Movies, TV, Entertainment, Art
Burton Stephen Lancaster was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing "tough guys", he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles. He was nominated four times for Academy Awards and won once for his work in Elmer Gantry in 1960. He also won a Golden Globe for that performance and BAFTA Awards for The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Atlantic City (1980).
Movies, Entertainment, Art, Business and economy
Cary Grant was an English-born American actor, known as one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men. He was known for his transatlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing.
Robert Pershing Wadlow, also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American who became famous as the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raised in Alton, Illinois.
Movies, TV, Entertainment, Art
Patrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor and racecar driver, best known for his role as neurosurgeon Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in Grey's Anatomy. He had early success as an actor, starring in a number of films in the 1980s, including Can't Buy Me Love (1987) and Loverboy (1989). In the 1990s, he mostly appeared in smaller roles in film, such as Outbreak (1995) and television. Patrick was also in Scream 3 (2000) where he played the role of Detective Mark Kincaid. He was successful in landing a lead role in Sweet Home Alabama (2002), a surprise box office hit. He has since starred in other films, including Brother Bear 2 (2006), Enchanted (2007), Made of Honor (2008), Valentine's Day (2010), Flypaper (2011), Freedom Writers (2007), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), and Bridget Jones's Baby (2016).
Entertainment, Politics, Business and economy
Phineas Taylor Barnum was an American showman, politician, and businessman remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017). He was also an author, publisher, and philanthropist, though he said of himself: "I am a showman by profession ... and all the gilding shall make nothing else of me". According to his critics, his personal aim was "to put money in his own coffers." He is widely credited with coining the adage "There's a sucker born every minute", although no proof can be found of him saying this.
Stephen Gilchrist Glover, better known by his stage name Steve-O, is an actor, stunt performer, producer, stand-up comedian, author, musician and clown. He holds British, American and Canadian citizenship. His entertainment career is mostly centered on his performance stunts on the American TV series Jackass, its related movies, and its spin-off series Wildboyz.
Annie Oakley was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Her talent first came to light when at age 15 she won a shooting match against traveling-show marksman Frank E. Butler, whom she later married. The couple joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show a few years later. Oakley became a renowned international star, performing before royalty and heads of state.
Anna Haining Bates, was a Canadian giantess famed for her great stature of 7 feet 11 inches (2.41 m). Her parents were of normal height and were Scottish immigrants.
Sara Baartman, was the most well known of at least two South African Khoikhoi women who, due to their large buttocks, were exhibited as freak show attractions in 19th-century Europe under the name Hottentot Venus—"Hottentot" was the then current name for the Khoi people, now considered an offensive term, and "Venus" referred to the Roman goddess of love.
Maria Rasputin was the daughter of Grigori Rasputin and his wife Praskovia Fyodorovna Dubrovina. She wrote two memoirs about her father, dealing with Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, the attack by Khionia Guseva and the murder. A third one, The Man Behind the Myth, was published in 1977 in association with Patte Barham. In her three memoirs, the veracity of which has been questioned, she painted an almost saintly picture of her father, insisting that most of the negative stories were based on slander and the misinterpretation of facts by his enemies.
Movies, Entertainment, Art, Business and economy
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was an American scout, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory, but he lived for several years in his father's hometown in Toronto Township, Ontario, Canada, before the family returned to the Midwest and settled in the Kansas Territory.
Jacqueline Frances Stallone was an American astrologer, dancer and Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling's kayfabe promoter. She was the mother of actor Sylvester Stallone, singer Frank Stallone, and actress Toni D'Alto.
Movies, Music, TV, Entertainment, Art
Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, juggler, comedian, musician, inventor, actor, filmmaker, television personality and best-selling author known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo have been featured in numerous stage and television shows such as Penn & Teller: Fool Us, and Penn & Teller: Bullshit, and are currently headlining in Las Vegas at The Rio. Jillette serves as the act's orator and raconteur.
Movies, Music, TV, Entertainment, Art
Richard Bernard Eheart professionally known as Red Skelton was an American comedy entertainer. He was best known for his national radio and television acts between 1937 and 1971, and as host of the television program The Red Skelton Show. He has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio and television, and also appeared in burlesque, vaudeville, films, nightclubs, and casinos, all while he pursued an entirely separate career as an artist.