# Who are the most famous and/or notable alumni from your high school? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 24, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751 "2009-01-24T02:49:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/1 "2009-01-24T02:49:40Z")
I went to Xavier High School, a prestigious Jesuit institution in New York. There’s a smattering of mayors and congressman (including a former mayor of New York), but by far the two biggest names on the list are Supreme Court Justice **Antonin Scalia** and NBC weatherman **Al Roker**. Curiously, they always lead with Roker in the promotional material. Yours? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/2 "2009-01-24T03:00:19Z")
I went to a tiny high school in a tiny town in extreme remote northern Maine. Me. I’m the most notable person from my high school. As far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/3 "2009-01-24T03:16:44Z")
We did this a month ago. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=498093&highlight=alumni+famous](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=498093&highlight=alumni+famous) ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/4 "2009-01-24T03:18:48Z")
Grant Hill, I think. I don’t know of any others who are particularly famous. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/5 "2009-01-24T03:28:57Z")
I graduated from Klein High School. As far as I know the only notable from there is [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005164/bio](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005164/bio)Lyle Lovett. Although I’ve been a fan for years and have met members of his extended family, and I still live in the same area–I’ve never met or seen him IRL. ---
**Author:** ![hekk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@hekk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hekk)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/6 "2009-01-24T03:43:27Z")
From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > - Mike Wilks, NBA basketball player > - Gordon Gano, Musician - Violent Femmes > - Speech, Musician - Arrested Development > - David Fowlkes Jr. - Inventor of the spinners > - Michael Weishan - Landscape designer, former host of The Victory Garden > - Leigh Scott-film director and producer > - Peter Mulvey-Musician > - Jerry Ziesmer-film actor and director The guy who invented _ **spinners** _!?! The Violent Femmes! Who the hell is Speech? I went to a weird high school… ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/7 "2009-01-24T03:47:28Z")
Randy Arney (co-founder of the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago,) Uwe Blab (basketball Player) and Brian Shouse (former Cardinals baseball player.) I think that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/8 "2009-01-24T03:59:02Z")
My high school has a Wikipedia page, which surprises me; it looks like a student wrote it, which does not. The following are listed as “notable alumni”: ``` * Khalif Barnes, offensive tackle, Jacksonville Jaguars * Robert Griffith, Strong safety, Arizona Cardinals * J Robinson, head wrestling coach for the Golden Gophers * "Shotgun" Tom Kelly, local radio/TV personality; currently DJ in LA for KRTH (K-Earth 101FM) * Hula, a talk show host on Channel 93.3 * Kalvin Reed, a talk show host on Channel 93.3 * Phillip Gaughen, Radio personality in San Diego for KGB 101.5 * Tom Gatch, Writer/Columnist, Author of "Hooked on Baja" (W.W. Norton & Co./ Countryman Press) * Raymond Wells, middle linebacker, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans ``` I’ve only heard of Tom Kelly, who is strictly small potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/9 "2009-01-24T03:59:42Z")
Winona Ryder. That’s it. My hometown is pretty dull. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/10 "2009-01-24T04:03:01Z")
Field Marshal Paulus (of Stalingrad fame) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/11 "2009-01-24T04:06:19Z")
I come from a very poor, tiny high school in Louisiana. My graduating class was 39 people and I was the only one that went straight to a 4 year college. I am afraid that I might be the most notable although certainly not the most famous. We had a large number of people that went on to commit serious felonies including horrible and senseless murders. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/12 "2009-01-24T04:08:42Z")
Prince Charles would probably top the list for my school although he only went there for a year. Of the people who graduated, probably Kerry Packer, media magnate. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/13 "2009-01-24T04:14:37Z")
I went to a Jesuit school: St Aloysius’ College, at Milsons Point in Sydney. I’d say the most famous old boys are Sir Charles Mackerras, the conductor and Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey, federal politicians. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/14 "2009-01-24T04:16:28Z")
Pared down from Wiki’s rather long list, to show the genuinely famous or near-famous, IMHO: ``` * Jerome "Jay" Apt, Class of 1967, astronaut * Chris Frantz, Class of 1970, drummer for The Talking Heads * Edgar J. Kaufmann, American department store magnate (Kaufmann's) and philanthropist. In 1935, Kaufmann commissioned famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright to build his much-celebrated summer home, Fallingwater, in the Laurel Highlands outside of Pittsburgh. * David McCullough, Class of 1951, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian * Tom Vilsack, Class of 1968, former governor of Iowa, Secretary of Agriculture for the Obama Administration ``` ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/15 "2009-01-24T04:31:52Z")
Dr. Walter S. Baird - physicist Evan Farmer - actor / TV personality (Of 'While You Were Out" fame) Harris Glenn Milstead - better known as the movie actor “Divine” Michael Phelps - 14 time Olympic Gold Medalist and swimming world record holder ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/16 "2009-01-24T04:44:28Z")
[Double O Swango](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Swango) Valedictorian, graduated year ahead of me. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/17 "2009-01-24T04:48:47Z")
Russel Brand. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/18 "2009-01-24T04:54:06Z")
Washington-Lee HS in Arlington VA Forrest Tucker (actor), 1938 Gena Rowlands, 1947 Shirley MacLaine, 1952 Nancy Dussault, Actress and Broadway musicals singer and dancer, ABC’s Good Morning America co-anchor with David Hartman, 1953 Pat Priest, Actress The Munsters, 1954, [1] Warren Beatty, 1955 George Lee Butler, Commander in Chief, USSC, 1957 Robert Richardson, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, 1955 Jake Scott, 1963 (two time Super Bowl champion w/ Miami Dolphins: Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl VIII| VIII]]) Stan Winston (film director, visual effects supervisor),1964 Dan Rizzie (artist),1969 Reggie Harrison, 1969 (two time Super Bowl champion w/ Pittsburgh Steelers: Super Bowls IX and X) Carl Tanner, (World-class opera tenor), 1980 Sandra Bullock (actress), 1982 And **MEEEEEEEE!** 1962 ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/19 "2009-01-24T04:56:40Z")
Daryle Lamonica, NFL Raiders Quarterback Johnny Estrada, All-star, pro-baseball player Chad McCarty, pro-soccer player, Olympian Mark Gardner, pro-baseball player Stephen Spach, pro-football player Keith Poole, pro-football player [Amber Frey - G/f of convicted murderer Scott Peterson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_Frey) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/20 "2009-01-24T05:06:04Z")
Adam Carolla was two years behind me at my high school. Erin Moran (of “Happy Days”) was two years ahead of me. Those are the two that I knew about before going to the Wikipedia site. Several others are listed there. Ed [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751.md?page=2)