Contributors To The Mackenzie Mystique
Few professional educators have matched the record of Mr. A. Rex Carletti; the guidance counselor, baseball coach and National Honor Society sponsor who served Mackenzie students from 1932 until 1974. Eight US Presidents, eleven Michigan Governors and ten Mayors of Detroit would come and go during Mr. Carletti's forty-two year career.
Critically acclaimed professional actor, and 1951 graduate, Tom Skerritt speaks fondly of the time spent crafting his skills at Mackenzie. Skerritt made his network television debut in 1959, appearing in the CBS series Gunsmoke; Tom also appeared in the 1960s ABC television series Combat!. Skerritt's cinematic credits include M*A*S*H (1970); Harold and Maude (1971); Ice Castles (1978); Alien (1979); SpaceCamp (1986); Top Gun (1986); Steel Magnolias (1989), A River Runs Through It (1992); Contact (1997), and Bonneville (2006). Tom also starred in the 1990s CBS television series, Picket Fences.
Stanley Mouse (Miller) attended Mackenzie for two years before a mischievous prank resulted in his expulsion. Mouse Miller is a noteworthy artist, best known for creating the late 1950s "monster hot rod" art form (subsequently popularized by Ed Roth and his commercially successful line of Rat Fink merchandise). Mouse also designed psychedelic rock concert posters and album cover art. During the mid-1960s, through his Mouse Studios, Miller and associates were commissioned by music promoter Bill Graham to create many of the classic posters for the Avalon Ballroom and Fillmore Auditorium. In 1971, along with artist Alton Kelley, Stanley Miller incorporated Mouse Studios with the Monster Company—first to create t-shirts using four-color process printing. Mouse Studios also produced album cover art for rock bands Journey and Grateful Dead.
As a member of the Funk Brothers studio band, 1959 Mackenzie graduate Dennis Coffey played on dozens of recordings for Motown Records. Coffey introduced the wah-wah guitar sound to Motown producer Norman Whitfield's recordings; the most notable of which is Cloud Nine by The Temptations. Coffey also played on Edwin Starr's "S.O.S.", The Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing", and Freda Payne's "Band of Gold". In 1971, Coffey recorded "Scorpio", a million-selling instrumental single that peaked at #6 on the Billboard pop chart. “Scorpio” earned Coffey and the Funk Brothers a golden disc from the Recording Industry Association of America.
In 1971, basketball coach Carl Andrews led the Stags to their first Michigan High School Athletic Association regional championship title. That same season, Mackenzie advanced to the Public School League finals and The Detroit News named Andrews as Public School League Coach of the Year.
Ernie Charboneau, longtime physical education instructor and athletic coach at Mackenzie, was a competitive boxer for Michigan State University; Charboneau won the 1948 National Collegiate Athletic Association flyweight (112-pound) championship.
Bob Dozier was a renowned educator and football coach at Mackenzie High School; his 33-year career spanned five decades (1969–2002). Six of Coach Dozier's athletes would eventually perform in the NFL; three of them played on Super Bowl championship teams. In his early years of coaching at Mackenzie, Dozier teamed with Wayne State University Hall of Fame fullback Elbert Richmond. Prior to Dozier's arrival, during the teacher strike-shortened 1967 season, Richmond's Mackenzie football team went 5-0; the Stag defensive squad did not yield a single point. From 1969 to 1978, the coaching tandem of Elbert Richmond and Bob Dozier compiled an impressive record of 63–20 (.759), including an undefeated season in 1969. One of Richmond's defensive backs, Richard Byas Jr., went on to a rewarding career with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. Elbert Richmond also enjoyed a long and successful career as the baseball and varsity basketball coach at Mackenzie; his 1978-79 squad won the MHSAA basketball title. In 1998, Richmond was honored with induction to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Hall of Fame.
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