Benjamin Franklin High School (FHS) is a public

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in the Highland Park neighborhood, approximately seven miles northeast of downtown

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, United States. It is part of the

Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...

. Established in 1916 with an enrollment of 225 students, the school currently educates approximately 1,400 students. It was in the

Los Angeles City High School District Los Angeles City High School District (known in its last year as West County Union High School District) was a school district that served high school-aged residents of western Los Angeles County, California from 1890 to 1962. At times the dis ...

until 1961, when it merged into LAUSD.

Notable alumni

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. In a career spanning seven decades, he received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony A ...

, 1951 graduate, Oscar-winning actor *

Lee Baca Leroy David Baca (born May 27, 1942) is a former American law enforcement officer and convicted felon who served as the 30th Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California from 1998 to 2014. In 2017, he was convicted of felony obstruction of justice ...

, 1960 graduate, sheriff of Los Angeles County, 1998-2016 *

Alana Cordy-Collins Alana Kathleen Cordy-Collins (5 June 1944 – 16 August 2015) was Professor of Anthropology at the University of San Diego. She was an archaeologist whose primary specialization was Peruvian prehistory. Biography She was born in Los Angeles, Cali ...

, 1962 graduate, archaeologist *

Rocky Delgadillo Rockard "Rocky" John Delgadillo (born July 15, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician. He served as city attorney of Los Angeles from 2001 to 2009. Career *Teacher/Coach, Los Angeles Unified School District, Franklin *Attorney, O’Melveny ...

, politician and former City Attorney of Los Angeles (2001–2009) *

Richard Duardo Richard Saul Duardo (1952 – 2014) was an American master printmaker, visual artist, and illustrator, of Mexican descent. He was known for screen printing, and was an important person within the Chicano art community in Los Angeles, California. ...

(1952–2014), printmaker *

Daryl F. Gates Daryl Francis Gates (born Darrel Francis Gates; August 30, 1926 – April 16, 2010) was an American police officer who served as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992. His length of tenure in this position was second only t ...

, 1944 graduate, Los Angeles police chief (1978–1992) *

Eunisses Hernandez Eunisses Hernandez (born 1990) is an American activist and politician, currently serving as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 1st district since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, Hern ...

, (1990) member-elect of the Los Angeles City Council for the 1st district (elected 2022) *

Mike Hernandez Mike Hernandez (born December 4, 1952) is an American politician and activist, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 1st district from 1991 to 2001, despite an arrest for cocaine possession in 1997 that led to a guilty p ...

, former member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 1st district (1991–2001) * Allen Jacobs, 1960 graduate, National Football League player, fullback and halfback. Played for Green Bay Packers under

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi ( ; June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American professional football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be among the greatest coaches and leaders in Ame ...

. * Leno LaBianca, murder victim * Sammy Lee, Olympic gold medalist diver * Ron Lopez,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player, Utah State graduate. * Dick Moje, National Football League player, defensive end *

Louis R. Nowell Louis R. Nowell (February 8, 1915 – July 2, 2009) was a fireman and politician in Los Angeles, California. He was best known for serving on the Los Angeles City Council from the San Fernando Valley from 1963 to 1977. He was appointed as a membe ...

(1915–2000), former member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 1st district (1963–77)Los Angeles Public Library reference file
/ref> * Rich Perez, 1982 Graduate, Sportscaster, Athlete, 2015 Hall of Fame Inductee, over 10,000 Sports Radio Shows with CBS Sports Radio and several NFL Network TV Top 10 shows.

Nevada Broadcasters Association The Nevada Broadcasters Association (NVBA) is a trade association for radio and television broadcast stations in the U.S. state of Nevada. It seeks to educate consumers about the impending change to digital television broadcasting in Nevada and t ...

https://nevadabroadcasters.org/hall-of-fame/ *

Bobby Riggs Robert Larimore Riggs (February 25, 1918 – October 25, 1995) was an American tennis champion who was the world No. 1 amateur in 1939 and world No. 1 professional in 1946 and 1947. He played his first professional tennis match on December ...

, Wimbledon champion and member of the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

Franklin E. Roach Franklin Evans Roach (September 23, 1905Obituary, Osterbrock, ''BAAS'', p. 1608. – September 21, 1993Obituary, Osterbrock, ''BAAS'', p. 1610.) was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, geophysicist, professor, and scientist analyzing UFO ...

(1905–1993), 1923 graduate, astronomer, professor, ufologist, and a father of aeronomy *

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe ''Star Trek.'' Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up ...

(1921–1991), 1939 graduate, television screenwriter and creator of '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' *

Bui Simon Bui Simon (born Porntip Nakhirunkanok (; ; ); February 7, 1969) is a Thai philanthropist and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 1988. Simon is president and founder of the Angels Wings Foundation. She is on the Board of Regents of Pepperdine Uni ...

, former

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

and Miss Thailand 1988 * Richard "Humpty" Vission, 1987 graduate, Grammy-nominated producer and KPWR Power 106 FM DJ *

Jean Spangler Jean Elizabeth Spangler (September 2, 1923 – disappeared October 7, 1949) was an American actress who appeared in bit parts in several Hollywood films in the late 1940s. She garnered public attention for her mysterious disappearance in l ...

(1923-1949?), 1941 graduate, actress, model and possible murder victim. Disappeared in 1949. *

Jim Tunney Jim or JIM may refer to: Names * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James (given name), James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy (given name), Jimmy People and horses * Jim, the nickname of Yel ...

, 1947 graduate, NFL referee for 31 years, worked 3 Super Bowls; Franklin Principal, 1972-1973

References

External links

Official FHS site
{{coord, 34.1157, -118.1988, type:edu_region:US-CA, display=title Educational institutions established in 1916 Los Angeles Unified School District schools High schools in Los Angeles Public high schools in California Highland Park, Los Angeles 1916 establishments in California