Best known these days for its basketball program, Lincoln boasts a long and diverse list of notable alumni. Among those who attended the school: Nobel-winning scientists (Arthur Kornberg, Paul Berg, Jerome Karle), Academy Award-winning/nominated actors (Lou Gossett Jr., Harvey Keitel), writers whose work you read in high school (Arthur Miller, Joseph Heller), famous musicians named Neil (Diamond, Sedaka), ethically challenged businesspeople (Leona Helmsley, "Crazy Eddie" Antar), the youngest Congresswoman in history until recently (Elizabeth Holtzman), the father of the album cover (Alex Steinweiss), and the architect of cinema's preeminent fart scene (Mel Brooks, who went to Lincoln for his freshman year).
UPDATE: My dad has informed me that his dad, my beloved grandpa Ira, also went to Lincoln! And here's a nice coincidence: Back in 1999, when Ira was really sick near the end of his life, my dad sat down with him and popped Blazing Saddles in the VCR. Ira's mind was going, and he was mostly silent and withdrawn, gazing blankly at the TV screen. He had always been a notorious jokester, but now humor, along with so much else, seemed to elude him. But when the famous eating-beans-around-the-campfire scene (see above) came on, he suddenly lit up — one of the last moments of genuine laughter in a life that had been full of them.
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