Distinguished Alumni

Florence Avognon- 2012 California Teacher of the Year
James Williams, Ph.D.- Community College District Chancellor; Community College President
Joseph A. Bagnall- educator, author, writer, producer, and documentarian
Lowell Bean, Ph.D.- Professor of Anthropology and author
Edward Diller- educator and author
Jack Ericson Eblen, Ph.D.- Professor of History and author
Maulana (Ron) Karenga, Ph.D.- Professor of Black Studies, activist and founder of Kwanzaa
Simon Karlinsky, Ph.D.- Professor of Slavic languages and literature, author
Margaret Martin, Ph.D.- Harmony Project Founder and Recipient of President’s Citizens Medal
Michael Schreiber, Ph.D.- Professor of Biomedical Communications, author and fitness expert
Rosalyn S. Heyman- Educator and Philanthropist

The Honorable Jo Anne Darcy- Santa Clarita Mayor and City Council member (Ret.)
Hal Bernson- Los Angeles City Council member
Tom LaBonge- Los Angeles City Council member
Louis R. Nowell- Los Angeles City Council member (former)
Bernard C. Parks- Los Angeles City Council member and former Chief of Police
Arthur K. Snyder- Los Angeles City Council member, lawyer
The Honorable Diane E. Watson- Member of Congress
Howard Caldwell- City Manager of Compton, CA

Communications

Pete Arbogast- radio announcer
Murray Fromson- broadcast journalist
Herbert G. Klein- newspaper executive
Paul Olden- radio announcer
Leonard Probst- drama critic
Ted Sobel- sports journalist
Tony Valdez- broadcast journalist
Clifton W. Winston- KJLH 102.3 FM Radio Air Personality

Actors

Bob Arbogast- radio broadcaster and voice actor
Alan Arkin- actor, Academy Award ® recipient
Billy Barty- actor and founder, Little People of America
Brenda Benet- actor
Barbara Billingsley- actor
Tommy “Butch” Bond- actor
Sufe Bradshaw- actress
Albert Brooks- actor, comedian and director
Charles D. Brooks, III– actor, director and playwright
Diana Canova- actor
Ralph Carter- actor
Dean Chekvala- actor
James Coburn- actor, Academy Award ® recipient
Clint Eastwood- actor; producer, Academy Award ® recipient; director
Mike Evans- actor
Laurence Fishburne- actor
Al Freeman, Jr- actor, Emmy ®
Morgan Freeman- actor, Academy Award® recipient;
Don Grady- actor
Debbie Shapiro Gravitte- actor, Tony Award ® recipient
Deidre Hall- actor
Mark Hamill- actor
Earl Hammond- actor, voice actor
Michael Harris- actor
Linda Hart- actor
Allen “Farina” Hoskins- actor
Jackie Joseph- actor
Margaret Kerry- actor
Sally Kellerman- actor, Academy Award® nominee
Shin Koyamada- actor, martial artist
Wallace Langham- actor
Ruta Lee- actor
Tony Maggio- actor
Whitman Mayo- actor
Angela McEwan- actor
James Mitchell- actor and dancer
Dickie Moore- actor
Wayne Morris- actor, WWII ace
Shelley Morrison- actor
Stephen Nichols- actor
Jeanette Nolan- actor
Hugh O’Brian- actor, Golden Globe Award ® recipient
Edward Padilla- actor
Rosie Perez- actor and choreographer
Donna Reed- actor, Academy Award ® recipient
Maggie Roswell- actor
Alexis Smith- actor, Tony Award ® recipient
Louise Sorel- actor
Roy Thinnes- actor
Irene Tsu- actor
Robert Vaughn- actor, Emmy ® Award recipient
Stuart Whitman- actor
Cindy Williams- actor and producer
Esther Williams- actor, Golden Globe Award ® recipient
Mykelti Williamson- actor
Paul Winfield- actor, Emmy ® Award recipient
Jo Anne Worley- actor
Aron Kader- comedian
Victoria Vetri- actress and model
Don Grady- actor
Alex Henteloff- actor
Celia Kaye- actress
Mira del Sol- actress, entrepreneur, civic-leader, philanthropist
Joseph Stern- actor
Irene Tsu- actor
David White- actor
Tony Young- actor
Elliot Lewis- actor and director

Production

Ray Aghayan- costume designer, Emmy ® Award recipient
Rudy Behlmer- director and author
True Boardman- screenwriter and actor
Dan Bootzin- film editor, Emmy ® Award recipient
Lee Broda- producer
Charles Burnett- director and writer
Charles Campbell- sound engineer, Academy Award ® recipient
Victor DuBois- editor, Emmy ® Award nominee
Robert Elswit- cinematographer, Academy Award ® recipient
Gary Gray- director and producer
Maggie Greenwald- director and writer
Nick Grippo- caterer and author
Ray Harryhausen- producer, director and special effects artist; special Academy Award ® recipient
Albert Hughes- director, producer, screenwriter
Bruce Kimmel- director, producer, writer, actor and composer
Mimi Leder- director, Emmy ® Award recipient
Michael Lembeck- director, Emmy ® Award recipient; actor
William McCloud- camera operator, Emmy ® Award recipient
John Milius- screenwriter, producer and director
Karen Moncrieff- director
Sharon Oreck- producer and author
Gene Roddenberry- producer and screenwriter
Tarsem Singh- director
Gary Stockdale- composer for television shows
Kevin Tent- editor, Academy Award ® nominee
José Quintero, director
Zev Buffman- Broadway producer
Tamra Davis- producer
Ron Ellis- Academy Award winning filmmaker

Art

Don Bachardy- artist
Billy Al Bengston- painter and sculptor
Dianne Dillon- illustrator
Melvin Edwards- sculptor
Cristian Gheorghiu- contemporary artist and painter
Jason Laure- photographer and author
John Lees- artist and painter
Evangeline Juliet Montgomery- print-maker, metal smith and weaver
Ruth Orkin- photographer and filmmaker
John Riddle- commercial artist, sculptor and painter
Hisako Terasaki- artist and etcher
C. Westermann- printmaker and sculptor
Robert Williams– painter and cartoonist
Kerry James Marshall- artist
Daniel Marlos- LACC Visual and Media Arts Vice Chair
Doyle Lane– ceramist

Dance

Alvin Ailey- dancer and choreographer
Maria Bermudez- Flamenco dancer
Janet Collins- ballerina

Design

Frank Gehry- architect, Pritzker Architecture Prize recipient
Rudi Gernreich- fashion designer

Music

David Alpert- musician
Roy Ayers- jazz musician
Chesney Henry “Chet” Baker, Jr.- trumpeter and vocalist
Robert Bradley- blues musician
Stanley K. Burell aka M.C. Hammer- R&B musician
Jose “Pepe” Carlos- accordionist and requinto, Grammy ® recipient
Eric Dolphy- jazz musician
Jean Fenn- opera singer
Bob Florence- composer, band leader and educator
Don Friedman- jazz pianist
Jerry Goldsmith- composer, Academy Award ® recipient
Irene “DJ Irene” Gutierrez- electronic music DJ
Marisol Hernandez- singer, Grammy ® recipient
Earl Kim- composer
Leon Kirchner- composer
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller- songwriters and Hall of Fame producers, Grammy ® recipients
George London- opera singer and administrator
Lebo M- composer
Les McCann- jazz pianist and singer
Charles Mingus- jazz musician
Lennie Niehaus- composer
Marnie Nixon- vocalist
Odetta- folk singer
Dianne Reeves- jazz singer, Grammy ® recipient
Howard Rumsey- jazz musician
Robin Russell- drummer
Russ Titelman- music producer, Grammy ® recipient; songwriter
Jack Sheldon- jazz musician
Leonard Slatkin- conductor, National Medal of Arts recipient
John Williams- composer, Academy Award ® recipient
La Monte Young- composer
Pamela Courson- singer
Herb Geller- jazz musician
David Liebe Hart- outsider musician, street performer, artist, actor, puppeteer
Florence LaRue- leader singer of “The 5th Dimension”
Howard Leese- rock musician and producer
Ed Thigpen- jazz drummer
Michele Zukovsky- principal and solo clarinet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Photography

Kenneth E. Washington

Writing

Byron Barton- author and illustrator
Kurt Boone- author and poet
Charles Bukowski- poet and author
Ed Bullins- playwright, Obie Award recipient
Carlos Casteneda- author
Alvaro Cardona-Hine- poet, composer and author
Joanne de Longchamps- poet and artist
Charles Eastman- playwright and screenwriter
Charles Gordone- playwright, Pulitzer Prize recipient; actor, Obie Award recipient; director
Jim Harmon- author and producer
Michael S. Harper- poet, former Poet Laureate of Rhode Island
Bryan Malessa- author
Diane Redfield Massie- author and illustrator
Terry McMillan- author
David Meltzer- poet, musician and educator
Alejandro Murguía- poet, current Poet Laureate of San Francisco
Pat Parker- poet and activist
Carolyn See, Ph.D.- author and educator
Justin Tanner- playwright
Quincy Troupe- poet; former Poet Laureate of California
Leonard Buschel- writer and substance abuse counselor

Aerospace

Dean Chapman, Ph.D.- NASA, Director of Astronautics
Jovita Jenkins- software designer for missile, communications and space systems
Robert Leighton, Ph.D.- Astrophysicist, Rumsford Prize and James Craig Watson Medal Recipient
Seymour ‘Sy’ Liebergot- former NASA Flight Controller during the Apollo program

Chemistry

Thomas Bruice, Ph.D.- research bioorganic chemist, professor and author
Starling Trimble, B.S.- industrial chemist and patent holder
Fred Wudl, Ph.D.- research chemist, professor and author

Environmental

Eugene Coan, Ph.D.- environmental scientist and author

Hematology and Radiobiology

Eugene Cronkite, M.D.- research hematologist, professor and author

Horticulture

Barbara Joe Hoshizaki, M.S.- horticulturist, educator and author

Physics

Lawrence Johnston, Ph.D.- physicist

Baseball

Don Buford- major league baseball player
Larry Demery- major league baseball player
Dennis Gilbert- LACC Hall of Fame baseball inductee, sports agent and entrepreneur
Terry Humphrey- major league baseball player
Kevin Millar- major league baseball player, sports journalist
Ken Rudolph- major league baseball player
Emmet Ashford-umpire

Basketball

Larry Friend- professional basketball player
Rico Harris- former Harlem Globetrotter

Football

Don Bishop- professional football player
Ron Botchan- football coach
Milt Davis- professional football player
Vince Evans- professional football player
Reggie Haynes- professional football player
Woodley Lewis- professional football player
Raymond May- professional football player
Willie Williams- football player
Michael Douglass- professional football player
Rod Martin- former all-pro player for the Oakland Raiders
Harry Thompson- football player

Track

Jeff Williams- sprinter

Wrestling

Jose “Pepper” Gomez- professional wrestler and bodybuilder

Armed Forces

Lieutenant Susan Ahn Cuddy- U.S. Navy, First Asian-American Female Navy Officer, First Female gunnery officer, WWII
Joseph A. Czyzyk- U.S. Navy Veteran and Aviation Executive
Major General Eugene L. Hudson (Ret.)- U. S. Air Force
Lieutenant General Herbert R. Temple, Jr (Ret.)- Chief of the National Guard Bureau

Economics

Lawrence Klein, Ph.D.- economist, Nobel Prize recipient in Economics

Judiciary

The Honorable Lourdes Baird- U. S. District Court (Ret.)
The Honorable Leo Holt- Cook County (IL) Circuit Court (Ret.)
The Honorable Vaino Hassan Spencer

Law

Lula Ballton- lawyer and professor
John Branca- entertainment attorney
Albert L. Gordon- lawyer and gay rights advocate
Howard Weitzman- entertainment attorney

Nonprofit

Ruben Hernandez- founder, Unification of Disabled Latin Americans

Religion

Sheik Qazi Asad- LAPD chaplain
Robert Sirico- Roman Catholic priest, founder of the Acton Institute