Under the radar connections to Iowa
- Thread starter RezClone
- Start date
Inventor of the electronic digital computer, John Atanasoff, was from Iowa State:
Actress, Karen Morley, House UnAmerican Activities Committee victim was born Mildred Linton in Ottumwa. She resided in a local orphanage till being adopted @ age 13. She refused to provide the Committee any names and was blacklisted. Karen spent the rest of her career working on Broadway.
Sorry if I missed it, but Czech composer Antonin Dvorak spent a summer in Spillville. Even composed a couple of pieces there. He was residing in NY and was getting homesick, so he spent the summer in the Czech village.
https://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/artifact/1402/dvorak-iowa-iowa-pbs-explores#:~:text=In the summer of 1893,population of around 350 people.
Spillville also has the Bily Clock Museum. It's the same building that Dvorak lived in. The 1st floor has the clocks and the 2nd floor was where the Dvorak had previously stayed. It's worth checking out if you are in NE IA.
https://www.bilyclocks.org/
https://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/artifact/1402/dvorak-iowa-iowa-pbs-explores#:~:text=In the summer of 1893,population of around 350 people.
Spillville also has the Bily Clock Museum. It's the same building that Dvorak lived in. The 1st floor has the clocks and the 2nd floor was where the Dvorak had previously stayed. It's worth checking out if you are in NE IA.
https://www.bilyclocks.org/
SIAP... Joseph Kosinski, director of Top Gun: Maverick and Tron: Legacy, grew up in Marshalltown. In Top Gun: Maverick the cafe he goes into after crashing is called Cecil's, which was a long-time diner here in M'town. 
In Queenstown, New Zealand, in 2023, unexpectedly ran into these Iowans made entirely of jellybeans [couldn't find my own photo, so borrowed this one online]
Earl Moran was a famous pin-up girl artist from Belle Plaine. Marilyn Monroe was one of his subjects among many.
en.wikipedia.org
www.pbs.org
Earl Moran - Wikipedia
Antiques Roadshow | Owner Interview: Earl Moran Pinup Painting, ca. 1955 | Season 18 | Episode 2
Hear more from this gleeful owner of an Earl Moran pinup painting after the appraisal!
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I just went through this thread again and don't think I saw these but SIAP if they were.
Adam Devine (Pitch Perfect, Workaholics, Righteous Gemstones, etc) was born in Waterloo.
Emmy winning actor Michael Emerson (Lost and The Practice) grew up in Toledo.
Marcia Wallace (Bob Newhart Show receptionist Carol Kester and Edna Krabappel voice on The Simpson's) is from Creston.
Danai Gurira from Black Panther movies (Okoye) and Walking Dead is from Grinnell.
Mitch Pileggi (FBI Director on X-Files) was a Boone high grad.
Johnny Carson was born in Corning (that may have been mentioned).
Oscar winner Donna Reed was from Denison (may have been mentioned).
I saw someone mention Claista Flockhart, but her family was actually from Boone and she stayed with them many summers.
Adam Devine (Pitch Perfect, Workaholics, Righteous Gemstones, etc) was born in Waterloo.
Emmy winning actor Michael Emerson (Lost and The Practice) grew up in Toledo.
Marcia Wallace (Bob Newhart Show receptionist Carol Kester and Edna Krabappel voice on The Simpson's) is from Creston.
Danai Gurira from Black Panther movies (Okoye) and Walking Dead is from Grinnell.
Mitch Pileggi (FBI Director on X-Files) was a Boone high grad.
Johnny Carson was born in Corning (that may have been mentioned).
Oscar winner Donna Reed was from Denison (may have been mentioned).
I saw someone mention Claista Flockhart, but her family was actually from Boone and she stayed with them many summers.
Wow the Adam Devine and Michael Emerson ones I had never heard of. Thats my college TV viewing in a nutshell.
Michelle Monaghan grew up in Winthrop and graduated from East Buchanan High School in Winthrop. Why am I just hearing about this now? She's always been one of my favorite actresses and now I'm finding she's native to the same state I'm from.
Gary West was raised in Harlan, his Dad ran the bowling alley. Had a Kentucky Derby winner disqualified. Some one could call and ask for some NIL money?
www.sandiegouniontribune.com
www.espn.com
From Vietnam to Kentucky Derby dreamer: Remarkable life shapes Gary West
RANCHO SANTA FE — What did he just hear? Did that scratchy voice on the car radio really blurt out The 172nd Transportation Company? Deployed … to Vietnam? That was his Army reserve unit, which seemed quietly tucked…
www.sandiegouniontribune.com
What in the world happened at the 2019 Kentucky Derby?
In the 145-year history of the Kentucky Derby, Saturday's result was a first. What happened, why was the apparent winner disqualified and what were the stakes?
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