New Orleans Notables
New Orleans Notables
New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau
Our contributions of music and food are deliciously obvious. But the city boasts an astonishing roster of native sons and daughters who have made significant contributions in many other fields of endeavor.
Perhaps it’s the spirit of Mardi Gras. Undeniably, it’s lots of joie de vivre. More than likely, it’s a mystical, magical blend of things that inspired so many local folk to soar to creative heights. Our contributions of music and food are deliciously obvious. But the city boasts an astonishing roster of native sons and daughters who have made significant contributions in many other fields of endeavor. Following are a few born-in-New Orleans notables:
Musicians and Composers
Louis Armstrong: world-famous cornet player and showman
Danny Barker: legendary banjo and guitar-playing jazzman, teacher, and author
Sweet Emma Barrett: great jazz pianist and singer
Sidney Bechet: early jazz master of the soprano saxophone
Al Bernard: author, actor, recording artist, composer of “Shake, Rattle and Rollâ€
Terrence Blanchard: highly acclaimed contemporary jazz trumpet player and Grammy nominee
Buddy Bolden: cornet player of the 1890s, acknowledged by most music historians as the very first jazzman
The Boswell Sisters: great singing trio of the 1930s; inspired the Andrews Sisters of the 1940s
George Brunies: celebrated jazz trombonist of the 1920s; appeared with Ted Lewis and his band.
Kitty Carlisle: singer, actress and game show personality, married to playwright Moss Hart
Harry Connick, Jr.: Grammy-winning musician, singer and actor
Edmond Dede: famous 19th century violinist, conductor and composer of operettas, ballet and chamber music
Antoine “Fats†Domino: one of the founding fathers of rhythm and blues, renowned for “Blueberry Hill†and “Walking to New Orleansâ€
Dr. John (Mac Rebennack): “The Night Tripper,†famous New Orleans R&B pianist
Pete Fountain: celebrated New Orleans clarinetist, entertainer and recording artist
Louis Moreau Gottschalk: internationally acclaimed 19th century composer and pianist-virtuoso
Ernest Guiraud: composer and professor of music at the Paris Conservatory
Ernie Hare: radio and recording star of the 1920s and ‘30s, famous as one of the Happiness Boys
Al Hirt: renowned trumpet player, performer and recording artist
Mahalia Jackson: one of the world’s greatest gospel singers
Willie “Bunk†Johnson: legendary jazz trumpet player and recording artist
Nick LaRocca: founder of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, which made the first jazz recording
George Lewis: early 20th century jazz clarinetist
Joseph “Wingy†Manone: famous trumpeter who appeared in films with Bing Crosby
Branford Marsalis: jazz saxophonist, and erstwhile leader of the Tonight Show band
Ellis Marsalis: jazz pianist, educator, and father of the Marsalis brothers
Delfeayo Marsalis: jazz and classical trombonist, music producer and arranger
Jason Marsalis: jazz percussionist, youngest of the Marsalis musicians
Wynton Marsalis: jazz and classical trumpet player, who won his first Grammy Award at age 21
Paddy McGuire: musical comedy and burlesque star, appeared in Charlie Chaplin silent films of the early 1900s
Ferdinand “Jelly Roll†Morton: famous turn-of-the-20th-century jazz piano player
The Neville Brothers: Grammy-winning musical family: Aaron, Art, Charles and Cyril
Jimmy Noone: great clarinetist of New Orleans jazz
Joseph “King†Oliver: cornetist, bandleader and principle mentor of Louis Armstrong
Marguerite Piazza: operatic soprano, featured in Your Show of Shows
Genevieve Pitot: dance composer of the early Broadway musical theater
Louis Prima: jazz great, known for “Just a Gigolo†and “Buona Seraâ€
Leon Roppolo: great 1920s “Dixieland†clarinetist and saxophone player
Allen Toussaint: famed composer, recording artist and producer of popular music; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
Norman Treigle: opera star of the New York City Opera during the 1950s and ‘60s
Bert Williams: African American composer of the ‘20s and ‘30s.
Spencer Williams: early 20th century songwriter
Actors, Singers, and Entertainers
Vernel Bagneris: actor and creator of the musical One Mo’ Time
The Boswell Sisters: great singing trio of the 1930s; inspired the Andrews Sisters of the 1940s
Kitty Carlisle: singer, actress and game show personality, married to playwright Moss Hart
Ellen Degeneres: actress and comedian, star of the hit sitcom Ellen
Dorothy Dell: Miss New Orleans, Miss America and Miss Universe, appeared as a Ziegfeld Girl, then became a film star in Little Miss Marker
Robert Edeson: actor, early 20th century matinee idol; appeared in such silent movie epics as The King of Kings and The Ten Commandments
Minnie Maddern Fiske: one of the most famous actresses of the 1890s and early 1900s, renowned for her performances in Ibsen’s plays, Mrs. Fiske also co-managed and directed plays for the Manhattan Theatre
Peter Gennaro: dancer and Tony Award-winning choreographer of Broadway musicals, TV and films
Bryant Gumbel: TV personality, former host of NBC’s Today Show
Ernie Hare: radio and recording star of the 1920s and ‘30s, famous as one of the Happiness Boys
Mahalia Jackson: one of the world’s greatest gospel singers
Leatrice Joy (Zeilder): silent film star who appeared in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 The Ten Commandments
Dorothy Lamour: star of the famous “Road†movies with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
John Larroquette: 1985 Emmy Award-winning actor of Night Court
Paddy McGuire: musical comedy and burlesque star, appeared in Charlie Chaplin silent films of the early 1900s
Garrett Morris: comedian and original cast member of Saturday Night Live
Ed Nelson: actor, starred in Peyton Place
Marguerite Piazza: operatic soprano, featured in Your Show of Shows
Richard Simmons: TV exercise show host and nutritionist
Edward Hugh Sothern: distinguished turn-of-the-20th-century stage actor of Shakespearean plays and romantic comedies
Jay Thomas: actor, star of Cheers and Murphy Brown
Norman Treigle: opera star of the New York City Opera during the 1950s and ‘60s
Ray Walston: actor, star of My FavoriteMartian
Restaurateurs
Jules Alciatore: founder, in 1840, of Antoine’s Restaurant
Ella Brennan: Matriarch of New Orleans’ most prolific family of restaurateurs
Leah Chase: World-renowned African-American restaurateur
Writers, Sculptors, Photographers and Editors
Ernest J. Bellocq: photographer of Storyville denizens
(Marie) Marguerite Bouvet: 19th centurycauthor of Sweet William and other children’s stories
Pierce Butler: early 20th century academic author and biographer
George Washington Cable: 19th century writer, friend of Mark Twain, author of Old Creole Days and other “local color†books about New Orleans
Truman Capote: author of In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Florence Converse: former editor of Atlantic Monthly
George Fort Gibbs: artists and author of adventure books
Ellen Gilchrist: award-winning author of novels, short stories and poems
Shirley Ann Grau: Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Keepers of the House
Angela Gregory: internationally acclaimed sculptor, whose local works include the statue of Bienville and the John McDonough monument
Edith Ogden Harrison: author of The Moon Princess and other children’s books
Lillian Hellman: noted author whose works include Julia and The Little Foxes
George Herriman: cartoonist best known for Krazy Kat
Walter Isaacson: Head of the Aspen Institute and former chairman and CEO of the CNN News Group
Harnett T. Kane: author of books about the South and New Orleans in particular
Frances Parkinson Keyes: author of Dinner at Antoine’s
Albert Lee: an editor of Colliers Weekly and Vanity Fair
Miriam Florence Folline Leslie: editor of Leslie’s Weekly, the principal home magazine of the 19th century
Anne Rice: author of best-selling vampire chronicles Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned
Robert Tallant: noted author of historical works about New Orleans and fiction
John Kennedy Toole: Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Confederacy of Dunces
Sports and Games
Zeke Bonura: Major League baseball player of the 1930s and 40s; one of the longest long-ball hitters of his era
Tony Canzoneri: featherweight and lightweight boxing champion for two years
Paul Morphy: 19th century chess champion, called the “father of modern chessâ€
Mel Ott: Major League baseball player, played 22 seasons with the NY Giants, 1920s to 40s; Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, credited with 511 career home runs
Mel Parnell: Major League baseball player, pitched 10 seasons for the Boston Red Sox from 1940s to 50s
Daniel Joseph “Rusty†Staub: 1960s to 80s Major League baseball player for NY Mets and Detroit Tigers
Harry Wills: African-American heavyweight boxer of the 1920s, inducted into the Hall of Fame; known as the Brown Panther of New Orleans
Politics, Business, and Industry
Anne Armstrong: a major force in the Republican Party; served as Counselor to Presidents Nixon and Ford; was Ambassador to Great Britain under Ford
Lindy Boggs: Served nine terms in the House of Representatives after the death of her husband, Rep. Hale Boggs; named US Ambassador to the Vatican in 1998 at age 81
Pierre Crabites: internationally celebrated jurist
John Hampson: inventor of Venetian blinds, patented in 1841
William Jefferson: first African-American since Reconstruction to be elected to Congress, a member of the House Ways & Means Committee
Moses Koenigsberg: founder in 1915 of King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Maurice “Moon†Landrieu: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in former President Carter’s Cabinet and former mayor of New Orleans
Josef Delarose Lascaux: inventor of cotton candy and cotton candy machine
DeLesseps S. “Chep†Morrison: President Kennedy’s Ambassador to the Organization of American States and four-term New Orleans mayor
Baroness Micaela Pontalba: 19th century entrepreneur who built the first apartment house in the United States
Nobert Rillieux: famous African-American engineer who invented the vacuum chamber and revolutionized the sugar industry
Cokie Roberts: political correspondent for ABC and NPR
Sara Walker: first black female millionaire in US
Edward Douglas White: Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court 1894–1921
A. Baldwin Wood: Sewerage & Water Board engineer whose 38 patented inventions include the Wood screw pump and the Wood trash pump
Andrew Young: former U.N. Ambassador and Atlanta mayor
Naturalized Citizens of New Orleans
New Orleans gets in the blood. We count among our most honored citizens those who came, who saw, who were conquered by New Orleans. Following are some New Orleans notables who might as well have been born here:
John Goodman: star of the big and small screens
M. W. Heron: Created Southern Comfort in 1874 at a French Quarter tavern
Susan Spicer: Chef and owner of top-tier restaurants Bayona, Cobalt and Herbsaint
Delta Burke: and husband Gerald McRaney actress/actor
Hoda Kotbe: Dateline NBC correspondent, former news anchor and correspondent for WWL-TV New Orleans Channel 4, a CBS affiliate.
Lenny Kravitz: Musician
Len Cannon: Dateline NBC correspondent, former news anchor and correspondent for WWL-TV New Orleans Channel 4, a CBS affiliate.
Taylor Hackford: Emmy and Academy Award-winning director of An Officer and a Gentleman, Against All Odds and Ray.
Bob Dylan: singer and songwriter
Frances Ford Coppola: writer, director, and producer known best by The Godfather trilogy
Terry Bradshaw: Hall of Fame quarterback and two-time Super Bowl MVP, he is also a sports analysts, an actor and a top-selling gospel singer with three hit albums
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