Who’s Who in the PA Wilds: 15 of the Region’s Most Famous People
- by Ed Byers
- July 14, 2020
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I have long been intrigued by the number of our Pennsylvania Wilds’ native sons and daughters who went on to national popularity over the years. Many of them, coming from somewhat humble beginnings, include famous sports figures, noted authors, writers, musicians, and some who made an impact on Hollywood. Although some have passed on, their contributions remain noteworthy to this day. Here are several Pennsylvania Wilds sons and daughters, in alphabetical order, who made their mark in the national limelight.
James Bacon (Lock Haven)
Called the “Columnist of the Hollywood Stars,” James Richard Hughes Bacon was born on May 12, 1914. Bacon grew up in Lock Haven and went on to become a famous Hollywood newspaper writer. Bacon began his career at The Associated Press in the 1940s and spent six decades following Hollywood’s biggest stars as a reporter, author and syndicated columnist. As a columnist for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Bacon befriended a host of “A-list” celebrities and became close friends with John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, Humphrey Bogart, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Clint Eastwood, and Marilyn Monroe, among many others. Bacon also appeared in films, including all five Planet of the Apes movies, becoming the only actor to do so. Bacon wrote three best-sellers along with Jackie Gleason’s autobiography, “How Sweet It Is,” which he co-authored. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 6, 2007. Bacon died in his sleep from congestive heart failure on September 18, 2010 at age 96. (Image: Hollywood Walk of Fame)
Jim Bashline (Coudersport)
This Coudersport native, fly-fishing legend and gifted storyteller was one of the finest and most influential outdoor writers of all-time. Jim Bashline began his career writing for the Pennsylvania Angler and the Olean Times-Herald. He joined the Pennsylvania Outdoors Writers Association (OWAA) and became associate editor and later, editor of the Pennsylvania Game News. Jim’s talents received national recognition and he was hired by Field & Stream magazine as managing editor and later, field editor. A founding editor of The Flyfisher, Jim wrote five books and edited three, including the prize-winning anthology America’s Great Outdoors, a study of outdoor journalism and sporting art from 1776 to 1976 for The Outdoor Writers Association. During his career, he hosted several television shows, was president of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association (POWA) and was an OWAA board member. Jim spent his life in the great outdoors of the Pennsylvania Wilds, doing what he loved best and writing about it. He passed away in 1995. (Bashline family photo.)
Sylvia Bashline (Coudersport)
Sylvia Grabe Married Jim Bashline in 1952, joining her newly wedded husband in his love of the Pennsylvania Wilds. Sylvia was born in Port Allegany in 1933, graduated from Coudersport High School and attended Grove City College. Like her husband, she became a prize-winning outdoor writer and photographer; her favorite topic was outdoor cooking. Sylvia authored three books on fish and game cooking and became food editor for Field & Stream from 1976 to 1990. From 1991 to 1996, she was Outdoor Life’s food columnist. A past president of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association, Sylvia also served on the board of directors and as secretary-treasurer of the Outdoor Writers Association of America before being named as its executive director in 1984. She retired from that post in 1994. Sylvia died on Sept. 20, 2011 at age 78. (Bashline family photo.)
Chuck Daly (Kane)
Chuck Daly was a Hall of Fame NBA Coach and was named one of the ten Greatest Coaches in NBA history. He was head coach of the Detroit Pistons from 1982 to 1992 and led the team to back-to-back NBA Championships. The Pistons made the NBA playoffs each year Daly was head coach (1983-1992) as well as reaching the NBA championship three times. Born in Kane on July 20, 1930, Daly attended Kane Area High School and St. Bonaventure University, graduating from Bloomsburg University in 1952. After serving two years in the military, he began his basketball coaching career in 1955 at Punxsutawney Area High School. Daly died in 2009 at age 78. (Image courtesy of Kane Wolves Alumni Association.)
Don Hoak (Roulette, Coudersport)
Nicknamed “The Tiger” for his aggressive play and speed on the bases, Don Hoak was the Pittsburgh Pirates’ third baseman and two-time World Series Champion. Born in Roulette (Potter County) on February 5, 1928, Hoak broke into professional baseball in 1947 after a stint in the United States Navy towards the end of World War II. He batted .282 on a Pirates team that won the Series in 1960. During the Pirates’ championship season, Hoak finished second in National League Most Valuable Player award voting. He was named to the 1957 National League All-Star team while with the Cincinnati Reds. Upon retiring as an active player, Hoak worked as a Pirates’ broadcaster in 1965 and 1966. He served as a coach for the Phillies in 1967 and a manager in the Pirates’ farm system from 1968 until 1969. Don Hoak died October 9, 1969 in Pittsburgh at age 41. (Hoak family photo.)
Marilyn Horne (Bradford)
Born in Bradford in 1934, Marilyn came from a musical family and went on to become one of the most celebrated opera stars of all time. She was a leading lady for twenty-six years at the Metropolitan Opera and spent thirty-nine seasons at the San Francisco Opera. Her formal vocal training began in Bradford when Marilyn was only four years old. Her father moved the family to southern California when she was 11 and it was there that Marilyn began working on a vocal career. Soon, she was singing for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios and in 1954 was chosen to dub the singing voice of Dorothy Dandridge in Oscar Hammerstein’s film adaptation of Carmen Jones. Knowing fully well that opera was her true calling, Marilyn dedicated her talents to the opera stage and her appeal was widespread. She appeared on the Carol Burnett Show and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Marilyn was also a special guest on The Odd Couple and Sesame Street and invited to sing at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton in 1993. (Image: Marilyn Horne with President George H.W. Bush. White House archives.)
Albert Walter “Sparky” Lyle (DuBois)
Born July 22, 1944 in DuBois, “Sparky” Lyle was a Major League Baseball pitcher who spent sixteen seasons in the Major Leagues from 1967 through 1982. During his junior year in high school, he began playing American Legion baseball and drew the attention of Major League scouts after striking out 31 batters while pitching 14 of 17 innings in a state tournament game for DuBois. In the Majors, Lyle was a relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox. A three-time All-Star, he won the American League (AL) Cy Young Award in 1977. He led the American League (AL) in saves in 1972 and 1976. With the Yankees, Lyle was a member of the World Series champions in 1977 and 1978.
The Mills Brothers (Bellefonte)
This legendary vocal group consisting of Donald, Herbert, Harry, and John Jr. Mills was born into a family of nine in Ohio, but they had strong family ties to Bellefonte. The Mills family tree indicates they descended from fugitives on the Underground Railroad who settled in Centre County. Their father, John Hutchison Mills, was born to William Mills and Cecilia Simms, who lived in Bellefonte. Performing on radio, The Mills Brothers became local singing stars and were discovered by the legendary Duke Ellington. Ellington thought highly of their talents and brought them aboard his record label. The Mill Brothers’ popularity quickly grew. They were honored in 1976 with a tribute in Los Angeles hosted by Bing Crosby, celebrating their fifty years in show business. They continued performing even after the brothers, one by one, began passing away. Donald, the final remaining original Mills Brother, died in November of 1999. (Image courtesy of the Ross Library.)
Tom Mix (Driftwood- DuBois)
Movie Actor, “The King of the Cowboys” and the first cowboy mega-movie star, Tom Mix was the son of a Pennsylvania Wilds lumberman. Born January 6, 1880 in Mix Run near Driftwood, Tom Mix spent his boyhood years in DuBois. He joined a wild west show in 1906, which paved the way for a motion picture career in 1910. He was one of the earliest cowboy movie stars, appearing in nearly 300 movies, many of which were in the silent movie era. Mix died in 1940, in a car accident on a highway between Tucson and Florence, Arizona. (Image: True West Magazine)
Mike Mussina (Williamsport)
Mike Mussina, born December 8, 1968, and nicknamed “Moose”, was a Major League baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles (1991–2000) and the New York Yankees (2001–2008). Mussina honed his pitching skills at Montoursville High School and with the Montoursville American Legion team. He went to Stanford University where he caught the eye of Major League scouts. Mussina spent his entire career in the American League East, winning at least 11 games in 17 consecutive seasons, an American League record. As a five-time All-Star, Mussina recorded six top-five finishes in the voting for his league’s Cy Young Award. Mussina retired in 2008 after recording 270 wins in his 18-year career. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. (Image: Baltimore Orioles)
Eliot Ness (Coudersport)
Arguably Coudersport’s most famous resident, Eliot Ness retired to Coudersport following his legendary crime-fighting career, which was the basis for the hit TV show and movie The Untouchables. He was born in Chicago on April 19, 1903, and he later became the federal agent who nabbed Chicago gangster Al Capone and later went on to a celebrated career as Cleveland’s top law-enforcement officer. In 1956, Ness was lured to Coudersport by North Ridge Industrial Corporation, a local watermarking company, hoping to capitalize on Ness’s name and national reputation. Ness died of a heart attack at his Coudersport home on May 16, 1957. Today, Coudersport pays tribute to Ness with its annual “Eliot Ness Fest” celebration each July. (Image: The Eliot Ness Fest)
Amy Rudolph (Kane)
USA Olympic star Amy Rudolph is one of America’s greatest female long-distance runners. Born September 18, 1973, she ran her first competitive race, the 50-yard dash, at the age of six at her Kane elementary school. An eight-time state champion and Kane High School graduate, she never lost a dual and excelled at the mile/1500 and 2-mile races. Now serving as Iowa State’s Associate Head Women’s Cross Country Coach/Assistant Track and Field Coach, Amy is a two-time United States Olympian (5,000 meters), seven-time World Championship team member and three-time USA National Champion. She was a finalist in the 5,000 meters at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. That same year she also set an American record, running the 5k in 14:56.04. (Image: AP Photo)
John Sloan (Lock Haven)
Born in Lock Haven in 1887, John French Sloan went on to become a worldwide famous artist. Spending much of his boyhood in Philadelphia, he went to work for the Philadelphia Enquirer. By 1904, he was on his way to New York to become a career artist. He continued doing drawings for major newspapers but began selling his art worldwide. Lock Haven University is now home to a fine collection of Sloan’s artwork. More than 20 of his works were donated to the Lock Haven University Foundation by his widow, Helen Farr Sloan. The entire collection spanning Sloan’s career includes etchings, paintings and several pen-and-ink drawings in the university’s Sloan Fine Arts Gallery, the building which also bears his name. According to his biography, Sloan returned to Lock Haven only once during his lifetime, in his later years, but continued painting for a living until he died of cancer while living in New Hampshire in 1951. His ashes are scattered on top of the hill at Highland Cemetery in Lock Haven, not far from his birthplace. (Image: John Sloan self portrait. Lock Haven University of PA)
“Margaret Sutton” (Coudersport)
Born Rachel Irene Beebe on January 22, 1908 in Dry Brook Hollow south of Coudersport, Rachel took the pen name “Margaret Sutton” and became the noted author of the famous Judy Bolton girl detective series. Long before Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys and others, Judy Bolton was the most popular book series of its time. She went on to author 38 Judy Bolton detective mystery books based on Potter County landmarks and events in Coudersport, Austin, Odin and other local towns. In 2001 at the age of 98 and confined to a nursing home, Margaret died at Lock Haven Hospital of natural causes. Her final resting place is in the Inez cemetery just a few miles up the road from her Dry Brook Hollow birthplace in Odin where it all began. (Image courtesy of Lindsay Sutton Stroh)
Howard Zahniser (Tionesta)
“The Father of the National Wilderness Act” spent his boyhood years in Tionesta along the banks of the Allegheny River. His love for the outdoors began here in the Pennsylvania Wilds and led him to Washington D.C. where he became executive director of The Wilderness Society, a proponent of preserving wilderness area in the Allegheny National Forest and all across the USA. Zahniser wrote the Wilderness Act in 1956, and after an eight-year fight, his legislation was finally approved by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House in 1964. Sadly, Zahniser never lived to see the President sign the Act. Zahniser died of a heart attack four months prior. (Image courtesy of The Wilderness Society)
