By Mary Ann Bourbeau
ASBURY PARK – Comedian Joe Piscopo will host the New Jersey Hall of Fame’s 8th Annual Red Carpet Induction Ceremony on April 7 in Convention Hall.
The 2015 inductees include Red Bank resident Jon Stewart and Christie Rampone, who was raised in Point Pleasant and attended Monmouth University. Stewart, a writer, director, comedian, producer and television host, grew up in Lawrenceville. He hosted “The Jon Stewart Show” before taking over hosting duties at the satirical news program “The Daily Show” for 15 years, collecting 18 Emmy Awards in the process.
Rampone is captain of the United States women’s national soccer team and has played in five FIFA World Cup Finals, winning the Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 1999. She competed in four Olympics, took home three gold medals.
“This year’s inductees include some great people,” said Bart Oates, a former New York Giants player who is chairman of the New Jersey Hall of Fame Board of Commissioners. “New Jersey has some incredibly talented people. Our mission is to highlight the rich history of New Jersey and those who made invaluable contributions to society. Our citizens have accomplished much good and changed the lives of people throughout the world.”
Among the other nominees are the early 19th-century writer James Fenimore Cooper of Burlington; author and journalist Anna Quindlen, who graduated from South Brunswick High School; William Fox, who founded the Fox Film Corporation, which later became Twentieth Century-Fox Studios in Fort Lee; the late Lewis Katz of Camden, a businessman, philanthropist and former owner of the New Jersey Devils and New Jersey Nets; and philanthropist and Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus of Newark.
Joining Stewart in the entertainment category are members of Kool & the Gang, a soul and funk band out of Jersey City that has garnered 31 gold and platinum albums over the past 50 years.
In the public service category is retired Army Colonel Jack H. Jacobs of Woodbridge, a Medal of Honor recipient who now serves as a military analyst for NBC, and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who served in the United States Senate for five terms.
Along with Rampone in the sports category is Derek Jeter, who was born in New Jersey. He spent summers in West Milford with his grandparents and also played in summer baseball youth leagues there. Sportscaster Dick Vitale of East Rutherford joined ESPN soon after its 1979 launch and has been its primary college basketball analyst since then.
This year’s Unsung Hero award will be given to Carla Harris of Montclair, vice chairman of wealth management and managing director at Morgan Stanley. An author, public speaker and gospel singer, Harris was named by Fortune magazine as one of the 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America.
Members of the public voted to choose one person from each category and the Hall of Fame committee narrowed down the rest from a master list of hundreds of people.
“We have vigorous discussions because sometimes people are very passionate about an individual,” Oates said. “We try to include people from all walks of life, alive and deceased, from all areas of the state. We want to educate the public, especially kids, about these people who grew up in the same neighborhoods they did. Many of them overcame obstacles to become successful.”
The New Jersey Hall of Fame started out as the Sports Hall of Fame and changed its mission in 2008 to include those who made notable achievements in all walks of life. The nonprofit organization acquired a mobile museum two years ago that travels to schools, fairs and boardwalks to educate people about its inductees. The board hopes to announce a permanent location in the next few months.
There will be a short film and a special presenter for each inductee. Former N.J. Gov. Thomas Kean Sr. and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker are scheduled to attend the ceremony and present awards to Lautenberg and Katz respectively. The Hall of Fame will also award the first Arete Scholarships, a $5,000 college scholarship to one male and one female high school senior who demonstrated academic engagement, moral character and commitment to their community. The winners have not been named yet.
A pre-ceremony cocktail reception begins at 6 p.m. April 7 in the Grand Arcade at Convention Hall. The official ceremony and entertainment begins at 7 p.m. Tickets for the cocktail reception and ceremony are $250, with sponsorships ranging from $2,500 to $50,000. For more information, visit www.njhalloffame.org. Tickets for the ceremony only are available for $50 at www.ticketmaster.com.
Arts and entertainment writer Mary Ann Bourbeau can be reached at mbourbeau@tworivertimes.com and on Twitter @MaryAnnBourbeau.
