I wonder why so many famous actors and entertainers attended the Lower East Side’s Seward Park High School?
Among its alumni: Walter Matthau, Jerry Stiller, Zero Mostel, Estelle Getty, Tony Curtis (then known as Bernard Schwartz), Sammy Cahn, Aida Turturro, Keenan Ivory Wayans, and former Black News host Bill McCreary.
Opened in 1905 as P.S. 62 and renamed Seward Park Junior High, it evolved into a senior high school in the 1920s.
In 1929, the current school building went up on the Lower East Side block bounded by Essex, Broome, Grand, and Ludlow Streets—a few blocks from the actual Seward Park.
The school and park were named for William H. Seward, the former New York senator who served as secretary of state in the Lincoln administration . . . and was almost assassinated along with his boss.)
Seward Park won’t be producing any more notable alumni. The school graduated its last class in 2006, and the building now houses several smaller schools and academies, none of which are named after any New York politicians or landmarks.
This Brooklyn high school has also enrolled its share of future celebs.
Tags: Jerry Stiller Seward Park, Lower East Side High Schools, New York City high schools, Seward Park High School, Seward Park High School famous alumni, Seward Park New York City, Tony Curtis Seward Park, Walter Matthau Seward Park
November 4, 2012 at 1:44 pm |
Two other famous Seward Park alumni: Julius & Ethel Rosenberg!
November 4, 2012 at 10:48 pm |
Wow–infamous alumni!
November 4, 2012 at 11:30 pm |
Graduated from Seward in 1972, I stayed away from the boys room and locker rooms and managed to not get too much crap kicked out of me. On a similar note, I also went to Elizabeth Irwin HS and my science teacher was Helen Sobel, who’s husband was Martin Sobel, convited along with the Rosenbergs, but wasn’t executed. Released in about 1970 if I recall
November 4, 2012 at 11:36 pm |
Interesting. Later Sobell came clean about being a spy.
November 6, 2012 at 12:30 pm |
I attended Seward Park HS in the early 60s, the day I dropped out some black guys got me in the boy’s room and beat the shit out of me. That was one of the reasons I was dropping out, the threats of violence was pretty constant.
Anyway I just survived Hurricane Sandy and was living on the Jersey Shore, about a half hour from Staten Island. We lost power for 7 days but nothing like Staten Island got, still what a mess that was.
November 26, 2012 at 1:59 am |
My mom says it was a decent place back in the late 1940s.