# 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:** 2
**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, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/23 "2020-09-08T21:20:36Z")
And fictionally…Flash Gordon! ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/24 "2020-09-08T21:37:35Z")
I went to West Virginia University, and I don’t know of any fictional WVU alumni. But I always wondered why Clarice Starling went to the University of Virginia as opposed to WVU, a common choice for smart, penniless West Virginia kids. IIRC she was a psychology major, and WVU’s psychology department is supposed to have had a pretty good rep. I guess author Thomas Harris wanted to emphasize that she was smart. Since WVU has always been less selective than UVA, Pitt, Penn State, Ohio State, Rutgers, etc., (and less expensive, even for out-of-state students) there were two jokes told locally: 1. Townies said that WVU was for smart kids from West Virginia, and stupid, rich kids from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New Jersey. 2. Out-of-state students countered that the intelligence levels of both groups were about the same. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/25 "2020-09-08T21:44:42Z")
Northwestern University has many famous real life graduates (Stephen Colbert, Meghan Markle, Julia Louis Dreyfuss, just to name a few); but the only fictional one I can recall was Anne Hathaway’s character in _The Devil Wears Prada_ ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/26 "2020-09-08T21:45:25Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike1](#): > > Composer Charles Ives (1898) > Actor Vincent Price (1934) > Activist and member of the Chicago Seven David Dellinger (1936) > Cartoonist Garry Trudeau (1970) I thought all of them were real! ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/27 "2020-09-08T21:56:58Z")
I went to Northwestern for grad school. I don’t remember the character’s name, but John Glover played a blackmailer in the movie _52 Pickup_. He was blackmailing business owner Roy Scheider. He went so far as to help Roy cook his own books to raise the money. When Roy asked Glover if he had studied accounting, he looks at Roy and says smugly, “Northwestern.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/28 "2020-09-08T21:59:27Z")
I’m sure the fictional character best known for being a graduate of my Alma Mater, Cornell University, is Andy Bernard from _The Office_, who often boasts about it. The joke is, although it’s Ivy League school, it’s probably the least prestigious of them, especially since it’s partly a state college. (I went to the NY State College of Agriculture, which is part of Cornell.) Another fictional graduate is Mitchell Pritchett, from _Modern Family._ Probably the most famous fictional graduate of the University of Colorado, where I went to grad school, is Mindy from _Mork and Mindy._ ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/29 "2020-09-08T22:00:02Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > 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. Didn’t Rodney Dangerfield’s character in _Back to School_ attend UW-Madison? I know they filmed it there (I was a student there at the time), but I don’t recall if they gave it a fictional name or not. I also went to University of Illinois, for undergraduate. The most famous fictional “alumni” of that school that I can think of is HAL 9000. We were all quite proud. ---
**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, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/30 "2020-09-08T22:02:20Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Didn’t Rodney Dangerfield’s character in _Back to School_ attend UW-Madison? I know they filmed it there (I was a student there at the time), but I don’t recall if they gave it a fictional name or not. I was at UW-Madison at the time, as well; it was called “Grand Lakes University” in the movie. ---
**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, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/31 "2020-09-08T22:34:16Z")
Tom Cruise’s character in **Risky Business** is trying to get into Princeton, but ends up going to my alma mater… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mzN2z6MM_G4/maxresdefault.jpg "Looks like University of Illinois!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzN2z6MM_G4) ---
**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, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/32 "2020-09-08T22:34:19Z")
Only in your mind! Sorry, misread the thread title. At least I squeezed Flash in there. ---
**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, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/33 "2020-09-08T22:35:47Z")
As long as Penn exists, Cornell will NEVER be at the bottom tier of the Ivy League… ---
**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, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/34 "2020-09-08T23:06:39Z")
I graduated from a college with 900 students. So I can enjoy this thread without scouring my brain for graduates. Heck, we barely had non-fictional graduates … Dan Quayle’s cousin! Ron Tripp (dude I wrestled with in college is now a World Sambo champion)! And who could forget Spanky McFarland? Besides me… ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/36 "2020-09-08T23:24:43Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > he joke is, although it’s Ivy League school, it’s probably the least prestigious of them, especially since it’s partly a state college Yeah Penn wins that contest. All people know about it is Joe Paterno. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/37 "2020-09-08T23:25:27Z")
In 1986, [James McGill Buchanan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M._Buchanan) ('40) became the first MTSU alumnus to be awarded the Nobel Prize. Buchanan received the [Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Memorial_Prize_in_Economic_Sciences) for his pioneering role in the development of the field of [public choice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_choice), a way of studying politician’s and bureaucrat’s behaviors.[[14]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Tennessee_State_University#cite_note-JamesBuchanan-14) In addition, former MTSU economics professor [Muhammad Yunus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunus) received the [Nobel Peace Prize](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prize) for efforts through [microcredit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcredit) to create economic and social development.[[50]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Tennessee_State_University#cite_note-Muhammad_Yunus-50) Visiting professor [Al Gore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore) received a [Nobel Peace Prize](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prize) for his work in climate change activism. ~~From Wiki So. Hooterville gets 3 Nobels. (SHRUGS) 🥇 🥈 🥉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/38 "2020-09-08T23:26:08Z")
For my undergraduate school, the only one I can think of is the Ballhog, from Bored of the Rings. Though I’m not sure he actually graduated. For my grad school, Montana State University, I don’t know of any. Though I suppose that I could cheat and say that that’s probably where Dr. Alan Grant (Jurassic Park) went, given that he was based on Dr. Jack Horner. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/39 "2020-09-08T23:29:36Z")
The [University of Edinburgh](https://www.ed.ac.uk/alumni/services/news/news-archive/2013-news/fictionalalumni) claims Doctor Who as an alumnus with a degree in Psychiatry. Cannot confirm with evidence, sadly. The writers of that page don’t seem to agree that this is by far the most interesting possible example… ---
**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, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/40 "2020-09-08T23:40:22Z")
You’re mixing up the University of Pennsylvania with Pennsylvania State. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/41 "2020-09-08T23:57:54Z")
The 2005 Heisman Trophy. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/42 "2020-09-09T00:00:16Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > Northwestern University has many famous real life graduates (Stephen Colbert, Meghan Markle, Julia Louis Dreyfuss, just to name a few); but the only fictional one I can recall was Anne Hathaway’s character in _The Devil Wears Prada_ Mr. Peanutbutter of _BoJack Horseman_ went to Northwestern. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108/43 "2020-09-09T00:29:57Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike1](#): > > You’re mixing up the University of Pennsylvania with Pennsylvania State. Not me, them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-or-interesting-fictional-alumni-from-your-school/920108.md?page=3)