30 • The Beacon May 6 , 2021
A long list of famous people have visited Coshocton
By Jen Jones
Many times it seems if you ask someone what happens in Coshocton , you hear “ not much ,” and that couldn ’ t be farther from the truth . For many years Coshocton has played host to numerous celebrities and has even had movies filmed in it .
“ Heart of Steel ” was filmed at McWane . John Goodman and Peter Strauss were both in Coshocton as part of the movie . Jason Dodd remembers getting paid $ 100 to be an extra in the movie , and then he went to Roscoe and partied with Goodman .
“ What a good guy ,” Dodd said .
“ The Reliant ” with Kevin Sorbo was filmed at Rural King . Gregory Harrison and Eric Roberts , who were filming a movie , visited Coshocton .
Perhaps the movie most people remember being filmed in Coshocton was “ Centennial ” in 1978 . Roscoe Village is shown several times in the movie , and Robert Conrad and Stephanie Zimbalist are both remembered by several locals who watched the movie film . Debbie Moody worked at the Warehouse when the movie was filming and said the actors came in the restaurant to eat .
Eric Clapton and many other musicians including Alabama visited Wildwood Music in Roscoe Village .
The Coshocton County Fair hired up and coming musicians and was lucky enough to have Alabama , Garth Brooks ( who stayed late to sign autographs ), Loretta Lynn , John Berry , Kathy Mattea , Jerry Reed , The Judds , Crystal Gayle , Louise Mandrel and many others perform there .
President Ronald Reagan visited Coshocton as a spokesperson for General Electric . When President Richard Nixon was running for vice president , he
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The Sixth Street Theatre hosted some famous visitors . Roy Rogers and Trigger came for a visit , and Gary Foster remembers seeing them at the theater around 1950 . He also recalls seeing the original Frankenstein actor on stage when one of his movies played there .
made a campaign stop in Coshocton . President Abraham Lincoln ’ s train stopped in Coshocton for a speech .
Lake Park Pavilion attracted many famous big bands . Duke Ellington played there , as did Gary Lewis and the Playboys and the Glenn Miller Band . Sammy Kay also performed there .
Chubby Checker , Box Car Willy , Frankie Avalon , Jimmy Clanton , and
Dion and the Belmonts all performed in Coshocton . Buddy Holly was scheduled to appear but was tragically killed in a plane crash right before the date .
Dale Earnhardt , Jr .; Martin Truex , Jr .; and Ryan Newman have all visited Coshocton . Earnhardt owns property nearby .
Bob Brenly was born in Coshocton , and Woody Hayes often visited when he was in his hometown of Newcomerstown .
Drew Parkhill said , “ When I was a freshman at Ohio State in the fall of ‘ 73 , I was on the track team . One day I looked over by the entrance of the tunnel , and there ’ s Woody just standing there , watching us . So I went over and talked to him — told him I was from Coshocton . He knew Coshocton right off the bat . He was as easy to talk to as anybody you ’ ll ever meet .”
Gary Baker also met Hayes several times and commented what a great man he was .
Debi Williams met Hayes shortly before his death . “ When he learned we were from Coshocton , he told stories about dating girls from Coshocton .”
Baseball Hall of Famer Red Ruffing and other Major League Baseball players attended the Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame induction dinner at the Old Warehouse in the early 1970s . Brian Bosworth , football player / actor , visited Coshocton .
Bando ’ s was a favorite stop for Matt Lauer during his college years at Ohio University between 1975 and 1979 .
The Apple Butter Inn in Roscoe has had several famous guests . Owner Curt Crouso said all who stayed were down to Earth people to talk to .
“ Billy Graham ’ s daughter was the most amaz-
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