When the New Jersey Hall of Fame released its list of nominees for 2025, one name stood out.
All of the talents nominated in the “performing arts and entertainment” category had well-known connections to New Jersey, whether they were born here, spend some of their childhood here, or lived and worked here as adults.
But the hall had also nominated Tito Puente, the Grammy-winning Latin music great, aka King of the Timbales, who is chiefly associated with New York.
NJ Advance Media contacted representatives of the New Jersey Hall of Fame Saturday to ask about Puente’s Jersey connection.
Steve Edwards, the president of the hall of fame, said that Puente, the star of mambo and Latin jazz who was 77 when he died in 2000, spent some time living in Bergen and Passaic counties.
“I’m being told Teaneck and Totowa later in life,” he said in an email. “We love those stories. Like Tony Bennett who moved his family to Englewood for 30 years.”
But now, the state hall of fame tells NJ Advance Media that organizers were mistaken about Puente’s eligibility, and they are rescinding the nomination.
“Upon further research, the NJ Hall of Fame determined that Tito Puente does not meet our standards for residency,” says Norris Clark, a spokesman for the hall.
READ MORE: Uncle Floyd, Kirsten Dunst, Isley Brothers, Brooke Shields among N.J. Hall of Fame nominees
“They must be or have been a New Jersey resident or have worked in New Jersey for a minimum of five years,” he says.
Clark says NJ Advance Media’s inquiry about Puente’s Jersey connection “prompted us to research it again, and then we realized that we could not substantiate the standard.”
Aimee Brooks, a representative for the hall, has elaborated on the specifics.
“We are unable to confirm that he lived in New Jersey for at least five years,” she says of Puente.
Organizers of the state hall of fame say they will be nominating Savion Glover in place of Tito Puente. Michael Loccisano | Getty Images
Representatives for the hall say that in place of Puente, they will be nominating Tony-winning choreographer and tap dancer Savion Glover (“Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk”), who is from Newark.
They say that starting Thursday, Glover, 51, will replace Puente on the ballot for the hall of fame’s public vote.
READ MORE: See what Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, Kevin Smith and more said at N.J. Hall of Fame ceremony
Other New Jersey Hall of Fame nominees in the performing arts and entertainment category this year include Glen Rock and Paterson’s Uncle Floyd; Point Pleasant’s Kirsten Dunst; Englewood and Teaneck’s The Isley Brothers; Washington Township’s (Morris County) Celeste Holm; Haworth’s Brooke Shields; Jersey City native Marilyn McCoo (of The 5th Dimension); Edison’s David Bryan (of Bon Jovi); North Bergen’s James L. Brooks; and “Batman” producer Michael Uslan, who was born in Jersey City and grew up in Bayonne and Ocean Township before moving to Essex County.
The list of nominees released March 15 for a public vote include 12 women and at least 50 men (some nominees are groups/families, not individuals).
Anyone can make picks for the New Jersey Hall of Fame — other categories include sports, enterprise and public service — at the hall’s voting page.
READ MORE: First look inside the $20M N.J. Hall of Fame center at American Dream
The public vote is one factor used in deciding who gets inducted. The availability of celebrities and other notables to attend an induction ceremony is also weighed in the decision, though the hall does induct some people posthumously.
The New Jersey Hall of Fame opened its first permanent physical home, the $20 million, 10,000-square-foot New Jersey Hall of Fame Entertainment and Learning Center, in June at the American Dream megamall in East Rutherford.
The 2024 induction ceremony, which welcomed the likes of Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd and Kevin Smith to the hall, was made up of pre-taped celebrity segments largely based at the new facility. In past years, the hall hosted live, in-person ceremonies, apart from a series of virtual events earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.