Being new to Baltimore last year, I was puzzled at how anyone can think this is "the greatest city in America." I didn't even think it was a major American city, let alone the greatest; it doesn't quite compare to Los Angeles or New York City. Sure, Baltimore can boast about its crab and harbor, but what else is special about this town? Believe it or not, Baltimore served as home to a number of very influential and famous people. Most Hopkins students know about Francis Scott Key and Babe Ruth, two of the mostobvious Baltimore natives. However, do they know that the notorious John Wilkes Booth was also from Baltimore, as was Tupac Shakur? Read on to learn more about these and other celebrities of Baltimore.
We know some of the most famous historical figures of Baltimore, such as Johns Hopkins himself, but there are some that are less known as Baltimore natives, such as Harriet Tubman (1820-1913). She, a former slave from Baltimore, was one of the most prominent "conductors" of the Underground Railroad. She helped free more than 300 slaves during her life, earning the nickname, "the Moses of her people." Another prominent historical figure from around the same era is John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865), the infamous assassin of President Lincoln. He was from the Baltimore area, born and raised in nearby Bel Air. Booth was a prominent actor of the time, who got his start in the Charles Street Theater in Baltimore. He abruptly ended what may have been a successful acting career by assassinating our beloved 16th president. I guess Baltimore can't have all winners, right.
Moving on to the merrier celebrities from Baltimore -- Annie Oakley (1860-1926), the renowned sharpshooter and inspiration for the popular musical Annie, Get Your Gun, also lived in our interesting town. Though she traveled all over the country with the Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, she settled in Baltimore and considered this her permanent home. We all know many Baltimoreans have guns, but this woman could do some pretty impressive things with hers.
A more contemporary female icon from Baltimore is ice skating champion and Olympic gold winner Dorothy Hamill; she currently lives in the Guilford area, right next to the Homewood campus, and she is rumored to go skating every day at a nearby ice rink. Another Baltimore resident/celebrity is the always-interesting Edward Norton, who delivered many critically acclaimed performances, like in Fight Club and American History X. He is from, and still lives in, Columbia, Maryland. Hopkins students have reported many Norton sightings around Baltimore and the nearby suburbs.
If you've ever seen The Muppet Show or Sesame Street (who didn't?) on television, you'll be proud to learn that Jim Henson (1936-1990) was also from the Baltimore area. He, in fact, attended the University of Maryland. Tori Amos is another B'more native who attended college here: namely, the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Actor John Astin is yet another notable Baltimore native. He was born in B'more and attended our very own Johns Hopkins University. He is most famous for his role as Gomez Addams on TV's The Addams Family, but has quite an incredible list of acting and directing achievements since then. He is currently a visiting professor in the Hopkins' Writing Seminars department. Sophomore Diana Iskelov, a student in his acting/directing class, comments on delights of having a famous professor: "I remember one day in class, when Prof. Astin just whipped out his cell phone and called his agent about an audition he was unable to attend. I was so star struck -- here's my professor calling his agent about a gig! I also love it when he pulls out a Gomez impression in class: 'That's a capital idea!'" Don't you wish you were in that class?
More television stars from Baltimore include David Hasselhoff, the star of Knight Rider (with the coolest talking car) and Baywatch, and Jada Pinkett Smith, who starred in A Different World. Smith is perhaps best known as the wife of entertaining superstar Will Smith. This is a little-known fact, but she went to high school, the Baltimore School of the Arts, with the late rapper Tupac Shakur (1971-1996). Shakur lived in Baltimore until after high school, when he left for Oakland, California. Tupac represented the West Coast during the mid '90s, cranking out popular songs like "California Love." Even after his tragic death at age 25, he is still considered as one of the most talented rappers.
A more easily forgettable Baltimorean hip hop star is the silver-tressed Sisqo. He was first a member of the group Dru Hill, also native to Baltimore, then branched off into a solo career in 2000. Despite creating a splash with his scandalous "Thong Song," we haven't heard much else from him. The newest Baltimorean hip- hop singer is 13-year-old Mario, who had one of the summer's hit songs, a cover of Biz Markie's "Just a Friend." We'll have to wait and see if this one will become a Baltimore legend.
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