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| William (Bud) Abbott (1895 - 1974) Comedian made famous in the popular team Abbott and Costello with routines such as “Who’s on First;” born in Asbury Park. First published in 1990 as THE OFFICIAL ABBOTT & COSTELLO SCRAPBOOK, this 1997 release of THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO STORY by Stephen Cox and John Lofflin is an affectionate and nostalgic journey through the career of these two comedians. It's everything the Abbott and Costello fan would want to know, and then some. A majority of the book's thirteen chapters comprise a narrative history of the team's progression through burlesque, radio, film, television, and animation. Additionally, there's one chapter summarizing each of their 36 films (production facts, cast members, plot, and sidelights), plus the one film that Costello did solo, from 1940 to 1959, and one chapter summarizing each of the 52 installments (cast and plot) of their TV show , which aired in 1952-53. Finally, and perhaps over the top for the reader satisfied with less rather than more, there's a chapter of one-paragraph program synopses for the 156 Abbott & Costello cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in the late 60s, by which time Lou was dead, though Bud, by then in declining health, managed to provide the voice for his character. • William (Bud) Abbott Books • (Bud) Abbott Movies |
| Charles Addams (1912 - 1988) Cartoonist that created The Addams Family; born in Westfield. • Charles Addams Books |
| Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin (1930 - ) First astronaut to leave a spacecraft and walk in space, he later became the second person to walk on the moon; born in Montclair. • Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin Books |
| William Count Basie band leader, Red Bank Long before he thought about becoming a musician, William Basie, son of a Red Bank, N.J., coachman and caretaker, longed to "go on the road touring everywhere in the world of show business with a troupe." In these long, rambling memoirs, skillfully put together from tape recordings, the Count recollects his experiences as a traveling pianist in Missouri and Oklahoma, as a member (with Hot Lips Page and Jimmie Rushing) of the Blue Devils, as organist in a silent-movie house, with Bennie Moten's orchestra in Kansas City, and as leader of one of the greatest jazz bands of all time. Basie pays tribute to his colleagues and managers (and to John Hammond for "discovering" him), but does not hesitate to discuss their weaknesses and shortcomings; his language is direct and earthy. Although some of the book reads more like a catalogue or itinerary than an autobiography, it will have strong appeal for jazz buffs and fans of the late bandleader • William Count Basie Books • Count Basie Discography |
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Joan Bennett actress, Palisades Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies through half a century of the sound era. She is possibly best-remembered for her film noir femme fatale roles in director Fritz Lang's movies such as The Woman in the Window (1944) and Scarlet Street (1945).
Bennett had three distinct phases to her long and successful career, first as a winsome blonde ingenue, then as a sensuous brunette femme fatale and, finally, as a warmhearted wife/mother figure. Her screen career was damaged by scandal in the early 1950s, after her third husband shot and injured her agent, who he thought was having an affair with Bennett, which she adamantly denied.
In the 1960s, she achieved success for her portrayal of Elizabeth Collins Stoddard on TV's Dark Shadows, for which she received an Emmy nomination. For her final movie role, as Madame Blanc in Suspiria (1977), she received a Saturn Award nomination. • Joan Bennett Books • Joan Bennett Movies
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| Judy Blume (1938 - ) Fiction writer for youth with well-known books such as Superfudge and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; born in Elizabeth. • Judy Blume Books |
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Jon Bon Jovi - Musician, born in Perth Amboy. John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. (born March 2, 1962), better known as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American Academy Award nominated musician, songwriter and actor, best known as the lead singer and founder of band Bon Jovi. He was also the owner of the Philadelphia Soul of the now suspended Arena Football League. Throughout his career, he has released two solo albums and eleven studio albums with his band which have sold over 120 million albums worldwide.
As a solo artist, he has numerous awards for his work, including a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for his solo hit: Blaze of Glory. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Monmouth University in 2001. He campaigned for Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential election, John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election, and Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential election.
Jon Bon Jovi was born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the son of two former Marines, hairdresser John Francis Bongiovi, Sr. and one-time Playboy bunny Carol Sharkey. He has two brothers, Anthony and Matthew. He is Italian-American. He also spent summers in Erie, Pa. with his grandparents, as he said when he came to a sold-out (over 15,000) Veterans Stadium in 1988. As a child Bon Jovi attended St. Joseph High School, in Metuchen, New Jersey during his freshman and sophomore years. He later transferred to Sayreville War Memorial High School in Parlin, New Jersey. • Jon Bon Jovi Books • Jon Bon Jovi Discography
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| William J. Brennan jurist, Newark • William J. Brennan Books |
| Aaron Burr (1756 - 1836) Vice President of the United States under Thomas Jefferson, born in Newark. • Aaron Burr Books |
| Joseph Campbell (1817 - 1900) Founder of the Campbell Soup Company; born in Camden County • Joseph Campbell Books |
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Christopher James "Chris" Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party. He is currently the Governor-Elect of New Jersey.Christie is the first Republican elected statewide in New Jersey in 12 years. He is a former United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
Christie was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Bill and Sondra Christie. He was raised in Livingston, graduating from Livingston High School. Christie graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1984 and Seton Hall University School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree in 1987. Christie was admitted to the Bar of the State of New Jersey and the Bar of the United States District Court, District of New Jersey, in December 1987. •
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| Grover Cleveland (1837 - 1908) The 22nd and 24th President of the United States; born in Caldwell. In this brief, excellent volume written for Arthur Schlesinger's American Presidents series, Columbia professor emeritus Graff (The Tuesday Cabinet) picks up the often neglected Grover Cleveland, dusts him off and reminds us how substantial he was. After serving as mayor of Buffalo and governor of New York, Cleveland (1837-1908) was the first Democrat to be elected president after the Civil War. He forced America's railroad titans to return 81,000,000 western acres previously granted by the federal government and regulated them with the Interstate Commerce Act. Although defeated in the electoral college by Benjamin Harrison in 1888, Cleveland won the popular vote, which set the stage for his return to the presidency in 1892 in the midst of nationwide depression. As usual, Cleveland acted decisively. He repealed the inflationary Sherman Silver Purchase Act and, with the aid of Wall Street, maintained the Treasury's gold reserve. When Chicago railroad strikers violated an injunction against further disruption, Cleveland dispatched federal troops. Cleveland's no-nonsense treatment of the strikers stirred many Americans, as did the way he forced Great Britain to accept arbitration of a disputed boundary in Venezuela • |
| James Fenimore Cooper author, Burlington • James Fenimore Cooper Books |
| David Copperfield magician, Metuchen • David Copperfield Books |
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Lou Costello Louis Francis "Lou" Costello (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959) was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott. Costello was famous for his bumbling, chubby, clean-cut image that has appealed to many Americans over the decades, and for his famous shouted line of "HEEEEYYY ABBOTT!!."
Lou Costello was born as Louis Francis Cristillo in Paterson, New Jersey to an Italian father from Calabria and a mother of French and Irish ancestry. A gifted athlete, he excelled in basketball and reportedly was once the New Jersey State Foul Shot champion. (His singular basketball prowess can be seen on film, in Here Come The Co-Eds (1945), in which Lou performs all his own tricky hoop shots without special effects.) He also fought as a boxer under the name "Lou King." He changed his professional name to Costello from actress Helene Costello. "There was a girl named Helene Costello, and I took her name".
In 1927 went to Hollywood to become an actor, but he could only find work as a laborer or extra at MGM and Warner Brothers. His athletic skill brought him occasional work as a stunt man, notably in The Trail of '98, (1927). He can also be spotted sitting ringside in the Laurel and Hardy film The Battle of the Century (1927). • Lou Costello Books • Lou Costello Movies
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| Stephen Crane (1871 - 1900) Author most famous for The Red Badge of Courage; born in Newark. • Stephen Crane Books |
| Helen Gahagan Douglas representative, Boonton • Helen Gahagan Douglas Books |
| Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) Famous Physicist, lived in Princeton. • Albert Einstein Books |
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Famous People of New Jersey