List of people from Akron, Ohio explained

The following people were all born in or were residents of the city of Akron, Ohio, United States.

Name	Occupation/industry	Description	Association	Reference
Henry Eugene Abbey	Theatre	Theatre manager and producer	Born in Akron	^[1]
Richard F. Abel	Military	U.S. Air Force brigadier general	Born in Akron	^[2]
John R. Adams	Judge	Federal judge on U.S. District Court for Northern District of Ohio	Practiced in Akron	^[3]
James E. Akins	Politician	U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1973 to 1976	Born and raised in Akron	^[4]
Lola Albright	Actress and singer	Starred in TV series Peter Gunn and films such as Kid Galahad	Born and raised in Akron	^[5]
Andy Alleman	Athlete	Football center for Miami Dolphins	Born in Akron	^[6]
Harold Anderson	Athlete	Basketball coach at Bowling Green State and University of Toledo	Born in Akron	^[7]
R. W. Apple, Jr.	Writer	Editor, writer for The New York Times	Born in Akron	^[8]
Joseph Arthur	Musician	Musician and artist	Born and raised in Akron	^[9]
Dan Auerbach	Musician	Solo musician, guitarist for The Black Keys, owner of Akron Analog Recording Studios	Born and raised in Akron	^[10]
William Hanes Ayres	Politician	Republican member of U.S. House of Representatives	Represented Akron in Congress	^[11]
Josh Azzarella	Artist	Artist	Born in Akron	^[12]
E.T. Barnette	Politician	Founder of Fairbanks, Alaska and its first mayor	Born in Akron	^[13]
Alice M. Batchelder	Attorney	Attorney and jurist, currently chief judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for Sixth Circuit	Practiced in Akron	^[14]
Elsworth R. Bathrick	Politician	U.S. Representative	Worked in Akron
Tom Batiuk	Cartoonist	Comic strip creator (Funky Winkerbean, Crankshaft)	Born in Akron	^[15]
Cliff Battles	Athlete	Football player	Born in Akron	^[16]
Margaret Baxtresser	Musician	Classical pianist	Supporter of Akron	^[17]
Art Becker	Athlete	Basketball player	Born in Akron	^[18]
Sam H. Bell	Judge	Federal judge on U.S. District Court for Northern District of Ohio	Practiced in Akron
Terry Bevington	Athlete	Baseball player and manager	Born in Akron
George Bliss	Politician	Congressman	Practiced and worked in Akron
Ray C. Bliss	Politician	Republican Party leader	Born and worked in Akron
Mark Bloch	Artist	Artist	Raised in Akron
Jim Boeke	Athlete	Football player	Born and raised in Akron
Phil Boggs	Athlete	Diver, 1976 Olympic gold medalist	Born and raised in Akron
Dante Booker	Athlete	Football player	Born and raised in Akron
Rosario Borgio	Criminal	Mobster	Worked in Akron
William Boyett	Actor	Actor	Born in Akron
Dave Brown	Athlete	Football player	Born and raised in Akron
John Brown	Politician	Abolitionist	Worked in Akron
Walter Hermann Bucher	Scientist	Geologist and paleontologist	Born in Akron
Michael Buckley	Writer	Author of The Sisters Grimm and NERDS series	Born in Akron
E. J. Burt	Athlete	Football player	Born and raised in Akron
River Butcher	Actor	Stand-up comic, co-creator and co-star of Take My Wife	Born and raised in Akron	^[19]
Jimmy Butler	Actor	Actor	Born in Akron
Glen Buxton	Musician	Guitarist for Alice Cooper	Born in Akron
Patrick Carney	Musician	Drummer for The Black Keys, bassist for band Drummer	Born and raised in Akron
Bob Casale	Musician	Musician, Devo	Raised in Akron
Gerald Casale	Musician	Musician, Devo	Raised in Akron
Len Chandler	Musician	Folk musician	Born in Akron
David Allan Coe	Singer	Country music artist	Born in Akron
Russell Coffey	Military	World War I veteran	Lived in Akron
Arthur L. Conger	Historian	Theosophist	Born in Akron
Deborah L. Cook	Judge	Federal judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for Sixth Circuit	Practiced in Akron
Jarrod Cooper	Athlete	Football player	Born in Akron
Cheryl Crawford	Theatre	Director and producer	Born in Akron
Mark Croghan	Athlete	Five-time national champion in steeplechase	Born in Akron
Stephen Curry	Athlete	Basketball player for Golden State Warriors, four-time NBA champion	Born in Akron
Ruby Nash Curtis	Singer	Singer of Ruby & The Romantics	Born in Akron
Hammer Damage	Singer	Rock band	Formed in Akron
Keith Dambrot	Athlete	Basketball coach	Born, raised, and worked in Akron
Jimmy Darrow	Athlete	Basketball player	Born in Akron
John Dean	Politician	White House counsel to Richard Nixon
Charles W. F. Dick	Politician	U.S. Senator (Republican)
Frank Dicopoulos	Actor	Actor
Michael Dokes	Athlete	Boxer, WBA World Heavyweight Champion 1982–1983	Born in Akron
Lloyd C. Douglas	Minister	Minister, author
Rita Dove	Writer	Poet
Hugh Downs	TV	TV journalist and personality, 20/20
Peter C. Economus	Judge	Federal judge on U.S. District Court for Northern District of Ohio	Practiced in Akron
Sidney Edgerton	Politician	19th-century politician
Bruce L. Edwards	Academic and author	Bowling Green State University professor and C. S. Lewis scholar	Born in Akron	^[20] |-|Eddie Elias|Athlete|Founder of Professional Bowlers Assn.|||-|Harold G. Epperson|Military|Decorated U.S. Marine|||-|Eugene C. Eppley|Corporate executive|Hotel mogul|||-|Angie Everhart|Actress|Model and actress|||-|Fritzi Fern|Actress|Actress|||-|Harvey Samuel Firestone|Corporate executive|Founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company|Lived in Akron||-|Leonard Firestone|Corporate executive|Industrialist|||-|Steve Fitzhugh|Athlete|Football player|||-|Art Fleming|TV|TV game show host, Jeopardy|||-|Carol Folt|College executive|President, University of Southern California|Born in Akron||-|Martha Firestone Ford|Business executive|Owner and chairwoman of NFL's Detroit Lions|Born in Akron||-|Trent Ford|Actor|Actor, model|||-|Mike Fox|Athlete|Football player|||-|Elizabeth Franz|Actress|Tony Award and Obie Award-winning actress|||-|Shirley Fry|Athlete|Tennis player|||-|Ruby Nash Garnett|Singer|Singer of Ruby & the Romantics|Born in Akron||-|William H. Gerstenmaier|NASA|NASA administrator|||-|Joe Glazer|Musician|Musician|||-|Dick Goddard|Scientist|Meteorologist|||-|Harvey Gold|Musician|Musician|||-|Bob Golic|Athlete|Football player, radio personality|||-|Mike Golic|Athlete|Football player|||-|Benjamin Goodrich|Corporate executive|Founder of B.F. Goodrich Company|||-|Jim Graner|TV|Sports anchor at WKYC; color commentator for Cleveland Browns radio|Born in Akron|^[21] |-|Brad Guigar|Cartoonist|Cartoonist|||-|James S. Gwin|Judge|Federal judge on U.S. District Court for Northern District of Ohio|Practiced in Akron||-|Kris Haines|Athlete|Football player|||-|Dave Hampton|Athlete|Football player|||-|Leon Harris|TV|Television journalist|||-|James Harrison|Athlete|Football player for Pittsburgh Steelers, two-time Super Bowl champion|||-|Dow W. Harter|Politician|U.S. Representative|||-|Umar Bin Hassan|Writer|Poet|||-|Anne Heche|Actress|Star of films like Volcano, Psycho, Cedar Rapids|||-|John Heisman|Actor, athlete, coach|Football and baseball coach at Buchtel College (now known as the University of Akron); Heisman Trophy named in his honor|Lived in Akron|^[22] |-|Carol Heiss|Athlete|Figure skater, Olympic gold medalist, five-time world champion|||-|Daniel Hesidence|Artist|Painter||- |Howard Hewett|Singer|Gospel and R&B singer|||-|Michael Holley|Writer|Sports journalist|||-|M. Herbert Hoover|Politician|Politician|||-|Roger Hoover|Singer|Singer, musician|||-|Walter B. Huber|Politician|U.S. Representative|||-|Rex Humbard|Televangelist|Televangelist|||-|Craig Hummer|TV|Sportscaster|||-|Chrissie Hynde|Singer|Musician, leader of The Pretenders|||-|James Ingram|Musician|Singer, songwriter, two-time Grammy Award winner|Born in Akron||-|Lux Interior|Musician|Singer and founding member of The Cramps |||-|Shirley Fry Irvin|Athlete|Hall of Fame tennis player|Born in Akron||-|Ike Isaacs|Musician|Jazz bassist|Born in Akron|^[23] |-|Sandi Jackson|Politician|Politician|||-|LeBron James|Athlete|Basketball player for Los Angeles Lakers, four-time NBA champion|Born and raised in Akron|^[24] |-|Jim Jarmusch|Filmmaker|Director of films such as Down by Law, Broken Flowers |||-|David Jenkins|Athlete|Figure skater, Olympic gold medalist, three-time world champion|||-|Hayes Alan Jenkins|Athlete|Figure skater, 1956 Olympic gold medalist|||-|Helen Jepson|Singer|Soprano|||-|Gus Johnson|Athlete|Basketball player, television sportscaster|||-|Steve Johnson|Athlete|Basketball player|||-|Grandpa Jones|Musician|Musician, comedian (Hee-Haw)|||-|Melina Kanakaredes|Actress|Star of television series Providence, |||-|Salaria Kea|Nurse|Nurse|||-|Maynard James Keenan|Singer|Singer, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer|Born in Akron||-|Dean Keener|Coach|Basketball coach|||-|Herman Keiser|Athlete|Golfer, 1946 Masters champion|||-|Charlton Keith|Athlete|Football player|||-|Phil Kline|Musician|Composer|||-|Bob Knepper|Athlete|Major League Baseball pitcher|||-|Charles Landon Knight|Attorney|Publisher, politician|||-|James L. Knight|Writer|Publisher|||-|John S. Knight|Writer|Publisher|||-|Parke Kolbe|College executive|College president|||-|Heather Kozar|Model|Model; former Barker's Beauty on The Price Is Right|||-|Brock Kreitzburg|Athlete|Bobsledder|||-|Art Kusnyer|Athlete|Baseball player and coach|||-|Jani Lane|Singer|Lead singer of Glam metal band Warrant|Born in Akron||-|Jerome Lane|Athlete|Basketball player|||-|Bob Lape|TV|Television journalist|||-|Mortimer Dormer Leggett|Military|Civil War officer|||-|Dana Leonardi|Musician|Owner of the world famous Derby Nightclub (A Historical Landmark in Los Angeles)|raised in Akron||-|Bob Lewis|Singer|Founder of Devo|||-|Thomas Lewis|Athlete|Football player|||-|Frank Fowler Loomis|Engineer|Inventor and city director of mechanical engineering|Born and raised in Akron|^[25] |-|David Lough|Athlete|Baseball player|Born in Akron||-|Liam Lynch|Musician|Musician, puppeteer, Sifl and Olly|||-|Dylan Mabin|Athlete|Football player|Born in Akron||-|John Magaro|Actor|Actor|Born in Akron|^[26] |-|Doug Marsh|Athlete|Football player|||-|Thomas E. Martin|Politician|Iowa politician|||-|Mike Massie|Politician|Wyoming politician|||-|Banjo Matthews|Athlete|NASCAR driver|||-|Andy McCollum|Athlete|Football player|||-|Moses McCormick|YouTuber|YouTube personality|Born in Akron||-|Gates McFadden|Actress|Actress|Born in Akron|^[27] |-|Frances McGovern|Politician|U.S. Representative|||-|Charles McGraw|Actor|Stage, film and television actor||^[28] |-|Marian Mercer|Actress|Tony Award-winning actress of stage, film and TV|||-|Paul T. Mikolashek|Military officer|U.S. Army lieutenant general|Born and raised in Akron|^[29] |-|Gene Mingo|Athlete|Football player|||-|Dan Moldea|Writer|Journalist and author|||-|Vaughn Monroe|Singer|Recording artist, actor, bandleader on Hollywood Walk of Fame|||-|Michael Morell|TV|ICIA director, TV analyst|||-|Brian Mosteller|Politician|Director of Oval Office Operations for President Barack Obama|||-|Bob Mothersbaugh|Musician|Musician, member of Devo|||-|Jim Mothersbaugh|Musician|Musician, member of Devo|||-|Mark Mothersbaugh|Musician|Musician, member of Devo|||-|Scott Muni|Radio|Radio personality|||-|Thurman Munson|Athlete|Baseball player, seven-time All-Star, 1976 American League MVP|||-|Ron Negray|Athlete|Baseball player|||-|John Neidert|Athlete|Football player|Born in Akron||-|Donnie Nickey|Athlete|Football player|||-|Pete Nischt|Musician|Musician|||-|Gabe Norwood|Athlete|Basketball player for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters|||-|Russell Oberlin|Musician|Musician|||-|Les Olsson|Athlete|Football player|||-|Stanford R. Ovshinsky|Scientist|Inventor and scientist|||-|Chris Owens|Athlete|Basketball player|||-|Tim "Ripper" Owens|Singer|Singer, replaced Rob Halford in Judas Priest; inspiration for movie Rock Star|Born in Akron||-|Paige Palmer|TV|Fitness expert, TV personality|||-|John Parry|Sports official|Football official|||-|Ara Parseghian|Coach|Football coach, Notre Dame|||-|Jaroslav Pelikan|Theologian|Christianity scholar|||-|Simon Perkins|Founder|Settler, surveyor|||-|Ronald Phillips|Murderer|Child murderer |Executed for rape and murder of child|-|Antonio Pittman|Athlete|Football player|||-|Terry Pluto|Writer|Sports journalist|||-|Shawn Porter|Athlete|Professional boxer|||-|Ricky Powers|Athlete|Football player|||-|Edward Pramuk|Artist|Artist|Born in Akron||-|Richard Quick|Athlete|Swimming coach|||-|Robert Quine|Musician|Guitarist|||-|Willard Van Orman Quine|Philosopher|Philosopher|||-|Ron Rector|Athlete|Football player|||-|Robin Reed|Biologist|Cell biologist|Born in Akron|^[30] |-|James W. Reilly|Politician|Politician|||-|Nikola Resanovic|Musician|Composer|||-|Judith Resnik|NASA|Astronaut, killed in Challenger explosion|Born and raised in Akron||-|Butch Reynolds|Athlete|Track-and-field star, gold medalist in 1988 Olympics ||^[31] |-|Jennifer Niederst Robbins|Corporate executive|Designed the web's first commercial site|||-|Sydne Rome|Actress|Actress|||-|Edmund Rowe|Politician|U.S. Representative|||-|Ed Sadowski|Athlete|Basketball player|Born in Akron||-|Wilbur F. Sanders|Politician|Montana politician|||-|Thomas C. Sawyer|Politician|Politician|||-|Bo Schembechler|Coach|Football coach, University of Michigan|||-|Mark Schubert|Coach|Swimming coach|Born and raised in Akron||-|Francis Seiberling|Politician|U.S. Representative|||-|Frank Seiberling|Corporate executive|Founder of Goodyear Tire and Rubber|Born in Akron||-|John F. Seiberling|Politician|U.S. Representative|||-|Luke Sewell|Athlete|Baseball player and manager|||-|Chuck Share|Athlete|Basketball player|||-|Denny Shute|Athlete|Golfer|||-|Matt Simon|Athlete|Football player|||-|Harry Simpson|Athlete|Baseball player|||-|George Sisler|Athlete|Baseball player, member of Hall of Fame|||-|Richard Smalley|Scientist|Physicist, winner of Nobel Prize|||-|Bob Smith|Founder|Founder of Alcoholics Anonymous|||-|Neal Smith|Musician|Drummer for Alice Cooper|||-|Mark Smucker|Business executive|CEO of The J.M. Smucker Company|Resident of Akron since 2002|^[32] |-|Donald Ray Snodgrass|Author|Author|||-|Mark Stevens|Actor|Star of films such as The Dark Corner, The Street with No Name|||-|Chris Stuckmann|Film critic|Film critic, filmmaker, author, and YouTuber|||-|Betty Sutton|Politician|U.S. Representative for 13th Congressional District|Practiced in Akron||-|Tyrell Sutton|Athlete|Football player|||-|Rachel Sweet|Actress|Singer, actress and TV writer|||-|Michael Tarver|Athlete|Professional wrestler|||-|Gene Thomas|Athlete|Football player|||-|Nate Thurmond|Athlete|Basketball player, member of Hall of Fame|||-|Todd Tobias|Musician|Musician|||-|Aiden Wilson Tozer|Author|Preacher, author|||-|Bill Upham|Athlete|Baseball player|||-|William H. Upson|Politician|19th-century politician|||-|Claude Virden|Athlete|Basketball player|||-|Mike Vrabel|Athlete|Former NFL player and head coach of the Tennessee Titans since 2018|||-|Michael Wadleigh|Director|Director and cinematographer, filmed documentary of 1969 Woodstock Festival, Woodstock|||-|Ramon Walker|Athlete|Football player|||-|Brad Warner|Musician|Zen priest, musician|||-|Chris Wells|Athlete|Football player for Arizona Cardinals|||-|Jesse White|Actor|Actor, known as Maytag Repairman in 1967–1988 commercials|Raised in Akron||-|Josh Williams|Athlete|Professional soccer player|Born in Akron|^[33] |-|Wendell Willkie|Politician|Presidential candidate, lawyer|Worked in Akron||-|Dan Wilson|Musician |Jazz guitarist|Raised in Akron ||-|Melinda Windsor|Model|Playboy model|||-|Antoine Winfield|Athlete|Football player|||-|Ray Wise|Actor|Known for films and TV series such as Twin Peaks, 24|||-|Sam Wise|Athlete|Baseball player|||-|Gene Woodling|Athlete|Baseball player|||-|George Younce|Southern gospel singer|Bass vocalist for the Cathedral Quartet|Resident of Akron||-|Kim Zurz|Politician|Politician|||-|} Fictional people from Akron, Ohio Jiminy Glick, fictional talk-show host portrayed by Martin Short on film and TV J. Reid, in In Too Deep, played by Omar Epps References

Notes and References

1. Book: Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896 . . 1967.
2. Web site: Brigadier General Richard F. Abel . United States Air Force . 2013-06-03 . https://archive.today/20130626170423/http://www.af.mil/information/bios/bio.asp?bioID=4463 . 2013-06-26 . dead.
3. https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391781 Federal Judiciary Center
4. Web site: Features . Akron Update . . 2004-02-02 . 2008-04-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080401233554/http://www.uakron.edu/aupdate/Feb022004/Feature_92.php . April 1, 2008.
5. News: Peter Gunn Digs a Canary--That 'Way Out' Lola Albright . 1958-12-27 . . 1.
6. Web site: Andy Alleman - Stats, Bio . . 2009-01-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081210165324/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/players/8342/index.html . December 10, 2008.
7. Web site: Hall of Fame Feature- W. Harold Anderson . . . 2009-03-20 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081010072744/http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/bhof-w-harold-anderson.html . October 10, 2008.
8. News: Purdum . Todd S. . 2006-10-05 . R.W. Apple, a Times Journalist in Full, Dies at 71 . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-02-22 . 0362-4331.
9. Web site: [{{AllMusic |class=artist |id=p202311 |pure_url=yes}} allmusic (((Joseph Arthur - Overview)))]. Allmusic. 2010-07-19.
10. News: The Black Keys, Gomez & Ash Grunwald . Easton . Max . 2009-01-12 . Soulshine.com.au . 1 . 2009-01-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091020181716/http://www.soulshine.com.au/_article/2009/01/12/411-the-black-keys-gomez-ash-grunwald-luna-park-sydney-9th-jan-2008-.html . October 20, 2009.
11. http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/aylesworth-azro.html The Political Graveyard
12. http://www.artnet.com/artists/josh-azzarella/biography Josh Azzarella Biography
13. http://www.litsitealaska.org/index.cfm?section=digital-archives&page=People-of-the-North&cat=Heroes-and-Scoundrels&viewpost=2&ContentId=2664 LitSite Alaska: E. T. Barnette
14. Web site: Batchelder, Alice Moore - Federal Judicial Center . www.fjc.gov.
15. http://www.crankshaftcomic.com/ourbios.aspx Crankshaft - Author bios
16. Web site: Pro Football Researchers . Cliff Battles . 2008-06-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101010194356/http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/22-03-848.pdf . 2010-10-10.
17. Web site: Margaret Baxtresser: A life In Tune . 2007-03-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061205213029/http://summary.net/debussy/lifeintune.html . 2006-12-05.
18. b/beckear01 . Art Becker . September 27, 2018.
19. News: Rabinowitz . Amanda . Comedian Rhea Butcher Keeps Akron at the Heart of Her Success . August 26, 2016 . WKSU . December 11, 2019.
20. https://www.toledoblade.com/Deaths/2015/11/05/Bruce-Edwards-1952-2015-B-G-professor-noted-authority-on-Narnia.html "Bruce Edwards: 1952-2015; B.G. professor noted authority on ‘Narnia’", The Blade, November 5, 2015
21. News: January 16, 1976 . Jim Graner dies . Associated Press (AP) via The Chronicle-Telegram . . 1.
22. Book: Buchtel College Alumni Association . Fifty Years of Buchtel (1870-1920) . 245–6 . 1922 . Akron, O. .
23. Web site: Ike Isaacs [2] Discography Project ]. 2022-07-06 . www.jazzdisco.org.
24. Web site: 5 Famous Basketball Players From Akron, Ohio . May 7, 2021 . May 7, 2021.
25. Book: History of Summit County . 736 . Baskin & Battery . 1881.
26. News: 'Big Short' Actor John Magaro is Hiding in Plain Sight . . Britta . Lokting . February 26, 2016 . February 19, 2019.
27. Web site: @gates_mcfadden . hey #Wikipedia! I was born in #Akron #Ohio at Akron General Hospital. . Twitter . August 31, 2022.
28. News: Longden . Tom . Charles McGraw . . December 29, 2017 . August 3, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160803232839/http://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/charles-mcgraw . dead .
29. Web site: Speaker's Biography, Lt. General Paul T. Mikolashek . April 15, 2004 . Akron Roundtable.org . Akron Roundtable . Akron, OH . April 28, 2023.
30. Web site: Robin Elizabeth Reed PhD . 2022-11-29 . tributearchive.com/obituaries.
31. Web site: Harry "Butch" Reynolds . IOC.
32. Lin-Fisher, Betty. "J.M. Smucker’s new CEO pursues challenge set forth for family’s fifth generation in the business". Akron Beacon Journal. March 14, 2016.
33. Web site: Josh Williams – Columbus Crew SC . ColumbusCrewSC.com . December 22, 2017.