Kandi Barbour (1959 - 2012)

Adult Film Star, Model. Born Linda Jean Smith, she was a major adult film actress of the 1970s and 1980s. She starred in over 40 adult films during her career, including several soft-core releases and multiple hardcore compilations. By the mid 1970s she had appeared in the pages of every major men’s magazines, in addition […]

Fedora Barbieri (1920 - 2003)

Opera Singer, Actress. Born in Trieste, Italy, she was an mezzo-soprano with one of the longest careers in opera history. She made her official debut in Florence in 1940 and quickly established her reputation performing in opera houses in Europe, South America, America and Asia, until 1999. Considered a formidable actress as well as a […]

Jill Banner (1946 - 1982)

Actress. She is best known for her role as Virginia in the 1964 cult film “Spider Baby”. Born Mary Kathyrn Molumby in Bremerton,  Washington,  she graduated from the Hollywood Professional School in 1964. Her other films include “C’mon Let’s Live a Little”,  “The President’s Analyst”,  “Candy”,  “The Stranger Returns”,  “Shadow Over Elvron”, and “Hunters are […]

Vilma Bánky (1901 - 1991)

Actress. Born Konsics Bánky Vilma in Nagydorog near Budapest Hungary. Her father was a bureau chief under the Franz Josef Austro-Hungarian Empire. She was raised and educated in Budapest and had 2 younger siblings-a brother, Guyla and a sister, Agnes. Renown for her beauty and grace her friends suggested she take up acting. A Hungarian […]

Joan Banks (1918 - 1998)

Actress. Born in Petersburg, West Virginia, she became a regular on the 1930s radio series “Gangbusters”, where she met and married actor Frank Lovejoy. For feature films, she appeared in dramas with her husband in “Cry Danger” (1951) and “Washington Story” (1952). She became better known as a supporting actor on various television series such […]

Tallulah Bankhead (1902 - 1968)

Actress. Tallulalh Bankhead was born into a very notable family in Huntsville, Alabama.  Her grandfather was US Senator John Hollis Bankhead, and her father, William Brockman Bankhead, served as Speaker of the House of Representatives.  Her uncle was US Senator John Hollis Bankhead II and her aunt Marie Bankhead Owen became Director of the Alabama […]

Effie Marie Bancroft (1970 - 1970)

Actress. Theatre Manager. Born Effie Marie Wilton in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, the daughter of actors, she appeared on the stage with her parents throughout her childhood. She made her London debut in 1856 at the Lyceum Theatre in ‘Belphegor.’ Her early career saw great popularity playing the boy roles in several productions including Pippo, in […]

Martha Bamattre (1891 - 1970)

Actress. Born in Switzerland, she was most noted for her roles as the French peasant woman in “Battleground” (1949) and as Mathilde Mattieu in “An American in Paris” (1951). Her other credits included “Bolero” (1934), “Champagne Waltz” (1937), “Reunion in France” (1942), “Thunderbirds” (1952) and “To Catch a Thief” (1955). (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)

Sandy Balson (1930 - 2015)

Actress. A pretty blonde, she is remembered for her roles in numerous screen features of the 1970s. Though little is recorded of her early life, she was born Sandra Perley and made her television debut in a 1969 episode of “The Outsider”. Sandy went on to appear in such fare of the day as “Longstreet” […]

Mabel Ballin (1887 - 1958)

Actress. She started acting during World War I. Ballin played several roles and she was very popular at the time. Best remembered as ‘Jane Withersteenin’ in “Riders of the Purple Sage” (1925) with Tom Mix. (bio by: MC)

Suzan Ball (1934 - 1955)

Actress.  Suzan Ball was the oldest child of Howard Ball and Marleah “Molly” O’Leary. Although given the name “Susan”, she changed the spelling to “Suzan” early in her career.  Her family relocated from New York, to Detroit, Michigan, to Miami, Florida before settling in Hollywood, California in 1941. Starting as a mere teenager, she sang […]

Mireille Balin (1909 - 1968)

Actress. She is best remembered for playing ‘Gaby Gould’ in “Pépé le Moko.” Other credits include: “Threats,” “The Siege of the Alcazar” and “Immediate Call.” (bio by: MC)

Betty Balfour (1903 - 1977)

Actress. One of England’s most popular silent screen idols of the 1920s.  Nicknamed “The British Mary Pickford”,  she typically mixed comedy and pathos in her roles.  Her films include “Nothing Else Matters” (1920), “Squibs”(1921), “Mord Em’ly” (1922), “Wee MacGregor’s Sweetheart” (1922), “Squibs Wins The Calcutta Sweep” (1922), “Squibs M.P.” (1923), “Squibs’ Honeymoon” (1923), “Revelle” (1924), […]

Belle Baker (1893 - 1957)

Singer, Actress. Born in New York City, she began her singing on the stage and in Vaudeville. Known as “red hot mama” she could sing a Yiddish Ballad and modern jazz with equal ease. She was most noted for introducing hundreds of songs to the American public to include “All Of Me”, “Cohen Owes Me […]

Gizi Bajor (1893 - 1951)

Actress. She was perhaps Hungary’s most famous theatre star of her era, renowned for her beauty, versatility, and mesmerizing presence. Her roles ranged from the Ancient Greek classics to contemporary dramas,  and she helped introduce modern acting techniques to the Hungarian stage.  Bajor was born in Budapest.  As a student at the Actors’ Academy she […]

Leah Baird (1883 - 1971)

Actress and Screenwriter. She began her career in 1913 playing in numerous films for Universal and Vitagraph and in 1918 she played in fifteen episodes of the serial “Wolves of Kultur.” In the mid-1920s, Baird became a screenwriter and contributed to a number of Clara Bow features. In the early 1940s, she returned to the […]

Fay Bainter (1893 - 1968)

Actress. A veteran performer whose career spanned six decades, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as ‘Aunt Belle Massey’ in the 1938 romantic drama film “Jezebel” with Bette Davis and Henry Fonda. Born Fay Okell Bainter in Los Angeles, California, she got her start on the stage in 1908 […]

Frankie Bailey (1859 - 1953)

Actress. A screen, stage and burlesque figure, she appeared in the films “The Crown Of Lies” (1926), “Thank You” (1925), “Flower Of Light” (1925), and “The Famous Mrs. Fair” (1923). She was known as “The Girl With The Million Dollar Legs”.

Lynn Baggett (1924 - 1960)

Actress. Stage and screen figure and writer. Married to movie producer Sam Spiegel. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Spouse:  Samuel P Spiegel (1901 – 1985)* *Calculated relationshipCause of death: Overdose of sleeping pills

Hermione Baddeley (1906 - 1986)

Actor. Born Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley. In her more than 60 year career Hermione enjoyed success in all the acting media. Prior to World War II, she became popular in London stage comedies and revues due to her dancer’s training and innate flair for comedy. In her film career she played memorable character roles, including […]

Angela Baddeley (1904 - 1976)

Actress. Born Madeline Angela Clinton-Baddeley. She was the younger sister of Hermione Baddeley. Angela was best remembered for her role as Mrs Bridges in the period drama “Upstairs, Downstairs”.(1971 to 1975) She had a long and distinguished career on stage that lasted for 63 years. In 1912 at the age of eight, she made her […]

Faith Bacon (1910 - 1956)

Actress, Burlesque Dancer. A Broadway starlet of the late 1920s, she is remembered for her erotic dance routines at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. Born Frances Yvonne Bacon, little is recorded of her early years save that she at some point lived in the Northern California community of Placerville and along the way apparently received […]

Olga Baclanova (1896 - 1974)

Actress. Born Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova in Moscow, Russia. She worked extensively on stage in London’s West End and in New York, before her film debut with a bit in “The Dove.” Over the following years she played roles in “The Man Who Laughs,” “Street of Sin,” and “The Docks of New York.” She is perhaps […]

Alice Backes (1923 - 2007)

Actress. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, she was a character actress who appeared in numerous films and television shows from the 1940s to the 1990s. After making her debut in the 1948 film “Up in Central Park”, Backes appeared in “I Want To Live!” (1958), “It Started with a Kiss” (1959), “The Glory Guys” […]

Lida Babková Baarová (1914 - 2000)

Actress. Popular figure of Czech and European motion pictures. (bio by: Jirka Kostal)

Inday Ba (1972 - 2005)

Actress. Born N’Deaye Ba. Swedish actress who started  up with amateur theater at the age of 12. She then worked some years at theatres in Stockholm “behind the curtains” in the early 1990’s. Subsequently she moved to London and got herslef an actor’s education at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. “Watch that man”, “The […]

Agnes Ayres (1892 - 1940)

Actress.  While a teenager, Agnes Ayres made her film debut at the Essanay Studios in Chicago.  In 1920 she signed a contract with Paramount studios and began starring in various films, mostly under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille.  1921 was a busy year for her as she acted in the films “The Affairs of […]

Marion Aye (1903 - 1951)

Actress. A noted beauty of the early 1920s, she had a brief career in silent films. Raised in Chicago, she was signed by producer Mack Sennett who had an eye for girls that looked good in swimsuits and made her silver screen bow in the 1919 short “Hearts and Flowers”. Marion went on to roles […]

Keiko Awaji (1933 - 2014)

Actress. She will perhaps be best remembered by international movie audiences for playing Kimiko in the picture “The Bridges at Toko-Ri” (1954). Born Ayako Ida, she left high school early and became a member of the Shochiku Kageki Dan (or the SKD) She marked her motion picture debut in “Stray Dogs” (1949) and would go […]

Phyllis Avery (1924 - 2011)

Actress. Born in New York City, daughter of screenwriter Stephen Morehouse Avery, she marked her professional acting debut at the age of twelve on the Broadway stage in the musical “Orchids Preferred” (1937), followed by “Three Waltzes” (1937 to 1938) and “Charley’s Aunt” (1940 to 1941). She broadened her skills at the American Academy of […]