William Diehl
(1924-2006) Writer. William Diehl was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York, in 1924, and died in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2006. He wrote nine novels and had nearly completed a tenth.
County: Queens
Isadore Barmash
(1921-2006) Writer. Isadore Barmash was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died in Jamaica, Queens, New York. He wrote articles for the New York Times for 26 years.
James A Bland
(1854-1911) Lyricist, librettist. “Oh, Dem Golden Slippers” (1879), was born in Flushing, Queens, NY.
Dale Carnegie
(1888-1955) Writer, public speaker. Dale Carnegie lived in Forest Hills, New York.
Charlie Chaplin
(1889-1977) Screenwriter. “The Gold Rush” (1925), lived on Mowbray Place, Kew Gardens, Queens, New York.
W C Fields
(1880-1946)(William Claude Dukenfield) Screenwriter. “The Bank Dick” (1940), lived near Little Neck Bay, Queens, New York.
Harry Houdini
(ERICH WEISS) (1874-1926) Writer, spiritualist. “A Magician Amoung the Spirits” (1924), “The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin” (1908) lived on Powells Cove Boulevard in Whitestone and is buried in Machpelah Cemetery in Queens and lived on E. 79th St. and in the “German” section of Harlem in Manhattan.
Helen Keller
(1880-1968) Public speaker, writer. “The Story of My Life” (1902), lived in Forest Hills with her companion and teacher, Annie Sullivan.
Wilson Rantus
(1807-1861) Writer, educator, editor. “The Anglo African,” was an abolitionist instrumental in establishing a weekly black newspaper and a school for black children in Jamaica; he lived on Douglas Avenue.
Will Rogers
(1879-1935) Journalist. Will Rogers wrote for “The New York Times,” and lived on Austin Street, Forest Hills, in the early 1920s. Many of his writings have been collected in several books.