# Most famous or interesting fictional alumni from your school? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108 "2020-09-08T17:23:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/1 "2020-09-08T17:23:59Z")
What’s the most famous and/or interesting alumni from your school? I went to Dartmouth, which has been represented in fiction fairly well as an elite but not exceptionally exclusive eastern liberal arts school with a long heritage. As a result, it’s a pretty good shorthand used by authors to inform readers/viewers about a character. Michael Corleone attended Dartmouth, but dropped out to join the Marines after Pearl Harbor and never graduated. My personal favorite alum is Trapper John McIntyre who played football at Dartmouth and was even a member of the Dartmouth Outing Club according to the books. Honorable mention to Steven Colbert’s character on the Colbert Report. Colbert didn’t actually go to Dartmouth. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/2 "2020-09-08T17:30:10Z")
Indiana Jones went to the University of Chicago and later taught there. Curiously, Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Kimble in the Fugitive also went to UChicago medical school. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/3 "2020-09-08T17:35:05Z")
The University of Pennsylvania is proud to list Elon Musk and me as alumni. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/4 "2020-09-08T17:39:38Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Elon Musk and me And which of you is fictional? Gotta be Musk… maybe Zuckerberg, too. … > Gatsby was born James Gatz on a North Dakota farm, and though he attended **St. Olaf College** in Minnesota, he dropped out after two weeks, loathing the humiliating janitorial work by means of which he paid his tuition. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/5 "2020-09-08T17:46:59Z")
I attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison; our alumni association addressed this very question in [a web post](https://www.uwalumni.com/askabe/famous-fictional-alumni/) about a decade ago. Answer: apparently, no hugely noteworthy characters; the ones that stand out on the list are Donna Moss on _The West Wing_, Laurie Forman on _That 70s Show_ (though she did not graduate), and Chris on _Parks and Recreation_. Also, President Andrew Shepherd in _The American President_ was from Wisconsin, and taught at the UW, but was a Stanford grad. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/6 "2020-09-08T17:48:53Z")
Cool, every school should do that. Did any of the other _That 70’s Show_ kids (other than Laurie) go to UW-Madison? I thought there was a plot that had them preparing for college… ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/7 "2020-09-08T17:51:41Z")
Best I could find was that some sort of advanced AI featured in _The Postman_ (the book, not the movie) was conceived at Oregon State University. Not sure if that counts. I thought I read somewhere that the character Teddy Cleaver got an honorary degree from OSU but apparently this didn’t occur. Not sure why I thought that. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/8 "2020-09-08T17:58:53Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Did any of the other _That 70’s Show_ kids (other than Laurie) go to UW-Madison? I thought there was a plot that had them preparing for college… I think that both Eric and Donna had planned to go there, but did not actually do so. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/9 "2020-09-08T17:59:15Z")
Can anyone beat **Tristram Shandy** , **Mr Darcy** , Swift’s **Gulliver** , **Holmes** (probably) and **Moriarty** (certainly), **Data** in Star Trek… and a dedicated Wikipedia page listing several hundred others? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University\_of\_Cambridge\_in\_popular\_culture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge_in_popular_culture) Strangely the Wiki page omits **James Bond**. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/10 "2020-09-08T18:02:56Z")
Dunstan Ramsay, the protagonist of Robertson Davies’s [Fifth Business](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Business), had an MA in History from my alma matter, the University of Toronto. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/11 "2020-09-08T18:03:16Z")
The only fictional alumnus from my school (that I know of) is an unnamed scientist in an episode of _Futurama_. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/12 "2020-09-08T18:06:22Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Can anyone beat **Tristram Shandy** , **Mr Darcy** , Swift’s **Gulliver** , **Holmes** (probably) and **Moriarty** (certainly), **Data** in Star Trek… and a dedicated Wikipedia page listing several hundred others? Wikipedia also maintains lists of fictional alumni and staff of various schools in its [Fictional university and college personnel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fictional_university_and_college_personnel) category. The Harvard subcategory looks to have several dozen entries, though of course that’s nowhere near what you found for Cambridge. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/14 "2020-09-08T18:12:00Z")
President Josiah Bartlet Also, L’il Sebastian holds an honorary degree from Notre Dame. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/15 "2020-09-08T19:30:20Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > President Josiah Bartlet He got an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth, and taught there as a tenured professor. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/16 "2020-09-08T19:34:19Z")
I went to Emerson College in Boston. Weirdly, the last two Stephen King stories I read both had characters who were _supposed_ to be attending Emerson in the future, but neither were at the time of the stories. Nancy Drew’s boyfriend Ned Nickerson attended Emerson. I’m not sure he’s as famous as his girlfriend, but he still might be the correct answer. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/17 "2020-09-08T19:36:08Z")
Nothing for my alma mater, but Olivia Benson from _Law and Order: SVU_ went to the college where I work. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/18 "2020-09-08T19:38:52Z")
I went to Kent State University. I can’t think of any fictional alumni but I’m wondering if any of the characters from “The Drew Carey Show” (such as Drew) went to KSU being that Carey went there. Also, cartoonist Tom Batiuk went there so I’m pretty sure some characters from his strip _Funky Winkerbean_ went there. Can I fictitiously claim that one or both of Calvin’s parents (of _Calvin & Hobbes_) went there? Maybe that’s where they met. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/19 "2020-09-08T20:10:21Z")
I got both my undergrad and MD degrees from Johns Hopkins. A few fictional folks (courtesy of wiki) who attended the school of medicine include: - [Dr. Ellie Bartlet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Bartlet) – daughter of [President](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States) [Josiah Bartlet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah_Bartlet) in the television series _[The West Wing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_West_Wing_(TV_Series))_ - Dr. [Preston Burke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_Burke) – cardiothoracic surgeon on the television series _[Grey’s Anatomy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey%27s_Anatomy)_ - Dr. [Perry Cox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Cox) – main character of the television series _[Scrubs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrubs_(TV_series))_ - [Dr. Julius Hibbert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Hibbert) – family doctor on _[The Simpsons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons)_ - Dr. [Gregory House](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_House) – main character of the television series _[House](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_(TV_series))_ - Lena – professor and biologist in _[Annihilation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annihilation_(film))_ , based on the novel by [Jeff VanderMeer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_VanderMeer) - Dr. [Hannibal Lecter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal_Lecter) – psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer in _[The Silence of the Lambs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silence_of_the_Lambs_(film))_ , based on the novel by [Thomas Harris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Harris) - Dr. John Prentice – doctor played by [Sidney Poitier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Poitier) in _[Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_Who%27s_Coming_to_Dinner)_ [[24]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Johns_Hopkins_University_people#cite_note-24) - Dr. Zoe Hart - big city surgical [resident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residency_(medicine)) turned rural Alabama [general practitioner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_practitioner) played by [Rachel Bilson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Bilson) in _[Hart of Dixie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart_of_Dixie)_ ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/21 "2020-09-08T20:23:18Z")
> **[The Ultimate List of Fictional College Alumni](https://www.collegexpress.com/articles-and-advice/admission/blog/fake-characters-real-colleges-ultimate-list-fictional-college-alumni/)** > > You know the colleges. You know the alumni. But do you know...the fictional alumni?! Check out our ultimate list! Find the perfect college and scholarships to pay for it. Join CollegeXpress—it’s fast, easy, and FREE! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ukulele_ike1/32/4613_2.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike1)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/22 "2020-09-08T21:19:45Z")
I’m a Yalie, so there’s sort of an embarrassment of riches. I’m going to go with my personal favorites. Composer Charles Ives (1898) Actor Vincent Price (1934) Activist and member of the Chicago Seven David Dellinger (1936) Cartoonist Garry Trudeau (1970) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108.md?page=2)