Did You Know These Celebrities Grew Up In Blanchard?

Growing up in the North Shreveport/Blanchard area, and being somewhat of a history buff, I have always been proud of my hometown and those who have also called this area home.

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As a young guy, I fondly remember the stories my Dad would tell me about his friend, Mickey Mangham.

Who Was Mickey Mangham?

Though he wasn't actually "from" Blanchard, Mickey's mother, Mrs. Louise Ratliff Mangham was and in her latter years, she and Mickey's Dad, Mr. Francis "Fanny" Mangham both lived in Blanchard.

In fact, while I was a young boy, Mr. Fanny would always paid me to mow his grass and he paid better than any of my other customers, giving me a full $5 each week for the service.

So, exactly what made Mickey Mangham a "celebrity?"  As a 190-pound walk-on sophomore at LSU, Mickey helped to lead the 1958 LSU Tigers football team to a perfect 12-0 record and when he caught the famous nine-yard halfback pass from Billy Cannon to beat Clemson 7-0 in the 1959 Sugar Bowl, he solidified his stardom as LSU picked up it's first ever National Championship.

Who Are The Celebrities Who Called Blanchard Home?

Mickey remained Blanchard's sole "claim to fame" for many years until 1980 when a young golfer at Centenary College, who grew up in Blanchard, was named by Golf Magazine as the "College Player of the Year."

Hal Sutton Is From Blanchard, Louisiana

That player was the one and only Hal Sutton.  With his prowess on the golf course, Sutton certainly put Blanchard on the map, amassing a total of 14 victories on the PGA Tour including the 1983 PGA Championship and the 1983 and 2000 Players Championships.

In 1983, Hal also claimed the title of leading money winner and was named the PGA Player of the Year.

Elle Evans (Lindsey Gayle Evans) Is From Blanchard

Actually born in Paris, Texas, Lindsey Gayle Evans, now known as Elle Evans, grew up in Blanchard where she went to high school at Northwood and later majored in broadcast journalism at Northwestern State University.

In 2008, Elle rose to stardom as Miss Louisiana Teen USA when she finished as third runner up in the Miss Teen USA pageant.

Later, in 2009 as a 19 year-old, Elle, using her real name, Lindsey Gayle Evans, became Playboy Playmate of the Month for October.

Since then, she's appeared in television commercials, on the covers of magazines, in music videos, in 2014 she appeared in an episode of Two And A Half Men, and she's starred in the films "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse" and "The Love Witch."

Presently, Elle and husband Matt Bellamy, the lead singer of the band Muse, have two children and will soon celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary.

Who Is Forest Glen Whitehead From Blanchard?

On his website, Forest Whitehead writes:

Before producing grammy nominated records and writing #1 country songs, I was living in a small Louisiana town, dreaming of making a living with my music. I knew I had to get around those actually making music for a living so I could learn how to as well.

So at eighteen years old I moved to Nashville in a travel trailer without a clue how to get my career started.

He obviously figured out how to make it in Nashville and since that time as a young teenager in the big world of country music, Forest has gone on to score three Grammy nominations as a songwriter, producer, musician and engineer.

Whitehead's song writing skills have earned him several Number One hits as a co-writer with Kelsea Ballerini including  “Love Me Like You Mean It,” “Peter Pan,” and “Legends.”

Forest has also had cuts with Brantley Gilbert, Dylan Scott, Catherine McGrath and more!