Hawthorne High School is a public

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

located in

Hawthorne, California Hawthorne is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is part of a seventeen-city subregion of the Los Angeles metropolitan area commonly known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay. As of the 2020 United States cens ...

, within the Centinela Valley Union High School District. It opened in 1951 with 9th and 10th grades. The first graduating senior class was that of 1954. It is most notable for its association with

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

, whose original members

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...

, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, and Al Jardine attended the school. Coincidentally, Olivia Trinidad Arias, who later became Olivia Harrison ( George Harrison’s wife), also attended; she graduated in 1965. Hawthorne High School is a cross-town rival with Leuzinger High School.

Notable alumni

Athletes

* Ron Mix,

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

and NFL Hall Of Famer * Scott Laidlaw, running back, Stanford,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

* Mike Scott, pitcher

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

(1986 Cy Young Award Winner) * Curtis Conway, wide receiver,

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

, San Diego Chargers * Michael Marsh, 1992 Olympic gold medalist, 200 Meters, 4 x 100 Meter relay; U.S. High School National Record holder in 4 X 400 Meter Relay (3:07:40) on April 6, 1985 * Henry Thomas youth record sprinter; U.S. High School National Record holder in 4 X 400 Meter Relay (3:07:40) on April 6, 1985 * Mark Lee, 70s relief pitcher for the San Diego Padres Major League team * Cameron Stephenson, offensive lineman for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

* Carl Boenish, US Parachuting Association Achievement award winner * Adimchinobi Echemandu, running back for the Oakland Raiders * April Jace, 2011 world champion in the women's over-35 4 × 100 meters relay * Treamelle Taylor, Canadian Football League player * Mike Colbern, catcher

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

* Gyasi Zardes, soccer forward, Austin FC

Musical artists

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

/ Al Jardine / Dennis Wilson /

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Dennis Wilson, ...

David Marks David Lee Marks (born August 22, 1948) is an American guitarist who was an early member of the Beach Boys. While growing up in Hawthorne, California, Marks was a neighborhood friend of the original band members and was a frequent participant at t ...

* Emitt Rhodes multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter * John Dust - rapper known as

Pigeon John John Kenneth Dust (born John Kenneth Dunkin: November 30, 1972), better known by the stage name Pigeon John, is an American rapper based in Los Angeles, California. He is a former member of L.A. Symphony. Early life Pigeon John claims that his ...

Chris Montez Chris Montez (born Ezekiel Christopher Montañez; January 17, 1943) is an American guitarist and vocalist, whose stylistic approach has ranged from rock & roll to pop standards and Latin music. His rock sound is exemplified in songs such as hi ...

Jeff McDonald Jeff or Jeffrey MacDonald or McDonald may refer to: * Jeff MacDonald, writer of ''Capitalist Piglet'' * Jeff McDonald, American musician, co-founder of the band Redd Kross * Jeff MacDonald (curler), in the 2012 Courtesy Freight Northern Ontario Sup ...

and brother Steve McDonald founding members of

Redd Kross Redd Kross is an American Rock music, rock band from Hawthorne, California, who had their roots in 1978 in a punk rock band called the Tourists, which was started by brothers Jeff and Steven Shane McDonald, Steve McDonald while Steve was still i ...

Greg Hetson Greg Hetson (born June 29, 1961) is an American musician. He is best known as the guitarist for the influential punk rock bands Circle Jerks and Bad Religion. He is known for his high energy stage antics which people have coined the term "The He ...

of Circle Jerks / Bad Religion * Tyler Okonma - rapper and musician known as

Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has been cited as an influential figure in alternative hip-hop during the 2010s. Tyler beca ...

* Casey Jones - rapper and songwriter known as

Casey Veggies Casey Joseph Jones (born July 18, 1993), known professionally as Casey Veggies, is an American rapper. A founding member of the Los Angeles-based hip hop collective Odd Future, he co-formed the group with Tyler, the Creator, Hodgy, Left Brain, t ...

* Omar Banos - singer-songwriter known as Cuco *

Ted Gioia Ted Gioia (born October 21, 1957) is an American jazz critic and music historian. He is author of 12 books, including ''Music: A Subversive History'', '' The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire'', ''The History of Jazz'' and ''Delta Blues'' ...

- writer and music critic

Other

Olivia Harrison Olivia Trinidad Harrison (née Arias; born May 18, 1948) is an American author and film producer, and the widow of English musician George Harrison of the Beatles. She first worked in the music industry in Los Angeles, for A&M Records, where sh ...

née Olivia Trinidad Arias - widow of Beatle George Harrison (Class of 1965) * Ted Coombs - World record breaking roller skater (Class of 1972)

On-campus violence

The school has dealt with issues of race- related as well as gang-related fighting on campus in the past. In March 2007, gang-related fighting during lunchtime resulted in police officers from several law enforcement agencies entering the school with riot helmets and pepper spray. The school was subsequently shut down for the remainder of the day. Other gang-related issues continue to plague the school with sporadic on-campus fighting more recently.

References

External links

Official Website

Cougartown (Alumni site)
{{authority control Public high schools in Los Angeles County, California Hawthorne, California 1951 establishments in California Educational institutions established in 1951