August 05, 2020
The newest inductees into the New Jersey Hall of Fame include actress Anne Hathaway, former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and Charles Addams, the cartoonist who created The Addams Family.
The nonprofit organization, founded in 2005, honors a new group of New Jersey residents each year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 induction ceremony will be pre-recorded and broadcast Oct. 18, the Hall announced Wednesday.
The Hall of Fame selects infleuntial people based on their contributions in five areas: arts and entertainment, sports, arts and letters, public service, and enterprise. All inductees must have lived in New Jersey for at least five years, with a few exceptions.
The 2020 Class includes 29 inductees who were chosen in part by a public vote.
Comedian Flip Wilson, actor Ed Harris, basketball star Rick Barry, basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer, "The Red Badge of Courage" author Stephen Crane, former Army General Martin Dempsey and Fairleigh Dickinson are among the most notable inductees.
Gospel singer Cissy Houston, the mother of the late Whitney Houston and aunt of Dionne Warwick, and Fran Lebovitz, an author and public speaker known for her New York City sensibilities, also are being inducted.
Only one of the inductees hails from South Jersey: Haddonfield's Alfred Driscoll, the state's 43rd governor.
The New Jersey Hall of fame has plans to open its official museum at the American Dream Complex in East Rutherford in 2021.
The full list of inductees is below:
• Danny Aiello, Ramsey, actor
• John Amos, Newark, actor
• Mary Chapin Carpenter, Princeton, singer-songwriter
• Ed Harris, Tenafly, actor
• Anne Hathaway, Millburn, actor
• Cissy Houston, Newark, soul and gospel singer
• Ernie Kovacs, Trenton, comedian, actor and writer
• The Nelson Family, Jersey City, stars of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet"
• Flip Wilson, Jersey City, television show host, comedian and actor
• Rick Barry, Roselle Park, former NBA forward
• Gerry Cooney, Fanwood, former boxer
• Eli Manning, Summit, former NFL quarterback
• Robert Mulcahy III, Mendham, Former Rutgers University athletic director
• C. Vivian Stringer, Piscataway, Rutgers women’s basketball coach
• Charles Addams, Westfield, "The Addams Family" creator
• Stephen Crane, Newark, author
• Joyce Kilmer, New Brunswick, journalist
• Fran Lebowitz, Morristown, author and public speaker
• Mort Pye, Tewksbury, newspaper editor
• Dr. Virginia Apgar, Westfield, anesthesiologist
• Sister Jane Brady, Paterson, former CEO of St. Joseph’s Health
• Martin Dempsey, Jersey City, former Army general and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Alfred Driscoll, Haddonfield, former New Jersey governor and president of Warner-Lambert
• Milton Friedman, Rahway, economist
• The Borg Family, Hackensack, former newspaper publishers
• Linda Bowden, East Brunswick, board chair of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, regional president at PNC Bank
• Fairleigh Dickinson, Rutherford, Co-founder of Becton Dickinson, benefactor of Fairleigh Dickinson University
• Steve Kalafer, Flemington, Chairman of the Flemington Car and Truck Country Family of Brands
• Joseph Simunovich, West New York, Former Hudson County freeholder director and chairman of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority
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