List of people from Ridgewood, New Jersey

G

• Louis Gambaccini (1931–2018), transportation official who served as general manager of the Port Authority Trans Hudson rail system and as New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation
• Bill Geist (born 1945), correspondent on CBS News Sunday Morning
• Arnold Gingrich (1903–1976), editor and co-founder of Esquire magazine
• John P. Ginty (born 1965), financial data analyst and politician who was a candidate in 2006 for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate
• Gina Glantz (born ), political strategist, campaign manager, field director and consultant
• Abraham Godwin (1724–1777), one of the first settlers of the area around Ridgewood
• Abraham Godwin (1763–1835), brigadier general in the War of 1812, for whom Godwinville was named
• Abraham Godwin Jr. (1791–1849), worked to name part of Franklin as Godwinville
• Roger Curtis Green (1932–2009), archaeologist of South Pacific civilizations
• Earl Thomas Grey (1755-1818), namesake of 'Grey's Rock' in Habernickel Park

H

• Joe Harasymiak (born 1986), head coach for the Maine Black Bears football team
• Elizabeth Hawes (1903–1971), clothing designer, outspoken critic of the fashion industry and champion of ready to wear
• Daniel Henninger (born 1945/46), The Wall Street Journal columnist
• Jason Heyward (born 1989), outfielder for the Chicago Cubs

I

• Sonny Igoe (1923–2012), jazz drummer

J

• Cosmo Jarvis (born 1989), singer-songwriter
• Frankie Jonas (born 2000), actor who was a voice actor in the film Ponyo and a recurring character in the television series Jonas
• Margaret Juntwait (1957–2015), the voice of the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts

K

• Jay Kennedy (1956–2007), editor and writer who joined King Features Syndicate in 1988 as deputy comics editor and was named as editor-in-chief in 1997
• Walter M. D. Kern (1937–1998), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1978 to 1990, where he represented the 40th district
• Grace Kim (born 1968), former professional tennis player
• Peter S. Kim (born 1958), president of Merck Research Laboratories
• Richard Kollmar (1910–1971), stage, radio, film and television actor, television personality and Broadway producer
• Younghoe Koo (born 1994), NFL kicker who has played for the Atlanta Falcons
• Bowie Kuhn (1926–2007), Commissioner of Baseball from 1969 to 1984
• L.A. Beast (born 1984 as Kevin Strahle), competitive eater

L

• Jeffrey M. Lacker (born 1955), president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
• Mike Laga (born 1960), Major League Baseball player from 1982 to 1990
• John Lantigua (born 1947), journalist and crime novelist who has won the Pulitzer Prize and Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for his investigative reporting on Latin American issues
• Robert Sean Leonard (born 1969), Tony Award-winning actor and regular in TV series House Currently resides in Ridgewood with his family.
• Cornelis Lievense (1890–1949), Dutch businessman who ran several import/export companies in the United States from the 1920s through the 1940s
• Alfred Lutter (born 1962), actor and consultant best known for his performances in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and The Bad News Bears

M

• Martha MacCallum (born 1964), news anchor on Fox News Channel
• Herbert F. Maddalene (born 1928), architect who was a partner in the firm of Genovese & Maddalene
• David Madden (born 1981), founder and executive director of both the National History Bee and the National History Bowl who was a 19-day champion on Jeopardy!
• Paul Mara (born 1979), National Hockey League defenceman who has played for the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers
• Marion Clyde McCarroll (1891–1977), writer and journalist who was the first woman issued a press pass by the New York Stock Exchange and also penned the "Advice for the Lovelorn, a nationally syndicated column, after she inherited it from Dorothy Dix
• Thomas B. McGuire Jr. (1920–1945), the second-leading air ace in World War II, who was killed in action on January 7, 1945, and awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. McGuire Air Force Base is named in his memory
• Joseph McKenna (born 1995), freestyle and graduated folkstyle wrestler
• Julia Meade (1925–2016), film and stage actress who was a frequent pitch person in live commercials in the early days of television in the 1950s, most notably on The Ed Sullivan Show
• Michael Mercurio (born 1972), actor who has appeared in film, theatre and television, often portraying psychologically disturbed characters
• Matt Mondanile (born 1985), guitarist, singer and songwriter
• Elisabeth Moore (1876–1959), tennis player who won the singles title at the U.S. Championships on four occasions and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971
• Richard Muenz (born 1948), actor and baritone singer best known for his theatrical work

N

• Helen Nearing (1904–1995), author and advocate of simple living
• Pete Nelson (born 1962), master treehouse builder, author and host of the Animal Planet television show Treehouse Masters
• Janet Warren Neslen (1924–?), public health physician
• Kim Ng (born 1968), senior vice-president for baseball operations of Major League Baseball
• Buddy Nielsen (born 1984), singer of the rock band Senses Fail
• Tom Nolan, publisher of Golf World
• Jeffrey Nordling (born 1962), actor known for Dirt, 24, Desperate Housewives and Big Little Lies

O

• Helen O'Bannon (1939–1988), economist who served as the secretary of public welfare of Pennsylvania
• John Joseph O'Hara (born 1946), auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
• Patti O'Reilly (born 1968), former professional tennis player
• Evanka Osmak (born 1980), sports anchor for Sportsnet
• Richard and Joan Ostling (born 1940 and 1939–2009 respectively), co-authors of Mormon America: The Power and the Promise

P

• Nikki Phillips (born 1987), American-born Polish soccer defender and midfielder who has played with FC Kansas City in the NWSL and for the Poland national team
• Patricia Peardon (1923/24–1993), actress who originated the title role in the Broadway play Junior Miss
• Jack Pitney (1963–2010), marketing executive with BMW as vice president of marketing, where he played a major role in convincing company leadership to go ahead with distribution of the MINI in the United States, despite concerns that car buyers there would not buy cars that small given the popularity of sport utility vehicles

R

• Cassie Ramone (born 1986) and Katy Goodman of the indie rock band Vivian Girls
• William Remington (1917–1954), Soviet spy convicted of perjury
• Amanda Renee, romance novelist
• Chico Resch (born 1948), hockey sportscaster and former NHL goalie who lived in the village when he played for the New Jersey Devils
• Bobby Richardson (born 1935), former second baseman for the New York Yankees
• Nelson Riddle (1921–1985), musician and arranger for various artists such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald
• Beatrice Schroeder Rose (1922–2014), author, composer, harpist and teacher, who was the principal harpist of the Houston Symphony for 31 years
• Eric S. Rosengren (born 1957), President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
• Marge Roukema (1929–2014), politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives
• Henry Rowan (1923–2015), engineer and philanthropist, for whom Rowan University was renamed, after he made a $100 million donation to the school

S

• Bob Sall (1908–1974), race car driver who drove in the 1935 Indianapolis 500 and was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1992
• Mitchell Saron (born 2000), sabre fencer, who will represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris
• Scottie Scheffler (born 1996), professional and current world #1 golfer who plays on the PGA Tour
• David Schenker (born 1968), diplomat who has served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
• Thelma Schoonmaker (born 1940), film editor, best known for her collaboration over five decades with director Martin Scorsese
• Kieran Scott (born 1974), author of Private and I Was a Non-Blonde Cheerleader
• Bob Sebra (born 1961), MLB player for the Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers
• Irving Selikoff (1915–1992), physician and medical researcher who in the 1960s established a link between the inhalation of asbestos particles and lung-related ailments, whose work is largely responsible for the current strict regulation of asbestos
• Jordin Sparks (born 1989), American Idol winner, lived here as a child while her father played with the Giants
• Phillippi Sparks (born 1969), former NFL cornerback who played most of his career with the New York Giants
• Michael Springer (born 1979), former MLL player
• Ali Stroker (born 1987), actress, singer and winner of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Ado Annie in "Oklahoma". She is the first actress who needs a wheelchair for mobility known to have appeared on a Broadway stage

U

• Sub Urban (born 1999), singer, songwriter and producer best known for his song "Cradles"

T

• Kyle Teel (born 2002), professional baseball catcher in the Chicago White Sox organization
• Wayne Tippit (1932–2009), character actor who appeared in Melrose Place and lived in Ridgewood until 1990

V

• Casper Van Dien (born 1968), actor, Starship Troopers, Sleepy Hollow. Van Dien Avenue is named for his great-great-great-grandfather
• Don Van Natta Jr. (born 1964), journalist and writer who has been an investigative reporter for ESPN and had been an investigative correspondent at The New York Times, where he was a member of two teams that won Pulitzer Prizes
• David Van Tieghem (born 1955), percussionist, composer and sound designer

W

• Charles Wadsworth (1917–2002), painter, printmaker and poet
• Melinda Wagner (born 1957), composer, winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize in music
• Ayelet Waldman (born 1964), Israeli-American novelist and essayist, who has written seven mystery novels in the series The Mommy-Track Mysteries and four other novels
• Bill Ward (1919–1998), cartoonist notable as a good girl artist and creator of the risqué comics character Torchy
• Douglas Watt (1914–2009), theater critic for the Daily News
• Bill Wielechowski (born 1967), member of the Alaska Senate, representing the J District since 2006
• Brian Williams (born 1959), journalist
• George Witte, poet and book editor

Z

• Michael Zegen (born 1979), actor best known for his role as Joel Maisel on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Jeremy Zoll, general manager of the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball

References