List of people from Toledo, Ohio

Toledo area native Katie Holmes has recently garnered a great deal of media attention, due in part to her relationship with actor Tom Cruise.

The city of Toledo, Ohio, the largest city and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, is the birthplace and home of several notable individuals. This is a list of people from Toledo, Ohio and includes people that were born or lived in Toledo, Ohio and the surrounding area. Individuals included in this listing are people presumed to be notable because they have received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject.^[A]

This is an incomplete list that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Arts and entertainment

Architecture and design

• Norman Bel Geddes – industrial designer, Hollywood set designer, noted modernist architect
• Harold Van Doren – co-founder and former president of Society of Industrial Designers

Art

• Richard DeVore – ceramic artist
• Joseph Kosuth – conceptual artist
• Paul Timman – Hollywood tattoo artist

Journalism

Gloria Steinem, pictured here in 1972, is a feminist icon.

• Amy Braunschweiger – freelance journalist for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal
• Christine Brennan, USA Today sports columnist, ESPN, ABC, and NPR sports analyst, author of seven books
• Janet Cooke – journalist with The Blade and The Washington Post
• David Ross Locke – journalist and early political commentator during the American Civil War under the pen name Petroleum V. Nasby
• P. J. O'Rourke – political satirist, journalist, writer
• Gloria Steinem – founder of Ms., feminist icon, journalist, women's rights advocate

Literature and poetry

• Mildred Benson – author of the original books in the Nancy Drew series
• Michael Brooks, historian and journalist
• Paul Lawrence Dunbar – African-American poet, originally from Dayton, Ohio
• Edward Eager – author of children's books
• Mari Evans – author, dramatist
• Suzy Kassem – philosopher, writer, poet, author, filmmaker, human rights activist
• Christopher Moore – novelist
• Scott Nearing – conservationist, peace activist, educator, writer
• Allen Saunders – cartoonist, creator of "Mary Worth" and "Steve Roper" comic strips
• Scott Smith – novelist, author of A Simple Plan and The Ruins
• Mildred D. Taylor, author of various novels concerning race relations, particularly Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and its sequels.
• Elizabeth Witherell – editor-in-chief of The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau

Modeling

• Cynthia Myers – Playboy Playmate, model, actress
• Jan Roberts – Playboy Playmate, model
• Runa Lucienne - Playboy Playmate, model

Music

Tom Scholz was a member of the 1970s rock band Boston.

• Rance Allen - gospel singer
• Anita Baker – R&B singer
• Crystal Bowersox - singer-songwriter
• Teresa Brewer – singer
• Chris Byrd - gospel singer
• Stanley Cowell – pianist, composer
• Larry Fuller -- jazz pianist
• Jon Hendricks – member of the jazz group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
• hiya - producer, songwriter
• Chester "Lyfe" Jennings, singer
• Johnny and the Hurricanes
• Koufax – alternative rock band
• Lollipop Lust Kill – heavy metal/alternative band
• Gary Louris – singer and guitarist for The Jayhawks
• Shirley Murdock – R&B singer
• Jim Riggs - jazz educator
• Sanctus Real - Christian rock band
• Tom Scholz - founder of 1970s rock group Boston
• Scott Shriner – bassist of the rock band Weezer
• Ruby Starr - rock singer
• Stylex – electroclash/new wave band
• Static Rituals - alternative rock band
• Statik Link (member, Josh Andres) - electronic music producer
• Art Tatum - jaz pianist
• This Beautiful Republic - Christian rock band
• We are the Fury – alternative rock band
• Mary Zilba - singer

Theater and film

Jamie Farr played Maxwell Klinger on the long-running TV series M*A*S*H.

• Cliff Arquette – actor, comedian
• Jonathan Bennett – film actor
• Casey Biggs – actor
• Pat Brady - actor, born Robert Ellsworth Patrick Aloysious
• Joe E. Brown – actor, comedian
• Daws Butler – voice actor
• Jason Cameron – actor, television presenter, model
• John Cromwell – actor, film producer and director
• Jason Dohring – actor
• Jamie Farr – actor
  • Maxwell Klinger – fictional character in the television series M*A*S*H
• Teresa Ganzel, actress
• Philip Baker Hall – actor
• Katie Holmes – actress, ex-wife of Tom Cruise
• Sandy Helberg – film and television actor
• Eric Kripke – television writer, director, and producer
• Shirley Mitchell – radio and television actress
• Adrianne Palicki – film and television actress
• Kate Shindle – Broadway actress
• Alyson Stoner – actress and dancer
• Brandy Talore – pornographic film actress
• Lloyd Thaxton – producer, director, writer, hosted self-titled TV show in 1960s
• Danny Thomas – actor, comedian, singer and father of Marlo Thomas
• Bonnie Turner – creator of That '70s Show and 3rd Rock from the Sun
• Derek Westerman – film director, screenwriter, and producer

Government

• Walter Folger Brown – former Postmaster General of the United States
• Samuel M. Jones – Mayor
• Brand Whitlock – Mayor and U.S. Ambassador to Belgium during WWI

Business

• Harold Boeschenstein – founder Owens Corning
• Doug Dohring – former CEO and co-founder of Neopets
• Doug Ducey – CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, Governor of Arizona
• William Levis – founder Owens-Illinois
• Edward Drummond Libbey – glassmaker, philanthropist
• John F. Savage – founder of Savage and Associates, author, philanthropist
• Frank Stranahan and Robert Stranahan—founders of Champion Spark Plug

Science and technology

• Eugene F. "Gene" Kranz – retired NASA flight director who served during the Gemini & Apollo space programs, known for his role in the rescue of Apollo 13
• Lyman Spitzer Jr. – theoretical physicist, astronomer, driving force behind the Hubble Space Telescope
• Michael S. Witherell – particle physicist, former president of Fermilab
• William Gardner - Inventor of the Gardner gun, an early machine gun prototype.

Sports

Baseball

• Roger Bresnahan – Baseball Hall of Fame member
• Stan Clarke—MLB player for Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals
• Gene Cook – longtime executive of Toledo Mud Hens, International League Hall of Fame member
• Terry Harmon—MLB player for Philadelphia Phillies
• Brad Hennessey - MLB player for the San Francisco Giants
• Addie Joss—Baseball Hall of Fame member
• Jim Leyland – manager of Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates
• Zach McClellan – MLB player
• Doug Mientkiewicz – MLB player, one of five American players to win both an Olympic gold medal and a World Series championship
• Bob Meyer – MLB player for New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers
• George Mullin – MLB player
• Lee Richmond – baseball player (pitched the first perfect game in MLB history)
• Ron Rightnowar – MLB player for Milwaukee Brewers

Basketball

• Don Donoher – University of Dayton head coach
• Dennis Hopson – NBA player
• Jim Jackson - NBA player
• Howard "Butch" Komives - NBA player
• Todd Mitchell – NBA player
• Steve Mix – NBA player
• Tony Peyton – last of the original Harlem Globetrotters
• Kelvin Ransey – NBA player
• Brian Roberts - NBA Player

Football

Fred Davis currently plays as the tight end for the Washington Redskins.

• Myron Bell - former NFL player
• Khary Campbell - former NFL player
• Rob Chudzinski – NFL player and coach, former Cleveland Browns head coach
• Fred Davis - NFL player (tight end for Washington Redskins), former USC player
• Brandon Fields - NFL player (punter for Miami Dolphins)
• Jim Harbaugh – NFL quarterback, head coach of Stanford and San Francisco 49ers, now head coach at Michigan
• John Harbaugh – head coach of Baltimore Ravens
• Willie Harper - former NFL player (defensive end for San Francisco 49ers), two Super Bowls, first-team All-American for Nebraska
• Stan Heath - former NFL player (quarterback for Green Bay Packers)
• Curtis Johnson – former NFL player (member of 1972 Miami Dolphins)
• Dick Kazmaier - 1951 Heisman Trophy winner
• Mel Long - former NFL player (defensive linemen for Cleveland Browns), first-team All-American for Toledo, College Football Hall of Famer
• Urban Meyer – head coach of Ohio State; former head coach of Bowling Green, Utah, and Florida
• Roosevelt Nix – football player
• Ryne Robinson - former NFL player for Carolina Panthers, former Miami University player
• Dane Sanzenbacher – NFL player (Cincinnati Bengals), former Ohio State player
• Chester Taylor - former NFL player (running back for Minnesota Vikings), former University of Toledo player
• Joe Tiller - former Purdue head coach
• Rick Upchurch - former NFL player (wide receiver for Denver Broncos), 5-time All-Pro selection
• Nate Washington - NFL player for Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans
• Chuck Webb - former NFL player (fullback for the Green Bay Packers)

Ice hockey

• Cecil Dillon - retired NHL player
• Rick Hayward - retired NHL player
• Pat Jablonski^[1] – retired National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender
• Bryan Smolinski^[2] – retired NHL player

Golf

• John Cook – PGA Tour golfer
• Arthur Hills – golf course designer
• Stacy Lewis - LPGA Tour golfer
• Byron Nelson – World Golf Hall of Fame member, PGA Tour golfer, former Inverness Club pro
• Frank Stranahan – PGA Tour golfer, weightlifter
• A. W. Tillinghast – golf course designer

Wrestling and boxing

• Mark Kerr – Syracuse University Division I champion, US Senior Champion, professional mixed martial arts fighter
• Wilbert McClure – gold medal in boxing in 1960 Summer Olympics
• Devin Vargas – professional boxer, former Olympian
• Greg Wojciechowski – 1980 Olympic wrestler who was unable to compete due to the United States boycott, alternate on the 1984 and 1988 US Olympic wrestling teams

Other sports

• Gretchen Bleiler – silver medalist at 2006 Turin Olympics in snowboarding, three-time X Games champion (2003, 2005, 2008)
• Paul Chamberlin – professional tennis player
• Edmund Coffin – saddle maker, equestrian Olympic gold medalist
• Terry Cook – driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
• Erik Kynard – silver medalist in men's high jump at 2012 London Olympics
• Frances Schroth – swimmer, winner of one gold and two bronze medals in 1920 Olympic Games

Other notables

• Stephen Bolles – U.S. Representative from Wisconsin
• Ernest E. Debs – Los Angeles City Council member and county supervisor, born in Toledo
• Martin Frankel – former financier convicted in 2002 of insurance fraud, racketeering and money laundering.
• Thomas Francis Ford, member of the U.S. Congress, elected to Los Angeles City Council by write-in vote
• Kristina Keneally – Premier of New South Wales, Australia
• Ernest M. McSorley – captain of the ill-fated lake freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald
• Selma Rubin – Environmental activist based in Santa Barbara, California

See also

• List of mayors of Toledo, Ohio
• List of people from Ohio

References

External links

• Baseball Players from Toledo, listing of baseball players from Greater Toledo and Northwestern Ohio
• Basketball Players from Toledo, listing of basketball players from Greater Toledo
• Football Players from Toledo, listing of football players from Greater Toledo
• Other Athletes from Toledo, listing of athletes from Greater Toledo (for sports other than baseball, basketball, and football)