Famous People Born in 1931 a to z

Alvin Ailey was an American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York in 1958.

Marshall Herff Applewhite was the leader of the Heaven's Gate religious group. He was a self-proclaimed prophet. He died in the group's mass suicide in 1997.

Anne Bancroft was an Oscar Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress famous for her roles in The Miracle Worker and The Graduate. She was married to comedian and film director Mel Brooks.

British playwright and screenplay writer Peter Barnes was well known for his unique, anti-naturalistic approach to theater and film.

Claire Bloom English is a dramatic actress noted for her moving portrayals of Shakespearean heroines. She also played on stage, television, and in films.

Dominic Chianese played aging gangster Corrado "Uncle Junior" Soprano on HBO's The Sopranos.

Sam Cooke, commonly known as the King of Soul, was an African-American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer and songwriter. He had 29 top-40 hits from 1957-1964.

Actor and cultural icon James Dean starred in East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant. He was killed in a tragic car accident at age 24.

Alberto DeSalvo is best known for confessing to be the Boston Strangler.

Angie Dickinson is an American actress on film and television best known for her roles in Dressed to Kill, Ocean's Eleven and on the hit 1970s television series Police Woman.

Writer E.L. Doctorow is the author of novels such as Ragtime, Billy Bathgate and The Book of Daniel.

Actor Robert Duvall has been in some of the most acclaimed films of all time, including To Kill A Mockingbird, Apocalypse Now, Lonesome Dove and The Godfather.

Daniel Ellsberg strengthened public opposition to the Vietnam War in 1971 when he leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times.

American actor and businessman John Gavin starred in such classic films as Psycho and Midnight Lace, and was also U.S ambassador to Mexico under Ronald Reagan.

Bernice Gera became the first female umpire of a baseball game in 1972, but later resigned, reportedly because other umpires refused to work with her.

Roberto Críspulo Goizueta served as chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company. Over 16-years, he increased Coca-Cola's market value from $4 to $150 billion.

Mikhail Gorbachev was the first president of the Soviet Union, serving from 1990 to 1991. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for contributing to the break-up of the USSR.

Bill Graham was a legendary rock concert promoter who arranged tours for bands like Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones from the 1960s until the '90s.

Larry Hagman starred opposite Barbara Eden on the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie and played J.R. Ewing on the primetime drama Dallas.

Ian Holm is best known for playing Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. He also had notable parts in Alien, The Fifth Element and The Sweet Hereafter.

Country singer and songwriter George Jones was born into poverty, but became a successful musician later in life. His first hit was the 1955 song "Why Baby Why."

James Earl Jones is the American actor who voiced Darth Vader in the Star Wars film franchise. He's also known for roles in such films as The Hunt for Red October and Field of Dreams, and such shows as Frasier and Everwood.

Jim Jones was best known as the cult leader of the Peoples Temple who led more than 900 followers in a mass suicide via cyanide-laced punch known as the Jonestown Massacre.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is an Indian scientist and politician who served his country as president from 2002 to 2007.

Herb Kelleher is the founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines, one of the first airlines to offer low-cost fares by eliminating unnecessary services.

Author John Le Carré’s first published novel, Call for the Dead, introduced his ‘anti-hero’ George Smiley, who appears in most of his stories.

Mickey Mantle played for the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968, and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.

Willie Mays played professional baseball for the Giants and the Mets. He was one of the best batters and fielders at the time.

Jackie McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist and also an educator. His personal style included short phrases or irregular length.

Rita Moreno is a Puetro Rican actress, of West Side Story (1961) fame, who throughout her career has broken new ground for Latinos in entertainment.

Toni Morrison is a Nobel Prize- and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved.

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch is the founder and head of News Corporation, a global media conglomerate. He created FOX Broadcasting Company in 1986.

Mike Nichols in an American theater and film director, best known for his 1967 classic, The Graduate. He's won an Academy Award, as well as multiple Tony and Emmy Awards.

Leonard Nimoy is an actor who has played Spock in both the 1960s TV series Star Trek and several movies based on the show.

Bob Novak was a conservative TV talk show personality, most famously appearing on CNN's often-explosive Crossfire.

Regis Philbin is a well-known TV personality who co-hosted his own daytime talk show for almost three decades, also working in prime time and writing several books.

Indian cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh created the spiritual practice of dynamic meditation. He started the Rancho Rajneesh commune in Oregon in the 1980s.

Dan Rather is one of America’s most well-known journalists, having worked for CBS News for more than four decades.

Johannes Rau was a member of the Social Democratic Party Executive and chair of the party state organization before serving as president of Germany (1999-2004).

Della Reese is a singer and actress known for her gospel talents and for her role on TV's Touched by an Angel.

Charles Nelson Reilly was a Tony-Award winning actor also known for a variety of roles on TV programs, including The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and The Match Game.

Morley Safer is a television journalist known for his long tenure at the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes.

Journalist Marlene Sanders was both the first woman to anchor a nightly network newscast and the first female field correspondent in the Vietnam War.

Pop icon William Shatner is best known for his distinctive voice and his roles on Star Trek and Boston Legal.

Ike Turner made a string of R&B hits with singer and wife Tina Turner. He struggled with drug addiction and died of an accidental cocaine overdose.

Desmond Tutu is a South African Anglican cleric who is known for his role in the opposition to apartheid in South Africa.

Tom Wesselmann was a 20th century American painter associated with the Pop Art movement.

James West is an American inventor who developed the foil electret microphone, now used in 90 percent of all contemporary microphones, in 1962.

Tom Wolfe is a journalist and best-selling author well known as a proponent of the New Journalism, using fiction-writing techniques in journalism.

Boris Yeltsin was the first freely elected President of Russia. He voluntarily resigned from the post after nine years, leaving the job to Putin.