# Most Famous People From Your Area **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 18, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286 "2011-05-18T04:23:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/81 "2011-05-19T16:31:56Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yeats moved to England when he was two, and never left. You are thinking of someone else. Without looking it up I am fairly confident that William Butler Yeats rarely left Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/82 "2011-05-19T16:44:55Z")
Having looked it up, you’re wrong, but I am too. He did leave when he was two, but the family moved back to Dublin when he was about 16. Then he moved back to England 7 years later, and appears to have remained there until he was appointed to the Senate in his fifties. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/83 "2011-05-19T16:58:52Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Having looked it up, you’re wrong, but I am too. He did leave when he was two, but the family moved back to Dublin when he was about 16. Then he moved back to England 7 years later, and appears to have remained there until he was appointed to the Senate in his fifties. Then following timeline refers to many notable occasions throughout Yeats’ life which took place in Ireland: [Yeats Chronology](http://userpages.umbc.edu/~mccready/yeats2.html) However, he was much more cosmopolitan than I had supposed, and does seem to have spent much time in England. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/84 "2011-05-19T17:38:18Z")
Ronan Keating (shudder) Ed Byrne ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/85 "2011-05-19T18:51:23Z")
Among the people who were actually born in the town where I now live: Ernest Hemingway Ray Kroc Dan Castellaneta Kathy Griffin Betty White Some people who’ve lived here: Frank Lloyd Wright Edgar Rice Burroughs Percy Julian Judy Tenuta Peter Sagal John Mahoney ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/86 "2011-05-19T19:32:15Z")
Rick Barry - basketball player Judy Blume - writer; lived right around the corner from me Hubie Brown - basketball coach and commentator Nicholas Murray Butler - Nobel Peace Prize winner Michael Chertoff - US Homeland Security Director William Halsey, Jr. - Navy admiral Alexander Hamilton - plus a handful of other Founding Fathers Don Newcombe - pitcher Elizabeth Pena - actress Mickey Spillane - writer Plus, a whole bunch of NBA and NFL players who are not household names ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/87 "2011-05-19T19:48:25Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > …Jerry Siegel (my mother dated him in high school)… So - there’s got to be a story there, either about what Siegel was like, or whether she knew about Superman or any ideas Siegel was noodling through… ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/88 "2011-05-19T21:19:17Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > Linus Pauling > Matt Groening > Beverly Cleary > Raymond Carver > Tonya Harding Dude. Chuck Palahniuk Phil Knight Mel Blanc Gus Van Sant Katee Sackhoff (suck it, Seattle!) ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/89 "2011-05-20T04:10:29Z")
[http://stlouiswalkoffame.org/star-location/](http://stlouiswalkoffame.org/star-location/) ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/90 "2011-05-20T05:14:23Z")
I’m going to limit the list to the city I was born in: Detroit. So some notables born in the same city as I, would include: **Charles Lindbergh Christie Brinkley Mitt Romney Sonny Bono Jerry Bruckheimer ::shivver:: Steve Ballmer ::another shivver:: Casey Kasem James Lipton Ed McMahon Gilda Radner Tom Selleck Lily Tomlin William Boeing Mike Ilitch John DeLorean 🆒 Alice Cooper 🆒 🆒 Jack White 🆒 🆒 🆒** Speaking of musicians, this being Motown, I don’t even want to roll down that alley. However, I lived in Warren for 10 years. Even though **Eminem** wasn’t born here, he came to fame here while working at [Little Caesers/Caesarland.](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=caesarland&aq=&sll=42.482004,-83.006108&sspn=0.011331,0.017252&ie=UTF8&hq=caesarland&hnear=&ll=42.482257,-83.00703&spn=0.010903,0.017252&t=h&z=16) at 10 1/2 Mile & Hoover road. The plaza it’s in was literally right behind my backyard. I can’t tell you how many times we took the kids there. Of course, he’d already came to fame by then (but only by a few years). I wonder if we ever crossed paths. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/91 "2011-05-20T06:24:57Z")
Where I’m currently living: Conrad Bain, of “Diff’rent Strokes” fame. A few miles outside of town: Fay Wray, of “King Kong” fame. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/92 "2011-05-20T12:54:15Z")
I came here to post that there were only two notable residents (many many years apart) in my small home town but to my surprise Wikipedia disagreed with me: John Douglas Armour, Puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada Charles Arkoll Boulton, militia leader in the Red River Rebellion James Cockburn, lawyer and Father of Confederation Marie Dressler, silent film actress - **This was the first one I knew** Francis P. Duffy, Military Chaplain of the Fighting 69th New York Regiment during WWI Sir Sandford Fleming who helped create and define the idea of time zones - :o **This one I should have known** Ed Greenwood, author of the Forgotten Realms setting for Dungeons & Dragons - **This was the second one I knew** Rev. John Weir Foote, politician, chaplain, and Victoria Cross recipient Ebenezer Perry, Cobourg’s police commissioner - **Seriously wikipedia? THIS is notable??** William Renwick Riddell, judge and historian Justin Williams, NHL hockey player ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/93 "2011-05-20T13:37:57Z")
Alex Hailey Quentin Tarantino Patricia Neal Kenny Chesney Jack Hanna David Keith Johnny Knoxville Patty the Daytime Hooker (Dale Dickey) ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/94 "2011-05-20T16:38:35Z")
Back when I was a reporter living in Noblesville, Indiana, and working for the local paper, I did a large-ish article about famous folk from Noblesville. After a few days of research at the local historical society and library, I was staggered to learn how many there are from a podunk little town in the middle of nowheresville. There are a handful of sports stars who either live in Noblesville or were born here, but the more interesting folks are listed below. Sorry about the length. Once a reporter, always a reporter.😃 **William ‘Pete’ Knight** – politician, combat pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. Knight still holds the world’s speed record for flight in a winged, powered aircraft. I actually got to meet the man while doing the article. Fascinating individual. Bluest, sharpest eyes I’ve ever seen. Truly the eyes of a pilot. \*\*Steve Wariner \*\*– country music star who still maintains his ties to Noblesville. In fact, he was back last summer to play at the local Moose Lodge for a fundraiser. I was there. **Rex Stout** – prolific mystery author and creator of the popular Nero Wolfe novels. **Norman Norell** (born Norman David Levinson) – fashion designer, known for elegant suits and tailored silhouettes. Generally credited as the forerunner of designing womens’ pant suits. **Earl ‘Lucky’ Teter** – race car driver and daredevil who pioneered the vocation of stunt driving. First to coin the phrase _Hell Drivers_. Killed at the Indiana State Fair in July, 1942, while trying to break his own world car jump record for the second time in the same day. On the not-so-savory side of famous: **David Curtiss Stephenson (D.C. Stephenson)** – Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana and 22 other northern states. Put on trial not for KKK crimes but for the gruesome rape of Madge Olberholtzer, who later suicided as a result of her brutalization by Stephenson. The jail and courthouse he was tried in and served time in, still stand in the square in downtown Noblesville. **William Dudley Pelley** – fascist and Christian extremist. Founder of a national Nazi-like political party during the Great Depression. At one time he’d been a Hollywood scriptwriter. \*\*Helen Worley \*\*(nicknamed ‘Dirty Helen’) – madam and owner of a house of ill-repute known as the Sunflower Inn. She entertained the famous and infamous of Chicago and Milwaukee during the gangster era of the 20s and 30s, allegedly including such characters as Al Capone. A local brewery/restaurant in downtown Noblesville called Barley Inn offers Dirty Helen beer, named in her honor. And yes, I’ve raised more than a few of them in my day. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/95 "2011-05-20T17:25:43Z")
George Washington Robert E. Lee Antonia Ford ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/96 "2011-05-20T19:20:04Z")
Frank Zappa Can’t think of anyone else at the moment… ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/97 "2011-05-20T20:16:31Z")
For the Dayton folks, how did you miss Mike Schmidt and Edwin Moses? Not sports fans? ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/98 "2011-05-20T20:28:52Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Gerry Rafferty was also from Paisley. Oops, yeah, how could I forget him? Also, Steven Moffat, but I guess he’s only “famous” if you like Doctor Who. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/99 "2011-05-20T21:34:40Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > This. Having said that, not that many famous people are actually _from_ Orlando. > > The Backstreet Boys > N’Sync (except the talented one) > Jack Kerouac > Wesley Snipes > Tiger Woods (kinda) > Johnny Damon > Carrot Top > Mandy Moore > NFL RB Chris Johnson Ha. I used to run into Carrot Top all the time. And I volunteer at [Kerouac House.](http://kerouacproject.org/) He lived there less than a year, although he wrote _Dharma Bums_ there, so that’s cool. And he and his mom lived only in the back of the house, which is maybe 300 square feet. Lots of pro athletes live around here, too. Davey Johnson lives in Winter Park, and I guess Horace Grant still lives in the cool huge house on the lake in WP. I don’t know many others because I’m not into sports, but lots of famous people have homes here. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286/100 "2011-05-20T21:56:23Z")
Ginger Rogers wasn’t born here, but lived here much of her early life. Etta Place - the SO of the Sundance Kid Lee Harvey Oswald From IMDB: Larry Hagman Bill Paxton Kate Capshaw Kelly Clarkson (My SIL knows her mother, IIRC) Betty Buckley (the mom from Eight is Enough) Fess Parker (I didn’t know that) Mark David Chapman. :eek: A couple of notables who lived here at some point: Martina Navratilova Julie Newmar (who was “the other woman” in my second cousin’s divorce and subsequently married my cousin’s ex-husband) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-people-from-your-area/582286.md?page=6)