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- Actress
- Soundtrack
Melody Patterson was born on April 16, 1949 in Inglewood, California. She started performing at the age of four, appearing in "Mrs. McThing" at the Downey Community Theatre in Downey, California. She attended the Hollywood Professional School and later studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. The television series F Troop (1965) launched her career, and the world will always affectionately remember the character Wrangler Jane, who had a thing for stray critters and Captain Wilton Parmenter. Her career as a television and movie actress was far too short, but her love for acting and the theatre has kept her involved. From acting to directing productions, Melody has always shown the natural talent to create a spectacular performance.- Kip Niven was raised in Prairie Village, Kansas (a suburb of Kansas City in affluent Johnson County), and graduated in 1963 from Shawnee Mission East High School. After spending a year at Baylor University, he changed his mind and entered the theater program at The University of Kansas, where he performed in dozens of plays.
Niven had an impressive resume that includes films such as Magnum Force (1973), Earthquake (1974) and Midway (1976). He had performed on countless television shows, including memorable parts on The Waltons (1972), Law & Order (1990) and Walker, Texas Ranger (1993). He had roles on Broadway, in regional theater and episodic radio shows. He was probably best known for his three-year stint as Steve Marsh on the TV sitcom Alice (1976). Niven and the star of that series, (actress Linda Lavin), married in 1982. The marriage was turbulent and they subsequently divorced.
Kip was first married to Susan and had two children Jim and Kate. She tragically died in a car accident in 1981. He and his 3rd wife Beth lived in Kansas and had a daughter Maggie, who was born in 1994. He also had two grandsons.
In 1995 Kip returned to the Kansas City area where he grew up. He continued to work in local theater and on a comedy radio show. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Miyoshi Umeki was born as the youngest of 9 children. The daughter of a prominent Japanese iron factory owner, she developed an early passion for music, learning to play the mandolin, harmonica & piano. She also enjoyed singing American-styled tunes, much to the chagrin of her parents. This propensity for Americanized pop songs later paid off.
Although she projected the typical Japanese female stereotype of humbleness, delicacy & subservience in most of her prime film & stage roles, she was nevertheless an assertive scene-stealer. This docile & deceptive-looking talent w/ cropped hair as well as a heart-shaped face radiated charm in addition to innocence so effortlessly, she managed to make history at Academy Awards time as the 1st Asian actor to receive an acting Oscar for her superb work in the tragic post-WWII film drama Sayonara (1957).
Following World War II, she traveled w/ a U.S. Army G.I. jazz band in Japan as Nancy Umeki & was the 1st to record American songs for RCA Victor Japan. She became an extremely popular radio & nightclub artist, which sparked a move to the U.S. in 1955. Again, she demonstrated a demure prowess for gaining attention w/ her 1-season regular role (1955-1956) on the musical variety show Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (1949). W/ that popularity, she was able to sign w/ Mercury Records, eventually releasing 2 albums.
The timing couldn't have been more perfect. From this recognition, she was immediately cast in Sayonara (1957), which was based on James A. Michener's best-selling romantic tale. Inspired casting opposite comedian Red Buttons in a tragic, counterpoint romance as a World War II airman & his naive Japanese war bride who fall victim to post-war prejudice led to supporting Academy Awards for both actors. Despite her win, she would not make another film for 4 years.
Following her Oscar win, she starred on Broadway w/ the 1958 musical Flower Drum Song, in which she proved a highlight as a starry-eyed Chinese immigrant/mail-order bride w/ her captivating rendition of A Hundred Million Miracles, earning a Tony nomination in the process. She scored additional points after recreating her role for the film version of Flower Drum Song (1961).
In total, she made only 5 American films in all. Her other appearances were supporting roles in the naval comedy Cry for Happy (1961), The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962) & A Girl Named Tamiko (1962). She also tread fairly lightly on TV w/ random 60s appearances on The Donna Reed Show (1958), Dr. Kildare (1961), Rawhide (1959) & Mister Ed (1961), among others.
Duing the 50s & 60s, she was an occasional guest on variety shows for TV titans such as Perry Como, Dinah Shore, Merv Griffin, Andy Williams & Ed Sullivan. Arguably her biggest claim to fame was Mrs. Livingston in the heart-tugging TV comedy The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969). Following this renewed attention, she went into a complete self-imposed retirement.
She lived a sedate family life for more than 3 decades. Her 1958 marriage to TV producer/director Win Opie ended in divorce after 9 years. She subsequently married TV director Randall Hood in 1968. They ran a business renting editing equipment to film studios & university film programs until his sudden death in Los Angeles in 1976. A longtime resident of North Hollywood, she eventually moved to Missouri w/ advancing age to be nearer to her son & his family. She died of cancer at age 78 on August 28, 2007 in Licking, Missouri.- Ted Gehring was born on 6 April 1929 in Bisbee, Arizona, USA. He was an actor, known for Bad Company (1972), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) and The Domino Principle (1977). He was married to Barbara Coates. He died on 28 September 2000 in Steelville, Missouri, USA.
- David was Native American - Miami/Peoria tribes. Taught at the College of American Indian near Lawrence Kansas in the early 1970s . He was married to a fellow acting student named Lynna during the first few years of 1970s. Played the Evil German Butler/ henchman on the defunct daytime soap opera "The Edge of Night" 1979-1980 (approx). He was studying for a master's degree in Theater at the University of Kansas in Lawrence Ks. during the early seventies and as a graduate student he directed 18-year-old Mandy Patinkin in the play "Indians" by Arthur Kopit (in which he cast Mandy in 3 separate roles),
David had a wry sense of humor and joked when he grew a beard that he did it to prove it was possible and repudiate the old myth that Native Americans weren't able to. - Music Artist
- Producer
- Actor
The extraordinary, easy-listening crooning talents of Andy Williams were first unveiled when he was 8 years old and inducted into the Williams Brothers Quartet as its youngest member. Born in Wall Lake, Iowa on December 3, 1927, Andy started singing with his three older brothers (Bob Williams, Dick Williams and Don Williams) in his hometown's Presbyterian church choir. The quartet became instant local news and made its professional singing debut when Andy was in the third grade. A bonafide hit, they went on to become a staple on radio in nearby big city Des Moines. From there, the harmonizing siblings found widespread popularity on wartime radio, including Chicago and Cincinnati. Andy graduated from high school in Cincinnati. They eventually caught the attention of crooning king Bing Crosby, who included the boys on his mammoth 1944 hit single "Swinging on a Star". Bing, of course, was keen on the boys' combined talents, having his own singing quartet of sons at home. Speciality film appearances in musicals were also a rage and the boys appeared in such film fare as Janie (1944), Kansas City Kitty (1944), Something in the Wind (1947) and Ladies' Man (1947). They then joined singer/personality Kay Thompson in 1947 with her eclectic nightclub act and stayed with the popular show until they disbanded in 1951. Andy was the only Williams brother who ventured out to the East Coast to seek a solo singing career.
His career received a major boost when he co-starred with Chico Marx on the short lived television show called The College Bowl (1950 - 1951). On the show he acted, sang, and danced along with others. The show lasted for 26 weeks. After College Bowl was cancelled Andy Williams was offered regular singing duties on Steve Allen's The Tonight Show (1953) show, which led to Andy's first recording contract with Cadence Records in 1956 and his first album. A "Top 10" hit came with the lovely ballad "Canadian Sunset". This, in turn, was followed by "Butterfly" (#1), "Lonely Street", "I Like Your Kind of Love", "Are You Sincere" and "The Hawaiian Wedding Song", the last tune earning him five Grammy Award nominations. An ingratiating presence on television, he was handed a musical show co-hosting with June Valli and a summer replacement series of his own. In the meantime, he developed into a top nightclub favorite.
In 1962, Andy made a lucrative label change to Columbia Records, which produced the "Top 10" pop hit "Can't Get Use to Losing You" and a collaboration with Henry Mancini, which inspired Andy's signature song, "Moon River," the Oscar-winning tune from the popular Audrey Hepburn film Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Andy had the honor of singing the song during the Oscar ceremony. Other major chartbusters for Andy came with the movie theme songs Days of Wine and Roses (1962), Dear Heart (1964) and Love Story (1970).
An attempt to parlay his singing fame into a film career was one of Andy's few missteps in a hugely successful career. He co-starred in the light, screwy Ross Hunter comedy soufflé I'd Rather Be Rich (1964) starring Sandra Dee and enjoyably squared off with fellow singing suitor Robert Goulet. Andy and Robert also sang in the picture (including sharing the title song), which was a tepid remake of It Started with Eve (1941) starring Deanna Durbin. It was an artificial role to be sure and is only significant in that it was Andy's sole legit acting experience on film.
What truly put Andy over the top was the phenomenal success of his weekly variety show The Andy Williams Show (1962). Andy was a natural in front of the television camera and his dueting with such singing legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland and Peggy Lee kept audiences enthralled week after week. What goes around comes around for Andy would often invite his brothers to sing with him and also introduced another talented harmonizing boy group--the seven "Osmond Brothers". The series, which concluded in 1971, won three Emmy Awards for "Best Musical/Variety Series". Andy himself picked up a couple of nominations as performer.
In 1961, Andy married a stunning, whispery-voiced French chanteuse named Claudine Longet (born in Paris in 1942), who was 15 years younger. The couple had three children. She made a mild hit of the song "Love Is Blue" and enjoyed slight celebrity status. Like the Crosby family, Andy's clan became an integral part of his annual classic Christmas television specials. Despite the fact that the couple separated in 1969, Claudine continued to appear in these specials in the early 1970s.
In tandem with his famous television show, Andy opened Caesar's Palace in 1966 and went on to headline there for 20 years. Following the demise of his television success, Andy continued to tour both here and abroad. He laid low for a time to protect his children through a tragic crisis when his ex-wife Claudine (since 1975) became enmeshed in a tabloid-styled shooting in March of 1976. The 1970s also deemed the cardigan-wearing Andy as too square and clean-cut to prod younger audiences. Nevertheless, he hosted the Grammy Awards a few times and returned to a syndicated series format in 1976, which was short-lived. Andy remarried happily in 1991 to non-professional Debbie Haas.
Inspired by singer/friend Ray Stevens, Andy had built a $12 million state-of-the-art theater, which opened in 1992 and was christened the Andy Williams Moon River Theater. Andy became the first non-country star to perform there and other theme shows have since been inspired to populate the small town--now considered the live music capital of the world. At age 70+, he continued to perform in Branson, Missouri, where he and his wife reside, and in Europe. Andy Williams died at age 84 of bladder cancer in Branson, Missouri on September 25, 2012.- Juli Reding was born on 28 November 1935 in Quanah, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for Tormented (1960), Burke's Law (1963) and Sea Hunt (1958). She was married to Herbert L. Hutner, Reese Taylor and Mr. West. She died on 16 September 2021 in Springfield, Missouri, USA.
- Best-known for performing the most popular baseball poem, "Casey at the Bat." Filmed as one of the first talkies, 5 years before The Jazz Singer (1927), Casey at the Bat (1922), was included in Ken Burns' Baseball (1994). Hopper, a fervent New York Giant fan, first performed the then-unknown poem to the Giants and Chicago Cubs, on the day his friend, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Tim Keefe had his record 19 game winning streak stopped, August 14, 1888. The dying General William T. Sherman was also in the audience that evening, along with Keefe and his brother-in-law shortstop/attorney John Montgomery Ward. 2 months later the Giants won New York's first world championship.
Hopper recited Casey for almost 40 years in films, on stage, records, radio etc. Known as the "Husband of His Country" for his 6 marriages. He became totally hairless, with blue-tinged skin, possibly from reaction to a patent medicine. Even so, his powerful voice and great sense of humor mesmerized women all his life. One of his wives was the gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. Their son, the white-maned William Hopper, played private investigator Paul Drake on Perry Mason for many years. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Tammy Faye Bakker was born on 7 March 1942 in International Falls, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress, known for The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000), Roseanne (1988) and The Drew Carey Show (1995). She was married to Roe Messner and Jim Bakker. She died on 20 July 2007 in Loch Lloyd, Missouri, USA.- Jerry Fogel was born on 17 January 1936 in Rochester, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), The Day of the Locust (1975) and Police Story (1973). He was married to Sandra Adele Millstein, Barbara Kay Fromm and Brenda Elaine Levison. He died on 21 October 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
- Stanislaus Zbyszko was born on 1 April 1879 in Jodlowa, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Jodlowa, Podkarpackie, Poland]. He was an actor, known for Night and the City (1950), Madison Square Garden (1932) and Gotch-Zbyszko World's Championship Wrestling Match (1910). He was married to Anna. He died on 23 September 1967 in St. Joseph, Missouri, USA.
- Dennis Allen was born on 10 July 1940 in Raytown, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Me, Natalie (1969), Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967) and Love, American Style (1969). He died on 1 December 1995 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
- Norman Grabowski was born on February 5, 1933 to Anthony & Mary Grabowski in Irvington, New Jersey, as Norman David Grabowski. He was an actor, best known for his roles in Blackbeard's Ghost (1968), The Towering Inferno (1974), Hooper (1978) and The Cannonball Run (1981). He died on October 12, 2012 in Cassville, Missouri.
- Music Artist
- Composer
- Music Department
Charles Edward Anderson Berry was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive with songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958). Writing lyrics that focused on teen life and consumerism, and developing a music style that included guitar solos and showmanship, Berry was a major influence on subsequent rock music.- Owen Hart was one of twelve children from a legendary Canadian wrestling family. His brother Bret is also one of the most well known wrestlers of all time. Owen was one of the best wrestlers in the business and his major accomplishments include being the 1994 King of the Ring, former Intercontinental Champion(2), former European Champion, and co-holder of the Tag Team Championship (4). Sadly, Hart plunged to his death on May 23, 1999 during a PPV when he was performing a spectacular entrance. Hart was only 34 and is survived by his wife Martha, his son Oje and his daughter Athena.
- John Gotti was born on 27 October 1940 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Victoria DiGiorgio. He died on 10 June 2002 in Springfield, Missouri, USA.
- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Conway Twitty was born on 1 September 1933 in Friars Point, Mississippi, USA. He was a music artist and actor, known for Limitless (2011), Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and Hollywoodland (2006). He was married to Dolores Virginia Henry, Temple Medley and Ellen Matthews. He died on 5 June 1993 in Springfield, Missouri, USA.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Country western star Mickey Gilley was born on March 9, 1936 in Natchez, Mississippi, the cousin of future rockabilly legend Jerry Lee Lewis, and raised in Ferriday, Louisiana. In his childhood, Mickey, Jerry, and Jerry's cousin, future Pentecostal televangelist Jimmy Swaggart would all play the piano when they got together and sing gospel and boogie-woogie songs. After Lewis became a chart-topper in the 1950s, Mickey turned professional himself and cut some singles before becoming a session player in the Big Easy.
First married at age 17, Gilley had a minor hit, "Call Me Shorty", in 1958, but it would be years before he came out from under Jerry lee's shadow and established himself as a star. He didn't release his first album, "Down the Line", until 1967. The album yielded a minor hit, "Now I Can Live Again". Three years later, he became a nightclub owner when he opened Gilley's Club in Pasadena, Texas in 1971. The club, billed as the "world's biggest honky tonk", became famous when it was used as the setting for Urban Cowboy (1980), which boosted Gilley's national exposure. By the 1980s, Gilley was experiencing crossover success when he mellowed his C+W with a more pop orientation. He managed to put songs on the charts in each of 15 years, enjoying 17 #1 country hits.
Gilley and partner Sherwood Cryer had a falling out after Cryer became increasingly hostile about changes made to the club. Gilley eventually had to sue Cryer over their "50-50" deal, which Gilley argued favored Cryer much more heavily. Gilley won $17 million from Cryer, but it completely shattered their relationship and forced the closing of the club in 1989. Gilley opened another club in Dallas under the same name in 2006. There's a Gilley's in Las Vegas, and the town of LaPorte, Texas, approved a new Gilley's, not far from the original.- Actor
- Location Management
- Transportation Department
Tony Swartz was born on 24 September 1943 in Davenport, Iowa, USA. He was an actor, known for Battlestar Galactica (1978), About Schmidt (2002) and Battlestar Galactica (1978). He was married to Helen Blume. He died on 27 September 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.- Born Laura Elizabeth Ingalls in Wisconsin in 1867, she spent her childhood as a "pioneer girl, " settling in Wisconsin (twice), Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota by the time she was twelve years old. Her family stayed in South Dakota, or Dakota Territory as it was known, and in 1885, she married Almanzo Wilder. She called him "Manly" and he called her "Bess". The following year, they had a daughter, Rose, later to become the author Rose Wilder Lane. In 1894, the three of them left De Smet and traveled to the Ozark mountains of Missouri, where they settled in the town of Mansfield. Laura and Manly remained there for the rest of their lives. In the 1930's and 1940's, encouraged and aided by Rose, Laura set pen to paper and wrote a series of books about her childhood on the frontier. Called the "Little House" books, they were published every year or so from 1932 to 1943, describing Laura's experiences from her earliest memories of the big woods of Wisconsin and the Kansas prarie to the golden year in which she married Almanzo. The books were immensely popular with children, for whom they were written, and adults alike. Except for the occasional book tour, Laura's life as a farm wife in Mansfield still remained relatively unchanged, however, though she did receive much more mail than she ever had before! She died in 1957, shortly after her 90th birthday. Even after her death, Rose found more of her writings. These included a diary she kept detailing the journey to Mansfield in 1894, letters she wrote to Almanzo while visiting Rose in San Francisco in 1915, and even a new, unfinished "Little House" book, about the first four years after her marriage to Almanzo. Her major contribution to movies and television has been her books, for they were the inspiration for the long-running TV series "Little House on the Prairie" (1974-1983), and its various TV-movie sequels. Currently (1999), a TV-movie entitled "Beyond the Prarie," is in production. It purports to be "the true story of Laura Ingalls Wilder."
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Patricia Ellis called herself "the Queen of B pictures at Warner Brothers". With only three years of theatrical experience in New York under her belt, she started in films in 1932. Alongside other ladies considered to have potential (such as Ginger Rogers and Mary Carlisle), Patricia was selected as a WAMPAS (Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers) baby star. Within a few years she had worked her way up from juvenile supporting roles to second leads, averaging seven films a year. By 1937, she was given starring roles in comedies and the occasional mystery or crime picture, with such co-stars as James Cagney, Adolphe Menjou, and Joe E. Brown. Reviewers called her "comely and spontaneous" in the baseball farce Elmer, the Great (1933) and "personable" in Here Comes the Groom (1934) co-starring Jack Haley and referred to her "blonde winsomeness" in Boulder Dam (1936).
The problem was that the majority of her screen roles were purely ornamental and the films themselves were, without exception, second features. Towards the end of her run, Patricia appeared in the 1937 English comedy 'The Gaiety Girls' (with Jack Hulbert and a young Googie Withers) and, against type, played a femme fatale in Fugitive at Large (1939). At the end of the decade she called it a day, leaving Hollywood, first to appear in "Louisiana Purchase" on Broadway and then to marry George T. O'Malley, future president of Protection Securities Systems in Kansas City.- Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A lifetime member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a U.S. senator from the state of Missouri from 1935 to 1945. He was chosen as incumbent president Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate for the 1944 presidential election. Truman was inaugurated as the 34th vice president in 1945 and served for less than three months until President Roosevelt died. Now serving as president, Truman implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe and established both the Truman Doctrine and NATO to contain the expansion of communism. He proposed numerous liberal domestic reforms, but few were enacted by the Conservative Coalition that dominated the Congress.
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
Marlin Perkins was born on 28 March 1905 in Carthage, Missouri, USA. He is known for The Legend of Koo-Tan (1973), Wild Journey (1972) and Zoo Parade (1950). He was married to Carolmay Morse Cotsworth and Katherine Elise More. He died on 14 June 1986 in Clayton, Missouri, USA.- Ron Frazier was born on 10 December 1939 in Marceline, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Head Office (1985), Presumed Innocent (1990) and The World According to Garp (1982). He died on 21 December 2003 in Jefferson City, Missouri, USA.
- Andrea Walters was born on 3 July 1953 in Rockford, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Lucky Numbers (2000), Death Doll (1989) and General Hospital (1963). She was married to Mark Ganzel and Mike Saccone. She died on 27 November 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
- Charity Grace was born on 27 April 1884 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Peter Gunn (1958), 77 Sunset Strip (1958) and Startime (1959). She died on 28 November 1965 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
- Iris Korn was born on 6 January 1907 in Arkansas, USA. She was an actress, known for Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976), White Lightning (1973) and The Incredible Hulk (1978). She was married to Thomas A. Korn. She died on 27 January 1982 in Springfield, Missouri, USA.
- Max Palmer was born on 2 November 1927 in Randolph, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor, known for Stone (1974) and Killer Ape (1953). He was married to Betty Ingram. He died on 7 May 1984 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Joseph Michael Laurinaitis, better known by his ring name Road Warrior Animal (or simply Animal), was an American professional wrestler. Along with Road Warrior Hawk, he was one half of the tag team The Road Warriors/The Legion of Doom. He headlined multiple pay-per-view events for the WWF and WCW, competing for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at 2001's Sin. Animal was inducted with Hawk and their manager Paul Ellering into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011.- Will B. Able was born on 21 November 1923 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He was an actor, known for Jack and the Beanstalk (1965), Aladdin (1967) and Play of the Week (1959). He was married to Graziella Able. He died on 18 November 1981 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA(undisclosed).
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Jane Froman was born on 10 November 1907 in University City, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Radio City Revels (1938), With a Song in My Heart (1952) and Stars Over Broadway (1935). She was married to Rowland H. Smith, John Curtis Burn and Donald McKaig Ross. She died on 22 April 1980 in Columbia, Missouri, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Les Brown Jr. was born on 15 February 1940 in New York, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for High Speed Police Pursuits (1997), Wild Wild Winter (1966) and The Highwayman (1987). He died on 9 January 2023 in Branson, Missouri, USA.- Geraldine Liston was born on 25 January 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She is known for The American Angels: Baptism of Blood (1990), Unsolved Mysteries (1987) and ESPN SportsCentury (1999). She was married to Sonny Liston. She died on 8 April 2005 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Mitch Jayne lived in the south central Missouri Ozarks near Salem, Mo. It was there that he taught in a couple of one-room schools (before consolidation), and then worked as a disk jockey at KSMO Radio. In his later years he traveled throughout Missouri giving humorous talks about the Ozark language and its connection with Middle English.
Jayne played bass with The Dillards, which included brothers Rodney and Doug Dillard,(whom he met while at KSMO), and Dean Webb. The band left its native Missouri hills and moved to California in the early 1960s, where almost immediately the group landed a spot, along with Denver Pyle and Maggie Peterson Mancuso, as as the Darling family on the Andy Griffith television show.
During his lifetime Jayne was a writer and published author: "Forest in the Wind", "Old Fish Hawk", "Home Grown Stories & Home Fried Lies", and his final work, "Fiddler's Ghost" won Missouri's Humanitarian Award. For nearly 30 years he wrote humor columns for various publications throughout Missouri.
The Dillards were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association's "Hall of Fame" in September 2009.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lynn Kellogg was born on 2 April 1943 in Appleton, Wisconsin, USA. She was an actress, known for Charro! (1969), Mission: Impossible (1966) and The Edge of Night (1956). She was married to John Lowell Simpers. She died on 12 November 2020 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.- Christopher Knight was born on 5 December 1939 in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Studs Lonigan (1960) and If a Man Answers (1962). He died on 6 September 2006 in Versailles, Missouri, USA.
- Lloyd 'Shad' Heller was born on 17 July 1913 in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), The Shepherd of the Hills (1960) and The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies (1981). He died on 15 January 1991 in Stone County, Missouri, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Known to millions of fans for his work on the weekly Porter Wagoner television show. Born Gilbert Ray Rhodes in the southern Missouri town of West Plains in 1915, Speck was one of six children. All were musical, but the three boys -- Speck, Slim, and Dusty -- were turning professional by the time they were in their teens. By 1934 they were touring the RKO vaudeville circuit as the Log Cabin Mountaineers. Later on, Dusty became a fiddle champion, and Slim organized one of the best-known radio bands in the Memphis-Arkansas area. During this time Speck played a little banjo, a lot of bass fiddle and developed his comic character. In 1960 Speck auditioned for the new TV show Porter Wagoner was starting in Nashville. Though both he and Porter had come from West Plains, and though they knew each other, they had not worked together before. The chemistry was there, though, and Speck began an association with Porter that would last over 20 years. His colleagues in the show were banjoist Buck Trent, dancing fiddler Mack Magaha, guitarist George McCormick and Don Warden.- Actor
- Soundtrack
American stage actor, musical comedy star, and vaudevillian who was a legendary figure of his time and who fathered a family of performers who went on to notable careers in motion pictures. Born Edward Fitzgerald at 23 8th Avenue in New York City, March 9, 1856, to an Irish-immigrant tailor, Richard Fitzgerald, and his wife Mary, Eddie moved to Chicago with his family after his father's death in an insane asylum from syphilis in 1862. His mother reportedly cared for Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's widow, during Mrs. Lincoln's mental illness. At the age of 8, Eddie began entertaining on the street for tips, doing acrobatic dances. He changed his name to Foy when he was 15, and he and partner Jack Finnigan went on the road, dancing for meals in bars. They got work as supernumeraries in dramatic productions and Foy claimed to have worked in such a capacity with the leading actor of his day, Edwin Booth. With another partner, Jim Thompson, Foy traveled for three years in a saloon/theatre circuit through the West, including an extended stay in Dodge City, Kansas, where he met Doc Holliday, 'William Barclay 'Bat' Masterson', and Wyatt Earp. Also on the circuit was a girl singer act, the Howland Sisters. Eddie fell for one of them, Rose Howland, and they married in 1879. In 1882, the four (Thompson had married another singer) returned East, joining the Carncross Minstrels in Philadelphia. Shortly thereafter, however, Rose Foy and her newborn died in childbirth. By 1887, Foy was back in the West, touring with David Henderson's troupe across the country. He met Lola Sefton in San Francisco and they were a couple for the next decade until her death. (Many sources described them as husband and wife, though no record of a marriage has been found.) After Sefton's death, Foy started his own company and two years later married one of his dancers, Madeline Morando. She gave him eleven children, the seven surviving ones becoming world-famous in their father's act as The Seven Little Foys. In 1903, while playing the Iroquois Theatre, Foy heroically attempted to calm the crowd after fire broke out. Six hundred people died. Foy escaped by crawling through a sewer. Three years after bringing his children into the act, Foy and his family appeared in a film for Mack Sennett, one of only a handful the senior Foy would do. However, his children, in particular Bryan Foy and Eddie Foy Jr., would enjoy substantial careers in the movies. Eddie Sr. continued to headline in vaudeville and musical theatre until his death from a heart attack in 1928 while performing in vaudeville in Kansas City, Missouri.- Joe B. Barton was born on 18 November 1955 in Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Slaughterhouse (1987), Blood Diner (1987) and Water Rats (1996). He died on 16 June 2010 in Missouri, USA.
- Music Department
- Actor
- Composer
Thomas Waller was born in 1904. He was one of the most important pianist in the history of jazz. He studied piano with James P. Johnson, one of the masters of the stride piano in the 1920s. Fats began recording his first piano solos in 1923. He worked in the revue "Hot Chocolates" in the late 1920s as a composer. Along with Duke Ellington, he is one of the most prolific composers in jazz. His best songs are, "Ain't Misbehavin' ", "Honeysuckle Rose", "Black and Blue", "Blue Turned Grey Over You" and "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now". He formed his own group in 1934, Fats Waller and his Rhythm, and recorded many records for RCA Victor. Two of his most notable film appearances were in Stormy Weather (1943) and King of Burlesque (1936). He died in 1943 on a train during a trip to California. He was just 39 years old.- Producer
- Writer
Thomas Horn is an internationally recognized lecturer, radio host and best selling author of several books including his newest books, Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here, Forbidden Gates and Apollyon Rising 2012. He is a well-known columnist whose articles have been referred to by writers of the L. A. Times Syndicate, MSNBC, Christianity Today, New Man Magazine, World Net Daily, News Max, White House Correspondents and dozens of news magazines and press agencies around the globe. He has been interviewed by US Congressmen and Senators on his findings as well as featured repeatedly in major media including top-ten talk shows, America's Morning News for The Washington Times, The 700 Club, The Harvest Show, Coast to Coast AM, Prophecy in the News, and the Southwest Radio Church to name a few. Thomas received the highest degree honorary doctorate bestowed in 2007 from legendary professor Dr. I.D.E. Thomas for his research into ancient history, and has been endorsed by such national leaders as Dr. James Kennedy.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Sharon Vaughn was born on 28 July 1938 in La Grange, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Funny Girl (1968), Get Smart (1965) and Bewitched (1964). She was married to Byron Lapin . She died on 2 December 2023 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.- Don Garner was born on 24 October 1923 in Greeley, Colorado, USA. He was an actor, known for Danger Zone (1951), I Love Lucy (1951) and F.B.I. Girl (1951). He died on 12 May 2012 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
- Harley Race is one of the foremost legends of professional wrestling. He is an 8-time NWA Heavyweight Champion and has held numerous other titles over his career that has spanned four decades.
Harley won his first NWA World Title in Kansas City in 1973 when he defeated Dory Funk Jr. Harley feels that this was the best match of his whole career as Funk had held the title for more that four years, so winning it made the moment all the more special.
In addition to bloody rivalries with both Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, Harley has worked great programs with other wrestling legends as Dusty Rhodes, Bruiser Brody, Dick the Bruiser and Ric Flair. Like how Harley had wrestled long time champion Dory Funk Jr. to his first heavyweight title, it was Ric Flair who defeated long time champion Harley to win his first heavyweight title.
Race reportedly has wrestled in every country in the world, with the exceptions of Russia and Communist China. Race is particularly revered in Japan, having made over 60 trips there during his career.
Towards the end of his in-ring wrestling career, Harley went to work for the WWF (now WWE) and became know as "The King" Harley Race. Harley feuded with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and Hulk Hogan, but one of his most memorable matches as against the late Junk Yard Dog at Wrestlemania III in front of over 90,000 people. Harley also once won one of the WWF's first King of the Ring tournaments. During his time in the WWF, Harley was managed by "The Brain" Bobby Heenan.
Harley left the WWF and went back to the NWA, which was now known as WCW. He had retired from the ring and had now begun managing. He managed the Kolassal Kongs, The Super Invader, Yoshi Kwan, Vinnie Vegas (Kevin Nash), Mr. Hughes and he managed both Lex Luger and Big Van Vader to the WCW World Heavyweight championship.
In 1994, Harley retired from the ring, and came back home to Kansas City. In the summer of 1999, Harley Race founded World League Wrestling. Harley was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 13, 2004 and to the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame on May 15, 2004. - Terry Knorr was born on 5 August 1970 in San Francisco, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Over-the-Hill Grand Prix (2018), Autopsie: Mysteriöse Todesfälle (2001) and Cold Case Files (1999). She died on 8 December 2011 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA.
- Billy Sheffield was born on 15 December 1935 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Best Man Wins (1948), King of the Wild Horses (1947) and The Boy with Green Hair (1948). He died on 12 December 2010 in Webster Groves, Missouri, USA.
- Evadne Baker was born on 19 August 1937 in Cape Town, South Africa. She was an actress, known for The Sound of Music (1965), Shock Treatment (1964) and 7 Women from Hell (1961). She was married to Arch Whiting. She died on 17 January 1995 in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
- Trena McElroy was born on 24 January 1957 in Horton, Kansas, USA. She died on 24 January 2012 in Conway, Missouri, USA.
- 1976 Rose Bowl star and All-American Defensive Tackle at UCLA, Frazier played one year in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs before becoming an actor.
Cliff Frazier was born in St. Louis, Missouri on November 23, 1952. He moved to Ballwin, Missouri for high school, and after becoming a defensive prep football star, he went on to play nose tackle at Fort Scott Community College. There, Frazier's outstanding play earned him accolades as a junior college All-American defensive lineman in 1972 and 1973. As a result, Frazier was recruited by new UCLA coach Dick Vermeil, and Frazier played defensive nose guard for the Bruins in the 1974-75 college seasons. Frazier was named to the first-team defense for the All-Pacific 8 and NCAA All-American teams in 1975.
Frazier was a Tri-Captain of UCLA's Rose Bowl team in 1975 college season. The underdog Bruins team (8-2-1) defeated the previously unbeaten and top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0) in the Jan. 1, 1976 Rose Bowl, 23-10. Ohio State, coached by the legendary Woody Hayes, had the best-ranked defense in the NCAA, and the Buckeyes also had the Heisman Trophy winner in running back Archie Griffin. But Frazier and defensive teammates Manu Tuiasosopo and Dale Curry kept Griffin, fullback Pete Johnson and the rest of the Ohio State offense in check. Frazier led all defensive players with 13 solo tackles and one assist; no other Rose Bowl player participated in more than 9 tackles in the game.
Frazier's teammates at UCLA also included future NFL players Randy Cross, and running backs Wendell Tyler and Theotis Brown. Frazier was a second-round round pick of Kansas City Chiefs in the 1976 NFL Draft, the 41st player picked over all. Frazier did not appear in the 1976 NFL season, but played all 14 games for the Chiefs in 1977. After Dick Vermeil became the Philadelphia Eagles head coach, Vermeil arranged for a trade to acquire Frazier from Kansas City for the Eagles 5th round draft pick in the 1978 NFL draft. However, Frazier did not make the Eagles' roster, and went back to southern California to start an acting career. Soon thereafter Frazier made his screen debut as "Monroe," one of the linemen in the football classic, "North Dallas Forty."
Frazier was inducted into Fort Scott Community College's "Athletic Hall of Fame" in 1990.
On June 9, 2006 Frazier participated in UCLA's "Flashback Camp" in which over 100 former UCLA players and coaches, many of whom were associated with the 1976 Rose Bowl team, coached UCLA Bruin fans on the finer points of football.