Famous Great Neck Alumni Pages include those graduates who have achieved success and prominence in their chosen field of endeavor. They are role models to past, present and future students because of their intellect, talent, creativity, skill, diligence, and commitment to excellence. They exemplify the capacity in all of us to aspire to greatness, follow our dreams and make a contribution to society. Their distinguished careers and lives are both a source of school district and community pride, and are also an inspiration to current students as well as to our individual and collective potential.
Quinn Early was all-state in track and all-county in football and basketball as a senior at Great Neck South High School in 1983. He caught 104 passes for 1,819 yards in four years at the University of Iowa, led the Big 10 with 22.3 yard average per catch as a junior and was 3rd team All-American as a senior. He was drafted in the third round of the NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers in 1988 and his NFL career spanned 12 seasons including stints with the New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets. Early is a part-time actor and stunt double, starring in Louisiana filmed movies such as Olympus Has Fallen and The Baytown Outlaws.
David Gurfein, a star quarterback and diving champ at Great Neck South High School, embodies the school mascot, a tough, fighting rebel, that he painted a mural of in the school hallway. Continuing a family tradition, David joined the marines at the age of 17, missing his graduation ceremony to attend boot camp. He has fought in many conflicts, including the Persian Gulf War and won a bronze star during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. His most famous moment came when he pulled down a large poster of Saddam Hussein in March, 2003, symbolizing the fall of the Iraqi leader and the impending coalition victory in the war.
David Levien, Screenwriter/Producer/Director/Novelist Class of 1985, Great Neck North High School David Levien IMDB Page
David Levien, a North High graduate from the class of 1985, is a successful screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. He is co-creator, executive producer, and showrunner of Showtime's Billions, as well as writer for the Rounders, Runaway Jury, Walking Tall, Runner Runner, and Ocean’s Thirteen. David also won a sports Emmy for his work on ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary, This is What They Want, which followed Jimmy Connors’ path through the 1991 U.S. Open.
David is also the author of six books, including the four novels that comprise the Frank Behr series.
David Schneiderman, a 1989 graduate of Great Neck South High School, worked in various capacities on such films as I'll Do Anything, Operation Dumbo Drop, Assassins, and the Phantom prior to co-writing the screenplay for the movie Chasing Liberty. David also sold a feature length script to 20th Century Fox named Test Drive and a half hour comedy series called State of the Unions to ABC TV. He and writing partner Derek Guiley are developing two animated projects for Sony Pictures' new animation division.
Colin Jacobsen began his studies of the violin at age 4 and first played to critical acclaim at the age of 14 in an appearance with the New York Philharmonic. He studied at the School for Strings and is a 1999 graduate of the Juilliard School. He has given recitals at Long Island University's Tilles Center for the Performing Arts and the San Miguel de Allende Music Festival in Mexico. He was named one of the top 100 composers under 40 by NPR listeners. He is also active as an Avery Fisher Career Grant-winning soloist and a touring member of Yo-Yo Ma’s famed Silk Road Ensemble. For his work as a founding member of two game-changing, audience-expanding ensembles – the string quartet Brooklyn Rider and orchestra The Knights – Jacobsen was recently selected from among the nation’s top visual, performing, media, and literary artists to receive a prestigious and substantial United States Artists Fellowship.
