Daytonians who’ve made us proud at the big Hollywood award shows

>> Dave Chappelle wins Grammy for best comedy album

Check out these former and current Daytonians who have been honored by Hollywood for their contributions to the entertainment industry.

We even threw in a few unlucky Golden Raspberry Award (also known as the Razzies) winners just because.

BIG WINNERS

JOHN LEGEND

The Springfield native and Dayton favorite earned the coveted EGOT when he took home an Emmy Award at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony Sept. 9, 2018 for his portrayal of Jesus Christ in NBC’s “Jesus Christ Superstar, Live in Concert.”

Legend is the first African-American man to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award. He joins a select group of 15 performers who have achieved this honor.

Legend already had a ton of music awards on his shelf, including an Oscar, a Golden Globe and 10 Grammys, including Best New Artist in 2006.

Most recently, he earned a 2020 Grammy win for Best Rap/Sung for "Higher" with DJ Khaled and Nipsey Hussle.

>>John Legend takes home Emmy, becomes first African-American man to earn EGOT

Legend and musician/actor Common won the 2015 Academy Award for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for “Glory” from the movie “Selma.” The duo won the Golden Globe in the same category.

>> John Legend made LEGENDARY prediction in Dayton newspaper 25 years ago

Legend’s Grammy wins include:

• 2015 Best Song Written for Visual Media for “Glory” from “Selma” in collaboration with Common and Rhymefest

• 2011 Best R&B Album with The Roots for “Wake Up!”; Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance with The Roots for “Hang On In There”; and Best R&B song for “Shine.”

• 2009 Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group along with Al Green for “Stay with Me (By the Sea).

• 2007 Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Sly and the Family Stone, Joss Stone and Van Hunt for “Family Affair”; and Best Male R&B Performance for “Heaven.”

• 2006 Best New Artist; Best R&B Album for “Get Lifted” and Best Male R&B Vocals for “Ordinary People.”

Legend received a total of 28 Grammy nominations from 2006 through 2016.

>> PHOTOS: John Legend’s surprise visit to the Oregon District

>> PHOTOS: John Legend’s concert at Rose Music Center in 2017

>> John Legend remembers times before his legend began

>> WATCH: Behind the scenes of the John Legend Theater

NANCY CARTWRIGHT 

Sounding like a 10-year-old boy earned Kettering native Nancy Cartwright

the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance Emmy in 1992 for her work on FOX’s long-running animated series “The Simpsons.”

The Ohio University alumna famously voices Bart Simpson on the show first launched on Dec. 17, 1989. 
She started voicing the iconic character in 1987  for animated shorts featured on "The Tracey Ullman Show."

Cartwright was nominated for an Emmy in 2017 and won the Annie Award for

Voice Acting in the Field of Animation in 1995.

 >> RELATED: (Feb 27, 2014) Nancy Cartwright on growing up in Dayton 

ALLISON JANNEY

Emmy? Check.

Golden Globe? Check..

SAG Award? Check.

Oscar? Check!

This Oakwood-raised star of the big screen and small screen has TONS of awards on her shelf (including a 2017 induction into the Dayton Region Walk of Fame). She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well.

There are too many awards to mention here, to be honest.

Janney, a graduate of the Miami Valley School, received a 2018 Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role as Tonya Harding’s mother in “I, Tonya.” She won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award for the same role.

>> Allison Janney wins Oscar, and possibly the Internet

Obviously Janney has gotten a lot of recognition for this recent role in “I, Tonya.” But she has many other credits on her resume.

She has won seven Primetime Emmy Awards, including best supporting actress in a comedy series in 2014 and 2015 for her role on CBS’ “Mom.” She won an Emmy for her role as a guest actress on “Masters of Sex” in 2014. She won several Emmy awards for her role as C.J. Cregg on “The West Wing” including lead actress in a drama series in 2004 and 2002, as well as supporting actress in 2001 and 2000.

She has been nominated again in 2018 for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on “Mom.”

>> Oscar winner praises Pine Club as one of ‘America’s favorite neighborhood restaurants’ in Bon Appetit

Beyond the wins, she received several additional Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her roles on “Mom” and “The West Wing.”

She was nominated for a People’s Choice Award in 2014 as favorite actress in a new TV series. She received two Tony Award nominations for her work on Broadway.

>> Allison Janney: “Dayton spawns great people”

Ensemble cast awards: She, along with fellow Daytonians Rob Lowe and Martin Sheen, were "West Wing" cast members when the TV show won a SAG for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series awards in 2001-2002.

She also won a SAG as part of the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for “The Help” in 2012 and “American Beauty” in 2000.

She received cast nominations for roles in “The Hours” and “Hairspray” as well.

>> RELATED: These cookies from a local bakery are SO good that Allison Janney gets them specially delivered to set

JONATHAN WINTERS

The legendary Dayton-born, Springfield-raised comic genius won an Emmy award in 1991 for supporting actor in a comedy series for his role on "Davis Rules." He won a Grammy in 1976 in the "Best Recording for Children" category with Richard Burton and Billy Simpson. He won another Grammy in 1996 for Best Spoken Comedy Album for "Crank(y) Calls."

Career highlights: With a career spanning more than six decades, Winters appeared in hundreds of TV shows and films. Winters hosted several TV shows in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, and appeared on a long list of shows that includes "Laugh-In," "Twilight Zone," "The Muppet Show," "Hee Haw," "Mork & Mindy" and "Hollywood Squares."

He was in more than 50 movies including “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World” and “The Loved One.” He was the voice of Grandpa Smurfs on “The Smurfs” TV series from 1986-89. He returned to voice the character in the film versions in 2011 and the sequel in 2013.

>> PHOTOS: Comedy genius Jonathan Winters through the years

Other big award nominations: In 1964, he was nominated for a Golden Globe award for his role as Lennie Pike, a furniture mover, in the comedy "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World."

In 2003, he was nominated for an Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy for his role on the TV series “Life with Bonnie.”

He received a total of 8 Grammy nominations for Best Comedy Album throughout his career.

Other honors: In 1960, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1999, Winters became only the second person to receive the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Richard Pryor was the first recipient. He also won the Lifetime Achievement Award for the American Comedy Awards in 1987.

Winters died in 2013 at age 87 at his home in Montecito, Calif.  

>> OBITUARY: Dayton-born and Springfield-raised famous comic dies (2013)

>> 10 things to know about Jonathan Winters

MARTIN SHEEN

Born Ramon Estevez in Dayton, Sheen has scores of acting credits on TV and the big screen including Captain Benjamin L. Willard in "Apocalypse Now" and President Josiah Bartlet on TV's "The West Wing."

He has won Emmy awards, Golden Globes, SAG awards and in addition to multiple nominations.

His top honors include:

A Golden Globe in 2001 for Best Actor in a TV Series-Drama for his role on “The West Wing” as well as an Emmy for Guest Actor in a Comedy in 1994 for an appearance on “Murphy Brown.”

He also earned a 1986 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children’s programming for a CBS Schoolbreak Special “Babies Having Babies.”

Along with fellow Daytonians Allison Janney and Rob Lowe, Sheen was a “West Wing” cast members when the TV show won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series awards in 2001 and 2002.

He won the SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in both of those years.

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He currently plays Robert Hanson on the Netflix series “Grace and Frankie.”

>> Tom Archdeacon: An interview with Martin Sheen

>> Martin Sheen receives honorary degree from UD

COMEDY

DAVE CHAPPELLE

Dave Chappelle, who lives just outside of Yellow Springs, just won another Grammy Award in 2020 for Best Comedy Album his work on “Sticks & Stones.”

>> Dave Chappelle wins Grammy for best comedy album

In 2018, he won a Grammy in the Best Comedy Album category for his “The Age Of Spin” and “Deep In The Heart Of Texas.”

>> Dave Chappelle wins his first Grammy

Chappelle won an Emmy in 2017 for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role hosting “Saturday Night Live” just after Donald Trump’s election. He received Emmy nominations in 2004 and 2005.

>> Dayton says ‘thank you’ to Dave Chappelle

He is best known for “Chappelle’s Show,” which aired on Comedy Central from 2003-06. He walked away from the show in 2005 – and a reported $50 million contract with the network and spent some time in South Africa. He moved to a farm outside Yellow Springs. He began his comeback in 2017 and most recently signed a "20 million per release" comedy special deal with Netflix in 2016.

>> 7 things to know about Dave Chappelle

>> Dave Chappelle wins his first Emmy

>> Dave Chappelle on life in Yellow Springs in rare TV interview

MUSIC

KEITH HARRISON

Dayton native Keith Harrison helped form the group that would be known as the Dayton funk band Faze-O while in high school. The group would later record the hit "Riding High."

>> 8 Dayton acts you should give a funk about

The lifelong Miami Valley resident performed with renowned acts like Morris Day and the Time and Dayton funk godfathers the Ohio Players, among others. He was a member of the Dayton funk band Heatwave and the Cleveland-based group the Dazz Band, for which he penned the hit "Let It All Blow."

>> See what Dayton funk legend Keith Harrison is up to these days

Harrison won a Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal Grammy Award with the Dazz Band for "Let It Whip" in 1982.

He was inducted into the Dayton Region’s Walk of Fame in September 2015.

>> Big news for this Grammy-winning Dayton funk legend

DON PENDLETON

Kettering-based artist Don Pendleton was part of the team that won the Grammy in the "Best Recording Package" category in 2015 for work on Pearl Jam's "Lightning Bolt."

>> Kettering man wins Grammy gold

Pendleton is a native of Ravenswood, W.Va.

>> Kettering man’s work added to unexpected canvas

MORGAN TAYLOR

This Kettering native is a two-time Grammy nominee. Gustafer Yellowgold creator Morgan Taylor was nominated for a 2018 Grammy in the Best Children’s Album category for his “Brighter Side.”The songwriter also was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Children's Album category for 2015's "Gustafer Yellowgold: Dark Pie Concerns" CD/DVD set.

>> Dayton native’s children’s album gets a Grammy nod

Taylor created Gustafer Yellowgold when he was working at Gem City Records in Dayton and was charged with decorating the marker board.

"This yellow, cone-headed guy was spinning records, frying up frogs on the oven range and whatever crazy stuff I was thinking about," Taylor said according to Gothamist.com. "Many years later when I was looking for an identity for the 'first person' to star in my little weird story-songs, I stuck him in there. A very natural pairing that I never even knew would come together."

>> Read our interview with Taylor here

OHIO PLAYERS

The celebrated Dayton funk band won the 1976 Grammy in the Best Album Package Category for Honey (Jim Ladwig was the art director).

Formed in 1959 as the Ohio Untouchable,  The Ohio Players are best known for the songs "Fire," "Love Rollercoaster," "I Wanna be Free," "Pain," "Funky Worm," "Skin Tight," "Honey" and "Sweet Sticky Thing."

The band was nominated for the Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Duo, Group Or Chorus Grammy for “Fire” in 1975, but lost to Earth Wind and Fire’s “Shining Star.”

>> Funk legend and member of Ohio Players Junie Morrison dies

>> Ohio Players frontman remembered for music skills

ROGER TROUTMAN

The inventive and legendary frontman for Zapp (also known as Zapp Band and Zapp & Roger) was nominated for a Grammy for "Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group" for 2Pac and Dr. Dre's single, "California Love."

>> Icons lost in one of Dayton’s most gut-wrenching murders

>> Dayton funk museum now open

ROY MERIWETHER

The Grammy-nominated musician is the author of one of Dayton’s greatest jazz stories. The Dayton native and soul-jazz piano legend started playing piano at age 3. He was a professional musician with his own band at age 18 and was signed to Columbia Records in his twenties. His perhaps most famous record Nubian Lady was recorded live at The Magic Carpet in Dayton.

>> 5 things to know about Gilly’s Jazz

NICOLE SCHERZINGER

The Wright State University alum was nominated for a Grammy for the 2007’s "Stickwitu" with other members of the girl group Pussycat Dolls. The group lost to “My Humps" by The Black Eyed Peas for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Born in Hawaii and raised in Louisville, Scherzinger studied musical theater and dance at Wright State University before dropping out to pursue a music career. She rose to fame as lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls. She went on to have a solo career and host The X Factor in the U.S. and UK.

>> Wright State alum shining on stage in London

>> 6 famous Wright State alumni 

TAMIKA L. CALDWELL

The Dayton native is a singer with Gospel group Anthony Brown & Group Therapy. The group’s song "Worth" was a nominee in 2016 for Best Gospel Song/Performance award.

She attended to Colonel White High School.

>> 5 local ties to the 2016 Grammy awards

TROY HAYES

Troy Hayes, an Englewood resident/Wright State University graduate, was nominated for a 2016 Grammy for “Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella” with his group Vocally Challenged.

Hayes is an associate producer and songwriter for the Detroit-based songwriting and production team PAJAM, whose producers/writers and singers make up Vocally Challenged. He toured as a teen and young adult with his father's contemporary Christian group, New Harvest, which was nominated for three Dove Awards.

>> Englewood resident up for Grammy nomination

ACTORS

ROB LOWE

The prolific actor was born during his father Chuck’s last year of law school at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va.

The family moved to Dayton when Rob was just three months old and raised him in the city and surrounding areas.

>> PHOTOS: Rob Lowe through the years

Lowe attended Longfellow School in Dayton as well as Oakwood Junior High School before moving to Malibu, Calif., with his mother and brother, actor and director Chad Lowe.

Along with fellow Daytonians Allison Janney and Martin Sheen, Lowe was a “West Wing” cast members when the TV show won a SAG award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series awards in 2001 and 2002.

He was nominated for an Emmy award in 2001 for lead actor in a drama series for his role on “The West Wing” and received SAG Award nominations for his role in a TV movie “Killing Kennedy.”

>> Rob Lowe and Dayton dad Chuck Lowe have more in common than good looks

Lowe has received six Golden Globe nominations from 1984-2016 for movie and TV roles including “The Grinder,” “The West Wing,” “Behind the Candelabra,” “Square Dance” and “Thursday’s Child.”

He somehow won a Worst Supporting Actor Razzie in 1986 for “St. Elmo’s Fire.” Go figure.

Other big roles include “The Outsiders,” “Wayne’s World,” “Austin Powers,” “Brothers & Sisters” and “Parks and Recreation.”

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Most recently, Lowe played Dean Sanderson on Fox's comedy "The Grinder."

He currently appears on “Code Black” and is the voice of Simba on “The Lion Guard.”

LUKE GRIMES

The 2002 Dayton Christian High School graduate had a key role in the 2014 Clint Eastwood-directed blockbuster “American Sniper.”

The film was nominated for Best Picture and five other awards, including Bradley Cooper for lead actor. It won only for Best Sound Editing.

Grimes played Marc Lee, the first Navy SEAL to lose his life in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

>> 10 actors you should know who were born in Dayton

Grimes is known for film and TV roles in the “Fifty Shades” series, as well as “The Magnificent Seven,” “True Blood” and “Brothers & Sisters.”

>> Dayton grad lands major role in “Fifty Shades of Grey”

BEHIND THE SCENES

HANNAH BEACHLER

Centerville High School alumna Hannah Beachler, a product of Wright State University's film and production design program, is the first black woman to win an Oscar in production design.

>> Wright State graduate gets historic Oscar win

>> 6 things to know about Hannah Beachler

She won the Oscar in production design in 2019 at the 91st annual Academy Awards on Feb. 24 for her work on “Black Panther.” She shares the award with Jay Hart. Beachler and Hart won the Critics Choice Award in the Best Production Design on Jan. 13.

>> Daytonian will be in the spotlight this weekend with historic Oscar nomination

She also won praise for her work on the 2017 Oscar Best Picture “Moonlight,”as well as “Miles Ahead,” “Creed,” and “Lemonade,” a music video project from singer Beyoncé.

Beachler was nominated in 2016 for an Emmy for Outstanding Production Design for Beyonce’s “Lemonade.”

She was inducted into the Dayton Walk of Fame in 2018.

>> Dayton-area grad praised for work on ‘Moonlight,’ ‘Lemonade’

>> Wright State grad plays pivotal role in ‘Black Panther’

JULIA REICHERT & STEVEN BOGNAR

Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar are in the spotlight this awards season for their work on “American Factory,” which has been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature.

>> Local filmmakers nominated for Oscar for documentary about glass factory

They won the Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking Emmy in 2007 for their film "A Lion in the House." 

Reichert is also a repeat Academy Award nominee. The Yellow Springs resident's first film, "Growing Up Female," was selected for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.  The longtime educator's films "Union Maids (1976)" and "Seeing Red (1983)" were nominated for Best Feature Documentary Academy Awards.

Her film with Bognar "The Last Truck" was about the closing of the Moraine GM truck assembly plant."Last Truck" earned a  2010 Best Documentary Short Subjects Oscar nomination.

The retired Wright State University film professor served as associate producer on Illinois filmmaker Edgar A. Barens’ short documentary “Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall.” That film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2014.

Bognar and Reichert picked up the U.S. documentary directing award for their film “American Factory” at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival in Park City. Now Netflix is on the verge of buying the world rights to “American Factory,” according to Deadline.

Reichert was inducted into the Dayton Walk of Fame in 2018.

>> Netflix planning to buy local couple’s new award-winning film in deal said to be worth millions, reports say 

J. TODD ANDERSON

The New Carlisle native and Dayton-area resident has created the story board for about 20 Coen brothers movie since 1987’s "Raising Arizona."

That includes the multiple Academy Award-winning films “Fargo” and “No Country for Old Men,” as well as the nominated films “A Serious Man,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “True Grit,” “The Man Who Wasn't There,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Barton Fink.”

Anderson appeared in Fargo as "Victim in Field.”  He is credited as the symbol for the artist formerly known as Prince. One of Tom Chaney’s fake names in True Grit was John Todd Anderson.

Aside from the Coen brothers, Anderson has also worked on films by Jodi Foster, Frank Oz, Barry Sonnenfeld and George Clooney.

JOE ESZTERHAS

The Cleveland-raised screenwriter behind “Basic Instinct,” “Flashdance," “Telling Lies in America” and the instant classic Showgirls" got his start in writing as a reporter for the Journal Herald, where he was hired in 1966.

He talks about the time he broke two fingers in Dayton after “drinking too many beers” and crashing his car into a light post in his 2004 book "Hollywood Animal."

Eszterhas' films have made millions, even though they haven't exactly been hits with the critics. 
He's never won an Oscar, but can claim four Razzie awards nomination in the "Worst Screenplay" category. He won the totally unsought-after award for "Showgirls" in 1995.