Famous People from Norwood.
A listing of people from Norwood who have left their mark.
Note: When a person below is said to have been born
in Norwood,
it means that their family was living in Norwood at the time of
their birth. Since there is not and was not a hospital in Norwood,
the only births in town were at-home births.
Click here for addresses
of some "noteworthy" people in Norwood's history.
BASEBALL
Professional baseball players:
- Barton, "Bob' Robert Wilbur - born July 30,
1941, in Norwood.
Catcher; 1965-69 San Franciso Giants, 1970-72 San Diego Padres, 1973
Cincinnati Reds, 1974 S.D. Padres
- Bouldin, Carl (pitcher) - born Sept. 17, 1939,
in Germantown, KY. Played four seasons—1961-64. He played baseball at the
University of Cincinnati, where he holds 3rd place for ERA 1.41 (1959);
also, played college basketball— see BASKETBALL). He played sports at
Norwood High School.
- Golden, Roy - born July 12, 1888, in
Madisonville, Ohio; died October 4, 1961, in Norwood.
played 1910-11 with St. Louis Cardinals.
- Kamenshek, Dorothy "Dottie" - born
December 21, 1925, in Norwood; died May 10, 2010 on Palm Desert, California.
She played first base in 1943-51 and 1953 for the Rockford Peaches in the
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was the league's top
batter in 1946 (.316) and 1947 (.306). She was even recruited by a Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, men's team, but turned it down. In 1999, Sport's
Illustrated chose her as one of the 100 greatest female athletes of the 20th
century. The 1992 film "A League of Their Own" was based on that
league. Geena Davis' character Dottie Hinson was loosely based on Kamenshel
and a few other players.
- Klieman, "Ed" Edward Frederick - born
March 21, 1918, in Norwood; died 11/15/1979.
played 1943-50
- Miller, George C. - born February 19, 1853, in
Newport, Ky; died July 24, 1929, in Norwood.
played 1877 and 1884 for Cincinnati Red Stockings.
- Pape, "Larry" Laurence Albert - born
July 21, 1883 (1885?), in Norwood; died 7/21/1918.
played 1909-12
- Sharman, Ralph Edward - born April 11, 1895 in
Cleveland, Ohio, and lived in Norwood, playing semi-pro for Norwood and the
U. S. Printing Comapny teams; Signed with Giants in September 1915; Played
in minors until his major league debut as outfielder on September 10, 1917
with Philadelphia Athletics in the American League (managed by Connie Mack);
he played 13 games, with a batting average of .297 and 11 hits, that season
with the last game on October 3, 1917. Drowed during a trainingin the
Alabama River on May 24, 1918, while serving as a corporal with Battery F of
the 136th Field Artillery at Camp Sheridan, Alabama; buried in Spring Grove
Cemetery, Cincinnati. He was son of late John Sharman, Norwood Councilman
during Jones administration
- Wellman, "Bob" Robert Joseph - born
July 15, 1925, in Norwood; died 12/20/1994.
played 1948-50
Professional baseball managers:
- Bancroft, Frank - lived in Norwood while
Cincinnati Reds' 30-year business manager and 16-game interim field manager
in 1902 (replacing Bid McPhee, and replaced by Joe Kelley). He organized
many road trips for the Reds, including some to Cuba and Japan. Before
coming to Norwood, he was manager of several teams, including the Providence
Grays, which won the unofficial "first World Series" in 1884.
Carter holds the record for the most professional teams managed — 7.
Major League umpires:
- Goetz, Larry - live at 1917 Waverly; major
league umpire starting in 1936.
BASKETBALL
Coaches:
- Jucker, "Ed" Edwin Louis - born
7/8/1916, in Norwood; died 2/2/2002.
Head coach for national champion University of Cincinnati basketball teams
in 1961 and 1962. Also, head coach for the Cincinnati Royals professional
basketball team. [More Information]
- Bouldin, Carl - born Sept. 17, 1939, in
Germantown, KY. He played high school basketball at Norwood, where he was
the all-time leading scorer. He was a starting guard for the University of
Cincinnati Final Four teams in 1959, 1960 and 1961 and was co-captain for
the 1961 national championship team. He was inducted in Buddy LaRosa's
Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 for Norwood and inducted into the Greater
Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame in April 28, 2004. (Also, played college
baseball— see BASEBALL.)
FOOTBALL
High school, college and professional players:
- Edwards, Marc - born November 17, 1974, in
Norwood, Ohio. Played high school football for the Norwood High School
Indians, where he set a school record of 525 tackles, 6,001 yards rushing
and 73 touchdowns. He played collegiately for Notre Dame and professionally
for San Francisco, Cleveland, New England, Jacksonville and Chicago. He was
the first Norwood High School player ever drafted by the NFL in 1997. He was
inducted in Buddy LaRosa's Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 for Norwood.
HORSE RACING
Jockeys:
- Pickens, Arthur - Norwood-born jockey; winner of
34th Kentucky Derby at age 19 in 1908. His horse was Stone Street.
STAGE & SCREEN
Actors:
- Chakiris, George - A December 14, 1961, Norwood
Enterprise article incorrectly stated that his family moved from
Norwood, while he was in the early grades of elementary school; they moved
to Tucson, Arizona, and then Long Beach, California.
Some differences in this story was told in a December 11, 2011 Cincinnati Enquirer
article.
It stated that his family left Norwood for Arizona when he was 4 and that he
was born September 16, 1932, (a date confirmed by Mr. Chakiris when he
visited the Society's archive room on December 16, 2011—almost all web
sites give the year as 1934) to Greek immigrants, Steven and Zoe Chakiris.
His siblings were Virginia, Catherine, Viola, Harry, Steve, Jr., and Athena.
The same article quotes from his aunt Sophia C. Fergis' book, "Escape
to a New Dawn," that the family came to Norwood from Turkey in 1916.
His father attended North Norwood School. The left for Florida in 1922, but
returned in 1925. At that time they bought a two-story building at 1925
Sherman and Allison Avenues, where they opened a combination ice-cream
parlor, delicatessen and grocery store called the Grecian Garden. George's
grandfather opened a beer garden next door. The aunt left for Florida in
1936, and George's family left for Arizona around 1937.
George sang, danced and acted in theater, movies and TV and has several
record albums; He started his movie career at age 12 in "Song of
Love," as a chorus singer, movies included "Gentle Men Prefer
Blondes," "White Christmas," "There's No Business Like
Show Business" and co-starred as Bernardo in "West Side
Story." He guest starred in several TV shows, e.g. "Hawaii Five-O,
"Wonder Woman," "CHiPs," "Scarecrow and Mrs.
King," "Murder, She Wrote" and "Superboy." He was
also one of the cast in "Dallas" from 1985-86.
On December 16, 2011, George Chakiris return to Norwood for the first time
since his family left almost 75 years ago. He appeared at the Norwood Middle
School (formerly the High School) auditorium, across and slightly east of
his families home and store on Sherman Avenue. Former Miss American and
actress, Lee Meriweather, a friend of another of Norwood's actors,
Vera-Ellen, was the master of ceremonies of the Norwood presentation. Also,
attending were former Miss America Heather French Henry and her husband
Steve Henry, who operate the Rosemary Clooney House museum. Afterwards, the
trio went to George's early childhood home and his family's Grecian Garden
stoer at Sherman and Allison Avenues, Vera Ellen's house and the Norwood
Historical Society's archive room at the Norwood Community Center.
- Mullaney, Jack - born September 18, 1929, in
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania;
lived
as child at 4049 Edwards Road, Norwood, Ohio; attended Sharpsburg
kindergarten, St. Matthew school and graduated from Norwood High School;
moved to New York in 1952 and Los Angeles in 1966; appeared in several early
live television drama productions, such as "Kraft Playhouse
Theater;" in the TV series "The Ann Southern Show,"
"Ensign O'Toole," "My Living Doll" and "It's About
Time" — his first television starring role was in "Old
Tasslefoot" with E. G. Marshall; Broadway plays, e.g. "Barefoot in
the Park," and movies— "Young Stranger" (his first movie),
"Kiss Them For Me," "All The Fine Cannibals" with Jane
Mansfield and Cary Grant, "Honeymoon Machine," "The
Vintage," "Seven Days in May" and "Spin Out" with
Elvis Presley. He also served in the Army during the Korean War. He died
June 27, 1982 in Hollywood, California, and was buried at Gate of Heaven
Cemetery, Montgomery, Ohio.
- Rule, Janice - born August 15, 1931, in Norwood,
Ohio, and died October 17, 2003, in Manhattan, N.Y.; she studied ballet and
starting dancing in Chicago nightclubs at age 15.
Movies from 1951 to 1988 - "Goodbye, My Fancy" (1951), was
her first, although she had a bit part in "Fourteen Hours" that
same year; others included "Starlift" (1951), "Holiday for
Sinners" (1952), "Bell, Book and
Candle" (1958),
"The Swimmer" (1968),
"Three Women" (1977),
"American Flyers (1985), "L.A. Bad" (1986);
Stage - "Miss Liberty" (1949), "Picnic" (1953),
"Flowering Peach," "The Happiest Girl In The World" and
the 1958 play "Night Circus," where she met her future husband Ben
Gazzara;
TV - episodes in "Campbell Summer Soundstage" (1954), "Have Gun - Will
Travel" (1957), "Wagon Train" (1957),
"Playhouse 90" (1957, 1960); "The Twilight Zone" (1960),
"Route 66" (1960-63),
"Dr. Kildare" (1963-64),
"The Defenders" (1964),
"Ben Casey" (1964), "Burke's Law" (1964-65),
"Slattery's People" (1965), "The Fugitive" (1966-67), "The
Danny Thomas Hour" (1967),
"The Devil and Mrs. Sarah" (1971 TV movie), "The Streets of
San Francisco" (1972),
"Barnaby Jones" (1973), "Spenser For
Hire" (1986), "Murder, She Wrote" (1989), "The Ray
Bradbury Theater" (1992).
She received a Ph.D. in psychoanalyis in 1983, after 10 years of study. She
practiced while acting. Her husbands, in order, were N. Richard Nash (1955),
Robert Thom (1960-61) and Ben Gazzara (1961-1982). She had one child by each
of the last two men.
- Swift, Sr., Thad - lived with his grandparents,
Mr. & Mrs. E. Bankson, Grandview Place. He left Norwood after finishing
the ninth grade to start his acting career; movie and TV actor, writer and
producer; movies included "Its a Pleasure!" (1945), where he had a
small part as a trooper and "Virgin In Hollywood" (1952) with a
starring role; parts in TV episodes, eg. a season 2 "Masquerade"
episode of the cowboy show "Bronco" (1960) as "Bowles"
and the season 3 "Bentley and the Combo" episode of "Bachelor
Father" (1960) as Mr. Roseborough.
- Tepe, Amanda - born 1977; theater, movie and TV
actress; movies included the 2006 "Pulse"; TV shows: "General
Hospital" (2004 & 2006); graduated from St. Ursula H.S.
- Vera-Ellen - born 2/16/1921 (1926?) in Norwood
as Vera Ellen Westmeyer Rohe; died 8/31/1981. Started as a dancer and
Broadway actress. She made 14 movies, including "White Christmas"
with Bing Crosby. [More Information]
ARTS
Painters, engravers & illustrators:
- Farny, Henry Francois - born 7/15/1847 in France
as Franzois Henri Farny; died 7/15/1916; lived in Norwood for part of 1880s.
[More Information]
- Knapp, J. A. -
- Meinshausen, George Frederick E. - born 1/6/1855
in Germany to George F. & Doris M.; died 1945. He lived at 4617 Station
Avenue, Norwood, and later at 4217 Bell Street, Norwood, in a house that he
was the architect. He married Emilie Brandes in 1879. He studied at Real
Schule Bremerhaven, Germany (1862-69), McMicken School of Design and
Cincinnati Art School. He exhibited at the 1893 Chicago's World Fair and the
1904 St. Louis Exposition, where he received a silver medal. He had
permanent collections at Cincinnati Art Museum and National Library Gallery
at Washington, D.C. According to 1927 annual report of The U.S. National
Museum, Smithsonian Institution, eleven of his woodcarvings were in their
holdings. In 1901, nine wood engravings framed together were on loan to the
Cincinnati Art Museum.
Sculptor:
- Rebisso, Louis T. - born 1837 in Italy; died May
4?, 1899, in Norwood; Rebisso immigrated to the U.S. in 1857. He became
known for his statues which he manufactured at his own Cincinnati facility
while living in Norwood. Some of his better known works of art were a statue
of Gen. W. H. Harrison, at Cincinnati; a statue of General U. S. Grant, in
Chicago, and the equestrian statues of Gen. J. B. MacPherson, in Washington,
and at Clyde, Ohio.
POLITICS
Governors:
- Foraker, Joseph Benson - born 7/5/1846 in
Highland Co., Ohio; died 5/10/1917.
Also, U. S. Senator and early Norwood School Board member (1877-79).
[More Information]
Legislators:
- Luken, "Tom" Thomas Andrew - born July
9, 1925 in Norwood. Raised in Norwood and Bond Hill. Married 1947 to
Shirley; Deer Park solicitor; U.S. attorney for Southern District;
Cincinnati City Council (1965-67, 1969-73, 1994-95); Cincinnati mayor
(1971-72); 2nd District Congressman (1974-76); 1st District Congressman
(1976-91); SORTA (Southwestern Ohio Regional Transit Authority) board
Judicial:
- Painter, Mark P. was born in Norwood. His career
was in law. He worked as a lawyer for around nine years, until he was
appointed a judge on the Hamilton County Municipal Court. At 34, he was the
youngest judge ever in Hamilton County. After serving two full terms, he was
elected to the Ohio First District Court of Appeals. He eventually left the
court for his current position as a judge for the United Nations Appeals
Tribunal.
BUSINESS
Businessmen:
- Lindner, Carl H., Sr. - born 1883 in Ohio
(possibly Montgomery County); died 12/22/1952 at Jewish Hospital,
Cincinnati. He was a Norwood resident (3902 Floral Avenue) and founder, with
his three sons and daughter, of Norwood-based United Dairy Farmers in 1940.
At his death, UDF had 11 retail stores and the main plant at 3955 Montgomery
Road. After moving to the Cincinnati area, he introduced the
"triple-dip" ice cream cone to the area.
- Albers, William H. - founder of Ohio's 1st
"supermarket" at Montgomery Road & Madison Avenue in 1933;
previously, he was the Kroger President.
- Frisch, David - restaurant experience gained
with operating his father's place and then starting his own Frisch's Café
in 1938 ( both in Norwood) allowed him to create Frisch Big Boy Restaurants.
[More Information]
- Aglamesis, Thomas & Nicholas - after
operating their Norwood Metropolitan ice-cream parlor (which opened in 1908
in Norwood), they went through the Depression with their Oakley Aglamesis
Brothers store. [More
Information]
- Lloyd, John Uri - lived on Harris Avenue; this
pharmacist and his brothers were well known for their medicines and
collection of plant books, which are still used in research by scientists.
- Lane, Colonel Philander P. -
lived on Montgomery Road across from Cypress Way; the house is used as a
funeral home today. He joined with two other businessmen to start the
Norwood Heights subdivision in 1869—the first development in the area to
use the name Norwood. His Cincinnati-based company provided tools and
equipment used throughout the world. Some of the engines that moved the
Cincinnati Inclines were Lane manufactured. Lane elevators were installed in
"high-rises" in many cities. [More
information]
AVIATION
Aviator:
- Corrigan, "Wrong Way" Douglas - born
1/22/1907 as Clyde Groce Corrigan in Texas; he became famous for supposedly
flying the wrong-way from New York to Ireland while attempted to fly to
California; he attended Norwood school in 1920. [More
Information]
MILITARY
- Joseph Ralston - graduated from Norwood High
School in 1961; he was Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
(1996-2000) and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (2000-2003). He held the
highest ranking position in the Air Force.
- Eric W, Benken graduated from Norwood High
School in 1969; at his retirement from the Air Force, he had the rank of
Chief Master Sergeant, the highest noncommissioned officer position in the
Air Force. He was the 12th man to hold that position.
- Charles D. Stackhouse - 1957 graduate of Norwood
High School; he was Class President and played on the school's baseball,
basketball and football teams; as a Navy pilot, he was shot down on April
25, 1967, while flying a mission in Vietnam; released as POW on March 4,
1973, and soon after was given a parade and day in his honor in Norwood. His
rank was Lt. Commander.
