The following is a list of individuals associated with

Berkeley High School (California) Berkeley High School is a public high school in the Berkeley Unified School District, and the only public high school in the city of Berkeley, California, United States. It is located one long block west of Shattuck Avenue and three short block ...

through attending as a student, or serving as a member of the faculty or staff. Raymond Burr in Please Murder Me 2

Notable alumni

Activists

Bob Avakian Robert "Bob" Bruce Avakian (born March 7, 1943) is the founder and chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (RCP). Avakian developed the organization's official ideology, a theoretical framework rooted in Maoism, called "the New Synth ...

, 1960, head of Revolutionary Communist Party *

David Brower David Ross Brower (; July 1, 1912 – November 5, 2000) was a prominent environmentalist and the founder of many environmental organizations, including the John Muir Institute for Environmental Studies (1997), Friends of the Earth (1969), Earth ...

, 1928, president of Sierra Club; founder of Friends of the Earth *

John Froines John Radford Froines (; June 13, 1939 – July 13, 2022) was an American chemist and anti-war activist, noted as a member of the Chicago Seven, a group charged with involvement with the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chica ...

, 1957,

Chicago Seven The Chicago Seven, originally the Chicago Eight and also known as the Conspiracy Eight or Conspiracy Seven, were seven defendants—Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, John Froines, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Lee Weiner—charged by ...

defendant, state track title team member,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

professor *

Bobby Seale Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", ...

, 1954, co-founder of Black Panther Party

Actors

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

, 1935, actor *

Rafael Casal Rafael Santiago Casal (born August 8, 1985) is an American writer, rapper, actor, producer, director, and show runner originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also an online creator of music, poetry, web shorts, and political commentary. ...

, actor, writer, producer *

Justin Chu Cary Justin Chu Cary is an American actor who stars on Netflix's ''Black Summer''. The series is a prequel to ''Z Nation''. Early life and career Justin Chu Cary grew up in Oakland, California, the son of an African-American father and a Chinese-Ame ...

, 2000, actor *

Robert Culp Robert Martin Culp (August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010) was an American actor widely known for his work in television. Culp earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on ''I Spy'' (1965–1968), the espionage television se ...

, 1947, actor *

Daveed Diggs Daveed Daniele Diggs (born January 24, 1982) is an American actor, rapper, and singer-songwriter. He is the vocalist of the experimental hip hop group Clipping, and in 2015, he originated the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jeffer ...

, 2000, actor, producer, rapper (''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

'') *

Richard Gant Richard Edward Gant (born March 10, 1944) is an American actor. His credits include the film '' Rocky V (1990)'', where he played the Don King-esque George Washington Duke; Hostetler in '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006); and Owen in '' Men of a Certa ...

, 1961, television and film actor *

Nina Hartley Marie Louise Hartman (born March 11, 1959), known professionally as Nina Hartley, is an American pornographic film actress described by CNBC as "a legend in the adult world". Early life and education Hartley was born on March 11, 1959 in Ber ...

, 1977, adult film actress *

Timothy Hutton Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in ''Ordinary People ...

, 1978, film and television actor *

Eli Marienthal Eli David Marienthal (born March 6, 1986) is an American actor. Family & Personal life Marienthal was born in Santa Monica, California in 1986, the son of Penny Marienthal and Joseph Cross. He has two siblings, actors Harley Cross and Flora Cr ...

, 2004, actor * Paul Mooney, 1959, actor, comedian *

Rebecca Romijn Rebecca Alie O'Connell (née Romijn ; born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Mystique in the original trilogy (2000–2006) of the ''X-Men'' film series, as Joan from '' The Punisher'' ( ...

, 1990, model, actress *

Andy Samberg Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer and screenwriter. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2005 ...

, 1996, actor, former cast member of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' *

Akiva Schaffer Akiva D. Schaffer (; born December 1, 1977) is an American film director, comedian, actor, and writer. He is a member of the comedy group The Lonely Island along with Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone. He began his career with The Lonely Island maki ...

, 1995, comedy writer and director, ''Saturday Night Live'' writer and director *

Jorma Taccone Jorma Christopher Taccone (; born March 19, 1977) is an American comedian, director, actor, and writer. He is one-third of the sketch comedy troupe The Lonely Island, with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer. In 2010, Taccone co-wr ...

, 1995, comedy writer-actor, ''Saturday Night Live'' writer * Adivi Sesh, Tollywood actor

Artists and photographers

Michael Heizer Michael Heizer (born 1944) is an American land artist specializing in large-scale and site-specific sculptures. Working largely outside the confines of the traditional art spaces of galleries and museums, Heizer has redefined sculpture in terms ...

, 1962, specializes in large-scale sculptures and earth art (or land art) *

Galen Rowell Galen Avery Rowell (August 23, 1940 – August 11, 2002) was a wilderness photographer, adventure photojournalist and mountaineer. Born in Oakland, California, he became a full-time photographer in 1972. Early life and education Rowell was intr ...

, 1958, wilderness photographer; did much work for the Sierra Club *

Bruce Ryan Bruce Loyola Ryan (1921–2002) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. Playing career Ryan was a champion school-boy sprinter, before being graded at the Newtown in 1940. He went on to play six seasons fo ...

, 1971, production designer *

Ariel Schrag Ariel Schrag (born December 29, 1979) is an American cartoonist and television writer who achieved critical recognition at an early age for her autobiographical comics. Her novel ''Adam'' provoked controversy with its theme of a heterosexual tee ...

, 1998, cartoonist/graphic novelist * Reuben Heyday Margolin, 1988, artist/kinetic sculptor

Athletes

Chidi Ahanotu Chidi Obioma Ahanotu (born October 11, 1970) is a former American football defensive end in the NFL. He was originally selected with the fifth pick of the sixth round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of California; he spe ...

, 1988, football defensive end for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

of the NFL *

Shooty Babitt Mack Neal "Shooty" Babitt (born March 9, 1959) is an American former second baseman who played for the Oakland Athletics during the 1981 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. After retiring as a player, Babitt became a baseball scout, and later w ...

, 1977, Major League Baseball player,

Oakland A's The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Don Barksdale Donald Argee Barksdale (March 31, 1923 – March 8, 1993) was an American professional basketball player. He was a pioneer as an African-American basketball player, becoming the first to be named NCAA All-American, the first to play on a ...

, 1941, All-American basketball player at

; first African-American on US Olympic basketball team (1948); first African-American to play in NBA All-Star game (1953) *

Rich Barry Richard Donovan Barry (September 12, 1940 – October 9, 2021) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 20 games in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1969, primarily as an outfielder. The native of Berk ...

, Major League Baseball outfielder for Philadelphia Phillies * Brittany Boyd, 2011, basketball player *

Glenn Burke Glenn Lawrence Burke (November 16, 1952 – May 30, 1995) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics from 1976 to 1979. He was the first MLB player to come out as gay, announcing it in 1982 after ...

(1970 Athlete of the Year), Major League Baseball player *

Phil Chenier Philip Chenier (born October 30, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player who was a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for ten seasons. He was also a television sports broadcaster for the NBA's Washingto ...

, basketball player for the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

in the 1970s * Merv Connors, former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player (

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

) *

Je'Rod Cherry Je'Rod LePatrick Cherry (born May 30, 1973) is a former professional football player who currently is a radio talk show host for WKNR AM 850 in Cleveland, and sideline analyst/reporter for the Cleveland Browns radio network. He was previously a ...

, football player; won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots * Bill Durkee, 1939, National Basketball League player for the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

* Jack Faszholz, former

player ( St.Louis Cardinals) *

Augie Galan August John Galan (May 23, 1912 – December 28, 1993) was an American professional baseball outfielder, manager and coach. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, New ...

, former

outfielder *

Hal Gilson Harold "Hal" Gilson (born February 9, 1942 in Los Angeles, California, died June 20, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros in 1968. Nicknamed "Lefty", he was o ...

, former

pitcher * Jacob Grandison, 2016, College Basketball player for Holy Cross and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

Chick Hafey Charles James "Chick" Hafey (February 12, 1903 – July 2, 1973) was an American player in Major League Baseball (MLB). Playing for the St. Louis Cardinals (1924–1931) and Cincinnati Reds (1932–1935, 1937), Hafey was a strong line-drive hitt ...

, 1921, Major League Baseball player; won two World Series with St. Louis Cardinals; had first hit in All-Star Game history *

Kamani Hill Kamani Helekunihi Hill (born December 28, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward or winger. Early years Hill was born in Berkeley, California to a Trinidadian father and an American mother of Hawai ...

, 2004, soccer player; forward for

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

* Helen Jacobs (1908–1997), tennis player ranked world #1 * Ruppert Jones (1973 Athlete of the Year), Major League Baseball player; 2-time All-Star *

Jack LaLanne Francois Henri LaLanne (; September 26, 1914 – January 23, 2011) was an American fitness and nutrition guru and motivational speaker. He described himself as being a "sugarholic" and a "junk food junkie" until he was aged 15. He also had behav ...

, 1935, fitness educator * Ray Lamanno, former

catcher *

John Lambert John Lambert may refer to: *John Lambert (martyr) (died 1538), English Protestant martyred during the reign of Henry VIII *John Lambert (general) (1619–1684), Parliamentary general in the English Civil War * John Lambert of Creg Clare (''fl.'' c. ...

, basketball player at

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

and in NBA *

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

, 1946, Major League Baseball player; second baseman for five

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

teams in the 1950s, and manager of four playoff teams (Twins, Yankees, Detroit, A's), including one championship * Lawrence McGrew, 1975, football player, linebacker for New England Patriots, New York Giants 1980–1991 * Walter Murray, gridiron football player * Hannibal Navies, 1995, football player * Steve Odom, football player, wide receiver for Green Bay Packers 1974–1977 *

Gene Ransom Horace Eugene Ransom II, better known as Gene Ransom (21 Jan. 1957 - 4 Feb. 2022), was a prominent basketball player for the University of California, Berkeley, Golden Bears from 1975 to 1978. Ransom moved as a young boy from Fresno, California ...

, basketball player for

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

* Jeff Ransom, former

catcher *

Earl Robinson Earl Hawley Robinson (July 2, 1910 – July 20, 1991) was a composer, arranger and folk music singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington. Robinson is remembered for his music, including the cantata "Ballad for Americans" and songs such as " J ...

, former

player *

Claudell Washington Claudell Washington (August 31, 1954June 10, 2020) was an American baseball outfielder who played seventeen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Atlanta B ...

, Major League Baseball outfielder * Jason Young, former

pitcher

Authors, journalists, and poets

Shannon Wheeler Shannon Wheeler is an American cartoonist, best known as a cartoonist for ''The New Yorker'' and for creating the satirical superhero Too Much Coffee Man. Early life Shannon Wheeler grew up in Berkeley, California, brought up by his mother. His ...

, c. 1984, cartoonist, author of

Too Much Coffee Man Too Much Coffee Man (TMCM) is an American satirical superhero created by cartoonist Shannon Wheeler. Too Much Coffee Man wears what appears to be a spandex version of old-fashioned red " long johns" with a large mug attached atop his head. He ...

among others; published in

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satire, satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on ...

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

, and Mad Magazine. * Miguel Almaguer, c. 1995, correspondent,

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

* Peter J. Aschenbrenner, 1963, author *

Anastasia M. Ashman Anastasia M. Ashman (born August 8, 1964) is an American author, a digital strategist, and co-founder of global personal branding startup GlobalNiche.net. Background Ashman was born in 1964 in Berkeley, California. She graduated from Berkeley H ...

, 1982, author *

Alexandra Berzon Alexandra Berzon is an American investigative reporter for ''The New York Times''. She previously wrote for ProPublica and ''The Wall Street Journal''. Her 2008 series of investigative stories about the deaths of construction workers on the Las ...

, 1997, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' *

Belva Davis Belva Davis (born Belvagene Melton; October 13, 1932) is an American television and radio journalist. She is the first African-American woman to become a television reporter on the U.S. West Coast. She has won eight Emmy Awards and been recognize ...

, 1951, journalist * Philip K. Dick, 1947, author of ''

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' (retroactively retitled ''Blade Runner: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' in some later printings) is a dystopian science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in 1968. Th ...

,'' on which the movie ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...

'' was based, and many other books *

Aaron Cometbus Aaron Elliott (born May 20, 1968), better known as Aaron Cometbus, is an American musician, songwriter, roadie, and magazine editor, best known as the creator of the punk zine ''Cometbus''. Career Born in Berkeley, California, Cometbus started ...

Elliott, 1986, writer/publisher of Cometbus zine, musician * David Gordon, 1961, editor of ''

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than ...

,'' economist, syndicated columnist *

Sandra Gulland Sandra Gulland (born November 3, 1944) is an American-born Canadian novelist. She is the author of ''The Shadow Queen'' and ''Mistress of the Sun'', novels set in the court of Louis XIV, The Sun King, and a trilogy of novels based on the life o ...

, 1962, novelist *

Shelley Jackson Shelley Jackson (born 1963) is an American writer and artist known for her cross-genre experimental works. These include her hyperfiction ''Patchwork Girl'' (1995) and her first novel, ''Half Life'' (2006). Biography In her own words: "Shelley ...

, author of ''

Patchwork Girl The Patchwork Girl (a.k.a. Scraps) is a character from the fantasy Oz Book series by L. Frank Baum. She first appeared in ''The Patchwork Girl of Oz''. History Scraps is a teenaged (possibly fourteen) living rag doll made of patchwork, butto ...

'' *

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

, 1947, science fiction author of the

Earthsea ''The Earthsea Cycle'', also known as ''Earthsea'', is a series of high fantasy books written by the American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Beginning with ''A Wizard of Earthsea'' (1968), '' The Tombs of Atuan'', (1970) and '' The Farthest Shore'' ...

series, ''

The Left Hand of Darkness ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' is a science fiction novel by U.S. writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Published in 1969, it became immensely popular, and established Le Guin's status as a major author of science fiction. The novel is set in the fiction ...

'', and many other books * Thomas Levenson, 1958, science writer, author of ''Newton and the Counterfeiter,'' ''Einstein in Berlin'' and other books *

Leza Lowitz Leza Lowitz (born December 29, 1962, San Francisco) is an American expatriate writer residing in Tokyo, Japan and in the American Southwest. She has written, edited and co-translated over twenty books, many about Japan, its relationship with the U ...

, 1980, author, poet, editor, journalist *

, 1998, autobiographical graphic novelist *

Joel Selvin Joel Selvin (born February 14, 1950) is an American San Francisco-based music critic and author known for his weekly column in the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', which ran from 1972 to 2009. Selvin has written books covering various aspects of p ...

, 1967, rock music critic and author * Frank Somerville, 1976, television news anchor, KTVU Oakland * Ricardo Sternberg, 1967, poet *

Tess Taylor Tess Taylor (born October 24, 1977) is an American poet, academic, and a contributor to CNN and NPR. Early life and education Taylor was born and raised in El Cerrito, California, and attended Berkeley High School. She earned a Bachelor of A ...

, 1995, poet and

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

contributor * Elizabeth Treadwell, 1985, poet *

Charlotte Wilder Charlotte Wilder (Aug 28, 1898 – May 26, 1980 Brattleboro, Vermont) was an American poet and academic who worked in the Federal Writers Project. Wilder published poetry in ''The Nation'' and ''Poetry Magazine''. She also published poetry ...

, c. 1915, poet, sister of Thornton Wilder *

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...

, c. 1915, novelist and playwright * Mark London Williams, 1977, author * Catherine Yronwode, 1965, author, editor, publisher, graphic designer

Educators

* Shirley A. R. Lewis, c. 1956, former president of

Paine College Paine College is a private, historically black Methodist college in Augusta, Georgia. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine College offers undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts, bu ...

Entrepreneurs

Ben Horowitz Benjamin Abraham Horowitz (born June 13, 1966) is an American businessman, investor, blogger, and author. He is a technology entrepreneur and co-founder along with Marc Andreessen of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. He previously c ...

, c. 1984, businessman, investor, blogger, and author * Paul Budnitz, 1985, founder of

Kidrobot Kidrobot is a producer and retailer of designer toys, vinyl art toys and collectibles founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Paul Budnitz. The company was one of the earliest creators of designer art toys in America. The company was acquired in November ...

and

Ello Ello ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Lecco. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,202 and an area of .Al ...

Filmmakers

Amir Bar-Lev Amir Bar-Lev (born 1972) is an American film director, producer and writer from Berkeley, California. Bar-Lev is noted for his work in directing documentary films. He has directed such films as ''Fighter'', a documentary film released August 24 ...

, 1990, documentary director/producer *

Gregory Hoblit Gregory King Hoblit (born November 27, 1944) is an American film director, television director and television producer. He is best known for directing the films '' Primal Fear'', ''Fallen'', ''Frequency'', ''Hart's War'', '' Fracture'', and ''U ...

, 1962, television and film director * Ian Inaba, 1989, music video/film director * Leah Meyerhoff, 1997, Student Academy Award-nominated filmmaker * Dave Meyers, 1990, music video/film director * Michael Ritchie, 1956, film director *

Colin Tilley Colin Tilley (born June 27, 1988) is an American filmmaker, music video director, and television commercial director. Tilley is the CEO and owner of Boy in the Castle Productions. He has directed more than 300 music videos. Tilley directed, pro ...

, 2006, music video/film director (including music videos for Chris Brown and Justin Bieber)

Mathematicians, scientists and inventors

* Richard Bolt, 1928, physics professor at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

with an interest in acoustics; created BBN ("modem" and "e-mail") *

John Brillhart John David Brillhart (November 13, 1930 – May 21, 2022) was a mathematician who worked in number theory at the University of Arizona. Early life and education Brillhart was born on November 13, 1930 in Berkeley, California. He studied at the U ...

, 1948, mathematician, author of books on large-number

factorization In mathematics, factorization (or factorisation, see English spelling differences) or factoring consists of writing a number or another mathematical object as a product of several ''factors'', usually smaller or simpler objects of the same kind ...

Andrew Gleason Andrew Mattei Gleason (19212008) was an American mathematician who made fundamental contributions to widely varied areas of mathematics, including the solution of Hilbert's fifth problem, and was a leader in reform and innovation in teaching at ...

(graduated elsewhere), mathematician * Albert Gjedde 1965, neuroscientist, co-inventor of Gjedde-Patlak plot; McGill University Montreal Canada, University of Copenhagen, Denmark * Sam Ruben, 1931?, co-discoverer of C14, a radioactive isotope of carbon, in 1940; the isotope led to many advances in the fields of biochemistry and medicine as well as its use in carbon dating for archeology *

Pei-Yuan Wei Pei-Yuan Wei () is a Taiwanese-American businessman who created ViolaWWW, the first popular graphical web browser. Career Pei-Yuan Wei was born in Pingtung County, Taiwan. He graduated from Berkeley High School in 1986. He received his bachelor ...

, 1986, (魏培源, pinyin: Wèi Péiyuán), created

ViolaWWW ViolaWWW is a discontinued browser, the first to support scripting and stylesheets for the World Wide Web (WWW). It was first released in 1991/1992 for Unix and acted as the recommended browser at CERN, where the WWW was invented, but eventually ...

, one of the first graphical web browsers *

Bill Woodcock Bill Woodcock (born August 16, 1971 in San Francisco, California, United States) is the executive director of Packet Clearing House, the international organization responsible for providing operational support and security to critical Internet ...

, 1989, developed anycast DNS, and built more than 100

Internet exchange points The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

around the world

Media

* Megan Greenwell, journalist and editor-in-chief of

Deadspin ''Deadspin'' is a sports blog founded by Will Leitch in 2005 and based in Chicago. Previously owned by Gawker Media and Univision Communications, it is currently owned by G/O Media. ''Deadspin'' posted daily previews, recaps, and commentaries o ...

and Wired.com * Sam "Kobe" Hartman-Kenzler, 2004, esports commentator * Dawn Monique Williams, 1996, theatre director

Musicians

* Ambrose Akinmusire, 2000, jazz trumpet player * Peter Apfelbaum, 1978, multi-instrumentalist/composer of Hieroglyphics Ensemble * Steven Bernstein, 1979, jazz trumpeter, slide trumpeter, arranger/composer and bandleader *

Will Bernard Will Bernard is a guitarist and band leader. He has led the Will Bernard Band, Will Bernard Trio, Will Bernard 4-tet, and Motherbug. Career In the 1980s Bernard was a member of the Hieroglyphics Ensemble led by Peter Apfelbaum. In the 1990s he fo ...

, 1977, guitarist *

Kevin Cadogan Kevin Rene Cadogan (born August 14, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. A founding member of the band Third Eye Blind, he performed with the band from 1993 to 2000. He co-wrote some of Third Eye Bl ...

, 1988, rock guitarist, formerly of

Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label reco ...

The Cataracs The Cataracs were an American hip hop record production project and duo formed in Berkeley, California, United States, consisting of David Benjamin Singer-Vine (born March 9, 1988) and Niles Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988). The duo starte ...

, indie-pop duo *

, drummer in punk bands

Crimpshrine Crimpshrine was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California. The group was formed in 1982 by Aaron Cometbus, founder of the seminal punk rock zine ''Cometbus'', and future Operation Ivy vocalist Jesse Michaels. They grew out of the East ...

and

Pinhead Gunpowder Pinhead Gunpowder is an American punk rock band that formed in East Bay, California, in 1991. The band currently consists of Aaron Cometbus (drums, lyrics), Bill Schneider (bass), Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, vocals) and Jason White (guitar, ...

, author of

Cometbus Aaron Elliott (born May 20, 1968), better known as Aaron Cometbus, is an American musician, songwriter, roadie, and magazine editor, best known as the creator of the punk zine ''Cometbus''. Career Born in Berkeley, California, Cometbus started ...

fanzine *

DJ Fuze A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

, hip hop DJ and record producer *

Gabriela Lena Frank Gabriela Lena Frank (born Berkeley, California, United States, September 1972) is an American pianist and composer of contemporary classical music. Biography Gabriela Lena Frank's father is an American of Lithuanian Jewish heritage and her mothe ...

, 1990, classical composer and pianist * G-Eazy, 2007, rapper, songwriter * Benny Green, 1980, jazz pianist *

Charlie Hunter Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass lines, chords, a ...

, 1985, jazz guitarist *

David Immerglück David A. Immerglück (born May 3, 1961)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American multi-instrumentalist who is best known as a guitarist in the alternative rock bands Counting Crows, ...

, 1979, multi-instrumentalist/guitarist for

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist M ...

, Camper Van Beethoven and the Monks of Doom *

Joe and Eddie Joe and Eddie was an American gospel folk group. During their careers, the African-American duo composed of Joe Gilbert and Eddie Brown toured the United States and Canada, appeared on more than 20 major television shows, and recorded eight album ...

( Joe Gilbert and Eddie Brown), folk singers *

Greg 'Curly' Keranen Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name * Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people *Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canad ...

, 1973, bassist,

The Rubinoos The Rubinoos are an American power pop band that formed in 1970 in Berkeley, California. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I Think We're Alone Now" (1977, a cover of the hit by Tommy James & the Shondells), "I Wanna Be Your Boyfrie ...

, Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers * Stephen Bishop, 1958, classical pianist known as Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich and Stephen Kovacevich * Stephen "Doc" Kupka, 1964, founding member/baritone saxophone of

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted th ...

KSHMR Niles Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988), known professionally as Kshmr (pronounced "Kashmir" and stylized in all caps), is an American songwriter, DJ, music producer, and musician. He was ranked 23rd on ''DJ Mag''s 2015 Top 100 DJs poll and ...

, 2006, electronic musician, record producer * Phil Lesh, 1957, Grateful Dead bass player *

Jesse Michaels Jesse Michaels (born 1969) is an American songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, artist, and author from Berkeley, California. His lyrics deal with politics, racism, and general social issues. He is most well known as the vocalist for the ska punk ba ...

, singer of the East Bay punk band Operation Ivy,

Common Rider Common Rider was an American ska punk band, formed in 1999 by Jesse Michaels (guitar, vocals), Mass Giorgini (bass) and Dan Lumley (drums). The band's name is taken from a Japanese TV show, ''Kamen Rider'' (Kamen Rider means "Masked Rider" in Ja ...

; son of writer

Leonard Michaels Leonard Michaels (January 2, 1933 – May 10, 2003) was an American writer of short stories, novels, and essays. Early life and education Michaels was born in New York City to Jewish parents; his father was born in Poland. He attended New Yor ...

* Johnny Otis (1921–2012), musician, record producer, disc jockey *

Jeff Ott Jeff Ott (born June 24, 1970) is an activist, musician, author, and longtime member of the Berkeley punk community, best known for playing guitar and singing in the bands Crimpshrine and Fifteen. Early life Ott was born on June 24, 1970 in Oakla ...

, 1988, vocalist/guitarist of

and Fifteen * The Pack, some members attended Berkeley High School *

Lenny Pickett Lenny Pickett (born April 10, 1954) is an American saxophonist and musical director of the ''Saturday Night Live'' band. From 1973 to 1981 he was a member of Tower of Power. He is known for his skill in the altissimo register (executed by using ...

, ''

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

player *

Julian Waterfall Pollack Julian Waterfall Pollack / J3PO (born June 28, 1988) is an American pianist, keyboardist, composer, and producer associated with jazz, classical, and hip hop music. Biography Early life Raised in Berkeley, California, Pollack was introduced to ...

, 2006, jazz pianist *

Thomas Pridgen Thomas Armon Pridgen (born November 23, 1983) is an American drummer, best known for his role as the drummer of The Mars Volta from October 2006 until October 2009. He is touring with rapper Residente and is the drummer for hardcore punk band T ...

, drummer for

The Mars Volta The Mars Volta is an American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership for ...

Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006). Life and career Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman ...

, 1986, jazz musician *

Timex Social Club Timex Social Club is an American R&B group, formed in 1985 and best known for the 1986 hit single " Rumors". History Originally known as the Timex Crew, members included Marcus Thompson (founder), Gregory "Greg B" Thomas, Michael Marshall, Cr ...

, contemporary R&B group *

Geoff Tyson Geoff Tyson (also referred to as Jeff Tyson) played guitar for T-Ride, whose debut album shared the same title. He was a student of Joe Satriani, and one of two students Satriani has said 'Graduated' from his lessons (the other being Steve Vai). S ...

, guitarist and record producer *

The Uptones The Uptones are an American ska band, based in Northern California. Formed in 1981 by a group of high school students in Berkeley, California, The Uptones were influenced by the English 2 Tone sound, as well as the British mod scene, punk rock, ...

, ska band *

Kyle Vincent Kyle Vincent is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and entertainer, labeled as the "crown prince of soft pop," by '' Goldmine.'' Barry Manilow has called him, "One of the best singer-songwriters to come along since the heyday ...

, contemporary pop recording artist/singer-songwriter, producer *

Donald Weilerstein Donald Weilerstein (born 1940) is an American violinist and pedagogue. Early life and education Weilerstein was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Berkeley, California. He began playing the violin at the age of four and earned a Bachelor o ...

, 1958, classical violinist, founder of Cleveland String Quartet, faculty member at Juilliard School * Kate Wolf, nee Allen, 1960, folk singer/songwriter

Politicians

Audie Bock Audie Elizabeth Bock (born October 15, 1946) is an American film scholar and politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1999 to 2000, and was elected to the Sarasota County, Florida Soil and Water Conservation District in 2018. S ...

, 1963, California politician and film scholar *

Shirley Dean Shirley Ann Dean (née Bryant; born 1935-36), considered moderate in Berkeley politics, is an American politician who served as the Mayor of Berkeley, California (1994-2002). Before serving two terms as Berkeley's Mayor, Dean served on the Berke ...

, 1950, Berkeley City Council member 1975–1982 and 1986–1994, and mayor 1994–2002 *

Matthew Denn Matthew P. Denn (born February 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician from New Castle County, Delaware. He served as the 45th attorney general of Delaware from 2015 until 2019. Denn previously served as the 25th lieutenant governor of Dela ...

, 1984, Lieutenant Governor of Delaware 2009–2014, Attorney General of Delaware 2015— *

Elihu Harris Elihu Mason Harris (born August 15, 1947) is a retired American politician and college administrator. A member of the Democratic Party, Harris served as the 46th Mayor of Oakland, California from 1991 to 1999; he previously served for 12 years ...

, 1965, Mayor of

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, 1991–99 *

George Livingston George Livingston (c. 1933 – January 7, 2012) was an American politician who served as the first elected African American Mayor of Richmond, California, from 1985 to 1993. Livingston was appointed Mayor in 1985 by the city council. He won ele ...

, first elected African American Mayor of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

1985–1993 *

Aaron Peskin Aaron Dan Peskin (born June 17, 1964) is an American elected official in San Francisco, California. He serves as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 3, and is currently Dean of the Board. He was elected in ...

, 1982, former president, San Francisco Board of Supervisors *

Nick Sinai Nick Sinai is a venture capitalist, adjunct faculty at Harvard Kennedy School, author, and a former senior official in the Obama Administration. Nick Sinai was the Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the United States. He assumed this role under ...

, former Deputy

Chief Technology Officer of the United States The United States Chief Technology Officer (US CTO) is an official in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The U.S. CTO helps the President and their team harness the power of data, innovation and technology on behalf of the American people ...

and gov-tech pioneer

Notable faculty

Pumpsie Green Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green (October 27, 1933 – July 17, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) infielder who played with the Boston Red Sox (1959–62) and New York Mets (1963). A switch-hitter who threw right-handed, he was lis ...

, first black player for the Boston Red Sox; coached baseball at Berkeley High for many years * Edgar Manske, member of the College Football Hall of Fame, former assistant football coach at Cal under Pappy Waldorf; taught biology at Berkeley High for 20 years (1955–1975)

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley, List Of Berkeley High School, California People High schools in Alameda County, California Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) people * Berkeley, California-related lists Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) people