These are not in any particuliar order but we wanted to give you an idea who we thought were some of the most famous celebrities that came out of the area. I hope you like and if we left someone out shoot us a comment. Nothing is set in stone, ok here we go!
1) Kirk Douglas - Amsterdam NY
Douglas grew up as Izzy Demsky and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas before entering the Navy during World War II, His 1988 biography paints a memorable picture of his family in the early years in America. After noting that his father was denied work in the carpet mills, the town's largest employers, because he was Jewish. His screenwork is legendary!
American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine for more than four decades.
3) Mike Tyson - Catskill
Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles at 20 years, 4 months, and 22 days old. Tyson won his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, 12 of them in the first round.
4) Rachael Ray - Glens Falls
American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated daily talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray, and three Food Network series.
5) Andy Rooney - Albany
American radio and television writer. He was most notable for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney," a part of the CBS News program 60 Minutes from 1978 to 2011. His final regular appearance on 60 Minutes aired October 2, 2011. He died one month later, on November 4, 2011, at age 92.
6) Pat Riley - Schenectady
American professional basketball executive, and a former coach and player in the NBA. Currently, he is team president of the Miami Heat. Widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, visits Schenectady regularly.
7) Grandma Moses - Greenwich
"Grandma Moses", was a renowned American folk artist. She is often cited as an example of an individual successfully beginning a career in the arts at an advanced age. Her family and friends called her either "Mother Moses" or "Grandma Moses", and although she first exhibited as "Mrs. Moses", the press eagerly dubbed her "Grandma Moses", which stuck. LIFE magazine celebrated her 100th birthday by featuring her on its September 19, 1960 cover.
8) David Hyde Pierce - Saratoga
Pierce is best known for playing the psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the hit NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he had won four Emmy Awards during the show's run.
9) Sam Perkins - Latham
Known by the nicknames "Sleepy Sam" and "Big Smooth," he attended Samuel J. Tilden High School, Shaker High School and the University of North Carolina, where he was a teammate of future Hall of Famers James Worthy and Michael Jordan. A member of the 1982 NCAA Tournament championship winning Tar Heel squad, he was selected with the fourth pick of the 1984 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks and played in the NBA from 1984 to 2001
10) Jeff Blatnick - Niskayuna
He won NCAA Division II heavyweight wrestling championships in 1978 and 1979 and won the Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1984 after battling back from cancer.
As a commentator, Blatnick worked UFC 4 through UFC 32 for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He also served as the UFC commissioner and was instrumental in helping the UFC get regulated by the athletic commissions, which kept the sport of mixed martial arts alive during its Dark Ages.
16) Mickey Rourke - Schenectady
During the 1980s, Rourke starred in Diner, Rumble Fish, and the erotic drama 9½ Weeks, and received critical praise for his work in Barfly and Angel Heart. In 1991, Rourke, who had trained as a boxer in his early years, left acting and became a professional boxer for a time. He had supporting roles in several later films, including The Rainmaker, Buffalo '66, The Pledge, Get Carter, Spun, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Man on Fire.
1) Kirk Douglas - Amsterdam NY
Douglas grew up as Izzy Demsky and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas before entering the Navy during World War II, His 1988 biography paints a memorable picture of his family in the early years in America. After noting that his father was denied work in the carpet mills, the town's largest employers, because he was Jewish. His screenwork is legendary!
2) Norman Rockwell - Stockbridge MassAmerican painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine for more than four decades.
3) Mike Tyson - Catskill
Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles at 20 years, 4 months, and 22 days old. Tyson won his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, 12 of them in the first round.
4) Rachael Ray - Glens Falls
American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated daily talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray, and three Food Network series.
5) Andy Rooney - Albany
American radio and television writer. He was most notable for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney," a part of the CBS News program 60 Minutes from 1978 to 2011. His final regular appearance on 60 Minutes aired October 2, 2011. He died one month later, on November 4, 2011, at age 92.
6) Pat Riley - Schenectady
American professional basketball executive, and a former coach and player in the NBA. Currently, he is team president of the Miami Heat. Widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, visits Schenectady regularly.
7) Grandma Moses - Greenwich
"Grandma Moses", was a renowned American folk artist. She is often cited as an example of an individual successfully beginning a career in the arts at an advanced age. Her family and friends called her either "Mother Moses" or "Grandma Moses", and although she first exhibited as "Mrs. Moses", the press eagerly dubbed her "Grandma Moses", which stuck. LIFE magazine celebrated her 100th birthday by featuring her on its September 19, 1960 cover.
8) David Hyde Pierce - Saratoga
Pierce is best known for playing the psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the hit NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he had won four Emmy Awards during the show's run.
9) Sam Perkins - Latham
Known by the nicknames "Sleepy Sam" and "Big Smooth," he attended Samuel J. Tilden High School, Shaker High School and the University of North Carolina, where he was a teammate of future Hall of Famers James Worthy and Michael Jordan. A member of the 1982 NCAA Tournament championship winning Tar Heel squad, he was selected with the fourth pick of the 1984 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks and played in the NBA from 1984 to 2001
10) Jeff Blatnick - Niskayuna
He won NCAA Division II heavyweight wrestling championships in 1978 and 1979 and won the Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1984 after battling back from cancer.
As a commentator, Blatnick worked UFC 4 through UFC 32 for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He also served as the UFC commissioner and was instrumental in helping the UFC get regulated by the athletic commissions, which kept the sport of mixed martial arts alive during its Dark Ages.
11) Maureen Stapleton - Troy
Stapleton was born Lois Maureen Stapleton in Troy, New York, the daughter of Irene (née Walsh) and John P. Stapleton, and grew up in a strict Irish American Catholic family. Her film career was a huge success, being raised in Troy gave her a great sense of family growing up.
12) Shirley Muldowney - Schenectady
Professionally as "Cha Cha" and the "First Lady of Drag Racing", is a pioneer in professional auto racing. She was the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to drive a Top Fuel dragster. She won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1977, 1980 and 1982, becoming the first person to win two and three Top Fuel titles. She has won a total of 18 NHRA national events.
13) Johnny Podres - Glens Falls
American left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. He is perhaps best remembered for being named the Most Valuable Player of the 1955 World Series, pitching a shutout in Game 7 against the New York Yankees to help bring the Dodgers their only World Series title in Brooklyn before their move to Los Angeles after the 1957 season.
14) Martha Quinn - Albany
Quinn was born in Albany, New York, the daughter of Nina Pattison, a retirement counselor, and David Quinn, an attorney. Prior to joining MTV, Quinn graduated from Ossining High School in 1977 and NYU in 1981.
15) Jimmy Fallon - Saugerties
American comedian, actor, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs on NBC. Prior to that he appeared in several films, and was best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2004. On April 3, 2013, NBC announced that Fallon would replace Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show at the conclusion of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
16) Mickey Rourke - Schenectady
During the 1980s, Rourke starred in Diner, Rumble Fish, and the erotic drama 9½ Weeks, and received critical praise for his work in Barfly and Angel Heart. In 1991, Rourke, who had trained as a boxer in his early years, left acting and became a professional boxer for a time. He had supporting roles in several later films, including The Rainmaker, Buffalo '66, The Pledge, Get Carter, Spun, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Man on Fire.
Now I am sure there are quite a few more, we will update this when we get more time. But we hope you can LIKE and Share this page with your friends! Thank You
Some other celebrities that live closeby and or are from here -
James Taylor - Western Mass
William Kennedy - Albany
Gene Shalit (movie critic) - Troy
Ernie Stautner (pittsburgh steelers) - East Greenbush
Johnny Evers (baseball player) - Troy
Abner Doubleday (founder of baseball) - Ballston Spa
Gregory Maguire (author) - Albany
Arlo Guthrie (singer songwriter) - Stockbridge
Chester Arthur (president) - Fairfield Vermont - Kinderhook
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