41.8501° N, 87.6499° W

CHICAGO

Most Famous People Born in Chicago, USA

Notable people
7,467
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1940
Most distinctive
Baseball 5.2×

Big shoulders, broad bench. Chicago's notables are spread evenly across actors, politicians, and four major-league sports — the city is the dataset's largest baseball-and-basketball over-index outside the coasts — alongside a deep screenwriter and novelist tradition that gave the world Saul Bellow, David Mamet, and Ben Hecht. No single category dominates the way film does in Los Angeles or Wall Street does in New York, and the music economy alone runs from blues and house to first-wave hip-hop.

Standouts

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 850 notable births.

What Chicago Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Chicago's biggest profession — 11% of all notables (813).

Chicago over-indexes on baseball 5.2× the global rate.

Chicago under-produces politician — only 0.5× the global rate.

  1. Actor 813 2.0×
  2. Politician 469 0.5×
  3. Football 462 0.6×
  4. Baseball 441 5.2×
  5. Basket 398 4.2×
  6. Music 312 2.9×
  7. Writer 220 0.9×
  8. Singer 207 1.3×
  1. Baseball 441 5.2×
  2. Basket 398 4.2×
  3. Screenwriter 128 3.9×
  4. Novelist 96 3.3×
  5. Music 312 2.9×
  6. Actor 813 2.0×
  7. Film 168 1.8×
  1. Politician 469 0.5×
  2. Football 462 0.6×
  3. Painter 116 0.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Chicago's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1850 1875 1900 1925 1950 1975 2000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Other
Actor813
Sort By

Showing 813 of 7,467 notable people

3628 ACTOR

Kristen Li

Born 2002

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3629 ACTOR

Mel Jackson

Born 1970

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3631 ACTOR

Tessa Kosta

1890 - 1981

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3632 ACTOR

Adda Gleason

1888 - 1971

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3657 ACTOR

Corey Holcomb

Born 1968

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3671 ACTOR

Joe Landon

Born 1976

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3675 ACTOR

Kyle T. Heffner

Born 1957

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3676 ACTOR

Victoria Wyndham

Born 1945

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3730 ACTOR

Danny Corkill

Born 1974

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3737 ACTOR

Ethel Owen

1893 - 1997

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3743 ACTOR

Frank Ray Perilli

1925 - 2018

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3777 ACTOR

Aaron Frazier

Born 1982

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3783 ACTOR

Roxana McGowan

1897 - 1976

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3803 ACTOR

Stewart Moss

1937 - 2017

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3812 ACTOR

Shorty Hamilton

1879 - 1925

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3827 ACTOR

Amedee Chabot

Born 1945

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3852 ACTOR

Stacy Keach Sr.

1914 - 2003

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3855 ACTOR

Nina Wayne

Born 1943

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3862 ACTOR

Darius de Haas

Born 1968

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3867 ACTOR

Isabel Randolph

1889 - 1973

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3875 ACTOR

Albert J. Smith (actor)

1894 - 1939

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3876 ACTOR

Katrina Lenk

Born 1974

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3884 ACTOR

Valerie Wellington

1959 - 1993

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3892 ACTOR

Geraldine Wall

1912 - 1970

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3894 ACTOR

Eadie Adams

1907 - 1983

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3899 ACTOR

Deborah Harmon

Born 1951

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3907 ACTOR

C. Denier Warren

1889 - 1971

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3933 ACTOR

Christine Ko

Born 1992

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3938 ACTOR

Bill Bolender

Born 1940

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3948 ACTOR

James Murtaugh

Born 1942

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3949 ACTOR

Mazin Elsadig

Born 1987

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3964 ACTOR

Maura Gale

-

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3970 ACTOR

Wally Burr

1924 - 2017

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3976 ACTOR

Kallie Flynn Childress

Born 1988

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3995 ACTOR

John Loprieno

Born 1960

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3996 ACTOR

M'el Dowd

1938 - 2012

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4045 ACTOR

Bert Moorhouse

1894 - 1954

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4053 ACTOR

Irene Dalton

1901 - 1934

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4058 ACTOR

Tony Alcantar

Born 1960

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4061 ACTOR

Elspeth Eric

1907 - 1993

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4062 ACTOR

Bashir Salahuddin

Born 1976

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4070 ACTOR

Merrell Jackson

1952 - 1991

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4081 ACTOR

Damian London

Born 1931

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4110 ACTOR

Chetan Kumar

Born 1983

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4117 ACTOR

Darlene Tompkins

1940 - 2019

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4119 ACTOR

Ernest Graves (actor)

1919 - 1983

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4123 ACTOR

Michael Gray (actor)

Born 1951

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4129 ACTOR

Tom Gallery

1897 - 1993

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4136 ACTOR

Bret Morrison

1912 - 1978

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4156 ACTOR

Jonathan Daly

Born 1942

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4198 ACTOR

Diana Gibson

1915 - 1991

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4199 ACTOR

Howard Witt

1932 - 2017

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4205 ACTOR

L. Harvey Gold

Born 1946

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4210 ACTOR

Andrea Kelly (actress)

Born 1974

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4220 ACTOR

Bonnie Poe

1912 - 1993

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4244 ACTOR

Billy Franey

1889 - 1940

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4279 ACTOR

Janet Fox

1912 - 2002

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4280 ACTOR

Nancy Linari

Born 1955

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4286 ACTOR

Dave Morris (actor)

1884 - 1955

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4295 ACTOR

Rodney Perry

Born 1970

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4339 ACTOR

William Newman (actor)

1934 - 2015

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4343 ACTOR

Archie Lang (actor)

1920 - 2016

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4349 ACTOR

Cliff Norton

1918 - 2003

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4355 ACTOR

Sally Payne

1912 - 1999

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4360 ACTOR

J. J. Johnston

Born 1933

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4387 ACTOR

Gabrielle Walsh

Born 1989

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4391 ACTOR

Lynton Brent

1897 - 1981

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4392 ACTOR

Ashley Bashioum

Born 1983

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4399 ACTOR

Harry Schumm

1877 - 1953

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4414 ACTOR

DeForest Covan

1917 - 2007

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4418 ACTOR

Tanya Clarke

Born 1972

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4431 ACTOR

Eric Lane (actor)

Born 1976

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4440 ACTOR

Jerry Dixon (actor)

-

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4447 ACTOR

Ron Gans

1931 - 2010

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4464 ACTOR

Donald Briggs

1911 - 1986

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4465 ACTOR

Rachel Avery

-

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4470 ACTOR

Leo McHugh Carroll

Born 2000

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4471 ACTOR

Mollie McConnell

1865 - 1920

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4482 ACTOR

Theo Frenkel jr.

1893 - 1955

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4501 ACTOR

Josephine Ditt

1868 - 1939

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4518 ACTOR

April Haney

Born 1969

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4536 ACTOR

Charles R. Moore (actor)

1893 - 1947

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4541 ACTOR

Lillian Drew

1883 - 1924

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4550 ACTOR

Glory Van Scott

Born 1947

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4579 ACTOR

Maralou Gray

Born 1931

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4585 ACTOR

Rusty Lane

1899 - 1986

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4587 ACTOR

Jane Webb

1925 - 2010

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4613 ACTOR

Lillian Cornell

1916 - 2015

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4621 ACTOR

Joel Chasnoff

Born 1973

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4643 ACTOR

Anne Howard (actress)

1925 - 1991

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4646 ACTOR

Perry Anzilotti

Born 1959

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4663 ACTOR

Louise Campbell (actress)

1911 - 1997

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4690 ACTOR

Michael Colyar

Born 1957

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4723 ACTOR

Clara Lipman

1864 - 1952

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4726 ACTOR

Chris Jacobs (television host)

Born 1970

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4727 ACTOR

Gene Wolande

Born 1956

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4754 ACTOR

Alexandriani Sikelianou

-

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4764 ACTOR

Keith Hefner

1929 - 2016

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4784 ACTOR

James DuMont

Born 1965

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4811 ACTOR

Phillip Hayes Dean

1931 - 2014

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4819 ACTOR

Caitlin Leahy

Born 1989

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4824 ACTOR

Meg Wittner

Born 1950

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4826 ACTOR

Jeff Austin (acteur)

Born 1954

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4827 ACTOR

Joseph Mell

1915 - 1977

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4845 ACTOR

Andy Bean (actor)

Born 1984

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4850 ACTOR

Jimmy Baron

Born 1961

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4854 ACTOR

Carol Huston

Born 1963

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4858 ACTOR

Harry Bernsen

1925 - 2008

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4899 ACTOR

Ali Ewoldt

Born 1982

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4917 ACTOR

Julie Friedman

Born 1977

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4921 ACTOR

Leonard Kelly-Young

Born 1948

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4936 ACTOR

Edwin B. Tilton

1859 - 1926

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4937 ACTOR

Michael Tor

1917 - 2009

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4957 ACTOR

Duane Grey

1921 - 2001

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4977 ACTOR

Kurt Naebig

Born 1963

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4978 ACTOR

Lionel Mark Smith

1946 - 2008

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4992 ACTOR

Mary Servoss

1888 - 1968

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4997 ACTOR

Joan Gardner (voice actor)

1926 - 1992

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5011 ACTOR

Joanne Gilbert

Born 1932

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5022 ACTOR

Mildred Holland

1869 - 1944

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5042 ACTOR

Ty Barnett

Born 1975

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5044 ACTOR

Mark Arnott

Born 1950

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5066 ACTOR

Michael Fitzmaurice (actor)

1908 - 1967

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5069 ACTOR

Bridgetta Clark

1891 - 1980

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5076 ACTOR

Jim Zulevic

1965 - 2006

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5082 ACTOR

Zana

Born 1974

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5093 ACTOR

Pat Bond

1925 - 1990

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5131 ACTOR

J. Keith van Straaten

Born 1971

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5154 ACTOR

Scott MacArthur

Born 1979

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5178 ACTOR

Mary Webster (American actress)

1935 - 2017

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5179 ACTOR

Arny Freeman

1908 - 1986

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5180 ACTOR

Bernadene Hayes

1903 - 1987

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5198 ACTOR

Andray Johnson

Born 1961

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5211 ACTOR

Naureen Zaim

Born 1978

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5225 ACTOR

Anthony Marquez

Born 1968

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5232 ACTOR

Romo Vincent

1908 - 1989

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5293 ACTOR

Andrew Santino

-

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5340 ACTOR

Charlie Hickman

1935 - 1979

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5356 ACTOR

Herbert Heywood (actor)

1881 - 1964

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5379 ACTOR

Jeff McCracken

Born 1952

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5392 ACTOR

Carl Paoli

-

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5434 ACTOR

Jarrett Maier

Born 1998

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5439 ACTOR

Lois Lilienstein

1934 - 2015

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5441 ACTOR

Craig Chudy

Born 1937

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5444 ACTOR

Fred Holmes

1904 - 1986

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5454 ACTOR

Robert Krimmer

Born 1953

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5464 ACTOR

Janet Zarish

Born 1954

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5467 ACTOR

Dominic Capone

Born 1975

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5478 ACTOR

John Bay

1928 - 1982

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5500 ACTOR

Elaine Shore

1929 - 2007

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5504 ACTOR

James Deuter

1939 - 2010

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5615 ACTOR

Charles Rutherford

Born 1928

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5616 ACTOR

Arthur W. Bates

1883 - 1972

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5632 ACTOR

Richard Cotovsky

Born 1954

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5656 ACTOR

Christopher Cantwell (filmmaker)

-

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5663 ACTOR

Rebecca Brown (actriz)

Born 1992

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5681 ACTOR

Chris Stack

-

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5711 ACTOR

Tara Chocol

Born 1973

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5745 ACTOR

Abigail Droeger

Born 1997

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5785 ACTOR

Craig Hurley

Born 1968

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5794 ACTOR

Roger Moore (ator americano)

1900 - 1999

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5795 ACTOR

David Smith (actor)

-

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5812 ACTOR

Bhavesh Patel (actor)

Born 1980

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5837 ACTOR

Tab Baker

1960 - 2010

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5897 ACTOR

Lillian Rosine

1896 - 1978

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5918 ACTOR

Janice Wilson

1900 - 1982

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5932 ACTOR

George Garner

1892 - 1971

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5943 ACTOR

Ted Zeigler

1926 - 1999

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5953 ACTOR

De’Shawn Washington

Born 1990

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5964 ACTOR

Sally Insul

1916 - 2008

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5992 ACTOR

June Martel

1909 - 1978

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6048 ACTOR

Gerit Quealy

Born 1960

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6056 ACTOR

George Spell

Born 1958

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6089 ACTOR

Carl Amari

Born 1963

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6138 ACTOR

Tilda Del Toro

Born 1985

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6141 ACTOR

William James Jones

Born 1972

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6152 ACTOR

Danny Ramirez

Born 1997

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6174 ACTOR

Sonja Westerbergh

1932 - 2018

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6185 ACTOR

Ron Tomme

1931 - 2005

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6213 ACTOR

Christian Payton

Born 1965

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6274 ACTOR

Joan Peers

1909 - 1975

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6279 ACTOR

Marti Stevens (educator)

1939 - 1993

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6295 ACTOR

Anish Shah

Born 1978

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6332 ACTOR

Amy Tolsky

Born 1961

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6421 ACTOR

Jay Barney

1913 - 1985

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6464 ACTOR

Marty Robinson (announcer)

Born 1932

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6465 ACTOR

Kyle Chavarria

Born 1995

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6495 ACTOR

Jacob Melton

Born 2001

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6587 ACTOR

Marge Kotlisky

1927 - 1997

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6589 ACTOR

Lynette Griffin

Born 1905

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6591 ACTOR

Kellie Madison

-

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6622 ACTOR

Henry Davis (performer)

1886 - 1946

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6633 ACTOR

Jim Hager

1941 - 2008

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6697 ACTOR

Guy Nardulli

Born 1974

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6741 ACTOR

Jarmila Vacková

1908 - 1971

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6797 ACTOR

Carmen Phillips (1937–2002)

1895 - 2002

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6856 ACTOR

Jonathan Fraser

Born 1967

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6876 ACTOR

Jeff Glassman

Born 1949

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6895 ACTOR

Sly Smith

Born 1949

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6939 ACTOR

Diana Rein

Born 1978

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6951 ACTOR

Marjorie Hoshelle

1918 - 1989

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6984 ACTOR

Phyllis Adair

1919 - 1990

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7015 ACTOR

Evelyn Lovequist

1931 - 1996

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7025 ACTOR

Alyce McCormick

1904 - 1932

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7084 ACTOR

Perry Sheehan

1912 - 1998

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7091 ACTOR

Alan Crolius

1889 - 1936

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7129 ACTOR

Giselle Roberts

Born 1991

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7134 ACTOR

Barbara Lang (Broadway actress)

Born 1937

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7157 ACTOR

Grace Grung

1895 - 1988

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7179 ACTOR

Jeff Dumas

Born 1971

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7360 ACTOR

Barbara Freking

1920 - 2008

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7383 ACTOR

Tom Shirley

1899 - 1962

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7395 ACTOR

Jocelyn Lee (actress)

1902 - 1980

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