# Famous people who went to your otherwise unheralded school **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 19, 2003, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050 "2003-02-19T03:02:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Michele\_in\_SoCal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Michele\_in\_SoCal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michele_in_SoCal)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/101 "2003-02-20T16:59:26Z")
**Kevin Costner** went to my high school while I was there. I graduated one year before he did. (I didn’t know him, but my younger brother did.) ---
**Author:** ![LiquidChaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@LiquidChaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiquidChaos)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/102 "2003-02-20T17:15:56Z")
I went to three high schools each having one semi-famous alum. L.D. Bell High School, Hurst, Texas- NFL Quarterback Tommy Maddux Jefferson County High School, Monticello, Florida- NFL Great Jack Youngblood Sgt. Ernest I. (“Boots”) Thomas, Jr (raised the flag on Iwo Jima) Aucilla Academy, Monticello, Florida- MLB Pitcher Bobby Thigpen I know that a NFL kicker when to Bell High School too, but I cannot remember his name. I went on to the University of North Texas, but UNT’s alum’s have already been mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Rame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Mac\_Rame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Rame)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/103 "2003-02-20T17:25:43Z")
I have everyone beat… Alma Mater: Lewis & Clark College (Portland, OR) Classmate: Monica Lewinsky ---
**Author:** ![Lenny\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9dc877/32.png) [@Lenny\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lenny_Carl)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/104 "2003-02-20T18:11:56Z")
I spent all 3 years of Jr. High and all 4 years of HS with actress **Heather Graham** (Magnolia, Austin Powers etc.). We were friendly with each other and had many classes together, but we never hung out outside of school. We were really more acquaintances than actual “friends.” IIRC, she was voted either “Most Talented” or “Most Likely to Succeed” in the HS yearbook. I’d go back and look, but I threw all my yearbooks away! Yes, she was cute back then, but she wasn’t the hottest girl in school. She was in the top 10, but not #1. There were a lot of hotties in my school… sadly, I dated none of them. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![SylverOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SylverOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SylverOne)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/105 "2003-02-20T18:27:06Z")
Pat Donovan - Football player, Dallas Cowboys Graduated (with my mother and 500 some odd other kids) from Helena High School in 1971. And they are all turning 50 this year. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![\_etalhea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/779978/32.png) [@\_etalhea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_etalhea)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/106 "2003-02-20T19:03:09Z")
Anybody watch _The Mind Of The Married Man_ on HBO? The Asian massage girl who keeps offering him a “happy ending”, she went to my alma mater, **Virginia Tech**. Also, the chairman of the board of Exxon (maybe former chairman now), Atlanta Falcon’s quarterback Michael Vick, hall of famer Bruce Smith, and Don Strock. Tiki and Ronde Barber are from here, and they went to the rival school across town, my brother in law went there. Don’t believe that anti-drug commercial where Ronde is standing in front of a fenced-in playground in the 'hood talking about how he avoided drugs growing up. He grew up in the richest area of town, well in the burbs. The only drive-bys there are pizza deliveries. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/107 "2003-02-20T19:04:16Z")
Nobody cool went to my high school. And I hated the college I attended for a semester and therefore don’t care whether anybody famous attended it or not. (Mississippi State University.) ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/108 "2003-02-20T19:54:00Z")
Neither of my high schools has produced anyone of note, so far as I know. Carleton College: **Peter Halsten Thorkelson** , a/k/a Peter Tork of the Monkees, admits that he flunked out. Twice. For that, the pinball/video game area of the student center is named in his honor. **Jane Hamilton**'79, Oprah book club favorite (_A Map of the World_, _The Book of Ruth_). **Thorstein Veblen** 1880, economist and philosopher (_The Theory of the Leisure Class_ (1899). NYU Law: until about 1980 or so, NYU’s law school was a big cut below Columbia’s (a huge wad of cash in the late 70s made all the difference). Nevertheless, alumni include Elihu Root (Senator, diplomat, and Nobel peace laureate in 1912), Samuel Tilden (true winner of the 1876 Presidential election), New York’s current Chief Judge, Judith Kaye, and mayors Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani. ---
**Author:** ![tourbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@tourbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tourbot)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/109 "2003-02-20T20:09:09Z")
Pat Benetar graduated from the same High School as me, but 12 years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/110 "2003-02-20T20:11:55Z")
Hey **Lsura** , Access Hollywood host Billy Bush and cousin to Dubya also attended Colby College. ---
**Author:** ![airdisc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19adc/32.png) [@airdisc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/airdisc)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/111 "2003-02-20T20:22:49Z")
Ben Hartsock, a OSU football star, graduated from my high school in 1999. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/112 "2003-02-20T20:26:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Judith Prietht \* > \*\*Hey Lsura, Access Hollywood host Billy Bush and cousin to Dubya also attended Colby College. \*\* I thought about that after I posted - he was the year ahead of me - I was a dining hall employee that summer (along with campus employment) and worked commencement that year - everyone was just ever so excited about George H.W. Bush speaking at commencement. ---
**Author:** ![Winnowill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4491bb/32.png) [@Winnowill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnowill)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/113 "2003-02-20T20:33:18Z")
Chris Columbus, director of the _Harry Potter_ and _Gremlins_ movies, as well as numerous others, went to my high school. If any other famous person went to any of the other schools I attended, I don’t know about it. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/114 "2003-02-20T20:40:22Z")
There was an olympic female speed skater/ Cyclist, Connie Paraskevin, who graduated the year before I started. \*\*Dan Springer \*\* lately of FoxNews, graduated the year ahead of me. Good looking nice kid back then. ---
**Author:** ![Trashmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a8b319/32.png) [@Trashmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trashmo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/115 "2003-02-20T20:44:16Z")
NFL Receiver Gary Clark Pulaski County High School Dublin, VA Class of 1980 ---
**Author:** ![greck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ab992/32.png) [@greck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greck)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/116 "2003-02-20T23:00:38Z")
university of New Mexico: Michael Cooper (of 80’s laker fame) Luc Longley (played for the bulls with jordan) Brian Urlacher (Chicago bears pro bowler) and I heard that Ogre from revenge of the nerds played football at unm too. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/117 "2003-02-21T00:28:39Z")
Wow, what a lot of replies. I am jealous that unlike me, many of you went to high schools that weren’t full of total losers! I have one tiny suggestion for some people…those of you who are just putting lists of people’s names. You might want to consider putting the name of the school in the post, too. So much more interesting for the reader. Just a thought. Also a line or two explaining who some of the less famous people are would help in some cases. Links are a bonus as well. I found two more SUNY Buffalo alumni: actor [Ron Silver](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Silver,+Ron), known from many film roles including Alan Dershowitz in _Reversal of Fortune_, and appearances on TV shows like _Veronica’s Closet_ and _Chicago Hope_. He was also recently seen standing up for the USofA at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a performance that actually earned him a rhetorical pat on the back from the Editorial page of the Wall Street Journal! Not too shabby for a known liberal activist. The other famous UB alum is CNN personality Wolf Blitzer! ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/118 "2003-02-21T19:56:22Z")
Speaking of news people: I forgot one of my fave Carleton alums, avuncular CNN newsman **Garrick Utley**. ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/119 "2003-02-21T20:22:33Z")
[Kevin Connolly](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Connolly,%20Kevin%20(I)) who was in a few big movies and TV Shows went to my High School. In fact I was there when he was a senior. ---
**Author:** ![Gulo\_gulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050/120 "2003-02-21T21:01:45Z")
[Diana Krall](http://www.dianakrall.com/) Still friends of the family. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-went-to-your-otherwise-unheralded-school/156050.md?page=5)