Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Sidney Sheldon (1917-2007)
Sidney Sheldon, 89, who won awards in stage, screen, TV before writing novels, has died. Sheldon died Tuesday afternoon of complications from pneumonia at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage. (Source: AP via Excite)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Friday, January 26, 2007
Grace Abbott in 1920, 1930 Census
Social worker Grace Abbott was living alone in Chicago in 1920, and then with her niece, Charlotta, in Washington, D. C. in 1930. That makes sense because she was the head of the US Children's Bureau, in the Department of Labor, from 1921-34.Labels: celebrity census
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Leopoldo Pirelli (1925 - 2007)
Leopoldo Pirelli, former chairman of the Italian tire and real estate company that was founded by his family, died Tuesday, the company said. He was 81. (Source: AP via Forbes.com)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Brent Liles (1963 - 2007)
Brent Liles, a former bassist for the 1980s punk rock group Social Distortion, was struck and killed by a truck while riding a bicycle, authorities said Wednesday. He was 43. (Source: AP via CNN.com)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Halle Berry's Ancestry
When she was a teenager, Halle Berry was named Miss Teen America and later was named first runner-up in the 1985 Miss U.S.A. pageant. Her family tree includes the following surnames: Berry, Dicken, Hawkins, Marsden, Spaulding, and White.Labels: celebrity family trees
Monday, January 22, 2007
Denny Doherty (1940 - 2007)
Denny Doherty, one-quarter of the 1960s folk-rock group the Mamas and the Papas, known for their soaring harmony on hits like "California Dreamin' " and "Monday, Monday," died Friday at 66. His sister, Frances Arnold, said the singer-songwriter died at his home in Mississauga, a city just west of Toronto, after a short illness. (Source: AP via CNN.com)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Robert Anton Wilson (1932 - 2007)
Robert Anton Wilson, who helped co-write the sci-fi trilogy "Illuminatus," died on Saturday at the age of 74. Wilson died in his California home on January 11 after suffering from post-polio syndrome and becoming bedridden as a result of a fall. (Source: All Headline News)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Kate Coscarelli's Burial Site
Best-selling fiction writer Kate Coscarelli is buried in Westwood Memorial on Glendon Avenue, which is in Los Angeles. Interestingly, she didn't start her literary career until her children were married and settled into homes of their own.
Labels: celebrity grave sites
Friday, January 19, 2007
George Clooney's Ancestry
George Clooney is the son of television personality Nick Clooney and was once named one of the Fifty Most Beautiful People. His family tree includes the following surnames: Bandy, Bramel, Bruer, Burgess, Byron, Chambers, Clooney, Cooper, Edwards, Farrow, Gray, Green, Guilfoyle, Koch, Manns, Masterson, Perkins, Shore, Southern, Sweeney, Taylor, Vanden, Warren, and Whitehouse.Labels: celebrity family trees
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Art Buchwald (1925 - 2007)
Art Buchwald, who took humorous jabs at Washington politicians in syndicated columns for decades, has died, a close friend said Thursday. He was 81. The unofficial cause of death was kidney failure. (Source: CNN.com)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Benny Parsons (1941 - 2007)
Benny Parsons, a NASCAR legend because of his personality and rise from taxi-cab driver to Cup champion, died Tuesday. Parsons, 65, had complications stemming from his battle with lung cancer and had been in the intensive-care unit of Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., for three weeks. (Source: Miami Herald)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Ron Carey (1935 - 2007)
Ron Carey, the short and puckish comedic actor who played Officer Carl Levitt on the hit situation comedy Barney Miller and was a member of Mel Brooks' troupe in films such as High Anxiety and Silent Movie, has died. He was 71. Carey died of a stroke Tuesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. (Source: The Star Ledger via NJ.com)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Monday, January 15, 2007
Michael Brecker (1949 - 2007)
Michael Brecker, a versatile and influential tenor saxophonist who won 11 Grammys over a career that spanned more than three decades, died Saturday. He was 57. Brecker died in a hospital in New York City of leukemia. (Source: AP via CNN.com)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Ansel Adams in the 1920 Census
We discovered photographer Ansel Adams and his family in the 1920 Census living in San Francisco, where he was born. In the household were the following: Charles H Adams 51, Olive B Adams 57, Ansel Adams 18, and Mary Bray 55.Labels: celebrity census
Alice Coltrane (1937 - 2007)
Alice Coltrane, a jazz performer and composer and wife of the late saxophone legend John Coltrane, has died. She was 69. Coltrane died Friday of respiratory failure at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center, said her sister, Marilyn McLeod. (Source: AP via CNN.com)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Friday, January 12, 2007
Walt Disney's Ancestry
Walt Disney is best known for creating Mickey Mouse (for whom he was the original voice). His family tree includes the following surnames: Burroughs, Call, Chaffee, Disney, Fox, Gross, Johnson, Lark, Lawrence, Richardson, Smith, and Swan.Labels: celebrity family trees
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Yvonne De Carlo (1922 - 2007)
Yvonne De Carlo, the beautiful star who played Moses' wife in "The Ten Commandments" but achieved her greatest popularity on TV's "The Munsters," has died. She was 84.De Carlo died of natural causes Monday at the Motion Picture & Television facility in suburban Los Angeles. (Source: AP via CNN.com)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Ralph David Abernathy in 1930 Census
Finding civil rights activist Ralph David Abernathy in the census was a challenge, because it turns out his birth name was David, and was later called Ralph by family members. And it was quite a family, here are the members: Will Abernathy 49, Lore I Abernathy 41, Jack Abernathy 22, Ella L Abernathy 21, Minowa Abernathy 18, Kermit T Abernathy 17, Clarence Abernathy 13, Garland Abernathy 11, Louvenia Abernathy 9, William A Abernathy 7, Lula M Abernathy 5, David Abernathy 4, and Susie E Abernathy 6/12.Labels: celebrity census
Carlo Ponti (1910 - 2007)
Oscar-winning film producer Carlo Ponti, who risked excommunication to marry Sophia Loren and later fled his native Italy to avoid fraud charges -- has died, his family said Wednesday. He was 94. Ponti died overnight at a Geneva hospital. (Source: AP via CNN.com)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Peter Lorre's Burial Site
As a youth Peter Lorre ran away from home, worked as a bank clerk, and after stage training in Vienna made his acting debut in Zurich. He is interred with Anne Marie Lorre (rel?) in the Cathedral Mausoleum at Hollywood Forever on Santa Monica Boulevard, which is in Hollywood.Labels: celebrity grave sites
Peter Kleinow (1934 - 2007)
"Sneaky" Pete Kleinow, a steel guitar prodigy who rose to fame as one of the original members of the Flying Burrito Brothers, has died. He was 72. Kleinow died Saturday at a Petaluma convalescent home near the skilled nursing facility where he had been living with Alzheimer's disease since last year. (Source: AP via CNN.com)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Monday, January 8, 2007
Nikki Bacharach (1966 - 2007)
Nikki Bacharach, daughter of Burt Bacharach and Angie Dickinson, committed suicide, the songwriter and actress said in a statement Friday. Nikki Bacharach, 40, suffered from Asperger's Disorder, a form of autism. She killed herself Thursday night at her condo. (Source: AP via CNN.com)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Bobby Hamilton (1957 - 2007)
Bobby Hamilton, the longtime NASCAR driver who won the 2001 Talladega 500 and was the 2004 Craftsman Truck Series champion, died Sunday of cancer. He was 49. Hamilton was at home with his family when he died. (Source: AP via Forbes.com)
Labels: celebrity death notices
Saturday, January 6, 2007
James Garner's Ancestry
James Garner may be best known for his starring role on The Rockford Files for which he won an Emmy in 1976. His family tree includes the following surnames: Allen, Briggs, Bumgarner, Childers, Gaines, Garner, Hayeslain, Heffner, Jefferys, Jones, Meek, Neher, Norris, Pryor, Puckett, Riggs, Williamson, and Womack.Labels: celebrity family trees
Friday, January 5, 2007
Lew Ayres' Grave Site
Actor Lew Ayres is buried in Westwood Memorial which is on Glendon Avenue in Los Angeles. Lew may be best remembered for his role as a disillusioned German soldier in the 1930 classic All Quiet on the Western Front.Labels: celebrity grave sites
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Roy Claxton Acuff in 1920, 1930 Census
We tracked down the images for Roy Claxton Acuff and his family in both the 1920 and 1930 census. Included in his household (as of 1920) were the following names: Niel Acuff 42, Ida F Acuff 40, Paul B Acuff 19, Nancy J Acuff 18, Roy C Acuff 16, Susy L Acuff 14, and Claude R Acuff 10.Labels: celebrity census
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Introducing the New and Improved Famous Roots
In surveying the visitors to one of my genealogy websites, the question was asked, "what motivated you to start searching for your roots?" One of the more frequent answers was, "to see if I'm related to someone famous." While it certainly wasn't a surprising answer, it was interesting to see that it was a common response.
Back in 2004, the idea surfaced to launch a web site devoted to tracing the genealogy of celebrities, but the effort into publishing more information about the famous was lacking. Nor was much time spent tracking the details of the people I had chosen to list.
That survey response has motivated me to revisit this site, and with the advances in technology (e.g. blogging), there is hope that keeping the information current and timely will be much less of a challenge.
Back in 2004, the idea surfaced to launch a web site devoted to tracing the genealogy of celebrities, but the effort into publishing more information about the famous was lacking. Nor was much time spent tracking the details of the people I had chosen to list.
That survey response has motivated me to revisit this site, and with the advances in technology (e.g. blogging), there is hope that keeping the information current and timely will be much less of a challenge.
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