We love celebrating our own in this city, and now there’s a new nonprofit creating a Pittsburgh Walk of Fame in the Strip District so visitors can learn more about homegrown stars.
The project’s founder and executive director, Nancy Polinsky Johnson, joins us on the City Cast Pittsburgh podcast to share how you can submit a nomination and how they’re planning to pick whose names go on those shiny stars.
To be considered for a star, ”they either have had to have been born here, spent their formative years here, or spent their creative or societally influential years here.” Nancy says. “And what they did must have had a national influence — or beyond, even globally”
⭐ Our Picks for Pittsburgh’s Walk of Fame
Fred Rogers, Rachel Carson, Andy Warhol, Roberto Clemente, and August Wilson — these are just a few of the hometown heroes we fully expect to see honored on Pittsburgh’s Walk of Fame. But what about some lesser-known legendary locals? Here are City Cast Pittsburgh’s nominations!
🎙️ Mary Dee Dudley
In 1948, Dudley became the nation’s first Black female disc jockey, mixing and controlling her daily 15-minute show “Movin’ Around”' on WHOD in Homestead. She used her platform to amplify the voices of Black artists, interviewing national acts like Cab Calloway, Jackie Robinson, and Sarah Vaughan. Dudley left Pittsburgh in 1956, but her work in Pittsburgh broke racial and gender barriers, setting a stage for DJs throughout the U.S. — Francesca Dabecco, senior newsletter editor
🎶 Charles Henry Pace
Pace is considered a pioneer of gospel music. After moving from Chicago to Pittsburgh in 1936, he and his wife Frankie Mae Pace founded the Pace Choral Union, which performed locally and on the radio. Charles Henry Pace also started one of the first Black-owned publishing companies in the Hill District. Pace’s company distributed music around the country, becoming a valuable resource for musicians in Pittsburgh and beyond. — Sophia Lo, producer
🩰 Martha Graham
Born in Allegheny City in 1894, Graham was a devoted and prolific artist and choreographer who danced and taught until her death at age 96. She rejected fascists, platformed fellow performers, and shared her time and talents with thousands of patrons and students. Her impact on what we now call modern dance is incalculable. She received many awards in her lifetime, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976. — Megan Harris, host
🏥 Thomas Starzl
Known as the “father of modern transplantation,” Starzl performed the first successful human liver transplant in 1963 and brought this revolutionary treatment to Pitt’s School of Medicine in the 1980s. Starzl’s medical breakthroughs — including his work preventing organ rejection — made transplants safer and more accessible, transforming the procedure and saving untold lives. — Mallory Falk, executive producer
📝 Nominate a Name
You can submit a nomination through the end of January. Nominees can be living or deceased and come from any professional or personal background. They must have been born in or spent their “formative, creative, or societally impactful” years in the 10-county Pittsburgh region; their accomplishments must have had a “national impact on America’s cultural heritage.”
City Cast Pittsburgh’s honorable mentions: Lena Horne, Ahmad Jamal, Daisy Lampkin, David McCullough, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Frankie Mae Pace, Troy Polamalu, Billy Porter, George Romero, and Jonas Salk
