I just can’t stop – people from all over the world want to know what famous people are from Montana, living in Montana, or just have homes here that they never visit.
Well, I’ll accommodate you. Below are 4 more famous celebrities from Montana, or that at least have some kind of association with the state.
Well, I’ll accommodate you. Below are 4 more famous celebrities from Montana, or that at least have some kind of association with the state.
John Elway
John Elway grew up in Missoula
Yeah, the great and Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the Denver Broncos actually grew up in Missoula, Montana. In fact, Elway was the oldest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl, at the age of 38.
His dad, Jack Elway, was a coach for the University of Montana Grizzlies for a time during the late-60s or early-70s and even coached at Washington State in Pullman as well. John Elway was a student at Lewis and Clark Elementary in Missoula during those years, one of his old classmates informed me on Facebook.
By 1976 the elder Elway got a head coaching job at Cal State-Northridge in 1976 and the family moved from Washington. John Elway’s time in Montana was finished some time ago, although I’m sure he visits the state now and again.
His dad, Jack Elway, was a coach for the University of Montana Grizzlies for a time during the late-60s or early-70s and even coached at Washington State in Pullman as well. John Elway was a student at Lewis and Clark Elementary in Missoula during those years, one of his old classmates informed me on Facebook.
By 1976 the elder Elway got a head coaching job at Cal State-Northridge in 1976 and the family moved from Washington. John Elway’s time in Montana was finished some time ago, although I’m sure he visits the state now and again.
Map showing Missoula, Montana
Maury Povich and Connie Chung
Map showing Bigfork, Montana
Povich and Chung
Montana has a rich tradition of journalism, despite the Anaconda Mining Company-controlled media for much of that time. Chet Huntley was born and raised in Caldwell and one of Montana’s most prized journalists – William Kinsey Howard – is almost required reading for anyone who wants to understand the state.
Still many come later in life to Montana, such as Tom Brokaw, who has a home around Livingston and was profiled in our first Celebrities in Montana article.
Yet another celebrity – or pair of celebrities in Montana – are Maury Povich and Connie Chung, who have a home around Bigfork.
Still many come later in life to Montana, such as Tom Brokaw, who has a home around Livingston and was profiled in our first Celebrities in Montana article.
Yet another celebrity – or pair of celebrities in Montana – are Maury Povich and Connie Chung, who have a home around Bigfork.
Maury Povich, on right, hosting TV in 70s
Back in the early 2000s, actually, Maury Povich got the Flathead Beacon going, a newspaper and online journal and blog that offers independent-minded news, not party-controlled drudgery.
The couple first moved to the Flathead Valley in the late-90s. Long before that they got their starts separately and in different ways.
Maury Povich was born in Washington, D.C., on January 17, 1939. He got a degree in journalism from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962 and then got work in news radio in Washington.
He switched over to TV in 1966 and began travelling around a bit beginning in 1977, serving as anchor for various stations in the country, until he landed A Current Affair in 1986.
The tabloid gossip and celebrity-nonsense-that-passed-for-news show did well until 1990, and then Povich switched over to The Maury Povich Show, which would pave the way for later trashy-TV programs. That lasted until the late-90s when Povich became a bit washed-up and, perhaps coincidentally, headed to Montana.
The couple first moved to the Flathead Valley in the late-90s. Long before that they got their starts separately and in different ways.
Maury Povich was born in Washington, D.C., on January 17, 1939. He got a degree in journalism from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962 and then got work in news radio in Washington.
He switched over to TV in 1966 and began travelling around a bit beginning in 1977, serving as anchor for various stations in the country, until he landed A Current Affair in 1986.
The tabloid gossip and celebrity-nonsense-that-passed-for-news show did well until 1990, and then Povich switched over to The Maury Povich Show, which would pave the way for later trashy-TV programs. That lasted until the late-90s when Povich became a bit washed-up and, perhaps coincidentally, headed to Montana.
Connie Chung hosting in the 80s
When Povich decided to come in off the road in 1983 he settled back into the WTTG-TV station in Washington, which just happened to have a young reporter named Connie Chung working there.
Connie Chung was born in Washington, D.C., on August 20, 1946. She got a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland in 1969 and was working alongside Walter Cronkite as a correspondent on CBS a short time later.
By 1975 she was ready for a change and headed to LA for a time but then was lured to NBC when NBC News at Sunrise started in 1983.
By 1986 she was co-hosing American Almanac with Roger Mudd and then in 1993 jumped back to CBC to host Saturday Night with Connie Chung, where she became a nightly-news co-anchor with Dan Rather until 1995.
In 1998 she took over 20/20 but then faded a bit, perhaps because her and Povich’s interests in Montana were just too strong. Besides, Chung was getting paid $2 million a year when she was working for CNN for a time in the early 2000s.
It’s always hard to tell exactly where a celebrity, or celebrity couple, lives, and in this case I’m really not that interested in looking too deeply. They do live near the base of Three Eagles Mountain and the famed Jewell Basin, according to a 2012 Missoulian article, which is around Glacier National Park in the northwestern area of the state.
Connie Chung was born in Washington, D.C., on August 20, 1946. She got a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland in 1969 and was working alongside Walter Cronkite as a correspondent on CBS a short time later.
By 1975 she was ready for a change and headed to LA for a time but then was lured to NBC when NBC News at Sunrise started in 1983.
By 1986 she was co-hosing American Almanac with Roger Mudd and then in 1993 jumped back to CBC to host Saturday Night with Connie Chung, where she became a nightly-news co-anchor with Dan Rather until 1995.
In 1998 she took over 20/20 but then faded a bit, perhaps because her and Povich’s interests in Montana were just too strong. Besides, Chung was getting paid $2 million a year when she was working for CNN for a time in the early 2000s.
It’s always hard to tell exactly where a celebrity, or celebrity couple, lives, and in this case I’m really not that interested in looking too deeply. They do live near the base of Three Eagles Mountain and the famed Jewell Basin, according to a 2012 Missoulian article, which is around Glacier National Park in the northwestern area of the state.
Montana's Jewel Basin
Hopefully Povich and Chung stay in Montana for some time and can get some traction from The Flathead Beacon, enough to challenge the boring and often-bought mainstream press of the state.
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson in 80s
That’s right, Mel Gibson once lived in Montana, but he doesn’t anymore.
His home was near the Stillwater Valley’s Columbus, Montana, and he had to put it up for sale in 2005. The main reason wasn’t his lack of work following his 2006 DUI meltdown or the 2009 divorce from wife Robyn Moore, which meant half of Gibson’s $900 million was going to her.
That really hits the pocketbook, and that meant a lot of Mel Gibson’s homes had to go, and believe me, the guy has had some nice ones, like:
But all of that was still in the future when Mel Gibson decided he needed to bring an end to his nearly two decades in Montana in 2005.
Gibson decided to sell, and his 45,000 acre spread of grasslands, rivers and foothills would go to another. He’d bought the ranch in 1988, so it must have been a tough-sell after 20 years. He’d brought on 16 staff members in that time, and they were allowed to stay on under the new owners, who have raised cattle in the state for years.
His home was near the Stillwater Valley’s Columbus, Montana, and he had to put it up for sale in 2005. The main reason wasn’t his lack of work following his 2006 DUI meltdown or the 2009 divorce from wife Robyn Moore, which meant half of Gibson’s $900 million was going to her.
That really hits the pocketbook, and that meant a lot of Mel Gibson’s homes had to go, and believe me, the guy has had some nice ones, like:
- Several snazzy-digs in Malibu;
- A spacious expanse in Connecticut;
- One or two pads in Costa Rica;
- Some places back home in Australia;
- And an island in Fiji.
But all of that was still in the future when Mel Gibson decided he needed to bring an end to his nearly two decades in Montana in 2005.
Gibson decided to sell, and his 45,000 acre spread of grasslands, rivers and foothills would go to another. He’d bought the ranch in 1988, so it must have been a tough-sell after 20 years. He’d brought on 16 staff members in that time, and they were allowed to stay on under the new owners, who have raised cattle in the state for years.
And the amount of Mel Gibson’s Montana ranch? No one’s sure as that part of the deal was sealed in the contract. My best guess? Probably around $4 to 5 million.
New owners of Mel Gibson's Montana ranch
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Map showing Columbus, Montana
