Jim Stovall
Novelist
Famous for his bestselling work The Ultimate Gift, Stovall later penned a sequel to the book, The Ultimate Life, along with a dozen other popular titles. Two of his books -- The Lamp and The Ultimate Gift -- were adapted into films.
Before beginning his writing career, he earned an Olympic medal for weightlifting.
Blind himself, Stovall became a prominent advocate of the rights of the visually impaired, eventually receiving an Emmy Award for founding and heading a television network catering to the blind.
He graduated from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The 2007 movie version of Stovall's book The Ultimate Gift stars Abigail Breslin and James Garner.