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Vincent Drucci (1898 - 1927)

Mafia figure. He was a hated sicilian gangster who was in the West Side Irish gang under Dion O’Bannion of Chicago. He was killed in a police car by Detective Danny Healy. Four bullets struck and killed him. He was buried in typical gangland fashion. His silver casket cost $10,000 and more than $30,000 in […]

Vincent Rao (1898 - 1988)

Organized Crime Figure. Consigliere of the Luchese Organized Crime Family during the reign of Family Boss Thomas (Three Finger Brown) Luchese. He operated out of 107th Street in Manhattan, New York from the 1920’s until the early 1970’s. He retired to Florida and died there of natural causes in 1988, at the age of 90.

Vincent Sherman (1906 - 2006)

Vincent Sherman was born Abraham Orovitz, to Jewish parents. He was born and grew up in the small town of Vienna, Georgia, where his father was a dry-goods salesman. Not long after graduating from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, he became a professional actor. Vincent Sherman arrived in New York to sell a play and soon became […]

Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890)

Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890) was a Post-Impressionist painter of Dutch origin whose work—notable for its rough beauty, emotional honesty, and bold color—had a far-reaching influence on 20th-century art. After years of painful anxiety and frequent bouts of mental illness, he died aged 37 from a gunshot wound, generally […]

Vincente Minnelli (1903 - 1986)

Vincente Minnelli born and baptized as Lester Anthony Minnelli in Chicago, he was the youngest of four known sons, only two of whom survived to adulthood, born to Marie Émilie Odile Lebeau (stage name: Mina Gennell) and Vincent Charles Minnelli. His father was musical conductor of Minnelli Brothers’ Tent Theater. His Chicago-born mother was of […]

Vincenzo Genna (1970 - 1970)

Gangster. Fled to Sicily with Peter and Sam after their brothers’ murders. They returned to Chicago, and divorced themselves from the rackets to run an olive oil importing firm.

Viola Allen (1867 - 1948)

Allen was born in Huntsville, Alabama in 1867 (some sources say 1869 see discussion), the daughter of actors C. Leslie Allen and Sarah Lyon. She moved to Boston at three years of age and later moved with her family to Toronto. She was educated at the Bishop Strachan School, her brothers being educated at Trinity […]

Virgil Akins (1928 - 2011)

Virgil Akins Was an American boxer who won the undisputed Welterweight Championship of the World in 1958. Nicknamed ‘Honeybear’, Akins was the first World Champion boxer from St. Louis. Akins was born and died in St. Louis, Missouri. Akins was considered lanky, but proved nevertheless to be a powerful hitter with either hand. He began […]

Virginia Brissac (1883 - 1979)

Virginia Brissac was born in San Jose, California and later raised in San Francisco. She was the daughter of B. F. Brissac, a well-to-do Bay Area insurance executive, and was said to be a niece of the actress Mary Shaw. As a young girl she began a collection of autographs that would grow to include […]

Virginia Bruce (1910 - 1982)

Born Helen Virginia Briggs in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When she was one month old, she moved to Fargo, North Dakota, with her parents, Earil and Margaret Briggs. According to the Fargo City Directory, the Briggs family lived at 421 14th Street South, Fargo. After she graduated from Fargo Central High School in 1928, she moved with […]

Virginia Capers (1925 - 2004)

Born in Sumter, South Carolina, Capers attended Howard University and studied voice at the Juilliard School in New York City. She made her Broadway debut in the musical Jamaica in 1957 as the understudy for Adelaide Hall in the role of Grandma Obeah, taking over the role when Hall left the show. Capers went on to […]

Virginia Cherrill (1908 - 1996)

Virginia Cherrill was born on a farm in rural Carthage, Illinois, to James E. and Blanche (née Wilcox) Cherrill. She initially did not plan on a film career, but her friendship with Sue Carol (who would later marry Alan Ladd) eventually drew her to Hollywood. She had been voted “Queen of the Artists Ball” in […]

Virginia Davis (1918 - 2009)

Virginia Davis began working for Walt Disney’s Kansas City company, Laugh-O-Gram Studio, in the summer of 1924. She was hired to act in a film called Alice’s Wonderland, which combined live action with animation. When Laugh-O-Gram failed and Disney moved to Los Angeles, on the basis of Alice’s Wonderland Winkler Pictures signed Disney for a […]

Virginia E. Johnson (1925 - 2013)

Virginia Johnson was born in Springfield, Missouri, the daughter of Edna (née Evans) and Hershel “Harry” Eshelman, a farmer. Her paternal grandparents were members of the LDS Church, and her father had Hessian ancestry. When she was five, her family moved to Palo Alto, California, where her father worked as a groundskeeper for a hospital. […]

Virginia Grey (1917 - 2004)

Virginia Grey (March 22, 1917 – July 31, 2004) was an American actress and singer. She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of director Ray Grey. One of her early babysitters was movie star Gloria Swanson. Grey debuted at the age of ten in the silent film Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1927) as Little […]

Virginia Hill (1916 - 1966)

One of the most famous female mobsters. Hill was a courier for the national crime syndicate, shuttling thousands of dollars from one mobster to the next, even overseas. On a mission to Mexico, she was able to pave the way for future drug smuggling routes. She purportedly slept with many gangsters, but was Bugsy Siegel’s […]

Virginia Mayo (1920 - 2005)

Born Virginia Clara Jones in St. Louis, Missouri, she was the daughter of newspaper reporter Luke and wife Martha Henrietta (née Rautenstrauch) Jones. Her family had roots running back to the earliest days of St. Louis, including great-great-great grandfather Captain James Piggott, who founded East St. Louis, Illinois in 1797. Young Virginia’s aunt operated an […]

Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau (1859 - 1915)

Gautreau was born Virginie Amélie Avegno in New Orleans, Louisiana, on 29 January 1859, the daughter of Anatole Placide Avegno (3 July 1835 – 7 April 1862) and Marie Virginie de Ternant of Parlange Plantation, a descendant of French nobility. She had a sister, Valentine, who died of yellow fever. Her parents were white Creoles; […]

Virna Lisi (1936 - 2014)

Ancona-born Virna Lisi began her film career in her teens. Discovered in Paris by two Neapolitan producers, Antonio Ferrigno and Ettore Pesce, she debuted in La corda d’acciaio (The Steel Rope, 1953). Initially, she did musical films, like E Napoli canta (Napoli Sings, 1953) and the successful Questa è la vita (Of Life and Love, […]

Vito Bonventre (1875 - 1930)

Vito Bonventre Organized Crime Figure. He was an underboss to Salvatore Maranzano during the Castellmmarese War (1930 to 1931). He was shot to death by gunmen of Joe “the Boss” Masseria in the driveway of his Brooklyn home. He was a second cousin of Mafia boss Joseph Bonanno.

Vito Cascioferro (1862 - 2024)

Cascioferro is considered to be the mastermind behind the murder of New York policeman and head of the Italian Squad, Joe Petrosino, on March 12, 1909. He was shot and killed in Piazza Marina in Palermo; two men were seen running from the crime scene. Petrosino had gone to Sicily to gather information from local […]

Vito Genovese (1897 - 1969)

Vito Genovese Organized Crime Figure. Born in Naples, Italy. He and his family came to the United States in 1912, and lived in Queens, New York. Later, he moved to lower Manhattan to live with relatives. Vito started his criminal career stealing merchandise from pushcart vendors and running errands for mobsters. He later collected money […]

Vivien Leigh (1913 - 1967)

Vivien Leigh After finishing her primary education she decided to pursue acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art when she was 18. For the next few years her career consisted of stage work and small film roles. In 1937 her first marriage with dissolved and she took up residence with actor Laurence Olivier. It […]

Vola Vale (1897 - 1970)

She was born Vola Smith in Buffalo, New York. Vale was educated in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She began her career in amateur theatricals in Rochester, New York. Then she played in stock companies for a while.  Her first movie experience was with Biograph, under the tutelage of the great film director D.W. Griffith. After a […]

Vonetta McGee (1945 - 2010)

Born in San Francisco, California, to Lawrence McGee and Alma McGee (née Scott), McGee graduated from San Francisco Polytechnic High School in 1962. She enrolled at San Francisco State University and became involved in acting groups on campus. McGee landed her first role in 1967, when she performed alongside Jean-Louis Trintignant and Klaus Kinski in Sergio […]