# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/121 "2009-01-27T19:47:19Z")
Berkeley High School. A few off the top of my head: Rebecca Romijn (Model & Actress) Chidi Ahanatou (NFL player) Kevin Cadogan (guitarist from Third Eye Blind) Jack LaLanne (Fitness guru) Nina Hartley (Adult movie star although I think it’s a stage name) I knew or at least met the first three when I was in HS. My 20th reunion was just last year and there’s a number of famous graduates with plaques up on the wall in the community theatre - IIRC Robert Culp was one of them. One of my good friends is very big in the IT world but I don’t think he’s a “famous name”. Plenty more, I’m sure - it’s a very big school that’s been around for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/122 "2009-01-27T20:22:22Z")
I got: **Shemar Moore** – currently starring on _NCIS_ **Anne Wojcicki** – wife of Google kajilllionaire Sergey Brin **Stanley Jordan** – jazz guitarist **Stephan Jenkins** – lead singer of Third Eye Blind Also a couple of authors, a politician, and some film directors. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Spoonful_of_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/123 "2009-01-27T20:48:18Z")
[Matt Stone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Stone) went to my high school, but graduated before I’d arrived. Sometimes if I concentrate real hard, I can almost feel his divine essence wafting through the vapid hallways of Heritage High… moments before I was grabbed and stuffed upside down in a locker for being too darn awesome. (dreamy sigh) ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/124 "2009-01-27T21:15:24Z")
[Erin Daniels](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006439/), actress most well known as the lesbian tennis coach from **The L Word**. She was Erin Cohen then, and a freshhman when I was a senior, and she also happened to be my girlfriend for a year or so. [Scott Foley](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004930/), ex-husband of Jennifer Garner. Two years younger than me. Louise Post, from Veruca Salt, who was a senior when I was a freshman. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/125 "2009-01-28T09:42:26Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > What do you mean by Pink Floyd in this case? The entire band? Syd Barret or Roger Waters perhaps? Maybe Bob Geldof? Sorry, yes… Syd Barret and Roger Walters. Also Bob Klose who was in the band originally but left in 1965. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/126 "2015-06-02T05:41:52Z")
Yeah…it’s a zombie, but why a new thread? I just realized yesterday that the Navy SEAL, [Erik S. Kristensen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_S._Kristensen). played by Eric Bana in the movie _Lone Survivor_ attended my school as a jr. schooler. What connected it for me was a photo used in his SEAL training that was also used in our alumni periodical. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![bootsywoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@bootsywoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bootsywoot)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/127 "2015-06-02T07:41:07Z")
AFAIK, some guy named Mark something who ended up marrying Jennifer Lopez for a little while. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/128 "2015-06-02T08:48:06Z")
Tim Berners-Lee, without whom, etc., etc. He would have just arrived and been running around in short trousers when I was in my final year at the school. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/129 "2015-06-02T12:13:01Z")
Jeff Bleich (“blysh”, rhymes with dice). From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > A longtime friend of President Barack Obama, Bleich joined the White House staff in March 2009 as Special Counsel to the President, and in 2009 was nominated by Obama to become United States Ambassador to Australia. Bleich served as ambassador from 2009 to 2013. We were on the track team together and we graduated the same year. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/130 "2015-06-02T12:52:36Z")
Kirsten Costas, victim of a murder as depicted in “A Friend To Die For,” killed by another girl’s mom because that other girl didn’t make the cheerleading squad and Kirsten did. Various Olympic-level athletes in swimming (Carolyn Schuler), water polo (Heather Petri) & beach volleyball (Nicole Branagh). Football players (Ken Dorsey, Drew Bennet) Actress Dana Sparks (Falcon Crest, LA Law, JAG, Passions) ---
**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:** [June 2, 2015, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/131 "2015-06-02T13:00:28Z")
Marlon Brando attended my HS, but did not graduate. MLB player Brett “I don’t give a damn” Butler was in my graduating class. He was an okay guy for a jock. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/132 "2015-06-02T13:19:18Z")
I graduated from Cuyahoga Falls HS in 1971 with about 900 other youth, one of whom is the film director Jim Jarmusch ([Jim Jarmusch - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jarmusch)). I know him casually, he was already operating a few degrees from reality (at least Mid-western 1970’s reality) and seems to have done well for himself. Outside of that, wikipedia mentions a 1940’s baseball player and an 1900’s inventor. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/133 "2015-06-02T13:31:23Z")
For an academically oriented school, I find it kind of interesting that our most famous alumni are generally sports figures, with: 2 NBA players (Jake Voskuhl, Rasheed Sulaimon) A handful of NFL players (Garth Jax, Eric Mullins, David King, Chris Darkins, Chris Ogbonnaya) A MLS player (Nelson Akwari) We also have a Federal judge and a handful of local (Texas/Houston) politicians, but I wouldn’t really call them “famous”. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/134 "2015-06-02T13:44:29Z")
If my family hadn’t moved away from my hometown I would’ve graduated with NBA veteran Sam Perkins. Perkins won Olympic Gold in basketball in 1984, and he had a 17-year NBA career. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/135 "2015-06-02T14:00:40Z")
Hmmm, I find the following: Lou Williams - NBA David Greene - NFL Clay Cook - Songwriter with John Mayer, guitarist for the Zac Brown Band Wendell Odum - Renowned author of many Cisco networking books My high school has been around since the 1950’s and graduates 1,500+ per year, so that is actually a tiny list of notables! My son went to a very new, very small high school (less than 50 graduates per year) and counts among his schoolmates several touring musicians, including Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/136 "2015-06-02T14:16:31Z")
I was told Montel Williams did, 5 or 6 years prior to me. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/137 "2015-06-02T14:32:25Z")
Redondo Union High School Tracy Lords (though she didnt graduate) Charles Lindbergh The Smothers Brothers Squeaky Fromme Former US Senator,Ted Stevens Those are the biggies… ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/138 "2015-06-02T14:37:58Z")
England cricketer Ian Bell. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/139 "2015-06-02T14:49:19Z")
Oh, I see a few have been added to the Wikipedia page. There’s the current Lord Speaker in the House of Lords and, amongst a few others, a chap called Tom Hilditch who is a journalist with UK Editor in Chief of Penthouse on his CV. Not bad for a Catholic school run by Irish priests. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751/140 "2015-06-02T16:38:49Z")
My high school was only open as a high school for 13 years (it’s now a charter middle school) during the height of the baby boom, and while we number several mayors and one state governor among our alumni, we only had three individuals who reached any level of national prominence – all 3 had careers in the NBA, although none were well known. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-most-famous-and-or-notable-alumni-from-your-high-school/482751.md?page=8)