Loyola's Bad Boy Alumni
by John C. Thomas
You may not know it, but Loyola has had an odd group of influential alumni in a myriad of professions. Some of them the university is proud to showcase, and in other cases, the powers-that-be would prefer that we didn't know about their connection to Loyola. Here are some of my favorite Loyolans...
Don Novello-- Not only is he famous for being Father Guido Sarducci on Saturday Night Live, he is the author of several hilarious books like "The Lazlo Letters." As Lazlo Toth, Novello wrote letters to official organizations requesting responses to truly inane suggestions. An example: he writes a letter to the New York City subway suggesting that they add dining cars to the trains. And then he prints the actual responses to the letters, which often turn out to be more hilarious than the outrageous suggestions. Contrary to popular opinion, it was Novello that wrote the "Cheezebourger, cheezebourger" skectch that is often credited to John Belushi. Novello is also the author of "The Blade," a high-school yearbook for a town composed entirely of sheep. Novello won three Emmys as a writer for Saturday Night Live, and he is a Loyola graduate from the mid-1960's. His sister was briefly the Surgeon General of the United States in the early 1990's. But the university rarely includes Novello on lists of prominent alumni because he pokes fun at the Catholic church.
William Daley-- Daley is the former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and currently runs Al Gore's campaign for President of the United States. Daley broke with his family when he decided to attend Loyola for law school instead of DePaul (like Richard M. and his father). When Daley was announced as the selection for Secretary of Commerce, he appeared at a press conference, said a few words, and took his place against the back wall of the press room with the other nominees. But Daley was appropriately disoriented by the occasion, and a few seconds after speaking, he fainted, falling forward and startling President Clinton and the entire press corps. It was an embarrassing and inauspicious beginning, but his performance in office was so solid that he was entrusted with running the Democratic Campaign for 2000. William Daley graduated from Loyola Law School in the early 1970's.
James Iha-- So you think Loyola is too staid and formal? You don't think Loyola rocks? How about this guy, the lead guitarist for Smashing Pumpkins? Iha was pursuing a degree in Fine Arts from Loyola, and in the summer of 1990, he had fulfilled an internship and needed only 15 more credits to graduate. But that was the summer that the first Smashing Pumpkins record was released, and a scant two years later the group was the toast of MTV. One of the astounding things about his attendance at Loyola was the fact that the band was gigging late into the night for a year before he left school, but he maintained a 3.6 GPA at Loyola. I hope that one day, soon, Iha is made into a Loyola graduate-- selling more than 30 million records should be worth 15 credits.
Henry Hyde-- Even though I've always been a Democrat, I deeply respected Henry Hyde long before I knew that he was a Loyola graduate. His manner of speaking, his deep convictions, and his reasoned approach to his arguments led me view him as the Republican version of Daniel Patrick Moynahan. He went a little overboard on the Clinton impeachment hearings, but he is still worthy of deep respect. He is a very intelligent and honorable person, no matter where your politics tend to reside. Hyde graduated from Loyola Law School in the early 1950's.
Bob Newhart-- Perhaps the quintessential Loyola graduate, Bob Newhart has remained true to his school. A native of Oak Park and a member of the class of 1952, Newhart rose to fame in the early 1960's on the strength of his "Buttoned-Down Mind" comedy album. When he landed his own TV series in the early 1970's, he took every opportunity to promote Loyola. Check out episode #92, when his receptionist, Carol (played by Marsha Wallace), decides to go to Loyola and become a psychologist like Bob. Also, check out the apartment building where he supposedly lived, located at 5901 N. Sheridan, just down the street from the Lake Shore Campus. Newhart is currently on the Loyola Board of Regents.
Dan Rostenkowski-- The ex-Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and ex-Con, Rostenkowski was formerly listed by Loyola as one of the university's most prominent alumni. But that ended in 1994, when Rosty was defeated in a re-election campaign for his former Northwest-Side seat, and was subsequently sent to prison for abusing House of Representative privileges. But less than three months after his release from prison, Rosty was back, this time as a political commentator on local TV. He's still as feisty and opinionated as ever. Now Rosty is conspicuously absent from lists of prominent Loyola alumni, but he is quite possibly the most powerful of them all, historically.
