List of people from Lake Charles, Louisiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Among the notable people from Lake Charles, Louisiana are:
- Lynda Benglis, sculptor, born in Lake Charles
Business
- G. Lawrence Blankinship Sr. (1913–2005), civic leader and African-American businessman
- Caroline Boudreaux, businesswoman and social entrepreneur
- Christopher Catrambone (b. 1981), Businessman and Humanitarian, founder of Migrant Offshore Aid Station
- William Dore, businessman
- David Filo, billionaire; born in Wisconsin but raised partly in Moss Bluff; co-creator of the Internet portal Yahoo!
Entertainment
- Chris Ardoin, zydeco accordionist and singer[1]
- Blackberri, drag queen
- Sean Patrick Flanery, actor; starred in The Boondock Saints and The Dead Zone television series; born in Lake Charles
- Paul Groves, opera singer
- Ha*Ash, American pop country duo composed of sisters Hanna Nicole (b. 1985) and Ashley Grace (b. 1987)
- Bob Hilton, host of game shows including Truth or Consequences; briefly the announcer for The Price is Right; began his career at KPLC TV[2]
- Zachary Levi, actor, title character in the NBC series Chuck; born in Lake Charles
- Nellie Lutcher, jazz singer, gained some national popularity in the late 1940s and 50s; recorded for Capitol Records
- Mike Murdock, singer-songwriter, televangelist and pastor
- Van Dyke Parks, Mississippi-born composer, singer, musician, and actor; grew up in Lake Charles
- Nic Pizzolatto, writer and producer best known for creating the crime drama True Detective
- Eddie Shuler, founder of Goldband Records; recorded swamp pop, Cajun, and other genres of southern music
- Lucinda Williams, singer-songwriter born in Lake Charles
Law
- Donald Ellsworth Walter, U.S. District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana; U.S. attorney for the Western District 1969–1977, based in Shreveport; attorney formerly in private practice in Lake Charles
Literature and journalism
- Andre Dubus, author and essayist; born in Lake Charles; educated at McNeese State University
- Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
Politics
- Mark Abraham, state representative for Calcasieu Parish, effective 2016
- James W. Bryan (1834–1897), Louisiana state legislator and mayor of Lake Charles[3]
- Edward M. Carmouche (1921–1990), chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party, 1966–1968; ally of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson[4]
- A. C. Clemons (1921–1992), trucking executive in Jefferson Davis Parish; first Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate since Reconstruction
- Mike Danahay, Democratic state representative for Calcasieu Parish since 2008; sales representative in Lake Charles; graduate of McNeese State University[5]
- Lether Frazar, president of McNeese State University; Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana under Earl Kemp Long, 1956–1960; namesake of the McNeese library
- Harry Hollins, state representative for Calcasieu Parish, 1964–1980[6]
- Sam Houston Jones (b. 1897), 46th Governor of Louisiana born in Merryville, Louisiana; died in 1978 in Lake Charles, where he is interred at Prien Pines Cemetery
- Jesse Knowles, businessman, civic leader, state legislator representing Calcasieu Parish; survivor of the World War II Bataan Death March
- Willie Mount, mayor of Lake Charles (1993–1999)
- Rupert Richardson (1930–2008), African-American civil rights activist and civil rights leader who served as president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1992 to 1995
- Victor T. "Vic" Stelly (1941–2020), former state representative; author of the Stelly Plan[7]
- George H. Wells (1833–1905), Northern-born Confederate States of America officer; practiced law in Lake Charles; served in the Louisiana State Senate, 1878–1880
