Westchester Hills Hastings

1. John Garfield

Actor | Four Daughters

John Garfield was born Jacob Julius Garfinkle on the Lower East Side of New York City, to Hannah Basia (Margolis) and David Garfinkle, who were Jewish immigrants from Zhytomyr (now in Ukraine). Jules was raised by his father, a clothes presser and part-time cantor, after his mother's death in 1920,...

2. Mischa Elman

Music_department | J7 Productions: Award-Winning Cirque Entertainment and Production Services

Famed violinist and composer, educated at the Royal Music School in Odessa with Fiedelman, and in the Petrograd University with Leopold Auer. He was awarded an honorary Musical Doctorate from the Chicago Musical College. He made his Berlin debut in 1904, his London debut in 1905, and his New York ...

3. Ilka Chase

Actress | Now, Voyager

The daughter of Vogue's editor-in-chief for 40 years, Edna Woolman Chase, Ilka was named for a Hungarian friend of her mother. She went to school in France and later acted in stock with Rube Miller in New York. Her first appearance on Broadway was as a maid in 'The Red Falcon' in 1924.

After ...

4. George Gershwin

Soundtrack | Manhattan

He was born Jacob Gershowitz, 26 September 1898, in Brooklyn, New York, of Russian-Jewish immigrants. As a boy he could play popular and classical works on his brother Ira's piano by ear. In 1913 he quit school to study music and began composing for Tin Pan Alley; by 1919 he had his first hit "...

5. Ira Gershwin

Music_department | An American in Paris

Legendary, prolific composer, songwriter and author, educated at Townsend Harris Hall, City College of New York, and Columbia University. He began his career as a contributor to newspaper columns, and also worked for a touring carnival. His Broadway stage scores include "Two Little Girls in Blue" (...

6. Ben Grauer

Actor | The Town That Forgot God

Ben Grauer was born on June 2, 1908 in Staten Island, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Town That Forgot God (1922), Does It Pay? (1923) and My Friend the Devil (1922). He was married to Melanie Kahane (deocorator). He died on May 31, 1977 in New York City, New York, USA.

7. Judy Holliday

Actress | Born Yesterday

Judy Holliday was born Judith Tuvim in New York City on June 21, 1921. Her mother, a piano teacher, was attending a play when she went into labor and made it to the hospital just in time. Judy was an only child. By the age of four, her mother had her enrolled in ballet school which fostered a ...

8. Lucille Lortel

Actress | Grounds for Murder

Lucille Lortel was born on December 16, 1900 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Grounds for Murder (1930), Everything Happens to Me (1930) and Sessue Hayakawa in 'the Man Who Laughed Last' (1929). She was married to Louis Schweitzer. She died on April 4, 1999 in New York...

9. Tony Randall

Actor | The Odd Couple

Tony Randall was born on February 26, 1920 in Tulsa, Oklahoma as Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg. He attended Tulsa Central High School and later Northwestern University and New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. After graduating, he starred in two plays: George Bernard Shaw's '...

10. Max Reinhardt

Director | Sumurûn

Max Reinhardt was from an Austrian merchant family (surname officially changed from the family name Goldmann to Reinhardt in 1904), and even as a boy, after his family moved to Vienna, he haunted the "Hofburg Theater" and tried to see every play. In 1890 he studied at the Sulkowsky Theater in ...

11. Billy Rose

Soundtrack | Bicentennial Man

Broadway impresario Billy Rose was born William Samuel Rosenberg on September 9, 1899, in The Bronx, New York. Known as "The Little Napoleon of Showmanship," the diminutive Rose made his name and his legend as a producer, writer, lyricist, composer, director and theatre owner/operator, as well as ...

12. Robert Rossen

Writer | The Hustler

Robert Rossen was born on March 16, 1908 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and director, known for The Hustler (1961), All the King's Men (1949) and Alexander the Great (1956). He was married to Sarah (Sue) Siegel. He died on February 18, 1966 in New York City, New York, USA.

13. Ron Silver

Actor | Timecop

Ron Silver was born on July 2, 1946 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Timecop (1994), Reversal of Fortune (1990) and Find Me Guilty (2006). He was married to Lynne Miller. He died on March 15, 2009 in New York City, New York, USA.

14. Lee Strasberg

Actor | The Godfather Part II

Famed acting teacher Lee Strasberg was born Israel Strassberg in Budzanov, Austria-Hungary (now Budanov, Ukraine). Brought to America as a child, he had a brief acting career, before becoming one of the founders of the Group Theatre in 1931, directing a number of plays there. His greatest influence...

15. Paula Strasberg

Self | ABC Stage 67

Paula Strasberg was born on March 8, 1909 in New York City, New York, USA. She is known for ABC Stage 67 (1966) and The Arlene Francis Show (1957). She was married to Lee Strasberg and Harry Stein. She died on April 29, 1966 in New York City, New York, USA.

16. David Susskind

Producer | Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

David Susskind was born on December 19, 1920 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Eleanor and Franklin (1976) and Ages of Man (1966). He was married to Joyce Davidson and Phyllis Briskin. He died on February 22, 1987 in New...

17. Robert Tisch

Self | Startup.com

Robert Tisch was born on April 29, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was married to Joan Tisch. He died on November 15, 2005 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.

18. Stephen Wise

Self | Rebel Beneath the Waves

19. Roberta Peters

Actress | City Hall

Roberta Peters was born on May 4, 1930 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for City Hall (1996), The Captive (2014) and Die Zauberflöte (1964). She was married to Bertram Fields and Robert Merrill. She died on January 18, 2017 in Rye, New York, USA.

20. Gilbert Gottfried

Actor | Aladdin

At the tender age of 15, Gilbert Gottfried began doing stand-up at open mike nights in New York City and, after a few short years, became known around town as "the comedian's comedian". After spending several years mastering the art of stand-up comedy, producers of the legendary NBC late-night ...

21. Murray the 'K'

Soundtrack | You've Got Mail

Murray the K was born Murray Kaufman in New York, New York, on 14 February 1922. After an early career as a song-plugger, he moved into radio and in 1958 joined 1010 WINS. He remained there for seven years, becoming the most popular New York radio DJ. He was an early supporter of singer Bobby Darin...