the State Historical Society of Missouri
Jane Ace, a radio actress whose birth name was Jane Epstein and who was known professionally as Jane Sherwood, was…
![H. Roe Bartle. [State Historical Society of Missouri, H. Roe Bartle Papers (K0154)]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2022-07/1.%20H.%20Roe%20Bartle.jpg?h=e5d6a2bb&itok=lMzgzCQJ "H. Roe Bartle. [State Historical Society of Missouri, H. Roe Bartle Papers (K0154)]")
Twice elected mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, and known as “Chief” to tens of thousands of…
By popular consensus, Tom Bass was one of the most skillful and popular horsemen of his era. At the time of his…
![Noah Beery Sr. as Captain Wolf Larsen in The Sea Wolf, 1920. [University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs, JWS19510]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2022-12/1.%20Noah%20Beery%20Sr.jpg?h=c32e8d64&itok=o3e5ABLN "Noah Beery Sr. as Captain Wolf Larsen in The Sea Wolf, 1920. [University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs, JWS19510]")
Noah Beery Sr., a film actor, was born on a Clay County, Missouri, farm several miles…
![Wallace Beery during his time with the Essanay film studio. [New York Public Library Digital Collections, Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, 81128]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2022-12/1.%20Wallace%20Beery.jpg?h=62801648&itok=6g7isCTj "Wallace Beery during his time with the Essanay film studio. [New York Public Library Digital Collections, Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, 81128]")
Standard reference works list film actor Wallace Beery’s birthplace as Kansas City,…
![Robert Russell Bennett (right) with Salvatore Dell’Isola at rehearsals for the Broadway production of South Pacific. Bennett served as orchestrator for the show, and Dell’Isola as musical director. [New York Public Library Digital Collections, Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, TH-52233]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2022-12/1.%20Robert%20Russell%20Bennett.jpg?h=49354a9d&itok=i_VVfYms "Robert Russell Bennett (right) with Salvatore Dell’Isola at rehearsals for the Broadway production of South Pacific. Bennett served as orchestrator for the show, and Dell’Isola as musical director. [New York Public Library Digital Collections, Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, TH-52233]")
Robert Russell Bennett was born on June 15, 1894, in Kansas City, Missouri, the only son of…
![Joan Crawford in 1928. [Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-133571]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2021-03/1-Joan-Crawford.jpg?h=3a3a887f&itok=dzrcMkNh "Joan Crawford in 1928. [Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-133571]")
Joan Crawford was born Lucille LeSueur on March 23, 1908, in what she described as “a drab…
![Jeanne Eagels in costume. [The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, ID#100058, New York Public Library Digital Collections]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2022-03/1.%20Jeanne%20Eagels.jpg?h=8b88be68&itok=FtD0mArZ "Jeanne Eagels in costume. [The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, ID#100058, New York Public Library Digital Collections]")
Although there is some dispute about the date and place of her birth, most sources state…
![Westport Landing by pioneer and watercolor artist W. H. Jackson. [William Henry Jackson, Scotts Bluff National Monument, SCBL 19]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2022-03/1.%20William%20Gilliss.jpg?h=ca4d8aa0&itok=xYuqqVSr "Westport Landing by pioneer and watercolor artist W. H. Jackson. [William Henry Jackson, Scotts Bluff National Monument, SCBL 19]")
Later in life William Gilliss would be a successful trader, real estate speculator, and…
![Jean Harlow in a publicity photo. [New York Public Library Digital Collections, Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, ID# TH-190010]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2020-06/Jean-Harlow-Pub-Still.jpg?h=4cc55283&itok=QHj0lS7X "Jean Harlow in a publicity photo. [New York Public Library Digital Collections, Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, ID# TH-190010]")
Jean Harlow was born Harlean Carpenter in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 3, 1911. Her…