Lane Tech High School - Notable Alumni

Notable Alumni

• Tony Alcantar is an actor and acting teacher.
• Leonard Baldy was a pioneering Chicago Police officer and helicopter traffic reporter.
• Edgar Bergen was a ventriloquist, actor, and radio performer, best remembered for creating Charlie McCarthy.
• Rod Blagojevich is a former Governor of Illinois (attended for a short time before transferring).
• Cyron Brown is a former lineman who played in the NFL and AFL.
• Buzz Capra is a former Major League Baseball pitcher (1971–77).

• Phil Cavarretta was a Major League Baseball player (1934–55). He spent most of his playing career with, and briefly managed the Chicago Cubs.
• Len Church was a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs (1966).
• Bill Daily is an actor (I Dream of Jeannie).
• Frank Dasso was a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds (1945–46).
• Anna Davlantes is a news anchor at WMAQ-TV Chicago.
• Otto Denning was a Major League catcher for the Cleveland Indians (1942–43).
• DJ Colette (Colette Marino) is a house music singer and DJ.

• George J. Efstathiou is an architect at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (Burj Khalifa, Chicago Symphony Center).
• Dan Evans is a former General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and is a baseball executive who was in the Class of 1978.
• John Felske is a former Major League Baseball player and manager.
• Bill Fischer was a lineman for the Chicago Cardinals (1949–53). A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, he won the Outland Trophy in 1948.
• Michael Flanagan class of 1980 is a former congressman.
• Neal Gabler is an author and political commentator.
• Carl Giammarese is a singer and guitarist who co-founded The Buckinghams.
• Fred Goetz, mobster implicated in the Saint Valentine's Day massacre.
• Ron Gora was a swimmer who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics.

• Bato Govedarica is a former player for the Syracuse Nationals (1953–54).
• Seymour Greenberg was a national champion tennis player.
• Dennis Hejhal is a mathematician at the University of Minnesota
• Arndt Jorgens was a Norwegian-born catcher (1929–39), playing his entire career for the New York Yankees.
• Orville Jorgens was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies (1935–37).
• John Komlos is a professor of economics at the University of Munich. He helped found the field of anthropometric history.

• Frankie Laine was a singer/songwriter. One source notes that Laine's stage name was taken from the school.
• Ed Linke was a Major League Baseball pitcher (1933–38).
• Justina Machado is an actress (Six Feet Under).
• Irv Medlinger was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Browns (1949, 51).
• Richard W. Mies is a former U.S Navy admiral who served as head of the United States Strategic Command.
• Kevin Moyers is a writer (Scorn) and independent film actor.
• Ken Nordine is a voiceover and recording artist best known for his series of Word Jazz albums.
• Rachel Barton Pine is a violinist (Honorary Alumna)
• John Podesta is the former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.

• Fritz Pollard is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was the first African-American to be a head coach in the NFL.
• Marty Robinson was an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning voice-over announcer at WTTW.
• Richard Schroeppel is a mathematician
• Dave Spector is a television personality in Japan.
• Jim Suchecki is a former MLB player (Boston Red Sox, Saint Louis Browns, Pittsburgh Pirates)
• Genndy Tartakovsky is an Emmy Award-winning animator (Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars).
• Dick Triptow is a former NBL and NBA player (1944–49).
• Tung Thanh Tran is an actor (Good Morning, Vietnam).
• Phil Weintraub was a Major League Baseball player (1933–38, 44–45).
• Johnny Weismuller was a five-time Olympic gold medal winning swimmer who later became an actor, best known for his portrayal of Tarzan in the MGM film series 1932–42.
• Andy Varga is a former MLB player (Chicago Cubs)
• Steve Wilkos is a talk show host (The Steve Wilkos Show) and former bodyguard (The Jerry Springer Show).
• Bob Weiland is a former MLB player (Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals)
• Jim Woods is a former MLB player (Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies)
• Earl Zindars was a composer of jazz and classical music.
• Adrian Zmed is an actor (TJ Hooker, Dance Fever).