Texas Tech Alumni

Texas Tech Alumni Spotlight – Entertainment

Audience enjoying a theatrical performance at a movie theater.
Audience sitting at a movie theater watching a theatrical performance.

Successful Texas Tech Alumni

Texas Tech has no shortage of notable alumni. In almost every career field out there, Tech alumni are making waves. Today, however, we’ll be focusing on a few notable alumni that occupy the entertainment industry. In all facets, Tech Alumni have made a name for themselves in the film and television industry. Here are some of the most notable Tech graduates who went on to do big things in film and television. 

Johnny Hardwick

The first of these many alumni is Johnny Hardwick, a native of Austin, TX. Hardwick attended and graduated from Texas Tech with a B.S. in Journalism. Soon after, Hardwick went on to perform stand-up comedy at all sorts of comedy clubs in Dallas and Austin. Hardwick would continue this career until he performed at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, California. There, he would be offered a writing job by Greg Daniels for Mike Judge’s King of the Hill. Hardwick was going to be a regular in MTV’s Austin Stories but chose to pursue King of the Hill. He would later go on to become the voice of Dale Gribble after the initial choice Daniel Stern fell through. Hardwick performed as Dale for the show’s entire 13-year run. Nowadays, Hardwick has his own Youtube channel. In his Youtube channel, he regularly posts videos of song parodies and monologues in the voice of Dale Gribble. 

Alexis Tipton

The next notable alumni is another well-known voice actress, Alexis Tipton. Alexis attended Texas Tech University but later finished her education at the University of North Texas. Tipton went on to become a well-respected voice actress and ADR director affiliated with Funimation. Active since 2008, she has voiced numerous characters for so many different anime franchises. Tipton’s most notable roles include kid Trunks from Dragon Ball Super, Sun Seto in My Bride is a Mermaid, Mizuki Himeji in Baka and Test, Emi Kizaki in Linebarrels of Iron, Musubi and Yume in Sekirei, Moka Akashiya in Rosario + Vampire, Saya Kisaragi in Blood-C, Anya Hepburn in Soul Eater Not!, Millianna in Fairy Tail, and most recently, Iris in Fire Force. Tipton has also been in a variety of video games, such as Borderlands 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. All in all, Tipton has shown to be a very versatile and capable voice actress. Tipton has shown no signs of stopping her career anytime soon. 

Barry Corbin

Another alumni that’s kept themselves busy since graduating is Barry Corbin. Corbin Attended Texas Tech but went to join the Marine Corps when he was 21. He served two years and returned to Texas Tech where he got a degree in theatre arts. After Corbin graduated, he began his career as a Shakespearean actor. Nowadays he’s more likely to play characters with an authoritative stance like a sheriff or military leader. Corbin also plays the villainous role. Given that Corbin lost most of his hair to alopecia areata, he often plays characters with a shaved head. Corbin also wears a toupee, or a cowboy hat to hide his condition. He has been in so many films and TV shows that there’s too many to list. Some of his most notable roles came in WarGames, Urban Cowboy, Any Which Way You Can, and Lonesome Dove. His career spans decades and so far is only looking to continue. 

George Eads

Last but not least, the next notable alumni from TTU is George Eads III. Eads was born in Belton, Texas. Eads went on to study Marketing at Texas Tech University and was a member of Phi Delta Theta. Prior to his career he worked as a copy machine salesman and sold first aid and safety supplies for Cintas. Once his career began though, he got his big break in the prime time soap opera Savannah. Eads guest-starred as paramedic Greg Powell on ER in 1997 and 1997. He also worked on several made-for-television films such as Crowned and Dangerous in 1997. It wasn’t until 2000 where Eads played one of the lead characters for CSI, forensic scientist, Nick Stokes. Eads has done numerous features, TV films, and shows such as Sex Ed, Evel Knievel, Macgyver, and Young Justice. He’s done quite a lot in his career and is sure to do a lot more in the coming years. 

Texas Tech has no shortage of Alumni in every possible field out there, and the entertainment industry is no exception. Despite the four listed, there are many more accomplished alumni in this industry and there’s more to come.

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