16 Inductees Announced For New Jersey Hall of Fame Class of 2024

New Jersey is a state with a great history and culture. From the farms that produce Jersey Fresh Blueberries and Tomatoes to the popular Shore Towns and Beach, Nj is truly one of the more diverse states in America.

As we have discussed recently, there are many famous people from New Jersey, both in the real world and in the world of fiction. One of the institutions that celebrates the history of The Garden State is located at American Dream Way in East Rutherford.

The New Jersey Hall of Fame, located on Level 3 of the American Dream, has state-of-the-art exhibits that showcase the history of the state and honor the people who are a part of history. 2024 marks the 16th year that inductees will receive admission into the NJ Hall of Fame.

Previous inductees into the New Jersey Hall of Fame include:

*Grammy Award Winner Bruce Springsteen
*Two-time Super Bowl Champion Vince Lombardi
*Legendary Entertainer Frank Sinatra
*Ten-time World Series Champion Yogi Berra
*Academy Award Winner Michael Douglas

The 16th Annual New Jersey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for the 2024 Class will be pre-recorded, then aired on November 13th on local Fox 5 My9 and social media. 18 people will take part in the induction ceremony this year.

The Inductees for the New Jersey Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Are:

*Dick Button (Englewood)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Sports Category, Button is a two-time Gold Medalist in Olympic Figure Skating and the first man to land a triple-rotation jump during competition. He went on to become a TV Commentator, earning an Emmy Award for his work with NBC Sports.

*Peter Cancro (Point Pleasant)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Enterprise Category, Cancro is the founder of Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, with thousands of locations in the United States and internationally. Cancro uses his Jersey Mike's platform to raise tens of thousands of dollars annually for charity organizations such as Feeding America.

*Elizabeth Coleman White (Whitesbog)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Education and Science Category, she is the botanist who developed the nation’s first cultivated blueberry. Elizabeth Coleman White is the reason New Jersey has a Fresh Blueberry Industry that we can enjoy today

*George Cooney (Bogota)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Enterprise Category, he is the Chairman Emeritus of EUE/Screen Gems Ltd. Cooney is a visionary who changed the entertainment industry during his 50 years working behind the scenes with various companies such as Viacom.

*Lesley Gore (Tenafly)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Performing Arts and Entertainment Category, Gore is the singer-songwriter for hits such as “It’s My Party". Plus, she received an Academy Award nomination and three Grammy Award nominations during her entertainment career.

*Tim Howard (New Brunswick)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Sports Category, Howard is the former starting Goalkeeper for the United States Men’s National Team and one of the greatest American Soccer players of all time. Howard played in 600 games during his Professional International Football career.

*Ron Johnson (Madison)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Sports Category, Johnson was an All-American Running Back and Captain at the University of Michigan. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection during his six years playing for the New York Giants in the 1970s. Johnson was previously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

*Donald Katz (Newark)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Enterprise Category, Katz is the founder of Audible, Inc and is the "godfather" of the modern audiobook industry. Katz also developed digital audio players years before Apple created iPod audio players.

*Father Edwin D. Leahy (Newark)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Public Service Category, Leady is a Benedictine Monk and Headmaster of St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark along with serving as an active Catholic Priest.

*Warren Littlefield (Montclair)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Performing Arts and Entertainment Category, Littlefield was the NBC Entertainment President helped create the “Must See TV” lineup and oversaw the creation of shows such as Seinfeld, Cheers, and The Golden Girls. After leaving NBC, Littlefield has been the Executive Producer of hit TV shows such as Fargo and The Old Man.

*John Forbes Nash (Princeton)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Education and Science Category, Dr. Nash was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for Economics. His life story was documented in the movie "A Beautiful Mind" and he was portrayed in the film by Russell Crowe.

*Paul Rudd (Passaic)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Performing Arts and Entertainment Category, Rudd's acting career has earned him nominations for a Golden Globe and two SAG Awards. Rudd won a Critics’ Choice Television Award for his role in the TV Show "Parks and Recreation".

*Phil Simms (Franklin Lakes)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Sports Category, Simms is the former starting Quarterbackl for the New York Giants quarterback and won Super Bowl MVP Awards. Post-NFL Career, Simms has worked for decades as a TV Sports Analyst.

*Kevin Smith (Red Bank)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Performing Arts and Entertainment Category. Smith rose to fame first as the Director, Producer, Writer, and Actor who created the New Jersey-based Clerks Movie Franchise. Smith has hosted Podcasts and TV Shows over the last couple of decades along with creating 35-plus Comedy and Horror movies and shows.

*Meryl Streep (Bernardsville)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Performing Arts and Entertainment Category, Streep is the winner of three Academy Awards along with eight Golden Globes. Meryl Streep has also received a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

*Gay Talese (Ocean City)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Arts & Letters Category, Talese is considered one of the "Founding Fathers" of Modern Journalism. He has spent decades writing for outlets such as The New York Times and Esquire Magazine.

*Geraldine Thompson (Lincroft)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Public Service Category, Thompson is the founder of VNA Health Group. She was given the nickname “First Lady of New Jersey” because of her tireless work as a social service and social reform pioneer.

*Avi Wigderson (Princeton)
Entering the Hall of Fame in the Education and Science Category, Wigderson is a ground-breaking Computer Scientist and Mathematician. He received the Turing Award for his work in the field of computer science.

Speaking of famous people in New Jersey, did you know these movies were filmed in The Garden State?  How many of these movies filmed in New Jersey have you seen?