Any famous people you were astonished to learn had a Ph. D ?

[astorian]

Are there any well known folks you're aware of who hold a Ph. D.? Preferably folks not known for being brainy. Someone most people would be VERY surprised to learn had done advanced graduate studies.

[Ruffian]

Well, not a Ph.D., but the same idea--I was shocked to learn this fellow was as precociously brilliant as he was:

Weird Al Yankovic was the straight-A valedictorian of his high school graduating class--at age 16.

He went to California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo and got a degree in architecture (!) which he's obviously not needed to use.

[pldennison]

Greg Graffin, lead singer and founder of the punk band Bad Religion. Although he has not yet published his thesis, he is a doctoral candidate in biology at Cornell. The band also sponsored a contest in 1998 which resulted in a $4,000 research grant for a U. Mich. biology grad student.

[Aro]

Dolph Lundgren has a MSc. in Chemical Engineering, his chosen profession before becoming an actor.

Should this be in GQ??

[ObiWan]

Brian May of Queen got a BSc honours degree in Physics and Maths at Imperial College, London (a very prestigious university). He also started a PhD in astronomy, but never completed his thesis.

[postcards]

Graham Chapman, of Monty Python fame, did not have a Phd. He was an M.D., but chose the nobler field of sketch comedy.

I believe John Cleese has a law degree.

Put this in Cafe Society and you'll get a ton of repsponses...

[KneadToKnow]

Dr. Laura actually has, much to the chagrin of educated people everywhere, a doctorate. In physiology.

I distinctly remember not believing it when I first learned that Bill Cosby has a Ph.D. In education, I believe, but I'm not sure.

[KneadToKnow]

I just checked, and it is a doctorate in education, which I believe is an Ed.D., not a Ph.D. Whoops.

[bibliophage]

Off to MPSIMS.

[TeaElle]

I'm ofthe understanding, however, that Bill Cosby's degree is honorary. His wife Camille, meanwhile, does have an unquestionably earned M.Ed.

[KneadToKnow]

Bill Cosby's degree is honorary
Yes, that was what I originally thought as well. This paragraph from biography.com (http://search.biography.com/print_record.pl?id=21348) cleared it up for me, though:
Though his successful career as an entertainer made a college degree unnecessary, Cosby spent much of the 1970s earning advanced degrees in education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The university allowed him to substitute life experience for his uncompleted bachelor's degree and his work in prisons and on the children's television program The Electric Company for its teaching requirement. Cosby wrote a 242-page dissertation called "An Integration of the Visual Media via Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids into the Elementary School Curriculum as a Teaching Aid and Vehicle to Achieve Increased Learning," and in May of 1977, he was awarded a doctorate of education.
So while his doctoral program may have been somewhat unconventional, it appears that he does hold a full-fledged degree.

[MsRobyn]

Tom Magliozzi (http://cartalk.cars.com/About/tom-bio.html) got his PhD from Boston University, and his brother, Ray (http://cartalk.cars.com/About/ray-bio.html), has a bachelor's from MIT. Who knew? They're mechanics, for God's sakes!

Robin

[China Guy]

Carrol O'Connor has one or maybe just a masters.

Also I believe the guy that played Artimis in the original Wild Wild West TV series was a PhD.

My father, who was ranked next to last in his high school graduating class, eventually earned a PhD in theology and published his dissertation.

[Acsenray]

Graham Chapman, of Monty Python fame, did not have a Phd. He was an M.D., but chose the nobler field of sketch comedy.

It was my understanding that he was actually a licensed physician, although he didn't make his living practising medicine.

[The Wrong Girl]

Dexter Holland, the lead singer of the band The Offspring, is one credit shy of getting his Ph.D in microbiology at USC, I believe.

[The Wrong Girl]

Shoot! I forget.--Also, on the subject of Monty Python, Terry Jones is a renowned Chaucer expert. He's written a book called "Chaucer's night" and is speaking at a Chaucer conference in Colorado that my English teacher is attending this summer.

Those Monty Python dudes are pretty smart, yo.

[refusal]

Graham Chapman was indeed a licensed physician on the General Medical Register, able to prescribe drugs, etc, as described in his rather fine autobiography, "A Liar's Autobiography". Although I don't believe he ever practiced medicine in a paid capacity once he had completed his training.

A number of British politicians have the title Dr. Lord Owen is a medical doctor, rather than a PhD. Brian Mawhinney, Conservative N Ireland Secretary, had a PhD in the biological effects of radiation. There are claims the Rev Dr Ian Paisley's doctorate is less than kosher.

[gobear]

Greg Graffin, lead singer of Bad Religion, has a PhD in astrophysics, I believe.

[KneadToKnow]

I can't believe I forgot about Tommy, MsRobyn. I was probably more surprised about that one than Cos and Dr. LaLa put together! :D

[TwistofFate]

refusal
There are claims the Rev Dr Ian Paisley's doctorate is less than kosher.

It was an honourary degree awarded to him by none other than Bob Jones University , that bastion of education (providing your W.A.S.P. ).

Its as kosher as a nine bob note.

[ftg]

The reviews of Cosby's PhD dissertation I have seen indicate that it is fairly crappy. Not up to real dissertation standards. He seems to have been awarded degrees on the "let's make this guy an alumni asap 'cause he has dough and is famous." Citing "Fat Albert" is not a good sign.

James Wood attended MIT and nearly got a degree. Dropped out just short of graduation for acting. I know several people who were his classmates. I tell you, MIT does strange things to people ...

[Big Kahuna Burger]

Howard Cosell had a law degree before he got into broadcasting.

[Sands]

This isn't exactly what the OP was asking, but I was pretty surprised to learn that Peter Jennings didn't graduate from High School!

[Wendell Wagner]

The Wrong Girl writes:

> Dexter Holland, the lead singer of the band The Offspring, is
> one credit shy of getting his Ph.D in microbiology at USC, I
> believe.

I'm sorry, but that's incoherent. To earn a Ph.D., you have to write a thesis, and the defense of the thesis is always the last step in getting the Ph.D. (The defense is the session when your committee, having read the thesis, quizzes you about it and votes on whether to accept it.) You wouldn't be allowed to go into a defense if you hadn't already finished all your course work. In fact, you couldn't even get your department to accept the subject of your thesis without having finished your course work. It's possible that you might start informally doing the research for the thesis before finishing all the courses, but you wouldn't formally start writing it before then.

I assume that what's actually meant is that Dexter Holland was 1 credit short of having finished his course work for the Ph.D. Only after getting that last credit would he have actually have started on the research for the thesis.

[tomndebb]

I've always been surprised when people have insisted that Dubya does have a high school diploma.

[obfusciatrist]

And of course, Ron Jeremy (the porn person) has a master degree, in special education I believe.

Dr. Jack Ramsay, of NBA coaching fame, really is a doctor. He received a Ph.D in education in 1963. I don't know how legit it was, but he received it from a different university (UPenn) than where he was coaching at the time (St. Joseph's).

[KSO]

Pat Robertson has a law degree from Yale.

[even sven]

Doctor Frank of the [b}Mr. T Experience[/b] scored perfect on his SATs and majored in Classics at UC Berkeley. This positively brilliant man went on to spend his life (he's in his fourties now, I believe) singing silly but increadably well written pop punk songs about girls to generation after generation of teen age punk rockers. He did turn his Junior thesis into a song- The Complicated History of the Concept of the Soul. It just amazes me that this well educated, fairly old guy is still making a living playing to hundred person crowds in grundgy clubs.

It all kind of gives me hope.

[Geek Mecha]

Originally posted by obfusciatrist
Dr. Jack Ramsay, of NBA coaching fame, really is a doctor. He received a Ph.D in education in 1963. I don't know how legit it was, but he received it from a different university (UPenn) than where he was coaching at the time (St. Joseph's).
Thank you. I've often wondered about his title.