# Who has made your state proud? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2007, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482 "2007-08-30T12:18:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/21 "2007-08-31T04:48:13Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] And [Fightin’ Bob La Follette](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_M._La_Follette%2C_Sr.). [/QUOTE] Don Ameche actor, Kenosha Roy Chapman Andrews naturalist and explorer, Beloit John Bardeen inventor, Madison Carrie Catt woman suffragist, Ripon Ellen Corby actress, Racine William Defoe actor, Appleton Tyne Daly actress, Madison August Derleth author, Sauk City Jeanne Dixon seer, Medford Chris Farley actor, Madison Zona Gale author, Portage Eric Heiden speed skater, Madison Woody Herman band leader, Milwaukee Loretta Sell Hildegarde singer, Adell Harry Houdini magician, Appleton Thomas Hulce actor, Whitewater Pee Wee King singer, Abrams George F. Kennan diplomat, Milwaukee Robert La Follette politician, Primrose Liberace pianist, West Allis Allen Ludden tv host, Mineral Point Alfred Lunt actor, Milwaukee Frederic March actor, Racine Jackie Mason comedian, Sheboygan Charles and John Ringling circus entrepreneurs, Baraboo Pat O’Brien actor, Milwaukee Georgia O’Keeffe painter, Sun Prairie Amy Pietz actress, Oak Creek Charlotte Rae actress, Milwaukee William H. Rehnquist jurist, Milwaukee Gena Rowlands actress, Cambria Tom Snyder newscaster, Milwaukee Spencer Tracy actor, Milwaukee Thorstein Veblen economist, Cato Township Orson Welles actor and producer, Kenosha Laura Ingalls Wilder author, Pepin Thornton Wilder author, Madison Charles Winninger actor, Athen Frank Lloyd Wright architect, Richland Center Bob Uecker baseball player, Milwaukee Les Paul musician, Waukesha Source: [Famous Wisconsin People – 50states](http://www.50states.com/bio/wisconsin.htm) Aldo Leopold (Although born in Iowa, his greatest contributions and legacy came while living in Wisconsin) John Muir (Although born in Scotland, his attendance and learning at the University of Wisconsin is thought to be the catalyst for his entire environmental thinking) ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/22 "2007-08-31T04:51:08Z")
Pennsylhoovia, so the list has to include: Joe Paterno-perhaps the last bastion of supporting education in collegiate sports Louisa May Alcott Samuel Barber John Barrymore Daniel Boone James Buchanan Rachel Carson Mary Cassatt Bill Cosby Tommy Dorsey Jimmy Dorsey W. C. Fields Stephen Foster Robert Fulton Alexander Haig Lee Iacocca Reggie Jackson Gene Kelly George C. Marshall Margaret Mead Andrew Mellon Tom Mix Arnold Palmer B. F. Skinner Jimmy Stewart John Updike Honus Wagner Fred Waring Ethel Waters Andrew Wyeth Betsy Griscom Ross ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/23 "2007-11-29T16:07:37Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] 7 U.S. Presidents (more than any other state), plus… [/QUOTE] Huzzah for the Buckeye State! I would add: Ambrose Bierce, author Nancy Cartwright, voice of Bart Simpson Dorothy Dandridge, singer and actress Halle Berry, who later played her Cass Gilbert, architect Lillian Gish, actress Zane Grey, author Kennesaw Mountain Landis, first baseball commissioner Maya Lin, architect Salmon P. Chase, chief justice of the United States Edwin Stanton, Lincoln’s secretary of war Dean Martin, actor and singer Jack Nicklaus, golfer Annie Oakley, sharpshooter Judith Resnik, astronaut Eddie Rickenbacker, WWI flying ace Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., historian Ted Turner, media baron Tecumseh, Indian chief Lowell Thomas, commentator James Thurber, humorist Erma Bombeck, humorist Garrett Morgan, inventor, and Elliot Ness, crimefighter, were born elsewhere but achieved some measure of fame here. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/24 "2007-11-29T16:46:30Z")
Bill Clinton (debateable for some, but believe me, I don’t think anybody from Arkansas ever thought somebody from Arkansas would be president until he came along). Dale Bumpers David Pryor James Lee Witt (personal friend bias here) Johnny Cash Al Green Levon Helm Louis Jordan Charlie Rich …just off the top of my head (with a little help from Wikipedia) ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/25 "2007-11-29T16:59:27Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] Bettie Page (pinup, movie star) Quintin Tarantinoand that guy from Graceland [/QUOTE] Huh. I had no idea either of those were from Tennessee. Neat. For what it’s worth, though, that guy from Graceland’s actually from Mississippi. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/26 "2007-11-29T16:59:57Z")
And for the WV folks, I’d like to add Brad Paisley. One helluva nice guy and excellent musician. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/27 "2007-11-29T17:17:12Z")
I’d want to add (Texas): Gen. Claire Chennault Mary Kay Ash Ben Hogan Byron Nelson O Henry Alan Bean Tex Avery Forrest Whittaker Beyonce Knowles Babe Didrikson Zaharias …among many others ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/28 "2007-11-29T17:22:17Z")
[QUOTE=LavenderBlue] I currently live in NJ but I am not a native. People who have done the state proud include Allan Ginsberg, Meryl Streep, Bruce Springstein, Philip Roth, Alfred Kinsey, Judy Blume and Thomas Edison. [/QUOTE] NJ guy here (though I was born in the Bronx) I will start with adding: Frank Sinatra Kevin Smith (Director and awesome Raconteur) Jon Stewart Jack Nicholson grew up in Asbury, but like me was born in the City. Danny DeVito Abbot & Costello Count Basie (There is still a great theater named after him in Red Bank) Sarah Vaughan Charles Addams of Addams family fame. Alan Alda: again born in the City but made NJ his home. James Gandolfini (of course) Janeane Garofalo Steven Van Zandt John Travolta Bruce Willis Christina Ricci Kal Penn (of Harold & Kumar fame) Jon Bon Jovi Joe Pesci Kirsten Dunst is a Jersey Girl. So is Laura Prepon, Laura San Giacomo & Queen Latifah Jason Biggs, Zach Braff, Ray Liotta, Andrew McCarthy There are many other actors and singers. Allen Ginsberg Derek Jeter Shaquille O’Neal I take pride that Albert Einstein called NJ home, smartest guy in the world and he chose to live here. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/29 "2007-11-29T18:57:04Z")
John Gorrie (father of refrigeration) – not a native Floridian, but we put his statue in the US Capitol Faye Dunaway Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (author) Marjory Stoneman Douglas (author) Zora Neale Hurston (author) Janet Reno Jim Morrison Sidney Poitier Ben Vereen Tony Jannus (first scheduled commercial passenger flights) Tom Petty Bob Ross (HAPPY LITTLE TREES!) Dave Barry Carl Hiaasen This is tough for Floridians – we just don’t have that many natives. For instance, as far as I’m concerned, Gloria Estefan is a Floridian. She was born in Cuba but she grew up in Miami. Our native-born population is growing, but 50 years ago, there just weren’t that many. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/30 "2007-11-29T19:14:46Z")
Am I really going to be the first person for mention Honest Abe? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/31 "2007-11-29T19:22:33Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] Am I really going to be the first person for mention Honest Abe? [/QUOTE] Born in Kentucky; rose to prominence in Illinois. And **What Exit?** , my mom and dad saw Einstein bicycling around Princeton in the '50s when they lived there (forgive me if I’ve told you that before, as I may have). ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/32 "2007-11-29T19:29:10Z")
Doug Llewellyn Mr. Green Jeans Vanna White Caitlin Upton ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/33 "2007-11-29T19:51:04Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Born in Kentucky; rose to prominence in Illinois. And **What Exit?** , my mom and dad saw Einstein bicycling around Princeton in the '50s when they lived there (forgive me if I’ve told you that before, as I may have). [/QUOTE] I don’t think you did tell me that. Very cool, he is easily one of the men I admire most in the history of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/34 "2007-11-29T20:24:02Z")
ALABAMA Helen Keller (though her liberal views on race alienated her from her family here) Fannie Flagg Harper Lee Virginia Durr (white female, one of the least sung heroines of the civil rights era) Truman Capote (not born here, but he spent his formative years here) Hank Williams (Sr.) Nat King Cole Rosa Parks Martin Luther King, Jr. (not born here, but came to prominence here) Coretta Scott King (native) The Tuskegee Airmen William Crawford Gorgas (found the cure to Yellow Fever) Hugo Black (former KKK member turned super liberal SCotUS judge- the joke was that “as a young man he put on white robes to scare black folks and as an old man he put on black robes to scare white folks”) Kate Jackson Louise Fletcher E.O. Wilson (I’d mention Courtney Cox but by most accounts I’ve heard she’s a byotch, and way too skinny) controversial, but still notable: Joseph Wheeler (only Confederate general to later serve as a general in the U.S. Army) George Wallace (one of the first of the great segregationists to openly and [I think] sincerely repent for his former actions It’s sad & telling how many of these people only became great after leaving Bama, but c’est la vie. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/35 "2007-11-30T15:18:46Z")
Dave Chapelle Duke Ellington Marvin Gaye Al Gore Jr. Helen Hayes William Hurt Samuel L. Jackson Ian MacKaye Henry Rollins John Philip Sousa ---
**Author:** ![lobstermobster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobstermobster/32/10033_2.png) [@lobstermobster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobstermobster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/36 "2007-11-30T16:25:04Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] Al Gore, (environmentalist, elected President by popular vote in 2000) Jasper Newton (better known as Jack Daniel) Alex Haley (Pulitzer Prize winning author) Davey Crockett (Congressman, martyr) Alvin York (war hero) Cordell Hull (Nobel Peace Prize Winner) Bettie Page (pinup, movie star) Admiral Farragut Edward E. Barnard, astronomer Senator Estes Kefauver (fought the mob) Sen. Fred Thompson (future candidate for President) James Agee, Pulitzer Prize winning writer Sir John Marks Templeton (philanthropist, now a British subject) Nancy Ward (warrior and prophet of the Cherokee nation) Oprah Winfrey Peter Taylor (Pulitzer Prize winning short story writer) Quintin Tarantino Robert Penn Warren (multi-Pulitzer prize winning poet, novelist, literary critic) Sequoyah (invented Cherokee alphabet) T.S. Stribling (Pulitzer Prize winning author) That’s so that you won’t think that all our famous people are in the music business like: Greg Allman Isaac Hayes Aretha Franklin Tina Turner Carl Perkins Dinah Shore and that guy from Graceland Seems like I’m leaving some musicians out…I live in Nashville and I don’t get out much. We have some actors or movie people you may have heard of: Reese Witherspoon Quinton Farantino Samuel L. Jackson Morgan Freeman Kathy Bates Cherry Jones Dixie Carter Cybil Shepherd Patricia Neal Olivia Cole Polly Bergen Nichole Kidman lives around here now, but she’s a newcomer. Married some singer. It is possible to list famous Tennesseans without focusing on banjo and fiddle players. (Pardon this chip on my shoulder…) [/QUOTE] Oh good a Tennessean already took care of this for me. I’ll add Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk to the list. I went to high school with Reese Witherspoon although she was in high school while I was in the middle school and I wouldn’t say I feel all that much pride personally. I’m sure someone is proud. ---
**Author:** ![I\_m\_No\_Saint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/977dab/32.png) [@I\_m\_No\_Saint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_m_No_Saint)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/37 "2007-11-30T16:31:49Z")
Abraham Lincoln and Hunter S. Thompson. I’m sure there are more but I can’t think of a better pair. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/38 "2007-11-30T16:50:15Z")
I forgot Norman “Stormin’ Norman” Schwarzkopf, Jr. successful general in charge of Desert Storm. His father was the first person in charge of the NJ State Police and was involved in investigating the Lindbergh kidnapping. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/39 "2007-11-30T16:55:53Z")
[QUOTE=Who\_me?] Maryland Harriet Tubman Thurgood Marshall Edgar Allen Poe F. Scott Fitzgerald Billie Holliday Frederick Douglass Eubie Blake Jim Henson [/QUOTE] Also: Upton Sinclair H.L. Mencken Babe Ruth Frank Zappa Maryland is just a pretty cool state. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482/40 "2007-11-30T17:06:30Z")
Maryland George W. Bush [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-made-your-state-proud/417482.md?page=3)