History

NOTABLE RESIDENTS

• Dan Ahdoot, comedian[15]

• David Baltimore (born 1938), Nobel Prize-winning biologist and former president of Caltech (former resident and high school graduate).[16]

• Nikki Blonsky (born 1988), actress who starred as Tracy Turnblad in the 2007 version of Hairspray and in Harold, filmed in Great Neck North High School and Middle School.[17]

• Enea Bossi (1888–1963), Italian-American engineer and aviation pioneer

• Oscar Brand (born 1920), folk singer and songwriter (resident)

• Donald Brian (1877–1948), Broadway actor, singer, and dancer

• Fanny Brice (1891-1951), comedian, entertainer, theater and film actress, Funny Girl

• Carol Bruce (1919-2007), singer and theater, film and television actress

• Algis Budrys (1931–2008), science-fiction author and editor (former resident)

• Sid Caesar (1922–2014), television pioneer known for Your Show of Shows (resident)

• Barrie Chase, dancer and actress

• Maurice Chevalier (1888–1972), actor and entertainer (resident)

• Walter Chrysler (1875–1940), automobile pioneer, founder of the Chrysler Corporation

• Mary L. Cleave (born 1947), space shuttleastronaut.[16]

• George M. Cohan (1878-1942), entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, director, and producer (resident)

• Arthur G. Cohen (1930-2014) American businessman and real estate developer

• Steven A. Cohen, hedge fund manager (SAC Capital), billionaire (resident)

• Kenneth Cole, designer (attended school in Great Neck)

• Francis Ford Coppola, film director (graduated from Great Neck High School North)

• Andrew W. Cordier, Columbia University president (former resident)

• Anthony Cumia, latter half of Opie and Anthony(resident)

• R.J. Cutler, (born 1962) American filmmaker, documentarian, television producer and theater director

• Thomas DiNapoli, New York State Comptroller (resident)

• Gail Dolgin (1945–2010), filmmaker

• Tad Dorgan (1877-1929), cartoonist

• Shay Doron, first Israeli to play in the Women's National Basketball Association (New York Liberty)

• Will Durant (1885-1981), historian. Author of the multi-volume outline of world history The Story of Civilization.[18]

• Quinn Early, football player drafted by San Diego Chargers (graduated from Great Neck South High School)

• Sam Eshaghoff, real estate developer and investor (graduated from Great Neck North High School)

• Percy Faith, (1908-1976) Canadian bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor (former resident)

• W. C. Fields, comedian and actor (former resident)

• F. Scott Fitzgerald, author (former resident), lived in Great Neck in the 1920s, at 6 Gateway Drive in Great Neck Estates. He lived here in a modest house not dissimilar to that of Nick, the protagonist of his novel, The Great Gatsby. It is said that Fitzgerald modeled West Egg—the fictional town in which Nick lives—after his own Great Neck (specifically Kings Point) and the atmosphere and lifestyle there; and he modeled East Egg after Great Neck's eastern neighbor, Port Washington, or, more specifically, Sands Point. It is possible to see the actual green light referred to in the book, at Stepping Stone Park. The park is located at the top of the Great Neck Peninsula.

• Whitey Ford, New York Yankees pitcher (resident)

• Matt Fox, songwriter/producer

• Arnold and Jesse Friedman, subjects of award-winning 2003 documentary Capturing the Friedmans (former residents)

• Julius Genachowski FCC chairman under Obama administration

• Harry Gideonse (1901-1985), President of Brooklyn College, and Chancellor of the New School for Social Research

• Jamie Gorelick, Clinton Administration official (former resident)

• Morton Gould, concert pianist (former resident)

• Joseph Peter Grace, Sr., businessman (former resident)

• Mark J. Green, former New York City Public Advocate and mayoral candidate (former resident and high school graduate)

• Jim Gurfein (born 1961), tennis player

• Betty Haas Pfister (1921–2011), aviator

• Ilan Hall, chef and winner of reality television show Top Chef (former resident)

• Oscar Hammerstein II, writer, producer and director of musicals (former resident)

• Dick Heyward, former deputy Director of UNICEF (1914-2005) (former resident)

• Jackie Hoffman, actress, singer and comedian

• Leslie Howard (1893-1943), actor, director and producer

• Christopher Howes, Yale professor in Cardiology and head of Greenwich Hospital Cardiology (grew up in Great Neck)

• Emily Hughes, member of the U.S. figure skating team at the 2006 Winter Olympics

• Sarah Hughes, gold medalist in figure skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics

• Marion Hutton, singer/actor (former resident)

• Eric Isaacs (born 1957), physicist, director of Argonne National Laboratory

• David Kahn, historian, journalist, and writer on subjects of cryptography and military intelligence

• Anna Kaplan, Town of North HempsteadCouncilwoman (resident)

• Michael Karlan, founder of the nation's largest networking and socializing group, Professionals in the City (former resident)

• Andy Kaufman (1949-1984), comedian and actor (former resident)

• Edward Keonjian (1909-1999), Armenian-American engineer and "father of microelectronics"

• Alan King (1927-2004), comedian and actor (former resident)

• Moogy Klingman, (1950-2011) American musician and songwriter

• Josh Kopelman, entrepreneur (former resident)

• Christopher Lambert, actor (born in Great Neck)

• Morris S. Levy, television and film producer (resident)

• Jack Liebowitz co-founder of DC Comics; lived in the Saddle Rock neighborhood.

• Nick Liu one sexy boy

• Ring Lardner, sports columnist and short story writer (former resident)

• Brian Maller, visual artist (graduated from Great Neck South High School)

• Edna Luby (1884-1928), entertainer, lived in Great Neck

• The Marx Brothers, stars of vaudeville and movies (former residents)

• Mimi Michaels, actress

• Minae Mizumura, novelist, essayist, critic, based in Tokyo (former resident)

• Bobby Muller, Vietnam War veteran and anti-war activist (grew up in Great Neck)

• Louise Nevelson, abstract sculptor (former resident)

• Paul Newman, actor (former resident)

• Ted Nierenberg (1923–2009), founder of Dansk International Designs, created in the garage of his Great Neck home.[19]

• Roy Niederhoffer (born 1966), founder and President of R. G. Niederhoffer Capital Investments, philanthropist, Chairman of the New York City Opera[20]

• Eugene O'Neill, playwright (former resident)

• Charlotte Blair Parker, playwright; writing under pen name Lottie Blair Parker, remembered most for three plays produced between 1897 and 1906: Way Down East, Under Southern Skies and The Redemption of David Corson

• Larry Poons, abstract painter (graduated from Great Neck High School [North])

• Neil Portnow, President of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (former resident)

• Dan Raviv, author and CBS TV and radio correspondent who hosts the CBS News Weekend Roundup (former resident)

• Daniella Rabbani, Yiddish theatre actress

• Peter Rennert (born 1958), tennis player

• Jimmy Roberts, composer for musical theater as well as a pianist and entertainer (graduate of Great Neck North High School)

• Bobby Rosengarden, (1924-2007) jazz drummer and bandleader, (former resident)

• Jordan Rudess, keyboard player for the band Dream Theater (grew up in Great Neck)

• Tamir Sapir, Georgian-born billionaire

• Roxanne Seeman, songwriter and lyricist (graduate of Great Neck North High School)

• Fred Schwartz, Furrier, Philanthropist and Television Pitchman 12-acre (49,000 m2) estate on Pond Road

• George Segal, actor (resident)

• David Seidler, screenwriter of "The King's Speech," 2011 Oscar winner; Great Neck H.S. graduate, 1955

• Burt Shavitz, co-founder of Burt's Bees

• Talia Shire, actress, known for The Godfather and Rocky films (born in Lake Success)

• Jared Siegel (Jared Evan), singer, songwriter, and producer

• Elie Siegmeister, composer (resident)

• Harry F. Sinclair, oil industrialist (former resident)

• Helen Slater (born 1963), actress

• Alfred P. Sloan, president of General Motors (former resident)

• Tim Sommer, musician in Hugo Largo and record executive and producer

• Seth Swirsky, songwriter and author

• Jon Taffer, host and co-executive producer of Spike TVreality series Bar Rescue

• Norma Talmadge, actress (former resident)

• Richard Tucker, operatic tenor (former resident)

• Louis Uchitelle, journalist with The New York Times(former resident)

• Sim Van der Ryn, architect, researcher and educator, who has applied principles of physical and social ecology to architecture and environmental design.[21]

• William Kissam Vanderbilt II, railroad executive and yachtsman (former resident)

• Robert Varkonyi, World Series of Poker champion (resident)

• Sam Warner (1887–1927), one of four brothers who were co-founders of Warner Bros.

• Mordecai Waxman (1917–2002), prominent rabbi in the Conservative movement and of Temple Israel of Great Neck.[22]

• .Max Weber (1881-1961) One of the first American Cubist painters.

• Michael H. Weber (born 1978), screenwriter[23]

• Mort Weisinger, editor (Batman, Superman, Thrilling Wonder Stories)

• Charlie Williams, traded by the New York Mets along with cash for Willie Mays; did not make the Great Neck South Senior baseball team as a senior

• P. G. Wodehouse (1881–1975), English comic writer (former resident).[24]

• Herman Wouk (born 1915), author (former resident)

• Harris Wulfson (1974–2008), composer, instrumentalist and software engineer (graduated from Great Neck South High School)

• Chic Young (1901–1973) created Blondie in his Great Neck studio in summer of 1930

• Fred Schwartz, Furrier, Philanthropist and Television Pitchman