List of people from Norwalk, Connecticut

Norwalk, Connecticut, has been home to numerous notable people, residents and others, past and present:

Artie Shaw, Big Band leader

Authors, writers

• Faith Baldwin (1893–1978), novelist; worked with the Famous Writers School; lived in the Silvermine neighborhood and died in Norwalk
• Brian Basset (b. 1957), Seattle-based cartoonist; born in the city
• A. Scott Berg (b. 1949), award-winning biographer; born in Norwalk
• Philip Caputo (b. 1941), author
• Peter De Vries (1910–1983), writer, editor, novelist, worked on The New Yorker magazine for many years
• Alyse Gregory (1884–1967), suffragist, journalist, and novelist; born in Norwalk
• Johnny Gruelle (1880–1938), artist and author; creator of Raggedy Ann; lived in town
• Bob Grumman (b. 1941), minimalist poet
• Steven Kellogg (b. 1941), author and illustrator of children's books; born in Norwalk
• Sheila Lukins (1942–2009), cook and food writer^[1]
• Warren E. Preece (1921–2007), editor of Encyclopædia Britannica's 15th edition
• Andy Rooney (1919–2011), commentator on 60 Minutes television newsmagazine on CBS
• Peter St. John, poet during the American Revolution
• Stephen W. Sears (b. 1932), Civil War historian; lives in Norwalk
• Sloan Wilson (1920–2003), author; was born in the city
• Wayne Winsley (b. 1963), broadcaster and author; former resident^[2]

Actors, musicians, entertainers

Frances Dee in Becky Sharp

• Roger Bart (b. 1962), Broadway actor; born in Norwalk
• Jesse Bradford (b. 1979), film actor; born in Norwalk
• Dave Brubeck (1920–2012), musician; died in the city
• Aynsley Bubbico, film and television actress; born in Stamford and raised in Norwalk^[3]
• D.J. Caruso (b. 1965), movie and television director; born in the city and attended Norwalk High School
• Ruth Chatterton (1892–1961), actress, writer and aviator; died in the city in 1961
• Violet Englefield (1881–1946), actress and singer; lived in Norwalk 1930-39
• Robin de Jesús (b. 1984), film and theatre actor
• Frances Dee (1909–2004), actress; died in the city
• Mat Devine (b. 1974), lead singer of Kill Hannah
• Ellen Hanley (1926–2007), musical theater performer
• Eileen Heckart (1919–2001), actress; died at her home in the city
• Clegg Hoyt (1910–1967), film and television actor; born in Norwalk
• Sarah Jacobson (1971–2004), independent filmmaker; born in Norwalk
• Mitch Longley (b. 1965), television actor; graduated from Brien McMahon High School
• Forrest McClendon, Tony Award-nominated actor (The Scottsboro Boys)^[4]
• Vince Mendoza (b. 1961), music arranger and composer; born in Norwalk
• Farrad Mullins (b. 1976), musician and performer based in New York City; born in Norwalk
• Christopher Schreiner (b. 1983), guitarist; born in Norwalk
• Artie Shaw (1910–2004), Big Band composer; lived in Norwalk in the 1950s^[5]
• Horace Silver (b. 1928), jazz pianist and composer; born in the city
• John Simon (b. 1941), musician, record producer, and composer; born in Norwalk
• Joan Wasser (b. 1970), violinist and singer-songwriter; was raised in the city
• Chris Webby (Christian Webster), rapper; grew up in Norwalk
• Bruce Weitz (b. 1943), actor; was born in Norwalk
• Treat Williams (b. 1951), actor; Rowayton resident
• Remy Zaken (b. 1989), stage and television actress^[6]

Sports

• Érik Bédard (b. 1979), pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles; went to Norwalk Community College
• Paul Gerken (b. 1950), professional tennis player
• Mickey Kydes, soccer player for the NY/NJ MetroStars of Major League Soccer^[7]
• Randy LaJoie (b. 1961), two-time champion driver in the NASCAR Busch Series (now the Nationwide Series)
• Bob Miller (1929–2006), NFL Detroit Lions football player (1952–1958); born in the city
• Marie Corridon Mortell (b. 1930), won a gold medal in the 4 x 100 m relay in swimming at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London^[8]
• Kevin Morton, former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
• Calvin Murphy (b. 1948), former NBA basketball player; grew up in town
• Idris Price (b. 1976), football player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Scott Sharp (b. 1968), auto racer, Indy Racing League champion; currently an American Le Mans Series owner-driver in the GT class
• Leif Shiras (b. 1959), former tennis player and tennis journalist
• Tarvis Simms (b. 1971), middleweight boxer; Golden Gloves champion; South Norwalk native
• Travis Simms (b. 1971), welterweight champion of the World Boxing Association (as of January 2007); South Norwalk native
• Mo Vaughn (b. 1967), former baseball player
• Luke Vercollone (b. 1982), professional soccer player with the Charleston Battery; grew up in Norwalk
• Daniel Walsh (b. 1979), rower and winner of a bronze medal in rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics^[9]

Government and politics

Brien McMahon stamp, issued in 1962

John Magrath

• Audrey P. Beck (1931–1983), college professor and Connecticut state legislator
• William Benton (1900–1973), U.S. Senator; later publisher of the Encyclopædia Britannica; lived in the city
• Thaddeus Betts (1789–1840), United States Senator from Connecticut
• William Thomas Clark (1831–1905), American Civil War general, U.S. Congressman, and abolitionist
• Darius N. Couch (1822–1897), naturalist and Union general in the Civil War; died in Norwalk
• Jeremiah Donovan (1857–1935), mayor and U.S. Congressman
• Thomas Fitch (1696–1774), colonial Governor of Connecticut
• Thomas Fitch, V (1725–1795), state representative; widely believed to be the original "Yankee Doodle Dandy"
• Irving Freese, five-term mayor of Norwalk; one of the few Socialists ever elected mayor in the United States
• Mary F. Hoyt, first woman to receive a position in the United States federal civil service
• Alex Knopp, two-term mayor of Norwalk, 2001–2005
• Mia Love, United States Representative; raised in Norwalk^[10]
• Brien McMahon (1903–1952), United States Senator (D-CT), authored the Atomic Energy Act of 1946; born, raised, and is buried in Norwalk; namesake of one of the city's high schools
• Dick Moccia, elected mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut on November 8, 2005
• Isaac Sears (1729 or 1730–1786), merchant, sailor, and political figure during the American Revolution; raised in Norwalk
• Levi Warner (1831–1911), United States Representative from Connecticut
• Peter Willcox (b. 1953), Greenpeace activist and former captain of the Rainbow Warrior; was raised in the city

Other

Daniel Shea

• Daniel T. Barry (b. 1953), retired NASA astronaut; born in Norwalk
• Sarah Louise Bouton Felt (1850—1928), first general president of the children's Primary organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
• Cirie Fields (b. 1970), contestant on Survivor: Panama, Survivor: Micronesia, and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains
• Francis Gregory (1780–1866), U.S. Navy officer in the War of 1812 and the American Civil War; born in Norwalk
• Edward Calvin Kendall (1886–1972), chemist and Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine winner in 1950; born in South Norwalk
• LeGrand Lockwood (died February 1872), Wall Street financier; builder of the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion in Norwalk
• John D. Magrath (1924–1945), World War II Medal of Honor recipient; born in East Norwalk and is buried in Norwalk
• Alexander Rummler (1867–1959), painter, lived in the city for 35 years painting many scenes of Norwalk life
• Daniel J. Shea (1947–1969), recipient of the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War; Shea Island in the Norwalk Islands has been renamed in his honor
• Charles Robert Sherman (1788–1829), lawyer, Ohio public servant; father of William Tecumseh Sherman; born in Norwalk^[11]
• Mary Emma Woolley (1863–1947), president of Mount Holyoke College, 1901–1937; born in South Norwalk^[12]

See also

Mary Emma Woolley president of Mount Holyoke College

• List of people from Connecticut
• List of people from Bridgeport, Connecticut
• List of people from Darien, Connecticut
• List of people from Greenwich, Connecticut
• List of people from New Canaan, Connecticut
• List of people from New Haven, Connecticut
• List of people from Redding, Connecticut
• List of people from Ridgefield, Connecticut
• List of people from Stamford, Connecticut
• List of people from Westport, Connecticut

Footnotes

1. Moskin, Julia. "Sheila Lukins, 66, Dies; Awakened Taste Buds", The New York Times, August 30, 2009. Accessed August 31, 2009.
2. Kobak, Steve (July 28, 2008). "Author in search of real life character for next novel". The Hour. p. A3.
3. "Aynsley Bubbico". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
4. Wright, Chase (May 7, 2011). "Norwalk native turned Broadway star nominated for Tony Award". Stamford Times. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
5. Grudens, Richard, Jukebox Saturday Night: More Memories of the Big Band Era and Beyond, (1999) Pine Hill Press, Freeman, S.D., ISBN 1-57579-142-0, page 29, accessed through Google Books (free registration required) on August 4, 2006
6. "Remy Zaken". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
7. Mickey Kydes Soccer Enterprises
8. Geoghegan, Steve (September 25, 2008). "Norwalk honors its Olympian". The Hour. p. B1.
9. Hine, Tommy (August 22, 2008). "Summer Bronze: Norwalk's Walsh Garners Olympic Medal". Norwalk Citizen~News. 12 (34): A1,A15. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
10. Glionna, Hohn M.; Pearce, Matt (November 5, 2014). "GOP hopes Mia Love's win a watershed moment for the party". LA Times. Archived from the original on 2014-11-15.
11. Hirshson, Stanley P., The White Tecumseh: A Biography of General William T. Sherman, John Wiley & Sons, 1997, ISBN 0-471-17578-1
12. Web page titled "Mary Emma Wolley" at Encyclopædia Britannica Web site, accessed May 4, 2007