OT - Fictional Michigan Alumni
To create a break in the boredorm of summer and work, I thought it would be fun to generate a list of fictional University of Michigan alumni from books, television, or movies, and discuss which one is the overall favorite.
To start off the list,
Ari Gold (Entourage)
and
Dr. Greg House (House M.D)
If you guys can think of any more throw them up here.
Griffin Mill from The Player
The entire cast of the Big Chill and the leaders of the Dharma Initiative from Lost
Christian Troy from Nip/Tuck, I believe.
Went to a U of M. . . but it was the University of Miami. He and Sean met in undergrad at Miami; he hooked up with Julia (Sean's now ex-wife and Matt's mother) while they were in college; she got pregnant with Matt (who is really Christian's kid) while they were in college and hence, couldn't go to med school like Christian and Sean.
Here's his wikipedia page. A quick browse doesn't seem to say anything about U of M (Michigan), but I am pretty sure about this one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Troy
I'm pretty sure that Christian said something about going to Michigan, he made some comment about hooking up with a bunch of the cheerleaders here. I remember because I was watching with a bunch of other people who all go to Michigan with me and we all cheered when we heard that.
it has been established multiple times that Christian and Sean went to Med School together, and it was definitely Miami.
Undergrad?
I retract my statement. I have no idea the more I think about it.
went to ohio state
He got his master's at West Virginia.
President Harrison Ford in Air Force One.
We've done this before. I think someone even made a wikipedia page for it.
the chick with the huge forehead from American Pie
in an episode of NCIS.
Donoso, of course, just happens to be a buckeye. I can't stand it when they show his varsity jacket. Oh well, no show is perfect.
I feel like there was a guest doctor on MASH once that said they went to Michigan, but I can't place who.
be classified as alumni, but the Dharma Initiative (Lost) is from Ann Arbor (presumably the University of Michigan).
That's pretty sweet!
Lol on a side note, my girlfriend was over and had the MTV show "16 and Pregnant" on *knocks on wood*. And I couldn't stand how stupid this one girl was until it showed a scene with here wearing an OSU jacket, and everything made sense.
Please, for the love of god, never, EVER begin a sentence, much less a whole post, with "Lol".
A: It is not a word.
B: If it MUST be used, it should be in jest, or POSSIBLY as a one syllable reply to let a poster know you thought something they wrote was funny.
C: If, in fact, you type anything funny, we will surely understand that you thought it was such, and caused you to laugh, and that is why you shared it.
In my defense I intended that comment to be a reply to the Joe Dirt/Ohio State comment above but clicked the wrong reply. The "lol" was aimed at his comment.
AH! Okay then. That does indeed help some.
Tia and Tamera on "Sister,Sister." They went I'm not sure if they graduated b/c I never really watched it.
Leo McGarry from The West Wing
West Wing nut checking in:
According to wikia entertainment, the University of Michigan connection is "strongly suggested by a conversation between the President and Leo."
I think "strongly" is a bit strong. The conversation being referenced is from the Season 2 episode "The Portland Trip," in which the president is using the present metaphor of flying to break free from conventional thinking. The actual exchange concerns the president's Notre Dame fandom, during the week that the Irish play Michigan -- Leo makes a comment in support of Michigan, suggesting that Notre Dame would get creamed by the Wolverines.* This doesn't at all suggest that Leo actually attended M, only that he favors Michigan in the game. He could be a Michigan alum, a Michigan fan, or he might just be baiting the president.
The fictional campaign website (since taken down by NBC) that correlated with the 2006 West Wing presidential election included a biography of (then Democratic VP candidate) McGarry. IIRC, his college was unlisted. I think the character's backstory was that he skipped college for Vietnam, and then made a career in the military and his fortune in the defense business. As for Leo's favoring of Michigan over Notre Dame, I would guess it stems from a childhood partisanship toward Boston College, which is another ND rival.
However, a Wolverine does appear in The West Wing in the Season 3 episode "Indians in the Lobby," in which two Native American leaders (one a young female Michigan alum) stage a silent protest in the White House lobby while [White House Press Secretary] C.J. Cregg, et al. are trying to shut down for Thanksgiving. At one point, C.J. tells a colleague that she could "take a Wolverine," but in the end, she is persuaded by the Native Americans, letting them choose to have their media moment at the expense of the president's public image, or reschedule their appointment through her office so that it won't be ignored.
As a side note, this was filmed shortly after the big Michigamua protest by M's Native American student group. I had a French class at the time (and was post-class smoking buddies) with a female leader of that organization who very much resembled, in looks and intelligence, the West Wing character. Probably a coincidence, but I wonder where the real student group leader is today -- she really was one of those minds of a generation who end up doing something important.
* This takes place in the early fall of 2000 in the West Wing universe. Michigan and Notre Dame did not actually play in 2000. When that episode was filmed, the last meeting had been in 1999, when Michigan triumphed in Ann Arbor, 26-22.
I'm occasionally late for work because they show WW reruns on Bravo from 8:00 - 10:00 in the mornings and I can't tear myself away at 8:40 when I need to leave for work.
RIP John Spencer, aka Leo McGarry, 1946-2005.
I watch that show all the time and never knew that.
In the critically acclaimed film "Jumper" the main character is from Ann Arbor and I think his girlfriend went to U-M. Theres this scene where they're in a bar where the girl works and in the background is Michigan v Penn State (I think) on the tv.
Also last year Rob Schneider filmed some parts of his new movie in Angell Hall
"House attended Johns Hopkins University and studied medicine at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, and was up for a scholarship at the Mayo Clinic. However, during his medical education, he was caught cheating by a co-student named Philip Weber, who ultimately got him expelled. House then attended the University of Michigan for the remainder of his study and met Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein), his future boss, with whom he shared a one night stand"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_House
Dr. Cuddy is also a fictional M alumna; she attended for undergrad.
Jumper is critically acclaimed? Really?
but I did consider stealing it off the internet buying it just for the Ann Arbor and Michigan references.
Yeah. I was about to say the same thing about Jumper.
The dad from "How I got into College." Also, as someone brought up NCIS, I never put it together until recently that Mark Harmon's dad is Tom Harmon, Michigan heisman winner.
'lil Old 98? Seriously? I may have to start watching this show.
Interesting fact:
Mark Harmon was a quarterback for UCLA in the 70's.
In the 1982 Stanford-Cal game, Stanford's squibbing kicker was also named Mark Harmon (but the two are unrelated)
This is not fictional but there was a Michigan alum on Iron Chef last night. I think the quote from the announcer was "he went to the University of Michigan so he must be smart."
Lol. Is that the correct usage?
what is with Michigan alumni and TV cheffery?
stephanie izard, winner of Top Chef season 4 = Michigan alumna. apparently ran the naked mile her senior year.
also, eve (chef of ann arbor's eve) is going to be on this year's upcoming season.
Hadn't heard that about Eve, and I never miss that show. Very cool. Been wanting to check out that restaurant... it's so intriguing whenever you pass by there... but haven't managed to. Guess I better do it soon before it becomes impossible to get a table there.
short fat bald guy from the sopranos, he was a lawyer that went to michigan but he was a minor character...all i remember was tony soprano saying "Michigan, you figure it out!"
Ronald Zellman (played by Peter Riegert) was a U of M alumnus.
from a Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
from Season 6 of 24. Definitely one of the better-looking fictional Michigan alums if I may say so myself...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia_Yassir
Last episode of Freaks and Geeks (possibly my favorite tv show ever), Lindsey (ohhh...Lindsey) gets selected for a prestigious academic summer camp thing at U of M. The episode features her getting on a bus headed for Ann Arbor.
I could be wrong (or just an a-hole), but when the Dude mentions being involved in the Port Huron Statement...weren't U of M students heavily involved in that?
Also, Wolverine from X-Men? At least an honorary degree?
Good call . . . that was a great show. I was bummed when it didn't get picked up for another season.
The Port Huron Statement was principally authored by Tom Hayden, who, if I am correct, was editor of The Michigan Daily. Thus, there is a connection there. Or at least that's what I assumed when I heard that line for the first time in the movie.
i think Jeff from Saved by the Bell (the one who steals kelly from zack and bangs her out for an ep or two) transferred to UCLA from Michigan
I believe Paul Hennessy (John Ritter's character from "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter") was a Michigan alum. I can't confirm it, but in the few episodes I watched, he frequently wore Michigan apparel.
Also, "The Steiner Brothers" from WWF waaaaaay back in the day (early 90's).
I thought those guys actually wrestled at UM. That was just an act? Dex, what's the deal with these guys?
Rob "Rick Steiner" Rechsteiner definitely wrestled at UM. I don't think his brother Scott did. Rob was pretty good. From MGoBlue ...
"Fifth-year senior captain Ryan Churella tallied a pair of falls at the Cliff Keen Invitational (Dec. 2-3), including a second-period pin against Adam State's Evan Copeland in the semifinal round, to bring his career total to 30. He ranks 10th among Michigan's all-time falls leaders, needing just one more to reach the ninth spot, currently held by Rob Rechsteiner (31, 1981-84)"
Both the Steiner brothers wrestled at Michigan and Scott was an All-American in 1986
Also:
The Fab Five.