411 REFERENCE · Wikipedia
1962 in the United States
Reference material by Wikipedia contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
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thumb|EXCOMM meeting in the White House Cabinet Room during the Cuban Missile Crisis on October 29, 1962.
February 2026
1962
1962
Events from the year 1962 in the United States.
The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. The major American retailers Walmart, Kmart, and Target open their first stores.
2
Incumbents
Federal government
President: John F. Kennedy (D-Massachusetts)
Vice President: Lyndon B. Johnson (D-Texas)
Chief Justice: Earl Warren (California)
Speaker of the House of Representatives:
vacant (until January 10)
John William McCormack (D-Massachusetts) (starting January 10)
Senate Majority Leader: Mike Mansfield (D-Montana)
Congress: 87th
State governments
Governors and lieutenant governors Governors
30em Governor of Alabama: John M. Patterson (Democratic)
Governor of Alaska: William A. Egan (Democratic)
Governor of Arizona: Paul Fannin (Republican)
Governor of Arkansas: Orval Faubus (Democratic)
Governor of California: Pat Brown (Democratic)
Governor of Colorado: Stephen L. R. McNichols (Democratic)
Governor of Connecticut: John N. Dempsey (Democratic)
Governor of Delaware: Elbert N. Carvel (Democratic)
Governor of Florida: C. Farris Bryant (Democratic)
Governor of Georgia: Ernest Vandiver (Democratic)
Governor of Hawaii: William F. Quinn (Republican) (until December 3), John A. Burns (Democratic) (starting December 3)
Governor of Idaho: Robert E. Smylie (Republican)
Governor of Illinois: Otto Kerner Jr. (Democratic)
Governor of Indiana: Matthew E. Welsh (Democratic)
Governor of Iowa: Norman A. Erbe (Republican)
Governor of Kansas: John Anderson Jr. (Republican)
Governor of Kentucky: Bert T. Combs (Democratic)
Governor of Louisiana: Jimmie H. Davis (Democratic)
Governor of Maine: John H. Reed (Republican)
Governor of Maryland: J. Millard Tawes (Democratic)
Governor of Massachusetts: John A. Volpe (Republican)
Governor of Michigan: John Swainson (Democratic)
Governor of Minnesota: Elmer L. Andersen (Republican)
Governor of Mississippi: Ross R. Barnett (Democratic)
Governor of Missouri: John M. Dalton (Democratic)
Governor of Montana: Donald Grant Nutter (Republican) (until January 25), Tim M. Babcock (Republican) (starting January 25)
Governor of Nebraska: Frank B. Morrison (Democratic)
Governor of Nevada: Grant Sawyer (Democratic)
Governor of New Hampshire: Wesley Powell (Republican)
Governor of New Jersey: Robert B. Meyner (Democratic) (until January 16), Richard J. Hughes (Democratic) (starting January 16)
Governor of New Mexico: Edwin L. Mechem (Republican) (until November 30), Tom Bolack (Republican) (starting November 30)
Governor of New York: Nelson Rockefeller (Republican)
Governor of North Carolina: Terry Sanford (Democratic)
Governor of North Dakota: William L. Guy (Democratic)
Governor of Ohio: Michael DiSalle (Democratic)
Governor of Oklahoma: J. Howard Edmondson (Democratic)
Governor of Oregon: Mark Hatfield (Republican)
Governor of Pennsylvania: David L. Lawrence (Democratic)
Governor of Rhode Island: John A. Notte Jr. (Democratic)
Governor of South Carolina: Ernest Hollings (Democratic)
Governor of South Dakota: Archie M. Gubbrud (Republican)
Governor of Tennessee: Buford Ellington (Democratic)
Governor of Texas: Price Daniel (Democratic)
Governor of Utah: George Dewey Clyde (Republican)
Governor of Vermont: F. Ray Keyser Jr. (Republican)
Governor of Virginia: J. Lindsay Almond (Democratic) (until January 13), Albertis S. Harrison Jr. (Democratic) (starting January 13)
Governor of Washington: Albert D. Rosellini (Democratic)
Governor of West Virginia: William Wallace Barron (Democratic)
Governor of Wisconsin: Gaylord A. Nelson (Democratic)
Governor of Wyoming: Jack R. Gage (Democratic)
Lieutenant governors
30em Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: Albert B. Boutwell (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: Hugh Wade (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Nathan Green Gordon (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of California: Glenn Malcolm Anderson (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Robert Lee Knous (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Anthony J. Armentano (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Eugene Lammot (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Garland T. Byrd (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: James Kealoha (Republican) (until December 2), William S. Richardson (Democratic) (starting December 2)
Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: William Drevlow (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: Samuel H. Shapiro (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Richard O. Ristine (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: W. L. Mooty (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Harold H. Chase (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Wilson W. Wyatt (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: C. C. Aycock (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Edward F. McLaughlin Jr. (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: T. John Lesinski (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Karl Rolvaag (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Paul B. Johnson Jr. (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Hilary A. Bush (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Tim M. Babcock (Republican) (until January 25), David F. James (Democratic) (starting January 25)
Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: Dwight Burney (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: Rex Bell (Republican) (until July 4), Maude Frazier (Democratic) (starting July 4)
Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Tom Bolack (Republican) (until November 30), vacant (starting November 30)
Lieutenant Governor of New York: Malcolm Wilson (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: vacant
Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: Orville W. Hagen (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: George Nigh (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Cowboy Pink Williams (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: John Morgan Davis (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Edward P. Gallogly (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Burnet R. Maybank Jr. (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota:
until month and day unknown: Joseph H. Bottum (Republican)
month and day unknown: vacant
starting month and day unknown: Nils Boe (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: William D. Baird (Democratic) (until month and day unknown), vacant (starting month and day unknown)
Lieutenant Governor of Texas: vacant
Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Ralph A. Foote (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Allie Edward Stokes Stephens (Democratic) (until January 13), Mills E. Godwin Jr. (Democratic) (starting January 13)
Lieutenant Governor of Washington: John Cherberg (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Warren P. Knowles (Republican)
Events
January
January 1
The United States Navy SEALs are activated. SEAL Team One is commissioned in the Pacific Fleet and SEAL Team Two in the Atlantic Fleet.
NBC introduces the "Laramie peacock" before a midnight showing of the series Laramie.
January 2 – NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins praises U.S. President John F. Kennedy's "personal role" in advancing civil rights.
January 4 – New York City Subway introduces a subway train that operates without a crew on board.Wang Yihui Zhang Miao Ma Jiaqi Zhou Xuesong Survey on Driverless Train Operation for Urban Rail Transit Systems Urban Rail Transit 2016 2 3–4 106–113 10.1007/s40864-016-0047-8 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40864-016-0047-8
January 26 – Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon. It is the third during the Ranger program. Ranger 3 later misses the Moon by 22,000 miles.
January 30 – Two of the high-wire "Flying Wallendas" are killed when their famous 7-person pyramid collapses during a performance in Detroit, Michigan.
February
February 3 – The United States embargo against Cuba is announced.
February 4 – Danny Thomas founds St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
February 6 – Negotiations between U.S. Steel and the United States Department of Commerce begin (see also Trade Expansion Act 1962)
February 7 – The Kennedy Government bans all U.S.-related imports from Cuba and exports to Cuba.
February 10 – Captured US spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel in Berlin.
February 14 – First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy takes television viewers on a tour of the White House.
February 20 – Project Mercury: while aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit Earth, three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes.
March
March 1 – American Airlines Flight 1, an American Airlines Boeing 707, crashes on takeoff at New York International Airport, after its rudder separates from the tail, killing all 87 passengers and eight crew members aboard.
March 2 – Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in a single NBA basketball game.
March 5–9 – Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962: One of the ten worst storms in the United States in the 20th century occurs, killing 40 people, injuring over 1,000, and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage in six states.
March 21 – The Taco Bell fast food restaurant chain is founded by Glen Bell, in Downey, California.
March 26 – Baker v. Carr: the U.S. Supreme Court rules that federal courts can order state legislatures to reapportion seats.
April
April 6 – Leonard Bernstein causes controversy with his remarks before a concert featuring Glenn Gould with the New York Philharmonic.
April 9 – The 34th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Bob Hope, is held at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins' West Side Story wins ten awards, including Best Motion Picture and a joint Best Director win for Wise and Robbins. The film is tied for the most nominations with Stanley Kramer's Judgment at Nuremberg; both receive 11.
April 10 – In Los Angeles, California, the first MLB game is played at Dodger Stadium.
April 14 – A Cuban military tribunal convicts 1,179 Bay of Pigs attackers.
April 16 – 20-year-old Bob Dylan premieres his song "Blowin' in the Wind", at Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich Village (New York City).
April 21 – The Century 21 Exposition World's Fair opens in Seattle, Washington, opening the Space Needle to the public for the first time.
May
May – Larry Allen Abshier becomes the first of six (possibly seven) American defectors to North Korea.
May 1 – Dayton Hudson Corporation opens the first of its Target discount stores in Roseville, Minnesota.
May 19 – Gala for President Kennedy's 45th birthday (on May 29) at Madison Square Garden in New York City at which Marilyn Monroe sings "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" in one of her last public appearances.Marilyn Monroe Happy Birthday Mr President 2021-05-28 1962-05-19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr1Faa9cEbo Video 2026-03-11 2022-10-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20221024144219/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr1Faa9cEbo live
May 24 – Project Mercury: Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth 3 times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
May 25 – The Baltimore Steam Packet Company, the last overnight steamboat service in the U.S., goes out of business.
May 27 – The Centralia mine fire is ignited in Pennsylvania.
June
June 3 – Air France Flight 007, Boeing 707 Chateau de Sully on a charter flight carrying cultural and civic leaders of Atlanta, Georgia, overruns the runway at Orly Airport in Paris; 130 of 132 passengers are killed.
June 6 – President John F. Kennedy gives the commencement address at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
June 11 – President John F. Kennedy gives the commencement address at Yale University.
June 15 – Port Huron Statement completed.
June 25 – United States Supreme Court rulings:
Engel v. Vitale: the court rules that mandatory prayers in public schools are unconstitutional.
MANual Enterprises v. Day: the court rules that photographs of nude men are not obscene, decriminalizing nude male pornographic magazines.
June 28 – The United Lutheran Church in America, the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the American Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church merge to form the Lutheran Church in America.
July
July 2 – The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
July 10 – AT&T's Telstar, the world's first commercial communications satellite, is launched into orbit and activated the next day.
July 17
Nuclear testing: the "Small Boy" test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada Test Site.
Robert M. White flies the X-15 to an altitude of 314,750 feet (59 mi km to qualify him for USAF Astronaut Wings becoming the first "winged" astronaut and one of a few who have flown into space without a conventional spacecraft.
July 22 – Mariner program: the Mariner 1 spacecraft flies erratically several minutes after launch and has to be destroyed.
July 23 – Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to be inducted into the Baseball Museum And Hall Of Fame.
August
August 5 – Marilyn Monroe is found dead at age 36 from "acute barbiturate poisoning".
August 15 – The New York Agreement is signed trading the West New Guinea colony to Indonesia.
August 27 – NASA launches the Mariner 2 space probe.
September
September 12
President John F. Kennedy, at a speech at Rice University featuring the words "We choose to go to the Moon", reaffirms that the U.S. will put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade.
The first Kohl's department store opens in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
September 22 – Bob Dylan premieres his song "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
September 23 – Animated sitcom The Jetsons premieres on ABC.
September 25 – Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson two minutes into the first round of his fight for the boxing world title at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
September 29 – The Canadian Alouette 1, the first satellite built outside the United States and the Soviet Union, is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
September 30 – CBS broadcasts the final episodes of Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, marking the end of the Golden Age of Radio.
October
thumb|right|200px|October 14–28: Cuban Missile Crisis
October 1
The first black student, James Meredith, registers at the university of Mississippi, escorted by Federal Marshals.
Johnny Carson takes over as permanent host of NBC's The Tonight Show, a post he will hold for 30 years.
Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance return to TV with The Lucy Show, two years after the end of I Love Lucy (Vance is the first person to portray a divorcée on a weekly series).
October 12
Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship Incorporated is founded at Morgan State College.
The infamous Columbus Day Storm strikes the U.S. Pacific Northwest with wind gusts up to 170 mph km/h on; 46 are killed, 11 e9board feet e6m3 of timber is blown down, with $230 million U.S. in damages.
Jazz bassist/composer Charles Mingus presents a disastrous concert at Town Hall in New York City. It will gain a reputation as the worst moment of his career.
October 13 – Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opens on Broadway.
October 14 – Cuban Missile Crisis begins: a U-2 flight over Cuba takes photos of Soviet nuclear weapons being installed. A stand-off then ensues the next day between the United States and the Soviet Union, threatening the world with nuclear war.
October 16 – The New York Yankees defeat the San Francisco Giants 1–0 in Game 7 of the 1962 World Series.
October 22 – In a televised address, U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces to the nation the existence of Soviet missiles in Cuba.
October 27 – The British revue play Beyond the Fringe makes its Broadway debut.
October 28 – Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that he has ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases in Cuba. In a secret deal between Kennedy and Khrushchev, Kennedy agrees to the withdrawal of U.S. missiles from Turkey. The fact that this deal is not made public makes it look like the Soviets have backed down.
November
November 7 – Richard M. Nixon loses the California governor's race. In his concession speech, he states that this is his "last press conference" and that "you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more".
November 17 – In Washington, D.C., U.S. President John F. Kennedy dedicates Dulles International Airport.
November 20 – The Cuban Missile Crisis ends: in response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, U.S. President John F. Kennedy ends the quarantine of the Caribbean nation.
December
December 2 – Vietnam War: after a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to make a non-optimistic public comment on the war's progress.
December 8 – The 1962 New York City newspaper strike begins, affecting all of the city's major newspapers; it lasts for 114 days.
December 9 – Petrified Forest National Park is established.
December 14 – U.S. spacecraft Mariner 2 flies by Venus, becoming the first probe to successfully transmit data from another planet.
December 24 – Cuba releases the last 1,113 participants in the Bay of Pigs Invasion to the U.S., in exchange for food worth $53 million.
December 30 – An unexpected storm buries Maine under five feet of snow, forcing the Bangor Daily News to miss a publication date for the first and only time in its history.
Undated
American advertising man Martin K. Speckter invents the interrobang, a new English-language punctuation mark.
La Grenouille French restaurant opens in midtown Manhattan.https://www.nytimes.com/1975/02/06/archives/charles-masson-owner-of-la-grenouille-is-dead.html Charles Masson, Owner Of La Grenouille, Is Dead Lawrence Van Gelder 1975-02-06 The New York Times
Publication of Helen Gurley Brown's Sex and the Single Girl.
Ongoing
Cold War (1947–1991)
Space Race (1957–1975)
Births
January
January 4 – Peter Steele, singer-songwriter and bass player (died 2010)http://heavymetalencyclopedia.com/bands/802-type-o-negative Type O Negative Heavy Metal Encyclopedia April 14, 2010 September 20, 2012 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140824155558/http://heavymetalencyclopedia.com/bands/802-type-o-negative August 24, 2014 mdy-all
January 5 – Suzy Amis Cameron, actress and model https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2019/01/05/UPI-Almanac-for-Saturday-Jan-5-2019/9081546481545/ UPI Almanac for Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019 United Press International January 5, 2019 September 6, 2019 January 5, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190105134420/https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2019/01/05/UPI-Almanac-for-Saturday-Jan-5-2019/9081546481545/ live actor Suzy Amis in 1962 (age 57)
January 6
Michael Houser, singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2002)
Kevin Rosier, mixed martial artist and boxer (died 2015)
January 7 – Hallie Todd, actress, producer, and screenwriter
January 12 – Luna Vachon, American-Canadian professional wrestler (died 2010)
January 14 – Michael McCaul, lawyer and politician
January 17 – Denis O'Hare, actor
January 18 – Mike Lynch, cartoonist
January 19 – Cynthia Coffman, convicted murderer
January 21 – Brian Hildebrand, wrestler, referee and manager (died 1999)
January 24 – Stephen Gould, opera singer (died 2023)Stephen Gould, Tenor Best Known for Tackling Wagner, Dies at 61
January 25 – Christopher Coppola, film director and producer
January 26
Malcom Gregory Scott, writer, activist, and AIDS survivor
Anna LaCazio, singer (Cock Robin)
January 28 – Creflo Dollar, evangelist
January 30 – Mary Kay Letourneau, child rapist (died 2020)Women Criminals: An Encyclopedia of People and Issues - Vickie Jensen - Google Books
January 31 – David Oliver, actor (died 1992)
February
February 2 – Michael T. Weiss, actor
February 4
Clint Black, country musician, record producer, and actor
Jim O'Heir, actor and comedian
February 5 – Jennifer Jason Leigh, actress
February 6 – Axl Rose, rock singer
February 7
Garth Brooks, country singer-songwriter
David Bryan, rock musician (Bon Jovi)
Guy Moon, composer (died 2026)
February 10 – Lisa Blunt Rochester, politician
February 11
Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin from 2013
Sheryl Crow, musician and singer
February 22 – Lenda Murray, bodybuilder
February 23 – Frank Luntz, political consultant
March
March 2 – Jon Bon Jovi, American musicianRodale, Inc. Best Life https://books.google.com/books?id=6cYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA78 August 2008 Rodale, Inc. 78
March 3
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, athletehttps://www.olympic.org/jackie-joyner Jackie Joyner IOC March 18, 2021
Herschel Walker, American football player
March 7
James Barnes, murderer (died 2023)
Cathy Wood, serial killer
March 10
Jasmine Guy, actress, director, singer and dancerhttps://books.google.com/books?id=UpucCQAAQBAJ&q=jasmine+guy+1962&pg=PA144 From Small Screen to Vinyl: A Guide to Television Stars Who Made Records Leszczak Bob 2001 Rowman & Littlefield 9781442242746 September 24, 2017
Dan O'Shannon, television writer and producer
March 11
Jeffrey Nordling, actor
Barbara Alyn Woods, actress
March 12
Chris Sanders, filmmaker, animator, and voice actor
Darryl Strawberry, baseball player
Titus Welliver, actor
March 15 – Jimmy Baio, actor
March 18
Thomas Ian Griffith, actor, producer, screenwriter, musician and martial artist
Mike Rowe, television personality and presenterJill C. Wheeler Getting Gritty with Mike Rowe https://books.google.com/books?id=fO0uCgAAQBAJ June 2015 ABDO 978-1-62969-835-9
March 21
Matthew Broderick, actor
Rosie O'Donnell, comedian
March 24 – Star Jones, TV personality
March 26
Chris Bailey, animator and film director
John Stockton, basketball playerNathan Aaseng Sports Great John Stockton https://books.google.com/books?id=CGYY4KI4lUYC 1995 Enslow Publishers 978-0-89490-598-8 13
Keith Diamond, actor and voice actor
March 30
Mark Begich, U.S. Senator from Alaska from 2009 to 2015
MC Hammer, rapper
Bil Dwyer, stand-up comedian and game show host
March 31 – Stockton Rush, engineer, pilot, and businessman (died 2023)
April
April 2 – Clark Gregg, actor, director, and screenwriter
April 3 – Mike Ness, musician
April 4 – Melissa Hart (politician), lawyer and politician
April 6 – Steven Levitan, director, writer and producer
April 7 – Hugh O'Connor, actor, son of Carroll O'Connor (died 1995)
April 8 – Izzy Stradlin, guitarist
April 10
Rick Florian, Christian musician and real estate agent
Steve Tasker, American football player
April 14 – Laura Richardson, politician
April 15 – Tom Kane, voice actor
April 16
Antony Blinken, 71st secretary of state
Douglas Elmendorf, economist and politician
Ian MacKaye, singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Jason Scheff, bassist
April 17 – Bill Kopp, actor, voice actor and animator
April 20
Scott McGehee, film director and screenwriter
Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf (Henry Joseph Nasiff Jr.), comedian (died 2001)
April 21
Craig Robinson, college basketball coach
Carmen Osbahr, American-Mexican muppeteer
April 26
Michael Damian, actor, recording artist and producer
Debra Wilson, actress and comedian
April 28 – Scott La Rock, hip-hop DJ and producer (died 1987)
April 30 – Tom Fahn, voice actor
May
May 2 – Elizabeth Berridge, actress
May 5 – Robby Robbins, politician
May 7 – Robbie Knievel, motorcyclist and daredevil performer (died 2023)Daredevil Robbie Knievel, son of Evel Knievel, dies at 60
May 12 – Emilio Estevez, actor, director, and writer
May 22 – Brian Pillman, pro wrestler (died 1997)
May 24 – Robert J. Cerfolio, thoracic surgeon and medical educator
May 25 – Lionel James, American football player (died 2022)Former Chargers RB Lionel 'Little Train' James dies at age of 59
May 28 – James Michael Tyler, actor (died 2021)James Michael Tyler, Gunther the Central Perk Barista on ‘Friends,’ Dies at 59
June
June 1 – Sherri Howard, Olympic athlete
June 3 – David Cole, DJ, producer and songwriter (died 1995)
June 5 – Jeff Garlin, comedian and actor
June 7
Cecil Exum, basketball player (died 2023)Cecil Exum, the father of Dante Exum, died at the age of 60.
Lance Reddick, actor (died 2023)https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/17/arts/television/lance-reddick-dead.html Lance Reddick, Star of 'The Wire' and 'John Wick,' Dies at 60 Levenson Michael Genzlinger Neil The New York Times March 17, 2023 March 17, 2023
June 8 – Suzy Gorman, photographer
June 12 – Jodi Thelen, actress
June 13
Ally Sheedy, actress
Hannah Storm, television anchor and presenter Today in history June 13, 2014 The New York Times Associated Press June 14, 2014 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/06/12/us/ap-history.html?smid=pl-share July 16, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150716174111/http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/06/12/us/ap-history.html live
June 19 – Paula Abdul, musician and judge on American Idol
June 23
Mark DeCarlo, actor
Billy Wirth, actor, film producer and artist
June 24
Keith Browner, American football player (died 2025)
Sean Vincent Gillis, serial killer
Andrew P. Gordon, judge
June 25 – Anthony Allen Shore, serial killer and child molester (died 2018)
June 28 – Don Chambers, newspaper comic strip artist
June 29 – Michael J. Juneau, jurist (died 2023)Former Louisiana federal judge Michael Juneau dies
June 30 – Deirdre Lovejoy, actress
July
July 1 – Andre Braugher, actor (died 2023)
July 2 – Doug Benson, comedian, marijuana rights advocate, television host and actor
July 3
Tom Cruise, actor and film producerMarie Cahill Tom Cruise https://books.google.com/books?id=6x0XZk9FzdwC May 1992 Smithmark 978-0-8317-8669-4 9
Thomas Gibson, actor
Hunter Tylo, actress and author, previously model
July 4 – Pam Shriver, tennis playerhttps://www.wtatennis.com/players/190061/pam-shriver Pam Shriver wtatennis.com Women's Tennis Association
July 5 – Jeff Innis, baseball player (died 2022)Jeff Innis, former Mets pitcher, dead from cancer at 59
July 7
Tom Conroy, state legislatorhttp://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/43415 Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (2007–2008) 2007 Welch William F. James Steven T. 101 Massachusetts General Court
MC Jazzy Jeff, rapper
July 8 – Joan Osborne, singer-songwriter
July 9
July 12 – Dan Murphy, rock guitarist
July 13 – Tom Kenny, actor and comedian
July 14 – Jeff Olson, percussionist (Trouble)
July 15 – Glen Edward Rogers, serial killer
July 17 – Fred Wadsworth, professional golfer
July 18
Lee Arenberg, actor
Jack Irons, drummer
July 20 – Carlos Alazraqui, actor
July 22 – Steve Albini, musician and music producer (died 2024)Steve Albini: US indie-music giant dies at 61
July 28 – Ray Shero, ice hockey executive (died 2025)Remembering Ray Shero
July 31 – Kevin Greene, footballer (died 2020)
August
August 4
Roger Clemens, baseball player
Jim Hagedorn, politician (died 2022)GOP Rep. Jim Hagedorn of Minnesota has died
August 8 – Jim Sweeney, footballer (died 2022)Longtime Jets O-Lineman Jim Sweeney Dies at 60; 'I Just Loved to Play the Game'
August 10 – Suzanne Collins, author and television writer
August 16 – Steve Carell, comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer and director
August 17 – John Marshall Jones, actor
August 24 – Major Garrett, journalist and author
August 25 – Tommy Blacha, comedy writer
August 26 – Bob Mionske, cyclist and attorney
August 28
Craig Anton, actor and comedian
David Fincher, director and producer
August 31 – Dee Bradley Baker, voice actor
September
September 5 – Brian A. Joyce, politician (died 2018)
September 6 – Chris Christie, 55th Governor of New Jersey
September 8 – Miss Amy, musical fitness entertainer and songwriter
September 9 – Mark Linkous, singer, songwriter and musician (died 2010)
September 11 – Kristy McNichol, actress and singer
September 12 – Amy Yasbeck, actress
September 14 – Tom Kurvers, ice hockey player (died 2021)Former Canadiens defenceman Tom Kurvers dies from lung cancer at 58
September 15
Dina Lohan, television personality
Rebecca Miller, actress and director
September 17 – Don Rogers, American football player (died 1986)
September 26
Gregory Crewdson, photographer
Al Pitrelli, guitarist
September 27 – Norman Hutchins, gospel musician (died 2025)
October
October 1 – Esai Morales, actor
October 6 – Rich Yett, baseball player
October 11
Joan Cusack, actress and comedian
Leslie Landon, actress
October 12
Chris Botti, trumpeter and composer
Sid Fernandez, baseball player
Deborah Foreman, actress
October 13
T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, actress and comedian
Kelly Preston, actress (died 2020)
October 15 – Aron Ra, author, podcaster and atheist activist
October 21 – Drew Griffin, journalist (died 2022)Veteran CNN investigative journalist Drew Griffin dead at 60
October 23
Doug Flutie, American football player
Mike Tomczak, American football player
October 24
Dave Blaney, race car driver
Mark Miller, motorcycle racer
Jay Novacek, American football player and coach
November
November 3 – Gabe Newell, co-founder and managing director of Valve
November 10 – David Petrarca, television, film and theatre director, producer
November 11 – Demi Moore, actress, film producer, film director, songwriter and model
November 15
Mark Acres, basketball player and educator
Judy Gold, comedian, actress and producer
November 18 – Kirk Hammett, metal guitarist (Exodus and Metallica)
November 19
Jodie Foster, actress, film director and producerJodie Foster https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba1524978 https://web.archive.org/web/20160206211244/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba1524978 dead February 6, 2016 BFI 30 March 2022 en
Sean Parnell, 10th Governor of Alaska
November 20 – Gail Ann Dorsey, musician
November 27 – Conrad Anker, mountaineer
November 28 – Jon Stewart, comedian and political commentator
November 30 – Bo Jackson, baseball and football player
December
December 9 – Felicity Huffman, actresshttps://www.upi.com/Famous-birthdays-for-Dec-9-Judi-Dench-John-Malkovich/5061544323077/ Famous birthdays for Dec. 9: Judi Dench, John Malkovich UPI
December 12 – Peter Bergen, journalist and author
December 17
Richard Jewell, victim of defamation (died 2007)
Margaret Jane Wray, operatic soprano (died 2025)
December 21 – Steven Mnuchin, 77th United States Secretary of the Treasury
December 24 – Kate Spade, born Katherine Brosnahan, fashion designer (died 2018)
December 31
Don Diamont, actor
Jeff Flake, politicianCongress (U.S.), Joint Committee on Printing Official Congressional Directory 115th Congress, 2017-2018 https://books.google.com/books?id=jPca54zLp3EC&pg=PA9 6 September 2018 Government Printing Office 978-0-16-094208-2 9–
Deaths
January
January 9 – Leroy Shield, film score and radio compose (born 1893)
January 13 – Ernie Kovacs, comedian and actor (born 1919)
January 19 – Snub Pollard, actor (born 1889)
January 20 – Robinson Jeffers, poet (born 1887)Robinson Jeffers Tim Hunt The Selected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers https://books.google.com/books?id=n_UytKkgbbMC&pg=PA6-IA9 2001 Stanford University Press 978-0-8047-4108-8 6
January 25 – Lucy Robins Lang, political activist (born 1884)
January 26 – Lucky Luciano, gangster (born 1897)
January 29 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-born American violinist and compose (born 1875)
February
February 1 – Carey Wilson, screenwriter (born 1889)
February 6 – Roy Atwell, actor, comedian and composer (born 1878)
February 17 – Joseph Kearns, actor (born 1907)
February 19
James Barton, actor (born 1890)
Georgios Papanikolaou, cytopathologist, inventor of the Pap smear (born 1883)
February 27 – Willie Best, actor (born 1916)
February 28 – Chic Johnson, actor (born 1891)
March
March 1
Roscoe Ates, actor (born 1895)
Arnold Kirkeby, hotelier, art collector, and real estate developer (born 1901)
Emelyn Whiton, Olympic sailor (born 1916)
March 15 – Arthur Compton, physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1927 (born 1892)
March 27 – Augusta Savage, African American sculptor (born 1892)
April
April 8 – Esther Kerr Rusthoi, author, poet, composer, singer, and evangelist (born 1909)
April 10
Michael Curtiz, Hungarian-American director (born 1886)
Manton S. Eddy, general (born 1892)
April 15 – Clara Blandick (born 1876)
April 20 – Grover Whalen, politician (born 1886)
April 24 – Milt Franklyn, film composer (born 1897)
April 27 – Wendell Holmes, actor (born 1914)
May
May – Helen Tufts Bailie, social reformer and activist (born 1874)
May 12 – Dick Calkins, comic book writer (Buck Rogers) (born 1894)
May 28 – Robert Francis Anthony Studds, admiral and engineer, fourth Director of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (born 1896)
May 31 – Henry F. Ashurst, politician (born 1874)
June
June 6 – Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, actor (born 1899)
June 9 – Polly Adler, brothel owner (born 1900)Sicherman Barbara Green Carol Hurd Notable American Women: The Modern Period : a Biographical Dictionary 1980 Harvard University Press 978-0-674-62733-8 7 https://books.google.com/books?id=CfGHM9KU7aEC&pg=PA7 en
June 19
Frank Borzage, film director and actor (born 1894)
Will Wright, actor (born 1894)
June 28 – Mickey Cochrane, baseball player and manager (born 1903)
July
July 2 – Valeska Suratt, stage actress and silent film star (born 1882)
July 6 – William Faulkner, fiction writer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949 (born 1897)
July 25 – Nelle Wilson Reagan, mother of United States President Ronald Reagan (born 1883)
August
August 5 – Marilyn Monroe, film actress and icon (born 1926)
August 23 – Hoot Gibson, actor (born 1892)
August 28 – John Collum, child actor (born 1926)
September
September 2 – Morris Louis, painter (born 1912)
September 3 – E. E. Cummings, poet (born 1894)
September 7 – Louis King, film director (born 1898)
September 19 – Ben J. Tarbutton, interpreter (born 1885)
September 24
Sam McDaniel, actor (born 1886)
Charles Reisner, silent film actor and director (born 1887)
October
October 2 – Frank Lovejoy, actor (born 1912)
October 6 – Tod Browning, film director, actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and entertainer (born 1880)
October 7 – Scrapper Blackwell, blues guitarist and singer (born 1903)
October 26 – Louise Beavers, actress (born 1900)
November
November 7 – Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 (born 1884)
November 8
William Bailey, actor (born 1886)Katchmer George A. A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses May 20, 2015 McFarland 978-1-4766-0905-8 13 https://books.google.com/books?id=VnGeCQAAQBAJ&q=%22Gordon+Reineck%22&pg=PA13 September 12, 2020 en
Willis H. O'Brien, stop motion animator (born 1886)
November 9 – Carroll McComas, actress (born 1886)Carroll McComas Dies at 76; Actress Began Career in 1907 https://www.nytimes.com/1962/11/10/archives/carroll-mccomas-dies-at-76-actress-began-career-in-1907-star-of.html December 20, 2021 The New York Times November 10, 1962 19 subscription
November 18 – Dennis Chávez, U.S. Senator from New Mexico from 1935 to 1962 (born 1888)
December
December 4 – Jens Christian Bay, writer and librarian (born 1871 in Denmark)
December 6 – Harry Bauler, politician (born 1910)
December 7 – Bobo Newsom, baseball player (born 1907)
December 10 – Robert C. Giffen, admiral (born 1886)
December 15 – Charles Laughton, British-American actor (born 1899)
December 16 – Lew Landers, television and film director (born 1901)
December 17 – Thomas Mitchell, Irish-American actor and writer (born 1892)
December 22 – Roy Palmer, jazz trombonist (born 1892)
December 31 – Al Mamaux, baseball player and manager (born 1894)
See also
1960s
List of American films of 1962
Timeline of United States history (1950–1969)
References
External links
1962
Category:1960s in the United States
United States
United States
Category:Years of the 20th century in the United States