Paul Rudd inducted into New Jersey Hall of Fame ... and introduces us to a new word
For the record, Kansas City claims “Ant-Man” actor Paul Rudd as one of its own.
You know, the guy who co-hosts the city’s biggest celebrity fundraiser, Big Slick, every year with other stars who grew up around here, including Eric Stonestreet and Jason Sudeikis.
But on Saturday, Rudd, 55, was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, along with Meryl Streep, director Kevin Smith, former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms and 17 others born in the Garden State.
In New Jersey, anyone who took their first breath there is eligible for the state’s Hall of Fame. Members were born or raised in New Jersey — or even just lived there at some point.
The honorees filmed their acceptance speeches earlier this year at the New Jersey Hall of Fame inside American Dream, an entertainment and retail center in East Rutherford.
One of the attractions: Visitors can interview holograms of Jersey natives Jon Bon Jovi, Danny DeVito, Jason Alexander and others.
Rudd was born in Passaic and lived in Palisades Park as a child. His family settled in Jersey after emigrating from England, so he has ties to Paterson, Fair Lawn, Lodi and Paramus, where he said his grandparents are buried. His wife, Julie Yaeger, is from New Jersey, too.
“So really, my life can be encapsulated by the opening credits of ‘The Sopranos,’” Rudd said.
Noting that rest stops along the Garden State Parkway are named for Jersey heroes, he wondered what his name could show up on. “Is there a pay phone still standing somewhere? Maybe an ATM or a gas pump,” said Rudd, who lives in upstate New York, where he co-owns a candy store in Rhinebeck.
Rudd’s father worked in management for TWA, a job that kept the family on the move and brought the Rudds to Kansas when Paul was 10. He grew up in Overland Park, graduated from Shawnee Mission West and went to the University of Kansas.
He cheers for the Jayhawks.
He cheers for the Kansas City Chiefs.
And he got sprayed with champagne in the Royals locker room after the team won the World Series in 2015.
Prepping for his acceptance speech, Rudd made sure to refer to New Jersey residents correctly.
“I actually looked up the demonym for the people of New Jersey to make sure it was New Jerseyans and not New Jerseyites or New Jersans,” he said.
“I then looked up the actual definition of demonym, because I wasn’t sure if that was the right word, and if I was going to use it in these opening remarks, I wanted to be accurate.”
He defined the word — a noun used to denote the natives or inhabitants of a country, state, city, etc.
Example: Kansans, Missourians, Americans.
“I wanted to make that clear, because looking at the word demonym, I worried that some people might think that I meant people from New Jersey are demons,” Rudd said.
“Actually, I never thought that, but that seemed kind of like a funny joke, sort of how I felt when I found out I was to be chosen to be included in the New Jersey Hall of Fame.”
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