6 notables entering N.J. Hall of Fame

February 11, 2012|By Angela Delli Santi, Associated Press

TRENTON - The newest inductees into New Jersey's Hall of Fame include the actor Christopher Reeve, the E Street Band, and New York Giants owner Wellington Mara. Others winning induction this spring include the actor Michael Douglas, the singer Sarah Vaughan, and the author Joyce Carol Oates.

Gov. Christie announced the names Friday afternoon.

Rounding out the hall's 2012 class are basketball coach Bob Hurley, publisher Samuel I. Newhouse, Olympian Milt Campbell, markswoman Annie Oakley, and John Dorrance, the chemist who invented condensed soup.

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The public induction ceremony and red-carpet entrance will be June 9 in Newark.

A Hall of Fame member, the architect Michael Graves, is designing a mobile museum for the hall that would travel from school to school. The hall also exists online at www.NJHallofFame.org.

The hall honors New Jerseyans who have made their mark in history, entertainment, enterprise, and sports. There's also a general category for educators, military leaders and politicians.

Many inductees were born or raised in the Garden State; some live here or have other significant ties to New Jersey.

Reeve, of Princeton, was best known for portraying Superman. He was paralyzed after a horse-riding accident and then lobbied on behalf of people with spinal-cord injuries until his death in 2004. Oakley, born in Nutley, overcame poverty to achieve success, her life later immortalized in Irving Berlin's musical Annie Get Your Gun. Hurley won 26 state championships and amassed more than 1,000 wins in 39 years at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City.

Recipients were chosen by fellow New Jerseyans, who voted online from a list of 50 nominees, and by a voting academy made up of 100 state organizations.

Previous inductees include Bruce Springsteen, Albert Einstein, Thomas A. Edison, and Yogi Berra. Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Les Paul, Count Basie, and Carl Lewis were inducted in May.

Springsteen's E Street Band will be touring out of the country in early June, so its induction has been postponed.

Hall of Fame organizers have invited inductees from the first four classes who could not accept their awards in person previously to join this year's awards ceremony.

 

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