Famous People From Kansas City
- Earl Cole (born April 9, 1971 in Kansas City, Kansas) was the $1 million winner on the reality television series Survivor: Fiji. He is an entrepreneur, producer, philanthropist and former California advertising executive.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas, USA
- Ed Asner, born on November 15, 1929, in Kansas City, Missouri, is a legend in the world of entertainment with his unmatched talent and distinct voice. The son of Morris David Asner, a small business owner, and Lizzie Seliger, a housewife, Asner's humble beginnings did not deter him from pursuing a career in acting. After serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, he honed his craft at the Playwrights Theatre Company in Chicago, propelling him towards a successful career in Hollywood. Asner's breakthrough came when he was cast as Lou Grant in the television series The Mary Tyler Moore Show. His portrayal of the gruff but lovable news director garnered him critical acclaim and set the stage for a spin-off series titled Lou Grant. With these roles, Asner made history by becoming the first actor to receive Emmy Awards for a sitcom and a drama for the same character. He continued to demonstrate his versatility by voicing characters in popular animated films and series, including Carl Fredricksen in Up and Santa Claus in Elf. Beyond his acting career, Asner was also a respected figure in the realm of social activism. Serving two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild, he used his platform to champion workers' rights within the entertainment industry. His commitment to causes such as ending homelessness, improving conditions for migrant farm workers, and advocating for universal healthcare further solidified his legacy. In recognition of his efforts, he received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2002. On August 29, 2021, Asner passed away at his Los Angeles home at the age of 91.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Jean Harlow, born as Harlean Harlow Carpenter in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 3, 1911, was a legendary American actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Her journey to stardom began when she moved to Los Angeles at the age of 16, eventually signing a contract with Howard Hughes for her first major film, Hell's Angels, in 1930. Despite having no formal acting training, Harlow's alluring screen presence and natural talent quickly catapulted her to fame. Harlow's career flourished under the roof of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), where she became one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors. Her roles in films like Red Dust (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), and Bombshell (1933) showcased her comedic prowess and unique ability to captivate audiences with her striking blonde hair and distinctive voice. She starred in over 36 films during her short-lived career, working alongside stars such as Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy. However, Harlow's life was tragically cut short when she died suddenly from kidney failure at the age of 26 in 1937. Although her career was brief, her impact on Hollywood was profound and lasting. Harlow redefined the image of the leading lady in Hollywood, breaking away from the traditional mold with her sensual, liberated persona. She continues to be remembered as one of the original "blonde bombshells", setting a precedent for future Hollywood icons.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- 1Bombshell53 Votes
- 2Red Dust63 Votes
- 3Dinner at Eight61 Votes
- Born on November 29, 1964, in Kansas City, Missouri, Don Cheadle's journey to stardom was marked by hard work and unwavering dedication. He developed an interest in acting during his high school years and pursued it further at the California Institute of the Arts, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. Cheadle's breakthrough came in 1995 when he delivered a standout performance in the critically acclaimed film, Devil in a Blue Dress, earning him an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. Since then, his career has been a series of remarkable roles that have demonstrated his range and depth as an actor. His portrayal of Paul Rusesabagina in Hotel Rwanda (2004) garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He also gained widespread recognition for his role as Marty Kaan in the Showtime series House of Lies, which won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy. In addition to his acting prowess, Cheadle has also made his mark behind the camera. He made his directorial debut with Miles Ahead (2015), a biographical film about jazz musician Miles Davis, in which he also starred. His commitment to social issues has been equally noteworthy. An active campaigner against genocide in Darfur, Cheadle co-authored Not On Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond with John Prendergast.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- 1Hotel Rwanda67 Votes
- 2Iron Man 343 Votes
- 3Traffic41 Votes
- Long recognized as a true auteur in American cinema despite his rather confrontational on set demeanor, director Robert Altman brought an ironic and irreverent perspective to his films that often deconstructed classic film genres like Westerns, crime dramas, musicals and classic whodunits. His films were filled with unexpected quirks, overlapping dialogue - often improvised - and an acutely iconoclastic point of view that was deftly used to skewer long-standing American values. Following a rather inauspicious entry into moviemaking by way of industrial films, Altman cut his teeth in television on shows like "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (CBS/NBC, 1955-1965) before making his mark on American cinema with "M*A*S*H" (1970), a loose and irreverent look at a group of hedonistic army surgeons and nurses that tapped into the angst of the antiwar generation growing up under the shadow of the Vietnam War. Altman next turned his attention to revitalizing the Western with "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" (1971), before earning the enmity of critics who blasted the director for his irreverent caricature of Philip Marlowe in "The Long Goodbye" (1973). But he earned back their admiration tenfold with "Nashville" (1975), a multi-layered satire that followed 24 main characters in numerous intersecting storylines that ably weaved a tapestry depicting the folly of pursuing fame in America. After that critical success, which was later widely considered to be his best film, Altman hit a long, slow slide that ended in the commercial and critical debacle known as "Popeye" (1980). The director spent the ensuing decade making interesting low-budget indies like "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean" (1982), "Secret Honor" (1984) and "Vincent and Theo" (1990) before returning to the Hollywood fold with a biting satire, "The Player" (1992), which savaged the very industry that embraced his return. Altman helmed another multi-character piece, "Short Cuts" (1993), a darkly comic look at relationships surviving contemporary Los Angeles that recalled his efforts on "Nashville" two decades prior. Following another brief creative lull that saw "Ready to Wear (Pret-a-Porter)" (1994) and "Kansas City" (1996) added to his canon, the director earned high praise and fawning reverence for the comedy-of-manners wrapped around a country manor whodunit, "Gosford Park" (2001), which underscored arguably one of the most important cinematic careers of the late 20th century.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Richell Rene "Chely" Wright (; born October 25, 1970) is an American country music singer and activist. On the strength of her debut album in 1994, the Academy of Country Music (ACM) named her Top New Female Vocalist in 1995. Wright's first Top 40 country hit came in 1997 with "Shut Up and Drive". Two years later, her fourth album yielded a number one single, the title track, "Single White Female". Overall, Wright has released seven studio albums on various labels, and has charted more than fifteen singles on the country charts. As of May 2010, Wright's previous eight albums and 19 singles released had sold over 1,500,000 copies and 10,000,000 digital impressions to date in the United States. In May 2010, Wright became one of the first major country music performers to publicly come out as lesbian. In television appearances and an autobiography, she cited among her reasons for publicizing her homosexuality a concern with bullying and hate crimes toward gays, particularly gay teenagers, and the damage to her life caused by "lying and hiding". She has written songs that have been recorded by Brad Paisley, Richard Marx, Indigo Girls, Mindy Smith and Clay Walker, among them Walker's top ten hit, "I Can't Sleep" that won her a BMI award. On May 4, 2010, Wright simultaneously released her memoir, the LAMDA nominated Like Me, and her first album of new songs since 2005, Lifted Off the Ground. Wright's eighth album, I Am the Rain, was released on September 9, 2016, by MRI/Sony and was produced by Joe Henry. It entered the Billboard country chart at 13, the second highest debut of her career. It was also her first appearance on the Americana album chart, where it reached number 9. Wright released her first Christmas EP in 2018 titled "Santa Will Find You." She released an EP titled Revival in May 2019.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- Eric Stonestreet entertained millions of viewers each week with his sharp wit and impeccable comedic timing. The improv-trained actor delivered plenty of laughs, charm and heart as one-half of a same-sex couple raising an adopted Vietnamese child on the hit series, "Modern Family" (ABC, 2009- ). The show garnered praise for putting a twist on the traditional family unit, while the actor - who was straight offscreen - received positive feedback from the gay community. Stonestreet had already showcased his versatile talent with dramatic performances on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15) and "Nip/Tuck" (FX, 2003-10), but it was his breakout role on the hilariously dysfunctional ABC comedy that kicked his career into high gear and cemented Stonestreet's place as one of television's most original and beloved sitcom dads.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas, USA
- Chris Cooper, born on July 9, 1951, in Kansas City, Missouri, is an accomplished American actor with a career spanning several decades. Notably, he was raised in the Midwest where his father served as a doctor and his mother was a homemaker. His early life was marked by his father's struggle with Alzheimer's disease, an experience which would later profoundly influence his acting choices. Cooper studied at the University of Missouri School of Drama before moving to New York City to pursue a career in acting. Cooper's acting career took flight in the 1980s with a series of stage performances, however, it was his role in John Sayles's Matewan (1987) that marked his film debut. Over the years, he demonstrated a remarkable range, portraying diverse characters in films like American Beauty (1999), October Sky (1999), and The Bourne Identity (2002). However, it was his performance in Adaptation (2002) that won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Aside from his acting career, Cooper is also known for his dedication to his family. He married Marianne Leone, an actress and writer, in 1983, and their bond grew stronger after the birth of their son, Jesse, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Despite the challenges, they remained committed to providing their son with a normal life and advocating for disability rights. Cooper's life, both in front of and behind the camera, is a testament to his resilience, versatility, and commitment to his craft and family.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- David A. Catania (born January 16, 1968) is an American independent politician and lawyer from Washington, D.C. He was formerly an at-large member of the Council of the District of Columbia, which he gave up to pursue an unsuccessful run in the 2014 mayoral election.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Daniel Charles Piraro (born 1958) is a painter, illustrator, and cartoonist best known for his syndicated cartoon panel Bizarro. Piraro's cartoons have been reprinted in 16 book collections (as of 2012). He has also written three books of prose.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder, and manager, best known as the manager of both the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, of the expansion New York Mets. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. Stengel was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1890. In 1910, he began a professional baseball career that would span over half a century. After almost three seasons in the minor leagues, Stengel reached the major leagues late in 1912, as an outfielder, for the Brooklyn Dodgers. His six seasons there saw some success, among them playing for Brooklyn's 1916 National League championship team; but he also developed a reputation as a clown. After repeated clashes over pay with the Dodgers owner, Charlie Ebbets, Stengel was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1918; however, he enlisted in the Navy that summer, for the remainder of World War I. After returning to baseball, he continued his pay disputes, resulting in trades to the Philadelphia Phillies (in 1919) and to the New York Giants (in 1921). There, he learned much about baseball from the manager, John McGraw, and had some of the glorious moments in his career, such as hitting an inside-the-park home run in Game 1 of the 1923 World Series to defeat the Yankees. His major league playing career ended with the Boston Braves in 1925, but he then began a career as a manager. The first twenty years of Stengel's second career brought mostly poor finishes, especially during his MLB managerial stints with the Dodgers (1934–1936) and Braves (1938–1943). He thereafter enjoyed some success on the minor league level, and Yankee general manager George Weiss hired him as manager in October 1948. Stengel's Yankees won the World Series five consecutive times (1949–1953), the only time that has been achieved. Although the team won ten pennants in his twelve seasons, and won seven World Series, his final two years brought less success, with a third-place finish in 1959, and a loss in the 1960 World Series. By then aged 70, he was dismissed by the Yankees shortly after the defeat. Stengel had become famous for his humorous and sometimes disjointed way of speech while with the Yankees, and these skills of showmanship served the expansion Mets well when they hired him in late 1961. He promoted the team tirelessly, as well as managing it to a 40–120 win–loss record, the most losses of any 20th century MLB team. The team finished last all four years he managed it, but was boosted by considerable support from fans. Stengel retired in 1965, and became a fixture at baseball events for the rest of his life. Although Stengel is sometimes described as one of the great managers in major league history, others have contrasted his success during the Yankee years with his lack of success at other times, and concluded he was only a good manager when given good players. Stengel is remembered as one of the great characters in baseball history.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Ub Iwerks (; March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971) was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician, who designed Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Mickey Mouse. The works Iwerks produced alongside Walt Disney won numerous awards, including multiple Academy Awards.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Matthew Erich "Mancow" Muller (born June 21, 1966) is an American radio and television personality, actor, and former child model. Considered a shock jock, his career has been well known for controversy and clashes with the Federal Communications Commission. He is best known for Mancow's Morning Madhouse, a Chicago-based syndicated radio show, and The Mancow Radio Experience, which have been nationally distributed by Talk Radio Network. Muller also co-starred with his brother, Mark, in the reality TV series God, Guns & Automobiles, which aired on History Channel. He was most recently host of the morning show on WLUP-FM/97.9, before he was fired on March 6, 2018 upon WLUP-FM/97.9 was to being sold. In January 2019, Muller returned to radio on WLS to host mornings.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Thomas Sturges Watson (born September 4, 1949) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions, formerly on the PGA Tour. In the 1970s and 1980s, Watson was one of the leading players in the world, winning eight major championships and heading the PGA Tour money list five times. He was the number one player in the world according to McCormack's World Golf Rankings from 1978 until 1982; in both 1983 and 1984, he was ranked second behind Seve Ballesteros. He also spent 32 weeks in the top 10 of the successor Sony Rankings in their debut in 1986.Watson is also notable for his longevity: at nearly sixty years of age, and 26 years after his last major championship victory, he led after the second and third rounds of The Open Championship in 2009, but lost in a four-hole playoff. With a chance to win the tournament with par on the 72nd hole, he missed an 8-foot (2.4 m) putt, then lost to Stewart Cink in the playoff. Several of Watson's major victories came at the expense of Jack Nicklaus, the man he replaced as number one, most notably the 1977 Masters, 1977 Open Championship, and the 1982 U.S. Open. Though his rivalry with Nicklaus was intense, their friendly competitiveness served to increase golf's popularity during the time. In Watson's illustrious career, his eight major championships include five Open Championships, two Masters titles, and one U.S. Open title. The only major that has eluded him is the PGA Championship, which would put him in an elite group of golfing "career grand slam" winners that includes Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. In all, Watson's eight majors ranks sixth on the list of total major championship victories, behind only Nicklaus, Woods, Walter Hagen, Hogan, and Player. Watson is also regarded as one of the greatest links players of all time, a claim backed up by his five Open Championship victories, his runner-up finishes at the 1984 Open Championship and 2009 Open Championship, and his three Senior British Open Championship titles in his mid-50s (2003, 2005, and 2007). Watson played on four Ryder Cup teams and captained the American side to victory in 1993 at The Belfry in England. More than twenty years later, Watson again captained the U.S. Team in 2014 in Scotland, this time in a loss.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), also known as Yardbird and Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Parker was a highly influential jazz soloist and a leading figure in the development of bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique and advanced harmonies. Parker was a blazingly fast virtuoso, and he introduced revolutionary harmonic ideas including rapid passing chords, new variants of altered chords, and chord substitutions. His tone ranged from clean and penetrating to sweet and somber. Parker acquired the nickname "Yardbird" early in his career on the road with Jay McShann. This, and the shortened form "Bird", continued to be used for the rest of his life, inspiring the titles of a number of Parker compositions, such as "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology", "Bird Gets the Worm", and "Bird of Paradise". Parker was an icon for the hipster subculture and later the Beat Generation, personifying the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual rather than just an entertainer.
- Birthplace: USA, Kansas City, Kansas
- Kate Brosnahan Spade was the co-founder and namesake of the designer brand, Kate Spade New York.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Harry Harris (September 8, 1922 – March 19, 2009) was an American television and film director.Harris moved to Los Angeles in 1937 and got a mailroom job at Columbia Studios. After attending UCLA, he became an apprentice sound cutter, assistant sound effects editor, and then an assistant film editor at Columbia Pictures. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces at the start of World War II, and as part of the First Motion Picture Unit, reported to Hal Roach Studios in Culver City. His supervisor there was Ronald Reagan, who hired him as sound effects editor for training and combat films.At the end of World War II, Harris became an assistant film editor and then an editor for Desilu, the studio of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Over the next five decades, he directed hundreds of TV episodes, with significant contributions to Gunsmoke, Eight is Enough, The Waltons, and Falcon Crest. He won an Emmy Award for directing a 1982 episode of Fame, and was nominated for two other Emmy Awards and a Directors Guild of America Award.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Respected for her remarkable versatility and profound depth in acting, Dianne Wiest is a titan of both the big screen and theatre. Born on March 28, 1948, in Kansas City, Missouri, Wiest pursued a degree in Arts from the University of Maryland before embarking upon her acclaimed career. Her journey began on stage, performing in several off-Broadway productions and regional theater shows, where she honed her craft and prepared herself for the illustrious career that was to follow. Wiest's breakthrough came via her collaboration with the iconic director Woody Allen, which has been a significant marker in her career. She delivered unforgettable performances in Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Bullets Over Broadway (1994), earning her two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress. Additionally, Wiest's performance in Parenthood (1989) earned her an Academy Award nomination, further cementing her place in Hollywood. However, her prowess is not limited to films alone. Wiest's television credits are equally impressive, having won two Emmy Awards - one for her role in the series Road to Avonlea (1990) and the other for the drama In Treatment (2008). Yet, despite her cinematic accomplishments, Wiest remains deeply rooted in the world of theatre. She continued her stage work parallel to her screen appearances, earning a Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut in Othello (1982), and later, two Obie Awards for The Art Of Dining (1979) and Rasheeda Speaking (2016). Simultaneously, she received Tony nominations for her work in In the Summer House (1993) and The Seagull (1998). Wiest's commitment to her craft, her versatility across mediums, and the depth of her performances, firmly place her as one of the most respected actors in the annals of American performance arts.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Bill Gulick
Age: 109Grover C. "Bill" Gulick (February 22, 1916 – October 25, 2013 ) was an American author and historian from Walla Walla, Washington.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Matthew Stewart Wertz (born February 17, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter. Originally from Liberty, Missouri, he now lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Theresa Sparks is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and was a candidate for San Francisco Supervisor for District 6 in the November 2010 election. She is a former president of the San Francisco Police Commission and former CEO of Good Vibrations. She is also one of San Francisco's most famous transgender women and was a Grand Marshal in the 2008 San Francisco Pride Parade.Sparks is also a member of the Emeritus Board of the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, a Navy veteran and a trained engineer. She is a member of the board of directors of the Horizons Foundation, a community-based LGBT philanthropic organization.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas
- Theodore James Perkins (born September 3, 1984) better known by the ring name T.J. Perkins or TJP, is an American professional wrestler, currently working primarily on the independent circuit. He has also recently worked for Impact Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In his first Impact Wrestling tenure, he is a former TNA X Division Champion, where he used the ring name Manik, a spin-off of the Suicide. He is also known for his time with WWE. In WWE, he is the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Champion, as well as the winner of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament. He also worked on the independent circuit as T.J. Perkins, TJP, or under a mask as Puma (also stylized as PUMA).
- Birthplace: Los Angeles, USA, California
Hal Boyle
Dec. at 62 (1911-1974)Harold Vincent Boyle (1911-1974) was an American journalist who was a correspondent and columnist for the Associated Press.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- A ruggedly handsome former model, Lyle Waggoner spent his career fighting the notion that he was an all-brawn, no-brains actor despite his impressive run as a series regular on the landmark sketch comedy program "The Carol Burnett Show."The Kansas native got his start as an actor with appearances in a string of Z-grade motion pictures including "Women of the Prehistoric Planet" and "Catalina Caper." The Midwesterner also lost the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in the 1966 spoof "Batman" to Adam West. Waggoner's luck changed after being initially hired in 1967 by Burnett to be an announcer for her show. The comedienne grew to appreciate his acting chops and slowly incorporated him into the comedic ensemble alongside comic regulars Vicki Lawrence and Harvey Korman. Seven seasons in, Waggoner yearned to establish himself as an actor and left after 1974. The following year, he was quickly cast to play flyboy romantic lead Major Steven Leonard "Steve" Trevor to Lynda Carter's "Wonder Woman" title character. For the three seasons the series ran, Waggoner's role diminished as Carter's expanded and by the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was relegated to guest appearances on "Charlie's Angels," "The Love Boat," and "Fantasy Island." With acting work drying up beyond the odd B-movie role in "Surf II" and "Wizards of the Demon Sword," Waggoner switched from full-time acting to running Star Waggons, a company he founded in 1979 that leases customized trailers to film and television companies. Lyle Waggoner died on March 17, 2020 at the age of 84.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas, USA
- Michael Groo Massee (September 1, 1952 – October 20, 2016) was an American actor. He starred as Funboy in 1994 film The Crow, Ira Gaines in 24, and The Gentleman in the 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man. He also reprised this role in the 2014 sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
James E. Stowers
Dec. at 90 (1924-2014)James E. "Jim" Stowers, Jr. (January 10, 1924 – March 17, 2014) was an American businessman who was the founder of American Century Investments and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Elaine Joyce (born Elaine Joyce Pinchot; December 19, 1945) is an American actress.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Curtis Hughes (born December 7, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, better known under the ring name Mr. Hughes. He is best known for his stints in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation. He also worked on TV for the American Wrestling Association, the American Wrestling Federation and Extreme Championship Wrestling. He trained wrestlers at WWA4 wrestling school for more than 10 years and wrestles on the independent circuit.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Edward Sanders (born August 17, 1939) is an American poet, singer, social activist, environmentalist, author, publisher and longtime member of the band the Fugs. He has been called a bridge between the Beat and hippie generations. Sanders is considered to have been active and "present at the counterculture's creation."
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Stephen Hunter (born March 25, 1946) is an American novelist, essayist, and film critic.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- With his sweeping, powerful scores, composer Basil Poledouris brought a sense of epic passion and melancholy grandeur to "Conan: the Barbarian" (1982), "Robocop" (1987) and the beloved miniseries, "Lonesome Dove" (CBS, 1989). Poledouris also set the tone for many subsequent military thrillers, with his haunting Russian-influenced score for "The Hunt for Red October" (1990). Though Poledouris never gained widespread public attention like John Williams or Danny Elfman, nor received a single Academy Award nomination, his rich melodies nonetheless remained popular and influential within the filmmaking community.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- William Pawley was an actor who appeared in "Bad Girl," "The Grapes of Wrath," and "I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang."
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- James Vincent Tate (December 8, 1943 – July 8, 2015) was an American poet. His work earned him the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. He was a professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- With his affably snarky wit, superior but never condescending attitude and penchant for sharp commentary, Craig Kilborn developed a distinctive persona as a more grown-up version of an amiable jock-cum-frat boy during stints as a late night host and sports anchor. After getting his start as a struggling play-by-play guy for a Fox affiliate in Northern California, Kilborn helped usher in a new era of delivering sports highlights in an irreverent fashion on the long-running "SportsCenter" (ESPN, 1979- ). During his three years on the cable sports network's flagship show, he - along with the likes of Keith Olbermann, Dan Patrick and Charlie Steiner - helped change forever the way sportscasters announced highlights. Kilborn moved on to host "The Daily Show" (Comedy Central, 1996-98), which allowed him to snark on the day's news and cultural events. Far less political than the subsequent version hosted by Jon Stewart, Kilborn's "Daily Show" was equally as funny. He left that show in late 1998 to take over for Tom Snyder on "The Late, Late Show" (CBS, 1999-2004), where he revamped the program for a late-night college crowd and spent the next five years building a loyal following. Though he tried his hand at his long-held dream of acting with roles in "Old School" (2003) and "The Benchwarmers" (2006), Kilborn returned to the hosting chair for "The Kilborn Files" (Fox, 2010), which once again allowed him to flourish in his snide, but amiable persona.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Sandahl Bergman (born November 14, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her role in the film Conan the Barbarian (1982), for which she won a Golden Globe and a Saturn Award.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- Edward Rolf Tufte (; born March 14, 1942) is an American statistician and professor emeritus of political science, statistics, and computer science at Yale University. He is noted for his writings on information design and as a pioneer in the field of data visualization.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Alice Joyce (October 1, 1890 – October 9, 1955) was an American actress, who appeared in more than 200 films during the 1910s and 1920s. She is known for her roles in the 1923 film The Green Goddess and its 1930 remake of the same name.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- Dorothy B. Hughes (August 10, 1904—May 6, 1993) was an American crime writer, literary critic, and historian. Hughes wrote fourteen crime and detective novels, primarily in the hardboiled and noir styles, and is best known for the novels In a Lonely Place (1947) and Ride the Pink Horse (1946).
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- John D. Hancock (born February 12, 1939) is an American stage and film director, producer and writer. He is perhaps best known for his work on Bang the Drum Slowly. Hancock's theatrical work includes direction of both classic and contemporary plays, from Shakespeare to Saul Bellow.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Benjamin "Bennie" Moten (November 13, 1894 – April 2, 1935) was an American jazz pianist and band leader born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He led the Kansas City Orchestra, the most important of the regional, blues-based orchestras active in the Midwest in the 1920s, and helped to develop the riffing style that would come to define many of the 1930s Big Bands.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre, before rejoining Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band. He garnered 8 Grammy Award nominations during his lifetime.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Gene Gauntier (May 17, 1885 – December 18, 1966) was an American screenwriter and actress who was one of the pioneers of the motion picture industry. A writer, director and actress in films from mid 1906 to 1920, she wrote screenplays for 42 films. She performed in 87 films and is credited as the director of The Grandmother (1909).
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- Evan Shelby Connell Jr. (August 17, 1924 – January 10, 2013) was a U.S. novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He also published under the name Evan S. Connell Jr. His writing covered a variety of genres, although he published most frequently in fiction. In 2009, Connell was nominated for the Man Booker International Prize, for lifetime achievement. On April 23, 2010, he was awarded a Los Angeles Times Book Prize: the Robert Kirsch Award, for "a living author with a substantial connection to the American West, whose contribution to American letters deserves special recognition."
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Carol A. Beier (born September 27, 1958) is a Kansas Supreme Court Justice appointed by Governor Kathleen Sebelius. She took office September 5, 2003 to replace retiring Justice Bob Abbott.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas
- Harrison Ford, an iconic figure in Hollywood, carved a niche for himself through his remarkable acting abilities. Born on July 13, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois, Ford's journey to stardom was not immediate. He initially worked as a carpenter to support his passion for acting. His breakthrough came when he was cast as Han Solo in Star Wars (1977) by George Lucas, which catapulted him to international fame. Ford's embodiment of the adventurous archaeologist Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and its subsequent sequels, further solidified his status as a leading man. His ability to balance action-packed roles with dramatic performances was demonstrated in films like Witness (1985), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, and The Fugitive (1993). His portrayal of various characters across genres showcased his versatility and established him as a household name. Beyond his acting career, Ford is a licensed pilot and dedicated environmentalist. He has used his influence to promote conservation efforts, particularly through his association with Conservation International, where he served as Vice Chair. Despite facing several setbacks, including a near-fatal plane crash in 2015, Ford's resilience and commitment to his craft and causes are testament to his enduring appeal and distinction in the entertainment industry.
- Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA
- 1Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark1,068 Votes
- 2Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back1,001 Votes
- 3Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade967 Votes
- Angus Scrimm (born Lawrence Rory Guy; August 19, 1926 – January 9, 2016) was an American actor, author, and journalist, best known for his portrayal of the Tall Man in the 1979 horror film Phantasm and its sequels.
- Birthplace: USA, Kansas City, Kansas
- Thomas Carr Frank (born March 21, 1965) is an American political analyst, historian, and journalist. He co-founded and edited The Baffler magazine. Frank has written several books with great impact, most notably What's the Matter with Kansas? (2004) and Listen, Liberal (2016). From 2008 to 2010 he wrote "The Tilting Yard", a column in The Wall Street Journal. A historian of culture and ideas, Frank analyzes trends in American electoral politics and propaganda, advertising, popular culture, mainstream journalism, and economics. His topics include the rhetoric and impact of culture wars in American political life and the relationship between politics and culture in the United States.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Richard Lee Rhodes (born July 4, 1937) is an American historian, journalist, and author of both fiction and non-fiction, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb (1986), and most recently, Energy: A Human History (2018). Rhodes has been awarded grants from the Ford Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation among others. Rhodes is an affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. He also frequently gives lectures and talks on a broad range of subjects, including testimony to the U.S. Senate on nuclear energy.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas
- Jane Dee Hull (née Bowersock; born August 8, 1935) is a former American politician and educator. In 1997, she ascended to the office of governor of Arizona following the resignation of Fife Symington, becoming the state's 20th governor. Hull was elected in her own right the following year, and served until 2003. Hull was the first woman formally elected as Governor of Arizona, and the second woman to serve in the office after Rose Mofford. She is a member of the Republican Party. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Hull is a graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in education. Hull worked as an elementary school teacher while her husband studied to become an obstetrician. She moved to Arizona with her husband, Terry, in 1962 where he began working on the Navajo Nation, while Jane raised the couple's four children and taught English. In 1964, the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where she continued to raise her family. A decade later, she started her political career, and became involved with Republican women groups, in addition to volunteering on political campaigns. In 1978, Hull was elected to her first political office, as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives. During her tenure in office, she would become House Majority Whip and Speaker of the House. In 1994, she was elected to the office of Secretary of State of Arizona, becoming the first Republican to hold the office in more than six decades. After ascending to the office of Governor of Arizona following Fife Symington's resignation, Hull was elected Governor in 1998 over former Mayor of Phoenix Paul Johnson, in a landslide election. Hull was constitutionally barred from running for a second full term in 2002, and has since retired from public service.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Robert Lee Park (born January 16, 1931) is an American emeritus professor of physics at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a former director of public information at the Washington office of the American Physical Society. Park is most noted for his critical commentaries on alternative medicine and pseudoscience, as well as his criticism of how legitimate science is distorted or ignored by the media, some scientists, and public policy advocates as expressed in his book Voodoo Science. He is also noted for his preference for robotic over manned space exploration.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Courtney Ryley Cooper (October 31, 1886 – September 29, 1940) was an American circus performer, publicist and writer. During his career he published over 30 books, many focusing on crime; J. Edgar Hoover considered him at one time "the best informed man on crime in the U. S." He was also an expert on circuses, and was the chief publicist for Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus at the time of his death.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (born March 23, 1947) is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy and Registered Nurse who lives in Port Townsend, Washington. She has published over 40 novels, as well as collaborating with Anne McCaffrey on multiple series.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
Robert E. Wood
Dec. at 90 (1879-1969)Robert Elkington Wood (June 13, 1879 – November 6, 1969) was an American military officer and business executive. After retiring from the U.S. Army as a brigadier general, Wood had a successful career as a corporate executive, most notably with Sears, Roebuck and Company. A Republican, Wood was a leader in the Old Right American Conservatism movement from the 1920s through the 1960s as well as a key financial backer of the America First Committee prior to the United States' entry into World War II.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- David Pines (June 8, 1924 – May 3, 2018) was the founding director of the Institute for Complex Adaptive Matter (ICAM) and the International Institute for Complex Adaptive Matter (I2CAM) (respectively, US-wide and international institutions dedicated to research in and the understanding of emergent phenomena), distinguished professor of physics, University of California, Davis, research professor of physics and professor emeritus of physics and electrical and computer engineering in the Center for Advanced Study, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), and a staff member in the office of the Materials, Physics, and Applications Division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.His seminal contributions to the theory of many-body systems and to theoretical astrophysics were recognized by two Guggenheim Fellowships, the Feenberg Medal, the Edward A. Frieman Prize for Excellence in Graduate Student Research, Dirac and Drucker prizes, and by his election to the National Academy of Sciences, American Philosophical Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, and Hungarian Academy of Sciences and visiting professorships at the California Institute of Technology, College de France, Trinity College, Cambridge, University of Leiden, and the Université de Paris. He was the founding director of the Center for Advanced Study, UIUC (1968–70), was vice-president of the Aspen Center for Physics from 1968 to 1972, founder and co-chair of the US-USSR Cooperative Program in Physics, 1968–89; and a co-founder, vice-president, chair of the board of trustees, and co-chair of the science board of the Santa Fe Institute, from 1982 to 1996. He was the organizer or co-organizer of fifteen workshops and two summer schools of theoretical physics, was an honorary trustee and honorary member of the Aspen Center for Physics, and a member of the board of overseers at Sabancı University in Istanbul. Pines died on May 3, 2018 due to pancreatic cancer.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Gretchen Craft Rubin (born December 14, 1965) is an American author, blogger and speaker.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Robert Russell Bennett (June 15, 1894 – August 18, 1981) was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers.In 1957 and 2008, Bennett received Tony Awards recognizing his orchestrations for Broadway shows. Early in his career, he was often billed as Russell Bennett.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas, USA
Mark Pittman
Dec. at 52 (1957-2009)James Mark Pittman (October 25, 1957 - November 25, 2009) was a financial journalist covering corporate finance and derivative markets. He was awarded several prestigious journalism awards, the Gerald Loeb Award, the George Polk Award, a New York Press Club award, the Hillman Prize and several New York Associated Press awards.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas
- Sylvester "Sly" James, Jr. (born December 9, 1951) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri from 2011 to 2019. James has lived in Kansas City's Union Hill neighborhood. As mayor, he had been known for wearing bow ties.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Anthony Eugene Peeler (born November 25, 1969) is an American retired professional basketball player, having played for a number of NBA teams from 1992 to 2005. He later became an assistant coach at NCAA Division II Virginia Union University.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Greg Gorman (born 1949) is an American portrait photographer of Hollywood celebrities. His work has been seen in national magazine features and covers, including Esquire, GQ, Interview, Life, Vogue, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Time, Vanity Fair, and the London Sunday Times. Although he studied photojournalism in college, his passion for rock-and-roll led him to his chosen field when he photographed Jimi Hendrix in 1968. John Waters once said, "Greg Gorman is the only person I'd let photograph my corpse". He primarily works in black and white. He has also directed music videos, television advertisements, and graphic design layouts for advertisers.Since 2016, Gorman lives in a relationship with the Spanish film maker Samuel Rubin.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- Robert Morris (February 9, 1931 – November 28, 2018) was an American sculptor, conceptual artist and writer.. He was regarded as having been one of the most prominent theorists of Minimalism along with Donald Judd but he also made important contributions to the development of performance art, land art, the Process Art movement, and installation art. Morris lived and worked in New York. In 2013 as part of the October Files, MIT Press published a volume on Morris, examining his work and influence, edited by Julia Bryan-Wilson.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Gary L Cowger has worked at General Motors for over 40 years and is currently Group Vice President of Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas
Scott Speicher
Dec. at 33 (1957-1991)Michael Scott Speicher (12 July 1957 – January 17, 1991) was a United States Navy pilot who was shot down over Iraq during the Persian Gulf War becoming the first American combat casualty of the war. His fate was not known until 2 August 2009 when the Navy reported that Speicher's remains were found in Iraq by United States Marines.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
Jim Bannon
Dec. at 73 (1911-1984)Jim Bannon was an actor who had a successful Hollywood career. Bannon's early acting career consisted of roles in various films, such as "Riders of the Deadline" (1943) with Andy Clyde, "The Soul of a Monster" (1944) with Rose Hobart and "The Missing Juror" (1944). He also appeared in "I Love a Mystery" (1945), the adaptation "Tonight and Every Night" (1945) with Rita Hayworth and "The Devil's Mask" (1946). His passion for acting continued to his roles in projects like the crime feature "Johnny O'Clock" (1947) with Dick Powell, "Framed" (1947) and the George Brent mystery "The Corpse Came C.O.D." (1947). He also appeared in "Dangers of the Canadian Mounted" (1948). Film continued to be his passion as he played roles in "Jiggs and Maggie Out West" (1950), "Kill the Umpire" (1950) and the Maureen O'Hara western "War Arrow" (1953). He also appeared in the Brian Keith crime flick "Chicago Confidential" (1957) and "Inside the Mafia" (1959) with Cameron Mitchell. Bannon last acted in the drama "A Gathering of Eagles" (1963) with Rock Hudson. Bannon was married to Bea Benaderet and had two children. Bannon passed away in July 1984 at the age of 73.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Nancy Pickard
Age: 79Nancy Pickard (born September 19, 1945 in Kansas City, Missouri) is a US crime novelist. She has won five Macavity Awards, four Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, and a Shamus Award. She is the only author to win all four awards. She also served on the board of directors of the Mystery Writers of America. She received a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri and began writing when she was 35 years old.She is frequently a panelist at the Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave, a convention for mystery writers and fans in Manhattan, Kansas.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
John Patton
Dec. at 66 (1935-2002)John Patton (July 12, 1935 – March 19, 2002) was an American jazz, blues and R&B pianist and organist, often known by his nickname, Big John Patton. Patton was one of the most in-demand organists during the golden era of the Hammond B-3 organs between 1963 and 1970. He was a major figure in the development of the funk and blues-rooted jazz style known as soul jazz and is considered a roots player who inspired the acid jazz movement. He recorded extensively for Blue Note, and performed or collaborated with Lloyd Price, Grant Green, and Lou Donaldson. Patton had a lower profile in the 1970s but enjoyed a comeback in the 1980s and '90s, often in collaboration with saxophonist John Zorn. His music evolved to incorporate modal and free jazz.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Virginia Avenel Henderson, (November 30, 1897 – March 19, 1996) was an influential nurse, researcher, theorist and author.Henderson is famous for a definition of nursing: "The unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge" (first published in Henderson & Nite 1978, p. 5, 1955 ed.). She is known as "the first lady of nursing" and has been called, "arguably the most famous nurse of the 20th century" and "the quintessential nurse of the twentieth century". In a 1996 article in the Journal of Advanced Nursing Edward Halloran wrote, "Virginia Henderson's written works will be viewed as the 20th century equivalent of those of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale."
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
Berton Roueché
Dec. at 84 (1910-1994)Berton Roueché ( roo-SHAY; April 16, 1910 – April 28, 1994) was a medical writer who wrote for The New Yorker magazine for almost fifty years. He also wrote twenty books, including Eleven Blue Men (1954), The Incurable Wound (1958), Feral (1974), and The Medical Detectives (1980). An article he wrote for The New Yorker was made into the 1956 film Bigger Than Life, and many of the medical mysteries on the television show House were inspired by Roueché's writings.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Katherine Karen Dunn (October 24, 1945 – May 11, 2016) was an American best-selling novelist, journalist, voice artist, radio personality, book reviewer, and poet from Portland, Oregon. She is best known for the novel Geek Love (1989). She was also a prolific writer on boxing.
- Birthplace: Garden City, Kansas
- Charles Heath Townsend (born January 25, 1967 in Kansas City, Kansas) is an "Old School/Mid School" former professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985 to 1996. He has 2 kids. Nicknames: Various and many dating back to his days as a young amateur. Many railroad related: "Steam Engine Charlie", "Speeding Locomotive Charlie", "Choo-Choo Charlie", "Amtrak". Also "Black Magic" (which he had stenciled on the back of his racing pants in 1985), "Big Chuck", "The Fleein' Korean", "Chasemainian Devil".
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas
- John Francis Minford "Jack" Wyatt (August 19, 1917 – April 4, 2008) was an advertising executive and television host from New York City and Dallas, Texas, who, during his early fifties, was ordained as an Episcopalian priest. From 1958 to 1959, he was the interviewer on the ABC crime/drama reality show, Confession, in which he quizzed convicted criminals on the air to determine the root causes of their lawlessness. He also hosted a local version of Confession on WFAA-TV, Channel 8, in Dallas prior to the network's decision to pick up the program in the summer of 1958.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Rick Geary (born February 25, 1946) is an American cartoonist and illustrator. He is known for works such as A Treasury of Victorian Murder and graphic novel biographies of Leon Trotsky and J. Edgar Hoover. Geary has won two awards from the National Cartoonist Society: a Magazine and Book Illustration Award in 1994, and a Graphic Novel award in 2017.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Rufus Travis Amis
Dec. at 94 (1912-2007)Rufus Amis (February 13, 1912 – January 12, 2007) was an American entrepreneur who served as co-founder and CEO of Aero Design and Engineering Company. The company built one of the first twin engine planes for private use in the USA, the Aero Commander. An Aero Commander later became distinguished as the smallest plane ever designated Air Force One when President Dwight Eisenhower began using one in 1956. Rufus Amis was also a co-founder and later President of Missouri Valley Machinery Company, a dealer of Caterpillar Equipment and was instrumental in the development of Bellevue College in Nebraska.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas
Charles Ragland Bunnell
Dec. at 70 (1897-1968)Charles Ragland Bunnell (January 17, 1897 – September 1968), was an American painter, printmaker, and muralist. Bunnell was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He moved to Colorado Springs in 1915 and was thereafter associated with that city. As a WPA artist from 1934 to 1941 he executed many commissioned murals in a sturdy, somewhat abstracted figurative style. He was also noted for his colorful Western landscapes. Later he became particularly known for bold abstracts in a cubist-influenced idiom, tending eventually toward abstract expressionism, the style in which he worked from about the 1950s until his death. Marika Herskovic's American Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s : an Illustrated Survey (New York School Press, 2003), provides an accounting of this period in Bunnell's stylistic evolution. His work is in the collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Taylor Museum in the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Denver's Kirkland Museum, and others. He died in Colorado, aged 71.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Francis Clark Howell (November 27, 1925 – March 10, 2007), generally known as F. Clark Howell, was an American anthropologist. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, F. Clark Howell grew up in Kansas, where he became interested in natural history. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, from 1944 to 1946 in the Pacific Theater. Howell was educated at the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.B., A.M. and Ph.D. degrees under the tutelage of Sherwood L. Washburn. Dr. Howell died of metastatic lung cancer on March 10, 2007 at age 81 at his home in Berkeley, California.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Susan Shawn Batten (born August 14, 1971) is an American actress most known for her role as the second Sara Cummings (1998–1999) in NBC's soap opera Sunset Beach and Natalia Carlisle on Spyder Games (2001). Besides a one episode appearance on the short-lived series Just Legal in 2006, Batten has yet to return to acting since Games ended. Batten grew up in Ramsey, New Jersey. She married longtime boyfriend, Steve Lukather, in 2002. They were divorced in 2010. They have a daughter whose name is Lily Rose, born in 2007 and a son Bodhi, born in 2010.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- Floyd Dunn (April 14, 1924 – January 24, 2015) was an American electrical engineer who made contributions to all aspects of the interaction of ultrasound and biological media. Dr. Dunn was a member of Scientific Committee 66 of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements as well as many FDA, NIH, AIUM, and ASA committees. He collaborated with scientists in the UK, Japan, China and Post-Soviet states.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
Jennifer Jo Cobb
Age: 51Jennifer Jo Cobb (born June 12, 1973) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. She currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 0 and 10 Chevrolet Silverado for Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, driving the No. 1 Ford Mustang for Alex Caffi Motorsport in the Elite 1 class and the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Racing-Total in the Elite 2 class.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas
William Grey Walter
Dec. at 67 (1910-1977)William Grey Walter (February 19, 1910 – May 6, 1977) was an American-born British neurophysiologist, cybernetician and robotician.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Brian Kennedy Seals is an American songwriter, record producer and musician from Kansas City, Missouri. In 2006 he was credited with production on Ciara's album Ciara: The Evolution. Some well known artists he has worked with include Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Brown, Rascal Flatts, Jennifer Hudson, Lady Gaga, Ceelo Green, Backstreet Boys, Jamie Foxx, Nelly, and Natasha Bedingfield. Kennedy has also collaborated with major songwriters including David Foster, James Fauntleroy and Diane Warren. Kennedy is best known for his work on "Disturbia", recorded by Rihanna for her "Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded" album and "Forever", the 2nd song released by Chris Brown from his "Exclusive: The Forever Edition" album. He earned a Grammy Award in 2009 for his contribution to Jennifer Hudson's self-titled debut album, which took home honors as Best R&B Album. The song "If This Isn't Love" garnered an ASCAP win for him as well. He is a graduate of Paseo Academy of Performing Arts and an alumnus of the Kansas City Boys Choir in Kansas City, MO. He now resides in Southern California and is the founder and owner of Kennedy Compound Recording Studios.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- William Francis Nolan (born March 6, 1928) is an American author, who has written hundreds of stories in the science fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime fiction genres.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- Stephanie Hodge is an actress.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- Clyde Butcher (born 1942) is an American large format camera photographer known for wilderness photography of the Florida landscape. He began his career doing color photography before switching to large scale black-and-white landscape photography after the death of his son. Butcher is a strong advocate of conservation efforts and uses his work to promote awareness of the beauty of natural places.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
Hall Bartlett
Dec. at 70 (1922-1993)Producer-director-writer who formed his own production company in 1952 and helmed 14 films between 1952 and 1982. A filmmaker with a mystical bent, a love of nature and an interest in minorities and the oppressed, Bartlett got off to a good start with his first feature, "Navajo" (1952), the story of a Native American boy who runs away from white culture when he is dragged off to school and eventually outwits his pursuers. He followed up with the first of three films to feature footballer Elroy Hirsch, "Crazylegs" (1953), with the former running back playing himself.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Laura McKenzie is an American author and actress.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
J. Donald Wilson
Dec. at 79 (1904-1984)J. Donald Wilson was a writer, screenwriter and film producer.- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- John Edward Hodge (October 12, 1914 – January 3, 1996) was an African-American chemist, born in Kansas City, Kansas. He gained an A.B. degree in 1936 and a master's degree from the University of Kansas in 1940; from 1941 to 1980 he worked at the USDA Northern Regional Research Center in Peoria, Illinois. He also taught at Western University (Kansas), in 1972 held a visiting professorship at the University of Campinas in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and in 1984–1985 was an adjunct professor at Bradley University. An article of his: Hodge, J. E. (1953). "Chemistry of browning reactions in model systems." Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 1(15): 928-943 was named a "Citation Classic" by the Science Citation Index in 1979. In it he studied the chemistry of non-enzymatic browning reactions in dehydrated foods, such as the Maillard reaction. The article included a reaction scheme which is known as the "Hodge Scheme" and is considered to be the Maillard reaction pathway over 50 years later.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas
William McCaughey
Dec. at 70 (1929-2000)William McCaughey was an American sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound and was nominated for four more in the same category.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Kareem Lamar Rush (born October 30, 1980) is an American professional basketball player for the Kansas City Tornados of North American Premier Basketball (NAPB). Rush's younger brother, Brandon, last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, while older brother JaRon played college basketball for UCLA.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Jason R. Holsman (born March 25, 1976) is a politician from the U.S. state of Missouri. He is currently a member of the Missouri Senate for the 7th district in Jackson County.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Florynce Rae Kennedy (February 11, 1916 – December 21, 2000) was an American lawyer, feminist, civil rights advocate, lecturer and activist.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
Philip Klutznick
Dec. at 92 (1907-1999)Philip Morris Klutznick (July 9, 1907 – August 14, 1999) was a U.S. administrator who served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from January 9, 1980 to January 19, 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. He was a prominent leader of several Jewish organisations, including as President of the World Jewish Congress from 1977 to 1979.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
Laura Abbot
Laura Abbot is an American writer of over a dozen romance novels in the Harlequin Superromance and Love Inspired Historical series.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Margaret Ann Williams (born December 25, 1954) was director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University and is a partner in Griffin Williams, a management-consulting firm.She was the campaign manager for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. Following Clinton's win in the New Hampshire primary in January 2008, Williams was brought onto the Clinton campaign staff as a senior adviser. On February 10, 2008, she replaced Patti Solis Doyle as the campaign's manager.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He is considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. Known affectionately as "The Brute" or "Frog", he had a tough, raspy, and brutal tone on stomps (with growls), yet on ballads he played with warmth and sentiment. He was indebted to alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who, he said, taught him to play his instrument.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- Lynn Harriette Cohen (née Kay; August 10, 1933 – February 14, 2020) was an American actress known for her roles in film, television and theater. She was especially known for her role as Magda in the HBO series Sex and the City, which she also played in the 2008 film of the same name and its 2010 sequel, as well as for portraying Mags in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Mrs. Litvak in The Vigil.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
Johnny Behan
Dec. at 67 (1844-1912)John Harris Behan (October 24, 1844 – June 7, 1912) was Sheriff of Cochise County in the Arizona Territory, during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and was known for his opposition to the Earps. Behan was sheriff of Yavapai County from 1871 to 1873. He was married and had two children, but his wife divorced him, accusing him of consorting with prostitutes. He was elected to the Seventh Arizona Legislative Assembly, representing Yavapai County. In 1881, Wyatt Earp served for about five months as undersheriff of the eastern half of Pima County. When Wyatt resigned, Behan was appointed to fill his place, which included the mining boomtown Tombstone. When Cochise County was formed in February 1881, Behan was appointed as its first sheriff. Tombstone became the new county seat and Behan's headquarters. Sadie Marcus was his mistress, possibly as early as 1875 in Tip Top, Arizona, and certainly from 1880 until she found him in bed with another woman and kicked him out in mid-1881. After the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Behan testified at length against the Earps. He supported the Cowboys' statements that they had raised their hands and offered no resistance, and that the Earps and Doc Holliday had murdered three cowboys. After the Earps were exonerated, Deputy U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp was maimed in an ambush on December 28, 1881, and assistant deputy Morgan Earp was killed by assassins on March 18, 1882. The outlaw Cowboys named as suspects in both shootings were either let go on a technicality or were provided alibis by fellow Cowboys. Wyatt Earp killed one of the suspects, Frank Stilwell, in Tucson. Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt and his federal posse set out after other suspects, pursued by Behan and his county posse composed mostly of Cowboys. Behan's posse never caught up with the much smaller federal posse. The Earps left Tombstone under a cloud of suspicion. Sadie left Tombstone for San Francisco in early 1882, and Wyatt Earp followed her to San Francisco, where they began a lifelong relationship that lasted 46 years. Behan was arrested for graft and later failed to win re-election as sheriff. He later was appointed as the warden of the Yuma Territorial Prison and had various other government jobs until his death in 1912.- Birthplace: Westport, Kansas City, Missouri
- Dorothy Abbott (December 16, 1920 – December 15, 1968) was an American actress.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
Randie Carver
Dec. at 24 (1974-1999)Randie Carver (December 3, 1974 – September 14, 1999) was an American Super middleweight boxer from Kansas City, Missouri.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Edgar Parks Snow (17 July 1905 – 15 February 1972) was an American journalist known for his books and articles on Communism in China and the Chinese Communist revolution. He was the first western journalist to give a full account of the history of the Chinese Communist Party following the Long March, and he was also the first western journalist to interview many of its leaders, including Mao Zedong. He is best known for his book, Red Star Over China (1937), an account of the Chinese Communist movement from its foundation until the late 1930s.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
Robert Getchell
Age: 89Robert Getchell (December 6, 1936 – October 21, 2017) was an American screenwriter. Getchell wrote the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and created the sitcom based on that film, Alice. Getchell was also the screenwriter for the 1981 docudrama film Mommie Dearest which is based on Christina Crawford's nightmarish childhood with her violent and manipulative alcoholic adoptive mother, the actress Joan Crawford. The film was meant to be taken seriously with a subject concerning child abuse/trafficking however, Getchell's unusual script became over-the-top and unintentionally amusing that it won the 2nd Golden Raspberry award for worst Screenplay which developed Mommie Dearest into a memorable cult film. He died on 21 October 2017 aged 81.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Jennifer Dent (born Jennifer Hopkins on September 2, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She has won seven International Tennis Federation (ITF) women's circuit singles titles in her career and nearly cracked the top 50. In 2001, she reached her only WTA singles final in Hobart (which she lost to Italian Rita Grande). In 2003, she played some ITF women's circuit events, reaching the final in Atlanta and the semifinals at Dothan-USA. In 2002, she won her only WTA doubles title at Strasbourg with Jelena Kostanić. However, she has never gone beyond the second round in any of the four major tournaments that make up the Grand Slam. She last played in an ITF tournament in October 2005 in Bangkok. She married Taylor Dent on December 8, 2006 in Sarasota, Florida. On January 26, 2010, she gave birth to a baby boy, Declan James Phillip Dent. Hopkins and Dent currently reside in Keller, Texas, where the two along with Taylor's father, Phil Dent , are opening The Dent Tennis Academy located at The Birch Racquet and Lawn Club
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
John Peters
Dec. at 38 (1893-1932)John William Peters (July 14, 1893 – February 21, 1932) was a reserve catcher in Major League Baseball who played in parts of four seasons for the Detroit Tigers (1915), Cleveland Indians (1918) and Philadelphia Phillies (1921–1922). Peters batted and threw right-handed.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas
Soleil Borda
Age: 29Soleil Borda is an actress who appeared in "Still Standing."- Birthplace: USA, Kansas City, Kansas
Mike Jones
Age: 55Michael Anthony Jones (born April 15, 1969) is an American football coach and former player in the National Football League (NFL). During his twelve-year NFL career he played linebacker for three teams: the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, the St. Louis Rams, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, but is best known for one play during Super Bowl XXXIV. Jones attended college at the University of Missouri, where he originally played running back. He switched to the linebacker position when he signed with the Raiders as a rookie free agent. Between his rookie and second seasons as a Raider, Jones played for the Sacramento Surge of the World League of American Football. He was the starting middle linebacker for that 1992 Surge team that won World Bowl II. Jones is well known for his actions during the final play of Super Bowl XXXIV, known as The Tackle, when he tackled then-Titans receiver Kevin Dyson at the one-yard line to preserve a Rams victory. Jones also had a superb performance during the regular season that year, recording one sack and four interceptions, which he returned for 96 yards and two touchdowns. He also recovered two fumbles, returning them for a combined 51 yards and one for a touchdown. Jones finished his 12 seasons with nine sacks, eight interceptions, 132 return yards, five fumble recoveries, 94 return yards, and four touchdowns (two interceptions and two fumble recoveries) in 183 games. After retiring as a player, Jones spent six seasons coaching high school football at Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He led the team to a state title as the head coach in 2008. In 2010, he coached the linebackers at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was the head football coach at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. Jones is now the head coach at St. Louis University High School. Jones was also on NFL Top 10's "Top Ten One Shot Wonders" at #10.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
Betty Farrington
Dec. at 90 (1898-1989)Betty Farrington was an actress.- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
Jerry Bails
Dec. at 73 (1933-2006)Jerry Gwin Bails (June 26, 1933 – November 23, 2006) was an American popular culturist. Known as the "Father of Comic Book Fandom," he was one of the first to approach the comic book field as a subject worthy of academic study, and was a primary force in establishing 1960s comics fandom.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
Kevin Mahogany
Age: 66Kevin Bryant Mahogany (July 30, 1958 – December 17, 2017) was an American jazz vocalist who became prominent in the 1990s. He was known for his scat singing, and his singing style has been compared with jazz singers Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams and Johnny Hartman.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Actress Wendy Moniz was most commonly known for her roles in television dramas. Moniz began her acting career with roles in the series "Law & Order" (1990-2010), "Nash Bridges" (CBS, 1995-2001) and "Partners" (CBS, 1995-2000). She continued to work steadily in television throughout the nineties and the early 2000s, appearing on "Battery Park" (1999-2000), "The Others" (NBC, 1999-2000) and "Damages" (2006-2012). Her work around this time also included a part on the TV movie "Tuesdays With Morrie" (ABC, 1999-2000). In her more recent career, she tackled roles on "Big Shots" (2007-08), "Blue Bloods" (CBS, 2010-) and "666 Park Avenue" (ABC, 2012-13). She also appeared in "Betrayal" (ABC, 2013-14). Moniz had recurring roles as Laura Moretti in "House of Cards" (Netflix, 2013-18) and as Governor Lynelle Perry on "Yellowstone" (Paramount, 2018- ) with its actor and producer, Kevin Coster.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Herbert Harris
Age: 98Herbert Eugene Harris II (April 14, 1926 – December 24, 2014) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia. His district included part of Fairfax County.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
William F. Wu
Age: 73William F. Wu (born March 13, 1951, in Kansas City, Missouri) is a Chinese-American science fiction, fantasy, and crime author. He had his first professional fiction publication, a short story, in 1977. Previous to that, he had letters published on comic books and articles in comics fanzines. Since then, Wu his traditionally published books include 13 novels, one scholarly work, and a collection of short stories. His more than seventy published works of short fiction have been nominated for the Hugo Award twice individually and once as a member of the Wild Cards group of anthology writers; his work has been nominated for the Nebula Award twice and once for the World Fantasy Award. His short story "Goin' Down to Anglotown" was a finalist for the Sidewise Award and Canada's Aurora Award. He is also the author of "Hong on the Range," a novel that incorporates his award-nominated short story "Hong's Bluff," and "MasterPlay," in 1987, about computer wargamers. The latter is based on his 1979 novelette "On the Shadow of a Phosphor Sheen." He has written novels using the Three Laws of Robotics invented by Isaac Asimov, including two entries in the Robot City series and the entire Robots in Time series. The two series in Asimov's universe were written to Young Adult standards, though they are not labeled as such. The latter was the first series licensed from Asimov's estate after his death. Wu and his longtime friend Rob Chilson had ten collaborations published in Analog magazine in the 1980s and '90s. He also collaborated with longtime friend Ted Reynolds, in two stories published in the 1970s and one in the 1,000th issue of Analog magazine, in 2015. He is one of the writers in the Wild Cards anthology series edited by George R.R. Martin and has an ongoing series of stories in the War World anthologies edited by John F. Carr. He has been gradually bringing out much of his backlog, including "Hong on the Range" and "A Temple of Forgotten Spirits," which collects ten stories first published in "Pulphouse: The Hardback Magazine" about hitchhiker Jack Hong, who meets figures from Chinese and Chinese-American folklore and history. These have been brought out as ebooks, POD paperbacks, and audiobooks. Wu is also the author of The Yellow Peril (1982), a revised version of his doctoral dissertation in American Culture from the University of Michigan on American fiction's evolving depiction of Chinese and Chinese-Americans. Wu has stated that he dislikes the terms "Sino-American" and "Oriental", preferring terms such as Asian, Asian-American, Chinese, and Chinese-American. As a fiction writer, he has always given his stories Asian characters, usually as protagonists and sometimes as supporting characters. Some of his fiction involves ethnic and racial topics and some involves universal issues. Because "William" and "Wu" are such commonplace names, some of William F. Wu's achievements have inevitably been misattributed to another William Wu, or vice versa. William F. Wu has made a hobby of locating, contacting and meeting other people named William Wu (with or without the same middle initial). Photographs of Wu posing with his various namesakes have occasionally been published in Locus and other fan publications.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Norman Brown (born December 18, 1970) is an American smooth jazz guitarist and singer.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
James Dietrich
Dec. at 90 (1894-1984)James Dietrich was a film score composer.- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- Chris Biggs (born October 14, 1958) is an American attorney who was the 30th Secretary of State of Kansas. He was appointed on March 16, 2010 by Governor Mark Parkinson to replace Ron Thornburgh who resigned on February 15, 2010. On Nov. 2nd, 2010, he was defeated for election to a full term by a wide margin. Biggs Served as Kansas Securities Commissioner from 2003 until his appointment as Secretary of State. Prior to that, he served as Geary County Prosecutor from 1989 to 2003 and as a public defender from 1983 to 1988.In 2002, he was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General. Though he lost to Republican Phill Kline by only .5%, he declined to request a recount.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Paul Graham (born March 11, 1951) is an American basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Washington State University from 1999 to 2003. From 1992 to 1999, Graham worked for Oklahoma State as an assistant. In March 1999, Washington State hired Graham, giving him his first head coaching position at the college level. The Cougars struggled while he was their head coach, posting a 31–79 record; the team failed to win 10 games in three of his four seasons. Washington State fired Graham following the 2002–03 season. After his firing, Graham joined Colorado as an assistant, staying there through the 2006–07 season. Graham then took an assistant job at Georgia State under Rod Barnes, and remained there through the 2010–2011 season. In 2011 Graham returned to Dallas, Texas and joined the Skyline High School staff as an assistant coach, and in 2012 as their head coach. During the 2013–14 Season Graham led the Raiders to a share of the 5A Region II District 9 Championship with an 11–3 district record.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas
- Maurice Greene (born July 23, 1974) is an American former track and field sprinter who specialized in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is a former 100 m world record holder with a time of 9.79 seconds. During the height of his career (1997–2004) he won four Olympic medals and was a five-time World Champion. This included three golds at the 1999 World Championships, a feat which had previously only been achieved by Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson and has since been equaled by three others. His career was affected by a number of injuries from 2001 onwards, although he won the 100 meters bronze and silver in the sprint relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Greene was also successful indoors: he was the 1999 Indoor World Champion, was the world record holder in the 60-meter dash for nearly 20 years and remains the joint-fastest man over 50 meters. He raced sparingly after an injury in 2005 and officially retired in 2008. Over his career, he made the fourth most sub-10-second runs (51) in the 100m since surpassed by Asafa Powell, Justin Gatlin and Usain Bolt. Following his track career he has become an ambassador for the IAAF and a TV personality, appearing on Identity, Blind Date, and Dancing with the Stars. Most recently he volunteered as a track coach at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) for the 2012–2013 season.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas, USA
- Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flautist. In addition to his extensive solo work, Wess is remembered for his time in Count Basie's band from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Critic Scott Yannow described him as one of the premier proteges of Lester Young, and a leading jazz flautist of his era—using the latter instrument to bring new colors to Basie's music.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, USA, Missouri
- Melora Creager (born March 25, 1966) is an American cellist, singer-songwriter, performing artist and founder of the cello rock group Rasputina.In the late 1980's Creager played with the New York indie rock band Ultra Vivid Scene. In 1991, Creager founded alternative cello ensemble Rasputina by writing a manifesto and placing a want-ad in the Village Voice stating "electric cellists wanted". Cellist/composer Julia Kent was the first respondent. Rasputina performed regularly at NYC venues such as CBGB's Gallery, Brownie's and Fez before being signed to Columbia Records in 1996, for whom they subsequently made two albums. With varying members, Creager has made five more albums as Rasputina, and multiple shorter releases. Creager also played cello for Nirvana on the European leg of the In Utero world tour (including the band's final show in Munich).Creager designed all the Rasputina album covers, except for Lost & Found which was designed by artist Ryan Obermeyer and included in the 44th Annual Society of Illustrators Exhibition in New York, 2002. From 1988 to 1996, Creager was employed as a jewelry designer for Erickson Beamon, creating costume jewelry for Anna Sui, Donna Karan, Barney's New York, and Vogue magazine. She continues her relationship with Anna Sui, occasionally designing fashion show invitations and T-shirts. Through more than seven albums and frequent touring, Creager through Rasputina has been an originator of and influence on such movements as freak folk and steampunk.Creager makes unique use of historical events and figures in her lyrics and themes. Inspirations include the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, Howard Hughes, Rose Kennedy, victims of Josef Mengele, Emily Dickinson, Pitcairn Island, Columbia County, New York. Combining history and humor in song-form and spoken-word pieces, Creager is also unique in exploring women's history through pop music.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
- Wayne Nelson (born June 1, 1950) is an American singer and musician best known for being a member of the rock band Little River Band.
- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
Al Newman
Age: 64Albert Dwayne Newman (born June 30, 1960) is a former infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Montreal Expos (1985–1986), Minnesota Twins (1987–1991) and Texas Rangers (1992). Newman was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed.- Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
