Film & TV · born 1933Tom Skerrittactor, directorEmmy-winning actor of M*A*S*H, Alien, Top Gun and Picket Fences who grew up in Detroit, graduated from Mackenzie High School and studied at Wayne State.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.
- 1,743 famous people
- 96 Detroit places
- 7 fields
Hungarian ties 21 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
14 people
Clear filtersFilm & TV · born 1933Tom Skerrittactor, directorEmmy-winning actor of M*A*S*H, Alien, Top Gun and Picket Fences who grew up in Detroit, graduated from Mackenzie High School and studied at Wayne State.
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.
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 · 1932–2024Joe SchmidtAmerican football linebacker and coachHall of Fame middle linebacker who spent his whole 13-year career with the Lions, won two NFL titles, coached the team and then worked in Detroit's auto industry.
Music · born 1934George Shirleyoperatic tenor, music educatorDetroit-raised tenor who became the first African American tenor to sing leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, and the first Black music teacher in Detroit's high schools.
Music · 1932–2015Joseph Silversteinviolinist, conductorDetroit-born violinist, the son of a Detroit school music teacher, who was concertmaster of the Boston Symphony for 22 years and music director of the Utah Symphony.
Music · 1936–2013Bobby SmithsingerPrincipal lead singer of the Spinners from their founding at a Ferndale high school in 1954 until 2013.
Music · born 1932Little Sonnyblues harmonica player, singer, songwriterAlabama-born harmonica player who came to Detroit in 1953, worked the city's clubs for decades and made three albums for a Stax subsidiary in the early 1970s.
Music · born 1937Mickey Stevensonsongwriter, record producer, A&R directorMotown's first head of A&R, who assembled the house band later known as the Funk Brothers and co-wrote "Dancing in the Street".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 ↗