50 FAMOUS IU ALUMNI G-K

Robert Gates Michael D. CIA Chief & Higgins Secretary of Defense President of Ireland

Robert Gates, former head of the Michael D. Higgins, 80, has served Central Intelligence Agency, grew up as the president of Ireland since in Kansas and attended the College November 2011. He was the first of William & Mary. He was recruited in his family to attend college, by the CIA while earning his master’s studying in Ireland and the in history at IU–Bloomington and United Kingdom before coming to would come to lead the organization Bloomington to earn a master’s in 25 years later, from 1991–1993. sociology in 1967. When Gates left the CIA, he A fierce proponent of Irish moved into academia, lecturing at culture, Higgins served as the multiple universities and becoming country’s first minister for arts, the 22nd president of Texas A&M culture, and the Gaeltacht (areas University in 1999. President George where the Irish language is still W. Bush attempted to bring Gates spoken). A renowned intellectual, into his administration several he has published several times, ultimately succeeding in 2006, collections of poetry. when Gates became the Secretary of His more artistic side may Defense. President Barack Obama have been on display while he was kept him in the position and awarded an IU student. In the runup to the him the Presidential Medal of 2011 elections, then-candidate Freedom when he retired in 2011. Higgins confirmed to theIrish He has since served as the Independent newspaper that he chancellor of William & Mary, as smoked marijuana while he was in well as president of the Boy Scouts of Bloomington in the ’60s—and that Photo courtesy of the U.S. America, which lifted its ban on gay Photo by Chris Bellen, Fenell Photography, he did, indeed, inhale. —C.S. Department of Defense scout leaders at his urging. —T.Z.T. for Irish Defence Forces

Jamie Hyneman Booker T. Jones MythBuster Musician

Jamie Hyneman, who grew up in In 1962, while he was still in high Columbus, Indiana, earned a degree school in Memphis, Tennessee, in Russian language and linguistics Booker T. Jones and his band, from IU in 1981. He’s worked as a Booker T. and the MGs, had a linguist, boat captain, wilderness Billboard No. 1 hit with “Green survival expert, certified dive Onions,” which Booker co-wrote. master, chef, and animal wrangler, Given the band’s success, when among other things, but found his Jones chose to attend college to niche in the special effects industry. study music, many in the industry He was co-host of the Discovery were surprised. Channel’s MythBusters from 2003 While at IU, Jones made the to 2018 and owns the special effects deans’ list, pledged Kappa Alpha company MF Industries, where Psi, and played trombone in the MythBusters was filmed. symphony orchestra and the Hyneman, 64, received the Marching Hundred. He returned to IU College of Arts and Sciences Memphis on weekends to record and Distinguished Alumni Award in play with the MGs. He graduated 2012, gave the commencement from the IU School of Music in 1967. speech in 2016, and received the Among his many honors, Jones Bicentennial Medal in 2020. As was elected to the Rock and Roll the COVID-19 global pandemic Hall of Fame in 1992—the only emerged, Hyneman partnered with IU alum to achieve that honor— the IU School of Public Health to and was awarded a Grammy for help engineer improved PPE for Lifetime Achievement in 2007. He health care workers. —C.S. received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from IU in 2012 and the Distinguished Alumni Service Photo by Benjamin Hanson/Discovery Channel Photo courtesy of IU Archives Award in 2013.—C.S. 84 Bloom | August/September 2021 | magbloom.com 50 FAMOUS IU ALUMNI G-K

Lilly King Kevin Kline Swimmer Oscar–Winning Actor

The winner of two gold medals at Actor Kevin Kline has won the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, three Tony Awards for his Lilly King may have earned one or work on Broadway and a Best two more in the Tokyo games by Supporting Actor Oscar for A the time this story is published. Fish Called Wanda. The Evansville-born athlete The St. Louis native came to swam competitively in high school IU to study music, but after two and joined the swimming and years switched to theater. In an diving team at IU the same year interview, Kline says once he she qualified for the Olympic team. found the stage, he could barely As a Hoosier, she won the NCAA make it to class because all he Women’s Division I Swimming wanted to do was act. He did and Diving Championship manage to graduate, in 1970. competitions for the 100-yard His Hoosier connection and 200-yard breaststroke all has been of some use. Kline four years—the second woman in portrayed a fictional high history to do so. school teacher from Indiana She currently holds the in the 1997 film In & Out, and world record for the 100-meter Hoosier songwriter Cole Porter breaststroke and swims for the in 2004’s De-Lovely. He also Cali Condors, which is part of played Maurice in the 2017 the professional International live-action version of Disney’s Swimming League that was Beauty and the Beast, with founded in 2019. lyrics written by IU graduate A new aquatic center in her Howard Ashman. —C.S. hometown—set to open this fall— Photo by Mike Dickbernd/IU Athletics will be named in her honor. —T.Z.T. Photo by gdcgraphics (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Ted Kluszewski Michael Koryta Baseball Player Mystery Writer

When travel restrictions forced the New York Times Best–Selling Reds to find a new spring author and Bloomington native training location during World War Michael Koryta was a 20-year-old II, they discovered more than just IU student when the first book in Indiana University—they found his Lincoln Perry mystery series Ted Kluszewski. was published in 2004. “Big Klu” was recruited to play Several of Koryta’s novels have football at IU, but also played baseball. been optioned for films over the A Cincinnati groundskeeper noticed years, but the first one hit the big he was hitting baseballs in excess of screen in 2021—Those Who Wish 500 feet and the team offered him a Me Dead, starring Angelina Jolie. $15,000 contract. When the novel was published in Kluszewski is considered one of 2014, it was named that summer’s the strongest baseball players ever. best thriller by both Amazon In his career, he was a four-time and Entertainment Weekly and All Star, led the selected as one of 2014’s best books league in fielding average five straight by more than 10 publications. years, topped the NL in home runs Now, Koryta has published 15 and RBIs in 1954, and in 1955 lead the crime novels under his own name league in hits. and one supernatural thriller, The In 1957, the Reds traded Kluszewski Chill, published as Scott Carson. to Pittsburgh, who later traded him to The second Carson novel, Where the White Sox for their World They Wait, is due in October. Read Series–winning 1959 season. He died Bloom’s feature story on Koryta at in 1988 at the age of 64. magbloom.com/koryta. —C.S. A statue of Kluszewski stands outside Cincinnati’s Great American Photo courtesy of IU Archives Photo by Jim Krause Ballpark. —T.Z.T./R.M. magbloom.com | August/September 2021 | Bloom 85