1980-1989 RIP

1. Ivan Triesault

Ivan Triesault was born on July 13, 1898 in Reval, Russian Empire [now Tallinn, Harjumaa, Estonia]. He was an actor, known for Notorious (1946), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and The Amazing Transparent Man (1960). He died on January 3, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

2. Sarah Selby

Actress | Tower of London

Sarah Selby was born on August 30, 1905 in Middletown, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for Tower of London (1962), Beyond the Forest (1949) and The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Ghost Farm (1957). She was married to Holger Yngvar Harthern-Jakobsen and Stanley Robert Wuliger. She died on ...

3. Leonard Strong

Actor | Shane

Leonard Strong was born on August 12, 1908 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. He was an actor, known for Shane (1953), Cult of the Cobra (1955) and Get Smart (1965). He was married to Irene Richards. He died on January 23, 1980 in Glendale, California, USA.

4. Jimmy Durante

Actor | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

First wife Jeanne died in 1943. Wed second wife, Marjorie Little after 16 year courtship when she was 39 and he 67 Marjorie Little had been the hatcheck girl at the Copacabana. Durante and his second wife adopted a baby girl, Cecelia Alicia on Christmas day 1961. Durante doted on "CeCe" until his ...

5. Romolo Valli

Actor | Il gattopardo

Romolo Valli was born on February 7, 1925 in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He was an actor, known for The Leopard (1963), Duck, You Sucker! (1971) and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970). He died on February 1, 1980 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

6. David Janssen

Actor | The Green Berets

David Janssen was born David Harold Meyer in 1931 in Naponee, Nebraska, to Berniece Mae (Graf) and Harold Edward Meyer, a banker. He was of German, and some Swiss-German and Ulster-Scots, descent. David took the surname of his stepfather, Eugene Janssen. The Janssen family settled in Hollywood when...

7. Bon Scott

Soundtrack | School of Rock

Ronald Belford Scott was born on July 9, 1946 in Kirriemuir, Scotland, UK. In 1952, the Scott family relocated to Australia. Bon's strong distaste for authority led him to quit his studies at the age of 15. Bon's earliest musical efforts were both on vocals and drums. His first "real" job in the ...

8. George Tobias

Actor | Sergeant York

American character actor who specialized in none-too-bright pals of the lead, though his range included villains and ethnic types. A native of New York City, he began acting at 15. He studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse and played on Broadway with the Theatre Guild, and with the Provincetown ...

9. Jay Silverheels

Actor | The Lone Ranger

Jay Silverheels was born on Canada's Six Nation's Reserve and was one of 10 children. He was a star lacrosse player and a boxer before he entered films as a stuntman in 1938. He worked in a number of films through the 1940s before gaining notice as the Osceola brother in a Humphrey Bogart film Key ...

10. Jay Anson

Writer | The Amityville Horror

Jay Anson was born on November 4, 1921 in New York, USA. He was a writer and director, known for The Amityville Horror (1979), The Amityville Horror (2005) and The Moviemakers (1969). He died on March 12, 1980 in Palo Alto, California, USA.

11. Harlan Warde

Actor | The Monster That Challenged the World

Harlan Warde was born on November 6, 1917 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Monster That Challenged the World (1957), Money Madness (1948) and State Department: File 649 (1949). He was married to Barbara Grace Whittaker and Caroline Frances Sherwood. ...

12. Tom Fadden

Actor | Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Wavy-haired, emaciated-looking Tom Fadden enjoyed a prolific screen career as a small part supporting actor with more than a fair share of scene-stealing moments to his credit. From the time he began with a stock company in Omaha in 1915, he remained continuously employed right up until his death ...

13. Raymond Bailey

Actor | The Beverly Hillbillies

Raymond Bailey was a great example of "If at first you don't succeed..." After high school, Bailey headed for Hollywood with the intent on becoming a movie star, but soon found it tougher than he thought. Instead Bailey went into a high finance career working as stockbroker and banker. He made a ...

14. Paul Langton

Actor | The Twilight Zone

Although established in show business for many years, it wasn't until 1964 with the debut of the TV series, "Peyton Place" that he became truly famous as the hapless and scheming, Leslie Harrington. His tenure there lasted several years and he added considerable style and finesse with his presence ...

15. Tony Beckley

Actor | The Italian Job

A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, Beckley appeared in BBC TV's "Romeo and Juliet", and later in "War and Peace" and "Julius Caesar." On stage, he appeared with Maggie Smith in "Snap" and Elaine Stritch in Tennessee Williams' "Small Craft Warnings." A veteran actor of over ...

16. Mario Bava

Cinematographer | Ecologia del delitto

Italian director Mario Bava was born on July 31, 1914 in the coastal northern Italian town of Sanremo. His father, Eugenio Bava (1886-1966), was a cinematographer in the early days of the Italian film industry. Bava was trained as a painter, and when he eventually followed his father into film ...

17. Dee Carroll

Actress | Emergency!

Dee Carroll was born on December 2, 1925 in Denver, Colorado, USA. She was an actress, known for Emergency! (1972), The Stunt Man (1980) and Bonanza (1959). She died on April 28, 1980 in Burbank, California, USA.

18. Alfred Hitchcock

Director | Psycho

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, Essex, England. He was the son of Emma Jane (Whelan; 1863 - 1942) and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock (1862 - 1914). His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William Hitchcock (born 1890) and ...

19. Lillian Roth

Actress | Animal Crackers

Tragic songstress Lillian Roth (nee Lillian Rutstein) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 13, 1910. She was given her first name in honor of singer Lillian Russell. She was the daughter of stage parents who groomed her and younger sister Ann for stardom at an early age.

The girls did not ...

20. Hugh Griffith

Actor | Ben-Hur

Enjoyably larger-than-life character actor Hugh Emrys Griffith was born in Marianglas, Anglesey, North Wales, to Mary (Williams) and William Griffith. Griffith left the world of banking (having been employed as a teller) after winning a scholarship to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic ...

21. Leland Starnes

Actor | Cruising

Leland Starnes was born on February 5, 1923 in Sanderville, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for Cruising (1980) and The Crazies (1973). He was married to Mary Starnes. He died on May 14, 1980 in New York City, New York, USA.

22. Milton Parsons

Actor | The Hidden Hand

Milton Parsons was born on May 19, 1904 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for The Hidden Hand (1942), The Twilight Zone (1959) and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947). He died on May 15, 1980 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.

23. Ian Curtis

Soundtrack | Donnie Darko

Ian Curtis was born in Old Trafford, Manchester, at the Memorial Hospital. He grew up listening to The Who and The Rolling Stones, and other heroes of his teenage years included David Bowie, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, and James Dean. He especially liked musicians whose lyrics ...

24. Fred Beir

Actor | The Rockford Files

He made guest appearances on TV series like Bonanza, Perry Mason, Maverick, The Andy Griffith Show, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone (the 1963 episode "Death Ship"), Ben Casey, The Outer Limits, The Munsters, The Time Tunnel, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Honey West, Mission: Impossible, Hawaii Five-O, The ...

25. Milburn Stone

Actor | Gunsmoke

Character actor Milburn Stone, the beloved "Doc Adams" on TV's long-running western classic Gunsmoke (1955), was born in Kansas on July 5, 1904. Acting must have been in his blood as the nephew of Broadway comedian Fred Stone for Milburn left home as a teenager to find work with touring repertory ...

26. Terence Fisher

Director | Dracula

Terence Fisher was born in Maida Vale, England, in 1904. Raised by his grandmother in a strict Christian Scientist environment, Fisher left school while still in his teens to join the Merchant Marine. By his own account he soon discovered that a life at sea was not for him, so he left the service ...

27. Herbie Faye

Actor | Thoroughly Modern Millie

Herbie Faye was born on February 2, 1899 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), The New Phil Silvers Show (1963) and The Harder They Fall (1956). He was married to Mary Lou. He died on June 28, 1980 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

28. Dan White

Actor | The Americano

Dan White was born to George & Orpha White about one mile from the Suwannee River in Falmouth, Florida. Falmouth was a small sleepy town then, as it is still today. He was one of 13 siblings who were moved to Lakeland sometime around WW I. Lakeland is where Dan was introduced into show business in ...

29. Peggy Knudsen

Actress | The Big Sleep

A knockout curvaceous blonde screen siren with a smart, confident air, Peggy Knudsen had the charisma to make it in Hollywood. Somehow, stardom eluded her. She was of Irish and Norwegian ancestry, the daughter of a Duluth fire chief. Peggy studied violin as a child and later showed some promise ...

30. Malcolm Owen

Soundtrack | Yes Man

Malcolm Owen was born on December 12, 1953. He was an actor, known for Yes Man (2008), Fifty Dead Men Walking (2008) and The Souvenir (2019). He died on July 14, 1980.

31. Don 'Red' Barry

Actor | Jesse James' Women

Donald Barry went from the stage to the screen. After four years of playing villains and henchmen at various studios, Barry got the role that changed his image: Red Ryder in the Republic Pictures serial Adventures of Red Ryder (1940). Although he had appeared in westerns for two years or so, this ...

32. Peter Sellers

Actor | Being There

Often credited as the greatest comedian of all time, Peter Sellers was born Richard Henry Sellers to a well-off acting family in 1925 in Southsea, a suburb of Portsmouth. He was the son of Agnes Doreen "Peg" (Marks) and William "Bill" Sellers. His parents worked in an acting company run by his ...

33. Charles McGraw

Actor | Spartacus

Stony-faced, grizzled-looking tough guy Charles McGraw (real name Charles Butters) notched up dozens of TV and film credits, usually portraying law enforcement figures or military officers, plus the odd shifty gangster. While at high school he worked as a theatre usher and was nicknamed "Chick" by ...

34. Strother Martin

Actor | Slap Shot

American character actor who achieved considerable fame in the last decade of his life. A native of Kokomo, Indiana, Strother Martin Jr. was the youngest of three children of Strother Douglas Martin, a machinist, and Ethel Dunlap Martin. His family moved soon after his birth to San Antonio, Texas, ...

35. Dorothy Stratten

Actress | Galaxina

Dorothy Stratten's story was brief, glorious and tragic. She was born Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten on February 28, 1960 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She grew up in a rough neighborhood in Vancouver, but kept out of trouble and went through the motions of school. While not a beauty as a child...

36. Douglas Kenney

Writer | National Lampoon's Animal House

Though almost completely unknown, this man was one of the originators of a highly popular and groundbreaking new form of comedy and satire.

After working on the Harvard Lampoon as an undergraduate, Douglas C. Kenney co-founded the National Lampoon magazine and the National Lampoon Radio Hour.

Kenney ...

37. Bernard Fein

Writer | Hogan's Heroes

Bernard Fein was born on November 13, 1926 in West Orange, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Hogan's Heroes (1965), The Phil Silvers Show (1955) and The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962). He died on September 10, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

38. Lillian Randolph

Actress | It's a Wonderful Life

Lillian Randolph was born on December 14, 1898 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. She was an actress, known for It's a Wonderful Life (1946), Gildersleeve's Ghost (1944) and Magic (1978). She was married to Garcia Delano "Gossie" McKee and James Lott . She died on September 12, 1980 in Los Angeles, ...

39. John Bonham

Soundtrack | The Song Remains the Same

John Bonham is still regularly voted in polls as the greatest and most influential rock drummer of all time, an opinion which has also been expressed by the likes of Roger Taylor of Queen, Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

He started playing drums at the age of five ...

40. Lewis Milestone

Director | All Quiet on the Western Front

Lewis Milestone, a clothing manufacturer's son, was born in Bessarabia (now Moldova), raised in Odessa (Ukraine) and educated in Belgium and Berlin (where he studied engineering). He was fluent in both German and Russian and an avid reader. Milestone had an affinity for the theatre from an early ...

41. Michael Strong

Actor | Patton

While never one of the big names on screen, Michael Strong was one of those excellent method actors who were often compelling to watch. Unsurprisingly, many of Michael's screen characters were typical New Yorkers, whether they be cops or thugs, and he imbued them with an edgy 'in-your-face' ...

42. Robert McCord

Actor | The Twilight Zone

Robert McCord was born on February 24, 1915 in Sac City, Iowa, USA. He was an actor, known for The Twilight Zone (1959), Yancy Derringer (1958) and The Wild Wild West (1965). He was married to Wanda Penniman. He died on October 1, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

43. Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas

Actor | Pay As You Exit

Billie Thomas was an African-American child actor who was best-known for appearing in the "Our Gang" film series from 1934 to its end in 1944.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Thomas auditioned for an "Our Gang" role when he was three years old. He was cast as a background player in the short films "...

44. Edwin Max

Actor | Ride, Ryder, Ride!

Edwin Max was born on May 4, 1909 in Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for Ride, Ryder, Ride! (1949), The Incredible Melting Man (1977) and Matilda (1978). He died on October 17, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

45. Russ Grieve

Actor | The Hills Have Eyes

Russ Grieve was born on November 5, 1923 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. He was an actor, known for The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Foxy Brown (1974) and Fuzz (1972). He died on October 22, 1980 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.

46. Victor Sen Yung

Actor | Across the Pacific

Achieving both film and TV notice during his lengthy career, this diminutive Asian-American character was born Victor Cheung Young on October 18, 1915 in San Francisco to Chinese emigrants. When his mother died during the influenza epidemic of 1918-19, his father placed Victor and his sister in a ...

47. Steve McQueen

Actor | The Great Escape

He was the ultra-cool male film star of the 1960s, and rose from a troubled youth spent in reform schools to being the world's most popular actor. Over 40 years after his untimely death from mesothelioma in 1980, Steve McQueen is still considered hip and cool, and he endures as an icon of popular ...

48. Imogen Hassall

Actress | Toomorrow

Imogen Hassall is sometimes referred to as "The Countess of Cleavage" as she was better known for her glamorous celebrity than her acting talent. Imogen was born on August 25 1942, in Woking, Surrey, England and rose to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s as an international B-movie ...

49. Mae West

Actress | She Done Him Wrong

Mae West was born August 17, 1893 in Brooklyn, New York, to "Battling Jack" West and Matilda Doelger. She began her career as a child star in vaudeville, and later went on to write her own plays, including "SEX", for which she was arrested. Though her first movie role, at age 40, was a small part ...

50. George Raft

Actor | Some Like It Hot

George Raft was born and grew up in a poor family in Hell's Kitchen, at the time one of the roughest, meanest areas of New York City. He was born George Ranft, and was the son of Eva (Glockner) and Conrad Ranft, a department store deliveryman. His parents were both of German descent. In his youth, ...

51. Rachel Roberts

Actress | Murder on the Orient Express

Beautiful, swift and tough-tongued British character actress Rachel Roberts gained notice for her roles on the English stage, before she hit it largely in films. Born in Wales and married to actor Rex Harrison in 1962, Roberts made her film debut in a key role in J. Lee Thompson's Young and Willing...

52. Edith Evanson

Actress | Rope

During the Golden Age of Hollywood there were an array of character actors who came out and perfected their craft alongside some of the era's most popular stars. Within that category is one Edith Evanson.

She was born on April 28, 1896 in Tacoma, Washington, the daughter of a Protestant minister. In...

53. Darby Crash

Soundtrack | Psycho

Darby Crash was born on September 26, 1958 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Psycho (1998), 20th Century Women (2016) and Suburbia (1983). He died on December 7, 1980 in Hollywood, California, USA.

54. John Lennon

Actor | A Hard Day's Night

John Winston (later Ono) Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England, to Julia Lennon (née Stanley) and Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman. He was raised by his mother's older sister Mimi Smith. In the mid-1950s, he formed his first band, The Quarrymen (after Quarry Bank High School, ...

55. Peter Collinson

Director | The Italian Job

Peter Collinson was born on April 1, 1936 in Lincolnshire, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for The Italian Job (1969), The Long Day's Dying (1968) and Up the Junction (1968). He was married to Lisa Shane and Ann Collinson. He died on December 16, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, ...

56. Charles Tannen

Actor | The Grapes of Wrath

Charles Tannen was born on October 22, 1915 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Ensign O'Toole (1962) and Behind Green Lights (1946). He died on December 28, 1980 in San Bernardino, California, USA.

57. Roy Engel

Actor | Zombies of the Stratosphere

Roy Engel was born on September 13, 1913 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952), The Man from Planet X (1951) and Rogue River (1951). He died on December 29, 1980 in Burbank, California, USA.

58. Matthew 'Stymie' Beard

Actor | Dogs Is Dogs

Matthew 'Stymie' Beard was born on January 1, 1925 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Dogs Is Dogs (1931), Love Business (1931) and Free Wheeling (1932). He was married to Annie. He died on January 8, 1981 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

59. Woodrow Chambliss

Actor | Then Came Bronson

Woodrow Chambliss was born on October 14, 1914 in Bowie, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Then Came Bronson (1969), Gargoyles (1972) and Gunsmoke (1955). He was married to Erika Chambliss. He died on January 8, 1981 in Ojai, California, USA.

60. Richard Boone

Actor | Have Gun - Will Travel

Richard Allen Boone was born in Los Angeles, California, to Cecile Lillian (Beckerman) and Kirk Etna Boone, a wealthy corporate lawyer. His maternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants, while his father was descended from a brother of frontiersmen Daniel Boone and Squire Boone.

Richard was a...

61. Beulah Bondi

Actress | It's a Wonderful Life

Character actress Beulah Bondi was a favorite of directors and audiences and is one of the reasons so many films from the 1930s and 1940s remain so enjoyable, as she was an integral part of many of the ensemble casts (a hallmark of the studio system) of major and/or great films, including The Trail...

62. Bernard Lee

Actor | Diamonds Are Forever

Best remembered as 'M' in the James Bond films, Bernard Lee was a popular character player in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Born into a theatrical family, he made his stage debut at age six and later attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He first appeared on the West End stage...

63. Kipp Hamilton

Actress | The Unforgiven

Kipp Hamilton was born on August 16, 1934 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Unforgiven (1960), Mike Hammer (1958) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964). She was married to Donald Thorman Rosenfeld and Dave Geisel. She died on January 29, 1981 in Beverly Hills, ...

64. Bill Haley

Soundtrack | Rock Around the Clock

William John Clifton Haley - better known as Bill Haley, leader of the first-ever rock & roll band The Comets - is probably the greatest musical pioneer of the 20th century. He was the first white artist to record a rhythm & blues hit - the 1951 "Rocket 88" for Dave Miller's subsidiary label ...

65. Kermit Murdock

Actor | The Andromeda Strain

Kermit Murdock was born on March 20, 1908 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for The Andromeda Strain (1971), In the Heat of the Night (1967) and Star Trek (1966). He died on February 11, 1981 in Tenafly, New Jersey, USA.

66. Torin Thatcher

Actor | Witness for the Prosecution

Associated with gritty, flashy film villainy, veteran character actor Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher was born in Bombay, India to British parents on January 15, 1905. The son of a police officer (who died when Torin was 10) and a voice/piano teacher, he was educated in England at the Bedford School...

67. Brenda de Banzie

Actress | The Man Who Knew Too Much

The daughter of a musical conductor, fair-haired, matronly Brenda de Banzie appeared in around 40 films. As the result of two outstanding performances she became an unexpected star when well into her middle age. Brenda first came to public notice as a sixteen year old chorus girl on the London ...

68. Frances Feist

Actress | Carnival of Souls

Frances Feist was born on May 13, 1903 in Kansas, USA. She was an actress, known for Carnival of Souls (1962), A Life to Save (1954) and The Griper (1954). She died on March 11, 1981 in Alameda, California, USA.

69. Molly Dodd

Actress | Disneyland

Molly Dodd was born on November 11, 1921 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Magical World of Disney (1954), The Waltons (1972) and What's the Matter with Helen? (1971). She was married to Henry Farrell. She died on March 26, 1981 in Santa Monica, California, USA.

70. Pat Conway

Actor | Destination 60,000

Born on January 9, 1931, in Los Angeles, California, Patrick (Pat) Douglas Conway was the son of Hollywood "royalty"-film actor/director/producer Hugh ("Jack") Ryan Conway and his second wife, Virginia C. Bushman Conway, daughter of famous silent screen star Francis X. Bushman. Pat was a real ...

71. Jim Davis

Actor | Big Jake

Tall, rangy Jim Davis spent much of his early career in westerns mainly at Republic Pictures. The Missouri-born and -raised Davis' relaxed, easygoing manner and Southern drawl easily fit most moviegoers' image of the cowboy and Republic put him in a ton of them over the years (the fact that, unlike...

72. Herb Voland

Actor | Airplane!

Herb Voland was born on October 2, 1918 in New Rochelle, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Airplane! (1980), Play of the Week (1959) and The Love God? (1969). He was married to Betty Jean Carlton and Laura Elizabeth Hale. He died on April 26, 1981 in Riverside, California, USA.

73. Bob Marley

Soundtrack | I Am Legend

Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945, in Nine Miles, Saint Ann, Jamaica, to Norval Marley and Cedella Booker. His father was a Jamaican of English descent. His mother was a black teenager. The couple were married in 1944 but Norval left for Kingston immediately after. Norval died in 1957, seeing...

74. Richard Hale

Actor | Julius Caesar

Richard Hale was born on November 16, 1892 in Rogersville, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor, known for Julius Caesar (1953), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and Scaramouche (1952). He was married to Fiona O'Shiel, Kathryn Hamill and Temple Duncan. He died on May 18, 1981 in Northridge, California, USA.

75. Arthur O'Connell

Actor | Anatomy of a Murder

Though stage, screen and TV veteran Arthur O'Connell was born in New York City (on March 29, 1908), he looked as countrified as the American Gothic painting or Mom's home-made apple pie. Looking much more comfy in overalls than he ever could in a tuxedo, he would find an equally comfortable niche ...

76. Boris Sagal

Director | The Omega Man

Boris Sagal was born on October 18, 1923 in Yekaterinoslav, Ukrainian SSR, USSR [now Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine]. He was a director and writer, known for The Omega Man (1971), The Name of the Game (1968) and Rich Man, Poor Man (1976). He was married to Marge Champion and Sara Macon. He died on May 22,...

77. Herbert Lytton

Actor | The Cosmic Man

Herbert Lytton was born on December 9, 1897 in Falmouth, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor, known for The Cosmic Man (1959), The Twilight Zone (1959) and McHale's Navy (1962). He died on June 26, 1981 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA.

78. Don Megowan

Actor | The Creation of the Humanoids

Don Megowan was born on May 24, 1922 in Inglewood, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Creation of the Humanoids (1962), The Werewolf (1956) and Blazing Saddles (1974). He was married to Alva Megowan and Betty Eleanor Wright. He died on June 26, 1981 in Panorama City, California, USA.

79. George Voskovec

Actor | 12 Angry Men

Czech actor/producer/director/author George Voskovec was born Jirí Wachsmann on June 19, 1905, the son of Jirina Valentina Marie (nee Pinkasová) and Vilem Eduard Voskovec (Wachsmann). His ancestry was Czech, German, and French. Prior to George's birth, the spelling of the family name was Vaksman (...

80. Ross Martin

Actor | The Great Race

Born in Grodek, Poland, Ross Martin grew up on New York City's Lower East Side. He spoke Yiddish, Polish, and Russian before even learning English and later added French, Spanish, and Italian to his amazing repertoire.

Despite academic training (and receiving honors in) business, instruction, and ...

81. Melvyn Douglas

Actor | Being There

Two-time Oscar-winner Melvyn Douglas was one of America's finest actors, and would enjoy cinema immortality if for no other reason than his being the man who made Greta Garbo laugh in Ernst Lubitsch's classic comedy Ninotchka (1939), but he was much, much more.

Melvyn Douglas was born Melvyn Edouard...

82. Eddie Byrne

Actor | Star Wars

Eddie Byrne was born on January 31, 1911 in Dublin, Ireland. He was an actor, known for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Island of Terror (1966) and Odd Man Out (1947). He died on August 21, 1981 in Dublin, Ireland.

83. Vera-Ellen

Actress | White Christmas

Vera-Ellen began dancing at the age of 10, and a few years later became one of the youngest Rockettes. She appeared in several Broadway musicals until she was spotted by film producer Samuel Goldwyn in 1945. She was only 24 years old when Goldwyn cast her opposite Danny Kaye in Wonder Man (1945). ...

84. Fern Barry

Actress | The Rifleman

Fern Barry was born on September 24, 1909 in Fairview, Oklahoma, USA. She was an actress, known for The Rifleman (1958), 77 Sunset Strip (1958) and Checkmate (1960). She was married to Donald E. Hill. She died on September 9, 1981 in Burbank, California, USA.

85. Chief Dan George

Actor | Little Big Man

Actor, author, and musician Chief Dan George was born in present-day North Vancouver as Geswanouth Slahoot (later anglicized as 'Dan Slaholt'), the son of a tribal chief on Burrard Indian Reserve Nº. 3. He is the only Aboriginal actor in Canadian history to date with the right to use the title "...

86. Patsy Kelly

Actress | Rosemary's Baby

Patsy Kelly was born Bridget Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly on January 12, 1910, in Brooklyn, New York. She began performing in vaudeville when she was just twelve years old. Patsy worked with comedian Frank Fay and starred in several Broadway shows. She was discovered by producer Hal Roach, who paired ...

87. Ray Kellogg

Actor | The F.B.I.

Ray Kellogg was born on November 12, 1919 in Great Bend, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for The F.B.I. (1965), April Love (1957) and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955). He was married to Eileen Wilson. He died on September 26, 1981 in Olympia, Washington, USA.

88. Robert Montgomery

Actor | Night Must Fall

Robert Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery Jr., the elder son of New York businessman Henry Montgomery and his wife, Mary Weed (Barney), a native of Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. Montgomery had a younger brother, Donald. He was not related to Belinda Montgomery.

As a child, he enjoyed a ...

89. Gloria Grahame

Actress | In a Lonely Place

Gloria Grahame Hallward, an acting pupil of her mother (stage actress and teacher Jean Grahame), acted professionally while still in high school. In 1944 Louis B. Mayer saw her on Broadway and gave her an MGM contract under the name Gloria Grahame. Her debut in the title role of Blonde Fever (1944)...

90. Clelia Matania

Actress | Don't Look Now

Clelia Matania was born on March 28, 1913 in London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Don't Look Now (1973), The Montecarlo Story (1956) and Il circolo Pickwick (1968). She died on October 13, 1981 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

91. Frank DeKova

Actor | The Ten Commandments

Frank DeKova parlayed a sinister scowl, piercing eyes and an all-around menacing attitude into a long career of playing cold-blooded trigger-men, rampaging Indian chiefs, brutal Mexican army officers and the like. So it would probably come as a shock to those who know his work to discover that, ...

92. Stanley Clements

Actor | Up in Smoke

Stanley Clements realized he wanted a show-business career while he was in grammar school, and when he graduated he toured in vaudeville for two years. He then joined the touring company of Edward Bowes' (aka Major Bowes) Amateur Hour. In 1941 he was signed to a contract by 20th Century-Fox and ...

93. William Holden

Actor | Stalag 17

Billy Wilder proclaimed William Holden to be "the ideal motion picture actor". For almost four decades, the handsome, affable 'Golden Holden' was among Hollywood's most durable and engaging stars. He was born William Franklin Beedle Jr., one of three sons to a high school English teacher, Mary ...

94. Harry von Zell

Actor | Meet Mr. Mischief

Portly, pudding-faced, wavy dark-haired actor/announcer Harry Von Zell, whose well-modulated voice was a standard radio fixture during the 1930s and '40s, also extended his talents toward film and TV where he appeared in numerous comedy outings, often as a straight man foil. Born in Indianapolis, ...

95. Jack Albertson

Actor | Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

A former song-and-dance man and veteran of vaudeville, burlesque and Broadway, Jack Albertson is best known to audiences as "The Man" in the TV series Chico and the Man (1974), for which he won an Emmy. In 1968 Albertson, the brother of actress Mabel Albertson, won the Oscar for Best Supporting ...

96. Natalie Wood

Actress | Rebel Without a Cause

Natalie Wood was an American actress of Russian and Ukrainian descent. She started her career as a child actress and eventually transitioned into teenage roles, young adult roles, and middle-aged roles. She drowned off Catalina Island on November 29, 1981 at age 43.

Wood was born July 20, 1938 in ...

97. Robert H. Harris

Actor | How to Make a Monster

Robert H. Harris was born on July 15, 1911 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for How to Make a Monster (1958), Valley of the Dolls (1967) and Bundle of Joy (1956). He was married to Viola Harris and Louise Lewis. He died on November 30, 1981 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

98. Maurice Argent

Actor | Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Maurice Argent was born on March 4, 1916 in Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Dirty Harry (1971) and Magnum Force (1973). He died on December 7, 1981 in San Francisco, California, USA.

99. Rocky Shahan

Actor | Rawhide

Rocky Shahan was born on March 4, 1919 in Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Rawhide (1959), Ride a Violent Mile (1957) and Blood Arrow (1958). He died on December 8, 1981 in Denton, Texas, USA.

100. Edith Bell

Actress | The Crazies

Edith Bell was born in 1923 in Seattle, Washington, USA. She was an actress, known for The Crazies (1973). She was married to Lee Hessel. She died on December 16, 1981 in Tarrytown, New York, USA.