b
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Christian Brando
Artist, Murderer / 1958 - 2008
Christian Brando was the eldest son of Hollywood legend Marlon Brando. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for killing his half-sister’s boyfriend.
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(1958-2008)
Artist, Murderer
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William F. Buckley Jr.
Political Scientist, Television Personality, Academic Author, Journalist / 1925 - 2008
William F. Buckley was a writer and political TV personality who helped make conservative politics popular in the 1950s-1970s.
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(1925-2008)
Political Scientist, Television Personality, Academic Author, Journalist
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George Carlin
Film Actor, Comedian / 1937 - 2008
Actor, writer, and comedian George Carlin was known for his stand-up routines as well as TV appearances and roles in such films as 1987's Outrageous Fortune.
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(1937-2008)
Film Actor, Comedian
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Arthur C. Clarke
Author / 1917 - 2008
An author of more than 100 books, Arthur C. Clarke’s imagination and insight influenced modern science via works like his classic 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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(1917-2008)
Author
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Michael Crichton
Director, Producer, Doctor, Television Producer, Author / 1942 - 2008
Michael Crichton was an American author best known for his sci-fi and medical thrillers. The movie based on his book, Jurassic Park, was one of the highest-grossing films in history.
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(1942-2008)
Director, Producer, Doctor, Television Producer, Author
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Aimé Césaire
Mayor, Playwright, Poet / 1913 - 2008
Aimé Césaire was a cofounder (with Léopold Sédar Senghor) of Negritude, an influential movement to restore the cultural identity of black Africans.
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(1913-2008)
Mayor, Playwright, Poet
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Larry Davis
Murderer, Thief / 1966 - 2008
The arrest and trial of Larry Davis, arrested after a 1986 shootout with the NYPD, drew national interest and ignited racial tensions in New York City.
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(1966-2008)
Murderer, Thief
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Michael DeBakey
Educator, Inventor, Doctor, Surgeon / 1908 - 2008
Michael DeBakey was an American cardiovascular surgeon and surgical pioneer.
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(1908-2008)
Educator, Inventor, Doctor, Surgeon
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Bo Diddley
Songwriter, Guitarist, Singer / 1928 - 2008
Bo Diddley, with his infectious rhythms and strong guitar work, was one of the early pioneers of rock and roll music.
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(1928-2008)
Songwriter, Guitarist, Singer
e
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Alton Ellis
Musician / 1938 - 2008
Alton Ellis was a Jamaican singer and songwriter with a smooth vocal style, known widely as the "Godfather of Rocksteady," a slow, soulful Jamaican music genre.
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(1938-2008)
Musician
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William Mark Felt
Government Official / 1914 - 2008
William Mark Felt was an associate director of the FBI who became a secret informant and broke the Watergate story to reporters.
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(1914-2008)
Government Official
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Bobby Fischer
Chess Player / 1943 - 2008
Bobby Fischer is best known for being the first American grandmaster of chess.
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(1943-2008)
Chess Player
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Estelle Getty
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress / 1923 - 2008
Estelle Getty played Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls, and was one of television’s most popular comedic actresses of the 1980s.
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(1923-2008)
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress
h
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Isaac Hayes
Actor, Musician / 1942 - 2008
Issac Hayes was an American musician. His hit song "Soul Man" and the musical score for the 1971 film Shaft are legendary contributions to modern music.
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(1942-2008)
Actor, Musician
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Jesse Helms
U.S. Representative / 1921 - 2008
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.
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(1921-2008)
U.S. Representative
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Charlton Heston
Film Actor / 1923 - 2008
Charlton Heston was an American film actor best known for his roles in Antony and Cleopatra, The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur and Planet of the Apes (1968).
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(1923-2008)
Film Actor
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Edmund Hillary
Athlete, Explorer, Philanthropist / 1919 - 2008
20th century explorer and mountaineer Edmund Hillary was the first to reach the peak of Mt. Everest along with fellow climber Tenzing Norgay.
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(1919-2008)
Athlete, Explorer, Philanthropist
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Samuel P. Huntington
Political Scientist / 1927 - 2008
Samuel P. Huntington was a political scientist who wrote the influential book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order.
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(1927-2008)
Political Scientist
k
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Eartha Kitt
Actress / 1927 - 2008
Singer and actress Eartha Kitt is best known for her holiday song "Santa Baby," and for playing Catwoman in the 1960's TV show Batman.
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(1927-2008)
Actress
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Tom Lantos
U.S. Representative / 1928 - 2008
Tom Lantos was a 14-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of California, as well as the first and only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress.
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(1928-2008)
U.S. Representative
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Heath Ledger
Film Actor / 1979 - 2008
Heath Ledger was an Academy Award-winning, Australian actor best known for his roles in Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight. He died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in 2008.
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| Watch video
(1979-2008)
Film Actor
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Mildred Loving
Civil Rights Activist / 1939 - 2008
Mildred Loving was a Civil Rights activist in the 1960s. She and her husband successfully defeated Virginia's ban on interracial marriage.
See full bio
(1939-2008)
Civil Rights Activist
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Bernie Mac
Actor, Comedian / 1957 - 2008
Bernie Mac was a standup comedian and actor on film and television known for his "Bernie Mac Show" and appearance in the "Ocean's 11" films.
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| Watch video
(1957-2008)
Actor, Comedian
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Miriam Makeba
Civil Rights Activist, Singer / 1932 - 2008
Miriam Makeba, also known as "Mama Africa," was a popular South-African singer who introduced Xhosa and Zulu songs to Western audiences. She is best known for the songs "Pata Pata," "The Click Song" and "Malaika."
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(1932-2008)
Civil Rights Activist, Singer
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Jim McKay
Television Personality / 1921 - 2008
Jim McKay is one of the most famous sportscasters in the history of television. He hosted ABC's Wide World of Sports and was a frequent Olympic commentator.
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(1921-2008)
Television Personality
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Anthony Minghella
Director, Television Producer, Playwright, Screenwriter / 1954 - 2008
Anthony Minghella was an Academy Award-winning director best known for his adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient. Released in 1996, the film claimed the Oscar for best picture in 1997.
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(1954-2008)
Director, Television Producer, Playwright, Screenwriter
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Warith Deen Mohammed
Religious Leader / 1933 - 2008
Warith Deen Mohammed was a religious leader and son and successor of Elijah Muhammad as head of the Nation of Islam, which he reformed.
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(1933-2008)
Religious Leader
n
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Paul Newman
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor, Race Car Driver, Entrepreneur / 1925 - 2008
Paul Newman came to be known as one of the finest actors of his time. He also started the Newman's Own food company, which donates all profits to charity.
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| Watch video
(1925-2008)
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor, Race Car Driver, Entrepreneur
o
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Odetta
Civil Rights Activist, Songwriter, Singer / 1930 - 2008
Folk singer Odetta’s music has been called the soundtrack of the Civil Rights movement. Her work inspired musicians from Bob Dylan to Joan Baez.
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(1930-2008)
Civil Rights Activist, Songwriter, Singer
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Bettie Page
Pin-up / 1923 - 2008
Bettie Page was a Playboy pin-up model and sex symbol of the 1950s. Her straight black bangs and innocent, playful attitude made her a fashion icon.
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(1923-2008)
Pin-up
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George E. Palade
Biologist / 1912 - 2008
Biologist George Emil Palade studied cell structure and discovered ribosomes. He won a 1974 Nobel Prize for his research.
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(1912-2008)
Biologist
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Deborah Jeane Palfrey
White Collar Criminal / 1956 - 2008
Deborah Jeane Palfrey was the leader of a large Washington-based prostitution ring and became known as the D.C. Madame.
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(1956-2008)
White Collar Criminal
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Harold Pinter
Activist, Playwright, Poet, Screenwriter / 1930 - 2008
Harold Pinter is a renowned British playwright who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005.
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(1930-2008)
Activist, Playwright, Poet, Screenwriter
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Suzanne Pleshette
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress / 1937 - 2008
Suzanne Pleshette was an Emmy Award-nominated actress known for roles in films like The Geisha Boy and The Birds, as well as the television series The Bob Newhart Show.
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(1937-2008)
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress
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Sydney Pollack
Film Actor, Television Actor, Director, Producer / 1934 - 2008
Sydney Pollack is an Oscar-winning film director, producer and actor. His director credits include Tootsie and Three Days of the Condor.
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| Watch video
(1934-2008)
Film Actor, Television Actor, Director, Producer
r
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Robert Rauschenberg
Painter, Sculptor / 1925 - 2008
American artist Robert Rauschenberg is best known for paving the way for pop art of the 1960's with fellow artist Jasper Johns.
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(1925-2008)
Painter, Sculptor
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Jerry Reed
Film Actor, Guitarist, Singer / 1937 - 2008
Jerry Reed was an American musician and actor best known for his Grammy hit "When You're Hot, You're Hot," and for the film Smokey and the Bandit.
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(1937-2008)
Film Actor, Guitarist, Singer
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Brad Renfro
Film Actor / 1982 - 2008
Brad Renfro was a young Hollywood actor who became more famous for the trouble he was always in than for his acting.
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(1982-2008)
Film Actor
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Tim Russert
Lawyer, Talk Show Host, News Anchor, Journalist / 1950 - 2008
Tim Russert was a one-time political counsel who became a journalist and the longtime host of the public affairs show Meet the Press.
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(1950-2008)
Lawyer, Talk Show Host, News Anchor, Journalist
s
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Yves Saint Laurent
Fashion Designer / 1936 - 2008
Yves Saint Laurent was best known as an influential European fashion designer who impacted fashion in the 1960s to the present day.
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(1936-2008)
Fashion Designer
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Roy Scheider
Film Actor / 1932 - 2008
Actor Roy Scheider landed his breakthrough role in 1971’s Klute, and later played Police Chief Martin Brody in the Steven Spielberg-directed film Jaws.
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(1932-2008)
Film Actor
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Paul Scofield
Actor / 1922 - 2008
British actor Paul Scofield is one of only a handful of actors who have won an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony.
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(1922-2008)
Actor
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Barbara Seaman
Activist, Journalist / 1935 - 2008
Writer and social activist Barbara Seaman warned about the dangers of high-estrogen birth control pills and cofounded the National Women's Health Network.
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(1935-2008)
Activist, Journalist
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Arthur Shawcross
Serial Killer / 1945 - 2008
Serial killer Arthur Shawcross murdered 11 women from 1988 to 1990 in upstate New York, earning the nickname "The Genessee River Killer."
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(1945-2008)
Serial Killer
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Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Educator, Activist, Journalist, Author / 1918 - 2008
Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist and historian, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970.
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(1918-2008)
Educator, Activist, Journalist, Author
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Studs Terkel
Radio Talk Show Host, Journalist / 1912 - 2008
Studs Terkel was a Pulitzer Prize-winning oral historian who compiled books of interviews with everyday people.
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(1912-2008)
Radio Talk Show Host, Journalist
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Margaret Truman
Singer, Writer / 1924 - 2008
Margaret Truman, daughter of Harry Truman, became a singer and writer in her own right.
See full bio
(1924-2008)
Singer, Writer
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David Foster Wallace
Journalist, Author / 1962 - 2008
David Foster Wallace was a writer known for his dense short stories, magazine articles and novels, most notably the 1,200-page Infinite Jest.
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(1962-2008)
Journalist, Author
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Richard Widmark
Film Actor, Television Actor / 1914 - 2008
Actor Richard Widmark had a long and successful film career and is best known for his shocking debut as a psychopath in Kiss of Death.
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(1914-2008)
Film Actor, Television Actor