Saxophone player Homer "Boots" Randolph never forgot Decatur.
Here's a look at noteworthy people who have lived in the Decatur area. Who did we miss? Email us at decnews@lee.net.
Diane Stilwell
The Decatur native and actress was in " Earth Girls Are Easy" and "Remington Steele."
Edwin B. Willis
Edwin B. Willis was a set designer and decorator.
He was nominated for the Academy Award 32 times. He was born in Decatur in 1893 and died in Hollywood in 1963.
Bill Madlock
Bill Madlock was born in Memphis, but grew up in Decatur. He won four National League batting titles.
The Eisenhower graduate was featured on the cover of the 1976 edition after leading the National League in hitting with a .354 average in 1975.
Brian Culbertson
Contemporary jazz/R&B artist and multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson is from Decatur.
Rasheeda Frost
Rasheeda Frost grew up in Decatur and was with the musical group Da Kaperz.
She later recorded several albumns and was on " Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta.'
Mary Cogan
Decatur native Mary Cogan moved to Tulsa after graduating from Southern Illinois University and became a recording artist.
Black Bart
Between 1875 and 1883, Black Bart, real name Charles E. Boles, committed 28 stage coach robberies in northern California and southern Oregon.
He married Mary Elizabeth Johnson in 1854 and became a farmer. He lived in three different locations in Macon County, two near Forsyth and also at the site of the Lewis Disbrow farm, the original Black Bart Pumpkin Patch.
Dante Ridgeway
While at MacArthur, Dante Ridgeway had 1,400 career receiving yards and 24 touchdowns on offense, and a school-record 24 interceptions.
After an All-Macon County second-team selection as a junior, Ridgeway was first-team as a senior in 2001, picking off eight passes and leading MacArthur to its first playoff berth since 1995.
Ridgeway went on to Ball State University, where he set the school's career marks in catches (208) and yards (3,030) and was later inducted into the Ball State Hall of Fame. As a junior in 2004, Ridgeway was a finalist for Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top receiver, leading the country in catches (105) and yards (1,399).
Ridgeway was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the sixth round of the 2005 draft. He also spent time with the New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints.
Currently, Ridgeway is an assistant coach for the Generals' football team.
Brit Miller
An H&R All-Macon County selection in football as both a junior and senior, Miller racked up 1,103 yards rushing and 14 TD as a junior quarterback and 1,199 yards and 14 touchdowns splitting time at quarterback and running back as a senior to help Eisenhower break an eight-year playoff drought.
At Illinois, Miller broke into the starting lineup as a freshman and never left. As a senior, Miller led Illinois in tackles (132), tackles for loss (15.5) and tied for the team lead in sacks (six), earning All-Big Ten honors.
Miller was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Carolina Panthers out of Illinois and later played in the NFL for the St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers.
Since his pro career ended, Miller has spent time as an assistant coach at Eisenhower, Mount Zion and, currently, Monticello. He's also helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for Decatur athletics through his Lead the Way Foundation.
Richard Peck
Children's book author Richard Peck grew up in Decatur.
He was the product of Decatur public schools and served in the U.S. Army.
An award-winning children's author who also wrote books for adults, he tackled themes like suicide, unwanted pregnancy and death, winning acclaim for his ability to do so with realism and emotional power.
He told the School Library Journal, “As I'm typing, I'm trying to look out over the typewriting and see faces. I don't certainly want to write for myself, because I'm trying to write across a generation gap.”
Penny Hammel
Penny Hammel, Decatur native and LPGA great, found success at golf in each level she tried, including becoming the nation’s top college golfer in 1983.
Born in Decatur in 1962, her interest and love of golf came from her father, Richie Hammel, who was the golf pro at Faries Park Golf Course.
Steve Hunter
The guitar of Decatur's Steve Hunter is heard every day around the world.
Hunter has recorded and played live with such diverse talents as Aerosmith, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Bette Midler and Meat Loaf.
A 1966 graduate of MacArthur, Hunter played in hobby bands through high school. While serving in the Army, he won a United Services Organization contest, and toured Army bases in the Far East with a USO show.
Stephen Ambrose
The author was born in Decatur in January 1936 and spent early years in Lovington.
The historian was a prolific author. He died in 2002.
Vito Bertoldo
Sergeant Vito Bertoldo received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Truman for his service in Hatten, France during World War II, January, 1945.
Bertoldo and two other U.S. 42nd Division infantrymen were defending the line at Hatten to delay German forces from advancing into the city, where the rest of the unit had been trying to clear out. A group of German soldiers arrived, faked a surrender and killed two of the U.S. infantrymen, leaving Bertoldo outnumbered and outgunned. He went head-to-head with them and killed what would be just the first group of Nazis he would encounter in the hours ahead.
George Halas
George Halas is forever "Papa Bear," the man who founded the Chicago Bears as the Decatur Staleys in 1920.
Company teams, particularly baseball, were common in the early 20th century, as wealthy owners sought a certain prestige for their firms. A.E. Staley Sr. was no exception, but he also had his eye on a new sport — football. Halas moved to Decatur and lived at 280 W. William St., according to the city's street directory.
On Sept. 17, 1920, the Staleys, with Halas as their representative, joined the American Professional Football Association, which was renamed the National Football League in 1922. The franchise fee was $100 ($1,225 in today's money). The Bears today are worth $2.7 billion, according to Forbes.
From the start, Halas' team, for which he was also a player, proved formidable. Representing Decatur in such sister Midwestern cities as Akron, Rock Island, Dayton and Canton, the team went 10-1-2. The Staleys' first game Oct. 3, 1920, was a 20-0 win over the Moline Universal Tractors in Decatur.
In 1921, the team moved to Chicago, keeping the Staleys name for one year before becoming the Bears in 1922.
Halas served the Bears as an owner, player, coach, general manager, traveling secretary and in virtually every other capacity imaginable from 1920 until his death in 1983.
When he retired after the 1967 season, he ranked as the all-time leader in coaching victories with 324, a record that stood for 27 years. He won eight NFL championships, and his beloved Bears won Super Bowl XX following the 1985 season.
Halas is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, but it all started for him and the Chicago Bears with the A.E. Staley Mfg. Co. in the Pride of the Prairie, Decatur.
David Joyner
The Decatur native and MacArthur High School graduate portrayed the character Barney.
He was a software analyst and motivational speaker before being Barney from 1991-2001.
Gary Forrester
Gary Forrester, a New Zealand-Australia based musician, composer and poet who was profiled as one of the major figures in the Australian music scene during the 1980s and 1990s, was born in Decatur and grew up in the Effingham, Quincy and Tuscola areas.
Howard W. Buffett
A graduate from Mount Zion High School, Howard Warren Buffett currently is a faculty member at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and was previously a policy adviser in the Executive Office of the President of the United States under President Barack Obama.
Jenny Lou Carson
Evelyn, Lucille and Eva Overstake.
Lucille later changed her name to Jenny Lou Carson and became a country music singer-songwriter. She was the first woman to write a No. 1 country music hit.
June Christy
June Christy, an American singer hailed as "one of the finest and most neglected singers of her time," was known for her work in the cool jazz genre. She was born in Springfield in 1925 and moved with her family to Decatur when she was 3.
Herbert Ryman
Herbert Dickens Ryman, who grew up in Decatur, was an artist and Disney Imagineer who drew the first illustrations of Walt Disney's vision of a theme park that eventually became Disneyland. His filmography includes Art Director of Fantasia and Dumbo.
Howard Buffett
Businessman and philanthropist Howard G. Buffett was the Corporate Vice President and Assistant to the Chairman of Archer Daniels Midland from 1992 - 1995 and is the founder of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. He currently resides in Decatur.
Icon For Hire
Icon for Hire, formed in 2007 in Decatur, is an American rock band that has had two Billboard-charting albums.
Jason Avant
The NFL player attended MacArthur High School. He played for the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs.
Jeff Innis
Born and raised in Decatur, Jeff Innis was a pitcher for the New York Mets from 1987 to 1993.
John Doe
Musican-actor John Doe, born in Decatur, paved the way for alternative rock with his band X before turning to acting in movies such as "Great Balls of Fire!" and "Boogie Nights".
Kerri Randles
Most recently known for her worked on Clint Eastwood's "Changeling," Decatur-born Kerri Randles also opened the first ever Hollywood Fringe Festival with her one-woman show "Can't you Hear Me Knockin?"
Loren Coleman
Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman is the author of books on a number of topics, including cryptozoology. He grew up in Decatur and is a graduate of MacArthur High School.
Marcia Morey
Marcia Morey, born in Decatur, is a former competition swimmer who specialized in the breaststroke. She represented the United States at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec.
Roe Skidmore
Roe Skidmore played 1,300 minor league games, and got a hit in his only appearance with the 1970 Chicago Cubs. He was born in Decatur and attended Eisenhower High School.
RonReaco Lee
RonReaco Lee was born in Decatur and was an actor on "Sister, Sister," "Let's Stay Together" and "Survivor's Remorse."
Alison Krauss
Bluegrass musician Alison Krauss was born in Decatur.
She's topped the country charts with albums three times, and charted in the top 10 an additional nine times. Grammy Album of the Year “Raising Sand” (2007), featuring Krauss and former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, reached the top of the Billboard album chart, but stopped at No. 2 on the country chart.
Boots Randolph
In fact, the legendary musician played several shows close to his professional launching point in the last five years of his life.
Randolph's spirited playing on songs such as "Yakety Sax" made him one of Nashville's top musicians.
Randolph played in Decatur for several years, notably at the Decatur Cocktail Lounge, before being discovered. He worked with Dink Welch and the Kopy Kats from 1948 to 1954. The group was playing Decatur's Parkway Inn in 1952, he recalled in a 2001 interview with the Herald & Review, when a fire destroyed its equipment. The band then moved to the Decatur Cocktail Lounge.
CeCe Frey
Decatur native CeCe Frey was on Fox's “The X-Factor."
Chuck Dressen
Chuck Dressen was a quarterback for the Decatur Staleys and had a long career in professional baseball, most notably as the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1951-53.
Kevin Koslofski
From: Decatur, Illinois. Born: 9/24/1966. Years played: 1992-1996.
James Millikin
James Millikin, founder of Millikin National Bank and Millikin University
Richard J. Oglesby
Richard J. Oglesby was a three-time governor of Illinois and successful general during the Civil War, but his legacy is even greater in the pantheon of Abraham Lincoln lore.
Oglesby was born in 1824 in Kentucky and later moved with relatives to Decatur after the death of his parents. As he made his life in Central Illinois, he came to know fellow Kentucky transplant Lincoln as a friend, and they soon became political allies.
Oglesby was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1860, the same year Lincoln was rising as a candidate for president. Oglesby is credited with coining “Abraham Lincoln-The Rail Splitter Candidate” at the Illinois State Republican Convention. After Lincoln's election, Oglesby continued to be a strong ally.
Oglesby's experience during the Mexican War led to him volunteer his services to the Union Army during the Civil War in 1861. He eventually was promoted promoted to brigadier general. In 1864, he resigned his commission and ran for governor of Illinois at President Lincoln's request.
On April 14, 1865, Oglesby spent the afternoon with Lincoln and declined Lincoln’s invitation to accompany him to Ford’s Theater. Later that evening, Oglesby was called to the president’s side at the Peterson House, where, on April 15, he witnessed the death of his good friend at the hand of an assassin's bullet.
Oglesby served three non-consecutive terms as governor of Illinois until 1884. He also was a U.S. Senator from 1873-79. Oglesby died on April 24, 1899, and is buried in Elkhart.
