39.9292° N, 75.2300° W

PHILADELPHIA

Most Famous People Born in Philadelphia, USA

Notable people
5,575
Peak decade
1940s
Median birth year
1928
Most distinctive
Baseball 6.0×

The original American capital, then the capital of nothing in particular, then a sports town. Philadelphia's notables run thick through the 18th century — lawyers, philanthropists, financiers — and then settle into a long, steady output of baseball players, basketball players, jazz bandleaders, and character actors. The city has one of the highest shares of notables in organized labor of the early 20th century and one of the deepest benches of soul singers of the late 20th.

Standouts

What Philadelphia Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Philadelphia's biggest profession — 9% of all notables (482).

Philadelphia over-indexes on baseball 6.0× the global rate.

Philadelphia under-produces football — only 0.4× the global rate.

  1. Politician 482 0.7×
  2. Actor 414 1.4×
  3. Baseball 383 6.0×
  4. Basket 260 3.7×
  5. Football 251 0.4×
  6. Music 206 2.6×
  7. Lawyer 185 1.9×
  8. Singer 161 1.4×
  1. Baseball 383 6.0×
  2. Basket 260 3.7×
  3. Boxer 72 3.3×
  4. Rower 57 2.8×
  5. Music 206 2.6×
  6. Officer 84 2.3×
  7. Lawyer 185 1.9×
  8. Film 113 1.6×
  1. Football 251 0.4×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Other
All5,575
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Showing 449 of 5,575 notable people

3595 OPERA

Joan Carroll (soprano)

Born 1932

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3608 PHOTOGRAPHER

James P. Blair

Born 1931

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3610 PAEDIATRICIAN

Frank Oski

1932 - 1996

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3611 ACTOR

Sal Ponti

1935 - 1988

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3613 HISTORIAN

John F. Benton

1931 - 1988

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3659 FOOTBALL

Dick Christy

1935 - 1966

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3674 LINGUIST

Kenneth Naylor

1937 - 1992

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3678 FOOTBALL

Eddie Bell (halfback)

1931 - 2009

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3689 PSYCHOLOGIST

Dan Landis

Born 1936

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3690 SCULPTOR

Helene Brandt

1936 - 2013

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3700 PSYCHOLOGIST

Florence Denmark

Born 1932

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3704 FENCER

Larry Anastasi

Born 1934

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3708 PAINTER

Helen Bershad

Born 1934

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3713 ENGINEER

David H. Geiger

1935 - 1989

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3722 ZOOLOGIST

Richard W. Thorington

1937 - 2017

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3745 POLITICIAN

Edwin Erickson

1938 - 2019

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3751 ARTIST

Ce Roser

Born 1930

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3753 ACTOR

Ed McCready

1930 - 2002

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3763 POLITICAL SCIENTIST

Merwin Crawford Young

1931 - 2020

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3767 FOOTBALL

Chuck Weber

1930 - 2017

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3794 LAWYER

William Swain Lee

Born 1935

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3804 BUSINESS

Ron Kass

1935 - 1986

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3812 FOOTBALL

John Michels (guard)

1931 - 2019

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3820 MUSIC

James W. Pulley

1936 - 2008

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3855 FOOTBALL

John Tracey

1933 - 1978

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3862 POLITICIAN

Jack Gargan (politician)

1930 - 2018

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3868 ARTIST

Russell T. Gordon

1936 - 2013

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3871 FENCER

Roland Wommack

1936 - 2018

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3892 WRITER

Gillian Roberts

Born 1939

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3895 ARTIST

Bonnie MacLean

1939 - 2020

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3898 POLITICIAN

Joan Specter

Born 1934

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3918 PUBLISHER

David Laventhol

1933 - 2015

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3932 LAWYER

Herbert J. Hutton

1937 - 2007

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3938 FOOTBALL

Ray Abruzzese

1937 - 2011

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3948 PHOTOGRAPHER

Allan Porter

Born 1934

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3963 SCIENTIST

Harry Raymond Eastlack

1933 - 1973

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3970 MUSIC

Wilmer Wise

1936 - 2015

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3978 POLITICIAN

Barrie Ciliberti

Born 1936

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3987 ACTOR

Dap 'Sugar' Willie

1939 - 1994

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3990 BASKET

Lou Pucillo

Born 1936

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3993 MUSIC

Billy Root

1934 - 2013

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4018 POLITICIAN

James Tayoun

1930 - 2017

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4022 FOOTBALL

Cliff Roberts

Born 1933

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4055 BASEBALL

Ed Nottle

Born 1939

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4061 FOOTBALL

Ed Cook (American football)

1932 - 2007

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4073 FOOTBALL

Jim Fraser (American football)

1936 - 2020

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4103 FILM

Earl Lestz

1939 - 2017

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4112 COLONEL

John A. Dramesi

1933 - 2017

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4113 FOOTBALL

Carmen Cavalli

Born 1937

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4123 LAWYER

John R. Padova

Born 1935

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4124 JUDGE

Marvin Katz

1930 - 2010

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4130 TRADE UNION

Gerald McEntee

Born 1935

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4142 BUSINESS

George W. Strawbridge Jr.

Born 1937

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4161 NOVELIST

Diana Cavallo

1931 - 2017

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4163 ENGINEER

Tom Bagley

Born 1939

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4215 POLITICIAN

Hardy Williams

1931 - 2010

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4218 PERFORMER

Flawless Sabrina

1939 - 2017

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4224 ACTOR

Mal Arnold

Born 1933

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4240 LAWYER

Fred Anton

Born 1934

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4247 PHILANTHROPIST

Lois Pope

Born 1933

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4291 SPORT

Ira Davis (athlete)

Born 1936

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4310 NEUROSCIENTIST

Adrian R. Morrison

Born 1935

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4338 FOOTBALL

Upton Bell

Born 1938

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4347 POLITICIAN

John A. Rocco

1936 - 2020

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4353 MUSIC

Father John D’Amico

1939 - 2013

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4397 CHEF

Joey Vento

1939 - 2011

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4407 MISSING

Joseph A. Steger

1937 - 2013

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4408 WISSENSCHAFTLER

Ann Fetter Friedlaender

1938 - 1992

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4428 BUSINESS

Clifton Maloney

1937 - 2009

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4435 FOOTBALL

Frank D'Agostino

1934 - 1997

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4445 JOURNALIST

Ray Errol Fox

Born 1939

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4457 POLITICIAN

John H. Carrington

Born 1934

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4494 PRODUCER

Jerry Ross (record producer)

1933 - 2017

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4496 POLITICIAN

Marilyn Lewis

Born 1931

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4501 MUSIC

Peter Ponzol

Born 1938

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4505 POLITICIAN

Carol Campbell (politician)

1936 - 2009

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4516 PASTOR

John Steinbruck

1930 - 2015

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4523 BASEBALL

Stan Sanders

Born 1939

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4528 CARDIOLOGIST

James S. Forrester (cardiologist)

Born 1937

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4532 BASEBALL

John Edelman

Born 1935

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4535 DRUMMER

Tom Nicholas

Born 1938

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4556 GASTROENTEROLOGIST

David Hershel Alpers

Born 1935

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4578 OFFICER

James A. Zimble

1933 - 2011

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4646 BUSINESS

Herb Lotman

1933 - 2014

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4670 MISSING

Richard B. Fisher

1936 - 2004

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4684 BASEBALL

Paul Doyle (baseball)

1939 - 2020

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4742 SECRET SERVICE AGENT

Wilson Livingood

Born 1936

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4753 LAWYER

Stephen Levin

Born 1932

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4772 BANK

Eugene Rotberg

Born 1930

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4829 POET

Dorothea Grossman

1937 - 2012

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4834 WRITER

Thomas J. Madden

Born 1938

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4837 HISTORIAN

Richard Rothstein (academic)

Born 1939

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4846 CRIME

Frank Monte

1931 - 1982

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4858 WRITER

Barbara Ketcham Wheaton

Born 1931

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4860 LAWYER

F. Emmett Fitzpatrick

1930 - 2014

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4872 LAWYER

Martin A. Herman

Born 1939

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4884 POLITICIAN

Samuel Rappaport

1932 - 2016

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4905 EXECUTIVE

John P. Moon

Born 1938

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4919 PHYSICIST

Betty Johnson (physicist)

1936 - 2003

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4936 MILITAR

Frederick F. Woerner Jr.

Born 1933

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4949 PHYSICIAN

Walter Bortz II

Born 1930

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4962 BASEBALL

Connie Morgan

1935 - 1996

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4980 RADIO

Gene Shay

1935 - 2020

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4987 ATHLETIC

Dewey Lee Yoder Jr

Born 1930

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4995 BASEBALL

Audrey Bleiler

1933 - 1975

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5000 POLITICIAN

Edward Wiggins

1933 - 2015

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5018 EXECUTIVE

Dick Steinberg

1935 - 1995

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5022 ATHLETIC

Otis Johnson (athlete)

Born 1932

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5039 POLITICIAN

Fortunato Perri

Born 1936

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5052 MUSIC

Jimmy Vass

1937 - 2006

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5062 POLITICIAN

Peter Daniel Truman

1935 - 2018

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5081 ACTIVIST

Lois Fernandez

1936 - 2017

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5086 CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Robert J. Sinclair

1932 - 2009

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5094 PRIEST

Leonard W. Riches

Born 1939

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5112 FILM

Barry Gerson

Born 1939

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5115 POLITICIAN

Alvin Katz

Born 1936

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5131 POLITICIAN

Bernard Gross

Born 1935

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5179 POLITICIAN

Donald McCurdy

Born 1930

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5185 POLITICIAN

Phillip Price Jr.

Born 1934

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5188 POLITICIAN

Charles Nahill

1938 - 2009

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5190 JUDGE

Lawrence S. Margolis

1935 - 2017

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5196 LAWYER

B. Mitchell Simpson

1932 - 2019

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5236 POLITICIAN

A. J. Pardini

1932 - 2011

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5239 POLITICIAN

Joseph Braig

Born 1937

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5258 POLITICIAN

G. Davis Greene Jr.

1931 - 2012

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5268 POLITICIAN

Francis Gleeson (politician)

1937 - 2015

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5280 BASEBALL

Marty Kutyna

Born 1932

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5290 POLITICIAN

Gerald McMonagle

Born 1936

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5304 POLITICIAN

John F. Byrne Jr.

Born 1935

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5307 ARTIST

Gil Cohen (artist)

Born 1931

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5314 SINGER

Joe Damiano

Born 1934

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5324 CIVIL RIGHTS

Robert Singleton (activist)

Born 1936

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5325 BOWLER

Sylvia Wene

Born 1930

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5326 PHYSICIST

Frank J. Sciulli

Born 1938

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5343 POLITICIAN

Richard Floyd (California)

1931 - 2011

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5359 PAINTER

Amanda L. Sullivan

1936 - 2009

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5376 INVENTOR

Harold Kosoff

1930 - 1995

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5393 EDUCATOR

Frances Sussna

Born 1933

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5415 POLITICIAN

William Beck Sr.

Born 1934

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5417 ROWING

Allen Rosenberg (rowing)

1931 - 2013

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5435 DIPLOMAT

Curtin Winsor Jr.

Born 1939

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5486 EXECUTIVE

Jim Kensil

1930 - 1997

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5498 SAXOPHONIST

Joey Ambrose

Born 1934

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5509 BOXER

Gil Turner

1930 - 1996

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5538 COMPOSER

Ricci Mareno

1938 - 2008

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5562 POLITICIAN

Priscilla B. Anderson

Born 1935

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5567 POLITICIAN

Robert J. Meyer

1935 - 1984

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5573 BOXER

Frankie Sodano

1931 - 2015

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5575 PIANIST

John Houston (Musiker)

Born 1933

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