33 Notable alumni of
Lamar University
Updated:
Lamar University is 1214th in the world, 429th in North America, and 402nd in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 33 notable alumni from Lamar University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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The Big Bopper
- Occupations
- singerdisc jockeysongwriter
- Biography
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Jiles Perry Richardson Jr., better known by his stage name The Big Bopper, was an American musician and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace", "Running Bear", and "White Lightning", the last of which became George Jones's first number-one hit in 1959.
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G. W. Bailey
- Occupations
- television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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George William Bailey is an American actor. His roles include Staff Sergeant Luther Rizzo in M*A*S*H (TV series 1979–1983), Lieutenant/Captain Thaddeus Harris in the Police Academy films (1984–1994), and Captain Felix Maxwell in Mannequin (1987). He played Detective Lieutenant Louie Provenza on TNT's television crime drama The Closer and its spin-off series Major Crimes from 2005 to 2018.
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Mike James
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Michael Perry James is an American professional basketball player and the team captain for AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague.
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Karen Silkwood
- Occupations
- chemistactivisttrade unionist
- Biography
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Karen Gay Silkwood was an American laboratory technician and labor union activist known for reporting concerns about corporate practices related to health and safety in a nuclear facility.
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Bum Phillips
- Occupations
- American football coachAmerican football player
- Biography
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Oail Andrew "Bum" Phillips Jr. was an American football coach at the high school, college and professional levels. He served as head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers from 1975 to 1980 and the New Orleans Saints from 1981 to 1985.
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Phyllis Davis
- Occupations
- film actoractortelevision actor
- Biography
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Phyllis Ann Davis was an American actress who appeared primarily on television. She co-starred on the 1978–1981 dramatic detective series Vega$ as Beatrice Travis, office manager and girl Friday for the show's main character, Las Vegas private detective Dan Tanna, played by Robert Urich.
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Kevin Millar
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Kevin Charles Millar is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and is a current analyst for MLB Network and NESN. He played in MLB for the Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Toronto Blue Jays from 1998 through 2009. He is currently a host along with Siera Santos and Ryan Dempster on the MLB Network show Intentional Talk, and (as of March 2018) the show's companion audio podcast Intentional Talk: Caught Listening.
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Kelly Asbury
- Occupations
- character designerconcept artistfilm directoranimatoractor
- Biography
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Kelly Adam Asbury was an American film director, writer, voice actor, and illustrator. He was best known for directing the animated films Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), Shrek 2 (2004), Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017), and UglyDolls (2019).
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Brian Babin
- Enrolled in Lamar University
- In 1973 graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- dentistpolitician
- Biography
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Brian Philip Babin is an American dentist, politician and member of the Republican Party who has served as the U.S. representative from Texas's 36th congressional district since 2015. The district includes much of southeastern Houston, some of its eastern suburbs, and some more exurban and rural areas to the east.
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Jack Brooks
- Occupations
- politicianmilitary officer
- Biography
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Jack Bascom Brooks was an American Democratic Party politician from the state of Texas who served 42 years in the United States House of Representatives, initially representing Texas's 2nd congressional district from 1953 through 1967, and then, after district boundaries were redrawn in 1966, the 9th district from 1967 to 1995. He had strong political ties to other prominent Texas Democrats, including Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn and President Lyndon B. Johnson. For over fifteen years, he was the dean of the Texas congressional delegation.
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Bob McDill
- Occupations
- songwriter
- Biography
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Robert Lee McDill is a retired American songwriter, active from the 1960s until 2000. During his career he wrote or co-wrote 31 number one country hits. His songs were also recorded by popular artists of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including The Grateful Dead, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Anne Murray, and B. J. Thomas. His music credits in film include Primary Colors, The Thing Called Love, Texasville, and the documentary Grizzly Man. In addition to four Grammy nominations McDill received Songwriter of the Year awards from Broadcast Music Incorporated, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International. In October 2012, McDill was awarded ASCAP's Golden Note Award in recognition of his "extraordinary place in American popular music." In September 2015 he received the Academy of Country Music's Poet's Award for lifetime achievement. In October 2023 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He is the author of numerous articles as well as two books: Tales of the Old River Rod and Gun, Bloody Mary Society and Gentleman's Club and The Ancestors and Descendants of Robert Nathanial McDill.
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Micah Hoffpauir
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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James Micah Hoffpauir is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. He was drafted in 2000 by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 44th round (1,301st overall), but he did not sign and returned to college. The Cubs selected him in the 13th round (393rd overall) of the 2002 draft. He is a distant cousin of former Major Leaguer Jarrett Hoffpauir.
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Tamara Abalde
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Tamara Abalde Díaz is a Spanish basketball player, currently player for Spanish team Durán Maquinaria Ensino. She played for Spain in the 2008 Summer Games and for the Lamar Cardinals in the NCAA. She is 6 feet, one inch, and weighs 159 pounds.
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John Alexander
- Occupations
- painter
- Biography
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John Alexander is an American painter. Alexander studied art at Lamar University in Beaumont and Southern Methodist University in Dallas. After teaching at the University of Houston from 1971 to 1978, he moved to New York.
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Nick Lampson
- Enrolled in Lamar University
- In 1971 graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- teacherpolitician
- Biography
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Nicholas Valentino Lampson is an American politician who is a former Democratic congressman representing the 22nd congressional district and the 9th congressional district of Texas. He served five terms in Congress between 1997 and 2009.
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Justin Harding
- Occupations
- golfer
- Biography
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Justin Adam Harding is a South African professional golfer.
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Brian Birdwell
- Occupations
- politicianmilitary officer
- Biography
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Brian Douglas Birdwell is an American politician who has served in the Texas Senate for District 22 since 2010. He is a survivor of the September 11, 2001 attacks against The Pentagon.
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Evelyn Miralles
- Occupations
- computer scientistengineer
- Biography
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Evelyn Rodriguez Miralles is a Venezuelan-American engineer that served as the chief principal engineer with CACI International at NASA Johnson Space Center Houston Texas. Her work at the virtual reality laboratory at NASA furthered human spaceflight by training United States astronauts to perform spacewalks and working outside a spacecraft in micro-gravity. Miralles is currently the Associate vice president for Strategic Information Initiatives and Technology at the University of Houston–Clear Lake.
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Reggie Begelton
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Reggie Begelton is an American professional football wide receiver for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Lamar. He has also played for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL):
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Mike Sarbaugh
- Years
- 1967-.. (age 59)
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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James Michael Sarbaugh is an American baseball coach who most recently served as the third base coach for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is a former minor league baseball player and minor league manager for the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A farm team of the Guardians. He also served as the third base/infielders coach for the Cleveland Indians/Guardians from 2013 to 2023.
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Clay Hensley
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Clayton Allen Hensley is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, and San Francisco Giants.
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John Hirasaki
- Occupations
- engineermechanical engineer
- Biography
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John Hirasaki is an American mechanical engineer who worked for the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the Apollo 11 mission, the first crewed mission to the Moon. In 1969 he – along with Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and William Carpentier – became one of the first five known humans to view lunar rocks inside Earth's atmosphere.
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Elvin Santos
- Occupations
- entrepreneurpolitician
- Biography
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Elvin Ernesto Santos Ordóñez is a Honduran politician who served as the vice president of Honduras from January 2006 to November 2008, when he resigned to stand as a Liberal Party candidate for the presidency in the 2009 elections. For the 2005 election the constitution was amended to create a single vice president. (Hondurans previously elected three 'presidential designates' on a ticket along with the presidential candidate.) Although Santos served as vice president under the presidency of Manuel Zelaya, he distanced himself from Zelaya since there were conflicts between the two politicians. He was also against the fourth ballot box referendum that Zelaya promoted.
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Keith Carter
- Occupations
- photographer
- Biography
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Keith Carter is an American photographer, educator, and artist noted for his dreamlike photos of people, animals and objects.
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Michael J. Truncale
- Occupations
- politicianjudge
- Biography
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Michael Joseph Truncale is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
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Brian Sanches
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Brian Lee Sanches is an American former professional baseball pitcher.
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Harry Brinkley Bass
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
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Harry Brinkley "Brink" Bass was a U.S. Navy pilot who was twice awarded the Navy Cross for his heroic actions in the Pacific theater during World War II. Bass died over Saint Bonnet le Froid, in southern France when his plane was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. USS Brinkley Bass (DD-887) was named in his honor.
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Florene Miller Watson
- Occupations
- aircraft pilot
- Biography
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Florene Miller Watson was an American aviator and educator from Texas. Watson was one of the first Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) volunteers. She went on to fly for the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) throughout World War II. During that time, she worked as a trainer, ferried aircraft and was a test pilot.
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Josh Goodwin
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Joshua Jermaine Goodwin is an American retired basketball player. After three seasons playing collegiately for Lamar, he spent two years playing professionally in several countries.
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H. Palmer Hall
- Occupations
- librarian
- Biography
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H. Palmer Hall was a poet, fiction writer, essayist, editor, and librarian who lived in San Antonio, Texas. A Vietnam veteran who grew up near the Big Thicket in southeast Texas, Hall's writing often examines themes of war and its impact on the veterans who fight them. His work also examines the environment and how it nourishes us. Called an icon in San Antonio by the Texas Observer magazine, Dr. Hall was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters (TIL) in 2005.
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Wayne Shaw
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Wayne Earl Shaw is an American politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. He represented the 3rd district in the Oklahoma State Senate from 2012 to 2020.
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T. J. Atwood
- Years
- 1997-.. (age 29)
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Tyrin J. Atwood is an American professional basketball player for Iskra Svit of the Slovak Basketball League.
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Alvin Brooks
- Occupations
- basketball playerbasketball coach
- Biography
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Alvin Joseph Brooks Jr. is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of Lamar University's men's basketball team. Brooks returned to Lamar as men's basketball head coach on April 1, 2021. Prior to Lamar, he most recently served as an assistant coach for the Houston Cougars. Brooks has also served as Director of Basketball Operations for the Kentucky Wildcats. He coached the Houston Cougars from 1993 to 1998. He also served as an assistant coach for the Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team and was at Texas A&M through the '06–'07 season.
