Michael T. Mondak speaks: 40 til 40 day 13

This is day 13 of the 40 til 40 series of blog entries about anything and everything relevant to the number 40 leading up to my 40th birthday on July 10.

Last time I posted my 40 favorite Final Jeopardy! clues from my birth to the present.  Today I will talk about 40 of my fellow natives of Portsmouth, Virginia.

Chandler Harper:  1950 PGA champion who owned and operated the Bide-A-Wee Golf Course when I was born and growing up.

James W. Holley III:  Mayor of Portsmouth when I was born.

Patton Oswalt:  Host of Fox’s game show The 1% Club.

Ace Parker:  Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Wanda Sykes:  Stand-up comedian and star of the sitcom Wanda At Large.

Missy Elliott:  4x Grammy winner.

Perry Ellis:  Fashion designer.

Nathan McCall:  Author of Makes Me Wanna Holler and What’s Going On.

Tommy Newsom:  Saxophonist for the NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

Clifton C. Garvin Jr.: Former president and CEO of Exxon.

LaTasha Collander:  Olympic gold medal winning track and field star.

V.C. Andrews:  Author of Flowers in the Attic.

Dorian Finney-Smith:  Los Angeles Lakers forward.

Rita Lavelle:  Former assistant administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Bill Schneider:  Former CNN senior political analyst.

Adrienne Warren:  Tony Award winner.

Clif Tinker:  Commercial artist for the San Antonio Spurs.

Dorin Spivey:  World champion lightweight boxer.

Don Scott:  First black Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates.

James Murphy:  Heavy metal guitarist.

Jack T. Kirby:  2006 Bancroft Prize winning author.

Nat Howell:  Former United States Ambassador to Kuwait.

Ruth Brown:  Grammy winning R&B singer.

Marty Brennaman:  Former voice of the Cincinnati Reds.

Mahlon Clark:  Clarinet player for the Lawrence Welk orchestra.

Melvin Gregg:  Best known as Ben Chandler in Nine Perfect Strangers.

LaShawn Merritt:  Olympic gold medal winning sprinter.

Pete Mikolajewski:  1966 Midwest Football League MVP.

Louise Lucas:  Former president pro tempore of the Virginia State Senate.

Jillian Kesner-Graver:  Best known as Fonzie’s girlfriend Lorraine on Happy Days.

Jamin Elliott:  Super Bowl XXXVIII champion.

Bebe Buell:  Former Playboy Playmate.

Ken Hatfield:  Classical guitarist.

Kenneth Melvin:  Former Virginia Delegate.

Fanny Murdaugh Downing:  Author and poet.

Ken Bowersox:  Former NASA astronaut.

John T. Casteen III:  Former University of Virginia president.

John Facenda:  Former voice of NFL Films.

John L. Porter:  Superintendent of the construction of the USS Alleghany in Pittsburgh.

William Russ:  Best known as Alan Matthews on Boy Meets World.

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