Hollywood Notables With Roots in Hillsboro
Hollywood film starts with Hillsboro roots? We have a few! Here are some of the more notable Hollywood-Hillsboro ties for a bit of interesting history!
Charles King, actor
Charles King was born in Hillsboro in 1895 was known for playing the villain in westerns.
Madge Bellamy, silent film star
Madge Bellamy was born in Hillsboro in 1899 and went on to star on Broadway before breaking into silent films in 1922 as the title character in Lorna Doone. She went on to star in The Iron Horse, Lightnin', and the silent version of Ben-Hur among many others. One of her most popular role was as the female lead opposite Bela Lugosi in White Zombie.
Roger Edens, Oscar-winning composer
Roger Edens was a Hillsboro native born in 1905, and worked at MGM as a musical supervisor and composer for The Wizard of Oz, Strike Up the Band, Babes on Broadway, Ziegfeld Follies, and Meet Me in St. Louis. He received Academy Awards for best score for Easter Parade, On the Town, and Annie Get Your Gun. It was Edens who came up with the idea to have Julie Andrews twirling on a mountain top to open the movie, The Sound of Music.
Brooks West, actor
Brooks West was born in Hillsboro in 1916, and was an actor with roles in Anatomy of a Murder, My Friend Irma, and The Eve Arden Show.
A.D. Flowers, Oscar-winning special-effects genius
A.D. Flowers was, born in Hillsboro in 1917, was an Oscar award winning special effects genius. He was the winner of three Academy Awards, and was instrumental in the production of Apocalypse Now, and The Godfather.
Rafer Johnson, Olympic Gold Medalist and accomplished actor
Rafer Johnson was born in Hillsboro in 1934. He was an Olympic Gold Medalist, but he also had a long Hollywood career! He appeared in more than a dozen films including Lassie, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Daniel Boone, Tarzan, Dragnet, Mission: Impossible, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Roots: The Next Generations. Perhaps his most famous movie role was in the James Bond film, License to Kill.
Honorable Mention:
Farrah Fawcett didn't grow up in Hillsboro, but her father and grandfather settled and had homes here. Farrah was a frequent visitor in Hillsboro—catching the attention of locals when she spent time in town.