• Lionel Barrymore - legend of American theater - joined his famous relatives, John and Ethel Barrymore

• Harry Houdini - performed feats of magic and daring escapes

• John L. Sullivan - ex-heavyweight champion performed the role of Simon Legree in a production of Uncle Tom's Cabin

• Amelia Earhart - aviatrix, addressed the local Women's Club on March 16, 1936

• D.W. Griffith - premiered his Birth of a Nation and used the theater to try out several subsequent films before their general release

These celebrities and others all appeared on the stage of the Sterling Opera House during its heyday as a vaudeville palace. Until Save Our Sterling began fund-raising events, violinist Harry Braun was the last performer on the stage in 1966.

Mr. Gary Harger, friend and supporter, re-opened the stage September 24,1997 singing Ave Maria.