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Educator Born In:Kenosha, WI You May Know Her As:Developer of the ‘New Math’ process. Did You Know?:Dr. Lola J. May (1923-2007) was a noted mathematics educator, consultant, author and producer of audio-visual materials. A pioneer in mathematics education and an early proponent of the new math educational process, May was beloved by her students, and became a household name among mathematics educators. The Kenosha, Wisconsin, native graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin in 1945. She earned a master’s degree in mathematics at Northwestern University and received her doctorate in 1964. May taught mathematics at New Trier Township High School in the Chicago area until 1960, and was a mathematics consultant for the Winnetka, Illinois public schools until 1998. During her lengthy career she taught all grades, created a 20-session “live” mathematics series for TV, taught at the college level and spoke at educational conferences all over the... More

Model Birthplace: Kenosha, WI You Know Her As: Playboy Magazine’s Playmate of the Month (August 1999); dubbed by the magazine as “the Anna Nicole Smith look-alike.” Did You Know?: Scott is a big fan of comic books and admits to having had a crush on He-Man from “Masters of the Universe” while growing up. On Sept. 27, 1972, Rebecca Scott was born in Kenosha. She remained there throughout her childhood and graduated from Reuther Central High School in 1990. Nine years later, Scott appeared as the August 1999 Playmate of the Month. This was an unusual event, as Scott did not share the same anorexic and silicone look of most Playmates. At 5-foot-8, and 140 pounds, she represents a surprisingly healthy body shape. She was also unusual in that she was 26 when she posed-slightly older than most playmates. “The average Playmate is 5-foot-6, 115 pounds, 22 years old, proportioned... More

Artist Lived In: Kenosha, WI You Know Him From: His awesome portraits of many people. Did You Know? George Pollard (March 20, 1920 – April 17, 2008) was an American portrait painter. Born in Waldo, Wisconsin, he painted portraits of famous people, such as Harry S. Truman and Muhammad Ali. Pollard served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. When Eleanor Roosevelt visited Australia, Pollard was ordered to paint her portrait. Mrs. Roosevelt loved it. For more than 50 years George and his wife Nan Pollard sketched and painted together, winning national and international acclaim in quite different areas. While Nan has illustrated more than 2,000 books for children, George has produced more than 5,000 portraits of the rich and famous. George was raised in the small farming community of Waldo, Wisconsin. Encouraged by his mother, he began drawing at a young age and attended the Layton... More

Birthplace: Kenosha, WI You Know Him As: The director of such films as “My Little Chickadee,” “The Bank Dick” and “Million Dollar Legs.” Did you know?: Eddie Cline directed the 1943 hit “Swingtime Johnny,” which starred the Andrews Sisters: Laverne, Maxene and Patty.   Edward F. Cline was born on November 7, 1892, in Kenosha. Despite living in little Kenosha County, with but 15,000 citizens, Cline dreamed of a much grander life as a director in Hollywood. He was able to begin his career in the movie industry at age 21, with a brief stint acting as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops in 1913. Mack Sennett, through his Keystone Film Company, produced a plethora of silent film comedies featuring an incompetent group of policeman, of which the cast could change for every movie. After this, Cline began assisting Sennett in his productions. By 1916, he had learned and gained... More

Author Birthplace: Somers, WI You Know As From: Author of “Anna and the King of Siam”, basis for “The King & I” (1956), starring Rex Harrison and Irene Dunne and “Anna and the King” (1999), starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat. Did You Know?: Living in Thailand with her new husband after their 1926 wedding, Margaret served as Headmistress of Anakul Satru Girl’s School while husband Kenneth traveled extensively as an evangelist. On September 7, 1903, Margaret Dorothea Mortenson was born to A.D. (Annenus Duabus) and Adele Mortensen in Somers, Wisconsin. She was one of three daughters in a devout Methodist family. The family did not stay in Southeast Wisconsin for long but moved instead to Evanston, Ill., where Margaret graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1921. She had her eye on attending college out East after high school. However, when it was time to begin applying to college,... More

Author/Screenwriter Hometown: Kenosha, WI You Know Him From: A TV writer on “General Hospital” (and the famed ‘Luke & Laura’s Wedding’ storyline), as well as author of several novels, including “The Madman’s Diary.” Did You Know?: Thom would eventually be credited with giving his roommate, a struggling actor named Brad Pitt, his first acting job. He also recalls Pitt asking him to suggest a scary book, though after finishing Racina’s copy of “Interview With A Vampire,” expressed that he didn’t care much for it. Pitt would later star in a movie based on the novel in 1994. On June 4, 1946, Thomas Frank Raucina was born in Kenosha. He left the Midwest after graduating high school to pursue higher education, first in Albuquerque, NM, and finally in Chicago where he earned his Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts and Directing from the Goodman School of Drama at the Art... More

Filmmaker Birthplace: Kenosha, WI You Know Him As: Director of the classic B-horror flick “The Amazing Colossal Man.” Did you know?: Bert Ira Gordon (born September 24, 1922 in Kenosha) is an American film director most famous for such science fiction and horror B-movies as “The Amazing Colossal Man” and “Village of the Giants.” At the age of nine, Gordon began making home movies in 16mm. After being educated at the University of Wisconsin, Gordon began his work in show-biz doing television commercials in the early days of the medium. He soon moved on to film, specializing in “gimmick” movies, usually involving giants or gigantic animals. His first two films, “King Dinosaur” (1955) and “Beginning of the End” (1957), were fairly crude even by the standards of the mid ’50s, involving giant lizards and locusts. Most of Gordon’s work is in the idiom of giant monster films, for which he... More

Model Birthplace: Glenview, Illinois You Know Her As: A model who carries the #11 briefcase on the TV game show, “Deal or No Deal.” She also was in the first season of the reality TV show, “America’s Next Top Model.” Did you know?: Cleary attended Carthage College in Kenosha and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Marketing in 2004. On Sept. 21, 1981, Katie Cleary was born in Glenview, IL, a suburb of Chicago. An only child, she was raised by her mother and lived with two cats; her father and grandparents were close by and were important to her life. Cleary gained much strength and confidence from her mother’s hard work, love and determination. “If it wasn’t for my mother’s support and strength, I would never have the drive to do what I am doing today,” says Cleary on her web site. Since she was small, Cleary dreamed... More

Journalist Born in:Waukegan, IL You Know Him From: CNN Did You Know?:Jim Bittermann is Senior European correspondent for CNN since 1996. Bittermann graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Illinois University in 1970 and began in print journalism from 1969 to 1970 as a reporter for the Waukegan News-Sun in Waukegan, Illinois. His television career began at WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee from 1970 to 1972. From 1972 to 1973 he worked at WQED-TV in Pittsburgh and 1973 to 1975 he was as a reporter for WKYC-TV in Cleveland, Ohio. Bittermann was with CBC News as a Toronto-based correspondent and producer for the broadcaster’s newsmagazine from 1975 to 1978. From 1978-1990, he was a European correspondent for NBC News. Based in Rome from 1978–1979, he covered two Papal transitions and the travels of Pope John Paul II. From 1980-1990, he was based in Paris. While there, he reported on many... More

Director/Actor Birthplace: Kenosha, WI You Know Him As: Doctor Stanley Riverside II from the TV drama “Trapper John MD” and director of various TV shows, including “Xena, Warrior Princess.” Did you know?: Charles Siebert has appeared on TV crime shows like “Murder, She Wrote,” “Matlock” and “Perry Mason.” Charles Siebert was born on March 9, 1938, in Kenosha- the eldest of four sons to Donald and Hannah (Rosenblum) Siebert. Siebert pursued higher education at Marquette University in Milwaukee, to get a degree in journalism. But he realized journalism wasn’t the right path for him. When trying to decide upon a new subject to study, Siebert paged through a course catalog for the school. From this random act, he stumbled upon the course, “Acting 1.” “Out of nowhere I suddenly had a purpose and tremendous energy …we ran a semi-professional theatre, and I was devoting 50 weeks a year, seven days... More