FOUND A GRAVE

Margaret Dumont (1882 - 1965)

Margaret Dumont was born Daisy Juliette Baker in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of William and Harriet Anna (née Harvey) Baker. As a child, she lived in the South, where she was mainly raised by her godfather, writer Joel Chandler Harris. She grew to stand 5′ 9″ (1.75 m). Margaret Dumont trained as an operatic singer […]

Ma Baker (1873 - 1935)

Born Arizona Clark, in Ash Grove, Missouri, she was known as “Arrie”. In 1892 she married George Barker, in Lawrence Co., MO. The couple had four boys, named Herman (1893-1927), Lloyd (1897-1949), Arthur (1899-1939) and Fred (1901-1935). It appears from the 1910 to 1930 censuses and the Tulsa City Directories from 1916 to 1928 that […]

Roy Ward Baker (1916 - 2010)

Born in London where his father was a Billingsgate fish merchant, Roy Ward Baker was educated at a Lycée in Rouen, France, and at the City of London School. From 1934 to 1939, he worked for Gainsborough Pictures, a British film production company based in the Islington district of London. His first jobs were menial, […]

Vernon Baker (1919 - 2010)

Baker was born on December 17, 1919, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the youngest of three children. After his parents died in a car accident when he was four, he and his two sisters were raised by their grandparents. His grandfather Joseph S. Baker, a railroad worker in Cheyenne, taught him to hunt in order to feed […]

Lena Baker (1900 - 1945)

Baker was born June 8, 1900, to a poor black family of sharecroppers and raised near Cuthbert, Georgia. Her family moved to the county seat when she was a child. As a youth, she worked for a farmer named J.A. Cox, chopping cotton.  By the 1940s, Baker was the mother of three children and worked […]

William Bakewell (1908 - 1993)

Bakewell, educated at Los Angeles Harvard Military School, began his film career as an extra in the silent movie Fighting Blood (1924), and went on to appear in some 170 films and television shows. He had supporting roles at the end of the silent era and reached the peak of his career around 1930. He […]

Bonnie Lee Bakley (1956 - 2001)

Bonnie Lee Bakley Born in Morristown, New Jersey to Edward and Marjorie Bakley. She was raised by and lived with her grandmother. Bonny dropped out of high school and decided to go to New York City to pursue a career in modeling and acting at the Barbizon School of Modeling. She was unsuccessful, however, in […]

Alphonse Balat (1818 - 1895)

Balat was born in Gochenée. He studied at the Academie of Namur and obtained his degree in architecture from the Academy of Antwerp in 1838. In 1839 he stayed in Paris for a year but returned after his father’s death. He was soon discovered by the Walloon nobility for which he built or renovated a […]

Michael Balcon (1896 - 1977)

Born in Birmingham, Michael Balcon was the youngest son and fourth of five children of Louis Balcon (c. 1858–1946) and his wife, Laura (née Greenberg; c. 1863–1934), Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who had met in Britain. Growing up in a respectable but impoverished setting, in 1907 Balcon won a scholarship to Birmingham’s George Dixon […]

Jill Balcon (1925 - 2009)

Jill Angela Henriette Balcon (3 January 1925 – 18 July 2009) was an English film and radio actress. Jill Balcon made her film debut in Nicholas Nickleby (1947), though she was best known for her stage, television, and radio work. Balcon was born in Westminster, London, the daughter of Aileen Freda Leatherman (1904–1988) and Michael Balcon. […]

James Baldwin (1924 - 1987)

One of the 20th century’s greatest writers, Baldwin broke new literary ground with the exploration of racial and social issues in his many works. He was especially well known for his essays on the black experience in America. Baldwin was born to a young single mother, Emma Jones, at Harlem Hospital. She reportedly never told […]

Bill Baldwin (1913 - 1982)

Actor, Radio Announcer. Appeared in motion pictures and on television from the 1950s to the 1980s. Often played the “announcer” in his many roles.

Henry Baldwin (1780 - 1844)

Descended from an aristocratic British family dating back to the seventeenth century, Baldwin was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Michael Baldwin and Theodora Walcott. He is the half-brother of Abraham Baldwin. He attended Hopkins School, and received a B.A at age 17 from Yale College in 1797, he attended Litchfield Law School […]

Irving Berlin (1888 - 1989)

Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Baline, May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born Jewish-American composer and lyricist. Widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history, his music forms a great part of the Great American Songbook. He published his first song, “Marie from Sunny Italy”, in 1907, receiving 37 cents […]

Lucille Ball (1911 - 1989)

Lucille Ball Legendary comedic actress, best known for the title role in the hit television sitcom of the 1950’s “I Love Lucy.” She was born Lucille Desiree Ball was on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. Intent on becoming an actress, she left high school at age 15, and tried unsuccessfully to get into […]

Carl Ballantine (1917 - 2009)

Entertainer. Fondly remembered for his role as ‘Lester Gruber’ in the television series “McHale’s Navy” (1962-1966). Born Meyer Kessler in Chicago, he would strive to become a magician at an early age after he was impressed by his barber who performed magic tricks for him. not long into his career which began during the early […]

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.

Martin Balsam (1919 - 1996)

Actor. Born to parents of Jewish descent, he experienced his first taste of acting as a villain in an amateur production of “Pot Boiler” in 1935 and after his graduation from DeWitt Clinton High School, he toiled at several occupations. He decided to pursue a career in acting and went onto appear in several off-Broadway […]

John H. Balsley (1823 - 1895)

John H. Balsley (May 29, 1823 – March 12, 1895) was a master carpenter and inventor, inventing a practical folding wooden stepladder and receiving the first U.S. patent issued for a safety stepladder.  He was born in Connellsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania to George H. and Sarah (Shallenberger) Balsley. His father was also a carpenter. An […]

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).

John Bambury (1891 - 1960)

Actor. Born in Pennsylvania, he was a dwarf best remembered for his role as a Munchkin in the film, “The Wizard of Oz” (1939). A popular character performer, his other credits included “The Plot Thickens” (1936), “The Terror of Tiny Town” (1938), “Maisie Was a Lady” (1941), Lady in the Dark” (1944) “Superman and the […]

Effie Bancroft (2024 - 2024)

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 […]

Anne Bancroft (1931 - 2005)

Actress, Stage, Screen, Television. Her career spanned half a century. Anne Bancroft was a prolific award winner for her excellent acting. Nominated for an Academy Award four times, she won once then was a two time winner of both Tony and Emmy Awards. However, her role as ‘Mrs. Robinson’ in the “Graduate” was her defining […]

Lester Bangs (1948 - 1982)

Bangs was born in Escondido, California, the son of Norma Belle (née Clifton) and Conway Leslie Bangs, a truck driver. Both of his parents were from Texas; his father from Enloe, and his mother from Pecos County. Norma Belle was a devout Jehovah’s Witness. Conway died in a fire when his son was young. When […]

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 II, and her father, William Brockman Bankhead, served as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Her uncle was US Senator John H. Bankhead and her aunt Marie Bankhead Owen became Director of the Alabama […]

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 […]

Vilma Banky (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 […]

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 […]

Trevor Bannister (1934 - 2011)

In 1960 Bannister appeared on stage at the Cambridge Theatre in London in Billy Liar, which starred Albert Finney. He starred as Darkie Pilbeam, a wartime spiv, in the 1968 television series The War of Darkie Pilbeam, and from 1969 to 1970 he appeared as “Heavy Breathing” in Jack Rosenthal’s sitcom, The Dustbinmen. Shortly afterwards, […]

Meena Kumari (1932 - 1972)

Meena Kumari was the third daughter of Ali Baksh and Iqbal Begum. Khursheed and Madhu were her two elder sisters. At the time of her birth, her parents were unable to pay the fees of the doctor who had delivered her, so her father left her at a Muslim orphanage. However, he picked her up […]