FOUND A GRAVE

Charles Laughton (1899 - 1962)

Charles Laughton In 1927, Laughton began a relationship with Elsa Lanchester, at the time a cast mate in a stage play. The two were married in 1929, became US citizens in 1950, and remained together until Laughton’s death. Over the years, they appeared together in several films, including Rembrandt (1936), Tales of Manhattan (1942) and […]

Charles Nolan (1957 - 2011)

Charles Nolan (June 5, 1957 – January 30, 2011 in New York City, New York) was an American fashion designer. He was the fifth in a family of nine children and was raised in the New City borough of Brooklyn and the New York City suburb of Massapequa, Long Island.  Nolan graduated from the Fashion […]

Charles O’Banion (1892 - 1924)

O’Banion was born to Irish Catholic parents in the small town of Maroa in Central Illinois. The O’Banion family moved to Aurora, Illinois, when Dean was a small child. In 1901, after his mother’s death, he moved to Chicago with his father and one of his brothers (a second brother, Frank, remained in Maroa). The […]

Charles Schmid (1942 - 1975)

Charles Schmid was an illegitimate child adopted by Charles and Katharine Schmid, owners and operators of Hillcrest Nursing Home in Tucson, Arizona. He had a difficult relationship with his adoptive father, whom Katharine Schmid later divorced. When Schmid tried to meet his birth mother, she angrily told him never to come back.  He did poorly […]

Charles Schulz (1922 - 2000)

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schulz grew up in Saint Paul. He was the only child of Carl Schulz, who was born in Germany, and Dena Halverson, who was Norwegian. His uncle called him “Sparky” after the horse Spark Plug in Billy DeBeck’s comic strip, Barney Google.  Schulz loved drawing and sometimes drew his family dog, […]

Charles Starkweather (1938 - 1959)

Starkweather was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the third of seven children born to Guy and Helen Starkweather. The Starkweathers were a respectable family with well-behaved children of working class background. The family was poor, but they always had the basics. Guy Starkweather was by all accounts a mild-mannered man; he was a carpenter who was […]

Charles Winninger (1884 - 1969)

He began as a vaudeville actor. His most famous stage role was as Cap’n Andy Hawks in the original production of the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical classic Show Boat in 1927, a role that he reprised – to great acclaim – in the 1932 stage revival and the 1936 film version of the show. […]

Charley Grapewin (1869 - 1956)

Born in Xenia, Ohio, Charles Ellsworth Grapewin ran away from home to be a circus acrobat which led him to work as an aerialist and trapeze artist in a traveling circus before turning to acting. He traveled all over the world with the famous P. T. Barnum circus. Interestingly, Charley Grapewin also appeared in the […]

Charley Patton (1891 - 1934)

Charley Patton Patton was born in Hinds County, Mississippi, near the town of Edwards, and lived most of his life in Sunflower County in the Mississippi Delta. Most sources say he was born in 1891, but there is some debate about this, and the years 1887 and 1894 have also been suggested. Patton’s parentage and […]

Charlie Chaplin (1889 - 1977)

Charles Spencer Chaplin was born on 16 April 1889. He was the only child of singers Charles Chaplin, Sr. and Hannah Hill. There is no official record of his birth, although Chaplin believed he was born at East Street, Walworth, in South London. His mother and father had married four years previously, at which time […]

Charlie Parker (1920 - 1955)

Charlie Parker Charles Parker, Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), also known as “Yardbird” and “Bird”, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Parker was a highly influential jazz soloist and a leading figure in the development of bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique and improvisation. Parker introduced […]

Charlie Poole (1892 - 1931)

Charlie Poole Charlie Poole & the North Carolina Ramblers were one of the most popular string bands of the 1920s. If they didn’t have the foot-stomping exuberance of their chief competitors, Georgia’s Skillet Lickers, they offered a debonair precision that was equally infectious. Infused with ragtime and pop, their music almost seemed to swing at […]

Charlie Rich (1932 - 1995)

Charlie Rich Musician Charlie Rich had several No. 1 country songs in the 1970s, including “Behind Closed Doors” and “The Most Beautiful Girl.” Commercial success came at a considerable personal price for Charlie Rich. His drinking and resulting bad behavior had spiraled out of control. His behavior came to a head in a shocking on-stage […]

Charlie Ruggles (1886 - 1970)

Charlie Ruggles was born in Los Angeles, California in 1886. Despite training to be a doctor, Ruggles soon found himself on the stage, appearing in a stock production of Nathan Hale in 1905. At Los Angeles’s Majestic Theatre, he played the romantic lead Private Jo Files in L. Frank Baum and Louis F. Gottschalk’s musical, […]

Charlie S. Abbey (1866 - 1926)

Abbey began his professional career with the independent league Beatrice, Nebraska baseball team in 1888. In 1889, Abbey played for the independent league Kearney, Nebraska baseball team and the Des Moines Prohibitionists of the Western Association. During the 1890 season, Abbey played for the St. Paul Apostles of the Western Association. In 1891, Abbey played […]

Charlie Trotter (1959 - 2013)

For five years after college, he worked and studied in Chicago, San Francisco (at the California Culinary Academy), Florida and Europe.  Trotter was the host of the 1999 PBS cooking show The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter, in which he details his recipes and cooking techniques. He likened cooking to an improvisational jazz session in […]

Charlie Waller (1935 - 2004)

Charlie Waller Founder and leader of the Country Gentlemen, died Wednesday (Aug. 18) of an apparent heart attack in the garden of his home in Gordonsville, Va. He was 69. Although Waller had been ailing the past several years, he and his group have maintained a busy concert schedule and were preparing to go on […]

Charlotta Bass (1874 - 1969)

Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass was born in Sumter, South Carolina, on February 14, 1874, to Hiram and Kate Spears. She was the sixth child of eleven. When she was twenty years old, she moved to live with her brother in Providence, Rhode Island, where she worked for the Providence Watchman. Spears worked for the Providence […]

Charlotte Dawson (1966 - 2014)

Dawson grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, after being adopted at birth. She dropped out of high school at age 16 to model in Europe and with Ford Models in New York City. A decade later she relocated to Australia where she became a familiar face on the Australian fashion scene.  In 1997, she became […]

Charlotte Greenwood (1890 - 1977)

Charlotte Greenwood (June 25, 1890 – December 28, 1977) was an American actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing around six feet tall, she was best known for her long legs and high kicks. She earned the unique praise of being, in her words, […]

Charlotte Henry (1914 - 1980)

Charlotte Virginia Henry was born in Brooklyn and began modelling at a very early age and was always fascinated by the theatre. Her family were astonished when, at only 14 years of age, she was cast in an important role in Courage, a hit Broadway play in 1928. The following year, Charlotte’s mother brought her […]

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744 - 1818)

Sophia Charlotte was born on 19 May 1744. She was the youngest daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prince of Mirow and his wife Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a small north German duchy in the Holy Roman Empire.  The children of Duke Charles were all born at the Untere Schloss […]

Charlotte Walker (1876 - 1958)

Walker made her stage debut as a teen. At nineteen she performed in London, England in a comedy called The Mummy. She performed with Richard Mansfield. Later returned to her native Texas.  Walker appeared as June in Trail of the Lonesome Pine, in 1911. She would later reprise the role in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1916 […]

Charlotte Zolotow (1915 - 2013)

Charlotte Shapiro was born in Norfolk, Virginia. She studied writing with Helen C. White at the University of Wisconsin Madison from 1933 to 1936 and then moved to New York City where she started at Harper & Bros as secretary to the children’s books editor Ursula Nordstrom.  She was married to Maurice Zolotow from 1938 […]

Charlton Heston (1923 - 2008)

Charlton Heston Heston made his feature film debut as the lead character in a 16mm production of Peer Gynt (1941), based on the Henrik Ibsen play. Shortly thereafter, he played ‘Marc Antony’ in Julius Caesar (1950), however Heston firmly stamped himself as genuine leading man material with his performance as circus manager ‘Brad Braden’ in […]

Chavela Vargas (1919 - 2012)

Although the name Chavela Vargas is associated with México and its culture, she was born in Costa Rica, in San Joaquín de Flores, as Isabel Vargas Lizano, daughter of Francisco Vargas and Herminia Lizano. She was baptized on 15 July 1919 with the forenames “María Isabel Anita Carmen de Jesús.” She had a difficult childhood: […]

Cheryl Walker (1918 - 1971)

Born in South Pasadena, California to Everett Dale and Pauline S. Walker, Cheryl Walker won the 1938 Tournament of Roses pageant leading to a brief career as a model and the beginning of a brief film career. She appeared in small, uncredited roles in several films from 1938 until her first substantial role in Chasing […]

Chesney Allen (1893 - 1982)

He was born William Ernest Chesney Allen in Battersea, London, England, married Aleta Cosette Turner in Leeds in 1926 and died in Midhurst, Sussex, England.  He began his career in straight acting, making his debut in stock at the Wimbledon Theatre, London, in 1912. As music hall comedians, they would often feature a mixture of […]

Chester Conklin (1886 - 1971)

Chester Conklin was one of three children who grew up in a violent household. When he was eight, his mother was found burned to death in the family garden. Although first judged a suicide, his father, a devoutly religious man who hoped his son would be a minister, was eventually charged with murder, but found […]

Chet Atkins (1924 - 2001)

Chet Atkins Chet Atkins was born on June 20, 1924, in Luttrell, Tennessee, near Clinch Mountain. His parents divorced when he was six, after which he was raised by his mother. He was the youngest of three boys and a girl. He started out on the ukulele, later moving on to the fiddle, but traded his brother Lowell an old […]