Shaker Heights is the hometown of Paul Newman, Molly Shannon, Fred Willard, Susan Orlean, Jim Brickman, Rachel Ryan and San Francisco 49ers cornerback Nate Clements. Sara Bloomfield, Executive Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum graduated from Shaker Heights High School (1968) and taught in the Shaker Heights City School District prior to her appointment. Peter Bergman and Philip Proctor, two members of the Firesign Theatre are Shaker Heights natives. Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie Bucket in the first film version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory grew up in Shaker Heights and went to Byron Junior High School (now Shaker Middle School) when he was named to the role. Craig Finn of art-rock dynamos Lifter Puller lived in Shaker Heights before moving to Minneapolis, MN. David Mark Berger, a weightlifter who was one of the 11 Israeli athletes murdered by Arab commandos at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, was born and raised in Shaker Heights. David Wain, the New-York based actor and comedian who directed, co-wrote and co-produced Wet Hot American Summer (2001), a feature film starring Janeane Garofalo and Molly Shannon, also grew up in Shaker Heights where he attended Shaker Heights High School, participating in the Shaker Theatre Arts Department. Scott Savol, of American Idol fame, claims to be a Shaker Heights native because he attended Shaker Schools, however is actually from the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Writer James Frey, whose memoir A Million Little Pieces came under criticism when it was disclosed that he may have embellished its contents, spent his early childhood in the city. Comedian/satirist Andy Borowitz, creator of the website The Borowitz Report, and co-creator of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a native of Shaker Heights. Cheri Dennis, the Princess of Bad Boy Entertainment was raised in Shaker Heights. Musicians Gerald and Sean Levert are also from Shaker Heights. Food Network's latest Iron Chef, Michael Symon (founder of nationally acclaimed restaurants Lola and Lolita in Cleveland) is also the newest addition to Shaker Heights Residents.
place comments: