NJ Hall of Fame
Connie Chung
Middletown, NJ
This longtime Middletown, NJ, resident is a renowned journalist who has hosted 20/20 and the CBS Evening News. In 1993, she became the first woman to co-anchor CBS Evening News, as well as the first Asian and the second woman to anchor one of America’s major network newscasts. She has been an anchor and reporter on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC.
Ray Liotta
Newark, NJ
This native of Newark, NJ, is known for his portrayals of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas and Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams. He won an Emmy Award and was nominated for Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards. He won his Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role on the medical drama ER.
Chuck Wepner
Bayonne, NJ
Known as the “Bayonne Brawler” and the “Bayonne Bleeder,” the heavyweight boxer was a heavy underdog when he went fifteen rounds with world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a 1975 title fight. Wepner claimed that he was the inspiration for the movie Rocky.
Alfred Koeppe
Manasquan, NJ
Educated at Rutgers-Newark and Seton Hall Law School, Koeppe was President and COO of Bell Atlantic and PSE&G. He served as President of the Newark Alliance and formerly chaired the State Economic Development Administration and the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. He was the recipient of the 2013 Steven J. Diner Ethical Leadership Award.
Peace Pilgrim
Egg Harbor City, NJ
Peace Pilgrim, born Mildred Lisette Norman in Egg Harbor City, NJ, gave up her name and all her possessions to embark on a pilgrimage for peace on Jan. 1, 1953. For 28 years, she walked across the United States with only the clothes on her back, spreading her message: “This is the way of peace – Overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.” Her Steps to Inner Peace booklet has been translated into 29 languages and continues to be distributed to tens of thousands of people worldwide. She is also the first woman to walk the Appalachian Trial in one season.
Kelly Ripa
Stratford, NJ
Born in Stratford, NJ, Ripa has co-hosted syndicated talk show for 15 years: Live! With Kelly, previously Live! With Kelly and Michael and Live! with Regis and Kelly. She spent 12 years playing Hayley Vaughan Santos on the soap opera All my Children, for which she won three Daytime Emmy Awards.
