FOUND A GRAVE

Laurie 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 […]

William Holden (1918 - 1981)

William Holden Born William Franklin Beedle in O’Fallon, Illinois, he initially followed in his father’s footsteps by studying chemistry at Pasadena Junior College before he signed a contract with Paramount in 1937. His first role was an unaccredited appearance 1938’s “Prison Farm” but he became a star almost effortlessly by virtue of his starring role […]

Wallace Beery (1885 - 1949)

Wallace Beery In 1902, 16-year-old Wallace Beery joined the Ringling Brothers Circus as an assistant to the elephant trainer. He left two years later after a leopard clawed his arm. Beery next went to New York, where he found work in musical variety shows. He became a leading man in musicals and appeared on Broadway […]

Noah Beery Jr. (1913 - 1994)

Beery was born in New York City, New York, where his father was working as a stage actor. He was given his nickname “Pidge” by George M. Cohan’s sister Josie. The family moved to California in 1915 when his father began acting in motion pictures. After attending school in Los Angeles, they moved to a […]

Betty Lou Beets (1937 - 2000)

Born Betty Lou Dunevant to Margaret Louise Smithwick (April 20, 1917 – June 16, 1993) and James Garland Dunevant (September 15, 1912 – February 14, 2003), Beets was hearing-impaired since her childhood and claimed she was sexually abused by her father. According to her supporters, all of her marriages were also plagued with sexual abuse […]

John Beggs (1847 - 1925)

John Irvin Beggs was born in Philadelphia on September 17, 1847, the son of James and Mary Irvin Beggs. Both of his parents were of Scottish descent but had emigrated to the United States from Northern Ireland.  His early life was spent around Philadelphia. After his father died when he was seven years old, Beggs […]

Ena Begovic (1960 - 2000)

Actress. She won a dozen Best Actress awards and prizes over her 17 years in theater, films, and television. She appeared in 45 plays, mostly with the Croatian National Theater, in roles ranging from Desdemona in “Othello,” Gertrude in “Hamlet,” and Goneril in “King Lear,” to Antigone and Medea in “Antigone” and “Medea,” and to […]

Brendan Behan (1923 - 1964)

Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) (/ˈbiːən/ bee-ən; Irish: Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both English and Irish. He was also an Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army. Born in Dublin into […]

Fred Beir (1927 - 1980)

Frederick Edwin Beir, known as Fred Beir (September 21, 1927 – June 3, 1980), was an American actor, who appeared mostly on television.  He made guest appearances on TV series like Bonanza, Perry Mason, Maverick, The Andy Griffith Show, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone (the 1963 episode “Death Ship)”, Ben Casey, The Outer Limits, The […]

Rita Bekes (1925 - 1978)

Actress. Born in Debrecen, Hungary, she studied at the Academy of Theatre and Film Art in Budapest and made her stage debut in 1949. From 1956 to 1962 she was a member of the Attila Jozsef Theatre company, where she was praised for her performances of Shakespeare and Chekhov. Bekes appeared in four films by […]

Barbara Bel Geddes (1922 - 2005)

Actress. Born to theatrical set designer and producer norman Bel Geddes and Helen Belle Sneider in New York City. Her father recreated the family name as Bel Geddes incorporating his wife’s name into their surname. Bel Geddes made her theatrical debut at 18 in 1940 in a summer-stock production of “The School for Scandal.” She […]

Doris Belack (1926 - 2011)

Actress. She is best known for her roles as ‘Anna Wolek’ on the television soap opera “One Life to Live” and Judge Margaret Barry on television crime and court drama “Law and Order”. She also appeared in the 1982 motion picture comedy “Tootsie” and a number of television situational comedies, such as “Barney Miller” and […]

Adele Belgrade (1866 - 2024)

Stage and Motion Picture Actress. She appeared on stage and in silent films, among them the 1917 comedy/drama production of “Happiness.” Married to actor Fred J. Butler, mother of prolific director/actor David Butler.

Mary Bell (1911 - 2005)

Actress, Playwright and novelist. Widow of actor Sir John Mills. Mother of Juliet, Jonathon, and Hayley Mills. Best known for her 1958 novel “Whistle Down the Wind,” which would later become a stage production and a film starring her daughter Hayley. Mary Hayley Bell was born in Shanghai, China where her father was a customs […]

Thomas Bell (1792 - 1880)

Bell, like his mother Susan, took a keen interest in natural history which his mother also encouraged in his younger cousin Philip Henry Gosse. Bell left Poole in 1813 for his training as a dental surgeon in London. He combined two careers, becoming Professor of Zoology at King’s College London in 1836 (on the strength […]

Marie Bell (1900 - 1985)

Actress. French leading lady in late silent and early talking films. Most remembered for her classic work in “Le Grand Jeu” and “Dance Program.”

Tom Bell (1933 - 2006)

Thomas George Bell was born on 2 August 1933 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. Evacuated as a child during the Second World War, he lived with three different families in Morecambe, Lancashire. In 1948, at age 15, Bell began to act in his first school plays, and though he never dominated the performances he nonetheless demonstrated […]

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 […]

Frank Thornton (1921 - 2013)

Frank Thornton Ball was born in Dulwich, London, the son of Rosina Mary (née Thornton) and William Ernest Ball. His father was organist at St Stephen’s Church, Dulwich, and his son learned to play for a short while. Music proved too difficult for him, however, and he wanted to act from an early age. His […]

Ahmed Ben Bella (1916 - 2012)

Ben Bella volunteered for service in the French Army in 1936. The Army was one of the few avenues of advancement for Algerians under colonial rule and voluntary enlistment was common. Posted to Marseille he played center mid-field for Olympique de Marseille in 1939–1940. His only appearance for the club was in a game against […]

Walt Bellamy (1939 - 2013)

Bellamy chose to play basketball at Indiana University. “In the summer after my junior year of high school I played with some guys from Indiana,” he said. “Indiana at the time was the closest school to the South that would accept African-Americans. It was an easy transition for me to make. Not that I was […]

Diana Bellamy (1943 - 2001)

Actress. She was a character actress in theaters, television and on stage. She graduated with a master’s degree in Fine Arts from Southern Methodist University in 1970. Her acting career began in a puppet theater in Los Angeles. She was popular in regional theaters and she also appeared on television and in such movies as […]

Ralph Bellamy (1904 - 1991)

Ralph Rexford Bellamy was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was the son of Lilla Louise (née Smith), a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was 15 and managed to get into a road show. He toured with road shows before finally landing in New York. He began […]

Eleanor Belmont (1879 - 1979)

Actress, Writer. She was the author of the play, “In The Next Room” (1930), and the book, “The Case Of The Black Parrot” (1941). Born in England on December 13, 1879, she acted on stage for 10 years, but gave it up to marry, August Belmont Jr., on February 26, 1910, who she stayed married […]

Nelly Beltran (1925 - 2007)

Actress. Considered one of the most beloved Argentinian performers. Beltrán debuted on stage in the late 1940s, playing in “Las Lágrimas También Se Secan.” She then made her 1955 screen debut in “Para Vestir Santos.” During her lengthy career Beltrán played both comedic and dramatic roles and became one of the most popular faces of […]

Alma Leonor Beltran (1919 - 2007)

Actress. She appeared in over 90 television and motion picture roles, spanning a career of nearly 60 years in the entertainment industry. She began her acting career in the 1945 motion picture “Pan-Americana,” playing the uncredited role of Miss Guatemala. Over the next several years she would appear in several more non credited acting roles […]

John Belushi (1949 - 1982)

John Belushi John Belushi was born in Humboldt Park, a neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Agnes Demetri (Samaras), was the daughter of Albanian immigrants, and his father, Adam Anastos Belushi, was an Albanian immigrant, from Qytezë. John was raised in Wheaton, a Chicago suburb, along with his three siblings: younger […]

Pavel I. Belyayev (1925 - 1970)

Pavel Belyayev was one of 6 children and was known as Pasha to his family and friends. He was born on 26 June 1925, in Chelishchevo, in what is now Babushkinsky District, Vologda Oblast. In 1932 his family moved to the nearby village of Minkovo. His father was a physician’s assistant and his mother worked […]

Ray Corrigan (1902 - 1976)

Ray Corrigan’s career in Hollywood began as a physical fitness instructor and physical culture trainer to the stars. In the early 1930s he did stunts and bit parts in several films. Many of his early roles were in ape costumes, for example, as a gorilla in Tarzan and His Mate (1934) and an “orangopoid” in […]

Malik Bendjelloul (1977 - 2014)

Bendjelloul was born in Ystad in Sweden, 55 kilometres (34 mi) east of Malmö, the son of Algerian-born physician Hacène Bendjelloul and Swedish translator and painter Veronica Schildt Bendjelloul. He was the brother of journalist Johar Bendjelloul and the nephew of actors Peter and Johan Schildt. Bendjelloul grew up in central and southern Sweden (Ängelholm) […]