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Eddie Albert
Actor / 1906 - 2005
Actor Eddie Albert starred in films like The Sun Also Rises and Roman Holiday as well as the TV show Green Acres.
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(1906-2005)
Actor
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Harry Belafonte
Civil Rights Activist, Actor, Musician / 1927 -
Harry Belafonte has achieved lasting fame for such songs as "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)," and for his humanitarian work.
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(1927-)
Civil Rights Activist, Actor, Musician
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Elmer Bernstein
Songwriter / 1922 - 2004
Composer Elmer Bernstein wrote over 100 major film scores, including the music behind The Ten Commandments and Ghostbusters.
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(1922-2004)
Songwriter
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Leonard Bernstein
Songwriter, Pianist / 1918 - 1990
Leonard Bernstein was one of the first American-born conductors to receive worldwide fame. He composed the score for the Broadway musical West Side Story.
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(1918-1990)
Songwriter, Pianist
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Bertolt Brecht
Playwright, Poet / 1898 - 1956
Bertolt Brecht is best known for his plays and poems, in which he embraced anti-bourgeois themes and being forced from his native Germany.
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(1898-1956)
Playwright, Poet
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Luis Buñuel
Director, Screenwriter / 1900 - 1983
Luis Buñuel was a Spanish filmmaker known for his personal obsessions magnified in his work and his Surreal approach.
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(1900-1983)
Director, Screenwriter
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Charlie Chaplin
Comedian / 1889 - 1977
Charlie Chaplin was a comedic British actor who became one of the biggest stars of the 20th century's silent-film era.
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(1889-1977)
Comedian
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Aaron Copland
Songwriter, Conductor / 1900 - 1990
For nearly four decades, American composer Aaron Copland achieved a distinctive musical characterization of American themes in an expressive modern style.
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(1900-1990)
Songwriter, Conductor
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José Ferrer
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor, Director / 1912 - 1992
American actor and director José Ferrer was perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning performance in the title role of the film Cyrano de Bergerac.
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(1912-1992)
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor, Director
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Dashiell Hammett
Author / 1894 - 1961
Dashiell Hammett was an American writer of hard-boiled crime fiction, including the novels The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man.
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(1894-1961)
Author
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Lillian Hellman
Editor, Playwright, Screenwriter / 1905 - 1984
Lillian Hellman was a playwright and screenwriter whose dramas attacked injustice, exploitation and selfishness.
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(1905-1984)
Editor, Playwright, Screenwriter
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Judy Holliday
Film Actress, Theater Actress / 1921 - 1965
Actress Judy Holliday was know for playing dumb but good-natured characters. She won an Academy award for best actress in the film Born Yesterday.
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(1921-1965)
Film Actress, Theater Actress
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Lena Horne
Civil Rights Activist, Actress, Dancer, Pin-up, Singer / 1917 - 2010
Actress and singer Lena Horne was one of the most popular performers of her time, known for films such as The Wiz and her trademark song, "Stormy Weather."
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(1917-2010)
Civil Rights Activist, Actress, Dancer, Pin-up, Singer
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Langston Hughes
Playwright, Poet / 1902 - 1967
Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist, and playwright whose African-American themes made him a primary contributor to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.
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(1902-1967)
Playwright, Poet
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Burl Ives
Film Actor, Singer / 1909 - 1995
Actor and singer Burl Ives recorded more than 100 albums during his lifetime. His hits include “Frosty the Snowman” and “The Blue Tail Fly.”
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(1909-1995)
Film Actor, Singer
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Garson Kanin
Director / 1912 - 1999
Garson Kanin directed Hollywood films for RKO studios, but is best known for the freelance projects he collaborated with his wife, actress Ruth Gordon.
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(1912-1999)
Director
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Gypsy Rose Lee
Dancer, Pin-up / 1911 - 1970
Gypsy Rose Lee rose from an early life in vaudeville to America's most famed burlesque performers, becoming the subject of the Broadway show Gypsy.
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(1911-1970)
Dancer, Pin-up
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Burgess Meredith
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor / 1907 - 1997
Actor Burgess Meredith appeared on stage, film and TV. Memorable roles included George in the 1939 film Of Mice and Men and Mickey Goldmill in Rocky.
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(1907-1997)
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor
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Arthur Miller
Playwright / 1915 - 2005
Arthur Miller was an American playwright whose bitting criticism of societal problems defined his genius. His best known play is Death of a Salesman.
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(1915-2005)
Playwright
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Zero Mostel
Film Actor, Theater Actor / 1915 - 1977
Stage, television and screen actor Zero Mostel won a Tony Award playing Tevye in Jerome Robbins' Fiddler on the Roof, and starred in Mel Brooks' film The Producers.
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(1915-1977)
Film Actor, Theater Actor
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Dorothy Parker
Civil Rights Activist, Journalist, Poet / 1893 - 1967
Dorothy Parker was the sharpest wit of the Algonquin Round Table, as well as a master of short fiction and a blacklisted screenwriter.
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(1893-1967)
Civil Rights Activist, Journalist, Poet
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Paul Robeson
Civil Rights Activist, Actor, Football Player, Lawyer, Singer / 1898 - 1976
Paul Robeson was an acclaimed 20th century performer known for productions like The Emperor Jones and Othello. He was also an international activist.
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(1898-1976)
Civil Rights Activist, Actor, Football Player, Lawyer, Singer
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Pete Seeger
Children's Activist, Civil Rights Activist, Environmental Activist, Anti-War Activist, Songwriter, Guitarist, Singer / 1919 -
American folk singer Pete Seeger is an iconic figure in the mid-20th century, and is best known for his contributions to the American folk music revival.
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(1919-)
Children's Activist, Civil Rights Activist, Environmental Activist, Anti-War Activist, Songwriter, Guitarist, Singer
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Artie Shaw
Songwriter / 1910 - 2004
Artie Shaw was known for his role as a 1930's and 1940's jazz bandleader and clarinetist, known as the "King of the Clarinet".
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(1910-2004)
Songwriter
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Orson Welles
Film Actor, Director / 1915 - 1985
Orson Welles wrote, directed and starred in the film Citizen Kane, among others, which remains one of the most influential films ever made.
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(1915-1985)
Film Actor, Director