Danson, Ted

Lived outside Flagstaff

Ted Danson, 2008.  Photo by Rob Dicaterino .

(Edward Bridge Danson, III, 1947.12.29-    )  Actor.

Best know for his role as bar owner Sam Malone in the long running television series Cheers (1982-1993), Ted Danson grew up around Flagstaff where his father, an archeologist and anthropologist, was a director of the Museum of Northern Arizona. 

Davis, Bette

Married in Yuma

Bette Davis, 1936.

(Ruth Elizabeth Davis, 1908.04.05-1989.10.06)  Actor.

On August 18, 1932, starlet Bette Davis married Harmon Nelson in Yuma.  Miss Davis omitted her occupation on the marriage license leading the local paper to omit mention of the celebrity marriage.  It corrected its error two days later.

The Nelson-Davis marriage lasted only until 1939 when it ended in divorce.  Bette liked the institution enough to try it 3 more times.

Davis, Dr. Loyal

Lived in Phoenix

Died in Phoenix

(1896-1982.08.19)  Physician, editor, adoptive father of Nancy Davis.

First Lady Nancy Davis Reagan was adopted by Dr. Loyal Davis after he married her mother, Edith.  Among numerous other positions, Dr. Davis was the Chair of the Department of Surgery at Northwestern University Medical School for 31 years. He was the Editor in Chief the Journal of the American College of Surgeons from 1938 until 1982.  Dr. Davis' retired to Phoenix where he lived with his wife Edith at 24 Biltmore Estates.

Davis, Patti

Attended The Orme School in Mayer

Patti Davis, 1967.

(Patricia Ann Davis Reagan, 1952.10.21-    )  Actor, author.

The rebellious daughter of former President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis (and sister of Ron Reagan and half-sister of Michael and Maureen Reagan) was attending boarding school at The Orme School in Mayer when her father was governor of California.

DeCamp, Rosemary

Born in Prescott

(1910.11.14-2001.02.20)  Actor.

Rosemary DeCamp, 1945.

One of the busier actresses of the 1940's and 50's, Rosemary DeCamp played supporting roles in dozens of movies, on television, and on radio. She might be best remembered as Marlo Thomas' mother on That Girl (1966-1971) or as Margaret MacDonald on The Bob Cummings Show (1955-1959).

In 1965 when Ronald Reagan was hosting Death Valley Days (1952-1975) he decided to run for governor of California. FCC rules did not allow him to appear in the show when it was broadcast in California during the election, so he called on Rosemary to take his place as host. When Reagan won the election, Robert Taylor took over as host, but the sponsor, 20 Mule Team Borax, kept Rosemary as their permanent spokesman.

Dees, Rick

Has a home in Phoenix

Rick Dees, 2009. Photo by laxhyundai .

(Rigdon Osmond Dees, III, 1950.03.14-    )  Radio DJ and talk show host.

Perhaps best known nationally for hosting the Weekly Top 40 on international radio (1984-2004), he was a top rated morning personality in Los Angeles' KIIS radio until his 22 year run ended when he was replaced by Ryan Seacrest.

Although his web site bio lists his residence as San Fernando Valley, The Arizona Republic reported his purchase of a $3.95 million home in Phoenix's Biltmore Mountain Estates in May, 2005. If Rick chooses to travel from Southern California by auto, he will be able to choose any of 9 stalls in his new garage in which to park it.

DeGrazia, Ted

Lived in Morenci & Tucson

Graduate of University of Arizona

(Ettorino DeGrazia, 1909.06.14-1982.09.17)  Impressionist artist.

DeGrazia grew up in Morenci, Arizona, where he graduated from Morenci High School.  In 1932, he enrolled at the University of Arizona.  Although he dropped out before graduating, he returned to earn a B.A. in in music and art, and in 1945, a masters degree in art.  He opened his first gallery in Tucson at the end of World War II. 

Denny, Reginald

Lives in Lake Havasu City

(Reginald Oliver Denny, 1945-    )  Truck driver, riot victim.

Reginald Denny came to the attention of millions of television viewers when he had the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.  The place was Florence and Normandie in South-Central Los Angeles.  The time was around 6:45 PM on April 29, 1992, within hours after the acquittal of four Los Angeles policemen an charges of beating Rodney King.  It was then and there that outrage at the verdict had erupted into a riot. 

Denver, John

Lived in Tucson

(Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., 1943.12.31-1997.10.12)  Singer, composer, actor.

John Denver, 1985.

The son of an Air Force officer, eleven year old Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. was given his grandmother's guitar while the family was living in Tucson.  He took guitar lessons, joined a boy's choir and, when his family was living in Texas, ran away from home to California.  After returning to Texas and graduating from high school, he again headed for California.  He changed his name and replaced Chad in the Chad Mitchell Trio before going out on his own in 1969.

His career was on a real Rocky Mountain High (1972) in 1975 when he was named the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year and the American Guild of Variety Artists' Singing Star of the Year. 

His career had stalled by 1997 when the amateur-built experimental plane he was piloting crashed into Monterey Bay killing its only occupant.  The FAA attributed the crash to pilot error in an unfamiliar plane.

Depp, Johnny

Stopped for speeding in Tucson

(John Christopher Depp II, 1963.06.09-    )  Actor.

Johnny Depp, 1990. Photo by Georges Biard .

On Tuesday, October 22, 1991, when Johnny was in Tuscon for the filming of the movie Arrowtooth Waltz (1993, re-titled Arizona Dream) he took his 1991 black Porsche for a spin. 

Around 10:30 pm DPS radar clocked him traveling 93 mph westbound on a section of Interstate 10 near South Kino Parkway in Tucson with a posted 55 mph speed limit.  Before he was pulled over, he was clocked at 100 mph. 

Since the 28 year old actor had no identification with him, he was taken to the Pretrial Services office of Superior Court where he was released after posting a $305 bond.

Derickson, Uli

Lived in Tucson

Died in Tucson

(Ulrike Patzelt Derickson, 1944.08.08-2005.02.18)  Heroic flight attendant.

On June 14, 1985, Uli Derickson was a flight attendant for TWA preparing for the 10:00 AM departure of Flight 847 from Athens, Greece.  Two Lebanese passengers managed to board the flight with pistols and grenades they had smuggled through airport security.  The men would soon use the weapons to hijack the flight as it headed toward Rome, Italy.  A third hijacker had been bumped from the flight and was arrested by the Greek government. 

Devine, Andy

Born in Flagstaff

Grew up in Kingman

Attended ASU

Andy Devine, 1937.

(Jeremiah Schwartz, 1905.10.07-1977.02.18)  Actor.

Although best known as the comic sidekick in countless westerns, Andy Devine had a film career starting in silent movies and spanning 183 films.

Andy was born in Flagstaff on October 7, 1905, where his father worked for the railroad. The following year, the family moved to Kingman to operate the 

Dhiegh, Khigh

Died in Mesa

(Kenneth Dickerson, 1910-1991.10.25)  Actor.

The actor best know for playing the recurring villain "Wo Fat" on the popular detective show, Hawaii Five-O (1968-1980) died in Mesa of kidney and heart failure.  Although he often portrayed Asians, he was actually of Anglo-Egyptian-Sudanese ancestry.

Dillinger, John

Captured in Tucson

(John Herbert Dillinger, 1903.06.22-1934.07.22)  FBI Public Enemy Number One.

When asked where the infamous bank robber John Dillinger was captured, most people would say outside of the Biograph Theater in Chicago.  That would not be correct.  John Dillinger was killed in Chicago in an FBI shootout following his escape from jail; Dillinger and most of his gang were captured in Tucson.

Dorr, Goldthwaite Higginson, III

Lives in Phoenix

(c. 1932-    )  Former Phoenix Art Museum director.

The Coen brothers gave the protagonist of their 2004 film The Ladykillers the fanciful name of Goldthwaite Higginson Dorr, III, and cast Tom Hanks to play that role.  In their remake of the 1955 British movie bearing the same title, the Hanks character and his gang move into the home of an elderly lady whom they think they can easily dispose of when their robbery plot is done.

While the character's name may sound totally made up, Goldthwaite Higginson Dorr, III, was actually the director of the Phoenix Art Museum from 1969 to 1973, and still lives in Phoenix.  He came to Phoenix after serving as the director of museums in Portland, Maine and Santa Barbara, California, as well as the Minneapolis Museum of Art. 

The Coen brothers grew up in Minnesota where much of their classic 1996 movie Fargo was set.  They remembered the Dorr name from their childhood and used it in their screenplay.  They were not aware that the real Dorr was living in Phoenix.

Dorrance, Bennett

Lives in Paradise Valley

Graduate of the University of Arizona

(c. 1947-    )  Heir to Campbell's Soup fortune.

Bennett is listed as number 185 on Forbes Magazine's list of the 400 wealthiest Americans for 2002, along with fellow Arizonans David and Peter Sperling.  The three are the highest ranking Arizonan appearing on the list.

Bennett's grandfather, John T. Dorrance, founded Campbell Soup.  When his father, John Jr., died in 1989, his older brother, John III, became an Irish citizen to avoid U.S. taxes.  The family still controls half of the shares of the Campbell Soup Company stock.  Bennett's personal wealth was listed by Forbes as $1.1 billion. 

Douglas, Michael

Treated in Tucson

Michael Douglas, 2004.

(Michael Kirk Douglas, 1944.12.09-    )  Actor, producer.

At the insistence of his first wife who was tired of his womanizing, Michael Douglas checked into Tucson's pricey Sierra Tucson Centre reportedly for treatment of sexual addiction in 1992.  The treatment may not have taken since she filed for divorce three years later.  Douglas later married Catherine Zeta Jones who shares his birthday, less 25 years. 

Downey Jr., Robert

Treated in Tucson

Robert Downey, Jr., 1990. Photo by Alan Light .

(Robert John Downey Jr., 1965.04.04-    )  Actor.

Robert Downey, Jr. has been in and out of so may drug treatment programs that one might question a facility's credentials if Robert hasn't been one of its patients. 

Downs, Hugh

Lives in Scottsdale

(1921.02.14-    )  Announcer, host.

Hugh Downs, a descendant of Davey Crockett, clocked the most hours on network commercial television according to the 1985 Guinness Book of World Records.  In 2004 his record was surpassed by Regis Philbin.  Hugh started his career as announcer for a one toothed dragon, a blond and a bald kid--Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947-1957). 

DuBois, Allison

Born in Arizona

Lives in Phoenix

(1972.01.24-    )  Research medium, criminal profiler, author, title character and inspiration for NBC's Medium television series.

Allison is a self-proclaimed psychic, married to an aerospace engineer, living in North Phoenix with their three daughters.  On her web site [allisondubois.com], she explains what she does, "I can contact the deceased, I can profile the living and I predict future events."  So as not to inconvenience those in need of her services, readings could be conducted on the phone and by e-mail.  The Arizona Republic reported that the charge for such a reading was $250/hour.