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  • Sunday, March 27, 2005

    The new New Jersey?

    First it was Brooklyn, then New Jersey... now Texas?

    What the heck am I talking about? Back in the day, it seemed like the hotbed of procreation that gave birth to really talented performers was Brooklyn. Witness:

    Danny Aiello
    Woody Allen
    David Blaine
    Eubie Blake
    Mel Brooks
    Ken Burns
    Steve Buscemi
    Larry David
    Jimmy Fallon
    Jackie Gleason
    Barbra Streisand
    (there are, literally, thousands more, but you get the picture)

    Then New Jersey got lots of attention for the same reason. Just pick your exit off of the turnpike, right?

    Bud Abbott
    Bruce Springsteen
    Whitney Houston
    Count Basie
    Jack Nicholson
    Brooke Shields
    Jason Alexander
    Jon Bon Jovi
    Zack Braff
    Danny DeVito
    Meryl Streep
    Frank Sinatra
    ...et cetera

    Now, it looks like Texas is the place to grow up (and leave):

    Rene Zellweger
    Jessica Simpson
    Jennifer Love Hewitt
    Kelly Clarkson
    (but not to give Texas short shrift, let's not forget: Alvin Ailey, Gene Autry, Pat Boone, Gary Busey, JM J. Bullock, Thomas Haden Church, Dabney Coleman and others)

    Interesting how these entertainers group together... I wonder what the cultures of each place -- and the sterotypes of those cultures -- had to do with their developing their talents?

    And, I have to give credit to Bowling for Soup. I was listening to "Ohio (Come Back to Texas)" when this popped into my head...

    And why does it seem like many of the very talented comedians are from Canada?

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