From vaudeville stages to the Hollywood hills, Wisconsin has produced a staggering amount of talent that helped shape American pop culture. As the nation celebratees its semiquincentennial, our America at 250 series looks back at a few notable entertainers whose fame extended beyond the Badger State and captured the nation’s and world’s attention.
Harry Houdini (March 24, 1874 – Oct. 31, 1926)
Ehrich Weiss was actually born in Hungary, but he claimed Appleton as his hometown for his entire life. The man who became Harry Houdini transformed from a struggling dime museum magician into a global phenomenon. He spent his career defying handcuffs, straitjackets, and water-filled torture cells, effectively inventing the modern escape artist persona.
Alfred Lunt (Aug. 12, 1892 – Aug. 3, 1977)
If you wanted to see theater royalty in the early 20th century, you went to see Milwaukee native Alfred Lunt and his wife Lynn Fontanne. The couple dominated the American stage for decades. When they needed a break from the limelight, they retreated to Ten Chimneys in Genesee Depot. That glamorous estate hosted the era’s biggest stars and still stands today as a monument to Broadway history.
Spencer Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967)
Hollywood’s Golden Age had plenty of leading men, but few matched the grounded realism of Spencer Tracy. The Milwaukee native racked up nine Academy Award nominations and won back-to-back Best Actor Oscars in 1937 and 1938. His natural acting style made him an absolute legend on the silver screen.
Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – Oct. 10, 1985)
It is hard to overstate the impact this Kenosha native had on American media. Welles terrified a nation with his 1938 “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast before he was even 25 years old. Then he went to Hollywood and completely rewrote the rules of filmmaking with “Citizen Kane” in 1941. He remains one of the most brilliant and complex auteurs in cinematic history.
Les Paul (June 9, 1915 – Aug. 12, 2009)
The Wizard of Waukesha didn’t just play music. He fundamentally changed how we hear it. Les Paul pioneered the solid-body electric guitar and invented multi-track recording techniques. Every modern pop, rock, and country song owes a massive technical debt to the tinkering he started right here in Wisconsin.
Liberace (May 16, 1919 – Feb. 4, 1987)
Before the rhinestones and candelabras, Wladziu Valentino Liberace was just a kid growing up in West Allis taking strict piano lessons from his father. He figured out how to blend classical chops with undeniable pop culture showmanship. The result was a massive career that made him the highest-paid entertainer on the planet during the 1950s and 1970s.
Gena Rowlands (June 19, 1930 – Aug. 14, 2024)
Born in Madison and raised in Cambria, Virginia Cathryn Rowlands became a towering figure in independent cinema. Her fierce, deeply emotional performances often anchored the groundbreaking films directed by her husband John Cassavetes. She earned two Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and received an Honorary Oscar in 2015 to cement her legacy as screen royalty.
Gene Wilder (June 11, 1933 – Aug. 29, 2016)
Born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, Wilder studied acting locally before a fateful move to New York put him in the path of director Mel Brooks. That partnership gave us comedy gold like “The Producers” and “Blazing Saddles.” But for generations of fans, he will always be the eccentric, slightly terrifying, and utterly brilliant Willy Wonka.
Al Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – Feb. 12, 2017)
This legendary jazz vocalist started out singing in Milwaukee church choirs and high school bands. Jarreau’s vocal acrobatics and smooth delivery eventually made music history. He became the first vocalist to ever win Grammy Awards in three different categories, effortlessly bouncing between jazz, pop, and R&B over a critically acclaimed five-decade career.
Willem Dafoe (July 22, 1955 – Present)
Appleton’s own Willem Dafoe cut his teeth in experimental Milwaukee theater before making the jump to film. Today, he is widely regarded as one of the hardest working and most versatile character actors in the business. His striking features and intense, deeply committed performances have earned him four Academy Award nominations and counting.
Chris Farley (Feb. 15, 1964 – Dec. 18, 1997)
Madison native Chris Farley was a pure force of nature. He channeled boundless energy and incredible physical comedy into a star-making run on “Saturday Night Live” in the early 1990s. Farley quickly parlayed that fame into beloved movies like “Tommy Boy.” His sudden death at age 33 left a massive void in the comedy world, but his sketches remain incredibly popular decades later.
