Ford Ingalsbe Beebe (1888 - 1978)

Ford Ingalsbe Beebe was born on November 26, 1888 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Before moving to Hollywood, he was a freelance writer who was also experienced in advertising. He arrived in Hollywood in 1916, and began working as a writer for Western films. His first credit was as scenario writer for the 1916 film A […]

Bengt Bedrup (1928 - 2005)

Sports Reporter. He was the first sports reporter for Swedish television, and became a “living legend” for more than 30 years. He commenced his career writing sporting news for local newspapers, and subsequently for Expressen, one of Sweden´s leading tabloids. He also made success with tv-specials like “Träna med TV” (work-out for common people) and […]

Arthur J. Beckhard (1899 - 1961)

Motion Picture Screenwriter. He worked on the films “Girl On the Run” (1961), “Pop Always Pay” (1940), “Sky Parade” (1936), “Border Flight” (1936), “Curly Top” (1935), and “West Point Of The Air” (1935). He was married to actress Esther Dale.  Family links:  Spouse:  Esther Dale (1885 – 1961)* *Calculated relationship

Jacques Becker (1906 - 1960)

Jacques Becker (French: [bɛkɛʁ]; 15 September 1906 – 21 February 1960) was a French screenwriter and film director. Jacques Becker was born in Paris, in an upper-class background. His father Louis Becker, of Lorraine ascendance was corporate director for Fulmen, a battery manufacturer and his mother Margaret Burns of Irish descent, held a fashion house in […]

Cacilda Becker (1921 - 1969)

Actress. A pretty brunette, Cacilda Becker is remembered for her career on her country’s stage. Born Cacilda Becker Yaconis in the Sao Paulo suburb of Pirassununga to a Brazilian mother and an Italian father, she was raised from an early age in Santos under somewhat Bohemian conditions. After acting in amateur productions she got her […]

Gilbert Bécaud (1927 - 2001)

French singer and master of the romantic song whose best known composition was “What Now, My Love.”  He also wrote “Let It Be Me” for the Everly Brothers and “It Must Be Him” for Vicki Carr. (bio by: Ron Moody) Cause of death: Lung Cancer

Harry Beaumont (1888 - 1966)

Harry Beaumont (February 10, 1888 – December 22, 1966) was an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. He worked for a variety of production companies including Fox, Goldwyn, Metro, Warner Brothers, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Beaumont’s greatest successes were during the silent film era, when he directed films including John Barrymore’s Beau Brummel (1924) and the silent […]

Charles Beaumont (1929 - 1967)

Author and Screenwriter. A specialist in science fiction,  horror, and fantasy, Charles Beaumont gave these genres a contemporary twist with his rather cynical world view and an emphasis on plot rather than atmosphere. Beaumont wrote one novel, “The Intruder” (1959), and the short-story collections “The Hunger” (1957), “Yonder” (1958), “A Touch of the Creature” (1959), […]

William “One-Shot” Beaudine (1892 - 1970)

Noted Motion Picture Director and Actor. Prolific director starting in early Hollywood productions. He directed hundreds of films from the 1910s to the 1960s. He began his career by acting in early silent films. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Spouse:  Marguerite Beaudine (1894 – 1970)* *Calculated relationship

Clyde Beatty (1903 - 1965)

Wild animal trainer, circus performer.  He left all Ringing interests at the end of the 1934 season, and joined out with owner-partners Jess Adkins and Zack Terrell with the new Cole Bros. Circus that winter, and opened with them for the season of 1935.  They added his name to the title for public appeal, and […]

Carl E. “Rocky” Beane (1952 - 2012)

Sports Announcer. He served as the voice of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park from 2003 until his death. As a child he would go to Red Sox games and the voice he heard was that of their legendary public address announcer Sherm Feller who greatly influenced his decision to pursue a career in […]

Jeremy Beadle (1948 - 2008)

English television presenter, author, producer and above all, infamous prankster. Jeremy was born in Hackney, East London. At the age of 2 years old Jeremy was often in hospital for surgery on his hand for a condition known as Poland syndrome, a rare disorder which stunted the growth in his right hand. He was brought […]

Nora Bayes (1880 - 1928)

Comedienne, Singer, Songwriter. She is best remembered for introducing George M. Cohan’s song, “Over There” during World War I, and for co-writing “Shine On, Harvest Moon” (1903). She was born Dora or Leonora Goldberg (her name was possibly a fabrication that she used with reporters) in Joliet, Illinois, changing her name to Nora Bates when […]

Alla Bayanova (1914 - 2011)

Singer. A noted folk and Cabaret artist sometimes compared to Edith Piaf, she had a career of nearly nine decades. The child of an opera singer father and a ballerina mother, she received her initial vocal training at home and started performing at nine, at first appearing with her father who by then had switched […]

Mario Bava (1914 - 1980)

Italian Film Director and Screenwriter. He is considered the master of Italian horror cinema. He directed 72 films, including The Mask of Satan (1960) and Kill, Baby, Kill (1966). He became known for creating special effects and cinematographic tricks in an age when digital effects did not yet exist. (bio by: Ruggero)

Pina Bausch (1940 - 2009)

German Ballerina and Choreographer. She was known for productions involving innovative staging and somewhat erotic male-female interaction. Raised in western Germany, she enrolled at the Folkwang School in Essen in 1955, and received a scholarship to New York’s Juilliard in 1960. After dancing with the New American Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera, she returned to […]

Schamyl Bauman (1893 - 1966)

Director, Producer. Swedish director of light comedies. He started his career translating silent movie scripts in 1917. In 1929 he was the co-founder of Europafilm, which also gave him a platform for his own productions. Ten years later he co-founded his second film company, the Sandrew-Bauman. He was directing and producing several of the most […]

Roger Baulu (1910 - 1997)

Canadian radio and TV broadcaster. Born in Montreal in 1909, he made there its studies and very early in his life he became interested by journalism. He joined the newspaper “Le Canada” under the direction of Olivar Asselin who asked him one day to write a 15 minute long bulletin and go to diffuse it […]

Yevgeni Bauer (1865 - 1917)

Motion Picture Director. He and Yakov Protazanov were the most important Russian filmakers of the Czarist era. Yevgeni Frantsevich Bauer was born in Moscow, into an artistic family of German descent. He graduated from the Institute of Painting, Sculpture,  and Architecture in 1887.  Restlessly creative,  he was an actor,  newspaper cartoonist,  and theatre producer before […]

Anne Bauchens (1882 - 1967)

Noted Film Editor. She worked as the editor on every Cecil B. DeMille film from 1919 on. It was also said that Mr. DeMille would not sign a contract to do a film unless Ms. Bauchens was also signed on. Oscar nominations/win for film editing: “The Ten Commandments” (1956),  “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952), […]

Gordon Bau (1907 - 1975)

Motion Picture Make-up Artist. Fames Hollywood make-up artist of the 1930s through the 1970s. Brother of make-up artist George Bau. (bio by: A.J. Marik)

Clayton “Peg Leg” Bates (1907 - 1998)

Tap Dancer and Pioneer in Black Entertainment Field/Hotel Owner. Peg Leg Bates was a world famous tap dancer best known for his 20 appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show,the last being in the early 1960’s,delighting an audience of millions. Bates lost his left leg in a Cotton Gin accident at age 12. He subsequently taught […]

Lina Basquette (1907 - 1994)

In 1923, Lina Baskette and her mother traveled across the country by train to New York City, so that the girl could audition for John Murray Anderson. Anderson urged her to change the spelling of her surname from “Baskette” to “Basquette”. Producer Charles Dillingham changed the spelling of her first name from “Lena” to “Lina” […]

Morris Barry (1918 - 2000)

Morris Barry (9 February 1918 – 20 November 2000) was born in Northampton, England. He was a notable figure on the production side of the BBC in the 1960s and 1970s. He made his name as a producer and director on productions such as Angels, Compact and Z-Cars; but his most impressive credit was perhaps as […]

Jack Barry (1918 - 1984)

Television Game Show Producer, Host. He was involved in the quiz show scandals of the late 1950s while hosting “Twenty-One,” which formed the basis of the movie “Quiz Show” (1994). (bio by: A.J. Marik)

Dave Barry (1918 - 2001)

Comedian. Worked in Las Vegas for many years as the opening act for many top performers, including Wayne Newton. Played in 16 films and had 5 guest appearances. (bio by: Tina Urban)  Family links:  Spouse:  Ginny Barry (1920 – 2002)* *Calculated relationshipCause of death: Cancer

George Barris (1925 - 2015)

American Car Customizer and Designer. Known as the “King of the Kustomizers”, Barris created some of the most iconic automobiles for film and television, among them the Batmobile and the Munster Koach. He and his brother, Sam, began fixing up cars in their teen years, opening the Barris Brothers Custom Shop in Los Angeles in […]

Richard William “Ritchie” Barrett (1933 - 2006)

Producer and Songwriter.  As one of the first successful independent black producers and songwriters, he was also a creative force behind many groups of the ’50s and ’60s, including the Cleftones, the Flamingos, the Chantels, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers, the Isley Brothers and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. […]

Phineas Taylor “P.T.” Barnum (1810 - 1891)

Legendary 19th Century American showman and circus promoter.  Best remembered for founding the first modern three-ring circus, which also would eventually became the biggest and most important circus in the world, the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. He was born Phineas Taylor Barnum on July 5, 1810 in Bethel, Connecticut, the oldest of five […]

George S. Barnes (1892 - 1953)

Motion Picture Cinematographer. For 30 years one of Hollywood’s top cameramen, he was equally distinguished in black-and-white and color photography. He worked with many of the best directors in the business and was mentor to cinematographer Gregg Toland (“Citizen Kane”), who started out as his assistant. Barnes won an Academy Award for his moody lensing […]