Watch Now: RaiderCon Draws Cosplay and Comic Fans to Moweaqua | local entertainment

Gary Forrester, a New Zealand and Australia-based musician, songwriter and poet who emerged as one of the leading figures on the Australian music scene during the 1980s and 1990s, was born in Decatur and grew up in the Effingham, Quincy and Tuscola.

Jenny Lou Carson, originally known as Lucille Overstake of the Three Little Maids, was born and raised in Decatur. She went on to write “You Two-Time Me One Time Too Frequently”, which was the first major country hit written by a woman. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Association Hall of Fame in 1971.

June Christy, an American singer hailed as “one of the greatest and most neglected singers of her time”, was known for her work in the cool jazz genre. She was born in Springfield in 1925 and moved with her family to Decatur when she was 3 years old.

Brian Culbertson, an American contemporary jazz/R&B/funk musician, has written and produced more than 25 contemporary No. 1 singles on the R&R, Gavin, and Billboard Radio charts. He was born and raised in Decatur.

A graduate of Mount Zion High School, Howard Warren Buffett is currently a faculty member at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and was previously a policy adviser in the Executive Office of the President of the United States under President Barack Obama. .

Steve Hunter, born and raised in Decatur, is an American guitarist best known for his collaborations with Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Bette Midler, and Meat Loaf.

Marcia Morey, born in Decatur, is a former competitive swimmer who specialized in breaststroke. She represented the United States at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec.

Richard Peck is an American novelist who received the Newbery Medal in 2001 for his novel “A Year Down Yonder.”

Icon for Hire, formed in 2007 in Decatur, is an American rock band that has had two albums on the Billboard charts.

Chuck Dressen was a quarterback for the Decatur Staleys and had a long career in professional baseball, most notably as manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1951 to 1953.

CeCe Frey is a pop singer from Mount Zion who finished in sixth place on the second season of “The X-Factor”.

Known as Black Bart, this English-born outlaw lived in Decatur during the 1860s before becoming one of the most notorious stagecoach robbers operating in Northern California and Southern Oregon in the 1870s and 1880s.

Best known for his 1963 saxophone hit “Yakety Sax,” “Boots” Randolph played with Dink Welch’s Kopy Kats in Decatur from 1948 to 1954.

Nan Martin, born in Decatur, was an accomplished stage, film, and television actress who made her Broadway debut in 1950.

Roe Skidmore played in 1,300 minor league games and had a hit in his only appearance for the 1970 Chicago Cubs. He was born in Decatur and attended Eisenhower High School.

Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman is the author of books on various topics, including cryptozoology. He grew up in Decatur and graduated from MacArthur High School.

Herbert Dickens Ryman, who grew up in Decatur, was a Disney artist and imaginer who drew the first illustrations of Walt Disney’s vision of a theme park that eventually became Disneyland. His filmography includes Art Director for Fantasia and Dumbo.

RonReaco Lee is a film and television actor best known for his roles as Tyreke Scott on “Sister, Sister” and Jamal Woodson on the BET romantic comedy “Let’s Stay Together.” He was born in Decatur.

Decatur-born musician Alison Krauss has sold more than 12 million albums and won 27 Grammy Awards.

Born and raised in Decatur, Jeff Innis was a pitcher for the New York Mets from 1987 to 1993.

David Joyner, best known for his role as Barney, was born in Decatur and graduated from MacArthur High School in 1981.

Historian Stephen Ambrose, born in Decatur and raised in Lovington, was the best-selling author of books on Lewis and Clark and World War II.

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Howard G. Buffett was corporate vice president and assistant to the president of Archer Daniels Midland from 1992 to 1995 and is the founder of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. He currently resides in Decatur.

Most recently known for her work on Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling,” Decatur-born Kerri Randles also kicked off Hollywood’s first Fringe Festival with her one-man show “Can’t you Hear Me Knockin?”

Decatur-born musician and actor John Doe paved the way for alternative rock with his band X before turning to acting in movies like “Great Balls of Fire!” and “Boogie Nights”.

Eisenhower alumnus Bill “Mad Dog” Madlock, Jr. was a right-handed hitter who won four National League batting titles and is one of only three right-handed hitters to have won multiple National League batting titles since 1960 .

Bishop Clarence Earle McClendon, born in Decatur, is a gospel musician, pastor of Full Harvest International Church in Los Angeles, California, and director of the Harvest Fire Mega Mass choir.

Freddy Krueger, the world’s #1 professional water ski jumping champion, was born and raised in Decatur.

James Loewen, sociologist, historian, and author best known for his book, “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong,” was born in Decatur and a 1960 graduate of MacArthur High School, as well as a National Merit Scholar .