VISIT K-State
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Famous Manhattan residents
The Little Apple isn't likely to be confused with the Big Apple, but there are many Manhattanites you probably know about. Manhattan residents have left their mark in all types of fields.
Literature and publishing
Damon Runyon, writer
To book lovers, Damon Runyon is the most famous of all Manhattanites. The world-renowned author was born here in 1880 before his family moved to Colorado. He grew up in Pueblo and moved to the Big Apple when he was 50, launching a celebrated career writing about Broadway and Brooklyn during the Prohibition era. He spun tales of gangsters and gamblers, hoods and hustlers, and the musical Guys and Dolls was based on his short stories.
One of Runyon’s passions was boxing. The 2005 film Cinderella Man, the depression-era story of James Braddock, begins with a quote from Runyon: "In all the history of the boxing game you find no human interest story to compare with the life narrative of James J. Braddock.” It was Runyon who tagged Braddock with the nickname “Cinderella Man” because of his rags-to-riches story.
Runyon lived at 400 Osage, and a plaque there commemorates the location.
Lee Killough, science fiction/mystery author
Novelist Lee Killough has written more than a dozen titles, including the Bloodwalk and Brill and Maxwell series, that mix mystery with elements of sci-fi or fantasy. Her best known character is vampire cop Garreth Mikaelian. For many years she worked in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Bob Anderson, magazine publisher
Bob Anderson started his own running magazine as a teenager, and that publication grew into Runner's World. Since 1984, when he sold the magazine, he's run Ujena Swimwear and published Swimwear Illustrated.
Entertainment
Jared Hess, the one and only Napoleon Dynamite
Ten years before nerdy Napoleon became a film legend in 2004, the film’s director Jared Hess was developing his own champion tetherball talents around the courts at Manhattan High School, where he attended for two years.
It was a bad break for local screen credits when Hess transfered and graduated from an Idaho high school in 1997. He filmed many of the scenes for the movie there, but some say the gym shirts worn in the movie were a reflection of his time at Manhattan High. Hess’ second directing credit was for Nacho Libre, which starred Jack Black.
Del Close, comedian and Second City founder
The list of Del Close’s pupils reads like a Who’s Who of the comedy circuit and past Saturday Night Live casts. He mentored Bill Murray, John Belushi, John Candy, Mike Myers, Dave Thomas, and other top comics.
Close grew up in Manhattan, studied drama at K-State, and played bass drum in the marching band. He left without a degree to join up with a traveling sideshow in the 1950s. Close believed he was meant for a bigger stage than the Little Apple, moving to New York and later Chicago to help form the comedy group Second City. He’s known as one of the biggest influences on modern improv as an actor, writer, and mentor.
Inger Stevens, actress
Emmy-nominated actress Inger Stevens appeared on "Bonanza," "The Twilight Zone," and other television shows after she hit the big time with a debut opposite Bing Crosby in the film Man on Fire. The Swedish-born Stevens made a big-screen splash in Hang ’Em High starring Clint Eastwood in 1968.
Cassandra Peterson, aka Elvira
The actress who tantalized teen boys in the 1980s as screen vixen Elvira, mistress of the dark, was in fact Cassandra Peterson. She was born in the Little Apple but grew up in Colorado Springs. She was rumored to have dated Elvis Presley in Las Vegas, and she appeared—as a burlesque dancer—on the cover of Tom Waits’ Small Change album. But her risqué black garb and hokey humor became her calling card, both as a Halloween icon and celebrity beer spokesperson.
Steve Balderson, indie film director
Steve Balderson's first feature, Pep Squad, was a parody-filled look at high school violence. His second film, Firecracker, made critic Roger Ebert’s best of the year list in 2005.
Dawayne Bailey, musician
Manhattanite Dawayne Bailey became a big-time rocker as lead guitarist for Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. He also recorded with Chicago from 1986 to 1994.
Will Tiao, actor
Will Tiao worked in international politics for a decade before making the switch to the entertainment industry as an actor-producer. His work includes “MADtv” and “Mind of Mencia.”
Business and politics
Joan Finney, Kansas’ first female governor
Joan Finney was born and raised here before becoming active in politics after graduating from Washburn University. She was elected governor in 1990.
Jim Harbord, RCA president
Jim Harbord, part of the 20th graduating class at K-State, served as chief of staff to General John “Black Jack” Pershing in World War I. After retiring from the Army, Harbord became president at RCA. During his tenure RCA began making early television broadcasts, which led to the formation of NBC.
Read a short biography on Harbord from the Kansas Historical Society
Walter Stoessel, diplomat
A diplomat who worked under four presidents, Walter Stoessel was born here then moved to California and graduated from Stanford. As deputy secretary of state under President Reagan, Stoessel greeted U.S. hostages upon their 1981 release from Iran, and he later served as acting secretary between the tenures of Alexander Haig and George Schultz. He was an ambassador under presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter, and he hosted talks with China on behalf of the U.S.
Frederick Seaton, cabinet secretary
A 1927 Manhattan High grad and 1931 K-State graduate, Frederick Seaton served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior in the Eisenhower administration.
Science and education
George Fairchild and David Fairchild, president and botanist
George Fairchild, K-State's third president, led the college to the brink of the 20th century. His son David, a noted botanist, headed a program for the USDA that introduced more than 20,000 exotic plants to the U.S., including mangos, nectarines, bamboos, and flowering cherries.
Philip Fox, astronomer
Phil Fox became director of the first planetarium in the western hemisphere in Chicago. He later served as acting director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and director of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.
Samuel Wendell Williston, paleontologist
A world-renowned paleontologist, Sam Williston was the first to claim that dinosaurs developed flight by running on the ground rather than leaping from trees.
Athletics
Earl Woods, baseball player/golf coach
Growing up in Manhattan and graduating from high school in 1949, Earl Woods earned a baseball scholarship and became the first African-American to play baseball in the Big Seven Conference, which later evolved into the Big 12. Woods garnered attention from the Kansas City Monarchs, but joined the Army instead and spent two tours of duty in Vietnam. His appearance on “The Mike Douglas Show” with a certain two-year-old golf prodigy named Eldrick—also known as Tiger—would eventually make both Woodses household names.
His book, Training a Tiger, reflected on his controversial tough-love teaching techniques with his son. The Earl Woods National Youth Golf Academy at Colbert Hills hosted the nation’s initial First Tee program to teach kids about values learned though golf.
Harold Robinson, football player
Robinson broke the Big Seven Conference color barrier when he played center on the K-State football team in 1949. The Manhattan High grad became a two-time letter winner and was an all-conference player as a senior at K-State.
Gary Spani, football player
Manhattan Indian Gary Spani, a linebacker at K-State from 1974 to 1977, was the first K-State player to be inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame. He’s also a Kansas City Chiefs hall of famer after a nine-year professional career in the NFL. His daughter plays on the Wildcat basketball team.
Tim Jankovich, basketball player/coach
MHS grad Tim Jankovich played for legendary K-State coach Jack Hartman and later worked as an assistant under Hartman and coach Lon Kruger. In 2007 Jankovich took over as the men’s basketball coach at Illinois State University.
Deb Richard, pro golfer
After she won three state golf titles at Manhattan High and the national women’s amateur title, Deb Richard took her game to another level: she was the runner-up for the national collegiate title and then won five times on the LPGA tour (and earned $2.76 million). She later established a foundation that awards college scholarships to physically challenged children. In 2006 she was inducted into the Kansas Golf Hall of Fame.
Manhattan pop culture moments
Chart-topper
For you country music lovers, Glen Campbell’s song titled “Manhattan, Kansas”—not to be confused with “Wichita Lineman”—made it all the way to #6 on the country music charts in 1972.
Friday Night Lights
Scenic Poyntz Avenue made the big-time in 2004 with the trailer for Friday Night Lights starring Billy Bob Thornton. Although the flick centers on Texas high school football, we shared our downtown strip for 15 seconds in order to make the movie a hit. No offense to Billy Bob, of course.
Check out the movie trailer on YouTube
World's oldest Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut’s longest continuously-operating franchise (the ninth store in the world) still cranks out pies in Aggieville. The restaurant's décor is dominated by an old scoreboard from K-State’s beloved Ahearn Field House.
For more information about visiting K-State
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