Bozeman, Montana is a wonderful mountain city found in the midst of lush hills and valleys. It is also home to many types of people, including some famous faces. Let’s see who these people are!
1. Craig Kilborn
Craig Kilborn
was not born in Montana, but he soon ended up there! He grew up in Missouri and Minnesota with his family. The activity that got him to Bozeman was his ability to play basketball. He was so good at it that Montana State University decided to give him a scholarship. While playing basketball at the college level, he also gained two bachelor’s degrees. One was in theatre arts and the other was in media.
After he got his education, he soon went into media. He began on the radio as a play-by-play commentator and soon debuted on a local news channel. In 1993, he was hired by ESPN Sportscenter as an anchor and worked with them for 3 years. After that, his next stint was in late-night hosting. As a late-night host, he ran the Daily Show on the Comedy Channel and enjoyed the experience. He is also now known for his work in The Late Late show, The Kilborn File, and some other small roles and cameos in different commercials, movies, and shows.
2. Gary Cooper
Frank Gary Cooper was born on May 7th, 1901, in Helena, Montana. He grew up on a ranch and enjoyed the cowboy lifestyle. He moved around a lot and even wanted to drop out of school. His father refused to let him and sent him to Bozeman to go to Gallatin County High School. It was there he regained a desire for an education.
Later on, his family moved and he ended up being offered a job as an extra and stunt rider in a movie by a smaller producing company. His first works were during the silent film era. He gained popularity quite quickly and got a five-year contract with Paramount Pictures for $175 a week. In 1929, he starred in his first talking film called The Virginian. People were in awe of how he carried himself and of his voice. He also crafted the image of what a cowboy was and what westerns were for a long time, and his influence is still felt today.
Looking back on his career, the films he was best known for were For Whom the Bell Tolls, Along Came Jones, The Fountainhead, High Noon, Friendly Persuasion, Love in the Afternoon, and many others!! He has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and the Academy Honorary Award.
3. Jack Horner
John Robert Horner is a huge staple in the Bozeman area. He grew up in Montana and attended college at the University of Montana for geology and zoology. Although he went to this school for seven years, he was unable to finish his degree due to untreated dyslexia.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the school in 1986. In the mid-seventies, he and a man named Bob Makela found a new genus of dinosaur. He also discovered that dinosaurs do lay eggs, build nests, and found features that imply they were also social creatures. His main emphasis was dinosaur growth. He has been remarkably successful in the field!
One of his big theories was that juvenile dinosaurs look remarkably different than full-grown adults. This discovery and theory have successfully removed several sub-species from the books, as they were just the children of full-grown dinosaurs. His connection to Bozeman was that he taught at Montana State University for many years.
Fun Fact: Horner helped the producers of Jurassic Park with their film and made a cameo. He also had a main character based on him named Alan Grant.
4. Bill Pullman
Bill Pullman is a New Yorker who pursued several degrees in the fine arts. His degrees in the Fine Arts led him to a teaching career at Montana State University as an adjunct professor of film and photography. In Bozeman, his students were in awe of his acting abilities and convinced him to try and go into acting professionally. He was wildly successful and has been in several critically acclaimed films such as Sleepless in Seatle, Newsies (with Christian Bale), A League of Their Own, While You Were Sleeping, Independence Day, and a television show named The Sinner.
He has a wide range of roles that he has played and continues to play, from a romantic lead to the President of the United States, to darker characters.
5. Loren Acton
Loren Wilber Acton was born on March 7th, 1936, in Lewistown, Montana. His connection to Bozeman comes much later in life when he is a retired Research Professor of Physics at Montana State University. Before this job, he made many large impacts on studies in space. He received his bachelor’s degree in Engineering Psychics from Montana State University and his doctorate in Astro-Geophysics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. From there, he went on to be a scientist that worked at the Space Science Laboratory. While he was there, he was working mostly on projects that involved the sun and different celestial bodies.
He went on to work on studies and experiments involved with Spacelab 2 and got to be part of a team to fly on the STS-51-F. He had been in space for around 190 days before returning home. He is a highly esteemed man in his field.
6. Brannon Braga
Brannon Braga is a television producer, director, and screenwriter that was born in Bozeman, Montana! He is the man behind the Star Trek franchise and several other space series’ and even some movies. He began his Star Trek journey as an intern for Star Trek: The Next Generation and worked his way up to co-producer. During his time there, he won several awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.
After the finale, he went on to work on other parts of the franchise and has found major success there as well! He has worked on Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise. He also has worked on 24, Mission: Impossible 2, and Threshold. He is continuing to be a big producer and screenwriter in up-and-coming productions.
7. Conrad Anker
Conrad Anker is an extreme mountaineer and rock climber. He is also known for writing books as well. He has hiked more mountains than most people see in their lifetime. At one point, he was a member of North Face’s athletic team. He remained on the team for 26 years. At one point, there was a British climber named George Mallory who attempted to climb Mount Everest. He was part of the search team, and he found his body on the mountainside.
He has hiked 18 high-elevation hikes worldwide. Some of the mountains he hiked were in the United States, others were in places like Antarctica, Pakistan, and Nepal. He had to stop high-elevation hiking after a severe heart issue occurred on one of his hikes, but he still climbs elsewhere. He now lives in Bozeman, probably to be near the nature he loves most.
8. Alex Lowe
Alex Lowe was another rock climber and mountaineer that loved his career! He was known by his peers for being a happy and go-lucky kind of person. He and Conrad Anker actually hiked a lot of trails together. Some of the things that he is known for are making new routes, being the first person to hit the peak of certain mountains, and having the goal to ski down Shishapangma (a mountain in the Himalayans).
However, it was on the hike up Shishapangma that things went bad. A part of glacial ice on the mountain broke off and crushed Alex Lowe and a man named David Göttler. There is a mountain named Alex Lowe Peak in Bozeman, Montana that was named after him.
9. Jim Dolan
Bozeman, Montana is a wonderful mountain city found in the midst of lush hills and valleys. It is also home to many types of people, including some famous faces. Let’s see who these people are!
1. Craig Kilborn
Craig Kilborn was not born in Montana, but he soon ended up there! He grew up in Missouri and Minnesota with his family. The activity that got him to Bozeman was his ability to play basketball. He was so good at it that Montana State University decided to give him a scholarship. While playing basketball at the college level, he also gained two bachelor’s degrees. One was in theatre arts and the other was in media.
After he got his education, he soon went into media. He began on the radio as a play-by-play commentator and soon debuted on a local news channel. In 1993, he was hired by ESPN Sportscenter as an anchor and worked with them for 3 years. After that, his next stint was in late-night hosting. As a late-night host, he ran the Daily Show on the Comedy Channel and enjoyed the experience. He is also now known for his work in The Late Late show, The Kilborn File, and some other small roles and cameos in different commercials, movies, and shows.
2. Gary Cooper
Frank Gary Cooper was born on May 7th, 1901, in Helena, Montana. He grew up on a ranch and enjoyed the cowboy lifestyle. He moved around a lot and even wanted to drop out of school. His father refused to let him and sent him to Bozeman to go to Gallatin County High School. It was there he regained a desire for an education.
Later on, his family moved and he ended up being offered a job as an extra and stunt rider in a movie by a smaller producing company. His first works were during the silent film era. He gained popularity quite quickly and got a five-year contract with Paramount Pictures for $175 a week. In 1929, he starred in his first talking film called The Virginian. People were in awe of how he carried himself and of his voice. He also crafted the image of what a cowboy was and what westerns were for a long time, and his influence is still felt today.
Looking back on his career, the films he was best known for were For Whom the Bell Tolls, Along Came Jones, The Fountainhead, High Noon, Friendly Persuasion, Love in the Afternoon, and many others!! He has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and the Academy Honorary Award.
3. Jack Horner
John Robert Horner is a huge staple in the Bozeman area. He grew up in Montana and attended college at the University of Montana for geology and zoology. Although he went to this school for seven years, he was unable to finish his degree due to untreated dyslexia.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the school in 1986. In the mid-seventies, he and a man named Bob Makela found a new genus of dinosaur. He also discovered that dinosaurs do lay eggs, build nests, and found features that imply they were also social creatures. His main emphasis was dinosaur growth. He has been remarkably successful in the field!
One of his big theories was that juvenile dinosaurs look remarkably different than full-grown adults. This discovery and theory have successfully removed several sub-species from the books, as they were just the children of full-grown dinosaurs. His connection to Bozeman was that he taught at Montana State University for many years.
Fun Fact: Horner helped the producers of Jurassic Park with their film and made a cameo. He also had a main character based on him named Alan Grant.
4. Bill Pullman
Bill Pullman is a New Yorker who pursued several degrees in the fine arts. His degrees in the Fine Arts led him to a teaching career at Montana State University as an adjunct professor of film and photography. In Bozeman, his students were in awe of his acting abilities and convinced him to try and go into acting professionally. He was wildly successful and has been in several critically acclaimed films such as Sleepless in Seatle, Newsies (with Christian Bale), A League of Their Own, While You Were Sleeping, Independence Day, and a television show named The Sinner.
He has a wide range of roles that he has played and continues to play, from a romantic lead to the President of the United States, to darker characters.
5. Loren Acton
Loren Wilber Acton was born on March 7th, 1936, in Lewistown, Montana. His connection to Bozeman comes much later in life when he is a retired Research Professor of Physics at Montana State University. Before this job, he made many large impacts on studies in space. He received his bachelor’s degree in Engineering Psychics from Montana State University and his doctorate in Astro-Geophysics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. From there, he went on to be a scientist that worked at the Space Science Laboratory. While he was there, he was working mostly on projects that involved the sun and different celestial bodies.
He went on to work on studies and experiments involved with Spacelab 2 and got to be part of a team to fly on the STS-51-F. He had been in space for around 190 days before returning home. He is a highly esteemed man in his field.
6. Brannon Braga
Brannon Braga is a television producer, director, and screenwriter that was born in Bozeman, Montana! He is the man behind the Star Trek franchise and several other space series’ and even some movies. He began his Star Trek journey as an intern for Star Trek: The Next Generation and worked his way up to co-producer. During his time there, he won several awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.
After the finale, he went on to work on other parts of the franchise and has found major success there as well! He has worked on Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise. He also has worked on 24, Mission: Impossible 2, and Threshold. He is continuing to be a big producer and screenwriter in up-and-coming productions.
7. Conrad Anker
Conrad Anker is an extreme mountaineer and rock climber. He is also known for writing books as well. He has hiked more mountains than most people see in their lifetime. At one point, he was a member of North Face’s athletic team. He remained on the team for 26 years. At one point, there was a British climber named George Mallory who attempted to climb Mount Everest. He was part of the search team, and he found his body on the mountainside.
He has hiked 18 high-elevation hikes worldwide. Some of the mountains he hiked were in the United States, others were in places like Antarctica, Pakistan, and Nepal. He had to stop high-elevation hiking after a severe heart issue occurred on one of his hikes, but he still climbs elsewhere. He now lives in Bozeman, probably to be near the nature he loves most.
8. Alex Lowe
Alex Lowe was another rock climber and mountaineer that loved his career! He was known by his peers for being a happy and go-lucky kind of person. He and Conrad Anker actually hiked a lot of trails together. Some of the things that he is known for are making new routes, being the first person to hit the peak of certain mountains, and having the goal to ski down Shishapangma (a mountain in the Himalayans).
However, it was on the hike up Shishapangma that things went bad. A part of glacial ice on the mountain broke off and crushed Alex Lowe and a man named David Göttler. There is a mountain named Alex Lowe Peak in Bozeman, Montana that was named after him.
9. Jim Dolan
Jim Dolan may not have been born in Bozeman, but he certainly adopted it as his second home! After growing up in California, he moved to Bozeman, Montana to get an education at Montana State University. There he went on to learn about agriculture and got his master’s degree.
His life took a much bigger turn than he anticipated while he was getting an education. He took a welding class and began to find a deep passion and love for making sculptures. In fact, he asked the school to give him in-state tuition because he never planned on leaving and was willing to give things in return. Some of those things are his sculptures and statues.
On the campus today are four donated sculptures of his. He even spent 15 months and his own money to make a sculpture called bleu horses, which has 39 metal horses that have been placed just north of Three Forks, Montana. He is now a world-renowned artist who has works all over the place, including in Osaka, Japan. His work is full of appreciation and whimsy for the world and people around him.
Jim Dolan may not have been born in Bozeman, but he certainly adopted it as his second home! After growing up in California, he moved to Bozeman, Montana to get an education at Montana State University. There he went on to learn about agriculture and got his master’s degree.
His life took a much bigger turn than he anticipated while he was getting an education. He took a welding class and began to find a deep passion and love for making sculptures. In fact, he asked the school to give him in-state tuition because he never planned on leaving and was willing to give things in return. Some of those things are his sculptures and statues.
On the campus today are four donated sculptures of his. He even spent 15 months and his own money to make a sculpture called bleu horses, which has 39 metal horses that have been placed just north of Three Forks, Montana. He is now a world-renowned artist who has works all over the place, including in Osaka, Japan. His work is full of appreciation and whimsy for the world and people around him.
