by Jake Betz

Created on: July 13, 2009

Oklahomans have entertained and inspired us. Their fame has spread far and wide, and their talents have been appreciated far beyond Oklahoma's boundaries.

Fans of classic movies, and they are numerous, will surely applaud Joan Crawford as one of the best actresses to ever grace the silver screen. Because Crawford's name is synonymous with Hollywood, very few may be aware of her roots. She lived in Lawton, Oklahoma, as a small child.

James Garner, also an Oklahoman, is a popular film actor, but he is best known as the star of two television shows, "Maverick" and "The Rockford Files." Oklahoma can also claim actor Brad Pitt. Although Pitt lived in Missouri as a child, he was born in the Sooner State.

Actor Gary Busey graduated from high school in Tulsa. Oklahoman Kristen Chenowith, an amazing talent, shines on Broadway and also received raves for her appearances on two series, "The West Wing" and "Pushing Daisies."

Add the name of Chuck Norris to the list of acclaimed Sooners. A world-class martial artist, he is best remembered for the TV series, "Walker, Texas Ranger." Dale Robertson, who first came to the world's attention, in the television classic, "Tales of Wells Fargo," came from Oklahoma.

Carrie Underwood, the winner of the fourth "American Idol," is Oklahoma's pride and joy. Her success has been phenomenal. Garth Brooks and Vince Gill, country music greats, are Oklahomans. So is Anita Bryant. Her signature hit, "Paper Roses," deserves to be played far more than it is.

Philip McGraw, known to all as "Dr. Phil," is an Oklahoman.

Oklahoma has produced a long list of outstanding athletes, headed by Jim Thorpe, who is arguably the greatest all-around athlete of all time. Thorpe, an Olympic athlete, was also an outstanding football player and also knew his way around quite well on the baseball field and basketball court. Speaking of Olympians, Oklahoma is the home state of gold medal gymnast Bart Conner.

Other outstanding figures in the world of sports who hailed from Oklahoma were Pepper Martin, a Major League Baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals; Bud Wilkinson, legendary head football coach at the University of Oklahoma who amassed an impressive 47-game winning streak; Willie Stargell, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and led the team to two World Series championships; Johnny Bench, of the Cincinnati Reds, considered by many to be the best catcher in baseball history; and last, but certainly not least, the great Mickey Mantle of New York Yankees fame.

Gordon Cooper, one of the originally Mercury astronauts, was from Oklahoma. Cooper logged more than 200 hours in space.

Will Rogers, American humorist and columnist, is generally considered to be "Oklahoma's favorite son." Extremely popular from coast to coast, Rogers is frequently remembered for saying, "I never met a man I didn't like." Rogers died tragically in 1935, along with the celebrated pilot from Oklahoma, Wiley Post, in a plane crash in Alaska.

The great Geronimo, an Apache leader, died as a prisoner of the U.S. government at Fort Sill.

The most notorious Oklahoman of all was bank robber Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd. His funeral in Oklahoma was attended by many thousands of people.

Bill Moyers, a celebrated broadcast journalist, is an Oklahoman. Moyers is best known for his service as press secretary for President Lyndon B. Johnson. Jeane Kirkpatrick, born in Duncan, Oklahoma, was ambassador to the United Nations in the Reagan administration.

The highest-ranking official of the federal government from Oklahoma was Carl Albert, who was speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977.

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