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Famous Detroiters

Detroit's famous people in one place: when they were born, what they did, how they are tied to the city, and the Detroit places that were theirs.

1,743 famous people
96 Detroit places
22 fields

← All famous Detroiters

1743 people · 37/37 page

ComedyMark Ridleycomedy club founder, producerWayne State graduate who opened Michigan's first comedy club, the Comedy Castle, in 1979, where Tim Allen and Dave Coulier started out.Detroit careerStudied here

FoodFred Sandersconfectioner, founder of SandersGerman-born confectioner who opened his Detroit candy and soda shop in 1875 and founded Sanders, the brand of hot fudge, ice cream sodas and bumpy cake that became a Detroit institution.Moved hereDetroit career

Press & broadcastingOsama Siblaninewspaper publisherLebanese-born publisher who founded The Arab American News in Dearborn in 1984, the largest Arab American newspaper in the United States.Moved hereDetroit career

Visual artDmytro Szylakfolk artist, retired autoworkerUkrainian-born General Motors retiree who built Hamtramck Disneyland, a towering backyard folk-art installation that became one of Metro Detroit's best-loved oddities.Moved hereDetroit career

MusicT3rapper, producerCo-founder and last original member of Slum Village, the Conant Gardens group that grew up with J Dilla and shaped soulful Detroit hip-hop.Born hereGrew up here

Music · 1945–1982Abrim Tilmonsinger, songwriter, arrangerSongwriter and leader of the Detroit Emeralds, who wrote all their hits, including "Do Me Right" and "Feel the Need in Me", for the Detroit labels Ric-Tic and Westbound.Moved hereDetroit career

Business & brands · 1925–2022Gretchen Valadebusinesswoman, jazz philanthropist, record label founderCarhartt heiress known as Detroit's Angel of Jazz, who founded Mack Avenue Records and the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe and kept the Detroit Jazz Festival free.Born hereGrew up here

Business & brandsSam Valenti IVrecord label founderFounder of Ghostly International, the influential electronic label he started in Ann Arbor in 1999 as a University of Michigan student.Grew up hereDetroit career

Music · born 1972Dick Valentinesinger, songwriterDetroit-based frontman and lyricist of Electric Six, the band he co-founded in the city in 1996, known for "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar."Moved hereDetroit career

Business & brands · 1830–1900David Whitney Jr.lumber baron, real estate investorLumber baron who became one of Michigan's richest men and built the pink jasper mansion on Woodward Avenue now known as The Whitney restaurant.Moved hereDetroit career

Business & brands · 1908–1999Sunnie Wilsonnightclub and hotel owner, promoterParadise Valley businessman and one of its first unofficial mayors, who ran the giant Forest Club and the Mark Twain Hotel and was Joe Louis's close friend and partner.Moved hereDetroit career

Music · born 1958Carvin Winanssinger, songwriter, producerDetroit-born member of the Winans, Marvin's twin, who wrote and produced for the group and sang backup on Michael Jackson's Bad.Born hereGrew up here

Music · 1910–1974George Yorkcountry singer, guitaristElder half of the York Brothers, the Kentucky-born harmony duo who became stars of Detroit's country taverns and scored a local smash in 1939 with “Hamtramck Mama.”Moved hereDetroit career

Music · 1917–1984Leslie Yorkcountry singer, lead guitaristYounger half and lead guitarist of the York Brothers, the Detroit-based country duo behind “Hamtramck Mama” and “Motor City Boogie.”Moved hereDetroit career

MusicNate Youngnoise musician, singer, label ownerFounder of Wolf Eyes, the Michigan noise group he started as a solo project in 1996 and turned into one of the best-known acts in contemporary noise music.Detroit career

The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own.