South Philadelphia - Famous Residents

Famous Residents

  • Al Alberts, singer and composer; co-founder and lead singer of The Four Aces
  • Marian Anderson, opera singers and Congressional Gold Medal recipient
  • Frankie Avalon, actor, singer, teen idol
  • Joey Bishop, actor, comedian, member of the "Rat Pack"
  • Black Thought, MC and co-founder of The Roots
  • Danny Cedrone, bandleader, guitarist for "Rock Around the Clock"
  • Chubby Checker, singer of The Twist
  • Stanley Cowell, jazz pianist, founder of Strata-East Records, member of the Heath Brothers
  • Jim Croce Singer-Songwriter
  • Joey DeFrancesco, jazz organist, trumpeter, vocalist
  • Buddy DeFranco, jazz clarinet player
  • James DePreist, conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, director at the Juilliard School, laureate music director of the Oregon Symphony
  • Fred Diodati, lead singer of The Four Aces
  • Charles Earland, jazz composer, organist, saxophonist
  • Fabian 1950s teen idol
  • Wilhelmenia Fernandez, soprano, star of the film Diva
  • Larry Fine, member of the comedy act The Three Stooges
  • Linda Fiorentino, actress (Dogma, Men in Black, The Last Seduction)
  • Al Fisher, guard for the Kent State Golden Flashes
  • Eddie Fisher, singer, entertainer
  • Edwin Forrest, 19th century stage actor
  • Kenny Gamble, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songwriting and record production team Gamble and Huff
  • Dusolina Giannini, soprano (Metropolitan Opera)
  • Vittorio Giannini, composer of operas, symphonies, and band music
  • Charlie Gracie, rock pioneer and singer
  • Isadore Granoff, founder of the Granoff School of Music
  • Buddy Greco, singer ("The Lady is a Tramp") and pianist
  • William Guarnere, nicknamed "Wild Bill", member of 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment E, "Easy Company"
  • Frank Guarrera, baritone (Metropolitan Opera)
  • Albert "Tootie" Heath jazz drummer, member of the Heath Brothers
  • Jimmy Heath jazz tenor saxophonist, member of the Heath Brothers
  • Percy Heath double bass player for the Modern Jazz Quartet, member of the Heath Brothers
  • Edward "Babe" Heffron, member of 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment E, "Easy Company"
  • Sherman Hemsley, actor (All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Amen)
  • Dom Irrera, comedian
  • Albert Innaurato, playwright, theatre director, and writer
  • Jerry Jaye, country/rockabilly singer ("My Girl Josephine")
  • Kitty Kallen, singer ("Little Things Mean a Lot")
  • Irvin Kershner, director (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, RoboCop 2)
  • Jack Klugman, actor (The Odd Couple, Quincy, M.E., 12 Angry Men)
  • Joseph Kramm, playwright (Pulitzer Prize for The Shrike), actor, and director
  • Eddie Lang, jazz guitarist
  • Mario Lanza, tenor and actor (The Great Caruso)
  • Hy Lit, Philadelphia-area DJ from the 1950s until 2005
  • George Litto, film producer (Thieves Like Us, Dressed to Kill and Blow Out)
  • Bernie Lowe, songwriter, producer, arranger, founder of Cameo Records, launched careers of Chubby Checker, Charlie Gracie, Dee Dee Sharp, Bobby Rydell, The Orlons
  • Man Ray, modernist/Dada/Surrealist artist
  • Gloria Mann, pop singer ("Earth Angel")
  • Guy Marks, actor, singer, comedian and impressionist
  • Al Martino, singer ("Here in My Heart", "Volare") and actor (The Godfather, The Godfather Part III)
  • Pat Martino, jazz guitarist and composer
  • N. Richard Nash, writer and dramatist (The Rainmaker)
  • Fayard Nicholas, dancer (Nicholas Brothers)
  • Harold Nicholas, dancer (Nicholas Brothers)
  • Harry Olivieri, co-inventor of the cheesesteak
  • Pat Olivieri, co-inventor of the cheesesteak
  • Frank Palumbo, restaurateur, humanitarian and power broker; owner of Palumbo's"
  • Vince Papale, former professional football player for the Philadelphia Eagles in the late 1970s. His story of making the team and his playing career is the subbject of the 2006 film Invincible.
  • Lisa Peluso, actress (Saturday Night Fever, Search for Tomorrow, Loving, Another World, One Life to Live)
  • Vincent Persichetti, composer, pianist, teacher at the Juilliard School (students included Philip Glass, Hall Overton, Kenneth Fuchs and Thelonious Monk)
  • Questlove, drummer and co-founder of The Roots
  • Florence Quivar, mezzo-soprano (Metropolitan Opera, Grammy Award for Porgy and Bess)
  • Peter Mark Richman, actor (Santa Barbara, Dynasty, Three's Company, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan)
  • Frank Rizzo, mayor of Philadelphia (1972–1980)
  • LaVaughn Robinson, tap dancer, choreographer (a National Endowment of the Arts "Living National Treasure" and NEA National Heritage Fellowship award)
  • Bobby Rydell, singer ("Wild One", "Volaire"), actor (Bye Bye Birdie), teen idol
  • Jodie Sands, singer ("With All My Heart", "Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)")
  • Dee Dee Sharp, singer ("Slow Twistin'" (with Chubby Checker), "Mashed Potato Time")
  • Beanie Siegel, rapper
  • Sylvester Stallone (briefly), actor (Rocky and Rambo franchises)
  • Joseph Stefano, Edgar Award winning screenwriter (Psycho)
  • George Tunnell, vocalist (Jan Savitt and the Top Hatters)
  • Charlie Ventura, tenor saxophonist and bandleader
  • Joe Venuti, the father of jazz violin
  • Stanley Weintraub, professor, historian, and biographer
  • Ed Wynn, Emmy Award winning (The Ed Wynn Show) and Academy Award nominated (The Diary of Anne Frank) actor (Ziegfeld Follies, The Great Man, Mary Poppins)

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Famous quotes containing the words famous and/or residents:

    “How else is the famous short story ‘A study in Abjection’ to be understood but as an outbreak of disgust against an age indecently undermined by psychology.”
    —Thomas Mann (1875–1955)

    “In most nineteenth-century cities, both large and small, more than 50 percent—and often up to 75 percent—of the residents in any given year were no longer there ten years later. People born in the twentieth century are much more likely to live near their birthplace than were people born in the nineteenth century.”
    —Stephanie Coontz (20th century)