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By Dana Cadey

With the McVay Center’s “Retrospective and Renaissance” show debuting tonight, attention is turned toward the performing arts departments at Principia. The Upper School and the college are responsible for producing a number of talented performing artists who have gone on to have successful careers in their fields. Here are just a few of these esteemed Principians.

Robert Duvall — Academy Award-winning actor Robert Duvall graduated from Principia College in 1953. Duvall has appeared in classic, critically-acclaimed films such as The Godfather, To Kill a Mockingbird, Apocalypse Now, True Grit, and Lonesome Dove. In total, Duvall has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and an Emmy Award. In 2005, Duvall received the National Medal of Arts from President George W. Bush. The performance hall in McVay is named the Robert Duvall Theatre in recognition of the actor’s time at the college, although Duvall never specifically donated money toward the McVay renovation project. Duvall has praised Principia for helping him his start his acting career.

Peter Horton — Peter Horton is an actor, director and producer. He graduated from Principia College and later received a degree in Music Composition from the University of California. Horton directed several iconic television shows, including The Wonder Years and Thirtysomething. He also acted in the 1984 supernatural horror film Children of the Corn. Horton made People magazine’s list of the “50 Most Beautiful People” in 1991 and was married to the actress Michelle Pfeiffer from 1981 to 1988.

Vince Gerardis — After graduating from the Upper School in 1977, Gerardis only spent one quarter at the college. This, however, did not hamper his future Hollywood success; Gerardis went on to become the co-executive producer of the hit HBO show Game of Thrones. Since 2011, Gerardis has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. A crucial start to Gerardis’s career came from his position as the literary agent for George R. R. Martin, author of the Game of Thrones book series.    

Joy Osmanski — Joy Osmanski is a Korean-American actress who graduated from Principia College with a degree in Creative Writing and Studio Art. After Principia, Osmanski pursued her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego. She has played mostly comedic roles on a variety of television shows, including Grey’s Anatomy and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

David Lovegren — David Lovegren attended both the Upper School and the college, graduating with a degree in Drama and English Literature in 1977. He was the co-associate producer on the artistic masterpiece Fantasia/2000, and produced the sequel to Disney’s The Little Mermaid. In 2005, Lovegren produced the movie Hoodwinked!, which is one of the first computer animated films to be completely independently funded. Lovegren also had a stunt double role in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.