American television personality Steve Allen is best known as the first host of The Tonight Show. He also starred on The Benny Goodman Show, and was an accomplished musician, composer, author and actor.
1921-2000
1921-
1921-2007
American economist Kenneth Arrow is known for his contributions to welfare economics and to general economic equilibrium theory. He won a Nobel Prize in 1972.
1921-
One of Great Britain's leading male actors in the 1950s, Dirk Bogarde is known for his complex roles in the dark films Death in Venice (1912), Victim (1961) and The Night Porter (1974).
1921-1999
Jean-Bedel Bokassa was the president of the Central African Republic (1966-1976) and a self-proclaimed emperor of the Central African Empire (1976-1979).
1921-1996
1921-
Don Brinkley is known for his work on several TV programs, including Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Untouchables and The Fugitive. He is the legal father of supermodel Christie Brinkley.
1921-2012
American film Charles Bronson is best known for playing tough-guy, vigilante roles in films like The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Death Wish (1974).
1921-2003
1921-1973
1921-1993
Carol Channing starred as Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on Broadway in 1949. She received a Tony lifetime achievement award in 1995.
1921-
Caryl Chessman is best known for his controversial conviction for sex crimes and his execution in 1960.
1921-1960
1921-1998
1921-2003
Rodney Dangerfield was a stand-up comedian and actor known for his "I don't get no respect" routine. He starred in the hit movie comedies, Caddyshack and Back to School, during the 1980s.
1921-2004
Ferdinand Waldo Demara, Jr. traveled the country posing as a Navy officer, a surgeon, a teacher, and more, beginning in the 1940s. He is known as the "Great Imposter" for pulling off some of the greatest identity hoaxes in history.
1921-1982
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is best known as the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, the father of Prince Charles and the grandfather of Prince William.
1921-
1921-1975
Writer, feminist and women's rights activist Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique (1963) and co-founded the National Organization for Women.
1921-2006
Erroll Garner was a virtuosic and popular jazz pianist known for creating one of the best-selling albums in jazz, Concert by the Sea (1958).
1921-1977
1921-2004
John Glenn was the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth, completing three orbits in 1962. He has also served as an Ohio senator.
1921-
Alex Haley was an American writer whose works of historical fiction and reportage depicted the struggles of African Americans.
1921-1992
Republican, Jesse Helms was a United States Senator from North Carolina who served for five terms (1973-2003). He was known for his right-wing politics and opposition to civil rights legislation.
1921-2008
Director George Roy Hill produced some of the most popular films of the 1960s and 1970s, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
1921-2002
1921-1965
A popular film actress of the 1940s and 1950s, Betty Hutton starred in such films as Annie Get Your Gun and Greatest Show on Earth.
1921-2007
Deborah Kerr was a Scottish actress known for the poise and serenity she exhibited in portraying complex, prim characters.
1921-2007
1921-
John Lindsay was a U.S. congressman and was the mayor of New York City during the 1960s. He is known for his "ghetto walks" and clashes with labor groups.
1921-2000
Civil rights leader, social activist and minister Joseph Lowery has fought against prejudice and discrimination against African-Americans for more than 50 years.
1921-
1921-1994
1921-2008
1921-1991
1921-1999
Constance Baker Motley was a legal advocate in the Civil Rights Movement. She became the first female African-American federal judge in 1966.
1921-2005
Johnny Otis was a bandleader, drummer, vibraphonist, singer, producer and promoter who discovered artists like Etta James, Jackie Wilson and Big Mama Thornton.
1921-2012
1921-1991
1921-1992
Nancy Reagan is a former first lady of the United States, the widow of Ronald Reagan, who founded the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign.
1921-
Actress Donna Reed charmed audiences in the film It's a Wonderful Life and on television's The Donna Reed Show.
1921-1986
1921-2000
1921-1985
Sugar Ray Robinson was an American professional boxer who is frequently cited as the greatest boxer in history.
1921-1989
American writer and producer Gene Rodenberry created the immensely influential Star Trek television series in the 1960s.
1921-1991
1921-
German actress Simone Signoret performed in films like Room at the Top and Les Diaboliques, and met with international stardom. She married Yves Allegret in 1944, and later wed Yves Montand.
1921-1985
Toni "Tomboy" Stone made history in 1953 when she joined the Negro Leagues, making her the first woman ever to play professionally in a men's league.
1921-1996
Lana Turner was a film actress and sex symbol who was "discovered" while drinking soda at a diner counter. She made over 50 films and was married seven times.
1921-1995
Peter Ustinov was an English actor, writer and director who is known for his Oscar-winning performances in Spartacus (1960) and Topkapi (1964).
1921-2004
Mona Jane Van Duyn was a National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and academic.
1921-2004
Abe Vigoda has been a popular character actor in television and film for more than four decades. He landed his film break with a role in The Godfather.
1921-
Sam J. Wagstaff was an important art curator and collector of photography. He was also a companion and benefactor of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.
1921-1987
Actress Esther Williams, nicknamed “America’s Mermaid,” helped popularize synchronized swimming through a string of hugely popular films in the 1940s and 1950s.
1921-
Rosalyn S. Yalow was a Nobel Prize-winning medical physicist who conducted groundbreaking research on type II diabetes.
1921-
1921-1971