Baldwin, Stephen

Lives in Tucson

Stephen Baldwin, 2010.  Photo by Gage Skidmore .

(1966.05.12-    )  Actor.

The youngest of the four acting Baldwin brothers (the others being Alec, William, and Daniel) lives on a ranch in Tucson.  Clicks Billiards claims Stephen as a longtime regular visitor at their Tucson location at 3325 N. First Avenue.  In the late 1990's he partnered with businessman Anthony Martino to open Anthony's Cigar Emporium in Tucson. 

Balsam, Talia

Attended the Treehaven School in Tucson

(1960-    )  Actor.

The daughter of Martin Balsam (1914-1996) and Joyce Van Patten (1934-    ) attended boarding school at the Treehaven School in Tucson from approximately 1971 to 1974. She was married to George Clooney (1961-    ) from 1989 to 1993. She married actor John Slattery (1963-    ) in 1998.

Barger, "Sonny"

Imprisoned at the Federal Correctional Institution,  Phoenix

Lives in New River

(Ralph Barger, Jr., c. 1939-    )  Hells Angel icon, author, entrepreneur.

Sonny Barger is the world's most famous Hells Angel.  He is the founding member and President of the Oakland chapter who is credited with pulling the disparate clubs together in the 1960's and unleashing the club on a worldwide expansion drive.

In the late 1980's his biking career was interrupted for him to spend some quality time in the Arizona sun.  The four year hiatus wasn't exactly voluntary.  He was a guest at the federal prison in Arizona for conspiring to blow up the clubhouse of the Outlaws, a rival biker gang. 

Barrymore, John

Married in Yuma

(John Sidney Blyth, 1882.02.14-1942.05.29)  Actor, grandfather of Drew Barrymore.

On November 8, 1936, 54-year-old John Barrymore boarded a chartered plane in Los Angeles with his 21-year-old protégé Elaine Berrie.  When the plane landed in Yuma, the couple headed for the Justice of the Peace where they were married just after midnight.  The bride's parents arrived in Los Angeles from New York by plane the day before, and accompanied the couple on the Yuma trip where they acted as witnesses to the ceremony.  Almost immediately, the wedding party returned to Los Angeles by train.

At the time of the Yuma marriage, the ink was barely dry on the final divorce decree from Barrymore's third wife, Dolores Costello.  Dolores was a mere 21 years younger than Barrymore, and would become Drew Barrymore's grandmother.  His second wife, Blanche Oelrichs, and his first wife, Katherine Corri Harris,  were within a decade of his age.  He and Elaine divorced in 1940, but she would be the only of his three living ex's to attend his funeral.  Elaine was the first of his wives to use the Barrymore stage name and the first Barrymore to undress on stage.

Bauer, Jaime Lyn

Born in Phoenix

Born in Phoenix

Graduated from Phoenix Junior College

(Norma Marvhne Bauer, 1949.03.09-    )  Actor.

The former Miss Phoenix and runner-up in the Miss Arizona Pageant left town to become a soap maven. She was Lauralee Brooks on The Young and Restless (1973) from the start of the series until 1983, and reprieved the role in 1984 and 2002. She was the fifth embodiment of Laura Spencer Horton in Days of Our Lives (1965) from 1993 to 1999 and again in 2003.

Bayne, Beverly

Died in Scottsdale

Beverly Bayne in 1916.

(Pearl Von Name, 1929.02.20-1989.08.16)  Actor.

As a silent movie star, Beverly appeared in 155 movies between 1912 and 1924. She married silent move heartthrob Francis X. Bushman (1883-1966) in 1918, but was divorced seven years later.

 She died in Scottsdale from a heart attack.

Beck, Glenn

Lived in Phoenix area

Glenn Beck in 2010. Photo by David Shankbone .

(Glenn Edward Lee Beck, 1964.02.10-    )  Right wing entertainer.

Months after Beck was terminated from Louisville radio station WRKA in 1987, he was hired by Phoenix Top-40 radio station KOY-FM.  There he co-hosted the "morning zoo" program with Arizona native Tim Hattrick.

Beck promoted himself and his program through a rivalry with competing pop music station KZZP and their morning host Bruce Kelly.  The high (or low) point in the rivalry was reached when Beck called Kelly's on-the-air wife and mocked her recent miscarriage. 

Beck left KOY and Arizona in 1989.

Benét, Eric

Treated in Wickenburg

(Eric Benét Jordan, 1970.10.15-    )  R & B singer, musician, composer.

Eric Benét, 2008.  Photo by Ed Kavishe .

Eric Benét was treated for sexual addiction at The Meadows in Wickenburg in June, 2002, at the behest of his wife of just over a year, Halle Berry (1968-    ).  Halle first learned of Eric's infidelity just days after she won the Best Actress Oscar for Monster's Ball (2001), when he confessed to two affairs.

With the trust broken, Halle hired a private detective and learned that there were at least 10 affairs. Eric then confessed to a "sexual addiction" which started just six months after their marriage.  Reportedly, he did not initially feel that he was cheating since his first indiscretions were limited to oral encounters which, of course, would not be included in the Clinton definition of sex.

Still in love and forgiving but not forgetting, Halle suspended divorced action on the condition that Eric get treatment.  After release Eric was reported to be transformed into a dutiful house husband in an arrangement akin to house arrest.

Bennett, Michael

Died in Tucson

(Michael Bennett DiFiglia, 1943.04.08-1987.07.02)  Director, choreographer, author.

The director, co-producer, co-author and co-choreographer of the long running "A Chorus Line" died in Tucson of AIDS-related lymphoma.

Berlin, Irving

Composed at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix

(1888.05.11-1989.09.22)  Composer, lyricist.

Irving Berlin in 1919.

One of this country's most popular, prolific and important composers, Berlin is reported by the Arizona Biltmore to have written White Christmas [published May 6, 1942] while sitting poolside at the hotel.

 Others are less certain but think that it might have been composed during a visit to the hotel--or in New York--or maybe a bit at both places.

Berlin was a repeat visitor to the hotel, writing scores for the movies Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938) and Carefree (1938) on a November 1937 stay, and for Second Fiddle (working title "When Winter Comes" 1939) on a return visit in January 1939.

Of the hotel, Berlin said, "It's great here.  My only wonder is that it isn't even more popular than it is."

Bernhard, Sandra

Graduate of Saguaro High School in Scottsdale

Sandra Bernhard, 2008.  Photo by Slomotion777 at en.wikipedia .

(1955.06.06-    )  Comic, actor.

Sandra spent her early years in the Midwest as the daughter of a proctologist and an abstract artist. When she was 10, the family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona.  In her comedy act she has been known to describe her youth as a "Jewess" in a sea of "blonde WASPs," which might not an inaccurate description of Scottsdale. 

After graduating from Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Sandra went to a kibbutz in Israel, and then to Hollywood where she was a manicurist in Beverly Hills by day, and a stand up comic by night. She parlayed her routine into television appearances and specials, and even the occasional movie.

Biehn, Michael

Lived in Lake Havasu City

Attended U of A

(1956.07.31-    )  Actor.

Michael Biehn, 2008.  Photo by Bree Bailey .

The Biehn family moved to Lake Havasu when Michael was 14. He won a drama scholarship to the University of Arizona but left after 2 years to try his hand in Hollywood.

After small parts in a number of TV shows, he was cast in the title role to stalk Lauren Bacall in The Fan (1983).  In James Cameron's The Terminator (1984) he came from the future to save the world from Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Cameron liked him so much that he put him in Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) in which his scenes were cut, but restored in the special DVD edition.  His other films include Clockstoppers (2002), Chain of Command (2000), The Rock (1996), Tombstone (1991), and Navy SEALs (1990).

"Billy the Kid"

Lived in Globe area for 2 years

Killed his first man in Camp Grant

(Probably born Henry McCarty, aka William H. Bonney, William Antrim, Henry Antrim and Kid Antrim, 1859.11.23-1881.07.14)  West's most famous outlaw.

The west's most famous outlaw killed his first man on August 17, 1877 in George Adkins' Saloon in Camp Grant, midway between Globe and Tucson not far off what is now state route 77.  Billy had come to the Arizona Territory about two years earlier when he ran away from his stepfather's home in Silver City, NM, not wanting to face him following a prank involving petty theft from a laundry. 

Blake, Amanda

Lived in Phoenix

Amanda Blake in 1950.

(Beverly Louise Neill, 1929.02.20-1989.08.16)  Actor.

Amanda Blake played Miss Kitty Russell, proprietor of Dodge City's Long Branch Saloon, for 19 years on Gunsmoke.

At her four-acre home site at 5105 E. Exeter Street in the Arcadia District of Phoenix, she operated a cat-house of different kind. There she kept a lion and 10 rare cheetahs. 

Bluth, Don

Lives in Phoenix

(1937.09.13-   )  Animator, producer, director.

Don Bluth, 2006.  Photo by Gil Megidish .

Don was a chief animator at Disney after the death of Walt. (Notwithstanding rumors to the contrary, Walt Disney (1901-1965) was not put into cryogenic suspended animation upon his death--unlike Scottsdale "resident" Ted Williams.)

Amid rumors that the animation unit might be shut down, he and a number of other Disney animators formed their own company to produce The Secret of NIMH (1982), a creative success but box office failure.

He was more successful when he teamed with one time Phoenix resident Steven Spielberg to create An American Tail (1986) and The Land Before Time (1988).

When Fox decided to invest $100 million to animate pictures in the desert, Don Bluth headed up the effort. The Fox Animation Studio at 2747 East Camelback Road, Phoenix opened in 1993. They hired over 300 animators and technicians and began work on Anastasia (1997). The direct to video Bartok the Magnificent (1999) and Titan A.E. (2000) followed. Titan cost $75 million to make, but brought in only $17 million at the box office.

In the face of such losses, Fox decided to shut down the Phoenix studio in June 2000. Don remained in Phoenix forming Don Bluth Films, Inc. Dragon's Lair will be the first film of the new company and was set for release in the summer of 2003. You may check on the progress of the production at donbluth.com.

Bock, Fred

Died in Phoenix

(1918-2000.08.25)  WWII pilot.

On August 6, 1945, a B-29 named "Enola Gay" dropped the world's second atomic bomb, "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later another B-29 named "Bockscar" dropped the more powerful "Fat Man" on Nagasaki, Japan, effectively ending World War II. "Bockscar" was named after it's regular pilot, Fred Bock. He was not on that mission since the crew of the "Greate Artiste" switched planes with them for that mission. The world's first atomic bomb, "The Trinity Device," was detonated from a tower in the New Mexico desert.

Bombeck, Erma

Lived in Paradise Valley

(Erma Louise Fiste Bombeck, 1927.02.21-1996.04/22)  Humorist, columnist and author.

Her book titles include The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank, Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession, All I Know About Animal Behavior I Learned in Loehmann's Dressing Room, and I Lost Everything in the Post-Natal Depression.

Erma met her husband, Bill, when they were both teenagers working as copy clerks at Dayton newspapers. She became a feature writer at the Dayton Herald, but left to be a full time mother. She returned to write a column about family life in 1965, which was syndicated in 20 papers within a month.  When the family moved to Arizona for the climate in 1971, her column was appearing in 200 papers.

At the time of her death from complications of kidney transplant surgery, she and her husband of over 40 years were living in a tile-and-stucco Paradise Valley home overlooking Camelback Mountain. Her burial plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio, includes a 29,000-pound boulder taken from an Arizona neighbor's property.  Bill said that he "wanted a piece of Phoenix" at his wife's grave to remember their 25 years in Arizona.

Bonaduce, Danny

Lived in Phoenix

Arrested in Phoenix

Danny Bonaduce, 2007.  Photo by fashion photographer Anthony Citrano .

(1959.08.13-    )  Child actor, disk jockey, author, host.

Danny was the red headed child actor playing the bratty Danny Partridge on The Partridge Family from 1970 to 1974.  Opportunities being what they are for former child actors, Danny turned to radio, eventually landing a spot on Phoenix's Power 92 KKFR where he kept Partridge as his on air name. 

Bonanno, Joseph

Lived in Tucson

Died in Tucson

Joseph Bonanno in 1964.

(1905.01.18-2002.05.12)  Mafia godfather.

Many famous figures in Arizona history came to the state for their health.  When the model for the title character in Mario Puzo's The Godfather was forced into "retirement" by an internal Mafia conflict in the 1960's he too came to Arizona for his health.

Bonds, Barry

Graduated from Arizona State University

(Barry Lamar Bonds, 1964.07.24-    )  Major League Baseball player.

Barry Bonds, 1993.  Photo by Jim Accordino .

When San Francisco Giant's slugger Barry Bonds hit his 699th home run off the JumboTron scoreboard at the Diamondback's home field on September 12, 2004, he was on the threshold of reaching the 700 home run milestone only two players had passed before him--Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714). 

Long before Bonds challenged Babe Ruth for the most career home runs, or Jose Canseco for most effective use of steroids, he spent three years playing for the Sun Devils.  Although he was drafted by the Giants in 1982, he chose to attend Arizona State University instead.  There he played college baseball before graduating in 1986. In two of the three years he was at ASU, he took the Sun Devils to the College World Series.  As a .347 career hitter at ASU, he ranks third in the Devil's all time list with 45 home runs.  His .616 slugging percentage ranks him 11th at ASU.  In 1999 he was enshrined in the Arizona State Sports Hall of Fame.

Bonds began his Major League career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986, but returned to his home state in 1993 when he joined the San Francisco Giants.

Borman, Frank

Lived in Tucson

(1928.03.14-    )  Astronaut.

Frank Borman was born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Tucson.  He was a quarterback on the Tucson High School football team that won the Arizona state football championship in 1945.  He had his sights set higher than football, becoming an U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, and then a NASA astronaut.  He was the Commander of the 1968 Apollo 8 mission, making him one of the first three humans to orbit the moon. 

Boyer, Charles

Married in Yuma

Lived in Paradise Valley

Overdosed in Scottsdale

Died in Phoenix

(1897.08.28-1978.08.26)  Actor.

Charles Boyer in a 1938 publicity photo.

Charles Boyer was born in France, but became a major romantic lead in films of the 1930's and 40's, never losing his French accent.  In 1938 he played the suave jewel thief Pepe le Moko in the movie Algiers.  He made such an impression that a cartoon skunk, Pepe le Pew, was introduced by Warner Bros. to revisit the character.

In the 1956 I Love Lucy episode "Lucy Meets Charles Boyer," he played a Charles Boyer look-alike hired by Lucy to assuage Ricky's jealous streak.  Naturally, the look-alike turned out to really be Charles Boyer, much to Lucy's consternation.

Charles Boyer came to Hollywood in 1934 with his friend, actor Maurice Chevalier.  He met the English actress Pat Paterson (1911-1978) who had arrived in Hollywood only three months earlier.  Within a month of their meeting, the 34-year-old Boyer and the 22-year-old Paterson would elope and marry in Yuma.  Later, they would move from Hollywood to Paradise Valley.

Pat died in Phoenix from cancer in 1978.  Just two days after her death, Charles took an overdose of Seconal while at a friend's home at 6806 North Desert Fairways Drive, Scottsdale. He was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix where he died. Their only child, Michael Boyer (1944-1965) also committed suicide. 

Brinley, Charles

Born in Yuma

(1880.11.15-1946.02.17)  Actor.

An actor in nearly 140 films between 1913 and 1939.  Many of the films were silent, and he was frequently uncredited.  He was born in Yuma.

Brooks, Jason

Attended the University of Arizona

(Jason Maxwell Brooks, 1966.05.10-    )  Actor.

The actor that played the evil Peter Blake from 1993 to 1998 on Days of Our Lives (1965-    ) studied business administration at the University of Arizona. Midway through his Days stint, he appeared bare chested on the cover of the December 1995 issue of Playgirl magazine. He moved on to play Sean Monroe on Baywatch (1989-    ) from 1999 to 2001, and then to numerous parts in various television shows.

Brown, Amanda

Born in Arizona

Graduate of ASU

(    -    )  Writer.

Amanda Brown was no stranger to the law when she wrote the manuscript for Legally Blonde.  Her father is the late Jack Brown who founded the Phoenix law firm Brown & Bain.  Her mother was a member of the second Harvard Law College class to admit women to their ranks.

Bruckheimer, Jerry

Lived in Tucson

Graduate of U of A

Jerry Bruckheimer, 2010.  Photo by BrokenSphere at Wikipedia Commons .

(1945.09.21-    )  Producer.

Bruckheimer is the quintessential Hollywood producer of the multi-million dollar blockbuster motion picture.  His productions include Black Hawk Down (2001), Pearl Harbor (2001), the TV series C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), Armageddon (1998), Crimson Tide (1995), Top Gun (1986), Flashdance (1983), American Gigolo (1980), and many others.

He graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in psychology.

Bush, George

Parachuted over Yuma

President George H. W. Bush, official 1989 portrait.

(George Herbert Walker Bush, 1924.06.12-    )  41^st President of the United States (1989-1993).

On Tuesday, March 25, 1997, former President George Bush strapped on a parachute and jumped out of a civilian plane flying 12,500 feet above the Army's Yuma Proving Ground.  After free falling for 8,000 feet, he deployed his chute and glided to a smooth landing at the training base used by the Army's precision parachuting team, the Golden Knights.