February 10, 2012: Christopher Reeve Inducted into NJ Class of 2012 Hall of Fame

The newest inductees into New Jersey's Hall of Fame include late 'Superman' actor Christopher Reeve, Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and New York Giants owner Wellington Mara.

Others winning induction into the hall this spring include actor Michael Douglas, jazz singer Sarah Vaughn and author Joyce Carol Oates.

Gov. Chris Christie announced all 11 inductees Friday afternoon in Trenton.

Rounding out the hall's 2012 class are basketball coach Bob Hurley, media mogul Samuel I. Newhouse, Olympian Milt Campbell, Wild West Show sensation Annie Oakley and John Dorrance, the chemist who invented condensed soup.

"We have a lot to be proud of in this state, these folks are representative of that along with the other classes we've inducted before," Christie said. "It's another way for us to make ourselves feel good about where we come from, what our roots are."

The governor and First Lady Mary Pat Christie will serve as hosts for the public induction ceremony June 9 in Newark.

Hall of Fame architect Michael Graves is designing a mobile museum for the hall that would travel from school to school. The hall also exists online at http://www.NJHallofFame.org.

The hall honors New Jerseyans who have made their mark in the fields of history, entertainment, enterprise and sports. There's also a general category for educators, military leaders and politicians.

Many inductees were born or raised in the Garden State; some still live here or have other significant ties to New Jersey.

Reeve, of Princeton, became a quadriplegic after a horse riding accident and later lobbied on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries; he died in 2004. Nutley's Annie Oakley overcame poverty to achieve success, her life later immortalized through Irving Berlin's musical "Annie Get Your Gun." Hurley won 26 state championships and amassed more than 1,000 winds in 39 years at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City.

Recipients were chosen by fellow New Jerseyans, who voted online from a list of 50 nominees, and by a voting academy made up of 100 state organizations.

One nominee who didn't make the cut is Thomas Nast, a German-born caricaturist who is considered the father of political cartoons. He created the images of Santa Claus and Uncle Sam, but drew protests because he also drew unflattering caricatures of the Irish.

Nast, who died in 1902, was allowed to remain among the nominees despite calls to remove his name.

Previous inductees include Bruce Springsteen, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and Yogi Berra. Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Les Paul, Count Basie and Carl Lewis were inducted in May.

One of the inductees, the E Street Band, will be touring out of the country in early June, so their induction has been postponed.

Hall of Fame organizers have invited inductees from the first four classes who could not accept their awards in person previously to join this year's awards ceremony. They include Shaquille O'Neal, Meryl Streep, Martha Stewart, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Jerry Lewis and Philip Roth.