Notable Residents
Paducah was the birthplace or residence of the following notable people:
- Charles "Speedy" Atkins, whose mummified body was on display at a local funeral home from 1928 to 1994.
- Vice President Alben W. Barkley spent much of his life in Paducah, and has a lake, an airport, and other landmarks named after him in the area. His historic home, Angles, is a private residence. One can visit Whitehaven, a mansion-turned-welcome-center off Interstate 24, where some of his memorabilia is displayed.
- Julian Carroll, Governor of Kentucky from 1974 to 1979
- Steven Curtis Chapman, contemporary Christian music star
- Irvin S. Cobb, humorist
- Russ Cochran, Champions Tour golfer
- Monroe E. Dodd, Southern Baptist clergyman, was a pastor in Paducah early in the 20th century.
- Pierre DuMaine, Roman Catholic bishop
- Steve Finley, a longtime Major League Baseball player, was born in West Tennessee, but grew up in Paducah.
- Clarence "Big House" Gaines, Hall of Fame basketball coach
- Dr. Robert H. Grubbs, a 2005 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, grew up in Paducah.
- Eddie Haas, former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach, manager and scout.
- Callie Khouri, who won an Oscar for her screenplay to Thelma and Louise, lived in Paducah for most of her childhood.
- Kelley Lovelace, country music songwriter
- Fate Marable, jazz pianist and bandleader
- Matty Matlock, Dixieland clarinettist, saxophonist and arranger
- Kenny Perry, PGA Tour golfer, graduated from Lone Oak High School just outside Paducah, although he spent most of his childhood in Franklin, Kentucky.
- Boots Randolph, saxophonist
- Corey Robinson, Starting Quarterback, Troy University Trojans Football, 2010–Present
- Phil Roof, a former Major League Baseball player and coach and minor league baseball manager.
- Vernon Carver Rudolph, the founder of Krispy Kreme, was involved with a Broad Street doughnut shop in Paducah purchased by his uncle. Rudolph turned the company’s assets and the rights to a secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe into Krispy Kreme in Winston- Salem, NC. Ironically, Paducah has never had a franchised Krispy Kreme. Local doughnut shops have served similar doughnuts in Paducah since World War II
- Actress Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager, Boston Public, Shark) spent her teenage years in Paducah.
- John Scopes, of Scopes Trial fame, is buried in Paducah
- Terry Shumpert, a former Major League Baseball player.
- Roy Skinner (1930–2010), Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball head coach.
- William Sledd, notable YouTube celebrity
- Larry Stewart, lead singer of country music pop band Restless Heart.
- Confederate General Lloyd Tilghman lived in Paducah for a number of years. The only public high school in the Paducah Public Schools district, Paducah Tilghman High School, is named in honor of General Tilghman's wife Augusta Tilghman
- Paul Twitchell, author and founder of ECKANKAR
- Marcy Walker, Liza Colby on All My Children
- Col. JD Wilkes, musician and visual artist, who still lives in Paducah
- Hoyt Hawkins, a member of The Jordanaires who gained international fame for singing background for Elvis Presley, was born in Paducah in 1927
- Rumer Willis, actress and daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, was born in Paducah while her father was there making a film
- George Wilson NFL safety for the Buffalo Bills
Read more about this topic: Paducah, Kentucky
Famous quotes containing the words notable and/or residents:
“In one notable instance, where the United States Army and a hundred years of persuasion failed, a highway has succeeded. The Seminole Indians surrendered to the Tamiami Trail. From the Everglades the remnants of this race emerged, soon after the trail was built, to set up their palm-thatched villages along the road and to hoist tribal flags as a lure to passing motorists.”
—For the State of Florida, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“In most nineteenth-century cities, both large and small, more than 50 percent—and often up to 75 percent—of the residents in any given year were no longer there ten years later. People born in the twentieth century are much more likely to live near their birthplace than were people born in the nineteenth century.”
—Stephanie Coontz (20th century)