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

## Notable alumni

Overbrook is perhaps best known for its famous alumni, who include Wilt Chamberlain and Will Smith. At least 11 Overbrook alumni have played in the NBA, and the school is ranked sixth in that respect.
* Len Barry, lead singer/songwriter, The Dovells
* Steve Baskerville, TV personality, former on-air weatherman for CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago
* John Blake Jr., jazz violinist; minister
* Bill Bloom, songwriter/musician; Interfaith Minister
* Guion Bluford, space-shuttle astronaut; first African-American in space
* Solomon Burke, soul singer [Attended briefly, but graduated from John Bartram High School]
* Bill Cash, Negro league stars, Baseball Hall of Famer
* Wilt Chamberlain, former NBA player, ranked No. 5 All-Time by ESPN
* Wendy "Lady B" Clarke, hip hop radio DJ and pioneer female rapper
* Tony Costner, former NBA player, European career
* The Delfonics, R&B group
* Colman Domingo, Emmy and Tony award-winning stage, screen and TV actor
* Jon Drummond, Olympic track gold-medalist
* Ted Eisenberg, world record-holding breast surgeon
* Chaka Fattah, former U.S. Congressman (D-PA) and convicted felon
* Mike Gale, NBA/ABA player
* Bobb Goldsteinn, songwriter/producer; coined term "multimedia"
* 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
* Rosetta Hightower, lead singer, The Orlons
* Wayne Hightower, NBA player; ABA All-star
* Wali Jones, NBA player
* Jacob Landau, nationally recognized artist, teacher
* James Lassiter, film producer; partner in Overbrook Entertainment
* Rich Laurel, NBA player, European career
* Hal Lear, NBA player
* Jeffrey Leonard, Major League Baseball player
* Lewis Lloyd, NBA player
* Andre McCarter, UCLA All -American basketball and 3-time NCAA champion; NBA player
* John H. Murphy III, publisher; head of the Afro-American newspaper
* Deworski Odom, sprinter
* Frank Piasecki, helicopter inventor; National Medal of Technology winner
* Catherine Pugh, former Mayor of Baltimore, forced to resign under pressure due to scandal
* Marion Ramsey, film actress
* Malik Rose, NBA player
* Merrill Reese, voice of NFL's Philadelphia Eagles
* Fran Ross, writer, author of Oreo (novel)
* Fred Rosenfeld, coach of 51 high school track & field championship teams
* Johnny Sample, football player
* Dee Dee Sharp, singer
* Will Smith, Oscar-winning actor; Grammy-winning rapper
* Willie L. Williams, former police commissioner, Philadelphia and Los Angeles
* Waverly B. Woodson Jr. (1922–2005), United States Army soldier