Liz Benn (1929 - 2012)

Model. An early ‘supermodel’, she is remembered for numerous fashion magazine covers. Raised in Toronto under poor circumstances after her father lost his job in the Depression, she was stunningly attractive from childhood and by her early teens was supporting her family with modeling jobs. At 14 Liz turned-down the role in “National Velvet” that […]

Richard “Pepe” Benedict (1920 - 1984)

Actor, Director. Italian-born motion picture and television figure of the 1940s to the 1960s. Appeared with Frank Sinatra and the rest of the ‘Rat Pack’ in the 1960 feature “Ocean’s Eleven.” Father of actor Nick Benedict. (bio by: A.J. Marik) Cause of death: Heart attack

Amador Bendayán (1920 - 1989)

Entertainer. In the 1950´s he gained popularity for his radio comedies “El Bachiller y Bartolo” and “La Bodega de la Esquina.” He participated in several movies at Venezuela and Mexico. After his actor career Bendayán was the most popular Venezuelan television. figure thanks to the show “Sábado Sensacional” (1972 to 1989). (bio by: 380W)

Robert Benchley (1889 - 1945)

Humorist. Author. Born Robert Charles Benchley in Worcester, Massachusetts. Very little is known about his childhood as he never related anything but humorous tales about it rather than realities. In 1898, however, his idolized older brother, Edmund, was killed in the Spanish-American War. Robert Benchley attended South High School from 1904 until 1907, when his […]

Lionel Belmore (1867 - 1953)

Director and Actor. Lionel was on Broadway from 1899 and in American films by 1914. He was the director of 9 films between 1914 and 1920. During the 1930’s, Lionel was employed in Hollywood as English butlers, innkeepers, lairds, burgomasters and town elders. He acted in over 171 films. He was notable as the huffy-puffy […]

William Joseph Bell (1927 - 2005)

William Joseph Bell was married to former talk show host Lee Phillip Bell, who co-created The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful with him. Their three children, Bill Jr., Bradley, and Lauralee, and daughter-in-law Maria Arena Bell are all involved in their parents’ soaps in some capacity. Brenda Dickson, an original cast […]

Monta Bell (1891 - 1958)

Director, Producer. Born Louis Monta Bell in Washington, D.C., he was a stage performer and a set director when Charlie Chaplin hired him as an assistant director for “The Pilgrim” (1924). Becoming a director in his own right, he produced and directed more then 20 films between 1924 to 1945. His credits include “Lady of […]

Freddie Bell (1931 - 2008)

Ferdinando Dominick Bello, known as Freddie Bell, (September 29, 1931 – February 10, 2008), was an American musician, whose group, Freddie Bell and the Bellboys, were influential in the development of rock and roll in the 1950s. He was a prominent performer with the group on the Las Vegas Strip in the 1950s and 1960s, […]

Bob “Bozo” Bell (1922 - 1997)

Bob Bell was born in Flint, Michigan to a General Motors factory worker. He spent his life after high school doing odd jobs until he enlisted first in the United States Marine Corps and later the United States Navy during World War II, though he did not see any combat action due to the loss […]

Maurice Béjart (1927 - 2007)

Choreographer, Dancer. He was considered an icon of European dance for many years. Born in Marseille,  France, he studied with ballet master Léo Staats and dance teacher Madama Rousanne Sarkissian in Paris, and then performed with Mona Inglesby’s International Ballet and the Royal Swedish Ballet. In 1960 he founded his own company,  “The Ballet of […]

Joseph Behar (1933 - 2003)

Television Director. Behar directed many television series’ including, “From These Roots” from 1958 to 1961, “General Hospital” beginning in 1963, “People Will Talk” in 1963, “Let’s Make A Deal” from 1963 to 1976, “Days Of Our Lives” beginning in 1965, “The Young & The Restless” in 1973, “It’s Anybody’s Guess” in 1977, “Let’s Make A […]

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 […]