Page 64 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2023

Famous Faces
GULFPORT’S
story by Lynn Lofton
In its 125 years Gulfport has produced many notable people. Some are well known and others, while not famous, made important contributions to the city, state, and country that are still being felt today. Others continue to work toward making the city a better place. Here we present just a few outstanding names representing history, government, sports, modeling, writing, education and aviation. The list is by no means complete.
64 | July 2023
LEM BARNEY
Born Lemuel Barney in Gulfport in 1945, he played football at Jackson State University and for the Detroit Lions where he was Rookie of the Year. He was noted for his exceptional skills as a defender. Barney played in six Pro Bowls and after retirement was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame.
KAREN GRAHAM
Also born here in 1945, Karen Graham graduated from Ole Miss and headed
to New York City planning
to be a French teacher. While shopping she was discovered by Eileen Ford of the well known Ford Agency. Graham became a model and was featured on the cover of Vogue magazine 20 times. During the 1970s, she was the model/ spokeswoman for Estee Lauder cosmetics. She is also known for her avid interest in fly fishing.
PAT HARRISON
Byron Patton Harrison represented the state in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate as a Democrat. He was chairman of the influential Senate Committee on Finance, and was instrumental in the passing of several New Deal legislative acts including Social Security. In 1939, Washington correspondents named him the most influential senator. Because of his distinguished service, the Pat Harrison Waterway District was named for him. This district includes flood control, water management and recreation.