Cleo Haddad

Off the Court

Southern Illinois alumni, as Cleo Haddad tells it on the shows. Each story was checked against its source.

• Dick Gregorycomedian and civil rights activist

  Dick Gregory came to Carbondale on a track scholarship and left without a degree. He was at the forefront of activism in the sixties, arrested many times, a hunger striker, and in 1968 a candidate for president. The throne salutes him.

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• L. Eudora Pettigrewfirst Black SUNY college president

  L. Eudora Pettigrew, a Saluki, became president of SUNY Old Westbury, the first African-American president in the entire SUNY system. A dynasty begins with one.

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• Roland Burrissenator with a pre-built mausoleum

  Roland Burris, class of 1959, was the first African American elected statewide in Illinois. He has already built his own mausoleum, with a list of accomplishments carved in and space left for more. As a pharaoh, I respect the planning.

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• Darryl Jonesbassist of The Rolling Stones

  Darryl Jones, a Saluki, is the bassist of The Rolling Stones. Even the oldest monuments need a steady foundation.

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• Robert K. Weissproducer of The Blues Brothers

  Robert K. Weiss of Southern Illinois produced The Blues Brothers. A mission from on high, delivered by a Saluki.

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