People with Nebraska ties

1. Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando is widely considered the greatest movie actor of all time, rivaled only by the more theatrically oriented Laurence Olivier in terms of esteem. Unlike Olivier, who preferred the stage to the screen, Brando concentrated his talents on movies after bidding the Broadway stage adieu in ...

2. Johnny Carson

Soundtrack | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson, the legendary "King of Late Night TV" who dominated the medium's nether hours for three decades, was born in Corning, Iowa, but moved with his family to nearby Norfolk, Nebraska when he was eight years old. He was the son of Ruth E. (Hook) and Homer Lloyd "Kit" Carson, a manager of ...

3. Dick Cavett

Actor | Forrest Gump

Yale-educated Dick Cavett established his reputation as the most erudite of American talk show hosts in the late 1960s and early '70s. Although there were many contenders who took on Johnny Carson, the undisputed heavyweight champion of late-night TV, Cavett generally was considered the most ...

4. Alexander Payne

Director | Nebraska

Director, producer and screenwriter Alexander Payne was born in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents, Peggy (Constantine) and George Payne, ran a Greek restaurant. His father is of Greek and German ancestry, and his mother is of Greek descent; the family name was originally Papadopoulos. He is the youngest...

5. JoJo Siwa

Actress | The J Team

Joelle Joanie "JoJo" Siwa was born on May 19, 2003 in Omaha, Nebraska. JoJo Siwa is a YouTube sensation, pop star, dancer, entrepreneur, social media influencer and The New York Times bestselling author. Siwa connects with her fans through many channels: via social media she has over 10 million ...

6. Fred Astaire

Actor | The Towering Inferno

Fred Astaire was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Johanna (Geilus) and Fritz Austerlitz, a brewer. Fred entered show business at age 5. He was successful both in vaudeville and on Broadway in partnership with his sister, Adele Astaire. After Adele retired to marry in 1932, Astaire headed to Hollywood. ...

7. Sandy Dennis

Actress | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

It would not be easy for anyone to out-do one of American theater's finest thespians, but somehow actress Sandy Dennis managed to even out-quirk the legendary Geraldine Page when it came to affecting nervous tics and offbeat mannerisms on stage and in film. She and Page had few peers when it came ...

8. Nick Nolte

Actor | Warrior

Nick Nolte was born in Omaha, Nebraska and began his career on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse and in regional theatre productions. His breakthrough role was in the TV miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), playing the role of "Tom/Tommy Jordache". Nick Nolte said that when he played a young man in ...

9. James Coburn

Actor | The Great Escape

Lanky, charismatic and versatile actor with an amazing grin that put everyone at ease, James Coburn studied acting at UCLA, and then moved to New York to study under noted acting coach Stella Adler. After being noticed in several stage productions, Coburn appeared in a handful of minor westerns ...

10. Henry Fonda

Actor | 12 Angry Men

This remarkable, soft-spoken American began in films as a diffident juvenile. With passing years, he matured into a star character actor who exemplified not only integrity and strength, but an ideal of the common man fighting against social injustice and oppression. He was born in Grand Island, ...

11. Montgomery Clift

Actor | From Here to Eternity

Edward Montgomery Clift (nicknamed 'Monty' his entire life) was born on October 17, 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska, just after his twin sister Roberta (1920-2014) and eighteen months after his brother Brooks Clift. He was the son of Ethel "Sunny" Anderson (Fogg; 1888-1988) and William Brooks Clift (1886-...

12. Peter Fonda

Actor | Easy Rider

Peter Henry Fonda was born in New York City, to legendary screen star Henry Fonda and Ontario, Canada-born New York socialite Frances Brokaw (born Frances Ford Seymour). He was the younger brother of actress and activist Jane Fonda and the father of actress Bridget Fonda.

Fonda made his professional...

13. Paul Williams

Soundtrack | Phantom of the Paradise

Known for timeless classics such as "We've Only Just Begun," "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Evergreen," "Just an Old Fashioned Love Song," and "Rainbow Connection," Paul Williams is responsible for what will remain part of our popular culture for many years to come. His music has been recorded by some ...

14. Hilary Swank

Actress | Million Dollar Baby

Hilary was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Judith Kay (Clough), a secretary, and Stephen Michael Swank, who served in the National Guard and was also a traveling salesman. Her maternal grandmother, Frances Martha Dominguez, was of Mexican descent, and her other roots include German, English, and ...

15. David Janssen

Actor | The Green Berets

David Janssen was born David Harold Meyer in 1931 in Naponee, Nebraska, to Berniece Mae (Graf) and Harold Edward Meyer, a banker. He was of German, and some Swiss-German and Ulster-Scots, descent. David took the surname of his stepfather, Eugene Janssen. The Janssen family settled in Hollywood when...

16. Ruth Etting

Actress | Hips, Hips, Hooray!

Ruth Etting was born on November 23, 1896 in David City, Nebraska, USA. She was an actress, known for Hips, Hips, Hooray! (1934), Road to Perdition (2002) and Water for Elephants (2011). She was married to Myrl Alderman and Martin Snyder. She died on September 24, 1978 in Colorado Springs, Colorado...

17. Bil Baird

The Sound of Music

Bil Baird and his wife Cora Baird, the driving forces behind the Bil & Cora Baird Puppets, were pioneer entertainers in U.S. TV, when commercial television in the States was taking its first baby steps. Much of what early viewers could view on that seven-inch screen, with its eerie, whitish glow in...

18. Malcolm X

Writer | Malcolm X

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, one of seven children. His father, Earl Little, was a Baptist preacher who supported Marcus Garvey's Back to Africa movement. When Malcolm was four, the family moved to Lansing, Michigan, where Earl attempted opening a store ...

19. Julianne Moore

Actress | Far from Heaven

Julianne Moore was born Julie Anne Smith in Fort Bragg, North Carolina on December 3, 1960, the daughter of Anne (Love), a social worker, and Peter Moore Smith, a paratrooper, colonel, and later military judge. Her mother moved to the U.S. in 1951, from Greenock, Scotland. Her father, from ...

20. Hoot Gibson

Actor | The Horse Soldiers

A pioneering cowboy star of silent and early talking Westerns, Hoot Gibson was one of the 1920s' most popular children's matinée heroes. In his real life, however, he had a rather painful rags-to-riches-and-back-to-rags career, a problem that seemed to plague a number of big stars who fell victim ...

21. Dorothy McGuire

Actress | Gentleman's Agreement

A genuine model of sincerity, practicality and dignity in most of the roles she inhabited, actress Dorothy McGuire offered Tinseltown more talent than it probably knew what to do with. A quiet, passive beauty, she had a soothing quality to her open-faced looks and voice. She was a natural when he ...

22. Robert Taylor

Actor | The Bribe

Born Spangler Arlington Brugh, Robert Taylor began displaying a diversity of talents in his youth on the plains of Nebraska. At Beatrice High School, he was a standout track athlete, but also showed a talent for using his voice, winning several oratory awards. He was a musician and played the cello...

23. Irish McCalla

Actress | She Demons

Irish McCalla was born on December 25, 1928 in Pawnee City, Nebraska, USA. She was an actress, known for She Demons (1958), Sheena: Queen of the Jungle (1955) and The Beat Generation (1959). She was married to Patrick Horgan and Patrick H. McIntyre. She died on February 1, 2002 in Tucson, Arizona, ...

24. Gerald Ford

Actor | Dynasty

Gerald Rudolph Ford was the 38th President of the United States from August 1974 until January 1977.

Ford was born on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska as Leslie Lynch King, Jr., being the son of Leslie Lynch King and Dorothy Ayer Gardner King. His parents separated two weeks after his birth and his...

25. Darryl F. Zanuck

Producer | The Longest Day

One of the kingpins of Hollywood's studio system, Zanuck was the offspring of the ill-fated marriage of the alcoholic night clerk in Wahoo, Nebraska's only hotel and the hotel owner's daughter. Both parents had abandoned him by the time he was 13. At 15, he joined the U.S. Army, and he fought in ...

26. Larry the Cable Guy

Actor | Cars

Larry the Cable Guy was born in Pawnee City, Nebraska, as Daniel Lawrence Whitney. He is an actor and producer, known for Cars (2006), Cars 2 (2011) and Cars 3 (2017). He is also an original member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. He has been married to Cara Whitney since July 3, 2005. They have two...

27. 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 ...

28. Harley Jane Kozak

Actress | Arachnophobia

Harley Jane Kozak was born on January 28, 1957 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress, known for Arachnophobia (1990), Parenthood (1989) and When Harry Met Sally... (1989). She was previously married to Greg Aldisert and Van Saantvord.

29. Marg Helgenberger

Actress | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Marg Helgenberger is an established dramatic actress whose prominence has been steadily increasing. Her work has been noted on stage, film and TV. Most of her career has been spent in dramatic roles on television, but she has also had a noteworthy presence in feature films.

Helgenberger earned a ...

30. Tom Brokaw

Self | NBC Nightly News

Tom Brokaw was born on February 6, 1940 in Webster, South Dakota, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (1970), Dateline NBC (1992) and Toots (2006). He has been married to Meredith Lynn Auld since August 17, 1962. They have four children.

31. Gabrielle Union

Actress | Bring It On

Gabrielle Union was born on October 29, 1972, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Theresa (Glass), who managed a phone company, and Sylvester E. Union, a military sergeant and business executive. When she was eight, her family moved to Pleasanton, California, where she grew up and attended high school. There, ...

32. Jaime King

Actress | My Bloody Valentine

Jaime King is an American actress and model from Omaha, Nebraska. She is known for acting in Hart of Dixie, the Sin City film series, White Chicks, Barely Lethal, Bulletproof Monk, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Pearl Harbor. She is married to Kyle Newman since 2007 and had two children with him. ...

33. Don Wilson

Actor | Niagara

Don Wilson was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Not much is known about his early life but what is known is that he played football for the University of Colorado in the 1920s. Wilson began his radio career as a singer in Denver's radio station, KFEL, in 1923. In 1929, he started working at radio station...

34. Leslie Easterbrook

Actress | Police Academy

Leslie Easterbrook is an American actress from Nebraska. She has had a decades-long career, but she is mostly remembered for the role of the tough training instructor Debbie Callahan in the "Police Academy" movie series (1984-1994). She appeared in six of the series' seven films, and Callahan was ...

35. Warren Buffett

Actor | Entourage

Warren Edward Buffett born in Omaha ( August 30, 1930 ). He developed an interest in business and investing in his youth, eventually entering the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1947 before transferring and graduating from University of Nebraska-Lincoln at the age of 19. Buffett...

36. Ndamukong Suh

Actor | Think Like a Man Too

Ndamukong Suh was born on January 6, 1987 in Portland, Oregon, USA. He is an actor, known for Think Like a Man Too (2014), Ballers (2015) and The NFL on CBS (1956).

37. Adam Devine

Actor | Pitch Perfect

Adam Patrick Devine is an American actor, comedian, singer, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the stars and co-creators of the Comedy Central comedy television series Workaholics and Adam Devine's House Party. He played the role of Bumper in the musical films Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect ...

38. Nicholas Sparks

Writer | Safe Haven

Nicholas Sparks was born on December 31, 1965 in Omaha, Nebraska. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1988 and is one of the more critically-acclaimed authors of the past 5 years. He is the author of 5 best-selling books, including "The Notebook" and "The Rescue". Eleven of his books, ...

39. Terry Kiser

Actor | Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood

Excellent, prolific and dependable character actor Terry Kiser was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Terry attended the University of Kansas on both football and dramatic scholarships. He graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering and worked for three years in this profession in his hometown of Omaha...

40. Swoosie Kurtz

Actress | Bubble Boy

Swoosie is the only child of author Margo and Frank Kurtz. As her father was a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, she moved often during her school years, living in eight different states. At the University of Southern California she majored in drama; later she attended the London Academy of Music and ...

41. Andy Roddick

Actor | Just Go with It

Andy Roddick is an American former world No. 1 professional tennis player.

Roddick became world No. 1 shortly after he won the title at the 2003 US Open, defeating French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final and overtaking him as the top-ranked player in the process. Despite several more ...

42. Jorge Garcia

Actor | Lost

Jorge Garcia (born April 28, 1973) is an American actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker (1998), but probably more known later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost (2004) from 2004 to...

43. Matthew Sweet

Soundtrack | Austin Powers in Goldmember

Matthew Sweet was born on October 6, 1964 in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) and The Game (1997).

44. Ted DiBiase

Actor | WWE SmackDown

The son of a professional wrestler, Ted DiBiase had started his pro wrestling career as a fan favorite, but soon "changed sides" and became a heel throughout the rest of his career. DiBiase entered the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the late 1980s where he gained most of his fame as "The ...

45. Farrah Laurel Abraham

Self | Farrah Superstar: Backdoor Teen Mom

Farrah Laurel Abraham was born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska. Her father Michael Abraham is of Syrian, Lebanese and Italian descent. Her mother Debra Danielsen is of Danish, German, Sicilian descent. Farrah's parents met in Arizona in their career field of top sales ...

46. William Jennings Bryan

Self | Prohibition

William Jennings Bryan is an American orator and politician from Nebraska. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 1896, 1900, and 1908 elections. He served in the United States ...

47. Ward Bond

Actor | The Maltese Falcon

Gruff, burly American character actor. Born in 1903 in Benkelman, Nebraska (confirmed by Social Security records; sources stating 1905 or Denver, Colorado are in error.) Bond grew up in Denver, the son of a lumberyard worker. He attended the University of Southern California, where he got work as ...

48. Michael Biehn

Actor | Aliens

Michael Connell Biehn was born on July 31, 1956 in Anniston, Alabama, to Marcia (Connell) and Don Biehn, a lawyer. He grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and at age 14 moved with his family to Lake Havasu, Arizona, where he won a drama scholarship to the University of Arizona. He left prematurely two ...

49. Gordon MacRae

Actor | Oklahoma!

Albert Gordon MacRae was born on March 12, 1921, in East Orange, NJ. During his early years, he resided in Syracuse, NY, and, while in high school, spent much of his time singing and acting in the Drama Club. It was also during this time that he learned to play the piano, clarinet and the saxophone...

50. Anne Ramsey

Actress | The Goonies

American character actress Anne Ramsey was born Anne Mobley in Omaha, Nebraska to Eleanor (Smith), a national treasurer of the Girl Scouts, and Nathan Mobley, an insurance executive. Her uncle was U.S. Ambassador David S. Smith. An ancestor was Mayflower Pilgrim William Brewster. She attended ...

51. Amber Ruffin

Writer | Late Night with Seth Meyers

Amber Ruffin is a writer, executive producer, and host of the Emmy and WGA Award-nominated series The Amber Ruffin Show on Peacock. She is also an Emmy and WGA Award-nominated writer and performer for NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers." Ruffin was the first African American female to write for a ...

52. Inga Swenson

Actress | Benson

An accomplished and seasoned actress of stage and screen, Inga Swenson became best known for her portrayals of formidable, often acidulous women on TV. Arguably her most popular role was that of snarky Gretchen Wilomena Kraus, the German-born head housekeeper and later administrative assistant in ...

53. Paula Zahn

Actress | Murphy Brown

Paula Zahn was born on February 24, 1956 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. She is a producer and actress, known for Murphy Brown (1988), Great Performances (1971) and Mobster Confessions (1993). She was previously married to Richard Cohen.

54. L. Ron Hubbard

Writer | Battlefield Earth

L. Ron Hubbard was born on March 13, 1911 in Tilden, Nebraska, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Battlefield Earth (2000), The Secret of Treasure Island (1938) and How the E-Meter Works (1976). He was married to Mary Sue Whipp, Sara Northrup and Margaret Louise Grubb. He died on January ...

55. Raymond Chandler

Writer | Double Indemnity

An American novelist, writer of crime fiction featuring the private detective Philip Marlowe, Raymond (Thornton) Chandler was born in Chicago of an American father and an Anglo-Irish mother. He moved to England when his parents divorced. He attended Dulwich College and studied languages in France ...

56. Yolonda Ross

Actress | The Chi

Yolonda Ross was born in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for The Chi (2018), The Get Down (2016) and Whitney (2015).

57. Sagan Lewis

Actress | St. Elsewhere

Sagan Lewis was born on November 30, 1952 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for St. Elsewhere (1982), Homicide: Life on the Street (1993) and About Schmidt (2002). She was married to Tom Fontana. She died on August 7, 2016 in New York City, New York, USA.

58. Lori Petty

Actress | Tank Girl

After this feisty, highly offbeat actress from Chattanooga, Tennessee, broke into TV in the 1980s, she immediately set herself apart from the norm with a prime role as new owner Bud Cort's female friend in the bizarre mini-movie Bates Motel (1987). This rather inauspicious beginning would also set ...

59. 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 ...

60. James M. Connor

Actor | Vice Principals

James M. Connor was born on June 16, 1960 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Vice Principals (2016), Lopez (2016) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013).

61. Leslie Brooks

Actress | The Man Who Dared

Leslie Brooks was born on July 13, 1922 in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. She was an actress, known for The Man Who Dared (1946), Cigarette Girl (1947) and It's Great to Be Young (1946). She was married to Russ Vincent and Donald Anthony Shay. She died on July 1, 2011 in Sherman Oaks, California, USA.

62. Crystal Carson

Actress | General Hospital

Crystal Carson has been teaching and coaching professionally in Los Angeles for the last 20 years. She began as a sought after teacher at the Margie Haber Studios for 12 years, before using her extraordinary gifts to start the Auditioning By Heart studio, in Sherman Oaks. Crystal also conducts ...

63. Richard Kelton

Actor | Quark

Richard Duane Kelton was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and was the only child of Fred and Glenna Kelton. While growing up in Miami, Oklahoma, he remembered watching James Dean and cites him as his main influence on becoming an actor. After studying drama at The University of Kansas, he made his way to...

64. Chris Klein

Actor | American Pie

Chris Klein was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, on March 14, 1979, to Terese (Bergen), a kindergarten teacher, and Fred Klein, an engineer. He is of German, Irish, and English descent. After spending the first thirteen years of his life there, he moved with his family to Nebraska. It was while he was ...

65. Ken Darby

Music_department | The King and I

Composer ("How the West Was Won"), songwriter ("Make Mine Music"), choral director, conductor, arranger, singer and author, educated at Christian College and a student of Tibor Serly, Ernst Toch, Herman Hand, and Victor Young.

He originated The King's Men male vocal quartet in 1929 and appeared on ...

66. John Dennis Johnston

Actor | 48 Hrs.

John Dennis Johnston was born on May 14, 1950 in Elmwood, Nebraska, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for 48 Hrs. (1982), Wyatt Earp (1994) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).

67. Julie Sommars

Actress | Matlock

Julie Sommars was born in Fremont, Nebraska to a government grain inspector and schoolteacher. She attended schools in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. While a student in Onawa, Iowa, her father, without her knowledge, entered her name in a worldwide talent hunt. Fifteen-year-old Julie found ...

68. Rodney A. Grant

Actor | Dances with Wolves

Native American actor, Rodney Arnold Grant was born the 9th of March, 1959. After his biological parents abandoned him, his grandparents raised him from 6 months of age, up until 1982. Rodney has five adult children: three daughters from his ex-wife, all of which were raised by their mother, and ...

69. Mike Hill

Editor | Rush

Mike Hill was born in 1949 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. He was an editor and producer, known for Rush (2013), Frost/Nixon (2008) and Apollo 13 (1995). He was married to LeAnne Hill. He died on January 5, 2023 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA.

70. Janine Turner

Actress | Cliffhanger

This lovely, fresh-faced Lincoln, Nebraska native was born Janine Loraine Gauntt on December 6, 1962, to stalwart Texans Turner and Janice Gauntt. The younger of two children, she grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and trained, while a child, in ballet, tap, theater, and modeling (from age 3).

A ...

71. Don Stewart

Actor | American Ninja

Don Stewart was born to George and Marian Stewart on November 14, 1935. He spent his youth in Nebraska with his older brother, George, and his younger brother and sister, Jack and Marilyn. He then moved to New York and began studying opera. He worked on and off Broadway, and even understudied for ...

72. Buffalo Bill Cody

Writer | Fighting with Buffalo Bill

Buffalo Bill Cody was born on February 26, 1846 in Scott County, Iowa, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Fighting with Buffalo Bill (1926), Battling with Buffalo Bill (1931) and The Indians Are Coming (1930). He was married to Louise Maude Frederici. He died on January 10, 1917 in Denver...

73. Neal Hefti

Soundtrack | The Lego Batman Movie

Composer ("'Batman' Theme), conductor, arrager and trumpeter, educated in high school and through private music study. He was a trumpeter and arranger with dance orchestras including those of Harry James, Woody Herman, and Charlie Spivak between 1941 and 1951. He was a staff arranger and arranger ...

74. William Dozier

Producer | Batman: The Movie

William Dozier was an American TV and movie producer who made it to the top of the TV heap briefly in the mid-1960s with his show Batman (1966). Born on February 13, 1908 in Omaha, Nebraska, Dozier was also known for his wives. After divorcing his first wife, he was married to Oscar-winner Joan ...

75. Robert Hays

Actor | Airplane!

Actor Robert Hays was an Air Force Brat and attended Izmir American School in Izmir, Turkey during the Seventh Grade. He graduated in 1965 from Bellevue High School, Bellevue, Nebraska where his father was stationed at Offutt AFB. He began his career in theatre, performing in plays like Richard III...

76. Lynn Stalmaster

Casting_director | First Blood

Arguably the most famous casting director in show biz with more than 400 film and TV credits to his name, Lynn Stalmaster has helped to launch the career of many a great star. He was born in Nebraska, the son of a District Court Judge (Irvin Stalmaster, 1897-1952) and Estelle Lapidus (1903-1971). ...

77. Wade Boggs

Actor | Swamp Shark

Five-time American League batting champion Wade Boggs ranks with Tony Gwynn of the National League's San Diego Padres as the greatest pure hitters of their generation (1980s through 1990s). In his 18-year career, Boggs racked up 3,010 hits for a career average of .328. This was accomplished in the ...

78. Willa Cather

Writer | O Pioneers!

Willa Cather was born in 1875 on a small farm close to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. She was the eldest of seven children born to Charles Cather, a deputy Sheriff and struggling entrepreneur, and Mary Virginia Boak Cather. The family's Irish ancestors had settled in Pennsylvania in the ...

79. Tom Osborne

Self | The NFL on CBS

Tom Osborne was born on February 23, 1937 in Hastings, Nebraska, USA. He has been married to Nancy Tederman since August 4, 1962. They have three children.

80. Scott Frost

Self | The NFL on CBS

Scott Frost has been married to Ashley Neidhardt since March 11, 2016. They have one child.

81. Theodore Sorensen

Self | 18 in '08

Theodore Sorensen was born on May 8, 1928 in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. He was married to Gillian Martin, Sara Elbery and Camilla Palmer. He died on October 31, 2010 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.

82. Thurl Ravenscroft

Actor | The Brave Little Toaster

Born in 1914, raised in Norfolk, Nebraska, Thurl Ravenscroft served as a navigator in the US Army Air Transport Command in World War II before settling in Hollywood. An accomplished singer, he performed with The Sportsmen Quartet, The Mellowmen Quartet, The Johnny Mann Singers, The Norman Luboff ...

83. Irene Worth

Actress | Deathtrap

Educated at UCLA, she made her Broadway debut in 1943. Primarily a stage actress she moved to Britain in 1944, where she worked at the Old Vic and with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She returned to the US in 1975, continuing her stage work on Broadway, and making occasional films. She has won ...

84. Gale Sayers

Writer | Brian's Song

Gale Sayers was born on May 30, 1943 in Wichita, Kansas, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Brian's Song (1971), Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie (2005) and Guiding Light (1952). He was married to Ardythe Elaine Bullard and Linda Lou McNeil. He died on September 23, 2020 in Wakarusa, ...

85. Bob Gibson

Self | Monday Night Baseball

Bob Gibson was born on November 9, 1935 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. He was married to Wendy Nelson and Charline Johnson. He died on October 2, 2020 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA.

86. Marlin Briscoe

Self | The NFL on CBS

Marlin Briscoe was born on September 10, 1945 in Oakland, California, USA. He died on June 27, 2022 in Norwalk, California, USA.

87. Grover Cleveland Alexander

Self | The Baseball Revue of 1917

Grover Cleveland Alexander was born on February 26, 1887 in Elba, Nebraska, USA. He was married to Aimee Alexander. He died on November 4, 1950 in St. Paul, Nebraska, USA.

88. Paul Revere

Soundtrack | Santee

Paul Revere was born on January 7, 1938 in Harvard, Nebraska, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Santee (1973), Where the Action Is (1965) and Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years (1955-1970) (2000). He was married to Eileen Elizabeth (Sydney) Mohrman, Sandra Sue Campbell and ...

89. Armitage Trail

Writer | Scarface

Armitage Trail was born on July 18, 1902 in Madison, Nebraska, USA. He was a writer, known for Scarface (1932), The Thirteenth Guest (1932) and Scarface. He died on October 10, 1930 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

90. Mari Sandoz

Writer | The Horsecatcher

American novelist and biographer Mari Sandoz was born in Sheridan County, NE, in 1901, the eldest of six children of Swiss immigrants (she once noted that she grew up speaking German and hearing French, Polish and Czech, due to the number of Europeans who settled the Nebraska frontier; she didn't ...

91. John Neihardt

Self | The Dick Cavett Show

John Gneisenau Neihardt (January 8, 1881 - November 3, 1973) was an American writer and poet, amateur historian and ethnographer. Born at the end of the American settlement of the Plains, he became interested in the lives of those who had been a part of the European-American migration, as well as ...

92. Dana Altman

Producer | Lovely, Still

Dana Altman is known for Lovely, Still (2008), David Crosby: CPR Through the Music (1998) and The Private Public (2001).

93. Chip Davis

Soundtrack | Detroit Rock City

Louis Davis, Jr. was born into a family of musicians in rural Ohio and began his musical training at age 4, with his grandmother as his first piano teacher. He composed his first piece, a four-part chorale about his dog Stormy at age 6. By the time Davis entered the University of Michigan music ...

94. Mary Doyle

Actress | The Defenders

Mary Doyle was born on July 21, 1931 in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. She was an actress, known for The Defenders (1961), The Young Nurses (1973) and Law & Order (1990). She was married to John McQuiggan. She died on June 8, 1995 in New York City, New York, USA.

95. Mignon G. Eberhart

Writer | Mystery House

Mignon G. Eberhart was born on July 6, 1899 in University Place, Nebraska, USA. Mignon G. was a writer, known for Mystery House (1938), The Patient in Room 18 (1938) and The White Cockatoo (1935). Mignon G. was married to Alanson Clyde Eberhart and John Prince Hazen Perry. Mignon G. died on October...

96. Leland Hayward

Producer | Mister Roberts

Leland Hayward was born on September 13, 1902 in Nebraska City, Nebraska, USA. He was a producer and production manager, known for Mister Roberts (1955), The Sound of Music (1965) and A Shot in the Dark (1964). He was married to Pamela Harriman, Mary Raye "Nancy" Gross, Margaret Sullavan and Inez (...

97. Joan Micklin Silver

Director | Hester Street

As a successful director working both inside and outside the Hollywood studio system, Joan Micklin Silver was a true lamplighter. Garnering a steady stream of awards and box office successes, she proved herself time and again as one of the most important woman directors to come out of the United ...

98. 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, ...

99. Gene Okerlund

Actor | WrestleMania III

Gene Okerlund was born on December 19, 1942 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for WrestleMania III (1987), WrestleMania X-Seven (2001) and WCW Monday Nitro (1995). He was married to Jeanne Ellen Zulawnik. He died on January 2, 2019 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.

100. Cathy Schenkelberg

Actress | The Stepfather

Cathy Schenkelberg is known for The Stepfather (2009), The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005) and The Untouchables (1993).