The New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony is now scheduled to take place January 14 at the Newark Museum. After postponing the annual early June date at NJPAC, its traditional site, and then rescheduling for October 21 at the Izod Center, the ceremony was pushed back again to its new date. Tickets already are sold out for the event, which will be scaled down from previous induction ceremonies.
Of the fourteen impressive class members, half are being inducted posthumously: “Jersey Joe” Walcott, the heavyweight boxer; David Sarnoff, the father of broadcasting; Thomas Paine, the voice of the American Revolution; Whitney Houston, the most awarded female act of all time; Celia Cruz, a popular salsa artist; Grover Cleveland, the only U.S. president to serve two non-consecutive terms; and Alice Guy Blache, a famed screenwriter and photographer.
The remaining (and living) class members are Bobbi Brown, makeup mogul; Raymond G. Chambers, philanthropist and United Nations Special Envoy; Joetta Clark Diggs, Olympic track athlete; J. Seward Johnson, artist and founder of Grounds for Sculpture; Governor Tom Kean, chairman of the 9/11 Commission; Joe Piscopo, entertainer and Saturday Night Live alumnus; and Dionne Warwick, singer with 50 years in the recording industry.
The Newark Museum will also be hosting the New Jersey Hall of Fame Mobile Museum starting January 10 as part of activities leading up to the Super Bowl. The Mobile Museum will also make an appearance January 28 at the Prudential Center as part of the Super Bowl Media Day.
In a related event, the Newark Museum also is presenting “City of Silver and Gold: From Tiffany to Cartier,” opening January 8. The exhibit commemorates Newark’s rich history in metal making and the first home of Tiffany & Company’s silver factory. The original 1967 Vince Lombardi Trophy (the Super Bowl’s version of the Stanley Cup) was handcrafted in the Newark factory, and will be the centerpiece of the museum’s precious metals exhibit, on display through March 30. Vince Lombardi, an Englewood native and considered the most successful football coach in history, was one of the New Jersey Hall of Fame’s first inductees back in 2008.