Tamalpais High School - Notable Alumni and Students

Notable Alumni and Students

As part of its celebration of its 144th year, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a series in June 2009 listing 144 famous Bay Area high school alumni in a "roll call of fame." Tam alumni listed were Tupac Shakur, George Duke, Pat Paulsen, William L. Patterson, John Cipollina, and Courtney Thorne-Smith. Coverage of Tam's centennial in 2008 included several lists of famous alumni in local newspapers. The Marinscope Newspapers ran a story that began with a list of some of the best known, including Eve Arden, Sam Chapman, Matt Hazeltine, Rob Nilsson, Bill Champlin, Kathleen Quinlan, and Romeo Bandison. The article included short biographical sketches of eight lesser well-known Tam alumni "who made a difference": civil rights leader William Patterson (class of 1911); Sutro Librarian Emeritus Richard H. Dillon (1941); jazz pianist George Duke (1963); mountain biking pioneer Joe Breeze (1972); mathematician Peter Shor (1977); Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Martha Mendoza (1983); musician and peace activist Snatam Kaur (1990); and NASA engineer Evan Thomas (2001).

The people listed here graduated from or attended Tam. The year shown is the year of graduation for the class that they entered with, unless they are known to have graduated with or identify with a different class.

• William L. Patterson 1911 – attorney; civil rights pioneer
• Roger Kent c. 1923 – attorney; general counsel, U.S. Department of Defense, 1952–1953; Democratic Party campaign manager and State chair
• Eve Arden (Eunice Quedens) 1926* – actress (Our Miss Brooks, Grease)
• Antonio "Tony" Freitas c. 1926 – pitcher MLB, Philadelphia Athletics & Cincinnati Reds)
• Sam Chapman 1934‡ – athlete (high school & college all star, California Golden Bears; Philadelphia Athletics & Cleveland Indians)
• Art Schallock 1943 – MLB pitcher: Yankees (1953 World Series), Orioles
• Pat Paulsen 1945† – statesman; comic (Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour)
• Joe DeMaestri 1946‡ – MLB shortstop: A's, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Yankees, 1957 All Star, 1960 World Series
• Anton Szandor LaVey (Howard Stanton Levey) ~1947 – founder of Church of Satan
• Karl Olson 1948* – MLB outfielder: Red Sox, Senators, Tigers
• Glen Robinson 1950‡ – 1st bl ack U.S. Marshal to head California office and served for 40 years on Marin County Board of Education.
• Matt Hazeltine 1951† – athlete (linebacker, NFL San Francisco 49ers, 1963 & 1965 Pro Bowls)
• Dan Caldwell 1952‡ – actor; drama teacher (Daniel Caldwell Performing Arts Center opened in 2006 at Tam High)
• John L. Wasserman 1955† – entertainment critic and columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle from 1964 until his death in 1979; he referred to "the Frats and the Hoods" at Tam in his review of Grease (Film)
• Rob Nilsson 1957‡ – actor & director, 9 @ Night Films (On the Edge; first American director to win both the Prix de la Caméra d'Or (Best First Film) at Cannes (for Northern Lights in 1979) and the Grand Jury Prize-Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival (in 1988 for Heat and Sunlight))
• Elmer Collett 1962‡ – athlete (lineman, NFL San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Colts)
• George Duke 1963 – jazz pianist
• Charlie Kelly 1963‡ – roadie (Sons of Champlin); Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
• John Cipollina 1964* – musician (Quicksilver Messenger Service)
• Bill Champlin 1965* – musician (The Opposite Six, Sons of Champlin, Chicago)
• Charlie Cunningham 1967* – mountain bike pioneer (Mountain Bike Hall of Fame first year inductee, 1988)
• Michael Goldberg 1971‡ – music journalist, Rolling Stone, founded Addicted to Noise online magazine and Neumu.net
• Joe Breeze 1972‡ – mountain bike inventor (Mountain Bike Hall of Fame 1988, founder of Breezer Bikes)
• Mario Cipollina 1972* – musician (Copperhead, Soundhole, Huey Lewis and the News, Terry and the Pirates)
• Kathleen Quinlan 1972‡ – actress (American Graffiti, Apollo 13, Oliver Stone's The Doors, Breach)
• Curtis Campbell 1974 - United States Navy SEAL - MK VIII Swimmer Delivery Vehicle Program http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEAL_Delivery_Vehicle - Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Recovery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster - Federal Air Marshal - Director of Maritime Security - conceptualized and designed TWIC BeastBox Biometric Access Control Systems for Ports, Schools and Universities to prevent active shooter scenarios and domestic terrorism: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-895794 http://www.digitalwavepublishing.com/pubs/NWM/maritimeprofessional/201211/?pgno=4 (starts on page 44) - uncovered conspiracy by u.s.government to deny the existence of u.s. chemical weapons located on the Island of San Jose in the Republic of Panama, Minister of Foreign Affairs 2000 - 2001 http://www.zoklet.net/totse/en/politics/green_planet/162720.html - BMI Singer/Songwriter/Founder of the Eclectic Beast Band www.eclecticbeastband.com
• Cassandra Webb (Cassandra Politzer) 1976‡ - actress (Starship, Sons and Daughters)
• Merritt Butrick 1977* – actor (Square Pegs; James T. Kirk's son, David Marcus (Star Trek))
• Peter Shor 1977‡ – mathematician, MIT; MacArthur Fellow
• Signy Coleman 1978‡ – model, actress (The Young and the Restless, Guiding Light)
• Adam Steltzner 1981‡ – NASA engineer at JPL; phase lead and development manager for EDL (Entry, Descent and Landing) of the Curiosity rover lander, which successfully landed on Mars on August 5, 2012
• Montgomery McFate 1984 – anthropologist, defense analyst
• Cintra Wilson 1984 – writer
• Courtney Thorne-Smith 1985* – actress (Melrose Place, Ally McBeal, According to Jim)
• Chris Chaney 1988* – musician (Jane's Addiction, The Panic Channel)
• Romeo Bandison 1989* – NFL (Cleveland Browns; Washington Redskins); NCAA football coach (Colorado Buffaloes)
• Tupac Shakur 1989† – rapper, actor
• Snatam Kaur c. 1990 – musician
• Michael J. Mongan 1997 - attorney and associate in the San Francisco law firm Munger, Tolles and Olson. Former Deputy Counsel to Vice President Joe Biden (2009-2010) and law clerk for Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter (2007-2008).
• Nyjer Morgan c. 1997 - MLB outfielider (Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers)
• Sarah Austin (journalist) 2004 - Manhattan-based Internet personality, founder of Pop17
• Beth Behrs 2004 - actress (2 Broke Girls, American Pie Presents: The Book of Love)

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* Alumni listed in the 2002 Alumni Directory, address unconfirmed
† Alumni listed as "reported deceased" in the 2002 Alumni Directory
‡ Alumni listed in the Biographical Section of the 2002 Alumni Directory