Little Richard took 1950s America and the world by storm with hits like "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally," "Good Golly Miss Molly" and "Lucille." The Beatles and The Rolling Stones supported him, and drew inspiration from his musicianship and stagecraft. He would go on to ...
As the "father of video art" and one of the most influential artists of Korean descent, Nam June Paik was a pillar of American avant-garde movement in the 20th century. Paik's prescient claims that in the future “everybody will have his own TV channel” are ...
Dr. Anthony Fauci has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President for seven different administrations. As head of the NIAID, he oversaw research on how to prevent, diagnose and treat ...
Internationally hailed as one of the greatest songstresses of our time, Grammy award-winning Roberta Flack remains unparalleled. Her songs bring insight into our lives, loves, culture and politics, while effortlessly traversing a broad musical landscape from pop to soul to folk to jazz. This timeline ...
[Editor's Note - November 3, 2023: Recent investigative reports have sought to raise questions about Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Indigenous heritage. Sainte-Marie has stated that she is uncertain of her biological heritage and affirms her formal adoption into and identification with the Cree nation.] An Oscar-winning Indigenous ...
The winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, three National Book Awards and the Pulitzer Prize, Saul Bellow transformed modern literature. He illuminated 20th-century American life through philosophical depth and a wild sense of humor. Some of the greatest American writers alive today credit him ...
Dick Cavett was writing for Jack Paar on "The Tonight Show" when he met Groucho Marx at the funeral of playwright George S. Kaufman in 1961. It was the beginning of a friendship that lasted until Groucho’s death in 1977. When Cavett made the transition ...
From 1954 until his death in 1991, Joe Papp brought more theater to more people than any other producer in history. In his eyes, art was for everyone, not just a privileged few. “We have public libraries,” he would argue, “Why not public theaters?” Papp ...
Duke Kahanamoku was born in Honolulu, Hawai’i on August 24, 1890. When he was 3 years old his family moved to Waikīkī, where he spent his childhood learning how to be a waterman. Over the next several decades, Kahanamoku shattered records as a swimmer and ...
Marian Anderson is a contralto and international singer that triumphed over racial prejudice and became an inspiration for America’s civil rights movement. Born in 1897, the granddaughter of enslaved Americans, Anderson earned international acclaim in Europe by 1935. Still, in 1930’s America, Anderson was discriminated ...
