Laurie Bird (1953 - 1979)

Laurie Bird (September 26, 1952 – June 15, 1979) was an American actress and photographer. Laurie Bird’s mother died when she was three. Her father, an electrical engineer, was a former sailor in the United States Navy, and worked long hours. Although she had two brothers, she more or less raised herself. Described by Hollywood columnist Dick […]

Laurie Hope Beechman (1953 - 1998)

Actress. A Broadway actress and singer, she played in the longest run ofd of the character ‘Grizabella’ in the popular musical “Cats”. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1989, but she kept her career up during periods of remission. During her life she recorded the albums “Listen to My Heart” (1990), “Time Between the […]

Laurie Lee Bartram (1958 - 2007)

American Actress. She was an actress and ballet dancer who started in 1973. She is perhaps best known for her role as the camp counselor Brenda in the original film Friday the 13th, a performance where she was praised as one of the more “likeable” characters in the film. She also appeared in the soap […]

Laurie Show (1975 - 1991)

The murder of Laurie Show occurred on December 20, 1991. Show was a 16-year-old sophomore student at Conestoga Valley High School. Show’s body was discovered in her Lancaster, Pennsylvania home on December 20, 1991 by her mother Hazel Show, with Show’s throat cut. Classmates Lisa Michelle Lambert, Tabitha Buck, and Lawrence “Butch” Yunkin were charged with […]

Lauro Corona (1957 - 1989)

Actor. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is best remembered for his work in TV series “Dancin’ Days” (1978), “Os Gigantes” (1979), “Marina” (1980), “Louco Amor” (1983), “Corpo a Corpo” (1984), “Direito de Amar” (1987) and “Vida Nova” (1988). On screen, he worked in “O Sonho Nao Acabou” (1982) and “Bete Balanço” […]

LaVern Baker (1929 - 1997)

Singer. Born in Chicago, Illinois as Delores  LaVern Baker. She began singing gospel as a child, but she was familiar with more secular styles, as well. Her aunt, Merline Baker, was better known as Memphis Minnie, a blues singer and guitarist. Blessed with a powerful voice, which she put to use as a teenager singing […]

Lavrenty Pavlovich Beria (1899 - 1953)

Soviet Secret Police Chief. He was the former head of the Soviet NKVD, forerunner of the Russian KGB. He joined the Bolshevik Party in 1917 and rose to prominence in the Russian Republic of Georgia. He served as head of the local Georgian secret police, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for […]

LaWanda Page (1920 - 2002)

Actress. Best known for her role as Aunt Esther Anderson on “Sanford And Son”, she appeared in many films including “Don’t Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood” (1996), “Friday” (1995), “The Legend of Dolemite” (1994), “West From North Goes South” (1993), “The Meteor Man” (1993), “CB4” (1993), “Shakes […]

Lawren Harris (1885 - 1970)

Artist. Lawren Harris was one of the original members of the Group of Seven, a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920 to 1933 that also included of Franklin Carmichael, A. Y. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Frederick Varley. Born Lawren Stewart Harris in Brantford, Ontario, Canada on October 23, […]

Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836 - 1912)

Artist. Born in Holland, he moved to London, England when in his mid-30s, in 1869. He became very much part of the English establishment, gaining a knighthood in 1899. A genial and uncomplicated man, Alma-Tadema enjoyed his success and money, living in extravagant life-style. His life was an enormously sucessful one in which he was […]

Lawrence Brown (1907 - 1988)

Lawrence Brown (August 3, 1907 – September 5, 1988) was an acclaimed jazz trombonist from California who achieved recognition with the Duke Ellington orchestra. Brown worked throughout his career as a session musician, as well as recording his own solo efforts. Lawrence Brown was born on August 3, 1907, in Lawrence, Kansas. When Brown was about […]

Lawrence Carr (1917 - 1969)

Theatrical Producer.

Lawrence Carter “Slim” Barnard (1903 - 1975)

Television Show Host. Creator and host of television’s “The Happy Wanderer” travelogue show of the 1960s. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Spouse:  Henrietta Lena Seipp Barnard (1904 – 2004)* *Calculated relationship

Lawrence Dale Bell (1894 - 1956)

Lawrence Dale “Larry” Bell (April 5, 1894 – October 20, 1956) was an American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation.  Bell was born in Mentone, Indiana and lived there until 1907, when his family moved to Santa Monica, California. He joined his older brother Grover and stunt pilot Lincoln Beachey as a mechanic in […]

Lawrence Dobkin (1919 - 2002)

A former child actor, Dobkin began working in radio to pay for his studies at the Yale University School of Drama. He understudied on Broadway before serving with a radio propaganda unit of the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. When he returned to network radio he was one of five actors […]

Lawrence Edward Walsh (1912 - 2014)

Attorney, Judge, Diplomat and Prosecutor. He graduated from Columbia College in 1932, and from Columbia Law School in 1935. He served a varied career including private practice. New York special assistant attorney general from 1936 to 1938. Deputy assistant district attorney of New York County from 1938 to 1941. U.S. District Court judge from 1954 […]

Lawrence Grossmith (1877 - 1944)

Actor on stage and film. He was the last of a prominent British stage family. Grossmith appeared in several Sherlock Holmes fims, and was known for his smooth performances in drawing room and musical comedies. He was the brother-in-law of Vernon Castle. (bio by: Ginny M)  Family links:  Spouse:  Coralie Maud Blythe (1881 – 1928)* […]

Lawrence Klein (1920 - 2013)

Klein was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Blanche (née Monheit) and Leo Byron Klein. He went on to graduate from Los Angeles City College, where he learned calculus; the University of California, Berkeley, where he began his computer modeling and earned a B.A. in Economics in 1942; he earned his Ph.D. in Economics […]

Lawrence Phillips (1975 - 2016)

Despite his considerable character issues, with his strong performance, Lawrence Phillips was drafted sixth overall in the 1996 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. Several teams with higher picks let it be known that they passed on him due to his off-the-field troubles. He was widely expected to be selected by the new Baltimore […]

Lawrence Tibbett (1896 - 1960)

Lawrence Tibbett was born Lawrence Mervil Tibbet (with a single final “t”) on November 16, 1896 in Bakersfield, California. His father was a part-time deputy sheriff, killed in a shootout with desperado Jim McKinney in 1903. Tibbett grew up in Los Angeles, earning money by singing in church choirs and at funerals. He graduated from […]

Lawrencia “Bambi” Bembenek (1958 - 2010)

Crime Figure. Convicted of murdering her husband’s ex-wife, Christine Schultz, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on May 28, 1981. Her story garnered national attention after she escaped from Taycheedah Correctional Institution and was recaptured in Canada, an episode which inspired a TV movie and the slogan “Run, Bambi, Run”. Upon winning a new trial, she pled no […]

Layne “Shotgun” Britton (1907 - 1993)

Legendary Hollywood Makeup Artist. Born William Tom Layne Britton, his childhood nickname “Shotgun,” by which he was always known, was given to him by his father who said he looked like a “sawed-off shotgun” in his new knickers. His famous clients included Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, the late John Belushi, John Candy and Jane Russell. […]

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 […]

Leanne Tiernan (1984 - 2000)

The murder of Leanne Tiernan was a high-profile English child abduction and murder involving a schoolgirl who was abducted less than one mile from her home on 26 November 2000 while returning from a Christmas shopping trip in Leeds, West Yorkshire, and subsequently murdered. The missing persons inquiry which followed was one of the largest […]

Leatrice Joy (1893 - 1985)

Leatrice Johanna Zeidler was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to dentist Edward Joseph Zeidler, who was of Austrian and French descent, and Mary Joy Crimens Zeidler, who was of German and Irish descent. She had a brother, Billy, who later worked at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Leatrice Joy attended New Orleans Convent of the Sacred Heart but left when […]

Leavander Johnson (1969 - 2005)

Leavander Johnson was an American lightweight boxer from Atlantic City, New Jersey, who once held the International Boxing Federation version of the world title. He won the title on June 17, 2005, against the Italian fighter Stefano Zoff, winning after the referee stopped the fight in the seventh round. Johnson made his debut as a […]

Ledell Lee (1965 - 2017)

Ledell T. Lee (July 31, 1965 – April 20, 2017) was an Arkansas death row inmate executed for the 1993 murder of his neighbor, Debra Reese. He was convicted in 1995 and the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the conviction in 1997. Reese, 26-years-old at the time of her death, was found dead in her home […]

Lee Aaker (1943 - 2021)

Lee Aaker a child actor in the 1950s who starred as the orphan Rusty alongside a German shepherd on ABC’s The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin and in films including Hondo and The Atomic City, has died. He was 77. Aaker had suffered a stroke and died April 1 near Mesa, Arizona, Paul Petersen, the former Donna Reed Show star who serves as […]

Lee Baker (1875 - 1948)

Actor. He appeared in the films “Sword Of The Avenger” (1948), “Mourning Becomes Electric” (1947), “The Fighting Devil Dogs” (1938), “Soul-Fire” (1925), “The Fighting Blade” (1923), “The Kingdom Of Youth” (1918), and “Just A Woman” (1918). (bio by: K)

Lee Beggs (1870 - 1943)

Actor, Motion Picture Director. He appeared in many plays and films from 1910s through 1930s, including his role as ‘Mayor “Soapy” Caswell’ in “The Red Rider” series. He was in the original Broadway casts of “The Red Robe” (1928), and “A Woman of Destiny” (1936) Father of actor Malcolm Lee Beggs.    (bio by: Ginny […]