Meet Monmouth’s Notables
Monmouth County has been the birthplace or the chosen home of many individuals who have achieved renown in music, literature, show business and sports.
Bruce Springsteen: A Long Branch native who grew up in Freehold, Springsteen is perhaps Monmouth’s most celebrated musical star. He got his start playing at hot spots like The Stone Pony. Along with the E Street Band, Springsteen has sold more than 65 million albums, including classics like Born to Run, The River and Born in the U.S.A. He lives in Rumson.
Jon Bon Jovi: He’s the frontman of the Grammy-winning rock band Bon Jovi, which opened for New Jersey acts like Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes before releasing their 1984 self-titled debut album. After that, Bon Jovi took the music industry by storm, becoming one of the best-selling bands of all time. Jon Bon Jovi has a home in Middletown.
Queen Latifah: Born Dana Owens, this rapper-turned-actor has appeared in films like Chicago, Bringing Down the House, Beauty Shop and Hairspray. Latifah’s album Trav’lin’ Light was nominated for a Grammy. She is a part-time Colts Neck resident.
Southside Johnny: Born John Lyon in Neptune, he’s the lead singer of the Jersey Shore band Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes. The band has toured and collaborated with members of the E Street Band and Bon Jovi and is well known for the song “I Don’t Want to Go Home.” That’s no offense to Ocean Grove, where Lyon grew up.
Danny DeVito: Born in Neptune, the diminutive DeVito grew up in Asbury Park. He currently appears in the sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. DeVito, who has starred in several films including Batman Returns and Matilda, owns a vacation home in Interlaken.
Jack Nicholson: Another Neptune native, he bested DeVito for Shirley MacLaine’s affections in Terms of Endearment. The Manasquan High School grad is the most nominated male actor in Academy Award history and has won three of the statuettes, for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and As Good as It Gets as well as Terms. A veteran of more than 50 films, he’s also well known for roles in Easy Rider, The Shining and A Few Good Men.
Adrienne Barbeau: After appearing in Broadway’s Grease, this performer won fame as the title character’s divorced daughter on the TV show Maude. The Navesink resident is married to actor and playwright Billy Van Zandt, a Red Bank native and the half-brother of actor-musician Steven Van Zandt.
Kevin Smith: This actor and filmmaker is perhaps best known for directing Clerks. Many of his films have been set and shot in New Jersey, including Mallrats, Chasing Amy and Dogma. Smith owns a comic book store, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, in his hometown of Red Bank.
Mary Higgins Clark: She’s the best-selling author of more than 27 suspense novels, including Where Are the Children?, Before I Say Good-Bye and On the Street Where You Live. The last named book is set in Spring Lake, where Clark owns a home.
Kim Clijsters is a former world number-one tennis player. She won 41 WTA singles titles and four Grand Slam tournaments: three US Opens and one Australian Open. Clijsters retired in 2012 and lives in Wall Township with her husband, basketball player Brian Lynch.
Brian williams: The anchorman and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, a New Jerseyan by birth, moved with his family to Middletown when he was in junior high and graduated from Mater Dei Prep in New Monmouth. Williams was a volunteer firefighter for three years, but his first paid job was as a busboy at a Perkins restaurant.
Yesterday’s Monmouthites
Bud Abbott (1895–1974): Thanks to the hilarious confusion this Asbury Park–born movie comedian promulgated with pudgy partner Lou Costello, we’re still not sure exactly “who’s on first.”
Stephen Crane (1871–1900): He got started at the Long Branch bureau of the New York Tribune. Later in his brief life he was a war correspondent, but he was only imagining how war felt when he wrote The Red Badge of Courage.
Juan Trippe (1899–1981): Born in Sea Bright, this entrepreneur founded Pan American World Airlines, which spanned the world in the 20th century and was known for “Clippers” to South America.
