Benton Harbor

David Adkins better known by his professional name of Sinbad, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became well known in the 1990s from... being featured on his own HBO specials, appearing on several television series, and starring in the films Necessary Roughness, Houseguest, First Kid, Jingle All the Way and Good Burger. Sinbad was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the son of Martha and the Baptist Rev. Dr. Donald Adkins. He has five siblings, named Donna, Dorothea, Mark, Michael, and Donald. Sinbad attended Benton Harbor High School, where he was in the marching band as well as the math club. He attended college from 1974 to 1978 at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, where he lettered two seasons for the basketball team. Sinbad served in the US Air Force as a boom operator aboard KC-135 Stratotankers. While assigned to the 384th Air Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, he would often go downtown to do stand-up comedy and competed as a comedian/MC in the USAF Talent Contest in 1981. Sinbad was almost dismissed with a dishonorable discharge for various misbehaviors, including going AWOL.
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Vivica Anjanetta Fox is an American actress and television producer. She is best known for her roles in the films Independence Day, Set It Off, Soul... Food, Why Do Fools Fall In Love, Kill Bill and Juwanna Mann. Fox, who is of African American and Native American descent, was born in South Bend, Indiana, the daughter of Everlyena, a pharmaceutical technician, and William Fox, a private school administrator. She is a graduate of Arlington High School in Indianapolis, Indiana and Golden West College with an Associate Art degree in Social Sciences. Fox moved to California to attend Golden West College. While in California she started acting professionally, first on soap operas such as Generations, Days of our Lives and The Young and the Restless. She was cast as Emily Franklin in the pilot episode of ABC's Living Dolls, a spin-off of the sitcom Who's the Boss? but was replaced with Halle Berry for the remaining episodes. Another early role saw her as Patti LaBelle's fashion designer daughter, Charisse Chamberlain, on the NBC TV series Out All Night. She also appeared as Jazz's sister on the hit show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and on Beverly Hills, 90210.
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Ernest Lee "Ernie" Hudson is an American actor known for his roles as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters film series, Sergeant Albrecht in The... Crow, and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's Oz. Hudson was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the son of Maggie Donald, who died of tuberculosis when Hudson was two months old; Hudson never knew his father. He was subsequently raised by his maternal grandmother, Arrana Donald. He has a half-brother, Lewis Hudson. After a short time in the Marine Corps, he moved to Detroit, where he became the resident playwright at Concept East, the oldest Black Theatre company in the US. In addition, he enrolled at Wayne State University to further develop his writing and acting skills, and found time to establish the Actors' Ensemble Theatre where he and other talented young black writers directed and appeared in their own works, before enrolling and subsequently graduating from Yale School of Drama. One of Hudson's early films was in Penitentiary II in the late 1970s starring Leon Isaac Kennedy.
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Niki Haris is an American actress, dancer, and singer of pop, R&B, Dance music and jazz, perhaps best known for having been one of Madonna's... backing vocalists from 1987 to 2001. Haris was born Gina Nichole Haire in Benton Harbor, Michigan on April 17, 1962, the daughter of Grammy nominated jazz artist Gene Harris. She attended college in Southern California before pursuing a singing career in amusement parks and clubs in the California area. Haris gave birth to a daughter, Jordan Ann, in 2003. Haris was a friend and backing vocalist for Madonna and began working with Madonna in her Who's That Girl Tour. She appeared in the movie Truth or Dare, a documentary of backstage and onstage footage recorded during the Blond Ambition Tour. She also acted in the Madonna videos "Vogue" and "Music". With Donna DeLory, Haris participated in various Madonna tours including Who's That Girl Tour , Blond Ambition Tour , The Girlie Show Tour and The Drowned World Tour . During The Re-Invention Tour in 2004, Haris was replaced with Siedah Garrett. The official word from Haris is that she "would like to focus on her solo career and family.
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Gene Harris was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz. From 1956 to 1970,... he played in The Three Sounds trio with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Bill Dowdy. During this time, The Three Sounds recorded regularly for Blue Note and Verve. He was mostly retired to Boise, Idaho, starting in the late 1970s, although he performed regularly at the Idanha Hotel there. Then, Ray Brown convinced him to go back on tour in the early 1980s. He played with the Ray Brown Trio and then led his own groups, recording mostly on Concord Records, until his death from kidney failure in 2000. Harris' "Ode to Billie Joe" is known as a jazz classic. One of his most popular numbers was his "Battle Hymn of the Republic," a live version of which is on his Live at Otter Crest album, published by Concord.
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Julieann Louise "Julie" Krone , is a retired American jockey. In 1993, she became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she... captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair. In 2000 she became the first woman inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Julie Krone appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the issue of May 22, 1989. She is one of only eight jockeys so recognized . Krone also was the only woman to win riding championships at Belmont Park, Gulfstream Park, Monmouth Park, The Meadowlands and Atlantic City Race Course. Krone retired for the first time on April 18, 1999, with a three-winner day at Lone Star Park, near Dallas. She embarked upon a broadcasting career in horse racing. From 1999–2000 she worked as an analyst for TVG Network, then worked as a paddock analyst for Hollywood Park from 1999–2002. She came out of retirement at Santa Anita Park in November 2002.
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David Adkins better known by his professional name of Sinbad, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became well known in the 1990s from... being featured on his own HBO specials, appearing on several television series, and starring in the films Necessary Roughness, Houseguest, First Kid, Jingle All the Way and Good Burger. Sinbad was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the son of Martha and the Baptist Rev. Dr. Donald Adkins. He has five siblings, named Donna, Dorothea, Mark, Michael, and Donald. Sinbad attended Benton Harbor High School, where he was in the marching band as well as the math club. He attended college from 1974 to 1978 at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, where he lettered two seasons for the basketball team. Sinbad served in the US Air Force as a boom operator aboard KC-135 Stratotankers. While assigned to the 384th Air Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, he would often go downtown to do stand-up comedy and competed as a comedian/MC in the USAF Talent Contest in 1981. Sinbad was almost dismissed with a dishonorable discharge for various misbehaviors, including going AWOL.
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Ernest Lee "Ernie" Hudson is an American actor known for his roles as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters film series, Sergeant Albrecht in The... Crow, and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's Oz. Hudson was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the son of Maggie Donald, who died of tuberculosis when Hudson was two months old; Hudson never knew his father. He was subsequently raised by his maternal grandmother, Arrana Donald. He has a half-brother, Lewis Hudson. After a short time in the Marine Corps, he moved to Detroit, where he became the resident playwright at Concept East, the oldest Black Theatre company in the US. In addition, he enrolled at Wayne State University to further develop his writing and acting skills, and found time to establish the Actors' Ensemble Theatre where he and other talented young black writers directed and appeared in their own works, before enrolling and subsequently graduating from Yale School of Drama. One of Hudson's early films was in Penitentiary II in the late 1970s starring Leon Isaac Kennedy.
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Gene Harris was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz. From 1956 to 1970,... he played in The Three Sounds trio with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Bill Dowdy. During this time, The Three Sounds recorded regularly for Blue Note and Verve. He was mostly retired to Boise, Idaho, starting in the late 1970s, although he performed regularly at the Idanha Hotel there. Then, Ray Brown convinced him to go back on tour in the early 1980s. He played with the Ray Brown Trio and then led his own groups, recording mostly on Concord Records, until his death from kidney failure in 2000. Harris' "Ode to Billie Joe" is known as a jazz classic. One of his most popular numbers was his "Battle Hymn of the Republic," a live version of which is on his Live at Otter Crest album, published by Concord.
more

Julieann Louise "Julie" Krone , is a retired American jockey. In 1993, she became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she... captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair. In 2000 she became the first woman inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Julie Krone appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the issue of May 22, 1989. She is one of only eight jockeys so recognized . Krone also was the only woman to win riding championships at Belmont Park, Gulfstream Park, Monmouth Park, The Meadowlands and Atlantic City Race Course. Krone retired for the first time on April 18, 1999, with a three-winner day at Lone Star Park, near Dallas. She embarked upon a broadcasting career in horse racing. From 1999–2000 she worked as an analyst for TVG Network, then worked as a paddock analyst for Hollywood Park from 1999–2002. She came out of retirement at Santa Anita Park in November 2002.
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Houston Harris was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Bobo Brazil. Even though he is "Bobo", a promoter mispronounced... it and it stuck .He is credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling. Harris is considered one of the first successful African American professional wrestlers, and is often referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of professional wrestling". Houston Harris was born in Little Rock, Arkansas but later moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan. He played baseball and worked in a steel mill. Harris was trained by Joe Savoldi after meeting him at matches at the Naval Armory. Originally, Harris was to be known as "Boo-Boo Brazil", but a promoter misprinted his first name as "Bobo" in an advertisement and it stuck. Early in his career, some wrestling promoters would match Brazil against fellow African American wrestlers, including Ernie Ladd and Abdullah the Butcher.
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