40.6979° N, 73.9995° W

NEW YORK CITY

Most Famous People Born in New York City, USA

Notable people
22,064
Peak decade
1940s
Median birth year
1935
Most distinctive
Screenwriter 5.4×

If the 20th century held a casting call, it was in New York. Almost all of the city's notable births fall after 1900, fueled by an entertainment economy — Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, the studio system, late-night TV, hip-hop in the Bronx — that has minted more actors, comedians, and musicians than any other American city. Even its 19th-century names skew literary: poets, editors, journalists, not generals or industrialists.

Standouts

What New York City Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is New York City's biggest profession — 14% of all notables (3,012).

New York City over-indexes on screenwriter 5.4× the global rate.

New York City under-produces football — only 0.1× the global rate.

  1. Actor 3,012 2.6×
  2. Politician 1,004 0.4×
  3. Writer 859 1.2×
  4. Film 841 3.1×
  5. Lawyer 794 2.1×
  6. Music 767 2.4×
  7. Baseball 584 2.3×
  8. Singer 573 1.3×
  1. Screenwriter 522 5.4×
  2. Producer 225 3.6×
  3. Novelist 299 3.4×
  4. Film 841 3.1×
  5. Photographer 287 2.7×
  6. Actor 3,012 2.6×
  7. Music 767 2.4×
  8. Baseball 584 2.3×
  1. Football 365 0.1×
  2. Politician 1,004 0.4×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1800 1850 1900 1950 2000
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Science
  • Other
All22,064
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Showing 981 of 22,064 notable people

0015 ACTOR

Humphrey Bogart

1899 - 1957

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0046 COMPOSER

George Gershwin

1898 - 1937

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0057 ACTOR

James Cagney

1899 - 1986

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0059 COMEDIAN

Groucho Marx

1890 - 1977

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0063 GANGSTER

Al Capone

1899 - 1947

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0089 PLAYWRIGHT

Mae West

1893 - 1980

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0144 PAINTER

Norman Rockwell

1894 - 1978

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0180 FILM

George Cukor

1899 - 1983

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0193 ARTIST

George Burns

1896 - 1996

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0249 ACTIVIST

Dorothy Day

1897 - 1980

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0288 FILM

Irving Thalberg

1899 - 1936

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0289 COLLECTOR

Peggy Guggenheim

1898 - 1979

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0312 COMEDIAN

Jimmy Durante

1893 - 1980

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0320 SONGWRITER

Oscar Hammerstein II

1895 - 1960

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0353 POLITICIAN

W. Averell Harriman

1891 - 1986

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0358 ACTOR

Marion Davies

1897 - 1961

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0368 FILM

Mabel Normand

1892 - 1930

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0375 SINGER

Eddie Cantor

1892 - 1964

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0381 ACTOR

Shirley Booth

1898 - 1992

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0396 ACTOR

Frank Morgan

1890 - 1949

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0461 SCREENWRITER

Ben Hecht

1894 - 1964

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0465 LYRICIST

Ira Gershwin

1896 - 1983

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0514 MUSIC

Fanny Brice

1891 - 1951

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0575 ACTOR

Alice Brady

1892 - 1939

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0580 BUSINESS

Armand Hammer

1898 - 1990

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0581 BIOLOGIST

Hermann Joseph Muller

1890 - 1967

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0623 PSYCHOLOGIST

Henry Murray

1893 - 1988

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0626 ACTOR

Louis Calhern

1895 - 1956

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0643 BOXER

Gene Tunney

1897 - 1978

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0673 PHOTOGRAPHER

Paul Strand

1890 - 1976

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0682 ACTOR

Bert Lahr

1895 - 1967

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0715 ACTOR

Sam Jaffe

1891 - 1984

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0718 ENGINEER

Edwin Howard Armstrong

1890 - 1954

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0728 POLITICIAN

Henry Morgenthau Jr.

1891 - 1967

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0729 ACTOR

Shemp Howard

1895 - 1955

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0804 NOVELIST

Paul Gallico

1897 - 1976

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0807 ACTOR

Edward Arnold (actor)

1890 - 1956

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0833 ACTOR

Richard Barthelmess

1895 - 1963

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0860 ACTOR

Peggy Wood

1892 - 1978

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0892 SCREENWRITER

Herman J. Mankiewicz

1897 - 1953

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0902 PHILOSOPHER

Eric Hoffer

1898 - 1983

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0922 PSYCHIATRIST

Harry Stack Sullivan

1892 - 1949

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0960 COMPOSER

Harry Warren

1893 - 1981

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0963 ACTOR

Ruth Chatterton

1892 - 1961

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1030 PRESENTER

Walter Winchell

1897 - 1972

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1041 ACTOR

J. Carrol Naish

1896 - 1973

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1079 COMPOSER

Yip Harburg

1896 - 1981

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1105 PHILOSOPHER

Susanne Langer

1895 - 1985

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1151 ACTOR

Edward Brophy

1895 - 1960

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1230 PIANIST

Ferde Grofé

1892 - 1972

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1267 POET

Mercedes de Acosta

1893 - 1968

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1279 FILM

Harry Cohn

1891 - 1958

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1291 ACTOR

Constance Talmadge

1898 - 1973

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1294 DIPLOMAT

Sumner Welles

1892 - 1961

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1337 ACTOR

Paul Kelly (actor)

1899 - 1956

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1341 MATHEMATICIAN

William James Sidis

1898 - 1944

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1352 ACTOR

Molly Picon

1898 - 1992

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1362 ACTOR

Nita Naldi

1894 - 1961

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1409 WRITER

Caresse Crosby

1891 - 1970

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1492 SCREENWRITER

Dave Fleischer

1894 - 1979

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1494 ACTOR

George Macready

1899 - 1973

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1522 COMPOSER

Roger Sessions

1896 - 1985

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1526 COMPOSER

Vincent Youmans

1898 - 1946

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1575 ACTOR

Natalie Talmadge

1896 - 1969

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1578 WRITER

Elmer Rice

1892 - 1967

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1590 ACTOR

Robert Harron

1893 - 1920

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1599 ACTOR

Jerome Cowan

1897 - 1972

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1612 ACTOR

Martha Mansfield

1899 - 1923

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1618 ACTOR

Lilyan Tashman

1896 - 1934

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1620 BOXER

Benny Leonard

1896 - 1947

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1654 CINEMA

Harold Rosson

1895 - 1988

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1657 ACTOR

May McAvoy

1899 - 1984

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1658 COMEDIAN

Gummo Marx

1893 - 1977

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1722 SCREENWRITER

Robert Riskin

1897 - 1955

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1826 ACTOR

Viola Dana

1897 - 1987

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1851 ACTOR

Genevieve Tobin

1899 - 1995

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1858 ACTOR

William Beaudine

1892 - 1970

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1865 WRITER

Betty Smith

1896 - 1972

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1877 JEWELLER

Harry Winston

1896 - 1978

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1892 SCREENWRITER

Gertrude Berg

1899 - 1966

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1897 MATHEMATICIAN

Jesse Douglas

1897 - 1965

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1971 SCREENWRITER

Buddy DeSylva

1895 - 1950

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1993 PUBLISHER

Bennett Cerf

1898 - 1971

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2030 FILM

Archie Mayo

1891 - 1968

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2036 EDUCATION

Robert Maynard Hutchins

1899 - 1977

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2043 PHYSICIAN

Detlev Bronk

1897 - 1975

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2126 CINEMA

Floyd Crosby

1899 - 1985

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2160 ENTREPRENEUR

Donald Wills Douglas Sr.

1892 - 1981

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2170 ACTOR

Alan Crosland

1894 - 1936

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2192 SCREENWRITER

John Howard Lawson

1894 - 1977

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2222 PIANIST

Walter Donaldson

1893 - 1947

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2262 GANGSTER

Louis Buchalter

1897 - 1944

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2308 FILM

William A. Seiter

1890 - 1964

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2344 CONDUCTOR

Randall Thompson

1899 - 1984

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2376 SCREENWRITER

Harry Ruby

1895 - 1974

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2379 FILM

Frank Tuttle

1892 - 1963

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2415 TRADE UNION

George Meany

1894 - 1980

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2427 COMPOSER

Irving Caesar

1895 - 1996

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2461 ACTOR

Anita Stewart

1895 - 1961

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2489 ACTOR

Arthur Q. Bryan

1899 - 1959

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2513 CINEMA

Arthur Edeson

1891 - 1970

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2610 ACTOR

Alice Lake

1895 - 1967

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2627 WRITER

Mike Gold

1894 - 1967

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2700 COMPOSER

John Frederick Coots

1897 - 1985

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2732 SCREENWRITER

Samson Raphaelson

1894 - 1983

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2776 FILM

Albert Lewin

1894 - 1968

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2839 CONDUCTOR

Werner Janssen

1899 - 1990

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2840 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Abram Kardiner

1891 - 1981

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2881 POET

Charles Reznikoff

1894 - 1976

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2885 PHOTOGRAPHER

Florence Henri

1893 - 1982

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2893 FILM

Sam Newfield

1899 - 1964

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2927 FILM

George Waggner

1894 - 1984

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2957 CINEMA

Arthur Miller (cinematographer)

1895 - 1970

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2965 POLITICIAN

Benjamin H. Freedman

1890 - 1984

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2973 ACTOR

Percy Helton

1894 - 1971

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2975 ACTOR

Ann Shoemaker

1891 - 1978

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2980 CINEMA

Victor Milner

1893 - 1972

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3003 FILM

Spencer Gordon Bennet

1893 - 1987

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3082 ACTOR

Joe Rock

1893 - 1984

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3103 FILM

Edward Buzzell

1895 - 1985

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3105 COMPOSER

Harry Akst

1894 - 1963

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3119 PHYSICIAN

E. Morton Jellinek

1890 - 1963

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3206 FILM

Edward L. Cahn

1899 - 1963

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3238 ACTOR

Queenie Smith

1898 - 1978

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3247 FILM

Sam Taylor (director)

1895 - 1958

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3279 ACTOR

Priscilla Dean

1896 - 1987

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3341 AUTHOR

J. I. Rodale

1898 - 1971

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3342 FILM

Daniel Mandell

1895 - 1987

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3344 POET

Robert Nathan

1894 - 1985

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3395 PSYCHOANALYST

Dorothy Burlingham

1891 - 1979

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3464 COMPOSER

Arthur Johnston (composer)

1898 - 1954

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3468 SCREENWRITER

Morrie Ryskind

1895 - 1985

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3480 BASEBALL

Abel Kiviat

1892 - 1991

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3482 CINEMA

George Folsey (cinematographer)

1898 - 1988

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3491 BANDLEADER

Vincent Lopez

1895 - 1975

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3501 BASEBALL

Waite Hoyt

1899 - 1984

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3515 ACTOR

Olive Carey

1896 - 1988

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3603 ARCHITECT

William F. Lamb

1893 - 1952

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3618 MURDER

Ruth Snyder

1895 - 1928

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3662 AUTHOR

William Henry Chamberlin

1897 - 1969

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3685 FILM

Pete Smith (film producer)

1892 - 1979

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3702 SCREENWRITER

Samuel Ornitz

1890 - 1957

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3720 MATHEMATICIAN

Einar Hille

1894 - 1980

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3725 COMPOSER

Con Conrad

1891 - 1938

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3729 ACTOR

Marjorie Gateson

1891 - 1977

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3734 POLITICIAN

Paul V. McNutt

1891 - 1955

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3744 POET

Rachel Field

1894 - 1942

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3746 DIPLOMAT

Laurence Steinhardt

1892 - 1950

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3782 PUBLISHER

Arthur Hays Sulzberger

1891 - 1968

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3796 WIDOW

Madeleine Astor

1893 - 1940

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3848 FILM

Arthur Hornblow Jr.

1893 - 1976

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3857 COMPOSER

Milt Franklyn

1897 - 1962

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3914 ACTOR

Victoria Forde

1896 - 1964

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3917 JOURNALIST

Howard Dietz

1896 - 1983

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3935 JOURNALIST

Briton Hadden

1898 - 1929

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3956 WRITER

Cornelius Vanderbilt IV

1898 - 1974

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3969 TEACHER

Gustave Reese

1899 - 1977

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3973 ACTOR

Gladys Brockwell

1893 - 1929

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3977 FILM

Seymour Nebenzal

1899 - 1961

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3982 COMPOSER

Kay Swift

1897 - 1993

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3990 BUSINESS

Vincent Astor

1891 - 1959

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4022 BANDLEADER

Ben Selvin

1898 - 1980

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4067 ACTOR

Robert Ellis (actor, born 1892)

1892 - 1974

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4103 ACTOR

Constance Binney

1896 - 1989

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4108 FILM

Lewis Seiler

1890 - 1964

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4124 PLAYER

Francis Hunter

1894 - 1981

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4140 CINEMA

Paul C. Vogel

1899 - 1975

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4144 SCENOGRAPHER

Wiard Ihnen

1897 - 1979

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4172 POET

Léonie Adams

1899 - 1988

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4180 SCREENWRITER

Dick Huemer

1898 - 1979

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4189 COMPOSER

Bernard Rogers

1893 - 1968

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4202 ACTOR

Otis Barton

1899 - 1992

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4205 SCREENWRITER

Arthur Ripley

1897 - 1961

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4216 BOTANIST

Ludlow Griscom

1890 - 1959

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4221 LAWYER

Philip Jessup

1897 - 1986

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4264 PUBLISHER

Alfred A. Knopf Sr.

1892 - 1984

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4294 EXPLORER

William Montgomery McGovern

1897 - 1964

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4307 OPERA

Mary Ellis

1897 - 2003

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4308 PRIEST

Francis Xavier Ford

1892 - 1952

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4381 ACTOR

Sammy Brooks

1891 - 1951

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4399 ACTOR

Edith Storey

1892 - 1967

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4484 ARTIST

Flora Payne Whitney

1897 - 1986

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4513 ACTIVIST

Lois W.

1891 - 1988

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4534 HISTORIAN

Herbert Feis

1893 - 1972

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4562 FILM

Edward Small

1891 - 1977

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4568 WRITER

Robert Lawson (author)

1892 - 1957

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4579 SCENOGRAPHER

Van Nest Polglase

1898 - 1968

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4591 SCREENWRITER

Herbert Fields

1897 - 1958

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4621 FILM

Richard Rosson

1893 - 1953

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4631 ACTOR

Anne Cornwall

1897 - 1980

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4680 BIOCHEMIST

Edwin Joseph Cohn

1892 - 1953

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4698 ACTOR

Olive Tell

1894 - 1951

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4705 SOCIOLOGIST

Howard P. Becker

1899 - 1960

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4734 CINEMA

Sidney Hickox

1895 - 1982

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4755 VIOLIN

Joseph Fuchs

1899 - 1997

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4792 ACTOR

Edith Roberts (actress)

1899 - 1935

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4806 ACTOR

Art Baker (actor)

1898 - 1966

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4822 CARTOONIST

Percy Crosby

1891 - 1964

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4838 DIPLOMAT

Arthur Bliss Lane

1894 - 1956

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4880 BANK

Sidney Weinberg

1891 - 1969

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4945 ACTOR

Edna Murphy

1899 - 1974

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5013 JOURNALIST

Donald S. Day

1895 - 1966

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5020 SCREENWRITER

Guy Gilpatric

1896 - 1950

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5022 PIANIST

Arthur Loesser

1894 - 1969

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5027 SCREENWRITER

Joseph Fields

1895 - 1966

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5050 FÖRARE

Victor Chapman

1890 - 1916

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5057 ACTOR

Ethel Grandin

1894 - 1988

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5080 PUBLISHER

Max Gaines

1894 - 1947

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5086 ACTOR

Jay Adler

1896 - 1978

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5088 ACTOR

Paula Trueman

1897 - 1994

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5098 CINEMA

Leonard Smith (cinematographer)

1894 - 1947

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5140 ACTOR

Herbie Faye

1899 - 1980

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5142 LITHOGRAPHER

William Gropper

1897 - 1977

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5149 PHYSIOLOGIST

Hallowell Davis

1896 - 1992

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5210 ACTOR

Gertrude Robinson

1890 - 1962

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5222 SINGER

Belle Baker

1893 - 1957

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5230 WRITER

Nat Schachner

1895 - 1955

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5235 SCREENWRITER

Joseph Moncure March

1899 - 1977

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5240 SONGWRITER

Roy Turk

1892 - 1934

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5255 ACTOR

Kenneth Casey

1899 - 1965

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5274 FILM

John Waters (director born 1893)

1893 - 1965

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5298 ACTOR

Violet Mersereau

1892 - 1975

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5299 COMPOSER

Fred E. Ahlert

1892 - 1953

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5343 COMPOSER

Felix Bernard

1897 - 1944

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5345 SCREENWRITER

Willis Goldbeck

1898 - 1979

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5352 MUSIC

Mort Dixon

1892 - 1956

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5390 ACTOR

Noel Madison

1897 - 1975

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5397 CRIME

Willie Moretti

1894 - 1951

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5427 ACTOR

Helen Jerome Eddy

1897 - 1990

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5480 SCENOGRAPHER

Albert S. D'Agostino

1892 - 1970

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5525 ACTOR

Mary Anderson (actress, born 1897)

1897 - 1986

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5535 BANK

Robert Lehman

1891 - 1969

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5542 ACTOR

Eddie Gribbon

1890 - 1965

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5544 ACTOR

Brooks Benedict

1896 - 1968

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5572 ACTOR

Rolfe Sedan

1896 - 1982

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5588 ADVERTISING

Raymond Rubicam

1892 - 1978

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5599 PRESENTER

Milton Cross

1897 - 1975

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5627 PAINTER

Hildreth Meiere

1892 - 1961

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5648 MATHEMATICIAN

Joseph Ritt

1893 - 1951

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5654 BASKET

Nat Holman

1896 - 1995

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5680 WRITER

Joel S. Goldsmith

1892 - 1964

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5694 HISTORIAN

Suzanne La Follette

1893 - 1983

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5705 SCREENWRITER

J. Walter Ruben

1899 - 1942

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5731 HUSBAND

Ernest Simpson

1897 - 1958

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5800 FILM

Viola Lawrence

1894 - 1973

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5816 PIANIST

Irving Aaronson

1895 - 1963

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5828 SCREENWRITER

Willard Van der Veer

1894 - 1963

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5829 MAGIC

Joseph Dunninger

1892 - 1975

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5879 ACTOR

Claire Whitney

1890 - 1969

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5896 SCREENWRITER

Edwin H. Knopf

1899 - 1981

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5912 FILM

Louis R. Loeffler

1897 - 1972

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5915 ACTOR

Ann Pennington (actress)

1893 - 1971

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5964 SCREENWRITER

George O'Hara (actor)

1899 - 1966

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6019 PHOTOGRAPHER

Paul Outerbridge

1896 - 1958

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6025 ENGINEER

Gilmore David Clarke

1892 - 1982

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6064 WRITER

Dorothy Caruso

1893 - 1955

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6084 PLAYER

Watson Washburn

1894 - 1973

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6094 ACTOR

Muriel Ostriche

1896 - 1989

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6112 ACTOR

Clarine Seymour

1898 - 1920

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6146 BASEBALL

Joe Judge

1894 - 1963

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6155 PHOTOGRAPHER

Leopold Mannes

1899 - 1964

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6260 LAWYER

Edward J. Flynn

1891 - 1953

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6268 CHEMIST

George W. Merck

1894 - 1957

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6281 GOVERNOR

David Sholtz

1891 - 1953

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6347 LAWYER

Lloyd K. Garrison

1897 - 1991

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6383 WRITER

Frank Scully

1892 - 1964

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6412 ACTOR

Cleo Ridgely

1893 - 1962

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6415 OFFICER

William H. P. Blandy

1890 - 1954

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6444 ARTIST

Walter Berndt

1899 - 1979

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6453 POLITICIAN

Marguerite S. Church

1892 - 1995

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6457 LITERARY

Francis Peabody Magoun

1895 - 1979

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6459 SOCIOLOGIST

Albert Salomon

1891 - 1966

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6487 ACTOR

Zena Keefe

1896 - 1977

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6496 SCREENWRITER

Adele Comandini

1898 - 1987

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6504 WRITER

Rufus King (writer)

1893 - 1966

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6508 INVENTOR

William Garity

1899 - 1971

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6552 ACTOR

Johnnie Walker (actor)

1894 - 1949

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6558 WRITER

Curtis Bean Dall

1896 - 1991

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6594 EDUCATION

Eva Rosenfeld

1892 - 1977

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6616 NEUROLOGIST

Harold Wolff

1898 - 1962

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6626 ACTOR

Ethel Shutta

1896 - 1976

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6704 SCREENWRITER

David Boehm

1893 - 1962

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6726 ACTOR

Glenn Hunter (actor)

1894 - 1945

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6745 HISTORIAN

Bertram Wolfe

1896 - 1977

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6765 SCREENWRITER

Edwin Justus Mayer

1896 - 1960

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6769 BOXER

Samuel Mosberg

1896 - 1967

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6788 ACTOR

Eddie Dunn (actor)

1896 - 1951

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6838 SCREENWRITER

Arthur Hoerl

1891 - 1968

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6840 HISTORIAN

Erwin Ramsdell Goodenough

1893 - 1965

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6906 ACTOR

Ted Adams (actor)

1890 - 1973

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6965 ACTOR

Kathryn Carver

1899 - 1947

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6977 PUBLISHER

Richard L. Simon

1899 - 1960

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6993 FINANCIER

E. Roland Harriman

1895 - 1978

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6997 RADIO

Gabriel Heatter

1890 - 1972

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7000 FILM

James Flood

1895 - 1953

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7019 ARCHITECT

Irwin Chanin

1891 - 1988

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7040 ACTOR

Adele DeGarde

1899 - 1972

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7051 THEORIST

Fritz Roethlisberger

1898 - 1974

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7092 CINEMA

Philip Tannura

1897 - 1973

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7123 ACTOR

Gladys Leslie

1899 - 1976

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