NEW JERSEY HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2010

Historical The Historical Category is open for deceased New Jerseyans whose contributions transcend any one particular category.

	Alice Paul Mt. Laurel/Moorestown (1885 – 1977) Dedicated to securing equal rights for all women, Paul was a leader in the successful campaign for women’s suffrage that resulted in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.

	Les Paul Mahwah (1915 - 2009) Paul pioneered the development of the solid body electric guitar and was the genius behind recording innovations such as overdubbing, delay effects, phasing, tape delay and multitrack recording; elected to Inventors HOF, Rock & Roll HOF and National Broadcasters HOF.

	Woodrow Wilson Princeton (1856 – 1924): The 28th president of the United States also served as president of Princeton University and Governor of New Jersey; awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1919.


Enterprise The Enterprise Category is open to scientists, business leaders, inventors, leaders in medicine, entrepreneurs and philanthropists.

	Michael Graves Princeton (1934) Considered to be one of the great American architects of the second half of the 20th Century; recipient of many awards including National Medal of Arts and AIA Gold Medal.

	Wally Schirra Oradell (1923 – 2007) A graduate of Dwight Morrow High School, Schirra attended NJIT before transferring to the U.S. Naval Academy. He was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts and the only person to fly in all of America’s first three space programs (Mercury, Gemini and Apollo).


Arts & Entertainment The Arts & Entertainment Category includes musicians, singers, songwriters, actors & actresses, artists, dancers and those who work in the related fields.

	Count Basie Red Bank (1904 - 1984) The “Kid from Red Bank” became one of the leading figures of the swing era and one of the most beloved jazz musicians, band leaders and composers of all time.

	Danny DeVito Neptune/Asbury Park (1944 - ) actor, director, producer who gained prominence in the TV series ‘Taxi”; founder of two successful production companies, Jersey Films and Jersey Television.

	Jack Nicholson Neptune (1937 - ) A Manasquan High School graduate who has become an internationally renowned actor with 12 Academy Award nominations and three wins, seven Golden Globe Awards and a Kennedy Center Honor.

	Susan Sarandon Edison (1946 - ) Edison High School graduate who has become a popular film and television actress known also for her political activism; a five-time Academy Award nominee with one win, she has been honored for her work as an advocate for victims of hunger and HIV/AIDS among many awards.

	Frankie Valli Newark (1934 - ) A musical icon, Valli became famous as the frontman for The Four Seasons and is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; he had 29 Top 40 hits with The Four Seasons and nine Top 40 hits as a solo artist.


Sports The Sports Category is open not only to athletes, but also to coaches and others in the field of sports.

	Larry Doby Paterson (1923 - 2003) Second African-American Major League Baseball player and first in the American League, this Hall of Fame baseball player grew up in Paterson.

	Carl Lewis Willingboro (1961 - ) Dominant Olympic athlete and nine-time gold medal winner whose lifetime accomplishments earned him the “Sportsman of the Century” award by IOC, among many other accolades.


General The General Category is a large category encompassing educators, military leaders, writers, poets, scholars, religious leaders, civil servants, politicians and others not specifically falling into the other categories.

	Judy Blume Elizabeth (1938 - ) A popular author who has won scores of literary awards, including the National Book Foundation Medal and a Library of Congress Living Legends Award. By tackling controversial subjects she has touched a nerve with young readers and she has championed intellectual freedom and the rights of children to read a variety of books. Photo credit: Sigrid Estrada

	William J. Brennan Newark (1908- 1997) A Barringer High School graduate who became a highly respected jurist, serving as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice from 1956 to 1990.

	Philip Roth Newark (1933 - ) Weequahic High School graduate whose best-selling novels have made him one of the most celebrated living American writers.

How We Get The Inductees

At the New Jersey Hall of Fame we hold some of the strictest criteria for Halls of Fame throughout the country. With only rare exceptions, nominees must have resided in New Jersey for a period of at least five years and must have made a signature contribution to New Jersey and beyond. We employ a three-phase process to identify our inductees.

Phase One is conducted with our Expert Panelists. A group of more than 30 of the most prominent individuals in their selected fields, from historians to journalists, sift through a master list of nominations. They then nominate and vote to create a list of 25 individuals in each category, which is then prepared for presentation to our Voting Academy.

Phase Two incorporates our Hall of Fame Voting Academy, a group of approximately 100 of the most prominent organizations throughout the state. The Academy is presented with the Expert Panelist list of the top 125 and votes to narrow the field to six individuals in each category.

Finally, the third phase incorporates the public. During the fall of each year the public is offered an opportunity to vote for whom they would like to see inducted into the Hall of Fame. Following the certification of the public vote, the New Jersey Hall of Fame inducts the top vote getter in each category, as well as one or two others as the board deems deserving. The public is able to vote on line through the Hall of Fame website. The prominent consulting and accounting firm of J.H. Cohn, LLP certifies the accuracy of this vote.