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People: Famous People born in 1901

People in chronological context: 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar, the 1901st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 901st year of the 2nd millennium, the 1st year of the 20th century, and the 2nd year of the 1900s decade. As of the start of 1901, the Gregorian calendar was 13 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. ()

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1,213 people found (page 1/41):

Paul Fix(† 82)

Actor | Dobbs Ferry, New York (US)

Paul Fix (March 13, 1901, Dobbs Ferry, New York – October 14, 1983, Los Angeles, California) was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981. In the 1950s, Fix was best known for portraying Marshal Micah Torrance alongside Chuck Connors in The Rifleman.Paul Fix died October 14, 1983, Los Angeles, California, of kidney failure. He was survived by his daughter Marilyn Carey and son-in-law Harry "Dobe" Carey, three grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.Supposedly Fix taught John Wayne -- a lifelong friend -- his famous and distinctive "rolling walk" when Wayne was starting out in the business. He wanted something to set him apart, so Fix suggested the rolling gait that became his trademark.

Known for: El Dorado, Giant, To Kill a Mockingbird, Red River
* 03/13/1901

Gary Cooper(† 60)

Actor | Helena, Montana (US)

Gary Cooper (May 7, 1901- May 13, 1961) was an American film actor known for his natural, authentic, and understated acting style and screen performances. His career spanned thirty-six years, from 1925 to 1961, and included leading roles in eighty-four feature films. He was a major movie star from the end of the silent film era through to the end of the golden age of Classical Hollywood. His screen persona appealed strongly to both men and women, and his range of performances included roles in most major movie genres. Cooper's ability to project his own personality onto the characters he played contributed to his natural and authentic appearance on screen. Throughout his career, he sustained a screen persona that represented the ideal American hero.

Known for: High Noon, Sergeant York, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
* 05/07/1901

Hank Worden(† 91)

Actor | Rolfe, Iowa (US)

Raised on a cattle ranch in Montana. Educated at Stanford and the University of Nevada as an engineer. Washed out as an Army pilot. Toured the country in rodeos as a saddle bronc rider. Broke his neck in a horsefall in his 20s, but didn't know it until his 40s. Chosen along withTex Ritterfrom a rodeo at Madison Square Garden in New York to appear in the Broadway play "Green Grow the Lilacs", the play from which the musical "Oklahoma" was later derived. Drove a cab in New York, then worked on dude ranches as a wrangler and as a guide on the Bright Angel trail of the Grand Canyon. Recommended byBillie Burketo several movie producers. Became friends withJohn Wayne,Howard Hawks, and laterJohn Ford, all of whom provided him with much work. Survived by adopted daughter Dawn Henry.Date of Death: 6December1992,Los Angeles, California, USA(natural causes)

Known for: The Searchers, Red River, The Alamo, Runaway Train
* 07/23/1901

Harry Harvey(† 84)

Actor | Indian Territory, Oklahoma Territory (US)

Harry Harvey Sr. was an American actor of theatre, film, and television.Harvey appeared in minstrel shows, in vaudeville, and on the Broadway stage but is best remembered as a character actor who appeared in more than three hundred films and episodes of television series.He had roles in the films The Oregon Trail, Old Overland Trail, Wyoming Renegades, Ride Beyond Vengeance, and many other westerns.In the 1950s, Harvey was cast in The Roy Rogers Show, Man Without a Gun and The Lone Ranger. In 1962, he appeared on It's a Man's World. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, he guest-starred on Branded, Lassie, Hazel, The Wild Wild West, Mannix, Alias Smith and Jones, Bonanza, and Columbo. His last appearance was in an episode of Adam-12-.

Known for: The Pride of the Yankees, Ace in the Hole, The Falcon's Adventure, Lost in Space
* 01/10/1901

Walt Disney(† 65)

Crew | Hermosa, Chicago, Illinois (US)

Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, he holds the record for most Academy Awards earned and nominations by an individual. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress and have also been named as some of the greatest films ever by the American Film Institute. Born in Chicago in 1901, Disney developed an early interest in drawing. He took art classes as a boy and took a job as a commercial illustrator at the age of 18. He moved to California in the early 1920s and set up the Disney Brothers Studio (now The Walt Disney Company) with his brother Roy. With Ub Iwerks, he developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success; he also provided the voice for his creation in the early years. As the studio grew, he became more adventurous, introducing synchronized sound, full-color three-strip Technicolor, feature-length cartoons and technical developments in cameras. The results, seen in features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio, Fantasia (both 1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942), furthered the development of animated film. New animated and live-action films followed after World War II, including the critically successful Cinderella (1950), Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Mary Poppins (1964), the last of which received five Academy Awards. In the 1950s, Disney expanded into the amusement park industry, and in July 1955 he opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California. To fund the project he diversified into television programs, such as Walt Disney's Disneyland and The Mickey Mouse Club. He was also involved in planning the 1959 Moscow Fair, the 1960 Winter Olympics, and the 1964 New York World's Fair. In 1965, he began development of another theme park, Disney World, the heart of which was to be a new type of city, the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT). Disney was a heavy smoker throughout his life and died of lung cancer in 1966 before either the park or the EPCOT project were completed. Disney was a shy, self-deprecating and insecure man in private but adopted a warm and outgoing public persona. He had high standards and high expectations of those with whom he worked. Although there have been accusations that he was racist or antisemitic, they have been contradicted by many who knew him. Historiography of Disney has taken a variety of perspectives, ranging from views of him as a purveyor of homely patriotic values to being a representative of American cultural imperialism. Widely considered to be one of the most influential cultural figures of the 20th century, Disney remains an important presence in the history of animation and in the cultural history of the United States, where he is acknowledged as a national cultural icon. His film work continues to be shown and adapted, the Disney theme parks have grown in size and number to attract visitors in several countries and his company has grown to become one of the world's largest mass media and entertainment conglomerates.

Known for: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Lady and the Tramp, Bambi, Mary Poppins
* 12/05/1901

James Dunn(† 65)

Actor | New York City, New York (US)

James Dunn worked on the stage, in vaudeville and as an extra in silent movies before he was signed by Fox in 1931. His first movie with Fox was 1931's Sob Sister (1931). While at Fox, he appeared with Shirley Temple in her first three features: Baby Take a Bow (1934), Stand Up and Cheer! (1934) and Bright Eyes (1934). Dunn's screen character was usually the boy next door or the nice guy. In 1935 musicals at the new 20th Century-Fox were out and Dunn would move to the "B" list, from which he would never return. In The Payoff (1935) he plays the nice guy newspaper columnist whose wife ruins his career. By the late 1930s he was drinking heavily and become unemployable. He would appear in small roles in films during the early 1940s, but those parts were few. In 1945 he was able to make a comeback and win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), but his rejuvenated career would not continue. By 1951 he would again be unemployed and bankrupt. Television would later supply some work and he would be a regular on the series It's a Great Life (1954).Dunn was born 2November 1901,New York City, New York, USA, and he died 1September 1967,Santa Monica, California, USA (following abdominal surgery)

Known for: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Bright Eyes, The Living Ghost, Bad Girl
* 11/02/1901

Brian Donlevy(† 71)

Actor | Portadown, County Armagh, Ireland [now in Northern Ireland] (GB)

Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, who was noted for playing dangerous and tough characters. Usually appearing in supporting roles, among his best-known films are Beau Geste (1939), The Great McGinty (1940) and Wake Island (1942). For his role as the sadistic Sergeant Markoff in Beau Geste, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He starred as U.S. special agent Steve Mitchell in the radio/TV series Dangerous Assignment. His obituary in The Times newspaper in the United Kingdom said, "Any consideration of the American 'film noir' of the 1940s would be incomplete without him".

Known for: Beau Geste, Impact, The Glass Key, Quatermass 2
* 02/09/1901

Ed Begley(† 69)

Actor | Hartford, Connecticut (US)

Edward James Begley Sr. (March 25, 1901 – April 28, 1970) was an American actor of theatre, radio, film, and television.

Known for: 12 Angry Men, Sweet Bird of Youth, Hang 'em High, Billion Dollar Brain
* 03/25/1901

Lee Patrick(† 80)

Actress | New York City, New York (US)

Lee Patrick (November 22, 1901 – November 21, 1982) was an American actress whose career began in 1922 on the New York stage with her role in The Bunch and Judy which headlined Adele Astaire and featured Adele's brother Fred Astaire. Patrick continued to perform in dozens of roles on the stage for the next decade, frequently in musicals and comedies, but also in dramatic parts like her 1931 performance as Meg in Little Women. She began to branch out into films in 1929. For half a century she created a credible body of cinematic work, her most memorable being as Sam Spade's assistant Effie in The Maltese Falcon (1941), and her reprise of the role in the George Segal comedy sequel The Black Bird (1975). Her talents were showcased in comedies such as the Jack Benny film George Washington Slept Here (1942) and as one of the foils of Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame (1958). Dramatic parts such as an asylum inmate in The Snake Pit (1948) and as Pamela Tiffin's mother in Summer and Smoke (1961) were another facet of her repertoire. She played numerous guest roles in American television, but became a staple for that medium during the two-year run of Topper. As Henrietta Topper, her comedic timing played well against Leo G. Carroll as her husband, and against that of the two ghosts played by Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys. Patrick lent her voice to various animated characters of The Alvin Show in the early 1960s.

Known for: The Maltese Falcon, Auntie Mame, Vertigo, Mildred Pierce
* 11/22/1901

Connie Gilchrist(† 84)

Actress | Brooklyn, New York City, New York (US)

Rose Constance Gilchrist (July 17, 1895 – March 3, 1985) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Among her screen credits are roles in the Hollywood productions Cry 'Havoc' (1943), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), Little Women (1949), Tripoli (1950), Houdini (1953), Some Came Running (1958), and Auntie Mame (1958).

Known for: Auntie Mame, A Letter to Three Wives, Tripoli, Long John Silver
* 02/02/1901

Gavin Gordon(† 81)

Actor | Chicora, Mississippi (US)

Gavin Gordon (born Fred Gavin Gordon; April 7, 1901 - April 7, 1983) was an American stage, screen, radio, and television actor. Despite it usually being indicated that he died on his 82nd birthday, his tombstone inscription reveals that he actually died one day earlier.

Known for: The Bride of Frankenstein, Mystery of the Wax Museum, The Scarlet Empress, The Bat
* 04/07/1901

Mildred Dunnock(† 90)

Actress | Baltimore, Maryland (US)

Mildred Dorothy Dunnock (January 25, 1901 – July 5, 1991) was an American stage and screen actress. She was nominated twice for an Academy Award for her works in Death of a Salesman (1951) and Baby Doll (1956).

Known for: The Trouble with Harry, Baby Doll, Death of a Salesman, Peyton Place
* 01/25/1901
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Clark Gable(† 59)

Actor | Cadiz, Ohio (US)

William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an American film actor. Often referred to as the "King of Hollywood", he had roles in more than 60 films in a variety of genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades of which was as a leading man. He was named the seventh greatest male movie star of classic American cinema by the American Film Institute. Gable won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the romantic comedy, It Happened One Night (1934). He was further Oscar-nominated for his roles as Fletcher Christian in the drama Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), and Rhett Butler in the historical romance drama Gone with the Wind (1939). He received Golden Globe Award nominations for his comedic roles in Teacher's Pet (1958), and But Not for Me (1959). He also starred in Call of the Wild (1935), Key to the City (film) (1950), and Mogambo (1953). His final on-screen role was as an aging cowboy in The Misfits (1961). Gable was one of the most consistent box-office performers in the history of Hollywood, appearing on Quigley Publishing's annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll sixteen times. He appeared opposite many of the most popular actresses of their time. He frequently acted alongside Joan Crawford, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Lana Turner, Norma Shearer and Ava Gardner. Gable died of a heart attack in 1960 at the age of 59.

Known for: It Happened One Night, Gone with the Wind, Mutiny on the Bounty, Red Dust
* 02/01/1901

Louis Mercier(† 92)

Actor | Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]

- No description / details available yet. -

Known for: Bulldog Drummond's Bride, Jewels of Brandenburg, Tiger Rose, Darling Lili, The Time Tunnel
* 03/07/1901

Gail Bonney(† 82)

Actress | Columbus, Ohio (US)

- No description / details available yet. -

Known for: Star Trek, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Six Million Dollar Man, One Step Beyond
* 12/15/1901

Ann Harding(† 80)

Actress | San Antonio, Texas (US)

Ann Harding (August 7, 1902 – September 1, 1981) was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress. A regular player on Broadway and in regional theater in the 1920s, in the 1930s Harding was one of the first actresses to gain fame in the new medium of "talking pictures", and she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1931 for her work in Holiday.

Known for: When Ladies Meet, Love from a Stranger, Holiday, The Life of Vergie Winters
* 08/07/1901

George Tobias(† 78)

Actor | New York City, New York (US)

George Tobias (July 14, 1901 – February 27, 1980) was an American theater, film and television actor. He had character parts and supporting roles in several major films of Hollywood's Golden Age. He is also known for his role as Abner Kravitz on the TV sitcom Bewitched from 1964 to 1971.

Known for: Sergeant York, This Is the Army, Silk Stockings, Passage to Marseille, Bewitched
* 07/14/1901

Melvyn Douglas(† 80)

Actor | Macon, Georgia (US)

Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in 1929 as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy Ninotchka (1939) with Greta Garbo. Douglas later played mature and fatherly characters, as in his Academy Award-winning performances in Hud (1963) and Being There (1979) and his Academy Award–nominated performance in I Never Sang for My Father (1970). Douglas was one of 24 performers to win the Triple Crown of Acting. In the last few years of his life Douglas appeared in films with supernatural stories involving ghosts, including The Changeling in 1980 and Ghost Story in 1981, his last completed film role.

Known for: Being There, Hud, Ninotchka, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
* 04/05/1901

Mabel Albertson(† 81)

Actress | Haverhill (US)

Mabel Ida Albertson (July 24, 1901 – September 28, 1982) was an American actress of television, stage, radio and film who portrayed Phyllis Stephens in the TV sitcom Bewitched.

Known for: What's Up, Doc?, Barefoot in the Park, Ransom!, That Girl
* 07/24/1901

Eric Portman(† 68)

Actor | Halifax, Yorkshire

Eric Harold Portman (13 July 1901 – 7 December 1969) was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in three films for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s.

Known for: A Canterbury Tale, Dear Murderer, The Whisperers, Child in the House
* 07/13/1901

Marlene Dietrich(† 90)

Actress | Schöneberg, Berlin (DE)

Marie Magdalene "Marlene" Dietrich (27 December 1901 - 6 May 1992) was a German actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself. In 1920s Berlin, she acted on the stage and in silent films. Her performance as Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel, directed by Josef von Sternberg, brought her international fame and a contract with Paramount Pictures in the US. Hollywood films such as Shanghai Express and Desire capitalized on her glamour and exotic looks, cementing her stardom and making her one of the highest paid actresses of the era. Dietrich became a US citizen in 1937; during World War II, she was a high-profile front-line entertainer. Although she still made occasional films in the post-war years, Dietrich spent most of the 1950s through the 1970s touring the world as a successful show performer.In 1999, the American Film Institute named Dietrich the ninth greatest female star of all time.

Known for: Witness for the Prosecution, Judgment at Nuremberg, Touch of Evil, Morocco
* 12/27/1901

Frieda Inescort(† 74)

Actress | Edinburgh, Midlothian (GB)

Frieda Inescort (born Frieda Wrightman, 29 June 1901 – 26 February 1976) was a Scottish actress best known for creating the role of Sorel Bliss in Noël Coward's play Hay Fever on Broadway. She also played the shingled lady in John Galsworthy's 1927 Broadway production Escape and Caroline Bingley in the 1940 film of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Known for: The Return of the Vampire, Pride and Prejudice, Call It a Day, Another Dawn
* 06/29/1901

Louis Armstrong(† 69)

Actor | New Orleans, Louisiana (US)

Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several eras in the history of jazz. He received numerous accolades including the Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal Performance for Hello, Dolly! in 1965, as well as a posthumous win for the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972, and induction into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2017. Armstrong was born and raised in New Orleans. Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an inventive trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. Around 1922, he followed his mentor, Joe "King" Oliver, to Chicago to play in the Creole Jazz Band. He earned a reputation at "cutting contests", and his fame reached band leader Fletcher Henderson. He moved to New York City, where he became a featured and musically influential band soloist and recording artist. By the 1950s, he was a national musical icon, appearing regularly in radio and television broadcasts and on film. His best known songs include "What a Wonderful World", "La Vie en Rose", "Hello, Dolly!", "On the Sunny Side of the Street", "Dream a Little Dream of Me", "When You're Smiling" and "When the Saints Go Marching In". He collaborated with Ella Fitzgerald, producing three records together: Ella and Louis (1956), Ella and Louis Again (1957), and Porgy and Bess (1959). He also appeared in films such as A Rhapsody in Black and Blue (1932), Cabin in the Sky (1943), High Society (1956), Paris Blues (1961), A Man Called Adam (1966), and Hello, Dolly! (1969). With his instantly recognizable rich, gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer and skillful improviser. He was also skilled at scat singing. By the end of Armstrong's life, his influence had spread to popular music in general. Armstrong was one of the first popular African-American entertainers to "cross over" to wide popularity with White and international audiences. He rarely publicly discussed racial issues, to the dismay of fellow African Americans, but took a well-publicized stand for desegregation in the Little Rock crisis. He was able to access the upper echelons of American society at a time when this was difficult for Black men.

Known for: High Society, New Orleans, No Time to Die, Repo Man
* 08/04/1901

Lew Landers(† 61)

Crew | New York City, New York (US)

Lew Landers (born Louis Friedlander, January 2, 1901 – December 16, 1962) was an American independent film and television director.

Known for: Pacific Liner, Sky Giant, Twelve Crowded Hours, Terry and the Pirates
* 01/02/1901

Kenneth MacDonald(† 70)

Actor | Portland (US)

Kenneth MacDonald (born Kenneth Dollins; September 8, 1901 – May 5, 1972) was an American film actor. Born in Portland, Indiana, MacDonald made more than 220 film and television appearances between 1931 and 1972. His name is sometimes seen as Kenneth McDonald; his later roles sometimes credited him as Kenneth R. MacDonald.

Known for: The Ten Commandments, Before I Hang, Island of Doomed Men, Black Arrow, Perry Mason
* 09/08/1901

Paul Ford(† 74)

Actor | Baltimore, Maryland (US)

Paul Ford Weaver (November 2, 1901 – April 12, 1976) was an American character actor and comedic actor who came to specialize in portraying authority figures whose ineptitude and pompous demeanor were played for comic effect, notably as Mayor George Shinn in the 1957 Broadway musical comedy play, followed five years later by repeating in the feature film version The Music Man (1962), (starring Robert Preston and Shirley Jones), and on television as U.S. Army Colonel John T. Hall on several seasons of the military comedy The Phil Silvers Show(1955–1959).

Known for: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Music Man, The Teahouse of the August Moon, The Phil Silvers Show
* 11/02/1901

Jean Yarbrough(† 73)

Crew | Marianna, Arkansas (US)

Jean Yarbrough was an American film director.

Known for: Freckles Comes Home, Inside Job, Top Sergeant Mulligan, I'm the Law
* 08/22/1901

Otto Waldis(† 72)

Actor | Vienna / Wien (AT)

Otto Waldis (born Otto Glucksmann-Blum, May 20, 1901 – March 25, 1974) was an Austrian-American character actor in films and television from the 1930s through the 1960s. He was also billed as Otto Blum.

Known for: Judgment at Nuremberg, The Whip Hand, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, The Fighting O'Flynn
* 05/20/1901

Ben Welden(† 96)

Actor | Toledo, Ohio (US)

Ben Welden (born Benjamin Weinblatt; June 12, 1901 – October 17, 1997) was an American character actor who played a wide variety of Damon Runyon-type gangsters in various movies and television shows.

Known for: The Desert Hawk, Kid Galahad, 77 Park Lane, Impact
* 06/12/1901

Lester Cohen(† 61)

Crew

- No description / details available yet. -

Known for: Juice, Smile, Cop Land, The Night Of
* 08/17/1901
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