The James Madison Alumni Association inaugurated the Wall of Distinction in 2001 to honor Madisonians who have made an impact on our society. Every two years we elect several outstanding alumni and install plaques inscribed with their picture, class, and area of expertise on the Wall, located at the entrance to the auditorium. At a Sunday afternoon program, the inductees speak about their days at Madison, and teachers and friends who influenced their lives are remembered with great poignancy. It has also become a social event, as alums connect with old classmates and former teachers. This event has continued to grow, with about 450 attending in 2010.

In addition to honoring the school and its alumni, the Wall has also become a popular attraction for both Madison students and visitors.

Wall Nomination Form

Please feel free to download the Wall Nomination Form to nominate alumni who are accomplished in their fields and serve as prime representatives of the success of James Madison High School.

WALL OF DISTINCTION HONOREES – June 5, 2022

Arthur Ashkin ’40 Nobel Winner, Physics

Baruch Blumberg* ’42 Nobel Winner, Medicine

Sidney Verba* ’49 Political Science/Professor

Dr. Allen Hyman ’51 Physician

Suzanne
Osterweil-Weber ‘57 Artist/Educator/Philanthropist

Lawrence Rand ‘60 Business/Politics/Philanthropist

Howard Feldsher ’63 Philanthropist/Humanitarian

Janis Siegel ’69 Grammy-winning Singer/Songwriter

Ronald Haigler ’71 College Basketball Star

Pamela Grey ’73 Playwright

Below are the Madisonians elected to the Wall.

WALL OF DISTINCTION HONOREES

2001

Garson Kanin* '27 Writer, Producer, Director

Barry Commoner* '33 Environmentalist

Martin Glickman * '35 Olympian, Broadcaster

Stanley H. Kaplan* '35 Educator

Dr. Robert Solow '40 Nobel Prize - Economics

Ruth Bader Ginsburg '50 United States Supreme Court Justice

Sandra Feldman* '56 President, American Federation of Teachers

Charles Schumer '67 United States Senator (N.Y.)

2002

Sylvia Feldman Porter*'30 Financial Journalist

Dr. Stanley Cohen '39 Nobel Prize - Medicine

Stephen Schwebel '46 President - World Court

Frank Torre '50 Professional Baseball Player

Bruce Morrow '53 Radio Personality "Cousin Brucie"

Dr. Samuel Thier '53 College President, Medical Executive

Jane Brody '58 Health Journalist

2004

Irwin (Shamforoff) Shaw* '29 Playwright/Author

Marvin Miller* '33 Baseball Labor Executive

Andrew (Fuzzy) Levane* '40 Professional Basketball Player/Coach

Dr. Martin Perl* '41 Nobel Prize - Physics

Stanley Karnow* '41 Journalist/Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author

Claire (Kantoff) Schulman '42 Queens Borough President

Esther (Rudomin) Hautzig* '51 Author/Humanist

Carole (Klein) King '58 Writer/Singer/ Producer

Daniel Suhr * '82 Madison Athlete/Firefighter

2006

William Gaines* '39 Publisher, Mad Magazine

Elaine Malbin '48 Opera Star

Dr. Gary Becker '48 Nobel Prize - Economics

Lawrence Kasha* '50 Producer/Director/Playwright

Dr. John Robbins '50 Molecular Biologist

Lawrence Zicklin '53 Financial Executive/Philanthropist

Rudy LaRusso * '55 Professional Basketball Player

Stephen Trachtenberg '55 College President

Barry Mann '56 Songwriter

Norman Coleman '66 United States Senator (Minn.)

2008

Harry Eisenstat* '35 Professional Baseball Player

Beverly Stoll Pepper '39 Sculptor

Paul L. Krinsky '46 Rear Admiral (Ret), Superintendent United States Merchant Marine Academy

Dr. Robert Haselkorn '52 Professor - Genetics/Biology

Alfred Kasha '54 Songwriter/Producer/Academy Award Winner

Sidney Ganis '57 Movie Executive/President, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Bernard Sanders '59 United States Senator (Vt.)

Harry Boatswain* '87 Professional Football Player

2010

Cal Abrams* '42 Professional Baseball Player

Herbert Okun* '47 Diplomat, UN Ambassador

Maury Allen* '49 Sports Journalist

Dr. Ronald Dubner '51 Pain Management Pioneer

Dr. Robert Dallek '52 Historian, Professor

Deborah Tobias Poritz '54 Chief Justice, N.J. Supreme Court

Joel Zwick '58 Director,TV/Film/Theater

Judith Blum Sheindlin '60 Judge/TV Personality "Judge Judy"

2012

Professor Donald Keene '39 Japanese Scholar

Rae Salit Marcus* '41 Educator

Sybil Schwartz Shainwald '45 Activist Attorney

Arnold Kopelson '52 Academy Award Winning Movie Producer

Dr. Stephen Goldfinger '52 Renaissance Physician

Professor Martin Sherwin '55 Historian-Pulitzer Prize Winner

Ronald Carner '57 President, Maccabi USA/Sports For Israel

Barry Cozier '68 Judge

2014

Dr. Herbert Abrams ’37 Developer of Coronary Angiography

Ellen Reiss Hoyt ’51 Artist/ Environmentalist

Ira Silverman ’53 Investigative Journalist, TV News Producer

Dr. Stanley Goldsmith ’54 Developer of Nuclear Medicine

Stephen Verona ‘58 Music Video Pioneer, Artist, Filmmaker

Eli Segal* ’60 Presidential Advisor, Founder of Americorps

Maury Chaykin* ’67 Actor

Dr. Larry Weinstein ’71 Humanitarian Physician

2016

Sonny Werblin* '27 Sports Entrepreneur

Howard Koslow* '42 Artist

Lucille Weckstein Plotz* '43 Botanist

Patricia Bruder Debrovner '54 Actress

Larry Hite '59 Financier/Philanthropist

Barry Simon '62 Mathematician/Physicist

Arthur Schwartz '64 Food Critic

Wendy Trozzi Libby '68 College President

Roger Schulman '76 Screenwriter/Producer

2018

Norma Golsin Zarky* '33 Attorney/Political Activist

Buddy Kaye* '35 Songwriter/Grammy Winner

Donald Seldin '36 Medicine

Sonny Fox '42 Entertainer

Martin Landau* '46 Academy Award Winning Actor

Dr. Sylvia Kleiman Fields '50 Nurse/Teacher/Author

Dr. Leslie Libow '50 Medicine

Dr. Charles Debrovner '53 Medicine/Bioethics Founder

Dr. Richard Gitlin '59 Engineer/Inventor

Dr. Kenneth Glassberg '60 Medicine

Dr. Jeffrey Gordon '66 Scientist

Dr. Howard Pollack '69 Musicologist

Laura Numeroff '71 Author

Dr. Robert Meadows '80 Army Lt. Col.(ret) Physician

*Deceased

*

THE WALL OF DISTINCTION