He has also cracked the Wikipedia of West Orange, NJ, in the list of "Notable Residents." He has joined such luminaries as Carole King, Thomas Edison, Ian Ziering, Vin Rock of Naughty by Nature, and Charles Cullen, "serial killer who grew up on Kling Street."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Orange,_New_Jersey
My mom and dad went to grade school with Charles Cullen! She knew his family -- he had a lot of siblings and she was friendly with one of them. My mom grew up around the corner from Kling Street.
Also on the list who I know (or know secondhand):
DAVID CASSIDY -- The former teen idol went to the same grade school as my parents, before moving away to become a future superstar. He came to my drama class in high school and spoke to us. I have a picture with him somewhere. He was REALLY awful and full of himself.
LEO FITZPATRICK -- He's not on the list but was at one point. He's better known as "Tully" from Kids and played Johnny, Bubbles' junkie buddy in the first three seasons of The Wire. He was in my grade. I knew his family really well and was friendly with his older brother. Leo, not so much. He was really obnoxious. However, he did go to the senior prom with the future maid-of-honor at my wedding.
MIKE PITT -- Currently on Boardwalk Empire, which I've never seen. He was a grade or two below me. I didn't know him so well but I did go out on a few dates with his sister. She broke my heart. She's #3 on my High Fidelity list.
IAN ZIERING -- He's been known to frequent the "nightclubs" in West Orange which are populated with aging guidos and balding men desperately clinging on to their last shreds of youth. During the peak of his fame, he made a commercial for a credit card which ended with someone saying "Aren't you" and he interrupted by saying "Ian Ziering, West Orange, 07052." They sold shirts for a bit that had 07052 in the 90210 font. A bunch of my high school teachers had him and said he was pretty much exactly like the Steve Sanders character he played, but more into musical theater.
SCOTT WOLF -- Bailey from Party of Five also went to my town. He was supposedly quiet and people were pretty surprised he was briefly famous.
VIN FROM NAUGHTY BY NATURE -- My friend Kate lived on his block. She said he was super nice and had really cute kids. I once saw Treach at the Livingston Mall. He was really, really, really short.
BILLY RAFFERTY -- The legendary basketball announcer didn't grow up in West Orange but lived there for a while (and I think he still does). My grandmother and his sister were really good friends. Billy also is an alum of the same college as me. I met him at a function at my school once for 45 seconds of EXTREMELY awkward conversation. He's a really nice guy, though, from what people who know him better than I do have told me.
BRENDAN BYRNE/DICK CODEY -- I've met both of the former governors of New Jersey through the years. Brendan knew my grandmother from church. He was a very personable guy. Codey, not so much. I've heard a lot of bad, bad, bad things about Codey from people in the know. He's a HUGE basketball fan and I briefly chatted about Seton Hall hoops with him when I met him. (The rest of the topic was about grant money for sewer repair work in Essex County.)
UNCLE FLOYD VIVINO-- I have never met him but a lot of my friends have seen his live show and say he's the absolute best. (I assume my brother has, but not sure.) He's a boyhood hero and a huge inspiration to me to this day.
ROBERT PEARLMAN -- I have no idea why this guy's on Wikipedia, but he apparently runs some sort of space memorabilia website. I knew him really well. He once wore a spacesuit to school (a legitimate NASA spacesuit) on the day we had an eclipse and warned a teacher to not stare at the sun. On paper, he sounds awesome. On paper.
