Notable personalities

Notable cur­rent and for­mer res­i­dents of Washington Heights include:

    • Pedro Alvarez (born 1987), base­ball play­er who was draft­ed sec­ond over­all by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.
    • Alex Arias (born 1967), Dominican-American for­mer Major League Baseball player.
    • Harry Belafonte (born 1927), calyp­so singer and Grammy winner
    • Carl Blaze (1976–2006), Hip-Hop/R&B DJ for Power 105.1.
    • Tally Brown (1934–1989), singer and actress in films by Andy Warhol and oth­er under­ground filmmakers.
    • Maria Callas (1923–1977), opera singer, was raised in Washington Heights until she was 14. Her school cer­tifi­cate hangs in the hall­ways of P.S. 132.
    • Jerry Craft (born 1963), Children’s book author and illus­tra­tor / syn­di­cat­ed car­toon­ist and cre­ator of the Mama’s Boyz com­ic strip.
    • Rod Carew (born 1945), for­mer pro­fes­sion­al base­ball player.
    • Frances Conroy (born 1953), actress.
    • Nelson Antonio Denis (born 1954), mem­ber of the New York State Assembly.
    • Morton Deutsch (1920–2017), social psy­chol­o­gist who was one of the found­ing fathers of the field of con­flict resolution.
    • Don Dinero, Cuban-American Hip-Hop/Reggaeton artist.
    • David Dinkins (born 1927), Mayor of New York City 1990–1994.
    • Jim Dwyer (born 1957), colum­nist and reporter at The New York Times.
    • Laurence Fishburne (born 1961), Academy Award-nom­i­nat­ed actor.
    • Luis Flores (born 1981), for­mer NBA point guard.
    • Lou Gehrig (1903–1941), pro­fes­sion­al base­ball play­er for the New York Yankees.
    • Elias Goldberg (1886–1978), New York painter, most of his city paint­ings focus on the area of Washington Heights. Mr. Goldberg exhib­it­ed at the leg­endary Charles Egan Gallery.
    • David Gorcey (1921–1984), broth­er of Leo and reg­u­lar mem­ber of the Dead End Kids / East Side Kids / The Bowery Boys.
    • Leo Gorcey (1917–1969), mem­ber of the orig­i­nal cast of “Dead End”, and mem­o­rably out­spo­ken mem­ber of the Dead End Kids / East Side Kids / The Bowery Boys.
    • Alan Greenspan (born 1926), 13th Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.
    • Hex Hector (born 1965), Grammy Award-win­ning remix­er and producer.
    • Jacob K. Javits (1904–1986), United States Senator from 1957 to 1981.
    • Henry Kissinger (born 1923), for­mer National Security Advisor and United States Secretary of State.
    • Paul Kolton (1923–2010), chair­man of the American Stock Exchange.
    • Joshua Lederberg (1925–2008), geneti­cist who received the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work in bac­te­r­i­al genet­ics, was born in Montclair.
    • Stan Lee (born 1922), Creator of Spider-Man, X‑Men, The Incredible Hulk.
    • Lin-Manuel Miranda (born 1980), actor, and Tony Award-win­ning com­pos­er, and lyri­cist, best known for writ­ing and act­ing in the Broadway musi­cals In the Heights and Hamilton.
    • Daniel D. McCracken (1930–2011), ear­ly com­put­er pio­neer and author.
    • Theodore Edgar McCarrick (born 1930), Cardinal who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington (2001–2006).
    • Knox Martin (born 1923), painter, sculp­tor and muralist.
    • Mims (born 1981), Jamaican-American Rapper.
    • Andy Mineo (born 1988), rap­per, singer, pro­duc­er, direc­tor, and min­is­ter signed to Reach Records.
    • Karina Pasian (born 1991), record­ing R&B singer from Def Jam Records.
    • Manny Pérez (born 1969), Dominican actor, who has appeared in Third Watch.
    • Freddie Prinze (1954–1977), Hungarian-American (Puerto Rican) descent stand-up come­di­an, best known for his 1970s TV series Chico and the Man co-star­ring Jack Albertson.
    • Kenny Rankin (1940–2009), musi­cian, singer and songwriter.
    • Manny Ramírez (born 1972), Dominican base­ball play­er for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
    • Paul Robeson (1898–1976), American bass singer and actor who became involved with the Civil Rights Movement
    • Alex Rodriguez (born 1975), Dominican-American base­ball play­er for the New York Yankees.
    • James R. Russell (born 1953), schol­ar and Harvard University professor.
    • Merlin Santana (1976–2002), Dominican-American actor.
    • Vin Scully (born 1927), sports­cast­er for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
    • TAKI 183, one of the orig­i­na­tors of New York graffiti.
    • Tiny Tim (1932–1996), singer and ukulele play­er, a nov­el­ty act of the 1960s best known for his ren­di­tion of “Tiptoe Through the Tulips”.
    • George Weinberg (1929–2017), psy­chol­o­gist and author, who coined the term “homo­pho­bia” in 1965.
    • Ruth Westheimer (born 1928), “Dr. Ruth”, sex edu­ca­tor and sex counselor.
    • Jerry Wexler (1917–2008), music pro­duc­er who coined the term “Rhythm and blues”.
    • Guy Williams (1924–1989), Italian American actor.
    • Rafael Yglesias (born 1954), nov­el­ist / screenwriter.

Source: Wikipedia

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