Southern Methodist University alumni

Louis Weil (May 10, 1935 – March 9, 2022) was an American Episcopal priest, liturgical scholar, and seminary professor. He was a member of the committee that drafted and proposed the 1979 Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.
A graduate of Southern Methodist University (1956) and Harvard (MA 1958), he was ordained to the priesthood on January 1, 1962, for the Episcopal Diocese of California by the Right Reverend Joseph Harte of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona following studies at the General Theological Seminary in New York. He completed doctoral studies on the history of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut at the Institut Catholique de Paris.
Weil taught at the former Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Caribbean from 1961 to 1971, Nashotah House Theological Seminary from 1971 to 1988, and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific from 1988 until his retirement in 2009. Weil also lectured at the School of Theology at The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee and the General Theological Seminary. He was a member of the Lutheran-Episcopal Dialogue from 1976 to 1980. Weil was a widely published author who was a member of the Latin American Theological Education Commission, Societas Liturgica, the North American Academy of Liturgy, and the Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (1985–1991). He died in Oakland, California, on March 9, 2022, at the age of 86.

Robert James Banner Jr. (August 15, 1921 – June 15, 2011) was an American producer, writer and director. From 1967 to 1972 he co-produced The Carol Burnett Show.

Walter Wink (May 21, 1935 – May 10, 2012) was an American Biblical scholar, theologian, and activist who was an important figure in Progressive Christianity. Wink spent much of his career teaching at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City. He was well known for his advocacy of and work related to nonviolent resistance and his seminal works on "The Powers", Naming the Powers (1984), Unmasking the Powers (1986), Engaging the Powers (1992), When the Powers Fall (1998), and The Powers that Be (1999), all of them commentaries on the Apostle Paul's ethic of spiritual warfare described here: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Breaking with Christian hermeneutic tradition of Christian demonology, he interprets Paul's hierarchy of "rulers" to refer to imperial powers, with corresponding and political theologies and ideologies of state violence. Giving examples from ancient Babylon through the popular media of today, these are supported by, in a phrase he coined "the myth of redemptive violence".

James Wilkes Noble (March 5, 1922 – March 28, 2016) was an American actor, best known for his portrayal of sweet-natured, dense, naive Governor Eugene X. Gatling on ABC's 1979–1986 sitcom Benson.

Mark Shepherd Jr. (January 18, 1923 – February 4, 2009) was the chairman and chief executive officer of Texas Instruments. He was in attendance at the demonstration of the integrated circuit by Jack Kilby on September 12, 1958.

Lee Edward Bowers Jr. (January 12, 1925 – August 9, 1966) was a witness to the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.
The timing and circumstances of Bowers's death have led to various allegations that his demise was part of a cover-up subsequent to the Kennedy murder.

Ruthe Lewin Winegarten (August 26, 1929 – June 14, 2004) was an American author, activist, and historian.

Carl A. Finley Jr. (March 23, 1924 in Dallas, Texas – March 30, 2002) was a minority owner of the Kansas City A's.
Following three years of military service during World War II, Finley attended Southern Methodist University in his native Dallas, earning bachelor's degrees in history and journalism. This background prepared him for 13 years as a high school teacher and principal at Thomas Jefferson High School, while he started his family in his hometown.
A career change in 1962 landed Finley with the Oakland A's when he accepted a position as minority owner of the Kansas City Athletics, after being 'romanced' into this capacity by his cousin Charlie O. Finley who bought into the team in 1960.
Finley is best known as "...A's owner Charlie O. Finley's 'right-hand man' during the A’s stay in Kansas City all the way through to Finley’s sale of the team in 1980. This architect of the Oakland powerhouse teams of the 1970s was recruited by his cousin, Charlie, a real estate tycoon, from his position as a high school principal to run a professional sports franchise (with a handful of staff) for a mostly-absentee owner."
Charlie O. Finley tried hard to keep the A's in Kansas City with their loyal fans, but due to outside forces, the team had no choice but to leave Kansas City in 1967. Oakland, California was the only place with a stadium ready to move into right away. The 1968 season was the team's first in Oakland, making it the city's first MLB team. With the A's move to Oakland in 1968, Carl & his daughter Nancy moved from Texas to Oakland so he could manage the business. He was a private and humble individual. In the off-season, he enjoyed teaching business law part-time at Laney College, in Oakland.

Leonard "Lynn" L. Northrup Jr. (March 18, 1918 – March 24, 2016) was an American engineer who was a pioneer of the commercialization of solar thermal energy. Influenced by the work of John Yellott,
Maria Telkes, and Harry Tabor, Northrup's company designed, patented, developed and manufactured some of the first commercial solar water heaters, solar concentrators, solar-powered air conditioning systems, solar power towers and photovoltaic thermal hybrid systems in the United States. The company he founded became part of ARCO Solar, which in turn became BP Solar, which became the largest solar energy company in the world. Northrup was a prolific inventor with 14 US patents.

Henry Calvin (born Wimberly Calvin Goodman; May 25, 1918 – October 6, 1975) was an American actor known for his role as the Spanish soldier Sergeant Garcia on Walt Disney's live-action television series Zorro (1957–1959).