Name some famous people from your hometown

[5thGenDemocrat]

I'll start (Saginaw, Michigan): Theodore Roethke, Stevie Wonder, Question Mark and the Mysterians, Sonny Stitt, Tim McCoy, Jason Richardson, Bob Buhl.
None are famous to everyone -- but everyone should recognize a couple of the names.
Who's famous from your hometown?
John
Understanding that this might be more fun for someone from a town like Saginaw, as opposed to, say, New York, Los Angeles or Chicago.

[LaraMN]

1. Small town. Jessica Lange.

[SaveElmer]

5. Cool...where in Minnesota...

My Uncle claims he knew Jessica Lange. My family spent the summer at Detroit Lakes and he ran a gas station there every summer!!!

[KitchenWitch]

8. I used to work with someone who graduated HS

the same year as Jessica Lange in Detroit Lakes.

[LaraMN]

59. Cloquet.

My FIL went to school with her. She came into the drug store I worked at when I was in High School to get a prescription, once. That was HUGH!!!

[no name no slogan]

126. That's also where the Frank Lloyd Wright gas station is, too, isn't it?

I drive by that whenever I'm on my way to Duluth. :hi:

[LaraMN]

132. Yes it is. And they need to repaint it.

:hi:

[KyndCulture]

148. I live in Detroit Lakes :)

[usedtobesick]

44. you live near Moose Lake? I have family there.

[LaraMN]

60. Not too far from Moose Lake. A bit further North. n/m

[no name no slogan]

127. I work with a guy from Moose Lake

used to be a big state mental hospital there. The closed it though. :(

[Wapsie B]

50. Cool.

She filmed one of her movies near my hometown.

[progmom]

2. Elizabeth Cady Stanton

:hi:

[5thGenDemocrat]

13. You aren't originally from A2, progmom?

I think Ms Stanton was from NY state, yes?
John
It is now 272 days, 12 hours and ten minutes to FUNDAY XII.

[progmom]

14. i've lived here for quite awhile now

but i am originally from upstate NY. :hi:

[Elidor]

3. I live 20 minutes from the hometown of Lester Flatt

Of Flatt & Scruggs fame (think Beverly Hillbillies theme song). And some other fucker I don't remember. There are signs leading into the town: 'Sparta, home of Lester Flatt,' and 'Sparta, home of that-guy-whose-name-I-don't-remember-and-nobody-knows-who-he-is-anyway.'

[Redstone]

4. There was only one, but I'm not going to mention her name.

Everybody here though it was "cute" how she'd charge around downtown, push her way to the front of the line at Walt's Market, and be so "acerbic" to everyone around her, including snapping at little kids.

But she was a just plain RUDE old bitch, who used her celebrity as an excuse to get away with having lousy manners. she was not in any way as classy as her publicity people made her seem to be for all those years.

Redstone

[progmom]

12. oh - i bet i can guess who it is

:)

and i still love her madly - even with this info. :)

[johnnie]

17. Who?

:shrug:

[progmom]

23. if Redstone doesn't want to mention it

...I don't feel like I can. Sorry.

[Spider Jerusalem]

145. Katherine Hepburn.

Which I suspected, and confirmed with a Google search on a few revealing phrases from Redstone's post. (No one else really famous seems to've lived in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.)

[Redstone]

18. I'm sure you can. But the "enclave" of rich snots where she lived

is no more representative of what this wonderful little town is like, than her public image was representative of the unpleasant old harridan that she really was.

Sorry to sound so negative, but I am fiercely loyal to my home town, and when I tell people where we live, they automatically make assumptions that aren't true.

Redstone

[progmom]

22. oh - i never really got the feeling that that town was anything but wonder

-ful. It really sounds great - and hearing you defend it makes me like it even more.

I won't defend her - I have no right to. But can I be a little bit jealous that you saw her up close? She is the only person I ever sent fan mail to as an adult. :blush:

[Redstone]

31. Of course you can. Actually, she's the only person my mother ever sent

fan mail to, as well. And my mother actually got a reply, which consisted of the sentence, "Thank you for noticing."

I don't know what that was supposed to have meant, but Ma was happy to have gotten it, so it must have meant something.

Speaking of wonderful towns, I have NEVER heard a negative word about your town (and a ton of positive ones). I really should go there some day, because it genuinely seems to be a great town.

Redstone

[progmom]

34. well, since you used to live in my original home town, i am assuming

you mean my current town. and yes - i love ann arbor. :)

[Redstone]

35. Yes, I did mean Ann Arbor. And I only lived in your old home town

for a year, that being my first one, I don't remember a hell of a lot about it.

Of course, the way things are these days, I could have lived there last week and not remembered a hell of a lot about it...

Redstone

[graywarrior]

6. The band Boston

[SaveElmer]

7. Al Franken...

St. Louis Park, MN

Thomas Friedman unfortunately too!!!

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

9. William J. Clinton

From Hope,AR

[jane_pippin]

10. Liberace and Jeffery Dahmer.

You have Question Mark and the Mysterians and Stevie Wonder? Nice. :thumbsup:

[5thGenDemocrat]

16. Question Mark and the guys still play bars around here

With a $5 cover, lots of folks show up just to boogie down with "96 Tears" one more time. They've always got a gig somewhere.
Polly (my roommate) went to high school (Saginaw HS) with Rudy Martinez (?s real name).
John
Charles Rogers (of the Detroit Lions) is from Saginaw, too.

[jane_pippin]

26. That's great that they still play out. And for $5 too. I'm jealous. :) nt

[5thGenDemocrat]

36. I've never been to Milwaukee, jane

Been to Chicago. Been to Iron Mountain. But, in spite of living right over here on the other side of Lake Michigan, I haven't gotten to the Beer City yet. I'm going to visit one day -- I swear to God.
I edited this to add that Bob Buhl (in my original post) was one of the pitchers on the 1957 and '58 Milwaukee Braves which played in the World Series. He was in the rotation along with Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette and Joey Jay.
He pitched in the majors for 16 years or so, and finished with a record of 166-132. Not too shabby -- though he was also maybe the worst hitter in major league history, too (went, like, 0-for-80 one season).
John
As German as anyone in Milwaukee (my last name sounds like a belch).

[jane_pippin]

77. Haha. You'll fit right in. Come during Summerfest next year.

The Lake Express ferry stops nearby the grounds so it would be a short drive. Or, lots of bars just a few blocks from the ferry have shuttles that will take you there if you buy a drink.

[xmas74]

91. I used to live not too far away from Iron Mountain

[SIU_Blue]

11. Oak Park, IL

Earnest Hemmingway
Frank Lloyd Wright
Joan Cusak

Great town, very liberal!

Visit if you ever get the chance!

[hfojvt]

62. hold it a second there, Frank Wright was born

in Richland Center, Wi and Taliesen is just down the road in Spring Green, Wi. How does Oak Park claim him?

[SIU_Blue]

95. Good point/question

he lived in Oak Park for 20 years, from 1889-1909. The largest number of buildings designed and built by him are here too. Most importantly, however, he built his home and studio here, which his wife continued to live in even after he ran away with a client...

see

and http://www.oprf.com/flw/>


:)

[hfojvt]

98. maybe his famous son was born there

the one who invented "Lincoln Logs". He must have been from the Land of Lincoln, otherwise he would have called them "LaFollette Logs"

[stlsaxman]

88. My dad is from there....

and so is my boss. Small world, huh?

[Kire]

15. Peter Dinklage, Steve Forbes, Bonnie Lee Bakley

Bret Schundler, and Linda Hunt (the "management" in Carnivale), and the guy who produces Spongebob Squarepants

I don't recognize anybody else:
http://us.imdb.com/BornWhere?for=morristown%2C+nj

The above people were born in the same town I was born in, the county seat where the hospital is.

The M&M/Mars factory is the only thing famous in the town I grew up in. No famous people, here now.

[huskerlaw]

19. Dick Cheney

Seriously. There's even a major street named after him.

Must. Leave. This. Shithole. NOW. x(

[NNadir]

57. That sucks.

[hfojvt]

63. I believe that the thread asked about "famous" people

not "infamous" people. And I am not even sure Cheney qualifies for the 2nd part. Uh, paging Mr. Swamprat, could I get a visual in lizard green?

[GOPisEvil]

94. You ARE leaving that shithole.

:bounce:

[huskerlaw]

163. Praise Jesus.

3 weeks and counting. :party:

[norml]

159. You mean Young And Vigorous Cheney Road?

Actually it's called Old Cheney Road.

There's even a town called Cheney at the Southeast edge of Lincoln.

[huskerlaw]

162. LMAO

The one and only Old Cheney Road. I don't think it's technically named after him, but it's certainly after his family.

And what a lovely little town Cheney is. Appropriately, my ultra-convervative former roommate and her Limbaugh-loving, Alan Keyes-voting husband live there. ;)

[Maine Mary]

20. Margaret Chase Smith. First Woman US Senator

and first to speak out against those who were conducting the McCarthy hearings.

also, a couple of towns away (where I usually do my shopping) is where George Mitchell grew up.

[Beware the Beast Man]

21. My current hometown Cleveland:

Bob Hope (raised here), Halle Berry, Paul Newman, Don King, Jim Backus, Devo, Filter, Pere Ubu, the Dead Boys, George Steinbrenner, the Raspberries, Jim Brown, Trent Reznor (lived here for a few years), that fuck Drew Carey, asthmaticeog, Terri Garr, Patricia Heaton, whoisalhedges, Molly Shannon, Martin Mull, Frank Yankovic, Toni Morrison, Helen Rice Steiner, the O'Jays (Canton), Macy Gray (also Canton), Marylin Manson (Canton), Joe Walsh, Chrissy Hynde (Akron), Tim Conway, Wes Craven, Mike Douglas, Ruby Dee, Anne Heche, many more.

From my birthplace, Pittsburgh:
Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Joe Namath, Tony Dorsett, Ty Law, Levar Arrington, Mike Ditka, Johnny Unitas, Perry Como, Bobby Vinton, Jim Kelly, Gene Kelly, Art Blakely, George Benson, that fuck Dennis Miller, Christina Aguilera, Henry Mancini, that guy on "Prison Break" (Wentworth Miller; went to my high school), Kurt Angle, Bruno Sammartino, George Romero, Busted Flute, Jimmy Stewart, Michael Keaton, Charles Grodin, Martha Graham, Fred Rogers, of course, Andy Warhol, etc. Most important;y, the McDonald's Big Mac.

[5thGenDemocrat]

28. Shirley Jones is from Pittsburgh, too -- right?

Here's a nasty little secret -- I love musicals. A couple of the very best featured Shirley Jones. She's one of my favorites.
John
Stephen Foster was also from Pittsburgh.

[Beware the Beast Man]

29. Yes, she was from Smithton, southeast of Pgh.

And how could I have forgotten Stephen Foster?

[WCGreen]

41. Drew Carey is a fuck head...

I knew him for a while...

He use to come in the bar, the Parma Tavern, now the Jigsaw, that I worked at and was a putz back in the day.....

[Beware the Beast Man]

43. I heard he has a reputation for closing down bars.

A friend of mine from Ravenna says he frequently visits Ray's Place in Kent and has them close the doors when he arrives. Yeah, you get drinks on him if you're lucky enough to be there, but that's a rather pompous thing to do.

[WCGreen]

47. This was back in the late 70's early 80's....

[I Have A Dream]

82. August Wilson is also a native of Pittsburgh. n/t

[johnnie]

24. I went to the same high school as Jimmy Zero of the Dead Boys

He was a few years ahead and I didn't know him, but I knew some of the people who played with him. That was my original hometown. Drew Carey lived down the street from where I live now. The kid who played Elton John in that Broadway show that was just out is someone I knew. I was friends with his brothers, but he was younger. I did know him, but he was a wee little lad at the time.

If we want to talk about Cleveland, Oh then I can go on and on with a lot of people.

[ZombieNixon]

25. Famous people from Aztec, NM...

Um, geez, look, can I get back to you on this...like...after I accomplish something noteworthy, 'cuz otherwise my hometown suffers from a great dearth of famous people. Check back in, oh, thirty years or so.

[5thGenDemocrat]

33. Well, okay then

Who's famous from New Mexico?
John
And, in case I haven't mentioned it yet, welcome to the United States.

[ZombieNixon]

39. You're kidding, right?

Or am I not getting the joke?

[5thGenDemocrat]

45. Yes, I'm kidding

I thought that "welcome to the United States" gag had made the rounds by now.
John
Sorry if I offended.

[ZombieNixon]

46. Oh, no, not at all.

The "one of our fifty is missing" is a prevalent New Mexico thing. I didn't realize it was so widespread in the rest of the country.

Anyhow, famous people from NM:
Umm, Billy the Kid? Who else? Actually, it's midnight, I'm not even in the state of NM right now, so I'm not actually too concerned with its history at this point.

[phusion]

58. U live in Aztec?

hmm...There is some good mountain biking up there :)

And you're close to Durango. :loveya:

[ZombieNixon]

96. I used to. Now I'm in Chicago for college. I won't be back until Nov.

That's right, though, there is good mountain biking there. Good snowboarding in Durango, too.

:hi:

[anarch]

27. Duke Ellington

Jelly Roll Morton

Dave Chapelle

Probably some others too...

[evlbstrd]

30. KC area-

Ginger Rogers, Charlie Parker, Jim Bridger, Pat Metheney, Robert Altman, Jean Harlow, Thomas Hart Benton, Ed Asner, Satchel Paige, Melissa Ethridge, Oleta Adams, George Brett, Maurice Green and Tom Watson. Well, not all of them are FROM here, but...

[hfojvt]

65. you forgot Poland

I mean the guy who played Les Nesman on WKRP and now Wayne Simien of the NBA.

[xmas74]

93. Melissa's from Leavenworth.

Have a friend who went to high school w/ her. Seen the yearbook pic.

[hfojvt]

101. so are Les Nesman and Wayne Simien

he cheated a little, saying "KC area"

[xmas74]

107. I know.

I forgot about Les Nesman.
W/ the 'burbs you can cheat

[evlbstrd]

109. OK, scratch Melissa.

I didn't mention Harry Truman because he was from Independence, although he did run a men's clothing store downtown.

[xmas74]

110. A unsuccessful habidashery.

That's why he got into politics in the first place-he was not very good at business.
I think that everyone in MO can claim Harry if they want to.

[evlbstrd]

115. He was a Pendergast man at the beginning of his career in Jackson Co.

But he managed to stay clean.

[xmas74]

135. Which was quite a rarity in those times!

I'm lovin' that someone else has actually done some reading on Truman too. I usually sound like a geek around people because I've actually read about him.

[evlbstrd]

166. HST is one of my favorite Presidents.

Too bad about that A-bomb thing, though. It was a done deal when FDR died. Korea sucked, too. But he had the balls to fire McArthur.

[xmas74]

167. He told it like it was.

He had major balls and I've always admired him for that. Frank, colorful yet respectful of others-what's not to like?
And he got a raw deal over the bomb-still is getting it to this day. He did what he could w/ the advisors that he had. He was thrown into an uncertain situation-could we say that we would have done any better if we had been in his shoes?

We sure could use him nowadays. I'd love to be a fly on the wall the first time he ever met the Chimp. Can't you hear him right now?

[evlbstrd]

169. That would be a very loud meeting.

Have you seen the movie about him with Gary Sinise?

[xmas74]

170. Yes!

I adore Truman. And I've watched the movie, read tons of books, visited the library (duh! too close not to!), etc.

You know that the first words out of Harry's mouth to the chimp could not be written on this board (and we have some rather nasty mouths here). I'd pay money to hear them.

[evlbstrd]

172. Big money.

It sounds like you're more a Truman Scholar than I am. And it's only 20 minutes to his home and library in Independence. God, I'm a slacker.

[xmas74]

173. You slacker!

And I'm not even originally from MO. I'm from WI.
My high school history teacher (originally from IL) loved Truman and his love showed when he taught him. I picked it up and went w/ it.

Go to the library sometime. The history behind it is fascinating. It's the first of the presidential libraries. Truman left office broke-not even a pension back then. They came up w/ the idea of the library as a small income. Who knew that it would become something so great?

BTW-Bess probably would have made him shut up in a meeting w/ the chimp. He refused to swear in front of women and she'd probably want to be there to keep him in line. But you know that would not have stopped him from writing a letter-and mailing it the next day (like he did to the music critic). Priceless.

[evlbstrd]

174. Bess would have kicked George's ass.

She really hated being First Lady, though.
I like to take History Tours in any town I find myself in. And I've been to the Truman Home and Library. Hell, I remember him taking his daily walks when I was growing up. One security guard, tops. Always in a suit and hat, swinging his cane.

[xmas74]

175. She hated the spotlight.

She was not that kind of woman and I can totally respect her for that.

Ever been east to Arrow Rock? That's a neat town, if you like history walks. Lexington is great too-especially the Anderson House.

[evlbstrd]

176. I'ver heard good things about both, but never been.

Now that I'm "between engagements," I have the time but really have to watch the money.

[xmas74]

178. Anderson House is a couple of dollars.

Most of Arrow Rock is free (unless you count the Lyceum for a show).
Both are nice day trips. Pack a picnic lunch and you're on your way.
I like day trips like that. My daughter and I take them all the time. Cheap way to get out of the house.

(also add MO Town 1855 and Fort Osage on that list. MO Town is the better of the two. They are dressed in period clothing and take you on the tour. Last year I think it was $3).

[evlbstrd]

183. I've been to both MO Town and Fort Osage.

They are great ways to teach. I've been to Old Williamsburg, too. But just wandering the East Coast is a good history lesson.

[xmas74]

192. I'd love to go back East someday!

I hope to take my daughter when she is older. I want her to understand the history we are viewing before we go.

Me=big history buff.

[astonamous]

32. There are so many, but mostly repukes.

Reva Beck Bosone
Rosanne Barr
Loretta Young
J. Willard Marriott

[Brother Buzz]

37. Pat Paulsen

Bob Weir, Huey lewis, and Charlie Deal.

If you look real careful in the background of Huey's 'Sports' album cover, you can see one the world famous Charlie Deal toilet seat guitars.

[nytemare]

38. Goldie Hawn, Connie Chung, Carl Bernstein.

Silver Spring, MD. All of them actually went to school with my mom.

Since 80, I have lived in Orlando. I was classmates with Wayne Brady, and Johnny Damon was a grade behind me. I knew Wayne, but not Johnny.

[RoyGBiv]

40. Oral Roberts

And everyone there who ever knew him still has the emotional scars.

Robert S. Kerr is from there as well.

Blake Shelton (country singer) is also from there. Nice kid, when I knew him, and could play the guitar very well. He was opening for and playing with some local bands in his teens, before he moved to Nashville to try to start a real career.

Jeremy Shockey graduated high school there, and Mark Gastineau went to college there and lived there for a time.

Bios of Hoyt Axton I've seen list him from Duncan, OK, but the family spread out a bit and lived near my hometown for quite awhile. His mother Mae Axton, co-author of "Heartbreak Hotel," is sometimes listed as being from Roff, OK, a tiny hamlet that would be a suburb if my town were bigger. I go into such detail because this is one of those things mentioned to me by my grandmother once that I never bothered to ask about before she died. My grandmother apparently knew Mae Axton.

One person who should be more famous than she is from there is a woman named Bertha Frank Teague. She's was the first woman inductee into the National Basketball Hall of Fame. She was coaching girls basketball as far back as 1926, back when it was "wrong" for girls to play sports.

[u4ic]

42. There's none :(

Don Cherry lives there, and must have driven them all away. :grr:

[mitchum]

48. Jesse Jackson and Joanne Woodward

[Maccagirl]

75. Jack Nicklaus, James Thurber, Nancy Wilson

I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of any right now.

[mockmonkey]

49. Liberace's brother George

was born here. :shrug:

[5thGenDemocrat]

51. Serena Williams was born in Saginaw

But Venus wasn't.
John
And I think Serena lived in Saginaw for about a week before moving on. This town isn't exactly a hotbed for tennis.

[Wapsie B]

52. He wasn't born here-Oelwein, Iowa

but lived here for a number of years. A man by the name of Walter P. Chrysler. Oelwein historians credit Chrysler with getting the inspiration for his automobile while living here, having assembled his first car while in residence.

[Reverend_Smitty]

53. Antonin Scalia, Norman Schwarzkopf...

Denis Rodman, Ernie Kovacs, Troy Vincent, Charlie Weis(Head coach of Notre Dame football), David Dinkins and I'm also claiming Jon Stewart even though he was technically born in NYC he grew up in/around Trenton NJ

[intheflow]

54. Timothy Leary, Taj Mahal, Dr. Seuss, and...

Dr. James Naismith (inventor of basketball), the rock band Staind. All these people came from Springfield, Massachusetts.

I actually grew up outside Albany, NY before moving to Wilbraham, MA, a suburb of Springfield. But I hated Wilbraham, so by the time I was 15 I was hanging out in the "big city" of Springfield. I lived and worked in Springfield area for the next 30 years. So I consider Springfield my home town.

[maveric]

66. Wasnt Abby Hoffman from Spingfield MA too?

[intheflow]

73. No, he came from Worcester, MA.

[maveric]

112. Wistah!

[intheflow]

117. Um... that's "Wusstah."

At least, that's how we pronounced it in Springfield. :P

[maveric]

141. In Lawrence MA we say "Wistah".

But then again Lawrence is one fucked up city.

[hfojvt]

67. I show Springfield as 157,000 and Hampden County as 456,000

that's not big to you? Where I come from that is hugh!!1!1! My whole state was only 700,000 people. I lived in the 4th largest city in the state - population 15,000! It was hometown to Hubert H. Humphrey!! Okay, technically he was born in Doland some 32 miles north, but Humphrey drug was in my hometown, so I believe he lived and worked there. Our other famous denizen is Cheryl Ladd, who graduated a mere ten years before I did. She showed up at my trig class at the height of her fame to say hi to my teacher, whose daughter was a friend of hers. Her maiden name was Stopplemoor.

[intheflow]

72. Small town is relative.

Springfield may have a lot of people by your standard, but by northeastern standards, and especially for a northeastern city, it's small.

But if it make you feel better, my "real" hometown, Wilbraham, only listed 13,473 people in the 2000 census, and as far as I can tell, nobody famous ever came from there.

[hfojvt]

108. nope, sorry, improper use of the word "small"

It is "smaller" than some places, this is true, but unless language is to become an impediment to understanding, it is objectively a big city. Worcester is not a town, properly, but an exurb. Small towns are known for several things - 1) everybody knows everybody, 2) only one public high school, and 3) only two busy streets (one east-west and one north-south, maximum of four lanes).

Probably this has been done officially, and some dictionary or geographer might correct me, but this is about how I would define them.
<100 Macbeth
<1000 Hamlet
<5000 Othello, I mean village
<15000 small town
<25000 town, small city
<75000 city
<250000 big city
>250000 city city bang bang, I mean metropolis
>1,000,000 clusterfu$%
>5,000,000 abomination

There might possibly be a wee bit of bias in those last two terms, and at some point, it is better to talk about SMSAs rather than cities, because a big city like Springfield, Ma has a much larger "real" population than a big city like Sioux Falls,SD or Lincoln, Ne. Suburbs, which are contiguous to the city or other suburbs, and exurbs which are withing half an hour of a big city or metro area are really part of the metro population. They usually lack things that other cities their size have, like their own daily newspaper, radio station and Wal-mart, but they also have much more that is just a short drive away.

Geographers have their own terms, and there may be no practical difference between a mega city of over 1,000,000 and a giga city over 5,000,000. Maybe I should go read a geography text. I remember from my roommate's class that Milwaukee was in a lower group because of its proximity to Chicago, so there are other factors besides population involved in the taxonomy.

[NNadir]

55. Charles Lindbergh lived here; we're the site of the famous kidnapping.

Hopewell, NJ: John Hart, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, lived here as well.

We're not far from Princeton. The list for Princeton of course, would be rather long.

[maveric]

56. Sully from Godsmack and Linda Kasabian. Lawrence MA.

Leonard Bernstein and Robert Goulet were born there but moved away as infants.

[In_The_Wind]

61. my home town ...

James Dickey, poet
DeForest Kelley, actor
Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader
Gladys Knight, singer
Margaret Mitchell, author
Jerry Reed. singer/songwriter/actor
Nipsey Russell, comedian

[Maine Mary]

64. This is not fair. Bwhaaaaaaaaaaa.

:cry: (and tantrum) You guys live in cities!!!

I have, in my earlier post, taken the liberty of drawing from towns in a 30 mile radius. In one, I graduated from HS, the other is a place where I do my shopping. But neither are where I actually live now or even then (HS days)

Most of the towns around here have populations of less then 1k. My current hometown is not unusual with it's 800-some. SOooooooo, I guestimate that from the 30 mile radius I've drawn, there are about (tops) 40k people.

That means I think we are doing pretty well to have folks like Margaret Chase Smith and George Mitchell as our local "famous people"
:P

[Allenberg]

68. Leon Czolgosz

Who's he? He shot McKinley in Buffalo :(

[Jamastiene]

69. Johnny Coltrane. I think that's it and he's form another tiny little

town in my county. I think some football players come from Rockingham, NC. I don't know their names though.

[Clintmax]

70. Here's the people I know from MY hometown:

Springfield, Missouri:
Bob Barker
Brad Pitt
Kathleen Turner
Laura Ingalls Wilder

[taterguy]

71. Howard Cossell nt

[zanne]

74. Oh God. Adam Sandler.

My brother-in-law was his teacher in high school.

[samplegirl]

76. Paul Newman

(Cleveland ohio) Halle Berry, Hugh Downs,
Phil Donahue, Bob Hope, Joe Walsh, Langston Hughes
Tom Wilson/ziggy cartoonist

[Doctor_J]

179. I thought Newman was from Shaker Heights

:shrug:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

78. Gwen Stefani...hell she's from my block!

[atomic-fly]

154. lucky

[Z_I_Peevey]

79. Warren Spahn

That's about it.

[5thGenDemocrat]

99. Since I started all this, let me jump in here

Bob Devaney, the famous Nebraska football coach in the 50s and 60s, was from my block in Saginaw (I can see the house from my kitchen window) and Bob Buhl (see my OP) pitched with Warren Spahn in Milwaukee. It's a small world.
John
And some of the towns in it are very interesting.

[Z_I_Peevey]

104. My foster sister dated Spahn's son

when they were in high school, in the 60s. Yep, small world.

[ronnykmarshall]

80. Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yokam

Korn and of course ronnykmarshall.

[UTUSN]

81. 1 Really Known, 2 Specialty-Known. Undisclosed Location. n/t

[Telly Savalas]

83. Lucinda Dickey, star of Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

hails from the town I grew up in.

[miss_kitty]

84. Gypsy Rose Lee

Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Lee, Bill Gates.

[scarlet_owl]

85. REO Speedwagon and Bonnie Blair.

Those are the only two I can think of off the top of my head that came from Champaign-Urbana.

[Darth_Kitten]

86. Neil Young, The Guess Who, Monty Hall........

for starters....

:)

[Canadian Socialist]

133. Another Winnipegger! Ha!

See my list further down...

[stlsaxman]

87. Johnnie "B. Goode" Johnson, John Goodman, Scott Joplin,

Maya Angelou, Masters & Johnson, Al Hirschfeld, Albert King, T.S. Elliot, Vincent Price, Betty Grable, Howard Nemerov, William S. Burroughs, Tina Turner, Ike Willis, Phyllis Diller and Miles Davis...

just to name a few. ;)

[xmas74]

89. Originally from Kenosha, WI.

Most famous is probably Orson Wells but everyone know who Al Moninaro is (Big Al from Happy Days-he talked about being from Kenosha on there all the time). Daniel J. Travanti and Don Ameche are a couple of others.
Most famous from the town I graduated from high school-Jim the Wonder Dog (not kidding-a psychic dog. He has his own park) but Steve McQueen grew up in the next town over.

( I take that back. Saline Co. offered a few things for the record besides Jim and Steve. Dr. John Sappington and two MO governors were from Saline Co-probably from Arrow Rock and not Marshall).

[Debbi801]

90. Mama Cass, Barry Levinson, The Diner Guys, John Waters...

Boogie Weinglass.

I'm sure there are others, but that is who comes to mind first.

[5thGenDemocrat]

105. Baltimore?

Add Babe Ruth and Al Kaline. And Edgar Allen Poe died there.
John
My parents were married in Baltimore (dad was in the CIC at Fort Holabird). Mom loved your town very much.

[Debbi801]

113. Yupp. My father went to high school with Cass Elliot, Barry Levinson, etc

His year books read like a who's who. :-)

Not sure how I could have forgotten Babe Ruth, especially since his museum is right near Camden Yards (where the Orioles play). Same goes for Edgar Allen Poe. Someone actually puts brandy/whisky/some sort of alcohol on his grave along with a rose every year.

I have no clue who Al Kaline is.

It's a great area. I've lived here my entire life and I honestly cannot imagine living any where else.

[5thGenDemocrat]

114. He is one of the greatest Detroit Tigers ever

A Hall-of-Famer, but you'd have to be a big baseball fan to know that.
Hey, isn't Frank Zappa from Baltimore, too?
John
Likes both baseball and Frank Zappa music.

[Debbi801]

161. Forgot Spiro Agnew. (nt)

[CanuckAmok]

92. Linda Evangelista, Karla Homolka.

There's a pair of names you seldom see together!

That's St. Catharines, Ontario, the city closest to where I grew up...

[leftofthedial]

97. Bob the barber

Drucilla, the church choir leader

Otis the drunk

[mainegreen]

100. Hannibal Hamlin from Paris, Maine

vice president of Abraham Lincolm. Live at the top of the hill.
:)

[Nikia]

102. The famous runner from the city of my birth

Female 3000 steeplechase American record holder Briana Shook. She lives in Toledo now, last I heard, but she grew up where I did.

[redwitch]

103. Lived here, not necessarily born here:

Chester A. Arthur, Susan B. Anthony, Hal Ketchum, Kim Gannon ( of I'll be Home for Christmas fame) and a gut who's name escapes me but he was busted for income tax evasion but was busy selling drugs and guns for Iran Contra debacle. He also hung out with Imelda Marcos. And of course, me, REDWITCH with the wonderful new haircut! :bounce:

[Left Is Write]

106. How about my home state, Minnesota?

Famous Minnesotans...

LeRoy Nieman
Charles Schulz
Garrison Keillor
Jesse Ventura
Charles Lindbergh
Bob Dylan
Prince
Loni Anderson
Louie Anderson
Al Franken
Josh Hartnett
Craig Kilborn
Jessica Lange
Seann William Scott
Lea Thompson



There are lots of others who were either born in Minnesota or raised in Minnesota.

None of them are from my hometown or city of birth specifically.

[myrna minx]

157. You forgot Poland and Kevin Sorbo.

Haha. :hi: We can also claim Sinclair Lewis.

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/07/13_newsroom_lewis/

[KitchenWitch]

190. And F Scott Fitzgerald!

[Pithlet]

111. Michael Moore

That's the only famous person I can think of from Flint, my hometown. ETA I just remembered Grand Funk Railroad.

My current town, Memphis has a few as well. Elvis, of course, though technically he's from Tupelo, MS. Isaac Hayes, I think. Cybil Shepard.

[5thGenDemocrat]

116. Hi Pithlet

Hey, you forgot famous Flint native Bob Eubanks, erstwhile host of the Newlywed Game.
John
Can't forget ol' Bob, hard as many of us try to.

[Pithlet]

123. Hi, John

:hi:

I didn't know he was from Flint. Or I may have forgotten that :)

[Xipe Totec]

118. Please don't Kill Me....

George H. W. Bush

:hide:

Born in Milton, Massachusetts, on June 12, 1924

[Initech]

119. The 37th President of the United States

Yup, the guy who started the crazy Republican bullshit - Richard Nixon!

[ulysses]

120. Claremore, OK - Will Rogers

although he really grew up a little ways up the road.

[corksean]

121. JM Barrie (Author of Peter Pan) lived in my house apparently,

although strictly speaking he wasn't from here (he was Scottish, I'm in Ireland) and where I live is not my home town, as I've only lived here for about a year.

Not long after we moved in I noticed occasionally small groups of people would stop outside my house and take photos. It's a very distinctive 18th Century coach house and I assumed that's why people were taking snaps, until one day a couple knocked on the door and asked if they could take pictures of themselves in the doorway. They were American, and told me that they were fans of Peter Pan / JM Barrie and had come over to tour sites in the UK connected to the author where they had learned that there was also an Irish connection.

As far as my home town (Cork) goes probably the most famous would be Roy Keane & Denis Irwin (footballers with Manchester Utd.)although we also gave the world Edward Mulhare (probably best known as Devon Miles in "Knight Rider")

[Lady Effingbroke]

122. *, Poppy, Babs, Ken Lay, Clint Black,

Sheila Jackson-Lee, Chris Bell, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, Nolan Ryan, Patrick Swayze, Destiny's Child...

[jmm]

124. Two of these things aren't like the others

I hate to admit this but Poppy isn't from your hometown he is from MA near mine. W is from Connecticut.

[bo44]

125. Jack Rabbit, Chris Isaak, Daniel Goleman, Pavement, Eddie Guardado

Janet Leigh, Warren Atherton, Dave Brubeck, Leonard Gardner, Ben Holt, Maxiner Hong Kingston, Eddie Lebaron, Tillie Lewis, Peter Rodriquez, George Shima,


http://www.stocktongov.com/history/sketch.cfm#famous

[no name no slogan]

128. I live in a building F. Scott Fitzgerald once took dance lessons in

It used to be a girls' boarding school at the turn of the 20th century. He grew up a block to the east of me, and used to take dance classes at the school when he was a wee child.

Otherwise, the only famous people from my once-small hometown are a pop group called The Jets, who had a mid-80s hit with a song called "Crush On You".

[Gregorian]

129. Joan Baez, Karen Carpenter, Steve Jobs, Santana

ME!

Sheesh, that's just off the top of my head. I used to watch Carlos Santana tune up his harley. My friend lived next door, and has private recordings from his garage rehearsals.

[Canadian Socialist]

130. Long list!

The Guess Who w/Burton Cummings
Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Tommy Douglas (grandfather of Keifer Sutherland and father of Canada's Health Care system)
Brendan Fehr (Roswell)
Anna Paquin
David Steinburg
Scott Bairstow
Neil Young
Chantal Kreviazuk
Donnally Rhodes
Loreena McKennitt
Mimi Kuzyk
Monty Hall
Sir William Stephenson (A Man Called Intrepid)
Lots more but I got tired of typing!

[LeftyMom]

131. Justice Kennedy is from Sacramento. We apologize. nt

[Laelth]

134. Otis Redding ...

Lena Horne, Duane and Greg Allman (sort of), Little Richard, Kevin Brown, Nancy Grace (sorry about that one), Pookie Loc (Henry Lee Clark III), Sidney Lanier.

That's Macon, Georgia, y'all.

-Laelth

[rustydog]

136. William O. Douglas...Will Sampson...

[ElsewheresDaughter]

137. Frank Sanatra,Jon Corzine, Keith Richards, ...Hoboken, NJ

[bettyellen]

168. Alexander Calder and Steven Foster lived here too.

And that famous photographer..... Alfred? Arthur Steigltz?

[Briarius]

138. Orville Redenbacher

yea, the popcorn guy. He's from Brazil, In where I went to high school

[saged52]

139. I'm really jealous -

for the most part everyone can be very proud of the people from their hometowns. I've been debating all day long whether to fess up or not - - - my little bitty town of 700 claims Gretchen Wilson as their home grown gal. I'm just not a fan - nor do I like the stereotype she's given all us other gals from this area.

[GRLMGC]

140. John Wayne

Known as Marion Morrison in Glendale when he went to school here. My high school's most famous alum.

[charlie and algernon]

142. Mario and Michael Andretti

they're both literally my neighbors.

Also, Larry Holmes and Carson from "queer eye" are both from the area

[Trigger Hippie]

143. Ron Guidry

Yankees pitcher (from Lafayette, LA)

:hi:

[liberalitch]

144. Alan Shepard, bill haley,

[kick-ass-bob]

146. Sharon Lawrence.

There might be more, but this is off the top of my head.

[seemunkee]

147. Richard Pryor, Betty Friedan - Peoria, Il

[noonwitch]

149. Gerald Ford and Roger B. Chafee

Grand Rapids, MI.

Also, El DeBarge, Anthony Keidas, and Gillian Anderson all have lived there at some point in their childhoods.

Retired NBA player Loy Vaught went to my high school, and graduated with my little sister.

I currently live in Warren, which is where Eminem is from.

[atomic-fly]

150. Edgar Allen Poe

Natalie Merchant. Author Ashe. GWAR . Cracker.

[China_cat]

151. Not exactly my hometown but then

we considered all the little towns in the area as 'home'.

Henry Mancini, Joe Namath, Arnold Palmer.

[RedCloud]

152. Let me see....

Chuck Berry
Ike Turner
Tina Turner
Johnnie Johnson
Billy Peek
Scott Joplin
Fontella Bass

Mary Engelbreit
Bob Cassilly

Maya Angelou
Tennessee Williams
Irma Rombauer
Kate Chopin
T.S. Eliot
William S. Burroughs

Phyllis Diller
John Goodman
Marsha Mason
Vincent Price
Josephine Baker


Arthur Holly Compton
Charles Drew
Joseph Erlanger
Peter Raven

Ulysses S. Grant
Thomas Eagleton
Richard Gephardt
John Danforth
William Webster, Sr.

Joe Buck
Bob Costas
Joseph Pulitzer
Stone Phillips

Henry Armstrong
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Branch Rickey
Leon Spinks

[Magrittes Pipe]

153. Lillian Gish.

And me, of course.

[El Fuego]

155. Burt Reynolds, Judge Reinhold, and regrettably, Carrot Top

And that "git-r-done comedian." And some soap opera actress who was on Matlock whose name escapes me.

[Xithras]

156. George Lucas, Chandra Levy, Gary Condit, Laci Peterson, the Gallo's.

Actually, they're not from my hometown, but from the bigger hometown who's city limits are only a few hundred yards from my home. I live in a glorified flyspeck of a town that has never generated anything more interesting than a watermelon that sorta looked like Elvis.

[norml]

158. Dick Cheney

[TallahasseeGrannie]

160. Somerville, NJ: Paul Robeson

[yellowdogintexas]

164. my actual home town? NO ONE. But Robert Penn Warren

was born 8 miles away in a slightly larger town

Jefferson Davis was born 25 miles away, in a small house that was probably on a farm at the time.

[Aristus]

165. Puyallup Washington: Megan Quann. 2000 Olympics Gold Medal

swimmer.

[bettyellen]

171. anne bancroft, stanley kubrick, j-Lo, afrika bambaataa, calvin klein

and ralph lipchitz (lauren) ,aaliyah.....
i know i'll remember more as soon as i hit post.

[Doctor_J]

177. A couple guys in the class ahead of me

were armed robbers. HOw's that?

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

180. El Dorado, Kansas - Bobby Douglass & William Allen White

[Seabiscuit]

181. New Canaan, Connecticut

Martin Mull

Michael Crichton

The blond bitch with the huuuuuuuuuuuuuge adams apple (I've erased her name from my wetware)

[Tikki]

182. Terence Knox and....

Sharon Tate lived there for awhile...
I have no idea who else might be famous... I haven't lived there in a very long time....

[Seabiscuit]

184. So, aside from Stevie Wonder, who are all those other people????

Honestly, I've never heard of them.

Wait... is Tim McCoy a country music singer? At least the name sounds like he should be. :) Hint: I proudly don't know shit about "country music" beyond Ray Charles' album of the same title.

[5thGenDemocrat]

186. Well, since I started this thread, here you go

You already know Stevie.
Theodore Roethke was one of this country's great poets. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1955, along with just about all the other big awards a poet can win. His bibliography goes on and on, but my favorite poem of his is "I Knew a Woman," written about an (I'm told) unrequited love of his, who happened to be the mother of a friend of mine (Saginaw isn't a very large town).
Question Mark (and the Mysterians) are famous for one song -- "96 Tears" -- released in 1966 and still a rock and roll chestnut. Over my time here, I've received more comments about the fact that Question Mark was from the ol' hometown than that Stevie is.
Sonny Stitt was one of the greatest jazz saxophonists ever, and a childhood friend of Jerry Mitchell, another saxophonist who played on a whole bunch of Motown recordings (notably and off the top of my head, "Heat Wave," by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas). Jerry, years and years later, married that friend of mine whose mom (above) had inspired Ted Roethke. Like I said, Saginaw is a small town.
Tim McCoy was a star cowboy actor in the 1930s as well as an expert on American Indian language and culture. He also had a TV program in Los Angeles in the 1950s wherein he discussed all that, making him one of the first such actors to make the switch to television.
I've read on one website or another that this show was quite popular in its day but, living 2000 miles northeast of LA, I've never seen any episodes of it. In fact, I've only seen a couple of McCoy's films, as most of them were silent and aren't shown any more.
Jason Richardson is an all-star NBA basketball player with the Golden State Warriors (he won the slam dunk contest at the All-Star game two years running).
Bob Buhl was a pitcher with the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies in the 1950s and '60s. Like I said above, he hung around long enough to win 166 games which, if one was to look it up, is more than (say) Sandy Koufax did.
Like I said in my OP, none of these folks would be famous to everyone but, hey, you got Stevie Wonder and that's good enough for me and for the purpose of my list.
Here's another famous obscurity from Saginaw -- Robert Armstrong. He was in dozens of movies, but is probably best known for playing the role of Carl Denham (the impressario) in the original "King Kong." About twenty years later, he also appeared in "Mighty Joe Young." He probably would've had a bigger career, but he seemed to get typecast into ape films.
Ruth Nelson, another character actor whose career spanned, oh, fifty years or so, was from Saginaw, too. I'll refer you to IMDB for her filmography -- which is mighty long, indeed.
Finally, that friend of mine I mentioned above? Her father, Captain John GW Finke, was either the first or the second American officer to set foot on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 (along with Capt. Ed Wozenski). He got his troops (well, about half of them) up the bluff by noon -- when he was hit by shrapnel and evacuated.
This was after he was shot clean through by a rifle bullet (in North Africa) and winged in the head by a machine gun bullet (in Sicily), but before he won a Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry during the Rohr River crossing in November 1944.
Nobody's ever heard of him, either (though you can Google his name and read lots more about him) but, to me, he's as nifty as anyone who ever came out of this town.
John
Wow. Almost 200 posts now. In my four years here, I don't think I've ever started a thread that lasted this long. I thank you for posting on it.

[BikeWriter]

185. Dusty Hill (ZZTops) has a bay house a mile from me.

[HEyHEY]

187. Terry Fox, Neve Campbell, Jason Priestley, Tommy chong, Joe Sakic

Brian Adams, Michael J. Fox, Joshua Jackson...it goes on

[Ladyhawk]

188. No one. We have to import our famous people from Modesto.

George Lucas
Gary Condit
Scott Peterson

[ikri]

189. There's a few...

From Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Sting
Jimmy Nail - British actor, probably most famous in the US for his role in Evita
Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)
A ton of famous sportsmen who you'll not have heard of if you don't follow English soccer
Lord William Armstrong - invented high pressure hydraulic machinery (including cranes) and (apparently) revolutionised the design and manufacture of guns.
Sir Charles Parsons - invented the first multi-stage steam turbine
Bryan Ferry
Chas Chandler (The Animals) - possibly more famous for his association with Jimi hendrix than he was for his own music
Rowan Atkinson
Earl Grey (he liked his tea)

From the local area (within 15 miles)
George Stephenson - father of the railway system
And for the attentive Catholics...St. Bede and St. Cuthbert

[Nomad559]

191. Alan Autry

Mayor of Fresno

http://www.fresno.gov/city_officials/mayor

:)

[mvd]

193. Frederick Muhlenberg

Speaker of the House of Representatives in the First and Third Congresses.

In fact the whole Muhlenberg family, which was big in the founding of Lutheranism in America.

[LT TX]

194. Bill Moyers

and George Foreman.