Olivier was an English actor and director who dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also played more than fifty cinema roles. He found considerable success in television roles late in his career.

Olivier’s on-screen work rewarded him with four Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, five Emmy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards.

The National Theatre’s largest auditorium is named in Olivier’s honour. He is also commemorated in the Laurence Olivier Awards, given annually by the Society of London Theatre.

He was married to the actresses Jill Esmond from 1930 to 1940, Vivien Leigh from 1940 to 1960, and Joan Plowright from 1961 until his death in July 1989.

English actor Ronald Charles Colman was born on February 9, 1891.

He began his career in theatre and silent film before immigrating to the United States where he had a successful Hollywood film career. He was popular during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.

He enlisted during WW1 where he suffered an injury that gave him a permanent limp.

Colman has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One for motion pictures, found at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, and one for television found at 1623 Vine Street.

Power appeared in dozens of films, usually taking on swashbuckler roles or romantic leads, like Jesse James, The Mask Of Zorro, and the like.

Known for his striking good looks, Power starred in a number of genres, taking part in drama to light comedy. He soon devoted more time to theater productions.

Power enlisted in WW2 where he flew cargo planes as his superiors thought he was too old for aerial combat.

He died suddenly at age 44, and was buried with full military honors.

Robert Taylor was born Spangler Arlington Brugh was born on August 5, 1911. The film and television actor and singer was one of the most popular leading men of cinema.

He signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1934, and in World War II, he served in the United States Naval Air Forces, working as a flight instructor where he also appeared in instructional films.

Taylor was married to actress Barbara Stanwyck from 1939 to 1952, and to actress Ursula Thiess in 1954. He was a chain smoker, dying of lung cancer at 57.

“Jimmy” Stewart was an American actor and military pilot known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona.

He starred in 80 films from 1935 to 1991. Stewart epitomized the “American ideal” in the mid-twentieth century. He received an Academy Honorary Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985.

Stewart remained unmarried until his 40s with the press calling him “The Great American Bachelor”.

The American Film Institute (AFI) ranked him third on its list of the greatest American male actors in 1999.

Fonda had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and Hollywood. He had an everyman image in several films considered to be classics.

He is the patriarch of a family of actors. Daughter Jane Fonda, son Peter Fonda, granddaughter Bridget Fonda, and grandson Troy Garity.

Henry Fonda was named the sixth-Greatest Male Screen Legends of the Classic Hollywood Era by the American Film Institute.

He appeared in 106 films, television programs, and shorts before passing away from a heart disease on August 12, 1982.

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. was born on April 16, 1889. He rose to fame during the silent era, becoming a worldwide icon, and is considered one of the industry’s most important figures.

He grew up in poverty, with his mother sent to a mental asylum when he was 14.

Chaplin began performing at a young age, touring music halls and working as a stage actor and comedian before moving to films as he grew in popularity.

He wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music for most of his films.

Chaplin was a perfectionist, and he would spend years working on a picture.

James Johnson Edwards was born on March 6, 1918. His role as Private Peter Moss in Home of the Brave was his most popular one.

Edwards portrayed a Black soldier who experienced racial prejudice serving in the South Pacific during World War II.

He was a psychology major who served as a first lieutenant in the army, hence his portrayal of African-American soldiers.

Lancaster was known for playing tough guys with a tender heart. He took on more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year career in film and television.

He was a four-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actor, which he won once, while also winning two BAFTA Awards and one Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actor.

The American Film Institute ranks Lancaster #19 as of the greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema.

Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. was an actor, producer and decorated naval officer of World War II.

He was assigned to Lord Mountbatten’s Commando staff in the United Kingdom, and in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him special envoy to South America.

In and out of making films, he found work in the industry thanks to his father’s name.

He found success both in America and the United Kingdom where he was well known in the highest social circles. He was made an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1949.

Farley Granger was noticed in a small stage production in Hollywood by a Goldwyn casting director.

He was then given a role in the 1943 film The North Star, a controversial film which praised the Soviet Union at the height of World War II, a film later condemned for its political bias.

Granger had a successful career, and was open about his life especially his bisexuality.

In 2007, he published the memoir Include Me Out, co-written with his domestic partner Robert Calhoun.

An Australian-American actor who achieved fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood, Errol Flynn was known for romantic swashbuckler roles, with a reputation for womanising and a hedonistic personal life.

He had a reputation for hard drinking, chain smoking and even drug abuse.

Flynn’s successful career coupled with a controversial lifestyle made him a favorite with the press. He died at the age of 50.

James Scott Bumgarner was born on April 7, 1928. He played lead roles in more than 50 theatrical films, with a career that continued into the 21st century.

He was nominated for 15 Emmy Awards during his television career.

Outside of acting, he was into auto racing, golf, football, and even politics.

Garner’s contribution to the film and television industry earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard.

Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero has become a pop culture icon with an international career that includes over 200 leading and supporting roles in different films and television programs.

He took on roles in many genres but is best known for his breakthrough role as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film Django (1966).

Cooper was known for a strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice including three more nominations, and an Academy Honorary Award in 1961 for his achievements.

Gary Cooper was one of the top 10 film personalities for 23 consecutive years.

The American Film Institute (AFI) ranked Cooper at No. 11 on the 25 greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema.

His career spanned 36 years, with leading roles in 84 feature films. He was a major star from the end of the silent film era through to the end of the golden age of Classical Hollywood.

Cooper appealed to both men and women, with an ability to project his own personality onto the characters he played.

John Barrymore initially tried to avoid the stage, since he wanted a career as an artist, but he joined his father Maurice in 1900, then his sister Ethel the next year.

He began his career in 1903, first gaining attention as a stage actor in light comedy before moving to high drama.

Barrymore struggled with alcohol abuse at the age of 14 onwards. He was married and divorced four times, and later declared bankruptcy in life.

His dependence on alcohol had studios hesitating to hire him, with behavior that continued to trouble even his colleagues.

Born Roy Harold Scherer Jr on November 17, 1925, Hudson was one of the most popular stars of the time with a career lasting more than three decades.

He was a heartthrob who found success in romantic comedies and television hits.

Discreet regarding his orientation, Hudson’s colleagues still knew.

In 1984, he was diagnosed with AIDS, becoming one of the first celebrities to disclose his diagnosis the next year. Hudson was the first major star to die from this illness.

Richard Walter Jenkins Jr. was born on 10 November 1925. This Welsh actor was known for his mellifluous baritone voice and as a formidable Shakespearean actor.

He is regarded as one of the finest actors of his generation despite a drinking problem.

Nominated for an Academy Award seven times, Burton never won one but he did win BAFTAs, Golden Globes, and Tony Awards for Best Actor.

In the mid-1960s, he was a top box office star. The late 1960s saw Burton as one of the highest-paid actors in the world.

Conrad was a film and television actor, singer, and stuntman best known for the 1965–1969 television series The Wild Wild West.

He was the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West.

He was born Conrad Robert Falk, before signing with Warner Bros. where he starred in different televisions shows, all while recording music and doing his own stunts.

Conrad died of heart failure at the age of 84.

Bernard Schwartz had a career spanning six decades,his popularity peaking in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, with a wide range of genres.

Curtis made television appearances in his later years, his stardom and career declining considerably after 1960.

He is the father of actresses Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis to his first wife. Curtis was married six times before alcoholism and a cocaine addiction dictated his downward spiral.

His real name was Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguolla.

Born on May 6, 1895, “The Latin Lover” was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred in several well-known silent films, turning himself into a sex symbol of his time.

Women adored him but the men, not so much, with many questioning his masculinity and style.

Valentino passed away at the young age of 31 due to sepsis.

Terence Hill was born Mario Girotti, and is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer.

He began as a child actor starring in action and comedy films, and during the height of his popularity, was among Italy’s highest-paid actors.

Hill’s more popular roles are in spaghetti westerns, before starring in different television shows both in America and in Italy.

At 83, he is still active and often engages with his fans on social media.

The “Chairman of the Board” and “Ol’ Blue Eyes” was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.

Frank Sinatra is among the world’s best-selling music artists with an estimated 150 million record sales.

He pursued acting in the 40s though he wasn’t enthusiastic about it. Sinatra did star in many films, even singing the hits in most of them, going on to have a successful career.

Sinatra had impeccable style and though he was married, had affairs with many women throughout his career.

The King of Rock and Roll is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Elvis knew how to entertain and play the crowd, using controversy to his favor to gain more exposure.

Presley’s feature debut was in Love Me Tender in 1956 for 20th Century Fox, with the next three films, Loving You, Jailhouse Rock, and King Creole proving lucrative for him.

Elvis returned to film after leaving the army in 1960, before going back to music, and ultimately, his early passing.

McQueen’s antihero persona during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw in the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

He was nicknamed the “King of Cool”, using the alias Harvey Mushman in motor races.

He was the highest-paid movie star in the world, even though he did not act for another four years. He would clash with directors and producers, but his popularity allowed him to command large salaries.

McQueen balanced his acting career with a love for racing. He would drive or ride a bike in his own films when he could, performing his own stunts to the delight of his fans.

Steve owned around 100 classic motorcycles, as well as around 100 exotics and vintage cars and his name is synonymous among petrolheads.

He was born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde, with a fairly successful career as an actor, novelist and screenwriter.

Bogarde wrote seven best-selling volumes of memoirs, six novels, and a volume of collected journalism.

Five years of active military duty during World War Two saw him reach the rank of major, seeing him awarded seven medals. His poetry has been published in war anthologies as well.

A painting from the war hangs in the British Museum, with many more in the Imperial War Museum for people to see.

He died in London from a pulmonary embolism on 8 May 1999, at the age of 78.

Archibald Alec Leach was born on January 18, 1904. His Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing endeared him to fans.

One of classic Hollywood’s definitive leading men, he was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

In 1970, Grant was presented an Academy Honorary Award by Frank Sinatra at the 42nd Academy Awards.

Cary Grant was given the Kennedy Center Honors in 1981. The American Film Institute has Grant as the second greatest male star of Golden Age Hollywood cinema, next to Humphrey Bogart.

Arthur Andrew Kelm was popular for his blond, clean-cut good looks, with more than forty films on his resume. Hunter was a Hollywood heartthrob of the 1950s and 1960s.

He appeared on the covers of hundreds of film magazines.

Hunter lived two lives. One under the direction of the industry, and another, a secret life since he was a gay man. Something which he denied when confronted by others at the time.

He passed away after suffering cardiac arrest that arose from complications related to deep vein thrombosis.

An actor and political activist, Heston appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He was Moses in the epic film The Ten Commandments (1956), earning him his first nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.

He also took on the title role in Ben-Hur (1959), a role that got Heston the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Heston spoke openly against racism and was an active supporter of the civil rights movement.

He was chosen by director Cecil B. DeMille for The Ten Commandments, since DeMille thought Heston bore an uncanny resemblance to Michelangelo’s statue of Moses. DeMille also cast Heston’s three-month-old son as the infant Moses.

Clift was a four-time Academy Award nominee, known for his portrayal of “moody, sensitive young men”, according to The New York Times.

He was was considered one of the original method actors in Hollywood, showing interest in acting at a very young age. Clift went on to star in films, television shows, and roles on radio.

Clift was a private person but would often be affectionate with his closest friends, among them big stars of the day who also came to his funeral when he passed from a heart attack.

Poitier was a Bahamian and American actor, film director, and diplomat. He was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Then there were two competitive Golden Globe Awards, a competitive British Academy of Film and Television Arts award (BAFTA), and a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.

Poitier was one of the last major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema with his passing in January of 2022.

Often referred to as “The King of Hollywood”, Clark Gable had roles in more than 60 motion pictures across different genres during a career of 37 years, three decades of which he was a leading man.

He spent two years in Europe as an aerial cameraman and bomber gunner during World War II.

Doris Day summed up Gable’s personality as such: “He was as masculine as any man I’ve ever known, and as much a little boy as a grown man could be —it was this combination that had such a devastating effect on women.”

Gable suffered two heart attacks in 1960, passing at the age of 59.

Born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. on March 1, 1927, the American singer, activist, and actor was arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, popularizing the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style in the 1950s.

He has three Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, an Emmy Award, and a Tony ward.

In 1989, Belafonte received the Kennedy Center Honors.

2022 saw him inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category, being the oldest living person to have received that honor.

Eastwood is an enduring cultural icon of masculinity thanks to his tough guy and anti-hero roles throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

He has four Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, three César Awards, and an AFI Life Achievement Award.

In 2000, Eastwood was the recipient of the Italian Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion award, which honored his lifetime achievements.

He is a health and fitness fanatic, all while having numerous relationships of which he has fathered many children. Eastwood refuses to give an exact number.

Kelly was actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer known for his energetic and athletic dancing style

His career began to take off after WW2, where he served in the Navy, with roles that required him to come up with dances. His choreography skills had people taking notice of his creativity.

Kelly’s health declined in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and in July 1994, he suffered a stroke. In early 1995, he had another stroke which left him severely disabled.

Gene Kelly died on February 2, 1996.

Remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, Dean became the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his role in East of Eden.

The American Film Institute ranked Dean as the 18th best male movie star of Golden Age Hollywood in AFI’s 100 Years…100 Stars list.

He quit college to act full-time, appearing first in a Pepsi Cola commercial, before his career began to pick up.

Dean had a love for fast cars, bikes, and motor racing. A hobby which would lead to his infamous death on State Route 46 and State Route 41.

The area was renamed “James Dean Memorial Junction”.

An actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, Paul Newman was the recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Silver Bear, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

He was a successful race car driver, and a philanthropist thanks to his generous donations to different charities.

Newman was a heavy smoker, with lung cancer causing his health to deteriorate until his passing on September 26, 2008.

Eldred Gregory Peck was one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. The American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema in 1999.

He starred in many successful films, working with Alfred Hitchcock, Audrey Hepburn, and Ava Gardner to name a few.

In 2008, the Peck family created the Gregory Peck Award for Cinematic Excellence to commemorate their father by honoring a director, producer or actor’s life’s work.

Gregory Peck died in his sleep from bronchopneumonia at the age of 87.

Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, Brando received numerous accolades throughout his six-decade career.

He received two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, one Cannes Film Festival Award and three British Academy Film Awards.

Brando was an activist, especially for the civil rights movement and various Native American movements.

He was ranked by the American Film Institute as the fourth-greatest movie star among male movie stars. Those whose screen debuts occurred in or before 1950.

He was one of only six actors named by Time magazine in its list of the 100 Most Important People of the Century. The same list that designated Brando as the “Actor of the Century”.