Hello Everyone,

I was wondering the other day about weather or not if there are any famous (infamous) people that have come from Miles City specificaly and the State Of Montana in general. I would assume that there has to be but I just can't think of any at the moment. Also I heard a rumor a few years back that there was this one town somewhere in Montana that was paid to change the name of the town to "JOE" Montana in honor of the famous quarterback and was wondering if this was true or just sports bar drunken B.S. Any information anyone can provide is much welcome.

R.T.A.
Kyle L. Varnell

Famous Montanans
Dorothy Baker author, Missoula
Dirk Benedict actor, Helena
W. A. Tony Boyle labor union official, Bald Butte
Dana Carvey comedian, Missoula
Gary Cooper actor, Helena
Chet Huntley journalist, TV newscaster, Cardwell
Will James writer, artist, Great Falls
Evel Knievel daredevil motorcyclist, Butte
Jerry Kramer football player, author, Jordan
Myrna Loy actress, Helena
David Lynch filmmaker, Missoula
George Montgomery actor, Brady
Jeannette Rankin first woman elected to Congress, Missoula
Martha Raye actress, Butte
Michael Smuin choreographer
Lester C. Thurow economist, educator, Livingston
Just go into the search on your puter and put in Famous Montana people and it will bring up alot.

Kyle,
Ismay,Mt.;60 miles east of Miles city changed it's name to Joe, Mt. for an agreed upon short time a few years ago. It is now Ismay again, but I'm not too sure they still don't have an occasional "Joe" celebration there yet.
Pete

L.A. Huffman, photographer
Lady Evelyn Cameron, photographer (although not born here, emigrated in late 1800's to Terry - just 35 miles East of MC)
There is also another author of Buffalo Soldiers that wasn't born here but married a Miles City man and has had several books published.

Norman Maclean author of A River Runs Through It- born in MT. Charlie Pride and Gary Cooper were born in Montana.

For more modern famous people:

John Connors, the CFO of Microsoft is from Miles City.

Also let's not forget George Winston. Otherwise he might quit coming back to give us those nice concerts.

One of my favorite comics is from Missoula and I never knew it. Dana Carvey of SNL/ WAYNE'S WORLD fame. Call me a doofus.

If I Remember right actress Constance Towers is from Whitefish and actor Patrick Duffy is from Boulder.

Actually, Patrick Duffy was born in Townsend Montana on March 17 1949

Don,
You're right about Patrick Duffy and his having Boulder ties. His parents owned a bar there and were both murdered in the bar in the 80's by a pair of thugs who are now doing life at MSP.
As far as famous Montanans go, has anybody ever heard of Hal Talieferro?(sp). His was not a famous name, but he was in a good share of the old time westerns as either a gang or posse member,etc. Hal Talieferro was his stage name, but he was actually an Alderson from Birney, MT. and the Bones Bros. Ranch. Irv. Alderson, Hals nephew, I believe, still runs the ranch. One movie I remember seeing him in was Red River with John Wayne. To those of you who remember the movie, he was the one who filled the whole screen with his bring em on wave to srart the herd.
Pete

Jerry Cramer was born in Jordan MT. He was an offensive tackle for the Greenbay Packers under Vince Lombardi. He has super bowls rings from the 1st and 2nd superbowls. He is in the Pro-football hall of fame and the Packer hall of fame. He lives in Boise Idaho now.

How about Charlie Russell?I don't think we should forget about him. Although He's not a Montanan, Craig Kilbourn of the Late Late Show played basket ball for MSU.

Brett Musberger...sports commentator...from MT.
Ryan Leif..Temp NFL QTR-back...although we dont like to claim him....he is a pompous ass.
Jeff Ammet....bassit from Pearl Jam...

[This message has been edited by Matt Hom (edited 3/19/2004).]

Phil Jackson- coach of the Chicago Bulls and presently the New York Knicks is from Deer Lodge, MT.

Yeah, let's just pretend like those crappy Lakers don't exist Good call.

Oops."Bookstore" Joe brought this site to my attention.I regret to say I am accused of being, not famous, but infamous, since the FBI labeled me a "terrorist" after 9/11 and the story was in the New Yorker.
In real life I am the widow of "Bunky" Thomas and while I have written and lectured extensively on Buffalo Soldiers, I have not published a book. I will be performing for the League of Women Voters in DC on May 22nd from my upcoming book 'Buffalo Soldiers And Other Stories of Growing Up Black In Montana.' I've had a few pieces published, one of which was about the "Glendive Incident" during the time Bob Jauron coached at CCHS. His son, Dick, was the coach of the Chicago Bears until 2003. Another accomplished person with Miles City ties is Sarah Lemire whose costume design credits include The Cosby Show, Spin City, Soul Men, and Stephen King's Graveyard Shift. Sorry to disappoint.

Taylor Gordon (1893-1971)
Performer. A native of White Sulphur Springs, Meagher County, Gordon performed in concert halls and vaudeville venues from Montana to Harlem to the capitals of Europe. He gained his entry in show business via his association with circus magnate John Ringling. Gordon achieved considerable success with his musical career during the 1920s, playing a prominent role in the "Harlem Renaissance" of that era. Although limited in the roles he played by the prevailing racism of the day, Gordon managed to land minor parts in several movies during the 1930s. Throughout his career Gordon returned periodically to live in White Sulphur Springs. In the late 1950s, he returned to his hometown for good-remaining in the community until his death in 1971. Gordon's autobiography, Born to Be (1929), provides a unique perspective of his experiences growing up in Montana, as well as an insiders view of life in Harlem during the 1920s.
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Nocollete Larson (1952-1997)
Performer. A native of Helena, Montana. Her music career took off in the early 70s when she began working as a vocalist with Hoyt Axton's band and Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen - she later worked with such notables as: Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Michael McDonald, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, Neil Young, Christopher Cross, The Dirt Band, the Beach Boys, the Doobie Brothers, Van Halen, and others. Her big hit "Lotta Love", a disco remake of a Neal Young classic, reached number 8 on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart in February 1979. She passed away 1997 of complications from a cerebral edema at the age of 45.

The infamous Bonine clan is from Miles City, MT.

Actually, Dora DuFran, a famous Madam who was best friends with Martha Jane Cannary (known better as Clamity Jane) had a brothel in Miles City for a time--before marrying a much younger man and returning to Deadwood, SD, where she passed away and is buried in Mt. Moriah Cemetery, along with Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickcock. And of note to my family, Calamity Jane was a good friend of Mrs. Dooley, who lived next door to my Great Grandmother Egeland in Big Timber, and one time Calamity Jane was visiting Mrs. Dooley, and they both came to my Great Grantmother's house for coffee and cookies. Mrs. Dooley was known for taking her teeth out (they didn't fit properly) and smoking a corncob pipe. She used to toss her apron over the pipe to keep the neighbors from seeing it when she would go to my Great Grandmother's house. One time the wind was blowing, and evidently the apron caught on fire, because Grandma TJ said, "Dooley, you're on fire" and tossed a pail of water on her! Of course this didn't happen in Miles City, but Calamity Jane was in and out of Miles City periodically while Dora DuFran lived there.

Songwriter Townes Van Zandt lived in Billings, MT for a few years.

Dirk Bennedict of the 70s series Battlestar Gallactica is from Montana. I think he is from Red Lodge, but I'm not positive on the town.

Michelle Williams, Oscar Nominee for her role in "Brokeback Mountain" and formerly on the TV show Dawson's Creek, was born in Kalispell Montana.

Maurice Hilleman- MC native.

Jeff Ament from Big Sandy---better known as the bass player in Pearl Jam. Also, there was a lady from Bozeman in one of the all-girl rock band of the late 80's--I can't remember her name or the band's name, but remember her from MTV. Maybe somebody can help?

Michael Keaton lives near Big Timber, though he is not from Montana.

Dave McNally from Billings was a pretty fine pitcher from Billings. Jeff Ballard was an okay pitcher, too.

[This message has been edited by Pluto (edited 4/4/2006).]

The band was Vixen "I've been living on the edge of a broken heart" was the song...
Dana Carvey from Missoula?? I thought he was from Canada??

Nope, he's from Missoula.

cool, never knew!

Hey, let's not forget porn stars! Tera Patrick (not her real name, either) is from Great Falls. Probably the most interesting thing I learned when I lived there...

The Political Graveyard web site has a few entries for Miles City. Although I see that not all of the entries have yet entered a graveyard, political or otherwise

http://politicalgraveyard...MT/CU.html

First some clarifications & corrections of earlier posts:

Charlie Pride wasn't born in Montana, but he lived in Helena & Great Falls and started his music career while in the state.

Phil Jackson may have been born in Deer Lodge, but his career is more notably tied to North Dakota. He graduated from Williston High School (there's a shrine to him in the high school fieldhouse) and he graduated from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.

Here are some additional folks with Montana roots & ties:

Robert Pirsig, author of Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
He spent Fall '58 to Spring of '60 at Montana State College in Bozeman teaching rhetoric and advanced technical writing. Part of trip his famous book was based on was through Montana. Montana Governor Donald Nutter had Pirsig on a list of 50 radicals in 1962

Eric Bergoust (from Missoula)
Olympic Silver Medalist aerial skier

Brad Bird (from Kalispell)
Animator - helped develop The Simpsons, created The Incredibles & directed "The Iron Giant"

CFL QB Dave Dickenson (from Great Falls)

Paleontologist Jack Horner (Shelby)

Mike Mansfield (from Great Falls)
US Representative & US Senator & US Ambassador to Japan

Adam Morrison (from Glendive, but primarily raised in Spokane, Washington. His mother is from Peerless & his father from Scobey. Dad John Morrison was the AD & Men's basketball coach at DCC at one time.)

Bobby Petrino (born in Lewistown, raised in Helena)
Head Coach of the University of Louisville Cardinals football team

Singer/Songwriter Hoyt Axton - lived near the end of his life in Bitteroot Valley

Writer Tom McGuane - lives in the Big Timber area

Daredevil "Kaptain" Robbie Knievel - Butte, MT

John "Jack" D. Poe, Chairman of the Board of Semtech, a Silicon Valley manufacturer was raised in Medicine Lake, MT. He served as CEO of the company from 1985 to 2002 and from late '05 to early '06.

Dave

Arlo Guthrie went to school at Rocky Mountain College in Billings for a brief time in the 60's. He doesn't have fond memories, though.

Sarah Vowell, author and the voice of Violet on The Incredibles, is from Bozeman.

A. B. Guthrie http://www.missoulian.com...t/004.html

Bob Marshall http://www.missoulian.com...t/014.html

Dorothy M. Johnson http://www.missoulian.com...t/017.html

George Bird Grinnell http://www.missoulian.com...t/045.html

Joseph Kinsey Howard http://www.missoulian.com...t/019.html

K. Ross Toole http://www.missoulian.com...t/016.html

Mildred Walker http://www.missoulian.com...t/077.html

Richard Hugo http://www.missoulian.com...t/020.html

James Willard Schultz http://www.missoulian.com...t/046.html

How about Burch Palmer of "Burch Ray and the Walkers. Great musician from MC.

How about Rob Quist and the rest of the Mission Mountain Wood Band

All great musicians...but you're definitely dating yourself!! Wait a minute. I just did too!

Stan Lynde-Cartoonist
http://www.oldmontana.com/biography.html

D'Arcy McNickle
Hosmer, Brian C. "The Legacy of D'Arcy McNickle," MONTANA: THE MAGAZINE OF WESTERN HISTORY, Spring 1999. **Book Review**
http://www.findarticles.c...i_n8842742
http://www.looksmartusa.c...i_n8842742
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Michael P.Malone
Rankin, Charles E, et al. "Mike Malone: A Man To Remember," MONTANA: THE MAGAZINE OF WESTERN HISTORY, Spring 2000.
http://www.findarticles.c...i_n8896827
http://www.looksmartusa.c...i_n8896827
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Vivian Paladin
Kohl, Martha, et al. "Vivian Paladin, 1918-2002," MONTANA: THE MAGAZINE OF WESTERN HISTORY, Autumn 2002.
http://www.findarticles.c...i_n9085570
http://www.looksmartusa.c...i_n9085570
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Christopher Powell Connolly
Swibold, Dennis. "The Education Of A Muckraker," MONTANA: THE MAGAZINE OF WESTERN HISTORY, Summer 2003.
http://www.findarticles.c...i_n9261958
http://www.looksmartusa.c...i_n9261958
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Wellington Rankin
Edgerton, Keith. "Wellington Rankin," MONTANA: THE MAGAZINE OF WESTERN HISTORY, Summer 2003. **Book Review**
http://www.findarticles.c...i_n9261770
http://www.looksmartusa.c...i_n9261770

Layne Flack is a fairly well-known poker pro, and he grew up in MC but left CCDHS after his sophomore year in '85.

Don't forget "Patricia Ryan" from Forsyth. She's a great Country singer that's really making a name for herself. She's only about 19 years old and has been singing for years already. If you've never heard her sing you're really missing out.

John Alred... "Will the sun again ever shine on the Rosebud county line".

The Mission Mountian Wood Band... one of the good things from Missoula.

And how could we forget JC Bonine (yes, he is related but we don't know how) World Champion Saddle Bronc rider in 1979(?).



[This message has been edited by Richard Bonine, Jr (edited 4/18/2006).]

How about Norm Clarke, famous one-eyed newspaper columnist. Can't believe no one mentioned him. Wasn't he born in Terry, MT and one of his early jobs was with the Miles City Star?

Bud Luckey is an animator for Pixar Animation and is credited with creating the character "Woody" from the movie "Toy Story". Bud was a story artist, character designer, animator, and/or did voice for the movies "Toy Story", "Toy Story 2", "A Bug's Life", "Monster's Inc.", and "The Incredibles".

Bud "did it all" (story, character development, songwriting, music performance) for the Oscar-nominated short, "Boundin'" which can be seen on "The Incredibles" DVD along with the documentary "Who is Bud Luckey."

If you haven't seen "Boundin'", I recommend it. It is very Montana-ish complete with a sheared sheep and a jackalope character.

Bud is originally from Billings.

http://www.billingsgazett...oundin.inc

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0524726/

Movie star, Gary Cooper was from Helena and attended Gallatin County High School in Bozeman. Myrna Loy was born in Radersburg and was Nora Charles in the Thin Man movies as well as numerous other films.

Sara Vowell is a writer who moved to Bozeman when she was in junior high school and frequently mentions Bozeman in her books, all best sellers: Take the Cannolli (spell?), Partly Cloudy Patriot, and Assinations' Vacations. She has been on NPR and on the Daily Show. Her books are great reading.

Here's an oddball:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=andruwi01

I saw the name Jack Hoerner earlier on in this thread. I was having lunch with some co-workers this week and the discussion was about the special effects in the movie King Kong (I work for a movie distributor). I mentioned Hoerner's researh of T-Rex, and that it was most likely a scavenger. I got a few smiles with the name Jack Hoerner.

>>Michelle Williams, Oscar Nominee for her role in "Brokeback Mountain" . . . was born in Kalispell Montana.

Her father has been in the news recently too:
http://www.billingsgazett...vasion.txt

I saw the article about here Dad it was very interesting.

What about Dorthy M. Johnson she was a great author and a woman ahead of here time.

Return of a Man Called Horse
A Man Called Horse
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Hanging Tree
Wagon Train


[This message has been edited by Van (edited 5/26/2006).]

Did we remember the greatest of all?
Evil Knievel

Hal, her is some of that article.

The Missoulian
HELENA - Larry Williams, a prominent futures and commodities trader and author who twice ran for the U.S. Senate in Montana, was arrested in Sydney, Australia, this week for international tax evasion, the Associated Press and other news sources reported.

Williams, 64, who now lives in the Virgin Islands, was freed on $753,000 bail and turned over his passport. He returns for a court hearing Monday. He is accused of owing the U.S. government about $1.5 million in taxes for the years between 1990 and 2001.

The former Kalispell resident has written nine investment advice books and teaches his investment tips at seminars. He was in Sydney as part of a lecture tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Williams was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1978 and 1982, losing races to then-U.S. Rep. Max Baucus and then-U.S. Sen. John Melcher.

He also is the father of Michelle Williams, 25, who was nominated this year for best supporting actress for her role in "Brokeback Mountain."

Van, good call regarding Dorothy Johnson.

I agree completely - not including her in any list of noted Montanans would be a mistake. (And aside from her writing, the woman was a Montanan down to the bone.)

Hollywood deserves kudos for turning so many of her works into movies, but Hollywood (especially John Ford) also deserves a big raspberry for setting "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" in Texas rather than Montana.

Dorothy Johnson and Bud Guthrie did as much (or more) than anyone to shape the way (post-World War II) Montanans thought of themselves and of Montana. Even those who never read any of their works were / are influenced (knowingly or otherwise) in their sense of identity as Montanans by Johnson and Guthrie.

Joseph Kinsey Howard's writing, both as a journalist and as a historian, likewise shaped Montanans sense of self - - their perceptions of what it meant to be a Montanan and what Montana itself was and is. And again his influence extended far beyond the ranks of those who read his work.

Mildred Walker might just be one of the great unsung heroes of Montana authors - and it could be that she will yet receive the attention she deserves here in her own state. Anyone with an interest in homesteading, farming, rural Montana, early 20th century Montana, what it means to be a Montanan, etc - could hardly go wrong in reading her novel Winter Wheat (1944).

Richard Hugo deserves great credit (in addition to his own work) for his efforts in mentoring many of the writers that have defined Montana's literature in the past 30-40 years.


Dorothy M. Johnson
http://www.missoulian.com...t/017.html

A. B. Guthrie
http://www.missoulian.com...t/004.html

Joseph Kinsey Howard
http://www.missoulian.com...t/019.html

Mildred Walker
http://www.missoulian.com...t/077.html

Richard Hugo
http://www.missoulian.com...t/020.html


[This message has been edited by Hal Neumann (edited 5/27/2006).]

[This message has been edited by Hal Neumann (edited 5/27/2006).]

Let's don't forget:

Steve Reeves, a body builder / muscleman who did a ton of Hercules and gladiator (men in skirts) type movies back in the 50s, was born in Glasgow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w...eve_Reeves

And there's always:

H. Earl Clack
The entrepreneur who built the first drive-in filling station retail chain in Montana.
http://www.missoulian.com...t/098.html
See also:
H. Earl Clack Museum, Havre, Montana
http://co.hill.mt.us/muse...useum.html

As well as:

Lester Loble
The "father" of Social Security.
http://www.missoulian.com...t/052.html




[This message has been edited by Hal Neumann (edited 5/27/2006).]

Shannen Rossmiller

http://www.washingtonpost...00530.html
http://www.telegraph.co.u...xnews.html

Wikipedia has a pretty comprehensive "people from Montana" list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...om_Montana

As well as the Missoulian "100 most influential Montanans" list which has been referenced here a few times.

http://www.montanahereico...famous.htm

One I have recently become aware of is Levi Leipheimer, pro bicycle racer and former Lance Armstrong teammate who is a favorite to make the top 10 and maybe even top 3 in this year's Tour de France. He is from Butte.

[This message has been edited by Levi Forman (edited 6/26/2006).]

William "Bud" Luckey (born in 1934 in Billings, Montana) is an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for his work at Pixar Animation Studios as the character designer for Toy Story, A Bug's Life and Monsters, Inc.
Pixar chief John Lasseter credits Luckey with the inspiration to make the star of Toy Story, Woody, a cowboy.

Luckey gained attention for the short film Boundin', which was released theatrically as the opening cartoon for The Incredibles. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short in 2004. Bud not only wrote and designed the short, but composed the music and lyrics, and sang and performed banjo on the soundtrack for the cartoon.

Bud played the part of chief superhero relocator Rick Dicker in The Incredibles.

More of his designs can be seen in the 2006 animated feature, Cars.
Bud's work could be seen by earlier generations in short films he animated for Sesame Street and the Children's Television Workshop. Among them was "The Ladybug's Picnic".

Sidney Spence Culbert (1913 - October 28, 2003) was a psychologist and Esperantist. Born in Miles City, Montana, Culbert moved to Tacoma, Washington with his family in 1923 and lived in Tacoma and Seattle for most of his life.

OBIT:
SEATTLE (AP) - Sidney S. Culbert, a Miles City native and linguist who helped design the Boeing 707 instrument panel, is dead at 90.

The University of Washington psychology professor and language expert was a lifelong devotee of the Esperanto language. He died Oct. 28.

As one of the nation's leading linguists, he wrote the World Almanac page, "Principal Languages of the World," for 30 years. Born in Miles City, Culbert moved with his family to Tacoma, Wash., when he was 10.


After completing his bachelor's degree, Culbert went directly into doctoral studies and accepted a faculty position when he completed his studies in 1950. In the mid-1950s, Culbert used his studies of perception and behavior to help design the first cockpit and instrument display of the Boeing 707.

He and his wife, Ruth Moline, who spent about 65 years together, spoke only Esperanto at home unless visitors were present, relatives said. The language was invented by a Polish doctor in the late 19th century using 16 simple but inviolable rules to promote international communication but never became widely used.

Culbert is survived by his wife. At his request no funeral or memorial service is planned.

Pvt. Louis Charles Charlo, United States Marine Corps (b. September 26, 1926 - d. March 2, 1945).

One of the six Marines who raised the first American flag on Mount Surabachi on Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. This flag was later replaced by the flag in the famous flag raising photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press. Private Charlo was killed in action on March 2, 1945.
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Chief Plenty Coups
http://www.imt.net/~stan/pclife.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mtnews/
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Chief Dull Knife
http://www.accessgenealog...chiefs.htm
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Ben D. Kline, A Metis Leader
http://www.rootsweb.com/~...kline.html
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Paul Hevener DeBach (1914-1992)
December 28, 1914, in Miles City.
http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=hb0h4n99rb&doc.
view=frames&chunk.id=div00014&toc.depth=1&toc.id=&brand=calisphere

Chan Romero
http://www.rockabillyhall...mero1.html

Don't forget Earl Kelly !

How about Gary South?

"Politics as Unusual"
By Joan Melcher
THE MONTANAN
Fall 2003
http://www2.umt.edu/comm/...itics.html

George Fryett (a native of Helena who now calls Dillon home) the first American POW in Vietnam.
http://www.missoulian.com...news03.txt

Wow. I don't know what made me look at this post, but the name Dave McNally stood out. He was a great baseball pitcher and played American Legion ball many years ago. The funny this is, he played ball with my dad many years ago. My dad pitched for many years and went on to play with the Yankees farm team out of high school.

It's a small world when you see postings like this. I have newspaper clippings and scraps that my parents saved when they played together.

Barbara Ehrenreich
http://www.barbaraehrenre...nreich.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/w...Ehrenreich