List of people from Kenosha, Wisconsin

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
• David Cabán, soccer player ^[5]
• 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 ^[6]
• Press Cruthers, MLB player
• Kate Del Fava, NWSL 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
• Tristan Jass, American professional basketball player and youtuber for the Vancouver Bandits
• Chet Kozel, professional football player
• Gavin Lux, infielder for Cincinnati Reds
• 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 ^[7]
• 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 ^[8]
• 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. ^[9]
• Kendra Scott, jeweler ^[10]
• 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

See also

• List of mayors of Kenosha, Wisconsin

References

1. Dave Matrise interview
2. IMDB biography
3. "Chicago Symphony Orchestra - CSO Musicians Roster - Performer Bio". www.cso.org. Archived from the original on March 13, 2006.
4. "John BOCWINSKI". Olympic Games . Retrieved January 29, 2025.
5. "David Caban". Wisconsin Badgers . Retrieved February 20, 2025.
6. Pro Football Reference
7. Pro Football Reference
8. "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.
9. Hogan, Jan (November 4, 2012). "Scherer Street named for colorful character with mob ties". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
10. Pope, Colin (February 21, 2010). "Kendra Scott, Founder and CEO, Kendra Scott Design". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved July 14, 2015.