Film & TV · born 1961Eddie Murphycomedian, actor, singerBrooklyn-born comedy star whose Axel Foley, the wisecracking Detroit police detective of Beverly Hills Cop, is one of the most famous Detroiters in film.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.
- 664 famous people
- 66 Detroit places
- 22 fields
Field
Connection
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A–Z (family name)
11 people
Clear filtersFilm & TV · born 1961Eddie Murphycomedian, actor, singerBrooklyn-born comedy star whose Axel Foley, the wisecracking Detroit police detective of Beverly Hills Cop, is one of the most famous Detroiters in film.
Film & TV · born 2004Kaitlyn Mahersinger, actressSinger and actress born in Novi, northwest of Detroit, who became the youngest top-10 finalist in America's Got Talent history at age four.
Music · 1923–1976Mukeshplayback singerBeloved Hindi film playback singer, the singing voice of Raj Kapoor, who died of a heart attack in Detroit in 1976 while on a North American concert tour.
Film & TV · 1915–2011Harry MorganactorColonel Potter of M*A*S*H and Officer Gannon of Dragnet, born Harry Bratsberg in Detroit to Norwegian immigrant parents.
Comedy · born 1961Tim Meadowscomedian, actorTen-season Saturday Night Live veteran from Highland Park and Detroit's Conant Gardens, who learned improv at the Soup Kitchen Saloon and later moved back to the city.
Film & TV · 1902–1992George Murphyactor, dancer, U.S. senatorSong-and-dance star of 1930s–40s Hollywood musicals and U.S. senator from California, who spent part of his boyhood in Detroit.
Music · 1927–1999Guy Mitchellpop singer, actorDetroit-born son of Croatian immigrants who became one of the top-selling pop singers of the 1950s with “Singing the Blues”.
Film & TV · 1931–2015Martin MilneractorStar of the TV classics Route 66 and Adam-12, born in Detroit to a Paramount circuit dancer and a film distributor.
Press & broadcasting · 1923–2009Ed McMahonannouncer, TV host, actorJohnny Carson's announcer and sidekick for thirty years on The Tonight Show, born in Detroit.
Film & TV · born 1974David Robert Mitchellfilm director, screenwriterClawson-born director of It Follows, who has set three of his four features in metro Detroit and shot It Follows around the city.The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own.