Imogene Bliss (1918 - 2003)

Actress. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she had a long flourishing career on Broadway before entering feature films in the early 1970s. Among her most notable credits are “The King of Marvin Gardens” (1972), “Richard” (1972), “Chapter Two” (1979), “The Mating Story” (1980), “Heaven Help Us” (1985) and “The Christmas Tree” (1996). She also appeared in […]

Beatrice Blinn (1901 - 1979)

Actress. She appeared in “Don’t Gamble With Love”(1936). “Mr. Deeds Goes To Town”(1936), “Golden Boy”(1939), “Cafe Hostess”(1940), “Convicted Woman”(1940) and “Stop! Look! and Laugh!”(1960). (bio by: MC)  Family links:  Spouse:  Crane Wilbur (1886 – 1973)

Monica Bleibtreu (1944 - 2009)

Actress. She was well known throughout western Europe and the German speaking countries as a performer of the stage, motion pictures and television. She was a graduate of Vienna’s prestigious Max Reinhardt acting school, and performed in theater houses throughout Germany before turning her attention to television and motion pictures. In 1975 she earned a […]

Hedwig Bleibtreu (1868 - 1958)

Actress. Born in Linz,  Austria,  she made her stage debut in 1886 at the Theater of Augsburg in Germany. In 1891 she moved to Vienna, where she became the doyenne of the National Theatre. She later appeared in the silent films “Die Herrin der Welt” (1919) and “Die Kurtisane von Venedig” (1924). Her most famous […]

Jerri Blanchard (1900 - 1984)

Actress. She appeared in the film “Follies Girl” (1943) and hosted her own television series ‘Hotel Broadway’ in 1949. (bio by: Ginny M)

Anita Blanch (1907 - 1983)

Actress. She was born in Valencia (Comunidad Valenciana, Spain) and died in México D.F. (México). She and her sister founded a stage company, touring for Argentina, Venezuela and finally Mexico, where they stablished. She also appeared in cinema and television. She is best remembered in works such as El Conde de Montecristo (1942), La Virgen […]

Syan Blake (1970 - 2015)

Actress. Born Sian Blake, she will best be remembered for playing soul singer Frankie Pierre on the long-running BBC soap, ‘EastEnders’ between 1996 and ’97. She discovered she had a talent for acting at primary school and appeared in local plays before studying for three years at Guilford School of Acting. After college she landed […]

Madge Cummings Blake (1899 - 1969)

Character Actress.  Madge Cummings Blake’s career started when she was fifty and was the epitome of what the perfect mother, sister or aunt should be both in physical appearance and demeanor.  She was short, plump, matronly with a warm smile and a sweet voice.  She was born in Kinsley, Kansas the daughter of a Methodist […]

Katharine Blake (1928 - 1991)

South African born actress who starred in “To Have and to Hold” (1963)and “Anne of the Thousand Days” (1969). (bio by: Kieran Smith)

Patricia Blair (1933 - 2013)

Actress. Patricia Blair will be best remembered for playing Rebecca Boone opposite Fess Parker in the TV series “Daniel Boone” (1964 to 1970). Born Patsy Lou Blake, she was raised in Dallas, Texas. Her radiant beauty enabled her to launch a career in modeling while a teenager. The experience created opportunities for her to try […]

Vivian Blaine (1921 - 1995)

Actress and Singer.  Vivian Blaine is best remembered as ‘Miss Adelaide,’ the young woman with a heart of gold in the 1955 Musical “Guys and Dolls,” opposite Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, and Jean Simmons.  Vivian Blaine worked in every aspect of show business from movies to nightclubs.  She was already an accomplished nightclub performer and […]

Lujza Blaha (1850 - 1926)

Singer and actress, ‘The Hungarian Nightingale.’

Paula Blackton (1881 - 1930)

Actress and Film Director. Most remembered for the role of ‘Paula Wyngate’ in “The Littlest Scout.” Other credits include: “The Diary of a Puppy,” “The Little Strategist” and “The Fairy Godfather.” Married for a time to filmmaker J. Stuart Blackton, she was the mother of actress Violet Virginia Blackton and actor Charles Stuart Blackton. (bio […]

Mary Blackford (1914 - 1937)

American stage and motion picture actress of the 1930s. She appeared in the 1934 romantic drama “Love Time.” Her promising career ended early after an auto accident in 1934 left her paralyzed from the neck down. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Parents:  Charles T Blackford (1866 – 1923)  Ethel L Blackford (1878 – 1963) […]

Georgia Bitner (1926 - 2012)

Film and Television Actress. She was an African American film and television actress whose career expanded over a period of seven decades. Born Georgia Rose Bitner, in honor of the state in which she was born, “Georgia”. During her younger years she adored such actors as Hattie McDanial and Josephine Baker so much until her […]

Tala Birell (1907 - 1958)

Actress. Her most memorable film performances include “Let’s Live Tonight,” supporting Lilian Harvey; opposite Ralph Bellamy in “Air Hawk,” “Crime and Punishment” with Peter Lorre; “Women in Bondage” and  “One Dangerous Night” with Warren William. (bio by: MC)

Billie Bird (1908 - 2002)

American stage, motion picture, and television actress of the 1920s thru 1990s. She appeared in many top films, such as “Home Alone” (1990), and several classic TV series. She is remembered by the modern television audience for her role as ‘Mrs. Philbert’ on the 1980s series “Dear John.” Married to songwriter Edwin Sellen. (bio by: […]

Francelia Billington (1895 - 1934)

Actress,  Cinematographer.  Blonde,  slender star of silent films.  Born and raised on a ranch near Dallas,  Texas,  she entered films in 1912 with the Kalem Company and was quickly promoted to leads after the departure of their star,   Alice Joyce.  Her expertise in horse riding made her a natural for westerns though she was […]

Barbara Billingsley (1915 - 2010)

Barbara Billingsley Actress.  Born Barbara Lillian Combes, she attended Los Angeles Junior College in the mid 1930s and then moved to New York City, where she worked as a model.  In 1945 she received a contract from MGM, and she appeared in several films during the late 1940s and 1950s, sometimes without screen credit.  In […]

Regina Bianchi (1921 - 2013)

Actress. She will perhaps be best remembered for her leading role in the successful play “Filomena Marturano”. Born to parents of French origin, she was cast at young age in Raffaele Viviani’s company theater and then in that of Eduardo De Filippo becoming one of the most popular actresses of the Neapolitan theater. Regina was […]

Eugenie Besserer (1868 - 1934)

Actress. She is best-remembered for playing Al Jolson’s doting mother in the landmark talkie “The Jazz Singer” (1927). In the film’s most famous scene, Jolson serenades her with Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies” and then utters the immortal phrase, “You ain’t heard nothing yet!” Besserer was born in Watertown,  New York.  She married at 15 and […]

Bibi Besch (1940 - 1996)

Actress. She is best remembered for her role of ‘Dr. Carol Marcus’ in the motion picture “Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan” (1982). Born Bibiana Huber in Vienna, Austria, her mother was actress Gusti Huber.  She came to the United States after World War II as a child, and grew up in Chappaqua, New […]

Marguerite F Bertrandias (1891 - 1968)

Actress. Appearing in more than 60 Westerns melodramas, she was ‘Margaret Fowler’ in “A Daughter of the City,” (1915) ‘Mary Lawton’ in “The Man of Bronze,” (1918) ‘Eileen Arden’ in “Forbidden Lover” (1923) and ‘Julia’ in “The Palm Beach Girl”(1926). She died for injuries from road accident. (bio by: MC)  Family links:  Spouse:  Victor Emile […]

Mary Bertrand (1881 - 1955)

Actress. Born Mary Bertrand Steenbergen in Illinois, she began her career in the early 1900s, performing at the Liberty Theatre New York and on Broadway. For feature films she appeared in “The Wife Takes A Flyer” (1942) and “Tahiti Honey” (1943). (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)  Family links:  Parents:  Peter Steenbergen (1847 – 1922)  Elizabeth […]

Francesca Bertini (1892 - 1985)

Actress. Born Elena Seracini Vitiello. Described as one of the first divas of cinema. She made her film debut in 1907 with “La Dea del Mare”. With the movies “Lucrezia Borgia,” “Giulietta e Romeo,” and “L’arrivista,” Her popularity obtained gigantic dimensions as they are hardly imaginable today. In 1921 she married the Swiss banker Paul […]

Flo Bert (1898 - 1981)

Actress. She appeared in the films, “I’m From Arkansas” (1944), and “The She-Creature” (1956). Also a stage actress she appeared as ‘Cinderella’ on Broadway in the play, “Cinderella On Broadway: A Fantasy Of The Great White Way” which opened on June 24, 1920, and it ran for 126 performances. She also played ‘Miss Moffet’ in […]

Simone Berriau (1896 - 1984)

Actress,  Theater Producer. Raised in France, she moved to Morocco at 15, and soon married her first husband, a French Army colonel whose name she took. She made her theatrical debut at the Opera-Comique in a production of “Pelleas et Melisande” under the name Simone Berry. Thru the 1930s, she appeared in a dozen movies, […]

Yoka Berretty (1928 - 2015)

Dutch Actress. Berretty, born Johanna Ernstina Petrusa Meijeringh, was a very well known actress in film and television. She began her career in Italian films such as “Angela” (1954), “Scandal in Sorrento” (1955), and “The Band of Honest Men” (1956).  Berretty would later appear in such films as “De overval” (1962), “Charlotte” (1981), and “De […]

Sarah Bernhardt (1844 - 1923)

French Classical Actress. Cause of death: Uremia following kidney failure

Nora Dorothy Bernard (1890 - 1955)

Actress in 84 silent films from 1908 – 1941 including: “Ramona,” “The Failure,” “A Chance Deception,” “Princess Romanoff,” “Little Women” and “The Great Shadow.” (bio by: TLS)  Family links:  Spouse:  Archimedes H. Van Buren (1879 – 1965)