Gudrun Brost (1910 - 1993)

Actress. Born Gudrun Lisa Johanna, she was a talented character performer appearing in more than 40 films, (1936-86). Some of her most memorable credits included “The Andersson Family” (1937), “The Heavenly Play” (1942), “Stardust and Tinsel” (1953), “The Virgin Spring” (1960), “Hour of the Wolf” (1968) and “Taboo” (1977). For Swedish Television, she appeared on […]

Hillary Brooke (1914 - 1999)

Actress. Born in Astoria, New York as Beatrice Sofia Mathilda Peterson. She was educated at Columbia University. To set herself apart from the typical stereo type blonde bombshells of the era, Hillary decided to speak with a British accent. This worked so well that producers who hired her expected to hear a blonde with a […]

Mildred Evelyn Brook (1898 - 1989)

British Actress. She is the mother of Faith Brook and Lyndon Brook. She is the wife of Clive Brook since 1920 until his death in 1974. Her film credits include: “The Constant Nymph,” “The Wine of Life,” “Paddy the Next Best Thing,” “The Thief,” “Monty Works the Wires,” and “Stella.” (bio by: Genet)  Family links: […]

Estelle Brody (1900 - 1995)

Actress. Daughter of renowned Yiddish Theater composer Joseph Brody, Sister of Composer Murray L. Brody. (bio by: MC)

Helen Broderick (1891 - 1959)

Actress and Screenwriter. She wrote screenplays for 2 films: “High Speed” (1924) and “The Mystery Club” (1926). She also appeared in 35 films including: “Top Hat,” “Swing Time” (both with Astaire & Rogers), “The Road to Reno,” “The Rage of Paris,” and “No, No, Nanette.” Mother of actor Broderick Crawford. (bio by: TLS)  Family links: […]

Gladys Brockwell (1893 - 1929)

Actress. Born Gladys Lindeman, Brockwell made dozens of films in the late 1910s and by the late 1920s, she had become one of Hollywood’s most respected character women. Brockwell played ‘Nancy Sykes’ in “Oliver Twist” (1922) with John Gilbert and Jackie Coogan, and Janet Gaynor’s evil sister in “Seventh Heaven” (1927). She also had supporting […]

Pamela Owen Britton (1923 - 1974)

Actress.  The daughter of Ethel Owen, a well known radio, stage, and early television actress, she changed her name to Pamela Britton to escape her mothers shadow.  After her education at State Teachers Normal School and Holy Angels Academy in Milwaukee, she went to New York City, New York where she was discovered by bandleader […]

Patti Brill (1923 - 1963)

American actress in several motion pictures of the 1940s and 50s. (bio by: A.J. Marik)

Barbara Brier (1925 - 2005)

Actress. Born in Topeka, Kansas, she appeared on stage, on television, and in films. Among her films are, “I Surrender Dear” (1948), “An Old- Fashioned Girl” (1949), “Shamrock Hill” (1949), “Manhattan Angel” (1949), and “Hard, Fast And Baeutiful” (1951). She was also a Hollywood costume designer and the first runner up in the 1945 Miss […]

Charlotte Bridgwood (1861 - 1929)

Stage actress using the name Lotta Lawrence, Bridgwood was the mother of the “world’s first movie star,” Florence Lawrence.  Charlotte was the inventor of the automobile turn signal as well as the windshield wiper, which she patented in 1917.  She also invented an application that would prevent glass from fogging, which was offered to the […]

Elisa Bridges (1973 - 2002)

Actress, Model.  She was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month for December 1994, and Playboy’s Video Playmate of the Month for September 1996. Born in Miami, Florida, she was raised in Houston, Texas.  She was a petite model, approximately 5 feet tall and weighed 90 pounds, with light brown hair and brown eyes.  She was shy […]

Joan Brickhill (1924 - 2014)

Actress. Called the “First Lady Of South African Musical Theatre”, she is remembered for starring in dozens of stage productions. Raised within the show business milieu, she made her professional bow at two and proved to be one of the rare child prodigies with staying power; over the coming decades she was a constant presence […]

Diane Brewster (1931 - 1991)

Actress. She began her career at a Kansas City TV station doing weather shows before moving to Los Angeles to except a part in a “Maverick” television episode. She is best noted for the role as schoolteacher ‘Miss Canfield’ on “Leave It To Beaver” series and also played Richard Kimball’s murdered wife in “The Fugitive” […]

Béatrice Anne-Marie Bolchesi Bretty (1893 - 1982)

Actress. Born Béatrix Anne-Marie Bolchesi, he gained fame while appearing in motion pictures such as “Le Petit roi” (1933; “The Little King”), “Les Vignes du Seigneur” (1958), “La sentence” (1959; “The Verdict”), and “Arrêtez les tambours” (1960; “Stop the Drums”). (bio by: amy7252)

Renate Brausewetter (1905 - 2006)

Actress. Born in Málaga, Spain of German parents, she made her 1925 screen debut in the silent “Die Freudlose Gasse,” along with Greta Garbo. She also played in “Menschen Untereinander” (1926), “Die Lorelei” (1927) and “Die Hölle der Jungfrauen” (1928). Brausewetter retired with the arrival of talkies, though she returned in 1950 to appear in […]

Olive Brasno (1917 - 1998)

Olive Brasno Wayne A midget actress who worked with a number of top entertainment luminaries during the 1930s, died Jan. 25 of heart failure at a hospital in Lakeland, Fla. She was 80. Born in Old Bridge, N.J., she performed with her brothers Richard and George (also midgets) in vaudeville and motion pictures beginning in […]

Phoebe Brand (1907 - 2004)

Actress. Born in Ilion, New York, she was a founding member of the legendary Group Theatre of New York City in 1931, appearing in several of its productions, including Clifford Odets’ “Awake and Sing!” and “Golden Boy.” Spent most of her professional life in New York, although she and her husband, actor Morris Carnovsky, moved […]

Hilda Braid (1929 - 2007)

Actress. A popular British character performer. Born in Kent, Hilda began her career on stage with the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company,  and first won widespread fame in the mid-1960s for her roles in television. Braid was best known for her role in the BBC comedy “Citizen Smith” and particularly as Nana Moon in “EastEnders,” which […]

Alice Brady (1892 - 1939)

Actress. Born Mary Rose Brady in New York City, New York, she began her career in the theatre in 1911, at age 18. In 1914, she made her motion picture debut in the silent picture “As Ye Sow”. She appeared in 53 films in the next 10 years, all while continuing to perform on stage, […]

Olympe Bradna (1920 - 2012)

Actress. A pretty brunette, she is remembered for starring in several late 1930s Hollywood films. Born Antoinette Olympe Bradna to a circus family that pushed her into show business, she was named for Paris’ Olympia Theatre, was seen in her parents’ act from the time she was a toddler, made her formal debut at eight […]

Lovyss Bradley (1906 - 1969)

Actress. Born in Iowa, she took up an offer to go to Hollywood for scene tests in the 1940s. In 1950, she made her film debut as a police woman in the crime drama “Outrage”. Her other movie credits included “Meet Me After the Show” (1951), “Man of Conflict” (1953), “The Unholy Wife” (1957), “This […]

Elizabeth Bradley (1922 - 2000)

Actress. The youngest of two daughters born to senior civil servant Sir John Abraham and his wife, She attended Wentworth School, which she left at the age of 17 , and after studying nursing,  joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment with the British Red Cross where she worked at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London. […]

Anne Bracegirdle (1970 - 1748)

Actress. Born in the years between 1663 and 1671, records indicate that she was baptized in Northampton on November 15, 1671. She was reportedly raised under the care of the actor Thomas Betterton, who ran a company of players at the Cockpit in Drury Lane. Tradition has it that she made her stage debut in […]

Reizl Bozyk (1914 - 1993)

Actress. A noted actress in Yiddish Theatre, she is best known for her role as ‘Bubbie Kantor’ in the 1988 motion picture “Crossing Delancey”. She appeared on television in “Law & Order” and “Reading Rainbow”, a children’s program.  Family links:  Spouse:  Max Bozyk (1899 – 1970)

Sofía Bozán (1904 - 1958)

Actress, Singer. One of the most emblematic theater actresses that Buenos Aires ever had. Acted with famous tango singer Carlos Gardel in the movie “Luces de Buenos Aires”. (bio by: Guada)

Olinda Bozán (1894 - 1977)

Famed actress. She was one of the milestones of the Argentine theater. She began his career at age 5 in a circus. During her long career, she participated in 51 films. (bio by: 380W)

Grace Bradley Boyd (1913 - 2010)

Actress. Though she starred in several dozen Hollywood features of the 1930s and 1940s, she will perhaps be better remembered as the wife of actor William Boyd, the screen’s Hopalong Cassidy. Raised in New York, she trained as a classical pianist at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, but after winning a […]

Belle Boyd (1844 - 1900)

Civil War Confederate Spy. One of the most famous clandestine agents of the Southern Confederacy, she served the rebel forces in the Shenandoah Valley. Born in Martinsburg, Virginia (now part of West Virginia), she operated her spying operations from her fathers hotel in Front Royal, providing valuable information to Generals Turner Ashby and Thomas “Stonewall” […]

Dorris Bowdon (1914 - 2005)

Actress. She was the widow of Oscar-nominated screenwriter Nunnally Johnson. She was also the grandmother of actor Jack Johnson who played Will Robinson in the feature film version of “Lost in Space.” She is best remembered for her performance as Rose-of-Sharon in John Ford’s classic film “The Grapes of Wrath.” Also she worked with director […]

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 […]