# List of people from Oak Park, Illinois

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

## Academics and sciences

* Lee ArchambaultLee Archambault (b. 1960), astronaut
* A. O. L. Atkin (1925–2008), mathematician
* Dmitri Borgmann (1927–1985), logologist
* Wallace Broecker (1931–2019), geochemist
* Jeannette Howard Foster (1895–1981), librarian and professor, born in Oak Park
* Emil Frei (1924–2014), oncologist
* Percy Julian (1899–1975), chemist
* Joseph Kerwin (b. 1932), astronaut
* Edith Merritt McKee (1918–2006), American geologist
* Vera Pless (1931–2020), mathematician
* Carl Rogers (1902–1987), psychologist, author and researcher
* Bruce Schneier (b. 1963), cryptographer
* John Robert Schrieffer (1931–2019), physicist
* John C. Slater (1900–1976), pioneer in quantum theory
* Susan Subak, environmental scientist and author
* Chad Trujillo (b. 1973), astronomer
* Edward Wagenknecht (1900–2004), educator and author

## Arts and culture
### Architecture

* Thomas H. Beeby, architect
* Marion Mahony Griffin, architect
* Walter Burley Griffin, architect
* E.E. Roberts, architect
* Louis Sauer, architect
* John Van Bergen, architect
* Frank Lloyd Wright, architect and writer

### Dance

* Heléne Alexopoulos, ballet dancer
* Doris Humphrey, choreographer and dancer

### Illustrating

* Gene Ha, comic book artist
* Chris Ware, cartoonist
* Rick Yager, cartoonist

### Painting and sculpture

* Leslie Erganian, painter
* Mary Agnes Yerkes, Impressionist painter

### Photography

* Bruce Davidson, photographer
* Esther Henderson, photographer

### Writing

* Yashar Ali, journalist
* Jacob M. Appel, author of Einstein's Beach House (lived in Oak Park, 1997–2004)
* Richard Bach, writer (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)
* Bruce Barton, author of best-selling book The Man Nobody Knows
* Edgar Rice Burroughs, author, creator of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars
* Kenneth Fearing, poet and author (The Big Clock)
* Jane Hamilton, author The Book of Ruth
* Ernest HemingwayErnest Hemingway, author (For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea)
* Leicester Hemingway, writer; younger brother of Ernest Hemingway
* Kara Jackson, poet, musician
* Tymoteusz Karpowicz, poet and playwright
* Agnes Newton Keith, writer
* E. E. Knight, writer
* John Frush Knox, memoirist
* Alex Kotlowitz, journalist and writer
* Steven Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics
* Claire Lombardo, author
* Charles MacArthur, journalist and film-writer
* Caroline Myss, author
* Edith Nash, writer
* Sandra Novack, author
* Jerry Saltz, art critic
* Carol Shields, author
* Charles Simic, fifteenth Poet Laureate of the United States
* Frances Hodges White, children's author
* William Wondriska, children's author and illustrator

## Crime

* Armando FoscoArmando Fosco, alleged member of the Chicago Outfit
* Sam Giancana, mafia crime boss
* Tony Spilotro, alleged mafia enforcer

## Business

* Allan Cox, author and business leader
* James Dewar, baker; inventor of the Twinkie
* Donald F. Duncan, Sr., parking meter and Yo-yo manufacturer
* Ray KrocRay Kroc, founder of McDonald's
* Richard Sears, founder of Sears, catalogue innovator
* Robert Wahl, two-time All-American and former president of Valmont Industries

## Media
### Acting and comedy

* William Bishop, actor
* Daws Butler, voice artist of animated characters including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound
* Dan Castellaneta Dan Castellaneta, actor and voice of cartoon character Homer Simpson
* Anna ChlumskyAnna Chlumsky, actress (My Girl, Veep)
* Johnny Galecki, actor (The Big Bang Theory, Roseanne, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation)
* Mason Gamble, actor (Dennis the Menace, Rushmore)
* Kathy GriffinKathy Griffin, actress and comedian
* Julie Haydon, actress
* Thomas Lennon, actor and screenwriter
* Ted Levine, actor (The Silence of the Lambs, Monk)
* Deanna Lund, actress (Land of the Giants)
* John Mahoney, actor (Eight Men Out, Frasier, Atlantis: The Lost Empire)
* Sally Mansfield, actress (Rocky Jones, Space Ranger)
* Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, actress (Scarface, The Color of Money)
* Amy Morton, actress (Chicago P.D.)
* Lois Nettleton, actress
* Bob NewhartBob Newhart, comedian and actor (The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart)
* Kate Norby, actress (The Devil's Rejects)
* Busy Philipps, actress (Dawson's Creek)
* Cecily Strong, actress, comedian (Saturday Night Live)
* Judy Tenuta, comedian
* Betty WhiteBetty White, actress (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls)

### Directing and producing

* John Avildsen, film director (Rocky, The Karate Kid)
* Steve James, documentary filmmaker
* David Loughery, film producer (Flashback, Lakeview Terrace)
* George Schaefer, television director (Hallmark Hall of Fame)
* John Sturges, filmmaker (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape)

### Journalism

* Tavi Gevinson, fashion blogger
* Peter SagalPeter Sagal, host of NPR's Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!
* Gene Sherman, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter
* Alfred Henry Spink, founder of The Sporting News, lived and died in Oak Park
* Hannah Storm, television personality and sportscaster
* Dorothy Thompson, journalist
* Marjorie Vincent, 1991 Miss America, journalist
* Mike Heard, television personality, co-host of Numbers On The Board

## Military

* William J. Cullerton, flying ace during World War II, host of Great Outdoors on WGN Radio until 1999
* Milo Smith Hascall, Union general in the Civil War

## Music

* Matt B, singer-songwriter
* Lane Brody, musician
* Jon Deak, bassist and composer with the New York Philharmonic
* Billy "The Kid" Emerson, R&B and rock 'n' roll singer
* Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger of the indie rock band The Fiery Furnaces
* GAWNE, rapper, singer, and songwriter
* Bud Herseth, principal trumpet with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; charter member Trumpet Hall of Fame
* Mia Joy, American indie rock musician
* LudacrisLudacris, rapper; attended Emerson Junior High School in Oak Park
* Marc Okubo, guitarist of heavy metal band Veil of Maya
* Martin Pearlman, classical musician and composer
* Landon Pigg, singer-songwriter
* Felix Wurman, classical cellist and composer

## Politics and law

* Theresa Amato, Nader 2000 and Nader 2004 national presidential campaign manager
* Henry W. Austin, Illinois state legislator and businessman
* David Axelrod, political strategist and former White House official
* Ralph H. Barger, Illinois state legislator
* Bruce Barton, author and advertising pioneer; congressman from New York (1937–1940)
* Redd Griffin, Illinois state legislator (1980–1982)
* John Frush Knox, clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice James Clark McReynolds; memoirist
* Mary Miller, United States Representative of Illinois's 15th congressional district
* Eric D. Miller, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
* Dick Murphy, 33rd mayor of San Diego
* Pat Quinn, 41st Governor of Illinois
* Phil Radford, environmental activist; Executive Director of Greenpeace USA; raised in Oak Park
* Leland Rayson, Illinois state legislator and lawyer
* Walter J. Reum, Illinois state legislator and lawyer
* Gerald W. Shea, Illinois state legislator
* John D. Tomlinson, Minnesota state legislator and businessman
* Greg Zito, Illinois state legislator

## Religion

* William Eugene Blackstone, 19th-century evangelical Christian and Zionist; lived in Oak Park
* Edward EganEdward Egan, retired Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of the Diocese of New York [City]
* Louis Francescon, missionary and pioneer of the Italian Pentecostal Movement; lived and died in Oak Park
* Andrew Greeley, Catholic priest and author; born in Oak Park (1928)

## Sports
### Baseball

* Dick Bertell, catcher for Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants
* Art Bramhall, third baseman for Philadelphia Phillies
* Shirley Danz, outfielder with All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
* Jim Dorsey, pitcher for California Angels and Boston Red Sox
* Tony Fiore, pitcher for Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Minnesota Twins
* Justin Huisman, relief pitcher for Kansas City Royals
* Sean Lawrence, pitcher for Pittsburgh Pirates
* Lee Pfund, pitcher for Brooklyn Dodgers
* Johnny Rigney, pitcher and general manager for the Chicago White Sox
* Brian Schlitter, pitcher for Chicago Cubs
* John Sevcik, catcher for Minnesota Twins
* Ben Shelton, outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates
* Marv Staehle, second baseman for Chicago White Sox, Montréal Expos and Atlanta Braves
* Craig Stimac, catcher for San Diego Padres
* Bill Stoneman, pitcher for California Angels, Chicago Cubs and Montreal Expos, general manager of Angels
* Joe Tinker, Hall of Fame shortstop for Chicago Orphans/Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Chi-Feds/Whales
* Mike York, pitcher for Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians

### Basketball

* Ashraf Amaya, forward for the Washington Bullets, Vancouver Grizzlies, and several international teams
* Gabe Levin (born 1994), American-Israeli basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* Corey Maggette, small forward and shooting guard for five NBA teams
* Jimmy Rodgers, head coach, Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics
* Iman Shumpert, guard for the 2016 NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers
* Evan Turner, guard and small forward for the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Portland Trail Blazers
* Norm Van Lier, point guard for the Chicago Bulls; sports radio personality

### Football

* Andy Frederick, offensive lineman, played for Super Bowl championship teams of Chicago Bears
* Eric Kumerow, linebacker for the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys
* Johnny LattnerJohnny Lattner, halfback for Notre Dame Fighting Irish football, 1953 Heisman Trophy winner
* Milt McColl, linebacker for San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Raiders
* Mike Shanahan, head coach for the Los Angeles Raiders, Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins; three-time Super Bowl winner
* Marques Sullivan, NFL offensive lineman with the Buffalo Bills, New York Giants and New England Patriots
* George Trafton, Hall of Fame center for the Chicago Bears
* Bob Zuppke, head football coach, University of Illinois

### Ice hockey

* Joe Corvo, defenseman for several NHL teams

### Ice skating

* Emery Lehman (born 1996), Olympic speed skater

### Rowing

* Carol Feeney, Olympic rower; silver medalist

### Wrestling

* Ellis ColemanEllis Coleman, Olympic wrestler; alumnus of Oak Park and River Forest High School
Cathy Kelley American journalist, television host, model and actress currently signed to WWE, working as a backstage interviewer on the SmackDown brand.
Joseph Ariola (born June 9, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Tony D'Angelo. He is the leader of The D'Angelo Family stable as "The Don of NXT", and is a former two-time NXT Tag Team Champion and a one-time NXT Heritage Cup champion.