Musicians & Composers
The makers of humanity's soundtrack.
records written
Contemporary era
Andrea Bocelli
b. September 22, 1958
Italian tenor and singer-songwriter (born 1958)
Contemporary era
Lang Lang
b. June 14, 1982
Chinese pianist
Contemporary era
Chris Hadfield
b. August 29, 1959
Canadian astronaut
Modern era
Coretta Scott King
April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006
American author, activist, and civil rights leader; wife of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Modern era
Sergei Eisenstein
January 10, 1898 – February 11, 1948
Soviet filmmaker (1898–1948)
Modern era
Fritz Lang
December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976
Austrian filmmaker (1890–1976)
Modern era
Billy Wilder
June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002
Austrian and American filmmaker (1906–2002)
Modern era
Frank Capra
May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991
Italian-born American film director (1897–1991)
Modern era
John Ford
February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973
American film director (1894–1973)
Modern era
David Lean
March 25, 1908 – April 16, 1991
British filmmaker and editor (1908–1991)
Modern era
Sergio Leone
January 3, 1929 – April 30, 1989
Italian filmmaker (1929–1989)
Modern era
Jean-Luc Godard
December 3, 1930 – September 13, 2022
French and Swiss film director (1930–2022)
Modern era
Francois Truffaut
February 6, 1932 – October 21, 1984
French film director (1932–1984)
Modern era
Andrei Tarkovsky
April 4, 1932 – December 29, 1986
Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director (1932–1986)
Modern era
Mel Brooks
b. June 28, 1926
American comedian, filmmaker, and actor (born 1926)
Modern era
George Lucas
b. May 14, 1944
American filmmaker and philanthropist (born 1944)
Modern era
Ridley Scott
b. November 30, 1937
English filmmaker (born 1937)
Contemporary era
Peter Jackson
b. October 31, 1961
New Zealand film director, screenwriter, producer and actor (born 1961)
Contemporary era
Tim Burton
b. August 25, 1958
American filmmaker and artist (born 1958)
Contemporary era
Spike Lee
b. March 20, 1957
American filmmaker (born 1957)
Contemporary era
Kathryn Bigelow
b. November 27, 1951
American filmmaker (born 1951)
Contemporary era
Bong Joon-ho
b. September 14, 1969
South Korean filmmaker (born 1969)
Contemporary era
Zhang Yimou
b. April 2, 1950
Chinese filmmaker
Contemporary era
Guillermo del Toro
b. October 9, 1964
Mexican filmmaker and author (born 1964)
Modern era
Jim Henson
September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990
American puppeteer (1936–1990)
Modern era
Johnny Carson
October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005
American talk show host and comedian (1925–2005)
Modern era
Lucille Ball
August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989
American actress (1911–1989)
Modern era
Stan Laurel
June 16, 1890 – February 23, 1965
English actor (1890–1965)
Modern era
Oliver Hardy
January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957
American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy (1892–1957)
Modern era
Groucho Marx
October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977
American comedian (1890–1977)
Modern era
Bob Hope
May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003
American entertainer (1903–2003)
Modern era
Jimmy Stewart
May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997
American actor and military officer (1908–1997)
Modern era
Gregory Peck
April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003
American actor (1916–2003)
Modern era
Spencer Tracy
April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967
American actor (1900–1967)
Modern era
Henry Fonda
May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982
American actor (1905–1982)
Modern era
Bette Davis
April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989
American actress (1908–1989)
Modern era
Joan Crawford
March 23, 1905 – May 10, 1977
American actress (1908–1977)
Modern era
Rita Hayworth
October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987
American actress (1918–1987)
Modern era
Lauren Bacall
September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014
American actress (1924–2014)
Modern era
Doris Day
April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019
American actress and singer (1922–2019)
Modern era
Kirk Douglas
December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020
American actor (1916–2020)
Modern era
Steve McQueen
March 24, 1930 – November 7, 1980
American actor (1930-1980)
Modern era
Yul Brynner
July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985
Russian-born American actor (1920–1985)
Modern era
Omar Sharif
April 10, 1932 – July 10, 2015
Egyptian actor (1932–2015)
Modern era
Toshiro Mifune
April 1, 1920 – December 24, 1997
Japanese actor (1920–1997)
Modern era
Marcello Mastroianni
September 28, 1924 – December 19, 1996
Italian actor (1924–1996)
Modern era
Alain Delon
November 8, 1935 – August 18, 2024
French actor (1935–2024)
Modern era
Brigitte Bardot
September 28, 1934 – December 28, 2025
French actress, singer, animal rights activist (1934–2025)
Modern era
Peter Sellers
September 8, 1925 – July 24, 1980
British actor and comedian (1925–1980)
Modern era
Peter O'Toole
August 2, 1932 – December 14, 2013
British-Irish actor (1932–2013)
Modern era
Richard Burton
November 10, 1925 – August 5, 1984
Welsh actor (1925–1984)
Modern era
Natalie Wood
July 20, 1938 – November 28, 1981
American actress (1938–1981)
Modern era
Bela Lugosi
October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956
Hungarian-American actor (1882–1956)
Modern era
Christopher Lee
May 27, 1922 – June 7, 2015
English actor and singer (1922–2015)
Modern era
James Earl Jones
January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024
American actor (1931–2024)
Modern era
Anthony Hopkins
b. December 31, 1937
Welsh–American actor and director (born 1937)
Modern era
Michael Caine
b. March 14, 1933
English actor (born 1933)
Modern era
Ian McKellen
b. May 25, 1939
British actor (born 1939)
Modern era
Patrick Stewart
b. July 13, 1940
British actor (born 1940)
Modern era
Judi Dench
b. December 9, 1934
English actress (born 1934)