List of people from Stamford, Connecticut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Notable people in the past and present associated with Stamford, Connecticut:
(In addition to the people listed here, there are many professional wrestlers and executives associated with World Wrestling Entertainment living in Stamford since the city is home to WWE's corporate headquarters.)
Contents |
[edit] Art
- Gutzon Borglum, sculpltor of Mount Rushmore, lived in North Stamford[1] from 1910 to 1920.
- Helen Frankenthaler, an artist, has a home in the Shippan section of town.
- Alex Raymond, creator of the Flash Gordon comic strip, lived in North Stamford. [1]
- Alexander Rummler (1867–1959), a painter, lived in the city.
[edit] Dramatic arts, entertainment
- Bob Crane, actor, grew up in Stamford [2]
- Michael Dante (born 1931), television and film actor and former professional baseball player with the Boston Braves and Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators was born in the city.[3]
- Kenny Delmar (1910-1986), actor who played Senator Claghorn, died in the city.
- Eileen Heckart, late actress and city resident.[4]
- Earl Hindman (1942–2003), an actor best known for his portrayal of the character Wilson W. Wilson Jr. on the television sitcom Home Improvement (1991–1999), died in the city.
- Kim Greist (born 1958), actress most notably in Brazil, and in numerous television programs, was born in the city.
- Alan Kalter announcer on The Late Show with David Letterman since September 5, 1995, lives in the city.
- Josh Logan, a theatrical producer, lives or lived (as of 1998) in North Stamford.[1]
- Christopher Lloyd, actor, born in Stamford.
- Bill Moseley (born 1951), a horror film actor, was born in the city.
- Gilda Radner, (1946–1989), comedienne, wife of Gene Wilder, lived in the city.
- Henry Simmons (born 1970), is an actor, was born in the city.
- Grant Tinker, (born 1925), former husband of Mary Tyler Moore who helped form the entertainment company that produced the Mary Tyler Moore Show and former chairman and CEO of NBC (1981-1986), was born in the city.
- Mark Tinker, (born 1951), producer, director and writer for programs such as Deadwood, NYPD Blue and St. Elsewhere, and son of Grant Tinker (but not Mary Tyler Moore), was born in the city.
- Vivian Vance, (1909–1979), actress who played Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy was living in North Stamford as of 1998.[1]
- Fredi Washington(1903–1994), a film actress, died in the city.
- Marc Weiner (born 1955), a comedian, clown, puppeteer and television producer, lives in the city.
- Gene Wilder, actor and comedian, is a current resident.
- Peggy Wood (1892–1978), actress who played the Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music and a member of the Algonquin Round Table, died in the city. (Her role in the operetta Bitter Sweet was written for her by Noel Coward.)
[edit] Government and politics
- J. Cofer Black (b. 1950), former U.S. Department of State Coordinator for Counterterrorism with the rank of Ambassador at Large from (2002-2004), the point man for international counterterrorism policy in the first term of the Bush administration, was born in the city.
- Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929) French premier during World War I and one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles, taught in a girls' school in Stamford and married one of his pupils, Mary Plummer, in 1869. They separated in 1876.
- Homer Stille Cummings (1870-1956), a political figure who most notably served as United States Attorney General from 1933 to 1939. In 1900, 1901, and 1904, Cummings was elected mayor of Stamford, and he helped found the Cummings & Lockwood law firm in 1909. He moved to Greenwich in his retirement.
- Chris Dudley (b. 1965), a former NBA basketball player for teams including the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks, was born in the city.
- Charles Duelfer, chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq, grew up in the city.
- Joseph Lieberman, U.S. senator and 2000 Democratic nominee for vice president, born in Stamford
- John J. McCloy (1895-1989), a prominent advisor to presidents, died in Stamford.
- Christopher Shays, Fourth District U.S. representative, former resident
[edit] Literature, writing, journalism
- Christopher Buckley, novelist, editor and William F. Buckley's son, partly grew up in the Cove section.
- William F. Buckley Jr., founder of National Review magazine, is a longtime resident in the Cove section.
- Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey, 1925), a science fiction author, was born in the city.
- John Hawkes (1925–1998), a novelist, was born in the city.
- Carol Iovanna, a newscaster on Fox News, is a resident of the city.
- Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III, a comic book writer, screen and television writer, and television and motion picture producer, was born in the city.
- Chuck Scarborough, news anchor, lives in North Stamford
- Dana Tyler, news anchor for WCBS-TV in New York City, lives in Stamford.[5]
[edit] Music
- Dave Abbruzzese (born 1968), Pearl Jam's drummer, 1991-1994, was born in the city.
- Michael Bolton, the singer, lived in North Stamford (as of 1998) before moving to Westport.[1]
- Henry "Harry" Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949) black singer who made "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," a Nineteenth-century spiritual, popular (in a 1917 compilation), died in the city.
- Benny Goodman, the 'King of Swing' lived the last 20 years of his life in Stamford, and is buried in Long Ridge Cemetery.
- Jimmy Ienner, music producer of the "Dirty Dancing" album (connected to the movie of the same name), one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time. He worked with John Lennon, Pink Floyd and Donna Summers.[6]
- Cyndi Lauper, singer, has (or had, as of 1998) a home in North Stamford (as well as New York City).[1]
- Moby, recording artist, previously lived in the South End
- Ezio Pinza, a star of the Metropolitan Opera, is or was (as of 1998) a resident of North Stamford.[1]
- Rakim, rapper, lived in the city
- Rihanna, a pop/R&B singer, currently lives in the city.[7]
- Andrew Sterling (1874–1955), lyricist of "When My Baby Smiles at Me", "Strike up the Band" and "Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie", died in the city.
- Rida Johnson Young, (1869–1926), lyricist who wrote "Mother Machree," "Italian Street Song," and "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life," died in the city.[8]
[edit] Religion
- James Davenport (1716-1757), a clergyman and itinerant preacher noted for often controversial actions during the First Great Awakening, was born in Stamford.
- Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Major-Archdiocese of Lviv, and one of the cardinals considered papabile (a possible next pope) at the 2005 Papal conclave to succeed Pope John Paul II, was educated at St. Basil's College in Stamford.
- Ignatius Pin-Mei Cardinal Kung (1901-2000), the Roman Catholic bishop of Shanghai, China from 1950 until his death, and who spent 30 years in Chinese prisons for defying China's communist government, lived his final years in Stamford.
[edit] Sports
- Gary Cobb, football player for the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions[6]
- Michael Dante (born 1931), former professional baseball player with the Boston Braves and Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators (and later a television and film actor) was born in the city.[9]
- J. Walter Kennedy (1912–1977), NBA commissioner (1963-1975) and who was, earlier in his career, athletic director at St. Basil's Preparatory School in Stamford, was born in the city.
- Dick Mayer (1924–1989), a professional golfer, was born in the city.
- Jackie Robinson, baseball star, made North Stamford[1] his home later in his life. One of the several Stamford little leagues is named after him.
- Andy Robustelli, pro football Hall of Famer, born and raised in the city.
- Alex Rodriguez, pro baseball player, is said to have a home in Stamford. This is disputed.
- Dan Sileo, former NFL player and currently a radio personality in Orlando on WQTM.
- Gene Tunney (1897-1978), boxing champion, is interred in Long Ridge Union Cemetery in the city.
- Bobby Valentine, a former baseball player and manager, was also born in Stamford and owns "Bobby V's," a downtown sports bar. He once had a second restaurant in Norwalk but closed it.
- Herb Williams, former NBA player and current New York Knicks assistant coach, has a home in the city.
[edit] Other
- Robert Jarvik, inventor of the first artificial heart, was reared in Stamford.[10].[11]
- Charles Henry Phillips, inventor of Milk of Magnesia lived in and had a factory making the product in town.
- Thomas H. Ruger (1833–1907), a Union general in the Civil War and superintendent of West Point, died in the city.
- Will Shortz, puzzle editor of The New York Times, current resident and organizer of the annual World Puzzle Championship which was held in Stamford in 2000.
- James A. Verinis, the first World War II pilot to complete 25 successful missions, was born in the city. He appeared in the 1944 movie Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress. He was co-pilot on the Memphis Belle and was born in Stamford.[12]
[edit] See also
- List of people from Bridgeport, Connecticut
- List of people from Greenwich, Connecticut
- List of people from Norwalk, Connecticut
- List of people from Ridgefield, Connecticut
- List of people from Redding, Connecticut
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h "If You're Thinking of Living In/North Stamford, Conn.; In a Bustling City, a Rural Haven" an article by Eleanor Charles in New York Times Real Estate section, February 1, 1998, accessed September 10, 2006
- ^ can anyone find proof of this anywhere?
- ^ Lee, Natasha, "A reel cowboy: Actor doesn't forget Stamford Roots", article in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, October 22, 2006, page 1, article confirms he was born and grew up in Stamford
- ^ Costagregni, Susie, "Director grabs a coffee before daughter's wedding" the June 24, 2006 "The Dish with susie" column in The Advocate of Stamford, page A2
- ^ Costagregni, Susie, "Director grabs a coffee before daughter's wedding," "The Dish with susie" column in The Advocate of Stamford, June 24, 2006, page A2
- ^ a b [1]Stamford High School Web site, Web page titled "Stamford High School Wall of Fame", accessed October 11, 2006
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]Internet Movie DataBase Web site, "Rida Johnson Young" page, accessed September 8, 2006
- ^ Lee, Natasha, "A reel cowboy: Actor doesn't forget Stamford Roots", article in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, October 22, 2006, page 1, article confirms he was born and grew up in Stamford
- ^ [4] State of Connecticut official Web site "About Connecticut" web page accessed on 23 June 2006
- ^ [5] article in The New York Times, Dec. 3, 1982, "Men in the News: A Pair of Skilled Hands to Guide an Artificial Heart: Robert Kiffler Jarvik" Web page accessed on 23 June 2006
- ^ [6]Internet Movie DataBase Web site, Web page for "Captain James A. Verinis," accessed September 8, 2006
