Notable Alumni of Los Angeles City College

Jimmy Doolittle 1896–1993

General and aviation pioneer, led the Doolittle Raid

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Diane Watson 1933–

Former US Representative from California

Also attended: California State University-Los Angeles, University of California-Los Angeles, Claremont Graduate University

Johnny Kitagawa 1931–2019

Founder of talent agency Johnny & Associates

Sibling: Mary Kitagawa (Los Angeles City College)

Lawrence Klein 1920–2013

Economist, 1980 Nobel laureate in Economics

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania

John L. Kelley 1916–1999

Mathematician, author of General Topology

Attended until 1933

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, University of Virginia-Main Campus

Clint Eastwood 1930–

Actor and film director

Also attended: Seattle University

Spouse: Dina Eastwood (Arizona State University-Tempe, Ohlone College)

Child: Scott Eastwood (Loyola Marymount University)

Morgan Freeman 1937–

Actor and Academy Award winner

Also attended: Boston University

Charles Bukowski 1920–1994

German-American poet, novelist and short story writer

Journalism, Literary studies

Alan Arkin 1934–2023

Academy Award-winning actor and filmmaker

Also attended: Bennington College

Mark Hamill 1951–

Actor, played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars

James Coburn 1928–2002

Actor in Westerns and action films

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, Compton College, University of Southern California

Gene Roddenberry 1921–1991

Creator of Star Trek

Also attended: University of Southern California, University of Miami, Columbia University in the City of New York

Spouse: Majel Barrett (University of Miami)

Child: Rod Roddenberry (Hampshire College)

Donna Reed 1921–1986

Film and television actress

Spouse: William J. Tuttle (University of Southern California)

Esther Williams 1921–2013

Competitive swimmer and actress

Alvin Ailey 1931–1989

Dancer, choreographer and activist

Attended until 1951

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, San Francisco State University

Robert Vaughn 1932–2016

Actor best known as secret agent Napoleon Solo

Also attended: California State University-Los Angeles, University of Southern California, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Rosie Perez 1964–

Actress known for Do the Right Thing

Sally Kellerman 1937–2022

Actress, Oscar-nominated for M*A*S*H

Michael Ansara 1922–2013

Stage, screen and voice actor

Spouse: Barbara Eden (City College of San Francisco, San Francisco Conservatory of Music)

Sue Lyon 1946–2019

Actress who starred in Kubrick's Lolita

Also attended: Santa Monica College

Ray Harryhausen 1920–2013

Animator and special effects pioneer

Also attended: University of Southern California

Paul Winfield 1939–2004

Actor nominated for Best Actor for Sounder

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, University of California-Santa Barbara, University of Portland

Odetta 1930–2008

Folk singer known as Voice of the Civil Rights Movement

Stuart Whitman 1928–2020

Film and television actor

Cindy Williams 1947–2023

Actress known for Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley

La Monte Young 1935–

Avant-garde composer and early American minimalist

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Spouse: Marian Zazeela (Bennington College)

Country Joe McDonald 1942–2026

Singer-songwriter, lead singer of Country Joe and the Fish

Schoolboy Q 1986–

American rapper

Also attended: Glendale Community College, Los Angeles Southwest College, West Los Angeles College

Mykelti Williamson 1957–

Actor known for Forrest Gump, Con Air and Ali

Elliott Erwitt 1928–2023

Magnum Photos advertising and documentary photographer

Also attended: The New School

Billy Barty 1924–2000

American actor and activist

Also attended: California State University-Los Angeles

Shelley Morrison 1936–2019

Actress known for Will & Grace

Jeanette Nolan 1911–1998

Actress in The Virginian and Macbeth

Spouse: John McIntire (University of Southern California)

Barbara Billingsley 1915–2010

Actress and model

Howard Zieff 1927–2009

Film director, commercial director and advertising photographer

Roy Thinnes 1938–

Actor best known for The Invaders

Ruta Lee 1935–

Canadian-born actress and dancer

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Wayne Morris 1914–1959

Film actor and WWII fighter ace

David White 1916–1990

Actor best known as Larry Tate on Bewitched

Phyllis Coates 1927–2023

Actress who played Lois Lane in Adventures of Superman

Spouse: Richard L. Bare (University of Southern California)

Ruth Orkin 1921–1985

Photographer and filmmaker

Douglas Fowley 1911–1998

Actor, known for Singin' in the Rain

Charles Burnett 1944–

Filmmaker, director of Killer of Sheep

Electronics

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Peter Ramsey 1962–

Co-director of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Rudi Gernreich 1922–1985

Austrian-born fashion designer and gay activist

Tamra Davis 1962–

Film, television and music video director

Spouse: Mike D (Vassar College)

David Greenwalt 1949–

Screenwriter and producer, co-creator of Angel

Also attended: University of Redlands

Earl Bellamy 1917–2003

Television and film director

Walter Stanley Keane 1915–2000

Claimed to have painted Margaret Keane's big-eyed paintings

Charles Gordone 1925–1995

Playwright, first African American Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner

Also attended: California State University-Los Angeles, University of California-Los Angeles, Columbia University in the City of New York

Don Friedman 1935–2016

Jazz pianist

Carlos Almaraz 1941–1989

Painter and pioneer of the Chicano art movement

Also attended: California State University-Los Angeles, University of California-Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University

Billy Al Bengston 1934–2022

Visual artist and sculptor

Also attended: California College of the Arts, Otis College of Art and Design

Brad Bell 1985–

Co-creator of the web series Husbands

Irene Tsu 1943–

Shanghai-born actress in Flower Drum Song

Art Mollner 1912–1995

Basketball gold medalist at the 1936 Olympics

Jerel Blassingame 1981–

Professional basketball point guard

Also attended: University of Nevada--Las Vegas

Jaelan Phillips 1999–

NFL outside linebacker

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles, University of Miami

Maulana Karenga 1941–

Creator of Kwanzaa and Africana studies professor

Also attended: Alliant International University, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Southern California

Richard Girnt Butler 1918–2004

White supremacist leader who founded Aryan Nations