100 Notable alumni of
San Francisco State University
Updated:
San Francisco State University is 214th in the world, 91st in North America, and 88th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from San Francisco State 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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David Carradine
- Occupations
- television producerfilm directorfilm produceractorfilm actor
- Biography
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David Carradine was an American actor, director, and producer, whose career included over 200 major and minor roles in film, television and on stage. He was widely known to television audiences as the star of the 1970s television series Kung Fu, playing Kwai Chang Caine, a peace-loving Shaolin monk traveling through the American Old West.
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Rob Schneider
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directorvoice actoranti-vaccine activistauthor
- Biography
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Robert Michael Schneider is an American actor, comedian and anti-vaccine activist. After several years performing stand-up comedy, Schneider achieved wider success as a cast member for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1994, which earned him three Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
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Carl Weathers
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- film actorCanadian football playeractorscreenwriterfilm producer
- Biography
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Carl Weathers was an American actor, director and a former football player. His prominent roles included boxer Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky films (1976–1985), Colonel Al Dillon in Predator (1987), Chubbs Peterson in Happy Gilmore (1996), and Combat Carl in the Toy Story franchise. He also portrayed Det. Beaudreaux in the television series Street Justice (1991–1993) and a fictionalized version of himself in the comedy series Arrested Development (2004, 2013), and voiced Omnitraxus Prime in Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2017–2019). He had a recurring role as Greef Karga in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian (2019–2023), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
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Annette Bening
- Occupations
- actorfilm actorstage actortelevision actorvoice actor
- Biography
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Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. With a career spanning over four decades, she is known for her versatile work across screen and stage. Bening has received numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and nominations for five Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Tony Awards, making her one of few artists nominated for the Triple Crown of Acting without winning.
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Danny Glover
- Occupations
- television producerfilm directorfilm produceractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Danny Glover is an American actor, producer, and political activist. Over his career he has received numerous accolades including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the NAACP's President's Award, as well as nominations for five Emmy Awards and four Grammy Awards.
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Kirk Hammett
- Occupations
- guitaristsongwriter
- Biography
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Kirk Lee Hammett is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist of heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Prior to joining Metallica, he co-formed the thrash metal band Exodus in 1979. In 2003, Hammett, along with bandmate James Hetfield, was ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone's list of Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In 2009, Hammett was ranked number 15 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists.
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Alex Borstein
- Occupations
- singercomediantelevision actorscreenwriterfilm actor
- Biography
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Alexandrea Borstein is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She is best known for voicing Lois Griffin in the animated comedy series Family Guy (1999–present), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She gained further acclaim for starring as Susie Myerson in the comedy-drama series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023), which earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards.
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Jeffrey Tambor
- Occupations
- actortelevision actorcharacter actorfilm actortheatrical director
- Biography
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Jeffrey Michael Tambor is an American retired actor, acting coach and acting teacher. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom The Ropers (1979–1980), as Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show (1992–1998), George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and Maura Pfefferman on Transparent (2014–2017). For his role in the latter, Tambor earned two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series out of three nominations. In 2015, he was also awarded a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Pfefferman.
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BD Wong
- Occupations
- actorfilm actorstage actortelevision actorvoice actor
- Biography
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Bradley Darryl Wong is an American actor. Wong won a Tony Award for his performance as Song Liling in M. Butterfly, becoming the only actor in Broadway history to receive the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Clarence Derwent Award, and Theatre World Award for the same role. For his role as Whiterose in the television series Mr. Robot, he was nominated for both a Critic's Choice Television Award and an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
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Harry Shum
- Occupations
- singeractorchoreographertelevision actorfilm actor
- Biography
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Harry Shum Jr. is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Mike Chang on the Fox television series Glee (2009–2015), Magnus Bane on the Freeform television series Shadowhunters (2016–2019), and Benson Kwan on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy (2022–present). He was nominated for six Screen Actors Guild Awards for best ensemble performance in Crazy Rich Asians, Glee and Everything Everywhere All at Once, winning for the latter two. Shum won The Male TV Star of 2018 award in the E! People's Choice Awards for Shadowhunters.
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Johnny Mathis
- Occupations
- recording artistjazz musiciansinger
- Biography
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John Royce Mathis is an American singer. He is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century. Starting his career with singles of standard music, Mathis became highly popular as an album artist, with several of his albums achieving gold or platinum status and 73 making the Billboard charts.
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Anne Rice
- Occupations
- writernovelistscreenwriter
- Biography
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Anne Rice was an American author of gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Bible fiction. She is best known for writing The Vampire Chronicles. She later adapted the first volume in the series into a commercially successful eponymous film, Interview with the Vampire (1994).
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Dana Carvey
- Occupations
- film producerfilm actorscreenwritertelevision actorcomedian
- Biography
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Dana Thomas Carvey is an American stand-up comedian, actor, podcaster, screenwriter and producer.
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Kari Byron
- Occupations
- presenterartisttelevision presenterpaintersculptor
- Biography
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Kari Elizabeth Byron is an American television host, best known for her role on the MythBusters and White Rabbit Project series.
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Margaret Cho
- Occupations
- film directormusicianfashion designerexecutive producervoice actor
- Biography
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Margaret Moran Cho is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and sexuality. She rose to prominence after starring in the ABC sitcom All-American Girl (1994–95) and became an established stand-up comic in the subsequent years.
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Dina Eastwood
- Occupations
- journalistfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Dina Marie Fisher, known professionally as Dina Eastwood, is an American reporter, news anchor, and actress. She is the former wife of actor and film director Clint Eastwood.
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Delroy Lindo
- Occupations
- film actorstage actordirectoractor
- Biography
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Delroy George Lindo is an English–American actor. He is the recipient of such accolades as an NAACP Image Award, a Satellite Award, and nominations for a Drama Desk Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Tony Award, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.
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Peter Coyote
- Occupations
- writeractor
- Biography
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Peter Coyote is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, and narrator of films, theater, television, and audiobooks. He worked on films, such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Cross Creek (1983), Jagged Edge (1985), Bitter Moon (1992), Kika (1993), Patch Adams (1998), Erin Brockovich (2000), A Walk to Remember (2002), and Femme Fatale (2002).
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Oliver Tree
- Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Oliver Tree Nickell is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and filmmaker. Born in Santa Cruz, California, Tree signed to Atlantic Records in 2017 after his song "When I'm Down" went viral and released his debut studio album Ugly Is Beautiful in 2020. He achieved international recognition with his songs "Life Goes On" in 2021, and "Miss You" in 2022. He released his second studio album Cowboy Tears on February 18, 2022, and his third studio album Alone in a Crowd was released on September 29, 2023.
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Adivi Sesh
- Occupations
- screenwriterwriterfilm directoractor
- Biography
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Adivi Sesh Sunny Chandra is an Indian actor, director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. Known for his work in action and suspense thrillers, he's received various awards including an IIFA Award Telugu, a SIIMA Award, and a Nandi Award.
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Willie Brown Jr
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- In 1955 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- dental hygienistpoliticianpodcasterlawyer
- Biography
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Willie Lewis Brown Jr. is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as mayor of San Francisco from 1996 to 2004 as the first African American to hold the office.
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Mohammad Javad Zarif
- Occupations
- academiccareer diplomat
- Biography
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Mohammad Javad Zarif is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He is Vice President for Strategic Affairs since August 2024. He was the foreign minister of Iran from 2013 until 2021 in the government of Hassan Rouhani.
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Keir Dullea
- Occupations
- film actortelevision actorstage actoractor
- Biography
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Keir Atwood Dullea is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and its 1984 sequel, 2010: The Year We Make Contact. His other film roles include David and Lisa (1962), Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), and Black Christmas (1974). Dullea studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. He has also performed on stage in New York City and in regional theaters; he has said that, despite being more recognized for his film work, he prefers the stage.
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Stephen Colletti
- Occupations
- film actoractortelevision actor
- Biography
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Stephen Colletti is an American actor and television personality. He portrayed Chase Adams on The CW drama series One Tree Hill and appeared for two seasons on the MTV reality television series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County.
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Tory Belleci
- Occupations
- film produceractortelevision presenterfilmmakermodel maker
- Biography
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Salvatore Paul Belleci is an American television personality and model maker, best known for his work on the Discovery Channel television program MythBusters. He has also worked with Industrial Light and Magic on films including Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. The Federation battleships and podracers are some of Belleci's pieces.
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Daniel Silva
- Occupations
- crime fiction writerwriternovelistjournalist
- Biography
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Daniel Silva is an American journalist and author of thriller and spy novels.
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Jake Shields
- Occupations
- mixed martial arts fighter
- Biography
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Jake Shields is an American mixed martial artist, podcaster and far-right commentator. As a mixed martial artist, he was the last Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Champion, the only Elite XC Welterweight Champion, a former Shooto Welterweight Champion and former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion. He also fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) challenging Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship. After his loss to Akira Kikuchi, he won 15 consecutive fights over six years until his loss to UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre. He described his style as "American Jiu-Jitsu".
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Fat Mike
- Occupations
- bassistsingersongwriter
- Biography
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Michael John Burkett, known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He was the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the cofounder and bassist of the punk rock supergroup cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Burkett started out with his first band False Alarm in 1982. Throughout NOFX's existence, he and rhythm guitarist Eric Melvin were the only band members who stayed since the beginning.
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Faisal bin Musaid
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Faisal bin Musaid Al Saud was the assassin and nephew of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia and a grandson of Saudi Arabia's founder King Abdulaziz.
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Janet Varney
- Occupations
- presenteractorfilm actortelevision actorvoice actor
- Biography
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Janet Varney is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer. She is known for voicing the character of Korra in the Nickelodeon animated television series The Legend of Korra, co-starring as Sheriff Evie Barret in the television series Stan Against Evil, and a recurring role as Becca Barbara in You're the Worst.
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Oscar Zeta Acosta
- Occupations
- novelistpoliticianlawyerwriterjurist
- Biography
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Oscar "Zeta" Acosta Fierro was a Mexican American attorney, author and activist in the Chicano Movement. He wrote the semi-autobiographical novels Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo (1972) and The Revolt of the Cockroach People (1973), and was friends with American author Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson characterized him as a heavyweight Samoan attorney, Dr. Gonzo, in his 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Acosta disappeared in 1974 during a trip in Mexico and is presumed dead.
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Alvin Ailey
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- Studied in 1952
- Occupations
- artistic directorchoreographerballet dancer
- Biography
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Alvin Ailey Jr. was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center (later Ailey School) as havens for nurturing Black artists and expressing the universality of the African-American experience through dance.
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Paul Desmond
- Occupations
- composerrecording artistsaxophonistjazz musician
- Biography
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Paul Desmond was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer and proponent of cool jazz. He was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and composed the group's biggest hit, "Take Five". The song remains the best-selling jazz song of all time.
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Gilbert Melendez
- Occupations
- mixed martial arts fighterThai boxer
- Biography
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Gilbert Melendez is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a two-time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and a former WEC Lightweight Champion. He also competed in PRIDE FC, Shooto and Rumble on the Rock.
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George Duke
- Occupations
- record producersingerfilm score composercomposerjazz musician
- Biography
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George M. Duke was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a professor of music. He first made a name for himself with the album The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio. He was known primarily for 32 solo albums, of which A Brazilian Love Affair from 1979 was his most popular, as well as for his collaborations with other musicians, particularly Frank Zappa.
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Daren Kagasoff
- Occupations
- film actoractortelevision actor
- Biography
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Daren Maxwell Kagasoff is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Ricky Underwood on the ABC Family teen drama series The Secret Life of the American Teenager from 2008 to 2013.
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Vince Guaraldi
- Occupations
- recording artistjazz musicianpianistfilm score composercomposer
- Biography
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Vincent Anthony Guaraldi was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip. His compositions for this series included their signature melody "Linus and Lucy" and the holiday standard "Christmas Time Is Here". Guaraldi is also known for his performances on piano as a member of Cal Tjader's 1950s ensembles and for his own solo career. Guaraldi's 1962 composition "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" became a radio hit and won a Grammy Award in 1963 for Best Original Jazz Composition. He died of a heart attack on February 6, 1976, at age 47, moments after concluding a nightclub performance in Menlo Park, California.
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Greg Proops
- Occupations
- improviseractortelevision actorfilm actorpodcaster
- Biography
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Gregory Everett Proops is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his work on the UK and US versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He has also voiced the titular character on the US version of Bob the Builder: Project: Build It in series 10 to 14.
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Margaret Avery
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- Studied in 1965
- Occupations
- actorfilm actorsingerstage actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Margaret Avery is an American actress. She began her career appearing on stage and later had starring roles in films including Cool Breeze, Which Way Is Up? (1977), Scott Joplin (1977) which earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination, and The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979). She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Shug Avery in the period drama film The Color Purple (1985).
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Amy Hennig
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- Graduated with bachelor's degree in English literature
- Occupations
- video game writercreative directorvideo game designer
- Biography
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Amy Hennig is an American video game writer and director, formerly for the video game company Naughty Dog. She began her work in the industry on the Nintendo Entertainment System, with her design debut on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System game Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City. She later went to work for Crystal Dynamics, working primarily on the Legacy of Kain series (which she considers her greatest achievement). With Naughty Dog, she worked primarily on the Jak and Daxter and Uncharted series, the latter of which she created.
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Terry Riley
- Occupations
- film score composercomposerpianistprintmaker
- Biography
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Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his work became notable for its innovative use of repetition, tape music techniques, improvisation, and delay systems. His best known works are the 1964 composition In C and the 1969 album A Rainbow in Curved Air, both considered landmarks of minimalism and important influences on experimental music, rock, and contemporary electronic music. Subsequent works such as Shri Camel (1980) explored just intonation.
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Rebecca Solnit
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- Graduated with bachelor's degree in English literature
- Occupations
- authorenvironmentalistwriterjournalistart historian
- Biography
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Rebecca Solnit is an American writer and activist. She has written on a variety of subjects, including feminism, the environment, politics, place, and art. Solnit is the author of seventeen books, including River of Shadows, which won the 2004 National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism; A Paradise Built in Hell, from 2009, which charts community responses to disaster; The Faraway Nearby, a wide-ranging memoir published in 2013; and Men Explain Things to Me, a collection of essays on feminism and women's writing first published in 2014.
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Wilma Mankiller
- Occupations
- writerautobiographertribal chief
- Biography
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Wilma Pearl Mankiller was a Native American activist, social worker, community developer and the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, she lived on her family's allotment in Adair County, Oklahoma, until the age of 11, when her family relocated to San Francisco as part of a federal government program to urbanize Indigenous Americans. After high school, she married a well-to-do Ecuadorian and raised two daughters. Inspired by the social and political movements of the 1960s, Mankiller became involved in the Occupation of Alcatraz and later participated in the land and compensation struggles with the Pit River Tribe. For five years in the early 1970s, she was employed as a social worker, focusing mainly on children's issues.
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Dan the Automator
- Occupations
- composerDJ producerrecord producer
- Biography
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Daniel M. Nakamura, better known by his stage name Dan the Automator, is an American record producer. He is the founder of the publishing company Sharkman Music and the record label 75 Ark.
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Jeffrey Weissman
- Occupations
- film actortelevision actorstage actoractor
- Biography
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Jeffrey Weissman is an American actor. He has appeared in dozens of motion pictures and TV shows, most notably as George McFly in Back to the Future Part II and III and as Teddy Conway in Pale Rider. He has guest starred spots on Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Max Headroom, Dallas, The Man Show, and with Dick Van Dyke on Diagnosis: Murder and as Screech's Guru on Saved by the Bell.
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Beverly Archer
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Beverly Archer is an American actress and writer who is perhaps best known for her television roles as Iola Boylen on Mama's Family and as Gunnery Sgt. Alva Bricker on Major Dad.
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Ronnie Schell
- Occupations
- film actorvoice actortelevision actoractor
- Biography
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Ronald Ralph Schell is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared on the May 28, 1959, episode of the TV quiz show You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx. Schell demonstrated a comic barrage of beatnik jive talk. As a stand-up comedian, he first developed his act at the hungry i nightclub in San Francisco, California, and is heard (presumably as the opening act) introducing the Kingston Trio at the start of the group's 1962 College Concert album. Schell is probably best known for his 1960s television role as Duke Slater in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
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Walt Dohrn
- Occupations
- writerscreenwriteractoranimatorstoryboard artist
- Biography
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Walter Dohrn is an American writer, director, animator, musician, and actor. He performed the voice of Rumpelstiltskin in Shrek Forever After (2010), as well as various characters in Shrek the Third (2007). He co-directed the film Trolls (2016) and directed its sequels, and voiced various characters in the franchise. He is directing Shrek 5, set for release in 2026. Dohrn has also worked as writer, director, and storyboard director in Season 2 of SpongeBob SquarePants, and he also worked on 2 episodes from Season 3. In 2020, Dohrn signed a deal with DreamWorks Animation.
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Mario Savio
- Occupations
- academicuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Mario Savio was an American activist and a key member of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement. He is most famous for his passionate speeches, especially the "Bodies Upon the Gears" address given at Sproul Hall, University of California, Berkeley on December 2, 1964.
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Cleve Jones
- Occupations
- businesspersonLGBTQ rights activist
- Biography
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Cleve Jones is an American AIDS and LGBT rights activist. He conceived the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, which has become, at 54 tons, the world's largest piece of community folk art as of 2020. In 1983 at the onset of the AIDS pandemic, Jones co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, which has grown into one of the largest and most influential advocacy organizations empowering people with AIDS in the United States.
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Saeb Erekat
- Occupations
- diplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Saeb Muhammad Salih Erekat was a Palestinian politician and diplomat who was the secretary general of the executive committee of the PLO from 2015 until his death in 2020. He served as chief of the PLO Steering and Monitoring Committee until 12 February 2011. He participated in early negotiations with Israel and remained chief negotiator from 1995 until May 2003, when he resigned in protest from the Palestinian government. He reconciled with the party and was reappointed to the post in September 2003.
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John Zerzan
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- 1970-1972 graduated with Master of Arts
- Occupations
- anarchistnew media artistwriterhistorianphilosopher
- Biography
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John Edward Zerzan is an American anarchist and primitivist author. His works criticize agricultural civilization as inherently oppressive, and advocates drawing upon the ways of life of hunter-gatherers as an inspiration for what a free society should look like. Subjects of his criticism include domestication and symbolic thought (such as language, number, art and the concept of time).
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Kent Nagano
- Occupations
- conductormusic director
- Biography
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Kent George Nagano is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the Hamburg State Opera (until 2025).
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Patrick Nagel
- Occupations
- artist
- Biography
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Patrick Nagel was an American artist and illustrator. He created popular illustrations on board, paper, and canvas, most of which emphasize the female form in a distinctive style, descended from Art Deco and pop art.
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Jesse Taylor
- Occupations
- mixed martial arts fighter
- Biography
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Jesse Taylor is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) and 10th Planet Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt fighter who last competed in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor from 2006 to 2023, he was a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter 7, winning his entry, preliminary, quarterfinal and semi-final matches, and then became infamous for being the only fighter to ever be removed from finals due to events that occurred after filming was completed. Taylor later won The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Welterweight Tournament, and has also fought for top promotions such as UFC, Strikeforce, DREAM, MFC, AFC, Impact FC, Shark Fights, Cage Warriors and Absolute Championship Berkut.
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Ron Dellums
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- In 1960 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- program directorpoliticianMental Health Social Workerbureaucratteacher
- Biography
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Ronald Vernie Dellums was an American politician who served as Mayor of Oakland from 2007 to 2011. He had previously served thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 9th congressional district, in office from 1971 to 1998, after which he worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C.
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Vernon Chatman
- Occupations
- television producervoice actorscreenwritertelevision directormusician
- Biography
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Vernon Chatman is an American screenwriter, producer, director, voice actor, stand-up comedian, musician, and a member of PFFR, an art collective based in Brooklyn, New York City. He created the television series Wonder Showzen, Xavier: Renegade Angel, The Heart, She Holler and The Shivering Truth. He also produces, voices characters, and writes for South Park.
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Pierre Salinger
- Occupations
- writerjournalistpolitician
- Biography
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Pierre Emil George Salinger was an American journalist, author and politician. He served as the ninth press secretary for United States presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Salinger served as a United States Senator in 1964 and as campaign manager for the 1968 Robert F. Kennedy presidential campaign.
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Douglas Crockford
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- Studied in 1971-1975
- Occupations
- computer scientistsoftware developerprogrammer
- Biography
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Douglas Crockford is an American computer programmer who is involved in the development of the JavaScript language. He specified the data format JSON, and has developed various JavaScript related tools such as the static code analyzer JSLint and minifier JSMin. He wrote the book JavaScript: The Good Parts, published in 2008, followed by How JavaScript Works in 2018. He was a senior JavaScript architect at PayPal until 2019, and is also a writer and speaker on JavaScript, JSON, and related web technologies.
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Leland Yee
- Occupations
- child and adolescent psychotherapistpolitician
- Biography
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Leland Yin Yee is an American former politician who served as a member of the California State Senate for District 8, which covered parts of San Francisco and the Peninsula.
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Michael Medved
- Occupations
- film criticjournalistradio personality
- Biography
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Michael S. Medved is an American radio show host, author, political commentator, and film critic. His talk show, The Michael Medved Show, is syndicated from his home station KTTH in Seattle. It is available via Cable Radio Network’s channel CRN1. It was syndicated via Genesis Communications Network until GCN’s closure on May 5, 2024.
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Masoud Jafari Jozani
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directorfilm producer
- Biography
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Masoud Jafari Jozani is an Iranian film director, screenwriter and producer. He has received an award for the best short film at the Fajr International Film Festival. In the Wind's Eye is one of Jafari Jozani's most notable works, which he directed and wrote. This TV series In the Wind's Eye was the first Iranian film to be shot in the United States since the Iranian Revolution (1979) and one of the most expensive films in the history of Iran, with a budget of $12 million.
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Cal Tjader
- Occupations
- recording artistbandleaderpercussionistjazz musiciancomposer
- Biography
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Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. was an American Latin Jazz musician, often described as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, especially small group modern jazz, even as he continued to perform music of Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.
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Jose Antonio Vargas
- Occupations
- film directorjournalistfilm screenwriterfilm producer
- Biography
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Jose Antonio Vargas is a journalist, filmmaker, and immigration rights activist. Born in the Philippines and raised in the United States from the age of twelve, he was part of The Washington Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting in 2008 for coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting online and in print. Vargas has also worked for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Philadelphia Daily News, and The Huffington Post. He wrote, produced, and directed the autobiographical 2013 film Documented, which CNN Films broadcast in June 2014.
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John Patitucci
- Occupations
- composerjazz musiciansession musician
- Biography
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John Patitucci is an American jazz bassist and composer.
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Janet Weiss
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- Graduated with photography
- Occupations
- drummermusician
- Biography
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Janet Lee Weiss is an American rock drummer, a member of Quasi and former member of Sleater-Kinney. She was the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, leaving after the album Mirror Traffic, and contributed to the Shins' fourth studio album, Port of Morrow (2012). She was also the drummer for the supergroup Wild Flag.
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Ben Fong-Torres
- Occupations
- music journalistradio personalitywriterjournalistdisc jockey
- Biography
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Benjamin Fong-Torres is an American rock journalist best known for his association with Rolling Stone magazine (until 1981) and the San Francisco Chronicle (from around 1982).
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Steve Lavin
- Occupations
- head coachbasketball coach
- Biography
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Stephen Michael Lavin is an American college basketball coach and former broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball team at the University of San Diego (USD). He previously served as head coach of the St. John's Red Storm and UCLA Bruins. In eleven full seasons as a head coach, Lavin had led teams to ten postseason appearances, highlighted by eight NCAA Tournament berths, an Elite Eight ('97), five NCAA Regional semifinals ('97, '98, '00, '01, '02) and nine campaigns of twenty or more wins. Lavin has also been a broadcaster for Fox Sports, CBS Sports and Pac-12 Network.
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Jennifer Finch
- Occupations
- photographermusicianactor
- Biography
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Jennifer Finch is an American musician, designer, and photographer most notable for being the primary bass player of the punk rock band L7. Active in L7 from 1986 to 1996, Finch also wrote music and performed with her bands OtherStarPeople and The Shocker in the interim before joining the reunited L7 in 2014.
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Pamela Peck
- Occupations
- journalistactor
- Biography
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Pamela Peck Wan-kam was a Hong Kong radio agony aunt and celebrity and is a former member of Wan Chai District Council. Since 1989 she has been the partner of 'celebrity' lawyer and legislator Paul Tse.
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Dan Hicks
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- Studied broadcasting
- Occupations
- bandleaderjazz guitaristsinger-songwritermusiciansongwriter
- Biography
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Daniel Ivan Hicks was an American singer-songwriter and musician, and the leader of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. His idiosyncratic style combined elements of cowboy folk, jazz, country, swing, bluegrass, pop, and gypsy music. He is perhaps best known for the songs "I Scare Myself" and "Canned Music". His songs are frequently infused with humor, as evidenced by the title of his tune "How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away?" His album Live at Davies (2013) capped over forty years of music.
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Melba Pattillo Beals
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Melba Joy Patillo Beals is an American journalist and educator who was a member of the Little Rock Nine, a group of black students who were the first to racially integrate Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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David Cay Johnston
- Occupations
- university teacherwriterjournalistnon-fiction writer
- Biography
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David Cay Boyle Johnston is an American investigative journalist and author, a specialist in economics and tax issues, and winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting.
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Jack O'Neill
- Occupations
- entrepreneurenvironmentalistsurfer
- Biography
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Jack O'Neill was an American businessman and founder of the surfwear and surfboard company O'Neill.
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Ernest J. Gaines
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- Graduated with bachelor's degree
- Occupations
- university teachernovelist
- Biography
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Ernest James Gaines was an American author whose works have been taught in college classrooms and translated into many languages, including French, Spanish, German, Russian and Chinese. Four of his works were made into television movies.
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Bud Harrelson
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Derrel McKinley "Bud" Harrelson was an American professional baseball shortstop, coach and manager. He played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers from 1965 to 1980. After his retirement as a player, he served as a coach for the 1986 Mets team that won the World Series, and as manager of the Mets in 1990 and 1991. He was a coach and part-owner of the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
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Jayshree Ullal
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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Jayshree V. Ullal is a British-American billionaire businesswoman, president and CEO of Arista Networks, a cloud networking company responsible for the deployment of 10/25/40/50/100/ 400/ 800 Gigabit Ethernet networking in the data center.
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Nicole Daedone
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Nicole Daedone is an American writer and business executive. She founded and became the CEO of OneTaste in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Michael McClure
- Occupations
- playwrightpoetwritercomposerdramaturge
- Biography
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Michael McClure was an American poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist. After moving to San Francisco as a young man, he found fame as one of the five poets (including Allen Ginsberg) who read at the famous San Francisco Six Gallery reading in 1955, which was rendered in barely fictionalized terms in Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums. He soon became a key member of the Beat Generation and was immortalized as Pat McLear in Kerouac's Big Sur.
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Kate Linder
- Occupations
- film actormodeltelevision actoractor
- Biography
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Kate Linder is an American actress, best known for her role as Esther Valentine on The Young and the Restless, which she has played since 1982. After appearing in the soap opera for more than 40 years, she is one of the longest serving actors on an American soap opera. Linder received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008, and was honored at The Hollywood Museum in 2022.
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Karen Kondazian
- Occupations
- film actortelevision actornovelistactor
- Biography
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Karen Kondazian is an American actress and author. She is a recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award's Best Actress award and is a four-time Drama-Logue Awards winner. She had a regular starring role in Shannon, as well guest-starring roles on Wiseguy, Frasier, NYPD Blue, and others.
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George Fenneman
- Occupations
- radio personalityactor
- Biography
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George Watt Fenneman was an American radio and television announcer. Fenneman is best remembered as the show announcer and straight man on Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life. Marx, said of Fenneman in 1976, "There never was a comedian who was any good unless he had a good straight man, and George was straight on all four sides". Fenneman, born in Peking (Beijing), China, died from respiratory failure in Los Angeles, California, on May 29, 1997, at the age of 77.
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Gary Fan
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Gary Fan Kwok-wai is a Hong Kong politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 2012 to 2016 and from 2018 to 2019 after winning the 2018 by-election for New Territories East. He is also a former member of the Sai Kung District Council for Wan Hang. Former leader of the reformist faction in the Democratic Party, he led the reformists splitting from the party to form the Neo Democrats over the controversial 2010 constitutional reform proposal, taking a moderate localist stance.
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John Lee
- Occupations
- television producervoice actorscreenwriterfilm producerfilm director
- Biography
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John Michael Leeis an American television producer, writer, director, voice actor, and musician best known for his work on the MTV2 comedy series Wonder Showzen as a member of the rock band/art collective PFFR.
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Lawrence J. Hogan
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- Studied in 1956-1957
- Occupations
- business executivepoliticianuniversity teacherreal estate agentlawyer
- Biography
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Lawrence Joseph Hogan Sr. was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. representative for the 5th congressional district of Maryland from January 3, 1969, to January 3, 1975. In 1974, he was the only Republican representative to vote to recommend all three House articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon. He was the father of the 62nd governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan.
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Kim Addonizio
- Occupations
- writernovelistpoet
- Biography
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Kim Addonizio is an American poet and novelist.
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Jonas Rivera
- Occupations
- actorfilm producer
- Biography
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Jonas H. Rivera is an American film producer. As of September 2022, he is the executive vice president for film production at Pixar Animation Studios, overseeing operational issues (as distinguished from creative issues) for all film and streaming production. He produced the animated films Up (2009), Inside Out (2015), and Toy Story 4 (2019), all of which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Rivera is an alumnus of San Francisco State University and has worked at Pixar since starting there as an intern in 1994.
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Irene McGee
- Years
- 1976-.. (age 49)
- Occupations
- podcaster
- Biography
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Irene McGee is a podcaster and television personality who created and hosted No One's Listening, a podcast about the mass media.
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Kelly Corrigan
- Occupations
- columnistjournalist
- Biography
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Kelly Corrigan is the author of four New York Times bestselling books about family life: The Middle Place, Glitter and Glue, Lift and Tell Me More. She is the host of the long form interview show Tell Me More on PBS, now in its 7th season, as well as the podcast and NPR radio show Kelly Corrigan Wonders, which has over 400 episodes (as of February 2024). She regularly gives keynote speeches, graduation addresses and book readings. She has appeared on The Today Show 7 times.
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Manny Mashouf
- Occupations
- businesspersonexecutive producerfashion designerphilanthropistentrepreneur
- Biography
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Manoucher "Manny" Mashouf is an Iranian-American businessman and philanthropist known for founding Bebe Stores.
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George Miller
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- In 1968 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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George Miller III is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1975 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the state's 7th congressional district until redistricting in 2013 and 11th congressional district until his retirement. Miller served as Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee from 1991 to 1995 and Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee from 2007 until 2011.
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Paul Cayard
- Occupations
- skipper
- Biography
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Paul Pierre Cayard is an American yachtsman and professional sailor. He has competed at multiple world championship level sailing events, including the America's Cup, the Whitbread Round the World Race, the Volvo Ocean Race and the Olympic Games. In 1998 he was selected as the US Rolex Yachtsmen of the Year. He has won seven world championships, twice participated in the Olympic Games and seven times in the America's Cup. In 2011 he was elected into the US Sailing Hall of Fame.
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Hari Dhillon
- Occupations
- film actortelevision actorstage actoractor
- Biography
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Hari Dhillon is an American television, film and stage actor, best known for playing Michael Spence in British television medical drama series Holby City. His name has also been spelled Hari Dillon and Harry Dillon.
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Jack Gilbert
- Occupations
- poet
- Biography
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Jack Gilbert was an American poet. Gilbert was acquainted with Jack Spicer and Allen Ginsberg, both prominent figureheads of the Beat Movement, but is not considered a Beat Poet; he described himself as a "serious romantic." Over his five-decade-long career, he published five full collections of poetry.
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Stephen Gaskin
- Occupations
- independent politicianenvironmentalist
- Biography
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Stephen Gaskin was an American counterculture Hippie icon best known for his presence in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco in the 1960s and for co-founding "The Farm", a spiritual commune in 1970. He was a Green Party presidential primary candidate in 2000 on a platform which included campaign finance reform, universal health care, and decriminalization of marijuana. He was the author of over a dozen books, a political activist, a philanthropic organizer and a self-proclaimed professional Hippie.
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Anthony C. Ferrante
- Born in
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United States - Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directorfilm producer
- Biography
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Anthony C. Ferrante is an American film director, producer, and writer, known for directing the Sharknado series, the 2017 thriller Forgotten Evil and the 2005 ghost story Boo, which was his feature film writing and directing debut.
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Gavin Arthur
- Occupations
- astrologersecretary
- Biography
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Chester Alan "Gavin" Arthur III was an American astrologer and sexologist. He was the grandson of Chester A. Arthur, the twenty-first president of the United States. He received his early education from Columbia College and later joined the Philolexian Society. He left his college and participated in the Irish Republican Movement. During his time in Ireland, he began going by the name Gavin.
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Bill Thomas
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- In 1963 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- In 1965 graduated with Master of Arts
- Occupations
- academicpolitician
- Biography
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William Marshall Thomas is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 2007, finishing his tenure representing California's 22nd congressional district and as the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
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Barbara Hammer
- Enrolled in San Francisco State University
- In 1963 studied English literature
- In 1975 graduated with master's degree in cinematography
- Occupations
- video artistartistautobiographerfilm producerfilmmaker
- Biography
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Barbara Jean Hammer was an American feminist film director, producer, writer, and cinematographer. She is known for being one of the pioneers of the lesbian film genre, and her career spanned over 50 years. Hammer is known for having created experimental films dealing with women's issues such as gender roles, lesbian relationships, coping with aging, and family life. She resided in New York City and Kerhonkson, New York, and taught each summer at the European Graduate School.
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Cherríe Moraga
- Occupations
- writerplaywrightpoet
- Biography
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Cherríe Moraga is an influential Chicana feminist writer, activist, poet, essayist, and playwright. A prominent figure in Chicana literature and feminist theory, Moraga's work explores the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, and class, with particular emphasis on the experiences of Chicana and Indigenous women. She currently serves as Distinguished Professor in the Department of English at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
