1940s

Dick Button (1929–2025), Olympic figure skating legend

Dick Button was a two-time U.S. Olympic figure skating gold medal winner who became one of the sport's most well-known commentators.

Claude Jarman Jr. (1934–2025), star of The Yearling

Claude Jarman Jr. was a former child star, best known for his performance in the 1946 movie “The Yearling.” 

Margia Dean (1922–2023), The Quatermass Xperiment star 

Margia Dean was an actress known for such films as “The Quatermass Xperiment” and “The Big Show.”  

Noreen Nash (1924–2023), actress in The Big Fix, Giant 

Noreen Nash was an actress who starred in movies including “The Bix Fix” and “The Red Stallion” and had a small role in the film “Giant.”

Herb Douglas (1922–2023), oldest living U.S. Olympic medalist

Herb Douglas was a track and field star who won a bronze medal in long jump at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.

Ted Donaldson (1933–2023), child star in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Ted Donaldson was a child star of the 1940s known for movies including “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” and the Rusty series.

Jean Faut (1925–2023), AAGPBL pitcher with two perfect games

Jean Faut was a star pitcher with the South Bend Blue Sox of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL).

Jean Veloz (1924–2023), 1940s swing dancer

Jean Veloz was a dancer known for the Lindy Hop, which she performed in movies including “Swing Fever.”

Louise Tobin (1918–2022), singer who helped discover Frank Sinatra

Louise Tobin was a big band singer who helped get his first big break with her husband’s band.

Joyce Bryant (1927–2022), singer called “The Bronze Blonde Bombshell”

Joyce Bryant was a singer of the 1940s and ‘50s known as “The Bronze Blonde Bombshell” and “The Black Marilyn Monroe.”

Hannah Pick-Goslar (1928–2022), Holocaust survivor and friend of Anne Frank

Hannah Pick-Goslar was one of best friends and was often mentioned in her famous diary.

Marsha Hunt (1917–2022), 1940s Hollywood star who was blacklisted

Marsha Hunt was an actress whose career was on the rise in the 1930s and ‘40s before she was blacklisted during the Red Scare of the 1950s.

Gloria Parker (1921–2022), bandleader known for playing “singing glasses”

Gloria Parker was a musician and bandleader who played the marimba and the “singing glasses,” or glass harp.

Jane Powell (1929–2021), star of Hollywood’s Golden Age musicals

Jane Powell was an actress and singer who starred in musicals of Hollywood’s Golden Age, including “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.”

Chuck Yeager (1923–2020), first human to go faster than the speed of sound

Chuck Yeager was a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general who was the first human to break the sound barrier.

Rhonda Fleming (1923–2020), star of Hollywood’s Golden Age

Rhonda Fleming was an actress known as the “Queen of Technicolor,” who was active in films of the 1940s and ‘50s.

Hal Singer (1919–2020), hit-making jazz saxophonist

Hal Singer was a hit-making jazz saxophonist and R&B performer known for his 1940s No. 1 hit song “Corn Bread.”

Mary Hartline (1927–2020), star of early TV show “Super Circus”

Mary Hartline was one of TV’s earliest stars, best known as the bandleader in “Super Circus” from 1949 to 1955.

Helen Jones Woods (1923–2020), pioneering female jazz trombonist

Helen Jones Woods was a pioneering jazz trombonist who played with the historic integrated all-female jazz band the International Sweethearts of Rhythm during the 1940s.

Star Trek's Scotty, James Doohan, Was an Irish Canadian WWII Veteran With an Inspirational Legacy

Star Trek’s chief engineer, Montgomery Scott, may be the most famously Scottish person in all of pop culture. But here’s something fascinating:

Rosalind P. Walter (1924–2020), the original Rosie the Riveter

Rosalind P. Walter was an heiress whose work building fighter planes during World War II inspired the creation of Rosie the Riveter. In later years, she became a philanthropist who supported causes including wildlife conservation, public television, and education opportunities for disadvantaged young people.

Holocaust Survivors Tell Their Stories

This International Holocaust Memorial Day, January 27, 2020, marks 75 years since those held prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp were liberated. The , who emerged from a nightmare and managed to put together the pieces of a new life, have grown to old age in the 21st century. Those with the most vivid memories, who were adults during World War II, are mostly gone, and those few who are left are in the last years of their lives. Many, as they leave this life, take one last chance to tell their stories — via their obituaries.

Wat Misaka (1923–2019), first person of color to play in the NBA

Wataru “Wat” Misaka was a Japanese-American basketball player who joined the New York Knicks in 1947, becoming the first non-White player in modern professional basketball. Prior to his professional career, Misaka played for the University of Utah, where his team won two national championships, in 1944 and 1947. He then signed with the Knicks as a guard, officially joining the Basketball Association of America, the NBA’s forerunner whose stats are counted as part of NBA history. Misaka only played three games with the Knicks before being released by the team. He declined an offer to play for the Harlem Globetrotters and returned to his native Utah, where he worked as a mechanical engineer.

Azellia White (1913–2019), pioneering Black female pilot

Pilot Azellia White (1913–2019)helped pave the way for black women in aviation. White trained in Tuskegee where her husband was stationed during World War II as a mechanic with the famed Tuskegee Airmen. She received her pilotfs license on March 26, 1946.

Harrison Dillard (1923–2019), four-time Olympic gold medal winner

Harrison Dillard was a four-time Olympic gold medal winner in track and field. He was the top hurdler throughout much of the 1940s, though his first Olympic gold came in a dramatic photo-finish in the 100-meter sprint at the 1948 London Olympic games. He won his signature event, the 110-meter hurdles, at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic games. He was part of the gold medal-winning 4x100-meter relay teams at both Olympics.

Sybil Peacock Harmon (2019), one of Delta’s first flight attendants

Flew on Delta DC-3's before leaving during World War II to assist the war effort.

Norma Miller (1919–2019), the “Queen of Swing”

Dancer helped popularize the Lindy Hop.

Don Newcombe (1926–2019), former Dodgers great

Don Newcombe was a legendary pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers who was the first Black pitcher to start a World Series game during his rookie season in 1949, winning the Rookie of the Year award. Known for his rocket fastball, he helped lead the Dodgers to a World Series title in 1955 with a 20-5 record. His best year was 1956, when he won the NL MVP award, leading the league with 27 wins. He was selected to four all-star teams during his career.

Mable Lee (1921–2019), tap-dancing "Queen of the Soundies"

Mable Lee was the "Queen of the Soundies," a dancer and singer who delighted 1940s audiences in more than 100 musical short films that were designed to be played on jukeboxes in nightclubs and restaurants. Lee's "million dollar legs" made her a tap-dancing star, and her success outlived that of the soundies. She traveled with the first all-Black USO troupe during World War II, and after the war, she had a decades-long career in Broadway. She was inducted into the Tap Dance Hall of Fame in 2008, and she continued to dance until the last years of her life.

The Greatest Generation Falls in Love

Legacy’s database is full of stories of couples who fell in love during World War II service.

George Taliaferro (1927–2018), first African-American player drafted by an NFL team

Three-time Pro Bowl selection played seven positions.

Jean Porter (1922 – 2018), 1940s MGM movie starlet

Starred opposite Abbott and Costello and Mickey Rooney…

Keely Smith (1928 – 2017), singer known for her music and comedy act with Louis Prima

The duo won a Grammy for the song "That Old Black Magic"…

Adrian Booth (1917 - 2017), actress in Three Stooges films

Film actress also threw pies with the Three Stooges...

Celebrating Jackie Robinson Day (video)

Jackie Robinson changed baseball when he stepped onto the field on April 15, 1947 for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The first Black player in the major leagues since the 1880s, he was under tremendous pressure to succeed—and succeed he did. His talent and ability as a ballplayer was undeniable and he maintained his composure in the face of racist taunts both on field and off. Before the end of the 1947, other African Americans would join him in the big leagues, including fellow future Hall of Famer Larry Doby.

Remembering the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (video)

A video tribute to women who played professional baseball.

Why So Many People Are Saluting Japanese Americans

Over the course of World War II, some 14,000 soldiers served in the U.S. Army's 442nd Infantry Regiment. What was so remarkable about the 442nd? To answer that question, we flash forward to the weekend of Feb. 18-19, 2017, when a crowd of Los Angelenos gathered at the alongside a host of musicians, poets, elected officials, and neighbors. Across the country, similar events unfolded in major cities: a at New York City's Japanese American United Church; historical film screenings in and ; a Seattle Center panel discussion titled " ."

5 Things You Didn't Know About Betty Grable

There was a time when Betty Grable was the hottest thing going in Hollywood. On her 100th birthday, we look back at the movie star and icon.

Remembering Pearl Harbor

On the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, we honor the legacy of those who were there.

Pearl Harbor Medal of Honor Recipients

On the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, we take a look at five men awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions on that day.

Gloria DeHaven (1925 - 2016)

Gloria DeHaven, a singer and actress who starred in a number of MGM musicals, died July 30, 2016, one week after her birthday, in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to multiple news sources. She was 91.

Noel Neill (1920 - 2016), Lois Lane actress

Noel Neill, the actress known best as Lois Lane in “Superman” film serials and on TV, died July 3, 2016. She was 95.

Martha Wright (1923 - 2016), Broadway actress

Martha Wright, an actress who was known best for her performances on Broadway and television, has died, according to multiple news sources.

Elaine Riley (1917 - 2015), actress in classic Westerns

Elaine Riley, an actress who appeared in dozens of 1940s and '50s motion pictures, has died, according to multiple news sources. Riley, who died Dec. 7, was 98.

Joan Leslie (1925–2015), actress in the golden age of Hollywood

Joan Leslie, an American movie actress during Hollywood's golden age who appeared later on television, has died.

Wilbur Eggleston and Racial Integration in N.C.

The obituary for in the Ashland Citizen-Times offers a historic look at racial integration in North Carolina and Eggleston’s role in its progress.

Billie Holiday: The Tragic Life of Lady Day

On a sweltering day in July 1959, thousands of mourners gathered to pay tribute to one of the most influential musical artists of the 20th century. Among the pallbearers were some of the biggest names in the business, and outside policeman had to redirect traffic as the overflow of mourners spilled into the nearby streets. It was a moving show of public mourning for an artist whose career was often overshadowed by personal problems and whose best work had occurred at least a decade in the past.

The Glenn Miller Sound

Twenty years before Etta James made "At Last" her signature song, another artist recorded it for the first time. It was Glenn Miller, pioneer of big band music.

In Like Errol Flynn

We look back at Australian bad boy Errol Flynn, whose life was at least as interesting as any character he ever played.