Notable current and former residents of South Orange, New Jersey include:
Platt Adams (1885–1961), athlete who won a gold medal in the standing high jump and a silver medal in the standing long jump at the 1912 Summer Olympics in StockholmStaff. "Platt Adams, Former Olympic Champion, Made Chief Boxing Inspector in Jersey", The New York Times, March 25, 1923. Accessed October 12, 2015. "Assemblyman Platt Adams of South Orange, one of the Republican delegation from Essex County was named Chief Boxing Inspector under the new Stevens bill today." Jessica Antiles (born 1996), competitive swimmerGinsberg, Johanna. "Faster, faster; Golda Och alum at Olympic swimming trials", New Jersey Jewish News, July 13, 2016. Accessed October 27, 2017. "Jessica Antiles of South Orange stood behind the block at the Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, Neb., on June 26, and closed her eyes, visualizing herself doing her best. She repeated her mantra, 'Try 100 percent. The rest is up to God.'... Antiles, 19, a graduate of Golda Och Academy in West Orange and a member of the Maplewood Jewish Center where her father is president, qualified for the Olympic trials two summers ago while swimming with a club team in Israel, for the 400-meter long course individual medley (two laps each of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle)." Mark Armstrong, college basketball player for the Villanova WildcatsRagozzino, Joe. "South Orange resident and Villanova University-bound Mark Armstrong enjoys stellar hoops career at Saint Peter’s Prep", EssexNews Daily, April 14, 2022. Accessed January 17, 2023. "Next season, the Wildcats will be getting one of the top players in the country in Mark Armstrong, a 6-foot-2 point guard from South Orange." Paul Auster (1947–2024), author known for works blending absurdism and crime fictionBegley, Adam. "Case of the Brooklyn Symbolist", The New York Times, August 30, 1992. Accessed September 19, 2008. "The grandson of first-generation Jewish immigrants, he was born in Newark in 1947, grew up in South Orange and attended high school in Maplewood, 20 miles southwest of New York." Olivia Baker (born 1996), middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 metersOlivia Baker, Stanford Cardinal. Accessed March 10, 2022. "High School: Columbia; Hometown: South Orange, N.J." Louis Bamberger (1855–1944), department store founder and philanthropistStaff. "Get Good-Will Citations; Three Essex County Residents Honored by Civic Groups", The New York Times, February 28, 1941. Accessed February 1, 2011. Jane Barus (1892–1977), member of the Constitutional convention that formulated the 1947 New Jersey State ConstitutionStaff. "Jane Barus, Jersey Civic Leader And Women Voters Official, Dies", The New York Times, August 13, 1977. Accessed December 7, 2013. Kelly Bishop (born 1944), actress, current residentRobertson, Campbell. "Chorus Line Returns, as Do Regrets Over Life Stories Signed Away", The New York Times, October 1, 2006. Accessed March 25, 2012. "Caption: Kelly Bishop, performing as Sheila in A Chorus Line, top, and last week in her home in South Orange, N.J.""Theater; Two Mature Lives on Stage and Screen, Now Playing in New Jersey", The New York Times, September 19, 1999. Accessed November 3, 2018. "She and her husband, Lee Leonard, the host of Jersey Talking on News 12 in Edison, have been living in South Orange for four years."Worth-Baker, Marcia. "Mother's Always Right: Kelly Bishop has played the mother many times over", Maplewood Matters, accessed April 22, 2007. "Ask Kelly Bishop, South Orange resident and star of Gilmore Girls, what drew her to the role of Emily Gilmore, and she recalls, 'The pilot was simply the best script I ever read.'" Ken Bloom, particle physicist2017 AAPT Winter Meeting program, American Association of Physics Teachers. Accessed April 22, 2021. "Ken Bloom is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and a Visiting Scientist in the Scientific Computing Division at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). He grew up in South Orange, NJ, where he met his first physics teacher in fourth grade and then was the captain of the Columbia High School Physics Team." Bisa Butler (born 1973), fiber artist known for her quilted portraits and designs celebrating black lifeBisa Butler, Black Prism. Accessed July 30, 2019. "Bisa Butler was born in Orange, NJ and raised in South Orange, the youngest of four siblings." Joshua Braff (born 1967), novelistJoshua Braff, MFA Fiction '97, Saint Mary's College of California. Accessed February 10, 2020. "Joshua Braff grew up in South Orange, New Jersey, and went to Columbia High School." Zach Braff (born 1975), actor on the TV series Scrubs; writer and director of the movie Garden StateScrubs cast profile of Zach Braff, accessed December 26, 2006 Andre Braugher (1962–2023), actorAndre Braugher , TV.com, accessed April 7, 2007. "Braugher has been busy at home as well; in 1991 he married writer/actress Ami Brabson, who portrayed his wife on Homicide, and they are currently residing in South Orange, New Jersey, with their two sons, Michael (born in 1992) and Isaiah (born in 1996)." Chris Broussard (born 1968), sports analyst for ESPN, current residentSmith, Brian. "Hoops for a haven: Game to benefit Project Oasis", The Montclair Times, May 6, 2010. Accessed June 3, 2011. "Cummings, Montclair born and bred, and ESPN colleague Chris Broussard, a South Orange resident, grew tired of jawing back and forth about which of their towns would win a pick-up hoops game. Spectators will, if enough creaky bodies remain upright, find out tomorrow." Chris Browne (born 1952), cartoonist, Hägar the Horrible“Hagar” Cartoonist Featured in Conference at Augustana, Augustana College press release, dated September 6, 2005. Accessed August 19, 2007. "Browne was born in South Orange, N.J., in 1952, and grew up in suburban Wilton, Conn." Mark Bryant (born 1965), former NBA playerMartinez, Michael. "College Basketball '87: Seton Hall; Carlesimo starts to lookup", The New York Times, January 11, 1987. Accessed March 15, 2012. "The team's pivotal player is Mark Bryant, a 6-foot-9-inch junior from South Orange, who had 24 points and 15 rebounds against Georgetown." Gerardo Catena (1902–2000), mobsterFlynn, Ed. "Who's Who On The Mafia Tapes", The Record, January 11, 1970. Accessed March 31, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Gerardo (Jerry) Catena of South Orange is reputed to be the top Mafia boss in New Jersey.", Sun-Sentinel, September 24, 1989. Tom Courtney (1933–2023), athlete and winner of two gold medals in the 1956 Summer OlympicsLitsky, Frank. "Tom Courtney, Runner Who Lunged to Grab Olympic Gold, Dies at 90", The New York Times, August 22, 2023. Accessed August 25, 2023. "Thomas William Courtney was born on Aug. 17, 1933, in South Orange, N.J., and grew up nearby in Livingston." Jonah David (born 1977), drummer/percussionist, Navy Band Great Lakes, backed up by the Internet Archive as of August 12, 2011. Accessed November 12, 2018. "Musician Third Class Jonah David is a native of South Orange, New Jersey. He studied percussion at the Mannes School Of Music, Mason Gross School of Performing Arts, Musicians Institute, and Rutgers University." James Delany (born 1948), commissioner of the Big Ten ConferenceStaff. "Big Ten Commissioner, Jim Delany", Chicago Tribune. Accessed July 28, 2011. "The 62-year old Delany is a native of South Orange, N.J. He received his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of North Carolina in 1970 and juris doctorate degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1973." Joetta Clark Diggs (born 1962), retired track and field champion, specializing in middle distance runningLeach, Melinda Stivers. "Her running outdistanced the arts", The Christian Science Monitor, June 9, 1980. Accessed August 3, 2019. "When Joetta Clark entered Columbia High School here four years ago, she was faced with a monumental decision: to pursue a running career or one equally as promising in either dance or piano.... 'I don't think the athletes should be used as bait. It's said. The government has never supported us, so I don't think we ought to be used,' the articulate South Orange resident said." John Dossett (born 1958), actor, current residentRockland, Kate. "Where the Midtown Direct, Oz and Springsteen Meet", The New York Times, December 25, 2005. Accessed February 3, 2008. "But amid the hustle and bustle came the strains of the decidedly un-Oz-like Bruce Springsteen album The Rising. Following that music -- like the Yellow Brick Road -- led to the dressing room of the actor Sean McCourt, who lives in South Orange.... Mr. McCourt recently helped John Dossett and Michele Pawk, two stars of the Abba musical Mamma Mia! move into a house in his neighborhood." John B. Duff (1931–2013), historian who served as the 8th President of Columbia College ChicagoMarquard, Bryan. "John B. Duff, 82, state’s first higher education chancellor", The Boston Globe, October 7, 2013. Accessed December 2, 2017. "Born in South Orange, N.J., to John Duff Sr. and the former Mary Cunningham, John Bernard Duff Jr. was the oldest of four brothers.... He graduated from Our Lady of the Valley High School in Orange, N.J., and studied history as an undergraduate and graduate student, receiving a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y., a master’s from Seton Hall University in South Orange, and a doctorate from Columbia University in New York City." Walter Dukes (1930–2001), center who played in the NBA for the New York Knicks, Minneapolis Lakers and Detroit PistonsGoldstein, Richard. "Walter Dukes, 70, a Standout At Seton Hall and in the N.B.A.", The New York Times, March 16, 2001. Accessed November 2, 2007. "A native of Rochester, Dukes moved to South Orange, N.J., in 1948 to attend Seton Hall Prep." Asher Brown Durand (1796–1886), painter"An Old-Time Artist Dead.; What American Art Owes To Asher Brown Durand.", The New York Times, September 20, 1886. Accessed July 15, 2008. Roy Eisenhardt (born 1939), lawyer and former president of the Oakland AthleticsAngell, Roger. Season Ticket, p. 160. Open Road Media, 2013. . Accessed November 12, 2018.. "Emil Roy Eisenhardt (the first name is vestigial) grew up in South Orange, New Jersey – a suburb just west of Newark that is so self-consciously tidy and green that it looks like a World's Fair replica of a turn-of-the-century village – in what he describes as 'the middle of the middle class.'" John Franklin Fort (1852–1920), 33rd Governor of New Jersey, 1908–1911The New Jersey Law Journal, Volume 43, p. 353. Accessed December 2, 2017. "Ex Governor John Franklin Fort - Ex-Governor and former Justice John Franklin Fort died on November 18 at his home, 262 Charleton avenue, South Orange, after eighteen months of illness. In April, 1919, while delivering an address at Carlisle, Pa., he received a paralytic stroke. He spent the Summer afterward at his seaside home at Spring Lake but then returned to South Orange." Felix Fuld (1868–1929), co-founder of the L. Bamberger & Company department storeStaff. "Felix Fuld, Merchant and Philanthropist, Dies at Age of 61", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, January 22, 1929. Accessed May 23, 2018. "Felix Fuld, American Jewish philanthropist, merchant and patron of the arts, died of pneumonia Sunday night at his home in South Orange, N. J."