Great things happen when youth and mountains meet . . .
and when they meet at camp something extraordinary happens
For the 150 years that camp has been part of the hearts and minds of children and parents, this great experience--called camp--has provided important steps toward the milestones of their young lives--creating and fostering the artist, the musician, the articulate business person, the inspired politician, the actor, the scientist, or the visionary who lives in each child’s heart.
From a society designed just for children springs forth millions of children from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences . . . every child’s camp experience is part of the story of their lives.
The following list of famed campers might have taken an inkling of camp into their inspired work.
(Know someone who should be added to the list? E-mail aca@ACAcamps.org.)
Business
Walter Annenberg, publisher/philanthropist
Ben Bernanke, economist
Mark Cuban, CEO, sports executive, investor
Dov Charney, founder and CEO, American Apparel
Michael Dell, founder and CEO, Dell Inc.
Michael Eisner, former CEO, Disney Corporation
Paul Fireman, founder, Reebok
Peter Guber, CEO, Mandalay Entertainment
Gary Hirshberg, chairman of Stonyfield Farm
F. Martin Johnson, former CEO/president, JSJ Corporation
Michael M. Kaiser, president, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Frank Kelly Jr., former vice president, American Express, Inc.
Robert Kraft, businessman, sports owner
Sherry Lansing, former CEO, Paramount Pictures
Dylan Lauren, owner, Dylan's Candy Bar
Richard Lovett, president, Creative Artists Agency
Stanley Marcus, executive, Neiman Marcus
Hugh McColl, former chairman and CEO of Bank of America
Lawrence Page, co-founder & president, products, Google Corporation
Ron Perelman, businessman, philanthropist
Willie Robertson, business owner, Duck Commander, TV personality
Judith Rodin, philanthropis, former UPenn president
Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook
Frank Smith, president, FedEx
Brandon Steiner, CEO, Steiner Sports Marketing
Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
Ralph Lauren, designer & founder, Ralph Lauren Company
Lewis Wolff, real estate developer
Mark Zuckerberg, cofounder, CEO, Facebook
Science
Noam Chomsky, American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist
Albert Einstein (staff), scientist
Richard Kurin, Cultural Anthropologist
Jerry Linenger, NASA Space Shuttle Astronaut
John Grunsfeld, NASA Space Shuttle Astronaut
Sally Ride, NASA Space Shuttle Astronaut
Paul Steinhauser, child psychologist
Civic and Political Leaders
Prince Albert of Monaco
Ron Bloom, former Obama Administration official
Chesa Boudin, lawyer, writer, lecturer
George W. Bush, 43rd President, United States
Chelsea Clinton, daughter Bill and Hillary Clinton
Avern Cohn, U.S. federal judge
Colby Cooper, Senior Advisor to U.S. Secretary of State
Grey Davis, former governor of California
Alan Dershowitz, scholar
Rahm Emmanuel, mayor of Chicago
Gerald Ford, 38th President, United States
Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles
Timothy Geithner, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Supreme Court Justice
Nancy Grace, American legal commentator, TV host
Kay Bailey Hutchinson, politician
Dexter Scott King, son of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Bernice Albertine King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King III, son of Martin Luther King, Jr. Yolanda Denise King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Carl Levin, U.S. Senate
Sander Levein, politician
Jack Markel, governor of Delaware
Mel Martinez, lobbyist, former politician
Ronald E. Minsk, former Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy at the National Economic Council (Clinton Administration) and New York Times Op-Ed Author
Sandra Day O'Conner, retired Supreme Court Justice
Michelle Obama (staff), First Lady of the United States and Wife of the 44th President, Barack Obama
Elma Powell, wife of Colin Powell, U.S. Army General (ret.) and former U.S. Secretary of State
Nancy Reagan, wife of former president Ronald Reagan
Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State
Ann Richards, former governor of Texas
Bob Riley, former governor, Alabama
Donald Rumsfeld (staff), former U.S. Secretary of Defense
Paul Ryan, politican, Speaker of the House of Representatives
Paul Sarbanes, politician
Katherine Schwarzenegger, author and daughter of Governor Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver
Henry Waxman, politician
Evan Wolfson, attorney, gay rights advocate
Music
Sammy Adams, rapper
Clay Aiken, singer
Marin Alsop, composer and music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Max Bemis, singer
Noah Beresin, musician
Justin Bieber, singer
Zac Brown (staff), country music artist
Mariah Carey, singer
Leonard Cohen, singer/songwriter, poet
Tre Cool, drummer (Green Day)
Brandon Creed, manager (Bruno Mars)
Brett Dennen, singer/songwriter
Neil Diamond, singer
James Diener, record executive
Sadie Dupuis, guitarist, singer
Bob Dylan, singer and songwriter
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, singer, musician, producer
Black Francis, musician
Julie Gold, singer/songwriter
Lesley Gore, singer
Arlo Guthrie, folk singer
Josh Groban, singer
Brandon Heath, singer/songwriter
Michael Jackson, singer
Bruce Johnston, The Beach Boys
Norah Jones, singer and pianist
Jewel Kilcher, singer
Larry King, radio and TV host
Julie Klausner, comedian, writer, podcaster
Ezra Koenig, singer and guitarist, Vampire Weekend
Damian Kulash, guitarist for OK Go
Drew Lachey, singer
Lady Gaga, singer
Amy Lee, singer, Evanescence
Tom Lehrer, singer/songwriter, mathematician
Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, songwriters, Smokey Joe's Café
Adam Levine, singer, Maroon 5
Lil JaXe, rapper
Cody Linder, drummer, Say Anything
Lisa Loeb, singer, musician, and songwriter
Arthur Loesser, pianist and composer
Lorin Maazel, musical director, New York Philharmonic
Barry Manilow, singer/songwriter
Stanley Margoshes, composer
Jeff Marks, creator, Tony Award winning Avenue Q
Matisyahu, musician
Erin McKeown, singer/songwriter
Bret Michaels, singer
Tim Mitchell, guitarist
Ben Moody, musician
Marcus Mumford, musician, lead singer, Mumford & Sons
Terra Naomi, musician
Jennifer Nettles, singer
Timothy J. Nordwind, bassist for OK Go
Julia Nunes, musician
Douglas Pipes, composer
Joshua Radin, singer/songwriter
Bonnie Rait, singer/songwriter
Richard Rodgers, composer
Carol Bayer Sager, songwriter
Stephen Schwartz, composer
Pete Seeger, folk singer, musician, song writer
Caleb Shapiro, musician, Timeflies
Howard Shore, composer
Gene Simmons, musician
Carly Simon, singer/songwriter
Amy Sky, singer/songwriter
Stephen Sondheim, composer, lyricist
Jon Spencer, musician
Gwen Stefani, singer
Frank Tichelli, composer
Suzanne Vega, singer/songwriter
Verbal, hip-hop MC
Ben Weinman, guitarist
Pete Wentz, bassist, Fall Out Boy
Dar Williams, singer
Peter Yarrow, singer for Peter, Paul, and Mary
Neil Young, singer/songwriter
Visual Arts
Sam Abell, photographer
Jonathan Adler, designer
Burton Morris, pop artist
Irene Neuwirth, jewelry designer
Charles Pachter, artist
Julian Schnabel, artist, filmmaker
Robert Snyder, artist
Performing Arts
Paul Adelstein, actor
Ben Affleck, actor
Kirstie Alley, actor
Darren Aronofsky, director
Skylar Astin, actor
Hank Azaria, actor
Lauren Bacall, actor
Anne Bancroft, actor
Andy Barrie, radio host
Mischa Barton, actor
Bryan Batt, actor
Meredith Baxter, actor
Jennifer Beals, actor
Bruce Beck, sportscaster
Mike Bender, writer and director, Indian Summer
Michael Ian Black, actor, comedian, writer
Zach Braff, actor and director
Andy Breckman, screenwriter, radio personality
Adrien Brody, actor
Mel Brooks, comedian, film director, actor
Richard Brooks, actor
Matthew Budman, film producer
Kirk Cameron, actor
Eddie Cantor, performer
Drew Carey (staff), actor and comedian
George Carlin, comedian and actor
Justin Chambers, actor
Josh Charles, actor
RuPaul Charles, actor, drag queen, model
Chevy Chase, actor and comedian
Ethan Coen, film director, producer, screenwriter
Joel Coen, film director, producer, screenwriter
Andy Cohen, television executive and host
Dave Colier, actor, comedian
Courteney Cox, actor
James Cramer, television personality, author
John Cryer, actor
Reggie Dabbs, motivational speaker
Matt Damon, actor, writer, and producer
Larry David, writer, actor, comedian, producer
Paz de la Huerta, actor, model
Michael DeLorenzo, actor, director, and composer
Patrick Dempsey, actor
Bruce Dern, actor
Zoey Deschanel, actor, musician
Leonardo DiCaprio, actor
Kirk Douglas, actor
Robert Downey, Jr., actor
Avner Eisenberg, actor
Peter Falk, actor
Chris Farley, actor, comedian
Jon Favreau, actor, director
Farrah Fawcett, actor
Ben Feldman, actor
Tovah Feldshuh, actor
Scott Foley, actor
Harvey Fierstein, actor, playwright
Soleil Moon Frye, actor
Josh Gad, actor
Terri Garber, actor
Willie Garson, actor
Adam F. Goldberg, TV/film producer
Scott Goldstein, writer, producer, director
Ginnifer Goodwin, actor
Lecy Goranson, actor
Wavy Gravy, performer
Seth Green, actor
Bryan Greenberg, actor
Ellen Greene, actor, singer
Lorne Greene, actor
Fiona Gubelmann, actor
Jake Gyllenhaal, actor
Maggie Gyllenhaal, actor
Darryl Hannah, actor
Hill Harper, actor
Anne Hathaway, actor
Whit "Pop" Haydn, magician
Ed Helms, actor
Jonah Hill, actor
Dustin Hoffman, actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman, actor
Bryce Dallas Howard, actor
Lauren Holly, actor
Felicity Huffman, actor
Tom Hulce, actor
Linda Hunt, actor
Jennifer Jason Lee, actor
Gabe Kaplan, actor, comedian, professional poker player
Myq Kaplan, comedian
Marta Kauffman, TV producer
Lainie Kazan, actor, singer
Keira Knightley, actor
John Krasinski, actor
Louise Lasser, actor
Sharon Lawrence, actor and environmentalist
Samm Levine, actor
Richard Lewis, comedian, actor
Shari Lewis, ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's TV show host
Evangeline Lilly, actor
Jon Lucas, director, screenwriter
Susan Lucci, actor
Fred MacMurray, actor
Joshua Malina, actor
Rooney Mara, actor
Frederch March, actor
Penny Marshall, actor/film director
Walter Matthau, actor
John C. McGinley, actor
Matt McGorry, actor
Burgess Meredith, actor
Sam Mettler, TV producer
Lorne Michaels, TV producer, writer
Lea Michelle, actor
Ezra Miller, actor
David Miner, executive producer
Eugene Mirman, comedian, writer
Kevin Misher, film producer
Kenneth Mitchell, actor
Mandy Moore, actor
Carey Mulligan, actor
Dermot Mulroney, actor
Judd Nelson, actor
Paul Newman, actor
Leonard Nemoy, actor
Chandra North, model
Edward Norton, actor
B.J. Novak, actor, comedian, writer
Conan O'Brien, TV host
Daphne Oz, TV host
Gwenyth Paltrow, actor
Connor Paolo, actor
Adam Pascal, actor
Zach Penn, film director, screenwriter
Bob Peterson, film director, screenwriter, voice actor
Bijou Phillips, actor, model
James Pickens, Jr., actor and equestrian
Chris Pine, actor
Jeremy Piven, actor
Natalie Portman, actor
Dennis Prager, radio host
Gilda Radner, comedian
Sam Raimi, film director, producer
Anthony Rapp, actor
Jim Rash, actor, comedian, producer, screenwriter
Lisa Raye McCoy, actor
Christopher Reeve, actor
Jason Ritter, actor
Emma Roberts, actor
Julia Roberts, actor
Shauna Robertson, film producer
Seth Rogan, actor, comedian, writer
Modi Rosenfeld, comedian
Joe Roth, film producer
Rita Rudner, comedian
Rosalind Russell, actor
Amy Ryan, actor
Andy Samberg, actor, comedian
Adam Sandler, actor, comedian
Stephen Schneider, actor, writer
Todd Schulman, producer
Jeffrey Seller, theater producer
Lea Seydoux, actor, model
Robert Sharenow, producer, writer, TV executive
William Shatner, actor
Allan Sherman, comedy writer, TV producer
David Shore, producer, writer
Sarah Silverman, actor, comedian
Trish Sie, director and choreographer for OK Go
Gail Simmons, culinary expert, writer, TV host
Robert Smigel, comedian, actor
Gregory Sporleder, actor
Howard Stern, radio host
Julia Stiles, actor
Jerry Stiller, actor, comedian
Galadriel Stineman, actor
Marlo Thomas, actor, author, and spokesperson
Marissa Tomei, actor
Jonathan Tucker, actor
Glynn Turman, actor, director, and producer
Blair Underwood, actor and director
David Wain, film director, writer, comedian
Eli Wallace, actor
Denzel Washington, actor
Merritt Wever, actor
Gene Wilder, actor
Matt Winston, actor
Stan Winston, Academy Award winning director, special effects, and make up
Alex Winters, actor, film director
Reese Witherspoon, actor
Stephanie Zimbalist, actor
Sports
Jim Boeheim, basketball coach, Syracuse University
Don Bragg, U.S. Olympic pole vaulter
Drew Brees, Super Bowl MVP
Jason Brown, U.S. Olympic figure skater
Larry Brown, basketball coach, Southern Methodist University
Jerry Burns, former head coach, Minnesota Vikings
Jon Daniels, president of baseball operations, general manager, Texas Rangers
Al Davis, NFL executive
Seth Davis, sportswriter, sportscaster
Theo Epstein, baseball executive
Jay Fiedler, retired NFL quarterback
Steve Fisher, basketball coach, San Diego State University
Peter Gammons, sportswriter, media personality
Dorothy Hamill, Olympic Gold Medalist, Figure Skating
Robert Hollway, former coach, St. Louis Cardinals and former assistant coach, Minnesota Vikings
James Ihedigbo, NFL safety
Joe Jacobi, Olympic Gold Medalist, Kayaking
Max Kellerman, sports radio host
Tony Kornheiser, sportswriter, radio and TV host
Marv Levy, retired NFL coach and executive
Billy Mills, Olympic runner
Art Modell, former NFL owner
Shaun O'Hara, retired NFL center
Bobby Orr, hockey player
Bob Petit, NBA hall of famer
Aly Raisman, Olympic gymnast
Jerry Richardson, Carolina Panthers majority owner, Hardee's cofounder, and former Baltimore Colts wide receiver
Jimmy Roberts, sportscaster
Chris Rose, sportscaster
Howard Shatsky, NFL agent
Kerri Strug, Olympic Gold Medialist, Gymnastics
Jim Taylor, NFL hall of famer, Green Bay Packers
Garrett Weber-Gale, Olympic swimmer
David Wise, Olympic skier
Authors
Sam Abell, author
Margaret Atwood, author
Dave Barry, humor writer
David Brooks, author and commentator
Lawrence Bush, wrtier, magazine editor
Paddy Chayefsky, playwright, screenwriter, novelist
Rita Dove, poet
Eli Evans, author and member of the National Academy of Arts and Science
James Frey, author
Kinky Friedman, author, humorist, musician, and most recently a candidate for Governor of Texas, 2006
Tavi Geviinson, writer, magazine editor
Seth Godin, author of Tribes and entrepreneur
Cathy Guisewite, creator, comic strip Cathy
Joseph Heller, novelist
Molly Jong-Fast, author
Foster Kamer, writer, editor
Garrison Keillor, writer, radio host
Jeffrey Kluger, writer, author
Julian Koenig, copywriter
Arthur Laurents, playwright, screenwriter
John McPhee, Pulizter Prize winning author
Sylvia Plath, poet, author
Chaim Potok, author
Herman Raucher, author
J.D. Salinger, author
Neil Simon, playwright, screenwriter
Eli Sussman, food writer, chef
Max Sussman, food writer, chef
Michael G. Thompson, PhD, author
Andrew Tobias, journalist and author
Jill Wheeler, author
Mitch Zuckoff, author
Journalists
Spencer Ackerman
Wolf Blitzer
David Blum
Rita Braver
Pat Carbine
Tucker Carlson
Katie Couric
Matt Drudge
Thomas Friedman
Nancy Gibbs
Ashlan Gorse
Michael Reagan
Frank Sesno
Dr. Nancy Snyderman
Jake Tapper
Jeffrey Taylor
Mike Wallace