Mumford High School (Michigan)

Samuel C. Mumford High School is a secondary school in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is a part of the Detroit Public Schools and is located on 17525 Wyoming avenue, near Seven Mile Rd. (See: "Mile Road System (Detroit)" )

Mumford has contributed greatly to the world of entertainment. Among its alumni are:

*TV & movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer, whose credits include, "Beverly Hills Cop", "Flashdance", "Pirates of the Caribbean", ' and '

*producer/actor/director Bob Shaye, co-founder of New Line Cinema, and producer of the original "Nightmare On Elm Street"

*screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin, whose credits include, "Deep Impact," "Sleeping with the Enemy," and the Patrick Swayze film, "Ghost"

*Allee Willis, a Grammy winning songwriter and multi-media artist whose hit songs include "September" and "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire, "Neutron Dance" by The Pointer Sisters, the theme song to the tv series "Friends" and the Broadway musical, "The Color Purple"

*Gospel singing greats The Winans, The Clark Sisters, Fred Hammond, Deitrick Haddon

*jazz musician Earl Klugh

*long time Detroit radio DJ and nationally renowned voice-over announcer Gerald McBride

*long time Detroit TV news anchor Carmen Harlan of WDIV-TV.

*1st and 10 (ESPN TV series) and Page 2 contributor Jemele Hill.

In the world of classical music, Mumford graduates include Ruth Laredo (nee Meckler) - prominent concert pianist, and Robert Israel - costume and set designer for opera productions worldwide.

Ivan Boesky, a 1955 Mumford graduate, is notorious for his prominent role in the Wall Street insider trading scandal that occurred in the United States during the mid-1980s

The principal is Linda Spight. The student population is approximately 2,000 students.

Noteworthy

Eddie Murphy wore a Mumford t-shirt in the 1984 movie Beverly Hills Cop. The shirt read, "Mumford Phys Ed Dept." The movie was produced by Mumford alum Bruckheimer. Mumford alum and songwriter Allee Willis won a Grammy for Best Soundtrack for her songs "Neutron Dance" and "Stir It Up" featured on the film's soundtrack. The authentic Mumford Phys Ed Dept t-shirt was powder blue, with burgundy lettering [http://www.founditemclothing.com/t-shirts/mumford.html] , the school's official colors. (The entire school building is powder blue. A special type of limestone blocks were imported to build the school.)

It should be noted that, during the 1950s and 60s, Mumford High School served a large Jewish student and faculty population - as was case at Central High School and later, Henry Ford High School - hence Mumford's "powder blue" motif (including the school's kosher cafeteria dinnerware). As the city's demographics began to shift, by the late 1970s, Mumford served an almost exclusive African American student and faculty population. (As of 2007 Mumford's student population is approximately 100% African American.)