Charlotte Zolotow (1915 - 2013)

Charlotte Shapiro was born in Norfolk, Virginia. She studied writing with Helen C. White at the University of Wisconsin Madison from 1933 to 1936 and then moved to New York City where she started at Harper & Bros as secretary to the children’s books editor Ursula Nordstrom.  She was married to Maurice Zolotow from 1938 […]

Charlton Heston (1923 - 2008)

Charlton Heston Heston made his feature film debut as the lead character in a 16mm production of Peer Gynt (1941), based on the Henrik Ibsen play. Shortly thereafter, he played ‘Marc Antony’ in Julius Caesar (1950), however Heston firmly stamped himself as genuine leading man material with his performance as circus manager ‘Brad Braden’ in […]

Charmain Carr (1942 - 2016)

Charmain Carr was born Charmian Anne Farnon in Chicago, Illinois, the second child of vaudeville actress Rita Oehmen and musician Brian Farnon. The couple divorced in 1957. She has two sisters, both actresses (Shannon Farnon and Darleen Carr). Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 10. While a student at San Fernando High […]

Charmaine Dragun (1978 - 2007)

Charmaine Dragun graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts with a degree in broadcast journalism. She began her career as a radio journalist and newsreader at Perth radio stations 6PR and 96FM. She was nominated for Young Journalist Of The Year and won both the Australian and state Best radio Reports award. Dragun switched […]

Charme Allen (1890 - 1980)

Radio Actress. In the 1930s and 1940s, she was a regular announcer, on NBC and CBS Radio. She also appeared in the Columbia Works weekly series “The Life of Riley”, “Portrait of Jenny” and on USO broadcasts during World War II. (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)

Charmion King (1925 - 2007)

Actress. A native of Toronto, she appeared in films, television and radio, in a career spanning almost 60 years. King is probably best remembered for her work on stage, where she was often referred to as the “Grand Dame of Canadian Theatre.”  Her notable performances include “Three Sisters,” “The Madwoman of Chaillot” and “Our Town.” […]

Chavela Vargas (1919 - 2012)

Although the name Chavela Vargas is associated with México and its culture, she was born in Costa Rica, in San Joaquín de Flores, as Isabel Vargas Lizano, daughter of Francisco Vargas and Herminia Lizano. She was baptized on 15 July 1919 with the forenames “María Isabel Anita Carmen de Jesús.” She had a difficult childhood: […]

Cheerio Meredith (1890 - 1964)

Actress. A popular character performer, her career began late in her senior years with roles on television and motion pictures in the 1940s to 1960s. Among her film credits were “A Fig Leaf for Eve” (1944), “The Fat Man” (1951), “The Legend of Tom Dooley” (1959), “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” (1962) and […]

Chela Ruiz (1921 - 1999)

Actress. She acted in stage, cinema and television for more than 50 years. Best known for her role in the movie “La Historia Oficial,” which was awarded with the Oscar. (bio by: 380W) Cause of death: Heart attack

Chelsea Brown (1942 - 2017)

Chelsea Brown (December 6, 1942 – March 27, 2017) was an American born actress of television and film, comedienne and dancer, who appeared as a regular performer in comedy series Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. She had a successful career in her native land before emigrating to Australia, where she became well-known mostly for her roles […]

Chen Boda (1904 - 1989)

In 1951, Chen Boda wrote an article with the title Mao Zedong’s theory of the Chinese Revolution is the combination of Marxism-Leninism with the Chinese Revolution and a book entitled Mao Zedong on the Chinese Revolution. These works made him one of the most important interpreters of Mao Zedong’s thoughts, and in the 1950s he […]

Cheryl “Rainbeaux” Smith (1955 - 2002)

Film Actress. Smith is best known for playing in low-budget feature films of the 1970s and 1980s, often in the roles of cheerleaders or prostitutes, under the name of ‘Rainbeaux’ Smith. Smith appeared in the films, “Du-beat-e-o” (1984), “Independence Day” (1983), “Vice Squad” (1982), “Parasite” (1982), “Nice Dreams” (1981), “The Choice” (1981), “Melvin And Howard” […]

Cheryl Holdridge (1944 - 2009)

Cheryl Holdridge first performed professionally at the age of nine in the New York City Ballet’s version of The Nutcracker in Los Angeles. Her first screen appearance was as an uncredited extra in the 1956 film production of Carousel. She auditioned for Walt Disney’s The Mickey Mouse Club in the spring of 1956, was hired […]

Cheryl Walker (1918 - 1971)

Born in South Pasadena, California to Everett Dale and Pauline S. Walker, Cheryl Walker won the 1938 Tournament of Roses pageant leading to a brief career as a model and the beginning of a brief film career. She appeared in small, uncredited roles in several films from 1938 until her first substantial role in Chasing […]

Chesney Allen (1893 - 1982)

He was born William Ernest Chesney Allen in Battersea, London, England, married Aleta Cosette Turner in Leeds in 1926 and died in Midhurst, Sussex, England.  He began his career in straight acting, making his debut in stock at the Wimbledon Theatre, London, in 1912. As music hall comedians, they would often feature a mixture of […]

Chester Ashley (1791 - 1848)

US Senator,  Attorney.  He was a prominent figure in the early history of Arkansas.  Raised in Hudson,  New York,  he graduated from Williams College in Williamstown,  Massachusetts (1813) and Connecticut’s Litchfield Law School (1814) before beginning his law career in Hudson. Personal ambition led him to seek his fortune in the western frontier and in […]

Chester Bender (1914 - 1996)

Chester Bender was born in Burnsville, West Virginia and later moved with his parents John I. Bender and Inez Harbert Bender, to Plant City, Florida in 1925. In 1936, he became the first Florida resident to graduate from the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. During his time at the Academy, he […]

Chester Bennington (1976 - 2017)

Chester Charles Bennington was born on March 20, 1976, in Phoenix, Arizona. His mother was a nurse, while his father was a police detective who worked with child sex abuse cases and took double shifts. Bennington took interest in music at a young age, citing bands Depeche Mode and Stone Temple Pilots as his early […]

Chester Clute (1891 - 1956)

Actor in 236 films including: “The Dentist” (1932), “Annabel Takes A Tour” (1938), “The Fleet’s In,” (1942), “Arsenic and Old Lace” (1944), “Anchors Aweigh” (1945), “Mildred Pierce” (1945), “The Perils of Pauline” (1947), “The Great Lover” (1949). (bio by: TLS)

Chester Conklin (1886 - 1971)

Chester Conklin was one of three children who grew up in a violent household. When he was eight, his mother was found burned to death in the family garden. Although first judged a suicide, his father, a devoutly religious man who hoped his son would be a minister, was eventually charged with murder, but found […]

Chester Gould (1900 - 1985)

Cartoonist. He is best known for creating the “Dick Tracy” cartoon strip. Born in Pawnee, Oklahoma, he spent 10 years working on various comic strips at the Chicago “Tribune”-New York “News” Syndicate under editor Joseph Medill Patterson before creating “Dick Tracy” in 1931. (Patterson shortened the first name from his original “Plainclothes Tracy” to the […]

Chet Atkins (1924 - 2001)

Chet Atkins Chet Atkins was born on June 20, 1924, in Luttrell, Tennessee, near Clinch Mountain. His parents divorced when he was six, after which he was raised by his mother. He was the youngest of three boys and a girl. He started out on the ukulele, later moving on to the fiddle, but traded his brother Lowell an old […]

Chet Baker (1929 - 1988)

Baker was born and raised in a musical household in Yale, Oklahoma; his father, Chesney Baker, Sr., was a professional guitar player, and his mother, Vera (née Moser) was a talented pianist who worked in a perfume factory. His maternal grandmother, Randi Moser, was Norwegian. Baker began his musical career singing in a church choir. […]

Chet Brandenburg (1897 - 1974)

American motion picture actor of the 1920s through 1950s. Began his career on the silent screen in 1924s “Wide Open Spaces,” which starred Stan Laurel. Chet’s father was Alfred Daniel Brandenburg. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Parents:  Alfred Daniel Brandenburg (1868 – 1903)  Arminta Noe Harding (1868 – 1968)  Spouse:  Anna Beatrice Casey Brandenburg […]

Chet Huntley (1911 - 1974)

Huntley was born in Cardwell, Montana, the only son and oldest of four children born to Percy Adams Huntley and Blanche Wadine (née Tatham) Huntley. His father was a telegraph operator for the Northern Pacific Railway, and young Chet was born in Cardwell depot’s living quarters. Owing to the railroad’s seniority system, wherein employees with […]

Chico Hamilton (1921 - 2013)

Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California. His brother was the actor Bernie Hamilton.  Hamilton started his career in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Jack Kelso. Engagements with Lionel Hampton, Slim & Slam, T-Bone Walker, Lester Young, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Charlie Barnet, Billy Eckstine, Nat […]

Chief Archie Blackowl, Sr (1911 - 1992)

Artist, Cheyenne chief. A descendant of Cheyenne chiefs Crow Necklace and Roman Nose, he became interested in art at the age of six. He studied at Fort Sill, Haskell Indian School, the University of Kansas, the University of Oklahoma, the Chicago Art Institute, and he studied painting under Olaf Nordmark. His art was traditional style, […]

Chief Dan George (1899 - 1981)

Born as Geswanouth Slahoot in North Vancouver, his English name was originally Dan Slaholt. The surname was changed to George when he entered a residential school at age 5. He worked at a number of different jobs, including as a longshoreman, construction worker, and school bus driver, and was band chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation […]

Chief Dark Cloud (1855 - 1918)

Actor, Model. Born Elijah Tahamont,  he was one of the earliest Native American film actors. He was also a popular and highly paid model who posed for over twenty years for famed sculptor, Frederic Remington. Dark Cloud was a chief of the Algonquin tribe (or Abenaquis tribe depending on the source),  and prior to his […]

Chief Joseph (1840 - 1904)

Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it in Americanist orthography, popularly known as Chief Joseph or Young Joseph (March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904), succeeded his father Tuekakas (Chief Joseph the Elder) as the leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of Nez Perce, a Native American tribe indigenous to the Wallowa Valley in northeastern Oregon, in the interior Pacific […]