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Fort Wayne Famous People From Fort Wayne

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List of famous people from Fort Wayne, including photos when available. The people below are listed by their popularity, so the most recognizable names are at the top of the list. Some of the people below are celebrities born in Fort Wayne, while others are simply notable locals. If you're from Fort Wayne you might already know that these prominent figures are also from your hometown, but some of the names below may really surprise you. This list includes people who were born and raised in Fort Wayne, as well as those who were born there but moved away at a young age.

List ranges from Anita Silvey to Jon Fitch, plus much more.

If you want to answer the questions, "Which famous people are from Fort Wayne?" or "Which celebrities were born in Fort Wayne?" then this list is a great resource for you.

1

Dean Corll Died at 34 (1939-1973) - Dean Arnold Corll was an American serial killer who abducted, raped, tortured, and murdered a minimum of 28 boys in a series of killings spanning from 1970 to 1973 in Houston, Texas. The crimes, ...more

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2

Shelley Long age 66 - Shelley Lee Long is an American actress, best known for her role as Diane Chambers in the sitcom Cheers, for which she received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead ...more

3

Carole Lombard Died at 34 (1908-1942) - Carole Lombard was an American film actress. She was particularly noted for her highly neurotic, energetic and often off-beat roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s. She was the ...more

4

Mason Plumlee age 25 - Mason Alexander Plumlee is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA. As a freshman in 2009–10, he was a back-up forward for the Duke Blue ...more

5

Rod Woodson age 50 - Roderick Kevin Woodson is a former American football cornerback and safety who played in the National Football League for seventeen seasons. He had a 10-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers ...more

6

Art Schwind Died at 79 (1889-1968) - Arthur Edwin Schwind was a Major League Baseball player. He played one game with the Boston Braves on October 3, 1912.

7

Marion Donovan Died at 81 (1917-1998) - Marion O'Brien Donovan was an American inventor and entrepreneur. She is best known for developing the first waterproof disposable diaper, a feat which earned her election to the National ...more

8

The Ready Set age 26 - Jordan Mark Witzigreuter, known by his stage name The Ready Set, is an American electropop singer-songwriter from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is the lead vocalist and sole member of the act, using a ...more

9

George Jean Nathan Died at 76 (1882-1958) - George Jean Nathan was an American drama critic and editor. He worked closely with H.L. Mencken, bringing the literary magazine The Smart Set to prominence as an editor, and co-founding and ...more

10

Frank Bursley Taylor Died at 78 (1860-1938) - Frank Bursley Taylor was an American geologist, the son of a lawyer in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was a Harvard dropout who studied privately financed in large part by his wealthy father. He became ...more

11

Bruce Nauman age 74 - Bruce Nauman is an artist.

12

Harold Masursky Died at 68 (1922-1990) - Harold Masursky was an American geologist and astronomer. He started his career working for the US Geological Survey and later joined NASA as a senior science member. He was responsible for ...more

13

Amanda Perez age 35 - Amanda Nicole Perez is a female R&B singer-songwriter and record producer of Mexican descent. Amanda Perez was raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She grew up in the Waynedale community of Fort ...more

14

Bill Everitt Died at 70 (1868-1938) - William Lee "Wild Bill" Everitt was an infielder in Major League Baseball from 1895 to 1901. Everitt played for the Chicago Colts/Orphans and the Washington Senators.

15

Herm Schaefer Died at 62 (1918-1980) - Herman H. Schaefer was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'0" guard/forward from Indiana University, Schaefer played in the National Basketball League and National ...more

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16

Leonard A. Scheele Died at 86 (1907-1993) - Leonard Andrew Scheele was an American physician and public servant. He was appointed the seventh Surgeon General of the United States from 1948 to 1956.

17

Brad Miller age 40 - Bradley Alan Miller is an American retired professional basketball player. The two-time NBA All-Star played for six NBA teams.

18

William F. Borgmann Died at 90 (1913-2003) - William F. "Bill" Borgmann was an American football player and coach and businessman. He was a lineman for the undefeated national champion 1932 and 1933 Michigan Wolverines football ...more

19

Cory James Krueckeberg age 41 - Cory James Krueckeberg is a film producer, production designer and screenwriter.

20

Gray Morrow Died at 67 (1934-2001) - Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow was an American illustrator of comics and paperback books. He is co-creator of the Marvel Comics muck-monster Man-Thing and of DC Comics Old West vigilante

21

Matt Kelty Matt Kelty, is an Indiana politician, an architect and founder of Kelty Tappy Design. He was the 2007 Republican candidate for Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana and the 2002 candidate for the 81st ...more

22

Melvin F. Stute age 88 - Melvin Frederick "Mel" Stute is an American trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. On December 11, 2010, at Hollywood Park Racetrack, he won the 2000th race of a career that includes a ...more

23

Bernard Pollard age 31 - Bernard Karmell Pollard is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He has also played for ...more

24

Drake Hogestyn age 62 - Drake Hogestyn is an American actor best known for his long running role as John Black on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives.

25

Julia Barr age 66 - Julia Barr is an American actress. Barr is most famous for her role on the soap opera All My Children, playing the character of Brooke English. She played the role from 1976 to 1981 and from ...more

26

Alexa Suelzer age 98 - Sister Alexa Suelzer, S.P., is an author, educator and theologian known for her Old Testament criticism. A Roman Catholic Religious Sister, she is a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint ...more

27

Johnny Bright Died at 53 (1930-1983) - Johnny D. Bright was a professional Canadian football player in the Canadian Football League. He played college football at Drake University. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of ...more

28

Emil Sitko Died at 50 (1923-1973) - Emil "Red" Sitko was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on September 7, 1923. He was of Polish descent. He earned the nickname of "Red" due to his red hair. He attended Central High ...more

29

Earl McCarthy Died at 27 (1906-1933) - Earl McCarthy was an actor.

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30

Molly Kelly age 67 - Molly Kelly is a Democratic member of the New Hampshire Senate, representing the 10th District since 2006. Her district comprises Alstead, Chesterfield, Gilsum, Harrisville, Hinsdale, Keene, ...more

31

Vaughn Dunbar age 47 - Vaughn Allen Dunbar is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League for three seasons. He played college football at Indiana ...more

32

Susan Brooks age 55 - Susan Wiant Brooks is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who has been the U.S. Representative for Indiana's 5th congressional district since 2013. The district includes ...more

33

Michael Freeling age 72 - Michael Freeling is a 1980 Guggenheim Fellow in Natural Sciences.

34

Anthony Spencer age 31 - Anthony E. Spencer II is an American football linebacker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He played college football for Purdue University. He was drafted by the ...more

35

George Frederick Dick Died at 86 (1881-1967) - George Frederick Dick was an American physician and bacteriologist best known for his work with scarlet fever. Dick studied scarlet fever whilst serving the Army Medical Corps during World War ...more

36

Ryan Yerrick age 29 - Ryan Yerrick is an actor and film producer.

37

Kevin Wall age 63 - Kevin Wall, is an American producer, new media entrepreneur, investor and activist who creates and produces large-scale global music events, several of which have attracted audiences of more ...more

38

Cameron Scher age 24 - Cameron Scher is a child actor.

39

Zach Terrell age 23 - Zach Terrell is an American Football quarterback for the Western Michigan Broncos.

40

Jim Leonard Jr. Jim Leonard Jr. is a playwright and film producer

41

DaMarcus Beasley age 33 - DaMarcus Lamont Beasley is an American professional soccer player who plays for the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. He plays mainly as a winger on the left side of the midfield but has ...more

42

Willis Carto age 89 - Willis Allison Carto is a notable figure on the American far right. He describes himself as Jeffersonian and populist, but is primarily known for his promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories ...more

43

Mary Baumgartner age 85 - Mary Baumgartner [Wimp] is a former female catcher who played from 1949 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 5 in, 145 lb., she batted and threw ...more

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44

Homer Van Meter Died at 29 (1905-1934) - Homer Van Meter was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson.

45

Kyle Macy age 58 - Kyle Robert Macy is an American basketball broadcaster, currently the color commentator for University of Kentucky telecasts. Macy, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana and raised in Peru, Indiana, ...more

46

Bob Cowan Died at 81 (1923-2004) - Robert George Cowan was an American football halfback who played three seasons in the All-America Football Conference between 1947 and 1949. Cowan played for the Cleveland Browns and the ...more

47

Germany Schulz Died at 68 (1883-1951) - Adolph George "Germany" Schulz was an All-American American football center for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1904 to 1905 and from 1907 to 1908. While playing at ...more

48

Kathy Calvin age 66 - Kathryn Bushkin Calvin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Foundation. She joined the Foundation in 2003, following a diverse career in politics, journalism, ...more

49

Winfield Moses age 74 - Winfield "Win" C. Moses Jr. is an American politician from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

50

Josh Gaines age 31 - Joshua Lamar "Josh" Gaines is a former gridiron football defensive end. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Penn ...more

1 Dean Corll Died at 34 (1939-1973) - Dean Arnold Corll was an American serial killer who abducted, raped, tortured, and murdered a minimum of 28 boys in a series of killings spanning from 1970 to 1973 in Houston, Texas. The crimes, ...more

2 Shelley Long age 66 - Shelley Lee Long is an American actress, best known for her role as Diane Chambers in the sitcom Cheers, for which she received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead ...more

3 Carole Lombard Died at 34 (1908-1942) - Carole Lombard was an American film actress. She was particularly noted for her highly neurotic, energetic and often off-beat roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s. She was the ...more

4 Mason Plumlee age 25 - Mason Alexander Plumlee is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA. As a freshman in 2009–10, he was a back-up forward for the Duke Blue ...more

5 Rod Woodson age 50 - Roderick Kevin Woodson is a former American football cornerback and safety who played in the National Football League for seventeen seasons. He had a 10-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers ...more

6 Art Schwind Died at 79 (1889-1968) - Arthur Edwin Schwind was a Major League Baseball player. He played one game with the Boston Braves on October 3, 1912.

7 Marion Donovan Died at 81 (1917-1998) - Marion O'Brien Donovan was an American inventor and entrepreneur. She is best known for developing the first waterproof disposable diaper, a feat which earned her election to the National ...more

8 The Ready Set age 26 - Jordan Mark Witzigreuter, known by his stage name The Ready Set, is an American electropop singer-songwriter from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is the lead vocalist and sole member of the act, using a ...more

9 George Jean Nathan Died at 76 (1882-1958) - George Jean Nathan was an American drama critic and editor. He worked closely with H.L. Mencken, bringing the literary magazine The Smart Set to prominence as an editor, and co-founding and ...more

10 Frank Bursley Taylor Died at 78 (1860-1938) - Frank Bursley Taylor was an American geologist, the son of a lawyer in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was a Harvard dropout who studied privately financed in large part by his wealthy father. He became ...more

11 Bruce Nauman age 74 - Bruce Nauman is an artist.

12 Harold Masursky Died at 68 (1922-1990) - Harold Masursky was an American geologist and astronomer. He started his career working for the US Geological Survey and later joined NASA as a senior science member. He was responsible for ...more

13 Amanda Perez age 35 - Amanda Nicole Perez is a female R&B singer-songwriter and record producer of Mexican descent. Amanda Perez was raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She grew up in the Waynedale community of Fort ...more

14 Bill Everitt Died at 70 (1868-1938) - William Lee "Wild Bill" Everitt was an infielder in Major League Baseball from 1895 to 1901. Everitt played for the Chicago Colts/Orphans and the Washington Senators.

15 Herm Schaefer Died at 62 (1918-1980) - Herman H. Schaefer was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'0" guard/forward from Indiana University, Schaefer played in the National Basketball League and National ...more

16 Leonard A. Scheele Died at 86 (1907-1993) - Leonard Andrew Scheele was an American physician and public servant. He was appointed the seventh Surgeon General of the United States from 1948 to 1956.

17 Brad Miller age 40 - Bradley Alan Miller is an American retired professional basketball player. The two-time NBA All-Star played for six NBA teams.

18 William F. Borgmann Died at 90 (1913-2003) - William F. "Bill" Borgmann was an American football player and coach and businessman. He was a lineman for the undefeated national champion 1932 and 1933 Michigan Wolverines football ...more

19 Cory James Krueckeberg age 41 - Cory James Krueckeberg is a film producer, production designer and screenwriter.

20 Gray Morrow Died at 67 (1934-2001) - Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow was an American illustrator of comics and paperback books. He is co-creator of the Marvel Comics muck-monster Man-Thing and of DC Comics Old West vigilante

21 Matt Kelty Matt Kelty, is an Indiana politician, an architect and founder of Kelty Tappy Design. He was the 2007 Republican candidate for Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana and the 2002 candidate for the 81st ...more

22 Melvin F. Stute age 88 - Melvin Frederick "Mel" Stute is an American trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. On December 11, 2010, at Hollywood Park Racetrack, he won the 2000th race of a career that includes a ...more

23 Bernard Pollard age 31 - Bernard Karmell Pollard is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He has also played for ...more

24 Drake Hogestyn age 62 - Drake Hogestyn is an American actor best known for his long running role as John Black on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives.

25 Julia Barr age 66 - Julia Barr is an American actress. Barr is most famous for her role on the soap opera All My Children, playing the character of Brooke English. She played the role from 1976 to 1981 and from ...more

26 Alexa Suelzer age 98 - Sister Alexa Suelzer, S.P., is an author, educator and theologian known for her Old Testament criticism. A Roman Catholic Religious Sister, she is a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint ...more

27 Johnny Bright Died at 53 (1930-1983) - Johnny D. Bright was a professional Canadian football player in the Canadian Football League. He played college football at Drake University. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of ...more

28 Emil Sitko Died at 50 (1923-1973) - Emil "Red" Sitko was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on September 7, 1923. He was of Polish descent. He earned the nickname of "Red" due to his red hair. He attended Central High ...more

29 Earl McCarthy Died at 27 (1906-1933) - Earl McCarthy was an actor.

30 Molly Kelly age 67 - Molly Kelly is a Democratic member of the New Hampshire Senate, representing the 10th District since 2006. Her district comprises Alstead, Chesterfield, Gilsum, Harrisville, Hinsdale, Keene, ...more

31 Vaughn Dunbar age 47 - Vaughn Allen Dunbar is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League for three seasons. He played college football at Indiana ...more

32 Susan Brooks age 55 - Susan Wiant Brooks is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who has been the U.S. Representative for Indiana's 5th congressional district since 2013. The district includes ...more

33 Michael Freeling age 72 - Michael Freeling is a 1980 Guggenheim Fellow in Natural Sciences.

34 Anthony Spencer age 31 - Anthony E. Spencer II is an American football linebacker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He played college football for Purdue University. He was drafted by the ...more

35 George Frederick Dick Died at 86 (1881-1967) - George Frederick Dick was an American physician and bacteriologist best known for his work with scarlet fever. Dick studied scarlet fever whilst serving the Army Medical Corps during World War ...more

36 Ryan Yerrick age 29 - Ryan Yerrick is an actor and film producer.

37 Kevin Wall age 63 - Kevin Wall, is an American producer, new media entrepreneur, investor and activist who creates and produces large-scale global music events, several of which have attracted audiences of more ...more

38 Cameron Scher age 24 - Cameron Scher is a child actor.

39 Zach Terrell age 23 - Zach Terrell is an American Football quarterback for the Western Michigan Broncos.

40 Jim Leonard Jr. Jim Leonard Jr. is a playwright and film producer

41 DaMarcus Beasley age 33 - DaMarcus Lamont Beasley is an American professional soccer player who plays for the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. He plays mainly as a winger on the left side of the midfield but has ...more

42 Willis Carto age 89 - Willis Allison Carto is a notable figure on the American far right. He describes himself as Jeffersonian and populist, but is primarily known for his promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories ...more

43 Mary Baumgartner age 85 - Mary Baumgartner [Wimp] is a former female catcher who played from 1949 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 5 in, 145 lb., she batted and threw ...more

44 Homer Van Meter Died at 29 (1905-1934) - Homer Van Meter was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson.

45 Kyle Macy age 58 - Kyle Robert Macy is an American basketball broadcaster, currently the color commentator for University of Kentucky telecasts. Macy, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana and raised in Peru, Indiana, ...more

46 Bob Cowan Died at 81 (1923-2004) - Robert George Cowan was an American football halfback who played three seasons in the All-America Football Conference between 1947 and 1949. Cowan played for the Cleveland Browns and the ...more

47 Germany Schulz Died at 68 (1883-1951) - Adolph George "Germany" Schulz was an All-American American football center for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1904 to 1905 and from 1907 to 1908. While playing at ...more

48 Kathy Calvin age 66 - Kathryn Bushkin Calvin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Foundation. She joined the Foundation in 2003, following a diverse career in politics, journalism, ...more

49 Winfield Moses age 74 - Winfield "Win" C. Moses Jr. is an American politician from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

50 Josh Gaines age 31 - Joshua Lamar "Josh" Gaines is a former gridiron football defensive end. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Penn ...more

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