List of Bakersfield, California people

Main article: Bakersfield, California

This is a list of notable natives and residents in Bakersfield, California

Notable natives and residents

A panoramic view of Bakersfield, taken from Stockdale Tower, the tallest building in the city, facing east/northeast

Law and politics

The Bush House: In 1949, George H. W. Bush (41st President of the U.S.) moved here to sell oil field equipment with son, George W. Bush (43rd President of the U.S.), who was three years old at the time. ^[1][2]

• General Edward Fitzgerald Beale — Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California and Nevada (1850s), Surveyor General of California and Nevada (1860s) U.S. Ambassador to Austria-Hungary (1870s) and founder of Tejon Ranch.
• Harvey Hall, current mayor of Bakersfield
• Joe Shell — Intraparty rival of Richard M. Nixon in the 1962 Republican gubernatorial primary; husband of Mary K. Shell
• Mary K. Shell — first woman mayor of Bakersfield, 1981–1985, member of the Kern County Board of Supervisors (1985–1997); Republican activist
• Earl Warren — Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, former governor of California
• Richard "Rocky" Bridges — Famous San Jose and Daly City cop, 2x Golden Gloves Boxing Champ and 1968 Olympic Alternate

Science and medicine

• Hans Einstein — world's foremost authority on Valley Fever

Arts and entertainment

The "Bakersfield Sign".

• Thomas R Hawk Jr. -- Poet, Photographer, Advocate
• Greg Colson — Artist
• Kareem Lopez - musician
• Adema — Rock band (Kris Kohls, Dave DeRoo, Tim Fluckey, Marc DeLeon)
• Bill Aken - Musician, Hall of Fame Guitarist (aka Zane Ashton)
• Amy Adams — Singer, Contestant on American Idol
• Noah Beery — Actor
• Big Poppa E — slam poet
• Robert Beltran — Actor
• RIOT! — Rock band
• Justin Berry — Public speaker and former teenage webcam pornographer
• Frank Bidart — Award-winning poet
• James Chapman — Novelist and publisher
• Brandon Cruz — Punk musician and former child actor
• Ric Drasin — Actor, author, designer of the Gold's Gym and World Gym logos, and retired professional wrestler
• Jeff Duran — Radio personality and comedian who worked at KKXX-FM from 2002–2004
• Dave Ellis — World-renown percussionist/ Former soloist for the Musical BLAST
• Kelli Garner — Actress
• Merle Haggard — Country Music Hall of Fame inductee
• Gerald Haslam — Award-winning author
• Korn (Jonathan Davis, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, James "Munky" Shaffer, David Silveria, Brian "Head" Welch, Ray Luzier) - Grammy Award-winning metal band
• Dalene Kurtis — American model, famous for being Playmate of the Year.
• Michael Lockwood — Guitarist and music producer
• Guy Madison - actor
• Buck Owens — Country Music Hall of Fame inductee
• Prussian Blue — White Nationalist duo; used to live in Bakersfield
• Randy Stuart - actress, died in Bakersfield in 1996
• Lawrence Tibbett — Lead baritone of the New York Metropolitan Opera
• Brian Hooks — Actor "Soul Plane, Three Strikes"
• Tha A — Hip Hop Producer, Host of mixtape series "Bad Business"
• Robert (Bobby, Big Bob, Biggen) Woods — Barbecue entertainer, award winning caterer, dry rub inventor
• Mildred Patricia "Patty" Baena - Former housekeeper for the Schwarzenegger family who became a mistress of former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger and fathered a child with Baena. Baena's son is near the same age as Schwarzenegger's youngest son, Christopher, whom he had with Maria Shriver. Shriver and Schwarzenegger have four children together: Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher. Shriver was married to Schwarzenegger for 25 years before they separated in May of 2011 due to the scandal.

Sports

Rabobank Arena

Baseball

• Larry Barnes — California Angels First baseman (2001 and 2003)
• Johnny Callison — Philadelphia Phillies Right fielder (1960s)
• Phil Dumatrait — Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, first-round draft pick
• Leon Lee — Nippon Professional Baseball player and manager
• Colby Lewis — Texas Rangers pitcher, first-round draft pick
• Brent Morel - Chicago White Sox third baseman
• William "Buckshot" May — Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher (1924)
• Kurt Miller — pitcher who was the 5th overall pick in the 1990 MLB amateur draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, played several years for the Florida Marlins and Chicago Cubs
• Dave Rader — catcher (1970s)
• Todd Walker — second baseman (1996–2007)
• Bruce Walton — pitcher for the Montreal Expos in the early '90's, current pitching coach for the Toronto Blue Jays
• Jake Woods — Seattle Mariners pitcher

Basketball

• Nikki Blue — Washington Mystics guard (WNBA)
• Chris Childs — NBA guard
• Lonnie Shelton — Seattle SuperSonics all-star
• Robert Swift — Oklahoma City Thunder center
• J. R. Sakuragi — formerly J.R. Henderson — Memphis Grizzlies

American football

• Mike Ariey - former offensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers
• Theo Bell — former wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, earned Super Bowl rings in 1979 and 1980
• Jeff Buckey — former starting offensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins
• Vern Burke — former tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons
• David Carr — quarterback, and 1st overall selection in the 2002 NFL Draft (Houston Texans),won a super bowl ring with the New York Giants and is currently a member of the San Francisco 49ers
• Matt Cercone — tight end for the Minnesota Vikings from 2000–2002, died in 2009
• Frank Gifford — Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
• Cory Hall — former Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, and Washington Redskins safety
• A.J. Jefferson - Current Cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals
• Rodney Leisle — American football defensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints, member of 2009 Super Bowl winning team
• Ray Mansfield — center who played 14 seasons for the Pittsburgh steelers in the 60's and 70's
• Jerry Marion — former wide receiver who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, father of Brock
• Brock Marion — former Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowl player
• Ryan Mathews — San Diego Chargers running back and former Fresno State University All-American
• Bob McCaffrey — played center at USC and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1975
• Brent McClanahan — former Minnesota Vikings running back
• Aaron Merz — former starting offensive lineman for Cal and the Buffalo Bills
• Stephen Neal — New England Patriots lineman and Super Bowl champion player, former NCAA wrestling champion, World championship gold medalist, and U.S. Olympic wrestler
• Mark Nichols — wide receiver and first round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 1981
• Larry Parker — former receiver for the USC Trojans and the Kansas City Chiefs
• Joey Porter — All-Pro and Pro Bowl outside linebacker, member of Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl champion team in 2006, recently signed with the Arizona Cardinals
• Rocky Rasley — guard who drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1969
• Randy Rich — former defensive back for the Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, and Cleveland Browns
• Greg Robinson — former head coach and Super Bowl winning Defensive Coordinator of the Denver Broncos, currently at university of Michigan
• Ken Ruettgers — former offensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers
• Rashaan Shehee — former running back for the Kansas City Chiefs
• L.J. Shelton — NFL starting lineman, currently a free agent
• Jeff Siemon — Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl linebacker (1972–1983), inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006
• Kevin Smith — former tight end for UCLA, the Oakland Raiders, and the Green Bay Packers
• Jeremy Staat — former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman, currently serving in the United States Marines
• Jason Stewart — defensive tackle, played for the Indianapolis Colts in 1994
• Michael Stewart — former safety for the Miami Dolphins
• John Tarver — running back for the New England Patriots in the 70's
• David "Deacon" Turner — Cincinnati Bengals running back in the late 70's
• Dick Witcher — former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver
• James Wofford — former UNLV and Minnesota Vikings running back
• Louis Wright — former All-Pro defensive back for the Denver Broncos, member of the 1970s NFL all-decade team
• Rodney Wright — former Fresno State and Buffalo Bills wide receiver

Motorsports

• Tony Waters - Drag Racing Pioneer, Innovater, and Legend. Nicknamed "The Giant Killer"
• Kevin Harvick — NASCAR driver — 2007 Daytona 500 winner.
• Casey Mears — NASCAR driver
• Rick Mears — 4-time Indianapolis 500 winner
• Roger Mears — Baja 1000 winner
• Bruce Sarver — NHRA champion
• Opal Rivas — USHRA Mud Racing Champion
• Pat Gerber^{[list membership disputed]} — Shocker Monster Truck

Other sports

• Keith Franke — professional wrestler
• Michael Dallas, Jr. — boxing — former Golden Gloves silver medalist, current undefeated light welterweight contender
• Ruben Castillo-Boxing-Former WBO and NABO Lightweight champion and WBC Featherweight and Super Featherweight contender.
• Jack Johnson — Boxing's first African-American heavyweight champion, member of the World Boxing Hall-of-Fame, and one of the first celebrity/athletes of the modern era
• Hank Pfister — Professional tennis player
• Jerry Quarry — Heavyweight professional boxer
• Dennis Ralston — Professional tennis player
• Jake Varner — 2009 and 2010 NCAA Wrestling Champion
• Gabe Woodward — swimming — freestyle bronze medal winner during the 2004 Olympics

Crime

• Rodolfo Cadena- Rudy "Cheyenne" Cadena, one of the founders of the Mexican Mafia and the basis of the main character played by Edward James Olmos in the film American Me.
• Vincent Brothers- convicted murderer of his family, shooting and stabbing his 5 members of his family to death.
• Michael Thompson-former leader in the Aryan Brotherhood (AB) prison gang.

References

1. ^ President Bush's one-time Bakersfield home to be museum, KGET, January 19, 2009, Accessed August 8, 2009.
2. ^ The Bush House, thebushhouse.net, Accessed August 8, 2009.

External links

• City of Bakersfield Official Website
• Bakersfield Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Bakersfield Downtown Business and Property Owner's Association
• List of Bakersfield, California people at the Open Directory Project