the list of 9 for september 4, 2001:
NINE NOTABLE PEOPLE THAT CAME OUT OF SAN JOSE
I come from San Jose. Well, I was born in Massachusetts and have lived in L.A. since 1989, but I spent my formative years in San Jose (in a neighborhood later annexed by the smaller city of Cupertino, home of Apple). Today, despite the fact that Silicon Valley companies now run the nation's economy, I still have to explain to most non-Californians that San Jose is about 40 miles south of San Francisco, not on the beach, not in the forest and not near Los Angeles at all. So this is a tribute to the successful people who came from this orchard town-cum-sprawling multiethnic suburb.
- TERI HATCHER. One of the Internet's first "it girls", Hatcher became popular in the mid-'90s during her stint on Lois and Clark and later starred in films like The World Is Not Enough and Spy Kids before her second life on Desperate Housewives. She was born in Sunnyvale and went to Fremont High School.
- SMASH MOUTH. This two hit wonder is pretty much the only major rock band to come out of San Jose, though San Francisco's Grateful Dead did play their first gig in SJ, and in the late '60s the town gave birth to obscure one hit wonder The Count Five ("Psychotic Reaction").
- STEVE WOZNIAK AND STEVE JOBS. What would a list of Silicon Valley notables be without the two Steves? After graduatting from Homestead High in Cupertino, they launched Apple Computer in a local garage and begat the personal computer revolution.
- FARLEY GRANGER. Clean-cut actor from Hollywood's golden age is best remembered today for the two Hitchcock films he starred in, Rope (1948) and Strangers on a Train (1951). He never became a big star, but those films are classics.
- CHUCK BERRY. The legendary rock & roll singer/guitarist was also born in San Jose, though he claims to hail from the more storied jazz town of St. Louis, Missouri. Poor Chuck, he knew that SJ was Squaresville!
- KRISTI YAMAGUCHI & RUDY GALINDO. When I was a teenager, the one local celebrity everybody kept their eye out for was figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, who later won the gold at the 1992 Olympics. Kristi hails from nearby Fremont, while Rudy - who Kristi dumped as a skating partner before he found real fame several years later on his own - is an SJ boy. The legendary Peggy Fleming is another ice skating local.
- NOLAN BUSHNELL. This is the man responsible for draining an entire generation of fresh air and quarters. For he not only invented the world's first video game (PONG) and founded Atari, he also created Pizza Time Theatre, home of pizza, arcades and Chuck E. Cheese.
- THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS. Tom and Dick Smothers, who hosted a beloved 1960s TV variety show (and another good one in the '80s) are one of the most successful comedy-musical acts in history. They are always mentioned as being "from" San Jose, but they only went there for college, and remain two of San Jose State University's most popular grads.
- ROSCOE "FATTY" ARBUCKLE. Here's one local boy the San Josers would rather forget: the silent film star whose career was ruined after he was accused of raping and murdering actress Virginia Rappe back in 1921. He was acquitted, but not in the public eye. Amusingly, there is a chain of "American-style restaurants" across Britain called Fatty Arbuckle's. I suppose "O.J. Simpson's" will be next.
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