Birth Date between 1879-01-01 and 1879-12-31 (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)
1. Sydney Greenstreet
Actor | The Maltese Falcon
Sydney Greenstreet's father was a leather merchant with eight children. Sydney left home at age 18 to make his fortune as a Ceylon tea planter, but drought forced him out of business and back to England. He managed a brewery and, to escape boredom, took acting lessons. His stage debut was as a ...
2. Jane Darwell
Actress | The Grapes of Wrath
Missouri-born Jane Darwell was born Patti Woodard, the daughter of William Robert Woodard, president of the Louisville Southern Railroad, and Ellen (Booth) Woodard, in Palmyra, Missouri, where she grew up on a ranch . She nursed ambitions to be an opera singer, but put it off because of her ...
3. Ernest Thesiger
Actor | Bride of Frankenstein
Although he made nearly 60 films in a 50-year acting career, it is for the two he made with director James Whale that Ernest Thesiger will be best remembered. Born Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger in London on January 15, 1879, he was the grandson of the first Baron of Chelmsford. Educated at ...
4. Max Schreck
Actor | Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens
Max Schreck was born in Berlin. He worked in an apprenticeship until his father's death before enrolling into a school for acting. He toured the country with his peers and was a member of several theaters until he became a part of Max Reinhardt's group of innovative German actors. He played mostly ...
5. Lewis Stone
Actor | The Sin of Madelon Claudet
By the time that he was 20, Lewis Stone had turned prematurely grey. He enlisted to fight in the Spanish American War and when he returned, he returned to be a writer. This turned to acting and he began to appear in films during the middle teens. His career was again interrupted by war as he served...
6. Lucile Watson
Actress | Watch on the Rhine
Unsmiling character player Lucile Watson was one of Hollywood's most indomitable mothers of the 1930s and 1940s...and you can take that both ways. The archetypal matriarch who enhanced scores of plush, soapy, Victorian-styled drama, her prickly pears could be insufferable indeed and heaven help ...
7. Ethel Barrymore
Actress | None But the Lonely Heart
Ethel Barrymore was the second of three children seemingly destined for the actor's life of their parents Maurice and Georgiana. Maurice Barrymore had emigrated from England in 1875, and after graduating from Cambridge in law had shocked his family by becoming an actor. Georgiana Drew of ...
8. Warner Oland
Actor | Charlie Chan's Secret
Warner Oland was born Johan Verner Olund in the small village of Nyby in Bjurholm parish in the county of Vasterbotten, Sweden, on October 3, 1879. Bjurholm is situated about 60 kilometers outside the town of Umea. His family emigrated to the US on October 15, 1892. His father Jonas was a ...
9. Victor Sjöström
Actor | Smultronstället
Victor Sjöström was born on September 20, 1879, and is the undisputed father of Swedish film, ranking as one of the masters of world cinema. His influence lives on in the work of Ingmar Bergman and all those directors, both Swedish and international, influenced by his work and the works of ...
10. Sara Allgood
Actress | How Green Was My Valley
Dublin-born Sara Allgood started her acting career in her native country with the famed Abbey Theatre. From there she traveled to the English stage, where she played for many years before making her film debut in 1918. Her warm, open Irish face meant that she spent a lot of time playing Irish ...
11. Will Rogers
Actor | Judge Priest
World-famous, widely popular American humorist of the vaudeville stage and of silent and sound films, Will Rogers graduated from military school, but his first real job was in the livestock business in Argentina, of all places. He transported pack animals across the South Atlantic from Buenos Aires...
12. Albert Einstein
Self | Champagne for Caesar
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Kingdom of Württemberg, to a German Jewish family. He was the son of Pauline (Koch) and Hermann Einstein, a featherbed salesman. Albert began reading and studying science at a young age, and he graduated from a Swiss high school when he was 17. He then attended a ...
13. Lionel Braham
Actor | A Christmas Carol
Lionel Braham was born on April 1, 1879 in Yorkshire, England. He was an actor, known for A Christmas Carol (1938), The Little Princess (1939) and Snow White (1916). He died on October 6, 1947 in Hollywood, California, USA.
14. Houseley Stevenson
Actor | Dark Passage
British-born American character actor. He labored in a San Francisco glass factory until his thirties, then embarked on an acting career. He became a respected teacher, director, and performer at famed Pasadena Community Playhouse in California. He appeared in numerous films in the Thirties and ...
15. Samuel Goldwyn
Producer | The Best Years of Our Lives
Famed for his relentless ambition, bad temper and genius for publicity, Samuel Goldwyn became Hollywood's leading "independent" producer -- largely because none of his partners could tolerate him for long. Born Shmuel (or Schmuel) Gelbfisz, probably in 1879, in the Jewish section of Warsaw, he was ...
16. Alla Nazimova
Actress | Eye for Eye
The grand, highly flamboyant Russian star Alla Nazimova of Hollywood silent films lived an equally grand, flamboyant life off-camera, though her legendary status has not held up as firmly as that of a Rudolph Valentino today.
Alla Nazimova was born Miriam Edez Adelaida Leventon in 1879, in Yalta, ...
17. Clem Bevans
Actor | Harvey
Born in 1879, Clem Bevans spent most of his performing career on the stage. First appearing in 1900 in a vaudeville act with Grace Emmett as a boy and girl act, he would move on to burlesque and eventually make the move to Broadway and even opera productions. His first screen appearance did not ...
18. Eily Malyon
Actress | The Little Princess
Eily Malyon was born on October 30, 1879 in London, England as Eily S. Lees-Craston. She was an actress, known for The Little Princess (1939), Untamed (1940) and Kind Lady (1935). She was married to J. Plumpton Wilson. She died on September 26, 1961 in South Pasadena, California, USA.
19. Otto Hoffman
Actor | The Terror
Gangly and rugged stage and screen character star Otto Hoffman was born in New York in 1879. Began as a stage performer in the 1890's. Made his movie debut under the direction of Stuart Paton in The White Terror (1915) starring Hobart Henley for the IMP Film Company. Otto directed only one film, ...
20. Walter Long
Actor | Pardon Us
Early in his career Walter Long was married to Luray Huntley, an actress for D.W. Griffith's stock company. Huntley and Long performed together in several of Griffith's films, including Traffic in Souls (1913), Let Katie Do It (1916), and Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916). ...
21. Laura Hope Crews
Actress | Gone with the Wind
Laura Hope Crews was born on December 12, 1879 in San Francisco, California, USA. She is known for her work on Gone with the Wind (1939), The Blue Bird (1940) and Camille (1936). She died on November 13, 1942 in New York City, New York, USA.
22. Alfred Abel
Actor | Metropolis
This elegant actor of the golden age of German cinema appeared in several masterpieces, before the cameras of such inspired geniuses as Lang, Lubitsch and Murnau. Vocation had come rather late in his life, though. Abel was indeed already 33 when he made his first film. Beforehand, he had been a ...
23. Benjamin Christensen
Director | Hævnens Nat
Benjamin Christensen was born on September 28, 1879 in Viborg, Denmark. He was a director and writer, known for Blind Justice (1916), Seven Footprints to Satan (1929) and The Devil's Circus (1926). He was married to Karen Winther, Sigrid Stahl and Ellen Arctander. He died on April 2, 1959 in ...
24. Lois Weber
Director | Suspense
Lois Weber, who had been a street-corner evangelist before entering motion pictures in 1905, became the first American woman movie director of note, and a major one at that. Herbert Blaché, the husband of Frenchwoman Alice Guy, the first woman to direct a motion picture (and arguably, the first ...
25. Mary Young
Actress | The Lost Weekend
Mary Young was born on June 21, 1879 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Lost Weekend (1945), Alias Jesse James (1959) and Blondie's Holiday (1947). She was married to Craig, John. She died on June 23, 1971 in La Jolla, California, USA.
26. Robert Elliott
Actor | The Maltese Falcon
Robert Elliott was born on October 9, 1879 in Columbus, Ohio, USA as Richard Robert Elliott. He was an actor, known for The Maltese Falcon (1931), Gone with the Wind (1939) and White Eagle (1932). He was married to Ruth Thorp. He died on November 15, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
27. Dudley Digges
Actor | The Invisible Man
Dudley Digges was born on June 9, 1879 in Dublin, Ireland, UK. He is known for his work on The Invisible Man (1933), The Emperor Jones (1933) and Raffles (1939). He was married to Mary Roden Quinn. He died on October 24, 1947 in New York City, New York, USA.
28. Walter Hampden
Actor | Sabrina
Walter Hampden was one of the great American stage actors and the only performer, aside from Maurice Evans, to play Hamlet three times on Broadway in the post-World War I-era. Born Walter Hampden Dougherty on June 30, 1879, in Brooklyn, New York, he learned his craft in London, where he made his ...
29. Edward Rigby
Actor | The Happiest Days of Your Life
Edward Rigby was born on February 5, 1879 in Ashford, Kent, England as Edward Coke. He was an actor, known for The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950), The Remarkable Mr. Kipps (1941) and The Stars Look Down (1940). He was married to Phyllis [Muriel Mary] Austin (novelist). He died on April 5, 1951 ...
30. Louise Hampton
Actress | Busman's Honeymoon
Louise Hampton was born on December 23, 1879 in Stockport, Cheshire, England. She was an actress, known for Haunted Honeymoon (1940), The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) and The Middle Watch (1940). She was married to Edward Thane. She died on February 10, 1954 in Charing Cross ...
31. E.M. Forster
Writer | Howards End
E.M. Forster was born on January 1, 1879 in London, England as Edward Morgan Forster. He was a writer, known for Howards End (1992), A Room with a View (1985) and The Machine Stops (2009). He died on June 7, 1970 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England.
32. David Landau
Actor | Horse Feathers
Very busy Hollywood character actor who didn't hit his stride on screen until he was in his 50s but who nonetheless appeared in 33 films between 1931 and 1934. Many of his performances were somewhat wooden, although that suited the characters he portrayed. Landau was best known for his deep, ...
33. Leona Roberts
Actress | Gone with the Wind
Leona Roberts was born on July 26, 1879 in Monroe Center, Ohio, USA as Leona Celinda Doty. She was an actress, known for Gone with the Wind (1939), Bringing Up Baby (1938) and The Blue Bird (1940). She was married to Charles James Hutchinson and Walter Beck. She died on January 29, 1954 in Santa ...
34. Robert Greig
Actor | Animal Crackers
Robert Greig was born on December 27, 1879 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was an actor, known for Animal Crackers (1930), Sullivan's Travels (1941) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945). He was married to Beatrice Denver Holloway. He died on June 27, 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
35. Brandon Beach
Actor | Under Western Stars
Brandon Beach was born on October 18, 1879 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He was an actor, known for Under Western Stars (1938), Whirlybirds (1957) and This Theatre and You (1949). He died on November 22, 1974 in Costa Mesa, California, USA.
36. Paul Porcasi
Actor | Morocco
Paul Porcasi was born on January 1, 1879 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. He was an actor, known for Morocco (1930), Broadway (1929) and Red-Haired Alibi (1932). He died on August 8, 1946 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
37. Adolf Gärtner
Director | Ein scharfer Schuss
Adolf Gärtner was born on March 24, 1879 in Berlin, Germany. He was a director and writer, known for Ein scharfer Schuss (1917), Zwischen zwei Welten (1919) and Der gestreifte Domino (1915). He died on January 9, 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
38. André Deed
Actor | L'uomo meccanico
Starting his show-business career as a singer and acrobat in French music halls, Deed got in almost at the ground floor of the French film industry, making his debut in 1905. It didn't take him long to become one of France's first major comic film stars, and he soon became internationally famous. ...
39. Charles Meakin
Actor | Upstage
Charles Meakin was born on October 2, 1879 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA as Charles Wolcott Meakin. He was an actor, known for Upstage (1926), The Marriage Clause (1926) and Ladies at Ease (1927). He died on January 17, 1961 in Hollywood, California, USA.
40. Kathlyn Williams
Actress | The Rosary
Pioneer silver screen star Kathlyn Williams is primarily known as the spry blonde of the very first Hollywood cliffhanger, The Adventures of Kathlyn (1913), in which her real first name was used in the title. This accomplishment has resulted in many reference works mistakenly referring to her as an...
41. Thomas Meighan
Actor | The Racket
Sadly, this once-popular silent screen star and older matinee idol for Paramount Studios, is all but forgotten today. Thomas "Tommy" Meighan was one of the rulers of the Hollywood roost, between the years 1915 and 1928. He was born in Pittsburgh, his father a president of a major manufacturing ...
42. Margaret Halstan
Actress | The Holly and the Ivy
Margaret Halstan was born on December 25, 1879 in London, England as Clara Maud Hertz. She was an actress, known for The Holly and the Ivy (1952), The Middle Watch (1930) and London Playhouse (1955). She was married to John Hartman Morgan. She died on January 8, 1967 in Hornchurch, England.
43. Harlan Briggs
Actor | Dodsworth
Harlan Briggs was born on August 17, 1879 in Blissfield, Michigan, USA as Harlan Paul Briggs. He is known for his work on Dodsworth (1936), My Pal Trigger (1946) and The Bank Dick (1940). He was married to Merle Ione Weeks, Viola Marguerite Scott and Mary E. Brockway. He died on January 26, 1952 in...
44. Lew Kelly
Actor | Winds of the Wasteland
Lew Kelly was born on August 24, 1879 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Winds of the Wasteland (1936), State Trooper (1933) and Paradise Express (1937). He died on June 10, 1944 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
45. Neal Hart
Actor | Butterfly Range
Neal Hart was born on April 7, 1879 in Staten Island, New York, USA as Cornelius Augustus Hart Jr. He was an actor and director, known for Butterfly Range (1922), Lure of Gold (1922) and South of Northern Lights (1922). He was married to Lula Gertrude Pielstick. He died on April 2, 1949 in Woodland...
46. Grace George
Actress | Johnny Come Lately
Grace George was born on December 25, 1879 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Johnny Come Lately (1943) and Tainted Money (1915). She was married to William A. Brady. She died on May 19, 1961 in New York City.
47. Mabel Trunnelle
Actress | Dolly Varden
Mabel Trunnelle was born in Dwight, Illinois on November 8, 1879. A stage actress from the East Coast, Mabel was 32 when she appeared on the silver screen. In 1911 she was in A MODERN CINDERELLA, IN THE DAYS OF CHIVALRY, and THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER, the latter being the most notable. Her last film...
48. Leon Trotsky
Self | The Assassination of Trotsky
Communist leader. He was chief theorist, a leader in both the 1905 and 1917 Russian Revolutions alongside V.I. Lenin. As commissar for foreign affairs, Trotsky arranged the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany. He next became head of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, which resulted in the ...
49. Joseph Singleton
Actor | The Squaw Man
Joseph Singleton was born on March 1, 1879 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia as Joseph Edward Victor Fairfield Daveran Singleton. He was an actor, known for The Squaw Man (1914), Treasure Island (1920) and The Toll Gate (1920). He was married to Iva Shepard. He died on October 24, 1946 in Alameda, ...
50. Rupert Julian
Actor | The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin
Coming to the US at the age of 34, New Zealand-born Rupert Julian started his career as a stage and screen actor touring Australia and New Zealand. Having made his name (and a cool million for Universal) as a dead ringer for Kaiser Wilhelm II in the 1918 film The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin (1918), ...