Wolfgang Reitherman (1909 - 1985)

Wolfgang Reitherman began working for Disney in 1934, along with future Disney legends Ward Kimball and Milt Kahl. The three worked together on a number of classic Disney shorts, including The Band Concert, Music Land, and Elmer Elephant and in all, Reitherman worked on various Disney feature films produced from 1937 to 1981, including Snow […]

Wolfgang Sawallisch (1923 - 2013)

Sawallisch was born in Munich on August 26, 1923. At the age of five, he was already playing the piano and by the time he was ten, he had decided he wanted to become a concert pianist. As a child, he was greatly influenced by Richard Strauss and Hans Knappertsbusch.  At first, he studied composition […]

Wolfman Jack (1938 - 1995)

Wolfman Jack Wolfman Jack, the rock-and-roll disk jockey whose unmistakable raspy voice and on-the-air howls brought him something of a cult following as one of America’s best-known radio personalities, died yesterday at his home in Belvidere, N.C. He was 57. The cause was a heart attack, said his daughter, Joy Renee Smith. He was a […]

Woo Bum-Kon (1955 - 1982)

South Korean Mass Murderer. A police officer, on April 28th, 1982, he left the house of his live-in girlfriend, Chun-Mai Sun in a rage. Upon arriving at work, he began to drink heavily. The other officers were at a community meeting, and a still-furious Woo raided an unguarded police armory, taking two carbines, 18 rounds […]

Woodrow Wilson (1856 - 1924)

Woodrow Wilson 28th US President, 34th New Jersey Governor, Nobel Peace Prize Winner. He is best remembered for keeping America neutral at the start of World War I, but reluctantly entering the war in 1917, joining the Allied Powers, primarily Britain and France, to defeat the Central Powers led by Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman […]

Woody Daniels (1918 - 1995)

Entertainer. He was a dancer and stage actor of the 1940s and 1950s. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Parents:  Ervine Pomeroy Daniel (1873 – 1952)  Sarah Cordelia Jordan Daniel (1876 – 1927)  Siblings:  Charles Ervin Daniel (1892 – 1976)*  William Russell Daniel (1894 – 1959)*  James Patterson Daniel (1896 – 1957)*  Mary S Daniel […]

Wrede Howard Smith (1921 - 2007)

Business Magnate. He was the grandson and son of American Popcorn Company founders, C.H. Smith and Howard Smith. He began a lifetime career at the company in 1945 and spent six decades as CEO of the Jolly Time Popcorn Company. Recognized as trend expert, his accomplishments included distribution of popcorn packs to theaters, the beginning […]

Wroe Alderson (1898 - 1965)

Author.  Considered by many to be a leading marketing executive ahead of his time, he authored the books “Marketing Behavior and Executive Action,” “Theory in Marketing,” and “Planning and Problem Solving in Marketing,” in which he theorized that mathematical models and quantitative techniques could be used to analyze consumer tastes and determine the best methods […]

Wyatt Earp (1848 - 1929)

American Frontier Law Officer. Born in Monmouth, Illinois, he grew up on a farm in Iowa.  He moved with his parents in 1864 to California.  His early youth found him working as a stagecoach driver, buffalo hunter and then as a police officer in Wichita, Kansas. On to Dodge City, Kansas where he established his […]

Wyatt Eaton (1849 - 1896)

Artist. He was born in Philipsburg (Quebec, Canada) and died in Newport (Rhode Island). He studied in National Academy of Design in New York. Later, from 1872 to 1876, he moved to Paris, where studied in l’École des Beaux-Arts. He was one of the founders of the Society of American Artists. Among his paintings are […]

Wyatt Emory Cooper (1927 - 1978)

Wyatt Emory Cooper was born in the small town of Quitman, Mississippi, outside of Meridian, Mississippi, the son of Rixie Jane Annie (née Anderson) and Emmet Debro Cooper. Cooper was from a poor family with deep Southern roots, and later moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, as a young child. In his twenties, Cooper moved to […]

Wylie Draper (1969 - 1993)

Actor. His claim to fame was when he portrayed the older and successful Michael Jackson in the TV drama ‘American Dream’. One year later he died from a rare form of leukemia. (bio by: W J)