NJ Hall of Fame Unveils 2013 Inductees, Mobile Museum

Joe Piscopo knows what exit he’ll be taking on October 21. That’s the date the actor/comedian will be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in a ceremony being held for the first time at the Izod Center in the Meadowlands.

Piscopo is among the 16 members of the NJHOF class of 2013. His classmates include two historical giants—Caldwell native Grover Cleveland, the only U.S. president born in New Jersey, and Revolutionary War patriot/pamphleteer Thomas Paine, who lived in Bordentown for 25 years.

Also heading to the Hall of Fame in June are singer/entertainers Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick and Celia Cruz; actor Alan Alda; former football Giants coach Bill Parcells; heavyweight boxing champ Jersey Joe Walcott; track Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs; former governor Thomas Kean; cosmetics entrepreneur Bobbi Brown; inventor and radio and TV pioneer David Sarnoff; philanthropist Ray Chambers; filmmaker Alice Guy Blache; and sculptor J. Seward Johnson Jr.

Additionally, the Hall of Fame will present its Unsung Hero Award for 2013 to Kathleen DiChiara, founder and CEO of Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

The 2013 inductees were announced this week as the Hall of Fame unveiled its long-awaited Mobile Museum, a 53-foot-long semi-trailer that opens out to more than 800 square feet of exhibit space. Designed by architect and NJHOF inductee Michael Graves and museum exhibition designer Ralph Appelbaum Associates, the Mobile Museum features portraits of NJHOF inductees (66 individuals have been inducted prior to this year’s class) and exhibits dedicated to many of these New Jersey luminaries.

After debuting at locations throughout the state, the Mobile Museum—said to be the only one of its kind in America—heads to Asbury Park this weekend for the start of a summer-long residency up and down the Jersey Shore. Starting in the fall, the Mobile Museum will visit schools throughout the state.

The NJHOF honors individuals with strong connections to the Garden State who have made notable contributions to society. Nominees are determined by the Hall of Fame’s Voting Academy; inductees are chosen in a public vote.

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