Morristown

Acorn Hall is an 1853 Victorian Italianate mansion located in Morristown, New Jersey, that is on the National Register of Historic Places. It serves... as the headquarters of the Morris County Historical Society, which operates Acorn Hall as a historic house museum. Named for the two-centuries-old oak tree formerly standing on its property, Acorn Hall was built in 1853 by the Schermerhorn family as a simple four-room over four-room farmhouse. Following the death of Mrs. Schermerhorn in 1854, Dr. Schermerhorn put the house and its contents up for sale. It was purchased in 1857 by the Augustus Crane family of New York. The Cranes in 1860 had the house enlarged and remodeled in the then-fashionable Italianate Villa style. After being passed down through several generations, the house was gifted to the Historical Society in 1971 by Mary Crane Hone. Historians have recognized Acorn Hall for its authentic mid-Victorian era furnishings, primarily pieces from the Schermerhorn and Crane-Hone families, supplemented with significant objects from other prominent Morris County families of the 19th century.
more

Speedwell Ironworks was an ironworks in Speedwell, New Jersey, USA, just north of Morristown, New Jersey. It is on Speedwell Avenue, part of U.S.... Route 202. The site is where Alfred Vail and Samuel Morse first demonstrated the electric telegraph, and the site provided most of the machinery for the SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Situated at a natural gorge of the Whippany River, there is evidence of several hydraulic powered forges predating the establishment of ironworks by Stephen Vail and two business partners. Vail became sole owner of the works in 1815 and expanded it, producing a variety of agricultural and industrial machinery. The ironworks innovated the first durable iron tire for railroad locomotives in January 1836. With changing industrial trends and a decline in the flow of the Whippany River, the ironworks effectively shut down in 1873, selling its equipment to ironworks in Brooklyn, Coatbridge, Scotland. In 1908 what remained of the factory buildings burned. Stephen Vail also bought an adjacent 40-acre lot to which he eventually retired in 1844, though it was an active retirement.
more

Otto Hermann Kahn was an investment banker, collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. He was born on February 21, 1867, and raised in the... city of Mannheim, Germany, by Jewish parents. His father had been among the refugees to the United States after the revolution of 1848 and had become an American citizen, but later returned to Germany. Otto Kahn was educated in a gymnasium in Mannheim. Kahn's ambition was to be a musician, and he learned to play several instruments before he graduated from the gymnasium. But he was one of eight children, and his father had set plans for the career of each one. Kahn he destined to be a banker. At 17, Kahn was placed in a bank at Karlsruhe as a junior clerk, where he remained for three years, advancing until he was thoroughly grounded in the intricacies of finance. He then served for a year in the Kaiser's hussars. On leaving the army he went to the London agency of Deutsche Bank, where he remained five years. He displayed such unusual talents that he became second in command when he had been there but a comparatively short time.
more

Roger Wolfe Kahn was an American jazz and popular musician, composer, and bandleader . Roger Wolff Kahn was born in Morristown, New Jersey into a... wealthy German Jewish banking family. His parents were Adelaide "Addie" and Otto Hermann Kahn, a famous banker and patron of the arts. His maternal grandfather was banker Abraham Wolff. Otto and Roger Kahn were the first father and son to appear separately on the cover of Time magazine: Otto in November 1925 and Roger in September 1927, aged 19. Kahn is said to have learned to play 18 musical instruments before starting to lead his own orchestra in 1923, aged only 16. In 1925, Kahn appeared in a short film made in Lee De Forest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. Kahn hired famous jazz musicians of the day to play in his band, especially during recording sessions, for example Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Artie Shaw, Jack Teagarden, Red Nichols, and Gene Krupa. Recordings were made for: Kahn always had fun leading and conducting his orchestra.
more

Lydia Susanna Hunt is an American film, stage and television actress. After making her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in Popeye , Hunt portrayed... Billy Kwan, her breakthrough performance, in The Year of Living Dangerously . Her role as Billy Kwan earned her an Academy Award, an Australian Film Institute Award, a Golden Globe nomination and various other awards. She continued success in films such as The Bostonians , Dune , Silverado , Eleni , Waiting for the Moon , She-Devil , Kindergarten Cop , If Looks Could Kill , Rain Without Thunder , Twenty Bucks , Younger and Younger , Prêt-à-Porter , Pocahontas , The Relic , Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World , Dragonfly , Yours Mine and Ours and Stranger Than Fiction . Hunt has also had a successful television career. She played Rose in the television movie Basements and narrated in the television movie The New Chimpanzees.
more

Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director, producer and actor of films generally with comedy and science fiction content. His films... include Piranha and The Howling , both from scripts by John Sayles; Segment 3 of Twilight Zone: The Movie ; Gremlins , his first major hit, and its sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch ; Explorers , Innerspace , Amazon Women on the Moon ; The 'Burbs , Matinee , Runaway Daughters , The Second Civil War , The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy , Small Soldiers , Looney Tunes: Back in Action , and Homecoming . In 1995–1996, Dante worked on The Phantom, and when he was removed from the film, he chose screen credit rather than pay. He was creative consultant on Eerie, Indiana and directed five episodes. He played himself in the series finale. Dante was born in Morristown, New Jersey. His father was a professional golf player. Dante began his movie career working for Roger Corman, similar to Francis Ford Coppola and James Cameron.
more

Frances Ann "Fran" Lebowitz is an American author. Lebowitz is known for her sardonic social commentary on American life as filtered through her New... York sensibilities. Some reviewers have called her a modern-day Dorothy Parker. Lebowitz was born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey, in an "observant" Jewish family. After being expelled from high school and receiving a GED, Lebowitz worked many odd jobs before being hired by Andy Warhol as a columnist for Interview. This was followed by a stint at Mademoiselle. Her first book was a collection of essays titled Metropolitan Life, released in 1978, followed by Social Studies in 1981, both of which are collected in The Fran Lebowitz Reader. For more than twenty years she has been famous in part for writing Exterior Signs of Wealth, a long-overdue novel purportedly about rich people who want to be artists, and artists who want to be rich. She also made several appearances on Late Night With David Letterman during the early part of its run. Recently she has made recurring appearances as Judge Janice Goldberg on the television drama Law & Order.
more

Justin Jeremy Gimelstob is a retired American tennis player. Gimelstob has been a resident of Morristown, New Jersey and as of 2009 resided in Santa... Monica, California. He was the top-ranked boy in his respective age group at the ages of 12, 14, 16, and 18. As a pro, he won the 1998 Australian Open and French Open mixed doubles titles with Venus Williams as his partner. He won a total of 10 singles titles and 15 doubles championships as a pro, and twice was a member of the U.S. Davis Cup team. In singles matches, he has defeated Andre Agassi, Petr Korda, Àlex Corretja, Patrick Rafter , and Gustavo Kuerten. He began to play tennis at age eight, and he was the top-ranked boy in his age group by 12 years of age. In 1991, he was ranked # 1 in the USTA Boys' 14 age group, and he was # 1 ranked again in the USTA Boys' 16 age group, winning the USTA championship, in 1993. He was also ranked # 1 at age 18, and in 1995 he won the USTA National Boys' 18 Championships. Gimelstob grew up in the New Vernon section of Harding Township, New Jersey. He graduated from Newark Academy in Livingston, New Jersey, in 1995.
more

Peter Hayden Dinklage is an award winning American film, television and theatre actor. Since his breakout role in the 2003 film The Station Agent,... he has acted in Elf, Underdog, Find Me Guilty, the 2007 film Death at a Funeral and its 2010 remake, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Since 2011 he has starred in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin's series of novels A Song of Ice and Fire, which earned him the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film. Dinklage was born in Morristown, New Jersey, the son of Diane, an elementary school music teacher, and John Carl Dinklage, a retired insurance salesman. Dinklage was born with achondroplasia. He grew up in Mendham Township, New Jersey. Dinklage graduated from Delbarton School in Morristown in 1987, pursuing his future in acting, and graduated from Bennington College in 1991. Dinklage made his feature debut in the 1995 cult art house film Living in Oblivion playing the role of a frustrated dwarf actor complaining about his clichéd part.
more

Roger Wolfe Kahn was an American jazz and popular musician, composer, and bandleader . Roger Wolff Kahn was born in Morristown, New Jersey into a... wealthy German Jewish banking family. His parents were Adelaide "Addie" and Otto Hermann Kahn, a famous banker and patron of the arts. His maternal grandfather was banker Abraham Wolff. Otto and Roger Kahn were the first father and son to appear separately on the cover of Time magazine: Otto in November 1925 and Roger in September 1927, aged 19. Kahn is said to have learned to play 18 musical instruments before starting to lead his own orchestra in 1923, aged only 16. In 1925, Kahn appeared in a short film made in Lee De Forest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. Kahn hired famous jazz musicians of the day to play in his band, especially during recording sessions, for example Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Artie Shaw, Jack Teagarden, Red Nichols, and Gene Krupa. Recordings were made for: Kahn always had fun leading and conducting his orchestra.
more

Lydia Susanna Hunt is an American film, stage and television actress. After making her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in Popeye , Hunt portrayed... Billy Kwan, her breakthrough performance, in The Year of Living Dangerously . Her role as Billy Kwan earned her an Academy Award, an Australian Film Institute Award, a Golden Globe nomination and various other awards. She continued success in films such as The Bostonians , Dune , Silverado , Eleni , Waiting for the Moon , She-Devil , Kindergarten Cop , If Looks Could Kill , Rain Without Thunder , Twenty Bucks , Younger and Younger , Prêt-à-Porter , Pocahontas , The Relic , Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World , Dragonfly , Yours Mine and Ours and Stranger Than Fiction . Hunt has also had a successful television career. She played Rose in the television movie Basements and narrated in the television movie The New Chimpanzees.
more

Frances Ann "Fran" Lebowitz is an American author. Lebowitz is known for her sardonic social commentary on American life as filtered through her New... York sensibilities. Some reviewers have called her a modern-day Dorothy Parker. Lebowitz was born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey, in an "observant" Jewish family. After being expelled from high school and receiving a GED, Lebowitz worked many odd jobs before being hired by Andy Warhol as a columnist for Interview. This was followed by a stint at Mademoiselle. Her first book was a collection of essays titled Metropolitan Life, released in 1978, followed by Social Studies in 1981, both of which are collected in The Fran Lebowitz Reader. For more than twenty years she has been famous in part for writing Exterior Signs of Wealth, a long-overdue novel purportedly about rich people who want to be artists, and artists who want to be rich. She also made several appearances on Late Night With David Letterman during the early part of its run. Recently she has made recurring appearances as Judge Janice Goldberg on the television drama Law & Order.
more

Kara Elizabeth Drew is an American professional wrestler and valet, better known by her ring name Cherry. She is best known for working in World... Wrestling Entertainment as the manager of former Tag Team Champions, Deuce 'n Domino, and as a performer for its SmackDown brand. After becoming interested in wrestling, Drew worked on the independent circuit under the ring names Miss Kara and Kara Slice. She was assigned to WWE's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville, Kentucky in 2005, to continue her wrestling training. While situated at OVW, she used the name Cherry Pie, and she was the manager of the group known as "The Throw-Backs" and later as "The Untouchables", consisting of Deuce Shade and Dice Domino. Cherry managed them to three reigns as OVW Southern Tag Team Champions. After signing with WWE, the group were called up to the SmackDown! roster in January 2007, where the team underwent a name change to Deuce 'n Domino. Cherry managed the team to one reign as WWE Tag Team Champions. In April 2008 she made her WWE singles debut and parted ways with Deuce and Domino the following month.
more

Jonathan Marc Sherman is a contemporary American playwright. He was born in Morristown, New Jersey, and grew up in Livingston. He began writing... plays on a typewriter his father gave him as a birthday gift when he was twelve or thirteen years old. His first performed original play was the one-act Confrontation . He submitted plays for several years Young Playwrights Inc.'s National Playwrights Competition before they did a staged reading of his one-act, Serendipity and Serenity in 1987, followed by a full production of his next play, Women and Wallace . He graduated from Bennington College in 1990. He dropped out of the Yale School of Drama after less than two months. His work has been performed in front of audiences across the country, as well as in Europe and Japan. He lives in New York City. 1987. Young Playwrights Festival at Playwrights Horizons Winner of the 21st Century Playwrights Award The short play is about a family of two brothers, Toby and Max, and their father, fifteen years after the mother committed suicide.
more