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Gordon Parks Jr. was born as Gordon Roger Parks in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, the son of photographer and filmmaker Gordon Alexander Parks and Sally Alvis. He is best remembered for the successful if controversial crime film "Super Fly" (1972). He worked as a musician and photographer, early on using the name Gordon Rogers to distinguish himself from his father. He served as a cameraman on his father's first directorial effort, "The Learning Tree" (1969), and did both still and motion picture photography for other movies including "The Godfather" (1971) before directing his own project, "Super Fly" (1972). He made several subsequent films but none were as successful as his first. He was killed in a plane crash in Nairobi, Kenya, 3 April 1979, while making a film entitled "Revenge" that was more than half-finished at the time.

Hassani Shapi was born on 15 July 1973 in Mombasa, Kenya. He was an actor and director, known for Star Wars, épisode I : La Menace fantôme (1999), Le monde ne suffit pas (1999) and Il maresciallo Rocca (1996). He died on 7 July 2024 in Kenya.

Sidede Onyulo was born in Kajulu, Kenya. He had studied in Law school, but he quit his profession to accomplish his desire of being an actor. His breakthrough occurred with the German movie Nulle part en Afrique (2001), for which he got the prize for best supporting actor at the Dublin festival. Unfortunately, he fell sick while at home in Kajulu. He was sent to a hospital, but he died a few days later.

Luciano Martino was born on 22 December 1933 in Naples, Campania, Italy. He was a producer and writer, known for Le marchand de Venise (2004), Nel giardino delle rose (1990) and Le Continent des hommes poissons (1979). He was married to Edwige Fenech and Wandisa Guida. He died on 14 August 2013 in Malindi, Kenya.

Barack Obama Sr. was born on 18 June 1934 in Nyangoma-Kogela, Kenya. He was married to Jael Otieno, Ruth Beatrice Baker, Ann Dunham and Kezia Grace Aoko. He died on 24 November 1982 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Joy Adamson was born on 20 January 1910 in Troppau, Silesia, Austria-Hungary [now Opava, Czech Republic]. She was a writer, known for Born Free (1998), Vivre libre (1966) and Vivre libre (1974). She was married to George Adamson, Peter René Oscar Bally and Victor Isidor Ernst Ritter von Klarwill. She died on 3 January 1980 in Shaba National Reserve, Kenya.

Eva Monley was born on 29 April 1923 in Berlin, Germany. She was a production manager, known for Highlander (1986), L'homme qui voulut être roi (1975) and Bunny Lake a disparu (1965). She died on 12 November 2011 in Nanyuki, Kenya.

George Adamson was born on 3 February 1906 in Dholpur, India. He was an actor and writer, known for Un homme parmi les lions (1999), Vivre libre (1966) and An Elephant Called Slowly (1970). He was married to Joy Adamson. He died on 20 August 1989 in Kora, Kenya.

Joseph Olita was born on 31 March 1944 in Kenya. He was an actor, known for Rise and Fall of Idi Amin (1981), Mississippi Masala (1991) and Sheena, reine de la jungle (1984). He died on 1 June 2014 in South East Alego, Kogelo, Kenya.

Henrik Scheele was born on 5 February 1952. He was an actor, known for Blackout (1986), Fortuna (1993) and Sirup (1990). He died on 18 February 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Alan Root was born on 12 May 1937 in London, England, UK. He was a cinematographer and producer, known for Gorilles dans la brume (1988), Mysterious Castles of Clay (1978) and Here be dragons (1990). He was married to Joan Root, Fran Michelmore and Jenny Hammond. He died on 26 August 2017 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Robert Baden-Powell was born on 22 February 1857 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Boy Scouts Be Prepared (1917), Boardwalk Empire (2010) and Boys of the Otter Patrol (1918). He was married to Olave Baden-Powell. He died on 8 January 1941 in Nyeri, Kenya.

First president of Kenya (1964 - 78). Founder of various pan-African nationalist movements. He was imprisoned by the British colonial powers following the Mau Mau uprising (see films such as Simba (1955), 0049706 or Le carnaval des dieux (1957) in 1952 and was exiled in 1959. He was released from prison in 1961 and was elected to the Legislative Council in 1962. He tried to unite the African parties but failed and accepted the leadership of KANU.

Toni Helfer was born on 17 May 1940 in Stanislaus County, California, USA. She was a manager, known for Savage Harvest (1981), Pet Peeves (1987) and The Pet Set (1971). She was married to Christopher Law and Ralph Helfer. She died on 20 March 2012 in Kenya.

Michaela Denis was a pioneer of wildlife television. With her glamorous image and immaculate make-up, she roamed Africa with her husband, Armand. She was charged by a hippopotamus and nearly strangled by a python but never lost her fifties poise. She was born Michaela Wandsworth in London to a White Russian mother and an archaelogist who was killed in the First World War when Michaela was three months old. She trained as a dress designer, got engaged to an American admiral, then met the Belgian film-maker Armand Denis. They were married in the Andes but Africa was their passion. Their first British television series, "Filming Wild Animals", was in 1954 with Michaela as presenter and Armand doing the voice-over. This was followed by "On Safari", "Safari to Asia" and "Armand and Michaela Denis". They settled in Nairobi, where Armand died in 1971. Michaela married Sir William O'Brian Lindsay, the former chief justice of Sudan, but he died three months later. Michaela died on the 4th of May, 2003, aged 88.

Armand Denis was an Anglo-Belgian filmmaker known known for his documentaries for both the silver screen and television, primarily about Africa. The son of a judge, he was born on December 2, 1896 in Brussels. He moved to England after his World War One military service, where he studied chemistry at Oxford. After working for a chemist in England and Belgium, he moved to America in 1926. His invention of an automatic volume control for radio brought him enough income to travel and shoot movies of exotic locales.

He worked as a cameraman in Hollywood in the late silent era before hooking up with Theodore Roosevelt's French-born cousin Andre Roosevelt to travel to Bali in 1928, which they documented on film. Roosevelt wanted to develop the tourist industry in Bali in the 1920s in order to preserve the native culture by turning the island into a national park. As part of his aspirations, he wrote the screenplay for the 1932 movie "Goona-Goona, An Authentic Melodrama" (a.k.a. Kriss (1931)) that he co-produced and co-directed with Denis.

The two had begun filming Bali on their '28 trip and eventually combined their documentary footage with a fictional romantic story about the love between a native prince and a servant girl. The first version of the film, called "Love Powder", was released in 1930. Two years later, a re-edited version that conformed to censorship strictures was released and was a hit, creating a Bali craze in The States. Denis subsequently married Roosevelt's daughter Leila and they had four children.

Denis capitalized on the success of the picture and directed the 1934 African jungle adventure film Wild Cargo (1934), which starred great white hunter Frank Buck. Subsequently, he and Leila traveled to the Belgian Congo in 1934-35 and shot sound footage that could be used in movies set in Africa. Their footage included the first recordings of the dances and music of the Tutsi and Mangbetu tribes. In addition to releasing the music commercially, the created a movie of their trip, called "Wheels Across Africa" (1936).

The couple worked making documentary shorts in the 1930s and '40s, but Denis divorced his wife to marry English dress designer Michaela Holdsworth, whom he met in 1948. Along with Michaela, with whom he lived in Nairobi, Kenya, Denis continued to make documentaries in Africa. Their TV program "Filming Wild Animals" was broadcast on the British Broadcasting Co. in 1954, and thereafter, they regularly contributed African documentaries to the BBC and ITV.

Armand Denis died from Parkinson's disease on April 15, 1971. He was 74 years old.

British hunter who spent most of his adult life in India. He was born in a hill station in India, the second youngest of thirteen children. One of his older stepsisters had survived the siege of Agra during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. His father died when he was 4, while serving at the 'volatile' Afghan border. He was brought up by his mother on their Naini Tal estate and their "Irish cottage" at Kaladhungi, fifteen miles away. He was fascinated with the jungles as a child and collected birds eggs, studied wildlife and learnt to hunt. From the age of 18 he worked for over twenty years for a railroad company in India. During World War I he was captain of the 500 man 70th Kumaon Labor Corps to France. After the war he was promoted to Major and sent to the North West Frontier as Commandant of the 114th Labor Battalion in the Third Afghan War. From 1920 to 1936 he spent half of each year in Tanganyika, Africa, where he hunted and tracked big game. He supervised growing of coffee and maize on his plantation on slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. In 1930 he gave up hunting big game when he discovered the wonders of a 16 mm movie camera. Instead he began to 'shoot' animals with his camera. He continued, however, to hunt man-eaters who were disrupting human communities. Corbett shot the "Bachelor of Powalgarh," the most prized big-game trophy of the decade. His other famous kills included the "Champawat man-eater" and the "Man-eaters of Kumaon", the latter whom he killed in 1907 after they had killed nearly 436 victims. His last man-eater hunt was the Thak man-eater in 1938. His most famous book about his exploits in tracking and killing man-eating tigers, lions and leopards in India - Man-Eaters of Kumaon was published in 1944.

Beryl Markham was born on 26 October 1902 in Ashwell, Rutland, England. She was married to Raoul Schumacher, Mansfield Markham and Jock Purves. She died on 3 August 1986 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Mary Leakey was born on 6 February 1913 in London, England, UK. She is known for Afrique: Le Serengeti (1994) and National Geographic Specials (1965). She was married to Louis Leakey. She died on 9 December 1996 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Charles Ouda was an actor, writer, director, singer, television host, and voice over artist. Charles had worked professionally since 2002. Charles had done his rounds on stage, performing in over 15 plays and 7 musicals around the world. His theatre credits include 'Boy Gets Girl' (playing Tony), 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' (playing Joseph), 'Balm in Gilead' (playing Fick), Andrew Lippa's 'Wild Party' (playing Mr. Black), 'The Iron Heel' (playing Ernest Everhard) and 'Out of Africa: Journey Through Magical Kenya'.

Some of Charles' film and television credits include 'Makutano Junction' (Charles starred in over 12 seasons of the show and wrote numerous episodes for the show, one of which was awarded the World Media Award for education in 2010), 'Discovery +254' (Charles was one of two hosts of the show, which won a Kalasha International Award for Best Television Host, alongside his co host Sarah Hassan), 'MAD', 'Sienna's Choice' and 'The First Grader'. Charles took some time away from his busy career to complete his 2 Year Conservatory Program at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York.

Charles' director credits include 'Who Are You?' (2016 Asian American Film Lab's 72 Hour Shoot Out Judges Choice), a film that also won Charles the award for Best Director at the Film Lab Awards. Charles also recently completed 'Waiting Room', a film he wrote and directed.

Charles died on February 3rd, 2024 at his home in Nairobi, Kenya.

Ayub Ogada was born in 1956 in Mombasa, Kenya. He was a composer and actor, known for The Constant Gardener (2005), The Good Lie (2014) and Duma (2005). He was married to Yvonne Seda. He died on 1 February 2019 in Kisumu, Kenya.

Jasper Maskelyne was born on 29 September 1892 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Meurtre à l'aube (1940), The Dizzy Limit (1930) and Terror on Tiptoe (1936). He died on 15 March 1973 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Eva Speyer was born on 24 August 1882 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Die Vase der Semirames (1918), Der galante König - August der Starke (1920) and Sein Rekordflug (1914). She was married to Robert Ebert and Otto Stoeckel. She died on 13 August 1975 in Mombasa, Kenya.

John Driftmier was born on 24 November 1982 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. John was a director and producer, known for Ice Pilots NWT (2009), Highway Thru Hell (2012) and Dangerous Flights (2012). John was married to Carolyn Allen. John died on 24 February 2013 in Kenya.

Jock Leslie-Melville was born on 28 February 1933 in Kensington, London, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The Last Giraffe (1979), Jack Paar Tonite (1973) and The Pet Set (1971). He was married to Betty Leslie-Melville. He died on 30 April 1984 in Nairobi, Kenya.