List of people from Kenosha, Wisconsin

Last updated January 30, 2025

The people listed below were all born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Artists, authors

William Bast, screenwriter
Chester Biscardi, composer, director of musical arts at Yale University
Lucien Cailliet, composer, conductor, film orchestrator ( The Ten Commandments )
Jeff Cesario, comedian, TV writer
Donald Clarke, author of books on musical subjects
Korey Cooper, backup vocalist, keyboardist, rhythm guitarist for Skillet
Anna Fermin, musician
Tom Goss, musician
Lionel Hampton, vibraphonist and bandleader
Florence Parry Heide, author
Milt Herth, organist
Margaret Landon, author of Anna and the King of Siam ( The King and I )
Jen Ledger, drummer/singer for Skillet
Dave Matrise, singer, guitarist for Jungle Rot ^[1]
Lloyd John Ogilvie, Presbyterian minister and writer; served as Chaplain of the United States Senate
Milton K. Ozaki, author and detective novelist
Gus Polinski musician - Clarinet player and leader of the Kenosha Kickers
George Pollard, portrait painter
Thom Racina, author and screenwriter ( General Hospital )
Spike Robinson, jazz saxophonist
Jim Rygiel, triple Academy Award winner ( Lord of the Rings ) ^[2]
Mary Sauer, principal pianist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1959; on the piano faculty of DePaul University for 33 years, where she was coordinator of the keyboard program^[3]
Will Schaefer, composer
Edwin Stringham, composer, educator
Kathie Sullivan, vocalist ( The Lawrence Welk Show )
Irving Wallace, author ( The Chapman Report )

Actors/actresses, directors

Don Ameche, actor, Academy Award-winner ( Cocoon , Trading Places )
Jim Ameche, actor ( Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy )
Thom Bierdz, actor ( The Young and the Restless )
Francesco Bilotto, television personality ( Good Morning America , The View , Today )
Edward F. Cline, film director ( The Bank Dick , You Can't Cheat an Honest Man )
Bert I. Gordon, film director ( The Food of the Gods )
Al Molinaro, actor ( Happy Days , The Odd Couple )
Mark Ruffalo, actor ( The Avengers , Avengers: Infinity War , Now You See Me , Shutter Island , Zodiac )
Tony Russel, film and stage actor (Hearts Are Wild)
Rebecca Scott, model and actress, Miss August 1999 for Playboy
Charles Siebert, actor ( Trapper John, M.D. ), director ( Xena: Warrior Princess )
Paul Sorensen, actor (Dance With Me, Henry)
John Stephenson, voice actor ( The Flintstones )
Concetta Tomei, actress ( China Beach )
Daniel J. Travanti, actor ( Hill Street Blues )
Orson Welles, producer, actor, writer, director ( Citizen Kane , The Magnificent Ambersons , Touch of Evil , F for Fake )

Politics and law

Joseph F. Andrea, Wisconsin legislator
John Martin Antaramian, Wisconsin legislator, former mayor of Kenosha
Peter W. Barca, U.S. Representative and Wisconsin legislator
Chauncey Davis, Michigan legislator
C. Ernest Dewey, Wisconsin legislator
Eugene Dorff, Wisconsin legislator and former Kenosha mayor
Charles Durkee, U.S. Senator
Asahel Farr, 6th, 10th, 17th, and 21st mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin legislator
Malcolm D. Farr, Wisconsin legislator
Margaret Farrow, 42nd Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin Board of Regents
Michael Frank, 1st mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin legislator
Myron L. Gordon, Wisconsin Supreme Court
Levi Grant, Wisconsin legislator
Orson S. Head, Wisconsin legislator and lawyer
Daniel Hugunin Jr., U.S. Representative from New York
Bob Kiss, mayor of Burlington, Vermont
Joseph Lourigan, Wisconsin legislator
Frederick S. Lovell, 11th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, Union Army general
Silas Matteson, Wisconsin legislator
John J. Maurer, Wisconsin legislator
John G. McMynn, 7th Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction
George Molinaro, Wisconsin legislator
Earl D. Morton, Wisconsin legislator and jurist
George Howard Paul, 5th mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin legislator, journalist
Milton Pettit, 11th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, 8th, 11th, 13th, and 16th mayor of Kenosha
Charles H. Pfennig, Wisconsin legislator
Mark Pocan, U.S. Representative
Lewis W. Powell, Wisconsin legislator and lawyer
Reince Priebus, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, former White House Chief of Staff
Michael Pucci, Australian politician
Joseph V. Quarles, U.S. Senator, U.S. District Judge, and former Kenosha mayor
Clifford E. Randall, U.S. Representative
Robert Schmidt, Wisconsin legislator
Mathias J. Scholey, former Kenosha mayor
Conrad Shearer, Wisconsin legislator
Charles C. Sholes, former Kenosha mayor
Rouse Simmons, Wisconsin legislator and businessman
Zalmon G. Simmons, Wisconsin legislator, former Kenosha mayor, and businessman
William H. Stevenson, U.S. Representative

Sports

Milo Allison, MLB player
Alan Ameche, Wisconsin Badgers and NFL football player, 1954 Heisman Trophy winner
Donna Becker, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League ballplayer
Ray Berres, MLB player, longtime Chicago White Sox pitching coach
Tom Bienemann, NFL player
John Bocwinski, soccer player and 1972 Olympian ^[4]
Fred Borak, NFL player
Dick Bosman, MLB pitcher and pitching coach
Tom Braatz, NFL player and general manager
Jeff Cohen, All-American basketball player at The College of William & Mary in 1960-61
Frankie Conley, boxer
Ed Corey, MLB player
Fritz Cronin, NFL player^[5]
Press Cruthers, MLB player
Ben Dyer, MLB player
Gene Englund, NBL, NBA basketball player, captain of University of Wisconsin's 1941 national championship team
Barbara Galdonik, AAGPBL ballplayer
Melvin Gordon, NFL player
Harvey Green, MLB player
Jack Hammond, MLB player
Bob Hartman, MLB player
Joyce Hill, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
Ken Huxhold, NFL player
Chuck Jaskwhich, head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team
Chet Kozel, professional football player
Gavin Lux, infielder for Los Angeles Dodgers
Walter Maurer, Olympic wrestling medalist
Marie Menheer, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
Darlene Mickelsen, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
Ollie O'Mara, MLB player
Megan Oster, figure skater
Charlie Pechous, MLB player
Phil Pettey, NFL player
Tom Regner, Notre Dame All-American offensive guard and 1966 Houston Oilers NFL Champion Team
Elmer Rhenstrom, NFL player^[6]
Ben Rothwell, professional mixed martial artist
Paul Russo, auto racer
Augie Schmidt, baseball player and coach
Ray Spalding, NBA player
Ralph Thomas, NFL player
Nick Van Exel, NBA player and currently an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks
James "Hippo" Vaughn, Chicago Cubs pitcher
Trae Waynes, NFL player

Other

Edward E. Ayer (1841–1927), railway supplies magnate; manuscript collector; benefactor to Newberry Library and Field Museum of Natural History
Mary D. Bradford, educator, first female superintendent of a major school system in Wisconsin
Bill Brown (1855–1941), Oregon rancher
Jerry Golden, ABC reporter who was first with the John F. Kennedy assassination news
Linda Ham, manager of the Johnson Space Center
Michael P. Hammond, chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
Jim Jensen, CBS news anchor and reporter
Raymond Edward Johnson, radio actor, host of Inner Sanctum
Samuel C. Johnson, Sr., founder, Johnson Wax
Edward S. "Ned" Jordan, automaker (Jordan Motor Car Company), columnist ("Ned Jordan Speaks," AutoWeek ) and ad writer ("Somewhere west of Laramie")
Laura Kaeppeler, Miss Wisconsin 2011 and Miss America 2012
Theodore H. Laban, highly decorated U.S. Army Air Forces soldier
Lola J. May, mathematics educator
Robert Bruce McCoy, United States National Guard officer
Charles Francis McGivern, highly decorated U.S. Navy officer
Joseph E. Meyer, herbologist and founder of the Indiana Botanic Gardens
Charles W. Nash, automaker, Nash Motors, Nash-Kelvinator
Edward T. Newell, president of the American Numismatic Society 1916–1941
Norm Nielsen, magician and businessman
James R. O'Neill, American Civil War correspondent and sketch artist^[7]
Michael Phillips, theater critic, Pulitzer Prize jurist
Peter Pirsch, builder of fire equipment
Luther B. Scherer, also known as Tutor Scherer, (1879–1957), American investor in casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada and poet laureate of Nevada.^[8]
Kendra Scott, jeweler^[9]
Christopher Latham Sholes, publisher, inventor of the QWERTY keyboard
Zalmon Gilbert Simmons II, businessman
Charles Symmonds, U.S. Army general
George Nelson Tremper, educator
Paul Weyrich, co-founder of The Heritage Foundation and Free Congress Foundation and member of National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission
Joseph Zimmermann, inventor of the answering machine

References

↑ Dave Matrise interview
↑ IMDB biography
↑ "Chicago Symphony Orchestra - CSO Musicians Roster - Performer Bio". www.cso.org. Archived from the original on 2006-03-13.
↑ "John BOCWINSKI". Olympic Games . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
↑ Pro Football Reference
↑ Pro Football Reference
↑ "O'Neill and the Band: The Baxter Springs Massacre Part One". Civil War Wisconsin. Wisconsin Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. March 30, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
↑ Hogan, Jan (November 4, 2012). "Scherer Street named for colorful character with mob ties". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
↑ Pope, Colin (February 21, 2010). "Kendra Scott, Founder and CEO, Kendra Scott Design". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved July 14, 2015.

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[1] Dave Matrise interview

[2] IMDB biography

[3] "Chicago Symphony Orchestra - CSO Musicians Roster - Performer Bio". www.cso.org. Archived from the original on 2006-03-13.

[4] "John BOCWINSKI". Olympic Games . Retrieved January 29, 2025.

[5] Pro Football Reference

[6] Pro Football Reference

[Civil_War_Wisconsin-7] "O'Neill and the Band: The Baxter Springs Massacre Part One". Civil War Wisconsin. Wisconsin Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. March 30, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2017.

[8] Hogan, Jan (November 4, 2012). "Scherer Street named for colorful character with mob ties". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved March 5, 2016.

[Pope2-9] Pope, Colin (February 21, 2010). "Kendra Scott, Founder and CEO, Kendra Scott Design". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved July 14, 2015.

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