List of people from Montclair, New Jersey facts for kids

Notable current and former residents of Montclair, New Jersey, include:

Academics and science

• H. Bruce Franklin (born 1934), author and historian who was expelled from his Stanford University professorship for involvement in a leftist group
• Joshua Lederberg (1925–2008), geneticist who received the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work in bacterial genetics; born in Montclair
• Ronald T. Raines (born 1958), chemical biologist and expert on the chemistry and biology of proteins
• Kenneth B. Smith (1931-2008), President of the Board of Education of the Chicago Public Schools; President of the Chicago Theological Seminary
• Dr. Leo Sternbach (1908–2005), chemist, invented precursor to Valium
• Edward Weston (1850–1936), electrical engineer and inventor whose Weston Electrical Instrument Company won the contract to illuminate the Brooklyn Bridge

Arts

Authors and journalists

• Virginia Hamilton Adair (1913–2004), poet
• Jonathan Alter (born 1957), Newsweek magazine journalist
• Jim Axelrod, national correspondent for CBS News; reporter for the CBS Evening News
• Eric Boehlert, journalist, author, frequent contributor to The Huffington Post and contributing editor to Rolling Stone
• David Carr (1956-2015), media and culture columnist for The New York Times
• Wendy Coakley-Thompson (born 1966), author of the novel Back to Life
• Cojo, Art Juggernaut (born 1977), artist, writer, cartoonist
• Fleur Cowles (1908–2009), painter, journalist, hostess, socialite and founder of Flair magazine; claimed to have been born in Montclair but records from the United States Census Bureau indicate that she was born in New York City
• Louise DeSalvo (born 1942), author
• Christopher Durang (born 1949), contemporary playwright
• Edward S. Ellis (1840–1916), teacher, school administrator, journalist; author of hundreds of publications under his name and many pseudonyms
• Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882-1961), novelist, poet, literary critic for The Crisis; later teacher
• Ian Frazier (born 1951), writer, humorist, and essayist

Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Sr.

• Frank Bunker Gilbreth (1868–1924) and Lillian Moller Gilbreth (1878–1972), and their twelve children, featured in the autobiography Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr.
• Bob Herbert, (born 1945), syndicated op-ed columnist for The New York Times
• Ken Johnson, (born 1953), art critic for The New York Times
• Jon Katz (born 1947), author
• Peter King (born 1957), journalist and Sports Illustrated senior writer
• Michael Laser (born 1954), author
• Donna Leon (born 1942), novelist
• Arthur Levine (born 1962), editor, author, and publisher of children's books, including the American editions of the Harry Potter series
• Anne McCaffrey (1926–2011), a prolific writer of fantasy and science fiction best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series
• Susan Meddaugh, author of the Martha Speaks series of children's books, whose first home in Montclair was 33 Fairfield Street, where Martha the talking dog "lives" now
• Isabel Paterson (1886–1961), journalist, novelist, political philosopher, author of The God of the Machine
• Andrew Rosenthal (born 1956), editorial page editor of The New York Times; son of the paper's former executive editor A.M. Rosenthal
• Lee Siegel (born 1957), writer and cultural critic
• Richard Wesley (born 1945), screenwriter and playwright
• Valerie Wilson Wesley (born 1947), mystery writer
• Jana Winter, Fox News Channel reporter

Fashion

• Bobbi Brown (born 1957), makeup artist
• Jack McCollough (born 1978), fashion designer; co-creator of Proenza Schouler
• Louise Vyent, Dutch-born fashion model and portrait photographer

Fictional characters

• Paul Kinsey, on Mad Men
• Millicent Kent, in David Foster Wallace's novel Infinite Jest
• Jennifer Melfi, on The Sopranos
• Marnie Michaels, on Girls

Carmela Soprano, on The Sopranos, attended Montclair State University

Fine arts

• Thomas Ball (1819–1911), sculptor
• William Couper (1853–1942), sculptor
• Harry Fenn (1845–1911), was an English-born illustrator, primarily of landscapes
• George Inness, (1825–1894), landscape painter
• Joe McNally (born 1952), photographer
• Dorothy Canning Miller (1904–2003), art curator

Movies, stage and television

• Richard E. Besser (born 1959), former acting director of Centers for Disease Control; current Senior Health and Medical Editor at ABC News
• Richard Burgi (born 1958), actor
• John Callahan (born 1953), actor, Falcon Crest, Santa Barbara, All My Children, Days of Our Lives
• Stephen Colbert (born 1964), television personality, host of The Colbert Report
• Margaret Colin (born 1957), actress, Gossip Girl, The Edge of Night, Something Wild, Independence Day
• R.J. Colleary (1928–2012), Peabody and Emmy Award-winning comedy writer and producer for M*A*S*H and Barney Miller; produced Benson and It's a Living
• Kristen Connolly (born 1980), actress
• Justin Deas (born 1948), actor
• Dagmara Dominczyk (born 1976), actress
• Olympia Dukakis (born 1931), Academy Award-winning actress, Moonstruck, Steel Magnolias, Mr. Holland's Opus
• Allen DuMont (1901–1965), television pioneer
• Beth Ehlers (born 1968), actress on Guiding Light and All My Children
• Frankie Faison (born 1949), actor, The Silence of the Lambs
• Frank Field (born 1923), meteorologist, former resident
• Savion Glover (born 1974), tap dancer and choreographer
• Peter Greene (born 1965), actor, Pulp Fiction, The Mask
• Sterling Hayden (1916–1986), actor, Dr. Strangelove, The Godfather, The Asphalt Jungle, 9 to 5
• Anthony Heald (born 1944), actor, The Silence of the Lambs, Boston Public
• Shuler Hensley (born 1967), actor; won a Tony Award for Oklahoma!
• Louis Jean Heydt (1903–1960), actor
• Steve Hofstetter (born 1979), comedian and radio personality
• Janet Hubert-Whitten (born 1956), television and Broadway actress
• Vincent Irizarry (born 1959), Emmy Award-winning actor, [All My Children
• The Amazing Kreskin (born 1935), paranormalist and TV personality
• Eva La Rue (born 1966), actress, model, singer
• Nicole Leach (born 1979), actress
• Delroy Lindo (born 1952), actor nominated for Tony and SAG awards; Get Shorty, The Cider House Rules, Crooklyn, Gone in 60 Seconds, Malcolm X, More American Graffiti
• Warren Littlefield, (born 1952), President of NBC in the 1990s
• Priscilla Lopez (born 1948), actress, singer, dancer, Maid in Manhattan
• Tyler Mathisen (born 1957), writer, editor, co-host of CNBC's Power Lunch
• John Miller (born 1959), journalist, author, former FBI and ABC News journalist, current CBS News Senior Correspondent and investigative reporter
• Joe Morton (born 1947), actor, Scandal
• Michael O'Leary (born 1958), actor who portrayed Dr. Fredrick "Rick" Bauer on Guiding Light
• Roscoe Orman (born 1944), actor who portrayed Gordon Robinson on Sesame Street
• Stacie Passon, film director and screenwriter
• Kal Penn (born 1977), actor, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
• Todd Porter (born 1968), child/teen actor, Starstuff, Pinocchio's Christmas, Whiz Kids
• Christina Ricci (born 1980), actress whose films include The Addams Family, Buffalo '66, Monster, Sleepy Hollow
• Rosemary Rice (1925–2012), actress; played Katrin on Mama; voice-over artist and children's musician
• Bruce Sinofsky (born 1956), screenwriter, editor, producer and filmmaker, 2012 Academy Award nominee
• Steven Spielberg (born 1946), Academy Award-winning film director
• Elaine Stewart (1930–2011), model and Hollywood actress of the 1950s, promoted as a "dark-haired Marilyn Monroe"
• Sophia Takal, actress, writer and director
• Michelle Thomas (1968–1998), actress who played Myra on Family Matters
• Dallas Townsend (1919–1995), anchor for CBS World News Roundup
• Jake Weary (born 1990), actor, As the World Turns
• Mary Alice Williams (born 1949), television personality
• Wendy Williams (born 1964), TV and radio personality, host of The Wendy Williams Show
• Patrick Wilson (born 1973), actor, Watchmen, The A-Team, Little Children
• Alex Winter (born 1965), actor
• Kim Zimmer (born 1955), actress, Guiding Light
• Louis Zorich (born 1924), actor, Mad About You; married to Olympia Dukakis
• Eric Nyenhuis (born 1967), actor Walking Dead, Almost Mercy

Music

• Al Anderson (born 1950), guitarist and songwriter; played with Bob Marley & The Wailers
• David Bendeth (born 1954), musician, songwriter and producer
• Chuck Burgi (born 1952), drummer
• Ted Curson (born 1935), jazz trumpeter
• Robert DeLeo (born 1966), bass player, songwriter, and harmony vocalist for the Stone Temple Pilots
• Tommy DeVito (born 1936), guitarist and vocalist for The Four Seasons
• Hussein Fatal (born 1973), rapper, former member of the Outlawz
• Bob Gaudio, (born 1942), singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and songwriting member of The Four Seasons
• Billy Hart (born 1940), jazz drummer
• Herman Hupfeld (1894–1951), lyricist who wrote "As Time Goes By", used in the 1943 Oscar winner Casablanca
• Dorothy Kirsten (1910–1992), lyric soprano
• Vincent La Selva, (born 1929), symphony and opera conductor
• Oliver Lake (born 1944), alto saxophone player and composer
• Joseph Lamb, (1887-1960), prominent composer of ragtime music, born and lived in Montclair
• Christian McBride (born 1972), three-time Grammy Award winner for jazz (bass)
• Jim McNeely (born 1949), Grammy-winning jazz pianist, composer and arranger
• Anwar Robinson (born 1979), singer, contestant on American Idol
• Wallace Roney (born 1960), trumpet player and jazz musician
• Adam Schlesinger (born 1967), musician, bass player for Fountains of Wayne and Ivy
• Duncan Sheik (born 1969), singer-songwriter, composer; known for his 1996 single, "Barely Breathing", and his work on the award-winning musical Spring Awakening
• Ty Taylor (born 1967), guitarist and vocalist of R&B group Dakota Moon; contestant on the reality TV show Rock Star: INXS
• Steve Turre (born 1948), jazz trombonist and member of Saturday Night Live band since 1984

Joe Walsh

• Joe Walsh (born 1947), musician/songwriter for the James Gang and the Eagles
• Reggie Workman (born 1937), jazz musician

Jenny Owen Youngs

• Jenny Owen Youngs (born 1981), singer/songwriter

Business

• Israel Crane (1774-1858), merchant
• Allen B. DuMont (1901–1965), television pioneer and inventor who created the DuMont Television Network
• Floyd Hall, CEO of K-Mart, 1995-2001
• Benjamin Moore, co-founder with his brother Robert of Benjamin Moore & Co, in Brooklyn in 1883; lived in Upper Montclair, 1905-1917

Government, politics and law

• Bradley Abelow, Treasurer of the U.S. State of New Jersey, appointed by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine
• Steve Adubato (born 1957), former member of the New Jersey General Assembly; talk show host
• Jane Barus (1892-1977), member of the Constitutional convention that formulated the 1947 New Jersey State Constitution
• Bill Bradley (born 1942), former forward for the New York Knicks; U.S. Senator; prospective presidential candidate
• Raymond A. Brown (1915–2009), attorney whose clients included Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur, boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter and "Dr. X" physician Mario Jascalevich
• Bayard H. Faulkner (1894–1983), former mayor and chairman of the Commission on Municipal Government that created New Jersey's Optional Municipal Charter Law, better known eponymously as the Faulkner Act
• Paul J. Fishman (born 1957), United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey
• William H. Gray (born 1941), former Congressman who was head of the United Negro College Fund
• Lonna Hooks, Secretary of State of New Jersey from 1994 to 1998, under Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman
• J. Erik Jonsson (1901-1995), businessman, philanthropist, and mayor of Dallas, Texas, reared in Montclair
• Sean T. Kean (born 1963), represents the 11th legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly
• Arthur Kinoy (1920–2003), activist lawyer who was part of the team that represented the Chicago Seven
• Howard Krongard (born 1940), head of the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State
• Archie Lochhead (1892-1971), first director of the Exchange Stabilization Fund and President of the Universal Trading Corporation
• Benjamin Chavis Muhammad (born 1948), civil rights activist
• Lucy Stone (1818–1893), feminist and suffragist
• Benjamin Strong, Jr. (1872-1928), governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
• Edward W. Townsend (1855–1942), represented New Jersey's 6th congressional district, 1911-1913, and the 10th district, 1913-1915
• Jeh Johnson (1957), fourth United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017

Sports

• Me'Lisa Barber (born 1980), track and field sprint athlete
• Yogi Berra (born 1925), baseball player and manager with the New York Yankees and New York Mets
• Bob Bradley (born 1958), soccer coach of the Egypt national football team; former manager of the United States men's national soccer team
• David Caldwell (born 1987), football safety for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, previously with the Indianapolis Colts
• Peter A. Carlesimo (1915–2003), basketball coach
• Leonard Coleman (born 1949), President of the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs
• Larry Doby (1923–2003), second African-American to play professional baseball in Major League Baseball
• Alex Ferguson (1897–1976), right-handed pitcher; played for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, Philadelphia Phillies, and Brooklyn Robins; played in the 1925 World Series
• Don Garber (born 1957), commissioner of Major League Soccer
• Billy "Brud" Johnson (1918–2006), former New York Yankees third baseman; played nine seasons in the majors; missed two seasons for military service during World War II
• Rees Jones (born 1941), golf course architect
• Robert Trent Jones, Jr. (born 1939), golf course architect
• Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (1906–2000), golf course architect; moved here from England where he married and raised two sons, both following in their father's footsteps
• Sean Jones (born 1962), defensive end for the Raiders, Oilers, and the Packers; played in the 1997 Super Bowl championship
• Rich Kenah (born 1970), middle distance runner; won bronze medals over 800 metres at the 1997 World Indoor Championships and 1997 World Championships in Athens; member of the US Team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney
• Dave Meads (born 1964), pitcher for the Houston Astros who had an 8-4 career record
• John McMullen (1918–2005), naval architect and marine engineer; former owner of the New Jersey Devils and Houston Astros
• Jeff Mills (born 1968), linebacker who played four seasons in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos
• Scott Niedermayer (born 1973), retired hockey defenseman for the New Jersey Devils and Anaheim Ducks
• William Steinitz (1836–1900), one of the greatest chess masters of the 19th century; first world champion; known as the "Bohemian Caesar"
• Michael Strahan (born 1971), NFL defensive end for the New York Giants; holds single season sack record
• Willie Taylor (born 1955), wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers
• David Tyree (born 1980), NFL wide receiver for the New York Giants; 1998 graduate of Montclair High School
• Ingrid Wells (born 1989), soccer player
• Earl Williams (born 1948), baseball player; National League's rookie of the Year in 1971
• Dainius Zubrus (born 1978), forward for New Jersey Devils

Other

• Buzz Aldrin (born 1930), astronaut, second man to walk on the moon
• Paul Cushing Child (1902–1994), husband of chef Julia Child, who introduced his wife to fine cuisine, which began her legendary career
• Victor E. Engstrom (1914–2000), philatelist
• Vladimir Guryev and Lydia Guryev, aka Richard and Cynthia Murphy, arrested in their Montclair home June 2010 by FBI; admitted in court to being agents of the Russian Federation and pled guilty to conspiracy to act as unregistered agents; expelled with eight others in a prisoner exchange with Russia
• Isaac Newton Lewis (1858–1931), soldier and inventor who created the Lewis Gun