Is it just me, or is my home state becoming hip these days? Not only did they recently legalize gay marriage, which is pretty interesting, but it seems to be referenced in practically every TV show I've watched lately and is featured in the new Star Trek movie-- as Captain Kirk is of course from Iowa!
Iowans themselves are in the news. Last week, Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson, who hails from Iowa, won the current season of Dancing With the Stars. And who could miss Iowa native Ashton Kutcher all over the news a few weeks ago for being the first person to reach one million followers on Twitter :) What I like about these two is that they exude what I term "Iowaness"...very down to earth, friendly and determined types of people.
Bizarrely (to me anyway), both Dear Abby and Ann Landers were from Iowa, as well as the original and most recent Superman actors...George Reeves and Brandon Routh. And let's not forget Jerry Mathers, who will live forever as the Beaver (from Leave It to Beaver fame).
Although I haven't lived there for almost 25 years, my mom and several relatives, as well as my best friend all still live in Iowa and seem to have no intention of going anywhere else. In fact, many rarely leave, very content with the lives they lead in Hawkeye state.
Recently, I became involved in a script project based on a little known story involving my hometown of Algona, IA...during WW2 the town was the site of a large German POW camp. Yes, that's right...there were German POW's in America...over 300,000 of them in fact. And they worked in the factories and on the farms right alongside those they had previously fought against. It's a fascinating and little known part of our country's history...and hopefully it will make it to the big screen and join the ranks of the other famous Iowa-based flicks.....Field of Dreams and The Bridges of Madison County.
So GO IOWA...you ROCK! Now if you only were within commuting distance of New York City :)
Meanwhile, some other famous Iowans you may recognize include:
Tom Arnold (actor)
Lara Flynn Boyle (actress)
Bill Bryson (writer)
William "Buffalo Bill" Cody (frontier scout)
Steven Collins (actor)
Janet Dailey (romance novelist)
Mamie Doud Eisenhower (First Lady)
Dan Gable (Olympic Gold wrestler and coach)
George H. Gallup (the poll taker)
William Frawley (actor)
Halston (fashion designer)
Herbert Hoover (31st U.S. President)
Lou Hoover (First Lady)
Howard Hughes, Sr (inventor & founder of Hughes Tool Co)
Mary Beth Hurt (actress)
Cloris Leachman (actress)
Laura Leighton (actress; Melrose Place)
E.F. Lindquist (inventor of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills)
Ron Livingston (actor)
Jerry Mathers (Yes....the "Beaver" is from Iowa!)
The McCaughy Septuplets
Glenn Miller (bandleader)
Michelle Monaghan (actress)
Kate Mulgrew (actress)
Harriet Nelson (actress & mom of singer Ricky Nelson)
Robert Noyce (co-inventor of the microchip)
David Rabe (playwright)
Harry Reasoner (newscaster)
Donna Reed (actress)
Lillian Russell (actress/singer)
Jean Seberg (actress)
Wallace Stegner (author)
Sullivan Brothers (war heroes)
Sada Thompson (actress)
Henry A. Wallace (Vice President under FDR)
Marcia Wallace (actress, Bob Newhart Show)
Kurt Warner (football quarterback)
Tionne Watkins (singer, TLC)
John Wayne (actor)
Andy Williams (singer)
Meredith Wilson (composer, "The Music Man")
Elijah Wood (actor; Lord of the Rings trilogy)
Grant Wood (painter)
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