Celebrities from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Grant Wood
Grant DeVolson Wood born February 13, 1891 in Anamosa, Iowa, to February 12, 1942, was an American painter best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest, particularly the painting American Gothic, an iconic image of the 20th century. His family moved to Cedar Rapids after his father died in 1901. Soon thereafter he began as an apprentice in a local metal shop. After graduating from Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Wood enrolled in an art school in Minneapolis in 1910. In 1913 he enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. From 1920 to 1928 he made four trips to Europe, where he studied many styles of painting, especially impressionism and post-impressionism. In 1932, Wood helped found the Stone City Art Colony near his hometown to help artists get through the Great Depression. Wood taught painting at the University of Iowa's School of Art beginning in 1934. Nan Wood Graham, Grant Wood's sister was the woman portrayed in American Gothic. Grant Wood was an active painter from a very young age until his death, and although he is best known for his paintings, he worked in a large number of media, including ink, charcoal, ceramics, metal, wood and found objects. He was closely associated with the American movement of Regionalism in the Midwest. Wood's best known work is his 1930 painting American Gothic, it is one of the most famous paintings in American art, and one of the few images to reach the status of cultural icon. Grant Wood hired out his talents to many Iowa-based businesses throughout his life. Grant Wood supervised mural painting projects, stained glass projects, mentored students, produced a variety of his own works, and became a key part of the University's cultural community, and a teacher/professor.
Wright Brothers
Wilbur April 16, 1867 to May 30, 1912 in Melville, Indiana and Orville born August 19, 1871 to January 30, 1948 in Dayton, Ohio, were two Americans who are generally credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained human flight, on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 1st flight about 120 feet, then 175, 200, less that wing span of some aircraft now, each making 2 flights that day at about 10 feet above the ground. They had attempted on December 14, 1903 but, it stalled soon after take off. In the two years afterward, the brothers developed their flying machine into the first practical fixed-wing aircraft. Although not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft, the Wright brothers were the first to invent aircraft controls that made fixed wing flight possible. The brothers' fundamental breakthrough was their invention of "three-axis control", which enabled the pilot to steer the aircraft effectively and to maintain its equilibrium. While man’s first flight was in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the claim can be made that aviation took wing in Cedar Rapids. For it was here that Wilbur and Orville Wright were inspired to reach for the sky. The Wright brothers’ father, Bishop Milton Wright, was a preacher with the United Brethren Church who was called to Cedar Rapids when his sons were young boys. The family lived on what is now Third Street SE and the two brothers attended the old Adams School on Third Street near Fifth Avenue. History records that in the autumn of 1878, when Wilbur was 11 and Orville 7, their father brought home a French-made toy that flew under its own power. Made of cork, paper and bamboo, the small “helicoptere” was propelled by a rubber band. Fascinated by the invention, the boys played with it until it wore out. Later the boys tinkered with bikes and kites. The Wrights moved to Indiana in 1881, but continued to experiment with flying contraptions. Wilbur Wright died 1912 and Orville Wright in 1948. Cedar Rapids remembers them still. The road to the airport is named Wright Bros. Boulevard. In addition, the brothers have a school named after them; Wright Elementary School is in the northeast quadrant.
Zach Johnson
Zachary Harris "Zach" Johnson born February 24, 1976 is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and the 2007 Masters champion. Zach was born in Iowa City, Iowa and raised in Cedar Rapids, the oldest of Dave & Julie Johnson's three children. Playing many sports as a youth (baseball, basketball, football, and soccer), Johnson took up golf at age 10 and developed his skills at Elmcrest Country Club. He played #2 on the Regis High School golf team and led them to an Iowa 3A state championship in 1992, his sophomore year. Following graduation from high school in 1994, Johnson enrolled at Drake University in Des Moines. As the #2 player on the Drake golf team, he led the Bulldogs to three NCAA regional meets and two Missouri Valley championships. Zach turned professional in 1998 and played on the developmental tour circuit.
Won:
May 17, 2009 Valero Texas Open - (68-67-60-70=265)Playoff
Jan. 18, 2009 Sony Open in Hawaii -15 (69-65-66-65=265)
Oct. 12, 2008 Valero Texas Open -19 (69-66-62-64=261)
May 20, 2007 AT&T Classic -15 (71-66-69-67=273) Playoff
Apr. 8, 2007 The Masters +1 (71-73-76-69=289)
Apr. 4, 2004 BellSouth Classic -13 (69-66-68-72=275)
Nationwide Tour 2:
2003 Rheem Classic,
2003 Envirocare Utah Classic
Other wins:
1998 1 Prairie Golf Tour event
1999 2 Prairie Golf Tour events
2001 Iowa Open, 3 NGA Hooters Tour events
2002 Iowa Open, 1 NGA Hooters Tour event
2006 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Stewart Cink and Scott Verplank)
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher born February 7, 1978 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, best known as Ashton Kutcher, Kutcher attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for about a year when his family moved to Tiffin, Iowa. Ashton is an American actor and former fashion model best known for playing Michael Kelso in the FOX sitcom That '70s Show. He was the creator, executive producer, and host of the MTV celebrity prank show Punk'd. He is known for his roles in films such as Dude, Where's My Car?, Just Married, The Butterfly Effect, The Guardian and What Happens in Vegas. He is also the producer and co-creator of the supernatural TV show Room 401 and the reality TV show Beauty and the Geek. He is married to actress Demi Moore.
Actor:
1998–2005, 2006 That '70s Show Michael Kelso 183 episodes
1999 Coming Soon Louie
2000 Down to You Jim Morrison
Reindeer Games College Kid
Dude, Where's My Car? Jesse Montgomery III
2001 Just Shoot Me! Dean Cassidy 1 episode
Texas Rangers George Durham
2002 Grounded for Life Cousin Scott 1 episode
2003–2007 Punk'd Himself/Host
2003 Just Married Tom Leezak
My Boss's Daughter Tom Stansfield
Cheaper by the Dozen Hank
2004 The Butterfly Effect Evan Treborn
2005 Guess Who Simon Green
A Lot Like Love Oliver Martin
Robot Chicken various voices
2006 Bobby Fisher
The Guardian Jake Fischer
Open Season Elliot Voice
2008 Miss Guided Beaux 1 episode
What Happens in Vegas... Jack Fuller Holiday 2008
2008/2009 Personal Effects Walter
2009 Spread Nicki
"Five Killers" Pre-Production
Producer:
2003-2007 Punk'd 69 Episodes executive producer/host
2003 My Boss's Daughter co-producer
2004 The Butterfly Effect executive producer
You've Got a Friend 8 Episodes executive producer
2005-2008 Beauty and the Geek 36 Episodes executive producer
2007 Adventures in Hollyhood 8 Episodes executive producer
Miss Guided executive producer
Game Show in My Head executive producer
The Real Wedding Crashers 7 Episodes executive producer
Room 401 8 Episodes executive producer
2008 Pop Fiction executive producer
2008-2009 Opportunity Knocks TV series (executive producer)
2009 Five Killers pre-production
Spread
Awards:
Kids' Choice Awards
2004 - Favorite Movie Actor for Just Married, My Boss's Daughter and Cheaper by the Dozen - Nominated
2005 - Favorite TV Actor for That '70s Show and Punk'd - Nominated
2007 - Favorite Voice in a cartoon- Nominated
2004 - Favorite Television Actor for That '70s Show and Punk'd
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award
2000 - Sierra Award Best Male Newcomer for Dude, Where's My Car? - Nominated
MTV Movie Awards
2001 - Breakthrough Male Performance for Dude, Where's My Car? - Nominated
Marvin Cone
Marvin Dorwart Cone (1891-1965) was an American painter born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and lived there most of his life. He graduated from Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1910. Cone attended college and traveled to Paris with his contemporary and high-school friend, Grant Wood. After his return to the United States, Cone helped to found the Stone City Art Colony in Iowa. He was a professor at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for more than forty years. Most of his paintings can now be seen at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. Some of his sketches can also been found in the permanent collection of the University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art in Cedar Falls. Marvin D. Cone was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, where in 1906 he began a lifelong friendship with Grant Wood. He graduated from Coe College in 1914 and then studied for several years at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. World War I interrupted his studies, and Cone left for France in 1917, where he served for several years as an interpreter. In 1919, he studied for about five months at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Montpellier, France. When he returned to Cedar Rapids that year, he continued to pursue his interest in art. He considered commercial art, but chose instead to accept a position teaching French at Coe College for the 1919-1920 academic year. Upon his return to Cedar Rapids, Cone quickly renewed his friendship with Grant Wood and resumed his active involvement with the local art association (now the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art). Cone and Wood went abroad in the summer of 1920, hoping to improve their technical skills. The visit proved influential, resulting in a stunning series of impressionistic views of picturesque cityscapes and landscapes, Paris streets and gardens, and the French countryside. Architecture and landscape fascinated Cone for the rest of his life. He returned to Paris with his wife Winnifred in 1929 and traveled to Mexico in 1939. Cone lived all his 74 years in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he married, raised a family, and for more than four decades taught art at Coe College. Although he never achieved great fame, he was highly respected by his contemporaries. Marvin Cone sought to evoke his inner vision of nature rather than to create a realistic depiction of the rural landscape. To Cone, nature was a vehicle for revealing certain truths. His paintings integrated his firsthand observation of nature. Cone once said, "The purpose of art is not to reproduce life, but to present an editorial, a comment on life.... The artist does not set out to imitate nature. What would be the purpose of that? Let the camera with its clever mechanism imitate. Art, such as poetry, music, and painting, is simply a portion of the experience of the artist. When we actually see ideals, they become real to us. Art traces an abstraction and makes it audible or visual. It symbolizes the whole of life. We believe in something we can see." Marvin Cone was a leader in regionalist art and the Linn County art community. Cone attended Adams Elementary School and then Washington High School from 1906-1910. He completed his undergraduate education at Coe College (1914) and then enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago. World War I interrupted his studies; Cone was drafted and stationed in New Mexico, then set on to France in 1917, where he worked as an interpreter. While overseas, he studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Montpellier (1919). Marvin returned to Cedar Rapids in 1919 to a French teaching position at Coe College for the 1919-1920 academic term. He immediately renewed his past friendship with Grant Wood. The two artists went to France in the summer of 1920, producing a series of impressionistic works while living in Paris. From 1919-1929, Cone returned to France each summer for art studies and enrichment. Together, Cone and Wood developed and launched the Stone City Art Colony in the summer of 1932. After enduring a financial struggle in 1933, the colony closed, mainly due to Depression-era conditions. Immediately upon the colony’s closing, Cone accepted a painting professor position at Coe College. He continued to teach at Coe until 1960. Within his forty year career at the campus, he taught French from 1920-1934, and in 1934, founded the college’s art department. Cone maintained an extensive teaching load, including studio classes and art history courses. The Coe College art gallery is named in his wife's honor and houses the largest permanent collection of Cone artwork in the state of Iowa. He was a member of the Iowa Artists Club and the Cedar Rapids Art Association. A main gallery of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art is dedicated to this vibrant artist. Marvin Cone died in Cedar Rapids in 1965.
Carl Van Vechten
Carl Van Vechten born (June 17, 1880 – December 21, 1964) was an American writer and photographer. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he graduated from Washington High School in 1898, and later the University of Chicago in 1903. In 1906, he moved to New York City. He was hired as the assistant music critic at the New York Times. His interest in opera had him take a leave of absence from the paper in 1907, to travel to Europe to explore opera. While in England he married his long time friend from Cedar Rapids, Anna Snyder. He returned to his job at the New York Times in 1909 and then became the first American critic of modern dance. At that time, Isadora Duncan, Anna Pavlova, and Loie Fuller were performing in New York City. The marriage to Anna Snyder ended in divorce in 1912 and he wed actress Fania Marinoff in 1914. Several books of Van Vechten's essays on various subjects such as music and literature were published between 1915 and 1920. Between 1922 and 1930 Knopf published seven novels by Van Vechten, starting with Peter Whiffle: His Life and Works and ending with Parties. He was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary executor of Gertrude Stein. The Carl Van Vechten Photographs Collection at the Library of Congress consists of 1,395 photographs taken by American photographer Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964) between 1932 and 1964. The bulk of the collection consists of portrait photographs of celebrities, including many figures from the Harlem Renaissance. A much smaller portion of the collection is an assortment of American landscapes.
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra born July 18, 1982 is an Indian film actress and former Miss World, who acts in Bollywood films. After winning the title of Miss India World and later becoming Miss World 2000, Chopra made her acting debut with the Tamil film Thamizhan (2002). The following year, she made her Bollywood debut with Anil Sharma's The Hero: Love Story of a Spy and had her first commercial success with her second release, Andaaz from the same year, for which she won a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. Becoming the second woman to win the Filmfare Best Villain Award for her critically acclaimed performance in Abbas-Mustan's Aitraaz (2004), Chopra later went on to deliver commercial success with films like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Krrish (2006), her biggest commercial success so far, and Don - The Chase Begins Again (2006). In 2008, Chopra earned the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance in Fashion, thus establishing herself as a popular actress. She was born in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand to Ashok Chopra and Madhu Akhauri, both doctors by profession. Chopra spent her childhood in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, in Newton, Massachusetts and in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Her father was in the army and thus her family moved quite frequently. Her father hailed from a family of Punjabi Khatri origin, settled in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh and her mother comes from a Bihari Kayastha family settled in Jamshedpur. She also has a brother, Siddharth, who is seven years younger than her. Chopra studied at St. Maria Goretti in Bareilly and La Martiniere Girls' School in Lucknow as a young girl. These frequent re-locations took place as Ashok was a doctor in the Indian Army. She subsequently re-located to the U.S. where she studied in Newton's Newton South High School in Newton, Massachusetts and then in John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She returned to India and did her high school at Army School in Bareilly. She began college at Jai Hind College in Mumbai but left after winning the Miss World pageant. Chopra was crowned Miss India World and later Miss World in 2000. In the same year, Lara Dutta and Dia Mirza, both also from India, won the Miss Universe and Miss Asia Pacific crowns, in a rare triple victory for one country. When Chopra won the Miss World crown, she became the fifth Indian woman to win the title, and the fourth Indian woman to win in a span of seven years.
After winning the Miss World title, Chopra became an actress. She made her debut in the 2002 Tamil film Thamizhan alongside Vijay.
Landon Cassill
Landon Douglas Cassill born July 7, 1989 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is a driver for the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Cassill is also one of the test drivers for the research and development program at Hendrick Motorsports. He also runs selected races in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Cassill began racing in a quad when he was 3 years old. Cassill moved to go-karts. He finished second in the Pro Kart Tour at Atlanta Motor Speedway at age 10. The following year, he earned his first of two Kart Series national championships. Cassill won four International Kart Federation (IKF) championships, some on dirt and some on asphalt.
In 2000, Cassill competed in three different classes, two karting and a midget class. He won all three state championships on the same night. Cassill won four more state championships at the Newton Kart Klub in Newton, Iowa in 2001. He then started racing in a modified at the half mile Hawkeye Downs. He was racing in the ASA Late Model Series (ASALMS) in 2003 while he was in high school at Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids. He has also raced in legend, modified, and late model racecars. Other series include the American Speed Association and the CRA Super Series. He became the youngest winner in ASALMS history when he won at Lake Erie Speedway on June 9, 2006
Bobby Driscoll
Bobby Driscoll born March 3, 1937 to March 30, 1968 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa was an Academy Award-winning American child actor known for a large body of screen- and TV-work from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Company's most popular live-action pictures, such as Song of the South (1946), So Dear to My Heart (1948), and Treasure Island (1950), and he was also the close-up model and the voice of the animated Peter Pan (1953). In 1950, he was the ninth of only twelve children in Hollywood's history to receive an Academy Juvenile Award for outstanding performance in feature films. This category began in 1934 with Shirley Temple and ended in 1961 with Hayley Mills. Shortly after the theatrical release of Peter Pan, Driscoll's final long-term contract with the Disney Studios was prematurely terminated,
Adrian Arrington
Adrian Jarrard Arrington born November 7, 1985 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Saints in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan. He is on the injured reserve list for the 2008 NFL season. Arrington went to high school at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Ryan Sweeney
Ryan Joseph Sweeney born February 20, 1985 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Oakland Athletics.
Sweeney graduated from Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids in 2003. At the beginning of the 2007 season, Ryan was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 1 Prospect in the Chicago White Sox organization. He had originally signed to play collegiately for Tony Gwynn at San Diego State. However, he signed with the White Sox as he was taken in the 2nd round of the 2003 MLB Draft. On January 3, 2008, the White Sox traded Sweeney.
Ann Royer
Ann Royer is a painter and sculptor living and working in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Her Statue “Pas De Deux” is in Cedar Rapids. Her work consists mostly of abstract nudes and horses. She was born in Sioux City, Iowa in 1933. Royer graduated from the School of Art at Colorado College. Royer later attended the University of Minnesota, Duluth. Royer studied art against her family's intial wishes. Ann credits a 1975 Chinese Art Exposition as her greatest source of inspiration. In 1966, Ann found herself as one of the first US civilians to set foot in the USSR as part of the Congress of Infectious diseases. In 2008, Ann Royer was the subject of a short documentary by writer/filmmaker Brett Edward Stout. The documentary was shown at the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival and on KCRG TV9. Royer's work is prominently featured in the Cornerhouse Art Gallery. Between 1975 and 1997, her work was exhibited at the Sioux City Art Center, the Museum of Art Cedar Rapids, the Jewish Community Center Houston, Engel Gallery Jerusalem, the Zoma Gallery New York, the Ice House Dallas, and the Osburne Gallery in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Elijah Wood
Elijah Jordan Wood born January 28, 1981 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is an American actor. Making his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II (1989), he landed a succession of subsequent larger roles and became a critically acclaimed child actor by age 13. After his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, he has resisted typecasting by choosing varied roles in critically-acclaimed films such as Bobby, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sin City, Green Street and Everything Is Illuminated. Most recently he starred in the film Day Zero (2007) and provided the voice of the main character, Mumble, in the award-winning animated film Happy Feet. He also played an American tourist turned vampire in Paris, je t'aime. In 2005, he started his own record label, Simian Records. His next project is the upcoming Iggy Pop biopic The Passenger. In 2006, he became a well-known voice actor in video gaming and would soon become the voice of the video game icon, Spyro the Dragon, starting with The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning. In 2008, he set a new world record when he became the first person ever to cross the Victoria Falls on ropes during an appearance on Jack Osbourne's show Adrenaline Junkie. Wood, the second of three children, was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Debra D. (née Krause) and Warren W. Wood, delicatessen operators. He is of German, Polish, Irish and English descent. Wood has an older brother, Zachariah "Zach" Wood (seven years older) and a younger sister, Hannah Wood (two years younger). At age three, Wood began modeling in his hometown and took piano lessons from Marlene Loftsgaarden in Cedar Rapids. He took to the stage in his elementary school's staging of the play The Sound of Music. The following year, he graduated to the title character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He also served as choir boy during the production of See How They Run, produced by the Marion Creative Council. Wood may have owned his own pair of nunchucks. Records show that he was an accomplished ninja. His daily studies included ninja star throwing, stealthily sneaking around to steal cookies from his mommy, and catching flies with chopsticks. Although the ninja movement looked down upon homosexuality, they allowed Wood to join them in their daily ninja practices. Wood modeled and did local commercials before moving with his family to Los Angeles in 1988. It was there that Wood got his first break: a small role in a video by Paula Abdul - "Forever Your Girl," directed by David Fincher. Film work followed almost instantly in Back to the Future Part II (1989). It was Wood's role as Aidan Quinn's son in Barry Levinson's 1990 film Avalon (the third film in the Baltimore trilogy containing 1982's Diner and 1987's Tin Men) that first gave Wood attention, as the film received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for four Academy Awards
Paul Engle
Paul Engle born October 12, 1908 -1991 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa was a noted American poet, writer, editor, and novelist. He is perhaps best remembered as the long-time director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and as founder of the International Writing Program (IWP), both at the University of Iowa. Engle is often mistakenly credited with having founded the Iowa Writers' Workshop (an honor that more appropriately belongs to his predecessor, Wilbur Schramm). Nonetheless, perhaps no one helped to better establish the reputation of the venerable writing program than Engle. During his tenure as director (1941-1965), he was responsible for luring some of the finest writers of the day to Iowa City. Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Kurt Vonnegut and many other prominent novelists and poets served as faculty under Engle. Additionally, Engle increased enrollment and oversaw numerous students of future fame and influence, including Flannery O'Connor, Philip Levine, Donald Justice, and Robert Bly. During his tenure, Engle raised millions of dollars in support of the program whose shape and direction proved the model for the hundreds of writing programs that have followed. In 1967, following his departure as director of the workshop, Engle and future-second-wife Hua-ling Nieh co-founded The University of Iowa's International Writing Program, which provided for dozens of published authors from around the world to visit Iowa City each year to write and collaborate. Engle left the Writer's Workshop permanently in 1969 to devote himself full-time to the international program. For his work with the IWP, Engle was nominated (along with Nieh Engle) for a 1976 Nobel Peace Prize. Paul Engle grew up in the Wellington Heights section of Cedar Rapids. Engle graduated from Washington High School (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), and later attended Coe College, The University of Iowa, Columbia University, and Oxford University (where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar). As a student at Iowa, Engle was one of the earliest recipients of an advanced degree awarded for creative work: his first collection Worn Earth, which went on to win the Yale Series of Younger Poets. His second book, American Song (1934), was given a rave front-page review in the New York Times Book Review and was even, briefly, a bestseller. From 1954-59, Engle served as series editor for the O. Henry Prize. At the time of his death (in Chicago's O'Hare Airport on his way to accept an award), Engle was the author of more than a dozen collections of poetry, a novel, a memoir, an opera libretto (for Philip Bezanson), and even a children's book. In addition, Engle wrote numerous articles and reviews for many of the largest periodicals of his day.
Paul Engle Center
1600 Fourth Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids
The Paul Engle Center reflects a partnership between Legion Arts, MidAmerica Housing Partnership, and the Wellington Heights Neighborhood Association. The project honors the life and spirit of Paul Engle (1908-91), who grew up in Wellington Heights area and went on to achieve international recognition in the arts.
Kurt Warner
Kurtis Eugene "Kurt" Warner born June 22, 1971 in Burlington, Iowa, Warner played football at Regis High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and went on to the University of Northern Iowa. At UNI, Warner was third on the Panthers' depth chart until his senior year. When Warner was finally given the chance to start, he was named the Gateway Conference's Offensive Player of the Year, is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1994. He played college football at Northern Iowa. Warner first reached fame for his highly successful stint with the St. Louis Rams from 1998-2003, where he won two NFL MVP awards in 1999 and 2001, as well as the Super Bowl MVP award in Super Bowl XXXIV. He also led the 2008 Arizona Cardinals to Super Bowl XLIII (the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl berth), and owns the 3 biggest single-game passing yardage totals in Super Bowl history. Behind Steve Young and Peyton Manning, Warner is ranked third all-time in career passer rating with a 93.8 mark. Statistically, he is also the second-most accurate quarterback in NFL history (trailing only Chad Pennington), with a career completion percentage of 65.7%.
William L. Shirer
William Lawrence Shirer (February 23, 1904 – December 28, 1993) was an American journalist and historian. He became known for his broadcasts on CBS from the German capital of Berlin through the first year of World War II. Shirer first became famous through his account of those years in his Berlin Diary (published in 1941), but his greatest achievement was his 1960 book, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, originally published by Simon & Schuster. This book of well over 1000 pages is still in print, and is a detailed examination of the Third Reich filled with historical information from German archives captured at the end of the war, along with impressions Shirer gained during his days as a correspondent in Berlin. Later, in 1969, his work The Collapse of the Third Republic drew on his experience spent living and working in France from 1925 to 1933. This work is filled with historical information about the Battle of France from the secret orders and reports of the French High Command and of the commanding generals of the field. Shirer also used the memoirs, journals, and diaries of the prominent British, Italian, Spanish, and French figures in government, Parliament, the Army, and diplomacy. Born in Chicago in 1904, Shirer attended Washington High School and Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He graduated from Coe in 1925. Working his way to Europe on a cattle boat, intending to spend the summer there, he remained in Europe for the next fifteen years. He was European correspondent for the Chicago Tribune from 1925 to 1932, covering assignments in Europe, the Near East and India. In India he formed a close friendship with Mohandas K. Gandhi. Shirer lived and worked in France for several years beginning in 1925. He left in the early 1930s but returned frequently to Paris throughout the decade. He lived and worked in the Third Reich from 1934 to 1940. In 1931, Shirer married Theresa Stiberitz, an Austrian photographer. The couple had two daughters, Inga and Linda. Shirer and his wife divorced in 1970, and he married Irina Lugovskaya. Shirer and Irina had no children.
Arthur Collins
Arthur A. Collins (1909-1987) was an American entrepreneur, who founded Collins Radio Co., which is now a part of Rockwell Collins, Inc.. Art Collins' father owned several thousand acres of farmland. After graduating from Washington High School (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) , Collins attended college and later started a very successful radio business. Collins began to take his business into more research and development while his father managed the financial end of his son's business until his death. Arthur Collins founded Collins Radio Company in 1933 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the purpose of designing and producing shortwave radio equipment. The company steadily grew, and captured the world's attention when Collins supplied the equipment to establish a communications link with the South Pole expedition of Rear Admiral Richard Byrd in 1933. When Art Collins needed financial help with Collins Radio, he found the Rockwell family. Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE: COL) is a large United States-based international company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, primarily providing aviation and information technology systems, solutions, and services to governmental agencies and aircraft manufacturers. Willard Frederick Rockwell, Sr. (1888 – 1978) was a businessman who helped shape and name what eventually became the Rockwell International company. Rockwell was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He married Clara Thayer, a descendant of John Alden who traveled across the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower in 1620. Rockwell Collins believes that research and development are the keys to their competitiveness. Their Advanced Technology Center collaborates with Commercial and Government Systems to bring new advancements to aviation electronics and communications markets. Rockwell Collins focuses on leveraging its core strengths and expanding them through strategic acquisitions. Since 1997, Rockwell Collins has acquired companies that complement and support its government and commercial businesses. It provides the keys to Net-Centric Operations and achieving battlespace information superiority. It supplys avionics and cabin electronics to business aviation and commercial air transport operations worldwide. Vision Statement, “working together creating the most trusted source of communication and aviation electronic solutions,” depends on each of us maintaining the expectations outlined in our Standards of Business Conduct and putting them into action every day. Ethics philosophy, expect all employees to do the right thing, for the right reason, in the right way, every time.
Paul Conrad
Paul Francis Conrad born June 27, 1924 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is an American political cartoonist. He was chief editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times from 1964 to 1993 and had been syndicated to hundreds of newspapers worldwide. He earned the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1964, 1971 and 1984. Conrad has also won two Overseas Press Club awards (1981 and 1970) and in 1988, the Society of Professional Journalists/Sigma Delta Chi (SDX) honored him with his seventh Distinguished Service Award for Editorial Cartooning. He was also named in Richard Nixon's enemy list in 1973. He has written several books and his work is in the permanent exhibition of the United States Library of Congress. A prolific cartoonist, Conrad drew numerous cartoons about Richard Nixon's downfall. Perhaps the funniest, and most profane, was one the Los Angeles Times refused to run. Just prior to the vote to impeach President Nixon, Conrad drew the president in only a pair of tight fitting underwear, with the caption "The Last Nixon Supporter in Washington." Conrad started cartooning at the University of Iowa for the Daily Iowan. After receiving his B.A. in art in 1950, he worked for the Denver Post, where he spent 14 years before joining the Los Angeles Times. Conrad and his wife, Kay King, a former society writer for The Denver Post, have two sons and two daughters.
Jim Cummins
Jim Cummins born 1945 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to October 26, 2007, was a American television reporter for the NBC News network. He became a somewhat recognizable member of the network, having worked there for nearly 30 years. He was a basketball player and member of the Regis Catholic High School 1962 state champion squad. From 1963 to 1967, Cummins attended Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and earned both his Bachelors and Masters degrees. He was also a forward at NU and, as a sophomore, made a shot to help give the Wildcats a 76-75 victory at Michigan State. Cummins began his professional career at KGLO-TV in Mason City, Iowa in 1969. From there, his career took him to WOTV (Grand Rapids, Michigan), WTMJ-TV (Milwaukee) and WMAQ (Chicago). He joined NBC News in 1978 working out of their Chicago bureau. In 1989, Cummins reopened NBC's Southwest bureau in Dallas, becoming its correspondent.
Geof Darrow
Geofrey "Geof" Darrow born October 21, 1955 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA is a comic artist and designer. He was a student at Hanna-Barbera cartoon studios after studying at the American Academy of Arts in Chicago. In the early 80s he worked in character design for the Super Friends, Richie Rich, and Pac-Man television series. In 1982, he met French comic book writer and artist Moebius during the making of the film Tron. Two years later, the two collaborated on a portfolio of prints named La Cité Feu, later reprinted for the English speaking market as City of Fire. In 1990, Darrow collaborated with writer and artist Frank Miller on the comic book Hard Boiled, a 3-part mini-series. Loosely based on Philip K. Dick's short story The Electric Ant, the book is an exploration of the mind and world of its protagonist, Nixon. In 1993 and 1994, Darrow provided art for the role-playing game line Underground, published by Mayfair Games. Inc. Darrow and Miller worked together again on Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot in 1996, a far more family-oriented work, in which the protagonists save Tokyo from destruction by a giant lizard. The story was later developed into an animated series by Sony entertainment, first aired in 1999. Darrow was credited as 'Conceptual Designer' on all three Matrix movies. His visual style is most prominent in the scene of Neo's awakening from his biomechanical sleep. The insect-like machine that attacks Neo is a classic Darrow mechanoid made up of tubes, viewscreens and riveted joints. He has also contributed to both volumes of The Matrix comics, a series of short Matrix-inspired comic stories. Darrow has also contributed covers to a number of other comics, including Concrete, Transmetropolitan and Andrew Vachss' Cross. Darrow has lately been working on his self-penned series, Shaolin Cowboy (published by Burlyman Entertainment), featuring Darrow's trademark ultra-violence, irony and meticulous level of detail. Darrow is also the co-creator of the series Doc Frankenstein, written by the Wachowski Brothers, with art by Steve Skroce, also published by Burlyman Entertainment. Outside of comic books and film, Darrow has also done some artwork for the Magic: The Gathering trading card series.
Michael Daugherty
Michael Kevin Daugherty born April 28, 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is an American composer, pianist, and teacher. Influenced by popular culture, Romanticism, and Postmodernism, Daugherty is one of the most colorful and widely performed American concert music composers of his generation. Daugherty's notable works include his Superman comic book-inspired Metropolis Symphony for Orchestra (1988-93), Dead Elvis (composition) for Solo Bassoon and Chamber Ensemble (1993), Jackie O (the opera) (1997), Niagara Falls (composition) for Symphonic Band (1997), UFO (composition) for Solo Percussion and Orchestra (1999) and for Symphonic Band (2000), Bells for Stokowski from Philadelphia Stories for Orchestra (2001) and for Symphonic Band (2002), Fire and Blood for Solo Violin and Orchestra (2003) inspired by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, Time Machine (composition) for Three Conductors and Orchestra (2003), Ghost Ranch for Orchestra (2005), and Deus Ex Machina for Piano and Orchestra (2007). Daugherty has been described by The Times (London) as "a master icon maker" with a "maverick imagination, fearless structural sense and meticulous ear." Currently, Daugherty is Professor of Composition at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since 2003, his music has been published by Boosey & Hawkes and prior to then by Peermusic Classical. Michael Daugherty was born into a musical family in 1954, his father Willis Daugherty (b.1929) was a jazz and Country and western drummer, his mother Evelyn Daugherty (1927-1974) was an amateur singer, and his grandmother Josephine Daugherty (1907-1991) was a pianist for silent film. Daugherty’s four younger brothers are all professional musicians: Pat Daugherty (b. 1956), Tim Daugherty (b. 1958), Matt Daugherty (b. 1960), and Tom Daugherty (b. 1961).
Don DeFore
Donald John DeFore born August 25, 1913 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to December 22, 1993, was an American actor who played "the regular guy" and "the good, ol' boy next door" in many films in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in 1913 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His father was Joseph Ervin DeFore (1878 – 1942), a railroad engineer. His mother was Albina Sylvia Nezerka (1883 – 1975). DeFore's film appearances include: Brother Rat (uncredited, 1938, starring Ronald Reagan), The Male Animal (1942), The Human Comedy (uncredited, 1943), A Guy Named Joe (1943), Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944) with Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson, The Affairs of Susan (1945) with Joan Fontaine, You Came Along (1945), Without Reservations (1946), It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947), Ramrod (1947), Romance on the High Seas (first film & acting debut of Doris Day, (1948), My Friend Irma (1949), Too Late for Tears (1949), Dark City (first film & acting debut of Charlton Heston, (1950), Southside 1-1000 (1950), The Guy Who Came Back (1951), A Girl in Every Port (1952), Jumping Jacks (1952), Battle Hymn (1957), A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958), and The Facts of Life (1960) with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. DeFore is best known for his television work. Beginning in 1952, DeFore had a recurring role as the Nelsons' friendly neighbor "Thorny" on the comedy series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. On May 6, 1953, he was the honoree on TV's This Is Your Life
Walter D. Douglas
Walter Donald Douglas born April 21, 1861 to April 15, 1912, was an American business executive who traveled first class aboard the Titanic with his wife, Mahala, and maid, Berthe Leroy, in cabin C-86.
Douglas was born in Waterloo, Iowa to George Douglas and Margaret Boyd Douglas. His parents had both immigrated to the United States; George Douglas was Scottish and Margaret Boyd was Irish, making Walter a Scots-Irish American. George Douglas was one of the co-founders of the Quaker Oats Company. After attending high school, Douglas attended the Shattuck Military Academy in Faribault, Minnesota. He married Lulu Camp on May 19, 1884, with whom he had two sons, Edward Bruce and George Camp. Lulu died in December, 1899, and eight years later, on November 6, 1907, Douglas was married to Mahala Dutton. Douglas and his brother George founded the Douglas Starchworks, at the time the largest starch factory west of the Mississippi. The Starchworks later became Penick and Ford and subsequently, Penford Food Ingredients, a division of Penford Corporation. He also had interests in the linseed oil business in Minneapolis, manufacturing under the name of the Midland Linseed Oil Company, which was sold in 1899 to the American Linseed Oil Company, eventually evolving into the Archer Daniels Midland Company. In 1899, after selling his linseed business, Douglas became a partner with Piper, Johnson & Case, a grain firm, where he remained until he retired in 1912. Douglas was associated with several businesses, including the Canadian Elevator Company, the Monarch Lumber Company and the Saskatchewan Valley Land Company, among others. He was also a stockholder, executive board member, and one of the directors of the Empire Elevator Company, and was a member of the executive board of the Quaker Oats Company. He was also among the directors of the First National Bank of Minneapolis. Douglas, who had retired on 1 January 1912, was known as a "Captain of Industry," having amassed of fortune of over $4 million. He and his wife spent three months in Europe looking for furnishings for their new home near Lake Minnetonka before booking return passage to the United States aboard the RMS Titanic. Douglas died in the sinking.
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson born September 7, 1954 Emerson was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and grew up in the nearby town of Toledo, Iowa is an American actor best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Benjamin Linus on Lost and his Emmy-winning performance on The Practice.
After graduating in 1976 from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he studied theater and art, he moved to New York City. Unable to find acting work, he took retail jobs and worked as a freelance illustrator. In 1986, he moved with his first wife to Jacksonville, Florida. There, from 1986 to 1993, he appeared in local productions and worked as a director and teacher at Flagler College.
Terry Farrell
Theresa Lee "Terry" Farrell born November 19, 1963 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is an American actress and former fashion model, best known for her roles in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Becker. Farrell is the daughter of Kay Carol Christine Bendickson and Edwin Francis Farrell, Jr. Later, her mother married David W. Grussendorf, who adopted Terry and her sister, Christine. Before becoming a model, she played a Christmas elf at a mall in Cedar Rapids. In 1978, at age fifteen, she left her hometown for a summer in Mexico City as a foreign exchange student. That time in her life made her fond of big cities, so in her junior year of high school, the nearly six feet tall Farrell submitted her image to the Elite modeling agency in New York City. Shortly after, at the age of sixteen, she was summoned to NYC and, within two days of arriving, had an exclusive contract with Mademoiselle magazine. After eighteen months of modeling, she studied acting with Kate McGregor Stewart while still modeling on the side. Her first major roles were in the short-lived 1983 television series Paper Dolls playing a model and in the feature film Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield. In the spring of 1989, she began studying acting with Stella Adler and appeared in a number of guest-starring roles in series like Quantum Leap and The Cosby Show. In 1992, she played Cat in a second pilot for a U.S. version of Red Dwarf, which was not picked up. A year later, she was offered a lead role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Farrell starred as Jadzia Dax, Deep Space Nine's Starfleet science officer; a character from an alien species known as the Trill, who is host to a 300-year-old symbiont and can draw upon the memories and knowledge of the symbiont's six previous hosts. She left the show at the end of the sixth season; as a result, Paramount Pictures decided to kill off Farrell's character. Farrell then co-starred on Paramount's television comedy series Becker. She played the tough but good-hearted local diner owner Regina "Reggie" Kostas for four years and 94 episodes.
Kent Ferguson
Kent Monroe Ferguson born March 9, 1963 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is a retired diver from the United States. He competed for his native country at the 1992 Summer Olympics, finishing in fifth place in the Men's 3m Springboard event. Ferguson won the gold medal in the same event a year earlier at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, and at the 1991 World Aquatics Championships.
Ed Gorman
Ed Gorman born 1941, Gorman uses many pseudonyms, Daniel Ransom being one, is an award winning American author best known for his crime and mystery fiction. He wrote The Poker Club which is currently in post production for a film of the same name directed by Tim McCann. He has written under many Pseudonyms including "E. J. Gorman" and "Daniel Ransom." He won a Spur Award for Best Short Fiction for his short story "The Face" in 1992. His fiction collection Cages was nominated for the 1995 Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection. His collection The Dark Fantastic was nominated for the same award in 2001. He has contributed to many magazines and other publications including Xero, Black Lizard, Cemetery Dance, the anthology Tales of Zorro, and many more.
Novels and Novellas
Graves' Retreat (1989)
The Poker Club (1990)
What the Dead Men Say (1990)
Wolf Moon (1993)
Shadow Games (1996)
Cast in Dark Waters (with Thomas Piccirilli) (2002)
Series
Jack Dwyer series:
Rough Cut (1985)
New Improved Murder (1985)
Murder Straight Up (1986)
Murder in the Wings (1986)
The Autumn Dead (1987)
A Cry of Shadows (1990)
What the dead man say (1990)
The Dwyer Trilogy (1994) (a collection that includes The Autumn Dead, A Cry of Shadows, and the short story "Eye of the Beholder")
Tobin Series:
Murder in the Aisle (1987)
Several Deaths Later (1988)
Jack Walsh Series:
The Night Remembers (1991)
Robert Payne Series:
Blood Moon (UK title Blood Red Moon) (1994)
Hawk Moon (1995)
Harlot’s Moon (1998)
Voodoo Moon (2000)
Sam McCain Series:
The Day the Music Died (1999)
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (2000)
Wake Up Little Susie (2001)
Save the Last Dance for Me (2002)
Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool (2004)
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (2004)
Fools Rush In (2007)
[edit] Dean Koontz Frankenstein series:
From Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series (they are co-authored by Dean Koontz):
Book #2 City of Night
Pen name books
As E.J. Gorman
The Marilyn Letters
The First Lady
Daughter of Darkness
Senatorial Privilege
[edit] As Daniel Ransom
Toys In The Attic (1986)
The Forsaken (1988)
The Babysitter (1989)
Nightmare Child (1990)
The Serpent's Kiss (1992)
The Long Midnight (1992)
Night Screams (1996)
The Zone Soldiers (1996)
As editor and contributor
Stalkers: 19 Original Tales By the Masters of Terror (Dark Harvest Books, 1989)
Cat Crimes (1991) with Martin H. Greenberg
Prisoners and Other Stories (1992)
Dark Whispers (1993)
Cages (1995)
Moonchasers (1996)
Robert Bloch's Psychos (Cemetery Dance Publications, 1997) includes the short story "Out There in the Darkness"
The Big Book of Noir (1998)
Famous Blue Raincoat (1999)
October Dreams (2000)
Such a Good Girl (2001)
The Dark Fantastic (2001)
The Long Silence After (2001)
The Long Ride Back (2004)
Different Kinds of Dead (2006)
Wolf Woman Bay and 9 More of the Finest Crime and Mystery Novellas of the Year! (2007) with Martin H. Greenberg
Tales of Zorro (2008)
Trent Green
Trent Jason Green born July 9, 1970 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Indiana University. Green has also played for the British Columbia Lions, Washington Redskins, St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Rams and was selected to two Pro Bowls with the Chiefs.
Green grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and attended St. John Vianney High School in Kirkwood, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Green played college football at Indiana where during his four year career, threw for 5,400 yards with 23 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. He graduated with a degree in business.
John Hench
John Hench born June 29, 1908 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to February 5, 2004, was an employee of The Walt Disney Company for more than sixty five years, an exceptionally long tenure which saw the rise of nearly every Disney animated feature and theme park. Hench attended numerous art and creative schools across the country, including the Art Students League of New York , the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco, and the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. Starting in 1939 as a story artist, he weaved his way through the animation department doing everything including backgrounds, layout and art direction, even effects animation and special effects. Walt Disney respected Hench as one of the studio's most gifted artists and teamed him with Salvador Dalí on the animated short Destino, a project begun in 1945 that was not completed and released until 2003. By 1954, Hench was in the studio's live action department, as lead developer of the hydraulic giant squid in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, helping to win an Academy Award for Best Special Effects for the film. After working on that live action project, he moved to WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering), to design attractions for an innovative new entertainment medium; Disneyland. Since then, Hench has become synonymous with Disney theme parks, designing the iconic Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, creating the original groundbreaking designs for Space Mountain, and contributing to the Mickey Mouse Revue. One of Hench's most recognizable works is the well known Olympic Torch. Hench also was the "official portrait artist" of Mickey Mouse. In 1990 he was awarded the prestigious Disney Legend award by Disney Studios.
David Hilker
David Hilker is an American singer, musician, songwriter, producer and music industry executive. His music is heard in network, cable and syndicated TV shows, in major and independent films, advertising campaigns, video games and on several record labels. The son of a Lutheran minister, Hilker was born in Clarion, Iowa. His family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa when he was three. The family was musical and David grew up singing in church choirs and listening to his older brother Fred rehearse his bands in their basement. He attended Kenwood Elementary School, Harding Jr. High and briefly Washington High School before dropping out to pursue a career in music. After his brother played him a Jethro Tull record, Hilker picked up the flute. He landed a gig with Cedar Rapids guitar virtuosos Craig Erickson at age 14. Erickson's band recorded Craig's original songs and gigged locally. At 17 Hilker decided to hit the road. He stepped up to the mike as a lead singer (doubling on flute and saxophone) fronting numerous original and cover bands. David's bands recorded and toured extensively in the US and Canada but never achieved more than marginal regional success. Landing in Phoenix, AZ David became affiliated with radio station KZZP. Working with radio personalities Jonathan Brandmeier, Bruce Kelly, Steve Goddard and Crazy Dave Otto he opened shows for America (band), Milli Vanilli, Donny Osmond, Tiffany (singer), Mr. Mister, Buster Poindexter, Neneh Cherry, Glenn Medeiros, Apollonia, Klymaxx and many others. Next Hilker moved to Los Angeles to work for Shore Artist Management where he performed A&R duties for the firm. The company represented the band OXO (band), an act on Geffen Records, as well as several other struggling artists. David soon decided to head back to Phoenix to continue work on his career instead of working on the careers of others. He quickly teamed with songwriting/production partner John Costello. The duo opened Wild Whirled Recording Studios to hone their production and engineering skills. Studio clients included DJ Z-Trip, Kristine W, Glen Campbell Music, Jeff Dayton, Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad), Caroline Records, Michael Shenker, Keel (band), MasterSource Music Catalog, Network Music, OneMusic, The Hollywood Edge, Oregon Catholic Press, FirstCom Music and KTVK to name a few. He also established independent record label Fervor Records. In 1999 Hilker and Costello signed with Fox Family Music to compose for the Fox Family Channel and FoxKids Cartoons. They created custom music libraries for countless shows on both networks. They also composed numerous title themes including Total Access 24/7, a show featuring celebrities including, Christina Aguilera, Lance Bass, Mariah Carey, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, Frankie Muniz, NSync, Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Pink (singer), Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. They also landed the scoring gig for the animated series NASCARRacers and contributed music to the Transformers: Robots In Disguise series. In 2002 David and John teamed with Jeff Freundlich to form the Wild Whirled Music Catalog. The catalog services the music needs of the film, television and advertising industries. Currently David Hilker serves as CEO of Wild Whirled Music, Fervor Records, Trailerville Music and Muzik Headz all based in Phoenix, AZ. Notable credits:
David Hilker's compositions have appeared on every major USA TV network including: A&E Network, ABC Television, ABC Family, AMC (TV network), Animal Planet, Bravo (US TV channel), CBS, CHUM Limited, Comedy Central, CTV Television Network,Discovery Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Disney, E!, Fit TV, FOX, FSN, Fuel, FX (TV network), Global Television Network,Hallmark Channel, HBO, HGTV, Lifetime Television, MTV, MTV 2, NBC, Noggin (TV channel), Oxygen (TV network), Playboy, Sci Fi Channel (United States), Showtime, Soap Opera Network, SPEED (TV channel), Spike (TV channel), Style Network, Starz (TV network), TBS (TV network), Tech TV, The CW, The WB, TLC (TV channel), Turner Network Television, Travel Channel, Univision, UPN, USA Network, VH1 and WE.
ABC
Dancing With The Stars
Ugly Betty
Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series)
Men In Trees
In Case of Emergency (TV series)
Freddie
George Lopez Show
Rodney
The Drew Carey Show
Good Morning America
CBS
Without A Trace
Criminal Minds
Cold Case
CSI: Miami
CSI: NY
Navy NCIS
The Unit
Ghost Whisperer
JAG
The Handler
NBC
My Name Is Earl
The Office
Las Vegas
Crossing Jordan
Surface
Law & Order
Law & Order: SVU
Law & Order: CI
E-Ring
ER
Scrubs
Friends
Medical Investigation
FOX
House
Standoff
Vanished
Reunion
The War at Home (TV series)
King Of The Hill
The Simple Life
FOX NFL Sunday
Malcolm In The Middle
The CW
America's Next Top Model
Everybody Hates Chris
Gilmore Girls
Veronica Mars
Smallville
One Tree Hill
HBO
The Sopranos
Big Love
Empire Falls
OXYGEN
Bad Girls Road Trip
TLC
Miami Ink
LA Ink
TV Themes
The Chris Myers Interview, FSN
Arena Football League, FSN
Total Access 24/7, ABC Family
Mark Henry's 8th theme WWE
Brainstorm, KTVK
Films:
The Lost Coast
Epic Movie
Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
American Wedding
Surviving Christmas
August Rush
Kickin' It Old Skool
Broken English
Species - The Awakening
Wieners
Byline
DOA: Dead Or Alive
Thought Crimes
Butterfly Effect 2
Her Best Move
Harsh Times
Vegas Baby
Wasabi Tuna
Latin Dragon
Road Trip: 24 Hours In Vegas
Bathgate Avenue
Nora's Hair Salon
The Dying Gaul
Video Games:
WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw, PlayStation2
WWE Day of Reckoning 3, Nintendo GameCube
Major labels:
Hilker's song 'Everyone's Home For Christmas' appears on Epic Records recording artists B2K release Santa Hooked Me Up
Hannah Wood
Hannah Blessing Wood born October 7, 1983 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is an American poet and actress. She is the younger sister of actor Elijah Wood, and has had roles in a number of Elijah Wood's films. Hannah was born to Debbie Krause and Warren Wood. She has two brothers, Zachariah "Zach" Wood and Elijah Wood. She got the part in Radio Flyer (1992) through her brother, and has also, more recently, appeared in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) as an extra.
Films:
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
The Osbournes .... Herself (2 episodes, 2002)
Get Stuffed (2002) TV Episode .... Herself
Bark at the Moon (2002) TV Episode .... Herself
Radio Flyer (1992) .... Schoolgirl
Dedric Ward
Dedric Lamar Ward born September 29, 1974 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is a retired NFL wide receiver, having played for the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Northern Iowa. Ward attended and played high school football at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Ward played in 103 regular-season games (26 starts) during his NFL career with 167 receptions for 2,307 yards and 12 touchdowns to go along with 123 punt returns for 1,026 yards. He retired following the 2004 season. Ward first served as wide receivers coach for Missouri State in 2006, as the Arizona Cardinals as offensive quality control coach in 2007, and currently the Kansas City Chiefs' 2009 coaching staff.
Paul Tibbets
Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. born February 23, 1915 to November 1, 2007 was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force, best known for being the pilot of the Enola Gay, the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in the history of warfare. The bomb, code-named Little Boy, was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. He was interviewed in some documentary films about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, like Men Who Brought the Dawn (1995) and Hiroshima (2005). Tibbets was born in Quincy in western Illinois, the son of Paul Tibbets, Sr., and the former Enola Gay Haggard. He was raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where his father was a confections wholesaler. The family was listed there in the 1920 U.S. Federal Population Census. The 1930 census indicates that his family had moved and was living at the time in Des Moines. Thereafter, the family moved to Miami, Florida. Tibbets attended the University of Florida in Gainesville and was an initiated member of the Epsilon Zeta Chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity in 1934. On February 25, 1937, Tibbets enlisted as a flying cadet in the Army Air Corps at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1938 and received his wings at Kelly Field, Texas (later Kelly AFB and now the Kelly Field Annex of Lackland AFB.
Brett Stout
Brett Edward Stout born in Cedar Rapids Iowa in 1978 the son of a successful businesswoman. At the age of 18 he joined the United States Marine Corps where he studied Russian at the renowned Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. After attending a secondary school in Texas he was stationed at Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Base, Hawaii as a Russian cryptologic linguist and weapons marksmanship instructor. He worked in 2000, 2001, and 2002 for the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) before being honorably discharged in 2002. He worked for HIFF under a variety of titles that included Jury Coordinator and Database Administrator. In 2002, the Honolulu Gay & Lesbian Cultural Foundation appointed him as their Executive Director of the foundation and their primary event, now called the Rainbow Film Festival. He remained a member of the board until he left Hawaii to attend the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, Iowa. His passion for writing began when he wrote his first poem in 4th grade almost getting himself suspended from school; he’s been in love with writing ever since. Sugar-baby Bridge is Brett Stout’s debut novel.
Riley Smith
Riley Smith born April 12, 1978 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is an American actor and singer for the band The Life of Riley. Born to parents who owned a horse ranch. He was discovered at a local mall in his hometown by a local talent scout to fly to New York City to compete at the International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) Convention. Smith was signed on to a Tommy Hilfiger modeling campaign. He used the money he earned to pay for his acting classes. Three months later, Smith flew to Los Angeles to do a screen test for the 1998 WB pilot Minor Threat. He landed his first audition for a network pilot and soon moved to Los Angeles. The pilot was not picked up. He has gone on to do eight prime time network pilots, more than a dozen guest-starring roles and three series. He appeared in the films Eight Legged Freaks, Not Another Teen Movie, Radio, New York Minute and the Sundance Grand Jury nominee Weapons. He had a recurring roles in the Emmy-nominated CBS series Joan of Arcadia, the highly acclaimed Emmy FOX show 24 season 3 as Kyle Singer, the short-lived WB series Summerland and the acclaimed Judd Apatow creation for NBC Freaks and Geeks. He was also a main cast member in the short lived fox show Drive. Riley also played Dean Talon in the Disney Channel movie Motocrossed. He played a love interest and mentor to Andy Carson on the race track. He played Russ, the love interest of Mary Elizabeth Winstead's character in the dancing film Make it Happen.
Filmography:
Wild Grizzly (1997) (TV) - Josh Harding
Lovers Lane (1999) - Michael Lamson
Alien Arsenal (1999) (TV) - Chad
Voodoo Academy (2000) - Christopher Sawyer
Bring It On (2000) - Male cheerleader
Chestnut Hill (2001) (TV) - Jamie Eastman
Motocrossed (2001) (TV) - Dean Talon
Raising Dad (2001) TV Series - Jared Ashby
Not Another Teen Movie (2001) - Les
Eastwick (2002) (TV) - Dakota
Eight Legged Freaks (2002) - Randy
Full Ride (2002) - Matt Sabo
National Lampoon's Barely Legal (2003) - Jake
Radio (2003) - Johnny
The Plight of Clownana (2004) - Riley
New York Minute (2004) ....Jim
Spring Break Shark Attack (2005) (TV) - Shane
Weapons (2006) - Jason
White Air (2007) - Alex
Graduation (film) (2007) - Chauncey
One Missed Call (2007) - Brett
Make it Happen (2008) - Russ
Gallowwalker (2009) - Fabulos
TV shows:
7th Heaven - Tyler
Freaks and Geeks - Todd Schellinger
Hang Time - Dave Carter
Once and Again - Pace
Gideon's Crossing - Derek Fitzhugh
McLeod's Daughters - Young Boy #1
Birds of Prey - Guy
Boston Public - Mark
CSI: Miami - Jack
Peacemakers - Eric Soper
24 - Kyle Singer
The Sharon Osbourne Show - Himself
Summerland - Tanner
Hawaii - Sheldon
Joan of Arcadia - Andy Baker
The Way - Karl Boswick (series pilot—not picked up)
Drive - Rob Laird
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Jordan Rockwell
Women's Murder Club - Jamie Galvan
Criminal Minds - Ryan Phillips
Dow Mossman
Dow Mossman, born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is an American writer.
Mossman studied at Coe College for two years, finished college at the University of Iowa and received his M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1969. His novel, The Stones of Summer, was published by Bobbs-Merrill in 1972 and Popular Library a year later. Following the publication of The Stones of Summer, Dow was mentally exhausted and spent several months in an Iowa sanitorium. The novel soon went out of print. One of the unique elements included in the novel are poems and letters from Vietnam sent by Marine officer, Dan Guenther, (U.of Iowa, MFA, 1973) who later published the novels China Wind (Ivy,1990) and Dodge City Blues (Redburn Press, 2007). Mossman occasionally plays snooker at a local taproom and never misses a sale at the Cedar Rapids Library, which has provided him with reading treasures such as several years of bound Century Magazines from the 1890s, and an 1867 translation of Don Quixote which he feels captures Cervantes better than any other. Mossman is an avid Chicago Cubs fan and rides a motorcycle. In 2002, Mossman was the subject of a documentary film by Mark Moskowitz, Stone Reader, which chronicled the director's attempt to resuscitate the acclaimed book and speak to its seemingly vanished author. The film shows Mossman currently living in the home he grew up in, which is filled with books. According to the film, Mossman writes on the porch, and is currently working on a book based on notes he has taken from watching hundreds of old movies. In addition to that book, he is also working on a book of poetry. Mossman lists the memoirs of Casanova as his favorite literary work. As a child, Dow read the Bible, and the complete novels of Arthur Conan Doyle. He describes his reading as pretty "a-list." Prior to Stone Reader, Dow had been employed for 19 years as welder. He subsequently quit to look after his aging mother, who later died, after which he returned to work as a paper bundler for the local newspaper. After the film's release, The Stones of Summer was re-published by Barnes & Noble. He is now semi-retired.
Conger Metcalf
Conger Metcalf born 1914 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to 1998 in Boston, Massachusetts was an American painter. Metcalf began his art studies in 1932 at the Iowa Stone City Art Colony, headed by American Regionalist painter Grant Wood. Metcalf continued his studies at Coe College in Cedar Rapids with Stone City co-founder Marvin Cone. Metcalf graduated from Coe in 1936, then attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He received an honorary doctorate degree from Coe in 1964. During his late twenties, and during his military service in World War II, Metcalf studied European master painters in Italy and France. This formal European influence affected his style, which differs from the earthy realism of his American Regionalist mentors. Metcalf was well-known and very active in the Boston, Massachusetts art community. Today, his works can be seen at the Café Pamplona in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, Massachusetts, and at the Conger Metcalf Gallery at Coe College in Cedar Rapids.
Ron Livingston
Ronald Joseph Livingston born June 5, 1967 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is an American film and television actor. His roles include a disaffected corporate employee in the film Office Space, a writer in a short-term relationship with Carrie Bradshaw in the TV show Sex and the City, and Captain Lewis Nixon in the miniseries Band of Brothers. In 2006, he starred as FBI negotiator Matt Flannery in the FOX series Standoff, co-starring Rosemarie DeWitt, and he was an ad spokesman for Sprint Nextel. Livingston is the son of Linda, a Lutheran pastor, and Kurt Livingston, an aerospace engineer. His younger brother, John, is also an actor; sister Jennifer Livingston is a TV news personality at WKBT in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. He graduated from Marion High School in Marion, Iowa and attended Yale University, where he received B.A. degrees in Theater and English. Livingston relocated to Chicago and became involved in the city's theater scene. Livingston's first film role was in 1992, in Dolly Parton's Straight Talk. He moved to Los Angeles and was cast in supporting roles in Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade and The Low Life. Livingston landed his first role in a major film in 1996's Swingers. He played the male lead in Office Space, which co-starred Jennifer Aniston and was written and directed by Mike Judge. He gave his first serious performance in HBO's Band of Brothers as Captain Lewis Nixon opposite Donnie Wahlberg and Damian Lewis
Wes Obermueller
Wesley Mitchell Obermueller born December 22, 1976 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is a free agent Major League Baseball pitcher with a career ERA of 5.82. He began his career in the Kansas City Royals organization when he was selected in the 2nd round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft. Obermueller played in the Milwaukee Brewers system for three years, prior to being traded to the Atlanta Braves in the winter of 2005 for Dan Kolb. He was released by the Braves on April 17, and then played for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan. Before the 2007 season, he signed with the Florida Marlins. Before the 2008 season, he signed with the Samsung Lions in the KBO and was released in July. Obermueller studied at the University of Iowa.
Robert Bruggeman
Robert "Big Shot" Bruggeman born March 2, 1986 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa was an American football center for the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference. He was signed to a free agent contract by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the conclusion of the 2009 NFL Draft. Bruggeman went to high school at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he earned three varsity letters while playing both offensive and defensive line. During his sophomore year, Rob garnered honorable mention All-Mississippi Valley Conference honors. During his junior and senior seasons, Rob earned first-team All-Conference distinction as well as elite first team All-State honors. BSOC also helped the Warriors post a 21-2 record over those two years, with only one embarrassing loss to end each season (through no fault of his own). He was high school teammates with New Orleans Saints wide reciever Adrian Arrington.
Douglas Barr
Douglas Barr born May 1, 1949 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S. is an American actor, writer and director. He has starred in movies and on television. Douglas' first TV series was in the 1980s TV series When the Whistle Blows. Later on, his big role came on the ABC TV series The Fall Guy as Howie Munson from 1981-1986. His other well known role was in the short lived CBS TV series The Wizard as Alex Jagger from 1986-1987 and he starred on the hit CBS series Designing Women as Bill Stillfield from 1988-1991. His first feature film he starred in was the 1981 horror movie Deadly Blessing and also that year he starred in The Unseen, another horror movie. Douglas's most recent movie was in the 1994 film Temptation. Douglas has directed many TV movies. Douglas has made some guest appearances on TV shows, those appearances range from Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Hotel, and Murder, She Wrote.
Filmography
Taking a Chance on Love (2009) (director & writer)
The Note (2007) (director)
Temptation (1994)
Lady Boss (1992)
But He Loves Me (1991) (TV)
Menu for Murder (1990) (TV)
Spaced Invaders (1990)
Rich Men, Single Women (1990) (TV)
Designing Women tv series
The Wizard (1986) TV series
The Fall Guy tv series
Chris Horn born Nov 11, 1973 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Busch series NASCAR driver
Dave Rummells born 1/26/58 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, went to the University of Iowa, PGA Tour Golf player
Brent Wilson - College basketball player (Albany Great Danes),
David Kummer - College basketball player (Denver Pioneers).
Jim Pate, artist, best known for his art for bands and people such as Black Label Society,Cycle Of Pain,Drowning Pool,Randy Rhoads and Dimebag Darrell Abbott
Jake Settle, NSCAA National Scholar Athlete of the Year 2003, global equity derivatives trader
Bill Smith, All-American football player at Northern Iowa & Ellsworth Community College
MacKinlay Kantor, author (1956 Pulitzer prize for Andersonville)
Cal Eldred - 2005 Major League Baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals, born: Nov 24, 1967),
Betsy Baker
Betsy Baker born May 8, 1955 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is an American actress. She is best known as playing Linda in the cult classic film The Evil Dead. She has resumed acting after a long break from the spotlight.
Fred Baron
Frederick Martin Baron born 1947 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to October 30, 2008 was a trial lawyer best known for representing plaintiffs claiming toxic and chemical exposure. He has also been an active figure in politics as a fund-raiser for the Democratic Party.
Jason Bohannon
Jason Bohannon born 30 December 1987 is a men's basketball guard with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers. He is listed as 6-2. 195 lbs. Bohannon went to high school in Marion, Iowa at Linn-Mar High School and was named "Mr. Basketball" in the state of Iowa following his senior season. He was also named the Gatorade player of the year in Iowa. Jason was a three-time Iowa Newspaper Association All-State first team selection. Bohannon led Linn-Mar to a state championship as a sophomore in 2004, a runner-up finish in 2005, and a fourth place finish in 2006.
Chris Carney
Mariclare Culver
Diane D'Aquila
Michael Daugherty
Barry Davis (amateur wrestler)
T. Cooper Evans
Tom Farmer (American football)
Brenda Frese
Michael J. Graham
George Greene (law)
Kay Halloran
Zac Herold
Ian M. Kintzle
Jon Koncak
Dean Schwarz
Amy Sewell
Edward Simon (choreographer)
Harvey Sollberger
Hartzell Spence
Art Staed
S. Donald Stookey
Dave Williams (American football)
Mike Boddicker ???? born Norway, Iowa
Tim DeBoom
Tim DeBoom born November 4, 1970 is a professional triathlete from Boulder, Colorado.
As of 2005, Tim is a two time winner (2001 & 2002) of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii.
Tim graduated with Bachelor of Science degrees in exercise physiology and anatomy.
Ben Cooper
Benjamin Cooper Ford born August 15, 1975 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, and Milwaukee Brewers. Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball Draft, Ford would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 20, 1998. Ford appeared in his last major league game on September 26, 2004. Ford gave up Home Run 661 to Barry Bonds on April 13th, 2004. Ford was a member of the inaugural Arizona Diamondbacks team that began play in Major League Baseball in 1998.
Dr. Alexander Lippisch
Alexander Martin Lippisch born November 2, 1894 to February 11, 1976 was a German pioneer of aerodynamics. He made important contributions to the understanding of flying wings, delta wings and the ground effect. His most famous design is the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered interceptor.
Lippisch was born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria. He later recalled that his interest in aviation stemmed from a demonstration conducted by Orville Wright, over Tempelhof Field in Berlin, in September 1909. Nonetheless, he planned to follow his father’s footsteps into art school. The outbreak of World War I intervened. During his service with the German Army from 1915–1918, Lippisch had the chance to fly as an aerial photographer and mapper. Following the war, Lippisch worked with the Zeppelin Company, and it was at this time that he first became interested in tail-less aircraft. From 1950–1964 Lippisch worked for the Collins Radio Company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which had an aeronautical division. It was during this time that his interest shifted toward ground effect craft.
Mamie Eisenhower
Mamie Geneva Doud-Eisenhower born November 14, 1896 to November 1, 1979 was the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961. Birthplace of First Lady Mamie Doud Eisenhower, 709 (formerly 718) Carroll Street, Boone, Iowa, was the daughter of John Sheldon Doud, a prosperous meat packer, and Elivera Mathilda Carlson-Doud, Mamie grew up in relative comfort in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Denver, Colorado, and the Doud winter home in San Antonio, Texas.