Press & broadcasting · 1920–2013Helen Thomasjournalist, White House correspondent, columnistThe pioneering White House reporter who covered ten presidents grew up in a Lebanese immigrant family in Detroit, studied at Wayne University and is buried in the city.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.
- 1,940 famous people
- 270 Detroit places
- 9 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
10 people
Clear filtersPress & broadcasting · 1920–2013Helen Thomasjournalist, White House correspondent, columnistThe pioneering White House reporter who covered ten presidents grew up in a Lebanese immigrant family in Detroit, studied at Wayne University and is buried in the city.
Auto industry · 1903–1956Preston Tuckerautomobile entrepreneur and designerLincoln Park–raised car dreamer behind the futuristic Tucker 48, whose story became the 1988 film Tucker: The Man and His Dream.
Film & TV · 1903–1954Tom Tylerfilm actor, weightlifterHamtramck-raised B-Western star and screen Captain Marvel, who came home to Hamtramck to die and is buried in Detroit's Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Music · 1944–1991Rob TynersingerDetroit-born lead singer of the MC5, whose incendiary live album Kick Out the Jams was recorded at the Grande Ballroom in October 1968.
Sports · 1860–1922Sam Thompsonbaseball player, right fielderHall of Fame slugger of the 1887 champion Detroit Wolverines who later settled in Detroit, played briefly for the Tigers at 46 and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.
Music · 1944–1980Georgeanna TillmansingerInkster-born original member of the Marvelettes, heard on "Please Mr. Postman", who left the group because of illness and died at 35.
Business & brands · 1924–2015A. Alfred Taubmanshopping-mall developer, owner of Sotheby's, philanthropistPontiac-born developer who helped define the American indoor shopping mall, owned Sotheby's and gave large sums to Detroit-area art and education.
Notorious figures · 1897–1972William Toccofounding member of the Detroit PartnershipSicilian-born bootlegger known as Black Bill who co-founded the Detroit Mafia with his brother-in-law Joseph Zerilli and lived for decades in Grosse Pointe Park.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 ↗