Famous Michigan People, a fairly complete list of actors, politicians, inventors, business leaders, activists.  A who's who of Michigan

Tim Allen actor, Denver Colorado - Born June 13, 1953. He grew up in Birmingham and attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. He later received an honorary degree and its existence was used for the main plot of a Home Improvement episode. At one point in late 1994, he starred in the most watched television show, Home Improvement, the highest grossing film, The Santa Clause, and had the best selling book in North America, Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man, simultaneously. His Home Improvement fame spawned Tim Allen Signature Tools, a line of power tools distributed by Ryobi. Chris Van Allsburg (1949 - ) Writer of children's books who won Caldecott Awards for drawings in The Polar Express and Jumanji. Born in Grand Rapids, MI Justin Bartha actor, West Bloomfield - Born July 21, 1978. He graduated West Bloomfield High and then attended New York University. Justins roles include Riley Poole in National Treasure and most recently as Jeff Cahill on the NBC sitcom Teachers.

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Fred Bear hunting legend, Waynesboro PA - Born March 5, 1902, died April 27, 1988. Fred brought bowhunting to national exposure. At the age of 21, he moved to Detroit to work as a patternmaker for the automotive trade. In 1927 he saw the bowhunting film Alaskan Adventures, which changed Fred forever. He met Art Young, the man who made Alaskan Forever and they spent time in Fred's basement where he learned how to make bows, arrows and bowstrings. He won his first archery tournament in 1933 and over the next 15 years he placed first or second in 29 out of 35 tournaments. That same year in 1933 he started Bear Products Company. In 1947, he moved the archery plant to Grayling. In 1970, the Fred Bear Sports Club was formed and then opened to the public in 1972. In 1978 the archery business was moved to Gainesville Florida and then sold to the Bass Pro Shops in 2003. Fred died when he was 86

Kristen Bell actress, Detroit - Born July 18, 1980. She is best known for her current role as Veronica Mars on the UPN show Veronica Mars. Kristen graduated from Royal Oak Shrine Catholic High School and then attended New York University.

Elizabeth Berkley actress, Farmington Hills - Born July 28, 1972. She gained prominence for her role as Jessica "Jessie" Myrtle Spano in the sitcom Saved by the Bell, which she played from 1989 to 1992. Elizabeth also gained notoriety from her role in the 1995 movie Showgirls.

Sandra Bernhard actress, Flint - Born June 6, 1955. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy. She has also made appearances in various films including The King of Comedy, and Hudson Hawk, as well as her television spots, most notably as Nancy, a lesbian friend of the title protagonist on Roseanne . She also guest-starred as herself on two episodes of Will & Grace.

Anna Bissell of Grand Rapids became the nation's first female corporate CEO in 1888, after the death of her husband, Melville. Anna had helped Melville market the carpet sweeper he invented and patented in 1876 to get rid of the packing-sawdust that stuck in the carpet of their crockery shop. The Bissell carpet sweeper was one of the nation's first such devices. 

Selma Blair actress, Southfield - Born June 23, 1972. As a child she attended Hillel Day School and Cranbrook Kingswood school near Detroit . She studied at Kalamazoo College from 1990-1992, then transferred to the University of Michigan, where she earned her bachelor's degree in 1994. Blair's best known film roles were in Cruel Intentions (1999), which also starred Sarah Michelle Gellar and Reese Witherspoon. Both Blair and Witherspoon later starred together in Legally Blonde (2001). More recently she appeared alongside Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate in The Sweetest Thing (2002), and in Hellboy (2004). She played the character of "Zoe" in the year-long TV series, Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane.

William Boeing (1881 - 1956) Aircraft manufacturer who founded the Boeing Aircraft company; lived in Seattle. Born in Detroit, MI

Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono singer/actor/politician Detroit - Born February 16, 1935, Died January 5, 1998. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Bono began his music career working for the legendary record producer Phil Spector in the early 1960s. Later in the same decade, he achieved commercial success, along with his then-wife Cher, as part of the singing duo Sonny and Cher. Bono wrote, arranged, and produced a number of hit records with singles like "I Got You, Babe" and "The Beat Goes On,". Bono died suddenly of injuries from hitting a tree while skiing at the Heavenly Ski Resort near South Lake Tahoe, California. He was 62 years old.
 

Timothy Busfield actor, East Lansing - Born June 12, 1957. He is best known for his Emmy-winning role as Eliot Weston on the television series thirtysomething and his recurring role as Danny Concannon on the television series The West Wing . The son of university professors, Busfield as a boy hung around the Michigan State University drama department. Busfield is married to his second wife, Jenny, and they live with their three children in Sacramento , California .

James Brady, press secretary for former President Ronald Reagan, was born in Grand Rapids on Sept. 17, 1944.

Born in Kalamazoo County, Olympia Brown (1835-1926) was a well-known stump speaker for women´s rights and one of the nation´s first women ordained as a minister. She served as an officer of the National Woman Suffrage Association and the Federal Suffrage Association and worked tirelessly for passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

Jerry Bruckheimer film/television producer, Detroit - Born September 21, 1945. His first big hit was Flashdance. After that he produced such movies as Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop and Days of Thunder. More recently, he produced Pirates of the Caribbean and Armageddon. Television shows include CSI and The Amazing Race. He currently lives in Kentucky with his family.

Ralph Bunche (1904 - 1971) American political scientist and diplomat who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in Palestine; He also received the Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon Johnson. Born in Detroit, MI 

Office workers today wouldn't be where they are without the contribution of William Austin Burt, who in 1829 patented the first typewriter. Burt, who is better known for surveying Michigan's early townships and discovering iron ore in the Upper Peninsula, called his invention a "typographer.

Timothy Busfield actor, East Lansing - Born June 12, 1957. He is best known for his Emmy-winning role as Eliot Weston on the television series thirtysomething and his recurring role as Danny Concannon on the television series The West Wing . The son of university professors, Busfield as a boy hung around the Michigan State University drama department. Busfield is married to his second wife, Jenny, and they live with their three children in Sacramento , California .

Michigan born Roger Chafee (Grand Rapids) died in the Apollo I fire, Jan. 27, 1967. (That fire also killed astronauts Virgil Grissom and Edward White II.)

Author Bruce Catton, best known for his Civil War writings, was born in Petoskey (pop 7,770) on Oct. 9, 1899. His most famous book, Stillness at Appomattox, earned him a Pulitzer Prize.

Madonna Louise Ciccone (1958 - ) Singer with hit singles "Material Girl," and "Vogue." She has also acted in such movies as A League of Their Own, and Evita. Born in Bay City, MI   She is married to director Guy Ritchie and lives most of the time in England.

That lovable hunk of green clay, Gumby, was created by filmmaker Art Clokey, born in 1921 in Detroit. A photo of his dad sporting a wacky hairstyle inspired Gumby´s lopsided head. Gumby debuted on The Howdy Doody Show in 1956.

Alice Cooper singer, Detroit, - Born February 4, 1946 also known as Vincent Damon Furnier. Alice Cooper was originally the name of Furnier's band; he legally changed his own name to Alice Cooper for a successful solo career. Some hit songs include Welcome to my Nightmare, Eighteen and No More Mr. Nice Guy.

Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is a director, writer, and producer from Detroit. In 1974 Coppola won an Academy Award for directing The Godfather, Part II. Coppola's other films include Apocalypse Now,  Bram Strokers Dracula, and Peggy Sue Got Married.  

Dave Coulier actor, Detroit - Born September 21, 1959. Coulier graduated in 1977 from Notre Dame High School in Harper Woods, Michigan. Coulier got his start in high school doing stand-up during the lunch hours and impersonating the principal over the school PA system. He is best known for his role as Joey Gladstone on Full House

George Armstrong Custer, Army commander, New Rumley, Ohio - Born December 5, 1839, Died June 25, 1876. Custer spent much of his boyhood living with his half-sister and his brother-in-law in Monroe, Michigan, where he attended school and is now honored by a statue in the center of town. He is remembered for his long blonde hair, and  his defeat and death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn against a coalition of Native American tribes led by Sitting Bull.   Custer's Last Stand Jeff Daniels actor, Athens Georgia - Born February 19, 1955. Raised in Michigan, he is founder and executive director of the Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea where he currently lives. Jeff has stared in such movies as Dumb and Dummer and Terms of Endearment.

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Pam Dawber actress, Farmington Hills - Born October 18, 1951 She attended North Farmington High School and Oakland Community College. She is probably still best known for her role as Mindy McConnell on the television series Mork & Mindy, which ran on ABC from 1978 to 1982. She also starred in her own series as Samantha Russell on My Sister Sam, which ran on CBS from 1986 to 1988. She also parodied her role on classic sitcoms with John Ritter in the 1992 movie Stay Tuned. Pam is married to Mark Harmon who's father played football for the University of Michigan. Mark is best known for his role as Gibbs on NCIS.

Thoma"s E. Dewey ( March 24, 1902?72), a native of Owosso, was the Republican presidential nominee in 1944 and 1948, but from his adopted state of New York.  politician  one-time governor of New York and two-time Republican presidential candidate.

Herbert Henry Dow (February 26, 1866 Belleville, Ontario, Canada ? October 15, 1930) was a U.S. (Canadian-born) chemical industrialist. He attended the Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio. His most significant achievement was as founder of Dow Chemical Company in 1897 with the assistance of Charles Nold. Two years later, he also started the Dow Gardens in Midland, Michigan as a personal hobby.

William C. Durant was born on December 8th, 1861 in Boston Mass. He quit high school to begin work in his grandfather's Flint, Michigan, lumberyard. By 1885 he had partnered with Josiah Dallas Dort to organize the Coldwater Road Cart Company, which would become a leading manufacturer of horse-drawn carriages. By 1890, Durant-Dort Carriage Company was the nation's largest carriage company, producing approximately 50,000 horse-drawn vehicles a year. Whiting persuaded Durant to join Buick as General Manager. Founder of General Motors 

Eminem also known as Marshall Mathers rapper, St. Joseph, Missouri, Born October 17, 1972. He moved to Detroit at an early age. Discovered by rapper/producer Dr. Dre, Eminem is known as one of the most skillful and controversial rappers in the industry, becoming a crossover sensation with his debut single "My Name Is" while simultaneously earning respect from the hip-hop community for his lyrical talent. He is noted for his ability to change his own pace and style multiple times within one song without losing the beat. Mathers has achieved six UK #1 singles, more than any other rapper, and has also had the most #1 singles in the UK in the 21st century by an American artist.

Bob Eubanks game show host, Flint - Born January 8, 1938. He is best known for the long time running game show The Newlywed Game. He has also hosted the game show Card Sharks in the 80's. 

Mark Farner singer, Flint - Born September 29, 1948. He is best known as the lead guitarist/singer for Grand Funk Railroad, but later became a Contemporary Christian musician. Hit songs from Grand Funk Railroad include We're an American Band and I'm your Captain. In 1977 Grand Funk called it quits and Farner went solo releasing 2 albums before reuniting with Grand Funk. They released 2 albums prior to Farner releasing 4 Contemporary Christian albums. He is currently on tour.

Dann Florek actor, Flat Rock - Born May 1, 1950. After a brief stint as the boring husband of Susan Ruttan on NBC 's hit drama L.A. Law, Florek co-starred in the NBC crime drama Law & Order as Capt. Donald Cragen. In 1999 he returned to the Cragen role, only this time on Law & Order spin-off series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit . The show is quite popular and Florek remains on the show as of 2006

Henry Ford (1863-1947), born in Dearborn, . Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903. He forever changed the American way of life with the development of the affordable Model T, also known as the Tin Lizzie.of modern assembly lines used in mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. He was a prolific inventor and was awarded 161 U.S. patents. 

Gerald Ford  Michigan's only president, Omaha Nebraska, Born July 14, 1913. Ford obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, where he was a football star. Ford defeated the incumbent in the party primary and was elected to the United States House of Representatives representing the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. He was elected House Minority Leader in 1963 and served in the House until 1973. When Spiro Agnew resigned, Ford was appointed Vice President of the United States at the height of the Watergate scandal. He was the first person to become president of the United States without being elected to either the vice presidency or the presidencyFollowing the resignation of Richard Nixon , Ford ascended to the presidency on August 9, 1974.

Aretha Franklin singer, Memphis Tennessee - Born March 25, 1942. She has been dubbed for years " The Queen Of Soul " but many also call her "Lady Soul," as well as the even more affectionate "Sister Re." As a child, Aretha moved from Tennessee to New York and then to Detroit. At age 14, she made her first recordings in a local Detroit church. She ten had her first two sons around this time. Clarence, Jr. was born when she was 15 and Edward "Eddie" was born when she was 16. She dropped out of high school soon after the birth of her second son. Her grandmother took in her sons to help Aretha move on in her career. Among her most successful hit singles from the 60's and 70's were "Chain of Fools", "You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)", "Think", "Baby, I Love You", "The House That Jack Built", and "Respect", which became her signature song. She currently lives in Detroit when she is not on tour.

Glenn Frey singer/actor, Detroit - Born November 6, 1948. Best known as one of the founding members of rock and roll band, The Eagles. Growing up in Royal Oak, Michigan, Frey became part of the mid-1960s Detroit rock scene. His first professional recording experience was performing acoustic guitar and background vocals on Bob Seger's Ramblin' Gamblin' Man in 1968. Frey and Seger would remain friends and occasional songwriting partners in later years. Frey then moved to Los Angeles.

Max Gail actor, Detroit - Born April 5, 1943. Max is best known as his role as Det. Stan "Wojo" Wojeciehowicz from the TV sitcom Barney Miller. He was raised in Grosse Ille and has a twin sister. Max runs his own production company, Full Circle, which has done documentaries on such things as Agent Orange, Native Americans, and nuclear issues.

Daniel Gerber (1873 - 1952) Developed canned baby food in 1927 after a pediatrician suggested straining foods for his young daughter. Began mass producing baby food in 1928 after seeing how long it took his wife to strain peas for their seven-month-old daughter. Less than 20 years later, the Gerber Products Company was selling five million jars of baby food a day. Born in Douglas, MI

George "The Gipper" Gipp, the first All-American football player for the University of Notre Dame, was born Feb. 18, 1895, in Laurium (pop. 2,126). Visited by Coach Knute Rockne hours before he died, Gipp told Rockne to "win one for the Gipper."

Berry Gordy, Jr., producer, Detroit - Born November 28, 1929. Berry is the founder of the Motown record label and its many subsidiaries. The record label relocated to Detroit from Milledgeville, Georgia in 1922.   Gordy founded the Motown Record Corporation in 1959. In 1968 Gordy moved to Los Angeles, California and expanded Motown's offices there, following the riots in Detroit. In June 1972 he relocated the entire Motown Records company to LA, and the following year he reorganized the company into Motown Industries, an entertainment conglomerate that would include record, movie, television and publishing divisions. Gordy sold his interests in Motown Records to MCA and Boston Ventures in June 1988 for $61 million. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990  Motown, which became the largest independently owned record company in the world, launched numerous black musicians into successful careers.

David Allen Grier comedian, Detroit. Born June 30, 1955. He received a BA from The University Of Michigan, and an MFA from the Yale School Of Drama. He is most famous for In Living Color and movie roles such as I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and Jumanji. He is number 94 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standup's of all time.

Actor Charlton Heston was born in St. Helen (pop. 2,390) on Oct. 4, 1925, and grew up in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, Ill., (pop. 26,036). As a child he learned to amuse himself by acting out stories read to him by his parents. He pursued his ambition throughout high school and then college, via an acting scholarship at Northwestern University.   Heston starred in various science fiction films and disaster films, some of which, like Planet of the Apes, and The Omega Man. He is an honorary life member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), and was its president and spokesman from 1998 until his resignation in 2003. As NRA president he is perhaps best known, while raising an antique Sharps Rifle over his head at the 2000 NRA convention, for saying that presidential candidate Al Gore would take away his Second Amendment rights "from my cold, dead hands".

James Hoffa (b.Indiana, 1913?1975?), president of the Teamsters Union, whose disappearance and presumed murder remain a mystery    One of America's most well known  Trade Union Leader, tied to Maffia Queens, New York - Born February 14, 1913, died approximately July 30, 1975. Hoffa moved to Lake Orion in his early years to work in a warehouse. In 1967, Hoffa was convicted of attempted bribery of a grand juror and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. In 1971, however, he was released when Republican President Richard Nixon commuted his sentence to time served on the condition he not participate in union activities for ten years. Hoffa was planning to sue to invalidate that restriction in order to reassert his power over the Teamsters when he disappeared at around 2:30pm on July 30, 1975 from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox Restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan , a suburb of Detroit . He had been due to meet two Mafia leaders, Anthony "Tony Jack" Giacalone from Detroit and Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano from Union City, New Jersey . On May 17 , 2006 , acting on a tip, the FBI began digging for Hoffa's remains outside of a barn on what is now the Hidden Dreams Farm in Milford Township, Michigan where they surveyed the land and began to dig up parts of the 85-acre parcel, according to federal officials. Over 40 agents have sectioned off a piece of the property where they believe the bones of the Teamster leader might be. Federal agents would not release the name of the person or persons who gave them the tip, but they did say that the tip included information on a group of people that used to meet on the same piece of land 30 years ago. Nothing was found.

Gordie Howe (born in Canada 1928) holds the National Hockey League record for most seasons played (26) and most games played (1,767). Howe began his professional career at the age of 18 and played right wing for the Detroit Red Wing until 1971.

Lee Iacocca (born 1924) became president of Ford Motor Company after producing stylish, affordable cars such as the Mustang. In 1978, after 32 years with Ford, Iacocca became president of the Chrysler Corporation, where he helped the failing automobile company survive. He retired in 1992.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson (1959 - ) Basketball star that led the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA titles in the 1980s; retired in 1991 after announcing he had the AIDS virus and now works to educate people about the disease. Went to Michigan State. Born in Lansing, MI  He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979 while a student at Michigan State University. Johnson became one of basketball's greatest guards.

James Earl Jones actor, Arkabutla, Mississippi - Born January 17, 1931. He was raised in Dublin (Michigan), by his maternal grandparents, Jones is of Irish, Cherokee and African-American descent. He moved to Michigan around the age of 5, when he developed a stutter so severe he refused to speak aloud. He remained functionally mute for 8 years until he reached high school. He credits a high school teacher who discovered he had a gift for writing poetry with helping him out of his silence. He was a graduate of the University of Michigan. He has been in several movies such as the voice of Darth Vadar in Star Wars and Mufasa in the Lion King, Field of Dreams and The Hunt for Red October.

Casey Kasem disk jockey, Detroit - Born April 27, 1932. Kasem is best known by name as a music historian and disc jockey, most notably as host of the weekly American Top 40 radio program from 1970 to 1988, and again from March 1998 until January 10, 2004, when Ryan Seacrest succeeded him. He hosted a spin-off television show called A for a time in the 1980s.

Will Keith Kellogg along with his brother John Harvey Kellogg, developed and promoted eating cereal as healthy breakfast food, especially corn flakes. In 1906 he founded the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company which later became the Kellogg Company. In 1930 Kellogg established the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.  April 7, 1860 in Battle Creek, Michigan October 6, 1951 in Battle Creek, Michigan

Corning Glass researchers Robert Maurer, Donald Keck and Peter Schultz invented fiber optic wire or "Optical Waveguide Fibers" (patent #3,711,262) capable of carrying 65,000 times more information than copper wire, through which information carried by a pattern of light waves could be decoded at a destination even a thousand miles away. The team had solved the problems presented by Dr. Kao.

Charles Lindbergh was born in Detroit Michigan. His solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927 ( it took 33 and a half hours) was the first recorded instance of an American being glad to arrive in France.  Grew up in Minnesota. He is also known for his son being kidnapped from his home in 1932.

Lee Majors actor, Wyandotte - Born April 23, 1939. He is best known for playing the part of Steve Austin , a former astronaut with bionic limbs, in the television series The Six Million Dollar Man of the 1970s. Majors has been married four times, but his most famous marriage was to actress Farrah Fawcett.

Jack Lousma was the first Michigan born astronaut to fly in the space shuttle in STS 3, March 22, 1982

Malcolm Little (Malcolm X) civil rights leader - Omaha, Nebraska - Born May 19, 1925, Died February 21, 1965. After Malcolm was born, the family relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1926, and then to Lansing, shortly thereafter. In 1931 his father was found dead having been run over by a streetcar in Michigan. Malcolm X was a prominent member of the Black Muslims (a black nationalist group) stressed the beauty and value of being black. Malcolm X, who grew up in Lansing, was shot and killed after speaking out against the Black Muslims.  Authorities ruled his death suicide. In 1958 Malcolm married Betty X (née Sanders) in Lansing. They had six daughters together, all of whom carried the surname of Shabazz. Their names were Attallah, born in 1958; Qubilah, born in 1960; Ilyasah, born in 1962; Gamilah, born in 1964; and twins, Malaak and Malikah, born after Malcolm's death in 1965. On February 21 in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom, Malcolm had just begun delivering a speech when a disturbance broke out in the crowd of 400. A man yelled, "Get your hand outta my pocket! Don't be messin' with my pockets!" As Malcolm's bodyguards rushed forward to attend to the disturbance, a man rushed forward and shot Malcolm in the chest with a sawn-off shotgun. Two other men quickly charged towards the stage and fired handguns at Malcolm, who was shot 16 times.

Judge Greg Mathis television judge, Detroit - Born April 5, 1960. He is a retired Michigan 36th District Court judge and now syndicated television show judge. Raised in the Herman Gardens housing project, Mathis was on the road to a criminal life as a teenager. His father was estranged from him, but associated closely with the Errol Flynns, a notorious Detroit street gang , that Mathis would eventually join while a teenager. In the 70s , he was arrested numerous times. Yet when incarcerated in Wayne County Jail, as a seventeen year old juvenile, his mother visited him and broke the tragic news that she was diagnosed with colon cancer . This event changed Mathis, and he was given the benefit of a considerate judge, who offered probation if he enrolled and passed a G.E.D. course in six months. in 1995, he was elected a superior court judge for Michigan's 36th District, making him the youngest man in the state to hold the post. During the five years he was on the bench, he was rated in the top five of all judges in the 36th District.

Ed McMahon tv personality, Detroit - Born March 6 , 1923. Ed is most famous for "Here's Johnny" on television as Johnny Carson's announcer on the Tonight Show and also hosted the popular TV show Star Search.

Tim Meadows comedian Highland Park - Born February 5, 1961. Tim is best known for his character as Leon Phelps, The Ladies' Man, an eternally horny talk show host on Saturday Night Live which was eventually made into a movie. Other movies include Conehead and Mean Girls.

Michael Moore.  Portly guerrilla movie maker ? and massive George W Bush fan ? Michael Moore hails from the town of Flint. His first feature film documentary, Roger and Me, was shot there. Michael Moore director Flint - Born April 23, 1954. Moore was born at St. Joseph Hospital in Flint and grew up in Davison. After dropping out of the University of Michigan-Flint (where he wrote for the student newspaper titled The Michigan Times ), at 22 he founded the alternative weekly magazine The Flint Voice, which soon changed its name to The Michigan Voice . He is known for his movies such as Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. 

Harry Morgan actor, Detroit - Born April 10, 1915. He graduated from Muskegon High School. He is best known as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H and Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet. Movies include The Glen Miller Story and How the West Was Won. In 2006, Harry Morgan was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum .

Tired of having a wrinkled coat because of a shortage of coat hooks at work, Albert Parkhouse of Jackson (pop. 36,316) twisted two wires into ovals for his coat shoulders, added a hook, and invented the wire coat hanger in 1903.

Ted Nugent singer, Detroit - Born December 13, 1948. Started career with Amboy Dukes until 1975 when he began a solo career. Some hit songs are Free for All and Cat Scratch Fever. He is also known for hunting and conservative political views. Active deer hunter and hunting activist. Ted is deaf in his left ear, but has hearing in his right. Ted moved to Texas in 2005, but still has property in Concord.

Rosa Parks civil rights activist Tuskegee, Alabama - Born February 4, 1913, Died October 24, 2005. On December 1, 1955 after a long day at work, Parks got on a bus and sat in a seat reserved for whites only. She was arrested and charged for disorderly conduct. The trial lasted 30 minutes. Parks was found guilty and fined $10, plus $4 in court costs. The day of Parks' trial, Monday, December 5 , 1955 , the WPC distributed 35,000 leaflets. The handbill read, "We are.asking every Negro to stay off the buses Monday in protest of the arrest and trial.. You can afford to stay out of school for one day. If you work, take a cab, or walk. But please, children and grown-ups, don't ride the bus at all on Monday. Please stay off the buses Monday." It rained that day, but the black community persevered in their boycott. Some rode in carpools, while others traveled in black-operated cabs that charged the same fare as the bus, 10 cents. Most of the remainder of the 40,000 black commuters walked, some as far as 20 miles. In the end, the boycott lasted for 382 days. Dozens of public buses stood idle for months, severely damaging the bus transit company's finances, until the law requiring segregation on public buses was lifted. In 1957, she moved to Detroit, where she died October 24, 2005  She wasn't even safe in her home in Detroit.  She was assualted by a couple of thugs.

Purple Gang,  Bootlegging gang of the 1920's.  Notorious for killing their competitors, hired as hitmen.  Allegedly linked to the St. Valentines Day massacre.

Terry O'Quinn actor, Newberry - Born July 15, 1952. He attended CMU in Mt. Pleasant. Terry is best known for his current work as John Locke on the ABC hit Lost. He has also starred in shows such as Alias, West Wing and Millennium.

George Peppard Jr, actor, Detroit Born October 1, 1928, died May 8, 1994 due to complications from lung cancer. George had graduated from Dearborn High School and later served in the Marine Corp. In the mid-'80s he was known on television for his role as Col. John "Hannibal" Smith in the cult 1980s television show The A-Team , where he is the cigar -smoking leader of a renegade commando squadron.

Iggy Pop singer, Muskegon - Born April 21, 1947. Also known as James Newell Osterberg, Jr. Pop is considered one of the most important innovators of punk rock and related styles. Born in Muskegon, Michigan, he began his musical career as a drummer in different high school bands in Ypsilanti, Michigan. One band was the Iguanas, where he acquired the name Iggy. After exploring local blues-style bands he eventually dropped out of the University of Michigan and moved to Chicago to learn more about blues. Inspired by Chicago blues as well as bands like The Doors, he formed the Psychedelic Stooges and called himself Iggy Pop. He got the name Pop because he once shaved his eyebrows for a show, after which he looked like a friend with the last name Pop who had recently undergone chemotherapy and was eyebrowless himself. Songs include Lust for Life.

Gilda Radner (1946-1989), from Detroit, was one of the original cast members of the late-night comedy show "Saturday Night Live," where she often played the characters Roseanne Roseannadanna and Baba Wawa. Radner played comedic roles in several movies, including Hanky Panky and Haunted Honeymoon.  She died May 20, 1989 due to ovarian cancer.   There is still a cancer organization in Detroit called Gilda's club after her.

William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr., singer Detroit, - Born February 19, 1940. Robinson is noted for being one of the primary figures associated with the Motown record label, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy. He was nicknamed "Smokey" as a child because of his love of westerns. In 1955, Robinson founded a group he called "The Five Chimes" with his best friend Ronnie White, and Northern High School classmates Pete Moore, Clarence Dawson, and James Grice. By 1957, the group was called "The Matadors" and included cousins Bobby Rogers and Claudette Rogers in place of Dawson and Grice. With Robinson as lead singer, the Matadors began touring the local Detroit venues. His first solo hit single, "Sweet Harmony" (1973), was dedicated to The Miracles. 

Della Reese singer/actress, Detroit - Born July 6, 1931 also known as Delloreese Patricia Early. She appeared in shows such as Sandford and Sons and Roots and is best known for Tess in Touched by an Angel

Andy Richter comedian, Grand Rapids - Born October 28, 1966. He is best known for being Conan's sidekick on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien show on NBC. He left the show to do other sitcom series.

Sugar Ray Robinson boxer, Detroit - Born May 3, 1921, Died April 12, 1989. A holder of many boxing records, Robinson was the first boxer in history to win a divisional world championship five times, a feat he accomplished by defeating Carmen Basilio in 1958 to regain the world middleweight title he had lost to Basilio the previous year. Robinson also held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951. He was told that his style was "sweet as sugar" and thus became known as Sugar Ray Robinson.

Kid Rock rapper/singer, Romeo - Born January 17, 1971. Also known as Robert James Ritchie. He later moved to New York City, where he was said to have lived just below Queen Latifah. He got to know a lot of the area's rappers and landed a tour deal with Ice Cube and Too $hort when he was only 18 years old. Songs include Cowboy, Only God Knows Why and Picture featuring Sheryl Crow.

Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944), a native of Detroit, soared to fame with the Supremes, a leading pop group of the 1960s, while still a teenager. After leaving the Supremes in 1970, Ross continued to record hit songs, including "Endless Love." Her original name was Diane, but ended up on the birth certificate as Diana. In 1970 she released her first solo album. In 1978 she starred with Michael Jackson in the Wiz.

Among prominent labor leaders in Michigan were Walter Reuther (b.West Virginia, 1907?70), president of the United Automobile Workers.  Walter P. Reuther moved to Detroit in 1926 and helped organize the United Auto Workers (UAW), the automobile industry's first workers' union. As the UAW's president from 1946 to 1970, Reuther helped autoworkers gain pay increases and unemployment benefits.

John Saunders ABC and ESPN personality, Grand Rapids - John played hockey for Western Michigan from 1974 to 1976. He came to ESPN in 1986 and is currently the host of ESPN's The Sports Reporters, and has been host of ESPN's NBA Shootaround since 2004 . He was also the studio host for the network's NHL broadcasts until 2004, and is currently the studio host of ABC's coverage of college football .

Steven Seagal actor, Lansing - Born April 10, 1951. He is known for playing the hard fighting, kung-fo cop.  He is known for movies such as Hard to Kill and Under Siege. He relocated to California at an early age and now resides outside of Los Angeles.

The heat in hot peppers is measured in Scoville units, a system devised in 1912 by Wilbur Scoville, a Detroit pharmacologist. The scale ranges form zero for the mild bell pepper to 350,000 for the fiery Scotch Bonnet.

Bob Seger (born May 6, 1945) is rock singer and songwriter from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band is credited with seven platinum albums.   Seger lived in Dearborn, then Ann Arbor until the age of 6 when he moved to California but eventually came back to Michigan and graduated Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor. Actually played weddings when he started out.  Bob was in the Silver Bullet Band which formed in 1974. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 15, 2004 . 

Tom Selleck (born 1945) starred in the television series "Magnum, P.I." from 1980 to 1988. Selleck has portrayed handsome and lovable characters in several films, including Her Alibi, Quigley down Under, and Three Men and a Baby. Selleck is originally from Detroit. He is an outspoken member of the NRA

Sinbad comedian, Benton Harbor - Born November 10, 1956 also known as David Adkins. He attended college between 1974 and 1978 at the University of Denver in Denver , Colorado where he lettered two seasons for the basketball team.

Tom Sizemore actor, Detroit - Born November 29, 1961. Sizemore attended Michigan State University for one year, Wayne State University and earned a Master's Degree in theater from Temple University in 1986. He subsequently moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. One of his first film roles was in Oliver Stone 's Born on the Fourth of July. He has also appeared in films such as Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, True Romance and Natural Born Killers. He had long battled drug addiction, was convicted in 2003 of assault and battery against his girlfriend, the former "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss

Tom Skerritt actor, Detroit - Born August 25, 1933. He graduated David Mackenzie High School in 1951. His roles include MASH, Alien and Top Gun. He is also known for his television appearances on Cheers and Picket Fences.

David Spade (Born July 22, 1965 - ) Comedian/actor;Raised in Scottsdale. Born in Birmingham, MI . In 1990 he joined Saturday Night Live. He quit in 1996 due to being burnt out. After that he was in movies such as Tommy Boy and Black Sheep which starred the late Chris Farley. From 1997 to 2003 he was on the NBC hit show Just Shoot Me. He is currently the host of a new Comedy Central show, The Showbiz Show with David Spade, which began in September 2005.   Usually plays the sex driven, non- grown up male. 

Danny Thomas actor, Deerfied - Born January 6, 1914 died February 6, 1991. Danny Thomas was born Amos Yakhoob He first performed under his Anglicized birth name, Amos Jacobs, before settling on Danny Thomas. Lived in various cities while growing up as a child, including Toledo, Ohio and Rochester, NY. On the big screen he starred in the 1953 remake of The Jazz Singer and played songwriter Gus Kahn opposite Doris Day in the 1951 film biography I'll See You in My Dreams. But his most famous role was on his television show, Make Room for Daddy (later retitled The Danny Thomas Show to capitalize on Thomas' popularity). Thomas later became a successful television producer, working on many popular shows including The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mod Squad.  His daughter is Marlo Thomas. 

Lily Tomlin (born September 1, 1939), a native Detroiter, played a telephone switchboard operator and a five-year-old girl on the comedy show "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" in the early 1970s. Tomlin has also starred in several films, including All of Me.   Tomlin attended Wayne State University, where her interest in the theater and performing arts began. After college, Tomlin began doing stand-up comedy in nightclubs in Detroit and later, in New York City. Her first television appearance was on The Merv Griffin Show in 1965.