Festival. Coraline is set in a fictionalized version of Ashland. The city was chosen due to its status as home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, as Miss Fink and Miss Forcible, two supporting characters in the film, are retired Shakespearean actresses. Sister city Ashland has one sister city: Guanajuato, Mexico Notable people Harry Anderson (1952–2018), magician and TV actor Les AuCoin (1942–), former congressman Tai Babilonia (1959–), champion pairs figure skater John Backus (1924–2007), computer scientist who created Fortran Dallen Bounds (1971-1999), serial killer Angus L. Bowmer (1904–1979), founder of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Erskine Caldwell (1903–1987), author, never lived in Ashland, but is buried there Craig Chaquico (1954–), guitarist formerly with Jefferson Starship Gretchen Corbett (1947–), actress, debuted as Desdemona at the OSF Chad Cota (1971–), former National Football League player Catherine E. Coulson (1943–2015), stage and screen actress Alex Cox (1954–), film director Ann Curry (1956–), former anchor on The Today Show Ana Delfosse (1931–2017), Formula One mechanic and driver in Argentina; gas-station operator in Ashland Alice DiMicele (1965–), musician Jack Elam (1920–2003), actor Gordon Fee (1934-), American-Canadian theologian David Fincher (1962–), film director Gloria Greer (1908-1931), actress Johnny Gruelle (1880-1938), creator of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy Jeremy Guthrie (1979–), pitcher for the Kansas City Royals Anthony Heald (1944–), television, film, and stage actor Abel Helman (1824–1910), town founder Frank C. High (1875–1966), Medal of Honor recipient for actions during the Philippine–American War Gary "Chicken" Hirsh (1940–), former drummer for Country Joe and the Fish Peter Hollens (1982–), independent a capella singer/songwriter Jean Houston (1937–), author, lecturer, known for her work in human potentials, Mystery School and Social Artistry Lawson Fusao Inada (1938–), Oregon Poet Laureate 2006–10, Professor Emeritus at Southern Oregon University Dean Ing (1931–), author Forrest Kline (1983–), musician Otto Klum (1892–1944), football coach Tonya Knight (1966–), bodybuilder, actress, model Hal Koerner (1976–), ultramarathon runner, two-time winner of the Western States Endurance Run Winona LaDuke (1959–), Native American activist and vice-presidential candidate for the Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2000 Leonard Levy (1923–2006), Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rose Maddox (1925–1998), country-western musician Steve Mason (1949–2005), "poet laureate" of the Vietnam Veterans of America Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977), author of Lolita Mark Parent (1961–), former baseball player and currently bench coach for the Chicago White Sox Alfred Peet (1920–2007), founder of Peet's Coffee & Tea Jim Perry (1933–2015), television personality Bill Rauch (1962-), American theater director; directed the Oregon