List of people from Danville, Illinois

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Danville, Illinois. For a similar list organized alphabetically by last name, see the category page People from Danville, Illinois.

Arts and culture

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Susan Wittig Albert		Jan 2, 1940		Fiction and non-fiction writer	Lived in Danville and area, 1946–1963; attended Lincoln, Garfield, DHS
Morris Ankrum		Aug 28, 1896	Sep 2, 1964	Actor	Born in Danville	[1]
Irving Azoff		Dec 13, 1947		Music and movie producer, chairman of Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster	Attended school in Danville
Todd E. Creason		May 26, 1967		Fiction and non-fiction writer
Joshua Ferris		Nov 7, 1974		Novelist, author of Then We Came to the End	Born in Danville
Gene Hackman		Jan 30, 1930	Feb. 2025	Academy Award–winning actor	Raised in Danville [2]
Brett Haley		Aug 17, 1983		Film director	Born in Danville
Ned Luke		Oct 4, 1958		Film, TV, and video game actor	Born in Danville	[3]
Helen Morgan		Aug 2, 1900	Oct 9, 1941	Stage and screen star, subject of The Helen Morgan Story	Born in Danville
Donald O'Connor		Aug 28, 1925	Sep 27, 2003	Film star and dancer	Grew up in Danville
Bobby Short		Sep 15, 1924	Mar 21, 2005	Cabaret singer, TV and film star, and recording artist	Born in Danville
Matthew Stover		Jan 29, 1962		Author		[4]
Dick Van Dyke		Dec 13, 1925		Film, TV, and stage star	Raised in Danville
Jerry Van Dyke		Jul 27, 1931	Jan 5, 2018	Film, TV, and stage star	Born and raised in Danville
Kelly Jean Van Dyke		Jun 5, 1958	Nov 17, 1991	TV and adult film star	Born in Danville
Helen Wells		1910	1986	Author of Nurse Cherry Ames books, volumes 1-7 and 17-27

Military

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Kenneth D. Bailey		Oct 21, 1910	Sep 26, 1942	Medal of Honor recipient	Lived in Danville
William T. Wood		June 19, 1854	December 18, 1943	U.S. Army brigadier general	Lived in Danville [5] [6]

Politics

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Joseph Gurney Cannon		May 7, 1836	Nov 12, 1926	Speaker of the US House of Representatives (1903–1911)	Resided and died in Danville	[7]
James A. Meeks		Mar 7, 1864	Nov 10, 1946	Member of the US House of Representatives (1933–1939)	Resided and died in Danville	[8]
John Thomas Scopes		Aug 3, 1900	Oct 21, 1970	Teacher who went to trial for teaching evolution in a public school, in defiance of Tennessee's Butler Act, in the famous 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial.	Lived in Danville as a teenager.	[9]
Rickey Williams Jr.		1977/1978		First African-American mayor of Danville	Raised in Danville	[10]

Space

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Joseph R. Tanner		Jan 21, 1950		Astronaut	Born in Danville

Sports

Name Cameron Lee	Image	Birth	Death	Known for	Association	Reference
Jason Anderson		Jun 9, 1979		Pitcher for the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees	Born in Danville	[11]
Zeke Bratkowski		Oct 20, 1931	Nov 11, 2019	Quarterback and coach for seven National Football League teams	Born in Danville
Keon Clark		Apr 16, 1975		Power forward for the six National Basketball Association teams	Born in Danville
Bert Daniels		Oct 31, 1882	Jun 6, 1958	Outfielder for the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds	Born in Danville
Jack Doan		Jun 12, 1972		Wrestling referee with the World Wrestling Entertainment	Lives in Danville
Ben Howard		Jan 15, 1979		Pitcher for the San Diego Padres and Florida Marlins	Born in Danville
Jim Marshall		May 25, 1931		Second baseman and manager for seven Major League Baseball teams	Born in Danville
Al Myers		Oct 22, 1863	Dec 24, 1927	Second baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Quakers, Kansas City Cowboys and Washington Nationals.	Born in Danville
Curtis Redden		Feb 8, 1881	Jan 16, 1919	All-Western football player and coach; died in World War I	Born in Danville
Trent Sherfield		Feb 25, 1996		Wide Receiver for the Denver Broncos.	Born in Danville
Sterling Slaughter		Nov 18, 1941		Pitcher for the Chicago Cubs	Born in Danville
Stephanie White		Jun 20, 1977		Purdue and WNBA player, Vanderbilt coach	Born in Danville
Robin Yount		Sep 16, 1955		Hall of Fame center fielder and shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers	Born in Danville	[12]

References

1. "Morris Ankrum". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved February 26, 2013.
2. "In appreciation: In Gene Hackman, from Danville, the exquisite loneliness of the long-distance actor". Chicago Tribune. February 27, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
3. "Ned Luke". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved November 22, 2015.
4. "Star Wars Novelist Keeps The Force at Heart". Kentucky New Era. June 13, 2005. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
5. Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals In Khaki. Raleigh, NC: Pentland Press. p. 392. ISBN   978-1-5719-7088-6 – via Google Books.
6. "County News: Vermilion County". The Paxton Record. Paxton, IL. May 22, 1873. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "CANNON, Joseph Gurney, (1836 - 1926)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
8. Joint Committee On Printing, United States Congress (1938). Official Congressional Directory. Vol. 75, Issue 3. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. p. 28 – via Google Books.
9. "About Danville High School". Danville High School. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
10. Bailey, Jennifer (April 3, 2019). "Residents elect Williams as mayor". Commercial News . Williams, 41, and the other elected officials who won Tuesday night will be sworn in on May 7
11. "Jason Anderson Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
12. "Robin Yount Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 26, 2012.