Pop History

The names of famous and influential people are scattered throughout the FiftiesWeb This is merely a short list for those of you who have been asked the question, Name Some Famous People.

FAMOUS PEOPLE
Entertainment - This Page
Politics and World
The Arts - Writers, Playwrights, and Painters

Entertainment
	Marilyn Monroe Real Name: Norma Jeane Mortenson or Baker Born: 6/1/26 in Los Angeles, California Died: 8/5/62 Legendary actress and star of such films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and Some Like It Hot (1959). She was married to baseball legend Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller (see Arts). She died of an overdose of sleeping pills, which probably was suicide.
	Elizabeth Taylor Born: 2/27/32 in London, England Died: March 23, 2011 Actress. Her films include National Velvet (1944), A Place in the Sun (1951), Giant (1956) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and Cleopatra (1963). She won Oscars for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and Butterfield 8 (1960). Taylor has been active in fundraising for AIDS-related causes. Her former husbands include Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton (twice) and most recently construction worker Larry Fortensky. Click Here for full list of her hubbies!
	Doris Day Real Name: Doris von Kappelhoff Born: 4/3/24 in Cincinnati, Ohio A singer, actress who was America's No.1 female box office attraction during the late 1950s and '60s. Doris Day starred in a number musicals, comedies, and thrillers, including The Pajama Game (1957) and Pillow Talk (1959), often pairing with Rock Hudson. She later left films to star in the popular TV sitcom The Doris Day Show (1968–73). Her hit songs include Que Sera Sera.
	Lucille Ball Born: 8/6/11 in Jamestown, New York Died: 4/26/89 Zany comedienne best known and loved for I Love Lucy (1951–57). Lucille Ball won 8 Emmys over the years of her career. Her films include Stage Door (1937) and Mame (1974). She was married to Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz, with whom she had children Desi Arnaz, Jr. and Lucy Arnaz and later to Gary Morton.
	Elvis Presley Born:1/8/1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi Died: 8/16/1977 in Memphis, Tennessee The Elvis Presley section of the FiftiesWeb
	James Dean Born: 2/2/31 Died: 9/30/55 Brooding, rebel actor who achieved cult-figure status after making only three films, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), East of Eden (1955) and Giant (1956). Dean died in a car accident which cut off a promising career.
	Frank Sinatra Born: 12/12/15 in Hoboken, New Jersey Died: 5/14/98 Both an Academy Award-winning actor and a Grammy Award-winning singer. 'Ole Blue Eyes, the Chairman of the Board is perhaps best known as the leader of the Rat Pack, a group which included Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. Sinatra was a heartthrob for bobby-soxers who phrasing of songs remains classic. His screen performances include From Here to Eternity (1953) for which he won the Oscar, The Manchurian Candidate (1962), and The Man With the Golden Arm (1955).
	John Wayne Real Name: Marion Michael Morrison Born: 5/26/1907 in Winterset, lowa Died: 6/11/1979 Portrayed the quintiessential American hero onscreen. Best known as a cowboy in John Ford directed Westerns such as Stagecoach (1939), Fort Apache (1948) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Rio Grande (1950). Wayne won an Academy Award for True Grit (1969). Click to Hear John Wayne.