Cilla Black (1943 - 2015)

Priscilla Maria Veronica White OBE (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), known by her stage name Cilla Black, was an English singer, television presenter, actress, and author. Championed by her friends the Beatles, she began her career as a singer in 1963, and her singles “Anyone Who Had a Heart” and “You’re My World” both […]

Cilly Aussem (1909 - 1963)

In 1928 Cilly Aussem’s mother claimed that Paula von Reznicek had twice beaten her daughter by using hypnotism, which led to a lawsuit in which Von Reznicek filed charges of ‘defamation of character’ and Aussem’s mother charged her with ‘insulting assault.’ She lost her German Championships singles title in 1928 after a three-sets defeat in […]

Cindy Walker (1918 - 2006)

Cindy Walker was born on July 20, 1918 on her grandparents’ farm near Mart near Mexia east of Waco, Texas, the daughter of a cotton-broker. Her maternal-grandfather F.L. Eiland was a noted composer of hymns and her mother was a fine pianist. From childhood Cindy Walker was fond of poetry and wrote habitually. As a teenager, inspired by newspaper accounts of […]

Cipe Lincovsky (1929 - 2015)

Argentine Actress. Lincovsky, born Cecilia Lincovsky, was a celebrated and multiple award winning actress who excelled in both the theater and film. She developed her skills in acting not only in Argentina, but also in Germany.  Lincovsky appeared in many plays through the years.   She also made her way into film and television with […]

Clair C. Criss (1879 - 1952)

Doctor and founder (with his wife) of Mutual of Omaha Insurance Companies. They are buried together in their family mausoleum.  Family links:  Parents:  James Lewis Criss (1846 – 1918)  Sevilla M Wodell Criss (____ – 1924)  Spouse:  Mabel L. Criss (1881 – 1978)  Siblings:  Clair C. Criss (1879 – 1952)  Floyd Earl Criss (1881 – […]

Claire Anne Dodd Dodd (1911 - 1973)

Actress. She starred in several dozen Hollywood features during the 1930s. Born Dorothy Arlene Dodd, to Walter and Ethel Cool Dodd (who later divorced), she was raised in Iowa until she moved to New York in her mid-teens in order to support herself. While working on Broadway in the “Ziegfeld Follies”, she was spotted by […]

Claire Anne Dodd Dodd (1911 - 1973)

Actress. She starred in several dozen Hollywood features during the 1930s. Born Dorothy Arlene Dodd, to Walter and Ethel Cool Dodd (who later divorced), she was raised in Iowa until she moved to New York in her mid-teens in order to support herself. While working on Broadway in the “Ziegfeld Follies”, she was spotted by […]

Claire Carleton (1913 - 1979)

Claire Carleton was born in New York City. She began acting on the stage, eventually making it to Broadway, where she made her debut as Lucy in the short-lived play, Blue Monday in June, 1932. Although she made her film debut in a small role in a 1933 film short, Seasoned Greetings, and continued to […]

Claire Davenport (1933 - 2002)

Actress. She was born in Sale, Cheshire, England. Film and television credits include “Minder,” “Remington Steele,” “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi,” “The Elephant Man,” “Birth of the Beatles,” “The Tempest,””Carry On Emmannuelle,” “George and Mildred,””Raffles,” “Robin’s Nest,” “Jubilee,” “Fawlty Towers,” “The Return of the Pink Panther,” “Z Cars,” “Pollyanna,” “On the […]

Claire Delmar (1901 - 1959)

Actress. Born Clara Eloise Loerch, in Kentucky, she was married to cinematographer Hal Mohr, (1926-29). She made her big screen debut in the silent film, The Jazz Singer” (1927), followed by “Grain of Dust” (1928) and “The Wedding March” (1928). She died at age 57 in a homicide at Carmel by the Sea, California. (bio […]

Claire Dodd (1911 - 1973)

Born Dorothy Arlene Dodd on December 29, 1911 in Baxter, Iowa to Walter Willard Dodd, a farmer whose family were early Jasper County pioneers, and his wife, Ethel Viola (née Cool) Dodd, daughter of Baxter Postmaster Peter J. Cool. As Dorothy Dodd, she attended school in Baxter. When her parents later separated in Montana, she […]

Claire Gordon (1941 - 2015)

Claire Gordon was born in Cambridge, in England. Her father was a doctor and her mother a make-up artist who worked for Max Factor. After being photographed by chance at the Queens Ice Rink, Bayswater, for the cover of the magazine Lilliput, Claire Gordon was signed to a five-year contract with film agent Bill Watts […]

Claire James (1920 - 1986)

Actress. In the 1930s, her mother moved the family to California to get her daughter into motion features. There Claire James became a beauty queen being named “Miss Los Angeles” in 1938 and placed third in the “Queen of Queens” of Southern California that same year. In August 1938, she was crowned “Miss California” and […]

Claire Kelly (1934 - 1998)

Claire Kelly (March 15, 1934 in San Francisco, California – July 1, 1998 in Palm Springs, California) was an American actress. Born Claire Ann Green, the daughter of a wealthy California rancher, she was trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. She started out as a model in Miami, and appeared several times on […]

Claire McDowell (1876 - 1966)

Actress. Born in New York City and descended from a show biz family, she was already a veteran of the stage when director D.W. Griffith brought her into the cinema in 1910. She was usually cast as a matriarch,  memorably as John Gilbert’s mother in “The Big Parade” (1925), and Ramon Novarro’s mother in “Ben-Hur” […]

Claire Trevor (1910 - 2000)

Trevor was born in the Bensonhurst area of Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Noel Wemlinger, a Fifth Avenue merchant tailor, and his wife, Benjamina (“Betty”). She grew up in Larchmont, New York. For many years, her year of birth was misreported as 1909, a rare instance of an actress actually being younger than […]

Claire Waldoff (1884 - 1957)

Claire Waldoff was born the eleventh child of 16 in Gelsenkirchen, Westphalia, were her parents owned a tavern. After completing Gymnasium school in Hanover, she trained as an actress and chose as her pseudoynm Claire Waldoff. In 1903, she got her first theatre jobs in Bad Pyrmont and in Kattowitz (Katowice), Silesia. In 1906, Waldoff went […]

Claire Whitney (1890 - 1969)

Claire Whitney Claire Whitney was born in New York City on May 6, 1890. Her acting career first started out on the stage, but as time wore on, it was evident that films were taking the place of plays, at least for a while. Her first film was The Star of India (1913) when she […]

Claire Windsor (1892 - 1972)

American stage and screen actress of the 1920s through the 1940s. Married to actor Bert Lytell. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Spouses:  Bert Lytell (1885 – 1954)*  David Willis Bowes (1888 – 1959)* *Calculated relationship

Clara Blandick (1876 - 1962)

She was born Clara Dickey, the daughter of Isaac B. and Hattie (née Mudgett) Dickey, aboard the Willard Mudgett – an American ship captained by her father (named after one of her maternal relatives), and docked in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. She was delivered by Captain William H. Blanchard, whose ship, “Wealthy Pendleton,” was anchored […]

Clara Bloodgood (1870 - 1907)

Clara Bloodgood was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, the daughter of Edward and Annie (née Sutton) Stephens.  Her father, a prominent New York attorney, was the son of author Ann S. Stephens. Her mother was one of three sisters once called “the beautiful Sutton girls” by New York’s high society. As a young girl […]

Clara Blore (1890 - 1973)

American actress appearing in films of the 1930s, and 40s. Married to character actor Eric Blore. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Parents:  Joseph Chesterfield Mackin (1841 – 1914)  Clara Grace Niegelsen Mackin (1861 – 1946)  Spouse:  Eric Blore (1887 – 1959)* *Calculated relationship

Clara Bow (1905 - 1965)

Actress. Known as the ‘It Girl,’ Clara Bow is considered America’s first “Sex Symbol”. Born to poverty in Brooklyn, New York, she won a photo beauty contest that launched her film career in 1922. She was “discovered” while working at a Coney Island Hot Dog stand run by Nathan Handwerker, who would later find fame in his […]

Clara Calamai (1909 - 1998)

Actress. “Black star” of Italian movies. She reached the greatest fame thanks to a scandal, while in ‘La cena delle beffe’ of Blasetti, she showed her breast. The top of her ‘dark lady fame’ came in 1942, when she played in Luchino Visconti’s ‘Ossessione’ from Caine’s the Postman Always Rings Twice, here in neorealist version. […]

Clara Endresse (1898 - 1979)

A veteran character actress, Endresse left Montana in the 1920s for Hollywood.  During her career she often played the next-door neighbor type character.  While mainly under contract at MGM, she played in films for RKO, Paramount, Universal before retiring in 1959. (bio by: TLS)  Family links:  Parents:  Elizabeth Jaeger Endrezze (1876 – 1953)  Siblings:  Rudolph […]

Clara Horton (1904 - 1976)

Actress. Born in Brooklyn, New York, at age 8 she made her debut during the silent film era appearing in “The Homecoming” (1912). From 1912 to 1942, she appeared in 88 films to include “The Violinist” (1914), “Us Kids” (1916), “Huck and Tom” (1918), “Penrod” (1922), “Beyond the Trail” (1926), “Bengal Tiger” (1936) and “Time […]

Clara Kimball Young (1890 - 1960)

Actress. Known today only to silent film enthusiasts, she was a hugely popular star of the World War I era. Born in Chicago into a show business family, she made her vaudeville debut at age three and entered films with the Vitagraph studio in 1909. She was initially cast in one-reel comedies, but under the […]

Clara Kimball Young (1890 - 1960)

Clarisa Kimball was born in Chicago to Edward M. and Pauline (née Maddern) Kimball, travelling stock actors. She made her stage debut at the age of three, and throughout her early childhood travelled with her parents and acted with their theater company. She attended St. Francis Xavier Academy, Chicago. Afterwards she was hired into a […]

Clara Mae Lewis Stover (1882 - 1975)

It was in Omaha that a fellow approached Stover with a chocolate-covered ice cream bar idea. Stover produced and sold it for a year. After the first mad surge for the novelty, sales dropped off and the Stovers bailed out with $25,000. This novelty was the Eskimo Pie. The Stover’s moved to Denver where they […]

Clara Peller (1902 - 1987)

Wendy’s spokesperson, “Where’s the Beef?” A retired Chicago manicurist, Peller would embody Andy Warhol’s “15 minutes of fame” adage when she was plucked from obscurity to star in a commercial for the then struggling Wendy’s fast food chain. In a 1983 commercial spot she visits the competition and after looking at the rather puny hamburger […]