recalling the misfit life and career of the fabulous, one-of-a-kind Phyllis Diller. It may inspire all those bored, discouraged and/or directionless...
11. David Tomlinson David Tomlinson Actor, Mary Poppins David Tomlinson is best known for his role as George Banks in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins. As a youth he spent a short spell in the guards where he survived the trauma of a plane crash. He began his film career in the pre-war British film Quiet Wedding and followed that with Leslie Howard's 'Pimpernel' Smith...
12. Susan Hayward Susan Hayward Actress, I Want to Live! Susan Hayward was born Edythe Marrener in Brooklyn, New York, on June 30, 1917. Her father was a transportation worker, and Susan lived a fairly comfortable life as a child, but the precocious little redhead had no idea of the life that awaited her. She attended public school in Brooklyn, where she graduated from a commercial high school that was intended to give students a marketable skill...
13. Jane Wyman Jane Wyman Actress, The Lost Weekend Jane Wyman was born Sarah Jane Mayfield on January 5, 1917, in St. Joseph, Missouri (she was also known later as Sarah Jane Fulks). When she was only eight years old, and after her parents filed for divorce, she lost her father prematurely. After graduating high school she attempted, with the help of her mother...
14. Dabbs Greer Dabbs Greer Actor, The Green Mile Dabbs Greer was a very familiar face in films and especially on TV. He was a sort of "everyman" in his roles and played merchants, preachers, businessmen, and other "pillars of the community" types as well as assorted villains. With his plain looking face, wavy hair and mellow, distinctive voice he was a solid supporting actor...
15. Mel Ferrer Mel Ferrer Actor, War and Peace Actor/director/producer Mel Ferrer was born Melchor Gaston Ferrer on August 25, 1917, in Elberon, New Jersey. The son of a Cuban-born surgeon and a Manhattan socialite, he went to prep school and attended Princeton University. From the age of 15 he worked in summer stock. After Princeton he became an editor on a small Vermont newspaper and wrote a children's book...
16. Lena Horne Lena Horne Self, That's Entertainment! III Lena Calhoun Horne was born June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York. In her biography she stated that on the day she was born, her father was in the midst of a card game trying to get money to pay the hospital costs. Her parents divorced while she was still a toddler. Her mother left later in order to find work as an actress and Lena was left in the care of her grandparents...
17. Celeste Holm Celeste Holm Actress, All About Eve Celeste Holm was an only child, born into a home where her mother was a painter and her father worked in insurance. She would study acting at the University of Chicago and make her stage debut in 1936. Her Broadway debut came when she was 19. She appeared in many successful plays, including "The Women"...
18. Ossie Davis Ossie Davis Actor, Doctor Dolittle
19. Richard Boone Richard Boone Actor, The Hobbit Richard Boone was a college student, boxer, painter and oil-field laborer before ending up in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war he used the G.I. Bill to study acting with the Actor's Studio in New York. Serious and methodical, Boone debuted on Broadway in the play "Medea". Other plays followed...
20. June Foray June Foray Actress, Mulan June Foray was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on September 18. Various years of birth have been given for her: 1917, 1919, 1920, and 1925. 1917 seems the most plausible year, since it was attributed to her in an interview that she did in 2000 when The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle was released. She started in the voice field at the age of 12...
21. Ann Rutherford Ann Rutherford Actress, Gone with the Wind Ann Rutherford was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The daughter of a former Metropolitan Opera singer, John Rutherford, and her actress mother, Lillian Mansfield, was destined for show business. Not long after her birth, her family moved to California, where she made her stage debut in 1925...
22. Herbert Lom Herbert Lom Actor, Spartacus Born September 11, 1917, Herbert Lom made his film debut in the Czech film Zena pod krízem and played supporting and, occasionally, lead roles. His career picked up in the 1940s and he played, among other roles, "Napoleon Bonaparte" in The Young Mr. Pitt (and, again, in War and Peace). In a rare starring role...
23. Hans Conried Hans Conried Actor, Peter Pan Hans Conried was born in Baltimore and raised both there and in New York City. He studied acting at Columbia University, and played many major classical roles onstage. After having been a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre Company, he was heard as Prof. Kropotkin on the radio show "My Friend Irma" and had various roles on the "Edgar Bergen - Charlie McCarthy Show"...
24. Allen Ludden Allen Ludden Self, Password All-Stars
25. Isabel Sanford Isabel Sanford Actress, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Isabel Sanford was a Broadway actress for over thirty years before moving to Hollywood. She made numerous guest appearances on TV, including a stint as a supporting cast member on The Carol Burnett Show. Until her passing, Isabel continued to act frequently, most recently in a series of commercials for Old Navy stores with The Jeffersons co-star...
26. Max Showalter Max Showalter Actor, Sixteen Candles Born in Kansas, Max Showalter picked up the "acting bug" as a toddler when mother used to take him to the local theater where she played the piano for silent movies. He acted in 92 shows at the Pasadena Playhouse between 1935 and '38, made his Broadway debut under the aegis of Oscar Hammerstein II in "Knights...
27. Kenneth Tobey Kenneth Tobey Actor, The Thing from Another World Born in Oakland, California, Kenneth Tobey was headed for a law career when he first dabbled in acting at the University of California Little Theater. That experience led to a year and a half of study at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, where his classmates included Gregory Peck, Eli Wallach and Tony Randall...
28. Marjorie Reynolds Marjorie Reynolds Actress, Holiday Inn Bright, vivacious Marjorie Reynolds (née Marjorie Goodspeed) was born in Idaho on August 12, 1917 to a doctor and homemaker, and raised in Los Angeles. Making her film debut at age 6, she "retired" after only a few years in favor of a normal education. She returned in the mid-30s, as a teenager this time...
29. R.G. Armstrong R.G. Armstrong Actor, Predator A golden career was reflected in his name. Robert Golden Armstrong ("Bob" to his friends) was born in Birmingham, Alabama on April 7, 1917. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While there, he was frequently performing on stage with the Carolina Playmakers. After graduating, R.G...
30. Barry Nelson Barry Nelson Actor, The Shining A genial, well-respected, all-around "nice guy", the breezily handsome Barry Nelson was born Robert Haakon Nielsen on April 16, 1917, in San Francisco, California, of Scandinavian heritage. He was raised in nearby Oakland and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1941. A talent scout from MGM caught Barry in a college production of "Macbeth" and quickly sized up his potential...
31. John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy Self, Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, to Rose Fitzgerald (aka Rose Kennedy and Joseph P. Kennedy. John was named after his maternal grandfather, John "HoneyFitz" Fitzgerald, the mayor of Boston. John was very ill as a child and was given the last rites five times, the first one being when he was a newborn...
32. Faye Emerson Faye Emerson Actress, Lady Gangster Synonymous with chic, the ever-fashionable Faye Emerson certainly qualified as one of the "first ladies" of TV glamor. Bedecked in sweeping, rather low-cut gowns and expensive, dangling jewelry, she was a highly poised and stylish presence on the small screen during its exciting "Golden Age". An enduring presence throughout the 1950s...
33. Leonardo Cimino Leonardo Cimino Actor, Dune Veteran little old man Italian character actor Leonardo Anthony Cimino steadily worked in both movies and TV shows alike from the late 50s up until 2007. Cimino was born on November 4, 1917 in New York City. He was the son of tailor Andrea Cimino and his wife Leonilda. Leonardo played violin as a child and studied at Juilliard as a teenager...
34. Jean-Pierre Melville Jean-Pierre Melville Writer, Le Samouraï The name "Melville" is not immediately associated with film. It conjures up images of white whales and crackbrained captains, of naysaying notaries and soup-spilling sailors. It is the countersign to a realm of men and their deeds, both heroic and villainous. It is the American novel, with its Ishmaels and its Claggarts a challenge to the European canon...
35. Jack Soo Jack Soo Actor, Thoroughly Modern Millie A genial, laid back, slumber-eyed character player especially adept at the relaxed wisecrack or dry comment, Japanese-American actor Jack Soo was born in Oakland, California, in 1917, his real name being Goro Suzuki. In the post-WWII years, he entertained as a stand-up performer in nightclubs and had...
36. Clifton Young Clifton Young Actor, Dark Passage Clifton "Bobby" Young gained notoriety as a child actor playing "Bonedust" during Our Gang's sound transition period. Of all the graduates of Our Gang (with the exception of Jackie Cooper and arguably Dickie Moore), Clifton had the greatest shot at adult stardom - at least as far as strong character roles were concerned...
37. Kim Chan Kim Chan Actor, The Fifth Element Born in China, Kim Chan fled China in 1928 with his father Lem and two older sisters. Settling first in Rhode Island, then in New York, Kim left his family after his father caught him lying about an afternoon spent at the cinema. Faced with an ultimatum, Kim left for years as a day laborer, occasionally homeless, frequently sleeping on vermin-infested ironing boards...
38. Sid Melton Sid Melton Actor, Lady Sings the Blues
39. John Hart John Hart Actor, Blackenstein Tall and athletic, and possessed of "movie star" good looks, John Hart acted on the stage of the renowned Pasadena Playhouse as a young man, before making his screen debut in a supporting role in director Cecil B. DeMille's big-budget The Buccaneer. With these physical assets and early acting credentials...
40. Brad Dexter Brad Dexter Actor, The Magnificent Seven American supporting player specializing in tough guys. Of Serbian extraction, he was born in Nevada in 1917. As a young man, he boxed in amateur bouts and had early training in theatre at the Pasadena Playhouse. He joined the Air Corps during World War II and was assigned to the troupe performing the Moss Hart Broadway tribute to the Corps...
41. Alice Pearce Alice Pearce Actress, On the Town Making a career out of a post-nasal drip, this scene-stealing character comedienne was one of the best Broadway and Hollywood had to offer. It's too bad, then, that she wasn't utilized in films more often for this slight, chinless, parrot-faced, squawky-voiced bundle of (kill)joy could draw laughs from a well with a mere sniffle, gulp, or stare...
42. Jesse White Jesse White Actor, Harvey Lovable, laid-back Jesse White made acting seem fun and easy. He was born Jesse Marc Weidenfeld in Buffalo, New York, and was raised in Akron, Ohio. He made his first amateur appearance on the local stage at age 15. Before breaking into professional theater in the 1940s, he held many different jobs...
43. Paul Brinegar Paul Brinegar Actor, Maverick
44. Robert Sterling Robert Sterling Actor, Show Boat Born William Sterling Hart in 1917, the Pennsylvania-born actor was the son of a professional ballplayer. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, then worked as a clothing salesman before deciding to give acting a try. He certainly had the requisite dreamboat looks as Columbia signed this blue-eyed...
45. Herbert Anderson Herbert Anderson Actor, Battleground
46. Steve Cochran Steve Cochran Actor, White Heat Husky, hirsute, darkly handsome Steve Cochran was all man -- and a slick ladies' guy to boot. They didn't come much rougher and tougher than he both off- and on-camera. Throughout post-WWII Hollywood and the 1950s, he played the swarthiest and sexiest of coldhearted villains, with mustache or without...
47. Sidney Sheldon Sidney Sheldon Writer, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer Sheldon was born in Chicago on February 17, 1917. He began writing as a youngster and at the age of ten he made his first sale of a poem for $10. During the Depression, he worked at a variety of jobs and while attending Northwestern University he contributed short plays to drama groups. At seventeen...
48. James Donald James Donald Actor, The Great Escape Scottish-born actor James Donald was born in Aberdeen on May 18, 1917, and took his first professional stage bow some time in the late 30s. He finally attained a degree of stardom in 1943 for his sterling performance in Noel Coward's "Present Laughter", which starred Coward himself. Subsequent post-war theatre work included "The Eagle with Two Heads" (1947)...
49. Fernando Rey Fernando Rey Actor, The French Connection Fernando Rey, the great Spanish movie actor primarily known in the United States for his role as "Frog One" in The French Connection and its sequel, was born Fernando Casado D'Arambillet on September 20 1917, in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain, the son of Colonel Casado Veiga. Originally, the young Fernando intended to become an architect...
50. Leo Gorcey Leo Gorcey Actor, Angels with Dirty Faces Leo Gorcey's parents were actor Bernard Gorcey (born 1888) who stood 4' 10", and Josephine Condon (born 1901), who stood 4' 11" and weighed 95 pounds; they worked in vaudeville in New York. In 1915, 14-year-old Josephine gave birth to Fred. In 1917, Leo was born, a large baby at 12 lb. 3 oz.; as an adult he would be 5' 6"...
1-50 of 1,770 names.