List of people from Worcester, Massachusetts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of notable people from Worcester, Massachusetts:
[edit] Born in Worcester
MUSICIANS
- John Coolidge Adams, popular living composer
- Duncan Arsenault, musician
- Norman Bailey, big band trumpet player from The Lawrence Welk Show
- Jaki Byard, jazz pianist and composer
- Frank Capp, jazz drummer and bandleader
- Don Fagerquist, jazz trumpeter
- Georgia Gibbs, 1950s Pop singer
- Jordan Knight, member of the boy band "New Kids On The Block"
- Cole Porter, Broadway composer, student at Worcester Academy ca. 1912
- Andy Ross, guitarist for rock band OK Go
- Four Year Strong, rock band
WRITERS and JOURNALISTS
- Jane G. Austin, writer
- S. N. Behrman, playwright and author of a memoir, The Worcester Account
- Robert Benchley, writer and member of the Algonquin Round Table
- Elizabeth Bishop, American poet and writer
- John Dufresne, novelist and screenwriter
- Samuel Fuller, screenwriter, producer and director
- Chris Matthews, TV news personality, attended the College of the Holy Cross
- John Michael Hayes, writer of the Alfred Hitchcock films Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry, and The Man Who Knew Too Much
- Stanley Kunitz, Poet Laureate
- Frank O'Hara, poet
- Charles Olson, modernist poet
- Normand Poirier, writer
- Joseph Skinger, silversmith/sculptor
- Ernest Lawrence Thayer, poet and journalist, famous for "Casey at the Bat"
- Isaiah Thomas, publisher of the Massachusetts Spy
POLITICIANS
- Charles Allen, (1797–1869), United States Congressman from Massachusetts[1]
- George Bancroft, 17th United States Secretary of the Navy, founder of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, author of the first comprehensive history of the United States
- Alexander H. Bullock, Governor of Massachusetts (1866–1868)
- Emma Goldman, Legendary Lithuanian-American anarchist. Owned ice cream parlor in Worcester
- Thomas Wentworth Higginson, abolitionist, literary mentor to Emily Dickinson
- Abbie Hoffman, radical activist
- Abby Kelley Foster, abolitionist, suffragette
- Kenneth P. O'Donnell, Appointments Secretary and Political Adviser to President John F. Kennedy
- Charles F. Sullivan, Mayor of Worcester and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1949–1953
ACADEMICS & INVENTORS
- Richard T. Antoun, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Binghamton University; stabbed to death by student in 2009
- Harvey Ball, inventor of the Smiley face
- Ronald Dworkin, legal and political philosopher
- Robert Goddard, father of modern rocketry
- Francis E. Reed, inventor & industrialist who founded the F.E. Reed & Co.
ACTORS & ARTISTS
- John Wolcott Adams (1874–1925), artist
- H. Jon Benjamin, actor best known as the voice of Coach McGuirk on the cartoon Home Movies
- Ryan Idol, adult film actor
- Jean Louisa Kelly, actress from Yes, Dear
- Arthur Kennedy, actor
- Diane and Elaine Klimaszewski, actresses and models best known as the 'Coors Light Twins'
- Jarrett J. Krosoczka, children's book author/illustrator; his book Punk Farm optioned by DreamWorks Animation
- Denis Leary, actor and comedian
- John Lurie, actor, musician, and composer
- Nora Marlowe (1915-1977), actress
- Eddie Mekka, actor best known for playing Carmine on Laverne and Shirley
- Alisan Porter, actress and singer
- Renee Sands, actress/singer from Kids Incorporated and Wild Orchid
- Sam Seder, Air America Radio host Break Room Live, actor, writer and director
- Erik Per Sullivan, actor from Malcolm in the Middle
- Alicia Witt, actress, singer/songwriter
ATHLETES
- Jerry Azumah, former defensive back for the Chicago Bears (since retired)
- Frank Carroll, US ice skater, figure skater and figure skating coach, 1960 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, actor
- Tim Collins, relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals
- Bob Cousy, Hall of Fame Basketball player, attended the College of the Holy Cross and currently lives in Worcester
- Ken Doane, professional wrestler
- Rich Gedman, former Boston Red Sox catcher, now manager of the Worcester Tornadoes
- Bill Guerin, Pittsburgh Penguins Right Winger
- Gordon Lockbaum, attended Holy Cross College; twice finished in the top five in the Heisman Trophy balloting.[2]
- Tom Poti, Washington Capitals Defenseman
- J.P. Ricciardi, general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays
- José Antonio Rivera, former WBA light middleweight champion
- Tanyon Sturtze, Atlanta Braves Relief Pitcher
- Major Taylor, track cycling champion
OTHER
- Lillian Asplund, Last survivor of the RMS Titanic who remembered the actual sinking
- William Austin Burt, 19th century explorer and surveyor in Michigan
- Edgar C. Erickson (1896-1989), United States Army Major General and Chief of the National Guard Bureau
- Milton Erickson, noted therapist and hypnotist
- Charley Parkhurst, Legendary stagecoach driver and horseman
- Richard B. Sellars (1915–2010), Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896. Marquis Who's Who. 1967.
- ^ Glassboro High School Hall of Fame (1989 Inductees). Accessed August 6, 2007.
- ^ Abelson, Reed. "Richard B. Sellars, Former Chief of Johnson & Johnson, Dies at 94", The New York Times, June 26, 2010.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
