The Sam Park revue comedy troupe hails from Brooklyn. This is a borough of NYC which has produced a wide variety of famous actors, singers, comedians, politicians, athletes, and many others. Let’s discuss some of these famous people and some other interesting facts about Brooklyn.
The first thing is, who are some famous people who have grown up in Brooklyn? Some of them may even still live there!
One of the most famous people known for being born and bred in Brooklyn was Jackie Gleason. He starred in the Honeymooners TV and many of the scenes portrayed everyday life in a location like Brooklyn.
The actor, movie producer and comedian Woody Allen is another famous person from Brooklyn. Some of the scenes in his movies were shot on location in Brooklyn.
Richard Dreyfus who originally starred in movies like American Graffiti and Mr. Hollands Opus hails from Brooklyn.
Even the beautiful and classy Lauren Bacall came from Brooklyn. A number of other beautiful women are included such as Marisa Tomei and Jennifer Connelly.
The world famous comedian, movie producer, actor and Broadway star Mel Brooks is included in this list. A number of very funny comedians got their start on vaudeville and many acts were booked on Coney Island. Did you know that all of the Three Stooges came from Brooklyn?
Many funny people come from Brooklyn. Not sure what causes it but the list includes Jimmy Fallon, Richard Lewis, Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Joan Rivers, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler and Jerry Seinfeld just to name a few.
Brooklyn natives also include some world famous singers. Notables include Neil Diamon, Neil Sedaka, Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow and Carole King. And the borough was home to some famous rappers like Jay Z, Foxy Brown and Lil Kim.
Other actors from TV include Tony Danza and Scott Baio. Even Tony’s daughter from “Who’s the Boss”, Alyssa Milano came from Brooklyn.
And if sports is more your interest, here are some famous athletes and people associated with sports who originally hail from Brooklyn.
The famous (or infamous) sports announcer Howard Cosell is one; Joe Paterno; baseball great Joe Pepitone; Joe Torre, Larry Brown, tennis great Vitas Gerulaitis, world famous coach Vince Lombardi; Gil Hodges; Bob Ferguson; Mickey Welch; Dave Orr; the great Yankee pitcher Sandy Koufax; Jackie Robinson; basketball legend Michael Jordan; heavyweight champion Mike Tyson; and Lenny Wilkens.
And for those people interested in some fun facts, here you go:
- Brooklyn has three suspension bridges which spans the East River. They are the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and Williamsburg bridge
- Brooklyn is actually part of Long Island. While not known by this, the physical location is actually part of it.
- The family which was directly involved in the design and construction of the Brooklyn bridge was headed by John Roebling. He designed the bridge but died before it could be completed. His son took over day to day responsibilities but he became crippled as a result of the bends while supervising work on one of the bridges main towers. His wife Emily became the primary voice at the construction site while he lay in bed recovering.
Brooklyn certainly has a very rich and interesting history. And as you can see, many world famous individuals were born and raised here. So if you hear someone make fun of Brooklyn, remember that it has produced more than its fair share of famous and influential people.