Music · 1937–1968
Little Willie Johnsinger, songwriterDetroit-raised R&B singer who first recorded “Fever” and “Need Your Love So Bad,” and is buried at Detroit Memorial Park East in Warren.DETROIT / A living lexicon / ¼
Famous Detroiters
People who were born here, moved here or built their careers in Detroit: musicians, carmakers, athletes, writers, inventors, civil-rights leaders and a few notorious names. With their dates, their Detroit story and the places where they lived, worked and played, closed ones included.
- 1,949 famous people
- 516 Detroit places
- 17 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
214 people · 2/5 page
Clear filtersMusic · 1937–1968Little Willie Johnsinger, songwriterDetroit-raised R&B singer who first recorded “Fever” and “Need Your Love So Bad,” and is buried at Detroit Memorial Park East in Warren.
Sports · born 1938Hayes Joneshurdler, public officialPontiac-raised hurdler who won Olympic gold in the 110 meters hurdles in Tokyo in 1964 and later led metro Detroit's suburban bus system.
Music · 1931–2010Shirley Verrettopera singer (mezzo-soprano and soprano), voice teacherCelebrated Verdi and Donizetti star who spent her final 14 years teaching voice at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she died in 2010.
Sports · 1932–2016
Andy Bathgateice hockey right wingerHall of Fame right winger who spent two seasons with the Red Wings after a trade from Toronto, part of a 17-year NHL career later honored among the 100 greatest players ever.
Music · 1932–2021Curtis Fullerjazz trombonist, composerDetroit-born hard-bop trombonist who played on John Coltrane's Blue Train and in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and who died in his hometown in 2021.
Music · 1939–1992Eddie Kendrickssinger, songwriterFalsetto lead of the Temptations who came to Detroit with the Primes, sang "Just My Imagination" and later topped the charts solo with "Keep On Truckin'."
Film & TV · 1934–1973Michael Dunnactor, singerOscar-nominated actor and singer with dwarfism, raised in Dearborn and schooled in Detroit, best remembered as Dr. Loveless in The Wild Wild West.Ronald Inglehartpolitical scientistFounding president of the World Values Survey and theorist of 'post-materialist' values, who taught at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor from 1966 until his death in 2021.
Sports · 1935–2012Alex Karrasprofessional football player, actorDominant Lions defensive tackle for twelve seasons who later became a bestselling book subject, sportscaster and Hollywood actor, remembered as much for owning a downtown Detroit bar as for his play.Fredy Perlmanauthor, translator, publisherCzech-born anarchist writer and publisher whose Black & Red press made Detroit a center of radical publishing; author of Against His-Story, Against Leviathan!
Music · 1936–2008Levi Stubbssinger, voice actorLifelong Detroiter and lead voice of the Four Tops, formed with Pershing High School friends, who sang “Reach Out I'll Be There” and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Sports · 1931–2025Alex Delvecchioice hockey player, coach and general managerOne of only three players to spend 1,500-plus games with a single NHL franchise, a three-time Stanley Cup winner who later coached and ran the Red Wings' front office.
Music · 1936–2014Jimmy Ruffinsoul singerMotown singer of “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”, older brother of Temptations lead David Ruffin, who built his career at Hitsville in Detroit.
Film & TV · born 1939Robert Shayefilm executive, producer, director, actorDetroit-born founder of New Line Cinema, the studio behind A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Lord of the Rings, and a graduate of Mumford High School.
Sports · 1937–2017George Steeleprofessional wrestler, teacher, actorDetroit-born wrestler and Madison Heights schoolteacher whose 'George the Animal Steele' character, born out of the local Detroit wrestling scene, became a national WWE star.
Sports · 1932–2015Al Arbourice hockey defenceman, later coachFuture Hockey Hall of Fame coach who began his pro playing career with the Red Wings and won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 1954, decades before building a coaching legacy with the New York Islanders.
Music · 1932–1986Dorothy Ashbyjazz harpist, pianist, singer, composerDetroit-born pioneer who made the harp a bebop instrument, a product of Paradise Valley, Cass Tech and Wayne State who also ran a Black theater company in the city.
Music · 1930–2014Robert AshleycomposerAnn Arbor-born avant-garde composer who co-founded the ONCE Festival of new music in his hometown and later invented the “television opera”.
Sports · 1931–2026Glenn Hallice hockey goaltenderHall of Fame goaltender who broke in with the Red Wings and later set the NHL's iron-man record of 502 consecutive games, mostly earned after leaving Detroit.
Auto industry · born 1932
Bob Lutzautomotive executive at Ford, Chrysler and GMSwiss-born 'car guy' who held top jobs at all three Detroit automakers, from the Dodge Viper at Chrysler to GM's product revival.
Business & brands · 1933–2021Eli Broadhomebuilder, financier, philanthropistRaised in Detroit, he built his first houses in the city's suburbs, founded what became KB Home, and later became a major art and education philanthropist.
Civil rights & activism · 1939–2016Tom Haydenactivist, author, politicianRoyal Oak-raised author of the Port Huron Statement and New Left leader who grew up in Father Coughlin's parish and later served in the California legislature.
Music · born 1939Cindy BirdsongsingerFormer Bluebelle who was flown to Detroit in 1967 to replace Florence Ballard in the Supremes and sang with the group through 1976.
Sports · 1931–2021Leo Boivinice hockey player, defensemanHard-hitting defenseman who joined the Red Wings in a 1966 trade and helped Detroit reach that year's Stanley Cup Final.
Music · born 1934
Aldo CeccatoconductorMilan-born conductor who was music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1973 to 1977 and added more than 45 works to its repertoire.
Music · 1932–2002Roland Hannajazz pianist, composer, educatorDetroit-born pianist of the city's celebrated bebop piano school, a Cass Tech graduate and longtime Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra member, knighted by Liberia in 1970.Gil Hillpolice commander, city council president, actorDetroit homicide chief who played Eddie Murphy's boss, Inspector Todd, in Beverly Hills Cop, then led the Detroit City Council and ran for mayor in 2001.
Sports · born 1937Bailey Howellbasketball playerHall of Fame forward who spent his first five NBA seasons starting for the Pistons before a trade sent him on to two championships in Boston.
Sports · 1934–2020Al Kalinebaseball player, right fielder, television announcerSigned by the Tigers straight out of high school, Kaline spent his entire 22-year career in Detroit, won ten Gold Gloves, and later spent decades as the team's beloved broadcaster.
Politics · born 1931Sander Levinpolitician, lawyerDetroit-born Democrat who represented northwestern Detroit and its northern suburbs in Congress for 36 years (1983–2019) and chaired the Ways and Means Committee.
Sports · 1938–2020Wilbert McClureboxer and psychologist1960 Olympic boxing gold medalist, teammate of Cassius Clay, who later earned his doctorate in psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit.
Sports · 1932–2009Arthur Frank McKinlayrowerDetroit-born Olympic silver medalist rower, a 1950 graduate of Cooley High School with his twin brother, who won his medal in the coxless fours at the 1956 Games.Tom Monaghanentrepreneur, founder of Domino's Pizza, former Detroit Tigers ownerAnn Arbor–born founder of Domino's Pizza who owned the Detroit Tigers during their 1984 World Series championship.Erma FranklinsingerAretha Franklin's elder sister, raised at New Bethel Baptist Church, who recorded the original "Piece of My Heart" (1967).
Music · born 1937Louis Hayesjazz drummer, bandleaderDetroit-born drummer who led a band in the city's clubs before he was 16 and went on to Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley and Oscar Peterson; NEA Jazz Master 2023.Martha Henrystage and screen actress, directorLeading lady of Canada's Stratford Festival for six decades, born Martha Buhs in Detroit and raised in Bloomfield Hills, where she attended Cranbrook's Kingswood School.
Sports · 1930–2015Marcel Pronovostice hockey defenseman, scoutHall of Fame defenseman who won four Stanley Cups with the Red Wings in the 1950s and later spent decades as a Detroit scout.
Music · born 1939Kim WestonsingerDetroit-born Motown singer of "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" and Marvin Gaye's duet partner on "It Takes Two".
Music · 1939–1973Paul Williamssinger, choreographerFounding member and original lead singer of the Temptations, who also devised the group's early dance routines; he died in Detroit in 1973.Alexander Joseph BrunettCatholic Archbishop of Seattle (1997–2010)Detroit-born priest who spent 35 years in Detroit-area ministry, led the archdiocese's ecumenical and interfaith work, then became Archbishop of Seattle.
Film & TV · 1931–2007Laura Devonactress, singerChicago-born actress raised partly in Grosse Pointe, who learned to act at Wayne State and was discovered in 1961 singing at Detroit's London Chop House.Judith Guestnovelist, screenwriterDetroit-born author of Ordinary People, the basis of the Oscar-winning 1980 film, and great-niece of Free Press poet Edgar Guest.Eddie Hollandlyricist, songwriter, record producer, singerDetroit-born lyricist of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the team that wrote much of the Supremes, Four Tops and Martha and the Vandellas catalogue at Motown.
Film & TV · 1932–2013Gail Kobeactress, television producerHamtramck-born daughter of Polish-American parents who acted in 1950s and 1960s television and later ran the soap operas Guiding Light and The Bold and the Beautiful as a producer.
Music · born 1939Charles McPhersonjazz alto saxophonist, composerDetroit-raised alto saxophonist, a student of Barry Harris, who spent much of 1960–1974 with Charles Mingus and played Charlie Parker's music for Clint Eastwood's film Bird.
Religion · 1933–2008Warith Deen MohammedMuslim religious leaderHamtramck-born son of Elijah Muhammad who, after 1975, led most of the Nation of Islam's followers into mainstream Sunni Islam.
Visual art · 1934–2022Jerry UelsmannphotographerDetroit-born master of the darkroom whose seamless, dreamlike photomontages made him one of the most original American photographers of his era.
Music · 1931–1995Junior Walkersaxophonist, singer, bandleaderSaxophonist whose Jr. Walker & the All Stars recorded "Shotgun" and "What Does It Take" for Motown's Soul label.The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own. Famous people's places among the sights ↗
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