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Frank DeVol was born to Herman Frank DeVol and Minnie Emma (Humphreys) DeVol in Moundsville, West Virginia, on September 20, 1911 and grew up in Canton, Ohio. His father had a "pit" orchestra at the local movie house, and his mother had a sewing shop in Canton. His father was also an accountant. Frank De Vol graduated from McKinley High School in 1929. He attended Miami University (in Ohio) for six weeks. His parents had wanted him to be a lawyer, but he wanted a musical career. He was a member of the musicians' union from the age of 14 and worked for his father in the theatre orchestra. His instruments were violin, saxophone at first. After his stint in college, he joined Emerson Gill's orchestra in Ohio and traveled the state.

Later, he joined Horace Heidt's band and not only was he a musician but he also became an arranger for the band. Later, he traveled with Alvino Rey's band. This affiliation led to long-time friendships with The King Family. Finally, in 1943, he settled in California and started his own band, appearing on KHJ radio and accompaniment to many radio shows, such as Jack Carson and Jack Smith. With the advent of television, he moved to working on The Betty White Show (1958) and The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956), among others. In the 1950s, he broke into movie composing and composed the score for 50 films. In addition, he composed the music for a number of television shows, such as Family Affair (1966), The Smith Family (1971), My Three Sons (1960), and The Brady Bunch (1969). De Vol joined ASCAP in 1964. He collaborated musically with Mack David and Bobby Helfer, and his popular-song compositions include "I've Written A Letter to Daddy", "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?", "Hush ... Hush Sweet Charlotte", "I and Claudie", "My Chinese Fair Lady", and "The Chaperone".

Also a character actor, he appeared in both films and TV. In the late 1970s, he performed a parody of himself as band leader Happy Kyne on Fernwood Tonight (1977) and then America 2-Night (1978), both shows starring Martin Mull. After his first wife, Grayce, died, he married Helen O'Connell. Sadly, Helen O'Connell De Vol died two years later from cancer. Frank was survived by two daughters and four grandchildren when he died October 27, 1999, in Lafayette, California.

Brent Mydland was born on 21 October 1952 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. He was a composer, known for Grateful Dead: Backstage Pass (1992), The Grateful Dead: Touch of Grey (1987) and Gio Coppola & Justin Kreutzmann: Nobody's (1986). He was married to Lisa. He died on 26 July 1990 in Lafayette, California, USA.

Dave Petitjean Jr. was born in 1928 to Dave Sr. and Mary Petitean, who ran a warehouse that stored crops for local farmers. Influenced by Louisiana humorists Bud Fletcher and Justin Wilson, Petitjean, with his Acadian ancestry, found he could mimic the Cajun dialect and started telling jokes after sales meetings. He went on to record his first album at a Houston nightclub in 1961.

Living in Crowley, La., he and his wife, Audrey, have been married since 1950 and have two sons. With the phrase, "A smile is contagious, so be a carrier," Petitjean publishes the newsletter "Cajun Recipe for Humor" on the Internet at www.cajunlaff.com.

He briefly attended Louisiana State University at age 16, but left the school to join the Navy and was assigned to the USS Estes, flagship for the 7th Fleet. As the ship's disbusing storekeeper, he was stationed in Tsingtao, China, for his entire naval career. After the war, he studied agriculture at Southwest Louisiana Institute (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). He graduated and joined Olin Chemical Co. around 1950, from which he retired after some 25 years. He then joined Farm Bureau Insurance and retired in 2000.

He credits Bill Gove with teaching him how to organize routines and develop motivational messages through humor.

One K Chuck was an actor, known for BTG Hoodlum: 3K Mode (2022), One K Chuck: Rich N Dangerous (2023) and One K Chuck: Heart in da Trap (2023). He died on 20 February 2023 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA.

Novalyne Price Ellis was born on 9 March 1908. Novalyne Price was a writer, known for The Whole Wide World (1996). Novalyne Price died on 30 March 1999 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA.

June Borel was born on 7 June 1953 in St. Martinville, Louisiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Southern Comfort (1981). She died on 18 August 2003 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA.

Earl L. Butz was born on 3 July 1909 in Albion, Indiana, USA. He was married to Mary Emma Powell. He died on 2 February 2008 in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.

Jillian Johnson was born in 1982 in the USA. Jillian died on 23 July 2015 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA.

Dege Legg was born on 8 June 1967 in Lafayette, Louisiana. He was a composer and actor, known for Django Unchained (2012), Cabbie (2013) and The Afflicted (2011). He died on 8 March 2024 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA.

Buckwheat Zydeco was born on 14 November 1947 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Mission to Mars (2000), Hard Target (1993) and Straw Dogs (2011). He was married to Bernite Dural. He died on 24 September 2016 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA.

John W. Cunningham was born on 28 July 1915. John W. was a writer, known for High Noon (1952), High Noon and The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953). John W. died on 4 June 2002 in Lafayette, California, USA.

Alexander Shulgin was born on 17 June 1925 in Berkeley, California, USA. He was married to Ann Shulgin. He died on 2 June 2014 in Lafayette, California, USA.

Jordan Moss was born on 18 December 1981 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA. He was a producer and cinematographer, known for Wild Justice (2010), Ice Road Truckers (2007) and Deadliest Catch (2005). He died on 15 October 2022 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA.

Clifton Chenier was born on 25 June 1925 in Opelousas, Louisiana, USA. He was a composer, known for Straw Dogs (2011), Serenity (2019) and The Big Easy (1986). He was married to Margaret Chenier. He died on 12 December 1987 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA.

Wayne Kemp was born on 1 June 1940 in Greenwood, Arkansas, USA. He was married to Patsy. He died on 9 March 2015 in Lafayette, Tennessee, USA.

Ann Shulgin was born on 22 March 1931 in Wellington, New Zealand. She was married to Alexander Shulgin. She died on 9 July 2022 in Lafayette, California, USA.

Ralph Emerson was born Walter William Emerson on August 9, 1899 in Kalispell, Montana. He was the nephew of poet Ralph Waldp Emerson. Ralph moved to California to pursue his acting career. He was discovered while starring in a Los Angeles stage production of Alias The Deacon. In 1923 he made his film debut in the drama The Face on the Bar-Room Floor. At the start of his career he was billed as Walter Emerson. He married Jane N. Sholtz on December 25, 1922. The couple had three children. Ralph appeared in more than a dozen films including The Albany Night Boat, Dance Hall, and West Point. By the early 1930s his movie career had stalled and he returned to the stage. Ralph made headlines in 1935 when his wife Jane filed for divorce. She accused him of having affairs with actress Olive Borden and several other women. Then Ralph accused Jane of cheating on him with millionaire Barton Sewell. In a 1937 interview Ralph admitted that Jane divorced him because "she had found out about Olive Borden and me in New York and St. Louis.". His final film was the 1940 musical A Night at Earl Carroll's. He later moved to Indiana. Ralph died on February 22, 1984 at the age of eighty-four.

Bill Babcock was born on 27 January 1927 in Monroe, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Trader Hornee (1970). He died on 7 October 2012 in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.

Tony Hoffman was born on 28 July 1941 in the USA. Tony is known for The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), Se7en (1995) and The Mask (1994). Tony died on 16 April 2007 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA.

Lou Harrison was born on 14 May 1917 in Portland, Oregon, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Shutter Island (2010), Sous le signe du lion (1960) and Dance Chromatic (1959). He died on 2 February 2003 in Lafayette, Indiana, USA.

David Egan was born on 20 March 1954 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. He is known for Mudbug: The Louisiana Crawfish (1995). He was married to Rhonda Ball. He died on 18 March 2016 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA.

William Peters was born on 30 July 1921 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for ABC News Close-Up (1960), The Eye of the Storm (1970) and What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Old? (1976). He was married to Muriel Peters, Helene White and Ann Miller. He died on 20 May 2007 in Lafayette, Colorado, USA.

Ron Divjak was born on 6 September 1940 in East Chicago, Indiana, USA. He was married to Sylvia Mileusnich. He died on 19 September 2022 in Lafayette, Colorado, USA.

Geraldine Brock was well-known in the Black community of San Antonio as a child prodigy; an accomplished singer, dancer and musician, she gave a number of well-regarded (and well-attended) recitals in and around San Antonio before her marriage. A protégé of Mrs. Myra D. Hemmings, Geraldine was also active in the San Antonio Negro Little Theatre Company.

Bob Gates was a producer and production manager, known for Return to Boggy Creek (1977) and The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976). He died in 1998 in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA.