Famous People Born In Evanston

Famous American actor, Bill Murray, began as a comedic performer and gained fame with the variety show, Saturday Night Live, and movies, Caddyshack and Ghostbusters. Later, his seriocomic roles in movies like Rushmore, Lost in Translation and St. Vincent earned him rave reviews. The actor has also lent his voice to many animation movies like Garfield and The Jungle Book.

Charlton Heston was an American actor whose cinematic legacy became the subject of an 11-film retrospective titled Cinematic Atlas: The Triumphs of Charlton Heston. Also a political activist, Charlton Heston was one of the few Hollywood actors to criticize racism in the 1950s and 1960s; he was also a supporter of the Civil Rights Movement.

John Cusack started his career as a teen actor. He is known for his unconventional choice of films. Grosse Pointe Blank, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, The Raven and The Grifters are some of his notable films. He is also known as an activist and has often taken a strong stand on issues like war, drone usage, civil liberties, press freedom and whistleblowers.

As a huge fan of the Second City improv troupe during his growing up days, Jake Johnson aspired to become a comedian. It was this aspiration that made him achieve what he has achieved today as an actor and comedian in the American film industry.

William Christopher was an American comedian and actor remembered for playing important roles in popular TV series, such as M*A*S*H, AfterMASH, and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Also known for his charity work, Christopher devoted his free time to the National Autistic Society, a British charity for autistic people. In 1985, he co-wrote Mixed Blessings, a memoir about raising his autistic son.

Erik Spoelstra, who is of Filipino descent, created history when in 2008 he became the head basketball coach of Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association, making him the first Asian-American head coach of the four major North American sports leagues. When Miami Heat won in 2012, he became the first Asian-American head coach to win a NBA championship.

John Naber is an American retired competitive swimmer, sports broadcaster, writer, and motivational speaker. Naber won four gold medals and a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. A former world record-holder, Naber was honored with the prestigious James E. Sullivan Award in 1977. In 1982, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

A trusted business leader since 1959, Peter Ueberroth shot to fame when he became the President of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee and successfully held the 1984 Summer Olympics. Later in the same year, he became the Commissioner of Baseball. Also the Chairman of the United States Olympic Committee from 2004 to 2008, he remains equally active in corporate world.

American engineer and inventor Laurens Hammond garnered the first of his 110 patents for a barometer, while still in his teens. He left the Gray Motor Company job after inventing a silent spring-driven clock. His inventions in the ensuing years include, most notably the Hammond organ, the Hammond clock, and Novachord, often regarded as the world's first commercial polyphonic synthesizer.

Inspired by Nadia Comaneci at the 1976 Olympics, as a 7-year-old, Chris Waller later joined the American Academy of Gymnastics, where he was trained by Leonard Isaacs. Though diagnosed with a defective heart valve, he went on to become a Pan American Games gold medalist and an Olympian.

João Carlos de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun, 1st Duke of Saldanha was a Portuguese statesman and marshal. From 1820 until his death in 1876, Saldanha was one of the most influential personalities of politics and war in Portugal. He also played an important role in the Liberal Wars and served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1825.