Tag Archives: Celebrity Teachers

Teachers who have become famous for achievements outside the profession of education.

Krazy George Henderson: The professional cheerleader (and former teacher) who invented the “wave”

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Krazy George Henderson

Former shop teacher, professional cheerleader, and inventor of the wave Krazy George Henderson

Under ordinary circumstances the word “Krazy” is not a word we would like to associate with a teacher, but in the case of Krazy George Henderson, we happily make an exception. As a professional cheerleader and inventor of the wave, former high school shop teacher Krazy George is just a fun guy.

George inaugurated his cheerleading career in 1968 while a student at San Jose State University. During those years he was also a member of the school’s judo team which one a national championship. After his graduation from college, George continued cheerleading at local sporting events where he became well-known for beating a drum and shouting cheers in his gravelly voice.

After his graduation from college, George became a shop teacher at Buckser High School in Santa Clara, California. In 1975, his enthusiastic cheerleading was noticed by local sports teams. Not long after, he was hired to be a team cheerleader for the San Jose Earthquakes, the California Golden Seals, and the Kansas City Chiefs. Before long, Krazy George made cheerleading his new career.

George takes credit for inventing the famous wave. He says he got the idea for the popular fan move in 1980 when he was leading cheers at a National Hockey League game at Northlands Coliseum in Edmongton, Alberta, Canada. His original plan was to have fans on one side of the arena jump to their feet and cheer, and then fans on the opposite side respond. But there was a delay in the  response from one section of the fans which led them to jump to their feet a few seconds later than the others on their side. Before long, George perfected the move, which he debuted at the Oakland A’s baseball game on October 15, 1981. “I started with three sections and it went about five or six sections down,” Krazy George told KPIX-TV in San Francisco in a 2010 interview. “I did it again and it went 11 and then all the way around. It was insane,” he continued. Crowds all over the country have been “waving” ever since.

The former educator has left the classroom, but as he nears his 75th birthday he has enjoyed a career as a cheerleader for 40 years. In addition to his appearances as a cheerleader at professional sports events, George has been featured in People Magazine, he’s been a guest on such television programs as Hollywood Squares and To Tell the Truth, and he’s been interviewed on numerous national and local radio shows.

Enjoy this video of Krazy George demonstrating the wave below:

Teacher of English and Drama Jill Novick is a former actress

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Jill Novick

Teacher of English and Drama Jill Novick was formerly an actress

Many talented classroom teachers have also made a mark in fields other than education. This is certainly true of Jill Novick, a high school English teacher who is also a gifted actress.

Jill was born on January 20, 1966, in Westchester County, New York. She attended Mamaroneck High School in Mamaroneck, New York, where she graduated in 1984. Jill began acting when she was a child, and while still in high school participated in a program entitled the Performing Arts Curriculum Experience. While in the program, she performed in over 20 plays and musicals. At the age of 17, the young actress was accepted into NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Jill’s career as an actress spanned 20 years. During this time, she garnered roles in a number of commercials, but she is probably best known for her part as Tracy Gaylian in the 1996-1997 season of the hit series Beverly Hills, 90210. She also played the part of young Theodora Reed on the television series Sisters.

When Jill decided her Hollywood career was concluded, she returned to college to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming an educator. She spent two summers as a teacher and director for the Teenage Drama Workshop (TADW) at Cal State Northridge. TADW is an intense six-week summer program for teens. While working on her teaching credential, Jill taught drama for two summers at Panorama High School in Los Angeles. Once she earned her credential, she accepted a position as an English teacher at Culver City High School in Culver City, California, where she worked for six years. In 2012, she accepted a position as the Creative Director of Theatre for the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, a position she kept for five years

Currently, Jill is teaching English in Alburquerque, New Mexico. She is also working on her Master’s degree in Education at University of Northern Colorado.

Kudos, Jill Novick!

 

Famed actress and former special education teacher Kate Capshaw

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Famed actress and former special education teacher Kate Capshaw

Many talented educators have made their mark in fields other than education. This is certainly true of former teacher Kate Capshaw, a Hollywood actress who is best known for her portrayal of Willie Scott in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. She is also married to famed director Steven Spielberg.

Kate was born on November 3, 1953, in Fort Worth, Texas, of humble origins. Her mother was a travel agent and beautician, and her father was an airline employee. When Kate was only five years old, her family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where in 1972 she graduated from Hazelwood Central High School.

After her high school graduation, Kate earned a Bachelor’s degree in History Education and a Master’s degree in Special Education, both from the University of Missouri. She accepted her first teaching position as a special education teacher at Southern Boone County High School in Ashland, Missouri. Later she transferred to Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Missouri. During her years as an educator, she married and divorced Robert Capshaw, a school principal. The union produced one daughter.

After some years in the classroom, Kate moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting, landing her first role on the soap opera The Edge of Night. She also starred in Dreamscape in 1984, SpaceCamp in 1996, and How to Make an American Quilt in 1995. During the filming of Indiana Jones, Kate began a relationship with Spielberg, which eventually resulted in her conversion to Judaism and her marriage to Spielberg in 1991. The couple have five children in addition to Kate’s daughter from her first marriage.

Teacher Ann Turner Cook: The baby face of Gerber Foods

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Did you know that the iconic image of the healthy, happy baby with the sparkling eyes and the inquisitive look on Gerber baby products grew up to become a high school English teacher? That’s right!

Ann Turner Cook

Teacher Ann Turner Cook: She was the face of Gerber Foods

The name of that irresistible baby is Ann Turner Cook. She was born on November 20, 1926, the daughter of Leslie Turner, a syndicated cartoonist who drew the comic strip Captain Easy for more than a decade. In 1928, when Ann was only five months old,  the Gerber company announced they were seeking images of a baby to use on the packaging of their upcoming line of baby foods. Artist Dorothy Hope Smith, a neighbor of the Turner family, submitted a charcoal sketch of Ann, promising to finish the drawing if it was selected. Smith’s drawing competed with thousands of entries, including many elaborate oil paintings, but the judges fell in love with this baby’s cherubic face and, when choosing it as the winner, insisted that the simple illustration remain a sketch. The image was trademarked in 1931, and it has been used on Gerber baby food packaging ever since.

When she grew up, Ann attended the University of South Florida and other post-secondary schools, where she studied education, English, and journalism. She earned several degrees, including a Master’s degree in English Education. After completing her education, Ann became a teacher at Oak Hill Elementary in Tampa, Florida, later transferring to the English Department at Madison Junior High School. In 1966, she accepted a position at Hillsborough High School, also in Tampa, where she taught literature and creative writing. In 1972, her students dedicated their school yearbook, the Hillsborean, to their beloved teacher, who had personally sponsored the book. In it, her students described her as “a teacher who really communicates with the students,” and who, “without any complaints, has stayed late, worked nights, and with quiet efficiency supported her staff in their monumental task.”

Ann’s career as an educator spanned twenty-six years. After retiring, this talented teacher became a successful novelist. A member of the Mystery Writers of America, she is the author of the Brandy O’Bannon series of mystery novels set on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The adventures of Florida reporter and amateur sleuth Brandy O’Bannon are described in Trace Their Shadows, published in 2001, Shadow Over Cedar Key, published in 2003, and Micanopy in Shadow, published in 2008.

Former teacher and award-winning novelist Stephen King

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Stephen King

Former teacher and award-winning novelist Stephen King (2018)

Most people are very familiar with the popular novels and short stories of talented horror fiction writer Stephen King, but did you know he was once a high school teacher?

Stephen was born on September 21, 1947, in Portland, Maine. His father was a merchant seaman, and his mother was a kitchen worker in a facility for the developmentally handicapped. When Stephen was only two years old, his father abandoned the family, and after that his mother struggled to support herself, Stephen, and Stephen’s older brother, David.

When he was young, Stephen attended Durham Elementary School, and then Lisbon Falls High School in Lisbon Falls, Maine, where he graduated in 1966. Even as a child, Stephen displayed an interest in horror fiction. He was an avid reader of EC’s horror comics, which included the stories of Tales from the Crypt.  He began writing for his own amusement, contributing articles to Dave’s Rag, a home-based newspaper his brother published with a mimeograph machine. Later he began selling stories to his classmates based on movies he had seen, though he was forced to return his profits when his teachers discovered the enterprise. The first of Stephen’s stories to be independently published was “I Was a Teenage Grave Robber,” published in a popular fanzine in 1965.

Following Stephen’s graduation from high school in 1966, he enrolled as a student at the University of Maine, Orono, declaring a major in English. During his college years, he wrote a column for the student newspaper, The Maine Campus, entitled “Steve King’s Garbage Truck,” participated in writing workshops, and took odd jobs to help meet his living expenses, including one stint at an industrial laundry.  He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He sold his first professional short story, “The Glass Floor,” to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967.

After graduating from the university in 1970, Stephen earned his high school teaching credential, but was unable to find a teaching position right away. To earn a living, he sold short stories to men’s magazines such as Cavalier. In 1971, Stephen was hired to teach at Hampden Academy, a public high school in Hampden, Maine. He continued to contribute short stories to magazines and worked on ideas for novels. After his novel Carrie was published, Stephen left his job as a high school teacher to write full time, but he continued his career as an educator when he was hired as a professor of creative writing at the University of Maine, Orono.

Today, Stephen King and his family live in Bangor, Maine. His wife, Tabitha King, is also a successful author. Stephen and Tabitha provide scholarships for local high school students and  contribute to many other local and national charities.