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People: Famous People born in 1921

People in chronological context: 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 1921st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 921st year of the 2nd millennium, the 21st year of the 20th century, and the 2nd year of the 1920s decade. As of the start of 1921, the Gregorian calendar was 13 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. ()

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Charles Bronson(† 81)

Actor | Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania (US)

Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town in Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains. Bronson's father, a miner, died when Bronson was young. Bronson himself worked in the mines as well until joining the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 to fight in World War II. After his service, he joined a theatrical troupe and studied acting. During the 1950s, he played various supporting roles in motion pictures and television, including anthology drama TV series in which he would appear as the main character. Near the end of the decade, he had his first cinematic leading role in Machine-Gun Kelly (1958). Bronson had sizeable co-starring roles in The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), This Property Is Condemned (1966), and The Dirty Dozen (1967). On television, Bronson was nominated for an Emmy Award for his supporting role in an episode of General Electric Theater, and performed in many major television shows. Eventually, actor Alain Delon (who was a fan of Bronson) hired him to co-star with him in the French film Adieu l'ami (1968). That year, he played one of the leads in the Italian spaghetti western, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). Bronson continued playing leads in various action, western, and war films made in Europe, including Rider on the Rain (1970), which won Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. During this time Bronson was the most popular American actor in Europe. Eventually, he returned to the United States to make more films, working with director Michael Winner. Their first collaborations included Chato's Land (1972), The Mechanic (1972) and The Stone Killer (1973). At this point, he became the world's number one box office star, commanding $1 million per film. In 1974, Bronson starred in the controversial film Death Wish (also directed by Winner), about an architect-turned-vigilante, a role that typified the rest of his career. Most critics initially panned the film as exploitative, but the movie was a major box-office success and spawned four sequels. Until his retirement in the late 1990s and death in 2003, Bronson played almost exclusively lead roles in action-oriented films, in films such as Mr. Majestyk (1974), Hard Times (1975), St. Ives,(1976), The White Buffalo (1977), Telefon (1977), and Assassination (1989). During this time he would often collaborate with director J. Lee Thompson. He made a number of non-action television films in which he would act against type. His last significant appearance in cinema was a supporting role in The Indian Runner (1991), a dramatic film for which his performance received good reviews.

* 11/03/1921

Chuck Connors(† 71)

Actor | Brooklyn, New York (US)

Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have played in both Major League Baseball (Brooklyn Dodgers 1949, Chicago Cubs, 1951) and the National Basketball Association (Boston Celtics 1946–48). With a 40-year film and television career, he is best known for his five-year role as Lucas McCain in the highly rated ABC series The Rifleman (1958–63).

* 04/10/1921

Jack Perkins(† 76)

Actor | Medford, Wisconsin (US)

Earl Jack Perkins (September 19, 1921 – March 7, 1998) was an American film actor. He appeared in over one hundred films from 1956 to 1983, toward the end of his career mainly as a comic drunk.

* 09/19/1921

Terry Becker(† 93)

Actor | New York City, New York

Terry Becker was an American film and television actor, Emmy-winning director and producer. Wikipedia.

* 08/05/1921

Marilyn Maxwell(† 50)

Actress | Clarinda, Iowa (US)

Marvel Marilyn Maxwell (August 3, 1921 – March 20, 1972) was an American actress and entertainer. In a career that spanned the 1940s and 1950s, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope.

* 08/03/1921

Vivian Blaine(† 74)

Actress | Newark, New Jersey (US)

Vivian Blaine (1921–1995) was an American actress and singer best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production Guys and Dolls.

* 11/21/1921

Alan Hale Jr.(† 68)

Actor | Los Angeles, California (US)

Alan Hale Jr. (born Alan Hale MacKahan; March 8, 1921 – January 2, 1990) was an American actor and restaurateur. He was the son of actor Alan Hale Sr. His television career spanned four decades, but he was best known for his secondary lead role as Captain Jonas Grumby, better known as The Skipper, on the 1960s CBS comedy series Gilligan's Island (1964–1967), a role he reprised in three Gilligan's Island television films and two spin-off cartoon series. Hale appeared in more than 200 films and television roles from 1941. He appeared primarily in Westerns, portraying the Sundance Kid in The Three Outlaws (1956) opposite Neville Brand as Butch Cassidy, performing with Kirk Douglas in The Big Trees (1952), Audie Murphy in Destry (1954), Ray Milland in A Man Alone (1955), Robert Wagner in The True Story of Jesse James (1957), and Hugh Marlowe in The Long Rope (1961). He also appeared in musical comedies opposite Don DeFore in It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947), James Cagney in The West Point Story (1950), and Judy Canova in Honeychile (1951). He also appeared on several talk and variety shows.

* 03/08/1921

Brian Keith(† 75)

Actor | Bayonne, New Jersey (US)

Robert Alba Keith (November 14, 1921 – June 24, 1997), known professionally as Brian Keith, was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his six-decade career gained recognition for his work in films such as the Disney family film The Parent Trap (1961); Johnny Shiloh (1963); the comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966); and the adventure saga The Wind and the Lion (1975), in which he portrayed President Theodore Roosevelt. On television, two of his best-known roles were those of bachelor-uncle-turned-reluctant-parent Bill Davis in the 1960s sitcom Family Affair, and a tough retired judge in the 1980s lighthearted crime drama Hardcastle and McCormick. He also starred in The Brian Keith Show, which aired on NBC from 1972 to 1974, where he portrayed a pediatrician who operated a free clinic on Oahu, and in the CBS comedy series Heartland.

* 11/14/1921

Leo Penn(† 77)

Crew | Lawrence, Massachusetts (US)

Leonard Francis Penn (August 27, 1921 – September 5, 1998) was an American actor and director. He was the father of musician Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn.

* 08/27/1921

Peter Ustinov(† 82)

Actor | London, England (GB)

Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 1921 – 28 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker, and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. Ustinov received two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in Spartacus (1960), and Topkapi (1964). He also starred in notable films such as Quo Vadis (1951), The Sundowners (1960), Billy Budd (1962), and Hot Millions (1968). He portrayed Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile (1978). He voiced Prince John and King Richard in the Walt Disney Animated film Robin Hood (1973). He also displayed a unique cultural versatility which frequently earned him the accolade of a Renaissance man. Miklós Rózsa, composer of the music for Quo Vadis and of numerous concert works, dedicated his String Quartet No. 1, Op. 22 (1950) to Ustinov. An intellectual and diplomat, he held various academic posts, and served as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and president of the World Federalist Movement (WFM). In 2003, Durham University changed the name of its Graduate Society to Ustinov College, in honour of the significant contributions Ustinov had made as chancellor of the university from 1992 until his death.

* 04/16/1921

Nino Manfredi(† 83)

Actor | Castro dei Volsci, Frosinone (IT)

Nino Manfredi (born Saturnino Manfredi, 22 March 1921 - 4 June 2004) was an Italian actor, one of the most prominent in the commedia all'italiana genre.

* 03/22/1921

Göthe Grefbo(† 69)

Actor | Föllinge, Jämtlands län (SE)

Bror Göthe Ingvar Grefbo, born Englund, was a Swedish stage and screen actor.

 
* 10/30/1921
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Logan Ramsey(† 79)

Actor | Long Beach, California (US)

Logan Carlisle Ramsey Jr. (March 21, 1921 – June 26, 2000) was an American character actor of television and film for nearly 50 years.

* 03/21/1921

Douglass Watson(† 68)

Actor | Jackson (GE)

Douglass Watson was born on February 24, 1921 in Jackson, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for Another World (1964), Julius Caesar (1953) and The Money Pit (1986).

* 02/24/1921

Michael Fox(† 75)

Actor | Yonkers (US)

Michael Fox (born Myron Melvin Fox, February 27, 1921 – June 1, 1996) was an American character actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows. Some of his most famous recurring roles were as various autopsy physicians in Perry Mason, as Coroner George McLeod in Burke's Law, as Amos Fedders in Falcon Crest, and as Saul Feinberg in The Bold and the Beautiful.

* 02/27/1921

Daniel Gélin(† 81)

Actor | Angers, Maine-et-Loire (FR)

Daniel Yves Alfred Gélin (19 May 1921 – 29 November 2002) was a French film and television actor.

* 05/19/1921

Arnold Johnson(† 78)

Actor | Brooklyn, New York (US)

Arnold Herbert Johnson (November 15, 1921 – April 10, 2000) was an American actor who played the lead role in the film Putney Swope (1969). The film was directed by Robert Downey Sr. Johnson appeared in Shaft (1971) as Cul, a friend of John Shaft and the owner of a shoeshine parlor. He also had roles in Rocky (1976) and Menace II Society (1993), as Thomas, the religious Christian grandfather of the lead character Caine (played by Tyrin Turner). Examples of his television work include recurring roles as George "Hutch" Hutton in Sanford and Son and as Fletcher, Mother Winslow's second husband, on the sitcom Family Matters. He guest-starred as Uncle Buddy in a Christmas episode of The Jeffersons, titled "George Finds a Father". He also guest-starred as Hubert Johnson on Good Times in the episode titled "A Place to Die". Johnson died in Los Angeles, California at the age of 78.

* 11/15/1921

Cyd Charisse(† 87)

Actress | Amarillo, Texas (US)

Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American dancer and actress. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilities as a dancer, and she was paired with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly; her films include Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Brigadoon with Gene Kelly and Van Johnson (1954), and Silk Stockings (1957). She stopped dancing in films in the late 1950s, but continued acting in film and television, and in 1991 made her Broadway debut. In her later years, she discussed the history of the Hollywood musical in documentaries, and was featured in That's Entertainment! III in 1994. She was awarded the National Medal of the Arts and Humanities in 2006.

* 03/08/1921

Dirk Bogarde(† 78)

Actor | Hampstead, London, England (GB)

Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as Doctor in the House (1954) for the Rank Organisation, he later acted in art house films, evolving from "heartthrob to icon of edginess". In a second career, he wrote seven best-selling volumes of memoirs, six novels, and a volume of collected journalism, mainly from articles in The Daily Telegraph. During five years' active military duty during World War Two, he reached the rank of major and was awarded seven medals. His poetry has been published in war anthologies, whilst 'Tents in Orchard', a 1944 grey ink brush drawing by Bogarde is in the collection of the British Museum. Having come to prominence in films including The Blue Lamp in the early 1950s, Bogarde starred in the successful Doctor film series (1954–1963). He twice won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for The Servant (1963) and Darling (1965). His other notable film roles included Victim (1961), Accident (1967), The Damned (1969), Death in Venice (1971), The Night Porter (1974), A Bridge Too Far (1977) and Despair (1978). He was appointed a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1990 and a Knight Bachelor in 1992.

* 03/28/1921

Abe Vigoda(† 94)

Actor | New York City, New York (US)

Tall, dour-faced and slouch-shouldered character actor Abraham Charles Vigoda (February 24, 1921 – January 26, 2016) proved himself in both gritty dramatic roles, and as an actor with wonderful comedic timing.Vigoda was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Lena (Moses) and Samuel Vigoda, both Russian Jewish immigrants. His father was a tailor on the Lower East Side. He made his first stage appearance at the age of 17 and plodded away in small theater shows for over 20 years. For the majority of film-goers, Vigoda first came to prominence in The Godfather (1972) as the double-crossing Tessio, pleading with Robert Duvall to get him off the hook "for old times' sake." He also appeared in its sequel.Vigoda had roles in a few nondescript TV films before landing the plum part of Sgt. Phil Fish on the brilliant sitcom Barney Miller (1974). Perhaps his best known role, Sgt. Fish proved popular enough to be spun off to his own (short-lived) series Fish (1977).With his long face and unusual looks, Vigoda remained in high demand in mafioso-type roles, and for a while in the mid-1980s, he was mistakenly believed to have been dead, leading producers to remark, "I need an Abe Vigoda type actor," not realizing Vigoda was still alive and well. The 1990s and beyond became busy again for him, with appearances in North (1994), The Misery Brothers (1995), A Brooklyn State of Mind (1998), and Crime Spree (2003). He continued acting into his 90s, surprising audiences with his entertaining style.Abe Vigoda died in his sleep on January 26, 2016 in Woodland Park, New Jersey.

* 02/24/1921

Elsa Albani(† 83)

Actress | Genoa (IT)

- No description / details available yet. -

* 01/01/1921

Friedrich Schütter(† 74)

Actor | Düsseldorf (DE)

Friedrich Schütter (1921–1995) was a German film and television actor. He was the German dubbing voice of Lorne Greene.

* 01/04/1921

Mark Roberts(† 84)

Actor | Denver, Colorado (US)

Robert Ellis Scott (June 9, 1921 – January 5, 2006) was an American stage, film and television actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1938 and 1994, according to the Internet Movie Database. Sometimes he was credited as Mark Roberts, Bob Scott, Robert E. Scott, or Robert Scott.

* 06/09/1921

James E. Moser(† 72)

Crew

- No description / details available yet. -

* 1921

Deborah Kerr(† 86)

Actress | Helensburgh, Scotland (GB)

Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 1921 – 16 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr, was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first person from Scotland to be nominated for any acting Oscar. During her international film career, Kerr won a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Anna Leonowens in the musical film The King and I (1956). Her other major and best known films and performances are The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), Black Narcissus (1947), Quo Vadis (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Tea and Sympathy (1956), An Affair to Remember (1957), Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), Bonjour Tristesse (1958), Separate Tables (1958), The Sundowners (1960), The Innocents (1961), The Grass Is Greener (1960), and The Night of the Iguana (1964). In 1994, having already received honorary awards from the Cannes Film Festival and BAFTA, Kerr received an Academy Honorary Award with a citation recognizing her as "an artist of impeccable grace and beauty, a dedicated actress whose motion picture career has always stood for perfection, discipline and elegance".

* 09/30/1921

Yuki Shimoda(† 59)

Actor | Sacramento / Sac-Town (US)

Yuki Shimoda (August 10, 1921 – May 21, 1981) was an American actor best known for his starring role as Ko Wakatsuki in the NBC movie of the week Farewell to Manzanar in 1976. He also co-starred in the 1960s television series Johnny Midnight (39 episodes), with Edmond O'Brien. He was a star of movies, early television, and the stage. His Broadway stage credits include Auntie Mame with Rosalind Russell, and Pacific Overtures, a musical written by Stephen Sondheim and directed by Harold Prince. During World War II, following the signing of Executive Order 9066, Shimoda was incarcerated to the Tule Lake War Relocation Center.

* 08/10/1921

Donna Reed(† 64)

Actress | Denison, Iowa (US)

Donna Reed (born Donna Belle Mullenger; January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. She is well known for her portrayal of Mary Hatch Bailey in Frank Capra's fantasy holiday film It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Reed won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Fred Zinnemann's war drama film From Here to Eternity (1953). Reed is also known for her work in television, notably as Donna Stone, a middle-class American mother and housewife in the sitcom The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966) whose character was more assertive and complex than most other television mothers of the era. She received numerous Emmy Award nominations for this role and the Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star in 1963. Later in her career, Reed replaced Barbara Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie Ewing Farlow in the 1984–1985 season of the television melodrama Dallas; she successfully sued the production company for breach of contract when she was abruptly fired upon Bel Geddes' decision to return to the show.

* 01/27/1921

Aram Katcher(† 76)

Actor | Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey]

- No description / details available yet. -

 
* 07/05/1921

Jane Freeman(† 95)

Actress | Brentford, London, England (GB)

Freeman was born in Brentford, London, in 1935 but raised in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, as a child, following the death of her father in an accident when she was 9 years old and her mother's subsequent remarriage. She graduated from the City Cardiff College of Music and Drama in 1955, and after a stay in London joined the Osiris Repertory Theatre touring company, based in Gloucestershire. She joined the Arena Theatre, Sutton Coldfield, in 1958, followed by Birmingham Rep from 1968 and 1973. Her stage appearances include Margaret More in the Welsh Theatre Company's first production, A Man for All Seasons, at Cardiff's New Theatre in 1962.She was best known for her role as café owner Ivy, one of the main characters in the long-running British TV comedy Last of the Summer Wine. Freeman died in March 2017 at the age of 81 from lung cancer. Her age was often incorrectly reported as being 96 at the time of her death, but official birth records prove that she was born in 1935.

* 03/15/1921

Eddie Garcia(† 98)

Actor | Juban, Sorsogon (PH)

Eduardo Verchez Garcia (Tagalog: [ɛdi gaɾˈsɪa]; May 2, 1929 – June 20, 2019), colloquially known as Manoy, was a Filipino actor, television personality, film director and producer. Widely regarded as the "greatest Filipino actor of all-time", Garcia appeared in nearly 700 film and television roles. Garcia had the highest number of appearances in Philippine films. Garcia is the only individual to have been inducted in three categories in the FAMAS Hall of Fame: for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Director. He is also the only Filipino to have received the Asian Film Award for Best Actor. Garcia's best-regarded appearances include Beast of the Yellow Night (1971), The Woman Hunt (1972), Deathrow (2000), The Debut (2001), Abakada... Ina (2001), Bwakaw (2012), and Rainbow's Sunset (2018), the latter of which is his last film appearance. Later in his career, Garcia starred in television programs including Little Nanay (2015–2016) and FPJ's Ang Probinsyano (2016–2019).

* 05/02/1921
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