New York, the Empire State, is situated in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is the home of about 20 million people and the third most populous state in the USA.
Although the capital city is Albany, the state contains New York City, which is the largest city in the United States and one the largest urban areas in the world.
Four former presidents were born in New York State: Martin Van Buren, (1782), Millard Fillmore, (1800), Theodore Roosevelt, (1858), and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882).
Since New York State formally adopted its constitution in 1777, it has been the birthplace of many famous people. Among the most well-known today are:
* Lucille Ball ( 1911-1989) Lucy was born in Jamestown, New York, and become one of the best-loved comediennes of all time. With her first husband, Desi Arnaz she starred in the “I Love Lucy Show”, (1951-1957) which is the most popular sitcom of all time. She was also the first woman ever to run a multimillion dollar business: Desilu Productions.
* Al Capone ( 1899-1947) Alphonse Capone, nicknamed Scarface, was the most notorious gangster in American history. Born in Brooklyn, he fled to Chicago in 1918, after killing a man. There he became mafia boss and ran the city with guns and blood. In 1928, he was imprisoned seven years for income tax evasion. In jail, his mental and physical health deteriorated. He died of a stroke and pneumonia at age 48.
* George Gershwin ( 1898-1937) He is considered to be one of the greatest American composers of the twentieth century. Jacob Gershowitz was born in Brooklyn and played the piano by ear in childhood. In 1913, he quit school to study music. He composed many award-winning songs and Broadway musicals during his career, including “Porgy and Bess”, the first opera with an all-black cast. He died at 39 of a brain tumor.
* Jackie Gleason (1916-1987) Born Herbert John Gleason in Brooklyn, Jackie was a big, bluff comedian of the 1950s and 1960s. One of TV’s early shows, “The Honeymooners”, in which he played the scheming bus driver Ralph Kramden, ran only from 1955-56 but achieved cult status in endless reruns. Gleason also hosted several television variety shows and played dramatic roles. He was a successful composer and conductor of mood music, and made over a dozen record albums during his career.
* Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) Norman Rockwell was born in New York City. His paintings are recognized and loved by almost everybody in America. From 1916 to 1963 he produced 317 covers for the magazine, “The Saturday Evening Post”. Most of his works are kindly studies of American small-towns and family life. Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson sat for him for portraits, and he painted other world figures, including Nassar of Egypt and Nehru of India. Rockwell received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, the United States of America’s highest civilian honor.
* Anderson Cooper ( 1967- ) Anderson Hays Cooper was born in New York City, the son of socialite Gloria Vanderbilt and Wyatt Emory Cooper. He graduated from Yale University in 1989 with a B.A. in political science and attended the University of Vietnam in 1990 where he learned to speak Vietnamese. His career in broadcast journalism began when he worked as chief international correspondent of Channel One. He joined ABC News in 1994 as a regular correspondent. In 2001 he moved to CNN and in 2003 he accepted a position as anchor on his own CNN news program, Anderson Cooper 360°.
These are only a few of many New Yorkers who have enriched the lives of all of us throughout the past several centuries. In their chosen fields, they exemplify the state motto: “Excelsior” (Ever Upwards). Even Al Capone was the best at what he did.
For talent, for variety, for cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers, for an opportunity to watch Americans at their best, and occasionally at their worst, most Americans and their neighbors in Canada would join enthusiastically into the official state song: “I Love New York!”
