In this article I will be talking about well-known stars of their time that were born here or lived in Michigan before relocating. I will list only the well-known ones most people have heard of, because it is impossible to list everyone, but this list are the ones born here or lived in Michigan for just awhile before eventually leaving for California at some time to be in the movies.
The first person I will talk about is Lita Baron who was born Isabel Castro before changing her name. She was a Spanish-born American actress and singer who appeared in many movies and television shows for over 30 years. After immigrating from Spain at 5 years old, she moved to River Rouge in 1928 where I grew up, and attended River Rouge High School, where she was a cheerleader. She lived on Nieman Street, one street over from my
Hollywood Movie Stars
from Michigan
family’s house.
Now, in 1948 Lita Baron married California Hollywood actor Rory Calhoun, where he was a big western movie star in his days. Pedro, Lita’s father worked at Great Lake Steel, just like I did, and he owned a small grocery store on Nieman Street where they were the first owners, where Lita’s mother Francesca ran the neighborhood grocery store. I have been in that store many times. After over 13 years in River Rouge, the family moved to Hollywood California, where I saw her on an episode of “I Love Lucy” among other shows. She died at 92 years old in 2015.
This next one I had mentioned in a previous article and that’s Lee Majors, who is an American actor born in the city of Wyandotte. He starred in “The Big Valley” (1965–1969), “The Six Million
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Article by Michael Joseph Lynch