Kenneth Connor (1918 - 1993)

Born in Islington, London, the son of a naval petty officer who organised concert parties, Kenneth Connor first appeared on the stage at the age of two as an organ-grinder’s monkey in one of his father’s shows, in Portsmouth. By 11 years old, he had his own act. He attended the Central School of Speech […]

Joe Conley (1928 - 2013)

Joe Conley (March 3, 1928 – July 7, 2013) was an American actor who played many small roles on television and is most remembered for his role as the storekeeper Ike Godsey on The Waltons. Joe Conley was born in Buffalo, New York. He started acting after returning from military service in Korea, and was running […]

Jeff Conaway (1950 - 2011)

Jeff Conaway was born in the New York City borough of Manhattan and raised in the Astoria, Flushing, and Forest Hills neighborhoods of the borough Queens. His father, Charles, was an actor, producer and publisher. His mother, Helen, an actress who went by the stage name Mary Ann Brooks, taught music at New York City’s […]

Pinto Colvig (1892 - 1967)

Pinto Colvig was born Vance DeBar Colvig in Jacksonville, Oregon, one of seven children of Judge William Mason Colvig (1845–1936) and wife Adelaide Birdseye Colvig (1856–1912). Although William Colvig was a pioneer, an attorney and a distinguished Oregonian, he was never actually a judge. Pinto graduated from Oregon State University in 1911 at age 18. After […]

Jerry Colonna (1904 - 1986)

Jerry Colonna started his career as a trombonist in orchestras and dance bands in and around his native Boston; he can be heard with Joe Herlihy’s orchestra on discs recorded for Edison Records in the late 1920s. During the 1930s, Colonna played with the CBS house orchestra, the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, and developed a reputation […]

Ray Collins (1889 - 1965)

Ray Collins was born December 10, 1889, in Sacramento, California, to Lillie Bidwell and William Calderwood Collins. His father was a newspaper reporter and dramatic editor on The Sacramento Bee. His mother was the niece of John Bidwell, pioneer, statesman and founder of society in the Sacramento Valley area of California in the 19th century. […]

Greg Willard (1958 - 2013)

While attending Long Beach State University, Greg Willard officiated football as a member of the Orange County Football Officials Association and worked as a high school basketball official before advancing to the Continental Basketball Association where he spent four years. Willard also spent four years officiating basketball in college’s PCAA (now Big West) and Pac-10 […]

Orlando Woolridge (1959 - 2012)

Orlando Woolridge was selected sixth in the 1981 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls, where he played for his first five seasons. Woolridge made his NBA debut on November 7, 1981. Woolridge was named NBA Player of the week on December 9, 1984. During the 1984–85 season, Woolridge averaged 22.9 points/game and combined with rookie […]

Wayman Tisdale (1964 - 2009)

Wayman Tisdale graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he grew up. As a college player at the University of Oklahoma from 1982 to 1985, he was a three-time Big Eight Conference Player of the Year and the first player in collegiate history to be named a first-team All American by […]

Robert Traylor (1977 - 2011)

Robert Traylor was an American professional basketball player. In the 1998 NBA Draft, Robert Traylor was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round (with the sixth pick), then traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Pat Garrity and German prospect Dirk Nowitzki. In the 2005 offseason, Traylor had surgery on his aorta. He then signed on […]

Mel Turpin (1960 - 2010)

A 6’11” center, Mel Turpin was born in Lexington, Kentucky and attended Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Virginia from 1979–80. He was FUMA’s most valuable player for the postgraduate squad under coach Fletcher Arritt, also being voted the number one player in the state for varsity basketball; he averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds […]

Ed Snider (1933 - 2016)

Ed Snider was born to a Jewish family in the Washington, D.C. region, the son of a grocery-store chain owner. He attended the University of Maryland and earned his bachelor’s degree. He later became a partner in Edge Ltd., a record company. After selling the company, Snider joined Jerry Wolman (builder) and his brother-in-law Earl Foreman […]

Jim Simpson (1927 - 2016)

Jim Simpson was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in nearby Chevy Chase, Md. He began his broadcasting career with a short-lived radio show, “Hunting and Fishing With Jimmy Simspon,” when he was 15. He attended George Washington University in Washington and served in the Coast Guard and Navy Reserve. After several jobs in […]

Abe Pollin (1923 - 2009)

Abe Pollin was born to a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 3, 1923 to Jennie and Morris Pollin. When he was 8, Pollin’s family moved to the Washington area from Philadelphia. Pollin graduated from The George Washington University in 1945 and took a job with his family’s construction company for 12 years. The […]

George Mikan (1924 - 2005)

George Mikan, (June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed Mr. Basketball, was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBL, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Invariably playing with thick, round spectacles, the […]

Slater Martin (1925 - 2012)

Slater Martin (October 22, 1925 – October 18, 2012) was an American professional basketball player and coach who was a playmaking guard for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born in Elmina, Walker County, Texas and played in seven NBA All-Star Games. Martin was one of the NBA’s best defensive players in […]

Maurice Lucas (1952 - 2010)

In 1973, the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association (ABA) obtained that league’s rights to Maurice Lucas in the first round of the ABA draft. In 1974, Lucas was also selected by the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the 14th pick of the NBA draft. Lucas chose the ABA over […]

Tommy Kron (1943 - 2007)

Tommy Kron played for the legendary Orlando “Gunner” Wyman at Tell City High School (Tell City, Indiana); he led the Marksmen to 4 Sectional and 3 Regional titles; during his Junior season (1960–61), he led them to the Indiana Final Four. The Marksmen lost their semi-final matchup to the Indianapolis Manual Redskins, starring the Van […]

Alec Kessler (1967 - 2007)

Alec Kessler played collegiately for the University of Georgia Bulldogs where he was a three-time academic all-American first-team selection as well as the national academic all-American of the year in 1989 and 1990. Kessler left Georgia as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,788 points (until the record was surpassed by Litterial Green). The 6′ 11″ […]

Jerome Kersey (1962 - 2015)

Coming from a school that was not known as a basketball powerhouse, Jerome Kersey was selected in the second round of the 1984 NBA draft (46th overall pick) by Portland. He was a regular contributor from the bench, eventually becoming a starter, and by his third year, he began to shine, even coming in second […]

John Johnson (1947 - 2016)

John Johnson played high school basketball at Messmer High School, (Milwaukee, Wisconsin). As a senior, he helped lead Messmer to the Wisconsin state title in 1966. Johnson, a 6’7” small forward, then played for Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming and for the University of Iowa. He set an Iowa record for points in a season during […]

Lamar Hunt (1932 - 2006)

On the strength of his great inherited oil wealth, Lamar Hunt applied for a National Football League expansion franchise but was turned down. In 1959, professional football was a distant second to Major League Baseball in popularity, and the thinking among NFL executives was that the league must be careful not to “oversaturate” the market […]

Lou Hudson (1944 - 2014)

Lou Hudson graduated from Dudley High School in Greensboro. As a junior at the University of Minnesota, Hudson averaged 24.8 points and 10.7 rebounds and was named an All-American. After starring at the University of Minnesota, Hudson was selected by the St. Louis Hawks with the 4th pick of the 1966 NBA draft. He was […]

Art Heyman (1941 - 2012)

Due to NCAA eligibility rules that prohibited freshmen from playing varsity sports, Art Heyman played his first year at then racially segregated Duke with the freshman team, which compiled a record of 10–5, including three victories over the Tar Heels. During one of the Duke-North Carolina freshman games, North Carolina freshman Dieter Krause attacked Heyman, […]

Walt Hazzard (1942 - 2011)

Walt Hazzard attended Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his teams went 89-3 and he was named the city’s player of the year when he was a senior. Hazzard then went on to UCLA, where he became an important player on the varsity basketball team. In Hazzard’s first season on the varsity squad, the […]

Tom Gola (1933 - 2014)

Tom Gola was one of the most talented collegiate athletes in Philadelphia sports history. He came to national attention while playing for the hometown La Salle University Explorers men’s basketball team. Gola starred as a college freshman and led La Salle to the 1952 N.I.T. championship. Gola paced the Explorers to the NCAA basketball championship in […]

Armen Gilliam (1964 - 2011)

Armen Gilliam began his college basketball career in 1982–83 at Independence Junior College in Independence, Kansas. That year, Gilliam was a standout player on the basketball team that reached the Junior College Finals and finished 6th in the nation. Gilliam averaged 24.9 points and 14 rebounds in five tournament games and was named to the […]

Prince (1958 - 2016)

Prince was born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His early music career saw the release of Prince, Dirty Mind and Controversy, which drew attention for their fusion of religious and sexual themes. He then released the popular albums 1999 and Purple Rain, cementing his superstar status with No. 1 hits like “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy.” […]

Doris Roberts (1925 - 2016)

Doris Roberts’ acting career began in 1952 with a role on the TV series Studio One. She appeared in episodes of The Naked City (1958–63), Way Out (1961), Ben Casey (1963), and The Defenders (1962–63). In 1961, she made her film debut in Something Wild (1961). She appeared in such 1960s and 1970s films as A […]

Chyna (1969 - 2016)

Chyna Joan Laurer was born in Rochester, New York, to parents Janet and Joe Laurer. She had two older siblings: Kathy and Sonny. After her parents divorced when she was approximately four years old, Laurer had three different stepfathers and one stepmother. According to Laurer, her first stepfather threatened suicide at one point, and her […]