Tag Archives: Celebrity Teachers

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

Former teacher Peter Tork: He doesn’t Monkee around

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Peter Tork

Musician and actor Peter Tork of the Monkees also worked as a teacher.

Former teacher Peter Tork doesn’t Monkee around. But there was a time in his life when he did.

In the mid-1960s, a pop band known as the Monkees hit the music scene with a few songs and a zany television show aimed at American teens. The band became, literally, an overnight sensation. Peter Tork, who played bass guitar and keyboards, was a member of that band. The other three members were Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Michael Nesmith.

Over the next five years, the group attempted to keep up with a whirlwind schedule that included weekly television sitcom episodes, studio recording sessions, national and international concert tours, and a full-length feature movie. The hard work paid off. Since they first hit the scene, the Monkees have sold more than 75 million records worldwide, making them one of the biggest selling groups of all time. Their best known songs are “I’m a Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Daydream Believer,” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”

But the work schedule, creative differences with producer Don Kirshner, and infighting among the band members left Peter exhausted. In December, 1968, he bought out the remaining four years of his contract and left the Monkees. For the next few years, Peter drifted from one gig to another and spent or gave away all his Monkees earnings. By 1975, he’d hit rock bottom.

That’s when, even though he had dropped out of college, Peter accepted a position as a teacher at Pacific Hills School, a private secondary school in Santa Monica, California. He was hired to work there by Dr. Penrod Moss, the school’s director, because Moss was so impressed by Peter’s interview. “I like to hire people who are independent and creative,” Moss explained. “I was impressed by his personality and his ability to talk.” For Peter, a career in the classroom is not so odd when you consider that his father was an economics professor at the University of Connecticut for many years. At Pacific Hills, Peter taught many subjects, including English, math, drama, history, and music. He also served as a baseball coach at several schools. In all, Peter’s career as an educator spanned three years.

In 1986, the Monkees got together again to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band. The following year they released a new studio album which earned measured success. Since then, Peter participated with fellow Monkees in numerous reunion shows and tours, until band member Davy Jones passed away in 2012.

In March, 2009, the former teacher was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, and later that year underwent extensive surgery. In September, 2009, he was declared cancer-free. Now age 76, Peter Tork resides in Mansfield, Connecticut.

 

 

Dee Green: Teacher and Hollywood “Three Stooges” actress

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Dee Green appeared with the Three Stooges in the comedy short Brideless Groom (1947).

Many talented teachers achieve success in fields other than education. One such teacher was Delores Mae Green, who is better known as Dee Green.

Dee was a beloved music and choir teacher who was also an acclaimed actress in Hollywood. Her claim to fame is that she worked with the Three Stooges. She is well-known for playing the part of one of Shemp’s potential brides as the plain, tall, and fawning Miss Fanny Dinkelmeyer in the comedy short Brideless Groom. She also portrayed the homely and unattractive fiance in I’m a Monkey’s Uncle and the daughter of King Rootintootin’ in Mummy’s Dummies.

Dee was born on November 16, 1916, in Peoria, Illinois. After she concluded her career in show business, she earned her Master’s degree in music. She taught music and choir classes at Peoria Heights Grade School in Peoria Heights, Illinois, in the 1960’s. Throughout the late 1970’s and early 1980’s she taught Language Arts and Drama at Roosevelt Junior High, which is now known as Rockford Alternative Middle School, in Rockford, Illinois. She produced many annual events, including a production of Babes in Toyland and numerous elaborate Christmas pageants that included every student in the school.

Dee inspired more than one of her students to pursue a career in theater. Some of them eventually earned success on Broadway in New York. She was often described by her students as kind and generous, and a woman of great courage, talent, and vision.

This amazing chalkboard champion passed away from cancer on April 24, 1985.

Comedian Lennon Parham: a former high school French teacher

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Lennon Parham

High school French teacher and comedian Lennon Parham

Anyone who has been up in front of a classroom knows that teaching is, in part, a performance. So it’s no surprise when talented teachers make a name for themselves in the entertainment industry. One teacher who has done this is former high school French teacher Lennon Parham, who now works as a celebrated actress and comedian.

Lennon was born on October 27, 1976, in Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia. Her parents named her after the musician John Lennon. As a young girl, she attended Parkview High School in Lilburn, Gwinnett County, Georgia.

After her high school graduation, Lennon enrolled at the University of Evansville, a small private university located in Evansville, Indiana, under the Teach for American program. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Theater.

Once she completed the requirements for her degree, Lennon accepted a position as a French teacher at T.L. Weston High School in Greenville, Washington County, Mississippi, where she taught for two years.

After fulfilling her obligation for Teach for America, Lennon began her career in the entertainment industry in earnest. Over the years, she has wracked up an impressive resume. She has made appearances in 26 episodes of the television show Playing House, 18 episodes of Accidentally on Purpose, 12 shows of Lady Dynamite, six episodes of Veep, and six shows of Best Friends Forever. She also appeared in roles on Children’s Hospital, Parks and Recreation, Bad Judge, and Arrested Development. Lennon also performed in the movies Pretty Bird, Confessions of a Splinterheads, Shopaholic, and Horrible Bosses 2.

Despite her success, the former French teacher has not entirely left the classroom. She has taught improv classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) training center in Los Angeles. The UCB is the only accredited improv and sketch comedy school in the country. You can learn more about this organization at this link: UCB.

Singer Conya Doss: This Queen of Indie Soul teaches special needs children

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Conya Doss

Singer Conya Doss: This Queen of Indie Soul teaches special needs children.

Gifted teachers often find unique ways to connect with their students or convey their curriculum in their classrooms. One teacher who is notable for doing this is Conya Doss, a junior high school teacher from Cleveland, Ohio, who is also well-known as an innovative Indie musician and songstress.

Conya was born on June 13, 1972. As a youngster, she attended the Cleveland School of the Arts. This specialized school offers an interdisciplinary approach to learning and academics which integrates the arts into the curriculum. The institution is recognized for its exceptionally high rate of graduation, and for an unusually large number of graduates going their education in institutions of higher learning. “It’s phenomenal to have a school like that, especially for kids,” Conya once said. “It’s definitely good to have a school where kids can channel their creativity where it needs to be channeled.”

After Conya earned her college degree and teaching credential, she accepted a position as a teacher of children with special needs in the Cleveland Public School system. She started using music in her classroom as a way to connect with her students. “I may have them do what I call a copy tune, where they listen to a song, like, as an example, R. Kelly’s I Believe I Can Fly, and then they have to take the title and do creative writing,” she once explained. “It could be a poem or it could be a picture that’s related to that title,” she continued. “I just try to think of innovative ways to keep them motivated. And sometimes I have to stick to traditional teaching, versus progressive,” she concluded.

As a singer, Conya prefers Rhythm and Blues, Funk, and Neo-Soul. In fact, she is known as the Queen of Indie Soul. She inaugurated her career as a professional musician in 2000. Her first album, entitled “A Poem About Ms. Doss,” was released in 2002. The album was inspired by a heartfelt letter she received from one of her young students. Her debut album was quickly followed by two more: “Just Because,” released in 2004, and “Love Rain Down,” released in 2006. Her breakthrough album, entitled “Still,” was released in 2008. In 2010, Conya released her fifth album, “Blu Transition,” which was followed by “A Pocketful of Purpose” in 2012. Conya released her seventh album, “Seven: VII,” in 2015.

Conya’s skills as a singer and musician have earned honors and recognition. In 2007 she was named the Best Female Vocalist at the Ohio Hip Hop Awards, and in 2008 she garnered the Female Vocalist of the Year Award from Soultracks Readers’ Choice.

In addition to teaching and her career in music, Conya is involved in mentoring teenage girls, she tutors, and she is an active philanthropist for breast cancer, AIDS awareness, and mental health issues.

Kindergarten teacher Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West

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Margaret Hamilton

Margaret Hamilton, the kindergarten teacher who played the Wicked Witch of the West in Hollywood’s Wizard of Oz.

Not many people would recognize the name or photograph of actress Margaret Hamilton, but just about everyone knows the iconic movie role she played. Bedecked in green make-up and a black pointed hat, this pleasant face was the Wicked Witch of the West in MGM’s version of The Wizard of Oz.

Margaret was born December 9, 1902, in Cleveland, Ohio. She was the fourth child of Walter and Mary Jane (Adams)  Hamilton. At an early age, Margaret was determined to make a career for herself in the theater. However, her parents insisted she get a college degree, so Margaret attended Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts. The institution was founded by Lucy Wheelock in 1888, and was known as Miss Wheelock’s Kindergarten Training School. The school offered undergraduate and graduate programs intended to improve the quality of early childhood education. In 2018, the college became part of Boston University’s School of Education.

Margaret Hamilton

Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West.

It’s ironic that this very sweet and loving former kindergarten teacher is best known for her frightful disposition and her villainous behaviors, not to mention for scaring the daylights out of generations of little children. When asked about her role in The Wizard of Oz, the former teacher often said her greatest fear was that her monstrous film role would give young people a false impression of her true nature. The reality is that Margaret Hamilton cared deeply about children, and she was a lifelong advocate for educational causes, devoting much of her energy and money to benefit causes that improved the lives of children and animals. She served on the Beverly Hills Board of Education from 1948 to 1951, and she also taught Sunday school during the 1950s.

This amazing chalkboard champion passed away of a heart attack on May 16, 1985, at the age of 83. Her ashes were scattered in Amenia, New York.