New Jersey 2025 Hall of Fame Nominees Announced
Uncle Floyd has been nominated for the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
The 60 nominees in six categories for the 2025 New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony later this year have been announced. You can vote as of now by using the link below (which contains capsule biographies on all 60.) You have until April 15.
Controversial Newark poet Amiri Baraka has been nominated in the “Arts & Letters” category. (Check out our Jan. 20 “Jersey Bookshelf” review of his 1965 The System Of Dante’s Hell.) Also controversial was Hoboken’s Alfred Kinsey in the “Education, Research, Engineering & Science” category. His “Kinsey Reports” which explored sexual behavior in humans went off like bombshells in 1948 and 1953. Chef David Burke from Hazlet is one of the noms in the “Enterprise” category. One of the Founding Fathers, William Livingston, New Jersey Governor from 1776 to 1790, has been nominated in the “Public Service” category. In “Sports,” Dodger great Orel Hershizer, from Cherry Hill, in 1988, pitched a record 59 straight scoreless innings. That record still stands and probably will never be broken.
The final inductees will be announced at the end of June, and the induction ceremony will take place in the fall. Details on The 17th Annual New Jersey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, including where and when to watch it, will be released at a later date.
“We are honored to spotlight the wealth of successful and talented individuals in our state,” said Jon F. Hanson, Chairman of the NJHOF. “Each year we develop this list of remarkable nominees, we come away more inspired and influenced by the power of New Jerseyans.”
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Then there’s our favorite category: “Performing Arts & Entertaining.”
1) Actor Kirsten Dunst grew up down the shore.
2) Uncle Floyd, born in Paterson and raised mostly in Glen Rock, is the beloved TV show host that David Bowie and John Lennon watched regularly.
3) Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame members The Isley Brothers moved to Teaneck from Cincinnati and even named their label T-Neck Records.
4) Actor Brooke Shields grew up in Haworth and attended Princeton University before becoming President of the Actors Equity Association.
5) Three-time Oscar-winning Hollywood Director-Writer-Producer James L. Brooks grew up in North Bergen.
6) Jersey City-born Singer-Actor-TV Host Marilyn McCoo enjoyed many hits from her time in The Fifth Dimension before going solo.
7) Actor Celeste Holm lived to the ripe old age of 95 in Morris County. A star of Broadway, TV and film, she won an Oscar for her role in Gentleman’s Agreement in 1947 and was in All About Eve with Bette Davis in 1950.
8) Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan is from Perth Amboy.
9) Batman Producer Michael Uslan was born in Jersey City.
10) Latin Legend Tito Puente spent many years living in Teaneck and Totowa.