Musicians
The most notable names in music during this decade were probably those of The Beatles -- John, Paul, George and Ringo (real name: Richard). Other names you'll recognize include Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, Jim Morrison of The Doors, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, Mama Cass (real name: Ellen) of The Mamas and the Papas, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. And don't forget band names: Pink Floyd's name was inspired by blues musician Floyd Council, while the origin of Jefferson Airplane's name is still contested.
Actors
Gregory Peck, Sidney Poitier, Rex Harrison, Lee Marvin, Paul Scofield, John Wayne, Sophia Loren, Anne Bancroft, Patricia Neal, Elizabeth Taylor, Julie Andrews, and Katharine Hepburn all won Oscars this decade. Names can also be gleaned from the movie titles of this period, such as Breakfast at Tiffany's, Cool Hand Luke, and Rosemary's Baby.
Writers
The Black Mountain poets (a group of postmodern poets centered at Black Mountain College) became prominent in the 1960s. Some of the best known Black Mountain poets were Charles Olson, Denise Levertov, and Robert Creeley. This was also the decade Kenneth "Ken" Kesey published One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Truman Capote gave us In Cold Blood, Joseph Heller published Catch-22, Louise Fitzhugh gave us Harriet the Spy and Kurt Vonnegut gave us both Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five. During the '60s, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern debuted.
