Downtown Sayville along Montauk Highway in the Town of Islip, New York. Photo by Doug Kerr, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Town of Islip has been tied to the Great South Bay since its earliest years. Founded in 1683, the town developed around fishing, shipping, farming, and the shellfish industry, with Blue Point oysters eventually becoming famous far beyond Long Island. By the late 19th century, the same shoreline that supported working maritime communities was also attracting wealthy New Yorkers to estates in Oakdale, Great River, and neighboring South Shore communities.
Islip changed dramatically after World War II as places such as Brentwood, Central Islip, East Islip, West Islip, Bay Shore, Sayville, and Oakdale grew into major suburban communities. Those hamlets developed identities of their own, and several became remarkable centers of music and sports. Brentwood in particular produced an extraordinary group of hip-hop artists, while East Islip, Central Islip, and West Islip sent athletes into the NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball, and the Olympics.
For this article, the standard is the same one used throughout our famous New Yorkers series: these are people who were born in the Town of Islip, were raised here, or spent a substantial part of their formative childhood or teenage years here. Simply moving to Islip later in life or maintaining an estate or home here as an established adult is not enough.
1. LL Cool J
James Todd Smith, better known as LL Cool J, was born in Bay Shore in 1968 before his family later moved to Queens. He became one of the first major solo stars of Def Jam Recordings, breaking through as a teenager with the 1985 album Radio. Songs including “I Need Love,” “Mama Said Knock You Out,” and “Going Back to Cali” helped establish him as one of hip-hop’s most durable performers. LL Cool J later built a parallel acting career, including a long-running role on NCIS: Los Angeles, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a Musical Excellence Award recipient.
2. Boomer Esiason
Norman Julius “Boomer” Esiason was born in West Islip and raised in East Islip, where he became an exceptional three-sport athlete at East Islip High School. He earned varsity letters in football, basketball, and baseball before graduating in 1979 and continuing his football career at the University of Maryland. Esiason became the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1988 while quarterbacking the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl XXIII. He later played for the New York Jets and became a familiar voice in sports broadcasting and New York radio.
3. Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk was born in Woodmere but spent important formative years in Bay Shore, where he attended Bay Shore High School and graduated in 1947. After college and service in the U.S. Navy, Milk eventually moved to San Francisco and entered public life. In 1977, he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. Milk was assassinated in 1978 and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
4. Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Hart was born in Smithtown, but her family moved to Sayville when she was three years old, and much of her childhood unfolded there while her acting career was already beginning. She attended Sayville schools before professional demands increasingly took her into New York City. Hart became nationally known as the star of Nickelodeon’s Clarissa Explains It All and later spent seven seasons playing the title character on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Her South Shore upbringing accompanied the earliest years of one of the most recognizable television careers of the 1990s.
5. Biz Markie
Marcel Theo Hall, known worldwide as Biz Markie, was born in Harlem but spent part of his childhood in Brentwood before later living in Patchogue. He developed his beatboxing, rhyming, and comic stage personality on Long Island before joining the Juice Crew and becoming one of hip-hop’s most distinctive performers. His 1989 single “Just a Friend” became an enduring crossover hit, while his humor and beatboxing made him a beloved figure across several generations of rap fans.
6. Patti Austin
Patti Austin was born in Harlem in 1948 but raised in Bay Shore in a deeply musical family. She began performing professionally when she was only four years old and grew into one of the most versatile vocalists in jazz, pop, and R&B. Austin worked extensively as a session singer before building a successful solo career, and her duet with James Ingram, “Baby, Come to Me,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her musical education began at an extraordinarily young age while she was growing up on Long Island’s South Shore.
7. Doris Burke
Doris Burke was born in West Islip in 1965 before her family later moved to New Jersey. She became a standout college basketball player at Providence College and then moved into broadcasting, where she developed into one of the most respected analysts in the sport. Burke broke a series of barriers for women in basketball television and became a prominent analyst on national NBA broadcasts. In 2018, she received the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
8. Reggie Fils-Aimé
Reggie Fils-Aimé was born in the Bronx but moved with his family to Brentwood, where he attended middle school and graduated from Brentwood High School in 1979. After earning a degree from Cornell University, he built a career in marketing and corporate leadership before joining Nintendo of America. Fils-Aimé became president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America in 2006 and remained in that role until 2019, becoming one of the most recognizable executives in the video game industry.
9. Erick Sermon
Erick Sermon was born in Bay Shore in 1968 and grew up in Brentwood, where he met Parrish Smith. Together they formed EPMD, one of the most influential hip-hop duos to emerge from Long Island. Beginning with the 1988 album Strictly Business, EPMD built a sound around deep funk samples, heavy bass, and an understated vocal delivery that influenced generations of East Coast rap. Sermon later developed a substantial career as a solo artist and producer and became a founding member of Def Squad.
10. Parrish Smith
Parrish Smith, better known as PMD, was born in Brentwood in 1968 and grew up there before forming EPMD with Erick Sermon. The duo’s first album, Strictly Business, became a cornerstone of late-1980s East Coast hip-hop, followed by albums including Unfinished Business and Business as Usual. Smith’s low-key delivery and production instincts helped define EPMD’s sound, while the group’s success gave Brentwood an important place in Long Island’s hip-hop history.
11. Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman was born in Bay Shore in 1957 and grew up there, attending Sherwood Elementary School in Islip before graduating from Bay Shore High School in 1975. She later studied anthropology at Radcliffe College and entered radio journalism at WBAI in New York. Goodman became co-founder, host, and executive producer of Democracy Now!, which developed into a nationally distributed independent news program. Her earliest work in journalism began at Bay Shore High School, where she wrote for the student newspaper.
12. Mitch Kupchak
Mitch Kupchak was born in Brentwood in 1954 and became one of the most accomplished basketball players in the history of Brentwood High School. After starring at the University of North Carolina and winning Olympic gold with the United States in 1976, he played ten NBA seasons and won championships with the Washington Bullets and Los Angeles Lakers. Kupchak later moved into the Lakers front office and became the team’s general manager, helping construct multiple championship rosters during the Kobe Bryant era.
13. Michael Carbonaro
Michael Carbonaro was born and raised in Oakdale and attended Connetquot High School, where his interest in magic and theatrical performance developed while he was still young. He performed magic professionally as a teenager and later studied drama at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Carbonaro became nationally known through The Carbonaro Effect, which combined hidden-camera television with elaborate magic illusions performed for unsuspecting members of the public.
14. Ken Marino
Ken Marino was born in West Islip in 1968 and attended West Islip High School before studying acting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. At NYU he became part of the comedy troupe that evolved into The State, whose MTV sketch series launched several notable comedy careers. Marino later became known for roles in Party Down, Wet Hot American Summer, Childrens Hospital, and numerous other television and film projects, while also working extensively as a writer and director.
15. James “Buddy” McGirt
James “Buddy” McGirt was born in Brentwood in 1964 and graduated from Brentwood High School before turning professional as a boxer. He won world championships in two weight classes, capturing the IBF junior welterweight title and later the WBC welterweight championship. After retiring from competition, McGirt became one of boxing’s most respected trainers, working with world champions including Arturo Gatti and Antonio Tarver. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2019.
16. Craig Mack
Craig Mack grew up in Brentwood and developed his rapping skills there before entering the New York hip-hop industry. In 1994, his single “Flava in Ya Ear” became the first major hit released by Bad Boy Records and reached platinum status. Its famous remix brought together several rising and established New York rappers and became one of the defining posse cuts of the 1990s. Although Mack’s recording career was comparatively brief, his first major single played an important role in the early history of Bad Boy Records.
17. Tony Graffanino
Tony Graffanino was born in Amityville but attended East Islip High School, where he developed into a standout baseball player before being selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 10th round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. He went on to play 13 major league seasons as a versatile infielder for teams including the Braves, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers. His long professional career began on the baseball fields of East Islip.
18. Dave Martinez
Dave Martinez was born in Brooklyn but spent important childhood years in Brentwood, where he played youth baseball before his family moved to Florida when he was thirteen. He went on to play 16 seasons in Major League Baseball as an outfielder before beginning a coaching career. In 2018, Martinez became manager of the Washington Nationals, and the following year he led the franchise to its first World Series championship.
19. Mike Komisarek
Mike Komisarek was born in West Islip in 1982 and developed into one of Long Island’s top young hockey players. After playing at the University of Michigan, he was selected seventh overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2001 NHL Draft. The physical defenseman spent more than a decade in the NHL with Montreal, Toronto, and Carolina and was selected to the NHL All-Star Game in 2009.
20. Robert Gallucci
Robert Gallucci spent his formative years in Brentwood and graduated from Brentwood High School in 1962 before pursuing an academic and diplomatic career. He later served in senior positions at the U.S. State Department and became the chief American negotiator during talks with North Korea that produced the 1994 Agreed Framework. Gallucci also served as dean of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
21. Margaret Becker
Margaret Becker grew up in East Islip and graduated from East Islip High School before building a career as a singer, songwriter, and author. She became a prominent rock-oriented performer in contemporary Christian music in the late 1980s and 1990s, earning multiple Grammy Award nominations and Dove Awards. Becker’s recordings blended rock, pop, and introspective songwriting and helped broaden the genre’s musical range.
22. Logan O’Hoppe
Logan O’Hoppe was born in West Islip in 2000 and grew up in Sayville, where baseball became part of his life at an early age. He attended St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip and developed into one of the top high school catchers in the country. The Philadelphia Phillies selected him in the 23rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft, and he later reached the major leagues as a catcher after being traded to the Los Angeles Angels.
23. Mike Tice
Mike Tice was born and raised in Central Islip and became a standout quarterback at Central Islip High School before playing at the University of Maryland. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 1981 and built a 14-year playing career, primarily as a tight end with the Seattle Seahawks. Tice later moved into coaching and became head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, holding the position from 2002 through 2005.
24. John Tice
John Tice grew up in Central Islip and followed his older brother Mike through Central Islip High School and the University of Maryland. He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the 1983 NFL Draft and spent his entire ten-year NFL playing career with the franchise as a tight end. After retiring as a player, Tice moved into coaching, including work on the Minnesota Vikings staff.
25. Frank Vignola
Frank Vignola was born in West Islip in 1965 and began playing guitar at age five under the guidance of his father. He developed an early fascination with jazz guitarists including Django Reinhardt, Joe Pass, and Bucky Pizzarelli and became an accomplished musician while still a teenager. Vignola went on to perform and record with artists across jazz and popular music, including Les Paul, Ringo Starr, Wynton Marsalis, Donald Fagen, and the Boston Pops, while also becoming a widely respected guitar educator.
Readers interested in more notable Long Islanders can continue with our 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were From Suffolk County, New York, 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Went to College on Long Island, and 25 Olympic Gold Medalists With Long Island Roots. For more Long Island history, explore 10 Historic Long Island Towns Where Early American Charm Still Survives.
