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.
County: Queens
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.
Roy Wilkins
(1901-1981) Journalist, civil rights leader. Roy Wilkins lived the last thirty years of his life at 147-15 Village Road, Parkway Village, Flushing, Queens, New York.
Jacob A Riis
(1849-1914) Writer, reformer, documentary photographer, journalist, muckraker. Jacob A. Riis was born in Ribe, Denmark, and died in Barre, Massachusetts. He wrote about what he saw on the New York City streets, influencing change in the city. He lived in Richmond Hill.
Malcolm X
(1925-1965)(Hajj Malick El Shabazz) Radio journalist, social activist. “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” (told to Alex Haley)(1965). Malcolm X spent time in Manhattan, New York and lived in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York, and is buried in Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.