I basically wanted to show how MANY famous Ohioans there are in this world.  One of those state pride threads, I suppose.  Most of these people either were born, raised, or have a strong connection to Ohio.  Basically, if you asked most of these people where they were from, they'd say "Ohio" (with perhaps exception with James Brown, etc).  I broke it down by populated regions (this is NOT a comparison/city vs. city thread) to show who is from where.

 

Please add on famous people (not talking, say, Voinovich or Blackwell, as they are more local) in this thread, if you'd like (or atleast an interesting fact).  And please, no local artists that no one has heard of.

 

Greater Akron-Canton-Massillon

Lola Albright (actor)

R.W. Apple, Jr. (journalist and author)

The Black Keys (musicians)

John Brown (abolitionist)

Mike Callahan of Earshot-Band (musician)

Vincent J. Cardinal (playwright & director)

Hart Crane (poet)

Jeffrey Dahmer (serial killer)

Len Dawson (football player)

Devo (musicians)

Rita Dove (poet)

Hugh Downs (broadcaster, “20/20”)

Angie Everhart (fashion model)

Harvey Firestone (inventor, industrialist)

B. F. Goodrich (industrialist)

Macy Gray (musician)

Chrissie Hynde (musician)

James Ingram (musician)

Jim Jarmusch (film director)

Melina Kanakaredes (actor)

Maynard James Keenan (musician)

Perry King (actor)

Bobby Knight (basketball coach)

Lux Interior (musician)

Lebron James (basketball player)

Jani Lane (musician)

Marilyn Manson (musician)

Thurman Munson (baseball player)

Rick Nasal (actor)

The O’jays (musician group)

Jack Paar (talk show host)

Ara Parseghian (football coach)

Relient K (musician group)

Boz Scaggs (musician)

Rachel Sweet (musician)

Michael Wadleigh (film director)

 

Greater Cincinnati-Hamilton-Middletown

98 Degrees & Nick Lachey (musicians)

Karen Ackerman (author)

Afghan Wigs (musicians)

Shaun Alexander (football player)

Ethan Allen (baseball player)

Nick Altrock (baseball player)

Babyface & The Deale (musician, producer)

William Jacob Baer (painter)

David Baerwald (musician)

Theda Bara (actor)

David Bell (baseball player)

Blessid Union of Souls (musicians)

Tom Boerwinkle (basketball player)

Mark Boone Jr. (actor)

Daryl Boston (baseball player)

Jack Boyle (baseball player)

Ed Brinkman (baseball player)

Bob Braun (talk show host)

James Brown (musician, recorded with King Records)

Ric Bucher (ESPN NBA analyst)

Alice Cary (poet)

George Chakiris (actor)

Ezzard Charles (boxer)

Salmon P. Chase (politician)

Marguerite Clark (actor)

George Clooney (actor)

Rosemary Clooney (musician, actor)

Bootsy Collins (musician)

Ray Combs (game show host)

Dave Cowens (baseball player)

Michael Cunningham (author)

Czar*Nok (musician group)

Erik Daniels (basketball player)

Doris Day (actor)

Zach Day (baseball player)

Jim Dine (painter, sculptor)

Red Dooin (baseball player)

Bill Doran (baseball player)

Richard Dotson (baseball player)

Leon Durham (baseball player)

Carmen Electra (model, actor)

Harlan Ellison (author)

Suzanne Farrell (dancer)

Henry Fillmore (composer)

Larry Flynt (publisher of Hustler adult magazine)

Nikki Giovanni (activist, poet)

Ulysses S. Grant (soldier, politician, U.S. president)

Julie Hagerty (actor)

Woody Harrelson (actor)

Benjamin Harrison (soldier, politician, U.S. president)

William Henry Harrison (soldier, politician, U.S. president)

Matt Harpring (basketball player)

Heartless Bastards (musician group)

Henry Heimlich (inventor)

Bill Hemmer (news anchor)

Robert Henri (painter)

Hi-Tek (producer)

Tyrone Hill (basketball player)

Miller Huggins (baseball player)

Tom Hume (baseball player)

The Isley Brothers (musicians)

Rule Janice (actor)

Lance Johnson (baseball player)

David Justice (baseball player)

Charles Keating (banker, activist)

Barry Larkin (baseball player)

Sam Leever (baseball player)

Hudson Leick (actor)

James Levine (conductor, musician)

Vicki Lewis (actor)

Jim Leyritz (baseball player)

Carl Lindner (prominent entrepreneur, political contributor, philanthropist)

Jerry Lucas (basketball player)

Garry Maddox (baseball player)

Charles Manson (murderer, cult leader)

Roger McDowell (baseball player)

Midnight Star (musician group)

Tim Naehring (baseball player)

John Newland (actor)

Stephen Nichols (actor)

Bob Nieman (baseball player)

Russ Nixon (baseball player)

Joe Nuxhall (baseball player and announcer)

Ron Oester (baseball player)

Sarah Jessica Parker (actor)

Dan Patrick (sportscaster, talk show host)

Eduardo Perez (baseball player)

Tyrone Power (actor)

William Procter (industrialist)

L.A. Reid (CEO of Arista, musician)

Roy Rogers (actor)

Pete Rose (baseball player, manager)

Albert Sabin  (discoverer of oral polio vaccine)

Scott Sauerbeck (baseball player)

George Sisler (baseball player) 

Mamie Smith (singer)

Tony Snow (news commentator)

Hal Sparks (actor)

Steven Spielberg (film director, film producer)

Jerry Springer (host)

Roger Staubach (football player)

Shannon Stewart (baseball player)

Harriet Beecher Stowe (author)

William Howard Taft (politician, jurist, U.S. president, chief justice)

Kent Tekulve (baseball player)

Jim Tracy (baseball player, manager)

Ted Turner (founder of Turner Broadcasting, CNN)

John Henry Twachtman (painter)

Linda Vester (news anchor)

Bill Wegman (baseball player)

Tom Wesselmann (pop artist)

Amy Yasbeck (actor)

Kevin Youkilis (baseball player)

Don Zimmer (baseball player, coach)

 

Greater Cleveland-Elyria-Lorain

Steven Adler (musician)

Corey Allen (actor)

Ray Anthony (musician)

Albert Ayler (musician)

Avant (musician)

Jim Backus (actor)

Kaye Ballard (actor)

Chris Bando (baseball player)

Lisa Banes (actor)

Stiv Bators (musician)

Halle Berry (actor)

David Birney (actor)

John Bixler (actor)

Nina Blackwood (veejay)

Bone Thugs N Harmony (musician group)

Earl Boykins (basketball player)

Jim Brown (football player)

Charles Brush (inventor, industrialist)

Drew Carey (actor, comedian)

Eric Carmen (musician)

Drew Carter (football player)

Mary Cary (porn)

Ray Cash (musician)

Tracy Chapman (musician) 

Charles Chesnutt (writer)

Gilby Clarke (musician) 

Tim Conway (actor, comedian)

Wes Craven (film director)

Dorothy Dandridge (actor)

William H. Daniels (cinematographer)

Dazz Band (musician group)

Ruby Dee (actor)

Cheri Denis (musician)

Phil Donahue (talk show host)

Stephen Donaldson (author)

Mike Douglas (actor)

Herbert H. Dow (chemist, industrialist)

Sean Faris (actor, model)

Alan Freed (radio show host, namer of "Rock 'n Roll")

James A. Garfield (Civil War general, U.S. president)

Teri Garr (actor)

Carlin Glynn (actor)

Bob Golic (football player, actor)

Mike Golic (football player, sports talk host)

Joel Grey (actor, singer, dancer)

Arsenio Hall (comedian, talk show host, actor)

Margaret Hamilton (actor, Wicked Witch in “Oz”)

Steve Harvey (comedian/actor)

Screamin' Jay Hawkins (musician)

Patricia Heaton (actor)

Kim Herring (football player)

Anne Heche (actor)

Hal Holbrook (actor)

Bob Hope (comedian, actor)

Terrance Howard (actor)

Langston Hughes (poet)

Philip Johnson (architect)

Carol Kane (actor)

Don King (fight promoter)

Jerome Lawrence (writer)

Robert E. Lee (writer)

Gerald Levert (musician)

Peter B. Lewis (prominent entrepreneur, political contributor, philanthropist, activist)

Henry Mancini (composer)

Diane McBain (actor)

Gates McFadden (actor) 

Burgess Meredith (actor)

Toni Morrison (author)

Martin Mull (comedian, actor)

Paul Newman (actor)

Nine Inch Nails (musician group)

Chuck Noll (football coach)

Jesse Owens (runner)

Paul Palnik (artist,cartoonist)

Lawanda Page (actor)

Robert Patrick (actor)

Gary Patterson (musician)

Harvey Pekar (author) 

Pere Ubu (musical group)

Dav Pilkey (author) 

Monica Potter (actor)

Bobby Rahal (race car driver)

The Raspberries (musician group) 

Raz-B (musician, “B2k”)

Relient K, (musician group)

John D. Rockefeller (industrialist, world’s first billionare)

Alan Ruck (actor)

Helga Sandburg [Crile] (poet, daughter, Carl Sandburg)

Molly Shannon (comedian)

Sam Sheppard (murder suspect)

Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster (the creators of Superman)

George Steinbrenner (shipping magnate, sports club owner)

Mark Stevens (actor)

Don Shula (football coach)

Ruth Ann Tillman (painter)

Jim Tressel (football coach)

Joseph Trohman of Fall Out Boy (musician)

Joe Walsh 

Lew Wasserman (studio executive)

Bill Watterson (cartoonist, “Calvin & Hobbes”)

Scott Weiland (musician)

Jack Weston (actor)

Kym Whitley (actor, comedian)

Fred Willard (actor) 

Debra Winger (actor)

Bobby Womack (musician)

Dare Wright (photographer, children's author)

 

Greater Columbus-Newark-Marion

Majel Barrett (actor)

George Bellows (painter)

Bizzy Bone (musician)

Bow Wow (musician)

Prescott Bush (U.S. Senator, businessman, father of G.H. Bush)

Yvonne Craig (actor)

Ben Curtis (golf player)

Beverly D'Angelo (actor)

James "Buster" Douglas (boxer)

Michael Feinstein (musician)

Sarah Fisher (race car driver)

Craig Fuller (musician)

Funky J (musician)

John Galbreath (real estate mogul and former owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates)

David Graf (actor)

Bob Greene (newspaper columnist)

Archie Griffin (football player)

Loco Gringo (musician)

Jack Hanna (zoo director, animal expert)

Warren G. Harding (U.S. president)

Rutherford B. Hayes (politician, U.S. president)

Woody Hayes (football coach)

Eileen Heckart (actor)

Elsie Janis (actor)

A. J. Langer (actor)

Greg Morris (actor)

Jack Nicklaus (golfer)

O.A.R. (musician group)

Paul O'Neill (baseball player)

Tom Poston (actor)

Pure Prairie League (musicians)

Rascal Flatts (musical group)

Eddie Rickenbacker (pilot)

Saving Jane (musician group)

William Tecumseh Sherman (soldier, politician)

Howard Dwight Smith (architect)

Dina Spybey (actor)

R. L. Stine (author)

Dave Thomas (founder of Wendy’s)

Philip Michael Thomas (actor)

James Thurber (author, cartoonist)

Leslie "Les" H. Wexner (founder of the Limited Brands Corporation)

Clarence White (photographer)

Nancy Wilson (musician)

Dwight Yoakam (musician, actor)

 

Greater Dayton-Springfield

Berenice Abbott (journalist, photographer)

Tom Aldredge (actor)

Louis Aldrich (actor)

Will Allen (football player)

Sherwood Anderson (author) 

Randy Ayers (basketball coach)

Lou Barlow (musician)

Nathalie Barney (author)

Ned Bellamy (actor)

Cindy Blackman (musician)

Blue Jacket (Native American soldier)

Tina Bockrath (model)

J. Paul Boehmer (actor)

Erma Bombeck (newspaper columnist, author)

John Bottoms (actor)

Clancy Brown (actor)

Woody Brown (actor)

Tyreese Burnett (actor)

Ralph Byrd (actor)

Marion Byron (actor)

Milton Caniff (cartoonist) 

Brenda Carlin (television producer, wife of George Carlin)

Butch Carter (basketball player, coach)

Cris Carter (football player)

Nancy Cartwright (voice performer, “Bart Simpson”)

Damian Chapa (actor)

Dave Chappelle (comedian, actor)

Mystro Clark (actor, “Soul Train” host)

Roger Clemens (baseball player)

Marco Coleman (football player)

Cris Collinsworth (football player)

James M. Cox (Governor, Presidential candidate, Media mogul)

Frank Daniels (actor, Captain Jinks)

June Dayton (actor)

Kim Deal & Kelley Deal of The Breeders (musicians)

Rick Derringer (musician)

Paul Laurence Dunbar (poet)

Micah Dyer (actor)

Joe Estevez (actor)

Mel Epstein (film producer)

Faze-O (musician group)

Dorothy Gish (actor)

Guided by Voices (musicians)

Cathy Guisewite (cartoonist, “Cathy”)

Virginia Hamilton (children's author)

Dorian Harewood (actor)

Ron Harper (basketball player)

A.J. Hawk (football player)

Heatwave (musician group)

Hawthorne Heights (musician group)

John Hockenberry (broadcaster)

Darrell Jackson (football player)

Tommy James (musician, “Mony Mony”)

Allison Janney (actor)

Ken Jenkins (actor)

Toccara Elaine Jones (contestant on America's Next Top Model, host)

Gordon Jump (actor)

Charles Kettering (inventor)

Dave Krynzel (baseball player)

Lakeside (musician group)

Walter Law (actor)

John Legend (musician)

RuDee Lipscomb (actor)

John Lithgow (actor)

Chad Lowe (actor) 

Rob Lowe (actor)

Walter Miller (actor)

Mills Brothers (musicians)

Edwin C. Moses (runner)

Shirley Murdock (musician)

Mike Nugent (football player)

Ohio Players (musicians)

Oxymoronatron (musicians)

Eleanor Parker (actor)

John H. Patterson (industrialist)

Jim Paxson (basketball player)

John Paxson (basketball player)

Ce Ce Peniston (model, musician)

Robert Pollard (composer)

Peerless Price (football player)

The Quintessentials (musician group)

Jess Robbins (actor)

Roger Troutman & Zapp (musicians)

Ted Ross (actor)

Gary Sandy (actor) 

Sherri Saum (actor)

Nicole Scherzinger (musician, lead singer of Pussycat Dolls)

Mike Schmidt (baseball player)

Fred Scott (broadcaster, "Uncle Fred")

William Self (actor)

Martin Sheen (actor) 

Lew Short (actor) 

Slave (musician group)

Shannon Niquette Stewart (model)

Billy Strayhorn (musician)

The Sun (musician group)

Andrea Thompson (model, broadcaster)

Van Hunt (musician)

Randy Walker (college football coach)

Lucille Ward (actor)

Jon Frederic West (musician)

Dan “Big Daddy” Wilkinson (football player)

Katt “Money Mike” Williams (comedian, actor)

Jonathan Winters (comedian, actor)

Orville & Wilbur Wright (inventors)

 

Greater Toledo-Fremont

Anita Baker (musician)

Jonathan Bennet (actor)

Teresa Brewer (musician)

John Cromwell (director)

Louis "Chip" Davis Jr. (musician)

Jamie Farr (actor)

Jim Harbaugh (football player)

Katie Holmes (actor)

Jim Jackson (basketball player)

Lyfe Jennings (musician)

Jim Leyland (baseball manager)

Doug Mientkiewicz (baseball player)

Bill Moor (actor)

Suzee Pai (actor)

Scott Shriner of Weezer (musician)

Gloria Steinem (feminist)

Alyson Stoner (actress/dancer)

Art Tatum (musician)

 

Greater Youngstown-Warren

Catherine Bach (actor)

Chris Columbus (film director)

Dave Grohl of Nirvana & Foo Fighters (musician)

Bernie Kosar (football player)

Jack Lambert (football player)

Maureen McGovern (singer)

William McKinley (U.S. president) (Niles)

Ed O'Neill (actor)

Austin Pendleton (actor)

Mark Sevi (screenwriter)

Michael Stanley (musician)

Paul Warfield (football player)

 

Lima

Phyllis Diller (actor, comedian)

Ann Hamilton (artist)

Al Snow (wrestler)

 

Mansfield

Johnny Appleseed (pioneer)

Louis Bromfield (author)

Paul Gilger (playwright, set designer, architect)

Luke Perry (actor, "90210")

 

Marietta

Charles G. Dawes (Vice President, politician)

Carol Dixon (author)

Lily Martin Spencer (painter)

 

Other Cities

Kurt Abbott (baseball player), Zanesville

Neil Armstrong (astronaut), Wapakoneta

Coy Bacon (football player), Ironton

Kathleen Battle (singer), Portsmouth

Tim Belcher (baseball player), Mount Gilead

Ambrose Bierce (author), Meigs County

Dave Blaney (race car driver), Hartford

Harry Bonath (painter/commercial artist), Bucyrus

William “Hopalong Cassidy” Boyd (actor), Cambridge

Paul Brown (football coach), Norwalk

Ray Brown (baseball player), Alger

Michelle Burke (actor), Defiance

Rob Carpenter (football player), Junction City

George Custer (cavalry officer), New Rumley

Stefan Czapsky (film director)

Tom Darden (football player), Sandusky

Bethany Dillon (Christian singer/songwriter), Bellefontaine

Thomas Edison (inventor), Milan

Charlie Frye (football player), Willard

Clark Gable (actor), Cadiz

Cass Gilbert (architect), Zanesville

John Glenn (astronaut, politician), New Concord

Elisha Gray (inventor, telephone), Barnesville

Zane Grey (author), Zanesville

Lou Groza (football player), Martins Ferry

John Havlicek (basketball player), Martins Ferry

Larry Hisle (baseball player), Portsmouth

Lou Holtz (Football coach), East Liverpool

Sam Hornish, Jr. (Indy car driver,), Defiance

William Dean Howells (author, critic), Martin’s Ferry

Dummy Hoy (deaf baseball player), Houcktown

Bob Huggins (basketaball coach), Gnadenhutten

Home Run Johnson (baseball player), Findlay

Clarence Jones (baseball player, coach), Zanesville

Maya Lin (sculptor), Athens

Traci Lords (adult entertainment performer, actor, author), Steubenville

Paul Lynde (actor), Mt. Vernon

Dean Martin (singer, actor), Steubenville

Scott May (basketball player), Sandusky

Mark Metcalf (actor), Findlay

Don Novello (comedian, actor), Ashtabula

Annie Oakley (markswoman), Greenville

Ransom Olds (automobile inventor), Geneva

Al Oliver (baseball player), Portsmouth

Orlando Pace (football player), Sandusky

Jay Payton (baseball player), Zanesville

Tim Richmond (race car driver), Ashland

Branch Rickey (baseball manager), Stockdale

Ben Roethlisberger (football player), Findlay

Tecumseh (Native American soldier), Chillicothe

Vesta Williams (musician), Coshocton

Moses Fleetwood Walker (baseball player), Mount Pleasant

Brad Warner (author)

Sol White (baseball player, manager, executive), Bellaire

Wild Cherry (musician group), Mingo Junction

Cy Young (baseball player), Newcomerstown

Ron Zook (football coach), Loudonville

Funny reading that list.  Martin Mull was probably before peoples times here, more from the '70s....but he used to work "Ohio" into his stuff a lot.

 

 

A lot of cartoonists seem to have come from Dayton.  He's not on the list but a more recent cartoonist that had a following in the more "alternative" scene was Ted Rall (grew up in Kettering, though I think he was born elsewhere).

 

Robert Crumb was a underground cartoonist who is pretty well know in the comix subculture, came from Cleveland.

 

 

 

 

Also, I suppose Mike Peters, but he's originally from Missouri.

To copy right from wikipedia...Hamilton's claims:

 

Charles Richter, seismologist and creator of the Richter scale

Ray Combs, comedian and second host of Family Feud Gameshow

William Howells Dean, Author

Robert McClusky, Author

Jim Tracy, Professional Baseball Player and Manager

Scott Walker, singer, songwriter

Roger Troutman, singer, songwriter

Leroy Bonner, musician

Greg Webster, musician

Greg Stokes, Professional Basketball Player

Kevin Grevey, Professional Basketball Player

Mark Lewis, Professional Baseball Player

Joe Nuxhall, Professional Baseball Player

Aaron Cook, Professional Baseball Player 

Nan Phelps, American Folk Artist

William Allen, born near Hamilton, later United States Congressman

"American Scene" (realist) painter from Ohio was Charles Burchfield.  I think he was from Salem or Ashtabula, that NE part of the state.

 

 

Edmund White, a writer and critic and one of the pioneers of gay literature via his participation in "The Violet Quill", was a native of Cincinnati, and that city (unnamed) occasionally appears in his work.  I am not sure how well he is known outside of gay or literary circles, but he has done some non-gay oriented writing, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larry Flynt..hmm...I thought he got his start in Columbus or Dayton, or thats where he lived, and the Cincinnati connection came later via his run in with the local politicos there.

 

Another well known person from SW Ohio, from Middletown, is Clarence Paige, the journalist.  He graduated from high school in Middletown and to college at OU.  He has a syndicated column but is based, I think, with the Chicago Tribune, and is occasionally on TV (I first saw him on the McLaughlin Group).

 

 

Larry Flynt was born (and/or) raised in Dayton, but his connection is (of course) stronger with Cincinnati.  Other Daytonians that I put in other cities (for stronger connections to their current city) are Woody Hayes (from Greene County) and Les Wexner.

I had no clue that Lawanda (Aunt Esther) Page was from Cleveland. 

^Her uglyness should have been a clue. ;)

 

An interesting list, makes me realize I don't know much about the entertainment world (not that I care...).

Another well known person from SW Ohio, from Middletown, is Clarence Paige, the journalist.  He graduated from high school in Middletown and to college at OU.  He has a syndicated column but is based, I think, with the Chicago Tribune, and is occasionally on TV (I first saw him on the McLaughlin Group).

Yup Page is from Middletown.  Wrote for the Middletown Journal at one point.  My mom went to high school with him, although she was a year behind him.

 

A correction from above.  Chris and Butch Carter were born in Troy (I believe) but lived much of their youth in Middletown, eventually graduating from Middletown High and consider Middletown their hometown.

 

Other notable Middletonians that were missing from the list:

 

Paul J. Sorg (Industrialist/Congressman)

George M. Verity (founder of ARMCO, Inc.)

John B. Tytus (Inventor--continuous method of rolling steel)

The McGuire Sisters (musicians/entertainers)

Yankee Grey (Musicians)

Swim/July for Kings (Musicians--short-lived)

Susan Perkins (former Miss America)

Charlie Root (pro baseball for Chicago Cubs--holds record for career wins with Cubs)

C. William Verity (Chairman of ARMCO, Secretary of Commerce under Reagan)

Charles R. Hook (Chairman of ARMCO and one of the founders of Junior Achievement)

Todd Bell (pro football with Chicago Bears)

Gary Brewer (pro golfer 1967 Masters winner--born in Middletown)

Glenn "Tiger" Ellison (sports--inventor of American "Run and Shoot" offense)

J. E. Harding (member of U.S. House of Representatives)

Howard Harding Jones (football coach at Yale, Ohio State, Duke, Iowa, Syracuse and Southern California; College Football Hall of Fame).

Marianne Morris (LPGA golfer)

T.A.D Jones (football coach at Yale and Syracuse, brother to Howard Harding Jones; College Football Hall of Fame)

John Holmes was an Ohio boy !

I think Doris Day should probably have singer / musician added

^Her uglyness should have been a clue. ;)

 

 

Watch it Sucka!!  You ol' fish eyed fool!  8-)

^LOL, I was hoping that would be your comeback!

I would have left Jeffrey Dahmer out of it lol.

I basically wanted to show how MANY famous Ohioans there are in this world...

 

And these are just the names off top of ColDayMan's head. Just wait until he REALLY gets going...

 

He'll name folks like jazz greats Joe Henderson, the pride of Lima; Pee Wee Hunt, first son of Plymouth; and Jon Hendricks, the H.S.I.C.* of Newark.

 

*Head Scatman In Charge.

Bah.  Phyllis Diller can kick his ass.

^Not with Hunt and Hendricks with his back.

Byron "Ban" Johnson - Norwalk - Formed the American League (of Major League Baseball) and brought the Indians to Cleveland around the turn of the 20th century

 

Jackie Mayer -  Sandusky - Miss America 1963

There is also, Johnny Lytle, a jazz vibraphone player from Springfield, Ohio who prolly otta be in here.

How about Chris Cousins?!?! :wink:

God cannot be placed on the list.

Helen Steiner Rice "inspirational poet" (of greeting card fame) - Lorain

 

Don Novello (listed as Ashtabula - IMDB has birthplace as Lorain - either way he graduated from Lorain High in 1960)

 

Lillian Gish - actress - could be claimed by Massillon or Springfield

 

Archibald Willard - painted The Spirit of '76 - Wellington

 

Scott Hamilton - skater - Toledo/Bowling Green

 

John Heisman - football - Cleveland

 

Vic Janowicz - 1950 Heisman Trophy winner - Elyria

 

Terry Anderson - journalist, Iranian hostage - Lorain

 

Jim Brickman - musician - Cleveland

Thanks!

For the Springfield contengent...

Tommy Tucker - musician

(wrote High Heel Sneakers [his only hit, in 1962])

 

And a debatable one for Cleveland...

Robert Lockwood Jr. (musician)

Born in Arkansas (and noted musician from "the delta" and Chicago), but has called Cleveland home for the last 43 years (and he's only 92).

I just found out that "Macho Man" Randy Savage is from Columbus as well.

 

And Robert Smith (football player) is from Euclid.

 

Strange.

pretty cool to look over the lists. there sure are lots of prominant ohioans in every field. a few things:

 

one to add is four star general johnnie wilson who was the highest ranking african american in the miltary before his recent retirement. he has a brand new middle school named for him in lorain as well as a miltary school in hough in cleveland. 

 

i had no idea don novello (aka father guido sarducci from old snl) was from ashtabula as he grew up in lorain. an interesting thing about this novello guy is that that his sister-in-law is dr. antonio novello, another prominent hispanic & one time lorainite, who was surgeon general under bush senior and is now of ny state.

 

oh dont forget the late frankie yankovic, america's polka king, from collinwood in cleveland.

 

also the late ernie anderson, known locally and to late night tv fans as ghoulardi, but known elsewhere as the voice of abc tv in the 1970-80's.

 

speaking of clev i thought harlan ellison the sf writer is from cleveland not cinci?

 

i say if born in dc dave chappelle is counted as "in," and i think he should be, then lets take rick james too - heh.

 

i had thought the silent film star gish sisters were from rising run, ohio (a bump in the road in nw ohio) but after googling it says lillian was from springfield and dorothy from dayton. it turns out they made their 1st professional appearance at the rising run opera house -- impressive they had one of those. i cant find any info about it, i'd sure like to see a pic of that.

 

fun stuff. it will help in bar trivia talk.

 

 

 

 

I see Bob Braun, but I think Ruth Lyons was probably more influential.

fame is a hard thing to quantify

Forgetful me, I forgot Hamilton's most notorius citizen, James Ruppert. :)

 

On Easter Sunday, 1975, he murdered 11 family members in his Minor Avenue home in Lindenwald. Hamilton holds the distinction of the having America's largest family mass murder. The home is still occupied today.

 

More here: http://www.forgottenoh.com/Counties/Butler/ruppert.html

Regarding the Gish sisters, there's a street in Massillon called Lillian Gish Way, but Dorothy gets no corresponding honor... wonder why?

The Wright Brothers lived in Dayton???  I had no clue.

""American Scene" (realist) painter from Ohio was Charles Burchfield.  I think he was from Salem or Ashtabula, that NE part of the state."

 

He spent his formative years in Salem but was originally from the Buffalo area. He really came into his own in Salem - my high school was built on the site of one of his most famous paintings:

Thats a nice painting. Looks really vibrant/energetic.

I didn't see her listed but Vera-Ellen (real name Vera-Ellen Westmeyer Rohe) is from Norwood. She was a dance/actress in the 1940's and 1950's.  She was in "White Christmas".  I only know this as she took dance class with Doris Day at Hessler's School of Dance in Mt. Adams (now a private residence).  After I was told this I had to look her up as she was a little before my day . . .

Pretty impressive list.  Minor adjustments to "the list"  Gates McFadden should be in the Akron area.  What about Eric Snow?  He's been in the NBA quite a few years, from Canton.  Robert Patrick's bro is pretty famous.  His name is Richard.  He's the lead singer of Filter.  Also he has a new band with the boys of Stone Temple Pilots called Army of Anyone.  Over the Rhine in Cinci.  Maurice Clarret of Y-town area?  James Traficant of the same area.  Ben Orr of the Cars from Cleveland.  Butch Reynolds- Columbus.  Judy Resnick, Astronaut-Akron.  The future rb stars from Akron: Pittman, Wells,  Sutton(Northwestern), and Delone Carter(Syracuse).  Larry Csonka of Stow/Akron staying in the Running back theme..

Ohio- Fast company...

I dont think Jack Roush was mentioned before. He's from my hometown of Manchester, a small town in Adams County.

We have lost a famous Ohioan:

 

Mr. Gerald Levert.

I came across a list of famous alumni of Cleveland St. Ignatius HS:

 

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Saint Ignatius High School include:

 

Murlan J. Murphy, 1935 - Inventor of Murphy's Oil Soap

David Ferrie, around 1936 - Purportedly involved in John F. Kennedy's assassination

Larry Dolan, 1951 - Owner, Cleveland Indians

Danny Greene, 1951 - Mobster and racketeer-expelled, attended Collinwood High School to graduation

Francis E. Sweeney Sr., 1952 - Ohio Supreme Court Justice

Jack Riley, 1954 - Comedian/Actor - The Bob Newhart Show, Spaceballs, Rugrats, among others

Charles Geschke, 1956 - Co-founder of Adobe Systems

Mike Hegan, 1960- TV and Radio Announcer, Cleveland Indians, former Major League Baseball player

James E. Rohr, 1962 - CEO of PNC Financial Services

Brian Dowling, 1963 - Former Yale and NFL quarterback (inspiration for the character B.D. in the Doonesbury comic strip)

Kenneth L. Woodward, 1966 - Former chief religious editor for Newsweek

Richard F. Hlabse (Dick Russ), 1971 - TV personality and Broadcasters Hall of Fame member. Managing editor, WKYC TV 3 Cleveland, Ohio.

George Samenuk, 1973 - Former chairman and CEO of McAfee, Inc.

Bill Sammon, 1978 - Senior White House Correspondent for The Washington Examiner

Martin J. Sweeney, 1981 - Current President of Cleveland City Council

Mike Buddie, 1989 - Pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers

Tim Mack, 1990 - 2004 Olympics Gold Medalist (Pole Vault)

Brian Vaughan, 1994 - award-winning comic book writer of Y: The Last Man

Chris Hovan, 1996 - Defensive Lineman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Matt Kata, 1996 - Second Baseman, Cincinnati Reds

LeCharles Bentley, 1998 - Offensive Lineman, Cleveland Browns

John Baco, 2000- Pitcher, Fordham Rams

Anthony Gonzalez, 2003- Split End, Ohio State Buckeyes

Has anybody mentioned that comedian named Katt Williams?

 

I think he was born Cincinnati and grew up in Dayton or something like that.

I think I put him in the list under Dayton.

John Holmes was born in Ashville (where my folks live and where I went to high school) and later moved to Pickerington before going to LA. Larry Flynt was originally from the coalfields of Eastern Kentucky. Hustler was based out of Columbus from about 1973-79 with Larry living across the street from the Columbus School for Girls in Bexely. Now you know lots more about Ohio's porn giants.

John Holmes was born in Ashville (where my folks live and where I went to high school) and later moved to Pickerington before going to LA. Larry Flynt was originally from the coalfields of Eastern Kentucky. Hustler was based out of Columbus from about 1973-79 with Larry living across the street from the Columbus School for Girls in Bexely. Now you know lots more about Ohio's porn giants.

 

what no mention of ohio's infamous underage runaway elizabeth kuzma from steubenville? tsk tsk. she was better known in the porn world as traci lords.

 

what no mention of ohio's infamous underage runaway elizabeth kuzma from steubenville? tsk tsk. she was better known in the porn world as traci lords.

 

You just need to read more closely!

 

Traci Lords (adult entertainment performer, actor, author), Steubenville

 

Sean Carney, blues guitarist and band leader (and more importantly, 2007 IBC winner  :clap:), Columbus

IBC = International Blues Competition (Best unsigned blues band)

(and friend of mine for over 10 years now)

what no mention of ohio's infamous underage runaway elizabeth kuzma from steubenville? tsk tsk. she was better known in the porn world as traci lords.

 

You just need to read more closely!

 

Traci Lords (adult entertainment performer, actor, author), Steubenville

 

 

actor? author? i think there has been some mistake - lol!

 

Actually, according the Publisher's Weekly review of her book, she wrote it by herself...

 

Not sure how famous she is now, but Megan Mooney is a comic that can be seen frequently on Comedy Central. She's grew up in Westlake (suburban Cleveland) and hopes to move back from LA to Cleveland someday.

Actually, according the Publisher's Weekly review of her book, she wrote it by herself...

 

 

you think so?

 

quote from her: ""I grew up in a dirty little steel town called Steubenville, in eastern Ohio..." -- ouch!

 

a reviewer: "a very easy read" -- yeah i bet, lol!

 

 

^ :-D

I just heard "Amie" by Pure Prairie League (Columbus) for the first time (somebody performed a great version of it at a karaoke bar last night)... what an amazing piece of early 70's country-rock...

 

Anyways... I thought this brief write-up about them on RHAPSODY was amusing:

 

"Columbus, Ohio, may seem like an unlikely place for a harmonious country rock band to form, but believe it or not, the warm sounds of Pure Prairie League hail from one of the coldest cities in the country. It's unfortunate that so many twang rockers were thought to have formed in the wake of the Eagles' success, but like Poco or the Flying Burrito Brothers, Pure Prairie League predated the chambray-clad quartet from Los Angeles. Their biggest hit was the infectious "Amie," which garnered them enough gusto to keep the band going (albeit with myriad personnel changes) up until 1998. Their ongoing album mascot was a rootin' tootin' saloon-patronizing cowboy character named Luke who was originally painted by Norman Rockwell."

Fox anchor grounded in Cincinnati

By John Eckberg • [email protected] • April 24, 2009

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20090424/BIZ01/304240025/

 

Elder grad and Fox News co-anchor Bill Hemmer can’t help himself.

 

Despite the 24/7 demands of leading a top-ranked morning cable news show – America’s Newsroom on Fox News from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. weekdays – Hemmer, based in Manhattan, still gets back to town a couple of times a year. And when he does, it’s a beeline to Skyline Chili.

 

It happened again last month before his annual NCAA basketball reunion with other 1983 Elder grads. Hemmer got his chili, even before he stopped home to say hello to Mom and Dad.

 

“Always the same,” Hemmer said, “three-way, regular, two bowls of oyster crackers, largest glass of water they have – twist of lemon. Oval plate pointing at me.”

 

Hemmer can afford a home in tony Sag Harbor on Long Island for weekend escapes, keep a place in the heart of lower Manhattan in Gramercy Park – just off Park Avenue South – but the guy will never shake Cincinnati.

 

The path that Hemmer has taken to the peak of the American TV news industry – one of only a handful of anchors in the rarified air of international cable news shows – was no charted path.

 

It was a long and twisting trip that offers plenty of lessons about building a career in a challenging, competitive and crowded field.

 

“Some people have an appeal that they just exude,” said Dennis Janson, sports anchor at WCPO-TV (Channel 9), and a longtime Hemmer mentor and friend.

 

“They don’t have any kind of predetermined path. They think, oh, this looks like fun and they zigzag their way to the top. On the way, they stay true to friends and family and they stay true to themselves. I always kid George Clooney that his overnight success only took 14 years.” Janson said.

 

Today, former weekend sports anchor Hemmer is flying high in the ratings. In this region, he has 8,000 households tuning in daily – compared to 3,000 households watching CNN and 3,000 households watching MSNBC in the same time slot.

 

It is no surprise that Hemmer has a grip on Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

 

He started out in backroom production at WLWT-TV (Channel 5) in the early 1980s, and after six months, came to WCPO-9 to be the weekend sports anchor. He left in 1995 to be a CNN anchor and correspondent.

 

What is surprising about Hemmer is the vitality of his national ratings: America’s Newsroom each day reaches 1.44 million households – double CNN’s 689,000 households and triple MSNBC’s 422,000 households, according to a March report from Nielsen Media Research.

 

“That he’s able to draw that many households on a cable network at that hour, well, it’s no small achievement,” said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of research at Horizon Media, a media buying agency based in Manhattan. “He’s up against a lot of competition.”

 

When things go right at a national cable network, said Peter Sealey, professor of marketing at the Peter Drucker Graduate Management School at the Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles, it’s almost always because of the appeal of the anchors.

 

“Television is an incredibly intimate medium. The likeability factor is critical,” he said. “Personalities are the tent poles and cable channels really need those tent poles. When you have a hit, it drags the rest of the schedule right along with it.”

 

One other important dynamic comes into play at cable networks: money. The higher the rating, the higher the price tag to advertise on the show.

 

“Advertising is totally audience dependent at a cost per thousand (viewers),” Sealey said. “There may be a program with one million viewers. Well, the program with two million viewers gets twice the advertising rate. It’s a mathematical certainty.”

 

Hemmer, in a recent telephone interview, takes it in stride.

 

“Fox is a special place,” Hemmer said one recent morning after wrapping up his newscast. “We have fewer people, and less staff challenges us to work smarter, faster than our competition. You hit the door in the morning and if you’re not going 110 mph, you’ll be left behind.”

 

Not being left behind has long been Hemmer’s trademark, according to Mike Irwin, a former defensive teammate on the 1983 Elder Panthers.

 

Hemmer sure didn’t have the lightning speed needed to chase anybody down when he was a strong safety at Elder with 22 on his back, Irwin remembered. What he lacked in speed he made up for in heart.

 

“Billy has just always had it. His personality draws people to him,” said Irwin, today a high school football coach and history teacher at Bishop Ready High School in Columbus. “Fame and fortune hasn’t changed him one bit.”

 

Hemmer recalled two pivot points in his career: the first was while a student at Miami University, he traveled to study in Luxembourg.

 

That foreign experience led him in 1992-93 to take a trip around the world during a year-long sabbatical from WCPO.

 

Who walks away from a coveted sports anchor spot in a top 25 market to spend a year in blue jeans sleeping in hostels? Nobody. But Hemmer did and actually used his time away from work to work.

 

“Hemmer shot and edited stories on the road and put together an hour special,” Janson said. “It was captivating. Somebody at CNN got wind of it.”

 

And before long Hemmer had a job at Atlanta’s CNN headquarters. Janson cautioned him: “I told him to exact a guarantee so that he wouldn’t be tethered to the anchor desk.”

 

Hemmer became known as the “chad lad” for his coverage of the 2000 presidential election controversy over Florida’s vote tabulating.

 

That’s ancient history, though, as Hemmer has settled into Fox, a network long criticized as being a mouthpiece for conservative causes and politicians.

 

But Hemmer says he and co-anchor Megyn Kelly do not shape reports.

 

“We size it up and shoot it down the middle,” he said, acknowledging that others in the evening line-up such as Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck “cover it with an angle.”

 

He justified coverage of recent anti-Obama Tea Bag demonstrations, events that Fox touted. Look at the thousands of people involved, Hemmer said.

 

“When 4,000 people show up at Fountain Square and a week later another 5,000 show up in Orlando, well, we are going to put that on TV,” Hemmer said.

 

And he’s no ideologue about President Barack Obama.

 

“I think very soon the wind and economy will be at his back,” Hemmer said. “I have always felt that a president gets too much credit when economy is going well and too much blame when the economy is going bad.”

 

Hemmer’s career hasn’t always been up, up and away. It took a dip in 2004 when he was released from a morning news show at CNN.

 

He didn’t stay down for long. About a year later, he left CNN altogether for noon show at Fox. By February 2007, he was back on the air in the morning at Fox and soaring, too.

 

That’s typical for a west side kid, says childhood pal Irwin. Nobody is going to keep a guy like Hemmer down for long.

 

“Elder always gets that scrappy westsider,” Irwin said, “A kid like Hems, a kid who just overachieves.”