Bob McAdoo, Walt Bellamy, and Chris Paul all hail from North Carolina but they still weren't able or haven't created a legacy for themselves like 'Big Game' James. Born in Gastonia, North Carolina, James Worthy went on to lead his home state North Carolina Tar Heels to an NCAA National Championship in 1982. Worthy was named College Basketball Player of the Year and the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. With a resume like that under his belt, Worthy was drafted first overall in the 1982 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers where he would play his entire twelve-year career.
Sometimes people forget that if James Worthy wasn't around, the 'Showtime' era the LA Lakers embodied throughout the '80s wouldn't exist without James. His ability to catch flight, change direction, and float in the air was uncanny. Worthy played unselfish basketball and was always in the right place at the right time. He helped the Lakers win three NBA Championships (1985, 1987, 1988), was named NBA Finals MVP in 1988, and was a 7x NBA All-Star. To this very day, James is an important part of the Lakers organization working as an analyst on the team's broadcast television network.
When we think of inventors, the image that comes to mind is usually that of a frazzled scientist toiling away in a lab, not celebrities pulled from the pages of Us Weekly. However, a number of well-known public figures hold patents for various innovations. Some are related to the work that made them famous, while others are offshoots of hobbies or just a single great idea.
Part of guitar wizard Eddie Van Halen's signature sound was his two-handed tapping technique, but letting all ten fingers fly while simultaneously holding up the guitar's neck could get a bit tricky. Van Halen came up with a novel way to get around this problem, though; he invented a support (top) that could flip out of the back of his axe's body to raise and stabilize the fretboard so he could tap out searing songs like "Eruption." While Van Halen was obviously interested in improving his guitar work, the patent application he filed in 1985 notes that the device would work with any stringed instrument. Want to tap out a scorching mandolin solo? Find someone selling Eddie's device.
It’s probably not surprising that James Cameron—who designed a submersible to take him to the deepest known part of the ocean—will often invent technology to make his films if what he needs doesn’t exist. He holds a number of patents, including US Patent No. 4996938, “apparatus for propelling a user in an underwater environment,” that he and his brother, Michael, created to film The Abyss and patented in 1989. The device is basically an underwater dolly equipped with propellers that makes it easy for a camera operator to maneuver in the water—and allowed Cameron to capture the shots he wanted for the 1989 film, part of which was filmed in an abandoned nuclear reactor.
In 1987 Jamie Lee Curtis designed and patented a disposable diaper that included a waterproof pocket that held baby wipes. She hasn't profited from her idea yet, though, since she refuses to license the patent until diaper companies make biodegradable products.
You know him as a rock legend, but Neil Young also loves trains—so much that he owns a stake in a model train manufacturing company and has an extensive collection. He also holds seven patents related to model trains, including Patent No. US5441223, "Model train controller using electromagnetic field between track and ground."