Tony Kushner, Writer of “Angels in America”
“My day job is playwright. My citizen job is activist...I succeed and fail at both my jobs, but I try to do them both.”...
Martin Scorsese, Director of “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull”
“It’s easy to think of Scorsese as a kind of poet of the underworld,” the American Film Institute reflected when they granted him a...
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was Shah of Iran for more than 30 years. His reforms transformed his country into a substantial Middle Eastern economic and...
Wynton Marsalis, Award Winning Trumpeter and Jazz and Classical Composer
Equally accomplished at jazz and classical music, bandleader and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis was the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Wynton Marsalis' Early...
Mae West, Hollywood Star of the 1930s
Comic actress and playwright Mae West was known for her bold sensuality, clever one-liners and resurrection of Paramount Studios. She was the first actress...
Harry Houdini, Escape Artist Extraordinaire
During his short career, Harry Houdini’s “death-defying” feats astonished his audiences. People from all walks of life came to watch Houdini escape from shackles,...
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Author and Abolitionist
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s most memorable contribution to society was her book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” The responses to Stowe’s work were so powerfully divisive that...
James Madison, American President Who Authored the Bill of Rights
James Madison played a great role in defining, defending and establishing the United States as we know it. A major contributor to the Constitution,...
Wangari Muta Maathai, Conservationist and Nobel Peace Prize Winner
In 2004, Wangari Muta Maathai became the first African Woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai is known as the founder of the...
Steve Jobs, Creator of Apple Computers
Derided by some, held up as a technological savior by others, Steve Jobs helped launch a wave of personal computer use that has redefined...
