NON-NATIVES

People who were not born in Indiana but who spent a significant part of their lives here.

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Claude Akins(Claude Marion Akins)

b. Nelson, Georgia May 25, 1926
d. Altadena, California January 27, 1994
Grew up in Bedford, Indiana. While attending Indiana University, played Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights." Built a solid career as a character actor in such prominent movies as From Here to Eternity, The Caine Mutiny, Rio Bravo and How the West Was Won. In television, he was the star of his own series, "Movin'on" in 1974, "B.J. and the Bear" in 1979 and "The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo" in 1979.

Polly Bergen (real name: Nellie Burgin)

b. July 14, 1930, Knoxville, TN
Grew up in Richmond, Indiana.Made over 50 films starting in 1949. Started as a band singer and in one of her first roles (Across the Rio Grande) she was a Cantina singer. She has returned to her singing and is now appearing on Broadway in Stephen Sondheim's "Follies." She was recently nominated for best featured actress in a Broadway revival.

James Best

b. Powderly, Kentucky
Was adopted at age four and spent the rest of his youth in Corydon, Indiana. The Everly Brothers are his first cousins. Made at least 60 films from 1950 through 1998. Regular on "The Dukes of Hazzard" TV series as Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane. Over 50 other TV appearances.

Karen Black (Karen Blanche Ziegler)

b. Park Ridge, Illinois July 1, 1939
Grew up in Lafayette, Indiana and graduated from Lafayette Jefferson High School. Attended Northwestern University and the Actors Studio. Got on Broadway in "The Playroom." Went into television and then got a part in Easy Rider. Did some stage work and then was cast as a small town waitress who falls for upper class drifter, Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces. For this she won the New York Critics Award and received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. She won a Golden Globe for Five Easy Pieces(1970) and for The Great Gatsby (1974). Her son, Hunter Carson (Father is writer Kit Carson), is also an actor.

Budd Boetticher (real name: Oscar Boetticher, Jr.)

b.7/26/16, Chicago, IL
d. 11/29/01, Ramona, CA
Adopted shortly after birth in 1916 by one of the wealthiest families in Evansville, Indiana. His adopted father was a hardware retailer in Evansville. He was raised in Evansville and attended Culver Military Academy in northern Indiana. He went to Ohio State where he ran track, became an intercollegiate boxing champ and played football. During a trip to Mexico in 1928 he saw his first bullfight and became entranced. He studied and became a professional bullfighter. Through his college chum, Hal Roach, Jr., he got his first job in films as technical advisor to Rouben Mamoulian for his film, "Blood and Sand" (1941). He worked in apprentice jobs at the Hal Roach Studios for several years until getting a job as a director at Columbia. Ground out a number of formula noirs. He wrote the screenplay and directed "Bullfighter and the Lady" which was an account of his experiences in Mexico. He was nominated for an oscar for best original story. John Ford took over and cut the film from 129 minutes to 87. He directed several Randolph Scott westerns and made these B films seem like A's. He considered his two best films, "Bullfighter and the Lady" and "Seven Men From Now" (1950). He was married to Emily Erskine Cook from 1946-1959, actress Debra Paget from 1960 -1961 and Mary Chelde from 1971 to his death. He had two daughers, Georgia and Helen.

Beulah Bondi (real name: Beulah Bondy)

b. Chicago, IL 5/3/1888
d. Hollywood 1/11/81
Although born in Chicago, Ms. Bondi moved with her family to Valparaiso, Indiana. It was there she made her stage debut in a production of "Little Lord Fauntleroy" in 1897 at the Valparaiso Opera House. She came from a family which did not have a theatrical background. However her mother encouraged her and gave her elocution lessons. At Valparaiso, she was the class poet in the 1916 University "Record." She was in several productions at Valparaiso including "An American Citizen." She received her Bachelor and Master of Oratory degrees in 1914 and 1916 and went to Indianapolis where she was signed by Stuart Walker, head of one of the foremost repertory companies in the country. She made her professional debut in Indianapolis at the English Theatre. She made over 65 movies and had many TV appearances. She had two best supporting oscar nominations...The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) and Of Human Bondage (1938). She played James Stewart's mother five times. Her most memorable role as Stewart's mother was in "It's a Wonderful Life." At age 79 she played Stewart's mother for the last time in his 1971 TV series. At the age of 85, she received an Emmy for her work in a segment of "The Waltons."

Joyce DeWitt

As a youngster, her parents (Roland and Ruth Wood) moved to Speedway, Indiana. Joyce graduated from Speedway High school (where she was a cheerleader) and enrolled at Ball State University. She graduated from BSU with a B.A. in Theater. She managed to get a scholarship to UCLA and earned an M.F.A. in acting. She is married to Phillip Dawson. After leaving "Three's Company," she "retired" from show business and moved to New Mexico. After approximately 12 years of theatrical inactivity she decided to again resume her acting career.

Irene Dunne

b. Louisville, Kentucky December 20, 1898.
d. 1990
Her mother, Adelaide A. Henry Dunne, moved her family to Madison, Indiana after her father, Joseph A. Dunne, died when she was eleven years old. She graduated from eighth grade at Madison Grammar School. Made her stage debut that same year in a school production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." She received a scholarship for a musical course at the Oliver Willard Pierce Academy of Fine Arts in Indianapolis. She graduated from Madison High School in 1916. She earned a teacher's certificate and was on her way to Gary to accept a position as an art instructor when she stopped in Chicago to visit relatives. She discovered a voice contest was being held there, entered and won a scholarship to Chicago Musical College. She was awarded a diploma in 1919 and went to New York to audition for the Metropolitan Opera. During her visit, she auditioned for the lead in a touring company of the musical, "Irene." Without any previous experience, she was hired. She then made it to Broadway and into the movies. In 1927 she married Dr. Francis Griffin. He died in 1965. She received the Laetare medal from the University of Notre Dame and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations 12th General Assembly. She was oscar-nominated five times for "best actress" but never won. She was finally recognized for her lifetime achievement by the American Film Institute in 1985 but was too ill to attend the ceremonies at the Kennedy Center.

Rick Fox (real name: Ulrich Alexander Fox)

b. Toronto, Canada July 24, 1969
Moved to the Bahamas when he was very young, then moved to Warsaw, Indiana where he played high school basketball. Went to University of North Carolina to play basketball, majored in radio, television and motion pictures. Was drafted into the NBA by the Boston Celtics. Later went to the Los Angeles Lakers primarily to be near Hollywood. He is the romantic lead in a Lifetime TV series, "1-800-Missing." He has appeared in HBO movies and was in He Got Game and Blue Chips. He is married to actress Vanessa Williams.

Crystal Gayle(real name: Brenda Gail Webb)

b. Paintsville, KY, January 9, 1951.
She moved to Wabash, Indiana when she was very young. Grew up in Indiana. Her older sister is Loretta Lynn. Became world famous with the release of her "We Must Believe in Magic" album in 1977. It contained the smash hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue." She recently recorded an album of fellow Hoosier Hoagy Carmichael's tunes.

Jean Hagen (Jean Shirley Verhagen)

b.Chicago, IL 8/3/23
d. Los Angeles, CA 8/29/77
Leonard Maltin said, "If she had never played anyone other than the squeaky-voiced Linda Lamont, the hopelessly-vain silent screen star of Singin' in the Rain (1952, for which she was oscar-nominated), this attractive, talented blonde actress would still rate a place in Hollywood history." Jean Hagen moved to Elkhart, Indiana when she was 12 years old. About her years in Indiana, she said, "That's what I mean about Indiana; people are generous and thoughtful because they want to be. Not because the book says it is right." She remembers the Mennonite people coming into Elkhart on Saturdays to sell pastry, butter, cheese and bread. She said much of her childhood activity centered around the St. Joseph River. They had family picnics on it's banks. She said she was always amazed at the number of people she met in Hollywood who she liked immediately and then found out they were Hoosiers. She named, Leon Ames, Marjorie Main, Anne Baxter and William H. Wright. She met a young man in New York while working on Broadway. She married him. His name was Tom Seidel, a Hoosier who was born in Indianapolis. Her brother, Dr. Roger Verhagen, practiced optometry in Knox, Indiana. She and her husband had two daughters. She was divorced from Seidel in 1965. She died from throat cancer in 1977.

Helen Holmes

b. Chicago, IL 6/19/1893
d.Burbank, CA, 7/18/50
Born in Chicago but grew up in South Bend, Indiana. Many bios list her as being born in South Bend. Her brother's ill health made the family move to California's Death Valley. She prospected for gold and for awhile lived among the Indians. Her brother died and she moved to New York in 1910, and began appearing on stage. She became friends with Mabel Normand and was invited to come to Hollywood. She began modeling and did bit parts in movies. By 1913 she was starring in her own films. She married her director, J.P. McGowan. In 1914 she starred in Hazards of Helen which rivalled the famous Pearl White "Perils of Pauline" serial. She was a very good athlete and could ride, shoot, drive race cars and in fact was a race-car fanatic. She was often barred from competing against males in races. She and her husband started their own production company and produced serials and features. By 1919, they lost their financial backing and Helen and her husband went to Universal where she starred in a few pictures. Her marriage broke up in 1925 and she married a stuntman. She retired from the screen in 1926, although continued making appearances in small parts for 20 more years. She died of a heart attack in 1950 in Burbank.

Burl Ives

b. 6/14/09 Hunt, Illinois
d. 4/14/95, Anacortes, WA
Attended Eastern Illinois University for a couple of years, then came to Terre Haute, took some classes at Indiana State. Was a singer on WBOW radio. Sang at the Washington Avenue Presbyterian Church in Terre Haute in the 1940's. His mode of transportation while in Terre Haute was a motorcycle. He credits Madame Clara Lyon who gave him his first singing lesson in Terre Haute for turning his life around. She was born in Paris. She gave him books to read and was the person he says who had more to do with his education than anybody else. She urged him to go to New York to pursue a singing career. He took her advice and left Terre Haute.

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Dean Jagger (Ira Dean Jagger)

b. Columbus Grove, OH 11/7/03
d. Santa Monica, CA 2/5/91
Dean Jagger might have been a schoolteacher or farmer instead of one of the screen's most capable actors. At age 5, his father, Albert Jagger, a farmer, moved the family to a farm near Larwill, Indiana. (not far from Ft. Wayne) While a student in Whitley County's Larwill high school, he entered a speech contest sponsored by the WCTU. He found that he liked to speak in public. "I discovered right then that that was for me," he said. But he had decided to become a school teacher. He attended "Normal school" for ten weeks and got his first teaching job in a one-room school in Troy Township, Whitley County. He said he "...started telling stories in a continued form, mainly because I had no idea myself how they would end." He made it through one school term and then enrolled in Wabash College in the fall of 1922. He made good grades, particularly in public speaking and became a member of the football team. One October evening during his sophomore year, he and a team-mate packed their bags and left school. He went directly to Chicago and entered the Lyceum Arts conservatory to study drama. He graduated from the school and went on to the Chautauqua circuit. From there he went to Broadway and then into the movies. His sister, Marie Deeter, remained in Larwill and her sons played on the Larwill high school basketball team. Dean came home to visit and went to watch his nephews play. The gym was sold out and when they offered to get Dean a seat, he refused and said he would just sit on the steps. Jaggers film career ran from 1929 to 1987. He made over 100 films and was in many television shows. He won an oscar for "Best Supporting Actor" in 1950 for Twelve O' Clock High (1949).

Stephen King

In 1949 his family moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana where his father left, never to be heard from again. After a move to Stratford, Connecticut, his family settled in Durhan, Maine in 1958.

Kevin Kline

b.October 24, 1947, St. Louis, MO
His father owned a music store and then a toy store in St. Louis. He learned to play the piano at an early age and went to Indiana University as a music major. He was a member of "The Singing Hoosiers." After two years He decided to switch majors and became a theatre major. His first role was the Bleeding Soldier in "Macbeth," directed by William Kinzer. He had the lead in "Prometheus Unbound" directed by Richard Scammon. He was part of the acting ensemble for the I.U. showboat "Majestic" and was in "Waltz of the Toreadors" in 1969 at "The Brown County Playhouse." While in Bloomington, he and some fellow actors formed a troupe called, "The Vest Pocket Players." They presented weekly topical satirical revues at a local coffee house. He has won two Tony awards and one oscar. The Tonys were for "On the Twentieth Century" (1978) and "The Pirates of Penzance" (1981). He won an oscar for A Fish Called Wanda. (1988).

Jake Lloyd (Jake Christopher Lloyd)

b. Fort Collins, Colorado, March 5, 1989
Currently living in Indianapolis, Jake was Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. He has made a number of films and appeared on several television programs. He also has made several video games as Anakin Skywalker. He was featured in the film, Madison which was shot mostly in Madison, Indiana and which was premiered in Indianapolis October 18, 2001. His sister, Madison Lloyd (Also born in Colorado) was Princess Ellie in The Phantom Menace.

Dave Madden

b. Sarnia, Ontario, Canada December 17, 1931
Raised in Terre Haute. Became famous along with Hoosier Jo Ann Worley on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" (1968/69). Made at least 8 movies. Was a regular in "The Partridge Family" series(1970), and "Alice" (1976).

Karl Malden (Mladen Sekulovic)

b. 3/22/14, Chicago, IL
Born in Chicago, his family moved to Gary, Indiana when he was five years old. His father was a milkman there for 38 years. He played on the basketball team. His father was involved in an amateur Serbian theatre in Gary and started putting his sons in plays. After his schooling in Gary, he spent 2 1/2 years toiling as a "cinder snapper" in the steel mills of Gary. He then went to Chicago and graduated from a Goodman Theater program. He moved to Los Angeles in 1960. He won an Oscar for best supporting actor for A Streetcar Named Desire(1954). He was again nominated for best supporting actor for On the Waterfront (1955) but didn't win. He was nominated for an Emmy five times and won once, for the TV movie, Fatal Vision.

Marilyn Maxwell (Marvel Maxwell)

b. August 3, 1921, Clarinda, Iowa
d. March 20, 1972
Went to high school in Fort Wayne, but dropped out after her sophomore year. She was an usher for awhile at the Rialto Theatre in Ft. Wayne. She joined the Amos Ostot band at Lake Manitou the summer of 1936 and moved to Indianapolis with the band when the lake job closed. She sang at the Columbia Club and lived in a rented room in Indianapolis. She left the Ostot band to join the Buddy Rogers band, but was fired after she and Rogers were in a car accident and Mary Pickford didn't like the fact the two of them were together. She then joined the Ted Weems orchestra and eventually landed in Hollywood. Her third husband was actor John Conte. She had one son from her first marriage to Jerry Davis. In 1952 she returned to Fort Wayne with Bob Hope to dedicate the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

Margo Moore (Marguerite Guarney)

b. Chicago, Il 1931
d. December 16, 2000
Lived a number of years in Indianapolis. Owned a photography studio in San Francisco and a New York business called, "The Chocolate Garden." She married Joseph Knedlhans, a retired New York City policeman. Knedlhan began collecting robots when he became fascinated by them as part of a NYC swat team. Margo collected toy pigs. Seeking a quieter life, they moved to Adamstown, NY and opened the Toy Robot and Pig Museum in September, 2000. Margo died the following December. She appeared in such movies as Wake Me When It's over (1960) and The George Raft Story (1961). Guest appearances on "Perry Mason" (1964) and "Surfside Six" (1960).

Marion Murray (Marion Louise Fishback)

b. June 13, 1917, Louisville, KY
d. July 28, 2007
Began dancing in chorus lines. In 1939 she appeared with Milton Berle in "Hello Beautiful" at the International Casino. Then performed in Vincent Minelli's "The Show is On" with Beatrice Lillie and Bert Lahr at The Winter Garden and Schubert Theaters. Moved to Los Angeles and became a contract performer for MGM. She danced in several movies including The Pirate with Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. Was featured in the June 26, 1948 issue of Colliers magazine dancing with Fred Astaire. She met and married Howard A. Intermill, founder of Indianapolis based Herff-Jones Company. They resided on the top floor of the Marott Hotel until his death in 1967. In 1977, she married Sidney E. Fenstermaker, Jr., President of Indianapolis based S. E. Fenstermaker Heating & Engineering Company. They traveled the world until Fenstermaker's death in 2004.

George Peppard

b. October 1, 1928, Detroit, MI
d. May 8, 1994 Los Angeles.
Attended Purdue University in 1948-49. Majored in Civil Engineering. Member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He was an early participant in the Purdue Playmakers theatre troupe. He transferred to Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh to finish his college education. Trained at the Actor's Studio in New York. While at Purdue, his name was pronounced, PEP-erd. When he went into movies, he changed the pronunciation to, Pep-ARD.

Jane Randolph (Jane Roemer)

b. October 30, 1919, Youngstown, Ohio
Moved to Kokomo, Indiana as a young girl and graduated from Kokomo high school. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R.N. Roemer. Made 19 films from 1941 to 1948. Among them, The Front Page (1945). Her last film was Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein(1948).

James Rebhorn

b. September 1, 1948, Philadelphia, PA
A graduate of Madison Heights High School in Anderson, Indiana, where he was in the Thespians and the Heighlighters. He received his undergraduate degree at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Received an MFA from Columbia University in 1972. Got his start in television in 1980. Played Bradley Raines on "The Guiding Light." As this character he was a unemployed spouse abuser and child molester. Worked steadily through the 1990's in such films as, Silkwood, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle,and Snow Falling on Cedars. Usually plays a doctor or a priest. He has appeared in off-broadway plays and appeared at the New York Shakespeare Theatre with Richard Dreyfuss in "Othello."

Herb Shriner (Herbert Arthur Schiner)

b. Toledo, OH May 29, 1918
d. April 23, 1970
Born in Toledo, he said he moved to Indiana "as soon as I heard about it." He started out playing the harmonica "as soon as I was able to defend myself." As a schoolboy in Fort Wayne, he formed a harmonica quintet and began playing at dances, small theatres and on local radio stations. One night his "lip" gave out and, to cover his embarrassment, he started talking. He found his audience was more anxious to hear his droll, extemporaneous humor than to hear him play the harmonica. He got a solo spot at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago and was a big hit. He made several appearances on network radio shows and then was drafted in WWII. While overseas he developed a monologue reflecting "gripes" of his fellow soldiers. This made him well-known nationally. In 1949 he married Eileen McDermott. They had three children, a daughter Indy, and twin boys Will and Kin. In 1948 he was the star of "Herb Shriner Time" on CBS radio. Durward Kirby was his announcer. On November 7, 1949 he debuted "The Herb Shriner Show" on CBS television. It ran until December 4, 1956. In 1952 he was the emcee of a game show, "Two for the Money." He left the show in 1956. He appeared in one movie, Main Street to Broadway (1953). Shriner moved his family from New York to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida because he wanted his children to be brought up in a small city environment. Summer vacations were spent in Angola, Indiana. He and his wife "Pixie" were killed in an automobile accident in Delray Beach, Florida. Their children were raised by their grandparents.

Herb Vigran

b. June 5, 1910 Cincinnati, OH
d. November 28, 1986, Los Angeles, CA
Moved to Fort Wayne as a youngster and grew up there. After graduating from high school, enrolled at Indiana University. Received his law degree in 1933. Member of Sigma Alph Mu fraternity while on campus. Shortly after receiving his degree, he decided he'd rather be in the movies instead of in court. He moved to Hollywood and in short order, appeared in his first film, "Happy Landing" in 1934. However work was not easy to find, so he decided to get into radio acting. In 1949 he became a regular on "Father Knows Best" radio series as the next-door neighbor. Unfortunately when the series was transferred to television, Herb wasn't in the TV version. He appeared on wide variety of radio shows including "The Ed Wynn Show" and "The Adventures of Superman" where he was usually the villain. Shortly after returning from service in World War II, he was cast as "The Sad Sack," a radio version of the comic strip. The series began in June, 1946 and ran for only 13 episodes. He began getting bit roles in movies and got stage work in New York on the basis of a portfolio of photos showing him sharing scenes with several well-known actors. (There was no mention most of the film roles were bit parts) Gradually he began to gain more prominence in movies and eventually had a career in which he made over 150 films. His favorite role was that of a rumpled private eye in the 1954 comedy, "Susan Slept Here." He is also remembered for his role the same year as the all-too-affable mobile home salesman who sold Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz "The Long, Long Trailer." He was quite busy in TV, appearing in a recurring role as Judge Brooker in "Gunsmoke." He did a lot of voice-over work for commercials and animated films. He was the voice of "Lurvy" in "Charlotte's Web" and played several characters in the series, "Top Cat." When he died on November 29, 1986 he was survived by his wife, Belle and two sons...Dr. Richard Vigran of Pasadena and Robert also of Pasadena. He had two sisters, Florence Shapera of Portland Oregon and Juell Laub of Los Angeles.

Cynda Williams

b. 1966, Chicago, IL
Graduate of Ball State University. Singer/actress. First film was Spike Lee's Mo Better Blues (1990)

Deniece Williams
- b. York, PA June 3, 1951
- Grew up in Gary, Indiana. Singer who has done several sound tracks for movies including "Footloose" and "Family Ties" theme song. Many appearances on TV including "Soul Train," "Saturday Night Live."
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All contents of this website �2000-2008 by David L. Smith

"When Movies Were Movies" and "Hoosiers in Hollywood" are registered trademarks, fully protected under U.S. and International law. Use without permission is strictly prohibited.