Lehigh Valley Pop Culture Connections (From Star Trek to Black Adam)

Steel from our region has held up the Golden Gate and George Washington Bridges, Alcatraz, the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, and the Hoover and Grand Coulee Dams. Players from local high schools have excelled in many sports and there's just as many business success stories that can be traced back to our area and three Lehigh Valley natives have become Governors in other states. But we're not here to talk specifically about them, we're here to focus on different connections; connections that connect our region to pop culture and echo our vibrant and thriving arts scene, peppered with live music performances and weekly calendar happenings.

• Christine Taylor, born in Allentown, grew up in Wescosville and attended Allentown Central Catholic High School, starred in Nickelodeon's Hey Dude as Melody Hanson. She was also in The Brady Bunch Movie and its sequel. If you're unfamiliar with her professional career you may know who she is married to: Ben Stiller.
• Michaela Conlin, actress on Fox's ''Bones.''
• Carson Kressley, graduate of Northwestern Lehigh High School, is fashion consultant on Bravo's ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.'' He was also a contestant on season 13 of "Dancing with the Stars."
• Lara Jill Miller, actress best known for her role on the 1980s NBC show, ''Gimme a Break.''
• Commander William T. Riker in the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation.'', played by actor Jonathan Frakes, was born in Bellefonte, Pa, but grew up and went to high school in Bethlehem where he graduated from Liberty High School. The actor, author, and director also appeared in "Criminal Minds" and "NCIS: Los Angeles." Incidentally, those of you Lehigh University Alumni, might have run into his father, James R. Frakes, who was a professor of English literature there. Jonathan was not limited to the Enterprise, he also made appearances on The Waltons, Eight is Enough, The Dukes of Hazzard, Matlock, and Hill Street Blues.
• Amanda Seyfried of William Allen High School, actress and model known for roles on CBS's ''As the World Turns'' and ABC's ''All My Children.'' The actress, model, and singer has scored major roles in films such as "Mean Girls," "Mamma Mia!," and "Ted 2." She's a two-time MTV Movie Awards winner.
• Kate Micucci of Nazareth Area High School is an actress, comedian, and musician. She is part of the music-comedy group Garfunkel and Oates and has appeared in "The Big Bang Theory," "Scrubs," and other popular TV shows.
• Dana Snyder, voice actor on the television program ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force,'' broadcast on the Cartoon Network.
• Tim Heidecker was born in Allentown and attended Allentown Central Catholic. Heidecker teamed up with Eric Wareheim to create Tom Goes to the Mayor and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, A.K.A. ''The Rock'' is professional wrestler and actor and went to Bethlehem's Freedom High School. The former WWE wrestling champion now gets top-billing in major feature films. Some of his box-office hits have included "Get Smart," "Snitch," and the "Fast & Furious" franchise.
• Daniel Roebuck, actor known for his roles on ''Matlock'' and most recently on ABC's ''Lost.'' The actor, writer, and producer has also appeared in TV shows such as "Nash Bridges" and films such as "Agent Cody Banks" and "The Fugitive."
• Jonathan Taylor Thomas, actor best known for his role on the popular 1990s ABC show, ''Home Improvement.''
• Daniel Dae Kim, actor best known for his role on ABC's ''Lost.''
• Sally Jessy Raphaël, television talk show host.
• The documentary filmmaker, Roger Ross Williams of Easton Area High School, won an Academy Award in 2009 for his short film "Music by Prudence" and also directed "God Loves Uganda."
• The stage and film production designer, Santo Loquasto of Moravian Academy, has worked on dozens of Broadway shows since the 1970s and is in the American Theater Hall of Fame.
• The actress Bailey Ann Noble of Saucon Valley High School had a recurring role as "Adilyn Bellefleur" on the HBO hit series "True Blood" and has also appeared on "Glee" and "90210."

• Singer and actress, Dee Roscioli of Wilson Area High School, is perhaps best known for her performance as Elphaba in the Broadway hit "Wicked" and has landed other big parts in national touring productions.
• Nelson Hill of Bangor Area High School was the saxophonist, clarinetist, and flutist who has performed with Tony Bennett, The Spinners, The Temptations, Wayne Newton, Frankie Valli, and many other legends.
• Kate Micucci of Nazareth Area High School is an actress, comedian, and musician. She is part of the music-comedy group Garfunkel and Oates and has appeared in "The Big Bang Theory," "Scrubs," and other popular TV shows.
• Keith Jarrett, jazz musician.

• Lauren Weisberger, the author of The Devil Wears Prada, may have been born in Scranton, but she graduated from Parkland High School. If you haven't read the book, you're probably familiar with the film adaptation starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. Also, Weisberger released the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, titled Revenge Wears Prada.
• Stephen Vincent Benét, author who won a Pulitzer Prize for his work in 1929.
• Hilda Doolittle, known by her initials, H.D., was a writer in the early 20th century.
• Tucker Max of Blair Academy authored his first book "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell", which spent five years on the New York Times' bestseller list.
• Jennifer Storm, graduate of Northampton Area High School, is the award-winning author who penned "Blackout Girl," a memoir of her struggles as a teen addict. She is considered an expert on victims' rights issues.

Randall Munroe is the creator of webcomic xkcd and he was born in Easton. He didn't start out in comics, fresh out of college he worked as a roboticist for NASA and to top that, the main-belt asteroid (4942 Munroe) was named after him.

• Lee Iacocca, former chairman of Chrysler Corporation, was an American automobile executive renowned for developing the Ford Mustang and reviving Chrysler Corporation. Lee Iacocca was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, schooled at Allentown High School, and worked at Yocco's Hot Dogs before becoming a respected executive. Even though Lee Iacocca later moved to California, where he spent his last days, his roots were always remembered as Lehigh Valley.
• Michael Johns, health-care executive and former White House speechwriter.
• Harry Clay Trexler, prominent industrialist and businessman known as General Trexler. To this day, the Harry C. Trexler Trust supports the City of Allentown's park system and many Lehigh County charities.

• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, A.K.A. ''The Rock'' is professional wrestler and actor and went to Bethlehem's Freedom High School. Even though he has spent most of his time in several states, The Rock credits his athletic career to Lehigh Valley, where he flourished as an athlete.
• Larry Holmes, boxing's former world heavyweight champion who fought under the nickname ''The Easton Assassin.'' Notably, one of the five boxers who knocked out the heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, spent his childhood years in Easton, leading him to be nicknamed the 'Easton Assassin.' Larry Holmes made a name for himself despite dropping out of school only in seventh grade.
• Andre Reed, former and legendary professional football player (wide receiver) for the Buffalo Bills. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
• Michael Andretti, professional racing team owner, former professional race car driver and son of Mario Andretti of Nazareth, also in the Lehigh Valley.
• The IndyCar Series race driver, Marco Andretti, grandson of racing legend Mario Andretti, has five times placed in the top 5 at the Indianapolis 500. He hails from Notre Dame High School.
• Keith Dorney, former professional football player, Detroit Lions.
• Peter Gruner, professional wrestler known as Billy Kidman.
• The athlete, actress, and fashion model, Aimee Mullins, who had both of her legs amputated when she was 1, competed in NCAA Division I track and field for Georgetown University. She's appeared in Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" and several other feature films. Aimee's a graduate of Parkland High School.
• Chuck Bednarik, former professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles.
• Michael Albert Hartenstine, an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League, played for the Chicago Bears from 1975 to 1986 and the Minnesota Vikings in 1987. He's a graduate of Liberty High School.
• Gelsey Kirkland, ballerina, who joined the American Ballet in 1974 as a principal dancer opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov.
• Chuck Amato, college football coach, North Carolina State University.
• Gary LaVelle grew up in Pennsylvania, attending Liberty High School. Lavelle spent the majority of his Major League career with the San Francisco Giants and also played for the Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics before retiring in 1987.
• Bob Weiss, former professional basketball coach, Seattle SuperSonics.
• Matthew Millen, a football executive in the National Football League, where he is President and CEO of the Detroit Lions.
• Gymnast Kristen Maloney of Pen Argyl Area High School was part of the U.S.'s 2000 Olympics team that won a bronze medal. She also won a gold medal on the balance beam in the 1998 Goodwill Games.
• Cyclist Marty Nothstein of Emmaus High School is a three-time world champion in track events and has won both silver and gold medals in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics, respectively.
• Cindy Werley, former Olympic field hockey player.