Buster Keaton: The Silent Film Legend Joseph Frank Keaton VI, better known as Buster Keaton, was born on October 4, 1895, in Piqua, Kansas, USA. He was the eldest son of Joseph Hallie “Joe” Keaton, a vaudeville performer, and Myra Keaton, who performed with her husband under the stage name “Joe.” Buster’s childhood was steeped in the world of vaudeville, […]
John Goodman: A Towering Talent of Stage and Screen John Stephen Goodman was born on June 20, 1952, in Affton, Missouri, USA, to Virginia Roos and Leslie Francis Goodman. Growing up in a middle-class family with two siblings, Goodman experienced a typical American childhood in the suburbs of St. Louis. From a young age, he displayed an interest in acting […]
Will Smith: From West Philadelphia to Hollywood Royalty Willard Carroll Smith Jr., known professionally as Will Smith, was born on September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was the second of four children born to Willard Carroll Smith Sr., a refrigeration engineer, and Caroline Bright, a school board administrator. Raised in the Wynnefield neighborhood of West Philadelphia, Smith’s childhood […]
Edward G. Robinson: The Iconic Actor of Hollywood’s Golden Age Born Emanuel Goldenberg on December 12, 1893, in Bucharest, Romania, Edward G. Robinson was the youngest of five children born to a Yiddish-speaking Jewish family. In 1903, at the age of 10, his family immigrated to the United States, settling in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. Growing […]
Alan Rickman: The Consummate Actor and Beloved Talent Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was born on February 21, 1946, in Hammersmith, London, England. He was the second of four children born to Margaret Doreen Rose, a housewife, and Bernard William Rickman, a factory worker. Raised in a working-class household, Rickman attended Derwentwater Primary School and later Latymer Upper School in London, […]
Martin Sheen: The Resilient Actor and Activist Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez, known professionally as Martin Sheen, was born on August 3, 1940, in Dayton, Ohio, USA. He was the seventh of ten children born to immigrant parents; his father, Francisco Estévez Martínez, hailed from Spain, and his mother, Mary-Ann Phelan, was of Irish descent. Growing up in a working-class neighborhood, […]
Don Cheadle: The Versatile Actor and Activist Donald Frank Cheadle Jr., widely known as Don Cheadle, was born on November 29, 1964, in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He was raised in a middle-class household by his parents, Bettye Cheadle, a teacher, and Donald Frank Cheadle Sr., a clinical psychologist. From an early age, Cheadle showed an interest in performing arts, […]
Jim Carrey: The Comedy Maestro with a Heart of Gold James Eugene Carrey, known as Jim Carrey, was born on January 17, 1962, in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. He grew up in a middle-class family, the youngest of four children born to Percy Carrey, an accountant, and Kathleen Oram, a homemaker. From a young age, Carrey exhibited a natural flair for […]
Samuel L. Jackson: The Prolific Icon of Cinema Samuel Leroy Jackson was born on December 21, 1948, in Washington, D.C., USA. He was raised by his mother, Elizabeth, who worked as a factory worker and later as a supplies buyer for a mental institution, and his maternal grandparents in Chattanooga, Tennessee, after his father, Roy Henry Jackson, abandoned the family […]
Bill Murray: The Unconventional Comedy Genius William James Murray, known as Bill Murray, was born on September 21, 1950, in Wilmette, Illinois, USA. He grew up in a large Irish Catholic family with eight siblings, including his older brother, actor Brian Doyle-Murray. From an early age, Murray showed a natural talent for comedy and performance, entertaining his family and friends […]