The East High Alumni Heritage Hall honors distinguished alumni who have made significant and lasting contributions in their fields, elevated the reputation of East High School and its students, and inspired others through their achievements. These honorees have helped pave the way for new opportunities for East students and made a meaningful impact on society. The 2016 inductees were selected by the official committee for exemplifying these values and reflecting the school’s rich diversity across race, ethnicity, gender, fields of accomplishment, and generations.

Located on the third floor near the Robert Colwell Library, the Hall features an inspiring exhibit of inductee portraits and biographies. Established in 2008 with an inaugural group of 30 honorees, Heritage Hall serves as an educational and motivational resource, proudly supported by the alumni and friends of East High and the East Angel Foundation.

Heritage Hall Inductees

Class of 2007

• Jordan Casteel – Artist

Class of 1982

• Don Cheadle – Actor

Class of 1981

• Robert F. Smith – Businessman, philanthropist
• Peter C. Groff – U.S. Senator
• Ron Miles – Jazz musician, educator

Class of 1977

• Christopher Herlinger – International journalist

Class of 1976

• Anthony Ortega – Artist, educator
• Joe Barry Carroll – NBA star, artist, philanthropist

Class of 1973

• Tina Walls – Businesswoman, civic leader

Class of 1971

• Larry Dunn – Musician, songwriter, Earth, Wind & Fire
• Reverend Leon Kelly – Minister, anti-gang advocate
• Allegra “Happy” Haynes – Denver City Councilwoman, political leader

Class of 1970

• Renee Cousins King – Businesswoman, philanthropist
• Phil Goodstein – Denver historian
• Opalanga Pugh – Actor, historian, storyteller

Class of 1969

• Bill Frisell – Jazz musician, composer, recording artist
• Philip Bailey – Lead singer, Earth, Wind & Fire

Class of 1968

• Geraldine Butler Grimes – Social activist
• Andrew Woolfolk – Musician, Earth, Wind & Fire

Class of 1967

• Pam Grier – Film and television actress

Class of 1965

• David Stern – CEO, software innovator
• Christopher Hart – Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board
• Harlon L. Dalton – Yale law professor

Class of 1964

• William R. Pace – International human rights activist

Class of 1963

• Alan Titus – International opera singer

Class of 1960

• Barry Hirschfeld – Businessman, philanthropist

Class of 1959

• Purnell Steen – Jazz pianist, civil rights activist
• Peter Teets – Aerospace engineer, Undersecretary of the Air Force

Class of 1958

• Dr. Jerry Northern – Audiologist, humanitarian
• Louise Lamphere, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, author

Class of 1957

• Judy Collins – Recording artist, social activist

Class of 1955

• Daniel Walker Howe, Ph.D. – Historian, author
• Marilyn Van Derbur Atler – Miss America, motivational speaker

Class of 1954

• Linden Stanley Blue – Aviation executive
• Joseph B. Blake – Civic leader, Colorado State University Chancellor
• Philip Wilcox – Ambassador
• Robert Dupont

Class of 1953

• James Neal Blue – Aviation executive
• John P. Dikeou – Developer, baseball team owner
• Lawrence Atler – Attorney, civic leader
• Norman R. Augustine – Aerospace engineer, CEO of Martin Marietta

Class of 1950

• General Robert T. Herres – U.S. Air Force, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Edward “Eddie” Robinson – Businessman, philanthropist

Class of 1949

• Robert T. Bate – Physicist, father of nanoelectronics
• John L. “Jack” Swigert – Astronaut, Apollo 13

Class of 1948

• R. Stephen Berry – Chemistry professor, MacArthur Fellow

Class of 1947

• Richard “Dick” Robinson – Businessman, philanthropist

Class of 1946

• Dr. Spencer Titley – Mining geologist, professor
• Joan Packard Birkland – Women’s athletics advocate
• Jerome Biffle – Olympic gold medalist, educator

Class of 1940

• Leslie Friedman Davis – Banker, civic leader
• Reverend Malcolm Boyd – Episcopal priest, social activist

Class of 1939

• Frances Melrose – Journalist, historian

Class of 1937

• Elvin Caldwell – Civic leader, first African-American Denver City Councilman

Class of 1936

• June Morris Schwarcz – Enamel artist

Class of 1935

• Edward Arcenio Chavez – New Deal muralist

Class of 1934

• Sidney Sheldon – Writer
• Ruth Mosko Handler – CEO, inventor of the Barbie doll
• Miriam Harris Goldberg – Newspaper publisher, Intermountain Jewish News

Class of 1933

• Jenne & Ethel Magafan – Artists, Depression-era muralists

Class of 1932

• Jean Joliffe Yancey – Businesswoman

Class of 1931

• Dr. Hannah Marie Wormington – Archaeologist
• Dr. Abraham Judah Kauvar – Physician, humanitarian

Class of 1930

• John Lounsbery – Walt Disney animator
• Ralph B. Peck – Civil engineer

Class of 1928

• Ruth Brown Humphries

Class of 1927

• Jane Silverstein Ries – Landscape architect

Class of 1926

• Mary Luke Tobin
• Gladys Caldwell Fisher – Sculptor
• Phillip Brewster Gilliam – Denver Juvenile Court Judge

Class of 1919

• Louisa Ward Arps – Author, historian

Class of 1918

• Kenneth Kendal King – Banker, philanthropist
• Dr. George Gaylord Simpson – Paleontologist

Class of 1915

• General Maurice Rose – Major General, U.S. Army

Class of 1914

• Thomas Hornsby Ferril – Poet Laureate of Colorado

Class of 1911

• Jerry Cox Vasconcellos – World War I ace pilot
• Maurice Pate – Humanitarian, co-founder of UNICEF
• Harold Lloyd – Silent film actor

Class of 1910

• Hattie McDaniel – Actress, first African-American Oscar winner

Class of 1906

• Antoinette Perry Frueauff – Actress, founder of the Tony Awards

Class of 1903

• Philip Van Cise – Denver District Attorney, prosecuted the KKK
• George E. Cranmer – Denver City Parks planner

Class of 1901

• Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. – Actor and movie producer

Class of 1895

• Edwina Hume Fallis – Educator, author, toy designer

Class of 1893

• George Hebard Williamson – Architect, designed East High School

Class of 1892

• Mabel Cory Costigan – Women’s Rights Leader
• Edward Prentiss Costigan – United States Senator

Class of 1879

• Alice Eastwood – Botanist

Class of 1877

• Seraphine Eppstein Pisko – CEO, National Jewish Hospital
• Justice Robert W. Steele, Sr. – Chief Justice, Colorado Supreme Court
• General Irving Hale – Brigadier General, United States Army