The Hub of Celebrity: Boston Breeds Famous Men

Jay Leno

Jay Leno is my favorite local celebrity because he grew up in my hometown. He also went to my high school and still has a lot of “Andover pride,” so I totally feel this deep connection with him. Also, he attended my graduate school, proving we are clearly destined to be friends or something. They tore down his Andover house several years ago, which caused a bit of a town uproar. But come on, not like he could fit all his cars in that garage.

Aside from that, I’m also a fan of his show and, being the crazy nightowl that I am, tend to stay up for it all the time. I’m super happy he’s planning on sticking around in the next couple years, even if it is at a much earlier time slot. Maybe I will have an earlier bedtime by then anyway. One can hope. 8 hours and Leno? Dream come true.

Conan O'Brien

I think Conan O’Brien is one of the funniest people in the world. If not, the funniest. And he was actually born in the very town I live in now, Brookline, MA. Clearly I am meant to be a comedian or something, right? Right?? He also talks about his Brookline childhood quite a bit, making me all the more happier to be here.

Conan is on NBC even later than Jay, but yup you guessed it, I’m usually up for Conan too. After watching him, my dreams are sure to be sweet. Unless I accidentally stay up even later and happen to catch Carson Daily (who, I should mention, is not from any location anywhere near me. Thank the lord).

Conan O’Brien and the Finnish president…twins? Who knew!

Ben Affleck

OK, so I’ve never been a super huge Ben Affleck fan, but I know most girls in this world would disagree with me. Sure, he’s kinda cute, but just not really my type. I was a big fan of his now wife, Jennifer Garner, until she broke Scott Foley’s heart (completely unforgivable). He and Jen just had their second daughter together and I have to admit that their first daughter, Violet, is crazy cute. Ben and Jen just seem like a totally boring couple. I know the entire world will disagree with me, but Ben and J-LO? Hella fun. Sorry.

Anyway, you obviously most likely know that Ben is from Boston from his movie Good Will Hunting. He grew up in Cambridge (with matt obvi) and still visits the area lots. He’s known for being a super Red Sox fan, which makes me love him just a little bit more than I would otherwise. I think he has Jen converted too.

OK fine, maybe I like them just a little bit more than I thought I did. But just because this picture is so damn cute.

Matt Damon

So, Matt Damon I like a little bit more than Ben (because he’s cuter and looks nicer), but he still kind of bores me. It looks painful for him to even smile! Plus he has some model-type wife who seems totally boring too. They have 2 kids (I JUST found this out), but for some reason are never in the news. Does anyone care?

Oh well. Matty is also a Cambridge native, having been childhood friends with Ben since age 10 and the rest is history. Clearly, really smart talented people come from Boston. Duhhh.

Yes, I like men much better when they are donning Red Sox apparel. Don’t you?

John Krasinski

So, basically John Krasinski is awesome. Everyone knows that. Plus he’s in one of the most amazing shows ever made (The Office, duh). So how could he possibly get any cooler than that? Well, he could be from Boston. And HE IS. He was actually born in Brighton, right down the street from me. He went to high school in Newton with BJ Novack, also known as Ryan (“the intern”) from The Office. Clearly that school breeds some amazingly talented individuals.

Anyway, ask any girl what she thinks of The Office’s Jim and she’ll most likely start swooning because he’s basically the perfect man. And we can’t even hate Pam because she’s the perfect girl and they are just perfect for each other. Yes, I’m talking about the fictional Office characters like they’re real people, but they are just that good, so give me a break.

John is also still a huge Boston sports fan as you can tell from the picture above. You can find him at a lot of Celtics games cheering on the green. Again. Swoon.

Steve Carell

Basically the whole cast of The Office is from Boston and since it’s the best show on television, that clearly says something about Boston. Steve Carell was born in Acton, MA, and still stays pretty loyal to the area. He has a house in Marshfield and recently purchased the 115-year-old Marshfield Hills General Store, to help preseve the town’s history.

Steve plays Michael Scott on The Office and is absolutely hilarious. He’s also been in tons of movies, in which he is equally funny. See? I told you. Boston=funny!

Dane Cook

So, a lot of people can’t stand Dane Cook. I’m pretty sure people used to be obsessed with him and then something happened where he got really annoying and lost his comedic touch. He’s certainly not my favorite comedian in the world, but he does have the power to make me chuckle now and then. And since he’s from Boston, I certainly can’t hate him (just to clarify, there are some people from Boston that I do hate. Like Whitey Bulger).

Dane grew up in Boston and allegedly had really bad agoraphobia when he was growing up (possibly because some Boston people tend to not be very nice). He eventually moved to New York City because, let’s face it, you can’t really make it in comedy in Boston. And good thing he did because he can now be seen all over Comedy Central and HBO and has also made a bunch of movies. Yes, some people dislike him but he still has the power to sell out shows all over the country.

John F. Kennedy

Oooh look, everybody’s favorite president! Seriously, I think it says something that JFK is from Boston. Kennedy was born literally a 2 minute walk from where I live in Brookline (by all means, feel free to go check out his house and stalk him, but please don’t stalk me). He went to school in the Boston-area until 8th grade when he moved to CT for school (but still New England!). And then he obviously came back to Boston to go to Harvard. He also spent a lot of time in Hyannis, which is a really pretty little place on Cape Cod.

So you all already know about JFK (if you’re saying “What? Who?” you might want to pull out those elementary school history books…or ask your parents or something). He was the 35th president, until he was sadly assassinated in 1063. He still has lots of family members in the area, like Ted.

Ohh so that’s what JFK’s house looks like. Sweet. Maybe I’ll stop by later today.

Sam Adams

Oh hi Sam Adams, nobody is quite certain about what you’ve done except, um, make really delicious beer. I kid. I kid. But seriously, that beer is really good and if he had done nothing else but brew, I would love him just the same.

But Sam, the second cousin to John Adams, was born in Boston and attended Boston Latin and Harvard. In school, you probably learned about all the great things Sam did to help the colonies break away from British rule, like opposing the Stamp Act and helping stage the Boston Tea Party. Also, you can see him above signing the Declaration of Independence. He also helped write the Massachusetts Constitution, so Sam really should mean a lot to all of us.

Oh yeah and Sam Adams was obviously a brewer of beer as well. He makes some of my absolute favorite beers and I’m a pretty big fan of the above Sam Adams Black. Sooo yeah, thank you Sammy, you’re pretty much my bff.