Who's Decatur's Most Famous Resident?
September 18, 2008
Its sort of a slow morning here in the Decatur Metro newsroom, so I’ve decided to throw out a question that popped into my head a couple days ago.
Most of us are aware of musicians Michael Stipe and Emily Saliers, along with humorist Roy Blunt Jr.’s Decatur-tie, while others know that poet and good friend to Edgar Allen Poe, Thomas Holley Chivers, is buried in Decatur Cemetery. A few others might also be aware that Julia Roberts spent some time here as a child.
But all of those folks have either passed on or moved on to other places. So who is Decatur’s most famous current resident?
I’ll start things off by throwing Ryan Gainey’s name out there.
We may require a Ryan Gainey / Scott Peacock Celebrity Slugfest to know for sure.
That’s something I’d definitely put my name on… “Decatur Metro’s First Annual Decatur Celebrity Slugfest!”
I would think Wikipedia could help with any “Celebrity Slugfest”. Scott Peacock makes it for his James Beard award. Ryan Gainey gets no mention. Also check out Notable Natives on the Decatur Wikipedia page.
“The Greeks.”
Crazy Joe…you so crazy! But yep…I checked out the wikipedia page before posting, but the problem is that many of them didn’t necessarily live inside the city. Again we’re back to the whole Decatur-proper vs. Decatur zipcode issue.
Like did Deforest Kelly really live in Decatur? If so, where is the monument to attract adoring fans from DragonCon?
John Randall
I had never heard of Ryan Gainey before reading this entry. Ten minutes after reading it, I ran out to the post office, where I saw a Ryan Gainey logo on a van driving down Ponce. Weird. Or maybe Decatur is just that small.
Mr. Big from the Chilletts.
Emily Saliers may not live here, but I’ve seen her enough times at Watershed and elsewhere to qualify.
Dahling Paula,
Ryan Gainey is well-known in gardening circles nationally; (my momma nearly had a fit when she saw him in her Cottage Living mag, but I digress) and he actually lives in Decatur Proper. As opposed, of course, to Decatur, Unproper (or is it Improper?) You will know him from his large hats. I vote for him, but wouldn’t be opposed to a Celebrity Slugfest, should Decatur Metro be so inclined ….
Emily Saliers does live here. I walked by her house last night.
oops…and I forgot to vote for Kodac Harrison.
Could I get some clarification? Is the question who is the biggest celebrities in OUR opinion or the biggest celebrity in THEIR OWN opinion?
That could make for quite different results!
What about Jan Hooks? Yeah, I know, nobody remembers her. But she came into the Eckerd where I worked many years ago and bought some Blistex. One of my only “celebrity sightings” LOL.
Famous
by Naomi Shihab Nye
The river is famous to the fish.
The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.
The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.
The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.
The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.
The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.
The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.
I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.
I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.
[...] Over at Decatur Metro, there’s a celebrity slugfest going on: Who’s Decatur’s most famous [...]
Marlys…either works for me. Why? who do you know who thinks they are the biggest celebrity?
Tiffany…great exploration of the word “famous”. I guess my post only explores the rather generic “known to the general population” definition.
What about Natasha Trethewey who has won a Pulitzer Prize
There’s no basement in the Alamo, silly!
My vote goes to Chris Tucker – can you beat it?
What does Pee Wee Herman have to do with anything?
Doug, I’m wondering the same thing.
That’s a Jan Hooks quote.
By George you’re right! From Jan Hooks wikipedia page…
“She also played a memorable role in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure as a know-it-all tour guide at the Alamo.”
Jeff Foxworthy?
Clarence Carter
slip away