Famous People Born On September 17th

American actor and comedian, John Ritter is best remembered for playing Jack Tripper in sitcom Three’s Company, a work that earned him both the Golden Globe and Emmy Award. His work in television show Hooperman and animated children's series Clifford the Big Red Dog was also appreciated tremendously. John Ritter has also appeared in numerous films and Broadway productions too.

Musician Hank Williams is widely considered one of the most influential and significant American singer-songwriters of the 20th century. Hank Williams influenced several singers, such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, and Charley Pride to name a few. Since his untimely death at the age of 29, many artists have released tribute albums honoring Hank Williams.  

Alexander Ovechkin is a Russian ice hockey player who currently captains the Washington Capitals, a popular team which competes in the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the greatest players of all time, Alexander Ovechkin has won prestigious awards, such as the Rocket Richard Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, Lester B. Pearson Award, and Calder Memorial Trophy.

Anne Bancroft was an American actress known for her versatility. Having won an Oscar, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Tony Awards, she is one of the 24 performers to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting. In 2010, her husband Mel Brooks credited her for being an inspiration behind the development of his musicals Young Frankenstein and The Producers.

Phil Jackson is a former professional basketball player who played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association and won the NBA championships in 1970 and 1973 when he was with New York Knicks. Later, he coached the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers and led them both to numerous championships and league titles and is considered one of the greatest basketball coaches ever.

Kyle Chandler is an American actor who received widespread acclaim for his portrayal of Eric Taylor in the sports drama TV series Friday Night Lights. Apart from acting, Chandler volunteers as a firefighter. He also raises funds to help football players with spinal cord injuries by taking part in a charity golf tournament that takes place every year.

The 14th PM of India, Narendra Modi, created history when he became the first prime minister outside of the Congress party to win two consecutive terms with a full majority; he achieved this feat in 2019. From Bharatiya Janata Party worker to India’s PM, Modi’s journey is remarkable. However, he’s been plagued by controversies too, including the handling of 2002 Gujarat riots.

Race-car driver Jimmie Johnson is associated with IndyCar Series. He is a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series winner and is the first and only NASCAR driver with five consecutive championship wins. In 2009, he became the first race-car driver to earn the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year honor.

Emmy-winning puppeteer and voice-actor Kevin Clash is best known for performing as and voicing Elmo on Sesame Street. He has also performed with puppets for Dinosaurs and Labyrinth, and was a regular on productions of the Muppet franchise. He has authored a memoir and has inspired a documentary, too.

Famous for the age-defying longevity of his American football career, George Blanda set several records before retiring at the age of 48. The quarterback and placekicker who played mainly for Chicago Bears, Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders teams, retired with 943 extra points from 26 seasons. He scored a record-setting 42 interceptions thrown in a single season in 1962.

Born in South Africa, Neill Blomkamp later moved to Canada. He began his career as a 3-D and special effects artist and later turned to direction. He is known for his documentary-style filmmaking that uses the cinéma vérité technique. Two of his best-known sci-fi films are District 9 and Elysium.

Joseph D. Pistone is a former FBI agent who worked undercover from 1976 to 1981, as Donnie Brasco. He spied on the Bonanno and the Colombo crime families of New York City, leading to many convictions. His 1988 memoir was later adapted into the Al Pacino-starrer film Donnie Brasco.

Bernhard Riemann was a German mathematician best remembered for his contributions to number theory, analysis, and differential geometry. His paper on the prime-counting function, which was published in 1859, is considered one of the most influential papers in the history of analytic number theory. Riemann is widely regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians ever.

Filmmaker and actor Paul Feig is known for creating films such as Bridesmaids and Ghostbusters. His comedy series Freaks and Geeks later achieved cult status. Known for his frequent collaborations with Melissa McCarthy, he, apparently, is always dressed in a suit and a tie when he directs.

Yoshitsugu Matsuoka is a Japanese singer and voice actor from Hokkaido. Best known for voicing popular animated characters like Kazuto Kirigaya, Sorata Kanda, Arata Kasuga, and Masamune Izumi, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka holds the Guinness World Record for the most unique sound bites produced by a voice actor.

David Souter was the associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1990 to 2009. He has also been a prosecutor, the attorney general of New Hampshire, and the associate justice of both the Superior Court and Supreme Court of New Hampshire. He now judges at the circuit court level.

Baz Luhrmann is an Australian writer and filmmaker. Thanks to his deep involvement in the direction, writing, and musical aspects of his work, Luhrmann is cited as an example of an auteur. His involvement often reflects on his work as he is one of the most successful Australian directors of his generation; many of his films are huge commercial successes.

One of the best all-rounders of the Indian cricket team, Ravichandran Ashwin is best known for popularizing the soduku ball technique. He is also the only bowler apart from Sri Lankan Ajantha Mendis to bowl the carrom ball. The Arjuna Award winner is the son of a Chennai-based cricketer.

Apart from being a comedian, Brendan O'Carroll is also a fine writer. Best known as Agnes Brown from the sitcom Mrs. Brown's Boys, he later played the role in various spin-offs and a couple of movies too. He has also penned several books and screenplays.

Edgar Mitchell was an American aviator, United States Navy officer, test pilot, NASA astronaut, ufologist, and aeronautical engineer. In 1971, Mitchell became only the sixth person ever to walk on the Moon. Over the course of his illustrious career, Edgar Mitchell was honored with several prestigious awards, such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.   

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was a Russian rocket scientist. Credited with pioneering astronautic theory, Tsiolkovsky is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of astronautics and modern rocketry. His works served as an inspiration to several other Soviet rocket engineers like Valentin Glushko and Sergei Korolev. Hence, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky's work played an influential role in the Soviet space program.