List of people from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

The following is a list of notable people from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania:

• Edie Adams, Singer, actress, & comedian; wife of Ernie Kovacs
• Nick Adams, actor, (Mister Roberts, Rebel Without a Cause), best known to audiences as Johnny Yuma of the TV series The Rebel
• Joe Amato, 5 Time NHRA Top Fuel champion.
• Lou Barletta, congressman representing the 11th District of Pennsylvania
• Hazel Barnes, philosopher
• Douglas Carter Beane, playwright
• Al Bedner, NFL player
• Steve Bilko, 20 years old when he broke into professional baseball on September 22, 1949, with the St. Louis Cardinals
• David Bohm, quantum physicist
• Charles Calvin Bowman, mayor of Pittston and U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
• William Bowman (fencer), Member of the 1912 U.S. Olympic Team
• Hubie Brown, basketball coach and television analyst
• James Joseph Brown, mining innovator
• Russell Bufalino, (1903–1994), organized crime leader in Pennsylvania, New York, and the American Cosa Nostra. He was portrayed by actor Joe Pesci in Martin Scorsese's 2019 film The Irishman.
• Benjamin Burnley, lead singer and guitarist for rock band Breaking Benjamin
• Lou Butera, professional pool player
• Russ Canzler, Major League Baseball player in the New York Yankees minor league organization.
• Lillian Cahn, co-founder of Coach, Inc. and Coach handbag designer
• George Catlin, artist
• Jimmy Cefalo, Penn State football player, Miami Dolphins wide receiver, radio voice of the Miami Dolphins
• Britton Chance, bio-physicist and Olympic sailor
• Mark Ciavarella, disgraced judge in kids for cash scandal
• Abe Cohen, Professional football player
• Mark Cohen, street photographer
• Flick Colby, choreographer
• Adam Comorosky, MLB outfielder
• Colleen Corby, 1960s fashion model
• Amasa Dana, former U.S. Congressman
• Stanley Woodward Davenport, U.S. Congressman (Democrat), 1899-1901
• William D'Elia, mobster
• Harry Dorish, MLB Pitcher
• Mary Lucy Dosh (1839–1861), member of the Sisters of Nazareth and volunteer nurse in the American Civil War
• Charles B. Dougherty, Army National Guard major general who commanded the 28th Infantry Division
• Mark Duda, NFL player, Lackawanna College football head coach
• Francis A. "Mother" Dunn, football player for the Canton Bulldogs
• Stanley Dudrick, Surgeon who developed TPN
• Carl Duser, baseball player
• Todd A. Eachus, former state representative of the 116th District and House majority leader of Pennsylvania
• David Evans, Hollywood filmmaker most known for the movie The Sandlot
• Jesse Fell, early experimenter with anthracite coal
• John S. Fine, 35th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1951 to 1955.
• Pat Finn, game show host whose shows include Lifetime's, The Family Channel's, and PAX's Shop 'til You Drop
• Ham Fisher, cartoonist best known for the Joe Palooka comic strip
• Steamer Flanagan, professional baseball player
• J. Harold Flannery, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
• Harry Livingston French, Architect
• Tess Gardella, actress
• Pete Gray, one of the two men ever to play major league baseball having lost his right arm in a childhood accident. His life is depicted in the 1986 television production A Winner Never Quits. There is a historical marker in the Hanover section of Nanticoke at Front and Center St. denoting the place of his birth.
• James L. Hallock, Wisconsin state legislator
• Harry Hamilton, Former NFL Player
• William Harmatz, jockey, winner of 1959 Preakness Stakes
• Bucky Harris, Former Major League Baseball Player
• Dan Harris (screenwriter), Hollywood director and screenwriter
• George Washington Helme, businessman and founder of Helmetta, New Jersey
• Joe Hergert, former professional football player
• Jim Hettes, UFC Fighter
• Raye Hollitt, bodybuilder, American Gladiators and actress, Skin Deep
• Joe Holup, Former NBA basketball player
• Henry M. Hoyt, early governor of Pennsylvania
• Mike Hudock, professional football player
• Qadry Ismail, former NFL wide receiver on the Baltimore Ravens
• Raghib Ismail, former NFL player and Heisman Trophy runner-up
• Stephanie Jallen, Paralympic skier
• Arthur Horace James, Superior Court Judge and Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
• Florence Foster Jenkins, unconventional operatic soprano, subject of film starring Meryl Streep
• Hughie Jennings, Major League Baseball player and manager
• Ben Johnson (American sprinter), Track athlete and one of the first African-American colonels in the U.S. Army
• Russell Johnson, Actor best known as The Professor (Gilligan's Island)
• Candy Jones, fashion model, writer, radio personality
• Dorothy Andrews Elston Kabis, Treasurer of the United States
• Paul E. Kanjorski, former U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district (which includes Nanticoke)
• James Karen, actor
• Joe Katchik, Professional football player
• Michael J. Kirwan, represented Youngstown, Ohio in Congress, 1938–1970
• Franz Kline, abstract expressionist painter
• Thomas R. Kline, lawyer
• Shawn Klush, Elvis tribute artist
• Sarah Knauss, lived to age 119
• Kelsey Kolojejchick, Field hockey player for the US Olympic Team
• Mike Konnick, former MLB player
• Mary Jo Kopechne, passenger killed in car driven by Ted Kennedy at Chappaquiddick
• Harley Jane Kozak, actress and author
• Norm Larker (Beaver Meadows), National League All-Star player for the LA Dodgers
• Matthew Lesko, infomercial personality
• Sherrie Levine, photographer and appropriation artist
• Jan Lewan, Polish-American songwriter and polka band leader, portrayed by actor Jack Black in the American comedy film The Polka King
• Edward B. Lewis, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine
• Santo Loquasto, Tony Award winning Broadway production designer
• Marion Lorne, actress best known as Aunt Clara in the comedy series Bewitched
• John D. MacArthur, businessman and philanthropist
• Joe Maddon, current manager of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels and former manager of the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs
• Garrick Mallery, ethnologist
• Herman Mankiewicz, screenwriter of Citizen Kane
• Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Academy Award-winning director and producer
• Greg Manusky, Former NFL Player
• Al Markim, actor (Tom Corbett, Space Cadet)
• Tom Matchick, MLB player for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles
• Francis T. McAndrew, Psychologist/Professor/Author
• Jay McCarroll, Fashion Designer
• Mary McDonnell, actress twice nominated for Academy Award
• William G. McGowan, former MCI Communications chairman; responsible for breaking up the Bell Telephone monopoly
• Tom McHale (novelist born 1941)
• Edward Peter McManaman, Roman Catholic bishop
• Tommy McMillan, Major League Baseball outfielder and shortstop
• John Mellus, Former NFL player
• Edward Meneeley, painter
• Dan Meuser, U.S. Congressman
• Lou Michaels, Former NFL Player
• Walt Michaels, former head coach of the NFL's New York Jets
• Carl Ferris Miller, Banker and Arborist
• Joseph Montione, radio personality best known as "Banana Joe"
• Albert Mudrian, author and magazine editor
• Leo C. Mundy, Pennsylvania state senator and physician
• Jozef Murgas, radio pioneer
• Ray Musto, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
• Judith Nathan, wife of former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
• Claudette Nevins, actress
• Amedeo Obici, founder of Planters Peanuts
• Thomas J. O'Hara, Provincial of the U.S. Province of Priests and Brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross; former president of King's College, Pennsylvania
• Austin O'Malley (author)
• Jerry Orbach, Tony award-winning actor
• Phil Ostrowski, NFL player
• Jack Palance (Hazle Township), Oscar-winning actor
• Joe Palooka
• John Paluck, football player for Washington Redskins and Pro Bowl selection
• Jay Parini, professor and author
• Simon F. Pauxtis, Professional baseball player and college football coach
• Bob Patton, former NFL PLayer
• Mr. Peanut
• Maryanne Petrilla, served on the Luzerne County Board of Commissioners; second female Commissioner Chairperson in the county's history
• Anthony Petrosky, Poet
• Joe Pisarcik, Former NFL Quarterback
• William Daniel Phillips, co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics
• Suzie Plakson, Actress
• Dave Popson, Former NBA basketball player
• John Quackenbush, Genome Scientist
• Krysten Ritter, actress
• Packy Rogers, infielder with the Brooklyn Dodgers
• Mendy Rudolph, NBA referee from 1953 to 1975
• Anne Sargent, Actress
• Sam Savitt, equestrian artist, author
• Michael Schoeffling, actor, played Jake Ryan in film Sixteen Candles
• M. Gerald Schwartzbach, California criminal defense attorney
• Paige Selenski, field hockey player for the US Olympic Team
• Fred Shupnik, Former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
• Chuck Sieminski, Former NFL Player
• Greg Skrepenak, former NFL player, served on the Luzerne County Board of Commissioners, convicted felon
• Jonathan Slavin, character actor
• Ron Solt, former NFL player
• Andrew Soltis, Chess Grandmaster
• Randy Stair, Eaton Township Weis Market Shooter
• Jacob Sullum, journalist and author, featured in Academy Award-nominated documentary Super Size Me
• Bob Sura, basketball player, Houston Rockets
• John Thomas Sweeney, murderer of Dominique Dunne, was born and raised in Hazleton
• Albert Tannenbaum, member of Murder, Inc., born in Nanticoke
• Louis Teicher, pianist; member of the duo Ferrante & Teicher
• Dan Terry, Trumpet player and big band leader
• Thomas Tigue, Pennsylvania state legislator
• Alexis Toth (St. Alexis of Wilkes-Barre), saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church
• Mike Tresh, MLB catcher
• Charley Trippi, University of Georgia football player, 1943 Rose Bowl MVP, College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Chicago Cardinals quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee. The football stadium at Pittston Area High School in Yatesville is named in his honor.
• Bob Tucker, NFL tight end with the New York Giants
• Stephen Urban, served on the Luzerne County Board of Commissioners and the Luzerne County Council
• G. Harold Wagner, Pennsylvania State Treasurer and Pennsylvania State Auditor General
• Frank Comerford Walker, Lawyer and Politician
• Ed Walsh, Hall of Fame pitcher; major league baseball's all-time ERA leader
• Michael Whalen, actor
• Faustin E. Wirkus, U.S. Marine allegedly crowned as King of La Gonâve, a Haitian island west of Hispaniola
• Ira W. Wood, represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district from 1904 to 1913
• Hendrick Bradley Wright, Lawyer and politician
• Frank Zane, bodybuilder, three-time Mr. Olympia, won Mr. America, Mr. Universe, Mr. World; donated gym at Wilkes University

References