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Giles, Reva
Reva Giles grew up in the little town of New Carlisle, Indiana and was one of twelve children. Her mother stayed home with the children while her father worked for Studebaker, a large automobile manufacturer. Right after high school, Giles moved to Redland, California, to live with a sister, working first at an ice cream shop and then a bank.
Person
Friedman, Norma, 1935-
Norma Friedman was born to Rose and Jacob Adler on July 22, 1935 and was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Person
Pulido, Meli Calvo, 1966-
Meli Calvo Pulido was born in Mexico City and immigrated to the United States with her parents and eight siblings. In 1975, at 11:00 p.m. she woke up to the Silver Slipper on the Las Vegas Strip. She was raised on Las Vegas’s 28th Street, where she helped her family and their neighbors by becoming the neighborhoods unofficial translator. The need to serve her community and the hardships faced by her family and the families around her translated into her work after she graduated from what is now Southeast Career Technical Academy.
Person
Allen, Harvey, 1931-
Harvey Allen grew up poor in Philadelphia. After taking singing lessons at the Artie Singer Vocal School, he got jobs singing in night clubs up and down the east coast. He also took acting classes in New York and performed at the Copa Club. In the 1950s, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and auditioned for Jack Entratter at the Sands Hotel and Casino where he performed with numerous entertainers including Lena Home, Louis Armstrong, Tallulah Bankhead and Robert Merrill.
Person
Blanchard, Lucius, 1942-
Lucius Blanchard grew up in Ahoskie, North Carolina, and attended the University of North Carolina Medical School at Chapel Hill. After acquiring his medical degree, he joined the military for two years and upon leaving became chief resident for the University of Louisville. While there, he took dermatology training and cancer surgery training in the University of Wisconsin allowing him to specialize in skin cancer surgery.
Person
Frassmann, Dorothy, 1931-
Dorothy Frassmann was born October 29, 1931 in Brooklyn, New York. Right before her parents divorced while she was five, Frassmann moved to Canada to live with her great aunt. She moved back to the United States when she was ten years old because World War II started. She met her husband, Lewis, when she was 15 and he was 20 or 21; they married only a month after meeting each other in Texas. After a series of turmoil between Frassmann and Lewis, they got divorced less than a year later. She was left to support herself in Hubbard, Texas at the age of 15.
Person
Franco, Dick, 1952-
Richard Francis or Dick Franco, his stage name, by which he is more commonly known, has been juggling for over 50 years, having learned the art while he was still in high school. Taught by prominent juggling legends in Vaudeville and Las Vegas, Franco would go on to perform all over the world. He began as an opening act with the Harlem Globetrotters in the US, but would go on to perform throughout Europe and was featured in variety and production shows in Blackpool, London, Monte Carlo, Berlin, and many other cities.
Person
Ortega, Emmanuel
In pop culture, Emmanuel Ortega is recognized as Babelito from Latinos Who Lunch, a podcast that he co-hosts with Justin Favela AKA FavyFav. Academically, he is known as Dr. Ortega, PhD, Marilynn Thomas Scholar in Art of the Spanish Americas at University of Illinois Chicago.
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