General Douglas MacArthur High School has it all: Great academics, great clubs and great athletic teams. But what would you expect from a high school named for one of the great Americans of the 20th century?
Here are MacArthur High School recent inductees into the Levittown School District’s prestigious—and growing—Hall of Fame.
From the world of business, Sal Carillo is more than the proprietor of Sal’s Place. He has also donated thousands of dollars to the Levittown Public Schools, holding an annual Tips for Toys Christmas donation for families in need and supporting a variety of community service projects. David Falk is a legendary sports agent, representing NBA greats Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing. He was also executive producer of such films as Space Jam and On Hallowed Ground. Falk has contributed to the world of education, setting up a center for sports management at his alma mater, Syracuse University.
Eve Irvine (née Berg) moved to California to begin a career in law enforcement. In 1982, she served as a patrol officer for the Inglewood Police Department. That was just the beginning.
Irvine started her career as a patrol officer for the Inglewood Police Department. Irvine began her career in 1982 as a cadet. In time, she was promoted to police officer, detective and captain. The nearby city of Manhattan Beach took notice, and in 2011, Irvine became the first female chief of police for that seaside town. And that wasn’t all. In 2013, Torrance came calling and Irvine was named police chief for that southern California city.
In politics, Steve Israel was first elected to Congress in 2000, taking a position that had long been held by Rick Lazio, a Republican who that year ran a losing U.S. Senate campaign to Hillary Clinton. Israel served for the next 16 years. Currently, he serves as chairman and Distinguished Writer in Residence of Long Island University’s Global Institute, where he has hosted several political figures for one-on-one public interviews at the Tilles Center, notably former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Joe Biden and, this fall, former President George W. Bush.
On the national security front, John Nixon has enjoyed a long career with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Nixon was a veteran of the Iraq War. At the CIA, he also taught leadership analysis at the Sherman Kent School. He was the lead interrogator of Saddam Hussein and published a book, Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein on that experience.
In medicine, Dr. Barry Steinberg is currently a professor and director of the Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship of the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville, FL. His work goes beyond America’s borders. In 1988, he founded the Facing Futures Foundation, whose mission is to focus on the surgical correction of birth defects in children around the world, bringing them to Jacksonville to assemble the best team of doctors needed for any particular case. Steinberg has worked with a team of nurses, anesthesiologists, surgeons, anaplastologists and other professionals to provide free medical care to hundreds of children.
To end on a melancholy note, Douglas Karpioff was a longtime head of security and life safety for the World Trade Center. As with countless others, he gave his life saving others on September 11, 2001. According to his Hall of Fame citation,” those who knew him for years and “those who only met him on that tragic day told of his courage, strength and sweetness.”
MacArthur is part of the Levittown School District. When it comes to music, let’s give a nod to Holmes Sterling Morrison, a graduate of Division Avenue School; Maureen Tucker of Memorial High School and Ellie Greenwich, also a graduate of Memorial. All three contributed greatly to the music scene of the past century. Morrison, who died in 1995, was a founding member of the Velvet Underground. In 1965, he helped form the legendary alternative rock band that included Lou Reed. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2017, the band was the recipient of the 2017 Special Merit Grammy Award. Another member was Maureen Tucker. The lead drummer, Tucker also sang co-lead vocals on Velvet Underground songs. Over the years, Tucker released several solo albums. In 2017, Tucker played at the Grammy Salute to Music Legends awards ceremony. Preceding Velvet Underground’s success was Ellie Greenwich, the author of numerous memorial hit songs, many of which make up a virtual soundtrack to the 1950s. Her hits include “Be My Baby,” “I Can Hear Music,” “Do Wah Diddy Diddy,” “Da Doo Ron Ron” and “River Deep, Mountain High.”
The purpose of the Levittown Public Schools Hall of Fame is too recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves by their contributions in their field of work, study or athletics. A nominee must have graduated from either Division Avenue High School, Levittown Memorial High School or General Douglas MacArthur High School a minimum of 10 years prior to nomination. Current employees are excluded.
