Overbrook High School (Philadelphia)

Overbrook High School is a public, four-year high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

School

Overbrook High School is designated by the School District of Philadelphia as Location #402, in the West Region. The building was built in 1926 and designed by Irwin T. Catharine. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.^[1]

Enrollment for 2020-2021 was 411 students in grades 9 through 12. African Americans make up 94% of the student population.^[2] As of 2015, the school principal of Overbrook is Dr. Kahlila Johnson; Dr. Johnson graduated from Overbrook in 1989.^[3]

Notable alumni

Overbrook is perhaps best known for its famous alumni, who include Wilt Chamberlain^[4] and Will Smith.^[5]^[6] At least 11 Overbrook alumni have played in the NBA, and the school is ranked sixth in that respect.^[6]

Len Barry, lead singer/songwriter, The Dovells^[7]
Steve Baskerville, TV personality, former on-air weatherman for CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago
John Blake Jr., jazz violinist; minister ^[8]
Bill Bloom, songwriter/musician; Interfaith Minister
Guion Bluford, space-shuttle astronaut; first African-American in space^[9]
Solomon Burke, soul singer [Attended briefly, but graduated from John Bartram High School]^{[citation needed]}
Bill Cash, Negro league stars, Baseball Hall of Famer
Wilt Chamberlain, former NBA player, ranked No. 5 All-Time by ESPN^[10]
Wendy "Lady B" Clarke, hip hop radio DJ and pioneer female rapper^[11]
Tony Costner, former NBA player, European career
The Delfonics, R&B group^[12]
Colman Domingo, Emmy and Tony award-winning stage, screen and TV actor^[13]
Jon Drummond, Olympic track gold-medalist^[14]
Ted Eisenberg, world record-holding breast surgeon^[15]
Chaka Fattah, former U.S. Congressman (D-PA) and convicted felon^[16]
Mike Gale, NBA/ABA player^[17]
Bobb Goldsteinn, songwriter/producer; coined term "multimedia"^[18]
Bryshere Y. Gray, actor on TV series Empire
The Last Emperor (Jamal Gray), rapper
Walt Hazzard (Mahdi Abdul-Rahmad), NBA All-Star; UCLA All-American player and coach^[19]
Rosetta Hightower, lead singer, The Orlons^[7]
Wayne Hightower, NBA player; ABA All-star^[20]
Wali Jones, NBA player
Jacob Landau, nationally recognized artist, teacher^[21]
James Lassiter, film producer; partner in Overbrook Entertainment^[22]
Rich Laurel, NBA player, European career
Hal Lear, NBA player^[23]
Jeffrey Leonard, Major League Baseball player ^[24]
Lewis Lloyd, NBA player^[25]
Andre McCarter, UCLA All -American basketball and 3-time NCAA champion; NBA player^[26]
John H. Murphy III, publisher; head of the Afro-American newspaper
Deworski Odom, sprinter
Frank Piasecki, helicopter inventor; National Medal of Technology winner^[27]
Catherine Pugh, former Mayor of Baltimore, forced to resign under pressure due to scandal ^[28]^[29]
Marion Ramsey, film actress
Malik Rose, NBA player^[6]
Merrill Reese, voice of NFL's Philadelphia Eagles
Fran Ross, writer, author of Oreo (novel)
Johnny Sample, football player^[30]
Dee Dee Sharp, singer^[7]
Will Smith, Oscar-winning actor;^[31] Grammy-winning rapper^[5]
Willie L. Williams, former police commissioner, Philadelphia and Los Angeles^[32]
Waverly B. Woodson Jr. (1922–2005), United States Army soldier^[33]

References

^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 23 January 2007.
^ "School District of Philadelphia Dashboard".
^ "Principal's message". Philasd.org. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
^ Encyclo of World. "Wilt Chamberlain Biography". Encyclo of World Biography -Advameg, Inc. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
^ a b Fontana, Tony. "Will Smith (I) – Biography". IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
^ a b c Mazique, Brian. "6. Overbrook High School (Philadelphia, PA)". Bleacher Report, Inc. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
^ a b c "Cameo Parkway 1957–1957". AlbumLinerNotes.com. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ "Performer, Educator and All That Jazz" (PDF). Retrieved 15 February 2013.
^ Greene, Nick. "Gioun "Guy" Bluford Biography – NASA". About.com – NYTimes Co. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
^ "All-Time #NBArank: Wilt No. 5". ESPN.com. ESPN. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
^ "Philadelphia Students Author Book Honoring Hip Hop Icon Lady B - the School District of Philadelphia". 4 September 2020.
^ Gross, Dan (10 April 2009). "Delfonics singer Randy Cain dies at 63". Philadelphia Media Network Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ Roberts, Kimberly C. (14 October 2011). "'A Boy and His Soul' defies stereotypes". Retrieved 20 September 2017.
^ Reid, Ron. "Jon Drummond Is a Fixture at the Penn Relays". Philadelphia Media Network Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ "Most breast augmentation surgeries performed: Ted Eisenberg sets world record". World Records Academy LLC. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ "Brady: Wilt Needs a Stamp". Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
^ "Mike Gale NBA & ABA Statistics". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ White, Josh (September 2012). "Did You Know The Fillmore East's Joshua Light Show Really Started Here?". WestView News. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
^ "Mahdi Abdul-Rahman NBA & ABA Statistics". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ "Wayne Hightower NBA & ABA Statistics". Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ Pray, Rusty. "Jacon Landau. 83, artist shown in major museums". Philadelphia Media Network Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ "James Lassiter". Imdb.com Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
^ "Hal Lear NBA & ABA Statistics". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ "Jeffrey Leonard Stats". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
^ Jackson, Roger. "Pope, Pols, Black Magic Lewis Lloyd, No. 2 in rebounds and scoring, is Des Moines' latest rage Roger Jackson". SI Vault.com Time Inc. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
^ Jensen, Mike. "Philly's Andre McCarter recalls John Wooden". Phila. Inquirer. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
^ "Piasecki Aircraft Corporation >> About >> PiAC". Piasecki Aircraft Corporation. Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ Writer, Daryl Bell Tribune Staff (15 November 2016). "From Overbrook High to Baltimore's next mayor". The Philadelphia Tribune.
^ Stockman, Farah (2 May 2019). "Baltimore's Mayor, Catherine Pugh, Resigns Amid Children's Book Scandal". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
^ "Johnny Sample". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
^ "Oscar Winners 2022". 19 March 2024.
^ Kram, Mark. "Williams, Willie L. 1943-". HighBeam Research, Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ "Waverly Woodson". The Frederick News-Post (via Legacy.com). August 30, 2005. Retrieved January 29, 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Overbrook High School (Philadelphia).

Official website
Overbrook High School at the Wayback Machine (archive index) at American School Directory
Demographic & Climate Profile