42.3301° N, 83.0462° W

DETROIT

Most Famous People Born in Detroit, United States

Notable people
3,099
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1949
Most distinctive
Basket 4.6×

Motown, and everything Motown taught the rest of American music. Detroit's distinctive shelves run to basketball, baseball, hockey, and a music industry — singers, producers, novelists — that reads like the statistical fingerprint of a postwar Black working-class city that built a national sound and kept rebuilding one. Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Jack White, and Eminem all grew up inside a few miles of each other.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Detroit during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 458 notable births.

What Detroit Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Detroit's biggest profession — 9% of all notables (290).

Detroit over-indexes on basket4.6× the global rate.

Detroit under-produces politician — only 0.6× the global rate.

  1. Football290
  2. Actor242
  3. Politician227
  4. Basket179
  5. Music158
  6. Baseball157
  7. Singer156
  8. Hockey117
  1. Basket1794.6×
  2. Baseball1574.5×
  3. Music1583.6×
  4. Producer313.5×
  5. Hockey1173.2×
  6. Novelist383.1×
  7. Boxer332.7×
  8. Singer1562.4×
  1. Politician2270.6×
  2. Writer660.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Music
  • Film & TV
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Other
All3,099
Sort By

Showing 403 of 3,099 notable people

0002 SINGER

Diana Ross

Born 1944

Preview
0003 SINGER

Alice Cooper

Born 1948

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0006 POLITICIAN

Mitt Romney

Born 1947

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0010 ACTOR

Tom Selleck

Born 1945

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0012 SINGER

Glenn Frey

1948 - 2016

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0019 FILM

Jerry Bruckheimer

Born 1943

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0020 SINGER

Smokey Robinson

Born 1940

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0021 GUITAR

Ted Nugent

Born 1948

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0024 SINGER

Bob Seger

Born 1945

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0035 ECONOMIST

Robert J. Shiller

Born 1946

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0038 SINGER

Sixto Rodriguez

Born 1942

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0044 COMEDIAN

Gilda Radner

1946 - 1989

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0048 AUTHOR

Wayne Dyer

1940 - 2015

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0049 ACTOR

Michael Moriarty

Born 1941

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0073 ACTOR

Lin Shaye

Born 1943

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0087 BASKET

Dave DeBusschere

1940 - 2003

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0097 SINGER

Florence Ballard

1943 - 1976

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0107 SINGER

Mary Wells

1943 - 1992

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0108 ACTOR

Max Wright

1943 - 2019

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0133 WRESTLER

Sgt. Slaughter

Born 1948

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0148 WRITER

Robert McKee

Born 1941

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0152 HISTORIAN

Theda Skocpol

Born 1947

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0158 SINGER

Lene Lovich

Born 1949

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0159 LINGUIST

John Grinder

Born 1940

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0161 ACTOR

Freda Payne

Born 1942

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0169 WRESTLER

Abdullah the Butcher

Born 1941

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0176 ARTIST

Jim Starlin

Born 1949

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0177 ACTOR

John Witherspoon (actor)

1942 - 2019

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0179 PRODUCER

Lamont Dozier

Born 1941

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0195 FILM

Bruce Joel Rubin

Born 1943

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0200 ECONOMIST

Paul Milgrom

Born 1948

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0203 MUSIC

J. D. Souther

Born 1945

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0213 SINGER

Leon Ware

1940 - 2017

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0214 MUSIC

Skip Spence

1946 - 1999

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0218 WRESTLER

Bruiser Brody

1946 - 1988

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0222 SINGER

Wayne Kramer (guitarist)

Born 1948

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0223 ACTOR

Max Gail

Born 1943

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0232 MUSIC

Harvey Mandel

Born 1945

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0256 MUSIC

Oliver Cheatham

1948 - 2013

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0260 CLARINET

Bennie Maupin

Born 1940

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0263 BASKET

Mel Daniels

1944 - 2015

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0264 ACTOR

Donyale Luna

1945 - 1979

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0269 ACTOR

Eric Edwards (actor)

Born 1945

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0280 BASSIST

Garry Tallent

Born 1949

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0285 SINGER

Brian Holland

Born 1941

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0289 MUSIC

Klaus Flouride

Born 1949

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0294 POLITICIAN

James Blanchard

Born 1942

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0314 COMPOSER

Tom Coster

Born 1941

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0318 ACTOR

Frederick Coffin

1943 - 2003

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0325 ACTOR

Denise Nicholas

Born 1944

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0342 ASTRONAUT

Gregory Jarvis

1944 - 1986

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0367 NOVELIST

Marcia Muller

Born 1944

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0368 LAWYER

James P. Hoffa

Born 1941

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0369 SINGER

Scherrie Payne

Born 1944

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0372 POLITICIAN

Ernie Eves

Born 1946

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0373 FILM

Harry Winer

Born 1947

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0377 SINGER

Colonel Abrams

1949 - 2016

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0392 MILITAR

Peter Schoomaker

Born 1946

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0396 SINGER

Rob Tyner

1944 - 1991

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0397 POLITICIAN

Jesse Brown

1944 - 2002

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0406 ACTOR

Angus MacInnes

Born 1947

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0425 PHYSICIAN

John A. McDougall

Born 1947

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0431 POLITICIAN

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick

Born 1945

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0434 PHILOSOPHER

Robert C. Solomon

1942 - 2007

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0447 EPIDEMIOLOGIST

Larry Brilliant

Born 1944

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0463 SINGER

Bobby Rogers

1940 - 2013

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0477 SINGER

Richard Street

1942 - 2013

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0480 PHOTOGRAPHER

Nicholas Nixon

Born 1947

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0481 GUITAR

Dennis Coffey

Born 1940

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0482 ACTOR

Michael Tylo

Born 1948

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0497 WRITER

Linda Barnes (writer)

Born 1949

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0507 POLITICIAN

David Bonior

Born 1945

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0515 HISTORIAN

Charles Bigelow (type designer)

Born 1945

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0517 COMPOSER

Paul Schoenfield

Born 1947

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0519 ARTIST

Rich Buckler

1949 - 2017

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0542 ACTOR

Martin Shakar

Born 1940

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0550 THERAPIST

Thomas Moore (spiritual writer)

Born 1940

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0552 HISTORIAN

John-Paul Himka

Born 1949

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0566 SINGER

Nathaniel Mayer

1944 - 2008

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0574 POET

Beth Brant

1941 - 2015

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0589 PHYSICIST

Spencer R. Weart

Born 1942

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0596 WRITER

David Small

Born 1945

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0610 ACTOR

Maureen Anderman

Born 1946

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0615 ATTORNEY

Chokwe Lumumba

1947 - 2014

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0621 ACTOR

Barbara Tarbuck

1942 - 2016

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0629 BASKET

Ralph Simpson

Born 1949

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0633 DIPLOMAT

John C. Kornblum

Born 1943

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0635 HOCKEY

Craig Patrick

Born 1946

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0636 RABBI

Lawrence Kushner

Born 1943

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0648 PRIEST

John Clayton Nienstedt

Born 1947

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0651 MUSIC

Cameron Brown (musician)

Born 1945

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0656 ACTOR

Max Thayer

Born 1946

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0657 FILM

Harry Keramidas

Born 1940

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0665 JOURNALIST

Daniel Okrent

Born 1948

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0667 BASKET

John Brisker

1947 - 1985

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0676 GOLF

Calvin Peete

1943 - 2015

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0687 ACTOR

Michael C. Gwynne

Born 1942

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0703 SINGER

Barbara Randolph

1942 - 2002

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0704 ACTOR

Marlene Willoughby

Born 1948

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0705 CINEMA

Nancy Schreiber

Born 1949

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0722 ARTIST

Anne Wilson (artist)

Born 1949

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0730 MILITAR

Oliver Sipple

1941 - 1989

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0734 BASEBALL

Ron LeFlore

Born 1948

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0745 MATHEMATICIAN

Ronald DeVore

Born 1941

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0752 ACTOR

Dennis Cole

1940 - 2009

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0753 CINEMA

Eric Saarinen

Born 1942

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0757 SKATER

Donald McPherson (figure skater)

1945 - 2001

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0758 PLAYER

Russ Hamilton

Born 1948

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0778 FOOTBALL

Andy Russell (American football)

Born 1941

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0781 ACTOR

Lauri Peters

Born 1943

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0812 FILM

Lynn Goldsmith

Born 1948

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0822 COMPOSER

Wendell Harrison

Born 1942

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0837 ARTIST

Allee Willis

1947 - 2019

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0845 CLIMATOLOGIST

David Phillips (climatologist)

Born 1944

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0849 POLITICIAN

Mary Ruwart

Born 1949

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0851 NOVELIST

Thomas Adcock

Born 1947

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0858 BASKET

Reggie Harding

1942 - 1972

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0871 LAWYER

Dennis Archer

Born 1942

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0880 LAWYER

Ann Claire Williams

Born 1949

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0882 WRITER

Gerald McDermott

1941 - 2012

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0887 SKATER

Gary Visconti

Born 1945

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0889 MANAGER

Thomas E. White

Born 1943

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0891 NOVELIST

Caroline Roe

Born 1943

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0892 SCREENWRITER

Jack Epps Jr.

Born 1949

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0900 BASKET

Bill Buntin

1942 - 1968

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0918 ACTOR

Stu Gilliam

1943 - 2013

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0920 AUTHOR

K.C. Cole

Born 1946

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0925 BASEBALL

Tom Paciorek

Born 1946

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0932 PASTOR

Thomas Robb

Born 1946

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0936 POET

Thomas Lynch (poet)

Born 1948

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0943 FOOTBALL

John Fuqua

Born 1946

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0949 GOLF

Donna Caponi

Born 1945

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0951 BASKET

Henry Akin

1944 - 2020

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0954 HOCKEY

Pat Rupp

1942 - 2006

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0975 COMPOSER

Faruq Z. Bey

1942 - 2012

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0982 ACTOR

Terry Alexander (actor)

Born 1947

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0986 CINEMA

Peter Hutton (filmmaker)

1944 - 2016

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0995 PRIEST

Leonard Paul Blair

Born 1949

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1002 BASKET

John Trapp (basketball)

Born 1945

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1007 BUSINESS

Richard Peddie

Born 1947

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1008 BASKET

Dorie Murrey

Born 1943

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1021 PRIEST

John M. Quinn

Born 1945

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1034 BASKET

Kennedy McIntosh

1949 - 2009

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1041 SAXOPHONIST

Alto Reed

Born 1948

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1046 POLITICIAN

Dennis M. Hertel

Born 1948

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1050 BIOLOGIST

Bob Waterston

Born 1943

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1056 BASKET

Sam Williams (basketball, born 1945)

Born 1945

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1065 NOVELIST

Leo Frankowski

1943 - 2008

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1067 BASKET

George Trapp

1948 - 2002

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1077 POET

Stephanie Strickland

Born 1942

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1080 POLITICIAN

James Whitney Dunn

Born 1943

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1087 NOVELIST

John Shannon (novelist)

Born 1943

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1097 SINGER

Betty McGlown

1941 - 2008

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1102 SINGER

Catfish Hodge

Born 1944

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1105 PIANIST

Kenny Cox

1940 - 2008

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1107 SWIMMER

Cynthia Goyette

Born 1946

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1112 MUSIC

Drew Abbott

Born 1947

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1113 BOXER

Alfred Jones (boxer)

Born 1946

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1114 SINGER

Barbara Martin (singer)

1943 - 2020

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1152 MUSIC

Bobby Battle

Born 1944

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1161 GRANDSON

Edsel Ford II

Born 1948

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1169 BANDLEADER

Amos Garrett

Born 1941

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1176 MUSIC

Larry Livermore

Born 1947

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1179 BOXER

Alvin Lewis (boxer)

1943 - 2018

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1184 POLITICIAN

Stephen Mandel

Born 1945

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1185 PRODUCER

Bruce Nazarian

1949 - 2015

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1190 SONGWRITER

Dale Warren

1940 - 1994

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1191 BASEBALL

Bernie Carbo

Born 1947

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1197 BOXER

Ronald Allen Harris

1947 - 1980

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1206 SINGER

Joyce Vincent Wilson

Born 1946

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1212 MUSIC

Dennis Rowland

Born 1948

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1218 LAWYER

Stephen M. Ross

Born 1940

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1221 SCIENTIST

Harry Garland

Born 1947

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1227 RABBI

Joel Roth

Born 1940

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1240 SINGER

Belita Woods

1948 - 2012

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1257 MUSIC

Gary Barone (musician)

1941 - 2019

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1261 PSYCHOLOGIST

Sheldon Cohen

Born 1947

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1264 DRAUGHTSWOMAN

Robert Lawrance Lobe

Born 1945

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1267 CHESS

William Martz

1945 - 1983

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1272 PAINTER

Thomas Kovachevich

Born 1942

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1283 SPORT

Ken Wilson (sportscaster)

Born 1947

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1287 FOOTBALL

Ron Johnson (running back)

1947 - 2018

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1304 DRUMMER

Dennis Thompson (drummer)

Born 1948

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1312 ASTRONOMER

Paula Szkody

Born 1948

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1324 PROFESSOR

B. Joseph White

Born 1947

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1328 BIBLE

David Rosenberg (poet)

Born 1943

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1330 ECONOMIST

Malcolm Knight

Born 1944

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1334 PHOTOGRAPHER

Suzy Lake

Born 1947

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1339 BASEBALL

Bill Freehan

Born 1941

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1349 PHOTOGRAPHER

Leo Antony Gleaton

1948 - 2015

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1352 BASKET

Bill Chmielewski

Born 1941

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1369 MUSIC

Allan Barnes

1949 - 2016

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1387 SKATER

Douglas Ramsay

1945 - 1961

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1391 WRITER

George K. Simon

Born 1948

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1399 BASKET

Cliff Williams (basketball)

Born 1945

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1407 FOLKLORIST

Bill Ivey

Born 1944

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1408 JOURNALIST

E. Jean Carroll

Born 1943

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1410 ACTOR

Buzz Kilman

Born 1944

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1411 SINGER

Philippé Wynne

1941 - 1984

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1445 PROFESSOR

James A. Anderson (cognitive scientist)

Born 1940

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1452 ROWER

Bill Maher (rower)

Born 1946

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1455 HISTORIAN

Michael Adas

Born 1943

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1463 PRODUCER

Pete Anderson

Born 1948

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1470 ARTIST

Carl Lundgren (illustrator)

Born 1947

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1472 WRITER

Roger Dickinson-Brown

1944 - 2015

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1494 SINGER

Lois Reeves

Born 1948

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1495 BASEBALL

John Mayberry

Born 1949

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1499 PRELATE

Francis R. Reiss

Born 1940

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1501 LAWYER

Lawrence Joseph

Born 1948

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1510 PRIEST

Kevin Michael Britt

1944 - 2004

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1513 PHILOSOPHER

Ralph Johnson (philosopher)

Born 1940

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1518 LAWYER

Stephen Markman

Born 1949

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1523 BASEBALL

John Paciorek

Born 1945

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1525 CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Peter Karmanos Jr.

Born 1943

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1528 PRODUCER

Barry Hankerson

Born 1946

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1544 WRESTLER

David Hazewinkel

Born 1944

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1560 WRITER

Wayne Grady (author)

Born 1948

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1562 SONGWRITER

Randy Barlow

1943 - 2020

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1564 MUSIC

Bob Neloms

1942 - 2020

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1588 PHOTOGRAPHER

Jimmy De Sana

1949 - 1990

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1604 WEIGHTLIFTER

Joe Puleo

Born 1941

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1607 PIANIST

Ken Bichel

Born 1945

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1617 PLAYER

Faye Urban

Born 1945

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1640 LAWYER

Gershwin A. Drain

Born 1949

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1648 ACTOR

Cynthia Darlow

Born 1949

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1656 LAWYER

Bernard A. Friedman

Born 1943

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1666 FOOTBALL

Ed Lothamer

Born 1942

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1669 SONGWRITER

J. J. Barnes

Born 1943

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1675 LECTURER

Anthony Raymond Ceresko

1942 - 2005

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1686 PLAYWRIGHT

Milan Stitt

1941 - 2009

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1688 NOVELIST

Louise Titchener

Born 1941

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1708 ECONOMIST

Larry J. Sechrest

1946 - 2008

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1710 PHOTOGRAPHER

Brian Lanker

1947 - 2011

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1723 PHOTOGRAPHER

Meridel Rubenstein

Born 1948

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1732 BUSINESS

Reed Slatkin

1949 - 2015

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1747 DRIVER

John Greenwood (racing driver)

1945 - 2015

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1749 WRITER

Nancy J. Vickers

Born 1945

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1762 SINGER

Arthur "T-Boy" Ross

1949 - 1996

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1772 BIBLICAL

Jeffrey H. Tigay

Born 1941

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1784 JOURNALIST

R. W. Bradford

1947 - 2005

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1799 PAINTER

Bernard Poulin

Born 1945

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1803 MUSIC

Keith Herber

1949 - 2009

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1807 ACTOR

Denise Gordy

Born 1949

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1808 ACTIVIST

Greta Berlin

Born 1941

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1816 FOOTBALL

George Mans

1940 - 2017

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1818 SPRINT

Vivian Brown (athlete)

1941 - 1998

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1831 ARTIST

Richard Ritter

Born 1940

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1834 ACTOR

Anita Mann

Born 1946

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1835 SINGER

Shirley Love

Born 1940

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1850 JOURNALIST

Raymond Sokolov

Born 1941

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1855 LAWYER

Nancy Garlock Edmunds

Born 1947

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1859 ACADEMIC

Barbara Ross-Lee

Born 1942

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1860 BASEBALL

Carmen Fanzone

Born 1941

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1864 POET

Peter Cooley

Born 1940

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1866 BOXER

Spider Jones

Born 1946

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1871 DIPLOMAT

Michael W. Michalak

Born 1946

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1885 RUNNER

Lou Scott

Born 1945

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1887 SPORT

Bill Freund

Born 1941

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1891 CRIMINOLOGIST

Michael Hindelang

1945 - 1982

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1905 BASEBALL

Dennis Ribant

Born 1941

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1907 BASKET

Maurice McHartley

Born 1942

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1910 LAWYER

Forrest S. Mosten

Born 1947

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1914 JOURNALIST

Tynnetta Muhammad

1941 - 2015

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1929 MUSIC

Spider Webb (jazz drummer)

Born 1944

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1938 BASEBALL

Jerry Stephenson

1943 - 2010

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1943 PHOTOGRAPHER

Dave Jordano

Born 1948

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1945 MILITAR

Dwight H. Johnson

1947 - 1971

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1951 COMPOSER

Michael Udow

Born 1949

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1952 LAWYER

Marianne O. Battani

Born 1944

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1966 COACH

Doug Graber

Born 1944

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1967 POLITICIAN

Warren Evans

Born 1948

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1969 LAWYER

Arthur Tarnow

Born 1942

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1977 FOOTBALL

Pete Wysocki

1948 - 2003

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2001 SPORT

Tom Gage (journalist)

Born 1948

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2006 ARTIST

Gary Grimshaw

1946 - 2014

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2013 FILM

Richard Rutowski

Born 1946

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2015 BASKET

Jerry Pettway

Born 1944

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2016 FOOTBALL

George Goeddeke

Born 1945

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2036 ACTOR

John Fink

Born 1940

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2043 MATHEMATICIAN

Harriet Pollatsek

Born 1942

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2044 BASKET

Willie Iverson

1945 - 2012

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2050 AVIATOR

Joseph T. Anderson

Born 1946

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2054 FENCER

Eli Sukunda

Born 1949

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2065 MUSIC

Tony Newton (musician)

Born 1948

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2070 BASEBALL

John Upham

Born 1941

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2076 NOVELIST

Kenneth Radu

Born 1945

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2091 POET

Ron Allen (playwright)

1947 - 2010

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2102 GOLF

Ken Westerfield

Born 1947

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2105 HOCKEY

Gerry Abel

Born 1944

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2124 KILLER

Mathew Charles Lamb

1948 - 1976

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2131 TECHNICIAN

Dennis Skotak

Born 1943

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2132 LAWYER

Bruce D. Black

Born 1947

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2133 FOOTBALL

Tom Beer

Born 1944

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2136 FOOTBALL

Gary Ballman

1940 - 2004

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2153 HOCKEY

Doug Roberts (ice hockey)

Born 1942

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2163 BASEBALL

Dick Billings

Born 1942

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2174 LAWYER

Tyrone C. Fahner

Born 1942

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2186 ACTOR

Matthew Locricchio

1947 - 2019

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2190 POLITICIAN

Vincent Gregory

Born 1948

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2192 ACADEMIC

Baruch Fischhoff

Born 1946

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