FOUND A GRAVE

George Ade (1866 - 1944)

Author, Playwright, Humorist. His best known book is “Fables in Slang.” Three of his plays ran simultaneously in New York City, New York. He was the brother-in-law of Indiana Governor Warren T. McCray.  Family links:  Parents:  John Ade (1828 – 1914)  Adeline Wardell Bush Ade (1833 – 1907)  Siblings:  Anna L. Randall (1852 – 1926)* […]

Nick Adenhart (1986 - 2009)

Nicholas James Adenhart was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the only son of Janet and Jim Adenhart, a former United States Secret Service officer. His parents divorced and Janet later remarried Duane Gigeous, with whom she had a son named Henry, who is a pitcher at the University of Oregon. Adenhart played Halfway Little League […]

Bas Jan Ader (1942 - 1970)

Artist. A native of of Winschoten, the Netherlands, he was a popular Dutch conceptual artist, filmmaker, photographer, and performance artist. He studied at the Rietveld Academy in the Netherlands, and at the Otis Art College, and the Claremont Graduate School, in the United States. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1965 from […]

Felix Adler (1851 - 1933)

Felix Adler was born in Alzey, Grand Duchy of Hesse, Germany, the son of a rabbi, Samuel Adler, a leading figure in European Reform Judaism. The family immigrated to the United States from Germany when Felix was six years old so that his father could accept the appointment as head rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in […]

Julius Ochs Adler (1892 - 1955)

United States Army General, Journalist. The nephew of “New York Times” Adolph Ochs, was mentored by his uncle, and attended Princeton University. He served in the United States Army during World War I as a Major and battalion commander in the 306th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division. He fought on the Western Front in France, […]

Buddy Adler (1908 - 1960)

Motion Picture Producer. Born E. Maurice Adler, he began his career writing short motion pictures for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studios. He became a producer for Columbia Studios in 1947 and after Darryl Zanuck left 20th Century Fox studios Buddy Adler took over as head of production. He then served as Production chief at Fox from 1956 […]

Charles Adler Jr. (1899 - 1980)

Charles Adler, Jr. (June 20, 1899 – October 23, 1980) was an American inventor. An engineer, he invented a number of safety signals, some of which are still in common usage.  Charles Adler, Jr. was a lifelong resident of Baltimore, Maryland. At age 14, he formally started his career as an inventor when he received […]

David Adler (1882 - 1949)

David Adler was born on January 3, 1882 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to a German Jewish family. He was the only son to Isaac David Adler, a prosperous wholesale manufacturer of men’s clothing, and Therese Hyman Adler. David Adler had one sister, Frances, who would go on to become a prominent interior designer. He also had […]

Buddy Alda (1908 - 1960)

Buddy Alda Motion Picture Producer. Born E. Maurice Adler, he began his career writing short motion pictures for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studios. He became a producer for Columbia Studios in 1947 and after Darryl Zanuck left 20th Century Fox studios Buddy Adler took over as head of production. He then served as Production chief at Fox […]

Dankmar Adler (1844 - 1900)

Adler was born in Stadtlengsfeld, Germany; his mother died when he was born. He came to the United States with his father Liebman, a rabbi, in 1854.  Adler served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Thereafter, he practiced in Chicago, from 1866 onward. He worked first with Augustus Bauer and next with Ozias […]

Celia Adler (1889 - 1979)

Actress. A member of the famed Adler theatre family, she was known as the “First Lady of the Yiddish Theatre”. She was the daughter of noted stage actor Jacob Adler, and the half sister to actors Jay Adler and Luther Adler, and actress Stella Adler.  Family links:  Parents:  Jacob P. Adler (1855 – 1926)  Siblings: […]

Sarah Adler (1858 - 1953)

Actress. She is best remembered for her numerous acting roles on the stage before the advent of movies and television.  She was also the mother of a dynasty of actors and actresses, her seven children with Jacob Adler all entered the theater and became noted in their own right. She was noted as the first […]

Stella Adler (1901 - 1992)

Actress. She appeared in the motion pictures “My Girl Tisa” (1948), “Shadow of The Thin Man” (1941), and “Love On Toast” (1938), and appeared in the television series “Suspense” (1949 to 1954). She was a well-known acting teacher who used the Stanislavsky ‘Method’ of acting and a member of the famed Adler Yiddish theatre family […]

Jacob P. Adler (1855 - 1926)

Actor. He was a major figure in early 20th Century Yiddish theatre.  Family links:  Spouse:  Sarah Adler (1858 – 1953)  Children:  Celia Adler (1889 – 1979)*  Charles Adler (1892 – 1955)*  Jay Adler (1896 – 1978)*  Stella Adler (1901 – 1992)*  Luther Adler (1903 – 1984)* *Calculated relationship

Jay Adler (1896 - 1978)

Actor. He appeared in 21 television series/shows and 45 motion pictures, including “Scandal Sheet,” “The Bad and The Beautiful,” “Love Me or Leave Me,” “The Brothers Karamazov,” “The Story on Page One,” and “The Family Jewels”. He was the son of actor Jacob Adler and actress Sarah Adler, and the brother of actor Luther Adler […]

Luther Adler (1903 - 1984)

Actor. He appeared in 28 television series/shows and 33 motion pictures, including “The Loves of Carmen,” “D.O.A.,” “The Last Angry Man,” “Cast a Giant Shadow,” “Voyage of the Damned” and “Absence of Malice”, He was the son of actor Jacob Adler and actress Sarah Adler, and the brother of actor Jay Adler and actress Stella […]

Louis Adlon (1908 - 1947)

Actor. The grandson of famed hotelier  Lorenz Adlon,  he was raised in the luxurious surroundings of Berlin, Germany’s Hotel Adlon,  which he was expected to inherit.  The rise of Adolph Hitler drove him into exile in Hollywood, California, where he married Rose Davies (sister of movie star  Marion Davies) and launched a career as an […]

Lorenz Adlon (1849 - 1921)

Businessman. He built the famous Hotel Adlon in Berlin, Germany in 1907. At one time it was the unofficial residence of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who preferred its comforts to the drafty halls of the Imperial Palace, and over the years it hosted celebrities ranging from Albert Einstein to Louise Brooks. It was an inspiration for […]

Anton Adner (1970 - 1822)

German Folk Figure, Wood Artisan. It is believed that his birthplace was in Schonau, Bavaria, in the region of Berchtesgaden. He earned a modest living by building and selling his wooden creations that included toys and boxes, along with knitting picturesque socks. During his lifetime, the region of Berchtesgaden imposed strict commerce regulations in which […]

John G. Adolfi (1881 - 1933)

Motion Picture Director.  Best known for his early 1930s films starring famed British actor George Arliss.  Born in New York City,  he began as an actor in stock and made his screen debut in the Vitagraph one-reeler “The Spy” (1907). He switched to directing in 1913 and turned out scores of silent potboilers for Fox […]

Edvin Adolphson (1893 - 1979)

Actor, Motion Picture Director. He was active through a 50 year career, and appeared in over 500 roles. His debut was made in 1912, but his breakthrough came 1923 in the film “Friare från Landsvägen”. He appeared with Ingrid Bergman in “Only One Night” (1939), and is noted for his roles in the film “Änglar, […]

Olle Adolphson (1934 - 2004)

Composer. He was one of Sweden´s most celebrated composers and singer, and was known for renewing of the old Swedish song-tradition “visa”. He studied guitar in Spain, and subsequently made his debut, with the collection of songs “Aubade” (1956). Some of his most beloved songs were made in collaboration with lyricist Beppe Wolgers, for instance […]

Renée Adorée (1898 - 1933)

Renée Adorée Actress. The child of circus performers, her first experience with show business came when she too began working in the circus as a young child. She began acting as a teenager in France, performing in minor plays, as well as dancing with the Folies-Bergères. During one of her troupe’s tours of Europe, World […]

Theodor Adorno (1903 - 1969)

Theodor Adorno (/əˈdɔːrnoʊ/; German: [aˈdɔʀno]; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; September 11, 1903 – August 6, 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist, and composer known for his critical theory of society. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical theory, whose work has come to be associated with thinkers such as Ernst Bloch, Walter Benjamin, […]

Theodor W. Adorno (1903 - 1969)

Philosopher. He wrote on Sociology and Musicology. Among his works are “The Culture Industry,” “Aesthetic Teory,” “Critical Models, “Philosophie der neuen Musik,” “Klangfiguren,” “Aspekte der Hegel’schen Philosophie,” and a book about composer Gustav Mahler. His last work was “Minima Morialia.” (bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni)  Family links:  Spouse:  Margarete Karplus Adorno (1902 – 1993)* […]

Iris Adrian (1912 - 1994)

Iris Adrian Hostetter was an only child, born to Adrian Earl Hostetter and Florence (née Van Every), who wed in 1909 in Los Angeles, California. She was raised by her single mother in Los Angeles. Iris won a beauty pageant and worked with the Ziegfeld Follies before she entered films at the end of the […]

Adrian (1903 - 1959)

Costume Designer. Born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, to Jewish immigrant parents Gilbert and Helena (Pollack) Greenberg. He attended the New York School for Fine and Applied Arts. In 1922, he transferred to NYSFAA’s Paris campus and while there was hired by Irving Berlin. Adrian then designed the costumes for Berlin’s The Music Box Revue. After creating […]

Endre Ady (1877 - 1919)

Poet, Journalist. He was known as the “Founder of Modern Hungarian Lyric Poetry”.  Family links:  Spouse:  Csinszka Ady* *Calculated relationship

Aeschylus (1970 - 1970)

Playwright, Director, Composer. One of the three giants of Ancient Greek drama, along with Sophocles and Euripides. He lived from 525 to 456 BC. Aeschylus has been called “The Father of Tragedy” for his fundamental innovations in writing and stagecraft. Of his estimated 90 plays, only seven have come down to us complete and his […]

William Fritz “Dick the Bruiser” Afflis (1929 - 1991)

Born in Delphi, Indiana, Afflis grew up in Lafayette, Indiana, graduating from Lafayette Jefferson High School where he played football and wrestled. Afflis played varsity football at Purdue University and played for the Green Bay Packers in the early 1950s, as a lineman, before he became a pro wrestler.  In the late 1950s, Dick the […]