Rebecca Nurse, among other accused Witches, Accusers, and Judges, lived in Salem Village, which is now known as Danvers.
Although Salem, MA was and is the County Seat, most of what you learned in School about the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria actually took place in Danvers.
Runners-Up
Brad Delp (singer for the band “Boston”)
Mark Bavaro (NY Giants Tight End)
Rebecca Nurse, among other accused Witches, Accusers, and Judges, lived in Salem Village, which is now known as Danvers.
Although Salem, MA was and is the County Seat, most of what you learned in School about the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria actually took place in Danvers.
Runners-Up
Brad Delp (singer for the band “Boston”)
Mark Bavaro (NY Giants Tight End)
Well, the town I grew up in - Merrimack, NH - was home to the 19th-century poet Walter Kittredge. He wrote “Tenting on the Old Campground”.
The town I feel is my hometown for genealogical reasons - Haydenville, MA - was home to Edward Parker Hayden, a landscape artist of some note.
I grew up in Edmonds, Wash., and our big celebrity was Roslyn Sumners–that’s right, Roslyn, the moderately well-known skater. I don’t think she was even an Edmonds native, but she went to school there for a while, and the town was so proud of the connection that they renamed Main Street Roslyn Sumners Boulevard, complete with little skates on the signposts.
Stoneham, MA, USA
Nancy Kerrigan, though her star has faded somewhat since 1994.
And for one glorious month in 1990, it was me. Ah, fame, so fleeting…
Mount Airy, NC. Andy Griffith. If you’re ever in Mount Airy, check out the Andy museum at the Visitors Center.
Orinda, CA, claims Heather Petri as a favored daughter due to being on the 2002 Olympics women’s water polo team. Apparently they did well. My high school has apparently sent a slew of water polo players to the Olympics. Also, the real-life story behind Death of a Cheerleader happened there.
Of the non-native but from there category, there was this author named Poul Anderson who lived there…
Astoria, NY (Archie Bunker’s neighborhood), where I was born and raised, has produced several noteworthy celebrities:
My current home is Austin, TX… I don’t know if we have one “favorite son,” but among the contenders are:
Football Hall of Famer Dick “Night Train” Lane
Golfer Tom Kite
Golfer Ben Crenshaw
Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn
There are a host of celebs who’ve lived here a long time, and have been embraced by the populace as if they were natives, but who aren’t real natives. Biker Lance Armstrong and actor Matthew McConnaughey come to mind, as well as “Spy Kids” director Robert Rodriguez.
There are also a few stars who were born in Austin but who aren’t really identified as Austinites- Ethan Hawke, for instance.
The Ronnie Van Zant Memorial Park is across the road from my daughter’s old elementary school.
Slim Whitman lives in Middleburg, FL - just a bit south of Orange Park.
I think that’s all we’ve got.
H.L. Mencken.
No, wait, Babe Ruth…
Hold on, maybe it’s Eubie Blake…
Ok, I’ve got it: John Waters…
Hmmmmmm, it could be Billie Holiday.
Is it Thurgood Marshall?
Ok, Ok, I admit it, I don’t know for sure, but I 'm sticking with Mencken.
I grew up in Sunnyvale, CA, and went to the same high school as both founders of Apple Computer (Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak)
Iron Mike Webster graduated from Rhinelander High School, way up in the Nort’woods.
Madonna, Eminem, and Kid Rock all hail from the general area I grew up in (Southeast Michigan)…
Where I am now? Paul rever, John Adams, Sam Adams…
Calista Flockheart lived in my pop. 1800 hometown when she was a baby. Her mom taught at the elementary school when I was a student there. Whoopie.
Some guy who’s a principal dancer in the NYC American Ballet Theater spent his early years in the pop. 9000 town I live in now.
I went to high school in Holland, MI and the only person I can think of to be classified as a “hometown hero” of any sorts is rookie Detroit Tigers pitcher Andy VanHekken - also a 1998 HHS graduate. He pitched a few games for Detroit last year, so he wasn’t in the running for Rookie of the Year or anything fun like that; I believe he will still be eligible next season.
Where I live now - Kalamazoo, MI - is the (original) hometown of New York Yankees superstar Derek Jeter. I dated a girl whose brother played high school baseball against Jeter. That’s the closest I’ve had to a “brush with fame,” other than seventh-grade intramural basketball games agains VanHekken.
I will be a “favorite son” of both cities … someday.
-Dirty
Actually, he was from Dallas.
Um… this is soo sad. Tom Arnold.
The funny part is that he was pretty much ran out of town when he was younger. Then he married Roseanne and they were hanging around town a lot. Then I think he finally ran out of town on his own to get away from all the people with their hands out.
The only time I ever saw him was late at night when I was at the police station. I was there because I lost my wallet. I don’t know for sure why he was there. It was kind of pathetic seeing all of the cops around him. (not surrounding him Rodney King style, just kissing butt ;))
Even more sad than that was that it used to be Radar O’rielly from M.A.S.H. Not the guy who played him, but just the character Radar. Our fictional hometown hero.
There was a Tuskegee<sp?> airman movie starring Lawrence Fishburn as an Ottumwa, IA native. That kind of cheesed me off, though. An hour and a half of him calling my hometown Oh-tomb-wa when it’s actually Oh-tum-wa.
I mean, it was our biggest claim to fame since Roseanne filmed that classy movie “The Woman Who Loved Elvis” here. It was probably our last hurrah too. ;(
Chris Issak. He has held a few concerts here and was made a honorary sheriff.
Town where I was born: Pamela Anderson
Where I lived as a child: Kim Cattrall
Where I live now: Diana Krall
Two words: Wayne Gretzky