Don Ferguson first became known to music audiences as a founding member of Was (Not Was), which he formed with childhood friend David Weiss in his hometown of suburban Detroit under the stage names Don Was and David Was. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Was (Not Was) released four studio albums that showcased their unique blend of soul, funk, R&B, rock, and dance music combined with satirical and unusual lyrics. Their 1988 album, What Up, Dog?, spawned the US and UK hit singles "Spy in the House of Love" and "Walk the Dinosaur." As an in-demand, highly acclaimed, and commercially successful producer since the late 1980s, Was has been honored with multiple Grammy Awards and an Emmy Award for his production work, which includes collaborations with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, John Mayer, Bonnie Raitt, Gregg Allman, Brian Wilson, Ziggy Marley, and countless others. Albums produced by Was have achieved dozens of multi-platinum, platinum, and gold certifications and have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide. As president of Blue Note Records, the preeminent jazz record company that recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, Was is both the company's leader and an ambassador for its music, charged with presenting the label's artists to a global audience. Was is also a steward of Blue Note's singular and historic catalogue of music and is burnishing the label's historic legacy through his involvement with ongoing and extensive reissue campaigns that serve audiences in both the analog and digital realms.
Don Washbrook was born on March 15, 1941 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for Petticoat Junction (1963), Playhouse 90 (1956) and Lonelyhearts (1958). He died on May 15, 2000 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Don Weiner is a director and producer, known for Mo'Nique's Fat Chance (2005), Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed (2002) and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (2007).
Don White is an actor, known for Different Flowers (2017).
Don Wilbanks was born on October 4, 1926 in Holden, Oklahoma, USA. He was an actor, known for The Virginian (1962), Lawman (1958) and Thriller (1960). He died on July 26, 2013 in Oakdale, California, USA.
Born in Philadelphia, Don was raised in Pitman, New Jersey; he attended Quaker schools - Westtown School (Pennsylvania) and Earlham College (Indiana) - and trained as an actor at The Drama Studio in London, England. During his many years in New York, Don divided his time between a busy commercial career and stage work - he appeared in Moisés Kaufman's acclaimed "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde". As host of ESPN's "Men's Journal", Travel Channel's "Weird Travels" and CNBC's "Ushuaia", global adventure became a trademark. Don now explores the storied undergrounds of the world's great urban centers as the host of Cities of the Underworld (2007), The History Channel's premiere series. He lives and works in Los Angeles.
Don Williams is an actor, known for Better Call Saul (2015), Grey's Anatomy (2005) and Criminal Minds (2005).
Don "The Dragon" Wilson is considered the greatest kick-boxing champion in the sport's history. A native of South Florida, Wilson began fighting in the late 1970s. In a career which spanned 4 decades, he won 11 world kick-boxing championships, among them the WKA, STAR, WKC, PKO Lightheavyweight World Championships, WKA, STAR, ISKA World Cruiserweight Titles, and the WKA and STAR Super-Lightheavyweight World Championships. He posted a record of 72-5-2 with 47 wins by knockout. Wilson defeated such world champions as Dennis Alexio, Oaktree Edwards, and Dick Kimber. He retired from the sport in 1990, but launched a comeback on May 14, 1999. Since his return he has knocked-out Dick Kimber and defeated Dewey Cooper.
Don Lee Wilson was born in Tacoma, WA, on 2/10/1933. The family heritage is mixed-- his mother, Josie, was first-generation Swedish, while his father was of Welsh and Irish extraction. Don's early interest in music started with the "big-band" sound and country-and-western music. When he was about 12 years old, his mother showed him a few chords on the tipple (a ten-stringed instrument, tuned like a ukulele), which she knew how to play. When compared with a guitar, the tipple would be equivalent to a 12-string. Don always liked listening to Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, but his idol was Tommy Dorsey because he enjoyed his mellow trombone sound. This inspired Don to take trombone lessons. He even played when he went into the army--in the 169th Infantry, he played with the regimental band in Germany, where he was stationed for 19 months. During this time, he had an army buddy who had previously played guitar, from whom Don learned some more guitar chords. On his return home from the army, Don went to work as a car salesman and, after meeting Bob Bogle, to whom he sold a car, they found they had a mutual interest in playing guitar, even though they only knew a few chords between them. After advancing their knowledge of chords and basic guitar playing, they bought two new Fender guitars and began playing club dates at night, while continuing to work during the day. With the help of Don's mother, they made a recording on their own record label, Blue Horizon, which was released in the Seattle/Tacoma area. They had heard a song called "Walk, Don't Run" played by Chet Atkins and, using their own arrangement, they came up with the basis for what was later identified as The Ventures' sound. The tune started to get airplay, and was picked up for nationwide release by Dolton Records. Shortly thereafter, "Walk Don't Run" became the #2 record in the country, selling over two million copies worldwide. The Ventures were on their way to becoming the world's largest-selling instrumental group of all time. Their popularity in Japan was such that, during The Beatles' heyday in the '60s, The Ventures outsold them 2:1.
Don Wilson was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Not much is known about his early life but what is known is that he played football for the University of Colorado in the 1920s. Wilson began his radio career as a singer in Denver's radio station, KFEL, in 1923. In 1929, he started working at radio station KFI in Los Angeles, California. In the summer of 1932, Wilson worked as a sportscaster, covering the opening of the 1932 Summer Olympics games and, in the early part of 1934, Wilson was working as the announcer on George Gershwin's series, "Music by Gershwin", when Jack Benny heard him on the radio and insisted that he come to work for him and, on 6 April 1934, Wilson made his first broadcast as Benny's announcer in his live radio show, that started a relationship with Benny that lasted for over thirty years. Wilson was a "portly man" with a deep resonating voice and a robust figure that made him very popular with sponsors as, in the early days of radio, the show's announcer read the commercial pitches for the sponsors and the sponsors believes a deep voice was more agreeable to the audience. Being a good business man, Wilson always made sure his contracts allowed him to freelance and take on other endeavors, and he did just that, as in 1946, Wilson was a regular on the daytime comedy, "Glamour Manor" (1946). He also worked as an announcer for variety shows and comedy radio programs. In 1950, Jack Benny made the move to television and Wilson made the move as well, until 1965, when The Jack Benny Program (1950) ended. In 1966, Wilson made his last television appearance on the Batman (1966) TV series (1966-1968) episode, Batman: Dizzoner the Penguin (1966), where he played the uncredited role of newscaster "Walter Klondike", a spoof of Walter Cronkite. From 1968 until the mid-1970s, Wilson and his wife hosted a television show called "Town Talk" in the Palm Springs area and he continued to do interviews on radio and television whenever the topic was about Jack Benny or old time radio (He was considered a authority on both). Don Wilson died of a stroke on April 25, 1982 at age 81 in Cathedral City, California. He was survived by his wife of over 30 years, radio actress Lois Corbett.