Notable Americans who spent time in Morris County NJ
Here are some notable Americans who grew up, lived, or spent time in Morris County.
Who are some of Morris County’s most famous residents? For the Daily Record’s 125th anniversary, we’ve been looking at notable names who called the county home, at least part-time, since its founding in 1738.
That includes a bunch of top athletes who have graced our fields and courts.
Outside the sports world, a list of bold-faced local names has to begin with George Washington, the OG Morris County celebrity, who encamped his Revolutionary army in and around Morristown during the “hard winter” of 1779-80. He came and left relatively quickly, burdened with fighting the British, but still left a legacy celebrated by the National Historical Park in Morristown.
Here’s our list of some of the other notable Americans who either grew up, lived or spent time in our backyard:
Laura Benanti
The Kinnelon High School graduate has a long theater, TV and film acting career, including multiple Tony and Drama Desk honors. She won the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her 2008 turn in “Gypsy.” Recent screen roles include appearances in “No Hard Feelings,” “The Gilded Age” and “Elsbeth.”
Chris Christie
The longtime Mendham Township resident was a Morris County freeholder (an office now known as commissioner) before being elected to two terms as the Garden State’s governor from 2010 to 2018.
Peter Dinklage
The “Game of Thrones” star grew up in Mendham Township and attended the Delbarton School. His breakout movie, “The Station Agent,” was filmed in a variety of Morris locations.
Jimmy Doolittle
The fabled World War II aviator hailed from Alaska. But in 1929, the Medal of Honor winner helped to pioneer “blind” instrumental flights for the Aircraft Radio Corp., taking off on test runs from the company’s airfield, now RVA Fields in Boonton Township.
Abner Doubleday
Speaking of America’s pastime, the myth that Abner Doubleday invented baseball was debunked years ago. But he’s still celebrated with a memorial and ballfield in Mendham, where he lived from 1878 to 1893.
Millicent Fenwick
Groundbreaking Congresswoman Millicent Fenwick made national headlines while representing a portion of Morris County from 1975 to 1983. Walter Cronkite referred to the sometimes eccentric, pipe-smoking liberal Republican as “the conscience of the Congress.”
Morris Frank
Frank started the Seeing Eye in Nashville, but quickly moved it to Morris County, where it became the world’s leading trainer of guide dogs for people with blindness and low vision. It is still based in the Morristown area. A statue of Morris Frank and his guide dog, Buddy, is a popular attraction right off the Morristown Green.
Lou Gehrig
While still a student at Columbia University, future New York Yankee immortal Lou Gehrig played professional summer ball for the Morristown Colonials in 1922. He used the name “Lou Long” to avoid losing his college eligibility.
Teresa Guidice
The Montville resident came to fame on “Real Housewives of New Jersey” in 2009 and hasn’t been out of the spotlight since. She’s also appeared on “The Celebrity Apprentice,” written several best-selling books, become a body-builder and served time in prison after pleading guilty to fraud, all while raising four daughters.
Whitney Houston
The pop superstar and six-time Grammy winner lived in Mendham Township from 1992 until shortly before her death in 2012. She married husband Bobby Brown in their Mendham mansion.
Kevin Jonas
The eldest Jonas Brother has been a serial Morris County homeowner, living with his kids and wife Danielle in Boonton Township, Montville and Denville in recent years and generating social media buzz for his visits to local diners and ice cream shops.
Tom Kean
The former two-term New Jersey governor (1982-1990) also spent 15 years as president of Drew University in Madison, from 1990 to 2005.
Joyce Kilmer
Kilmer taught Latin at Morristown High School before achieving fame as one of America’s most celebrated poets (“I think that I shall never see. A poem lovely as a tree…”). He was killed in combat during World War I in 1918.
Jane Krakowski
Born and raised in Parsippany, Krakowski has gone on to myriad stage and screen roles, including memorable turns on “Ally McBeal” and “30 Rock.” She’s the recipient of multiple Emmy nominations, two Tony awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The performance bug was inherited: Her mother, Barbara Krajkowski, co-founded the professional Women’s Theater Company, which performs at the Parsippany Playhouse.
Fran Lebowitz
Before she became an avatar of New York City wit and sass, the author, humorist and public speaker was raised in Morristown, where she attended both Morristown High and the (now-defunct) Wilson School.
Garrett Reisman
Parsippany High grad and NASA Astronaut Garrett Reisman was a specialist on three missions, spending a total of more than 107 days in space. Known for his sense of humor, Parsippany’s “Rocket Man” also gained a measure of celebrity for a memorable interview he did from the International Space Station with Stephen Colbert.
Buddy Valastro
TV’s “Cake Boss” was an East Hanover resident for a time and ran a cafe in Morristown for five years until it closed in 2019. His hit reality show on cable channel TLC was set at Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, which the Valastro family started in 1910.