41.8501° N, 87.6499° W

CHICAGO

Most Famous People Born in Chicago, USA

Notable people
7,467
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1940
Most distinctive
Baseball 5.2×

Big shoulders, broad bench. Chicago's notables are spread evenly across actors, politicians, and four major-league sports — the city is the dataset's largest baseball-and-basketball over-index outside the coasts — alongside a deep screenwriter and novelist tradition that gave the world Saul Bellow, David Mamet, and Ben Hecht. No single category dominates the way film does in Los Angeles or Wall Street does in New York, and the music economy alone runs from blues and house to first-wave hip-hop.

Standouts

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 850 notable births.

What Chicago Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Chicago's biggest profession — 11% of all notables (813).

Chicago over-indexes on baseball 5.2× the global rate.

Chicago under-produces politician — only 0.5× the global rate.

  1. Actor 813 2.0×
  2. Politician 469 0.5×
  3. Football 462 0.6×
  4. Baseball 441 5.2×
  5. Basket 398 4.2×
  6. Music 312 2.9×
  7. Writer 220 0.9×
  8. Singer 207 1.3×
  1. Baseball 441 5.2×
  2. Basket 398 4.2×
  3. Screenwriter 128 3.9×
  4. Novelist 96 3.3×
  5. Music 312 2.9×
  6. Actor 813 2.0×
  7. Film 168 1.8×
  1. Politician 469 0.5×
  2. Football 462 0.6×
  3. Painter 116 0.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Chicago's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1850 1875 1900 1925 1950 1975 2000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Other
All7,467
Sort By

Showing 850 of 7,467 notable people

2300 LAWYER

Hugh Rodham (born 1950)

Born 1950

Preview
2311 BASEBALL

Lonnie Smith

Born 1955

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2312 NOVELIST

Julie Hyzy

Born 1959

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2315 PIANIST

Randy Waldman

Born 1955

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2317 BASKET

Phil Hicks

Born 1953

Preview
2318 BASEBALL

Marvell Wynne (baseball)

Born 1959

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2319 ACTOR

Melodee Spevack

Born 1953

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2327 BASKET

Scott Lloyd

Born 1952

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2335 BIOGRAPHER

A'Lelia Bundles

Born 1952

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2342 ACTOR

Charles Robert Carner

Born 1957

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2348 BASKET

Roger Brown (basketball, born 1950)

Born 1950

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2349 BASKET

Mike Harper (basketball)

Born 1957

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2350 POLITICIAN

John P. Hiler

Born 1953

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2362 GUITAR

Michael Coleman (blues musician)

1956 - 2014

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2367 BASKET

Charlotte Lewis (basketball)

1955 - 2007

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2377 MATHEMATICIAN

Linda Petzold

Born 1954

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2382 NOVELIST

Charles Dickinson (author)

Born 1951

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2395 COMPOSER

James Adler

Born 1950

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2400 COMPOSER

Gavin Christopher

1956 - 2016

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2410 FOOTBALL

Tom Lynch (American football)

Born 1955

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2434 BASKET

Lloyd Batts

Born 1951

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2438 CHEMIST

Peter Guy Wolynes

Born 1953

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2439 CRIMINOLOGIST

Candice DeLong

Born 1950

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2458 WRITER

Jamie Freveletti

Born 1959

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2461 MUSIC

Louis Price

Born 1953

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2462 MUSIC

Chuck Greenberg (musician)

1950 - 1995

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2478 HISTORIAN

Rebecca Rogers

Born 1959

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2479 MUSIC

Henry Johnson (guitarist)

Born 1954

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2480 SWIMMER

John Murphy (swimmer)

Born 1953

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2482 BASKET

Mickey Johnson

Born 1952

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2484 ARTIST

Michael Smith (performance artist)

Born 1951

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2495 ACTOR

Edie Mirman

Born 1953

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2499 WRITER

Donna Kossy

Born 1957

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2521 AUTHOR

Donald Michael Kraig

1951 - 2014

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2525 BOXER

Lee Roy Murphy

Born 1958

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2536 FILM

Rea Tajiri

Born 1958

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2541 BASKET

Billy Harris (basketball)

1951 - 2010

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2542 COMPOSER

Paul Dirmeikis

Born 1954

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2553 ASTROLOGER

Gerina Dunwich

Born 1959

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2555 NOVELIST

Robert Rodi

Born 1956

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2559 COMPOSER

Kevin Braheny Fortune

Born 1952

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2565 SCIENTIST

Daniel A. Farber

Born 1950

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2574 MUSIC

Gary Primich

1958 - 2007

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2583 NOVELIST

Tiina Nunnally

Born 1952

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2593 MUSIC

Tani Tabbal

Born 1954

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2594 ENGINEER

James Fujimoto

Born 1957

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2614 EDITOR

Rick Santelli

Born 1953

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2617 MUSIC

Vincent Chancey

Born 1950

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2621 POLITICIAN

Kathy Sinnott

Born 1950

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2629 ARTIST

Jim Campbell (artist)

Born 1956

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2631 ARTIST

Stephen Beck

Born 1950

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2661 BASEBALL

George Vukovich

Born 1956

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2666 COMPOSER

Brian Torff

Born 1954

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2669 POLITICIAN

Phil Gordon (politician)

Born 1951

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2680 ACTOR

Neil Giuntoli

Born 1959

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2693 SPORT

John Vande Velde

Born 1950

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2701 NOVELIST

Sheldon Siegel

Born 1958

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2706 SCREENWRITER

André Bormanis

Born 1959

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2712 GUITAR

Gary Pihl

Born 1950

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2718 ACTOR

Jonathan Hogan

Born 1951

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2726 PAINTER

Sue Williams (painter)

Born 1954

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2730 POLITICIAN

William T. Redmond

Born 1955

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2733 JOURNALIST

Nina Burleigh

Born 1959

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2759 PRIEST

William P. Callahan

Born 1950

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2794 PIANIST

Curtis Clark

Born 1950

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2797 JUMPER

Jodi Anderson

Born 1957

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2802 NOVELIST

Maxine Chernoff

Born 1952

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2810 COLUMNIST

Jonathan Alter

Born 1957

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2817 FOOTBALL

Mike Pruitt

Born 1954

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2826 MUSIC

Scott Fields

Born 1956

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2833 COMPOSER

David Weinstein (musician)

Born 1954

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2836 WRITER

Jamil Nasir

Born 1955

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2844 BASKET

Al Fleming (basketball)

1954 - 2003

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2859 BASKET

Lloyd Walton

Born 1953

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2878 NOVELIST

Alexander Jablokov

Born 1956

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2894 LAWYER

Gery Chico

Born 1956

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2903 BASKET

Andre Wakefield

Born 1955

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2916 ACTOR

Carl Gilliard

Born 1958

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2919 MARTIAL ART

Daniel Pesina

Born 1958

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2927 FOOTBALL

Gary Fencik

Born 1954

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2939 ACTOR

Alan Wilder (actor)

Born 1953

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2942 SCREENWRITER

Flint Dille

Born 1955

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2947 LAWYER

Dorothy Roberts

Born 1956

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2949 PUBLISHER

Brian Blume

1950 - 2020

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2951 WRITER

Patricia Smith (poet)

Born 1955

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2962 ECONOMIST

John H. Cochrane

Born 1957

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2976 ACTOR

Katherine Borowitz

Born 1954

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2978 PROFESSOR

Katherine Richardson Christensen

Born 1954

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3012 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Joel Emer

Born 1954

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3019 POLITICIAN

Kirk Dillard

Born 1955

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3021 BIOLOGIST

W. Ian Lipkin

Born 1952

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3036 SINGER

Holly Beth Vincent

Born 1959

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3040 SKATER

Nancy Swider-Peltz

Born 1956

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3063 SWIMMER

Byron MacDonald

Born 1950

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3071 POLITICIAN

Paul Vallas

Born 1953

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3091 POET

Edward Hirsch

Born 1950

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3093 MUSIC

Idris Ackamoor

Born 1950

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3100 GUITAR

John Curulewski

1950 - 1988

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3101 COLUMNIST

Michael Wilbon

Born 1958

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3106 TEACHER

Karen Lewis (labor leader)

Born 1953

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3107 POLITICIAN

Todd Stern

Born 1951

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3108 PRIEST

Mark Pivarunas

Born 1958

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3112 TRADE UNION

Karen Nussbaum

Born 1950

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3120 WRESTLER

Corporal Kirchner

1957 - 2006

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3121 PSYCHOLOGIST

George Bonanno

Born 1950

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3149 BUSINESS

Tony Rodham

1954 - 2019

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3152 MODEL

Celeste Johnson

Born 1959

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3163 CHEMIST

Sylvia T. Ceyer

Born 1953

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3168 JOURNALIST

John Tierney (journalist)

Born 1953

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3172 PHYSICIAN

Charles Czeisler

Born 1952

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3180 ACTOR

Greg Hollimon

Born 1956

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3185 JUDGE

Joe Birkett

Born 1955

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3194 ACTOR

Kip King

1952 - 2010

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3197 MUSIC

Reggie Nicholson

Born 1957

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3202 FOOTBALL

Dennis Lick

Born 1954

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3206 SINGER

Linda Womack

Born 1953

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3228 PIANIST

David Golub

1950 - 2000

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3265 MUSIC

Michael Zerang

Born 1958

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3266 FINANCIER

John W. Rogers Jr.

Born 1958

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3274 ACTOR

Barbara Howard (actress)

Born 1956

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3278 BASEBALL

Charlie Leibrandt

Born 1956

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3291 SONGWRITER

Marvin Yancy

1950 - 1985

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3303 ENTREPRENEUR

Stephen J. Luczo

Born 1957

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3304 SCREENWRITER

Lise Mayer

Born 1957

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3306 ARTIST

Tony Fitzpatrick (artist)

Born 1958

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3309 BIOLOGIST

Richard I. Morimoto

Born 1952

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3326 JOURNALIST

Margaret Moser

1954 - 2017

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3335 FINANCIER

Robert Friedland

Born 1950

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3348 ACTIVIST

Mindy Baha El Din

1958 - 2013

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3380 PLAYER

Don Katz

Born 1952

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3381 LAWYER

Trevor Potter

Born 1955

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3384 ACTOR

Stanley Bennett Clay

Born 1950

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3409 ACTOR

Ann Nesby

Born 1952

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3410 ACTOR

Don "Magic" Juan

Born 1950

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3423 POLITICIAN

Mari Maseng Will

Born 1954

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3425 POLICE

Charles H. Ramsey

Born 1950

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3438 SINGER

Mud Morganfield

Born 1954

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3444 PRODUCER

Ellen Christi

Born 1958

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3449 CARTOONIST

Carol Tyler

Born 1951

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3454 NOVELIST

Sebastian Rotella

Born 1950

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3455 POLITICIAN

Andrew McKenna

Born 1956

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3473 BOXING

Al Bernstein

Born 1950

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3477 AUTHOR

Baba Rampuri

Born 1950

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3490 POLITICIAN

Rick Baker (mayor)

Born 1956

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3504 POLITICIAN

James Meeks

Born 1956

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3506 BUSINESS

David Steward

Born 1951

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3507 SINGER

Keith Barrow

1954 - 1983

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3509 BASKET

Steve Puidokas

1955 - 1994

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3512 JOURNALIST

Terry Moran

Born 1959

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3530 SCREENWRITER

Angelo Pizzo

Born 1950

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3538 BUSINESS

David Bohnett

Born 1956

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3540 HISTORIAN

Kenneth Cmiel

1954 - 2006

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3542 TEACHER

Larry Kramer (legal scholar)

Born 1958

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3545 PRIEST

Robert F. Prevost

Born 1955

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3547 LAWYER

Abbe Smith

Born 1956

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3557 NOVELIST

Bill Roorbach

Born 1953

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3559 COMPOSER

Paul David Wilson

Born 1952

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3577 POET

James Galvin (poet)

Born 1951

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3609 FILM

Dan Kuenster

Born 1955

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3630 BASEBALL

Eddie Bane

Born 1952

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3633 BASKET

Marcel Starks

Born 1952

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3638 POLITICIAN

Patrick J. O'Connor

Born 1955

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3639 ENTREPRENEUR

Jennifer Pritzker

Born 1950

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3642 JOURNALIST

Ray Hanania

Born 1953

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3645 POLITICIAN

Sara Feigenholtz

Born 1956

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3650 SINGER

Lil' Ed Williams

Born 1955

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3658 SINGER

Taka Boom

Born 1954

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3675 ACTOR

Kyle T. Heffner

Born 1957

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3680 ESSAYIST

Jo Ann Beard

Born 1955

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3688 BASEBALL

Dave Dombrowski

Born 1956

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3690 PAINTER

Jane Dickson

Born 1952

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3694 TEACHER

Daniel Meltzer

1951 - 2015

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3695 POLITICIAN

Ken Detzner

Born 1952

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3700 PRODUCER

David Breskin

Born 1958

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3702 LAWYER

Robert Fioretti

Born 1953

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3706 JOURNALIST

Randy Daniels

Born 1951

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3720 POET

Marianne Boruch

Born 1950

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3767 POLITICIAN

Cynthia Davis

Born 1959

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3770 CHEMIST

Kenneth S. Suslick

Born 1952

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3772 DESIGNER

Maria Pinto (fashion designer)

Born 1957

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3776 CARTOONIST

Larry Marder

Born 1951

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3789 WRITER

Sharon Bridgforth

Born 1958

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3797 WRITER

Cathie Linz

1954 - 2015

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3806 ACADEMIC

Corey Goodman

Born 1951

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3828 SCREENWRITER

Craig Bolotin

Born 1954

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3837 BASKET

Danny Crawford

Born 1953

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3839 ARTIST

Turtel Onli

Born 1952

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3841 LAWYER

David F. Levi

Born 1951

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3846 BASEBALL

Jim Clancy (baseball)

Born 1955

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3856 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Kerrie Holley

Born 1954

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3857 RABBI

Capers Funnye

Born 1952

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3860 PAINTER

Julie Speed

Born 1951

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3864 INTELLIGENCE

Jami Miscik

Born 1958

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3874 BASEBALL

Dave Jauss

Born 1957

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3881 HOCKEY

Bob Janecyk

Born 1957

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3883 SINGER

Captain Sky

Born 1957

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3884 ACTOR

Valerie Wellington

1959 - 1993

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3895 MARKETING

Andrea Cunningham

Born 1956

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3899 ACTOR

Deborah Harmon

Born 1951

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3902 POLITICIAN

Phyllis Thede

Born 1954

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3911 CHESS

Emory Tate

1958 - 2015

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3916 FILM

Renee Tajima-Peña

Born 1958

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3922 PAINTER

Dan Witz

Born 1957

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3923 FOOTBALL

Jerome Sally

Born 1959

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3935 CAMPAIGN

Michael Shonrock

Born 1957

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3951 PHOTOGRAPHER

Paul Zollo

Born 1958

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3957 WRITER

Charna Halpern

Born 1952

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3968 FOOTBALL

Otis Armstrong

Born 1950

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3989 FOOTBALL

Conrad Dobler

Born 1950

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4005 JOURNALIST

Andrew Patner

1959 - 2015

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4006 JOURNALIST

Leanita McClain

1951 - 1984

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4027 WRITER

David Homel

Born 1952

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4040 PLAYWRIGHT

Rane Arroyo

1954 - 2010

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4052 ECONOMIST

Gary Charness

Born 1950

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4067 SINGER

Jan Terri

Born 1959

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4068 JUDO

Irwin Cohen

1952 - 2012

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4070 ACTOR

Merrell Jackson

1952 - 1991

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4074 TEACHER

Robert Michael Franklin Jr.

Born 1954

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4075 NOVELIST

Jennie Fields

Born 1953

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4076 LAWYER

Jeffery M. Leving

Born 1951

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4078 FOOTBALL

Mark Kellar

Born 1952

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4080 PROFESSOR

Steven H. Kaplan

Born 1953

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4093 MUSIC

Rick Saucedo

Born 1955

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4094 BASKET

Kyriakos Vidas

Born 1957

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4109 ILLUSTRATOR

Pat Cummings (illustrator)

Born 1950

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4116 LAWYER

Ruben Castillo (judge)

Born 1954

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4122 SPORT

Rocky Wirtz

Born 1952

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4123 ACTOR

Michael Gray (actor)

Born 1951

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4133 LAWYER

Dean A. Pinkert

Born 1956

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4151 FOOTBALL

Wayne Smith (defensive back)

Born 1957

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4158 LAWYER

Thomas M. Durkin

Born 1953

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4160 POLITICIAN

Joseph Berrios

Born 1952

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4172 PHOTOGRAPHER

Leo Rubinfien

Born 1953

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4195 SINGER

Darlene Koldenhoven

Born 1950

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4196 LAWYER

David Wiggins (jurist)

Born 1951

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4200 NOVELIST

Stepan Chapman

1951 - 2014

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4212 PHILOSOPHER

Ralf Stoecker

Born 1956

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4213 BASEBALL

Tom Brennan (baseball)

Born 1952

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4222 MUSIC

Jellybean Johnson

Born 1956

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4228 MUSIC

Barbara Pennington

Born 1950

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4231 ARTIST

Tom Rubnitz

1956 - 1992

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4243 JOURNALIST

George Petros

Born 1955

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4252 SONGWRITER

Bob Corritore

Born 1956

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4254 JUDO

Steve Cohen (judoka)

Born 1955

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4280 ACTOR

Nancy Linari

Born 1955

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4283 BASKET

Doug Bruno

Born 1950

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4298 SCHOLAR

John Corrigan

Born 1952

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4316 BASEBALL

Chris Bourjos

Born 1954

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4318 POLITICIAN

Sharon Weston Broome

Born 1956

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4324 PHOTOGRAPHER

Michael Katakis

Born 1952

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4330 POLITICIAN

Al Riley

Born 1953

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4333 ARTIST

Mike Saenz

Born 1959

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4337 SPORT

Ned Colletti

Born 1954

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4350 BASKET

Ben Braun

Born 1953

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4359 POLITICIAN

Michael Speciale

Born 1955

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4361 BASKET

Ricardo Brown (basketball)

Born 1957

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4375 PAINTER

Richard S. Johnson (artist)

Born 1953

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4381 GOLF

Lance Ten Broeck

Born 1956

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4385 POLITICIAN

Daniel J. Burke

Born 1951

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4395 TREASURER

Dan Schwartz

Born 1950

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4408 MUSIC

Dennis Cahill (musician)

Born 1954

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4409 CONDUCTOR

Marc Tardue

Born 1951

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4410 ORGANIST

Walt Strony

Born 1955

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4422 PHOTOGRAPHER

Brad Temkin

Born 1956

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4427 WRITER

Linda Johnsen

Born 1954

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4432 AUDIO

Scott D. Smith

Born 1953

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4434 MUSIC

Richard Peter Davis

Born 1957

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4442 NOVELIST

Cynthia Felice

Born 1951

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4444 POLITICIAN

Iris Martinez

Born 1956

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4445 MODEL

Kimberly Tomes

Born 1956

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4479 POLITICIAN

Patricia Van Pelt

Born 1957

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4486 JOURNALIST

John Kass

Born 1956

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4510 POLITICIAN

Mike Fortner

Born 1958

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4516 SINGER

Don Conoscenti

Born 1955

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4524 POLITICIAN

Joe Moore (politician)

Born 1958

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4529 POLITICIAN

Arthur Turner (politician)

Born 1950

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4538 POLITICIAN

Robyn Gabel

Born 1953

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4543 RABBI

Leonard Matanky

Born 1958

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4561 POLITICIAN

Edwin Eisendrath

Born 1959

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4586 JOURNALIST

Bob Sipchen

Born 1953

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4599 LAWYER

John Mulroe

Born 1959

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4600 MATHEMATICIAN

Mike Byster

Born 1959

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4624 POLITICIAN

Tom Tunney

Born 1955

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4632 LAWYER

Robert J. Conrad

Born 1958

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4636 JOURNALIST

Robin Robinson

Born 1957

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4646 ACTOR

Perry Anzilotti

Born 1959

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4658 CERAMIST

Chris Gustin

Born 1952

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4683 JUDGE

Mary Yu

Born 1957

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4690 ACTOR

Michael Colyar

Born 1957

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4703 FILM

David Madden

Born 1955

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4714 ACADEMIC

Jon W. Finson

Born 1950

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4727 ACTOR

Gene Wolande

Born 1956

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4745 CINEMA

Jeff Jur

Born 1955

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4747 AGENTE

René González

Born 1956

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4757 SPORT

Ralph Therrio

Born 1954

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4772 FOOTBALL

Mike Hoban

Born 1952

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4773 POLITICIAN

John Harrington (politician)

Born 1956

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4776 POLITICIAN

Mattie Hunter

Born 1954

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4781 BOXER

Mike Ronay Evans

Born 1959

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4799 SCREENWRITER

James R. Stein

Born 1950

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