Iowans in Hollywood

Information gathered here is drawn from the Internet Movie Database and a series titled "Famous Iowans" published in the Des Moines Register. Additions and corrections are welcome and can be forwarded to Paula Mohr.

Name	Birth	Death	Occupation	Hometown	Iowa connection	Comments	Link
Adams, Julie	1926		Actress	Waterloo		Born Betty May Adams in Waterloo.
Allison, Fran	1907	1989	Actress	La Porte City		Starred in Kukla, Fran and Ollie.
Ameche, Don	1908	1993	Actor		Attended Loras College in Dubuque.	Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Arens, Joe			Actor, businessman	Alton		Owner of and actor for the St. Louis Motion Pictures Company.
Arkoff, Samuel	1918	2001	Producer	Fort Dodge		Founder of American Releasing Corp. which made low budget films.
Armstrong, Robert	1890	1973	Actor		Started acting at Princess Theatre in Des Moines.	Appeared in first King Kong.
Arnold, Tom	1959		Actor, comedian	Ottumwa	Born in Ottumwa and performed stand-up comedy at open microphone nights at University of Iowa.
Bailey, Jack	1907	1980	Actor, game show host	Hampton		Was one of the voices of Goofy in the Walt Disney cartoons.
Bainter, Fay	1893	1968	Actress on Broadway, and in movies		Lived in Iowa as a young woman and performed at the Princess Theatre in Des Moines.	First performer nominated for Oscars in two categories in one year.
Beauchamp, Clem	1898	1992	Production manager	Bloomfield		Worked on many of director Stanley Kramer's films.
Bellamy, Ralph	1904	1991	Actor on Broadway and in movies		Performed at Princess Theatre in Des Moines.
Bernhardt, Sarah	1844	1923	Actress		According to legend, Bernhardt lived in Iowa as a young girl.
Blakesley, Earl, Jr.			Screenwriter	Shenandoah
Blank, A.H.	1879		Movie theatre owner	Des Moines
Block, Ralph	1889	1974	Producer, screenwriter	Cherokee		First president of the Screen Writers Guild (1934-1935).
Boyle, Lara Flynn	1970		Actress	Davenport
Brand, Neville	1920	1992	Actor	Griswold
Brodie, Andy	1980		Director, editor	Ames
Carey, MacDonald	1913	1994	Actor	Sioux City		Starred in the television show Days of Our Lives; in the 1940s-1960s made many B-movies and was known as 'the King of the Bs'.
Carson, Johnny	1925	2005	Talk show host	Corning
Christine, Virginia	1920	1996	Actress	Stanton		Actress who appeared in Folgers Coffee ads.
Christopher, Mark	1963		Director	Fort Dodge
Clemenson, Christian	1958		Actor	Humboldt		Directed/starred in Humboldt community theatre productions. Won 2006 Emmy Award for Boston Legal.
Coffin, Edwin	1887	1942	Writer	Rolfe
Collins, Max Allan	1948		Novelist, writer, director	Muscatine		Wrote Road to Perdition.
Collins, Stephen	1947		Actor	Des Moines		Starred in Seventh Heaven.
Conklin, Chester	1886	1971	Comic actor	Oskaloosa
Cooper, Gary	1901	1961	Actor		Attended Iowa College in Grinnell.
Crookham, Joe			Film lighting	Muscatine, Oskaloosa	Founded the Musco Lighting company in 1976.	Won a Scientific and Engineering Award during the 58th Academy Awards for inventing transportable lighting equipment; 'Lighting the Way for success'.
Cunningham, Jack	1882	1941	Writer	Ionia
Daily, Bill	1927		Actor	Des Moines		Major Healey on 'I Dream of Jeannie.
Dale, Paul			Actor	Marshalltown		Starred in It's A Small World; given name is Dale Paullin; information available at the Marshall County Historical Society.
Damita, Lili	1904	1994	Actress			Married Fort Dodge businessman Allen Looomis and lived in Fort Dodge from 1962-1983; buried in Fort Dodge cemetery.
Deets, Frances			Actress	Fort Dodge
Doughten, Russell			Producer		Born and raised in Iowa, attended Drake University.	Producer of The Blob (1958). Founded Russ Doughten Films.
Ellison, James	1910	1993	Actor	Guthrie Center		Born James Ellison Smith. Starred in The Plainsman.
Emerson, Michael	1954		Actor	Cedar Rapids		Appeared in Saw (2004), The Legend of Zorro (2005) and the television series Lost.
Farrell, Sharon	1940		Actress	Sioux City		Appeared in The Reivers.
Farrell, Terry	1963		Actress	Cedar Rapids		Starred as Jadzia Dax in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Fischer, Margarita	1886	1975	Actress	Missouri Valley		Early film actress.
Forsmark, Anthony			Actor	Nevada	Attended Iowa State University	In Black Russian (2009) and Broken Dreams (2010), along with a number of shorts.
Frawley, William	1887	1966	Actor	Burlington		Played Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy.
Frederick, John	1916		Actor, author	Norwalk
Fridley, Robert	1917		Theatre owner, producer	Westgate vicinity		Owner of Fridley Theatres; produced Every Girl Should Have One (1978) and The Hazing (1977).
Getz, John	1946		Actor	Davenport	Graduated from the University of Iowa.	Appeared in The Fly (1986) and The Social Network (2010).
Giesler, Jerry	1886	1962	Lawyer	Wilton Junction		Hollywood lawyer.
Gish, Annabeth	1971		Actress		Born in Albuquerque but graduated in 1989 from Northern University High School in Cedar Falls.
Glaspell, Susan	1882	1948	Writer, playwright	Davenport		Received Pulitzer Prize in 1931 for the play Alison's House based on the life of Emily Dickinson.
Godar, Ben			Writer, director, actor	Ames, Des Moines
Goebel, Otto E.			Businessman	Alton		Owner/Executive head of the St. Louis Motion Picture company.
Gourley, Ryan	1985		Actor	West Des Moines		In 16 to Life (2009).
Grandy, Fred	1948		Actor	Sioux City	Served as U.S. Congressman for Iowa from 1986-1995.	Starred in The Love Boat.
Hatton, Raymond	1887	1971	Actor	Red Oak
Hedges, Peter	1962		Writer	West Des Moines		Wrote What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
Heggen, Tom	1918	1949	Author	Fort Dodge		Wrote Mister Roberts.
Higgins, David Anthony	1961		Actor	Des Moines
Hilliard, Harriet	1909	1994	Actress	Des Moines		Born Peggy Lou Snyder. With her husband, Ozzie Nelson, best known for Ozzie and Harriet.
Hurt, Mary Beth	1948		Actress	Marshalltown	Graduated from the University of Iowa.	Born Mary Beth Supinger.
Jackson, Selmer Adolf	1888	1971	Actor	Lake Mills		Character actor of the 1930s and 1940s.
Jones, Alfred	1920	1989	Businessman	Osceola
Kantor, MacKinlay	1904	1977	Screenwriter	Webster City		Wrote The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).
Karras, Alex	1935		Actor		Played on the University of Iowa Hawkeyes 1956 Rose Bowl championship team.	In Blazing Saddles (1974) and played George Papadapolis in the Webster T.V. series (1983-1989).
Keenan, Frank	1858	1929	Actor	Dubuque
Kemp, Barry			Writer, producer	Fort Dodge
Lane, Leota, Priscilla, and Rosemary			Singers, actresses	Indianola		Born to Lorenzo and Cora Mullican and lived in Indianola.
Leachman, Cloris	1926		Actress	Des Moines		First movie was Kiss Me Deadly (1955) but worked primarily as a television actress.
Leighton, Laura	1968		Actress	Iowa City		Starred in Melrose Place and appeared in numerous television movies.
Leslie, Amy	1855	1939	Actress, opera singer, drama critic	West Burlington		Dramatic critic for the Chicago Daily News from 1890 to 1930.
Lindsay, Margaret	1910	1981	Actress	Dubuque		Character actress in dozens of 1930s and 1940s movies; played Hepzibah in The House of the Seven Gables (1940); her last film was Tammy and the Doctor (1963) in which she played Nurse Colman.
Livingston, Ron	1967		Actor	Cedar Rapids		Starred in Office Space (1999) .
Lyon, Sue	1946		Actress	Davenport		Starred in Lolita (1962).
MacMackin, Archer	1888	1961	Director, writer, producer	Lake City
Margolin, Stuart	1940		Actor	Davenport		Appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows including Kelly's Heroes (1970), Days of Heaven (1978) and The Rockford Files.
Martin, Zach	1980		Sound mix technician	West Des Moines
Mathers, Jerry	1948		Actor	Sioux City		Starred in Leave It to Beaver.
Micheaux, Oscar	1884	1951	Filmmaker		Lived and worked in Sioux City.	African American silent film maker who lived and worked in Sioux City; first African-American to produce a feature length film as well as a sound feature length film.
Monaghan, Michelle	1976		Actress	Winthrop
Moore, Constance	1920	2005	Actress	Sioux City
Moran, Peggy	1918	2002	Actress	Clinton		Appeared with Abbott and Costello in One Night in the Tropics.
Morris, Greg	1933	1996	Actor		Studied drama at the University of Iowa.	Starred in Mission Impossible the TV series.
Morris, Phil	1959		Actor	Iowa City		Played Jackie Chiles on the television show Seinfeld.
Mulgrew, Kate	1955		Actress	Dubuque		Known for her role as Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager.
Nagle, Conrad	1897	1970	Actor	Keokuk	Attended Highland Park College in Des Moines. Performed at the Princess Theatre.	Helped establish Screen Actors' Guild. Co-Founder of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. One of the creators of the Oscars.
Nolte, Nick	1941		Actor		Attended Kingsley Elementary School in Waterloo.	Born in Omaha, Nebraska.
O'Keefe, Dennis	1908	1968	Actor	Fort Madison		Born Edward Vance Flanagan. Starred in the television show The Dennis O'Keefe Show (1959-60).
Parsons, Harriet	1906	1983	Movie producer	Burlington		Was one of three women working as contract producers for major Hollywood studios between 1943 and 1955.
Patterson, Neva	1920	2010	Actress	Nevada		A character actress who had her debut in Taxi (1953).
Petty, Lori	1963		Actress		Graduated from Sioux City's North High School.
Prentiss, Eleanor			Actress	Fort Dodge
Quigley, Linnea	1958		Actress	Davenport		Horror movie 'scream queen' actress who starred in The Return of the Living Dead (1985).
Rabe, David	1940		Writer	Dubuque
Rafferty, Frances	1922	2004	Actress	Sioux City
Reagan, Ronald	1911	2004	Actor		Sports announcer for WHO radio in Des Moines (1937).	Governor of California 1967-1975, 40th president of the US 1981-1989.
Reed, Donna	1921	1986	Actress	Denison		Born Donna Belle Mullenger. Starred in It's a Wonderful Life.
Rees, Marian	1927		Film producer, philanthropist	Le Mars
Reeves, George	1914	1959	Actor	Woolstock		In Gone With the Wind and starred in Adventures of Superman.
Rosenthal, Lew			Vaudeville comedian	Waterloo		Operated the Iowa Theatre in Waterloo.
Ross, Gene			Actor	Fort Dodge
Routh, Brandon	1979		Actor	Des Moines	Grew up in Norwalk, Iowa, and attended the University of Iowa.	Starred as Superman in Superman Returns (2006).
Russell, Lillian	1860	1922	Singer, Actress	Clinton		Born Helen Louise Leonard.
Schaffner, Neil			Actor		Performed at Princess Theatre in Des Moines.
Schoedsack, Ernest	1893	1979	Director	Council Bluffs vicinity
Seberg, Jean	1938	1979	Actress	Marshalltown
Sherman, Evelyn	1882	1974	Actress	Nashua		Born Eva May Spear.
Smith, Riley	1978		Actor	Cedar Rapids
Spence, Hartzell	1908	2001	Author	Clarion		Wrote book which was the basis for One Foot in Heaven which in turn was nominated for Best Picture Academy Award (1941). The story focused on the life of William Spence, a Lake Mills pastor and his family.
Stong, Phil	1899	1957	Author	Pittsburg	Born near Keosauqua, Iowa. Wrote State Fair.
Swanson, Harold (H.N.)			Literary agent, writer	Centerville		Represented F. Scott Fitzgerald, etc.
Talbott, Michael	1955		Actor	Waverly		Appeared in Carrie (1976) and First Blood (1982); was Switek in the television show Miami Vice.
Taylor, Kent	1907	1987	Actor	Nashua		Popular B actor from the 1930s and 1940s.
Thompson, Sada	1929	2011	Actress	Des Moines
Tilghman, Bill	1854	1924	Actor, Director, Cinematographer	Fort Dodge		Served as a lawman for 35 years before deciding to make a true outlaw movie: Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws (1915).
Tinsley, Charles David	1873	1965	Movie producer	Corning
Tucker, Forrest	1919	1986	Actor		Moved to Iowa as a child.	Known as Sergeant O'Rourke on F Troop but also was featured in a number of movies.
Utterback, Sarah	1982		Actress	New Hampton		Best known for role in Grey's Anatomy.
Wallace, Marcia	1942		Actress	Creston		Starred in Bob Newhart Show and voice talent in The Simpsons.
Waller, Robert	1939		Novelist	Rockford		Wrote novel Bridges of Madison County which became the basis for the movie.
Watkin, Pierre	1887	1960	Actor	Sioux City		Character actor.
Wayne, John	1907	1979	Actor	Winterset		Born Marion Morrison.
Wilcots, Joseph	1939	2009	Cinematographer	Des Moines		Cinematographer for Roots (1977).
Wilder, Gene	1933		Actor	Iowa City	Graduated from the University of Iowa.
Williams, Tennessee	1911	1983	Playwright		Studied at the University of Iowa.
Willson, Meredith	1902	1984	Composer	Mason City		Wrote the book, words, and music for The Music Man (1962).
Wood, Elijah	1981		Actor	Cedar Rapids		Best known for his role as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003).
Woodhouse, J. Stewart			writer	Des Moines
Worden, Hank	1901	1992	Actor	Rolfe

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