William J McDonald

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William Johnson McDonald, lawyer, banker, and philanthropist, eldest son of Henry Graham and Sarah (Johnson) McDonald, was born on a farm near Howland, Texas, on December 21, 1844. He attended McKenzie College, where Rev. John W. P. McKenzie was guardian of the orphaned William and his two brothers. McDonald left college in 1864 to join the Confederate Army but returned when the war ended and was graduated in 1867. He received a thorough classical training and developed a deep interest in astronomy, botany, zoology, and geology.

He supported himself for the next two or three years by teaching school and plying the printer's trade while studying law.  

 He opened a law office in Clarksville in 1881 and became recognized as one of the best civil lawyers of Northeast Texas. He also prospered financially; from a small beginning as a moneylender, he advanced to the presidency of banks that he organized in Clarksville, Paris, and Cooper. 

On the establishment of the Paris bank, later First National Bank in 1887, he moved to Paris, where he lived for the rest of his life. The current location of First National Bank was built in 1916, with its brick structure one of the few buildings downtown the survive the fire.

Increasing wealth made little change in his habits; he continued to work hard and to live modestly. He made contributions to charity and helped a number of young men to get an education, and when his fortune had become well assured, he traveled to Europe and Mexico, as well as to various points in the United States. In 1895 and 1896 he studied botany in summer school at Harvard University.

McDonald never married. He died in Paris on February 8, 1926, leaving an estate of over a million dollars, the bulk of which he bequeathed to the University of Texas to establish an observatory. His heirs contested the will, and the university eventually made an out-of-court settlement by which it received $800,000. 

The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory at Mount Locke near Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County. This site was selected because of its high ratio of clear nights, its 6,800-foot altitude, and its quite low latitude that permits observation of southern skies. Until 1948, its 82-inch telescope was second largest in the world. 

Gary B.B. Coleman was a renowned American soul blues singer, guitarist, songwriter and record producer.   Born in 1947 in Paris, Texas to L.C. and Willie Mae Wilson Coleman, Gary taught himself to play guitar at age 11, and lived a childhood greatly inspired by blues and jazz music. 

By age 15, Gary experienced working with fellow Texan blues artist, Freddie King, and later performed alongside Lightnin’ Hopkins in concert. Gary went on to form his own band, and also began his career as a blues promoter booking musicians at venues in Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado.

Coleman began his recording career in 1986, where he selfproduced his debut album, Nothin’ but the Blues , as well as his own independent record label, Mr. B’s Records. After his debut placed #74 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart , Gary signed with Ichiban Records of Atlanta, Georgia, and released six albums between 1988 and 1992.

In addition to his personal albums, Gary was praised for assisting other artists in achieving a spot in the blues music entertainment industry. While working with Ichiban Records, Coleman produced a total of 30 albums by accomplished artists such as Blues Boy Willie, Chick Willis, Little Johnny Taylor, and Buster Benton. Coleman proved to be a versatile asset behind the scenes of Ichiban, as he continued to write song material, scout talent, and play the guitar or keyboard for other records.

On February 14, 1994, Gary fell to an untimely death at the age of 47 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Funeral services were held at the New Salem Baptist Church in Paris, with burial at Restlawn Garden Cemetery.

Shangela Laquifa Wadley, commonly referred to as Shangela, is the stage name of D.J. Pierce, a professional drag queen, actor, a contestant from RuPaul's Drag Race and comedian from Paris, Texas. Shangela is best recognized as the only contestant to compete on three separate seasons of the Emmy-award winning reality series Rupaul's Drag Race (seasons 2, 3 and All Stars 3).

As an actor, Shangela (aka D.J. Pierce) has guest starred on network television shows like "2 Broke Girls," "Glee," "Bones," “The Mentalist,” “X-Files,” and more. She has appeared in films including "Hurricane Bianca" (2016), ”Kiss Me, Kill Me" (2015), “Hurricane Bianca 2” and “A Star Is Born” with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. In 2012, she co-starred with Jenifer Lewis in a four-part scripted YouTube series called “Jenifer Lewis and Shangela.”

A true Paris native, Alexander Mack Aikin Jr. and his family moved to Lamar County in 1907, where he attended Paris Junior College. Aikin became a renowned American politician who served in the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate from 1937-1979, making him the longest-tenured legislator in Texas history at the time of his retirement.

Aikin was honored with the proclamation of "A. M. Aikin Day" in 1973, during which his portrait was hung in the Texas Senate chamber.

Blake Neely (born April 28, 1969 in Paris, Tx) is an American composer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor, and author. Neely has contributed to and been credited on dozens of film and TV projects over the years such as: Everwood (which earned him a 2003 Emmy Award nomination for the theme), on the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, King Kong, The Last Samurai, The Great Buck Howard, and many more. Other film projects in which he is the sole composer are Elvis and Anabelle, Starter for 10, and The Wedding Date.

In addition, Neely has composed the music for over twenty television series, including The Mentalist and You.

He has frequently collaborated with Greg Berlanti, including Everwood, Brothers & Sisters, Eli Stone, Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. 

He has also been credited alongside several well known composers such as  Michael Kamen, James Newton, Vangelis, (for his work on the Mythodea project as arranger and conductor), and Hans Zimmer.

As an author, he has written over 25 instrumental method books such as the best-selling piano method Piano For Dummies.

David Earl Philley, born May 16, 1920 in Paris, Tx, was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball. A switch hitter who threw right-handed, he debuted on September 6, 1941 and played his final game on August 6, 1962.

Philley played for eight different teams in a long, 18-season career. He led American league outfielders in assists three different years (1948, 1950, 1953) and once in outs (1950).

Philley reached the majors in 1941 with the Chicago White Sox. Philley was with the White Sox for five-and-a-half years before moving to the Philadelphia Athletics early in the 195 season. After playing for Philadelphia in the 1951 through 1953 seasons, he next played for the Cleveland Indians in 1954. He was acquired by the Baltimoore Orioles during the 1955 season and finished the year with a .299 batting average, leading the Orioles in batting. Later in his long career, Philley played for the Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, and Boston Red Sox, including second stints with Chicago and Baltimore. While in Cleveland, he appeared in the1954 World Series. 

Snowy, Paris, TX native, released her second album, delivering her Snowflake album, after releasing a single of the same title in 2019, for her second outing, Snowy taps Gwalla Cobain and fellow Texan S3nsi Molly on the 11-track collection which contains her best work yet. 

The hitmaker has been building an undeniable buzz since her initial arrival in 2018 and followed her breakout success with notable mentions, “Man Up,” “Go” and “Mike Jones.” 

Elle Evans is an American actor and model from Paris, Tx. She rose to prominence in the ‘Grammy Award’-nominated controversial yet extremely popular music video of the Robin Thicke song ‘Blurred Lines’ featuring Pharrell Williams. Elle won the ‘Miss Louisiana Teen USA’ title and finished as the third runner-up of the ‘Miss Teen USA 2008’ pageant. She posed for ‘Playboy’ and became the ‘Playboy Playmate of the Month.’ She is one of the faces of ‘NYX’ cosmetics.’ She is represented by ‘Wilhelmina Models,’ ‘Rogers and Cowan,’ and ‘Elite Model Management.’ Elle has, over the years, worked in commercials for several brands, such as ‘AXE Apollo Cologne,’ ‘Wet 'n Wild’ cosmetics, and ‘Mary Kay’ cosmetics. She was featured in ‘Maxim’ and on the cover of ‘FHM France.’ She gained fame with ‘Blurred Lines’ and appeared in music videos of ‘Haunted’ and ‘Superpower’ by Beyoncé. She has also appeared in the films ‘The Love Witch’ and ‘Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse.’

John Charles Morris (born October 2, 1984 in Paris, Tx) is an American actor, singer, and former model. He is best known for his role as the voice of Andy Davis in the Toy Story films.

In 1991 while auditioning for the role of Andy in Toy Story, Morris brought some of his X-Men action figures and made voices for them; the Pixar staff loved it and gave him the part. Morris was brought back on to Toy Story 3 by the request of the director Lee Unkrich. 

He also has minor fame for voicing "Pepper Roni" in the 1997 video game Lego Island. 

Charles Rufus Baxter (November 4, 1929 – March 10, 2005) was an American medical doctor born in Paris, Tx. Baxter was one of the doctors who unsuccessfully tried to save U.S. President John F. Kennedy after he was shot in Dallas, Texas, in 1963.

Baxter graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1950. He then attended the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas where he received his medical degree in 1954.

Baxter was the emergency room director at Parkland Memorial Hospital when Kennedy was shot, and famously said of the event in 1988:

As soon as we realized we had nothing medical to do, we all backed off from the man with a reverence that one has for one's president, and we did not continue to be doctors from that point on. We became citizens again, and there were probably more tears shed in that room than in the surrounding hundred miles.

He also operated on Texas Governor John Conally, who had been wounded in the attack.

Baxter made advances in the treatment of burn victims, and founded the burn unit and a skin-graft bank at Parkland.

He died in Dallas, Texas, on March 10, 2005, of pneumonia, aged 75.