DOCUMENTARY FILM MAKER
Marlon Riggs was an Army Brat who attended Nurnberg HS 1972-73 & Ansbach HS 1973-74
Marlon Riggs was known for making insightful and controversial documentary films confronting racism and homophobia that thrust him onto center stage in America’s “cultural wars.”
Riggs’ first major work, Ethnic Notions (58 min, 1987), traced the evolution of the racial stereotypes which have implanted themselves deep into the American psyche across 150 years of U.S. history. The documentary received a National Emmy Award and other top film festival honors and has become a core audio-visual “text” in a wide range of courses.
Marlon’s second major work, Tongues Untied (58 min, 1989), a moving, highly personal, sometimes angry, always poignant documentary was the first frank discussion of the black, gay experience on television. Though acclaimed by critics and awarded Best Documentary at Berlin and other film festivals, its broadcast by the PBS series P.O.V. was immediately pounced upon by the Religious Right as a symbol of everything wrong with public funding for art and culture, particularly culture outside the mainstream political debate.”
Marlon’s own next major work, Color Adjustment (86 min, 1991), traced over 40 years of the representations of African Americans through the distorting prism of prime time television, from Amos ‘n’ Andy to Cosby. Color Adjustment garnered television’s highest accolade, the George Foster Peabody Award, among other awards. That same year the American Film Institute granted Riggs their Maya Daren Lifetime Achievement Award.
Marlon Riggs died of AIDS in 1994.
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AUTHOR & REPORTER
Mary Edwards Werstch is a military brat. Her father was an Army Officer.
Wertsch’s Book: “Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress” is considered to be the seminal book on growing up and forever being a “military brat.”
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ACTRESS
Mary-Louise Parker is an Army Brat who was born August 2, 1964 in Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
She has appeared in movies such as Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Lawrence Kasdan’s Grand Canyon (1991), Naked in New York (1994), the romantic comedy Mr. Wonderful (1993), Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway(1994), and the Jane Campion Adaptation of Henry James’ Portrait of a Lady (1996).
She currently has a recurring role in the popular television series “West Wing.”
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CHOREOGRAPHER
Mayte Garcia-Nelson is an Army Brat and an Overseas School Alumnus. She graduated from Gen. H.H. Arnold High School in Wiesbaden, Class of 1991.
Garcia-Nelson is married to the Artist formerly known as “Prince.” She has produced numerous artistic dance programs that have been showcased throughout the United States.
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ASTRONAUT
(Katherine) Megan McArthur was the Mission Specialist for space shuttle mission STS-125, working as flight engineer and robotic arm operator during maintenance work on the Hubble Space Telescope, and she was the Pilot of the NASA SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station. Megan attended London Central High School.
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US WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM 1999 WORLD CUP
Mia Hamm is a Military Brat and Overseas School Alumnus.
Mia Hamm was one of the stars of the US Women’s soccer team that won the World Cup in 1999.
When her father was stationed in Germany Mia, age 5, wanted to play soccer, but at the time there were only boys teams so Mia had to play with the boys.
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From age 9 to age 16, he grew up in Mannheim, Germany on a US Army base, where his father, Major Gene Strahan, was stationed.
His father was a boxer with a 1-1 record against future heavyweight boxing champion Ken Norton.
His mother, Louise Strahan, was a basketball coach.
Michael’s uncle is retired pro football player Arthur Strahan.
Michael was not able to play US high school football until he was a high school senior at Westbury High School in Houston, Texas. However, he was able to play organized football as a linebacker for the Mannheim (Germany) Redskins in 1985, mostly made up of other military brats from the nearby US Army base where his father was stationed.
In order to get US high school football experience, his father sent him to live with his brother Art Strahan (Michael’s uncle) in Houston, Texas, USA, the summer before his senior year.
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AUTHOR
Michael Alexander is the author of “The Underground Guide to Computer Security,” published by Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. 1996. He is also the author of book “The Digital Doberman,” published by Ventana Press in 1998.
Michael Alexander is a 1968 graduate Mannheim American High School in Germany.
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FILM & TELEVISION ACTOR
Michael J. Fox is a Canadian Army Brat. His father retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in 1971.
Born Michael Andrew Fox to parents William and Phyllis in Edmonton, Alberta, Fox adopted the “J” as an homage to legendary character actor Michael J. Pollard.
Fox, an “army brat,” moved several times during his childhood, along with his parents, brother, and three sisters. The Foxes finally planted roots in Burnaby, B.C. (a suburb of Vancouver), when William Fox retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in 1971.
Information from the Michael J. Fox Foundation Web site: www.michaeljfox.org/
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SINGER, LYRICIST AND VISUAL ARTIST
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe’s dad was in the U.S. Army. Read more about him in Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Stipe.
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ACTOR, COMEDIAN
Born in Metz , France , Mike MacDonald is the son of a career Canadian Air Force officer. His first 15 years were spent living on various bases in Europe . One of them was in Wing 4 of Baden-Baden, Germany.
His standup comedy has garnered him appearances on many U.S. and Canadian TV programs.
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ACTOR, Co-star As Asst. Director Skinner “X-Files” TV Show
Mitch Pleggi is an Overseas School Alumnus. A graduate of Marshall AHS, Ankara, Turkey. His father, Vito Pileggi, was an operations manager for a defense contractor whose career took him to Ankara, Turkey .
Info From: Marilyn Elmore Brown was Mitch Pileggi’s music teacher at Ankara American High School and still teaches in DoDDS. Info From Timothy Wurtz , and “People Magazine” 05/06/96 & Mike O’Brien.
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NATIONALLY SYNDICATED RADIO TALK SHOW HOST
Neal Boortz is a Marine Corps Brat. His father was a Marine Corps Pilot. The Neal Boortz Show is also syndicated throughout the United States. His Program airs daily from WSB-AM 750 in Atlanta, Georgia to an estimated daily national audience of more than three million listeners. Mr. Boortz was born in 1945 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Some of the places he subsquently lived as a Marine Corps Brat included: Honolulu, Hawaii, Laguna Beach, California, Morehead City, North Carolina; Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Pensacola, Florida. He graduated from Pensacola High School in 1963. Source: Neal Boortz Homepage: boortz.com
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FORMER SPEAKER OF THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Newton Leroy Gingrich is an American politician, author, and historian who served as the 50th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the S. Representative for Georgia’s 6th congressional district from 1979 until his resignation in 1999. In 2012, Gingrich was a candidate for the presidential nomination of his party.
Gingrich was born as Newton Leroy McPherson at the Harrisburg Hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on June 17, 1943. His mother, Kathleen “Kit” (née Daugherty; 1925–2003), and father, Newton Searles McPherson (1923–1970), married in September 1942, when she was 16 and McPherson was 19. The marriage fell apart within days.
In 1946, his mother married Robert Gingrich (1925–1996), who adopted Newt. Robert Gingrich was a career Army officer who served tours in Korea and Vietnam. In 1956, the family moved to Europe living for a period in Orléans, France and Stuttgart, Germany.
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AUTHOR & SCREEN WRITER
Nicolas Proffitt author of “Gardens of Stone” and others is a Military Brat.
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Norah Morahan O’Donnell (born January 23, 1974) is an American television journalist and anchor of the CBS Evening News. She is the former co-anchor of CBS This Morning, Chief White House Correspondent for CBS News and the substitute host for CBS’s Sunday morning show Face the Nation. O’Donnell was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Francis O’Donnell, a doctor and commander in the US Army. When Norah was 3, her family moved to San Antonio, Texas. When she was 10, the family spent two years in Seoul, living in Yongsan Garrison as her father was assigned to work there. While an elementary student, she started her career in broadcasting giving videotaped English lessons for the Korean Educational Development Institute. The family moved back to San Antonio where she graduated from Douglas MacArthur High School.
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While the step-daughter of an Air Force officer, Olivia Munn attended Yokota High School at Yokota Air Base near Tokyo, Japan.
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AUTHOR
Pat Conroy is a Marine Brat. His father was a career Marine Corps Aviator.
Many of his books have been made into films: “The Water is Wide (Movie Version” Conrack”),” “Prince of Tides,” “The Lords of Discipline,” “Beach Music” & “Great Santini.”
He did not attend any schools overseas.
To read more about him go to Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Conroy.
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FILM & TELEVISON ACTRESS
Patricia Richardson is a Navy Junior. A self-described “Navy brat,” her father was a Navy pilot. Richardson was born in Bethesda, Maryland, and moved with her family frequently during her childhood. Making new friends in every town forced her to be outgoing and sparked her early interest in acting.
Patricia Richardson plays Jill Taylor, the only woman in a household of men, on the television series “Home Improvement.”
For her work on “Home Improvement,” Richardson has been honored with two Emmy Award nominations as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She co-hosted the 1994 Emmy Awards and was nominated for a Golden Globe award in 1993 and 1994.
Info from tvplex.go.com/touchstone/homeimprovement/bios/richardson.html
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ACTOR – DIRECTOR
Peter Weller attended Heidelberg High School (1962). His father was an Army Helicopter Pilot.
His best known role was that of the original Robocop.
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US SENATOR—TEXAS
Senator Phil Gramm is an Army Brat. He was born in 1942 on Ft. Benning, in Columbus, Georgia. He is the son of an Army Master Sergeant.
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FILM ACTRESS & EX-WIFE OF ELVIS PRESLEY
Priscilla Beaulieu Presley was an Air Force Brat. Her step-father was an Air Force Major.
According to the book: “Child Bride -Priscilla Presley from Elvis’s teen lover to Michael
Jackson’s mother-in-law” Author Suzanne Finstad Copyright 1967 Crown Publishers, NY/NY
Priscilla Beaulieu grew up as an AF Brat attending junior high in the Del Valle Independent School District outside of Bergstrom AFB, Austin/TX. She attended High School at General H.H. Arnold High School in Wiesbaden, Germany from 1960 to 1963, leaving only eight weeks before graduation. The book also references the catholic girls’ school in Memphis she transferred to for her last 8 weeks of high school.
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NBA PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER
Ray Allen is an Air Force Brat and an Overseas School Alumnus. His father was a career Air Force NCO.
Allen was born in California and has lived in Germany, Oklahoma, England, Georgia and South Carolina. He attended high school in Dalzell, South Carolina.
Ray Allen was the first player in UConn men’s basketball history to be named All-American status as only a sophomore Player of the year. Ray Allen helped lead the US to the gold medal at the World University Games in 1995.
Allen was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves and traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1996. Recently, he signed a six-year contract extension with Milwaukee.
To read more about him go to Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Allen
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AUTHOR
Born in Germany , Reginald McKnight’s father was in the Air Force. A short story author and novelist, McKnight is the Hamilton Holmes Professor at the University of Georgia ,
In 1988, McKnight won the Drue Heinz literature prize for his short story collection, “Moustapha’s Eclipse.” His other works include “I Get on the Bus.” a novel and another short story collection, “The Kind of Light that Shines on Texas .”
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