50 FAMOUS IU ALUMNI P-S Mike Pence Angelo Pizzo Politician Screenwriter Career politician Mike Pence Bloomington-bred from age 3 has represented Indiana’s 9th until he graduated from IU as a Congressional District in the U.S. political science major, Angelo Pizzo Congress (2001–2013), served as then enrolled in the University Indiana governor (2013–2017), of Southern California School of and was U.S. vice president under Cinematic Arts and began his career Donald Trump (2017–2021). A 1986 in the film and television industry. graduate of the Robert H. McKinney Best known for authoring the School of Law at IUPUI, the screenplay for the filmHoosiers , Columbus, Indiana, native has drawn which featured characters inspired controversy throughout his career. by tiny Milan High School’s 1954 In 1990, Pence admitted to using state championship team, Pizzo campaign funds from a failed bid for was inducted into the Indiana Congress to pay personal expenses, Basketball Hall of Fame and given including his mortgage, groceries, the “Sagamore of the Wabash” and his wife’s car payments. As award—Indiana’s highest civilian governor, he signed bills further honor for service to the state—which restricting abortions and permitting he shared with the film’s director, certain types of discrimination on David Anspaugh (see Page 78). religious grounds. Pizzo and Anspaugh, close friends Pence, an evangelical Christian, from their IU days, also collaborated remained ever loyal to Trump, on Rudy, another major player in the who placed him in charge of the lexicon of inspirational sports films. nation’s pandemic response. After he Pizzo, who returned to downplayed its severity, more than Bloomington in 2005, has continued 400,000 people died on his watch. to write screenplays and serves on Official White House photo by D. Myles Cullen —R.M. Photo by Jeff Richardson the board of the Heartland Film Festival. —T.Z.T. Ernie Pyle Dan Quayle War Correspondent Politician A pioneer of human-interest James Danforth Quayle, grandson of journalism, Ernie Pyle was renowned wealthy newspaper magnate Eugene for telling straightforward, personal C. Pulliam, chose politics over stories about people he met on his journalism and ascended to become travels, and, most famously, on the the nation’s 44th vice president. front lines of World War II. A native of Huntington, Indiana, Pyle hailed from Dana, Indiana, Quayle got his B.A. from DePauw and was already interested in University in 1969. Six days becoming a journalist when he before graduating and becoming arrived at IU in 1919. He left eligible for the draft, he joined school just shy of graduating, the Indiana National Guard. landing a reporting job in He earned a J.D. from the IU La Porte Indiana, and at the School of Law–Indianapolis in Washington Daily News in D.C. soon 1974 while still in the guard and after, where he worked as a reporter despite not having met the school’s and aviation columnist. admission standards. In the 1930s, he traveled Quayle was elected to Congress throughout North and South in 1976 and to the U.S. Senate in America with his wife, Jerry, 1980. In 1988, he was chosen as the writing the stories of individual vice-presidential running mate experiences during the to George H.W. Bush and came Great Depression. His frank under fire for his lack of political conversations with infantrymen acumen, his military service, and as a war correspondent won him a controversial relationship with a Pulitzer Prize, but the work also Paula Parkinson, a D.C. lobbyist and ultimately claimed his life—he was subject of a 1980 Playboy pictorial. Photo by Milton J. Pike, courtesy Photo courtesy of the U.S. killed while covering the invasion of of the Library of Congress Quayle is also famous for not Department of Defense Okinawa, Japan, in 1945. —T.Z.T. knowing how to spell “potato.” —R.M. 88 Bloom | August/September 2021 | magbloom.com 50 FAMOUS IU ALUMNI P-S Will Shortz Puzzlemaster Will Shortz is the only known person to hold a degree in enigmatology—the study of puzzles—which he created through Indiana University’s Individualized Major Program in 1974. Shortz, who has authored or edited more than 100 books, has been puzzle editor for The New York Times since 1993. He founded the World Puzzle Championship in 1992, is a director of the U.S. Puzzle Team, and hosts the Sunday Puzzle cooperative game on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday. Shortz also possesses the world’s largest private collection of puzzle books and magazines, which is comprised of more than 20,000 publications dating back to 1545. His TV and media appearances include Oprah, The Daily Show, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother, and Jeopardy! —S.B. Photo by Ben Weller Photo by Bollywood Hungama (CC BY 3.0) Ranveer Singh Mark Spitz Bollywood Actor Olympic Swimmer Then-aspiring actor Ranveer Singh Bhavnani was born and raised in Mark Spitz was already a two- Mumbai, India, and came to the United time Olympic gold medalist and States to attend IU, where he focused held numerous world swimming on creative writing and minored in records when he decided to attend theater. When he returned to India, he Indiana University in 1969 and train worked as an advertising copywriter with legendary swim coach Doc and auditioned for Hindi films. Counsilman. Spitz later described In 2010, he landed the lead role in the step as “the biggest decision of a romantic comedy called Band Baaja my life [and] the best.” Baarat, which led to a series of other As a Hoosier, Spitz won eight Bollywood castings that cemented his individual NCAA titles, and in 1971 celebrity. He is now one of the top- was named the top amateur athlete paid and most critically acclaimed in the United States. The following actors in India. year, he became a household name He has earned five Filmfare when he won seven gold medals at Awards (the Hindi film industry’s the Munich Olympics, setting a new most prominent honors), as well as world record in each event. International Indian Film Academy Spitz is one of just five Olympians awards, Star Screen awards, and to win nine or more gold medals in a several others. —T.Z.T. career. He retired from competition following the 1972 Olympics at age 22 and eventually became a corporate spokesman, motivational speaker, Realtor, stockbroker, and entrepreneur. —R.M. Photo courtesy of IU Archives magbloom.com | August/September 2021 | Bloom 89.