De Witt Clinton High School - Notable Alumni

Notable Alumni

• Don Adams (1923–2005), actor best known for his work in the TV series Get Smart.
• Lincoln Alexander (1922-2012), Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
• Robert Altman, (class of 1961)
• Charles Alston (1907–1977), artist, muralist (class of 1925)
• Allan Arbus (born 1918), actor (class of 1933).
• Nate Archibald (born 1948), Hall of Fame basketball player (class of 1966)
• Don Lane aka Donald Morton Isaacson (1933–2009), American-born Australian entertainer, TV talk show host and singer (class of 1952).
• Richard Avedon (1923–2004), photographer (class of 1941).

• William Axt (1888–1959), film composer, The Thin Man (1935) (class of 1905)
• Sanjay Ayre (born 1980), runner (including bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 4 x 400 meters relay) (class of 1999).

• Harold Baer, Justice, New York State Supreme Court (class of 1923).
• James Baldwin (1924–1987), writer (class of 1942).
• Martin Balsam (1919–1996), actor (class of 1938).

• Romare Bearden (1911–1988), artist (1925–1928).
• David Begelman (1921–1995), President, Columbia Pictures (class of 1938).
• Lou Bender (1910–2009), pioneer player with the Columbia Lions and in early pro basketball, who was later a successful trial attorney.
• Ira Berlin (born 1941), historian, author (class of 1959).
• Pandro S. Berman (1905–1996), film producer (class of 1923).
• Edward Bernays (1891–1995), "Father of Public Relations" (class of 1908).

• Edward Bernstein, First director of the International Monetary Fund (class of 1922).
• Robert Blackburn (1920–2003), artist.
• Pedro Borbón, Jr. (born 1967), professional baseball pitcher (class of 1985).

• Stephen Buckley, managing editor, St. Petersburg Times (class of 1985).
• Robert Butler MD. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction in 1976 (class of 1944).
• B. Gerald Cantor (1916–1996), founder, Cantor Fitzgerald (class of 1934).
• Richard Carmona (born 1949), former Surgeon General of the United States who dropped out of DeWitt Clinton at age 16.
• Al Casey (1915–2005), jazz guitarist (class of 1931).

• Gilbert Cates (born 1934), producer, Academy Award telecasts (class of 1951).
• Paddy Chayefsky (1923–1981), screenwriter (class of 1939)
• Richard Condon (1915–1996), author, The Manchurian Candidate, Prizzi's Honor (class of 1933).

• Avery Corman (born 1935), author, Kramer vs. Kramer, Oh, God! (class of 1952).
• Frank Corsaro (born 1924), stage and opera director (class of 1942).
• Ellis Cousens, Executive VP and CFO, John Wiley & Sons(class of 1970).
• Milton Cross, Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts announcer (class of 1915).
• George Cukor (1899–1983), film director (class of 1917).
• Countee Cullen, poet (class of 1922)
• Lloyd Cutler, attorney, counsel to US presidents (class of 1932).
• Leonard Davis, founder, Colonial Penn Insurance; co-founder, AARP (class of 1944).
• Pedro de Cordoba, actor (class of 1900).
• Charles DeLisi, scientist, "Father of the Human Genome Project" (class of 1959)
• Peter De Rose, composer (class of 1917).
• Dean Dixon, first African American conductor of the New York Philharmonic (class of 1932).
• DJ Red Alert, impresario (class of 1974).
• George Duvivier, bass player (class of 1937).
• Fred Ebb, lyricist (class of 1944).
• Will Eisner, "Father of the modern graphic novel" (class of 1936)
• Eliot Elisofon, photographer (class of 1929).
• Eugene Emond, World War II B-17 Pilot and Officer of the New York Federal Reserve (class of 1928)
• George Fellows, CEO, Callaway Golf (class of 1959)
• Herbert Fields, playwright and screenwriter (class of 1916).
• Joseph Fields, playwright and screenwriter (class of 1913).
• Bill Finger, author, co-creator of Batman (class of 1933).
• Edward S. Feldman, film producer, Witness, The Truman Show (class of 1944).
• Avery Fisher, electronics pioneer (class of 1924).
• Bernie Fliegel, early professional basketball player (class of 1934)
• Lewis Frankfort, CEO, Coach Bags (class of 1963).
• Bruce Jay Friedman (born 1930), novelist, playwright and screenwriter.
• Budd Friedman, IMPROV founder (class of 1951).
• Frank D. Gilroy, Pulitzer Prize playwright (class of 1943).
• Leo Gottlieb, New York Knicks basketball player (class of 1938).
• George Graff, songwriter, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" (class of 1903)
• Bill Graham (1931–1991), rock promoter (class of 1949).
• Luther Green, NBA Basketball Player
• Adolph Green, lyricist, screenwriter (class of 1932).
• George Gregory, Jr., first African American All-American college basketball player and New York City official (class of 1927).
• George Gresham, president, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East (class of 1973)
• Ernest A. Gross (1906–1999), diplomat (class of 1922).
• Sam Gross, cartoonist, New Yorker Magazine (class of 1950).
• Gary Gubner, shotputter and weighlifter, Olympic athlete and world record holder (class of 1960).
• Sam Gutowitz, founder, Sam Goody Records (class of 1922)
• Jerry Harkness, professional basketball player and civil rights activist (class of 1959).
• Kenneth Harper, creator and executive producer of the musical play and film The Wiz (Class of 1957).
• Tom Henderson, NBA Basketball Player and Olympic Medal winner(Silver) in 1972 (class of 1969).
• Michael Hafftka, artist (class of 1971).
• Bernard Herrmann, composer (class of 1931).
• Judd Hirsch, actor (class of 1952)
• Robert Hofstadter, 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics
• Irving Howe, author, essayist (class of 1936).
• Irving Jaffee, Speed skater who won 2 gold medals at the 1932 Winter Olympics (Class of 1922).
• Leo Kadanoff, physicist, National Medal of Science (class of 1953).
• Bob Kane, co-creator of Batman (class of 1933)
• Stubby Kaye, actor (class of 1936).
• Kool Keith, Hip Hop MC, member of Ultramagnetic MCs and a solo artist (class of 1981).
• Theodore W. Kheel, former New York Labor mediator, civil rights activist, entrepreneur (class of 1931).
• Benjamin Ralph Kimlau, USAF pilot killed during World War II, square named for him in Chinatown, NYC (class of 1937).
• Robert Klein (born 1942), comedian, actor, author (class of 1958).
• George Kleinsinger, composer, Tubby the Tuba (class of 1930).
• George Kojac, won 2 gold medals at the 1928 Summer Olympics (Class of 1927).
• Stanley Kramer, film producer and director (class of 1930).
• William Kunstler (1919–1995), attorney.
• Burt Lancaster (1913–1994), actor (class of 1930).
• Don Lane (1933–2009), entertainer, talk-show host, sportscaster. Once the highest paid person on Australian television. (class of 1952).
• Joseph P. Lash, Pulitzer Prize author and historian (class of 1927).
• Ralph Lauren (born 1939), designer (class of 1957)
• Butch Lee, NBA Basketball Player (class of 1974).
• Howard V. Lee, Congressional Medal Of Honor Recipient, Vietnam, Marine Corps Officer (Class of 1951).
• Stan Lee, comic book publisher (class of 1939)
• Alfred Leslie, artist (class of 1945).
• Seymour Leslie, founder, Pickwick International record company; president of MGM Home Video (class of 1940)
• Edward Lewis, co-founder, ESSENCE magazine (class of 1958).
• Joe E. Lewis, entertainer (class of 1919).
• Robert Q. Lewis, actor, television host (class of 1938).
• Eric Linden, actor (class of 1926).
• Frank Loesser, composer and lyricist. Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama, and Tony Award winner (class of 1926).
• Eddie Lopat, New York Yankee pitcher (class of 1935).
• Robert Lowery, first African American fire commissioner of the FDNY (class of 1934).
• George Macy, publisher (class of 1917)
• Vito Marcantonio, US Congressman (class of 1921).
• Garry Marshall, director, producer, actor (class of 1952).
• Donald McKayle, stage and film choreographer (class of 1947).
• Abel Meeropol, teacher at DWC; lyricist, "Strange Fruit", "The House I Live In" (class of 1921).
• Paul Milstein, real estate developer, philanthropist (class of 1940).
• Walter Mirisch, film producer (class of 1938).
• Tracy Morgan, actor and comedian (class of 1987)
• Jerome Moross, film composer, The Big Country (class of 1929).
• Howard Morris, actor (class of 1936).
• Ralph Morse, photographer, developed the camera that went to the moon in 1969 (class of 1935).
• Jerry Moss, co-founder, A & M Records (class of 1953).
• Johnny Most, radio play-by-play announcer for the Boston Celtics basketball team (class of 1940).
• Jan Murray, actor, television host (class of 1934).
• Lou Myers, cartoonist, writer The New Yorker (class of 1933).
• Frank H. Netter MD, anatomy artist (class of 1923).
• Roy Neuberger, financier (class of 1921).
• Barnett Newman, artist (class of 1923).
• Herbie Nichols, pianist, songwriter, "Lady Sings the Blues" (class of 1937).
• Basil Paterson, labor lawyer, political leader in New York (class of 1942).
• Jan Peerce, Metropolitan Opera tenor (class of 1922).
• Abraham Polonsky (1910–1991), blacklisted screenwriter.
• Bud Powell, jazz pianist and composer (class of 1931).
• Mel Powell, Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz composer (class of 1937).
• Henry F. Pringle, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for his 1931 biography of Theodore Roosevelt (Class of 1915).
• DeWitt Clinton Ramsey, admiral, US Navy (class of 1908).
• John Randolph, actor (class of 1932).
• Charles Rangel, US representative
• Maurice M. Rapport, biochemist; identified the neurotransmitter serotonin (class of 1936)
• Seymour Reit, co-creator, Casper, the Friendly Ghost (class of 1934).
• Sugar Ray Robinson, champion prizefighter (class of 1938).
• Richard Rodgers, Emmy Award, Grammy Award, Academy Award, and Tony Award winner (class of 1919)
• A.M. Rosenthal, New York Times journalist.1960 Pulitzer Prize winner for International Reporting (class of 1938).
• Bob Rothberg, songwriter and author (class of 1919)
• William Ruder, co-founder, Ruder-Finn (class of 1938).
• Jack Rudin, real estate developer, philanthropist (class of 1942).
• Lewis Rudin, real estate developer, philanthropist (class of 1944).
• Eyre "Bruiser" Saitch, basketball and tennis champion (NBA Hall of Fame as NY Ren) (class of 1924)
• Juan R. Sanchez, judge, US District Court PA (class of 1974).
• Dolph Schayes, NBA Hall of Fame basketball player (class of 1945).
• Daniel Schorr, journalist (class of 1933).
• M. Lincoln Schuster, co-founder, Simon & Schuster publishers (class of 1913).
• Barry Schwartz, co-founder, Calvin Klein (class of 1959).
• Sherwood Schwartz, creator of Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch (class of 1934)
• Barney Sedran, basketball Hall of Famer (class of 1907).
• Bobby Sharp, songwriter, "Unchain My Heart" (class of 1942).
• Steve Sheppard, played for the Chicago Bulls and won a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics (Class of 1973).
• Gerald Shur, founder of the Federal Witness Protection Program, and co-author of WITSEC—Inside the Federal Witness Protection Program (class of 1951)
• Neil Simon, playwright and screenwriter. Recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, various Emmy Awards, Tony Awards, and a Golden Globe (class of 1944).
• Aaron Siskind, abstract photographer (class of 1921).
• Ricky Sobers, professional basketball player (class of 1971).
• Louis Stark, New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner for Telegraphic Reporting in 1942 (Class of 1907).
• Sol Stein (born 1926), author
• Larry Storch, actor (class of 1941).
• Charles Strouse, composer (class of 1944).
• Bruce Taub, president, CBS Television Network (class of 1966)
• Howard Taubman (1907–1996), music and theater critic for The New York Times (class of 1925).
• Sammy Timberg, Musician and composer (class of 1919)
• Laurence Tisch, head, Loew's Hotels, CBS (class of 1939).
• Doug "The Greaseman" Tracht, radio personality (class of 1968).
• Marvin Traub, former head of Bloomingdale's department store (class of 1942).
• Lionel Trilling, educator and critic (class of 1921).
• Ozzie Virgil, Sr., major league baseball player (class of 1950).
• Ed Warner, college basketball player and central figure on point shaving scandal (class of 1948)
• Ben Wattenberg, host, Think Tank on PBS; author (class of 1951).
• Jerome Weidman, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (Class of 1930).
• Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States (class of 1954).
• Grover Whalen, "Mr. New York", WNYC founder, President World's Fair Corporation (class of 1906)
• Woodie W. White, bishop of the United Methodist Church (class of 1953).
• Willie Worsley, community leader and basketball player (class of 1964).
• William Zeckendorf, real estate developer (class of 1921).

Although he did not graduate, guitarist Ace Frehley of KISS aka Paul Frehley also attended Clinton.