Talk:List of Polish-Americans: Difference between revisions

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*[[Mika Brzezinski]] - [[CBS News]] anchor
*[[Mika Brzezinski]] - [[CBS News]] anchor
*[[Anna Chudoba]] - model/reality TV star
*[[Anna Chudoba]] - model/reality TV star
*[[Laura Ingraham]]
*[[Jenny Jones (presenter)|Jenny Jones]] - presenter
*[[Jenny Jones (presenter)|Jenny Jones]] - presenter
*[[Susan Lisovicz]] - CNN News Reporter/Host
*[[Susan Lisovicz]] - CNN News Reporter/Host

Revision as of 01:58, 1 July 2006

Proposal for list inclusion

I have made the following proposal regarding the criteria for inclusion for these lists. If this is something that you have comments or ideas about, please provide feedback. Thanks. Wikibofh 9 July 2005 19:16 (UTC)


I have doubts about some names being considered as Polish-AMERICANS, like ex. Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Kazimierz Pulaski. They weren't Americans at all. They just imigrated to the USA and fight there.

Just did a huge reformation

I just reduced the size of the page dramatically in order to make more room. I took off people with "red links" who do not have pages. It just makes the article way too long.

JJstroker 23:30, 14 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Kristin Bell

Does anyone have a good, first-hand source for her Polish ancestry? Every site I could find was shaky. I believe this info originally came from the IMDB, who now say she's of Irish descent! Anyway, until there's something first-hand (like an interview) I'll remove her. I think it may have come from her appearing the film, "Polish Wedding". MadJack 06:50, 8 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, actually there are several sites that mention that she is of Polish ancestry, one is TV.com and the another is NNDB.com http://www.nndb.com/ancestry/937/000043808/. She is of both Polish and Irish descent. So until there is a site that says SHE IS NOT Polish, she should remain on the list, don't you think?
IMDB and NNDB and TV tom are not reliable. They are Wikis - like ours - they are submitted to by fans. Most of the time they accept anything. An interview, in-depth profile - basically anything that looks like either Bell or Padalecki were personally involved in, is a good source. JackO'Lantern 22:14, 31 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This one is back on the list now. Mad Jack O'Lantern 21:03, 2 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Jared Padalecki

Jared Padalecki is of Polish descent, his father is Polish, and Padalecki is a Polish surname. Almost any site that has a bio on Jared mentions his Polish ancestry yet his name is being removed off of this list. Is there a reason? Nanusia

The above may well be true (i.e. his father being Polish), but again there isn't any good source - like an interview. I know it's frustrating when something is obvious - i.e. yes he is likely of Polish descent - but we need a good source. JackO'Lantern 22:14, 31 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]


  • Marilu Henner appeared on Regis and Kathy Lee (and several other talk shows) in 1999 while plugging her new book, and she stated several times that her father was Polish and her mother was Greek.

She also stated that she had a very interesting culinary background because of the diversity of the two cultures.

  • Linda Kozlowski was interviewed by TV Guide in 1987. She was asked why she did not change her last name, and she replied "I am proud of my last name and my Polish heritage"

Nanusia 02:45, 29 April 2006 (UTC)


FYI, in regards to River & Joaquin Phoenix, many immigrants from Russia and Austria pre-WWI were actually Polish. Poland was wiped off the map by Russia, Prussia and Austria during the first waves immigration to the U.S. So culturally, most of those immigrants from this area should still be classified as Poles or Polish Jews, they just lived in a geographic area of Poland that was under Russian, Prussian or Austrian rule. I don't know if this is the case with the Phoenix family but it is a point of contention for others, and it should be noted. --Nanusia 03:37, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Well Phoenix's mother is ethnically/culturally Jewish anyway, it's a stretch to call her anything other than that. I think the Polish Jewish section should be deleted anyway - some people on it should be moved to the main article, and some just outright don't belong (Paul Newman?). But in the Phoenixes case I haven't seen any good source that they are in any way Polish or consider themselves such. However, thank you for your sources for Kozlowski and Henner, I will re-added them (if you haven't already). Mad Jack O'Lantern 05:02, 29 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ethnicity lists discussion

Please see discussion at Wikipedia:Village pump (policy) for current discussion of a potential policy to apply to all ethnicity lists on Wikipedia, including this one. JackO'Lantern 20:32, 11 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Axel Rose

Just read on a Polish Tourism Website[1] that Axel Rose's Grandmother was Polish, however that is all I was able to find. Has anyone heard about this too?

Here's a partial family tree.[2] Doesn't look his maternal grandmohter was Polish, don't know about paternal. There's a new full book bio out, you could try looking there. Mad Jack O'Lantern 20:43, 30 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, Jack! BTW - Re: Jane Krakowski, I did find her name mentioned (linked to her winning the Oliver Award) in the Polish American Journal POLAM [3] but unfortunately, the story was featured in the hardcopy version and is just mentioned as a topic on their online site. POLAM researches and confirms Polish heritage and has been very acurate about including confirmed "Polish-Americans" in their literature. I believe this warrants putting her back on the list, at least in my opinion.--Nanusia 21:00, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

That sounds good enough for Krakowski's being back on the list. Mad Jack O'Lantern 21:05, 30 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Carlos Bernard of "24"

I am looking for info to confirm that Carlos Bernard is of Polish descent. All I have is his birth name, Carlos Bernard PAPIERSKI and that he was born in Illinois. Some fansites have him down as a Latino-Pole but nothing conrete. --Nanusia 02:12, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

This just says he is "Hispanic" [4]. But of course that may not cover his full background. Mad Jack O'Lantern 05:13, 1 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

People who were on the list, but aren't really Polish...

  • Carroll Baker - kind of a weird story on her, see discussion on her page
  • Charles Bronson - some kind of weird confusion about his ethnicity going around. The Wikipedia article used to say he was Polish, so that got copied and pasted around. Anyway, a CNN bio says he was Lithuanian.[5]. And nowadays, that's what the Wiki entry says too. USA Today says his first language was Lithuanian.[6]
  • Belinda Carlisle Belinda has a Polish-American Stepfather but she is not Polish.
  • Katie Couric - Katie is not Polish, her ancestry consists of German-Jewish, French and Irish/English [7]
  • Nastassja Kinski - reports vary on whether her father actually had any Polish ancestry, but I doubt it. In any case, she isn't American...
  • Jessica Lange [8] "Born in Minnesota, the granddaughter of Finnish and Dutch-German migrants"
  • Phoenix family (River, Joaquin) - IMDB had up for a while that their mother is Polish. Another of their mistakes - she is the daughter of Jewish immigrants from Austria and Russia
  • Paul Rudd - his parents were Jewish immigrants from England.[9] The IMDB decided that meant he was "half Polish half French". go figure.

JackO'Lantern 04:21, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

In the case of the Phoenix family, if the mother's ancestors are from Austria and Russia, we can't rule out the possibility of them being Polish unless we know where in the Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires they were from, since both empires, as well as Prussia, had Poland partitioned out of existence from 1795 to 1918.---BDH

People who may or may not be Polish

People who are likely/possibly Polish, but who there isn't a good source for.

  • George Antheil - according to this [10], his parents were German. His Wiki entry says that he was incorrectly reported to be Polish and/or Jewish - apparently a relative of his added this info
  • Mark Arminski- Poster Artist
  • Michael Anthony born Michael Anthony Sobolewski, Link to this Polish Surname:[11]

*Eddie Blazonczyk sourced

  • Catherine Crier - News Correspondent - from Ancestry.com, parents' names were/are: Will Thomas Crier Jr. and Virginia Ann Priddy. Sounds unlikely to be Polish, but I dunno. Paternal grandparents were William Thomas Crier and Imogene Lang.
  • Mel Damski TV & Film Director
  • Vinnie Dombrowski lead singer of the band Sponge

*Adam Dutkiewicz sourced : Interview in Polish [12], In the interview he says that his grandparents were from Poland, and speaks a few words in Polish. 

*James Pankow Trombone Player - Chicago -Removed James Pankow off the list of Polish  American Musicians until his hertage can be sourced.

It appears that he and his brother, John Pankow, the actor, are Irish-German, at least one source says so. If someone can source that his family is also from Polish ancestry, please provide the info. --Nanusia 04:32, 2 May 2006 (UTC *Janelle Pierzina, Reality Star/Model - SOURCED -- parents were Kevin John Pierzina and Ann Marie Eide. Paternal grandparents - Jerome Raymond Pierzina and Alice Elaine Pauly. Maternal were Carl Herbert Eide and Marie Ellen Mattson

*J. Michael Straczynski sourced

JackO'Lantern 22:55, 31 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Major trim down

This page is too big. It also has a lot of boring lists. I mean are you really going to put down every semi famous Pole in literature, arts, sports etc? I think it should be trimed down and reserved to the most notable people and have seperate mainpage articles for the rest which can be linked from this page. The German page was huge as well and they did the same thing. I also think a good start to shorten the page is to reserve it to people who are 100 percent ethnically Polish or people who are the most noteable. So that would mean if someone has one polish grandparent and is a euro mut they should be taken off the list or a new category should be made for "Part Polish" or something. This page is huge so it makes people want to leave and not look at it. Someone should really trim it down bigtime.

JJstroker 23:01, 19 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, Nanusia, but I am soon going to be sourcing this list the way I have recently sourced other ethnicity lists (i.e. see List of Swedish Americans or List of Vietnamese Americans. Basically only people explicitly described as "Polish Americans" or "Polish" should be on the list, in accordance with Wikipedia's Verifiability and No Original Research Policies (i.e. if the page's title is "Polish Americans", the page can include only people described as "Polish" or "Polish American" themselves in a reliable source, since we can't really make our own decisions on who can be considered Polish or not). This is being done across the board with the ethnicity lists on Wikipedia - I've finished maybe half. I think most of the people listed right now who don't just have a Polish grandparent or something will fit the definition, so it won't be a big deal. Mad Jack O'Lantern 05:14, 20 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Started now... Mad Jack O'Lantern 06:17, 20 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Interesting...the Italian-Americans page is a mess...it goes on and on for days, and without sourced information. Yet there is no discussion about cleaning or "trimming" that page. So why is the Polish-American page, which is much smaller in size, continually chosen to be "trimmed" down. Isn't that considered a bais and/or prejudice? --Nanusia 21:04, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

This isn't about trimming down. I disagree with JJStroker on that - there's no reason to trim down anything, as long as the info is properly sourced under Wikipedia policy. I haven't gotten to the Italian page yet (though I've done parts of List of Italian-American actors), precisely because it is big. Most of the smaller ethnicity-American pages have already been so sourced, and the rest will be in the next few days. Mad Jack O'Lantern 21:06, 20 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, Jack, that was directed at JJStroker not you. --Nanusia 21:10, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Sources

I have sourced the list in accordance with Wikipedia's No Original Research and Verifiability policies. Basically, anyone described by a reliable source as "Polish" or "Polish-American" (i.e. as opposed to "of Polish descent", "Polish mother", etc.) is on the list. Here are the people I couldn't find anything for. If you have a reliable source that fits that please restore the names:

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING -- it is incomprehesible to me that the rules have been changed on this Polish-Americans page at will several times to suit the whim of someone who has nothing better to do. I give up. What you are doing is a disservice to all those who want to know more about Polish American contributions to our society. Do what you please, I am not going to participate anymore. --Nanusia 07:24, 20 May 2006 (UTC

I didn't change the rules or make them in the first place, but after several debates on other similar pages about who to list, it was made clear to me by several people that the only way to do this, if we have these lists at all, is to strictly follow Wikipedia policy, which states that we have to report what reliable sources say, and can't make up or use our own definitions as to who is a "xxx-American" or anything else. Sorry, I know how it sounds, but so far this system has been very helpful in cleaning up several lists and resolving certain conflicts. It's not that bad after a while. Mad Jack O'Lantern 08:01, 20 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Jack, you have taken off people that were born in Poland and who were ethnically Polish, then became American citizens, and there are reliable sources that say so. I am not going to go through and re-source them. Though I understand the importance of being accurate, there comes a time where zealousness is not a virtue. --Nanusia 08:18, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

You're probably right, but if I took anyone off who was born in Poland, it was because the original source didn't describe them as Polish, and for whatever reason none of the sources I looked through when I re-researched them on Google said that either. I don't know why no one has described those people as "Polish". But I did keep people who were described as "Polish-born", even though it doesn't fully fit, but I thought it was close enough. Oh, and if I didn't care about this page, then I wouldn't have bothered looking for sources myself, which I did for this and all the other pags I've cleaned up in the past few days. In fact, I was dreading coming to this page and implementing this here, because I knew how hard you've worked on it. I was going to save it for last, but JJStoker gave me a good starting point. Now my most-dreaded page is the Greek-Americans one, because I know there are a few zealous editors on there, but never mind... Mad Jack O'Lantern 08:21, 20 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Mad Jack, Just remember, if EVERYBODY isn't pissed off at you, you ain't doing your job. These lists are beyond problematic but I don't see them going anyway soon so we might as well clean them all up and really piss off alot of folks along the way.....--Backroomlaptop 13:09, 20 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

FYI - No one is "pissed off" that Jack is doing his job, whatever that may be. I think Jack is a very dedicated person. The problem lies when individuals are trying to contribute to this site and are given different instructions every month on what they should and how they should contribute. An individual works hard to add and source information, and then all their work is torn apart in a matter of moments without an appropriate discussion - that is a type of totalitarianism. People would be far less inclined to getting "pissed off" if there was some sort of mature effort to communicate and work together. Last I heard, this was a community site that encourages the participation of the internet community....hmmm, guess I was wrong.--Nanusia 20:49, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

Well I can guarantee you that these are the definitive "instructions", as they now are for every other ethnicity page. There have been attempts and policy proposals (and I was even involved in some) to try and set some sort of standards that all the lists would follow - but they were all eventually defeated or voted down simply because we can only really follow Wikipedia policy itself, which is fairly simple. But do note, however, that when I removed names/sources yesterday, a majority of them were added by me as well. So I am undoing my own work as well, but it has to be done and all the lists have to be put in synch, which they currently are. Oh, and of course we are supposed to work as a community, but we have to follow the basic policies. Make no question about the fact that I made a mistake by not letting you know sooner, or not implementing the policies earlier. Mad Jack O'Lantern 20:55, 20 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And what happens if someone's source disappears? What if it is from an online article that is no longer available? How can facts last? Michael 00:39, 30 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Good question. We usually have the quote from the source, though. If it's a print source, it can be cited to that. There are sometimes caches of old web pages out there, too. But yes, sometimes pages just vanish completely... Mad Jack 00:41, 30 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
And if we don't we just lose information that may be perfectly valid but impossible to access a source to so as to confirm it? Michael 02:30, 30 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

PBS Documentary "The Polish-Americans"

The 1998 PBS program "The Polish Americans", which was co-produced by WLIW21 (New York), WMHT17 (Schenectady) and WVIZ25 (Cleveland), mentioned the following actors as offical Polish-Americans: CARROLL BAKER, JACK PALANCE, GLORIA SWANSON and LORETTA SWITT, along with several others including: Poli Negri, Stephanie Powers, Gilda Grey, Bobby Vinton, Adam Makowicz, Col. Francis s. Gabreski, and CASEY SIEMASZKO (who narrated the entire program). Relying on the internet is ineffective when trying to verify ethnicity; it is far too limited. Hardcopy newspapers, magazines and encyclopedias, as well as, TV spots, are more likely to mention ethnic affiliation. Sad to say but this Polish-Americans list has gone to the dogs.

Are you sure about some of those? Jack Palance? He's very well known to be Ukrainian-American (see [13]) and I bet he'd be surprised to be described as Polish. There's no problem at all with using off-line sources, but if this documentary included Palance then it may have some errors. Carroll Baker is a weird story which I am not sure about. It seems there's a rumor her original last name was "Karolina Pieralski" (or something to that extent), but no reliable sources list it as that, and several actually list her parents' names as "William and Virginia Baker". I'll see if I can properly cite the other people you mentioned. Mad Jack O'Lantern 08:12, 25 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
In fact, I just checked, and NNDB lists her parents' names as [14] William Baker and Virginia Duffy, although they repeat the old "Karolina Pieralski" thing as well! I guess they don't mind contradicting themselves. Mad Jack O'Lantern 08:16, 25 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I do not believe that www.nndb.com is a reliable source on that one, and I do not believe that PBS would make such major errors as they must receive permission from the actor (or anyone) to use their photo (image) and name on film. Jack Palance is both Polish and Ukrainian, at least that is what he has claimed for the past 40 years.

Do you have a source for Palance? All I've ever seen is Ukrainian. Baker, as I said, is a weird one. NNDB is not a reliable source for anything, but Baker's parents' names are listed as William and Virginia Baker in several places, including normally reliable sites like [15] and [16]. I guess a possible solution to this mystery would be to find one of the autobiography books she has written Mad Jack O'Lantern 08:28, 25 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I also can't find a William and Virginia Piekarski on the 1930 US census. Mad Jack O'Lantern 08:35, 25 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Here is a link to a review of this program [17]. The review mentions Gloria Swanson as being Polish American and states that Casey Siemaszko is the narrator of this all Polish-American ensemble. Ya, know if it walks like duck and talks like a duck....it's a duck. --IsisTheQueen 06:31, 28 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • An additional link for more information on this program[18]

Nick Adams

Nick Adams' father was Ukrainian, even your source says so - shouldn't there be a mention that Adams is at least half Ukrainian? He isn't even on the Ukrainian-Americans list. Someone who created or edited his article claimed his father was Lithuanian (I left a comment in the TALK or discussion area). Adams, Palance and John Hodiak - are all half and half (Pole and Ukrainian). Hodiak lived in Hamtramack , MI and identified with being Polish and Ukrainian. Palance was raised in Lattimer which was pre-dominantly Polish populated town in Luzcerne County, PA. He tended to ID himself as Polish in the 1970's. Polish-Ukrainian couples were a common occurance in PA and other places on the East Coast during the first waves of immigration to the States before WWII because of need to be with people who were similar to their own culture and language in a strange and new country. Anyhow, I hope that Nick Adams is accurately identified at some point. --IsisTheQueen 23:55, 25 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Do you have a good source that Palance referred to himself as Polish? That would be good for getting him on here. If you want, you can certainly add the fact that Adams' father was Ukrainian to the citation we have (especially since it's from the same source) Mad Jack 07:58, 26 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No - I have no evidence for Palance, just watched a lot of TV and I remember that as a kid hearing him talk about his Polish roots from Europe, and at the time, he really didn't speak about being Ukrainian that came later. I think he has kind of recognized that he can say Ukrainian now a days and know that he will finally NOT be identified as a Russian - McCarthy era and the Cold War ended but left somewhat of a stigma on those people who were originally from parts of the USSR. Thanks for your suggestion. I'm trying to figure out how this all works out. Reading these discussion boards (not just here) I get the impression that people get easily rattled and I don't want to step on toes though I will make it my business to step on toes as soon I as figure all this out!--IsisTheQueen 08:39, 26 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Zsa Zsa

On TV during one of the finals that she was skating at the broadcasters said that Zsa Zsa was on her way to getting her Polish passport. And then they blah blah blahed that she has dual citizenship because her Polish grandparents on her mom's side never relinquished their Polish citizenship so that means Zsa Zsa (really annoying name) and her mother are still considered Polish citizens and that's also why she has been skating for her "other" country, Poland. --IsisTheQueen 09:17, 26 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Leelee Sobieski

Leelee Sobieski, according to her own Wikipedia entry, is the daughter of a man (Jean) born in France to Polish parents. Please return her to the list.---BDH

Actors

Found this quote but do not have a source for it: "Born in Michigan to Eldon Florek, a Polish dock-worker, and Georgianne Lomax, ..."

lol if you found the quote, then you must have a source for it (although not necessarily a good one). I think it used to say that line on his Wiki entry, so I'm sure some of the mirror sites picked it up. But I could be wrong Mad Jack O'Lantern 04:27, 4 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Quote from Supernatural co-star Jensen Ackels "Jared's last name is Polish so I think he comes more from a Slavic background whereas I've got more of an English/Irish/Scottish background." [20] Apparently, Jared has stated he is of Polish descent during TV interviews in 2005 while plugging Supernatural. Also, stated by fans on the WB.com Message Boards.

Arts

Filmmakers

Literature

Musicians

Other

Military

Science

Elonka is a Wikipedia author - check her Wikipedia User Page out for sourcing herself and her father - She is very involved in her Polish hertiage.-jpk

Elonka, Stanley Dunin's daughter, wrote his Wikipedia article. I think that is as first hand as someone gets. - jpk

  • This is, in fact, part of the problem with the Dunin articles themselves. Though Elonka Duning may well be reliable, anything she contributes without citing to some kind of source is definitely Original Research - it may well be accurate, but it's not verfiable -or at least, not easily verifiable (Because Wikipedia users, though they may well be the real thing when it comes to who they claim to be - and I'm sure Dunin is - are still unreliable). That's why both the Dunin pages were nominated for deletion, and there are still a lot of facts on Stanley Dunin's page that are hard to actually confirm. Mad Jack 22:58, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I would think that for the purpose of confirming whether Elonka is herself (as well as her Polish-born father) a Polish-American, her own website presenting her family tree (which is listed as a reference) would be more than enough. This is ridiculous -- you people have taken a radical interpretation of the wiki policies. -jpk

If you will review the articles at my "press" page [21], you will see that plenty of media outlets (CNN, NPR, MSNBC, AP, BBC, etc.) regard me and my websites as reliable sources. Please also review WP:AUTO and Wikipedia:Verifiability. Personal websites are considered valid sources as long as it's not for particularly "aggrandizing" information, and is not contradicted by other published sources. --Elonka 03:22, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I didn't say "you" weren't a reliable source, I said Wikipedia users aren't supposed to be reliable sources, as far as I can tell. Personal websites are good, most of the time. I haven't taken a look at your personal website, yet. However, I am not the boss of this page and if someone wants to add a name sourced to something reliable that says someone is Polish-American or Polish, if they are also American, then I don't see why they don't feel free to do that. Mad Jack 04:02, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sigh.... do the just-added sources actually describe either of the Dunins themselves (as opposed to their ancestors) as Polish or Polish-American? Mad Jack 04:20, 16 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

- Actually, yes. I was given private access to current family tree documents and notes but I was only able to reference the site for privacy reasons. Stanley Dunin was born in Warsaw, Poland and later emigrated to the U.S., became an American Citizen. He is a Polish-American. He married Elsie Ivancich, a Croatian-American. His daughter Elonka is both a Polish and Croatian American. I viewed the source and can verify the above to be true. -jpk

Sports

Many of the individuals that have been removed from the list are in the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. What kind of research leads to removing prominent Polish-Americans???? You might has well get rid of the whole list - jpk

  • I know about the Polish-American Hall of Fame, but does it have some kind of website or online source for it where I or anyone can see the names listed? We can't rely on the Wikipedia page for it, for obvious reasons. :) (Or an offline source, etc. anywhere besides Wikipedia where the names in the Hall of Fame are listed) Mad Jack 08:28, 15 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

http://www.polishsportshof.com/inductee.html - this was not hard to find, just enter "National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame" in the search engine and it's the first site to pop up. I don't know what methods you are using to confirm an individual as Polish-American but you have missed the mark.-jpk

Baseball

Figure skating

Football

Hockey

Other Notable Polish Americans

Mad Jack O'Lantern 06:17, 20 May 2006 (UTC) DONNA MAKOWSKI-ONLY FEMALE ATTORNEY,LICENSED BOXING MANAGER/ILLINOIS IN THE u.s.[reply]

Scarlett Johansson

Is half Polish Jewish. I kind of doubt that anyone, including herself, has ever described her as Polish or a Polish-American. This one is very iffy. Mad Jack 07:30, 30 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Many sites, though, including some news sites, classify her as "Polish/Danish" or "Polish/Jewish/Danish". I'm inclined to disagree with Mad Jack on this matter, but let's have some others share their thoughts. Michael 08:25, 30 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well, do these web sites classify as as actually "Polish/Danish" or do they just say "Of Danish, etc. descent"? None of the sites, however, are particularly reliable - mostly trivia sites and the like. The only first-hand sources interviewing Johansson or her family members don't even specify that her mother's family was from Poland[22][23][24] Mad Jack 08:31, 30 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Some say otherwise: [25][26][27] [28]
Please share your thoughts on this matter. Michael 08:35, 30 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah but these aren't reliable sources - they're trivia sites. The only reliable sources are like the ones I gave - something from the person's own mouth. Mad Jack 08:37, 30 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, but at the same time, her father is from Denmark, so she may easily say that, but it would be less likely for her to say, in everyday conversation, that her mother is Polish if she isn't from Poland. In those articles, she stated where her parents are from. Michael 08:39, 30 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You mean in the article I gave? And again, it doesn't even matter much if her mother's ancestors were from Poland - which is likely. I'd venture to guess about half of the Jewish population of NY have ancestors from Poland - but none of these people have ever been referred to as Polish-Americans and don't think of themselves as such - and are definitely not included in the total census number of Polish-Americans. Regardless of any of that - we don't even have shakey sources that actually say she is a Polish-American. Mad Jack 08:42, 30 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

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