Born 1935

Sam Moore (1935–2025), Soul Man singer with Sam & Dave

Sam Moore was the surviving half of the Grammy-winning, Hall of Fame-honored soul and R&B duo Sam & Dave, best known for their enduring hit, “Soul Man.”

Al MacNeil (1935–2025), Stanley Cup-winning hockey coach

Al MacNeil was a hockey player and NHL veteran who won four Stanley Cups as a coach and manager: three with the Montreal Canadiens and a fourth as assistant general manager of the Calgary Flames.

The Amazing Kreskin (1935–2024), 1970s TV mentalist

The Amazing Kreskin was a mentalist who became a TV star of the 1970s with his many appearances on “The Tonight Show” and other talk shows.

Tony Campolo (1935–2024), Red-Letter Christians co-founder

Tony Campolo was a pastor, sociologist, author, and spiritual advisor who penned dozens of books, was a popular television-show guest, and co-founded the Red-Letter Christian movement.

Gerry Faust (1935–2024), former Notre Dame football coach

Gerry Faust was head football coach at Notre Dame in the early 1980s, as well as a Hall of Fame high school coach.

John Robinson (1935–2024), coach who led L.A. Rams to championships

John Robinson was a football coach who had success at both the college and professional levels, leading USC to four Rose Bowl wins and coaching the Los Angeles Rams to two championship games.

Joey Jay (1935–2024), first Little Leaguer to make the majors 

Joey Jay was the first Little League player to make the Major Leagues, winning 99 games over a 13-year MLB career.

Bill Hay (1935–2024), NHL Hall of Famer for Chicago Black Hawks

Bill Hay was a Hall of Fame hockey player best known for his eight seasons with the Chicago Black Hawks, including winning the NHL’s rookie of the year prize in 1960. 

Nicholas Pryor (1935–2024), Beverly Hills, 90210 actor

Nicholas Pryor was an actor with over 170 credits to his name, best known for long stints on “Beverly Hills, 90210” and the “General Hospital” spinoff, “Port Charles,” as well as for playing Tom Cruise’s father in “Risky Business.” 

Peter Renaday (1935–2024), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles voice actor

Peter Renaday was a longtime voice actor best known for his work as Splinter in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” and for a wide variety of voices for Disney, including Abraham Lincoln at Disney World’s Hall of Presidents.

Phil Donahue (1935–2024), TV talk show icon

Phil Donahue was a longtime talk-show host whose signature program all but created the template that daytime TV would follow for years to come.

Chi Chi Rodriguez (1935–2024), PGA superstar

Chi Chi Rodriguez was a World Golf Hall of Famer who won eight PGA Tour events and became known for his antics on the course.

Lewis H. Lapham (1935–2024), longtime editor of Harper's Magazine

Lewis H. Lapham was a writer and editor best known for his long tenure as editor of Harper's Magazine, as well as for his own publication, Lapham’s Quarterly.0

Duke Fakir (1935–2024), last surviving founder of the Four Tops

Duke Fakir was a singer best known as the last surviving founder of legendary Motown group the Four Tops.

Alex Janvier (1935–2024), one of Canada’s most renowned artists

Alex Janvier was a First Nations Canadian painter whose merging of Indigenous influences and modern art made him one of Canada’s most prized artists.

Tony Mordente (1935–2024), original West Side Story cast member

Tony Mordente was an actor in the original cast of “West Side Story,” the ex-husband of Broadway star , and a longtime television director.

Bette Nash (1935–2024), world’s longest-serving flight attendant

Bette Nash was a flight attendant who worked for 67 years, longer than any other flight attendant in history. 

Albert "Tootie" Heath (1935–2024), giant of jazz percussion 

Albert "Tootie" Heath was a jazz percussionist who played with , , Herbie Hancock, and others, including his own brothers in Heath Brothers.0

M. Emmet Walsh (1935–2024), character actor with over 200 credits 

M. Emmet Walsh was a character actor with over 200 film credits, including roles in “Blade Runner,” “The Jerk,” “Fletch,” “Raising Arizona,” and “Knives Out.” 

Steve Lawrence (1935–2024), Steve and Eydie singer and actor

Steve Lawrence was a singer, actor and comedian who created the singing duo Steve and Eydie with his wife, and had roles in such movies and TV shows as “The Blues Brothers,” “The Lonely Guy,” and “The Carol Burnett Show.”

Etterlene DeBarge (1935–2024), gospel singer and musical matriarch 

Etterlene DeBarge was a gospel singer and the matriarch of the musical DeBarge family.

Ellen Gilchrist (1935–2024), National Book Award-winning author 

Ellen Gilchrist was an author who won a National Book Award in 1984 for her story collection, “Victory Over Japan.” 

Seiji Ozawa (1935–2024), norm-breaking conductor 

Seiji Ozawa was an offbeat, norm-breaking Japanese conductor who led the Boston Symphony Orchestra longer than any other music director.

Peter Schickele (1935–2024), composer known as P. D. Q. Bach

Peter Schickele was a composer and humorist best known for his comedic musical compositions, released under his persona, P. D. Q. Bach.

Herbert Kohl (1935–2023), former Senator and co-founder of Kohl’s 

Herbert Kohl was a businessman, politician, and philanthropist who was a former U.S. Senator, previous owner of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team, and co-founder of Kohl’s department stores with his brother and father.0

Eddie Bernice Johnson (1935–2023), longtime U.S. Rep. from Texas

Eddie Bernice Johnson represented the Dallas area in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 until her retirement in 2023.

Les McCann (1935–2023), jazz great known for “Compared to What”

Les McCann was a soul-jazz pioneer who helped turn jazz into protest music through “Compared to What,” and was later sampled by hip-hop artists like Notorious B.I.G., Dr. Dre, and A Tribe Called Quest.

Richard Hunt (1935–2023), sculptor who reshaped public spaces

Richard Hunt was a Chicago-based sculptor whose work has reshaped public spaces with over 160 pieces displayed in 24 states, and who was called “one of the greatest artists [the city] has ever produced” by President Barack Obama.

Bobby Ussery (1935–2023), Hall of Fame jockey 

Bobby Ussery was a Hall of Fame jockey who won the Kentucky Derby on Proud Clarion in 1967.

Ken Squier (1935–2023), Hall of Fame NASCAR broadcaster

Ken Squier was a longtime NASCAR broadcaster and the first to do play-by-play for the Daytona 500 on national television, as well as the originator of the event’s moniker as “The Great American Race.”

Peter S. Fischer (1935–2023), co-creator of Murder, She Wrote 

Peter S. Fischer was an author and television producer who is best known for co-creating the popular mystery show, “Murder, She Wrote,” starring , and for writing the “Hollywood Murder Mysteries” book series. 

Helen Williams (1935–2023), pioneering model

Helen Williams was one of the first Black models to appear widely in national publications in the U.S.

Len Chandler (1935–2023), folk and protest musician

Len Chandler was a musician during the 1960s folk revival and protest music scene whose work drew the attention of , , and others.

Bill Pinkney (1935–2023), pioneering sailor 

Bill Pinkney was the first Black sailor to make a solo circumnavigation of the globe via the notoriously difficult southern route, around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn.

W. Jason Morgan (1935–2023), plate tectonics pioneer 

W. Jason Morgan was a geologist whose discoveries in plate tectonics helped revolutionize our understanding of the Earth.

Ada Deer (1935–2023), Menominee leader and advocate 

Ada Deer was a leader of the Menominee Nation who advocated for the rollback of “Termination Era” policies and was later appointed as the first woman to head the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

Jerry Moss (1935–2023), co-founder of A&M Records 

Jerry Moss was a record executive who co-founded A&M Records, for a time the world’s largest independent record company, and was later inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

William Friedkin (1935–2023), award-winning director of The Exorcist

William Friedkin was an award-winning director and screenwriter who was best known for "The Exorcist" and "The French Connection." 

Roger Payne (1935–2023), scientist who discovered whale song

Roger Payne was a biologist who discovered whale song and released a popular album featuring his recordings. 

Reuben Wilson (1935–2023), soul jazz organist 

Reuben Wilson was a widely sampled jazz organist who helped innovate the soul jazz subgenre.

Ralph Lee (1935–2023), puppeteer who created SNL’s Land Shark 

Ralph Lee was a puppeteer whose creations included the mask for the recurring Land Shark sketch on “Saturday Night Live.”  

Rabbi Harold S. Kushner (1935–2023), best-selling author and lecturer 

Rabbi Harold S. Kushner was the author of “When Bad Things Happen to Good People” and other works that helped bring complex thoughts on loss and theology to a wide audience, regardless of their beliefs.

Kidd Jordan (1935–2023), jazz saxophonist and educator 

Kidd Jordan was a jazz saxophonist and educator who played alongside artists like , , Stevie Wonder, , Cannonball Adderley (1928–1975), and R.E.M., and taught jazz artists such as Wynton and Branford Marsalis, and Donald Harrison.

Sharon Acker (1935–2023), Point Blank, Perry Mason actress

Sharon Acker was an actress known for movies and TV shows including “Point Blank” and “The New Perry Mason.”  

Chabelo (1935–2023), longtime star of Mexican television

Born Xavier López Rodríguez but better known by his stage name, Chabelo was an actor, comedian, and TV show host beloved by generations of viewers. His best known work was “En Familia con Chabelo,” a family variety show that ran from 1967 to 2015. The show’s 48-year run made Chabelo a well-known personality to multiple generations of Latin American families and a mainstay of Sunday morning television.

Topol (1935–2023), Fiddler on the Roof’s Tevye

Topol was an Israeli actor and singer who starred on Broadway and on the big screen as Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Burny Mattinson (1935–2023), Disney animator for decades

Burny Mattinson was a Disney animator and the company’s longest serving employee, having worked there since 1953.

Jerry Lee Lewis (1935–2022), “Great Balls of Fire” rock 'n' roll pioneer

Jerry Lee Lewis was a singer and pianist who pioneered rock n’ roll with hits including “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin' On” and “Great Balls of Fire.”

Jules Bass (1935–2022), “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” producer

Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. created the legendary animation company Rankin/Bass known for the holiday specials “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman.”