Some notable people from Middlesex
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Margaret Bourke-White, one of the most famous photo-journalists of the 20th century. Her childhood home, at 243 Hazelwood Avenue in the Beechwood Heights section of the town, is listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places.
- Charlie Weis, head coach of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and MHS graduate.
- Tige Andrews, (March 19, 1920 – January 27, 2007) Capt. Adam Greer in television series "The Mod Squad" 1968-1973. Tige died in California of cardiac arrest. His birth name was Tiger.
Married to Norma Thornton (19 December 1950 - 1996) He had six children, three boys and three girls: Barbara, Gina, Julie, John, Steve and Tony.
He had eleven grandchildren. He recorded a record single "Keep America Beautiful" and "The Mod Father" in the early 1970s. Was an artist who painted with oil paints, and was published in the book "Actors as Artists" and has had gallery shows.
He was an alumnus of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Was one of the original founding members of the Covenant Players International Repertory Theater Company, a worldwide, inter-denominational, non-profit, theme-based, touring drama ministry, which started on September 29, 1963, in Los Angeles, California and is still operating over four decades later.
After seeing Tige perform in "Mister Roberts" on Broadway, director John Ford cast him in the film version of Mister Roberts (1955) and in at least two other projects including The Wings of Eagles (1957).
His immigrant parents, following Syrian custom, named him after a strong animal because it was supposed to ensure good health.
Brooklyn-born, he was 3 when his mother, Selma, died, and his father, George, later remarried. Tige grew up amid a large family in Middlesex, N.J., where his father ran a fruit stand.
Served in the US Army during WWII but returned home after being wounded in Sicily.
His late wife, Norma Thornton, was a dancer who appeared regularly on "Toast of the Town" (1948) (aka The Ed Sullivan Show). She died in 1996.
His father ran a fruit stand. His mother died when he was only three years old. Was wounded while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Credited director John Ford with being a major influence in his career.
Personal Quotes
"I love playing characters with a tender side."
"I have always had a good sense of humor, which helps to keep things in perspective. It has served me in good stead throughout my life and career."
- Rocco Rock, James Petty (September 1, 1953 – September 21, 2002) was an American professional wrestler better known as "Flyboy" Rocco Rock, one half of The Public Enemy.
Ted Petty started wrestling in 1978 as The Cheetah Kid after graduating from Rutgers University with a degree in nutrition and a brief boxing career.
Petty wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance in 1990, appearing at Starrcade as Colonel DeKlerk. Along with Sergeant Krueger, he represented Africa in a tag team match, but the team lost to The Steiner Brothers.
In 1993, he used the name Rocco Rock and formed a tag team named The Public Enemy with Johnny Grunge, with a gimmick of inner city criminals, or "hoodies". The team first wrestled in the Universal Wrestling Federation and Extreme Championship Wrestling. In ECW, the team feuded with Terry Funk and The Gangstas and won the ECW Tag Team Championship four times. Petty's success in 1995 earned him his highest placement in the annual PWI 500, in which he was ranked #90.
In 1996, The Public Enemy signed with World Championship Wrestling, where they won the tag team titles and feuded with The Nasty Boys. They continued to use some of the "extreme" tactics that had made them famous in ECW, including the frequent use of tables in match.
They were briefly in the World Wrestling Federation in 1999 and competed in the short-lived Xtreme Wrestling Federation as the "South Philly Posse" with Jasmin St. Claire as their manager.
Petty was competing as a singles wrestler in the independents when he died of a heart attack on September 21, 2002
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About Middlesex
