List of people from Scranton, Pennsylvania
List of people from Scranton, Pennsylvania
Arts
- J. Grubb Alexander, silent film screenwriter
- Pete Barbutti, actor
- Thomas Cynfelyn Benjamin, Welsh language poet and congregational minister
- Walter Bobbie theatre director and choreographer[1]
- Alan Brown, filmmaker
- Sonny Burke, big band leader
- Stephen Cognetti, film writer and director
- Mark Cohen, photographer
- Karl R. Coolidge, screenwriter
- Ann Crowley, singer and actress
- Pat Crowley, Actress
- Emile de Antonio, documentary film director and producer
- Carrie De Mar, actress, singer, and vaudevillian
- Dorothy Dietrich, stage magician, escapologist, co-owner of Houdini Museum
- Margot Douaihy, writer and author
- Cy Endfield, screenwriter, film and theater director, author, magician, and inventor
- Ann Evers, film actress
- Wanda Hawley, silent film actress
- Lee Bennett Hopkins, educator, poet, and author
- Allan Jones, singer and actor
- Gloria Jean, singer and actress
- Stephen Karam, playwright and screenwriter
- JP Karliak, actor, voice actor, and comedian
- Barrie Karp, artist, scholar, and academic
- Jean Kerr, author and playwright
- Michael Patrick King, television and film writer, director and producer, co-creator of 2 Broke Girls and The Comeback
- William Kotzwinkle, novelist and screenwriter
- Michael Kuchwara, theater critic, columnist, and journalist
- Gershon Legman, cultural critic and folklorist
- Harry M. Leonard, film sound mixer
- Bradford Louryk, theater artist and actor
- Charles Emmett Mack, actor
- Jeanne Madden, singer, star of musical theater and 1930s films
- Judy McGrath, MTV Networks CEO
- Charles MacArthur, playwright and screenwriter
- The Menzingers, punk band
- W. S. Merwin, 17th U.S. Poet Laureate
- Jason Miller, actor, director, and Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright of That Championship Season
- Russ Morgan, big band-era bandleader
- Alice Cordelia Morse, American designer of book covers, educator
- Motionless in White, gothic metalcore band
- Bruce Mozert, photographer
- Jerry Orbach, American actor and singer
- Jay Parini, writer and academic
- Jerry Penacoli, actor and director
- Byrne Piven, stage actor
- Cynthia Rothrock, martial artist and star of martial arts films
- Lizabeth Scott, actress and singer
- Katy Selverstone, actress, Lisa Robbins on The Drew Carey Show
- Melanie Smith, television actress
- Mabel Cox Surdam, photographer
- Thomas L. Thomas, concert singer
- Tigers Jaw, indie rock, emo band
- Beverly Tyler, actress and singer
- Ned Washington, Academy Award-winning lyricist
- Lauren Weisberger, author, The Devil Wears Prada
- Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, singer
- Tyra Vaughn, actress and dancer[2]
Business, industry and labor
- John J. Albright, American businessman and philathorpist
- Louise Tanner Brown, African American businesswoman and owner of a trucking company
- Lisa Caputo, Citigroup group
- Frank J. Coyne, American business executive, former CEO of Verisk Analytics
- Alex Grass, founder of Rite Aid
- Ralph Lomma, popularized miniature golf
- John Mitchell, labor organizer, founding member and president, United Mine Workers of America
- Paul Montrone, American business executive, former chairman and CEO of Fisher Scientific
- William Henry Richmond, coal mine operator
- Sally Victor, milliner
- Charles Sumner "Sum" Woolworth, retailer, philanthropist, co-founder of Woolworth
- Mel Ziegler, co-founder, The Republic of Tea and Banana Republic
Government & Military
- Joe Biden, 46th President of the United States (2021–2025), 47th Vice President of the United States (2009–2017), U.S. senator from Delaware (1973–2009)
- Richard J. Beamish, Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth and commissioner, Public Utilities Commission
- Bruce Beemer, Inspector General of Pennsylvania (2016), Pennsylvania Attorney General (2016–2017)
- John Blake, former Pennsylvania State Senator
- Patrick J. Boland, former U.S. congressman
- Marion Cowan Burrows, former Massachusetts state legislator
- John D. Butzner Jr., former United States federal judge - United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- Frank Carlucci, former U.S. Secretary of Defense and ambassador to Portugal
- Robert P. Casey, former governor of Pennsylvania
- Bob Casey Jr., U.S. senator for Pennsylvania[3]
- Gaynor Cawley, former Pennsylvania State Representative
- Jim Connors, former mayor of Scranton
- John Cusick, retired lieutenant general and 42nd Quartermaster General of the United States Army
- David J. Davis, former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor
- Mike Dunleavy, governor of Alaska
- Hermann Eilts, former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bangladesh
- John R. Farr, U.S. Congressman
- John L. Gronski, U.S. Army major general
- Anne Healey, Maryland House of Delegates
- Thomas W. Hoffman, American Civil War soldier and Medal of Honor recipient
- Kathleen Kane, former Pennsylvania attorney general and felon[4]
- Yechiel Leiter, Israeli ambassador to the United States since 2025[5]
- Malachy E. Mannion, United States District Judge, United States District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
- Joseph M. McDade, Former United States Congressman
- Gino J. Merli, Medal of Honor recipient during World War II
- Julia K. Munley, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- Karen Murphy (Pennsylvania nurse), former Secretary of Health of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Director of the State Innovation Models Initiative, and CEO of the Moses Taylor Health System
- Terence V. Powderly, former head of Knights of Labor
- Ernie Preate, former Pennsylvania attorney general and felon
- Robert Reich, professor and political commentator, former U.S. Secretary of Labor
- Hugh E. Rodham, father of Hillary Clinton[6]
- Loretta Rush, chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court
- Martin F. Scanlon, U.S. Air Force general
- Mary Scranton, former First Lady of Pennsylvania[7]
- George W. Scranton, American industrialist and U.S. congressman
- Joseph A. Scranton, U.S. congressman
- Marion Margery Scranton, Suffragette and vice-chair, U.S. Republican Party
- William Scranton, former governor of Pennsylvania and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
- William Scranton III, former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor
- Harvey Sicherman, Special Assistant to the then Secretary of State, Alexander Haig, American writer and foreign policy expert, President of the Foreign Policy Research Institute from 1993 to 2010
- Joel Wachs, Los Angeles city council member
- John Anthony Walker, former U.S. Navy chief warrant officer convicted of spying for the Soviet Union[8]
- Laurence Hawley Watres. U.S. Congressman[9]
- Louis A. Watres, Pennsylvania lieutenant governor[9]
- James Donald Walsh, Diplomat and foreign service officer, United States Ambassador to Argentina 2000-2003
- Stephen Wojdak, American politician, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1969–1976)
Sports
- Hank Bullough, NFL player and coach
- P. J. Carlesimo, college, Olympic, and professional basketball coach and television broadcaster
- Jimmy Caras, professional pool player
- Nick Chickillo, former NFL player
- Nestor Chylak, Baseball Hall of Famer and former American League umpire
- Joe Collins, Major League Baseball player, six-time World Series champion
- Patty Costello, professional bowler, International Bowling Congress Hall of Fame, and Pro Bowlers Tour Hall of Fame member
- Jim Crowley, football player and coach, one-fourth of University of Notre Dame's legendary "Four Horsemen" backfield
- Lenny Dykstra, Major League Baseball player
- Edmund Eiden, former NFL player
- Bill Ferrario, former NFL player
- Paul Foytack, Major League Baseball pitcher
- Charlie Gelbert, Major League Baseball player
- Joe Grzenda, Major League Baseball player
- John Halstead, Olympian
- Cosmo Iacavazzi, college and AFL player
- Edgar Jones, college and professional football player
- Jerome Kapp, NFL wide receiver
- Gary Lavelle, Major League Baseball player
- Bill Lazor, NFL offensive coordinator
- Dave Lettieri, Olympic cyclist
- Mike Lynn, general manager and executive Minnesota Vikings
- Hoddy Mahon (1932–2011), high school and collegiate basketball coach who was the head coach of the Seton Hall Pirates[10]
- Joe McCarthy, Major League Baseball player
- Jake McCarthy, Major League Baseball player
- Matt McGloin, former NFL quarterback
- Gerry McNamara, former basketball player and current head coach of the Siena Saints men's basketball team.
- Mike McNally, former Major League Baseball player, member of New York Yankees first World Series championship team
- Mike Minor (snowboarder), World Champion snowboarder and a Paralympian
- Mike Munchak, former head coach of NFL's Tennessee Titans, college and NFL player, member of Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Joe O'Malley, football player
- Jim O'Neill, Major League Baseball player
- Steve O'Neill, former Major League Baseball player and manager
- Jackie Paterson, Scottish boxer
- Abby Peck, Olympic Rower
- Jimmy Piersall, Major League Baseball player and Scranton Miners Minor League Baseball player
- Ivan Puskovitch, Olympic swimmer
- Jim Rempe, pocket billiards champion and member of the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame
- Adam Rippon, figure skater
- Tim Ruddy, college and National Football League player
- Dutch Savage, professional wrestler
- Jack Scott (sports activist), Sports and political activist, sports writer
- Greg Sherman, general manager of NHL's Colorado Avalanche
- Chick Shorten, Major League Baseball player
- Marc Spindler, college and NFL player
- Brian Stann, mixed martial artist, UFC analyst for Fox Sports, former WEC Light Heavyweight champion
- Jim Williams (powerlifter), world record holding powerlifter
Others
- Joseph Bambera, Bishop of Scranton
- Drew Von Bergen, journalist (United Press International), President of the National Press Club (1980) and the National Cherry Blossom Festival (1995–1997)
- Mamie Cadden, Irish midwife and abortionist
- William G. Connolly, Journalist and newspaper editor
- Susan E. Dickinson, American journalist
- Howard Gardner, developmental psychologist and professor
- Frank Gibney, journalist and scholar
- Hugh Glass, American frontiersman
- Isaiah Fawkes Everhart, American physician, naturalist, and founder of Everhart Museum
- Lansing C. Holden, architect
- Jane Jacobs, writer and activist
- Charles David Keeling, environmental scientist
- Edwin W. Kemmerer, economist
- Jeffrey Bruce Klein, investigative journalist, co-founded Mother Jones magazine
- Carl Marzani, political activist, volunteer soldier in Spanish Civil War, organizer for the Communist Party USA, U.S. intelligence official, documentary filmmaker, author, and publisher
- Daniel Mazia, cell biologist
- Francis T. McAndrew, Psychologist, Professor, Author
- Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison, Wisconsin
- Albert Jay Nock, Author, editor, and social critic
- Patrick O'Boyle (cardinal), Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington (1948–1973)
- John Joseph O'Connor, former bishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and Bishop of Scranton
- Karen Ann Quinlan, key figure in right to die controversy
- Paul W. Richards, NASA astronaut and engineer
- Robert Sables, American naval historian and writer
- B. F. Skinner, behaviorist and author
- James Timlin, Former Bishop of the Scranton Diocese,1984-2003, and Auxiliary Bishop 1976-1984
- Clarence C. Walton, First lay President of Catholic University of America (1969–1978)
References
- ^ Walter Bobbie, Donshewey.com. Accessed February 27, 2026. "[Q] Did you grow up in Florida? [Bobbie] No, I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, then we moved to New Jersey about 45 minutes out of the city."
- ^ Lentz, Harris M. III (2016). "Vaughn, Tyra". Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2015. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 357–358. ISBN 978-0-7864-7667-1.
- ^ "CASEY, Robert P. (Bob), Jr". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
- ^ Hurdle, Jon; Pérez-Peña, Richard (October 24, 2016). "Kathleen Kane, Former Pennsylvania Attorney General, Is Sentenced to Prison". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 5, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Delfino, Jessica. "Scranton-born man will serve as Israel’s ambassador to U.S.", The Citizens' Voice, November 8, 2024. Accessed February 27, 2026. "A Scranton-born man will serve as Israel’s ambassador to the United States. Dr. Yechiel Leiter, 65, was appointed Friday to the ambassador role by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.... Leiter, who is one of seven children, was born and raised in Scranton. He relocated to Israel at age 18."
- ^ "Clinton's girlhood home in Pa. (sort of) Lake Winola may have primary role. – philly-archives". Articles.philly.com. November 2, 2011. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
- ^ O'Connell, Jon (December 28, 2015). "Former Pennsylvania first lady Mary L. Scranton, 97, dies". The Citizens' Voice. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ^ Murray, Thomas H. (September 4, 2014). Espionage and the United States During the 20th Century. Dorrance Publishing. p. 153. ISBN 9781434930521. OCLC 890757936.
- ^ a b "The Life and Works of Col. L. A. Watres" (PDF). Lackawanna History Society Bulletin. 16 (2). April 1983. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
- ^ "Horace J. 'Hoddy' Mahon", The Star-Ledger, November 26, 2011. Accessed April 4, 2025. "Hoddy was born in Scranton, Pa., and moved to Old Bridge, N.J., before settling in Allenhurst 35 years ago."