Debbie Reynolds

MARY FRANCES REYNOLDS was born on April 1, 1932 in El Paso, Texas to Raymond Francis Reynolds, a railroad mechanic and carpenter, and his wife Maxene Harman Reynolds. The family had little money, and when her father lost his job at the height of the Great Depression, little Mary Frances, her parents and her older brother William moved in with Maxene's parents and their four boys.




















 Kenny Rogers

It took several tries before Kenny Rogers became a star. As a member of the First Edition (and
the New Christy Minstrels before that), he shared in some million-sellers, among them "Reuben James" and "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town," an excellent Mel Tillis song about a disabled veteran. But superstardom lay ahead for this Texan, and it arrived in the late '70s.



















 Roger Miller

Roger Dean Miller, born in Fort Worth, Texas on January 2, 1936, was the youngest of three brothers. His father died when Roger was 13 months, and his mother soon became seriously ill. Each of his father's three brothers took one of the boys to raise, and Miller grew up in Erick, Oklahoma, where he learned to play the fiddle. Quitting school in the eighth grade, he supported himself with odd jobs until military service during the Korean Conflict. During the last year of his duty he was assigned to Special Services in Atlanta where he led a country band.





















 Rip Torn

This prolific, incredibly versatile character player's one career constant is that he has always appeared in unusual films or played unusual characters in more mainstream fare. With his weathered, craggy features and dynamic intelligence, Rip Torn favors roles which allow him to be at once surly and sensitive, violent and intelligent.























 Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite is the former CBS Evening News anchorman, whose commentary defined issues and events in America for almost two decades. Cronkite, whom a major poll once named the "most trusted figure" in American public life, often saw every nuance in his nightly newscasts scrutinized by politicians, intellectuals, and fellow journalists for clues to the thinking of mainstream America. In contrast, Cronkite viewed himself as a working journalist, epitomized by his title of "managing editor," of the CBS Evening News. His credo, adopted from his days as a wire service reporter, was to get the story, "fast, accurate, and unbiased"; his trademark exit line was, "And that's the way it is."


























 Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin was born January 19, 1943, in Port Arthur, Texas to Seth and Dorothy Joplin. The oldest child of a working class family, Janis grew up in an oil refinery town, and was labeled "eccentric" by all who came in contact with her. Nonetheless, her parents saw immense artistic talent in Janis, and urged her to explore and cultivate her gift. Socially outcast by the time she was 14, Janis admittedly retreated into a private world of art and music, studying the sounds of blues legends like Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter and Bessie Smith. By the time Joplin turned 18 years old, she was already singing in local country western clubs in Austin and Houston, Texas.