- Fred Korematsu
Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu was one of the many Japanese-American citizens living on the West Coast during World War II. Shortly after the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the Secretary of War to require all Japanese-Americans in "Military Area No. 1" (the West Coast "exclusion zone") to report to the Internment Camps. Fred Korematsu was born in 1919 to Japanese parents living in Oakland, … - Eikichi Yazawa
Eikichi Yazawa is a Japanese rock singer. He was a member of the legendary Japanese rock group Carol, and is one of the most successful rock singers in Japan. Yazawa formed the band Carol in 1972. They were strongly inspired by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Carol had some minor success and a few hit singles and albums were released. After the band broke up in 1975, Yazawa flew to the U.S. to start his solo career. His first solo album, "I Love You, OK", … - Jedediah Smith
Jedediah Strong Smith (born January 6, 1799 - presumed date of death May 27, 1831) was a hunter, trapper, fur trader and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the nineteenth century. Jedediah Smith's explorations were significant in opening the American West to expansion by white settlers. According to Maurice Sullivan: <blockquote>Smith was the first white man to cross the future state of Nevada, … - Ralph Lawrence Carr
Ralph Lawrence Carr (December 11, 1887 - September 22, 1950) was Governor of Colorado from 1939 to 1943. Born in Rosita in Custer County, he grew up in Cripple Creek in Teller County and went to school there. A Republican, Carr was committed to fiscal restraint in state government and opposed the New Deal policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. However, Carr supported Roosevelt's foreign policy. - Harry Bridges
Harry Bridges (July 28 1901 - March 30 1990) was an influential American labor leader in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), a union of longshore and warehouse workers on the West Coast, Hawai'i and Alaska which he helped form and led for over forty years. As controversial as he was charismatic, he was prosecuted by FDR, Truman and Eisenhower alike, … - Bootie Brown
Bootie Brown (born Romye Robinson in 1970) is a West Coast rapper who was one of the founding members of the innovative hip hop group The Pharcyde. He has done very few collaborations outside of the group and is currently working with the remaining Pharcyde member Imani Wilcox on new projects with their indie label. His collaboration with Gorillaz on their album "Demon Days", the track "Dirty Harry," was released as a single on November 21, 2005. - John A. Sobrato
John Albert Sobrato owns Cupertino-based Sobrato Development Companies, a prominent Silicon Valley development firm specializing in commercial and residential real estate. He is also a noted philanthropist in the Bay Area as well. Together with his family, they have created the Sobrato Family Foundation. John Sobrato is #133 on the 2005 Forbes 400 list with an estimated worth of $2 billion. - Prince Whipper Whip
Prince Whipper Whip is the stage name of James Whipper, a Puerto Rican rapper from the Bronx. He was an original member of Grandwizard Theodore & the Fantastic Five. Whipper Whip became one of the first hip hop pioneers from New York City to travel to the west coast, where he performed with artists such as Afrika Islam and influenced Latin rap pioneer Kid Frost. - Cal Worthington
Calvin Coolidge Worthington (born November 27, 1920 in Shidler, Oklahoma) is a well-known car dealer throughout the West Coast of the United States. He is best known for his unique radio and television advertisements for the Worthington Dealership Group. He was usually joined by his "Dog Spot", except that "Spot" was never a dog. Often, Spot is a tiger or elephant or bear. Spot was officially retired in the mid 1980s. - Ellis O. Knox
Dr. Ellis O'neal Knox was the first African-American to be awarded a Ph.D. on the West Coast. Knox received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1922 from the University of California, Berkeley and his doctorate in the history and philosophy of education from the University of Southern California in the 1931. Ellis O. Knox was born in Northern California on July 6, 1900. The son of a Latin teacher, Prince Albert Knox, and homemaker, Addie Knox, … - Alias
Alias (born Brendon Whitney) is an abstract hip hop artist and producer for the anticon. label. He is originally from Portland, Maine, although he currently resides on the West Coast. His stage name is not to be confused with the hard rock band of the same name. - Joseph Schenck
Joseph Michael Schenck (December 25, 1878 - October 22, 1961) was a pioneer executive who played a key role in the development of the United States film industry. Born in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, he and his younger brother Nicholas emigrated to New York City in 1893 where they eventually got into the entertainment business operating concessions at New York's Fort George Amusement Park. - Anne Thompson
Anne Thompson is a film columnist at Variety and deputy editor of Variety.com, where she writes the Thompson on Hollywood blog. Born and raised in New York City, she’s a contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, London Observer and Wired. She served as the Deputy Film Editor at The Hollywood Reporter from January, 2005 to March, 2007 and before that was the West Coast Editor of Premiere, from 1996 to 2002. - Fritz Richmond
Fritz Richmond (1939-2005) was an American musician and recording engineer. Fritz Richmond was considered the foremost washtub bassist in the world, and was also the most successful professional jug player. Richmond, born in Newton, Massachusetts on July 10, 1939, was a founding member of The Hoppers, a school-chum jug band that played the coffeehouse circuit in the Boston area. - Ed Ash
Ed Ash is a well-known West Coast engine builder. He was born in Oregon, and has a son, Brandon who races in NASCAR's touring divisions. He also owns Brandon's #02 NEXTEL Cup team. - Jack Kruschen
Jack Kruschen (March 20, 1922 - April 2, 2002) was a Canadian-born character actor who worked primarily in American film, television, and radio. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Kruschen began his career in the 1940s as staple of West Coast radio drama. He had regular or recurring roles on "Broadway Is My Beat" (as Sgt. Muggavan), and "Pete Kelly's Blues" (as Red, the bass player), as well as frequent episodic roles on anthology series, Westerns, and crime dramas. - Judee Sill
Judee Sill (October 7, 1944 - November 23, 1979) was an American singer and songwriter. The first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum label, she released two albums before disappearing into obscurity and eventually dying of drug abuse in 1979. Her eponymous "debut album" was released to major acclaim in 1971 and was followed two years later by "Heart Food". - Gaston Chevrolet
Gaston Chevrolet was a French-born American racecar champion driver and automobile manufacturer. Born near Beaune, in the Côte-d'Or département of France where his Swiss parents had emigrated to a few years earlier, he was the younger brother of Louis (1878-1941, founder of the Chevrolet car company) and Arthur Chevrolet (1884-1946). After brother Louis emigrated to the United States and earned enough money, he sent for Gaston and Arthur to join him. - Ash Racing
Ash Racing is a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series team owned by Ed Ash. It began in 2004, with Brandon Ash finishing 41st in the #02 Ash Racing Engines Ford Taurus in the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. Ash also ran the 2005 Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway. So far in 2006, he has made 2 races, finishing 43rd in the Subway Fresh 500, and 38th at Infineon. The team plans to run the west coast races this season, with addition to select others. - Fletcher Bowron
Fletcher Bowron (August 13, 1887 - September 11, 1968) was a four-term reform mayor of Los Angeles, California from September 26, 1938 until June 30, 1953. Until Thomas Bradley passed his length of service during the 1980s, Bowron held the distinction of having the longest tenure in that position in city history. Bowron was born in Poway, California, the youngest of three children. His parents, who had migrated from the Midwest, sent him to Los Angeles High School, … - Tyree Glenn
Tyree Glenn (Evans Tyree Glenn) (April 11, 1912, Corsicana, Texas - May 18, 1974, Englewood, New Jersey) was an american trombone player. Tyree played trombone and vibraphone with local Texas bands before moving in the early 1930s to Washington, D.C., where he performed with several prominent bands of the Swing Era. He played with Bob Young (1930), then he joined Tommy Myles's band (1934-1936). After he left Myles, he moved to the West Coast, … - Marshall Neilan
Marshall Ambrose Neilan (April 11, 1891 - October 27, 1958) was an important pioneer motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer. Born in San Bernardino, California, he was known by most as "Mickey." Following the death of his father, the eleven-year-old Mickey Neilan had to give up on schooling to work at whatever work he could find in order to help support his mother. As a teenager, he began acting in bit parts in live theatre, … - Michael Modest
Michael Cirigilo (born July 19, 1971 in Berkeley, California) is a semi-retired American professional wrestler, better known by his stage name, Michael Modest (sometimes shortened to Mike Modest). Wrestling primarily on the West Coast, Modest ran the Pro Wrestling IRON promotion until its closure in 2005, and regularly toured Japan with Pro Wrestling NOAH. - Bobby Day
Bobby Day (born July 1, 1928 - died July 27, 1990), was an early African American rock and roll and R&B musician. Born Robert James Byrd Snr, (making him, ironically because of his biggest hit, Bobby Byrd - not to be confused with the funk musician of the same name), in Fort Worth, Texas, he moved to Los Angeles, California at the age of fifteen. As a member of the R&B group, the Hollywood Flames, he used the stage name Bobby Day to perform and record. - Earle Nelson
Earle Leonard Nelson aka the boutquet strangler (died January 13, 1928) was an American serial killer. Nelson often studied his worn Bible, using it to keep his victims at ease and off-guard around him. Once he gained their trust, he would kill them and rape their corpses. Nelson was barely out of his teens when he tried to strangle a young girl and was hospitalised in a mental institution in 1921. - Johnny Sheffield
Johnny Sheffield (born April 11, 1931) is an American former child actor. He was born Jon Matthew Sheffield Cassan in Pasadena, California, the second child of actor Reginald Sheffield (February 18, 1901-December 8, 1957) and Louise Van Loon (January 21, 1905-April 14, 1987). His older sister was Mary Alice Sheffield Cassan and his younger brother was William Hart Sheffield Cassan (actor Billy Sheffield). - Eddie Gray
Eddie Gray (February 4, 1920 - October 25, 1969) was a race car driver from Gardena, California. He became champion of a predecessor of the NASCAR Winston West Series in 1958, 1961 and 1962. The series was then known as NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model (PCLM). Gray also participated in NASCAR Grand National races on the West Coast, capturing 4 wins, including two as an owner-driver. On May 31, 1958, Gray won a 500 mile race at Riverside International Raceway, … - Robert Hass
Robert L. Hass (b. March 1, 1941) is a Californian poet whose works are well-known for their West Coast subject and attitude. - Derroll Adams
Derroll Adams (November 27 1925 - February 6 2000) was an American folk musician. Adams was born Derroll Lewis Thompson in Portland, Oregon. At 16, he served in the Army and later in the Coast Guard. He was a tall, lanky banjo player with a deep voice. He was busking around the West Coast music scene in the 1950s when he met Ramblin' Jack Elliott in the Topanga Canyon area of Los Angeles, CA. The two travelled around and recorded albums, … - Jack Westrope
Jack Gordon Westrope (January 18, 1918 - June 19, 1958) was an American Hall of Fame jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. Born in Baker, Montana, Westrope was only 12 years old when he rode his first winner on a small track in Lemon, South Dakota. By age 15, while still officially an apprentice jockey, he was the leading rider in the U.S. for 1933. Westrope scored 301 victories from the 1,224 races he competed in that year, giving him a 25% win rate, … - Lil' Al
Lil' Al, born and raised in San Diego, California, is a Latin hip-hop musician. His experiences on the streets taught him about life and inspired him to make music. Being a west coast artist, some of his early influences were DJ Quik, Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, and Above the Law. His debut album, "The Self Made LP", was produced by platinum producers D-Black and Chris Gunn. Lil’ Al is the West Coast's newest rising star. - Art Laboe
Art Laboe (born c.1925) is an American pioneering disc jockey, songwriter, record producer, and radio station owner who is generally credited with coining the term "Oldies But Goodies".". Through his "Original Sound Records" company, Laboe put together the first-ever record album to feature hit songs by various artists. Titled "Oldies But Goodies," the album stayed on Billboard magazine's Top 100 LPs chart for over three years. - Jeffrey Combs
Jeffrey Alan Combs (born September 9, 1954 in Oxnard, California) is an American character actor best known for his horror film roles and his appearances playing a number of characters in the "Star Trek" franchise. Combs was raised in Lompoc. He attended Santa Maria's Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and later developed his acting talent in the Professional Actor's Training Program at the University of Washington. - Shorty Rogers
Milton “Shorty” Rogers was a champion of West Coast jazz born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, arranging songs and playing both the trumpet and flugelhorn. Rogers worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and Red Norvo. From 1947 to 1949, he worked extensively with Woody Herman and in 1950 and 1951 he played with Stan Kenton. Shorty Rogers was more well known for his arrangement skills than as a trumpeter, having composed the music for UPA's Mr. - Lowell Smith
Lowell H. Smith was a pioneer American airman who perfomed the first mid-air refueling (along with Lt. John P. Richter), setting an endurance record of 37 hours on De Havilland DH-4B (August 23 1923). Smith, as the 1st Lt. with mechanic Leslie P. Arnold, was also aboard "Chicago" airplane, which among two others made the first aerial circumnavigation in 1924. Smith held 16 records for military aircraft in speed, endurance and distance. - Ray Casey
Raymond J. Casey (born San Francisco, California, 1900, died Palo Alto, California, 1986) was a top-ranked tennis player and coach. A large and very powerful man for his time, Casey was a 12-letter man in athletics at the University of California, Berkeley. A left-hander, he was considered to have one of the fastest serves in the world. Although he won numerous tournaments on the West Coast, he played only twice in any of the four major Grand Slam tournaments. - Jerry Heller
Jerry Heller is best known for managing West Coast rap groups N.W.A. and Eazy-E. He is co-founder and CEO of Ruthless Records (together with Eazy-E). Over the years, Jerry Heller also managed War, Average White Band, Marvin Gaye, Michel'le, A.L.T. and Kid Frost. - Hedley Woodhouse
Hedley J. Woodhouse (January 23, 1920 - December, 1984) was a Canadian jockey who won the New York state riding championship in 1953. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he began his racing career there in 1937 at the Lansdowne Park racetrack as an apprentice with A.C.T. Stock Farm owned by industrialist Austin C. Taylor. - Susan Richardson
Susan Richardson (born March 11, 1952 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania) is an American actress, best known for her role as Susan Bradford on the television series "Eight is Enough", which she played from 1977 to 1981. Richardson first started acting in plays in high school. She graduated from Coatesville Area Senior High School in 1970, and moved to Hollywood in 1971. In the six years between moving to the West Coast and being cast on "Eight is Enough", … - Duncan Phillips
Duncan Arthur Phillips, (born March 3 1964 in Nambour, Queensland), is an Australian pop/rock drummer, percussionist, keyboardist, and composer. He is best known for his career with the Newsboys as their drummer and percussionist. Phillips' involvement with musical performance began in the 80's with a band he had in Queensland, Australia, which played for local youth groups. Peter Furler and Phillips were in rival bands at the time.
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