Nicholson, Bon Jovi, Shaq nominated for N.J. Hall

[September 18, 2008]  TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Actor Jack Nicholson, rocker Jon Bon Jovi and NBA star Shaquille O'Neal are among 30 nominees to the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

Members of the public will help select the 10 inductees for the hall's second class by voting online through Nov. 30.

"As with our first class of nominees presented in 2007, this assemblage of New Jersey Hall of Fame nominees is indeed impressive," Bart Oates, chairman of the hall's board of commissioners, said Tuesday in announcing the nominees.

The nominees are from the fields of arts and entertainment, sports, history and enterprise. Only people who lived in the Garden State for at least five years are eligible, though current residency is not required, hall spokesman Don Smith said.

Last year, the hall inducted 15 members into its inaugural class, including Bruce Springsteen, Yogi Berra and Frank Sinatra.

This year's nominees include political activist Paul Robeson, writers F. Scott Fitzgerald, Walt Whitman and Philip Roth, entertainers Jerry Lewis, Count Basie and Bud Abbott, and athletes Althea Gibson (tennis) and Carl Lewis (track).

The nominees were culled from a list of more than 160 potential Hall of Famers compiled over three years. The organization's Voting Academy, made up of more than 100 state organizations, whittled the list to 30 names.

Public voters will elect five people, and the academy will choose the other five inductees.

The goal of the hall is to highlight the often-derided Garden State's positive contributions, a lofty endeavor for a state renowned for corrupt politicians, belching refineries, stereotypical gangsters and novel smells.

The hall has a virtual home but no permanent physical location.

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On the Net:

http://www.njhalloffame.com/

[Associated Press; By ANGELA DELLI SANTI]

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