The Little Mermaid 1989 premiere

1. Jodi Benson

Jodi Benson was born on October 10, 1961 in Rockford, Illinois as Jodi Marie Marzorati. She has received worldwide recognition & critical acclaim as the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989), Tour Guide Barbie in Toy Story 2 (1999), Weebo in Flubber (1997) as well as Thumbelina in Thumbelina ...

2. Buddy Hackett

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

Brooklyn-born Buddy Hackett was known mainly as a nightclub comic, especially in Las Vegas, where he first performed in 1952 and wound up being one of the biggest headliners in that city's history. Hackett always referred to himself as a "saloon comic" and preferred the intimacy of his stage act--...

3. Samuel E. Wright

Actor | The Little Mermaid

Samuel Ernest Wright was an African-American actor and singer from Camden, South Carolina. He notably voiced Sebastian the Crab from Disney's The Little Mermaid franchise and Kron the Iguanodon from Dinosaur. He also played Mufasa in the original Broadway run of The Lion King. He passed away in May...

4. Pat Carroll

Actress | The Little Mermaid

Actress and entertainer Pat Carroll played everything from chatterbox wives to wicked stepsisters on TV, and from Gertrude Stein to Shakespeare's Falstaff on stage. Even at 80 plus, the plucky comedienne showed no sign of stopping any time The riotous Pat Carroll was born in Shreveport, Louisiana ...

5. Kathryn Grody

Actress | My Bodyguard

Kathryn Grody was born on November 6, 1946 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for My Bodyguard (1980), The Lemon Sisters (1989) and Life with Mikey (1993). She has been married to Mandy Patinkin since June 15, 1980. They have two children.

6. Mandy Patinkin

Actor | Homeland

Mandy Patinkin was born Mandel Bruce Patinkin in Chicago, Illinois, to Doris "Doralee" (Sinton), a homemaker and cookbook writer, and Lester Patinkin, who operated two scrap metal plants. He is of Russian Jewish and Latvian Jewish descent. Growing up, he began singing in synagogue choirs at the age...

7. Mary Beth Hurt

Actress | The World According to Garp

Mary Beth Hurt was born on September 26, 1946 in Marshalltown, Iowa, USA. She is an actress, known for The World According to Garp (1982), Lady in the Water (2006) and Interiors (1978). She has been married to Paul Schrader since August 6, 1983. They have two children. She was previously married to ...

8. Lorraine Bracco

Actress | Goodfellas

Lorraine was voted the "ugliest girl in the 6th grade" at her Long Island grade school. She moved to France in 1974 where she became a fashion superstar for Jean-Paul Gaultier. Her sister is Elizabeth Bracco. Has two daughters, Stella Keitel by ex-boyfriend Harvey Keitel and Margaux Guerard by ...

9. Stella Keitel

Actress | Goodfellas

Stella Keitel was born on December 10, 1985 in the USA. She is an actress, known for Goodfellas (1990), Bad Lieutenant (1992) and Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001).

10. Margaux Guerard

Actress | Goodfellas

Margaux Guerard was born in 1979. She is an actress, known for Goodfellas (1990).

11. Harvey Keitel

Actor | Reservoir Dogs

American actor and producer Harvey Keitel was born on May 13, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York City, to Miriam (Klein) and Harry Keitel. An Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominee, he has appeared in films such as Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976), Ridley Scott's The Duellists (...

12. Edward James Olmos

Actor | Battlestar Galactica

Born February 24, 1947, in East Los Angeles, at The First Japanese Hospital to Pedro Olmos and Eleanor Huizar. Raised on Cheesebrough's Lane, he attended Greenwood Elementary and Montebello Junior High. He then graduated from Montebello High School in 1964. After which he received an Associative ...

13. Kate Nelligan

Actress | Frankie and Johnny

Cando-American actress Kate Nelligan has had a successful acting career in her native Canada, in Britain and in the United States. Born Patricia Colleen Nelligan on March 16, 1950 in London, Ontario, Kate was the daughter of blue collar-worker Patrick Nelligan and his wife Josephine (née Deir), a ...

14. Alyssa Milano

Actress | Charmed

Alyssa Milano comes from an Italian-American family; her mother Lin Milano is a fashion designer and father Thomas Milano is a film music editor. Alyssa was born in a working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn and grew up in a modest house on Staten Island. One day her babysitter, who was an aspiring ...

15. Glen Keane

Animation_department | Beauty and the Beast

Glen Keane was born on April 13, 1954 in Abington, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a producer, known for Beauty and the Beast (1991), Tangled (2010) and Over the Moon (2020). He has been married to Linda Hesselroth since August 3, 1975. They have two children.

16. Andreas Deja

Animation_department | Mushka

Andreas Deja was born on April 1, 1957 in Gdansk, Pomorskie, Poland. He is an assistant director, known for Mushka (2023), The Princess and the Frog (2009) and Winnie the Pooh (2011).

17. Ron Clements

Writer | Hercules

Ron Clements is an American animated film director who collaborates with John Musker. They directed various Disney animated films including The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, The Princess and the Frog and Moana. The Little Mermaid and Aladdin are ...

18. John Musker

Writer | Hercules

John Musker is an American animated film director who collaborates with Ron Clements. They directed various Disney animated films including The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, The Princess and the Frog and Moana. The Little Mermaid and Aladdin are ...

19. Christopher Daniel Barnes

Actor | The Little Mermaid

Christopher Daniel Barnes was born on November 7, 1972 in Portland, Maine, USA. He is an actor, known for The Little Mermaid (1989), Spider-Man (1994), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996). Barnes moved to New York when he was eight years old, where he began his acting career...

20. Howard Ashman

Soundtrack | Beauty and the Beast

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Howard Ashman moved to New York City in 1974 and began writing plays while working as an editor in a publishing house. His work attracted attention and he became WPA Theatre's artist director in 1977. In 1982, Ashman collaborated with composer Alan Menken on the ...

21. Alan Menken

Soundtrack | Beauty and the Beast

Alan Menken is an American composer, songwriter, music conductor, director and record producer.

Menken is best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores and songs for The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and ...

22. Kathy Zielinski

Animation_department | The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Kathy Zielinski was born on March 21, 1961 in Torrance, California, USA. She is known for The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Flushed Away (2006) and Aladdin (1992). She has been married to Kevin Kutchaver since July 8, 1989. They have one child.

23. Mark Dindal

Writer | Chicken Little

Mark Dindal is an American animation film director, writer and voice actor from Columbus, Ohio who is known for directing the comedy classic Disney film The Emperor's New Groove. He is also known for directing Warner Brothers' musical Cats Don't Dance and Disney's Chicken Little. He provided ...

24. Kenneth Mars

Actor | What's Up, Doc?

Kenneth Mars was an American actor and comedian. He appeared in two Mel Brooks films: as the deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in The Producers (1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in Young Frankenstein (1974). He also appeared in Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up Doc? (1972), ...

25. Jason Marin

Actor | Back to the Future

Jason Marin was born on July 25, 1974 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and cinematographer, known for Back to the Future (1985), The Little Mermaid (1989) and Moving (1988).

26. Paddi Edwards

Actress | Hercules

Paddi Edwards was born on March 8, 1931 in Bristol, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Hercules (1997), The Little Mermaid (1989) and Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982). She died on October 18, 1999 in Encino, California, USA.

27. Edie McClurg

Actress | Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, McClurg began her performing career at age five with the Kansas City Rhythm Kids. She retired when the dance teacher was arrested on a morals charge for "dating" the tall and lissome, yet underage, star dancer in the troupe. That girl's big number culminated with a ...

28. Will Ryan

Actor | The Land Before Time

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Will Ryan began a career in music. He later became 'Willio' of the comedic singing group Willio & Phillio. The duo relocated to California where they got the opportunity to write and record wacky songs for Disneyland Records. Mr. Ryan also began providing voices for...

29. Kimmy Robertson

Actress | Beauty and the Beast

Kimmy Robertson began her career as a ballet dancer but her distinctive sense of humor and quirky style brought her to the attention of an agent who happened to worked in the same office as her ballet company. After at first being unsure about becoming an actor, Kimmy was then hired for the first ...

30. Rene Auberjonois

Actor | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

René Murat Auberjonois was born on June 1, 1940 in New York City, to Princess Laure Louise Napoléone Eugénie Caroline (Murat), who was born in Paris, and Fernand Auberjonois, who was Swiss-born. René was born into an already artistic family, which included his grandfather, a well-known Swiss ...

31. Mark A. Hester

Editorial_department | How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Mark A. Hester is known for How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019), Dinosaur (2000) and The Little Mermaid (1989).

32. Robert Kraft

Music_department | The Mambo Kings

Robert Kraft is an award-winning songwriter, film composer, recording artist and record producer. As President of Fox Music from 1994 to 2012, Kraft was the Executive in Charge of Music for more than 300 Fox feature films, as well as dozens of TV shows. As a songwriter, Kraft has earned nominations...

33. Isaac Patinkin

Actor | Daniel

Isaac Patinkin is known for Daniel (1983).

34. Harry Anderson

Actor | Night Court

Harry Anderson was born on October 14, 1952 in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Night Court (1984), It (1990) and Tales from the Crypt (1989). He was married to Elizabeth Morgan and Leslie Pollack. He died on April 16, 2018 in Asheville, North Carolina, USA.

35. George Burns

Actor | Oh, God!

George Burns was an American actor, comedian, singer, and published author. He formed a comedy duo with his wife Gracie Allen (1895-1964), and typically played the straight man to her zany roles. Following her death, Burns started appearing as a solo performer. He once won an Academy Award for Best...

36. Monica Lacy

Actress | The Kicks

Monica Lacy is one of the rare actresses working today to move easily between comedy and drama. She's played everything from brainiacs to bombshells, her off-beat humor and warmth always hinting at the surprises underneath her All-American good looks. Next up, she's appearing in Amazon's The Kicks ...

37. Leanna Creel

Actress | Freeway

Leanna Creel began her television career acting in series such as Parent Trap III (1989) and Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion (1991), her most popular role being that of "Tori Scott" in Saved by the Bell (1989). She graduated from UCLA in 1993 with a BA (Honors) in History and, in 1996, ...

38. Walter Cronkite

Actor | Liberty's Kids

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, the only child of Helen Lena (Fritsche) and Walter Leland Cronkite, a doctor. Throughout his early career, Cronkite worked with newspapers. During World War II, he served as a news reporter. In 1950, Cronkite became a journalist. He ...

39. Jane Fonda

Actress | Klute

Born in New York City to legendary screen star Henry Fonda and Ontario-born New York socialite Frances Seymour Brokaw, Jane Seymour Fonda was destined early to an uncommon and influential life in the limelight. Although she initially showed little inclination to follow her father's trade, she was ...

40. John Forsythe

Actor | The Trouble with Harry

John Forysthe was born Jacob Lincoln Freund in Penns Grove, New Jersey, the son of Blanche Materson (Blohm) and Samuel Jeremiah Freund, a Wall Street businessman. He chose to pursue acting over the objections of his father. He did some work in radio soaps and on Broadway before signing a movie ...

41. Estelle Getty

Actress | The Golden Girls

She was truly one mother of a mom...on stage, on film and on TV. A favorite firecracker on 80s and 90s television, tiny character player Estelle Getty became best known for her carping, meddlesome moms -- complete with bemused, cynical looks, irreverent digs and dead-pan Henny Youngman-like ...

42. George S. Irving

Actor | The Year Without a Santa Claus

George S. Irving was born on November 1, 1922 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974), Pinocchio's Christmas (1980) and Live from Lincoln Center (1976). He was married to Maria Karnilova. He died on December 26, 2016 in Manhattan, New ...

43. Kate Jackson

Actress | Scarecrow and Mrs. King

Lucy Kate Jackson was born in Birmingham, AL on October 29.1948. She attended the University of Mississippi but left during her sophomore year to begin studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She was a supporting cast member on Dark Shadows (1966) (Daphne, 1970-1971) and on The Rookies (...

44. Rue McClanahan

Actress | The Golden Girls

A New York stage actress in the 1950s, McClanahan was plucked from the stage by Norman Lear for roles on All in the Family (1971) and later Maude (1972). For two years (1982 - 1984), she played "Aunt Fran" on Mama's Family (1983) until her character was killed off and she joined the cast of The ...

45. Ann Miller

Actress | Mulholland Dr.

Ann Miller was born Johnnie Lucille Ann Collier on April 12, 1923 in Chireno, Texas. She lived there until she was nine, when her mother left her philandering father and moved with Ann to Los Angeles, California. Even at that young age, she had to support her mother, who was hearing-impaired and ...

46. Yves Montand

Actor | Jean de Florette

Yves Montand was born on October 13, 1921 in Monsummano Terme, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for Jean de Florette (1986), Z (1969) and The Wages of Fear (1953). He was married to Simone Signoret. He died on November 9, 1991 in Senlis, Oise, France.

47. Willie Nelson

Soundtrack | The Dukes of Hazzard

This versatile, eclectic, rather wanderlust country crossover star known for his classic ballads ("Always On My Mind"), autobiographical road songs ("On the Road Again") and catchy rhythms ("Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys") started out life as Willie Hugh Nelson on April 30, ...

48. David Johansen

Soundtrack | Scrooged

New York City born David Johansen sang in Rock & Roll dance bands as a teenager, joining Charles Ludlum's Ridiculous Theater and starting the New York Dolls.

The highly influential Dolls made two iconic Rock & Roll records before disbanding in the mid seventies. At this time he created the David ...

49. Stefanie Powers

Actress | Hart to Hart

Stefanie Powers began her career as a teenager dancing for the Michele Paniaff Ballet Company and Jerome Robbins. At 16 she was put under contract to Columbia Pictures in the twilight of the Hollywood Studio System where she made 15 motion pictures and was loaned to United Artists for the John Wayne...

50. Tony Randall

Actor | The Odd Couple

Tony Randall was born on February 26, 1920 in Tulsa, Oklahoma as Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg. He attended Tulsa Central High School and later Northwestern University and New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. After graduating, he starred in two plays: George Bernard Shaw's '...

51. John Ritter

Actor | Sling Blade

Jonathan Southworth Ritter was born in Burbank, California, on September 17, 1948. He was the son of legendary country singer/actor Tex Ritter (born Woodward Maurice Ritter) and his wife, actress Dorothy Fay (née Dorothy Fay Southworth). The couple married in 1941 and had their first child, Tom ...

52. Smokey Robinson

Soundtrack | Big Time

Multi-talented performer/writer/producer Smokey Robinson's career, and life, is inextricably tied up with Motown Records' founder Berry Gordy (his first two children are named Tamla, for the Gordy-owned label Smokey recorded for, and Berry, for Gordy himself). He and Gordy have had a professional ...

53. Mickey Rooney

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

Mickey Rooney was born Joe Yule Jr. on September 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York. He first took the stage as a toddler in his parents vaudeville act at 17 months old. He made his first film appearance in 1926. The following year, he played the lead character in the first Mickey McGuire short film. ...

54. Cathy Lee Crosby

Actress | The Player

Cathy Lee Crosby, Founder & CEO of CLC Entertainment Studios, is an internationally recognized star, multi-talented actress, entertainer, writer and producer. Her diverse career includes: representing the U.S. in international tennis competition (she attained a career high ranking of #7 in singles ...

55. Stephen Dahlem

Director | Oklahoma Centennial Spectacular

Stephen Dahlem is known for Oklahoma Centennial Spectacular (2007), 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade (2010) and 2013 Tournament of Roses Parade (2013).

56. Janeen Damian

Producer | Irish Wish

Janeen Damian was born in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Irish Wish (2024), Falling for Christmas (2022) and Paris Christmas Waltz (2023). She has been married to Michael Damian since June 18, 1998.

57. Chasen Hampton

Actor | The Rules of Attraction

Chasen Hampton was born on January 12, 1975 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. He is an actor and director, known for The Rules of Attraction (2002), The X-Files (1993) and The All New Mickey Mouse Club (1989).

58. Hayley Mills

Actress | Pollyanna

Born Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills in London in 1946, she is the daughter of the great actor Sir John Mills and the well-known novelist-playwright Mary Hayley Bell. Her sister is the actress Juliet Mills. She grew up in her parents' home, an outgoing, funny child, and, because she spent so ...

59. Anita Pointer

Soundtrack | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Soul and R&B singer/songwriter Anita Marie Pointer was born on January 28, 1948 in Oakland, California. She's the second eldest member of the extremely popular and successful soul/R&B group The Pointer Sisters. Anita got married at age 17. In 1969 she quit her job as a secretary at a legal office ...

60. June Pointer

Soundtrack | The Nutty Professor

June Antoinette Pointer was born on November 30, 1953 in Oakland, California to Reverend Elton Pointer and his wife Sarah. She was the youngest member of the hugely popular and successful soul/R&B group The Pointer Sisters. June attended Edison Elementary School, Elmhurst Junior High, and ...

61. Ruth Pointer

Soundtrack | The Nutty Professor

Soul and R&B singer Ruth Pointer was born on March 19, 1946 in Oakland, California. She's the eldest member of the hugely popular and successful soul and R&B group The Pointer Sisters. Ruth began her formal vocal training as director of the junior choir at her priest father Elton Pointer's church ...

62. Suzanne Somers

Actress | Three's Company

Suzanne Somers was the third of four children born to Frank and Marion Mahoney. Her father worked loading beer onto boxcars, and her mother was a medical secretary. She grew up living in constant fear of being hurt or even killed at the hands of her verbally and physically abusive, alcoholic father...

63. James Stewart

Actor | Vertigo

James Maitland Stewart was born on May 20, 1908, in Indiana, Pennsylvania, to Elizabeth Ruth (Johnson) and Alexander Maitland Stewart, who owned a hardware store. He was of Scottish, Ulster-Scots, and some English descent. Stewart was educated at a local prep school, Mercersburg Academy, where he ...

64. Donna Summer

Soundtrack | Thank God It's Friday

Donna Summer rocketed to international super-stardom in the mid-1970s when her groundbreaking merger of R&B, soul, pop, funk, rock, disco and avant-garde electronica catapulted underground dance music out of the clubs of Europe to the pinnacles of sales and radio charts around the world.

Maintaining...

65. Bette Midler

Soundtrack | Beaches

Multi Grammy Award-winning singer/comedienne/author Bette Midler has also proven herself to be a very capable actress in a string of both dramatic and comedic roles. Midler was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on December 1, 1945. She is the daughter of Ruth (Schindel), a seamstress, and Fred Midler, a ...

66. Leonard Nimoy

Actor | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Leonard Simon Nimoy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Dora (Spinner) and Max Nimoy, who owned a barbershop. His parents were Ukrainian Jewish immigrants. Raised in a tenement and acting in community theaters since age eight, Nimoy did not make his Hollywood debut until he was 20, with a bit ...

67. Lauren Bacall

Actress | To Have and Have Not

Lauren Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske on September 16, 1924, in New York City. She was the daughter of Natalie Weinstein-Bacal, a Romanian Jewish immigrant, and William Perske, who was born in New Jersey, to Polish Jewish parents. Her family was middle-class, with her father working as a ...

68. Kevin Costner

Actor | The Postman

Kevin Michael Costner was born on January 18, 1955 in Lynwood, California, the third child of Bill Costner, a ditch digger and ultimately an electric line servicer for Southern California Edison, and Sharon Costner (née Tedrick), a welfare worker. His older brother, Dan, was born in 1950. A middle ...

69. Sissy Spacek

Actress | In the Bedroom

As a kid, Sissy Spacek climbed trees, rode horses, swam, and played in the woods. She was born Mary Elizabeth Spacek on December 25, 1949, in Quitman, Texas, to Virginia Frances (Spilman) and Edwin Arnold Spacek, Sr., a county agricultural agent. Her father's family was of Czech and German origin.

...

70. Rick Moranis

Actor | Parenthood

Rick began his career as a radio DJ while he was still at high school which led to him writing, producing and being on air in his own show. He joined the Canadian TV series, SCTV (1976), winning an Emmy for writing and portraying the character, Bob McKenzie, which became the basis for the film, ...

71. Betty White

Actress | The Proposal

Betty White was born in Oak Park, Illinois, to Christine Tess (Cachikis), a homemaker, and Horace Logan White, a lighting company executive for the Crouse-Hinds Electric Company. She was of Danish, Greek, English, and Welsh descent.

Although she was best known as the devious Sue Ann Nivens on the ...

72. Audrey Hepburn

Actress | Breakfast at Tiffany's

Audrey Hepburn was born as Audrey Kathleen Ruston on May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. Her mother, Baroness Ella Van Heemstra, was a Dutch noblewoman, while her father, Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, was born in Úzice, Bohemia, to English and Austrian parents.

After her parents' divorce, ...

73. George Lucas

Writer | Star Wars

George Walton Lucas, Jr. was raised on a walnut ranch in Modesto, California. His father was a stationery store owner and he had three siblings. During his late teen years, he went to Thomas Downey High School and was very much interested in drag racing. He planned to become a professional racecar ...

74. Michael J. Fox

Actor | Back to the Future

Michael J. Fox was born Michael Andrew Fox on June 9, 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to Phyllis Fox (née Piper), a payroll clerk, and William Fox. His parents moved their 10-year-old son, his three sisters, Kelli Fox, Karen, and Jacki, and his brother Steven, to Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

75. Jim Henson

Soundtrack | The Muppet Show

Jim Henson never thought that he would make a name of himself in puppetry; it was merely a way of getting himself on television. The vehicle that achieved it was Sam and Friends (1955), a late-night puppet show that was on after the 11:00 news in Washington DC. It proved to be very popular and ...

76. Robin Williams

Actor | Mrs. Doubtfire

Robin McLaurin Williams was born on Saturday, July 21st, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois, a great-great-grandson of Mississippi Governor and Senator, Anselm J. McLaurin. His mother, Laurie McLaurin (née Janin), was a former model from Mississippi, and his father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams, was a Ford ...

77. Alan Alda

Actor | M*A*S*H

Alan Alda (born under the name Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo) is an American actor, comedian, film director, and screenwriter from New York City. His father was the Italian-American actor Robert Alda. Alda's best known role was playing chief surgeon Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the ...

78. Pat Morita

Actor | The Karate Kid

Abundantly busy and much-loved Asian-American actor who became an on-screen hero to millions of adults and kids alike as the wise and wonderful Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid (1984), the sparkling Noriyuki Morita was back again dishing out Eastern philosophy and martial arts lessons for The Karate ...

79. Bob Hope

Actor | The Ghost Breakers

Comedian Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, London, England, the fifth of seven sons of Avis (Townes), light opera singer, and William Henry Hope, a stonemason from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. His maternal grandmother was Welsh. Hope moved to Bristol before emigrating with his parents...

80. Dick Van Dyke

Actor | Mary Poppins

Dick Van Dyke was born Richard Wayne Van Dyke in West Plains, Missouri, to Hazel Victoria (McCord), a stenographer, and Loren Wayne Van Dyke, a salesman. His younger brother was entertainer Jerry Van Dyke. His ancestry includes English, Dutch, Scottish, German and Swiss-German. Although he had ...

81. Tom Cruise

Actor | Top Gun

In 1976, if you had told fourteen-year-old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be Tom Cruise, one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to join the priesthood. ...

82. Angela Lansbury

Actress | The Manchurian Candidate

Angela Lansbury was born in 1925 into a prominent family of the upper middle class living in the Regent's Park neighborhood of London. Her father was socialist politician Edgar Isaac Lansbury (1887-1935), a member of both the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) and the Labour Party. Edgar ...

83. Billy Joel

Soundtrack | Oliver & Company

William Martin Joel is an American singer, pianist, composer and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his single and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released 12 pop and rock studio albums from 1971...

84. Samuel L. Jackson

Actor | Pulp Fiction

Samuel L. Jackson is an American producer and highly prolific actor, having appeared in over 100 films, including Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Unbreakable (2000), Shaft (2000), Formula 51 (2001), Black Snake Moan (2006), Snakes on a Plane (2006), and the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999-2005), ...

85. Harrison Ford

Actor | Raiders of the Lost Ark

Harrison Ford was born on July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, to Dorothy (Nidelman), a radio actress, and Christopher Ford (born John William Ford), an actor turned advertising executive. His father was of Irish and German ancestry, while his maternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Minsk, ...

86. Paul Reubens

Actor | Pee-wee's Playhouse

Paul Reubens was born Paul Rubenfeld on August 27, 1952 in Peekskill, New York, to Judy (Rosen), a teacher, and Milton Rubenfeld, a car salesman who had flown for the air forces of the U.S., U.K., and Israel, becoming one of the latter country's pioneering pilots. Paul grew up in Sarasota, Florida,...

87. David Copperfield

Producer | Now You See Me 2

David Copperfield is the first living illusionist to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: he won the star on April 25th, 1995, for the category "Live Performance" and the address is 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, USA. On October 2nd, 1994, he was knighted by the...

88. Chevy Chase

Actor | Memoirs of an Invisible Man

Chevy Chase was born Cornelius Crane Chase on October 8, 1943 in Lower Manhattan, New York, to Cathalene Parker (Browning), a concert pianist and librettist, and Edward Tinsley "Ned" Chase, an editor and writer. His parents both came from prominent families, and his grandfathers were artist and ...

89. Michael Jackson

Soundtrack | Michael Jackson: Thriller

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, and entertained audiences nearly his entire life. His father, Joe Jackson (no relation to Joe Jackson, also a musician), had been a guitarist, but was forced to give up his musical ambitions following his marriage to Michael's ...

90. Alex Trebek

Producer | Jeopardy!

Born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario, Alex Trebek graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in Philosophy. After his first decision to become a newscaster, he joined the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company), Canada's premier network in 1961. As he was working, he helped organize national ...

91. Ben Vereen

Actor | All That Jazz

Few entertainers today are as accomplished or versatile as Ben Vereen. His legendary performances transcend time and have been woven into the fabric of this country's artistic legacy. His first love and passion is and always will be the stage. "The theater was my first training ground. It taught me...

92. Carol Channing

Actress | Thoroughly Modern Millie

Carol Channing was born January 31, 1921, at Seattle, Washington, the daughter of a prominent newspaper editor, who was very active in the Christian Science movement. She attended high school in San Francisco and later worked as a model in Los Angeles. She attended prestigious Bennington College in...

93. Charlton Heston

Actor | Ben-Hur

With features chiseled in stone, and renowned for playing a long list of historical figures, particularly in Biblical epics, the tall, well-built and ruggedly handsome Charlton Heston was one of Hollywood's top leading men of his prime and remained active in front of movie cameras for over sixty ...

94. Cicely Tyson

Actress | The Help

Cicely Tyson was born in Harlem, New York City, where she was raised by her devoutly religious parents, who had come from the Caribbean island of Nevis. Her mother Theodosia was a domestic worker and her her father William was a carpenter and painter. Tyson was discovered by a fashion editor at ...

95. Cindy Williams

Actress | Laverne & Shirley

Cindy Williams was born Cynthia Jane Williams in Van Nuys, California on August 22, 1947. The Leo was 5'4" and, during her first years on Laverne & Shirley (1976), weighed a dainty 105 lbs. The brown haired, blue-eyed female was born the daughter of Francesca Bellini and Beachard Williams. Her ...

96. Tony Curtis

Actor | Some Like It Hot

Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz, the eldest of three children of Helen (Klein) and Emanuel Schwartz, Jewish immigrants from Hungary. Curtis himself admits that while he had almost no formal education, he was a student of the "school of hard knocks" and learned from a young age that the only ...

97. David Leisure

Actor | 10 Things I Hate About You

During his student-actor days at San Diego State University, Leisure roomed with Robert Hays. Graduating with a degree in fine arts, he pursued acting jobs for 6 years before landing a bit part in "Airplane!", which ironically starred his former roomie. Acting prospects continued to be dim, and ...

98. Donald O'Connor

Actor | Singin' in the Rain

Born into a vaudeville family, O'Connor was the youthful figure cutting a rug in several Universal musicals of the 1940s. His best-known musical work is probably Singin' in the Rain (1952), in which he did an impressive dance that culminated in a series of backflips off the wall. O'Connor was also ...

99. Ernie Hudson

Actor | Ghostbusters

As a child growing up in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Ernie Hudson wrote short stories, poems and songs, always thinking that his words might one day come to life on stage. After a short stint in the Marine Corps, he moved to Detroit where he became the resident playwright at Concept East, the oldest ...

100. Florence Henderson

Actress | The Brady Bunch

Florence Henderson was considered by protocol executive Jerold Franks, CSA to be "...one of the most generous stars I have ever worked with." Los Angeles, New York and all parts of the country, Florence has helped raise millions of dollars for various charitable organizations.

Jerold Franks, friend ...