FOUND A GRAVE

Jack Palance (1919 - 2006)

Actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1991 movie “City Slickers”. He also received nominations for the films “Sudden Fear”, (1952) and “Shane”, (1953). Born the son of a coal miner where he also worked himself, Palance was a professional boxer and trained as a bomber pilot […]

Jacqueline Burroughs (1939 - 2010)

Actress. She is best remembered for her portrayal of the fictional character ‘Hetty King’ in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Television series “Road to Avonlea” from 1990 to 1996. She immigrated to Toronto with her family at age of 12 and attended the University of Toronto, before moving to New York City, New York with […]

Jacqueline Gadsdon (1900 - 1986)

American silent-screen actress. Starred with Lionel Barrymore in the 1929 adventure film “The Mysterious Island.” Sometimes credited as Jane Daly.

Jacques Tati (1907 - 1982)

French actor and director. He was best known for the films, Mr Hulot, Mr Hulot’s Holiday, and Mon Oncle which won an Oscar in 1958. He was often compared to the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

James Daly (1918 - 1978)

Actor. Born James Firman Daly in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, he was the second child of Percifer C. Daly and his wife Dorothy Hogan. Daly was exposed to the theatre at an early age when he went to see his banker father appear in amateur theatrical productions around the Central Wisconsin area and when attending performances […]

James Callahan (1930 - 2007)

Actor. He is best remembered for his role as the cranky but lovable grandfather, Walter Powell, on the television comedy series “Charles In Charge” from 1987 to 1990. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Callahan began his acting career in the late 1950s. His other roles include the films, “The Walking Target” (1960), “Tropic Of Cancer” […]

James Gammon (1940 - 2010)

Actor. Born James Richard Gammon, he was a well known character performer, best recognized for his rugged features and gravelly voice. He is best remembered for his role as Cleveland Indians manager Lou Brown in the motion pictures “Major League” (1989), “Major League II” (1994), and for his recurring role in the television series “Nash […]

James Van Horn (1917 - 1966)

American motion picture actor of the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Appeared with Barbara Stanwyck in the 1955 adventure film “Escape to Burma.”

James Gordon MacArthur (1937 - 2010)

Actor. He is most identified with the role of Detective Danny “Danno” Williams in the long-running police drama “Hawaii Five-O” (1968 to 1979). The line “Book ’em, Danno”, often used during the series’ run, is one of the most memorable in television history. He was adopted as an infant by playwright Charles MacArthur and legendary […]

James K. Hackett (1869 - 1926)

Actor. A classical stage actor, director, and silent film star, Hackett played the dual leading roles in the 1913 film version of “The Prisoner of Zenda”. The son of the celebrated American Shakespearean actor, James H. Hackett, who had been a favorite of both Davy Crockett and Abraham Lincoln, he was born in Wolfe Island, […]

Jane Ace (1900 - 1974)

Radio Actress. Born Jane Epstein in Kansas City, Missouri, together with her husband Goodman Ace, they were one of the most popular novelty teams during radio’s golden era. In 1930, when circumstances forced Goodman Ace to continue broadcasting after his show had finished on KMBC Radio Kansas City, he brought his wife Jane in for […]

Jane Gail (1890 - 1963)

Silent film actress of the 1910s, she was in over 80 movies. Some of her more famous roles were Dr. Jekyll’s fiancé, ‘Alice’, in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde”(1913), ‘Mary Barton’ in ‘Traffic in Souls” (1913), ‘Princess Flavia’ in “The Prisoner of Zenda” (1915), and ‘A Child of Nature’ in “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”(1916) […]

Jane Hamilton (1915 - 2004)

Actress. Jane Hamilton started her career as a Goldwyn girl. She also worked as a model at Saks fifth avenue in Beverly Hills. She married millionaire William I. Hollingsworth in 1939. During the war, she worked for the Red Cross. In 1949 she married her second husband, Edward G. Wormhoudt. Jane appeared in several movies […]

Janet MacLachlan (1933 - 2010)

Actress. Born to parents of Jamaican descent, she initially studied psychology and received a BS degree from Hunter College. She worked as a secretary while acquiring acting experience in local theater, and also trained at The Actors Studio. After making her Broadway debut with a small part in the production “Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright” (1962 […]

Jean Acker (1892 - 1978)

Acker was born Harriet “Hattie” Ackers on October 23, 1893 in Trenton, New Jersey. Her father was Joseph Ackers, said to be of Cherokee descent. Her mother Margaret  was Irish. In the 1900 census, Hattie is with Joseph and her grandparents, but no wife of Joseph is listed. In fact, he is reported to be […]

Jean Gabin (1904 - 1976)

French Actor. He is considered one of the most important french actors of all times. He is remembered for his films “Pepé le Moko” (1937), “La Grande Illusion” (1937), “Quai des Brumes” (1937), “La Bête Humaine” (1938), “Martin Roumagnac” (1946), “French CanCan” (1955), “Maigret Tend un Piège” (1958), “Les Misérables” (1958), “Le Clan des Siciliens” […]

Jean Vander Pyl (1919 - 1999)

Actress. Born in Philadelphia, her career spanned many decades on both radio and television. She is most fondly remembered for the role and voice of ‘Wilma’ on the animated TV series “The Flinstones”. Her many credits included appearances on “Father Knows Best”, “Leave It to Beaver”, “Top Cat”, “The Fireside Thearte”, “The Donna Reed Show”, […]

Jeanne Aubert (1906 - 1988)

Actress. Fondly remembered in films such as: “The Gem of the Ocean,” “A New World,” “Love Is at Stake” and “Mirages de Paris.”

Jeanne Bates (1918 - 2007)

Actress. She began her career in radio soap operas and signed to Columbia Pictures in 1942. In 1943 she debuted in the Boston Blackie mystery “The Chance of a Lifetime”, followed by starring as heroine in “The Phantom”. Her notable film credits include “Death of a Salesman” (1951), “Blood Arrow” (1958), “Eraserhead” (1977), “Die Hard […]

Jeanne Eagels (1894 - 1929)

Actress. She was a former Ziegfeld Follies Girl who went on to greater fame on Broadway and in the emerging medium of sound films. Born Eugenia Eagles, the second of six children, she moved with her family at the age of 2 to Kansas City, Missouri where she often appeared in Kansas City pageants and […]

Jeanne Samary (1857 - 1890)

Actress, Artist’s Model. A noted performer of her time, today she is known for Pierre Auguste Renoir’s images of her. Born Leontine Pauline Samary to a theatrical family, she entered the Conservatoire de Paris at 14, a first-prize there leading to her professional debut at the Comedie-Francais as Dorine in Moliere’s “Tartuffe” on August 24, […]

Jeannette Batti (1921 - 2011)

Actress. She was seen in numerous French film and television features over a long career. Born Henriette Eugenie Genot, she made her silver screen bow as Lulu in 1945’s “The King of the Free Riders”. Jeannette eventually had roughly three dozen movie roles including Mona in the 1946 “Macadam”, Claudia in “Paris is Always Paris” […]

Jerry Orbach (1935 - 2004)

Actor. Although he had an acting career that began in the 1950s, he is best known for his portrayal of ‘Detective Lennie Briscoe’ in the NBC Police-Courtroom drama television series “Law and Order” from 1992 to 2004. He was nominated three times for an Emmy in that role. Spending much of his early career acting […]

Jessica Arthur (1912 - 2003)

Actress. Arthur was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1913. A stage actress, she appeared in the plays, “Roberta” and “Red, Hot And Blue” with the likes of bert Lahr, Bob Hope, and Fanny Brice. Later she appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies, George White’s Scandals, and several ‘fashion featurettes’ with actor Van Johnson. In the 1930s […]

Jessie Bonstelle (1871 - 1932)

Actress, Drama Coach. Her first appearance in public was at the age of 2 as a singer, and was featured on her first national tour aged 7. She appeared in leading roles in her teens with the Schubert Company and founded acting troupes in Rochester, Buffalo, Toronto and Detroit. She coached or otherwise assisted many […]

Jessie Kalmar (1892 - 1985)

Vaudeville dancer/entertainer. Married to famed songwriter/screenwriter Bert Kalmar, Sr.

Jessie Ralph (1864 - 1944)

Actress. She was routinely cast as kindly grandmothers, sagacious maids, and stern but loving governesses. Her most acclaimed performances were as ‘Nurse Peggotty’ in “David Copperfield” (1935) and as ‘Fairy Berylune’ in “The Blue Bird” (1940). 

Jester Hairston (1901 - 2000)

Actor, Musician. An arranger, composer, traveling choir leader, actor and story teller, his career took him all over the world. Best remebered for his TV role as Rolly Forbes on the TV show “Amen.” The grandson of slaves, he was born in 1901 in Belews Creek, north Carolina. A star athlete in high school and […]

Jill Banner (1946 - 1982)

Actress. She is best known for her role as Virginia in the 1964 cult film “Spider Baby”. Born Mary Kathyrn Molumby in Bremerton, Washington, she graduated from the Hollywood Professional School in 1964. Her other films include “C’mon Let’s Live a Little”, “The President’s Analyst”, “Candy”, “The Stranger Returns”, “Shadow Over Elvron”, and “Hunters are […]

Jimmy Wakely (1914 - 1982)

Singer. Born James Clarence Wakely in Mineola, Arkansas, he was a country music entertainer and one of the last vocalists to make it in movies as a singing cowboy. In 1937, he formed The Bell Boys, a country Western singing group which toured and evolved into the Jimmy Wakely Trio and was featured on CBS […]