This is a list of notable graduates, students who attended, and former faculty of Punahou School, a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. An asterisk (*) indicates a person who attended Punahou but did not graduate with senior class. Parents and children of alumni are noted only if they have made significant achievements in the same field or activity.
Olympic athletes and other world champions
Beach volleyball
Diving
Dressage (equestrian)
Kayaking
Sailing
Surfing
- '10 Carissa Moore, first Olympic gold medal in women's short board surfing in 2020
Swimming
Volleyball
Water polo
Track
Other world champion athletes and recent All-Americans
Athletes
Football
- '71 Arnold Morgado, Jr. (Hawaii)âÂÂKansas City Chiefs running back 1977-80 (52 games), city councilman
- '71 Charles "Kale" Ane III (Michigan State)âÂÂoffensive lineman for Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers, 1975-1981 (105 games)
- '74 Mosi Tatupu (USC)âÂÂNew England Patriots running back 1978-91 (199 games), one Super Bowl, one Pro Bowl, college football Mosi Tatupu Award, father of Lofa Tatupu
- '78 Mark Tuinei (Hawaii)âÂÂDallas Cowboys offensive lineman 1983-97 (195 games), two Pro Bowls and three Super Bowls
- '80 John Kamana III (USC)âÂÂLos Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons running back (5 games)
- '09 Manti Teûo (Notre Dame)âÂÂsigned by the San Diego Chargers, 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist
- '12 DeForest Buckner (Oregon)âÂÂNFL defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts, drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 2016
- '12 Kaûimi Fairbairn (UCLA)âÂÂNFL place kicker for the Houston Texans
- '18 Andrei Iosivas (Princeton)âÂÂNFL wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals
- '19 Marist Liufau (Notre Dame)âÂÂNFL linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys
Baseball
Tennis
Golf
Surfing
Mixed martial arts
Medical doctors
- '45 Calvin C.J. Sia (Dartmouth)âÂÂdeveloper and leading advocate of the nationwide Medical Home concept for pediatric care and federal Emergency Medical Services for Children program
- '69 Dale T. Umetsu (Columbia)âÂÂendowed professor of pediatrics at Harvard
Other educators and researchers
Administrators and general subjects
Law and business
- '33 Honorable Samuel P. KingâÂÂfederal district court judge, Ninth Circuit; co-author, Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement and Political Manipulation at America's Largest Charitable Trust
- '48 Isaac Shapiro (Columbia)âÂÂProfessor of Law at NYU and Columbia, Working but Poor: America's Contradiction, The Soviet Legal System
- '54 Robert M. Seto (Saint Louis U)âÂÂemeritus professor of Law at Regent University, federal patent and contracts judge
- '61 William Ouchi (Williams)âÂÂendowed professor of Business at UCLA, U Chicago, and Stanford, Theory Z and Making Schools Work, Chief of Staff of LA Mayor Richard Riordan
Science
Logic, philosophy, mathematics, computing and engineering
- '79 Ronald Loui (Harvard)âÂÂprofessor of computer science at Wash U, patent holder on packet processing hardware, Knowledge Representation and Defeasible Reasoning and Legal Knowledge and Information Systems
Social science
- '31* (?) Paul Linebarger, a.k.a. Cordwainer SmithâÂÂinstructor in government at Harvard, professor of Political Science at Duke and Johns Hopkins, fifteen books of science fiction, five nonfiction works including Psychological Warfare, Bronze Star, Army Major, helped form Office of War Information, advisor to CIA and John F. Kennedy, buried at Arlington National Cemetery (attended 1919âÂÂ20)
- '43 Joyce Lebra Chapman (Minnesota)âÂÂFulbright Scholar, emerita professor of History at Colorado, nine books on women and Asia
- '68 Patrick Vinton Kirch (Penn)âÂÂendowed professor of anthropology at UC Berkeley, elected to American Philosophical Society, nine books on oceanic and Polynesian prehistory
- '78 John Lie (Harvard)âÂÂendowed professor of sociology at UC Berkeley and U Illinois, dean of international studies, six books on Korea, Japan, and two textbooks on sociology
Civil rights leaders
- 1859 Samuel C. Armstrong (Williams)âÂÂdefeated Pickett's Charge at Battle of Gettysburg and commanded 8th U.S. Colored Troops, founding president of Hampton University and mentor of Booker T. Washington, honorary LLD from Harvard; subject of Educating the Disfranchised and Disinherited and Armstrong: A Biographical Study; Armstrong High School (Richmond, Virginia)
- '14 Elbert Tuttle (Cornell)âÂÂchief judge of US Court of Appeals 1954-68 appointed by Dwight Eisenhower, leader of the Fifth Circuit Four ruling on Southern desegregation cases, Presidential Medal of Freedom, honorary LLD from Harvard, subject of book Unlikely Heroes, inductee of International Civil Rights Walk of Fame (Atlanta), oldest serving federal judge at 98, brigadier general, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Legion of Merit, Elbert Parr Tuttle US Court of Appeals and Anti Defamation League's Elbert P. Tuttle Jurisprudence Award
- '29* John W. Gardner (Stanford)âÂÂsubject of PBS documentary Uncommon American, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Secretary of HEW 1965-68 under Lyndon Johnson, launched Medicare, Common Cause, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Urban Coalition, Model UN, and White House Fellows Program, Marine Corps Captain at Office of Strategic Services, head of Carnegie Foundation, professor at Mount Holyoke College and Stanford, offered Robert F. Kennedy's vacated Senate seat (declined), author of seven books including speeches and papers of John F. Kennedy, John W. Gardner Center (Stanford University) and John W. Gardner Leadership Award (attended 1920âÂÂ22)
Other elected representatives, government appointees, judges
United States presidents
U.S. Senators
- 1892 Hiram Bingham (Yale)âÂÂRepublican US senator from Connecticut 1924âÂÂ33, discoverer of Machu Picchu, lecturer at Harvard and Princeton, professor of History at Yale, spouse of the Tiffany fortune heiress, buried at Arlington National Cemetery, possible inspiration for Indiana Jones
- '90 Brian Schatz (Pomona)âÂÂDemocratic US senator from Hawaii, former lieutenant governor of Hawaii
U.S. Congressional representatives
Presidential appointees
- 1864 Sanford Dole (Williams)âÂÂappointed first territorial governor of Hawaii and federal judge by William McKinley
- 1881 Walter Frear (Yale)âÂÂappointed third territorial governor of Hawaii and federal judge by Theodore Roosevelt
- 1896 William Castle, Jr. (Harvard)âÂÂassistant secretary of state and ambassador to Japan under Calvin Coolidge, undersecretary of state for Herbert Hoover, Harvard Board of Overseers
- 1905 Lawrence M. Judd (Penn)âÂÂappointed seventh territorial governor of Hawaii by Herbert Hoover
- 1908 William Charles Achi, Jr. (Stanford)âÂÂappointed territorial judge by Woodrow Wilson
- '33 Samuel Pailthorpe King (Yale)âÂÂappointed federal judge by Richard Nixon
- '47 John M. Steadman (Yale)âÂÂappointed judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals by Ronald Reagan
- '50 Alan Cooke Kay (Princeton)âÂÂappointed federal judge by Ronald Reagan
- '51 Elinor G. Constable (Wellesley)âÂÂUS ambassador to Kenya nominated by Ronald Reagan
- '62 Wendy Lee Gramm (Wellesley)âÂÂhead of Commodity Futures Trading Commission for Ronald Reagan, his "favorite economist", disgraced Enron board member, spouse of Texas Republican senator Phil Gramm
- '65 Robert G. Klein (Stanford)âÂÂjustice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii, appointed a federal judge by Bill Clinton (withdrawn)
- '75 Robert S. Silberman (Dartmouth)âÂÂassistant secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) for George H. W. Bush, president of CalEnergy, CEO of Strayer Education
Local officials, other representatives and appointees
Military leaders and officers
Army
- '05 Paul Withington (Harvard)âÂÂMD in World War I, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, and French Croix de guerre, U Wisconsin football coach and college quarterback
- '20* Russell "Red" Reeder, Jr. (West Point)âÂÂcolonel and regiment leader at Utah Beach on D-Day, Distinguished Service Cross, West Point Distinguished Graduate, 35 books including The Long Gray Line (ghost writer), Born at Reveille (autobiography), and the "Clint Lane" stories (attended 1916âÂÂ17)
- '22* Donald Prentice Booth (West Point)âÂÂHigh Commissioner of Okinawa 1958âÂÂ61, lieutenant general, commander of Fourth United States Army, commander of Persian Gulf Command, buried at Arlington National Cemetery (attended 1912âÂÂ17)
- '35 Francis B. Wai (UCLA)âÂÂcaptain in World War II, posthumous Medal of Honor for actions in Battle of Leyte
- '38 Thurston Twigg-Smith (Yale)âÂÂlieutenant colonel in National Guard Artillery, Bronze Star, leading critic of Hawaiian sovereignty movement
- '42* George Patton IV (West Point)âÂÂmajor general, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, served in Korean War and Vietnam War, son of General George S. Patton (attended 1935âÂÂ37)
Navy
- '29* Gordon Chung-Hoon (Annapolis)âÂÂrear admiral, survivor, commanded World War II destroyer , Silver Star and Navy Cross, destroyer , Sports Illustrated featured football star (attended 1923âÂÂ28)
- '77 Thomas H. Copeman III (Creighton)âÂÂrear admiral, commanded , Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Training, and Readiness, appointed to reform the internment camp at Guantanamo Bay
- '77 Alma M. Grocki (Annapolis)âÂÂadmiral, member of the 2nd class at the Naval Academy to admit women
Marines
Air Force
Entertainment
Musicians and composers
- '12 Robert Alexander Anderson (Cornell)âÂÂWorld War I downed pilot, subject of film The Dawn Patrol, composer of Hawaiian standards "Mele Kalikimaka", "Lovely Hula Hands"
- '52* Dave Guard (Stanford)âÂÂKingston Trio founder (attended 1946âÂÂ51)
- '52 Bob Shane (Menlo)âÂÂKingston Trio founding guitarist
- '59 Robin Luke (Pepperdine)âÂÂearly rockabilly singer, Rockabilly Hall of Fame, "Susie Darlin'" was a No. 5 hit, then Professor and Head of Marketing, Southwest Missouri State University
- '62 Bruce BroughtonâÂÂfilm composer (Silverado, Tombstone, The Rescuers Down Under) and 10-time Emmy-winner for TV themes (JAG, Tiny Toon Adventures) and series (Hawaii Five-O, Dallas, How the West Was Won)
- '77 Conrad Herwig (N Texas State)âÂÂGrammy Award-nominated jazz trombonist, recorded 17 albums as leader, professor of Jazz at Rutgers
- '00 melody.âÂÂJapanese pop artist with three top ten albums
- '00 Yasmeen SuliemanâÂÂrecording artist with two top-100 R&B hits
Broadway, stage, and dance performers
- '33* Jean Erdman (Sarah Lawrence)âÂÂone of Martha Graham's first dancers, founded her own NYC dance company; spouse of religion and mythology author Joseph Campbell (attended 1921âÂÂ32)
- '68 Rap ReiplingerâÂÂEmmy-winning comedian
- '81 Ann Harada (Brown)âÂÂoriginal cast main actress, Tony Award-winning Avenue Q
- '86 Carrie Ann Inaba (Irvine)âÂÂchoreographer and judge, Dancing with the Stars, actress, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Flygirl dancer on In Living Color
- '87 Rachel Factor, née Christine Horii (Colorado)âÂÂBroadway actress, Rockettes dancer, one person show JAP
- '96 Amanda Schull (Indiana)âÂÂlead actress in Center Stage, dancer for San Francisco Ballet
TV and film performers
- '25* Joan Blondell (North Texas)âÂÂleading actress for 52 years in films and on stage, Hollywood Walk of Fame star, nominated for Academy Award best supporting actress in 1951 (attended 1914âÂÂ15)
- '27 Buster Crabbe (USC)âÂÂathlete and leading actor, Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers 1933-50
- '54 Al Harrington (Stanford)âÂÂathlete and actor, Hawaii Five-O
- '66 Susan Blakely (UTEP)âÂÂwinner of Hollywood Foreign Press Association Golden Globe Award 1976 Best Dramatic Actress Rich Man, Poor Man, twice nominated for the Emmy Award as Best Dramatic Actress, 1976âÂÂ77, Rich Man, Poor Man
- '66 Gerry Lopez (UH)âÂÂsurfer and main actor, Subotai in Conan the Barbarian
- '79 Teri Ann Linn (Pepperdine)âÂÂMiss Hawaii 1981, singer and main actress, Kristen Forrester Dominguez in The Bold and the Beautiful, gold CD Teri on the European charts
- '80 Kelly Preston, née Kelly Smith (also Kelly Palzis)âÂÂleading actress, 50+ films including For Love of the Game, Jerry Maguire, Addicted to Love, Twins, Only You, Waiting to Exhale; spouse of actor John Travolta
- '82 Scott CoffeyâÂÂactor, Tank Girl, Mulholland Drive, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Wayne's World 2, male lead in Shag
- '91 Matt Corboy (Colorado State)âÂÂactor, The Shield, The Descendants
- '95 Sarah Wayne Callies (Dartmouth)âÂÂactress, female lead in Prison Break, female lead in The Walking Dead
- '96 Amanda Schull (Indiana)âÂÂactress, One Tree Hill, Suits, Pretty Little Liars, and 12 Monkeys
- '01 Jason TamâÂÂactor, Markko Rivera on One Life to Live and Beyond the Break
- '06 Asia Ray SmithâÂÂactress, Sierra Hoffman on The Young and the Restless
Other entertainment industry producers
- '35* Buck Henshaw (Stanford)âÂÂset decorator 1950âÂÂ1987, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Twilight Zone, Black Widow (attended 1925âÂÂ34)
- '38 John Kneubuhl (Yale)âÂÂwriter for Wild, Wild, West, ', Mannix, The Fugitive, Hawaii Five-O, Ironside, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train
- '53 Allan Burns (Oregon)âÂÂ6-time Emmy Award-winning writer and creator 1961âÂÂ96, The Munsters, Get Smart, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and the Cap'n Crunch cereal character, animator of George of the Jungle, nominated for Oscar
- '69 Edgy Lee (SF Art)âÂÂindependent filmmaker
Business leaders and philanthropists
Major philanthropists
- '39 Charles Gates, Jr. (MIT)âÂÂowner of Gates Rubber Company and Gates Corporation (owner of Learjet), often listed on Forbes 400, e.g., #186 in 1999, #209 in 2002, #222 in 2003, philanthropist through Gates Family Foundation ($147M over 60 years)
- '65* James C. Kennedy (Denver)âÂÂdirector of Cox Enterprises and principal heir of the Barbara Cox Anthony estate, #49 in 2008 on Forbes 400, Atlanta philanthropist of the year 2003, conservation and education donor (attended '55âÂÂ61)
- '76 Steve Case (Williams)âÂÂco-founder and CEO of America Online and philanthropist, America's #19 most generous donor in 1999 according to Chronicle of Philanthropy ($40M in 1999), appointed to the Presidential Council on Jobs and Competitiveness
- '84* Pierre Omidyar (Tufts)âÂÂfounder of eBay and philanthropist, America's #20 in 2002, #13 in 2003, #7 in 2004, #9 in 2005, and #29 most-generous donor in 2006 according to Chronicle of Philanthropy ($403M, 2002âÂÂ06), appointed to the Presidential Commission on White House Fellows (attended '79-81)
Other founders and CEOs
Cultural notables
Authors, editors, and journalists
- '10 William Whitmore Goodale Moir (Cornell)âÂÂbotanist, agricultural technologist, author of multiple books about orchids
- '63 David Boynton (UCSB)âÂÂphotographer, naturalist, educator and author of Kauai Days, Kauai, NaPali: Images of Kauai's Northwest Shore, and several other photographic essays about Hawaii
- '63 Susanna MooreâÂÂauthor of My Old Sweetheart, The Whiteness of Bones, Sleeping Beauties, In The Cut, One Last Look, I Myself Have Seen It: The Myth of Hawai'i, The Big Girls, The Life of Objects
- '65 Kathleen Norris (Bennington)âÂÂbest-selling Christian spiritual poet and essayist, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography
- '71 Richard H.P. Sia (Harvard)âÂÂassociate editor, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists; senior editor, managing editor of National Journal; former defense correspondent at the Baltimore Sun
- '73 Kirby Wright (UCSD)âÂÂauthor of Punahou Blues, Moloka'i Nui Ahina: Summers on the Lonely Isle, Sorrow Town: Selected Stories, The End, My Friend: Prelude to the Apocalypse , Square Dancing at the Asylum: Nouveau Noir Flash Fiction, and The Queen of Moloka'i: Book 1
- '83 Nora Okja Keller (Hawaii)âÂÂPushcart Prize, 1995, for "Mother Tongue", from Comfort Woman; American Book Award, 1998
- '85 Allegra Goodman (Harvard)âÂÂauthor of award-winning The Family Markowitz
- '91 Nancy Cordes, née Weiner (Penn)âÂÂCBS and ABC NY and Washington, D.C. news correspondent
- '92 Hanya Yanagihara (Smith)âÂÂauthor, writer, journalist
- '98 Emily Chang (Harvard University)âÂÂbroadcast journalist
Other cultural notables
- 1861* Cornelia Hall JonesâÂÂco-founder of the Daughters of Hawaii
- 1863* Emma Smith DillinghamâÂÂco-founder of the Daughters of Hawaii and founder of the Oahu chapter of the YWCA
- 1875* Lorrin A. ThurstonâÂÂleader of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, owner of Honolulu Advertiser, early player of baseball with Cartwrights
- 1883* Sun Yat-SenâÂÂfounding president of the Republic of China, founder of the Kuomintang (attended 1882âÂÂ83)
- '13 Clorinda Low Lucas (Smith, Columbia)âÂÂfirst Hawaiian woman to receive a professional training in social work, pioneer of Hawaiian social work
- '55* Ron JacobsâÂÂco-creator of American Top 40
- '58 Jerry Berman (Berkeley)âÂÂchief legislative counsel of ACLU, director of Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founder of Center for Democracy and Technology
- '62 Charles L. Veach (Air Force Academy)âÂÂastronaut, two shuttle missions; Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Force Commendation Medal
- '65 Charlie Wedemeyer (Michigan State)âÂÂmedical survivor celebrated in Emmy Award-winning film Quiet Victory
- '70 Arthur JohnsenâÂÂartist and painter of Hawaiiana, including The Goddess Pele
- '72 Nainoa Thompson (UH)âÂÂnavigator of the HÃ
ÂkÃ
«lea establishing Polynesian diaspora, chairman of board of trustees, Kamehameha Schools
- '75 Lindy Vivas (UCLA)âÂÂFresno State women's volleyball coach, plaintiff awarded largest compensation for retaliation under Title IX discrimination statute
- '76 Judi AndersenâÂÂMiss Hawaii, Miss USA, and runner-up Miss Universe
- '79 Quentin Kawananakoa (USC)âÂÂa claimant to head of Hawaiian kingdom, Hawaii state representative, Republican minority leader
- '89* Brook Mahealani LeeâÂÂMiss Hawaii USA and Miss Universe 1997 (attended 1981âÂÂ1987)
- '95 Kealoha (MIT)âÂÂperformance poet (Hawaii's first poet laureate and National Poetry Slam Legend), storyteller, and Hawaii's SlamMaster
- '96* Ehren Watada (HPU)âÂÂArmy lieutenant involved in Iraq War court-martial mistrial over command responsibility (attended 199?-93)
- '96* Lena YadaâÂÂprofessional wrestler and actress (attended 1992âÂÂ1996)
- '02* Kiwi Camara (HPU)âÂÂyoungest matriculate of Harvard Law School, catalyst for racial scandal (attended 1990-95?)
Notable former faculty and staff
References
Additional references
The main reference for this page is the Punahou School Alumni Directory 1841-1991 Harris Publishing, New York, 1991.
External links