Louis Brody (a.k.a. Lewis Brody), 1892-1952)

Louis Brody was a prominent German actor and musician. He was born M’bebe Mpessa in Douala, Cameroon, on February 15, 1892. Little is known about his early life in Cameroon, formerly known as Kamerun.  He attended the German colonial school in Douala where he learned to speak German. It is … Read MoreLouis Brody (a.k.a. Lewis Brody), 1892-1952)

Claudio Brindis de Salas (1852-1911)

Internationally acclaimed Afro-Cuban violinist Claudio José Domingo Brindis de Salas y Garrido was born in Havana, Cuba, on August 4, 1852, the son of Claudio Brindis de Salas Monte, director of the popular orchestra Concha de Oro (Golden Shell) who played the violin and double bass, … Read MoreClaudio Brindis de Salas (1852-1911)

William James [“Willie”] Dixon (1915-1992)

Willie Dixon was a pioneering Chicago blues musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, producer, and philanthropist. He was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1915 to Anderson Bell and Daisy Dixon, was married to Marie Booker, and had 12 children (five with wife Marie, and seven with Eleanora … Read MoreWilliam James [“Willie”] Dixon (1915-1992)

Lucien-Leon Guillaume Lambert (1858-1945)

Lucien-Leon Guillaume Lambert was a pianist, composer, arranger, and music teacher. Born in 1858 in Vernouillet, France, a then-small village near Paris, he was the son of Charles Lucien Lambert, an American, and an unknown French mother. Guillaume Lambert was one of several renowned musicians … Read MoreLucien-Leon Guillaume Lambert (1858-1945)

Charles Lucièn Lambert Sr. (1828-1896)

Charles Lucièn Lambert, Sr., also known as Lucièn Lambert, Sr., was an internationally prominent classical musician and composer, and part of the middle generation of acclaimed Lambert musical artists.  Both his father, Charles-Richard Lambert, and his son, Lucièn-Léon Guillaume Lambert, had distinguished careers in classical … Read MoreCharles Lucièn Lambert Sr. (1828-1896)

Will Smith/Willard Carroll Smith II (1968- )

Willard Carroll Smith, Jr., better known as Will Smith, actor, rap and recording artist, was born in Wynnefield, Pennsylvania on September 25, 1968. His father, Willard Carroll Smith, is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a refrigerator engineer, and his mother, Caroline Bright … Read MoreWill Smith/Willard Carroll Smith II (1968- )