The Celebrities Of Cheltenham: Phun Philly Phacts

Editor’s Note: This series runs every other week.

CHELTENHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —They are the 10 communities that border Philadelphia along Cheltenham Avenue. But this township in the southeastern corner of Montgomery County can boast a Who’s Who of celebrities that might not be matched.

The township, as most people know, has been the longtime home of Comedian Bill Cosby, once beloved father Cliff Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” the man who taught us all to love Jell-O pudding, and the voice of the cartoon hero “Fat Albert.”

The career of the Cos, of course, crashed after dozens of sexual allegations were made against him.

Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson grew up in the township. He went on to star for the Oakland A’s until exploding into superstardom during the late 1970s with the New York Yankees. His three home runs in one game against the Los Angeles Dodgers got him his own candy bar, the Reggie Bar!

Another sports guy, Paul Westhead, spent time in Cheltenham.

Westhead was an NBA Championship-winning coach for the Los Angeles Lakers who taught at Cheltenham High School in the 1960s.

Then there were the Brecker Brothers.

Michael Brecker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer who won 15 Grammy Awards as a performer and composer. His brother Randy started with the group Blood, Sweat and Tears before going solo and carving out a successful career as a trumpeter and popular studio musician.

Cheltenham counts NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison, who played 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, winning a Super Bowl with Quarterback Peyton Manning at the helm.

The drummer for The Hooters, David Uosikkinen, also hails from the township.

So does businessman Ron Perelman, the 26th richest man in America. The Commonwealth’s first governor, Thomas Wharton Jr., also came from Cheltenham.

Then there is the man who flew under the radar but is currently in international news every day.

That’s Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

His family lived in Cheltenham Township between 1956 and 1958 and again from 1963 to 1967.

Netanyahu attended and graduated from Cheltenham High School.