Famous Baldwinites

8

Living In Baldwin

www.liherald.com

Famous Baldwinites

Compiled by Jackson Tarricone

Baldwin has been the home to many influential people throughout the years. Here are just some of the great figures who were born, raised or died in Baldwin.

Courtesy U.S. National Archives

Bob Beckwith: FDNY veteran

Bob Beckwith is a retired FDNY veteran who worked for the department for more than 30 years. Beckwith stood next to President George W. Bush as he addressed the nation over a megaphone after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and appeared on the front page of The New York Times. Beckwith has lived in Baldwin with his family for more than 50 years.

via Wikipedia

Granville Carter: Master craftsman

Granville Carter grew up in Maine. As a teenager, he took up wood carving and caught the attention of local newspapers. He created several dioramas, one being used in the Disney film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” He formally studied the craft and became a prolific sculptor. He retired to Baldwin, where he died in 1992.

Alred Nitsch, via Flickr

Dee Snider: Twisted Sister singer

Although he was born in Queens, Dee Snider grew up in Baldwin. He graduated from Baldwin High School in 1973. He came to prominence as the frontman of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister, who were a huge hit on Long Island and then nationally and internationally.

Herald File Photo

Laura Gillen: Former Town of Hempstead supervisor

Laura Gillen was born in Baldwin. In November 2017, she won the election for supervisor for the Town of Hempstead. She was the first Democrat in more than 100 years to win the position. An attorney, she now lives in Rockville Centre.

DeShaun Craddock, via Flickr.

Jonathan Demme: Director of “Silence of the Lambs”

Jonathan Demme was born in Baldwin in 1944, but moved to southwest Florida where he attended and graduated high school. After graduating the University of Florida, Demme began a successful career in film. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for his work on “Silence of the Lambs.”

Courtesy U.S. District Court

Dennis Reagan Hurley: Federal judge

Denis Reagan Hurley was born in 1937 in Baldwin. He went on to earn degrees from Fordham, the University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University. In 1991, he was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, where he still serves.

Eva Rinaldi, via Flickr.

Taylor Dayne: Singer

Taylor Dayne, singer of the hit song “Tell it to My Heart,” grew up in Baldwin and graduated from Baldwin High School. She then launched a successful career in music, and later in acting. Billboard Magazine ranked her as the 28th most successful female dance artist of all time.

via People.csail.mit.edu

James McLurkin: Professor at Rice University

James McLurkin graduated from Baldwin Senior High School in 1990. He is an engineering assistant professor at Rice University, specializing in robotics. McLurkin appeared on PBS in 2005 with robots of his own creation. He received a Ph.D in computer science from M.I.T. in 2008.

Scott Rudin: EGOT Producer

Baldwin native Scott Rudin was an assistant to a theater producer at 16. He and his company, Scott Rudin Productions, casted several Broadway shows such as “Annie.” He became the first producer to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award, known as an EGOT.

via Wikipedia

Gabby Hayes: Vaudeville actor

Gabby Hayes was born in New York City. After running away from home at 17, he became a successful actor during the Vaudeville days. He and his wife retired to Baldwin at the age of 26, but he lost his life savings in the Stock Market Crash of 1929, so he was forced back into work. He and his wife moved to Hollywood and Hayes acted in several western films. Hayes has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Instagram photo

Rob Weiss: Director of “Entourage”

Rob Weiss was born in Baldwin and later moved to Lawrence with his father. He wrote several episodes of “Entourage,” and was the inspiration for one of the characters. He also wrote and produced the Entourage movie and the show “Ballers” with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

via Wikipedia

Moneta Sleet Jr.: Pulitzer-winning photographer

Moneta Sleet Jr. grew up and went to school in Kentucky until he received his master’s degree in Journalism at New York University in 1947. He earned the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, becoming the first African-American to do so, for his photo of Coretta Scott King and her daughter Bernice at Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral. Later in life, he moved to Baldwin, where he died in 1996.

Herald File Photo.

Laura Curran: Nassau County executive

Laura Curran and her husband, John, moved to Baldwin in 1997 and have lived there since. Curran made history in November 2017 when she won the election as Nassau County executive, becoming the first woman ever to do so. She previously represented Baldwin in the Nassau County Legislature and was a member of the Baldwin Board of Education.

via Wikipedia

Jeff Rosenstock: Guitarist and vocalist

Jeff Rosenstock was born in Baldwin. He was the lead singer of several punk bands, including Bomb the Music Industry! He then went solo, achieving success as an independent artist. He founded Quote Unquote Records, an independent label that releases all of its music for free. He composes the music for the Cartoon Network show “Craig of the Week.”

DeShaun Craddock, via Flickr.

Melanie Martinez: Singer/songwriter

Melanie Martinez’s family moved to Baldwin at age 4. Growing up, she listened to almost everything, from The Beatles to Shakira. She began singing in elementary school, which eventually led her to appear on “The Voice,” a singing competition show. She was eliminated in the fifth week of the show’s third season. After that, she began releasing her own original music, and her debut album “Cry Baby” went platinum.

Herald File Photo.

Chris Weidman: Mixed martial arts champion

Chris Weidman was born and raised in Baldwin, wrestling since he was a young boy. In high school, he became a Nassau County and New York state champion. He earned similar accolades at Nassau County Community College and Hofstra, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology. He made his UFC debut in 2011 and became the middleweight champion two years later. As of July 2018, he was ranked No. 3 in the official UFC middleweight rankings.

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Bob Sheppard: Legendary baseball announcer

Bob Sheppard grew up in Brooklyn, where he was exposed to many sports. He earned an athletic scholarship to St. John’s University, where he played baseball and football. He also earned a speech education degree from Columbia University. He announced his first Yankee game in 1951 and announced games there for 50 years, becoming known as the “Voice of the Yankees.” Sheppard lived in Baldwin in his later years until he died at age 99, nine days short of his 100th birthday.