Utica

Roscoe Conkling House in Utica, New York, USA was the home of Roscoe Conkling, 1829–1888, a powerful and controversial politician. He is... responsible, perhaps, for the angry, political atmosphere that led to the assassination of U.S. President James Garfield. Roscoe Conkling's political career began as mayor of Utica in 1858, and rose through terms as U.S. Congressman 1859-1863 and 1865-1867. Finally he was U.S. Senator from New York 1868-1881. In 1870 he became boss of New York's Republican political machine. Conkling was mentor to Chester A. Arthur, and was instrumental in getting him appointed collector of the port of New York in 1871. In 1872 Conkling was offered the position of Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by Grant, but he refused. When Rutherford B. Hayes became president in 1877, Conkling violently opposed him on the issue of civil service reform. In 1880, Conkling, as part of the "Stalwart" faction of the Republican Party, supported Grant's bid for a third term. The split in the Republican Party was so divisive that the 1880 Republican National Convention took 36 ballots to nominate James A. Garfield.
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The Millar-Wheeler House is a historic home in Utica, New York. It is operated as Rosemont Inn, a bed and breakfast. It was listed on the National... Register of Historic Places in 2000. It is located at 1423 Genesee Street in Utica.
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Grace Church is an Episcopal church at 193 Genesee Street in Utica, New York. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

The New Century Club is located at 253 Genesee Street in Utica, New York. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in September,... 1985. It is architecturally significant for its Greek Revival architecture, once characteristic of this part of the city of Utica. It is socially significant as the home of the New Century Club, a women's civic organization established in 1893 and "responsible throughout the early twentieth century for projects that notably improved Utica's educational system, outdoor recreational facilities and youth justice system.
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Ron O'Neal was an American actor, director and screenwriter. O'Neal is most remembered for his starring role as Youngblood Priest in the... blaxploitation film Super Fly and the Cuban officer Colonel Bella in the film Red Dawn, although he also had recurring roles on the television show Living Single as Synclaire's father and as Whitley Gilbert's father on A Different World. He was also a regular on the 1982 series "Bring 'Em Back Alive" with Bruce Boxleitner in which he played the Sultan of Johore. He died in 2004 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 66 on the same day "Super Fly" was released on DVD in the US.
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Robert L. Esche is an American professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for SCL Tigers of National League A. Robert Esche started his... career with the Phoenix Coyotes, only to be traded to the Flyers in a deal involving Michal Handzuš and Brian Boucher. He hails from Whitesboro, New York, where he contributes much to the community and charitable organizations with his spare time. In 2004, he claimed the starting goaltending spot for the Flyers, and led them to the NHL Eastern Conference Finals, only to fall in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Esche has represented the United States in the 1997 and 1998 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and the IIHF World Championships in 2000, shutting out Russia in Russia, an accomplishment he still lists as his greatest moment in hockey. He represented the US team in 2001 and also received the starting nod at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Esche is nicknamed "Chico" after former Flyers goaltender Glenn "Chico" Resch because his sticks are labeled R. Esche. Esche was named to the 2006 US Men's Olympic Hockey Team in Turin.
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Benjamin Albert Rolfe was an American musician known as "The Boy Trumpet Wonder" who went on to be a bandleader, recording artist, radio personality... and film producer. Born in Brasher, New York, Rolfe was the son of a music director. At a young age he played the piccolo and cornet in his father's band, touring the U.S. East Coast as well as Europe. After high school, he worked as a musical clown in a traveling circus until joining the Majestic Theater Orchestra in Utica, New York. His work led to a position at the Utica Conservatory of Music where he was head of the brass instrument department. However, drawn back to show business, in the early part of the 20th century, he worked in vaudeville, producing a revue and serving as bandleader. In 1915, B.A. Rolfe turned his talents to the fledgling motion picture business, establishing his own production company, Rolfe Photoplays Inc. Although he filmed in California, Rolfe's productions were primarily made in and around Fort Lee, New Jersey and distributed through an agreement with Louis B. Mayer's Metro Pictures Corporation.
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Steven Brill is an American actor, film producer, director, and screenwriter. He directed and co-wrote Little Nicky and directed Mr. Deeds, Without... A Paddle, Heavyweights and Drillbit Taylor. He has had cameo roles in all three Mighty Ducks movies, and appeared in The Wedding Singer, Mr. Deeds and Knocked Up, although his role in the latter has been miscredited to Judd Apatow. He also appeared as the Barfly in Sex, Lies, and Videotape. As a director, Brill was one of the central players in the 2007/2008 Fanboys reshoot/editing controversy.
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Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and... went on to appear in a series of beach party films. Annette Joanne Funicello was born in Utica, New York, to Italian-Americans Joseph and Virginia Funicello. Her family moved to Southern California when she was four years old. Funicello took dancing and music lessons as a child to overcome shyness. In 1955, the 12-year-old was discovered by Walt Disney when she performed as the Swan Queen in Swan Lake at a dance recital in Burbank, California. Disney cast her as one of the original "Mouseketeers". She was the last to be selected, and the only one personally picked by Walt Disney himself. She proved to be very popular and by the end of the first season of Mickey Mouse Club, she was receiving 6,000 letters a month, according to her Disney Legends biography. In addition to appearing in many Mouseketeer sketches and dance routines, Funicello starred in several serials on The Mickey Mouse Club.
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Tiffany "New York" Pollard is an American reality television personality and actress. She is best known for her participation in VH1's Flavor of... Love and I Love New York television series. Pollard was given the nickname "New York" by rapper Flavor Flav, whom she dated on both season 1 and season 2 of Flavor of Love. Pollard is also known colloquially by her self-proclaimed nickname, the "HBIC ", which she exclaimed in the Flavor of Love series in an attempt to taunt her competitors. Pollard was born in Utica, New York to Michelle Rothschild-Patterson and Alex Pollard. She has an older brother named Derek. Pollard attended John F. Kennedy Middle School and graduated from Thomas R. Proctor High School. Professionally, Pollard has used the surnames of both her parents, who are unmarried. Pollard was engaged to I Love New York winner Patrick "Tango" Hunter for a sixth-month period until Hunter called off the engagement on the reunion show. Pollard was also engaged to George "Tailor Made" Weisgerber, the winner of I Love New York 2.
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George Burrell "Tim" Woodin was an American former professional wrestler. He was best known under his ring name Mr. Wrestling. Woodin began his... wrestling career at the age of 29 using the name "Tim Woods". He was then given the name "Mr. Wrestling" by Nebraska promotor Joe Dusek, and subsequently adopted both a white wrestling mask and white singlet to complete the character. Mr. Wrestling became a major superstar in the Georgia, Florida, Texas and Mid-Atlantic territories. He wrestled in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in the northeast, at the upper end of the preliminary wrestlers. Starting in the Seventies, he would alternate between his masked persona as Mr. Wrestling and wrestling unmasked as Tim Woods, depending on the territory.
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Torrie Zito was an American pianist, music arranger, composer and conductor. He worked with many recording artists of note, including Billie... Holiday, Stan Getz, Perry Como, Billy Eckstine, Herbie Mann, Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gormé, Nana Mouskouri, Bobby Short, Marvin Hamlish, Roberto Carlos, Sinéad O'Connor, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Bobby Darin, Morgana King, Johnny Mathis, Clay Aiken, Liza Minnelli, Morgana King, O. C. Smith, Quincy Jones, and Carly Simon. Zito, however, is most widely known for his hugely popular work with John Lennon on the classic album Imagine, as string arranger. He also wrote advertising jingles, including a famous one for Maxwell House, and background music for many television programmes.. He worked closely with singer Tony Bennett for many years and his work features on Bennett's Grammy-nominated 2008 album, A Swingin' Christmas. A New York City resident, Torrie Zito was married to his second wife singer Helen Merrill, with whom he recorded several albums. He had one daughter, Lisa Zito, from his first marriage and a stepson, Alan Merrill. His brother is the drummer Ronnie Zito.
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Steven Brill is an American actor, film producer, director, and screenwriter. He directed and co-wrote Little Nicky and directed Mr. Deeds, Without... A Paddle, Heavyweights and Drillbit Taylor. He has had cameo roles in all three Mighty Ducks movies, and appeared in The Wedding Singer, Mr. Deeds and Knocked Up, although his role in the latter has been miscredited to Judd Apatow. He also appeared as the Barfly in Sex, Lies, and Videotape. As a director, Brill was one of the central players in the 2007/2008 Fanboys reshoot/editing controversy.
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Anna Townsend was a silent film actress most notable for her roles in Harold Lloyd films.

Joe Bonamassa is an American blues rock guitarist and singer. Bonamassa was born and raised in New Hartford, New York. His parents owned and ran a... guitar shop. He is a fourth-generation musician; with a great-grandfather and grandfather who both played trumpet, and a father who plays guitar, Bonamassa credits his parents with fostering an appreciation of music in his life as early as he can remember. When he was a young child, he would listen to his parents' large record collection. He recalls at age 7, sitting with his parents on Saturdays and listening to Guitar Slim, Bonnie Raitt, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Eric Clapton, and Jethro Tull. Thus, he sees his music as an amalgam of all the various rock and blues he heard as a child. He received his first guitar from his father at the age of 4, and by age 7 he was playing Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix tunes note for note. At the age of 11, during a short period of being mentored by Danny Gatton, he learned such styles as country and jazz as well as polka. During this time with Gatton, Bonamassa sat in with Gatton's band whenever they played in New York. He first opened for B. B. King at 12 years of age.
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Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and... went on to appear in a series of beach party films. Annette Joanne Funicello was born in Utica, New York, to Italian-Americans Joseph and Virginia Funicello. Her family moved to Southern California when she was four years old. Funicello took dancing and music lessons as a child to overcome shyness. In 1955, the 12-year-old was discovered by Walt Disney when she performed as the Swan Queen in Swan Lake at a dance recital in Burbank, California. Disney cast her as one of the original "Mouseketeers". She was the last to be selected, and the only one personally picked by Walt Disney himself. She proved to be very popular and by the end of the first season of Mickey Mouse Club, she was receiving 6,000 letters a month, according to her Disney Legends biography. In addition to appearing in many Mouseketeer sketches and dance routines, Funicello starred in several serials on The Mickey Mouse Club.
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